February 12th, 2017. It's been 457 days since the Nov 8, 2016, election of some rich asshole, no. 45, and 385 days the Jan 20th inauguration.
Keebler elf and resident racist Jeff Sessions makes remarks about ‘Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement’
Attorney General Jeff Sessions called sheriffs a "critical part of the Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement" during a speech Monday.
"We must never erode this historic office," he told the National Sheriffs' Association. "I know this, you know this. We want to be partners, we don’t want to be bosses. We want to strengthen you and help you be more effective in your work."
Sessions made the comment after praising the 75-year-old law enforcement group and its effort to help the Justice Department and President some rich asshole crack down on illegal immigration, among other law enforcement issues.
Sessions: Sheriffs central to law enforcement's 'Anglo-American heritage' 0:47
The "Anglo-American" phrase was not in the prepared remarks released by the Justice Department earlier Monday before his speech. A similarly worded sentence, "The sheriff is a critical part of our legal heritage," does appear.
The Justice Department defended Sessions' comments as meant to invoke sheriffs' English roots, as well as the debt America's legal system owes to England.
“As most law students learn in the first week of their first year, Anglo-American law — also known as the common law — is a shared legal heritage between England and America. The sheriff is unique to that shared legal heritage," Ian Prior, a spokesman for the department, said in a statement. "Before reporters sloppily imply nefarious meaning behind the term, we would suggest that they read any number of the Supreme Court opinions that use the term. Or they could simply put ‘Anglo-American law’ into Google.”
Still, Sessions' apparently unscripted moment did not go unnoticed by critics.
Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., responded to Sessions' remark by tweeting out an excerpt of the letter her mother, Coretta Scott King, wrote in the 1980s vehemently opposing Sessions's appointment to a federal judgeship, citing a lack of leadership on civil rights.
"The irony of Mr. Sessions' nomination is that, if confirmed, he will be given a life tenure for doing with a federal prosecution what the local sheriffs accomplished twenty years ago with clubs and cattle prods.” #CorettaScottKing, 1986 twitter.com/misstessowen/s…
Sessions faced accusations of racism during his 1986 Senate confirmation process for the judgeship — allegations that resurfaced during his confirmation battle to become attorney general last January. Thomas Figures, a black former assistant U.S. attorney who worked under Sessions, testified during the 1986 hearing that Sessions called him "boy" several times and joked about the Ku Klux Klan.
This prompted a vigorous denial from Sessions at the time. “I am not a racist, I am not insensitive to blacks. I have supported civil rights activity in my state. I have done my job with integrity, equality, and fairness for all,” he said at the time.
Sessions was denied the judgeship.
Helena Andrews-Dyer Washington Post 02-12-2018
Former reality star turned White House aide turned reality star Omarosa is still going strong - and spilling tea - as a contestant on "Celebrity Big Brother."
On Monday night's episode Omarosa, who previously declared on the show that she wouldn't vote for some rich asshole again "in a million years," said that a Mike Pence administration would actually be worse.
"As bad as ya'll think the rich asshole is you would be worried about Pence," said Omarosa. "So everybody that's wishing for impeachment might want to reconsider their lives. We would be begging for days of the rich asshole back if Pence became president."
Why?
"He's extreme," said Omarosa of the vice president. "I'm Christian. I love Jesus. But he thinks Jesus tells him to say things. I'm like, 'Jesus ain't say that.' " In addition to being a "reality legend" Omarosa in an ordained minister.
As the "house guests," a group of C-list celebrities trapped in a studio together, sat around to discuss illegal immigration and the Obama-era program known as DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (as you do on a reality show), Omarosa also chimed in with her expert two cents.
"No, we're not OK," she said. "I've seen the plan. The round-up plan is getting more and more aggressive."
Earlier in the show fellow contestant Ross Mathews said of Omarosa, "every time she opens her mouth I'm like is she going to drop a bomb?" And the answer, of course, is yes. It also might be a part of the former senior White House aide's strategy. Who doesn't want to hang around and gossip with the woman willing to spill all the political tea on her former boss who just so happens to be the leader of the free world?
Omarosa, who was saved from eviction on Monday night, is still a major contender on the show which runs until Feb. 25. The "bombs" she's been dropping on the show thus far have prompted a response from the White House. During a press briefing last week, Deputy White House press secretary Raj Shah dismissed the former senior aide.
"Omarosa was fired three times on 'The Apprentice,' and this was the fourth time we let her go," said Shah.
Pelosi resurfaces the rich asshole tweet vowing no Medicaid cuts after budget that slashes Medicaid
BY JACQUELINE THOMSEN - 02/12/18 05:21 PM EST
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) resurfaced a 2015 tweet by President the rich asshole promising that he wouldn’t make cuts to Medicaid and Medicare after his budget proposed cuts to both programs.
“There really is a tweet for everything,” Pelosi tweeted Monday, quote tweeting the rich asshole’s older message.
“Note: #TrumpBudget cuts health care funding, including Medicaid,” she added.
There really is a tweet for everything.
Note: #TrumpBudget cuts health care funding, including Medicaid. twitter.com/realDonaldTrum…
Note: #TrumpBudget cuts health care funding, including Medicaid. twitter.com/realDonaldTrum…
I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. Huckabee copied me.
the rich asshole had promised to not touch the programs when he was on the campaign trail.
“I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. [Mike] Huckabee copied me,” he had tweeted in 2015.
the rich asshole’s proposed budget, released on Monday, would slash federal funding for Medicaid by $250 billion over the next 10 years, and also calls for the passage of a Senate Republican bill to repeal ObamaCare.
GOP lawmakers have repeatedly attempted to repeal ObamaCare since the rich asshole took office. While unable to reverse the entire law, Republicans did repeal ObamaCare's individual mandate in their recently passed tax law.
Democrats have slammed the rich asshole over the budget, claiming that it will hurt middle-class Americans.
The 22 agencies and programs the rich asshole's budget would eliminate
BY BRETT SAMUELS - 02/12/18 01:28 PM EST
President the rich asshole on Monday unveiled his budget proposal for the 2019 fiscal year, which makes significant cuts to some federal agencies and projects as part of an effort to slash the federal deficit by $3 trillion over the next 10 years.
As part of that effort, the rich asshole has proposed eliminating funding for several agencies, grant programs and institutes.
While lawmakers are unlikely to enact most of the rich asshole's proposal, here’s a look at some of the centers and agencies the White House wants to abolish.
1. The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education, which donates agricultural commodities and financial assistance to carry out school feeding programs in foreign countries.
2. The Rural Business and Cooperative Service, which provides loans, grants and payments intended to increase opportunities in rural communities.
3. The Economic Development Administration, which provides federal grants to communities in support of locally-developed economic plans.
4. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which subsidizes advisory and consulting services for small and medium-size manufacturers.
5. 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which helps communities establish or expand centers to provide before- and after-school programs and summer school programs.
6. Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, an Education Department program that provides grants to support college preparation for low-income students.
7. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which researches ways to enhance the effectiveness of health services.
8. The Advanced Research Projects Agency, which provides support for Energy Department projects.
9. The National Wildlife Refuge Fund, which compensates communities for lost tax revenue when the federal government acquires their land.
10. The Global Climate Change Initiative, a proposal that reflects the rich asshole’s decision last year to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.
11. The NASA Office of Education, which provides grants to colleges and universities, museums and science centers. The funding would be redirected within NASA.
12. The Chemical Safety Board, which is tasked with investigating accidents at chemical facilities.
13. The Corporation for National and Community Service, which funds service opportunities, promotes volunteering and helps nonprofit organizations find volunteers.
14. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds public television and radio stations including Public Broadcasting Service and NPR.
15. The Institute of Museum and Library Services, which funds museums and libraries nationwide with grants.
16. The Legal Services Corporation, a nonprofit that provides civil legal assistance for low-income individuals.
17. The National Endowment for the Arts, which funds American artists and projects with grants.
18. The National Endowment for the Humanities, which provides grants to American humanities scholars.
19. The Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, which funds community development projects nationwide.
20. The Denali Commission, the Delta Regional Authority and the Northern Border Regional Commission, which fund infrastructure and economic projects in specified areas.
21. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency, which provides U.S. goods and services for foreign projects.
22. The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a think tank focused on international affairs and foreign policy.
Top DOJ official who quit feared being asked to oversee Russia probe: report
BY LUIS SANCHEZ - 02/12/18 01:26 PM EST
Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand expressed fears that she would be asked to oversee the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election prior to her decision to resign, NBC News reported on Monday.
President the rich asshole’s public criticism of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein — the No. 2 official at the Department of Justice (DOJ) who is overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe — made Brand worry he might get fired, leaving her to take over the investigation, NBC News reported.
Sources close to Brand said she did not want to be under the political spotlight that the role would likely bring, according to NBC News.
She also told friends that she was overwhelmed and unsupported at the DOJ, especially due to a lack of Senate-confirmed officials.
In a statement to The Hill, the DOJ pushed back on the NBC report. "It is clear that these anonymous sources have never met Rachel Brand let alone know her thinking. All of this is false and frankly ridiculous," spokeswoman Sarah Flores said.
The DOJ announced Brand's resignation on Friday.
She currently oversees 13 divisions, including the department’s civil, civil rights and antitrust divisions. She will leave in the coming weeks to work for Walmart as the executive vice president, global governance and corporate secretary.
Brand has been at her current post for less than a year. Previously, she has clerked at the Supreme Court, worked at the White House and for the two previous administrations.
"I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish over my time here,” Brand said in a statement.
Updated: 2:01 p.m.
the rich asshole’s pick to run the 2020 Census withdraws from consideration
Thomas Brunell faced fierce opposition from civil rights advocates who believed he would undercount minority communities.
Thomas Brunell, President the rich asshole’s pick for deputy director of the Census Bureau, has withdrawn his name from consideration for the position, Mother Jones reported on Monday. Brunell would have been charged with overseeing the 2020 Census survey, which has faced mounting challenges over the years.
According to sources who spoke to the outlet, Brunell, who has vigorously defended Republican redistricting efforts in several states, was initially floated for the top job at the Census Bureau, but was later moved to the deputy director slot, a position which does not require congressional approval. Brunell was slated to start at the end of November, according to internal documents obtained during a Freedom of Information Act request by Protect Democracy. A spokesperson from the Department of Commerce, which oversees the Census Bureau, confirmed that Brunell was “not under consideration” on Monday.
As Mother Jones noted, Brunell was opposed by civil rights advocates and Democratic legislators who worried that his views on redistricting would carry over into his work for the bureau, or that he might severely undercount minority communities to ensure more Republican districts received more funding later on. Former officials from the Commerce Department also claimed that his role as second in command was perhaps more detrimental to the organization as a whole than if he had been nominated as director: as Politico reported in November, “Subtle bureaucratic choices in the wording and administration of the census can have huge consequences for who is counted, and how it shifts American voting districts,” making the rich asshole’s choice of a partisan appointee all the more concerning.
“This is worse than making him director,” a former high-level Commerce official told Politico at the time. “…[If he takes over the deputy director position], there are tons of little things he could be doing to influence what the final count looks like. The ripple effect on reapportionment would be astounding.”
The deputy director role has typically been filled by a nonpartisan career civil servant with an extensive background in statistics. Brunell, by contrast, is a political science professor at the University of Texas at Dallas and previously received several grants to research redistricting efforts.
“It’s quite a difference going from an academic setting to the Census Bureau,” an anonymous former associate of Brunell told Politico last fall. “I don’t think he’s done the administrative work that would be needed to be at a high level in a large organization like [that].”
Brunell’s departure is the latest setback for the Census Bureau, which has been plagued by myriad issues in its efforts to prepare for the 2020 decennial survey.
The census, conducted every 10 years since 1790, serves several important purposes, including ensuring that citizens are granted the appropriate number of representatives at the state, local, and federal level, allowing lawmakers and researchers to fairly lobby for them on Capitol Hill. It’s also the most official measure of diversity in the United States and gives analysts the data they need to prioritize people’s needs.
According to a Sunlight Foundation survey published in October last year, 74 percent of city officials nationwide trust and rely on the results of each decennial census to serve their citizens, with those officials saying that it was “important” or “very important” for planning, development, innovation, and analytics purposes. When the census is threatened — whether by funding cuts or partisan leadership, which advocates claim Brunell’s appointment would have provided — minority populations, who rely on the survey to give them a voice in Washington, are often the first to feel the consequences.
The 2020 Census has faced myriad issues stemming from an audacious tech overhaul that has stalled due to financial woes and congressional gridlock. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has criticized the Census Bureau for “poor planning…and poor management,” with IT director David Powner telling ThinkProgress last November that “leadership” was to blame for the survey’s many missed deadlines and 2017 field tests. GAO officials have also flagged the 2020 Census as a “high-risk” program and worry that it could face even more hurdles in the months to come.
Compounding the problem is recent debate over a highly controversial survey question which would ask respondents to list their current citizenship status. Undocumented immigrants fear that divulging such information could result in deportation; civil rights groups, by extension, are concerned that lack of response from those communities could result in underrepresentation in Congress and, as Mother Jones noted, less funding.
