DECEMBER 4, 2018


NEWS AND VIEWS


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46437904
France protests: PM Philippe suspends fuel tax rises
DECEMBER 4, 2018 6 hours ago

PHOTOGRAPH -- Image caption
Central Paris has seen vehicles burned, business premises damaged and hundreds of arrests AFP

Fuel tax rises which have led to weeks of violent protests in France have now been postponed for six months.

The move was announced in a televised address by PM Edouard Philippe, who said anyone would have "to be deaf or blind" not to hear or see the anger.

The protests have hit major cities, causing damage and disruption over the past three weekends.

The "gilets jaunes" (yellow vest) protests have now grown to reflect more widespread anger at the government.

Who are the 'gilets jaunes'?
Jobseeker: Macron should help me find work

The "yellow vests" are so called because they have taken to the streets wearing the high-visibility yellow clothing that is required to be carried in every vehicle by French law.

President Emmanuel Macron was elected last year with an overwhelming mandate for sweeping economic reform, but his popularity has fallen sharply in recent months amid accusations that he is a "president for the rich".

Four people have died since the unrest began and the resulting violence and vandalism have been widely condemned.

What did the prime minister say?

Mr Philippe said that the next planned rise in the so-called carbon tax on vehicle fuel, which had been due to come in on 1 January, would be suspended for six months to allow consultations across the country to see what accompanying measures might be introduced to ease the burden for the worst-off.

He also said planned increases in gas and electricity prices this winter would be halted, and that a toughening of the rules for vehicle emissions tests would also be postponed.

It is a major climbdown by the government of President Macron, who has said the measures are necessary to combat climate change and meet budget deficit reduction targets.

Image copyrightEPA
Image caption
Vandalism was rife during the protests in Paris, including here at the Arc de Triomphe

"This anger, you would have to be deaf and blind not to see it, nor hear it," said Mr Philippe after meeting lawmakers from the governing party La Republique en Marche.

"The French who have donned yellow vests want taxes to drop, and work to pay. That's also what we want. If I didn't manage to explain it, if the ruling majority didn't manage to convince the French, then something must change," he added in his televised address.

"No tax merits putting the unity of the nation in danger."

But he said the violence must stop. "If there is another day of protests, it must be declared in advance and must take place calmly."

He also warned that people should not expect better public services alongside lower taxes.

Why the widespread anger?
Mr Macron was elected on a platform of economic reform which would improve the lives of French people via lower unemployment and a kick-started economy.

But many feel that has not emerged. An analysis of the 2018-19 budget carried out by France's public policy institute, for example, found that incomes for the poorest quarter of households would largely drop or stay the same under the plans.

Middle-income earners would see a modest bump - but the greatest beneficiaries would be those who were already wealthy, in the top 1%. The pattern is worse for retired people - almost all of whom will be worse off.

Image copyrightEPA
Image caption
Mr Macron (L) had vowed not to capitulate to street protests
Macron's difficulty
By Hugh Schofield, BBC News, Paris

Will it be enough? That is the first question. Will the yellow vests feel they have won a big enough concession from the government, and therefore call off their protest?

There are plenty of voices that can be heard today saying they want more. Why is it only a suspension of the tax rise, they ask, and not an abolition? What is to guarantee that the government won't reinstate it next June? Maybe we need to step up the pressure.

But by making a concession, the government does not need to satisfy everyone. It needs only to satisfy a large enough bloc of "moderates" among the gilets jaunes, and wean them away from the barricades.

If that happens, then the movement will lose momentum. And though it won't be over, the end will be in sight.

My bet would be that this will be what happens. Opinion polls will show a general approval of the government's concession. The gilets jaunes en masse start to waver. But there's still a protest by hardliners on Saturday.

Maybe a parting shot, but still - and maybe because of that - a dangerous moment.

Read more from Hugh

How has the news been received?
The first question is whether the concession will be enough to satisfy the protesters.

