#fiveweeks

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Saturday February 25, 2017 · 6:44 AM PST

2017/02/25 · 06:44

In just #fiveweeks we have deepening questions about Russia's interference in our democracy while our President lashes out at the press.
Ã¢ÂÂ Jim Ludes (@JMLudes) February 25, 2017

In just #fiveweeks we've had an assault on the truth, on the constitution, on pluralism, diversity & decency.
Ã¢ÂÂ Jim Ludes (@JMLudes) February 25, 2017

But in those same #fiveweeks thousands upon thousands went to airports to protest the government & welcome refugees.
Ã¢ÂÂ Jim Ludes (@JMLudes) February 25, 2017

You are not alone. This is not over. We will not fail. #fiveweeks
Ã¢ÂÂ Jim Ludes (@JMLudes) February 25, 2017

Hat Tip: Balloon Juice

Standing Up Against Hatred

mnkh

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Friday February 24, 2017 · 7:20 AM PST

2017/02/24 · 07:20

I would like to think I could do something like this.

When a man in a Kansas bar shouted racial slurs and yelled “Get out of my country!” before opening fire on two men he thought looked like foreigners, Ian Grillot, who was in the bar watching a basketball game, intervened. And took a bullet in the chest.

He had acted, he said, to try to stop a man who had just shot two other bar patrons, one of whom died.

“I wasn’t really thinking when I did that,” Grillot said. “It was just, it wasn’t right, and I didn’t want the gentleman to potentially go after somebody else.”

The shooter thought the two men he began shooting at were Middle Eastern, although they were both apparently engineers from India.

One of the victims, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, died of his injuries. Alok Madasani, whose wife is five months pregnant, was released from a hospital Thursday.

I encourage you to read the whole story from the link above. It tells of an inspiring act in these difficult times.

GoFundMe accounts have been set up for all three men.

Trump "sinking like a rock"

mnkh

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Wednesday February 22, 2017 · 12:11 PM PST

2017/02/22 · 12:11

New Quinnipiac poll released today shows Trump with lowest numbers yet and a clear downward trend.

According to their pollster:

President Trump’s popularity is sinking like a rock. He gets slammed on honesty, empathy, level headedness and the ability to unite. And two of his strong points, leadership and intelligence, are sinking to new lows. This is a terrible survey one month in.

Job approval rating is 55 percent disapprove to 38 percent approve — a 17 percent margin compared to a 9 percent margin in February 7 poll.

Other numbers:

55 - 40 percent that he is not honest;
55 - 42 percent that he does not have good leadership skills;
53 - 44 percent that he does not care about average Americans;
63 - 33 percent that he is not level-headed;
60 - 37 percent that he does not share their values.

As Joe Scarborough said, the Republican brand will suffer the damage of Trump for 50 years.

Simple, Powerful Resistance Tool

mnkh

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday February 14, 2017 · 7:28 AM PST

2017/02/14 · 07:28

Just saw this in a Facebook post and thought it was very cool and deserving of the widest possible circulation even if it has been posted on DKos before.

If your Senators and Representatives aren't saved in your phone yet, text your zip code to 520-200-2223. You'll get a text back with everyone's contact info. You'll receive an accurate return text almost immediately. It gives you Federal and State representatives contact information.

This is a very convenient and powerful tool for easily finding out how to contact your elected officials.

Naturally you may have concern about who you are texting. Apparently this service was built by a developer named John Emerson.

I built a thing: text your US postal address to (520) 200-2223 and get a text back with your state & federal legislative rep phone numbers.
Ã¢ÂÂ John Emerson (@backspace) November 20, 2016

I don’t know John but he appears to be a progressive and just an independent activist with a development background.

You can of course make your own choice about whether to text this service from your phone but I concluded the risk was trivial and the value was well worth it.

New EO - Let Sessions drive new War on Crime

mnkh

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Thursday February 09, 2017 · 1:01 PM PST

2017/02/09 · 13:01

This can’t end well.

Based on some imagined fearsome crime wave, Trump’s latest EO calls for Sessions to come up with a grand scheme for cracking down.

Buckle your seatbelts.

EO text here.

The plot thickens...

mnkh

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Thursday February 09, 2017 · 11:21 AM PST

2017/02/09 · 11:21

We all remember when Trump took a shot a McCain’s hero status during the campaign. But the Washington Post points out:

But back then, McCain was largely willing to let it slide. Facing his own primary and needing to keep Trump voters in the fold for a general election against a top Democratic recruit, he had other things to worry about. So he played nice with Trump, even though it had to absolutely destroy him inside.

Today, McCain has no such political concerns to worry about. He's six years away from his next election (if he were to even run at the age of 86 in 2022), and he's one of 52 senators that Trump needs to keep happy to pass legislation.

As the video embedded in the tweet below indicates, there could be a steady stream of fireworks to be found in this plotline.

