demmiblue
demmiblue's JournalElderly #Iranian grandma ties her scarf to her cane & waves it in support of fighting forced hijab.
https://twitter.com/farnazfassihi/status/958834527840952320In honor of his retirement, it's The Trey Gowdy Hairstyle Guide! Our personal fave is #8,...
https://twitter.com/TheDailyShow/status/958785612844236801
Florida (Congress)Man Invited Infamous Troll Chuck Johnson to Trumps State of The Union
Source: The Daily Beast
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a conservative Republican firebrand, was the lawmaker responsible for inviting the controversial internet troll Chuck Johnson to Tuesday night’s State of the Union address.
Johnson’s presence in the gallery during the speech by Donald Trump raised eyebrows and immediately sparked questions over how a right-wing activist and blogger best known for attempting to dox the subject of the UVA campus rape story managed to get a ticket to the high-profile affair.
Reached by phone on Wednesday, Gaetz confirmed that he was the one who provided Johnson with the ticket.
Gaetz told The Daily Beast that he and Johnson had no pre-existing relationship and that he provided him with a ticket to the speech after Johnson “showed up at my office” the day of the speech. The congressman said he had an extra ticket after his father came down with bronchitis and couldn’t make it. Johnson just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/florida-congressman-invited-infamous-troll-chuck-johnson-to-trumps-state-of-the-union?via=twitter_page&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true
FBI Director Opposes Memo Release Because of Inaccuracies, Source Says
Source: Bloomberg
FBI Director Christopher Wray told the White House he opposes the release of a controversial, classified GOP memo alleging bias at the FBI and Justice Department because it contains inaccurate information and paints a false narrative, according to a person familiar with the matter.
President Donald Trump was overheard Tuesday night telling a Republican lawmaker that he was “100 percent” planning to release the memo, which was written by staffers on the House Intelligence Committee and is aimed at raising questions about the validity of the investigation into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia, now led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
The FBI isn’t included in the inter-agency review process led by the White House aimed at deciding whether -- and how much of -- the memo can be made public following a vote Monday by the House Intelligence panel to release it. Wray was allowed to read the memo on Sunday.
It’s unclear how thorough the White House review process will be. As Trump departed the House floor after delivering his State of the Union address, C-SPAN cameras captured Representative Jeff Duncan, a South Carolina Republican, asking the president to “release the memo.”
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-31/trump-says-100-percent-after-he-s-asked-to-release-gop-memo
Luna, Michigan's Puppy Bowl pupper:
http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2018/01/michigan_dog_with_cleft_lip_to.html
White Supremacists Praise Trump for His 'Americans Are Dreamers, Too' Remark
Source: Newsweek
One passage from his speech, however, did appear to catch the attention of America’s extreme far right, and it related to so-called Dreamers, or undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.
“So tonight, I am extending an open hand to work with members of both parties-- Democrats and Republicans-–to protect our citizens of every background, color, religion, and creed,” Trump said. “My duty, and the sacred duty of every elected official in this chamber, is to defend Americans--to protect their safety, their families, their communities, and their right to the American Dream. Because Americans are dreamers, too.”
Some critics suggested the comment belittled the struggle of immigrants at a time when marginalized communities feel threatened by the political environment, but white supremacists leapt onto social media to sing its praises. David Duke, a former Klu Klux Klan Grand Wizard and anti-Semitic conspiracy peddler, tweeted a message of gratitude to the president.
Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/white-supremacists-say-thank-you-trump-his-remarks-about-dreamers-795791?utm_campaign=NewsweekTwitter&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social
Biden to be keynote speaker at House Democratic retreat
Source: Politico
Former Vice President Joe Biden will headline the House Democratic retreat next week, sources tell POLITICO exclusively.
Biden will be the keynote speaker at the three-day confab, which kicks off in Cambridge, Maryland, on Wednesday, Feb. 7. Biden will address the 194-member caucus on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the planning.
Government funding runs out Feb. 8 — in the middle of the annual event — but Democrats are still expected to attend if the House and Senate can pass another short-term funding bill early next week.
Biden, 75, has not ruled out challenging President Donald Trump for the White House in 2020 and continues to poll well among Democratic voters as a potential presidential candidate.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/31/biden-headline-democrat-retreat-february-2018-380203
DOJ gives special counsel internal docs on proposed Sessions resignation, source says
Source: ABC News
In the weeks before special counsel Robert Mueller’s team interviewed Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Justice Department turned over a cache of internal correspondence, including documents related to the proposed resignation of Sessions last year and emails with the White House about fired national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
Details of what the Justice Department has now provided to Mueller’s team, which sources say has been investigating whether President Donald Trump sought to obstruct a federal inquiry into possible connections between his presidential campaign and Russian operatives, reflect how widely investigators are casting their net.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, ABC News reported in November that Mueller’s office was interested in obtaining internal emails related to the firing of FBI Director James Comey and the earlier decision of Sessions to recuse himself from the entire matter, but at the time it was unclear what other type of information Mueller's office might have been seeking.
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/doj-special-counsel-internal-docs-thwarted-sessions-resignation/story?id=52721241
Nunesmemo.com redirects to Nunes challenger's campaign page
Source: The Hill
It was not immediately clear who created the redirect to Democrat Andrew Janz's campaign website. The redirect was first noticed Tuesday afternoon. The nunesmemo.com domain name was purchased privately on Jan. 20.
Janz denied being behind the redirect in a comment to The Hill, but said he was "pleasantly surprised" by it.
"I'm proud to be running a campaign that's inspiring people across the nation. I was pleasantly surprised to see www.nunesmemo.com redirect to my site. Devin Nunes might have Russian bots doing his bidding on Twitter but you can't beat good old-fashioned people power," Janz said.
More: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/371423-nunesmemocom-redirects-to-nunes-challengers-campaign-page
Donald Trump Just Asked Congress to End the Rule of Law
This should be the biggest headline of the speech.Source: Slate
It was deeply dangerous because he finally followed in the footsteps of European leaders like Hungarian President Viktor Orban who have long ago learned to give an attractive look to authoritarian populism.
Like them, Trump eschewed openly racist remarks in his speech, even emphasizing how much he (supposedly) cares about the fate of Latinos and black Americans. Like them, he called for economic policies, like paid family leave, that would actually benefit ordinary people. And like them, he then cast himself as the only man willing to prioritize the interests of his supporters over those of foreigners and political elites.
It was Bannonism without Bannon’s penchant for shock and awe. And it played shockingly well.
But Trump’s speech was also deeply dangerous for an even more important reason: Under the cover of his soothing rhetoric about unity and bipartisanship, Trump called on Congress to give him unprecedented and unquestionably antidemocratic powers: “Tonight,” he said, “I call on the congress to empower every Cabinet secretary with the authority to reward good workers—and to remove federal employees who undermine the public trust or fail the American people.”
Read more: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/01/donald-trump-just-asked-congress-to-end-the-rule-of-law.html
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