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welcome to reality trivia
reality is the state of things as they actually exist
July 23, 2019
Real News Today
July 23, 2019
*Black couple’s marriage proposal party interrupted multiple times by white security guards accusing them of theft(Amerikkkans)
*David Gregory Gets Regular Gig At CNN; Immediately Makes Excuses For GOP Racism
(Worthless Media)
*Britain’s New Prime Minister Is Nationalist, Racist and Vain. Sound Familiar?
(World)
*Motor neurone disease researchers find link to microbes in gut
(Currents)
*Peak fire season is near and the federal government is short hundreds of firefighters
(Reality)
(for previous day's articles see "what's inside" below)
comment/tweet of the day
Lex: It appears that British conservatives are just as stupid as American conservatives. In their zest to protect the oligarchs, they have chosen to elect another fool as their leader. The incompetence/cowardliness of former PM May will now be continued by Boris Johnson. Sad!!
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The dysfunctional state of America: The majority of American families living below the poverty line qualify for the classification of “working poor,” meaning that one or more members of the household are employed. Income is often attached to educational attainment, and the United States currently ranks seventh in literacy among the world’s nations. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that 50 percent of U.S. adults cannot read a book written at an eighth-grade level.(America)
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Lex: conservatives use racism, lies, and voter ignorance to protect oligarchs while moderate/sellout democrats are cowards who fear progress, lack ideas, and consort with conservatives to protect the oligarchs.
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George Carlin: Ignorant people elect ignorant leaders!!!
opinion: Boris Johnson: the clown is crowned as the country burns in hell
It’s 33C in London, 0.2% of the nation has spoken and a DUDE has lied his way about bananas and condoms to high office
Hannah Jane Parkinson - The Guardian
Tue 23 Jul 2019 15.45 BST
Well, here we are then. Someone who could easily be rejected as a Guess Who character for looking too ridiculous is now to lead the country. A man whose DNA profile is the exact same as a Bernard Manning joke. A man who mentioned the 20 hustings he had taken part in, approximately 30 seconds after Conservative party chairman Brandon Lewis talked of the 16 hustings held.
With 8,000 members of the Johnson family watching on – and Jeremy Hunt, looking for all the world like a sub who’s never gonna get off the bench and knows it – Boris Johnson was announced as the new leader of the Conservative party, and, in short order, the new prime minister. Elected by a staggering 0.2% of the nation, we can’t say it isn’t the will of the people.
It’s quite extraordinary, isn’t it, when the new leader of the country opens his inaugural speech with: “There may be people here who wonder quite what they have done!” – having to address the fact that many people in the room are coming to terms with the fact they’ve got shit on their shoe.
“Do you look daunted?!” he boomed, “You don’t look remotely daunted to me!” Which was met with a Spectoresque wall of silence, a number of faces as white as Elizabeth I’s, and a solitary cry of: “No!”. Probably from Matt Hancock, who has the sucking-up power of a Dyson, but not one of those ones with balls.
Johnson’s speech wasn’t so much circuitous as re-routed entirely around the North Circular. In the most excruciating moment, he mentioned that “Deliver, Unite, Defeat” was not the greatest campaign slogan he might have chosen, because it spelled out “DUD”. You just know that he came up with that campaign slogan purely so that he could make this quip, which wasn’t even good. He then added an extra letter, E, for “energise”, saying: “DUDE, we are going to energise this country!”
I have never, ever wanted to DIE more. How about a different brand, Boris? I’m thinking more: “Dithering, Idiot, Clown, Klutz.” You see, Johnson can’t even negotiate with his own hands to clap properly, let alone with an entire European bloc:..
I don’t really know what to say myself. I don’t understand how a man can lie his way about bananas and condoms to high office. I don’t understand how a man whose entire prep for anything seems to consist of drawing a cock and balls – but in Latin! – on a sheet of paper, ends up in high office.
I don’t understand how a man can be recorded offering to facilitate the assault of a journalist and reach high office. I don’t understand how a man can be fired twice for cavalierly making stuff up and reach high office. I don’t understand how a man whose entire personality is a job-lot sold off from a closing down joke shop can reach high office. A racist, an inveterate liar, a man who makes Machiavelli look misunderstood and Pinocchio button-nosed.
It’s 33C outside in London. You can’t tell whether people are crying or sweating. We can’t do anything until we get a say – which, this time, we did not. So we beat on, against the sun, borne back ceaselessly into hell.
With 8,000 members of the Johnson family watching on – and Jeremy Hunt, looking for all the world like a sub who’s never gonna get off the bench and knows it – Boris Johnson was announced as the new leader of the Conservative party, and, in short order, the new prime minister. Elected by a staggering 0.2% of the nation, we can’t say it isn’t the will of the people.
It’s quite extraordinary, isn’t it, when the new leader of the country opens his inaugural speech with: “There may be people here who wonder quite what they have done!” – having to address the fact that many people in the room are coming to terms with the fact they’ve got shit on their shoe.
“Do you look daunted?!” he boomed, “You don’t look remotely daunted to me!” Which was met with a Spectoresque wall of silence, a number of faces as white as Elizabeth I’s, and a solitary cry of: “No!”. Probably from Matt Hancock, who has the sucking-up power of a Dyson, but not one of those ones with balls.
Johnson’s speech wasn’t so much circuitous as re-routed entirely around the North Circular. In the most excruciating moment, he mentioned that “Deliver, Unite, Defeat” was not the greatest campaign slogan he might have chosen, because it spelled out “DUD”. You just know that he came up with that campaign slogan purely so that he could make this quip, which wasn’t even good. He then added an extra letter, E, for “energise”, saying: “DUDE, we are going to energise this country!”
I have never, ever wanted to DIE more. How about a different brand, Boris? I’m thinking more: “Dithering, Idiot, Clown, Klutz.” You see, Johnson can’t even negotiate with his own hands to clap properly, let alone with an entire European bloc:..
