Sean Hannity Asked Twitter A Question. It Didn’t Go Well.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sean-hannity-twitter-question_us_58903d4fe4b02772c4e9017b?

https://twitter.com/seanhannity/status/826270280297242624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/826283302256521216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/manymanywords/status/826276159696564226?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/moonwalkmcfly/status/826277947581411328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/McLeemz/status/826274127598190592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/McLeemz/status/826290255393337348?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/david_j_roth/status/826286071893860352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

White House (Falsely) Downplays Political Adviser’s Role On NSC



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-nsc-falsehoods_us_588fc009e4b0c90efeff78e7?ebup7gho3zf5n4s4i&

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s White House on Monday defended its placement of a political adviser on the National Security Council ― and in the process falsely described the extent of the change.

Trump signed a directive on Saturday outlining the structure of the NSC and a key “Principals Committee,” a standard housekeeping step done at the start of a new administration. What made Trump’s document unprecedented, though, was the elevation of White House “chief strategist” Stephen Bannon to both groups, technically giving him more clout on national security matters than either the director of national intelligence or the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Bannon until recently was the head of Breitbart News, a web site that traffics in white nationalism. Both the nation’s top intelligence officer and military officer are no longer permanent members of the Principals Committee, as they were under President Barack Obama.

“Putting Bannon there? That’s different,” said Eliot Cohen, a State Department official under Bush and a member of his NSC’s Deputies Committee. “That’s the part people should be alarmed by.”

WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump justifies halting refugee resettlement in the U.S. because the system for vetting immigrants is inadequate ― or worse.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday defended Trump’s chaos-inducing executive order, which also bars travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. But he didn’t condemn the fact that at least one Syrian refugee initially detained under the ban was released into the U.S.

Why not? Because the person was vetted.

“I think every individual that’s gone through the process has gone through vetting to make sure they don’t pose a threat to this country, so the individual must have gone through the system,” Spicer said. “It’s pretty plain and simple.”

“But I thought you didn’t ...” the reporter tried to interject. Spicer didn’t let him finish the question.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sean-spicer-ban-vetting_us_588f9e31e4b0c90efeff2aa9?2sv3vc5dwc85s714i&

Is It Time for the Democrats to Wage All-Out War Against Trump?

With their base angry and fired up, they may not have a choice.

DAVID CORNJAN. 30, 2017 3:56 PM



This weekend, some prominent Democrats took to the barricades to protest President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants from certain Muslim-majority nations and limiting refugees. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts rushed to Logan International Airport to join the spontaneous protest there. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey headed to Dulles International Airport outside Washington to decry the order as essentially a Muslim ban. Other Ds slammed Trump's move and praised the federal court order that temporarily froze part of the presidential order. It was a show of force. And it prompted a question: Was this a step toward a wider and deeper opposition to Trump?

Until now, the response from elected Democratic officials to the Trump takeover of the federal government has left some grassroots Dems underwhelmed and puzzled. The weekend of the inauguration, millions of Americans hit the streets to denounce Trump, his dystopic and divisive view of America, and his policies (especially those regarding women). The overarching message was fundamental: resist. Yet few national Democrats have mirrored back this sentiment to the progressive audience and to millions of Americans who voted for Hillary Clinton and have spent the last few months in a state of discouragement, fear, and anger.

Sure, Capitol Hill Democrats have spoken against Trump and his fellow Republicans' first stab at repealing Obamacare and have called out the early GOP talk of privatizing Medicare. Booker did break with senatorial courtesy to testify against the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Trump's choice to be attorney general. Yet at the same time, several key Democrats—most notably Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer—talked of working with Trump on areas of common ground, say infrastructure spending. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the progressive firebrand, said he would be "delighted" to collaborate with Trump on trade policy. And most Senate Democrats have been voting for Trump's Cabinet nominees. Warren and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), another leading progressive, voted in the banking committee for Ben Carson, Trump's hardly qualified pick to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Booker and 46 other Democratic senators voted for retired General James Mattis, Trump's choice for defense secretary. (Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York has so far voted against every nominee except UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.)

