May 17, 2017

Issa Flips Off Reporter

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), when asked about the news by a Politico reporter, looked her in the eye, gave her the middle finger and walked away.


http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/16/trump-comey-flynn-shutdown-238467

May 16, 2017

Unnamed Democratic senators meeting with Republicans to discuss health care.

About a dozen senators from both parties met Monday evening to discuss the opportunity for a bipartisan approach to health care policy. The meeting was spearheaded by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Susan Collins (R-ME), who have worked on an Obamacare replacement bill together.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) was spotted heading into the meeting, and Collins estimated that another two or three other Democrats were present, though she would not reveal their identities. Among the Republicans seen heading out of the meeting were Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK).

“I don’t know yet whether there is [a bipartisan path forward on health care],” Collins, who was joined by Cassidy, told reporters after the meeting. “But it would be useful to invite some people to sit and talk about ideas and talk about whether it would be possible to come up with a bipartisan bill.”

Collins said that there were about 10 or 11 total senators in the meeting, and handful more who had been invited and were interested in going, but who were unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts.

Not much was said by members after the meeting about the policy details of what sort of bipartisan deal could be hatched on health care policy. Cassidy said his bill was discussed but that no one had necessarily had signed on and other options were worthy of consideration.


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/cassidy-collins-democrats-republicans-health-care

May 15, 2017

Former wife of Gavin Newsom reportedly on short list to join White House communications team.

President Donald Trump is reportedly considering a major shake-up in his communications department, and a Bay Area native may be part of his plans.

Following the media firestorm over the dismissal of FBI Director James Comey, the New York Times reported that Trump "blamed the bipartisan condemnation of his action on the failures of his embattled and overworked communications team."
The report furthers that Trump is "openly musing about replacing" press secretary Sean Spicer, and "has raised the Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle to allies as a possible press secretary."

Guilfoyle is currently a co-host of Fox News' "The Five," which was recently moved to the network's primetime lineup after Bill O'Reilly's departure.

The Mission native and UC Davis graduate served as San Francisco's assistant district attorney from 2000-04, and became first lady of San Francisco in 2004 when then-husband Gavin Newsom was elected mayor.


http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Trump-reportedly-considering-replacing-Spicer-11145187.php

May 14, 2017

200 members of Indivisible San Pedro form the word RESIST! Sat. at Trump National Golf Course

https://twitter.com/indivisible_sp/status/863462910097367040

May 13, 2017

If Trump is actually taping convos, the Pres Records Act requires they be archived

https://twitter.com/Dan_F_Jacobson/status/863092813533204480

May 12, 2017

Did Trump break the law if he recorded a conversation without Comey's knowledge?

I don't see anyone addressing this issue.

May 12, 2017

POTUS just threatened a private citizen over Twitter.

Let that sink in for a moment.

May 12, 2017

Trump Jr. shares tweet tying Bill Clinton aide's suicide to fired FBI director

Donald Trump Jr. shared Thursday a tweet linking former President Bill Clinton's 1993 firing of the FBI director to the death of Clinton aide Vince Foster, alluding to a far-right conspiracy theory.

"President Clinton fired his FBI director on July 19th, 1993, the day before Vince Foster was found dead in Marcy Park," the tweet said.

The supposed connection between Clinton's ousting of the FBI director and the death of his aide has long been a conspiracy theory popular among some Republicans, with the implication that Clinton was somehow involved in Foster's death.



http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/332949-trump-jr-shares-tweet-linking-death-of-vince-foster-to-ousting

May 12, 2017

Ties found between GOP lobbying firm just raided by FBI to Trump, via casino firm Penn Natl. Gaming

https://twitter.com/PersuasivePR/status/862739916920414208

May 12, 2017

Trump's Health Secretary Says Addiction Meds Are "Substituting One Opioid For Another"

On a listening tour about the opioid epidemic in West Virginia on Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price stressed the urgency of tackling the staggering overdose problem, saying "we're losing people every single day across the nation, so we don't have time to wait."

But when it came time to discuss solutions, Price contradicted guidance from his own agency by asserting that medications to treat opioid addiction are "just substituting one opioid for another." His comments about so-called medication-assisted treatments run counter to years of scientific studies finding that access to the medications, such as buprenorphine or methadone, make drug users more likely to recover.

Here's Eric Eyre of the Charlotte Gazette-Mail:

Asked about drug treatment options, Price touted faith-based programs while showing less support for medication-assisted programs in which addicts are weaned off heroin with other opioids like Suboxone and methadone.

"If we're just substituting one opioid for another, we're not moving the dial much," he said. "Folks need to be cured so they can be productive members of society and realize their dreams."

The secretary's comments directly oppose literature from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, a division of HHS. "The goal of medication-assisted treatment is to recover from addiction," reads "Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Addiction: Facts for Families and Friends." The literature goes on: "It does NOT replace one addictive drug with another. It provides a safe, controlled level of medication to overcome the use of a problem opioid."


http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/05/tom-price-opioid-addiction-treament