February 16 2010 .. 'Obama will be assassinated to make him a hero .. he's probably involved in it.'
Jones meant in a staged attempt
Feb 13 2009 .. 'they're gonna have a biological event and blame it on Islamists or terrorists.'
April 14 2009 .. 'government is gonna take everything most of you've got.'
May 16 2009 .. 'they are training youth corps. 16 y old .. in 2y they will be 18 to impose martial law .. probably WW111 in few years.'
July 6 2009 .. .the US will attack Russia, because Obama says he wants to be friends with them.'
'the only danger with Obama is a staged mass terrorist attack .. and because we exposed it he may not be abloe to carry it out ..'
Nov 7 2010 .. 'i've been predicting Obama attacks for last 3 months .. that Obama's controllers are going to stage events ..'
so Sandy Hook et al of course became those events .. shrug .. hyperactive hypocritical corporate capitalist who rants and rails against all he stands for .. trading on fear and paranoia and lies to make millions of bucks ..
---
8 Times Alex Jones Completely Misled His Audience
Keelan Balderson 06/03/2016
Alex Jones being crazy
Alex Jones is the godfather of the modern conspiracy theory subculture, rising to prominence by leveraging online video sharing platforms before most people even recognized their value. He took what was once the realm of obscure books, poorly made websites and local patriot groups, and ranted and publicity stunted his way in to the minds of a new generation of ‘truth seekers’, painting himself and his audience as the underdogs fighting against the lying mainstream establishment.
Yet for all the ‘truth’ Alex Jones gets out to the public and for all the people he ‘wakes up’ with his 80s pro wrestling style delivery … sometimes (in fact a lot of the time) he just makes shit up! Then tries to sell you a water filter.
Here are 8 times Bill Hicks, Eric Cartman, Alex Jones completely misled his audience …
8) The Y2K Incident
7) Arabs Own Hollywood
6) Infiltrating Bohemian Grove
5) The Boston Bombing
4) Charlie Sheen Is Clean
3) The Elite Tried To Kill Nigel Farage
2) Donald Trump and Sarah Palin are the ‘Real Deal’
1) FEMA Coffins
There’s a lot of things you can give AJ a pass on, but suggesting Americans would soon be rounded up and sent to concentration camps where they may end up resting in mass produced plastic coffins is not one of them!
The fact is, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has plans to shelter citizens during disasters and other emergencies, while helping to maintain the “continuity of government.” It’s been that way since the Cold War and is not a particularly shocking policy. Anything else you’ve heard about so called FEMA Camps is purely speculation. Could the government theoretically go full Nazi at some point? Sure, but that could happen with or without FEMA and there’s no evidence that such an atrocity is actually being planned.
As for the coffins Jones and Jesse Ventura comically stumble across on the former governor’s “Conspiracy Theory” show, they’re not owned by FEMA nor are they coffins. They’re coffin vaults/containers, used to house coffins when there are ground subsidence and water issues at the cemetery.
Believe it or not millions of people die every year in the United States. Coffins and burial apparatus have to be manufactured to meet this demand. If this was part of a secret conspiracy would the government really just leave the evidence in an open field in Georgia?
What Has Alex Jones Accomplished?
Followers of Alex Jones might want to ask themselves what has he actually done for the truth seeking community? He might have ‘woken up’ a lot of people, but all successful cult leaders and gurus are able to invoke such an experience. What you wake up in to is the more important question. With Jones it’s all about his empire, which is built with divisive walls. Everyone inside is told they are special and have the truth that the sheep are too brainwashed to understand, and everyone outside sees a fat clown with a bullhorn, acting like a complete lunatic.
Full Show - Italy Rejects NWO / Stock Markets Surge To All Time High - 12/5/2016
Published on Dec 5, 2016 by The Alex Jones Channel
On this Monday, Dec. 5th 2016 edition of the Alex Jones Show, we look into the implosion of the unelected EU as Italy votes against a bureaucratic takeover. Media commentator Gavin McInnes explains how Trump-style populism is sweeping the globe after decades of failed world government policies. And we also look into the mainstream media's ongoing war against non-establishment sources of information.
Michael Beschloss, NBC News presidential historian, talks with Ari Melber about the migration of fake news and conspiracy theories from the fringe into mainstream Republican politics and the role of the internet in undermining the power of the mainstream press. Duration: 13:19
Full Show - RED ALERT! UN / EU Announce Censorship of Conservative Websites Worldwide - 12/6/2016
Published on Dec 6, 2016 by The Alex Jones Channel
On this Tuesday, Dec. 6 broadcast of the Alex Jones Show, we look at Angela Merkel's surprising decision to ban the burka in Germany. Documentary filmmaker Joel Gilbert will be in studio to discuss bombshell revelations about Barack Obama that he's researched since his film Dreams From My Real Father. We also look into the war on "fake-news" and Hillary's failed attempt at a recount.
MacDill Air Force Base Tampa, Florida December 06, 2016
3:34 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, MacDill! Thank you so much!
Well, first of all, you notice this coincidence -- on the scoreboard it says “44” -- (applause.) That happens to be -- oh.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you!
THE PRESIDENT: I love you, too. I do. (Applause.)
To General Votel, General Thomas, and most importantly, to all of you -- I am here for a very simple reason, and that is just to say thank you, on behalf of the American people. We have been so reliant on the outstanding work that has been done by SOCOM and CENTCOM, the extraordinary leadership from the highest general down to the person who’s just started. I have been consistently in awe of your performance and the way that you’ve carried out your mission.
As some of you remember, I was here two years ago. I want to thank, in addition to some of the outstanding leadership team, a couple of special folks to mention -- Colonel April Vogel, Chief Master Sergeant Melanie Noel, all your senior enlisted leaders. Give them a big round of applause. (Applause.)
I know that, obviously, we’ve got a lot of Air Force here. (Applause.) And we've got Central Command. (Applause.) We got Special Operations Command. (Applause.) We got Army. (Applause.) Navy. (Applause.) Marines. (Applause.) We got our DOD civilians. (Applause.) And we've got spouses, partners, sons, daughters --
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Family!
THE PRESIDENT: What’s that?
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Family.
THE PRESIDENT: I was just mentioning them. (Laughter.) You guys, I was getting to that. (Laughter.) We've got amazing military families here who are sacrificing alongside of you every single day. Give them a big round of applause. (Applause.)
So I just had the chance to meet with General Thomas and some of the extraordinary personnel from across U.S. Special Operations Command. I’m going to go give a big policy speech right after I talk to you. The main thing I want to do is just shake your hands. And I'm going to try to shake as many hands as I can. (Applause.)
I know you're marking an important anniversary. For 75 years -- from World War II through Korea, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, the Gulf War, the Afghan and Iraq wars -- the men and women of this base have always stepped up when we needed them most. So, on behalf of the entire country, I want to wish you a happy 75th anniversary. (Applause.)
For Michelle and myself, the lease is running out on our apartment. (Laughter.)
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Renew it!
THE PRESIDENT: I can't. (Laughter.) So I just want to get my security deposit back. (Laughter.) But it has been the privilege and honor of a lifetime to be your Commander-in-Chief -- the Commander-in-Chief of the finest fighting force the world has ever known. You are the best. Because we have the best people.
You and your families have inspired us. We've been inspired by your patriotism, for stepping forward, for volunteering, for dedicating yourself to a life of service. We've been inspired by your devotion, your willingness to sacrifice for all of us. We've been inspired by your example. At a time when sometimes the country seems so divided, you remind us that, as Americans, we're all part of one team. We take care of each other. And you remind us of what patriotism really means.
So I just want to say thank you to all of you. You are going to continue with your mission, but I will tell you that Michelle and I, having had the experience and the honor of working with you, are going to make it one of our missions as civilians to support you in every way that we can.
God bless you. God bless our troops. God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
Obama made his last planned speech Tuesday to address national security issues and respond to policy criticisms leveled at him by the Republican party. At MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., the president touted his approach against ISIS as relentless and sustainable as he prepares to leave office.
*
Remarks by the President on the Administration's Approach to Counterterrorism
MacDill Air Force Base Tampa, Florida December 06, 2016
3:56 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much! (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you so much, everybody. Thank you. Everybody, please have a seat. Have a seat. Well, thank you so much.
Good afternoon, everybody. I was just told that was going to be the last "Hail to the Chief" on the road, and it got me kind of sentimental. I want to first and foremost say thanks to all of you. Just before I came here, I was able to visit with some of the men and women from MacDill Air Force Base, Central Command, our Special Operations Command to thank them for their extraordinary service. And so to you and your families, and to the extended family of American servicemembers, let me say that our nation owes you an unbelievable debt of gratitude. We are grateful for you, and will be praying for you over the holidays. (Applause.)
As you know all too well, your mission -- and the course of history -- was changed after the 9/11 attacks. By the time I took office, the United States had been at war for seven years. For eight years that I've been in office, there has not been a day when a terrorist organization or some radicalized individual was not plotting to kill Americans. And on January 20th, I will become the first President of the United States to serve two full terms during a time of war. (Applause.) Now, we did not choose this fight, but once it came to us, the world saw the measure of our resolve.