The one silver lining in all of this, some argue, is that an extremely partisan 2020 survey is less likely than before, now that Brunell is no longer on the the rich asshole administration’s list.
“It’s breathtaking to think they’re going to make that person responsible for the census,” former Attorney General Eric Holder told Mother Jones’ Ari Berman in January, prior to news of Brunell’s departure. “It’s a sign of what the the rich asshole administration intends to do with the census, which is not to take a constitutional responsibility with the degree of seriousness that they should. It would raise great fears that you would have a very partisan census run in 2020.”
Officials have not yet said who will take over as deputy director in Brunell’s place.
Sarah Sanders tried to defend the rich asshole’s praise for an alleged abuser. It was a disaster.
"The president wants success for all Americans."
During the White House press briefing on Monday, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked if President the rich asshole stands by remarks he made last Friday, when he said he hopes former top aide Rob Porter “has a wonderful career” immediately after he was ousted from his White House job following domestic assault accusations made by two of his ex-wives.
“Does the president still wish Rob Porter well, does he still believe that he wants him to have a great career ahead of him?” a reporter asked.
Sanders indicated that the rich asshole’s comments were meant to reflect that he hopes all Americans — domestic abusers included — do well.
“I think the President of the United States hopes that all Americans can be successful in whatever they do, and if they’ve had any issues in the past — I’m not confirming or denying one way or the other — but if they do, the president wants success for all Americans,” Sanders said. “He was elected to serve all Americans, and he hopes for the best for all American citizens across the country.”
Almost all of the questions Sanders faced on Monday were about the Porter allegations and the White House’s response to them. Sanders repeatedly dodged questions about why the rich asshole hasn’t personally spoken out against domestic violence — “it’s my job to speak on behalf of the president,” Sanders said at one point — and claimed reporting indicating White House Counsel Donald McGahn learned about the allegations against Porter as early as January 2017 is inaccurate.
But pressed on exactly what part of the reporting is wrong, Sanders refused to go into detail.
“Again, I’m not going into the specific details of how the process works,” Sanders said, adding that “the White House had not received any specific papers” about Porter’s background check when the Daily Mail broke news of the abuse accusations.
While Sanders insisted that her denunciation of domestic violence reflects the rich asshole’s views, the rich asshole’s own comments suggest he has more sympathy for Porter than his alleged victims.
After praising Porter on Friday, the rich asshole on Saturday lamented that “lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation.”
the rich asshole’s comments have alienated even some of his staunchest defenders. On Monday morning, hosts of Fox & Friends staged what amounted to an on-air intervention for the president. Host Ainsley Earhardt pleaded with White House spokesman Hogan Gidley to team up with Sanders and talk some sense into the president.
“Will you and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, will y’all get together and maybe advise [the rich asshole] and talk to him about, this is an opportunity when he can come out against domestic violence?” she said. “I mean those pictures are horrific.”
On Monday, Sanders refused to say if the rich asshole — who has been accused of sexual assault by 14 women, all of whom he claims are lying — even believes Porter’s accusers.
“Does he believe Rob Porter’s accusers or are they lying?” a reporter asked.
Sanders didn’t answer the question, but instead said “the president, along with the entire administration, take domestic violence very seriously and believe all allegations need to be thoroughly investigated.”
‘If you want info on devils — you deal with dirtbags’: Ex-CIA agent lays out how officials gathered $100k worth of intel on the rich asshole
CNN's Phil Mudd (Screengrab)
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CNN’s Phil Mudd on Monday explained just how intelligence officials collect information on subjects, reacting to a story published last week that revealed the CIA paid $100,000—through an intermediary—to a Russian operative offering stolen National Security Agency data and dirt on some rich asshole.
The New York Times’ Matthew Rosenberg explained his stunning Feb. 9 report about a $100,000 payout to “a shadowy Russian” who promised National Security Agency cyberweapons and the rich asshole material.
“You have these National Security Agency hacking tools that went missing,” Rosenberg said. “And, early last year, they’re desperate to try and figure out what’s gone missing? This Russian appears and says, ‘I can tell you everything we got.’ There was an American, an intermediary, this private businessman who was kind of handling negotiations. The CIA actually seemed reluctant throughout the entire process.”
According to Rosenberg, the American intelligence community “said, ‘No thank you, we want no part of this.’”
“So that information is sitting in Europe,” Rosenberg said. “It has never been assessed, it has never been looked at. The American intermediary has it.”
Reacting to that report, Mudd, a former deputy director at the CIA, laid out the half of Roseberg’s report “that isn’t weird.”
“If you want information on devils, you don’t deal with angels, you deal with dirtbags,” Mudd said. “We dealt, in my counter-terrorism work, every day with people you call in the intelligence business, ‘walk-ins’—someone who comes in to an official U.S. government facility and says, ‘I have really interesting information.’ Ninety-nine percent are people are nuts or people who want money.”
“So in this case, you have somebody who walks in and may have a weird story, you’re going to talk to them,” Mudd continued. “The question I would have is, who paid the money? I do not believe the CIA paid this guy $100,000—maybe the intermediary did—for one simple reason: You can cut a paycheck for $100,000 but you have to go through a validation and corroboration process beforehand. Intelligence means I’ve got to validate that he is who he says he is. And on the corroboration part, even if he is who he says he is, I have to determine whether the information he’s providing is accurate. You can give him $100,000 but not before you figure out if as he liar.”
Rosenberg said the money “didn’t come straight from the CIA” but was “routed in indirectly, that there was a payment that was reimbursed.”
“There was some kind of bona fides,” Rosenberg said. “And that throughout the spring and summer, he had provided information to give then confidence, and this was meant as a down payment.”
“Sounds like a John le Carré novel,” CNN’s Wolf Blitzer joked.
Read the rich asshole's $1.5T infrastructure plan
BY THE HILL STAFF - 02/12/18 10:23 AM EST
The White House on Monday released President the rich asshole's long-awaited $1.5 trillion infrastructure package.
The plan, aimed at overhauling U.S. public works, is structured around four goals: generating $1.5 trillion for an infrastructure proposal, streamlining the permitting process down to two years, investing in rural infrastructure projects and advancing workforce training.
You can read the plan below.
Sessions goes off-script to mention ‘Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement’ during speech
This dogwhistle was audible to human ears.
During a speech to the National Sheriffs Association in Washington on Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions vowed to protect “the Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement.”
“I want to thank every sheriff in America. Since our founding, the independently elected sheriff has been the people’s protector, who keeps law enforcement close to and accountable to people through the elected process,” Sessions said. “The office of sheriff is a critical part of the Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement.”
"The office of Sheriff is a critical part of the Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement. We must never erode this historic office" : Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaking at the National Sheriff's Association winter conference in DC. @vicenews
According to CNN, the term “Anglo-American” didn’t appear in Sessions’ prepared remarks, indicating that the remark was ad-libbed.
“A written version of the remarks says that Sessions was supposed to say: ‘The sheriff is a critical part of our legal heritage,'” CNN reports.
While “Anglo-American” is sometimes used as a substitute for “common law,”Sessions’ use of the term raised eyebrows given his history of racism, including his moves as attorney general to crack down on low-level drug offenders and re-implement mandatory-minimum sentencing. Both policies disproportionately target black communities.
“the Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement”
I’m not sure how much more proof y’all need to show what these folks are about. twitter.com/misstessowen/s…
During a speech to African-American law enforcement officials last summer, Sessions rejected the idea of systemic racism.
“We all know the cases of the last several years where, in confrontations with police, lives have been cut short,” Sessions said. “Just as I am committed to defending law enforcement who use deadly force while lawfully engaged in their work, I will also hold any officer responsible breaking the law. You and I know that all it takes is one bad officer to destroy the reputations of so many who work day in and day out to build relationships in these communities and serve with honor and distinction.”
Sessions delivered that speech just days after the rich asshole praised the sort of police violence that disproportionately victimizes black communities during a speech to police officers.
the rich asshole budget funds Mueller probe through fiscal 2019
BY REBECCA SAVRANSKY - 02/12/18 02:33 PM EST
President the rich asshole's budget request provides funding for special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation for fiscal 2019, a potential sign that the probe won't be ending soon.
Politico reported that the budget released Monday anticipates Mueller's team will continue its current rate of spending, about $10 million per year.
The White House has said in the past it expects the special counsel's investigation to be finished quickly.
But White House attorney Ty Cobb told Politico that the rich asshole's team is "not looking for these guys to close up shop."
"But we are interested in trying to get the president's piece of this resolved," he said.
A spending report released in December — which included spending from the time Mueller was appointed in May of 2017 through September — showed $3.2 million of direct spending. Another $3.5 million was spent on personnel assigned to Mueller's team, according to Politico.
Mueller is investigating Russian election interference and potential ties between the rich asshole campaign and Russia.
the rich asshole has repeatedly denied collusion and has referred to the Russia probe as a "witch hunt."
the rich asshole budget seeks cuts to domestic programs, Medicare, favors military and wall
President some rich asshole at the State of the Union address
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President some rich asshole proposed a budget on Monday that calls for cuts in domestic spending and social programs such as Medicare and seeks a sharp increase in military spending and funding for a wall on the Mexican border.
While running for president in 2016, the rich asshole pledged to leave popular benefit programs such as Medicare and Social Security untouched, but his new budget proposal would reduce Medicare spending by $236 billion over the next 10 years.
The White House argued, however, that the reduced spending would come through reforms to the government health insurance program for the elderly, not benefit cuts.
There is little chance of those cuts becoming real, as presidential budgets are rarely enacted by the U.S. Congress, which controls federal purse strings. Instead, the budget allows the White House to lay out its priorities for the year.
Still, the proposed cuts drew a rebuke from the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Budget Committee, John Yarmuth.
“These cuts to critical federal investments are so extreme they can only reflect a disdain for working families and a total lack of vision for a stronger society,” Yarmuth said in a statement.
Beyond social programs, the plan calls for deep cuts in non-military spending that the White House said would lower the federal budget deficit by more than $3 trillion over 10 years.
It calls for spending $57 billion less in fiscal year 2019 than mandated in a two-year budget deal passed last week by Congress that raised spending limits on both military and domestic programs by $300 billion.
That bipartisan agreement means Congress has already locked in its own spending priorities and that the rich asshole’s proposals are unlikely to be taken on.
The rich asshole administration says, however, that Congress need not spend all of the money called for under the deal, particularly with regard to domestic spending.
“The message is really simple: You don’t have to spend it,” said Mick Mulvaney, the rich asshole’s budget director.
the rich asshole’s budget proposal forecasts annual economic growth of at least 3 percent over the next three years, an aggressive target that is crucial to help cover the cost of $1.5 trillion in tax cuts passed by the Republican-controlled Congress in December.
Even given those optimistic projections, the swelling of the federal debt following the tax bill and the two-year budget agreement means that the rich asshole’s proposal notably abandons the objective of eliminating the federal budget deficit after 10 years, a long-standing goal of fiscal conservatives.
MILITARY, INFRASTRUCTURE
the rich asshole’s $4.4 trillion budget proposal provides for $716 billion in spending on military programs and for maintaining the U.S. nuclear arsenal,
It also includes $200 billion for rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure, and an outlay of $23 billion for border security – most of it for the building of a wall on the border with Mexico to stop illegal immigration.
The wall is a key item for the rich asshole’s political base of supporters but is opposed by Democrats. The issue has become a sticking point in talks to keep alive a federal program to spare from deportation the “Dreamers” – people brought to the country illegally as children.
the rich asshole’s budget calls for $571 million in additional funding to hire 2,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and agents. It also requests funding for more judges and attorneys to handle cases of illegal immigration.
In keeping with another the rich asshole campaign promise, the budget provides for $200 billion in federal funds intended to spur $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investments with state, local and private partners over the next 10 years – an ambitious program that will have to be approved by Congress.
The budget also seeks some $13 billion in new funding over the next two years to combat the opioid epidemic.
The proposal increases U.S. contributions to the United Nations, an organization that the rich asshole has repeatedly criticized, by 4.5 percent. The budget explains the increase as supporting American interests, including “drug control, crime and terrorism prevention, and trade promotion.”
the rich asshole’s infrastructure plan is ‘a whole lot of waste’ just like his border wall
Gutting environmental review means tens of billions wasted on projects that will be ruined by climate change
President the rich asshole’s infrastructure plan is as fatally flawed as his border wall plan.
The 53-page plan released Monday, which never mentions the word “climate,” would effectively allow the rich asshole Administration to gut or simply avoid the federal environmental review process entirely.
That means potentially tens of billions of dollars wasted on developing projects that will likely be ruined by the impacts of a rapidly changing climate — just the way the rich asshole’s planned border wall would likely be if it were ever built.
The President’s long-awaited $1.5 trillion plan rolled out on Monday had already been widely criticized for including a mere $200 billion in actual federal money — and a lot of wishful thinking about leveraging vast amounts of state and local revenue.