I don’t really know what to say myself. I don’t understand how a man can lie his way about bananas and condoms to high office. I don’t understand how a man whose entire prep for anything seems to consist of drawing a cock and balls – but in Latin! – on a sheet of paper, ends up in high office.
I don’t understand how a man can be recorded offering to facilitate the assault of a journalist and reach high office. I don’t understand how a man can be fired twice for cavalierly making stuff up and reach high office. I don’t understand how a man whose entire personality is a job-lot sold off from a closing down joke shop can reach high office. A racist, an inveterate liar, a man who makes Machiavelli look misunderstood and Pinocchio button-nosed.
It’s 33C outside in London. You can’t tell whether people are crying or sweating. We can’t do anything until we get a say – which, this time, we did not. So we beat on, against the sun, borne back ceaselessly into hell.
Trump administration pursues rule that would remove 3.1 million people from food stamps
Tom Polansek - Reuters
7/22/19
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Tuesday will propose a rule to tighten food stamp restrictions that would cut about 3.1 million people from the program, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials said.
Currently, 43 U.S. states allow residents to automatically become eligible for food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, if they receive benefits from another federal program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, according to the USDA.
But the agency wants to require people who receive TANF benefits to pass a review of their income and assets to determine whether they are eligible for free food from SNAP, officials said.
If enacted, the rule would save the federal government about $2.5 billion a year by removing people from SNAP, according to the USDA.
U.S. President Donald Trump has argued that many Americans now using SNAP do not need it given the strong economy and low unemployment, and should be removed as a way to save taxpayers as much as $15 billion.
“Some states are taking advantage of loopholes that allow people to receive the SNAP benefits who would otherwise not qualify and for which they are not entitled,” USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters on a conference call on Monday.
SNAP provides free food to some 40 million Americans, or about 12% of the total U.S. population.
A Trump-backed effort to pass new restrictions through the Farm Bill was blocked by Congress last year, following a months-long, partisan debate.
The USDA does not need congressional approval, however, to stop states from automatically allowing recipients of TANF benefits to become eligible for SNAP, said Brandon Lipps, a USDA acting deputy undersecretary.
Current rules allow people to access SNAP benefits worth thousands of dollars for two years without going through robust eligibility reviews, he told reporters on the call.
“Unfortunately, automatic eligibility has expanded to allow even millionaires and others who simply receive a TANF-funded brochure to become eligible for SNAP when they clearly don’t need it,” Lipps said.
The USDA will accept public comment on the proposed rule change.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in December estimated the rule could save the federal government $8.1 billion from 2019 to 2028, lower than the USDA’s estimate.
In 2016, the CBO said arguments against the change included concerns that it would eliminate benefits for households in difficult financial situations and increase the complexity and time involved in verifying information on SNAP applications.
Currently, 43 U.S. states allow residents to automatically become eligible for food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, if they receive benefits from another federal program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, according to the USDA.
But the agency wants to require people who receive TANF benefits to pass a review of their income and assets to determine whether they are eligible for free food from SNAP, officials said.
If enacted, the rule would save the federal government about $2.5 billion a year by removing people from SNAP, according to the USDA.
U.S. President Donald Trump has argued that many Americans now using SNAP do not need it given the strong economy and low unemployment, and should be removed as a way to save taxpayers as much as $15 billion.
“Some states are taking advantage of loopholes that allow people to receive the SNAP benefits who would otherwise not qualify and for which they are not entitled,” USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters on a conference call on Monday.
SNAP provides free food to some 40 million Americans, or about 12% of the total U.S. population.
A Trump-backed effort to pass new restrictions through the Farm Bill was blocked by Congress last year, following a months-long, partisan debate.
The USDA does not need congressional approval, however, to stop states from automatically allowing recipients of TANF benefits to become eligible for SNAP, said Brandon Lipps, a USDA acting deputy undersecretary.
Current rules allow people to access SNAP benefits worth thousands of dollars for two years without going through robust eligibility reviews, he told reporters on the call.
“Unfortunately, automatic eligibility has expanded to allow even millionaires and others who simply receive a TANF-funded brochure to become eligible for SNAP when they clearly don’t need it,” Lipps said.
The USDA will accept public comment on the proposed rule change.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in December estimated the rule could save the federal government $8.1 billion from 2019 to 2028, lower than the USDA’s estimate.
In 2016, the CBO said arguments against the change included concerns that it would eliminate benefits for households in difficult financial situations and increase the complexity and time involved in verifying information on SNAP applications.
There’s no such thing as ‘Trumpism’. They’re Republicans.
They spent 40 years fostering the party they have now. They Built That.
Here’s how lawyers enabling Trump’s obstruction can have their livelihoods stripped from them — by anyone
July 21, 2019
By Tom Boggioni - Raw Story
In a column for the Daily Beast, a former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives laid out a simple way to force lawyers advising aides to Donald Trump to defy Congressional subpoenas — or avoiding one themselves — to stop giving bad advice by moving to have them disbarred.
According to Brad Miller, who represented North Carolina in Congress between 2003 and 2013, the way in which former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment was handled — and the penalty he eventually received — is a road map for legal retaliation even if Democrats in Congress won’t do it.
Pointing out the numerous lawyers in the Trump administration who have refused to comply with subpoenas and answer lawmaker’s questions, Miller suggests formal complaints can be lodged with the Bar that can lead to disciplinary action or even disbarment.
Citing the Clinton case, Miller points out, “The Senate decided that Bill Clinton’s false testimony in the special prosecutor’s investigation and the Paula Jones lawsuit did not merit removal from office, but the false testimony was not without consequence. At the end of his presidency, Clinton made a deal that federal prosecutors would not prosecute him for perjury or obstruction of justice, and he would give up his law license.”
“The Arkansas Supreme Court suspended Clinton’s license for five years, and the United States Supreme Court disbarred him. Clinton had no plans to practice law in Arkansas or elsewhere, of course, and never sought reinstatement,” he recalled.