Some have vowed to keep up a blockade at an oil depot in Lorient in the north-west of the country, and there have been calls for further demonstrations on Saturday.

Yellow vest spokesman Benjamin Cauchy said the movement wanted a cancellation - not a postponement - of the taxes.

"The measures announced today do not satisfy us at all, for the simple reason they don't go far enough," he told reporter Chris Bockman in Toulouse.

"The French people want a complete political transformation. They want to change the way things have been for the last 30 years.

"We're sick and tired of taxes being raised and the quality of public services going down. There are more and more people out there who can't make ends meet each month, more and more people are sleeping rough and yet we continue to raise taxes.

"Where is the money going? Where is it being used?"

Media captionFrance fuel protests: Who are the people in the yellow vests?

Fears that violent protests in the capital could continue next weekend have led Paris St Germain to postpone their League 1 home football match on Saturday.

PSG v Montpellier off at police request
Who are the protesters?
The "gilets jaunes" movement began as a protest against a rise in duties on diesel, which is widely used by French motorists and has long been less heavily taxed than other types of fuel.

The price of diesel, the most commonly used fuel in French cars, has risen by about 23% over the past 12 months to an average of €1.51 (£1.32; $1.71) per litre, its highest point since the early 2000s.

Mr Macron has blamed world oil prices for three-quarters of the price rise, but said higher taxes on fossil fuels were needed to fund renewable energy investments.

The decision to impose a further increase of 6.5 cents on diesel and 2.9 cents on petrol from 1 January 2019 was seen as the final straw for the protesters.

Protesters say Mr Macron is out of touch, particularly with non-city dwellers who rely on their cars.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
Changes affecting ambulance drivers are part of a raft of reforms by President Macron

The movement has grown to reflect a range of grievances, including the marginalisation of rural areas, high living costs, and general anger at President Macron's economic policies.

The protests have no identifiable leadership and gained momentum via social media, encompassing a range of participants from the anarchist far left to the nationalist far right, and plenty of moderates in between.

In recent days, ambulance drivers and students have launched their own protests.


APPARENTLY WHEN DEMOCRATS WIN, IN WISCONSIN ANYWAY, THE REPUBLICANS START MODIFYING THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS HOPING TO DESTROY IT. MORE CHEATING, STEALING, BULLYING AND LYING, AND THEN PRESENTING THEMSELVES AS BEING SUPERIOR PEOPLE; THAT’S APPARENTLY HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED. DO THEY DO THESE THINGS BECAUSE THEY ARE AFRAID, OR JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE LAZY? BUT, WHAT’S THE NEWS HERE? THIS IS REASON #50 OF WHY I DON’T VOTE FOR REPUBLICANS.

VIDEO ONLY -- INTERVIEW WITH ERPENBACH

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/gop-defies-wi-voters-with-power-grab-after-democratic-victories-1387896387962
Jon Erpenbach, Wisconsin state senator, talks with Rachel Maddow about a move by Republican legislators in Wisconsin to strip the office of governor and attorney general of power before newly elected Democrats can be sworn in to those positions.
Dec. 4, 2018



WISCONSIN DEMOCRATIC WINNERS -- THOSE FORGOTTEN RESPONSIBLE, CARING AND WELL-EDUCATED LEADERS, THE TEACHERS -- ARE BEING ELECTED BY THE PUBLIC TO GOVERNMENT OFFICES IN HIGH NUMBERS. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT AMERICA IS MOVING AWAY FROM THE DISHONESTY AND UNFAIR ACTIONS OF REPUBLICANS ONE AT A TIME IN THE VOTING BOOTH? I THINK SO. THAT’S GOOD, BUT I WANT TO SEE A TORRENT OF BEAUTIFUL BLUE VOTES.