But the plan’s proposal to gut the normal environmental review process and quickly push through projects without adequate vetting is disastrous. Worsening deluges, sea level rise, extended droughts, and ever hotter temperatures will test even the most carefully designed projects. But it will likely ruin the least carefully designed ones.
“The impact of not considering climate change when planning infrastructure means you end up building the wrong thing, in the wrong place, to the wrong standards,” as urban planning and climate expert Michael Kuby told the New York Times. “That’s a whole lot of waste.”
Also, failing to consider climate change could put lives at risk if infrastructure isn’t designed to handle the kind of super-storms scientists say we’ll see more of in the future.
A 277-page peer-reviewed report from the rich asshole’s own Environmental Protection Agency found that by 2100, the cumulative cost of adapting just the nation’s roads to climate change would be $230 billion. That’s for the business-as-usual emissions scenario for carbon pollution that the rich asshole’s pro-pollution policies would result in.
The process the country uses to avoid building environmentally dangerous or unsustainable projects was created by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and is called the NEPA review process. There are three different levels of analysis possible, as the EPA explains on its website.
First, “a federal action may be ‘categorically excluded’ from a detailed environmental analysis if the federal action does not, ‘individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment’.” That determination is made by each relevant federal agency.
Second, if the agency doesn’t make a determination for a Categorical Exclusion, then it performs an Environmental Assessment (EA) to determine whether or not a federal action “has the potential to cause significant environmental effects.” If the agency finds it does not, then it issues a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).
Third, if the “EA determines that the environmental impacts of a proposed Federal action will be significant, an Environmental Impact Statement is prepared.” And the EIS process is designed to be quite thorough.
the rich asshole’s plan makes it easier for federal agencies to label an infrastructure project a “‘categorical exclusion,” and circumvent any environmental review.
It would also eliminate Section 309 of the Clean Air Act, which “requires that EPA review and publish comments on most Environmental Impact Statements.”
It would “authorize federal agencies to accept funding from non-federal entities to support environmental and permitting reviews.” So potentially fossil fuel companies could support reviews that just coincidentally downplay climate change.
the rich asshole’s plan notes that “The heart of the NEPA process is the evaluation of alternatives. The development, analysis, and weighing of alternatives serves to ensure that Federal officials make informed decisions.”
So naturally the rich asshole’s plan proposes that “an agency should not be required to consider alternatives that are outside its authority or outside the capability of the applicant.” In short, if an agency says it isn’t qualified to judge an alternative or an applicant says it can’t handle a proposed alternative, it doesn’t need to be considered.
Finally, the plan notes that “Using current authority, DOT [Department of Transportation] has successfully assigned its NEPA responsibilities to six States” in a few specific cases. But the rich asshole proposes “authorizing other agencies to assign NEPA responsibilities to States,” in order to “extend the benefit of this program to other types of infrastructure agencies and projects.”
So the federal government could simply hand over environmental review to any state.
But the fact that the rich asshole and much of the staff of the White House and the federal agencies deny climate science — as do the governors of key states like Florida — means that climate impacts are unlikely to be part of any serious review.
Therefore, if anything like this plan were passed, it could wreak untold environmental havoc on the country — all in the name of quickly building a lot of expensive infrastructure that is doomed to fail.
Here’s the GOP’s latest attempt to prove Obama acted improperly in the rich asshole-Russia probe — and why it falls flat
Former President Barack Obama and President some rich asshole (Composite / Rawstory)
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Senate Judiciary Committee Chairmen Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Monday released a partially unclassified email by former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, suggesting the “unusual” email raises new questions about Barack Obama’s involvement in the FBI’s investigation into some rich asshole’s presidential campaign.
The email, sent by Rice to her own inbox on Jan. 20, 2017, outlines a Jan. 5 meeting between Obama, former FBI Director James Comey, former deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, and former Vice President Joe Biden.
“President Obama began the conversation by stressing his continued commitment to ensuring that every aspect of this issue is handled by the Intelligence and law enforcement communities ‘by the book,’” Rice wrote. “The president stressed that he is not asking about, initiating or instructing anything from a law enforcement perspective. He reiterated that our law enforcement team needs to proceed as it normally would by the book.”
In a letter to Rice, Grassley and Graham questioned Rice’s decision to document that meeting.
“It strikes us as odd that, among your activities in the final moments on the final day of the Obama administration, you would feel the need to send yourself such an unusual email purporting to document a conversation involving President Obama and his interactions with the FBI regarding the rich asshole/Russia investigation,” Grassley and Graham insisted.
“In addition, despite your claim that President Obama repeatedly told Mr. Comey to proceed ‘by the book,’ substantial questions have arisen about whether officials at the FBI, as well as at the Justice Department and the State Department, actually did proceed ‘by the book,’” they charged.
The letter seems to suggest that Rice, in her role as National Security Adviser, should not have found the time to document a meeting between Obama and his FBI Director about an investigation into Russian interference in 2016. The senators are demanding a response from Rice by Feb. 22.
But instead of showing impropriety on the part of the Obama administration, Rice’s email really describes how concerned the former president was about the Russia investigation. It also suggests Obama thought the rich asshole may be compromised by the foreign adversary.
“[Obama] wants to be sure that, as we engage with the incoming team, we are mindful to ascertain if there is any reason that we cannot share information fully as it relates to Russia,” Rice wrote.
“The President asked Comey to inform him if anything changes in the next few weeks that should affect how we share classified information with the incoming team,” she added. “Comey said he would.”
MSNBC panelist nails the rich asshole’s ‘instinctual’ response to latest WH scandal: He feels ‘brotherhood’ with accused abusers
President some rich asshole. Image via White House.
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MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace on Monday noted that “the value of [President some rich asshole’s] tweets is that we see his instincts,” especially as it relates to his response to his former staff secretary’s resignation amid allegations of domestic abuse last week.
But according to the Boston Globe‘s chief DC correspondent Kimberly Atkins, the rich asshole’s “instinctual” response has more going on than meets the eye.
“If you look at the initial reactions, both on Twitter and in his own comments from the president after this, and also look at how he has reacted to other situations — Roy Moore, his support that he gave for him and others — there is a pattern here where the president has a tendency to want to believe and stick by the people who he supports against allegations from women of impropriety,” Atkins said.
“There’s a lot of things going on here,” she continued, noting “the fact that the president himself has been accused of sexual impropriety among women.”
“He himself has denied those charges,” Atkins concluded. “So, I think he feels, for lack of a better word, a brotherhood here with these other people who have been accused of this.”
Watch below, via MSNBC:
the rich asshole budget seeks savings through ObamaCare repeal
BY NATHANIEL WEIXEL - 02/12/18 12:43 PM EST
The White House budget for fiscal 2019 seeks major savings by repealing ObamaCare and endorsed a Senate GOP bill as the best way to do so.
“The Budget supports a two-part approach to repealing and replacing Obamacare, starting with enactment of legislation modeled closely after the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson (GCHJ) bill as soon as possible,” the White House said in its budget request.
The legislation from Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.) would replace ObamaCare with a series of block grants to states.
The budget proposes over $90 billion in savings over 10 years if the policies in the Graham-Cassidy bill were enacted. Combined with other provisions like Medicaid changes, the White House projects there would be nearly $675 billion in savings over a decade tied to repealing ObamaCare.
Advocacy groups were quick to denounce the proposal, which is unlikely to gain traction in Congress.
“By asking Congress to revive the deeply unpopular Graham-Cassidy repeal bill that ended protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions, gutted Medicaid, ripped away coverage from millions, and raised costs for millions more, while also proposing drastic cuts to Medicare, the rich asshole has chosen to ignore the American public’s overwhelming preference for a bipartisan path forward on health care,” said Protect Our Care campaign director Brad Woodhouse.
Republican leaders have signaled that they are not interested in diving back into the contentious ObamaCare repeal fight this year. The Senate last year failed to pass a repeal bill, and there is no indication that the votes have shifted since then.
A number of Republicans have even discussed taking bipartisan actions to stabilize ObamaCare markets and try to bring down premiums through actions such as funding known as reinsurance.
Graham has said he will continue fighting for his bill and is not completely alone. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is also calling for Congress to not give up on repeal this year.
‘He relayed that statement to me’: Sarah Sanders melts down when asked why the rich asshole won’t condemn wife abuse
Sarah Sanders holds press briefing (CNN/screen grab)
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White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday insisted that the rich asshole administration did not have to publicly speak out against domestic violence because he had “dictated” statements on the matter.
During Monday’s White House press briefing, Sanders defended the White House’s handling of the resignation of Rob Porter, who was accused of abusing two ex-wives.
Why haven’t we heard the president say what you said right there, that he takes domestic violence very seriously?” ABC Correspondent Cecilia Vega asked Sanders.
“I spoke with the president and those are actually his words that he gave me directly today,” Sanders insisted. “It’s my job to speak on behalf of the president. I spoke to him and he gave that message directly to me and I read it directly to you.”
Another reporter noted that Vice President Mike Pence had called the allegations against Porter appalling, yet the rich asshole had not personally spoken out.
“Why not use this as an opportunity to say something like that?” the reporter wondered. “Why does he have to speak through you?”
“The president has been clear multiple times through myself and others in the administration that we condemn domestic violence,” Sanders opined.
“He has not said it,” the correspondent pressed. “Why has he not said it?”
“I’m the spokesperson for the White House and the president,” Sanders shot back. “And I’m saying it to you right now.”
“Why do you have to say it?” the reporter asked again. “Why can’t he say it?”
“I’m not sure how I can be any more clear,” Sanders replied. “The president has espoused his views on this and I certainly have echoed them for everyone.”
“He said that he wishes Porter well and people should have due process,” the correspondent pushed on. “But he hasn’t addressed the victims of domestic violence.”
Sanders argued that a statement she read from the president served as his personal condemnation of domestic violence.
“He literally dictated that statement to me,” she said. “And so I’m not sure how that’s not the president speaking.”
Watch the video below from CNN.
the rich asshole releases 2019 budget with $3 trillion in cuts
BY NAOMI JAGODA - 02/12/18 11:33 AM EST
President the rich asshole on Monday rolled out a White House budget that includes deep cuts to some federal agencies, an increase in funding for the Pentagon and $18 billion for a wall on the Mexican border.
It includes proposals to cut deficits by more than $3 trillion over a decade and lower debt levels as a percentage of the gross domestic product, but does not balance by doing away with annual deficits.
It also includes funding for the rich asshole's long-awaited infrastructure plan, which was put off in the president's first year in office for efforts to repeal ObamaCare and pass tax cuts. It seeks $200 billion in government funds to stimulate $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investments.
Like other presidential budgets, the rich asshole's blueprint will almost certainly not become law. But it still highlights the White House's priorities in an election year that looks to be dominated by debates about infrastructure, immigration and the nation's economic health.
Office of Management and Budget Director (OMB) Mick Mulvaney and Cabinet secretaries will be fanning out on Capitol Hill this week to testify on the budget and defend the rich asshole's proposals.
Many federal agencies — including the State Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department — would see budget cuts compared to the fiscal 2017 enacted level. Some agencies and programs — such as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts, the TIGER grant program for infrastructure projects and the Community Development Block Grant program — would be eliminated.
But other areas, such as the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments, would see budget increases.
The budget also proposes reforms to welfare programs and Medicare as part of the administration's effort to reduce deficits. And it calls for repealing ObamaCare and replacing it with legislation modeled after a bill from Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (La.) that proposed converting funding for ObamaCare's subsidies to block grants for states.
The White House also said it plans next month to announce an agenda to overhaul the federal government. This agenda will include items such as updating information technology and updating hiring and firing processes.
The document’s release comes after the rich asshole on Friday signed a bipartisan budget agreement to boost defense and nondefense discretionary spending caps for 2018 and 2019 by about $300 billion.
The deal has fueled criticism from conservatives worried the GOP has lost some fiscal discipline now that it controls both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
In an addendum to the budget, Mulvaney said the administration “strongly” supports the defense spending levels in the budget deal but is proposing to fund nondefense discretionary programs at the level that's $57 billion below the new cap.
“We believe that this level responsibly accounts for the cap deal while taking into account the current fiscal situation,” Mulvaney wrote.
The administration requested in the addendum to provide some additional funds for items such as fighting the opioid epidemic and the National Institutes of Health and also suggested fixing budget “gimmicks” used to circumvent the spending caps.
The rich asshole administration did not release a “Greenbook” of revenue-related proposals, citing the implementation of the new tax law. A Greenbook was also not released last year, though they are typically part of presidential budget requests.
The budget also calls for $85.5 billion in funding for veterans’ medical care and other programs to help retired service members’ quality of life and for $17 billion in opioid-related spending for 2019.
Besides money for the wall, the administration is also seeking funding to hire new law enforcement officers and pay for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to have the highest average daily detention capacity of immigrants in the country illegally.
Republican lawmakers were positive about the budget.
