Joining today's show are John Heilemann, Steve Rattner, Howard Dean, Eugene Robinson, Henry Porter, Chuck Todd, Hallie Jackson, Donny Deutsch, Kasie Hunt, Alex Castellanos, Michael Crowley, Nancy Gibbs, Sara Eisen, John Hart, William Cohan and in Taji, Japan, more killings today. Risso Dolphins now netted in the cove. Looks like about 20 or more. Another family destroyed. 2 Rissos selected for captivity and the dead bodies ofthe others are headed to butcherhouse. 2016-08-01 9:15am#dolphinproject #tweet4dolphins. All boats are now back in the harbour.
I also have my Winter Games this weekend with my Special Olympic Volleyball team that is out of the Bancroft School system. It should be a great weekend down in South New Jersey where the games are being held. There is also a banquet along with the games. The only conflict is if we play the 145PM round tomorrow, I will miss the Maryland / Wisconsin game shich is being aired on the BTN at 1PM.
Also, Despite Screening, Protesters Disrupt Trump's Vermont Rally. After a day's worth of drama over the crowd size at Donald Trump's rally here Thursday, the Republican presidential front-runner's campaign attempted to bar anyone who did not pledge their support from attending his event.
But that didn't stop a number of protesters from disrupting the event held just blocks from Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign headquarters. On multiple occasions, pro-Sanders or anti-Trump activists made themselves known to the auditorium, one group even moving towards the stage with a "dump Trump" sign before being escorted out.
Trump said those who made it into his rally at a 1,400-seat auditorium were "very lucky" after his campaign distributed 20,000 free tickets. Supporters waited in line for hours hoping to get in.
Some who made it through security told NBC News they were asked if they were Trump supporters. Those who said yes were allowed in, while many that didn't were turned away.
"We have more than 20,000 people that showed up for 1,400 spots. I'm taking care of my people, not people who don't want to vote for me or are undecided," Trump said in a statement. "They are loyal to me and I am loyal to them."
But the protesters interrupted Trump throughout his remarks, prompting him to joke that staff should "confiscate the coats" before sending the them into the frigid Vermont night.
On the same night that President Obama attended a live televised town hall on gun-law reform, Trump spoke about his plans to protect the Second Amendment.
Reiterating a promise to get rid of gun-free zones on military bases, Trump added that he will also "get rid of gun free zones in schools" on his first day in office.
"There's no more gun free zones," Trump said to loud applause before continuing to once again discuss the gun rules on military bases.
It was unclear, however, whether Trump meant that no more gun free zones was relegated just to school and military bases, or on the whole. The campaign did not return NBC News's request for clarification on the remark.
"We need our guns," Trump said — a stark juxtaposition while the president defended his recent executive order to try to curb gun deaths and strengthen existing background check programs, among other things.
When Trump polled the crowd to see if they liked him, many in the audience booed — he was on Sanders' turf after all.
Trump said they'd like Sanders "if you want to pay a 90 percent tax" and then reminded everyone of a favorite story: the time Sanders' microphone was overtaken by Black Lives Matter protesters at one of his rallies in Seattle.
"That won't happen with me," Trump promised, again.
This normally quiet town was abuzz throughout the day as excited supporters and passionate protesters awaited the arrival of the businessman candidate.
Main Street in the predominantly progressive city was filled with energetic Trump devotees waiting in line hours after the event. Others here gathered to protest a message they see as hate-filled and unacceptable.
Both sides of the spectrum seemed to have shared a common feeling: frenzy.
Trump's rally made headlines Wednesday night after local law enforcement and Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger released statements of concern for Trump's hugely oversold rally. Saying they welcomed the political discourse Trump would bring, they also shared concerns for the safety of those hoping to attend the event.
"If Phish was holding a free concert at the Flynn and gave away 20,000 free tickets, we would cancel the event out of public safety concerns," Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo told the Burlington Free Press. "We are committed to accommodating the campaign because political speech is the very essence of the First Amendment."
China closes 2% higher while US job figures beat forecasts. Wall Street sinks as China turmoil hits global shares. Wall Street shares closed sharply down after the suspension of trading on Chinese markets for the second time this week spread alarm among investors.
After Asian and then European stock markets fell, Wall Street's Dow Jones and S&P 500 indexes shed 2.3%.
Earlier, circuit-breakers triggered a suspension in Chinese trading following a 7% fall in the country's main index.
Later on Thursday, the Chinese authorities said they were suspending the circuit-breaker system.
The mechanism was brought in late last year to reduce volatility on China's markets and had not been triggered until this week. It will be lifted from Friday.
The slump on Chinese markets prompted renewed panic on global markets. Share dealing was halted in the first 30 minutes, making it China's shortest trading day on record.
The FTSE 100 share index in London closed down 2% at 5,954.08.
Germany's Dax, down 2.3% at 9,979.85, while France's Cac 40 fell 1.7% to 4,403.58.
