https://www.dailykos.com/user/Walter Einenkel/rss/index.xml News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Sat, 17 Nov 2018 01:17:52 +0000 Sat, 17 Nov 2018 01:17:52 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/16/1813407/-Suspected-Russian-NRA-operative-reportedly-ready-to-spill-the-beans-in-exchange-for-plea-deal <p>Earlier this summer, Russian citizen Maria Butina was <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/7/16/1781134/-Russian-Agent-Maria-Butina-Arrested-How-She-Helped-Russia-Penetrate-the-NRA-and-Elect-Trump" target="_blank">arrested by the United States Government</a> and charged with being a Russian intelligence asset working to influence American politics. Butina was the head of a small Russian version of the NRA called The <span>Right to Bear Arms (cute)</span>, and was connected with American NRA officials, dubious banking interests, and GOP political operators. On Friday, NPR reported that the U.S. attorney’s office for Washington, D.C., is in talks with <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/11/16/668625222/maria-butina-accused-of-being-a-russian-agent-may-be-in-talks-for-plea-deal" target="_blank">Ms. Butina’s counsel, according to court filings. </a></p> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="left to right, Russian connected banker/pol Alexandr Torshin, Gov. Scott Walker, and alleged Russian spy Maria Butina." src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/568289/large/Screen_Shot_2018-07-20_at_5.08.19_PM.png?1532131720" title="left to right, Russian connected banker/pol Alexandr Torshin, Gov. Scott Walker, and alleged Russian spy Maria Butina."> <figcaption>Torshin, then-Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, and Butina</figcaption> </figure> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <blockquote> <p><span>Her lawyers have said she is simply a naive young woman who was "jabbering" about her efforts to influence U.S. politicians.</span></p> <p><span>A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office declined to comment on the filing because the case remains pending.</span></p> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) AlexanderTorshin DavidKeene Investigation Justice KalashnikovConcern Law MariaButina NRA Recommended RobertMueller Russia TulaCartridgePlant _1813407 Fri, 16 Nov 2018 20:28:22 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/16/1813362/-Amazon-HQ2-destroys-plan-to-build-1-500-planned-affordable-housing-units-in-New-York-City <p>Blowback <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/13/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-amazon-queens-hq-is-extremely-concerning.html" target="_blank" title="">has been fierce</a> ever since the announcement that online mega-giant retailer Amazon would be receiving billions of dollars in subsidies to build one of two new headquarters in Long Island City, New York. Besides <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/9/15/1795306/-Amazon-delivery-drivers-report-wage-theft-and-other-abuses" target="_blank" title="">questions surrounding the company’s labor practices,</a> the fact that the multi-billion-dollar company, headed by <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeff-bezos-amazon-ceo-topples-bill-gates-as-forbes-richest-man-in-world/" target="_blank" title="">the wealthiest man in the world</a>, needed to be paid off to locate in the City That Never Sleeps has infuriated many. Politico reports that, on top of the huge price tag, two of the sites that will house Amazon were slated for <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2018/11/15/amazon-deal-will-disrupt-plans-for-affordable-housing-on-long-island-city-sites-700784" target="_blank" title="">affordable-housing development.</a></p> <blockquote> <p>Plaxall, which owns land around the Anable Basin, <a href="https://www.anablebasinlic.com/" target="_blank" title="">was prepared to ask New York City for permission to build up to 4,995 new homes on a 14.7-acre site on the East River</a>, 1,250 of which developers would have set aside for low- and middle-income New Yorkers. Most of that site will now be subsumed into Amazon’s office campus.</p> <p>A small portion of it — about two acres — can still be used for housing because it won’t be part of Amazon’s campus. But Plaxall hasn’t decided if it wants apartments or office space there, and either way, it won’t be able to accommodate nearly as many homes as originally planned.</p> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) AffordableHousing Amazon DeBlasio Housing HQ IncomeInequality LongIslandCity NewYork NewYorkCity OnePercent Recommended rentcontrol taxpayers _1813362 Fri, 16 Nov 2018 18:02:19 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/16/1813329/-GOP-s-top-law-enforcement-leadership-picks-are-knee-deep-in-their-own-criminal-civil-legal-battles <p>Indiana’s Republican attorney general, Curtis Hill, has been elected <span>vice chair of the national Republican Attorneys General Association. This comes about three weeks after the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced that it would not be pursuing <em>criminal</em> charges against Hill. Special Prosecutor Dan Sigler told a press conference on October 23 that, after an investigation, which you can <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/6mbvyx3to8hp05q/SPECIAL%20PROSECUTOR%20REPORT_CURTIS%20HILL%20INVESTIGATION.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank" title="">read the results of here</a>, he thought that he did not have enough evidence to pursue </span>charges against Hill based on reports from numerous women who said he was drunk and sexually inappropriate with them at an <a href="https://www.nuvo.net/news/no-criminal-charges-for-curtis-hill/article_95c155d2-d6fb-11e8-a880-439f72895d5d.html" target="_blank" title="">after-work party</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><em>The Star</em><span> reported Reardon said that at the party, Hill “put his hands on her back, slid them down her back, put them under her clothes, and grabbed her buttocks.” She repeatedly told him to “back off,” but he came up to her later and again reached under her clothing, touching her against her will.</span></p> <p><span>DaSilva, McLemore, and Lozano also encountered a reportedly drunken Hill that night, and all had similar tales of unwanted advances and inappropriate physical contact. He was also heard at the bar telling women they needed to “show a little skin” or “show more leg” if they wanted to get free drinks or faster service.</span></p> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) CurtisHill Hill KenPaxton Law Morality nationalRepublicanAttorneysGeneralAssociation RepublicanHypocrisy RNC sttorneygeneral _1813329 Fri, 16 Nov 2018 16:09:07 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/15/1813204/-Conservative-writer-gets-ass-handed-to-him-after-tweeting-creepy-image-of-Alexandria-Ocasio-Cortez <p><em>UPDATED with image of the original tweet that Eddie Scarry has since taken down.</em></p> <p>A conservative news writer is getting a lot of well-deserved blowback after posting an image of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, taken from behind as she walked down a hallway in D.C. Washington Examiner writer Eddie Scarry tweeted a photo of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez with this snarky blurb.</p> <blockquote> <p><span>Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles.</span></p> </blockquote> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles. &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/oaLpy5aXlt"&amp;gt;pic.twitter.com/oaLpy5aXlt&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Eddie Scarry (@eScarry) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/eScarry/status/1063183409458102272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 15, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles. <a href="https://t.co/oaLpy5aXlt">pic.twitter.com/oaLpy5aXlt</a></p>— Eddie Scarry (@eScarry) <a href="https://twitter.com/eScarry/status/1063183409458102272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned width-xl"><img alt="Screen_Shot_2018-11-16_at_7.16.31_AM.png" class="width-xl" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/612426/large/Screen_Shot_2018-11-16_at_7.16.31_AM.png?1542381444" title="Screen_Shot_2018-11-16_at_7.16.31_AM.png"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Being a conservative, Scarry clearly hopes to gain points with right wing lunatics <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/14/1812817/-Move-over-Hillary-and-Barack-Fox-News-has-found-a-new-supervillain" target="_blank">who have chosen Ocasio-Cortez as their new supervillain</a>, by saying that someone who is <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/9/1811666/-Alexandria-Ocasio-Cortez-had-nowhere-to-go-for-her-new-job-so-Chef-Jos-Andr-s-stepped-up" target="_blank">having problems affording rent</a> in one of the most expensive cities in the country, can’t dress nicely without being some kind of secret millionaire. </p> <p>Many people quickly pointed out that there is an entire industry of people and fashion that look to outfit people in clothing that <em>looks</em> more expensive than it costs. Others, like Raw Story pointed to An <a href="https://observer.com/2013/04/im-a-creep-im-a-weirdo/" target="_blank">Observer</a> article about Scarry from April of 2013, that detailed some of his blogging, filled with homophobic innuendo and frequently misogynistic tweets featuring images he surreptitiously shot of women’s rear ends, feet, legs.</p> <blockquote> <p><span>Even as Mr. Scarry’s antics attracted condemnation, he remained undeterred. In August 2012, he </span><a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowldc/11-weird-sightings-at-scotus-ruling_b77421">loitered</a><span> outside the Supreme Court as justices considered the constitutionality of Obamacare. There, Mr. Scarry took pictures of “weird sightings,” as he put it. Among them were several with “big butts”: “This big butt, one of many that made an already cramped event that much smaller,” he wrote after posting one picture. “Another big butt,” Mr. Scarry captioned a different picture. After the last picture of the series, Mr. Scarry wrote: “And one final series of big butts.”</span></p> </blockquote> <p>The social media responses have been swift and condemning...and funny at times.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;I, too, am disappointed Ocasio didn’t show up wearing only a wooden barrel held up by suspenders and carrying her few belongings in a bindle &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/HqLEo5bvEP"&amp;gt;https://t.co/HqLEo5bvEP&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— jordan (@JordanUhl) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/JordanUhl/status/1063187511269343237?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 15, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>I, too, am disappointed Ocasio didn’t show up wearing only a wooden barrel held up by suspenders and carrying her few belongings in a bindle <a href="https://t.co/HqLEo5bvEP">https://t.co/HqLEo5bvEP</a></p>— jordan (@JordanUhl) <a href="https://twitter.com/JordanUhl/status/1063187511269343237?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;Bitch I have an H&amp;amp;amp;M blazer that I bought for $10 on clearance that looks just like this get the fuck out of here&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Maria Del Russo &#x1f319; (@maria_delrusso) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/maria_delrusso/status/1063204316985638914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 15, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Bitch I have an H&amp;M blazer that I bought for $10 on clearance that looks just like this get the fuck out of here</p>— Maria Del Russo 🌙 (@maria_delrusso) <a href="https://twitter.com/maria_delrusso/status/1063204316985638914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;I’ve never seen conservatives as spooked by a rookie politician as you guys are by &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;@Ocasio2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;. The attempts to delegitimize, ostracize and degrade her are quite the crusade. There are other Dem up &amp;amp;amp; comers you should also be scared of! Go get &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/BetoORourke?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;@BetoORourke&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; and &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;@KamalaHarris&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; too!&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— LocalNeighborhoodProgressive (@jmt5050) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/jmt5050/status/1063202832638070786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 15, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>I’ve never seen conservatives as spooked by a rookie politician as you guys are by <a href="https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Ocasio2018</a>. The attempts to delegitimize, ostracize and degrade her are quite the crusade. There are other Dem up &amp; comers you should also be scared of! Go get <a href="https://twitter.com/BetoORourke?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BetoORourke</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KamalaHarris</a> too!</p>— LocalNeighborhoodProgressive (@jmt5050) <a href="https://twitter.com/jmt5050/status/1063202832638070786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Scarry for his part has tried to redirect the story by creating a straw man argument.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;Seems to be a mistaken belief that I took this photo. Which is weird given that I said it was sent to me. &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/zbpKMkMNry"&amp;gt;https://t.co/zbpKMkMNry&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Eddie Scarry (@eScarry) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/eScarry/status/1063186500857331713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 15, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Seems to be a mistaken belief that I took this photo. Which is weird given that I said it was sent to me. <a href="https://t.co/zbpKMkMNry">https://t.co/zbpKMkMNry</a></p>— Eddie Scarry (@eScarry) <a href="https://twitter.com/eScarry/status/1063186500857331713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Of course, that kind of dumb shit might work with the people that think Eddie Scarry is either funny or intelligent, but most people with opposable thumbs know, Eddie Scarry is at best a creep.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;Yes. Because THAT&amp;amp;#39;S what weird about the whole tweet, you jagweed.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— shelly (@ShellySometimes) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/ShellySometimes/status/1063186934409777152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 15, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Yes. Because THAT'S what weird about the whole tweet, you jagweed.</p>— shelly (@ShellySometimes) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShellySometimes/status/1063186934409777152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;Heres a shovel for the hole you&amp;amp;#39;re digging yourself; &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/cXWtqEFqW9"&amp;gt;https://t.co/cXWtqEFqW9&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/jfToxbvf9S"&amp;gt;pic.twitter.com/jfToxbvf9S&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Fat Kid Deals (@FatKidDeals) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/FatKidDeals/status/1063188191916646400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 15, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Heres a shovel for the hole you're digging yourself; <a href="https://t.co/cXWtqEFqW9">https://t.co/cXWtqEFqW9</a> <a href="https://t.co/jfToxbvf9S">pic.twitter.com/jfToxbvf9S</a></p>— Fat Kid Deals (@FatKidDeals) <a href="https://twitter.com/FatKidDeals/status/1063188191916646400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;That wasn&amp;amp;#39;t the problem, Einstein.