Monthly Archives: June 2017

Kathy Griffin is under fire for a photo shoot where she held a mock severed head of President Trump.(Photo: Dan MacMedan, USA TODAY)

Media bubbles. Everybody's got one and everybody thinks the other side's stinks. For those of you who may lean liberal and not know what's trending on your conservative brother-in-law's Facebook page or vice-versahere's a look at what was hot from both right and left-leaning media and commentators this week.

And here's what had everyone fired up last week:

What really fired up conservatives this week?

What really fired up liberals this week?

Of all the posts about comedian Kathy Griffin'soffensive photo shoot with decapitated Trump head,this one from Fox News Entertainment, about Griffin losing her new Squatty Potty gig, made the biggest social media splash.

"We were shocked and disappointed to learn about the image Ms. Griffin shared today, it was deeply inappropriate and runs contrary to the core values our company stands for," Squatty Potty CEO Bobby Edwards in a statement, according to Fox News. "In response, Squatty Potty has suspended its ad campaign featuring Ms. Griffin. We have acted swiftly and decisively to demonstrate our commitment to a culture of decency, civility, and tolerance."

Not familiar withthe Squatty Potty? I'll just leave this here ...

"I know its theoretically wrong for a Republican candidate to smack around an annoying liberal journalist, but that still doesnt mean that I care," writes Townhall columnist Kurt Schlichter about Greg Gianforte's alleged assault of Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs on the eve of Montana's special election for its open House seat. The fact that he and other conservatives don't care about the assault is the fault of liberals who "have chosen to coarsen our culture,"Schlichter says.

Their validation and encouragement of raw hate, their flouting of laws (Hi leakers! Hi Hillary!) and their utter refusal to accept democratic outcomes they disapprove of have consequences. What is itself so surprising is how liberals and their media rentboyz are so surprised to find that we normals are beginning to feel about them the way they feel about us and that were starting to act on it. If you hate us, guess what?

Were going to start hating you right back.

National Review critic Kyle Smith was less than kind in his assessment of a recent New York Magazine interview with Hillary Clinton:

The funniest episode in the protective yet revealing new Hillary Clinton profile arrives when we learn that this sad, unemployed, 69-year-old lady is so desperate to keep her self-image alive that she still employs flunkies and retainers to treat her as though she actually were the president, or the secretary of state, or a president in waiting, or at very least the leader of the opposition.

Smith was particularly disgusted with what he says is Clinton's refusal to accept any blame for the election outcome.

"Every time she draws attention to the Trumpian flaws that were conspicuous to all during the campaign, she doesnt hear the obvious rejoinder echoing in every Americans mind: Then why couldnt you trounce him?" Smith concludes.

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And in other Hillary Clinton news:

"Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that her loss to Donald Trump might suggest that Democrats have to start learning how to twist the truth if they're going to start winning elections," the Washington Examiner'sPete Kasperowicz writes. Kasperowicz refers to remarks Clinton made at a tech conference in California, where she attributed part of her loss in the 2016election to what she considers the Trump team's open embrace of "falsehoods, fake news" and "lies."

"The other side was using content that was just flat-out false and delivering it in a very personalized way, both above the radar screen and below," Clinton said.

Kasperowicz said at one point Clinton appeared to reconsider the wisdom of not using the same tactics against her opponent. He said she implied that future candidates might have to resort to lying if they want to win when she said, "I'm not rethinking it, but everybody else better rethink it, because we have to figure out how to combat this."

Citing CNBC, this post on Sean Hannity's website celebrates the private sector jobs report for May, which came in at a robust 253,000 after forecasts of 180,000.

"The Trump administration has made job creation the cornerstone of its economic plan, slashing regulations and rescinding burdensome government policies that inhibit growth," the Hannity post reports.

"Many economists believe its now possible to achieve the White Houses goal of 3% GDP growth per year," the report concludes, without providing specific examples.

President Trump dealt a "devastating setback to international efforts to curb global warming" when he announced Thursday that the US. was pulling out of the Paris climate change agreement, which the Obama administration had taken a big role in brokering, the Huffington Post reported.

The move is a particularly egregious repudiation of the international community because the Trump administration could have negotiated for lower emissions targets under the Paris Agreement, officials and the pacts advocates said. Because of that, the diplomatic fallout will likely be harsher than when President George W. Bush rejected the 1997 Kyoto climate agreement.

President Donald Trump has announced the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. USA TODAY

"We don't need additional information about the Russian covert scheme to undermine the 2016 campaign, or about the curiousinteractions between Team Trump and Russia, or about Trumppressuring and then firingFBI Director James Comey, to reach the judgment that the president of the United States engaged in wrongdoing," David Corn writes forMother Jones.

