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Trump Tells ‘Morning Joe’ He ACTUALLY Plans To Start A Nuclear Arms Race (VIDEO)

On Thursday, Donald Trump did a huge favor for defense contractors when he tweeted that The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes. While this is obviously good news for companies involved in making a nuclear cold war (or a nuclear apocalypse) happen, it s bad news for everyone else.While some assumed that The Donald wasn t serious when he said that we need to build more nukes, he clarified to MSNBC s Morning Joe on Friday that he was very, very serious about his decision to provoke other nuclear-capable nations into building up a world-ending arsenal. Hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski spoke to the President-elect, and he informed them:Asked to respond to Trump s terrifying statement, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius explained that a nuclear arms race might be too much for even Trump s supporters: You can create space, but the space is then there to be able to negotiate, not to throw more wood on the fire. If you say, What I really do want is an arms race, you re going to lose the country. The country doesn t want another arms race. The country definitely doesn t want a nuclear arms race, but if Trump has his way our children will be learning to duck underneath their desks to shield themselves from a nuclear blast, or whatever ridiculous drill we will be forced to come up with thanks to our President s decision to enter us unto a new cold war.If you didn t consider Trump a serious threat to our nation before, you really should consider reassessing your views since on January 20 he will be the guy who can kick off exactly the scenario he tells us he wants.Watch the Morning Joe segment below:BREAKING: Trump to #morningjoe on the nukes tweet: 'Let it be an arms race' https://t.co/X9FMNtgKPK Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) December 23, 2016

Donald Trump Retweets One Of His Fans, A ‘WhiteGenocide’ Neo-Nazi Account (IMAGES)

Donald Trump woke up this morning, sleepily grabbed his phone off his nightstand, saw one of his supporters had tweeted an anti-Jeb Bush picture at him, and hit Retweet. Unfortunately, that supporter happened to be a racist neo-Nazi with the account name WhiteGenocideTM. Seriously.The love for Trump from racist xenophobes is startling, but not exactly surprising. Trump s current presidential run quite literally started with a racist screed against Mexicans, and has been sustained by a torrent of anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant smears. His rallies regularly feature his supporters beating people of color who come to protest his ugly rhetoric.You can almost feel the sense of excitement in the racist, Nazi-loving dark corners of the country: Finally, a candidate for us! And even better if you happen to be a toxic racist Trump won t hesitate to give you free publicity if you just tweet something to stoke his ego.It would have taken all of two seconds for Trump to realize that the man he was tweeting was a despicable monster. If the WhiteGenocide name based on the racist belief that white people are being systematically edged out of American society by minorities didn t give it away, the account s biographical details should have.Even worse, just scrolling through the account s tweets shows a pattern of racist filth. Some of it advocates for the deaths of political figures, particularly those on the left. Last week, for instance, he tweeted a picture of Trump in a Nazi uniform with Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders inside a gas chamber.As of this writing, and more than an hour after he retweeted this scumbag, Trump still has the tweet up, including a link to WhiteGenocideTM s account, giving him more exposure.Donald Trump has surged in the Republican polls, with even many of what we consider mainstream conservatives applauding his appalling comments. At the root of his support, however, is a thriving neo-Nazi and white supremacy contingent that believe Trump might be the leader they were looking for. Just hinting at racist ideology wasn t enough for them, they like a guy who will openly admit to it and never apologize.Certainly Trump will eventually excuse the tweet and, likely, blame a young intern for the mistake. We shouldn t let him get off the hook that easily. This is a pattern of disgraceful behavior that puts real lives at jeopardy. It is extremely telling that the most toxic, violent people in society are cozying up to Trump. Clearly, what he s saying is right up their alley. Trump may try to excuse his behavior, but his actions and followers speak louder than his words ever will.Featured image via Twitter

Watch This Bundy Militiaman Challenge Chris Christie To Sumo Match In Latest Bizarre Video

It s been more than three weeks since a group of terrorists, led by Ammon Bundy, took over Oregon s Malheur Wildlife Sanctuary. Over that relatively short period of time, it appears the militia members have gone from mentally unbalanced to certifiably insane.Over the course of the terrorist occupation, various members of the group have posted various videos of themselves, including one that shows them taking down hidden cameras that are in plain site.The militants recently posted a video of themselves angrily discovering boxes of Native American artifacts in the basement of the wildlife refuge, which is exactly where they were left by the Burns Pauite Tribe that helped categorize them.Before that there was the video of militia member Jon Ritzheimer flipping his shit over an assortment of dildos and dicks that he got in the mail.But the most recent video to be published by a member of the group is the most insane yet.It shows a militia member named Kelly Gneiting challenging New Jersey governor Chris Christie to some kind of sumo duel. Gneiting is dressed in what appears to be nothing but his underwear.The video appears to be the group s attempt at a response to statements made by Christie earlier this month. Christie said Laws matter, and Laws have to be enforced, which in right-wing crazy language clearly means Kill them all. In the video, Gneiting invites Christie to put on a diaper and slap bellies with him.There s been a lot of speculation about how the militia men have been spending their time over the past few weeks. Isolated from society, with no one to turn to for comfort but each other, the terrorists have spawned more than a few Brokeback Mountain spoofs.There s even a twitter-based homoerotic fiction story, thanks to Colin Meloy of the Decemberists.Gneiting no doubt thought that inviting the governor of New Jersey to slap bellies with him, while wearing a diaper, would be a good way to make people stop questioning his sexuality on Twitter.Watch the video below, via Kelly Gneiting on YouTube.Featured image via video screen capture

Senate Republican leader says on path toward deal on government funding

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday lawmakers and the Trump administration were “on a path” toward reaching a deal on a bill that would keep the government funded beyond Dec. 8. “That job will have to be done by December the eighth, and I think we’re on a path to do that,” McConnell told reporters, without providing any details.

PRESIDENT TRUMP Looking at Executive Action on Obamacare

Remember during the effort to get Obamacare passed when Nancy Pelosi said: We ll go through the gate. If the gate s closed, we ll go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we ll pole vault in. If that doesn t work, we ll parachute in but we re going to get health care reform passed for the America people. (at 1:10 mark)Well, now if looks like President Trump might parachute in to get rid of Obamacare U.S. Senator Rand Paul said he spoke to President Donald Trump by phone about healthcare reform on Monday and told the president he thought Trump had the authority to create associations that would allow organizations to offer group health insurance plans.Paul, a Republican, told reporters that Trump was considering taking some form of executive action to address problems with the healthcare system after the Senate failed last week to pass a measure to reform the system.Allowing groups like AARP, which represents retirees, to form health associations could enable individuals and small businesses to form larger groups to negotiate with health insurance companies for lower rates.Via: Reuters

Republican Kasich says does not need delegate lead to win nomination

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ohio Governor John Kasich, who has staked his Republican presidential campaign on the upcoming contests in the Midwest, said on Monday he would not need a lead in the delegate count before his party’s convention to win the nomination, according to media reports. “In order to be the nominee, you have to have a certain number of votes,” Kasich said after a town hall in Monroe, Michigan, which holds its presidential primary on Tuesday. “You’ve got to win. You don’t just say, ‘Well, I have more than anybody else, therefore I’m in,’” Kasich said, according to the Washington Post. Kasich, who is rising in some opinion polls to compete with Ted Cruz for second place in Michigan’s Republican primary, has embraced the idea of a brokered convention to choose the nominee if no one gets a majority of delegates in the nominating contests for the Nov. 8 election. New York billionaire Donald Trump is at the top of the dwindling Republican pack with the highest delegate count, but victories on Saturday by Cruz, the U.S. senator from Texas, cut into his lead. Kasich trails all his rivals, including U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, in delegates won. Kasich’s best showing so far in the presidential nominating contests was second place in New Hampshire. He is hoping for a similar result in Michigan and an outright win in his home state on March 15 to keep his campaign viable. He bristled on Monday when asked about contentions by some Republicans that he is a spoiler in the race to beat Trump, whose rhetoric on immigrants, Muslims and women has raised alarm within the Republican establishment and beyond. “Maybe they’re spoiling it for me. Maybe they all ought to get out,” Kasich said on Fox News on Monday.   (Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Peter Cooney) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production.

Ann Coulter Goes Full Racist, Calls Asian Americans ‘Mandarins’ And Insists It’s O.K.

Ann Coulter, throughout her seemingly long career, has managed to offend just above every group that is not white, male or Christian (or American), although the last one is arguable. She hates African-Americans, Muslims, women, Hispanics, Latinos, Jews, Catholics, immigrants, atheists, scientists, veterans, the LGBT community, and just about everyone else. But the other day, Coulter managed to offend another group of Americans: Asians.Appearing on MSNBC s Hardball with Chris Matthews with Joy Ann Reid, the self-described Mean spirited, bigoted conservative struck again when she referred to Asian Americans supporting Donald Trump as Mandarins. And in true Coulter fashion, she insisted that it was the correct term even after being told that is was in fact not.Here s how the exchange went:ANN: You have Mandarin Chinese people with signs for Trump, Make America Great Again, written in Mandarin whether they are Hispanic or Mandarin, the ones inside the stadium are Americans and think of themselves as Americans and want the laws enforced As I said before they have Mandarins in the audience and Hispanics in the audience. JOY: What does Mandarin mean? You mean Asian American. They re called Asian Americans, Ann, not Mandarins. ANN: It has nothing to do with demographics. JOY: It s throwback language, it s not 1913. They are called Asian Americans. ANN: Anyways, as I was saying, it has nothing to do with demographics. It has to do with if you re here legally or illegally, whether you consider yourself American, whether the laws on the books are going to be enforced. We have an invasion of people who are - JOY: If your default when discussing Asian Americans is to call them Mandarins, we are not bringing back archaic language here, Ann. Just talk about people as Americans Asian Americans. ANN: No, you are not going to police my language. They are Mandarins, it is written in Mandarin. And there it is the big bad liberal is policing the poor, innocent conservative like a big old bully. Those damn liberals, not wanting to be grossly offensive and racist! How dare they!Now some people may not wholly object to this term. But for starters, it s always important to remember that not all Asians are Mandarins, also known as Chinese. When one blanket terms an entire race of people, they dismissing the importance of other cultures, ethnicities, and people of different origin, which is in itself racist. Coulter chose to brush off the importance of these people just because they are Asian (not white), by referring to them with a slur.Second, the term Mandarin was used to describe the public officials of China s imperial government, a government that has not been in place since 1912. So Coulter referring to these supposed Trump supporters as Mandarins shows just how stupid she really is, and that she really doesn t care about non-white people or their history.But then again, do any Trump supporters?Watch Ann make a fool of herself (yet again):Featured image via Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Ukraine to ramp up health spending after anti-corruption push

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine plans a 12 percent increase in health spending next year to exploit reforms passed last week to raise standards and crack down on corruption in hospitals and surgeries, government ministers told Reuters. Ukrainians die earlier than most Europeans and patients often bribe doctors for treatment or medicine. Kiev s Western backers see healthcare reforms as a test for Ukraine s push for closer ties to the European Union, away from Russia. New legislation will create a national insurance system that pays doctors by the number of patients they have. Hospitals will be paid for services through the new system, rather than receiving lump sums from regional administrations as is now. It also allows patients to choose their doctor for the first time, rather than being tied to the doctor where their residence is registered, a move the government says will encourage medics to improve and gives them less scope to demand backhanders. Health Minister Ulana Suprun said that patients mindsets will also need to change. People in Ukraine think that paying the doctor cash, under the table, is somehow a thank you for the services that are supposed to be provided to them at no cost, she said in an interview. There needs to be a big cultural change as well, so that we teach people that they re not supposed to do that. She cited a survey by the national anti-corruption bureau which found 65 percent of Ukrainians had come across corruption in the past year, of which 68 percent was in healthcare. And Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk told Reuters in an email Ukraine will hike health spending by 12 percent to 114 billion hryvnia ($4.28 billion) in 2018, and is ready for a further increase later because the reform is a government priority. Ukraine has emerged from a steep recession caused by the annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of a Russian-backed separatist insurgency in 2014. But the economy is still propped up by a $17.5 billion aid program from the International Monetary Fund that is conditional on reforms and progress in tackling corruption. With no end in sight to the conflict in the Donbass, defense spending accounts for at least 5 percent of GDP. The ministry of finance is one of our biggest supporters, Suprun said of the planned rise in spending. They re big supporters of what we re doing because they re finally going to be able to follow the money all the way down to a patient. Whereas now we hand money out to hospitals and we don t really know what is done with it at that point. A U.S.-born doctor, Suprun moved to Ukraine in the early days of the Maidan demonstrations in November 2013, and wound up treating the gunshot wounds of protesters in the final days of pro-Kremlin leader Viktor Yanukovich s rule. The reforms went through 893 amendments while Suprun says she was targeted by a smear campaign, including by some who questioned whether she had faked her diploma. The new legislation is just the first step, she says, because reform never is easy. People don t want to change. They re used to the system that there is, and there s a lot of people making a lot of money off of this. Healthcare professionals told Reuters they welcomed the reforms. Oleksandr Ivanko, chief doctor at the Kiev Municipal Clinical Hospital, hoped doctors salaries would improve because you cannot motivate them and demand anything while paying a minimum or even humiliating salary.

Trump Just Went Back On Another Election Vow, Decides To Keep DACA

In a shocking turn of events, the Trump administration has done something good. I know that s hard to imagine while Trump has been working to crackdown on immigration.According to the Washington Post, the Trump administration is leaving in place the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, a program protecting hundreds of thousands young immigrants from deportation. It s also the very same program Trump had pledged to eliminate as a presidential candidate.Crazy, right?Referred to as dreamers, these young immigrants arrived in the U.S. as small children and raised in the U.S. For them there is no recollection of their former home country. To protect these young immigrants from deportation to a land they do not know, the DACA program was launched in 2012 and has since protected about 787,000 young immigrants from deportation.Despite Trump s vow, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly quietly announced the decision to keep the program at the bottom of a fact sheet released late Thursday.Of course, there s a caveat to this program remaining in place. In the fact sheet, Kelly declared the end to Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, or DAPA, a similar, but never implemented program intended to shield immigrant parents of U.S. citizens and legal residents from deportation.No idea what made Trump and his administration change their mind on DACA but thankfully Obama s program will remain in place for young immigrants.Unfortunately, that s not the case for parents.DAPA was blocked by a federal judge in Texas after 26 states sued. The Washington Post goes on to say that Republicans saw it as a backdoor amnesty and argued that Obama overstepped his authority by protecting a specific class of immigrants living in the United States illegally. Trump did mention in an Associated Press interview in April that his administration is not after the dreamers, we are after the criminals and The Dreamers should rest easy. If that s the case, the question then becomes: why block it for parents? If they re not criminals, why shouldn t they get protection, too?Though we have a win, there s still much work to be done.Featured image via Diego G Diaz/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Sarah Palin Defends Trump Skipping ‘Ballyhooed Media Debate’ With Indecipherable Word Salad

Rarely in life do you see people go so perfectly together. However, Donald Trump and Sarah Palin are made for one another. They are the peanut butter and jelly of political duos. Unfortunately for America, though, most of us are allergic to nuts.After Trump decided to throw his hissy fit and not attend the Fox News GOP debate being moderated by Megyn Kelly, because apparently he is allergic to her cooties, Palin decided to take to Facebook (as she does) and lay down her defense of the hotel magnate.She starts the post with, Media: Here, Let Me Define For You a Genuine Game Changer . You tell em, Sarah! I m sure they can t wait to read what you have to say. After all, your opinion is so relevant and paramount to all of politics, or for that matter, THE WORLD.Palin doesn t want Trump to get bullied by the ballyhooed media debate game. She goes on and on and on, rambling in an indecipherable word salad. She says things like: Enough is enough; Trump s victory on this issue proves we have a choice. The courageous GOP frontrunner is speaking for us with his screw it, biased media the people deserve better red line. Finally. Trump will now lead others with this empowerment to go around media filters and egos and everything else that s stood between people with a heart to serve and the voters. As well as: We can go elsewhere to seek truthful information that includes a candidate s voting record, their responsibility in spending other people s money and balancing budgets, their record of negotiating to win, their private sector acumen and personal accomplishments, who they re beholden to, if they ve incentivized more illegal aliens to flood our borders with gifts and freebies making America much less secure oh, and so much more! Yes, that s all one sentence. Oh, and what s better than starting a sentence with Like ? Like, if politics is their profession in perpetuity, which is the antithesis of our Founders vision. She then goes on to say that she s studied journalism. Which, I guess, technically she has. However, she apparently didn t learn much along the way.Palin finishes her post with P.S. that is just pure gold as she throws shade at Fox News and Megyn Kelly for not kowtowing to Trump s demands: (P.S. Is it just me, or if a debate host has made himself or herself the principal in a story they re expected to objectively cover for the edification of the public, and they even acknowledge they re the reason the frontrunner chooses not to participate, then isn t it common sense (and courtesy to the voting public) to simply, humbly allow someone else to moderate the debate? With all due respect, what a strange game at play. It s at the expense of straight-shooting candidates gunning in competition for the nation s top administrative position, and more importantly, at the expense of Americans who deserve to hear them instead of the cries from a pity-partying press with noses out of joint because someone finally took a stand for common sense and an even playing field. Sarah Palin really shouldn t be the one to talk about common sense considering she has no sense at all. This is probably one of her more bizarre posts where she apparently used the talk to text feature on her mobile device. If there s anyone out there willing to decipher or translate this, have at it.Without further ado, here s the word salad in all its glory: // < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ <span class="mceItemHidden" data-mce-bogus="1"><span></span>(function(d, s, id) { var js, <span class="mceItemHidden" data-mce-bogus="1"><span class="hiddenSpellError" pre="" data-mce-bogus="1">fjs</span></span> = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;version=v2.3"; <span class="hiddenSpellError" pre="" data-mce-bogus="1">fjs</span>.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', '<span class="hiddenSpellError" pre="" data-mce-bogus="1">facebook-jssdk</span>')); // ]]&gt;Media: Here, Let Me Define For You a Genuine Game Changer Regarding Donald Trump honoring our U.S. Veterans instead Posted by Sarah Palin on Thursday, January 28, 2016Featured image: Flickr/Flickr

WATCH: Someone Actually Bought And Drank Trump Vodka, Here’s What Happened

Donald Trump made a big stink a few weeks ago because it was pointed out that many of the products he has lent his name to have turned out to be complete and absolute losers, quickly discontinued and removed from the market. Those products include Trump Water, Trump Steaks, and Trump Magazine.Buzzfeed decided to get in on the action and spent $200 to buy a bottle of Trump Vodka. Here s what happened when they got some people to actually taste it:As pointed out in the video, the vodka from the man who has promised to make America great again in his campaign was actually a product of Netherlands. This follows a pattern of several other Trump products, like his discontinued neckties, being sourced and manufactured in other countries (the ties were from China). It shows that when it came to his own products that he stood to make a cut of the profits from, Trump was more than willing to make a deal to produce them cheaply overseas, adding to his personal bottom line.Trump said he got into vodka because A great friend of mine was a founder of Grey Goose and what we re going to do is to top it. I want to top them just because it s fun to top my friends. Despite Trump s grandiose predictions of success for the drink, it was not to be (sound familiar?):The only trouble was, nobody bought it. By the end of 2007 it barely registered among the top-selling vodkas, badly trailing the likes of Smirnoff and no threat whatsoever to Grey Goose. Go figure that customers wouldn t line up for a product that existed for the sole purpose of one-upping Trump s friend.By 2011, Trump Vodka was gone.The reviewers in the video were not optimistic. They told Buzzfeed they thought the alcohol would taste like self-tanner or misogyny. While one drinker said it burned like a UTI, another said it tasted surprisingly good. Another woman said it tasted good, but not $200 good. Featured image via YouTube

Chuck Todd Bans Donald Trump From Phoning It In On Meet The Press

For too long, media networks have allowed Donald Trump to have unfettered access to their shows via phone, and now Trump is starting to lose that privilege.It all started on Fox & Friends long before Trump announced that he was running for president. The hosts of that show would constantly invite his disembodied voice to make an appearance in order to bash President Obama or throw out some other ridiculous opinion on the story or issue of the day.And that laziness ended up being adopted by most networks after Trump threw his hat in the presidential ring. Even the Sunday shows that traditionally require candidates to actually show up in person allowed Trump to phone it in for the sake of ratings. This gave Trump a major advantage in that he wouldn t have to fly into New York to make appearances and get media coverage. He could get media coverage all the time without interrupting his campaign schedule.Interestingly, only Fox News Sunday showed some integrity and refused to let Trump call into the show. Host Chris Wallace made that decision early on calling the rule a line worth holding even if the network took a hit in the ratings.And now Meet The Press host Chuck Todd is cutting Trump s phone line as well.According to the New York Times,On Friday, Chuck Todd, the moderator of Meet the Press, told me he had only grudgingly allowed Mr. Trump to call in to his show earlier in the campaign, determining that he would rather have Mr. Trump take questions via phone than not at all.Now, Mr. Todd said, he will no longer allow Mr. Trump to do prescheduled interviews by phone on the NBC program.In addition, CNN has told the Times that it would think twice before giving full coverage to a Trump news conference that devolves into an infomercial. Is the media finally beginning to realize that they are partly responsible for the rise of Trump? Has the media finally decided that they need to be more serious about this election and stop giving Trump free advertising? Are they finally going to start holding Trump accountable for what he says and does instead of letting him get away with saying and doing whatever he wants?For now, it looks like the media is heading in that direction, but ABC s This Week With George Stephanopoulos continues to let Trump phone it in and every network still covers every little thing Trump says, writes, or does for the sake of ratings instead of performing the journalistic duties Americans need them to do. They especially need the crucial Sunday news programs to start doing their jobs and stop letting Trump have his way. He needs to be forced to look the American people and news anchors in the eye when he is talking, and that s why his should have his phone taken away like a petulant child who refuses to get off the phone even after the parents tell him to. After all, as the New York Times points out, the programs were named Face the Nation and Meet the Press not Call the Nation or Phone the Press. So if Trump wants media coverage, he ll appear to show up in person. That should always be the way it works.Featured Image: YouTube

Michelle Obama Launches A New Summit To Empower American Women Like Never Before

First Lady Michelle Obama, along with an impressive group of successful, fierce women including Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, Kerry Washington, Laverne Cox, and Valerie Jarret have launched a new summit, The United State of Women. Their goal is as follows:There s a lot that s been done by and for women and girls, but there s still plenty to do. Convened by the White House, this Summit will rally all of us together to celebrate what we ve achieved, and how we re going to take action moving forward. Covering key gender equality issues, we ll make a powerful difference in our collective future.The United State of Women will be an important moment for both women and girls, domestically and internationally. It will feature speakers who will both educate as well as inspire all of us to take action on June 14th and well afterThose issues include economic empowerment, health and wellness, educational opportunity, violence against women, entrepreneurship and leadership. All are areas where women are still underrepresented, even though women make up the majority of Americans.And, highlighting an important mission in Mrs. Obama s life, seminars will be held on healthy lifestyle living, from national standards to education on HIV/AIDS, to self defense and sex education. Taking part in the effort for women s reproductive health is Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood.But what makes this summit truly unique is that it truly represents all women white, black, Asian, Hispanic, Latino, and Native American, LGBT, older, younger the possibilities for women have no barriers. This important summit, through seminars, workshops and diverse panels, will also teach women how to use their education and talents to achieve anything they want, from STEM instruction to domestic tasks to elected office.Language barriers? No problem. Cultural differences? They welcome it. Different religions? The more the merrier. If you are a woman who seeks empowerment and change not just in America but the world, to have your voice heard, there is a spot for you at the table.Before women sign up to be a part of the movement, they ask you to sign a pledge, which states:Today, we ll change tomorrow.Starting on June 14, Mrs. Obama s summit will set a benchmark on celebrating what women have to offer this great country, and what a time for it to start Hillary Clinton has just made history by clinching the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, the first woman to do so for a major political party.Michelle Obama and the multitudes of talented, courageous, strong women have taken it upon themselves to step up to the challenge and lead the world bye example.This country will become a better place because of their efforts. Hopefully 2016 can be the new Year of the Woman.Watch the powerful message below: Featured image via screen capture

Trump to meet with long list of leaders in New York next week -White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will hold a series of meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting next week in New York, the White House said on Friday. Trump will meet with the leaders of France and Israel on Monday before holding a dinner with Latin American leaders that evening, Trump s national security adviser H.R. McMaster told reporters. On Tuesday, he will meet Qatar s emir, and on Wednesday, he will meet with leaders from Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, the United Kingdom and Egypt, McMaster said. Trump will meet on Thursday with leaders from Turkey, Afghanistan and Ukraine before holding a lunch with the leaders of South Korea and Japan, he said.

