I guess it is NOT Way Too Early for Phish and I get it now. They are playing 'Tube' or 'First Tube' on the outro at 10 of 6AM because the guy in the kayak could not reel in the real Phish he killed. Do we really need to see the size of it? I actually wish the Phish took him under and case in point, Mika feels bad for t too. But also, the Way Too Early story about the kids letting 72,000 lady bugs free from its captivity is cool but then again, the county prosecutors seem to be coming down hard on them (two are being charged as an adult for it).
Anyway, Joining today's show is / are Mark Halperin, Steve Rattner, Scott Horsley, Ahmed Ali, Roula Khalaf, Chuck Todd, Sen. Rand Paul, Bill Kristol, Nina Turner, Brian Sullivan, Luisa Kroll, Adam Corolla and more.
Jon Stewart calls Rand Paul out on ‘religious freedom': Don’t Christians sell cakes to adulterers?
!['Daily Show' host Jon Stewart [right] interviews Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on May 26, 2015. [YouTube]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vbb6rSZAzp2fE8IO3FqUXRW_S8NMT7X5mVRzFFAVqkscWp4txCBlwPbdtQsSbk97qN4j7hFVt4KzZfygiSEt6AhB57j_ruZVG4szoZb-pBsa91PB4vKIjEeiBy6QvsTuEcwSCC2wi6fLTZsTbsNhrHHCjKRZknIeD5kvGKbM1ANEI71ROSvGRLrBt_GQ59zhymroloMqqburSxPYNn2ew7S3vQHeTBzsiuzaytII9ACOVq-r0-WsT53lxNTLmALawV2GdUv2dNS8EeGLysyye1ZdtPDUEEGfQKnQ=s0-d)
ily Show host Jon Stewart pushed back against Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday for trying to frame opposition to same-sex marriages — and their wedding cakes — as a “religious freedom” issue.
“It seems like gay marriage looms a lot larger in the minds of certain conservatives than it does in the Bible,” Stewart told the GOP presidential candidate. “And the only thing I would say is, don’t they sell cakes to sinners all the time, adulterers?” Stewart pointed out that if Paul were to enter a bakery looking for a wedding cake, the staff was not likely to ask him if he broke any commandments.
“It feels disingenuous,” he told the senator.
Instead of responding directly to Stewart’s point, however, Paul steered the discussion toward the Patriot Act.
“What I’ve been filibustering against is whether or not a warrant that has a corporation’s name on it [like] Verizon can collect all the records of all the people if corporations are people,” he said. “So we’re right back to the Patriot Act and I think we agree now.”
Earlier, the Tea Party senator had argued that the First Amendment granted people “the right to be despicable,” saying that, while he did not agree with the “Ground Zero mosque” that was proposed for construction in New York City shortly after the 9/11 attacks, he would not oppose that or a Ku Klux Klan march.
“But you can’t equate a mosque with the KKK, or gay marriage with the KKK,” Stewart replied.
“What I’m saying is, I think you can personally object to things that the law will allow, and it doesn’t mean that we all have to say that we all will accept everyone else’s beliefs on everything else,” Paul insisted.
The senator did not mention that he attributed same-sex marriages to a “moral crisis” in the US earlier this year, instead saying that religious conservatives were afraid that their opinions would no longer be allowed, even in their own churches.
“You portray it as, ‘We don’t want to force people to have to agree with your beliefs,'” Stewart told him. “But we’re not. We’re asking them to do the thing that they do for their business.”
Watch the interview, as posted online on Tuesday, below.
Loretta Lynch spearheaded the following: Fifa corruption: arrests made following hotel raid LIVE Updates as Swiss police raids five-star hotel in Zurich as Fifa members gather for presidential election.
The charges were announced by Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, and she had the following damning statement about FIFA.
“The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States,” said Lynch. “It spans at least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have abused their positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks. And it has profoundly harmed a multitude of victims, from the youth leagues and developing countries that should benefit from the revenue generated by the commercial rights these organizations hold, to the fans at home and throughout the world whose support for the game makes those rights valuable. Today’s action makes clear that this Department of Justice intends to end any such corrupt practices, to root out misconduct, and to bring wrongdoers to justice – and we look forward to continuing to work with other countries in this effort.”
Six football officials have been arrested over corruption charges at governing body Fifa and face extradition to the US, officials say.
Separately, Swiss prosecutors have launched a criminal case into the 2018 and 2022 football World Cup bids.
The suspects, who include a Fifa vice-president, allegedly accepted bribes worth $150m (£65m; €92m) over 20 years.
Fifa members are due to vote Friday in a presidential election. Incumbent Sepp Blatter is seeking a fifth term.
However, Mr Blatter is not understood to be one of those arrested.
Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein of Jordan - Mr Blatter's rival for the Fifa presidency - described the development as "a sad day for football", but withheld from commenting further.
Fifa's Zurich headquarters has also been raided, with documents seized, Swiss prosecutors say.
'Seeking clarification'
Those arrested include:
- Jeffrey Webb - head of the confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean, Concacaf
- Jack Warner, former Fifa vice-president
- Costa Rica's national football chief Eduardo Li, who was due to join Fifa's executive committee on Friday
- Uruguay's Eugenio Figueredo, president of South American football governing body Conmebol
- Brazil's Jose Maria Marin, a member of Fifa's club committee. Police were seen carrying his suitcase and some of his possessions in plastic bags
Several officials have already pleaded guilty, the US Department of Justice says. These include Charles Blazer, the former head of Concacaf, who was previously on the Fifa executive committee.
Fifa was seeking to clarify the situation, a spokesman said.
Many have wondered how Sepp Blatter can have been in charge of Fifa for so long, amid so many reports of corruption, and yet remain, apparently, untouched.
One Swiss newspaper jokingly called him "the dark prince of football, the godfather, Don Blatterone' - but no inquiry has ever revealed proof of his involvement in bribery.
"He's a survivor," says one member of parliament, Roland Buechel. "Nothing ever sticks to him; there is always someone between him and the bribes."
Some old friends describe Mr Blatter as down to earth and open. Others who have worked with him say he is a man who resents opposition, pointing to the swift departure of Fifa colleagues who dared to question him.
What emerges, finally, is a man who both critics and supporters say cannot imagine his life without Fifa, a man whose tenure as president has outlasted three marriages.
But as scandal follows scandal, Mr Blatter's determination not to leave his post willingly could see him bundled unceremoniously out the back door.
The Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) said in a statement on Wednesday that US authorities suspected the officials of receiving $150m (£97m) worth of bribes since the early 1990s for football tournaments in Latin America.
The crimes were agreed to and prepared in the US via US bank accounts, it adds.
Swiss authorities can immediately approve the extradition, the statement continues.
In a separate move, prosecutors opened criminal proceedings "against persons unknown on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money laundering in connection with the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 football World Cups," said a statement from the Swiss attorney-general.
Earlier this month, Mr Blatter said he was aware some of his former colleagues were under investigation but denied that it involved him.
He was responding to an ESPN documentary that claimed the Fifa president had been avoiding travel to the US for almost four years due to the investigation by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Appeals court refuses to lift hold on Obama immigration action. A federal appeals court refused Tuesday to allow the implementation, for now, of President Obama's executive action that could shield from deportation as many as 5 million illegal immigrants.
The U.S. Justice Department had asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen's earlier decision temporarily halting the administration's plan. Hanen issued the temporary hold in February, after 26 states filed a lawsuit alleging Obama's action was unconstitutional.
The U.S. Justice Department had asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen's earlier decision temporarily halting the administration's plan. Hanen issued the temporary hold in February, after 26 states filed a lawsuit alleging Obama's action was unconstitutional.
Two out of the three judges on a court panel, though, voted Tuesday to deny the government's request, as the underlying case is argued.
White House Spokesperson Brandi Hoffine said after the ruling, "today, two judges of the Fifth Circuit chose to misinterpret the facts and the law in denying the government's request for a stay."
The majority opinion reasoned that lifting the temporary hold -- known in judicial parlance as issuing a "stay" -- could cause serious problems for states should they ultimately win their challenge. It said the states have shown that "issuance of the stay will substantially injure" them.
It continued: "A stay would enable DAPA beneficiaries to apply for driver's licenses and other benefits, and it would be difficult for the states to retract those benefits or recoup their costs even if they won on the merits. That is particularly true in light of the district court's findings regarding the large number of potential beneficiaries, including at least 500,000 in Texas alone."
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised Tuesday's decision.
"The separation of powers and check and balances remain the law of the land, and this decision is a victory for those committed to preserving the rule of law in America," he said in a written statement.
The White House has said the program is intended to primarily help immigrants brought to the U.S. as children and those with children who are U.S. citizens.
It wasn't immediately clear if the government would appeal, either to the full appeals court in New Orleans or to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The states suing to block the plan, led by Texas, argue that Obama acted outside his authority and that the changes would force them to invest more in law enforcement, health care and education.
The White House has repeated its position that the president has exclusive authority to enforce immigration laws and can adjust policies to fix a "broken immigration system." Fourteen states have sided with Obama in the case, and say the benefits of immigration outweigh the costs.
Justice Department lawyers sought a stay while they appealed the injunction. They argued that keeping the temporary hold interfered with the Homeland Security Department's ability to protect the U.S. and secure the nation's borders.
They also said immigration policy is a domain of the federal government, not the states.
But, in Tuesday's ruling, 5th Circuit judges Jerry Smith and Jennifer Walker Elrod denied the stay, saying in an opinion written by Smith that the federal government lawyers are unlikely to succeed on the merits of that appeal. Judge Stephen Higginson dissented.
"The president's attempt to do this by himself, without a law passed by Congress and without any input from the states, is a remarkable violation of the U.S. Constitution and laws," Paxton said.
Obama announced the executive action in November, saying lack of action by Congress forced him to make sweeping changes to immigration rules on his own. Republicans said Obama overstepped his presidential authority.
The first of Obama's orders -- to expand a program that protects young immigrants from deportation if they were brought to the U.S. illegally as children -- was set to take effect Feb. 18. The other major part, extending deportation protections to parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have been in the country for some years, had been scheduled to begin May 19.
Hanen issued his injunction believing that neither action had taken effect. But the Justice Department later told Hanen that more than 108,000 people had already received three-year reprieves from deportation as well as work permits. Hanen said the federal government had been "misleading," but he declined to sanction the government's attorneys.
The Justice Department has also asked the 5th Circuit to reverse Hanen's overall ruling that sided with the states. A decision on that appeal, which will be argued before the court in July, could take months.
Along with Texas, the states seeking to block Obama's action are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Fox News' Shannon Bream and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Wall Street Editorial was harsh but honestly, it is correct. This was a big tease to the people for immigration and at the same time, it was all smoke and mirrors too. Not everyone was going to be allowed to stay into the country without strict rules. It was however, a serious blow to it. A federal appeals court on Tuesday declined to let the Obama administration proceed with its plan to defer deportations for millions of undocumented immigrants.
Siding with officials in Texas and 25 other states who have challenged the legality of President Barack Obama’s immigration action, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans rejected the administration’s request to allow the federal government to begin implementing the plan while the two sides continue a court battle.
Federal officials sought permission to move forward after U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in February temporarily blocked the administration from implementing the plan, which would allow more than four million people in the country illegally to apply for deferred deportation and work authorizations, among other benefits. Under the president’s plan, announced in November, immigrants would have to meet certain criteria, including not posing a security threat and having a child who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
Judge Hanen, based in Brownsville, Texas, agreed with arguments from Texas and the other largely Republican states, which alleged that Mr. Obama overstepped his authority by unilaterally proceeding with the program.
The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday declined to stay Judge Hanen’s injunction. The appeals court is still scheduled this summer to hear a separate appeal by the administration of the lower-court ruling.
“Because the government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its appeal of the injunction, we deny the motion for stay,” the court ruled.
The White House condemned the appeal court’s ruling, repeating its position that the president was within his authority and noting that 15 other largely Democratic states, along with the District of Columbia, have sided with the administration in the case.
“Today, two judges of the Fifth Circuit chose to misinterpret the facts and the law in denying the government’s request for a stay,” said Brandi Hoffine, a White House spokeswoman. The president’s immigration moves, she said, “are squarely within the bounds of his authority, and they are the right thing to do for the country.”
An administration official said the Justice Department, which defends the federal government in lawsuits, is evaluating the ruling and will consider next steps.
The administration has said the program is designed to allow it to better focus limited federal resources on high-priority deportations, such as illegal immigrants who do pose threats to public security.
In a brief filed earlier with the Fifth Circuit, the Obama administration said Judge Hanen’s injunction had undermined the federal government’s authority to prioritize which undocumented immigrants to deport. “The Constitution does not entitle states to intrude into the uniquely federal domain of immigration enforcement,” the administration said.