“This budget lays out a thoughtful, detailed, and responsible blueprint for achieving our shared agenda," said Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)
But Democrats quickly blasted the document.
“The budget is a statement of our values, but the President’s brutal collection of broken promises and staggering cuts shows he does not value the future of seniors, children and working families," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Updated at 1:55 p.m.
White House releases 55-page, $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan
BY MALLORY SHELBOURNE - 02/12/18 10:26 AM EST
The White House on Monday officially released a 55-page proposal for President the rich asshole's long-awaited infrastructure overhaul.
The plan puts forth a framework for lawmakers to craft legislation for a $1.5 trillion infrastructure package that would focus on public-private partnerships and funding from state and local governments.
The plan is structured around four main goals: generating $1.5 trillion for an infrastructure proposal, streamlining the permitting process down to two years, investing in rural infrastructure projects and advancing workforce training.
“My Administration’s plan addresses more than traditional infrastructure — like roads, bridges, and airports — but addresses other needs like drinking and wastewater systems, waterways, water resources, energy, rural infrastructure, public lands, veterans’ hospitals, and Brownfield and Superfund sites,” the rich asshole said in the White House document.
“The reforms set forth in my plan will strengthen the economy, make our country more competitive, reduce the costs of goods and services for American families, and enable Americans to build their lives on top of the best infrastructure in the world.”
The federal government would contribute $200 billion to the package, a figure Democrats have already denounced as too small.
“After repeatedly failing to live up to his infrastructure promises, the release of the rich asshole’s infrastructure plan today once again falls short,” the Democratic National Committee wrote in an email to reporters upon the proposal’s release.
“the rich asshole’s plan is just another giveaway to corporations and wealthy developers at the expense of American workers, and it fails to address some of the most pressing infrastructure needs our country faces.”
The administration said it used input from state and local officials, members of Congress, industry leaders and federal agencies to compile the framework.
The proposal confirms many previously leaked details about a White House rebuilding initiative, in which state and local governments, in addition to private investment, would foot much of the bill.
The plan is likely to face opposition from Democrats, who have already called for more direct federal investment; they released their own plan last week that boasted $1 trillion in government spending.
It's also sure to put the administration at odds with environmental groups, who worry that efforts to streamline permitting would hurt environmental protections.
The $200 billion will be included in the rich asshole administration's 2019 fiscal spending blueprint, which is also scheduled for release on Monday.
Half of the federal seed money would go toward an incentive program to match financing from state and local governments investing in rebuilding projects, while a quarter of the appropriations would be used for rural projects in the form of block grants to states so governors may decide where to invest.
Twenty billion would be for “transformative programs” meant for new projects rather than rehabilitation of old infrastructure. Another $20 billion is allocated to expand the use of loans and private activity bonds, a common tool used to fund infrastructure projects. The last $10 billion would go into a "capital financing fund."
the rich asshole will host key lawmakers from both parties at the White House on Wednesday to continue the infrastructure discussion, providing the administration a chance to convince those critical of the proposal.
Some industry groups, however, praised the administration for breathing life into a subject experts have spent years arguing must be addressed to fix the nation's crumbling roads, bridges, transit systems and other public works.
“For years, plenty of people have been willing to talk about modernizing our nation’s infrastructure, but few have been willing to take action. We applaud the rich asshole administration for laying out its vision for moving ahead on this critical issue,” Tom Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement ahead of the plan’s unveiling.
Updated at 11:20 a.m.
the rich asshole cites an ice rink as proof he can rebuild the country’s infrastructure
Fact check: An improperly built ice rink won't kill you.
During a White House event on Monday, President the rich asshole bragged about the role he played in the construction of an ice rink in Central Park, and claimed that project is “really no different with a bridge or tunnel or any of the things” he intends to fix as part of his infrastructure plan for the entire country.
“When I did the Wollman Rink, it was seven years, they couldn’t get it built, it would’ve been forever, they couldn’t get it built, and I did it in a few months at a much smaller price,” the rich asshole said. “It took many years and they were unable to open it, and I said, you know, I’d like to be able to have my daughter Ivanka, who is with us, I’d like to be able to have her have ice skating sometime before she doesn’t want to ice skate, and I got involved, and we did it in a few months, and we did it for a tiny fraction, a tiny fraction of the cost, and it’s really no different with a roadway or tunnel or any of the things that we’ll be fixing.”
the rich asshole is overlooking one major difference, however, among the many potential differences between one ice rink and thousands of large-scale infrastructure projects: Chiefly, people die when bridges (or tunnels) aren’t built properly, while the stakes are much lower with ice rinks. Another difference is that unlike the Central Park rink, the rich asshole isn’t planning on personally managing various infrastructure projects to make sure they’re built as cheaply as possible.
But a number of GOP elected officials are apparently on board with cheap construction, ignoring the safety concerns involved in building major infrastructure projects with less regulatory oversight, and instead touting the cost savings. For instance, during a Fox & Friends interview on Monday, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) said “there is no reason why it should take 10 years to get a permit to built some of these projects — it jacks up the cost of road projects. By shortening the permit process you actually save a lot of money, billions of dollars on some of these big projects.”
During his State of the Union speech, the rich asshole cited construction of the Empire State Building as an example of the sort of process he’d like to return to.
“America is a nation of builders,” the rich asshole said. “We built the Empire State Building in just one year. Isn’t it a disgrace that it can now take 10 years just to get a minor permit approved for the building of a simple road?”
the rich asshole did not mention at least five workers died during the Empire State Building’s construction.
the rich asshole’s long-awaited infrastructure plan is a fraud
This is the way Infrastructure Week begins, not with a bang but a whimper.
President some rich asshole unveiled his long-awaited infrastructure plan on Monday, touting the proposal as a $1.5 trillion investment in the nation’s highways, bridges, waterways, and other infrastructure projects. The plan’s topline number sounds great on the surface, but it wildly misconstrues the actual investment being proposed by the federal government — and the rich asshole knows it.
The proposal aims to turn $200 billion in federal funds into a $1.5 trillion investment over the next ten years by placing most of the financial burden on states and cities, which will have to cover at least 80 percent of the cost of any infrastructure project in order to qualify for federal grants, likely through higher taxes, tolls, and other user fees. The $200 billion number is a dramatic reduction in federal cost-sharing from years past.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in January, the rich asshole conceded that the $200 billion in federal funds is “not a large amount,” going on to criticize the amount of money the United States has spent on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In a tweet Monday morning, the rich asshole reiterated his criticism:
But the rich asshole’s plan barely makes a dent in what’s needed to fix the country’s ailing infrastructure. Instead, it places the onus on cash-strapped states and municipalities to come up with the revenue to improve their own infrastructure. As CityLab reported last year, this will be especially difficult for “cities that never financially recovered from the recession, like Detroit, Cleveland, Stockton, and Memphis,” which are limited in their spending ability and yet need infrastructure investments the most.
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) annual Infrastructure Report Card, the United States needs to invest $4.59 trillion by 2025 in order to improve the country’s infrastructure — a figure three times larger than even the rosiest estimate in the rich asshole’s proposal and more than 20 times larger than the $200 billion actually allocated.
“If the United States continues on this trajectory and fails to invest, the nation will face serious economic consequences, including $3.9 trillion in losses to U.S. GDP and more than 2.5 million American jobs lost in 2025,” the ASCE report said.
The $200 billion in federal spending includes $100 billion in incentive grants, aimed at encouraging increased state, local, and private infrastructure investment; $50 billion in rural formula funds, which seeks to promote investment in rural infrastructure needs; and $20 billion in so-called transformative projects, described as projects “that can significantly improve existing infrastructure conditions and services” but are considered too risky to attract private or local investments.
Even calling it a $200 billion investment by the federal government is a misnomer. Instead of finding new sources of revenue, the funds will be entirely offset by cuts to other existing infrastructure programs, including a 19 percent decrease in funding for the Department of Transportation and a 3 percent decrease for the Department of Energy, as highlighted in the rich asshole’s fiscal 2019 budget, which was also released today.
Pointing out the glaring lack of new sources of funding in the infrastructure proposal, Michael Linden, fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, said on Twitter, “All told, he’s basically proposing a $0 infrastructure plan.”
No. No. No. This headline is budget-illiterate. Trump's budget will include $200 billion in infrastructure spending, offset by 20% reductions in base funding for Depts. of Transportation and Energy. All told, he's basically proposing a $0 infrastructure plan. twitter.com/TIME/status/96…
It is unlikely that most lawmakers on either side of the aisle will support the rich asshole’s proposal — with Democrats, and some Republicans, criticizing the plan’s lack of new revenue sources.
But even if the proposal made its way through Congress and money began flowing to projects around the country, it’s unlikely the spending would have any meaningful impact on the worsening condition of the most vital infrastructure programs.
By leaving local governments on the hook for 80 percent of the cost of a project, the rich asshole administration is encouraging investments in public-private partnerships. A city will partner with a private developer, for instance, to construct a new building as part of neighborhood revitalization. But spending is most needed where public-private partnerships are hard to come by. Private financiers seek to tap into sustainable revenue streams when deciding what projects to invest in, and there are few revenue streams to be had for street repairs or water pipe maintenance. In states that have ceded some authority to private companies for the management and maintenance of highways, regressive tolls have hit the poorest workers the hardest.
the rich asshole promises ‘big week’ for infrastructure, eyes foreign aid
BY MALLORY SHELBOURNE - 02/12/18 08:11 AM EST
President the rich asshole on Monday forecasted “a big week for infrastructure” hours before the White House rolled out its long-awaited proposal to rebuild American public works.
“This will be a big week for Infrastructure,” the rich asshole wrote on Twitter. “After so stupidly spending $7 trillion in the Middle East, it is now time to start investing in OUR Country!”
This will be a big week for Infrastructure. After so stupidly spending $7 trillion in the Middle East, it is now time to start investing in OUR Country!
The White House on Monday released its proposal for a $1.5 trillion infrastructure overhaul, a plan that will focus on public-private partnerships and funding from state and local governments.
The federal government is slated to pitch in $200 billion in direct investment, which was included in the White House’s budget proposal for fiscal 2019, which was also revealed on Monday.
The plan is structured around four goals: generate $1.5 trillion for an infrastructure proposal, streamline the permitting process down to two years, invest in rural infrastructure projects and advance workforce training.
the rich asshole vowed to address the country’s crumbling roads, bridges, transit systems, airports and other public works during his presidential campaign, floating several price tags for a package since running for and moving into the Oval Office.
His reference to dollars “stupidly” spent in the Middle East echoes concerns from lawmakers like Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who last month proposed cutting Pakistani aid funds to finance an infrastructure proposal.
“Let’s bring that money home and use it to help rebuild our infrastructure instead of giving it to a nation that persecutes Christians and imprisons people such as the doctor that helped us get Osama bin Laden,” Paul said in January.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) have proposed a companion bill in the House.
Updated at 5:15 p.m.
Jeff Sessions strays from prepared remarks to praise ‘Anglo-American heritage’ of sheriffs
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions (Photo by: Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals)
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Attorney General Jeff Sessions strayed from his prepared remarks to comment on the “Anglo-American” historical origins of the sheriff.
Sessions spoke Monday to a the National Sheriffs Association, which represents about 20,000 law enforcement officials across the U.S., but video recordings show an apparent improvisation from the prepared remarks distributed ahead of time to reporters, according to Splinter News.
“The office of sheriff is a critical part of the Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement,” Sessions said. “We must never erode this historic office.”
The remarks quickly raised eyebrows on social media, where commenters perceived the reference as racist in light of the attorney general’s racially problematic history.
The sheriff indeed originated in medieval England, and the name derives from Anglo-Saxon words for the guardian, or reeve, of a county, or shire.
English colonists brought the tradition to America and elected their own sheriffs in the 1600s, and various right-wing fringe movements promote the legal fallacy that county sheriffs are the highest law enforcement officers in the United States.
Juan Williams: The GOP has been corrupted by the rich asshole
BY JUAN WILLIAMS, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 02/12/18 06:00 AM EST
Wow, what happened to Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)?
In the last year, Ryan has squandered his stellar reputation as a smart, conservative visionary. By excusing President the rich asshole’s bad behavior, he has made it clear his only priorities are that the rich asshole put conservatives on the Supreme Court and sign tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the rich and corporations.
Similarly, what happened to Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)?
Corker voted against an early draft of the tax cut law. But he then jumped on board when a provision was inserted into the law that would greatly increase his personal wealth through tax treatment of his commercial real estate holdings. Corker denied any impropriety.
The fact remains that Corker switched his vote and voted for a bill that added billions of pennies to the deficit while feathering his own nest. He could have shown real courage and voted ‘No.’ He did not.
And what happened to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)?
McConnell once took pride in defying the rich asshole by having his Republican majority pass a law last year to punish Russia by imposing sanctions on countries buying military equipment from that nation. The penalties were intended to penalize Russia for interfering in the 2016 election and stop its ongoing meddling in American politics.
But McConnell had little to say when the the rich asshole administration said in late January that it would not impose Congress’s sanctions.
