Melissa McCarthy on SNL shows the power comedians have under a Trump presidency

The following article by Elahe Izadi was posted on the Washington Post website February 7, 2017:

At left, Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer on SNL (Will Heath/NBC); at right, Sean Spicer during a Jan. 31 briefing (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

No attempt to ridicule Donald Trump’s controversies — from his remarks about Mexicans to the “Access Hollywood” tape — could derail his successful road to the White House.

Trump acknowledged as much a year ago when he spoke about supporters so loyal that “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters.”

But that was candidate Trump. Now Trump is running the government as a president who cares very deeply about appearances — so much so that a “Saturday Night Live” sketch could affect how he does it. Continue reading “Melissa McCarthy on SNL shows the power comedians have under a Trump presidency”

House Republicans Avoid Voting on a Resolution Stating That the Holocaust Targeted Jews

The following article by Osita Nwanevu was posted on the Slate website February 7, 2017:

Don Emmert/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images

House Republicans blocked a resolution advanced by Democrats on Tuesday declaring that Jews were the primary victims of the Holocaust. From the Washington Examiner:

Led by [House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe] Crowley, Democrats tried to force the House to vote on the resolution he introduced last week calling on the White House “to affirm that the Nazi regime targeted the Jewish people in its perpetration of the Holocaust.” More than 100 House Democrats co-sponsored the measure. Continue reading “House Republicans Avoid Voting on a Resolution Stating That the Holocaust Targeted Jews”

Why Trump’s Nordstrom Tweet May Have Crossed An Ethical Line

The following article by Elizabeth Segran was posted on the Fast Company website February 8, 2017:

Once the official @POTUS account retweeted his criticism of its decision to drop Ivanka’s products, everything changed

U.S. President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka walk to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 1, 2017.
[Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images]
After a week of major retailers dropping Ivanka Trump’s products, the #GrabYourWallet boycott made its biggest impact ever today when it prompted the president of the United States to respond with an angry tweet that may have crossed an ethical line, say government ethics experts.

This morning, just 20 minutes into a national security briefing in the Oval Office, President Trump went on Twitter to take a swing at Nordstrom, which announced last Thursday that it would no longer sell Ivanka Trump products: “My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person — always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!” Within seconds, the share price of the retailer, which attributed its decision to the brand’s poor performance, dipped for a few minutes before quickly recovering. Later, the official @POTUS account retweeted Trump’s tweet, a possible ethics violation which illustrates the conflicts of interest inherent in the real-estate mogul’s new role as the president. Continue reading “Why Trump’s Nordstrom Tweet May Have Crossed An Ethical Line”

Trump lashes out at Nordstrom in a tweet for dropping his daughter’s apparel line

The following article by Sarah Halzack was posted on the Washington Post website February 8, 2017:

In January, days before President Trump’s inauguration, his daughter Ivanka Trump declared that she’d be stepping away from her management role at the clothing and shoe brand that bears her name.

And yet, on Wednesday, the president lashed out on Twitter at department store Nordstrom over its decision to stop carrying Ivanka Trump products, saying his daughter “has been treated so unfairly” by the retailing giant. Continue reading “Trump lashes out at Nordstrom in a tweet for dropping his daughter’s apparel line”

Why ISIS, Al Qaeda, And Iran’s Mullahs All Love Donald Trump

The following article by Gene Lyons was posted on the National Memo website February 8, 2017:

Have Americans really become a nation of gullible cowards? Sometimes it looks that way. Take President Trump’s executive order banning travel from seven Middle Eastern and North African countries. If you think it has anything whatsoever to do with protecting against terrorist attacks, then you haven’t been paying attention.

The Trump administration’s policies are designed not to deal with real problems in the visible world, but to rile up partisan ignoramuses here in the USA. Also to stimulate nativism and fear of dark-skinned foreigners, and to make Democrats appear to be defending Muslims instead of the Constitution. Continue reading “Why ISIS, Al Qaeda, And Iran’s Mullahs All Love Donald Trump”

The Trump Administration’s Two-Pronged Assault on Public Health

The following article by Myriam Alexander-Kearns was posted on the Center for American Progress website February 7, 2017:

AP/Charles Rex Arbogast
Carter Howard watches a cartoon during his asthma treatment in Northbrook, Illinois, on October 15, 2013.

The 115th Congress and the Trump administration have already set their sights on gutting the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and other cornerstone protections that ensure that our air is safe to breathe and our water safe to drink. They have promised to get rid of pollution limits for power plants instead of shifting to clean energy and nullify pollution limits for oil and gas drilling—as they also promise to drill anywhere and everywhere. These actions alone would greatly endanger public health and environmental quality. If that was not enough, however, congressional Republicans and the administration are also set on eliminating health insurance coverage for millions of Americans. This extreme rollback of federal regulations and services would allow more pollution, affect public health, and, at the same time, remove health care options for treatment when people get sick. Continue reading “The Trump Administration’s Two-Pronged Assault on Public Health”

In echoes of 2009, Republicans see ‘Astroturf’ in Democratic protests

The following article by David Weigel was posted on the Washington Post website February 6, 2017:

Demonstrators protest outside City Hall in downtown Los Angeles after the election of President Trump. (Patrick T. Fallon/Reuters)

“Fox and Friends,” which for years counted Donald Trump as a regular call-in guest, has in recent weeks become a pillar of his defense. On Super Bowl weekend, the show’s hosts talked about how Trump’s friendship with New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft was the sort of story he should tell more often, and how reasonable policies such as the travel and refugee bans were being badly spun. On Sunday, a “Fox and Friends” co-host asked White House press secretary Sean Spicer if “people are being paid to protest” the Trump administration. Continue reading “In echoes of 2009, Republicans see ‘Astroturf’ in Democratic protests”

Trump’s claim that Obama first ‘identified’ the 7 countries in his travel ban

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website February 7, 2017:

“The seven countries named in the Executive Order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror.”
— President Trump, statement regarding executive order, Jan. 29, 2017 Continue reading “Trump’s claim that Obama first ‘identified’ the 7 countries in his travel ban”