A collection of articles defining our times. The pages contain clickable links, don't let the titles fool you, some of the best articles have very non-descript titles and there are usually more articles on the matters in the days and week pages the links land on so it's a sort of treasure hunt through history, Enjoy!
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Friday, June 8, 2018
Thursday, June 7, 2018
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Monday, June 4, 2018
Over the weekend, Trump declared an autocracy
On Saturday, the New York Times published information from a letter that had been sent by Trump’s attorneys to the special counsel’s office. In the letter, Trump’s legal team asserted not just that Trump can’t be prosecuted for obstruction, but that it’s impossible for Trump to obstruct—because Trump has the ability to nip any investigation in the bud. And should Trump not act quickly enough to prevent the start of an investigation, he can always act retroactively by pardoning anyone caught up in its findings.
Under this interpretation, Trump need not respond to a request for an interview by the special counsel. Or a subpoena from the grand jury. Or … anything at all. He is utterly exempt from legal actions.
If reporting around the letter seemed most focused on Trump’s ability to shrug off the Russia investigation, Trump’s principle public representative on these matters, Rudy Giuliani, went forth over the weekend to clarify the limits of Trump’s legal authority. What Giulani made clear is … there aren’t any. The interpretation of the White House is that Trump is not only immune from providing testimony, but based on a conversation Giulani held with the Huffington Post, Trump is completely above legal recourse. So far above it that he can do anything he wants. READ MORE
KY valedictorian rick-rolls graduation crowd with wise-sounding Trump quote (that was from Obama)
Oh, Trump voters. You are so very predictable. You love to hate everything about President Obama, despite his wildly successful two terms, both of which were largely scandal-free. Well, except for the manufactured ones and the straight up conspiratorial ones aimed at smearing him.
That makes this moment all the more hilarious. A high school valedictorian in Bell County, Kentucky, was giving his speech to his peers and their proud parents when he dropped a wise quote from Donald J. Trump. From USA Today:
"This is the part of my speech where I share some inspirational quotes I found on Google," Bowling said in his speech. "'Don't just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.' — Donald J. Trump."The crowd burst into applause."Just kidding," Bowling said. "That was Barack Obama." READ MORE
Sunday, June 3, 2018
A MUST-READ op ed by John Brennan
that went live at the Washington Post website at 7:42 this morning. Titled John Brennan: I will speak out until integrity returns to the White House, it is written from the perspective of someone who was a career intelligence official, who was in the Oval Office multiple times in the presidencies of Clinton, Bush 43, and Obama, and who views himself as not at all a partisan.
After starting with his first experience of visiting the Oval as a 35 year old CIA officer in 1990, and explaining his respect for the office of the Presidency, Brennan offers this paragraph:
Over the next quarter-century, I returned to the Oval Office several hundred times during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. The jitters that accompanied my first Oval Office visit dissipated over time, but the respect, awe and admiration I held for the office of the presidency and the incumbents never waned. The presidents I directly served were not perfect, and I didn’t agree with all of their policy choices. But I never doubted that each treated their solemn responsibility to lead our nation with anything less than the seriousness, intellectual rigor and principles that it deserved. Many times, I heard them dismiss the political concerns of their advisers, saying, “I don’t care about my politics, it’s the right thing to do.” READ MORE OR ENTIRE OP ED PIECE HERE
'It was like talking to a toddler’: mother of school shooting victim recounts her meeting with Trump
On Thursday, Donald Trump met privately with some of the parents of students killed at Santa Fe High School in Texas on May 18. Reporters were not allowed inside for the meeting, but some of the parents that met with Trump spoke publicly afterward. According to the Associated Press, they reported a range of experiences. For example, one parent felt Trump showed “sincerity, compassion, and concern on making our schools safer across the nation,” while another mother felt … underwhelmed by the encounter.
Rhonda Hart, whose 14-year-old daughter, Kimberly Vaughan, was killed at the school, told The Associated Press that Trump repeatedly used the word ‘wacky’ to describe the shooter and the trench coat he wore. She said she told Trump, “Maybe if everyone had access to mental health care, we wouldn’t be in the situation.”Hart, an Army veteran, said she also suggested employing veterans as sentinels in schools. She said Trump responded, “And arm them?” She replied, “No,” but said Trump “kept mentioning” arming classroom teachers. “It was like talking to a toddler,” Hart said. READ MORE
Whoopi Goldberg sets Roseanne Barr straight on her fake news and fake apologies
After Roseanne Barr started a garbage fire in her boat and then the boat sank, she’s been doing what a narcissist does. She has been wildly (not) apologizing to people on line, while also attempting to throw everyone in the world under the bus, blaming everyone and everything for her shitty opinions about the world. The first thing she’s gone about doing is looking into every “liberal” person employed by her now former network, ABC, and seeing if she can “whatabout” them. She came up with retweeting all of her “supporters” most crazy false equivalencies and bigoted conspiracy theories. And she also retweeted a completely doctored and previously debunked fake image of The View host Whoopi Goldberg, at a march, sporting a t-shirt that shows an image of Donald Trump blowing his brains out with a gun, that says “Make America Great Again.” READ MORE