This isn’t a story about Kelly. This is a story about a reactionary moron who thinks everyone else has zero class or coping skills in the face of disagreement.
Category: Domestic Affairs,
Officer fatally shoots man after entering wrong apartment
Mistakes like this are unacceptable. The officer needs to be relieved of her badge and prosecuted for home invasion and homicide like any other citizen of this country would be if they entered an apartment and shot and killed someone.
Trump tells supporters it’ll be ‘your fault’ if he gets impeached
Trump tells supporters it’ll be ‘your fault’ if he gets impeached – CNNPolitics
what a gaslighting narcissistic douche
Just Shut Up and Quit
Nobody elected the Anonymous Heroes executing a de facto coup against Donald Trump’s presidency.*
…Jesus H. Christ on an auto-glass ad, everybody who watched him for 11 seconds on the campaign trail figured this out. You’d have to have had the brain of a marmoset not to be convinced of this back in 19-goddamn-79. More than 60 million people voted for him anyway. You took a job with him.
….Enough of this stuff. Stand up in the light of day and tell your stories. All of them, right from the beginning. Admit that what you’re confronting now is the end result of 40 years of conservative politics and all the government-is-the-problem malfeasance you’ve been imbibing since you were wingnuts in swaddling. The fire’s licking at your ankles at last. Come out of the cupboards, you boys and girls. None of you are heroes.
Anonymous Trump White House Official Pens New York Times Op-Ed Claiming to Resist Him
Yup.
President Trump blasted as erratic, amoral in anonymous Times op-ed
“It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room. We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do what’s right even when Donald Trump won’t,” the unnamed official wrote.
…”We believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic,” the piece states. “That is why many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office.”
…””The erratic behavior would be more concerning if it weren’t for unsung heroes in and around the White House,” the author wrote. “Some of his aides have been cast as villains by the media. But in private, they have gone to great lengths to keep bad decisions contained to the West Wing, though they are clearly not always successful.”
…”We will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until – one way or another – it’s over.”
President Trump blasted as erratic, amoral in anonymous Times op-ed
hmmmm
A year later, no details on where Trump’s surplus inaugural funds went
Nearly a year after President Trump’s inauguration, the committee that raised a record $106.7 million for the event has not disclosed how much surplus money it still has or provided a final accounting of its finances.
…Presidential inaugural committees are private fundraising vehicles that pay for the concerts, balls and other festivities that surround the swearing-in.
…Adelson was among an array of wealthy individuals and corporate giants contributing to the celebrations, including the Bank of America, AT&T, Dow Chemical, Boeing and Quicken Loans.
…Fred Wertheimer, of the Democracy 21 watchdog group, said the committee, as a nonprofit, can’t legally convert any of the funds to personal use, such as paying legal expenses for Trump aides caught up in the special counsel and congressional probes into Russian involvement in the 2016 election.
…“It is alarming that you would potentially have at least $50 million left over and no sense of how it was spent.”
A year later, no details on where Trump’s surplus inaugural funds went
hmmmm
Cop who Tased 11-year-old: ‘This is why there’s no grocery stores in the black community’
Cincinnati police Officer Kevin Brown was working an off-duty security job at the Kroger in Spring Grove Village when he stopped 11-year-old Donesha Gowdy and some friends outside the store.
…A review of the incident found that Brown violated policy, adding that he deployed his Taser without warning and expressed prejudice concerning race.
“Quite frankly, I believe the officer violated our policy. I believe the use of force was unnecessary in this particular circumstance,” Police Chief Elliott Isaac said.
Cop who Tased 11-year-old: ‘This is why there’s no grocery stores in the black community’
hmmmm
The real reason Bob Woodward’s book is so damaging for Trump
The portraits of Trump drawn by Wolff, Omarosa and Woodward are all eerily similar to one another — a man hopelessly out of his depth in the job, but entirely incapable of understanding how desperately out of depth he actually is. A man motivated almost entirely by personal grievance. A man willing to humiliate people who work for him, to play staffers against one another, to scapegoat underlings to keep blame off of himself. Someone who has so much self-belief that he rarely adequately prepares for situations involving international diplomacy and national security. Top aides who view that their jobs are primarily keeping Trump from causing serious harm.
The real reason Bob Woodward’s book is so damaging for Trump – CNNPolitics
hmmmm
Bob Woodward’s Trump book
Trump’s closest aides have taken extraordinary measures in the White House to try to stop what they saw as his most dangerous impulses, going so far as to swipe and hide papers from his desk so he wouldn’t sign them, according to a new book from legendary journalist Bob Woodward.
…Woodward offers a devastating portrait of a dysfunctional Trump White House, detailing how senior aides — both current and former Trump administration officials — grew exasperated with the President and increasingly worried about his erratic behavior, ignorance and penchant for lying.
…The letter would have withdrawn the US from a critical trade agreement with South Korea. Trump’s aides feared the fallout could jeopardize a top-secret national security program: the ability to detect a North Korean missile launch within just seven seconds.