The most solemn responsibility for any President is keeping the American people safe. In carrying out that duty, I have sent men and women into harm’s way. I've visited troops around the globe. I have met our wounded warriors, and I've grieved with Gold Star families. I know better than most that it is because of your service and your sacrifice that we have been able, during these eight years, to protect our homeland, to strike crippling blows against terrorist networks, and fortify our friends and our allies. So today, I’d like to reflect on that work, and talk about the foundation that we will leave for the next administration.
I came to this office with a set of core convictions that have guided me as Commander-in-Chief. I believe that the United States military can achieve any mission; that we are, and must remain, the strongest fighting force the world has ever known. (Applause.) I believe that we must never hesitate to act when necessary, including unilaterally when necessary, against any imminent threats to our people. But I have also insisted that it is unwise and unsustainable to ask our military to build nations on the other side of the world, or resolve their internal conflicts, particularly in places where our forces become a magnet for terrorists and insurgencies. Instead, it has been my conviction that even as we focus relentlessly on dismantling terrorist networks like al Qaeda and ISIL, we should ask allies to do their share in the fight, and we should strengthen local partners who can provide lasting security.
And these convictions guided the policies we pursued both in Iraq and Afghanistan. When I took office, the United States was focused overwhelmingly on Iraq, where nearly 150,000 American troops had spent years fighting an insurgency and helping to build a democratic government. Meanwhile, al Qaeda had regrouped in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and was actively planning attacks against our homeland. So we brought nearly 150,000 troops home from Iraq, consistent with the Status of Forces Agreement negotiated by the previous administration, and we surged our efforts along with our allies in Afghanistan, which allowed us to focus on dismantling al Qaeda and give the Afghan government the opportunity to succeed.
And this focus on al Qaeda -- the most dangerous threat to the United States at the time -- paid dividends. Today, by any measure, core al Qaeda -- the organization that hit us on 9/11 -- is a shadow of its former self. (Applause.) Plots directed from within Afghanistan and Pakistan have been consistently disrupted. Its leadership has been decimated. Dozens of terrorist leaders have been killed. Osama bin Laden is dead. (Applause.) And, importantly, we have built a counterterrorism capability that can sustain this pressure against any terrorist network in South Asia that might threaten the United States of America. That was because of the work of our outstanding servicemembers.
Moreover, that early decision to strengthen our efforts in Afghanistan allowed us to build the capacity of Afghans to secure and defend their own country. So today, there are less than 10,000 American troops in Afghanistan. Instead of being in the lead against the Taliban, Americans are now supporting 320,000 Afghan security forces who are defending their communities and supporting our counterterrorism efforts.
Now, I don’t want to paint too rosy a picture. The situation in Afghanistan is still tough. War has been a part of life in Afghanistan for over 30 years, and the United States cannot eliminate the Taliban or end violence in that country. But what we can do is deny al Qaeda a safe haven, and what we can do is support Afghans who want a better future, which is why we have worked not only with their military, but we’ve backed a unity government in Kabul. We’ve helped Afghan girls go to school. We’ve supported investments in health care and electricity and education. You have made a difference in Afghanistan, and America is safer for it. (Applause.)
Of course, the terrorist threat was never restricted to South Asia, or to Afghanistan, or Pakistan. Even as al Qaeda has been decimated in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the threat from terrorists metastasized in other parts of the Middle East and North Africa. And most dangerously, we saw the emergence of ISIL, the successor to al Qaeda in Iraq, which fights as both a terrorist network and an insurgency.
There’s been a debate about ISIL that’s focused on whether a continued U.S. troop presence in Iraq back in 2011 could have stopped the threat of ISIL from growing. And as a practical matter, this was not an option. By 2011, Iraqis wanted our military presence to end, and they were unwilling to sign a new Status of Forces Agreement to protect our troops from prosecution if they were trying to defend themselves in Iraq.
In addition, maintaining American troops in Iraq at the time could not have reversed the forces that contributed to ISIL’s rise -- a government in Baghdad that pursued a sectarian agenda, a brutal dictator in Syria who lost control of large parts of the country, social media that reached a global pool of recruits, and a hollowing out of Iraq’s security forces, which were ultimately overrun in Mosul in 2014. In fact, American troops, had they stayed there, would have lacked legal protections and faced a choice between remaining on bases or being drawn back into a sectarian conflict against the will of Iraq’s elected government or Iraq’s local populations.
But circumstances changed. When ISIL made substantial gains first in Mosul and then in other parts of the country, then suddenly Iraqis reached out once again for help. And in shaping our response, we refused to repeat some of the mistakes of the 2003 invasion that have helped to give rise to the organization that became ISIL in the first place.
We conditioned our help on the emergence of a new Iraqi government and prime minister that was committed to national unity, and committed to working with us. We built an international coalition of nearly 70 nations, including some of Iraq’s neighbors. We surged our intelligence resources so that we could better understand the enemy. And then we took the fight to ISIL in both Iraq and Syria, not with American battalions but with local forces backed by our equipment and our advisors and, importantly, our Special Forces. In that campaign, we have now hit ISIL with over 16,000 airstrikes. We have equipped and trained tens of thousands of partners on the ground.
And today, the results are clear: ISIL has lost more than half its territory. ISIL has lost control of major population centers. Its morale is plummeting. Its recruitment is drying up. Its commanders and external plotters are being taken out, and local populations are turning against it. (Applause.)
As we speak, ISIL faces an offensive on Mosul from Iraqi troops and coalition support. That’s the largest remaining city that it controls. Meanwhile, in Syria, ISIL’s self-declared capital in Raqqa is being squeezed. We have attacked ISIL’s financial lifeline, destroying hundreds of millions of dollars of oil and cash reserves. The bottom line is we are breaking the back of ISIL. We’re taking away its safe havens. (Applause.) And we’ve accomplished all this at a cost of $10 billion over two years, which is the same amount that we used to spend in one month at the height of the Iraq War. (Applause.)
So the campaign against ISIL has been relentless. It has been sustainable. It has been multilateral. And it demonstrates a shift in how we’ve taken the fight to terrorists everywhere from South Asia to the Sahel. Instead of pushing all of the burden onto American ground troops, instead of trying to mount invasions wherever terrorists appear, we’ve built a network of partners.
In Libya, where U.S. airpower has helped local militias dislodge a dangerous ISIL cell. In Mali, where U.S. logistics and intelligence support helped our French allies roll back al Qaeda branches there. In Somalia, where U.S. operations support an African Union-led force and international peacekeepers. And in Yemen, where years of targeted strikes have degraded al Qaeda in the Peninsula.
And these offensive efforts have buttressed a global effort to make it harder for terrorist networks to breach our defenses and spread their violent ideologies. Working with European allies who have suffered terrible attacks, we’ve strengthened intelligence-sharing and cut in half the flow of foreign fighters to ISIL. We’ve worked with our tech sector to supports efforts to push back on terrorist messages on social media that motivate people to kill. A recent study shows that ISIL’s propaganda has been cut in half. We’ve launched a Global Engagement Center to empower voices that are countering ISIL’s perversion of Islam, and we’re working closely with Muslim-majority partners from the Gulf to Southeast Asia.
This is your work. We should take great pride in the progress that we’ve made over the last eight years. That's the bottom line.
No foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland. (Applause.) And it’s not because they didn't try. Plots have been disrupted. Terrorists have been taken off the battlefield. And we've done this even as we drew down nearly 180,000 troops in harm’s way in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today there are just 15,000.
New partnerships have been built. We’ve respected the rule of law. We've enlisted our values in this fight. And all of this progress is due to the service of millions of Americans like you -- in intelligence and in law enforcement, in homeland security, in diplomacy, in the armed services of the United States of America. It’s thanks to you -- (applause) -- thanks to you.
Now, to say that we've made progress is not to say that the job is done. We know that a deadly threat persists. We know that in some form this violent extremism will be with us for years to come. In too many parts of the world, especially in the Middle East, there has been a breakdown of order that's been building for decades, and it’s unleashed forces that are going to take a generation to resolve. Long-term corruption has rotted too many nation-states from within. Governance is collapsing. Sectarian conflicts rage. A changing climate is increasing competition for food and water. (Applause.) And false prophets are peddling a vision of Islam that is irreconcilable with tolerance and modernity and basic science. And in fact, every one of these trends is at play inside of Syria today.
And what complicates the challenge even more is the fact that for all of our necessary focus on fighting terrorists overseas, the most deadly attacks on the homeland over the last eight years have not been carried out by operatives with sophisticated networks or equipment, directed from abroad. They’ve been carried out by homegrown and largely isolated individuals who were radicalized online.
These deranged killers can’t inflict the sort of mass casualties that we saw on 9/11, but the pain of those who lost loved ones in Boston, in San Bernardino, in Fort Hood and Orlando, that pain continues to this day. And in some cases, it has stirred fear in our populations and threatens to change how we think about ourselves and our lives.
So while we’ve made it much more difficult -- you have made it much more difficult -- to carry out an attack approaching the scale of 9/11, the threat will endure. We will not achieve the kind of clearly defined victory comparable to those that we won in previous wars against nations. We won’t have a scene of the Emperor of Japan and Douglas MacArthur in a surrender. And the reason we won’t have that is because technology makes it impossible to completely shield impressionable minds from violent ideologies. And somebody who is trying to kill and willing to be killed is dangerous, particularly when we live in a country where it’s very easy for that person to buy a very powerful weapon.