According to the ex-lawmaker, a referral to the Bar need not come from Congress — it can come from anyone.
“Who can file a grievance with the District of Columbia Bar,” he wrote. “All God’s children. Members of the House OGR [Oversight] Committee can; the lawyers in the citizenship question lawsuit can; anyone can.”
He then added a caveat.
“Perjury is tough to prove and should be. Witnesses are very rarely prosecuted for perjury for testimony that is disbelieved and even more rarely convicted,” he wrote. “Professional misconduct by lawyers is a different matter. It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to ‘engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation,’ or ‘conduct that seriously interferes with the administration of justice.'”
“Professional misconduct must be proved by ‘clear and convincing evidence,’ a tough standard but not nearly as tough as proof ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ required for a criminal conviction,” he concluded.
You can read more here (subscription required)
According to Brad Miller, who represented North Carolina in Congress between 2003 and 2013, the way in which former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment was handled — and the penalty he eventually received — is a road map for legal retaliation even if Democrats in Congress won’t do it.
Pointing out the numerous lawyers in the Trump administration who have refused to comply with subpoenas and answer lawmaker’s questions, Miller suggests formal complaints can be lodged with the Bar that can lead to disciplinary action or even disbarment.
Citing the Clinton case, Miller points out, “The Senate decided that Bill Clinton’s false testimony in the special prosecutor’s investigation and the Paula Jones lawsuit did not merit removal from office, but the false testimony was not without consequence. At the end of his presidency, Clinton made a deal that federal prosecutors would not prosecute him for perjury or obstruction of justice, and he would give up his law license.”
“The Arkansas Supreme Court suspended Clinton’s license for five years, and the United States Supreme Court disbarred him. Clinton had no plans to practice law in Arkansas or elsewhere, of course, and never sought reinstatement,” he recalled.
According to the ex-lawmaker, a referral to the Bar need not come from Congress — it can come from anyone.
“Who can file a grievance with the District of Columbia Bar,” he wrote. “All God’s children. Members of the House OGR [Oversight] Committee can; the lawyers in the citizenship question lawsuit can; anyone can.”
He then added a caveat.
“Perjury is tough to prove and should be. Witnesses are very rarely prosecuted for perjury for testimony that is disbelieved and even more rarely convicted,” he wrote. “Professional misconduct by lawyers is a different matter. It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to ‘engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation,’ or ‘conduct that seriously interferes with the administration of justice.'”
“Professional misconduct must be proved by ‘clear and convincing evidence,’ a tough standard but not nearly as tough as proof ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ required for a criminal conviction,” he concluded.
You can read more here (subscription required)
Fox & Friends is so excited about $2.13 an hour minimum wage jobs for tipped workers
July 23, 2019
By David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement - Raw Story
“Fox & Friends” Tuesday morning spent several minutes discussing minimum wage jobs for tipped workers. Co-host Brian Kilmeade boasted he had five to seven tipped minimum wage jobs when he was young, calling each “one of the best jobs you can have.”
“I started as a bus boy, I used to bus, clear the tables, and we used to rotate washing the dishes, and at the end of the day you pool your tips. It’s one of the best jobs you can have when you’re breaking in,” Kilmeade insisted, because “you don’t even expect that check. It’s almost a surprise when you get a $60 or $70 check at the end of the week,” in addition to tips.
$60 or $70 isn’t even lunch money to people in Kilmeade’s income bracket. He reportedly makes $4 million per year, and has a net worth of $8 million.
Later, host Steve Doocy tried to discredit Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for saying the federal minimum wage should be even higher than the $15 per hour the House just passed – she says it should be “$18 to $20 an hour at this point.”
But Doocy, who has a long and ugly history of attacking attempts to raise the minimum wage – including citing out-of-date studies to make his points – was forced to admit he was unaware of just how low minimum wage is for tipped employees, like restaurant workers.
“Currently, and I did not realize this, the federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13 an hour,” Doocy said Tuesday morning.
He quickly followed up with a report, gloating that presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will start to pay campaign employees $15 an hour, “but he’s going to have to cut back their hours, because they can’t afford it.”
“I started as a bus boy, I used to bus, clear the tables, and we used to rotate washing the dishes, and at the end of the day you pool your tips. It’s one of the best jobs you can have when you’re breaking in,” Kilmeade insisted, because “you don’t even expect that check. It’s almost a surprise when you get a $60 or $70 check at the end of the week,” in addition to tips.
$60 or $70 isn’t even lunch money to people in Kilmeade’s income bracket. He reportedly makes $4 million per year, and has a net worth of $8 million.
Later, host Steve Doocy tried to discredit Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for saying the federal minimum wage should be even higher than the $15 per hour the House just passed – she says it should be “$18 to $20 an hour at this point.”
But Doocy, who has a long and ugly history of attacking attempts to raise the minimum wage – including citing out-of-date studies to make his points – was forced to admit he was unaware of just how low minimum wage is for tipped employees, like restaurant workers.
“Currently, and I did not realize this, the federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13 an hour,” Doocy said Tuesday morning.
He quickly followed up with a report, gloating that presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will start to pay campaign employees $15 an hour, “but he’s going to have to cut back their hours, because they can’t afford it.”
Neighbors in Nashville suburb form human chain to prevent ICE from taking man into custody
July 22, 2019
By Alex Henderson, AlterNet - Raw Story
In a Nashville suburb, an ICE agent’a attempt to take a man into custody on Monday morning proved unsuccessful when the man’s neighbors formed a human chain.
An agent for the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Nashville’s WVTF Channel 5 (a CBS affiliate), attempted to detain the man in Hermitage, Tennessee, which is about ten miles from Downtown Nashville.
The man had entered his van with his son when the agent blocked them in, and neighbors responded by bringing them water and wet rags. After the neighbors formed a human chain, the man and his son were able to escape and enter their home — which the ICE agent was not authorized to enter.
