The Smoking Gun: Trump, The Least Charitable Billionaire

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on Wednesday called on President-elect Donald Trump to rescind the appointment of Trump’s campaign CEO Stephen Bannon.

Sanders said promoting Bannon to a position of authority in the White House is “totally unacceptable.” Sanders made the demand in a statement released Wednesday afternoon.

“In a democratic society we can disagree all we want over issues, but racism and bigotry cannot be part of any public policy,” Sanders said.

Sanders is among a chorus of Democrats and anti-discrimination groups that have criticized the appointment of Bannon, a former chief of Breitbart News.

Below is the complete statement from Sanders:

“This country, since its inception, has struggled to overcome discrimination of all forms: racism, sexism, xenophobia and homophobia. Over the years we have made progress in becoming a less discriminatory and more tolerant society – and we are not going backward. The appointment by President-elect Trump of a racist individual like Mr. Bannon to a position of authority is totally unacceptable. In a democratic society we can disagree all we want over issues, but racism and bigotry cannot be part of any public policy. The appointment of Mr. Bannon by Mr. Trump must be rescinded.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/po...n-authority/jgoHQm0oDJ6n5Hr4frlRBI/story.html

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/i-pledge-to-register.fb48?source=s.fb&r_by=17089732
Trump has recommitted to creating a registry for Muslim Americans.
I pledge to register as Muslim if Trump is allowed to take power and starts a registry. I call on all people of faith and all people with basic human decency to take a stand against this racism, hatred and violence.

'We're in for the fight of our lives': ACLU executive director | MSNBC

Quote:

Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, talks with Rachel Maddow about the surge in public support since the election of Donald Trump, and how his group is preparing to defend civil liberties from President-elect Donald Trump's stated agenda.

Video:
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/...fight-of-our-lives-aclu-exec-dir-810998339537

power exchange USA style:

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper Resigns | NBC News

Quote:

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper submitted his resignation Wednesday.

Clapper has said in interviews with NBC News over the last year that he was counting down the days to stepping down at the end of this presidency. started as a young intelligence office reporting to his father in Vietnam.

More than 50 years of service, he has said in interviews, is more than enough.

His resignation comes as the Trump administration mulls its direction on national security matters.

Updates:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/director-national-intelligence-james-clapper-resigns-n685301

Facebook fake-news writer: ‘I think Donald Trump is in the White House because of me’

By Caitlin Dewey, The Washington Post

Quote:

What do the Amish lobby, gay wedding vans and the ban of the national anthem have in common? For starters, they’re all make-believe — and invented by the same man.

Paul Horner, the 38-year-old impresario of a Facebook fake-news empire, has made his living off viral news hoaxes for several years. He has twice convinced the Internet that he’s British graffiti artist Banksy; he also published the very viral, very fake news of a Yelp vs. “South Park” lawsuit last year.

But in recent months, Horner has found the fake-news ecosystem growing more crowded, more political and vastly more influential: In March, Donald Trump’s son Eric and his then-campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, even tweeted links to one of Horner’s faux-articles. His stories have also appeared as news on Google.

In light of concerns that stories like Horner’s may have affected the presidential election, and in the wake of announcements that both Google and Facebook would take action against deceptive outlets, Intersect called Horner to discuss his perspective on fake news. This transcript has been edited for clarity, length and — ahem — bad language.

You’ve been writing fake news for a while now — you’re kind of like the OG Facebook news hoaxer. Well, I’d call it hoaxing or fake news. You’d call it parody or satire. How is that scene different now than it was three or five years ago? Why did something like your story about Obama invalidating the election results (almost 250,000 Facebook shares, as of this writing) go so viral?

Honestly, people are definitely dumber. They just keep passing stuff around. Nobody fact-checks anything anymore — I mean, that’s how Trump got elected. He just said whatever he wanted, and people believed everything, and when the things he said turned out not to be true, people didn’t care because they’d already accepted it. It’s real scary. I’ve never seen anything like it.

You mentioned Trump, and you’ve probably heard the argument, or the concern, that fake news somehow helped him get elected. What do you make of that?

My sites were picked up by Trump supporters all the time. I think Trump is in the White House because of me. His followers don’t fact-check anything — they’ll post everything, believe anything. His campaign manager posted my story about a protester getting paid $3,500 as fact. Like, I made that up. I posted a fake ad on Craigslist.

Continued here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ld-trump-is-in-the-white-house-because-of-me/

Intel chief: Russia eased hacking after US accused Kremlin | Associated Press

Quote:

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Thursday that Russia curtailed its election-related cyberactivity after the Obama administration accused Moscow of trying to interfere with the presidential race. The top U.S. intelligence official also said he had formally submitted a resignation letter effective at the end of President Barack Obama's term.