So rather than offer false promises that we can eliminate terrorism by dropping more bombs, or deploying more and more troops, or fencing ourselves off from the rest of the world, we have to take a long view of the terrorist threat, and we have to pursue a smart strategy that can be sustained.
In the time remaining, let me suggest what I think should guide this approach. First of all, a sustainable counterterrorism strategy depends on keeping the threat in perspective. The terrorist threat is real and it is dangerous. But these terrorists want to cast themselves as the vanguard of a new world order. They are not. They are thugs and they are murderers, and they should be treated that way. (Applause.) Fascism threatened to overrun the entire world -- and we had to wage total war in response. Communism threatened not only to overturn a world order, but threatened nuclear holocaust -- so we had to build armaments and alliances to contain it. Today’s terrorists can kill innocent people, but they don't pose an existential threat to our nation, and we must not make the mistake of elevating them as if they do. That does their job for them. It makes them more important and helps them with recruitment.
A second and related point is that we cannot follow the path of previous great powers who sometimes defeated themselves through over-reach. By protecting our homeland while drawing down the number of troops serving in harm’s way overseas, we helped save resources, but more importantly, we saved lives. I can tell you, during the course of my eight years, that I have never shied away from sending men and women into danger where necessary. It's always the hardest decision I make, but it's one that I've made where the security of the American people is at stake. And I've seen the costs. I've held the hands of our wounded warriors at Walter Reed. I've met the caskets of the fallen at Dover. And that's why I make no apologies for only sending our troops into harm’s way when there is a clear mission that is achievable and when it is absolutely necessary.
Number three, we need the wisdom to see that upholding our values and adhering to the rule of law is not a weakness; in the long term, it is our greatest strength. (Applause.) The whole objective of these terrorists is to scare us into changing the nature of who we are and our democracy. And the fact is, people and nations do not make good decisions when they are driven by fear. These terrorists can never directly destroy our way of life, but we can do it for them if we lose track of who we are and the values that this nation was founded upon. (Applause.)
And I always remind myself that as Commander-in-Chief, I must protect our people, but I also swore an oath to defend our Constitution. And over these last eight years, we have demonstrated that staying true to our traditions as a nation of laws advances our security as well as our values.
We prohibited torture, everywhere, at all times -- and that includes tactics like waterboarding. And at no time has anybody who has worked with me told me that doing so has cost us good intelligence. (Applause.) When we do capture terrorists, despite all the political rhetoric about the need to strip terrorists of their rights, our interrogation teams have obtained valuable information from terrorists without resorting to torture, without operating outside the law. Our Article III courts have delivered justice faster than military trials. And our prisons have proven more than capable of holding the most dangerous terrorists.
Consider the terrorists who have been captured, lawfully interrogated, and prosecuted in civilian courts. Faisal Shahzad, who tried to set off a car bomb in Times Square. Dzohkar Tsarneyev, the Boston Marathon bomber. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the so-called “underwear bomber.” American juries and judges have determined that none of these people will know freedom again. But we did it lawfully. And the wheels of justice right now are turning for others -- terrorists like Ahmed Warsame, an al-Shabaab commander, and Abu Khatalla, accused leader of the Benghazi attacks. We can get these terrorists and stay true to who we are.
And, in fact, our success in dealing with terrorists through our justice system reinforces why it is past time to shut down the detention facility at Guantanamo. (Applause.) This is not just my opinion, it's the opinion of many military leaders. During my administration, we have responsibly transferred over 175 detainees to foreign governments, with safeguards to reduce the risk of them returning to the battlefield. And we've cut the population in Gitmo from 242 to 59. The politics of fear has led Congress to prevent any detainees from being transferred to prisons in the United States -- even though, as we speak, we imprison dangerous terrorists in our prisons, and we have even more dangerous criminals in all of our prisons across the country; even though our allies oftentimes will not turn over a terrorist if they think that terrorist could end up in Gitmo; even though groups like ISIL use Gitmo in their propaganda. So we're wasting hundreds of millions of dollars to keep fewer than 60 people in a detention facility in Cuba. That’s not strength. Until Congress changes course, it will be judged harshly by history, and I will continue to do all that I can to remove this blot on our national honor. (Applause.)
Number four, we have to fight terrorists in a way that does not create more terrorists. For example, in a dangerous world, terrorists seek out places where it’s often impossible to capture them, or to count on local governments to do so. And that means the best option for us to get those terrorists becomes a targeted strike. So we have taken action under my command, including with drones, to remove terrorists from the battlefield, which protects our troops and has prevented real threats to the American people. (Applause.)
Now, under rules that I put in place and that I made public, before any strike is taken outside of a warzone, there must be near certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured. And while nothing is certain in any strike, and we have acknowledged that there are tragic instances where innocents have been killed by our strikes, this is the highest standard that we can set. Nevertheless, we still have critics who suggest that these strikes are wrong. And I say to them, you have to weigh the alternatives. Drone strikes allow us to deny terrorists a safe haven without airstrikes, which are less precise, or invasions that are much more likely to kill innocent civilians as well as American servicemembers.
So the actions that we’ve taken have saved lives at home and abroad. But the point is, is that we do have to be careful to make sure that when we take actions, we’re not alienating local populations, because that will serve as recruitment for new terrorists.
Number five, transparency and accountability serve our national security not just in times of peace, but, more importantly, in times of conflict. And that’s why we’ve made public information about which terrorist organizations we’re fighting and why we’re fighting them. We’ve released assessments of non-combatants killed in our operations, taken responsibility when mistakes are made. We've declassified information about interrogation methods that were wrong so we learn from past mistakes. And yesterday, I directed our government for the first time to release a full description of the legal and policy frameworks that guide our military operations around the world.
This public information allows for a more informed public debate, and it provides a potential check on unfettered executive power. The power of the presidency is awesome, but it is supposed to be bound by you, our citizens. (Applause.) But here’s the thing: That information doesn’t mean anything, it doesn’t work if the people’s representatives in Congress don’t do their jobs, if they’re not paying attention. (Applause.)
Right now, we are waging war under authorities provided by Congress over 15 years ago -- 15 years ago. I had no gray hair 15 years ago. (Laughter.) Two years ago, I asked Congress, let’s update the authorization, provide us a new authorization for the war against ISIL, reflecting the changing nature of the threats, reflecting the lessons that we’ve learned from the last decade. So far, Congress has refused to take a vote.
Democracies should not operate in a state of permanently authorized war. (Applause.) That’s not good for our military, it’s not good for our democracy. And, by the way, part of the reason that’s dangerous is because today, with our outstanding, all-volunteer force, only one percent of the population is actually fighting. (Applause.) Which means that you are carrying the burden. Which means that it is important for us to know what it is that we’re doing and have to explain what we are doing to the public, because it becomes too easy to just send one percent of the population out to do things even if they’re not well thought through.
If a threat is serious enough to require the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, then members of Congress should at least have the courage to make clear where they stand -– not on the sidelines -- (applause) -- not on cable TV shows, but by fulfilling their constitutional duty and authorizing the use of force against the threats that we face today. That’s how democracies are supposed to work.
Number six, alongside our outstanding military work, we have to draw upon the strength of our diplomacy. Terrorists would love to see us walk away from the type of work that builds international coalitions, and ends conflicts, and stops the spread of deadly weapons. It would make life easier for them; it would be a tragic mistake for us.
Just think about what we’ve done these last eight years without firing a shot. We’ve rolled back Iran’s nuclear program. That’s not just my assessment, that’s the assessment of Israeli intelligence, even though they were opposed to the deal. We’ve secured nuclear materials around the globe, reducing the risk that they fall into the hands of terrorists. We’ve eliminated Syria’s declared chemical weapons program. All of these steps have helped keep us safe and helped keep our troops safe. Those are the result of diplomacy. And sustained diplomatic efforts, no matter how frustrating or difficult they sometimes appear, are going to be required to resolve the conflicts roiling the in Middle East, from Yemen, to Syria, to Israel and Palestine. And if we don’t have strong efforts there, the more you will be called upon to clean up after the failure of diplomacy.
Similarly, any long-term strategy to reduce the threat of terrorism depends on investments that strengthen some of these fragile societies. Our generals, our commanders understand this. This is not charity. It’s fundamental to our national security. A dollar spent on development is worth a lot more than a dollar spent fighting a war. (Applause.)
This is how we prevent conflicts from starting in the first place. This is how we can ensure that peace is lasting -- after we've fought. It’s how we stop people from falling prey to extremism -- because children are going to school and they can think for themselves, and families can feed themselves and aren’t desperate, and communities are not ravaged by diseases, and countries are not devastated by climate changes.
As Americans, we have to see the value of empowering civil societies so that there are outlets for people’s frustrations, and we have to support entrepreneurs who want to build businesses instead of destroying. We have to invest in young people because the areas that are generating terrorists are typically having a huge youth bulge, which makes them more dangerous. And there are times where we need to help refugees who have escaped the horrors of war in search of a better life. (Applause.) Our military recognizes that these issues of governance and human dignity and development are vital to our security. It’s central to our plans in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. Let’s make sure that this wisdom is reflected in our budgets, as well.
