Home · News · News Feb 2024
Mon&Tues February 12,13 2024
The Real Threat to American Democracy | NYT | 2023 | 25:48

For the past two years, Americans have been overwhelmed by a deluge of headlines suggesting democracy in the United States is under threat: Voter suppression. A shortage of drop boxes. Election deniers seeking key state offices. It can be difficult to gauge what stories suggest a truly terrifying threat to democracy, and which are simply disheartening or even petty. The Opinion Video film above aims to unpack one of the most dire threats to democracy, which includes a sophisticated plot to control not only who can vote, but which votes get counted.

One thing is certain: The 2020 race was not stolen. But Mr. Trump and his Republican enablers have been working to rig future elections to their advantage. (Of course it's the people shrieking most loudly about fraud that you really need to watch.) The former president has convinced his followers that the electoral system has been so corrupted that the only way to save America is for MAGA patriots to take over the system to ensure that the "right" candidates win going forward. His allies have been busy engineering such a legal takeover, and key pieces of the plan are already in place.
The News
Jon Stewart Tackles The Biden-Trump Rematch That Nobody Wants | The Daily Show | 02/12/24| 20:29
'An American Dreamer' looks at a divided country through a veteran's eyes | MSNBC | 02/13/24 | 8:54
Supreme Court spells DISASTER for Trump with SPEEDY move | 02/13/24 | 11:52
Trump's Chaos Agenda | Robert Reich | 02/01/24 | 2:43

13.02.2024. 21:07

Friday February 09, 2024
Behind the Curtain: Trump's conviction scenario | Axios | Mike Allen,Jim VandeHei | 02/02/24 | article

Former President Trump is breezing to the GOP nomination - but, in private, is bracing for the genuine possibility that he'll be the first convicted felon in U.S. history to represent a major party.

Why it matters: Sources tell us Trump believes he'd likely be convicted if the Jan. 6 case comes to trial later this spring in Washington. If that's delayed, he could face a guilty verdict in the Manhattan hush-money case.

Trump thinks he could still win the White House - partly by making daily, theatrical appearances whenever courts are hearing his four cases, totaling 91 felony charges. But his advisers worry independents will be turned off by a conviction in a jury trial.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the Jan. 6 case, has been tough on Capitol rioters tried in her court, and has signaled she'll cut Trump no breaks. Jurors will be drawn from D.C., which is overwhelmingly Democratic. ... Read more

The News
PBS NewsHour full episode, Feb. 8, 2024 | PBS NewsHour | 02/08/24 | 56:45
Trump SCREWS himself with DAMNING public confession | btc | 02/08/24| 8:01
Libertarian Wants Corporations To Pay Even Less Taxes | Thom Hartmann | 2023 | 5:35

