For about a year, the guys at the gym just called him Joe. He lifted weights in the early mornings wearing a . He worked out on the elliptical, wiping it down when he was done. Then one day Shaun Yeary, a salesman at a landscape supply company, asked him in the locker room what he did for a living. "I used to be a priest," Joe recalled telling him. "And now," he said, his voice growing quieter so as not to scare anyone in earshot, "I'm the archbishop of Indianapolis. " "I was like, for real?" Mr. Yeary recalled. "This guy is benching two and a quarter!" — gymspeak for 225 pounds. Joe, also known as Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, recently became one of the 120 men in the world who will choose the next pope. But he wants to be judged by his actions, not his lofty position in the Roman Catholic Church. Though he has led the Archdiocese of Indianapolis since 2012, a status that usually comes with perks like a driver, he drives himself around in a Chevy Tahoe and helps with the dishes after lunch meetings. He introduces himself simply as Padre José to the children at a local Catholic school. He showers and shaves at the Community Healthplex gym like any other member, and calls his workout buddies his Band of Brothers. In short, he is just the kind of leader Pope Francis is elevating to realign the church in the United States with his priorities. As the pope has made clear over the past three years, fancy lifestyles, formality and regal titles like Prince of the Church are out of style for cardinals. So is an emphasis on the divisive issues of abortion and marriage, even though the church's underlying position on those issues has not changed. Instead, in the pope's view, the church should emphasize humility and service to the poor. It should be multicultural, welcoming different styles of worship. It should reach out to other faiths and stand up for immigrants, refugees and nuns. And that, church experts and members of his flock say, is a close description of the priorities of Cardinal Tobin, who will be heading east just after Christmas to lead the approximately 1. 5 million Catholics in the Archdiocese of Newark. He is replacing Archbishop John J. Myers, 75, who preferred to be addressed by the formal title Your Grace, and who achieved notoriety when the church spent some $500, 000 to outfit the house he will retire to with an indoor exercise pool and an elevator. Cardinal Tobin's appointment in October as one of the nation's 18 cardinals came as a surprise to many, including the man himself. But perhaps it should not have. For what his unassuming bearing does not reveal is that he is no stranger to the corridors of power in the church. He is a friend of Pope Francis. And under Francis' predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, he had helped lead the Vatican office that oversees the roughly one million men and women in religious orders around the world. That position did not end so well. It was an open secret that Cardinal Tobin was sent to Indiana as a kind of exile most likely because he questioned an inquiry by his office into supposed doctrinal lapses among the roughly 50, 000 nuns in the United States. As he got to know the faithful in the chancery of Indianapolis, he would joke with them about it. "I was kicked out and I'm grateful for it," the chancellor of the archdiocese, Annette Lentz, recalled his saying about how he turned up on her doorstep. And she would tell him, "Their loss is our gain. " How Cardinal Tobin, 64, an amiable who likes Bob Seger, plays piano and speaks five languages, went from being the oldest of 13 children living in Detroit to the pinnacle of the global church is a story that bears telling. He grew up in a neighborhood where the big houses were perfect for the large families of Irish, Polish and other Eastern European backgrounds that filled them. The local parish, Holy Redeemer, was run by an order of priests called the Redemptorists, and was unusually large, with 14 Masses each Sunday for up to 20, 000 worshipers, he recalled in a Dec. 5 interview. His mother was a teacher who quit her job to raise her brood nine of her cousins and three of her aunts were nuns. Growing up in a deeply Catholic environment, Cardinal Tobin had two role models: the parish priests and his father, a cost analyst at General Motors who attended 6 a. m. Mass daily. Joe Tobin was a child, who once crashed through the window when he was being chased. But he also learned the deeper lessons taught by the nuns at the parish school. "Joe came home in second grade and said to me, 'Mom, I need a pair of socks,'" his mother, Marie Tobin, 93, recalled before Cardinal Tobin's emotional farewell Mass in Indianapolis on Dec. 3. "And I looked at his feet and saw his socks were fine. 'Mother,' he said, 'there's a boy in my class who has rags around his feet and a safety pin. '" In 1977, when the cardinal was in seminary in Esopus, N. Y. his father died of a heart attack. By that time, the family had moved across the border to Canada, and his father had been commuting to Michigan. "I idolized my dad," Cardinal Tobin said. "He was everything I think a man should be. He was strong, he played in the Orange Bowl as a freshman in Boston College. He lost his leg in World War II, so he never played football again. He had a quiet, unpretentious faith. He was chivalrous with women. "And I remember when he died," he added, "and I was waiting at the seminary for someone to drive me to La Guardia, and one of my teachers came and said, 'If you can be a man like your father, when they call you Father you will be all right.' And I suppose I am still trying to do that. " He remains close with his siblings. And in the Redemptorists, an order that requires a vow of poverty and emphasizes missionary outreach, he found a second family. He dreamed of being sent to locales once he was ordained in 1978. Instead, because he spoke Spanish, he was sent right back to Holy Redeemer, which had a growing Hispanic population. There, he learned about serving the poor. An older priest modeled what was to become a signature of Cardinal Tobin's ministry: an intense focus on each person. "When he is there and you are talking to him, it's as if you have known him all your life," said Bernice Guynn, 89, a parishioner at St. Rita in Indianapolis. From Detroit, he was moved during the AIDS epidemic to Chicago, where he ministered at the bedsides of the dying. The church's stance against homosexuality was not a barrier to him. "It's important to be there for people," he said. By 1991, the of his order had taken notice and he was moved to Rome. For 12 years, he led the Redemptorist order, finally traveling the world to missions in more than 70 nations. In that capacity, he made an impression on Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then the Vatican official responsible for enforcing Catholic doctrine. In 2010, five years after Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope Benedict, he offered Father Tobin the title of archbishop and the position of secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in the Vatican. Cardinal Tobin recalled that he was painting his mother's porch in Ontario when he got the call from the Vatican secretary of state. "I turned white and started stuttering," he said. He did not want the job, he said, but how does one refuse the pope? The office he had been tapped to administer was investigating American nuns for supposedly adopting a "secular mentality" and straying from Catholic orthodoxy. In other words, the nuns were accused of being too liberal, and Cardinal Tobin was to oversee the inquiry. But he had an "extremely positive" view of the nuns, he told The National Catholic Reporter at the time, and he wanted to explain their good works. "My first job, I thought, was to ask, 'What were people trying to accomplish with this? '" he said this month. But the problem, he came to believe, was structural: the investigation of 55, 000 religious women by a tiny staff for the alleged errors of a few. "It made as much sense as an ophthalmologist trying to do cataract surgery standing in center field in Yankee Stadium and pointing his laser gun up at the bleachers," he said. Two years into his term, his priest secretary surprised him with the news. "We are so sorry you are going," Cardinal Tobin recalled him saying. "And I said, 'Really, where am I going?' And he said, 'Indianapolis. '" The official news did not come for four months. "It was like death by 1, 000 cuts," he said. When he arrived in Indiana in December 2012, most American Catholics had never heard of him. But to the nuns he was something of a hero. "We thought that he was a tremendous individual," said Mother Anne Brackmann, the prioress of the Carmelite Monastery in Terre Haute, Ind. "And he was welcomed very, very warmly. " Someone else took note of his dismissal: Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, who would become Pope Francis. The two men met in 2005 during a synod of bishops in Rome, and they bonded over a shared view of the church. There were conservative bishops in their group who wanted, for example, to ban girls from being altar servers. "I have eight sisters, and at the time, I had nieces who were serving at the altar, and I didn't see the justification for it," Cardinal Tobin said. "Bergoglio was on the same page. There are more important things to talk about. " They had also laughed together: Cardinal Tobin recalled telling Cardinal Bergoglio that he had been his mother's choice for pope that year, because she had read how he picked up after himself and cooked his own food. Still, Cardinal Tobin was surprised to get a note from Cardinal Bergoglio in 2010 wishing him luck in his Vatican position. "He said: 'I remember our time together, I remember our conversations, and I remember your mother's good taste. I'm praying for you. '" By the time Cardinal Tobin came to the Vatican in 2013 to receive his pallium — the cowl that would mark his status as the archbishop of Indianapolis — Pope Francis had been elected. He was not sure the new pope would remember him. But Francis again surprised him. "I've been praying intensely for you since I heard what happened," Cardinal Tobin said the pope had told him. What happened next was a kind of rehabilitation. Francis appointed him to the oversight committee of the same Vatican office he had been removed from. Then, in October, came the announcement: The pope was naming him a cardinal. He would be the youngest one in the United States. Cardinal Tobin was shocked. "It's kind of like you are sleeping in class and all of a sudden the spotlight is on you," he said. At a news conference last month in Newark, he put it this way: "Sometimes I think Pope Francis sees a lot more in me than I see in myself. " Cardinal Tobin said he loved his time in Indianapolis, where he visited parishes in 39 counties, ministered to prisoners on death row and baptized about 1, 000 new Catholics each Easter. He was up by 4 many mornings to pray before arriving at the gym by 5:30. With the help of a trainer, Shane Moat, he learned how to deadlift 425 pounds. "Big breath, explode, keep it close," Mr. Moat coached him earlier this month. Cardinal Tobin strained and hoisted the weight to his waist. "You the man!" someone shouted. "No, I'm not," Cardinal Tobin said after dropping the weight with a bang. That morning, Mr. Yeary, the salesman, presented him with a goodbye gift: a framed photo of the cardinal with his seven workout buddies, whose ages range from 27 to over 70. "Oh, man, that's wonderful, thank you," the cardinal said. Then he reverted to his lighthearted tone: "None of those Sopranos are going to mess with me. This is my crew. " Cardinal Tobin has had a hard time saying goodbye. He choked up at his farewell Mass and had only one request of the congregation that had packed the cathedral: Pray for him. But his admirers here and elsewhere are hoping that Cardinal Tobin will become a more public voice for Pope Francis and his priorities. He has already done that once, in a showdown with Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, a Republican who is now the vice over welcoming Syrian refugees. In November 2015, Mr. Pence announced that he would suspend Syrian refugee resettlement programs, citing security fears. Cardinal Tobin felt that was not only illegal, but also immoral. He met with Mr. Pence, discussed his objections and told him he would continue the Catholic Charities resettlement program. A federal court has since overturned the governor's directive. In an email, Mr. Pence said, "Cardinal Tobin is a personal friend, and I deeply respect his commitment to his faith and his ministry. " While Cardinal Tobin did not tell anyone whom to vote for in the presidential election, he said he was disturbed by appeals to fear during the campaign of Donald J. Trump, particularly his views of refugees and immigrants. Mr. Trump, he said, "was appealing to the dark side of the divisive forces, to the unredeemed part of us. " And while the cardinal believes American democracy will ultimately resist such appeals, "you can't be too Pollyannish about things. " In Newark, he said, his first job after his installation on Jan. 6 will be to listen. Encompassing Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union Counties in northern New Jersey, the archdiocese has pockets of great wealth and poverty, and an array of immigrants so diverse that Mass each Sunday is celebrated in 20 languages. About 30 percent of the parishioners are Hispanic. It is also a community in need of healing. In July, citing the failure of the archdiocese to effectively remove priests accused of sexual abuse from contact with children, the editorial board of The of Newark called the departure of Archbishop Myers a "true blessing. " "During his tenure as New Jersey's Catholic, he protected pedophile priests," the board said. "He urged his flock to vote based on two issues — abortion and gay marriage — at the threat of being denied Holy Communion. " Jim Goodness, the spokesman for the archdiocese, denied those allegations, saying that Archbishop Myers had permanently removed from ministry some 20 abusive priests and that he had "never threatened to deny Communion to anyone. " Cardinal Tobin will bring a different message. One of his priorities, he said, would be to ensure that the archdiocese is fully compliant with church and criminal protocols on handling sexual abuse allegations. At the Vatican in the late 1990s, the cardinal recalled, it was difficult to convince people that the abuse issue was serious. "I think they just believed it was an American problem," he said, adding, "I don't want to make it like I was a great crusader over there, but I did take it seriously. " He later led an effort to establish protocols for abuse claims in his order. Yet the most outspoken American victims group, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said that Cardinal Tobin, like the church as a whole, must do more, such as posting the names of all credibly accused priests online. "Certainly there are worse bishops, but that fact should comfort no one," David Clohessy, the organization's national director, said. Cardinal Tobin assumes his role in an uneasy time. He said that he hoped to lead with joy and transparency, and that he intended to encourage dialogue to bridge divisions. But he would go further if he believed that policies ran counter to the moral values that Jesus taught. On the threats by Trump to carry out mass deportations of illegal immigrants, for example, Cardinal Tobin was clear. He recalled how Pope John XXIII, before he became pope, issued false baptismal certificates to help Jews escape the Nazis in World War II. "We have to resist," he said. "With public statements, and then, you do what you got to do. "