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— LittleBlueDot (@LittleBlueDotTx) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/LittleBlueDotTx/status/1063186847243911170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 15, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>That wasn't the problem, Einstein.</p>— LittleBlueDot (@LittleBlueDotTx) <a href="https://twitter.com/LittleBlueDotTx/status/1063186847243911170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>And my personal favorite.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;You’re still a creepy shitbird dude&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— turkey man (@MrPhetz) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MrPhetz/status/1063187700268691456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 15, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>You’re still a creepy shitbird dude</p>— turkey man (@MrPhetz) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrPhetz/status/1063187700268691456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Ahahahahahahahahahahaha.</p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned width-md"><img alt="LaughingtooHard.gif" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/515461/large/LaughingtooHard.gif?1520360758" title="LaughingtooHard.gif"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) eddiescafrry OcasioCortez Recommended SocialMedia WashingtonExaminer _1813204 Thu, 15 Nov 2018 23:24:59 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/15/1813184/-DeVos-new-policies-for-investigations-will-allow-campus-assaulters-to-cross-examine-survivors <p>At the beginning of September, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s decision in the case of <a href="http://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/18a0200p-06.pdf" target="_blank" title=""><em>Doe v. Baum, et al.</em> </a>, in which a University of Michigan student accused of rape said his rights had been violated by the school because it did not allow him to cross-examine his accuser. The ruling, written by U.S. <span>Circuit Judge Amul Thapar, stated:</span></p> <blockquote> <p><span>Today, we reiterate that holding once again: if a public university has to choose between competing narratives to resolve a case, the university must give the accused student or his agent an opportunity to cross-examine the accuser and adverse witnesses in the presence of a neutral fact-finder.</span></p> </blockquote> <p>The ramifications of this ruling are now about to be felt across the country, as the <em>Washington Post</em><a title=""><em> </em></a>reports that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos plans on releasing a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/betsy-devos-set-to-bolster-rights-of-accused-in-rewrite-of-sexual-assault-rules/2018/11/14/828ebd9c-e7d1-11e8-a939-9469f1166f9d_story.html?utm_term=.1dc24d76b467" target="_blank" title="">“<span>sweeping overhaul of how colleges and universities must handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment.”</span></a> The <em>Post</em> says that, piggy-backing on the ruling, DeVos plans on expanding the rights of the accused, using some pretty terrible practices to do so.</p> <blockquote> <p><span>Some White House officials <strong>urged going further to include a mandatory cross-examination provision</strong>, two people familiar with internal discussions said. They said others in the administration argued that mandatory questioning was ill-advised, potentially traumatic for victims and not required in court hearings. [Emphasis added.]</span></p> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) AmulThapar BetsyDeVos College crossexamination DonaldTrump Injustice Justice SexualAssault _1813184 Thu, 15 Nov 2018 21:49:47 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/15/1813164/-An-historic-2-000-women-will-enter-office-this-coming-year-almost-entirely-from-one-political-party <p>When conservatives scoff at the progressive slogan “The Future is Female,” they are usually responding to the insecurity that comes with knowing, deep down inside, you are in the wrong. The strides that women, people of color, and the LGBT community have made in organizing around the 2018 midterm elections is staggering. It’s absolutely terrifying to the Right, and you are seeing desperate and craven attempts to bully and suppress the levels of democracy they’ve inspired. In January of the last two years, beginning on Donald Trump’s inauguration day in 2017, <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/1/20/1734431/-Hundreds-of-Women-s-Marches-hundreds-of-thousands-of-marchers-show-the-resistance-is-going-strong" target="_blank" title="">Women’s Marches have taken over the streets </a>across not just the United States, but the world. These marches were not simply a public protest of our current misogynist in chief; <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/1/7/1729179/-Women-s-March-2018-is-all-about-voting-and-seeking-office" target="_blank" title="">they were a call to organize and take back our government.</a></p> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 21: Protesters gather near the White House during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. The march is expected to draw thousands from across the country to protest newly inaugurated President Donald Trump. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/612160/large/GettyImages-632317378.jpg?1542310386" title="WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 21: Protesters gather near the White House during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. The march is expected to draw thousands from across the country to protest newly inaugurated President Donald Trump. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)"> <figcaption>Women’s March</figcaption> </figure> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>The <a href="http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/" target="_blank" title="">Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers </a>compiled statistics on how historic the results of this election were and will continue to be <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/news/416950-women-set-new-record-in-state-legislatures" target="_blank" title="">for women.</a></p> <blockquote> <p>A tally by the Center for American Women in Government at Rutgers University shows at least 1,743 women won state legislative seats in last week's midterm elections. That number will grow; 185 races with at least one woman still in the running have yet to be called .</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Democracy DonaldTrump Elections Government Recommended Sexism TheFutureisFemale Women WomensMarch _1813164 Thu, 15 Nov 2018 20:21:33 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/15/1813131/-Taxpayers-spent-around-100-000-to-send-Trump-Jr-to-India-to-make-Trump-100-million <p>Donald Trump Jr. is the watered-down version of Donald Trump, who is the watered-down version of a cartoon billionaire. According to the <em>Washington Post,</em> Junior is bopping about, handling the corrupt job of managing the Trump family business. Recently, that “work” took him to India. For his time out and about, ostensibly selling Trump “luxury condos,” the <em>Post</em> estimates the cost to you and me—the taxpayers—<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/taxpayers-cost-for-trump-jrs-business-trip-to-india-nearly-100k-documents-show/2018/11/15/1ea6153a-9f58-4718-83d8-dff80ad42f9e_story.html?utm_term=.80f213ce2795" target="_blank" title="">to be somewhere upwards of $97,000.</a></p> <blockquote> <p><span>The Department of Homeland Security, responding to a Freedom of Information request, released 47 pages of purchase orders, requisition forms and planning work sheets showing that Trump Jr.’s February trip cost more than $97,805 for hotel rooms, airfare, car rental and overtime for Secret Service agents. The costs were incurred on a February tour of four Indian cities — New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Kolkata — where the Trump family has licensed its name to luxury high-rise projects.</span></p> </blockquote> <p><span>While there, Junior had a meeting with India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, among other things. The Trump organization boasted that it made around $100,000,000 by selling its condos during the trip. </span></p> <p><span>See? All we taxpayers had to spend was $100,000, and Donald Trump got himself like 1,000 times as much! Win-win … for corruption! This <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/2/6/1630581/-Eric-Trump-takes-two-day-business-trip-and-taxpayers-foot-a-bill-for-almost-100-000" target="_blank" title="">seems to be the going cost to Americans to send Trump’s kids to other countries </a>to leverage their father’s position as THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA to make him and themselves lots of money.</span></p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Corruption Cost DonaldTrump DonaldTrumpJr Economics FreeRide India PaytoPlay Recommended Security taxpayers Welfare _1813131 Thu, 15 Nov 2018 18:08:17 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/15/1813102/-Report-says-NRA-is-hurting-so-bad-they-can-t-even-give-employees-free-coffee-and-water-anymore <p>The non-profit news site Trace, an organization that focuses on gun control and gun safety news, reports that NRA officials have begun implementing an “austerity campaign,” spearheaded by <span>executive director for general operations Josh Powell. The news organization says that free water-cooler access and free coffee have been done away with at the gun association’s Fairfax, <a href="https://www.thetrace.org/rounds/nra-kills-coffee/" target="_blank" title="">Virginia, headquarters.</a></span></p> <blockquote> <p>“Josh is going to greatly reduce education and training and slash the number of the NRA’s publications down to one magazine,” said a source close to the gun group’s leadership. The group currently maintains six publications, including four print magazines.</p> <p>Powell is an unlikely budget hawk. A Trace investigation into his business history last month found <a href="https://www.thetrace.org/2018/10/nra-josh-powell/" title="">a trail of defaulted debts</a>, including 20 lawsuits for more than $400,000 from jilted vendors.</p> </blockquote> <p>Trace says that the NRA, when asked, did not deny the report, though it did not confirm it either. As the <em>Washington Post </em>pointed out earlier this year, the NRA—after boasting about rising membership numbers every time a child died by gunfire—had suspiciously boasted the same <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/02/26/nobody-knows-how-many-members-the-nra-has-but-its-tax-returns-offer-some-clues/?utm_term=.bc4f343472a4" target="_blank" title="">not-growing numbers for years.</a></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Bankruptcy Budget Coffee Corruption DonaldTrump Economics GunControl GunSafety NRA Propaganda Recommended Treason _1813102 Thu, 15 Nov 2018 16:48:56 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/14/1812889/-In-the-most-hypocritical-move-Trump-s-interior-secretary-moves-to-block-drilling-in-his-home-state <p>Trump’s secretary of the interior, Montana Republican Ryan Zinke, has decided to ingratiate himself with his state’s voters by hypocritically immunizing them from his actions as a shill for big industry and an environmental nightmare. The <a href="https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2018/11/13/trump-administration-sides-tribes-badger-two-med-dispute/1989636002/" target="_blank" title=""><em>Great Falls Tribune</em></a> reports that Zinke, using his position of power, plans to push the U.S. to appeal a judge’s ruling that allows a private drilling lease on the land—something that was canceled by President Obama—to go forward.</p> <blockquote> <p><span>Zinke said it would be inappropriate to allow drilling in northwestern Montana's Badger-Two Medicine area, site of the creation story for the Blackfoot tribes. He's asked government attorneys to appeal a September ruling that reinstated a nearly 10-square-mile oil and gas lease in the area bordering the Blackfeet Reservation and Glacier National Park.</span></p> </blockquote> <p><span>The good news is that this is the kind of thing one would hope our government would do to protect not only Native lands, but all of our public lands. The bad news is that this move is about as genuine as a Trump-dollar bill. All you need to look at is <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/12/9/1722816/-Zinke-says-energy-wasn-t-involved-in-Bears-Ears-decision-Nuclear-company-documents-say-otherwise" target="_blank" title="">Zinke’s handling of every other state </a>not named Montana to see that Secretary Zinke has one job: to open up public lands to private interests.</span></p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Corruption DepartmentofInterior DonaldTrump Hypcrisy Mining Montana Oil Privatization RyanZinke Swamp _1812889 Wed, 14 Nov 2018 22:52:01 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/14/1812848/-Watch-Trump-presidential-campaign-adviser-treated-the-way-all-Trump-surrogates-should-be-treated <p>Traditional media outlets frequently have on Trump surrogates, apologists, spokespersons, bullshit artists—whatever you want to call them—to give <s>the party line</s> their side of the issues of the day. Progressive news sites like Daily Kos criticize these outlets not simply because they have paid spokespeople on their stations at an alarming rate, but because all too frequently these “experts,” “advisers,” and “columnists” are allowed to promote and repeat abject lies without being called out on them. They are allowed to pretend that <em>lying</em> is the same as having an <em>opinion</em>. Al Jazeera’s Mehdi Hasan had on <a href="https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/essex/nutley/2017/07/06/nutley-commissioner-steve-rogers-joins-trump-advisory-board/456814001/" target="_blank" title="">failed New Jersey politician</a> and current Trump for President advisory board member Steven Rogers to defend some of Donald Trump’s indefensible lies.</p> <p>Hasan began by stating a fact for Rogers: The president lies daily, multiple times. </p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) DonaldTrump Lies MehdiHasan Recommended stevenrogers Video _1812848 Wed, 14 Nov 2018 20:42:22 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/14/1812873/-It-s-official-Architect-of-Obamacare-repeal-swept-away-by-blue-wave <p>It’s official! Democrat Andy Kim has turned New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District blue, unseating the architect of the Obamacare repeal, Tom MacArthur. <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/7/1811075/-Architect-of-Obamacare-repeal-just-got-his-comeuppance-as-his-seat-gets-flipped-to-the-color-blue" target="_blank">Kim had declared victory last Wednesday</a>, after thousands of mailed-in ballots swung the election pretty decidedly in his direction. For his part, MacArthur seemed to hope that some of that Republican after-the-fact voter suppression might help his chances. But nothing could save New Jersey’s Republicans as the blue wave has now given Dems an 11-1 delegation in the state.