EU parliament mauls UK's Brexit progress, May urged to 'sack Boris'

STRASBOURG (Reuters) - The European Parliament savaged the British government s handling of Brexit negotiations on Tuesday, voting against opening talks on future trade and condemning disarray in Prime Minister Theresa May s team. The leader of the European Union legislature s biggest party, a German ally of conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel, said cabinet in-fighting was putting a deal at risk and called on May to get rid of her own foreign secretary, Boris Johnson. Please sack Johnson, said Manfred Weber, a leading figure in the assembly, which must approve any deal struck by EU negotiator Michel Barnier before Britain leaves in March 2019. Opening the debate in Strasbourg, Barnier and EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker repeated their view that a fourth round of negotiations last week did not produce enough agreement for the EU to yield to May s demands for immediate talks on a free trade deal and a transition to it after Brexit. Juncker last week said it would take miracles for talks next week to unblock a move to a new phase by the end of this month, let alone in time for EU national leaders to approve such a shift when they meet for a summit on Oct. 19-20. The test the EU has set is to make sufficient progress which it has not defined on agreeing rights for EU citizens in Britain after Brexit, border arrangements with Ireland and how much London will pay Brussels on its departure. Echoing Barnier, Parliament called on EU leaders by 557 votes to 92 to delay making a decision on that progress unless there is a major breakthrough in line with this resolution in all three areas during the fifth negotiation round . May won some approval for pledging, in a Sept. 22 speech in Florence, to strengthen legal guarantees for expatriates and to pay into the EU budget during a two-year post-Brexit transition. But critics pointed to London s refusal to let the European Court of Justice be the ultimate arbiter on rights or to commit to paying substantial sums due beyond 2020. Many were critical of conflicting signals from May, Johnson and others on where negotiating red lines lie for Britain. Who shall I call in London? Theresa May, Boris Johnson, or even David Davis? Weber asked, describing May s Conservative government as trapped by their own party quarrels . Please no more speeches, he urged her on a day when Johnson, a Brexit campaigner and potential May challenger, was to speak at the party conference. Show leadership on content. And the best probably would be, please sack Johnson. Guy Verhofstadt, the liberal leader and Parliament s Brexit point man, urged May to offer clarity in her conference speech on Wednesday. But critics of the EU s approach were also vocal. Hans-Olaf Henkel, a German industrialist who sits with the British Conservatives, called on Verhofstadt to drop his arrogance , on Barnier to stop seeming to want to punish Britain and on Johnson to stop stirring things up . Nigel Farage, who led the UK Independence Party to victory in last year s Brexit referendum but saw its vote slashed in the June election, described May s Florence speech as a pitiful attempt to appease a bully and said she should resign. She s a waste of space. She needs to go, Farage said. A new prime minister should call Europe s bluff, he said, and walk out of the EU without a deal if Barnier refused to settle.

Trump RUNS SCARED From Russia Investigation, Hires ANOTHER High Profile Lawyer

Donald Trump s Russia problem just won t go away. In fact, the investigation is steadily expanding, and with the revelation that Trump himself is now personally under criminal investigation, Trump s number two man, Mike Pence, has hired his own lawyer. There are also reports that one of Trump s own lawyers, Michael Cohen, has lawyered up as well. Of course, there was also the revelation that Trump s own son-in-law and top adviser, Jared Kushner, is also under federal investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for potential financial crimes. Now, it seems that Trump is more nervous than ever, and seems to believe that his own long-time civil litigation lawyer, Marc Kasowitcz, is no longer enough. Trump has now retained John Dowd, a high-profile attorney who has represented the likes of Senator John McCain (R-AZ).This addition is a major development. Dowd is experienced with keeping corrupt politicians out of jail. He is 76 years old and the ultimate Washington insider. This means that Trump s legal troubles are mounting, and the White House knows it. Dowd joins an already beefy team. In addition to Dowd and Kasowitz, Trump has also retained Mark Bowe and Jay Sekulow.Now, this is a risky move for someone as distinguished as John Dowd. Trump s intemperate Twitter rants and revealing public statements would make him an almost impossible to manage client. His own incriminating statements, along with his penchant for refusing to pay his bills have already made many high-powered Washington law firms to turn down the opportunity to represent the man baby president. Granted, the guy is getting up in age and already has a long career behind him. Perhaps he is not afraid of taking what is sure to be a losing case due to Trump s own foolish words and actions.Either way, this Russia investigation is no longer just smoke. There s fire there as well, and the people around Trump and in the White House know it. It would be a prudent decision for every single person working in the West Wing to lawyer up STAT, unless they want to spend the rest of their miserable lives in federal prison which is likely where many if not all of them belong.Featured image via Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images

Venezuela defends rights record at U.N., says opposition 'back on path of rule of law'

GENEVA (Reuters) - Venezuela s foreign minister defended his country s record on Monday, rejecting as baseless reports by the United Nations human rights office that found grave violations by its security forces against protesters. Earlier, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra ad al-Hussein warned that the government of President Nicolas Maduro may move to further crush democratic institutions and that crimes against humanity may have already been committed by his security forces. The opposition in Venezuela is back on the path of rule of law and democracy, we will see dialogue emerging thanks to the mediation of our friends, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said to applause at the U.N. Human Rights Council, where Venezuela is one of 47 members. (This story corrects quote in 3rd paragraph following U.N. interpretation error)

U.S. Press Corps Breaks Silence, Drops MAJOR Bombshell In SCATHING Open Letter To Trump (DETAILS)

The way President-elect Donald Trump has treated the press during his presidential campaign, only to get far worse after winning the election, is nothing but terrifying. Trump has not only ditched press pools and created distrust for the media, but he has issued threats to punish or silence reporters for doing their jobs and holding him accountable. Trump has never sounded more like a dictator, and quite frankly we should all be very worried about what he s going to do once he gets into the White House.Fortunately, the press is fighting back. Editor in chief and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review Kyle Pope has just written an open letter to Trump on behalf of the U.S. Press Corps, and it s a strong message to Trump that things aren t going to go the way he wants them to go. Pope wrote: In these final days before your inauguration, we thought it might be helpful to clarify how we see the relationship between your administration and the American press corps. Pope then expertly outlined several attacks Trump has made on the press which have made the relationship between Trump and journalists extremely tense. Pope said: You ve banned news organizations from covering you. You ve taken to Twitter to taunt and threaten individual reporters and encouraged your supporters to do the same. You ve advocated for looser libel laws and threatened numerous lawsuits of your own, none of which has materialized. But while you have every right to decide your ground rules for engaging with the press, we have some, too. Pope noted that even if Trump tried to prevent journalists from having access to him, the media would not back down. Pope warned the President-elect that the press would merely take it on as a challenge : We are very good at finding alternative ways to get information Telling reporters that they won t get access to something isn t what we d prefer, but it s a challenge we relish. Signaling that what Trump has really done by suppressing the media is unite it, Pope stated that the press would be working together to hold him accountable now, specifically pointing out a disgusting incident in which Trump belittled and attacked CNN reporter Jim Acosta at a press conference last week: We now recognize that the challenge of covering you requires that we cooperate and help one another whenever possible. So, when you shout down or ignore a reporter at a press conference who has said something you don t like, you re going to face a unified front. We ll work together on stories when it makes sense, and make sure the world hears when our colleagues write stories of importance. Pope made it perfectly clear that journalists were not going to play by his rules and have every intention of being involved in covering his presidency honestly and with transparency, no matter how much he hates it or threatens them. Pope said: We ve been around since the founding of the republic, and our role in this great democracy has been ratified and reinforced again and again and again. Enjoy your inauguration. This is EXACTLY what we needed our press to say to this tyrant, and we hope it terrifies him.Featured image via Drew Angerer / Getty Images

White House does not rule out Sessions recusal on Russia probes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Sunday did not rule out that Attorney General Jeff Sessions may recuse himself from Justice Department investigations into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a deputy White House press secretary, said congressional investigations into possible Russian hacking of Democratic groups would have to run their course before Sessions needed to decide whether to step aside from the FBI probes. Sessions was a top adviser to President Donald Trump, a Republican, during the 2016 presidential campaign. “I wasn’t saying that he shouldn’t recuse himself or that he should,” Sanders told ABC’s “This Week.” “My point is I don’t think we’re there yet. Let’s work through this process.” U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded that Russia tried to help Trump win the White House by discrediting Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her party through cyber attacks. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, expelled Russian diplomats in retaliation in December. Moscow has denied the accusations. The FBI is investigating alleged Russian election-related hacking and financial transactions by Russian people and companies believed to have links to associates of Trump, according to current and former government officials. Trump has dismissed the controversy about ties between his aides and Russia as a “ruse” perpetrated by a hostile news media. “Russia talk is FAKE NEWS put out by the Dems, and played up by the media, in order to mask the big election defeat and the illegal leaks,” Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday. Trump fired his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, three weeks into the new administration after disclosures surfaced that Flynn had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with the Russian ambassador to the United States before Trump took office and misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations. Democrats have been pushing for an independent investigation into whether there were links between the Trump campaign team and Russian officials. “The attorney general must recuse himself,” House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said on ABC. Republican lawmakers echoed the White House, saying the investigations must take their course. Senator Tom Cotton said it was premature to talk about a special prosecutor. “If we get down that road, that’s a decision that Attorney General Sessions can make at the time,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

WOW! RUSSIAN LAWYER Who Met With Donald Trump Jr. Seen In Photo With Person Tied To Obama Only 8 Days After Meeting

Much to the dismay of mainstream media journalists, Donald Trump Jr. released all email communication regarding his meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya today on Twitter. Meanwhile, Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya has told NBC News that she met with Donald Trump Jr. to discuss sanctions, that she did not have any Kremlin connections, and that she did not hand over information about Hillary s campaign.She confirmed her meeting with Donald Trump Jr. was about Russian adoptions in the US.But is there more to Natalia Veselnitskaya than meets the eye? Who is she? Does she have ties to Obama and the Democratic Party? Was the meeting with Donald Trump Jr. a set up?According to The Gateway Pundit: The law firm where Veselnitskaya is listed as managing partner, Kamerton Consulting, is based in a Moscow suburb and does not even have a website.A staff member at Kamerton told The Associated Press Veselnitskaya was unavailable for comment on Monday.Her office in Moscow may be a shell. There is no working phone, email or website.Russian President Vladimir Putin s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that the Kremlin is unaware of a meeting between Trump s senior staff and Veselnitskaya and does not know who that is. Peskov said, No, we don t know who that is and obviously we can t monitor all meetings Russian lawyers hold both in Russia and abroad. Now this Natalia Veselnitskaya was sitting with Obama s Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul during a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, 8 days after cold-contacting Trump Jr. in Trump Tower.Here s a shot showing who appears to be Natalia Veselnitskaya, sitting behind from the June 14, 2016 Congressional hearing on Russia and the Ukraine.Natalia Veselnitskaya photo:MORE That looks like Emin Agalarov sitting next to Natalia Veselnitskaya. He was mentioned in Donald Trump Jr s statement this morning. Emin helped set up the meeting with Veselnitskaya.Veselnitskaya was also connected to Fusion GPS, the DNC opposition research firm that produced the fraudulent and discredited Trump Dossier.So why was Veselnitskaya hanging out with Obama officials just days after her meeting with Donald Trump Jr.?And why was Veselnitskaya given a privileged seat up front during the Congressional hearing?

At least 16 dead after boat capsizes in south India: officials

BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) - At least 16 people died on Sunday when a tourist boat capsized in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, officials said. The accident took place in Krishna river about 25 km (15 miles) from Vijayawada city, district administrative chief B. Lakshmikantham told Reuters. The administration was investigating what exactly caused the incident, but the initial probe found that the private boat operator did not have the necessary permission to ferry people, Lakshmikantham said. Around 20 of the roughly 35 people on the boat were rescued and search operations were continuing, India s National Disaster Response Force said on Twitter.

Obama Blasts Trump At Veterans’ Event For ‘Trash-Talking’ Troops (VIDEO)

Most Americans understand that we should all give the utmost honor and respect to those who fight for our safety and our freedom, as well as their families. That is especially true of our Gold Star families those families who have lost a loved one in battle. Of course, as he has demonstrated on more than one occasion Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump does not share these values.Trump spent the last 72 hours insulting the parents of a Muslim soldier, Army Captain Humayun Khan, for daring to speak out against his anti-Muslim bigotry. Well, President Obama, on the other hand, spent his Monday afternoon at an event in Atlanta, Georgia for disabled veterans. He also had very harsh words for Donald Trump.Without even mentioning the GOP nominee s name, the President took him to the woodshed over his attacks on the Khans and on the military in general: As Commander-in-Chief, I m pretty tired of some folks trash-talking America s military and troops. You know, our military is somewhat smaller after two major ground wars come to a close. That s natural. We re going to keep doing everything we need to do to improve readiness and modernize our forces. But let s get some facts straight. America s Army is the best trained, best equipped land force on the planet. Our Navy is the largest and most lethal in the world. The precision of and reach of our Air Force is unmatched. Our Marines are the world s truly only expeditionary force. We have the world s finest Coast Guard. WE have the most capable fighting force in history, and we re going to keep it that way. President Obama is right, of course. How dare Trump or anyone else who has never served or had family members serve trash talk troops and Gold Star families? Trump isn t fit to be Commander-in-Chief. He needs to take a cue from President Obama when it comes to how a potential president should act with regards to our military families and the sacrifices they make.Watch President Obama s remarks below:Featured image via video screen capture

Australia to move 200 asylum seekers to new PNG detention center

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Approximately two hundred men held in a remote Australian-run detention center will be moved to a new facility within weeks, the country s immigration minister said. Peter Dutton, Australia s immigration minister, said those men who have their refugee applications denied, ruling them ineligible for resettlement to the United States, and who are from countries such as Iran which precludes forced deportations, will be transferred to a new detention facility within Papua New Guinea (PNG) after Oct. 31. Those people, who total about 200, who have been found not to be refugees are to be moved into an alternative place of detention away from the regional processing center, Dutton told Australia s parliament. Dutton s comments mark the first insight into how Australia plans to manage the end of its policy of detaining asylum seekers in PNG, where 800 men are held, many of whom for four years. Canberra s hardline immigration policy requires asylum seekers intercepted at sea trying to reach Australia to be sent for processing at camps on PNG s Manus Island and on Nauru. They are told they will never be settled in Australia. Question marks remain, however, about the fate of the remaining men on Manus as a refugee swap deal with the United States stalls. Former U.S. President Barack Obama late last year agreed to resettle up to 1,250 asylum seekers held in Australian immigration centers in PNG and Nauru. In exchange, Australia agreed to take Central American refugees. Australia had hoped the men would have been resettled by Oct. 31 but with the swap deal stalling under President Trump after the U.S. hit it annual intake cap, Canberra is left seeking a solution. Australia s security contract with Spanish company Ferrovial SA will expire on Oct. 31, forcing the closure of the camp that has been subject to violence from locals. PNG officials have sought to transfer the men to a transit center nearby but nearly all, citing fears of violence, have refused despite threats that it may rule them out of U.S. resettlement. We are not willing to move from the center unless we are leaving for a country that is safe, said one, who declined to be identified because of the fear it would jeopardize his application for U.S. resettlement.

U.S. presidential debate rules out third party candidates

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party hopeful Jill Stein have failed to quality for the first planned U.S. presidential debate on Sept. 26, the Commission on Presidential Debates said on Friday. The commission, citing the averages the various candidates have achieved in selected polls, confirmed that Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton had met the criteria. It also said that the vice presidential running mates of the two leading candidates were the only two to qualify for the vice presidential debate set for Oct. 4. The first presidential debate will be held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York and the vice presidential debate at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. Using the average of five national polls, Clinton scored 43 percent, Trump 40.4 percent, Johnson 8.4 percent and Stein 3.2 percent, the commission said. Selection for the debates requires at least 15 percent support. Johnson and Stein were both constitutionally eligible and had ballot access in enough states to theoretically win an electoral college majority, but missed the polling threshold. Stein’s campaign website said she and her running mate Ajamu Baraka will both attend the first presidential debate, and urged supporters to join them. The campaign said it might ask supporters to attempt to escort the candidates into the debate in an action that “may lead to arrest — it is possible but not definite. There will be actions you can take with us at Hofstra that do not risk arrest.” The campaign said it is “organizing nonviolent civil resistance training for this.” Johnson said in a statement that: “I would say I’m surprised that the CPD has chosen to exclude me from the first debate, but I’m not.” The commission was a private organization created by the Republican and Democratic parties “for the clear purpose of taking control of the only nationally televised presidential debates voters will see,” Johnson said. The last time a third-party candidate was allowed to participate in the televised debates was in 1992, when Ross Perot met the requirements running as an independent.

Australian deputy PM says he respects court decision that ruled him ineligible for parliament

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said on Friday he respected a High Court verdict that ruled he was ineligible to sit in parliament because he held dual citizenship, a decision that cost the government it s one-seat majority. I respect the verdict of the court, Joyce told reporters in the rural New South Wales town of Tamworth. It s a pretty simple story, we re off to a by-election.

Trump says has been clear that U.S. open for trade, if fair, reciprocal

MANILA (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had made clear during his trip to Asia that the United States was open to trading with other countries, but only if conditions were fair for his country. Trade and concern about possible protectionism under Trump s America First agenda have come up during his regional visit, which has included stops in Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. We ve explained that the United States is open for trade but we want reciprocal, we want fair trade for the United States, he told reporters in Manila during a summit of Asian leaders, where integrating economies and curbing protectionism has been on the agenda. Trump also said his trip had resulted in at least $300 billion, possibly triple that figure, of deals being agreed. He did not elaborate.

These Countries Just Stood Up For Women’s Rights And Spat In Trump’s Face (DETAILS)

Other nations are stepping up to play larger roles in the world because of Donald Trump, proving that he is destroying American respect and power abroad.One of Trump s first acts after taking over the White House was to issue a global gag rule on abortion.The executive order bans groups that receive funding from the United States from giving women information on abortion, reversal of President Obama s policy that had been in effect for the last eight years.Apparently, conservatives believe they not only have the right to tell American women what to do with their bodies, they believe they have the right to tell all women around the world what to do with their bodies as well.Trump s policy is an embarrassing shift. Women around the world will now see America as a hostile enemy of women s rights and bodily autonomy.And as a result of of the United States abandoning women around the world, other nations are sticking it to Trump by filling the gaps.According to Reuters,Norway has joined an international initiative to raise millions of dollars to replace shortfalls left by U.S. President Donald Trump s ban on U.S.-funded groups worldwide providing information on abortion.In January, the Netherlands started a global fund to help women access abortion services, saying Trump s global gag rule meant a funding gap of $600 million over the next four years, and has pledged $10 million to the initiative to replace that.Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Finland, Canada and Cape Verde have all also lent their support.Norway is also chipping in $10 million. The government is increasing its support for family planning and safe abortion, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said in a statement. At a time when this agenda has come under pressure, a joint effort is particularly important. So Donald Trump just hurt American prestige by doing something that will hurt women around the globe. But other nations are boosting their own prestige by filling the funding gap.Abortion is a medically necessary procedure that women should have access to no matter where they live. By trying to deny women that access, Donald Trump is putting lives at risk and taking rights away from women after our country has fought for years to lift up women around the world.Trump and Republicans should realize that as they continue to shrink America s role in the world, other nations will take advantage of it and increase their own prestige and power. As long as Trump and Republicans continue down this path, respect for us will plummet and our influence will wane.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump's San Diego rally draws more than 1,000 chanting protesters

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Donald Trump brought his message of walls and deportations to the doorstep of America’s busiest border crossing on Friday as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee greeted supporters in San Diego, amid one of the largest counter-protests organized against him. The scene inside the San Diego Convention Center during Trump’s speech was relatively placid, while outside demonstrators opposed to his controversy-ridden White House bid marched and chanted, carrying signs criticizing his rhetoric against illegal immigration. Waving U.S. and Mexican flags, more than 1,000 people turned out for anti-trump rallies in San Diego, a city on the U.S.-Mexico border whose San Ysidro port of entry sees nearly 300,000 people a day cross legally between the countries. San Diego is considered a binational city by many who live and work on opposite sides of the border, and about a third of the city’s population is Latino. During Trump’s speech on Friday, some protesters outside the convention center scaled a barrier and lobbed water bottles at police. One man was pulled off the wall and arrested as others were surrounded by fellow protesters and backed away from the confrontation. After the convention center emptied, clusters of Trump supporters and anti-Trump demonstrators began to mix in the streets, many exchanging shouted epithets and some throwing water bottles at one another. Police in riot gear declared the gathering an unlawful assembly and ordered the crowd to disperse, herding the crowd out of the city’s hotel and restaurant-filled Gaslamp Quarter. San Diego police said on Twitter that 35 arrests were made during the protest. No property damage or injuries were reported, police said. “Fantastic job on handling the thugs who tried to disrupt our very peaceful and well attended rally,” Trump tweeted to police afterwards. Trump has weathered months of blowback from all ends of the political spectrum for his immigration policy, which calls for the building of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and deporting the nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants who reside in the United States. Critics have said his plan is needlessly cruel and impossible to implement. At Trump’s campaign stops, attendees often chant “build the wall.” While Trump is running unopposed in the June 7 California Republican primary, his stance on border control and deportation seems unlikely to resonate with the electorate at large in a state where political fallout from a Republican-backed crackdown on illegal immigrants 20 years ago cost the party dearly. Friday was not the first time Trump has been greeted by civil unrest in California, which is home to the largest Latino population in the country. Late last month, a visit to the California Republican convention set off days of protests in the area, leading to several arrests. Shortly before taking the stage in San Diego, Trump issued a statement ruling out a one-on-one debate with second-place Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders, who was also in California, killing off a potentially high-ratings television spectacle. The suggested debate, an idea first raised during a talk show appearance by the New York billionaire, would have sidelined likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton but given Sanders a huge platform ahead of California Democratic primary. A day after saying he would welcome a Sanders debate, Trump called the idea “inappropriate,” declaring that he should only face the Democrats’ final choice. “I will wait to debate the first-place finisher in the Democratic Party, probably Crooked Hillary Clinton,” Trump said in a statement. Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, expressed disappointment on Friday, and sought to goad Trump into reconsidering. “Well, Mr. Trump, what are you afraid of?” he said in a video clip posted on ABC News’ Twitter account. Trump suggested broadcast networks were unwilling to go along with his demand that at least $10 million raised from the encounter be donated to charity. “I’d love to debate Bernie,” he told a rally in Fresno, California. “But the networks want to keep the money for themselves.” Sanders is trailing Clinton in the race to secure their party’s nomination, but opinion polls show he is slicing into her lead in California. Clinton has shown no interest in debating Sanders before the California primary, which will be part of a final slate of nominating contests. It is possible she will clinch the nomination by winning New Jersey earlier that day, making the outcome in California superfluous. The former U.S. secretary of state has said she is looking forward to debating Trump later this year ahead of the Nov. 8 general election. Clinton leads Trump by 4 percentage points in the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. Democrats nationally remain evenly split between Clinton and Sanders.

