January 17, 2018


News and Views


“... A FREE PRESS IS THE DESPOT'S ENEMY AND A GUARDIAN OF DEMOCRACY.” PREDICTABLY, A NUMBER OF REPUBLICANS HAVE DENOUNCED FLAKE FOR SPEAKING OUT AGAINST TRUMP. EARLIER THEY WERE DOING THE SAME THING, AS WELL, BUT NOW IT APPARENTLY ISN’T THE POPULAR THING TO DO.

I WOULD LOVE TO SEE FLAKE JOIN THE DEMOCRATS. THIS ISN’T THE FIRST TIME THAT HE HAS SHOWN HIMSELF TO BE A MODERATE TO LIBERAL REPUBLICAN IN SOME WAYS, AND AN INTELLIGENT INDIVIDUAL. THIS COMMENT ON THE PRESS AS BEING THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE IS NOT ONLY RIDICULOUS, IT IS VERY DISTURBING. TRUMP IS TRYING TO OVERTURN EVERY GOOD THING I’VE SEEN IN POLITICS SINCE MY EARLY VOTING YEARS. WE MUSTN’T FORGET THAT HIS FATHER, FRED TRUMP, WAS A KNOWN KKK MEMBER. HE HAS HIS VIEWS FROM THE CRADLE. IT IS, AS FLAKE SAID, “SHAMEFUL” AND “REPULSIVE!” UNFORTUNATELY, WE ARE GETTING USED TO THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT TRUMP SAYS, AND THAT’S VERY DANGEROUS. I WANT TO SEE STREET DEMONSTRATIONS START, AND PRESSURE AGAINST RIGHTISTS IN THE GOVERNMENT, BECAUSE LEAVING IT ALL UP TO CONGRESS ISN’T ACHIEVING ANYTHING.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/gop-senator-denounces-trump-attacks-recalls-stalin-rhetoric-161130734--politics.html?soc_trk=gcm&soc_src=dbb2094c-7d9a-37c0-96b9-7f844af62e78&.tsrc=notification-brknews
GOP senator denounces Trump attacks, recalls Stalin rhetoric
Associated Press
MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press • January 17, 2018

Video – Sen. Jeff Flake on the Fake News issue

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican senator is denouncing President Donald Trump's use of the terms "fake news" and "enemy of the people" to describe the news media and stories he doesn't like.

Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona said Trump's attacks were reminiscent of words infamously used by Russian dictator Josef Stalin to describe his enemies.

In a speech Wednesday on the Senate floor, Flake called Trump's repeated attacks on the media "shameful" and "repulsive" and said Trump "has it precisely backward." Flake said despotism is the enemy of the people, while a free press is the despot's enemy and a guardian of democracy.

Flake, a frequent Trump critic who is retiring this year, said when Trump calls stories he doesn't like "fake news," he "should be the figure of suspicion, not the press."



ALL OF TRUMP’S PEOPLE ARE SPEAKING UP FOR HIM ALMOST IN A CHORUS, SAYING THAT HE IS “NOT RACIST,” AND ALMOST WORD FOR WORD IN THE SAME WAY. OF COURSE, NOBODY WILL SAY THAT HE, HIMSELF, IS RACIST. THAT MAY NOT SAVE THEM FROM THE LABEL, THOUGH, BECAUSE PEOPLE DO WATCH THE POLITICIANS AS WELL AS LISTEN TO THEM, AND A DISTURBING NUMBER OF THINGS LEAD PEOPLE TO THINK THAT HE AND A NUMBER OF HIS APPOINTEES ARE IN THAT UNENVIABLE CATEGORY OF UNRELIABLE AND UNTRUTHFUL COPYCATS -- SAYING THAT THE PRESIDENT IS “... THE LEAST RACIST PERSON I KNOW.” LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON, LIKE WHITE HOUSE STAFFER, LIKE SENATOR, ETC.

THAT PHRASE AND OTHERS LIKE IT ARE WHAT I CALL, “SAYING THE PASSWORD.” THEY CALL IT TALKING POINTS. WITHIN A WEEK OR TWO WE HEAR SOME SIX OR EIGHT REPUBLICANS SAY THE NEWEST CLEVER THINGS, VERBATIM OR ALMOST SO. IF YOU DON’T DO IT, YOUR POLITICAL LIFE AS A REPUBLICAN IS AT RISK, ESPECIALLY WITH DONALD TRUMP. RICHARD NIXON CALLED THOSE WORDS “BUZZWORDS.”

