The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website February 9, 2017:
“Frankly, I have so many people, friends of mine that have nice businesses that can’t borrow money, they just can’t get any money because the banks just won’t let them borrow because of the rules and regulations in Dodd-Frank.”
— President Trump, remarks at strategy and policy forum, Feb. 3, 2017 Continue reading “Trump’s claim that friends ‘can’t borrow money’ because of Dodd-Frank”
The following article by Matt Zapotosky and Robert Barnes was posted on the Washington Post website February 8, 2017:
President Trump denounced arguments against his immigration order as “disgraceful” on Wednesday — a day after three federal appellate judges lobbed critical inquiries at those challenging and defending the plan — and suggested a ruling against his administration would be based on politics and not a fair reading of the law.
In a speech to law enforcement officials in Washington, Trump argued his executive action is clearly legal and read aloud the relevant part of the law, which he called “so simple and so beautifully written and so perfectly written.” Continue reading “Trump suggests only politics could lead court to rule against his immigration order”
The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website February 7, 2017:
After the Senate narrowly — historically narrowly — voted to approve the Cabinet nomination of Betsy DeVos, opponents of her nomination presented a theoretical rationale: money.
Toomey, Cochran, Capito, and Tillis have all voted ‘yes’ to confirm DeVos as Secretary of Education #DeVosVote#NoOnDeVos #DumpDeVos
Here’s how much they received from DeVos: #DeVosVote#NoOnDeVos #DumpDeVos pic.twitter.com/Fhm6R9awbf
Continue reading “The DeVos vote is a bad case study for the power of campaign contributions”
The following article by Emily Cadei was posted on the Newsweek article February 8, 2017:
Al Mottur admits to not only counting his chickens before they hatched but putting out all the fixings for a fried chicken feast. The veteran Democratic lobbyist went into Election Day assuming Hillary Clinton would be America’s 45th president, and as a member of Clinton’s national finance committee who helped raise more than $1 million for her campaign, that would have been a victory not just for his party but also for his bottom line. “I was thinking, This is going to be great for my firm,” recalls Mottur, a senior partner at D.C. lobbying powerhouse Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber and Schreck, which represents such companies as Anheuser-Busch, FedEx and Comcast. Continue reading “The ‘Swamp’ Donald Trump Promised to ‘Drain’ is Growing Again”
The following article by Elizabeth Shakman Hurd was posted on the Washington Post website February 8, 2017:
President Trump’s executive order on immigration has a clause that is supposed to protect religious minorities. Trump has made clear he has in mind primarily Christians from the Middle East. If implemented, individuals who can show evidence of being persecuted as Christian will qualify for a fast lane into the United States.
It would also mean that immigration officials would have to hone their theological skills — because they will be in charge of determining who belongs to what religion. Many commentators have noted the constitutional problems with administering a “religious test.” But the practical and theological problems are equally daunting.
Would U.S. definitions for “real” membership in each religion violate the Establishment Clause?
The order says that the United States will “prioritize refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual’s country of nationality.” Continue reading “Trump’s immigration order means bureaucrats have to decide who’s a “real” Christian”
The following article by Kurt Eichenwald was posted on the Newsweek website February 7, 2017:
Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump, wants the press and the public to stop commenting on her citation of the fictitious “Bowling Green Massacre” to justify the travel ban from seven majority-Muslim countries.
No.
In fact, the most important piece of the Conway statement has been lost amid the ridicule and jaw-dropping disbelief that a White House official believed in a nonexistent mass slaughter and used it to justify an unprecedented policy. Conway’s full comment is one of the starkest revelations to date to explain the childish, dishonest, incompetent and authoritarian behavior of White House officials in communicating with the public, a reality that ultimately puts this administration at risk of self-destruction. Continue reading “Kellyanne Conway Throws Gutter Ball, Massacres Facts”
The following commentary by Joe Scarborough was posted on the Washington Post website February 7, 2017:
President Trump’s claim that America is morally on parwith Russia’s corrupt dystopian regime was so historically ignorant that even timid Republicans felt compelled to speak out this week. Perhaps that is because remaining silent in the face of such a morally disorienting claim would make them look like fools. Vladimir Putin is, after all, the same ruthless autocrat who kills journalists and political rivals who cross his path. He is also the same man who called the Soviet Union’s collapse “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.”
The evil empire Putin admires says much about the tyrant our new president defends. Burning with resentments carried over from a fallen empire, Comrade Putin hopes to rebuild the U.S.S.R. one invasion at a time. And while Putin pursues that delusional dream, Trump should be reminded exactly what kind of world his new friend wants to create. Continue reading “Joe Scarborough: Trump’s dangerous lie about Russia”
The following article by Elizabeth Segran was posted on the Fast Company website February 8, 2017:
[Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images]
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”
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”
