Peter Cvjetanovic didn’t really think this through. Cenk Uygur and Ana
Kasparian, hosts of The Young Turks, discuss. Tell us what you think in
the comment section below. http://www.tytnetwork.com/join
"They
didn't wear hoods as they chanted "Jews will not replace us." They
weren't hiding their faces as they waved Confederate flags, racist signs
and swastikas. They looked straight at a sea of cameras as they made
the Nazi salute.
As Matt Thompson wrote for The Atlantic, the
white supremacist march and rally this past weekend wasn't a KKK rally:
"It was a pride march."
The bare-faced shamelessness was the point. But it was also an opening.
On
the Internet, some people are crowd-sourcing efforts to identify and
shame the people participating in the rally. Most prominently, on
Twitter, the account called "Yes, You're Racist" has been soliciting
help and posting IDs. "I'll make them famous," the account pledged.”
http://www.npr.org/2017/08/14/543418271/on-the-internet-everyone-knows-you-re-a-racist-twitter-account-ids-marchers
Showing posts with label Common Sense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Common Sense. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Monday, August 14, 2017
You will have to shovel our bodies into the oven, too: Father of Charlottesville Nazi disowns him
By
Pete Tefft, Charlottesville riot attendee (Photo: Facebook)
One father of a marcher in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend
is denouncing his own son after the young man was seen on national news
spouting hate.
In a letter to Fargo, North Dakota’s Inforum, father Pearce Tefft wrote that his family wasn’t sure where his son Peter picked up his racist beliefs.
“I, along with all of his siblings and his entire family, wish to loudly repudiate my son’s vile, hateful, and racist rhetoric and actions,” Tefft wrote, clarifying that he certainly didn’t learn such values at home.
“I have shared my home and hearth with friends and acquaintances of every race, gender, and creed. I have taught all of my children that all men and women are created equal. That we must love each other all the same,” he continued. However, he acknowledged, that Peter chose another path.
The family has remained largely silent, but Tefft said these recent events pushed them over the edge.
Remaining silent, he believed, would be a mistake.
“It was the silence of good people that allowed the Nazis to flourish the first time around, and it is the silence of good people that is allowing them to flourish now,” he wrote.
He went on to say that his son is no longer welcome in their home or at family gatherings until he renounces the hate. The beliefs of the younger Tefft has also brought hate targeted at his relatives, who are being considered guilty by association.
His father recalled a time when his son joked, “The thing about us fascists is, it’s not that we don’t believe in freedom of speech. You can say whatever you want. We’ll just throw you in an oven,” Tefft recalled.
“Peter, you will have to shovel our bodies into the oven, too. Please son, renounce the hate, accept and love all,” the father closed.
Peter’s nephew also denounced him, according to local news outlet WDAY 6.
“In brief, we reject him wholly – both him personally as a vile person who has HIMSELF made violent threats against our family, and also his hideous ideology, which we abhor,” his nephew Jacob Scott said. “We are all bleeding-heart liberals who believe in the fundamental equality of all human beings.”
“Peter is a maniac, who has turned away from all of us and gone down some insane Internet rabbit-hole, and turned into a crazy Nazi. He scares us all, we don’t feel safe around him, and we don’t know how he came to be this way. My grandfather feels especially grieved, as though he has failed as a father.”
The younger Tefft posted a photo of himself prior to the rally at the base of the statue in Charlottesville.
In a letter to Fargo, North Dakota’s Inforum, father Pearce Tefft wrote that his family wasn’t sure where his son Peter picked up his racist beliefs.
“I, along with all of his siblings and his entire family, wish to loudly repudiate my son’s vile, hateful, and racist rhetoric and actions,” Tefft wrote, clarifying that he certainly didn’t learn such values at home.
“I have shared my home and hearth with friends and acquaintances of every race, gender, and creed. I have taught all of my children that all men and women are created equal. That we must love each other all the same,” he continued. However, he acknowledged, that Peter chose another path.
The family has remained largely silent, but Tefft said these recent events pushed them over the edge.
Remaining silent, he believed, would be a mistake.
“It was the silence of good people that allowed the Nazis to flourish the first time around, and it is the silence of good people that is allowing them to flourish now,” he wrote.
He went on to say that his son is no longer welcome in their home or at family gatherings until he renounces the hate. The beliefs of the younger Tefft has also brought hate targeted at his relatives, who are being considered guilty by association.
His father recalled a time when his son joked, “The thing about us fascists is, it’s not that we don’t believe in freedom of speech. You can say whatever you want. We’ll just throw you in an oven,” Tefft recalled.
“Peter, you will have to shovel our bodies into the oven, too. Please son, renounce the hate, accept and love all,” the father closed.
Peter’s nephew also denounced him, according to local news outlet WDAY 6.