THE OLDER I GET, THE MORE ANNOYED I AM BY ALL THAT UNIFORMITY – YES, THE DEMS DO IT ALSO, BUT NOT NEARLY AS MUCH. I LIKE A POLITICIAN MUCH MORE WHEN HE/SHE SPEAKS, THINKS AND ACTS AS AN INDIVIDUAL. I DON’T TRUST THOSE WHO ABSOLUTELY HOMOGENIZE THEMSELVES IN ORDER TO FIT IN. I CALL THEM “CUSTARD PUDDING,” A VERY SMOOTH, LIGHTLY SWEET BLAND TASTING DESSERT. I PERSONALLY PREFER MORE FLAVOR AND TEXTURE IN FOOD AND IN PEOPLE.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/eric-trump-says-his-father%e2%80%99s-not-racist-he-%e2%80%98sees-one-color-green%e2%80%99/ar-AAuOD9Y?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=iehp
Eric Trump says his father’s not racist: He ‘sees one color: green’
3 / 24
The Hill
Rebecca Savransky January 17, 2018 2 hrs ago

Photograph -- © Provided by The Hill

Eric Trump on Wednesday said his father is not racist, saying all President Trump cares about is "the economy."

"My father sees one color: green," Eric Trump said during an interview on "Fox & Friends" "He cares about the economy."

"He does not see race. He's the least racist person I have ever met in my entire life. It's total nonsense."

President Trump has faced accusations of racism in recent days after reports he referred to Haiti, El Salvador and African nations as "shithole countries" and asked why the U.S. should take in migrants from those places.

The president this past weekend pushed back against accusations of racism, calling himself the "least racist person you will ever interview."

On Tuesday, he said he wants immigrants from "everywhere."

"I want them to come in from everywhere. Everywhere," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about his comments.

His reported comments have helped derail talks on spending and immigration legislation ahead of a Jan. 19 funding deadline to prevent a government shutdown.


SO FAR, THE “FAKE NEWS AWARDS” ARE A NO-SHOW. EITHER HE HAS HAD OPPOSITION ABOUT IT, OR HE HAS SIMPLY LOST INTEREST. I DO BELIEVE THAT IS THE WAY HIS THINKING PATTERN IS. THAT MAKES ME NERVOUS ALSO!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/01/17/trumps-fake-news-awards-are-shaping-up-to-be-a-total-flop/
The Fix Analysis
Trump’s ‘Fake News Awards’ are shaping up to be a total flop
By Callum Borchers January 17 at 10:59 AM

President Trump, former star of “The Apprentice,” knows how to put on a show. Yet his “Fake News Awards” are shaping up to be a total flop.

Trump will name “the most corrupt & biased of the Mainstream Media” on Wednesday, according to a Jan. 7 tweet, but he appears to have done little preparation for the event — if there even is an event.

“We'll keep you posted on any details around that potential event and what that would look like,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Tuesday when asked about the awards.

“Potential” event? What happened to the president's tweeted claim, nine days earlier, that “the interest in, and importance of, these awards is far greater than anyone could have anticipated”?

Heightened interest was Trump's stated reason for pushing back the awards, which he initially said he would give out Jan. 8.

“Subjects will cover Dishonesty & Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media,” he tweeted early this month. “Stay tuned!”

Reporters stayed tuned, but the White House offered nothing to pay attention to. At a Jan. 3 news briefing, journalists asked Sanders about the number of awards, about judges, about whether there will be a televised ceremony or a live audience.

“I certainly don't want to spoil anything,” Sanders replied. “But my guess is that there are quite a few individuals that could be up for those awards . . . We'll certainly keep you posted. It might be hard for him to present trophies if you guys aren't there. But I don't know, we'll have to wait and see what happens.”

More and more, it looks as if Sanders wasn't trying to avoid a spoiler. Rather, it looks as if there was nothing to spoil because there was no plan — and still wasn't on Tuesday afternoon.

Trump first proposed the idea of a “FAKE NEWS TROPHY” in a tweet Nov. 27. He originally envisioned picking the television network that “is the most dishonest, corrupt and/or distorted in its political coverage of your favorite President (me).”