The evil George Soros wrote a rare op-ed for The Guardian. You see, someone has finally challenged the dark underbelly of the radical far left and that man is Donald Trump. Just knowing that Soros feels it necessary to comment (since he rarely comments) on Trump tells me the left is considering Trump a major threat.The op-ed by Soros is below please note the deflection:It appears The Establishment has decided to bring in the big guns to dislodge The GOP s nightmare scenario as Donald Trump goes from strength to strength in the polls. Writing in an op-ed for The Guardian, billionaire puppet-master George Soros urges Americans to resist the siren song of the likes of Donald Trump, adding that the terrorists and demagogues want us to be scared. We mustn t give in. Authored by George Soros, originally posted at The Guardian,It s not easy to resist the threats and the hysteria that surround us, but we must do, as fear is the greatest danger to open societyOpen societies are always endangered. This is especially true of America and Europe today, as a result of the terrorist attacks in Paris and elsewhere, and the way that America and Europe, particularly France, have reacted to them. Jihadi terrorist groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaida have discovered the achilles heel of our western societies: the fear of death. Through horrific attacks and macabre videos, the publicists of Isis magnify this fear, leading otherwise sensible people in hitherto open societies to abandon their reason.Scientists have discovered that emotion is an essential component of human reasoning. That discovery explains why jihadi terrorism poses such a potent threat to our societies: the fear of death leads us and our leaders to think and then behave irrationally.Science merely confirms what experience has long shown: when we are afraid for our lives, emotions take hold of our thoughts and actions, and we find it difficult to make rational judgments. Fear activates an older, more primitive part of the brain than that which formulates and sustains the abstract values and principles of open society.The open society is thus always at risk from the threat posed by our response to fear. A generation that has inherited an open society from its parents will not understand what is required to maintain it until it has been tested and learns to keep fear from corrupting reason. Jihadi terrorism is only the latest example. The fear of nuclear war tested the last generation, and the fear of communism and fascism tested my generation.The jihadi terrorists ultimate goal is to convince Muslim youth worldwide that there is no alternative to terrorism. And terrorist attacks are the way to achieve that goal, because the fear of death will awaken and magnify the latent anti-Muslim sentiments in Europe and America, inducing the non-Muslim population to treat all Muslims as potential attackers.And that is exactly what is happening. The hysterical anti-Muslim reaction to terrorism is generating fear and resentment among Muslims living in Europe and America. The older generation reacts with fear, the younger one with resentment; the result is a breeding ground for potential terrorists. This is a mutually reinforcing, reflexive process.How can it be stopped and reversed? Abandoning the values and principles underlying open societies and giving in to an anti-Muslim impulse dictated by fear certainly is not the answer, though it may be difficult to resist the temptation. I experienced this personally when I watched the last Republican presidential debate; I could stop myself only by remembering that it must be irrational to follow the wishes of your enemies.To remove the danger posed by jihadi terrorism, abstract arguments are not enough; we need a strategy for defeating it. The challenge is underscored by the fact that the jihadi phenomenon has been with us for more than a generation. Indeed, gaining a proper understanding of it may be impossible. But the attempt must be made.Consider the Syrian conflict, which is the root cause of the migration problem that is posing an existential threat to the European Union as we know it. If it was resolved, the world would be in better shape. It is important to recognise that Isis is operating from a position of weakness. While it is spreading fear in the world, its hold on its home ground is weakening. The United Nations security council has unanimously adopted a resolution against it, and the leaders of Isis are aware that their days in Iraq and Syria are numbered.Of course, the outlook for Syria remains highly uncertain, and the conflict there cannot be understood or tackled in isolation. But one idea shines through crystal clear: it is an egregious mistake to do what the terrorists want us to do. That is why, as 2016 gets underway, we must reaffirm our commitment to the principles of open society and resist the siren song of the likes of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, however hard that may be.


The first cruise ship in nearly 40 years to sail across the Florida Straits from Miami to Havana docked in the Cuban capital on Monday, cutting a ribbon of water that for years was a symbol of the political gulf between the two countries. Hundreds of Cubans stood near the dock and on Havana's sea wall, snapping pictures with smartphones and filming the arrival of the ship, Adonia, which arrived in the port after crossing overnight from Miami. The ship is operated by Fathom Travel, a unit of Carnival Corporation. Isabel Buznego, a passenger aboard the cruise, was born in Cuba but left about 40 years ago, when she was 5. She said she was overcome with emotion when she first spotted the fortifications that protect Havana's bay. "That really got to me," Ms. Buznego said. The ship's arrival on Monday caused a stir among the locals, too: So thick was the crowd as the American passengers disembarked that a passing tourist asked, "Who's the celebrity?" The cruise was the latest stage in the surge of American travel to the island since President Obama announced the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba in December 2014. The arrival of a ship from Florida recalls the heady days before Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, when the island was a tropical getaway for Americans, and Cubans could board a ship in Havana and be in Miami within hours. Commercial sea traffic all but dried up when the United States broke off diplomatic and commercial relations with Cuba in the early 1960s. The Florida Straits became a treacherous barrier that tens of thousands of desperate Cubans crossed, or drowned trying to cross, on rafts and leaky vessels. Plans for the cruise ran into trouble in April after it emerged that it would exclude passengers because they were barred by the Cuban government from entering the country by sea. That prompted a furor in Miami and Washington, and the Cuban government lifted the restriction. Robert L. Muse, a lawyer in Washington who specializes in laws related to Cuba, said the Cuban government's concession was probably driven by diplomatic considerations, not because it was concerned about lost tourism dollars. "If it were purely about the money, they wouldn't have backed down," Mr. Muse said. With Washington eager for the détente to produce more commercial deals, the Cubans conceded "to keep the dialogue afloat," he said. The last time an American cruise ship sailed to Cuba from the United States was in the late 1970s, during a brief thaw begun by President Jimmy Carter. Since the 2014 announcement of restored relations, several ferry and cruise companies have applied to the Treasury Department for licenses to carry American passengers to Cuba. So far, only Carnival and a French company, Ponant, have reported receiving a license to offer cruises to Cuba from American ports. The Treasury Department has issued a general license to American ferry operators, but they have yet to get permission from the Cuban authorities. For Cubans, the possibility of regular sea crossings to the United States brings the prospect of closer ties with their expatriate friends and relatives living there. Antonio Serrano, 53, a hospital worker who was watching the Adonia passengers arrive in Old Havana on Monday, said he was there to show returning Cubans that his "solidarity is strong. "