“In brief, we reject him wholly – both him personally as a vile person who has HIMSELF made violent threats against our family, and also his hideous ideology, which we abhor,” his nephew Jacob Scott said. “We are all bleeding-heart liberals who believe in the fundamental equality of all human beings.”
“Peter is a maniac, who has turned away from all of us and gone down some insane Internet rabbit-hole, and turned into a crazy Nazi. He scares us all, we don’t feel safe around him, and we don’t know how he came to be this way. My grandfather feels especially grieved, as though he has failed as a father.”
The younger Tefft posted a photo of himself prior to the rally at the base of the statue in Charlottesville.
Before the liberals tear it down. @POVnow Help us #UniteTheRight ! @ACLU is. pic.twitter.com/KDv62EMba0— Pete Tefft (@TradiPeter) August 11, 2017
This charming Nazi is Pete Tefft of Fargo, ND — spotted in @UR_Ninja‘s video: https://t.co/2oslzXHtRZ #GoodNightAltRight #Charlottesville pic.twitter.com/Zqd2gm8mOC— Yes, You’re Racist (@YesYoureRacist) August 12, 2017
GoDaddy dumping white supremacist site The Daily Stormer
The site, which was involved in organizing the white supremacist rally
in Charlottesville, has been given 24 hours to move its domain or have
it cancelled.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/godaddy-pull-plug-daily-stormer-after-article-mocks-charlottesville-victim-n792406
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/neo-nazi-website-daily-stormer-to-lose-domain-name/ar-AAq2Our
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/daily-stormer-being-dumped-by-godaddy-apparently-seized-by-anonymous/
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/godaddy-pull-plug-daily-stormer-after-article-mocks-charlottesville-victim-n792406
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/neo-nazi-website-daily-stormer-to-lose-domain-name/ar-AAq2Our
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/daily-stormer-being-dumped-by-godaddy-apparently-seized-by-anonymous/
Trump - "He's One Of Them. Let's Stop Pretending"
By Josh Marshall
As we get underway today, a few thoughts on yesterday. In addition to going out of his way not to denounce the white supremacist and neo-nazi marchers yesterday, for those primed to hear it (which is the point) the President made a point of calling out and valorizing the marchers. In his at length on-camera comments, in addition to bromides and calling for people to love each other, Trump noted that we must “cherish our history.”
Here’s the passage …
Where does this come from? Who knows who wrote this text for Trump. But many of Trump’s most important speeches were written by white nationalist aide Stephen Miller, who came from Jeff Sessions’ senate office. Miller literally worked with Alt-Right leader (he coined the phrase) Richard Spencer on racist political activism when he was in college at Duke (Spencer was a grad student at the time). This isn’t some vague guilt by association. He’s one of them.
When Gabriel Sherman asked what he identifies as a ‘senior White House official’ why the White House didn’t denounce the Nazis in Charlottesville, he got this: “What about the leftist mob? Just as violent if not more so.” Maybe I’ve missed some other background comments out of the White House. But I haven’t heard anything that approaches that level of venom about the nazis or white supremacists. When the top ideologues at Trump’s White House look at yesterday’s spectacle, they instinctively see the counter-protestors as enemies.
Was that official Miller? Who knows? It could have been Bannon or Gorka or frankly a number of others. There are plenty to choose from. That’s the point. This wasn’t resistance to making a conspicuous denunciation or being cute. Those were Trump’s supporters. He recognizes them as supporters, indeed as part of his movement. And he supports them. This is probably largely instinctive on Trump’s part. It’s more ideological and articulate on his aides’ part.
He’s one of them. Let’s stop pretending.
As we get underway today, a few thoughts on yesterday. In addition to going out of his way not to denounce the white supremacist and neo-nazi marchers yesterday, for those primed to hear it (which is the point) the President made a point of calling out and valorizing the marchers. In his at length on-camera comments, in addition to bromides and calling for people to love each other, Trump noted that we must “cherish our history.”
Here’s the passage …
Above all else, we must remember this truth: No matter our color, creed, religion or political party, we are all Americans first. We love our country. We love our God. We love our flag. We’re proud of our country. We’re proud of who we are. So we want to get the situation straightened out in Charlottesville, and we want to study it. And we want to see what we’re doing wrong as a country, where things like this can happen.I spent the better part of a decade training as an historian. I’m definitely pro-history. But in context, this is an explicit call-out to the white supremacist and neo-Confederate forces at the march whose calling card is celebrating Southern ‘heritage’ and America’s history as a white country. Zero ambiguity or question about that. And they heard the message. White supremacist leaders cheered Trump’s refusal to denounce them and his valorization of their movement.
My administration is restoring the sacred bonds of loyalty between this nation and its citizens, but our citizens must also restore the bonds of trust and loyalty between one another. We must love each other, respect each other, and cherish our history and our future together. So important. We have to respect each other. Ideally, we have to love each other.
