Trump was elected by Vladimir Putin, with the unwitting aid of Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook.
Trump is an illegitimate president.
His appointments to the US Supreme Court and other federal courts should be nullified.
Unfortunately there is no provision in the US Constitution to recall and replace an illegitimate president.
Ideas?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
We are old enough to remember when us Dems were the pinko commies and the Rs hated Russia and loved the rule of law. Back in the USSA
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I remember. I remember when the NRA said we all meedguns to protect us against the Red Menace. Then the Russians gave them a free trip to Moscow, and the NRA became a conduit for Russian money to the Trump campaign.
The right used to say, “Better dead than Red.”
Now they say,”Better Red than Democrat.”
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The Russians can have my gun when they pry it from my cold dead fingers /s
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Not a Trump fan, but I disagree that Putin/Facebook elected him. The 2016 Democratic candidate, unfortunately, ran an uninspired campaign and smugly took voters in key battleground states for granted. Elections have consequences, and I am hopeful that the 2020 Democratic nominee battles for every vote and runs a campaign that will energize the voters.
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The facts are otherwise. There are major reports about independent investigations on the Russian campaign to elect Trump. Whether or not you like Clinton, she was defeated by Putin.
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It’s starting to look like Putin is going to have more influence on impeachments than elections. — Sorry to be so thick, but again, who is this “Clinton” character everyone keeps mentioning? Never heard of her. — In 2020, the Dems are either going to offer real change from the reverse Robin Hood policies of the last fifty years, or hedge fund billionaires are going to offer up another, out of practically nowhere, neoliberal bait and switch, a Beto and switch, another O who’s easy on the eyes and the ears, but hard on knowing where he stands. — Can’t remember what president I’m thinking of, gee whiz. — I want to be excited to vote, and confident in my choice. I want to vote for someone who won’t take donations from “D”FER and turn against unions after securing their endorsements.
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LeftCoastTeacher,
I despise DFER — probably more than you do — but I’d vote for DFER’s favorite politician of the month and recipient of lots of DFER money Tom Perriello if he was running against almost any Republican. Wouldn’t you?
Some people even believe “DFER Tom” is a “progressive” — most prominently Bernie Sanders himself who endorsed him against a democrat hated by DFER.
I support you wholeheartedly in choosing the non-DFER candidate in the primary, but if you stay out of an election so that a DFER candidate like Tom Perriello — who is GREAT on many other issues as long as it isn’t public education — loses and a Trump clone wins, then the lessons of 2016 seem lost on you.
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The facts say that about $150,000 was spent on the Russian trolls, most of which was posted after the election, in very broken English. You seriously want to claim that that was more influential than the hundreds of millions the DNC spent on the election? If so, I know who should run the next Democratic campaign. Unfortunately, they’re under indictment right now….
And please don’t talk about “collusion” or “hacking the election” unless you have some actual evidence for such. Hint, Luke Harding wrote a whole book about alleged “collusion”, but he couldn’t stand up in to a half-hour interview with Aaron Mate. Corruption and money laundering and paying off mistresses is not “collusion”.
Quesiyah Ali is right that Hillary lost the election for herself by taking “Democratic” voters for granted especially in states hardest hit by her own neoliberal policies, many of whom stayed home or voted third party. Also, calling black people “superpredators” and less educated rural and Southern people “deplorables” doesn’t tend to bring out the vote. At least, not for you….
You can keep claiming it’s da Russkies if that makes you feel better. It is, after all, unfalsifiable, so you can always claim you’re right. But if you actually want a chance of getting Trump and the Repugs out in 2020, you’ll start to look at the failures of the Dems and what could be done differently.
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Dienne,
You have made your hatred for Hillary Clinton clear multiple times. You have never expressed any disapproval of Trump’s assault on the environment or civil rights or on our allies. Do you feel bad about the breakup of NATO or our abandonment of the Paris Climate Accord? I haven’t heard from you on these fronts.
You have convinced me that you will never acknowledge the role of Russian trolls in electing Trump unless Putin makes a public confession. That will never happen so you can reserve your hatred for Israel.
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It isn’t that dienne77 hates Hillary Clinton so much. It is that whenever the crimes and cover up of Trump are discussed, she always tries to change the subject to how Hillary Clinton deserved it because you know, dienne77 insists that Hillary Clinton in 1996 specifically told America that African-Americans were superpredators.
Hillary Clinton actually used the words “gangs” and never specified the race of any gang member (and Hillary was talking about gangs in the drug trade which can also be associated with gang members from Latin America and not African-Americans.)
To me, it seems very racist for dienne77 to insist that the words “gang members” should always be assumed to mean “African-American” and no other race. But that is her belief and I have no doubt that she will condemn me for NOT saying that every time a white person named Hillary Clinton says “gangs” we all must accept that this obvious racist woman who hates African-American people meant for us to know that super predator = African-American.
I think that is racist, but everyone has their own beliefs.
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Here we go again. All I mean to say is that the Wall Street Dems are already gearing up for the primaries, and that liberal Dems should be too. They are, but since Berniecrats rely on grassroots organizing instead of the donor class, it’s already time to start the work. How much longer can this country take having the billionaire boys in charge?
Trump is weak, so weak. We can beat him with a liberal. We need to win the primaries. The superdelegates are gone. We can win. Yes we can. If we don’t, well, I will cross that bridge again if I must. Until then, I have no idea who these Clintonian Booker, Bloomberg, O’Rourke, etc. jokers are. They have no name recognition with me! I recognize the state of Bernie.
On a personal note, my union supporting friends and colleagues call me “hard core” because I do not compromise with rephormism like they do. I refuse testing when possible. I refuse test prep. I refuse online teaching. I fight tracking. I oppose engaging in marketing at the expense of teaching quality and autonomy. I fight strategies many of my friends and colleagues support in attempting to win over students from charters. I am an idealist. And while I respect their pragmatism, I know my colleagues need me pulling at their shirtsleeves from the solid Left here on the coast. That’s who I am. That’s why I want a Sanders or Warren in the race. Hold fast to principles, say I.
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And hey by the way, this isn’t the only country where legitimate protests against corporate “centrism” are illegitimately accused of being sponsored by foreign state actors. Down with Macron and regressive taxes!
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/17/gilets-jaunes-grassroots-heroes-or-kremlin-tools
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Well, I don’t get your analogy.
Trump was not protesting corporate centrism.
His election was bolstered by a hostile foreign power.
He is a champion of corporate greed.
He funneled billions of dollars to corporations a year ago with his massive corporate tax cut.
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I meant that corporate centrists in the media, not Trumpists, but centrists, tend to blame Russia instead of themselves when people protest corporate centrism. I know, not an agreeable position, but I am weary of deflecting blame for centrism onto foreign actors. Centrism ruins middle class lives. France had a chance to elect a liberal but didn’t. At least they didn’t elect the rightwing nationalist candidate like we did. Hatred of corporate centrism is to be directed at corporate centrists. That’s all. I despise centrism. I blame the centrists for all their problems.
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Gotcha
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If you are saying that Beto O’Rourke deserved to lose to Ted Cruz because he campaigned on what he believed in – which happened to be a more centrist position on some issues and more progressive on others — and he was not worth getting out and voting for, then the progressives are going to have a very long wait.
LBJ was a centrist. No, make that a conservative. So was FDR. Neither would have passed muster if they had to stand a litmus test that progressives say they will not vote for unless they meet.
What if I refused vote for Elizabeth Warren because of her pro-charter stance? I have no idea if she will be the candidate, but if I refuse to vote for her if she runs against Trump and keep posting non-stopthat she is a corrupt phony pro-Wall Street neo conservative and repeat the lying memes of Russian propagandists that happen to be lies, then the only person to blame for Warren’s defeat is myself.
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Wow, sarcasm. Okay. Two can play at that game. Look, I don’t think I can take much more rehashing of 2016. Clinton lost. It wasn’t her fault. She is faultless. She is the best candidate ever to run for any office anywhere ever ever. It wasn’t Putin. She lost because of me. It’s my fault. Blame me, a middle school teacher in California. And keep blaming me forever so that flawless Clintonian neoliberalism will always and forever be the only alternative to the Republicans. Awesome. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my head aches from banging it against the wall.
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LeftCoastTeacher,
I sincerely apologize because I forgot that the haters of Hillary Clinton have decided that anyone who begs them to see some nuance in her flaws and recognize her good points is actually saying “Hillary is faultless. She is the best candidate ever to run for any office anywhere ever.” I don’t know how many times I need to tell you that I believe Hillary Clinton has lots of flaws before you will stop insisting that is what I am saying.
However, what I am saying is that if you refused to vote for Hillary Clinton because you decided she was far too evil to rule and even Trump could do no worse, then you made a mistake. I don’t care if you admit it or not. I just hope you don’t make it again.
I made a big mistake. I believed the propaganda in 1980 that told me that Jimmy Carter was the most ville, evil and corrupt President who had sold out all democratic values and “stole” the primary from the absolutely perfect progressive Ted Kennedy. I proudly voted for John Anderson because I knew Jimmy Carter was so evil that even having Ronald Reagan for President was preferable than allowing that evil Carter to stay in office. It didn’t take more than 2 years of Reagan to acknowledge I made a mistake. I should have realized that I could be critical of many of Jimmy Carter’s neoconservative policies — and strongly support Ted Kennedy in the primary — while ALSO recognizing that Carter was not the evil sell-out I was just as certain he was as you are certain that Hillary Clinton was.
