Showing posts with label Common Sense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Common Sense. Show all posts

Friday, March 9, 2018

Here's what will happen if Trump meets Kim Jong Un

1. Kim will flatter him.


2. Kim will impress him with his palaces and his military parades.


3. Kim will tell him what a historical achievement this diplomatic contact is. And Trump is the one who did it!


4. Kim will agree to take first steps that might eventually lead to denuclearization in the far, far future. In exchange for aid right now.


5. Kim will again tell him what a big win this meeting is.


6. Trump will leave and tout this as a victory.


7. Kim will do as little as possible to fulfill his side of any agreement and wait for Trump to leave office.


8. Once Trump is out of office, Kim sends North Korea back into isolation.

Source

Saturday, February 24, 2018

All the brands that have cut ties with the NRA following gun-control activists' boycotts

By Kate Taylor and Leanna Garfield
  • Gun-control activists are organizing boycotts and calling for companies to cut ties with the National Rifle Association.
  • The NRA has partnerships with companies that offer members special deals, such as discounts on car rentals or hotel bookings.
  • The car-rental giant Enterprise and the First National Bank of Omaha are among the companies that have cut since ties with the NRA.

Gun-control activists are organizing boycotts of companies with ties to the National Rifle Association — and they're already producing results.

People on social media are calling for boycotts of companies that offer or have offered special deals to NRA members who, as part of their membership, receive discounts on things like car rentals and prescription drugs.

While companies such as FedEx and Hertz still offer such discounts, other companies have cut ties.

Here are all the brands that have cut ties with the gun-rights group after the recent boycotts as well as past efforts by gun-control activists.

Delta Airlines



Delta Airlines Delta
On Saturday, the airline tweeted that it is "reaching out to the NRA to let them know we will be ending their contract for discounted rates through our group travel program. We will be requesting that the NRA remove our information from their website."

United Airlines



United Airlines Scott Olson/Getty Images
The airline announced on Saturday that it is cutting ties to the NRA.
"United is notifying the NRA that we will no longer offer a discounted rate to their annual meeting and we are asking that the NRA remove our information from their website," the company tweeted.

Hertz



Hertz
Hertz rental cars are seen in a rental lot near Detroit Metropolitan airport in Romulus.
Thomson Reuters
On Friday, Hertz tweeted, "We have notified the NRA that we are ending the NRA's rental car discount program with Hertz."

Allied Van Lines



Allied Van Lines Allied Van Lines
In a statement to Business Insider, an Allied representative said the moving company is discontinuing its discount program with the NRA immediately. "We have asked them to remove our listing from their benefits site," the representative said.

MetLife



MetLife Thomson Reuters
MetLife told Business Insider on Friday that it would discontinue its NRA discounts program. "We value all our customers but have decided to end our discount program with the NRA," a representative said in an emailed statement.

SimpliSafe



SimpliSafe SimpliSafe
On Friday, the home-security company SimpliSafe told Business Insider that it would withdraw from the NRA discount program. "We have discontinued our existing relationship with the NRA," SimpliSafe CEO Chad Laurans said in a statement.

First National Bank of Omaha

On Thursday, the bank said it would not renew a contract with the NRA that allowed members to receive an NRA-branded Visa card. "Customer feedback has caused us to review our relationship with the NRA," the bank said on Twitter in response to a call for a boycott. Previously, First National Bank offered members of the gun-rights organization an NRA Visa card, which offered a $40 cash-back bonus.

Paramount Rx



Paramount Rx Thomson Reuters
On Friday night, Paramount Rx released the following statement to BI: "The prescription discount program that is made available to NRA members is offered through a third-party vendor. We are working with that vendor to discontinue the program and remove the offering."

Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent a Car, and National Car Rental



Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent a Car, and National Car Rental Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The car-rental giant Enterprise Holdings announced on Thursday that it would end its NRA discount program, effective March 26. The three car-rental brands that Enterprise operates — Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent a Car, and National Car Rental — will stop offering discounts to NRA members.
A representative did not respond to Business Insider's follow-up questions about why Enterprise was ending the program, though the company has been flooded with boycott threats on social media. Avis Budget Group and Hertz, two rivals of Enterprise, still offered NRA discounts as of Friday morning.

Symantec



Symantec Symantec
The cybersecurity company announced on social media Friday that it had "stopped its discount program with the National Rifle Association."