Woodward reports Cohn was “appalled” that Trump might sign the letter. “I stole it off his desk,” Cohn told an associate. “I wouldn’t let him see it. He’s never going to see that document. Got to protect the country.”
Cohn was not alone. Former staff secretary Rob Porter worked with Cohn and used the same tactic on multiple occasions, Woodward writes. In addition to literally stealing or hiding documents from Trump’s desk, they sought to stall and delay decisions or distract Trump from orders they thought would endanger national security.
…Woodward also quotes an unnamed White House official who gave an even more dire assessment of the meeting: “It seems clear that many of the president’s senior advisers, especially those in the national security realm, are extremely concerned with his erratic nature, his relative ignorance, his inability to learn, as well as what they consider his dangerous views.”
A recurrent theme in Woodward’s book is Trump’s seeming disregard for national security concerns because of his obsession with money — trade deficits and the cost of troops overseas.
In meeting after meeting, Trump questions why the US has to pay for such a large troop presence in South Korea.
“We’re doing this in order to prevent World War III,” Mattis, the defense secretary, bluntly explained to Trump at one January 2018 meeting, which prompted Mattis to tell close associates afterward that Trump had the understanding of a “fifth or sixth grader.”
Bob Woodward’s Trump book: Author details aides’ worries about Trump – CNNPolitics
hmmm
Opinion: The dilemma Woodward’s book raises about Trump
…[Trump’s] lies are coming at a faster clip, and the inability to rely on anything he says is potentially paralyzing for Congress, America’s foes and allies and the military.
…Likewise, we have no reason to believe he accurately conveys his conversations with world leaders. That puts us at the mercy of foreign leaders’ accounts or his aides’ guess-work.
…Third, the reputations and honesty of current and former aides who attest to the president’s fitness are now open to question. …Trump seems to have made liars out of his most senior staff and Cabinet officials, who fear disaster would ensue if they told the truth. Moreover, many of these people continue working at the White House, knowing the president is incapable of functioning in the job. Don’t they owe the country their candor and a warning?
….Voters elected Trump, not Gary Cohn or John Kelly. If Trump cannot do his job and literally cannot tell the truth, they need to come clean.
The dilemma Woodward’s book raises about Trump – The Washington Post
hmmm
Now the Trump administration wants to limit citizenship for legal immigrants
…Immigrants living legally in the U.S. who have ever used or whose household members have ever used Obamacare, children’s health insurance, food stamps and other benefits could be hindered from obtaining legal status in the U.S.
…In late November, the Trump administration announced they would end temporary protected status for Haitians who came to the U.S. after the deadly 2010 earthquake.
…”Any policy forcing millions of families to choose between the denial of status and food or health care would exacerbate serious problems such as hunger, unmet health needs, child poverty and homelessness, with lasting consequences for families’ wellbeing and long-term success and community prosperity,” said the National Immigration Law Center in a statement.
Now the Trump administration wants to limit citizenship for legal immigrants
sigh…
The Last Train to Grand Canyon: How Amtrak Fails
Essay | The Last Train to Grand Canyon: How Amtrak Fails the National Parks—and America
Not sure I come to the same conclusion in the end but it’s an interesting summary of the history
On Conspiracy Theories and Election Hacking [Updated]
…There is no definitive proof votes were altered in the 2016 election. Full stop.
But there’s even more we don’t know.
“We truly do not know, and we are making no attempt to find out,” Marks reiterated. “It’s because we don’t want to find out. And it’s not Robert Mueller’s responsibility. It’s not Congress’ responsibility. It’s the responsibility of the people. It’s the responsibility of the press.”
…“I don’t think we’ll ever know,” said Gregory Miller, founder of the OSET Institute, a nonprofit advocating for open-source election software. “It’s impossible to believe, without question, that votes or tallies weren’t manipulated.”
Miller, who has testified before Congress and worked with the Obama White House on election cybersecurity, explained the difference between voting machines and tallying machines, and reiterated countless times over the course of an hour that there are no verifiable, accurate, secure, and transparent systems in America.
As it specifically relates to vote-tallying systems, which Miller called the “honeypot of the elections systems,” the experts agree that changing tallies wouldn’t be difficult at all.
…Then, in May 2018, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s Unclassified First Installment in Russia Report said “The Committee has not seen any evidence that vote tallies were manipulated or that voter registration information was deleted or modified,” adding:
The Committee has limited information about whether, and to what extent, state and local officials carried out forensic or other examination of election infrastructure systems in order to confirm whether election-related systems were compromised. It is possible that additional activity occurred and has not yet been uncovered.
…“If votes were changed, they were done in a way that is hard to detect,” he explained. “But no one has done any analysis to determine it. And the reason for the wild speculations is because the people responsible for analyzing the data aren’t interested in doing so.”