I was wrong. I admitted it. And that’s why, in 2000 when people were telling me that the evil and lying Al Gore should never be President and it’s better to have Dick Cheney and George W. Bush than someone without a single redeeming quality like Al Gore, I didn’t believe them. I didn’t vote for Ralph Nader to “send a message” to the Democratic voters who dared to nominate the evil Al Gore instead of the person I decided was better. I could see the nuance I could not see in 1980 when I just as absolutely certain that Jimmy Carter should not be President as you were that Hillary Clinton should not be — even if it meant that Reagan or Trump was elected.
I hope that you see the nuance next election. Fight for the most progressive candidate. But see the nuance in whoever wins the primary if it is not your chosen person. Don’t get played the way I got played when I helped elect Ronald Reagan with my vote for John Anderson and non-stop bashing of Carter so that the prevailing meme was how evil and awful Carter was.
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I sincerely accept your sincere apology. Looks like forty years of corporate control over Democratic primaries has us playing the blame game. Don’t blame me. Don’t blame yourself. This time, the superdelegates are gone, and even with Citizens United, Bernie Sanders has a chance if he runs. I am not ready to give up on the primaries yet.
I remember when I refused to vote in 1828, how tired I was of the so-called Era of Good Feelings. It seemed for years like there was only one party controlling everything. (There was.) All that support for big business drove me nuts. So when John Quincy Adams was supported by Daniel Webster and Henry Clay in 1828, I refused to vote for him. I was tired of the establishment. I mean, Clay was the war hawk who got us into the War of 1812, for crying out loud! You call that Jeffersonian?! No way!
And I know, I know, Adams’ opponent, Andrew Jackson, was a controversial, mudslinging, crazy-haired, maniacal racist who shot people in pistol duals and beat people over the head with his “old hickory” cane. And he won. But his victory led to a reorganization of Jefferson’s party, eventually creating the much less warlike, relatively anti-slavery Whigs, even with Clay still hanging around for decades. See, in America, everything always works out. Keep your chin up. Sincerely.
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“This time, the superdelegates are gone, and even with Citizens United, Bernie Sanders has a chance if he runs.”
Why would you vote for Bernie Sanders when he endorsed Hillary Clinton? If you didn’t believe him when he told you that Trump had to be stopped and you should vote for Hilary, why would you want him to be President? I’m sure you will find a more flawless candidate. I can’t wait to see which perfect candidate meets your high standards. There is a fairly good chance I will prefer that candidate, too. And even if I prefer a different imperfect candidate and think the candidate you want has a few more flaws than the candidate I want, if your candidate wins the primary I will work as hard as I can to see the Republican defeated.
But don’t worry — I will not expect the same from you. Apparently, defeating a right wing Republican is only worthwhile if the person who defeats him is as flawless as Bernie used to be until he endorsed Hillary Clinton and proved he was no less corrupt than the rest of the Democrats.
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Troll.
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I state for the record that I agree with your desire that a truly progressive candidate wins the democratic primary in 2020. I will very likely be voting for the same progressive primary candidate that you do.
However, I have the gall to ask you to remember 2016 and implore you to support whoever ends up winning the votes of the majority of voters in the primary and not make the same mistake I did when I insisted that Jimmy Carter was far too evil to be President and therefore Reagan was no worse and not make the same mistake some people made when they insisted that there was no need to vote for Hillary Clinton to defeat Trump since Trump being President would be no worse than Clinton.
And that makes me a troll?
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Clinton is no longer relevant, and you’re a Hillary troll. No matter what I write, you always go back to Hillary Clinton in 2016, making it impossible to discuss anything else. Get over it! Even Hillary Clinton herself is now a troll. She keeps popping up in the media, making it difficult for Democrats to move on. I really wish she would GO AWAY.
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I guess it is easier to pretend that 2016 never happened and demand no one mention “she who must not be named” than to actually acknowledge that the people who said it didn’t matter if Trump won – as long as a flawed (unnamed) candidate whose flaws were similar to Barack Obama’s flaws did not become President – were wrong.
(I don’t understand why you can sit here and insist that it is no big deal that we have Kavnauagh and Gorsuch on the Supreme Court instead of far more liberal justices, but that’s just me.)
I guess I must be a Jimmy Carter and Al Gore troll too. I am so very sorry I mentioned Carter and Gore in my unsuccessful attempt to explain why I hope you don’t repeat your actions of 2016 and my actions of 1980 and the actions of the “Al Gore is evil” Nader voters of 2000.
You are so right. We voters who know of our own righteousness in voting for Anderson and Nader to prevent the evil Carter and evil Gore from winning should never have it mentioned to us because we were absolutely right and will do it again. Reagan and the Bush/Cheney team didn’t hurt our country one whit and we all know it would have been far worse if evil Carter and evil Gore won. And if you dare to tell me differently you are a Jimmy Carter/Al Gore troll.
I truly hope you don’t start calling me a Jimmy Carter and Al Gore troll now. Since I’m not allowed to mention historical races to point out why it is important to defeat right wing Republicans without you calling nasty names. I had to do it this time and I expect you are totally offended by my daring to bring up Jimmy Carter and Al Gore but it was really hard to talk about my own mistakes without mentioning Jimmy Carter and Al Gore’s names so please allow this one time and forgive my terrible sin of bring up their names.
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I was trying to say that the Clinton and Bush dynasties were in many ways part of the same centrist party. It was like the Era of Good Feelings, when one party folded into the other. The politics of the one party are toxic to the working class.
And yes, there is a terrible side to Trump’s presidency, just like there was a terrible side to Jackson’s presidency (although Trump’s immigrant cages were nowhere near as bad as Jackson’s Trail of Tears). But there is a good side to Trump’s election, just like Jackson’s, if it results in a breakup of the centrist One party and creates a new, liberal order, distinct from corporate conservative and corporate libertarian politics. I regret 2016 only if another Wall Street backed neoliberal takes the primaries in 2020. If, however, the Democratic Party allows the shakeup it needs, then 2016 had a constructive silver lining, just like 1828.
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If the Clinton-Bush dynasty were still in power, forty years of behind-the-scenes, neoliberal business as usual would turn into fifty years. There would be a lot to fear in that scenario, and another powerful Duncan instead of comical DeVos would be just a part of it. No, I am still glad Clinton lost because I still have hope for the Democrats. Broad, Gates, and Walton don’t get forever control.
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yes, the election of Ronald Reagan really helped bring Democrats back to the progressive days of yore, and made all of Jimmy Carter’s horrible, neo-conservative, Republican-lite policies a thing of the past.
I don’t think you realize that I have the same goals as you do. But you can try as hard as you want to convince me that NOT having two liberal Supreme Court Justices that could have ended the Citizens United and other terrible decisions is really a good thing. I will never agree with you that the price that so many non-white, non-Christian Americans will pay is worth it.
We had a chance to make it EASIER for progressives in the future in this election and instead we have two right wing Supreme Court justices who will impact decisions for decades. And you still insist to this day that even if another Republican wins and gets to appoint even more far right justices, it will be fine as long as the Democrats finally nominate the progressive candidate you choose.
You refuse to accept democracy and blame any loss of your candidate in the primary on some nebulous “corporate control” (what a meaningless buzzword). Sure, that’s why Ocasio-Cortez won. That’s why Bernie Sanders who isn’t even a democrat at all was given a fair shot to win the primary just like Hillary Clinton was in 2000 when you claim the corporate forces aligned against her to defeat her so that their puppet Democrat Obama could win.
I know it bothers you when I look at history and dare to mention the names of the Democratic candidates who progressives refused to vote for because they were absolutely no different than Reagan, Bush/Cheney and Trump.
I think you have to be in a position of white privilege to say that having Trump in power is worth it because the best way to get change in the Democratic party that allowed Ocasio-Cortez and other progressives to win is to show those nasty corporate Dems how much you hate them by refusing to vote for “their” candidate who wins a primary — because to you having a lifetime appointed right wing Supreme Court Justice is just not a big deal at all.
White privilege. I wonder if you’d dare say what you said to a Muslim family or an African-American family or any of the non-white non-Christian or Jewish Americans who are the ones paying the price.
It’s like a white Christian German talking about how having the Nazis led to a far more progressive German government than existed in the Weimar Republican. And they would be technically correct. It is absolutely true — as long as you didn’t happen to be one of the people most harmed by Nazi policies.
I notice that it is mostly white folks and people whose families are not in danger of being deported or targets of Trump’s racist policies who are STILL insisting after 2 years of Trump that they are right to help a right wing Republican win by refusing to vote for a Democrat and they would gladly do it again.
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^^”If the Clinton-Bush dynasty were still in power….”
You mean Clinton’s appointments of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer are no different than Bush 1 and 2’s appointments of Clarence Thomas, John Roberts and Samuel Alito.
And did that dynasty control Barack Obama, too? Or were Obama’s 8 years just an anomaly of how evil even the Democrats who aren’t part of this “Bush-Clinton dynasty” are?
What an insult you just threw at Ruth Bader Ginsburg! There is no difference between her and all the far right Justices appointed by Bush and Trump.
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You said that already. Many times. But, sorry that’s all I am going to add right now. I just found out I am going on strike soon! On the 10th. Wish me luck. No wait, don’t wish me luck. I don’t need luck. I am ready.
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I have utmost respect for you going on strike and the utmost respect for the bravery of you and your colleagues and the sacrifices you are making to do this. Thank you and I wish you well.
