March 17, 2016

Nominating a Presidential Candidate Under Active FBI Investigation Is An Incredibly Risky Gamble

CURRENT AFFAIRS
March 14, 2016

Nominating a Presidential Candidate Under Active FBI Investigation Is An Incredibly Risky Gamble
by Nathan J. Robinson

Nathan J. Robinson is a Social Policy PhD student at Harvard University, as well as an attorney and children's book author. He is the editor of Current Affairs.

So nobody should care about the damned emails. Clinton’s misdeed should be an internal agency matter, with procedures fixed in the future. In terms of its significance to human wellbeing, the issue is just as trivial as Bernie Sanders says it is. Clinton is right about overclassification, and it’s a just a shame she only became interested in the problem when it began to threaten her personally.

Yet now we have created a legal structure in which the mishandling of totally harmless classified information is treated akin to terrorism, unless Clinton is treated as being at serious risk of prosecution, we essentially acknowledge the nonexistence of the rule of law. There are two possibilities here: either we trust the Obama administration to treat this case like any other, in which case (given the government’s paranoia, liberal deployment of the Espionage Act, and history of other excessive prosecutions) Clinton has a massive looming liability and nominating her would be a massive gamble. Or we believe that, while the government will eagerly make mountains out of molehills for minor Naval reservists, Hillary Clinton will receive the benefit of the doubt due to the political necessity of ensuring she becomes the Democratic nominee and keeps Trump out of the White House. And that would require us to accept some very troubling conclusions about the politicized nature of the American justice system.

In a world where we expected the law to be equally applied to all, Democrats should be panicking right now over the status of the investigations against Clinton and the Clinton campaign’s troubling responses. The Washington Post has documented numerous misstatements and evasions made by Clinton around the emails, concluding that “it appears Clinton often used highly technical language to obscure the salient fact that her private email setup was highly unusual and flouted existing regulations.” All of this should be making Democrats panic, and sending them scrambling to find a non-indictable nominee.

But that’s not happening, for a very obvious reason. Nobody seriously believes the law would be applied to Clinton with the same pitiless irrationality as it was to Bryan Nishimura. Yet that leaves us with a stark choice: either treat the Clinton scandal as troubling and a major campaign issue, or acknowledge that we are entrusting an oligarchical justice system to make the issue go away for Clinton in a way it wouldn’t for anyone else. Neither choice should leave Democrats comfortable. ?

https://www.currentaffairs.org/2016/03/nominating-a-presidential-candidate-under-active-fbi-investigation-is-an-incredibly-risky-gamble

March 17, 2016

"Running Clinton against Trump is a disastrous, suicidal proposition." Current Affairs article

CURRENT AFFAIRS
February 23, 2016

Unless the Democrats Run Sanders, A Trump Nomination Means a Trump Presidency
Democrats need to seriously and pragmatically assess their strategy for defeating Trump. A Clinton run would be disastrous; Bernie Sanders is their only hope.
by Nathan J. Robinson

Nathan J. Robinson is a Social Policy PhD student at Harvard University, as well as an attorney and children's book author. He is the editor of Current Affairs.



With Donald Trump looking increasingly likely to actually be the Republican nominee for President, it’s long past time for the Democrats to start working on a pragmatic strategy to defeat him. Months of complacent, wishful insistences that Trump will disappear have proven false, and with a firm commanding lead in polls and several major primary victories, predictions are increasingly favoring Trump to win the nomination. If Democrats honestly believe, as they say they do, that Trump poses a serious threat to the wellbeing of the country and the lives of minority citizens, that means doing everything possible to keep him out of office. To do that will require them to very quickly unite around a single goal, albeit a counterintuitive one: they must make absolutely sure that Bernie Sanders is the Democratic nominee for President. From a purely pragmatic standpoint, running Clinton against Trump is a disastrous, suicidal proposition.

Trumps campaigning style makes Hillary Clinton Donald Trump’s dream opponent. She gives him an endless amount to work with. The emails, Benghazi, Whitewater, Iraq, the Lewinsky scandal, Chinagate, Travelgate, the missing law firm records, Jeffrey Epstein, Kissinger, Marc Rich, Haiti, Clinton Foundation tax errors, Clinton Foundation conflicts of interest, “We were broke when we left the White House,” Goldman Sachs… There is enough material in Hillary Clinton’s background for Donald Trump to run with six times over.