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;BREAKING: Democrat Andy Kim wins election to U.S. House in New Jersey&amp;amp;#39;s 3rd congressional district. &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/APracecall?src=hash&amp;amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;#APracecall&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; at 2:44 p.m. EST. &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/AP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;@AP&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; election coverage: &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/miEWlbTVZW"&amp;gt;https://t.co/miEWlbTVZW&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Election2018?src=hash&amp;amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;#Election2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NJelection?src=hash&amp;amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;#NJelection&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Politics/status/1062793756313837575?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 14, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>BREAKING: Democrat Andy Kim wins election to U.S. House in New Jersey's 3rd congressional district. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/APracecall?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#APracecall</a> at 2:44 p.m. EST. <a href="https://twitter.com/AP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AP</a> election coverage: <a href="https://t.co/miEWlbTVZW">https://t.co/miEWlbTVZW</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Election2018?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Election2018</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NJelection?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NJelection</a></p>— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Politics/status/1062793756313837575?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p>Tom MacArthur is best remembered for coming up with the insane Republican Trumpcare plan, and then <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/4/26/1656584/-Watch-Republican-Tom-MacArthur-literally-run-away-from-questions-concerning-his-healthcare-amendment" target="_blank">literally running away from reporters asking him about it.</a></p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) AAPI AffordableCareAct andykim Elections HealthCare NewJersey Obamacare Recommended TomMacArthur _1812873 Wed, 14 Nov 2018 20:20:15 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/14/1812659/-As-deregulation-and-tax-breaks-kick-in-big-telecoms-promised-infrastructure-work-slows-down <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>When Republican telecom shill Ajit Pai became the head of the FCC, he began lying about the need to free big telecom business from the chains of net neutrality regulations in order to encourage their investment in infrastructure such as wireless.<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/11/28/1719297/-Research-shows-FCC-s-Ajit-Pai-is-either-lying-about-net-neutrality-or-he-can-t-do-simple-math" target="_blank" title=""> Pai could provide zero evidence that telecoms were being reticent in their deployment of wireless</a>. In fact, there was nothing but evidence to show that the only infrastructure build-out of broadband and wireless high-speed internet services seemed to happen <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/2/2/1361802/-After-billions-of-dollars-in-subsidies-here-s-Verizon-s-broadband-coverage" target="_blank" title=""><em>in spite </em>of regulations and tax incentives</a>.</p> <p>More recently*, the big promise from Republicans like Pai and telecommunications companies is that we need not worry about the broken promises of high-speed broadband deployment throughout the country, for the future is bright with 5G wireless! To that end, Chairman Pai’s FCC <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/9/26/1798955/-Trump-s-FCC-votes-to-take-about-2-billion-from-cities-and-towns-and-give-it-to-cable-companies" target="_blank" title="">voted to limit municipalities on what they could charge in permits</a>—an estimated $2 billion in state and local revenues just handed over to telecoms. Very shortly after that vote, Verizon CFO Matt Ellis told investors during a meeting that getting a nice deal like that would not have <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/31/1808874/-Remember-how-gifting-telecoms-2-bil-was-supposed-to-speed-up-infrastructure-buildout-About-that" target="_blank" title="">“any effect” on the company’s deployment of 5G wireless throughout the country</a>. In fact, he said that Verizon would be reducing its deployment investment.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) AjitPai ATT Comcast DonaldTrump FederalCommunicationsCommission Internet NetNeutrality OnePercent Scam Swamp TaxBreaks Telecom Telecommunications Verizon _1812659 Wed, 14 Nov 2018 17:25:15 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/14/1812792/-Google-donates-5-000-to-racist-Republican-Sen-Cindy-Hyde-Smith-just-days-after-her-lynching-joke <p>When Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith “joked” that she liked Republican Gov. Phil Bryant so much that <span><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/12/1812239/-Republican-senate-candidate-in-Mississippi-jokes-about-a-lynching-her-opponent-is-a-black-man" target="_blank" title="">"If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row,"</a> most people wondered what exactly the joke was. Campaigning for a runoff election coming up on Nov. 27, Hyde-Smith argued that she was making an “exaggerated expression of regard,” for Gov. Bryant. Hyde-Smith is not lying, as <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/12/9/1722874/-It-s-disgusting-Phil-Bryant-invited-Trump-to-crash-the-opening-of-Mississippi-civil-rights-museum" target="_blank" title="">Republican Bryant is something of a white supremacist</a>, and Hyde-Smith’s “joke” was showing regard for attending the historically racist and genocidal American practice of “lynching”—<a href="https://www.naacp.org/history-of-lynchings/" target="_blank">particularly in Mississippi.</a></span></p> <blockquote> <p><span>Most of the lynchings that took place happened in the South.  A big reason for this was the end of the Civil War.  Once black were given their freedom, many people felt that the freed blacks were getting away with too much freedom and felt they needed to be controlled.  Mississippi had the highest lynchings from 1882-1968 with 581.  Georgia was second with 531, and Texas was third with 493.  79% of lynching happened in the South.</span></p> </blockquote> <p><span>The fact that Hyde-Smith’s challenger, Democrat Mike Espy, is a black man did not seem to faze anyone on the blood-red side of the aisle. Hyde-Smith has shown no contrition whatsoever about the statement and on Monday, her buddy Bryant thought the best course of action was to say black women were the real problem, <a href="http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2018/nov/12/governor-calls-abortion-black-genocide-defends-hyd/#h152422-p8" target="_blank" title="">creating “black genocide” by way of abortions.</a>* Clearly, most folks with half a brain said to themselves: that’s not right. At all. </span></p> <p><span>But not billion-dollar business Google. According to Popular Information, Hyde-Smith’s FEC filings show that on Tuesday, the search engine giant <a href="https://popular.info/p/after-lynching-comments-google-donates" target="_blank" title="">donated $5,000 to her campaign</a>.</span></p> <div> <a name="update-1542324897000"></a> </div> <div class="live-update-wrapper" data-epoch-time="1542324897000"> <a class="live-update-link" href="#update-1542324897000"> <span class="timestamp " data-localize-time="" data-epoch-time="1542324897000" data-time-zone="+0000" data-time-format="%A, %b %-d, %Y · %l:%M:%S %p %Z">Thursday, Nov 15, 2018 · 11:34:57 PM +00:00</span> · <span class="live-update-user">Walter Einenkel</span> </a> <div class="live-update-content"><p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Google sent us this statement.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <blockquote> <p><br> <span>This contribution was made on November 2nd before Senator Hyde-Smith's remarks became public on November 11th. While we support candidates who promote pro-growth policies for business and technology, we do not condone these remarks and would not have made such a contribution had we known about them.</span></p> </blockquote> <p>It’s a nice sentiment. Of course Rep. Steve King has been a pretty open racist for quite some time now, and that hasn’t seemed to have stopped Google from donating to him.</p> </div> </div> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Campaign Cindy cindyhydesmith Elections Google hydesmith Lynching Mississippi Money Racism Recommended _1812792 Wed, 14 Nov 2018 16:35:33 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/13/1812639/-AT-T-s-CEO-is-suddenly-a-huge-proponent-of-a-federal-net-neutrality-law-after-California-victory <p>AT&amp;T, the Republican-led FCC, and telecoms everywhere are in the midst of litigating a variety of net neutrality fights from coast to coast. One of the more publicized and perfectly karmic is the battle around <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/9/17/1796432/-FCC-chair-Pai-tries-to-call-California-net-neutrality-law-illegal-gets-smacked-down-as-a-crony" target="_blank">California’s considerably stricter net neutrality laws</a>, the ones it recently—democratically—voted on and passed. It’s karmic because, unlike the Obama-era FCC’s more light-touch net neutrality protections, California’s laws would provide a lot more consumer protections; and consumer protections are exactly what the big telecom companies that installed Verizon shill Ajit Pai wanted to be rid of. Now, with a Democratic House and a Republican Senate, telecoms are making their move to cut the baby in half.</p> <p>AT&amp;T CEO Randall Stephenson spoke at a tech conference and, according to Ars Technica, the Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhmmmbulance <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/11/att-ceo-urges-congress-to-block-state-net-neutrality-and-privacy-laws/" target="_blank">had to be called.</a></p> <blockquote> <p><span>"There are a number of states that are now passing their own legislation around privacy and, by the way, net neutrality," Stephenson said in an interview at a </span><em>Wall Street Journal</em><span> tech conference (</span><a href="https://www.wsj.com/video/is-data-privacy-regulation-inevitable/68558AC7-BCC8-4175-94A0-1016B6DB6C28.html">see video</a><span>). "What would be a total disaster for the technology and innovation you see happening in Silicon Valley and elsewhere is to pick our head up and have 50 different sets of rules for companies trying to operate in the United States."</span></p> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) ATT BigBusiness Congress CyberWarfareFooting FederalLaw Hypocrisy NetNeutrality randallsutherland Telecoms _1812639 Tue, 13 Nov 2018 22:47:45 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/13/1812615/-Weatherman-debunks-Trump-s-attacks-on-Forest-Management-Wrong-on-so-many-levels <p>Donald Trump is an incompetent person. He’s a dumb man. He’s a racist dumb incompetent man. While the wildfires in California continued to rage over the weekend, “President” Trump decided that the smart thing to do was not offer help, was not send some kind thoughts and prayers. No, the best course of action was to spew out more of his idiotic vitriol.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1061168803218948096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 10, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1061168803218948096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p>The obvious ignorance of everything in this tweet is astounding. So astounding that CNN decided that they would allow meteorologist Tom Sater to use his weather green screen to both hand hold and admonish the white supremacist in chief. Asked about this response by the Pasadena Fire Department, to Trump’s dumb claims, Sater showed pictures of the fire and explained a few things.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;Mr. President, with all due respect, you are wrong. &amp;amp;nbsp;The fires in So. Cal are urban interface fires and have NOTHING to do with forest management. &amp;amp;nbsp;Come to SoCal and learn the facts &amp;amp;amp; help the victims. &amp;amp;nbsp;Scott Austin, Pres IAFF 809. &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/IAFFNewsDesk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;@IAFFNewsDesk&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/d3jY0SeosF"&amp;gt;https://t.co/d3jY0SeosF&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Pasadena Fire Assn. (@PFA809) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/PFA809/status/1061307981638193152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 10, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Mr. President, with all due respect, you are wrong.  The fires in So. Cal are urban interface fires and have NOTHING to do with forest management.  Come to SoCal and learn the facts &amp; help the victims.  Scott Austin, Pres IAFF 809. <a href="https://twitter.com/IAFFNewsDesk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IAFFNewsDesk</a> <a href="https://t.co/d3jY0SeosF">https://t.co/d3jY0SeosF</a></p>— Pasadena Fire Assn. (@PFA809) <a href="https://twitter.com/PFA809/status/1061307981638193152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Sater</strong>: Okay, you know I enjoy being in the weather department because it's neutral, you know—with the exception of climate change issues—but you know staying out of the political arena; but this is wrong on so many levels there, right. This has nothing to do with forest management. I mean look, we're not looking at dense forest here—especially down in Malibu. But forest management has nothing to do with mountain winds coming down the passes at 70 miles per hour, or humidity levels—in one hour—dropping Thursday, from 35% down into the single digits drier than most deserts. But again, if you think about it, to say <em>remedy now</em> or will take your funds, he's already taken some of their funds. But I read a tweet that followed that makes good sense. It said it's like taking funds from the National Hurricane Center until you stop all these hurricanes! I mean it's the same notion but more importantly people died in their homes.</p> </blockquote> <p>Sater goes on to lay out the devastation and the remarkable work being done by first responders and fire fighters to try and contain the natural disaster. <br>  </p> <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content"><a class="new_iframe_placeholder" href="#">x</a></div> <a class="iframe_placeholder youtube dk-embed" href="//youtube.com/watch?v=3q" data-frameborder="0" data-height="281" data-src="//www.youtube.com/embed/3q_8FKkQ9oo" data-width="500">YouTube Video</a></div> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) California DonaldTrump Environment meteorologist Recommended Science Video Weather WildFire _1812615 Tue, 13 Nov 2018 21:18:52 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/13/1812551/-One-year-later-an-analysis-of-the-U-S-economy-shows-just-how-destructive-the-GOP-tax-scam-was <p>The reason that Ronald Reagan’s support of trickle-down economics was so frustrating to most Americans was that it was so obviously a money-grab ploy by the wealthiest entities and individuals in our country. George Bush Sr. gave it the name “voodoo economics,” in part because George Bush Sr. is basically a racist, but he’s not stupid. Reagan’s popularity with the unpopular Republican Party (sound familiar?) led to everyone—Bush Sr. included—adopting full-throated support for the circling-the-drain economic policy of big tax cuts for the wealthy and big business, supported by massive cuts to social programs and education. When Donald Trump and the Republican Party attempted to <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/11/7/1713564/-Sorry-Dick-and-Jane-corporations-get-more-deductions-than-you-do-under-the-GOP-tax-heist" target="_blank" title="">sell this same failure of an idea last fall</a>, the American people said No, thank you.