I just hope our new right wing Supreme Court doesn’t decide that striking by workers is illegal the way they have successfully undermined unions already.. I also know that if “she who may not be named” had appointed two Justices, they would certainly be very different just like Ruth Bader Ginsburg is different than Thomas and Alito. I certainly hope we can at least agree on that.
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Thank you. I am teacher strong. I am confident. I am ready. I appreciate you.
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Lemme try that again without the typo in my email address causing my reply to go into moderation:
Thank you. I am teacher strong. I am confident. I am ready. I appreciate you.
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The 2016 Democratic candidate won the popular vote by almost 3 million. The Electoral College did it’s job and made sure that the popular vote loser won. Again.
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Quesiyah Ali says “elections have consequences”.
CRIMES have consequences. Illegal activity by a Presidential campaign has consequences. Covering up the help your campaign received from Russia has consequences. No matter how “uninspired” the Democratic candidate is.
I am hoping the 2020 Republican candidate’s campaign doesn’t conspire with foreign governments and use illegally obtained data to help him win. I’m guessing that won’t bother you since it obviously you were perfectly fine with it in 2016. Because all illegal activity is fine if the Democrat was “uninspiring”???
Are you a troll?
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Quesiyah Ali (@QuesiyahEsq)
Although we certainly can come up with reasons that the right candidate could have wiped the floor with Trump. Are you seriously asserting that a massive campaign to discredit Clinton? Could not have persuaded Blacks and working-class whites to stay home. A mear 70k votes in 3 states. Asserting that the 4-year effort to smear Clinton for the death of an (official) arms merchant and 3 mercenaries; which turned into an investigation of her email server did not cost her the election. Cost her the election when Russia released additional emails at critical junctures in the election cycle. Granted 90% of the population had no clue that the Russian released emails had nothing to do with the Server they never read one. But Hillary equaled email and Hillary and email equaled bad. Probably costing her votes in many other States. Comey was the final nail and even that is nefarious as Rudi and Nunez seemed to know that Weiner’s laptop was being investigated by the SouthernDistrict. Rudi pissing in his pants about an October surprise.
Had the candidate not been Hilary. Sanders would have been smeared as a Socialist Jew and those same demographics would have stayed home. Black turn out was expected to drop, nowhere as much as it did.
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Edit: mere
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If dienne77 is repeating one of the lying memes of the Russian trolls on the diane ravitch blog to try to convince readers of something that is not true, then anyone who doubts the Russian propaganda has power is just putting their heads in the sand.
But I don’t care whether or not the propaganda worked just like I don’t care if the Nixon campaign’s dirty tricks was the only reason Nixon won. If a political candidate commits a crime his campaign committed to help win an election or covers it up, he should be impeached. Or resign.
Other people seem to to believe poor Nixon should have remained President since committing a crime is fine as long as the other candidate was not the perfect campaigner.
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^^and I agree with your last sentence. The absurdity of those who believe Sanders would have remained popular after dienne77 and others like her started re-posting every right wing propaganda attack about him is really the silliest thing I have ever heard. Hillary Clinton was hugely popular as a Senator and Secretary of State, which is why she won the primary. Bernie was very popular, too. Once the public had heard dienne77 repeat enough times that Bernie’s wife had stolen money from a college and Bernie helped her do it and all the other attacks that they did NOT post because Bernie wasn’t the candidate, Bernie would have been as unlikeable as Hillary Clinton. And the lying Elizabeth Warren who did nothing her whole life except lie about being a native american so that she’d get jobs she was too lazy to ever earn on her own. At least that’s what the Russians will tell me, so I know it’s true.
Bernie would have had the same problems as Hillary. A targeted propaganda campaign. Maybe he would be lucky and the so-called “liberal” NY Times would not help the Russians do their dirty work by posting non-stop about the huge “crime” Bernie covered up for his wife. Can you imagine the nasty things the Bernie campaign said about Hillary that proves that he hated all women? How many of the bros on his campaign said something nasty in an email about Hillary or one of the women on the campaign? A single comment would be all that was needed for someone like dienne77 to post non-stop that Bernie’s entire campaign was about keeping women down and telling female voters they better vote for Jill Stein or stay home.
It’s easy when you have all the data to target your message and use illegally obtained e-mails from your pals in Russia.
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NYC public school parent
Do you mean can I imagine if the NYTimes, Washington Post, Daily News and…did exactly what they did in the Primary? Nah!
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What those newspapers did to Bernie in the primary was just the tip of the iceberg compared to what the NY Times did to Hillary in the general. Can you imagine the leaked e-mails from all the Bernie bros in the campaign bashing a woman that were proof positive that Bernie was a sexist who no woman should vote for (“vote for Jill Stein and send a message to the women-hating Bernie campaign” would have been the meme that was said 10x/ day by every news source). Then we would have had the nasty things that someone in the Bernie campaign said in the Bernie campaign stolen e-mails said about Donna Brazile that showed how racist Bernie was. By the time the Russian/Trump operation to “get” Bernie was over, Bernie would have been the most racist, sexist, fake liberal who actually stole money from a college so he and his wife could live in style.
I have gone back to read some of the coverage the Guardian and NY Times and other Russia/Trump enabling news source gave to the leaked e-mails. It was all throwing out ideas that were never done that were taken as some kind of evidence of corruption that were supposed to be far more powerful than actual deeds done. it is horrifying when you read how those very same papers treat the ACTIONS of the Trump administration and campaign, in which every corrupt action is treated like this: “we don’t have an actual e-mail where Trump says “conspire with Russia’, so let’s pretend we don’t know. But hey, an e-mail where someone in the Hillary campaign threw out an idea that was never ever done is much stronger proof of corruption than any actual action taken by the Trump administration and campaign.” Talk about a ridiculous double standard. Words are crimes for Hillary Clinton. Deeds in which someone close to Trump breaks the law to help Trump may not be characterized in any negative way because there is no e-mail in which the person says “I am planning to break the law to help Trump” and until we have that e-mail we must assume Trump is innocent. however someone in Hillary’s campaign wrote an e-mail throwing out an idea that was shot down and never actually done, so she is definitely guilty.”
Words are crimes for Democrats. Criminal actions are not crimes for Republicans,
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I think an updated form of the “Fairness Doctrine” is needed. Fox “News” and right wing radio talk shows that conjure up conspiracy theories etc should be forced to give equal air time to opposing views. Rush Limbaugh and his ilk flourished after the repeal of the fairness doctrine. Would Fox News have such a wide cable tv audience if it had to provide “balanced news”?
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Forgot to mention Facebook, twitter, etc. They need to be broken up and regulated strongly. Facebook should be forced to divest itself from “WhatsApp and Instagram.
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I understand from early news today that Russia used every flavor of social media to influence the election.
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What about 2020? If we don’t find out exactly how it was done, they could do it again
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Not could, but will.
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Not will, but are continuing to do as we speak.
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Correction noted and agreed with.
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Again, why DO people participate in Facebook?!
Just seeing “The Social Network” & all the smarmy maneuvering he did told me everything I needed to know about this manchild.
Geez…if it walks like a duck & talks like a duck, it’s a duck!
(Some stronger monikers are called for, but I am respectful in Diane’s living room.)
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The NAACP will be boycotting social media for the next week #LogOutFacebook.
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Oh, & BTW (adding, because I had to look up, had forgotten names), didn’t Tyler & Cameron Winklevoss actually have this idea (they’d invented ConnectU first) idea stolen from them (by Zuckerberg)? They sued him, winning $65 million.
So, suspect from its (FB’s) inception.
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The only hope, sadly, is to vote the demagogue out in 2020 and vote straight Democratic. The big trick will be to get all progressives to vote D. The puritanical progressive ideologues will not vote, vote for Jill Stein or write in someone, they will never vote for a Democrat. Many of them even regard Bernie and AOC as phonies and sell-outs.
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You’re right about Tp’s illegitimacy, and naming it is helpful. To do any more is probably wasted time and energy. George W. Bush was more clearly illegitimate, due to Governor Jeb!’s machinations. Little Brother’s key maneuver was to disenfranchise tens of thousands of eligible voters, the vast majority of whom leaned Democratic, so that W came out ahead in the recount by 0.009%. (See http://buzzflash.com/commentary/http-www-truth-out-org-buzzflash-commentary-don-t-forget-jeb-bush-played-key-role-in-stealing-the-presidency-for-his-brother for a nice account.) President Misunderestimate’s obvious illegitimacy didn’t matter then, and Tp’s won’t matter now.
Let’s pour ourselves into using T***p’s unending portfolio of crimes and betrayals of his voters to hobble and stymie him and McConnell, do everything we can to support and prod the progressives in Washington and the statehouses, and get a hell of a lot more progressives sworn in come January 2021.
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We need the fairness doctrine back, including cable and internet news. These are all public airwaves. Propaganda worked in Germany in the 1930’s and it is working here now. Trumpers use hate rather than solutions to motivate his extremely loyal base. I am tired of hearing some blaming Hillary. How about the Republicans who ran against 45 in the primaries and the gutless Republican Congress now? She took the popular vote easily. Should we make those who voted for her return to the red states they left? There are reasons why they left.
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I agree we should have the fairness doctrine back. We’ve had about 30 years of 98% far right wing hate wing talk radio spewing its filth on hundreds of radio stations big and small all across the country. Even liberal NYC’s most powerful radio stations (WABC, WOR) with the talk format are right wing. They dumped the liberals and moderates years ago. However, getting the fairness doctrine back is about as likely as getting rid of the Electoral College or impeaching DT.
