DNC: Buckley endorses Ellison

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

MANCHESTER — Raymond Buckley, New Hampshire’s top Democrat, went from contender to potential kingmaker Saturday, exiting the Democratic National Committee chairman’s race to endorse Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison.

During a telephone interview, Buckley said he’s “100 percent” convinced Ellison will get the 224 votes needed to become chairman on the first ballot when the DNC meets next Friday in Atlanta.“

Absolutely 100 percent convinced, I have been on the phone the last couple of hours, the response has been really terrific,” Buckley said. “He will have this thing wrapped up in a couple of days.”

…If he wins, Ellison, the first Muslim-American elected to Congress, is expected to reward Buckley with a more high profile role. Buckley is already president of the Association of Democratic State Chairs.

Ellison said he would empower Buckley to quarterback a “57 state strategy” referring to America’s 50 states, six territories and U.S. Democrats living abroad.

NH Democrat Buckley drops out, endorses national chair hopeful | New Hampshire

hmmmm

 

Trump family’s elaborate lifestyle is a ‘logistical nightmare’ — at taxpayer expense

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Barely a month into the Trump presidency, the unusually elaborate lifestyle of America’s new first family is straining the Secret Service and security officials, stirring financial and logistical concerns in several local communities, and costing far beyond what has been typical for past presidents — a price tag that, based on past assessments of presidential travel and security costs, could balloon into the hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of a four-year term.

…Trump’s three Mar-a-Lago trips since the inauguration have probably cost the federal treasury about $10 million, based on figures used in an October government report analyzing White House travel, including money for Coast Guard units to patrol the exposed shoreline and other military, security and staffing expenses associated with moving the apparatus of the presidency.

…In New York, the city is paying $500,000 a day to guard Trump Tower, according to police officials’ estimates, an amount that could reach $183 million a year.

This month, The Post reported that Secret Service and U.S. Embassy staffers paid nearly $100,000 in hotel-room bills to support Eric Trump’s trip to promote a Trump-brand condo tower in Uruguay.

…For Trump, the costs come with an additional perk: Some of the money flows into his own pocket. While Trump has removed himself from managing his company, he has refused to divest his ownership, meaning that he benefits from corporate successes such as government contracts.

…Trump’s frequent travel belies his repeated criticism of Obama as a “habitual vacationer” enjoying taxpayer-funded golf getaways. It also comes after his own promises: He told the Hill newspaper in 2015, “I would rarely leave the White House because there’s so much work to be done.”

…Trump’s frequent travel belies his repeated criticism of Obama as a “habitual vacationer” enjoying taxpayer-funded golf getaways. It also comes after his own promises: He told the Hill newspaper in 2015, “I would rarely leave the White House because there’s so much work to be done.”

Trump family’s elaborate lifestyle is a ‘logistical nightmare’ — at taxpayer expense

hmmm

Mar-a-Lago Neighbors Discover Costs of Trump’s Visits 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Local Interest,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

■ $200,000 in lost fuel sales at a large local airport in a single four-day visit this month.
■ 75 no-shows at a new restaurant in just one night.
■ $60,000 a day to pay overtime to sheriff’s deputies who guard the many closed roads, a tab that is about $1.5 million over all since the election.
■ 250 private flights grounded every day.

A month into his presidency, Mr. Trump arrived at Mar-a-Lago, his private club here, for a third weekend in a row this Presidents’ Day weekend. For the locals, that’s at least three days of clogged roads and strict security protocols that hurt local businesses and frustrate residents.

 

hmmm

Donald Trump Mourned “What’s Happening Last Night in Sweden”—But Nothing Happened 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

Sweden has let in a large number of immigrants and refugees. But we couldn’t find any evidence that indicates Sweden’s immigration policy is causing the types of problems with terrorist incidents that Trump suggested—and we couldn’t find any record of an attack by terrorists or immigrants in Sweden on the night of Feb. 17, or any night recently.

We rate Trump’s claim False.

Donald Trump Mourned “What’s Happening Last Night in Sweden”—But Nothing Happened – The Daily Beast

hmmm

A Zen Master’s Advice On Coping With Trump 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Media and Culture,, Religion,Leave a comment

Referring to the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, during which marchers remained passive despite being chased and beaten, she said: “They were taught how to be quiet, how to be still, how not to resist and fight back no matter what happened.”

… comment piece in The Guardian, arguing that “Trump’s grand and vulgar self-absorption is inviting all of us to examine our own selfishness. His ignorance calls us to attend to our own blind spots. The fears that he stokes and the isolation he promotes goad us to be braver, more generous.”

A Zen Master’s Advice On Coping With Trump | The Huffington Post

hmmm

Bono Meets Mike Pence, Praises Previous AIDS Relief Efforts

On By peanutgallerynhIn Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Bono and Mike Pence met briefly in Munich on Saturday, with the U2 singer thanking the vice president for his past support of AIDS relief in Africa.

