Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Not The Onion


Reports of coronavirus briefing, hearings, funding requests today all signal Executive Branch disarray, confusion, incompetence; state officials in affected states like CA filling in for federal failure.


Sen. Bob Menendez, ranking Democrat on Senate Foreign Relations, said that Bernie Sanders gives a "passing glance" to authoritarian "but then dwells on all the alleged good things." He added: "It's not what I would want to see in the person who would be leader of the free world."


CDC just said that contagion in the US is "inevitable" and the Dow is down 1600 points.


Clarence Thomas’s wife is working with Trump to purge disloyal staff. Neil Gorsuch only has a job because Trump and Republicans conspired against Obama. And Brett Kavanaugh owes Trump a favor after rape allegations. Those three should recuse themselves.


Judge Amy Berman Jackson said attacks from Trump, Tucker Carlson, and Alex Jones are part of a campaign of intimidation and harassment of jurors in Roger Stone's criminal case. Making jurors' identities public "would put them at substantial risk of harm."


"Elizabeth Warren is on the ropes. She needs to peel away some progressive voters. The time is now to draw a sharp contrast,"


Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing claimed to be a victim of “revenge on behalf of the Clintons and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups.” By Trump’s standard, Kavanaugh will be sitting out a hell of a lot of cases.


70 former U.S. senators: The Senate is failing to perform its constitutional duties. Members "need to stand firm in the face of ... opposition from partisans who prefer politicians who take intransigent positions over those who champion ... compromise."


Watch this space. White House may be playing this move: 1. Nominate someone like Ratcliffe. 2. Senate will certainly not confirm. 3. Grenell remains in place under Vacancies Reform Act rather than leave by March 11 while the nomination of his successor lingers for MONTHS


Amid his newly solidified front-runner status, Bernie Sanders is poised to be a top target at tonight's debate


NEW: FBI, NYPD raid Times Square headquarters of Peter Nygard’s fashion company as part of a sex trafficking investigation, U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan says.


I am very concerned this request is not enough to ensure that we are putting all the necessary resources towards this emerging threat. —Senator @PattyMurray calls out the Trump administration for its inadequate response to coronavirus


BLOOD AND SOIL IN NARENDRA MODI’S INDIA


GOP chairman of Appropriations panel worries Trump 'lowballing' coronavirus funding request


U know who’s been quiet thru all this? W. When do we get to hear from the Bush family? Many questions...


Commentators shouldn’t be hired by MSNBC because they’re pro-Sanders any more than they should be hired by CNN because they’re pro-Trump. Give us a mind at work, not a predetermined opinion.


At this point I’d be fine if Pete, Liz, Amy, Joe and Mike drew straws. 1 long and 4 short. Or 4 long and 1 short. I don’t care. Tick tock


The government can quarantine you for coronavirus, and there’s almost nothing you can do about it


SOUTH FLORIDA Miami family donates $2.5 million to fund investigative journalism. ‘Future is in peril’


NYT confirms: Ginni Thomas, the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, has targeted officials at the National Security Council, the former head of the White House personnel office and other top White House aides for replacement for not being conservative enough.


Recent WH leaks say Trump is "delighted" that America is tearin' itself apart. It's almost like Putin and Trump have the same goals.


Gee, it affects government people too. Looking at you, WH.


How about a press briefing on behalf of our country?


Media: @realDonaldTrump, asked by @Acosta in #NewDelhi if he'll pledge not to take foreign election assistance, attacks @CNN, saying, "Your record on telling the truth is so bad, you ought to be ashamed." Acosta: "Our record on delivering the truth is a lot better than yours."


So? She didn’t lie. Perhaps, Associate Justice Thomas can recuse himself as his wife is working on your behalf. Oh, and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch should also recuse as, after all they were appointed by you, so we can’t expect fair and impartial, right? #Resist


At CNN townhall, Bernie added "China raised more people out of extreme poverty than anyone" to "Castro isn't all bad." *How* China's transformation happened matters. Integral was the one child policy. Forced sterilization, families torn apart. People crushed to achieve policy.