Singapore charges activist for organizing assemblies without permit

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore authorities charged human rights activist Jolovan Wham on Wednesday for organizing public assemblies without a police permit, prompting rights groups to call on the government to guarantee the right to peaceful assembly. The 37-year-old Wham, the former executive director of a group advocating the rights of foreign workers in Singapore, could be fined up to $10,000 or imprisoned for up to 6 months, or both, if found guilty of repeat offences. Wham was involved in a protest in June by several blindfolded activists who held up books on a subway train in a call for justice for 22 people detained in 1987 under a tough internal security law. Wham is recalcitrant and has repeatedly shown blatant disregard for the law, especially with regard to organizing or participating in illegal public assemblies , Singapore Police Force said in a statement. He was also charged for vandalism and refusing to sign statements made during investigations, the police said. He faces a total of seven charges stemming from public assemblies he organized dating back to November 2016, the police said. Under strict public assembly laws, protests are allowed only at a designated downtown square called the Speakers Corner. Human Rights Watch on Wednesday called on Singapore to drop the case against peaceful protestor Wham and to amend what it called a draconian law on public order to guarantee Singaporeans the right to peaceful assembly. Prosecuting Jolovan Wham for holding peaceful gatherings demonstrates the absurdity of Singapore s laws on public assemblies and the government s willingness to penalize those who speak out, its deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said. The Singapore government should start listening to criticism, stop treating peaceful assemblies as crimes, and cease prosecuting their organizers, he said. A pre-trial conference for the case will take place on Dec. 13.

Turkish banker makes second bid for mistrial in U.S. sanctions case

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lawyers for an executive at Turkey s majority state-owned Halkbank who is accused of helping Iran evade U.S. sanctions on Wednesday asked a U.S. federal judge to declare a mistrial as jurors were expected to begin deliberating. In a motion filed in Manhattan federal court, the lawyers for Mehmet Hakan Atilla said prosecutors had prejudiced the jury by asking their client during cross-examination on Tuesday whether he remembered that a report by a Turkish expert concluded he violated sanctions. Atilla s lawyers immediately objected before Atilla could answer, and U.S. District Judge Richard Berman ordered the question stricken from the record. However, Atilla s lawyers said Wednesday that the damage had been done. They said jurors should not have been allowed to hear about the Turkish report because its author was not in court, depriving Atilla of his right to confront his accuser. They also said the question grossly mischaracterized the report s conclusion. Asking this question in open court had the effect of introducing otherwise inadmissible hearsay and an expert opinion on the ultimate issue for the jury, they said. Berman ordered prosecutors to respond to the motion by 5 p.m. (2200 GMT) Wednesday. Jurors had been expected to begin deliberating Wednesday morning after a three-week trial that has strained diplomatic relations between the United States and Turkey. At the center of the trial was explosive testimony from Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab, who pleaded guilty to charges of violating sanctions and testified for U.S. prosecutors. Zarrab testified that Atilla helped design fraudulent transactions of gold and food that allowed Iran to spend its oil and gas revenues abroad, including through U.S. financial institutions, defying U.S. sanctions. Zarrab also implicated Turkish officials in the scheme, including President Tayyip Erdogan. Attempts to reach Erdogan s spokesman for comment on the allegations at the trial have been unsuccessful. Erdogan has publicly dismissed the case as a politically motivated attack on his government. Atilla, testifying in his own defense at the trial, denied all the charges against him. Halkbank has denied taking part in any illegal transactions. Atilla s lawyers already asked for a mistrial last week after jurors heard testimony from Huseyin Korkmaz, a former Turkish police officer who said he led an investigation that included Atilla and was forced to flee Turkey to escape retaliation. Berman denied that motion. U.S. prosecutors charged nine people in the criminal case, though only Zarrab, 34, and Atilla, 47, were arrested by U.S. authorities.

Storm-battered Antigua asks U.S. to settle 12-year old WTO bill

GENEVA (Reuters) - Antigua and Barbuda asked the United States on Friday to settle a decade-old trade dispute to help the Caribbean country pay the $250 million cost of recovery from Hurricane Irma, which completely decimated the island of Barbuda. The WTO backed Antigua in 2005 in a dispute with the United States over online gambling rights and authorized it to impose trade sanctions. Antigua has sought a settlement rather than taking retaliatory action. Trade experts say the case highlights a weakness in the WTO system, because small nations have little leverage to enforce rulings against the world s big powers. There would be no better time than now for the United States to settle this long-running issue which mars an otherwise friendly relationship between our two countries that has existed for generations, Antiguan ambassador Ronald Sanders told the World Trade Organization s dispute settlement body. In 2013, Antigua toughened its stance, floating the possibility of setting up a state-sponsored website to download Hollywood movies and U.S.-made computer software, a way of clawing back its trade losses from U.S.-owned intellectual property rights. We have not done so because we have too high a regard for the U.S. owners of intellectual property who have contributed much to the enjoyment and advancement of the world, Sanders told the WTO meeting. Antigua s trade losses amounted to over $200 million, and it had rejected a U.S. offer that did not amount to $2 million , less than it spent on the entire trade dispute, Sanders said in his statement, which he provided to Reuters. Therefore, while the trade revenues losses to my small country is almost 20 per cent of our Gross Domestic product, settling with us would represent only 0.0011 percent of one year of the GDP of the United States. Sanders noted that the United States had paid more than $440 million to Brazil to settle a WTO dispute over intellectual property rights, and said his country still hoped to resolve things amicably. It would be very regrettable... if tiny Antigua and Barbuda were compelled to be the first country to have to suspend payment of U.S. intellectual property rights despite its best efforts to reach a settlement with the U.S., its largest and richest neighbor to whom it has always been and remains a friend. The U.S. response to Sanders at the closed-door WTO meeting was not immediately made available.

This 4-Year Old Tweet From Donald Trump Shows Us He’s AT LEAST As Perverted As Roy Moore

After Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was finally publicly outed after decades of alleged sexual abuses toward women, a #metoo hashtag formed and a dam broke. Suddenly it seemed that every time we turned on our computers, every time we received a phone alert, it was yet another man outed as an abuser.The worst of the worst of sexual abusers, though, are those who abuse children. Roy Moore, the right-wing Christian nut-job who s running for Senate in Alabama has been accused of doing just that. Five women have now come forward alleging that Moore dated them and worse while they were teens and he was in his 30s.This all began almost a year to the day after an audio tape of Donald Trump bragging about how he s such a big star he can just grab women s pussies. Is it possible, though, that Trump is as bad, if not worse, than Moore?While liberals and Democrats have decried the alleged abusers, regardless of ideology or party affiliation, Republicans have taken a *shall we say* more nuanced stance when it comes to Moore. They have invoked the Bible, saying that the Virgin Mary was a teenager when Jesus was born. Of course, much like they forget the well regulated militia part of the Second Amendment, these men who would slut shame their own sisters if they were Democrats who wanted birth control, suddenly forgot the first part of Mary s moniker. They also defended Moore by saying that he was just a fragile young buck of 32, who couldn t have possibly known better, while his alleged victims were well on their way to adulthood at 14 and 16.Donald Trump has been surprisingly mum about the Moore allegations, but spokesperson Kellyanne Conway carefully straddled the line by saying that if the allegations were true, Moore should resign. Trump, though, had something interesting to say about the subject of statutory rape three years ago. In a tweet, Trump called it talent to date a woman who s young enough to be his daughter. Note: he was married to Melania at the time.@rexrode_lisa "@realDonaldTrump you date girls young enough to be your daughter.That's perverted" Dated. No, that's talent. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2013 This wasn t the first time Trump expressed interest in young girls. At least twice, Trump was heard saying that he would soon be dating girls who, at the time, were very underaged.Donald Trump once told 14-year-old girls, 'In a couple of years, I'll be dating you' https://t.co/nslYeqp8dg pic.twitter.com/ayDeW6nGNz L.A. Times Politics (@latimespolitics) October 13, 2016 In 1992, he said about a 10-year-old girl that he would be dating her in 10 years. Here s the video:All of this, of course, was out there before the election and Trump voters didn t care. Trump voters in Alabama don t care about the allegations against Moore either. A poll taken after the accusations began to surface showed Moore with a 10 point lead against his Democratic opponent, Doug Jones. If we haven t thrown in the moral towel as a country, Republicans certainly have. Jerry Falwell s moral majority has turned into an immoral minority of right-wing ideologues who would pimp out their own daughters if it meant putting another Republican in Congress.Featured image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images.

Melania Trump's RNC speech produces so-so TV audience

(Reuters) - Melania Trump’s big night at the Republican National Convention failed to draw bumper television audiences despite networks boosting their coverage of the gathering and husband Donald Trump promising a “showbiz” feel to the week. According to Nielsen ratings data on Tuesday from seven leading broadcast and cable networks, an estimated 23 million people watched Monday evening’s highlight during the 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. hour when Melania Trump, the wife of Republican White House contender Donald Trump, delivered her speech. The focus of the convention initially shifted on Tuesday from the formal anointing of Trump to accusations that sections of Melania Trump’s speech were strikingly similar to an address by Michelle Obama at the Democratic convention in 2008. The early viewing figures were similar to those for the first night of the Republican convention in 2012, which attracted an audience of 22.3 million, according to Nielsen. U.S. television networks have boosted coverage of the Republican convention this year after Trump, a New York businessman, drew huge audiences during the 2016 presidential debates during the state nominating contests. Trump, the former star of “The Apprentice” TV show, has promised to throw out traditional political convention scripts and “put some showbiz” into the mix. Media analysts predicted that viewership for Trump’s acceptance speech this week for the Republican presidential nomination could surpass the record 38 million who watched Barack Obama address the Democratic convention in 2008. In 2012, the Democratic convention generally drew more nightly TV viewers than the Republican gathering, when Mitt Romney was running for the White House. On Monday, the Fox News cable channel, as expected, got the most viewers for its convention coverage, averaging 6.4 million in the 10 p.m. hour. Among the mainstream networks, NBC led with 3.9 million. However, the biggest single program audience of Monday night was for reality show “The Bachelorette,” which was seen by some 6.6 million on ABC. About 3 million people turned off when ABC switched to the convention.

HILLARY’S STATE DEPARTMENT BLOCKED Min Wage Hike For Haiti’s Poorest Citizens To Keep Costs Down For U.S. Owned Factories

Corporations first Unfortunately, the poor factory worker in Haiti couldn t help Hillary or her campaign Hillary But just ask her, she ll tell you she s always looking out for the little guy! So much for the champion of the factory worker or the champion of the poor In Haiti, people work for peanuts. Slave wages. Less than $5 per day, but they supply the U.S. with tons of affordable clothing from big-name brands like Levi s, Hanes and Polo. Haiti s big advantage, compared to Asia, is their proximity to us, and thousands of Haitians are employed in the textile industry in part because of that. When Haiti passed a wage raise from $.24 per hour to $.61 per hour, American companies were predictably outraged.Enter Hillary s State Department Hillary Clinton colluded with big business to maintain slave wages for workers in one of the world s poorest countries, according to the host of an RT American comedy news show.Comedian and activist Lee Camp of RT s Redacted Tonight mocked Clinton s efforts to keep 37 cents per hour out of the hands of destitute Haitians. In 2009, while Bill Clinton was setting up one of the family s shell companies in New York, in that same year Hillary Clinton was at the State Department working with U.S. corporations to pressure Haiti not to raise the minimum wage to 61 cents an hour from 24 cents, Camp said April 17. Seriously. Memos from 2008 and 2009 obtained by Wikileaks strongly suggest, but don t prove without a doubt, that the State Department helped block the proposed minimum wage increase. The memos show that U.S. Embassy officials in Haiti clearly opposed the wage hike and met multiple times with factory owners who directly lobbied against it to the Haitian president.The Clinton campaign (as expected) refuted the claim, and the State Department didn t comment.- PolitifactThis took place in 2011, and Hillary Clinton was the Secretary of State. Our corporations were successful, and Haitians continued to work for worse slave wages than they otherwise would have, all so U.S. corporations could take home higher profits.At the time, the U.S. Embassy said that the wage increase didn t take economic realities into account, and that it was a move designed specifically to appeal to the unemployed and underpaid masses of Haiti. Imagine that. Imagine trying to help your people have a better life instead of catering to huge corporations at your people s expense. The horror. News.groopspeakHOPE, not changeIn 2011, Wikileaks made nearly 2,000 cables available to the progressive magazine, The Nation, and Haiti Libert , a weekly newspaper in Port-au-Prince.The two media outlets assessed the cables and found, among many other revelations, that the U.S. Embassy in Haiti worked closely with factory owners contracted by Levi s, Hanes, and Fruit of the Loom to aggressively block a paltry minimum wage increase for workers in apparel factories.The Wikileaks cables show U.S. Embassy officials began monitoring the minimum wage issue as early as 2008, when the Haitian Parliament began discussing doubling or tripling the daily minimum wage of 70 Haitian gourdes to keep up with inflation. That s roughly equal to $1.75 a day, or about 22 cents per hour.(Some context here: Three quarters of Haitians live on less than $2 a day, according to the United Nations World Food Program, while garments constitute about 90 percent of Haiti s exports, according to the Guardian. Haiti increased the daily minimum wage to the equivalent of $5.11 in 2014.)But back in 2008 and 2009, embassy officials repeatedly told Washington that a hike would hurt the economy and undermine U.S. trade preference legislation known as HOPE.The program, shorthand for the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2006, gives garments manufactured on the island duty free access to U.S. markets. Levi Strauss, Haneswear, Nautica, and Dockers are just some of the American companies that benefit from HOPE. Congress passed HOPE II in 2008, extending the program for another 10 years.In January 2008, Ambassador Janet Sanderson wrote that representatives of the business community including the man tasked with implementing HOPE had met with embassy officials and criticized Haitian President Ren Pr val s efforts to raise the minimum wage as the wrong medicine for the ailing economy.An unsigned embassy cable sent to Washington in December 2008 echoed the private sector s assessment and reported that increasing the minimum wage would have significant impact on business.The State Department continued to promote HOPE as an economic boon for the island. In memos prepping U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice and Clinton for their visits to Haiti, charg d affaires Thomas Tighe told the diplomats to urge the Haitian government take advantage of HOPE and HOPE II.For entire story: Politifact

White Racists Are FURIOUS With Netflix; The Poor Little Snowflakes Are Even Boycotting

If it weren t for the whiney phrase, political correctness, which is really just another phrase for being polite, Donald Trump would likely have never invaded the White House. It seems that over the last 50 or so years, black people have gotten much too uppity, so when Netflix announced the release of a series called Dear White People, which isn t supposed to be exactly flattering to white people and especially racist white people, they threw a fit and are canceling their Netflix memberships.Because they can be as cruel as they want toward People of Color, but if the People of Color call them on it, well, that s out of bounds. So, White Supremacists, taking a cue from their Supreme Orange Leader, came up with a protest Twitter hashtag, #NoNetflix.Netflix announced a new anti-white show (Dear White People) that promotes white genocide.I cancelled my account, do the same. #NoNetflix pic.twitter.com/2HIGqviLHj Shia LeBaked (@bakedalaska) February 8, 2017This is the type of anti-white bigotry that gets incited by @Netflix sponsored shows. #NoNetflix pic.twitter.com/gaozYZ6kyO Shia LeBaked (@bakedalaska) February 10, 2017Netflix is working with Code Red Production, peddling their anti-White garbage. #NoNetflix #BoycottNetflix pic.twitter.com/ZutCzDus0L Boatsinker (@Clausfarre143) February 11, 2017To be fair, this is one of the show s writers, but after reading these tweets, I too hate white people and like Moore, I m one of them.Why I canceled my membership @netflix #NoNetflix pic.twitter.com/vQspcNM5Mi trevr (@trevrc) February 9, 2017If you can stomach it, read this trash:retweet and like if you think this guy summed it up beautifully. #netflix #NoNetflix pic.twitter.com/Xf8OVC24Uk Dwight Mann (@geno_philia) February 9, 2017Netflix. More like Nettrix, am I right? #NoNetflix #BoycottNetflix pic.twitter.com/EqDWW4vt5o Boatsinker (@Clausfarre143) February 9, 2017So, what is this that got the Dear White People riled up? This trailer that talks about people dressing up in black face, which I thought we agreed a long time ago was beyond offensive.Take a stroll through those comments and you ll be hating white people too.The series is based on a movie of the same name and if white people watched it with open minds, they would know that no one came across as anything more than flawed human, although deservedly, white people were portrayed as much less aware.Featured image via John Moore/Getty Images

China's Xi: stable development of China-U.S. economic ties to drive global growth

BEIJING (Reuters) - Continued stable development of China-U.S. economic ties will be a major contributor to global growth, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during meetings with United States President Donald Trump in Beijing. China and the United States should face economic issues in a forward-looking and constructive way and resolve problems by expanding economic cooperation, Xi said, according to a statement issued by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday. China agreed to further lower market entry barriers to its banking, insurance, and securities industries and will gradually reduce vehicle tariffs, the statement said. U.S. companies announced a slew of deals on Thursday that could be worth as much as $250 billion during Trump’s visit to Beijing.

Peru president-elect jokes about ending ties with U.S. if Trump wins

LIMA (Reuters) - Peru’s president-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said amid laughter on Tuesday that his government would sever ties with the United States if Republican Donald Trump wins the U.S. presidential election in November. Kuczynski, a 77-year-old former investment banker who won the Andean country’s tight runoff race earlier this month, said he mentioned his worries about a Trump presidency to U.S. President Barack Obama on a congratulatory phone call. Asked by a reporter what would happen to relations with the United States if Trump wins, a laughing Kuczynski said “we’re going to grab a saw and cut them off!” The presumptive Republican nominee in the race to succeed Obama, Trump has sparked criticism across Latin America for his anti-immigrant rhetoric, especially in Mexico where President Enrique Pena Nieto has compared his campaign to the rise of Adolf Hitler. Trump is a threat to the region “because he wants to put up a wall between the United States and Latin America and make Mexicans pay for it!” Kuczynski said in reference to Trump’s proposal for stemming the flow of undocumented immigrants and drugs across the southern U.S. border. Peru is a leading global supplier of copper and gold. It also shares the dubious distinction with neighboring Colombia of being one of the world’s leading producers of cocaine. Peru and the United States implemented a free trade agreement in 2009 and are both signatories of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which Trump has criticized.

Help refugees wherever they come from, Austria's Kurz says

BERLIN (Reuters) - Austria s new Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, called for an end to failed attempts to achieve a quota system for distributing asylum seekers around the European Union and urged new efforts to help refugees in their country of origin. When he was foreign minister, Kurz, a conservative now governing in coalition with the far-right Freedom Party, was a strong critic of Chancellor Angela Merkel s decision to open Germany s borders to more than a million fleeing migrants in 2015. Since becoming Chancellor this week, he has aligned himself with central European neighbors like Hungary and the Czech Republic in opposing German-backed proposals to distribute asylum seekers around EU member states. Forcing states to take refugees doesn t take Europe any further. The discussion makes no sense, he told Germany s Bild am Sonntag newspaper. Migrants who set off for Europe don t want to go to Bulgaria or Hungary. They want to go to Germany, Austria or Sweden. Instead of doubling down on what he termed a failed policy, Kurz called for the EU to support, perhaps militarily , efforts to help migrants in their countries of origin or in neighboring states. If that isn t possible, then they should be helped in safe areas on their own continent, he said. The EU should support that, perhaps even organize it, and back it militarily. It was not clear from the interview extracts, published by the newspaper, what kind of military support he envisaged. But European leaders have on occasion suggested the EU contribute to peacekeeping operations to stabilize conflicts in Africa. The question of how to deal with streams of migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa also divides Merkel s conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) as they prepare for talks on forming a new government. Hard-line members of Merkel s conservative camp demand tight absolute caps on the numbers of refugees allowed to enter Germany each year, while a senior SPD official on Saturday suggested local authorities around Europe be paid to house refugees.

HEY RACHEL MADDOW…While You’re On The Subject Of Taxes…What About Tax Evading Hosts At MSNBC?

So Rachel, now that we re on the subject of taxes President Trump PAID, how about we remind Americans about the tax evaders/MSNBC hosts employed by your leftist network:MSNBC host and perpetual race agitator Al Sharpton certainly gets around quite a bit. Any time there s any sort of Black Lives Matter protest or urban unrest with a race relations twist, Sharpton seems to appear within hours as if by magic. So busy is the man s schedule that he apparently still can t find time to sit down with an accountant and clear up more than a half million dollars in unpaid taxes which the IRS has been pestering him about for some time now. In a follow-up to their previous reports on the subject, the Daily Caller finds that both Sharpton and his MSNBC colleague Joy-Ann Reid are still on the Tax Man s naughty list, despite assurances last year that they were working to settle up their accounts.Watch Jesse Waters confront Al Sharpton and ask him about his unpaid taxes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9YI5-c1udYMSNBC national correspondent Joy-Ann Reid has yet to pay off her still open nearly $5,000 tax warrant that attracted a good bit of attention last year. Ditto for the nearly $600,000 for two tax warrants that New York lists for MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton.In April 2016, New York filed a $4,948.15 tax warrant against Joy-Ann Reid, who serves as managing editor of theGrio.com and until earlier this year hosted MSNBC s The Reid Report, and her husband, Jason. Reid has called taxes on the wealthy a basic fairness argument, also arguing for smart spending and smart tax increases to create economic growth. Daily CallerMeanwhile, Sharpton, whose state and federal delinquencies are the stuff of legend, has, according to records accessed Monday evening at least two open New York tax warrants for nearly $600,00. One judgment, dated May 19, 2009, is for $103,156.06. The other, from December 16, 2008, is for $492,612.41.Sharpton insisted to the New York Post and New York Times in 2014 that he was paying down his debts. The Times article noted that his insistence conflicted with information provided by state officials. Hot AirMaybe the folks over at MSNBC shouldn t worry so much about the taxes Trump PAID and should focus instead on their host s UNPAID taxes!

Japan PM aims to strengthen U.S. alliance under President Trump

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking in parliament hours before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office, said on Friday he wanted to further strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance. Trump sparked worries in Tokyo and the rest of the Asia-Pacific with campaign comments which included a pledge to make allies pay more for the security provided by U.S. forces and opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. “The Japan-U.S. alliance has been, is and will be the cornerstone of our country’s diplomatic and security policies. This is an immutable principle,” Abe said in his policy speech at the start of the regular parliament session. “I am aiming to visit the United States as soon as possible to further fortify the bond of alliance together with new President Trump.” Abe met with Trump in New York after the election in November and called him a “trustworthy leader”. In his speech to parliament, the prime minister repeated his support for TPP, which will go into deep freeze if the United States drops out. “As a flag bearer for free trade, we will build an economic system of the 21st century based on fair rules. The TPP agreement sets the standard for that purpose and serves as the foundation for future economic cooperation,” he said. Japan has ratified the TPP and on Friday notified New Zealand, secretariat for the TPP, it had completed the domestic procedures for the pact, becoming the first country among the 12 signatory nations to do so. New Zealand has ratified the TPP, but not completed the whole domestic procedures. Koichi Hamada, an adviser to Abe and emeritus professor of economics at Yale University, told Reuters that Japan should push back if Trump bases trade and other economic policy on “wrong economics”, in an unusually direct expression of concern about potential protectionism. Echoing the sentiment in Abe’s speech, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida called strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance key to regional peace and prosperity, and said Japan is ready to play a role as a stabilizing power in a world ripe for change. “Uncertainty is growing in the international community, while Japan has conducted stable politics and diplomacy over the past four years and increased its international presence,” Kishida said in his foreign policy speech. “As a stable power, Japan needs to work with countries it shares fundamental values with and take a leading role in the international community, so that this ... will be the year of advancement of Japan’s national interest and of global peace and prosperity.” Abe’s ruling coalition enjoys a two-thirds majority in parliament’s powerful lower house, while the transition of power in the United States, key elections this year in France and Germany and Britain’s departure from the European Union are making the global economic and political outlook uncertain. Trump’s inauguration ceremony will take place later on Friday in Washington, which braces for more than a quarter-million protesters expected during the New York real estate tycoon’s swearing-in. Following the speeches by Abe and Kishida, Finance Minister Taro Aso pledged to stick to the government’s target of achieving a balanced budget in the fiscal year ending in March 2021, by pursuing both economic growth and fiscal consolidation.