On Wall Street, banks were among the biggest casualties, with giants Citigroup and Morgan Stanley falling 5%.
Technology stocks were also hit. Apple slid 4.2%, Amazon 3.9%, Facebook 4.9% and Google parent Alphabet 2.3%.
The tech-rich Nasdaq index closed down 3%.
Nerves
Amid the uncertainty, the euro gained nearly a cent against the dollar, rising to $1.0870.
What does this mean for the rest of the world?
The direct financial impact of lower share prices in China is moderate. There is not enough foreign investment in the Chinese market for it to be a major problem. The London consultancy Capital Economics has said foreigners own just 2% of shares.
The issue is more about whether the financial turbulence shines a light on wider issues about the economic slowdown in China: is the economy heading for what's called a "hard landing", too sharp a slowdown?
China is now such a big force in the global economy that it would inevitably affect the rest of the world. It is the second largest economy and the second largest importer of both goods and commercial services.
The pound fell against the euro by more than a cent and a half, to €1.3408.
Investors are nervous after the Chinese central bank moved to weaken the country's currency, the yuan, for the eighth day running, sparking fears of a currency war.
This move is designed to boost exports by making Chinese goods cheaper outside the country, analysts have speculated.
It is also being interpreted as an indication that consumer demand in China may be slowing more sharply than feared.
Official economic growth in China is still running at just below 7%.
But moves to devalue the yuan suggest attempts to shift the economy from an export-led one to a consumer and services-led one are running into problems.
Soros warning
Legendary US billionaire investor George Soros has warned that 2016 could see a global financial crisis on as big a scale as that seen just eight years ago.
Giving a speech to an economic forum in Sri Lanka, Mr Soros said China faced a " major adjustment problem."
He added: "I would say it amounts to a crisis. When I look at the financial markets there is a serious challenge which reminds me of the crisis we had in 2008, according to Bloomberg.
It is not the first time the billionaire hedge fund manager has warned of impending doom on the financial markets. In 2011 he warned the Greek debt crisis that consumed Europe was more serious than the 2008 financial crisis.
Or maybe you don't. Especially if panic breaks out on your stock markets for a second day this week.
The decision by China's regulators to suspend the brand new circuit-breaker mechanism - which only came into effect this week - tells you just how difficult it is to manage or control financial markets.
But perhaps that's the point.
Meddling in markets can only lead to misery - at least, that's certainly what many in China's financial circles may now be thinking.
After the trading halt, the China Securities Regulatory Commission announced that major shareholders could not sell more than 1% of a company's shares within three months as of 9 January.
It comes as a previous six-month ban of stock sales by major shareholders is set to expire on Friday.
Why is this happening now?
China's central bank began to devalue the yuan last year. Also, a World Bank report has highlighted weaknesses in China's economy. Buffeted by events in China, world stock markets are also being hit by oil prices falling to a 14-year-low.
Should we be worried?
China is responsible for 17% of all the world's economic activity, so any downturn in spending there affects the rest of the world.
Exporters to China could be hit hard as China is a key buyer of industrial commodities such as oil, copper and iron ore.
What happens next?
There is now a lot more pressure on other Asian countries to depreciate their currencies in response to China's move.
China's attempts to impose circuit breakers with a 7% threshold appear to have only added to the panic. On Wall Street, circuit breakers kick in at 20%.
Amy Zhuang, a China analyst with Nordea Bank, told the BBC she expected "a rush selling" as soon as Chinese markets opened on Friday.
Bernard Aw, market strategist at trading firm IG, said the negative sentiment was because of the perception that China may further weaken the yuan, igniting concerns over what that might mean for other economies.
The depreciation of the yuan has put pressure on other Asian countries to devalue their currencies to stay competitive with China on exports.
A weakening of the currency is often seen by investors as an indication that that the economy is not doing well and needs to be propped up by boosting exports.
A lower yuan makes the cost of exporting goods for Chinese companies cheaper, giving the slowing factory sector a boost.
What are China's 'circuit-breakers'?
The measures were announced in December after a summer of dramatic market losses - used for the first time time on Monday and again on Thursday.
They automatically stop trading in stock markets that drop or appreciate too sharply - a 15-minute break if the CSI 300 Index moves 5% from the market's previous close, or a whole-day halt if it moves 7% or more.
Supposedly introduced to limit panic buying and selling - which is more likely in small investor-dominated markets like China's - but critics say they only add to selling pressure the next day.
After disappointing manufacturing data on Monday, the mainland benchmark index plunged 7%, triggering a global equities sell-off.
The negative sentiment spilled over the border to Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng index also lost 3%, closing at 20,333.34 points.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index finished down 2.3% to 17,767.34, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index lost 2.2% to 5,010.30 as energy shares dragged down the market.
And, U.S. auto sales in 2015 set record after strong December. Automakers on Tuesday set a new U.S. sales record for 2015 even as December sales fell short of expectations, and most forecasters said sales should rise to another record this year.