The agent had an administrative warrant, which allows an ICE agent to detain someone but not to remove them from a home or vehicle by force. Unable to detain the man, the ICE agent left.
The incident was broadcast online by the man’s neighbors on Facebook Live.
An agent for the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Nashville’s WVTF Channel 5 (a CBS affiliate), attempted to detain the man in Hermitage, Tennessee, which is about ten miles from Downtown Nashville.
The man had entered his van with his son when the agent blocked them in, and neighbors responded by bringing them water and wet rags. After the neighbors formed a human chain, the man and his son were able to escape and enter their home — which the ICE agent was not authorized to enter.
The agent had an administrative warrant, which allows an ICE agent to detain someone but not to remove them from a home or vehicle by force. Unable to detain the man, the ICE agent left.
The incident was broadcast online by the man’s neighbors on Facebook Live.
Bites from Real News
*7/23/2019*
*ZERO TOLERANCE Asylum Seekers That Followed Trump Rule Now Don’t Qualify Because of New Trump Rule
Migrants hoping for U.S. protection have been waiting in Mexico for months, as the U.S. allowed fewer than ever to enter. Then it changed the rules entirely.
*HE WAS TOLD TO GO BACK TO AFRICA. INSTEAD, HE MAY GO TO THE U.S. SENATE.
A MARCH 1995 headline in the Helena Independent Record, a Montana newspaper, lays it out starkly: “Black man told to go home — to Africa.” The article lists racist threats made against an unnamed “black political refugee from Liberia who has lived in Helena for about a year.” The subject of that article remained anonymous at the time, and he did not heed the suggestion. He stayed, and nearly 25 years later, he is the mayor of Helena and a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate.
*The Case of Al Franken
A close look at the accusations against the former senator.
By Jane Mayer
*Trump May Be a White Nationalist, but American Racism Is Bipartisan
BY PAUL STREET
...It has spent most of the last two and a half years going after Trump on the dubious and absurdly complicated charge of Russian collusion, rather than attacking his most egregious sins, including his vicious racism, nativism, sexism, classism, corruption and, last but not at all least, ecocidalism.
*explaining a sellout: American History for Truthdiggers: Bill Clinton, the 'New Democrat'
BY MAJ. DANNY SJURSEN
Yet just as often the conservatives sided with him, forming alliances of convenience, as Clinton showed his true colors, which were centrist and even right-leaning. Indeed, it would be apparent, in hindsight, that the 42nd president was the first outright neoliberal chief executive, tacking right time and again and paving the way for the rise of neoconservative Republican power.
*Politicians don't care what you think
Political scientist Ethan Porter says state legislators are driven by party loyalty, don't care what public thinks
*Independent of everything: Is America too dumb for democracy?
(Commentary)
Unhinged Trump fan facing multiple charges after stalking Georgia woman and plastering her car with Trump stickers
July 19, 2019
By Tom Boggioni - Raw Story
According to a report in the Gwinnett Daily Post, an overzealous fan of Donald Trump is facing multiple charges — including stalking –by plastering her car with Trump stickers, harassing her and then following her in his work vehicle.
Sharon Wood of Lawrenceville, who is the vice-chair of the Gwinnett County Democratic Party, admitted that the back of her car is covered in stickers supporting liberal causes, which made her a target for one of President Trump’s boosters.
Leaving a Publix store on Monday afternoon she found someone had put “I (heart) Trump” stickers on her car, covering other stickers supporting Stacey Abrams and the Black Lives Matter. Choosing to remove them she was accosted by the unidentified man who called her a “traitor.”
“I just peeled them off and tossed them in my car and finished loading my groceries,” Wood explained. “And then when I went to get into the driver’s side of the car, I hear this guy yelling from across the parking lot ‘(expletive) traitor. You (expletive) traitor’ and I look over there and see this work van and this guy yelling.”
“I got in my car and left and he immediately started following me. That’s when I stopped being annoyed and started being scared,” she continued, adding that he chose to not go home and pulled into another parking lot, which the man in his work van could not enter — choosing to honk at her as he drove away.
Wood said that she called the business number listed on the truck only to have her accused stalker answer and tell her, “‘Why don’t you complain to Stacey Abrams?“
After news of the incident spread on Tuesday, the Post reports that the website and Facebook page for the company listed on the van was taken down with business’ status changed to “Permanently Closed” on Google.
Wood, in turn, reported the incident to the police who are investigating the driver who could be facing charges of simple assault, criminal trespass and misdemeanor stalking.
You can read more here.
Sharon Wood of Lawrenceville, who is the vice-chair of the Gwinnett County Democratic Party, admitted that the back of her car is covered in stickers supporting liberal causes, which made her a target for one of President Trump’s boosters.
Leaving a Publix store on Monday afternoon she found someone had put “I (heart) Trump” stickers on her car, covering other stickers supporting Stacey Abrams and the Black Lives Matter. Choosing to remove them she was accosted by the unidentified man who called her a “traitor.”
“I just peeled them off and tossed them in my car and finished loading my groceries,” Wood explained. “And then when I went to get into the driver’s side of the car, I hear this guy yelling from across the parking lot ‘(expletive) traitor. You (expletive) traitor’ and I look over there and see this work van and this guy yelling.”
“I got in my car and left and he immediately started following me. That’s when I stopped being annoyed and started being scared,” she continued, adding that he chose to not go home and pulled into another parking lot, which the man in his work van could not enter — choosing to honk at her as he drove away.
Wood said that she called the business number listed on the truck only to have her accused stalker answer and tell her, “‘Why don’t you complain to Stacey Abrams?“
After news of the incident spread on Tuesday, the Post reports that the website and Facebook page for the company listed on the van was taken down with business’ status changed to “Permanently Closed” on Google.
Wood, in turn, reported the incident to the police who are investigating the driver who could be facing charges of simple assault, criminal trespass and misdemeanor stalking.
You can read more here.
Health industry tweets about Pride but remains silent on rule undoing protections for LGBTQ patients
"Any entity working toward people living healthily should oppose the revision to the rule."