Sanders condescendingly & falsely claiming this woman misquoted him Watch him lie & smirk We've had enough of this Took a yr to meet w 24 people who signed complaints about sexual violence & harassment on his campaign


Bernie also created a full-time job for Jane when he was Mayor of Burlington that hadn't existed before and that he didn't let anyone else apply for - nepotism from the very start. But Bernie says gov't should be responsible for charity work - he doesn't believe in them!


Sheltering in a cave for warmth, the situation is increasingly becoming desperate for nearly a million Syrians, who have been displaced by the latest fighting


Has Chief Justice Roberts pushed back yet on Trump's intimidation of two members of SCOTUS? I'd really like to see him show some strength here.


A former top Ukrainian official said he is concerned that Trump's efforts to force out admin officials deemed to be disloyal would in the short term leave a hollowed out U.S. office in Kyiv and space for Russia to ratchet up its influence operations.


Let me know if you were “deeply disappointed” or “demoralized” by the Obama Presidency. Because I never was. I guess @BernieSanders was.


NYT confirms: Ginni Thomas, the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, has targeted officials at the National Security Council, the former head of the White House personnel office and other top White House aides for replacement for not being conservative enough.


The question was "do you think justice was served in the Harvey Weinstein case?" This was Trump's full answer.


FACT: After Trump was warned by the CDC of global numbers of #CoronavirusOutbreak🦠 & need for an aggressive response — Trump put out a budget cutting CDC funding by 19% & said “Alex Azar (Big Pharma Lobbyist) was doing a great job containing the virus.”


On his website, Rich Grennel touted his work with celebrities in Sudan, including George Clooney. Today, Clooney’s rep said he "never solicited nor received advice from him” Via senior entertainment reporter


Pete Buttigieg to Trump supporters: "This President does not respect you. This President thinks you are a sucker"


These rape fantasies from Sanders are troubling, weird, and not normal. I do not care how long ago they were. This came from a depraved mind.


Buttigieg on Sanders's Castro comments: "I don't want to be explaining why our nominee is encouraging people to look on the bright side of the Castro regime while we're going into the election of our lives."


Oh wow, Paul Wood’s story has some incredible photographs Here is George Nader, Trump’s pedophile, standing next to Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. Just the two of them


Doctors Have a Name for Separating Kids from Their Parents at the Border: It's Torture.


“We’re taking the oil” from Syria, says Trump, again claiming that the US has requisitioned oil from a foreign state as tribute, in effect, for US military deployment.


"He’s going to prison, and for a long time. Good. But he got off on the most serious counts. Sorry (actually, not sorry): This isn’t good enough,"


Hey guys, look, the Federalist supports @BernieSanders I wonder why.....


Adam Schiff Reveals The Donald Trump Insult His Daughter Jokingly Used Against Him The California Democrat joked that it’s “pretty scary” spending half his day inside Trump’s head


Audio: Bloomberg slammed Warren as 'scary' and demeaned his endorsement of Obama


Did Trump say his administration is going to *do anything* about Russian sabotage of the election, which *his own* intelligence services have confirmed is happening? Never mind the Bernie angle. It's designed to get you to overlook that question. But media should be focused it.


Assange update - So the defense is attacking the idea that the allegation Assange assisted Manning does not meet the legal requirement of a crime in the UK, thereby failing the “dual criminality requirement.”


U.S. government researchers expect by the end of April to start testing whether Moderna’s new coronavirus vaccine is safe


And let’s be clear: Justice Sotomayor did not criticize Trump, personally. She criticized the distortion of the appellate process to cater to the federal government: “...the Court has been all too quick to grant the Government’s ‘reflexiv[e]’ requests.”


This is the danger of anti intellectualism and anti expert driving policy. The world is reduced to Trump’s gut and the loudmouths in the bar with him. People will die because of this ignorance


Bernie's Deputy Campaign Manager: “This never happened. Bernie Sanders never considered a primary challenge to Obama." Here's Bernie speaking about primarying Obama. He & his senior staff lie as easily as Trump & his administration do.


Former Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak has died, state media says. He ruled for years until the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.


