I FAILED TO DO THIS BLOG FOR THREE DAYS. I DID ONE SUBJECT ITEMS INSTEAD. MY BAD. SO, I’M JUST THROWING ARTICLES THAT HAVE ACCUMULATED IN HERE WITHOUT MUCH COMMENTARY. IF YOU’VE READ MY BLOG MUCH, YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT MOST THINGS ANYWAY. I’M TRYING TO PLACE THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS AT THE TOP, AND THOSE FUN CUTE THINGS, SCIENTIFIC STORIES, ETC. THAT I SOMETIMES FIND AT THE BOTTOM. HAVE AT IT!


July 26, 27, AND 28, 2017


News and Views


IF YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT REINCE PRIEBUS LOOKS LIKE WHEN HE IS REALLY, REALLY P.O.’D, LOOK AT THIS PHOTOGRAPH. I FEEL SORRY FOR ALL OF THEM WHO HAVE BEEN CHOSEN TO DEAL WITH TRUMP. WHAT AN HONOR!! IT’S LIKE TRYING TO HOUSE TRAIN A FERAL CAT. IF YOU TRY TO PICK HIM UP AND PUT HIM IN HIS SANDBOX SO HE CAN FINISH THE JOB WHERE HE SHOULD, HE WILL TURN AROUND AND BITE YOU. (PLUS THE FACT THAT NONE OF THOSE FERAL CATS HAVE BEEN VACCINATED FOR RABIES.)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-names-john-kelly-white-205138830.html?soc_trk=gcm&soc_src=dbb2094c-7d9a-37c0-96b9-7f844af62e78&.tsrc=notification-brknews
Trump names John Kelly new chief of staff; Reince Priebus out
Jacob Pramuk
CNBC July 28, 2017

Photograph -- Getty Images. Priebus, 45, became a target of President Donald Trump's ire shortly into his term as chief of staff.

President Donald Trump on Friday tweeted that John Kelly would take over as White House chief of staff, a role that had been held by Reince Priebus.

Kelly, a retired Marine general, has been serving as Homeland Security secretary.

Priebus, 45, became a target of Trump's ire shortly into his term as White House chief of staff.

Trump has consistently applied pressure on Priebus and reportedly given him various deadlines to get a tumultuous White House in order.

Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
I am pleased to inform you that I have just named General/Secretary John F Kelly as White House Chief of Staff. He is a Great American....
4:49 PM - Jul 28, 2017
7,549 7,549 Replies 9,866 9,866 Retweets 22,659 22,659 likes

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Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
...and a Great Leader. John has also done a spectacular job at Homeland Security. He has been a true star of my Administration
4:54 PM - Jul 28, 2017
3,200 3,200 Replies 4,759 4,759 Retweets 14,766 14,766 likes

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Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
I would like to thank Reince Priebus for his service and dedication to his country. We accomplished a lot together and I am proud of him!
5:00 PM - Jul 28, 2017
6,257 6,257 Replies 4,181 4,181 Retweets 13,344 13,344 likes

NBC News, citing a source close to the president, reported that the failure of Senate Republicans to pass a "skinny" Obamacare repeal early Friday morning was the "final straw" for Priebus. The motion to proceed vote earlier this week gave Priebus a short "reprieve," NBC added.

Priebus had been under fresh scrutiny recently when Trump brought on financier Anthony Scaramucci as communications director. Former press secretary Sean Spicer, one of Priebus' allies in the White House, left after Scaramucci's hiring.

Scaramucci created a White House spectacle Thursday following his Wednesday night tweet accusing someone of leaking a financial disclosure document that is publicly available. Scaramucci tagged Priebus in the tweet, but he later denied that he was identifying Priebus as the source.

He told CNN on Thursday that "if Reince wants to explain he's not a leaker, do that." Scaramucci compared himself and Priebus to the Biblical brothers Cain and Abel. Cain killed Abel.

On Thursday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, "I don't know if [Trump] has an opinion on what they should do between the two of them."

"I think the president as always enjoys healthy competition and conversation, and he sees that as such," she said.

Priebus led the Republican National Committee before coming to the White House. He had held that job since 2011.

After serving at the RNC and leading the Wisconsin Republican Party, Priebus had ties to the so-called establishment branch of the Republican Party embodied by leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan. That put him at odds with top Trump advisor Steve Bannon, a firebrand who helped to inspire some of the protectionism and harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric that has marked Trump's candidacy and now presidency.

--CNBC's Mike Calia contributed to this story.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.



NOTE: THERE IS A VIDEO WITH THIS NEXT ARTICLE WHICH I SUSPECT WOULD GIVE ME IMPORTANT INFORMATION, BUT IT IS BLOCKED. THE MESSAGE SAYS “CANNOT LOAD M3U8: 404 NOT FOUND.” THERE HAVE BEEN A GENEROUS FEW (6 OR 8 SO FAR) OF THESE BLOCKED VIDEOS IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS OR SO, AND THEY ALL HAVE INVOLVED SOMETHING ABOUT DONALD TRUMP THAT MADE ME UNEASY ENOUGH TO LOOK AT THE ARTICLE.

FOUR OF THEM WERE ON THE BLOG OF RACHEL MADDOW, THE LIBERAL AND PLAINSPOKEN COMMENTATOR AT MSNBC. PARDON ME, BUT I FEEL SUSPICIOUS ABOUT THIS WHOLE THING. LITERALLY IT NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE TRUMP CAME INTO POWER. WHO’S BLOCKING THESE? THE WHITE HOUSE OR MSNBC? OR IS IT A TRUE “ERROR?”

I’M SURE THE ARTICLES ARE ALL NEAR THE TOP OF THE PRESIDENT’S “FAKE NEWS” LIST, HOWEVER, SO THE IDEA THAT EVEN AN HONORABLE WEBSITE LIKE MSNBC MIGHT BE COERCED INTO CLIPPING STUFF THAT IS DAMAGING TO THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE IS SAD, BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE. NOW, TODAY IN THIS EXAMPLE, IT’S SALON. THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO A VERY SERIOUS SUBJECT, WHICH IS WHAT TRUMP HATES MOST. WHEN THEY COME OUT, HE USUALLY GOES INTO A TWEET FIT. HE BELIEVES IN THE DISTRACTION PRINCIPLE. ON 404 ERRORS, HOWEVER, SEE THE ARTICLE BELOW. IT’S INTERESTING AND INFORMATIVE. I DID TRY TWO OF THE “FIXES” WITH NO SUCCESS, AND I AM NOW AT THE POINT OF SAYING I’M BEATEN. I’LL DO WITHOUT THE VIDEO. BOTH ARTICLES BELOW RELATE TO THE SAME ISSUE, FOR THE MOST PART AND TOGETHER, GIVE MORE INFORMATION.


http://www.salon.com/2017/07/20/trumps-white-house-is-divided-over-russia/
THURSDAY, JUL 20, 2017 07:23 PM EDT
Trump’s White House is divided over Russia
Trump's willingness to get closer with Russia has worried some of his national security and foreign policy advisers
CHARLIE MAY

Video -- 404 NOT FOUND

There is a rift between President Donald Trump and both his national security and foreign policy advisers. According to a new Associated Press report, the top White House officials have continued to urge Trump to take a cautious approach when dealing with Russia and things have only gotten worse since a second meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was revealed this week.

Trump defended the meeting in which the two leaders spoke privately only in the company of Putin’s translator for roughly an hour. However, his top advisers, including National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, have grown worrisome of Trump’s approach. As the AP reported:

Deep divisions are increasingly apparent within the administration on the best way to approach Moscow in the midst of U.S. investigations into Russian meddling in the American presidential election. Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on the conclusion of U.S. intelligence agencies that the Russian government sought to tip the election in his favor and has dismissed investigations into the possibility of collusion between his campaign and Moscow as a “witch hunt.”

McMaster has repeatedly warned the president not to trust Putin. The top foreign policy adviser disagreed with Trump’s decision to meet with Russian diplomats in the Oval Office in May and expressed his disapproval to the president leading up to his trip to Germany for the G-20 summit. “McMaster and other national security aides also advised the president against holding an official bilateral meeting with Putin,” the AP reported. McMaster did not attend last week’s bilateral meeting, in what the AP described as a “highly unusual move.”

In Trump’s second meeting with Putin, the only other person present was Putin’s translator, something that some have said is problematic. “The Russian interpreter probably interpreted very clearly, but the problem is there’s no record of the discussion on the American side,” Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine told the AP. Pifer added that having Putin’s translator take notes in order to keep a record would have been a better decision.