Factbox: Clinton's policies on economy, Islamic State, other issues

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has pledged to raise taxes on the wealthy, preserve the Dodd-Frank financial reform law and provide a path to citizenship for undocumented workers. Here are the proposals the former secretary of state has made as part of her argument that she is best qualified to occupy the Oval Office: Clinton has said the rich, not the middle class, would see their taxes go up. She supports billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s eponymous tax proposal calling for those making more than $1 million a year to pay an effective tax rate of 30 percent. Clinton has also called for an additional 4 percent tax on those making more than $5 million annually. Clinton has pledged to raise the estate tax levied on property transferred from a deceased person to their heirs. She also supports a tiered inheritance tax structure, with a top rate of 65 percent on the wealthiest estates of more than $500 million for a single person or $1 billion for a couple. Clinton has pledged to unveil a plan to rebuild U.S. infrastructure during her first 100 days, saying this would create new jobs. She would use some of the revenue generated from her tax plan to pay for making community colleges tuition-free and ensuring students can graduate from public colleges and universities without incurring debt. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that independently scored Clinton’s proposals in their totality, estimated her policies would cost $1.8 trillion over the next decade and would be offset by $1.6 trillion, mostly generated by taxing high earners. The group said the remaining $200 billion could be covered by $275 billion in corporate tax revenue the Clinton campaign has called for but not yet spelled out in sufficient detail for them to credit as an offset at this time. Clinton has promised to propose broad legislation within her first 100 days in office to overhaul the immigration system and establish a process for undocumented workers to become citizens. Clinton has said she will defend executive actions taken by Democratic President Barack Obama to defer deportations of children brought illegally to the United States and the parents of children who are citizens or legal residents. She has said if Congress does not pass comprehensive immigration reform, she will similarly use executive action to defer deportations in “sympathetic cases.” A federal court has ruled that Obama did not have the authority to issue his executive orders on immigration, known as DACA and DAPA. The U.S. Supreme Court, currently short one member, split 4-to-4 on whether to hear the administration’s appeal, leaving the lower court’s ruling in place for the time being. Clinton has promised to preserve the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law enacted after the financial crisis, and to pursue further measures to toughen Wall Street regulations. She has proposed a fee for large financial institutions based on their size and the level of risk they pose. She would also give regulators additional authority to force institutions that pose high risks to break apart or reorganize. Clinton has also urged strengthening the Volcker Rule, which restricts proprietary trading by commercial banks. She has called for a new tax on high-frequency trading and for stricter oversight of hedge funds, private equity firms and other players in the so-called shadow-banking system. She has promised stiffer policies on people who commit financial crimes, including an extension of the statute of limitations on such crimes and a requirement for bank executives to return bonuses if their institutions suffer major losses. Changes to Dodd-Frank have stalled in the Republican-controlled Congress, and it is unclear whether Clinton could get congressional backing to strengthen the law, unless Democrats win control of one or both chambers in the Nov. 8 election. Clinton has pledged to defeat Islamic State and has said the first step to fighting the militant group is to eliminate its strongholds in Iraq and Syria. In a departure from the Obama administration, she supports the establishment of a no-fly zone over Syria and has called for an intensified air campaign by the U.S.-led coalition. Clinton has said she would send additional American special forces to help Arab and Kurdish forces already on the ground. She opposes sending additional U.S. ground troops to the region. Clinton has said the United States and European allies must share intelligence more effectively in order to thwart potential attacks. She has urged Silicon Valley companies to work with the government to track militant recruitment tactics on the internet. Current and former Obama administration officials have told Reuters they believe Clinton would take a harder line on Russia than either Obama or Trump. Clinton has said she believes Russian hackers are behind the breach of Democratic Party systems in an attempt to influence the U.S. presidential election. Clinton has said Russia should play a role in combating Islamic State in Syria, and her foreign policy adviser has said she would consider arming government forces in Ukraine, one of Russia’s neighbors, in a move to combat Russian “aggression in Europe.” Russia has backed ethic Russian separatists in Ukraine. Clinton was a key player in Obama’s “pivot” to Asia when she served as his secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. Clinton has said she will “aggressively pursue trade cases and impose consequences” against China when it commits trade abuses. She opposes granting China market-economy status, which China will be seeking when a World Trade Organization clause expires in December, and has said she would make sure a newly installed trade prosecutor would ensure that China is playing by the rules. Clinton has said she would treat cyber attacks from countries such as Russia and China “like any other attack” and that the United States “will be ready with serious political, economic and military responses.”

Under Armour-sponsored athletes oppose CEO's pro-Trump comments

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Professional ballet dancer Misty Copeland and wrestler turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson joined National Basketball Association star Stephen Curry in opposing comments made by the chief executive of their sponsor Under Armour supporting U.S. President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, Plank expressed support for Trump on CNBC, saying: “To have such a pro-business president is something that is a real asset for the country.” On Thursday, Copeland wrote on her Instagram page (@mistyonpointe) that she strongly disagrees with Plank’s recent comments in support of Trump. Johnson on Twitter (@TheRock) also posted that Plank’s words on CNBC were neither his words or his beliefs. But he added that his disagreement does not mean he will be abandoning Under Armour, with which he currently has a shoe line. Copeland and Johnson join a number of athletes including Curry to speak out against Trump. In an interview with The San Jose Mercury News on Wednesday, Curry, one of Under Armour’s most-visible athletes, said, “I agree with that description (of asset made by Plank), if you remove the ‘et’.” A number of NBA players including Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James, who is endorsed by Nike Inc, have recently expressed concerns over Trump’s policies. But Curry is the first player to directly oppose comments made by their sponsor. Plank’s comments immediately drew backlash on social media with many using hashtags #boycottUnderArmour and #Grabyourwallet to promote a campaign against pro-Trump companies. Under Armour has since released a statement saying Plank’s comments were in regard to Trump’s business policies, not his social viewpoints. “We believe in advocating for fair trade, an inclusive immigration policy that welcomes the best and the brightest and those seeking opportunity in the great tradition of our country, and tax reform that drives hiring to help create new jobs globally, across America and in Baltimore,” the company said. Under Armour is based in Baltimore. Under Armour was not immediately available for comment on Thursday. Curry, who has a multimillion-dollar contract that includes an equity stake in Under Armour that runs through 2024, said in the interview that Plank working with Trump is not a deal-breaker, but he is more concerned about Under Armour adopting Trump’s values. Curry endorsed Hilary Clinton, Trump’s Democrat opponent, in the Nov. 8 election. Shares of Under Armour closed up nearly 3 percent at $21.71 on Thursday.

is america on the brink of civil war

donald trump kicks off final campaign day with fla rally boston globe donald trump is criticizing the fbis decision not to criminally charge hillary clinton he says now its up to the american people to deliver justice at the ballot box trump kicked off his election day eve blitz with a rally monday in florida he told the sarasota crowd that the system is rigged but at least we know it he claimed that our country is a laughing stock all over the world the republican nominee than pantomimed quotation marks when he said the word justice as he hit the fbi and the department of justice for their handling of the case fbi director james comey notified congress sunday that a review of new emails connected to clintons servers did produce evidence that would warrant charges am an exaide to former president bill clinton alleged in a hacked email that chelsea clinton used the familys charitable foundation to help underwrite her wedding the exchange between doug band and hillary clinton campaign chairman john podesta was released by the wikileaks organization stolen messages have chronicled tensions within the clinton foundation between band and the daughter of the democratic presidential nominee band told podesta that chelsea clinton was gossiping to outsiders that she was investigating questionable spending band suggested that she is the one who should be scrutinized for using foundation resources for her wedding he did not provide details about this a clinton foundation spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment band was later forced out amid issues with his outside consulting firm ___ am donald trump is kicking off his last breakneck day of campaigning before polls open with a rally in sarasota florida trump is telling thousands of supporters packed into a local fairgrounds arena monday that the election is now in their hands he told them get out there i mean i did my thing i worked trump is planning to continue a frenzied campaign pace with rallies in five states monday including north carolina pennsylvania new hampshire and michigan trump is also continuing to paint rival hillary clinton as a corrupt and alluding to the scrutiny of her use of a private email sever as secretary of state trump is also having some fun at one point he held up a mask in his likeness and complimented its hair ___ am the white house says it will neither defend nor criticize fbi director james comeys decision to send a new letter to congress about hillary clintons emails thats the same phrasing the white house used when comey initially announced that the fbi was looking into more emails related to its investigation of clinton in a followup letter sunday comey said the fbi review was completed and it was standing by its recommendation that no charges be filed white house spokesman josh earnest on monday told reporters aboard air force one that the white house hasnt been briefed on the investigation and didnt receive advance notice about comeys latest letter earnest says obama still has confidence in comey ___ am philadelphias public transit system will be up and running in time for election day now that a weeklong strike has ended thats a relief to the states democrats democratic city officials were worried that the strike could affect turnout at the polls tuesday pennsylvania does not offer early voting so election day turnout is key the state has favored democrats in recent presidential elections but polls suggest the race is tightening democrat hillary clinton is counting on strong support in the philadelphia area both candidates are campaigning in the state tuesday the southeastern pennsylvania transportation authority and the union representing roughly transit workers announced a tentative agreement early monday subways were soon operating on a reduced schedule and limited trolled serve was restored ___ am the justice department says it will send more than staffers to states on election day to monitor the polls thats a percent reduction from the number four years ago department officials say personnel will be sent to jurisdictions to watch for potential civil rights violations mondays announcement comes amid rising concerns about voter intimidation particularly aimed at minorities the number of personnel is less than the roughly monitors and observers who were dispatched in the justice department has said its pollwatching presence has been curtailed by a supreme court opinion that gutted a key provision of the voting rights act in a statement attorney general loretta lynch said the department is committed to ensuring that every eligible voter can participate in the election ___ am hillary clinton is departing on a multistop swing of the presidential battleground states on the day before the election shes telling reporters that were just going to work until the last vote is counted clinton said monday that while she thinks she has some work to do to bring the country together she wants to be the president for those who vote for her and those who dont she was speaking to reporters at an airport outside new york city clinton said she has a big agenda ahead of us and is vowing to get a lot done if she defeats republican donald trump the democratic presidential nominee was campaigning in pittsburgh grand rapids michigan philadelphia and raleigh north carolina ___ am new jersey gov chris christie says he doesnt know if the george washington bridge lane closure controversy cost him the vice presidential nomination christie said monday on cbs this morning that he was runnerup to be republican donald trumps vice presidential pick he denied a report that trump had offered him the job then rescinded it he said he thinks trump thought indian governor mike pence was the better choice two of christies former allies were convicted friday for their role in realigning access lanes to the bridge in a political revenge plot against a democratic mayor who didnt endorse him christie says he thinks trump will defeat democrat hillary clinton tuesday because the momentum is on his side and the country wants change ___ am ohio democrats want the us supreme court to intervene in their voter intimidation lawsuit in the swing state the party has filed an emergency request for the nations high court to lift a cincinnatibased federal appeals court order that ruling sunday granted the donald trump campaigns request to block a federal judges restraining order democrats said was needed to prevent voter intimidation a th us circuit court of appeals threejudge panel said ohio democrats didnt show a likelihood of success on their cases merits the party told the us supreme court the appellate judges ruled without reviewing critical evidence a lower court judge relied on in ruling that anyone engaging in intimidation or harassment inside or near polling places would face contempt of court charges ___ am donald trumps campaign manager says its not true that his staff has stopped him from tweeting trump has exhibited unusual restraint on social media in the final days of the campaign the new york times reported on sunday that aides have finally wrested away his twitter account president barack obama seized on the report at a voter rally in florida telling the crowd that anyone who cant be trusted with a twitter account shouldnt be trusted with control of the americas nuclear weapons when asked monday about the times report by nbcs today show campaign manager kellyanne conway said no its not true ___ am with the cloud of an fbi investigation lifted hillary clinton and donald trump struck strikingly different tones as they moved into the final hours of a volatile nearly twoyearlong presidential campaign after days of attacks on trumps qualifications and temperament clinton cast herself as the candidate of healing and reconciliation perhaps a surprising position for one of the most divisive figures in american politics trump meanwhile voiced new confidence as he brought his campaign and his dark visions of a rigged american economic and political system to longtime democratic strongholds overshadowing the flurry of lastminute campaigning was fbi director james comeys latest letter to congress informing lawmakers the bureau had found no evidence in its hurried review of newly discovered emails to warrant criminal charges against clinton

State Dept. Releases 7,000 Clinton E-mails But The White House Refuses To Release The Most Important Ones

The State Department released 7,000 Clinton e-mails today and plans to release a total of 55,000 but Mr. Transparency didn t! The most important communications from Benghazi are being kept from the American people until Obama s out of office in 2017. FLASHBACK VIDEO: Obama: Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency. Via: FOX

Michelle Obama Wore A Nice Dress, So Conservatives Called Her ‘Ape’ And ‘Gorilla’ (SCREENSHOTS)

This may shock you, but Michelle Obama wears clothing. In fact, sometimes she wears very nice clothing, like the Naeem Khan dress she wore to the Nordic state dinner on Friday. The Washington Post reports:Michelle Obama is standing out in a sea of black tuxedos in a blush-colored, strapless, floor-length gown at the Nordic Summit dinner.The first lady chose a dress by Indian-born designer Naeem Khan for the White House dinner honoring the leaders of Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Denmark and Norway. She finished the look with gold jewelry and a wispy chignon.While state dinners typically celebrate a single head of state and Mrs. Obama often wears a gown by a designer from the country being honored the Nordic party was a twist on typical White House protocol.The President did, indeed, step on his wife s dress. The First Lady feigned outrage, then the couple had some fun with the situation. She looks good, Barack said when the two paused for photographs. He stepped on my dress, Michelle followed up. The President then put a finger up to his lips, playfully shushing as though the incident was to remain a huge secret. It was a very human moment for the First Couple. Naturally, conservatives had to jump in to share their thoughts on the apes in the White House. You can put lipstick on a monkey, but you still have a monkey, one commenter on ABC News Facebook page wrote. One person wondered if his (Michelle s) fake booby popped out of the dress. Others lamented that she did not fall and harm herself, while some chose to simply call her a pig and a gorilla. The unbridled hatred leveled at the First Family is unprecedented. Recently, upon learning that Malia Obama had gotten into Harvard, Fox News fans took time out of their busy day of huffing paint fumes and masturbating to Donald Trump s photograph to inform everyone they thought she was a n*gger. Barack and Michelle Obama have weathered a nonstop barrage of racist comments since before the President was elected the first time, but conservatives have not been remotely content to leave it at that. They genuinely believe that black people living in the WHITE ( White is, after all, in the name) HOUSE is a crime against nature.Barack Obama has been arguably the best President in decades, perhaps in our country s history, and will probably be the best for at least decades to come. Michelle Obama is a classy woman whose strength has enabled the President to be all that he is. Their children are impressive young ladies who will certainly make an impact on the world. The problem is that our frenemies on the Right are incapable of seeing anything more than a skin color they hate.Watch this deeply human event unfold below:Featured image via screengrab

Trump Takes Credit For Releasing JFK Files, But The Bill Requiring It Was Passed 25 Years Ago

Saturday morning, Trump was going through his usual routine of drinking six quarts of Red Bull while wistfully flipping through his Ivanka photo albums when a novel idea suddenly occurred to him. He raced to Twitter to let his eager followers know exactly what his plans were as the most powerful man in the world:Subject to the receipt of further information, I will be allowing, as President, the long blocked and classified JFK FILES to be opened. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 21, 2017That s right! Donald Trump will finally be opening that presidential book hidden in the Library of Congress (and found by Nicolas Cage) that contains all of the secrets passed down from president to president across the ages to reveal what really happened to JFK.Just kidding! Despite the fact that he tried to make it sound like it was his idea, and happening only under his authority, it turns out that the JFK FILES, as he so loudly put it, were scheduled to be released no later than next Thursday, October 26, 2017. Coincidentally, that date is exactly 25 years to the day after the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 was passed by the 102nd Congress.Okay, I m kidding again. Democratic Senator and American hero John Glenn introduced the bill in July of that year likely while production was wrapping up on Donald Trump s star cameo in the Hollywood blockbuster Home Alone 2: Lost In New York. Especially relevant in the text of the bill is Section 2, which discusses the reasoning behind Senator Glenn s proposal of it.Isn t it weird, how Trump really emphasized the fact that the JFK FILES were long blocked and classified and that he was gonna do something about it? I mean, besides the fact that all he s actually doing is allowing an existing law to, uh, continue to exist and carry out as planned. No, what s weird is WHO long blocked and classified those files. John Glenn (who may or may not know the truth about the moon landing) was kind enough not to name the sitting president he was indicting in this bill for obstructing the files release, but the math is pretty simple: From July to October of 1992, the entire time this bill was debated until its passage, the person referred to as the executive branch was former president (and even former-er CIA Chief) George H.W. Bush.A Republican. As usual.Anyway, thanks, Trumpykins! We really appreciate you, uh, not stopping this thing that was totally going to happen even if you d been hit by a meteor the day you admitted you were a sexual predator. I wonder how long the presidential records on all the crimes you ve committed since your inauguration will remain sealed.Featured image via Chris Kleponis (Pool)/Getty Images

SHERIFF CLARKE HAMMERS HOME THE TRUTH: Protesters Against Trump Are ‘A Conglomeration of Misfits’ [Video]

SHERIFF DAVID CLARKE hammered home the truth on who the protesters are at the Trump rallies:

9 FACTS ABOUT SLAVERY Democrats Don’t Want You To Know

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the email that got john podesta hacked

