Steve Katz
?@Steve_Katz

Arrivals road at #SFO shut down. #NoBanNoWall



https://twitter.com/Steve_Katz/status/825494397965869056

Paul Ryan Gets Added to Wikipedia Page on Spineless Animals (Invertebrates)

http://www.politicususa.com/2017/01/28/paul-ryan-added-wikipedia-page-spineless-animals-invertebrates.html



It isn’t as if we didn’t know it already, but Paul Ryan has joined the ranks of invertebrates, those critters a lacking a vertebral column – you know, like worms. The Wikipedia page saw the addition made and was first spotted by BuzzFeed’s Alp Ozcelik.



Wikipedia notes the characteristics of invertebrates:

The trait that is common to all invertebrates is the absence of a vertebral column (backbone): this creates a distinction between invertebrates and vertebrates. The distinction is one of convenience only; it is not based on any clear biologically homologous trait, any more than the common trait of having wings functionally unites insects, bats, and birds, or than not having wings unites tortoises, snails and sponges. Being animals, invertebrates are heterotrophs, and require sustenance in the form of the consumption of other organisms. With a few exceptions, such as the Porifera, invertebrates generally have bodies composed of differentiated tissues. There is also typically a digestive chamber with one or two openings to the exterior.

It’s not just rank-and file Republicans trying to duck the issue. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) hasn’t said a peep. His counterpart, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), is one of the handful who did respond to Trump’s action ― by supporting it, while simultaneously saying America is a “compassionate” nation.

“Our number one responsibility is to protect the homeland. We are a compassionate nation, and I support the refugee resettlement program, but it’s time to reevaluate and strengthen the visa vetting process,” Ryan said. “This is why we passed bipartisan legislation in the wake of the Paris attacks to pause the intake of refugees. President Trump is right to make sure we are doing everything possible to know exactly who is entering our country.”

It was just months ago that Ryan was condemning Trump’s campaign trail threat to institute a Muslim ban. Back then, when few expected Trump to win the election, Ryan said targeting immigrants didn’t reflect “America’s fundamental values.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/paul-ryan-republicans-muslim-ban_us_588cc954e4b0b065cbbc3380?fwy3sh4s8o63i8uxr&

Imagine knowing your hometown hates you so much that more than 400,000 of its residents will march to your front door just to get the message across.

There's one New Yorker who doesn't need to imagine. Last Saturday—Donald Trump's first full day as president—the scene outside his window was like the boombox scene in Say Anything..., except instead of John Cusack holding a boombox it was nearly half a million women holding signs with slogans like "Eat shit, Trump."

Trump's two primary residences—midtown Manhattan, where he has lived for thirty-something years, and downtown Washington, D.C., where he has lived for seven days—became sites of enormous, sprawling protest. The main event was in Washington: More than half a million people descended on the National Mall for the women's march. The gathering easily engulfed the size of Trump's own inauguration one day prior, with mothers and daughters and their allies traveling from as far as Iowa or San Francisco to march. It was the largest inaugural protest in U.S. history, and it generated satellite marches across the country and the world (even Antarctica!).

In fact, hating Donald Trump has long been a pastime in this city. "To native New Yorkers, he is more like a burr under the skin that has been irritating us for years," wrote Joyce Purnick back in 2011. (With equal parts fondness and disgust, she recalled the days when he was just "the neighborhood hellion" in Queens.) Trump is a New York institution in the way that Times Square or cronuts are New York institutions: irritating cultural signifiers that are both ubiquitous and roundly mocked by New Yorkers for their unbridled tackiness. Except cronuts aren’t running the country. At last weekend's march, decades of distaste culminated in massive demonstrations. Protesters thronged Fifth Avenue in such high concentration that it took 20 minutes just to walk a block. Among the more colorfully worded signs I spotted: "Eat shit, Trump"; "He's got 65,844,954 problems & this bitch is one"; "President Dump"; "I used to like Cheetos"; "Impeach the Cheat-O”; “NYC will never accept you”; and “Kiss my Muslim ass.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/donald-trump-a-president-despised-in-his-own-hometown/

White House Staff Reminded To Place Lids Firmly On Trash Cans After Steve Bannon Gets Into Garbage Again

http://www.theonion.com/article/white-house-staff-reminded-place-lids-firmly-trash-55168?utm_content=Main&utm_campaign=SF&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMarketing



WASHINGTON—Following a series of incidents that left food and used paper products scattered throughout the West Wing, White House staff were reminded Friday to place lids firmly on all trash cans after President Trump’s senior advisor, Steve Bannon, got into the garbage again. “It’s imperative that everyone securely fasten their receptacles so as not to attract Mr. Bannon by the smell of rotting fruit or moldy bread,” said White House chief usher Angella Reid, noting that Bannon was crafty and could work his way into almost any type of bin if there was even the smallest gap. “Just last week, he tracked old coffee grounds through the Roosevelt Room and then left a pile of chicken bones under the Resolute desk. This problem is getting out of hand, so if everyone steps up, it’ll mean a lot less sweeping for all of us.” Reid added that any staffers who encountered Bannon while he was feeding could attempt to shoo him away by loudly clapping their hands, but should not directly approach him, as he could be carrying some sort of disease.

Trump Says Mexico Has Taken Advantage Of U.S. ‘For Long Enough’
01/27/2017 11:01 am ET | Updated 1 hour ago

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-mexico-spat_us_588b6d71e4b0cef5cf877d08?

President Donald Trump kept up his criticism of Mexico on Friday, saying it “has taken advantage of the U.S. for long enough,” as a crisis over border security and trade deepened.

“Massive trade deficits & little help on the very weak border must change NOW!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

On Thursday, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto scrapped a planned trip to Washington to meet Trump, who has repeatedly demanded that Mexico pay for a wall on the U.S. border to halt illegal immigration.

The White House also suggested on Thursday that the United States could impose a 20 percent tax on goods from Mexico to pay for the wall, sending the peso tumbling.

A secret recording obtained by the Washington Post reveals the GOP is freaking out about its Obamacare repeal. Republicans have spent the last years boasting of repealing former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, and with Donald Trump now in the White House, that goal seemed promising for Republicans — except they haven’t decided on a replacement.

The recording of a closed-door meeting on Thursday revealed GOP lawmakers’ concern about moving forward with a quick repeal. “We’d better be sure that we’re prepared to live with the market we’ve created [with repeal],” said California Rep. Tom McClintock. “That’s going to be called Trumpcare. Republicans will own that lock, stock and barrel, and we’ll be judged in the election less than two years away.”

While Trump insisted along the campaign trail that he would both repeal and replace the healthcare plan, the GOP has yet to craft a single plan that could effectively replace the ACA. Earlier this month, the then-president-elect promised to replace Obamacare “very quickly or simultaneously, very shortly thereafter.”

There appears to be no consensus on a replacement plan, as of Trump’s Thursday visit to Philadelphia for the GOP’s three-day retreat. “We don’t want to set arbitrary deadlines on things,” said House Speaker Paul Ryan, according to Kaiser Health News. “We want to move quickly, but we want to get things right.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/secret-recording-reveals-gop-is-freaking-out-about-repealing-and-replacing-obamacare/

Hands on Wisconsin: Scott Walker has a new plan for food stamps



http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/scott-walker-parents-should-work-hours-per-month-to-get/article_005f3aa1-e2b0-5f18-8b8d-9b14cd0659ea.html

Gov. Scott Walker wants parents who receive food stamps to work at least 80 hours per month to continue to receive full benefits.

Walker made the announcement Monday in appearances around the state promoting changes dubbed “Wisconsin Works for Everyone” that he plans to make to the state’s welfare programs.

One component would require parents with school-age children living at home to work to continue to receive full benefits through the state’s food stamp program known as FoodShare.

“There will be some critics out there ... who will say somehow this is an attack on the poor. I couldn’t disagree any more,” Walker said. “If you love your neighbor ... the best way to help your neighbor is to help them get back up on their feet again and control their own destiny.”

36% approve of Trump's job performance, poll reports

http://www.ktnv.com/news/national/36-approve-of-trumps-job-performance-poll-reports

(CNN) -- President Donald Trump enters office facing low job approval ratings and skepticism from voters, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday.

The survey found that 36% of American voters approve of Trump's handling of his job after his first week, while 44% say they disapprove. By comparison, former President Barack Obama received a 59%-25% approval rating in the first Quinnipiac poll taken after his inauguration in 2009.

Asked how they expected Trump's presidency to turn out, 43% say they think Trump will be a "good" or "great" president, while 52% said they expect Trump will be "not so good" or "bad" -- with 36% expecting the worst.

The Quinnipiac poll also found that American voters are critical of Trump's personal qualities. Large majorities say that he is not level-headed or honest, and 53% say that he "does not care about aver Americans."