Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Trump’s Love Of Alex Jones Should Horrify Conservatives - Progressive American

There was a time when conservatives talked about “integrity,” “honesty,” and “personal responsibility” and may have truly meant it. That ship has now sailed.

Alex Jones is in the midst of a divorce. His wife calls him “unstable” and “violent” based on what he has said on his radio program. How did his lawyers respond?

Randall Wilhite told state District Judge Orlinda Naranjo that using his client Alex Jones’ on-air Infowars persona to evaluate Alex Jones as a father would be like judging Jack Nicholson in a custody dispute based on his performance as the Joker in “Batman.”

“He’s playing a character,” Wilhite said of Jones. “He is a performance artist.”

In short he is LYING to his conservative followers.

Apart from the fact that he is lying to you, one reason this should bother both his followers and others is that his now admitted lies influence Donald Trump. Trump has praised Jones and has actively pushed conspiracy theories that Jones originated.

This should be horrifying to conservatives. There was a time when conservatives talked about “integrity,” “honesty,” and “personal responsibility” and may have truly meant it. I think that ship has now sailed and we have long-ago established that conservatives are cool with lying and liars when they are on their side and they promise them a chance for political power.

In the light of conservative's decades-long pontificating about morality this still stuns me.

The full article is available here

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Warmest year on record a hoax because of margin of error? That’s wrong - PolitiFact

A Fox News show co-host said that claims about warmest year are misleading due to the margin of error. Scientists say evidence proves he is wrong. Pants on Fire!

The full article is available here

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Why Russia Investigation Matters & You Should Care - NPR

The assessment of 17 U.S. intelligence agencies is that Russia not only tried to influence the election by hacking and releasing emails, but engaged in a full-fledged influence campaign through propaganda to get Donald Trump elected.  Elections are the foundation stone of this country. That's why this matters.

"Please tell my constituents, my neighbors, why they should care — and not just in Washington, D.C., but in Washington state and Texas and Connecticut and points in between — and why should they care, and why do you care, sir?" - Congressman Denny Heck.

Former CIA Director John Brennan's response:

"The fact that the Russians tried to influence resources and authority and power - and the fact that the Russians tried to influence that election so that the will of the American people was not going to be realized by that election - I find outrageous and something that we need to, with every last ounce of devotion to this country, resist and try to act to prevent further instances of that.

And so, therefore, I believe, this is something that's critically important to every American. Certainly, it's very important for me, for my children and grandchildren to make sure that never again will a foreign country try to influence and interfere in the foundation stone of this country, which is electing our democratic leaders."

Russia is accused of not only trying to influence the election by hacking and releasing emails, but engaging in a full-fledged influence campaign through propaganda to get Donald Trump elected. That's the assessment of 17 U.S. intelligence agencies.

Americans should let the conclusions be guided by the facts and allow a rigorous effort to attain them, because there's nothing more fundamental to a free and fair democracy.

That's why this matters.

The full article is available here

Monday, June 5, 2017

AP Fact Check: Trump Tweets Contain Attacks, Not Facts

President Donald Trump can’t be counted on to give accurate information to Americans when violent acts are unfolding abroad.

The full article is available here

Friday, June 2, 2017

Trump's Dump of Ethics Waivers Should End "Drain the Swamp Illusion" - Common Dreams

Former lobbyists from some of the most contentious industries under Trump are given the freedom to influence policy making in those very same arenas.

The full article is available here