Where does this come from? Who knows who wrote this text for Trump. But many of Trump’s most important speeches were written by white nationalist aide Stephen Miller, who came from Jeff Sessions’ senate office. Miller literally worked with Alt-Right leader (he coined the phrase) Richard Spencer on racist political activism when he was in college at Duke (Spencer was a grad student at the time). This isn’t some vague guilt by association. He’s one of them.
When Gabriel Sherman asked what he identifies as a ‘senior White House official’ why the White House didn’t denounce the Nazis in Charlottesville, he got this: “What about the leftist mob? Just as violent if not more so.” Maybe I’ve missed some other background comments out of the White House. But I haven’t heard anything that approaches that level of venom about the nazis or white supremacists. When the top ideologues at Trump’s White House look at yesterday’s spectacle, they instinctively see the counter-protestors as enemies.
Was that official Miller? Who knows? It could have been Bannon or Gorka or frankly a number of others. There are plenty to choose from. That’s the point. This wasn’t resistance to making a conspicuous denunciation or being cute. Those were Trump’s supporters. He recognizes them as supporters, indeed as part of his movement. And he supports them. This is probably largely instinctive on Trump’s part. It’s more ideological and articulate on his aides’ part.
He’s one of them. Let’s stop pretending.
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Bush-Era Ethics Czar Says Trump’s Far-Right Staffers Are To Blame for Charlottesville Riot: 'I Will Not Support Fascism'
A panel discussion on MSNBC’s AM Joy on the violence in the streets in the city of Charlottesville turned to the root causes of the rise of white nationalism under Donald Trump.
“This is the face of fascism, this is Breitbart news,” declared former Bush era ethics czar Richard Painter.
As live video of the clashes showed on the split screen, Painter lashed out at President Donald Trump and called for him to fire White House advisers Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka.
“I don’t always agree with everything the Republican administrations do but we have never ever seen rhetoric similar to what has come out of this White House,” the clearly disgusted Painter said. “We never had anyone like Steve Bannon or Sebastian Gorka in the Bush White House, to that president’s inauguration.”
“That is disgusting. We never would have tolerated that and we can disagree,” he continued. “I disagree with my own party on some issues, but we never would have had any of this in the Bush White House and these people need to be fired immediately. This is Breitbart News, and Breitbart News is a racist organization and it needs to acknowledge as such, they should not be given preferential access to the White House which is what they’re now getting under Steve Bannon.”
“Bannon needs to be fired, Sebastian Gorka and the rest of the fascists or we have to remove this president,” he said while indicating the violence.
Watch the video below via MSNBC:
Saturday, August 12, 2017
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Trump’s Nonstop Lies Are Finally Starting To Bother Republican Operatives
GOP strategist Ana Navarro has finally had enough of Donald Trump’s
nonstop lying, and during a recent media appearance she compared the
president to a used car salesperson who just keeps making things up to
make a sale. Trump’s lies are certainly growing out of control, but he
doesn’t appear to be pulling back any time soon. Ring of Fire’s Farron
Cousins discusses this.
Link – http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/345698-gop-strategist-trump-thinks-hes-a-tv-host-or-used-car-salesman-not
Link – http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/345698-gop-strategist-trump-thinks-hes-a-tv-host-or-used-car-salesman-not
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Oh Go Fuck Yourself, Glenn Greenwald
Oh golly. That’s a hard one. Let’s get out our abacus and some scratch paper and weigh the pros and cons.Greenwald, who likes to remind his readers every now and then (constantly) that he really really really really really doesn’t like America, and who is in theory a liberal who embraces liberal values, but totally isn’t, is just not sure whether Donald Trump’s plans to rip healthcare away from millions, deport the fuck out of every brown-skinned person he sees, and so on, are worse than the generals — Mattis, McMaster and Kelly — SUBVERTING TRUMP’S AGENDA by sneakily getting appointed to sweet-ass cabinet and White House positions by Donald Trump, and then sort of trying to rein in some of President Fuck-Bonkers’s most dangerous tendencies.
Oh and he’s mad about the Deep State, because of course he is. Greenwald spends a lot of his column beating a straw man to death, claiming that all the sane people who HAAAAAATE Trump, many of them conservatives who worked tirelessly to keep him from getting elected, and who have been in “COUNTRY BEFORE PARTY, MOTHERFUCKERS” mode since Greenwald’s pals at WikiLeaks and the Russians he is SO IN LOVE WITH (he would deny that accusation, but ya know, actions speak louder than words, and also fuck him) helped Trump get elected, think Greenwald and his weirdo friends are dumb for believing there is a “Deep State.” This is a false construct. We very much know there is a Deep State, and we know it makes Greenwald and Sean Hannity shit the bed, so we make fun of them about it.