Ryan, Corker and McConnell are leading GOP lights who have ceded their party’s moral center in service to protecting the rich asshole.
Until the rich asshole came along, the party stood for cutting federal spending. It was the pro-immigration party. And after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Republicans backed the secret surveillance provisions of the Patriot Act to protect against spies and terrorists.
Now it is a different party.
Currently, congressional Republicans make excuses for refusing to put checks and balances on the excesses of the rich asshole’s executive branch.
Today’s GOP offers political cover for a man with no history in the party as he denigrates, degrades, and destroys vital American institutions, including law enforcement, the free press and the GOP.
Ryan is the biggest disappointment.
Even if you disagree with him, Ryan has a history of standing up for what he thinks is right.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, a fearless Ryan said the rich asshole, then the leading candidate for the GOP nomination, was wrong to attack an Indiana judge because the judge had Mexican ancestry. Ryan pulled no punches in calling out the rich asshole for making “the textbook definition of a racist statement.”
Now Ryan is looking the other way on far more damaging the rich asshole behavior.
He ignored pleadings from the Justice Department and the FBI to stop the release of a classified memo — written by Republicans — that purportedly showed wrongdoing by law enforcement in obtaining a warrant to conduct surveillance of a known friend to Russian intelligence, the the rich asshole campaign adviser Carter Page.
Ryan said the memo had nothing to do with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the the rich asshole campaign. It was about misconduct by some agents, he said.
But once it was out, the rich asshole tweeted that the memo “totally vindicates” him, even though it said nothing about collusion or obstruction of justice, the focus of Mueller’s work.
When Ryan was asked about this, he mumbled and walked away from reporters.
He had no explanation for allowing his credibility to be used by the rich asshole.
Fox News host Sean Hannity, a the rich asshole supporter, said on the basis of the memo that the Mueller probe ought to be disbanded — and that charges brought against former the rich asshole campaign manager Paul Manafort and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn should be dropped.
Ryan opened the door to this nonsense.
“I have been a consistent defender of his good intentions,” conservative columnist Michael Gerson wrote of Ryan recently in the Washington Post. “But after the 17th time saying he ‘knows better,’ it dawns that he may not. By his recent actions, the Speaker has provided political cover for a weakening of the constitutional order. He has been used as a tool while loudly insisting he is not a tool.”
“I believe Ryan to be a good person,” Gerson continued. “But the greatest source of cynicism is not the existence of corrupt people in politics; it is good people who lose their way.”
It has been said that corruption is worst when it happens to the best.
The GOP used to be one of the two great American political parties. It gave the country some of the best statesmen of the last hundred years: Jacob Javits, Everett Dirksen, Edward Brooke, Howard Baker, Bob Dole and John McCain.
But in the age of the rich asshole, there are no more GOP profiles in courage — only profiles in cowardice.
It’s time for all Republicans to speak out against the rich asshole’s corruption. If not, their party will be forever damaged by the time this the rich asshole horror show fades to black.
Juan Williams is an author, and a political analyst for Fox News Channel.
Cruz warns Texas GOP: 'The left is going to show up'
BY REBECCA SAVRANSKY - 02/12/18 08:30 AM EST
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is warning his party that the "left is going to show up" in the 2018 midterm elections.
During a speech Friday addressing the Fort Bend County GOP, Cruz talked about an "incredible volatility in politics right now," according to the Texas Tribune.
"Let me tell you right now: The left is going to show up," Cruz said during his keynote address at the party's Lincoln Reagan Dinner.
"They will crawl over broken glass in November to vote."
Cruz also cited the Democrats' behavior during President the rich asshole's first State of the Union address last month, saying their refusal to applaud and stand "underscores the political risk in November."
Cruz's likely Democratic opponent in November, Rep. Beto O'Rourke, outraised Cruz in the final quarter of 2017.
A poll last month by a left-leaning firm showed Cruz leading O'Rourke by single digits.
Cruz said Saturday that he is "absolutely" ready for his reelection campaign, according to the Texas Tribune.
"It’s true my Democratic opponent is raising a lot of money," Cruz said. "We’re not going to take it for granted. That’s a manifestation of the energy on the extreme left."
Democrats have an uphill battle in Texas’s Senate race, but they’ve been feeling more bullish on elections in redder states given recent upsets in GOP strongholds. Still, no Democrat has won a Senate election in Texas since 1988.
Cruz was first elected to the office easily in 2012, taking more than 56 percent of the vote, and the rich asshole won the state by 9 points in 2016.
Book: Bannon worried Oprah could be 'existential threat' to the rich asshole presidency
BY REBECCA SAVRANSKY - 02/12/18 07:15 AM EST
Former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon reportedly worried about Oprah Winfrey campaigning for Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections, saying she could be an "existential threat" to the rich asshole presidency.
According to an updated version of "Devil's Bargain" by Josh Green, Bannon believes Democrats would attempt to impeach President the rich asshole if they take control of the House, Politico reported.
"The anti-patriarchy movement is going to undo ten thousand years of recorded history," Bannon said, according to the book.
Winfrey's speech during the Golden Globe Awards, addressing the "Me Too" and "Times Up" movements, spurred talk of a potential White House run in 2020.
“For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men,” Winfrey said while accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the ceremony. “But their time is up. Their time is up!”
Winfrey said last month she doesn't think she has the "DNA" for a White House run.
"I’ve always felt very secure and confident with myself in knowing what I could do and what I could not. And so it’s not something that interests me. I don’t have the DNA for it," Winfrey said in an interview last month.
the rich asshole last month told reporters he didn't think Winfrey would launch a presidential bid, but noted he believed he would beat her.
"Yeah, I'll beat Oprah. Oprah will be lots of fun,” the president said. “I don’t think she’s going to run.”
the rich asshole has given up on his pledge to balance the budget
Promises, promises.
The rich asshole administration released its second budget proposal on Monday, and as prior reports indicated, it abandons the long-held GOP position, as well as the explicit promise President the rich asshole made, to balance the federal budget within 10 years.
The budget will cut spending, but not nearly enough to balance the budget within the traditional 10-year budget window. The proposal would add $7.2 trillion moreto the debt over 10 years. The projections in the budget also envision very robust economic growth, so if the economy cools, the budgetary picture will get even worse.
All of this is made more difficult by the trillion-dollar hole left in the budget by the rich asshole’s tax cut, plus the half a trillion in increased spending in the two-year budget deal the rich asshole signed last week. That deal means $1 trillion in annual budget deficits for the foreseeable future.
This is far from what candidate the rich asshole told his supporters he would do:
- In his official campaign launch address, the rich asshole promised to “reduce our $18 trillion in debt,” which will not happen even under the administration’s rosy projections.
- On the campaign trail, the rich asshole said he would “freeze the budget,” which has certainly not happened.
- Shortly before his inauguration, he told Sean Hannity that he would “balance the budget very quickly … I think over a five-year period. And I don’t know, maybe I could even surprise you.”
- Previous to that, in March 2016, he told Bob Woodward that he could get rid of the debt “fairly quickly.” When pressed, he said, “Well, I would say over a period of eight years.”
- the rich asshole asserted during the second presidential debate that he would bring back energy companies, which would make so much money that they could pay off the national debt.
Those promises are also counter to Republican orthodoxy — the 2011 shutdown, for example, effectively boiled down to the Republican congressional majority’s demand for an amendment to the Constitution that would require a balanced budget. Now, that demand has all but disappeared.
the rich asshole has apparently given up on even talking about these issues: during his first State of the Union address, the president failed to mention the budget, debt, or fiscal deficit at all. His prior joint address to Congress had one attack on the Obama administration for the debt it had accumulated, plus a brief mention of his budget proposal, but no talk of cutting the deficit or shrinking the debt.
Last year, the rich asshole’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, dismissed his boss’ budget promises as “hyperbole.”
“I’m not going to be able to pay off $20 trillion worth of debt in four years,” he said at the time. “I’d be being dishonest with you if I said that I could. The reason the president doesn’t want to change some of the mandatory spending, is because the public’s not ready for it yet. They’re ready for economic growth.”
The budget proposal still manages to implement austere cuts to many agencies, with the exceptions of the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security, similar to last year’s budget proposal.
The rich asshole administration has seemingly been overwhelmed by how difficult it is to balance the federal budget while also lowering taxes, preserving non-discretionary spending, increasing military spending, and cutting discretionary spending.
The market’s excitement about tax cuts, which helped buoy stock prices to record levels, may be a double-edged sword: high deficits caused by those same tax cuts, plus an administration with a budget that plans to keep those deficits for at least 10 years, brings anxiety to the stock market. Mulvaney himself warned on Sunday that because of the still-rising deficit, interest rates may “spike.”
All of this may come down to the fact that the president simply cannot grasp how any of this works. Based on his comments to Sean Hannity last year, for instance, it was unclear whether the rich asshole understood the national debt: he touted the growth in the stock market, and accused the last administration of borrowing $10.2 trillion, “and yet, we picked up $5.2 trillion in the stock market, possibly picked up the whole things in terms of the first nine months in terms of value.”
He concluded, “so, you could say in one sense we are really increasing values, and maybe in a sense we are reducing debt.”
The performance of the stock market is unrelated to the national debt.
In 2016, then-Fox News host Bill O’Reilly pushed the rich asshole on how hard it would be to cut taxes and use any revenue gained from growth to cut down on the debt. “…You are going to have to raise taxes to get more money in to pay down that debt,” O’Reilly said. the rich asshole replied that taxes are too high. O’Reilly argued that “But if you cut the taxes again the revenue to pay down the debt then leaves.” He then pivoted to another topic, but not before the rich asshole said “You are going to slowly pay down the debt.”
‘The devil is delighted’ to see evangelicals defending the rich asshole and the GOP at all costs: Christian writer
some rich asshole in Cleveland prayer huddle -- (YouTube screen grab)
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An evangelical Christian writer finds herself increasingly wary of fellow Christians who see it as their duty to defend President some rich asshole and the Republican Party at all costs.
Writing at AL.com, evangelical Dana Hall McCain says that too many Christian leaders have become infatuated with maintaining power within the federal government, which is corrupting their duty to serve God and Christ above all else.
“When we believe that government — rather than our own submission to Christ and evangelism — is the whole ballgame, or even the most important facet of it, we become vulnerable to all sorts of compromises needed to win and maintain power,” she writes. “Truth is no longer what we pursue at all costs–power is, because we believe we can’t live without it.”
McCain then calls out evangelicals for not being more compassionate on helping out undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children, and she believes Christian teaching would mandate trying to find a solution that would let these people stay in the United States without fear of deportation.
She also says that she can’t stay silent when the rich asshole says things that are baldly dishonest, even if she appreciates some of the policy wins that he’s given to evangelical Christians.
“We’ve lost the guts needed to take our own people to the woodshed, because we’ve believed that our primary job is to beat Democrats instead of the Devil,” she writes. “The Devil is delighted by this misunderstanding.”
Ali Velshi opens can of whoop-ass on ex-Bush staffer defending John Kelly: ‘It was proved on tape that he lied’
Ali Velshi and Stephanie Ruhle speaks to Andy Card (MSNBC/screen grab)
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MSNBC co-hosts Ali Velshi and Stephanie Ruhle on Monday took on former Bush Chief of Staff Andy Card for defending President some rich asshole’s chief of staff after he failed to fire an employee who had been accused of abusing his wives.
Ruhle noted on Monday’s Velshi & Ruhle program that the president’s spokespeople have falsely claimed that the rich asshole has spoken in defense of domestic violence victims.
In fact, Velshi reminded viewers, the rich asshole has repeatedly spoken in support of men who have been accused of domestic violence and sexual harassment, including Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly, and former White House staffer Rob Porter.
“The president isn’t really in a position to change his view,” the MSNBC host explained. “Because if he changes his view about the others, he may have to answer things for himself.”
Turning to Card, Velshi noted that many people hoped that Chief of Staff John Kelly would have moderated the rich asshole’s worst instincts on defending alleged abusers.
“Time after time after time, we’ve seen John Kelly on the wrong side of things,” Velshi said. “I cannot ever forget what he said about Florida Congresswoman Fredrica Wilson. He came out to the White House briefing and lied to reporters about something she did. The video came out exonerating her and proved he was lying.”
“I’m beginning to think we’ve got a very serious John Kelly problem in this country,” he told Card.
Card, however, said that he supports Kelly regardless of his missteps.
“I think he’s doing a remarkable job,” Card insisted. “I have great empathy for him.”
“People who are experts at this like you don’t share your view on this,” Velshi interrupted.
Ruhle wondered why Kelly’s lies and failure to fire Porter was “A-okay” with Card.
Card contended that Kelly’s responsibility was to the president, not the American people.
“That is an awesome responsibility and he should not be distracted by some of these other things that are being said about him,” Card opined.
“I’m not asking John Kelly to defend the president or his campaign paying off an adult film star,” Ruhle shot back. “I’m asking [about] Kelly’s own words and actions. We’re not creating these distractions, these are his actions.”