09.02.2024. 11:26

Wednesday February 07, 2024

Truth and Trump: An Evening with Bob Woodward | TVO Today | 02/01/03| 1:18:43

Pretty good interview.
00:00 Intro
01:31 The Trump Tapes
02:09 Trump on Kim Jong-un and North Korean Missile Tests
03:04 Donald Trump's Thoughts on Being Interviewed by Bob W.
03:32 The Unedited Reality of the Trump Tapes
04:06 President Trump's Writing Process and Speech Deliveries
04:31 The Dynamic of Bob Woodward's Relationship with Trump
05:49 Why Trump Wants to Sue Bob Woodward
06:27 Trump's Lack of Understanding of Democracy and the Pres.
07:05 Donald Trump's Mishandling of the Coronavirus Crisis
07:23 Early Warning Signs of the Virus Threat
07:38 Trump Downplaying the Threat to Avoid Panic
08:03 The Top Secret Briefing and Warning of a Firestorm
09:01 President Trump's Lies, Cover-Up, and Concealment
09:26 Blowing off Dr. Anthony Fauci
10:00 Trump's Disregard for Expert Advice
10:29 Bob Woodward on Urging the President to Take Action
12:37 Detached from Reality, Obsessed with Re-election
14:45 Trump's Boasting
15:12 Trump's North Korean Strategy Based on Instinct
15:57 The CIA Says Kim Jong-un is Stupid
18:00 Humorous Moment in the Oval Office
18:37 Trump's Personality and Skills
19:13 Nixon's Failures and Trump
22:40 Nixon's Understanding of the Downfall of a Presidency
24:10 Nixon's Moment of Self-Realization and Consequence of Hate
24:45 Trump and the Ukraine Scandal
25:51 Donald Trump's Obsession with Hate
29:40 The Difference in the Republican Party Today
30:34 The Meeting with Nixon and Republican Leaders
32:05 Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy and the GOP
34:43 Trump Supporters in Midland Texas
35:45 Vice President Pence Says Nothing in the Oval Office
36:27 Trump's Impact on American Politics and Death the Old Order
37:54 Bob on Whether Donald Trump Can Win the 2024 Election
40:04 The Demon of Pomposity in American Society
41:25 Would Putin Invade Ukraine if Trump Were President Today
45:23 Time is Not on Ukraine's Side
45:48 The Threat of a Tactical Nuclear Weapon in Ukraine
49:32 Leadership Vacuum in the United States
54:51 The Darkest Moment of Theoretical Possibility
56:29 Biden's Efforts to Avoid World War III
58:36 Biden Tells Trump to Shut Up
01:02:30 The Role of Army Generals in Preventing Wars
01:06:22 Rising Far-Right Extremism
01:06:48 The Appeal of Trumpism to Working Class Voters
01:07:56 Trump's Sense of Being Wronged
01:13:48 Unsinkable Donald Trump
01:15:06 The Unparalleled Danger of Trump
The News
PBS NewsHour full episode, Feb. 5, 2024 | PBS NewsHour | 02/05/24 | 56:45
Jeremy Scahill on Israel's "Deliberate Propaganda Campaign" | DM | 02/07/24 | 17:00
Appeals court hits Trump with ruling he's been dreading | btc | 02/06/24 | 9:03
Did France Show Us How To Stop Cuts To Social Security? | Thom Hartmann | 02/07/24 | 4:13

07.02.2024. 10:32

Monday February 05, 2024
Democracy on Trial (full) | PBS Frontline | 02/01/24 | 2:23:17

<- Note: click on the Title above or image for video

In March, 2024 Republican presidential nomination front-runner Trump is scheduled to begin standing trial on federal charges, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S., in connection with efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. He says the charges against him are politically motivated.

"Democracy on Trial" traces the road to this unprecedented moment, and examines the implications of the historic criminal case unfolding in the midst of a presidential election year. Drawing on court documents and revelatory interviews with elected officials, former government lawyers, House Select Committee witnesses and former committee staffers, authors and journalists, the documentary reports that the work of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack provided the groundwork for special counsel Jack Smith's indictment of Trump and may offer insights into how the trial unfolds.

The documentary chronicles how the committee built its case against Trump and tried to prove his intent, how it chose to present its case to the American public, and criticisms of its work. Key witnesses who testified before the committee and whose firsthand accounts are now evidence in the federal case speak out in the documentary - including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling and former Arizona Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers.
Democracy on Trial: Rusty Bowers (interview) | PBS Frontline | 01/30/24 | 1:14:37
Democracy on Trial: Adam Kinzinger (interview) | PBS Frontline | 01/30/24 | 44:41
Democracy on Trial: Bennie Thompson (interview) | PBS Frontline | 01/30/24 | 49:38
Democracy on Trial: Robert Ray (interview) | PBS Frontline | 01/30/24 | 1:24:45
Trump's Presidency Recap: The Most Defining Stories | NowThis Impact | 01/26/21 | 28:58

Note: click on the Title above or image for video ->

Intro (from transcript)

