CNN and every other media outlet report that American intelligence officials released an analysis showing that Putin orchestrated a campaign to influence the American election so as to harm Hillary Clinton and help Donald Trump.
The report said that Russia leaked hacked emails directly to Wikileaks and other sites.
Given what we now know about the cabinet of unqualified individuals that Trump is assembling, composed mostly of people who want to destroy the agencies they are expected to lead, it appears that Trump is just the man to undermine our nation and send it backward by a century. He is the Manchuria Candidate, or should we say the Siberian Candidate. He is Putin’s President.
I had lunch with my editor, the senior editor at a major publisher, and she said if somewhat had brought her a novel with this plot, she would have rejected it as too absurd. A candidate with three wives, five children, four bankruptcies, a long history of sexual assaults, bullying, and racial insults, a man with no relevant experience who is completely ignorant of foreign and domestic issues…no, too absurd. A man determined to ignore climate change and wipe out federal healthcare. A man hostile to science and knowledge. A man who lives in a gold plated penthouse and has a gold plated toilet seat in a gold plated private jet.
Who would believe it? Even science fiction has to have a shred of credibility.
This is all a bad dream.
Isn’t it?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
No link ???
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The story is on every news website except Russia Today. New York Times, CNN, etc
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We should demand a do-over.
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Sorry Ellen no do overs . We should demand to know , what did “Little hands know and when did he know it.” We should demand the congress congress subpoena his tax records and if he refuses to release them impeach him.
Of course none of this will happen because Republicans are – – – – – – – – traitors and have been for quite some time.
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Yes…all of the above.
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Oh please, Diane. Can we just move on to stop the destruction of what’s left of education in America?
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I’m sure the corporate Republicans who want to destroy every public function for private gain would be very happy if we did that. They are waging total war, not issue by issue. They would love it if we became hermetically sealed in our pet issue areas, which makes it much easier to divide and conquer. The key is to pay attention and respond to all of the fronts, not just one.
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Greg, I agree. I also think that the risks in looking only at education is a major reason Diane is not limiting her posts to education, but making certain that we are as aware of the full scope of this unfolding disaster.
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Cannot imagine how Toni can view education without viewing how our nation is run. Stopping “the destruction of what’s left of education in America” is what this blog is all about…but all the other issues the are adjunt to education, must be studied and addressed…like how do we stop nuclear war? And how do we stop total fraud by a conniving President and Secretary of State who prefer cash in their own pockets to any students, parents, and schools in the US? Wearing blinders, and nurturing uninformed voters, is what got us into this deadly mess in the first place.
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Thanks Laura and Ellen. When Trumpism tries to kill our unions and collective bargaining rights, it attacks our teachers. When Trumpism tries to kill the Affordable Care Act, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and privatize the Veterans Administration health system, it attacks our teachers, parents and students. When Trumpism tries to spend even more on the military and a hateful wall, it attacks our ability to fund public education. When Trumpism tries to implement arbitrary across-the-board spending cuts to lower taxes on the wealthiest Americans, it attacks our ability to spend wisely for schools. When Trumpism tries to exploit our public lands for profit, increases dependence on nonrenewable energy sources, or eliminate public health regulations, it attacks our students’ long term health and economic prospects. When Trumpism tries to empower racist, bigoted, and partisan interests by manipulating our legal system and civil service it fundamentally altars what it means to be American. When Trumpism tries to privatize public housing, it attacks our most vulnerable parents and students. And when Trumpism tries to put Betsy DeVos in charge of federal education policy, it will have impact far beyond what we view as pure education issues. Toni, that’s why I disagree with your view.
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Diane, I truly wish it was a bad dream and that I’d wake up in a cold sweat. As a child during the Cold War, I distinctly remember my dad telling me that Russia would take over the United States from within, not by a military operation. Damn, if he wasn’t right. He died in 1985, so he hasn’t lived through this nightmare. Though a Goldwater Republican, I know he would not have supported Trump, and I’m sure that he is shaking his head over the things that have happened in the last 3 months!
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Another day, another shooting in the USA. Sad for the people who got shot, sad that the lead story tonight won’t be about the Russians influencing our democracy.
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I am watching the news and you are so right. This tragic shooting is, perversely, the best thing that could have happened for Trump. Our short attention span media continues to serves our short attention span nation.
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You just don’t get it. People voted for Trump because they DEFINITELY did NOT want more of the same. I became disenfranchised with Hillary during the WATERGATE INVESTIGATION! Her conduct (trying to submit investigation report of her conclusions, rather than submitting the report the committee penned) resulted in her being declared unfit for any position of public, or private, trust, then or n the future. Her conduct after that continued to substantiate her unworthiness. Before 2008 she had already been charged, prosecuted and convicted in at least two dozen criminal scandals. After 2008 her criminal conduct continued as usual. It was her stink of “you can’t touch me” that kept people away from her events. There was nothing more than hype she had going for her.
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Linda,
You were duped by Putin to vote for the least qualified, most morally and ethically bankrupt person ever to run for president.
You will lose your healthcare, possibly your social security, and your air and water will be less safe. Is that the change you wanted?
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Linda, like all Hillary Clinton haters, we know what you are against. What are you for?
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Linda,
Your candidate is #Putinspuppet
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Great analysis of Hillary. Anyone think that Hillary’s negligence facilitated the leaks?
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Veronica,
I don’t want Trump trolls on my blog. Are you Russian?
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Diane, your holier than though attitude to Veronica was totally uncalled for no matter what the conversation. America was built for equality of all, so why is it liberals, progressives, leftists, democrats always go for an emotional response, rather than an intellectual one? They used to teach proper debate tactics in school. It is obvious we need to revive that skill. If we don’t, the children will be easily intimidated by loud bullies that want their way instead of by a persuasive and thoughtful argument.
I was under the impression this was an education blog. The only thing it has shown me recently is the field seems to be filled with whiners, mad they didn’t get what they were promised.
This country is a REPUBLIC, NOT a democracy. That fact escapes the left, but not those on the right. In a democracy it is the loudest bully that gets his way. NOT IN A REPUBLIC. In a democracy the loudest most disruptive people control things. They can go so far as to put you in jail, take your land, change an election at will. Then in a few months if they want to change things again they do. There are no protections or individual rights on what those in government want to give you, or take from you. This is what the right saw coming and did not like and that is why Trump was elected.
This country provides it’s citizen’s with INALIENABLE RIGHTS. The GOVERNMENT cannot take them away, unless people become so ignorant of the facts they give them away blindly. This country will continue to divide itself unless EVERYONE addresses each other in a RESPECTFUL and THOUGHTFUL manner. Comments like you made asking if I wanted him to grab my XXXXX (referring to Trump, I assume) make you look desperate and very much like a bully. Bullies are NOT educators.
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Linda,
Please don’t use vulgar language on my blog, or you will be removed. Just because Trump said something vulgar doesn’t give you the right to say it here. He will be the first president in memory whose language and actions are disgusting and must be X-rated. Turn off the TV ipif children are in the room.