But the 26 states say the immigration program amounts to a broad award of legal rights and benefits to millions of illegal immigrants and is not merely a decision about whom to deport.
In its 2-1 ruling, the Fifth Circuit panel concurred with those states, concluding that the immigration program allowed a broad class of illegal immigrants to be eligible for state and federal benefits.
In dissent, Fifth Circuit Judge Stephen Higginson wrote: “the order in which noncitizens without documentation must be removed…must be decided, presently is decided, and always has been decided by the federal political branches.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is leading the suit by the states, commended the ruling.
“This decision is a victory for those committed to preserving the rule of law in America,” Mr. Paxton said. “Telling illegal aliens that they are now lawfully present in this country, and awarding them valuable government benefits, is a drastic change in immigration policy. The president’s attempt to do this by himself, without a law passed by Congress and without any input from the states, is a remarkable violation of the U.S. Constitution.”
Immigrant-rights groups, meanwhile, voiced concern.
“Once again, we find ourselves in a battle to preserve the hope of millions of families who have long made America their home,” said Rocio Sáenz, an executive vice president at the Service Employees International Union, which supports the administration’s immigration plan.
The National Immigration Law Center said the Fifth Circuit ruling would damage immigrant families and the economy.
“Immigrant-rich states and cities, in which more than half the U.S.’s foreign-born population lives, have already said that the president’s immigration actions will help their economies,” said Marielena Hincapié, the group’s executive director.
“We call upon the Justice Department to continue its efforts to get this injunction lifted by bringing the matter before the Supreme Court without delay.” —Colleen McCain Nelson contributed to this article.
IRS Says Thieves Stole Tax Info From 100,000.
Sophisticated criminals used an online service run by the IRS to access personal tax information from more than 100,000 taxpayers, part of an elaborate scheme to steal identities and claim fraudulent tax refunds, the IRS said Tuesday.
The thieves accessed a system called "Get Transcript," where taxpayers can get tax returns and other filings from previous years. In order to access the information, the thieves cleared a security screen that required knowledge about the taxpayer, including Social Security number, date of birth, tax filing status and street address, the IRS said.
"We're confident that these are not amateurs," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. "These actually are organized crime syndicates that not only we but everybody in the financial industry are dealing with."
Koskinen wouldn't say whether investigators believe the criminals are based overseas — or where they obtained enough personal information about the taxpayers to access their returns. The IRS has launched a criminal investigation. The agency's inspector general is also investigating.
Identity thieves, both foreign and domestic, have stepped up their efforts in recent years to claim fraudulent tax refunds. The agency estimates it paid out $5.8 billion in fraudulent refunds to identity thieves in 2013.
"Eighty percent of the of the identity theft we're dealing with and refund fraud is related to organized crime here and around the world," Koskinen said. "These are extremely sophisticated criminals with access to a tremendous amount of data."
Congress is already pressing the IRS for information about the breach.
"That the IRS — home to highly sensitive information on every single American and every single company doing business here at home — was vulnerable to this attack is simply unacceptable," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. "What's more, this agency has been repeatedly warned by top government watchdogs that its data security systems are inadequate against the growing threat of international hackers and data thieves."
Koskinen said the agency was alerted to the thieves when technicians noticed an increase in the number of taxpayers seeking transcripts.
The IRS said they targeted the system from February to mid-May. The service has been temporarily shut down.
Taxpayers sometimes need copies of old tax returns to apply for mortgages or college aid. While the system is shut down, taxpayers can still apply for transcripts by mail.
The IRS said its main computer system, which handles tax filing submissions, remains secure.
"In all, about 200,000 attempts were made from questionable email domains, with more than 100,000 of those attempts successfully clearing authentication hurdles," the agency said. "During this filing season, taxpayers successfully and safely downloaded a total of approximately 23 million transcripts."
The agency is still determining how many fraudulent tax refunds were claimed this year using information from the stolen transcripts. Koskinen provided a preliminary estimate, saying less than $50 million was successfully claimed.
Thieves can also use the information to claim fraudulent tax refunds in the future. As identity theft has exploded, the agency has added filters to its computer system to identify suspicious returns. These filters look for anomalies in the information provided by the taxpayer.
I am about to yack while watching this new 'Bubba Blade' commercial ad. This show needs sponsors so bad that they have to promote things used for hunting? regardless, its gross to see at this juncture in the morning. I am not sure what is worse, when they did cathetor commercials at this point inthe Morning Joe show or watching people slice up fish and animls after they kill them.
Morning Papers: At Least 19 Die After Storms in Texas and Oklahoma (Star high school student-athlete is among over 25 dead in storms.). A third body was found near the Blanco River in Texas Tuesday, bringing the death toll in that state and in Oklahoma to at least 19 after weekend storms dumped rain on the region and caused devastating floods.
Fourteen people are missing in Texas, including eight members of two families that were staying in a vacation home that was swept away by a tsunami-like "wall of water" that roared down the Blanco River in Wimberley over the weekend following a wave of torrential rain, Hays County Commissioner Will Conley said.
The National Weather Service said that more rain could be on the way for hard-hit parts of Texas, with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms for the Houston area through 1 a.m. Wednesday.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and the communities that have been affected by some of these devastating, record-breaking floods," President Barack Obama said Tuesday. Obama pledged federal assistance to the region.
Search-and-rescue operations were continuing, on land and from air, across a landscape where centuries-old trees had been ripped away by the 44-foot storm surge. "It looks like a savannah," Conley said.
At least 12 people died in Texas, authorities said, including a 14-year-old boy in Desoto who was found in a storm drain, and Alyssa Ramirez, an 18-year-old homecoming queen whose car was swept off the road as she returned home from prom in Devine on Sunday, authorities said. Four of the deaths in Texas were in Houston, the city's government said in a statement. One of the dead is believed to have been one of three people who are missing after being swept away when a boat capsized during a rescue effort, but that had not been confirmed by Tuesday night.
By Tuesday afternoon three bodies have been found near the Blanco River in Hays and nearby Caldwell counties, which flooded over the weekend and swept away the home. Authorities said identification is pending, and described them as two men and one woman.
The missing in Hays County range from 4 to 81 years old, and were last seen in the area of the Blanco River, the Hays County Sheriff's Office said. Earlier Tuesday 13 people were reported missing in Hays County, but two of those were found safe, bringing the number down to 11, authorities said.
There have been seven weather-related deaths in Oklahoma since Friday, including a Claremore firefighter who died during a water rescue, and a 33-year-old woman who died in a storm-related traffic crash in Tulsa.