It’s easy to see that Trump has every single advantage. Because the Republican primary will be over, he can come at her from both right and left as he pleases. As the candidate who thundered against the Iraq War at the Republican debate, he can taunt Clinton over her support for it. He will paint her as a member of the corrupt political establishment, and will even offer proof: “Well, I know you can buy politicians, because I bought Senator Clinton. I gave her money, she came to my wedding.” He can make it appear that Hillary Clinton can be bought, that he can’t, and that he is in charge. It’s also hard to defend against, because it appears to be partly true. Any denial looks like a lie, thus making Hillary’s situation look even worse. And then, when she stumbles, he will mock her as incompetent.

One can already imagine the monologue:

“She lies so much. Everything she says is a lie. I’ve never seen someone who lies so much in my life. Let me tell you three lies she’s told. She made up a story about how she was ducking sniper fire! There was no sniper fire. She made it up! How do you forget a thing like that? She said she was named after Sir Edmund Hillary, the guy who climbed Mount Everest. He hadn’t even climbed it when she was born! Total lie! She lied about the emails, of course, as we all know, and is probably going to be indicted. You know she said there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq! It was a lie! Thousands of American soldiers are dead because of her. Not only does she lie, her lies kill people. That’s four lies, I said I’d give you three. You can’t even count them. You want to go on PolitiFact, see how many lies she has? It takes you an hour to read them all! In fact, they ask her, she doesn’t even say she hasn’t lied. They asked her straight up, she says she usually tries to tell the truth! Ooooh, she tries! Come on! This is a person, every single word out of her mouth is a lie. Nobody trusts her. Check the polls, nobody trusts her. Huge liar.”

The full article is at:
http://static.currentaffairs.org/2016/02/unless-the-democrats-nominate-sanders-a-trump-nomination-means-a-trump-presidency

March 15, 2016

Bernie Sanders may be in position to pull off 2 more big upsets against Hillary Clinton

Source: Yahoo News

Tue, Mar 15, 2016, 12:45pm EDT

One week ago, Sen. Bernie Sanders pulled off a seemingly impossible victory over Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

He's now potentially in position to pull off more than one such upset on Tuesday.

Polling in Ohio showed that Clinton held as much as a 30-point lead just before last week's Michigan primary, while she was shown to have a lead of more than 40 points in Illinois in another poll.

But since the shocking result in Michigan, where Clinton narrowly lost to Sanders despite entering with a 20-point lead in the polls, Clinton's edge in Ohio has narrowed to within 10 points, while Sanders has even managed to pull ahead of Clinton in one Illinois poll.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/bernie-sanders-may-position-pull-153919803.html

Read more: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/bernie-sanders-may-position-pull-153919803.html

March 15, 2016

MUST SEE VIDEO: Bernie Sanders Flash Mob #FEELTHEBERN

March 15, 2016

Who Wall Street Likes For President: Kasich 35% Clinton 22% Trump 14% Sanders 0%

In a result at odds with national polls, the latest CNBC Fed survey of economists, fund managers and analysts finds Ohio Gov. John Kasich is viewed as having the best policies for the economy and for Wall Street.

A 42 percent plurality says a Kasich presidency would be best for the U.S. economy, followed by 16 percent choosing Democrat Hillary Clinton and 13 percent picking real estate developer Donald Trump. Not a single respondent chose Clinton's Democratic rival Bernie Sanders.


"I am favoring Kasich because of his willingness to work across the aisle, which I believe the stock market will be more comfortable with,'' said one of the 42 respondents. The responses to the political questions were pledged to be kept anonymous.

Kasich also was chosen as the best candidate for the stock market with support from 35 percent of respondents. Clinton followed with 22 percent and Trump was again third with 14 percent. Sanders received no votes and Cruz and Rubio were in the middle of the pack.


http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/wall-street-likes-kasich-as-president-survey-finds/ar-AAgLzpx?li=BBnbfcL

March 15, 2016

National Small Penis Association Endorses Trump! Really. This is true!

2 inches + the 2nd Amendment = BIG MAN

TRUMP 2016

After much soul searching and resolute Christian prayer, the National Small Penis Association’s Executive Council has decided to endorse Donald Trump for President for 2016. While we are still grieving for Jeb! Bush’s defunct Presidential bid, we understand we must not waver in our efforts to take our country back and to bolster the self esteem of White men who have small penises.

