October 1, 2017

WH budget chief: 'Detailed analysis' of tax plan not yet possible

Source: The Hill



BY MALLORY SHELBOURNE - 10/01/17 09:35 AM EDT

White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney in a Sunday interview dismissed criticism of the Republican tax plan, saying it is not yet complete.

In an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union,” host Jake Tapper asked Mulvaney if he could say how the plan will benefit the wealthiest Americans.

“No, in fact, I don’t think anybody can. And anybody who says they can is simply lying to you,” Mulvaney said. “Why is that? It’s because the bill is not finished yet.” Mulvaney emphasized that the plan rolled out last week by President Trump and congressional Republcans is “a framework.”

“I’ve seen the criticism and all I can tell you is that no one can make real detailed analysis of the plan yet because it is not finished,” he said.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/353303-white-house-budget-chief-no-one-can-analyze-tax-plan-because-its-not

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Mulvaney: Price's travel was legal, but question is if it was right


White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney explained on Sunday the investigations into former Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price's use of private jets for government business, saying the travel was legal, but ethical questions remain.

"My guess is, and there's a couple of ongoing investigations into a couple of different agencies right now, we'll find out that all of this travel was entirely legal. The question is whether or not it's right, and I think that's the lens the president wants to look at this travel through, not just whether or not it follows the law," Mulvaney told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday."

Mulvaney's comments come after the White House issued a memo to members of President Trump's Cabinet on Friday outlining rules for travel after Price resigned on Friday over backlash for his expensive travel habits.

Price was not the only Cabinet member under fire for his travel on government business.

more
http://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/353304-mulvaney-prices-travel-was-legal-but-question-is-if-it-was-right

October 1, 2017

Republicans ignore Trump's bipartisan Dreamers deal

House GOP lawmakers insist that wall funding should be part of any immigration talks.

By RACHAEL BADE and HEATHER CAYGLE 10/01/2017 06:58 AM EDT

President Donald Trump may want to partner with “Chuck and Nancy” on a solution for Dreamers, but House Republicans say forget it — at least for now.

GOP leaders are resisting Trump’s push to salvage the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals initiative with bipartisan cooperation. Instead, at the behest of a conservative conference that loathes the Obama-era program giving work permits to young undocumented immigrants, Republicans are crafting a solution that sticks to party orthodoxy.

A GOP working group formed by Speaker Paul Ryan held two meetings last week to discuss immigration, and sources say there was virtually no support among members for Trump’s tentative DACA deal with Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.

Multiple House GOP sources told POLITICO that Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico must be part of any discussion about DACA. That would completely contradict the accord struck by the president and Democratic leaders, in which undocumented youth would get relief in exchange for enhanced border security but not a dime in wall funding.

more
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/01/dreamers-house-gop-border-wall-trump-immigration-243311

October 1, 2017

Trump Is Making Canada Great Again

While America closes its borders, its northern neighbor is poaching some of the best tech talent in the world.

By RICHARD FLORIDA and JOSHUA GANS October 01, 2017

It’s no secret that the United States has long dominated cutting-edge technologies, from personal computers and biotech to smartphones and social media. One big reason: America’s track record of attracting global talent, like the Scottish-born steel magnate Andrew Carnegie or the Hungarian-born Andrew Grove, a pioneer in the semiconductor industry, or, more recently, Google’s Sergey Brin—and many other entrepreneurs in between and afterward.

But that edge may be disappearing thanks to the new president. Just eight months into office, President Donald Trump has moved to cut legal immigration by half over the next decade, increase security along the border, build a wall with Mexico, ban travel indefinitely from several countries and overturn DACA, the Obama-era policy that grants work permits to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as minors. The Trump administration has also suggested limiting “startup visas” for high-tech entrepreneurs entering the United States, and massively cutting America’s funding for scientific research. Trump’s aggressive “America first” posture on trade and international diplomacy has transformed the United States into something of a pariah nation, out of touch with the basic norms and values of advanced democracies.

