Monday, August 14

á       Internet service provider GoDaddy gave Nazi web site Daily Stormer 24 hours to move its web site to another provider for disparaging the woman killed at the Charlottesville rally. http://tinyurl.com/yct3unom

á       The Marijuana Justice Act was introduced in the House – a call for legalizing marijuana at the federal level. http://tinyurl.com/y9z22z5p

á       Peter Gleick, a water scientist, said, ÒPresident Donald Trump claimed heÕd work to promote clean water.Ó Since taking office, he and the Republican-led Congress have rolled back decades of water-quality protections. http://tinyurl.com/ybhgybnx

á       Kenneth C. Frazier, president of Merck and one of the few African American CEOs in the Fortune 500, resigned from TrumpÕs manufacturing council saying, ÒI feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism.Ó http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/14/investing/merck-ceo-trump-charlottesville/index.html

á       Trump, in response to FrazierÕs resignation, tweeted, ÒNow that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President's Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!Ó http://tinyurl.com/y8292ojf

á       Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stressed North Korea diplomacy and noted the US military has a Ôfull rangeÕ of options at ready. http://tinyurl.com/y7j996ja

á       Several Latin American nations came out strongly against Trump's threat of military intervention in Venezuela. http://tinyurl.com/ycnacwuo

á       The Sierra Club sued the US Energy Department over groups it consulted in a possibly biased study on the electricity grid that potentially promotes power plants fired by nuclear and coal. http://tinyurl.com/y8gfro9c

á       According to The International Business Times, the drug industry has spent $61 million on state elections and nearly $67 million on federal elections since 2010 to influence drug prices. http://tinyurl.com/y9snq2my

Tuesday, August 15

á       West Virginia Governor Jim Justice has been in initial chats with Trump about a bailout for the shrinking coal industry with a plan for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to pay as much as $1.65 billion in subsidies to coal companies. http://tinyurl.com/y9h36lk3

á       According to Nexus Media, after six months of regulatory rollback, Trump has done almost nothing that will create jobs on oil fields or offshore rigs. That's because low oil prices, not environmental protections, are stunting job growth, and Trump's push to nix federal regulations and expand drilling will only make oil cheaper. http://tinyurl.com/ycgp8l8l

á       Trump insisted that it wasnÕt just white nationalists who were responsible for the violence in Charlottesville and who simply wanted to protect the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. http://tinyurl.com/y9xegg9f

á       The Congressional Budget Office said if Trump makes good on his threat to cut off subsidies for low- and medium-income buyers of health insurance, the federal deficit would swell and premiums for some health plans would rise sharply, according to the Los Angeles Times. http://tinyurl.com/ybuzs4aa

á       California Attorney General. Xavier Becerra joined San Francisco in suing the Trump administration over threats to take money from Òsanctuary cities.Ó http://tinyurl.com/yd6rlnyk

á       Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, resigned from TrumpÕs manufacturing council saying he refused to accept any tolerance of bigotry and domestic terrorism. http://tinyurl.com/yando5hj

á       WalmartÕs ECO, Doug McMillon, criticized Trump for not Òunequivocally rejecting the appalling actions of white supremacists,Ó but will continue to serve on TrumpÕs economic advisory council. http://tinyurl.com/y8oqvjzh

á       Google joined GoDaddy in cutting ties with the Daily Stormer blog saying the Daily Stormer violated its domain registry terms of service for its treatment of Heather Heyer, who was killed in Charlottesville. http://tinyurl.com/yda73ywd

á       According to LobeLog, a review of comments over the past two years by controversial Trump counter-terrorism adviser Sebastian Gorka reveals a consistent dismissal of any suggestion that non-jihadist terrorism poses any threat to Americans. Gorka has ties to the far right—including wearing the medal of a Hungarian Nazi collaborating group to TrumpÕs inaugural ball, backing a racist and anti-Semitic Hungarian militia in a 2007 television interview, and serving as national security editor of the alt-right website Breitbart. http://tinyurl.com/yc7ud3mo

Wednesday, August 16

á       White nationalist leader Richard Spencer cheered Trump for defending white-nationalist protestors in Charlottesville saying, ÒReally proud of him. He bucked the narrative of alt-right violence and made a statement that is fair and down to earthÉ.Charlottesville needs to police the streets and police the antifa[scists], whose organizations are dedicated to violence.Ó http://tinyurl.com/yclw45x5