WE CAN THANK THE BERNIE SANDERS INFLUENCE MOVING THE PARTY OVER IN THE DIRECTION IT SHOULD BE GOING, I THINK. WHY? BECAUSE THIS WASN’T HAPPENING UNTIL HE CAME ON THE SCENE. DEMOCRATS WERE COURTING A PART OF THE VOTERS WHO WERE DOCTRINAIRE IN THEIR OPPOSITION TO “THE LIBERALS.” THAT WAS FOOLISH, BECAUSE ONE BY ONE IT WAS ALIENATING REAL TRUE DEMOCRATS AND NOT WINNING OVER THE CONSERVATIVES, EITHER. BAD MOVE. OF COURSE, I’M CYNICAL ENOUGH TO BELIEVE THAT CORPORATE DEMOCRATS WERE DOING THAT NOT ON THE BASIS OF PRINCIPLES, BUT BECAUSE OF THAT REGULAR INFLUX OF CASH FROM BIG MONEY SOURCES.

FIRST, SEE THIS BAREFACED REPUBLICAN ATTEMPT AT A – DARE I SAY IT, SHAMEFUL --POWER GRAB INVOLVING ONE OF THOSE INTELLIGENT DEMOCRATS, TONY EVERS.

https://www.kansas.com/news/business/article222557370.html.
The Latest: Wisconsin Republicans advance lame-duck bills
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DECEMBER 04, 2018 04:32 AM
UPDATED DECEMBER 04, 2018 04:33 AM

PHOTOGRAPH -- Wisconsin Gov.-elect Tony Evers speaks at the Ward 4 building in Milwaukee on Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018. Democrats in Wisconsin girded for a fight and encouraged voters to speak out as Republicans prepared to move ahead quickly this week with a highly unusual and sweeping lame-duck session to pass a series of proposals that would weaken both Democratic Gov.-elect Evers and Attorney General-elect Josh Kaul. MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL VIA AP MEG JONES

MADISON, WIS.
The Latest on Republican lame-duck legislation in Wisconsin (all times local):

12:08 a.m.

Sweeping proposals to weaken the incoming governor and attorney general in Wisconsin have been advanced to the full Legislature for approval.

That means that measure is all but dead.

The other proposals give outgoing Republican Gov. Scott Walker a final chance to reshape Wisconsin law before he leaves office next month.

Opponents cast them as a last-gasp power grab and attempt to invalidate the November election.

Committee approval sets up dramatic votes on the other measures Tuesday in the Senate and Assembly.

Other changes would limit early voting to two weeks and allow the Legislature to replace the attorney general when defending state laws.

___

5:30 p.m.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker is signaling support for lame-duck legislation that would shift Wisconsin's 2020 presidential primary date and weaken powers of the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general.

Walker stopped short of promising to sign the bills, but also didn't threaten a veto or call on lawmakers to stand down.

Walker's office has been working with Republican leaders on the proposals.

The package would move the primary from April to March, creating three elections in eight weeks.

Walker told reporters Monday that it's possible to hold so many elections in such a short window and he's always found it strange to hold a partisan primary during a general election that's nonpartisan.

He also signaled support for other bills in the package that would weaken the governor and attorney general's offices.

___

5:05 p.m.

Democratic Wisconsin Gov.-elect Tony Evers says a Republican attempt to weaken the governor's powers before he takes office is "rancor and politics as usual."

Evers submitted written testimony to a legislative committee that was considering proposals in an unusual lame-duck session before Evers replaces Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

The bills would move the 2020 presidential primary date, limit the governor's power to put in place rules enacting state laws and weaken powers of the attorney general.

Evers says the proposals "are unfettered attempts to override and ignore what the people of Wisconsin asked for this November."

He says it "flies in the face of democratic institutions."

Evers and other Democrats have threatened lawsuits.

___

3:25 p.m.

Two dozen Wisconsin health care providers, insurance companies and others in the industry are asking legislators to drop changes affecting Medicaid that Republicans offered in a lame-duck session.

The letter Monday was signed by the most powerful health care organizations in the state including the Wisconsin Medical Society, the Wisconsin Hospital Association, UW Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin.

