August 10, 2018

President Trump's divisive and racial rhetoric is becoming the new normal. We can't let that happen

President Trump's divisive and racial rhetoric is becoming the new normal. We can't let that happen to us as a nation

A year ago, it seemed unfathomable: an American president defiantly defending “very fine people on both sides” of neo-Nazism; an American president suggesting moral equivalency between fighting for racial equality and championing white supremacy.

To be fair, President Donald Trump was making a somewhat subtler point. In his colloquy with the press, he was not calling neo-Nazis great folks but arguing that many of the Confederate-statue-loving protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, were not neo-Nazis at all. Somehow, these “fine people” got mixed in with white supremacists shouting, “Jews will not replace us,” and never noticed their compatriots were not fine people, too

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More than a year-and-a half into the Trump presidency, many have accepted the reality that Trump is unlike any U.S. president previously seen, that he wallows in divisive rhetoric and tolerates odious behavior because he so often indulges in it.


Trump inflames racial tensions
His recent assault on LeBron James as stupid and CNN host Don Lemon as stupider (“low IQ” is his go-to insult for blacks) is par for the course. It’s impossible, at this point, to be surprised by boorish behavior in someone who consistently acts like a boob. The trap — and one that Trump could easily lead us into — is to start thinking such behavior is not just normal for Trump but normal.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/08/10/white-supremacists-neo-nazis-charlottesville-unite-right-rally-trump-column/935708002/

August 10, 2018

poll - Black voters angry at Donald Trump - 81% angry with something he said or did

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/08/07/black-voters-angry-donald-trump-expected-impact-midterms/917283002/

Midterm elections: Black voters angry at Donald Trump expected to turn out in key House races, survey found

WASHINGTON – Donald Trump may not be up for re-election this fall, but a new survey shows anger at the president and a feeling of being disrespected by him is expected to drive black voters to the polls in dozens of competitive U.S. House races in November.

"That will be a heavy determinant of turnout for African-American voters," said Henry Fernandez, co-founder of the African American Research Collaborative, which along with Latino Decisions conducted the new poll. “Even though Trump is not on the ballot, electing people who will try to stop policies that African-American voters see as taking us backwards would be an important reason to vote."

The survey, released late Tuesday, was conducted for the national NAACP, one of the nation's largest civil rights organizations. USA TODAY was given a copy of the survey in advance.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson said the group aims to increase black voter participation in the midterms and will use the findings to help craft its message and boost its get-out-the-vote campaign, particularly in competitive districts.

“This poll reveals the high level of anxiety … and the enthusiasm to do something about it," Johnson said. “The level of concern within the African-American community as a result of the current political landscape is something that is notable, and the poll simply validates that fact."

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The survey found emotions running high among voters across the board in those districts.

Of the black respondents, 81 percent were angry at Trump for something he said or had done, while 61 percent of whites felt the same.

The survey also found 82 percent of black voters felt disrespected by something Trump said or did, while 50 percent of white voters felt that way.

“That’s a strikingly remarkably high number that we think will have implications for turnout, no question," Fernandez said. “I believe that’s exactly what we saw in Alabama, and that’s what we saw in Virginia.”

August 10, 2018

Trump's job performance approval DOWN!, Rasmussen poll released today says,

Home White House Majority disapprove of Trump’s job performance, poll says
Majority disapprove of Trump’s job performance, poll says

A majority of registered U.S. voters disapprove of President Donald Trump’s job performance, according to a poll that was released on Friday.

The Rasmussen Daily Presidential Tracking poll found that 52 percent of the respondents said Trump is not doing a good job, compared with 46 percent who said he is doing a good job.

Meanwhile, 43 percent said they strongly disapprove of the president’s job performance and 32 percent said they strongly approve.