John McCain vs. Sean Spicer. Watch. pic.twitter.com/pEjg8H4Frc
Ã¢ÂÂ Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) February 9, 2017

Bait and Switch: The Con Continues

mnkh

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Thursday February 09, 2017 · 10:30 AM PST

2017/02/09 · 10:30

Other diaries today have appropriately called out the incredible breach of ethics involved in having Kellyanne Conway — from the White House — implore people to buy Ivanka’s product line.

I just want to take a moment to point out how this episode underlines the key hypocrisy of Trump’s presidency.

This was Trump in his inauguration speech:

For many decades, we've enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry;...But that is the past. And now, we are looking only to the future.

…

From this day forward, it's going to be only America first, America first.

…

Every decision...will be made to benefit American workers and American families.

…

We will follow two simple rules; buy American and hire American.

Now, we have the President attacking an American company — Nordstrom, headquartered in Seattle — and using the office of the President to encourage the purchase of products primarily made in China.

ABC News, among others, reported that

...virtually all of his daughter Ivanka Trump’s extensive clothing and accessory line for women is made outside the U.S., with many items manufactured in China.

So much for the “buy American” rule. Apparently more of a guideline than a rule.

And so much for “every decision” being made to benefit American workers and American families.

Oh, wait. My bad. There is one American family that benefits.

It is incredible to me that anyone ever believed the “America First” line. For his entire life, it has always been “Trump First”. Any other consideration competes for a distant second and only has value to the extent that it serves that first consideration.

The con continues.

Trump claims "dishonest" press is not reporting terrorist attacks

mnkh

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Monday February 06, 2017 · 1:49 PM PST

2017/02/06 · 13:49

At a speech at U.S. Central Command today, Trump claims that the “dishonest” press is not reporting terrorist attacks due to some evil agenda.

This man is totally deranged.

YouTube Video

MSNBC: Today is not about a phony abortion discussion

mnkh

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Saturday January 21, 2017 · 10:08 AM PST

2017/01/21 · 10:08

MSNBC’s coverage of today’s march has been going on and on with a discussion of whether pro-life groups should have been allowed to co-host the march. I’m fed up.

1. Just because the organizers of this Woman’s March would not agree to let pro-life groups co-sponsor the march, doesn’t mean anyone is being turned away. Unlike what is apparently going on at our Canadian border where people are reportedly being asked if they are pro or anti Trump and those headed to participate in the march are being refused entry, no one is stopping anyone from participating in the march in this country.

2. How long do we have to reiterate: this not a question of pro-life and anti-life or a question of pro-abortion and anti-abortion, it is a question of pro-choice and anti-choice. To suggest that pro-choice people are not pro-life is absurd and obscene. Many (if not most) pro-choice people are not pro-abortion and would prefer the need for abortions to be as close to zero as possible. But when you advance from the point where you want to impose your personal beliefs and deny women the right to make their own decisions with their own doctors about what do to with their bodies it is anti-choice, not pro-life.

3. This is a Woman’s March — motivated by the remarkable ascendance of an egregiously misogynist national leader. And there are few issues as important to most women as the right to make decisions about their own bodies. So for any anti-choice groups to expect to be able to co-sponsor a march when their view is contrary to a majority of Americans and a vast majority of women is ridiculous. I can respect the personal beliefs of others but they shouldn’t expect me to march under a banner that seeks to deny fundamental choices to women.

4. This is such a red herring. This is not primarily a pro-choice march. So please stop changing the subject. Look at how full the streets are. This is about something different. So wake up and drop the distractions.

I go under the knife tomorrow. So do we all.

mnkh

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Monday November 07, 2016 · 7:24 AM PST

2016/11/07 · 07:24

A few weeks ago, Election Day changed for me. Routine screening found cancer. Tomorrow as Americans head to the polls, I will have surgery to remove the cancer.

They caught it early and my prognosis is very favorable. But the coincidence with Election Day has me reflecting on the parallels with our national experience.

Many of us have looked at this election cycle and struggled with how something so ugly, so toxic, so cancerous could have developed within our nation.

For some this has produced a sense of gloom and pessimism that our nation may no longer be healthy enough to continue to fulfill its promise of a brighter future.

I don't believe that.

I am instead filled with enormous optimism that tomorrow we will perform the necessary task of rejecting a threat to our nation. That as unsettling as the danger may be, we will prove that our body politic is healthy enough to overcome it.

Our nation will have sorted it all out and will be electing the first woman president, after twice electing the first black president. And I believe the margin of victory may be the largest in decades. To paraphrase Joe, this is a big freaking deal.

We will have fought through all the garbage and for the third consecutive election selected competence while rejecting fear, ignorance, and hatred. And it will happen in large part because women and minorities rose up, realizing true and unprecedented power. A profound expression of the strength of our national diversity that bodes extremely well for our future.

This is not to suggest that we don't have serious problems to address. We owe it to future generations to consider how this cancer developed and how to be vigilant in watching for any possible recurrence. But we should not be surprised that profound technological and global changes combined with the end of the white male power monopoly would expose new fault lines in our society. And tomorrow our country will make a forceful statement that -- as ugly as the forces are that have gained national attention in this process -- those forces do not represent the future.