But he’s really really confused about which is worse: that Trump is in office and beating the shit out of American institutions and the Constitution, or that the so-called Deep State (normal people refer to them as “career public servants”) is trying its damnedest to protect the Republic from Trump’s damage. The horrors! It reminds us of that thing Anthony Scaramucci whined during his 120-some-odd-hour tenure as White House Communications Director, about how there are some White House staffers who “think it is their job to save America from this president.” It’s almost as if there is a wide consensus among thinking Americans that the traditions we hold dear are in danger, and that we should do something about it. (Also, to all those people, thank you!)
But Greenwald can’t abide that, because how DARE the Deep State Military-CIA-Industrial Complex act all high and mighty like they for real care about protecting America from the authoritarian dipshit in the White House, when it’s very clear that #BothSidesDoIt anyway? How could Donald Trump possibly be more evil than the United States Of America has always been since forever?
Is it really hard to imagine any group that’s hurt people more than the Bush era neocons? What kind of pathetic What-About-Ism is this, GLENN? Is it not possible to simultaneously believe that the neocons empowered by George W. Bush did a lot of really bad shit (and that America in general has some blood on its hands), AND ALSO that Russia under Putin, the Rwandan genocide, North Korea, hell, a bunch of Communist governments going way the fuck back, are WORSE? What about ISIS?No matter how much of a threat one regards Trump as being, there really are other major threats to U.S. democracy and important political values. It’s hard, for instance, to imagine any group that has done more harm, and ushered in more evil, than the Bush-era neocons with whom Democrats are now openly aligning. And who has brought more death, and suffering, and tyranny to the world over the last six decades than the U.S. national security state?
The dead exploded babies his beloved Russians killed in Aleppo?
HOW ABOUT FUCKING POL POT, GLENN? IS THAT WORSE?
It’s handy that he only goes back six decades, otherwise he’d have to contend with little things like Hitler and Stalin and oh God what the fuck kind of #SlatePitch would we be reading then?
Don’t get us wrong — we don’t think it’s ideal that generals are in all these positions, or that #DeepState patriots are doing what they’re doing, and during ANY other presidency, we’d probably be appalled. But to use Greenwald’s construction, what president has done more to abuse power and subvert American institutions in his first six months of office than Donald Trump?
Anyway, this is very stupid, and what we’ve come to expect from Greenwald, who also is PRETTY SURE the Trump-Russia story is a buncha lies. As soon as he finds the time, we’re sure his Intercept website will publish a journalism exclusive claiming to have found the 400 pound New Jersey dude Trump always claims REALLY hacked the 2016 election, and we will have to tell him to go fuck himself all over again.
What tedious fuckery.
Airbnb Has Blocked The Accounts Of Attendees Of A Far-Right Rally
By Shannon Ho
Airbnb has deleted accounts and
canceled bookings of users who appear to be connected to "Unite the
Right," a far-right political rally set for Saturday in Charlottesville,
Virginia.
Neo-Nazi and white
supremacist website The Daily Stormer had organized a series of large
rally-weekend gatherings through the home-sharing site, Airbnb told NBC News.
Concerned Airbnb users flagged the thread, leading the company to
investigate potential violations of its user contract, which calls for
unbiased hospitality.
Airbnb said
they decided to remove the far-right lodgers because they were "pursuing
behavior on the platform that would be antithetical to the Airbnb
Community Commitment."
Jason
Kessler, organizer of the "Unite the Right" rally and self-described
"pro-white" activist, said Airbnb's blocking of certain users is
"outrageous and should be grounds for a lawsuit."
Clay
Hansen, the executive director of the nonpartisan Thomas Jefferson
Center for the Protection of Free Expression in Charlottesville,
said Airbnb's choice to terminate accounts does not violate the First
Amendment.
"I would say that
while Airbnb's actions wouldn't necessarily comport with general free
speech principles, they are a private company and are entitled to enact
and enforce their terms of service as they see fit," Hansen told NBC
News.
The rally, scheduled to take
place Saturday in Charlottesville, is shaping up to be the "the largest
hate-gathering of its kind in decades," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
As
of Tuesday, Aug. 8, almost 700 people said they would be attending, and
another 1,200 showed interest in the event on its Facebook link. The
rally aims to "to affirm the right of Southerners and white people to
organize for their interests."
"It's
the racial targeting of white people for their ethnic advocacy,"
Kessler wrote in an email to NBC. "Would Airbnb cancel the service of
black nationalists or Black Lives Matter activists for their social
media activity? Of course not!"
White
supremacists gathered in Charlottesville in May to protest the removal
of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's statue. They chanted "All White
Lives Matter" while carrying torches. Klu Klux Klan members also
protested there in July for the same cause.
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
How Racist Can The White House Get? (Answer: Very)
Posted by Rude One
The last couple of days have been banner ones for racists of just about every stripe, from backwoods yahoo country fucks to ostensibly educated white nationalist shit crumbs, from pandering politicians to true believers. Let's just run it down:
1. The Department of Justice is exploring whether the federal government should be "suing universities over affirmative action admissions policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants." It's as if they believe that diversity on college campuses is a bad thing, probably because it makes people more sympathetic to people of other races. And how can you have a race war if that happens?
