2017 - Page 89 of 105

A Border War

February 23, 2017March 17, 2017 Buck Banks

We knew Trump would be tough on immigration,
But lately there’s been an alarming escalation.
“We’re getting gang members out,
“We’re getting drug lords out,”
In what he refers to as a “military operation.”

Gift of ‘Facts’

February 23, 2017March 26, 2017 Buck Banks

Of late, Donald Trump’s been emboldened
To call media “fake news” and to scold ’em.
But when a reporter asked
Where he got his Electoral College “facts,”
Trump said it was something somebody just gave him.

The Resistance Is Ascendant

February 23, 2017 Buck Banks

If Trump has a plan to crush his adversaries, he has not yet revealed it. His authoritarian rage thus far is mostly impotent, the president as angry Fox-News-watching grandfather screaming threats at his television that he never carries out. The danger to the republic may come later, or never. In the first month of Trump’s presidency, the resistance has the upper hand.

— Jonathan Chait

Let It Shine

February 23, 2017March 17, 2017 Buck Banks

Trump’s media attacks are characterized by harshness,
And his “enemy” meme is starting to stick to the press.
But the media mainstream
Now has it’s own meme —
WaPo’s new tagline: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”

Trump Owns 3,643 Domain Names

February 23, 2017 Buck Banks

3,643

“Before he reached the White House, Trump’s company had laid claim to at least 3,643 website domains,” according to internet records gathered by CNNMoney. Washington Post: “The bulk of the names are not surprising. DonaldTrumpRoomFragrance.com, CelebrityApprenticePoker.com and Trump.cheap are the sort of sites you’d want to reserve if you, too, owned an octopus-like consortium of restaurants, casinos, real estate, perfumes, steaks, wines, companies and brands of every kind. But what’s TrumpArmy.com about?”

Two-Thirds Worry U.S. Will Get Into a Major War

February 23, 2017 Buck Banks

66%

A new NBC News|SurveyMonkey poll finds that 66% of Americans are worried that the United States will become engaged in a major war in the next four years while 33% are not worried.

Narrow Majority of Trump Voters See Press as Enemy

February 23, 2017 Buck Banks

51%

A new HuffPost/YouGov survey finds “most Trump voters, 51%, say the media is an enemy to people like them, according to the poll, with 36% considering the media unfriendly, and just 5% saying it’s friendly or an ally. Overall, 22% of Americans consider the media an enemy to people like them, with 19% saying it’s unfriendly, 21% that it’s friendly, and 14% that it’s an ally.”

Threats to Jewish Centers Increasing Nationwide

February 21, 2017 Buck Banks

11

“In the wake of 11 new threats today against Jewish centers, from New York to New Mexico, the FBI said it is investigating, along with the Department of Justice, bomb threats to the centers across the country,” ABC News reports. “Federal authorities are looking into threats communicated to at least 60 Jewish centers around the country this year. The threats started in January and the FBI began investigating later that same month.”

McCain: A Free Press Protects Against Dictators

February 21, 2017 Buck Banks

If you want to preserve — I’m very serious now — if you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That’s how dictators get started.

— Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), slamming President Trump’s attacks on the media this week, CNN reports.

Priebus Rails Against Anonymous Sources

February 21, 2017 Buck Banks

I think that the media should stop with this unnamed source stuff. Put names on a piece of paper and print it. If people aren’t willing to put their name next to a quote, then the quote shouldn’t be listed.

Year: 2017

A Border War

Gift of ‘Facts’

The Resistance Is Ascendant

— Jonathan Chait

Let It Shine

Trump Owns 3,643 Domain Names

3,643

Two-Thirds Worry U.S. Will Get Into a Major War

66%

A new NBC News|SurveyMonkey poll finds that 66% of Americans are worried that the United States will become engaged in a major war in the next four years while 33% are not worried.

Narrow Majority of Trump Voters See Press as Enemy

51%

Threats to Jewish Centers Increasing Nationwide

11

McCain: A Free Press Protects Against Dictators

If you want to preserve — I’m very serious now — if you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That’s how dictators get started.

— Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), slamming President Trump’s attacks on the media this week, CNN reports.

Priebus Rails Against Anonymous Sources

I think that the media should stop with this unnamed source stuff. Put names on a piece of paper and print it. If people aren’t willing to put their name next to a quote, then the quote shouldn’t be listed.

— Reince Priebus, in an interview with CBS News.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

A new Fox News Poll finds 71% of voters think the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the Iran War, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents, and 43% of Republicans. Sixty percent say U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision, while just 37% say it was right.

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.