We should have a contest as to which of the Networks, plus CNN and not including Fox, is the most dishonest, corrupt and/or distorted in its political coverage of your favorite President (me). They are all bad. Winner to receive the FAKE NEWS TROPHY!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2017

In December, Trump's reelection campaign announced a variation of this contest, asking supporters to vote on “which mainstream story in 2017 was the most deceitful, embarrassing — and most of all — FAKE!”

The campaign presented only three nominees, a rather small number, considering Trump has tweeted about “fake news” more than 150 times since taking office. One of the three — supposedly one of the absolute worst examples of fake news — was a Time magazine story that wrongly reported that Trump had removed a bust of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. from the Oval Office.

Surely Trump could come up with something more outrageous than that, no? He seemed to think so, when he later said that his awards would cover not merely a single report but “various categories.” On the day of the planned presentations, however, the awards still appear to be a loosely formed idea.

At this point, Trump might have to settle for firing off a few angry tweets about his least-favorite articles and news outlets.



LYING FREQUENTLY WHEN THEY FEEL THAT THE TRUTH WOULDN’T SERVE THEIR PURPOSE, WHEN THEY DIDN’T PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW, OR JUST FOR FUN IS ANOTHER OF THEIR BASIC PATTERNS. IT’S A CONSCIOUS TACTIC, INDEED A FAVORITE ONE. IT KEEPS THEIR ENEMY THE MAINSTREAM PRESS OFF BALANCE SO THAT CAMP TRUMP CAN PULL AN UNUSUALLY UNETHICAL MOVE ACROSS AT THE SAME TIME – SLEIGHT OF HAND, YOU KNOW. THAT I COULD ACTUALLY LOSE EVEN MORE RESPECT FOR TRUMP IS HARD TO BELIEVE, BUT I HAVE. IT SCARES ME THAT WE ARE ALLOWING HIS WAYS TO BECOME FAMILIAR, AND PERHAPS SOON EVEN “COMFORTABLE.” THAT MAY BE THE BEGINNING OF THE END.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cory-booker-says-dhs-secretary-kirstjen-nielsen-lied-under-oath-to-congress/
By EMILY TILLETT CBS NEWS January 17, 2018, 10:38 AM
Cory Booker says DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen "lied under oath" to Congress

Video – Sen. Booker, “Amnesia is complicity.”

Following his explosion at Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, told "CBS This Morning" that he believes Nielsen "lied under oath" and was not "telling the truth" about details surrounding a vulgar exchange during an Oval Office meeting on immigration last week.

"She was an American citizen under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee and she pretended like she didn't remember, she couldn't remember what the President of the United States, the Commander in Chief, her boss was saying. She didn't remember Lindsey Graham, who challenged the president on his vile words yesterday," Booker said Wednesday. "It was so offensive to me that she lied under oath."

He called Nielsen's testimony "a lie" and a "sham," and he wondered, "Why would an American under oath lie? To protect their job?"

On Tuesday, when Secretary Nielsen was testifying before the Senate committee, Booker, along with several other senators, probed Nielsen about her recollection of a White House meeting on immigration in which President Trump reportedly used vulgar language about some immigrants from some countries when he was being apprised of proposed changes to the the [sic] diversity visa lottery program.

Nielsen repeatedly denied having heard Mr. Trump use the word "sh*thole," telling senators, "I did not hear that word used." She added, "I don't dispute that the president was using tough language."

A heated Booker railed against Nielsen's responses. "Your silence and your amnesia is complicity, " he told her.

He went on in an emotional plea, "When Dick Durbin called me, I had tears of rage when I heard about his experience in that meeting. And for you not to feel that hurt and that pain, and to dismiss some of the questions of my colleagues, saying 'I've already answered that line of questions,' when tens of millions of Americans are hurting right now because of what they're worried about what happened in the White House, that's unacceptable to me."

Booker commented on his heated exchange, saying, "I'm not going to take it. I did get very upset sitting there." He added, "I had to listen to her over and over again tell lies to my colleagues. I'm just not going to take it."

He argued, however, that his anger was not necessarily about the profanity used, but rather that "the president of the United States would speak in such a bigoted manner against large groups of people, large groups who are represented here in this country as our fellow America citizens."

He added, "What is the worst thing that allows bigotry and hate to proliferate is people who...stand by and do nothing when it's said. Those of us who stand by and do nothing are complicit in that ignorance."

