Idiocracy

From the far-right Washington Times: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and actor Jon Voight are among 10 people whom President Trump intends to nominate to the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees, the White House said Tuesday. Among the others to be nominated are billionaire Kelcy Warren of Texas, chairman of the pipeline company Energy Transfer; author Karen LeFrak of New …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump complained in a private lunch Tuesday with Senate Republicans about the amount of disaster aid designated for Puerto Rico, as lawmakers prepare for a standoff over funds for the island still struggling to recover in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, according to officials familiar with the meeting. Aid for Puerto Rico has long been …

Splinter News reports: During a Senate debate over the Green New Deal, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah used his time on the Senate floor Tuesday to combat the legislation by way of the most inane bout of pandering possibly ever recorded. Lee said he is not afraid of the Green New Deal because he doesn’t believe it will pass. He …

The Huffington Post reports: On Monday’s broadcast of “The Rachel Maddow Show,” she listed the 15 questions that are “driving me nuts” about the letter that Attorney General William Barr sent to Congress stating in Barr’s view the president had committed no crimes. Maddow’s queries included “Will Trump recognize Russia attacked our election?” and “Did Mueller want to protect a …

Fox News reports: “This was the greatest farce ever perpetrated on our democracy. It’s a disgrace and it’s a stain on our Constitution,” Donald Trump Jr. said on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” He called for the FBI investigators and those behind the anti-Trump dossier to be investigated themselves. “Certainly when you look at what the other side was doing, you realize …

The Washington Examiner reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday blocked a move by Senate Democrats to call on Attorney General William Barr to release special counsel Robert Mueller’s full report on the Russia investigation. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called up the measure but McConnell, R-Ky., shot it down. McConnell said it’s too early to call for …

The New York Post reports: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that media figures and Democrats who accused President Trump of working with Russia were guilty of treason — and could face the death penalty. “They are literally, the media and Democrats have called the president an agent of a foreign government. That is an accusation equal …

The Trump Lie Counter is approaching 10,000. Law & Crime reports: Following the findings laid out by Barr, the Trump campaign sent a memo to television producers to say there should be some media “introspection.” The memo points to “Democrat leaders and others lying to the American people by vigorously and repeatedly claiming there was evidence of collusion” on several …

CNN reports: GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham said Monday that he told the late Sen. John McCain to turn over the dossier of Trump-Russia allegations to the FBI, pushing back against President Donald Trump’s assertions that the Arizona Republican helped fan the flames of the Russia investigation. Graham told CNN after a news conference that he told Trump in Florida this …

The Palm Beach Post reports: A group of pro-Trump gun rights activists armed with assault rifles, fishing poles and good manners greeted travelers headed across the Royal Park Bridge towards the beach on Saturday. “We want to show people we are law abiding citizens and we are not going to hurt anyone,” said Michael Taylor, wearing a Glock 23 handgun …

The Huffington Post reports: President Donald Trump has emblazoned the “Trump” brand name on images of the White House to sell in his Trump Store and at the Trump International Hotel in the capital. The products give the bizarre impression that the White House is a Trump hotel. Walter Shaub, who was director of the Office of Government Ethics in …

The Washington Post reports: The U.S. government posted the largest monthly budget deficit in American history in February, hitting a dramatic milestone as tax revenue lag and spending levels continue to skyrocket. The government spent $234 billion more than it brought in through tax receipts last month, much more than the deficit levels hit during the global financial crisis. Senior …

The Hill reports: George Conway said Friday that President Trump “thinks he needs to be reelected to avoid being indicted,” taking another public shot on Twitter at the president. The president is currently under investigation on an array of fronts, though it is far from clear he’ll be indicted for anything. The Department of Justice’s internal guidance is that a …

Washington’s WTOP reports: The Washington National Cathedral in D.C. said that there was no need for the president to give approval to the funeral services held at the cathedral for the late Arizona Sen. John McCain. President Donald Trump said during a speech in a tank factory in Ohio on Wednesday that the funeral needed his approval. The cathedral said …

CBS News reports: During his high-profile visit to Israel, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said President Trump could be a present-day Queen Esther, a figure in Hebrew and Christian biblical stories who is said to have thwarted a plan to exterminate the Jewish people. Pompeo said Mr. Trump’s tough stance on Iran gave him the distinction. “Could it be that …

Vox reports: President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Thursday on a cause célèbre for conservative activists: upholding free speech on college campuses. But the executive order won’t do much more than reiterate the Trump administration wants schools to follow existing laws on free inquiry and direct the federal agencies that fund research to make sure that they’re doing …

Mediaite reports: “My husband also has been very critical of the president publicly, which is unlike him,” Kellyanne said. “He’s traditionally been a very private person. In 2016, which was known as the year of the tweet, George Conway sent exactly zero tweets. So this is new. And what also is new is not supporting the agenda of the president …

Raw Story reports: George Conway, the husband of Trump White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, revealed on Thursday that one of President Donald Trump’s own attorneys told him that he would not let his client talk to special counsel Robert Mueller because he would inevitably perjure himself. Conway said this as part of a broader discussion about Trump exhibiting multiple traits …

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: In a move experts say is medically unsound — and can be dangerous — Gov. Matt Bevin said in a radio interview Tuesday that he deliberately exposed all nine of his children to chickenpox so they would catch the disease and become immune. “Every single one of my kids had the chickenpox,” Bevin said in an …

NBC News reports: President Trump on Wednesday mocked the idea of focusing on wind power, suggesting that it would devalue property and undermine U.S. output of other energy forms. “Put the windmills up and watch the value of your house if you’re in sight of a windmill — watch the value of your house go down by 65 percent,” he …