December 28, 2017

Moore refuses to concede after Jones certified winner

BY AVERY ANAPOL - 12/28/17 04:17 PM EST

Roy Moore is refusing to concede the Alabama Senate special election, even after Democratic opponent Doug Jones’s victory was made official by the state.

Moore issued a statement on Thursday reiterating his claims that voter fraud caused him to lose the election.

"Election fraud experts across the country have agreed that this was a fraudulent election,” Moore said in his statement. "I’ve had to fight not only the Democrats but also the Republican Senate Leadership Fund and over $50 million in opposition spending from the Washington establishment.”

Alabama officials certified Jones’s victory earlier Thursday, despite Moore’s claims of voter fraud.

more
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/366716-moore-refuses-to-concede-after-jones-declared-winner

December 28, 2017

Quiet jockeying for McCain seat angers Republicans

BY REID WILSON - 12/28/17 03:11 PM EST

PHOENIX — Ambitious Republicans anxious for a shot at a U.S. Senate seat have begun quietly jockeying to be appointed as the successor to Sen. John McCain (R), even as he battles an aggressive form of brain cancer.

The lobbying campaigns, described to The Hill by half a dozen GOP strategists and aides, have angered many Republicans, who see any public chatter as disrespectful to a senator who has helped shape modern Arizona.

Chief among those upset is the man who would make an appointment, Gov. Doug Ducey (R), who issued a brushback pitch during a radio appearance last week.

“I have found it a little bit off color, some of the prognosticators and pundits who have been making these predictions as to the senator's outcome. I think people should be praying for him and rooting for him,” Ducey told KTAR radio. “To the politicians out there that have been openly lobbying for this position, they've basically disqualified themselves by showing their true character.” Observers in Phoenix interpreted Ducey’s comments as a shot at three politicians who have been open about their interest in a Senate seat: Rep. Paul Gosar (R), former state Sen. Kelli Ward (R) and former Rep. Matt Salmon (R).

more
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/366699-quiet-jockeying-for-mccain-seat-angers-republicans

December 28, 2017

Trump, The Insurgent, Breaks With 70 Years Of American Foreign Policy

President Trump has transformed the world’s view of the United States from an anchor of the international order into something more inward-looking and unpredictable.

By MARK LANDLERDEC. 28, 2017

WASHINGTON — President Trump was already revved up when he emerged from his limousine to visit NATO’s new headquarters in Brussels last May. He had just met France’s recently elected president, Emmanuel Macron, whom he greeted with a white-knuckle handshake and a complaint that Europeans do not pay their fair share of the alliance’s costs.

On the long walk through the NATO building’s cathedral-like atrium, the president’s anger grew. He looked at the polished floors and shimmering glass walls with a property developer’s eye. (“It’s all glass,” he said later. “One bomb could take it out.”) By the time he reached an outdoor plaza where he was to speak to the other NATO leaders, Mr. Trump was fuming, according to two aides who were with him that day.

He was there to dedicate the building, but instead he took a shot at it.

“I never asked once what the new NATO headquarters cost,” Mr. Trump told the leaders, his voice thick with sarcasm. “I refuse to do that. But it is beautiful.” His visceral reaction to the $1.2 billion building, more than anything else, colored his first encounter with the alliance, aides said.

Nearly a year into his presidency, Mr. Trump remains an erratic, idiosyncratic leader on the global stage, an insurgent who attacks allies the United States has nurtured since World War II and who can seem more at home with America’s adversaries. His Twitter posts, delivered without warning or consultation, often make a mockery of his administration’s policies and subvert the messages his emissaries are trying to deliver abroad.

more
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/us/politics/trump-world-diplomacy.html?emc=edit_ta_20171228&nl=top-stories&nlid=57435284&ref=headline&_r=0

December 28, 2017

Interior announcement that Rosebud mine expansion has been approved wasn't true

Source: Billings Gazette




MATT HUDSON [email protected] 1 hr ago

The Interior Department's announcement of approval for a large Eastern Montana coal mine expansion turned out to be false.

Interior spokeswoman Heather Swift walked back her previous announcement, reported by the Associated Press, that an expansion of Westmoreland Coal Company's Rosebud Mine near Colstrip received the green light.

"A previous statement by the Department that it had approved the expansion of the mine was incorrect and was the result of an internal miscommunication," Swift said in an email to The Gazette.

Though the expansion didn't receive final approval, a draft environmental impact statement is set to be released to the public, Swift said.



Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/interior-announcement-that-rosebud-mine-expansion-has-been-approved-wasn/article_f23894c6-dbdc-5ba7-b45f-1279de85a109.html

December 28, 2017

Guidelines for news-watching and staying sane in 2018 - By Jennifer Rubin

By Jennifer Rubin December 28 at 1:00 PM

For political-watchers, news media, political operatives, candidates and officials, 2017 was — let’s be honest — exhausting. The constant churn of news, the unending assaults on our sense of decency and expectations for government officials, the carousel of White House advisers (“according to Kathryn Dunn-Tenpas, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who has tracked White House turnover rates over three decades, the Trump administration’s 34% turnover rate—21 of the 61 senior officials she has tracked have resigned, been fired or reassigned—is much higher than that of any other administration in the last 40 years”), the barrage of presidential tweets, the nonstop Trump rationalization and water-carrying from Senate and House Republicans, the twists and turns of the Russia investigation, a series of high-drama special elections, the near-death experience of Obamacare, the ups and downs of the noxious tax bill designed to enrich President Trump and his ilk, the roiling of international relations, the president’s disgusting embrace of autocrats and the endless lies left many Americans drained. Anger — even righteous anger — experienced over a long period of time is exhausting. The solution, however, is not to be less outraged — indeed, sustaining outrage is essential to defense of our democracy — but to follow some simple political survival rules.

First, follow the example of Lawfare blog’s Ben Wittes. Seeing the unprecedented and outrageous attacks on the FBI emanating from Trump and his GOP lackeys, Wittes decided to turn the tables on the FBI smearers. “I responded by making a contribution to the FBI Agents Association and tweeting urging others to do so in the names of Andrew McCabe and James Baker,” he says via email in reference to the maligned FBI deputy director and FBI counsel, respectively. “According to the association, more than 2,000 people have done so this month, apparently raising more than $140,000–which they describe as a significant uptick in their donations from last year.” He pointed out, “The effort also generated a significant amount of news coverage and media attention (Joe Scarborough tweeted it) and got major buy-in from senior intelligence community leadership.” He tweeted that he is looking at “a Proposal to Translate Malicious Trump Tweets into Public Goods.” Follow Wittes for more joint efforts — or start your own. You’ll find that passive news-watching may be enervating, but action is energizing.

Second, stop expecting Republicans in Congress to “do the right thing.” Too many spent too much time waiting for the moment when Republicans “would finally break with Trump.” There is no utterance, tweet, action, policy or financial chicanery likely to prompt action by Republicans. A devastating report from the special counsel? Don’t count on Republicans to take it seriously. Once you’ve made peace with that, you can focus on the real action: holding those Republicans accountable in the 2018 elections.

Third, we’ve already advised to stop paying attention to Rust Belt diners and start focusing on suburban, college-educated women. (Others are now in on the act.) You can spare yourself the frustration of watching the same 25 percent of the electorate, seeped in Fox News drivel, refuse to acknowledge reality. They’re not going to confess that they were conned or they were wrong. They will continue to revel in their own ignorance. So be it.

Fourth, Trump’s personnel changes hardly matter at all. Trump did not get more sane, more stable or more astute when John Kelly replaced Reince Priebus as chief of staff. No one in a position of power can or will challenge Trump; there are only less or more adept enablers. Aside from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, the departure of any senior official(s) — including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson — won’t significantly impact the direction of the administration. New officials could be worse, to be sure. If CIA Director Mike Pompeo is replaced by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a ruthlessly ambitious and sycophantic Trump supporter, great damage could be done to the agency. However, don’t expect any new addition or replacement to markedly improve the administration.

Fifth, thank goodness the media has stopped announcing that Trump has finally become more presidential. There are no pivots, no turning points. Trump does not learn, improve or mature. Whatever glimmer of rationality and decency we spot will be either illusory or fleeting. Save yourself the disappointment and accept that, if anything, the pressure of the presidency will further destabilize Trump’s psyche.

In sum, turn anger into action; lower or eliminate expectations for Republicans; stop fixating on the core Trump cultists; don’t expect new personnel to improve matters and understand that Trump will never become an acceptable president. Once you’ve done all that, you can focus energy on the 2018 midterms (where all the action is), support those candidates and organizations that reflect your values, remain engaged in your community, model good citizenship and civility for your family and friends, and remember, as we saw in the presently tied Virginia House of Delegates race, your vote may be the deciding one.

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Full article posted with permission

December 28, 2017

POLL: Mark Cuban could beat Trump in 2020 in Texas

Source: Business Insider



Allan Smith

2h

A Thursday poll from the left-leaning Public Policy Polling showed billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, if he were to run as a Democrat in 2020, beating President Donald Trump in a prospective race in deep-red Texas.

The poll, provided exclusively to Business Insider, found Cuban beating Trump by a 47% to 44% spread. A Democrat has not won a presidential election in Texas since former President Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Cuban, the owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, made a name for himself in Texas both in business and as an outspoken owner of one of the state's three NBA franchises. He's teased a run for 2020 throughout most of 2017, but has hinted that he would be more likely to run as a Republican candidate than as a Democrat, even though he backed 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during the general election campaign. Previous polls from PPP found Cuban leading Trump nationally, but by a smaller margin.

Asked about the results, Cuban said in an email to Business Insider that the poll "just proves people are bored ."