Bono Meets Mike Pence, Praises Previous AIDS Relief Efforts – Rolling Stone

Bono’s such a tool. Is he at all ignorant of the context of such remarks? Guess the asshole doesn’t care. Sit down and shut the fuck up, tool.

Utah county GOP official resigns after criticizing equal pay bill 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

A Utah county Republican Party official has resigned after receiving blowback for criticizing a bill in the state legislature designed to create equal pay criteria.

Utah county GOP official resigns after criticizing equal pay bill – CNNPolitics.com

Hey backwater, f’tard, inbred, moron: supporting limiting someone’s opportunities is opposite of supporting someone. So no, if you are arguing women should be paid less so they have to stay home and not work that is not supporting women. That’s actually the exact opposite of supporting women. The fact that you clearly do not get that means you are a total liability to any organization that deal with the public – let alone a political one. Sit down and keep your backwards trap shut, son.

Utah Republican argues against equal pay for women: It’s ‘bad for families’ and society 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

In a letter criticizing a bill that addresses pay gap in the workforce, a Utah Republican said that men have traditionally earned more than women and, citing “simple economics,” argued that things should stay that way.

Utah Republican argues against equal pay for women: It’s ‘bad for families’ and society – SFGate

Backwards, inbred moron.

..And beyond that, what a myopic asshole.

If you’re going to be that self absorbed and stupid it’s probably best not to open your ignorant little mouth.

Sweden asks the U.S. to explain Trump comment 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Europe,Leave a comment

The Swedish embassy in Washington has asked the U.S. State Department for an explanation of a comment made by President Donald Trump that suggested there had been some sort of security incident in Sweden on Friday.

…Former Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt also took to Twitter, saying: “Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound.

Sweden asks the U.S. to explain Trump comment | Reuters

I’m not convinced Trump comprehends the words that come out of his mouth. Especially the big ones.

McCain defends free press, raises specter of dictatorship from Trump’s attacks

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Presidential tweet stirs the pot on media relations

…Sen. John McCain on Sunday defended the need for “a free — and many times adversarial” — press. Without it, he said, “I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time — that’s how dictators get started.”

McCain defends free press, raises specter of dictatorship from Trump’s attacks

Yup.

 

How to Lie like the Trump Admistration

On By peanutgallerynhIn Media and Culture,Leave a comment

First, she casts doubt on the verifiable reality of the question at hand, painting the attempt to get at the truth as a Sisyphean task; then paints herself as the polite and respectful one, implying that her interlocutor is the one violating codes of civility; and finally claiming that the reporter is ignoring the day’s real events of substance….

…As the administration grinds into its second month, Trump’s flacks have made increasing use of a variation of Bartleby’s “I would prefer not to”: “I can’t speak to that.” Or, as I like to translate it, “I haven’t prepared any lies to respond to that question.”

…Among Swift’s requirements of a good political liar are that “he ought to have but a short memory,” that he be ready and willing to swear to “both sides of a contradiction,” and that he never consider “whether any proposition were true or false, but whether it were convenient for the present minute or company to affirm or deny it.”

…The speaker’s enthusiasm and willingness to repeat the assertion (of voter fraud in New Hampshire, but it could be anything) stand in for evidence, and Miller’s “100 percent” catchphrase masquerades as a quantifiable truth claim.

How Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer Get Away With Lying

hmmmm

The Downfall of Kellyanne Conway

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

When the cast of “Morning Joe” pointed out that Ms. Conway’s recent appearances on news shows proved her a useless source of information, …they sneered at Ms. Conway’s apparent White House ostracization….

…Confronted about Mr. Trump’s chauvinism, [Conway] snapped back that women who were in poverty were not served during the Obama years, as though that somehow undid her boss’s history.

…Ms. Conway breached federal ethics laws by hawking Ivanka Trump’s “stuff” in the press briefing room…

…I simply cannot dredge up any sympathy for a person who has acknowledged the structural problems most women face only when she is personally facing them, or used them as derailing tactics when she’s losing an argument. I can’t mourn the downfall of a fair-weather feminist, a woman who has used her power to hurt other women.

presented without  comment

Trump Weighs Mobilizing National Guard for Immigration Roundups

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Military,Leave a comment

A draft memo obtained by The Associated Press outlines a Trump administration proposal under consideration to mobilize as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to round up unauthorized immigrants. Millions of those who would be affected in 11 states live nowhere near the Mexico border.

Trump Weighs Mobilizing National Guard for Immigration Roundups – Bloomberg

What? He wants to set the military up to rove around the country “rounding people up?”

Treasonous, unamerican, wannabe-fascist much, Orange Turd?