The Official World Politics Thread

[StringerBell]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/cocaine-mitch-blankenship-new-ad

‘Cocaine Mitch’: Blankenship Releases New Ad Vowing To ‘Ditch’ McConnell

In a new off-kilter, 30-second campaign spot, West Virginia Senate candidate Don Blankenship vows if elected to fight for the pro-life agenda, create jobs, “end the drug epidemic” and “ditch cocaine Mitch,” referencing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“One of my goals as U.S. senator will be to ditch cocaine Mitch. When you vote for me, you’re voting for the sake of the kids,” he said with a smile, while providing no context for the new sobriquet. Politico noted that Blankenship might have been referencing a 2014 report from The Nation that reported drugs were once discovered on a shipping vessel owned by the family of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, McConnell’s wife.

McConnell has made it clear that he is opposed to Blankenship’s bid for Senate, chiefly because of Blankenship’s criminal past. He served a year in prison for his role in failing to prevent a mine accident that killed 29 workers. McConnell and Republican leadership have said they want a less controversial candidate to challenge Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) in November.

Monday’s “cocaine” dig is not the first time Blankenship has lobbed attacks at McConnell. During an interview on a West Virginia radio show last week, Blankenship suggested that McConnell has a conflict of interest on foreign relations issues because Chao’s father is a “wealthy Chinaperson.”

Once again intra-party shots fired.. Mitch really needs to come out of his shell and slowly tell that man to pull up.. You can’t let a man disrespect you and your family like that for a second time.. Mitch needs tortoise/man up and check him...

 

[Focal Point]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/cocaine-mitch-blankenship-new-ad



Once again intra-party shots fired.. Mitch really needs to come out of his shell and slowly tell that man to pull up.. You can’t let a man disrespect you and your family like that for a second time.. Mitch needs tortoise/man up and check him...

There's a time to ignore foolishness and there is a time to get right... There is no playing the bigger man in this situation

 

[StringerBell]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livew...ped-frightened-sad-when-his-office-was-raided

Trump Doc: I Felt ‘Raped, Frightened And Sad’ After Raid On My Office

In February 2017, President Donald Trump’s bodyguard, a Trump Organization lawyer and a third unidentified man raided the office of the President’s longtime New York doctor Harold Bornstein, taking all of Trump’s medical records without any documentation or permission, according to a Tuesday NBC News report.

Bornstein told NBC that he felt “raped, frightened and sad” when the men, including Trump’s loyal bodyguard Keith Schiller and lawyer Alan Garten, seized the documents.

The raid reportedly occurred soon after Bornstein revealed in an interview that Trump takes medication for hair growth. Bornstein told NBC that prior to the interview he had harbored hopes of being named White House physician, but that an aide called after the story ran to disabuse him of that notion.

Bornstein gained national attention during the 2016 election when he classified Trump’s health as “astonishingly excellent.” Asked about that assessment now, Bornstein was candid: “I like that sentence to be quite honest with you and all the rest of them are either sick or dead,” he said.

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/trump-d...raided-his-office-for-trumps-medical-records/

WATCH: Trump Doc Bornstein Says Bodyguard Schiller Raided His Office For Trump’s Medical Records

So, there’s been a lot of news lately about ex-White House physician Ronny Jackson‘s aborted attempt to become the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs. However, it’s hard to forget about Harold Bornstein, especially when there’s a new report saying President Donald Trump‘s fascinating former doctor was forced to hand over the president’s medical records.

Bornstein told NBC News that last year in February, former Trump bodyguard Keith Schiller and two other men “raided” his office and took everything he had on his former patient. The doctor claimed he never received any form authorizing the release of Trump’s records, and he said he felt “raped, frightened and sad” while the three men ransacked his workspace.

“They must have been here for 25 or 30 minutes,” Bernstein said. “It created a lot of chaos.”

Bornstein said his unexpected visitors came two days after he told reporters that Trump has a prescription for Propecia, a drug for enlarged prostates that can also help with hair growth. Trump cut ties with Bernstein shortly after that revelation, and based on what the doc told NBC, it sounds like the president wasn’t happy with that information being public.

“I couldn’t believe anybody was making a big deal out of a drug to grow his hair that seemed to be so important. And it certainly was not a breach of medical trust to tell somebody they take Propecia to grow their hair. What’s the matter with that?”

Oh, and if you were wondering how Bornstein felt about the allegations against Jackson, well…he seems delighted by the latter’s downfall.

“This is like a celebration for me.”

 

[StringerBell]

https://www.mediaite.com/online/geo...-over-ad-of-him-pointing-a-gun-at-a-teenager/

Georgia GOP Candidate Gets Flak Over Ad of Him Pointing a Gun at a Teenager

A GOP gubernatorial candidate in Georgia has caused a stir with his new political ad showing him pointing a gun at a teenager.

Brian Kemp‘s ad shows him holding a shotgun as he talks to with “Jake,” a young adult interested in dating one of his daughters. After having Jake outline his policy positions, Kemp asks him to recite the two rules for dating his daughters.

“Respect and a healthy appreciation for the Second Amendment, sir,” Jake answers.

The ad ends with Kemp pointing the gun at jake and dryly saying, “We’re gonna get along just fine.”

The ad has gotten over 400,000 views across multiple media platforms in the last few days, and the its taking criticism from those saying an ad of a gun being pointed at a kid is too much. To that end, viewers have reportedly called Atlanta NBC affiliate 11 Alive and asked them not to run the commercial anymore.

 

[Marc123]

Trump really thinks he a mob boss tho. Sendin in his hired goons to take his medical files lol

 

[StringerBell]

 

[StringerBell]

https://www.mediaite.com/online/wv-...son-isnt-racist-there-are-africanpersons-too/

WV Senate Candidate Says His Use of ‘Chinaperson’ Isn’t Racist: There Are ‘Africanpersons’ Too

The West Virginia Senate GOP primary debate on Fox News aired tonight, and controversial candidate Don Blankenship stood by some rather stunning remarks he’s made.

Blankenship was grilled earlier over the deaths of 29 workers at his coal mine––a serious accident that resulted in him serving a 1-year jail sentence––and over his attacks on Mitch McConnell.

The Senate Majority Leader is married to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, and days ago Blankenship talked about her father being a “wealthy Chinaperson”and went after McConnell for being “soft on China.”

During the debate tonight, Bret Baier first brought up “Cocaine Mitch” and asked Blankenship how he plans to work with McConnell if he’s elected. Blankenship immediately responded by saying McConnell needs to go.

He went on to say again McConnell has “conflicts of interest with China,” claiming he “interferes in elections” across the United States.

Baier brought up his “Chinaperson” insult and asks how he expects to get things done if he’s hurting rhetoric like that at a Cabinet secretary.

“I’m not going to D.C. to get along,” Blankenship responded, before, well, saying all of this:

“This idea that calling somebody a Chinaperson––I mean, I’m an Americanperson. I don’t see this insinuation by the press that there’s something racist about saying ‘a Chinaperson.’ Some people are Koreanpersons and some of them are Africanpersons. There’s not any slander there.”

 

[StringerBell]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-getting-big-space

Small Step For Mankind? Trump Says ‘We’re Getting Very Big In Space’

President Donald Trump again suggested forming a sixth branch of the military — the “space force” — during an event at the White House with West Point students on Tuesday, arguing the new branch may be necessary because the U.S. is “getting very big in space.”

“We’re getting very big in space both militarily and for other reasons,” he said, addressing the West Point Military Academy football team as he presented them with the Commander in Chief trophy Tuesday. “We are seriously thinking of the space force and you’ll join the greatest force for peace and justice the world has ever known. You will keep us safe, you will keep up strong, you will keep us free, and thank you for your service.”

Trump has floated the idea of a “space force” in the past. While addressing members of the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in March, he said the idea started as a joke, but then he changed his mind.

“Space is a war-fighting domain, just like land, air and sea,” he said earlier this spring. “I said, ‘maybe we need a new force, we’ll call it the Space Force,’ and I was not really serious. Then I said, ‘what a great idea,’ maybe we’ll have to do that.”

 

[StringerBell]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/possession-trump-med-records-standard

WH: ‘Standard Operating Procedure’ To Seize Trump’s Medical Records

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday said the seizure of President Donald Trump’s medical records from his former doctor in February 2017 was “standard operating procedure.”

“As a standard operating procedure for a new President, the White House medical unit took possession of the President’s medical records,” she said in response to questions about NBC’s report on the seizure, which she declined to characterize as a “raid.”

According to Trump’s longtime personal doctor, Harold Bornstein, Trump’s bodyguard, a Trump Organization lawyer and another unidentified man raided his office and took Trump’s medical records last year. According to Bornstein, the seizure happened without documentation or permission.

The raid occurred not long after Bornstein told a local newspaper that Trump took medication that prompted hair growth.

 

[Infamous114]

 

[southsil4lil]

 

[Dwayne]

Sounds just like something Trump would say. Word for word

 

[StringerBell]

“Negotiations going on with North Korea over Nuclear War”..

 

[StringerBell]

https://www.mediaite.com/online/waf...-sanders-says-theyve-made-an-outreach-effort/

Waffle House Hero Says He Hasn’t Heard From WH…Minutes After Sarah Sanders Says They’ve Made an ‘Outreach Effort’

Tuesday during the White House press briefing, CNN contributor April Ryanasked Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders if there were plans to honor James Shaw Jr. — the man hailed as a hero for disarming a gunman in a Tennessee Waffle House — at the White House.

“My understanding is that there has been an outreach effort to bring him here to the White House,” Sanders said.

But apparently, that outreach effort hasn’t actually involved… well… outreach.

According to reporter Yashar Ali, Shaw says that he has not actually heard from anyone at the White House.