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Linda,
I edited your comment to remove your vulgarity. Don’t do that again or you will never be allowed to comment again on my blog.
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Linda, you have to be educated about what being “equal” tactfully means, if that is possible. Equality in the U.S. Constitution only means “equal protection of the laws”.
From the14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Maybe you are confused.
The Declaration of Independence is where it says “all men are created equal” but that document is not the U.S. Constitution and is not the law. The Declaration of Independence was a letter to King George declaring a break with the British Empire that led to the War of Independence between the 13 U.S. colonies and the British Empire.
This is from that letter to King George.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
“That all men are created equal” clearly means we all are born equal and after that we are not equal anymore. From there it is up to each individual to better their position in life or not.
America was not created to offer equality to everyone. For everyone to be equal, the U.S. would have to a pure socialist state where every citizen earns the exact same amount of money and there are no millionaires or billionaires or corporations. We’d all have the same size houses. We’d all drive the exact same car. We’d all eat the same food and wear the same clothing. We’d be members of a ant farm.
If we were all really equal, there would be no homeless people and no Bill Gates or Donald Trumps.
In fact, there would be no private sector at all. Everything would be owned by the state.
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It also means that equality is defined by material possessions. While I would rather be happy and comfortably situated than happy and poor, I don’t think (nor do you) think that $$$ is a good way to gauge equality.
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We are allegedly equal under the law although it is obvious the rich often seem to be above the law and almost impossible to convict of a crime no matter how much evidence there is proving them guilty, because they have the money to hire the best lawyers.
We also have equal opportunities through public education, but it is up to the individual children/students to take advantage of education and learn all they can to prepare for a future of work as avid readers and life long learners.
We should be all treated equally but that also has never happened in history. There has always been an underclass and those who bully/torment and/or rule them.
Most racists do not treat everyone equally.
We also are all not equal when it comes to how much we earn. Some make more. Many make less.
I think what most people really want is fairness and not economic equality.
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Yes, I’m with you, Lloyd. Treat each other with common decency.
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Equal under the Constitution was there for ALL. But, because the British were breathing down the necks of the Founding Father’s they chose their words carefully … allowing for agreement in breaking with Britian. The Constitution is a carefully crafted document of law. It is not as liberals like to claim … a living document. That mantra makes brainwashing easier in order to destroy the rights designated as originating from GOD, NOT THE GOVERNMENT.
This country has become less equal in the last eight years. Do you ever ask how you would feel if rolls were reversed? If you can say you would be okay with and outcome if things were reversed then maybe it’s equal, but if you cannot do that honestly there is no equality.
Either you are part of the intellectual cover-up that has been happening, or you are blindly following the liberal movement further left. This blog is sounding more like petulant children in a constant state of anger and whiney self-centeredness because they didn’t get what they wanted during the election. In case you didn’t know it there were those that were not happy in other elections, but instead of becoming part of the problem they worked at trying to be a part of the solution.
Keep track of Trump and his administration, I will. But don’t waste your energies on wild speculation and accusations put for by media outlets controlled by the DISASTER CAPITALIST GEORGE SOROS. Any man that says in his biography that his fondest childhood memories were of the times he spent with Hitler’s soldiers leading family and friends to the gas ovens is no friend of humanity. Soros has destroyed the economies of no less than 70 countries around the world and has worked for decades to destroy America. He hates the right we have, makes one wonder why he became a citizen.
Recent polls show 57% of democrats are now hoping that Trump is successful in his endeavors for the country. That is a start, it is unity between the parties will make that a reality. Under a REPUBLIC like America it is required that everyone stays informed and involved.
The so called Intelligence report provided nothing concrete and was years overdue. There have been over a dozen serious hacks during the last eight years but they were never even a blip on the mainstream media’s lips. Not even when the 21 MILLION records were hacked from the Office of Personnel Management a couple of years ago was anything done. Now it is important because light was striking the corrupt and manipulation of the DNC. Every time the truth tries to come out we get a new lie to divert attention.
When the Benghazi attack occurred they used a “video” as the lie. “You can keep your plan”…a lie. “You can keep your doctor”…a lie. “I never knew she was using a private server” … even though the prez communicated with Hillary on said server he claimed he didn’t know … that is a lie. I could fill pages of all of the lies we have heard, yet there are none so blind as those that will not see.
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Linda Giffin,
I see you believe that the Constitution is not “a living document.” It should be read exactly as originally written.
Do you think women should be allowed to vote?
Do you think black people should be allowed to vote?
Do you think that voting should be limited to property owners?
Do you think that government should be allowed to limit the hours that people work or set a minimum wage they should be paid?
Wondering.
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The Constitution was carefully written to include those eventualities. Might I recommend the Hillsdale free online course on the Constitution for your enlightenment?
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Linda,
If the Founding Fathers saw Trump, they would spin in their graves. A man with no intellect, no honor, no integrity, no decency, no manners. A crude vulgarian.
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Those are all personal opinion. Give me facts that can be supported so it is possible to discuss it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but that does NOT make that opinion the right one, best one, or one based on reality.
If you remove the hyped up personal opinion what are you left with? The art of debate needs to return to public schools. I seem to remember it is part of the curriculum at the private school that Bill Gates sends his son to in Seattle. For my taste his attitude that public schools don’t need the same perks as private schools because he considers us to be “ordinary” (comments from a 2005 interview).
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The U.S. Constitution is a living document, because the Founding Fathers designed it to be adapted and changed. It was not chiseled into stone.
https://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-constitution-amendments/amendments-in-history/
If the U.S. Constitution was written in stone by God, as you seem to think, then the Founding Fathers would have never included Article V in the U.S. Constitution.
The actual wording of Article V is: “The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.”
https://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-constitution-amendments/amendments-in-history/
And it is obvious that many of the Founding Fathers were influenced by Deism and were not Fundamentalist Christians, because Christian fundamentalism began in the late 19th, about a century later, and early 20th centuries among British and American Protestants.
That means the way you think is not the same as how they thought back then when it comes to religion.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Founding-Fathers-Deism-and-Christianity-1272214
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Founding Father’s viewed the Constitution as a LEGALLY BINDING DOCUMENT BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AND THEIR GOVERNMENT. The idea that it was a living document did not even exist until 1927 as an interpretation of loose constructionist.
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Linda, so you agree that women and blacks and the unpropertied should not be allowed to vote.
It was not in the Constitution.
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I do NOT agree with you assumptions and have said that before. The Constitution was vowed by the Founding Fathers to be a LEGALLY BINDING DOCUMENT BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AND THE GOVERNMENT. It was not specified which people because many of the group wanted slavery eliminated eventually.
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So it means what it says always for all time, except when it doesn’t.
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You are adding specific limitations where none were supposed to exist. There is beauty and simplicity in the Constitution. It is not a better document just because it has more words. Quite the opposite, more words makes such a document LESS effective. Case in point, in the 1970’s there was a law written that applied to the cabbage. That document was several times longer than the Constitution but so loosely written it was in court several times for clarifications.