A 48-year-old woman in Oklahoma was killed Monday after a tornado struck Bryan County, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said. The floodwaters affected virtually every part of Houston and paralyzed some areas. Firefighters carried out more than 500 water rescues, most involving stranded motorists. At least 2,500 vehicles were abandoned by drivers seeking higher ground, officials said.
"Given the magnitude and how quickly it happened, in such a short period of time, I've never seen this before," said Rick Flanagan, Houston's emergency management coordinator.
By Tuesday evening, all bayous and creeks except for a portion of the San Jacinto River returned to their banks after some areas of the Harris County was hit with up to 11 inches of rain, the Harris County Flood Control District said.
Power remained out for more than 25,000 customers in the Houston area by 8 p.m. Tuesday, down from a high of 88,000 outages early Tuesday morning, CenterPoint Energy said.
Seventy homes were destroyed in Hays County and another 1,400 properties were damaged. If not for a phone notification system, "God knows how many people we would have lost," Conley said.
In Houston, officials believe the number of severely damaged homes could reach 4,000. There is the possibility of more showers for parts of southeast Texas, including Houston. Storms are expected to be scattered, but a cell could produce flash flooding in Houston if a storm forms over already-inundated areas, the NWS said. Houston Intercontinental Airport smashed its all-time record for most rainfall in one day on Monday — its 4.34 inches almost doubling the previous milestone set in 1946.
"The rain just kept coming, and coming, and coming," said Ashley Aivles, a 25-year-old call center worker who struggled to make it back to her home in a Houston suburb early Tuesday.
All Houston MTERO rail and bus services were canceled until flood waters receded. Limited rail service resumed at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, and buses on major lines began running in the afternoon, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County said.
Texas, Oklahoma and southwestern Kansas have been experiencing extreme drought conditions for the past five years. That left the soil "like concrete," which typically exacerbates flooding conditions, said Mark Svoboda, a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska.
But the latest round of flooding in Texas and Oklahoma can be attributed to sustained rainfall, including the equivalent of 12 to 16 inches above normal falling in the past 30 days, Svoboda said.
"The soil is too full. It's oversaturated with water," he said. "There's been too much, too soon, after you've had so little for such a long period of time." Erik Ortiz and Jon Schuppe, the Associated Press contributed to this report.
I have never heard of the term "puffery" when used at all actually, let alone with regard to Politics. The Must read today is about David Ignatious piece in the WAPO. But the deeper issue is why there are 25 emails sent to Hillary (Clinton) from Sydney Blumenthal about how to deal with the Lybia situation.
There is also a story written by the AP about a shell company that contributed to the Clinton Foundation. Bill Clinton set up a shell company for consulting which is not legal per se, but why was it set up that way? I assume to cut out some taxes. It is another disclosure question regarding the Clintons. I honestly do NOT know why a Bill Clinton would even tread these waters so to speak.
The panelists are getting to the Bernie Saunders announcement which BTW, was very festive up there in Vermont. It was also a great speech by him. I said he was on fire and Mika and the panel are saying he 'was fiery" yesterday during it.
Here is his message sent out via an email blast just before that speech:
I'm about an hour from stepping out onto a stage in front of thousands of people who came out to Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont to kick off my campaign for president.
Today, as I've walked around my hometown, I've seen families with young children as well as many seniors; folks who drove three or four hours and more to get here. They have come together united around a single purpose: starting a political revolution to take back our country from powerful special interests.
I will tell them shortly what I'll tell you now: This is our country, and it's time we took it back from the billionaire class. Today, we come together to say, "Enough is enough."
I'm asking you to add your $5 contribution to our campaign now to help us start this political revolution. Click here to make your contribution.
The Agenda for America I'm laying out this afternoon is a bold plan that can and will rebuild our country. Here are some of the components of that agenda:
- Address income and wealth inequality by demanding that the wealthy and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes
- Make quality health care a right for all Americans
- Raise the minimum wage to a living wage and make sure women are paid as much as men
- Make higher education affordable by ending tuition at all public colleges and universities and by substantially lowering interest rates on student debt
- Expand and protect Social Security and Medicare
- Have America lead the world in addressing the planetary crisis of climate change
- Take on Wall Street to restore sanity to our economy
- There's much more, of course, and you'll be hearing more detail about each of these issues in the weeks ahead.
But let's be clear about one thing. While you and I and most people in America see these proposals as common sense, they represent a very real threat to the political and financial establishments.
We are challenging powerful special interests, which is exactly what we have to do if we are to transform our society.
For years, the very rich have gotten richer while the rest of us have gotten poorer. Powerful corporations make billions emitting carbon into the atmosphere as they accelerate climate change and help destroy the planet. Private insurance companies and drug companies make huge profits while 35 million Americans have no health insurance.
Now, a handful of billionaires are flooding our political system with huge amounts of money, drowning out the voices of the rest of America. They own much of the economy. Now they want to own our government.
But we're not going to allow that to happen. The forces of greed are enormously powerful but, when we stand together, we can beat them. And we're going to beat them not just for ourselves, but for future generations and for the survival of our planet.
Now I am asking you, Don, to help us build our campaign. Please contribute $5 now to our campaign.
Let's be clear about something in this campaign: we will be vastly outspent, not just by other candidates, but also by Super PACs and shadowy groups funded by some of the wealthiest people in this country.
I can promise you this, however. Every penny contributed to our campaign will go to building the platform on which we can launch our political revolution.
Already, more than 120,000 people have contributed over $5 million dollars to our campaign, with an average contribution of about $40 dollars. In other words, our campaign is not being funded by million dollar checks coming from the rich and the powerful.
Instead, we are powered by ten dollars from a park ranger in Florida; twenty dollars from a woman who cleans school buses in Colorado; thirty-five dollars from a union worker in Minnesota. Incredibly, we are receiving five dollar contributions from low-income folks who are retired, on disability, or who are struggling to get a job in this economy.
And if you can't donate right now, I understand that. Times are tough for too many people, and there are other ways that you can help. But if you're fortunate enough to be able to make a contribution to our campaign, it would be great if you could make a contribution right now.
Click here to donate $5 to our campaign for president.
It's almost time to go out and meet the thousands of Vermonters who are in Burlington today to join our campaign kickoff. As we hit the campaign trail, you'll hear more from us in the days ahead as we take our grassroots movement to New Hampshire, Iowa and elsewhere.
