Trump is hiding something. This is why he continues to lie & distract from investigations.The truth will be uncovered & he will be impeached
— Maxine Waters (@MaxineWaters) March 29, 2017
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"Chairman Nunes is falling down on the job and seems to be more interested in protecting the president than in seeking the truth. You cannot have the person in charge of an impartial investigation be partial to one side. It's an inherent contradiction."
Although “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” were proposed subjects in the appendix, today’s version of the report excluded LGBTQ people from the list of subjects for the Census and ACS. A subsequent notice issued by the U.S. Census described the original inclusion of LGBTQ categories as inadvertent. In response, GLAAD's CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, branded the movie as a "systematic effort on behalf of the Trump administrationn to erase LGBT people."
Last year, various federal agencies urged the Census Bureau to include sexual orientation and gender in their data as it was crucial to their role in enforcing the law. The current census only allows for a snapshot of same-sex households, but Democrats in Congress had pushed for more indepth questions around sexual orientation and gender identity to improve results. The logic was simple: With more focused questions law makers would be better equipped to ensure appropriate legislation to improve the lives of LGBTQ citizens.
Although the Supreme Court, in 2013, struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, paving the way for the census to change the way it tracks same-sex households, the White House has sent yet another powerful signal that it considers LGBTQ rights as frivolous.
Generations of American children have learned the apocryphal tale of young George Washington, bravely admitting to his father that he chopped down the cherry tree. The story sprang from a culture that wanted even its fables to serve the ideal of truth. By that standard, the House Intelligence Committee hearing on March 20 should have been a massive humiliation for the President, who followed Washington 228 years later. It is rare for such hearings to be unclassified–and thus televised–but FBI Director James Comey found the largest possible audience for his rebuke of the sitting President.Go here for more
He had given Donald Trump nearly three weeks to walk back his incendiary tweets accusing President Obama of “wire tapping” Trump Tower during the campaign. If such surveillance had been done through legal channels, the FBI would have known; if done illegally, it was a scandal of historic proportions and the FBI should be digging into it. Either way, Trump’s accusation implicated the integrity of Comey’s bureau, which is why the former prosecutor felt compelled to push back as the cameras rolled. “I have no information that supports those tweets,” Comey said. “We have looked carefully inside the FBI. The Department of Justice has asked me to share with you that the answer is the same.”
The statement was concise, direct and damning. The President of the United States had been marked as a fabulist by one of the top officials in government charged with finding the truth. And yet, for the man being called out, the rebuke was nothing of the sort.
In an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle, Perry argues that the rightful winner of the Texas A&M student body election was disqualified due to anonymous charges of voter intimidation and for failing to disclose the receipt for glow sticks used in a campaign Facebook video.
“Brooks did not win the election. He finished second by more than 750 votes to one Mr. Robert McIntosh,” Perry wrote, referring to Bobby Brooks, the election runner-up who assumed the post as president.
Brooks is the first openly gay man to serve as the school’s president.
“However, McIntosh was disqualified by the SGA Election Commission and Judicial Court through a process that — at best — made a mockery of due process and transparency.”
McIntosh, Perry says, was acquitted of the voter intimidation charges following an appeal, though the glow stick charges stuck. Many of the voter intimidation complaints were found to be from people who backed Brooks, Perry said.
Perry in the op-ed said the school’s Board of Regents was never made aware of the accusations of voter intimidation. The former Texas governor claimed the university is “choosing preferred outcomes over equal treatment.”Why is he up in their business like this? He needs to learn how to do his new job that he's unqualified for.
Today's job approval rating compares to a negative 41 - 52 percent approval rating in a March 7 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University.
President Trump is losing support among key elements of his base:
Men disapprove 43 - 52 percent, compared to a 49 - 45 percent approval March 7;
Republicans approve 81 - 14 percent, compared to 91 - 5 percent two weeks ago;
White voters disapprove 44 - 50 percent, compared to a narrow 49 - 45 percent approval March 7.
Disapproval is 60 - 31 percent among women, 90 - 6 percent among Democrats, 60 - 31 percent among independent voters and 75 - 16 percent among non-white voters.
American voters' opinions of some of Trump's personal qualities hit new lows:
60 - 35 percent that he is not honest, compared to 55 - 39 not honest March 7;
55 - 40 percent that he does not have good leadership skills;
57 - 40 percent that he does not care about average Americans;
66 - 30 percent that he is not level-headed;
66 - 30 percent that he is a strong person;
59 - 36 percent that he is intelligent;
61 - 35 percent that he does not share their values.
"Although taking a beating, he keeps on tweeting to the point where even his fiercely loyal base appears to be eroding," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
"Most alarming for President Donald Trump, the demographic underpinnings of his support, Republicans, white voters, especially men and those without a college degree, are starting to have doubts."