</p> <p>The Republicans proceeded with it anyway, promising that big corporations would do what they had never done: put those tax savings back into infrastructure and expansion and jobs! In fact, corporate executives promised <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/11/15/1715979/-Here-s-video-of-a-room-full-of-CEOs-admitting-they-won-t-invest-their-Republican-tax-cuts" target="_blank" title="">Trump’s administration that they would definitely NOT do it.</a></p> <p>Guess what? <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/12/business/economy/trumps-tax-cut-was-supposed-to-change-corporate-behavior-heres-what-happened.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fjim-tankersley&amp;action=click&amp;contentCollection=undefined&amp;region=stream&amp;module=stream_unit&amp;version=latest&amp;contentPlacement=1&amp;pgtype=collection" target="_blank" title="">The corporations didn’t do it!</a></p> <blockquote> <p><span>JPMorgan Chase analysts estimate that in the first half of 2018, about $270 billion in corporate profits previously held overseas were repatriated to the United States and spent as a result of changes to the tax code. Some 46 percent of that, JPMorgan Chase analysts said, was spent on $124 billion in stock buybacks.</span></p> <p><span>The flow of repatriated corporate cash is just one tributary in what has become </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/business/tax-cut-stock-buybacks.html?module=inline" title="">a flood of payouts to shareholders</a><span>, both as buybacks and dividends. Such payouts are expected to hit almost $1.3 trillion this year, up 28 percent from 2017, according to estimates from Goldman Sachs analysts.</span></p> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Business Buybacks CorporateTaxRates demand DonaldTrump Economics Economy Employment Jobs OnePercent Recommended Republican TaxCuts TrickleDown _1812551 Tue, 13 Nov 2018 18:47:34 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/13/1812513/-Medical-professionals-share-images-of-gun-violence-slamming-the-NRA-s-Stay-in-Your-Lane-nonsense <p>One of the most indefensible stances of the NRA—in a sea of indefensible stances—is that medical professionals and government public health experts cannot use taxpayer money to research gun violence in our country. After a few hundred American deaths in more headline-grabbing mass-shooting events over the past decade, Congress better defined the parameters of 1996’s <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/27/1752531/-Science-Saves-Lives-Congress-Must-Fund-Gun-Violence-Research" target="_blank" title="">Dickey Amendment</a>, allowing the Centers for Disease Control to finally, after thousands of deaths, <em>study</em> gun violence. On Wednesday, after the CDC released statistics about rising gun violence, and probably feeling a bit butt-hurt after over a dozen Grade A NRA candidates lost to a bunch of Grade F Democrats, the NRA’s social media idiot <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/11/1811997/--Stay-in-your-lane-NRA-tells-doctors-Doctors-Are-Not-Having-It" target="_blank" title="">tweeted out this statement.</a></p> <blockquote> <p><span>Someone should tell self-important  anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane. Half of the articles in Annals of Internal Medicine are pushing for gun control. Most upsetting, however, the medical community seems to have consulted NO ONE but themselves.</span></p> </blockquote> <p>Only people like Donald Trump, the NRA, Mitch McConnell, and the entire Republican Party seem to have the kind of chutzpah it takes to tell medical professionals to stay in their lane. Attacking a group of people who are both highly educated and highly dedicated to protecting the lives of others is a recipe for classic NRA failure. The initial responses were direct and to the point.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;Do you have any idea how many bullets I pull out of corpses weekly? This isn’t just my lane. It’s my fucking highway. &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/48S9UIFaV2"&amp;gt;https://t.co/48S9UIFaV2&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Judy Melinek M.D. (@drjudymelinek) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/drjudymelinek/status/1060912988532629504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 9, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Do you have any idea how many bullets I pull out of corpses weekly? This isn’t just my lane. It’s my fucking highway. <a href="https://t.co/48S9UIFaV2">https://t.co/48S9UIFaV2</a></p>— Judy Melinek M.D. (@drjudymelinek) <a href="https://twitter.com/drjudymelinek/status/1060912988532629504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2018</a></blockquote></div> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) CDC DickeyAmendment Guns GunSafety GunViolence inmylane Medicine NRA Professionals PublicHealth Recommended SecondAmendment SocialMedia stayinyourlane _1812513 Tue, 13 Nov 2018 16:27:21 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/12/1812350/-Jury-awards-25-5-million-in-highest-ever-bad-faith-case-against-Aetna-Health-Insurance <p>A jury in Oklahoma awarded the Cunningham family $25.5 million after a four-year court battle with insurance giant Aetna. Orranna Cunningham began the lawsuit, and her husband Ron finished it. Orranna’s doctor prescribed her stage 4 cancer treatment in 2014, but Aetna denied her insurance. Aetna argued that the treatment—proton beam therapy—was “investigational and experimental” in treating Orranna’s nasopharyngeal tumor. The Cunninghams mortgaged their home and started a GoFundMe page to pay for the treatments while Orranna began the lawsuit against Aetna. Orranna died at the end of May of 2015.</p> <p>Orranna’s tumor was so close to her brain stem that doctor’s felt the best treatment would be to use the more finely tuned proton beam therapy, lessening the chances for more severe side effects that traditional radiation therapies would have inflicted. CNN reports that jurors cried during the announcement and said that they hoped Aetna would see this as a message. Aetna’s lawyers, according to Ron Cunningham, are proof positive why the private insurance industry <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/10/health/aetna-verdict-oklahoma-orrana-cunningham/index.html" target="_blank">represent the real “death panels.”</a></p> <blockquote> <p><span>Cunningham had another encounter in court. He said Shely, Aetna's lead attorney, walked up to him and congratulated him after the verdict before telling him he'd lose on appeals.</span></p> </blockquote> <p><span>Just think about that. Aetna didn’t comment on the trial or the jury’s award. According to the jurors, the case the Cunninghams’ attorneys were able to make was rock solid in comparison to Aetna’s defense. Aetna’s medical directors admitted to insane workloads, including handling “80 cases a day,” and the medical directors who took the stand admitted they had spent more time preparing for trial than they had on Orranna’s case. All in all, every single person from Aetna said that they did “nothing wrong.” But they did. </span></p> <p><span>Aetna’s shitty attorney will likely get some kind of reduction in the jury award. He will point out how far afield from other awards it has been. He will be paid handily, and he will convince himself that hey, he doesn’t make the laws, he just twists them into the most expensive pretzel he can sell.</span> But the people that win cases like this don’t want the money. They want their loved ones back.</p> <blockquote> <p><span>"As far as the money, I'd give it all back to spend just one more day with her."</span></p> </blockquote> <p>There will always be sad and terrible stories of medical malpractice and <span>bureaucratic </span>negligence. But a system cased in escalating profits is designed to create have-nots. And in the case of health insurance, have-nots is the difference between life and death, and a more peaceful transition into whatever it is that awaits us.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Aetna Cancer HealthCare healthcareac Insurance MedicareForAll OrrannaCunningham Privatization protonbeamtherapy PublicHealth Recommended SinglePayer _1812350 Mon, 12 Nov 2018 21:50:10 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/9/1811666/-Alexandria-Ocasio-Cortez-had-nowhere-to-go-for-her-new-job-so-Chef-Jos-Andr-s-stepped-up <p>A very specific part of a <em>New York Times</em> <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/9/1811550/-Congresswoman-elect-Ocasio-Cortez-can-t-afford-to-move-to-D-C-until-her-first-paycheck" target="_blank" title="">profile of newly elected New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went viral today</a>. In it she talked about the logistical anxiety of not having a salary for three months and trying to figure out exactly how to afford an apartment in Washington, D.C. Conservative outlets mocked her, because conservative outlets are not fond of people’s economic hardships contradicting their bogus narrative that everything is great. Ocasio-Cortez hit back in the honest and intelligent way that brought her to Washington in the first place.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;There is no reason to be ashamed or embarrassed.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Mocking lower incomes is exactly how those who benefit from + promote wealth inequality the most keep everyday people silent about 1 of the worst threats to American society: that the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer. &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/aWaOzy7UJJ"&amp;gt;https://t.co/aWaOzy7UJJ&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018/status/1060978589988995073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 9, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>There is no reason to be ashamed or embarrassed.<br><br>Mocking lower incomes is exactly how those who benefit from + promote wealth inequality the most keep everyday people silent about 1 of the worst threats to American society: that the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer. <a href="https://t.co/aWaOzy7UJJ">https://t.co/aWaOzy7UJJ</a></p>— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018/status/1060978589988995073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2018</a></blockquote></div> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) AlexandriaOcasioCortez Apartment DC feelgood GoodNews JoseAndres Recommended Rent _1811666 Fri, 09 Nov 2018 23:15:23 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/9/1811610/-VA-Secretary-announces-plan-to-reauthorize-medical-experiments-on-man-s-best-friend <p>Like a silent-film villain twisting his mustache, the Trump administration continues to do things once thought comically archaic. Earlier it was <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/11/9/1714174/-Program-pairing-dogs-with-veterans-unceremoniously-kicked-out-of-Walter-Reed-and-Fort-Belvoir" target="_blank" title="">forcing out programs connecting veterans with service dogs. </a>Now it’s rubber-stamping morally and ethically murky medical experimentation on dogs: The Trump administration has all the rings of hell covered. <em>USA Today </em>has followed the story of once-bipartisan legislation to defund the VA’s long-standing practice of scientific experimentation on dogs. <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/09/25/va-tightens-oversight-medical-experiments-dogs-after-surgery-failures-canine-deaths/690684001/" target="_blank" title="">In 2017, an investigation found</a> that there was reason to believe the practice was considerably more barbaric than had been promoted, and with little or no meaningful scientific successes in recent memory.</p> <blockquote> <div><span>Nationwide, invasive experiments at three VA facilities are slated to include roughly 300 dogs, including 6-month-old Beagle puppies, and involve surgeries on their brains, spines and hearts by researchers seeking treatments for heart disease and other ailments. All the dogs will be killed when the research is complete.  </span></div> </blockquote> <div>The investigation showed that facilities could not produce adequate documentation that the animals were treated “properly,” amongst other things. Animal advocates have fought against the VA’s assertion that these medical experiments result in breakthroughs in treating veterans suffering from a variety of combat-produced injuries. And when asked to give examples of such scientific breakthroughs, the VA pointed to the results of experiments conducted well over a half-century ago.</div> <div></div> <div></div> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Animal AnimalCruelty Controversy DepartmentofVeteransAffairs Dogs DonaldTrump humane Medical medicalexperiments Medicine RobertWilkie Science VA Veteran _1811610 Fri, 09 Nov 2018 21:20:46 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/9/1811567/-Democrats-come-out-swinging-hard-proposing-funding-national-teacher-raises-by-taxing-the-rich <p>In May, soon-to-be (possibly) officially speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer came with other leading Democrats to propose what I am guessing is a very popular idea: reversing the unpopular and corrupt Republican tax cuts for the wealthy that have stolen revenues from the American people <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/5/23/17380564/democrats-schumer-pelosi-teacher-raises-tax-hikes" target="_blank">and directing the resulting funds to teachers.</a></p> <blockquote> <p><span>Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced the new plan, which would give $50 billion to states and school districts over 10 years to pay for teacher raises and recruitment efforts. It would also create a new $50 billion fund for school infrastructure and resources, like new desks and books.</span></p> </blockquote> <p>The American people voted on Tuesday and resoundingly said yes to Democrats and no to the Republican oligarchy. At the same time, Secretary of Education, and arguably one of the worst-educated people in America, Betsy DeVos told Congress that, while she thought teachers should be treated as <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/democrats-propose-funding-teacher-pay-raises-by-canceling-tax-cuts-for-the-wealthy" target="_blank">professionals and that they should be “better compensated,”</a> she also stood by slashing the federal education budget. This is because Betsy DeVos either doesn’t understand basic arithmetic or, she’s a goddamn liar. I am willing to say it’s probably both in this case.</p> <p>This is a great way to tie the teachers movement, supported by all voters, with an attack on repealing the Republican tax cuts for the wealthy, also something that the majority of Americans would support.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) ChuckSchumer Democraticcongress DeVos Education NancyPelosi OnePercent PublicEducation TaxCuts Teachers _1811567 Fri, 09 Nov 2018 18:21:48 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/9/1811550/-Congresswoman-elect-Ocasio-Cortez-can-t-afford-to-move-to-D-C-until-her-first-paycheck <p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/07/nyregion/ocasio-cortez-congress-washington.html" target="_blank">The <em>New York Times</em></a> published a profile of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wednesday, the day after the midterm elections. In it, the 29-year-old former bartender and newly elected representative explained that moving from the expensive city of New York to the expensive city of Washington was going to be hard for myriad reasons; but logistically, with a three-month delay in her congressional salary staring her down, actually <em>affording</em> to relocate and rent an apartment might be one problem it might not have occurred to you that she would have.