Bernie Sanders: Dems should get credit for killing AHCA

Sen. Bernie Sanders and President Donald Trump seem to agree on one thing when it comes to the failure of the GOP health care bill: Blame the Democrats.

"Democrats should take credit for killing a really, really bad piece of legislation," the Independent senator from Vermont told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Friday night.
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"We defeated it because we heard the American people, we fought for them and today we won for them," Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell told CNN's Kate Bolduan on "Outfront." "And what we can do next is work with Republicans to improve the Affordable Care Act."

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/24/politics/bernie-sanders-donald-trump-health-care/index.html

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It is now clear to everyone that Democrats are not "weak" and "unable to fight back." We fight for the American people.

Donald Trump Jr criticised after ridiculing Mayor of London hours after Westminster attack

Source: Telegraph

Pesident Donald Trump’s son has ridiculed the Mayor of London, hours after Wednesday’s suspected terrorist attack. Donald Trump Jr retweeted a September interview with Sadiq Khan, in which he said that readiness for a terrorist attack was “part and parcel of living in a great global city”.

Mr Trump Jr tweeted a link to the article, commenting in disgust: “You have to be kidding me?! Terror attacks are part of living in the big city, says London Mayor Sadiq Khan.”

On social media it was pointed out that Mr Khan did not say that attacks were to be expected, but rather that the threat of them was part of life.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/22/donald-trump-jr-ridicules-mayor-london-hours-westminster-attack/amp/

GOP cravenly uses black woman at Gorsuch hearings

I am sure everyone watching the Gorsuch confirmation hearings has noticed the smiling, young, attractive black woman strategically placed above Gorsuch's right shoulder so that she is in EVERY camera frame of Gorsuch. She is obviously there to give the impression that she is somehow connected to him, to dress up the otherwise very white GOP flacks flanking Gorsuch and to suggest Gorsuch has the support of African Americans.

Gorsuch has nothing to do with her, and she does not represent African American opinion. She is Mary Elizabeth Taylor, former Koch intern and aide to House Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Taylor was paid $37,264.40 as a Senate Cloakroom Assistant. http://heavy.com/news/2017/03/mary-elizabeth-taylor-who-is-woman-sitting-behind-neil-gorsuch-hearings/amp/ I wonder how much she is getting paid to "cloak" Gorsuch...

Trump's "Obama used UK to spy on me" line came from Putin.

On AM Joy this morning, Joy Reid had my favorite, Malcom Nance, on there along with a bunch of other experts. They pointed out that Fox's Andrew Napolitano got that UK spying line from conspiracy theorist Larry C. Johnson on RT (Russia Today, Putin-controlled Russian state television).

I did a Google search and found a good recitation of the details here: https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2017/03/14/fox-news-conspiracy-obama-asked-british-intelligence-wiretap-donald-trump-echoes-rt-interview/215678

So, Trump was repeating Putin propaganda designed to sow discord among NATO allies and further Putin's key goal to dissuade European countries from joining/supporting NATO. Putin needs to weaken NATO so he can invade his neighbors with impunity.

Up to now, I had assumed Trump/Napolitano had just pulled that UK spying line out of their ass. Now I know it is even worse than that. Trump really is Putin's asset. 

Real Time with Bill Maher - aired 3-17-17

National embarrassment Trump refuses to shake Merkel's hand in photo op.

Justin Trudeau Brings Ivanka Trump to Broadway Show on Welcoming Outsiders

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, whose emphasis on welcoming refugees has been at odds with the harsher stance of the Trump administration, on Wednesday night brought Ivanka Trumpto a Broadway show that celebrates generosity toward foreigners in need.

The surprise pairing at the new musical “Come From Away” was rich with symbolism, as Mr. Trudeau tries to maintain his country’s close relationship with the United States despite substantial differences in public policy. Ms. Trump, the president’s daughter and a close adviser, sat in Row F between Mr. Trudeau and Nikki R. Haley, the American ambassador to the United Nations, and directly behind a former Canadian prime minister, Jean Chrétien.

In brief remarks from the stage before the performance, Mr. Trudeau did not discuss government policy explicitly. Instead he focused on praising the show’s story, about a small town in Newfoundland that fed and housed thousands of air travelers from around the world, diverted when North American airspace was closed during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“The world gets to see what it is to lean on each other and be there for each other through the darkest times,” he said.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/theater/justin-trudeau-ivanka-trump-broadway-come-from-away.html
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I'm sure it was all lost on Ivanka.

John Van de Kamp, former California attorney general and L.A. County district attorney, dies at 81

A towering political figure who became the top prosecutor in Los Angeles County and then California before running for governor, Van de Kamp died Tuesday at his home in Pasadena after a brief illness. He was 81. A family friend, Fred Registrar, confirmed his death.

One election cycle after that spring afternoon at the racetrack, opponents would accuse Van de Kamp of being too dull and robotic to take the reins of governor of California . The criticisms would ultimately help sink the Southland native in the 1990 Democratic primary against Dianne Feinstein, and he would never again seek high-profile political office.

But by that time, the modestly raised member of a family known for its baked goods and windmill-themed bakeries had already left a significant mark in public life. In a career that spanned decades, Van de Kamp helped institute a revolutionary computerized fingerprint identification program, was instrumental in the push to “fast track” cases stuck in the state’s civil courts, and pressed a laundry list of environmental, consumer rights and campaign finance reform cases that chiseled his public image into that of a liberal lion.
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“An extraordinary leader of impeccable integrity, John never backed away from taking strong, principled stands on tough issues,” Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer recalled. “John was supremely effective at everything he did — always with a quiet confidence and devotion to public service that inspired generations of lawyers.”

http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-van-de-kamp-20170315-story.html

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Competence, quiet confidence and devotion to public service. John Van de Camp was a true public servant. Sadly, a rare breed.

Serbia's Stephen Colbert runs a satire candidate---and wins.

Here are excerpts from a great article about Stevan Vlajic, the creator of a spoof political character, Ljubisa Beli, that lampoons Serbia’s corrupt political system. He ran the character as a spoof, but then was shocked to win seats on a local council. He then took the opportunity to do some good, by advertising government job openings that local politicians had kept secret to hand out to their cronies.

Republican Congressmen Torched At Angry Town Hall Meetings In California

Congressmen Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) were slammed during separate town hall meetings in California on Saturday as voters rounded on the proposed GOP health care bill, as well as the Trump administration’s assault on environmental protections, its treatment of immigrants and its links to Russia.

Some 500 people packed into a community center in Oceanside, California, to hear Issa speak. Scores more protested outside, forcing the official to host a second meeting to accommodate the crowd.

As the audience became increasingly angry, the nine-term congressman quipped: “I don’t mind that things are contentious. I just don’t want things to end like the play ‘Hamilton’”— but voters weren’t laughing.

At both meetings, voters voiced concerns about the elimination of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. When Issa refused to say “Affordable Care Act” because it’s “not affordable” he was met with a crescendo of jeers and chants of, “Do your job.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/issa-hunter-town-halls_us_58c48e08e4b0d1078ca72ad5