The Senate Democrats have indicated they will mount campaigns against certain Trump nominees, notably Betsy DeVos, the education secretary nominee, and perhaps Rep David Price (R-Ga.), Trump's eager-to-repeal-Obamacare pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services. But their response so far has created the impression of piecemeal opposition. There has been no big thematic push against Trump. The concerns and outrage of the 66 million Americans who had voted for Clinton are not being directly addressed. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) did mobilize a modest-sized boycott of Trump's inauguration after saying Trump was not a "legitimate" president. But in general, the Democratic leadership was not sharing the sense that a crisis is underway.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/01/donald-trump-democratic-opposition-executive-order-immigration

Obama Weighs In On President Trump For The First Time
Obama wanted to give Trump his space. Nine days later, he is joining the debate.
01/30/2017 02:24 pm ET | Updated 44 minutes ago

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/barack-obama-donald-trump-immigration-ban_us_588f8f70e4b0c90efeff0ed0?

The statement, issued under the name of Obama’s spokesman Kevin Lewis, was the first time that Obama has weighed in on Donald Trump’s presidency. And though it did not mention Trump by name or directly criticize the executive order that he signed on Friday, the implication was one of disapproval.



Obama studiously kept his criticism of Trump muted during the transition and pledged to give Trump space after he assumed office. But nine days into the presidency, a host of executive orders have brought protestors to the streets and the nation’s airports. And they’ve compelled Obama to speak out as well.

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/gop-congressman-shrugs-off-detainment-of-iraqi-war-heroes-this-happens-to-people-of-this-color/



The GOP congressman, who is Lebanese-American, disputed Costello’s characterization of the order’s implementation as “chaotic,” saying that was simply her opinion and that only a few travelers were detained.

“Carol, I don’t want to argue, but you’re conflating what happens every day with to people of this color,” Issa said, pointing to his own cheek, “every day at the airport — and has been happening for 16 years. When you take these anecdotal examples, that’s what you’re doing. The numbers are relatively small, I think Americans like myself who have been stopped — even as a congressman — (for) secondary (screening) or even refused to be boarded on an airplane once, this sort of thing happens.”

Costello repeatedly pressed Issa on Bannon, but the lawmaker blamed Democratic senators for not quickly confirming Rex Tillerson for secretary of state.

“That’s deflection,” Costello said. “Should he have waited, then, for the secretary of state to be confirmed (so) he could have consulted with Rex Tillerson?”

A woman claiming to be on the same flight as House Speaker Paul Ryan over the weekend took the opportunity to share with him her feelings about the direction of the country, particularly in light of Donald Trump’s controversial immigration ban.

So, she apparently passed Ryan — or, rather, one of his staffers — a note urging him to stand up and do what’s right, not only for his political party, but also for the entire country.

“I grew up in NJ in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty,” she wrote. “I was taught to be kind and to accept and welcome all people, no matter their origin.”

The letter was posted on Reddit and quickly went viral on the back of hundreds of comments, one of which read: “If we could all disagree with class like this note exhibits, we just might be able to find common ground and solve some of our differences.”



http://www.marketwatch.com/story/an-impassioned-letter-passed-to-paul-ryan-midflight-be-on-the-right-side-of-history-2017-01-30

British Prime Minister Theresa May was "very happy" to invite U.S. President Donald Trump for a state visit to Britain, her Downing Street office said on Monday as May faced a popular backlash at home over the planned visit.

Numerous politicians, including some in her own party ranks, have said a full state visit involving lavish royal pageantry would be inappropriate following Trump's controversial executive order on immigration restrictions, and a petition against the visit had gathered 1.3 million signatures by Monday lunchtime.

“To be clear, the Prime Minister extended an invitation on behalf of the Queen – and she was very happy to do so. The USA is one of this country's closest allies, and we look forward to hosting the President later this year,” Downing Street said.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-immigration-visit-idUKKBN15E1S9?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social