babylonsister
babylonsister's JournalRepublicans Are Finally Seeing Trump's Intelligence Problem
There are none so blind as those who will not see.
Republicans Are Finally Seeing Trumps Intelligence Problem
Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) spoke out on Sunday about the presidents routine intel dismissals
By Ryan Bort
President Trump took aim at the intelligence community last week, tweeting that its officials should go back to school after their threat assessments contradicted his rosy vision of international relations. It wasnt the first time the president has dismissed the findings of the U.S. intelligence apparatus last year he sided with Vladimir Putin in refusing to accept that Russia meddled in the 2016 election and Republicans are finally starting to grow frustrated with the presidents fidelity to Fox News and foreign autocrats over the FBI and CIA.
Johnson also criticized the presidents plan to pull U.S. troops out of Syria, a move based on his false belief that ISIS has been defeated, which National Intelligence Director Dan Coats contradicted last week.
https://twitter.com/FoxNewsSunday/status/1092083273579122689
Over on CNN, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) elaborated on why the presidents politicization of intelligence is so troubling. These are professional people, he said. The presidents briefed every day on it. Hes not an intelligence officer. None of us are. But they, the people on the front lines, the people who analyze who gather and disseminate intelligence information to our higher-ups, we should respect them. Most of the time theyre pretty much on point.
https://twitter.com/CNNSotu/status/1092072185638858752
more...
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/republicans-trump-intel-789449/
Princeton Historians: Democrats Must Impeach Trump to 'Heal the Nation'
https://www.politicususa.com/2019/02/04/princeton-historians-democrats-must-impeach-trump-to-heal-the-nation.htmlPosted on Mon, Feb 4th, 2019 by Leo Vidal
Princeton Historians: Democrats Must Impeach Trump to Heal the Nation
Two experts from Princeton University published an article this morning in USA Today saying that Democrats must immediately take action to impeach Donald Trump. If they dont, they wrote, the president may do irreparable harm to our democracy.
snip//
The writers concluded their op-ed by asking that Democrats take immediate steps to right decades of historical wrongs. They could do this by drawing a line at Trumps illegal and treasonous behavior. They should do everything in their power to prevent Trump from escaping justice.
The truth is that Donald Trump, his children, and his cronies and business associates are elites who have escaped justice for years. If Trump is not held accountable for his crimes, then Vladimir Putin will have succeeded in his primary goal: to undermine faith in American democracy.
Democrats in Congress are now in a position to prevent this from happening, and they must be sure that everything they do is focused on this number one goal: saving the country from the damage done by Donald Trump.
Patriots player: I won't visit White House, but it 'would be dope' to meet Obama instead
Patriots player: I won't visit White House, but it 'would be dope' to meet Obama instead
By Avery Anapol - 02/04/19 09:07 AM EST
New England Patriots player Duron Harmon said that he wont visit President Trumps White House to celebrate the teams Super Bowl win.
Speaking to TMZ Sports after the Patriots win against the Los Angeles Rams, Harmon said he wouldnt join his teammates for a visit.
He did, however, acknowledge it would be dope to meet former President Barack Obama, like the Golden State Warriors did earlier this year.
We love you over here, man, Harmon said, referring to Obama.
more...
https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/428308-patriots-player-i-wont-visit-white-house-but-it-would-be-dope?fbclid=IwAR263SCGoCXS6FRzJxp0OjaZ8CVEcMDlz5QouykmWZVjgpkA8cvpWu71CV0
Senator Sanders to ask why drug, once free, now costs $375k
February 4, 2019 / 6:06 AM / Updated 2 hours ago
Senator Sanders to ask why drug, once free, now costs $375k
Yasmeen Abutaleb
3 Min Read
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders plans to send a letter to Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (CPRX.O) on Monday asking it to justify its decision to charge $375,000 annually for a medication that for years has been available to patients for free.
The drug, Firdapse, is used to treat Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (LEMS), a rare neuromuscular disorder, according to the letter, made available to Reuters by the senators office. The disorder affects about one in 100,000 people in the United States.
The government is intensifying its scrutiny of the pharmaceutical industry and rising prescription drug prices, a top voter concern and a priority of President Donald Trumps administration.
Both the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, controlled by Republicans, have begun holding hearings this year on the rising costs of medicines. Sanders is an independent who usually votes with Democrats.
In the letter dated Feb. 4, Sanders asked Catalyst to lay out the financial and non-financial factors that led the company to set the list price at $375,000, and say how many patients would suffer or die as a result of the price and how much it was paying to purchase or produce the drug.
more...
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-healthcare-catalyst-idUSKCN1PT0ZJ?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_content=5c582f2404d301555789244c&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3rxTGUdc1Z5wQGJKs5_WJgX3J3KpNeApH3SvOJy2SV8ejW3-nch4nQrJM
Trump Justice Dept. reversing Obama-era positions on discrimination policies
Trump Justice Dept. reversing Obama-era positions on discrimination policies
By Joan Biskupic, CNN legal analyst & Supreme Court biographer
Updated 6:05 AM ET, Mon February 4, 2019
Washington (CNN)Recent Trump administration moves on civil rights bring into sharper focus its efforts to reverse the Obama era and curtail decades-old laws designed to shield blacks, Latinos and other racial minorities from discrimination.
Last week, the Justice Department retreated from a prior position and said Texas' record of voter discrimination did not justify requiring prior approval for any new redistricting maps. The Obama administration had argued that a provision of the Voting Rights Act empowering judges to intervene should cover Texas, which has been mired in minority-voter disputes for years.
The administration is also apparently considering retrenchment against policies that appear neutral but have the effect of discriminating against minorities. In December, a federal commission convened by the White House recommended the rescission of Obama policy intended to ensure that African-American students are not disproportionately targeted under school discipline rules.
The Washington Post reported in January that the administration is considering a "far-reaching" curtailment of such regulations against practices that -- although not intentionally discriminatory -- have a "disparate impact" on minorities, whether at schools, on the job, or in the pursuit of housing. (The Justice Department would not comment on the report.)
At the same time, the administration is also engaged in a lawsuit against Harvard's affirmative action admissions practices that have traditionally benefited blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. It is siding with a group that says Asian-American applicants are held to a higher standard for admissions, compared especially to black students.
All told, the Trump team continues to demonstrate that despite an atmosphere of disarray, its lawyers have kept a singular focus on transforming racial-bias laws -- alarming civil rights activists and gratifying veteran conservative advocates.
more...
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/04/politics/trump-justice-department-race/index.html?utm_term=link&utm_medium=social&utm_content=2019-02-04T12%3A32%3A05&utm_source=fbCNNp&fbclid=IwAR0KvazdjW1oYd7tahnHL2vRIJkKV017kQ4GbXPNx55w_P5SMq2qzw4R2ic
Big Leak Rattles the White House
https://politicalwire.com/2019/02/04/big-leak-rattles-the-white-house/Big Leak Rattles the White House
February 4, 2019 at 7:26 am EST By Taegan Goddard
Said Cliff Sims, author of Team of Vipers: There are leaks, and then there are leaks. If most are involuntary manslaughter, this was premeditated murder. People inside are genuinely scared.
Maggie Haberman: A White House aide is weaponizing his schedules, which says a lot about how people in the White House feel about the man they work for.
Sundance 2019: Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins...
Sundance 2019: Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins is rousing tribute to one of best American political columnists ever
By Les Roka -
January 30, 2019
In the trade publication Editor and Publisher, when nationally syndicated columnist Molly Ivins died in 2007 after a triple bout with cancer and its complications, Greg Mitchell recalled in a piece headlined Molly Ivins: The Plucking Truth a classic moment that eventually would lead the stuffed shirts at The New York Times to send her packing. In 1980, she had written a piece about a chicken slaughtering festival in New Mexico that she characterized in her inimitable style as a gang pluck.
When Ivins died, newspapers around the country recalled that incident using the original phrase as she had written, which Mitchell says stood out not because it was her sharpest or funniest, but because it helped spark her departure from The New York Times. Yet, as Mitchell aptly put it, the Grey Lady chickened out in the end. In its obituary about Ivins, the Times wrote, she used a sexually suggestive phrase, which her editors deleted from the final article. But her effort to use it angered the executive editor, A. M. Rosenthal, who ordered her back to New York and assigned her to City Hall, where she covered routine matters with little flair. As Mitchell wrote, the obituary editor held steadfast that the standard had not changed at the Times since the incident 27 years earlier and the remark still stood as gratuitous in his estimation.
Molly Ivins.
Janice Engel does full justice to that incident and so many more iconic moments of one of the countrys most popular newspaper columnists of the last 50 years in her latest documentary Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins, which received its premiere at Sundance this year.