Major governments, including the United States, the European Union and Canada, and top United Nations officials, are among those demanding the release of Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo from detention in Myanmar. The reporters were arrested on Dec. 12 after being invited to meet police officials on the outskirts of Yangon. They had worked on stories about a military crackdown in Rakhine state, from where about 665,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled since August and sought refuge in Bangladesh, according to the United Nations. The two journalists were sent to Yangon s Insein prison on Wednesday after a brief court appearance where they were allowed to meet their families and a lawyer for the first time since their arrest. Myanmar s Ministry of Information has said the reporters illegally acquired information with the intention to share it with foreign media, and released a photo of them in handcuffs. It said the reporters and two policemen faced charges under the British colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years, though officials said they have not been charged. Reuters President and Editor-In-Chief Stephen J. Adler has called for their immediate release. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are journalists who perform a crucial role in shedding light on news of global interest, and they are innocent of any wrongdoing, he said in a statement. Here are comments on their detention from governments, politicians, human rights groups, journalists and press freedom advocates around the world: - A group of 50 Pulitzer Prize winners called their arrest an outrageous attack on media freedom and demanded their immediate release. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are brave, principled and professional journalists who were working in the public interest and were jailed simply for doing their jobs, they said in a statement on Wednesday. - Two U.N. human rights experts called on Myanmar last week to release the two reporters, saying it was putting Myanmar on a dangerous path by using the Official Secrets Act to criminalize journalism. Journalism is not a crime. These detentions are another way for the Government to censor information about the military s role in Rakhine State and the humanitarian catastrophe taking place, said Yanghee Lee and David Kaye, who are the U.N. special rapporteur on Myanmar and on freedom of expression respectively. - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said the United States was demanding their immediate release or information as to the circumstances around their disappearance. Last week, the State Department reiterated the U.S. demand for the reporters immediate release. - Senator Ben Cardin, the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee called the arrests outrageous . It just brings back the memory of the horrible practices with the repressive military rule, he said. - Republican Thom Tillis and Democrat Chris Coons, leaders of the U.S. Senate Human Rights Caucus, said they were gravely concerned about the reporters arrests and that press freedom was critical to ensuring accountability for violence against the Rohingya. - Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kano said last week, Freedom of the press is extremely important, including in order to protect fundamental human rights. The Japanese government would like to watch (this matter) closely. Tokyo-based Human Rights Now has called on Japan to take a stronger stance. - The European Union has urged Myanmar to release the reporters as quickly as possible. A spokeswoman for EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said, Freedom of the press and media is the foundation and a cornerstone of any democracy. - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said countries should do everything possible to secure the journalists release and press freedom in Myanmar. - Britain, Holland, Canada, Norway and Sweden have demanded the release of the Reuters reporters. Australia has expressed concern and Bangladesh has denounced the arrests. - Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said it was disturbing to hear of the detention of the two Reuters journalists. Press freedom is very important, she said in a tweet on Christmas Day. - Vijay Nambiar, former special adviser on Myanmar to the U.N. Secretary-General, said in a statement to Reuters that the detentions had caused widespread disappointment within and outside the country that is likely to further damage the international reputation and image of Myanmar. - President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani called on Myanmar to protect media freedoms and release the reporters. - The New York Times said in an editorial on Saturday that releasing the two journalists immediately would help restore at least some lost faith in Aung San Suu Kyi s government. - Human Rights Watch said the detentions appeared to be aimed at stopping independent reporting of the ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya. - The Committee to Protect Journalists said the arrests were having a grave impact on the ability of journalists to cover a story of vital global importance . - Reporters Without Borders said there was no justification for the arrests and the charges being considered against the journalists were completely spurious . - Advocacy group Fortify Rights demanded Myanmar immediately and unconditionally release the Reuters journalists. - Myanmar s Irrawaddy online news site called on Dec. 14 for the journalists release in an editorial headlined The Crackdown on the Media Must Stop. It said it is an outrage to see the Ministry of Information release a police record photo of reporters handcuffed as police normally do to criminals on its website soon after the detention. It is chilling to see that MOI has suddenly brought us back to the olden days of a repressive regime. - The Southeast Asian Press Alliance said the journalists were only doing their jobs in trying to fill the void of information on the Rohingya conflict. - The Protection Committee for Myanmar Journalists, local reporters who have demonstrated against prosecutions of journalists, decried the unfair arrests that affect media freedom . - The Foreign Correspondents Club of Myanmar said it was appalled by the arrests and gravely concerned about press freedom in Myanmar. - The Foreign Correspondents Club in Thailand, Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines, Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club and Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong have issued statements supporting the journalists.


Russians didn t hack ANY votes. Period. #ComeyHearing pic.twitter.com/yz6c76frz1 Tennessee (@TEN_GOP) March 20, 2017


From the very outset of Trump s improbable political career one thing has been abundantly clear: His contempt for the American soldier borders on pathological.While he occasionally gets goaded into praising the troops (with all the enthusiasm of a hostage held at gunpoint), the Republican nominee, who deferred his own military service in Vietnam a number of times, more often than not shows nothing but outright disgust for them. He famously accused John McCain of being a loser because he was captured and tortured by the North Vietnamese (while Trump was sitting out the war). He more recently used the military to avoid partaking in an uncomfortable primary debate and then refused to give veterans the money he raised until he was exposed.And now, in a moment that is sure to be Hillary Clinton s very next campaign ad, Trump accused unnamed Iraq War veterans of stealing millions of dollars from the U.S. government that was meant to help rebuild the war-torn country. If it s not immediately obvious, that would be a massive crime. Trump tossed around the accusation almost casually.Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump, ladies and gentlemen: Iraq, crooked as hell. How about bringing baskets of money? Millions and millions of dollars and handing it out? I want to know, who were the soldiers who had that job? Because I think they re living very well right now. Trump, as could be expected, offers absolutely zero proof that this took place. Another conspiracy to add to his vault full of them.In fact, the soldiers who returned home from Iraq are not doing very well right now. Having served their country in a war without a clear objective, they got back to discover that the Republicans who sent them there now had no interest in helping them. Struggling with war injuries both physical and psychological, high rates of suicide and devastating unemployment, the veterans of the most wealthy nation on earth were kicked to the curb.In 2014, Senate Republicans unilaterally killed a sweeping $21 billion bill that would have expanded medical, educational and other benefits for these troops. Their reasoning? It s an entitlement that we cannot afford.Republicans have charged the bill was too expensive and disputed the way it would be paid for with overseas contingency operations funds used to fund the war in Afghanistan. And that, Republicans argued, wouldn t amount to real savings, since the money wouldn t have been spent anyway with the war winding down by year s end.If there were baskets of money sent to Iraq. It certainly doesn t seem like the troops who served there came home with any.Kudos to Donald Trump. In a week where one might have assumed accusing the President of the United States of helping ISIS was the lowest thing he could do, he managed to dig a little deeper. It s a wonder he has any supporters left.UPDATE: As expected, Donald Trump s campaign has rushed to do damage control. Spokesperson Hope Hicks claimed Trump was referring to Iraqi soldiers, not American ones. A blatant lie given the exact quote (go back and re-read it), but undermined even further by the fact that, as Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs noted, Trump has previously made a similar claim about American soldiers stealing money (as far back as 2015).He also suggested that some American soldiers charged with distributing money to fund the Afghan and Iraqi government embezzled it instead. I want to know who are the soldiers carrying suitcases with $50m? asked Trump. How stupid are we? I wouldn t be surprised if those soldiers, if the cash didn t get there. Trump doesn t even have the guts to stand by what he said. Sad!


Moscow is prepared to work with Pyongyang to try to find a peaceful resolution to the North Korean missile crisis, the Russian Foreign ministry said on Friday. The comments came in a statement issued by the ministry after a meeting between Russian ambassador-at-large Oleg Burmistrov and Choe Son-hui, director-general of the North American department of North Korea s foreign ministry. Choe also met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov, the ministry said. The Russian side confirmed its readiness to combine efforts in the interests of finding ways to solve the problems in the region by peaceful, political and diplomatic means, it said.


Unidentified attackers killed more than 30 cattle herders in the northeastern Nigerian state of Adamawa, a police spokesman said on Tuesday. The attack, in the Numan area of Adamawa, began on Sunday night and fighting continued into Monday morning, said Othman Abubakar, a police spokesman for the state, adding that an investigation was underway. He gave no further details. Earlier on Tuesday, a suicide bomber killed 50 worshippers during morning prayers in a mosque in the town of Mubi in northeastern Nigeria, police said, in one of the deadliest attacks in the region in years.


Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's indignant dissents from the bench have turned her into a heroine of the left, beloved for methodically skewering her conservative colleagues. On the internet, she has become the Notorious R. B. G. But after being roundly criticized for a remarkable series of interviews in which she mocked Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, Justice Ginsburg on Thursday did something highly unusual for a member of the nation's highest court: She admitted making a mistake. "Judges should avoid commenting on a candidate for public office," she wrote in a brief statement issued by the court, admitting her remarks were "ill advised" and expressing regret. "In the future I will be more circumspect. " A revered figure at some of the nation's most elite law schools since her appointment to the court in 1993, Justice Ginsburg, 83, flabbergasted many in the legal community when she called Mr. Trump a "faker," and said she could not really imagine what it would be like if he became president. Barry Friedman, a professor of law at New York University who describes himself as a friend of Justice Ginsburg's, said her comments were a stark example of a breach in the neutrality that justices must adhere to. "The price you pay for being on the bench is that you withdraw from politics," Mr. Friedman said. "You need to be extremely circumspect. " Mark Tushnet, a law professor at Harvard, said Justice Ginsburg's comments reflected the divisive nature of today's politics, which had already affected the legislative and executive branches of government. "Maybe this is an example of how hyperpolarization affects the court," he said. In expressing her disdain for Mr. Trump, Justice Ginsburg was anything but circumspect, leading some to wonder whether, after 23 years at the court, she is looking toward a possible retirement after the presidential election. Shana Knizhnik, the of a biography titled "Notorious R. B. G.: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg," said the justice was well aware that her time on the bench would not last forever. But Ms. Knizhnik said she was still surprised by Justice Ginsburg's comments. "She has always said she is going to do this job as long as she can do it full steam," Ms. Knizhnik said on Thursday. "But from an actuarial standpoint, she sees that there aren't going to be too many more elections during her tenure. " A legal advocate for most of her life, Justice Ginsburg made a name for herself when she represented the Women's Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union in several landmark cases before the court on issues including gender discrimination, equal protection and due process. After serving on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for more than a dozen years, Justice Ginsburg was elevated to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993, becoming the second woman to serve there. Though a stalwart of the court's liberal bloc, she was hardly a household name. But that started to change in the last decade, as conservatives on the court more aggressively asserted their philosophy and Justice Ginsburg began reading fiery dissents. In a 2007 case about discrimination in the workplace, she said the court "does not comprehend, or is indifferent to, the insidious way in which women can be victims of pay discrimination. " In 2013, she said that "only an ostrich" would believe that race would not continue to be a factor in university admissions despite the court's ruling in an affirmative action case. In a religious liberty case the next year, Justice Ginsburg said the majority on the court had endorsed a radical overhaul of corporate rights. Her dissent in that case, involving whether Hobby Lobby, the arts and crafts store chain, must provide insurance coverage for contraception to its employees, went viral on the internet, spawning Facebook memes and even a tribute song on YouTube. Ms. Knizhnik's Tumblr site, Notorious R. B. G. sells coffee mugs, iPhone cases and tote bags with Justice Ginsburg's face on them. Ms. Knizhnik said the internet offered a caricature that exaggerated the liberal philosophy of Justice Ginsburg, who had formed a close personal bond with Justice Antonin Scalia, the court's most outspoken conservative before his death this year. "The idea that she is this hyperpartisan is not true, even though certain people in political life paint her that way," Ms. Knizhnik said. "She is very much about disagreeing agreeably. " That may have been why her comments about Mr. Trump took her allies and critics by surprise. Mr. Trump lashed out at Justice Ginsburg after her comments, and she was criticized in editorials and by legal ethics experts. "I think it's highly inappropriate that a United States Supreme Court judge gets involved in a political campaign, frankly," Mr. Trump said on Tuesday. "I think it's a disgrace to the court, and I think she should apologize to the court. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. " He later called on Justice Ginsburg to resign, something she did not respond to in her statement. Legal scholars said they could not remember a time that a sitting justice expressed regret publicly for something he or she said, though many justices have been known to socialize with political figures or to privately express their political preferences, only to have them reported in the media. Justice Scalia went hunting with Dick Cheney, the former vice president, even as he participated in cases involving Mr. Cheney's activities in government. On the night in 2000 when news networks initially reported that Al Gore had won the presidential election, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was said to have told friends at a dinner party that it was terrible news. Mr. Tushnet said the idea of what was acceptable political activity for a Supreme Court justice had evolved over time. In the early 1900s, it was not uncommon, he said, for justices to openly express their desire to run for president. Charles Evans Hughes resigned his seat on the court in 1916 to run for the White House. But norms have changed, Mr. Tushnet said. Now, Americans expect the justices to keep their opinions largely to themselves. "My guess is that similar things occur today, but they are behind the scenes," Mr. Tushnet said. "What's different about this was that it was in front, on the record. " Mr. Friedman said Americans should not be naïve by thinking that the justices do not have opinions. But he also criticized the current members of the court for being too willing to attend conferences with partisan leanings or too eager to grant interviews when they have a book to sell. "This comment comes as a part of the culture of the justices being public figures instead of paying greater attention to the black robes they wear," he said. "It is still their job to operate from a position of neutrality. "


The White House on Friday said it had asked Congress for $44 billion in supplemental disaster assistance to help those hurt by recent hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico, Texas, Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands, far short of the aid some officials have called for. The White House said it expected to seek additional funds after a fuller analysis. U.S. Representative Frank Pallone and Senator Ron Wyden, both Democrats, called the request "a dereliction of duty by the Trump administration to American citizens in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands that need our help. "This woefully inadequate funding request does not provide the necessary resources required to properly respond to the ongoing humanitarian crisis," they added. Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello asked for $94.4 billion to rebuild the U.S. territory's infrastructure. Texas was seeking $61 billion and Florida had asked for $27 billion. The $44 billion would be in addition to about $50 billion Congress previously approved for hurricane and disaster relief. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said in a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan that the $44 billion "does not represent the final request" for assistance for the victims, especially in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, where needs were still being assessed. "At this time, the administration is requesting an additional fiscal year 2018 funding in the amount of $44 billion and the necessary authorities to address ongoing recovery efforts," Mulvaney said in the letter. The administration also wants Congress to approve new tax relief for victims of recent California wildfires, which mirror what Congress awarded recently to hurricane victims. The White House also wants to make houses of worship eligible for disaster relief funding. Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Republican in the chamber, on Thursday dismissed the latest request as "wholly inadequate" for his state. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders defended the request. "Up until this point Texas has not put any state dollars into this process. We feel strongly that they should step up and play a role and work with the federal government in this process. We did a thorough assessment and that was completed and this was the number that we put forward to Congress today," she said. She said the new request "primarily addresses Texas and Florida Those storms took place ahead of Puerto Rico. The assessment for Puerto Rico hasn't been completed yet. Once that's done, we fully anticipate that there will be additional requests at that time."


Donald Trump hates the press, unless the press is the far-right wing rags that kiss his ass nonstop, and report only what he likes. On Friday, Sean Spicer held a press gaggle in his office and included some of those rags, while excluding established media outlets with long histories in the White House. The AP and TIME Magazine boycotted the gaggle in solidarity with The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, CNN and Politico.CNN and The New York Times hit back pretty hard, and the White House Correspondents Association likewise hit back. Now, with the White House Correspondents dinner coming up in a couple of months, Trump is yet again insulting the press. He just announced on Twitter he s not going to attend the dinner this year.I will not be attending the White House Correspondents Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2017The president generally attends the dinner and gets up onstage to poke fun at himself and everyone in existence, and it s generally hilarious. Trump, however, is at war with the press as evidenced not just by Spicer s treatment of certain media outlets, but also by his own speech at CPAC, where he railed against the fake news media.He does it all the time on Twitter, too, and some press outlets are getting tired of it.As far as the dinner, CNN and MSNBC have indicated that they might not attend this year. Vanity Fair and The New Yorker have both announced they won t be there. A list of attendees hasn t been published yet, but we can probably expect more outlets to refuse to attend even if Trump isn t going to be there.Featured image by Olivier Douliery via Getty Images


A longtime Republican financial backer who attended a New York fundraiser held by Chris Christie for Donald Trump Thursday tells The Daily Caller that most Republican donors are on board with Trump, yet House Speaker Paul Ryan is hoping Trump loses so he can run in four years.The source tells TheDC that the reason Ryan has not been coming out strongly for Trump is because of his desire to run in four years. Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who has been fervently anti-Trump, also wants to run in four years, according to the longtime Republican backer. Romney will be 73 in 2020. Daily CallerOn Friday, the Clinton Campaign (Washington Post) released video of Donald Trump bragging about grabbing p*ssy in an off the record conversation with Billy Bush.The Los Angeles Times reported hours after audio was released of Donald Trump making sexually suggestive comments about a woman, that House Speaker Paul D. Ryan castigated Trump and said he would no longer attend their scheduled event on Saturday. I am sickened by what I heard today, Ryan said in a statement. Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified. I hope Mr. Trump treats this situation with the seriousness it deserves and works to demonstrate to the country that he has greater respect for women than this clip suggests. Paul Ryan was scheduled to campaign with Trump for the first time on Saturday. It never happened.On Sunday Donald Trump crushed Hillary Clinton in one of the most lopsided debates in political history. It was a brilliant performance. Trump made everyone forget about the WaPo tape.On Monday Paul Ryan sabotaged Donald Trump again and changed the political narrative.Ryan announced he will not campaign with or defend Donald Trump for the rest of the election cycle. This was an odd statement considering Paul Ryan has not once defended Donald Trump this year. He s only attacked Trump, the record-setting Republican primary winner.Liberty University president Jerry Falwell, Jr. suggested today that GOP elites may have leaked the video..@dansenor Writing about #BillyBush tapes, hearing your wife (ex NBC) got a hold of tapes and you pushed the story for your boss. Comment? Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) October 11, 2016https://twitter.com/dansenor/status/785445216299978759Here s Paul Ryan caught on tape cozying up to rapist Bill Clinton:Now this There are rumors that Paul Ryan s close advisor #NeverTrumper Dan Senor is behind the leaks.I spoke with a reporter tonight who believes the reports are true. It was GOP elites who released the audio to the Washington Post.Dan Senor has been pushing the WaPo audio all day. He is determined to keep the story alive. And he s a Republican?https://twitter.com/dansenor/status/785444757912838144


British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday the government has confidence in its relationship with the United States, and will continue to share intelligence with Britain's most important defense and security ally. President Donald Trump has defended his decision to discuss intelligence with the Russians during a White House meeting last week, saying he had an "absolute right" to share "facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety". "Decisions about what President Trump discusses with anybody that he has in the White House is a matter for President Trump," May told a news conference when asked whether Trump's disclosure had made her reluctant to share intelligence with him. "We continue to work with the United States and continue to share intelligence with the United States as we do with others around the world because we are all working together to deal with the threats that we face." The question came during a press briefing ahead of Britain's June 8 election, which polls show May is on course to win, and in which national security is seen as one of her political strengths. May is a former interior minister who spent six years in charge of the domestic security brief. May was the first foreign leader to meet with Trump following his inauguration, and has repeatedly reaffirmed the special relationship between the two countries: a military and economic alliance dating back to 19th century. Trump has endured a week of tumult at the White House after he fired the head of the FBI and then discussed sensitive national security information about Islamic State with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. But, May said she remained confident in the special relationship, highlighting the need to cooperate with the United States and other allies to counter the security threats posed by Islamic State and al-Qaeda. "We continue to work together and we have confidence in that relationship between us and the United States that it helps to keep us all safer," she said.