In one of his last appearances on Capitol Hill, Clapper defended the administration's response to allegations that intelligence officials at the U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, pressured analysts to discard information that reflected poorly on the war effort in Iraq and Syria.

He also predicted that the information warfare that Russia has conducted since the Soviet era would likely continue beyond the U.S. election cycle.

Hacked emails from Democratic Party officials were released by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks during the presidential campaign, revealing details embarrassing to Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign.

Clapper and the Department of Homeland Security said in October that based on the "scope and sensitivity" of the hacking efforts, only Russia's "senior-most officials" could have authorized the hacking. Russia has denied involvement.

"After the issuance of the statement and the communication that I know took place between our government and Russian government, it seemed to have curtailed the cyberactivity that the Russians were previously engaged in," Clapper said.

He said he was specifically referring to the "cyber-reconnaissance" that had been observed prior to the statement. "That sort of activity seemed to have curtailed," he said.

He said intelligence agencies don't have good insight on when or how Wikileaks obtained the hacked emails.

Continued here:
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/e0c7...ional-intelligence-director-has-submitted-his

AP source: Trump offers Flynn national security adviser job | Associated Press

Quote:

President-elect Donald Trump offered former military intelligence chief Michael Flynn the job of national security adviser as he began to build out his national security team Thursday, according to a senior Trump official.

Continued here:
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/32e4...attles-back-against-charges-transition-tumult

You betcha, Becuz. You betcha!!

Christie is just as ornery and corrupt as Trump is so he would have worked out just fine.

Some state senator yahoo:
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...-some-protests-should-be-treated-as-felonies/

Possible new DHS head:
http://www.inquisitr.com/3716946/seth-meyers-steve-bannon-trump-fresh-start-sheriff-david-clarke-

Senator's loyalty to Trump rewarded with attorney general nod | Reuters

Quote:

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday named his earliest and staunchest supporter in the Senate, conservative Republican Jeff Sessions, to become the next U.S. attorney general, setting up a potentially difficult confirmation process.

If cleared for the job by his fellow senators, Sessions, 69, would lead the Justice Department and the FBI. He brings a record of controversial positions on race, immigration and criminal justice reform that Democrats may target.

Sessions was a federal prosecutor in 1986 when he became only the second nominee in 50 years to be denied confirmation as a federal judge. This came after allegations that he had made racist remarks, including testimony that he had called an African-American prosecutor "boy," an allegation Sessions denied.

Sessions said he was not a racist but he said at his hearing that groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the American Civil Liberties Union could be considered "un-American."

He also acknowledged that he had called the Voting Rights Act of 1965 a "piece of intrusive legislation."

Continued here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-sessions-newsmaker-idUSKBN13D22Y

President-elect Trump nears settlement in Trump University lawsuit | Reuters

Quote:

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is nearing a settlement of about $20 million in fraud lawsuits relating to his Trump University series of real estate seminars, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday.

A settlement would end a dispute that dogged Trump throughout his presidential election campaign and led to one of the more controversial moments of his run when he claimed the judge overseeing two of the cases was biased because he was of Mexican ancestry.

Lawyers for the president-elect have been arguing against students who claim they were they were lured by false promises into paying up to $35,000 to learn Trump's real estate investing "secrets" from his "hand-picked" instructors.

There are three lawsuits relating to Trump University: two class actions suits in California and a case brought by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. All of the cases would be covered in the possible settlement, the person said.

Schneiderman has said over 5,000 students across the country were defrauded out of about $40 million.

U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over the two California cases, has urged both sides to settle.
Trump said during his election campaign that Curiel, who was born in Indiana to Mexican immigrant parents, could not be impartial because of Trump's campaign pledge to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to control illegal immigration.

A trial in one of the cases is scheduled to begin on Nov. 28 in U.S. District Court in San Diego.

Continued here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-trump-lawsuit-idUSKBN13D1UI

Donald Trump nearing settlement in Trump University fraud case | New York Daily News

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...trump-university-fraud-case-article-1.2878780

Trump agrees to settle fraud case for $25 million: source | Reuters

Quote:

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has agreed to settle lawsuits relating to his Trump University series of real estate seminars for $25 million, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday.

Claims brought by New York's attorney general will represent roughly $4 million of that amount, the source said.