Ted Cruz has submitted a new Amendment for term limits. It is short and clear and mirrors the intent of the Founding Fathers to keep this a government OF THE PEOPLE BY THE PEOPLE, rather than elitist career politicians. Term limits was strongly supported by Trump during the campaign.
Did you notice that the FBI released more Clinton emails overnight? One document from July 2016 discussed the hacking by foreign entities that had occurred. Clinton, the DNC and democrats as a whole did NOTHING to protect their information. They had become complacent, lazy if you will, thinking they were powerful enough to be untouchable. That kind of attitude is breed by decades in public office and the mistaken idea that one is above the law.
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Linda,
Did you know that Trump just named his son-in-law to the White House staff in violation of nepotism laws?
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It appears that law would not apply for several reasons. Bobby Kennedy AND Hillary Clinton were two of the recent “family members” to hold positions on staff.
The fact that his son-in-law will be working at the White House, rather than his families business explains the dinner with the investor at 666 5th Avenue. Closing out business connections … still NO signs of bilking taxpayers.
But, it does concern me that Obama gave Iran enough Iranian to make 10 NUCLEAR BOMBS. Maybe a working relationship with Russia could prove beneficial to the world because Iran definitely needs to be watched.
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The law was changed after Bobby Kennedy to prevent its recurrence.
Hillary was never on staff.
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The anti-nepotism law is for cabinet appointments. Senior Advisor, a position currently held by Valerie Jarrett, is a White House “hire”. Even NBC admits there is precedent for such a hire and that the anti-nepotism law would not apply. He is divesting himself of significant assets, participation in his families business and will be recusing himself as needed to avoid any conflict of interest.
What is the problem?
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When did Trump divest himself of any business? Did his family sell his overseas holdings? Even the Eall Street Joynal said the only way to get himself out of conflict was to liquidate all his businesses. Let us know when that happens.
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Guess you will have to wait for his press conference like everyone else.
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His last press conference was in July. A long wait.
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According to CNN and other media outlets his next press conference is TOMORROW, January 11, 2017.
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“It appears that law would not apply for several reasons. Bobby Kennedy AND Hillary Clinton were two of the recent “family members” to hold positions on staff.”
Why are you so ignorant and why don’t you fact check?
“The position of the First Lady is not an elected one and carries only ceremonial duties. Nonetheless, first ladies have held a highly visible position in American society. The role of the First Lady has evolved over the centuries. She is, first and foremost, the hostess of the White House.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Lady_of_the_United_States
http://www.firstladies.org/blog/first-ladies-who-held-public-office/
And Bobby Kennedy is the reason for that law that didn’t exist when Bobby was appointed by his brother, the president, to be the Attorney General of the United States.
“Since Robert F. Kennedy became the Attorney General during President Kennedy’s administration, he was the last person to have served under his own brother’s presidency. After that laws (e.g., 5 US Code § 3110) have prevented such a thing to happen again.”
This law, US Code 3001, was enacted December 16, 1967 when Lyndon B. Johnson was president. JFK was assassinated in 1963. Robert resigned soon afterwards from the AG position.
Then RK ran for the U.S. Senate.
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Even NBC now admits the anti-nepotism law would not apply. Senior Advisor is not a Cabinet position, it is a “hire” position. He is divesting assets, participation in his family’s business, will recuse himself if needed.
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Trump will hire his family and continue running his businesses. We are in for the deepest swamp of corruption ever seen in Washington. And his cult will defend his every illegal move, as Linda proves. The Dear Leader can do no wrong.
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So much paranoia …
I am amazed by the negativity. Yes, change can be unsettling, but it is happening. I prefer to embrace the change and because I live in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA I can vote my choice and voice my opinion without fear of reprisal, or condemnation … just as I allow you to do.
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Linda,
I don’t mean to be negative but I am stunned that you don’t care about the massive conflicts of interest of the Trump and a Kushner families. They will take in billions in payoffs from foreign governments wanting to make a deal with Trump and his family.
You can’t imagine that.
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And since when does NBC define the laws in the U.S.?
That is left up to the courts, according to the U.S. Constitution, and if Trump gets his son-in-law advisor on his official staff, you can bet that the courts will have a field day deciding the results of this one.
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Only pointing out that liberal media is recognizing a dead horse. NO SALARY … NO NEPOTISM is another way to view it.
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Linda, that’s not what the law says. A billionaire doesn’t need a salary. But not taking a salary does not eliminate conflict of interest.
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There is more than one law that could potentially apply … but none do. This is his inner circle of trusted advisors, on staff in the White House. That is much different than a cabinet position where the nepotism laws would apply.
Hillary Clinton was appointed to the Healthcare Reform Committee while her husband was President. She did not claim a salary either. Are you saying it was okay for her to do this but not a Republican President?
Attorneys on both sides have researched the legalities for the better part of a month and have concluded it is legal. If anyone still has any objections they will challenge it in the courts for sure.
Being a billionaire demonstrates the success of his abilities as an inventor and businessman. Has someone tried to criminalize, or marginalize your success by implying you are not worthy, or demanding you get rid of your money. It shows everyone that he has achieved the top of MASLOW’S HEIRARCHY OF NEEDS which is what we all strive to achieve.
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Snicker. Trump’s wealth shows that he is a good businessman and inventor?! Have you not read anything about the man? Just what did he invent? More effective ways to screw his subcontractors and investors? As to reaching the pinnacle of Maslow’s hierarchy, the man is still looking for love and attention. I suppose you could say he has reached the pinnacle, but then just what pinnacle is that?
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If we all acted towards people as Trump does, we would be in a Hobbesian world. Each one for himself and his family only. Life would be nasty, brutish, and short for most.
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Liberal media!
Hogwash and BS!
You have been well brainwashed by the lying, misleading, propaganda being pumped out by the hate mongering conservative media machine that is real as opposed to the fictional liberal media machine that was invented by the far right.
There is no lying liberal media machine and there never has been. The far right has attacked the honest media repeatedly so their ignorant easy-to-fool followers won’t trust any media source that even attempts to set the record straight but only trusts their lies and misinformation.
When a fact-check site reports that conservative elected reps are wrong, the Alt-Right hate media machine calls them liberals. When the same fact -heck sites report that progressive/liberal reps are wrong, they crow and spread the news far and wide.
The fact check sites and Vote Smart are not liberal by any means. They focus on fact checking claims elected representatives from both parties make. They do this by checking all the facts they find on any hot button issue.
http://www.dailydot.com/layer8/best-fact-checking-websites/
http://votesmart.org/
When you read any book that makes allegations or any newspaper or news sight, turn to these fact check sites to find out what the facts are. All of these sites link to the actual data used and then they pass judgement on what is true and what isn’t.
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I do not want their JUDGEMENT. I want pros and cons and then I MAKE MY OWN JUDGEMENT. You spoon feed robots the way you suggest, not critical thinking, creative individuals.