Fears of purges of personnel based on ideology have now reached the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security after a new, unusual request from the Donald Trump transition team has surfaced. The incoming Trump team is demanding a list of names for some reason.U.S. President-elect Donald Trump s transition team has asked two Cabinet departments for the names of government officials working on programs to counter violent extremism, according to a document seen by Reuters and U.S. officials.The requests to the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security involve a set of programs that seek to prevent violence by extremists of any stripe, including recruitment by militant Islamist groups within the United States and abroad.Reuters could not determine why the Trump team asked for these names. The Trump team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Trump has often attacked President Obama and his team, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for not being tougher on extremists. Often this critique has included the complaint that Obama and his subordinates do not explicitly blame the Islamic faith, rather than point out how extremists deviate from mainstream Islam.It is certainly plausible that the Trump team is considering some way in which to remove those who differ from their ideology from the permanent bureaucracy once they assume power. Such a purge of those seen to be disloyal would be in line with the authoritarian mindset that Trump has so often embraced during the campaign.Trump has also issued a similar demand to the Department of Energy, asking for the names of those who worked on the Obama administration s climate change policy. The Department refused the request, and the Obama White House expressed concerns that the Trump team was trying to target civil servants like scientists and lawyers. Eventually facing bad headlines, the Trump team disavowed the purge request.


Monday was in many ways typical for the comedy shows, with network hosts like CBS's Stephen Colbert and NBC's Seth Meyers performing pointed satirical monologues about Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and his many years spent propagating lies about President Obama's birthplace. But Samantha Bee, on her TBS cable series, "Full Frontal," took aim at a different target, condemning the NBC network and its host Jimmy Fallon for putting Mr. Trump on "The Tonight Show. " She faulted Mr. Fallon for conducting a genial, interview on Thursday, even as Mr. Trump had refused that day in other interviews to acknowledge that Mr. Obama was born in the United States. "Network execs, and a lot of their audience, can ignore how very dangerous Trump is because to them, he isn't," Ms. Bee said on her show. "They're not going to be deported. They're not going to live under a president who thinks of them as a collection of sex toys. "They're not racist. They just don't mind if other people are, which is just as bad. " It's one thing to make fun of Mr. Trump, who said on Friday that Mr. Obama "was born in the United States, period. " It's another to criticize a network or Mr. Fallon, who is typically not held up to such scrutiny, partly because of his amiable personality and the perception that his "Tonight Show" (which draws more than three million viewers a night, the most in its category) is a place for nonpartisan diversions. He and rival hosts like Mr. Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel try to avoid criticizing one another in public. NBC declined to comment on Tuesday, and Mr. Fallon has not spoken publicly on his conversation with Mr. Trump, except in a short TMZ. com interview, in which Mr. Fallon says on camera: "Have you seen my show? I'm never too hard on anyone. " But Mr. Fallon took plenty of criticism for the Thursday interview, and Ms. Bee's monologue was perhaps the bluntest denunciation of it so far. On a day in which Mr. Trump continued to give ambiguous answers on whether he still supported his false birtherist theory, Mr. Fallon asked him mostly uncontroversial questions and playfully ran his fingers through Mr. Trump's hair. Playing off that image, Ms. Bee said sarcastically, "Aw, Trump can be a total sweetheart with someone who has no reason to be terrified of him. " Jo Miller, an executive producer of "Full Frontal," said in an interview on Tuesday that seeing the cozy behavior between Mr. Fallon and Mr. Trump "was a punch in the gut. " Ms. Miller said that she and her "Full Frontal" colleagues "love Jimmy. " She added, "Who doesn't love Jimmy?" But, she said, Mr. Fallon's ingratiating treatment of Mr. Trump is "a problem because we love him. " "If he thinks that a demagogue is O. K. that gives permission to millions of Americans to also think that," she continued. Ms. Miller, who came with Ms. Bee from Comedy Central's news satire "The Daily Show," said she has no problem "showing candidates and public servants as human beings, and I think there needs to be more of that. " "That said," Ms. Miller added, "this is not a race between Democrat and Republican — this is a race between Democrat and demagogue. You don't normalize someone who's inciting violence. " The "Full Frontal" segment about Mr. Fallon and NBC had been touched off when Ms. Miller received a text early Friday morning from Travon Free, a former writer for "The Daily Show" who now works on HBO's "Any Given Wednesday With Bill Simmons. " The text from Mr. Free included a picture of Mr. Fallon caressing Mr. Trump's coiffure, and an urgent, slightly vulgar message exhorting Ms. Miller and Ms. Bee to address the subject on their show. "That was the first I heard of it," Ms. Miller said. "I was like, What? This didn't happen. " Mr. Free said on Tuesday in a phone interview that, other than Ms. Bee, "I knew no one would do it, because it's just this buddy culture among the hosts in that category. " Mr. Free added: "If Jimmy Fallon was my friend, we would have had a real conversation. Not being cool with what he did on his show doesn't make you his enemy. " Echoing Ms. Bee's monologue, Ms. Miller said that Mr. Fallon did not deserve all the blame, and that NBC was more culpable for providing Mr. Trump a platform as the star of its reality shows "The Apprentice" and "The Celebrity Apprentice. " Even after NBC said in June 2015 that it was firing Mr. Trump for "derogatory statements" at his presidential announcement, in which he referred to Mexican immigrants as "rapists" and "murderers," the network continued to feature him on "The Tonight Show" and "Saturday Night Live. " Ms. Miller pointed out that there is still an awkward relationship between Mr. Trump and NBC, where the "Today" show host Matt Lauer was criticized for going too easy on him in a presidential forum, and Mr. Trump has expressed skepticism of the NBC "Nightly News" anchor Lester Holt, who will moderate the first presidential debate. She drew a distinction between the broader categories of political satire programs like "Full Frontal" and talk shows that can only engage their guests in harmless banter. "It's not their job to be political satirists and to shake people by their shoulders and say, 'Look at this thing — do you think it's O. K.?'" Ms. Miller said. "That's our job. " Ms. Miller said it would be helpful to hear her message reinforced by white men in her field. Otherwise, she said, "It becomes, 'Oh, you see everything through the lens of sexism,' or, 'Not everything has to be about race. '" "To me, this is just about decency," she said. On Monday night, meanwhile, Mr. Fallon's "Tonight Show" guests included Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee. Going through items that they said belonged to Mr. Trump, Ms. Clinton offered Mr. Fallon something that she said Mr. Trump had left behind for him: a bag of softballs. Mr. Fallon responded, "That was my gift to him. "


The Trump administration's search for a new FBI director hit roadblocks on Tuesday when two high-profile potential candidates, a moderate judge and a conservative senator, signaled they did not want the job. Advisers to Judge Merrick Garland and U.S. Senator John Cornyn of Texas told Reuters they discouraged them from leading the Federal Bureau of Investigation, cautioning that they would be leaving important, secure jobs for one fraught with politics and controversy. The advisers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the new FBI director would have little job security and heightened scrutiny by political observers following President Donald Trump's abrupt firing of James Comey on May 9. Garland and Cornyn distancing themselves from the selection process just three days before Trump has said he may make a decision, points to the difficulties the White House has in filling the FBI post amid turmoil in the administration. Trump's firing of Comey, the man in charge of an investigation into possible collusion between 2016 election campaign associates and the Russian government, outraged many lawmakers, including some Republicans. Garland, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, "loves his job and is not interested in leaving the judiciary," said one source familiar with the judge's thinking. Cornyn said in a statement that he had informed the White House that "the best way I can serve is continuing to fight for a conservative agenda in the U.S. Senate." White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on Tuesday that an announcement on FBI director was still possible before Trump leaves on his first foreign trip on Friday. He said the U.S. Department of Justice was still interviewing candidates. Several Republican senators had promoted Garland even though they had refused to give him a hearing when Republican Trump's predecessor President Barack Obama, a Democrat, nominated Garland last year for a then-vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. The Republicans' reasoning appeared to be that Garland would be accepted by Democrats and help restore faith in the FBI as a nonpartisan agency. In an interview on Bloomberg Television, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell referred to Garland, a former federal prosecutor, as "an apolitical professional." A second Garland acquaintance who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Garland sought advice from those who told him he would be leaving his life-long position on the federal bench to take a job that could be terminated by Trump overnight. A Republican Senate aide said Cornyn's staff also worried that the third-term Texas Senator could cut his- and their own- careers short by going to the FBI. An adviser to another candidate on the White House short-list, former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, 75, said Kelly is also being persuaded to step out of the running. Kelly has not said that he would not consider the job, but so far he has not been interviewed. Republican Representative Trey Gowdy, a former federal prosecutor whose name had been floated, said on Monday he was not interested in the director position. The difficulty in filling key administration jobs is not just limited to the FBI director post. Trump's habits of contradicting his top aides, demanding personal loyalty and punishing officials who contradict him in public has discouraged a number of experienced people from pursuing jobs, said three people who declined to discuss possible positions with administration officials. "It's becoming increasingly difficult to attract good people to work in this administration," said one senior official. "In other cases, veteran people with expertise are leaving or seeking posts overseas and away from this White House."