á       According to The Washington Post, Trump adviser George Papadopoulos in March 2016 offered to set up a meeting between Trump campaign officials and the Russian leadership to discuss US-Russia ties under Trump, telling them his Russian contacts welcomed the opportunity. http://tinyurl.com/y9f8o4lu

á       BuzzFlash reported that pastor Ralph Drollinger has been leading the first White House bible study in at least 100 years. Attendees have been VP Mike Pence, HHS Secretary Tom Price, DOE Secretary Rick Perry, Education Secretary Betsy Devos, Agriculture Secretary Sunny Perdue, and CIA director Mike Pompeo. Trump has not attended. http://tinyurl.com/ycga5gnt

á       The DHS terminated a program offering minors fleeing violence and poverty in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras a chance to settle in the US, ending travel hopes for more than 2,700 children awaiting approval. http://tinyurl.com/y7xp5ozx

á       The Trump administration backed away from causing a crisis in healthcare and agreed to continue making Obamacare subsidy payments to insurance companies. http://tinyurl.com/yabt8pdf

á       A federal appeals court ruled that the state of Arkansas can withhold Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood -- a major departure from court precedent that may set up the issue of Planned Parenthood defunding for a possible Supreme Court challenge. http://tinyurl.com/ya39shpj

Thursday, August 17

á       Because so many of AmericaÕs top CEOs had resigned from TrumpÕs economic advisory and manufacturing councils over Trumps defense of White Supremacists, Trump disbanded the business councils, an action that isolates him more than ever from the GOP, world leaders and the business community. http://tinyurl.com/yaeemcat

á       Scientific American reported that Congressional Democrats have explored forming an expert panel to review TrumpÕs mental health on a periodic basis. http://tinyurl.com/ycuahzwo

Friday, August 18

á       White House Chief of Staff John Kelly fired White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. Bannon said, ÒThe Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over.Ó. http://tinyurl.com/y83s3f9d

á       All members of Trumps Commission on Arts and the Humanities resigned -- a sign of growing unrest with Trump aligning himself with White Supremacists. http://tinyurl.com/y82vrkf8

á       According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the Trump administration issued an environmental impact statement that proposes to greenlight a dangerous Arctic drilling plan, a first for federal waters in the Arctic. Studies have warned that arctic drilling carries a 75 percent chance of a major oil spill. http://tinyurl.com/yd3sd8qk

á       Pastor A. R. Bernard stepped down from TrumpÕs board of evangelical advisers saying Òit became obvious that there was a deepening conflict in values between myself and the administration.Ó http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2017/aug/19/pastor-r-bernard-quit-trumps-evangelical-advisory-/

á       Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, the wealthiest of Trump's circle, resigned as TrumpÕs advisor on financial regulation after critics claimed his policy recommendations could help his own investments. http://tinyurl.com/ydd2n2fb

Saturday, August 19

á       Trump and first lady Melania Trump planned not to attend the annual Kennedy Center Honors after three of the honorees, Norman Lear, Lionel Richie, and Carmen de Lavallade, said they may boycott the traditional White House reception for honorees. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/19/us/politics/donald-and-melania-trump-to-skip-kennedy-center-honors.html

á       New York Times reported that TrumpÕs threat to use US military against President Nicolas MaduroÕs Venezuelan government has brought together Latin American leaders to oppose US intervention. http://tinyurl.com/y8hhht8f

Sunday, August 20

á       According to The New Republic, Trump exhibited signs of racism long before his Charlottesville comments including his Òvile stance against the Central Park Five, the two times he was sued for not renting to black people, the time he refused to disavow former KKK grand wizard David Duke, or the fact that he pretty much started the whole birther conspiracy.Ó http://tinyurl.com/yblg3zmk

á       Trump disbanded the National Climate Assessment Committee, a group that helps policymakers and private-sector officials incorporate climate analysis into long-term planning. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/08/20/the-trump-administration-just-disbanded-a-federal-advisory-committee-on-climate-change/?utm_term=.9e92f4148913

á       Six large charity groups have canceled plans to host fundraising events at TrumpÕs Mar-a-Lago club over TrumpÕs response to violence at the White Supremacist rally in Charlottesville. http://tinyurl.com/yaflrwhl

á       TeleSur reported that the US is set to launch its annual joint military exercises with South Korea, a move that North Korea says will further drive the situation on the Korean Peninsula into a catastrophe.Ó http://tinyurl.com/ycogvekq

á       North Korea warned that the upcoming US-South Korea military exercises are "reckless behavior driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war." http://tinyurl.com/yab87mba