White House deputy press secretary repeatedly downplayed the significance of the meeting, saying that it’s “absurd” that people have described the meeting as secret. However past officials have said that “characterizing any conversation with Putin as casual would be a mistake,” the AP reported.

“There are no meaningless conversations between presidents,” Jeffrey Edmonds, the National Security Council’s former Russia director told the AP. “Relations have been at an all-time low because of Russian meddling in our elections and so it’s hard to see how a meeting with President Putin for an hour during dinner isn’t important.”

One foreign official told the AP that U.S. diplomats and intelligence officials were left “dumbfounded.” Two other foreign officials who have spoken with top Trump advisers told the AP that there are “mixed signals” indicating that the White House lacks a clear policy.

In a recent interview with the New York Times, the president said he never would have picked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to lead the Justice Department if he had known he’d recuse himself from the ongoing Russia investigation.

Charlie May is a news writer at Salon. You can find him on Twitter at @charliejmay


*https://www.lifewire.com/404-not-found-error-explained-2622936
“404 NOT FOUND: How to Fix the 404 Not Found Error – Lifewire”

FIX › INTERNET & NETWORK
How to Fix a 404 Not Found Error
What to Do When You Get a 404 Not Found Error on a Website
by Tim Fisher
Updated October 03, 2016

Oct 3, 2016 - A 404 error is an HTTP status code that means that the page you were trying to reach on a website couldn't be found on their server. 404 Not Found error messages are frequently customized by individual websites.

A 404 error is an HTTP status code that means that the page you were trying to reach on a website couldn't be found on their server. 404 Not Found error messages are frequently customized by individual websites. You can see some of the more creative ones in my 20 Best 404 Error Pages Ever slideshow.

So, keep in mind that the 404 error may show up in just about any way imaginable depending on what website it's shown from.

Here are some common ways in which you might see the HTTP 404 error displayed.

How You Might See the 404 Error

"404 Error"
"404 Not Found"
"Error 404"
"The requested URL [URL] was not found on this server"
"HTTP 404"
"Error 404 Not Found"
"404 File or Directory Not Found"
"HTTP 404 Not Found"
"404 Page Not Found"

404 Not Found error messages can appear in any browser or any operating system. Most 404 Not Found errors display inside the Internet browser window just as web pages do.

In Internet Explorer, the message The webpage cannot be found usually indicates an HTTP 404 error but a 400 Bad Request error is another possibility. You can check to see which error IE is referring to by checking for either 404 or 400 in the title bar.

404 errors received when opening links via Microsoft Office applications generate a The Internet site reports that the item you requested could not be found (HTTP/1.0 404) message inside the MS Office program.

When Windows Update produces a 404 error, it appears as a code 0x80244019 or as the message WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_NOT_FOUND.

Cause of HTTP 404 Errors

Technically, an Error 404 is a client-side error, implying that the error is your mistake, either because you typed the URL incorrectly or the page has been moved or removed from the website and you should have known.

Another possibility is if a website has moved a page or resource but did so without redirecting the old URL to the new one. When that happens, you'll receive a 404 error instead of being automatically routed to the new page.

Note: Microsoft IIS web servers sometimes give more specific information about the cause of 404 Not Found errors by suffixing a number after the 404 as in HTTP Error 404.3 - Not Found which means MIME type restriction. You can see a complete list here.

How To Fix the 404 Not Found Error

Retry the web page by pressing F5, clicking the refresh/reload button, or trying the URL from the address bar again.

The 404 Not Found error might appear for several reasons even though no real issue exists, so sometimes a simple refresh will often load the page you were looking for.

Check for errors in the URL. Often times the 404 Not Found error appears because the URL was typed wrong or the link that was clicked on points to the wrong URL.

Move up one directory level at a time in the URL until you find something.

For example, if www.web.com/a/b/c.htm gave you the 404 Not Found error, move up to www.web.com/a/b/. If you get nothing here (or an error), move up to www.web.com/a/. This should lead you toward what you're looking for or at least confirm that it's no longer available.

Tip: If you have moved all the way up to the website's homepage, try to run a search for the information you're looking for. If the site doesn't have a search function, try navigating to the page you want using category links to dig deeper into the site.

Search for the page at a popular search engine. It's possible that you simply have the entirely wrong URL in which case a quick Google or Bing search should get you where you want to go.

If you do find the page you were after, update your bookmark or favorite to avoid the HTTP 404 error in the future.

Clear your browser's cache if you have any indication that the 404 Not Found message might just be yours. For example, if you can reach the URL from your phone but not from your tablet, clearing the cache on your tablet's browser might help.

You might also consider clearing your browser's cookies or at least the one(s) involved with the website in question if clearing the cache didn't work.

Change the DNS servers used by your computer but usually only if an entire website is giving you a 404 error, especially if the website is available to those on other networks (e.g. your mobile phone network or a friend in another city).

404's on an entire website isn't particularly common unless your ISP or government filters/censors websites. [sic] No matter the reason, if it does happen, giving another set of DNS servers a try is a good step to take. See my Public DNS Servers List for some alternatives and instructions on doing this.

Finally, if all else fails, contact the website directly. If they've removed the page you're after then the 404 error is completely legitimate and they should be able to tell you that. If they've moved the page and are generating 404's instead of redirecting visitors to the new page, they'll be happy to hear from you so they can go fix it.

See my Website Contact Information list for links to these site's support-based social network accounts which you can use to report a 404 error or keep up on the problem's status if it's widespread. A few websites even have telephone numbers and email addresses!

Tip: If you suspect that everyone is getting a 404 error for this site, but you're not sure, a quick check on Twitter might help clear it up. All you have to do is search Twitter for #websitedown, as in #facebookdown or #youtubedown. Twitter users are usually the first to start talking about a website outage.

Errors Similar Error 404

The following error messages are related to the 404 Not Found error because they're all client-side errors:

400 Bad Request | 401 Unauthorized | 403 Forbidden | 408 Request Timeout

Several server-side HTTP status codes also exist, like the popular 500 Internal Server Error. You can see all of them on my List of HTTP Status Code Errors.



TRUMP FAMILY VALUES? THE VALUES SEEM TO BE “GRAB THE MONEY AND RUN!”

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/addiction-in-society/201707/the-conflict-over-russia-and-trump-family-values
Stanton Peele
The Conflict Over Russia and Trump Family Values
The key to the Trump presidency and his entire clan's behavior are his values
Posted Jul 11, 2017
Stanton Peele is the writer of Psychology Today’s blog called “Addiction in Society.”


The Trump Brand

Donald Trump came from an outer borough of New York determined to make his mark on Manhattan by having the gaudiest big buildings with the glitziest exteriors and appointments. Nothing was too gold-plated for his taste, on the outside of his buildings or the insides of his residences.

In acquiring his properties and (most important for his profitability) his name brand, Trump cared for nothing else. He destroyed landmarks and artistic building exteriors without a second thought. He harassed and removed long-time residents from buildings.

What is all of this about? In Trump's case, you don't have to follow the money. All he's about is money. His life's narrative—surfacing surprisingly frequently during the campaign and his Presidency—is about how rich he is, how he has put himself and his money first in determining all of his life decisions.

Trump has three adult children who work with him. The one people have put the most hope in is Ivanka, who has indeed endorsed several projects as her own "label"—most notably, women's entrepreneurship for which her father has promised $50 million.

This led to these headlines in May:

May 21, 2017: Saudis And The UAE Will Donate $100 Million To A Fund Inspired By Ivanka Trump

May 22: Ivanka Trump praises progress of women's rights in Saudi Arabia.

Journalists were asked to leave the room before issues around women's equality could be brought up, such as women not having the right to drive, go anywhere alone or be included in public life.

US officials did not raise these concerns, as noted by the US state department’s past reports on human rights.

It's possible Ivanka is doing the best that she can and making a positive contribution to the Trump administration and women's rights. I can't say. But her values have been evidenced to date by marrying a fellow wealthy New York real estate developer and by her promoting her endless lines of Ivanka Trump brand clothes, shoes, perfume, accessories, etc.

Nothing in Ivanka Trump's past gives any indication that her public domain has been about anything but making money.

The Russian Conflict

The news has been dominated by Donald Trump's steering first his campaign, and now the United States, towards Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin, Russia's long-term dictator. Putin first came to power in 1999. He has been leading Russia for the last 20 years despite a faltering economy, denial of individual rights, and a kleptocracy comprising billionaires whom Putin grants dominance in one or another of the surviving Russian profit centers.

Why does Trump curry favor with Putin? Some attribute it to his admiration for a despot's power. Others note a strange psychological hold Putin seems to have on Trump. Alternately, people wonder about the amount of investment Russians have in the Trump brand.

