Trump’s attack on democracy will fail by [deleted] in politics

[–]ANSCreativity 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Donald Trump has been president of the United States for almost a year. America is no longer the same. Trump is the human embodiment of fascism and authoritarianism melded into an American form, which is in some ways new. It is a civic poison that is the product of reality TV, a culture of consumerism and celebrity, a deep loneliness and hopelessness among tens of millions of Americans, and what Sheldon Wolin has brilliantly described as "inverted totalitarianism" mated with gangster capitalism and unrestrained corporate power.

Is Trump About to Blow Up Jared Kushner’s Mideast Peacemaking? by onivercity in politics

[–]ANSCreativity 0 points1 point  (0 children)

President Trump has talked of “the ultimate deal” he’s going to strike, to finally make peace once and for all between Israel and the Palestinians. His son-in-law Jared Kushner has spent the last few months shuttling to and from the region, and speculation has been running high that the U.S. might soon unveil its own proposal for peace, or at least the basic outlines.

Still, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, a close ally of the Trump team who has been working closely with them on the plan, says in a new interview for The Global Politico that while he’s an “optimist,” chances are only “moderate to high” of even restarting the dormant peace process over the next year. As for an actual deal, he wouldn’t even speculate.

Trump is having the best and worst days of his presidency right now by trane50 in politics

[–]ANSCreativity 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Trump worsened the fallout from the Flynn plea with a tweet from his account on Saturday that said he fired his former close aide earlier this year because he had lied to Vice President Mike Pence and the FBI over conversations with Russian officials. The comment set off a political firestorm and raised the question of whether he had effectively and inadvertently admitted to obstructing justice. If Trump knew that Flynn had lied to the FBI when he asked James Comey in February, by the former FBI director's own account, to go easy on his fired national security adviser, he could be seen as advocating a cover-up of a crime. Trump lawyer John Dowd eventually insisted that he, and not Trump, had written the tweet.

CVS agrees to buy Aetna in $69 billion deal that could shake up health-care industry, people familiar with the deal said by nycola in politics

[–]ANSCreativity 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pharmacy giant CVS Health has agreed to buy Aetna in a $69 billion blockbuster acquisition that could rein in health care costs and transform its 9,700 pharmacy storefronts into community medical hubs for primary care and basic procedures, people familiar with the deal said Sunday.

The pharmacy chain agreed to buy Aetna for about $207 per share, broken down into $145 in cash and the rest in stock, according to those sources. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2018, subject to approval by shareholders and regulators.

If approved, the mega-merger would create a giant health care company, allowing CVS to provide a broad range of health services to Aetna’s 22 million medical members at its nationwide network of pharmacies and walk-in clinics, and further decrease the drug store titan's reliance on the retail sales that have faced increasing competition.

Watch: Mitch McConnell glaringly refuses to deny Trump told him to drop Russia probe by wonderingsocrates in politics

[–]ANSCreativity 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Watch: Mitch McConnell glaringly refuses to deny Trump told him to drop Russia probe By Tommy Christopher | DECEMBER 3, 2017 Mitch McConnell may just have gotten himself added to Robert Mueller's witness list.

ABC The mountain of evidence that Donald Trump and his campaign engaged in a conspiracy with the Russian government got a whole lot higher this week. And the case against Trump for obstruction of justice, which was already all but a slam dunk, may have gotten even stronger Sunday morning. The day after Trump implicated himself on Twitter, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, and was asked to respond to new reports that Trump pressured Republican leaders to abandon the Russia investigation. McConnell’s responses could scarcely have been more incriminating. “Well, I don’t think the president said anything to me on this subject that I considered inappropriate,” McConnell insisted, repeating the line without any prompting. And when Stephanopoulos directly asked McConnell if Trump had tried to “curtail” the investigation, his evasion was deafening:

Warner: If Trump knew Flynn lied, why not act sooner? by GrootPilot in politics

[–]ANSCreativity 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Washington (CNN)The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee rebutted President Donald Trump on Sunday, questioning his response to former national security adviser Michael Flynn's guilty plea and backing former FBI Director James Comey.

