As the GOP tax bill heads to a potential vote today, a little known provision tucked into the Republican tax bill would open one of the world’s last pristine wildernesses—the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—to oil and fracked gas drilling. The amendment was added during negotiations to win votes for the larger tax bill. The Arctic Refuge is rich in biodiversity and home to caribou, polar bears and musk oxen. It has also been home to indigenous people for thousands of years. We speak with activist and photographer Subhankar Banerjee, Lannan Chair and professor of art and ecology at the University of New Mexico. https://www.democracynow.org/2017/12/1/gop_quietly_moves_to_open_arctic[with embedded video, and transcript]
Statement from the Press Secretary on the Kate Steinle Case
Immigration December 1, 2017
Yesterday’s verdict in San Francisco underscores the danger to public safety when our Nation fails to enforce its laws. Kate Steinle was killed by an illegal immigrant and convicted felon who had been deported from the United States five times. He, and countless other criminal illegal immigrants like him, should never be allowed to threaten our citizens.
It’s more important now than ever for Congress to secure our borders and provide the resources, including more ICE officers, needed to deport criminal illegal aliens and to finally stop sanctuary city policies that cause needless loss of innocent life. Politicians who fail to address these needs share responsibility for preventable crimes committed against innocent Americans.
Had San Francisco enforced our Nation’s immigration laws, the Steinle family would be celebrating this holiday with all of their loved ones.
Full Broadcast 1Dec17 Real News with David Knight GUESTS: • William Binney — What he told CIA Director Pompeo about “Russian Hack” & his message to the American people on the dangers of “The New Praetorian Guard” of the surveillance state turning inward & turning political. TOPICS: • The outrage over the jury’s verdict of NOT GUILTY in the Kate Steinle murder case • Deficit Chicken Hawk, Bob Corker, and the phony deficit “projection” • Psychological projections of Hollywood’s dark, “soulless” “baby eaters”
[from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters]
Friday, Dec. 1st 2017: Flynn Indicted on Perjury Charges - Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn has been charged with “willfully and knowingly” lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russia’s ambassador. Alex Jones, Owen Shroyer, and Roger Stone break down what exactly is going on behind the scenes between the FBI, Flynn, and President Trump. The Kate Steinle murder trial ended when a California jury found seven-time felon and five-time deported illegal alien Jose Garcia Zarate not guilty. Also, Republicans are still trying to get the new tax bill passed as today's vote has been delayed. James O'Keefe of Project Veritas joins to discuss the Washington Post's embarrassing appearance on his hidden camera video series, and Mike Cernovich brings home the fourth and final hour.
Today, we examine “the Alex Jones facepalm.” Patrick Stewart, bow before your new master.
For anyone unfamiliar with the radio personality and Infowars founder, Jones has claimed that 9/11 and the Sandy Hook massacre were inside jobs, that Obama wore a secret Muslim ring, and that juice boxes turn children into homosexuals. He also happens to have the ear of the president of the United States of America
In this series, however, we won’t be examining any of Jones’s political beliefs; rather we’ll look at the gravelly voiced Texan’s other most notable quality: his flair for theatrical presentation.
Alex Jones Wants You To Know He’s Sorry For His Outbursts | Alex Jones Master Class Part 2
Published on Dec 1, 2017 by VICE News
Welcome to the second installment of our Alex Jones master class. Today, we show you Alex Jones' superhuman self-control.
For anyone unfamiliar with the radio personality and Infowars founder, Jones has claimed that 9/11 and the Sandy Hook massacre were inside jobs, Obama wore a secret Muslim ring, and juice boxes turn children gay. He also happens to have the ear of the President of the United States of America.
In this series, however, we will not be examining any of Jones’s political beliefs, rather we are going to look at the gravelly-voiced Texan’s other most notable quality: his flair for theatrical presentation.
Alex Jones Is The Master Of Impersonations | Alex Jones Master Class Part 3
Published on Dec 1, 2017 by VICE News
In addition to bringing attention to the so-called “Globalists,” a vague and shadowy cabal Jones believes is planning to annihilate humanity, he embraces his role as an entertainer with a finely tuned comic sensibility. Perhaps his favorite satiric tool is as old as the art form itself –the impression.
In his impressions, Jones takes on an eclectic group of public figures, including Bernie Sanders, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Maddow, and William F. Buckley. While many a stand-up has made a career out of impressions, Jones takes a different tactic, often impersonating the “spirit” of his targets instead of their actual mannerisms.