For full year 2015, U.S. sales hit a record of 17.47 million vehicles, breaking the mark of 17.41 million vehicles in 2000, according to Autodata Corp. Low gasoline prices, easy credit and moderate economic growth boosted the industry.
WardsAuto, which provides data used by the U.S. government for economic analysis, said 2015 sales set a record at 17.39 million vehicles sold, breaking the 2000 mark of 17.35 million.
Autodata said December sales rose 9 percent. On an annualized rate, accounting for seasonal factors, December sales were 17.34 million vehicles, well below the 18.1 million vehicles expected by a Thomson Reuters poll of 38 economists and analysts.
“The U.S. economy continues to expand and the most important factors that drive demand for new vehicles are in place, so we expect to see a second consecutive year of record industry sales in 2016,” said Mustafa Mohatarem, chief economist for General Motors Co (GM.N).
Mohatarem said the most important factors are employment and growth in personal income, which will remain strong this year.
Some forecasters, including TrueCar Inc, said U.S. sales will hit 18 million vehicles this year. The Federal Reserve's recent interest rate increase should not deter sales.
"Interest rates would have to reach 3 percent next year before we see an inflection point that causes the year-over-year growth rate to stagnate," said TrueCar's chief economist, Oliver Strauss.
Mark Wakefield, leader of the auto practice at AlixPartners, predicted that sales will peak in 2016, at 17.75 million vehicles. Wakefield said sales will then decline to 17.4 million in 2017, 16.1 million in 2018 and 15.2 million in 2019. He said they would then gradually rise to 17 million in 2022.
Wakefield said in an interview that a century of data, along with factors such as a glut of quality used vehicles, pointed to a moderate downturn that will begin to be felt in 2017.
He said 800,000 more used cars will be available this year than in 2015.
The industry has steadily recovered since 2009, when sales hit 10.4 million vehicles, the lowest level since World War Two, adjusted for population.
In December, GM, the top seller in the United States, said its sales rose 5.7 percent from a year ago. Ford Motor Co (F.N), the No. 2 U.S. automaker, reported a jump of 8 percent.
Sales of Ford's F-Series pickup truck rose 15 percent in December. The F-Series, led by the F-150 pickup, extended two streaks: 39 years as the best-selling truck in the United States and 34 years as the best-selling vehicle of any kind.
U.S. consumers continued to shift from cars, including sedans and hatchbacks, to SUVs, crossovers and trucks. Low gasoline prices and better fuel economy for larger vehicles encouraged this trend, said Mark LeNeve, head of Ford's U.S. sales.
At GM, car sales fell 14.2 percent in 2015 while sales of trucks, crossovers and SUVs rose 16.3 percent.
GM car sales were at their lowest share of U.S. sales, 30.2 percent, in 2015, down from 37 percent in 2014. Before 2000, cars never accounted for less than half of U.S. sales.
Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T)(TM.N), third in U.S. sales, had a gain of 11 percent. Honda Motor Co (7267.T)(HMC.N) set an annual record for U.S. sales at 1.59 million vehicles, up 3 percent. Honda's December sales rose 10 percent.
Sales rose 13 percent at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCHA.MI)(FCAU.N) and 19 percent at Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T) in December.
Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) sales fell 1.5 percent as its U.S. production is constrained by capacity.
Volkswagen AG's (VOWG_p.DE) VW brand sales fell 9 percent in December after a 25 percent drop in November as the company's diesel emissions scandal pressured performance.
Daimler AG's (DAIGn.DE) Mercedes-Benz took the annual luxury sales crown, with sales of 372,977, up 5 percent, while BMW (BMWG.DE) sales of 346,023 rose 2 percent.
Toyota's Lexus brand, which was the U.S. luxury sales leader before the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, was right behind BMW, at 344,601 vehicles sold, up 11 percent. (Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and David Gregorio).
Trump Instagram video shows Hillary Clinton with Cosby, Weiner. Hillary Clinton may find it difficult to maintain her New Year's resolution after this one.
In a new Instagram video from Donald Trump — introduced with a message on Twitter and Instagram saying "Hillary and her friends!" — the Republican presidential candidate pulled no punches in his ongoing battle with her over charges of sexism.
Donald J. Trump
Hillary and her friends! https://www.instagram.com/p/BAPvZ-1GhbP/
As an excerpt from Clinton's famous speech on women's rights to a U.N. conference in 1995 held in China plays in the background, an image of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky is shown, followed by a newspaper front page from 1998 shortly after the 42nd president admitted to a relationship with the former White House intern.
Next up, an image of Hillary Clinton speaking in front of Anthony Weiner, the former New York congressman who was embroiled in a sexting scandal. Weiner is married to Huma Abedin, a long-time aide to Clinton.
Finally, the video concludes with a smiling Clinton standing next to Bill Cosby at an event that's
Clinton said in recent days that her New Year's resolution was to no longer respond to attacks from Trump, who has ramped up his missives against the Clintons after Hillary Clinton told The Des Moines Register in a December interview that the New York billionaire had "demonstrated a penchant for sexism."
