Trump to award Medal of Freedom to economist Arthur Laffer

Source: The Hill

President Trump will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, to economist Arthur Laffer, the White House announced Friday.

The president will honor Laffer on June 19 for his contributions to economic policy. The White House described Laffer as "one of the most influential economists in American history" in announcing the award.

Laffer championed supply-side economics and gained prominence serving as a top adviser to then-President Reagan. He established what is known as the "Laffer Curve," which showed that increases in tax rates will eventually cause government revenue to decrease at a certain point. The model has been cited to argue for the benefits of tax cuts.

...

Laffer co-wrote a book published last year titled "Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy." His co-author was Stephen Moore, who earlier this year was nominated to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors but withdrew amid bipartisan opposition from senators.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/446400-trump-to-award-medal-of-freedom-to-economist-arthur-laffer?__twitter_impression=true

JFC, this pastor is a demon!

Ex-W.Va. official who made racist Michelle Obama remark sentenced to prison

Source: The Hill

A former West Virginia official who gained notoriety after making a racist remark about former first lady Michelle Obama was sentenced to prison this week after pleading guilty to embezzling federal disaster funds.

Pamela Taylor, who served as the Clay County development director, was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison and two months of house arrest, the local U.S. attorney's office announced Thursday. She was also fined $10,000.

Taylor pleaded guilty in February to taking more than $18,000 in relief benefits meant to help people whose homes were damaged in flooding in 2016. She registered for the benefits, saying that her home was damaged. Prosecutors later said it was discovered that her home was not damaged.

In her plea agreement, Taylor also agreed to pay $18,149.04 in restitution. Prosecutors said Thursday that she has paid the money.

Read more: https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/446362-ex-wva-official-who-made-racist-michelle-obama-remark-sentenced?__twitter_impression=true

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Clinic can continue to provide abortions in Missouri, judge rules

Source: CNN

(CNN)Abortion services can continue for now in Missouri after a judge ruled against the state, which had refused to renew Planned Parenthood's license to continue providing the procedure. The matter will be heard in court again on June 4.

If the clinic had to stop providing abortion services, Missouri would have been the first state in the nation to block the procedure in more than 45 years.

A lawsuit against the state was filed earlier this week by Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, which has provided abortions for more than two decades and is the last remaining clinic to do so in Missouri. Its license to continue offering abortions was set to expire Friday, and the organization argued that withholding the license amounted to another tactic in a years-long effort to "restrict abortion access and deny Missourians their right to choose abortion."

The lawsuit was brought against Missouri Gov. Michael Parson and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, which administers the license the clinic needed. It sought a temporary restraining order against the state, in order to avoid the disruption of services.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/31/health/missouri-abortion-planned-parenthood-bn/index.html?utm_content=2019-05-31T18%3A12%3A00&utm_term=link&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twCNN

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Hello Blood: The Dance of Miscarriage

The baby stayed in the desert. I myself stayed in darkness for a long time.



When the small body stopped forming and came out of me, I put it into a yogurt container and drove out to the desert. We placed it on the ground between a saguaro, an ocotillo, and a barrel cactus, and made a circle around the form with small stones. I intentionally left an opening to allow its spirit—if such a thing existed—to get out.

The blood had started at 5 a.m. I went to the bathroom and there it was, just like a period. Just like the end of a sentence. Only it hadn’t been a sentence, it had been a joy, and now, I was pretty certain, it was ending. I crawled back into bed. “I’m bleeding,” I told my partner.

We got pregnant easily, on the second try, in June. By August it was real. At the end of a cross-country drive from Pennsylvania, where we’d been visiting my parents, we took a pregnancy test in a South Dakota motel. We went to Mount Rushmore and looked at the white men’s heads, but all I could think about was the beautiful creature inside me. I already had a name picked out.

In September I went on a six-day backpacking trip in Yosemite with a friend. Because of the nausea, I couldn’t eat much of what we’d packed. But somehow we hiked at high altitudes and lounged aside glacial lakes. On an external hard drive somewhere there exists a digital photograph of me in an alpine meadow wearing shorts and a maroon t-shirt with my hand on my belly. I can still conjure the anticipatory bliss of that moment.

https://www.guernicamag.com/hello-blood-the-dance-of-miscarriage/

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton to form film and TV production company

Source: The Guardian

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton are to form a film and TV company to produce female-centric content. Bloomberg and the Hollywood Reporter have confirmed that the pair are in talks with studios about “a pipeline of programmes” aimed at influencing culture and society now that Hillary Clinton is out of politics.

Last August the former Democratic presidential candidate, secretary of state and first lady signed a deal to executive produce The Women’s Hour, a Steven Spielberg-produced series about the suffrage movement.

Former president Barack Obama recently founded a film and TV production company called Higher Ground with his wife, Michelle. The outfit is partnering with Netflix and last month released its initial slate of seven projects, also with the stated ambition of altering society.

“Touching on issues of race and class, democracy and civil rights, and much more,” said Obama, “we believe each of these productions won’t just entertain, but will educate, connect and inspire us all.”

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/may/31/hillary-clinton-chelsea-clinton-tv-production-company?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_gu&utm_medium=&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1559302250

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