AMANDA MICHELLE GOMEZ, CASEY QUINLAN - Thinkprogress
JUL 19, 2019, 11:21 AM
Many influential players in the health industry have stayed silent since the Trump administration proposed undoing civil rights protections for LGBTQ patients in late May. But these muted responses haven’t gone unnoticed, especially when those who say they support LGBTQ rights, and celebrated Pride Month through social media, don’t speak up.
ThinkProgress reached out to seven insurers and insurance middlemen who either met with HHS’ Office for Civil Rights, the Office of Management, or the Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs while officials reviewed the proposed rule for comment, as none have spoken out against it in public statements since it was released two months ago — even if some supported Pride through Twitter.
Insurance companies, however, have lobbied for the elimination of major language access protections in the rule, which indicates they may not only be comfortable with the rollback of these protections as a means for saving money, but were willing to accept anti-LGBTQ aspects of the rule in order to get them, a Center for American Progress analysis shows. (ThinkProgress is an editorially independent news site housed at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.)
The Trump administration is trying to roll back the Affordable Care Act’s Health Care Rights Law by eliminating the ban on sex discrimination, which includes discrimination based on gender identity and sex stereotyping. Under this proposed rule, health providers could refuse to treat transgender patients and insurance companies can refuse to cover services they need or charge them a lot more for it. (The sweeping rule goes beyond undermining protections for LGBTQ individuals; for example, it eliminates protections for all patients who have abortions.)
Many advocacy and provider groups were quick to voice opposition to the proposed rule that changes the Health Care Rights Law, Section 1557 of the ACA. The largest physician group, the American Medical Association (AMA), along with other organizations representing nurses and psychiatrists, immediately wrote the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), saying it opposed the rule and wants the strongest nondiscrimination protections available for LGBTQ patients.
“We urge you to reconsider,” the May 24 letter reads.
But major insurers and insurance middlemen who can vary benefits in a way that harms LGBTQ patients have yet to comment on the proposed rule, even though some took to Twitter to highlight their support for LGBTQ rights during Pride last month.
Aetna, for example, whose research is often cited in the proposed rule, and which tweeted supportively during Pride Month, hasn’t released any statement.
ThinkProgress reached out to Aetna for comment, along with insurance companies and insurance middlemen (pharmacy benefit managers, third parties who negotiate prices between pharmaceutical companies and health plans) who met with Trump officials about the proposed rule but haven’t released any public statement about it. This includes America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, CVS Health, Express Scripts, and Pharmaceutical Care Management Association.
Only an AHIP spokesperson immediately responded to say they have until August to comment on the rule. The public has until August 13th to formally submit comments to federal officials, which the Trump administration is required to review — the administration will then release its final rule with an effective date.
“We are still reviewing and if we have a comment we’ll get back to you,” said AHIP communications director Cathryn Donaldson via email.
AHIP is the largest association representing insurers and many companies rely on it to submit formal comments — even those like Oscar Health, who say they’re proud to offer gender-affirming care in all states where they offer plans. In June 2018, for instance, dozens of advocacy groups wrote Oscar Health asking it to eliminate discriminatory exclusions for transgender patients.
“Discrimination based on gender identity runs contrary to Oscar’s values. Gender identity should have no effect on someone’s access to healthcare,” said an Oscar Health spokesperson, in a statement to ThinkProgress.
Like Aetna, Pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts also showed support of Pride Month by retweeting its Express Scripts Jobs account, which boasted that the Express Scripts and Cigna locations were flying pride flags.
CVS Caremark, another pharmacy benefit manager, is a subsidiary of CVS Health. In June, CVS Health tweeted about its efforts to keep its own workforce diverse and attached an image of a heart covered with a rainbow flag.
Insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers do stand to benefit financially from Trump’s proposed rule, according to a new report by the Center for American Progress’ director of policy, LGBT research and communications project, Sharita Gruberg.
HHS said providers, insurers, and pharmacy benefit managers under Trump’s proposed rule would save $3.6 billion over five years in “unnecessary regulatory costs.” That’s because under the proposed rule, they would no longer need to notify patients of their rights in the top 15 languages spoken in the state they operate in, which is intended to help those with limited English proficiency.
Insurers lobbied to change the Health Care Rights Law, because they wanted to limit language access protections as to relieve administrative burden and costs, Gruberg writes. So, while it hasn’t issued public comments on what the proposed rule means for LGBTQ patients, AHIP has submitted a formal comment to HHS asking it to limit the scope of publications and communications that have to meet a requirement intended to help patients with limited English proficiency.
Meanwhile, advocates have called on the health industry to speak out against the proposed rule.
“In supporting the LGBTQ community, insurers and pharmacy benefit managers should oppose the proposed revision to section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. Opposing the proposed revision increases access and combats discrimination in health care,” said Benjamin Brooks, the assistant director of policy at Whitman-Walker Health.
“Any entity working toward people living healthily should oppose the revision to the rule,” Brooks said in a statement to ThinkProgress.
National Center for Transgender Equality also encourages anyone who considers themselves an industry leader to condemn this rule because a statement signals to transgender patients who face a public health crisis that they are prioritizing them.
“We’ve seen insurance companies do so. AMITA health care put out a press release days after the regulation was announced, rightfully condemning it and rightfully standing up for their own customer base who are transgender,” said Gillian Branstetter, a spokesperson for the National Center for Transgender Equality.
“It’s really important for the insurance industry to put… generations of stigma behind itself because as the medical world knows and affirms exclusions against transition-related care are not based in good medicine and not based in good science and not based in good business,” she added.
According to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, one third of transgender people surveyed said they had at least one negative experience with a doctor or health care provider that was related to being transgender. Sometimes transgender people had to teach their own provider about appropriate care, were asked unnecessary or invasive questions about being trans that were unrelated to care, or were refused transition-related care.