Earlier this week, Trump said on MSNBC's Morning Joe that he would continue bringing up 1990s-era sex scandals involving former president Bill Clinton only if the Democratic front-runner continued accusing him of being sexist..
Christie turns to Adele to hit Rubio in ad. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie hit back at GOP presidential rival Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in a video he posted on Twitter that's set to the soundtrack of Adele's "Hello." The video is a tongue-in-cheek attempt to point out to voters that Christie and Rubio used to have a positive relationship. It includes a 2013 quote from Rubio praising Christie while the song plays in the background.
"Conservative leadership is hard to find these days, but the voters in New Jersey have seen it firsthand," the quote from Rubio reads. "The people of New Jersey were desperate for real leadership and a new direction ... And that's what they got in Governor Chris Christie."
Rubio did indeed say this about Christie in May 2013, according to Politico.
In the tweet, Christie writes, "Oh @marcorubio, the way things used to be #tbt"
A pro-Rubio super PAC hit Christie with political ads this week, blasting Christie over his record in New Jersey and tying him to President Barack Obama.
Rubio continued that line of attack on Thursday when asked about the budding feud.
"Chris Christie has done a number of things that are very similar to the Obama agenda," Rubio told Neil Cavuto on Fox Business Channel. "And I just don't think this country can afford to elect a president that will not stand up and undo the damage Barack Obama has done to this country."
He also brushed off a Christie dig at his poor Senate voting attendance record -- throwing it back in Christie's face.
"Chris Christie is missing out of New Jersey most of the time, that's why his numbers there are so terrible," Rubio said. "The reason is simple -- he's running for president, and so am I. And I'm running for president so the votes we take in the Senate matter again."
Are Liberals Responsible for the Rise of Donald Trump?
Five-time Jeopardy! champion Tom Nichols1 writes today about why so many people are attracted to Donald Trump. Nichols is a Republican,2 but he makes it very clear that he deeply loathes Trump ("hideous," "narcissistic," "creepy," "stupid," etc.) and will never vote for him. So what's his take on Trump's popularity? Is it due to economic insecurity? Inchoate anger? Bubbling racism and xenophobia? Hatred of the Republican establishment?
Nah. He says Trump's rise is basically the fault of the left:
To understand Trump's seemingly effortless seizure of the public spotlight, forget about programs, and instead zero in on the one complaint that seems to unite all of the disparate angry factions gravitating to him: political correctness. This, more than anything, is how the left created Trump
Uh-oh. That's not going to go over well. For what it's worth, Nichols is clear that he isn't referring to garden variety political correctness, which is basically little more than avoiding terms that are obviously insulting or exclusionary. At worst, that stuff is annoying but well-meaning:
Today, however, we have a new, more virulent political correctness that terrorizes both liberals and conservatives, old-line Democrats and Republicans, alike…The extremist adherents of this new political correctness have essentially taken a flamethrower to the public space and annihilated its center…Any incorrect position, any expression of the Constitutional right to a different opinion, or even just a slip of the tongue can lead to public ostracism and the loss of a job.
…Gay marriage is a good example. Liberals wanted gay marriage to win in the Supreme Court, and it did. Leftists wanted more: to silence their opponents even after those opponents completely lost on the issue…I could reel off many other examples. When the New York Times tells the rubes that it's time to hand in their guns, when The Washington Post suggests that Jesus is ashamed of them for not welcoming Syrian refugees the week after a terrorist attack, people react not because they love guns or hate Syrians, but because their natural urge to being told by coastal liberals that they're awful people and that they should just obey and shut up is to issue a certain Anglo-Saxon verb and pronoun combination with all the vigor they can muster. And if they can't say it themselves, they'll find someone who will, even if it's a crude jerk from Queens who can't make a point without raising his pinky like a Mafia goon explaining the vig to you after you've had a bad day at the track.
…For the record, I despise Donald Trump and I will vote for almost any Republican (well, okay, not Ben Carson) rather than Trump....But I understand the fear of being silenced that's prompting otherwise decent people to make common cause with racists and modern Know-Nothings, and I blame the American left for creating that fear.
…How long this will go on, then, depends on how long it will take for those people to feel reassured that someone besides Trump will represent their concerns without backing down in the face of catcalls about racism, sexism, LGBTQ-phobia, Islamophobia, or any other number of labels deployed mostly to extinguish their dissent.
This is hardly a new critique. Conservatives have been complaining about "being silenced" forever. The only difference between Trump and the rest of the GOP field is that Trump's complaints are a little earthier than Rubio's or Bush's.
Still, even if I think Nichols is overstating things, it's not as if he doesn't have a point. Even those of us on the left feel the wrath of the leftier-than-thou brigade from time to time. I don't generally have a hard time avoiding objectionable language myself because (a) I'm liberal, (b) I'm good with words, and (c) I write rather than talk, which gives me time to get my act together. But even at that, sometimes I cross an invisible line and get trounced for it.