But don’t worry if you have trouble figuring out who’s being mocked, Jones always lets his audience know who he’s impersonating.
Alex Jones Can't Stop Screaming | Alex Jones Master Class Part 4
Published on Dec 1, 2017 by VICE News
Sometimes words are simply too constricting of a medium for Alex Jones's fury, so in the fourth and final installment of the Alex Jones master class we compile his screams in a semi-comprehensive way.
For anyone unfamiliar with the far-right radio personality and Infowars founder, Jones has claimed that Sept. 11 and the Sandy Hook massacre were inside jobs, that Obama wore a secret Muslim ring, and that juice boxes turn children into homosexuals. He also happens to have the ear of the president of the United States of America. In this series, however, we won’t be examining Jones’ political beliefs. Rather, we’ll be looking at the gravel-voiced Texan’s other most notable quality: his flair for theatrics.
Jones’s on-air persona owes more to Howard Beale, the fictional character from “Network” than most pundits or journalists. In the 1976 satire, Peter Finch plays Beale, a failing news anchor whose ratings get a much-needed boost after suffering an on-air nervous breakdown. In the film’s most enduring moment Beale fumes: “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.”
On today’s Friday December 1st edition of The War Room. Rob Dew and Owen Shroyer discuss the real reason for the attack on Gen Michael Flynn. Roger Stone provides breaking analysis and interviews vaccine investigator Lori Gregory of The Mom Street Journal. Finally LeeAnn McAdoo discuss the slavery problem that has filled the chaos vacuum in Libya.
[from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters]
Flynn Flips: Lied on Russia outreach, Russia coordination, U.N. plot
The Beat With Ari Melber 12/1/17
Michael Flynn pleads guilty to lying to the FBI in Mueller’s Russia investigation and signs a cooperation agreement to help Mueller solve crimes. Ari Melber on the core four facts Flynn admitted. Duration: 12:49
Flynn’s guilty plea reveals he did not act alone and agrees to cooperate with Mueller turning over “all evidence of crimes.” What happens next with a White House staff “blindsided” and on edge? Duration: 5:59
MSNBC Chief Legal correspondent Ari Melber breaks down the key moments that led to Michael Flynn flipping, and shows their new significance, through the lens of Mueller’s newly released plea documents Duration: 10:01
A new report from “The Daily Beast” reveals Trump was privately concerned for weeks Mueller flipped Michael Flynn in the Russia investigation as we learn Trump was pressuring Senators to end their probe. Duration: 3:06
Why did Trump ignore repeated warnings Flynn was compromised?
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/1/17
Rachel Maddow looks at the warnings Donald Trump received about Mike Flynn and the inexplicable way Trump held Flynn in favor even after he left office. Duration: 19:36
Exclusive: Pence has not been contacted by Mueller investigation
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/1/17
Rachel Maddow reports exclusively that Mike Pence has not spoken with the Robert Mueller investigation and has not been asked to, and has not been asked to produce any documents for the investigation. Duration: 1:00
Flynn charge gives insight on Mueller investigation's progress
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/1/17
Paul Fishman, former U.S. attorney, talks with Rachel Maddow about what the Mike Flynn guilty plea tells us about the Robert Mueller investigation, and Sally Yates' warning to the Trump administration that Flynn had been compromised. Duration: 7:46
Flynn prosecution still possible despite plea agreement
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/1/17
Paul Fishman, former U.S. attorney, talks with Rachel Maddow about Mike Flynn's legal situation in light of his guilty plea and whether his deal makes it more likely that other people in Donald Trump's circle will look for deals as well. Duration: 3:59
GOP poised to raise middle class taxes to benefit corporations
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/1/17
Rachel Maddow reports on the slapdash tax bill that Republicans unveiled at the last minute before a vote and intend to pass despite deep unpopularity and cost to middle class Americans in favor of extremely rich people. Duration: 3:21
Flynn guilty plea marks historic turn for U.S. presidency
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/1/17
Michael Beschloss, NBC News presidential historian, talks with Rachel Maddow about the historic nature of Mike Flynn's guilty plea, and the parallels with John Dean as someone who flipped to work with investigators. Duration: 3:55
Mike Flynn case allows peek at Robert Mueller legal team
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/1/17
Rachel Maddow looks at what was reported about the reputations of Zainab Ahmad and Brandon Van Grack before we saw their names at the bottom of Mike Flynn's prosecuting papers. Duration: 1:49
Lawrence: Flynn guilty plea means walls are closing in on Trump
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 12/1/17
Robert Mueller's investigation is now just one person away from the president after Michael Flynn's guilty plea, Lawrence O'Donnell says. Because Flynn has already told his story to the special counsel to get a deal, even pardoning Flynn can't save Trump now. Duration: 13:00
How will Michael Flynn's guilty plea affect the Trump family?