A 2017 Center for American Progress survey found that 9% of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer respondents said that in the year prior to the survey, doctors or health care providers used harsh or abusive language during treatment. Meanwhile, 8% said they were refused treatment because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation.
ThinkProgress reached out to seven insurers and insurance middlemen who either met with HHS’ Office for Civil Rights, the Office of Management, or the Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs while officials reviewed the proposed rule for comment, as none have spoken out against it in public statements since it was released two months ago — even if some supported Pride through Twitter.
Insurance companies, however, have lobbied for the elimination of major language access protections in the rule, which indicates they may not only be comfortable with the rollback of these protections as a means for saving money, but were willing to accept anti-LGBTQ aspects of the rule in order to get them, a Center for American Progress analysis shows. (ThinkProgress is an editorially independent news site housed at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.)
The Trump administration is trying to roll back the Affordable Care Act’s Health Care Rights Law by eliminating the ban on sex discrimination, which includes discrimination based on gender identity and sex stereotyping. Under this proposed rule, health providers could refuse to treat transgender patients and insurance companies can refuse to cover services they need or charge them a lot more for it. (The sweeping rule goes beyond undermining protections for LGBTQ individuals; for example, it eliminates protections for all patients who have abortions.)
Many advocacy and provider groups were quick to voice opposition to the proposed rule that changes the Health Care Rights Law, Section 1557 of the ACA. The largest physician group, the American Medical Association (AMA), along with other organizations representing nurses and psychiatrists, immediately wrote the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), saying it opposed the rule and wants the strongest nondiscrimination protections available for LGBTQ patients.
“We urge you to reconsider,” the May 24 letter reads.
But major insurers and insurance middlemen who can vary benefits in a way that harms LGBTQ patients have yet to comment on the proposed rule, even though some took to Twitter to highlight their support for LGBTQ rights during Pride last month.
Aetna, for example, whose research is often cited in the proposed rule, and which tweeted supportively during Pride Month, hasn’t released any statement.
ThinkProgress reached out to Aetna for comment, along with insurance companies and insurance middlemen (pharmacy benefit managers, third parties who negotiate prices between pharmaceutical companies and health plans) who met with Trump officials about the proposed rule but haven’t released any public statement about it. This includes America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, CVS Health, Express Scripts, and Pharmaceutical Care Management Association.
Only an AHIP spokesperson immediately responded to say they have until August to comment on the rule. The public has until August 13th to formally submit comments to federal officials, which the Trump administration is required to review — the administration will then release its final rule with an effective date.
“We are still reviewing and if we have a comment we’ll get back to you,” said AHIP communications director Cathryn Donaldson via email.
AHIP is the largest association representing insurers and many companies rely on it to submit formal comments — even those like Oscar Health, who say they’re proud to offer gender-affirming care in all states where they offer plans. In June 2018, for instance, dozens of advocacy groups wrote Oscar Health asking it to eliminate discriminatory exclusions for transgender patients.
“Discrimination based on gender identity runs contrary to Oscar’s values. Gender identity should have no effect on someone’s access to healthcare,” said an Oscar Health spokesperson, in a statement to ThinkProgress.
Like Aetna, Pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts also showed support of Pride Month by retweeting its Express Scripts Jobs account, which boasted that the Express Scripts and Cigna locations were flying pride flags.
CVS Caremark, another pharmacy benefit manager, is a subsidiary of CVS Health. In June, CVS Health tweeted about its efforts to keep its own workforce diverse and attached an image of a heart covered with a rainbow flag.
Insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers do stand to benefit financially from Trump’s proposed rule, according to a new report by the Center for American Progress’ director of policy, LGBT research and communications project, Sharita Gruberg.
HHS said providers, insurers, and pharmacy benefit managers under Trump’s proposed rule would save $3.6 billion over five years in “unnecessary regulatory costs.” That’s because under the proposed rule, they would no longer need to notify patients of their rights in the top 15 languages spoken in the state they operate in, which is intended to help those with limited English proficiency.
Insurers lobbied to change the Health Care Rights Law, because they wanted to limit language access protections as to relieve administrative burden and costs, Gruberg writes. So, while it hasn’t issued public comments on what the proposed rule means for LGBTQ patients, AHIP has submitted a formal comment to HHS asking it to limit the scope of publications and communications that have to meet a requirement intended to help patients with limited English proficiency.
Meanwhile, advocates have called on the health industry to speak out against the proposed rule.
“In supporting the LGBTQ community, insurers and pharmacy benefit managers should oppose the proposed revision to section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. Opposing the proposed revision increases access and combats discrimination in health care,” said Benjamin Brooks, the assistant director of policy at Whitman-Walker Health.
“Any entity working toward people living healthily should oppose the revision to the rule,” Brooks said in a statement to ThinkProgress.
National Center for Transgender Equality also encourages anyone who considers themselves an industry leader to condemn this rule because a statement signals to transgender patients who face a public health crisis that they are prioritizing them.
“We’ve seen insurance companies do so. AMITA health care put out a press release days after the regulation was announced, rightfully condemning it and rightfully standing up for their own customer base who are transgender,” said Gillian Branstetter, a spokesperson for the National Center for Transgender Equality.
“It’s really important for the insurance industry to put… generations of stigma behind itself because as the medical world knows and affirms exclusions against transition-related care are not based in good medicine and not based in good science and not based in good business,” she added.
According to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, one third of transgender people surveyed said they had at least one negative experience with a doctor or health care provider that was related to being transgender. Sometimes transgender people had to teach their own provider about appropriate care, were asked unnecessary or invasive questions about being trans that were unrelated to care, or were refused transition-related care.
A 2017 Center for American Progress survey found that 9% of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer respondents said that in the year prior to the survey, doctors or health care providers used harsh or abusive language during treatment. Meanwhile, 8% said they were refused treatment because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation.