</p> <blockquote> <p><span>Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said the transition period will be “very unusual, because I can’t really take a salary. I have three months without a salary before I’m a member of Congress. So, how do I get an apartment? Those little things are very real.” She said she saved money before leaving her job at the restaurant, and planned accordingly with her partner. “We’re kind of just dealing with the logistics of it day by day, but I’ve really been just kind of squirreling away and then hoping that gets me to January.”</span>  </p> </blockquote> <p>This excerpt from the story was picked up and went viral, with Ocasio-Cortez herself using it to make a point.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Alexandria Democracy Elections Elite IncomeInequality Ocasio ocasiocorte OcasioCortez OnePercent Rent StandardofLiving _1811550 Fri, 09 Nov 2018 18:09:38 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/9/1811510/-Comedian-uses-Twitter-to-highlight-the-Trump-administration-s-godawfulness-in-a-powerful-way <p>Laurie Kilmartin is a standup comedian and writer who has been around for some time. She’s written for Conan O’Brien.<em> </em>She also has a fun presence on Twitter. For some time she’s taken to tweeting out very real news reports using “President Hillary Clinton” in lieu of Donald Trump. The effect is to accentuate the double standard in a way that is <a href="https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&amp;vertical=default&amp;q=anylaurie16%20%22president%20hillary%20clinton%22&amp;src=typd" target="_blank" title="">pretty extraordinary. </a></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;Today, former campaign manager John Podesta became the fifth associate of President Hillary Clinton&amp;amp;#39;s to plead guilty in connection to Mueller’s Russia investigation.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Laurie Kilmartin (@anylaurie16) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/anylaurie16/status/1040602534220509187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;September 14, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Today, former campaign manager John Podesta became the fifth associate of President Hillary Clinton's to plead guilty in connection to Mueller’s Russia investigation.</p>— Laurie Kilmartin (@anylaurie16) <a href="https://twitter.com/anylaurie16/status/1040602534220509187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;It&amp;amp;#39;s being reported that President Hillary Clinton&amp;amp;#39;s visits to her resorts and day spas have cost taxpayers $77 million.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Laurie Kilmartin (@anylaurie16) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/anylaurie16/status/1038216733406814208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;September 8, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>It's being reported that President Hillary Clinton's visits to her resorts and day spas have cost taxpayers $77 million.</p>— Laurie Kilmartin (@anylaurie16) <a href="https://twitter.com/anylaurie16/status/1038216733406814208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;It&amp;amp;#39;s being pointed out that, after the attacks on the World Trade Center, (now) President Hillary Clinton lied about donating $10,000 to a 9/11 fund, and also accepted $150,000 in recovery funds.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Laurie Kilmartin (@anylaurie16) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/anylaurie16/status/1039726367766507520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;September 12, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>It's being pointed out that, after the attacks on the World Trade Center, (now) President Hillary Clinton lied about donating $10,000 to a 9/11 fund, and also accepted $150,000 in recovery funds.</p>— Laurie Kilmartin (@anylaurie16) <a href="https://twitter.com/anylaurie16/status/1039726367766507520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 12, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;Tonight, President Hillary Clinton is attending a fundraiser at her DC property, The Clinton Hotel. The tickets cost $100,000 per person.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Laurie Kilmartin (@anylaurie16) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/anylaurie16/status/1039957536697249792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;September 12, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Tonight, President Hillary Clinton is attending a fundraiser at her DC property, The Clinton Hotel. The tickets cost $100,000 per person.</p>— Laurie Kilmartin (@anylaurie16) <a href="https://twitter.com/anylaurie16/status/1039957536697249792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 12, 2018</a></blockquote></div> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Comedy DonaldTrump DoubleStandard HillaryClinton Humor lauriekilmartin Sexism Twitter _1811510 Fri, 09 Nov 2018 16:51:52 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/8/1811285/-In-a-viral-thread-author-explains-the-science-behind-cult-behavior-and-applies-to-Trump-supporters <p>On Wednesday, CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta got into a<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/7/1810906/-Trump-escalates-enemy-of-the-people-press-attacks-in-unhinged-exchange-with-CNN-reporter" target="_blank"> heated exchange with white supremacist in chief Donald Trump</a>. During that exchange, one of the low-level complicit supremacists attempted to grab Acosta’s microphone out of his hand while he was still speaking. All of this was captured on one million cameras at one of the very few press conferences Donald Trump has had since becoming president.</p> <p>A few hours later, it was announced that Acosta’s access to the White House had been suspended. Trump had effectively censored an entire news outlet because he was embarrassed that he could not handle a couple of very serious questions. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, emerging from whatever blood-letting rituals she practices these days to assuage the burning feeling in her soul, said that Acosta had in essence assaulted the woman that was grabbing for the microphone. In true Trump administration fashion, the official White House’s official Twitter account tweeted out a video of the <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/8/1811180/-White-House-tweets-Infowars-video-to-justify-banning-CNN-reporter" target="_blank" title="">incident as edited and put together by InfoWars.</a></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Cult DonaldTrump JimAcosta Lies Recommended _1811285 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 19:37:07 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/8/1811244/-Colbert-says-goodbye-to-Jeff-Sessions-by-eating-him-on-live-TV <p><em>The Late Show with Stephen Colbert</em> took on the news that Donald Trump had fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday. After covering that Sessions’ resignation letter implied that he was fired, Colbert reminded the audience that this was not a big surprise, considering the two men’s history together.</p> <blockquote> <p>Trump has made no secret of his feelings about Sessions. He’s called Sessions a “‘traitor,” “a dumb Southerner,” “Mr. Magoo,” and perhaps most humiliating of all, “member of my administration.”</p> </blockquote> <p>But Colbert never lets Jeff Sessions off the hook for being the horrendous person Jeff Sessions is.</p> <blockquote> <p>No word what Jeff Sessions is going to do next. I assume he’s going to spend more time with his family separation policy.</p> </blockquote> <p>Colbert then gave his audience a real tasty treat by bringing out the recently fired Sessions to say his goodbyes.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) AttorneyGeneral DonaldTrump JeffSessions LateNight StephenColbert Video _1811244 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 17:26:18 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/7/1811075/-Architect-of-Obamacare-repeal-just-got-his-comeuppance-as-his-seat-gets-flipped-to-the-color-blue <p>When Republican Rep. Tom MacArthur took on the responsibility of creating the amendment that allowed Trumpcare to push through, he thought that pretending he was a bipartisan type of guy would immunize him from his own betrayed constituents. <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/31/1808848/-GOP-author-of-the-amendment-that-pushed-Trumpcare-through-the-House-faces-the-music" target="_blank">He was wrong.</a> Rep. MacArthur has <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/4/26/1656584/-Watch-Republican-Tom-MacArthur-literally-run-away-from-questions-concerning-his-healthcare-amendment" target="_blank">literally tried to run away </a>from questions surrounding his part in the ACA repeal attempts. Veteran and Rhodes scholar <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/6/19/1673172/-New-Jersey-GOP-Rep-Tom-MacArthur-gets-his-first-major-Democratic-opponent-over-Trumpcare-amendment" target="_blank">Andy Kim stepped up to run against MacArthur.</a> CBS 3 in Philadelphia <a href="https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/11/07/new-jerseys-third-congressional-district/" target="_blank">has more.</a></p> <blockquote> <p>Democrat Andy Kim has claimed victory after a very tight race in New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District, but Republican incumbent Tom MacArthur is not ready to concede.</p> </blockquote> <p>This comes after <a href="http://www2.philly.com/philly/news/politics/elections/andy-kim-tom-macarthur-election-results-nj-3-vote-counting-20181107.html" target="_blank">“<span>thousands of mail ballots were tallied by Burlington County election officials late Wednesday afternoon.”</span></a> Kim and the Democratic Party feel very confident in the outcome. The fact of the matter, regardless of where in the country you are, is that extra votes are being discovered and counted. Votes delayed by dubious issues, purposeful negligence, and outright trickery, time and time again, seem to almost always favor the Democratic candidate.</p> <p>If this victory holds it would be a tremendous win for the country, and there may still be more to come in the days and weeks ahead.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;Just wait. Don’t be so sure. More tomorrow. &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/48Igbk5Bxs"&amp;gt;https://t.co/48Igbk5Bxs&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1060347112213360640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 8, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Just wait. Don’t be so sure. More tomorrow. <a href="https://t.co/48Igbk5Bxs">https://t.co/48Igbk5Bxs</a></p>— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) <a href="https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1060347112213360640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) AffordableCareAct BlueWave DonaldTrump Flip NewJersey Obamacare Recommended Repeal TomMacArthur Trumpcare _1811075 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 01:59:12 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/7/1810957/-That-time-when-Lindsey-Graham-promised-there-would-be-holy-hell-to-pay-if-Trump-fired-Sessions <p>It was the summer of 2017. Donald Trump was getting really bent out of shape because Robert Mueller’s special investigation into foreign meddling in our elections was well underway, and the news leaking out did not show Donald Trump in a good light.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;Why didn&amp;amp;#39;t A.G. Sessions replace Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a Comey friend who was in charge of Clinton investigation but got....&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890207082926022656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;July 26, 2017&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Why didn't A.G. Sessions replace Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a Comey friend who was in charge of Clinton investigation but got....</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890207082926022656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2017</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;...big dollars ($700,000) for his wife&amp;amp;#39;s political run from Hillary Clinton and her representatives. Drain the Swamp!&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890208319566229504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;July 26, 2017&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>...big dollars ($700,000) for his wife's political run from Hillary Clinton and her representatives. Drain the Swamp!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890208319566229504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2017</a></blockquote></div> <p>One day later, Sen. Lindsey Graham rode into the hallways of the Senate on his high horse and had this warning for the country.</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Graham</strong>: You know the president has the right to fire anybody in his cabinet. As a human being I think he should show some respect for Jeff Sessions, as a person. Jeff Sessions was the most loyal supporter of Donald Trump, he's a rock-solid conservative, but the reason I like him so much is I often disagree with him but I've never believed that he was a man who lacks integrity or a sense of fair play. This effort to basically marginalize and humiliate the Attorney General is not going over well in the Senate.</p> <p><strong>If Jeff Sessions is fired, there will be  holy hell to pay.</strong></p> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) AttorneyGeneral ChecksAndBalance DonaldTrump JeffSessions LindseyGraham Recommended RobertMueller Russia _1810957 Wed, 07 Nov 2018 20:23:29 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/7/1810927/-One-of-last-night-s-greatest-treats-was-watching-Ann-Coulter-get-owned-by-the-internet <p>After the news spread that one of the world’s worst racists, Kris Kobach, had lost his bid to ruin Kansas, <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/6/1809871/-Democrat-Laura-Kelly-defeats-Kris-Kobach-to-win-Kansas-governor-s-race" target="_blank" title="">most sentient life across the country cheered with joy. </a>But not the completely irrelevant, except as a punchline, Ann Coulter. She was furious.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;Kansas is dead to me.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/AnnCoulter/status/1060012170690416640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 7, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Kansas is dead to me.</p>— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnnCoulter/status/1060012170690416640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p>Now, it’s important to note that Ann Coulter hasn’t said anything newsworthy in about forever plus infinity. But the responses to this tweet made my night just a little bit brighter, so I thought I should share it with the warm and wonderful Daily Kos community.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;did it drop another house on your sister? &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/p2MZY8TpTI"&amp;gt;https://t.co/p2MZY8TpTI&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Matt Oswalt (@MattOswaltVA) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MattOswaltVA/status/1060018610230312962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 7, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>did it drop another house on your sister? <a href="https://t.co/p2MZY8TpTI">https://t.co/p2MZY8TpTI</a></p>— Matt Oswalt (@MattOswaltVA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattOswaltVA/status/1060018610230312962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Yes. So delicious.