The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee plans a closed briefing and a public hearing on the Russia hacking issue as soon as the Senate returns from its year-end recess in the first week of January, a spokeswoman said. "The committee plans to systematically look at this issue and will begin with both a classified briefing and an open hearing in early January when the Senate returns," said Micah Johnson, a spokeswoman for the panel's Republican chairman, Senator Bob Corker.


They came close in Iowa, but just fell short of claiming victory. Tuesday night in New Hampshire was a different story. The political outsiders have taken control of this election. Donald Trump won Tuesday night's Republican primary in New Hampshire. By a margin of 34 percent to 16 percent for John Kasich, Trump proved that his slogan of "Make America Great Again" resonates with voters – in a big way. On the Democratic side, self proclaimed socialist Bernie Sanders edged Hillary Clinton out by 20 percentage points. His message railing against the rigged economy, special interests that control Washington and pledging to give Americans universal healthcare and free college tuition brought together a larger coalition of young voters than the one Barack Obama built in 2008. To my mind, Tuesday night's results show that there are finally politicians who understand how marginalized, disenfranchised and betrayed a majority of Americans feel. It's both Republicans and Democrats, including the 42 percent of Americans who now identify as independent because they think the two parties don't represent their values and positions. We are seeing a full scale rejection of the political establishment. This is a threat that we did not take seriously enough over the past few years, as evidenced by the fact that most rejected Trump as a clown and a joke. His ideas on illegal immigration and placing a temporary ban on Muslims ruffled our national feathers even though a majority of Republican primary voters agreed with him. That's how out of touch our political class has become. Indeed, 46 percent of GOP voters say they feel betrayed by Republican politicians. Trump won 32 percent of that group. We did the same thing to Bernie Sanders who began this race upwards of 50 points behind Hillary Clinton. We said a socialist could never win. And he may not be able to win a national election, but we are seeing an electorate so starved for an honest and trustworthy politician that they will make allowances for ideologies that they may not have considered before. Sanders has argued about oligarchy and money in politics and has been his whole career. He doesn't flip flop or evolve on his advocacy for the average American. Sanders is just Bernie Sanders. And Donald Trump is just Donald Trump. We are living in a time when trust in Americans institutions has collapsed. A recent Pew survey shows that less than 20 percent of Americans trust the government always or most of the time. And a CNN poll showed that 60 percent think the American Dream is unachievable today. Against this backdrop, it's no surprise that America is in revolt. Honesty and trustworthiness matters more than whether a candidate has experience or can win in November according to voters. And the establishment isn't delivering anything resembling what the American populace desires in their political leaders. I see a clearer path to the nomination for Trump than for Sanders, but there is no doubt that Americans have spoken and they're done with business as usual. Douglas E. Schoen has served as a pollster for President Bill Clinton. He has more than 30 years experience as a pollster and political consultant. He is also a Fox News contributor and co-host of "Fox News Insiders" Sundays on Fox News Channel at 7 pm ET. He is the author of 12 books. His latest is "The Nixon Effect: How Richard Nixon's Presidency Fundamentally Changed American Politics" (Encounter Books, February 2016). Follow Doug on Twitter @DouglasESchoen.


Home | Health | Hook Up Sites Tinder and Grindr Good For Population Control Hook Up Sites Tinder and Grindr Good For Population Control By Girolamo Fracastoro 30/10/2016 22:17:24  LONDON – England – News that there has been a massive spike in syphilis amongst users of Tinder and Grindr is welcome news to many who are seriously concerned with over population.  Because syphilis can stay mainly undetected if untreated it can remain latent in the body for years. In the late stages of syphilis, the disease damages the internal organs, including the brain, nerves, eyes, heart, blood vessels, liver, bones and joints leading to early death.  Antibiotics are increasingly becoming redundant due to overuse and the WHO has warned of a coming cataclysmic disaster where many ailments are untreatable due to resistance.  "These people are spreading STIs around like candy and soon their diseases will not be treatable. It works both ways, deaths from syphilis and gonorrhoea will eventually cull these populations thinning the herd," a clinical insider revealed.  What about HIV? Unfortunately it has not had the effect in population reduction that was needed. Although it is still prevalent amongst the gay population, it needs to make more in roads into the heterosexual population to become effective in reducing the population numbers.  Since the discovery of HIV/AIDS it has only killed 36 million, considering the global population is 7.5 billion and growing, it's a drop in the ocean.  We must therefore encourage more sites like Tinder and Grindr, the more the better. These sites peddle death to the stupid, and less stupid people on earth can only be a very good thing.  App developers need to make in roads in creating more hookup apps tailored not only for the developed world but for the third world, especially nations like China and India as well as the African continent, where population growth is beyond unsustainable.  Once STDs like syphilis explode in these regions, which are wholly untreatable, they will continue to spread like wildfire.  The creators of Tinder and Grindr should be commended for their great works, you have fired the starting gun in the race to reduce the global population before it is too late. Promiscuous risky sexual encounters should be encouraged at all junctures to spread STIs.  Finite resources are being permanently depleted daily, and it is only a matter of time before the Malthusian nightmare is upon us. Estimated projections for global population growth are 11.2 billion by 2023 according to the UN.  This cannot be allowed to happen, so please go on Tinder and Grindr now, and do your bit. You can catch chlamydia, genital warts, HIV, syphilis and gonorrhoea, maybe all at the same time. Share on :


One Donald Trump supporter just realized that she voted for the wrong candidate.Teena Colebrook knew she had made a terrible error in judgment after Donald Trump picked former Goldman Sachs partner Steven Mnuchin to head the Treasury Department. I just wish that I had not voted, Colebrook said. I have no faith in our government anymore at all. They all promise you the world at the end of a stick and take it away once they get in. Colebrook believed Trump when he said he would drain the swamp, his term for getting rid of all the Washington insiders and elites. She believed he would keep his promise to look after and take care of ordinary Americans like herself. But Trump s choice of a billionaire big Wall Street banker changed her mind about Trump.Colebrook bought a triplex in 1998 in Los Angeles for $248,000. She rented out two units to make extra income and lived in the third. She kept up the payments but then the recession hit and her two tenants lost their jobs.According to the Associated Press,Over five years, she tried unsuccessfully to adjust her loan with OneWest through the Treasury Department s Home Affordable Modification Program. But she said that One West Bank lost paperwork, provided conflicting statements about ownership of the loan and fees and submitted charges that were unverified and caused her loan balance to balloon. By the time she lost her home in foreclosure in April 2015, the payoff balance totaled $517,662.OneWest Bank was owned by Steven Mnuchin, and Colebrook is not the only person he screwed over. Two years ago, Mnuchin s vulture bank literally tried to take a house away from a 90-year-old woman over a 27 cent bill.That s how petty and greedy Mnuchin is, and that makes him unfit to be in a position that is supposed to serve the American people and protect them from economic predators like himself.Featured Image: Screenshot


