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Trump Does Comedy Routine At National Prayer Breakfast

President Donald Trump, attending the National Prayer Breakfast, broke into a stand up comedy routine criticizing Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger became Trump’s replacement on the reality TV show, The Apprentice, after Trump decided to run for president.

At the time, the Trumpster only had praise for Schwarzenegger, tweeting: “Congrats to my friend @Schwarzenegger who is doing next season’s Celebrity Apprentice. He’ll be great & will raise lots of $ for charity.”

However, the ratings for the new season of the show have dropped, much to the delight of Trump’s ego.

At the National Prayer Breakfast this morning, Trump mentioned Arnold and the show:

“The ratings went right down the tubes. It’s been a total disaster. And Mark [Burnett] will never, ever bet against Trump again, and I want to just pray for Arnold, if we can, for those ratings.”

Daniel Ketchell, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger, issued this response: “Arnold is praying that President Trump can start improving his own approval ratings, which were the worst in history for an incoming president, by taking his job seriously and working inclusively.”

Arnold posted this response a short time later:

“Hey Donald, I have a great idea. Why don’t we switch jobs?” Schwarzenegger said. “You take over TV since you’re such an expert on ratings and I take over your job and then people can finally sleep comfortably again.”

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Draft Executive Order Outlines White House Plan To Legalize LGBT Discrimination

The Nation has obtained of a leaked copy of a draft executive order that would realize the fears of the LGBTQ community by legalizing discrimination.

The four-page draft order, a copy of which is currently circulating among federal staff and advocacy organizations, construes religious organizations so broadly that it covers “any organization, including closely held for-profit corporations,” and protects “religious freedom” in every walk of life: “when providing social services, education, or healthcare; earning a living, seeking a job, or employing others; receiving government grants or contracts; or otherwise participating in the marketplace, the public square, or interfacing with Federal, State or local governments.”

The draft order seeks to create wholesale exemptions for people and organizations who claim religious or moral objections to same-sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion, and trans identity, and it seeks to curtail women’s access to contraception and abortion through the Affordable Care Act.

Language in the draft document specifically protects the tax-exempt status of any organization that “believes, speaks, or acts (or declines to act) in accordance with the belief that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, sexual relations are properly reserved for such a marriage, male and female and their equivalents refer to an individual’s immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy, physiology, or genetics at or before birth, and that human life begins at conception and merits protection at all stages of life.”

The breadth of the draft order, which legal experts described as “sweeping” and “staggering,” may exceed the authority of the executive branch if enacted. It also, by extending some of its protections to one particular set of religious beliefs, would risk violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution.

“This executive order would appear to require agencies to provide extensive exemptions from a staggering number of federal laws—without regard to whether such laws substantially burden religious exercise,” said Marty Lederman, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and an expert on church-state separation and religious freedom.

With this language, you have to wonder if Catholics might be able to legally discriminate against divorced people?

Advocacy groups react:

See photo copies of the draft below via The Nation (click images to enlarge):

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Hump Day: Ramin Karimloo “Anthem”

Broadway and West End star Ramin Karimloo and his Broadgrass Band’s ‘Lead Me Home’ tour recently ended on January 29th in the UK.

I’m an enormous fan of the Iranian-Canadian actor/singer who has starred in Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies and Les Miserables in the UK, as well as his star turn as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables on Broadway. The seriously woofy and talented Karimloo will begin rehearsals in a few weeks for the upcoming Broadway production of Anatasia.

With the issue of immigration, nations borders and more in the daily news spotlight, I think his heartfelt performance of “Anthem,” from the musical Chess, is more than  appropriate.

His voice is just… woof. Effortless tone, gorgeous over-the-bar phrasing. And so easy on the eyes, too 🙂

Follow him on Instagram here.

Click below and enjoy:

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Rex Tillerson Confirmed As New Secretary Of State

Newly confirmed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

The New York Times has the details:

Rex W. Tillerson, the former chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil, was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday in a 56 to 43 vote to become the nation’s 69th secretary of state just as serious strains have emerged with important international allies.

The many votes against Mr. Tillerson’s confirmation made his selection among the most contentious for a secretary of state in recent history, and he takes his post just as many traditional American allies are questioning the policies of President Trump.

In the past 50 years, the most contentious confirmations for secretary of state were those of Condoleezza Rice in 2005, who passed by a vote of 85 to 13, and Henry Kissinger in 1973, who was confirmed 78 to 7.

Mr. Trump is the most unapologetically nationalistic president of the modern era who has questioned the value of many of the alliances and multilateral institutions that the United States has nurtured since World War II to keep world order. How Mr. Tillerson’s translates Mr. Trump’s vow of “America First” into the kind of polite diplomatic parlance that will maintain vital alliances will be a significant test.

