The Guardian just out with a story connecting Trump’s Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, Billionaire Robert Mercer, and the Brexit campaign that is severing England from the EU. This is a frightening, but not surprising, story that adds to a growing list of facts that demonstrate the existence and operation of a shrinking number of geopolitical…
Category: The White House
Maybe Trump thinks no one can see him?
Seems like a good time for a recap of Trump activity. Read to the end because trust me it gets incredibly bad: 1] Trump blows Comey kisses, praising him for his help in Trump taking the White House 2] Despite continuing questionable(but not negligent or illegal)statements from Comey, Trump says he still has…
Trump complains about media again
In a midday news conference, the President complained about “dishonest media”, saying he was coming “directly to the American people” because “many of our nation’s reporters and folks will not tell you the truth.” The President went on to complain that the multitude of reports of turmoil in the White House, and questionable interactions with Russia…
Trump complains about Flynn leaks, still no statement on Russian provocations
During a mid-week joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump complained that the leaks were an attempt to “cover up for a terrible loss that the Democrats had”, and that “It’s a criminal act.” Trump has called reports about now-resigned National Security Advisor Flynn’s conversations with Russian officials the work of “fake media”,…
Chaffetz asks for investigation over Flynn
House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz on Tuesday said there was no need to investigate former National Security Advisor Flynn’s conversations with Russian officials because the situation was “working itself out.” On Wednesday, Chaffetz sent a letter to the Inspector General of the Department of Justice requesting “an immediate investigation” not into Flynn’s conversations, but into…
Price tag for border wall estimated at $21.6 billion
Reuters reports on in internal Homeland Security review of the costs and timeline for building a wall on the U.S./Mexico border. DHS estimates the cost at over $21B and the project to take between three to four years. Of course, these numbers far exceed the optimistic projections that have been stated up to this point,…
The State of The Democratic Primary 3/16/2016
Hillary Clinton had a great night on Tuesday, winning all the biggest states, and splitting Missouri, winning the popular vote and losing by one delegate. The results add up to a statistically insurmountable lead that should carry her all the way to the nomination. I have been saying since Bernie got in that he would…
After Nevada, the Threats from the “Bernie or Bust” Crowd Grow Louder
There truly is a brand of young political idealist — and that’s the nice way of referring to it — which is wielding its vote, or lack thereof, as a weapon to hopefully get Bernie Sanders elected. These are the people who threaten to stay home on election day, so to speak, and who insist…
Dear Bernie: I Like You, But These Red Flags Are Too Frequent to Ignore
The problem is that you’re talking to people who sense that something is wrong, are angry about it and want to know where to place the blame. You are giving them a cabal of boogeyman bankers, corporations and allegedly bought politicians to bear the brunt of that resentment. You’re doing this through a fair degree…
Bernie Versus The World
A common criticism of Bernie that I and others have made is that there is no chance for him to get his plans through Congress. A common retort I hear from Bernie supporters is ‘well, how would Hillary get her plans passed?’ Leaving aside the overarching fallacy of equivalence that Bernie and Hillary would face…
Obama to release $4 trillion-plus budget for 2017
President Barack Obama is unveiling his eighth and final budget, a $4 trillion-plus proposal that’s freighted with liberal policy initiatives and new and familiar tax hikes — all sent to a dismissive Republican-controlled Congress that simply wants to move on from his presidency. The budget will be released Tuesday morning, the same day as the…
Obama names cancer task force
President Barack Obama signed a presidential memorandum Thursday establishing a White House Task Force on cancer, placing Vice President Joe Biden in charge. The goal of the task force was to “put ourselves on a path to achieve in just five years research and treatment gains that otherwise might take a decade or more,” according…
Clinton’s ‘Corporate Ties’ Are Exactly What We Need
One of the frustrations of being a ‘rational’ progressive is watching people you largely agree with be completely wrongheaded in the way they pursue progressive goals. I am a bang for the buck kind of guy. Human capital is limited, so I like to see progressives devote energy and resources where they can do the…
TRP News – Progressive News & Information – September 14, 2015
TRP News with James Andre. This week – Kim Davis is back to work, Congress is back to work, and both are refusing to do their jobs. Dem primary features more of the same, migrant news, and an update on the situation in Gaza. 0:30 Kim Davis 6:14 Dem Primary 22:55 Congress 35:20 Migrants 46:39…
Barack Obama’s Long Game
Barack Obama is not a modest man, but when it comes to assessing his or any president’s place in the long American story, he has been heard to say, “We just try to get our paragraph right.” Yet the way a raft of recent events have broken sharply in his favor, Obama suddenly seems well…
TRP News – Progressive News & Information – August 10, 2015 – The Rational Progressive
TRP News with James Andre. This week – the Jade Helm military exercise brings out the crazies, Potential Reid successor Senator Schumer bucks White House on Iran deal, voting rights on the 50th anniversary of the voting rights amendment, an update on the HIV outbreak in Indiana, the EPA accident polluting a Colorado river with…
TRP News – Progressive News & Information – August 3, 2015 – The Rational Progressive
TRP News with James Andre. This week – Sanders vs Clinton, smears and facing reality, the Iran deal is being reviewed by Congress and touted by Sec Kerry, Obama reveals new carbon emissions rules, the first of their kind in the nation, Fukushima takes steps forward in the clean up of the nuclear accident, and…
Why Progressives Shouldn’t Support Bernie – Barney Frank
I know that there is a counter-argument made by some on the Democratic left that a closely contested nomination process will help our ultimate nominee — that Clinton will somehow benefit from having to spend most of her time and campaign funds between now and next summer proving her ideological purity in an intraparty fight,…
TRP News – Progressive News & Information – July 20, 2015
TRP News with James Andre. This week – the Iran deal finally happens and is sent to Congress and the U.N., ISIL ramps up efforts to expand ranks, The federal deficit and debt ceiling, Democrats and Clinton vs. Sanders, the Obamas go to New York City and the haters go crazy. 0:20 Iran…
TRP News – Progressive News & Information – June 29, 2015
TRP News with James Andre. This week Fast Track has passed and been sent to the President, the Islamic State turns one year old and calls for a month of disaster, SCOTUS hands down several important decisions including same sex marriage, the Iran talks overrun but are said to be near completion, and the politics…