How did we ever get to the point where we would even consider electing a woman who is the most well-known liar in America? The media has been buzzing since what many consider an inappropriate private conversation that Donald J. Trump had with another man 11 years ago was released. Funny how the media is willing to gloss over a shameful career of a congenital liar simply because her last name is Clinton (wife of the former President Bill Clinton who was impeached for lying under oath to a Grand Jury) and because she comes equipped with the right genitatlia Americans of all political persuasions are coming to the sad realization that our First Lady a woman of undoubted talents who was a role model for many in her generation is a congenital liar.Drip by drip, like Whitewater torture, the case is being made that she is compelled to mislead, and to ensnare her subordinates and friends in a web of deceit.1. Remember the story she told about studying The Wall Street Journal to explain her 10,000 percent profit in 1979 commodity trading? We now know that was a lie told to turn aside accusations that as the Governor s wife she profited corruptly, her account being run by a lawyer for state poultry interests through a disreputable broker.She lied for good reason: To admit otherwise would be to confess taking, and paying taxes on, what some think amounted to a $100,000 bribe.2. The abuse of Presidential power known as Travelgate elicited another series of lies. She induced a White House lawyer to assert flatly to investigators that Mrs. Clinton did not order the firing of White House travel aides, who were then harassed by the F.B.I. and Justice Department to justify patronage replacement by Mrs. Clinton s cronies.Now we know, from a memo long concealed from investigators, that there would be hell to pay if the furious First Lady s desires were scorned. The career of the lawyer who transmitted Hillary s lie to authorities is now in jeopardy. Again, she lied with good reason: to avoid being identified as a vindictive political power player who used the F.B.I. to ruin the lives of people standing in the way of juicy patronage.3. In the aftermath of the apparent suicide of her former partner and closest confidant, White House Deputy Counsel Vincent Foster, she ordered the overturn of an agreement to allow the Justice Department to examine the files in the dead man s office. Her closest friends and aides, under oath, have been blatantly disremembering this likely obstruction of justice, and may have to pay for supporting Hillary s lie with jail terms.Again, the lying was not irrational. Investigators believe that damning records from the Rose Law Firm, wrongfully kept in Vincent Foster s White House office, were spirited out in the dead of night and hidden from the law for two years in Hillary s closet, in Web Hubbell s basement before his felony conviction, in the President s secretary s personal files before some were forced out last week.Why the White House concealment? For good reason: The records show Hillary Clinton was lying when she denied actively representing a criminal enterprise known as the Madison S.& L., and indicate she may have conspired with Web Hubbell s father-in-law to make a sham land deal that cost taxpayers $3 million.Why the belated release of some of the incriminating evidence? Not because it mysteriously turned up in offices previously searched. Certainly not because Hillary Clinton and her new hang-tough White House counsel want to respond fully to lawful subpoenas.One reason for the Friday-night dribble of evidence from the White House is the discovery by the F.B.I. of copies of some of those records elsewhere. When Clinton witnesses are asked about specific items in lost records which investigators have the White House finds its copy and releases it. By concealing the Madison billing records two days beyond the statute of limitations, Hillary evaded a civil suit by bamboozled bank regulators.Another reason for recent revelations is the imminent turning of former aides and partners of Hillary against her; they were willing to cover her lying when it advanced their careers, but are inclined to listen to their own lawyers when faced with perjury indictments.Therefore, ask not Why didn t she just come clean at the beginning? She had good reasons to lie; she is in the longtime habit of lying; and she has never been called to account for lying herself or in suborning lying in her aides and friends.No wonder the President is fearful of holding a prime-time press conference. Having been separately deposed by the independent counsel at least twice, the President and First Lady would be well advised to retain separate defense counsel. New York Times


License DMCA  The United States is so committed to the notion that its electoral process is the world's "gold standard" that there has been a bipartisan determination to maintain the fiction even when evidence is overwhelming that a U.S. presidential election has been manipulated or stolen. The "wise men" of the system simply insist otherwise.  We have seen this behavior when there are serious questions of vote tampering (as in Election 1960) or when a challenger apparently exploits a foreign crisis to create an advantage over the incumbent (as in Elections 1968 and 1980) or when the citizens' judgment is overturned by judges (as in Election 2000).  Strangely, in such cases, it is not only the party that benefited which refuses to accept the evidence of wrongdoing, but the losing party and the establishment news media as well. Protecting the perceived integrity of the U.S. democratic process is paramount. Americans must continue to believe in the integrity of the system even when that integrity has been violated.  The harsh truth is that pursuit of power often trumps the principle of an informed electorate choosing the nation's leaders, but that truth simply cannot be recognized.  Of course, historically, American democracy was far from perfect, excluding millions of people, including African-American slaves and women. The compromises needed to enact the Constitution in 1787 also led to distasteful distortions, such as counting slaves as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of representation (although obviously slaves couldn't vote). - Advertisement -  That unsavory deal enabled Thomas Jefferson to defeat John Adams in the pivotal national election of 1800. In effect, the votes of Southern slave owners like Jefferson counted substantially more than the votes of Northern non-slave owners.  Even after the Civil War when the Constitution was amended to give black men voting rights, the reality for black voting, especially in the South, was quite different from the new constitutional mandate. Whites in former Confederate states concocted subterfuges to keep blacks away from the polls to ensure continued white supremacy for almost a century.  Women did not gain suffrage until 1920 with the passage of another constitutional amendment, and it took federal legislation in 1965 to clear away legal obstacles that Southern states had created to deny the franchise to blacks.  Indeed, the alleged voter fraud in Election 1960, concentrated largely in Texas, a former Confederate state and home to John Kennedy's vice presidential running mate, Lyndon Johnson, could be viewed as an outgrowth of the South's heritage of rigging elections in favor of Democrats, the post-Civil War party of white Southerners.  However, by pushing through civil rights for blacks in the 1960s, Kennedy and Johnson earned the enmity of many white Southerners who switched their allegiance to the Republican Party via Richard Nixon's Southern strategy of coded racial messaging. Nixon also harbored resentments over what he viewed as his unjust defeat in the election of 1960. - Advertisement -  Nixon's "Treason"  So, by 1968, the Democrats' once solid South was splintering, but Nixon, who was again the Republican presidential nominee, didn't want to leave his chances of winning what looked to be another close election to chance. Nixon feared that -- with the Vietnam War raging and the Democratic Party deeply divided -- President Johnson could give the Democratic nominee, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, a decisive boost by reaching a last-minute peace deal with North Vietnam. President Richard Nixon with his then-National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger in 1972. License DMCA  The documentary and testimonial evidence is now clear that to avert a peace deal, Nixon's campaign went behind Johnson's back to persuade South Vietnamese President Nguyen van Thieu to torpedo Johnson's Paris peace talks by refusing to attend. Nixon's emissaries assured Thieu that a President Nixon would continue the war and guarantee a better outcome for South Vietnam.


We'll get to the GOP debate momentarily. But first, a word about the Republicans' odyssey and oddity this past year. Welcome to the most volatile Republican presidential race in modern times. The upper 66 percent of last year's field is either out of the running or running on fumes. The top 74 percent in the current field is five times larger than its 15 percednt share of a year ago. And 2016? It may only add to the confusion. On to the main event and what transpired Tuesday night at The Venetian Las Vegas. The good news: It was smaller grouping than the last time CNN/Salem Radio ran the show (nine candidates, down two from September's gathering at the Reagan Presidential Library). And it was truncated – 40 minutes less than September's three-hour debate from hell). Still, CNN was plagued by the same problems as before: a candidates' forum that was too long, too lumbering, and too laxly herded. Here are seven observations from this, the final Republican debate of 2015: 1. No One Trumped Trump. It wasn't for a lack of effort. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul ripped into Donald Trump less than 30 seconds into the debate's start over Internet policy. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush tut-tutted: "You're not going to insult your way to the presidency." What they don't get: Trump didn't earn the center spot on the stage courtesy of profound thinking or refined elegance. Better to construct one's own case, rather than try to deconstruct The Donald. Blame it on the candidates' approach and Wolf Blitzer's herky-jerky style of questioning (like watching a 16-year-old drive a stick-shift for the first time): how many of Trump's rivals made a lasting impression as to how they'd defeat ISIS and protect the homeland? 2. The Cage Match. At various points, Paul took swings at Trump, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The libertarians in the crowd loved it, but the candidate came across as desperate – for attention and a lifeline for a campaign struggling to stay afloat. The dust-up that the media wanted but didn't get: Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Both were too smart to take the bait. Cruz didn't expound on his differences with Trump over the Muslim immigration ban or a previous comment suggesting he thought Trump lacked a presidential temperament. Trump expressed "great respect" for the other candidates on the stage and ruled out an independent run (the night's biggest news). Time will tell whether what Trump said in Vegas stayed in Vegas. Cruz did have some momentary tussles – with Rubio over Senate votes (always a good way to put an audience to sleep). And Trump: his testiest moments came in a personal back-and-forth with Bush over demeanor and poll numbers. 3. Executive Order. It was a national security debate long on tough talk about leadership skills, which would seem an opening for the two sitting governors looking for a leg-up in this race: Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Did either succeed? Not quite. For Christie, the problem was numbers. Yes, he had some good moments connecting national security to his New Jersey heritage. However, nine candidates and a round-robin style of Q&A too often reduced Christie to interjecting himself into the debate to remind viewers of just how vapid senators can be (Carly Fiorina also went down this path, at several points jumping into the cross-talk to bemoan the awfulness of the political class). As for Kasich, it's a matter of rhetorical substance abuse. Three governors past and present have departed the race. A fourth, Bush, is struggling to stay relevant. It's a political climate in which the Republican base isn't impressed by resumes, yet Kasich continues to recite a long Washington biography. Oh(io) the humanity. 4. Auld Lang Syne. And so ends the GOP's debate circuit for 2015. Next up: a Jan. 14 debate in North Charleston, S.C., hosted by the Fox Business Network. 5. At a time when many a college student is taking semester finals, this debate had the vibe of that last exam of the week before an extended break. Tempers were short; the candidates seemed tired of sharing the same oxygen. 6. Debate winners, if we must: Trump and Cruz, for playing mostly error-free ball. 7. Debate losers: anyone who lost their place in line for the "Star Wars" premiere by staying home to watch a mostly uneventful debate. Bill Whalen is a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, where he analyzes California and national politics. He also blogs daily on the 2016 election at www.adayattheracesblog.com. Follow him on Twitter @hooverwhalen.


Donald Trump s project that is supposedly converting the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C. is the subject of a Labor Department investigation. It is being alleged that workers on the site are being paid less than what is mandated under federal law.The Labor Department confirmed to POLITICO that it s looking into allegations of wage-rule violations by the Craftsmen Group, a Trump Organization subcontractor that restores windows. And workers on the site, including one Craftsmen Group employee, told POLITICO that they and others aren t receiving pay rates mandated by law. Two of them produced pay stubs to support their claims.Trump s refurbishment of the Romanesque pile, built in 1899, into a luxury hotel is his highest-profile real estate project, if only because the historic structure is situated just a few blocks from the White House. Trump staged a campaign event at the construction site in March, blending presidential politics with commerce. When it s completed, he said, it will be truly one of the great hotels of the world. Trump s contract with the federal government for the site is actually structured so that Trump is actually leasing it from the government. That means wages on the site are set by federal law, which requires all workers union or not on the site to be paid the prevailing wage set in the area by labor unions.A sign at the Trump site pointed out that glaziers, the workers installing shower doors, should be paid between $24.30 to $27.64 an hour. But their paystubs show them earning way less between $13 to $16 an hour almost half of what the law requires.Trump has been slammed recently for repeatedly underpaying contractors who have done work on his properties, and in some instances not paying them at all for the work they ve done for him and his companies. Trump claimed that he was completely justified in stiffing workers.