Best Western

Best Western has been targeted by boycott efforts because it has offered discounts to NRA members as recently as 2016. In response, the hotel chain has tweeted dozens of times that it "does not have an affiliation with and is not a corporate partner of the National Rifle Association."

"Best Western ended any association with the NRA in 2014," a representative said in a statement to Business Insider.

Best Western has been targeted in past NRA boycott efforts.

In 2012, after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the activist group Avaaz organized a boycott of Best Western and Wyndham Hotel Group, calling for them to cut ties with the NRA. At the time, both hotel chains were listed on the gun-rights group's website as "friends of the NRA" and offered members discounts at hotels.

Wyndham Hotel Group



Wyndham Hotel Group Wyndham
While Wyndham Hotel Group previously offered a 10% discount to NRA members, the hotel chain cut ties with the organization late last year. In response to boycott threats this week, the Twitter accounts for Wyndham and its rewards program tweeted dozens of times that the hotel chain was "no longer affiliated with the NRA."

Republic Bank



Republic Bank Republic Bank
"The NRA Prepaid Card program was previously under review. Upon conclusion of this review, we decided to discontinue the offering," a representative said in a statement.

Avis and Budget



Avis and Budget Getty Images/John Moore
A representative for Avis and Budget told Business Insider that the brands would stop the NRA rewards program, effective March 26, 2018.

Corporations start dropping support for the NRA and you too can do your part to help: Tell Amazon, Roku, Apple, and Google to dump the NRA TV channel

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Several Eagles will skip Donald Trump White House visit after winning Super Bowl


MINNEAPOLIS -- Several Eagles players plan on skipping the traditional White House celebration after winning Super Bowl LII over the New England Patriots on Sunday night.

Wide receiver Torrey Smith, defensive end Chris Long, and safety Malcolm Jenkins are among the players planing to boycott visiting President Donald J. Trump.



Here is the exact moment the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl, finishing off the New England Patriots, 41-33, in Super Bowl LII (52) at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. on Sunday, February 4, 2018 (2/4/18). (Video by Eliot Shorr-Parks | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Trump has repeatedly attacked NFL players for silent acts of dissent whether it is kneeling or raising fists during the national anthem in advocating for criminal justice reform and eradicating social injustice.

"They call it the anthem protest," Smith said this week. "We're not protesting the anthem. It's a protest during the anthem. I understand why people are mad, or may be offended when someone takes a knee.

"My father when he dies, is going to be buried with an American flag draped around his casket, being that he served in the army. I understand why some people are offended by it. Also, there are soldiers that have issues going on right now, and they are things that effect them. They're things that effect my father. He understands both sides of the issue."


Nick Foles, Corey Clement power Eagles to Super Bowl victory 41-33 over New England Patriots | Studs and Duds

Meanwhile, Long -- who also skipped the post Super Bowl White House trip last year as a member of the New England Patriots -- says that he does not want his children to grow up having been influenced by Trump's actions or policies.

"No," Long said during the Pardon My Take Podcast. "I'm not going to the White House. Are you kidding me?"

Sunday, January 28, 2018

New York Attorney General To Investigate Firm That Sells Fake Followers

The New York attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, on Saturday opened an investigation into a company that sold millions of fake followers on social media platforms, some of them copying real users’ personal information.

The company, Devumi, and its sale of automated followers to a swath of celebrities, sports stars, journalists and politicians, was detailed in a New York Times article published earlier on Saturday. 

While based in Florida, Devumi claims on its website to be based in New York City.

At least 55,000 of its “bot” accounts used names, pictures, hometowns and other details taken from people on Twitter. The real users hailed from every U.S. state, including New York, and dozens of countries, a Times analysis found.

“Impersonation and deception are illegal under New York law,” Mr. Schneiderman wrote on Twitter. “We’re opening an investigation into Devumi and its apparent sale of bots using stolen identities.”
Eric T. Schneiderman, the attorney general of New York. Credit Sasha Maslov for The New York Times
The investigation is the latest in a series of federal and state inquiries into the commercial and political abuse of fake accounts on social media. Tens of millions of fake accounts have been deployed to defraud businesses, influence political debates online and attract customers.

Social media companies, including Twitter and Facebook, have drawn intense scrutiny for not taking greater steps to weed them out. Many of the accounts identified by The Times appear to violate Twitter’s own policies, but remained active on the social media platform for years, each retweeting and promoting Devumi customers.