Source:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-trump-lawsuit-idUSKBN13D1UI

Related:

Obama Refuses to Pardon Edward Snowden. Trump’s New CIA Pick Wants Him Dead.

https://whyweprotest.net/threads/ed...eillance-2015-2016.123683/page-9#post-2596686

Trump Met with Henry Kissinger: 'I Have Tremendous Respect' for Him

Though Trump’s meeting with Kissinger is not guaranteed to reflect in Trump’s policies – especially considering how erratic the new president has proved himself to be — his decision to meet with one of Hillary Clinton’s favorite advisors reflects his lack of commitment to his previous rhetoric.

http://theantimedia.org/trump-met-kissinger-respect/

My mom said, truly rich people do not brag about being rich. And truly smart people do not say they are smarter than others.

I dunno about trying to sell jewelry when you are helping your father's run for President, but it does not fit the pattern of most rich people. Plus it is low class.

Maybe low class is the new normal for the Executive branch.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/11/18/donald-trumps-binder-full-of-white-men/

No he is NOT a racist, really he isn't:

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 3 hours ago
I settled the Trump University lawsuit for a small fraction of the potential award because as President I have to focus on our country.

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 3 hours ago
The ONLY bad thing about winning the Presidency is that I did not have the time to go through a long but winning trial on Trump U. Too bad!

Trump once again takes to Twitter to correct the theater
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-snl-twitter_us_5831af00e4b099512f834db3
Donald Trump Blasts ‘Biased’ Sketch Show ‘SNL’ On Twitter. Again.

A sample of Responses on Twitter

Career Racist Jeff Sessions Is Donald Trump’s Pick For Attorney General | The Intercept

Quote:

If anyone had doubts that Trump’s presidency would return white supremacy to power, Friday’s announcement that the president-elect has tapped Alabama Sen. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (named after a Confederate general) to head the Department of Justice should settle the question.

There is no other way to describe Jeff Sessions but as a career racist.

Following an election that at times seemed to be a referendum on race, Sessions’s appointment at the helm of the agency that’s supposed to protect all Americans’ constitutional rights should terrify anyone with any respect for civil liberties and our justice system.

Continued here:
https://theintercept.com/2016/11/18...s-is-donald-trumps-pick-for-attorney-general/

Trump Can’t Hear What the Cast of “Hamilton” Tried to Tell Him | The Intercept

Quote:

The polite but firm scolding administered to the Vice President-elect, Mike Pence, by the cast of “Hamilton” on Friday night — in which they expressed their alarm at the new administration’s lack of commitment to racial and gender equality, protections for the rights of the LGBTQ community and action on climate change — reverberated across social networks, racking up millions of views on Facebook and hundreds of thousands of shares on Twitter.

Tonight, VP-Elect Mike Pence attended #HamiltonBway. After the show, @BrandonVDixon delivered the following statement on behalf of the show. pic.twitter.com/Jsg9Q1pMZs

— Hamilton (@HamiltonMusical) November 19, 2016

The message, written by the show’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, with input from the cast and crew, certainly reached Trump Tower, less than a mile away from the Richard Rodgers Theater, since it inspired a fit from the man whose divisive campaign stirred the alarm and anxiety the cast described, Donald Trump.

Despite the intensely civil tone of this act of dissent, Trump inaccurately claimed that Pence “was harassed” by the cast of the play, and then described their plea for tolerance as “very rude,” before demanding an apology.

Continued here:
https://theintercept.com/2016/11/19/trump-cant-hear-cast-hamilton-tried-tell/

It always is, isn't it

The petition to do a second Brexit vote was actually launched by Brexit supporters before the vote. Funny how that look when the boot is on the other foot.

My grips with the electoral college has nothing to do with whom it favours though. The main problem is the "winner takes all" (which does not need an electoral college, look at Britain), which makes it futile to vote for anything but the two largest parties, forcing everything to be bipartisan. If the smaller libertarian and green parties had representation equal to the amount of votes they received, the dynamics of of US politics would be very different.

What is he doing dressing those zombie dolls in KKK garb? Decorating for Halloween?

From Rolling Stone
Alec Baldwin responds to Trump's tweets

It wasn't the boos, it was the harangue. That is unprofessional.

Hard to reconcile his actions against the KKK with these accusations.
Also, calling all your opponents 'racist' has backfired, or didn't you notice? Trump won (fuck), and in part, that was because people noticed that the Left calls all their political opponents racists and other nasty names. Then tries to justify their bad manners by saying "It's twue, it's twue" while everyone else learns to ignore those mannerless folks. I mean, why listen to someone who calls you a racist for having a different opinion?

It's the system we've got. We have managed the peaceful transfer of power during good times and bad, during peace and war. It has worked for us for over 200 years. No sense changing what has served us well.

Being in a minority party all my life, the parliamentary system sounds interesting. But I don't like the way the ruling party has all those powers.

And now, after 8 years of "I've got a pen and a phone" Obama, suddenly, the pen and phone will be in Trump's hands. God help us all. The Democrats take a lot of blame for this result, offering us a candidate so corrupt, enough people voted for an unknown, rather than risk Clinton.

It's gonna get loud out for a while, I imagine, but Trump is proving to be an interesting politician. He managed to blow up the MSM and continues to play them.

As theater, I'll get my popcorn out, but as a citizen of this country, all I can say is FUCK

Trump was anything but an unknown. He's been an entertaining, well publicized, comic book like, con artist for over 35 years.

He was a professional speaker rite?

He's a fucking racist

"May you live in interesting times" ancient a Chinese cures

No, This is Not Normal Pre-Presidential Behavior | The Resistance with Keith Olbermann | GQ



Let’s stop pretending and start taking action. Here’s how.

old shoop: His ghoul parents

Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump’s Election With a Salute: ‘Heil Victory’

Donald Trump’s media summit was a ‘fucking firing squad’ | New York Post

Quote:

Donald Trump scolded media big shots during an off-the-record Trump Tower sitdown on Monday, sources told The Post.

“It was like a fucking firing squad,” one source said of the encounter.

“Trump started with [CNN chief] Jeff Zucker and said ‘I hate your network, everyone at CNN is a liar and you should be ashamed,’ ” the source said.

“The meeting was a total disaster. The TV execs and anchors went in there thinking they would be discussing the access they would get to the Trump administration, but instead they got a Trump-style dressing down,” the source added.

A second source confirmed the fireworks.

“The meeting took place in a big board room and there were about 30 or 40 people, including the big news anchors from all the networks,” the other source said.

“Trump kept saying, ‘We’re in a room of liars, the deceitful dishonest media who got it all wrong.’ He addressed everyone in the room calling the media dishonest, deceitful liars. He called out Jeff Zucker by name and said everyone at CNN was a liar, and CNN was [a] network of liars,” the source said.

“Trump didn’t say [NBC reporter] Katy Tur by name, but talked about an NBC female correspondent who got it wrong, then he referred to a horrible network correspondent who cried when Hillary lost who hosted a debate – which was Martha Raddatz who was also in the room.”

The stunned reporters tried to get a word in edgewise to discuss access to a Trump Administration.

“[CBS Good Morning co-host Gayle] King did not stand up, but asked some question, ‘How do you propose we the media work with you?’ Chuck Todd asked some pretty pointed questions. David Muir asked 'How are you going to cope living in DC while your family is in NYC?' It was a horrible meeting.”

Trump spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway told reporters the gathering went well.

“Excellent meetings with the top executives of the major networks,” she said during a gaggle in the lobby of Trump Tower. “Pretty unprecedented meeting we put together in two days.”

The meeting was off the record, meaning the participants agreed not to talk about the substance of the conversations.

The hour-long session included top execs from network and cable news channels. Among the attendees were NBC’s Deborah Turness, Lester Holt and Chuck Todd, ABC’s James Goldston, George Stephanopoulos, David Muir and Martha Raddatz.

Also, CBS’ Norah O’Donnell John Dickerson, Charlie Rose, Christopher Isham and King, Fox News’ Bill Shine, Jack Abernethy, Jay Wallace, Suzanne Scott, MSNBC’s Phil Griffin and CNN’s Jeff Zucker and Erin Burnett.

Arthur Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times, plans to meet with Trump Tuesday.

There was no immediate comment from the Trump Team.

Source:
https://nypost.com/2016/11/21/donald-trumps-media-summit-was-a-f-ing-firing-squad/

Donald Trump Prepares Cold Open | Saturday Night Live



When faced with making good on his campaign promises, president-elect Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) starts to panic.

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump Nov 20
I watched parts of @nbcsnl Saturday Night Live last night. It is a totally one-sided, biased show - nothing funny at all. Equal time for us?

Trump Adviser Dismisses Potential Business Conflicts, Defends Children's Roles | NPR

http://www.npr.org/2016/11/21/50291...-conway-provides-update-on-transition-process

Trump plagued by business conflict questions | POLITICO

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/donald-trump-business-conflict-questions-231719

A Handy List of Donald Trump’s Biggest Conflicts of Interest | TIME

http://time.com/4578431/donald-trump-conflicts-of-interest-list/

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 52 minutes ago
Prior to the election it was well known that I have interests in properties all over the world. Only the crooked media makes this a big deal!