This post from the Daily Kos includes links to two segments of The Rachel Maddow Show.
Maddow says that Russia hacked our presidential election and helped elect Trump.
” Earlier this month they broke a breathtaking story. In December, one of the high ranking official in the Russian security service, in the cyber security department was attending a routine staff meeting when several armed police officers, burst in, threw a hood over his head, and dragged him from the room. That is the last anyone has seen of him, and the State charged him with treason. They then broke the story that another high ranking intelligence official, this time in counter intelligence had been fired. There was sketchy information as to whether or not the official had also been imprisoned and charged.
“Rachel’s point was simple and concise. Russia has denied involvement all along. OK, fine. That’s your story, and you’re sticking with it. But, if you’re innocent, then as a nation, you don’t need to do anything, there is no fire there, you didn’t do anything, and nobody can prove a negative. But when you have police storm into a routine meeting, bag and wrestle out a senior cyber official, and then cashier a senior counter intelligence official in charge of making sure nobody blabs, you have just waved a giant red flag. It means that Putin has looked at the information in the “dossier” that the ex MI6 intelligence officer compiled on information compromising Trump, and has looked at the information in at least the public release of the combined intelligence assessment of Russian interference in the election, and he has realized that there is actually fire behind that smoke. And Putin is taking aggressive steps to stamp out that fire so that it doesn’t occur again.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Rachel’s point was simple and concise. Russia has denied involvement all along. OK, fine. That’s your story, and you’re sticking with it. But, if you’re innocent, then as a nation, you don’t need to do anything, there is no fire there, you didn’t do anything, and nobody can prove a negative. But when you have police storm into a routine meeting, bag and wrestle out a senior cyber official, and then cashier a senior counter intelligence official in charge of making sure nobody blabs, you have just waved a giant red flag.”
These are suppositions. Not evidence. No smoking gun. Assumptions. Guesses. Factoids.
Assumed facts not in evidence. In other words, useless.
And yes, I would say the same things if this was something about Clinton or Sanders.
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Ratings, clickbait, and desperate attempts to salvage a sinking news show.
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Does Rachel Maddow Want Russia Bombed? | Dissident Voice
As much as I despise Trump, the “intelligence” agencies have STILL not presented EVIDENCE that Russia was behind the leaks of Clinton’s and Podesta’s emails. Those leaked [NOT “HACKED”] emails revealed how the despicable DNC and Clinton campaign sabotaged Bernie Sanders’ campaign and cheated him out of the nomination.
Remember, these were the same U.S. “intelligence” agencies which lied about Iraq’s WMD’s in 2002-2003 so Bush/Cheney could wage an illegal war of aggression.
And, despite the misleading corporate media, the election was NOT “hacked” for the simple reason that no voting machines were connected to the Internet, so they could not be hacked.
Former U.K. ambassador Craig Murray says the persons who leaked the emails to Wikileaks were insiders, not anyone with Russian links:
“The former intelligence analyst, British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, and chancellor of the University of Dundee (Craig Murray) revealed earlier this week that the Podesta leak and the DNC leak were leaked by two different insiders, that both of the leakers were Americans with no ties to Russia, and that one was from the American intelligence services.” (http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2016/12/source-providing-democratic-emails-wikileaks-revealed.html)
The neocons and Deep State want regime change in Russia so the U.S. can again have its stooge in power, as before with Boris Yeltsin, to control Russia’s enormous fossil fuel and mineral resources and further pressure China.
That is an extremely foolish, reckless goal considering Russia’s more than 7,000 nuclear warheads.
U.S. corporate media are little more than mouthpieces for the murderous U.S. Empire and will promote any and all U.S. wars and military action, because of their financial ties to the Military-Industrial-Congressional-Intelligence Complex. The CIA long ago infiltrated and has manipulated U.S. corporate media (“Operation Mockingbird”) to advance the U.S. imperial agenda:
US Govt Just Legalized Operation Mockingbird — FBI Can Now Impersonate the Media
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/fbi-impersonate-media-mockingbird/
The U.S. corporate/Wall Street-controlled government, BOTH corporate/Wall Street-controlled major political parties, and corporate media have done, and will continue to do, whatever they see necessary to advance the U.S. imperial agenda, regardless of the costs in lives and to the earth.
Once you begin to acknowledge that fact of history, everything becomes much clearer.
There are MANY, MANY reasons to consider Trump illegitimate as “president”, but being a “Russian agent” is NOT one of them.