“The tactics used by Devumi on our platform and others as described by today’s NYT article violate our policies and are unacceptable to us,” Twitter said in a message posted on its media relations account on Saturday.

Mr. Schneiderman, who was first elected in 2010, has brought a series of cases focused on the emerging world of online fraud, impersonation and abuse. In December, he began an investigation into how the Federal Communications Commission was flooded with millions of fake comments on a proposal to scrap so-called net neutrality rules. Many of the comments used names and addresses borrowed from real people, almost always without their knowledge.

“The internet should be one of the greatest tools for democracy — but it’s increasingly being turned into an opaque, pay-to-play playground,” Mr. Schneiderman said.

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Edward Snowdens New App Turns A Smartphone Into A Security System

By David Z. Morris
December 24, 2017

Edward Snowden, who blew the whistle on NSA surveillance of U.S. citizens, knows a thing or two about spying. He’s now released an app, Haven, that makes it easier to defend yourself against the most aggressive kinds.

Haven, now in public beta, turns any Android smartphone into a sensitive security system. It’s primarily intended to be installed on a secondary phone — say, last year’s model — which then takes photos and records sound of any activity in a room where it’s placed. Haven will then send alerts of any intrusion to a user’s primary phone over encrypted channels.

http://fortune.com/2017/12/24/edward-snowden-haven-security-app/

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Support For Donald Trump's Impeachment Is Higher Than His Reelection Chances

Source: Newsweek Magazine
Source: https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141943791

BY SAM SCHWARZ ON 12/20/17 AT 9:18 AM

Donald Trump is hemorrhaging support among the American people, and now more than 40 percent of Americans think it's time to start the process to impeach him, a new poll finds. The number is higher than the percentage of Americans who said they planned to vote for the current resident in the 2020 election.

The NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey, out Wednesday, carried very little good news for the resident and put him on notice that close to half of Americans believe there is enough for Congress to hold impeachment hearings even before the conclusion of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. The poll found that 70 percent of Democrats, 40 percent of Independents and even seven percent of Republicans are in favor of Congress holding hearings to remove the resident from office.

The number calling for impeachment proceedings to get underway closely parallels the 38 percent of Americans who believe Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 president election.

The White House has both publicly and privately suggested that Mueller's investigation will come to an end early in the new year, but that would appear to be wishful thinking. Recent reports have instead indicated that Mueller and his team could be working at least through the midterm elections in 2018 and possibly even beyond.

Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-impeachment-reelection-2020-753546

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Random Observations On A Minor Miracle In Alabama

Posted by Rude One

1. Right after the 2016 election nightmare, I wrote, "It's time for Democrats to stop trying to appeal to a white demographic that constantly turns against it and to do everything possible to energize the non-white vote." What last night's win in the Alabama Senate race proved is that the non-white vote is energized, and it was fostered by an active, engaged Democratic Party and other organizations in a massive get-out-the-vote effort that specifically targeted African Americans in Alabama. The campaign of Doug Jones coordinated with several groups, giving them the resources needed to knock on thousands of doors and make nearly a million phone calls.

Democrats need to understand that the black vote has now saved them in Alabama as it did in Virginia. It's time to go even further and, to continue the quote above, "that means, in as many cases as it is possible, nominating and running non-white candidates." African Americans, and especially African American women, are trying to save this country from the stupidity of our inexhaustible white ignorance. It's time to center the concerns of non-white communities in the Democratic Party and not just ask them to vote, time and again, without those things being addressed.

2. As I've also said repeatedly, fuck the white working class. Fuck them. When their needs cross with those of the non-white working class voters you're courting, then great. And you know what? Most of those needs do cross because they are class-based. They need health care, poverty programs, jobs programs, decent education. Democrats keep wanting to pretend that racist fuck nuts can be appealed to based on class. It's a comforting lie that is proven to be bullshit time and again. Roy Moore got 92% of the white vote, and that motherfucker was a wretched candidate before it was revealed he finger-fucked a 14 year-old. This country doesn't belong exclusively to white people anymore. The Republicans are fighting a desperate battle to try to maintain that white dominance. They will lose.

So no more fucking speeches about how we "understand" the pain of the white working class. It's up to the the white working class to fucking get that Democrats are the only ones who give a shit about their pain and economic hardship. And no more fucking articles about dumb fucks who are clinging to Donald Trump. They are dumb fucks. Let them drown in their stupidity for a few minutes before we throw them the life preserver.