We will never forget for one moment the debt we will always owe Jeb! for his landmark role as Governor of Florida in introducing Stand Your Ground legislation to America, which emboldened insecure, small penised White men who are disappointed with the way their lives turned out to heedlessly initiate unwarranted confrontations with unarmed, young black men to show them who is boss! However, we realize it is time to move on, no matter how painful it may be to continue this journey without Jeb!, to sustain our fight.

After a thorough vetting of all the remaining candidates (with the exception of the large penised Ben Carson), we have selected Donald Trump as our new standard-bearer. Mr. Trump huuuuuugely captures the ethos of the National Small Penis Association and is the only man we feel who is capable of taking Jeb!’s place in our movement. Let’s make America great again and bring all small penised White men out of the shadows by placing pointlessly, excessively powerful firearms in their hands!





https://nationalsmallpenisassociation.com/trump-2016/

March 15, 2016

Bernie Sanders Sends Vegan Thugs to Attack Peace-Loving Nazis

Sanders Sends Vegan Thugs to Attack Peace-Loving Nazis
By Andy Borowitz


CINCINNATI (The Borowitz Report)—Republican front-runner Donald Trump was crying foul on Monday after Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders allegedly dispatched an army of vegan thugs to attack a rally of peace-loving Nazis in Cincinnati.

According to Trump, he had begun to address a group of “orderly and civil Nazis” at a downtown arena when his audience was suddenly set upon by an unruly mob of angry vegans, many menacingly clad in Birkenstocks and sustainable garments.

The Sanders supporters, singing an alarmingly militant version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “America,” marched into the arena and began “intimidating and threatening” the Nazis, Trump said.

“Make no mistake about who is starting the violence at these rallies,” Trump said. “It’s the vegans.”

Carol Foyler, a Nazi from suburban Cincinnati, said that she feared for her life when one of the vegans “ripped a Trump sign” from her hands and “tried to recycle it.”

Harland Dorrinson, a Kentucky Nazi who drove to Ohio to hear Trump speak, said he would never have attended the rally if he had known “there would be troublemaking vegans there.”

“One of them tried to swing an NPR tote bag at my head,” the terrified Nazi said.

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/sanders-sends-vegan-thugs-to-attack-peace-loving-nazis?mbid=nl_160314_Borowitz&CNDID=24401402&spMailingID=8663445&spUserID=MTA5MjQwMTg3ODAzS0&spJobID=881573255&spReportId=ODgxNTczMjU1S0

March 14, 2016

Donald Trump...A .sneering and snarling coward: Trump’s Free Speech Was Not Violated

Back in August, Donald Trump had strong words for Bernie Sanders after a Black Lives Matter protest interrupted a Sanders rally. Trump said, “I would never give up my microphone. I thought that was disgusting.” He went on to say, “That will never happen with me…I don’t know if I’ll do the fighting myself, or if other people will, but that was a disgrace. I felt badly for him, but it showed that he’s weak.”

On Friday night, Trump had the chance to show how he would react to a Black Lives Matter protest. He tucked his tail between his legs and scurried back to his jet. At least Sanders had stayed on the stage.

In the wake of the protest at Trump’s arena event, many on the Right have been quick to defend Trump as some kind of victim. This is spurious nonsense of the worst kind. Trump picked a fight, the fight came to him, and he cowered.

For all his big talk, when the protests came he folded his tent and went home. These were chickens coming home to roost for him. For months we have seen how Trump deals with individual protesters. While most politicians politely listen to protestors and then respond, usually with a preface about how the right to protest is uniquely American, Trump took a different approach. He said “get ‘em out.” He said that in the good old days those kind of people got “roughed up.” He said he would pay the legal fees of his supporters who committed acts of violence.

The result of this bravado has indeed been violence. Last week, a Trump supporter sucker-punched a black protester as police led him peacefully out of the arena. Is there any doubt that the man who threw that punch (who has since been arrested) thought he was doing Trump’s bidding? Wasn’t he doing exactly what that sneering and snarling coward, protected by his Secret Service detail, had urged him to do? Trump is apparently looking into paying his thug’s legal fees. We’ll see if he keeps his word on that.

Trump’s Free Speech Was Not Violated


Free speech is a competition. While we do not have the right to silence anybody, we do have the right to speak more loudly and with greater moral authority than they do. Trump advertised a rally with tens of thousands of tickets available. Nowhere in the online form to buy tickets did it say attendees must respect Trump or quietly listen to him. In fact, at an arena rally for Trump I attended in New Hampshire, when a woman yelled out “Ted Cruz is a pussy,” she was not removed. Instead, the candidate trumpeted her viewpoint.

