McConnell is attacking the Democrats’ bill HR 1, which includes the following provisions:
- Create an “Election Day” holiday to make it easier for voters to get to the polls
- Launch an automatic voter registration database, requiring people to opt out rather than opt in
- Force super PACs and political groups that rely on “dark money” to reveal their funders
- Require social media platforms to reveal the sources of their political advertisements
- Use government matching funds to enhance the power of individual donors’ contributions […]
Leave a CommentStephan: Here we have a profile of the kind of people being listened to by Trump and Pence. Those present at the meeting included representatives of appalling well-known alt-right racist hate groups, but that is not really surprising to me. That Trump is a racist kleptocrat, who associates with like-minded people has been well-established. What also stood out for me, and did surprise me, was that this meeting with Trump was organized by Ginni Thomas, wife of Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Supreme court justices are supposed to be dedicated to a fair and impartial interpretation of the Constitution and the laws and regulations passed by the legislative and executive branches of government. I do not see how that can be reconciled with a notoriously partisan couple actively advocating for the alt-right. In my opinion, Clarence Thomas should be impeached.
Clarence and Ginni Thomas
Credit: Dailymail.coPresident Donald Trump met with two representatives of groups that lobby for bigoted anti-immigrant policies at the White House this month, The New York Times reports.
Frank Gaffney of the anti-Muslim hate group Center for Security Policy and Rosemary Jenks of the anti-immigrant group NumbersUSA joined Rep. Louie Gohmert’s chief of staff Connie Hair in a meeting with Trump and a handful of White House aides. During the meeting, multiple comments were put forward to the president that many Americans would find offensive, including claims that gay marriage was destroying America.
In addition, some members of the group complained to the president that their suggested candidates for administration positions had been ignored. Some reportedly “also accused White House aides of blocking Trump supporters from getting jobs in the administration”—a claim popularized in pro-Trump social media circles.
The meeting was organized by Ginni Thomas, a right-wing activist who is married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Thomas’ political activity has raised concerns about conflicts of interest for her husband, the Times reported, and she once […]
Stephan: This is a very revealing and fact-based data report showing something that I believe is very important about American society. Do you remember George Orwell's novel 1984 from school? Do you remember that the government kept the citizens docile through the use of Soma, a kind of happiness drug? Well note in the chart that accompanies this report it shows things which are essential have gone up in price dramatically, while things that keep people mesmerized and docile are getting cheaper.
The economy is rigged.
That’s the message behind our recent analysis of price changes over the last 20 years. We looked at everything from mass market consumer items, like TVs, cell phones and apparel, to critical life-altering purchases, like healthcare, college tuition and textbooks. It turns out that the most important things in life keep getting more and more expensive, while the things that don’t really matter keep getting cheaper.
Proper credit for inspiring our visualization belongs to Mark J. Perry at the American Enterprise Institute. His original visualization was so good that we couldn’t resist using the same basic idea for our purposes. The underlying data come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which keeps detailed records of consumer goods as well as average hourly earnings. Of course, these figures take into consideration inflation.
We start by using prices in 1998 as a benchmark, plotting the relative percentage increase or decrease for each category over the last 20 years. The result is a snapshot of the American economy, providing several key insights about […]
Stephan: Do you need any further proof that the Trump administration cares nothing for your wellbeing? If so read this.
FirstEnergy Corp’s 2,460 megawatt Bruce Mansfield coal-fired plant in western Pennsylvania.
Credit: Robert Nickelsberg/GettyAs coal continues its irreversible decline, the Trump administration keeps trying new ways to prop up the industry.
In the administration’s latest effort to help the coal industry, the Department of Energy (DOE) is providing up to $38 million in funding for research into improving the performance and reliability of the nation’s existing coal-fired power plants.
The DOE’s decision to boost research funding for existing coal-fired power plants comes as coal’s share of the nation’s generation portfolio remains on the decline. In 2007, 28 states relied on coal as their primary electricity source. In 2018, coal is the top source for power generation in only 18 states.
Efforts by the Trump administration to reverse the diminishing fortunes of the coal industry are also occurring at a time when climate scientists are warning governments around the world to develop policies that will drastically reduce emissions from the burning of coal and other fossil fuels.
“This funding is in line with the Trump administration […]
Stephan: The 0ther day I went to a conference put on by a friend, and I happened to get into a conversation about Russian oligarchs with some people who represented themselves as sophisticated on the issue. As I listened to them I realized they didn't really comprehend the issue. Then I got two emails from readers and I could tell they didn't really understand it either. So here is a solid article on this subject written by a business professor who has an international reputation for being knowledgeable about this subject.
Mitch McConnell and Trump
As Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team probes deeper into potential collusion between Trump officials and representatives of the Russian government, investigators are taking a closer look at political contributions made by U.S. citizens with close ties to Russia.
Buried in the campaign finance reports available to the public are some troubling connections between a group of wealthy donors with ties to Russia and their political contributions to President Donald Trump and a number of top Republican leaders. And thanks to changes in campaign finance laws, the political contributions are legal. We have allowed our campaign finance laws to become a strategic threat to our country.
An example is Len Blavatnik, a dual U.S.-U.K. citizen and one of the largest donors to GOP political action committees in the 2015-16 election cycle. Blavatnik’s family emigrated to the U.S. in the late ’70s from the U.S.S.R. and he returned to Russia when the Soviet Union began to collapse in the late ’80s.
Data from the Federal Election Commission show that Blavatnik’s campaign contributions dating back […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
