As Congress prepares to vote on the controversial tax bill, the United Nations has issued a scathing report on poverty in the United States that found the Trump administration and Republicans are turning the U.S. into the “world champion of extreme inequality.” Philip Alston, the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, announced his findings after conducting a two-week fact-finding mission across the country, including visits to California, Alabama, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Alston also warned that the Republican tax bill will transfer vast amounts of wealth to the richest earners while making life harder for the 41 million Americans living in poverty. Among other startling findings in Alston’s report, the U.S. ranks 36th in the world in terms of access to water and sanitation. We speak with Philip Alston, who is also a professor at NYU Law School. https://www.democracynow.org/2017/12/19/gop_backs_tax_bill_for_the[with embedded video, and transcript]
CDC Bars Words Like “Transgender” & “Science-Based” as “Ideology Is Being Elevated Above Evidence”
Published on Dec 19, 2017 by Democracy Now!
The Trump administration has allegedly barred top federal health officials from using seven words or phrases relating to abortion, sexuality and science in official documents, according to The Washington Post, which cited an anonymous whistleblower. The words are “fetus,” “entitlement,” “vulnerable,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “evidence-based” and “science-based.” In some cases, the analysts were reportedly given replacement phrases to use instead. We speak with Rush Holt, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and executive publisher of the Science family of journals. We also speak with Jack Halberstam, professor of English and gender studies at Columbia University. https://www.democracynow.org/2017/12/19/cdc_bars_words_like_transgender_science[with embedded video, and transcript]
Kali Akuno on the Struggle for Economic Democracy and Black Self-Determination Amid Rise in White Supremacy
Published on Dec 19, 2017 by Democracy Now!
We continue [first part immediately below] our conversation with Kali Akuno, the co-founder and co-director of Cooperation Jackson, a network of worker cooperatives in Jackson, Mississippi. He is a longtime organizer with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement. His new book is titled Jackson Rising: The Struggle for Economic Democracy and Black Self-Determination in Jackson, Mississippi. https://www.democracynow.org/2017/12/19/kali_akuno_on_the_struggle_for[title and date taken from; with embedded video, and transcript]
Kali Akuno: Tax Bill is One of Greatest Transfers of Wealth from Working Class to Rich in History
Published on Dec 18, 2017 by Democracy Now! Republican lawmakers are pressing forward on a final vote on President Trump’s tax plan, which would shower billions of dollars upon the wealthiest Americans, including Trump and his family members. The New York Times reports those who will be most hurt by the tax plan include the elderly, low-income families, immigrants, people buying health insurance, the island of Puerto Rico and homeowners in the states of New York, New Jersey and California. The Congressional Budget Office estimates 13 million Americans are projected to lose their health insurance under the plan. It will also impose a new requirement that families must provide a Social Security number to claim the child tax credit—meaning many undocumented parents will no longer be able to receive this credit even if their children are U.S. citizens. We speak with Kali Akuno, co-founder and co-director of Cooperation Jackson, a network of worker cooperatives in Jackson, Mississippi. https://www.democracynow.org/2017/12/18/kali_akuno_tax_bill_is_one[with embedded video, and transcript] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfPuMxXFMe8 [with comments]
Full Broadcast 19Dec17 Real News with David Knight
While millennials praise communism, Venezuelans show us the Ghost of Christmas Future if the Bernie Sandernistas win. Matt Bracken breaks down the players in the Mueller Coup and asks which one will flip on the others to keep from going to jail for past Clinton crimes. Roger Stone corrects the record on Trump’s chances of survival and Sibel Edmonds reveals the Imam & the agenda behind the massive Charter School network.
[from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters]
Tuesday, Dec. 19th 2017[, with an appearance by Joel Skousen]: 34-hour Christmas Broadcast Continues - Our defense of traditional culture and values continues with our Christmas Spectacular Extravaganza! Alex Jones exposes how Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin is in talks with United Nations officials to explore the possibility of putting UN troops on the streets of Chicago to address the city’s horrendous gun violence problem. Joining today's lineup includes the always on point Roger Stone, DC insider Doug Hagmann, and Gab.ai CEO Andrew Torba. Paul Joseph Watson hosts the final hour.