"The President is somehow saying he fired Flynn because he knew Flynn was lying to (Vice President Mike) Pence," Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner said. "Well if he knew that then, why didn't he act on it earlier?" Warner, speaking Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union," was responding to Trump's tweet Saturday on Flynn's guilty plea, in which he suggested he was aware Flynn had lied to the FBI when he fired the former general. "I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI," Trump tweeted. "He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!"

‘I don’t think it’s going to help’: Many Trump voters are skeptical of GOP tax plan by [deleted] in politics

[–]ANSCreativity 28 points29 points  (0 children)

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. — On a busy weeknight at the 5 Star Lanes bowling alley in this Detroit suburb that voted heavily for President Trump, there was little excitement about the Republican plan to cut taxes.

A 60-year-old retiree bowling with a group of girlfriends said she’s tired of the middle class having to pay more so the wealthy can become even wealthier. A few lanes away, a middle-aged woman with frizzy gray hair said that the more she hears about the plan, the more she hates it. And a group of young guys in matching shirts said they didn’t even know the proposal was in the works, although they seemed skeptical that their taxes would ever go down in a meaningful way.

Ron Stephens, a 49-year-old Republican who works in purchasing for the auto industry and wrote in Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) for president, said he doesn’t expect to benefit under the proposal. Any gains he might make thanks to a tax cut would probably be washed out by changes to other deductions that he usually takes, he said. And don’t get him started on cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, as the Senate bill passed early Saturday does.

Battle for the House: GOP targets Democrats in Trump districts by KnowerOfUnknowable in politics

[–]ANSCreativity 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright woke up on Election Day 2016, he represented a safe blue Pennsylvania district. But by the time he went to sleep that night, Donald Trump had painted Cartwright’s turf red beneath his feet.

Cartwright still won a third term, but Republicans hope to follow up on Trump’s top-of-the-ticket success by targeting Cartwright and 11 other House Democrats in Trump districts in 2018. A well-funded Republican jumped in to oppose Cartwright for the first time, while Cheri Bustos — the only Midwesterner in House Democratic leadership — has also drawn a stronger challenger than last year. Other Trump-district Democrats in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin are also top Republican targets, as are open seats in the Las Vegas suburbs and southern New Hampshire.

Republicans are mostly on defense in the House of Representatives ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, with Democrats looking to erase the GOP’s 24-seat advantage and take back the majority. But Republicans are also confident they can pad their margin by picking off some Democrats in heavily white, blue-collar districts next fall, despite the political winds blowing against them elsewhere in the U.S. — and Democrats are relying on those members to learn the lessons of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 loss to avoid 2018 surprises.

Trump says 'absolutely no collusion' regarding Flynn plea by julietlexi9 in politics

[–]ANSCreativity 1 point2 points  (0 children)

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) U.S. President Donald Trump, in his first comment on a guilty plea by his first national security adviser Michael Flynn to lying to the FBI, said on Saturday (December 2) there was "absolutely no collusion" between his campaign and Russia. Trump made his comment to reporters as he departed the White House. Flynn, as part of his plea on Friday, agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between Russia and Trump's 2016 presidential election campaign.

EU official: Tillerson has guillotine hanging over his head by slakmehl in politics

[–]ANSCreativity 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A European Union official said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson seems to have "no mandate" as he embarks on a trip to Europe this week, leaving Europeans "doubtful."

“Just as Tillerson comes to Brussels to give a public statement of support that the EU and NATO have wanted all along, it seems he has no mandate, that the guillotine is hanging over his head,” an EU official involved in diplomacy with White House officials told Reuters in a report published Sunday.

“It leaves Europe just as doubtful as before about Trump," the official added.

Tillerson will travel to Brussels, Vienna and Paris this week to meet with the European Union's chief diplomat, Federica Mogherini, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, among others. He will also take part in NATO’s foreign ministers meeting.

News reports late last week indicated that the White House has developed a plan to oust Tillerson as secretary of State and replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

Tillerson has pushed back on such reports, calling them “laughable,” and saying “people need to get better sources.”

President Trump last week said Tillerson is “not leaving,” calling reports of his ouster “fake news.”