Explicit collusion may yet be proved by the FBI investigation overseen byspecial counsel Robert Muelleror by other ongoing probes. But even if it is not, a harsh verdict can be pronounced: Trump actively and enthusiastically aided and abetted Russian President Vladimir Putin's plot against America. This is the scandal. It already exists in plain sight.

The newly elected president of France, Emmanuel Macron, promised to be "demanding" in his dealings with Russia and denounced state news organizations like Russia Today as "fake news" and "propaganda" during a news conference alongside Putin on Monday. "Two weeks into his term, the 39-year-old Macron struck an assertive, principled tone that you would have expected from an American president meeting with an increasingly assertive adversary," wrote Elliot Hannon for Slate.

Macrons assertiveness is noticeably absent in American interactions with Russia, which have melted into a bizarre sycophancy. Macron, like an increasing number of European leaders, seems to have sensed the softening in Washington and has indicated he will strike an equally tough pose in his dealings with the Trump White House.

French President Emmanuel Macron hosted Russia's Vladimir Putin at the sumptuous royal palace in Versailles on Monday to talk about cooperating on fighting terror. Time

There is "glaring hypocrisy" in the Trump family's outcry over Kathy Griffin's photo shoot because of their embrace of right-wing rock star Ted Nugent, writes Aaron Rupar for Think Progress.

"Just last month, Trump invited rock star Ted Nugent to the White House for dinner, despite Nugents repeated calls for the deaths of then-President Obama and Hillary Clinton," Rupar writes.

During Trumps presidential campaign, Nugents well-documented history of racism and violent threats didnt deter Trump fromfeaturing him in his campaign adsand at his rallies.

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters could not be more clear on his 2017 U.S. tour: He does not like President Trump. At his shows, images played on a massive screen above the stage show Trump wearing lipstick, a wig, in dominatrix leather and naked, the Daily Kos reported. There are also anti-Trump messages that flashon the screen and agiant inflatable pig with Trump's face on it that hovers over the audience. Some fans at were not thrilled at the opening show in Kansas City, according to the Daily Kos.

The fans who didnt like the anti-Trump message must have beensuper bummed out to see children on stage, sporting Resist t-shirts during Waters rendition ofAnother Brick in the Wall. I mean, the guy wrote"The Wall" for Christ sakes. What did you think that was about?

Roger Waters dedicated some of his performance to ridiculing Donald Trump at Desert Trip in Indio, Calif., Oct. 9, 2016.(Photo: Jay Calderon, The Desert Sun)

In case you missed it:

What really fired up conservatives this week?

What really fired up liberals this week?

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What blew up the liberal and conservative media bubbles this week - USA TODAY

Three liberal states are teaming up to fight climate change in response to President Trumpwithdrawingfrom the Paris climate agreement.

California, Washington and New York, which together account for a fifth of the countrys economy, say theyre committed to upholding the goals of Paris despite Trumps pullout.

The president has already said climate change is a hoax, which is the exact opposite of virtually all scientific and worldwide opinion, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said in a joint statement from himself and the other two states governors.

The three states are already some of the most progressive in policies regarding greenhouse gas emissions and aim to lead the world on fighting climate change.

Brown and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) attended the Paris climate conference in 2015, where nearly 200 nations wrote the pact to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

The coalition, which the governors are dubbing the U.S. Climate Alliance, is launching without specific goals, except to do their own parts to abide by the original United States commitment.

I am proud to stand with other governors as we make sure that the inaction in D.C. is met by an equal force of action from the states," said Inslee. "Todays announcement by the president leaves the full responsibility of climate action on states and cities throughout our nation.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) accused the Trump administration of abdicating its leadership and taking a backseat to other countries.

Cuomo said he is signing an executive order on climate change, which he said would confirm New Yorks leadership role in protecting our citizens, our environment, and our planet.

Read more:

Liberal governors team up to fight climate change - The Hill

Christian is accused of fatally stabbing two men who tried to protect two African-American girls, including one wearing a hijab, on a Portland light-rail train.

"Go home, we need American here!" Christian shouted at the girls, according to a probable cause affidavit. "I don't care if you are ISIS."

On Tuesday, Christian had barely entered the courtroom when he started shouting in his blue jail uniform.

"Free speech or die, Portland!" Christian bellowed. "... Death to the enemies of America. ... You call it terrorism, I call it patriotism. You hear me? Die."

Portland attack survivor feels 'very fortunate' 01:08

Just outside the courtroom, vitriol flew from the other direction.