And finally, in this fight, we have to uphold the civil liberties that define us. Terrorists want us to turn on one another. And while defeating them requires us to draw upon the enormous capabilities of all of our government, we have make sure changes in how we address terrorists are not abused. This is why, for example, we’ve made extensive reforms in how we gather intelligence around the world, increasing oversight, placing new restrictions on the government’s ability to retain and search and use certain communications so that people trust us, and that way they cooperate and work with us.
We don’t use our power to indiscriminately read emails or listen to phone calls just targeted at folks who might be trying to do us harm. We use it to save lives. And by doing so, by maintaining these civil liberties, we sustain the confidence of the American people and we get the cooperation of our allies more readily. Protecting liberty -- that's something we do for all Americans, and not just some. (Applause.)
We are fighting terrorists who claim to fight on behalf of Islam. But they do not speak for over a billion Muslims around the world, and they do not speak for American Muslims, including many who wear the uniform of the United States of America’s military. (Applause.)
If we stigmatize good, patriotic Muslims, that just feeds the terrorists’ narrative. It fuels the same false grievances that they use to motivate people to kill. If we act like this is a war between the United States and Islam, we're not just going to lose more Americans to terrorist attacks, but we’ll also lose sight of the very principles we claim to defend.
So let my final words to you as your Commander-in-Chief be a reminder of what it is that you're fighting for, what it is that we are fighting for. The United States of America is not a country that imposes religious tests as a price for freedom. We're a country that was founded so that people could practice their faiths as they choose. The United States of America is not a place where some citizens have to withstand greater scrutiny, or carry a special ID card, or prove that they’re not an enemy from within. We’re a country that has bled and struggled and sacrificed against that kind of discrimination and arbitrary rule, here in our own country and around the world.
We’re a nation that believes freedom can never be taken for granted and that each of us has a responsibility to sustain it. The universal right to speak your mind and to protest against authority, to live in a society that’s open and free, that can criticize a President without retribution -- (applause) -- a country where you're judged by the content of your character rather than what you look like, or how you worship, or what your last name is, or where your family came from -- that's what separates us from tyrants and terrorists.
We are a nation that stands for the rule of law, and strengthen the laws of war. When the Nazis were defeated, we put them on trial. Some couldn’t understand that; it had never happened before. But as one of the American lawyers who was at Nuremberg says, “I was trying to prove that the rule of law should govern human behavior.” And by doing so, we broadened the scope and reach of justice around the world. We held ourselves out as a beacon and an example for others.
We are a nation that won World Wars without grabbing the resources of those we defeated. We helped them rebuild. We didn't hold on to territory, other than the cemeteries where we buried our dead. Our Greatest Generation fought and bled and died to build an international order of laws and institutions that could preserve the peace, and extend prosperity, and promote cooperation among nations. And for all of its imperfections, we depend on that international order to protect our own freedom.
In other words, we are a nation that at our best has been defined by hope, and not fear. A country that went through the crucible of a Civil War to offer a new birth of freedom; that stormed the beaches of Normandy, climbed the hills of Iwo Jima; that saw ordinary people mobilize to extend the meaning of civil rights. That's who we are. That's what makes us stronger than any act of terror.
Remember that history. Remember what that flag stands for. For we depend upon you -- the heirs to that legacy -- our men and women in uniform, and the citizens who support you, to carry forward what is best in us -- that commitment to a common creed. The confidence that right makes might, not the other way around. (Applause.)
That’s how we can sustain this long struggle. That's how we’ll protect this country. That's how we’ll protect our Constitution against all threats, foreign and domestic.
I trust that you will fulfill that mission, as you have fulfilled all others. It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your Commander-in-Chief. I thank you for all that you've done, and all that you will do in the future. May God bless you. May God bless our troops, and may God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
Trump Full Thank You Speech at NC | Donald Trump hit the road again for the second leg of his post-election thank-you tour, stopping in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to express gratitude to his supporters who helped him get to the White House. He was joined by retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, whom Trump will formally announce as his pick for secretary of defense.
A new poll by Buzzfeed News and Ipsos, premiered exclusively on 'All In,' shows how often fake news headlines were believed by the public. Duration: 4:55
Rachel Maddow reports on conflicts of interest within the Donald Trump administration, and on Bob Dole's lobbying firm taking credit for arranging the call between Donald Trump and the president of Taiwan. Duration: 18:35
Trump happy to host Japanese/Saudi investor publicity stunt
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/6/16
Ryan Knutson, reporter for The Wall Street Journal, talks with Rachel Maddow about what Donald Trump's announcement of a $50 billion investment in the U.S. by a Japanese/Saudi fund is about. Duration: 7:24
The referendum in which Britons voted to leave the European Union is not legally binding, the Supreme Court was told on Wednesday during a hearing on who has the power to trigger Brexit.
Full Show - Elite Hit Panic Button / Call For End Of Free Press - 12/7/2016
Published on Dec 7, 2016 by The Alex Jones Channel
On this Wednesday, Dec. 7th 2016 edition of the Alex Jones Show, Google removes search results for crime statistics showing black people commit more crimes under the guise of combating "fake news," and a new survey shows more than two thirds of Americans are fine with Trump keeping his business interests while in office. On today's show, Republican operative Roger Stone breaks down the latest Trump news and more. Wall Street analyst turned whistleblower Charles Ortel also details his investigation into the Clinton Foundation, which he deems a "charity fraud." And prominent rock musician Rick Derringer explains why he supported Trump.
Published on Dec 7, 2016 by The Alex Jones Channel
Alex Jones talks about his battle to lose weight, keep it off, and the secret that's helped him along the way. Start your journey at http://www.infowarsstore.com
Will Trump put eccentricity over expertise in choice for FDA?
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/7/16
Rachel Maddow reports on a Peter Thiel associate being considered by Donald Trump to lead the FDA, who is a proponent of "seasteading" and immortality through biotechnology. Duration: 20:10
Published on Dec 8, 2016 by The Alex Jones Channel
Agenda 2030 is being rolled out to condition the populace to accept total government control in all aspects of life with no possessions and no privacy. Alex Jones breaks down the elites latest developments to manage your life, destroy the middle class, and engage in mass population eradication.
Aldous Huxley - Speech at UC Berkeley, The Ultimate Revolution 1962
Full Show - Trump Effect, Kaiser In Studio, End Game 2 - 12/8/2016
Published on Dec 8, 2016 by The Alex Jones Channel
On this Thursday, December 8th 2016 edition of the Alex Jones Show, we look into the Washington Post's admission that its article on "fake news" was in fact fake news. That said, Facebook is already attempting to censor dissident voices who contradict the establishment media's narrative. On today's show, financial expert Max Keiser explains how the elites are trying to manipulate gold and silver and how the establishment will attempt to block Trump economically.
Hillary Clinton gets standing ovation on Capitol Hill at ceremony for Harry Reid
Published on Dec 8, 2016 by CBS News
Hillary Clinton recieved a standing ovation on Capitol Hill Wednesday when she spoke at a ceremony honoring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, before the unveiling of his official portrait. See her full remarks here.
Trump Thank You Tour Full Speech at Iowa Rally | FULL EVENT
Streamed live on Dec 8, 2016 by ABC News
Trump continues his thank you tour with a stop in Des Moines, Iowa -- a state that helped him win the White House. Iowa is Trump's third stop. He held a rally in Ohio last week, where he said he had "a lot of fun fighting Hillary Clinton" and held his second rally on Monday in North Carolina, where he threatened to take action against flag burners and also formally announced retired Marine Gen. James Mattis as his defense secretary pick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEfOvhHmA84 [at the time of this post, the video is there despite the lack of a cover image, just click on it to start it; opens with Pence's brokeback babble; Trump's performance begins at c. the 8:15 mark; with comments]
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Poll shows Trump voter gap with facts, rest of Americans' views
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/8/16
Rachel Maddow shares an exclusive first look at new poll findings from Public Policy Polling that show a contrast between Trump voters and the rest of Americans. Duration: 13:46
Trump not troubled by his conflicts of interest, nor is his base
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/8/16
Jo Becker, investigative reporter for The New York Times, talks with Rachel Maddow about the mistaken impression by the media and Americans generally that Donald Trump will somehow separate from his business for the sake of the presidency. Duration: 11:16
State rep endures anti-Muslim harassment on trip to White House
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/8/16
Ilhan Omar, Minnesota state representative-elect and the first Somali-American female legislator, talks with Rachel Maddow about her harrowing experience of anti-Muslim harassment while on a trip to the White House. Duration: 10:12
AJ Responds To Steven Colbert NPR and the rest of the Fake News
Published on Dec 8, 2016 by The Alex Jones Channel
**PLEASE EXCUSE THE OCCASIONAL SCRATCHY AUDIO**
Alex pulls out all the stops in this epic excoriation of the Mainstream Media and their recent attacks on Infowars. He breaks down how they are the ones that are pushing an anti-human agenda and lying to further their cause every chance they get. This is undoubtedly a damning soliloquy from start to glorious finish. Watch it all the way through to get the full message. It's worth it.
MSNBC's Jacob Soboroff joins Craig Melvin to discuss the wild story behind the Macedonian teenager who earns thousands of dollars publishing fake news.