Engel frames Ivins outstanding career with all of its proper merits. Ivins was a sharp thinker, even sharper writer who disavowed the pretenses of objectivity, false equivalence and whataboutism that have dragged political journalism into its current distressed state. She perfectly fused the pedigree of her education at Smith College and Columbia University with the plainspoken wit of west Texas and the liberal urbane tones of Austin. Engels documentary resonates so well in Ivins true voice that one sincerely misses the column writing style that framed the contemporary social and political issues with devastating accuracy.
more...
https://www.theutahreview.com/sundance-2019-raise-hell-the-life-and-times-of-molly-ivins-is-rousing-tribute-to-one-of-best-american-political-columnists-ever/?fbclid=IwAR3PwbukAEfwg-giYseD56P3c1ysTCzU86yur_eldvAJB7XxFQUTRTGyFAU
Hundreds turn out to help clean vandalized Hindu temple
https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/hundreds-turn-out-to-help-clean-vandalized-hindu-temple/417-06b213a8-48f9-4c4c-b75c-60fe2e6b02b4
LOCAL
Hundreds turn out to help clean vandalized Hindu temple
So many people answered Mayor Greg Fischer's call for help that there was not enough work to go around.
Author: Dennis Ting
Published: 3:15 PM EST February 2, 2019
LOUISVILLE, Ky. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- Hundreds of people of all ages, faiths and backgrounds spent their Saturday morning at the Swaminarayan Temple, armed with cleaning supplies, days after the Hindu temple on Bardstown Road was broken into and vandalized.
"We may not have as much work as the number of people here, but we will make sure we do our best to make sure everyone gets a chance to have some paint to erase the hate," Raj Patel, a member of the temple, said.
Police arrested a 17-year-old in connection with the vandalism at the temple, which included spray paint defacing images of a Hindu god and the temple walls with some messages that included references to Jesus and God and some that were vulgar and racist, meant to instill fear but instead creating unity.
Even people who have normally found themselves on opposite sides of disagreements, like Attorney General Andy Beshear and Governor Matt Bevin, shared a moment as they came together to take a stand with the people of the temple.
snip//
"We've repaired more than what we needed to from a building perspective. We've repaired the hope and hearts of everyone," Patel said. "Anyone is welcome to come to our temple any time they want. They'll feel welcome. They'll be fed. That's our philosophy and we'll do that."
Trump Aides Fear Coming 'Subpoena Blizzard' From House Committees
Posted on Sun, Feb 3rd, 2019 by Leo Vidal
Trump Aides Fear Coming Subpoena Blizzard From House Committees
After Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address on Tuesday aides to the president expect to be inundated with a constant stream of subpoenas from House committees led by Democrats.
According to a report in the Washington Post, a Trump ally said the White House is bracing for a subpoena blizzard.
The report states that House Democrats are set to launch their promised oversight investigations, which are expected to probe the presidents conduct and personal finances as well as alleged corruption in the administration.
The report goes on to say, White House counsel Pat Cipollone and deputy counsel Michael Purpura have met with leaders of individual agencies to provide instructions about responding to oversight requests and examining their staffs.
The White House attorneys have also been developing a game plan on how to handle the flood of inquiries and subpoenas, and White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has reportedly been meeting with agency chiefs of staff to help them prepare.
Regardless of storm clouds, you have to have a team fully deployed in the field, not just inside the White House, but inside the departments and agencies, Chase Untermeyer, who served as director of presidential personnel under former president George H.W. Bush explained.
more...
https://www.politicususa.com/2019/02/03/trump-aides-fear-coming-subpoena-blizzard-from-house-committees.html
Trump Faces Mounting Threats from All Sides
https://politicalwire.com/2019/02/03/trump-faces-mounting-threats-from-all-sides/
Trump Faces Mounting Threats from All Sides
February 3, 2019 at 8:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard
The challenges mount at a moment when Trump is as unencumbered and isolated as ever. Inside the White House, aides describe a chaotic, freewheeling atmosphere reminiscent of the early weeks of Trumps presidency.
Power has consolidated around presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, a senior adviser who is functioning as a de facto White House chief of staff. With counterweights like ousted chief of staff John F. Kelly now gone, some advisers say the West Wing has the feel of the 26th floor of Trump Tower, where an unrestrained Trump had absolute control over his family business and was free to follow his impulses.
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