image credits flickr n the following excerpt is adapted from mendenhalls review of deirdre mccloskeys book bourgeois equality the original review which appeared in the quarterly journal of austrian economics is available here if its true that wayne booth inspired deirdre mccloskeys interest in the study of rhetoric then its also true happily in my view that mccloskey has refused to mimic booths programmatic formulaic methods and boorish insistence on prosaic succinctness bourgeois equality is mccloskeys third volume in a monumental trilogy that began with the bourgeois virtues and bourgeois dignity each published by the university of chicago press this latest volume is a big book alike in kind but not in theme to jacques barzuns from dawn to decadence camille paglias sexual personae or herald bermans law and revolution and law and revolution ii its meandering and personal blending scholarship with an essayistic style that recalls montaigne or emerson mccloskeys elastic arguments are shaped by informal narrative and enlivened by her plain and playful voice at times humorous rambling and deliberately erratic she gives the distinct impression that shes simply telling a story one that happens to validate a thesis shes having fun imagine phillip lopate articulating economic history mccloskey is in this regard a latterday edward gibbon adopting a mode and persona thats currently unfashionable among mainstream historians except that shes more lighthearted than gibbon and unashamedly optimistic mccloskeys elastic arguments are shaped by informal narrative and enlivened by her plain and playful voice at times humorous rambling and deliberately erratic she gives the distinct impression that shes simply telling a story one that happens to validate a thesis shes having fun imagine phillip lopate articulating economic history mccloskey is in this regard a latterday edward gibbon adopting a mode and persona thats currently unfashionable among mainstream historians except that shes more lighthearted than gibbon and unashamedly optimistic writing with an air of confidence mccloskey submits contra thomas piketty that ideas and ideology not capital accumulation or material resources have caused widespread economic development since worldwide material wealth has increased and proliferated the quality of life in poor countries has risen even if it remains unequal to that of more prosperous countries and the typical human being now enjoys access to the food goods services medicine and healthcare that in earlier centuries were available to only a select few in the richest parts of the globe the transition from poverty to wealth was occasioned by shifting rhetoric that reflected an emerging ethical consensus the rhetoricalethical change involved peoples attitudes toward other humans p xxiii namely the recognition of shared experience and sympathy as adam smith stated in the theory of moral sentiments attributing human progress to ideas enables mccloskey to advocate the norms and principles that facilitated economic growth and social improvement eg class mobility and fluidity while generating extensive prosperity thus her project is at once scholarly and tendentious a study of the conditions and principles that in turn she promotes she argues that commercialism flourished in the eighteenth century under the influence of ideas such as human equality of liberty in law and of dignity and esteem p xxix that were packaged in memorable rhetoric and aesthetics not matter mainly but ideas caused the great enrichment p in other words the original and sustaining causes of the modern world were ethical not material and they included the new and liberal economic idea of liberty for ordinary people and the new and democratic social idea of dignity for them p xxxi this thesis about liberty and dignity is clear and unmistakable if only because it is repetitive mccloskey has a habit of reminding readersin case you missed her point the first second or fiftyseventh time aroundthat the causes of the industrial revolution and the great enrichment were ideas not narrowly economic or political or legal changes p she maintains to this end that the scottish enlightenment succeeded in combining the concepts of liberty and dignity into a desirable form of equalitynot equality of outcomes of course but of opportunity and treatment under the law and the scottish model to her mind stands in contradistinction to the french example of centralized topdown codification command planning and design a perennial villain lurks in the pages of her history the clerisy which is an appendage of the bourgeoisie p and often dubbed the elite in regular parlance mccloskey calls the clerisy the sons of bourgeois fathers p xvii and neoaristocratic p the clerisy includes those artists intellectuals journalists professionals and bureaucrats who resent the commercial and bettering bourgeoisie p xvi the clerisy seeks in different ways at different times to extinguish unfettered competition with exclusive illiberal irrevocable grants and privileges that are odious to free society and offensive to the rights of average consumers early on says mccloskey referring to the period in europe after the revolutionary year the clerisy began to declare that ordinary people are misled in trading and so require expert protection and supervision p the clerisy since then has been characterized by paternalism and a sense of superiority because the clerisy is shapeshifting assuming various forms from time to time and place to place its a tough concept to pin down the word clerisy does not appear in the books index to permit further scrutiny by contrast mccloskeys general arguments are easy to follow because the book is separated into parts with questions as their titles subparts consisting of onesentence headings answer those questions in a massive tour de force such as this readers are bound to take issue with certain interpretive claims historians will find mccloskeys summaries to be too breezy even libertarians will accuse her of overlooking manifest wrongs that occurred during the periods she surveys my complaints are few but severe for instance mccloskey is i believe either careless or mistaken to announce that during the nineteenth and early twentieth century under the influence of a version of science in a territory thats never specifically identified the right seized upon social darwinism and eugenics to devalue the liberty and dignity of ordinary people and to elevate the nations mission above the mere individual person recommending for example colonialism and compulsory sterilization and the cleansing power of war p xviii lets hope that its innocent negligence rather than willful distortion that underlies this odd unqualified categorical assertion adam cohens imbeciles and thomas c leonards illiberal reformers describe how in the united states social darwinism and eugenics were adopted primarily though not exclusively by the left not the right these recent books come on the heels of several scholarly treatments of this subject thomas m shapiros population control politics philip r reillys the surgical solution joel braslows mental ills and bodily cures wendy klines building a better race stefan kuhls the nazi connection nancy ordovers american eugenics christine rosens preaching eugenics christina cogdells eugenic design gregory michael dorrs segregations science paul a lombardos edition a century of eugenics in america and alexander minna sterns eugenic nation these represent only a small sampling is mccloskey unware of these texts probably not she reviewed leonards book for reason although she did so after her own book reached press at any rate would she have us believe that emma goldman george bernard shaw eugene debs marie stopes margaret sanger john maynard keynes lester ward and w e b du bois were eugenicist agitators for the political right if so she should supply her definition of right since it would go against commonly accepted meanings on the matter of colonialism and war selfidentified members of the old right such as albert jay nock john flynn and senator robert taft advocated precisely the opposite of what mccloskey characterizes as right these men opposed among other things military interventionism and adventurism the trouble is that mccloskeys muddying of the signifiers left and right comes so early in the bookin the exordium that readers may lose trust in her question her credibility and begin to suspect the labels and arguments in her later chapters other undefined terms only make matters worse ensuring that mccloskey will alienate many academics who as a class are already inclined to reject her libertarian premises she throws around the term romanticism as if its referent were eminently clear and uncontested a conservative and romantic vision p xviii science fiction and horror fiction are offshoots of romanticism p jane austen is not a romantic novelist because she does not take art as a model for life and does not elevate the artist to a lonely pinnacle of heroism or worship of the middle ages or adopt any of the other antibourgeois themes of novalis franz brentano sir walter scott and later romantics p romanticism around revived talk of hope and faith and a love for art or nature or the revolution as a necessary transcendent in peoples lives p romantic candor p the late eighteenthcentury romantic literary critics in england had no idea what john milton was on about sic because they had set aside the rigorously calvinist theology that structured his poetry p the nationalist tradition of romantic writing of history p romantic hostilities to democratic rhetoric p in the eighteenth century the idea of autonomy triumphed at any rate among the progressive clerisy and then became a leading romantic idea á la victor hugo p and the romantic conservative thomas carlyle p to allege that the clerisy was thrilled by the romantic radicalism of books like mein kampf or what is to be done p xviii is also recklessly to associate the philosophies of say keats or coleridge or wordsworth with the exterminatory fantasies of hitler and lenin mccloskey might have guarded against this misleading conflation by distinguishing german idealism or contextualizing hegel or by being more vigilant with diction and definition her loose language will leave some experts i do not profess to be one scratching or shaking their heads and more problematic some nonexperts with misconceptions and misplaced targets of enmity one imagines the overeager and wellmeaning undergraduate having read bourgeois equality setting out to demonize william blake or destroy the reputation of percy shelly about whom paul cantor has written judiciously wouldnt originality imagination creativity and individualismwidely accepted markers of romanticismappeal to mccloskey yet her unconditionally derogatory treatment of romanticismwhich she portrays as a fixed monolithic selfevident thingundermines aspects of that fluctuating movement period style culture and attitude that are or seem to be consistent with her weltanschauung but i protest too much these complaints should not diminish what mccloskey has accomplished would that we had more grand studies that mapped ideas and traced influences across cultures communities and eras mccloskey takes the long view as we all should her focus on rhetoric is crucial to the future of liberty if given the technological advances we have made the work we do will be more and more about decisions and persuading others to agree changing minds and less and less about implementation by hand p equally significant is her embrace of humanomicsdefined as the story of a complete human being with her ethics and language and upbringing p xxwhich materializes in casual references to henrik ibsens plays challenges to the depiction of john milton as a lonely poet in a garret writing merely to the starry heavens p analyses of jane austens novels and portrayals of elizabethan england her historical and narrative arc enables us to contextualize our own moment with all of its troubles and possibilities best of all her book is inspiring and exhilarating and brimming with rousing imperatives and moving calls to action let us then she says at one point not reject the blessings of economic growth on account of planning or pessimism the busybody if wellintentioned rationalism of some voices of the french enlightenment or the adolescent if charming doubts of some voices of the german romantic movement fashionable though both attitudes have long been among the clerisy as rational optimists let us celebrate the great enrichment and the rhetorical changes in freer societies that caused it p at another point she encourages her audience to guard against both cynicism and utopianism p and elsewhere to heed tradetested cooperation competition and conservation in the right mix p these little nudges lend her credibility insofar as they reveal her true colors as it were and demonstrate that she is not attemptingas is the academic wontto hide her prejudices and conceal her beliefs behind pretended objectivities poverty is relative and hence permanent and ineradicable despite mccloskeys claim that we can end poverty p if tomorrow we woke up and the wealth of each living person were magically to multiply twentyfoldeven fiftyfoldthere would still be people at the bottom the quality of life at the bottom however would be vastly improved the current manifestation of global poverty shows how far we as a species have advanced in the last few centuries mccloskey is right we should pursue the ideas that accelerated and achieved human flourishing that demonstrably brought people out of distress and destitution hard sciences and mathematical models are insufficient in themselves to convey the magnitude and splendor of these ideas and their accomplishments hence we should welcome and produce more books like mccloskeys that undertake a rhetoricalethical revaluation to both examine and celebrate a society of open inquiry one which not only depends on rhetoric in its politics and in its science and in its economy but which also yields intellectual creativity and political freedom p in mccloskeys approach economics and the humanities are not mutually exclusive rather they are mutually illuminating and in fact indispensably and inextricably tied an economics that forsakes the dignity of the human person and his capacity for creativity and aesthetics does so at its own peril and to its own disgrace all economics is at its core humanomics we could do without the latter term if we understood the former newsletter sign up get the latest breaking news specials from alex jones and the infowars crew related articles

'Bad news for our enemies': EU launches defense pact

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union nations, now unfettered by Britain s decision to quit, achieved a 70-year-old ambition on Thursday to integrate their defenses, launching a pact between 25 EU governments to fund, develop and deploy armed forces together. European Council President Donald Tusk deemed the move bad news for our enemies . First blocked by the French parliament in the 1950s and later by Britain, which feared creation of an EU army, the pact aims to end the squandering of billions of euros by splintered defense policies. It is also aimed at lowering Europe s heavy reliance on the United States. More than half a century ago, an ambitious vision of the European Defence Community was created but what was missing was the unity and courage to put it into practice, Tusk, who chairs EU summits, said of the failed 1950s attempt. The dream was at odds with reality. Today this dream becomes reality, he said in a speech in front of EU leaders and military personnel from each of the 25 countries involved. Denmark, which has an opt out from EU defense matters, and Malta, were the only EU countries not to sign up, along with Brexiting Britain. French President Emmanuel Macron, whose election victory in May gave new impetus to efforts to revive defense cooperation after Britons voted in 2016 to leave the bloc, hailed concrete progress. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the pact would make the EU more agile abroad and would support NATO. The pact, called Permanent Structured Cooperation, or PESCO, is meant as a show of unity and a tangible step in EU integration, diplomats said, particularly after Britain s decision to leave. Caught off guard by Russia s Crimea annexation in 2014 and facing threats ranging from state-sponsored computer hackers to militant attacks, EU governments say the pact is justified by EU surveys showing most citizens want the bloc to provide security. EU governments proved unable to act as a group in the 1990s Balkan wars and relied on U.S.-led NATO to stop the bloodshed on their doorstep. In Libya in 2011, a Franco-British air campaign ran out of munitions and equipment and was again forced to turn to the United States, in what is considered an enduring embarrassment for the EU, a major economic power. U.S. President Donald Trump s criticism of low European defense spending, a host of divisions on foreign policy, and Trump s warnings to allies that they could no longer rely on the United States if they did not pay up, have also played a role. It s sad that we needed Donald Trump to give us a boost, but whatever, it is the right outcome, said former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer, who as minister backed NATO s intervention in Kosovo in 1999 but opposed the 2003 Iraq war. Unlike past attempts at European defense integration, NATO backs the project, but NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who attended part of the summit, warned against duplication. Twenty-two EU countries are also members of NATO. There has to be coherence between the capability developments of NATO and the European Union. We cannot risk ending up with conflicting requirements from the EU and from NATO to the same nations, he told reporters. Forces and capabilities developed under EU initiatives also have to be available for NATO because we only have one set of forces, Stoltenberg said. Issues remain about financing future EU missions. An EU defense fund, with money from the European Commission for the first time, still needs to be approved, although a pilot phase is already underway for defense research. In one irony noted by EU diplomats, British Prime Minister Theresa May, who attended the summit, was left seeking a way into the project now that it was an actuality. A 1998 Anglo-French EU defense accord is considered the genesis of Thursday s agreement. In a possible compromise on PESCO, Britain may be able to join in later on, but only on an exceptional basis if it provides funds and expertise. Britain and France, both nuclear-armed, are Europe s two biggest military powers, and in 2010 set up a Combined Joint Expeditionary Force to cement long-standing ties in defense. We do face a number of threats across Europe, May said. I m very clear that although the British people took a sovereign decision to leave the EU, that does not mean that we were going to be leaving our responsibilities in terms of European security, she told reporters.

U.S. lawmakers deadlock on Zika virus funds

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers deadlocked over funding to fight the Zika virus on Tuesday, as Senate Democrats blocked a Republican proposal they said fell short of the challenge posed by the mosquito-borne virus and hurt other health priorities. Amid political recriminations by both parties, the Republican plan to provide $1.1 billion in funding to combat Zika, which had already passed the House of Representatives, failed to get the 60 votes needed in the Senate to clear a procedural hurdle. The vote was 52 in favor and 48 against on a mostly party-line vote. It was unclear when Congress would revisit the issue. Democrats urged bipartisan talks, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said lawmakers would address the matter again sometime after the July 4 national holiday next week. Both sides warned the other that there could be a political price to pay in an election year for stalling on Zika funding, with the summer mosquito season under way and with it the threat of the virus spreading. “Here we are, in an utterly absurd position, playing political games as this public health crisis mounts here in our country,” McConnell said. The Zika virus, which has swept through the Americas and Caribbean since last fall, has been linked to thousands of cases of microcephaly, a rare birth defect, in Brazil, as well as to neurological disorders. It has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization. There have not yet been any cases reported of local transmission of the Zika virus in the continental United States, but there have been 820 cases that were acquired from travel to areas with active Zika outbreaks, or through sexual transmission. There have been more than 1,800 cases of Zika infection reported in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory in the Caribbean. Health experts expect local transmission to occur in the continental United States with warmer weather. Democrats have been urging Republicans for months to agree to Zika funding. The Republican plan would have funded mosquito control efforts by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, as well as vaccine research by the National Institutes of Health, and money for community health centers in areas that are experiencing the highest rates of Zika transmission. But Democrats complained that Republicans locked them out of drafting the $1.1 billion funding plan, which would have made $750 million in budget cuts elsewhere. The Republican plan, rushed through the House last week, would have taken money from battling the Ebola virus as well as from funds set aside for implementing the Obamacare health insurance program in U.S. territories. The Senate last month agreed to a bipartisan bill allocating the same amount - $1.1 billion - to fight Zika, but without cutting any other programs. Democrats were especially angry that the Republican proposal that failed on Tuesday would not allow funding to go to private entities such as the women’s healthcare provider Planned Parenthood, although the Zika virus can be sexually transmitted. “I don’t know what universe (McConnell) is living in. What does he think, we’re all stupid, the American people are dumb? They’re not. They understand what’s going here,” Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid declared after the vote. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, had vowed to veto the plan, which falls short of his $1.9 billion request, if it ever arrived on his desk. Republicans charged that the Democrats were blocking the measure mainly because it included no funding for Planned Parenthood, a non-profit group that Democrats and Republicans have been skirmishing over for years. It provides health exams, screening and contraception services to women. Republicans have previously sought to cut off all federal funding to the group, which also provides abortions. Planned Parenthood says abortions make up just three percent of its work. Republican Senator John Thune, referring to Planned Parenthood, charged on Monday that Democrats were more interested in pleasing a what he called a special interest group than in acting on Zika. U.S. health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies. The WHO has said there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can also cause Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that causes temporary paralysis in adults.

WOW! EVEN CNN’s REPORTING On Mueller’s New Russian Investigation Hires Who Made Major Contributions To Hillary, Barack, Schumer Campaigns

CNN Reports Three members of the legal team known to have been hired so far by special counsel Robert Mueller to handle the Russia investigation have given political donations almost exclusively to Democrats, according to a CNN analysis of Federal Election Commission records.

Egypt security forces kill five suspected militants in north: ministry

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces on Monday killed five suspected militants and arrested 10 others in raids in the north of the country, the interior ministry said in a statement. The suspects had planned attacks against public infrastructure and Christians and had links with militants in North Sinai, it said. The raids took place in Alexandria and Qalyubiya provinces. Egypt has regularly carried out arrest raids and reported the killing of militant suspects in recent months as it fights a years-old Islamist insurgency in the remote North Sinai region. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the army and security forces to restore order in Sinai within three months after an attack on a mosque in November that was the deadliest in Egypt s modern history. Islamic State is suspected to have conducted the attack in which more than 300 worshippers died. Security forces have also faced attacks from other Islamists in the west of the country, near the border with Libya.

Families fleeing Syria's Raqqa say air strikes bring heavy toll

RAQQA, Syria (Reuters) - Air raids by U.S. coalition warplanes have intensified in recent days as Kurdish and Arab militias seek to drive surrounded Islamic State militants from their last strongholds in Syria s Raqqa but the toll on civilians has been severe. Hundreds of civilians fled the city on Thursday, many wounded and malnourished after being trapped for months by fighting between Islamic State and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Those who fled said the sheer intensity of the bombardment appeared to have made militants shift their positions, retreat or hide underground, giving civilians a window in which to escape. Abdullah Ali s burns were still raw from an air strike that brought down his building and killed his entire family a week ago in central Raqqa. My wife, mum, dad, all 14 people in my family were killed. Their bodies are trapped under rubble, the 24-year-old said, sitting outside a mosque on Raqqa s outskirts. Ali s neighbor Abdo Hussein said more than 50 people were in the building when the air strike hit. Just a handful survived and 13 bodies had been pulled out, he said. The offensive to drive Islamic State out of Raqqa, its de facto Syrian capital which it seized in 2014, has long outlasted initial predictions by SDF officials who said ahead of a final assault in June that it could take just weeks. The SDF said last week the city could be declared captured in the coming days. There are still several hundred militants in the city and thousands of residents, the coalition says, many of them believed to be held hostage by IS in a hospital and nearby stadium. People had tried to escape before but were shot at by Daesh (Islamic State). I even saw them kill a two-year-old child, Um Moussa, 38, said, sitting inside the mosque. This morning they didn t seem to be around, or weren t firing. My son saw hordes of people leaving so we decided to go for it. I d been sleeping fully dressed we were ready to flee at the first chance, she said, wearing black robes and a face veil required under Islamic State s strict laws. But weakening the militants with air power has come at a high cost in civilian lives, she and others said. Yesterday four entire families were killed in our area. It s strike after strike. All those who escaped on Thursday came from a district near the stadium. They said many buildings had been hit as Islamic State fighters fired from them. Each building has dozens of civilians in it, so of course many have died, said Hussein. Air strikes were precise, often taking out a single building without damaging those next door, but militants often managed to leave before the missiles hit, he said. The coalition says it takes great pains to avoid causing civilian casualties and investigates all reports that it has done so. Residents described miserable living conditions and lack of food, water and medical aid with the remaining areas Islamic State controls completely cut off. Daesh have clinics but it s to treat their fighters, not us, Hussein said. Umm Mousa said she, her husband and eight children had slept in their cellar by night to hide from the bombardment and the militants, but that Islamic State was now deliberately avoiding interaction with residents. They re suspicious, scared, in case any of the civilian population are informers they re keeping their distance a bit now, she said. Local Islamic State fighters have been surrendering in recent weeks, the U.S. coalition and residents say. Outside the mosque, several blindfolded men were brought into an SDF headquarters for questioning. Islamic State foreign fighters are expected to fight to the death, however. The foreigners, those are the hard core, said one escaped resident, Ahmed Faraj. They won t give up.

Wauquiez, tipped to lead French opposition, draws Europe battle lines

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - The man expected to become the leader of France s center-right set out his vision for a multi-speed Europe on Thursday, rejecting the deeper integration sought by President Emmanuel Macron. Speaking in Strasbourg, home to the European Parliament, Laurent Wauquiez said some European Union countries should be allowed to limit their commitment to the bloc to free trade, something that theoretically could allow Britain to re-engage. If the 42-year-old is elected next month to lead The Republicans, his challenge will be to rebuild a once-powerful party that was blown apart by Macron s presidential and parliamentary election triumphs. With Macron s fledgling Republic on the Move party dominating the center, Wauquiez is likely to take The Republicans to the right, fishing for support among eurosceptic National Front sympathizers. The Republicans have only 100 lawmakers in the 577-seat National Assembly, after others split to work more closely with Macron, but are the largest opposition group. With 27 members, Europe isn t working. We have to do something, Wauquiez told reporters. The EU should have a core of between six and 12 members states that would pursue closer cooperation on matters including tax harmonization and employment rights, he said. Other members of the euro zone would form a second tier. Countries wanting only free trade would form a third tier, including Britain if it wanted. I cannot accept that everyone seems to be congratulating themselves that Britain is leaving, Wauquiez said. In September, Macron painted a sweeping vision for European renewal, calling for the EU to work more closely on defense and immigration and for the euro zone to have its own budget. Describing himself as a committed European , Wauquiez rejected that as well as any plan to further enlarge the EU further. Macron s big mistake is to pit French sovereignty against the European project ... to think we need more federalism. I on the other hand believe in a union of nation states, Wauquiez told Le Figaro. Wauquiez served as the party s interim leader last year after former president Nicolas Sarkozy quit the post to contest the party primary for a second crack at the presidency. One Paris-based senior EU diplomat described him as a tough politician whose leadership of The Republicans would squeeze the political space open to the National Front. The National Front suffered its own bruising in the elections, with its leader Marine Le Pen trounced by Macron in the second round of the presidential vote and the party performing weakly in the parliamentary election. Le Pen has softened her anti-EU stance in past weeks as her far-right party, split by deep internal divisions over its view on Europe, seeks to reinvent itself.

Trump Gets Laughed Off Twitter For Claiming That All Protesters Against Him Are Paid Thugs

Donald Trump is either really desperate to make it sound like everyone loves him or he s totally delusional.Because ever since inauguration day, millions of Americans have been participating in protests against him and his disastrous administration.The Women s March of Washington DC not only dwarfed Trump s inauguration crowd by a landslide, it was joined by people around the globe.And the protests haven t stopped.They continued outside the White House as Trump watched Finding Dory while worldwide chaos continued due to his Muslim ban. It s been two weeks since Trump took office and he has already been protested and hated by more people than any other president in history.But Trump took to Twitter on Friday morning to claim that all the protesters are just thugs who have been paid to protest him, suggesting that the protesters really love him and are only protesting to make some money.Professional anarchists, thugs and paid protesters are proving the point of the millions of people who voted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2017And protesters responded by laughing at him..@realDonaldTrump I was in the march on D.C. , where national guard helped us; can you let me know where to get my check? ;-) pic.twitter.com/HUJH8A4f93 Dr. Craig Malkin (@DrCraigMalkin) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump yes, yes I know; it s all part of a George Soros conspiracy that no protestor seems aware of. Dr. Craig Malkin (@DrCraigMalkin) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump I protested peacefully this week. I did it because I despise your policies. Didn t know I could get paid. Will do it again. Matt Haig (@matthaig1) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump I ve said this before, but please let me know how we re getting paid, because so far I ve been doing this pro bono. Alex Zalben (@azalben) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump also, everyone I know is protesting you for free, spending large chunks of time to stop you and your anarchist agenda. Alex Zalben (@azalben) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump it s almost as if we just throwing it out there don t like you? Alex Zalben (@azalben) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump What qualifications to professional anarchists need and what s the pay like? Neil Claxton (@MintRoyale) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump great point! Let s talk votes and the millions more who voted against you. Just about 3M more than the votes for you ?? Jose Andrade (@jandrade) February 3, 2017.@realDonaldTrump You re letting the actions of a handful overshadow the legitimate concerns of the 65 million people who voted for Hillary? Jordan Uhl (@JordanUhl) February 3, 2017.@realDonaldTrump There were several hundred thousand if not a million people in your back yard for #WomensMarch.Zero arrests. Jordan Uhl (@JordanUhl) February 3, 2017.@realDonaldTrump So to make your case by handpicking a few bad actors out of the millions of protesters nationwide is disingenuous. Jordan Uhl (@JordanUhl) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump where did you get info they are being paid? Evan Rosenfeld (@Evan_Rosenfeld) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump so which of these tweets was a lie? pic.twitter.com/8tyVjCTDjx talia jane (@itsa_talia) February 3, 2017.@realDonaldTrump Hard to pay all the people at the Women s March. You remember, the one that had better attendance than your inauguration. Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) February 3, 2017Donald Trump is a thug who brought a band of thugs to the White House with him to terrorize the American people and destroy our nation. He is an embarrassment who thinks protests and dissent should be silenced.And that s why we should turn up the heat by protesting him more.Featured image via Joe Raedle/Getty Images

BREAKING AUDIO RELEASED: Paul Ryan Caught On Tape: “I am not going to defend Donald Trump…not now, not in the future”

On a never-before-released private October conference call with House Republican members, House Speaker Paul Ryan told his members in the U.S. House of Representatives he was abandoning then-GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump forever and would never defend him ever again. In the Oct. 10, 2016 call, from right after the Access Hollywood tape of Trump was leaked in the weeks leading up to the election, Ryan does not specify that he will never defend Trump on just the Access Hollywood tape he says clearly he is done with Trump altogether. I am not going to defend Donald Trump not now, not in the future, Ryan says in the audio, obtained by Breitbart News and published here for the first time ever.Now, Ryan still the Speaker has pushed now President Donald Trump to believe his healthcare legislation the American Health Care Act would repeal and replace Obamacare when it does not repeal Obamacare. Ryan has also, according to Trump ally Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), misled President Trump into believing that Ryan s bill can pass Congress. Paul and others believe the bill is dead on arrival in the U.S. Senate since a number of GOP senators have come out against it, and there are serious questions about whether it can pass the House. This is the first major initiative that Trump has worked on with Ryan and the fact it is going so poorly calls into question whether Speaker Ryan, the GOP s failed 2012 vice presidential nominee who barely supported Trump at all in 2016, really understands how Trump won and how to win in general.The October conference call apparently was intended only for House Republican members. It s unclear which or how many House Republicans took part in the call, whether the participants knew it was being recorded, who made the recording, or whether a recording exists of the entire call. The remarks on the portion provided to Breitbart News certainly sound like they were coming from Speaker Ryan, who seemed to be abandoning his party s presidential nominee altogether just weeks before the election. He says not only will he not defend the Access Hollywood comments, but he will not campaign with Trump at all between this call on Oct. 10, 2016, and the general election for the presidency on Nov. 8 and that Ryan would not defend Trump on anything generally. For entire story- Matthew Boyle, Breitbart NewsLISTEN:

#CrookedHillary’s Karma! NEW POLL Shows Trump Takes Lead In BLUE STATES: Michigan, Wisconsin, New Hampshire And Maine

Just think how Trump s polling numbers would look if the media wasn t beating the anti-Trump drum 24/7 and if Hillary was forced to talk to reporters about the rash of new evidence uncovered by conservative media over the past two weeks Ipsos is a top-ranked polling firm and it is producing a series of state polls showing Donald Trump doing dramatically better than the polls by other trusted polling firms. Those Ipsos state polls show Trump clinching leads in New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Maine.That s really big because President Barack Obama won all those states in 2012. Obama won Wisconsin by 6.7 points, Michigan by 9.5 points, Maine by 15.1 points, and New Hampshire by 5.8 points.The firm s accumulation of state polls, however, still leaves Clinton far ahead of Trump in total electoral votes.The likely difference between Ipsos which conducts polling for the Reuters news service and the many other polling firms is their turnout prediction for November. Winning the White House depends as much on who comes out to vote as which candidate Americans prefer. Each week, we poll more than 15,000 people, then factor in likely turnout among key demographics to see how voting would play out in the Electoral College, according to Ipsos. Currently, Reuters/Ipsos estimates overall turnout at around 60%, although that rate varies among different demographic groups. Minority turnout, for example, is expected to be about 43%, while about 59% of African-American women and 69% of White men are projected to cast ballots, according to a site run by Reuters and Ipsos. Breitbart

Iraq parliament panel asks government to 'reciprocate' to U.S. travel curbs

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq’s foreign affairs committee on Sunday said the U.S. travel curbs imposed on Iraqis were “unfair,” and asked the government in Baghdad to “reciprocate” to the American decision. The committee made its call after a meeting in Baghdad. “We ask the Iraqi government to reciprocate to the decision taken by the U.S administration,” said the committee in a statement read to Reuters by one its members, Hassan Shwerid. “Iraq is in the frontline of the war of terrorism (..) and it is unfair that the Iraqis are treated in this way.”