The Rasmussen sampling included 1,500 likely voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

Friday’s poll results show Trump at his lowest approval rating for the month thus far, according to Rasmussen projections. The president’s approval rating fluctuated between 47-50 percent from Aug. 1-9. Rasmussen polls are released on weekdays.

http://www.talkmedianews.com/featured/2018/08/10/majority-disapprove-of-trumps-job-performance-poll-says/

August 10, 2018

How on earth have we let Trump get away with hiding his tax returns?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/08/09/how-on-earth-have-we-let-trump-get-away-with-hiding-his-tax-returns/

The Treasury Department has issued a set of proposed regulations clarifying who can and can’t take advantage of the “pass-through” loophole that Republicans included in the tax cut they passed last year, which, in ordinary circumstances, would be a story of interest only to a relatively small number of tax nerds.

But in this case, it is of special interest to President Trump, which is why it is yet another reminder that the American public absolutely, positively needs to see his tax returns.

These new regulations make it clear once again that the Republican tax bill is going to shower millions of dollars on the president. The problem is that we don’t know exactly how much.

In a way, you have to give some credit to Trump for outside-the-box thinking. Every presidential nominee for half a century made their tax returns public, because to avoid having a corrupt president, at a minimum we’d need to know how much income they had and where it was coming from. But Trump simply refused, offering up transparently phony excuses about how he was being audited by the Internal Revenue Service. No one else would have had the unmitigated gall, but Trump correctly surmised that whatever criticism he’d get for stonewalling, it wouldn’t be as bad for him as what would happen if the public actually got to see his return

Eventually, everyone stopped asking, despite the fact that there has never in U.S. history been a president for whom it was more important that we know the details of his finances. That’s not only because Trump was a spectacularly corrupt businessman. And it’s not only because, unlike presidents before him, he refused to divest himself of his holdings, offering a plethora of opportunities for people to shove money into his pockets while he serves in the Oval Office. It’s also because, unlike previous presidents, Trump’s income comes from an incredibly complex web of companies that are impossible for outside observers to completely understand.

August 10, 2018

clerk - "I want him out of the store right now", "Because he's being arrogant, because he's black."

Clerk Calls Cops on New Mexico Student for Being ‘Arrogant and Black’


https://www.thedailybeast.com/clerk-calls-cops-on-new-mexico-student-for-being-arrogant-and-black

A convenience-store clerk in Santa Fe, New Mexico, reportedly called the police on a 22-year-old college student because he was “arrogant” and “black.” The female employee was caught on cellphone video by pre-med student Jordan McDowell, who told local station KRQE that he was racially profiled when he went into the store to buy Sour Patch Kids candy. “And I want him out of the store right now,” the clerk can he heard saying on video talking on the phone. After a pause, the clerk says: “Because he’s being arrogant, because he’s black.” McDowell, who attends Xavier University, said the store clerk accused him of being “sketchy” before she called the cops. “There’s nothing right about this, there’s nothing right to call the police on someone just because of their skin tone,” McDowell told KRQE. “I just want everyone to know you still have a voice, you can speak up, you still can do your part and that’s what I’m going to continue to do.” The store employee didn’t comment to the station, but a manager told the news outlet that the clerk’s behavior was “unacceptable.”

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https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qvmx3p/store-cops-candy-black-arrogant-jordan-mcdowell-vgtrn

Friday night started off pretty unremarkably for Jordan McDowell. The 22-year-old college student was on a quest to buy some Sour Patch Kids, so he made a stop at a local convenience store. But after perusing some of the aisles, he started to get the feeling that someone was watching him.

"She had been in the corner the whole time watching," McDowell told KRQE.

What by all accounts should have been a routine trip to the store suddenly took a scary turn: Out of nowhere, the clerk of the store called him “sketchy.” Then she picked up a phone and dialed 911.


“The first thing that popped in my mind absolutely was just discrimination,” McDowell said.

McDowell pulled out his phone and started recording. While he filmed the clerk, he watched her tell the cops, “I want him out of the store right now. Because he’s arrogant, because he’s black.”

“Oh, so I’m arrogant because I’m black?” McDowell shot back.

August 10, 2018

cop fired for telling black men, "you don't belong in my city"

They told us the from the first moments they entered the small town of nearly 3,000 people that Officer Mike Moore was on their heels.

"With all the racial discrimination that's going on across the world, will I be another victim? Will I be a statistic?” Branch asked.

Both Branch and Scribner said they weren’t doing anything wrong and think that Moore and Chief Danna Powell should be held accountable for his actions.