I cannot thank you enough for all you've done so far for our campaign, and all you'll continue to do.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
- Bernie
Who is saying now that the threat from or by ISIS is overblown? I am pretty sure ISIS has control of at least five major cities and areas in Syria and in Iran and maybe even in Iraq, but still, is that overblown? Like Joe or someone just said on this outro of that segment, this should be quite a debate about it. Oh wait, are we talking about what Ashton Carter said over the last weekend? I am watching Josh Ernest's press conference 'walking that fine line' from yesterday.
Here is what the panel is talking about now. It is about an opt-ed written in the New York Times last week by AHMED ALI.
It was/is entitled 'Calm Down. ISIS Isn’t Winning':
THE fall of the Iraqi city of Ramadi on Sunday, and of the Syrian city of Palmyra on Wednesday, is a big gain for the Islamic State, but not an utter disaster, as many observers fear.
Rather than inducing panic in Western capitals, it should lead to a realistic assessment of the Islamic State’s strengths and weaknesses. One setback in a long war must not trigger hasty strategic shifts that lead to foreign countries’ becoming mired in Iraq once more.
Palmyra has economic and cultural significance, as it sits among gas fields and is home to renowned ruins. But Ramadi, in western Iraq, is of far greater military and strategic consequence.
The attack on Ramadi was a sign of desperation, not strength. It took 16 months of continual clashes with tenacious Iraqi security forces and loyal Sunni tribes before the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, could take Ramadi. Before it fell, the Islamic State already controlled half of the city. Its battlefield rivals were exhausted, and it wanted to give its adherents a psychological boost. Ramadi was a ripe target.
But the Islamic State is not on an unstoppable march. In Iraq, and to some extent Syria, it remains on the defensive. In April, the Islamic State’s defenses in large swaths of Salahuddin Province and the provincial capital, Tikrit, collapsed. In the north, Iraqi Kurds have contained the Islamic State. In Syria, Kurds supported by Iraqi pesh merga forces and by American airstrikes decisively defeated the group in the town of Kobani. Unlike the disastrous fall of Mosul in June 2014, the conquest of Ramadi hasn’t led to a collapse of Iraqi military units.
There is even a silver lining in the fall of Ramadi. Before last week, many Iraqi leaders seemed to have forgotten that the Islamic State was still a threat and failed to give credit to those doing the most to resist it. The former prime minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki — whose own inept security policies helped create the Islamic State — railed against Iraqi Kurdish aspirations for independence, despite the Kurds’ valiant efforts to neutralize the Islamic State in northern Iraq. The governor of Nineveh Province, Atheel al-Nujaifi, was in Washington early this month advocating an autonomous Sunni region even while his capital, Mosul, was in the Islamic State’s clutches. During my trip to Iraq in March, other elites spoke to me as though the Islamic State had already been destroyed. Ramadi has ended their complacency.
But the fall of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, does not mean that Anbar is lost. The Iraqi government still controls vital military infrastructure there, including two air bases, which must be defended.
Anbar was the birthplace of the Sunni awakening movement during the American presence in Iraq. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, a Shiite, initiated an effort in early April to arm the Iraqi Sunni tribes in Anbar so that they could fight the Islamic State. He can now make a strong case that arming the tribes is a crucial priority; seizing this opportunity would also help him regain political strength. In the long term, an effective tribal force in Anbar could allow Mr. Abadi to rely less on the Shiite armed groups.
America should help Mr. Abadi mobilize the Sunni tribes by mediating between them and the Iraqi government, to overcome mutual distrust. Washington must continue to bolster Iraqi and Kurdish ground forces while providing air support, improved intelligence, reconnaissance, weapons and training. The United States should also seek to limit any fallout from the operations of Iranian-backed Shiite armed groups in Anbar. Local authorities voted to allow for the deployment of these groups, but that does not guarantee success. Their cooperation with the Sunni tribes will be decisive in expelling the Islamic State from Ramadi. The propaganda war could be even more important. The Islamic State is now using Ramadi to re-energize its supporters by broadcasting images of blitzkrieg. It has published photos of seized Iraqi equipment and ammunition and of public executions, and images of its black flags over government buildings have been widely shared. For the Islamic State, social media is as effective a weapon as advanced military technology. The United States should continue to target the group’s social media propaganda and its effort to rebuild the cracked aura of invincibility.
Thankfully, the Obama administration seems to recognize that beating the Islamic State on the ground is an Iraqi responsibility. There is enough manpower in Iraq. America and its allies must not overreact to the setback in Ramadi; they should limit their engagement to aerial support and military advisers.
Ramadi is a reminder that this is a long-term battle, but it is ultimately for the Iraqis to win. American troops should not put their lives on the line once again to give Iraq another chance.
The Roula Khalaf woman is saying that "ISIS may not be winning, however, they are not losing either" and that "we want ISIS to be losing" now which I kind of, sort of agree with too.
That was a short segment about that issue but anyway, what is next after that?
Oh God. They are showing the 552 pound grouper caught and killed by that guy on the kayak again during Morning Joe. Can we talk about real news rather than killing things for the hell of it? Thanks. Actually, I hope its a hoax as Mark Halpern says now. Joe says something about that guy being like the type of people that wear a t-shirt that says 'women love me and fish fear me".
OK. Back to Politics I think and I hope. I agree with Chucky T (Todd) when he says that Hillary feels very uncomfy lurching to the left if you will like she has been trying to do over the last few weeks. I heard the Bernie speech yesterday afternoon. It looked fun. Now how Bernie will do next year in Iowa and in New Hampshire will be the real issue with regard to him being able to against Hillary. Bernie is the worst type of an opponent for her which we had said many times that he will be hard on her during any debate. But yeah, if she does struggle vs a Bernie Saunders, that could be a huge sign about how run vs. her. Kind of like how Willard (Mitt Romney) struggled vs the likes of Rick Santorum a few years ago. Joe raises the question now about who on the GOP side could go up against the likes of a Hillary? Especially, if she gets painted as the one not in touch with normal people. I assume Scott Walker may be that person. Rand Paul speaks that game but does not walk the walk or whatever that saying is. I also believe that Scott walker using the he 'didn't go or finish his college program' could work for him this day and age. It is no big deal to me. Hillary now needs to get everything out there like now (ie: tax returns considering the new LLC started by Bill (what tax bracket now are they in?). She needs to get the email issue behind her. She needs to get the who donates to the Clinton Foundation issue behind her. Now, this LLC issue and then her being out of touch when she said they (Clintons) accumulated huge debt from the last campaign. And, when she inferred last year that she was broke to paraphrase that comment in an overexaggerated way. They are all reasons for people to think that they are out of touch with normal people. Which if you remember, that was Willards (Mitt Romney) huge issue in that last general election.
