Tag: Trump

Stephen Bannon’s nervous defense of Trump on Russia is telling

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website September 11, 2017:

Stephen K. Bannon labeled the Russia investigation a “farce” and a “waste of time” during his interview with “60 Minutes” this weekend. But those strong words papered over what was otherwise a pretty nervous and nonsensical defense of President Trump on Russia.

If you watch the video above, you’ll see Bannon repeatedly stumble over his answers to Charlie Rose’s questions. Bannon echoed the Trump White House’s long-running strategy of deflecting on Russia, responding to questions about whether there was interference by saying there was no collusion and that it didn’t have an impact. Both times Bannon tried this, though, Rose called him out for not answering the question. Continue reading “Stephen Bannon’s nervous defense of Trump on Russia is telling”

Trump Is Selling a Privatization Scam, and Calling It an Infrastructure Plan

The following article by Jefferson Morley was posted on the AlterNet website June 5, 2017:

Scorning serious proposals, the White House offers a Trump University plan for employment.

Asphalt road cracked and broken from earthquake.  Photo Credit: Narongsak Nagadhana/Shutterstock

President Trump’s original proposal for a $1 trillion infrastructure jobs plan was, in principle, a worthy idea, a practical way to create jobs and improve the country’s highways, bridges, railways, and airports. In reality, Trump’s jobs agenda is a sham that does not involve a trillion dollars, won’t do much for the country’s infrastructure and won’t create many jobs.

That became obvious Monday during the first installment of what the Trump White House billed as “infrastructure” week: a televised event designed to look like a signing ceremony. Before the cameras, the president made only a very modest proposal calling on Congress to split air traffic control away from the Federal Aviation Administration and place it under a private, non-governmental entity. Trump made a show of signing two documents as if they were legislative bills or executive orders. In fact, they were merely statements of “legislative principles,” according to the White House. Continue reading “Trump Is Selling a Privatization Scam, and Calling It an Infrastructure Plan”

Trump, Prioritizing Economy Over Climate, Cites Disputed Premises

The following article by Mark Landler, Brad Plumer and Linda Qiu was posted on the New York Times website June 1, 2017:

A map showing climate anomalies during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Le Bourget, France, in 2015. Credit Stephane Mahe/Reuters

WASHINGTON — In making his case for abandoning the Paris climate accord, President Trump characterized the agreement as an economic straitjacket — one that would impose terrible burdens on Americans by shuttering the coal industry, suffocating growth and redistributing jobs and wealth from the United States to its competitors.

One thing Mr. Trump did not do in the Rose Garden on Thursday afternoon was question the underlying science behind climate change. Indeed, the president suggested the 194-nation accord did not go far enough in stemming the rise in global temperatures because of greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading “Trump, Prioritizing Economy Over Climate, Cites Disputed Premises”

Sean Spicer’s admission: Trump dismissed Obama’s warning about Michael Flynn as sour grapes

We’ve known for a while that the White House ignored Sally Yates’s warning about Michael Flynn. Now we come to find out that it also ignored an earlier warning from President Barack Obama himself.

And the White House’s explanation for it is oh-so-Trump: It viewed the warning as sour grapes from a loser. Continue reading “Sean Spicer’s admission: Trump dismissed Obama’s warning about Michael Flynn as sour grapes”

Alleged Russian hacker arrested in Spain

The following article by Artiz Parra and Raphael Satter of the Associated Press was posted on the Boston Globe website April 10, 2017:

FBI Director James Comey confirmed his agency was investigating alleged Russian interference in the presidential election when he testified in front of US House committee in March.

MADRID — An alleged Russian hacker has been detained in Spain at the request of American authorities, an arrest that set cybersecurity circles abuzz after a Russian broadcaster raised the possibility it was linked to the US presidential election.

Pyotr Levashov was arrested Friday in Barcelona on a US computer crimes warrant, according to a spokeswoman for Spain’s National Court, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with court rules.

