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Trump Helped Cut Brother’s Children from Will

January 2, 2016 at 4:25 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 53 Comments

The New York Times has a fascinating profile of Donald Trump’s older brother, Freddy, who died from alcoholism at an early age.

An interesting tidbit: “Then came the unveiling of Fred Sr.’s will, which Donald had helped draft. It divided the bulk of the inheritance, at least $20 million, among his children and their descendants, ‘other than my son Fred C. Trump Jr.'”

“Freddy’s children sued, claiming that an earlier version of the will had entitled them to their father’s share of the estate, but that Donald and his siblings had used ‘undue influence’ over their grandfather, who had dementia, to cut them out. A week later, Mr. Trump retaliated by withdrawing the medical benefits critical to his nephew’s infant child.”

Being Nixon

January 2, 2016 at 2:58 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

A must-read: Being Nixon: A Man Divided by Evan Thomas.

Bill Gates: “I was a little surprised to learn what a bad manager Nixon was. Although it doesn’t compare to his other failings, Nixon’s management style offers some good reminders of how not to run a team. He avoided conflict at all costs. His staff frequently left meetings with diametrically opposed views on what he had just asked them to do. Or he would be crystal-clear about what he wanted, while actually expecting his staff to ignore his demands. His team wisely blew off his repeated orders to break into the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, and steal a document that might be damaging to him.”

Sanders Pulls In Another $33 Million

January 2, 2016 at 12:14 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 91 Comments

Sen. Bernie Sanders raised $33 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, the AP reports.

Key takeaway: “Most of Sanders’ fundraising came through online donations from 2.5 million people during 2015, a number that his team said surpassed President Barack Obama’s record number of 2.2 million donations in 2011.”

Vox: “Sanders’s achievement is all the more impressive both because he doesn’t have access to the traditional Democratic fundraising networks (indeed, he’s been warring with the party establishment), and because of his constant criticism of the influence of corporations and the superrich.”

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Bill Clinton Returns to the Campaign Trail

January 2, 2016 at 12:05 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 22 Comments

The Guardian: “Twenty-four years later, ‘the comeback kid’ will return to the stump in New Hampshire on Monday. He will be hoping to administer another Lazarus-like political resuscitation. After the sting of rejection in 2008, when his wife was bested by a young upstart named Barack Obama, he will make the case for Hillary Clinton’s second shot at becoming the first woman in the White House.”

“This time the former secretary of state appears to be on course, with a comfortable lead in Democratic polls after debate performances that apparently neutralised the socialist insurgency of Bernie Sanders. Her campaign says it raised $37m in the past three months, a record for a non-incumbent, and more than $112m in all of 2015. The Republican field, meanwhile, remains overcrowded and chaotic.”

Why Fact-Checking Donald Trump Doesn’t Work

January 2, 2016 at 9:58 am EST By Taegan Goddard 34 Comments

Zach Kopplin sees similarities in the behavior of Donald Trump supporters and people who are committed to anti-science beliefs.

“In a 2014 study, Brendan Nyhan and several other researchers found that when parents with negative feelings about vaccines were presented with evidence that vaccines do not cause autism, they actually reported being less likely to vaccinate their children. The corrective information had a negative effect.”

Said Nyhan: “For highly controversial issues and political figures, there’s a risk that correct information is not only ineffective, but can make misconceptions worse. People who are exposed to correct information in the context of a debate over a controversial issue can end up believing more strongly in the misperception than people who never saw the correct information.”

Presidential Peeping Tom Caught on Video

January 2, 2016 at 9:44 am EST By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

Birmingham News: “The man, who was naked except for what appeared to be a Ronald Reagan rubber mask covering his head and a sock covering his private parts, ran off… The ordeal, however, was caught on their home security video and later posted to Facebook as a warning to neighbors and others.”

Quote of the Day

January 2, 2016 at 8:47 am EST By Taegan Goddard 19 Comments

“The year 2015 was a year of gigantic struggle recorded with significant events and eye-opening successes and a year of victory and glory that strikingly demonstrated the dignity and might of socialist Korea… But if invasive outsiders and provocateurs touch us even slightly, we will not be forgiving in the least and sternly answer with a merciless, holy war of justice.”

— North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, quoted by USA Today reports.

Carson Retools Campaign in Final Sprint to Iowa

January 2, 2016 at 8:36 am EST By Taegan Goddard 25 Comments

“Ben Carson is overhauling his campaign operation, adjusting his tone and doubling down on old-fashioned retail politics to help revive his flailing presidential bid,” CNN reports.

“The campaign is also trying to rev up its policy shop by bringing in more experts and releasing new policy proposals.”

Said campaign chairman Robert Dees: “We’ve had a policy engine that was idling. We’re going to allow the people of America to really see what Ben Carson really believes about certain things.”

