July 1, 2017

Joe and Mika are angry at Donald Trump now - but they've never apologized for promoting him

FRIDAY, JUN 30, 2017 06:17 PM EDT

Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are angry at Donald Trump now — but they’ve never apologized for promoting him

MSNBC's morning news duo loves bashing Trump. Why haven't they apologized for normalizing him?

MATTHEW SHEFFIELD

MSNBC’s morning news duo Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have become some of Donald Trump’s most vociferous critics in recent months. Amid all of their criticisms of him, however, they have yet to apologize for their own role in helping his presidential campaign be viewed credibly by the press and the general public.

During Friday’s episode of “Morning Joe,” Scarborough flat-out stated that Trump had somehow, magically morphed into a different person from the guy he used to know.

“The guy that’s in the White House now is not the guy we knew two years ago,” Scarborough told his panel.

“Not even close,” Brzezinski agreed.

https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/880747937671917568

“The Donald Trump we knew for the better part of 10, 12 years was always in on the joke,” Scarborough continued, saying that the future president would frequently engage in outrageous behavior but then wink and nod to signify that it was all part of the show.

“This guy is not even the same person he was a year ago,” Scarborough added, claiming to be repeating an armchair psychiatric diagnosis of a Trump insider who was worried about the president’s health.

That’s their story and they’re sticking to it. Too bad it’s completely false, at least according to Tony Schwartz, the man who wrote “The Art of the Deal” — the book that made Trump into Trump. New Yorker writer Jane Meyer quoted Schwartz in a 2016 profile that illustrates Trump has long presented himself in the same manner:

more
http://www.salon.com/2017/06/30/joe-scarborough-and-mika-brzezinski-are-angry-at-donald-trump-now-but-theyve-never-apologized-for-promoting-him/

July 1, 2017

Obamacares lasting legacy: For all its flaws, the greatest Democratic accomplishment since...

SATURDAY, JUL 1, 2017 09:00 AM EDT

Obamacare’s lasting legacy: For all its flaws, the greatest Democratic accomplishment since the days of LBJ and FDR

There's plenty to criticize in Obama's signature legislation — but there's a reason Republicans can't get past it

MATTHEW ROZSA

If nothing else, the Republicans’ repeated failure to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act – colloquially known as Obamacare — is a testament to the fact that, for the first time since Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson, Democrats had a president who was able to pass successful and lasting progressive legislation.

If Americans are going to understand the dilemma in which the GOP currently finds itself, it will thus be helpful for left-wing Democrats to learn from what Obama and other productive Democratic presidents like him have done right.

This isn’t to say that the ACA is a perfect bill. As Steven Rosenfeld of AlterNet pointed out in 2015, “Obamacare is not the long-sought dream of universal health care — a right, not a privilege or a profit center.” Like most major domestic legislation, the ACA is a complex behemoth of a law, and as a result it is easy for those inclined to criticize it to find faults that justify their preconceptions.

Yet the bottom line is that America is a better place to live because the ACA was passed. It has expanded insurance coverage to roughly 20 million Americans, lowered costs for the 57 million Americans who use Medicare and made it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage based on preexisting conditions or increase charges for the sick. There are literally millions of people whose lives have been improved, and almost certainly lengthened, because of the law passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in 2010.

more
http://www.salon.com/2017/07/01/obamacares-lasting-legacy-for-all-its-flaws-the-greatest-democratic-accomplishment-since-the-days-of-lbj-and-fdr/

July 1, 2017

NYT's Maggie Haberman Chides Scarborough: 'Everybody Finds This Funny Until It's Aimed at Them'

by Josh Feldman | 9:26 pm, June 30th, 2017

Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are on the receiving end of President Trump‘s ire this week, but New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman recalled tonight when Scarborough laughed at Trump’s mockery of her colleague Serge Kovaleski.

Kovaleski, you may remember, is the disabled reporter Trump mocked in November 2015, during his presidential campaign.

Most cable news observers are aware that Scarborough and Brzezinski’s feelings about the President have evolved over time. And Haberman pointed out to Anderson Cooper on CNN tonight that Trump, well, has not:

<< “Everyone has a habit with Trump in particular of… trying to act as if he has not been this way the whole time––he has been this way for two years… In fact, I remember back to November 2015 when he mocked my colleague Serge Kovaleski, appeared to do it physically over a movement restriction that Serge was born with, and I saw that video aired on Morning Joe. And I don’t think that Joe Scarborough knew that there was a physical impairment at issue, but Joe Scarborough was laughing at that video of Trump mocking somebody. And so I think everybody finds this funny until it’s aimed at them.” >>

And yes, in case you’re wondering, Haberman is correct. Scarborough did indeed laugh about it.

