Category: Uncategorized

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Trump Demands $18 Billion For Mexico Wall In Exchange For Saving DACA Recipients

After a bipartisan panel of five U.S. Senators have spent months hashing out an immigration deal that would tighter national security while also giving DACA recipients protection from deportation, Donald Trump has upended the game board issuing a list of demands including $18 billion to begin building a wall on the U.S./Mexican border before he will grant young immigrants protection.

From The New York Times:

The request, which totals $33 billion over a period of 10 years for border security measures including the wall, could jeopardize bipartisan talks aimed at getting an immigration deal. Among the items on Mr. Trump’s immigration wish-list: money to hire 10,000 additional immigration officers, tougher laws for those seeking asylum, and denial of federal grants to so-called “sanctuary cities.”

The list, delivered to Senator Richard J. Durbin, the Illinois Democrat who has been leading the talks related to young immigrants without documentation, is identical to one Democrats declared a non-starter when the White House issued it in October.

“President Trump has said he may need a good government shutdown to get his wall,” a furious Mr. Durbin said in an emailed statement Friday afternoon. “With this demand, he seems to be heading in that direction.’’

A poll in September (above) shows 62% of all Americans oppose building a wall along the U.S./Mexico border. Only 27% “strongly support” the idea of a wall.

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News Round-Up: January 5, 2018

Joss Mooney (via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Shoutout/woof to total thirst trap Joss Mooney who recently joined MTV’s The Challenge. The former Ex on the Beach star and online trainer is giving you his best moody-muscle gaze via Instagram.    #Dang

• Twitter says they don’t want to block the tweets of world leaders (we’re looking at you, Donald Trump) because “people should be able to see and debate” important information those leaders may share.

• A transgender cab driver in the UK, who was snubbed by her kids when she came out, will not be sharing her $5.4 million lottery winnings with the hideous offspring.

• The groundbreaking Freeform (formerly ABC Family) series The Fosters will come to an end this Spring. The series, about a lesbian couple raising their adopted and biological children, will see the beginning of the end when the current season picks up January 9.

• Washington state has added a third gender option – “X” – to birth certificates. Additionally, the state has streamlined the process of updating gender identity on state-issued documents.

• Colorado prison guards “smiled” as a gay prisoner begged not to be housed with a rapist. Over the course of three days, the 21-year-old was repeatedly raped and beaten. He has filed suit against the federal government.

• Check out the new music video for “Mystery of Love” by Sufjan Stevens from the soundtrack for the acclaimed feature film, Call Me By Your Name, featuring footage from the film.

I’m thinking Oscar nomination for “Best Song” here.

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Performance Artist Alex Jones Goes Bat-Shit Crazy Over CNN’s Brian Stelter

OMG! This is totally scream-worthy.

This guy – Alex Jones – is a major player among conservative followers. THIS is what the far-right listens to.

And what’s sad is: this is just another day at the office for Alex Jones.

Here’s just a snack-size taste of his ramped-up crazy-town performance. This one rails at CNN contributor Brian Stelter.

“I pledge before my heavenly Father that I will resist them every way I can. These people are the literal demon spawn of the pit of hell – look at him. He runs your kids, he runs the schools, he runs the banks – this guy. This spirit. This smiling, leering devil that thinks you can’t see what he is. He is your enemy, period, all the narcissistic devil-worshiping filth. I see you, enemy. I see you, enemy. Enemy! Enemy!”

Grab the popcorn, kick back and laugh along…

(h/t JoeMyGod)

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New Music: MILCK “This Is Not The End”

New music today from MILCK, who became a viral sensation performing her song “Quiet” at the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. last year.

“Quiet” went on to hit number 1 on Billboard’s 20 Best Protest Songs of 2017.

Her latest single, “This Is Not The End,” is from her upcoming self-titled EP on Atlantic Records.

The soaring, powerful anthem follows “Quiet” in underscoring her message of resistance and self-empowerment.

I will hunt my hunters down
Take back my broken crown
I will look them in the eye
Will not be the beast that hides
I will hunt my hunters down
This is not the end
Trouble will not take me in

Speaking to Billboard on the release of an acoustic studio version of “Quiet,” she said, “Whoever relates to this song and can garner some type of joy or support and to think on it and feel less alone. This is what music did for me growing up and still does now.”

Look for MILCK on The Today Show January 19 where she will perform “Quiet.”

She will also headline the Women’s March on New York City on Saturday, January 20th.

Listen to “This Is Not The End” below.

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Skater Adam Rippon Could Be One Of The Few Openly Gay Skaters At 2018 Olympics After Strong Short Program

Adam Rippon

Twenty-eight-year-old figure skater Adam Rippon had an excellent night at the 2018 U.S. National championships last night coming in just a tad behind reigning national champ Nathan Chen.

Rippon, a two-time world junior champ, scored a personal-best of 96.52 points which leaves him within striking distance of Chen who notched a 104.45 in the short program.

Rippon, who came out in 2015, missed out on the 2014 Olympic team due to a flu that kept him from posting his best at the nationals that year.

More bad luck followed as he missed nationals last year due to a broken foot.

But Rippon isn’t dwelling on past disappointments.

From The L.A. Times:

“Every disappointment I’ve ever had has made me so much stronger and so much better. I wouldn’t be the person I am now, I wouldn’t appreciate what I’m doing right now as much as I do if I didn’t have those ups and downs of not making the team, of breaking my foot, of feeling like I’ve come up short.”

