Sharing a moment during the Jan 2009 Inauguration festivities
Enjoying the class of the Obamas, before being inundated with the crass of the Trumps. <sigh>
Take a virtual reality tour of the White House, narrated by the Obamas
Rep. Alan Lowenthal is skipping inauguration over Trump's comments about Rep. John Lewis
“President-elect Trump’s recent attacks on Rep. John Lewis were beyond the pale and served as a tipping point which made me re-evaluate my original intention to attend," Lowenthal said in a statement. “On inauguration day, our nation invests the president-elect with executive power. We do not anoint the president with respect. Respect must be earned. Donald Trump, in his attacks on Rep. Lewis, and minorities, and women, and the disabled, has yet done little to earn my respect."
Investigators on the Trump-Russia Beat Should Talk to This Man
So with subpoena-wielding investigators on this beat, here's a suggestion: the gumshoes ought to talk to an American from Belarus named Sergei Millian, who has boasted of close ties to Trump and who has worked with an outfit the FBI suspected of being a Russian intelligence front. If they haven't already.
Millian, who is in his late 30s and won't say when came to the United States or how he obtained US citizenship, is an intriguing and mysterious figure with a curious connection to Trump. He is president of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce in the USA (RACC) and the owner of a translation service. The RACC, a nonprofit which Millian started in Atlanta in 2006 and which has survived on shoestring budgets, advocates for closer commercial ties between Russia and the United States and assists US firms looking to do business in Russia. In 2009, the group called for the US Congress "to foster necessary political changes to produce a healthier economic environment" and grant permanent normal trade relations status to Russia. Its website notes that it "facilitates cooperation for U.S. members with the Russian Government, Russian Regional Administrations, U.S. Consulates in Russia, Chambers of Commerce in Russia, and corporate leaders from CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] countries."
In an April 2016 interview with RIA Novosti, a Russian media outlet, Millian described his history with Trump. He said he met the celebrity real estate developer in 2007 when Trump visited Moscow for a "Millionaire's Fair," where he was promoting Trump Vodka. Millian noted that Trump subsequently invited him to a horse race in Miami. "Later," Millian said, "we met at his office in New York, where he introduced me to his right-hand man—Michael Cohen. He is Trump's main lawyer, all contracts go through him. Subsequently, a contract was signed with me to promote one of their real estate projects in Russia and the CIS. You can say I was their exclusive broker."
Trump team is planning to ELIMINATE the DOJ's 25 Violence Against Women grant programs (and MANY other programs)
The departments of Commerce and Energy would see major reductions in funding, with programs under their jurisdiction either being eliminated or transferred to other agencies. The departments of Transportation, Justice and State would see significant cuts and program eliminations
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be privatized, while the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities would be eliminated entirely
At the Department of Justice, the blueprint calls for eliminating the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Violence Against Women Grants and the Legal Services Corporation and for reducing funding for its Civil Rights and its Environment and Natural Resources divisions.
At the Department of Energy, it would roll back funding for nuclear physics and advanced scientific computing research to 2008 levels, eliminate the Office of Electricity, eliminate the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and scrap the Office of Fossil Energy, which focuses on technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Under the State Department’s jurisdiction, funding for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are candidates for elimination.
After this election cycle, I can’t believe I’m saying this: I stand with the US Press Corps
But while you have every right to decide your ground rules for engaging with the press, we have some, too. It is, after all, our airtime and column inches that you are seeking to influence. We, not you, decide how best to serve our readers, listeners, and viewers. So think of what follows as a backgrounder on what to expect from us over the next four years
Access is preferable, but not critical. You may decide that giving reporters access to your administration has no upside. We think that would be a mistake on your part, but again, it’s your choice. We are very good at finding alternative ways to get information; indeed, some of the best reporting during the campaign came from news organizations that were banned from your rallies. Telling reporters that they won’t get access to something isn’t what we’d prefer, but it’s a challenge we relish
We will set higher standards for ourselves than ever before. We credit you with highlighting serious and widespread distrust in the media across the political spectrum. Your campaign tapped into that, and it was a bracing wake-up call for us. We have to regain that trust. And we’ll do it through accurate, fearless reporting, by acknowledging our errors and abiding by the most stringent ethical standards we set for ourselves.
We’re going to work together. You have tried to divide us and use reporters’ deep competitive streaks to cause family fights. Those days are ending. We now recognize that the challenge of covering you requires that we cooperate and help one another whenever possible. So, when you shout down or ignore a reporter at a press conference who has said something you don’t like, you’re going to face a unified front. We’ll work together on stories when it makes sense, and make sure the world hears when our colleagues write stories of importance. We will, of course, still have disagreements, and even important debates, about ethics or taste or fair comment. But those debates will be ours to begin and end.
^^she sure does whine a lot about us being so mean.
If you’re just joining us, you can catch RTO's lovely picture diary honoring the Obamas here
Good afternoon folks (good morning west coast). In 24 hours, we’ll be under a dictatorship a new administration. We have to stick together. Together, we’re stronger than them. Hold their feet to the fire, so to say. Don’t be afraid to call their offices and let them know what you think. Hit ‘em on Twitter and Facebook. Send them mail. Best of all, show up at Town Hall meetings. And if they refuse to work for us, vote for someone that will. If they’re running unopposed, consider running for office yourself. /stepping off soapbox now
Ok, I better get more coffee. This is your afternoon open thread. Happy chatting!