The groups say they were not included in the process of developing the bill introduced Friday that could win final approval Tuesday.

The health care groups say the changes proposed were "far too complex for the expedited timetable" and could have unintended consequences.

Republicans have said they want to enact changes to Medicaid, including a work requirement, that Gov. Scott Walker recently received federal approval to do.

___

1:50 p.m.

Wisconsin Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says there aren't enough votes in the Senate to approve every proposal being offered in the lame-duck legislative session, but he wouldn't say that any of them are dead.

Fitzgerald and Republican leaders told reporters Monday before a public hearing that several of the ideas, including moving the 2020 presidential primary, remain a work in progress.

Most of the state's county election clerks are opposed to the primary date change, citing the $7 million cost and logistical difficulties.

But Fitzgerald says he's not willing to say whether there are enough votes to do it.

Hundreds of people protested both inside and outside the hearing room, banging on the doors and chanting "Respect our votes!"

___

12:15 p.m.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission is warning state lawmakers that moving the state's 2020 presidential primary would be "extraordinarily difficult."

A sweeping package of GOP lame-duck legislation up for votes Tuesday includes a plan to move the primary from April to March. The move is designed to ensure that conservative state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly doesn't face a Democratic wave when he comes up for re-election in April. State elections workers would have to run three elections in three months.

Commission staff handed the panel a memo Monday concluding the switch could cost at least $7 million and create a logistical nightmare for local clerks.

The commission unanimously adopted a motion Monday to send written testimony to legislators saying the move would create multiple conflicts, be "extraordinarily difficult" and may not be feasible. The testimony goes on to state the commission is concerned about costs and complains that the legislation provides no additional funding.

___

12:01 p.m.

Wisconsin Democratic lawmakers say a Republican lame-duck session is an unprecedented attempt to take away powers of the incoming governor and attorney general.

Members of the Legislature's budget committee spoke to reporters Monday ahead of a public hearing on the package of proposals. The bills give outgoing Republican Gov. Scott Walker one last chance to enact laws before he's replaced by Democratic Gov.-elect Tony Evers.

Democratic state Sen. Jon Erpenbach calls the lame-duck session a "power grab." He says Republicans are upset they lost every statewide race in November. Erpenbach says, "They lost and they're throwing a fit."

The Republican-controlled budget committee planned to vote on the bills after a hearing Monday, setting up votes in the state Senate and Assembly as soon as Tuesday.

___

11:50 a.m.

Wisconsin Democrats are warning that a Republican bill to limit early voting is designed to suppress turnout by Democratic voters and contradicts a court ruling that already struck down the idea.

One Wisconsin Executive Director Scot Ross said Monday the Republican measure shows the GOP "refuse to accept the results of the 2018 elections" after losing six statewide races, including the contest for governor.

One Wisconsin successfully sued to strike down a previous Republican effort to limit early voting. Ross says Republicans believe they lost last month "because too many people voted."

About 565,000 people voted early in the November elections.

The bill is one of several Republicans plan to take up during a lame-duck session starting Monday. Others include limiting the power of incoming Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

___

11:15 a.m.

A Democratic member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission is calling a Republican plan to move the presidential primary a huge waste of money.

The GOP has introduced sweeping lame-duck legislation that would weaken the governor and attorney general's offices. The bills also would shift the 2020 presidential primary from April to March to protect conservative Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly from a potential Democratic wave in April.

The move would create three elections in three months. Clerks say it's logistically impossible and would cost at least $7 million.

The Elections Commission discussed the measure Monday. Commissioner Mark Thomsen, a Democratic appointee, called the idea the "biggest waste of money for a single person that I can think of."

___

10:44 p.m.

Wisconsin Republicans are forging ahead with a rare lame-duck session giving outgoing Republican Gov. Scott Walker a chance to limit the powers of his incoming Democratic successor.

Other bills would move the 2020 presidential primary date to benefit a conservative state Supreme Court justice, limit early voting and reduce the power of the incoming Democratic attorney general.