2. President Donald Trump announced his support for the RAISE Act, which is an anodyne acronym masking a shitty policy. It looks to cut in half the number of legal immigrants coming into the country, and it emphasizes skilled workers who can speak English. Oh, and only spouses and children can come over with immigrants.
When nutzoid hate-filled jizz goblin Stephen Miller, a senior policy advisor and winner of "Man Who Most Looks Like a Star Trek Alien" was asked about the racist implications of the proposal, he went into an outrage froth that coated the gathered reporters in a glistening film of saliva. It reached a spittle-flecked climax when Miller attacked CNN's Jim Acosta for daring to suggest that one purpose of the bill might be to bring in more white people, saying that "it reveals your cosmopolitan bias to a shocking degree." Fuck's sake, "cosmopolitan" means you give a shit about the world. The opposite of "cosmopolitan" is, more or less, "xenophobic." Or it's just an anti-Semitic dog whistle (which is extra weird since Miller is Jewish). Either way, between that and a bizarro attack on the meaning of the Statue of Liberty, it was a fucking train wreck of an appearance.
3. The Washington Post printed transcripts of Trump's late January phone calls with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. While they are masterpieces of fuckery, dickishness, and doltishness, it's also worth pointing out how fucking openly racist Trump is willing to go when talking about refugees.
When Turnbull presses Trump on honoring a deal on at least vetting refugees to possibly take them into the United States, Trump goes twitchy with paranoia. He knocks Cubans: "You remember the Mariel boat lift, where Castro let everyone out of prison and Jimmy Carter accepted them with open arms. These were brutal people." Yeah, see only 2% of the 125,000 Cubans who came here in 1980 were deemed criminals who needed to be deported. The rest fucking made Miami what it is today. (Oddly, Miller brought up the Mariel boat lift in his remarks yesterday. These Trumpers are consistent in their assholery.)
Then, after Turnbull insists that the U.S. live up to its obligations, something Trump is well-known not to give a flying rat fuck about, the president says of the refugees who have been living in horrific conditions on islands off Australia, "I hate taking these people. I guarantee you they are bad. That is why they are in prison right now. They are not going to be wonderful people who go on to work for the local milk people...maybe you should let them out of prison." Who knows where all these milk jobs are, but Trump equates "refugee camp" with "prison," which would probably shock a lot of the little children who are there.
This shit is so blatant it'd make a robed KKK member say, "Whoa, a little obvious there, fella."
Look, we know Trump is racist. We knew it for years, from the Central Park Five to birtherism to the Muslim travel ban. It has been one of his most consistent traits. And we know that Trump has surrounded himself with racists, with people who are directly connected to white nationalist groups. And we know that Trump's supporters are racist (yeah, you are, fuck off).
And now we're seeing the policy implications of that. Trump used to ask various non-white groups, "What the hell do you have to lose?" in electing him.
It's pretty clear that the answer is "a future."
The last couple of days have been banner ones for racists of just about every stripe, from backwoods yahoo country fucks to ostensibly educated white nationalist shit crumbs, from pandering politicians to true believers. Let's just run it down:
1. The Department of Justice is exploring whether the federal government should be "suing universities over affirmative action admissions policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants." It's as if they believe that diversity on college campuses is a bad thing, probably because it makes people more sympathetic to people of other races. And how can you have a race war if that happens?
2. President Donald Trump announced his support for the RAISE Act, which is an anodyne acronym masking a shitty policy. It looks to cut in half the number of legal immigrants coming into the country, and it emphasizes skilled workers who can speak English. Oh, and only spouses and children can come over with immigrants.
When nutzoid hate-filled jizz goblin Stephen Miller, a senior policy advisor and winner of "Man Who Most Looks Like a Star Trek Alien" was asked about the racist implications of the proposal, he went into an outrage froth that coated the gathered reporters in a glistening film of saliva. It reached a spittle-flecked climax when Miller attacked CNN's Jim Acosta for daring to suggest that one purpose of the bill might be to bring in more white people, saying that "it reveals your cosmopolitan bias to a shocking degree." Fuck's sake, "cosmopolitan" means you give a shit about the world. The opposite of "cosmopolitan" is, more or less, "xenophobic." Or it's just an anti-Semitic dog whistle (which is extra weird since Miller is Jewish). Either way, between that and a bizarro attack on the meaning of the Statue of Liberty, it was a fucking train wreck of an appearance.
3. The Washington Post printed transcripts of Trump's late January phone calls with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. While they are masterpieces of fuckery, dickishness, and doltishness, it's also worth pointing out how fucking openly racist Trump is willing to go when talking about refugees.