Video at link, below:

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http://www.mediaite.com/tv/nyts-maggie-haberman-chides-scarborough-everybody-finds-this-funny-until-its-aimed-at-them/

July 1, 2017

Corey Lewandowski: Trump Is the 'Ernest Hemingway of Twitter'

by Joseph A. Wulfsohn | 11:01 pm, June 30th, 2017

On Friday night, Kimberly Guilfoyle was filling in as host of Hannity and led a panel with Charlie Hurt of The Washington Times and former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to discuss President Trump‘s ongoing battle with the media.

Hurt said that he “loved” that Trump laid out the sequence of events on Twitter regarding MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski and their visit to Mar-a-Lago around New Years but did admit that these feuds “trample on his message.”

“I don’t blame the guy,” Hurt continued. “If I had his vicious wit and his ability to tweet things out like that and destroy my enemies, I probably would do it too.”

Guilfoyle called Trump a “verbal jiu jitsu artist” and a “slayer.”

Lewandowski reacted.

“He’s the Ernest Hemingway of Twitter,” he said with a smile, causing Guilfoyle and Hurt to chuckle. “We’ve seen it many times,” Lewandowski elaborated. “He’s taken down his opponents on Twitter many times. You can ask Little Marco or Lyin’ Ted or Crooked Hillary… or Low-Energy Jeb, we all know the names.”

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/corey-lewandowski-trump-is-the-ernest-hemingway-of-twitter/

July 1, 2017

UPDATED - Trump Rants About Joe and Mika Again on Twitter

Source: The Daily Beast

President Trump embarked on his latest Twitter tirade on Saturday morning, targeting CNN for its “garbage journalism,” reiterating claims of voter fraud, and bashing NBC hosts Joe Scarborough and "dumb as a rock" Mika Brzezinski for their “low rated show.” Trump also commented on Greta Van Susteren’s reported ouster at MSNBC, saying the host was “let go by her out of control bosses at NBC and Comcast because she refused to go along w/ 'Trump hate!'” He also made a point to reiterate voter fraud claims, writing, “Numerous states are refusing to give information to the very distinguished VOTER FRAUD PANEL. What are they trying to hide?”

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/881138485905772549
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/881140479454310401
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/881137079958241280

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Read more: http://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-rants-about-joe-and-mika-again-on-twitter

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UPDATE:

Trump: MSNBC Fired Greta Van Susteren Because She Wouldn’t Go Along With ‘Trump Hate’

by Justin Baragona | 10:19 am, July 1st, 2017

The president has been quite busy on Twitter this Saturday morning, as is his habit. Besides continuing his feud with Morning Joe hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, POTUS also decided to weigh in on a recent move by MSNBC.

As you may recall, the network let go of host Greta Van Susteren on Thursday after only six months, something she first revealed on Twitter. Well, the president noted that he’s been hearing things about why Greta was dumped:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/881135264441257984

While one can make the case that Van Susteren wasn’t as anti-Trump as many of the other hosts in the MSNBC lineup, she did speak critically of the president’s actions from time to time. Memorably, after Trump sent some tweets out stating that he never personally taped conversations with ex-FBI Director James Comey, Van Susteren tore into POTUS for his original “tapes” tweet, stating that it appeared he was trying to intimidate a witness.

Prior to her short-lived stint at MSNBC, Van Susteren hosted a program on Fox News for 14 years where she interviewed then-candidate Trump. Before that, she worked for CNN.

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http://www.mediaite.com/online/trump-msnbc-fired-greta-van-susteren-because-she-wouldnt-go-along-with-trump-hate/

July 1, 2017

Democratic Senate staffers are mostly white and women, new report says

By Ed O'Keefe June 30 at 8:51 PM

People working for Democratic senators are overwhelmingly white and mostly women, according to a first-of-its-kind report on diversity in some congressional offices.

The current Congress is the most diverse in history, with more minority lawmakers than ever before and a record 21 women in the U.S. Senate. But a cadre of current and former congressional staffers, lobbyists and party donors have been pressuring congressional leaders — especially Democrats — to intensify the search for minorities to fill jobs on Capitol Hill and in district offices nationwide.

Responding to the pressure, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) released a report Friday that confirms what staffers and outside observers long believed: Despite having 16 women in the caucus and more minority senators than ever, Democratic Senate staffing is overwhelmingly white.

Thirty-two percent of staffers are “non-Caucasian,” defined as African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Latino, Native American or Middle Eastern/North African, according to the report. Fifty-four percent of staffers are women; 46 percent are men.

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/democratic-senate-staffers-are-mostly-white-and-women-new-report-says/2017/06/30/1cdcf5d6-5db2-11e7-a9f6-7c3296387341_story.html

July 1, 2017

Hong Kong residents march to defend freedom as China's president draws a 'red line'

Source: The Washington Post



By Simon Denyer July 1 at 7:48 AM

HONG KONG — Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents marched through the streets in defense of their cherished freedoms Saturday, in the face of what many see as a growing threat from mainland China, exactly two decades after the handover from British rule.