“I don’t want the White House to be distracted,” Card remarked. “And a lot of these things are distractions.”
“The media isn’t creating these distractions!” Ruhle exclaimed.
“But you’re talking about them over and over and over,” Card complained.
“We have an obligation to, Andy,” Velshi chimed in.
“Are you saying that we should ignore the fact that they’ve got Rob Porter in the White House — people beyond Rob Porter — who don’t have security clearances?” Ruhle asked. “We should let that go?”
“We didn’t know about this problem until it came out,” Velshi added. “We didn’t know Rob Porter had these allegations.”
“That’s the way it is,” Card stated. “That’s part of the job of chief of staff to focus on that and make sure the president gets well served by the people around him. And to make sure the people don’t damage the reputation of the institution.”
“You don’t think the stuff that John Kelly was doing is damaging the White House, the institution of the White House?” Velshi pressed. “What about those Fredrica Wilson comments? He’s not actually come out and apologized for that. He lied about a U.S. congresswoman! It was proved on tape that he lied!”
“In the end,” Velshi continued, “he may be hurting more than he’s helping.”
“That’s not for you and I to decide,” Card replied. “That’s between John Kelly and the president.”
Watch the video below from MSNBC.
Texas man gives perfect response when restaurant asks him to leave over ‘F*ck the rich asshole’ shirt
Texas resident Andy Ternay wears a 'F*ck the rich asshole' t-shirt (Facebook photo).
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Garland, Texas resident Andy Ternay over the weekend was asked to leave a local restaurant because he was wearing a t-shirt that said, “F*ck the rich asshole — and f*ck you for voting for him.”
Writing on Facebook, Ternay explains that he wore his shirt to a local restaurant when he went out for breakfast on Sunday morning. He says that a manager approached him and asked him to leave because children in the restaurant might see his shirt.
“I expressed deep sympathies and let her know that explaining ‘grab ‘em by the pussy’ and golden showers to my daughter was equally unpleasant,” Ternay writes.
Overall, Ternay says that his shirt got nods of approval from black and Latino employees at the restaurant — even though many white customers bristled at seeing it.
“Everywhere I go with this shirt, white males sneer and people of color smile and give me thumbs up,” he writes. “I think it is very worthwhile to let people of color know they are not alone – that some whites also see the evil of racism is resurgent – and we will fight with our brothers and sisters of color against it.”
Watch the MSNBC anchor destroy a ridiculous White House defense of the rich asshole's treatment of women.
the rich asshole’s reaction to the Rob Porter domestic abuse scandal has been so despicable that his defenders are barely even fooling themselves anymore.
the rich asshole administration officials threw everything they could think of into defending the rich asshole’s handling of the scandal during a series of disastrous Sunday show appearances. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway insisted that the rich asshole has “come to the aid of women privately, whether he has secured employment for them or given them a hand up, read an article about them and had his team back at the rich asshole Tower contact them and try to help them.”
None of that addresses the widespread criticism of the rich asshole’s public full-throated defense of his former aide, refusing to even acknowledge the women he allegedly abused and expressing sadness for Porter but not for his victims.
On Monday, MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle exposed the absurdity of the White House’s spin.
“Kellyanne Conway said, over the weekend that privately, the president has given aid and supported many women,” the anchor said. “It doesn’t matter what president has done privately, he’s a public figure.”
“Couldn’t one argue that the $130-grand check cut to Stormy Daniels would be considered private support?” Ruhle continued. “It’s what you put out to the world, what you’re comfortable with.”
Ruhle is referring to the $130,000 the rich asshole’s lawyer allegedly paid to porn star Stormy Daniels a month before the 2016 election to cover up an extramarital affair.
But Conway’s defense is silly enough on its face, and Conway herself is a prime example. the rich asshole has elevated few women in his administration, and those he has elevated function mainly to lie for him, and to animate this talking point.
Conway and truth-challenged press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders aside, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen recently faced humiliation for lying on the rich asshole’s behalf during a Senate hearing, but wasn’t even allowed to speak when she was the only woman to attend the rich asshole’s dinner in Davos.
And when the Porter scandal started to really hurt the rich asshole, he tried to blame the whole thing on his communications director, Hope Hicks, even though it was chief of staff John Kelly who promoted and protected Porter.
This latest scandal clearly has the rich asshole and his team worried, and their pathetic attempts at spin are only making it worse.
Hosting sports champions at the White House used to be a simple and non-controversial event. Under the rich asshole, not so much.
World champion American athletes didn’t use to line up to announce how they were refusing to visit the White House because of their open disdain for the president of the United States. But under the rich asshole, that’s become the new normal.
Following the Super Bowl LII, several members of the Philadelphia Eagles said they’d refuse any White House invite. And now with Olympic medals being awarded in at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, ice skater and Olympic star Adam Rippon is doing the same.
After winning a bronze medal in team figure skating, the openly gay U.S. figure skater said Sunday he would skip the Olympians’ White House visit in protest of what he sees as homophobia in the the rich asshole administration.
“I have no desire to go to the White House,” Rippon said on Sunday. “But I would like to do something to help my community. I have kind of spoken out a lot and I’d like to do something positive and not just stay at home.”
Rippon’s planned White House snub comes after he publicly called out Mike Pence’s homophobic past. Last month, Pence’s staff requested a one-on-one conversation with Rippon in an attempt to blunt the figure skater’s criticisms. But Rippon turned him down.
As governor of Indiana, Pence signed into law the so-called “Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” which allowed businesses to discriminate against LGBT citizens.
“My mom always taught me to stand up for what I believe in,” Rippon told NBC following his Olympic competition.
Also on Sunday, Philadelphia Eagle and Super Bowl champ Malcolm Jenkins reiterated that accepting a White House visit from the rich asshole is “not worth my time.”
“This is a celebratory event where we come, the president comes in, shakes a couple hands, takes a picture and leaves. And I’m just not interested in that,” Jenkins told CNN.
Jenkins is part of the Players Coalition, a movement by NFL athletes to take on systemic issues and injustices facing Americans of color.
“I’d rather spend my time working with whoever on these issues that we’ve been fighting for,” stressed Jenkins. “That’s just my personal decision.”
Hosting sports champions at the White House used to be one of the simplest and non-controversial events any president oversees. But the rich asshole has still managed to blow that up, most notably with his months-long denigration of the NFL and its roster of black athletes who have silently protested systemic racial injustice.
In October, the Pittsburgh Penguins, winners of the Stanley Cup, visited the rich asshole’s White House. But unlike their previous visit with President Obama, they didn’t bother sharing any photographs of the meeting on their various social media platforms.
In one of the rich asshole’s petulant Twitter tantrums back in September, he publicly withdrew a White House invitation to Steph Curry of the NBA champs Golden State Warriors.
LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers responded by pointing out that Curry had already said he wasn’t going, and called the rich asshole out as a “bum.”
“Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!” James declared.
More and more world champion athletes are endorsing that claim.
Tillerson announces mandatory sexual harassment training for staff as the rich asshole defends domestic abuser
"It's not okay if you're seeing it happening and just look away. You must do something."
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Monday said that his department’s employees will be subject to mandatory sexual harassment training by June 1 and are expected to intervene and take action against any misconduct they witness.
Speaking to embassy staff in Cairo, Tillerson said: “There is no form of disrespect for the individual that I can identify, anything more demeaning than for someone to suffer this kind of treatment.”
He added, “It’s not okay if you’re seeing it happening and just look away. You must do something. You must notify someone. You must step in and intervene.”
Tillerson’s comments came just two days after President some rich asshole tweeted his sympathy for those accused of sexual harassment and domestic violence, saying that they were not given “due process” and that their lives and careers are “destroyed by a mere allegation.”
the rich asshole’s tweet, posted on Saturday morning, was taken as a defense of White House Secretary Rob Porter and speechwriter David Sorensen, who have both been accused by ex-wives of being physically and verbally abusive. Porterand Sorensen vehemently deny the accusations against them, with Sorensen alleging that his ex-wife, Jessica Corbett, in fact abused him.
Porter’s first ex-wife actually has a photo of herself with a black eye he said he gave her, and his second wife obtained a temporary emergency protective order after Porter punched through the glass on the front door and refused to leave her home. Corbett told the Washington Post that during their brief marraige, “Sorensen ran a car over her foot, put out a cigarette on her hand, threw her into a wall and grasped her menacingly by her hair while they were alone on their boat in remote waters off Maine’s coast, an incident she said left her fearing for her life.”
On Monday morning, Fox & Friends hosts repeatedly asked White House Spokesman Hogan Gidley to ask the president to condemn domestic violence.
the rich asshole has a history of sympathizing with the men accused of misconduct, and has himself boasted that he feels entitled to grab women by the genitals. He has also been accused of sexual assault by 14 women, and has a long history of defending me who have raped, assaulted, and harassed women, from Mike Tyson to Bill O’Reilly.
A State Department official told ThinkProgress that the mandatory training will include employees who have diplomatic immunity overseas. This means that consequences stemming from misconduct will apply to all State Department employees — including diplomats — regardless of where they and who they mistreat.
Last fall, more than 200 women working in national security — including at the State Department — signed an open letter complaining of weak and unenforced sexual harassment policies.
Note: This piece has been updated to include a response from the State Department.
some rich asshole Jr. isn’t letting his secret meeting with Russian nationals keep him quiet anymore
Don Jr. is back, baby.
some rich asshole Jr. is back.
the rich asshole’s eldest son was almost entirely absent from cable news interviews following his bungled attempt last summer to cover up his central role in the infamous the rich asshole Tower meeting with Russian nationals who promised him dirt on Hillary Clinton. The eldest the rich asshole son, ostensibly focused on running his father’s business — and walled off from the business of government — is now back to being a regular fixture on Fox News programs, where he functions as a White House surrogate.
What prompted the change? One thing that appears to have captured his attention is the memo by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) that was supposed to provide proof of a grand conspiracy against some rich asshole in the FBI but turned out to be a dud. Nevertheless, much of Don Jr.’s social media activity and cable news discussion has been focused on the memo and how it vindicates his father.
Much like he has done since the inauguration, Don Jr. tweets almost entirely about the political priorities of his father’s administration, and almost never about his own actual job. A ThinkProgress investigation last year found that Don Jr. posted about his dad’s political priorities at an average rate of three times per day from the day after the election through Halloween. He has significantly increased this rate in recent weeks, routinely tweeting a dozen times per day about the rich asshole administration, his father’s political enemies, and the travails of Democrats attacking his father. This doesn’t include many more retweets of similar content, often from far-right blogs. Hundreds of his tweets and retweets were about the memo.
Don Jr. has also appeared on Fox News four times in recent days — once on Tucker Carlson’s show right as the push to release the memo gained steam, once on Hannity after the State of the Union, once on Jesse Watters’ show and again on Carlson’s show right after the memo was released.
Here are the highlights from Don Jr.’s resurgence:
Don Jr. accidentally admitted that the rich asshole fired the Deputy Director of the FBI
Two days after his father’s press secretary told reporters that the White House was not involved in FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s decision to retire, Don Jr. let slip that the memo caused McCabe to be fired. It is still not clear why McCabe decided to retire so abruptly, but President the rich asshole had been personally attacking him for months.
The FBI reaction to the memo is Indicative of a lot. All of congress has seen it, not just the special committees. Also weird that for the first time ever the media wants less info? What are they hiding? twitter.com/repjeffduncan/…
It was good enough to fire McCabe, no one argues its factually inaccurate, but now days later they want to protect the names of those involved in a scandal that was big enough to fire a senior official a month before retirement? They don’t deserve a pass on that!
This begged the question of which narrative was correct: was McCabe fired over the Nunes memo, or did he decide to retire for personal reasons? We still don’t have an answer. And Don Jr. continued to joke about it. Don Jr.’s tweet also appears to conflate the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server with the current investigation into his father’s campaign’s ties to Russia.
Don Jr. said moderate Democrats are “left of commie”
In a discussion on Watters World about the dilemma facing Democratic senators in red states who nevertheless oppose the rich asshole administration priorities they believe are bad, Don Jr. found a novel conclusion. He said moderate Democrats are “left of commie right now.”
Don Jr. called the Nunes memo a “little bit of sweet revenge” for the rich asshole family
Don Jr. appeared as a guest on Jesse Watters’ Fox News weekend show, where he was a bit too candid about the political purpose of the memo. the rich asshole Jr. said “there is a little bit of sweet revenge in it for me and certainly, probably, the family” in the memo’s release.
Don Jr. promoted a fraudulent Fox News story about an FBI text message
Last week, Fox News ran an article that alleged that President Obama tried to get an update about the Hillary Clinton email investigation, based on a text from FBI agent Peter Strzok. In fact, that investigation had wrapped up and the FBI was looking at Russian interference in the election — an entirely appropriate request. Presidents steer clear of the FBI’s criminal investigations, but have an obligation to stay up-to-date on counterintelligence efforts.
