In The News
Warren, Harris Among Worst Ethics Violators of 2018
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) has released its list of Worst Ethics Violators of 2018, which includes 2020 presidential hopefuls Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Both Democrats used their opposition of Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court appointment to fundraise, sending out emails claiming the donation played a vital role in battling his confirmation. FACT subsequently filed an ethics complaint, pointing to a section of Senate Ethics rules which “prohibit Senators from solicitating campaign contributions based upon any action taken in their official capacity. By linking a promise of official action with campaign contributions, a Senator violates a ‘basic principle’ of Senate Ethics that guards against conflicts of interest.”
Ocasio-Cortez Taking ‘Self-Care’ Break Before Congress
Self-described Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced Monday that she will be taking a “self-care” break before heading into her freshman term in the House of Representatives.
“I’m taking a few days to take care of myself before what is sure to be an eventful term,” the incoming New York congresswoman tweeted.
“For working people, immigrants, & the poor, self-care is political — not because we want it to be, but bc of the inevitable shaming of someone doing a face mask while financially stressed. So I’ve decided to take others along with me on IG as I learn what self-care even means and why it’s important.”
Van Jones: Cotton ‘Trying to Scare People’ Away from Criminal Justice Reform
On Monday’s CNN Newsroom, network commentator Van Jones claimed that Sen. Tom Cotton is “trying to scare people” away from criminal justice reform.
“What this bill does is, it puts in the classes and the incentives for people to work hard, earn their way home a little bit earlier, and when they come home, they’re coming home better and not bitter,” said Jones.
“The reason that Democrats and Republicans are coming together, the reason that Donald Trump and Pelosi are supporting the same bill,” he added, “… is because it’s so commonsensical, and yet you have Tom Cotton on that old, old playbook trying to scare people, but people are not going to pay attention to that.”
Bands Refusing Super Bowl Gig Over Kaepernick
Performers are refusing to join rockers Maroon 5 to play in this year’s Super Bowl halftime show because national anthem protester Colin Kaepernick is still unemployed.
The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, who sparked a trend across the National Football League by taking a knee during the anthem, has been unable to sign with another team despite his apparent willingness to play anywhere. Presumably his radical political activism is too much of a liability.
“No one wants to associate themselves with the NFL” because of its handling of Kaepernick, a source told Us magazine about reluctant performers such as Rihanna and Jay-Z.
Two Marines Attacked by Antifa
A pair of Marines testified Monday that they were assaulted by Antifa in the Old City district of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 17th.
Alejandro Godinez and Luis Torres said they were touring historical landmarks near Front and Chestnut streets when they were allegedly physically attacked by Tom Keenan (who many consider the “leader” of Philadelphia’s Antifa movement), fellow suspect Thomas Massey, and a group of roughly a dozen others chanting “fuck him up.”
The soldiers were allegedly called white supremacists and Nazis. When Godinez cried out that he was Mexican, the mob switched to racial slurs like “spic” and “wetback.”
Baldwin: Trump is ‘Punishment’ for American ‘Sins’
Actor/activist/Trump impersonator Alec Baldwin declared in social media over the weekend that President Trump is “punishment for slavery” and a host of other purported American “sins.”
“Trump is a curse, brought down on us as punishment 4 our sins,” tweeted Baldwin, who frequently spoofs Trump on Saturday Night Live. “The slaughter of Native Americans, slavery, Japanese internment, Vietnam. Every hateful, misogynistic, racist notion, intertwined w our better nature, Trump embodies those. He is us. Now we can face it + exorcise it,” he wrote.
“[O]nce Trump is gone,” he added, “[t]he period of healing for us will be long + will require our best.”