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) AnnCoulter Kansas KrisKobach Recommended Twitter _1810927 Wed, 07 Nov 2018 19:41:31 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/7/1810906/-Trump-escalates-enemy-of-the-people-press-attacks-in-unhinged-exchange-with-CNN-reporter <p>So, just a short while ago, Donald Trump—during one of his <em>very</em> infrequent press conferences—got into a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/election-day-reaction-2018/index.html" target="_blank">bizarre exchange with CNN’s Jim Acosta</a>. Acosta was asking Trump about the idiotic fear-mongering he promoted about the migrant caravan. Trump decided that the narrow parameters he had set in the hope of having a press conference where no one asked him serious questions were being violated. </p> <blockquote> <p>Trump: Honestly I think that you should let me run the country. You run CNN. And if you did it well, your ratings will be much higher.</p> <p>Acosta: If I may ask one other question.</p> <p>Trump: That's enough.</p> <p>Acosta: The other folks asked, pardon me, ma'am...</p> <p>An unidentified woman attempted to reach f the mic from Acosta.</p> <p>Trump: That's enough.</p> <p>Acosta: If I can ask on the Russian investigation. Are you concerned that you may have...</p> <p>Trump: I am not concerned about anything with the Russian investigation because it is a hoax. That is enough, put down the mic.</p> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) DonaldTrump FakeNews Investigation JimAcosta Recommended RobertMueller Video _1810906 Wed, 07 Nov 2018 19:12:58 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/7/1810858/-Nevada-has-the-chance-to-end-up-with-the-United-States-first-female-majority-Legislature <p>Democrats won big last night. History was made across the country as women of color and <a href="https://www.washingtonblade.com/2018/11/07/monika-nemeth-elected-to-anc/" target="_blank" title="">LGBT people broke through</a> what were once thought insurmountable obstacles to unseat the old hegemony in states and localities. According to the <em>Nevada Independent, </em>an important bit of history is taking place in the Battle Born State. The state’s Assembly looks like it will end up with a Democratic supermajority, and possibly a 22-20 majority of women. The state’s Senate, not unlike our nation’s Senate, isn’t following the trends of democracy, but there is a chance that the state legislature in total <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/democrats-expand-legislative-majorities-with-chance-at-first-female-majority-legislature" target="_blank" title="">will break towards women.</a></p> <blockquote> <p><span>Between the two houses, there will likely be 33 men and 30 women serving in the Legislature. But if Segerblom and Ford’s replacements are women, there would be 32 women and 31 men in the Legislature — the first time in both state and national history that a legislative body is majority female.</span></p> </blockquote> <p>State Sens. Segerblom and Ford won election to new government positions, and the chance is there for Democratic leadership to appoint women and make history.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) 2018Midterms Democracy DonaldTrump Elections GoodNews Positive PublicHealth Sexism Victory Women _1810858 Wed, 07 Nov 2018 17:43:27 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/6/1810707/-Minnesota-Republican-who-pined-for-the-days-when-women-could-be-called-sluts-loses-to-woman <p>The shock jock Republican rep. from Minnesota’s second district has lost his seat to Democrat Angie Craig.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;Here&amp;amp;#39;s something, Rep. Jason Lewis, the GOP congressman who as radio host lamented women could no longer be called "sluts" and mocked women who felt victimized by unwanted groping, has lost his bid for re-election. &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/yrgQs2ldHt"&amp;gt;pic.twitter.com/yrgQs2ldHt&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/1060037558200160257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 7, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Here's something, Rep. Jason Lewis, the GOP congressman who as radio host lamented women could no longer be called "sluts" and mocked women who felt victimized by unwanted groping, has lost his bid for re-election. <a href="https://t.co/yrgQs2ldHt">pic.twitter.com/yrgQs2ldHt</a></p>— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) <a href="https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/1060037558200160257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Jason Lewis, best known for lamenting that calling women <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/7/19/1781991/-MN-02-Freshman-congressman-got-caught-on-tape-lamenting-we-can-t-call-women-sl-ts" target="_blank">“sluts” is frowned upon now</a>, tried some pathetic last minute shenanigans by promoting a video, attacking his opponent for being fake. <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/6/1810408/-Republican-releases-ad-of-him-canvassing-in-the-wrong-district-saying-his-opponent-is-fake" target="_blank">The video, under the most superficial scrutiny exposed Lewis as a fraud</a>, as the area he was “canvassing” seems to have been his neighborhood—outside of the district his opponent now represents. </p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) AngieCraig Blue Elections JasonLewis Minnesota Recommended _1810707 Wed, 07 Nov 2018 05:50:34 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/6/1810664/-Democrats-will-win-the-popular-vote-across-the-country-in-record-setting-fashion <p>By the end of the night, and over the next few days, the Democratic Party will have retaken the majority position in the House of Representatives. But it is important to remember that they have done so by fighting uphill battles against conservative-led voter suppression across the country. In some cases these attacks on democracy are <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/4/1809786/-Two-days-before-election-Brian-Kemp-again-abuses-his-power-announces-investigation-of-Demorats" target="_blank" title="">so egregiously racist,</a> it is no wonder that the Republican Party is trying to arrest and criminalize people of color in record numbers.</p> <p>Princeton scientist Sam Wang pointed out, as a part of the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, how much more popular the Democratic Party’s candidates were than their Republican counterparts.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;The NYT currently projects a national popular-vote margin of D+9.2%. The largest popular margin since 2008, larger than waves of 1994, 2006, 2010, 2014.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;1994: R+7.1%&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;2006: D+8.0%&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;2008: D+10.6%&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;2010: R+7.2%&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;2014: R+5.7%&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;By historical standards, this a popular wave. &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/4hw71hieVN"&amp;gt;pic.twitter.com/4hw71hieVN&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Sam Wang (@SamWangPhD) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/SamWangPhD/status/1060005925233270784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 7, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>The NYT currently projects a national popular-vote margin of D+9.2%. The largest popular margin since 2008, larger than waves of 1994, 2006, 2010, 2014.<br><br>1994: R+7.1%<br>2006: D+8.0%<br>2008: D+10.6%<br>2010: R+7.2%<br>2014: R+5.7%<br><br>By historical standards, this a popular wave. <a href="https://t.co/4hw71hieVN">pic.twitter.com/4hw71hieVN</a></p>— Sam Wang (@SamWangPhD) <a href="https://twitter.com/SamWangPhD/status/1060005925233270784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p>To put this into perspective, four of the five conservative Supreme Court Justices were appointed by popular vote-losing presidents. The other one was Clarence Thomas. The Republican Party will continue to<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/12/27/1676043/-Here-s-what-Michigan-might-have-looked-like-in-2016-without-GOP-congressional-gerrymandering" target="_blank" title=""> work as hard as they can to gerrymander </a>and suppress the majority vote of this country because they are the minority opinion of most Americans. They do not have ideas or the mandate of the American people—and they know it.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Democracy Gerrymandering PopularVote PrincetonGerrymanderingProject RepublicanHypocrisy VoterSupression _1810664 Wed, 07 Nov 2018 04:07:37 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/6/1810493/-Meet-Minnesota-s-newest-history-maker-U-S-House-Rep-Ilhan-Omar <p>It was almost two years ago to the day that Minnesota elected Ilhan Omar as the <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/11/9/1594671/-Minnesota-elected-the-nation-s-first-Muslim-Somali-American-state-representative" target="_blank" title="">first Somali-Muslim state representative in the history of our country.</a> Today, <a href="https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/11/06/ilhan-omar-jennifer-zielinski-5th-district/" target="_blank">state representative Omar became United States Rep. Ilhan Omar</a>. Alongside <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/6/1810460/-Michigan-s-Rashida-Tlaib-becomes-the-first-ever-Muslim-woman-in-Congress-but-she-s-not-alone" target="_blank" title="">Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib</a>, the two become the first-ever Muslim women elected to the U.S. Congress. Omar ran on the promise of real progressive change, and she won because <a href="http://www.fox9.com/news/democratic-candidates-cap-off-day-of-campaigning-with-concert-at-first-avenue" target="_blank" title="">she’s been truly awe-inspiring</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><span>"The thing about being a progressive is that you are constantly pushing somebody every single day towards a more productive, a more equitable, just society.”</span></p> </blockquote> <p>Knowing that her policies were the most popular and that the conservative movement’s only arsenal consisted of hate and fear, Omar confronted those issues head on.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;When people ask me who my biggest opponent is, I don’t give a name— I tell them the truth— it’s Islamophoba, Racism, Patriarchy, Xenophobia and Misogyny.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;We can’t let them win.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Thank you to the Muslim American Society for hosting me at your convention today. &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/keNDYXGflO"&amp;gt;pic.twitter.com/keNDYXGflO&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1051233679903723522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;October 13, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>When people ask me who my biggest opponent is, I don’t give a name— I tell them the truth— it’s Islamophoba, Racism, Patriarchy, Xenophobia and Misogyny.<br><br>We can’t let them win.<br><br>Thank you to the Muslim American Society for hosting me at your convention today. <a href="https://t.co/keNDYXGflO">pic.twitter.com/keNDYXGflO</a></p>— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) <a href="https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1051233679903723522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p>Rep. Omar has been a big part of the progressive movement these past few years and had very little trouble finding supporters. Rep. Tlaib’s victory in Michigan was all but assured, as she was running unopposed. As a result, Tlaib spent a considerable amount of her time campaigning for other progressives like Omar.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Elections History ilhanomar Islam Midterms Minnesota Muslim Omar Race RashidaTlaib Recommended ReligiousFreedom Tlaib _1810493 Wed, 07 Nov 2018 04:00:02 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/6/1810625/-Ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead-Kim-Davis-loses-her-reelection-bid-to-Democrat <p>Nightmare come to life Kim Davis has lost her reelection attempt for the Rowan County clerkship. The Republican made famous when she refused to do her job because she is a complete failure of a human being, <a href="https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article221121745.html" target="_blank" title="">lost to Democrat Elwood Caudill Kr.</a></p> <blockquote> <p><span>This was Caudill’s second time running for the office. In 2014, he lost to Davis by just 23 votes in the primary — Davis </span><a href="https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article219131780.html" target="_self">changed parties</a><span> in 2015.</span></p> </blockquote> <p>Davis became famous for a little while for denying marriage licenses to same sex couples. I’m sure her descendants will be proud.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Kentucky KimDavis LGBT Recommended SameSexMarriage _1810625 Wed, 07 Nov 2018 01:36:46 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/6/1810613/-One-of-the-NRA-s-top-funded-Republicans-just-went-down-hard-in-Virginia-in-first-big-House-flip <p>Democrat Jennifer Wexton has unseated Rep. Barbara Comstock. Rep. Wexton promoted more serious gun safety, while Barbara Comstock continued to be one of the<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/2/14/1741437/-A-reminder-of-the-NRA-s-top-ten-funded-elected-officials-in-both-the-House-and-the-Senate" target="_blank"> top ten NRA-funded House officials. </a></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;NBC calls the first flip of the night: Jennifer Wexton (D) wins VA-10&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MikeDelMoro/status/1059968319535661057?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 7, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>NBC calls the first flip of the night: Jennifer Wexton (D) wins VA-10</p>— Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeDelMoro/status/1059968319535661057?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Comstock’s refusal to do anything about gun violence was compounded this election cycle by <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/5/1810182/-Ending-campaign-hiding-from-reporters-From-WSJ-to-Scholastic-kids-VA10-s-Comstock-can-t-be-found" target="_blank" title="">her cowardice in hiding from questions about gun violence.</a> It’s an important win for people who are sick of gun manufacturers making public health decisions with their pocket books. I guess we should send our thoughts and prayers to Barbara Comstock?</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;NRA DEFEAT: Gun safety champion Jennifer Wexton has defeated Rep. Barbara Comstock, a top recipient of NRA funding whose Virginia district was home to NRA headquarters. Wexton&amp;amp;#39;s campaign was backed by former congresswoman and gun violence survivor Gabby Giffords &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/5HXSmCQ0eD"&amp;gt;pic.twitter.com/5HXSmCQ0eD&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— NowThis (@nowthisnews) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1059970631880663040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 7, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>NRA DEFEAT: Gun safety champion Jennifer Wexton has defeated Rep. Barbara Comstock, a top recipient of NRA funding whose Virginia district was home to NRA headquarters. Wexton's campaign was backed by former congresswoman and gun violence survivor Gabby Giffords <a href="https://t.co/5HXSmCQ0eD">pic.twitter.com/5HXSmCQ0eD</a></p>— NowThis (@nowthisnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1059970631880663040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) BarbaraComstock GunControl GunSafety JenniferWexton NRA Recommended SecondAmendment _1810613 Wed, 07 Nov 2018 00:59:36 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/6/1810433/-Indianapolis-voters-arrived-to-find-one-volunteer-and-unplugged-voting-machines <p>There are going to be reports all day of issues with voting. Some will be more egregious than others, some will be more insidious. <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/oops-we-forgot-to-plug-in-the-voting-machine" target="_blank" title="">ProPublica reports</a> that Indianapolis voters lined up this morning only to find themselves overwhelming the single volunteer at the polling place.