This is a really big deal. foxnews.com/politics/2018/…
Don Jr. called the Russia probe the greatest “witch hunt… since Salem”
On an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show, Don Jr. said the Russia probe is a “witch hunt, probably the greatest since Salem” and concluded that “the only collusion” discovered is actually that of the Obama administration. He said that what he learned over the last few months was “bordering on disgusting” and concluded, “this isn’t the America I thought would happen — this is the stuff you read about from banana republics.” He compared Republicans and Democrats on the Russia collusion issue and concluded “we’re a little bit more honorable than them” — “we” meaning Republicans, the rich asshole administration, or the rich asshole political operation.
Don Jr. said that “deranged” Democrats wanted to stand and applaud for the rich asshole during the State of the Union
On an appearance on Fox News’ Hannity, he praised his father’s speech before Congress as “phenomenal” but refocused on an attempt to ridicule the Democrats in the chamber — “you could see them all wanting to stand, Sean, looking around, ‘you almost have to stand for this,’ but the derangement is real.”
Later in that interview, Hannity asked him why he didn’t go to Washington with his dad. the rich asshole Jr. replied, “I can do more on the side, I can be very vocal.”
Don Jr. lost a $100 bet about the memos
Don Jr. tweeted that he bet a friend that the Democratic memo would leak before anyone saw the GOP memo. The GOP memo is public, and the president refused to release the Democratic memo — which has not leaked at all.
I just bet a friend $100 that Schiff’s (fake try to get ahead of the bad for them narrative) memo “leaks” to the media before we see the real memo. Media will be complicit in helping obviously. #ReleaseTheMemo twitter.com/dbongino/statu…
Don Jr. repeatedly tweeted far-right conspiracy websites
the rich asshole Jr. has regularly shared links to stories on right-wing blogs like Gateway Pundit, True Pundit. In Don Jr.’s world, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is a secret Russian spy, Sen. John Warner (D-VA) is the one colluding with Russia, there was a conspiracy by six U.S. intelligence agencies to spy on then-candidate the rich asshole, and James Comey only told Congress about Anthony Weiner’s emails because he was forced to by a Obama Justice Department official.
HUGE: Comey (mr ethics) was FORCED to tell Congress about Weiner emails only because George Toscas at DOJ found out about them! thegatewaypundit.com/2018/02/huge-c…
Interesting truepundit.com/exclusive-six-…
Democratic Sen. Mark Warner texted with Russian oligarch lobbyist in effort to contact dossier author Christopher Steele fxn.ws/2nXIdM6 #FoxNews
He also retweeted a white supremacy media figure, Jack Posobiec, who has pushed the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory.
Don Jr. said his dad wasn’t a racist because he’s taken photos with “all the rappers”
In an interview with Ginni Thomas on the Daily Caller released last week, the rich asshole Jr. made the case against those who say his father is racist. “You know it’s amazing — all the rappers, all his African American friends, from Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton, have pictures with him,” he said. Thomas had asked him about “the left’s efforts to frame [his] dad and anyone who supports [the president] as a hater, as a racist, as a fascist.”
Even Fox is disgusted by the rich asshole covering for his abusive former staffer.
The Rob Porter domestic abuse scandal has been so damaging to the rich asshole that even his most loyal propaganda arm is pressing him to speak out on behalf of women.
After a weekend of administration officials failing miserably at cleaning up after the rich asshole’s defense of his former aide and smearing of domestic violence victims, deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley probably thought he would have an easier time of it on “Fox & Friends,” the rich asshole’s favorite Fox show, which has ignored the story.
But things took a turn when co-host Brian Kilmeade brought up reporting that the rich asshole has been privately slamming Porter while defending him publicly.
“Why won’t he said that publicly, or do you think Jonathan Swan is wrong?” Kilmeade asked.
“Well, I don’t know if he is going to say that publicly or not,” Gidley responded, and ran through a short stack of the rich asshole administration excuses.
Gidley claimed that the rich asshole “has been very clear, that all forms of abuse, all forms of battery against women are horrible and disgusting.”
“But he hasn’t said that,” Kilmeade interjected.
“Right, you haven’t talked to him today,” Gidley said, claiming the rich asshole has “said that multiple times in the past” and that the rich asshole finds such behavior “disgusting.”
Co-host Ainsley Earhardt also pressed Gidley on the rich asshole’s silence about domestic abuse victims.
“Hogan, will you and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, will y’all get together and advise him and talk about — this is an opportunity when can he come out against domestic violence,” Earhardt said. “I mean, those pictures are horrific.” Earhardt was referencing graphic photographs released by Porter’s ex-wife Colbie Holderness, showing a black eye she says he gave her during a vacation in 2005.
Gidley again falsely claimed that the rich asshole condemns domestic violence all the time but that he did not condemn such behavior last week because he was specifically asked about Porter — whom he defended at length Friday.
the rich asshole has sided with domestic abusers and other predators, and against women, time after time. the rich asshole has issued only three written statements on domestic violence to launch existing awareness campaigns, but he has no record of publicly speaking on the issue, other than to smear women as liars.
Gidley’s remarks tease the possibility that the rich asshole may attempt to “fix” this damaging debacle today with a general condemnation of domestic violence, in much the same way that he paid forced lip service to denouncing white supremacy after he bungled the response to Charlottesville.
But any statement would be far too late. the rich asshole has made it painfully clear that he stands with predators and abusers, not women.
Senate braces for showdown over ‘Dreamers’
BY JORDAIN CARNEY - 02/12/18 06:00 AM EST
The Senate is barreling toward a battle on immigration with no clear end game in sight.
The chamber is expected to turn to the issue Monday evening, but where the debate goes after it begins is anyone’s guess.
The chamber is expected to turn to the issue Monday evening, but where the debate goes after it begins is anyone’s guess.
Senators are predicting a free-for-all, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is using a House bill not related to immigration as the base legislation in order to create a fair playing ground.
“It sounds like Senator McConnell’s just going to pull up a shell bill and let people have at it. ... It ought to be pretty fascinating,” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), McConnell’s top deputy.
Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), Cornyn’s Democratic counterpart, predicted: “You’re going to hear as many variations as the fertile minds of my colleagues can produce.”
That would be in stark contrast to McConnell’s usual tight grip on proceedings.
“Face it, for years we haven’t started a process where we don’t know where it’s going. ... So it is significant that he’s willing to actually put a shell, a neutral shell, on the floor and have the process work itself out,” Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) told reporters this week.
The open-ended debate, which senators predicted could drag on for more than a week, will pit proposals against one another. Only those that gain the support of 60 senators will become a part of the base bill.
The only way a bill will get out of the Senate is if the final product also meets that 60-vote threshold.
And it’s not clear how long the debate will go on.
Competing factions are scrambling to lock down their amendments as both parties strategize about what measures to put forward and when.
Durbin and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) are discussing strategy for the Democratic caucus but haven’t made any decisions.
“We have to do something that hasn’t been done around here for a year and a half or more — we have to talk about floor tactics,” Durbin said.
Durbin initially signaled last week that he and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) could put their “Gang of Six” bill up for a vote even though President the rich asshole panned the proposal.
But he later hedged, saying he wanted to wait to see what comes out of the Common Sense Coalition.
This group of more than 20 senators, led by Susan Collins (R-Maine), has begun drafting legislative text. But it still hasn’t reached a consensus about what it could support.
Durbin and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) are discussing strategy for the Democratic caucus but haven’t made any decisions.
“We have to do something that hasn’t been done around here for a year and a half or more — we have to talk about floor tactics,” Durbin said.
Durbin initially signaled last week that he and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) could put their “Gang of Six” bill up for a vote even though President the rich asshole panned the proposal.
But he later hedged, saying he wanted to wait to see what comes out of the Common Sense Coalition.
This group of more than 20 senators, led by Susan Collins (R-Maine), has begun drafting legislative text. But it still hasn’t reached a consensus about what it could support.
“I think we’re getting pretty close on coming up with a proposal that may or may not be offered next week,” Collins told reporters after the group’s last closed-door session. “There will probably be more than one [amendment offered] but it’s too early to tell right now.”
Senators in the group have focused on a narrower solution that would break from the “four pillars” strategy that the rich asshole and a bipartisan group of lawmakers initially agreed to.
The pillars consisted of a fix for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a border security package, and changes to family-based immigration and the diversity visa lottery, which provides visas to immigrants from countries with historically low immigration levels.
Members haven’t ruled out trying to broaden their proposals, but warn that the more they try to tack on the harder it could be to get a bill that can pass the Senate.
Senators in the group have focused on a narrower solution that would break from the “four pillars” strategy that the rich asshole and a bipartisan group of lawmakers initially agreed to.
The pillars consisted of a fix for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a border security package, and changes to family-based immigration and the diversity visa lottery, which provides visas to immigrants from countries with historically low immigration levels.
Members haven’t ruled out trying to broaden their proposals, but warn that the more they try to tack on the harder it could be to get a bill that can pass the Senate.
“If we can stay focused on those two, I think we can get to 60. The challenge is there are lots of other problems that both the White House and other members want to do,” said Sen. Christopher Coons (D-Del.), a member of the group.
Senators remain divided over the fate of the parents of “Dreamers,” or those undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children.
Senators remain divided over the fate of the parents of “Dreamers,” or those undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children.
Many GOP lawmakers are wary of granting protected status for people who entered the country illegally, which could give them an advantage over immigrants who entered the United States at the same time.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who was involved with the 2013 “Gang of Eight” bill, predicted a bill that was “silent” on the fate of the parents would be the most likely to ultimately pass.
“I think a lot of people are learning that immigration is complicated,” he said.
Two other issues are what to do about the visa lottery system and how to counterbalance giving DACA recipients a path to citizenship.
Flake, who is a member of the Collins group, said he is working on his own proposal that would address each of the four pillars.
“I think a lot of people are learning that immigration is complicated,” he said.
Two other issues are what to do about the visa lottery system and how to counterbalance giving DACA recipients a path to citizenship.
Flake, who is a member of the Collins group, said he is working on his own proposal that would address each of the four pillars.
He says he would borrow from the Gang of Six bill as well as a measure from GOP Sens. James Lankford (Okla.) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) that was pitched last year as a “conservative DREAM Act.”
A group of GOP senators are expected to introduce legislation that mirrors the rich asshole’s framework on Monday. It would give 1.8 million Dreamers a path to citizenship in exchange for tens of billions in funding for the U.S.-Mexico border wall and changes to legal immigration.
A group of GOP senators are expected to introduce legislation that mirrors the rich asshole’s framework on Monday. It would give 1.8 million Dreamers a path to citizenship in exchange for tens of billions in funding for the U.S.-Mexico border wall and changes to legal immigration.
"Our proposal is supported by the President, who’s come a long way to reach a compromise. This is the only Senate proposal that has any chance of passing the House and being signed into law," Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), one of seven Republican senators introducing the measure, said in a statement on Sunday night.
Many Republicans are wary of moving forward with a bill that the president hasn’t specifically said he will support, with immigration considered a political lightning rod with the party’s base.
the rich asshole tried to blame Democrats over the weekend for the the inability to get a DACA deal, saying they would rather "use it as a campaign issue."
"Republicans want to fix DACA far more than the Democrats do. The Dems had all three branches of government back in 2008-2011, and they decided not to do anything about DACA. They only want to use it as a campaign issue. Vote Republican!" the rich asshole said in a tweet.
Despite the flurry of behind-closed-doors activity, there’s no sign of a deal that could win over the Senate — much less the more conservative House or the rich asshole — by the March 5 deadline.
And multiple senators warned that the debate, which is supposed to be focused on “phase one,” could spill into a larger discussion that includes penalizing cities that don’t comply with federal immigration law, employment-based investor visas and the larger population of roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants.
Meanwhile, despite pressure from House Democrats, Speaker Paul Ryan(R-Wis.) has remained adamant that he will only bring up a bill that is supported by the rich asshole, who has shot down back-to-back bipartisan proposals in the Senate.
GOP senators are split on whether passage of a bill by the Senate would help matters with the rich asshole and the House. A 2013 comprehensive immigration bill passed the Senate only to die in the House without ever receiving a vote.
“We could vote on it 90-10 in the Senate and the House still — this notion that the House is going to listen to what a senator tells them to do is not real,” Rubio said.
Despite the looming hurdles, and no signs of a solution, some are optimistic the chamber will be able to reach a consensus. But other lawmakers are quietly working on a backup plan of punting the issue for two to three years.
Flake is working on a “failsafe” that would pair a three-year extension of DACA with border security funding.
The the rich asshole administration announced it was ending the Obama-era immigration program, which allows immigrants brought into the country illegally as children to work and go to school. Congress has until March 5 to pass a fix or risk the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
White House chief of staff John Kelly warned that the rich asshole will not extend the deadline, noting the administration is unsure if he even has the legal authority to do so. He also warned lawmakers against moving back the deadline, but noted that it was up to the rich asshole to accept years-long stopgap legislation.
Graham said he hopes Congress can pull a “white rabbit out of its hat” but predicted that the most likely outcome is kicking the fight down the road.