When Turnbull presses Trump on honoring a deal on at least vetting refugees to possibly take them into the United States, Trump goes twitchy with paranoia. He knocks Cubans: "You remember the Mariel boat lift, where Castro let everyone out of prison and Jimmy Carter accepted them with open arms. These were brutal people." Yeah, see only 2% of the 125,000 Cubans who came here in 1980 were deemed criminals who needed to be deported. The rest fucking made Miami what it is today. (Oddly, Miller brought up the Mariel boat lift in his remarks yesterday. These Trumpers are consistent in their assholery.)
Then, after Turnbull insists that the U.S. live up to its obligations, something Trump is well-known not to give a flying rat fuck about, the president says of the refugees who have been living in horrific conditions on islands off Australia, "I hate taking these people. I guarantee you they are bad. That is why they are in prison right now. They are not going to be wonderful people who go on to work for the local milk people...maybe you should let them out of prison." Who knows where all these milk jobs are, but Trump equates "refugee camp" with "prison," which would probably shock a lot of the little children who are there.
This shit is so blatant it'd make a robed KKK member say, "Whoa, a little obvious there, fella."
Look, we know Trump is racist. We knew it for years, from the Central Park Five to birtherism to the Muslim travel ban. It has been one of his most consistent traits. And we know that Trump has surrounded himself with racists, with people who are directly connected to white nationalist groups. And we know that Trump's supporters are racist (yeah, you are, fuck off).
And now we're seeing the policy implications of that. Trump used to ask various non-white groups, "What the hell do you have to lose?" in electing him.
It's pretty clear that the answer is "a future."
Monday, July 31, 2017
Fat Ass Chris Christie and all future N.J. governors barred from using beach mansion during government shutdowns
The New Jersey Assembly on Monday barred Gov. Chris Christie from using
a house at Island Beach State Park during government shutdowns.
The Legislature voted 63-2 with two abstentions to prevent Christie — or any future New Jersey governor — from using the Island Beach State Park beach mansion during a government shutdown, officials said.
Assemblyman John Wisniewski of Middlesex County proposed the measure July 13 after Christie earned statewide ire when he was photographed sunning himself July 2 with his family on the beach after he shut down state beaches during a budget standoff.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/gov-christie-barred-beach-mansion-shutdowns-article-1.3371772
The Legislature voted 63-2 with two abstentions to prevent Christie — or any future New Jersey governor — from using the Island Beach State Park beach mansion during a government shutdown, officials said.
Assemblyman John Wisniewski of Middlesex County proposed the measure July 13 after Christie earned statewide ire when he was photographed sunning himself July 2 with his family on the beach after he shut down state beaches during a budget standoff.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/gov-christie-barred-beach-mansion-shutdowns-article-1.3371772
Friday, July 28, 2017
'Skinny Repeal' Defeated, Thanks To Democrats And Senators McCain, Murkowski And Collins
By Karoli Kuns
Tonight, Senator John McCain just paid red don back for his 'I like people who weren't captured' shit.
He was the third vote, with Senators Collins and Murkowski to kill the skinny bill.
I don't know what happens next.
---
All eight pages of the Trojan Horse "Health Care Freedom Act" have been published.
I could tell you what's in them, but the thing is, Senators don't want this to become law. They don't want the House to rubber-stamp this. This is just a placeholder to send over to the House so they can convene a conference committee, which will surely fail.
And when it fails, this will pass. So I guess that means you should know what's in it.
I'm afraid (as are many of the health care experts I follow) that this will pass. I will update this post with more as it's available.
Tonight, Senator John McCain just paid red don back for his 'I like people who weren't captured' shit.
He was the third vote, with Senators Collins and Murkowski to kill the skinny bill.
I don't know what happens next.
---
All eight pages of the Trojan Horse "Health Care Freedom Act" have been published.
I could tell you what's in them, but the thing is, Senators don't want this to become law. They don't want the House to rubber-stamp this. This is just a placeholder to send over to the House so they can convene a conference committee, which will surely fail.
And when it fails, this will pass. So I guess that means you should know what's in it.
- Repeals individual mandate, effective January 1, 2017.
- Allows some tinkering by states to Essential Health Benefits
- Repeals device tax
- Defunds Planned Parenthood
- Raises limits to Health Savings Accounts
I'm afraid (as are many of the health care experts I follow) that this will pass. I will update this post with more as it's available.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Cliven Bundy follower gets 68 years for role in armed Nevada standoff
By Steve Gorman
Outgunned by Bundy's
supporters, authorities released the cattle and left the area. Although
no shots were fired, prosecutors said Burleson and his five
co-defendants aimed rifles at law enforcement.
(Reuters)
- One of two men convicted in the first of several trials stemming from
a 2014 standoff led by renegade rancher Cliven Bundy against federal
authorities in Nevada was sentenced on Wednesday to 68 years in prison
for his role in the armed confrontation.
Gregory
Burleson, 53, of Phoenix, was found guilty in April of eight felony
counts, including charges of threatening and assaulting federal
officers, obstruction of justice, interstate travel in aid of extortion
and firearms offenses related to a crime of violence.