A Republican-controlled legislative committee planned a public hearing Monday, immediately followed by a vote, setting up approval in the state Senate and Assembly on Tuesday.

Democratic Gov.-elect Tony Evers is decrying the lame-duck session, calling it an attempt to invalidate the results of November's election.

He is vowing to fight it, saying lawsuits are being explored, and called on the people of Wisconsin to contact their legislators even as the bills were speeding through.

PHOTOGRAPHS 1 of 7
Wisconsin state legislators begin a public hearing on an extraordinary session bill submitted by the state's Republicans at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., Monday, Dec. 3, 2018.WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL VIA APJOHN HART
GALLERY


TEACHERS FEATURED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE: REP.-ELECT JAHANA HAYES, A LONGTIME CONNECTICUT TEACHER; Governor-elect Tony Evers, WISCONSIN; AND A STRIKING GROUP IN OKLAHOMA.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2018/11/29/teachers-election-2018-oklahoma-teachers-tony-evers-jahana-hayes-betsy-devos/2128848002/
Teachers in office: Wins by Tony Evers, Jahana Hayes, Okla. teachers show 'new beginning'
Lindsay Schnell, USA TODAY Published 11:46 a.m. ET Nov. 29, 2018 | Updated 7:26 p.m. ET Dec. 3, 2018

PHOTOGRAPH -- Democrat Jahana Hayes, candidate in Connecticut's 5th Congressional District, speaks during an election night rally, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Waterbury, Conn. (H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP) ORG XMIT: CTBRP101 (Photo: H John Voorhees III, AP)

Editor's note: USA TODAY is spending the 2018-19 school year exploring the work, the demands and the future of teaching in the USA.

On her first day of congressional orientation in Washington, Rep.-elect Jahana Hayes, a longtime Connecticut teacher, was struck by the differences between her new job and her old job.

On the first day of school, Hayes said, teachers always welcomed “everybody back at the same time.” In Washington, new members were split according to party.

“I kept thinking, ‘What a missed opportunity,’ ” said Hayes, a Democrat.

That scene, Hayes said, demonstrates the division in the country. And it’s exactly why she ran for Congress.

Hayes, who won her race for Connecticut's 5th District with nearly 56 percent of the vote, was part of the blue wave in the election Nov. 6 that put Democrats in power in the House of Representatives.

Hayes wants to keep another important label: educator.

Teachers were on the ballot all over the country this cycle, spurred by demonstrations this year that protested low teacher pay and cuts in money for education. After years of being told what to do by lawmakers, teachers said they want to start making the laws themselves.

Teachers are taking matters into their own hands and running for office this election year. USA TODAY

The 2016 national teacher of the year, Hayes was one of the most well-known educators to win her race. The other was Tony Evers, a longtime educator and Democrat who stunned incumbent Republican Scott Walker in the Wisconsin governor’s race.

Across the country, educators were voted into state legislative offices. The National Education Association said almost 1,110 educators will flood legislative ranks when sessions begin in January. (The organization includes teachers, administrators, support staff and college personnel in its definition of "educator.") That's out of nearly 7,400 state lawmakers.

In Oklahoma, where a teacher walkout this spring lasted a week and a half, the number of educators in the Legislature nearly tripled, from nine to 25.

RELATED: More: I’m an Oklahoma educator who ran for office – and won. Here’s how I did it.
More: Even when teachers strike, Americans give them high grades, poll shows. Unions fare worse.

Teachers find their voices

“I think it’s a real shot in the arm for us (teachers) but also for America,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. “Teachers are problem solvers, and when you have problem solvers sitting in state legislatures and in Congress and in governor’s seats, they understand education and the challenges of it.

"They’re not going to be like (Secretary of Education) Betsy DeVos, who just takes cheap shots at education instead of rolling up her sleeves."

DeVos, a school choice advocate whose appointment served as the tipping point for many public school teachers who decided to run, has been heavily scrutinized by Democrats and teachers unions across the country.