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People say the same thing about campaign finance reform but it’s my top priority anyway. In fact, that one step would go a long way toward bringing the Fairness Doctrine back into the realm of possibility–
along w/criminal justice reform, immigration reform, dumping charters/ vouchers/ stds&aligned-testing-tarbaby, closing corp tax loopholes [etc].
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Need to Impeach … obstruction of justice video.
https://www.needtoimpeach.com/obstruction-video/
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you got that right.
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Trump can and should be INDICTED:
https://truthout.org/articles/trump-can-and-should-be-indicted/
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I agree
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The Washington Post reported an hour ago that Russian trolls have targeted Mueller since his appointment, in an effort to protect Trump and discredit Mueller.
“Months after President Trump took office, Russia’s disinformation teams trained their sights on a new target: special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Having worked to help get Trump into the White House, they now worked to neutralize the biggest threat to his staying there.
“The Russian operatives unloaded on Mueller through fake accounts on Facebook, Twitter and beyond, falsely claiming that the former FBI director was corrupt and that the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election were crackpot conspiracies. One post on Instagram — which emerged as an especially potent weapon in the Russian social media arsenal — claimed that Mueller had worked in the past with “radical Islamic groups.”
“Such tactics exemplified how Russian teams ranged nimbly across social media platforms in a shrewd online influence operation aimed squarely at American voters. The effort started earlier than commonly understood and lasted longer while relying on the strengths of different sites to manipulate distinct slices of the electorate, according to a pair of comprehensive new reports prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee and released Monday.”
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We need some humor!
………
Saturday Night Live
Published on Dec 15, 2018
Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) gets his wish to have never been president granted and sees how the lives of Michael Cohen (Ben Stiller), Brett Kavanaugh (Matt Damon), Robert Mueller (Robert De Niro) and more have changed in an alternate reality.
It’s the last Saturday Night Live of 2018, and the late-night sketch show went all out with holiday cheer and the excess of stars who have played various members of the Donald Trump administration throughout the season. In a parody of the Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life, Alec Baldwin’s President Trump wonders what life would be like if he’d never been elected President. Well, there’s an angel on hand to show him what life would be like without a Trump presidency, just like Clarence Odbody did for George Bailey. The lesson, however, is much different.
Over the course of the nine-minute (!) sketch, all the ghosts of SNL past show up as their cameo roles in the Trump administration. There’s Ben Stiller as recently sentenced lawyer Michael Cohen. There’s Robert De Niro as head of the Special Counsel Investigation into the administration’s ties to Russia. Then there’s the legend himself, host Matt Damon as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who is REALLY here for the party and can’t wait to hang out with Squee. Kavanaugh even gives Trump his favorite item — a calendar — featuring a different beer for every day of the year. The guy likes beer!
It’s a fun holiday fantasy, but in the end, it’s just a fantasy. And, of course, Donald Trump learns nothing from his spiritual journey. Happy holidays!
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Trump complains that negative coverage of him ‘can’t be legal’ and ‘should be tested in courts’…
Is Trump complaining about his depiction on Saturday Night Live to distract from a difficult week?
FRANK DALE
DEC 16, 2018, 12:06 PM
…The president’s remarks follow a difficult week for the White House that included the revelationfederal prosecutors are investigating his inaugural committee, the revelation of his shady deal with the National Enquirer to push propaganda during the 2016 election, the sentencing of his former attorney — Michael Cohen — to three years in prison amid the allegation that Trump — or “Individual 1” — directed a felony, settling for an interim chief of staff after being turned down by his top choices, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) fact-checking Trump in the Oval Office, and a Senate vote to rebuke his administration and end U.S. support for Saudi Arabia in Yemen.
The Washington Post reported on Saturday that “nearly every organization (Trump) has led in the past decade is under investigation.”
After the president spent much of his Saturday on Twitter attacking the media and celebrating the demise of the conservative Weekly Standard, the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman wondered how reporters are supposed to provide “positive” coverage of Trump’s recent scandals…
https://thinkprogress.org/donald-trump-media-twitter-nbc-saturday-night-live-libel-laws-tweet-white-house-d45acbc7fc12/
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Trump seems to believe that negative cover of him “can’t be legal” and “should be tested in the courts.”
Unless he has managed to replace every judge with people who never heard of the First Amendment, he should learn this line from Harry S Truman:
“If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.”
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He was not!
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I just spent the last hour perusing our comments immediately after the Nov. 2016 election. We didn’t have the details then, but a whole lot of us figured this our more than two years ago. The news of the past few weeks are confirmations, not revelations.
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While we’re on the topic of who controls the U.S., why is it okay for state and even the federal government to tell citizens that they can’t boycott Israel? It’s okay to boycott, say, North Carolina or Indiana, which clearly harms the U.S., but we can’t boycott Israel because that would harm Israel? Can someone tell me how this is not a blatant abridgement of U.S. Constitutional rights on behalf of a foreign nation?
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I will tell you why it’s not okay to boycott Israel if you will tell me why you aren’t insisting that Trump boycott ALL of the countries in the middle east. Which ones meet your standards? Or do you only like to mention the one where Jews live?
In fact, given your standards, why aren’t we boycotting our own country? You certainly pick and choose the evil you hate. Calling gang members (without mentioning their race) “super predators” means the person is an irredeemable racist. But voting over and over to put guns in the hands of people mean that you just love the white people who need their guns.
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I’m all for boycotting wicked regimes: China, Russia, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Hungary…There are so many. Israel is not in my top 50. Why do so many Lefties fixate on Israel? I suspect ignorance –they don’t know much about Hungary, etc.
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Israel is unquestionably in my top 50 or (much higher). What the Netanyahu-right wingers are doing to Palestinians is beyond barbaric. If you treat people like vermin, don’t expect flowers in return. If you are against walls in Berlin and the U.S., how can you support them in Palestine? Why do some tolerate behavior from Israel that they would never tolerate anywhere else? All Israeli governments have distorted their own history. Read up, for example, on the slaughter of Gaza in 1956 that it took Joe Sacco to bring to light to the rest of the world. Read up on Sabra and Shatila and explain to me how it is different from Kristallnacht. Read up on Paul Novick’s history of the distortion of the Holocaust for political purposes. When I was a young boy I was inspired by the Israeli response in the 6 Day War. When I was an adult who read a range of history, I realized that I was duped by a myth. There is enough evil to go around on all sides. One can support the concept of Israel without demonizing everyone has a different point of view as an anti-Semite.
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You must revoke his tenure as President and any laws or official policy passed while in office revoked also. Hillary should be allowed to assume the presidency if she chooses and she would fill out the rest of trump’s term .
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Diane, you have a lot of right wing trumptards on your site. Of course Hillary was robbed. Russians berated her so bad on social media and did plant fake news stories yet she still got the popular vote. Our internal system of picking president has made the will of the majority useless and we must get rid of the electoral college or reform it so it adheres to one man, one vote principle. I like Hillary, if others don’t, oh well. We’re dealing with this illegitimate president who used the help of a foreign power to skew the election in his favor. He is not qualified, knowledgeable or respectful of our laws or system of government. To keep this traitor in reflects on us and how we view ourselves and government. He’s you people’s president, not mine, not ever.
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This is getting unreal. Putin is taking over our government and the GOP sits back and does nothing.
………………
The Washington Post
Democracy Dies in Darkness
News Alert Dec 17, 7:43 PM
Russian disinformation teams targeted special counsel Robert S. Mueller III soon after appointment, says report prepared for Senate
Having worked to help get President Trump into the White House, Russian operatives turned their attention to neutralizing the biggest threat to his staying there, according to a new report prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee and released Monday.
The Russian disinformation campaign unloaded on Mueller through fake accounts on Facebook, Twitter and beyond, falsely claiming that the former FBI director was corrupt and that the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election were crackpot conspiracies, the report said.
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Trump’s attacks on the Justice Department, the FBI, and the CIA begin to make sense.
He talks like a mobster. Michael Cohen is a “rat” because he confessed. He “sang” about Trump’s “dirty deeds.”
What swamp has our country fallen into?
He no longer pretends to work. He watches FOX News and tweets all day.
This man should be wearing an orange jumpsuit, along with his grifter family.
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Amazon founder takeover of WaPo has reduced traditional journalistic standards to a bare minimum of what many of us are accustomed to.
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The Washington Post is an extraordinary newspaper, although its editorial board is in the tank for education privatization and test score madness. That was the base before Bezos took over, and he has not meddled.
The Post has the best coverage of politics, after all, it is the DC hometown paper.
On education, it has been a mouthpiece for the Rhee-Duncan-CAP line of pro-privatization Dems.
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Valerie Strauss is better on education than the vast majority of the so called education journalists.
Shes not afraid to confront BS wherever and whenever she sees it and she sees it all over and a lot.
Her interview of Bill Gates years ago put him on the defensive, something which interviewers rarely do.
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Sorry, it was Lyndsey Layton’s interview of Gates, but it appeared on the Answer Sheet
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Lyndsey Layton’s interview with Gates about ConmonCore was not Answer Sheet. It was page 1 of the Washington Post in 2014. I will find the link.
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Here is the astonishing interview that Lyndsey Layton of the Washington Post conducted with Bill Gates about the Common Core and his role:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-bill-gates-pulled-off-the-swift-common-core-revolution/2014/06/07/a830e32e-ec34-11e3-9f5c-9075d5508f0a_story.html?utm_term=.879e2526bdff
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Conmon Core was a typo and you actually meant Conman Core, right?