Earlier in the day, China’s president, Xi Jinping, marked the 20th anniversary of the handover with his sternest warning yet to the territory’s people: You can have autonomy, but don’t do anything that challenges the authority of the central government or undermines national sovereignty.

Under the terms of the 1997 handover, China promised to grant Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years, but Xi said it was important to have a “correct understanding” of the relationship between one country and two systems.

“One country is like the roots of a tree,” he told Hong Kong’s elite after swearing in a new chief executive to govern the territory, Carrie Lam. “For a tree to grow and flourish, its roots must run deep and strong. The concept of one country, two systems was advanced first and foremost to realize and uphold national sovereignty.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/chinas-president-tells-hong-kong-not-to-cross-red-line-by-challenging-beijing/2017/07/01/fa6f3860-5c17-11e7-aa69-3964a7d55207_story.html

July 1, 2017

Joe Arpaio learns that he is not above the law - by the WaPo Editorial Board

THE ESSENCE of Joe Arpaio’s long reign as sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa County, whose 4 million residents in and around Phoenix make it one of the nation’s biggest localities, was lawlessness masquerading as law enforcement. Blatant racial profiling, inhumane treatment of prisoners and contempt for federal court orders — this was the stuff on which Mr. Arpaio staked his relentlessly self-promoted reputation as “America’s toughest sheriff.”

Now Mr. Arpaio, who lost a reelection bid for a seventh term in the fall after voters tired of shelling out tens of millions of dollars in legal fees on his behalf, is facing a day of reckoning. In a trial that began Monday in federal court, Mr. Arpaio stands accused of criminal contempt of court for having thumbed his nose at a federal judge who ordered a halt to Mr. Arpaio’s traffic patrols, which singled out Hispanics on the basis of nothing more than their appearance, for immigration enforcement.

Lawyers for Mr. Arpaio, who is 85, have tried out an array of legal strategies in his defense, variously arguing that he did not understand the order , or that the order was ambiguous or invalid. His supporters argue that the entire case is a political vendetta orchestrated by holdovers from the Obama administration in the Justice Department.

Unfortunately for the sheriff, the most damning evidence against him are the words he himself uttered, unambiguously, after U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow, in December 2011, ordered his office to halt detentions based on nothing more than suspicion that a person might be in violation of federal immigration law. “I’m still gonna do what I’m doing,” Mr. Arpaio told the media in April 2012 . “I’m still gonna arrest illegal aliens.”

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/joe-arpaio-learns-that-he-is-not-above-the-law/2017/06/30/3f16c8a4-5c43-11e7-9b7d-14576dc0f39d_story.html

July 1, 2017

President Trump, Melting Under Criticism - by the NYT Editorial Board

Maybe we should all take a moment to feel a little sorry for Donald Trump, who reacted to criticism on Thursday by tweeting a stream of coarse insults at the television journalist Mika Brzezinski.

After all, he so clearly lacks the toughness of George Washington, who once privately observed that his critics’ “arrows … never can reach the most vulnerable part of me.” He lacks the confidence of Dwight Eisenhower, who said, when asked if he thought his press coverage was fair, “Well, when you come down to it, I don’t see what a reporter could do much to a president, do you?”

And — are we really about to write this sentence? — Mr. Trump lacks the grace Richard Nixon showed, at least in public. At the height of Watergate in late 1973, Mr. Nixon blurted at a news conference, “I have never heard or seen such outrageous, vicious, distorted reporting in 27 years of public life.” Yet he added, “I am not blaming anybody for that. Perhaps what happened is that what we did brought it about.”

Mr. Trump may be a more tender soul, or less resilient. In any case, he can’t seem to take the heat.

Probably no one in the world draws as much scrutiny and criticism — even mockery — as an American president, and each president understandably chafes. But for Mr. Trump, every barb seems to hit home, and he vengefully attacks his tormentors in full view of the world.

more
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/30/opinion/president-trump-melting-under-criticism.html

July 1, 2017

Salary Data Show Gender Pay Gap in Trump White House

Female office staffers are making 80 cents on the dollar, on average

Posted Jun 30, 2017 7:03 PM
Sean McMinn
@Sean McMinn

Ivanka Trump’s voluntary $0 salary at the White House has been widely reported, but she’s not the only woman making less than her male colleagues there.

The annual report to Congress from the Executive Office of the President, released Friday, shows that women earn an average of $84,500, compared to $105,000 for men, according a Roll Call analysis of the salary data. That means female office staffers at the White House are making, on average, 80 percent of what their male colleagues make.

When calculating the averages, Roll Call omitted the three employees who are taking no salary, including the president’s daughter, her husband Jared Kushner, and a former Baltimore real estate developer.

That gap between women and men in the White House Office lines up closely with the Pew Research Center’s most recent statistics on gender pay disparity in the American workforce, where women earn 83 percent of men’s median hourly earnings.

more
http://www.rollcall.com/news/salary-data-show-gender-pay-gap-in-trump-white-house