But for someone without my advantages, I can easily see how it might feel almost impossible to express an unpopular opinion without tying yourself in knots. And let's be honest: We liberals do tend to yell racism a little more often than we should. And we do tend to suggest that anyone who likes guns or Jesus is a rube. And the whole "privilege" thing sure does get tiresome sometimes. And we do get a little pedantic in our insistence that no conversation about anything is complete unless it specifically acknowledges the special problems of marginalized groups. It can be pretty suffocating at times.
For the most part, I don't mind this stuff—and conservatives do themselves no favors by harping on supposed PC idiocy like the "war on Christmas." But the reason I don't mind it is that I can navigate it reasonably well4 and I mostly agree with the aims of the PC police anyway. People who have trouble with navigation obviously feel a lot more constrained. So while I don't really buy Nichols' argument—conservatives built the monster named Trump, not liberals—I do think he has a germ of a point. Donald Trump is basically telling ordinary people that ordinary language is okay, and since that's the only language they know, it means they feel like they can finally talk again.
1Okay, fine: He's also a professor of national security affairs at the US Naval War College.
2Former Republican, anyway: "I'm a conservative independent and a former Republican. I quit the party in 2012 because of exactly the kind of coarse ignorance that Trump represents. The night Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary on the thoughtful platform of colonizing the moon, I was out."3
3I included that second sentence only because it tickled me.
4Much of this I've learned from reading stuff by academics, who are the masters of acceptable language. As an example: If you were to call something "black behavior," you'd probably get mauled. The solution? Call it "behavior stereotypically coded as black." This accomplishes so many things at once. However, it's also phraseology that no ordinary person would ever think of. This means they literally have no acceptable way of expressing the original thought, which makes them feel silenced.
French police seek identity of fake suicide vest attacker. French police say they shot the suspect as he tried to attack a police station in northern Paris, on January 7, 2016. French anti-terror investigators were on Friday seeking to identify a man shot dead while trying to storm a Paris police station brandishing a meat cleaver and wearing a fake suicide vest.
The man was shot dead by officers as he ran towards the entrance of the police station waving the meat cleaver and shouting "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest") on Thursday, exactly a year to the day since the massacre of journalists at the Charlie Hebdo newspaper.
Based on his fingerprints, police initially identified him as Sallah Ali, born in 1995 in Casablanca, a homeless man who was arrested for theft in 2013.
But Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said Friday that the identity was "not at all certain" since he was carrying no documents at the time of his arrest.
"This identity (he gave in 2013) is contradicted by a hand-written note that we found in his clothes," Molins told France Inter radio. "He is not known to the intelligence services under this name."
The note, which included a hand-drawn flag of the Islamic State group (IS), gave a different name which Molins did not reveal. It also said his nationality was Tunisian instead of Moroccan.
Molins said the man was carrying a mobile phone with a German SIM card, with French media saying it contained several messages in Arabic, some of which were sent from Germany.
The police station is in Paris' 18th district, an area with a mainly North African population which lies close to the tourist hotspot of Montmartre.
- Unknown to terror police -
Describing the attack, an investigation source said the man pulled the cleaver from his inside coat pocket as he ran towards the officers. He "did not heed the warnings, and police opened fire".
The attacker was also wearing a pouch under his coat with a wire hanging from it, but the device "contained no explosives," the source told AFP.
A remote-controlled robot was also used to inspect the body for explosives.
The attack "illustrates very well the multi-form character of the terrorist threat today in France," said Molins.
"We can find ourselves confronted by very organised attacks with extensive logistics and coordination, and on the other hand by people who work in an isolated manner, either because of psychological instability or simply because they are following the standing order to carry out murders," he said.
IS has called for supporters to carry out random attacks in France and other European countries.
A source close to the investigation said Thursday's attacker had pledged allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in the documents found on his body.
And he justified the attack as revenge for French bombings in Syria.
Justice Minister Christiane Taubira confirmed the suspect was not on the radar of counter-terrorism police.
"From what is known of this person, there was no link to violent radicalisation whatsoever," said Taubira on Thursday.
- Intelligence sharing 'essential' -
The drama unfolded just moments after President Francois Hollande concluded a sombre speech at police headquarters to mark the anniversary of the attack on the Paris office of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on January 7, 2015.
With France still grieving after the massacre of 130 people by jihadists in Paris in November -- also claiming vengeance for France's role in Syria -- Hollande used his speech to call for greater cooperation between the security services.
"Faced with these adversaries, it is essential that every service -- police, gendarmerie, intelligence, military -- work in perfect harmony, with the greatest transparency, and that they share all the information at their disposal," he said.
Many of the assailants in both January's rampage and the attacks in November were known to French security services, having either travelled abroad to fight with jihadists or been blocked from doing so.
Since the attack on Charlie Hebdo, nearly 200 people in France had been placed under travel restrictions to prevent them joining up with IS in Syria or Iraq, Hollande said.