Teachers had other common opponents. In Wisconsin, Walker pushed a law that gutted the state’s teachers unions.

PHOTOGRAPH -- Governor-elect Tony Evers, right, walks into a room filled with press before making a statement, and answering questions on Wednesday Nov. 7, 2018. Governor-elect Tony Evers, and Lt. Governor elect Mandela Barnes took a tour of the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County in Madison, Wis. (Steve Apps/Wisconsin State Journal via AP) ORG XMIT: WIMAW106 (Photo: Steve Apps, AP)

“Walker’s demise by an educator represents the dawn of a new beginning,” Weingarten said.

Many teachers lost their bid for office, but more teachers will run, Weingarten said, because they know how powerful their voices are.

The conversations about testing standards that don’t work and lawmakers who don’t understand how their policies affect children and families have finally come out of the teacher lounges and into the national arena, Hayes said.

PHOTOGRAPH -- More: We followed 15 of America's teachers. No matter where they work, they feel disrespect

Make a difference, or her husband will 'primary me out'

Toni Hasenbeck, a Republican who won her race for Oklahoma's House of Representatives, said the impact of the 2018 election will be felt for decades. Teachers, parents and community members who got engaged the past few months understand how local government works and how bills are made, which will allow them to track progress and “hold our (politicians’) feet to the fire.”

She’s already been warned by one voter that he’ll be watching closely to make sure she stays true to her campaign promises.

“My husband told me if I don’t make good choices, he’ll primary me out,” she said.

PHOTOGRAPH -- Oklahoma teachers went on strike this year. (Photo: David Wallace, The Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK)

Hasenbeck, who ran for office in 2016 and lost her primary by just 93 votes, had to resign from her seventh-grade English position to serve in the Oklahoma Legislature, per state law. Though she knew it was coming, saying goodbye to all her students was harder than she anticipated.

“There was a lot of crying from me,” she said, “which was really unexpected.”

Yet on her first day in the Capitol, “I got that feeling that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.”

State law prohibits Hasenbeck from substituting, so she gets her classroom fix by visiting schools and teachers, shaking hands and making sure they understand she won’t forget them.

“I want to remind teachers that I know what it feels like to have 56 kindergarten eyeballs staring up at you when you’ve finished the activity you thought would take all day in just 30 minutes,” she said. “I know what it’s like to go home and grade 170 essays. I know what it’s like to be in their struggle.”

Oklahoma's teachers-turned-lawmakers want to pass education changes in the first 100 days, said Melissa Provenzano, an administrator and former teacher who won as a Democrat in a traditionally Republican Statehouse district. "We would be foolish to not address it right out of the gate," she said. "The new government and the old guard received a message in this election – and that message was, "You better get busy on education.' "

Making laws and helping students

In Washington, speculation has ramped up that Democrats will use their power in the House to take on DeVos over a variety of issues. Hayes said that talk assigns too much power to one person.

“We have a secretary of education who fundamentally disagrees on many of the things that I think about education,” she said. “But this is about our kids. I’m not here to work against Betsy DeVos. I’m here fighting to solidify programs that will help students and communities.”

She appreciates “how significant it is that I’m in the room,” Hayes said. “I can say to Secretary DeVos, ‘I know what you think you’re doing, but let me explain what it looks like to a teacher by the time (that policy) gets to a classroom.’ ”

Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos testifies at a budget hearing by the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee. (Photo: Win McNamee, USA TODAY)

In her heart, Hayes said, she’s always an educator.

She has been busy building her staff and trying to maintain her campaign’s message that government belongs to everyone. She’s thrilled about legislation passed this year to allow paid internships on Capitol Hill, which will open doors to hundreds of students from varying socioeconomic backgrounds.

“Many of the young people I came in contact with during my campaign wanted to work on the Hill, but they weren’t in a financial position with their families to be supported for six to eight weeks in D.C.,” she said. “Now, I want to seek those kids out.”