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Only rightwing sites tell the truth is what you mean. Not CNN or the networks or the New York Times. Which sites do you trust? Other than FOX news?
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She means she finds information that agrees with her position.
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Occasionally I will flip to stations like CNN, but I find their lack of good judgement in journalism appalling. For example … Wolf Blitzer the other day was actually bordering on criminal incitement the other day. His report dragged out who would need to be eliminated in order get Obama back into the White House. THAT IS NOT JOURNALISM. PROTESTING DOES NOT INCLUDE BODILY HARM and PROPERTY DAMAGE. A moral consciousness would cause a decent person to say that is wrong.
You saw NO SUCH MORALLY ABHORRENT CONDUCT AFTER OBAMA WAS ELECTED. The USA is a REPUBLIC and the CONSTUTION designates the ELECTORAL COLLEGE is the final determining factor in the president. There was NO evidence that any voting tallies were tampered with.
If you are SO UPSET by one country trying to control the outcome of another country’s election, maybe you had better look closer to him. Obama interfered with elections in Israel trying to keep Bibi from being elected. And he used TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO DO IT!
There is no one news source that can be TRUSTED these days. We need to VERIFY ENERYTHING FROM EVERY SOURCE. As educators, the need to try and diminish anyone that disagrees with you demonstrates you are the source of the problem in schools at all levels. IF YOU VIEW YOURSELF AS SO SUPERIOR, IT PROVES YOU DO NOT BELIEVE IN EQUALITY. CREATIVITY, KNOWLEDGE and GROWTH come from dissenting ideas.
Your shallowness stifles learning and your bully tactics leave you very identifiable. Are you going to continue to be part of the problem? Then move aside, because parents and teachers that want to EDUCATE NOT INDOCTRINATE are done waiting. One comment earlier asked how do you teach knowledge. YOU DON’T … you teach others how to TEACH THEMSELEVES. It is very empowering. But communism and socialism and other methods of CONTROLLING PEOPLE don’t want individuals that can find answers on their own. They don’t want anyone to QUESTION what they are told. PEOPLE LIKE THAT ARE HARD TO CONTROL!
This is not communist China, or Russia. This is AMERICA … the greatest experiment ever. Stop trying to turn this country into another Russia, or China with your methods. Learning comes from the freedom of SEEKING KNOWLEDGE ON YOUR OWN, not relying on what someone else says, and it NEVER stops! If it does you become a decaying carcus taking up space.
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You clearly don’t know what critical thinking and problem solving means.
Critical thinking and problem solving is based on facts. For instance, when mobbed-up, Littlefingers Donald Trump, during the debates, kept alleging that Hillary Clinton had never accomplished anything or did anything.
Just the facts, not even fact checking, at Vote Smart proved him a liar once again many times over.
Vote Smart is not a fact-check site. It is a sight that lists the facts, the actual facts from the Congressional record, the voting record of Senators and Congressmen and other elected representatives across the country. Vote Smart is a national archive of what politicians actually say and how they vote.
Every vote by Hillary Clinton, yea, nay or not is in that record and you can count the number of bills she co-sponsored and sponsored. Anyone who wants to know what those bills were about, there is also a link for each one.
http://votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/55463/hillary-clinton#.WHZXr_krKUk
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Thank you, Lloyd. I have just spent half an hour chasing down all the links within links.
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So I suppose you will believe the “golden showers” story … even though 4Chan came forward and said one of their anonymous members created the story. In spite of that, CNN and Buzzfeed ran with the story. They had no proof and it was totally unverified, a violation of good journalism practices. Don’t you think that is irresponsible? Shouldn’t we have information that can be relied upon? Otherwise we start accepting fake news like this as truth. NO NEWS ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN ABLE TO CONFIRM THIS STORY, but because this fake news was put out there it must be talked about. The guy central to the story has never even been to Prague and provided his passport which verified he had never been to Prague.
The state of journalism today is on a slippery slope. When sources such as Buzzfeed produce unverified stories like this, it is “fake news”! No one can rely on “curated” news, news filtered. What we end up with is news that changes as it passes through the different levels before publication because it is influenced by the bias and prejudice of the curator. Curated news makes it easy to control how people think and feel about things.
Many teachers have been using the same tactics as Dr. SUGATA MITRA for decades. Giving students the skills to teach themselves (he refers to it as SOLE) and each other enables them to perform at higher levels. It increases creativity and critical thinking. Because students are more likely to question and seek out additional information it helps ensure that students won’t blindly follow the Pied Piper, so to speak, down that narrow road.
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Sorry, but I don’t think like you. When I read something like this, I don’t swallow the news whole from some dubious fly-by-night internet news outlet without fact checking.
I’m waiting to see if these latest allegations will grow glue and stick, and they might. This news just broke. I often takes days or weeks to prove the allegations that often show up in the news.
In the U.S. the law says we are innocent until proven guilty.
Littlefingers Donald Trump is guilty of many things, but this one is still an allegation.
However, you do not hesitate to judge Hillary Clinton guilty of many things she has never been found guilty of in a court of law or even from fact check sites.
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“Clinton, the DNC and democrats as a whole did NOTHING to protect their information. They had become complacent, lazy if you will, thinking they were powerful enough to be untouchable. That kind of attitude is breed by decades in public office and the mistaken idea that one is above the law.”
My, you are quick to pick up trumpist talking points. Were you in the back room discussing how to turn the Russian incursion into a discussion of the failings of the Democrats to protect themselves? I expect we will be hearing that line out of every Trump apologist for awhile. How does that change the seriousness of the Russian actions? Is that what we teach our children: cheating is okay if the people you are cheating don’t protect themselves well enough? Come to think of it…doesn’t that sound a bit like Trump University’s premis?
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” It was not specified which people because many of the group wanted slavery eliminated eventually.”
So you you get to choose the parts that can be interpreted as if the Constitution was a living document?
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Wrong once again.
I think from your comments that you are a far-right, conservative, fundamentalist Christian, ignorant, biased, hating, rigid member of the Alt-Right. In other words, a troll or a paid minion of billionaires like Betsy DeVos, the Koch brothers, or the Walton Walmart family.
I say that because you ignore exactly what the U.S. Constitution says about this issue.
An additional fact that supports that the U.S. Constitution is a malleable document designed to reflect change is the U.S. Supreme Court and its roll to interpret that document when it is challenged in Court.
https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/constitutional.aspx
Then there are the Amendments:
The 1st through 10th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution was ratified on December 15, 1791. George Washington was still president until 1797.
The 11th Amendment was ratified on February 7, 1795, and George Washington was still president.
The 12th Amendment was ratified on June 15, 1804 when Founding Father Thomas Jefferson was president.
The 13th Amendment that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime, was ratified on December 6, 1865 after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 15, 1865.
There are 27 Amendments that refined, changed, and/or added to the U.S. Constitution, but I’ll stop at 13, because if you are right that the U.S. Constitution is carved in stone like the Biblical 10 Commandments, then there would still be slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States.