Wendy Davis Announces Campaign for Congress, Will Challenge U.S. Rep. Chip Roy
Olivia Messer - Reporter
Published 07.22.19 9:22AM ET
Daily Beast Cheat Sheet
Former Texas State Senator Wendy Davis, who made national headlines in 2013 when she spent 11 hours filibustering an omnibus anti-abortion bill, has announced her candidacy for Congress. She will vie for the Democratic nomination in Central Texas’ 21st District and then, if successful, battle Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, from Austin. Davis’s campaign released a biographical announcement video on Monday. “I’m running for Congress because people’s voices are still being silenced,” she said. “I’m running for our children and grandchildren, so they can live and love and fight for change themselves.” Davis has not run for elected office since she lost the Texas gubernatorial election to Republican Greg Abbott in 2014 by over 20 percentage points.
Dozens Injured After Armed Mob Violence Against Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Demonstrators
Jamie Ross - Reporter
Updated 07.22.19 6:56AM ET
Daily Beast Cheat Sheet
At least 45 people have been injured, one critically, after dozens of masked men attacked pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong. The protests against a Chinese extradition bill have been ongoing for seven weeks, but this is the first time this kind of violence has been seen, the BBC reports. The masked men were dressed in white shirts and are reportedly suspected to be triad gangsters. They attacked protesters and passers-by with wooden and metal rods inside a train station. In a statement, the government said: “This is absolutely unacceptable to Hong Kong as a society that observes the rule of law. The SAR [Special Administrative Region] Government strongly condemns any violence and will seriously take enforcement actions.”
Trump’s National Doral Resort Golf Club Shortlisted for Next Year’s G-7 Summit: Report
Jamie Ross - Reporter
Published 07.22.19 6:51AM ET
Daily Beast Cheat Sheet
Trump National Doral, President Trump’s struggling golf resort in Miami, has reportedly been shortlisted as a potential location to host the G-7 summit when it comes to the U.S. next year. Axios reports the Trump property is among the final few possible locations under consideration. It will be the first G-7 summit—an annual meeting of the leaders of the world’s most powerful economies—to be hosted in the U.S. since 2012, when Barack Obama invited leaders to Camp David. Earlier this year, the Washington Post reported that Trump’s Doral resort was in “steep decline” and that, in two years, the resort’s net operating income had fallen by 69 percent.
British Conservative Lawmaker Charged With Three Counts of Sexual Assault
Jamie Ross - Reporter
Updated 07.22.19 7:04AM ET
Daily Beast Cheat Sheet
A British lawmaker from the ruling Conservative party, Charlie Elphicke, has been charged with three counts of sexual assault. England's Crown Prosecution Service announced the charges Monday morning and said that the alleged assaults were committed against two women. The member of parliament said last year, following reports that police were investigation him for the alleged offences, that he was “completely confident” he will be able to prove his innocence. He was suspended by the Conservative party in November 2017 when the allegations were first reported but he had his membership restored in December 2018 when Theresa May was facing a vote of confidence in her leadership. A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said: “The CPS made the decision to charge Mr Elphicke after reviewing a file of evidence from the Metropolitan Police.”
White woman threatens to call cops on black man after he splashes her car with water during rainstorm
July 19, 2019
By Tom Boggioni - Raw Story
In yet another story of a white woman having a meltdown because a black person was doing, well, basically nothing, BET reports that a black man driving down a flooded street during a rainstorm was threatened by a white woman saying she would report him to the police for splashing her car.
Or, as the poster of the viral video, @sewellwells wrote on Instagram: “So this LADY bout to call the COPS on me cause my Car wet her Car.”
As he explained in the video, “Cars is taking they time driving through the flood, and this one car was driving down the middle. So I go right past her, [and it] happened to be her window was down, so as I ride past her, I guess the water splashed up in her car.”
“You just got my car soaking wet, you’re driving through the flooded area, you could’ve damaged my car,” the woman can be heard shouting. “You got my car soaking wet, I’m going to write your license plate.”
As the woman rolls up her window, sewellwells called out to the woman, “Roll your window up before I wet it again. You going to tell the police I wet your car?! Stupid!”
Or, as the poster of the viral video, @sewellwells wrote on Instagram: “So this LADY bout to call the COPS on me cause my Car wet her Car.”
As he explained in the video, “Cars is taking they time driving through the flood, and this one car was driving down the middle. So I go right past her, [and it] happened to be her window was down, so as I ride past her, I guess the water splashed up in her car.”
“You just got my car soaking wet, you’re driving through the flooded area, you could’ve damaged my car,” the woman can be heard shouting. “You got my car soaking wet, I’m going to write your license plate.”
As the woman rolls up her window, sewellwells called out to the woman, “Roll your window up before I wet it again. You going to tell the police I wet your car?! Stupid!”
*What's Inside*
July 20 - July 22
✔Republican congressman delivers wholly misleading attack on the minimum wage
(GOP Politics)
*Racism, Inc.: How Donald Trump profits from xenophobia
(Trump)
*Which 2020 Democrats Are Taking Money From the Health Care Industry?
(Candidates)
*'Our paychecks bounced': US workers in limbo as coalmines suddenly close
(Slavery 21st Century)
✔The Tainted Corporations Dominating the Opioid Industry
(Corporate Criminals)
*Here’s how the press rewards GOP cowardice in the age of Trump
(Worthless Media)
*The US Gave Slavers Their Land Back. What About Black Folks’ Reparations?
(Race Matters)
*Fox News host decimates Trump aide’s defense of racism and hypocrisy
(Worthless Media)
*...So We Have to Save Ourselves (Part 2) by The Rude Pundit
(Commentary)
*The real problem wasn’t the racism — it was the Trump taking ‘the Lord’s name in vain’ twice: supporter(Sellouts)
*'Ricky, resign!' Puerto Rico's famous musicians lend voice to surging protesters
(Colonies)
✔Mitch McConnell’s big donors are Wall Street firms — and only 9% of his funds comes from Kentucky(GOP Politics)
*Why won’t the charter school industry acknowledge its failures?
