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Opinion | The culture war is alive and well. And Republicans will keep fighting it.

I've read a lot of opinion on the Ossoff defeat, from grassroots liberals saying that this demonstrates the failings on the mainstream Clinton/Policy democrats to more conservative Democrats blaming the "overly left" progressive side of the party. I assure you, conservative strategists are basking in all of this.

This article has about the most intelligent take on the issue I have run across. Whoever we run, conservatives will attack them in every way possible, using well-researched propaganda tested on focus groups.

Liberals need to quit in-fighting and start winning. Whatever and whoever gets that done is all that matters.
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Analysis | Officer who shot Philando Castile said smell of marijuana made him fear for his life

Who the hell fears for their life because they smell pot?! Stoned people are slower and generally more peaceful.

When I smell pot, this is what I fear:

  • I am going to hear a long, rambling conversation about how deep Phish is.
  • Having it explained to me for the hundredth time how cool it is that an atom is like a tiny solar system
  • Being treated like a narc when I am offered some and politely refuse
  • Being asked to go get some snacks
  • And now, being shot because some stupid, inept cop thinks pot is scary and decides to start spraying bullets
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Joey Hensley's Family Values: Have an Affair with Your Cousin While Prescribing Her Opiates

Republican is alleged to have had an affair with his nurse and prescribed her opioids. She is also his cousin. Hensley is Christian conservative responsible for anti-gay legislation. His justification for his own sexual choices (and medical ethics violation): “I have thousands of patients. It’s a small town, and I have a lot of family. A lot of family. Cousins, uncles, aunts. … And I don’t treat anyone any different.” Is he saying he'd have an extramarital affair with any of his family members? Values...
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According to Sean Spicer, today's secret word is "Covfefe".

(CNN) "Fifteen hours after Donald Trump typed the now-infamous words "Despite the constant negative press covfefe" into his Twitter account, White House press secretary Sean Spicer was asked about the incident.

"The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant," Spicer responded.
Wait. WHAT????
No. Let me reconsider that reaction.
WAIT. WHAT?????????

Yes, I know the fact that the president of the United States made a typo and then left it up on Twitter for more than 5 hours is not exactly the Cuban Missile Crisis. But, I argued earlier today that it was a telling window into this president's isolation and his inability or unwillingness to take direction or even advice from any of his staff.

Spicer's odd response to an obvious -- and easily dismissed -- question about it makes things even stranger. He obviously knew the question was coming. "Covfefe" was all the talk of cable news all morning.

So, what if rather than the answer he gave, Spicer said something like: "The president made a typo. He meant to type 'coverage.' Raise your hand if you've never made a typo on Twitter."

The reporters would have laughed. The situation would have been defused. It would have dismissed as a weird episode, soon forgotten.

But, that's not what Sean said.

In fact, in a very serious tone -- I couldn't see his face because the White House had announced today's press briefing would be off camera -- Spicer seemed to suggest the tweet was some sort of purposeful inside joke.

"A small group of people know exactly what he meant," raises WAY more questions than answers about what should be a total nothing-burger. It suggests that Trump's typo was intentional and that the people who needed to know what he meant did.

Except, what? The simplest explanation, which is almost always the right explanation, is that Trump meant to write "coverage", accidentally typed "covfefe" and then went to bed without either realizing the misspelling or even that he had sent the tweet at all. When he got up in the morning, he realized his error and changed it.

Why would Spicer make the official White House response anything other than that most obvious one?

Short answer: Who knows?

Long answer: Because Spicer is so wrapped around his own axle -- and so frustrated with the press corps (and with his boss, the president) -- that he's simply not capable of seeing the forest through the trees. That something that should be totally simple -- "it was a typo, duh" -- turned into a bizarre answer that will keep the story in the news longer than it needs to be."

Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large
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TRUMP'S AMERICA ~ Suspect in Portland Hate Crime Murders is a Known White Supremacist and Trump Supp

The man accused of the brutal hate crime slayings of two people at the Hollywood Transit Center on Friday afternoon is a known local white supremacist.

Jeremy Christian, 35, was booked early Saturday morning on two aggravated murder charges, an attempted murder charge, two intimidation (hate crime) charges, and a felon in possession of a restricted weapon charge.