Full Show - Full Enemy Agenda Broken Down Extremely Powerful Friday Broadcast - 12/9/2016
Published on Dec 9, 2016 by The Alex Jones Channel
On this Friday, December 9 broadcast of the Alex Jones Show, we look at the ongoing attempt to silence alternative media do to "fake news" and Russian propaganda. Financial expert Max Kieser and entrepreneur Adam Curry will be in studio to discuss how the globalists plan to economically sabotage the Trump administration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ptpdc5dWvE [the festivities commence at c. the 1:32:35 mark; GOP Senate candidate John Kennedy (. . .)'s Cajun Coonassery begins at c. the 1:35:00 mark; Trump's performance begins at c. the 1:39:40 mark; no comments yet]
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Trump Thank You Rally in Michigan | FULL EVENT
Streamed live on Dec 9, 2016 by ABC News
President-Elect Trump Holds 'Thank You' Rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Trump is to close out the day with a "thank you tour" rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that begins at 7 p.m. ET. He'll be joined by his pick to head the U.S. Department of Education, Betsy DeVos, a Michigan billionaire and charter school advocate.
Michigan was the last state Trump visited on Election Day before heading back to New York. The Great Lakes State's results were not certified until Nov. 28 -- nearly three weeks after the Nov. 8 election, and the final count was exceptionally close. Trump won Michigan by a 10,704-vote margin over Democrat Hillary Clinton out of a total of nearly 4.8 million votes cast. A statewide vote recount of the presidential vote that was underway for three days at the request of Green Party candidate Jill Stein was cancelled Wednesday when a federal judge upheld a lower court ruling that Stein didn't meet the state's standard to request a recount.
Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence will continue the "thank you tour" next week with planned visits to Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7dObJmT6s4 [at the time of this post, the video is there despite the lack of a cover image, just click on it to start it; Trump's performance, with the cameo by Christo-fascist DeVos, begins at c. the 28:10 mark; with comments]
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Sen. Chris Murphy talks Russian cyber intrusion
All In with Chris Hayes 12/9/16
President Obama called for a full report on Russian efforts to influence the election and Senator Chris Murphy discusses what the consequences for Russia should be. Duration: 7:39
Wash Post: CIA concludes Russia interfered with 2016 election
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/9/16
The Washington Post's Ellen Nakashima talks to Rachel Maddow about her bombshell reporting on a secret CIA assessment that says Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win. Duration: 12:56
CIA connects the dots between Russia hacking and the 2016 election
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/9/16
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul responds to the Washington Post's report, telling Rachel Maddow the CIA has now definitively said Russia hacked DNC computers to disrupt the election. Duration: 6:42
Trump's double standard on hiring American versus foreign workers [actually further to the above two segments; at the end leads in to the described segment, which was re Trump, continuing what he's been doing for years, having just hired 64 foreign workers on H-2B visas to work this winter season at Mar-a-Lago (e.g. http://thehill.com/homenews/news/309053-trump-will-again-hire-foreign-workers-to-staff-private-resort-in-florida {with comments}), despite there being fully qualified U.S. citizens right there who wanted those jobs and tried to get them]
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/9/16
Rachel Maddow exposes the contradiction between Donald Trump's "hire American" rally cry and his practice of hiring foreign workers at his Mar-a-Lago Club. Duration: 3:39
One federal employee Trump may want to replace, but can't
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/9/16
Rachel Maddow reveals the Office of Government Ethics' latest tweet-dig to Trump: how to prevent conflicts of interest in the executive branch. Trump can't replace the head of the OGE until 2018. Duration: 1:59
The Washington Post reports on a "secret CIA" assessment that concluded Russia intervened in the U.S. election specifically to help Donald Trump win. Trump's transition team responded by attacking the CIA. Malcolm Nance and David Corn join Lawrence to discuss. Duration: 10:48
Coast To Coast AM December 8, 2016 [sic - October 12, 2016] Hacking of America & Sorcery
On this Sunday, December 11 edition of the Alex Jones Show, Trump dismisses the CIA's claim it has evidence Russians hacked the election. Could this mean he's been added to the CIA's hit list? We'll look at the president-elect's latest cabinet picks, including Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state. On today's show, we'll continue examining the ongoing attempt to suppress alternative media by labeling it "fake news" and Russian propaganda.
Most Americans Who See Fake News Believe It, New Survey Says - and All In segment 12-6-16 (end of show) An exclusive Ipsos poll conducted for BuzzFeed News found that 75% of American adults who were familiar with a fake news headline viewed the story as accurate. https://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/fake-news-survey Fake news breaks through All In with Chris Hayes 12/6/16 A new poll by Buzzfeed News and Ipsos, premiered exclusively on 'All In,' shows how often fake news headlines were believed by the public. Duration: 4:55 http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/fake-news-breaks-through-826526275708 AND - Maddow open 12-6-16 (also re conflicts of interest) - Flynn's son: Lobbyists boast of manipulating Trump Rachel Maddow reports on conflicts of interest within the Donald Trump administration, and on Bob Dole's lobbying firm taking credit for arranging the call between Donald Trump and the president of Taiwan. Duration: 18:34 http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/lobbyists-boast-of-manipulating-trump-826668099931
Mainstream Republicans adopt fringe's fiction - further to (but minus first coupla minutes re) e.g. Pizzagate - Jade Helm - Alex Jones - Flynn - Ben Carson The Rachel Maddow Show 12/5/16 Michael Beschloss, NBC News presidential historian, talks with Ari Melber about the migration of fake news and conspiracy theories from the fringe into mainstream Republican politics and the role of the internet in undermining the power of the mainstream press. Duration: 13:19 http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/mainstream-republicans-adopt-fringe-s-fiction-825627203685
TRUMP TOUR DES MOINES IOWA EVE 12-8-16 - GET Trump Thank You Tour Full Speech at Iowa Rally | FULL EVENT - with Pence - ABC News https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEfOvhHmA84
CLINTON AT HARRY REID RETIREMENT FAREWELL - AT THE SENATE 12-8-16 - GET Hillary Clinton gets standing ovation on Capitol Hill at ceremony for Harry Reid - CBS News https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gRkap9LVds
MADDOW OPEN 12-8-16 - NEW PPP POLL - TRUMP SUPPORTERS UTTERLY DIVORCED/DISSOCIATED FROM REALITY, BELIEVE E.G. ALEX JONES BULLSHIT - FALSE BELIEFS Poll shows Trump voter gap with facts, rest of Americans' views The Rachel Maddow Show 12/8/16 Rachel Maddow shares an exclusive first look at new poll findings from Public Policy Polling that show a contrast between Trump voters and the rest of Americans. Duration: 13:46 http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/poll-shows-trump-voter-gap-with-facts-rest-of-americans-s-views-828697155531
Trump untroubled by his conflicts of interest, nor is his base The Rachel Maddow Show 12/8/16 Jo Becker, investigative reporter for The New York Times, talks with Rachel Maddow about the mistake[n] impression by the media and Americans generally that Donald Trump will somehow separate from his business for the sake of the presidency. Duration: 11:16 http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-untroubled-by-his-conflicts-of-interest-nor-is-his-base-828704835859
Trump stuns ex-CIA boss with Russian hack denial - Retired General Michael Hayden "Wow." That's a former CIA director's reaction to President-elect Trump's refusal to believe that Russian hackers tried to influence the American election. http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/09/technology/trump-russia-hackers-cia/
https://www.youtube.com/user/RonGibsonCF/videos Alex Jones (FULL SHOW Commercial Free) Wednesday 12/7/16: Infowars "REAL NEWS" Media On this Wednesday, Dec. 7 edition of the Alex Jones Show, Google removes search results for crime statistics showing black people commit more crimes under the guise of combating "fake news," and a new survey shows more than two thirds of Americans are fine with Trump keeping his business interests while in office. On today's show, Republican operative Roger Stone breaks down the latest Trump news and more. Wall Street analyst turned whistleblower Charles Ortel also details his investigation into the Clinton Foundation, which he deems a "charity fraud." And prominent rock musician Rick Derringer explains why he supported Trump. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b9UO5a_S-4 Alex Jones (FULL SHOW Commercial Free) Thursday 12/8/16: Max Keiser, Anthony Cumia On this Thursday, December 8 edition of the Alex Jones Show, we look into the Washington Post's admission that its article on "fake news" was in fact fake news. That said, Facebook is already attempting to censor dissident voices who contradict the establishment media's narrative. On today's show, financial expert Max Keiser explains how the elites are trying to manipulate gold and silver and how the establishment will attempt to block Trump economically. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBjL8YMy8H8
Accused Charleston Church Shooter Dylann Roof Says 'I Support Hitler' in Video 'Confession' Played in Court [...] In the video interview, Stansbury asked Roof why he had to do it, and Roof told him he believed that someone had to do something about what he said were crimes committed by blacks against white people. "I don't like what black people do," Roof said in the video. Roof said no one else was brave enough to do anything, referencing the KKK and skinheads. He said he chose Charleston because "it's a nice historic city" and "at one time it had the highest ratio of black people to white people in the whole country." Roof said he knew the church "would be a place where there would be, you know, at least a swarm of black people in one area. I thought about a black festival or something like that but they have security." "I wasn't going to go to another church because there could be white people there," he said. Roof said in the video he tries not to think about the people he killed being innocent. "I'm not in the position by myself to go to, like, a black neighborhood or something like that, and shoot up a drug dealer," Roof said. He said he thinks there were "two people I didn't shoot at all." He said during the shooting "there were pauses in between and I was thinking about what I should do." Roof said no one in the church charged him to try and stop him. When Roof left the church, he said he was shocked that no one was outside. "I peeked out the door because I thought there would be someone there waiting to shoot me," he said. Roof said in the video he considers himself a white nationalist and that he thinks the white race should be the dominant race. "I didn't think I would start a race war or anything like that. A race war would be pretty terrible," Roof said, adding that he would want to reinstate segregation or "something like that," saying segregation wasn't bad. [...] http://abcnews.go.com/US/accused-charleston-church-shooter-dylann-roofs-video-confession/story?id=44070131