The Conman Core (Corps also works, as does Corpse): Bill Gates, Arne Duncan, David Coleman andJason Zimba.
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I think I first saw the link to the interview on the Answer Sheet.
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Social media companies were not “unwitting” about what was going on — they just didn’t want to spend the money to police their “platforms”. The congressional “grilling” of Facebook and other social media execs has revealed just how clueless Congress members are about how social media functions. The thing that most needs to be changed is the rule that says that social media are merely “platforms” and bear no responsibility for what appears on their so-called “platforms”. But, how are social media different from newspapers that publish reader letters and advertisements? A newspaper isn’t merely a “platform” and bears responsibility for what the reader letters and advertisements it allows to be published. Unless Congress legislates that social media bear responsibility for verifying what appears on their media, Congress will reap the whirlwind as government loses control of governance and social media determines politics and policy.
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Subject: Trump’s Muslim Ban keeping mother from her dying son
I just signed on to this petition calling on the State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to grant a waiver to Abdullah’s mother, who is currently banned from entering the U.S. due to the Muslim Ban. http://act.mpowerchange.org/sign/for-abdullah/?sp_ref=464560839.387.192980.e.622501.2&source=email
Abdullah is on life support and not expected to live much longer. Shaima Swileh, Abdullah’s mom, just wants a chance to say goodbye. We need more signatures to get this done #ForAbdullah. http://act.mpowerchange.org/sign/for-abdullah/?sp_ref=.387.192980.e.622501.2&source=email
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Since you asked for ideas, here’s a good one: Colin Kaepernick’s “Know Your Rights” program. https://knowyourrightscamp.com/about/ The 10 points of the program:
You have the right to be free.
You have the right to be healthy.
You have the right to be brilliant.
You have the right to be safe.
You have the right to be loved.
You have the right to be courageous.
You have the right to be alive.
You have the right to be trusted.
You have the right to be educated.
You have the right to know your rights.
What great ideas to add to the Four Freedoms.
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The WaPo article in Diane’s previous post reveals the Russian focus on manipulating the Afro-American vote was huge [largest # of fake FB posts/ tweets/ instagrams]… “These campaigns pushed a message that the best way to advance the cause of the African American community was to boycott the election and focus on other issues instead… especially notable because Clinton very narrowly lost three key states – Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – because of lower-than-expected black turnout in the urban areas of Philadelphia, Detroit and Milwaukee* .
A poster on the comment thread said the combined black pop of those 3 cities is 3.3million – and that HRC lost those 3 cities by 75-78k votes.
Per 2016 ave stats, 77% of the 3.3million [2.55million] were voting age. Per research, 11% black Obama voters (nationally) stayed home. If even another 3% of those 2.55million voting age blacks in Philly, Detroit, and Milwaukee had turned out– there’s your 78k that would have put HRC over top in those 3 cities – & those 3 states – & the election.
And this is w/o even counting voter-suppression methods in a number of states which presumably are under court challenge. I’d say, looking pretty solid for “Trump is not a Legitimate President.”
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Watched Trump on TV last night, clips from the 2016 campaign, where he thanked African American voters for staying home, not voting.
Nice concurrence with Russian messaging.
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Yes, the coordination of the Trump message with the propaganda put out by the Russians is far too perfect to be merely a “coincidence.”
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Wow. Trump does have a way of airing his crimes the way some cheating husbands brazenly hint at infidelity in front of their wives.
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Clinton – 65,844,610
Trump – 62,979,636
Quesiyah Ali (above) et al – say what you want about Secretary Clinton’s campaign.
Since they did screw up and not go to a just couple of key state and precincts – these ads DID make a difference.
By the way – look at some of the confederate flag / fear mongering ads – – If he’s so sure he won – fake math or not – why hasn’t he said he won fair and square AND denounce these creeps.
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One thing to consider for hope when someone gets tricked into making Clinton an important part of the argument about Trump…….Richard Nixon resigned less than two years after we learned…..George McGovern received 17 electoral votes in the 1972 election.
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Exactly. if these rabid Trump defenders who claim (or pretend) to be progressives but repeat the lies of the Russian trolls were around in 1974, they would insist that we should ignore the Nixon campaign’s crimes and the cover up and instead focus on whether McGovern was an awful candidate, or a obscenely awful candidate. They would say that we should ignore Nixon’s crimes just like they do because what is important is that McGovern was a bad candidate and an even worse person and that’s what we should all be talking about.
Those rabid repeaters of Russian propaganda memes (“did you know that Hillary Clinton called all African-Americans “predators”?) would have been on call-in shows 24/7 in 1974 trying to keep the focus on the evil McGovern while they change the subject every time any criticism of Nixon or his crimes are mentioned.
In 1974 there were absolutely no progressives who insisted that McGovern’s bad qualities were much more important to focus on than Nixon’s crimes. Because no progressive would try to undermine democracy that way. I doubt anyone who thinks bashing Hillary Clinton every single time any Trump wrong-doing is mentioned is a real progressive. Certainly no progressive politician in America is repeating those Russian propaganda lies, but lots of fake progressives who hate Democrats much more than Trump certainly repeat them over and over.
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Perhaps the most essential element of centrism for democrats is the steadfastness with which they oppose the media making public education a truly important issue. Lots of finesse, but true passion when they realize that it affects families in fundamental ways. often in racial ways…….they fear it, and fight to keep it from getting too much notice.
Sometimes I think even Diane, herself, does not realized the importance of her ability to help us challenge. Republicans will be comfortable with the idea of democrats not raising the hell that needs to be raised.
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edit: does to has or realized to realize. sorry..
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Joe,
I raise as much noise as I can. I am not sure how much more I can do beyond the present eight hours I spend daily trying to create a national consciousness about the theft and fraud going on all around us, unnoticed by the media.
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Diane: I am GRATEFUL for the chance to spout off all the time on your blog. It gives me some peace and hope to know that others see things the same way that I do. It gives me a place to rant when I can’t do it with a very good friend nor my brother. Fortunately, I’m going to lunch today with a friend you’d love to meet. We tear Trump and all his short-term ‘friends’ and family to shreds. She also can’t stand to look at him. Hoo-rah! for the sanity that still exists!! How sad that our world has come to this.
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Carol, I share your sentiments about Diane and her blog. I consider many of the commentators to be my unofficial therapists. But as to your concluding sentence, I tended to agree until I saw a brief interview with Wayne Kramer of the MC5 on KEXP’s YouTube channel. The MC5 (Motor City 5) are arguably the most influential rock band hardly anyone has heard about. They were the founders of the punk scene ten years before it became a thing, but their music was political and they were even monitored by the FBI as “subversives.” In a recent program celebrating their 50th anniversary, Kramer, the primary influence and only living member of the band, was asked if today’s times were as bad as the late 60s/early 70s. He answered, as bad as these times are, they do not compare to that era because more than 50,000 Americans and millions of Vietnamese were being slaughtered. We don’t have that situation, as he warned…yet. If you want to listen to the music that expressed the tenor of its time, you can’t do any better than the MC5. For the few of you who have an interest, type in KEXP MC50 into the YouTube search engine. And if you’re still interested, check out the grainy videos from 50 years ago.
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I agree with Carol, this blog keeps me sane and allows me to vent about the privatization of our precious public schools, charter schools, vouchers and the demonization of public school teachers and their unions. It amounts to a war on public schools, the unions and the teachers. Not to mention the current fascist-in-chief. Many thanks to Diane and the other commenters!
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I know you do……I cite you as a source and often a source of a source on my main battlefield, Current Affairs forum at the St. Louis Post Dispatch……neither public radio or the Post Dispatch allows me to offer criticism or analysis of their stories…..so everything must be in the general area, where things disappear quickly, except when they don’t….and that can happen. I am so focused on the lack of responsibility of the St. Louis media, that I can not realize how serious it is in some other places, or how often the problems involve democrats in addition to the republicans. Make no mistake…..I have valued this place ever since my nephew Matt Grossmann and his wife Sarah Reckhow introduced me to what it offers–ten years ago.
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JOE,
I value your wisdom.
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I am more disturbed by the fact that all of the corruption Trump is now being investigated for occurred just because he is the President who is attacking these institutions. Why did the NYTimes and not the IRS uncover Trump’s fraudulent tax schemes? How about all the hedge funds operators who place computers literally closer to the trading desks so that they receive trading info nano seconds before everyone else and profit at the expense of others! How many investigations does Zinke have against him? How about Cohen, Flynn, Manafort etc.? These people got away with “murder” yet they were only caught because they were public officials in high positions. Then of course there is the monumental corruption in the attacks and privatization of public education.
Something is wrong with our system. Hint: concentration of wealth.
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Michael,
I agree with you but please realize that the IRS does not audit every tax return, they sample.
My big question is why the most openly political of the right wing groups, ALEC, is treated as a charity by the IRS, not a political operation. Thus, contributions to this bill mill are tax deductible, like the Girl Scouts.
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I realize that the IRS cannot examine every return. Years ago there were reports that the IRS targeted the middle class for audits rather than the wealthy in order to avoid expensive challenges that the wealthy could mount. I myself was subject to a couple of audits. One audit resulted in a refund and another audit was challenged and was closed without any payment or refund necessary. My point is that the IRS should focus on the wealthy and even more so on the extraordinarily wealthy. Far fewer to concentrate on despite the fact that it would be more costly for the IRS, at least per case.
I dare say that the failure to audit the wealthy has more to do with politics than cost.