He was shaky during the six-minute warmup but coaxed himself to relax. “I said, ‘Girl, you tight,’” he recalled. It worked, putting him in position to become one of the few openly gay figure skaters to compete at the Olympics.

He joked that being a gay athlete is “exactly like being a straight athlete, only with better eyebrows,” but he’s serious about being a role model to kids because he never had one.

“I think sharing my story has made me a better competitor because I don’t really care what other people think of me. I’m able to go out there and I’m really able to be unabashedly myself. And I love myself,” he said. “When I’m able to go out there and just really be me, I’m able to put my hard work forward and I want somebody who’s young, who’s struggling, who’s not sure if it’s OK if they are themselves, to know that it’s OK that there are so many people out there who have the same worries. …If you set your mind to something, you can truly do anything.”

The men’s free skate competition is on Saturday.

Watch Rippin’s short program below.

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David Letterman Returns To Talk Show TV With Barack Obama As First Guest

Beginning January 12, David Letterman will return to talk show TV with his new Netflix series, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.

The monthly series, consisting of one-hour chats, has announced six episodes thus far.

And Letterman’s first guest is quite the get – former President Barack Obama in his first talk show appearance since leaving the White House.

Future guests include George Clooney, Malala Yousafzai, Jay-Z, Tina Fey and Howard Stern.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, each episode will focus on just one guest with Letterman engaging in in-depth chat. Additionally, the show will have field segments also related to that installment’s guest.

The launch of the new show marks Letterman’s first return to regular appearances since he left CBS in 2015.

Watch the trailer below.

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Jobs Report: 2017 Had Weakest Jobs Growth In 7 Years

The new jobs report from the Department of Labor is out today showing employers added 148,000 jobs in December missing the estimated 190,000 figure.

Additionally, the October and November numbers were down showing 9,000 less new jobs than previously reported.

Unemployment remains at 4.1%.

Interestingly, back in 2012, Trump told his followers we needed at least 300K new jobs a month for growth. December’s number are less than half that.

Plus, it’s worth noting that Trump’s big claim to being president is his business acumen and job-creating ability. And yet, in his first year in office, he oversaw 2.06 million new jobs added to the U.S. economy while President Obama’s last year showed 2.24 million new jobs.

The year 2017 represents the weakest year in job growth since 2010.

Even Fox News delivered the bad news.

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Author Michael Wolff: Trump Has “Less Credibility Than Perhaps Any Man Who Has Ever Walked On Earth”

Speaking with The Today Show‘s Savannah Guthrie, author Michael Wolff defended his new book Fire and Fury: Inside The Trump White House saying he stands by “absolutely everything” he wrote in the explosive expose.

“I absolutely spoke to the president. Whether he realized it was an interview or not, I don’t know, but it certainly was not off the record,” said Wolff, author of “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” which was published Friday, four days ahead of the original release date after headlines about the book generated massive interest.

Wolff said he spent about three hours with Trump, both during the campaign and after his inauguration, for his book. But he also spoke to his key aides, “people who spoke to the president on a daily, sometimes minute by minute basis.”

“My creditably is being questioned by a man who has less credibility than perhaps anyone who has ever walked on Earth at this point,” he said.

“I have recordings, I have notes, I am certainly and absolutely in every way comfortable with everything I have reported,” he said, noting that after writing “millions” of words in media columns and other books, “I don’t think there has ever been one correction.”

Watch Wolff’s full interview below.

By the way, Trump says he never authorized Wolff’s access to the White house or spoke to the author. And yet, Wolff visited and interviewed White House staff for months.

How can Trump keep America secure if he can’t keep his own White House secure?

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Trump Ordered White House Lawyer To Convince AG Jeff Sessions From Recusing Himself From Russian Probe

Without a doubt, this revelation moves the Trump White House closer and closer to a charge of obstruction of justice.

Trump wanted an Attorney General who would “protect” him.

Why would an innocent person need to be protected?

From The New York Times:

President Trump gave firm instructions in March to the White House’s top lawyer: stop the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, from recusing himself in the Justice Department’s investigation into whether Mr. Trump’s associates had helped a Russian campaign to disrupt the 2016 election.

Public pressure was building for Mr. Sessions, who had been a senior member of the Trump campaign, to step aside. But the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, carried out the president’s orders and lobbied Mr. Sessions to remain in charge of the inquiry, according to two people with knowledge of the episode.

Mr. McGahn was unsuccessful, and the president erupted in anger in front of numerous White House officials, saying he needed his attorney general to protect him. Mr. Trump said he had expected his top law enforcement official to safeguard him the way he believed Robert F. Kennedy, as attorney general, had done for his brother John F. Kennedy and Eric H. Holder Jr. had for Barack Obama.

Mr. Trump then asked, “Where’s my Roy Cohn?” He was referring to his former personal lawyer and fixer, who had been Senator Joseph R. McCarthy’s top aide during the investigations into communist activity in the 1950s and died in 1986.

The report goes on to say that just days before FBI Director James Comey was fired, aides for Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked congressional staffers if they had dirt on Comey. Clearly, there was a thought to try and smear the FBI director.

The extremely-nonpartisan Associated Press has now corroborated this story.

Not to be heavyhanded but it bears repeating – the Attorney General does not serve to protect the president.

It is the Attorney General’s job to enforce the laws of the United States.

There’s irony in Trump’s call for his own “Roy Cohn” given Trump’s own disloyalty to the infamous attorney once he was diagnosed with AIDS.