They (Morning Joe panelist on this segment) are discussing the hardcore right candidates like Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee.
Five things to know about Rick Santorum. If history is any guide, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum should be Republican Party's nominee in 2016. After all, the GOP has a history of nominating the runner up from the previous presidential contest, and Santorum was the last person to drop out before Mitt Romney was declared the nominee in 2012.
But if the polls mean anything (and admittedly, they likely mean little at this early stage), the 57-year-old Santorum will be facing the same uphill battle he had in 2012, when he came from behind to win the Iowa caucuses. He currently hovers between 1 and 2 percent in the polls, so far behind some of his potential rivals that he could be excluded from the first 2016 Republican primary debate, hosted by Fox News, which will limit the number of candidates onstage based on their standing in the polls.
But that likely won't stop him from taking another shot at the nomination. He is set to announce his presidential intentions in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he grew up.
Rick Santorum weighs in on 2016:
And unlike 2012, when he had little competition for the evangelical and social conservative vote, Santorum faces a number of rivals for those voters, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. He's already seeing the effects of a more crowded field in the staffers available for hire: Alice Stewart and Hogan Gidley, who handled communications for his 2012 campaign, have returned to work for Huckabee, their boss in 2008. So have Jill Latham Ryan, his former deputy campaign manager, and Nick Ryan who ran Santorum's super PAC in 2012. This time around they're going to work for Huckabee's super PAC. He's also lost his previous campaign manager, Mike Biundo, and national delegate director, John Yob, to Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul this year. Even the Duggar family, made famous by TLC show "19 Kids and Counting," has thrown its endorsement to Huckabee's campaign. (The Duggars' support may mean less, given that it's now off the air after oldest sibling Josh admitted that he had molested several girls when he was younger.)
Since losing in 2012, Santorum has been cooling his heels and biding his time for another election. He created a 501(c)(4) group called Patriot Voices for his political advocacy and became CEO of a Christian movie company called EchoLight studios.
Here are five things to know about Rick Santorum:
1. He was Romney's chief rival in 2012 and won the Iowa caucuses:As Republican candidates cycled through the top of the polls in the fall of 2011, Santorum's poll numbers slowly rose as he crisscrossed Iowa ahead of the caucuses. He peaked at just the right time - caucus night itself. Unfortunately for his campaign, the initial results showed Mitt Romney winning by eight votes.
Two weeks later, the Iowa GOP reversed course and said Santorum had actually been the caucus winner by a margin of 34 votes. He believes the delay in announcing his victory changed the whole dynamic of the race. Santorum: Romney doesn't have "core" beliefs. "Clearly, it would've been different, not just for me, but for Romney," Santorum said in 2013. "As you know, when he won Iowa and then won New Hampshire, it was, 'Oh, it's over. No one's ever won those two and lost the nomination.'"
Ultimately, Santorum did manage to stay in the race until April, which was an irritant to Romney. The two attacked each others' records on spending, taxes, health care and basic integrity, and toward the end, they even sniped at each other over whether Santorum could even win enough delegates for the nomination.
Santorum ultimately won 11 states before dropping out of the race in April and threw his tepid support to Romney.
2. He's a longtime culture warrior:Santorum remains staunchly conservative on every social issue, born largely out of his Catholic faith, and he has also gained some national infamy for those opinions. In a 2003 interview, then-Sen. Santorum likened homosexuality to bigamy, polygamy, incest and adultery, but said he didn't want to "pick on homosexuality" because "It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog." The comments prompted gay rights activist Dan Savage to begin a campaign to link his name to a graphic sexual act, and the new "definition" dominated the politician's Google search results for years.
That hasn't changed his views over the years. Santorum actively advocates for defining marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman and has opposed civil unions for same-sex couples. He also said recently that he would not attend a gay wedding, a question that was put to several GOP candidates and would-be candidates in the last week. Santorum has not, however, been critical of Bruce Jenner, the former Olympic athlete who recently came out on national television as transgender.
"If he says he's a woman, then he's a woman," Santorum told reporters recently. "My responsibility as a human being is to love and accept everybody. Not to criticize people for who they are."
He introduced legislation banning late-term abortion that passed in 2003 and during the 2012 campaign accused President Obama of forcing health insurance companies to include free prenatal testing as a way to weed out and abort disabled children. He also said the president was forcing a "new moral code" that was "intolerant" of the Catholic Church.
3. He's struck a populist tone on economic issues:During the 2012 campaign, Santorum made a concerted effort to win over so-called Reagan Democrats, or the white, working-class Northerners who defected to support former President Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984. While those voters have largely migrated to the GOP nowadays anyways, Santorum hoped that a message focused on increasing domestic energy production and revitalizing manufacturing would help him edge out his GOP rivals at the time.
He was also very critical of President Obama's push for everyone in America to go to college. Santorum's reaction: "What a snob!"
"There are good, decent men and women who work hard every day who aren't taught by some liberal college professor," he said.
He has been critical of the Republican Party for opposing an increase in the minimum wage, arguing the party needs an "image makeover" to appeal to blue-collar voters.
4. He lost his 2006 reelection bid:2006 was a bad year for Republicans in general, with voters handing control of both the House and Senate back to Democrats. But it was especially bad for Santorum, who lost his bid for a third term in the Senate by a whopping 17 percent.
Santorum ran into trouble because his opponent, then-state treasurer Bob Casey, highlighted his close ties to then-President Bush. A number of Casey's voters were also motivated by their dislike of Santorum's polarizing style.
Prior to his Senate career, Santorum served for four years in the House of Representatives. During his first Senate race in 1994, he benefitted from an anti-incumbent sentiment that year.
5. He has a special-needs daughter:The Santorum family has seven living children, and one, Gabriel, was born prematurely and died shortly thereafter. Rick and Karen's daughter youngest daughter, Isabella (the family calls her Bella), has a genetic disorder called Trisomy 18, which claims the lives of most children within a year of birth.
Bella was hospitalized twice during the 2012 campaign, and Santorum cited his parenting duties as a reason to withdraw from the campaign.
Originally, he didn't even mention his daughter on the campaign trail. Then, when given the instruction to "bare your soul" during a 2011 "Thanksgiving Family Forum" for GOP candidates, he talked about how he convinced himself to try to not love his daughter in her fragile state. "I decided that the best thing I could do was treat her differently . . . it wouldn't hurt as much if I lost her," Santorum said. "I had seen her as less of a person because of her disability."