The
uprising at Bundy's ranch near Bunkerville, Nevada, 75 miles (120 km)
northeast of Las Vegas, grew out of a dispute in which federal agents
seized Bundy's cattle over his refusal to pay fees required for grazing
his livestock on government land.
The standoff
became a flashpoint in long-simmering tensions over federal ownership of
vast tracts of public lands in the West, and a rallying point for
right-wing militants who challenge the U.S. government's authority in
the region.
Burleson was the first of 17
defendants from the Bundy revolt to be tried, convicted and sent to
prison. A co-defendant found guilty by the same jury faces sentencing in
September.
Four others granted a mistrial in
April are being retried in Nevada. Two more groups of defendants,
including Bundy and his sons, are scheduled to stand trial later this
year and next.
Two others charged in the case
pleaded guilty separately. One received a seven-year prison term, the
other will be sentenced in January, said Trisha Young, a spokeswoman for
the U.S. Attorney's Office in Las Vegas.
Two
of Bundy's sons and four followers were acquitted of conspiracy charges
in a separate trial in October stemming from their armed takeover of a
federal wildlife center in Oregon in early 2016.
Wednesday's sentencing came days before various militia groups plan a weekend rally near Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Burleson
and the five others with whom he was tried were described by
prosecutors as Bundy's "gunmen and followers," who showed up at his
ranch from neighboring Western states armed with assault rifles and
other weapons.
Prosecutors
said all six were among hundreds who descended on Bunkerville in April
2014 for a showdown with federal officers providing security during a
court-ordered roundup of Bundy's cattle.
Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Grant McCool and Lisa Shumaker
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Talking About Pardoning Yourself Makes You Sound REALLY Guilty
Donald Trump takes to Twitter and emphasizes that he has the "complete
power to pardon," drawing suspicion that his top advisers and even he himself might be facing criminal charges in connection to the
Russia scandal.
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Monday, July 24, 2017
GOP trashes Trump’s plan to end dozens of government programs
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump’s plan to eliminate dozens of federal agencies and programs has collapsed, as a conservative Republican Congress refuses to go along.
Among the programs spared are agencies promoting rural business development and the arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Community Development Block Grants and the National Wildlife Refuge Fund. Those and many others are getting money in bills approved by the GOP-run House appropriations committee. The House plans to vote on spending bills throughout next week, and the Senate is expected to consider spending plans shortly.
Trump unveiled his $4.1 trillion budget plan in March, pledging to “reduce the federal government to redefine its proper role and promote efficiency.”
But in the House, where all 435 members face voters next fall, budget legislation has far more money than Trump had sought for a host of programs. The spending bill for agriculture contains $4.64 billion beyond what Trump requested, an increase of about 30 percent. For interior and the environment, the bump was $4.3 billion or 16 percent. For transportation, housing and urban development, the committee approved $8.6 billion, about 18 percent, more than the budget request.
"There’s that old saying in Washington that the president proposes and Congress disposes," said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog.
Indeed, after many House and Senate Republicans complained to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney in hearings about the impact of some of Trump’s cuts, congressional budget-writers quickly made sure they don’t happen.
For example, instead of slashing the Appalachian Regional Commission, the House Appropriations Committee last week approved $130 million for the independent agency, created 52 years ago, that helps fund infrastructure and job-training projects in Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Missouri, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and other Appalachian states that Trump won in 2016.
Lawmakers including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., vowed that doing away with the ARC wasn’t going to happen.
"I am very proud that the House Appropriations Committee approved a bill that includes important funding for the ARC, an organization that does a great deal of good in East Tennessee and rural Appalachia," Roe said.
Even agencies and programs conservative Republicans purport to dislike are avoiding the Capitol ax.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been on the list of programs many conservatives and Republicans have wanted to defund since Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., was House Speaker in the 1990's.
Trump wants it off the federal books, too, but House appropriators instead included $445 million for the agency.
The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities have also been favorite conservative targets, and got a death sentence in Trump’s budget plan. That didn’t stop the House Appropriations Committee from approving $145 million for each endowment last week with plenty of Republican help.
"Throughout this year, we’ve seen some of the Republican members of that committee saying that they were working hard to make sure that the NEA would be receiving significant funding and certainly rejecting the administration’s termination proposal," said Narric Rome, vice president for government affairs for the Americans for the Arts, an advocacy group.
All this still enrages plenty of conservatives.
"The problem with the Republicans is that so many of them aren’t team players," said Chris Edwards, director of tax policies studies at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute and editor of DownsizingGovernment.org. "They’re parochial or, with appropriators, it’s just a single-minded devotion to increase spending on the programs that they fund."
Edwards said he was stunned when leading Republicans railed against Trump’s budget plan to eliminate the Community Block Grant Development program, which allocates funds initiatives from affordable housing to after school programs.