Racist graffiti at Giants player's home investigated as hate crime MOONACHIE - Shortly after Giants fullback Nikita Whitlock recounted to The Record the feelings of disappointment and confusion that have emerged since his home was broken into on Tuesday night and defaced with several racially charged epithets, local police announced they are investigating the incident as a hate crime. Whitlock returned home with his family on Tuesday night and found "KKK," three swastikas and other racist language scrawled onto the walls of home. The largest word, "Trump," was also written in marker on the wall leading up his staircase. His immediate thought upon entering his home was to make sure he kept his family safe, he told The Record early Thursday morning, but in the hours after the incident he reflected on what was now littered throughout his home. “Of course there are the common feelings you have of being violated, feelings of hatred, feelings of ‘Why us?’ which, it’s apparent why us,” he said in the living room of his home. “I don’t think we felt ‘targeted’ at first … then as you see it and how specific some of the things are on the walls, and then we actually had an attempted break-in three weeks prior … it just felt like somebody was definitely trying to get us.” [...] http://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2016/12/08/exclusive-giants-player-describes-racially-charged-scrawls-his-home-after-break-/95136494/
Broncos LB Brandon Marshall on racist, vulgar and threatening letter he received: “Racism still exists” The letter was delivered to linebacker Brandon Marshall at the Denver Broncos’ headquarters in Englewood http://www.denverpost.com/2016/12/09/brandon-marshall-letter/
Chuck E. Sleaze A detailed conspiracy theory known as "Pizzagate" holds that a pedophile ring is operating out of a Clinton-linked pizzeria called Comet Ping Pong. http://www.snopes.com/pizzagate-conspiracy/
Retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly picked to head Department of Homeland Security President-elect Donald Trump has chosen retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly to run the Department of Homeland Security, turning to a blunt-spoken border security hawk who clashed with the Obama administration over women in combat and plans to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, according to people familiar with the decision. Kelly, who retired in February as chief of U.S. Southern Command, would inherit a massive and often troubled department responsible for overseeing perhaps the most controversial part of Trump’s agenda: his proposed crackdown on illegal immigration. DHS is the third-largest Cabinet department, with more than 240,000 employees who do everything from fight terrorism to protect the president and enforce immigration laws. Kelly, 66, is a widely respected military officer who served for more than 40 years, and he is not expected to face difficulty winning Senate confirmation. Trump’s team was drawn to him because of his Southwest border expertise, people familiar with the transition said. Like the president-elect, Kelly has sounded the alarm about drugs, terrorism and other cross-border threats he sees as emanating from Mexico and Central and South America. Yet Kelly’s nomination could raise questions about what critics see as Trump’s tendency to surround himself with too many military figures. Trump has also selected retired Marine Gen. James N. Mattis for defense secretary and retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn as national security adviser, while retired Army Gen. David Petraeus is under consideration for secretary of state. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/retired-marine-gen-john-f-kelly-picked-to-head-department-of-homeland-security/2016/12/07/165472f2-bbe6-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html
Trump Eyes Goldman Sachs President for Economic Post; Millions Spent on Campaign, and Millions Made Back President-elect Donald J. Trump is expected to name Gary D. Cohn, the president of Goldman Sachs, to direct the National Economic Council. He could also name Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers to be interior secretary. Mr. Trump raised more money than Hillary Clinton in the last stretch of the campaign. He also spent millions — on behalf of his own ventures, in the form of rent and airplane charters. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/09/us/politics/donald-trump-transition.html
Labor secretary pick may rekindle Trump’s women problem. And Chris Christie won’t head Republican Party. President-elect Donald J. Trump’s choice of the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. executive to be labor secretary may raise questions anew about his attitude toward women. Chris Christie will not be the next Republican National Committee chairman. Mr. Trump has a new target for his ire: a union local president in Indiana. Ivanka Trump spells out her advocacy role. Mr. Trump formally names a divisive figure as chief of the Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/08/us/politics/trump-picks-twitter-fight-with-union-local-chief-in-indiana.html
Carrier's parent company says $16M investment after Trump deal will lead to more automated jobs INDIANAPOLIS -- President-elect Donald Trump may have been able to save some of the jobs at Carrier’s Indianapolis plant but the Chief Executive of Carrier’s parent company says there will ultimately be fewer jobs at the factory. United Technologies Chief Executive Greg Hayes told MSNBC their $16 million investment agreement as part of their deal with Trump to limit outsourcing will be used to increase their automation. Which in turn, will mean fewer jobs that require an actual person. “We're going to make a $16 million investment in that factory in Indianapolis to automate to drive the cost down so that we can continue to be competitive. Now is it as cheap as moving to Mexico with lower cost of labor? No. But we will make that plant competitive just because we'll make the capital investments there. What that ultimately means is there will be fewer jobs" said Hayes told CNBC’s Jim Cramer [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q6v0yd9eRE ]. [...] http://www.theindychannel.com/news/politics/carriers-parent-company-says-16-million-investment-will-lead-to-more-automated-jobs
Trump Says Boeing’s Air Force One Order Should Be Canceled - further to http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=127039757 President-elect says costs ‘are totally out of control’ Pentagon is looking to replace existing presidential fleet President-elect Donald Trump said the latest Air Force One order should be canceled, citing the high costs of converting the Boeing Co. jumbo jet for presidential use. “Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion,” Trump said Tuesday on Twitter. “Cancel order!” The Pentagon is looking to replace its aging fleet of Boeing 747-200 aircraft, which will reach the planned 30-year service life in 2017. Officials have said the next Air Force One 747-8 jets are estimated to begin operations in fiscal 2023. The Air Force expects the planes to have the range to fly between continents and comparable interiors to the current 747, whose features include work and sleeping quarters for the president and first family. “The plane is totally out of control,” Trump said in a brief appearance in the lobby of Trump Tower on Tuesday. “I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money.” Trump didn’t specify where the $4 billion figure came from. The Air Force has budgeted about $1.6 billion through 2019. [...] http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-12-06/trump-says-air-force-one-order-should-be-canceled-as-costs-rise
The 'crazy' Japanese billionaire who met Donald Trump has a 300-year plan Masayoshi Son is not a household name in America. Yet. But the billionaire founder and CEO of Japan's SoftBank (SFTBF) loves to make a splash and is rapidly gaining a global profile thanks to a series of big deals. http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/07/technology/masayoshi-son-trump-softbank-japan/
Exclusive: Trump chooses pro wrestling magnate Linda McMahon to head SBA U.S. President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate professional wrestling magnate and former Senate candidate Linda McMahon as his choice to head the Small Business Administration, transition officials told Reuters on Wednesday. The announcement was expected later on Wednesday. McMahon, 68, is a co-founder and former CEO of the professional wrestling franchise WWE, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut. She ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut in 2010. She was an early supporter of Trump's presidential campaign. The SBA, which has at least one office in every U.S. state, provides support to small businesses such as extending loans and making sure they get a percentage of federal contracts. Trump's announcement, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, said McMahon would be a key player in his effort to generate stronger job growth and roll back federal regulations. He said she had helped the WWE grow from a 13-person operation to a publicly traded global enterprise with more than 800 employees worldwide. Donald Trump is a WWE Hall of Fame member. "Linda has a tremendous background and is widely recognized as one of the country’s top female executives advising businesses around the globe," Trump said in the announcement. McMahon said her goal as the SBA chief would be to promote small businesses and help them grow and thrive. “Our small businesses are the largest source of job creation in our country,” she said. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-sba-exclusive-idUSKBN13W2QY
Koch Industries takes aim at U.S. House Republican tax reform plan Koch Industries, the private conglomerate owned by billionaire conservatives Charles and David Koch, warned on Wednesday that a Republican tax reform proposal meant to encourage U.S. exports could have devastating effects on the economy and consumers. The proposal, known as border adjustability, is part of a larger tax reform plan backed by Republicans in the House of Representatives, including Speaker Paul Ryan. It has attracted the attention of advisers to President-elect Donald Trump as a potential tool for creating manufacturing jobs for blue-collar Americans. But the provision, which would tax imports while exempting U.S. exports from corporate income tax, has raised concerns in the retailing and energy sectors about its potential effects on prices for imported consumer items and foreign goods used in domestic production. Corporate lobbyists say that Trump's threatened 35 percent import tax against U.S. companies that move jobs overseas could reflect an interest by the president-elect in a border-adjusted approach to tax reform. The Trump team and Republicans in Congress are currently trying to hammer out an agreement on tax reform for 2017. "The proposed border tax adjustment will distort the market, increase consumer prices and create an uneven playing field for companies and consumers," Philip Ellender, who oversees government and public affairs for the Wichita, Kansas-based multinational, said in a statement. "The long-term consequences to the economy and the American consumer could be devastating," added Ellender, who said Koch otherwise supports tax reform. Koch is the second largest private U.S. company, with operations that range from refining and chemicals to ranching and forest products. Its owners are known to spend heavily on conservative initiatives and to oppose government intervention in business. Representative Kevin Brady, Republican chairman of the House tax committee that produced the reform plan, welcomed the Koch statement as feedback but described border adjustability as "a key provision" that would level the playing field for "Made in America" products. Brady has said the plan would unleash economic and job growth by cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, simplifying the tax code and encouraging investment Border adjustability would help pay for tax cuts by generating $1.2 trillion in revenues over a decade, according to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center. The provision would also discourage U.S. companies from moving operations abroad as a result of another provision, which would eliminate U.S. taxes on the foreign profits of U.S. multinationals. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-taxes-koch-idUSKBN13W2V2