(Education)
*Here’s the ugly racist history behind tipping — and how it still persists today
(Slavery 21st Century)
*Los Angeles police spied on anti-Trump protesters
(Gestapo USA)
*Black US lawmaker says white man told her to 'go back where you came from’
(Amerikkkans)
*late news of interest*
Pastor claims he was sucking demons out of sexually assaulted men
July 18, 2019
By Bob Brigham - Raw Story
Multiple victims have come forward to accuse a New Jersey pastor of sexually assaulting them as part of exorcism rituals.
“Three men have come forward claiming Rev. Dr. William Weaver performed sex acts on them when they came to him for private counseling at Linden Presbyterian Church,” Newsweek reported Thursday. “Weaver, 69, would allegedly tell the men that he needed to ‘suck’ out demons through their semen, citing Native American rituals and a verse from Ephesians telling Christians to ‘put on the full armor of God.'”
According to impact statements the men submitted to the Presbytery of Elizabeth, which has jurisdiction over the church in Linden, Weaver would order each to strip naked and lie down. Then he would place an “angel coin” on their foreheads and have them balance stones on their hands and ankles. Weaver would then allegedly perform oral sex on them,” Newsweek reported.
“I refuse to stay silent any longer. I need to make sure that this never happens to anyone else ever again,” one man wrote.
“An investigation by the Presbytery found credible evidence of ‘multiple acts of idolatry and sexual misconduct.’ It also reportedly uncovered gay porn on a church-owned computer in Weaver’s office,” Newsweek added.
“Three men have come forward claiming Rev. Dr. William Weaver performed sex acts on them when they came to him for private counseling at Linden Presbyterian Church,” Newsweek reported Thursday. “Weaver, 69, would allegedly tell the men that he needed to ‘suck’ out demons through their semen, citing Native American rituals and a verse from Ephesians telling Christians to ‘put on the full armor of God.'”
According to impact statements the men submitted to the Presbytery of Elizabeth, which has jurisdiction over the church in Linden, Weaver would order each to strip naked and lie down. Then he would place an “angel coin” on their foreheads and have them balance stones on their hands and ankles. Weaver would then allegedly perform oral sex on them,” Newsweek reported.
“I refuse to stay silent any longer. I need to make sure that this never happens to anyone else ever again,” one man wrote.
“An investigation by the Presbytery found credible evidence of ‘multiple acts of idolatry and sexual misconduct.’ It also reportedly uncovered gay porn on a church-owned computer in Weaver’s office,” Newsweek added.
CNN's Cuomo Loses It When Kris Kobach Suggests He Could Support an Openly Racist President
DonViejo - Demo Undergroun d
7/16/19
By Aidan McLaughlin Jul 16th, 2019, 9:53 pm
CNN host Chris Cuomo clashed with Republican Senate candidate Kris Kobach after the former Kansas secretary of state said he would support an outwardly racist president.
Kobach defended President Donald Trump’s ugly spat with four Democratic congresswomen of color, whom he told over the weekend to “go back” to where they came from — three were born in the United States, all four are citizens — in comments that have drawn fire from the president’s own party.
After Cuomo made the case that Trump’s attacks were picking a “race battle,” Kobach rejected the comments as racist. The CNN host then proposed a hypothetical.
“What would you do if the president said, ‘I am a racist. That’s why I said it.’ What would you do?” Cuomo asked.
“Uh, then I would not defend him, because there’s no excuse for racism in America,” Kobach responded first.
“Really?” Cuomo asked. “Would you still support him as president?”
Kobach paused. “Uhm. I don’t know.”
“You have to think about it!” Cuomo exclaimed. “You have to think about whether or not you would support a racist! Really!?”
“I’d have to know who was running against him,” Kobach said.
“A racist! An admitted racist you would have to know more?” Cuomo continued, as Kobach stammered. “Kris, come on man. It can’t be that partisan.”
“These are ridiculous hypotheticals,” Kobach protested.
“It’s ridiculous that it took you that long to answer it,” Cuomo said. “You’re running for Senate, and you have to take a pause whether or not if he said he was a racist you’d still support him. Come on, brother.”
Kobach argued Cuomo’s hypothetical “doesn’t even make sense” because “the president has not said anything racist.”
Watch the brutally uncomfortable segment, via CNN:
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnns-cuomo-loses-it-when-kris-kobach-suggests-he-could-support-an-openly-racist-president/
CNN host Chris Cuomo clashed with Republican Senate candidate Kris Kobach after the former Kansas secretary of state said he would support an outwardly racist president.
Kobach defended President Donald Trump’s ugly spat with four Democratic congresswomen of color, whom he told over the weekend to “go back” to where they came from — three were born in the United States, all four are citizens — in comments that have drawn fire from the president’s own party.
After Cuomo made the case that Trump’s attacks were picking a “race battle,” Kobach rejected the comments as racist. The CNN host then proposed a hypothetical.
“What would you do if the president said, ‘I am a racist. That’s why I said it.’ What would you do?” Cuomo asked.
“Uh, then I would not defend him, because there’s no excuse for racism in America,” Kobach responded first.
“Really?” Cuomo asked. “Would you still support him as president?”
Kobach paused. “Uhm. I don’t know.”
“You have to think about it!” Cuomo exclaimed. “You have to think about whether or not you would support a racist! Really!?”
“I’d have to know who was running against him,” Kobach said.
“A racist! An admitted racist you would have to know more?” Cuomo continued, as Kobach stammered. “Kris, come on man. It can’t be that partisan.”
“These are ridiculous hypotheticals,” Kobach protested.
“It’s ridiculous that it took you that long to answer it,” Cuomo said. “You’re running for Senate, and you have to take a pause whether or not if he said he was a racist you’d still support him. Come on, brother.”
Kobach argued Cuomo’s hypothetical “doesn’t even make sense” because “the president has not said anything racist.”
Watch the brutally uncomfortable segment, via CNN:
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnns-cuomo-loses-it-when-kris-kobach-suggests-he-could-support-an-openly-racist-president/
