DonViejo
DonViejo's JournalTrump On Planned Parenthood: 'At The Appropriate Time Things Will Happen'
By ESME CRIBB Published MAY 2, 2017 6:31 PM
President Donald Trump gave few details about how he plans to defund Planned Parenthood in an interview aired Tuesday, saying only that “at the appropriate time, things will happen” to fulfill his campaign pledge.
“Some people on the conservative right are saying, well, there’s some funding for Planned Parenthood in this continuing resolution that’s going to fund the government through September,” Fox News’ Eric Bolling said to Trump.
“That’s right, because it was a continuance,” Trump replied. “I said I wouldn’t fund Planned Parenthood and at the appropriate time, things will happen.” He did not specify what those things might be or when they will happen.
Lawmakers on Sunday reached an agreement on a measure to fund the federal government through September. Congress is expected to vote on the bill, which would also ensure federal funding for Planned Parenthood until then, early this week.
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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-on-defunding-planned-parenthood-things-will-happen
Sen. Grassley Doubts FBI's 'Objectivity' in Russia Probe
Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley on Wednesday blasted the FBI over a perceived lack of objectivity in conducting its investigations. “A cloud of doubt hangs over the FBI’s objectivity,” Grassley said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, referring specifically to the hiring of a top official who had connections to Vriginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a confidante of the Clintons. Grassley, the chairman of the committee, said there was an “obvious appearance of conflict” in the separate probes into Hillary Clinton’s private email server and Russian meddling in the 2016 election. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump tweeted that Comey “was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds.”
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2017/05/03/sen-grassley-doubts-fbi-s-objectivity-in-russia-probe?via=desktop&source=copyurl
The Daily 202: How Nancy Pelosi kept Democrats united behind Obamacare
By James Hohmann May 3 at 10:17 AM
THE BIG IDEA: An uncovered dynamic in the current health care fight is the degree to which congressional Democrats have held together in unified opposition.
There are 10 Democratic senators and a dozen House members up for reelection next year in places Donald Trump carried. Not one has defected to support the GOP effort to unravel Obamacare or even gone wobbly. House Republicans, who voted in unison dozens of times to repeal the law when they knew it was just for show, are now the ones struggling to get on the same page.
The complexion of the House Democratic caucus has changed, as Blue Dogs got wiped out and the base of the party moved to the left. Of the 34 Democrats who voted against the Affordable Care Act when it passed in 2010, only three remain: Collin Peterson of Minnesota, Daniel Lipinski of Illinois and Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts. Each is against the GOP push to undo the law.
We take this unity for granted because of how effectively Republican leaders held their rank-and-file together against even the most popular elements of Barack Obama’s agenda. Just as tea party activists enforced this discipline from the right under the last president, the so-called Resistance movement now demands the same lock-step opposition from the left.
more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2017/05/03/daily-202-how-nancy-pelosi-kept-democrats-united-behind-obamacare/5909359be9b69b3a72331f18/
For Democrats, Obama's Wall Street Payday Sends The Wrong Signal - Gene Lyons
Gene Lyons
For Democrats, Obama’s Wall Street Payday Sends The Wrong Signal
May 3, 2017 7:00 am
I am not a member of any organized party — I am a Democrat. –Will Rogers, 1935
Never mind that at a rally in Harrisburg, PA, the president of the United States recently delivered what former George W. Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson described as “arguably the most hate-filled presidential communication in modern history.” Or that Donald J. Trump’s old pals on MSNBC’s Morning Joe are suggesting that the great man shows signs of senile dementia and needs a neurological workup.
Gee, no kidding.
Never mind too that Alabama Republican congressman Mo Brooks has suggested (also on MSNBC) that people with pre-existing medical conditions are morally deficient and deserve to pay much higher health insurance premiums than right-living specimens like himself. It’s tempting to observe that when you’ve said “Alabama Republican congressman,” you’ve said it all.
Even so, like any proper Democrat, I find myself distracted by party infighting. Not that I’ve ever actually participated in a political campaign. However, readers may not be shocked to learn that I normally vote Democratic.
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http://www.nationalmemo.com/obamas-wall-street-payday-wrong-signal/
Mulvaney: House May Vote On Health Care 'As Early As Saturday'
Source: Talking Points Memo
By MATT SHUHAM Published MAY 3, 2017 10:07 AM
White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney was bullish on the chances of Republicans’ health care bill Wednesday, saying he expected a House vote on the bill as early as Saturday.
In an interview with “Fox and Friends,” Mulvaney said a reported amendment from Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), which would increase funding individuals with pre-existing conditions, could swing moderate Republican votes.
“What I heard this morning driving into work was that Mr. Upton will be offering an amendment, I think today, that will tweak the funding in such a fashion that may bring the moderates over,” he said. “So you may be seeing a breakthrough this morning on the health care bill on the Hill and you may see a vote, I don’t know, as early as Saturday.
Upton announced Tuesday that he could not support the Obamacare repeal effort if the replacement bill stripped Obamacare’s pricing protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions. President Donald Trump will meet with Upton and Rep. Billy Long (R-MO), another prominent “no” vote, on Wednesday, Long told CNN.
Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/mulvaney-health-care-vote-as-early-saturday
Roger Stone criticized Sean Hannity's 'insane effort' to get White House job
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES
03 MAY 2017 AT 07:52 ET
President Donald Trump’s former adviser Roger Stone accused Fox News host Sean Hannity and recently ousted Fox News co-president Bill Shine via Twitter Tuesday of blocking him from Fox News because he stopped Hannity from becoming the White House Chief of Staff.
Despite Hannity's pro-Trump stance and Stone's long time relationship with the president, it appeared Stone does not consider himself a fan of the Fox News host. In a pair of tweets, the political strategist accused the Fox host and former Fox News co-president of blocking him from the network because he stopped Hannity from getting a White House job.
Stone wrote in one of his tweets: “Sean Hannity and his lackey Bill Shine blocked me from Fox because I blocked Sean's insane effort to become @realDonaldTrump WH COS.”
Hannity responded to both his tweets saying: “I NEVER EVER ASKED to be considered for any WH job.”
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http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/roger-stone-criticized-sean-hannitys-insane-effort-to-get-white-house-job/
Poll: Voters resist pre-existing condition opt-out
Source: Politico
By STEVEN SHEPARD 05/03/17 06:20 AM EDT
When it comes to overhauling the Affordable Care Act, there's one thing voters in both parties can agree on: They oppose weakening federal protections for those with pre-existing medical conditions.
A new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll shows resistance to the new measure’s most controversial provision, with half of all voters opposing allowing states to decide whether to opt-out of requiring health insurance companies to cover Americans with pre-existing conditions. It's a key offering from GOP House leadership to conservatives wary that the party’s previous Obamacare replacement didn’t go far enough in unwinding the law.
Only 38 percent of voters surveyed support allowing states to opt-out of these protections — a figure that underscores the struggle House Republicans and President Donald Trump are having in corralling votes from GOP members who represent districts that lean toward Democrats or are evenly divided.
Despite the sharp partisan divide over the bill — with some centrist Republicans joining the entire Democratic conference in opposition — there is little difference by party in the poll on state exemptions for pre-existing conditions. More voters in both parties oppose those exemptions than support them. "Fifty-two percent of Democrats and 48 percent of Republicans oppose allowing states to opt-out of requiring insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions," said Kyle Dropp, Morning Consult's co-founder and chief research officer. "In this polarized political climate, this is one issue where Democrats and Republicans largely agree."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/03/obamacare-repeal-preexisting-conditions-237902
New York Times swings to profit as digital subscriptions rise
Wed May 3, 2017 | 8:49am EDT
The New York Times Co (NYT.N) swung to a quarterly profit from a loss a year earlier, as the newspaper publisher benefited from higher digital subscriptions that offset falling print sales.
Net income attributable to the company was $13.2 million or 8 cents per share in the first quarter of 2017, compared with a loss of $8.3 million or 5 cents per share, a year earlier.
"We added an astonishing 308,000 net digital news subscriptions, making Q1 the single best quarter for subscriber growth in our history," Chief Executive Mark Thompson said in a statement.
Revenue rose 5.1 percent to $398.8 million.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-times-results-idUSKBN17Z1E0?il=0
Exclusive: U.S. senators seek sanctions, other ways to address Venezuela crisis
Source: Reuters
Wed May 3, 2017 | 7:06am EDT
By Patricia Zengerle | WASHINGTON
An influential group of Republican and Democratic U.S. senators will file sweeping legislation on Wednesday to address the crisis in Venezuela, including sanctioning individuals responsible for undermining democracy or involved in corruption, Senate aides said.
The bill would provide $10 million in humanitarian aid to the struggling country, require the State Department to coordinate a regional effort to ease the crisis, and ask U.S. intelligence to report on the involvement of Venezuelan government officials in corruption and the drug trade, according to a copy seen by Reuters.
It also calls on President Donald Trump to take all necessary steps to prevent Rosneft, Russia's state oil company, from gaining control of any U.S. energy infrastructure.
Rosneft has been gaining ground in Venezuela as the country scrambles for cash. The Venezuelan state oil company, PDVSA, last year used 49.9 percent of its shares in its U.S. subsidiary, Citgo, as collateral for loan financing by Rosneft.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-usa-congress-exclusive-idUSKBN17Z13Z
Former GOP House intel chairman: Russian election hacking was 'wildly successful'
Source: Reuters
03 MAY 2017 AT 09:04 ET
Russia succeeded in its goals of sowing discord in U.S. politics by meddling in the 2016 presidential election, which will likely inspire similar future efforts, two top former U.S. voices on intelligence said on Tuesday.
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers agreed at a panel at Harvard University that Russia likely believed it had achieved its goals and could attempt to repeat its performance in elections in other countries.
“Their purpose was to sew discontent and mistrust in our elections they wanted us to be at each others’ throat when it was over,” Rogers said at the panel at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. “It’s influencing, I would say, legislative process today. That’s wildly successful.”
Congressional committees have been investigating the issue since U.S. intelligence agencies in January concluded Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered hacking of Democratic political groups to sway the election toward Republican Donald Trump. Moscow has denied any such meddling and Trump has been dismissive of the intelligence suggesting Russian involvement.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-idUSKBN17Y2ON?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5909650204d3016e88e9ba3a&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
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Name: DonGender: Male
Hometown: Massachusetts
Home country: United States
Member since: Sat Sep 1, 2012, 03:28 PM
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