Opinion: A ‘no’ vote on Question 1 ensures safety of Maine’s most vulnerable


@axios reports Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, has been providing Trump with memos naming allegedly "disloyal" federal officials to target for purges. We have outstanding FOIAs at 7 agencies to release top officials' emails with Thomas:



Trump demands Supreme Court Justices Sotomayor and Ginsberg recuse themselves from all cases involving him


Nevada Pro-Trump activists used same day registration to become Democrats, voted Bernie and switched back to Republican. Now tell me that Trump doesn't want to face Bernie. And how in the world is this allowed?


An official from the World Health Organization said the drug remdesivir is showing signs that it may be able to help treat the deadly coronavirus


Bernie Sanders denounced authoritarianism, but would not recant comments that it was "unfair to simply say everything is bad" about the Cuban Revolution


Bernie Sanders' son, a Senior Advisor on the Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign, upset that McAuliffe ordered Confederate flags off of Virginia license plates. There are more unusual white takes from this Bernie, Senior Advisor The press wouls be all over any other campaign for this


After the poisonings of Bulgarian arms dealer Gebrev, Russia accredited one of the accused assassins as part of its WTO mission in Geneva, where he hosted his old comrades Cheliga & Mishkin in the weeks before their alleged attack on Skripal in Salisbury


‘Star Trek’ Actor Tears Into Donald Trump’s Supporters: Sacrificing Good To Support Evil “I think this is a particularly heinous moment in American history with Donald Trump,” said Walter Koenig.


Hong Kong has announced that all classes in schools will be further suspended until at least April 19 to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.


The @JohnsHopkins map is a great tool. But when I coordinated the Ebola response in 2014-15, I got two briefings a day from the CIA ... and never crowd-sourced the response on @Twitter.


“the U.S. was so desperate to get Assange in its custody that American officials, via Grenell, agreed in advance to take [execution] off the table before even allowing a trial and sentencing to play out.” —— LITERALLY LEGALLY REQUIRED TO EXTRADITE ANYONE


The @realDonaldTrump budget makes cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. @GOP supports whatever Trump wants no matter how crazy. Democrats in the House are going to pass a funding package to combat coronavirus. Also, we believe in science.


Trump’s coronavirus problem: “Having hollowed out senior leadership of so many departments of the government — especially in the scientific community —(Trump) is now in desperate need of professional guidance among people he has abused for three years.”


There have been 80 partisan, 5-4 Supreme Court decisions favoring big Republican donor interests since John Roberts became chief justice in 2005. The pattern is undeniable.


Ken, Let me tell you what the world is thinking but not saying. You're a fucking idiot and only Donald Trump would have hired you. As Deputy Secretary, I would think you would have more information about the Coronavirus than fucking Google you imbecile.


In 48 hours, ⁦@BernieSanders⁩ said crap alienating 2 crucial voting blocs in FL, the biggest swing state. His comments against AIPAC and in favor of Castro, make it very hard for him to win FL + hurt down-ballot Dems. Why, Dear Jesus. Why


Four days apart.


“Mora, the Sanders campaign confirmed, has been fired.”


so weird that the exact same thing happened to me the other night after writing a story that Sanders supporters decided they didn't like


Sometimes I think about how Mick Mulvaney admitted to bribing a foreign government for dirt on a political opponent on national TV and @SenateGOP @HouseGOP just shrugged their shoulders


Sanders Says He’ll Attract a Wave of New Voters. It Hasn’t Happened.


For all those Trump supporters worried about the ‘Deep State’ (aka professional civil servants) & loyalty over competency, well here’s where it swings back around “Market plunge over coronavirus fears underscores political risk to Trump”⁩


The color in this reads like a novel. like a lot in the Middle East you never know how much these guys are bullshitting but it’s a hell* of a story. Andy Khawaja: ‘I am the whistleblower’


Dear @TomSteyer, Thank you for all of your hard work and commitment. Please consider donating the same dollar for dollar $200 million+ you have spent on your own Presidential campaign to six key Senate races. These Senate races desperately need your money.


News: Kudlow spoke w/ Post after markets closed. Encouraged people to buy. “The coronavirus will not last forever. The US looks well-contained and the economy is fundamentally sound,” he told me. “If you’re a long term investor, you should seriously consider buying these dips.”


Trump's idiot trade advisor lying to you.