Trump Used in Al Qaeda Recruitment Video

January 2, 2016 at 8:08 am EST By Taegan Goddard 54 Comments

New York Times: “Al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia released a recruitment video on Friday that criticized racism and anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States and contained footage of the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump announcing his proposal to bar Muslims from entering the country. The video, released by the militant group Shabab, appeared to be the first time that Mr. Trump was featured in jihadist recruitment material.”

How Donald Trump Answers a Question

January 2, 2016 at 7:32 am EST By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

This is a fascinating analysis of how Donald Trump talks differently than other candidates.

Behind the Sudden Fall of Rahm Emanuel

January 2, 2016 at 7:27 am EST By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

Rick Perlstein: “Now the sins of Emanuel are finally catching up with him. Lucky for him, however, the compounding police-shooting scandal has erased from the news a peccadillo from this past November: the mayor’s press team was eavesdropping and recording reporters while they interviewed aldermen critical of the mayor. A spokesman responded to the press by saying that their only intent was also ‘to make sure reporters have what you need, which is exactly what you have here.’ That made no sense. But then so much of the legend of Rahm Emanuel’s brilliant career makes little sense. The bigger question, perhaps, is what this says about a political party and the political press that bought the legend in the first place.”

Paying Survey Respondents Could Mean Better Answers

January 2, 2016 at 7:01 am EST By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

New York Times: “When survey respondents were offered a small cash reward — a dollar or two — for producing a correct answer about the unemployment rate and other economic conditions, they were more likely to be accurate and less likely to produce an answer that fit their partisan biases.”

“In other words, when money was added to the equation, questions about the economy became less like asking people which football team they thought was best, and more like asking them to place a wager. Even a little bit of cash gets people to think harder about the situation and answer more objectively.”

Indiana Lawmaker Targets Transgender Bathroom Use

January 1, 2016 at 8:32 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 36 Comments

Indiana state Rep. Jim Tomes (R) “has proposed a bill that would make it a crime for transgender people to use public bathrooms and locker rooms that do not conform to their gender at birth,” the Chicago Tribune reports.

“The issue is particularly charged in Indiana, where tensions have run high since spring when lawmakers faced backlash for a religious objections law that critics said would sanction discrimination against gay people on religious grounds.”

Obama Will Act Alone on Gun Control

January 1, 2016 at 8:17 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

“President Obama will press ahead with a set of executive actions on guns next week despite growing concerns in the U.S. over terrorism that have dampened some Americans’ enthusiasm for tighter firearms restrictions, according to several individuals briefed on the matter,” the Washington Post reports.

“One of the main proposals Obama is poised to adopt–expanding new background-check requirements for buyers who purchase weapons from high-volume gun dealers -enjoys overwhelming public support: a Quinnipiac University poll in December found 89 percent supported background checks at gun shows and for online sales.”

Wall Street Journal: “But even as he gets set to act, Mr. Obama has only limited levers he can pull without Congress, and any unilateral action will face hurdles similar to those it has encountered during earlier attempts to tighten access to guns.”

How Bush Plans to Save His Candidacy

January 1, 2016 at 8:13 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

New York Times: “Jeb Bush and his supporters still have a pile of money to spend, remnants of $100 million raised when he seemed early last year to be a sure bet. They have an expansive ground operation in New Hampshire. And allies have just begun a new ad campaign in Iowa. But nothing they have tried so far has lifted Mr. Bush’s terrible poll numbers. And with just four weeks remaining until voting begins, Mr. Bush needs to do something to save his candidacy.”

“It may be too late: Other campaigns appear to have counted him out altogether. But, in extensive interviews over the past week, aides to Mr. Bush and important allies described a long-shot plan to pull off what seems all but impossible: winning the Republican nomination for president.”

Schumer is the New Democrat the GOP Hates

January 1, 2016 at 8:00 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

A New York Times profile of Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) notes that his “ballooning place in the conservative imagination is about more than his anticipated promotion.”

“He is increasingly seen as an avatar of Democratic craftiness and frustrated conservative aspirations: a wily tactician who has routinely defanged his Republican adversaries with ease, first as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and more recently as a lead negotiator on the issue of immigration reform.”

Super PACs Backing Cruz Plan Ad Buy

January 1, 2016 at 7:24 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A string of allied ‘super PACs’ supporting the presidential campaign of Sen. Ted Cruz is planning a $1 million television, digital and radio advertising buy in the early voting states, with the heaviest spending in Iowa,” the New York Times reports.

Politico reports another super PAC backing Cruz will spend $4 million on television ads.

Clinton Smashes Fundraising Goal

January 1, 2016 at 7:21 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 4 Comments

“Hillary Clinton’s campaign on Friday reported a tremendous fourth-quarter fundraising haul, saying it pulled in $37 million in funds supporting her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination,” The Hill reports.

“That brings her total funds from 2015 to $112 million, smashing through the goal her campaign set of raising $100 million.”

New York Times: “In a sign that the Clinton operation is also looking past the nominating contest, the campaign said that while it was only soliciting donations for the primaries, it had also raised $1 million in donations to be used in the general election.”