How to remove Trump from office – The Washington Post

Donald Trump is a one-man basket of deplorables. He is a braggart and a liar. He is a bully and a demagogue. He is an ignoramus and a deadbeat, a chiseler and either a sincere racist or an insincere one, and his love for himself is matched only by my loathing of him. He is about to be president of the United States. A constitutional coup may be in the offing. Since winning the election, Trump has not moderated his behavior. He still behaves like a brat — his childish tweet zinging Arnold Schwarzenegger for

Source: How to remove Trump from office – The Washington Post

Why You Shouldn’t Watch Donald Trump’s Inauguration on TV | TIME

Glaude is the chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University and the author of Democracy in Black.Televison ratings are a form of protest Trump might understandJanuary 20, 2017, will be a pivotal day in American history. Donald J. Trump, the people’s billionaire, will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. I do not expect the heavens to cry out or the four horsemen of the apocalypse to appear as he raises his right hand. Elections are what they are, and they often leave us with bad outcomes and questionable people. But I do believe his inauguration will signal a dramatic and dark shift in the direction of the country.That’s about as nice as I can put it. My mother, who lives on the coast of Mississippi and doesn’t talk politics often, says it more baldly: “the country is going straight to hell.”Trump will enter office with the lowest approval rating in four decades. In The Wall Street Journal, Janet Hook detailed the unprecedented opposition that awaits him after the inauguration. More than 200,000 women will march in Washington the day after he takes the oath of office. Progressives throughout the country are mobilizing to resist what they see, with every cabinet nomination and senseless tweet, as a radical attempt to undermine any substantive idea of the public good. Millions of dollars are flowing to grassroots and established organizations to resist Trumpism.

Source: Why You Shouldn’t Watch Donald Trump’s Inauguration on TV | TIME

Bikers for Trump Ready to Stand up to Protesters | Fox Business

A motorcycle group led by a South Carolina chainsaw artist will ride into the nation’s capital on Inauguration Day in support of the 45th President of the United States.Bikers for Trump, a group of motorcycle enthusiasts, will likely be toeing the line with protesters, who are also expected to be at the event.“The bikers are certainly used to being outnumbered and we are prepared to form a wall of meat,” Chris Cox, the founder of the organization, told the FOX Business Network.However, Cox said he doesn’t foresee any problems occurring during the event, especially after the group’s experience at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, where police successfully maintained order between Trump’s supporters and protesters.“We’re anticipating a celebration here. We don’t anticipate any problems. We have a strict code of conduct where we don’t condone violence. But again in the event that we’re needed, you can certainly count on the Bikers for Trump,” Cox said.He added: “The backbone of the biker community is the veteran. So these are guys that aren’t really used to backing down. You certainly won’t see bikers out there screaming, calling for destruction of private property or the death of police officers.”Cox said he and other members of his group support the President-elect because he is not an establishment politician and also because of his outspoken nature on the issues that concern them most.“[The bikers looked for] someone who was going to stand up and call it what it is,” Cox explained. “Radical Islam is one of the biggest talking points of Bikers for Trump. Illegal immigration and one of our sweet spots is getting behind the American veteran. We believe it’s incumbent upon all who understand the value and the sacrifice of our servicemen and women that we are there for them. And we’ve got to change these policies now.”According to Cox, the bikers’ rally at John Marshall Park will begin “shortly after Donald Trump exits the stage to go into the Capitol. And it will end shortly before the parade on Pennsylvania Ave.”

Source: Bikers for Trump Ready to Stand up to Protesters | Fox Business

Head of D.C. National Guard to be removed from post in middle of inauguration – The Washington Post

The U.S. Army general who heads the D.C. National Guard and is an integral part of overseeing the inauguration said Friday he will be removed from command effective Jan. 20 at 12:01 p.m., just as Donald Trump is sworn in as president. Maj. Gen. Errol R. Schwartz’s departure will come in the midst of the presidential ceremony — classified as a national special security event — and while thousands of his troops are deployed to help protect the nation’s capital during an inauguration he has spent months helpi

Source: Head of D.C. National Guard to be removed from post in middle of inauguration – The Washington Post

NYC’s fiscal stability no sure thing | New York Post

New York may look like it’s booming, but the city’s finances are skating on thin ice, according to a report.The Fiscal Times put out a list of America’s large cities ranked by their fiscal stability — and New York came in ahead of only troubled Chicago.The Big Apple finished 115th on the list — even though revenue grew from $60 billion in 2009 to $81 billion in 2015 — because so much of its growth is dependent on a surging stock market and skyrocketing real-estate prices.Because the city has been spending so much, including on pensions, and has so much debt, a downturn could be disastrous.“A bear market could place the city in jeopardy,” the report said.The top city in the US was Irvine, Calif.