Here are the links to those Amendments that clearly made the U.S. Constitution a flexible document that is not rigidly chiseled into stone.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_amendments_to_the_United_States_Constitution
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States
The United States was an entirely different country in the 18th century. There was no electricity, no fossil fuel powered vehicles, no paved highways, trucks and cars, no internet, no air travel, no rocket ships sending men/women and illiterates into orbit, to the moon and beyond, no atomic weapons of mass destruction.
In 1790, 5.1 percent of the American people lived in urban city areas, and the rest lived on farms or in the small towns near those farms. Today, more than 80 percent of the population lives in urban areas.
The population of the U.S. in 1790 was 3.9 million versus more than 323 million today. If the U.S. Constitution was a rigid, unchanging document as you allege, and it clearly isn’t, then children could still be sold into servitude as young as age 7 even into a life of prostitution at that age, women couldn’t own property and would be the property of men and couldn’t vote (and only white men who owned property could vote except white Jews), and the U.S. would have more than 30-million black slaves.
Are you related to Donald Trump or are you Donald Trump using a fake name here?
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If the Founders wanted the Constitution to be unchanging, there would be no Supreme Court.
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In my previous comment the word “illiterates” was supposed to be “satellites”
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I think proponents of a rigid interpretation of the Constitution mean that provisions are to be read to mean exactly what the authors meant at the time of writing. They made provision for change to the document with the amendment process, but I think those in favor of a rigid interpretation today would say that Article V provides the only legitimate way to change it. Viewing it as a living document means having the flexibility to interpret the text in ways that make sense to us now rather than what might have been the intention 200+ years ago. I favor treating it as a living document.
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The U.S. Supreme Court also weighs in when interpretation of the U.S. Constitution is challenge in a court case.
“The Court and Constitutional Interpretation”
https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/constitutional.aspx
A Supreme Court packed by Alt-Right appointees is a real threat to that element that also was designed to protect the U.S. Constitution.
It’s obvious that hate-obsessed, rigid-thinking, conservative, racist, Alt-Right thinkers are a real threat to everyone else outside of their mentally ill and morally corrupt political faction.
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Linda, Linda, Linda…I promised in my last comment to you that it would be my last, but I’ll break it once, and only once. You chide us for “emotional response(s), rather than intellectual one(s).” Yet when I have, on many, many occasions tried to engage you in an intellectual debate, you mysteriously disappear, only to reemerge to throw out your stale talking points of supporting Trump without any supporting arguments. You cling to your reference to Ben Franklin’s offhand remark about “a Republic, if you can keep it” and ignore the volumes of information, beginning with The Federalist, of the evidence that we are a representative democracy, which, by the way, embraces the idea of a republic. Yes, there were issues like the 3/5 rule and the electoral college that were specifically designed to inhibit democratic (used to be small “d”, now seems to be capital “D”) impulses. Using caps to shout is not an “intellectual debate” nor is reciting propaganda.
I truly miss engaging in honest political debate with people who disagree with me. But that pretty much died thanks to Newt Gingrich’s strategy in the 1994 election that conservatives have chosen to refine and promote since then. The central idea was to characterize opponents as evil, un-American, or worse. Prior to that time it was possible, for example, to have honest debates about the value of supply-side economics, school privatization, the role of the free market in governing, and so on. I could have those debates, have drinks and get drunk with my sparring partners, and then we could smile and lean on each other as we staggered out of the bar. Those days don’t exist anymore, largely because the right has become ideological and has shed any semblance of empirical pragmatism.
I disagreed vigorously when Diane served in the Dept. of Ed, but it was a theoretical argument. The reason I so respect her today is because she is pragmatic. She looks at evidence and history and is willing to shift her views when she’s convinced that her previous stand was wrong. I hope that I’m the same. For example, I despised and opposed Dick Armey when he was in Congress, but I have to admit that his idea of a military base closing commission might well have been the best political idea of the 1990s. The best summation of this, in my view, is in Alan Paton’s novel “Cry, the Beloved Country” in which one of the character, whose views on apartheid evolved, wrote an essay with a recurring theme of “it was permissible” to do a number of things, but based on the experience of history, “it is not permissible” to continue to do certain wrongs. The failure of Reaganomics is another clear issue that has passed from debatable theory to pragmatic judgment to solid empirical evidence. It is no longer permissible to use those old tired bromides to govern, but it still has political appeal that defies tried experience.
But to claim that we should just accept a racist, bigoted, jingoistic, demagogue just because he won through a flawed system just doesn’t cut it anymore. Yes, we at times get emotional. But if you can frame an argument based on facts, issues and history, I’m sure we’d try to listen and, if you did a compelling job, you might actually convince us that we are wrong. That’s why I have asked you many times, “What are you for?” I would also ask you to define what you mean by a REPUBLIC and not just assume that everyone has the same definition that you do.
I respect this blog because of the many people who are willing to explain to me why they disagree with me. Had it not been for those voices, I probably would have voted for Jill Stein instead of voting for Hillary Clinton with great enthusiasm, something I would have thought unthinkable immediately after the Democratic Convention. Granted, I also get a lot of information that confirms and strengthens what I believe and support. But they also show me nuances I hadn’t considered. OK, that’s it. I wish you well Linda. This time I really will quit bothering you.
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Linda,
You have chutzpah to mention “proper debate tactics”. They don’t include lying through your teeth. Is that what you teach your kids?
Shame on you for posting lie after lie. And then when they are called out claiming that people are being mean to you.
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Linda Giffin is not a teacher. She is a Trump true believer.
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Linda Giffin
I didn’t think people really read the National Enquirer,till now.
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Not a reader of the National Enquirer. I was there when it happened. I could not comprehend how an American citizen like Hillary could calling herself with an UNAMERICAN ANARCHIST like SAUL ALINSKY. Being there when it was happening makes it easier than all the research that needs do be done now. The left has taken to rewriting history to make it say what they want to support their position.
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” I could not comprehend how an American citizen like Hillary could calling herself with an UNAMERICAN ANARCHIST like SAUL ALINSKY. ”
What the heck does that mean? I am so glad you were there and privileged to read Clinton’s college thesis, and are here now to give us your expert critique. As a fellow Wellesley graduate, I’m sure you can fill us in on her nefarious past. You have obviously forgotten how to research since your college days since what ever research you may have done tends to sound like far right wing talking points.
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2old2teach,
Some commenters say such dumb things that it reminds us why Trump got elected. Some people are very gullible and easily manipulated by fake news.
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Linda Giffin says “I was there when it happened”.
The chances that this liar (I don’t know if she is a woman or just playing one) actually knew who Hillary Rodham was in 1973 and 1974 is so absurd.
But since Linda Giffin is still insisting that Obama was born in Kenya and should be thrown in jail for impersonating an American citizen because her great leader Donald Trump told her that was true, I think we can safely ignore everything she says.