3. Let's make sure we have some perspective here. Until the allegations of sexual assault on a minor and openly predatory behavior towards underage girls were revealed, Republican Roy Moore was going to win this race despite being a racist, homophobic, Christian extremist dickhead who has no respect for the Constitution. Even though Doug Jones was a great candidate who might have had an infinitesimal chance, Moore is a fucking nutzoid pro-lifer and no amount of compassion towards people outside the womb was going to overcome that. Yes, Jones might very well have won, but he only won by 1.5% last night and that was after the skeevy allegations against Moore came out.

4. Fight for every goddamn seat. Go for the fuckin' throat. Take these bastards down. Play the ground game. Go for the people who couldn't give a flea fart about what's being said on Twitter. IRL beats online every time. And build the right coalitions, ones that prominently feature the people who keep rescuing America's stupid ass despite the best efforts of white people to fuck it all up.

(Yes, obviously there's a large number of white working class voters who are liberal, just as there are conservative non-whites. Your objection is noted.)

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Let's Put An End To Any Debate On The Matter - Donald Trump Is A Racist!

In this ‘Dollemore Daily’ Jesse addresses Donald Trump's racist slur using the name of Pocahontas to describe Senator Elizabeth Warren during a ceremony honoring Navajo World War II Marine veteran "Code Talkers."

Monday, November 6, 2017

Insider: Betsy DeVos' Days Are Numbered.

"In a comprehensive profile, Politico said billionaire evangelical Christian DeVos has found herself stymied by the bureaucratic restraints on her job, but that bringing about change in Washington requires “time, patience and government savvy — three things she does not have.”



DeVos, said Politico’s Tim Alberta, is on a “religiously infused journey to reimagine the relationship between government, parents, teachers and schools.” The Secretary wants to allow parents more freedom to withdraw their children from public schools and enroll them in charter schools, religious schools and private schools.

What makes DeVos radical is she wants federal tax dollars to follow those children out of the public school system. One problem with implementing her plan is that public schools receive very little of their funding from the federal government. Another is her overall unpopularity and ineffectiveness.

Her first budget proposal for the department — one which would have slashed funding from multiple school programs and reapportioned that money to DeVos’ pet cause, “school choice” — was rejected by Congress.

Now, with her agenda on the rocks and morale at the Education Department cratering, some predict that DeVos may return to the private sector sooner than she’d planned."

https://www.rawstory.com/2017/11/education-officials-expect-ineffective-betsy-devos-to-step-down-as-her-agenda-collapses-report/

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Today's Terrorist Attack Changes Nothing (And, Unlike Gun Massacres, It Shouldn't)



Sunday, October 29, 2017

Friday, October 27, 2017

First charges filed in Mueller investigation

Updated 8:57 PM ET, Fri October 27, 2017

Washington (CNN) 

A federal grand jury in Washington, DC, on Friday approved the first charges in the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller, according to sources briefed on the matter.
 
The charges are still sealed under orders from a federal judge. Plans were prepared Friday for anyone charged to be taken into custody as soon as Monday, the sources said. It is unclear what the charges are.
A spokesman for the special counsel's office declined to comment.
 
Mueller was appointed in May to lead the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
 
Under the regulations governing special counsel investigations, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has oversight over the Russia investigation, would have been made aware of any charges before they were taken before the grand jury for approval, according to people familiar with the matter.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/27/politics/first-charges-mueller-investigation/index.html

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Stop Praising Horrible Republicans Just Because They Don't Like Trump

Many Republicans have come forward recently to admonish or outright reject the presidency of Donald Trump.

And while the media is heaping praise on men like George W. Bush and Jeff Flake, they completely ignore the fact that the agendas of the dissenters are no different than those of Trump.

We have to stop forgiving these Republicans of their past sins just because they don’t like Donald Trump, as Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains.



https://www.thedailybeast.com/senate-republicans-increasingly-see-trump-as-a-threat-then-give-him-a-standing-o-at-lunch

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Barack Obama Speaks On Trump

Here are some comments on the monster that American society has created.

