MOMocrats

Every day since he announced his candidacy, the president has waged war on the free press. MOMocrats Karoli, Aliza Worthington, and Donna Schwartz Mills are aware that this is a classic ploy from the authoritarian playbook. This week, this war escalated as the president increased his pace of rallies. He is putting his weight behind 2018 Republican candidates who kiss his ring - but he's also trying to distract from the tightening noose of the Russia investigation, which headed into a new phase this week with the start of the first Paul Manafort trial. Yesterday, the heads of the nation's security agencies made an extraordinary show by warning the nation that Russia is still trying to wreak havoc with our 2018 election - an assertion that the president continues to discount. And press secretary Sanders also refused to say that the journalists she works with are NOT the "enemy of the people." Sad. 

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MOMocrats Karoli, and Donna Schwartz Mills are having a hard time remembering that the president's Helsinki meeting with Vladimir Putin was just five days ago. The country was already bracing itself for this summit, which the president decided to have without (a) an agenda or (b) any other staffers present, other than the two leaders' interpreters. We've heard nothing about what was agreed upon -- except from RUSSIAN media. And in their official press conference following their two-hour meeting, Trump once again supported Putin's denial of his country's criminal interference in the 2016 election. This was an incredulous assertion, given the breadth of the indictment against 12 named Russian agents filed by Bob Mueller just three days before the summit... and national security director Dan Coats' assertion that the warning signs against more interference in our midterms was flashing red, just as they did before 9/11. And to add insult to injury: Putin has been invited to meet again with the president in the fall - at the White House. As Coats said upon learning of this yesterday, that's bound to be "special." An Engender Media Group production.

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Donald Trump told the UK press that the flying of an orange baby blimp in his image (complete with little cellphone) made him feel unwelcome. MOMocrats Karoli, Aliza Worthington, and Donna Schwartz Mills think we should get an army of blimps to fly over the White House, Mar a Lago, Trump Tower, and every other place the Orange One frequents so he gets the message. He is certainly not welcome in Europe, where he has done everything he can to blow up the western alliance that has given us relative peace since the end of the last World War. He is not welcome in Britain, where he has done everything he can to blow up Prime Minister Teresa May's government (with a little help from Steve Bannon - and do not forget that Brexit appears to have been accomplished with help from the Russians). But even as he enjoys tea today with Queen Elizabeth, he knows he will be welcomed by Vladimir Putin in a couple of days. The question is: how will he betray the American people in those talks?The MOMocrats will also talk about yesterday's extraordinary congressional interrogation of former FBI spycatcher Peter Strzok... and today's indictments of Russian intelligence officials who hacked the DNC in 2016 in this week's political podcast from the progressive point of view. An Engender Media Group production.

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FThe MOMocrats' weekly podcast looking at the day's political news from the progressive point of view. Check back here an hour from airtime for a list of the topics. Chances are, there will be some discussion of what's happening in Congress and a reaction to the latest  from lawmakers and candidates. An Engender Media Group production. 

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Some day, maybe we'll understand why Melania Trump wore that jacket on her way to visit those poor migrant kids at the shelter in Texas, which was a weird postscript to a couple of days of Kabuki theater, as the administration reels from the backlash to their atrocious policy to hold hostage the children of people who are trying to find asylum in the United States. MOMocrats Karoli, Aliza Worthington, and Donna Schwartz Mills are as horrified by this debacle as all the other decent people watching this debacle unfold. They will talk about this, ways to help, and the protests in the works. They may also find some time to discuss the other political developments that have occurred this week while all eyes have been on the border in this week's podcast looking at the day's political news from the progressive point of view. An Engender Media Group production. 

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This week has been marred by high profile deaths of designer Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain - and the news that they are just the tip of the iceberg: The CDC says suicides in the US have reached epidemic proportions.MOMocrats Karoli, Aliza Worthington, and Donna Schwartz Mills can relate. If you are prone to depression, the direction of this country and the world does not offer a lot of hope. And if you are following the news as closely as they are, you're acutely aware of all that is wrong in the world right now: children being separated from parents at the border and being thrown into cages, an abandonment of democratic principles regarding due justice, and immense power plays by the administration that is marching into authoritarianism. Last night, it was revealed that the Department of Justice committed a vast overreach by obtaining a journalist's emails going back to her college days - in secret. Almost simultaneously, we got the news that DOJ will not contest a spurious lawsuit from TX and other conservative states alleging that consumer protections in the ACA (including coverage of pre-existing conditions) are unconstitutional. Karoli points out that this will literally kill Americans who will be unable to obtain health coverage. The ironic thing is: There is much to be hopeful for. This week's primaries in eight states indicate that the coming blue wave is gathering steam (even if the media stories on it seem to be an attempt to tamp it down and make the upcoming elections more of a horse race). It is really important to keep our enthusiasm up. The MOMocrats will do their best during this week's look at politics from a progressive point of view.

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The big news yesterday was the cancellation of that North Korea summit. Now, the president appears to be walking that back. In other words, it's just another day in Trump's America. MOMocrats Karoli, Aliza Worthington, and Donna Schwartz Mills talk about the perhaps dashed hopes for a Nobel Peace Prize and what to do with all those Kim Jong Un commemorative coins... as well as "Spygate," this week's made-up distraction from the ongoing Mueller investigation - and James Clapper's assertion that yes, Russia DID turn the election.  An Engender Media Group production. 

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The mid-term primaries have begun and the MOMocrats are cautiously optimistic -- after all, all the crazy coming out of the White House and the Republican Congress seem to have motivated progressives to vote in non-presidential election years. MOMocrats Karoli, Aliza Worthington, and Donna Schwartz Mills will talk about all of this week's political news from the progressive point of view: Michael Cohen’s brief access sale for fun and profit, the end of the Iran deal and the re-emergence of Dick Cheney, North Korea, and the hazard of doing things while black are just a few of the topics. An Engender Media Group production. 

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Some pundit on one of the cable networks this week surmised that the average tenure for a Trump White House staffer is 6-12 months, so no one was all that surprised with this week's overhaul of the President's legal team, including Emmet Flood, one of the few living attorneys with actual experience defending a chief executive from impeachment.But then there is Rudy Giuliani, who crashed the Trump defense strategy over the Stormy Daniels case by revealing that Trump did, indeed, re-pay Michael Cohen the $130,000 hush money to keep the star quiet. Giuliani insists that no campaign finance laws were violated. That remains to be seen. In the meantime, this whole mess is distracting the media from developments in the Russia case.MOMocrats Karoli, Aliza Worthington, and Donna Schwartz Mills will discuss these topics and more in this week's podcast looking at the day's political news from the progressive point of view. An Engender Media Group production. 

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Ronny Jackson is out before his confirmation hearings could begin at Veterans Affairs. Scott Pruitt is finally being questioned for impropriety at EPA. Mike Pompeo is the new Secretary of State, and Michael Cohen is pleading the Fifth. Yes, it's just another day in Trumpland - and MOMocrats Karoli, Aliza Worthington, and Donna Schwartz Mills try to make sense of it all in this week's podcast discussing  the political news from the progressive point of view.  An Engender Media Group production. 

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