Booker said he didn't believe Nielsen's claim that she didn't hear the president use such language, especially because the meeting took place in the Oval Office.

"When you're in that room, it's a sacred space in our country," Booker said "All your senses are heightened. You know what the president of the United States is saying, especially in heated exchanges. There's just no way I buy that."

As the federal government faces a looming shutdown amid ongoing disputes over spending, he also favors putting the bipartisan legislation written by Senators Lindsey Graham and Dick Durbin to a vote.

"If it was put on Senate floor dealing with DACA and Dreamers, it would've gotten over 70 votes, but yet they rejected that deal," said Booker of previous immigration negotiations.

He placed blame on the president for creating a "moment of jeoprady" [sic] and "crisis."

"This is the time to make a deal and get America out of this crisis," Booker said. "We all agree there's important, urgent work to do, but I, for one am not going to leave American citizens behind."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



EXACTLY WHAT DID RAUNER SAY ABOUT DAVID DUKE THAT HAS CAUSED SO MUCH COMMOTION? SEE BOTH ARTICLES BELOW.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/illinois-governor-believes-david-duke-is-a-racist-spokesman-clarifies/
AP January 17, 2018, 7:24 AM
Illinois governor believes David Duke is a racist, spokesman clarifies

Photograph -- CHICAGO, IL - FEBRUARY 19: Illinois governor Bruce Rauner waits for the arrival of President Barack Obama at the Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy on February 19, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. Obama used the event to designate Chicago's historic Pullman district a national monument. SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES

After fumbling the answer to a question about whether a former Ku Klux Klan leader is a racist, the campaign of Republican Bruce Rauner on Tuesday clarified the governor's opinion of David Duke.

During a radio interview on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Rauner was asked if President Donald Trump was racist following reports he used vulgar language to refer to African nations. Trump allegedly also questioned why America would want to accept more immigrants from Haiti. Rauner repeatedly declined to directly answer, saying "that language has no place in our political conversation."

When WVON-AM host Charles Thomas on Monday asked if Duke is a racist, Rauner would only respond "we have racism in our society."

"We have got to come together to change our system," Rauner said.

On Tuesday, Rauner campaign spokesman Justin Giorgio sought to clarify those comments. In a statement, he said Rauner "believes that David Duke is a racist."

Democrats were quick to seize on what they characterized as Rauner's attempt to "mince words."

"Instead of having a spine and standing up for what's right, Rauner dodges even the most basic of questions to avoid giving Illinoisans the answers they deserve," said Jordan Abudayyeh, spokeswoman for Democratic governor hopeful J.B. Pritzker.

Also on Tuesday, Duke spoke about Rauner's initial failure to call him a racist.

"Probably at some point, he's heard about David Duke, and deep down in his soul, something's happened inside of him and he knows that I am not really a racist in the sense that I want to oppress and oppose other people," Duke told the Chicago Tribune.

Sen. Kwame Raoul, a Chicago Democrat running for attorney general, cited King when he noted Rauner's failure to call Duke a racist.

"Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us that our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter and Bruce Rauner's inability to clearly state that David Duke is a racist is pretty damning," said Raoul, the son of Haitian immigrants.

© 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


DO WATCH THIS RAUNER INTERVIEW. IT IS PRICELESS! I’VE NEVER HEARD OF RAUNER BEFORE, BUT THIS EPISODE IS SO OUTSTANDING IN MY MIND THAT I’LL NEVER FORGET HIS NAME. “FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED.”

https://www.crisiscreatinrauner.com/feed/2018/1/15/bruce-rauner-refuses-to-say-if-donald-trump-and-david-duke-are-racist
Crisis Creatin' Rauner
BRUCE RAUNER REFUSES TO SAY IF DONALD TRUMP AND DAVID DUKE ARE RACIST
January 15, 2018

READ ABOUT RAUNER'S CREATED CRISES
Chicago, IL – This morning, Bruce Rauner refused to say if Donald Trump and David Duke are racist during a WVON radio interview before the Rainbow PUSH breakfast honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Rauner dodged five times before resorting to his “broken” talking point. See it for yourself:

WATCH: THIS IS A GREAT VIDEO FOR POLITICAL JUNKIES. IT'S BETTER THAN THE TRANSCRIPT.