The president reiterated his pledge to boost the number of police and armed gendarmes by 5,000.
Rocker Johnny Hallyday will perform at a concert in Paris on Sunday to mark a year since 1.6 million people gathered in the capital in support of freedom of expression following the deaths of Charlie Hebdo's best-known cartoonists.
LePage in spotlight for saying drug dealers impregnate ‘white girls’. Hillary Clinton issues a sharp rebuke and national news media react after the governor tells an audience that drug dealers come to Maine from New York and Connecticut and 'half the time they impregnate a young, white girl before they leave.'
Gov. Paul LePage has drawn widespread condemnation for a racially charged comment he made during one of his regular town hall meetings to promote his policy agenda in Bridgton on Wednesday night.
About 30 minutes into the meeting, which was rebroadcast Thursday night, LePage responded to a question about how he was tackling substance abuse in Maine. He began talking about how much of the heroin is coming into Maine from out-of-state drug dealers.
“These are guys with the name D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty – these types of guys – they come from Connecticut and New York, they come up here, they sell their heroin, they go back home,” LePage told a large crowd. “Incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young white girl before they leave, which is a real sad thing because then we have another issue we have to deal with down the road.”
LePage’s comments quickly flashed across social media and online news sites around the nation Thursday night, being picked up by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, the Huffington Post, MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show” and Buzzfeed, to name a few.
Among those voicing criticism was the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
“LePage’s racist rants sadly distract from efforts to address one of our nation’s most pressing problems,” said Hillary for America’s Marlon Marshall in an emailed statement.
Peter Steele, the governor’s communications director, defended LePage’s remarks Thursday night, saying the governor wasn’t speaking about race, but about the emotional toll that drugs have on children.
“The governor is not making comments about race. Race is irrelevant,” Steele said in a statement he emailed in response to a request to have the governor explain his comments. “What is relevant is the cost to state taxpayers for welfare and the emotional costs for these kids who are born as a result of involvement with drug traffickers. His heart goes out to these kids because he had a difficult childhood, too. We need to stop the drug traffickers from coming into our state.”
Steele didn’t respond to a message left on his phone Thursday night, an email with a follow-up question on his statement or an email requesting an interview with the governor.
Phil Bartlett, chairman of the Maine Democratic Party, said in an interview that the comments “at best were coded racism,” designed to divide Maine people.
“It’s outrageous,” Bartlett said. “Everybody should be denouncing his comments and what they’re intended to provoke. I would call upon all Republicans to stand up and say this is wrong and it’s not acceptable in our public discourse. It’s simply indefensible.”
He said the comment fits into a national narrative being expounded by Republicans, who are increasingly using “pretty overt racist language and imagery rather than talking about the merits of public policy.”
National Democrats sought to use LePage’s comments to influence the Republican presidential primary. The National Democratic Committee issued a statement calling on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who traveled to Maine about a half-dozen times in 2014 to stump for LePage’s re-election, to renounce LePage’s endorsement of his presidential campaign. In July, Christie came to Maine to announce LePage’s endorsement.
“Paul LePage’s comments are disgusting, racist and represent the worst form of conservative politics – one that plays to the darkest elements of the Republican Party’s base,” Michael Tyler, DNC director of African American media, said in a written statement. “By remaining silent, Gov. Christie condones LePage’s racist comments and his world view.”
LePage is known for his blunt talk and crude comments. He once told the Maine NAACP to “kiss my butt,” and vowed to tell President Obama to “go to hell.” He also accused a Democratic lawmaker of having “no brains” and being “the first one to give it to the people without providing Vaseline.”
Lance Dutson, a Republican consultant who runs the Get Right Maine website, which seeks to restore a more moderate brand of Republicanism in Maine, described LePage’s latest remark in a blog post as “one of the most offensive statements yet from this governor.”
Jason Savage, executive director of the Maine Republican Party, refused to comment on the governor’s remarks. Instead, he took aim at Dutson. “We don’t respond to attacks from disgruntled former staffers,” Savage said.
Maine Republican Party Chairman Rick Bennett did not return a voicemail message seeking comment.
Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves, who is suing the governor over his interference in a private job offer, said in a written statement that “LePage should be ashamed of himself.”
“What a terrible example for our children,” Eves said. “Now more than ever we need leaders that bring us together to work toward making life better for families, not worse. The governor’s crude comments have no place in Maine or any other decent society.”
Alison Beyea, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, said the remark was “race-based fear mongering, reminiscent of shameful times in our nation’s past.”
“At a time when we should be focused on coming together to solve Maine’s addiction problem, the governor has opted instead for divisive, racist rhetoric,” Beyea said in a written statement.
Maine Senate President Michael Thibodeau, R-Winterport, said he had neither heard the governor’s comment nor read reports about it. He declined to provide a reaction when LePage’s comments were read to him by a reporter.
Senate Minority Leader Justin Alfond, D-Portland, was reached by a reporter, but his cellphone cut out. He didn’t return a voicemail seeking comment Thursday night.