 

[StringerBell]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/pence-arpaio-tireless-champion-rule-law

At AZ Event, Pence Calls Arpaio ‘Tireless Champion’ Of ‘The Rule Of Law’

During a tax policy event in Arizona on Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence introduced Trump-pardoned ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio as a “tireless champion” of the “rule of law.”

“(He’s) a great friend of this President, a tireless champion of strong borders and the rule of law,” he said according to an NBC video clip of the event. “He’s spent a lifetime in law enforcement— Sheriff Joe Arpaio and I’m honored to have you here.”

The irony of Pence’s comments was lost on the crowd, which met the Vice President’s introduction of Arpaio with cheers and applause. Arpaio is currently running for retiring Sen. Jeff Flake’s (R-AZ) seat in Congress.

Arpaio, who was pardoned by President Donald Trump in August and is currently facing a legal battle to get his record cleared, was convicted of contempt of court for violating court orders that barred his office from discriminatory policing practices.

The conviction came after Arpaio was sued for discriminatory practices, with the suit claiming that Arpaio’s department intentionally targeted and detained Latinos living in his county. His office was issued a court order to halt the racially discriminatory traffic stops, but he refused to change the department’s policing tactics.

Arpaio was set to be sentenced for the conviction in October, but was spared from a possible prison sentence with Trump’s pardon. Earlier this month, a California court ordered the appointment of a private attorney to oppose Arpaio’s efforts to wipe his criminal record after the Justice Department refused to defendan Arizona court’s decision to block his conviction from getting cleared.

 

[StringerBell]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/pence-arpaio-tireless-champion-rule-law

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/20...hose-director-claimed-the-black-race-was-lazy

Mike Pence attends fundraiser for pro-Trump group whose director claimed the 'black race' was 'lazy'

Today Vice President Mike Pence, who has been doing his level best to dodge being seen as the sort of extremist who would partner with Donald J. Trump to unwind American civil rights and public norms, is appearing at a fundraiser for America First Policies, a pro-Trump "nonprofit" whose most prominent voice was recently outed by reporters as a loudmouth with a history of "racist, sexist, anti-Muslim and anti-gay remarks" as a far-right radio host.

Higbie said on his radio show in 2013 and 2014 that "the black race" has "a lax of morality" and that black women "think that breeding is a form of employment." Higbie also said, "I believe wholeheartedly, wholeheartedly, that the black race as a whole, not totally, is lazier than the white race, period." [...]

On Twitter Sunday, Higbie said he stood by comments he had made that 75% of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder were faking it. He later deleted that tweet and wrote instead, "I deleted my post on #veterans and #PTSD not because I backed away from it but b/c it is hard to articulate the depth of the issue in 200 or so characters."

The vice president can't claim he doesn't know ex-Navy SEAL Carl Higbie's history perfectly well; Higbie resigned from his Trump-appointed administration post last January due to these very revelations. Nonetheless, Pence and the Trump administration continue to embrace him, and Pence continues to fundraise for Higbie's group.

We know how this is going to go, at this point. While CNN could not get a comment from Mike Pence's office, it is absolutely certain that when he is confronted with a question as to why he is funding for a purveyor of bigotry and hate, Mike Pence will do his wee little smile and claim he had no idea there was any controversy surrounding the man who resigned his administration post in scandal. He was out of the loop, he will say. He hasn't been keeping up with the news, he will say. He thought the fundraiser was for some other group, possibly for an orphanage or kitten adoption center, he will say.

 

[StringerBell]

 

[StringerBell]

https://www.mediaite.com/online/pam...because-of-the-clinton-monopoly-on-the-media/

Pamela Anderson Defends Julian Assange: He’s ‘Hated Because of the Clinton Monopoly on the Media’


Pamela Anderson is sharing details about her friendly and very strange, bizarre relationship with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

For those who don’t know, the former Baywatch actress has enjoyed a chummy relationship with Assange since 2014, and she has publicly criticized Ecuador for the increasingly restrictive rules they have placed on him while he continues to enjoy political asylum at their embassy in London. Anderson has visited Assange several times over the last few years, which has prompted a number of rumors exactly how close of a relationship they have with each other.

In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, Anderson wouldn’t describe the exact nature of her Assange friendship, but she did talk about what they like to do together.

“We talk about everything…We talk about the Bible, we talk about what’s happening with my kids, what’s happening with his family. It’s not just about politics, even though I do take a lot of notes and it’s so overwhelming, the information he gives me.”

Since Assange is unable to leave the Ecuadorian embassy and is no longer allowed to contact the outside world, Anderson seems to be concerned that the Wikileaks chief’s life is at risk. The actress also says that the U.S. government’s espionage charges against Assange are a sham, and that he gets an unfair shake in the media:

“He’s been wrongly accused of so many things, but this is a way of keeping him down and keeping him ineffective. He’s just ruffling the feathers of people that are powerful. I always try to humanize him because people think he’s a robot or he’s a computer screen or he’s not this human being…He’s so misunderstood, especially in Hollywood, and really hated, because of the Clinton monopoly on the media.”

 

[StringerBell]

SMDH...

 

[StringerBell]