At a real estate conference in 2008, Donald Trump Jr. said in a widely circulated comment that Russian money was “pouring in” to the Trump business:

“... In terms of high-end product influx into the U.S., Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets, say in Dubai, and certainly with our project in SoHo and anywhere in New York. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."

Meanwhile, when people like Bill O'Reilly and Joe Scarborough (formerly of Fox News and current MSNBC host) ask Trump about Russia's long track record of assassinating political objectors and independent journalists, Trump casually answers as follows:

In an interview with Fox News's Bill O'Reilly that aired before the Super Bowl, O'Reilly declaring to the president that “Putin is a killer.”

Unfazed, Trump didn't back away, but rather compared Putin's reputation for extrajudicial killings with the United States'.

“There are a lot of killers. We have a lot of killers,” Trump said. “Well, you think our country is so innocent?”

+ + +

In a 2015 interview on “Morning Joe,” Trump was pressed on the same issue and gave a similar answer.

“He kills journalists that don't agree with him,” the show's host, Joe Scarborough, pointed out.

“Well, I think that our country does plenty of killing, too, Joe,” Trump said.

The latest revelations of Trump/Russian collaboration

The Trumps can't be dissuaded, embarrassed, or deterred from lauding, from working with the Russians despite Putin and that country's totalitarian regime, incursions into neighboring countries, and interference with American elections. FOR THE TRUMPS, NONE OF THESE THINGS HAS ANY MEANING. It's like talking to a wall about these things to them.

And that comes to observing niceties like observance of historical alliances with European allies and avoidance of statements disparaging American government agencies and officials, things that the President notably ignored during the recent G-20 meetings of the world's leaders.

And, in the news currently, Donald Trump, Jr. and brother-in-law Jared Kushner were revealed to have met with a Russian representative about swapping dirt on Hillary Clinton before the election in return for promises to lift sanctions against the Russians. These sanctions were imposed on Russian officials involved in human rights abuses and corruption, including Obama administration sanctions imposed in February last year for Russian officials charged with human rights abuses including four who were involved in the 2009 death in prison of a corruption-fighting Russian lawyer.

In particular, the lawyer with whom Trump and Kushner met was known for specializing in one concern—the Magnitsky Act:

Ms. Veselnitskaya is well known for her lobbying efforts against the Magnitsky Act, a 2012 law that punishes designated Russian human rights abusers by allowing the United States to seize their assets and keep them from entering the country. The law so angered Mr. Putin that he retaliated by banning American families from adopting Russian children.

When confronted with this highly unusual meeting—one that breaks both with tradition and possibly the law—Donald Jr. was completely dismissive. Who would care about this swapping of dirt for lifting sanctions? And, so he tweeted, in response to conservative West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin's interview on MSNBC's Joe Scarborough show declaring such behavior morally and nationally reprehensible:

“Media & Dems are extremely invested in the Russia story. If this nonsense meeting is all they have after a yr, I understand the desperation!”

Who could care about any of these underlying issues, according to Trump family values! And we shall see if Trump family values have come to reflect those of the Republican Party, and the entire nation.



THE HEADLINE IN THIS ARTICLE GRABBED MY ATTENTION, BUT I DO NOT SEE IN IT ANYWHERE WHERE IT SAYS THAT ANYONE IS “BULLIED” INTO VOTING FOR TRUMP. (MAYBE THAT MEANS PRESSURE BEING EXERTED ON REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS WHO ARE BEING TOLD TO TOE THE LINE.) WHATEVER, I WANT TO SEE IT WRITTEN CLEARLY BELOW. THIS I HOW SOME NEWS ARTICLES TICK ME OFF. IT’S A TEASER, I GUESS.

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/20/donald-trumps-supporters-have-trouble-understanding-why-liberals-are-shunning-them/
Monday, Feb 20, 2017 04:09 PM EST
Donald Trump’s supporters have trouble understanding why liberals are shunning them
Trump supporters say they were bullied into supporting a very disliked president
Matthew Rozsa

Photograph -- (Credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Donald Trump’s approval ratings may have reached historic lows in record time, but even as 40 percent of the country wants him impeached, supporters of Trump seem mystified by the fierceness of the opposition he faces — even as individuals on the fence often admit to feeling turned off by that same hostility.

“They’re stonewalling everything that he’s doing because they’re just being babies about it,” Patricia Melani, a 56-year-old New Jersey transplant who attended Trump’s campaign rally in Florida on Saturday, told The Washington Post. “All the loudmouths? They need to let it go. Let it go. Shut their mouths and let the man do what he’s got to do. We all shut our mouths when Obama got in the second time around, okay? So that’s what really needs to be done.”

She later added, “There’s such hatred for the man. I just don’t get it.”

The Post also quoted a 28-year-old car salesman named Tony Lopez, who said “It was hilarious to see him give it to the media. The media’s problem is that they keep wanting to make up stories so that he looks bad. It doesn’t work. He’s talking right through you guys.”

The Post also spoke to a 42-year-old Cameroonian immigrant who believed that Trump had saved coal miners’ jobs: “If he hadn’t gotten into office, 70,000 miners would have been put out of work. I saw the ceremony where he signed that bill, giving them their jobs back, and he had miners with their hard hats and everything — you could see how happy they were.”


FULL SPEECH VIDEO OF THE BOY SCOUT JAMBOREE
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/07/ LISTEN TO PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHES AT THE JAMBORIE, AND SEE TODAY’S SEPARATE SUBJECT BLOG “SCOUT TROOPS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.”



WHY DO MOSTLY WELL-MEANING EDUCATED PEOPLE MIX UP GAYS, PEDOPHILES AND TRANSGENDERS? KEEP UP IN YOUR BIASES! OF COURSE, MOST PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO ADMIT THAT THESE THINGS ARE POSSIBLE FOR ANY GROUP ANYWHERE, ANY TIME, ANY RACE, ANY RELIGION, ETC. MAYBE EVEN ME?? IT IS MENTALLY THREATENING TO MOST PEOPLE. THERE ARE LOTS OF LGBTQ PEOPLE, THOUGH, AND WE NEED TO INCORPORATE THEM FULLY INTO OUR SOCIETY. WHAT WILL BE NEXT? THEY CAN’T VOTE? THEY CAN’T LIVE? THIS IS FAR FROM IMPOSSIBLE.

U.S. Justice Department says anti-bias law does not protect gay workers
By Daniel Wiessner, Reuters
July 27, 2017

Image – Rainbow Flag

(Reuters) - The Trump administration told a U.S. appeals court that federal law does not ban discrimination against gay employees, a sharp reversal of the position former President Barack Obama took on a key civil rights issue.

The U.S. Department of Justice, in a friend of the court brief, told the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Wednesday that Congress never intended Title VII, which bans sex discrimination in the workplace, to apply to gay workers.

The department also said the court owed no deference to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency that enforces Title VII and has argued since 2012 that the law bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

The brief came hours after President Donald Trump said he would ban transgender people from serving in the military. That would reverse a 2016 policy adopted by Obama.

Justice Department spokesman Devin O'Malley said the brief was consistent with rulings by 10 federal appeals courts and "reaffirms the Department’s fundamental belief that the courts cannot expand the law beyond what Congress has provided."

The department's brief was in support of New York skydiving company Altitude Express Inc in a lawsuit filed by a former employee, Donald Zarda.

Zarda claimed he lost his job as a skydiving instructor after he told a customer he was gay and she complained. He died in a skydiving accident after filing the lawsuit.

In April, a three-judge 2nd Circuit panel dismissed Zarda's case, citing a prior ruling that said discrimination against gay workers is not a form of sex discrimination under Title VII.

The full court, which can overturn the prior decision, agreed in May to review the case.

The issue could reach the U.S. Supreme Court in a different case brought by a former security guard at a Georgia hospital who claims she was harassed and forced to quit because she is gay.

Earlier this month, LGBT rights group Lambda Legal, which represents the former security guard, said it would ask the high court to review the case.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department said employers engage in sex discrimination only when they treat male and female workers differently. Objecting to homosexuality does not depend on sex, the department said, but on moral or religious beliefs.

"Of course, if an employer fired only gay men but not gay women (or vice versa), that would be prohibited by Title VII," the department wrote, "but precisely because it would be discrimination based on sex, not sexual orientation."