“If I were betting man … I’d always bet on Congress to punt,” he said. “I just hope we don’t punt on first down. I hope we at least go to fourth down before we punt.”
Meanwhile, despite pressure from House Democrats, Speaker Paul Ryan(R-Wis.) has remained adamant that he will only bring up a bill that is supported by the rich asshole, who has shot down back-to-back bipartisan proposals in the Senate.
GOP senators are split on whether passage of a bill by the Senate would help matters with the rich asshole and the House. A 2013 comprehensive immigration bill passed the Senate only to die in the House without ever receiving a vote.
“We could vote on it 90-10 in the Senate and the House still — this notion that the House is going to listen to what a senator tells them to do is not real,” Rubio said.
Despite the looming hurdles, and no signs of a solution, some are optimistic the chamber will be able to reach a consensus. But other lawmakers are quietly working on a backup plan of punting the issue for two to three years.
Flake is working on a “failsafe” that would pair a three-year extension of DACA with border security funding.
The the rich asshole administration announced it was ending the Obama-era immigration program, which allows immigrants brought into the country illegally as children to work and go to school. Congress has until March 5 to pass a fix or risk the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
White House chief of staff John Kelly warned that the rich asshole will not extend the deadline, noting the administration is unsure if he even has the legal authority to do so. He also warned lawmakers against moving back the deadline, but noted that it was up to the rich asshole to accept years-long stopgap legislation.
Graham said he hopes Congress can pull a “white rabbit out of its hat” but predicted that the most likely outcome is kicking the fight down the road.
“If I were betting man … I’d always bet on Congress to punt,” he said. “I just hope we don’t punt on first down. I hope we at least go to fourth down before we punt.”
The embattled House Intelligence Committee chair is using campaign money to defend his lies and pretend it's news.
House Intelligence Committee chair Devin Nunes (R-CA) has badly damaged his brand by pushing a memo based on classified intelligence sources he had not even read, full of right-wing conspiracy theories to exonerate the rich asshole and attack the FBI for investigating Russia.
Facing accusations of being “the rich asshole’s stooge,” and polls show him in a tight re-election race in his usually solid Republican district, Nunes’ latest ploy is the creation of his own fake news website to spread pro-Nunes propaganda.
And he is already being mocked for it.
“Devin Nunes created and is paying for a fake news site that, among other things, attacks me,” tweeted California Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu. “So I am going to do the same thing. Aw, just kidding. I don’t need to spend money peddling fake news. I’ve learned there is an easier way to inform the American people: tell the truth.”
“We have to laugh otherwise we’ll go crazy,” wrote HuffPost congressional reporter Matt Fuller, “but it’s really something to see a ‘news site’ paid for by the political campaign of a committee chairman who should actually be looking at the issue of ‘fake news.'”
Former Nixon White House counsel John Dean had a succinct reaction: “Fake Devin creates a fake news site.”
Nunes’ Democratic opponent, Fresno prosecutor Andrew Janz, reminded everyone that nothing about Nunes’ behavior resembles a man who views himself as accountable to the people. “Fake news, fake Clovis district office, and fake radio Town Halls on KMJ,” Janz tweeted. “It’s time for a change in #CA22”
Nunes’ website, titled “The California Republican,” was first exposed by Politico on Sunday. Paid for by the Devin Nunes Campaign Committee, it has run headlines like, “CNN busted for peddling fake news AGAIN!” and “Understanding the process behind #ReleaseTheMemo.” Its Twitter account even posted an image of Nunes with the words “This is what a hero looks like.”
Disguising election propaganda as a media website is not a new tactic for the GOP. In 2014, the National Republican Congressional Committee launched two dozen fake websites designed to look like local newspapers, including the “Central Valley Update” and the “Augusta Update,” each with a single “article” attacking a Democratic congressional candidate.
Last year, the Republican Governors Association published “The Free Telegraph,” a “news” service dedicated to explaining what a wonderful job Republican governors are doing.
But Nunes’ website might be the GOP’s most brazen foray into propaganda yet, with continually published articles and a social media presence, all either defending Nunes or pushing back on Democrats or media outlets criticizing him.
This is not the behavior of a man confident in the legitimacy of popularity of his cause. And the ridicule he now faces for his desperate stunt is well deserved.
the rich asshole proposes cutting entitlements by $1.7 trillion — enough to pay for $1.5 trillion in tax cuts: report
President some rich asshole looks up while signing an executive order to advance construction of the Keystone XL pipeline at the White House in Washington. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
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President some rich asshole’s White House has reportedly proposed cutting $1.7 trillion from entitlement programs in the federal budget. The move comes after Republicans passed a tax cut law that is expected to strip $1.5 billion from federal coffers.
Bloomberg editor Alex Wayne reported on Monday that his publication had received confirmation that “the rich asshole’s fiscal 2019 budget proposes $1.7 trillion in entitlement cuts over a decade.”
Wayne noted that $237 billion in Medicare cuts are included in the plan.
The proposed budget comes just months after President some rich asshole signed a Republican-backed tax cut law that experts say will cost the country $1.5 trillion in revenue.
“The bill is heavily weighted toward business, which would receive about $1 trillion in net cuts, or two-thirds of the total, according to calculations by the Joint Committee on Taxation,” The New York Times said of the tax bill last year. “At its center is a proposal to permanently cut the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent — a change that is estimated to reduce federal revenues by $1.5 trillion over the next decade alone.”
For its part, the the rich asshole administration has disputed the cost of the tax cut law by insisting that lost revenue would be made up by growth in the economy.
WATCH: CNN’s Chris Cuomo jumps all over Alabama Republican for dismissing White House domestic abuse as ‘soap opera news’
Chris Cuomo, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) -- screenshot
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Appearing on CNN Monday morning, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) wanted no part in discussing the domestic abuse charges levied against two now-departed White House staffers saying the revelations are “soap opera news.”
Speaking with host Chris Cuomo, Brooks tried to dismiss the spousal abuse allegations against former the rich asshole staffer Robert Porter — despite photographic evidence — by citing the Duke University lacrosse rape case that turned out to be false.
“All too often there’s a rush to judgment,” Brooks stated. “I’m a graduate of Duke University. I remember very well that Duke lacrosse team.”
“I don’t understand the parallels to the current situation,” host Cuomo parried. “If somebody comes to you, Mo, and says, ‘this woman got a black eye. There is an order of protection, and there is another woman who echoes the same kind of sentiments about this situation,’ that’s not nothing.”
“I’m not talking about someone just coming forward and saying, ‘I don’t like the way Mo Brooks is treating me at the office,’ and has nothing else to support it,” Cuomo continued. “This was real. And it was ignored to support somebody that the White House liked.”
After a long pause, Brooks replied, “Chris, to me, this is sort of soap opera news, I’m not in a position—”
“Domestic violence is ‘soap opera news’?” and incredulous Cuomo cut in.
“I haven’t looked at the evidence,” Brooks demurred. “I haven’t talked to a single witness that has personal knowledge. And I really much prefer, if I’m going to be on your show, to talk about public policy. When you talk about personal matters or what’s going on behind closed doors in a marital relationship, that I know nothing about, I’m just not comfortable commenting on that.”
Watch the video below via YouTube:
Omarosa spills beans on White House clearances: ‘Some of the most accomplished people have domestic violence’
Omarosa Manigault (CBS/screen grab)
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Former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault revealed over the weekend that a surprising number of people who apply for jobs at the White House have a history of domestic violence and other crimes.
Manigault made the remarks on CBS’s Big Brother reality show, where she has been locked away from the outside world since Feb. 7 and presumably does not know about the recent revelations that Rob Porter had to resign from the the rich asshole White House after two ex-wives alleged abuse.
During a discussion with other show contestants, Manigault talked about how she had worked in both the Clinton and the rich asshole White Houses.
According to Manigault, her job in the Clinton White House was to place thousands of political appointees, which included having them vetted by the FBI.
“Everybody goes, ‘No, I’ve done nothing,'” she explained. “And you’re FBI counterpart comes and says, ‘He had a DUI.’ And then you set back down with him and say, ‘Why did you just tell me about about the DUI?’ [And he replies,] ‘Oh, I had it expunged.'”
“Some of the bizarre things that people have,” Manigault continued. “They lie. Everybody lies. They lie about everything on their background, thinking it won’t be found. And then you get the folder [from the FBI].”
“Everything from DUIs, speeding, domestic violence,” she gasped. “Oh my God, some of the most accomplished people have domestic violence stuff. You know, aggression. It’s the craziest thing the amount of those issues.”
Although Manigault is presumed not to know about Porter’s exit, she reportedly left the CBS studio last week due to health problems. It was not clear from the conversation if Manigault had been aware of the allegations against Porter while she was in the the rich asshole White House.
Watch the video below from CBS’s Big Brother: Celebrity Edition.
Devin Nunes isn’t immune from obstruction of justice charges in Russia probe: NY Times editorial
Congressman Devin Nunes (Latvian Foreign Ministry/Flickr)
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Rep. Devin Nunes’s (R-CA) notorious memo didn’t fare well when held up to public scrutiny and Republicans have been forced to backtrack on its importance.
According to a New York Times editorial, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, along with his staff, may end up under special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into President some rich asshole’s possible obstruction of justice.
It began with fellow committee member Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) asked Nunes if he or his office coordinated with the White House on the Republican memo about alleged FBI surveillance abuses. Nunes claimed he didn’t but refused to answer whether or not his staff worked as an intermediary. The committee staff director called the GOP memo a “‘team effort’ that involved investigators who had access to source material.”
Late-night meetings, the close relationship to the the rich asshole transition committee and revelations the committee was feeding intelligence to the White House all add up to evidence that points to the contrary. Each of the actions could come under scrutiny from Mueller’s investigators.
Press reports have indicated the true purpose of the memo was in giving the rich asshole an excuse to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees Muller and the investigation since Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself. With Rosenstein out, the rich asshole could install a friendly appointee to oversee the investigation and block Mueller’s investigation.
This pathway would prompt an investigation into Nunes’ staff and communications they had with the White House. Typically there is a “speech or debate” immunity bestowed to members and staff. The Constitution states the officials “shall not be questioned in any other Place” for “any Speech or Debate in either House.” It essentially gives members of Congress immunity from criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits that have anything to do with the laws passed. It extends to acts that are “integral part of the deliberative and communicative processes by which Members participate in committee and House proceedings,” the Supreme Court decided in Gravel v. United States.
However, it’s entirely possible Nunes and his staff went too far. Minor “connection to legislative acts” doesn’t score immunity to anything and everything. The Times cited Sen. Daniel Brewster, who in 1972 lost “speech or debate immunity” in a bribery prosecution. They found that the crime had nothing to do with an act of voting on proposed legislation.
If a staffer worked with the White House to undermine the investigation, The Timesnoted it would be difficult to see how it could be “essential to the deliberations” of the committee.
If the rich asshole fires Rosenstein and cites the memo it will be obvious Nunes and his team helped make it possible. The president doesn’t have the best track record in keeping his mouth shut over the real reasons for terminating employees.
the rich asshole hopes to boost GOP in midterms by latching onto another NFL-style ‘cultural flashpoint’
the rich asshole at Alabama Rally (Photo: Screen capture)
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Polls are predicting a grim fate for Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections, but President some rich asshole reportedly hopes to rile up the base with angry tweets.
Republicans are planning to remind voters of the tax cut they passed at the end of last year, but a source close to the White House said the president has other ideas, reported Axios.
The source said the rich asshole plans to excite Republican voters by exploiting “unexpected cultural flashpoints” at campaign rallies and on Twitter, just as he did last fall by attacking NFL players for kneeling protests during the national anthem.
“(the rich asshole) is going to be looking for opportunities to stir up the base, more than focusing on any particular legislation or issue,” the source said.
‘President the rich asshole is finished with John Kelly’: Morning Joe rips Kellyanne Conway’s defense of chief of staff
Joe Scarborough (MSNBC)
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MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough dismissed Kellyanne Conway’s insistence that White House chief of staff John Kelly still enjoyed the president’s full confidence.
The retired general has come under fire for his handling of domestic abuse allegations against former staff secretary Rob Porter, but Conway claimed Sunday that Kelly’s job was safe.
“A lot of back and forth going on here, it could be confusing,” Scarborough said. “We’ll tell you what, what we usually do on ‘Morning Joe’ when we’re confused and just want to know the facts. We just wish somebody at the White House would give us the facts.”
He pointed out that Conway’s comments sounded remarkably similar to what she said one year ago Monday, when she insisted President some rich asshole had full confidence in then-national security adviser Mike Flynn — who was ousted hours later and has since pleaded guilty in the special counsel probe.
“(She) rushed out, and did what she does so often, said things that have no connection to the truth,” Scarborough said.
He said Conway’s comments were “the exact opposite” of what his own sources inside the White House had told him about the rich asshole and Kelly.
“President the rich asshole is finished with John Kelly, and his staff members around John Kelly can’t wait for him to go,” Scarborough said.
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