Alternative Facts

As Donald Trump's time in the White House comes to a close we looked back on some of the most defining moments of his presidency. We narrowed the list down to 10 but let's be honest there were a lot of really intense stories to choose from. First let's start with Trump's embrace of alternative facts. Alternative Facts over the course of his presidency Donald Trump made more than 30 000 documented false statements. The lieing started during his campaign but it didn't stop when he reached the White House. Here he is, the day after his inauguration: "We did a thing yesterday, the speech, did everybody like the speech? You had to like it so I've been given good news... we had a massive field of people, you saw it". But, I get up this morning I turn on one of the networks and they show an empty field. I said, "wait a minute I made a speech I looked out the field was it looked like a million, million and a half people". In reality crowd size experts estimated that trump's inauguration drew between 300,000 to 600,000 people. When challenged Trump doubled down spending essentially the first week of his presidency defending an evidently false claim over a trivial issue. This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration period and establishing from literally day one that this was an administration that would lie about anything and everything. The Washington Post and other fact checkers have found that donald trump tells more lies and falsehoods than any president in either party in history. ...

Russia Investigation
Judicial Appointments
Boader Wall
Impeachment
Coronavirus
Election Fraud
Hate Crimes
Protests
The News
PBS News Weekend full episode, Feb. 3, 2024 | PBS NewsHour | 02/03/24 | 26:45
Jeffrey Epstein's Brother Tells All: 'Professional Hit' | Law&Crime Network | 01/11/24 | 30:00
Fox anchor calls out BACKFIRING Republican scheme | btc | 02/04/24 | 21:51
How the Morbidly Rich Avoid Arrest for Outrageous Crimes | Thom Hartmann | 02/02/24 | 10:37

04.02.2024. 22:25

Special Interest | Important stuff
GOOD Shorts Videos

Note: To view a video, click on code at left of the title

I'm still working on this

GOOD Short Videos
Robert Reich Mashups
Robert Reich

In an interview with The New York Times in 2008, Reich explained that "I don't believe in redistribution of wealth for the sake of redistributing wealth. But I am concerned about how we can afford to pay for what we as a nation need to do [...] [Taxes should pay] for what we need in order to be safe and productive. As Oliver Wendell Holmes once wrote, 'taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.'"

In response to a question as to what to recommend to the incoming president regarding a fair and sustainable income and wealth distribution, Reich said: "Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit—a wage supplement for lower-income people, and finance it with a higher marginal income tax on the top five percent. For the longer term, invest in education for lower income communities, starting with early-childhood education and extending all the way up to better access to post-secondary education."

Reich is pro-union, saying: "Unionization is not just good for workers in unions, unionization is very, very important for the economy overall, and would create broad benefits for the United States." Writing in 2014, he stated that he favors raising the federal minimum wage to $15/hr across three years, believing that it will not adversely impact big business, and will increase higher value worker availability.
Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
Lindsey Graham Mashups
Lindsey Graham

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said the quiet part aloud on why he’s still so close to former President Donald Trump: because we can use him for our goals. "President Trump has gotten people who wouldn't give me or Romney or anybody else the time of day. They believe he is on their side," the senator told the America First Agenda Summit crowd on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
Trump's Mashups
Trump's Mashups

Donald Trump talks a lot, but what is he actually saying? VICE News' "Trump Talk" mashup series tries to answer that. And, we're happy to say, it was just nominated for two Webby Awards. Now you can watch all the nominated videos.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
Trump's Sexcapades
Trump's Sexcapades.

Jessica Leeds (1980s)
Kristin Anderson (1990s)
E. Jean Carroll (1995 or 1996)
Lisa Boyne (1996)
Cathy Heller (1997)
Temple Taggart McDowell (1997)
Karena Virginia (1998)
Mindy McGillivray (2003)
Jennifer Murphy (2005)
Rachel Crooks (2005)
Natasha Stoynoff (2005)
Juliet Huddy (2005 or 2006)
Jessica Drake (2006)
Ninni Laaksonen (2006)
Cassandra Searles (2013)
Allegations of pageant dressing room visits(1997)
Mariah Billado,
Victoria Hughes,
and three other Miss Teen USA contestants
Bridget Sullivan (2000)
Tasha Dixon (2001)
Unnamed contestants (2001)
Samantha Holvey (2006)

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device
Trump's Speeches | Rallys |Interviews
Trump's Speeches | Rallys

Donald Trump talks a lot, but what is he actually saying? Watch Trump at some of his rallys and see what you think.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device