…”There is a difference between ‘voting machines’ and ‘election systems.’ This often leads to confusion,” Miller explained. “The voting machines are the most visible part of the process. But the transaction of the ballot that we call an ‘election system’ involves the voter registration system or poll books, the voting machines, a system for tabulating or counting votes, and the system for reporting these votes.”
…People familiar with voting systems explained that all voting machines can be hacked even when they don’t have a modem or web access, because almost every widely used system in America is “internet-adjacent.”
They use memory cards and electronic files that contain software that was loaded on an internet-connected computer. The central tabulators transmit results over local area networks. They accept flash drives from computers that are connected to the internet. They are configured by vendors who use internet connections, making them all vulnerable.
…Miller explained that the reports of hacking may not simply have been attempts to access data at all. He explained how hackers may have been trolling for the digital blueprint for a GEMS server used by Georgia and county election officials across the country, which could, if acquired, have given Putin’s plotters access to thousands of vote tallying machines.
“There is a widespread belief that not being connected to the internet is a measure of security,” said Miller. “But many of these vote-tallying machines are not dedicated machines only used for counting ballots. Many of them are used for issuing fishing licenses and building permits. It would take a half-second for someone to infect a machine with a USB thumb drive.”
On Conspiracy Theories and Election Hacking [Updated]
hmmm
Much of the US Electric Grid Could Go the Way of the Landline Phone
Making electricity, in other words, is becoming a less profitable business. And Garg worries that these costs will eventually reach consumers and send ripples throughout the economy. “You don’t need a huge amount of people to leave to cause a huge issue with the grid,” he says.
Unlike in the phone industry, an enervated electric grid can hurt just about everybody. Even most folks with solar panels on their roof still need that baseload power when the clouds block the sun long enough for the fridge to suck their Powerwall dry, or wires onto which they can shunt their excess power whenever the panels are generating more juice than any home can use.
…“The regulatory structure basically paid utilities to build power plants, and charge customers for the cost of those plants through bills, but didn’t provide much incentive for the utilities to be efficient,” says Seth Blumsack, who studies energy policy at Pennsylvania State University. So long as you didn’t have any competitors eyeing your market share, why innovate or look for cheaper fuel sources?
…Another tack would be changing the way the industry is regulated, all over again. Even with restructuring and deregulation, government policy still rewards big capital expenditures like new power plants or miles of transmission line. Regulations could easily be written that reward companies that make the existing grid operate more efficiently. However, the current administration hasn’t really caught up to what the market is saying.
Much of the US Electric Grid Could Go the Way of the Landline Phone | WIRED
hmmmm
After weeks of uncertainty, Papadopoulos decides to accept plea deal with Mueller
George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy adviser to …Trump’s campaign, has decided to stick with his plea agreement with special counsel Robert Mueller.
…“George will take responsibility for some inaccuracies during the interview with the FBI,” Mangiante Papadopoulos said in a statement to ABC News on Wednesday.
…Papadopoulos admitted to lying to the FBI about his contacts during the campaign with a professor who, prosecutors alleged in court filings, had “substantial connections to Russian government officials.”
As part of his plea agreement, Papadopoulos agreed to cooperate with Mueller as part of his probe into Russian meddling during the 2016 campaign.
After weeks of uncertainty, Papadopoulos decides to accept plea deal with Mueller – ABC News
hmmmm
Carl Bernstein: Trump attacks ‘degenerate’ Watergate reporter
[Trump] called Mr Bernstein a “sloppy” and “degenerate fool” who invented stories.
…Mr Bernstein, a famed journalist who covered the Watergate scandal during the Nixon presidency, responded saying he stands by his reporting.
Carl Bernstein: Trump attacks ‘degenerate’ Watergate reporter – BBC News
The irony! It’s like doublespeak is this White House’s first language.
Ron DeSantis Tells Florida Not To ‘Monkey This Up’ By Electing Andrew Gillum
During an appearance on Fox News with Sandra Smith, DeSantis, who is white, doled out backhanded compliments to Gillum, who is black, calling him “an articulate spokesman.”
…“The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by [electing Gillum]” said DeSantis to Smith.
Ron DeSantis Tells Florida Not To ‘Monkey This Up’ By Electing Andrew Gillum | HuffPost
A racist comment two-fer in one interview. Oh my…
Texas School Beats ADHD by Tripling Recess Time
One Texas school has kindergartners and first graders sitting still and “incredibly attentive.”
What’s their secret? Their recess time has tripled.
…Their teachers say it’s totally transformed them.
The kids are less fidgety, less distracted, more engaged in learning and make more eye contact.
…The pilot program is modeled after the Finnish school system, whose students get some of the best scores in the world in reading, math and science.
Texas School Beats ADHD by Tripling Recess Time
hmmm
Trump Says Ivanka Did Not Push Out White House Counsel
Trump Says Ivanka Did Not Push Out White House Counsel | Time
So you’re saying Ivanka pushed him out then…
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