Such arrests aren’t unusual — American authorities typically try to nab Russian cybercrime suspects abroad because of the difficulty involved in extraditing them from Russia — but Levashov’s arrest drew immediate attention after his wife told Russia’s RT broadcaster that he was linked to America’s 2016 election hacking. Continue reading “Alleged Russian hacker arrested in Spain”

He’s the Boss

The following article by Leslie Bennetts was posted on the Washington Spectator website February 17, 2017:

Trump’s misogyny takes its toll on women

Patricia Bosworth met her future husband in a bar when he punched out a drunk who pinched her bottom. She was only 19, but they married with dizzying speed.

He began to abuse her almost as quickly. One night they argued about money, in the back seat of a taxi, and he started hitting her. Screaming and sobbing, she begged the cab driver for help, only to have him shrug off her pleas.

“He’s the boss, lady,” the driver said.

Bosworth finally left her husband when he tried to choke her to death because he was angry that his pet bird escaped. Now 83, she has since had a long career as an actress and author. Her latest book—The Men in My Life: A Memoir of Love and Art in 1950s Manhattan—describes the harrowing story of her first marriage in an era when the prevailing culture simply assumed that men were entitled to beat their wives. Continue reading “He’s the Boss”

Want a stronger economy? Give immigrants a warm welcome.

The following article by Kevin Shih was posted on the Conversation website February 23, 2017:

Immigrant Elon Musk isn’t taking anyone’s job: he’s created thousands at Tesla and SpaceX. Stephen Lam/Reuters

Immigrants have long been a scapegoat when economies are sputtering, jobs are being lost or security is a concern.

President Donald Trump’s planned wall along the Mexican border, for example, is premised on the notion that immigrants are pouring across the border (they’re not), taking Americans’ jobs (they haven’t) and committing a disproportionate share of crimes (they don’t).

The presumed threats of immigration were also front and center in Trump’s recently announced plan to deport millions of people who were in the U.S. illegally. Continue reading “Want a stronger economy? Give immigrants a warm welcome.”

A Professor’s Lesson: ‘American Democracy Is Now Confronting An Abyss’

The following article by Jefferson Morley was posted on the Alternet website February 16, 2017:

Michael Glennon on the dilemmas of Trump and the Deep State.

Ah, listen to that ominous phrase, the “Deep State.”

You hear the words hissing from the fur-lined rat hole of Breitbart. They ring from the pulpit of Greenwald. They sound in the silos of Salon and The Atlantic and Foreign Policy. And over on Twitter, the white nationalists are Jew-baiting the hapless Bill Kristol because he prefers the Deep State to the Trump State. Continue reading “A Professor’s Lesson: ‘American Democracy Is Now Confronting An Abyss’”

Like the Cold War’: Minnesota Russian community worried

The following article by Jean Hopfensperger was posted on the Star Tribune website February 20, 2017:

Mark Stipakov, second from right, second row, a real estate agent in Plymouth, went to grade school with Russian President Vladimir Putin, third from right, front row.

Mark Stipakov went to grade school with Russian President Vladimir Putin and consulted with him in the 1990s when Putin worked in the St. Petersburg’s mayor’s office. Watching the barrage of news about his old classmate’s possible influence on the Trump administration, Stipakov worries.

Yes, Putin is a former top spy, he said, but he’s also not a guy who would jeopardize relations with a superpower. Continue reading “Like the Cold War’: Minnesota Russian community worried”

Bigotry And Xenophobia Now Have Free Rein

The following article by Cynthia Tucker Haynes was posted on the National Memo website January 28, 2017:

President Donald Trump will build a wall along the border with Mexico. You know that’s true because, well, he says it is.

Starting his tenure with a showman’s gifts for displays of authority and action, he signed an executive order calling for the “immediate construction of a physical wall.” Putting still more pressure on undocumented workers, he also signed an order that will make it easy for border enforcement agents to deport those who have not been convicted of any crime. Continue reading “Bigotry And Xenophobia Now Have Free Rein”