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Watergate investigation? In 1973?? Hillary Clinton would have just been out of college at that point. If you’re going to bash someone, at least get your history correct.
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Linda says she KNEW who Hillary Rodham was back then and knew that she was doing all sorts of illegal activities. Just like she knows that Obama’s parents faked his birth certificate in 1961.
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Perhaps she was observing Hillary from behind the grassy knoll.
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Linda Giffin says:
” I became disenfranchised with Hillary during the WATERGATE INVESTIGATION!”
Disenfranchised? I think the teachers at the Russian troll training school where Linda was taught need a much better Russian-English dictionary.
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Yeah, I missed the “disenfranchised” part. Even better! Garbled history AND garbled grammar.
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Official Report:
Click to access ICA_2017_01.pdf
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There is nothing earth shattering in this report. It hardly mentions the Podesta emails. There is no proof of a Russian government connection to the Podests emails. The Russians celebrated Trump’s victory, but so did the Israelis. That doesn’t prove a State government connection. The fixation with Russia Today is bizarre, as it’s a fairly benign newspaper. The report cites social media and twitter as their sources, which is disheartening.
This hysteria reminds me of the build up to the Iraq War. McCain is already calling this an act of War, which is terrifying.
I have totally lost faith in the Democratic Party.
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The CIA and McCain are not the Democratic Party.
Me, the GOP lost me at Reagan after he became governor the first time and the last time I voted Republican. The 1st Bush reinforced how I felt, and the 2nd Bush, with his lies of WMDs to justify starting a war in Iraq and mismanaging both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while adding several trillion to the national debt in addition to the 2007-08 global financial crises that almost destroyed the US auto industry and cost 9 million Americans their jobs and several million their homes, buried the GOP for me.
At least the Democratic Party still has progressives.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is the largest membership organization within the Democratic congressional caucus in the United States Congress with 72 members. The CPC is a left-leaning organization that works to advance progressive and liberal issues and positions.
Bernie Sanders is the only current member in the Senate. In the House, there are 68 voting Representatives.
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Lloyd…good reminders. But must add that Cheney and Rumsfeld had partnered to look for ways to usurp Iraq’s oil long before the Baby Bush administration. They started this during the Nixon administration…and Bush gave them his ignorant impetus to invade Iraq by relying on them, and on Condi and the General that Saddam had those weapons of mass destruction. Ignorance plus greed is a deadly combination for leaders.
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RaisetheBarHigher,
Putin had good reason to want Trump elected. He is Putin’s poodle. The emails were traced to known Russian government hackers.
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Diane, the DNC emails were traced to known Russian (actually Ukrainian) hackers, but that doesn’t prove Putin “ordered” operatives to influence the election. There is no proof of a Russian government connection to the Podesta emails. It’s frightening that our government is making a case for war without legitimate evidence. It’s the Iraq War all over again.
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RaisetheBar,
I promise you that Trump will not go to war with Russia. Putin is his mentor. Another president might see a cause for war, but Putin got the dupe he wanted. We will have peace in our time.
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SINCE WHEN IS THERE NO PROOF???? It’s in the report that Putin was directly involved.
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“This is all a bad dream.”
I wish it was only a bad dream, then I could wake up. Unfortunately, I feel that I fallen through the looking glass. I worry about our Humpty Dumpty Trump and what happens to our country.
“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’ ’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.”
Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass.
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It’s a real nightmare.
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Evelyn, I too have been thinking of how many of the logical somersaults in Alice in Wonderland are apt for the Trumpster and his champions.
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@ GregB, Yes, we are living a “real nightmare.” I hope it ends soon!!
@Laura, I’m hoping the ending for Humpty Dumpty Trumpty is similar to the children’s rhyme…..
Humpty Dumpty Trumpty sat on the wall
Humpty Dumpty Trumpty had a great fall
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Trumpty together again”
― Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (with some updates by me)
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After today’s intelligence release and Trumps asinine reaction I have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Never felt this way in my 62 years. There is a coup underway, sponsored by Putin, and now the media is distracted by the Ft. Lauderdale tragedy.
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Hillary jeopardizing National security didn’t sicken you. If she took proper precautions no one would have had access to her emails-think about that one.
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Hillary didn’t jeopardize national security. None of her emails did.
Trump is a fool and a traitor. He asked Putin to hack Hillary. What did he know and when did he know it?
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Veronica, that’s a comment from a troll. Hillary did not jeopardize national security. Trump is Putin’s puppet. The GOP’s zeal for power has blinded many of them. Let’s hope the the adults of the GOP take back control from their alt- right (nah, I just call them Nazi) wing.
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As long as she re-introduces Civics and U.S. History she will at least be headed in a good direction. The students graduating and entering college are clueless about our REPUBLIC. Being uninformed makes you easy to control…so there goes future independence.
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Linda G,
Yes, that’s how a fool like Teump got elected. By ignorant gullible people who believed his lies. Guess what?he is not going to build that wall, and Mexico is not going to pay for it. He lied.
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How about the fact that she violated U.S. LAWS through her careless disregard of government property and the fact she was convincing her financial and governmental activities. Any first year business major knows better than that for legal and ethical reasons.
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Linda Giffin,
How do you like having an egomaniacal fraud as your president, hired by Putin?
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Linda,
Do you want him to grab you by the p—y?
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Linda, a) “as long as she re-introduces Civics and US History…”: FYI, the Sec of Ed does not rule by fiat nor does she/he determine what courses will be taught. If DeVos could, I’m sure the curriculum would include things like the truth of McCarthyism, how the Founders and Framers intended for the US to be a theocracy, and slaves had it so good under their benevolent patrons. b) “…being uninformed makes you easy to control…” is a delicious irony you seem not to comprehend, and c) I find it interesting how you are outraged by the supposed crimes of one candidate and not of the other…I know, I know, he hasn’t been convicted, just paid out millions in fines without admitting guilt, used legal bankruptcy laws to enrich himself while bankrupting other, misused eminent domain laws to kick people out of their homes, and is shameless about how he and his family will make money while he is in public office. I’ll leave you alone after this message. You are far too easy a target to hit.
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Thanks, Greg. I am so outraged by what lies ahead that I can’t contain my disgust. The attacks on science and knowledge will be unleashed.
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Veronica,
H Clinton’s term as Secretary of State ended 4 years ago. What specific events were caused by her use of server during her term or since?
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DeVos is all in for standardized testing, which is one of the main reasons that civics and history education are being shortchanged, since schools now focus only on math and English, which are the only subjects tested. What makes you think she would require civics education?
PS Utah now requires that students pass the U.S. Citizenship test in order to graduate. Doesn’t seem to have helped people understand our government any better.
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Veronica and Linda Giffin are mis-using English words like “disenfranchised” and making claims of having witnessed the Watergate hearings and taking note of a 22 year old Hillary Rodham’s faux “crimes” back then.
No doubt they are both Russian-paid trolls. The GOOD news is that Putin is obviously very, very worried if he is still paying endless trolls to post these things to try to shut down any Trump investigation.