Trump might see these proposals as part of his core political agenda to prioritize Americans and their jobs, and make the United States “great again.” But, while America turns inward, another country stands to benefit: Canada.

Why? It’s not just that Canada has opened centers for refugees streaming over the border from the United States, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau personally welcoming some of them to the country. Canada is specifically recruiting the skilled, ambitious talent that drives innovation and economic growth, including top thinkers and workers in technology and industry. Canadian universities—which rank among the world’s best in fields like computer science, electrical and computer engineering, and artificial intelligence—are aggressively recruiting foreign students, who in turn are matriculating in Canada at higher levels than before Trump’s election. And Canadian cities—particularly Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, which rate among the best places in the world to live—are attracting more venture capital to fund the tech industry, on par with American tech hubs like Seattle and Austin.



more
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/01/donad-trump-making-canada-great-again-215651

October 1, 2017

Seth Moulton -- who? -- plants his flag in Iowa

By James Pindell GLOBE STAFF SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

DES MOINES — Eight days after a wedding, most newlyweds are still on their honeymoon. Not US Representative Seth Moulton, who instead found himself in Iowa Saturday — without his wife — learning to flip a fried steak.

He also just might have been laying the groundwork to run for president of the United States.

“You’re probably asking yourself what on earth a sophomore congressman from Massachusetts is doing here,” Moulton told hundreds of Democratic activists gathered in a field at the sprawling Water Works Park.

“To be honest, giving a political speech in Iowa is just about the last place I would have expected to find myself when I was . . . in Iraq a few years ago,” Moulton said, referring to his service as a Marine Corps officer.

“The answer to all those questions is simple: It’s the right thing to do. Because we can do better, and we need to do better.”

Iowa’s annual steak fry, sponsored by the Polk County Democrats, is a unique institution in US politics. The photo-op at the grill and the keynote speech have been traditional first stops for future Democratic presidential candidates, from Bill Clinton to Al Gore to Barack Obama to Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

more
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/09/30/seth-moulton-who-plants-his-flag-iowa/k3JxytV1GmgK1cGj2XEXZM/story.html

October 1, 2017

Trump Scolded Price for Two Hours

September 30, 2017 at 5:36 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard

President Trump “berated” Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price “in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon for about two hours before heading out to meet with reporters, according to people informed about the meeting,” the New York Times reports.

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https://politicalwire.com/2017/09/30/trump-scolded-price-two-hours/

October 1, 2017

Pelosi: 'We didn't win the elections, but we've won every fight'

Source: The Hill




BY REBECCA SAVRANSKY - 10/01/17 08:16 AM EDT

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a new interview that Democrats have been successful in "every fight" since President Trump was elected.

During an interview for The New York Times' podcast "The New Washington," Pelosi explained the reasons she stayed in her role in Congress instead of leaving the government.

She said she expected Hillary Clinton to become president. "We’d have a woman president and so there would be a woman not at a seat at the table, but at the head of the table for the world,” she said.

“We wanted to have a woman president,” she continued. “But when we didn’t, then I couldn’t walk away and say, OK, just let all the men have the seats at the table that are making decisions for our country.”

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/353294-pelosi-we-didnt-win-the-elections-but-weve-won-every-fight

October 1, 2017

Trump Goes After 'Politically Motivated Ingrates' on Twitter for Criticizing Puerto Rico Response

Source: Mediaite




by Josh Feldman | 8:42 am, October 1st, 2017

President Trump is back on Twitter this morning slamming the people criticizing his response to the crisis in Puerto Rico.

After slamming the “fake news” and the mayor of San Juan yesterday, the President today tweeted that the criticism is coming from “politically motivated ingrates”:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/914465475777695744
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/914466534365569025
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/914467502251528192


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Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/online/trump-goes-after-politically-motivated-ingrates-on-twitter-for-criticizing-puerto-rico-response/

October 1, 2017

Defiant Catalans vote on split from Spain despite crackdown

Source: Reuters




#WORLD NEWS OCTOBER 1, 2017 / 12:04 AM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Spanish riot police burst into polling stations across Catalonia on Sunday confiscating ballot boxes and voting papers to try to halt a banned referendum on a split from Spain as Madrid asserted its authority over the rebel region.