One man identified himself as a friend of Christian's and was instantly met with profanity from some supporters of the victims.

"F*cking Nazi, you're a fascist!" one person shouted at the man.

"I bled for my race," he replied, as he tightened the red shoelaces on his boots.

It's not clear what the man meant when he said he bled for his race. Sheriff's deputies escorted him out before any more trouble erupted.

It's far from the first time Portland has been linked to Nazi extremism.

At the Portland metro station where bloody victims emerged last week, mourners wrote messages in chalk to honor those killed.

One message stirred memories of another gruesome murder: "Remember Mulugeta Seraw."

A message in front of Portland's Hollywood metro station honors murder victim Mulugeta Seraw.

"The murder of Mulugeta Seraw really put Portland on the map for all the wrong reasons," said Blazak, who is also chairman of the Oregon Coalition Against Hate Crimes.

Seraw, an Ethiopian immigrant, was bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat by a group of Portland skinheads in 1988.

"This city had a wake-up call," Blazak said. "It was kind of a sleepy, progressive city where we recycled everything. And then all of a sudden we had these roving gangs with Nazi skinheads attacking -- and in this case killing -- an immigrant."

And in the years following Seraw's death, Portland gained the unsavory nickname of "Skinhead City."

"We became famous in the 1990s as 'Skinhead City' because of the rival gangs of right-wing racist skinheads and anti-racist skinheads who are doing physical battle in the streets," Blazak said.

Last week's deadly train incident "is kind of the latest manifestation of that," he said.

But conflicts have escalated in recent months, Portland Police Chief Mike Marshman said.

Girl targeted on Portland train speaks out 01:22

"With the election of President Trump, I think our protest activity -- the number of events we have -- has increased," he said.

"That's problematic for me only because that takes more money to have those events go safely. I have to pull officers and detectives from their normal day-to-day activity, so certain crimes just now aren't getting investigated, or the investigations that are being worked on just take longer to work through the investigative process."

In the two days after Trump's inauguration, protesters caused about $1 million in damage, Marshman said.

Blazak, the Oregon criminology professor, said Portlanders are known to be passionate about politics.

"There is kind of a radical history in this town and in this region on both sides of the political spectrum," he said.

The terms are relatively new, but the concepts are not.

For years, the alt-right has existed in the cyberworld, "but now they're kind of spilling over into the streets," Blazek said.

Suspect ranted on train one day before attack 00:45

"They're disaffected with mainstream conservative speech, (but) they don't want to be associated with overt white supremacist neo-Nazi groups, and they want to express anti-immigration views, anti-multicultural views, economic protectionism."

He said alt-right protesters are typically "moderate-income working-class white males who are left out of the globalization and ... feel left out of all the progress that's happening," the professor said.

"And they want to assert their voice because they feel like the tendency is to defer to the minority voice, and they feel like they're not part of the conversation."

By contrast, the alt-left -- also known as the Antifa -- is bent on stopping the rise of right-wing groups.

He cited a 2012 case in which alt-left activists "walked into a high-end restaurant in Chicago where a white supremacist group was eating and literally beat them up with baseball bats."

Blazak said the recent train killings, combined with political rhetoric, portends "a long, hot summer in Portland as these groups kind of line up against each other."

It might seem self-defeating for right-wing activists, and especially alt-right activists, to try to make headway in traditionally liberal hot spots like Portland and Berkeley, California.

Blazak said he's not surprised alt-right members are trying to raise their profiles in such cities.

"There's this mantle of free speech that they're hanging their hats on," he said.

"Under the first amendment, they have a right to express themselves ... but it's used in a very provocative way to bring out the opposition and essentially martyr themselves in these street battles between the left and the right and to show themselves as almost the victims of the oppressive left-wing regime."

Alt-right leader punched during interview 00:42

But Joey Gibson, organizer of the group Patriot Prayer USA, said his group's planned rally in Portland on Sunday is "really not about provoking, it's about fighting for your right to assembly and to show what you believe in."

Gibson said he's libertarian and not alt-right. He said one of his goals is to help "turn a blue state into a red state."

That could be a huge challenge.

"Portland is as left as you can get," said Lenz of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

He said what's happening with the alt-right in Portland is actually reflective of what's happening across the country.

"What the alt-right is trying to do is they are going into these bastions of liberalism and hoping and willing to engage in physical conflict with counterprotesters," he said.

"The story isn't an Oregon thing. It's a national story."

Paul Vercammen and Stephanie Becker reported from Portland, and Holly Yan reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Carma Hassan also contributed to this report.

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Portland's liberal image tempered by history as 'Skinhead City ... - CNN