The spokesman’s appearance shows quite plainly that Trump could have appeared on that stage.

Trump’s spokesman took the stage Friday night to announce that, after consultation with authorities, Trump had cancelled his speech. The spokesman was not shouted down or assaulted. In fact, he delivered his message to a relatively quiet hall that only reacted loudly to the news that Trump would not appear. Chicago police have since said they did not advise Trump to cancel.

The spokesman’s appearance shows quite plainly that Trump could have appeared on that stage. He could have done what a leader does, and talked to the people. He could have taken the opportunity to show how, as he claims, he can unite the country and make it great again. But he didn’t. He cancelled the event rather than appear in front of people who were not committed acolytes.

Nobody violated Trump’s right to free speech. Those protesters have the same right, and they didn’t have access to the arena’s sound system. Free speech is a competition; it’s a marketplace of ideas. Trump took his microphone and went home. Unlike Sanders, he couldn’t take the heat. His rights weren’t violated, his ego was. But that’s how it goes. Welcome to the big leagues, Mr. Trump.

Read the complete article at:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/in-defense-of-trump%e2%80%99s-chicago-protesters/ar-AAgKSoF?li=BBnb7Kz

March 14, 2016

Hillary's recorded Senate votes for job destroying trade agreements. Just the Facts.

2003
Hillary voted FOR the
TRADE: U.S.-SINGAPORE(H.R. 2739) TRADE AGREEMENT

Votes For 66
Votes Against 32

U.S. and international labor and human rights activists long have fought to include strong and enforceable workers' rights standards, including the freedom of association, in trade agreements. The U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement negotiated by the Bush administration did not include enforceable core labor standards. The agreement also contained a new temporary guest-worker program for professional workers entering the United States from Singapore. The bill passed July 31, 2003, 66-32: Y=W; N=R (R: 44-7; D: 22-24; I: 0-1)


2004
Hillary voted FOR the
TRADE: U.S.-CHILE(H.R. 2738) TRADE AGREEMENT

Votes For 65
Votes Against 32

U.S. and international labor and human rights activists long have fought to include strong and enforceable workers' rights standards, including the freedom of association, in trade agreements. The U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement negotiated by the Bush administration did not include enforceable core labor standards. The agreement also contained a new temporary guest-worker program for professional workers entering the United States from Chile. The bill passed July 31, 2003, 65-32: Y=W; N=R (R: 43-7; D: 22-24; I: 0-1)


2006
Hillary voted FOR the
TRADE/OMAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT(S. 3569)

Votes for 58
Votes Against 35

The Oman Free Trade Agreement expands the failed model of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Like NAFTA and CAFTA, the Oman agreement does not contain adequate environmental protections or enforceable protections for such core worker rights as the freedom of association. Oman is not a democracy, and its workers are unable to form independent unions or to bargain collectively. At the same time, the agreement allows any company incorporated in Oman to sue the U.S. government, undermining the ability of state and local governments to protect public health, strong communities and the environment. The bill passed June 29 on a 60-34 vote. Y=W; N=R (R:48-5; D:11-29; I:1-0).

March 14, 2016

Bernie Sanders Music Video Check it out. It rocks!

Below are the full lyrics to ‘Bernie Bae’.

We backed Obama
From the start
We wanted change and hope
But then it fell apart
I was feeling hopeless
And so cynical
Now you’ve got me focused
Bernie you’re a miracle
Was gonna vote Hillary
She’s not feeling real to me
Won’t vote O’Malley
Honestly, who is he?
You’re so progressive, and introspective
Wanna get you elected

I’m Bern-ing up for you
It’s never gonna stop
You’re much more than a human birkenstock
Your hair’s messy and white
But you fight for civil rights
Baby we can filibuster all night
Talk Bernie to me

We both say L’chaim
to Pro Choice
You believe the middle class
deserves a great big voice
I love your dream of
income equality
It makes me want to
contribute individually
Killer Mike, Steve Wozniak
Once you feel the Bern
You can’t go back
Art Garfunkel and Cornel West
That beats Kim K. and Kanye West
Your policies on corporate greed
always bring me to my knees
Wanna feed you Ben and Jerry’s
and some Vermont cheddar cheese