Zarda's lawyer, Gregory Antollino, said on Thursday that the department was making the same arguments the Supreme Court rejected in cases involving discrimination against workers in interracial relationships.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York and Julia Ainsley in Washington, D.C.; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Dan Grebler)



http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-administration-files-brief-claiming-discrimination-law-does-not-protect-lgbt-workers-from-bias/article/2629824
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Trump administration files brief claiming discrimination law does not protect LGBT workers from bias
by Josh Siegel | Jul 26, 2017, 10:23 PM

Photograph -- President Trump also announced a ban on transgender people serving in the military the same day. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The Trump administration filed a brief in federal court Wednesday opposing a legal effort by civil rights groups that are aiming to ban workplace discrimination against gays and lesbians in the U.S.

The Justice Department, which is not a party to the relevant case, filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit contending that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not protect against discrimination directed at sexual orientation. The law covers gender bias, not sexual orientation, the Justice Department said.

Leaders Create Leaders S2 EP10: Millennial Gamechangers - ft. Peter Voogd

"The sole question here is whether, as a matter of law, Title VII reaches sexual orientation discrimination," said the Justice Department's brief. "It does not, as has been settled for decades. Any efforts to amend Title VII's scope should be directed to Congress rather than the courts."

The case concerns a former skydiving instructor who said he was fired for being gay in violation of Title VII.

Title VII's scope has been disputed in the political scene and the courts for years.

The brief comes on the same day Trump announced on Twitter a ban of transgender people in the military.



JOHN MCCAIN WAXES ELOQUENT. READ IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH. THIS ONE MAY GO DOWN IN THE HISTORY OF THE SENATE, OR AT LEAST BE PUBLISHED AS ONE OF THE GREAT SPEECHES OF ALL TIME.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/07/25/full-text-john-mccains-senate-floor-speech/509799001/
Full text of John McCain's Senate floor speech: 'Let’s return to regular order'
USA TODAY Published 3:38 p.m. ET July 25, 2017 | Updated 4:16 p.m. ET July 25, 2017

Sen. John McCain, who returned to Washington on Tuesday after disclosing his brain cancer diagnosis last week, spoke on the Senate floor after casting a critical vote to proceed to debate on the Senate's Obamacare repeal legislation. Here are his remarks as prepared for delivery:

“Mr. President:

“I’ve stood in this place many times and addressed as president many presiding officers. I have been so addressed when I have sat in that chair, as close as I will ever be to a presidency.

“It is an honorific we’re almost indifferent to, isn’t it. In truth, presiding over the Senate can be a nuisance, a bit of a ceremonial bore, and it is usually relegated to the more junior members of the majority.

“But as I stand here today – looking a little worse for wear I’m sure – I have a refreshed appreciation for the protocols and customs of this body, and for the other ninety-nine privileged souls who have been elected to this Senate.

“I have been a member of the United States Senate for thirty years. I had another long, if not as long, career before I arrived here, another profession that was profoundly rewarding, and in which I had experiences and friendships that I revere. But make no mistake, my service here is the most important job I have had in my life. And I am so grateful to the people of Arizona for the privilege – for the honor – of serving here and the opportunities it gives me to play a small role in the history of the country I love.

“I’ve known and admired men and women in the Senate who played much more than a small role in our history, true statesmen, giants of American politics. They came from both parties, and from various backgrounds. Their ambitions were frequently in conflict. They held different views on the issues of the day. And they often had very serious disagreements about how best to serve the national interest.

“But they knew that however sharp and heartfelt their disputes, however keen their ambitions, they had an obligation to work collaboratively to ensure the Senate discharged its constitutional responsibilities effectively. Our responsibilities are important, vitally important, to the continued success of our Republic. And our arcane rules and customs are deliberately intended to require broad cooperation to function well at all. The most revered members of this institution accepted the necessity of compromise in order to make incremental progress on solving America’s problems and to defend her from her adversaries.

“That principled mindset, and the service of our predecessors who possessed it, come to mind when I hear the Senate referred to as the world’s greatest deliberative body. I’m not sure we can claim that distinction with a straight face today.

“I’m sure it wasn’t always deserved in previous eras either. But I’m sure there have been times when it was, and I was privileged to witness some of those occasions.

“Our deliberations today – not just our debates, but the exercise of all our responsibilities – authorizing government policies, appropriating the funds to implement them, exercising our advice and consent role – are often lively and interesting. They can be sincere and principled. But they are more partisan, more tribal more of the time than any other time I remember. Our deliberations can still be important and useful, but I think we’d all agree they haven’t been overburdened by greatness lately. And right now they aren’t producing much for the American people.

“Both sides have let this happen. Let’s leave the history of who shot first to the historians. I suspect they’ll find we all conspired in our decline – either by deliberate actions or neglect. We’ve all played some role in it. Certainly I have. Sometimes, I’ve let my passion rule my reason. Sometimes, I made it harder to find common ground because of something harsh I said to a colleague. Sometimes, I wanted to win more for the sake of winning than to achieve a contested policy.

“Incremental progress, compromises that each side criticize but also accept, just plain muddling through to chip away at problems and keep our enemies from doing their worst isn’t glamorous or exciting. It doesn’t feel like a political triumph. But it’s usually the most we can expect from our system of government, operating in a country as diverse and quarrelsome and free as ours.

“Considering the injustice and cruelties inflicted by autocratic governments, and how corruptible human nature can be, the problem solving our system does make possible, the fitful progress it produces, and the liberty and justice it preserves, is a magnificent achievement.

“Our system doesn’t depend on our nobility. It accounts for our imperfections, and gives an order to our individual strivings that has helped make ours the most powerful and prosperous society on earth. It is our responsibility to preserve that, even when it requires us to do something less satisfying than ‘winning.’ Even when we must give a little to get a little. Even when our efforts manage just three yards and a cloud of dust, while critics on both sides denounce us for timidity, for our failure to ‘triumph.’

“I hope we can again rely on humility, on our need to cooperate, on our dependence on each other to learn how to trust each other again and by so doing better serve the people who elected us. Stop listening to the bombastic loudmouths on the radio and television and the Internet. To hell with them. They don’t want anything done for the public good. Our incapacity is their livelihood.

“Let’s trust each other. Let’s return to regular order. We’ve been spinning our wheels on too many important issues because we keep trying to find a way to win without help from across the aisle. That’s an approach that’s been employed by both sides, mandating legislation from the top down, without any support from the other side, with all the parliamentary maneuvers that requires.

“We’re getting nothing done. All we’ve really done this year is confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Our healthcare insurance system is a mess. We all know it, those who support Obamacare and those who oppose it. Something has to be done. We Republicans have looked for a way to end it and replace it with something else without paying a terrible political price. We haven’t found it yet, and I’m not sure we will. All we’ve managed to do is make more popular a policy that wasn’t very popular when we started trying to get rid of it.

“I voted for the motion to proceed to allow debate to continue and amendments to be offered. I will not vote for the bill as it is today. It’s a shell of a bill right now. We all know that. I have changes urged by my state’s governor that will have to be included to earn my support for final passage of any bill. I know many of you will have to see the bill changed substantially for you to support it.

“We’ve tried to do this by coming up with a proposal behind closed doors in consultation with the administration, then springing it on skeptical members, trying to convince them it’s better than nothing, asking us to swallow our doubts and force it past a unified opposition. I don’t think that is going to work in the end. And it probably shouldn’t.

“The Obama administration and congressional Democrats shouldn’t have forced through Congress without any opposition support a social and economic change as massive as Obamacare. And we shouldn’t do the same with ours.

“Why don’t we try the old way of legislating in the Senate, the way our rules and customs encourage us to act. If this process ends in failure, which seem likely, then let’s return to regular order.

“Let the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee under Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray hold hearings, try to report a bill out of committee with contributions from both sides. Then bring it to the floor for amendment and debate, and see if we can pass something that will be imperfect, full of compromises, and not very pleasing to implacable partisans on either side, but that might provide workable solutions to problems Americans are struggling with today.

“What have we to lose by trying to work together to find those solutions? We’re not getting much done apart. I don’t think any of us feels very proud of our incapacity. Merely preventing your political opponents from doing what they want isn’t the most inspiring work. There’s greater satisfaction in respecting our differences, but not letting them prevent agreements that don’t require abandonment of core principles, agreements made in good faith that help improve lives and protect the American people.

“The Senate is capable of that. We know that. We’ve seen it before. I’ve seen it happen many times. And the times when I was involved even in a modest way with working out a bipartisan response to a national problem or threat are the proudest moments of my career, and by far the most satisfying.

“This place is important. The work we do is important. Our strange rules and seemingly eccentric practices that slow our proceedings and insist on our cooperation are important. Our founders envisioned the Senate as the more deliberative, careful body that operates at a greater distance than the other body from the public passions of the hour.

