In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

In case you didn't watch the Democratic debate last night, but want to see the very excellent moment in which Hillary Clinton mocked Donald Trump's incessant argle-bargling about how he's going to build a giant wall along the US-Mexico border, here it is:

He's talking about a very tall wall— [audience laughter] Right? A beautiful, tall wall— [laughter] Ah, the most beautiful, tall wall, better than the Great Wall of China [laughter] that would run the entire border, that he would somehow magically get the Mexican government to pay for [laughter] and, you know, it's just fantasy!

[Content Note: Climate change] "The US and Canada declared they would help lead the transition to a low-carbon global economy on Thursday, in a dramatic role reversal for two countries once derided as climate change villains. The shared vision unveiled by Barack Obama and Justin Trudeau ahead of a meeting at the White House commits the two countries to a range of actions to shore up the historic climate agreement reached in Paris last December. The two leaders committed to rally G20 countries behind the accord, promote North American carbon markets, cap emissions from hundreds of thousands of existing oil and gas wells, and protect indigenous communities in a region which is warming beyond the point of no return, according to a statement from the White House. The initiative announced on Thursday brings the US a big step closer to meeting its own Paris target by committing for the first time to cut emissions of methane—a powerful greenhouse gas responsible for about a quarter of warming—from existing oil and gas wells." Obama + Trudeau = WIN.

Speaking of President Obama: "President Barack Obama earned a 50% job approval rating for the week ending March 6, his highest weekly average since May 2013." Huh! It turns out that Democrats being progressive gets them higher approval ratings! I'm sure looking at Obama in comparison to the nightmare contingent of Republican candidates doesn't hurt, either.

[CN: Class warfare] Rage seethe boil: "On Wednesday, lawmakers in the West Virginia House overwhelmingly passed a bill that will drug test some of the poor who apply for state welfare benefits. ...The state Senate already approved the legislation, but will have to hold a vote of concurrence on the amendments added to it in the House. After that, it will head to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) for a signature. Once the bill arrives at the governor's desk, a spokeswoman for his office told ThinkProgress he will review it with his policy and legal teams and then make a decision about whether to sign it or veto." My thoughts on this garbage previously.

[CN: Assault; misogyny] Another reporter has been assaulted at a Trump rally: "The Breitbart News reporter who was allegedly assaulted by Donald Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski at a campaign news conference Tuesday night is speaking out about the incident for the first time in a new op-ed posted to the news outlet's website overnight. Michelle Fields, who covers politics for Breitbart, says she was 'jolted backwards' after she posed a question to the Republican front-runner. 'Trump acknowledged the question, but before he could answer I was jolted backwards. Someone had grabbed me tightly by the arm and yanked me down. I almost fell to the ground, but was able to maintain my balance. Nonetheless, I was shaken,' Fields writes in the post. Fields did not see who pulled her but said The Washington Post's Ben Terris allegedly identified the aggressor as Lewandowski. 'I quickly turned around and saw Lewandowski and Trump exiting the building together. No apology. No explanation for why he did this,' Fields says." Breitbart News is a deeply conservative outlet, so it's unlikely the motivation was ideological. Trump routinely blasts the press at his events.

[CN: Assault; racism] Another black protester was also assaulted at a Trump rally: "The now-common violent outbreaks at Donald Trump rallies escalated further at an event in Fayetteville, North Carolina on Wednesday. Footage that surfaced Thursday morning showed a black man getting punched in the face by a white rally attendee and then wrestled to the ground by police officers. The protesters were being led out of the rally by men who were wearing sheriff's uniforms when Rakeem Jones flipped his middle fingers to the crowd. In the video, he's punched in the face by a white man in a cowboy hat. The crowd cheers, and Jones is pushed to the ground by the officers and handcuffed." Fucking hell.

Also some dudes apparently ate some nachos at a Trump rally.

[CN: Sexual assault; Christian Supremacy; video may autoplay at link] Josh Duggar has left his "rehabilitation program," which was some untherapeutic religious bullshit promoted by a serial sexual abuser, and is now home with his family. I desperately hope that his children and the women around him will be safe, and fear that they won't be.

[CN: Video may autoplay at second link] Wow: "A NASA Mars spacecraft celebrates a major milestone today—a decade circling the Red Planet. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) arrived at the Red Planet on March 10, 2006 and has done yeoman's work in the decade since. To mark the occasion, NASA created this video celebrating the MRO's 10 years at Mars."

And finally! "Puppies or Food?" LOL!!! We'd better just NOM NOM NOM all of them to be safe.