Acerbic Politics: Headlines with links

Sunday, July 22, 2018

Headlines with links

House Dems Chant 'USA!' As Republicans Strip Funding From Election Security

Nielsen: ‘I Haven’t Seen Evidence’ That Russians Hacked Election To Help Trump

Carbon tax vote was a big test for the House climate caucus. It failed.

The resolution, sponsored by House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), stated that a tax on emissions of carbon dioxide — the most prevalent greenhouse gas that causes climate change — “would be detrimental to American families and businesses, and is not in the best interest of the United States.”

Read more
https://thinkprogress.org/carbon-tax-vote-was-a-big-test-for-the-house-climate-caucus-it-failed-106de19f24dd/

‘The Worst-Case Scenario’

Rachel Maddow warned viewers of her show that it’s time for Americans to get ready to face the “worst case scenario” — the possibility that Trump has been compromised by Russia and that he’s in office to “serve the interests of another country rather than our own.”

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https://politicalwire.com/2018/07/17/the-worst-case-scenario/

Europe and Japan Eliminate Tariffs in Landmark Deal

In Plain Sight

Talking Points Memo by Josh Marshall

Last night I finally had a chance to read the criminal complaint against Mariia Butina (the double i is actually the correct spelling). It’s quite a document. Alexander Torshin, who has become a player of some note in U.S. politics, is her co-conspirator and clearly runs her as an agent. There are also two Americans who knowingly worked with her – U.S. Person 1 (who appears to be GOP operative Paul Erickson) and U.S. Person 2.

From the facts alleged in the complaint, including a substantial number of quotes, I would say both U.S. persons are in serious legal jeopardy. In one revealing email to a friend Erickson writes: “Unrelated to specific presidential campaigns, I’ve been involved in securing a VERY private line of communication between the Kremlin and key [Republican party] leaders through, of all conduits, the [NRA].”

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https://talkingpointsmemo.com/prime-beta/in-plain-sight-3

GOP candidate for Arizona state Senate who killed his mother supports ‘good guys’ with guns

Trump-appointed judge rules family planning program can prioritize abstinence over contraception

State Election Systems Had Remote-Access Software

The nation’s top voting machine maker has admitted in a letter to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) that the company “installed remote-access software on election-management systems it sold over a period of six years, raising questions about the security of those systems and the integrity of elections that were conducted with them,” Motherboard reports.

Read more
https://politicalwire.com/2018/07/17/state-election-systems-had-remote-access-software/

Facing internal investigation, FCC chairman slows massive Sinclair merger

The decision comes as Pai is facing an investigation into allegations that he relaxed certain broadcast ownership rules to benefit Sinclair, a claim which he denies.

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https://thinkprogress.org/ajit-pai-fcc-halt-sinclair-merger-amid-investigation-ea5ff6a3b8c6/

Why Trump’s Putin meeting was worse than you think

US President Donald Trump gave away almost everything to Russian President Vladimir Putin while getting very little in return.

It’s not just that Trump trashed America’s intelligence community — it’s that he did so while getting very little from Putin.

Read more
https://www.vox.com/world/2018/7/17/17577476/trump-putin-meeting-intelligence-win

Trump TV? Russians Broadcast That Fox News Is 'Run By' Trump

Noam Chomsky calmly explains why Trump and allies are a threat to organized human life

"Today's Republican Party is the most dangerous organization in human history," intones Noam Chomsky as methodically describes "a level of criminality that is almost hard to find words to describe."

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https://boingboing.net/2018/07/17/noam-chomsky-calmly-explains-w.html

Republicans upset by the Trump-Putin summit have a lot of tools to hold Trump accountable

How Do We Fight the Cult of Trump?

Here is Nancy LeTourneau commenting on the Peter Strzok hearings last week:

As I watched the tail end of the Strzok hearing yesterday, I began to wonder if there was going to be a single Republican on either of the committees involved who would approach the questioning from some angle other than to attack the FBI agent as a way to suggest that the Russia investigation was nothing more than a hoax cooked up by the biased “deep state.” As far as I can tell, not one of the 40+ of them did. Every one of them accepted the role of being a Trump enabler.

Read more
https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/07/how-do-we-fight-the-cult-of-trump/

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