“We are an important check on the powers of the Executive. Our consent is necessary for the President to appoint jurists and powerful government officials and in many respects to conduct foreign policy. Whether or not we are of the same party, we are not the President’s subordinates. We are his equal!

“As his responsibilities are onerous, many and powerful, so are ours. And we play a vital role in shaping and directing the judiciary, the military, and the cabinet, in planning and supporting foreign and domestic policies. Our success in meeting all these awesome constitutional obligations depends on cooperation among ourselves.

“The success of the Senate is important to the continued success of America. This country – this big, boisterous, brawling, intemperate, restless, striving, daring, beautiful, bountiful, brave, good and magnificent country – needs us to help it thrive. That responsibility is more important than any of our personal interests or political affiliations.

“We are the servants of a great nation, ‘a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.’ More people have lived free and prosperous lives here than in any other nation. We have acquired unprecedented wealth and power because of our governing principles, and because our government defended those principles.

“America has made a greater contribution than any other nation to an international order that has liberated more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have been the greatest example, the greatest supporter and the greatest defender of that order. We aren’t afraid. “We don’t covet other people’s land and wealth. We don’t hide behind walls. We breach them. We are a blessing to humanity.

“What greater cause could we hope to serve than helping keep America the strong, aspiring, inspirational beacon of liberty and defender of the dignity of all human beings and their right to freedom and equal justice? That is the cause that binds us and is so much more powerful and worthy than the small differences that divide us.

“What a great honor and extraordinary opportunity it is to serve in this body.

“It’s a privilege to serve with all of you. I mean it. Many of you have reached out in the last few days with your concern and your prayers, and it means a lot to me. It really does. I’ve had so many people say such nice things about me recently that I think some of you must have me confused with someone else. I appreciate it though, every word, even if much of it isn’t deserved.

“I’ll be here for a few days, I hope managing the floor debate on the defense authorization bill, which, I’m proud to say is again a product of bipartisan cooperation and trust among the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“After that, I’m going home for a while to treat my illness. I have every intention of returning here and giving many of you cause to regret all the nice things you said about me. And, I hope, to impress on you again that it is an honor to serve the American people in your company.

“Thank you, fellow senators.

“Mr. President, I yield the floor.”



VIDEO ONLY, BUT AN IMPORTANT ONE ON A PROBLEM I HAD SEEN BEFORE. RUSSIA HAS MADE MORE THAN ONE ADVANCE INTO THE ARCTIC, AND IN THIS ARTICLE IT SAYS PUTIN HAS CLAIMED THE WHOLE ARCTIC OCEAN (OR A LARGE PORTION OF IT) FOR RUSSIA.

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/whats-at-stake-with-russias-arctic-military-buildup/
WATCH THIS VIDEO ALL THE WAY THROUGH AND THINK ABOUT IT. THEN CONSIDER TRUMP’S COZINESS WITH PUTIN.



MANAFORT IN UNFORTUNATE COMPANY AGAIN – VIDEO ONLY

THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/26/17
Trump DoJ pick recently represented Putin-aligned Russian bank
Rachel Maddow reports on the Department of Justice accusing a former Paul Manafort associate of being a Russian mobster while Donald Trump's pick for Justice Department’s criminal division, Brian Benczkowski, discloses that he previously represented Russia's Alfa bank. Duration: 18:41

ALFA BANK WORK IS NEW SINCE HE LEFT TRUMP CAMPAIGN. HE STAYED THERE UNTIL HE WAS NOMINATED FOR NEWEST US POSITION (WHICH IS?)



THIS CONGRESSPERSON FROM TEXAS IS CLAIMING THAT THE LACK OF “COURAGE” TO DO SOMETHING IMMORAL IS “ABSOLUTELY REPUGNANT.” I BELIEVE THAT THE CONGRESS AND SENATE MEMBERS WHO ARE NOT SUPPORTING THIS BILL ARE NOT LACKING IN GOOD OLD-FASHIONED GUTS, BUT ARE USING THEIR INTELLIGENCE. THIS PROPOSED BILL IS, AS THE ARTICLE SAYS, “REGRESSIVE,” AND IT ALSO IS EXTREMELY UNPOPULAR, EVEN IN MANY REPUBLICAN AREAS WHEREVER POOR TO WORKING CLASS PEOPLE LIVE; AND THE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ARE UNDOUBTEDLY RECEIVING COMPLAINTS FROM THEIR CONSTITUENTS. I READ A WEEK OR SO AGO THAT MANY OF THEM ARE REFUSING TO GO TO TOWN HALL TYPE MEETINGS OUT IN THE COUNTRY BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN SO HOSTILE.

YET, STILL, SOME REPUBLICANS ARE TRYING TO HOLD THEIR OWN COLLEAGUES’ FEET TO THE FIRE ON SOMETHING WHICH THEY HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO RESIST, AS THEY DO HAVE A RIGHT TO THEIR VOTE ON THE BILL; AND THIS ISN’T A DARNED FOOTBALL GAME. IT’S THE HIGHEST-LEVEL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PEOPLE’S REPRESENTATIVES IN BOTH CHAMBERS TO WRITE AND ENACT FAIR, EFFECTIVE AND HONEST LEGISLATION WHICH IS IMPORTANT TO THE CITIZENRY (THAT MEANS REAL FOLKS AROUND THE COUNTRY AND NOT THE 1% AND THE CORPORATE ENTITIES).

THE CITIZENRY ARE VOCIFEROUSLY SPEAKING THEIR MINDS, AND CERTAIN CONGRESSPEOPLE ARE LISTENING. GOOD FOR THEM. THAT MEANS THAT EVEN IF THEY AREN’T FAIR OR HONEST INDIVIDUALS, THEY ARE AT LEAST SOMEWHAT INTELLIGENT. GOOD FOR THEM! AS FOR THE HONORABLE CONGRESSMAN’S REFERENCE TO PROVING HIS CASE WITH DUELING PISTOLS, THAT JUST SHOWS HE’S A TEXAN AND A “REAL MAN.”

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/house-republican-has-unfortunate-words-some-female-senators?cid=eml_mra_20170725
House Republican has unfortunate words for ‘some female senators’
07/24/17 04:20 PM
By Steve Benen

Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas., speaks at a news conference with other House republicans. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images

Sometimes, a quote is so misguided, it’s hard to know where to start.

A Texas Republican congressman says it’s “absolutely repugnant” that the GOP-led Senate hasn’t acted on repealing the health care law and he singled out “some female senators from the Northeast.”

In a radio interview with “1440 Keys,” Rep. Blake Farenthold said the Senate has failed to show the courage to dismantle the health care law. The Senate is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to move ahead on legislation.

According to the Associated Press’ report, Farenthold added, in apparent reference to Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Shelley Moore Capito, “If it was a guy from south Texas, I might ask him to step outside and settle this Aaron Burr-style.”

In other words, Farenthold is so upset about the state of the health care debate, he can imagine a duel with members of his own party who see the issue differently.

Oh my.

First, for someone to believe it’s “absolutely repugnant” to protect health benefits for millions of families is a little bizarre, even by 2017 standards.

Second, the regressive Republican plan has generated criticism from a variety of GOP officials, including several men. For Farenthold to focus his concerns on “some female senators” seems wholly unnecessary – and a little creepy.

Third, the Texas Republican is apparently concerned about women “from the Northeast,” but you don’t need to be a geography major to know neither Alaska nor West Virginia are in “the Northeast.”

But even if we put all of that aside, we’re left with the Republican congressman’s apparent belief that settling the intra-party disagreement “Aaron Burr-style” would be appropriate under certain circumstances. I don’t imagine Farenthold wants my advice, but I have to wonder: if he could come up with a substantive, policy-focused defense for his party’s far-right proposal, he might be able to change some minds and help pass a bill.

Without, you know, pistols.



TRUMP YOUTH?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/even-the-boy-scouts-arent-exempt-trumps-boorishness?cid=eml_mra_20170725
Even the Boy Scouts aren’t exempt from Trump’s boorishness
07/25/17 08:00 AM—UPDATED 07/25/17 11:25 AM
By Steve Benen

Donald Trump recently said his bizarre antics and behavior may not be “presidential,” per se, but he believes they’re “modern-day presidential.” In practice, evidently, that means putting on a partisan political show for a group of children.

President Trump looked out Monday evening at the sea of Boy Scouts who were gathered in a remote field, far away from the travails of the capital, and declared that he would not talk about politics.

“Who the hell wants to speak about politics when I’m in front of the Boy Scouts?” he asked.