A sobering look at what Betsy DeVos did to education in Michigan — and what she might do as secretary of education The people who best know the education advocacy work of Betsy DeVos, the billionaire tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be his education secretary, are in Michigan, where she has been involved in reform for decades. DeVos is a former Republican Party chairwoman in Michigan and chair of the pro-school-choice advocacy group American Federation for Children, and she has been a shining light to members of the movement to privatize public education by working to create programs and pass laws that require the use of public funds to pay for private school tuition in the form of vouchers and similar programs. She has also been a force behind the spread of charter schools in Michigan, most of which have recorded student test scores in reading and math below the state average. Many pro-school-choice groups have praised the choice, saying DeVos will work hard to grow new programs that give parents more school choice. But public education advocates say that they fear she will help propel America’s public education system toward destruction. The Detroit Free Press has written a number of articles about DeVos’s education record in Michigan. Here is an important piece [ http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/columnists/stephen-henderson/2016/12/03/betsy-devos-education-donald-trump/94728574/ ] looking at what a DeVos Education Department could be expected to do, written by someone who has watched her work for some time. He is Stephen Henderson, editorial page editor of the Free Press, where this first appeared. He gave me permission to republish it. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/12/08/a-sobering-look-at-what-betsy-devos-did-to-education-in-michigan-and-what-she-might-do-as-secretary-of-education/
Teacher to Trump’s education pick: Let’s ‘address the elephant in the room.’ It’s you. The selection of Betsy DeVos by President-elect Donald Trump as his education secretary nominee has been attacked by public school advocates who see her longtime support for school “choice” and private Catholic education as evidence that she does not support America’s public education system. In this post, that sentiment is explained by an educator who has written an open letter to DeVos. He is Patrick Kearney, facilitator for Teacher Leadership in the Johnston Community School District in Iowa. He spent 25 years as a band director in private and public schools of Iowa, and is a past-president of the Iowa Bandmasters Association and past co-chair of the Iowa Jazz Championships. He was also a founding board member of the Jazz Educators of Iowa. His wife teaches in the Des Moines Public Schools and his son is studying education at Drake University. Here’s the letter, which first appeared on Huffington Post [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/an-introduction-from-public-school-teachers-to-betsy_us_5845e2fbe4b0707e4c8171a3 ]. Kearney gave me permission to republish it. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/12/10/teacher-to-trumps-education-pick-lets-address-the-elephant-in-the-room-its-you/
Here Are Some Things Other Countries Describe As “American,” And They’re Hilarious “American Mustard is weak-ass shit that goes perfectly on a hot dog, and only a hot dog.” https://www.buzzfeed.com/terripous/usa-is-a-ok
26 Things About America That Americans Don’t Realize Are Actually Really Weird From three-liter bottles of wine, to going to the store in your PJs, here’s what the French think is super strange about good ole ‘Murica. https://www.buzzfeed.com/marietelling/americas-weird-quirks
Trump is Steering Us Toward International Disaster | The Resistance with Keith Olbermann | GQ - ties to "The Frankfurt School Knew Trump Was Coming" New Yorker piece above https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfpkhXTdVwI
The Daily Show - Who's to Blame for the Ku Klux Klan? Published on Mar 4, 2016 After former KKK leader David Duke endorses Donald Trump, CNN contributors Jeffrey Lord and Van Jones argue about the political origins of the white supremacy group. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw47QpOK9gw
Donald Trump Picks Scott Pruitt, Ally of Fossil Fuel Industry, to Lead E.P.A. WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald J. Trump has selected Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general and a close ally of the fossil fuel industry, to run the Environmental Protection Agency, a transition official said, signaling Mr. Trump’s determination to dismantle President Obama’s efforts to counter climate change. Mr. Pruitt, a Republican, has been a key architect of the legal battle against Mr. Obama’s climate change policies, actions that fit with the president-elect’s comments during the campaign. Mr. Trump has criticized the established science of human-caused global warming as a hoax, vowed to “cancel” the Paris accord committing nearly every nation to taking action to fight climate change, and attacked Mr. Obama’s signature global warming policy, the Clean Power Plan, as a “war on coal.” Mr. Pruitt, 48, who has emerged as a hero to conservative activists, is also one of a number of Republican attorneys general who have formed an alliance with some of the nation’s top energy producers to push back against the Obama regulatory agenda, a 2014 investigation by The New York Times revealed. At the heart of Mr. Obama’s efforts to tackle climate change are a collection of E.P.A. regulations aimed at forcing power plants to significantly reduce their emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide pollution. It will not be possible for Mr. Trump to unilaterally cancel the rules, which were released under the 1970 Clean Air Act. But it would be possible for a legally experienced E.P.A. chief to substantially weaken, delay or slowly dismantle them. As Oklahoma’s top law enforcement official, Mr. Pruitt has fought environmental regulations — particularly the climate change rules. Although Mr. Obama’s rules were not completed until 2015, Mr. Pruitt was one of a handful of attorneys general, along with Greg Abbott of Texas, who began planning as early as 2014 for a coordinated legal effort to fight them. That resulted in a 28-state lawsuit against the administration’s rules. A decision on the case is pending in a federal court, but it is widely expected to advance to the Supreme Court. [...] http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/us/politics/scott-pruitt-epa-trump.html
Rick Perry Said to Be Trump’s Top Candidate for Energy Secretary - the department Perry couldn't remember he wanted to abolish - folks couldn't make this up if they tried Democratic Senators Manchin, Heitkamp also under consideration President-elect has plans to cut regulation, boost nuclear [...] Debate Gaffe Perry, in a 2011 Republican primary debate, famously forgot that the Energy Department was one of the three federal government agencies he wanted to eliminate. The other two were the Commerce and Education Departments. The gaffe may have cost him a shot at the party’s 2012 nomination. [...] https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-12-11/rick-perry-said-to-be-trump-s-top-candidate-for-energy-secretary
Trump transition team for Energy Department seeks names of employees involved in climate meetings The Trump transition team has issued a list of 74 questions for the Energy Department, asking agency officials to identify which department employees and contractors have worked on forging an international climate pact as well as domestic efforts to cut the nation’s carbon output. The questionnaire requests a list of those individuals who have taken part in international climate talks over the past five years and “which programs within DOE are essential to meeting the goals of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan.” Trump and his team have vowed to dismantle specific aspects of Obama’s climate policies. The questionnaire, which one Energy Department official described as unusually “intrusive” and a matter for departmental lawyers, has raised concern that the Trump transition team was trying to figure out how to target the people, including civil servants, who have helped implement policies under Obama. Thousands of scientists have signed petitions calling on the president-elect and his team to respect scientific integrity and refrain from singling out individual researchers whose work might conflict with the new administration’s policy goals. This potential clash could prompt a major schism within the federal government, with many career officials waging a battle against incoming political appointees. While there have been many instances of political appointees and career scientists clashing in various administrations, what appears to be novel here is the request for the names of so many individual scientists, and that it comes during the transition period, before the Trump administration has even taken power. This may be a signal of even more intense politicization after the inauguration. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/09/trump-transition-team-for-energy-department-seeks-names-of-employees-involved-in-climate-meetings/
Trump team wants 'lists' of Energy Department climate researchers [...] The transition team — led by Thomas Pyle, the president of the free-market advocacy group American Energy Alliance that is heavily funded by the fossil fuel industry — is also seeking all materials produced in anticipation of, during and as a result of those meetings. [...] http://mashable.com/2016/12/09/trump-energy-department-climate-lists/
Drain the swamp? Trump's frontrunner to lead Department of the Interior is being probed over claims she put campaign costs on public dime Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a GOP congresswoman from Washington state, is expected to be president-elect's pick for Interior Secretary But she is the subject of an ongoing ethics prone over claims she ran campaign operations out of her government office Also alleged to have sent aides to campaign events on the taxpayer dime Department of Interior has itself been hit by claims of corruption - and scandal over years of persistent sexual harassment at Grand Canyon National Park http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4017730/Drain-swamp-Trump-s-frontrunner-lead-Department-Interior-probed-claims-campaign-costs-public-dime.html
