Immigration

Donkey Feed, August 25, 2018

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By Michael Bryan

Welcome to your Feed for the Weekend! Slip off your shoes and strap on the feedbag! It’s time for some Feed…

First a cool tool:

The Sunlight Foundation is compiling a comprehensive database of all of Donald Trump’s conflicts of interest. Warning: The list is huge! You can add to it if you become aware of further conflicts of interest.

Next, some graphical goodness (or actually, in this case, graphical bad news…): Are we in an “everything bubble” with  a wide range of asset classes being overvalued, including the stock market, corporate and government bonds, and real estate, due to a sustained quantitative easing and low interest rate binge at the Fed? Some say, “You bet we are.” Here’s some of the proof:

Looks a little scary, doesn’t it? Read the linked article; it only gets scarier.

Next, a great video of Democratic Texas Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke answering a tricky and sensitive question about the NFL protests with courage and tact. This guy deserves to be in the Senate:

Finally, a few beautiful books:

How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, by Jason Stanley, is in pre-order, which means I can’t read it yet, but it is a timely and critically important topic at this juncture in American politics when us versus them politics are ripping our nation apart. Drops on Sept. 4th.

Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime, by Ron Stallworth, is a true story, and now a major (and really good, I just watched it on the 23rd) motion picture by Spike Lee. It’s a hell of a story that once again has a great deal of resonance with current political events.

Now, just click on “Continue reading” and enjoy the rest of the Feed…

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Morally bankrupt GOP opts for another racist ‘Willie Horton’ style campaign in 2018

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While most of America on Tuesday was following news of Donald Trump’s former campaign manager being convicted by a jury on eight counts (and it would have been all 18 counts but for one rogue juror, Lone holdout on Manafort jury blocked conviction on all counts, juror says), and Trump’s former personal lawyer and consigliere (fixer) Michael Cohen pleading guilty to eight counts and implicating Donald Trump in two counts of campaign finance violations involving hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, the alternate universe of FAUX News aka Trump TV was reporting that authorities in Iowa filed charges against an undocumented immigrant in connection with a recovered body believed to be that of 20-year-old University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts, who disappeared from her home a month ago. Republicans want to make Mollie Tibbetts a household name:

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich emailed Axios‘ Mike Allen to make sure that we’d be covering this story, which Fox News led with on air and online Tuesday evening, ahead of the Cohen-Manafort news. His take: “If Mollie Tibbetts is a household name by October, Democrats will be in deep trouble. If we can be blocked by Manafort-Cohen, etc., then GOP could lose [the House] badly.”

Newt Gingrich, the spawn of Satan, is channeling GOP ratfucker Lee Atwater and the infamous Willie Horton campaign ad by George H.W. Bush in 1988.

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Lynsey Robinson will Fight for those Marginalized by Reactionary Conservatives in LD12

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Democratic LD 12 State House Candidate Lynsey Robinson

What do you get when you let a political party get the idea that they can win unopposed in any legislative district? You get extreme legislators who think they can support any extreme measure that goes against the public good or turns the clock back because the other major party will not muster any opposition.

This is what has happened in Legislative District 12 (and other districts that Democrats up until this year have neglected). Voters in the Gilbert, Queen Creek, and San Tan area have had to suffer extreme reactionary Republicans like Eddie Farnsworth, Travis Grantham, and Warren Pedersen. They have run unopposed in two of the last three elections on the House side while supporting measures that promote Dark Money interests, giving public dollars to private (and in some cases religious) entities and taking away the rights of women in particular and voters in general.

Fortunately, Democrats are finally woke and, like other legislative districts, are championing multiple gifted and forward-looking candidates who offer a pragmatic progressive vision for the people of LD 12. These candidates are Lynsey Robinson, Joe Bisaccia, and D.J. Rothans.

Over drinks at the IHOP on Power and Baseline, Ms. Robinson charismatically conveyed why she would be an effective progressive legislator for the people of LD 12.

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The Party of Lincoln Said…

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The Party of Lincoln said they are the party of family values despite promoting no policies (paid family leave and separating parents from children at the border for example) that support families. The Party of Lincoln said that they are the party of fiscal responsibility despite presiding over monetary policies that have taken our national … Read more

Donkey Feed, August 22nd, 2018

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By Michael Bryan

Welcome back to the Donkey Feed. Strap on your feedbag and slip your traces, time to relax and feed your mind.

First a cool tool for you: StampsLicked.org will take your personal message to your House or Senate critter and hand deliver it to your member on the Hill. This sort of communication is the most effective at actually influencing a congressperson, especially if it shares something personal from a constituent. Start putting a human face on policy issues today: FOR FREE! Donations are welcome on their website, but not mandatory.

Now for some graphical goodness. Why does America care so little about reproduction that we won’t give women (let alone men) paid time off work to do it (WaPo) when every other advanced nation (and many not-so-advanced ones) does so? I think this really would be a bigger issue if both political parties weren’t captured and captivated by the money of big corporate employers who will fight a new employee entitlement tooth and nail. To be fair, some Democrats have raised the issue, but none will run on it, and proposed legislation would only put us on par with Pakistan, South Africa, and Mexico. So much for valuing family…

How about reading a couple of books recommended by Barrack Obama?

“Educated: A Memoir“ by Tara Westover, is about a woman who leaves her survivalist, home-schooled, Idaho roots behind to become college educated; “An American Marriage: A Novel” (Oprah’s Book Club 2018 Selection) by Tayari Jones, is about a newlywed black attorney wrongly convicted of rape and the effect of the wrongful incarceration on his family.

Next up, a standard fundraising pitch, for just small, itty-bitty, teeny-tiny donation:





Support volunteer citizen journalism at the Blog for Arizona with a donation today. Your PayPal contribution keeps the Blog online and sustains a free press in Arizona.

Now, just click on “Continue reading” to enjoy the rest of your feed…

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