McCain Calls Out Trump's Draft Dodging

John McCain recently discussed people getting out of Vietnam by getting doctors to write letters saying that they have bone spurs. Guess who did that? Cenk Uygur, the host of The Young Turks, shows you McCain calling out Trump’s draft dodging.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

This Amazing Pic Of Trump And Mitch McConnell Having Russian Flags Thrown At Them Is Priceless

By Jason Easley

A picture captures the precise moment when Trump and Mitch McConnell had Russian flags thrown at them as they arrived for the Republican Senate lunch.


A picture captures the precise moment when Trump and Mitch McConnell had Russian flags thrown at them as they arrived for the Republican Senate lunch.

The picture was taken by Roll Call photographer Bill Clark.

Pictures are capable of capturing the mood of a nation better than words ever could. This is one of those moments as a smiling Mitch McConnell, and thumbs up Trump are reminded of what they did to win an election as Russian flags fly toward them.

McConnell has been one of the cover-up artists for Trump in the Russia campaign. Going back to the 2016 campaign, McConnell refused to work with President Obama and issue a joint statement condemning Russian interference in the presidential election.

McConnell also allowed Russia to attack the election by expressing skepticism about the intelligence that Russia was interfering in the US presidential election.

Mitch McConnell is still working hard to cover-up Trump's crimes.

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, or in this case, one stolen presidential election.

Monday, October 23, 2017

John McCain Brutally Mocks Trump For Being A Draft Dodging Coward

By





Sen. McCain (R-AZ) said, “One aspect of the conflict by the way that I will never ever countenance is that we drafted the lowest income level of America and the highest income level found a doctor that would say that they had a bone spur. That is wrong. That is wrong. If we are going to ask every American to serve, every American should serve.”

Donald Trump has been insulting and threatening Sen. McCain even after his brain cancer diagnosis, but McCain has been through way worse than anything Trump can dish out on Twitter. Sen. McCain was right on one critical point. Trump is a man who wrapped himself in the flag but used his family’s wealth to avoid serving his country. A resident who is under federal investigation for collaborating with a hostile foreign power to undermine democracy and win a presidential election is no patriot.

The prognosis may not be good for John McCain, but if he is in the final act of his life, he is using it to defend his country against the threat that is Donald Trump.

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Larry Flynt offers $10 million for info to help impeach Trump



Hustler Magazine founder Larry Flynt is reportedly offering a $10 million reward for information that could lead to the impeachment of resident Trump.
 
Fox Business anchor Liz Claman tweeted an image of a full page advertisement from Flynt that offered the reward. Flynt later retweeted it on his own account.

In the ad, Flynt calls Trump an “illegitimate” resident who “was installed only by the quirks of our antiquated Electoral College.”

Flynt cites several reasons he believes Trump should be impeached in the ad, including Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey and his withdrawal of the United States from the Paris climate change agreement.
 The adult magazine founder also ripped Trump for his “unconscionable defense of the KKK and neo-Nazis after the Charlottesville riots,” and argued that Trump’s “worrisome” ability to “trigger a nuclear world war” is one of the more “horrifying” reasons Trump should be impeached.

“Impeachment would be a messy, contentious affair, but the alternative - three more years of destabilizing dysfunction - is worse,” Flynt writes in the ad. “Both good Democrats and good Republicans who put country over party did it before with Watergate.”

Flynt writes that impeachment would require “unimpeachable evidence” and said that’s why he is offering a $10 million reward.

“We need to flush everything out into the open,” Flynt wrote.

Flynt has made similar offers in the past, offering up to $1 million in October 2016 for audio or video recordings of Trump “engaging in illegal activity or acting in a sexually demeaning or derogatory manner.”

Flynt also made a similar offer of $1 million in 1998 during former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial and again in 2007, when he offered to pay for “documented evidence of illicit sexual liaisons with a prominent member of public office.”

This is a serious cash reward from a man with a history of paying his debts (unlike Trump). Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, breaks it down.

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Democrats Aim To Strip Mentally Unstable Trump Of His Ability To Launch Nuclear Weapons

With Donald Trump’s mental instability becoming a major issue in American politics, and the threat of an altercation with North Korea or possibly even Iran looming, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has begun conversations about passing legislation that would prevent Trump from being able to unilaterally launch nuclear weapons.

As it stands right now, Trump can launch any weapon at any time that he wants, and Democrats (and even some Republicans) understand how dangerous that is for the planet. Ring of Fire's Farron Cousins discusses this.



https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/pelosi-passing-no-first-use-law-nuclear-weapons-urgent