Branch said that while they were filming a part of their video, the officer allegedly slowed down and parked nearby until the group packed up and left.

“I was wondering, ‘Why is he doing this,” Branch wondered. “We’re in small England. Everybody knows everybody.”

Feeling uncomfortable, Branch and the filming crew went to their final shooting location.

The officer pulled in shortly after them.

"He slowed down again just to see what we were doing,” Branch said. “That's when my cousin and I said, 'Let's go let him know who we are and what we are doing.’”

Branch and Scribner's uncle is also an England police officer.

In the video recorded by Branch that was posted on Facebook, the group talks to Moore.



Below is a transcript of the conversation in the video:

Ofc. Moore: "I'm Mike Moore."

Bunch: "We are Dale Scribner's nephews."

Scribner: "We are here just trying to record a video."

Ofc. Moore: "Okay, and?"

Bunch: “We just noticed you’ve been following us everywhere.”

Ofc. Moore: Are you recording right now?”

Bunch: “Yeah, we are.”

Ofc. Moore: “You know why? Because you don’t belong in my city.”

Bunch: "We're from here."

Ofc. Moore: "But you understand, I know who my people are, right, who belongs here and who doesn't? We've got gang wars going on, we've got all kinds of stuff. I come from the big city where this stuff is small, okay? So, that's cool. Do your thing."


Bunch: "You said we don't belong in your city, though?"

Ofc. Moore: "Can I say something? I have never seen you here before, and I know almost everybody here."

Bunch: "I grew up here, in 101. I graduated from England High."

Ofc. Moore: "Well good for you, my name is Mike Moore. I'm not from here. Step away from my car, I'm about to get my dog out."

The officer allegedly stayed in the area for nearly three minutes, getting his K-9 out of the vehicle then putting it back in.

Bunch said he talked to another uncle, Kevin Scribner, who advised they reach out to Chief Powell.

"We wanted to give the chief the opportunity to perform her investigation,” Scribner told us. “So we held the video close to our chest and waited for her to provide a response.”

It has been 15 days since the men filed their official complaint. They say they still haven't received their copies, or the findings of the police harassment investigation.

On Tuesday, they released the video on Facebook, where it has been shared nearly 1,000 times.

Chief Powell would not agree to go on-camera.

https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/nation-world/arkansas-police-officer-tells-group-of-black-men-they-dont-belong-in-his-city/83-581837245

CNN has attempted to contact Moore but was unsuccessful. England Chief of Police Danna Powell confirmed in a one-sentence news release that Moore was fired on Wednesday.


https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/09/us/arkansas-officer-fired-trnd/index.html

He decided to post the video on Facebook on Tuesday because he hadn't gotten a copy of his complaint.
Moore was fired the next day.
The president of the Arkansas Fraternal Order of Police said they don't have a chapter in England and he wasn't aware of the incident. The Southern States Police Benevolent Association, which includes Arkansas, would not comment on the case.
The England Police Department did not give any more information about Moore, but CNN affiliate KATV reports that he was fired from the Lonoke County Sheriff's Department in May 2017. Sheriff John Staley told KATV that Moore was a deputy for 10 months and was fired for his negative attitude.
Moore had also been a law enforcement officer in South Carolina.
Bunch said police have never bothered him in England before and he's never had any trouble with the law. He said he and his friends never even got cameras out for their video.
"We were going to start on our video (after Moore left), but our videographer wasn't comfortable being down there," Bunch said.

August 9, 2018

trump just tweeted biggest lie

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1027545694201159680


edit.. a few hours later, at 9:02am, his brain vomited this up:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1027585937163931648

August 9, 2018

Police confronted over alleged 'bait truck' of Nike shoes left in black Chicago community

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/08/08/bait-truck-video-shows-chicago-neighbors-confronting-police/936516002/

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Community members confronted a circle of police in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood over a "bait truck" allegedly filled with Nike shoes and left open by police aiming to lure potential thieves and make arrests.

"Y'all dirty, man," a man tells officers in an online video of the incident published Thursday. "Y'all see kids playing ball and you pull a f----- Nike truck into the ghetto."