It was a powerful moment that captivated the Iowa voters in attendance, and propelled many parents of disabled children to go meet and support Santorum.
In 2015, after the campaign, Rick and Karen Santorum wrote a book called "Bella's Gift: How One Little Girl Transformed Our Family and Inspired a Nation."
In the book, Karen Santorum writes that her husband had "hardened his heart out of fear" after losing Gabriel. "Ever since that day, Bella has had Rick wrapped around her little finger," she said.
Bella has been a source of motivation behind the Santorums' opposition to the Affordable Care Act. They argue that the law will result in disabled people being denied care as a result of health care rationing.
Ron Fournier at the national Journal reports that this Isn't The First Time Mike Huckabee Has Sided With a Sexual PredatorThe Duggars, Wayne DuMond, and Mike Huckabee's blind faith and opportunism. "Dear Wayne," Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee wrote in January 1997 to a convicted rapist with a record of murder and sexual-abuse charges that reached back 25 years. "My desire is that you be released from prison." Huckabee soon got his wish and Wayne DuMond was freed to move to Missouri, where he almost immediately raped and murdered Carol Sue Shields. Her mother blamed Huckabee.
The complex and sordid DuMond case, which I covered from Arkansas in the late 1980s and early 1990s, has always struck me as a window into Huckabee's judgment as chief executive. Convinced that DuMond had experienced a religious awakening in prison, the former Baptist minister defended a sexual predator—defying public opinion and common sense to side with a vocal minority of evangelicals.
That might ring a bell. Today, the GOP presidential candidate is standing behind the Duggar family of Arkansas following the admission by eldest son Joshua Duggar that he molested children, including his own siblings, as a teenager. "No purpose whatsoever is served by those who are now trying to discredit Josh or his family by sensationalizing the story," Huckabee wrote in a Facebook post. "Good people make mistakes and do regrettable and even disgusting things."
Kudos to Huckabee for embracing forgiveness, a virtue sorely lacking in public life. While I could be snarky and ask whether he still thinks homosexual couples shouldn't raise children, I don't think hypocrisy is the issue as much as judgment.
Taken with the DuMond case, Huckabee's full-throated defense of the Duggars fits the pattern of a thin-skinned leader blinded by faith and opportunism.
From Politico:
"No one needs to defend Josh's actions as a teenager, but the fact that he confessed his sins to those he harmed, sought help, and has gone forward to live a responsible and circumspect life as an adult is testament to his family's authenticity and humility," (Huckabee) continued, noting that those enjoying the revelation of Josh's "long ago sins" only "revealed their own insensitive bloodthirst, for there was no consideration of the fact that the victims wanted this to be left in the past and ultimately a judge had the information on file destroyed—not to protect Josh, but the innocent victims."
Huckabee said he and his wife love the entire family.
"They are no more perfect a family than any family, but their Christian witness is not marred in our eyes because following Christ is not a declaration of our perfection, but of HIS perfection," he wrote. Loyalty and spirituality are traits to be admired in a leader. Huckabee could have checked those boxes with a "no comment" and private prayers. Instead, he made the strategic choice to defend a mother and father who did not respond immediately to sexual abuse inside their own home—and he deflected for them with a dishonest attack-the-messenger gambit.
A police report shows that the parents, Jim Bob and Michelle, waited at least a year after finding out about the abuse to take any action. The father, a former state representative who worked with Huckabee in Arkansas, initially said the son was sent to a "Christian ministry" for counseling. Michelle Duggar later said they simply sent him to stay with a family friend.
How do you defend that? Huckabee didn't, exactly—but he gave the family cover with an outlandish attack against their critics. His hyperbole—"enjoying the revelation" … "own insensitive bloodthirst"—is vintage Huckabee, reminiscent of how he responds to reports of his numerous ethics lapses in Arkansas.
For all his strengths (he was a popular and relatively successful governor), there is a prickly side to Huckabee that twists facts and events to fit his self-loving version of the truth.
On the DuMond case, for instance, Huckabee still suggests he had nothing to do with the rapist's release. The facts are different. Less than a decade after his first sexual assault conviction, DuMond was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for raping a 17-year-old cheerleader and third-cousin of then-Gov. Bill Clinton. In 1985, after his arrest and before his trial, DuMond claimed he was attacked in his home by two men and castrated. The local sheriff publicly displayed Dumond's testicles.
In 1990, Clinton refused a recommendation of the state parole board to commute DuMond's sentence to time served. After Clinton became president, some conservatives circulated absolutely unfounded allegations that Clinton had framed DuMond for the rape. Clinton's successor as governor, Democrat Jim Guy Tucker, commuted the sentence to 39 years, which made DuMond eligible for parole.
Elected by Clinton-loathing conservatives, Huckabee supported DuMond's release and wrote the "Dear Wayne" letter, explaining why he was insisting that parole come with supervision. In violation of state open-meetings laws, Huckabee met secretly with the state board and, according to participants, strongly encouraged DuMond's release. Huckabee denies that he pressured the board, which granted parole the same month Huckabee wrote his "Dear Wayne" missive.
Huckabee's denial rings hollow to anybody who's examined the case. When Huckabee recently told CNN, "The only action I had in the case of Wayne DuMond was to deny clemency," National Review countered with a fact check: "Huckabee is about as accurate in this account as the little boy who insisted he didn't steal the cookie from the cookie jar; it was just his hand that had done it."
Huckabee thinks he can sell snake oil even to water moccasins, the conservative outlet concluded. "Neither the moccasins nor Republican voters should buy what he's selling." Now he's selling his self-righteousness in defense of the Duggars. Don't buy it.
I forgot about the rand Paul interview and here I go again with him. He is making the best points ever now with Joe. His views on the taxation is correct in my eyes. His views and platform with regarding to bureaucratic budgets being out of control and his view point about how any organization can say they are too big to be audited is perfect. His stance about what he says about Mass Incarceration and about our prison systems is great. Rand Paul said yesterday that the Republican brand 'sucks' and is 'broken'. His stance on defense spending is great. His amendment would add $76.5 billion to the defense budget
Just weeks before announcing his 2016 presidential bid, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is completing an about-face on a longstanding pledge to curb the growth in defense spending.
In an olive branch to defense hawks hell-bent on curtailing his White House ambitions, the libertarian Senator introduced a budget amendment late Wednesday calling for a nearly $190 billion infusion to the defense budget over the next two years—a roughly 16 percent increase. Paul’s amendment brings him in line with his likely presidential primary rivals, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who introduced a measure calling for nearly the same level of increases just days ago. The amendment was first noticed by TIME and later confirmed by Paul’s office.