President Donald J. Trump’s First Year of Foreign Policy Accomplishments “So let this be our mission, and let this be our message to the world: We will fight together, sacrifice together, and stand together for peace, for freedom, for justice, for family, for humanity, and for the almighty God who made us all.” - President Donald J. Trump December 19, 2017 https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trumps-first-year-of-foreign-policy-accomplishments/
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WATCH: Secy. of State Tillerson meets with Canadian foreign minister
Streamed live on Dec 19, 2017 by PBS NewsHour
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meets with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland in Ottawa, Canada.
President Trump's tax plan passes in the House and it set for a Senate vote. Meanwhile, the deep state is attempting to cover it's dirty track on the fake Trump dossier, by skipping meetings and distracting from the news being exposed about Obama's DOJ and FBI. The censorship of conservatives on social media continues, as the fake news media is struggling for life.
[from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters]
Current AI is impressive, but it's not intelligent.
Something incredible has taken place in the past 5 years: a revolution in artificial intelligence. After decades of little progress, the combination of big data and advances in computer hardware have brought AI applications to life: from self-driving cars to home assistants to augmented reality and instant language translation. If some of these applications feel like science fiction it's because deep learning algorithms are powering a true breakthrough in machine intelligence. But with these truly impressive advances comes a great deal of hype: fears of terminator-type bots turning on humans and stealing all our jobs. In this video we sort out the fact from fiction in this very exciting field.
Roger Stone Prepares For Civil War After Trump Is Removed From Office: LIVE AUTO GUNFIRE
Published on Dec 19, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
Alex Jones and Roger Stone talk about the recent development with Uranium One scandal and fire off a ton of automatic weapons at The Range in Austin TX.
The highly unpopular GOP tax bill is on the verge of peaking. Hidden in the bill is gutting the Obamacare mandate which could result in 13 million fewer people having health care. Duration: 11:42
Jill Stein under investigation for Russia collusion
The Beat With Ari Melber 12/19/17
The Mueller investigation is not the only one looking into possible collusion with Russia. The Senate intelligence committee is probing the Jill Stein 2016 campaign Duration: 1:39
Among the many promises Republicans are making when it comes to their massive tax bill hurtling through Congress, job creation is probably the biggest. Steep cuts to the corporate tax rate, they say, will translate not only to more more jobs, but better wages too.
But some of bill’s proponents are building off those bold predictions, and offering additions. Andrew Puzder, President Trump’s original pick for Labor Secretary before withdrawing in controversy and of one of the tax bill’s biggest cheerleaders, told Vice News he believes wage increases will come fast — as in April of 2018 fast.
The secret, according to Puzder, a former CEO of the company that owns Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., lies in the bill’s trickle down philosophy.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, has a decidedly less optimistic view of the bill’s promise for working class Americans, however.
“This is the same answer Republicans have given for 40 years and they’ve said, let’s cut taxes for richest and most powerful,” she said. “It’s just delivering one gut punch to another for hard working people.”
We Joined The Marines Trying To Defeat The Strongest Taliban Army Yet (HBO)
Published on Dec 19, 2017 by VICE News
President Trump's new Afghanistan strategy will see up to 4,000 additional troops deployed to fight the deadliest Taliban army to date in the now 16-year-old conflict. But very few of them will see ground combat. That's because the war is being fought mainly by Afghan soldiers on the ground, supported by U.S. airpower in the form of drones or F-16s.
VICE NEWS spent time with U.S. and Afghan forces as they try to beat back a Taliban resurgence that's seen the group now control or contest more territory in Afghanistan than at any time since the beginning of the war. We accompanied an Afghan-led counter-insurgency operation deep into Helmand province, where local forces fight day and night to push the Taliban back using heavy artillery and mine-clearance teams that dig out IEDs with their bare hands.
As top U.S. officials laud recent results on the battlefield, Afghan soldiers say the Taliban they’re fighting is stronger now than they’ve been in years.