Source: NYC’s fiscal stability no sure thing | New York Post

New York City needs Hillary Clinton to run for mayor | New York Post

It seems unlikely — but the idea’s been floating around for several days now, and so far she’s not rejecting it. For what it’s worth, Secretary Clinton, we’d love to see you run for mayor. New York City needs you.Yes, we were highly critical of Hillary Clinton in the runup to Election Day. But that was the race for the White House, where she offered a program far to the left of the nation’s center.Not so in New York, where she’d be dead-center in the city’s Democratic majority. Progressive, but not obsessed with proving it — nor with trying to use the mayoralty to become a national leader. Passionate for social justice, but not an ideologue who’ll stick by homeless or affordable-housing policies that are clearly failing.Above all else, she’d actually focus on doing the job. Clinton is a famously diligent worker — one who shows up on time and puts in the hours. And New York needs a mayor who’ll run herd on city government.The incumbent has handed the work of running the city off to one or two deputies, while he spends his time on politics and p.r. stunts. And it shows — in the details those overworked deputies let slip, like that Rivington Street nursing-home flip, and in the crises that go too long unacknowledged, from the Bronx outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease to the surge in street homelessness.Clinton is a fighter and a problem-solver. For eight years, she was a fine senator for this state, working relentlessly on 9/11 recovery and also for constituents in areas far from the media spotlight.Sure, she’d need to become a city resident, and spend months building ties to Gotham’s neighborhoods. But she’s hardly a stranger to the city, nor it to her.Nor does any local Democrat seem both willing and able to seriously challenge Mayor de Blasio for reelection — yet he needs to be challenged, indeed needs to be replaced.Plus, her national stature would bring serious benefits: She’d be a lot harder for Gov. Cuomo to bully than the current mayor — and tougher for Washington to ignore.Nor would she need to sell herself to the city’s special interests to win the job — another huge improvement over the incumbent.What’s in it for her? Well, her presidential run shows her appetite for continued public service. And while Gracie Mansion isn’t the White House, it’s no consolation prize: New York’s mayor is famously “the second-toughest job in America” — and you traditionally have your own foreign policy, too.While it’s not the glass ceiling she hoped to break, New York has never had a woman mayor. Isn’t it past time for that to change?

Source: New York City needs Hillary Clinton to run for mayor | New York Post

Local Democrats practically begging Hillary to run for mayor | New York Post

Run, Hillary, run — for mayor.Local Democratic activists said they would rally to Clinton’s side if she decided to take on Mayor de Blasio in a ­primary this year.“If Hillary entered the race, she would be the best candidate. I would support her because we need a change in New York City,” said Gregory Floyd, president of Teamsters Local 237.Floyd, who represents school safety officers and Housing Authority workers, has clashed repeatedly with City Hall over policy.“Hillary would be a better mayor than de Blasio. Every week we hear about investigations about fund-raising and city property being given away to real estate developers,” he said.Clinton captured 79 percent of the vote in the five boroughs during her failed November presidential run.The Rev. Patrick Young, pastor of First Baptist Church in East Elmhurst, Queens, said Clinton could make history by shattering the mayoral glass ceiling in Gotham.“Hillary would have been the first female president. She would be the first woman mayor in the history of New York City,” he said.“She would be better at working with people and engaging people. She would be a breath of fresh air. We have a cloud over our leadership right now.”The Rev. Johnny Green, pastor of Harlem’s Mount Neboh Baptist Church, said Clinton would have his vote.“Hillary over de Blasio. Anybody against de Blasio. De Blasio is a repeat offender when it comes to stupidity,” Green said.One de Blasio critic claimed de Blasio would be toast if Clinton runs.“I’m not sure she would have an opponent. De Blasio would have to drop out if she ran,” said former Mike Bloomberg campaign manager Bradley Tusk, who is hunting for a viable foe against the mayor.The Clinton-for-mayor rumors lit up social media.“Ummm, this may be the BEST news of 2017 yet!!! I’m fine with a pantsuit city,” ­Ladychampagneb posted on Instagram.Clinton allies are pushing talk of her possibly running for mayor to “torture” de Blasio for waiting so long to back Clinton in the presidential race, according to one Democratic Party official.“Trust me. People don’t forget,” said a Clinton Democratic National Committee delegate from New York.A source said Clinton did not discourage her backers from discussing a City Hall bid.“She wants to remain relevant,” the source said.

Source: Local Democrats practically begging Hillary to run for mayor | New York Post

U.S. Border Patrol Begins Asking Foreign Travelers for Social Media Accounts upon Entering Country

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has finalized a measure that asks foreign travelers to provide their social media accounts upon entering the country.
Border Patrol started asking travelers to provide their Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts starting Tuesday, Politico reported.

Individuals are prompted to include their social media accounts when applying for a visa waiver.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection introduced the measure in June and took comments on it until August 22, the Guardian reported.

Since the measure was introduced, the government has received much criticism from groups like the Internet Association, which represents Google, Facebook, and Twitter; the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), according to the Hill.

“This program would invade individual privacy and imperil freedom of expression while being ineffective and prohibitively expensive to implement and maintain,” the EFF, ACLU, and 26 other groups wrote in August.

The groups said the measure’s impact would “fall hardest on Arab and Muslim communities, whose usernames, posts, contacts and social networks will be exposed to intense scrutiny.”

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Hallucinogenic plant ayahuasca gains foothold in US

Los Angeles (AFP) – Dominique was hooked on cocaine and smoked two packs of cigarettes a day until she stumbled onto ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic concoction that she says has changed her life.

The French-American woman, who lives in Los Angeles and did not want her real name used, is among thousands of people across the United States who are increasingly turning to the powerful psychedelic brew from the Amazon to overcome addiction, depression or psychological trauma.

The potion, prepared and consumed as part of a shamanic ritual, is especially gaining a following in Hollywood and Silicon Valley.

Thousands are flocking to sample the elixir and swear by its therapeutic properties, despite warnings from scientists and users that ayahuasca can be dangerous and even prove fatal, especially when mixed with other drugs.

Ayahuasca’s proponents, who include celebrities such as Sting, Paul Simon, Tori Amos and Lindsey Lohan, say the plant offers a spiritual experience like no other. Many also say it has allowed them to overcome traumas that no other conventional therapy can tackle.

“There’s been this misconception that it’s the hippies that come with feathers in their hair, but it’s pretty much the opposite,” says Jeff, who organizes ayahuasca ceremonies in the Los Angeles area and who did not want his real name used.

“In a time defined by consumerism and entertainment, people want to have strong experiences, one might consider spiritual experiences, something sacred.”

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Random Events, Free Will, Pre-destiny or Something Darker ?