Category: Uncategorized

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Hope Hicks Leaving White House After Trump “Berated” Her For Admitting To “White Lies”

Hope Hicks (image via Twitter)

Yesterday, White House communications director Hope Hicks announced she would be leaving her position in the Trump administration in part because “she never liked Washington and chose not to pretend to.”

But today, The New York Post is reporting that Hicks was berated by Donald Trump for admitting to the House Intelligence Committee that she often told “white lies” for him.

This apparently did not please The Donald.

The president got angry at Hicks after learning she made the revelation Tuesday to the House Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russia’s meddling into the 2016 election, a Trump ally told CNN.

A livid Trump demanded to know “how she could be that stupid” to admit she lies for the president, the report said.

Hicks, who has been by Trump’s side since the start of his presidential campaign, then suddenly announced Wednesday she would resign.

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley pushed back at CNN on Wednesday night, saying the report that Trump berated Hicks was “false.”

Hicks has become one of Trump’s closest and most trusted advisers having worked with Trump before his presidential campaign.

Before this two year presidential journey with Trump, Hicks had no experience at all in politics.

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Walmart Raises Age To Purchase Guns To 21

Via press release retail giant Walmart says they will voluntarily raise the age restriction for buying firearms and ammunition to 21 years of age.

In light of recent events, we’ve taken an opportunity to review our policy on firearm sales. Going forward, we are raising the age restriction for purchase of firearms and ammunition to 21 years of age. We will update our processes as quickly as possible to implement this change.

In 2015, Walmart ended sales of modern sporting rifles, including the AR-15. We also do not sell handguns, except in Alaska where we feel we should continue to offer them to our customers. Additionally, we do not sell bump stocks, high-capacity magazines and similar accessories. We have a process to monitor our eCommerce marketplace and ensure our policies are applied.

We take seriously our obligation to be a responsible seller of firearms and go beyond Federal law by requiring customers to pass a background check before purchasing any firearm. The law would allow the sale of a firearm if no response to a background check request has been received within three business days, but our policy prohibits the sale until an approval is given.

We are also removing items from our website resembling assault-style rifles, including nonlethal airsoft guns and toys. Our heritage as a company has always been in serving sportsmen and hunters, and we will continue to do so in a responsible way.

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Liberal Redneck: “The Right To Bear Harm”

Trae Crowder, the “Liberal Redneck,” is back with a YouTube rant on the idea of more guns in schools.”

First porch rant is awhile is about guns again. Gettin hard not to talk about guns yall. Call me a radical, but I could do without wholesale slaughter. But that’s just me.

And Crowder is not shy on his funny but also clear-headed opinions on guns in schools.

“Look, I love teachers – noble profession. But in my time as a student I saw enough of those mothersf*ckers show up too hung over to operate a VCR. And you want to give them an AR-15?”

 “It’s funny to me that when Democrats want to give medications to poor kids the GOP screams ‘This is not a socialist country.’ But when someone mentions making art class into a Sylvester Stallone movie, well all of a sudden they’re Bernie-f*cking-Sanders.”

Crowder also takes on the Lt. Governor of Georgia who literally threatened Delta Airlines (largest employer in his state) for putting an end to NRA travel discounts.

Watch Trae’s spot-on commentary below.

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Poll: 57% Of Americans Believe Donald Trump Is Racist

Donald Trump

A new poll by The Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows a majority of Americans believe Donald Trump is racist.

From the survey:

• 57% say Donald Trump is racist

• 85% of Democrats feel Trump is racist while only 21% of Republicans agree

• 57% say Trump’s policies have been bad for Muslims

• 56% say Trump’s policies have been bad for Hispanics

• 47% say Trump’s policies have been bad for African-Americans

This is the Associated Press, folks. They’re about as neutral, middle of the road, unbiased as you get.

More over at the AP.

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Olympian Gus Kenworthy Shares YouTube Comments: “Go Die Of AIDS”

(image via Parker Malloy)

Along with the increased visibility that comes with being one of the first openly gay U.S. Olympic athletes, freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy has also become something of a target for hateful homophobic comments on his YouTube videos, making the point that homophobia is alive and well in 2018.

In a tweet, Kenworthy shared comments he’s received calling him “faggot” and wishes for him to die an agonizing death from AIDS or some accident.

The tweet began, “Them: It’s 2018 nobody cares that you’re gay. Homophobia doesn’t exist anymore. Get over yourself.”

That was followed with screen captures of the hateful messages.

“Gross faggot. Fuck you. Go die of aids. Sodom and Gomorrah will return. Sick nasty pedi-fag.”

“But you are not a “champion” you are a faggot. With any luck you die a horribly painful and drawn out death mangled in a car wreck. Or a mussy pushes you off a building would also be just fine. Or maybe someone just walks up to you and play the “knock-out” game on you and your skull cracks wide open when you hit the ground and bleed out in the street.”

“Gus you are nothing but a sperm drinking, ass fucking FAG – a fucking FREAK of nature, hurry and get AIDS.”

Lovely people, no?

Yes, kids, homophobia is alive and well in Trump country.

But, that said, there were lots of folks who spoke out on Gus’s behalf.

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White House Soon To Be “Hope-Less” As Comm Director To Resign

Another one bites the dust.

From The New York Times:

Hope Hicks, the White House communications director and one of President Trump’s longest-serving advisers, said Wednesday that she plans to leave the White House in the coming weeks.