This “Russian hacking” hysteria is McCarthyism 2.0 and distracts from both the real failures of the DNC as well as serious problems we must focus on, such as nuclear weapons, climate change, the tar sands pipelines, the restrictions on immigrants’ and Muslims’ rights, and the stupid wall Trump still intends to build.
See these:
The Deep State v. Trump
http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/01/25/the-deep-state-v-trump/
Russia’s Leery Reaction to President Trump – Consortiumnews
https://consortiumnews.com/2017/01/24/russias-leery-reaction-to-president-trump/
Seymour Hersh Blasts Media for Uncritically Promoting Russian Hacking Story
Exclusive: Top U.S. spy agency has not embraced CIA assessment on Russia hacking – sources | Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-intelligence-idUSKBN14204E
US Intel Vets Dispute Russia Hacking Claims – Consortiumnews
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/12/12/us-intel-vets-dispute-russia-hacking-claims/
Questions for the Electors on Russian Hacking
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/14/questions-for-the-electors-on-russian-hacking/
Article: Congressional Cybersecurity Leader Demolishes Obama’s Hacking Case Against Russia | OpEdNews
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Congressional-Cybersecurit-by-William-Dunkerley-Dnc-Emails_Media-Fake-News_Putin_Russia-And-Us-Conflict-161218-984.html
Revealed: Who Gave Democratic Emails to Wikileaks
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2016/12/source-providing-democratic-emails-wikileaks-revealed.html
WikiLeaks Figure Says ‘Disgusted’ Democrat Leaked Clinton Campaign Emails: : Information Clearing House – ICH
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/46060.htm
Article: Ah, So Putin Didn’t Hack Those Emails After All | OpEdNews
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Ah-So-Putin-Didn-t-Hack-T-by-Mike-Whitney-Corruption_Hack-Attack_Putin_Wikileaks-161217-880.html
Article: Premeditated domestic crisis instigated by the CIA | OpEdNews
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Premeditated-domestic-cris-by-Dave-Lefcourt-CIA_CIA-Interference_Crisis-161217-175.html
The Pre-emptive Anti-Trump Coup – Consortiumnews
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/12/17/the-pre-emptive-anti-trump-coup/
A Spy Coup in America? – Consortiumnews
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/12/18/a-spy-coup-in-america/
Whistleblower John Kiriakou Critiques the CIA’s Behavior Following the 2016 U.S. Election – Truthdig
http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/cia_whistleblower_john_kiriakou_critiques_the_cias_20161216
The Russian Bear Uses a Keyboard – Craig Murray
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2016/12/russian-bear-uses-keyboard/#respond
Here’s the Public Evidence Russia Hacked the DNC — It’s Not Enough
The Russians Are Coming – The Unz Review
http://www.unz.com/imercer/the-russians-are-coming/
The Cold War, Continued: Post-Election Russophobia
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/16/the-cold-war-continued-post-election-russophobia/
The Democratic Party Allies with the CIA
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/15/the-democratic-party-allies-with-the-cia/
“The Russians are Coming!”: Where Is This ‘Digital Watergate’ Propaganda Campaign Going? – The Greanville Post
http://www.greanvillepost.com/2016/12/16/the-russians-are-coming-where-is-this-digital-watergate-propaganda-campaign-going/
Lack of Evidence Doesn’t Deter Washington Post’s Russia Smears
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/15/lack-of-evidence-doesnt-deter-washington-posts-russia-smears/
Why Are the Media Taking the CIA’s Hacking Claims at Face Value? | The Nation
https://www.thenation.com/article/why-are-the-media-taking-the-cias-hacking-claims-at-face-value/
Truthdig – Russia Expert Stephen Cohen: New York Times Stokes a New McCarthyism Against Critics of U.S. Policy
http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/stephen_cohen_the_new_york_times_is_enabling_a_new_20161215
The CIA, Russia And The Hacking Of The 2016 Election : Information Clearing House – ICH
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/46038.htm
http://www.greanvillepost.com/2016/12/14/luke-rudkowski-breaks-down-the-lies-most-vile-emanating-from-the-cia-about-russian-hackers-electing-president-donald-trump/
Despite Being Taken as Fact, ‘Case Against Russia’ Rests on Insufficient Proof | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/14/despite-being-taken-fact-case-against-russia-rests-insufficient-proof
http://www.greanvillepost.com/2016/12/13/the-fake-campaign-to-blame-the-russians/
Hypocrisy Behind the Russian-Election Frenzy – Consortiumnews
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/12/13/hypocrisy-behind-the-russian-election-frenzy/
Hypocrisy of Russia-Did-It Stories Is Hard to Stomach
http://us10.campaign-archive2.com/?u=8c573daa3ad72f4a095505b58&id=a00fde2cd2&e=558e3b714e
How America Disgraces Itself – Consortiumnews
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/12/13/how-america-disgraces-itself/
Making Russia ‘The Enemy’ – Consortiumnews
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/12/15/making-russia-the-enemy/
Politicized Intelligence Kneecapping Trump – Consortiumnews
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/12/16/politicized-intelligence-kneecapping-trump/
Historical & Structural Reasons for Skepticism of CIA Claims: Remaining Agnostic on Claims of Russian Hackers
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/12/historical-structural-reasons-for-skepticism-of-cia-claims-remaining-agnostic-on-claims-of-russian-hackers/
How The US Fixed The Russian Election For Yeltsin – PaulCraigRoberts.org
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2016/12/18/how-the-us-fixed-the-russian-election-for-yeltsin/
oftwominds-Charles Hugh Smith: Is the Deep State at War–With Itself?
