March 23, 2017

How far-right media took over American public debate

In a time where so much is happening, this article does a good job of reminding us how much right wing talk radio, Fox NC, and right wing internet media hurts American society (and prevents investigations, advances Gorsuch, and smears Obama).

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/trolling-scholars-debunk-the-idea-that-the-alt-rights-trolls-have-magic-powers

March 22, 2017

Democrats gather in DC this week to plot the resistance

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/21/democratic-donors-gather-in-dnc-to-plot-the-resistance.html

The Democratic Party’s top officials will meet with some of their wealthiest donors in Washington, D.C., this week to plot the Trump resistance, according to documents obtained by The Daily Beast.
The chairs of the Democratic National Committee and the party’s House and Senate campaign arms will huddle with activists, operatives, and deep-pocketed Democratic financiers at a biannual conference hosted by the Democracy Alliance, a leading left-wing donor collaborative at Washington’s ritzy Mandarin Oriental hotel.

March 20, 2017

Donate to Steve King's opponents, not the DCCC? (Blue America email -comments?)

I just got the following email from Blue America. Is this right?!!!?!

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Maybe you got an email filled with outrage over Steve King's latest racist statement this week. The DCCC sent one out, asking for contributions. There's a problem with that though. Steve King isn't just some loud-mouthed crackpot and bigot; he's an actual congressman from western Iowa. And, the DCCC won't use the contributions they solicit to beat Republican Steve King. They'll waste the contributions trying to elect even more Blue Dog and New Dem garbage-crats like Josh Gottheimer (NJ) and Tom O'Halleran (AZ), on whom they spent $3.5 million and $2.6 million, respectively.

"I’ve learned that there are great people in the 4th District who are hungry for a representative who will focus on solutions, not division. During my campaign, I talked about ways we can improve the lives of all our neighbors. I know that this battle won’t be easy, but deeply believe it is one worth fighting and one that we can win IF I can get the support I need. - Kim Weaver
Last year there was a progressive Democrat running against Steve King, the O'Brien County Democratic Party chairwoman, Kim Weaver. The DCCC collected a lot of money by sending out e-mails telling Democrats how horrible Steve King is back then, too. How much of the money collected for IA-04 did the DCCC give Kim? ZERO. They did absolutely nothing to help her at all.

The thing is, even without any help from the DCCC, Kim earned more votes than Hillary Clinton in every single county in IA-04-- all 39 of them-- and even won the biggest county in the district! It's worth noting here that Kim out-performed Chuck Schumer's handpicked corporate conservative Senate candidate, Patty Judge, in all 39 counties as well.

This year Kim is taking on King again. And what is the DCCC doing? You probably guessed it-- sending out more letters demonizing King and collecting cash to use to elect more conservaDems while offering nothing at all to Kim Weaver. We're sick of it.

Blue America endorsed Kim this week and we're asking our members to contribute directly to her campaign.

Kim told us that "the most disappointing aspect of the campaign was being told time and again that although I was a 'great candidate,' various organizations declined to support me because I wasn’t 'viable.' Most organizations didn’t even respond to my applications for assistance. Additionally, whenever my opponent would say some new horrific thing, I would get emails after emails from organizations asking for money to 'help defeat Steve King.' Not a single one of those organizations passed along any of that support. King was a big money maker for them, and it appears that he still is."

The DCCC doesn't want to understand that it takes real effort and investment over time to defeat entrenched incumbents like King. It's beyond their scope of endeavor, which is why the House Democrats have hemorrhaged dozens and dozens of members since Rahm Emanuel set his reactionary strategic and tactical ideas into stone.

2018 is the greatest opportunity we have to defeat Republicans in Congress in decades. But, please, when you want to defeat a Steve King, contribute directly to his Democratic opponent, Kim Weaver. And when you want to defeat a Darrell Issa or a Lamar Smith, donate to Doug Applegate or Tom Wakely, and not to a DCCC that will continue to waste those contributions on their own questionable agenda.

March 19, 2017

(Factchecking!) 'That's not how it works': Trump's grasp of Nato questioned

A brilliant headline from the Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/18/trump-merkel-nato-germany-owe-money-tweet

All US media should use this format for reporting on Trump's distracting tweets.

State the real issue first
Note the distracting tactics
Come back to the real issue.


Here the real issue is that Trump doesn't understand NATO. Thank you, Guardian!!

March 19, 2017

Pete Sessions (R-TX, Dallas) faces 2,000 angry constituents at town hall

https://www.texastribune.org/2017/03/18/us-rep-pete-sessions-faces-rowdy-town-hall/

Addressing over 2,000 people, Sessions was frequently drowned out by boos and angry outbursts from the audience. Many of his answers were not entirely audible due to the crowd’s reaction as he began to speak.

