Trump find religion, the contentious White House phone calls, and the groundhog came out of his hole.
I think it’s safe to say that not too many people supported Donald Trump because of his bona fides as a religious man. But he is a politician who knows how to pay back supporters and shore up voting blocks. At a DC prayer breakfast, Trump promised to “get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment (a provision of the tax code that prohibits religious leaders and institutions endorsing or opposing political candidates).” Trump explained: “Freedom of religion is a sacred right, but also a right under threat all around us. The world is under serious, serious threat in so many different ways, but we’re going to straighten it out. That’s what I do. I fix things.”
+ Reuters: Trump to focus counter-extremism program solely on Islam.
+ ReCode: Google, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft plan to draft a joint letter opposing Trump’s travel ban.
+ Trump also took the opportunity to talk about The Apprentice ratings since Arnold Schwarzenegger took over. “The ratings went down the tubes. It’s been a total disaster, and Mark will never, ever bet against Trump again. And I want to just pray for Arnold, if we can, for those ratings, OK?” (OK, we’ll add it to the list, but full disclosure, our prayer backlog is getting pretty long.)
+ “If signed, the order would create wholesale exemptions for people and organizations who claim religious objections to same-sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion, and trans identity.” It’s only a draft, but a leaked version of an executive order “Establishing a Government-Wide Initiative to Respect Religious Freedom” looks like it would green-light many forms of discrimination.
Genus de Milo
Trump threatened to pull federal funding from UC Berkeley after a night of violent protests prevented Milo Yiannopoulos from delivering a scheduled speech. (Campus officials had already condemned the violence.) The entire incident brings up an important point when it comes to dealing with trolls and hate speech. The key is to give trolls as little coverage and attention as possible. These protests (even if they hadn’t been violent) do just the opposite. The same goes for celebrities and other influencers who quote hate-tweets from trolls. Their main goal is to go viral. Don’t help them. I never thought it would be possible to turn the word Yiannopoulos into a household name…
The Caller is Inside the (White) House
“At one point, Trump informed Turnbull that he had spoken with four other world leaders that day — including Russian President Vladimir Putin — and that ‘this was the worst call by far.'” The president appeared to successfully migrate his Twitter communication style to a landline phone as a call with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull turned sour. (I’ve had less heated calls on a Samsung Galaxy Note 7.)
+ From Newhour: “President Donald Trump warned in a phone call with his Mexican counterpart that he was ready to send U.S. troops to stop ‘bad hombres down there’ unless the Mexican military does more to control them — comments the White House described as ‘lighthearted.'”
+ Tensions with Iran have been increased by a pair of tweets from the Commander in Chief. (The Onion should sue reality for plagiarism.)
+ “Politicians have gotta talk from both sides of their mouth, gotta please everybody because they want votes. He don’t have to. He’s saying, listen, this is the way it’s going to be. He’s changing all the rules, and I love it.” From NPR: Trump Supporters Cheer Quick Starts On Campaign Promises.
No Yes Men in Yemen
“US military officials told Reuters that Trump approved his first covert counterterrorism operation without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations.” Questions mount over botched Yemen raid approved by Trump.
+ At this point, no one outside of the key actors knows enough to assign blame here, and we all know things go wrong in battle. Axios on what we do know: “A leak like this is highly unusual in the military community.”
The New Math
“That could very well mean a 50-50 standoff on the Senate floor — and Vice President Mike Pence being called in to put DeVos over the top.” The confirmation of the Betsy DeVos for Education Secretary is too close to call.
+ “Mr. Falwell said Mr. Trump had first asked him to head up the task force in November, when the two met at Trump Tower in New York. At the time, Mr. Falwell said he had declined Mr. Trump’s offer to become U.S. education secretary because ‘I wanted a role that would allow me to stay at Liberty.'” Jerry Falwell Jr. says he will lead federal task force on higher-ed policy.
On Hi(gh)atus
“The biggest influence on kids are other kids. It’s not uncool to say, ‘I don’t take drugs or drink.’ It’s perfectly acceptable now.” Vice looks at some of the forces behind numbers when it comes to drug use among young people in the UK: Gen Z Is Too Busy to Drink or Do Drugs. (I guess my generation was pretty good at multitasking…)
Pumped
“At the far end of a palm-lined strip mall in Boca Raton, Florida, a crowd waits in line for a miracle. Roughly 300 people — mostly men, from high-school jocks to potbellied dads — know just what they’re here for: more muscle, more energy, more libido. ‘I want to get really vascular,’ says a guy in his thirties, referencing the pipelike veins coursing beneath the skin of pro bodybuilders. He has short brown hair, hairless arms, and a T-shirt that reads, I may look alone, but really I’m just that far ahead. An older, balding man next to him says he just wants to feel younger.” Gordy Megroz in Men’s Journal: How Two Florida Gym Rats Conquered the Shadowy World of Dietary Supplements. (It’ always Florida…)
Chilling
“An investigation by the Wall Street Journal has confirmed what many of us already knew deep down: ‘It’s not your imaginations. Hotel thermostats often aren’t under your control.'” Yes, it turns out that thermostat controls in hotel rooms are often placebos.
More Winter is Coming
“Phil probably should have phoned in last year’s forecast this morning, because this one was wrong before he even woke up.” Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter. But like so many things these days, that forecast might be fake news. (Considering all the recent news, I give the groundhog a lot of credit for coming out of his hole at all.)
Bottom of the News
“What Would Happen If You Never Got Up From Your Seat?” you can read this article for the answer, or you can just stop by my office and watch.
+ McSweeney’s turned Trump’s Black History Month comments into a parody, without changing a word.
+ We know Steph can hit three pointers. It turns out his dad Dell can still drop them in too.