Fox contributor floats FBI plot to assassinate Trump
All In with Chris Hayes 12/19/17
A Fox News contributor actually floated the idea that there could be an FBI plot to assassinate President Donald Trump during a discussion about an FBI agent’s anti-Trump messages. Duration: 1:21
The White House is reportedly seeking assurances that Mueller's investigation will end soon and Trump will be cleared - but the reality is different. Duration: 4:05
Did Trump read his new national security strategy?
All In with Chris Hayes 12/19/17
Donald Trump claims he's an avid reader of documents. But did he read the 55-page document on his administration's new national security strategy? Duration: 2:42
Activist with ALS protests tax bill's health care cuts
All In with Chris Hayes 12/19/17
The tax bill process was a "sham" and undermined democracy, says Ady Barkan, an activist fighting ALS who protested on Capitol Hill Tuesday. Duration: 4:03
Pence clings to tax vote excuse to avoid Middle East debacle
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/19/17
Rachel Maddow reports on how Donald Trump's statements about moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem has ruined the administration's chances of brokering a Middle East peace deal, so Mike Pence is pretending he needs to postpone his Israel trip to be around for the tax vote. Duration: 7:30
GOP tax bill set to make rich richer at everyone else's expense
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/19/17
Rachel Maddow reports on the extent of income inequality in the U.S. as the largess of the American economy has not trickled down, and shows how the Republican tax bill further enriches the already wealthy at the expense of everyone else. Duration: 14:58
Sen Murphy: GOP tax bill a gift to a few wealthy donor families
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/19/17
Senator Chris Murphy talks with Rachel Maddow about the Republican tax bill that rewards the very rich and the intention of Democrats to overturn the bill if they take control of Congress in 2018. Duration: 6:09
Activists unrelenting in pressuring Senator Collins on tax bill
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/19/17
Marie Follayttar Smith, an activist with Mainers for Accountable Leadership, talks with Rachel Maddow about the protests and events Mainers have held to encourage Senator Susan Collins to vote against the Republican tax bill. Duration: 7:51
Virginia Democrats achieve a tie in legislature despite landslide
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/19/17
Rachel Maddow points out that with the one-vote victory margin in a recount today, Virginia Democrats have achieved a tie in the House of Delegates even though they won by a significant margin -a consequence of the Republican gerrymandering advantage. Duration: 1:53
Indicted Trump aide Gates holds meager fundraiser for legal fees
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/19/17
Rachel Maddow reports on an odd, sparsely attended fundraiser held for former Donald Trump aide Rick Gates, who was indicted by the Robert Mueller team along with former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, a sign of the pressure of mounting legal fees. Duration: 4:35
Lawrence: GOP like 'pigs at the trough' of Trump tax bill
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 12/19/17
Lawrence O'Donnell compares the behavior of Republican Senators who will be enriched by the Trump-GOP tax bill to Senators he worked with who would have been "embarrassed" by serving special interests. Duration: 8:43
Trump White House repeats lie about Trump's tax returns
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 12/19/17
Trump says he won't benefit from the GOP tax bill, but it's impossible to know since he still hasn't released his tax returns. Lawrence O’Donnell debunks the White House claim that Trump is under audit. Duration: 3:01
Virginia Democrat Shelly Simonds on historic single-vote win
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 12/19/17
Virginia voters demonstrated every vote matters: Democrat Shelly Simonds won a stunning recount victory by just 1 one, shifting the balance of power in the GOP-controlled VA legislature. Shelly Simonds joins Lawrence O'Donnell to discuss her landslide one-vote win. Duration: 5:03
Corker criticized for changing to yes on GOP tax reform
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 12/19/17
As Republicans push forward with tax reform legislation - something that would give Pres. Trump his first legislative win - Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) is facing criticism for switching his vote from No to Yes. Our panel reacts. Duration: 2:34
A new POLITICO report states attacks on Special Counsel Robert Mueller by Trump allies are meant to give Trump 'political cover if he wants to start issuing pardons.' Our panel reacts. Duration: 6:31
Stokols: Trump allies prepping for obstruction charge
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 12/19/17
Wall Street Journal White House reporter Eli Stokols says Trump allies outside the White House attacking Robert Mueller 'preparing for a possible obstruction charge' against Pres. Trump. Duration: 1:23
FBI veteran: Trump attacks on FBI hurt American public
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 12/19/17
Former FBI Special Agent Clint Watts responds to the attacks on the Justice Department and the FBI by Pres. Trump, saying it only hurts the American people. Duration: 1:26
FBI veteran: Putin thinks he has upper hand on Trump
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 12/19/17
Former FBI Special Agent Clint Watts responds to former James Clapper Director of National Intelligence James Clapper saying Vladimir Putin is treating Pres. Trump like 'an asset.' Duration: 2:17
Seth reveals a roster of words the Trump administration would like to replace, like coal being called "patriot rocks" and neo-Nazis being called "fun time torch boys."