Trump in tax meeting amid fight with Republican senator

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump began talks with Republican senators on Tuesday to try to build consensus for proposed tax cuts in a meeting that was overshadowed by an exchange of insults between the president and one of the lawmakers. Trump has asked his fellow Republicans who control Congress to pass a package of tax cuts, including a deep reduction in the corporate income tax, by year’s end. But hours before he was to promote the tax plan at a weekly lunch for Republican senators on Capitol Hill, Trump engaged in a distracting tussle with one of those lawmakers: Bob Corker, a leading fiscal hawk and the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Bob Corker, who ... couldn’t get elected dog catcher in Tennessee, is now fighting Tax Cuts,” Trump wrote on Twitter, later adding that the senator is “incompetent.” Trump arrived at the Capitol building with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for the lunch and gave a thumbs up to waiting reporters. A protester threw a handful of small Russian flags toward Trump and shouted comments about accusations of collusion between his presidential campaign and Moscow. Both Trump and Russia deny colluding but a special counsel appointed by the U.S. Justice Department and congressional committees are looking into the matter. Alienating any members of his own party could be costly for Trump’s legislative initiatives in the Senate because Republicans control the chamber by just a slim 52-48 margin. Corker warned Trump in television interviews against interfering in congressional efforts to finalize the legislation to cut taxes and called the president’s visit with Senate Republicans “a photo op.” “Hopefully, the White House will step aside and let that occur in a normal process,” the Tennessee Republican told NBC’s “Today” program. “That’s the best way for us to have success.” Corker also described Trump in a Twitter post as “an utterly untruthful president,” and in television interviews accused Trump of debasing the United States. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan urged reporters to ignore the Trump-Corker spat and concentrate on the tax plan. “Put this Twitter dispute aside. The fact is we have an historic chance of fixing this tax code,” Ryan said. Ryan added that he knows Corker well and predicted that the senator is “going to vote for tax reform.” Ryan said he wants the House to pass the Republican tax cut bill by the Nov. 23 U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, echoing Trump’s call to speed up the party’s efforts to get the measure approved before year’s end. CNBC reported that Republicans plan to release their tax bill on Nov. 1 after an expected House vote on Thursday on a Senate-approved budget plan. House leaders are eager to get a tax bill voted on before the Dec. 8 deadline for a possible government shutdown comes into view, as it is likely to distract from the tax overhaul, financial firm Cowen and Co. said in a research note. “The Senate time-frame on taxes remains much more of a mystery with a Senate Finance draft likely in the late November/early December time frame,” Cowen analyst Chris Krueger said. Securing congressional passage of his tax plan is critically important to Trump, who has yet to get major legislation through Congress since taking office in January, including a healthcare overhaul he promised as a candidate last year. Tax cuts were another of Trump’s campaign pledges. The White House argues that tax cuts are needed to boost economic growth and create jobs, but has shown sensitivity in recent weeks to arguments that it is endangering America’s long-term fiscal health. Trump said he believed the tax overhaul would help bring in $4 trillion in foreign profits from U.S. companies. “It’s going to bring back, I would say, $4 trillion back into this country,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “Nobody even knows the amount,” Trump said. Market analysts estimate that about $2.6 trillion in profits is being held offshore by U.S. multinationals to avoid the current 35 percent U.S. corporate income tax. Trump’s tax plan would require multinationals to bring in, or repatriate, those profits at a sharply reduced tax rate payable over several years. One of the key elements of the proposal is to slash the corporate income tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent. While the broad parameters of the tax proposal have been made public, detailed legislation has not yet been unveiled. Democrats have painted Trump’s plan, with its $6 trillion in tax cuts, as a gift to the rich and corporate America that would balloon the federal deficit. Trump promised on Monday to protect a popular retirement program as Republican lawmakers seek ways to pay for the proposed cuts.

EXPOSED: Facebook Blacklists Conservative News & Falsified ‘Black Lives Matter’ Trend

21st Century Wire says Censorship is running rampant on the world s largest social media website.Watch a video of this report here:. Former Facebook workers have come out with shocking revelations that the social media giant is actively censoring conservative news topics and reports, while also falsifying its list of trending topics.The source says that workers routinely prevented stories about the right-wing CPAC gathering, Mitt Romney, Rand Paul, and other conservative topics from appearing in the highly-influential section, despite the fact that they were organically trending on the site.The workers were known as news curators , and even actively injected news stories and reports into the trending list even when they were not organically popular enough to be included.Facebook claims that the site s news trends section shows you topics that have recently become popular on Facebook , but these revelations mean that the section actually just reflects the personal biases of its owners and the institutional concerns of the corporation.The anonymous source said: Depending on who was on shift, things would be blacklisted or trending, I believe it had a chilling effect on conservative news, I d come on shift and I d discover that CPAC or Mitt Romney or Glenn Beck or popular conservative topics wouldn t be trending because either the curator didn t recognize the news topic or it was like they had a bias against Ted Cruz. The source kept an active log of the omissions, which included former IRS official Lois Lerner, who was accused by Republicans of inappropriately scrutinizing conservative groups; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; popular conservative news aggregator the Drudge Report; Chris Kyle, the former Navy SEAL who was murdered in 2013; and former Fox News contributor Steven Crowder.Yet, while omissions are worrying, the scariest aspect of this story is how Facebook actively injects falsified trends into the news feeds of its one billion users. The corporation can fraudulently set not only a national, but international, conversation on a topic of its choosing and also skew its bias toward which ever way its owners lean.The source continued: Facebook got a lot of pressure about not having a trending topic for Black Lives Matter. They realized it was a problem, and they boosted it in the ordering. They gave it preference over other topics. When we injected it, everyone started saying, Yeah, now I m seeing it as number one . The Black Lives Matter movement is widely credited as having originated from social media, but this suggests that its true origins lie elsewhere in the hands of very small group of elite news curators seeking to implement their own personal agenda in American politics.Facebook s response to these damning revelations is most definitely lacking: We take allegations of bias very seriously. Facebook is a platform for people and perspectives from across the political spectrum. Trending Topics shows you the popular topics and hashtags that are being talked about on Facebook. There are rigorous guidelines in place for the review team to ensure consistency and neutrality. These guidelines do not permit the suppression of political perspectives. Nor do they permit the prioritization of one viewpoint over another or one news outlet over another. These guidelines do not prohibit any news outlet from appearing in Trending Topics. READ MORE ON FACEBOOK S SCHEMING: 21st Century Wire Facebook Files

Sessions slams Chicago sanctuary policies

(Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday strongly criticized the city of Chicago’s political leadership, citing its so-called sanctuary policies as an example of the breakdown of law and order in the country. Sessions has begun imposing new restrictions on some law enforcement grants to cities that decline to use municipal resources to enforce federal immigration laws. Chicago, along with the state of California and city of San Francisco, sued this month over those conditions. President Donald Trump frequently criticizes Chicago and its high murder rate, and cracking down on illegal immigration was a theme of his 2016 presidential campaign. Democratic city and state leaders argue that sanctuary policies build trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement, which helps deter crime. In a speech in Miami, Sessions praised leaders of Miami-Dade County for complying with requirements that allow federal immigration authorities access to detainees in local jails. Chicago’s refusal to do the same has made it a haven for predators and drug dealers, Sessions said. “Respect for the rule of law has broken down,” Sessions said. “In Chicago, I suggest, the so-called ‘sanctuary’ policies are just one sad example.” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement the city “will not cave” to federal officials. “In a week in which the Trump administration is being forced to answer questions about neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and the KKK,” Emanuel said, “they could not have picked a worse time to resume their attack on the immigrants who see America as a beacon of hope.” Sessions said Miami-Dade County’s homicide count is barely a third of what it was in the 1980s, and this year Chicago has more than three times as many as Miami-Dade does. The county includes the city of Miami and surrounding areas, and is similar in population size to Chicago. Immigration advocates say there is no correlation between immigration and violent crime. Los Angeles, which also has embraced sanctuary city policies, has seen a sharp drop in homicides since they reached a high in the early 1990s. In 1992, 1,094 people were killed in the city, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting statistics. In 2016, the Los Angeles Police Department reported 294 homicides. Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a statement that shootings are down 16 percent this year, and that undocumented immigrants are not driving violence in the city.

Amid Trump backlash, his U.N. envoy says stand up, isolate hate

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told staff in an email - seen by Reuters on Friday - that everyone must stand up and condemn hate, as President Donald Trump faces a backlash for his response to violence at a protest by white nationalists. Trump blamed both sides for clashes in the southern college town of Charlottesville in Virginia last weekend, where white nationalists were protesting the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. A woman was killed when a suspected white nationalist plowed his car into a crowd. “Those who march spewing hate are few, but loud. We must denounce them at every turn, and make them feel like they are on an island and isolate them the same way they wish to isolate others,” wrote Haley, a member of Trump’s cabinet, in the email sent Thursday to staff at the U.S. mission to the United Nations. Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, said the “horrible acts” seen in Charlottesville “took me back to sad days dealing with the Charleston tragedy in 2015.” Haley attracted national attention when she secured the removal of the Confederate battle flag from South Carolina’s capitol grounds after a white supremacist killed nine black churchgoers in Charleston. “People aren’t born with hate. We all have a responsibility to stand up and condemn it,” Haley wrote in the email to staff, which did not refer to Trump. “While we should respect diversity of viewpoints, it is incumbent on us to challenge hate with the values we cherish. And it is incumbent on us to never, ever countenance violence as we do so,” she said. Trump has alienated Republicans, corporate leaders and U.S. allies, rattled markets and prompted speculation about possible White House resignations with his comments since the violence in Charlottesville. On Monday, Trump bowed to political pressure and denounced neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan by name, but on Tuesday he again inflamed tensions by insisting counter-protesters were also to blame and that there were “very fine people” among both groups. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and several top U.S. military officers have since broadly condemned racism. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a Twitter post on Tuesday said that racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia were “poisoning our societies,” adding: “We must stand up against them. Every time. Everywhere.”

Bill Maher Takes Down Trump’s Lying Chief Of Staff In BLISTERING Rebuke (VIDEO)

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is a Four Star Marine General who gave his son to this nation. That is why it was such a relief when he joined the Trump White House. Everyone thought he d bring order to a dangerously chaotic situation. However, as Donald Trump s attacks on Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) in the midst of a Gold Star family s grief, General Kelly revealed his true colors. Instead of smoothing things over, he escalated the attacks, and actually lied about Rep. Wilson from the White House press podium. Well, one person isn t having any of this crap: Comedian and host of HBO s Real Time Bill Maher.During a blistering statement on his Friday night panel, Maher said of Kelly: He smeared and lied. He smeared that congresslady and he lied about it. He was supposed to be the Trump-minder, but now he acts like Trump. You can be this guy that everybody says you are the man of unimpeachable integrity, or you can take political hit shots and be the hatchet man. You can t do both. Maher is correct. Kelly s integrity is no longer unimpeachable, because he chose to utter provable lies from the White House press podium and has also chosen not to apologize for it. He defended the indefensible with regards to Trump s appalling statements to the Myeshia Johnson, the grieving widow of Army Sergeant La David Johnson. With that, Kelly smeared something that is supposed to be sacred, and he cannot take that back.I never thought I d say this about a man who has given so much to this country including his own son but here it is: Shame on you, John Kelly. You ve disgraced your position with what you have done. You should apologize to Sgt. Johnson s widow, and to the nation and then you should resign.Watch Maher s remarks below:Featured image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Obama administration asks Supreme Court to rehear immigration case

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a last-ditch effort to revive a White House plan to protect up to 4 million immigrants from deportation, the Obama administration on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rehear a case on which the eight-member court was split 4-4 last month. The June 23 high court decision left in place a lower court ruling that blocked the plan, which has never been in effect. The court is currently one justice short following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February. In a filing, the Justice Department asked the court to take a second look at the case once it has a full complement of nine justices. It is unclear when that would be, as the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate has declined to act on Obama’s nominee, appeals court judge Merrick Garland. As such, even if the Supreme Court was to grant the request, it is unlikely to rule on the case until well after Obama leaves office in January. Acknowledging that the high court rarely rehears cases, Acting Solicitor General Ian Gershengorn said the immigration case is unique because the court could not in future take another case to resolve the issue if the plan is blocked. The high court “should be the final arbiter of these matters through a definitive ruling,” he wrote. Obama unveiled his plan in November 2014. It was quickly challenged in court by Republican-governed Texas and 25 other states that argued that Obama overstepped the powers granted to him by the U.S. Constitution by infringing upon the authority of Congress. “Because we are right on the law, we have prevailed at every stage in this case, and we are confident that we will continue to prevail,” said Marc Rylander, a spokesman for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. As a result of the high court’s 4-4 split, a 2015 lower-court ruling invalidating Obama’s plan was left in place. The plan never was implemented because the lower courts had blocked it. The plan was tailored to let roughly 4 million people - those who have lived illegally in the United States at least since 2010, have no criminal record and have children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents - get into a program that shields them from deportation and supplies work permits. Obama took the action after Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives killed bipartisan immigration legislation that was passed by the Senate in 2013.

Clinton extends lead over Trump to 8 percentage points: Reuters/Ipsos

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton extended her lead over Republican rival Donald Trump to eight percentage points, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday, from six points on Friday. The bump for Clinton followed the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia last week at which Clinton and her supporters painted an optimistic portrait of America, and came amid controversy over Trump’s comments about the parents of a slain Muslim U.S. soldier. About 43 percent of likely voters favor Clinton, 35 percent favor Trump, and 9 percent picked “Other,” according to the July 28-Aug. 1 online poll of 1,289 likely voters. The poll had a credibility interval of 3 percentage points. Trump has faced a barrage of criticism in recent days from political allies as well as opponents after he criticized the parents of U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan, who was killed in Iraq in 2004. The father, Khizr Khan, had harsh words for Trump at the Democratic convention where he spoke on Thursday night, saying the 70-year-old businessman and former reality TV star had “sacrificed nothing and no one” and railing against his calls to ban Muslim immigrants. Trump responded saying Khan “viciously attacked” him, and suggested the man was repeating lines fed to him by the Clinton campaign. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who dropped out of the Republican presidential primary race and endorsed Trump, said on Tuesday that Trump’s criticisms of the Khans was “inappropriate.” House Republican Richard Hanna of New York said it was “not enough to simply denounce his (Trump’s) comments,” and said he would support former Secretary of State Clinton instead. Trump had a short-lived bump in the polls after the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in late July, when Reuters polling showed him slightly ahead of Clinton for the first time since May.

Zimbabwe's Mugabe 'glowed' with relief after he quit: priest

CHISHAWASHA, Zimbabwe (Reuters) - Robert Mugabe s face glowed with relief when he agreed to step down as Zimbabwe s president last week under pressure from the military and his party after 37 years in power, the priest who mediated his resignation said on Sunday. Father Fidelis Mukonori, a Jesuit priest who is a close Mugabe friend, laughed off a report by the privately owned Standard newspaper that Mugabe cried and lamented the betrayal by close lieutenants when he agreed to resign. When he finished his signature his face just glowed, no weeping unless there were angels weeping somewhere, Mukonori told Reuters after mass at the Chishawasha Catholic mission just outside the capital Harare. For me it was a sign that he was accepting that ah this is done , he is relieved, not that he is aggrieved but relieved. He said Mugabe realized it was the end of the road two days before he resigned, when he saw 60,000 Zimbabweans protesting and demanding he quit at the Harare grounds where he was inaugurated as prime minister in 1980. His signed resignation letter was read out on Tuesday, as parliament heard a motion to impeach him. Sources have told Reuters Mugabe was defiant when he met army top brass on Nov. 16 - which was the start of an extraordinary five-day standoff between Mugabe and Zimbabwe s supreme law on one side, and the military who had seized power, his party and Zimbabwe s people on the other. The 93-year-old president finally accepted defeat only after he was sacked by his ZANU-PF party and faced the ignominy of impeachment. Mugabe s fall after 37 years in power was spurred by a battle to succeed him that pitted his former deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa, who had stood by him for 52 years, and Mugabe s wife Grace, who is 52. Mnangagwa was sworn in as president on Friday and all eyes now are on whether he will name a broad-based government or select figures from Mugabe s era. Mukonori said Mugabe had wanted a gradual and smooth transition of power to Mnangagwa, whom he had fired as vice president two weeks ago, but this was thwarted after Mnangagwa failed to immediately return from exile in South Africa. The Standard newspaper, which has been critical of Mugabe and his government over the years, urged Mnangagwa to walk the talk on graft . At his swearing in ceremony, Mnangagwa said he valued democracy, tolerance and the rule of law and would tackle corruption. He has also urged citizens not to undertake vengeful retribution . The new government is already moving to bring some of Mugabe and his wife s close associates to court. Former finance minister Ignatius Chombo faced magistrates on Saturday on corruption charges. He did not enter a plea. Chombo was among several members of a group allied to Grace who were detained and expelled from the ZANU-PF after the military seized power in Operation Restore Legacy which it said was meant to remove the criminals around Mugabe. Chombo, who told the court he was forcibly removed from his home on Nov. 15 by armed men in military uniform, was detained until Monday when his bail application will be heard. He was led away in leg irons together with ousted head of the ZANU-PF s influential youth league Kudzanai Chipanga.

TRUMP AND CRUZ ANNOUNCE A JOINT RALLY TO PROTEST THE IRAN DEAL

This is great and so wonderful to see the positive events pushing back on the Obama policies. Everyone knows the Iran deal is a stinker but Trump and Cruz are the first to actually protest in a big way on it. This could be the beginning of a force to be reckoned with Trump and Cruz hummmWASHINGTON DC Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will jointly host a rally at the Capitol in the coming weeks to protest the nuclear deal with Iran, Cruz s campaign said on Thursday.A date for the presidential candidates event has yet to be announced, but its planning underscores the strengthening ties between the two Republicans.Trump, the clear front-runner in the GOP primary, has refrained from launching his harshest barbs at Cruz, and the Texas senator has likewise declined to join in the attacks against Trump that have become common among many of their Republican rivals. Instead, Cruz has said he is grateful for Trump s focus on immigration despite the controversial nature of his comments.Read more: The Hill

WATCH: Paul Ryan Basically Admits Republicans Will Kill Birth Control Coverage For Women

Republicans are frothing at the mouth with excitement that Donald Trump could be the rubber stamp president they have been looking for.Paul Ryan has wanted to repeal Obamacare ever since it became law, not because it s a bad law as he and others in the GOP have claimed, but because it s the signature achievement of America s first black president. And they intend to do so no matter how many millions of Americans are harmed.One particular group of women who would be harmed is women.Women benefit from Obamacare because the law prevents insurance companies from labeling them as a pre-existing condition just for being a woman. Women can also keep their children on their insurance plan until they reach the age of 26 and get easier access to birth control, which insurance companies are required to cover.One would think Republicans would be all for this last benefit, especially since better access to contraception prevents unwanted pregnancies, therefore reducing the abortion rate.But during an interview with CNN s Jake Tapper, the current Speaker of the House literally refused to confirm whether or not the birth control mandate in Obamacare is safe. I m not going to get into all the little nitty-gritty details of these things, Ryan said, which drew a sharp rebuke from Tapper. With all due respect, Tapper began. I don t know that the average woman of childbearing years out there who relies upon contraception provided by health insurance mandated by the Affordable Care Act, I don t know that she would think that that s just a nitty-gritty detail. Ryan responded by whining. You re asking me details about legislation that hasn t been written yet! Ryan complained. I m not going to get into hypotheticals about legislation that hasn t even been drafted. Here s the video via YouTube:In other words, Paul Ryan basically just admitted that Republicans will kill the Obamacare birth control mandate. He s just too much of a coward to say so because he knows women will be pissed off.Women should be able to have just as much access to birth control as men do. Men should not be allowed to legislate what women are allowed to do with their bodies, and that includes the decision to use contraception. But as usual, Republicans intend to wage war on women unlike anything we ve ever seen before.Featured Image: Screenshot

On His Way Out The Door, Harry Reid Gives Big ‘F*ck You’ To Republicans And Hands Nevada To Hillary

Assuming Hillary Clinton wins Tuesday s election, as she s predicted to do, she will owe at least part of her success to the Senate Minority Leader and Senior Senator from Nevada, Harry Reid.Nevada, which is a traditional red state, is a tossup this year. FiveThirtyEight shows both Donald Trump and Clinton in a statistical near tie, but early voting trends seem to be putting the race firmly in Clinton s camp. This is especially good news for Clinton because if she wins Nevada s six electoral votes, it will mean that she can still afford to lose Florida and North Carolina. Trump won t (and doesn t) have that luxury. If Clinton does win, that will be Reid s doing:Yet about one thing Trump was right: Harry Reid built this. After two years of boosting voter registration among key Democratic demographics, the retiring Senate minority leader has brought turnout among Hispanics in the state to record levels. In doing so, he s almost surely delivered the state for Hillary Clinton and possibly with it the presidential race (Trump has only the narrowest path to 270 electoral votes without Nevada). The reality of this election is that if Clinton wins, especially if she ends up needing Nevada, it s not a stretch to declare that Reid was the single most important person in her victory.Source: PoliticoTrump is complaining about the turnout of Latino voters, but he has no one to blame but himself. His campaign began by attacking Mexican immigrants and calling them rapists and drug dealers, and it expanded into an all out attack on immigrants. Then, there was the judge he said couldn t be partial since he was Mexican. The judge isn t. He s Mexican-American. Or, there are Trump s attacks on Univision s Jorge Ramos. The list could go on, but it s cost Trump big. Clinton has the support of 3/4 of Latinos and Trump has the lowest approval rating among Latinos than anyone in more than 30 years.Reid s ground operation exploited the fear and loathing of Trump to the max, and the early results bear it out: Whereas the Latino vote was 15 percent of the Nevada electorate in 2008 and 18 percent in 2012, data I have seen shows now it is up 30 percent from 2012 in early voting, meaning it could go above 20 percent of all voters by Tuesday evening. We ve been focused on registering and building our Latino turnout from Day 1, said one Democratic organizer. That is paying dividends with Latino turnout up in the early vote and potentially up overall. In five out of the six highest Hispanic precincts, turnout in the early vote exceeded 12. Right now, Nevada appears almost un-winnable for Trump. If he loses, that will pretty much seal his fate. As for Reid, well, he will no longer be in office and the Senate race in Nevada is a squeaker, but it s hard to imagine that if Hillary walks away with the state in her pocket, so will Cortez Masto, the Democratic poised to replace Reid.Featured image via Ethan Miller/Getty Images.