The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) reported that the man "was on the MAX train yelling various remarks that would be best characterized as hate speech toward a variety of ethnicities and religions. At least two of the victims attempted to intervene with the suspect and calm him down. The suspect attacked the men, stabbing three, before leaving the train."

Witnesses told the police that he was harassing two women who appear to be Muslim. One was described as wearing a hijab. One of the men he stabbed died at the scene, one was pronounced dead at a hospital, and one is expected to survive.

Christian is a known right wing extremist and white supremacist. On April 29, Christian showed up to the right-wing "March for Free Speech" on 82nd Avenue in Montavilla with a baseball bat in an attempt to assault left-wing protesters. The bat was quickly confiscated by Portland police officers. He ranted how he was a nihilist. He'd soon yelled racial slurs ("fuck all you n*****s") and gave the Nazi salute throughout the day. He yelled "Hail Vinland" throughout the day.

A few Portland police officers on April 29 appeared to be familiar with Christian, but not threatened by him. They claimed he had a head injury and was mentally ill."

So he had a head injury and was mentally ill. Is that their excuse for not locking him up? He obviously WAS a danger. There are videos on the link below of him trying to attend a rally for the alt-right and they wouldn't even let him in. Also, he openly threatened to kill police officers if they tried to disarm him yet still no arrest. Check out the direct link below for videos of this guy walking around with a bat (which the police offered to hold for him) and of him yelling racial slurs.

I have a hunch if this guy were black, he would have been arrested for carrying a bat. If he had been muslim and showed up here, he would have been arrested and deported.
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Trump asked DNI, NSA to deny evidence of Russia collusion

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump called two top intelligence community figures to request that they deny in public any evidence of collusion between his campaign and the Russian government during the 2016 election, multiple current and former US officials with knowledge tell CNN.

Trump's requests to Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Adm. Michael Rogers came after then-FBI Director James Comey publicly revealed before the House intelligence committee on March 20 that the FBI had an investigation into collusion to influence the 2016 election.

Both Coats and Rogers were uncomfortable with the nature of the President's request and refused to comply, the sources told CNN.

The Washington Post first reported the story Monday evening, citing current and former officials.

In a response to CNN, a White House spokesperson, who declined to be identified by name, said: "The White House does not confirm or deny unsubstantiated claims based on illegal leaks from anonymous individuals. The President will continue to focus on his agenda that he was elected to pursue by the American people."

CNN reported in February that the White House had asked the FBI to push back against stories in the press about potential coordination between Trump associates and Russia.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and railed against the investigations into his campaign's alleged ties to Russia repeatedly.

The Post story said a record of Trump's request to Rogers was in a memo from a senior NSA official -- and that memo, as well as any that may be from the DNI's office, would be available to former FBI Director Robert Mueller, the special counsel appointed last week to head the Justice Department's investigation.

A source told CNN that Mueller had been briefed on memos Comey had written about his interactions with Trump, including his recollection of Trump asking for the FBI to end its investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Congressional investigators have requested copies of Comey's memos and testimony from Comey himself.

Both Coats and Rogers are scheduled to appear before Congress this week, but not before either the House or Senate intelligence committees, which have separate investigations into Russian meddling in the election.

The Senate Armed Services Committee scheduled a hearing with Coats, and the House Armed Services Committee has one with Rogers.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, said on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront" that he was as "shocked as anybody else" upon hearing the news and noted Coats and Rogers had appeared before the panel earlier this month.

"Might be good to get them back," Manchin said.

*Click Link Below for Original Content.
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Right Wing Nut Job Strikes Again...

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - Ohio State Representative Candice Keller's official Facebook page was put into unpublished status following a post on Thursday night that compared Planned Parenthood to Nazis.

Study: Breitbart-led right-wing media ecosystem altered broader media agenda

The 2016 Presidential election shook the foundations of American politics. Media reports immediately looked for external disruption to explain the unanticipated victory-with theories ranging from Russian hacking to "fake news." We have a less exotic, but perhaps more disconcerting explanation: Our own study of over 1.25 million stories published online between April 1, 2015 and...

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