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 12/1/17
Robert Mueller is one step closer to Trump's inner circle after Michael Flynn pleaded guilty in the Russia probe. So who in Trump’s world has the most to worry about with Michael Flynn’s testimony? Lawrence O’Donnell discusses with David Frum, Barbara McQuade, & Ken Dilanian. Duration: 8:19
Trump White House was 'blindsided' by Flynn guilty plea
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 12/2/17
What will a guilty plea from Mike Flynn mean for Trump and his inner circle inside the White House? Our panel of reporters and legal experts breaks it all down. Duration: 7:40
Trump lawyers did not know Flynn guilty plea was coming
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 12/2/17
Given that Trump's legal team reportedly had no idea the Flynn guilty plea was coming, how will the Trump White House plan for Mueller's next move. Our panel reacts. Duration: 6:47
From decorated officer to felon: Who is Mike Flynn?
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 12/2/17
Before joining the Trump campaign, Michael Flynn and a long and decorated military career. Gen. Barry McCaffrey - who knows Flynn - and former U.S. Ambassador Mike McFaul join to discuss. Duration: 6:24
Trump Has A Lot To Be Worried About Now That Flynn Is Talking (HBO)
Published on Dec 1, 2017 by VICE News
Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn just became the fourth — and potentially the most important — person charged in Special Counsel Bob Mueller’s investigation into whether the Trump administration colluded with Russia during and after the election.
Back in February 2016, Flynn, a retired three-star general, was one of the first high-level people to join Trump’s campaign, later making him a senior member of the transition team. And just 10 days after the election, Trump had already named Flynn as national security adviser, a role that would give him nearly unfettered access to White House secrets.
Senate Weighs Changes to Tax Bill on the Same Day They Could Vote The Senate will convene at 10 a.m. Friday to continue the debate on taxes, ahead of a possible final vote later in the day. Republicans seemed to be inching toward victory on Thursday and picked up the support of Senator John McCain of Arizona. But they faced a setback late in the day when they were left scrambling to find hundreds of billions of dollars in extra revenue to satisfy concerns about the bill’s deficit effects. Lawmakers are now mulling options that would result in a tax increase down the road, including a possible increase in the corporate tax rate and the revival of the alternative minimum tax on wealthy individuals and some companies. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/us/politics/senate-tax-bill-debate-vote.html
The worst Roy Moore take ever has arrived The worst Roy Moore take has arrived. It is headlined, “Why Alabamians Should Vote for Roy Moore.” It is subheadlined — yes, really, this is what it is subheadlined — “I have a 14-year-old daughter. If I caught Roy Moore doing what was alleged, for starters I would kick him where it counts. That said, I don’t think it’s wrong to vote for Moore.” [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2017/11/30/the-worst-roy-moore-take-ever-has-arrived/
Tesla just switched on the world's biggest lithium-ion battery in Australia Elon Musk's Tesla Inc has switched on the world's biggest lithium ion battery in South Australia. Musk promised to build it in 100 days or give it free. The battery is designed to shore up the regions grid network, which suffers from frequent blackouts. http://www.businessinsider.com/r-tesla-switches-on-giant-battery-to-shore-up-australias-grid-2017-12
Did A Viral Study ‘Prove’ Dogs Are Smarter Than Cats? Not Quite. “We cannot (and do not) make any claims about how intelligent they are.” [...] All that said, while this study suggests dogs might be more intelligent, research from 2014 indicates that when it comes to humans, cat lovers may be smarter than their dog-loving counterparts. [...] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cats-dogs-smarter-study_us_5a2064f6e4b03350e0b542d0
Donald Trump Is Literally A Talking Head In This ‘Once In A Lifetime’ Mashup
Stephen Colbert Burns Donald Trump Jr. With One Simple Question OUCH! The president’s son wrote: Hypothetical question? Can my 2 year old get in trouble 4 sexual harassment for asking his teacher to come to his place naked after school? That led CBS “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert to fire back on Thursday with a question of his own that quickly went viral: Non-hypothetical question: are you insane? https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/stephen-colbert-donald-trump-jr-are-you-insane_us_5a20f52ee4b03350e0b5a2a5
Walmart stops selling controversial shirt that encourages lynching journalists Wal-Mart removed a shirt that reads "Rope. Tree. Journalist. SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED." from its website. The shirt was offered through third-party seller Teespring, which removed the shirt from its site for a second time after first doing so in 2016. A Reuters photograph of a Trump supporter wearing the shirt before the 2016 presidential election made it the subject of controversy. http://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-stops-selling-shirt-that-encourages-lynching-journalists-2017-12
The Man Behind ‘Journalist, Rope, Tree’ We tracked down the guy selling shirts advocating for the lynching of journalists. [...] And he had a message for the media, as well. Rattling a list of grievances allegedly perpetuated by journalists (reporting on Ken Bone and Joe the Plumber, and publishing the addresses of gun permit holders among them), Misha concluded reporters should, “be grateful that the print on that T-shirt, then as now, is mere hyperbole. Because you deserve far, far worse at this point in history. And if you don’t back off, we predict that you may just one day get it.” 11.08.16 https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-man-behind-journalist-rope-tree
Trump Is Cracking Up By Michelle Goldberg [ https://www.nytimes.com/column/michelle-goldberg ] Paul Joseph Watson is an editor and staff writer for Infowars, the website published by archconspiracist Alex Jones. Stories on the site claim that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax and the “deep state” orchestrated August’s racist mayhem in Charlottesville, Va. On Wednesday, when Donald Trump retweeted anti-Muslim videos from the British fascist organization Britain First, Watson thought Trump had gone too far. He tweeted: “Yeah, someone might want to tell whoever is running Trump’s Twitter account this morning that retweeting Britain First is not great optics.” By the end of the day, Trump had been condemned by Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain, to which he responded by going after a different Theresa May on Twitter, dragging an obscure woman who at the time had six followers into the limelight. In another tweet, he insinuated that the TV host Joe Scarborough killed an intern in 2001, when he was a congressman. This came after news reports informed us that Trump is still a birther and that he no longer admits that the voice on the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape is his own. He seems to be cracking up. There is a debate over whether Trump is unaware of reality or merely indifferent to it. He might be delusional, or he might simply be asserting the power to blithely override truth, which is the ultimate privilege of a despot. But reports from the administration all suggest an increasingly unhinged and chaotic president. Trump’s aides are trying to spin his behavior, which they clearly expect to get worse, as a sign of heightened confidence. “Officials tell us Trump seems more self-assured, more prone to confidently indulging wild conspiracies and fantasies, more quick-triggered to fight than he was during the Wild West of the first 100 days in office,” Mike Allen reports on Axios. This should be seen as an emergency situation. But now that Republicans are about to get their tax cuts, they appear to have decided that it doesn’t matter whether the president is sane. “One senator who listened as the president revived his doubts about Mr. Obama’s birth certificate chuckled on Tuesday as he recalled the conversation,” Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Martin reported in The New York Times this week. In Politico, the conservative Rich Lowry made the argument that beneath the tempestuous surface, the Trump presidency is going relatively well, installing right-wing judges and rolling back regulations instituted by Barack Obama. On CNN, Senator Lindsey Graham chided the press for treating Trump like “some kind of kook not fit to be president,” which is some serious gaslighting from a man who previously called Trump “crazy,” a “kook” and “unfit for office.” The message here is clear: Republicans aren’t going to defy their mad king over anything as mushy and amorphous as democratic norms, rationality or national honor. Indeed, whether Trump is mentally ill or simply unbound, his provocations can serve a purpose for the Republican Party, numbing the country to a tide of less flamboyant outrages. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, for example, appears to have flat-out lied when he said that his agency’s comprehensive analysis shows the Republican tax bill paying for itself through economic growth; according to The Times, no such analysis exists. This should be a scandal, but when an administration lies all the time, it makes a lie like this less shocking. Less than a month ago Thomas Wright, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, warned that it was a mistake to infer that what we’ve seen so far of the Trump administration will be “as bad as it gets.” As time goes on, he wrote, “Trump will find people who will empower him, instead of trying to contain him. Some of these will be junior officials who gain experience. Others may be opportunists who see a chance to gain high office by pledging to be more of a loyalist than the current cabinet.” One such figure, Wright wrote, might be Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, who has previously said that cabinet members who won’t unreservedly enact the president’s vision should resign. On Thursday, The Times reported that Cotton, who like the president is a defender of waterboarding, could be on his way to head the C.I.A. He would replace Mike Pompeo, who is himself expected to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. These moves would put the country closer to war with Iran, a course Cotton almost appears to welcome. In an October speech at the Council on Foreign Relations, he said: “If we are forced to take action, the United States has the ability to totally destroy Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. And if they choose to rebuild it, we could destroy it again, until they get the picture.” Meanwhile, Trump has put us on a track toward armed conflict with North Korea; on Thursday he resumed tweeting insults about that country’s thin-skinned leader, writing, “The Chinese Envoy, who just returned from North Korea, seems to have had no impact on Little Rocket Man.” If you think 2017 was bad, imagine an America without allies fighting another two-front war, this one involving nuclear weapons, under the leadership of the most hated president in modern history, while a torture apologist runs the C.I.A. The world right now is a powder keg. Trump, an untethered maniac, sits atop it, flicking a lighter that Republicans in Congress could take away, but won’t. If everything goes up in flames, we can’t say we weren’t warned. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/opinion/trump-is-cracking-up.html
Gowdy, Benghazi panel settled wrongful firing suit with $150,000 in public funds As chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) used $150,000 in taxpayer dollars to settle with a former aide who alleged he was fired in part because he was not willing to focus his investigative work on Hillary Clinton. The Post confirmed the confidential settlement reached between Gowdy and the Benghazi panel and Bradley Podliska after it appeared in a list of settlements released Friday by the congressional Office of Compliance. Gowdy is now the chairman of the House Oversight Committee. In a list provided to the House Committee on Administration, the OOC disclosed it oversaw one $150,000 settlement involving a claim of veteran status discrimination and retaliation in the last five years. Podliska, in addition to claiming he was fired for his refusal to focus on Clinton, alleged retaliation by his supervisors because he took leave to fulfill his obligations as an Air Force reservist. His December 2016 settlement, which covered the veterans status and retaliation claims, was reported by The Washington Post at the time without the settlement amount. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/gowdy-benghazi-panel-settled-wrongful-firing-suit-with-150000-in-public-funds/2017/12/01/d7c49dac-d6db-11e7-a986-d0a9770d9a3e_story.html
Gowdy fired Air Force reservist who wouldn’t attack Hillary — costing taxpayers $150k House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy fired an Air Force reservist working on the Benghazi Committee who refused to go after Hillary Clinton — leading to a wrongful termination suit and sticking taxpayers with the $150,000 bill. https://shareblue.com/gowdy-fired-air-force-reservist-who-wouldnt-attack-hillary-costing-taxpayers-150k/
Barack Obama Interview (Exclusive) | HT Leadership Summit 2017 | CNN-News18 - in India
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Oz1LNuoqi0 via: Barack Obama Appears To Zing Donald Trump With Twitter Followers Boast “I actually have more than other people who use it more often.” Former President Barack Obama appeared to throw subtle shade at President Donald Trump for having fewer Twitter followers than himself during a forum in India on Friday. In a conversation with journalist Karan Thapar at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi, Obama boasted on stage about having “100 million Twitter followers”. “I actually have more than other people who use it more often.” (For the record, Obama has 97.4 million followers. Trump has 43.8 million.) Obama later issued this advice for people using social media: “Don’t say the first thing that pops into your head, just have a little bit of an edit function, that’s wise for life generally. You see people getting in all kinds of trouble because they sent out some tweet and then they’re trying to erase it afterwards but somebody’s screenshot it and they’re getting embarrassed.” “Think before you speak, think before you tweet, same principle,” he added. The full interview is [above], with Obama’s Twitter comments at the 34:30 mark https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/barack-obama-donald-trump-india-twitter_us_5a2258a6e4b0a02abe9157d6 (included/blurbed at http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=136594254 )
NASA fires up Voyager's backup thrusters for the first time in 37 YEARS in bid to extend the life of the only human-made object in interstellar space NASA launched the Voyager 1 spacecraft on September 5 1977, and the Voyager 2 on August 20 1977 The Voyagers have set several records, including Voyager 1 being the only craft to fly by all four outer planets Voyager team is now able to use a set of four backup thrusters, dormant since 1980 Test results traveled through space, taking 19 hours and 35 minutes to reach an antenna in California http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5137755/NASA-fires-Voyager-thrusters-dormant-37-years.html