As it turns out, Donald Trump wants to speak about politics when he’s in front of the Boy Scouts.

The rules of the Boy Scouts appear to discourage participation in partisan political events, but Trump just couldn’t seem to help himself. He spent his time yesterday lashing out at journalists, pollsters, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and the Affordable Care Act.

Trump celebrated the 2016 electoral-college map, promised the restoration of “Merry Christmas,” and threatened to fire his HHS secretary if the Republican health care plan didn’t pass Congress.

If it sounds like I’m describing a Trump campaign rally, it’s because, in effect, I am. From Trump’s perspective, that’s precisely what his appearance was supposed to be.

Daniel Dale highlighted the 17 “most jaw-dropping moments” from the president’s appearance, which included a meandering five-minute story about developer William Levitt:

“He sold his company for a tremendous amount of money and he went out and bought a big yacht and he had a very interesting life. I won’t go any more than that because you’re Boy Scouts, I’m not going to tell you what he did – should I tell you? Should I tell you? Oh, you’re Boy Scouts, but you know life, you know life.”

He continued: “What happened is he bought back his company and he bought back a lot of empty land … and in the end he failed and he failed badly. He lost all of his money, he went personally bankrupt, and he was now much older. And I saw him at a cocktail party. And it was very sad. Because the hottest people in New York were at this party. It was the party of Steve Ross. Steve Ross, he was one of the great people. He came and…”

Even for Trump, this was a deeply strange spectacle, but it was a reminder that his impulse control effectively does not exist. He saw a supportive audience and immediately launched into Trump Mode, indifferent to the fact that he was speaking to a group of children.

This keeps happening. Trump’s comments at the commissioning of the USS Ford were obviously inappropriate. So were his remarks at the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service. So was his speech to graduating cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

If this is what it means to be “modern-day presidential,” I like the old version better.



A “DECLINE IN HEALTH CARE CONSUMPTION” COULD MEAN THAT EVERYONE BECOMES MIRACULOUSLY HEALTHIER, THAT DOCTORS MUST START WORKING PRO BONO, OR THAT MORE PEOPLE WILL DIE WITH THEIR NEXT ILLNESS. THIS ARTICLE WOULD BE BETTER IN MY VIEW IF IT MENTIONED SOME SPECIFIC “INCENTIVES” FOR INCREASING THE “COST-EFFICIENCY” AND “PRODUCTIVITY” OF THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. THOSE THINGS MAY REQUIRE MORE REGULATIONS, AND TIGHTER ONES. FOR INSTANCE, THAT MEDICAL DOCTORS MUST ACCEPT FEES AS DEFINED BY THE GOVERNMENT, AND NOT CHARGE ANY PATIENT MORE THAN THE MEDICARE-BASED GOVERNMENT ALLOWANCES, WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE INSURED?

IN ADDITION, HOW ABOUT A COMPREHENSIVE ONE-PAYOR SYSTEM WHICH WILL NOT ALLOW EXTRAORDINARILY HIGH PHARMACEUTICAL CHARGES FOR DRUGS, AND WHICH WILL EXCLUDE NO CITIZEN, AND WHICH -- ON A HUMANITARIAN BASIS -- WOULD EVEN COVER NON-CITIZENS IN DIRE NEED, PERHAPS AT FREE CLINICS. THE FREE CLINICS COULD BE SERVED BY MEDICAL CARE PROFESSIONALS WORKING ON A PRO-BONO BASIS, AND BE FUNDED LARGELY BY THE DONATIONS OF CHURCHES AND OF CIVIC-MINDED INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE. PRO BONO SERVICES COULD BE INCENTIVIZED TO PROFESSIONALS WITH TAX CREDITS FROM THE IRS.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/health-care-vote-impact-on-economic-growth/
By WALECIA KONRAD MONEYWATCH July 26, 2017, 4:48 AM
What the health care vote may mean for U.S. growth

With the Senate having voted Tuesday to open debate on repealing and replacing Obamacare -- exactly how is yet to be determined -- here's still another possible repercussion from that effort: A hit to the U.S. economy.

If the Republican efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act fail and the exchanges are left to twist in the wind, it's likely the U.S. will see a potential decline in health care consumption, said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics. In a recent report, he said that "could conceivably become a significant drag on GDP growth next year."

It also casts even more doubt on the Trump administration's rosy predictions of 3 percent GDP growth next year. That estimate has already been met with plenty of skepticism even without the prospect of taking health insurance away from as many as 30 million people by 2026.

CBO casts doubt on President Trump's budget
Play VIDEO
CBO casts doubt on President Trump's budget

The U.S. potential economic growth rate has been declining from an average of over 3 percent in the 1990s to between 1.5 percent and 2 percent in the 2010s, according to Jeremy Lawson, chief economist at asset management firm Standard Life Investments. He believes short-term future growth is unlikely to return to previous highs without an acceleration of structural reforms well beyond health care.

If Obamacare is repealed with no replacement, the result would be an estimated $417 billion decline in the budget deficit over a 10-year period, according to the Congressional Budget Office analysis. That would have a modest impact on GDP growth, said Lawson. But that estimate assumes no Obamacare replacement whatsoever is implemented, which is unlikely to happen over a decade.

Both the Senate and House versions of replacement would restrict Medicaid spending and reduce the number of insured people by about 20 million. "Both plans would have a more modest negative effect on the economy than just repeal," Lawson predicted. But because the plans would likely reduce access to health insurance, you may see more personal bankruptcies and other disruptive economic impacts, Lawson said.

It's also important to look at health care's impact on the U.S. economy in terms of productivity, Lawson explained. Health care spending accounts for 18 percent of total U.S. GDP, a much higher percentage than in most other world economies. A lot of that spending is inefficient because individuals, especially those with employer-sponsored insurance, and the health care industry itself don't have incentives to make health care a more cost-efficient and thus productive system.

As health care spending continues to grow more quickly than the rest of the economy, Lawson explained, it squeezes out potential spending in other, more efficient sectors, which would in turn help boost overall economic growth. He added: "One could argue inefficient health care systems are holding back the U.S. economy over the long term."


IS THERE REALLY ANY DOUBT ABOUT THIS?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-do-we-do-if-trump-really-is-insane/2017/07/28/f2100d3c-73bb-11e7-8839-ec48ec4cae25_story.html?tid=hybrid_experimentrandom_1_na&utm_term=.5e4202b406ef
Opinions
What do we do if Trump really is crazy?
By Dana Milbank Opinion Writer
July 28, 2017

Maybe I’m doing this all wrong.

For five years, I’ve been identifying Donald Trump, now president of the United States, as a nutter. I’ve called him crazy, daft, a madman, barking mad and mad as a March hare, and I’ve “diagnosed” him — I’m not a mental-health professional and have never examined the president — with narcissistic personality disorder and more. To that list, I feel compelled to add a few more technical observations: He also seems off his rocker, ’round the bend and a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

The belief that the commander in chief is barmy has become commonplace. Just this week two prominent senators, Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), were caught on a hot mic discussing Trump.

“I think he’s crazy,” Reed said. “I mean, I don’t say that lightly and as a kind of a goofy guy.”

“I’m worried,” Collins replied.

PLAY VIDEO -- Senators caught on hot mic ‘worried’ about ‘crazy’ Trump 1:41
Chairman Susan Collins (R-Maine) was unintentionally recorded talking about President Trump at the end of a Senate subcommittee hearing on July 25. Collins appears to have been speaking to Democratic senator Jack Reed. (Senate Appropriations Committee)

Now I’m worried, too. If the president really is — gulp — insane in the clinical sense and not just in the goofy sense, then perhaps we shouldn’t be ridiculing him. Maybe I, and other critics, should approach him calmly, speak in hushed tones and treat him with compassion.

For advice, I turned to the recognized authority on such matters, the Internet. It turns out that, when it comes to best practices for dealing with serious mental disorders, I’m doing a lot of the “don’ts” with Trump but not the things I should be doing.

Don’t use sarcasm. Avoid humor. Don’t criticize, accuse or blame. Avoid sounding patronizing or condescending. Don’t assume they are not smart. Be respectful. Be aware that the delusions they may experience are their reality. Stay calm. Minimize distractions. Turn off the TV. Simplify — one topic at a time. Stick to present issues. Acknowledge what the other person says and how they feel, even if you don’t agree.

All good advice, no doubt. Certainly, our patient would benefit from turning off the TV and minimizing distractions. He does much better when issues are simplified. He reacts poorly to criticism and accusation. And, unnervingly, he seems to believe the many false things he says.