House appropriators approved $2.9 billion for CDBG, $100 million less than its Fiscal 2017 funding level.
"Appropriators and other Republican congressmen, they love to give speeches about fiscal responsibility, they love to complain how Obama was a big spender, but now’s the real test," he said.
"Trump has given them the way forward here with some reasonable cuts. Can they rise above their parochial interests and do something that’s good for the overall budget here?."
Other budget-watchers note that the real money issues aren’t even being addressed. Marc Goldwein, senior vice president and senior policy director for the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said that even Trump’s cuts ignore the fastest growing parts of the federal budget, entitlements like Social Security and Medicare.
"To me, it just doesn’t seem to make much sense to be focusing all our energy on cutting the slowest growing part of the budget," he said.
President Donald Trump’s plan to eliminate dozens of federal agencies and programs has collapsed, as a conservative Republican Congress refuses to go along.
Among the programs spared are agencies promoting rural business development and the arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Community Development Block Grants and the National Wildlife Refuge Fund. Those and many others are getting money in bills approved by the GOP-run House appropriations committee. The House plans to vote on spending bills throughout next week, and the Senate is expected to consider spending plans shortly.
Trump unveiled his $4.1 trillion budget plan in March, pledging to “reduce the federal government to redefine its proper role and promote efficiency.”
But in the House, where all 435 members face voters next fall, budget legislation has far more money than Trump had sought for a host of programs. The spending bill for agriculture contains $4.64 billion beyond what Trump requested, an increase of about 30 percent. For interior and the environment, the bump was $4.3 billion or 16 percent. For transportation, housing and urban development, the committee approved $8.6 billion, about 18 percent, more than the budget request.
"There’s that old saying in Washington that the president proposes and Congress disposes," said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog.
Indeed, after many House and Senate Republicans complained to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney in hearings about the impact of some of Trump’s cuts, congressional budget-writers quickly made sure they don’t happen.
For example, instead of slashing the Appalachian Regional Commission, the House Appropriations Committee last week approved $130 million for the independent agency, created 52 years ago, that helps fund infrastructure and job-training projects in Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Missouri, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and other Appalachian states that Trump won in 2016.
Lawmakers including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., vowed that doing away with the ARC wasn’t going to happen.
"I am very proud that the House Appropriations Committee approved a bill that includes important funding for the ARC, an organization that does a great deal of good in East Tennessee and rural Appalachia," Roe said.
Even agencies and programs conservative Republicans purport to dislike are avoiding the Capitol ax.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been on the list of programs many conservatives and Republicans have wanted to defund since Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., was House Speaker in the 1990's.
Trump wants it off the federal books, too, but House appropriators instead included $445 million for the agency.
The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities have also been favorite conservative targets, and got a death sentence in Trump’s budget plan. That didn’t stop the House Appropriations Committee from approving $145 million for each endowment last week with plenty of Republican help.
"Throughout this year, we’ve seen some of the Republican members of that committee saying that they were working hard to make sure that the NEA would be receiving significant funding and certainly rejecting the administration’s termination proposal," said Narric Rome, vice president for government affairs for the Americans for the Arts, an advocacy group.
All this still enrages plenty of conservatives.
"The problem with the Republicans is that so many of them aren’t team players," said Chris Edwards, director of tax policies studies at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute and editor of DownsizingGovernment.org. "They’re parochial or, with appropriators, it’s just a single-minded devotion to increase spending on the programs that they fund."
Edwards said he was stunned when leading Republicans railed against Trump’s budget plan to eliminate the Community Block Grant Development program, which allocates funds initiatives from affordable housing to after school programs.
House appropriators approved $2.9 billion for CDBG, $100 million less than its Fiscal 2017 funding level.
"Appropriators and other Republican congressmen, they love to give speeches about fiscal responsibility, they love to complain how Obama was a big spender, but now’s the real test," he said.
"Trump has given them the way forward here with some reasonable cuts. Can they rise above their parochial interests and do something that’s good for the overall budget here?."
Other budget-watchers note that the real money issues aren’t even being addressed. Marc Goldwein, senior vice president and senior policy director for the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said that even Trump’s cuts ignore the fastest growing parts of the federal budget, entitlements like Social Security and Medicare.
"To me, it just doesn’t seem to make much sense to be focusing all our energy on cutting the slowest growing part of the budget," he said.
Saturday, July 22, 2017
Friday, July 21, 2017
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer Resigns
WASHINGTON
— Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, resigned on Friday
morning, telling Trump he vehemently disagreed with the
appointment of the New York financier Anthony Scaramucci as
communications director.
Mr.
Trump offered Mr. Scaramucci the job at 10 A.M. Trump requested
that Mr. Spicer stay on, but Mr. Spicer told Mr. Trump that he believed
the appointment was a major mistake, according to a person with direct
knowledge of the exchange.
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