Between Hollywood and our elected officials, it s hard to keep track of who has the worst record when it comes to being a disgusting hypocrite When President Trump was running for office, Alabama s Republican Governor Robert Bentley was one of the first politicians to announce that he would not support him over the exposed private conversation he had with a guy on a bus about a woman. He proudly claimed his support would be given to Governor Kashich of Ohio AP Bentley comments came as state Alabama U.S. Reps. Martha Roby and Bradley Byrne, on Saturday called for Trump to step aside from the GOP ticket. Trump is under fire for his remarks about him groping women in a 2005 recording.Roby was one of the first Republicans to speak out against Trump on Saturday, leading what would soon be a chorus of voices against the GOP nominee. Now, it is abundantly clear that the best thing for our country and our party is for Trump to step aside and allow a responsible, respectable Republican to lead the ticket, Roby said in a statement. Hillary Clinton must not be president, but, with Trump leading the ticket she will be. But that was yesterday before anyone knew what a hypocrite scumbag Governor Bentley was.In June 2014, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley and first lady Dianne Bentley agreed to a divorce settlement, ending their 50-year marriage, the governor s office said Monday.The settlement was filed just four weeks after the first lady filed for divorce, saying their marriage had suffered an irretrievable breakdown. The governor said he has asked a judge to unseal the case file so the public and media can see it. CBS NewsAfter a tumultuous day in Montgomery, Governor Robert Bentley has resigned from office. The time has come for me to look at new ways to serve the people of our great state. I have decided it is time for me to step down as Alabama s governor. This comes hours after a House committee began impeachment hearings, and about one hour after Bentley was booked in the Montgomery County Jail on misdemeanor charges. He pleaded guilty to the charges.


The United States on Tuesday condemned the slaying of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and said the FBI had responded to Malta s request for assistance in investigating the car bomb attack that killed her. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the United States condemned the appalling violence that took place against her in the strongest terms, calling it a cowardly attack against a reporter who was dedicated to fighting corruption. We responded quickly to the prime minister s request for assistance. The government of Malta and Malta police force have been in contact with the FBI about the investigation and the FBI is providing specific assistance, said Nauert, who called for a thorough, transparent and independent probe.


Carol Adl in News , World // 1 Comment  Spain is having to review its decision to allow Russian warships to refuel at one of its ports amid international outrage.  "The latest stopover requests are being reviewed at the moment based on the information we are receiving from our allies and from Russian authorities," the Spanish foreign ministry said.  A naval fleet headed by the Admiral Kuznetzov aircraft carrier, which passed through the English Channel last week, was expected to dock this morning in the autonomous enclave of Ceuta to take on fuel and supplies under a permit issued by Spain's Foreign Ministry.  NATO, the British government & EU officials have expressed anger even though Spain says Russia's warships have been mooring there "for years."  The Independent reports:  Asked about Spain's role in supplying the fleet, Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato Secretary-General, said he was "concerned".  "I have expressed that very clearly about potential use of this battle group to increase Russia's ability and to be a platform for airstrikes against Syria," he added.  "I repeat those concerns today and I believe that all Nato allies are aware that this battle group can be used to conduct airstrikes against Aleppo and Syria."  Guy Verhofstadt, president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament, called Spain's decision "scandalous".  He wrote on Twitter: "Spain signed EU statement on Russian war crimes in Aleppo last week – today [Tuesday] helps refuel fleet on way to commit more atrocities. Seriously?"  The UK said that although access to Spanish ports was a matter for local authorities, concerns had been raised.  "Her Majesty's government has previously expressed concerns to the Spanish government about its hospitality to the Russian navy when we have concerns about Russia's military activity," a British Government spokesperson said.  Spain, a Nato member, regularly allows Russian war ships to stop in its enclave of Ceuta, which borders Morocco at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea.  A spokesperson for the foreign ministry told El Pais permission was granted on a case-by-case basis depending on the ship in question and possibly security risks.  "We are looking at the latest [supply] stops requested based on information requested by Russian authorities," he added.  Intense international media coverage has followed the fleet's progress from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean, with Royal Navy ships tracking it through the Channel.


Paul Ryan and the Republican leadership are rolling out plans to keep wages stagnant in America for the foreseeable future. A $23 billion cut is aimed at eliminating food benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to people on unemployment who are either in school or job training. It s an age-old GOP tactic. Eliminate the help for people who are looking to do better and they are forced out of school or training and into minimum wage jobs.Once they get there, the Republicans can claim they re teenagers living at home for free and it s their own fault for settling for a minimum wage job when all they have to do is go back to school or get some training. And the cycle continues. According to Roll Call:Republican leaders have proposed more than $23 billion in food stamp cuts in a budget plan that could be brought to the House floor in the next two weeks, several sources say.The proposed changes in the food stamp, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, include the end of waivers that allow some adults to receive assistance for a limited amount of time, while they are in school, or training for a job.$23 billion in cuts to food for people. Is there nowhere else we could look for $23 billion dollars? How over budget is that fighter jet program again? We re not talking about handing people cash outside a liquor store here; we re talking about food. All the BS about fraud and dependence and still one in four children in this country struggle with food. Republicans have been after the food stamp program for no reason other than to keep people as desperate as possible.Just imagine if Donald Trump is elected with a Republican majority in Congress. Food will be distributed to the poor in the streets in the form of bags of flour and rice and maybe some milk and whey to make cheese. OK, maybe that s a little extreme. There won t be any free food. Certainly in a Trumptopian society, the poor will stay out of sight where they belong.Featured image from foodsecuritychallenge.com


Bill Maher is not shy about what he thinks of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Maher unleashed a 6 minute destruction of the billionaire demagogue, at one point calling him a pu**y and a whiny little bit*h, saying that Trump fit American stereotypes about 1950 s housewives. Maher said: Never forget, Lady Trump, that Hillary Clinton was born a woman. But you chose to live your life as a whiny little b*tch. Which is why, if Hillary is the Democratic nominee, I ll be voting for the only one who has balls. Maher continued: And like a daffy housewife of the 50s, Trump can t balance a checkbook. In a skit where Maher appeared to voice bewilderment and frustration that someone like Donald Trump actually has a shot at the presidency, Maher pointed to his personal experiences with the GOP demagogue, including the time Trump sued him for challenging him to prove he was not the son of an orangutan in response to Trump s birther rhetoric about President Barack Obama.Maher also criticized Trump s business dealings, pointing to his failures: Trump Airlines, Trump Casinos, Trump University, Trump Steaks. He s got the Midas touch if every time Midas touched something it exploded. Maher is able to sum up the absurdity that is Donald Trump. It s important that we do all we can to make sure he doesn t become president by going out and voting this November.Watch video here:[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB4sGX0R5ak]


Conservatives would be so pissed if this actually happened.In what would perhaps be the most entertaining Supreme Court nominating process in American history, a petition is circulating asking President Obama to nominate Anita Hill to replace recently deceased Justice Antonin Scalia on the bench.Hill is most remembered for her courageous testimony against current Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during his confirmation hearings in 1991. Hill testified that Thomas made unwanted sexual advances toward her during his stint as supervisor at the Department of Education. Despite her passing a lie detector test while he refused to take one, the Senate still confirmed Thomas 52-48 in the narrowest margin since the 1800s after other women were denied the chance to testify in support of Hill.Thomas and his conservative supporters, of course, demonized Hill, accusing her of being used by white liberals to cut down an uppity black with a high-tech lynching. But while Hill may seem to be a controversial choice to fill Scalia s seat on the high court, it s not out of the realm of possibility, nor does she lack the qualifications.Hill is an experienced attorney who also serves as University Professor of Social Policy, Law, and Women s Studies at Brandeis University. The 59-year-old attended Oklahoma State University and Yale Law School. She is one of the most prominent experts in her field and certainly possesses the legal and academic chops to serve on the Supreme Court.Furthermore, there has never been an African-American woman on the Court, which makes this an opportunity to make history with a much needed change. What better way to replace a racist misogynist like Scalia than with an educated black woman who specializes in social policy?Not only that, just imagine how uncomfortable her nomination would make Clarence Thomas feel. He d probably be sweating bullets while watching and hoping the nomination process eliminates her as the nominee. And it would be incredibly hard for conservatives to grill her without reminding the American public of how big of creep Thomas is. And if Republicans are too hard on her, they can be the ones accused of a high-tech lynching of an uppity black woman as they let their sexism and racism fly during hearings that would would likely be nationally televised and strewn across social media.And even if Hill fails to be confirmed, it would make Republicans look like the terrible lawmakers and human beings that they are, all while embarrassing the hell out of Thomas, who may even end up feeling too exposed to remain on the Court. And if she does get confirmed, he might resign anyway or at the very least be forced to watch as the woman he harassed and humiliated over 20 years ago puts on the same black robe to help the American people in a way he has refused to do throughout his own tenure. She could end up being the social justice crusader women and minorities have hoped for and become more revered than Scalia and Thomas could ever hope to be.As the petition says, Now THAT S Justice! Featured image from Wikimedia