None of Maine’s congressional delegation – Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, and Reps. Bruce Poliquin and Chellie Pingree – responded to requests for comment Thursday night.
The firestorm over the comments comes as the governor is being sued in federal court by Eves, who accuses LePage of using intimidation to prevent a private school from hiring Eves as its president. Maine Democrats are weighing whether to introduce a resolution censuring LePage over the allegations, and a group of lawmakers is considering a separate order calling for an investigation into possible impeachment charges against the governor.
Dutson first made LePage’s comment public with a post on the Get Right Maine website, shortly before Lake Region Television, a local access station, posted a video recording of the town hall event online at 5 p.m. Thursday, a day after it was held.
Several Portland television stations had reporters or photographers covering the event Wednesday night, but none of the stations broadcast a story that night making reference to the racially charged comment. Station managers didn’t return calls seeking comment Thursday.
The local access video showed a crowd that appeared to be dominated by LePage supporters, applauding his desire to keep young people in Maine, cut income taxes, eliminate student debt and require able-bodied people to work, rather than receive welfare.
Although some chuckled when LePage recited the names of “D-Money” and the other drug dealers, the room fell quiet and there was little discernible reaction when he finished his remark with the reference to impregnated young white girls.
The meeting in Bridgton, a town in western Maine with 5,200 residents, was the latest in a series of town hall gatherings that LePage has been holding to build support for his legislative agenda, which includes the elimination of the state’s income tax, and to criticize his opponents, especially those in the Legislature.
On Wednesday, LePage talked about a plan to reduce student debt through a partnership with the Finance Authority of Maine and the Alfond Family Foundation.
He also accused legislators of diverting funding he had earmarked for the elderly to help “illegal immigrants,” a term his administration often uses to describe people who are here legally seeking asylum from violence and political persecution in their homelands. Maine asylum seekers mostly come from African countries.
LePage has been accused of making a racially insensitive comment before. In August 2013, he reportedly told a group at a private function in Belgrade that President Obama “hates white people.” The remark was made at a meet-and-greet with the governor, first lady Ann LePage and Bennett, who had just been selected as party chairman. Two Republican lawmakers, who were not identified, confirmed the remarks to a reporter.
The governor denied making the remark.
And last, Beware Jeff Jones's Post-Game Handshakes. Old Dominion came away from Ruston tonight with a shocking upset win over Louisiana Tech—the Monarchs’ first road win of the season, and the Bulldogs’ first home loss since 2013. ODU coach Jeff Jones clearly saw someone after the game who needed a celebratory crotchpalm.
LePage in spotlight for saying drug dealers impregnate ‘white girls’. Hillary Clinton issues a sharp rebuke and national news media react after the governor tells an audience that drug dealers come to Maine from New York and Connecticut and 'half the time they impregnate a young, white girl before they leave.'
Gov. Paul LePage has drawn widespread condemnation for a racially charged comment he made during one of his regular town hall meetings to promote his policy agenda in Bridgton on Wednesday night.
About 30 minutes into the meeting, which was rebroadcast Thursday night, LePage responded to a question about how he was tackling substance abuse in Maine. He began talking about how much of the heroin is coming into Maine from out-of-state drug dealers.
“These are guys with the name D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty – these types of guys – they come from Connecticut and New York, they come up here, they sell their heroin, they go back home,” LePage told a large crowd. “Incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young white girl before they leave, which is a real sad thing because then we have another issue we have to deal with down the road.”
LePage’s comments quickly flashed across social media and online news sites around the nation Thursday night, being picked up by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, the Huffington Post, MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show” and Buzzfeed, to name a few.
Among those voicing criticism was the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
“LePage’s racist rants sadly distract from efforts to address one of our nation’s most pressing problems,” said Hillary for America’s Marlon Marshall in an emailed statement.
Peter Steele, the governor’s communications director, defended LePage’s remarks Thursday night, saying the governor wasn’t speaking about race, but about the emotional toll that drugs have on children.
“The governor is not making comments about race. Race is irrelevant,” Steele said in a statement he emailed in response to a request to have the governor explain his comments. “What is relevant is the cost to state taxpayers for welfare and the emotional costs for these kids who are born as a result of involvement with drug traffickers. His heart goes out to these kids because he had a difficult childhood, too. We need to stop the drug traffickers from coming into our state.”
Steele didn’t respond to a message left on his phone Thursday night, an email with a follow-up question on his statement or an email requesting an interview with the governor.
Phil Bartlett, chairman of the Maine Democratic Party, said in an interview that the comments “at best were coded racism,” designed to divide Maine people.
“It’s outrageous,” Bartlett said. “Everybody should be denouncing his comments and what they’re intended to provoke. I would call upon all Republicans to stand up and say this is wrong and it’s not acceptable in our public discourse. It’s simply indefensible.”
He said the comment fits into a national narrative being expounded by Republicans, who are increasingly using “pretty overt racist language and imagery rather than talking about the merits of public policy.”