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Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/poll-shows-mark-cuban-beating-trump-in-texas-2017-12

December 28, 2017

Court upholds $135K fine against Sweet Cakes owners

Source: KOIN-TV




The cake shop refused to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding

KOIN 6 News Staff
Published: December 28, 2017, 9:59 am Updated: December 28, 2017, 10:21 am

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Oregon Court of Appeals decided Thursday to uphold the $135,000 fine issued to the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa who refused to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding in 2013.

Aaron and Melissa Klein, who closed the cake shop in October 2016, appealed the fine to the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries in March. They argued the fine violated their rights as artists to free speech, their rights as Oregonians to religious freedom and their rights as defendants to a due process.

The couple already paid the fine in December 2015, however, the Bureau of Labor and Industries was holding onto the money until all the appeals were settled. The bakery owners made national headlines after they refused to bake a cake for Laurel and Rachel Bowman-Cryer in February 2013. They said their refusal was prompted by religious beliefs.

Due to the backlash, the couple closed their Gresham store in 2013 and ran the business out of their home until 2016.

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Read more: http://koin.com/2017/12/28/court-upholds-135k-fine-against-sweet-cakes-owners/

December 28, 2017

MSNBC reporter at tax office: People with wheelchairs and crutches are rushing to avoid Trump's tax

MSNBC reporter at tax office: People with wheelchairs and crutches are rushing in to avoid Trump’s tax hike





https://www.rawstory.com/2017/12/msnbc-reporter-at-tax-office-people-with-wheelchairs-and-crutches-are-rushing-in-to-avoid-trumps-tax-hike/

December 28, 2017

Alabama certifies Jones Senate victory

Source: The Hill



BY BEN KAMISAR - 12/28/17 02:11 PM EST

Alabama has officially certified Democrat Doug Jones's victory in the recent special Senate election, confirming that he'll be the first Democrat to represent the state in the Senate in decades.

The certification, made by top Alabama officials on Thursday afternoon, comes over the protests of Republican Roy Moore, who lost to Jones by about 1.5 percentage points but claims that massive voter fraud tipped the scales.

Gov. Kay Ivey, Secretary of State John Merrill and Attorney General Steve Marshall signed the official certification at 1:10 p.m. on Thursday, officially declaring Jones the winner.

The official declaration brings to an end an unusual election, one that continued to make headlines for weeks after votes were cast.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/366697-alabama-certifies-jones-senate-victory

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Alabama certifies Doug Jones’s victory over Roy Moore in Senate election

By David Weigel December 28 at 2:12 PM

Alabama has certified the result of Doug Jones’s upset Senate victory, clearing the Democrat’s path to Washington just hours after his Republican rival filed a lawsuit asking for a new election.

On Thursday afternoon, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, Attorney General Steve Marshall and Secretary of State John Merrill – all Republicans – signed off on election results from all 67 counties. After late-counted provisional and military ballots were added to the total, Jones defeated Republican nominee Roy Moore by 21,924 votes out of more than 1.3 million cast.

Moore, the first Republican to lose a Senate race in Alabama since 1992, had attempted to stop that vote from being counted. Late Wednesday night, the former state judge filed a legal complaint alleging “election fraud,” and asked the state to consider holding a new election. But shortly before the official certification, Montgomery Circuit Judge Johnny Hardwick denied Moore’s request to stop the process.

In the complaint, filed in state court, Moore’s campaign argued that Alabama would “suffer irreparable harm if the election results are certified without preserving and investigating all the evidence of potential fraud.”

Moore’s campaign cited rumors of election fraud that had already been investigated and refuted by the Alabama secretary of state, argued that high Democratic turnout in key areas was statistically unlikely, and reported that Moore himself had taken a polygraph test — an attempt to disprove allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances on teenagers when he was in his 30s.

Moore’s lawyers filed the complaint at 10:33 p.m. Wednesday night, and announced it to reporters less than two hours later. Early Thursday morning, Merrill’s office said that it would move ahead with the election certification unless ordered to do otherwise.

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/12/28/roy-moore-asks-alabama-court-for-a-new-election

December 28, 2017

The Latest: Judge rejects Moore's attempt to finalize vote

Source: Associated Press

9 minutes ago

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. Senate race in Alabama (all times local):

12:30 p.m.

An Alabama judge has rejected Roy Moore’s attempt to stop the state from making his defeat official in Alabama’s special Senate election.

Montgomery Circuit Judge Johnny Hardwick on Thursday denied Moore’s attempt to delay the certification of votes while Moore’s claims of voting irregularities are investigated. Democrat Doug Jones is expected to be certified as the winner Thursday afternoon. Moore had filed a lawsuit late Wednesday night in an 11th-hour attempt to stop Alabama from certifying Jones as the winner.

Moore’s attorney wrote in the lawsuit that he believed there were irregularities and said there should be a fraud investigation and eventually a new election.

Alabama election officials say they found no evidence of fraud.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/0cac14b238da45e0942d039dbe01ded6?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP