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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
April 28, 2019
Posted on Sun, Apr 28th, 2019 by Jason Easley
Biden Strategy Works As Flustered Kellyanne Conway Can’t Defend Trump
Kellyanne Conway brought up Charlottesville during a Sunday morning interview, and her failed defense of Trump was that he was talking about statues, not racists.
Kellyanne Conway failed to defend Trump support of racists
Conway tried to claim that Trump was discussing monuments, not neo-Nazis when he said that there were fine people on both sides.
Kellyanne Conway answered with a word salad, “He was talking about the debate over moving statues and renaming parks.”
Tapper asked, “So he wasn’t talking about the weekend at all?”
Video @ link:
snip//
The Joe Biden Strategy of Making This Election About Trump’s Character Is Working
Conway had no defense for Trump’s comments. The one she tried didn’t work, because it defied common sense. Trump’s racism and bigotry are baked into the perception of who Trump is with voters.
The Biden strategy of going after Trump’s character is working, and it has caused a shift that didn’t happen in 2016. The Trump team is on the defensive. They are trying to defend the indefensible, and the seeds are being sown for the 2020 election to be a referendum on Trump, and as Kellyanne Conway showed the playground bullies of presidential politics couldn’t handle being punched.
Biden Strategy Works As Flustered Kellyanne Conway Can't Defend Trump
https://www.politicususa.com/2019/04/28/kellyanne-conway-defend-trump.htmlPosted on Sun, Apr 28th, 2019 by Jason Easley
Biden Strategy Works As Flustered Kellyanne Conway Can’t Defend Trump
Kellyanne Conway brought up Charlottesville during a Sunday morning interview, and her failed defense of Trump was that he was talking about statues, not racists.
Kellyanne Conway failed to defend Trump support of racists
Conway tried to claim that Trump was discussing monuments, not neo-Nazis when he said that there were fine people on both sides.
CNN’s Jake Tapper asked, “Who were these very fine people? Let me just set the stage here. It was called the Unite The Right rally, and it was formed by people like Richard Spencer who is a white supremacist. Friday was the tiki torch march. Saturday, Heather Heyer was killed. Who were the very fine people he was talking about?”
Kellyanne Conway answered with a word salad, “He was talking about the debate over moving statues and renaming parks.”
Tapper asked, “So he wasn’t talking about the weekend at all?”
Video @ link:
snip//
The Joe Biden Strategy of Making This Election About Trump’s Character Is Working
Conway had no defense for Trump’s comments. The one she tried didn’t work, because it defied common sense. Trump’s racism and bigotry are baked into the perception of who Trump is with voters.
The Biden strategy of going after Trump’s character is working, and it has caused a shift that didn’t happen in 2016. The Trump team is on the defensive. They are trying to defend the indefensible, and the seeds are being sown for the 2020 election to be a referendum on Trump, and as Kellyanne Conway showed the playground bullies of presidential politics couldn’t handle being punched.
April 28, 2019
Daily Comment
Another Look at Impeachment, After the Mueller Report
By Adam Gopnik
April 25, 2019
The Mueller report is a powerful and positive document, because it is written testimony to the liberal faith in the power of rules and systems to bring order and justice.
snip//
But, on the whole, and taken on its own terms, the Mueller report is a powerful and positive document, because it is written testimony to the liberal faith in the power of rules and systems to bring order and justice. Mueller and his team were trying on every page of the report and in every instance to follow the rules, even if the rules they were following forced them into contorted prose and easily misrepresented positions. The rules are worth following, the underlying premise of the report insists, because only in accepting the rules can we insure justice. This is why the language of “norms” and their violation is misapplied to Trump and his conduct. What is at stake here are not “norms,” in the sense of ornamental ritual regularities in the conduct of office. What is at stake are rules—rules meant to insure objective judgment and fair dealing no matter who the subject may be or how you may feel about his or her conduct. These are fair-minded rules put in place by the painfully slow accession of power to procedure, equitable rules put in place over time and that, historically, remain vanishingly rare. As “Game of Thrones” reminds us—it may be the chief reason for the show’s current appeal—the rule of pure power asserting itself exactly as it likes whenever it likes is what most often happens among human beings.
This is why the idea that Mueller cleverly engineered his report to force Congress to act misses the point. Mueller didn’t intend it. The rules did. This is why impeachment—at least attempting to remove from power someone obviously unfit to hold it, whatever the outcome may be—has, within a week, passed from a distant speculative possibility to what seems to many like a primary moral duty. It is being miscast as a prudential act, or even as an act of overdue partisan aggression. Right now, it seems more like collective self-defense against a common danger.
Another Look at Impeachment, After the Mueller Report
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/another-look-at-impeachment-after-the-mueller-reportDaily Comment
Another Look at Impeachment, After the Mueller Report
By Adam Gopnik
April 25, 2019
The Mueller report is a powerful and positive document, because it is written testimony to the liberal faith in the power of rules and systems to bring order and justice.
snip//
But, on the whole, and taken on its own terms, the Mueller report is a powerful and positive document, because it is written testimony to the liberal faith in the power of rules and systems to bring order and justice. Mueller and his team were trying on every page of the report and in every instance to follow the rules, even if the rules they were following forced them into contorted prose and easily misrepresented positions. The rules are worth following, the underlying premise of the report insists, because only in accepting the rules can we insure justice. This is why the language of “norms” and their violation is misapplied to Trump and his conduct. What is at stake here are not “norms,” in the sense of ornamental ritual regularities in the conduct of office. What is at stake are rules—rules meant to insure objective judgment and fair dealing no matter who the subject may be or how you may feel about his or her conduct. These are fair-minded rules put in place by the painfully slow accession of power to procedure, equitable rules put in place over time and that, historically, remain vanishingly rare. As “Game of Thrones” reminds us—it may be the chief reason for the show’s current appeal—the rule of pure power asserting itself exactly as it likes whenever it likes is what most often happens among human beings.
This is why the idea that Mueller cleverly engineered his report to force Congress to act misses the point. Mueller didn’t intend it. The rules did. This is why impeachment—at least attempting to remove from power someone obviously unfit to hold it, whatever the outcome may be—has, within a week, passed from a distant speculative possibility to what seems to many like a primary moral duty. It is being miscast as a prudential act, or even as an act of overdue partisan aggression. Right now, it seems more like collective self-defense against a common danger.
April 28, 2019
Trump: I answered 'perfectly' when I called Nazis 'very fine people'
By Oliver Willis -
April 26, 2019
Trump still thinks there is nothing wrong with praising Nazis.
Trump lied about his defense of Nazis and claimed he responded "perfectly" on the issue.
As he left the White House on Friday morning to speak to his allies at the NRA, Trump was asked by a reporter about his comments on the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
"If you look at what I said, you will see that that question was answered perfectly," Trump said.
Trump and his supporters have continually tried to lie about what he said after the neo-Nazis and white supremacists rioted in Charlottesville, and their riot turned deadly, killed anti-racist protester Heather Heyer. Asked about actions of the neo-Nazis, Trump said they were "very fine people" and blamed "both sides" for the violence.
snip//
"People were there protesting the taking down of the monument of Robert E. Lee. Everybody knows that," Trump concluded.
The white supremacist protesters in Charlottesville were marching in support of Lee, a man who defended the racist ideals they believe in.
And when Trump called them "very fine people," he made it clear he stands with them.
Published with permission of The American Independent.
Trump: I answered 'perfectly' when I called Nazis 'very fine people'
https://shareblue.com/trump-i-answered-perfectly-when-i-called-nazis-very-fine-people/?fbclid=IwAR2ZjWxgJ9OzFqPy3bFvcHyhOY9rZgZ-8f6_ZNtBq4qQEQMyMVT1WAw09QITrump: I answered 'perfectly' when I called Nazis 'very fine people'
By Oliver Willis -
April 26, 2019
Trump still thinks there is nothing wrong with praising Nazis.
Trump lied about his defense of Nazis and claimed he responded "perfectly" on the issue.
As he left the White House on Friday morning to speak to his allies at the NRA, Trump was asked by a reporter about his comments on the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
"If you look at what I said, you will see that that question was answered perfectly," Trump said.
Trump and his supporters have continually tried to lie about what he said after the neo-Nazis and white supremacists rioted in Charlottesville, and their riot turned deadly, killed anti-racist protester Heather Heyer. Asked about actions of the neo-Nazis, Trump said they were "very fine people" and blamed "both sides" for the violence.
snip//
"People were there protesting the taking down of the monument of Robert E. Lee. Everybody knows that," Trump concluded.
The white supremacist protesters in Charlottesville were marching in support of Lee, a man who defended the racist ideals they believe in.
And when Trump called them "very fine people," he made it clear he stands with them.
Published with permission of The American Independent.
April 28, 2019
Fighting Oversight Is a Dictatorial Move
April 28, 2019 at 7:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
Fighting Oversight Is a Dictatorial Move
https://politicalwire.com/2019/04/28/fighting-oversight-is-a-dictatorial-move/Fighting Oversight Is a Dictatorial Move
April 28, 2019 at 7:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
Robert Reich: “Such a blanket edict fits a dictator of a banana republic, not the president of a constitutional republic founded on separation of powers.”
“If Congress cannot question the people who are making policy, or obtain critical documents, Congress cannot function as a coequal branch of government.”
“If Congress cannot get information about the executive branch, there is no longer any separation of powers, as sanctified in the US constitution.”
“There is only one power – the power of the president to rule as he wishes. Which is what Donald Trump has sought all along.”
“If Congress cannot question the people who are making policy, or obtain critical documents, Congress cannot function as a coequal branch of government.”
“If Congress cannot get information about the executive branch, there is no longer any separation of powers, as sanctified in the US constitution.”
“There is only one power – the power of the president to rule as he wishes. Which is what Donald Trump has sought all along.”
April 28, 2019
Posted on Sat, Apr 27th, 2019 by Sean Colarossi
Malcolm Nance Says America Is A ‘National Security Nightmare’ Each Day Trump Remains President
Counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance said that while the Mueller report investigated collusion and obstruction – and found Trump implicated in both – it largely left unanswered the question of whether the president is compromised by Russia.
In a discussion with MSNBC’s Joy Reid, Nance said until that question is answered, the United States will remain in a “national security nightmare.”
“Until all of these things are addressed, until we get some clear solid answers, this nation is a national security nightmare,” he said. “We are going to remain vulnerable until we take these issues by the horns.”
https://twitter.com/politicususa/status/1122159986501668864
Nance said:
more...
https://www.politicususa.com/2019/04/27/malcolm-nance-says-america-is-a-national-security-nightmare-each-day-trump-remains-president.html
Malcolm Nance Says America Is A 'National Security Nightmare' Each Day Trump Remains President
Posted on Sat, Apr 27th, 2019 by Sean Colarossi
Malcolm Nance Says America Is A ‘National Security Nightmare’ Each Day Trump Remains President
Counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance said that while the Mueller report investigated collusion and obstruction – and found Trump implicated in both – it largely left unanswered the question of whether the president is compromised by Russia.
In a discussion with MSNBC’s Joy Reid, Nance said until that question is answered, the United States will remain in a “national security nightmare.”
“Until all of these things are addressed, until we get some clear solid answers, this nation is a national security nightmare,” he said. “We are going to remain vulnerable until we take these issues by the horns.”
https://twitter.com/politicususa/status/1122159986501668864
Nance said:
Donald Trump himself, the one component that has never been investigated was was he compromised. No one has really looked into that. They looked into whether he colluded to a criminal conspiracy standard. But whether he was compromised, whether he owes money to Russia, whether he has some personal fealty to Vladimir Putin that we all see with our own eyes, that has never been answered. And so, until all of these things are addressed, until we get some clear solid answers, this nation is a national security nightmare. We know our information – 35 people in the White House weren’t even supposed to be cleared to let into the building. They were working there. President of the United State – best friend is a former KGB director. So again, we are going to remain vulnerable until we take these issues by the horns.
more...
https://www.politicususa.com/2019/04/27/malcolm-nance-says-america-is-a-national-security-nightmare-each-day-trump-remains-president.html
April 26, 2019
Posted on Fri, Apr 26th, 2019 by Reuters
Trump heeds NRA, decides to pull U.S. out of Obama-era U.N. arms treaty
By Roberta Rampton
INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Friday announced at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting that the United States will drop out of an international arms treaty signed in 2013 by then-President Barack Obama but opposed by the NRA and other conservative groups.
Trump told members of the gun lobby that he intends to revoke the status of the United States as a signatory of the Arms Trade Treaty, which was never ratified by the U.S. Senate.
“We’re taking our signature back,” Trump said to thousands of cheering attendees, many wearing red hats emblazoned with the Republican president’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
The NRA has long opposed the treaty which regulates the $70 billion business in conventional arms and seeks to keep weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers. The lobbying group argues it would undermine domestic gun rights, a view the Obama administration rejected.
Trump added that the United Nations will soon receive formal notice of the withdrawal.
The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the treaty in April 2013 and the United States, the world’s No. 1 arms exporter, voted in favor of it despite fierce opposition from the NRA.
more...
https://www.politicususa.com/2019/04/26/trump-heeds-nra-decides-to-pull-u-s-out-of-obama-era-u-n-arms-treaty.html
Trump heeds NRA, decides to pull U.S. out of Obama-era U.N. arms treaty
Posted on Fri, Apr 26th, 2019 by Reuters
Trump heeds NRA, decides to pull U.S. out of Obama-era U.N. arms treaty
By Roberta Rampton
INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Friday announced at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting that the United States will drop out of an international arms treaty signed in 2013 by then-President Barack Obama but opposed by the NRA and other conservative groups.
Trump told members of the gun lobby that he intends to revoke the status of the United States as a signatory of the Arms Trade Treaty, which was never ratified by the U.S. Senate.
“We’re taking our signature back,” Trump said to thousands of cheering attendees, many wearing red hats emblazoned with the Republican president’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
The NRA has long opposed the treaty which regulates the $70 billion business in conventional arms and seeks to keep weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers. The lobbying group argues it would undermine domestic gun rights, a view the Obama administration rejected.
Trump added that the United Nations will soon receive formal notice of the withdrawal.
The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the treaty in April 2013 and the United States, the world’s No. 1 arms exporter, voted in favor of it despite fierce opposition from the NRA.
more...
https://www.politicususa.com/2019/04/26/trump-heeds-nra-decides-to-pull-u-s-out-of-obama-era-u-n-arms-treaty.html
April 26, 2019
The health care industry is betting on Joe Biden in its war against Medicare-for-all
I hope Joe disappoints them all.
The health care industry is betting on Joe Biden in its war against Medicare-for-all
By Dylan Scott@dylanlscottdylan.scott@vox.com Apr 26, 2019, 10:20am EDT
The health care industry is happy to see Joe Biden jumping into the Democratic presidential race, hoping he can be a bulwark against their true 2020 opponent: Medicare-for-all.
Many of the top Democratic primary candidates have embraced Bernie Sanders’s Medicare-for-all plan, which would essentially eliminate private health insurance.
Biden hasn’t. He also hasn’t rolled out his health care platform, as Vox’s Sarah Kliff recently wrote, but he seems likely to present a center-left alternative to single-payer.
“I’ve definitely had clients ask, where is Biden?” said Kim Monk, the managing director at Capital Alpha, which advises Wall Street investors from Washington, DC. “He’s basically an establishment candidate and would be much more in tune to building on what’s there as opposed to coming in and destroying what’s there and starting over.”
One analyst told investors amid a mild market freakout over single-payer the other day, as Axios reported: “How could the news get better? Biden wins the Democratic nomination without changing his current view against single payer.”
more...
https://www.vox.com/2019/4/26/18515699/joe-biden-2020-presidential-campaign-medicare-for-all
April 26, 2019
https://politicalwire.com/2019/04/26/bonus-quote-of-the-day-1139/
Bonus Quote of the Day
April 26, 2019 at 1:52 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard
"If he looks young and vibrant compared to me, I should probably go home."
https://politicalwire.com/2019/04/26/bonus-quote-of-the-day-1139/
Bonus Quote of the Day
April 26, 2019 at 1:52 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard
“If he looks young and vibrant compared to me, I should probably go home.”