</p> <blockquote> <p><span>In Indianapolis, voters at West Lake Elementary school arrived to find the machines — in this case, optical scanners — unplugged and only one volunteer manning the polling place. When contacted by ProPublica, elections officials in Marion County said they were unaware of the issue, but they dispatched a mechanic to the site to get the machines up and running after our call.</span></p> </blockquote> <p><span>According to ProPublica, the volunteer felt overwhelmed upon seeing the big line outside and just forgot to plug in the machines. The people trying to vote used paper ballots before the machines were turned back on. This is one of the many problems resulting from how few resources our country spends on the actual logistics of our democratic processes. </span></p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p><span>If you see or have problems at your voting place, call </span>866-OUR-VOTE to report it.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Democracy Election electionday GOTV Indianapolis problems Recommended volunteerasPollworker Voting _1810433 Tue, 06 Nov 2018 16:20:17 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/6/1810408/-Republican-releases-ad-of-him-canvassing-in-the-wrong-district-saying-his-opponent-is-fake <p>Former shock jock-turned-Minnesota Republican Rep. Jason Lewis is running against Democrat <span>Angie Craig. Lewis is best known for his years spent lamenting that we <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/7/19/1781991/-MN-02-Freshman-congressman-got-caught-on-tape-lamenting-we-can-t-call-women-sl-ts" target="_blank">cannot call women “sluts” anymore</a> and regurgitating the age-old racist canard that <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/7/28/1784221/-Paul-Ryan-Defends-Racist-GOP-Rep-Jason-Lewis-Who-Says-Blacks-Live-On-Welfare-Plantation" target="_blank">black people are living on the “plantation” of welfare.</a> He’s everything you imagine he is. Election Day is upon us, and Lewis wants to make sure you remember that he’s the real deal, while Craig is some kind of carpetbagging elite-Hollywood-Nancy-Pelosi-knowing fake.</span></p> <p><span>In a video that Lewis and his campaign pushed out on his social media platforms, entitled “A Manufactured Craig vs. An Honest Lewis,” Lewis begins by pretending he’s just come from canvassing a home. He walks down the walkway towards the camera and then proceeds to move into the middle of the suburban street to tell the viewer how he’s the real McCoy, and his opponent is a wild-eyed socialist who is “hiring actors” and is funded by Rep. Nancy Pelosi.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Campaign Elections GOTV JasonLewis Minnesota MN Recommended _1810408 Tue, 06 Nov 2018 15:54:28 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/5/1810244/-One-woman-just-fleeced-MAGA-fanatics-of-over-150k-with-just-her-phone-and-their-racism <p>How do you get money out of people? The traditional con artist knows that there are two things one must do: find out what people desire and offer it to them, and have confidence in your approach. A young woman, using the Twitter handle @chckpeas, appears to have executed a perfect plot to get money out of the single most gullible population in the United States of America—the MAGA fanatics!</p> <p>There are millions of these suckers, so you just have to find something that a few thousand (or maybe even a few million) of them want, and give it to them. One thing that many God-fearing MAGAheads want is absolution. They don’t seem to like being called “racist” over and over again. Some of them even claim to have a black friend … or acquaintance … or a guy they worked with who might be black. Either way, just because they vote for a man who is openly racist, who says racist things, who supports racist policies, and is generally agreed to have always been a racist, doesn’t mean <em>they’re </em>racist! </p> <p>The young woman, currently calling herself “reformed republican” on Twitter, alleges that she saw this niche market and decided to see what she could squeeze out of these Trump supporters. <a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a24669577/chckpeas-twitter-gofundme-maga/" target="_blank">According to <em>Elle</em></a>, she took some photos in the mirror with a MAGA hat that she had found on the street outside, and then came up with her story, with some well-chosen hashtags.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) ConMan conwoman DonaldTrump Elections GoFundMe MAGA prank Recommended reformedrepublican Scam _1810244 Tue, 06 Nov 2018 00:49:29 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/5/1810083/-Get-out-the-vote-messaging-floods-Twitter-in-the-final-hours-before-the-election <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>If you haven’t heard, tomorrow is Election Day! Get out and vote! If you’re reading Daily Kos, you may have already taken advantage of early voting, but getting out there and reminding people to vote is the most important thing you can do today and tomorrow. Around the interwebs, celebrities and others with large social media followings are sending out their reminders to vote. Let’s take a look!</p> <p>Here’s some science!</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;Look what happened the last time you didn’t vote.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/1059484927706718209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 5, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Look what happened the last time you didn’t vote.</p>— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) <a href="https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/1059484927706718209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p>Axl Rose from Guns N’ Roses laid out a pretty big thread on voting, which includes quotes like “<span>Most of us in America have never experienced anything this obscene at this level in r lifetimes n’ if we as a country don’t wake up n’ put an end 2 this nonsense now it’s something we definitely will all pay hard 4 as time goes on.”</span></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;As far as I’m concerned anyone can enjoy GNR 4 whatever reason n’ &amp;amp;nbsp;there’s truth 2 the saying “u can’t choose your fans” n’ we’re good w/that.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Axl Rose (@axlrose) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/axlrose/status/1059210992121344000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 4, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>As far as I’m concerned anyone can enjoy GNR 4 whatever reason n’  there’s truth 2 the saying “u can’t choose your fans” n’ we’re good w/that.</p>— Axl Rose (@axlrose) <a href="https://twitter.com/axlrose/status/1059210992121344000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2018</a></blockquote></div> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) getoutthevote GOTV Tweet Vote _1810083 Mon, 05 Nov 2018 18:13:46 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/2/1809423/-Two-times-in-the-past-year-that-Rep-Steve-King-promoted-anti-Semitic-and-racist-news-website <p>Rep. Steve King (R-IA) is probably a white supremacist. Maybe he would rather be called a white “nationalist,” but it is six of one, half a dozen of the other, in my opinion. The election coming up for King has been a considerably tougher one than one might have expected a year or two ago. But, with the swamp-turned-sewage in the White House enjoying the support of bigots like King, many people are feeling like they need someone less hateful and corrupt, <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/30/1808518/-Steve-King-may-finally-pay-the-price-for-ignoring-his-district-in-the-service-of-white-nationalism" target="_blank" title="">someone who is at the very least competent</a>, to represent them. The contentious race has also brought up a long-standing fact: that King is wildly racist, and promotes openly racist opinions and people. </p> <p>The hyper focus on King’s awfulness has led to some big campaign donors, like Intel, <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/29/1808122/-Intel-says-it-will-no-longer-contribute-to-white-supremacist-Republican-Rep-Steve-King-s-campaigns" target="_blank" title="">publicly dropping their financial support for the candidate.</a> It is a mostly superficial statement by these interests, as they have already given a lot of money to the Iowa representative; but publicly it is a blow that serious business interests do not find him as viable as maybe they once did. However, the move of big businesses to distance themselves from King is not due to some epiphany the executives at these companies just had; it’s that pressure from the public and the media has grown more powerful, <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/1/1809134/-White-supremacist-loving-Iowa-Republican-lashes-out-when-asked-about-loving-white-supremacists" target="_blank" title="">shining a very bright light on the cockroach that is Rep. Steve King.</a> Media Matters put together a rundown of some of King’s greatest racist hits. In it they take a trip down memory lane all the way to … earlier this year, when King tweeted this out.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;Four “Dreamers” doing the work that Americans won’t do. &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/FDH5yaXJrS"&amp;gt;https://t.co/FDH5yaXJrS&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Steve King (@SteveKingIA) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/SteveKingIA/status/959889915621371905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;February 3, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Four “Dreamers” doing the work that Americans won’t do. <a href="https://t.co/FDH5yaXJrS">https://t.co/FDH5yaXJrS</a></p>— Steve King (@SteveKingIA) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveKingIA/status/959889915621371905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2018</a></blockquote></div> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) DonaldTrump Elections Iowa newobserveronline Racism SteveKing WhiteSupremacist _1809423 Fri, 02 Nov 2018 18:58:58 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/2/1809406/-Students-demanding-action-on-gun-laws-release-moving-video-reminding-everyone-why-we-must-vote <div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9DYEsJYoyw8UtWY5ALY7iw" title="">Everytown for Gun Safety</a> is a movement to end the unacceptable gun violence that affects millions of children every year in the United States. A new video campaign by the organization, using pop music star Sia’s “I’m Still Here,” was released last week. The video shows a child going into a school and being handed a balloon by other students who are promoting a student election. The balloon pops, and across the entire school, everyone goes dead quiet. The pause hangs in the air until one by one, children begin dancing.  <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="Enough_footballfield.jpg" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/606838/large/Enough_footballfield.jpg?1541180916" title="Enough_footballfield.jpg"> <figcaption>Holding up the balloons to reclaim their childhood</figcaption> </figure> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> </div> <div></div> <div>The video begins melancholy and desperate, single students emotionally moving, while other students stand or sit frozen among empty spaces where once fellow students lived alongside them. As the song continues, more and more students join in the movement, literally and figuratively building triumphantly, as they reclaim the balloons as the joyous items of the childhood they should be living.</div> <div></div> <div></div> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Enough EVERYTOWN EverytownforGunSafety GOTV GunSafety Recommended sia Video Vote _1809406 Fri, 02 Nov 2018 18:05:34 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/2/1809366/-Desperate-for-votes-lyin-Ted-Cruz-sinks-to-a-dangerous-new-low <p>Ted Cruz will go down in history as one of the most two-dimensionally corrupt and narcissistic people in the story of America. His every move, regardless of the consequences to anybody else not named Ted Cruz, are transparently self-serving and craven. He’s also in a very tight race for his Senate seat against Beto O’Rourke. Early Friday morning, Cruz tweeted out this.</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;Two basic Qs every reporter should ask Beto today: &amp;amp;nbsp;(1) should the “caravan” be allowed to cross illegally into Texas? &amp;amp;nbsp;(Beto refuses to answer.) And (2) did your campaign dollars illegally fund their doing so? &amp;lt;a href="https://t.co/5HcePn3AGs"&amp;gt;https://t.co/5HcePn3AGs&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1058363039047733249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&amp;gt;November 2, 2018&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Two basic Qs every reporter should ask Beto today:  (1) should the “caravan” be allowed to cross illegally into Texas?  (Beto refuses to answer.) And (2) did your campaign dollars illegally fund their doing so? <a href="https://t.co/5HcePn3AGs">https://t.co/5HcePn3AGs</a></p>— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1058363039047733249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2018</a></blockquote></div> <p><span>The attached article is simply a Redstate article saying that Beto O’Rourke has yet to make an official statement to Redstate. If you delve into the Redstate page you will find an article discussing a Project Veritas undercover operation that exposes alleged staffers from Beto O’Rourke’s campaign talking about buying blankets and food to send down to the families in the migrant caravan. Blankets and food! Beto O’Rourke might as well be handing them your white daughters, and your job applications, and <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/29/1808252/-Fox-News-expert-says-people-in-immigration-caravan-have-leprosy-and-will-infect-Americans" target="_blank" title="">injecting you with the plague</a> while drinking the blood of babies at dinner parties with George Soros! </span></p> <p><span>The <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/30/1808447/-Republicans-refuse-to-drop-George-Soros-dog-whistle-even-after-bombs-and-anti-Semitic-massacre" target="_blank" title="">Republican Party continues to desperately throw</a> the anti-Semitic, baseless conspiracy theory, fearmongering that incited <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/27/1807716/-Synagogue-shooter-explained-exactly-why-he-killed-Republican-conspiracy-theories" target="_blank" title="">Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooter Robert Bowser </a>to kill eleven people last Saturday. Ted Cruz knows this. But Ted Cruz has done nothing good for the people of Texas and so his best bet right now is to pour gasoline on the fire of their anxieties. Donald Trump has done his part, as Texans will be swamped with thousands of military personnel over the next few weeks. Remember how <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/11/25/1453650/-Obama-s-favorite-Obama-conspiracy-theory-Jade-Helm" target="_blank">President Obama was going to send in the army and take over your state?