http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.rs/2016/12/is-deep-state-at-war-with-itself.html
Bigger Than Watergate? Legitimate Concerns That Anti-Clinton Faction Within FBI May Have Conspired To Hand Election To Trump |
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bigger-than-watergate-concerns-grow-that-anti-clinton_us_5850bb12e4b0b662c2fddebc
The CIA Never Ever Lies
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/12/the-cia-never-ever-lies/
Stop the CIA Coup : Information Clearing House – ICH
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/46019.htm
Obama Must Declassify Evidence of Russian Hacking
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/40823-obama-must-declassify-evidence-of-russian-hacking
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Ed,
Don’t worry about bombing Russia. Trump loves Russia.
Worry about him breaking up the EU and NATO. Worry about him giving Putin the green light to reconquer Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Then the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Then Poland and Hungary. We will be sad. But we won’t stand in Putin’s way.
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The EU is bussy enough breaking up, please and thank you, without needing any help from trump. Si don’t blame him for that job.
As far as nato is concerned, it does need some work. Newer members don’t make enough of either a financial or material contribution. One thing, however, trump does not seem tonubdestand that because of the drawdowns, the US makes a bigger financial contribution than manpower.
Whereas there used to be a large number of military personel stationed throughout western europe, those wree mostly pulled out.
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Rudy,
Breitbart is setting up branch offices in France and Germany to help break up the EU
Thank Bannon, now a member of the National Security Council, privy to our nation’s secrets
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Bannon and Trump now have anointed Russia as our ally in fighting Islam. I put Bannon first for now we see he is indeed Trump’s brain. Even Jared was not in the inner circle phone call meeting with Putin. Bannon rules the US…heaven help us.
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McCarthy 2.0: a demagogue becomes president. Trump is a dangerous demagogue, he’s the president. McCarthy was a huge liar, made up his own facts and used that as a weapon to terrorize his opponents. Sounds like Trump/Bannon to me.
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So I checked populism. Kind of interesting. The definition applies to Sanders, too. And Clinton.
“a member or adherent of a political party seeking to represent the interests of ordinary people.”
“Populism is a political style of action that mobilizes a large alienated element of a population against a government which is seen as controlled by an out-of-touch closed elite that acts on behalf of its own interests. The underlying ideology of Populists can be left, right, or middle”
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Since Trump is part of the elite, he is not a populist but a fake populist
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And Clinton?
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Clinton did not pretend to be a populist unlike the fake with the gold toilet seat
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In the past few weeks, Maddow has done some of the most incisive reporting on Russia. Today we see the outcome of her insights.
Trump, as of yesterday, has formally declared Russia to be our ally in fighting Islam/ISIS. And he will indeed follow the economic urging of his OIL BARON Sect. of State and Putin’s great friend, Tillerson, and lift sanctions. Putin will, without mercy, foster an insurgence in the Baltic nations and soon will have most of Eastern Europe in his grip as Greater Russia, with Crimea, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and ‘tomorrow the world’….much as is the goal of Radical Islam to be a second Ottoman Empire.
So where does that leave the US? Will we be a second hand nation in support of either foreign goal? Will we send all our young people to be cannon fodder in a war to protect Exxon and Oil profiteering? We will be decimated by Russian nukes? We are at the brink of WW3. Maddow gets it.
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What is a supposition? Making educated inferences from Russian news reports seems reasonable. I seriously doubt Putin will ever have a news conference detailing the Russian role in the election even if he is caught red handed. Whether you buy it all or not, Rudy, you cannot ignore the information from intelligence agencies, agents as well as the Russian media because it all doesn’t come with video confirmation, which of course could be doctored. Come to think of it, you might have a way to end most armed conflicts if no one will act unless they have absolute, irrefutable proof of what the other guy is doing. Do I need proof that the driver weaving down the road toward me may hit me before I don’t take some evasive action? Of course, no one is going to take action on the basis of Rachel Maddow’s analysis, but I sure hope that they are not dismissing it because she doesn’t have signed statements from Putin.
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What maddow describes is something that has been happening in Russia since 1917. To speculate that it MIGHT have something to do with current events is just that: speculation.
The level of CERTAINTY attached to the post is more than is evidenced. Even the intelligence agencies did not give it more than “highly likely.”
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‘Even the intelligence agencies did not give it more than “highly likely.” ‘
What comes after “highly likely”? On a Likert scale, I’m guessing that “highly likely” is way to the “You can take it to the bank” side.
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I hope you are not involved with the judicial system or the medical world – or the mechanical either.
When I have my brakes on the car fixed, I sure hope I get a more than “highly likely” that they work.
I hope that when a court convicts someone, they go on a more than “highly likely.”
“Highly likely” us exactly that. No more, no less.
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The judicial and medical systems very often operate on a “highly likely” system. To get a doctor to say a certain outcome for many conditions is “highly likely” is a very good sign that s/he has confidence in their diagnosis. A jury finds someone innocent when the prosecution cannot prove guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.” In other words, it is highly likely that a defendant did not commit the illegal act (or at least that the defendant was very good at covering his/her tracks). Come to think of it, my mechanic operates on the same principal as well. He will look at whatever data he has and report that such and such is probably wrong. Yeah, sometimes it is obvious, but more often than not, professional judgement plays a huge role in the diagnosis of the problem. So when any professional providing me some service says that such and such an outcome is “highly likely,” I am “likely” to accept their advice. Yes, I might ask for more info or seek it out myself, but I don’t dismiss it. Apparently, you would dismiss it?
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I would not dismiss out if hand – but would not ascribe the certainty to it as done in this blog.
As far as your mechanic is concerned: I did not question the possible diagnosis, nor the medical or judicial. I questioned the solution applied.
We sue people whose “highly likely” solution was wrong.
Your brakes should not be highly likely work, they should work.
My bypasses should not “highly likely” solve my blockages.
My death penalty should not be based on an “highly likely” scenario. In that case, there’s a different verdict.
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Well, maybe one day soon, Putin will call a news conference and confess that he elected Trump. But I doubt it.
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Do you think Russia told Donna Brazile to share debate questions with team Clinton?
The “hacks” (evidence points to it actually being leaks from insiders) would have been inconsequential if they didn’t reveal damaging information.
Focusing on speculation on who obtained/released the info is a mistake, and a recipe for widespread Democratic losses in 2018 and 2020. Time to face the truth of what was revealed by the leaked info: the DNC is a corrupt organization that represents the donor class, not teachers or other working-class Americans.
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The hacks didn’t reveal damaging information.
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It says a lot about you that you don’t think the revelation that Donna Brazile fed debate questions in advance to Hillary and not to Bernie is damaging information. To anyone concerned about election integrity (which you seem to be when Hillary and her supporters are not the guilty party), it most certainly is.
And here are some other things the emails revealed: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/24/here-are-the-latest-most-damaging-things-in-the-dncs-leaked-emails/?utm_term=.3bc66914d8da
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Ah, Hillary. So much more dangerous than Trump.
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If you don’t think the “hacks” revealed damaging information, then why are you still beating the Russia conspiracy drum on this issue?
Logic says either the info was damaging and the leaks were a problem, or the info was not damaging and the leaks were inconsequential.
If the emails revealed “DNC is a fair party of the people, ignores donors” it would have helped Clinton, right?
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Concerned citizen,
It is outrageous that Putin rigged our election. You ain’t much of a citizen if you don’t get it.
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But he did not.
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“Hillary. So much more dangerous than Trump”
Hillary was a dangerous nominee for the Democrats. She has been a polarizing political figure for 30 years. She has been on the wrong side of bedrock Dem/leftist issues time and time again, including NAFTA, the Iraq War, gay marriage, charter schools, war in Libya, Venezuelan coup, deportation of immigrant children. She and Bill took >$120 million in speaking fees from banks, corporations, and others with business before the federal government. They took hundreds of millions more in donations to the Clinton Foundation, including from foreign governments.
Dem leaders / team Hillary / Chuck Schumer said it didn’t matter if the Dem base in cities like Milwaukee didn’t vote for Hillary over NAFTA etc, educated suburban Republican women would vote for her in droves.
Team Hillary thought Trump was a “Peter Pan” candidate and pushed for him to win the Republican nomination, thinking he’s be easier to beat than Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio.
Don’t blame Russia for Trump. Blame the people who pushed Hillary to be the Dem nominee (wealthy donors, DNC officials like Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Donna Brazile, etc.) Blame Hillary’s strategists who thought Wisconsin was a slam dunk and moved focus to states like Arizona. Blame Hillary for failing to excite or energize voters. Trump got about the same number of votes as Mitt Romney. Trump didn’t win the election, Russia didn’t spoil the election. Hillary lost.
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As our president would say, sad. You really don’t know anything about her, and you prefer Trump. Sad.
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Diane, even if I accept your claim that “Putin hacked the election” (there is no evidence for this), how could the emails have damaged Hillary if there was no damaging info therein?
You are arguing a logical fallacy: “the info in the DNC/Podesta emails were unfairly revealed, it turned off voters and swung the election for Trump!” AND “There was nothing bad revealed in those emails, the DNC is fair and wonderful!” Both statements cannot be true.
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No one read the emails. What the public heard every day was that there was another leak from havked emails, and another, and another.
Nothing in the leaked emails compared to Trump saying that he liked to grab women by their genitals, to Trump paying a $25 million fine for defrauding people who paid for the phony Trump U, to Trump assailing a judge because his parents were born in Mexico, to revelations that he stiffed contractors, to revelations he hired illegals to build Trum Tower…..every day another assault on another group. Whatever happened to Trump’S threat to sue the 10 women who said he groped them?
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If no one read the emails, than how could they have damaged Clinton?
How would anyone be able to talk about the content?
I spent some time to do some selective reading. They are still available out there.
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The daily news reports of leaked emails–with no reference to their content–implied wrongdoing. Trump said he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton and lock her up.
Meanwhile he still uses an unsecured Android that every spy can listen to.
Irony?
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Rudy, where is the special prosecutor?
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To prosecute what? Who? Why?
Whether the emails were leaked or hacked? If they were leaked, that would be interesting. Having accused the Russians – who would apologize first?
The press? You?
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The Democratic Party hasn’t earned the right to silence its critics:
https://newrepublic.com/article/140070/case-unity
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It is so self defeating to only look backward and bring up Hillary yet again. And to only care about DeVos. We are at the brink of WW 3 and silly comments continue here. We must unite and resist Bannon/Trump or all is lost. Bannon WON his war with Jared Kushner for who has Trump’s ear, and bow Bannon is firmly Trump’s BRAIN. This is the real issue we must confront.
There are so many outstanding writer’s in the consortium…but instead of the redundant palaver on DeVos, all should be informing the public about the phenomenal danger we are in with Bannon as head of NSA and a crazed Trump signing away our democracy.
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Ellen,
We can take on only one fight at a time. Ours is the future of American education.
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But Diane, you have been telling us that what is happening with the Trump administration affects education no matter what issue we are discussing. Immigration policy comes to mind right off. While I am not ready to “move on” from DeVos, no one is going to convince anyone of anything by continually rehashing the perceived character flaws of Hillary. For whatever reason, she was not the candidate to inspire party unity. It is too bad that Bernie had not fought for his positions from inside the Democratic party, but I don’t think he ever planned to run for the presidency, so he had/did not made any decisions based on making himself more electable as president. He needed a party behind his candidacy; however much I dislike the direction the Democratic party has taken, I can’t blame them for not embracing an outsider (Bernie). Can’t we just move past the recriminations and start working toward the reforms we want both in the party, policy, and governance?
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I am all for moving on. It is awful late in the day to bash Hillary. Trump is in the White House.
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And it’s awful late to m & b about that. It’s a fact. He’s in. Like it or not, he got there through due process.
Lets work to curtail his power in 2018 b
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Rudy,
Never in my life have I said this, but I say it now: He is not my president. He may be yours, but he is not mine. As his illegal and unconstitutional actions add up, I will say it again. He is not my president.
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Same goes for me Diane…Drumpf is never going to be my president…and his election is now proven to be illegitimate.
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Ellen, there will be more. Every investigative reporter is on it.
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