The Age of Stupid - full documentary (Official) - further in particular to http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=126997323 Hello. This is the official, full-length (89 min) version of our 2009 movie, The Age of Stupid. This film was made completely independently (we arguably invented crowd-funding to fund it) over five long years. We're a tiny independent film company always struggling to make ends meet, so if you watch for free here, please make a donation - http://spannerfilms.net/donate - and also sign up to our email list: http://www.spannerfilms.net/mailing_list . Thanks v much and enjoy the film, Franny & Lizzie from Spanner Films - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Age of Stupid stars Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite (In The Name of the Father, The Usual Suspects, Brassed Off) as a man living in the devastated future world of 2055, looking back at old footage from our time and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance? Launched at a Guinness World Recording-winning solar-powered premiere in London's Leicester Square, the film was released in cinemas worldwide, topped the UK box office (by screen average), became one of the most talked-about films of 2009 and garnered sensational reviews: The Telegraph called it "Bold, supremely provocative and hugely important", the News of the World described it as "A deeply inconvenient kick up the backside", ABC Australia said "So tightly constructed and dynamic you leave the cinema energised rather than terrified... hits home like a hammer blow" and the LA Times said "Think 'An Inconvenient Truth', but with a personality". Multi-award-winning documentary director Franny Armstrong (McLibel, Drowned Out) and Oscar-winning producer John Battsek (One Day In September, Restrepo) pioneered the now ubiquitous "crowd-funding" model to finance the film, and then spent four years following seven real people's stories to be interweaved with Pete Postlethwaite's fictional character: an Indian entrepreneur struggling to start a new low-cost airline, a Shell employee in New Orleans who rescued more than 100 people during Hurricane Katrina, an 82-year-old French mountain guide watching his beloved glaciers melt, two Iraqi refugee children searching for their elder brother, a young woman living in desperate poverty in Nigeria's richest oil area and a windfarm developer in Britain battling the NIMBYs who don't want his turbines to spoil their view. The Age of Stupid led to the formation of the 10:10 carbon reduction campaign which now operates in 45 countries (www.1010global.org). Recognising the film's unique contribution to independent filmmaking, the Huffington Post said that it "represents the future of film, film culture and film distribution and marketing". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va_MVxpboqg
Brilliant Blue Antarctic Clouds Are Appearing Earlier Than Usual Fed by disintegrating meteors and located 80km above ground, Antarctica's icy blue noctilucent clouds have made their annual appearance over the frozen continent. Scientists say these unusual clouds are arriving earlier than usual, and greenhouse gases are the likely culprit. http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/12/brilliant-blue-antarctic-clouds-are-appearing-earlier-than-usual/
Kazuo Ishiguro: 'We’re coming close to the point where we can create people who are superior to others' - tie in particular to http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=126997323 Social changes unleashed by new technologies could undermine core human values unless we engage with science, warns author Imagine a two-tiered society with elite citizens, genetically engineered to be smarter, healthier and to live longer, and an underclass of biologically run-of-the-mill humans. It sounds like the plot of a dystopian novel, but the world could be sleepwalking towards this scenario, according to one of Britain’s most celebrated writers. Kazuo Ishiguro argues that the social changes unleashed by gene editing technologies, such as Crispr, could undermine core human values. “We’re going into a territory where a lot of the ways in which we have organised our societies will suddenly look a bit redundant,” he said. “In liberal democracies, we have this idea that human beings are basically equal in some very fundamental way. We’re coming close to the point where we can, objectively in some sense, create people who are superior to others.” [...] https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/dec/02/kazuo-ishiguro-were-coming-close-to-the-point-where-we-can-create-people-who-are-superior-to-others
Kazuo Ishiguro: 'We’re coming close to the point where we can create people who are superior to others' - tie in particular to http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=126997323 Social changes unleashed by new technologies could undermine core human values unless we engage with science, warns author Imagine a two-tiered society with elite citizens, genetically engineered to be smarter, healthier and to live longer, and an underclass of biologically run-of-the-mill humans. It sounds like the plot of a dystopian novel, but the world could be sleepwalking towards this scenario, according to one of Britain’s most celebrated writers. Kazuo Ishiguro argues that the social changes unleashed by gene editing technologies, such as Crispr, could undermine core human values. “We’re going into a territory where a lot of the ways in which we have organised our societies will suddenly look a bit redundant,” he said. “In liberal democracies, we have this idea that human beings are basically equal in some very fundamental way. We’re coming close to the point where we can, objectively in some sense, create people who are superior to others.” [...] https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/dec/02/kazuo-ishiguro-were-coming-close-to-the-point-where-we-can-create-people-who-are-superior-to-others
The Age of Stupid - full documentary (Official) - further in particular to http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=126997323 Hello. This is the official, full-length (89 min) version of our 2009 movie, The Age of Stupid. This film was made completely independently (we arguably invented crowd-funding to fund it) over five long years. We're a tiny independent film company always struggling to make ends meet, so if you watch for free here, please make a donation - http://spannerfilms.net/donate - and also sign up to our email list: http://www.spannerfilms.net/mailing_list . Thanks v much and enjoy the film, Franny & Lizzie from Spanner Films - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Age of Stupid stars Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite (In The Name of the Father, The Usual Suspects, Brassed Off) as a man living in the devastated future world of 2055, looking back at old footage from our time and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance? Launched at a Guinness World Recording-winning solar-powered premiere in London's Leicester Square, the film was released in cinemas worldwide, topped the UK box office (by screen average), became one of the most talked-about films of 2009 and garnered sensational reviews: The Telegraph called it "Bold, supremely provocative and hugely important", the News of the World described it as "A deeply inconvenient kick up the backside", ABC Australia said "So tightly constructed and dynamic you leave the cinema energised rather than terrified... hits home like a hammer blow" and the LA Times said "Think 'An Inconvenient Truth', but with a personality". Multi-award-winning documentary director Franny Armstrong (McLibel, Drowned Out) and Oscar-winning producer John Battsek (One Day In September, Restrepo) pioneered the now ubiquitous "crowd-funding" model to finance the film, and then spent four years following seven real people's stories to be interweaved with Pete Postlethwaite's fictional character: an Indian entrepreneur struggling to start a new low-cost airline, a Shell employee in New Orleans who rescued more than 100 people during Hurricane Katrina, an 82-year-old French mountain guide watching his beloved glaciers melt, two Iraqi refugee children searching for their elder brother, a young woman living in desperate poverty in Nigeria's richest oil area and a windfarm developer in Britain battling the NIMBYs who don't want his turbines to spoil their view. The Age of Stupid led to the formation of the 10:10 carbon reduction campaign which now operates in 45 countris (www.1010global.org). Recognising the film's unique contribution to independent filmmaking, the Huffington Post said that it "represents the future of film, film culture and film distribution and marketing". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va_MVxpboqg
A sobering look at what Betsy DeVos did to education in Michigan — and what she might do as secretary of education The people who best know the education advocacy work of Betsy DeVos, the billionaire tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be his education secretary, are in Michigan, where she has been involved in reform for decades. DeVos is a former Republican Party chairwoman in Michigan and chair of the pro-school-choice advocacy group American Federation for Children, and she has been a shining light to members of the movement to privatize public education by working to create programs and pass laws that require the use of public funds to pay for private school tuition in the form of vouchers and similar programs. She has also been a force behind the spread of charter schools in Michigan, most of which have recorded student test scores in reading and math below the state average. Many pro-school-choice groups have praised the choice, saying DeVos will work hard to grow new programs that give parents more school choice. But public education advocates say that they fear she will help propel America’s public education system toward destruction. The Detroit Free Press has written a number of articles about DeVos’s education record in Michigan. Here is an important piece [ http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/columnists/stephen-henderson/2016/12/03/betsy-devos-education-donald-trump/94728574/ ] looking at what a DeVos Education Department could be expected to do, written by someone who has watched her work for some time. He is Stephen Henderson, editorial page editor of the Free Press, where this first appeared. He gave me permission to republish it. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/12/08/a-sobering-look-at-what-betsy-devos-did-to-education-in-michigan-and-what-she-might-do-as-secretary-of-education/
Teacher to Trump’s education pick: Let’s ‘address the elephant in the room.’ It’s you. The selection of Betsy DeVos by President-elect Donald Trump as his education secretary nominee has been attacked by public school advocates who see her longtime support for school “choice” and private Catholic education as evidence that she does not support America’s public education system. In this post, that sentiment is explained by an educator who has written an open letter to DeVos. He is Patrick Kearney, facilitator for Teacher Leadership in the Johnston Community School District in Iowa. He spent 25 years as a band director in private and public schools of Iowa, and is a past-president of the Iowa Bandmasters Association and past co-chair of the Iowa Jazz Championships. He was also a founding board member of the Jazz Educators of Iowa. His wife teaches in the Des Moines Public Schools and his son is studying education at Drake University. Here’s the letter, which first appeared on Huffington Post [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/an-introduction-from-public-school-teachers-to-betsy_us_5845e2fbe4b0707e4c8171a3 ]. Kearney gave me permission to republish it. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/12/10/teacher-to-trumps-education-pick-lets-address-the-elephant-in-the-room-its-you/
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