“Donald Trump spews racism from the White House every day and David Duke is a former grand wizard of the KKK. This isn’t hard,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Bruce Rauner is a coward, hiding behind talking points because it’s easier than standing up to the worst elements in his political party.”

MAZE JACKSON: “The President of the United States used language that we’ve never heard before, we call – we said he said ‘shitolee’ on this show. You heard his comments. Is Donald Trump racist? Is he a racist?”

RAUNER: “I’ll say this. That language has no place in our political conversation.”

JACKSON: “But is he a racist?”

RAUNER: “That language has no place in our political conversation.”

JACKSON: “But we’ve got it. We heard it. He said it. So it’s in the universe. So, to a – to the Haitians that live in this city, in the state – what’s up with Donald Trump? How do you respond to that?”

RAUNER: “That language has no place in our political conversation.”

CHARLES THOMAS: “But you won’t call him a racist?”

RAUNER: “No place.”

THOMAS: “Is David Duke a racist? I mean, is… what about Donald Trump?

RAUNER: “You know what? We have racists in our society. We have got to come together to change the system in Illinois. Illinois is broken. Our system is broken. African American families are suffering in Illinois. It’s worse than anywhere with unemployment. We have got to change our system.”


BERNIE’S NO PROBLEM. IT’S OPRAH WHO’S THE STRONGEST. THAT MAY WELL BE WHAT TRUMP THINKS, BUT THE WRITER TOM PORTER AND I DON’T AGREE. BERNIE HASN’T HAD A FAIR CHANCE YET. BESIDES, HIS VIEWS AND GOALS ARE THE AMERICAN WAY AND NOT THOSE OF TRUMP. I WANT PEOPLE TO RUN WHO APPEAL TO ME PERSONALLY, AND BERNIE DOES.

http://www.newsweek.com/who-trump-afraid-facing-2020-and-its-not-bernie-sanders-782013
THIS IS WHO TRUMP IS AFRAID OF FACING IN 2020, AND IT'S NOT BERNIE SANDERS
BY TOM PORTER ON 1/16/18 AT 5:19 AM

President Donald Trump believes he could defeat Senator Bernie Sanders if he were to face the veteran left-winger in the 2020 presidential election, Politico reported Monday.

Trump has been speculating with aides and Republican lawmakers about potential challengers in the 2020 elections, but is not worried about the presidential candidacy of Vermont independent Sanders, according to an ally who spoke to the publication.

Photograph -- 12_09_17_Sanders
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during a rally against President Donald Trump's travel ban outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., January 30, 2017.
REUTERS

Trump has reportedly claimed that 76-year-old Sanders won’t have the energy for a second presidential bid. Despite the fact that he will be 74 at the time of the election, Trump believes he will have the better of the veteran left-winger.

He also reportedly unconcerned by a potential challenge from Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, whom he has derisively nicknamed Pocahontas, and believed New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, named as another potential challenger, wouldn't run.

Aides are reportedly more worried about the potential challenge posed by former Vice President Joe Biden or chat show host, activist and entrepreneur Oprah Winfrey—who has been at the center of presidential speculation after delivering a rousing speech about sexual misconduct in Hollywood at the Global Globes.

“What we can’t let voters do is think they can get the same policies with someone they like better, like Joe Biden—someone who would fight for them but who doesn’t have the crass edge,” one former White House staffer told Politico. “I hope CNN has [New York Sen.] Kirsten Gillibrand on every minute of every day. Love it. Bring it. She's easy to destroy. If you're the president, or the RNC, you're more worried about someone who looks like Biden—someone who has more mainstream appeal, who blue-collar workers could identity with.”

Another GOP strategist told the publication that Oprah was the challenger the party was most concerned about.

"Oprah would be a problem: she’d be their best,” the strategist said. "She’s ubiquitous, she’s black, she has crossover appeal and she probably clears a lot of the field out.”

However, Oprah is lagging behind Biden and Sanders for Democratic voters, according to a January poll by RABA Research. Despite Trump's confidence about his chances against Sanders, a November Morning Consult/Politico poll had the senator beating Trump 42 to 36 in a hypothetical head-to-head.

Sanders ran as a Democrat in the 2016 presidential election, losing to Hillary Clinton in the primaries. Many of his supporters believe he would have drawn enough support in the Rust Belt Democratic states that flipped to Trump in 2016 to have ensured victory.