By Claude Brodesser-Akner | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on May 28, 2016 at 9:00 AM, updated May 28, 2016 at 9:42 PM

WOODBRIDGE — In an interview with NJ Advance Media on Friday, former President Bill Clinton argued that serving as U.S. secretary of state is the best training for the presidency than at any other time in modern memory.

"This is the first time I can remember the domestic and international responsibilities are so tied up together," Clinton said during a visit to the Reo Diner in Woodbridge.

The former president made the comments shortly after appearing at a rally at nearby Edison High School to campaign for his wife, Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. secretary of state who is now the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination.

"There's turmoil in elections everywhere," Bill Clinton said. "You've been watching it in Europe. You know, they had a very close election in Austria over whether they should basically close the borders."

Earlier this week, Austrians went the polls to elect their own president, and were faced with an eerily similar version of Donald Trump: Norbert Hofer, a right wing populist, had campaigned with a Trump-inspired slogan of "putting Austria first," a promise build a fence along Austria's southern border and to "stop the invasion of Muslims."

Hofer won the first round of voting but narrowly lost in a run-off election.

"It's very important that the next president be strong enough in international relations," Clinton said. "You know, keep us safe, but also: Give us the space we need to keep growing (economically). Because if we get stronger, it'll drag the right world in the right direction, and a lot of these tensions will go down."

The former president argued that Hillary Clinton's expertise in global diplomacy wasn't merely helpful, but practically a job requirement for a president who'll run a nation that's nearly a fourth of the economic output of the global economy.

"We just had a report in the last couple weeks that America's growth was dragged down in the last quarter," the former president said. "At a time when we're hiring people, wages are finally rising, we're coming back, was dragged down by all this trouble in the world."

Continued...

May. 28, 2016 1:41 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic officials have rejected Bernie Sanders' request to remove two high-profile Hillary Clinton supporters from leadership positions at the party's summer convention.

snip

Democratic officials responded to Sanders' request on Saturday, saying in a letter that Malloy and Frank were elected under party rules and that Sanders wasn't alleging any violations of that process.

The DNC says it reviewed the challenge, found it failed to meet the criteria and "we are compelled to dismiss it."


http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a9a368ce98164309aa0a3f4cd74ad6c8/sanders-fails-oust-clinton-backers-convention-roles

A number of comments over the past week or so have suggested we should try and focus on some of the positive stories about HRC that get lost in the noise of the outrage of the day. I took the suggestion to heart and decided to highlight a few of the causes and initiatives HRC has championed over the years either directly or in conjunction with activists, NGOs and political leaders. Some are links to organizations who have chosen to highlight either HRC’s involvement with them or her documented statements supporting their causes on their websites. Please click on the links to learn about the individual groups and/or initiatives etc...as there is only so much I could cut and paste before this got way too big.
This is not meant to be an exhaustive compilation of HRC’s involvement in social advocacy or a recitation of her land-mark speeches and most of the items I have included are more obscure and may not be considered “worthy” of front-page coverage in the MSM (because HRC does not need constant positive reinforcement from the media to do what she thinks is right). In addition, these causes and initiatives are specifically related to Women’s Rights, not because they are the more important than any other issue, but because they are as equally important as any other issue.
Finally, you may have seen these videos, read these stories, know the successes or failure rate of any given advocacy etc...That’s great and please share your views — this edition of HNV is not to proclaim HRC the most successful champion/politician/woman of all time, it is simply to highlight her deep connection to, and advocacy for women’s issues. Cheers.

This video is not the beginning of HRC’s advocacy on Women’s Rights but it is perhaps the most famous speech she has ever given (well until her acceptance speech in November and then inaugural speech in January). I have included it not because it will provide anyone with new information but because it is incredibly powerful and deserves to be heard many times over.

From this video you can see that HRC is passionate about Women’s rights which includes women’s access to reproductive care. I love this next video because it shows what a strong, unflinching and intelligent advocate HRC is on behalf of women and their right to choose when, where and if to start families. On a side note — is it me or does Christopher Smith refer to HRC as the “distinguished gentleman” when her yields to her?

Speaking of reproductive rights, HRC is also a strong ally to those seeking to end child marriage — she understands that forcing young girls to marry and bear children while they are children themselves is not only is morally wrong but frequently consigns the girl and her children to a lifetime of poverty, servitude and in many cases abuse.
Here are a few quotes from HRC on this issue and links to a few stories and organizations HRC has had some involvement with in the past.

Hillary Clinton Catches Up With Her Hero Nujood Ali​
Stopping child marriage is not just a must for moral or human rights reasons—it lays the foundation for so many other things we hope to achieve. Primary education. Improved child and maternal health. Sustainable economic development that includes girls.

http://www.glamour.com/story/glamour-exclusive-hillary-clinton-catches-up-with-her-hero-nujood-ali

BY Christopher Brennan
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Friday, May 27, 2016, 8:32 AM

The self-aggrandizing “Pharma Bro” known for hiking up the price of an AIDS drug has thrown his political support behind a man with another giant ego: Donald Trump.

Martin Shkreli, the 33-year-old former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, said on Twitter Thursday that he would vote for the presumptive Republican nominee in his likely general election matchup.

“I haven't been called by the Trump camp. I support him vs. Hillary,” he said, adding that the brash billionaire should pick an experienced vice presidential candidate.

Shkreli, who is currently awaiting trial for securities fraud, said later that “all you people who don't like trump are jealous, stupid and poor! don't make me laugh!”

Continued at NY Daily News

By Melissa McEwan
May 27, 2016


In a Q&A with TIME, Bernie Sanders positions himself as arbiter of the Democratic Party’s future, goes hard negative on the Clintons, calls a progressive activist (and a BNR founder) “scum of the Earth,” and reiterates one of the most delusional talking points of 2015—that he’s the “strongest candidate to beat Donald Trump.” We are longtime activists, advocates, and Democrats, and we reject the hubris that would have one man disparage the work of millions who don’t happen to agree with him.

Dear Bernie,

Reading your recent TIME interview, we felt the need to respond.

First, it says so much that you’re willing to use the term “scum of the earth” about someone who has helped build progressive infrastructure, but not about Donald Trump and his sleazy operatives, who you’re obsequiously hoping will breathe new life into your campaign.

Second, when you speak about the Democratic Party as its self-appointed savior, do you realize how that offends millions of rank and file Democrats who support the nominee-to-be Hillary Clinton? Not to mention the thousands of elected Democrats who have worked their hearts out to promote Democratic and progressive causes?

Do you really imagine that, at the local level, Democrats—elected and activists—are only debating whether or not they are beholden to Wall Street billionaires? We’re working ourselves to early graves fighting for clean water, good schools, early childcare programs, abortion access, jobs programs, equality measures, library funding, needle exchanges, infrastructure improvements, dog parks, lunch programs, fair housing, and countless other issues that are more immediate and personal than the sweeping broadsides you make against “the establishment.”

Continued at Blue Nation Review

By Abby Phillip May 26 at 7:08 PM

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Hillary Clinton upped the pressure on Donald Trump to release his tax returns on Thursday, suggesting that he is trying to hide unflattering revelations about his finances.

“Either he’s paying no taxes or he’s paying very little,” Clinton said. “The only way to find out which it is is for him to release.”

“Ether he’s as wealthy as he claims or maybe he’s not, the only way to find out is for him to release.”

Trump, now the likely Republican nominee, has refused to release his tax returns, which is not a requirement but a longtime practice for candidates running for president.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/05/26/clinton-questions-whether-trump-is-as-wealthy-as-he-claims/