Tag: democrats. grassrootsdempolitics

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Ivanka Slams AOC’S Green New Deal

In a Fox News interview Ivanka Trump attacked Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (aka AOC) Green New Deal initiative making the shocking argument that most Americans are opposed to the initiative’s guarantee of a job with a livable wage–a guaranteed minimum of $15/hour.

Ivanka said, “I don’t think most Americans in their heart want to be given something….people want to work for what they got. So I think this idea of a guaranteed minimum is not something most people want. They want the ability to be able to secure a job, they want the ability to live in a country where there is a potential for upwards mobility.”

While this may not necessarily be a controversial point if its advanced by any other conservative, it is kind of shocking coming from Ivanka whose White House job many consider “given”. In other words, the argument Ivanka is making against AOC’s Green New Deal is routinely made by many other conservatives. However hearing it from her, someone who has literally “got” everything from her rich dad, just makes the argument almost insulting. And yeah Ivanka, given the fact that the cost of living has steadily risen over the years while wages have remained stagnant, a lot of working families are eager for $15/hour jobs which they deserve as opposed to being “given”. These are jobs that will make them keep up with the rising costs of living, something Ivanka probably never had to deal with.

It bears pointing out however that Ivanka is very media savvy. As the president’s daughter she is a very beloved figure on the right. She knows AOC is a very beloved figure on the left. So there’s a very good chance that she deliberately went after her Green New Deal in an effort to generate fireworks both on the left and right thereby giving her publicity. As they say in media circles, “no publicity is bad publicity”. It will be interesting to see the blowback Ivanka’s stunning remarks generate from the left, especially from the aforementioned AOC.

Bottom line nobody seriously believes that in her heart of hearts Ivanka thinks working families currently earning less than $15/hour would not appreciate a wage hike. Yours Truly will go out on a limb and say this is a publicity stunt on Ivanka’s part–a very clever one at that.

For those of you very happy with @Emolclause’s activism don’t shy away from the “tip jar” below on your way out.

You may also reach the author directly via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com

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Sen Feinstein Refers Sexual Misconduct Allegation Against Kavanaugh To The FBI



There has been a major development in the Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation saga. CNN reports that Sen Dianne Feinstein(D-CA) has referred to the FBI a letter alleging sexual misconduct against Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh stemming from his days in high school.

It is not yet clear what Kavanaugh is alleged to have done but according to the CNN report, Sen Feinstein has had the letter since July of this year. It is not clear why the letter never featured in Kavanaugh’s recently concluded confirmation hearings.


The White House has predictably slammed Sen Feinstein’s referral calling it a desperate delaying tactic by the Dems. It is not clear how these allegations of sexual misconduct will affect Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court but allegations of sexual misconduct against powerful men always draw sharp reactions from women. It will be interesting to see how the women in congress react to these allegations–especially Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.

Yours Truly is big on due process and will therefore wait for the details of these allegations to be made public and more importantly for Kavanaugh to respond to them before taking any position on the issue.

Bottom line because these are allegations of sexual misconduct, they are bound to have an impact on Kavanaugh’s confirmation. The only question is whether they’ll deal a mortal blow to his confirmation or not

For those of you very happy with @Emolclause’s activism don’t shy away from the “tip jar” below on your way out




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GA GOP County Officials Plan To Close 75% Of Polling Stations In Black Area


According to a New York Times piece GOP election officials in Georgia plan to close 7 out of 9 polling stations in Randolph county, a predominantly black county that votes overwhwlmingly for Democrats.

The New York Times piece points out that the majority of residents in this majority black county are poor and therefore lack reliable transportation. Closing down more than 75% of the polling stations would require them to travel more than 10 miles to vote–a move that will almost certainly depress voter turnout.


It cannot also be left unsaid(and the NYT article catches it) that this shameful move by Randolph county GOP election officials is a direct result of decisions by the the Roberts Supreme Court which have rolled back Voting Rights Act provisions that required state election officials to get permission before making changes that affect how people vote. In essence the Roberts Supreme Court has literally given local state officials total control in election related issues, the result of which is this shameful episode in Randolph county, Georgia.

It also bears pointing out that Georgia, and its GOP Secretary of State Brian Kemp in particular, has long been in the crosshairs of election integrity advocates and this latest incident in Randolph county will only make things worse.

This kind of chicanery by state GOP election officials is quite common in southern states and Yours Truly has repeatedly called on the DNC to take action against GOP election officials in Texas who have packed unverifiable voting machines in Dem strongholds. The DNC is yet to move a finger.


Bottom line even though the article points out that the Geoegia ACLU is going after Randolph county GOP election officials, grassroots Democrats would prefer the DNC to be on the forefront of these fights. There’s no earthly reason why the DNC continues to stay in the sidelines while local GOP election officials are actively scheming on how to steal the Dem vote!!

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Is The Surveillance State Targeting Dems Using Twitter

California ACLU Technology and Civil Liberties Director Nicole Ozer penned a very troubling piece in December 2016 on how federal spy centers aka fusion centers are increasingly using Twitter for mass surveillance.


According to Nicole’s piece a company called Dataminr, partly owned by Twitter, provides the federal spy centers(fusion centers) with tweet data, including GPS location, which the spy centers use for surveillance purposes. Twitter says it stopped Dataminr from providing tweet data to fusion centers in 2016 but given the Trump administration’s demonstrated hostility towards any form of criticism especially on Twitter, any reasonable person would go back and verify whether Dataminr has indeed stopped its cooperation with federal spy centers.

The article also points out that this kind of Twitter surveillance is  directed more at minorities and political activists. It is therefore not a stretch to suggest that #TheResistance movement which has grown in leaps and bounds on Twitter since December 2016 when Nicole Ozer penned her article, has also become a target of these federal spy centers(fusion centers). In other words there is reason to believe that Dem activists are increasingly being subjected to surveillance by these federal spy centers over their anti-Trump tweets–a clear cut violation of their first amendment rights.

Bottom line congressional Dems must demand hearings on this troubling nexus between Twitter and federal spy centers to make sure the public(especially Dems) are not being punished with unconstitutional surveillance for their anti-Trump posts on Twitter

Alternatively, because congressional Dems have developed a reputation for weakness, ACLU’s Nicole Ozer should revisit the issue and inform the public as to whether Dataminr really terminated its cooperation with federal spy centers as Twitter alleged in 2016.

Yours Truly already knows the answer to this question but will give Twitter/Dataminr the benefit of the doubt nonetheless.

For those of you very happy with @Emolclause’s activism don’t shy away from the “tip jar” below on your way out