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I agree that the IRS should focus on the wealthy when it comes to audits. Budget cuts do have consequences.
Michael Brocoum: I’m still waiting to get a tax refund from last April. It has to be done manually but staffing at the IRS has been cut, resulting in no refund. I had received a letter from the Treasury Department stating the amount of my refund and that I should be getting it in 2-3 weeks. That notice was sent on July 2, 2018.
I currently have a man at the tax place where I get my taxes done working to get me my refund. I few weeks ago, I contacted my House Representative, Pete Visclosky [D-IN] and his office is now working to get my refund. I have received a letter from his office confirming that they are now involved.
It is for over a $1,000 and its MY money.
A fellow came in September to check my furnace. He said that his mother was supposed to get a tax refund and she also hadn’t received it.
So Trump brags about not paying taxes while middle class people can’t get their own money back from the Treasury Department.
This is one way to screw the middle class. I expect I’ll get it sometime and it will have accumulated interest. I would imagine there are a whole lot of people just like me…waiting and waiting and waiting. According to my tax lady, if you don’t have someone helping you, you will not get your money back.
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This is the perfect example why I make sure I pay less taxes during the year so that I wind up owing the government taxes by Aprll 15. Better to owe than be owed and just hope one gets a prompt refund.
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I don’t know if I consider Rachel Maddow a centrist, but last night, talking about Turkey, reviewing the 2016 summer history of Erdogan and a failed coup…..she mentioned the name Gulen, as the bogeyman for Erdogan, who said he can’t take over from Pennsylvania…….never a mention of his 140 charter schools in our country……our public education just does not matter that much. She mentioned his name once, and from then on, he was the fellow from Pennsylvania.
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A classic “walk and chew gum” scenario. For those of us who have paid attention, we can separate the issue of the criminality of his schools with that of the criminality of denying his civil rights by deporting him to a sure politically-motivated death. Unfortunately, Maddow (who I’ve never found to be particular enlightening and stopped watching years ago) is a creature of a media that fears, or is incapable of, explaining nuance and substance.
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a festering thorn in our nation’s side — one which really hurts: so many famous “left side” leaders who have zero interest in analyzing the charter/choice game
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There is every reason to suspect that Trump and his Russian cronies fixed the Republican primary elections and that he never should have been a candidate of the party. It is very weird that no republican has ever raised a question regarding the legimacy of his nomination. I think he is an illegal nominee from the gitgo and therefore his presidency should be null and void. I have to ask myself why Ted Cruz never raised an early on question about Russian influence in his primary against Trump?Every candidate should want to know whether their defeat by Trump was legitimate. Hell for the Russians to influence a primary election would be a piece of cake. Was Trump ever a legitimate Republican party nominee?
Sent from my iPhone
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I had never considered this. Now that you’ve laid this out so simply, it seems such an obvious question. This is a talking point to be used in those few times one has a rational discussion with a conservative Republican or an Individual-1-ist. Thanks for an enlightening comment.
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I don’t understand how Sarah Sanders lives with herself. How much money does one have to make to be able to twist and turn to support a thief, con man, sexual predator, xenophobic, narcissistic pathological liar? Trump found a real loyal follower in her. Good for Comey for attacking Fox. “He also told the reporter that information peddled by her network [Fox] is “nonsense.”
As I have stated, how sad that our country has reached this low. Comey helped Trump get elected. Guess Comey wasn’t loyal enough to keep his job.
……………………..
Sanders Lashes Comey For ‘Corruption’ After He Slams Spineless GOP On ‘Lying’ Trump
“Stand up and speak the truth,” former FBI director told “slinking” Republicans. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders hit back.
By Mary Papenfuss
“White House press secretary Sarah Sanders responded to Comey’s comments by tweeting Monday evening: “Republicans should stand up to Comey and his tremendous corruption – from the fake Hillary Clinton investigation, to lying and leaking, to FISA abuse, and a list too long to name. The President did the country a service by firing him and exposing him for the shameless fraud he is.”
Comey complained after his testimony that being questioned about issues that have been examined over and over again is a waste of time and a distraction from the real problems the nation faces.
“Another day of Hillary Clinton’s emails … this while the president of the United States is lying about the FBI, attacking the FBI and attacking the rule of law in this country. How does this make any sense at all?” he asked.
When a Fox News reporter asked Comey about the FBI’s reputation “taking a big hit,” Comey snapped: “The FBI’s reputation has taken a big hit because the president of the United States … has lied about it constantly.” He also told the reporter that information peddled by her network is “nonsense.”
Comey also lashed the president for calling his former personal attorney Michael Cohen a “rat” for cooperating with the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.
“It undermines the rule of law. This is the president of the United States, calling a witness who has cooperated with his own Justice Department a rat,” Comey said. “Say that again to yourself at home and remind yourself where we have ended up.”…
Article: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/james-comey-fox-news-donald-trump_us_5c182c37e4b02d2cae8c5306
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“Unfortunately there is no provision in the US Constitution to recall and replace an illegitimate president.”
This is what all of us must focus on. Whether Clinton should have done something different in her campaign, whether the media should have elevated the story of Russian interference, whether Comey should have remained silent, are all in the rearview mirror.
What we need to focus on is how do we move forward. Trump’s daily reality show obscures the very real policy impacts his administration have made. Our foreign policy is in shambles, our attention to impending climate change has been redirected, scientists have been purged from the federal government, secure health insurance has been stripped away through constant attacks on the ACA, women’s rights to self determination are imperiled and the judiciary has been infiltrated at all levels, not only the Supreme Court.
The extremism of this administration is matched by its willingness to demolish norms.
We are going to need a new paradigm. Time to get thinking about that and end the quarrels about how we got here.
I’d like to see us return to the status quo antes, rolling back major changes to where they were when we last had a legitimate president, particularly with regard to what can fairly be called ethnic cleansing – the Muslim ban, the end of TPS, the jailing of chidren and families on our southern border, the rising power of CBP, ICE and DHS. And Brett Kavanaugh.
As to governance, let’s put Jimmy Carter, a humanitarian, in charge until we can have another presidential election.
A girl can dream, right?
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Mainstream media did far more to rig the elections by only covering candidates they approve of. This has been routine for decades. A fraction of 1% controls over 90% of the media and they can rig elections by simply refusing to cover honest candidates.
The vast majority of the public isn’t eligibility to run a viable candidacy because they only cover people with connections to the wealthy that usually collect bribes thinly disguised as campaign donations.
MSM mad Trump viable by giving him a show for years & following it up with obsession coverage presenting him as the only challenger to the establishment including incredibly incompetent media.
Rubber stamping selective facts pointed out by the Oligarchy doesn’t change that.
The first amendment should provide EQUAL rights to free speech; it doesn’t giving the wealthy the right to dominate propaganda rigging economy.
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The same mainstream media rigging elections for their puppets is also giving overwhelming support for corporate school reformers; which makes it hard to understand why you defend them while they undermine you’re good research.
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Everything around Trump is collapsing. When is the Orange Monster going to finally get caught? A penalty of $2.8 million is probably like a nickel to me. It means nothing. Can Trump get away with using charitable assets to support his presidential election campaign? I want to see him in an orange jump suit. It matches his orange complexion and, hopefully, he won’t have access to Twitter so we can get some peace.
…………………..
Trump charity agrees to dissolve amid allegations of a ‘shocking pattern of illegality’
BY EMILY BIRNBAUM AND LYDIA WHEELER – 12/18/18 11:13 AM EST
President Trump’s charity, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, has agreed to dissolve amid allegations from the New York Attorney General’s office that it engaged in a “shocking pattern of illegality.”.
New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced on Tuesday that her office will continue to pursue its lawsuit against the foundation, which seeks $2.8 millions in restitution plus penalties, as well as an order barring Trump and his three oldest children – Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump – from serving on the boards of other New York Charities.
Underwood’s lawsuit filed in June alleged that Trump used the charity for political and personal gain. Underwood said the investigation she opened against the foundation in 2016 revealed the charity “was little more than a checkbook for payments to not-for-profits from Mr. Trump or the Trump Organization.”
“This resulted in multiple violations of state and federal law because payments were made using Foundation money regardless of the purpose of the payment,” she argued in the court filing.
“Mr. Trump used charitable assets to pay off the legal obligations of entities he controlled, to promote Trump hotels, to purchase personal items, and to support his presidential election campaign.”…
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/421874-trump-charity-agrees-to-dissolve-amid-allegations-of-a-shocking
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Trump used the charity’s funds pay off legal settlements for his private business, to purchase art that decorated one of his golf clubs and to make a prohibited political donation.
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As a citizen and as Individual number one DT has no immunity rights . All of his primary wins should be ruled null and void by the Supreme court! We the people of the USA right now do not have a legitimate president. As a citizen he should be charged with RICO violations and tax evasion. Mayor Buddy Cianci was charged with RICO violations and found guilty and spent Five years as a citizen behind bars. As it is could be paraphrased DT “did the crimes and he should do the time.” Time to indict and try Trump as a citizen with the only protection he has is that he’s innocent til proven guilty! (Something him and the bas didn’t want to grant Hilary! Bill from Dunedin
Sent from my iPhone
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Video: Robert De Niro opens up about Trump feud
In an interview with CNN’s Hala Gorani, actor Robert De Niro opens up about his feud with President Donald Trump. “He doesn’t say anything that is witty or smart.”
