Articles & Editorials:
Main Stories
Russian Connections
Justice Department Warned White House That Flynn Could be Vulnerable to Russian Blackmail
(Washington Post – 2/13/17)
Trump Campaign Aides Had Repeated Contact With Russian Intelligence
(New York Times – 2/14/17)
The 3 Trump-Russia Scandals, Explained
(Vox – 2/15/17)
Trump is Treating Media Like Fools for Asking About Russia (1:05)
(Fox News – yep, you read correctly: Fox News – 2/16/17)
Flynn Reportedly Lied to FBI About Sanctions Talk With Russian Envoy
(Fox News – again?! – 2/16/17)
Six Unanswered Questions After Michael Flynn’s Resignation
(National Public Radio – 2/14/17)
Russian Aggression
Russian Spy Ship Off Coast of Delaware
(CNN – 2/14/17)
Russian Spy Ship Patrols 30 Miles [From US Navy Base] Off the Coast of Connecticut
(USA Today – 2/15/17)
Four Russian Aircraft Buzzed a US Destroyer in Black Sea
(NBC News – 2/15/17)
Russia Tells White House That It Will Not Return Crimea to Ukraine
(Reuters – 2/15/17)
Senior Trump Policy Adviser Stephen Miller
Stephen Miller’s History of Racial Intolerance
(Univision – 2/8/17)
Stephen Miller’s Media Debut in Review (11:42)
(Morning Joe, MSNBC – 2/13/17)
“He’s the most sanctimonious student I think I ever encountered. He seemed to be absolutely sure of his own views and the correctness of them, and seemed to assume that if you were in disagreement with him, there was something malevolent or stupid about your thinking. Incredibly intolerant.”
John Burness
Former Sr. VP of Public Affairs & Government Relations – Duke University
Describing Duke Graduate/Senior Trump Policy Advisor Stephen Miller
(Quoted in the Univision Article Above)
Other Stories That You Should Know About:
Financial Cost of Trump As President – SO Worth It!
Trump Family’s Elaborate Lifestyle is a “Logistical Nightmare” – At Taxpayer Expense
(Washington Post – 2/16/17)
Trump Family Trips Cost Taxpayers $11.3 Million in One Month – Almost as Much as Obama’s Cost in a Year
(The Independent UK – 2/18/17)
Kellyanne Con Artist Con Woman Con Job Conway
Interview Tricks Explained (6:32)
(Published by Vox – 2/13/17)
Trump’s Mental Health
AL FRANKEN “GOP Senators Privately Express Concerns About TRUMP Mental Health” (0:49)
(CNN Interview – 2/12/17)
35 Mental Health Professionals Warn About Trump
(New York Times – 2/13/17)
White House Tumult Threatens to Derail Trump’s Agenda
(CNBC – 2/14/17)
“When you look at history, the first thing that dictators do is shut down the press. We need to learn the lessons of history.”
Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
Speaking with NBC’s Chuck Todd about Trump’s statement that the news media is the enemy of the American people
(Full Interview – NBC News – 2/18/17)
Trump Says “I Inherited a Mess,” Blasts Media and Detractors in Combative News Conference
(Washington Post – 2/16/17)
(Photo ©www.automechanicschools.net)
“This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine.”
President Donald Trump
During press conference on 2/16/17
(Full Transcript – CNBC)
Swedes Scratch Heads at Trump’s Suggestion of Major Incident
(San Francisco Chronicle – 2/19/17)
Fox News Chris Wallace to Reince Priebus: “You Don’t Get to Tell Us What to Do”
(Fox News – 2/19/17)
EPA
Trump to Sign Executive Order Cutting EPA’s Climate Change Work
(The Hill – 2/15/17)
Conservatives Demanding Details on Federal Employees’ Encryption Use
(Politico – 2/15/17)
Trump’s Looseness on National Security
Trump Turns Mar-a-Lago Club Terrace into Open-Air Situation Room
(Washington Post – 2/13/17)
Trump’s Saturday Florida “Campaign” Rally
Trump Savages Media at Florida Rally
(BBC – 2/18/17)
Keeping Track of the Basics:
- Trump’s Cabinet Picks and Their Status in the Approval Process
(Full Article – The Atlantic) - Entire Trump Administration: Who’s Who
(Full Info – Real Clear Politics)
Editorials
And Then The Breitbart Lynch Mob Came For Me
(Rosa Brooks, posted on Moyers & Company, 2/8/17)
“We Have At Most a Year to Defend American Democracy, Perhaps Less”
(Interview with Timothy Snyder, Yale History Professor – 2/10/17)
Note: I debated whether to include this piece due to an odd statement that he makes halfway through regarding African Americans. Given the rest of the interview, I can’t imagine that he is saying what it sounds like he is saying, but I also can’t imagine what he actually is trying to communicate in that sentence. I think that the rest of the interview has a lot of merit, so I decided to include it here.
Time for Congress to Investigate Mr. Trump’s Ties to Russia
(New York Times Editorial Board, New York Times – 2/15/17)
Ignorance is Strength
(Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize Winning Economist, New York Times – 2/13/17)
Alternative Facts from an Alternative Universe
Self-selecting our news sources, a reluctance to hear opposing ideas, and the choice by many of us to surround ourselves only with like-minded individuals has resulted in many Americans becoming oblivious to the beliefs of those with whom they disagree. This bubble helped create the world of “alternative facts” in which Donald Trump could become President.
To counter this, each week I will present a little of what Trump’s supporters are thinking. Their reality may be very different from yours. Please listen/read to the end, and consider what respectful questions you could ask to better understand and have a conversation, rather than seeking to prove them wrong as quickly as possible and shut them down. We can’t change minds if we can’t talk to each other.
Town Hall Meeting in Cudahy, California (about midway between Compton and downtown Los Angeles) – Posted to YouTube 2/16/17 (2:21)
Cartoons, Images & Videos
Posted on Twitter by Stephen Colbert:
Published by Telegraph UK – 2/14/17
Posted on Facebook by Occupy Democrats:
Sign on the door at Pizza Luce in Hopkins, MN:
“Tiny Trump” Photos – Huffington Post
Source: Unknown
Events & Actions
Two major nationwide protests coming up:
- Monday, February 20, 2017: “Not My President’s Day Rallies” across the country – find your nearest rally here!
- Saturday, April 15, 2017: Trump Tax Day Marches across the country to let him know that it’s not just reporters who care about his undisclosed tax returns – find your nearest rally here!
The Week In Trump 