“We are going to make the changes, we are going to pass the bill and we are going to repeal Obamacare,” Sessions said at one point, a declaration that gave way to sustained chants of “Vote him out!”

March 18, 2017

Ugh. D senators to introduce Gorsuch (!!) -- Colorado residents, speak up

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/neil-gorsuch-scotus-hearing-michael-bennet-cory-gardner-236197

"Gorsuch, a Denver native, will be introduced by both Colorado senators — Michael Bennet, a Democrat, and Cory Gardner, a Republican — before he delivers his opening testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. It’s long been tradition that a nominee’s home-state senators give the introduction during the high-profile confirmation hearings."

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Coloradans, please contact your Senators - this is crazy. As Robert Reich said today
https://twitter.com/RBReich/status/842807973713928193
"Activism works. Here's a portion of an email I received this morning from a Kansas politician who left the Republican Party:
'These town halls are taking a toll on [..] members of congress..."

Please call and send letters! These senators need a backbone.

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And on Gorsuch
http://www.salon.com/2017/03/15/supreme-court-nominee-neil-gorsuch-has-close-ties-to-conservative-megadonor-activist-philip-anschutz/
Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch has close ties to conservative megadonor activist Philip Anschutz
Gorsuch has frequently spoken at Anschultz’s lavish retreats at his 60-square-mile Eagles Nest Ranch. Similarly, Gorsuch shares a limited-liability company with two of Anschultz’s “lieutenants,” the Times notes, with the three of them co-owning a 40-acre property in the Colorado mountains.

March 15, 2017

Maddow's show and tax release tonight is bad for DJT and good for Americans

Yes, not much info was released. But it gets the tax issue back into the news - bigly. It's all anyone will talk about tomorrow. Rachel did a good job explaining how this return was only the tip of the iceberg and we need to know more.

As for distractions -- they don't matter much, I think. Distraction for one news cycle from healthcare isn't a big deal. And the GOP is screwed with the healthcare bill no matter how it turns out.
Taxes may distract from Comey tomorrow, and may distract from the EO aimed at destroying government. But all in all, it's worth it to get the nation talking about taxes again.

Let's just all hope that the broadcast media tomorrow talks about the vital need America has for Trump's detailed tax returns and financial entanglements. If the dominant story tomorrow is about the number of dollars of taxes paid I'm going to despair about our country again.

March 14, 2017

Breitbart: Paul Ryan will take the fall for Trumpcare

Is Breitbart/Bannon trying to bring down Paul Ryan?
Kevin Drum believes so.

http://m.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/03/i-have-theory-about-steve-bannon-and-ahca



They are pinning the failure of Trumpcare on Ryan.

And Breitbart just released an old recording of Ryan dissing Trump. Why wait till today to release it unless the goal is to damage Ryan?


Too bad Trumpcare is backed by Trump. Trump has been talking about his Trumpy Trumpcare bill and Trumpcare comes from Heritage who Trump is in bed with. Trumpcare Trumpcare Trumpcare. The White House is not going to redirect this bill onto others.

March 13, 2017

Preet Bharara hints he was investigating Trump when fired

https://twitter.com/PreetBharara/status/841000145630175232

Bharara today:
"By the way, now I know what the Moreland Commission must have felt like."

https://twitter.com/DavidCornDC/status/841019736519524353
And David Corn (from Mother Jones):
"Wow. Moreland Commission was created by Cuomo to probe NYS corruption & then disbanded by him. Is Bharara implying he was probing Trump?"

As Josh Marshall said, I'm going to wait for some more meat on this bone. But the only conclusion possible is that Bharara is hinting he was investigating Trump when fired.

March 9, 2017

Democracy dying - CNN hires Trump aide

Jeff Zucker, CNN CEO, cares only about his bottom line, not America.

If Trump and the GOP will be stopped at all, it will be because the media gets through to the GOP base. The right-wing crazy media is in bed with the GOP. The only hope for America is CNN and the other networks.

And today, CNN showed their true colors. They don't care about the truth, they only care about making nice with the President to keep goosing CNN's ratings.

"Jason Miller, a former top aide to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and his transition team, is joining CNN as a paid contributor, effective today, POLITICO confirmed."
http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2017/03/former-top-trump-aide-joins-cnn-as-contributor-235820

https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/839494323477557248


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I can't think of any more depressing news that I've heard since the inauguration. If you have the ability, go to CNN's offices and protest. This news is vitally important.