Check out this story on CNN: https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/12/17/robert-de-niro-on-trump-feud-sot-hala-gorani-hgt-vpx.cnn
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How many more feet of this worthless wall can be built for either $1.6 or $1.3 billion? Why are they even considering wasting this amount of money?There are a LOT more ways this money could be spent.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has proposed $1.6 billion for “fencing” and an additional $1 billion for general border security that could not be used for a wall.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said they won’t budge from their offer of $1.3 billion for border fencing.
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This doesn’t surprise me. Trump has frozen salaries for federal workers and made it easier to fire people. Those who are left have to work harder. People chosen by Trump to run different agencies are incompetent. Why should workers be happy?
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‘Federal Workers Not Happy With Their Jobs Under Trump: Survey’
Ilana Novick
DEC 18, 2018
…Among the largest year-over-year declines in satisfaction as listed by agency were those at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, with a 25-point decline, and the Import-Export Bank, with an 18-point drop. The Education and State departments and the Environmental Protection Agency also had low scores….
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/federal-workers-not-happy-with-their-jobs-under-trump-survey/
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I’m surprised that Trump doesn’t want gold gargoyles on top of the wall to make it really artistic and beautiful. This wall will save us billions of dollars a month! How impressive!!!
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Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
· 12h
The Democrats, are saying loud and clear that they do not want to build a Concrete Wall – but we are not building a Concrete Wall, we are building artistically designed steel slats, so that you can easily see through it….
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
….It will be beautiful and, at the same time, give our Country the security that our citizens deserve. It will go up fast and save us BILLIONS of dollars a month once completed!
58.8K
7:13 PM – Dec 18, 2018
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Has Trump ever heard of electronic fences?
People sell invisible fences for homeowners to protect their dogs.
Electronic fences cost less and are more efficient than a physical wall.
The wall has never been built that no one can go over or under.
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Bad example. In order to make an electronic fence for dogs, it requires an electronic collar that activates to create a long-term behavioral response. The collar is removed when the response become ingrained.
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Oh, good. Starving people makes them so much happier. Where are the jobs? How many are located in poverty area? The last I read corporations don’t move to poverty areas. Bus service is often inadequate and many poor people don’t have functioning cars. I’m sorry, but FAT, IGNORANT TRUMP needs to go without food for a month. He causes SO much hurt and suffering.
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The Washington Post
Democracy Dies in Darkness
News Alert Dec 20, 5:05 AM
Trump administration to toughen work requirements for food stamps, bypassing Congress
The Trump administration unveiled a plan Thursday to force more Americans to hold jobs if they want to continue to receive food stamps, pursuing through executive powers what it could not achieve in Congress.
The announcement comes hours before President Trump is expected to sign a nearly $870 billion farm bill funding the nation’s agricultural programs — legislation that did not include any changes to work requirements.
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This was posted from the WH:
In USA Today, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue writes that the Trump Administration’s new proposed Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) rules will encourage productivity instead of poverty. “The president has directed me, as Secretary of Agriculture, to propose regulatory reforms to ensure that those who are able to work do so in exchange for their benefits.”
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Looks like Trump’s buddy MbS is in trouble again, this time for abusing women activists. Trump would LOVE to have the US be like Saudi Arabia where no protesting is allowed.
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Human-rights commission investigating alleged waterboarding, electrocution of activists who led campaign to end driving ban on women. Jailed Women’s Rights Activists Tell Saudi Investigators of Torture.
A human-rights commission reporting to Saudi King Salman is investigating the alleged torture of detained women’s rights activists, including accusations of waterboarding and electrocution, according to government officials and other people familiar with the activists’ situation.
A top aide to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saud al-Qahtani, allegedly oversaw some aspects of the torture and threatened at least one jailed woman with rape and death, according to testimony before the commission, those officials and others said.
One activist told the commission that security officials electrocuted her hands. “My fingers resembled barbecued meat, swollen and blue,” the woman told Saudi investigators, according to a person familiar with her statement.
The alleged treatment of the activists, along with the killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul, are part of what critics of the Saudi government say is a broad effort to quash dissent and limit freedom of speech.
The Saudi government has dismissed the allegations as “wild claims” and denied security officials tortured the detained activists, many of whom were men and women campaigning for women’s right to drive. Saudi government representatives didn’t respond to a request for comment for this article.
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I’m sure Mexico will provide services to the immigrants…NOT. Trump is a fat, disgusting, ignorant, self-centered hate-filled person. These people have traveled for possibly thousands of miles and are starving and need water to drink. They get here after all of that and are shut out with next to no chance of gaining asylum. They will probably starve while waiting. How about getting more immigration judges to prosecute amnesty instead of the military that sends tear gas? Nielsen isn’t a twit better than the Orange Buffoon.
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The Washington Post
Democracy Dies in Darkness
News Alert Dec 20, 10:45 AM
Trump administration reaches deal that will force asylum seekers to wait in Mexico as cases are processed, DHS’s Nielsen says
The plan announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, which has been under negotiation with Mexico’s leftist government for several weeks, represents a major break with current screening procedures that generally allow those who have a credible fear of persecution to remain in the United States until a hearing with an immigration judge. Under the new rules, they’ll be required to wait in Mexico.
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Barf!
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After Trump won the presidency in 2016, Mullally told Stephen Colbert that she regretted performing with him that night. Shortly after Trump posted the video on Thursday, Mullally tweeted, “omg,” followed by, “if you guys need me, i’ll be in a hole in the ground.”
Donald Trump & Megan Mullally – Green Acres at the Emmys
Television Academy
Published on Jul 15, 2011
Donald Trump & Megan Mullally – 2006 ”Green Acres’ performance at the Emmy Awards
https://youtu.be/AiZqFGLAeAc
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It never ends. I just read that fossil fuel extraction in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will probably begin next summer.
HEARING ON COAL PLANT RULE ROLLBACK SET FOR JAN. 9: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning a public hearing on its rollback of greenhouse gas standards for newly built coal-fired power plants for Jan. 9.
The hearing, required under the Clean Air Act, will be at EPA headquarters, the agency said in a notice due to be published Friday in the Federal Register. The EPA will limit speakers to five minutes.
The proposed rule, announced earlier this month, would increase the allowable carbon dioxide emissions from newly-built coal-fired power plants to 1,900 pounds per megawatt-hour, from the 1,400 pounds the Obama administration had set.
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The Orange Liar makes up his own realities.
President Trump has made 7,546 false or misleading claims over 700 days
Just on one day before the midterm elections, Nov. 5, Trump made 139 false or misleading claims
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Trump has gotten rid of the last restraint on his madman behavior. God help us.
At last he will be able to build the Trump Tower in Moscow, but he won’t get the penthouse. It is already promised to Putin.
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A good Trump joke. I got it from a friend in Canada.
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The President is walking out of the White House and heading toward his limo, when a possible assassin steps forward and aims a gun.
A secret service agent, new on the job, shouts “Mickey Mouse!” This startles the would be assassin and he is captured.
Later, the secret service agent’s supervisor takes him aside and asks, “What in the hell made you shout ‘Mickey Mouse’?”
Blushing, the agent replies, “I got nervous. I meant to shout…. ..
“Donald , duck!”
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Great political cartoon on the Orange Buffoon. [It doesn’t mention the one good thing that he’s done, which is to bring troops home.]
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Better Read Than Dead
by MR. FISH DECEMBER 20, 2018
https://www.truthdig.com/cartoons/better-read-than-dead-2/
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Carol,
For once I disagree. He put no thought into “bringing the troops home.” He did it on a whim. Our friends the Kurds will be slaughtered without American air support. Putin and Erdogan are thrilled. The leaders of Europe are appalled. The last adult in his inner circle resigned in protest. Now Jared Kushner and Mike Pence are in charge of everything, and Trump is guided by Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter. This is not a cause for celebration.
Philip Rucker wrote in the Washington Post that “the era of containing Trump is over.” His basic instincts are feral and ignorant. “The increasingly isolated president explained his mind-set in a Nov. 27 interview with The Washington Post: “I have a gut, and my gut tells me more sometimes than anybody else’s brain can ever tell me.”
So we are now governed not by anyone’s brain or knowledge or sense of history but by the “gut” of a very ignorant, very arrogant man.
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Diane, I know that Trump does things impulsively with no foresight. I do believe that we have troops in 800 places overseas and in over 70 countries. We have been in the Middle East for 17 years without accomplishing anything except enriching the Military Industrial Complex.
We’ve been in Syria for four years. How long is enough? I’m tired of the killing. We should be using that money to HELP people overseas and in the US. We will never kill our way to peace. Put the trillions of dollars into helping.
By the way, I know that you read Fred Klonsky. He also agrees that there is never a good time to withdraw but it has to happen.
Fred Klonsky: “And after the U.S. has invaded a country there is never be a right time or a right way to get out.
Just ask an Afghani.
I have heard those same arguments ever since Vietnam.”
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Carol,
I oppose war and killing like you. But I do not trust Trump to make decisions about our national security or the military. He relies on his “gut,” not on anyone’s brains or knowledge. His stupidity will lead us into war.
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Diane, I agree with you on Trump’s stupidity. He is not qualified to make decisions based on facts or from intelligent people. There are fewer and fewer intelligent people anywhere near him. All he wants is loyalty. He is becoming increasingly frustrated and is capable of doing anything. He definitely should not be allowed to start a nuclear war all by himself.
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There is no one near him who will stand up to him and he has the nuclear codes. That is terrifying
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Trump’s End
By Robert Reich, Robert Reich’s Blog
23 December 18
This morning I phoned my friend, the former Republican member of Congress.