When I come out of anesthesia tomorrow I will want to hear how the procedure went but I will be as eager to hear how our nation is filling the streets to complete the work of rejecting its own toxins and setting out on its path of recovery.

To watch the confirmation that we are stronger than the challenges that test us.

To appreciate that we are blessed by the reminder that the future should never be taken for granted and renewing our vigilance to work for better tomorrows.

To rejoice that we live in a time in history that provides opportunities to overcome these threats to human existence as peacefully and effectively as this.

So please have a glass for me tomorrow night. My fuller celebration will have to wait for Inauguration Day.

P.S. Don't worry. I voted early.

Trump Campaign Staff "Suicidal"

mnkh

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Tuesday August 02, 2016 · 7:48 PM PDT

2016/08/02 · 19:48

CNBC reporter John Harwood, NBC News reporter Ali Vitali and CNN’s Dana Bash are all reporting major troubles tonight on the Trump campaign staff:

longtime ally of Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign manager: "Manafort not challenging Trump anymore. Mailing it in. Staff suicidal."
Ã¢ÂÂ John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) August 3, 2016

A Trump campaign source, in reax to this, tells me "it's all true" and "way worse than people realize." https://t.co/nvioNcjMCJ
Ã¢ÂÂ Ali Vitali (@alivitali) August 3, 2016

A source tells @DanaBashCNN that some Trump campaign staff are frustrated w/ candidate lately, "feel like they are wasting their time"
Ã¢ÂÂ Dianne Gallagher (@DianneG) August 3, 2016

@JohnJHarwood word on the street that several key staffers have resignation letters ready to go in the next 72 hours
Ã¢ÂÂ Backroom Politics (@BackroomPolitic) August 3, 2016

Clinton or Trump?

mnkh

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday July 26, 2016 · 8:10 AM PDT

2016/07/26 · 08:10

It's all over but the booing.

The next President of the United States will be either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.

The next 100 days present an opportunity for us to make one or the other outcome more likely.

Clinton or Trump?

You say there's a chance that someone else could be the next president?

I'm sorry but if you believe that then we live in different realities and I believe it would be very dangerous for us to converse directly with one another.

In the only reality that I am familiar with, it's

Clinton or Trump.

You say it doesn't make any difference which party holds the White House? Well, we have that reality problem again. SCOTUS, anyone?

In my reality, it makes a substantial difference whether it's

Clinton or Trump.

You say I am suggesting you support the lesser of two evils. Well, as opposed to the greater of two evils, sure.

But what I think you are really saying is that I am suggesting you support a choice that is not perfect -- is not what you would ideally want it to be.

This is the nature of many important decisions we have to make. Thank goodness my wonderful spouse was not holding out for perfection.

As a wise man once said, "You may not like Chicken or Fish but....", it's

Clinton or Trump.

You say the Democratic party is corrupt. Yeah, it probably is. Power corrupts. Large, powerful institutions are flawed and dysfunctional.

If you want to build another party that can win a presidential election to replace the corrupt Democratic party, have at it. You might even have my support at some point.

But this year, the next President will be

Clinton or Trump.

You say you don't trust Clinton? To do what? Do I expect that she will dance around an answer or change a position to be politically expedient? Sure. Don't kid yourself -- almost every politician will. And Clinton is a consummate politician.

So here's one thing you can count on. If you demonstrate to a politician like Clinton that you will be a reliable source of electoral support, she will bend over backwards to keep you happy. And if you demonstrate to that same politician that you're only going to be around to provide electoral support if you get everything you want, that politician may be interested in courting support from a more reliable source.

Plus when it comes to trust, you're choice is

Clinton or Trump.

You say Clinton's agenda is not progressive enough for you. Well, yeah. I get that.

But here's the thing. 45% of this country have a political agenda that is batshit crazy. And the 10% of the country that will swing the election are not as progressive as you and I.

And the reality is that Clinton will be as progressive as electoral results will support -- so the larger the Democratic margin of victory for President this year, the more progressive Clinton will be. A narrow victory will cause all lawmakers to be cautious and tend towards the center.

A more progressive agenda that is not in power doesn't help so much. So the question isn't whether Clinton is progressive enough, the question is "Who is more progressive?"

Clinton or Trump.

You say that the primaries were rigged and that Sanders should have won and your personal morals won't allow you to support Clinton. Well, I might see the way things played out slightly differently. But the bottom line is we don't get to elect either Sanders or personal morals as President this year. It's

Clinton or Trump.

Every political act or expression you make over the next 100 days is likely to hasten one of these people as the leader of the free world for the next four to eight years. How you exercise your right to vote surely will. We can't escape the fact that the most important political question this fall is

Clinton or Trump?

You might think all of this is stupid, messed-up, thinking and that I'm just a corporatist, neoliberal, status-quo-promoting idiot.

But that doesn't change one essential truth.

It's Clinton or Trump.

Poll

29 votes Show Results

There's only two possibilities:

29 votes Vote Now!

There's only two possibilities:

Clinton

23 votes

Trump

6 votes

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