Ms. Hicks, 29, a former model who joined Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign without any experience in politics, became known as one of the few aides who understood his personality and style and could challenge the president to change his views.

Ms. Hicks had been considering leaving for several months. She told colleagues that she had accomplished what she felt she could with a job that made her one of the most powerful people in Washington, and that there would never be a perfect moment to leave, according to White House aides.

Her resignation came a day after she testified for eight hours before the House Intelligence Committee, telling the panel that in her job, she had occasionally been required to tell white lies but had never lied about anything connected to the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

The news of Hicks’ resignation comes just a day after she spent more than 8 hours testifying in front of the House Intelligence Committee.

According to reports, while she declined to answer many questions she did admit that she has felt her job required her to tell “white lies” about events at the White House.

Hicks has also been implicated in the drafting of a misleading statement Trump dictated aboard Air Force One regarding his son’s meeting with a Russian lawyer during the presidential election.

According to people present at the time, Hicks reportedly told the president that Trump Jr.’s email exchange in setting up the meeting would “never get out.”

Recently, she was also romantically involved with now-departed White House staff secretary Rob Porter who resigned amid multiple allegations of domestic abuse from his two ex-wives.

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Trump Attacks AG Jeff Sessions For Announcing Investigation Into Possible Surveillance Abuse

Attorney General Jeff Sessions

File this one under “Infighting is funny:”

Earlier today, Donald Trump issued a twitter rant at his own Attorney General Jeff Sessions after Sessions’ announcement that he will ask the inspector general of the Department of Justice to look into allegations of government surveillance abuse.

Trump went ballistic tweeting:

Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!

After months of being a public punching bag for Trump, Sessions has issued a rare public response to the attack this morning which called him “disgraceful” for his handling of the FISA warrants issue.

Via press release from the Department Of Justice:

“We have initiated the appropriate process that will ensure complaints against this Department will be fully and fairly acted upon if necessary. As long as I am the Attorney General, I will continue to discharge my duties with integrity and honor, and this Department will continue to do its work in a fair and impartial manner according to the law and Constitution.” – Jeff Sessions.

In spite of Trump’s tirade, Congressional Republicans stood by the decision and Inspector General Michael Horowitz.

Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina and current chairman of the House Oversight Committee, lauded Horowitz on Wednesday saying he has been “fair, fact centric, and appropriately confidential with his work.”

“I have complete confidence in him and hope he is given the time, the resources and the independence to complete his work,” Mr. Gowdy said.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also signaled his support for Mr. Horowitz.

More from the Twitterverse (and these are serious-minded people, folks):

And these are Republicans over at Fox News:

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Dicks Sporting Goods Announces No More Gun Sales After Florida School Massacre

Dick’s Sporting Goods is not only ending the sale of all assault-style firearms in its stores, they will no longer sell guns to anyone under 21 years old.

Via USA Today:

Assault-style weapon sales ended at Dick’s-branded stores after the Newtown, Conn. school shooting in 2012. But the company was still selling them at its 35 Field & Stream locations, which specialize in hunting and outdoors products.

More: Here’s what Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO Ed Stack wrote about his company’s actions

“As we looked at what happened down in Parkland, we were so disturbed and saddened by what happened, we felt we really needed to do something,” Stack told GMA’s George Stephanopoulos.

Stack acknowledged that the Parkland school shooter had purchased a shotgun at one of the company’s stores in November. Though the killer did not use the gun in the shooting, the realization served as a catalyst for action.

“We did everything by the book, we did everything that the law required and still he was able to buy a gun,” Stack said. “When we looked at that, we said, ‘The systems that are in place across the board just aren’t effective enough to keep us from selling someone a gun like that.’”

To be honest, this comes as no surprise. I’ve loved Dicks my whole life 😉

And yes, you can bet I’m heading to the nearest store and buying something today.

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“Funeral Home” – Civil Rights Groups Highlights How Public Accommodation Laws Affect LGBTs

As the U.S. Supreme Court considers its ruling in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, the Movement Advancement Project shares this message asking folks to consider how public accommodation laws affect LGBT Americans on a day-to-day basis.

Via press release:

Inspired by a real legal case, Funeral Home, produced by MAP as part of the Open to All campaign, depicts a grieving widow who has just lost her spouse, and she and her family are turned away from a funeral home and refused burial services for her wife.

The ad is meant to show how a loss in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case would open the door to much wider ranging forms of discrimination—including what the grieving widow in the ad faced.

Open to All is the nationwide public engagement campaign designed to raise awareness about how our nation’s nondiscrimination laws are under attack—and to defend the bedrock principle that when businesses open their doors to the public, they should be Open to All. Learn more and find out how you can get involved.

Watch the spot below, and don’t think for a moment this isn’t already a reality in some towns.

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News Round-Up: February 27, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunk Bernardo Belmar (above) reminds us why winter living is luscious on the left coast.

• Speaking of the left coast, California lawmakers have proposed legislation that would declare so-called “conversion therapy” an “unlawful practice” and fraud.

• In March of 2017, WikiLeaks tweeted it never had direct contact with long-time Trump friend/adviser Roger Stone. The Atlantic has obtained private Twitter messages between the two showing the denial was a lie.

• Donald Trump son-in-law and presidential adviser Jared Kushner has had his security clearance downgraded.

• “Goddess of pop” and awesome gay ally Kylie Minogue will headline New York City Pride.

• Trans actress Laverne Cox dropped her first single “Beat for the Gods” this week, and the music video gives glory to voguing, drag and club dance with some Fosse references thrown in for good measure.