ME: So, what are you hearing?
HE: Trump is in deep sh*t.
ME: Tell me more.
HE: When it looked like he was backing down on the wall, Rush and the crazies on Fox went ballistic. So he has to do the shutdown to keep the base happy. They’re his insurance policy. They stand between him and impeachment.
ME: Impeachment? No chance. Senate Republicans would never go along.
HE (laughing): Don’t be so sure. Corporate and Wall Street are up in arms. Trade war was bad enough. Now, you’ve got Mattis resigning in protest. Trump pulling out of Syria, giving Putin a huge win. This dumbass shutdown. The stock market in free-fall. The economy heading for recession.
ME: But the base loves him.
HE: Yeah, but the base doesn’t pay the bills.
ME: You mean …
HE: Follow the money, friend.
ME: The GOP’s backers have had enough?
HE: They wanted Pence all along.
ME: So …
HE: So they’ll wait until Mueller’s report, which will skewer Trump. Pelosi will wait, too. Then after the Mueller bombshell, she’ll get 20, 30, maybe even 40 Republicans to join in an impeachment resolution.
ME: And then?
HE: Senate Republicans hope that’ll be enough – that Trump will pull a Nixon.
ME: So you think he’ll resign?
HE (laughing): No chance. He’s fu*king out of his mind. He’ll rile up his base into a fever. Rallies around the country. Tweet storms. Hannity. Oh, it’s gonna be ugly. He’ll convince himself he’ll survive.
ME: And then?
HE: That’s when Senate Republicans pull the trigger.
ME: Really? Two-thirds of the Senate?
HE: Do the math. 47 Dems will be on board, so you need 19 Republicans. I can name almost that many who are already there. Won’t be hard to find the votes.
ME: But it will take months. And the country will be put through a ringer.
HE: I know. That’s the worst part.
ME: I mean, we could have civil war.
HE: Hell, no. That’s what he wants, but no chance. His approvals will be in the cellar. America will be glad to get rid of him.
ME: I hope you’re right.
HE: He’s a dangerous menace. He’ll be gone. And then he’ll be indicted, and Pence will pardon him. But the state investigations may put him in the clinker. Good riddance.
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The media coverage of Mattis’s letter made Trump angry.
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Jim Mattis’s resignation letter to Donald Trump – in full
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/21/jim-mattis-resigns-as-defense-secretary-letter-in-full?CMP=share_btn_link
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Did he read that or hear about it on FOX?
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Imagine the Orange One coming up with something this meaningful THAT HE WROTE HIMSELF! HA.
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Even with the most deeply held differences, treating the other person with respect and as a fellow human being is always a good first step towards greater understanding.
Queen Elizabeth II, in her annual Christmas Day message
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Imagine him showing up at a children’s hospital with a bag of toys and a Santa cap. Obama did that.
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Opinion | What a Muslim Could Teach Trump Supporters About Jesus
By WAJAHAT ALI
December 22, 2018
The Jesus I know commanded, “You shall love your neighbors as yourself.” He didn’t add “unless they are undocumented immigrants or Muslim or gay.” He would welcome refugees from Central America, feed them, wash their feet. He would have been horrified at the conditions that led 7-year-old Jakelin Caal to die of dehydration and shock in Border Control custody after seeking refuge in this country with her father.
Christianity isn’t unique: Every religion is abused as such by some of its followers and manipulated to advance political agendas. But the hypocrisy of white Evangelical Christians’ support for Trump in light of his undeniable cruelty and apathy — toward refugees, Puerto Rican citizens recovering from a devastating hurricane, victims of California fires and a newspaper columnist killed by Saudi Arabia — is too much to bear. Despite this barrage of hate, Evangelical leaders like Franklin Graham still support Mr. Trump because they believe he “defends the faith.” How?
Our school’s motto was “Men for others,” a reminder that the Christian faith should be lived through active selfless service. Judging from the type of Christianity that is practiced and preached by some Trump supporters, they must know a Jesus whose message is “Every man for himself.”
At Bellarmine, we had to perform 100 hours of community service before graduating. I volunteered at the senior center and the local homeless shelter, where my friends and I cleaned the kitchen and packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for struggling men and women, most of them eager for employment.
This Christmas, I hope Trump-supporting Christians try to find compassion for people who are similarly suffering. I hope they open their Bible and reflect on James 2:14: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?”
Thankfully, I know many Christians who resemble Jesus, investing their life to uplifting vulnerable people. Mr. Trump’s supporters should meet Sister Simone Campbell, who in 2012 organized Nuns on the Bus to oppose the Paul Ryan-backed budget plan’s assault on social programs for the poor. They should join the Rev. William Barber II of North Carolina, who has revived the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Poor People’s Campaign to fight racism and income inequality. They should donate to Sister Norma Pimental of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, which runs a “respite center” in McAllen, Tex., offering food, clothes and shoes to people seeking asylum.
These are the kinds of Christians who I believe are following the lessons and footsteps of Jesus, the prophet I met and loved as a Muslim at a Catholic high school. This Christmas, I hope some of the Christians who support President Trump can meet him too.
Wajahat Ali is a playwright, lawyer and contributing opinion writer.
Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.
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I guess we’re supposed to be happy with the ‘middle class Christmas tax cut’ that we got last year. HA & sarcasm!!
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Here Are the Gifts Trump Is Giving His Billionaire Buddies on Christmas
By Bernie Sanders, Bernie Sanders’ Facebook Page
25 December 18
Here is what Donald Trump is doing for the American people on Christmas:
Give a $3.7 billion tax break to Wells Fargo – a bank that is closing 800 branches.
Take away paychecks of some 800,000 workers by shutting the government.
Give $1.4 billion tax break to the Koch brothers.
Take away $1.40 meals from 755,000 hungry, unemployed Americans.
Give Pfizer a $26.5 billion tax cut after it increased the price of life saving drugs.
Take away healthcare from 13 million Americans by gutting Obamacare.
Give Walmart a $2.2 billion tax break after it laid off thousands of workers.
Take away $1.1 billion a year in overtime pay from 12.5 million workers.
Our job: End the 40-year war on the working class and the poor and create an economy that works for all of us, not just those on top.
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The truth comes out. Cadet Bone Spurs didn’t have bone spurs. Should any of us be surprised? “…the implication from her father was that the future president did not have a disqualifying foot ailment.” Poor lonely Trump.
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Bone Spur Doc’s Daughter: Dad’s Trump Diagnosis Was a Favor
The New York City podiatrist who gave Donald Trump a letter stating he had bone spurs on his heels—which enabled him to dodge the Vietnam War draft—issued the document as a favor to Trump’s real-estate developer father, Fred, from whom his office space was rented, the doctor’s daughter has told The New York Times. “I know it was a favor,” said Elysa Braunstein, now 56, who said the implication from her father was that the future president did not have a disqualifying foot ailment. Braunstein’s surgical office in Jamaica, Queens, was owned by the Trump family until 2004. Braunstein said that after the letter was issued, her father received preferential treatment from his landlord. “If there was anything wrong in the building, my dad would call and Trump would take care of it immediately. That was the small favor that he got.” Larry Braunstein died in 2007. A second podiatrist, Manny Weinstein, who was also allegedly involved in testifying to Trump’s condition, was a close friend of Braunstein’s, she said. Weinstein lived in two apartments in Brooklyn owned by Fred Trump. He moved into the first space during the year Donald Trump received his exemption. In an interview with the Times in 2016, Donald Trump said a doctor provided “a very strong letter” about the bone spurs in his heels, which he then presented to military draft officials. He said he could not remember the doctor’s name. “You are talking a lot of years,” Trump said. He had been declared available for service two years earlier and underwent a physical exam, records show. Officials again declared him available for service in July 1968, by which time he had exhausted four education deferments and finished college. However, the last-minute diagnosis of bone spurs, which has been widely mocked, kept him out of military service.
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This compares JFK’s intelligence with our Orange Ignoramus.
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TAKE NOTE, TRUMP
Here’s How JFK Answered Santa Queries
A day after Donald Trump provoked astonishment by asking a 7-year-old child if she still believed in Santa, a letter from President John F. Kennedy, sent in response to a little girl concerned about the plight of Santa Claus if the Russians proceeded with weapons testing at the North Pole, has been circulated on Twitter by presidential historian Michael Beschloss. “Dear Michelle, I was glad to get your letter about trying to stop the Russians about bombing the North Pole and risking the life of Santa Claus,” JFK wrote on Oct. 28, 1961, as nuclear tensions simmered. “I share your concern about the atmospheric testing of the Soviet Union, not only for the North Pole but for countries throughout the world; not only for Santa Claus but for people throughout the world. However, you must not worry about Santa Claus. I talked with him yesterday and he is fine. He will be making his rounds again this Christmas.”
Read it at New York Post
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This is one main reason that Trump got elected. Some of his choices were unqualified, as stated by the American Bar Association. Great things by a ‘great’ leader. [It NEVER ends!!]
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Bigots, Bloggers Liars: The Top-Ten Worst Judges Trump Has Put on the Bench
Jay Michaelson
12.25.18
The old Congress is going out so it’s time to review the worst people who are now federal judges—for life.
…The result was predictable: several unqualified, ill-tempered judges who will now serve for decades on the bench. Here are ten of the worst:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/bigots-bloggers-liars-the-top-ten-worst-judges-trump-has-put-on-the-bench?source=email&via=desktop
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