A message to our community ... pic.twitter.com/oHNiiI7CVs
— YouTube Creators (@YTCreators) March 20, 2017
Shortey, using the screen name “Jamie Tilley,” responded: “How much you needing?” “I need money for spring break,” the boy answered. “Tilley” responded, “I don’t really have any legitimate things I need help right now. Would you be interested in ‘sexual’ stuff?”Here's more
Police were told the teenage boy had a history of drug abuse and “soliciting himself on Craigslist for sexual conduct.” Police launched the investigation after being called by the boy’s father, who had been contacted by his son’s girlfriend.
Oklahoma State Senator Ralph Shortey turns himself in after being charged with engaging in child prostitution https://t.co/EaBcK1jjLu pic.twitter.com/TSCfZ9Ch0r
— KFOR (@kfor) March 16, 2017
A judge on the appeals court requested last month that the entire 11-judge court vote on whether to assess the three-judge panel’s decision to uphold a temporary block on Trump's original executive order, put in place by a federal judge in Seattle.trump already had a set back with his travel ban, U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson of Hawaii has put his revised travel ban on hold.
Five judges on the court dissented, arguing the panel’s opinion should have been vacated “to clear the path for future relitigation."
One of the dissenting opinions criticized Trump's personal attacks against judges involved in the case.
“The personal attacks on the distinguished district judge and our colleagues were out of all bounds of civic and persuasive discourse—particularly when they came from the parties,” the opinion said. “It does no credit to the arguments of the parties to impugn the motives or the competence of the members of this court; ad hominem attacks are not a substitute for effective advocacy.”
"I feel rage .I feel fury. It's unbelievable. People were just so desperate to hear someone say that someone is to blame. They were just so happy to hear that someone was angry. Hear someone say that Washington sucks. They just want something new without actually understanding. I mean, guys like Steve Bannon—Steve Bannon!—this man has no place in politics. Look, I'm in a business where you've got to sell tickets. But, my God, I would not be able to look at myself in the mirror if I felt strongly about something and didn't speak up. I think it's about how you speak up. We're allowed to disagree. If I state my case and people don't want to go see my movies as a result, I'm okay with that."
CNN’s Chris Massie reported on Tuesday that the Iowa Republican predicted a race war between blacks and Hispanics before one of the groups overtakes whites as a percentage of the population of the U.S.
“When you start accentuating the differences, then you start ending up with people that are at each other’s throats,” Rep. King contended, as he targeted liberal Univision anchor Jorge Ramos. “[Ramos is] adding up Hispanics and blacks into what he predicts will be in greater number than whites in America. I will predict that Hispanics and the blacks will be fighting each other before that happens.”
In its report, the CBO outlined another alarming effect on health: If implemented, the GOP’s American Health Care Act would kill the funding that established the Prevention and Public Health Fund, the federal budget’s largest budget allocation for disease prevention, by 2019.Lord, these folks are doomed
“Funding under current law [Obamacare] is projected to be $1 billion in 2017 and to rise to $2 billion in 2025 and each year thereafter,” the CBO report says. “CBO estimates that eliminating that funding would reduce direct spending by $9 billion over the 2017-2026 period.” This assessment “fails to take into account that these dollars will have to be replaced through the regular appropriations process,” the American Public Health Association pointed out in a statement, calling this a “health policy disaster.”
The ACA established the Prevention and Public Health Fund with a simple mission: to boost public health money, much of it for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to support activities that keep people from becoming sick. (At a time when more Americans would be gaining insurance, keeping people healthy and out of the health care system carried extra appeal for lawmakers.)
The Prevention Fund helps kids and their families get the vaccines they need. It supports programs that reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, and lead poisoning in communities. “It also pays for key elements of the emergency preparedness systems that are in place throughout the nation,” explained John Auerbach, president and CEO of the public health nonprofit the Trust for America’s Health, “including the people who respond quickly when there is a weather disaster, a new infectious disease outbreak like Zika or an elevated number of fatal drug overdoses.”
In deep-red America, the white Christian god is king, figuratively and literally. Religious fundamentalism has shaped most of their belief systems. Systems built on a fundamentalist framework are not conducive to introspection, questioning, learning, or change. When you have a belief system built on fundamentalism, it isn’t open to outside criticism, especially by anyone not a member of your tribe and in a position of power. The problem isn’t that coastal elites don’t understand rural Americans. The problem is that rural America doesn’t understand itself and will never listen to anyone outside its bubble. It doesn’t matter how “understanding” you are, how well you listen, what language you use…if you are viewed as an outsider, your views will be automatically discounted. I’ve had hundreds of discussions with rural white Americans and whenever I present them any information that contradicts their entrenched beliefs, no matter how sound, how unquestionable, how obvious, they will not even entertain the possibility that it might be true. Their refusal is a result of the nature of their fundamentalist belief system and the fact that I’m the enemy because I’m an educated liberal.Check it out. It's on point
Assange made the offer during a press conference Thursday. He said WikiLeaks has "a lot" of unpublished information about CIA hacking and spying that the organization would release after the tech companies fix security gaps.Why haven't they put Assange in prison? This man is the most vile crook in the game. I wish he would get locked up somewhere
Earlier this week, WikiLeaks published what it said were internal CIA documents showing that the agency has an extensive worldwide hacking operation that allows it to infiltrate phones and televisions to spy on people.