Police broke down doors to force entry into voting stations as defiant Catalans shouted ‘Out with the occupying forces!” and sang the anthem of the wealthy northeastern region. In one incident in Barcelona, police fired rubber bullets.

The referendum, declared illegal by Spain’s central government, has thrown the country into its worst constitutional crisis in decades and deepened a centuries-old rift between Madrid and Barcelona.

Despite the police action, hundreds-strong queues of people formed in cities and villages throughout the region to cast their votes. At one Barcelona polling station, elderly people and those with children entered first.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-politics-catalonia/defiant-catalans-vote-on-split-from-spain-despite-crackdown-idUSKCN1C60YA

October 1, 2017

A Notorious, Seth Rich-Conspiracy Pushing, Lobbyist Troll is Paying Folks To Protest the DNC

Jack Burkman really should not be taken seriously. We’re not even sure why we wrote this article. But you should read it.

ASAWIN SUEBSAENG

10.01.17 12:00 AM ET

A professional right-wing troll is trying to lure people to join his protest against the Democratic National Committee in October and he’s promising $15 to attendees.

Jack Burkman, a lawyer and conservative commentator who has wrongly billed himself as “one of Washington's most prominent” lobbyists, posted a Craigslist ad this month that reads: “attend a 45 minute political rally, Oct 24, 11:30am make $15, and $20 if you bring a friend.”

A source who asked not to be named said they messaged the cell phone number connected to the ad and quickly determined that the person on the other end of the conversation was Burkman. The source sent The Daily Beast screenshots of their brief conversation. "we I meet rite near the capitol," [sic] Burkman texted. "I wil pay u that day wear anything u want 5 buck more for every friend u bring."

When the respondent asked "do I need any signs," Burkman replied, “yes pls make a sign to hold up that says shame on dnc."

The source noted that the experience of texting with Burkman was like texting with a “teenage girl.”

more
http://www.thedailybeast.com/a-notorious-seth-rich-conspiracy-pushing-lobbyist-troll-is-paying-folks-to-protest-the-dnc

September 30, 2017

Gillespie wins key backing after vowing to oppose transgender bathroom bills

By Laura Vozzella September 30 at 7:00 AM

RICHMOND — Republican Ed Gillespie won the endorsement of an influential Northern Virginia business group after privately assuring members that he would oppose any bills dictating which bathrooms transgender people must use — a new promise that shocked conservative backers.

The gubernatorial candidate “vowed to oppose bills like North Carolina’s HB2 that would threaten Virginia’s reputation as an open and welcoming Commonwealth,” Jim Corcoran, president of the Northern Virginia Chamber, said in a written statement announcing the endorsement by its political action arm, NOVABIZPAC.

He was referring to North Carolina’s now-repealed law, known as HB2, mandating that transgender people use the bathroom corresponding with the sex on their birth certificates. The law faced an intense backlash, including economic boycotts and job losses, with sports leagues relocating games and companies nixing expansions.

In an interview Friday, Corcoran said Gillespie promised to oppose similar legislation two weeks ago, during a private interview with the 25-member board. He said that position factored into the board’s decision to back Gillespie over his Democratic rival, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, who has long supported LGBT rights. Corcoran said Gillespie made the vow after the board expressed concerns about HB2. “We stated that we are an open and welcoming state here, we don’t want anything that is going to persuade persons that this is not a conducive place to do business,” Corcoran said.

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/gillespie-wins-key-backing-after-vowing-to-oppose-transgender-bathroom-bills/2017/09/29/2a7eb1e8-a54c-11e7-b14f-f41773cd5a14_story.html