US ready to 'denuclearise' North Korea - BBC News Published on Dec 18, 2017 by BBC News In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC's Yalda Hakim, US National Security Adviser HR McMaster said that the United States has "to be prepared, if necessary, to compel the denuclearisation of North Korea", with or without their cooperation. Donald Trump's top security aide also gave his views on Russia's meddling in the 2016 US election and the challenge of working around Trump's tweets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr4icXGeIVE
White House to 'temporarily' shut petition website The White House has said it will be shutting down its website for petitions from midnight on Tuesday until a new one is set up in late January. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42409634
George Zimmerman Threatens To ‘Beat’ Jay-Z Over Trayvon Martin Docuseries Snoop Dogg joined the fray in support of Jay-Z. Jay-Z’s forthcoming docuseries on the life and death of Trayvon Martin has sparked notice from the man who killed the unarmed 17-year-old in 2012. George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter in Martin’s death, is now threatening the music mogul and Michael Gasparro, the project’s co-executive producer, according to The Blast and the Orlando Sentinel. Zimmerman said the series’ production team made unannounced visits to his parents’ and uncle’s homes to get them on camera. He said the team “harassed” his family, but didn’t go into detail to The Blast about how. A private investigator with the crew trespassed at his uncle’s home, Zimmerman told the Sentinel. Zimmerman also told The Blast he would “beat Jay-Z,” adding that “anyone who fucks with my parents will be fed to an alligator.” He referred to Martin’s shooting, saying, “I know how to handle people who fuck with me, I have since February 2012.” [...] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/george-zimmerman-threatens-to-beat-jay-z-over-trayvon-martin-documentary_us_5a380544e4b0ff955ad56ebf
Alka Pradhan v. Gitmo The human rights lawyer thinks she has a good defense for her client, one of five accused Sept. 11 plotters imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay — if the government ever actually lets the case go to trial. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/19/magazine/alka-pradhan-v-gitmo.html
McMaster on a nuclear North Korea: 'We can't tolerate that risk' McMaster said: "If North Korea has a nuclear weapon, who are you going to try to prevent getting one? Tom Bossert said the US does not have many more options -- "short of starving the people of North Korea to death" -- to punish Pyongyang http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/19/politics/hr-mcmaster-north-korea-donald-trump-nuclear/index.html
The Republican tax bill was the easy part. The next debate could be much uglier. The Republican overhaul of the tax code sets the stage for years of politically fraught debate over what the government should provide for its citizens and how much it should demand in taxes. President Trump and Republicans in Congress are celebrating the $1.5 trillion legislation as a big tax cut for workers and businesses. And for the time being, it is that — 80 percent of the country will pay lower taxes next year. But the short-term gains come with a cost: The legislation also makes the country’s debt problem even worse, in all likelihood forcing policymakers in coming years to make difficult decisions about spending cuts, tax increases or both. The debate could touch on some of the most value-laden questions facing the nation — what type of financial security to provide the elderly, what safety net services should be offered to the poor, and how much the government should try to shrink economic inequality. The challenging landscape is partly the result of choices Republicans made with their tax bill and partly the result of deeper economic forces in the economy. The GOP decided to cut taxes without offsetting spending cuts, driving up the deficit. But the country is also going through a profound demographic shift in which millions of baby boomers are retiring from the labor force and joining the rolls of Medicare and Social Security. The nation already owes $15 trillion to investors and foreigners. Even before the tax bill, the country was on track to hit $25 trillion in debt in the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That would be the highest in modern American history. The tax bill adds another $1 trillion to $2 trillion to the total. “We are just dooming ourselves to a larger tax increase or spending cuts in the future,” said Marc Goldwein, senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. “At some point our leaders are going to look at our finances — or the markets will force them to — and say this is