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MAN Who Reformed Welfare And Balanced 4 Straight Budgets…

Boom! Share this everywhere, as Hillary aligns herself with her with the successes of her philandering, lying husband

Appellate judges Garland, Srinivasan considered for U.S. top court: NYT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House is vetting federal appellate judges Merrick Garland and Sri Srinivasan as possible nominees to the Supreme Court to replace late Justice Antonin Scalia, the New York Times reported on Friday. The FBI has been conducting background checks on Garland and Srinivasan, the Times said, citing a person with knowledge of the process. Scalia, a long-serving conservative justice, died on Feb. 13. Srinivasan, 49, has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals since he was confirmed on a 97-0 bipartisan vote in the U.S. Senate in May 2013. As a senior Justice Department lawyer in 2013, he was part of the legal team that successfully urged the high court to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, a law that restricted the definition of marriage to heterosexual couples for the purposes of federal benefits. Garland, 63, was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1997 and became the chief judge in 2013. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Republicans say the decision on who to nominate to the Supreme Court should be left to the next president, who will be elected on Nov. 8. Under the U.S. Constitution, the president nominates Supreme Court justices and the Senate must confirm them. Earlier this week, the Times said that federal appellate Judge Jane Kelly was being vetted. Last month the National Law Journal reported that Ketanji Brown Jackson, a federal trial judge in Washington, was also being considered. Without Scalia, the court has four conservative and four liberal justices, meaning any potential Obama nominee could tip the court to the left for the first time in decades. Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, a moderate Republican, took himself out of consideration for appointment to the Supreme Court recently.

Boiler Room EP #115 – Very Fake News & The Slaughter of Innocence

Tune in to the Alternate Current Radio Network (ACR) for another LIVE broadcast of The Boiler Room tonight 6:00 PM PST | 8:00 PM CST | 9:00 PM EST for this special broadcast. Join us for uncensored, uninterruptible talk radio, custom-made for bar fly philosophers, misguided moralists, masochists, street corner evangelists, media-maniacs, savants, political animals and otherwise lovable rascals.Join ACR hosts Hesher and Spore along with Andy Nowicki and Daniel Spaulding of Soul of the East also with a special report from FunkSoul (21WIRE & ACR contributor), for the hundred and fifteenth episode of BOILER ROOM. Turn it up, tune in and hang with the ACR Brain-Trust for this weeks boil downs and analysis and the usual gnashing of the teeth of the political animals in the social reject club.This week on the show we re discussing the latest expos videos from Project Veritas that confirm what we ve been saying since the inception of the Boiler Room, CNN is FAKE NEWS and PROPAGANDA. We ll also be updating the stories on the Grenfell tower fire, Bernie Sanders and his wife under investigation by the FBI for financial fraud, creepy inappropriate kids videos on YouTube and the supposed case against one of the FBI agents involved in the shooting of LaVoy Finicum and more.Direct Download Episode #115Please like and share the program and visit our donate page to get involved! Reference Links, for your consideration and research:

Factbox: Trump on Twitter (Jan 25) - ABC interview, voter fraud, Supreme Court pick

The following bullet points are from the U.S. President Donald Trump’s Twitter accounts (@realDonaldTrump and @POTUS). Reuters has not edited the tweets. @realDonaldTrump : -- Source link: bit.ly/2jpy49U; bit.ly/2jpEXYR

AFGHAN INTERPRETER FOR US MURDERED BY TALIBAN WHILE WAITING 4 YRS FOR PROMISED VISA [Video]

I was always loyal to U.S.A and never betray its mission. This sad story reminds us of the Pakistani doctor whose intel he shared with the US lead them to discovery of Osama Bin Laden s hideout. He wasn t much of a priority for the Obama regime either, as they left him to be abducted, tortured and imprisoned for his troubles. With friends like the Obama regime who needs enemies? An Afghan interpreter for the United States military who had been waiting for over four years on the U.S. visa list was tortured and killed by insurgents earlier this year, raising concerns that other translators could meet a similar fate as American forces withdraw from Afghanistan.Sakhidad Afghan worked as a translator for the U.S. Marines and Air Force since around 2008. Four years ago, he applied for a U.S. visa under a program for at-risk military translators. He was still on the waiting list when the Taliban reportedly kidnapped him from a bazaar this spring and executed him in the back of a trailer truck.According to Arif Rahmani, a member of the Afghanistan Parliament who spoke with Afghan s family and the ANA brigade in Farah, the Taliban had been tracking Afghan because of his work with the U.S. military. According to [the ANA s] information, the Taliban captured Sakhidad from a bazaar in Farah, Rahmani wrote in a post [Warning: post contains graphic images] on his Facebook page. From a trailer truck they tortured for awhile, then killed him. He introduced himself as Abdul Hamid, but that couldn t save his life. Afghan was between jobs after his base in Helmand closed in late 2014. In January he set off for Herat, a city in western Afghanistan, his brother told Rahmani. The Afghan National Army recovered his body in the beginning of March in the Farah river region, between Helmand and Herat, according to Rahmani.News of the murder swept through the Afghan interpreter community, where many are increasingly concerned about retribution attacks from the Taliban. Taliban killed Afghan by chasing him. I am sure they are tracking me too and they will kill me also one day, said a translator who worked with Afghan and has also been waiting for a U.S. visa since 2011. His name is being withheld.Advocacy groups said the U.S. government often lets interpreter visa applications idle for years without telling applicants why.The State Department and other agencies recently instituted reforms to the Special Immigrant Visa process, and the number of visa applications approved in 2014 was significantly higher than prior years. However, the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project, a group that advocates for Afghan and Iraqi linguists, said Afghan s death shows the risk translators face when their applications stall. This horrifying incident is unfortunately just one example of how each passing day is another mortal threat to our Iraqi and Afghan allies, said Katherine Reisner, national policy director at IRAP. It shows our veterans dedication to their allies overseas, and how much hope they place in the SIV program, she added. We fail our veterans when the SIV program fails. And it is a call to action for the Departments of State and Homeland Security to act justly and expeditiously on all SIV applications. The State Department declined to comment, saying it could not discuss details of individual cases.Afghan was Hazara, a Persian-speaking ethnic minority that has been targeted in a string of recent attacks.In late February, extremists kidnapped 31 men, mainly Hazara, from a bus returning from Iran. Some of the hostages were reportedly released in a prisoner swap earlier this month. Last month, the Taliban reportedly beheaded four Hazara in the Ghazni Province.Afghan did not have a birth certificate, but friends said he was around 26 years old. When he worked on a base in Marjah in 2010, he told some of the Americans he worked with that he wanted to become a Marine. They encouraged him to start lifting weights, which he began doing regularly.Washington Free Beacon managing editor Aaron MacLean, a former Marine officer who led a platoon in Marjah in 2010, worked with Afghan when the interpreter was assigned to his rifle company. I just remember him being a good young man who did his job well, was as brave as any Marine, and came under fire as much as any Marine in Marjah, said MacLean.Afghan went on to work with the Air Force, but would still wear old Marine uniform pieces he saved from his previous assignment. He became a devoted runner, and entered the Marine Corps Marathon at Camp Leatherneck in 2011, finishing the race in just under 4 hours and 50 minutes.He also kept in touch with American service members he worked with after they returned to the U.S. I am deeply afraid of the current situation, Afghan emailed to one U.S. military friend on July 9, 2014. If I go to the U.S.A I think I will be safe. Right now it looks like, the disaster is coming in the country. I was always loyal to U.S.A and never betray its mission, he added. I am absolutely sure that I have deserved an approved visa for United States. Even as years passed without receiving an answer on his visa, Afghan held onto hope. Every rock strikes the feet of disabled goat. The poor gets poor, and the rich gets rich, he wrote the friend on July 10, 2014. But I can see my future is bright. Via: WFB

Senior Republican lawmaker wants more sanctions on Russia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. Republican lawmaker filed legislation on Friday that would sanction Russia for its violations of a decades-old arms control agreement, calling them a threat to global stability. Washington and Moscow have long questioned each other’s commitment to the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which banned nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 500-5,500 km (300-3,400 miles). Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement that Russia President Vladimir Putin has disregarded Russia’s obligations under the INF Treaty for years. “His recent deployment of banned nuclear-tipped missiles poses serious threats to U.S. national security interests,” Royce said. “And it’s just one more example of Russian aggression that undermines global stability.” The U.S. military said in February that Russia had secretly deployed the ground-launched SSC-8 cruise missile in violation of the treaty. Russia has denied violating the treaty. Royce filed his measure as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a must-pass annual bill that sets policy for the Pentagon. The deadline for filing NDAA amendments was Friday. Royce’s filing also coincided with President Donald Trump’s first face-to-face meeting with Putin since he became the U.S. president in January. Trump promised a rapprochement with Moscow as he campaigned for president but many U.S. lawmakers, including many of his fellow Republicans, have sought to take a tough line against Russia.

Panama's president to travel to China to meet Xi Jinping

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panama s President Juan Carlos Varela will travel to China to meet with his counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday, the first official visit by a Panamanian leader to the Asian country coming five months after the nations established diplomatic relations. The bilateral meeting will serve to establish a new economic, trade, tourist and diplomatic outlook for the country, leading to more than a dozen agreements that will be signed between nations, Panama s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. In June, Panama upgraded its commercial ties with China and established full diplomatic links with the second most important customer of its key shipping canal, giving Beijing a major victory as it broke formal relations with Taiwan. The Foreign Ministry said the agreements will provide the basis for attracting investments and Chinese innovation to Panama, and help boost Panamanian exports, tourism and the use of the Panama canal. Varela will inaugurate Panama s first embassy in China.

Election over, Congress pivots to lame-duck debate over spending

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With a bitter election campaign finally over, the Congress will reconvene this week to try to set aside its partisan differences long enough to keep the government from closing. As President-elect Donald Trump shapes his administration, Republicans are expected to move away from initial plans for compromise funding legislation and opt instead for a short-term measure to keep the government running into next year, when they will have control of Congress and the White House. Washington has been operating since Oct. 1 under a temporary “continuing resolution” on the budget. It expires on Dec. 9. Lawmakers will be trying to approve a new one before then. Mired in partisan gridlock, Congress in recent years has seldom completed the entire federal budget process, falling back frequently on stop-gap measures that last a few months. During their “lame-duck” session starting this week, lawmakers will have little time to draft another continuing resolution to cover funding U.S. agencies and military operations. Congress is tentatively set to adjourn by Dec. 17 and has an additional break over the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. A new Congress will meet in January, with the 100-seat Senate more closely split than before last week’s elections. Neither party will have the 60 votes needed to move legislation easily through the chamber. The voters last Tuesday also preserved the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, though it is slightly smaller, giving the Democrats more power to block the Republicans. Legislation to streamline federal regulations for new drugs could come up during the lame duck session. So could funding for cancer research, precision medicine and treatments for opioid addiction, said congressional aides. Some conservative House Republicans want a budget measure that will expire in March, which would coincide with needed action on the federal debt limit, according to House aides. Others have talked about a continuing resolution that would run until sometime February, giving the new president and Congress enough time to determine their priorities for more comprehensive funding legislation for the remainder of the federal fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30. Before the election shifted the political center of gravity in favor of Republicans, Republican leaders had talked about crafting funding legislation through negotiations with Democrats and President Barack Obama and approving it before Christmas.

Technicolor Thailand is back after a black-clad mourning year for late king

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand officially ended a year of mourning for its late King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Monday, marking a return to colors for some after a monotone year during which many wore black from head-to-toe out of respect for their revered monarch. Hundreds of thousands of people thronged Bangkok s historic quarter to bid farewell last week to King Bhumibol, who died in October 2016. His $90 million-dollar funeral, full of pomp and ancient ritual, took place over five days. His remains were brought to their final resting place within Bangkok s Grand Palace on Sunday. Portraits of the bespectacled late king, who became a father figure for many during a seven-decade reign, were hung across Thailand. The black-and-white funeral bunting that had hung on the gates of Bangkok s Government House for a year was taken down on Monday and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha made a televised announcement to mark the official end of the mourning period. The government would like to thank officials, both soldiers and civilians ... and the more than 10 million Thais who came to pay respects to the royal body over the past year, Prayuth said. May Kanokwattana, 29, an office worker, wore bright yellow as she waited at the Siam BTS, a major Bangkok transport interchange. I wore black for one year. I needed to show my sorrow. Today is the first day I am wearing a different color, May told Reuters. She also wore a pin with the Thai number nine out of respect for King Bhumibol, who was also known as the ninth king of the Chakri Dynasty. Colors have a profound meaning for Thais. Astrological rules followed by many in the Southeast Asian nation assign a color to each day of the week. King Bhumibol was born on a Monday, a day associated with the color yellow. His only son, new King Maha Vajiralongkorn, was also born on a Monday. Some people shared charts on social media showing which colors would be considered luckiest to wear. For confidence, health and power wear orange. For good support wear pale green, said one chart. Pattinya Mankongwongcharoen, 49, an accountant wearing a peach-colored dress, said: I won t continue wearing black because the mourning period is officially over and to do so would be disrespectful. Others said they would continue to wear muted colors. I m still grieving. I ll wear black or gray for a few more weeks, said Pimsuda Chatree, 37, a shop owner.

Russia says one its generals killed by mortar shelling in Syria: TASS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia s Defence Ministry said on Sunday that one its general lieutenants, Valeryi Asapov, was killed by mortar shelling in Syria, the TASS news agency reported. The mortar shelling was carried by the Islamic State near Syria s Deir al-Zor, the ministry said.

Trump says North Korea's Kim 'will be tested like never before'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea’s Kim Jong Un “will be tested like never before,” U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday as the two leaders continued to trade insults and Pyongyang threatened to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean. “Kim Jong Un of North Korea, who is obviously a madman who doesn’t mind starving or killing his people, will be tested like never before,” Trump tweeted, one day after announcing additional sanctions on Pyongyang.

Republican Senator Johnson opposes Senate tax proposal: WSJ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Senator Ron Johnson said he opposes the Senate Republican tax proposal because it unfairly benefits corporations more than other types of businesses. “If they can pass it without me, let them,” Johnson told the Wall Street Journal in an interview. “I’m not going to vote for this tax package.”

RIP PROUD PATRIOT: MARINE Dies After Delivering Powerful Message To President Trump, Mike Pence, General Mattis: “Give ‘Em Hell…Semper Fi…God Bless” [VIDEO]

Larry Lindsey fought hard for Trump in Colorado during the primaries. He passed away hours after recording his final goodbye.RIP patriot. President Trump, Vice President Pence and General Mattis, I would like to say that the greatest honor of my life has been to wage this battle with you. I have been prouder of being a Marine than anything I have ever done in my life. Having a hand in some small way in fighting for my country has meant the world to me. There is no greater honor for me, to have great men like you leading this country back to its foundation and back to God. President Trump, I have no doubt in my heart and in my mind, that you will be perhaps the greatest President in the history of our country. Vice President Pence, I am so honored to call you my Vice President. You are an incredibly good man and probably the only Vice President in probably 150 years to have any brains, and I appreciate that from you. The candor and the honesty from both of you men is much needed at this day and time. General Mattis, sir, it appears that I am now out of ammunition, but I continue to fight with my last breath. I do not fear death, because I know where I m going and I m only going home for a rest. It s you people here, the good people of America for whom I cry, my loved ones and my friends and the sacrifices they must continue to make in this fight to restore our country. Dying is the easy part. Dying is the comforting part if you know who your God is and you know that he holds your hand, and I do. I praise God for a wonderful life, so many wonderful blessings that I have known and so many wonderfully kind and loving people in this country whom I have met during my fight for this country. I want you to know, each and every one of you that we have taken on a challenge that has only just begun. The real battle lies ahead. And General Mattis, I have only one request sir, and that is, Give em hell. Semper fi.God bless. Larry Lindsey fought hard for Trump in Colorado during the primaries. He passed away hours after recording his final goodbye.RIP patriot. pic.twitter.com/mJB1bn1XZN Alex (@SoCal4Trump) December 18, 2016

Team Trump Can’t Get Their Immigration Message Straight, So Hillary Does It For Them

Donald Trump s signature issue since he began his travesty of a presidential campaign has been immigration. He won the primary by promising a bunch of ignorant, anti-immigrant, racist, and otherwise bigoted voters in the GOP base that he d deport all the brown people and build a giant wall to keep more of them from coming in. Well, that was the primary, and this is general election. He and his campaign staff seem to have realized that they can t win with just a bunch of racists, so they are attempting to moderate that hardline message, but they have to be careful, because the base still has to be fed that red meat that got them onto Team Trump in the first place.The result of this attempted balancing act has been a muddying of the water amongst Trump s campaign staff and surrogates as they chase their tails all over television with no clear message regarding what will happen to all of the undocumented immigrants who are already here and contributing to American society. In fact, on Sunday s edition of MSNBC s Meet the Press, this was a topic of conversation, and one panel member pretty much summed up the issue here: Trump himself doesn t know what the hell his own plan is on his signature issue. I don t know if Donald Trump knows what he is going to do with them [illegal immigrants] @TheFix on #MTP Panel Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) September 4, 2016Moderator Chuck Todd also interviewed Trump s running mate Mike Pence, and his answers weren t anymore satisfying. Pence only returned to the false narrative that Trump s positions on this issue are consistent. Pence on #MTP: "I think Donald Trump has been completely consistent" on deportation policy.https://t.co/Q3m39LDyQy Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) September 4, 2016Well, since the American people deserve to know where a major party presidential candidate stands on such an important issue this far along in the election season, Hillary s campaign manager Robby Mook decided to help us all out. He released a statement via the Hillary For America website that reads: Donald Trump has stated very clearly throughout his campaign that he will deport everyone who is undocumented, something that was reinforced in his speech in Arizona last Wednesday. Beyond forcibly removing every single undocumented person from this country, Trump has also promised to rescind DACA and DAPA, and deport American citizens who are born to undocumented immigrant parents. What we saw today is Mike Pence and Trump s top campaign officials attempt to mislead voters about their mass deportation policy by using soft words to describe harsh tactics one of the oldest tricks in the book. Immigrant families know the meanings of humane and fair and can see straight through their cynical ploys. Trump s message to immigrant families is clear: everyone must go. This, of course, is the bottom line: the Trump campaign wishes to muddy the waters, to make us all think he doesn t plan on erecting a deportation force to make all the brown people leave, so that we ll think he actually has some compassion for these people. Nothing could be further from the truth. It doesn t matter to Trump if you re a 70-year-old woman who fled her home country 40 years ago to escape war or violence, if it was either enter the country illegally or face certain death Trump will deport you, and take you away from your documented children and grandchildren.That s the kind of cold, cruel, callous approach that Donald Trump and his racist cronies have when it comes to this very complex and sensitive issue, make no mistake. They re just using different words now, but they mean exactly what has been said for the last 14 months immigrants are the enemy, and they will be thrown out.Thankfully, though, Hillary and her team have read the message loud and clear, and are making sure the American people understand just what that very scary message is.Featured image via Instagram

EU's Tusk, UK's May to talk Brexit next Tuesday

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Council President Donald Tusk said he would meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May in London next Tuesday to discuss Brexit, days after she is due to make a keynote speech on her vision for future ties with the EU. He made the comment in a tweet after meeting May at the United Nations General Assembly. The London meeting between the pair will come at a sensitive time - just after her speech in Florence on Friday and before an EU heads of state dinner on Sept. 28 in Tallinn, Estonia. The Financial Times said May s top EU adviser has told his counterparts in several European that she would in Florence offer to fill a post-Brexit EU budget hole of at least 20 billion euros. The newspaper cited officials briefed on the discussions. Senior EU officials have given talk of such offers short shrift. They have dismissed suggestions floated in British media that an offer of up to 30 billion euros payable during a transition period after Brexit would be acceptable to Brussels. It could not be, they have said, an alternative to the 60 billion or so that the EU executive has estimated may be payable before Brexit in March 2019. Brussels negotiators acknowledge privately that it may help the British government sell its settlement to domestic voters if London can meld the exit payments with transition payments to reduce the headline divorce bill . EU officials told Reuters there would be no discussion of Brexit at the Tallinn dinner but that May might take the opportunity to brief the bloc s other 27 leaders on her position. Talks on Brexit have made little progress and deepened rifts in May s party, setting up the Florence speech as a chance to put negotiations back on track and reassert her authority. While Tusk is coordinating the 27 EU leaders on Brexit, only Michel Barnier is negotiating with the British and they have made clear to London that he is the only point of contact for Brexit talks. Barnier s negotiating directives have frustrated his British counterparts, who want to move the talks from divorce issues such as the EU departure bill and Irish border to future relations. Barnier first wants to see progress on the terms of Britain s exit.

U.S. judge refuses to halt New York nuclear power plant subsidies

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit by energy companies and trade groups to stop New York Governor Andrew Cuomo from providing billions of dollars in subsidies to prop up struggling nuclear power plants in the state. U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan rejected claims that federal law preempted New York and its Public Service Commission from offering credits to promote clean energy and reduce reliance on fossil-fueled or gas plants. The plaintiffs said the credits could boost electric bills for New York’s “captive ratepayers” by $7.6 billion over 12 years, and violate the “dormant” Commerce Clause by impeding Congress’ power to regulate commerce among states. But the judge said New York’s “zero-emissions credits” program was “plainly related to a matter of legitimate state concern”: the production of clean energy, and reduction of emissions from other energy that could add to global warming. “The New York program is constitutional,” Caproni wrote. “Fatal to plaintiffs’ argument is their failure to offer any cogent explanation why ZECs are preempted but other state incentives to generate clean energy - such as tax exemptions, land grants, or direct financial subsidies - are not.” Seven plaintiffs had challenged the credits, including the Coalition for Competitive Electricity, Dynegy Inc (DYN.N) and NRG Energy Inc (NRG.N). Requests for comment from their lawyers were forwarded to a spokesman for New Yorkers for Fair Energy, (www.ny4fairenergy.com/), who said there will be an appeal. The public service commission “failed ratepayers last year when it instituted a $7.6 billion bailout for uneconomic nuclear plants with almost no public input,” the spokesman said. Cuomo welcomed the decision. “At a time when the federal government has abdicated its leadership on climate change,” the decision “ensures our progress will not be blocked or rolled back by fossil fuel interests and others seeking to maintain the status quo,” Cuomo said in a statement. Audrey Zibelman, in her role as PSC chair, was the lead defendant. Nuclear generators receiving the credits and their owners, including Exelon Corp (EXC.N), also sided with the governor. Cuomo endorsed the subsidies in connection with his “Clean Energy Standard” announced last August, which required that half of New York’s electricity come from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar by 2030. The case is Coalition for Competitive Electricity et al v. Zibelman et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-08164.

Trump endorses Romney niece Ronna Romney McDaniel for RNC chair

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday endorsed a niece of former critic Mitt Romney to be the next chair of the Republican National Committee as he moved to put his stamp on the party leadership. The RNC named Michigan Republican Party chair Ronna Romney McDaniel as its deputy chair, and Trump said he looked forward to her taking over the party leadership. Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff, Reince Priebus, will leave the RNC chairmanship when Trump takes office on Jan. 20. “I’m excited to have a highly effective leader in Ronna McDaniel as RNC deputy chair and I look forward to her serving as the party’s chairman in 2017,” Trump said in a statement. “Ronna has been extremely loyal to our movement and her efforts were critical to our tremendous victory in Michigan, and I know she will bring the same passion to the Republican National Committee,” he added. The RNC’s 168 elected members will convene in January to elect their next chairman and Trump’s endorsement of McDaniel will likely carry enough weight to get her elected. McDaniel’s profile rose in Trump’s view when she helped him win Michigan in the Nov. 8 election. The state had not voted Republican in a presidential election since 1988 and was critical to Trump’s victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Her selection came two days after Trump passed over Mitt Romney to be his secretary of state, instead choosing Exxon Mobil Corp Chief Executive Rex Tillerson. Trump and Romney have gotten past their frictions during the Republican presidential nominating battle when the 2012 Republican nominee was critical of Trump’s candidacy. Bob Paduchik, a veteran Republican operative in Ohio who was Trump’s campaign manager in that state, was named deputy co-chair of the RNC. Trump’s victory in Ohio was also crucial to his victory.