Jahana Hayes, a Democratic House candidate in Connecticut, laughed with supporters after speaking on a panel at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual legislative conference Sept. 14, 2018. (Photo: Deborah Barfield Berry, USA TODAY)

Hayes is focused on maintaining her relationships with young voters. She recognizes the crucial role youth will play if Democrats are to win more races in 2020. She wants them to know their voices matter and their vote counted.

“I keep thinking of what Alexander Hamilton says in the musical,” she said. “You know, I don’t want to throw away my shot.”

Education coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation does not provide editorial input.



BERNIE SANDERS SPEECH ON THE KAVANAUGH VOTE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3cQJGX2ZnI
Bernie Sanders Impassioned Speech on Justice Kavanaugh
Maximilien Robespierre
Published on Oct 7, 2018
Bernie Sanders Impassioned Speech on Justice Kavanaugh

Just before Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court, Senator Bernie Sanders gave an impassioned speech in the US Senate about what he thought about Donald Trump's choice.



THE CONTENTS OF THIS LETTER ARE OLD NEWS, BUT UNFORTUNATELY PERTINENT TODAY, IT SEEMS TO ME. THAT’S PROBABLY WHY IT WENT FOR TWICE THE EXPECTED PRICE. PAYING ONLY $14,000 TO SOMEONE WHO HAS SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS TO SPEND IS A GREAT PRICE. CLEARLY EINSTEIN RECOGNIZED HITLER FOR THE CREATURE THAT HE WAS IN 1933 AND LEFT IMMEDIATELY. WATCH THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC YOUTUBE VIDEO OF HIS LIFE BELOW.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-15278482
Albert Einstein's letter on Nazis sold for $14,000
12 October 2011

A 1939 letter from Albert Einstein warning of the "calamitous peril" to Jews posed by the Nazis has been sold at auction for nearly $14,000 (£9,000).

The Nobel-winning physicist's letter to a New York businessman, Hyman Zinn, sold for double its estimate at auction in the US state of California.

In the typed letter, Einstein praises Zinn for his work in helping Jews flee persecution in Adolf Hitler's Germany.

Einstein himself fled Germany for the US when Hitler came to power in 1933.

"It must be a source of deep gratification to you to be making so important a contribution toward rescuing our persecuted fellow-Jews from their calamitous peril and leading them toward a better future," he wrote.

May we stand this test as well as did our fathers before us
Albert Einstein

The letter - described as in "very good to near fine condition" - sold for $13,936 including buyer's premium, said Los Angeles auction house Nate D Sanders.

Dated 10 June 1939, it has Einstein's embossed Princeton University address and the original mailing envelope.

The reserve price was between $5,000 and $7,000.

The author of the theory of general relativity wrote: "The power of resistance which has enabled the Jewish people to survive for thousands of years has been based to a large extent on traditions of mutual helpfulness.

"In these years of affliction our readiness to help one another is being put to an especially severe test. May we stand this test as well as did our fathers before us."


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ochxz741sr0
ALBERT EINSTEIN BIOGRAPHY, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
Documentary Lab
Published on Nov 28, 2014

National Geographic Documentary 2014 Albert Einstein Biography Full Documentary HD



THIS IS A VERY GOOD REPORT. TAKE A LOOK AT IT.

http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/tweets-seem-to-get-very-close-to-witness-tampering-1388112451838
Tweets seem to get very close to witness tampering

The president made some potentially significant public comments on Monday, lashing out as his former attorney Michael Cohen, demanding he be given a stiff sentence. The Morning Joe panel discusses.
Dec. 4, 2018



ABOUT RUSSIAN SANCTIONS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy1INiv-nJQ
Lifting Russian Sanctions Key To Trump Deal Exposed By Michael Cohen | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC


THIS IS ANOTHER GREAT ONE, CLASSIC BILL MAHER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13JQSftgU9w
Real Time with Bill Maher November 30, 2018 (HBO) FULL VIDEO
62,932 views