Bernie Sanders blaming Barack Obama for only getting 10% of the white vote in Mississippi


The President trying to prevent the stock market from contracting coronavirus is the natural extension of believing corporations are people.


“It’s especially stupid to deny that Putin wants Trump to be reelected, because Putin said it himself, standing next to Trump at Helsinki. He made no secret that he wanted Trump to win in 2016." - Garry Kasparov, Russian pro-democracy leader, on Russian election meddling


A Russian delegation will arrive in Turkey on Wednesday to discuss tensions in Syria’s Idlib province ahead of a possible visit by Vladimir Putin


Harvey Weinstein is now a convicted rapist because of the bravery of the women who spoke out and the investigative journalism which held him to account. Sometimes it can all seem hopeless, today is a good reminder it isn’t.


Bernie has lots on his mind.

Warning, this is really gross.

I agree w/ @Kasparov63. It's absurd to deny Putin supports Trump. He said it himself in Helsinki! So why does @CNN keep reporting that the intel briefing was "nuanced & misread"? TBH that sounds like WH propaganda to justify purging those focused on Russia's crimes to help Trump.


Phone records provide ‘irrefutable proof’ of sexual assault allegations against Trump, lawyer says - ABC News


Exclusive: American College of Cardiology director tells ⁦@NBCNews⁩ there's one heart measure Sanders could disclose but isn't that might help address lingering questions about his heart health:


MSNBC veteran Chris Matthews pledged to do a better job of “elevating the political discussion” after comparing Sanders’ Nevada win to the Nazis defeating France in World War II


Antarctic heat wave melted 20 percent of an island’s snow cover in days


Antarctic heat wave melted 20 percent of an island’s snow cover in days


Scoop: Joe Biden is airing a new ad accusing Bernie Sanders of attempting to undermine Barack Obama's 2012 primary reelection.


I wrote a final goodbye. I sign out today after 5 years in Beirut with an impossibly heavy heart as Syria faces its greatest tragedy yet. It's hard thing for journalist to acknowledge, looking back on a body of work, to realise it has had so little impact


A former Democratic governor of a major state told me the odds of a Sanders victory are 10%. Dem candidates in red districts are already alarmed that with Sanders at the top of the ticket, Democrats could lose the House and fail to regain the Senate.


"His work for the Hungarian-funded nonprofit is the type of activity that, in other cases, has drawn attention from DOJ investigators tasked with enforcing the Foreign Agents Registration Act. There is no indication that DOJ is looking into Grenell."


If a Dr. stood in the ER refusing to help injured patients, if a cop sat in his squad car watching crime unfold refusing to intervene, they would be FIRED. Mitch McConnell is worse, refusing to let America weigh in on House-passed safety bills. His constituents should SUE HIM!


Mora tweeted that Amy Klobuchar “looks like her name: pained, chunky, [and] confused origin/purpose.” Pete Buttigieg “is what happens when the therapist botches the conversion,” and husband Chasten will be “busted for running a meth racket” in ten years.


EXCLUSIVE: Ben Mora, a regional field director for Bernie Sanders’ campaign, used a private Twitter account to attack other Democratic contenders—as well as their family members, surrogates, journalists, and celebrities—in deeply personal terms


It seems like a good time to remind everyone that the Trump admin's 2021 budget proposal cuts $25M from CDC's Public Health Preparedness and Response, $18M from the Hospital Preparedness Program & over $85M from the Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases program.#COVID19


GOP mega-donor Rebekah Mercer is no longer on the board of the American Museum of Natural History, where staffers have been up in arms because of her family’s bankrolling of climate-change deniers


Harvey Weinstein taken to Bellevue Hospital with chest pains


Except he did and the ad has crystal clear audi of Bernie saying Obama should be primaried in 2011. Source: I just listened to the ad


“I mean, Bernie spent his honeymoon in Soviet Russia,” Meghan McCain declared


In Cold War travels, Bernie Sanders found much to admire behind enemy lines. Now that’s a problem for his campaign.


FP last month: In 2018, the Trump admin fired the government's entire pandemic response chain of command, including the WH management infrastructure. "If the U.S. still has a clear chain of command for pandemic response, the WH urgently needs to clarify."