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White House Condemns Recent Actions By Iran: “We Are Officially Putting Iran On Notice”

National Security Advisor Michael Flynn says U.S. condemns recent actions by Iran regarding missile incidents: “As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice.”

Read the full statement below (click image to enlarge):

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Three More Trump Cabinet Nominees Move To Full Votes In U.S. Senate

Attorney General nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions 

Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees are moving forward through Senate committees today, albeit in a rougher fashion than seen in earlier confirmations.

• Attorney General nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions was approved this morning on an 11-9 party vote in the Senate Judiciary committee.

The unanimous opposition by committee Democrats seems to signal a lack of trust in Sessions’ ability to apply federal laws uniformly, and concerns about his uneven background on civil rights.

• Senate Finance Committee chairman Sen. Orrin Hatch decided to suspend the committee rules which require the presence of at least one Democrat in order to allow a vote. In doing so, Trump’s nominees Steven Mnuchin (Treasury Secretary) and Rep. Tom Price (Health Secretary) advanced to the Senate floor for a vote by the full Senate.

Senate Democrats had boycotted Mnuchin and Price’s hearings Tuesday saying Price “outright lied to our committee.” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) pointed to a report that indicated Price had received an offer to buy a biomedical stock at a discount, directly contradicting earlier testimony in his confirmation hearing.

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One In Four Americans Believe Trump’s Claims Of Widespread Voter Fraud

The latest POLITICO/Morning Consult poll indicates that 25% of Americans – one in four voters – believe President Trump’s claim that 3-5 million votes were cast illegally in November’s presidential contest. A plurality (44%) do not believe his assertions.

However, if the election was subject to voter fraud, more voters (35%) believe Trump would have benefited from the impropriety than Hillary Clinton (30%).

The Trump White House has indicated that an investigation into voter fraud would be forthcoming, even though there is little to no evidence to support the idea of widespread issues with the nation’s electoral system.

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How Conservative Is Judge Neil Gorsuch?

The New York Times explains who and what kind of judge President Trump’s nominee to replace Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court, 49-year-old Neil Gorsuch, would be.

Who is Judge Gorsuch? He has deep ties to Washington, where his mother was a high-level official in the Reagan administration. After attending Columbia and Harvard Law School, he served as a clerk for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. Later, Judge Gorsuch worked in private practice and in the Justice Department.

What is his judicial philosophy? Judge Gorsuch is an originalist, meaning he tries to interpret the Constitution consistently with the understanding of those who drafted it, our writer explains.

He would be more conservative than Justice Scalia was, but less conservative than Justice Clarence Thomas, according to a study of potential nominees.

While he has not written extensively on several issues of importance to many conservatives, including gun control and gay rights, Judge Gorsuch has taken strong stands in favor of religious freedom, earning him admiration from the right.

He would be expected to vote to limit gay rights, uphold restrictions on abortion and overturn affirmative action programs.

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Trump Nominates Judge Neil Gorsuch To U.S. Supreme Court

And the winner in the final “rose ceremony” in this season’s SCOTUS nominee sweepstakes is…

Judge Neil Gorsuch has been nominated by President Trump to fill the vacancy left in the passing of Antonin Scalia.

From ABC News:

Gorsuch, 49, is currently a judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. He was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2006 and confirmed by the Senate in a voice vote.

Gorsuch sided with Christian employers and religious organizations in the Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby and Little Sisters of the Poor cases. The plaintiffs argued for an exemption from the contraception mandate in President Obama’s signature health care legislation, the Affordable Care Act, due to religious beliefs.

In the Hobby Lobby case, Gorsuch wrote, “The ACA’s mandate requires them to violate their religious faith by forcing them to lend an impermissible degree of assistance to conduct their religion teaches to be gravely wrong.”

When it comes to criminal procedure, he dissented in the United States v. Carlos case, arguing that police officers violated the Fourth Amendment when they entered a home that had a “No Trespassing” sign posted.

If nominated, Gorsuch would be the youngest Supreme Court nominee in about 25 years.

At 49 years old, Gorsuch would be the youngest Supreme Court justice in about 25 years.

Executive Director Rea Carey of the National LGBTQ Task Force issued the following statement, via press release, regarding the nomination:

“Judge Neil Gorsuch’s record reveals a jurist who: believes that bosses should control their employees’ private health care decisions; supports the misuse of religion to legalize discrimination; and holds LGBTQ equality with disdain. He is also a darling of those who are vehemently opposed to marriage equality. He seems like someone who aligns perfectly with Donald Trump and Mike Pence’s view of the world, but is completely out of touch with the realities of most people’s lives.”