But what works with troubled friends or family members doesn’t work quite so well when dealing with world’s most powerful man. You can’t just smile reassuringly when he tells you millions of people voted illegally in the election but he has no evidence that Russia interfered.

Both Reed and Collins have, quite rationally, softened their hot-mic conversation about Trump’s irrationality. A Collins spokeswoman said that the senator’s worry about Trump was a reference referring to his handling of the budget. Reed, in an interview, told me he thinks Trump’s troubles are more the result of inexperience than any neuropathology.

We’re seeing “somebody who has operated basically his whole life without anybody to check him,” with no concept of the “highly structured governmental sphere with checks and balances and legal restraints in terms of who does what,” Reed said.

Trump, he said, has a “moment-to-moment” way of thinking, without an orderly, long-term strategy. When it comes to strategic thinking, “it’s difficult to discern who’s doing that,” said Reed, an Army veteran and top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, who — incredibly — Trump has not once consulted.

Reed said he was encouraged that Trump has delegated, somewhat more than previous presidents, to figures such as Jim Mattis at the Pentagon and the commanders. He also sees growing willingness in Congress to defy the president on matters ranging from Russia sanctions to the budget.

That is encouraging, but it’s insufficient. Consider the list of irrational actions coming from the White House over the past week alone:

●Trump’s new communications director alleged that the president’s top strategist attempts an anatomically improbable sex act to himself, called White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus a paranoid schizophrenic and accused him of a felony. Priebus, one of Trump’s only tethers to mainstream Republicans, quits.

●Trump attacked Republican senators such as Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) whose votes he needed but failed to get on the GOP health-care bill, dealing it yet another defeat.

●Trump publicly attacked his own attorney general and threatened to fire his health and human services secretary.

●The Boy Scouts had to apologize after Trump gave a hyper-partisan speech to children.

●Trump caught the Pentagon by surprise when he announced he’s kicking transgender people out of the military, after botching the facts on Hezbollah while meeting the Lebanese prime minister.

And he jokes about being chiseled into Mount Rushmore.

It all brings to mind one more piece of advice I found online for dealing with people with serious mental-health issues: It may be necessary to lower your expectations.

Twitter: @Milbank



http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/schiff-it-is-constitutional-to-indict-a-sitting-president-1008851523709
THE BEAT WITH ARI MELBER 7/25/17
Schiff: It Is Constitutional to Indict a Sitting President

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) joins Ari Melber to discuss the possibility of President Trump being indicted in Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. Duration: 3:46



NOTE: IF THIS WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE ON NPRA IS CORRECT, THERE MAY NOT BE ENOUGH OIL OR GAS THERE TO JUSTIFY DRILLING WELLS ALL OVER A WILDERNESS AREA WHICH WOULD BE BETTER ALLOWED TO REMAIN A SUITABLE HABITAT FOR WILDLIFE, PLUS THERE ARE TWO NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES LIVING ON THE EDGE OF THE RESERVE WHO MAY BE HARMED. SO, I’M AGAINST FURTHER DRILLING THERE, WHICH DISTURBS ANIMAL LIFE, AND IN THIS CASE MAY BE A WASTE OF TIME AND EFFORT. ZINKE DOES WANT AN UPDATE ON THE ACTUAL AMOUNT OF OIL AND GAS, SINCE THE 2010 ASSESSMENT.

WHAT I DO WONDER IS HOW MUCH OF THIS PRESSURE ON THE TWO SENATORS IS COMING DIRECTLY FROM TRUMP TO ZINKE, AND HOW MUCH IS MEANT AS A “THREAT.” TRUMP IS PRONE TO THESE HARSH AND THREATENING STATEMENTS, BUT HE DOESN’T ALWAYS FOLLOW THROUGH. HE ALSO DOESN’T ALWAYS REWARD THOSE WHO DO WHAT HE ASKS OF THEM EITHER, SUCH AS SPICER. AS SOME NEWS COMMENTATOR SAID RECENTLY, THE LOYALTY IN TRUMP’S CASE DOESN’T GO BOTH WAYS.

SENATOR SESSIONS HAS DEALT WITH IT IN HIS OWN WAY. AS TRUMP CONTINUES TO PUBLICLY SHAME HIM, HE JUST (ALMOST QUIETLY) STANDS HIS GROUND. HIS ANNOUNCEMENT THAT HE DOESN’T PLAN TO LEAVE HIS POSITION MAKES TRUMP UNHAPPY, TOO, BUT SESSIONS HAS GAINED THE RESPECT AND BACKING EVEN OF US DEMS, WHILE HIS REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUES HAVE ANNOUNCED THAT A TRUMP ATTEMPT TO REMOVE HIM WILL RESULT IN SERIOUS DISCOMFORT FOR THE PRESIDENT. SC SENATOR GRAHAM SAID, “THERE WILL BE HOLY HELL TO PAY,” AND THEN THREATENED A POSSIBLE IMPEACHMENT IF A SERIOUS ATTEMPT ON MUELLER IS MADE.

FOR SOME FINE OLD SOUTHERN RHETORIC ON TRUMP, INCLUDING ON GRAHAM’S RELATIONS WITH HIM GOING BACK SOME YEARS, SEE THIS ARTICLE: HTTP://WWW.POSTANDCOURIER.COM/POLITICS/LINDSEY-GRAHAM-WARNS-TRUMP-IF-JEFF-SESSIONS-IS-FIRED-THERE/ARTICLE_F23A6A8C-72D5-11E7-9684-37EB9BF38417.HTML.



ZINKE SCOLDS TWO ALASKA SENATORS FOR NOT DOING RIGHT BY THE MISGUIDED, SHORT-SIGHTED, UNCARING AND OBSCENE HEALTH CARE BILL. I GUESS THERE ARE A LOT OF POOR PEOPLE IN ALASKA WHO NEED THE ACA. I GOOGLED ZINKE AND HE HAS SOME VERY GOOD ACADEMIC AND MILITARY QUALIFICATIONS FOR A HIGH LEVEL POSITION. HE EVEN HAS A SENSE OF HUMOR, WHICH SO MANY "CONSERVATIVES" LACK. I INSERTED A WIKIPEDIA EXCERPT BELOW ON THE AREA WITH OIL AND GAS WHICH ZINKE WANTS TO DRILL. ALSO, GO TO THE WEBSITE AND SEE HIS ADORABLE VIDEO OF BABY FISH BREAKING FREE OF THEIR EGG.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-interior-secretary-called-alaskas-senators-to-threaten-them-over-health-care-vote/
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS July 27, 2017, 10:23 AM
Interior secretary called Murkowski to say Trump "wasn't pleased" with her health care vote

Last Updated Jul 27, 2017 1:57 PM EDT

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke delivered a warning to GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, about her vote on the health care bill, CBS News Nancy Cordes confirmed in an interview Thursday morning.

"I did have a conversation with the secretary, and he told me what I already knew, which was that the president wasn't pleased with the vote that I had taken, and I knew that," Murkowski told Cordes.

The Alaska Dispatch News first reported the conversation and said that Zinke had also called her fellow Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is also a Republican.

After President Trump blasted Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, for opposing a motion to proceed to open the health care debate, According to the Alaska Dispatch, Zinke said that Murkowski's "no" vote on Tuesday put Alaska's relationship with the Trump administration in jeopardy. Murkowski told Cordes, "The reality is that it was a difficult conversation," but she didn't think that the idea of a threat was an "appropriate" characterization.

Some issues and pending legislation items that both senators care about could now be at risk, the Alaska Dispatch said, such as nominations of Alaskans to positions in the administration, drilling projects in Alaska and an effort to build a road through a wildlife refuge.

"I'm not going to go into the details, but I fear that the strong economic growth, pro-energy, pro-mining, pro-jobs and personnel from Alaska who are part of those policies are going to stop," [Sen. Dan] Sullivan told the newspaper about the threat from Zinke, who delivered what the senator called a "troubling message."

"I tried to push back on behalf of all Alaskans. … We're facing some difficult times and there's a lot of enthusiasm for the policies that Secretary Zinke and the president have been talking about with regard to our economy. But the message was pretty clear," Sullivan added, according to the report.

If Zinke were to stop Alaskan drilling projects, it would contradict the boost he attempted to give the oil and natural gas industry a couple of months ago. In May, he declared, "The only path for energy dominance is a path through the great state of Alaska." And he signed an order encouraging more production in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska* and calling for an update of current assessments of oil and natural gas resources in Alaska's North Slope.

Murkowski and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, were the only two Senate Republicans who opposed a motion to proceed to open debate on the House-passed heath care bill on Tuesday. Sullivan voted in favor of the motion.


*NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE-ALASKA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Petroleum_Reserve%E2%80%93Alaska
National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

MAP -- A map of northern Alaska showing the location of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPRA).

The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) is an area of land on the Alaska North Slope owned by the United States federal government and managed by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM).[1] It lies to the west of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which, as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service managed National Wildlife Refuge, is also considered federal land.

At a size of 23,599,999 acres (9,550,581 hectares; 36,875 square miles), the NPRA is the largest tract of undisturbed public land in the United States.[2] Inupiat live in several villages around its perimeter, the largest of which is Barrow, the seat of the North Slope Borough.

Oil and gas reserves[edit]

An assessment by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 2010 estimated that the amount of oil yet to be discovered in the NPRA is only one-tenth of what was believed to be there in the previous assessment, completed in 2002.[3] The 2010 USGS estimate says the NPRA contains approximately "896 million barrels of conventional, undiscovered oil".[3] The reason for the decrease is because of new exploratory drilling, which showed that many areas that were believed to hold oil actually hold natural gas.

The estimates of the amount of undiscovered natural gas in the region also fell, from "61 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, conventional, non-associated gas" in the 2002 estimate, to 53 trillion cubic feet (1,500 km3) in the 2010 estimate.[3]


WHO IS RYAN ZINKE? DID THIS MAN THREATEN/ATTEMPT TO INTIMIDATE A FEMALE SENATOR WHO BRAVELY STOOD UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT? HE HAS A VERY GOOD BACKGROUND AND IS CLEARLY INTELLIGENT. WATCH HIS DEPT. OF INTERIOR VIDEO.

THIS IS A REALLY LOVELY LITTLE VIDEO FROM THIS KNEE-JERK RIGHT WINGER OF SOMETHING WONDERFUL. HE CLEARLY ISN’T ALL BAD

https://twitter.com/Interior/status/890230147143446529
US Dept of Interior‏Verified account
@Interior
Check out this egg-cellent video 😝 of coho salmon emerging at Quilcene Fish Hatchery by Florian Graner via @USFWSPacific
How cool is this? Coho emerging from eggs at Quilcene National Fish Hatchery in Washington. Video courtesy of Florian Graner.
8:19 AM - 26 Jul 2017

COMMENTS

JClay‏ @ClayKava35 6h6 hours ago
Replying to @Interior @USFWSPacific
Who the hell are to threaten the Senator from Alaska? Are you in the Trump mob? Sickening. You are Pathetic

DD JONES‏
@DDJONES36255609
Replying to @Interior @USFWSPacific
SUCH A PLEASURE & REFRESHING 2 HAVE SOMETHING POSITIVE WITH A BIT OF HUMOR FROM SEGMENT OF OUR FEDERAL GOVT. ALSO VERY INTERESTING. THANX

Coretta | Jackson‏ @CorettaJackson Jul 26
More
Replying to @Interior @USFWSPacific
Awww, transformation! | #Science #Nature #gov #Salmon cc @SovereignNewell #STEM

Robin Stanfill‏ @RobinStanfill2 16h16 hours ago
Replying to @Interior @USFWSPacific
Little peaches with eyes



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Zinke
Ryan Zinke
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ryan Zinke
Ryan Zinke official photo.jpg
52nd United States Secretary of the Interior
Incumbent
Assumed office
March 1, 2017

President Donald Trump
Deputy Dave Bernhardt
Preceded by Sally Jewell

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Montana's at-large district
In office
January 3, 2015 – March 1, 2017
Preceded by Steve Daines
Succeeded by Greg Gianforte

Member of the Montana Senate
from the 2nd district
In office
January 2009 – January 2011

Personal details
Born Ryan Keith Zinke
November 1, 1961 (age 55)
Bozeman, Montana, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Lolita Hand
Children 3
Education University of Oregon (BS)
National University (MBA)
University of San Diego (MS)
Net worth $800,000[1] (2016)

Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service 1986–2008
Rank US-O5 insignia.svg Commander
Unit Naval Special Warfare Development Group.jpg SEAL Team Six
SEAL Team One
NSWU-2
Naval Special Warfare Center

Awards Bronze Star Medal ribbon.svg Bronze Star
Meritorious Service Medal ribbon.svg Meritorious Service Medal

Ryan Keith Zinke /ˈzɪŋki/ (born November 1, 1961) is an American politician and businessman who is currently the 52nd United States Secretary of the Interior, serving under the Trump administration. Zinke served as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional district from 2015 until 2017. From 2009 to 2011, he served as a member of the Montana Senate, representing the 2nd district.[2]

Zinke played college football at the University of Oregon and earned a B.S. degree in geology. He also has an M.B.A. and an M.S. in global leadership. He was a U.S. Navy SEAL from 1986 until 2008, retiring with the rank of commander.[3]

Zinke was the first Navy SEAL to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.[4] He formerly served as a member on the Natural Resources Committee and the Armed Services Committee.[5] As a member of Congress, Zinke supported the use of ground troops in the Middle East to combat ISIL and opposed the Affordable Care Act, various environmental regulations, and the transfer of federal lands to individual states.


GO TO THE ROLLINGSTONE SITE AND WATCH THIS VIDEO OF SNL SHOW. IN A STRESSFUL POLITICAL RACE (AND NOW THE COUNTRY'S EFFORTS TO ADJUST TO THE NEW PREZ, IT'S GOOD TO HAVE SOME LAUGHS TO LIGHTEN IT UP.

http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/bernie-sanders-is-related-to-snl-doppelganger-larry-david-w494559
By Joyce Chen
July 27,2017 1 hour ago

Photograph -- Larry David received Emmy nod for portraying for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on 'Saturday Night Live.' Dana Edelson/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images

Larry David recently learned that his connection to Senator Bernie Sanders extends beyond his Emmy-nominated portrayal. During the Television Critics Association press tour Wednesday, the actor revealed that two bumbling Brooklyn natives are biologically related.

RELATED -- Watch Larry David Return as Bernie Sanders to 'SNL'

"I want to thank everyone who voted for me, and I apologize to everyone else for making your Facebook feed so, so annoying," senator says after Michigan primary win

While filming an episode of PBS' Finding Your Roots, Sen. Sanders told David the news. "I was very happy about that," David said, according to Variety. "I thought there must have been some connection." The comedian explained that Sanders is "a third cousin or something."

The Curb Your Enthusiasm star received an Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Sanders on Saturday Night Live. During a previous interview, David said that Lorne Michaels received a flood of emails and calls during the first debate between Sanders and Clinton, saying David should play Sanders.

"Every time I watched Bernie Sanders, I would repeat everything that he said," said David, "because I know that I can talk like that."

In a February 2016, Sanders eventually appeared alongside David during a sketch about an aristocratic gentleman debating the merits of democratic socialism with Sanders' commoner character.

Larry David reprised his role of Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders on the latest episode of Saturday Night Live, popping up in the cold open to discuss the Vermont senator's surprise win in the Michigan primary.

Hillary Clinton vs. Bernie Sanders: The Good Fight
Hillary and Bernie have waged campaigns full of vision, ideas and promise — and have shown us the best in American politics

"I want to thank everyone who voted for me, and I apologize to everyone else for making your Facebook feed so, so annoying," "Sanders" said. "I mean, I love my supporters, but they're too much, right? I'm great, but I'm not 'five posts a day' great. With all due respect to my supporters, get a life."

For the second week in a row, the SNL cold open dealt with Darrell Hammond's Donald Trump receiving an endorsement from a former adversary; last week it was Bobby Moynihan's petrified Chris Christie, this week it was Jay Pharoah's creepy Ben Carson. Framed as a CNN broadcast, the cold open started with the Trump press conference before Beau Bennett's Jake Tapper started his interview with "Bernie Sanders," an impersonation that adds a very Larry David gaze to the political arena.

"Can I ask you something? What's a superdelegate? Who calls themselves that? It's so cocky," the candidate asked. "They walk around like they're such big shots, 'Ooh, I beg your pardon Mr. Superdelegate.' Let me tell you something: I met some of these superdelegates, they're not that super. Mediocre-delegates is more like it."

When asked why Sanders appeals to such a fervent, teenage fan base, Sanders responds, "The young people love me because I'm like them. I have a bunch of big plans and absolutely no idea of how to achieve them." David last played the Sanders role in early February when he hosted SNL. It wasn't a perfect SNL visit for David as he completely butchered Ariana Grande's name when introducing the host/musical guest.

Later on SNL, the show teased Hillary Clinton's attempts to appeal to millenials with a campaign ad where Kate McKinnon's version of the candidate literally begins morphing into Sanders.