</a></span></p> <p>It turns out that those chickens with fox ears and fox tails that you voted for, to protect you from foxes … well, they’re foxes.</p> <p><strong><a href="https://secure.actblue.com/donate/dkendorses2018congress?refcode=20181102tntwe" target="_blank" title="">Give a dollar or two to candidates trying to rid our government of corrupt lawmakers like Ted Cruz.</a></strong></p> <p><a href="https://events.mobilizeamerica.io/dailykos/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Head here to find out what you can do to get out the vote in your area.</strong></a></p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) antisemitic BetoORourke Campaign Caravan Elections Immigration Racism Recommended TedCruz Texas Xenophobia _1809366 Fri, 02 Nov 2018 16:24:43 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/2/1809351/-Researcher-States-with-lenient-gun-laws-have-twice-as-many-children-die-from-firearm-injuries <p>The second-highest cause of pediatric death in the United States is firearms. More children die from them every year than die from cancer and heart disease combined. According to new research, even when adjusting for factors like poverty, unemployment, and education, rates of pediatric firearm deaths were markedly lower in states with strict gun laws. In fact, states with the most lenient gun laws had twice as many pediatric firearm-related deaths. Additionally, researchers found that states without child access prevention laws had death rates <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-11/aaop-ham102218.php" target="_blank" title="">four times as high as states with strict gun laws.</a></p> <blockquote> <p>"Firearm-related injuries are the second leading cause of death among children in the United States, but we found a clear discrepancy in where those deaths happen that corresponds with the strength of states' firearm legislation," said Stephanie Chao, MD, FAAP, FACS the abstract's lead author. "In states with lenient laws, children die at alarmingly greater rates."</p> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) CAP childaccessprotection Data Firearms GunLaws Guns Health NRA pediatricgundeaths pediatrichealth Science Study _1809351 Fri, 02 Nov 2018 15:23:02 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/1/1809157/-New-York-Republican-profits-off-of-predatory-medical-debt-collection-while-trying-to-repeal-the-ACA <p>Tracy Mitrano is a <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/6/8/1770378/-Fired-Up-to-Repeal-and-Replace-Entrenched-Republican-Tom-Reed" target="_blank" title="">Democrat running on a “Medicare for all” platform</a> in the hope of unseating the seemingly (and kind of obviously) corrupt Republican Rep. Tom Reed (NY-23). Reed is running a platform of “Let’s call Tracy Mitrano a communist and hope nobody makes me discuss actual issues<em>.”  </em><a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/10/31/tom-reed-new-york-debt-collection-company/" target="_blank" title="">The Intercept </a>has done quite an investigation into the numerous consumer complaints against the shady medical-debt collection agency founded by Reed, who seems to continue to benefit financially from it through the new ownership stake of Jean Reed—his wife.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) AbbeyDaugherty AffordableCareAct Campaign CFPB ConsumerFinancialProtectionBureau Corruption DonaldTrump Elections HealthCare Hypocrisy jeanreed MedicareForAll NewYork Obamacare PaytoPlay TomPrice TomReed _1809157 Thu, 01 Nov 2018 21:36:01 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/1/1809134/-White-supremacist-loving-Iowa-Republican-lashes-out-when-asked-about-loving-white-supremacists <p><a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/01/steve-king-protests-speech-iowa-forum-greater-des-moines-partnership/1843656002/" target="_blank" title="">At a candidate forum sponsored by the Greater Des Moines Partnership</a><span>, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) stood in front of a small group of people to take questions. A young man quoted from the final statement posted on Gab by the terrorist Robert Bowers, the man accused of murdering 11 Jewish parishioners at the Tree of Life Synagogue this past Saturday.</span></p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Man</strong>: The terrorist who committed this crime, he was quoted as saying,”They bring invaders in that kill our people, I can’t sit back and watch our people get slaughtered.” You, Steve King, have been quoted as saying, “We can’t restore our civilization with other people’s babies.”</p> </blockquote> <p>It’s at this point that King gets super stressed-out super fast, telling the man he’s “crossed the line,” and calling him “an ambusher.” The man very calmly says he wanted to ask King to explain what distinguishes King’s ideology from Bowers’. </p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) antisemitic Elections GunControl Iowa Racism RobertBowers SteveKing TreeofLife WhiteSupremacist _1809134 Thu, 01 Nov 2018 19:52:19 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/1/1809097/-Jewish-doctor-treating-Pittsburgh-shooter-My-job-isn-t-to-judge-him-my-job-is-to-care-for-him <p>When 46-year-old Robert Bowers rushed into the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue and <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/28/1807866/-11-killed-in-Pittsburgh-synagogue-massacre-identified-including-97-year-old-woman" target="_blank" title="">killed 11 people, wounding six others</a>—including four police officers—he was taken into custody badly hurt. Authorities brought him to A<span>llegheny General Hospital, where he was treated by a team of doctors—including doctors who identify as Jewish. Britain’s Channel 4 interviewed the president of Allegheny, Jeffrey J. Cohen, about Bowers.</span></p> <blockquote> <p><span><strong>Cohen</strong>: Yesterday, I went up to meet him. I was just curious about, who is this guy? And quite honestly, he’s just a guy. People say he’s evil, he’s this ... he’s some mother’s son. And how did he get from that to where he is today? That’s going to be a large debate that we have to wrestle with as a society.</span></p> <p><span><strong>Reporter</strong>: Effectively, you were sort of at the head of a team that saved his life. </span></p> <p><span><strong>Cohen: </strong>It may be a bit of an overstatement, but yes. He was severely injured and he got great care here. Many of the people that attended to him were Jewish. And they’re heroes. They did like the cops did; they did their job. They went and they confronted the problem, and they were true to their core beliefs, and I’m very proud of them. </span></p> <p><span><strong>Reporter</strong>: And as a doctor, but also a parishioner of the synagogue, and you looked into his eyes, what did you see?</span></p> <p><span><strong>Cohen: </strong> I just looked at him and he’s like a lot of people that come in here. They’re scared, they’re confused. They don’t quite understand it. But once again, my job isn’t to judge him. Other people give that—that’s a pretty awesome responsibility. My job is to take care of him. </span></p> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) AlleghenyGeneralHospital Antisemitism DonaldTrump GunControl HateSpeech Honor jeffreycohen Jewish Kindness RobertBowers _1809097 Thu, 01 Nov 2018 18:07:06 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/11/1/1809061/-Republican-coward-dodges-questions-about-his-investment-in-website-that-inspired-Pittsburgh-shooter <p>Gab is an <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/28/1807909/-What-is-Gab-Everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-breeding-ground-for-the-alt-right" target="_blank" title="">“alternative” social media site that promises unfettered “free speech,”</a> and while it says that calls to violence are prohibited, the site has been filled with the kind of hate speech that seems to have fueled (and was posted by) suspected Tree of Life Synagogue mass-murderer Robert Bowers. His trajectory from  simply a dumb anti-Semite to a mass-murdering domestic terrorist was covered in his Gab posts. North Carolina Republican State Sen. Dan Bishop has come under fire in the last couple of days for having invested in Gab <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/5/4/1762044/-Another-white-supremacist-found-guilty-in-attack-of-black-man-during-Charlottesville-rally" target="_blank" title="">in the days following the Charlottesville</a>, Virginia, white supremacist rally. In the days following the mass-murder of Jews in Pittsburgh, the <em>Daily Mail </em>has reminded the public of Dan Bishop’s <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6333887/Social-network-used-Pittsburgh-synagogue-shooter-spew-hate-funded-Republican-politician.html?ito=social-twitter_dailymailus" target="_blank" title="">self-aggrandizing freedom-of-speech stance in regards to Gab</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p><span>Dan Bishop, a state senator in North Carolina who is up for re-election next week, boasted in August 2017 that he had backed the site because he was 'about done with SF [San Francisco] thought police tech giants.'</span></p> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) Antisemitism BLM Charlottesville ConspiracyTheory DanBishop DonaldTrump Gab NorthCarolina Pittsburgh Propaganda Racism Recommended SocialMedia TreeofLife _1809061 Thu, 01 Nov 2018 16:03:39 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/10/31/1808874/-Remember-how-gifting-telecoms-2-bil-was-supposed-to-speed-up-infrastructure-buildout-About-that <p>You may have missed it, but a couple of weeks ago the FCC Verizon shill Ajit Pai and his Republican cronies voted to steal away an estimated <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/9/26/1798955/-Trump-s-FCC-votes-to-take-about-2-billion-from-cities-and-towns-and-give-it-to-cable-companies" target="_blank" title="">$2 billion from municipalities and states by limiting the amount they could charge telecom companies</a>, like Verizon, to build out their wireless 5G high-speed services. Telecoms, having reneged on tax-subsidized promises to robustly build out America’s high-speed broadband access, are now promising that all of those problems will disappear with over-hyped 5G wireless services. Pai and his two other Republican dunces on the FCC argued that in ripping off local coffers by limiting how much localities could charge for the permits to<span> basically attach small radios to existing structures such as telephone poles to transmit signals, </span>companies like Verizon and AT&amp;T would use those savings to build out their 5G infrastructures! <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/10/fccs-2-billion-giveaway-to-carriers-wont-speed-up-verizons-5g-deployment/" target="_blank" title="">About that …!</a></p> <blockquote> <p><span>But in an earnings call last week, Verizon CFO Matt Ellis told investors that the FCC decision won't have any effect on the speed of its 5G deployment. Verizon also said that it is </span><em>reducing</em><span> overall capital expenditures—despite a variety of FCC decisions, including the net neutrality repeal that the FCC </span><a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/05/title-ii-hasnt-hurt-network-investment-according-to-the-isps-themselves/" title="">claimed</a><span> would increase broadband network investment. </span></p> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) 5g AjitPai Corruption FederalCommunicationsCommission Infrastructure Monopoly Scam Telecoms Verizon _1808874 Wed, 31 Oct 2018 22:10:26 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/10/31/1808838/-Man-who-refurbished-Tennessee-s-electric-chair-worries-it-will-not-work-correctly-tomorrow <p>After appeals and protests have failed to get Governor Bill Haslam of Tennessee to commute the death penalty sentence of Edmund Zagorski, Zagorski is set to be killed by electrocution Thursday, November 1, 2018. This also follows a <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2018/10/29/edmund-zagorski-execution-temporary-restraining-order/1813993002/" target="_blank">ruling by </a><span><a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2018/10/29/edmund-zagorski-execution-temporary-restraining-order/1813993002/" target="_blank">U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger</a> that compels Tennessee prison officials to provide a phone to Zagorski’s attorney before and during the execution. </span>The man who worked on refurbishing the exact electric chair that is set to be used tomorrow tells the Associated Press that he worries the chair will not work correctly. <span>Fred Leuchter, once named “Mr. Death” because of his involvement in creating and working on death penalty methods for over half the states in America, worked on the electric chair that Tennessee will be using <a href="https://apnews.com/c1aa2c9828be4b9fb6bffc2b88d04242" target="_blank">as a part of its refurbishing back in 1988.</a></span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) DeathPenalty electricchair FredLeuchter Haslam humane LethalInjection Tennessee zagorski _1808838 Wed, 31 Oct 2018 19:26:49 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/10/31/1808775/-The-Gulf-of-Mexico-has-had-an-oil-spill-secretly-creating-an-enormous-natural-disaster-for-14-years <p>On Sept. 15, 2004, Hurricane Ivan, traveling through the Gulf of Mexico, toppled a Taylor Energy Company oil platform into the water. As columnist <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/fl-op-col-fred-grimm-gulf-oil-spill-20181025-story.html" target="_blank" title="">Fred Grimm notes</a> in a piece in the <em>South Florida Sun Sentinel</em>, the results of the collapse included “nine ... holes belching oil and gas” that were “deemed too dangerous to plug.”<em> </em>Taylor Energy has spent the last 14 years telling everyone that just a little bit of oil has been spilling into the Gulf since then. It wasn’t until 2015 that reports filtered out via an investigation by the Associated Press that exposed the extent of the <a href="https://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/04/gulf_oil_spill_hidden_2004.html" target="_blank" title="">growing environmental disaster.</a></p> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="IN SPACE - SEPTEMBER 12: Hurricane Ivan is pictured over the Caribbean in this NOAA satellite image taken at 1:45 pm Eastern Daylight Time September 12, 2004. Ivan, a category 5 hurricane, is expected to hit Cuba on Monday according to forecasts. (Photo by NOAA via Getty Images)" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/605976/large/GettyImages-51297236.jpg?1541004044" title="IN SPACE - SEPTEMBER 12: Hurricane Ivan is pictured over the Caribbean in this NOAA satellite image taken at 1:45 pm Eastern Daylight Time September 12, 2004. Ivan, a category 5 hurricane, is expected to hit Cuba on Monday according to forecasts. (Photo by NOAA via Getty Images)"> <figcaption>Hurricane Ivan, 2004</figcaption> </figure> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <blockquote> <p><span>An Associated Press investigation has revealed evidence that the spill is far worse than what Taylor -- or the government -- have publicly reported during their secretive, and costly, effort to halt the leak. Presented with AP's findings, that the sheen recently averaged about 91 gallons of oil per day across eight square miles, the Coast Guard provided a new leak estimate that is about 20 times greater than one recently touted by the company.</span></p> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Walter Einenkel) DeepwaterHorizon Disaster Environment FossilFuel Gulf OffshoreDrilling Oil Pollution _1808775 Wed, 31 Oct 2018 17:22:05 +0000