U.S. appeals court revives Clinton email suit

(This Dec. 27 story corrects to say 55,000 pages of emails instead of 55,000 emails in 3rd paragraph) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a new legal development on the controversy over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails, an appeals court on Tuesday reversed a lower court ruling and said two U.S. government agencies should have done more to recover the emails. The ruling from Judge Stephen Williams, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, revives one of a number of legal challenges involving Clinton’s handling of government emails when she was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, used a private email server housed at her New York home to handle State Department emails. She handed over 55,000 pages of emails to U.S. officials probing that system, but did not release about 30,000 she said were personal and not work related. The email case shadowed Clinton’s loss to Republican Donald Trump in the Nov. 8 presidential election. Trump, who had repeatedly said during the bruising campaign that if elected he would prosecute Clinton, said after the election he had no interest in pursuing investigations into Clinton’s email use. While the State Department and National Archives took steps to recover the emails from Clinton’s tenure, they did not ask the U.S. attorney general to take enforcement action. Two conservative groups filed lawsuits to force their hand. A district judge in January ruled the suits brought by Judicial Watch and Cause of Action moot, saying State and the National Archives made a “sustained effort” to recover and preserve Clinton’s records. But Williams said the two agencies should have done more, according to the ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Since the agencies neither asked the attorney general for help nor showed such enforcement action could not uncover new emails, the case was not moot. “The Department has not explained why shaking the tree harder - e.g., by following the statutory mandate to seek action by the Attorney General - might not bear more still,” Williams wrote. “Absent a showing that the requested enforcement action could not shake loose a few more emails, the case is not moot.” The State Department does not comment on pending litigation, a spokesperson said. Williams noted that Clinton used two non-governmental email accounts at State and continued using the Blackberry account she had while a U.S. senator during her first weeks as the nation’s U.S. diplomat. She only switched to the email account hosted on her private server in March 2009, the ruling said. “Because the complaints sought recovery of emails from all of the former Secretary’s accounts, the FBI’s recovery of a server that hosted only one account does not moot the suits, the judge wrote.

WATCH: Trump’s Wiretap Accusation BLOWN WIDE OPEN – He May Be Guilty Of Obstruction Of Justice

Trump just can t stop embroiling himself in scandal, and his week-old accusation that the Obama administration wiretapped his tower is just getting bigger and bigger. Congress is demanding his evidence. Various House Republicans have said they have no evidence. FBI Director James Comey has publicly denied the claims. And now it seems that stupid attempt to make Obama look like a criminal may, in fact, make him guilty of obstruction of justice. That is an impeachable offense.Back in November, a right-leaning website, Heat Street, reported on the existence of a FISA warrant that would allow the FBI to monitor two Russian banks that were communicating with a server in Trump Tower. That s all reporter Louise Mensch didn t say that any wiretaps actually existed.In talking to MSNBC today, Mensch dropped a bombshell on Trump s claims. She flat said: For once, I think it s possible the president does not have a fake news problem. I think he may have a real news problem, being that, what if there really is a wiretap at Trump Tower? The problem the president has then is that I didn t report that, and neither did any other journalist, which means that if he tweeted evidence in an ongoing, top-secret case, then he obstructed justice, and that s an impeachable offense. She goes on to say that she believes the reason the White House has more or less gone silent is not the possibility that the wiretap claims are fake it s the possibility that they re real. Trump could have gotten himself in a world of shit with those tweets.She also says that the White House s desperation to find a member of the press who reported the wiretaps before Trump did is because they re terrified that he committed obstruction of justice. Nobody in the press ever said there was a wiretap. The press reported on his accusations and the FISA warrant. Big difference.Watch below:Featured image by Olivier Douliery via Getty Images

TRUMP Destroys NBC Anchor On Clinton/Lewinsky Scandal: It was Not ‘Alleged’… You Don’t have to Use the Word ‘Alleged’ [Video]

This is great! I love how Trump destroys Savannah Guthrie on every point.

Trump Insists His Mexico Trip Was Successful For The Most Absurd Reason Ever

As we all know, Republican presidential nominee went to Mexico last week in an attempt to look presidential. While on the surface it may have seemed that he succeeded at first, we soon learned that this was not the case. When asked about whether or not he and President Enrique Pena Nieto discussed payment for Trump s infamous border wall, Trump lied, and President Pena Nieta called him on it via Twitter. There s that, and we saw a tale of two Trumps that day, as when the real estate tycoon returned to the United States to do a rally in Arizona, he went right back to his hardline stance with a vengeance so much so, in fact, that the Republican National Committee dropped plans to praise Trump because the speech was so hateful.Well, to hear Trump tell it, one event eclipses those mishaps to make Trump s trip a roaring success: the fact that one of the organizing officials of the trip from Mexico was just fired. Trump said Wednesday evening during NBC s Commander-in-Chief forum: We ve been badly hurt and if you look at the aftermath today, the people who arranged the trip in Mexico have been forced out of government. That s how well we did, and that s how well we have to do. No, Mr. Trump, this is not an indicator that your trip was a success; quite the opposite, in fact. The official who was forced out of office, Finance Minister Luis Videgaray, left because the Mexican people have witnessed the appalling disrespect Trump has leveled at them throughout his travesty of a presidential campaign, and they did not want him in their country. Videgaray was a main champion of the Trump visit, and therefore it is damage control with the population of that country who are rightfully outraged that sparked this person s removal from office. That is the opposite of success.Then again, it s Trump, and therefore he can t help twisting the facts to make himself look good. So, no surprise there. The trip wasn t a success; in fact, it was clearly anything but.Featured image via by Alex Wong/Getty Images

WATCH: Trump Insults Poland By Downplaying The Horrors They Experienced During World War II

Six million Poles lost their lives during World War II. But to Donald Trump, that s just tough. Perhaps no nation suffered as much devastation as Poland did during the war. The nation was invaded and terrorized by the Nazis and then invaded and terrorized by the Soviet Union. Poland was caught in the middle as two brutal military powers clashed.Poland experienced war first-hand, as well as poverty, homelessness, starvation, disease, and the Holocaust. In fact, Poland lost the highest percentage of citizens during the war and its population did not recover until the 1970s.On top of that, Poland went from suffering under Nazi rule to suffering under Soviet rule. The Soviets sent Poles to gulags throughout the Soviet Union. Communism would dominate Poland until the free elections of 1989, and after that, communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union itself collapsed.The utter devastation suffered by Poland demands proper recognition. And Trump proved that he is incapable of expressing true sadness about such a human tragedy.During his speech to the people of Poland, Trump spoke of Poland s tragic history as if it was simply an everyday hardship like having one s car stolen or breaking a leg and having no health insurance. In 1939 you were invaded yet again, by Nazi Germany from the west, and the Soviet Union from the east. That s trouble. That s tough. Here s the video via VidMe. Tough is not the appropriate word to describe what the Polish people went through during World War II.Hitler literally planned to wipe out the entire Polish people from existence and tried to do exactly that. The Soviets took away their nationality and treated them like non-citizens as well as taking away their lands and killing those who protested. And all Trump can say about it is that it was tough. So Trump waltzed into Warsaw, a city that was nearly bombed out of existence, and insulted the Polish people to their faces, once again embarrassing our country. And the Polish crowds were forced to cheer for him. Seriously.Trump gets more pathetic every day.Featured image via screenshot

Terrifying: Watch Donald Trump Turn These Adorable Little Girls Into The Hitler Youth (VIDEO)

Being a xenophobic bigot and a confirmed fascist wasn t enough for Donald Trump. He had to go and involve the children. These unfortunate little girls now get to go the rest of their lives knowing they sang a song of hate and fear in support of a man who embodies the absolute worst America has to offer.It may have been one thing had the song been a cute little ditty about Trump and his family or a generic and non-offensive tune about America, but it s not. It s a song of pure hate, with lyrics that can be described as nothing but stupid:CowardiceAre you serious?Apologies for freedom, I can t handle this.When freedom rings, answer the call!On your feet, stand up tall!Freedom s on our shoulders, USA!Enemies of freedom face the music, c mon boys, take them downPresident Donald Trump knows how to make America greatDeal from strength or get crushed every timeFace the music? Take them down? Get crushed every time? Seriously? The main problem is, while this asinine song may seem like it s about America s enemies, it s actually about America itself. Trump may well be looking to destroy our enemies abroad, but from the actions of he and his supporters at their rallies, the meaning couldn t be more clear: Stand in Trump s way and pay the price, no matter who you are.We ve seen his fascism in his platform. Registering American Muslims and refusing entry to all others into the country. No cure for immigration: deport them all. Build a wall; keep them out. If they dissent, silence them. These are the things we gasp at when we hear, knowing how much support this new age Hitler has. The press are tossed from his rallies for not focusing their cameras exclusively on him. He stops every five minutes when he speaks to encourage the mob mentality and have someone thrown out.This man is nothing but dangerous and because of that these poor girls won t soon be forgotten.Featured image via screen capture

Thousands march in Helsinki in far-right, anti-facist demonstrations

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Supporters of the far right in Finland and anti-facists staged rival marches in the capital on Wednesday as the country celebrated 100 years of independence. Police in riot gear reinforced by security personnel from around the country made 10 arrests due to scattered fights and misbehavior. Around 2,000 people joined the anti-facist march while demonstrations by two far right groups also gathered up to 2,000 people, the police said. Anti-immigrant sentiment has been on the rise in the Nordic EU member country of 5.5 million. About 32,500 migrants and refugees arrived during Europe s migrant crisis in 2015. The number came down to 5,600 last year. No nazis in Helsinki! shouted anti-fascist demonstrators. Far-right marchers held a slogan saying Towards freedom and many carried torches. Last week, a court banned a neo-Nazi group called Nordic Resistance Movement but it took part in a march as the decision is yet to be implemented. Finland was part of the Russian Empire and won independence during the 1917 Russian revolution, then nearly lost it fighting the Soviet Union in World War Two.

Renzi congratulates Trump, says Italy friendship with U.S. solid

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who had openly supported Hillary Clinton, congratulated Donald Trump on his victory in the U.S. presidential elections and said Italy’s ties with the United States remained strong. “I wish him well. The Italo-American friendship is solid,” Renzi said at the start of a speech in Rome. Renzi was one of the few world leaders to endorse Clinton and opposition politicians were swift to condemn him on Wednesday, saying that by doing so, he had weakened Rome’s international standing.

RNC’s Hilariously Delusional Election Model Predicts Obama Might Vote Trump

The Republican Party is not well we know it and they know it.After getting roasted in the last general election, the Republican Party conducted a fittingly named autopsy on what would need to change before 2016 in order for the party to successfully compete with Democrats. The overall conclusion was that the party needed to do a much better job of reaching out to young people and minorities. Instead, they nominated Donald Trump a man who launched his campaign by accusing Mexicans of being rapists and who has been endorsed by several factions of the Ku Klux Klan.But rather than mourn the loss of their party, Republicans are just fudging the numbers just so they can get out of bed in the morning. Like Karl Rove screaming that the election wasn t over long past the time when the election was over, the party is trying to unskew the numbers that give Democrats a massive advantage going into November.And just how grim does it look for Republicans? Here s the latest projection for how the election might play out if Clinton does get the nomination.But you wouldn t know it if you worked in the Republican National Committee. Their independent database has some laughably optimistic assumptions about voters.One prominent example: the current President of the United States, Barack Obama, has been a staunch Democrat for his entire political career. Recently, he has repeatedly said he would vote for the Democratic nominee in November and he s lashed out against Trump, calling him both hateful and ignorant. It s hard to imagine another human being whose vote is more predictable. And yet There s a 95 percent likelihood Obama will vote in the 2016 general election, the database predicts, based on computer modeling. It also shows an 83 percent chance Obama will side with his party s nominee, while suggesting a 10 percent shot he ll back the Republican candidate. By the RNC s metrics, Obama has a 10 percent chance of voting for Donald Trump, and an additionally, there s roughly another 10 percent chance of voting for an Independent candidate It s baffling to think about how the RNC arrived at those numbers. One humorous conclusion is that while Republican politicians try to score cheap political points by labeling President Obama a radical leftist, their own calculations acknowledge he lies well within the current political spectrum. In other words, when they tell their supporters that Obama is a socialist, they know it s a lie.This is how the RNC fudges the numbers slightly so they can turn around and say they have a chance. The model doesn t go overboard. It simply puts its thumb on the scales a little. However, this slight lie will have big implications in how the actual election plays out. Obama, along with millions of voters, will, in fact, vote for Democratic candidates whether the RNC wants them to or not. As such, these white lies are merely an exercise in wishful thinking.It s becoming increasingly clear that the Republican Party is what happens when your brain has been exposed to dangerous levels of Fox News for years. The delusions get grander and more incredible, and the defense of those delusions gets more aggressive. The right-wing media has convinced even its own politicians that Obama is deeply unpopular, a failed statesman and a radical. He is none of those things and so the Republicans are perpetually stunned by his success.By way of one example, let s consider the fact that Mitt Romney actually believed right up until election night that he was going to win. This flew directly in the face of all the known data (including Nate Silver s career-making predictions). He and his team rejected any of the information that didn t adhere to their ideological belief that everyone hated Obama as much as Fox News had told them they did.And he got walloped.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

life things that happen in every jane austen story ever

email well this isnt good most people think of costco as the place that sells bulk quantities of pretty much everything but the warehouse superstore is now making headlines for a very different reason and it could serve to tarnish their brand the blue angels accidentally flew into the costco in augusta ga and are currently stuck flying around inside the discount retailer worst of all it doesnt seem like costco has any idea how to get the airplane stunt squadron to leave the blue angels were performing at a routine air show in augusta ga earlier today when they veered too close to the costco and zipped through the automatic doors as they slid open for a customer before costco employees could react the diamond formation of five fa hornets had entered the store and began performing deathdefying aerial feats right over the shelves of bulk cereals and jumbosize ketchups customers are trying to ignore the roaring jets overhead but its hard to concentrate on your shopping list when sonic booms keep knocking over pallets of kirklandbrand dog food its usually a welcome treat to see the blue angels conduct synchronized barrel rolls but inside costco the elite pilots are proving to be a serious nuisance so far all attempts to evict the blue angels have proved unsuccessful at first costco staff just propped the front door open with a bucket assuming the blue angels would find their way back out eventually after an hour when choreographed smoke trails continued to plague the store the manager grabbed a lacrosse stick from a sporting goods display and tried to shoo the planes toward the exit unfortunately that only caused the blue angels to accelerate to mph and perform several looptheloops in the freezer aisle where the pilots hit a truly exhilarating gs your heart just has to break for this poor manager with the store set to close in only a few hours costco better think up a solution fast or blue angels will be locked in overnight if that happens then tomorrows customers will be aggravated by more of the same worldclass aeronautic showmanship what an absolute hassle

Eighteen injured in bomb attack on police vehicle in Turkey's Mersin province

ANKARA (Reuters) - A bomb blast wrecked a bus carrying police officers on Tuesday in the southern Turkish province of Mersin, injuring 18 people in an attack that security sources blamed on Kurdish militants. Seventeen of those hurt were police officers, Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Bekir Bozdag told parliament, branding it a terrorist attack. Turkey s battle against terror will continue under any circumstances in a strong and determined way, Bozdag said. Security sources said militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) were believed to have carried out the attack. They also said that none of those wounded were in a critical condition. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. Local mayor Burhanettin Kocamaz told broadcaster Haberturk the attack took place on a street where the local governor s office was located and had hit the police vehicle as it passed. Images from NTV showed smoke billowing from the area, in Mersin s Yenisehir district. Ambulances, police and fire trucks were sent to the site of the attack, security sources said. Turkey is battling a three-decade insurgency in its mainly Kurdish southeast. The PKK frequently carries out bomb attacks on security forces in the southeast and elsewhere. The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union as well as by Turkey. More than 40,000 people, most of them Kurds, have died since it first took up arms against the state in 1984.

Exclusive: U.S. asks nations to provide more traveler data or face sanctions

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department will require all nations to provide extensive data to help it vet visa applicants and determine whether a traveler poses a terrorist threat, according to a cable obtained by Reuters. Countries that fail to comply with the new protocols or take steps to do so within 50 days could face travel sanctions. The cable, sent to all U.S. diplomatic posts on Wednesday, is a summary of a worldwide review of vetting procedures that was required under U.S. President Donald Trump’s revised March 6 executive order that temporarily banned U.S. travel by most citizens from six predominantly Muslim countries. The memo lays out a series of standards the United States will require of other countries, including that they issue, or have active plans to issue, electronic passports and regularly report lost and stolen passports to INTERPOL. It also directs nations to provide “any other identity information” requested by Washington for U.S. visa applicants, including biometric or biographic details. The cable sets out requirements for countries to provide data on individuals it knows or has grounds to believe are terrorists as well as criminal record information. Further, countries are asked not to block the transfer of information about U.S.-bound travelers to the U.S. government and not to designate people for travel watchlists based solely on their political or religious beliefs. “This is the first time that the U.S. Government is setting standards for the information that is required from all countries specifically in support of immigration and traveler vetting,” the cable said. The cable can be read here: (reut.rs/2untHTl). The new requirements are the latest in a series of steps the Trump administration says it is taking to better protect the United States from terrorist attack. However, former officials said much of the information sought is routinely shared between countries, including examples of passports and additional details about particular travelers that may present security concerns. Some U.S. allies may worry about privacy protections if Washington is seen as seeking information beyond what is already shared, said John Sandweg, a former senior Homeland Security Department official now with the firm Frontier Solutions. “I don’t think you can ignore the political aspects of the unpopularity of the current administration. That puts political pressure to stand up to the administration,” he said. The cable lays out risk factors the U.S. government will consider when evaluating a country. Some of these are controversial and could be difficult for countries to prove to U.S. satisfaction, including ensuring “that they are not and do not have the potential to become a terrorist safe haven.” Countries are also expected to agree to take back citizens ordered removed from the United States. If they do not provide the information requested, or come up with an adequate plan to, countries could end up on a list to be submitted to Trump for possible sanction, including barring “categories” of their citizens from entering the United States. The real worries for countries may not come until the results of this review are known, said Leon Rodriguez, the former director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. “Once they start making decisions I think that is where there is going to be a lot of anxiety,” he said, saying delays in visa processing for nations that do not pose much of a threat could start to hurt “ordinary business and personal travel.” The most controversial of Trump’s immigration-related moves are two executive orders, challenged in federal court, which impose a temporary ban on travel to the United States for most citizens from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. While the orders were initially blocked from being enforced, the Supreme Court on June 26 allowed the ban to go into effect for people from the six nations with no strong ties to the United States. The cable requires countries to act quickly, but stressed that the United States would work with foreign nations to assess if they meet the standards and, if not, to come up with a plan to help them do so. The cable asks that U.S. diplomats “underscore that while it is not our goal to impose a ban on immigration benefits, including visas, for citizens of any country, these standards are designed to mitigate risk, and failure to make progress could lead to security measures by the USG, including a presidential proclamation that would prohibit the entry of certain categories of foreign nationals of non-compliant countries.” The cable says the U.S. government has made a preliminary determination that some countries do not meet the new standards and that others are “at risk” of not meeting them. It does not name these, listing them in a separate, classified cable. The State Department declined comment on the cable, saying it would not discuss internal communications. “The U.S. government’s national security screening and vetting procedures for visitors are constantly reviewed and refined to improve security and more effectively identify individuals who could pose a threat to the United States,” said a U.S. State Department official on condition of anonymity.

States ratchet up transgender battle with lawsuit against U.S.

(Reuters) - Officials from 11 U.S. states sued the Obama administration on Wednesday to overturn a directive telling schools to let transgender students use bathrooms matching their gender identity, decrying the policy as “a massive social experiment.” Ramping up the simmering battles over contentious cultural issues in America, the states, led by Texas and most with Republican governors, accused the federal government of rewriting laws by “administrative fiat.” “We are willing to fight this all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to,” Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told reporters in Austin. Amid a national debate on transgender rights, President Barack Obama’s administration on May 13 told U.S. public schools that transgender students must be allowed to use the bathroom of their choice, upsetting Republicans and paving the way for fights over federal funding and legal authority. The states’ lawsuit accused the federal government of overstepping its constitutional powers by taking actions that should be left to Congress or individual states. It also challenged the Obama administration’s interpretation of federal civil rights law with regard to sex and gender. The lawsuit said the administration “conspired to turn workplace and educational settings across the country into laboratories for a massive social experiment, flouting the democratic process, and running roughshod over commonsense policies protecting children and basic privacy rights.” Texas was joined by Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin, plus Arizona’s Department of Education and Maine’s governor. Paxton said, “It’s about parents who are upset, grandparents who are upset. They want to see that the safety of their children is taken care of.” Transgender rights advocates argued it is transgender people who need protection, particularly transgender women who are disproportionately the victims of assaults and would be forced to use men’s bathrooms if states succeed in forcing people to use bathrooms matching their sex at birth. Likewise, transgender men, many of whom grow facial hair, would be required to use women’s bathrooms along with girls. “This action puts students at risk for the sake of politics,” said Alison Gill of the Trans United Fund advocacy group supporting transgender rights. Gill said the states’ lawsuit did not reflect the position of most school boards and administrators. The administration’s letter to the schools said that to get federal funding under existing rules, schools must agree not to treat students or activities differently on the basis of sex. That includes not treating transgender students differently from others of the same gender identity, officials said. Paul Castillo, a lawyer with Lambda Legal, which supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights, said the lawsuit represented an “unprecedented attack against transgender people across the United States.” “These states are demonstrating the great lengths they will go to in order to discriminate against transgender individuals,” Castillo said. Nine of the 11 states that sued have Republican governors, including Maine’s Paul LePage. LePage broke with the Democratic attorney general, Janet Mills, who did not approve of the lawsuit, a spokesman for Mills said. School districts from Texas and Arizona also joined the suit, which names the U.S. government and a host of federal agencies and officials as defendants. North Carolina sued the federal government on the transgender bathroom issue this month, seeking to protect its state law passed in March that bans people from using public restrooms not corresponding to their sex assigned at birth. Ever since the 1960s civil rights movement, the federal government has asserted its authority to force states to extend equal protection under the law for all. The administration sued North Carolina on May 9, stating that its transgender bathroom law violated the U.S. 1964 Civil Rights Act. The 11 states’ lawsuit accused the administration of taking that argument too far and improperly, widening the scope of interpretation of civil rights law. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs and activities. The administration’s interpretation is that the word “sex” extends protection to transgender people, but the issue has not been settled in the courts. “I agree with the Obama administration that ‘sex’ includes ‘gender,’ and ‘gender’ includes ‘gender identity,’” said John Pagan of the University of Richmond’s School of Law in Virginia. Peter Lake of Stetson University College of Law in Florida said the U.S. Supreme Court has taken a narrow view of the meaning of “sex” under the law, but in recent years lower courts have been more likely to defer to the Obama administration’s broader definition. “My sense is a certain momentum is building for broader protection of (LGBT) rights, and we might be seeing a moment of federal civil rights law in long-term transition,” Lake said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.