— Joe Biden, quoted by NBC News, responding to President Trump’s suggestion that Biden is too old to be president.
— Joe Biden, quoted by NBC News, responding to President Trump’s suggestion that Biden is too old to be president.
April 26, 2019
The Washington Post
Rosenstein fires back at critics over Mueller report
Philip Bump, Devlin Barrett
9 hrs ago
NEW YORK —Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein hit back hard against politicians and the press Thursday night, and warned that hacking and social media manipulation are “only the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to Russian efforts to influence American elections.
Speaking at the Public Servants Dinner of the Armenian Bar Association, Rosenstein unleashed his sharpest critique yet of those who have attacked his handling of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigative report into Russian election interference and President Trump’s conduct.
Rosenstein’s speech, probably one of his last as a senior Justice Department official, marked his first public comments since the release of the report, and he did not hold back in discussing his tumultuous two years as the No. 2 at the Justice Department. During that time, he was castigated by both Republicans and Democrats for a variety of decisions. In the speech, Rosenstein reflected on his time on the job, spoke positively of Trump’s commitment to the rule of law and criticized the press.
He also said that, even after the Mueller report documented Russian interference in the 2016 election, that is only a small part of the story.
more...
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rosenstein-fires-back-at-critics-over-mueller-report/ar-BBWiMKg?ocid=sf
Rosenstein fires back at critics over Mueller report
The Washington Post
Rosenstein fires back at critics over Mueller report
Philip Bump, Devlin Barrett
9 hrs ago
NEW YORK —Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein hit back hard against politicians and the press Thursday night, and warned that hacking and social media manipulation are “only the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to Russian efforts to influence American elections.
Speaking at the Public Servants Dinner of the Armenian Bar Association, Rosenstein unleashed his sharpest critique yet of those who have attacked his handling of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigative report into Russian election interference and President Trump’s conduct.
Rosenstein’s speech, probably one of his last as a senior Justice Department official, marked his first public comments since the release of the report, and he did not hold back in discussing his tumultuous two years as the No. 2 at the Justice Department. During that time, he was castigated by both Republicans and Democrats for a variety of decisions. In the speech, Rosenstein reflected on his time on the job, spoke positively of Trump’s commitment to the rule of law and criticized the press.
He also said that, even after the Mueller report documented Russian interference in the 2016 election, that is only a small part of the story.
“The bottom line is, there was overwhelming evidence that Russian operatives hacked American computers and defrauded American citizens, and that is only the tip of the iceberg of a comprehensive Russian strategy to influence elections, promote social discord, and undermine America, just like they do in many other countries,” Rosenstein said.
more...
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rosenstein-fires-back-at-critics-over-mueller-report/ar-BBWiMKg?ocid=sf
April 26, 2019
https://politicalwire.com/2019/04/25/gop-at-peace-with-doing-nothing-on-muellers-findings/
GOP at Peace with Doing Nothing on Mueller’s Findings
April 25, 2019 at 7:26 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard
GOP at Peace with Doing Nothing on Mueller's Findings
https://politicalwire.com/2019/04/25/gop-at-peace-with-doing-nothing-on-muellers-findings/
GOP at Peace with Doing Nothing on Mueller’s Findings
April 25, 2019 at 7:26 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard
“Senate Republicans see the special counsel’s report — with its stark evidence that President Trump repeatedly impeded the investigation into Russian election interference — as a summons for collective inaction.” the New York Times reports.
“Only Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, called out the president’s behavior as ‘sickening.’ … Yet no Republican, not even Mr. Romney, a political brand-name who does not face his state’s voters until 2022, has pressed for even a cursory inquiry into the findings by the special counsel, Robert Mueller.”
“Only Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, called out the president’s behavior as ‘sickening.’ … Yet no Republican, not even Mr. Romney, a political brand-name who does not face his state’s voters until 2022, has pressed for even a cursory inquiry into the findings by the special counsel, Robert Mueller.”
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