National Democrats sought to use LePage’s comments to influence the Republican presidential primary. The National Democratic Committee issued a statement calling on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who traveled to Maine about a half-dozen times in 2014 to stump for LePage’s re-election, to renounce LePage’s endorsement of his presidential campaign. In July, Christie came to Maine to announce LePage’s endorsement.
“Paul LePage’s comments are disgusting, racist and represent the worst form of conservative politics – one that plays to the darkest elements of the Republican Party’s base,” Michael Tyler, DNC director of African American media, said in a written statement. “By remaining silent, Gov. Christie condones LePage’s racist comments and his world view.”
LePage is known for his blunt talk and crude comments. He once told the Maine NAACP to “kiss my butt,” and vowed to tell President Obama to “go to hell.” He also accused a Democratic lawmaker of having “no brains” and being “the first one to give it to the people without providing Vaseline.”
Lance Dutson, a Republican consultant who runs the Get Right Maine website, which seeks to restore a more moderate brand of Republicanism in Maine, described LePage’s latest remark in a blog post as “one of the most offensive statements yet from this governor.”
Jason Savage, executive director of the Maine Republican Party, refused to comment on the governor’s remarks. Instead, he took aim at Dutson. “We don’t respond to attacks from disgruntled former staffers,” Savage said.
Maine Republican Party Chairman Rick Bennett did not return a voicemail message seeking comment.
Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves, who is suing the governor over his interference in a private job offer, said in a written statement that “LePage should be ashamed of himself.”
“What a terrible example for our children,” Eves said. “Now more than ever we need leaders that bring us together to work toward making life better for families, not worse. The governor’s crude comments have no place in Maine or any other decent society.”
Alison Beyea, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, said the remark was “race-based fear mongering, reminiscent of shameful times in our nation’s past.”
“At a time when we should be focused on coming together to solve Maine’s addiction problem, the governor has opted instead for divisive, racist rhetoric,” Beyea said in a written statement.
Maine Senate President Michael Thibodeau, R-Winterport, said he had neither heard the governor’s comment nor read reports about it. He declined to provide a reaction when LePage’s comments were read to him by a reporter.
Senate Minority Leader Justin Alfond, D-Portland, was reached by a reporter, but his cellphone cut out. He didn’t return a voicemail seeking comment Thursday night.
None of Maine’s congressional delegation – Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, and Reps. Bruce Poliquin and Chellie Pingree – responded to requests for comment Thursday night.
The firestorm over the comments comes as the governor is being sued in federal court by Eves, who accuses LePage of using intimidation to prevent a private school from hiring Eves as its president. Maine Democrats are weighing whether to introduce a resolution censuring LePage over the allegations, and a group of lawmakers is considering a separate order calling for an investigation into possible impeachment charges against the governor.
Dutson first made LePage’s comment public with a post on the Get Right Maine website, shortly before Lake Region Television, a local access station, posted a video recording of the town hall event online at 5 p.m. Thursday, a day after it was held.
Several Portland television stations had reporters or photographers covering the event Wednesday night, but none of the stations broadcast a story that night making reference to the racially charged comment. Station managers didn’t return calls seeking comment Thursday.
The local access video showed a crowd that appeared to be dominated by LePage supporters, applauding his desire to keep young people in Maine, cut income taxes, eliminate student debt and require able-bodied people to work, rather than receive welfare.
Although some chuckled when LePage recited the names of “D-Money” and the other drug dealers, the room fell quiet and there was little discernible reaction when he finished his remark with the reference to impregnated young white girls.
The meeting in Bridgton, a town in western Maine with 5,200 residents, was the latest in a series of town hall gatherings that LePage has been holding to build support for his legislative agenda, which includes the elimination of the state’s income tax, and to criticize his opponents, especially those in the Legislature.
On Wednesday, LePage talked about a plan to reduce student debt through a partnership with the Finance Authority of Maine and the Alfond Family Foundation.
He also accused legislators of diverting funding he had earmarked for the elderly to help “illegal immigrants,” a term his administration often uses to describe people who are here legally seeking asylum from violence and political persecution in their homelands. Maine asylum seekers mostly come from African countries.
LePage has been accused of making a racially insensitive comment before. In August 2013, he reportedly told a group at a private function in Belgrade that President Obama “hates white people.” The remark was made at a meet-and-greet with the governor, first lady Ann LePage and Bennett, who had just been selected as party chairman. Two Republican lawmakers, who were not identified, confirmed the remarks to a reporter.
The governor denied making the remark.
And last, Beware Jeff Jones's Post-Game Handshakes. Old Dominion came away from Ruston tonight with a shocking upset win over Louisiana Tech—the Monarchs’ first road win of the season, and the Bulldogs’ first home loss since 2013. ODU coach Jeff Jones clearly saw someone after the game who needed a celebratory crotchpalm.
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Regardless of it all this week back after being off last week, please stay in touch!