These trolls would be out of work if Putin wasn’t worried.
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It isn’t over until it’s over, and Littlefingers Donald Trump is not the only person with alleged power and wealth in the United States and the world.
For instance, Littlefingers has attacked and belittled 17 US intelligence agencies and it looks like he plans to destroy their ability to do their job to protect the country too. How many black ops teams and/or assassins do these agents have tucked away out of sight?
Will all of the other powerful people in the U.S. (and they all are not billionaires) sit and do nothing if it is obvious that what Littlefingers is doing will destroy the country and their positions; putting that status, lifestyles and very lives at risk?
https://books.google.com/books?id=Zr58XN0uEEQC&pg=PA128&lpg=PA128&dq=how+many+black+ops+teams+and+assassines+does+the+US+have&source=bl&ots=Xjfo3fERhl&sig=lwQQ_gF9x7OXEOoDMw1Fli7JjRs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi-oo6K1q7RAhVB4mMKHYh-AA8Q6AEIRTAH#v=onepage&q=how%20many%20black%20ops%20teams%20and%20assassines%20does%20the%20US%20have&f=false
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Doubtful Llyod,
I suspect we are in for the worst. . For every Schindler there were a dozen industrialists to work with Hitler.
The repeal of the Estate tax alone will have them ecstatic.
The answer must be in the streets demanding congress act. Millions in the streets will shake the power elite to pressure their fools in congress.
They must be reminded that even the Soviet Union fell .
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Before enough people will be willing to risk it all and take to the streets, the overall suffering must be much worse and affect a lot more people. Too many Americans are oblivious. They have their comfort food, their shelter, their TV, their texting, their video games, their scripted reality TV, and they don’t have time to bother to think.
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You are delusional. The American public was not influenced. At 2 weeks before the election Hillary’s parade of lying women were seen for just that. The public who were voting for Trump wouldn’t trust Hillary given her negligence with her emails as well as her stupidity thinking a Christian cult was responsible for Benghazi rather than terrorists. California and NYC still voted for Hillary. The leaks did nothing to change minds.
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I admit that I can not currently offer conclusive proof that this election was swung by Putin’s meddling.
You, also, can not offer conclusive proof that the results of this election were not changed by Putin’s meddling.
Trump won the electoral college by 80,000 votes in three key battleground states, that’s it. You are “delusional” if you think that it was impossible for 80,000 people in 3 battleground states to not be influenced by the Russian Propaganda.
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FBI James Comey’s bombshell ten days before the election had a significant impact on voting poll. FBI knew that her e-mails had nothing to do with Anthony Weiner’s stupid sexting scandal well in advance. Nothing is more delusional than buying into fake news, Breitbart, Alex Jones phony Infowar BS, and Trump’s unfounded twitter drooling, days in and days out.
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Really, Veronica?
Hacked e-mails that the FBI says didn’t reveal anything serious enough to take to court, an FBI led by a known conservative who obviously leaked news of the investigation to influence the vote. Investigations by the police and FBI are kept confidential until there is enough evidence to go to court. If not, there is never a press conference.
versus the 150 bankruptcies Littlefingers Donald Trump’s has been involved in, his connection to mob figures and crime families going back about fifty years, a history of racism, thousands of court cases, defying judges in many of those cases, many workers not paid for their labor, groping many women over a period of years and having affairs while still married to one or more of his wives, losing billions in business failures but profiting as an individual off each failure until US banks and even European banks won’t loan money to Littlefingers anymore (where is he getting his loans now, Russia maybe, and is that the reason he will not release his financial records?), endless lies, bully tactics, and help from Russia to win the election.
Did I leave anything out, the facts that he is a micro-manager, a psycho and a super narcissist who never admits he’s wrong?
And Hillary won more than California and New York. Voters in every state voted for her. That’s why she had 65,844,954 votes to his 62,979,879.
California only represented 13.29 percent of the total number of voters across Amreica who voted for Hillary.
The false meme that only votes from a couple of states gave the popular vote to Hillary is pure crap for easy to fool people who want to believe misleading lies because those lies support their bias; and their hate for her. Hillary won 19 states and Littlefingers won many states by small margins. And what about GOP dominated states were minority voters were suppressed so it was difficult for them to vote?
One truth Littlefingers did sabre was the fact that the election was rigged, by the GOP in some states.
Click the links and learn the details.
http://www.dailyrepublic.com/opinion/localopinioncolumnists/voter-suppression-tactics-in-action/
https://books.google.com/books?id=Zr58XN0uEEQC&pg=PA128&lpg=PA128&dq=how+many+black+ops+teams+and+assassines+does+the+US+have&source=bl&ots=Xjfo3fERhl&sig=lwQQ_gF9x7OXEOoDMw1Fli7JjRs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi-oo6K1q7RAhVB4mMKHYh-AA8Q6AEIRTAH#v=onepage&q=how%20many%20black%20ops%20teams%20and%20assassines%20does%20the%20US%20have&f=false
http://www.pfaw.org/media-center/publications/new-face-jim-crow-voter-suppression-america
How about comparing the lies of Littlefingers and Hillary – who lied the most?
Hillary 72 percent true
7 percent Pants on Fire
Littlefingers 15 percent true
62 percent Pants on Fire
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/lists/people/comparing-hillary-clinton-donald-trump-truth-o-met/
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Veronica
“as well as her stupidity thinking a Christian cult was responsible for Benghazi rather than terrorists.” When i see a remark like that the only thing I can think of is see a Doctor .
Source your remark please . We need a good laugh.
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Upon reflection, I tend to agree with Diane that Veronica is likely a Russian Trump troll. Read her 3rd and 4th sentences out loud. They are either written by someone who is a non-native speaker/writer or one who has a tenuous grasp of the English language and logic.
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If this were a movie, I can just see the ending now:
You know how some authors like anagrams, like that scene in Harry Potter, when the letters in Tom Riddle’s name are rearranged to say “I am Voldemort.”
You could have the same thing in the movie about Trump. At the climax, when Trump is finally unmasked as a Russian puppet, the letters in “President Trump” could be rearranged to say “Mr. Putin’s Red Pet.”
(I wish I had thought this up, but there’s a meme going around that has the anagram).
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Thanks Ash, love that
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The notion that we should get back to focusing on education is fantasy based. Politics and education are inextricably intertwined. When DeVos is confirmed as Secretary of Education, we will witness the arrival of God’s Kingdom on Earth, or so we are told. Separation of church and state will be nullified to permit our tax dollars to fund the teaching of Creationism and Intelligent Design. Climate Change will be verified as a Chinese hoax. We concentrate only on education at our own peril.
