Day: February 12, 2017

Images of our community

Thursday Gov. Robert Bentley appointed Luther Strange, the Alabama attorney general, as Jeff Sessions’ replacement in the U.S. Senate. Sessions, a Republican senator from Mobile, was sworn in as U.S. attorney general on Thursday. Do you agree with Bentley’s selection of Strange?

Cheers and Jeers

Cheers to Gov. Tom Wolf for proposing an increase in Pennsylvania’s long-stagnant minimum wage from $7.25 to $12 per hour. It’s highly unlikely the Republican-controlled General Assembly will go that far, but perhaps the pressure of his proposal will impel legislators to grant a smaller increase in the ridiculously low wage standard, which has been in place for eight years.

Boise understands spirit of America; does Trump?

Memo to President Trump: You cannot fire federal judges or intimidate them with your tweets. They have lifetime appointments for a reason: so they can resist the pressures of politicians like you, bullies who think bluster and bravado will always get them what they want.

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson was A 200,000 in debt before she died

‘There was light terrorism at Nordstrom this week’: Melissa McCarthy is back as Sean Spicer – this time hawking Ivanka’s jewelry and shoes from the White House in SNL cold open ‘The US stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100%’: Trump and Japanese PM hold conference to denounce ‘absolutely intolerable’ North Korea missile test CBS anchor Josh Elliott ‘announced he’d been promoted and was leaving his show live on-air – but it was the first network bosses knew about it’ ‘Sorry I’m late, the reason I’m late is I’m going through a divorce’: United Airlines pilot is removed from flight after ‘ranting on the intercom about her marriage, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton’ Don’t text at the table, NEVER spear your food with the fork and avoid buying extravagant gifts in a new relationship: Etiquette guru reveals her top tips for Valentine’s Day A putt-ing miracle! Florida golfer uses his club to … (more)

Conservative View: Jennifer Rubin – The president’s princelings

In response to the president’s unprecedented attack on a company declining to do business with a family member, Nordstrom’s answered President Donald Trump’s accusation that it was treating Ivanka Trump unfairly. “To reiterate what we’ve already shared when asked, we made this decision based on performance,” the company said in a statement.

Your View: Senate is place for debate, not silenced members

A joy of studying and writing history is the excitement of immersing oneself in frightening or exciting times and then being able to escape back into normalcy by closing a book or shutting down the computer. Historians love to make connections between past and present; sometimes it’s a stretch, other times it’s eerily close.

Sunday Morning Bobblehead Thread

Clearly, Propaganda Barbie and Lyin’ Spicy Spice have been benched this Sunday. Either Trump is tired of giving SNL more material or the sheer cognitive dissonance of having to catapult the propaganda is so exhausting that even those two camera hogs needed a rest.

Ed Sheeran: I can’t wait to get hitched

Ed, who is rumoured to be headlining Glastonbury in June, said: “You have the wedding and everyone stands around for a while drinking champagne and there’s no food and everyone gets really, really drunk at like two o’clock. “I would have the wedding mid-afternoon and then just have food trucks.

[The Sacramento Bee] Trump’s conflicts are a scandal waiting to happen

President Donald Trump used his official Twitter account Wednesday to bash Nordstrom for “unfairly” dropping daughter Ivanka’s clothing line. “Terrible!” First lady Melania Trump sued a British newspaper for $150 million this week, claiming that a retracted story could cost her an “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to launch a multimillion-dollar brand.

[Other View] A Republican carbon tax

Some Republicans have grown tired of fighting the rest of the world on climate change. As economists, religious and military leaders, ordinary Americans and even oil companies have joined the push to lower greenhouse gas emissions, Republicans have, for the most part, resisted.

Hillary Clinton takes jab at Michael Flynn after he resigns

Hillary Clinton took to Twitter to weigh in on National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s resignation, and responded to a tweet suggesting that he get a new job at Domino’s. In the aftermath, Clinton’s former aide Phillipe Reines sent a tweet about the pizzeria gig in reference to #Pizzagate, a debunked conspiracy theory that alleged Clinton and her campaign ran a child-sex ring inside the DC restaurant Comet Ping Pong.

Conservatives worry budget bill will keep Planned Parenthood funded

Conservative lawmakers who are already worried that the Republican Party isn’t moving fast enough on Obamacare repeal are growing agitated about something else: that a provision to defund Planned Parenthood will get left out on the chopping block. GOP Rep. Jim Jordan, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, has publicly called on party leaders to take an immediate vote on a 2015 budget reconciliation bill that rolled back large chunks of the Affordable Care Act and stripped federal funding for Planned Parenthood .

David M. Shribman: Advice and consent – or combat?

Without issuing an opinion – no ruling on school desegregation, no decision on abortion rights – the Supreme Court is at the center of perhaps its gravest constitutional crisis in eight decades. The stakes could not be higher, the implications could not be greater, the consequences could not be more far-reaching.

Editorial: Kansas should expand Medicaid

Kansas is one of only 19 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and it’s long past time for the Legislature to extend health coverage to 150,000 low-income Kansans by passing House Bill 2064. After three days of testimony from advocates and opponents of expansion in front of the House Health and Human Services Committee, one thing is clear: There are far too many uninsured Kansans who have to live with the grim knowledge that any serious health issue could ruin them.

Esty to honor 6 leaders in Black History Month ceremony

To continue reading up to 10 premium articles, you must register , or sign up and take advantage of this exclusive offer: DANBURY – U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty will honor six African-American community leaders during her annual Black History Month ceremony. The six honorees include Joyce Petteway, of Waterbury, who has been active with the Waterbury NAACP; Rhudean Raye, of Meriden, one of the city’s first black teachers; Arthur Perry, of New Britain, who will be honored posthumously for his work as a union organizer; and Tebucky Jones, of New Britain, former New England Patriots player who now coaches New Britain High School’s football team.

Jay Cost: President Trump, be the president

Since he was sworn in as the 45th president, Mr. Trump has gotten into a spat with the media over the size of his inaugural crowd, was disrespectful toward the prime minister of Australia, took to Twitter to insult a federal judge, drew a moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, and called out Nordstrom for dropping Ivanka Trump’s clothing line. This kind of behavior is unbecoming of the president of the United States.

Russian reality: Playing straight with the bear, avoiding claws

In considering the evolution of U.S.-Russian ties it is important to remember that there are advantages to good relations with the bear, a neighbor visible with difficulty from Alaska. It is equally important to realize, as the Trump administration is beginning to understand, that it is not easy to achieve those good relations, given the nature of Russia and whoever governs it, whether Peter the Great or Vladimir Putin.