unsustainable.” Republicans are already previewing how they intend to address the debt. They say they are looking as soon as next year to begin an overhaul of the entitlement system — Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security — in hopes of limiting spending. They are also seeking to target the safety net, pledging to curb eligibility in an effort to encourage people to seek work instead of relying on government assistance. “We are going to focus next year on people. On getting people from welfare to work,” House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said Tuesday on the House floor. The GOP is not unified on these questions. Trump promised not to touch Medicare and Social Security, two programs that are popular among his base of working-class white voters. Democrats, meanwhile, say they expect to roll back significant elements of the tax plan if they gain power in the future. Democrats have taken issue with the plan’s disproportionate benefits for the wealthy and corporations. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/the-republican-tax-bill-was-the-easy-part-the-next-debate-could-be-much-uglier/2017/12/19/a9c94e2c-e4df-11e7-a65d-1ac0fd7f097e_story.html
Merry Christmas, Vladimir — Your Friend, Donald By Thomas L. Friedman At the end of this banner stock market year, you can bet that major business publications will be naming their investor of the year. You can stop now. I have the winner, and nobody is even close when it comes to his total return on investment: Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. A recent report in The Washington Post, quoting intelligence sources, said Putin may have spent less than $500,000 to hack our last election and help (though Hillary helped much more) Donald Trump become president. And Putin’s payoff is Trump’s first year: a president who is simultaneously eroding some of our most basic norms, undermining some of our most cherished institutions and enacting a mammoth tax bill that will not make America great again. If you assume, as I do, that Putin wants to see an America that is not an attractive model for his own people or others to emulate, and that he wants an America run by a chaos president who cannot lead the West, then Trump is his dream come true, whether or not there was any collusion between them. So Vladimir Putin, come on up! You’re my Investor of the Year. You’re the Warren Buffett of geopolitics. Just do the math: [...] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/19/opinion/merry-christmas-vladimir-your-friend-donald.html
Trump’s Approval Rating is Lower Than Any Other President at the End of His First Year President Donald Trump is set to finish 2017 with the lowest approval rating of any modern president at this stage of his first term, according to a CNN poll released Tuesday. Trump's approval rating in the survey is now 35 percent, with 59 percent voicing disapproval. It's the lowest December score for any first-year president going back to Dwight D. Eisenhower, with most presidents in that time scoring at least 49 percent approval. By this time in their presidencies, Barack Obama had 54 percent approval, and George W. Bush had 86 percent. The lowest score before Trump was Ronald Reagan's 49 percent approval in 1981. [...] http://www.newsweek.com/trump-december-approval-rating-lowest-all-time-752399
Gene therapy for rare form of blindness wins US approval - AP WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials on Tuesday approved the nation’s first gene therapy for an inherited disease, a treatment that improves the sight of patients with a rare form of blindness. It marks another major advance for the emerging field of genetic medicine. The approval for Spark Therapeutics offers a life-changing intervention for a small group of patients with a vision-destroying genetic mutation and hope for many more people with other inherited diseases. The drugmaker said it will not disclose the price until next month, delaying debate about the affordability of a treatment that analysts predict will be priced around $1 million. The injection, called Luxturna, is the first gene therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration for an inherited disease and the first in which a corrective gene is given directly to patients. The gene mutation interferes with the production of an enzyme needed for normal vision. Patients who got the treatment have described seeing snow, stars or the moon for the first time. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/gene-therapy-for-rare-form-of-blindness-wins-us-approval/2017/12/19/3c40130a-e4de-11e7-927a-e72eac1e73b6_story.html original https://www.apnews.com/7ac93640ea434bcc8cf693005dae4fc4/Gene-therapy-for-rare-form-of-blindness-wins-US-approval
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