The move completes a stunning reversal for Paul, who in May 2011, after just five months in office, released his own budget that would have eliminated four agencies—Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Energy and Education—while slashing the Pentagon, a sacred cow for many Republicans. Under Paul’s original proposal, defense spending would have dropped from $553 billion in the 2011 fiscal year to $542 billion in 2016. War funding would have plummeted from $159 billion to zero. He called it the “draw-down and restructuring of the Department of Defense.”
But under Paul’s new plan, the Pentagon will see its budget authority swell by $76.5 billion to $696,776,000,000 in fiscal year 2016.
The boost would be offset by a two-year combined $212 billion cut to funding for aid to foreign governments, climate change research and crippling reductions in to the budgets of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Commerce and Education.
Paul’s endorsement of increased defense spending represents a change in direction for the first-term lawmaker, who rose to prominence with his critiques of the size of the defense budget and foreign aid, drawing charges of advocating isolationism. Under pressure from fellow lawmakers and well-heeled donors, Paul in recent months has appeared to embrace the hawkish rhetoric that has defined the GOP in recent decades. At the Conservative Political Action Conference in February Paul warned of the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS). “Without question, we must now defend ourselves and American interests,” he said. Asked about federal spending, he added, “for me, the priority is always national defense.”
Presidential candidate Rand Paul has christened himself a different kind of Republican, and now he's embracing a unique moniker: tree hugger.
In a new book released on Tuesday, Paul said he composts and believes in clean air and clean water. Paul notes that he has planted giant sequoias in his yard and repurposed old trees used for a fort to build compost bins.
"None of this is at odds with wanting out government to be smaller, with wanting our regulatory bodies to protect both our land and water," Paul wrote in his third book, "Taking a Stand: Moving beyond partisan politics to unite America." "It boggles my mind to think that somehow Republicans have been branded as a party that doesn't like the environment," he said, pointing to avowed conservationist Republicans like Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
Paul also details his history planting trees and flowers at his house in Bowling Green, Kentucky and his childhood home in Lake Jackson, Texas. Some trees he has planted in Bowling Green are now 40-feet tall, according to the candidate.
"I'm a crunchy conservative and a tree hugger and proud of it," Paul writes.
Paul has tried to cast himself as a fresher Republican face who can appeal to new audiences, such as environmentalists. Paul has stressed repeatedly that the GOP needs to win over African-Americans and Hispanics, a point he returns to in the book.
The Kentucky senator wrote that the tension he has tried to soothe between the GOP and people of color is deep and complicated, but ultimately salvageable. That is if Republicans recognize that, admit it and make this minority outreach a priority.
"My Republican Party, the Republican Party I hope to lead to the White House, is willing to change," Paul wrote in his third book,
Paul puts the blame on the Republican Party's image, which he says is "broken" and scares away minority voters even though they should be attracted to the GOP. "Right now, the Republican brand sucks. I promised Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, that I would stop saying the GOP sucks, and I will (except for this last time)," Paul writes. "I believe the Republican Party and minorities have common ground."
Paul has made outreach to traditionally Democratic constituencies a cornerstone of both his contrast with his Republican rivals and of his potential general election argument. And the Kentucky Republican sprinkles in stories from his unorthodox trips to historically black colleges like Howard University throughout the 286-page campaign manifesto. U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks in a back room at Pink Cadillac Diner prior to meeting potential voters on March 21, 2015 in Rochester, New Hampshire. Paul, who has made many trips to New Hampshire which holds the first primary in the nation, has set a date in early April to decide on whether he will or will not run for president. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) delivers remarks while announcing his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination during an event at the Galt House Hotel on April 7, 2015 in Louisville, Kentucky. Originally an ophthalmologist, Paul rode the Tea Party wave to office in 2010. The presidential hopeful has also emphasized criminal justice reform in the Senate, an issue that he believes gives him some bona fides when talking to communities of color that are disproportionately affected by current enforcement and sentencing.
Despite that effort, his messaging challenge is that "what Republicans offer is less tangible than a government check," which is what Paul suggests the Democrats are offering. He acknowledges that many minorities may not even consider voting for a Republican even with these overtures.
But that doesn't mean Republicans shouldn't try, he says. Paul has frequently lamented that not enough Republicans even attempt to woo the disadvantaged, pitching himself as a different kind of Republican willing to outwork the traditional leadership.
"The Republican Party can rightly serve minority communities if we stay true to our core, be open to new ideas, and boldly profess what we believe," Paul writes.
I also forgot his book is out in stores today.
And, Oh Jeez. I also forgot that Bill Kristol is on the Morning Joe show today. Joe calls him a war monger but they start talking about the GOP field instead. Willie asks 'how do you suss out this field?' How do you suss it out? He is annoyed by the RNC, Reince Priebus and Fox News for making the debate stage an issue an issue. I actually agree with it. Who cares how many candidates. Work it out. he seems to like what Carly Fiorina has been doing during her launch of her campaign.
BTW, there were more than 500 rescues over the last few days down in Oklahoma and in Texas. That is a lot.
Cleveland, DOJ announce changes in police force. The city of Cleveland and Department of Justice announced Tuesday how they are moving forward on agreed changes to the city's police force.
The consent decree is the next step after the city agreed to changes last year following a scathing report from DOJ investigators regarding patterns of civil rights violations and excessive force by the Cleveland police. It will mean years of court-supervised monitoring of the Cleveland Police Department.
In a 105-page report, Justice and city leaders unveiled reforms that included commitments to "bias-free policing", new crisis-intervention efforts and changes to officer recruitment and discipline. The leaders called on the city to buy into the changes and embrace what they billed as a transformation in the city's policing.
"I am issuing a call of action to our entire community to support this hard work together," said U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach. "The people who may criticize the police are not the enemy -- they are part of the community."
When then-Attorney General Eric Holder announced the findings in December, the city's mayor and police chief said they were in agreement that recommended changes had to be implemented. The agreement required the city to create a reform plan.
The timing of this next step comes following weekend protests that roiled Cleveland after the acquittal of a police officer accused of killing two unarmed black suspects.
DOJ to review Cleveland police shooting
In addition, the police are under pressure to explain the shooting death by another officer of a 12-year-old boy who was brandishing a pellet gun.
Regardless of it all happening today, please stay in touch during this long week!