Apple and Google said shortly after the documents were published that they have already eliminated many of the potential vulnerabilities. Samsung and Microsoft said they were aware of the leaks and looking into them.
At the time of his short acting career, he said that his androgynous look alienated him within the gay community, saying "Homosexual men love very masculine men. And I'm not a very masculine person. I'm reasonably thin. I have long hair, which isn't very popular with gay men." He later adopted a more masculine look, with a shaved head, tattoos and more developed physique.This is him now
Ciara McElveen, was found stabbed to death on Monday in New Orleans 7th Ward. That homicide came only two days after another black transgender woman, Chyna Gibson, was shot and killed in New Orleans on Feb. 25, the Anti-Violence Project reports.Stop killing our sisters
In Monroe, Lousiana Jaquarrius Holland was found murdered on Feb. 19, the Anti-Violence Project reports.
In Chicago, Keke Collier, also known to friends as Tiara Richmond, was shot to death on Feb. 22 while walking near her home in Chicago.
Earlier homicides involving transgender victims occurred Jan. 4, with the death of Mesha Caldwell, in Canton, Mississippi; the Jan. 6 death of Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and the Feb. 8 death of Jojo Striker, in Toledo, Ohio, according to data provided to Hatewatch by the Anti-Violence Project.
McElveen’s murder brings transgender killings up to the numbers reported at the same time last year, with transgender women targeted at a slightly higher rate than in previous years.
Because Ciara McElveen and Chyna Doll Dupree were killed in Louisiana, a state with hate crime laws that do not offer protections for gender identity, it is unlikely the charge will be pursued without federal support for the investigation. Keke Collier’s murder is the only one of the six carried out in a state with hate crime laws that protect transgender people.
This case will not be resolved until after I graduate. But this fight is bigger than me. I came to realize that very early on, and it is truer now than it ever has been. This fight is for other trans youth in my high school. It is for other trans youth in Virginia. It is for all trans youth who are in school or one day will be. It is for the friends and loved ones of these youth, who want these children to be happy and healthy, rather than at risk and in danger as so many trans people are.
The Supreme Court had agreed to hear the case in October, and it had been scheduled to be argued this month. It would have been the court’s first encounter with transgender rights, and there was a good chance the case would have been one of a fairly sleepy term’s biggest decisions.
The question in the case was whether Mr. Grimm could use the boys’ bathroom in a Virginia high school. There are other cases on transgender rights in the pipeline, including a challenge to a North Carolina law that requires transgender people to use bathrooms in government buildings that correspond with the gender listed on their birth certificates. The law has drawn protests, boycotts and lawsuits.
The Virginia case concerned the Obama administration’s interpretation of a federal regulation under a 1972 law that bans discrimination “on the basis of sex” in schools that receive federal money.
“It talks about a subject matter that is so prevalent today. Being a black man in American is relatively difficult right now, being a gay man in America is incredibly difficult and so being a black, gay man, like I’ve said before, can be perceived as the worst possible thing right now. So it is something that we need, that the world needs, and I’m thinking it’s a beautiful thing that people are receiving it. I didn’t think we were ready for something like that. And it’s really surprising and really refreshing to me to see that people are.”
"Rather than dictating to local police how to do their jobs, or spending scarce federal resources to sue them in court, we should use our money, research, and expertise to help them figure out what is happening and determine the best ways to fight crime," Sessions said Tuesday.He's basically saying that the cops can continue killing, framing and wrongly accusing people of color of crimes they never committed. Session will send the message that it's okay to degrade Black and Brown bodies in the name of their blue fraternity.
Sessions is referring to the Obama-era policy of launching civil rights investigations into troubled police departments involved in the killings of unarmed minorities. The new attorney general was dismissive of police perpetrated shootings, even suggesting that viral videos—such as the ones showing the deaths of Philando Castile or Tamir Rice—were making life more difficult for police officers.
Sessions made the decision after it emerged that he had failed at his Senate confirmation hearing to disclose two pre-election meetings with Moscow's ambassador to Washington, at a time when Russia was accused of interfering in the presidential race.So juicy!!
"I have decided to recuse myself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States," Sessions told reporters.
"This announcement should not be interpreted as confirmation of the existence of any investigation or suggestive of the scope of any such investigation," he added.
“Donald Trump’s address to Congress vividly illustrates just how out of touch he is with the reality of people’s lives. In his world, everything he does is ‘great’, when the reality is that his policies are causing pain, suffering, and uncertainty for millions, and most often for the most vulnerable. In just 40 days, he has aggressively used his executive powers to demonize and dehumanize immigrants, Muslims, and trans youth — and he’s just getting started. One thing that is certain though is that every time he opens his mouth, more people want to join the resistance movement against his extremism,” said Rea Carey, Executive Director, National LGBTQ Task Force.