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I read the story published at Vice. I haven’t read the original report, but if it contains evidence why wasn’t that quoted in the story? Instead all we got was the usual litany of reasons why Putin would prefer that a neocon warhawk not be President of the U.S., which was my reason for being reluctant to vote for Hillary back while the primaries were still going on. I really don’t understand what has happened to people’s critical thinking. We have lots of reasons for thinking that Putin would like to affect the election to prevent Hillary’s winning. We have some evidence that people who left clues that they are Russian intruded into many computers in America. We have some evidence that strongly suggest these are not “script kiddies,” and probably are not ordinary criminals. We have lots of evidence that the MSM are going crazy with this story and making a lot of money from spreading false reports. If you have some evidence that you think shows this “interference” really had a significant influence on the outcome of the election, let’s see it. At this point I say the decisive factors were (a) Comey’s two letters to Congress, which artfully implied that he had new evidence Clinton was guilty of something, (b) the daily reports in the MSM, especially the NYT and WaPo, about the latest phony scandal about Hillary’s email server, and (c) Clinton’s failure to engage with un-prosperous people in the Middle West.
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Acharn,
Wake up. The intelligence agencies just released a comprehensive report saying that Putin ordered the hack of the DNC emails and Podesta’s emails and gave the stolen emails to Wikileaks. The Russians planted fake news. The Russians hired trolls for blogs. This is about Putin taking down the world’s leading liberal democracy and putting an ignorant fool in charge who would be his puppet.
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OK, I’ll try to be brief. “The intelligence agencies” include at least 13 which should have no knowledge whatsoever about the matter. The only agency which has comprehensive expertise in computer forensics is the NSA, and they have not, so far as we know, examined the DNC computers. The “comprehensive” report they issued is full of irrelevancies and false associations. Both the NSA and the CIA are forbidden by law from conducting operations (e.g., undertaking investigations) in the U.S. The only agency permitted by law to investigate espionage in the U.S. is the FBI, and I find Comey’s behavior bizarre rather than confidence inspiring. They have not even examined the DNC computers, and I am becoming convinced there never was a hack.
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The intelligence agencies are not going to release enough information to convince someone who does not want to be convinced. I find it laughable that people actually think that they would jeopardize their sources in order to satisfy the general public. Who would ever share information with us if they knew that we would immediately compromise them so we could convince every Tom, Dick, and Harry that just maybe our intelligence agencies know what they are doing? You and I don’t have to know; we don’t have to make diplomatic decisions based on the analysis.
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Well, this is the Received Wisdom the establishment is going to defend, so it probably isn’t worth while to point out that they have been releasing information which allows many people to find flaws in it. Where have all the professionals gone? The Grizzly Steppe report was embarrassing in its amateurishness.
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This Russian hacking story is a big diversion from the failure of the Democrats to deal with the situation of the majority of people. Corporate education reform is just one their failures. The majority of people voted “none of the above.”
46;9% didn’t vote
25.6% voted for Clinton
25.5% voted for Trump
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Ken,
I disagree.
The hacking of our national election is one of the most shocking stories of the past 50 years.
This is not about Bernie or Huklary or the future of the Democratic Party.
This is about a stolen election, manipulation of the media, and an illegitimate president.
He will proceed to destroy public health, public education, environmental proyrction, federal research, etc.
And he was selected by Putin to cripple our nation.
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The hacking was designed to get people so certain that Hillary was corrupt that they couldn’t be bothered to vote.
It was all of a piece with the FBI innuendoes of corruption (because they couldn’t find proof) and the 15 or 1,000 Benghazi investigations.
The hacking didn’t tell the American people anything but nasty things about the Clinton campaign. If the purpose of hacking was transparency, then ALL would have been transparent — not a drip drip of a few out of context e-mails designed to make Hillary look bad.
Why isn’t the story the failure of the Republicans to deal with the situation of the majority of the people?
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Diane, I truly wish it was a bad dream and that I’d wake up in a cold sweat. As a child during the Cold War, I distinctly remember my dad telling me that Russia would take over the United States from within, not by a military operation. Damn, if he wasn’t right. He died in 1985, so he hasn’t lived through this nightmare. Though a Goldwater Republican, I know he would not have supported Trump, and I’m sure that he is shaking his head over the things that have happened in the last 3 months!
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Apparently that report did everything but provide evidence of the acts they claim happened. Coming from the team that missed the Cuban Missile Crisis, messed up the Bay of Pigs action, didn’t predict the fall of the Berlin Wall or the Fall of the Soviet Union, or 9-11, or any other major current event that deeply affected this country, I don’t have a lot of faith in a document that says, in effect, “They did it, trust us.”
Are they not technically competent to show people how they know what they know? Apparently not. Our intelligence agencies have become politicized and corrupted and captured by political interests. They are not at all trustworthy. Maybe if they started fessing up the truth on occasion we might learn to trust them.
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Steve,
Since the intelligent agencies don’t brag about their successes to protect their methods, field agents, and sources, then I will give them credit for all the years without 9/11s taking place in the US.
Has the U.S. had another 9/11 yet, and how many years has that been?
In fact, many more American citizens have died at the hands of home grown terrorists, mostly extremist conservatives, not affiliated with Islamic terrorists.
Homegrown Extremists Tied to Deadlier Toll Than Jihadists in U.S. Since 9/11
Alleging that the 17 U.S. intelligence agencies are failures is like saying the Great Wall of China was a failure because in more than 2,200 years, it failed twice. Once when Genghis and Kublai Khan invaded China with the unified Mongolians that held China for about one century, and 2nd when the Manchurians were invited to help defend the Ming dynasty from a rebellion in the 17th century led by one of the dynasty’s own generals, and the Machus decided, once they were allowed through the wall, to break their oath and just take it all.
But the Wall didn’t fail for the other almost 2,000 years the Han Chiense ruled China instead of a ruthless conquering minority.
Let’s take a closer took at claims of WMDs in Iraq and see if the CIA was totally to blame and no one else.
“The short answer is that both played a role. There were serious problems in the intelligence, some of which were relegated to dissenting footnotes. But the Bush administration also chose to highlight aspects of the intelligence that helped make the administration’s case, while playing down others.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/12/13/the-pre-war-intelligence-on-iraq-wrong-or-hyped-by-the-bush-white-house/?utm_term=.8e37fda06cb6
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Steve,
Why don’t we just disband the CIA, the NSA and all other government intelligence agencies? We could let the KGB provide us with all the information we need.
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I have a suspicion that there are a few events that didn’t happen because of what our intelligence agencies discovered. I also doubt that they are likely to announce their successes in the press for the same reasons they are not giving out the details that led them to the current report. I’m all for healthy skepticism but when you choose to distrust the combined information from multiple intelligence agencies, I wonder why.
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I agree with you completely, Steve Ruis. I am learning (with evidence you have mentioned) not to be comfortable with sitting back and saying, “I trust you” to our government OR our media.
Diane, I’ll hope, along with doing many other things, that this is not just a bad dream, but a total illusion purposeful for a future life.
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http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2017/01/08/been-hacking-elections-for-more-than-century/okjziXPQDiegx53ABtpUOO/story.html?s_campaign=bostonglobe%3Asocialflow%3Atwitter
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