Can somebody identify for me who is this so-called Democratic Party establishment? Who is the head of this mysterious entity? Who are members of the executive committee? Where/when do they meet? What powers do they have? Where can I read more about them?


As someone who’s lived long enough to witness & study both doctrines of the KGB’s Soviet Union and the Russian Mafiya’s State, it’s surreal to live in a moment where there’s a US presidential candidate from each.


Gee, it’s ALMOST as if Trump’s fluffer brigade is desperate to have Bernie as the nominee. ALMOST.


First Cuba, now China. Evil murderous regimes are capable of doing good sometimes, Hitler's autobahn system, Saddam Hussein's health care system, but it dosn't change what their nature is. And no it's not the end of discussion Bernie, China murdered millions


The president is now going after a Supreme Court justice on Twitter because he didn't like her dissenting opinion in a case.


Dear @realDonaldTrump: Why does your budget propose cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?


Yes, @BernieSanders, and if Cubans wrote the wrong thing, Castro had them surveilled, tortured, and falsely imprisoned. Something that should be mentioned.


"In 2018, the Trump administration fired the government’s entire pandemic response chain of command, including the White House management infrastructure."


This election is about more than just beating Donald Trump. It’s about: - Replacing Betsy DeVos with an actual educator - Having an Attorney General who defends the Constitution, not the president - Ensuring our EPA Administrator believes climate change is an existential threat — Joe Biden (Text Join to 30330)


I’m so over angry grandpas and the hateful gaggle of younger men with whom they need to surround themselves. We can do better than septuagenarians with judgement like this.


The private Twitter account of a newly promoted campaign staffer indicates that despite his condemnation of online harassment, some of Bernie Sanders’ most toxic support is coming from inside the house.


Beginning today, the Trump administration can disqualify more immigrants than before from receiving green cards if they think the potential green card recipient will ever use public assistance programs such as nutrition assistance or Medicaid. It’s downright immoral.


Anyone else feeling a little uncomfortable that the wife of a Supreme Court Justice is a chief orchestrator of Trump’s purge?


My OBGYN just said if I want my tubes tied electively then my husbands signature is also required on the release form. I asked her if that was a law, she said it's not but it's their policy. My face has been stuck like this for 15 minutes. I'm fucking pissed.


If any justices need to recuse, it’s Trump’s own appointees, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, especially after Kavanaugh warned of retribution to Democrats.


Another story with Sanders quotes praising Castro, the Sandinistas, and the Soviets. Will Bernie distance himself from these quotes now more than he did on 60 Minutes? Should be an interesting few days.


Well, what have we here.....


Bernie Sanders staffer makes gay slur about Buttigieg, says Pete “is what happens when the therapist botches the conversion.”


Nothing Bernie Sanders is offering is better than what @ewarren is offering. It’s all emotion with Bernie supporters. Warren takes everything he’s offering and makes it add up and can explain it to voters on both sides of the aisle. He has a bullhorn. She has a calculator.


Maddow: Time for warnings is past as Trump openly abuses power


Democratic Super PAC set to air new anti-Trump ads in key states


Trump, Barr imposition sets D.C. federal prosecutors on edge


Trump engaged in 'jury tampering on a mass, national scale'


Trump as expert on recusal — Preet Bharara


FBI official warns Russia "wants to watch us tear ourselves apart" amid intel briefing controversy


For Democratic primary voters, the question they should be asking themselves is are they willing to bet RBG’s seat on the Supreme Court and the future of women’s rights on @BernieSanders beating @realDonaldTrump ...


China is turning to tools of mass surveillance to track and monitor anyone thought to have come in contact with the new coronavirus, in an effort to contain its rapid spread


The Weinstein verdict is a great time to mention that Trump has dozens of women who allege sexual assault, including E. Jean Carroll -- who is still waiting on a DNA sample


Grenell did not register as a foreign agent, even though PR work on behalf of a foreign government falls squarely under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. FARA is the same law that Paul Manafort and Rick Gates were convicted of violating.


Says the guy who just promoted Ben Mora the new field director of Michigan - the guy who told Warren you "lie" and "look like shit" and told Klobuchar she looks "like an old lady." GMAFB