Charles McKenzie, an anti-crime activist who put the video on Facebook, told Vox that the truck appeared next to a basketball court frequented by young people in the largely black neighborhood in the South Side of Chicago.

And while both local and federal agencies conduct such "bait" operations, the site reported, neither Chicago police nor the FBI offered comment on the truck.

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But some community members perceived an alleged bait truck, left in an impoverished neighborhood near a basketball court, as an obvious attempt to target black youth as racially lopsided arrests unfold nationwide.

"The police parked a truck with boxes of Nike shoes in front of kids, lifted up," McKenzie, the activist, said on Facebook, "and when people hop in the truck, the police hopping out on them."

McKenzie founded God's Gorrilas, a group promoting job assistance and alternatives to violence in Chicago. His video, which has 630,000 views on Facebook, later picked up another 290,000 views on WorldStar.

In another video, YouTuber Martin G. Johnson allegedly depicts the bait truck traveling between locations with "plainsclothes, FBI-looking type guys." Once parked, he films community members telling authorities to remove the vehicle from their neighborhood.

"Kids shouldn't be breaking back into trucks," a police officer responds.

After the confrontation, however, the white truck is driven away.

"That's what advocacy looks like," one man says. "Good job, people.".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2170&v=HHnCRjqYlW8

August 9, 2018

The Whole Republican Party Seems to Be Going to Jail Now

The entire Trump era has been a festering pit of barely disguised ongoing corruption. But the whole sordid era has not had a 24-hour period quite like the orgy of criminality which we have just experienced. The events of the last day alone include:

(1) The trial of Paul Manafort, which has featured the accusation that President Trump’s campaign manager had embezzled funds, failed to report income, and falsified documents. His partner and fellow Trump campaign aide, Rick Gates, confessed to participating in all these crimes, as well as to stealing from Manafort.

(2) Yesterday, Forbes reported that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross may have stolen $120 million from his partners and customers. Meanwhile Ross has maintained foreign holdings in his investment portfolio that present a major conflict of interest with his public office. (The “Don’t worry, Wilbur Ross would never do anything unethical just to pad his bottom line” defense is likely to be, uh, unconvincing to the many people filing suit against Ross for allegedly doing exactly that.)

(3) Also yesterday, ProPublica reported that the Department of Veterans Affairs is being effectively run by three Trump cronies, none of whom have any official government title or public accountability. The three, reports the story, have “used their influence in ways that could benefit their private interests.”

(4) And then, this morning, Representative Chris Collins was arrested for insider trading. Collins had been known to openly boast about making millions of dollars for his colleagues with his insider knowledge. He is charged with learning of an adverse FDA trial, and immediately calling his son — from the White House! — urging him to sell his holdings.

It has been, in sum, quite a day.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/08/republican-party-corruption-manafort-gates-chris-collins-wilbur-ross.html

August 9, 2018

'Nothing bodes well': Lackluster election results spark debate over Trump's midterm role

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/nothing-bodes-well-lackluster-elections-reignite-debate-over-trumps-midterm-role/2018/08/08/fa232bb0-9b1c-11e8-843b-36e177f3081c_story.html?utm_term=.f8b6977a1094


A new round of lackluster showings by Republican candidates reignited a debate Wednesday within the GOP over whether President Trump will be a drag on the party’s chances in November and should stay out of some of the country’s most hotly contested races.

Inside the White House, Trump aides are mapping out plans for the fall that would offer a variety of options to Republican candidates, including visits by the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump to blue states and presidential tweets to bolster red-state allies.

But mounting apprehension about Trump’s political capital lingered in Washington and on the campaign trail.

In a flurry of elections on Tuesday — from the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio, to the technology corridor in Washington state — Democrats turned out in droves and significantly overperformed expectations by posing serious challenges to Republicans in staunchly GOP districts.

Many Republican strategists viewed the results as a dark omen three months ahead of Election Day, saying they illustrate the limits of Trump’s ability to boost candidates, particularly in suburban areas where the president’s popularity has suffered.

Even in Republican primaries, securing Trump’s endorsement was not a guarantee of electoral success.