Wayne Besen

July 22, 2017 • Uncategorized • 1102

Trump Interferes with Russia Probe by Attacking Investigators

Donald Trump is petrified of independent counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, so he’s preemptively trying to kill the messenger. The president is actually investigating the investigators looking for alleged conflicts of interest.

These so-called conflicts include investigators who gave money to Democrats. Those who had business clients affiliated with Democrats. And, those who had friendly or professional relations with fired FBI Director James Comey.

One wonders if Trump will eventually try to disqualify investigators who gave money to, or voted for, his Republican primary opponents – such as Little Marco, Low Energy Jeb, and Lyin Ted.

Trump seems to believe the only people qualified to investigate him are hardcore loyalists and lackeys who support him no matter what he does. You know, like shooting someone in the middle of 5th Avenue.

Trump has made it clear that he doesn’t think Mueller’s investigation should extend beyond Russia. But in the real world, it doesn’t work that way. If law enforcement uncovers new crimes while investigating Russia, it’s their duty to enforce the law. You would expect Law and Order Republicans to understand this concept.

To put this in perspective, notorious serial killer Ted Bundy was caught after he was pulled over by police in Florida because he was riding in a stolen Volkswagen. When the police realized that Bundy was on the FBI’s “10 Most Wanted List”, Bundy didn’t get to say, “Hey you can’t arrest me for murder – this investigation was supposed to be about car theft.”

The same goes for Trump. If they find the crime, you do the time. At least until you pardon yourself and your shady family members.

And let’s not forget that independent counsel Ken Starr’s investigation of Bill Clinton started as a query into an Arkansas land deal. By the time he was finished, Monica Lewinsky was a household name.

In that case, Ken Starr actually was a blue-nosed partisan hack with an axe to grind. It was a wild goose chase that morphed into witch-hunt over oral sex, with the goal of bringing down a sitting president.

So, stay tuned and watch the coming hypocrisy of Republicans. They were perfectly fine with the nosy Kenn Starr widening the parameters of the Clinton investigation, but will now go ballistic when Mueller expands his investigation beyond Russia.

In this unseemly and unpresidential spectacle, Trump’s fall guy is Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The president is livid that he recused himself after having lied in his Senate confirmation hearings about meeting with the Russian Ambassador.

Trump expected Sessions to be a lapdog apparatchik stooge who protected the president from being investigated. Trump flat out told The New York Times this week that he would have never hired Sessions had he know he would have recused himself.

This statement, in and of itself, is incriminating and shows Trump is corrupt and committed to obstruction of justice. Just like he probably obstructed justice when he fired James Comey.

No matter what political party the investigators belong to, or which politician they gave money to, the facts are still the facts. Either Donald Trump is innocent, or he is guilty. Based on his bizarre and unconscionable interference, I’m betting on the latter.

This is your daily Reality Check with Wayne Besen. Have a great weekend.

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July 21, 2017 • Uncategorized • 1049

Chicago Mayor Rahm ‘E-Scam-uel’ Bilking Chicago Tax Payers

Script:

I know it’s early, but I’m going come out and endorse anyone but Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Two breaking stories today highlight why he can’t be trusted – and rips off taxpayers.

In the first story, Chicago settled with city drivers for $38.7 million dollars over its red light camera racket. More than 1.2 million people are eligible to be reimbursed for half of what they paid for their tickets.

The city’s red light and speed cameras were always a con. They often don’t work properly and they pick pocket drivers who can least afford to pay the fines. They are essentially an enormous backdoor tax – ripping people off by turning Chicago’s main thoroughfares into legalized mugging zones.

The red light cameras first appeared after an Arizona company bribed a Chicago official to get the city contract. A Chicago Tribune investigation found that drivers were ticketed after yellow light times were illegally slashed below federal minimum standards.

Ever speed through a yellow light and it turns red before you get through, and you say to yourself – “damn that yellow light was quick?” Well, in Chicago that scenario was true – and it’s a great way for cowardly politicians to rake in money for the city without having to raise taxes.

In the latest twist, the city settled with drivers for failing to give proper notice to those who were ticketed, as well as not offering enough time to pay their fines.

The biggest joke is when the mayor tries to pretend the red light cameras are about public safety. The Chicago Tribune found that red light cameras caused a 22-percent of increase in rear-end crashes, yet provided no safety benefit.

Alderman Anthony Beale, who has criticized red light cameras, said that the program was about “trying to balance the books on the backs of the people who can least afford to pay.”

Hey Commissioner Beale, ever think of running for mayor?

In the second big story, the Better Government Association and Crain’s Chicago Business found that the Emanuel Administration played a cynical shell game with $55 million dollars of taxpayer’s money.

In Chicago, we have what is called tax-increment financing – or TIFs. It’s basically money siphoned from property taxes to fund much-needed investment in poor neighborhoods. What the city did, was take this money and ostensibly shift it to a hotel project at McCormick Place convention hall – which is located in a disadvantaged South Side neighborhood.

Once the money was in the hotel’s account, it was funneled to the tourist destination, Navy Pier, which wasn’t eligible for the funds because it’s located in a ritzier north side neighborhood. The transaction was difficult to detect because the owner of the hotel project also ran Navy Pier.

South Side residents should remember the mayor’s priorities the next time he campaigns in these neighborhoods.

Whether it’s red light cameras or acting shady with TIFF funds, the mayor needs to be upfront with voters – and stop acting like Mayor Rahm E-Scam-uel

This is Reality Check with Wayne Besen. Have a great day.

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July 21, 2017 • Uncategorized • 974

Reality Check: Senate Plan Could Leave 32 million without Healthcare

Next week, Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans may force a vote to repeal key sections of ObamaCare without a replacement. This CBO says this nightmare could lead to 32 million Americans losing their health insurance.

In this Reality Check segment, Wayne Besen talks about the cruel and heartless effort to strip health insurance from people in the name of cost savings and enriching insurance executives.

If you agree with me, please pass along this video. Thank you!

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July 20, 2017 • Uncategorized • 1077

CBO Slams GOP Senate Healthcare Bill

Senate RepubliCare (THUBS DOWN).

That’s the verdict from the Congressional Budget Office. They say that Mitch McConnell’s Senate healthcare bill could lead to 32 million people losing their health insurance.

The Senate bill would scrap the individual mandate, offering “freedom” for many young people to forgo health insurance – thus creating an unstable insurance pool of older, sicker Americans. This would lead to health insurance companies raising premiums.

The result? Insurance plans could cost 25% more next year, then skyrocket 50% after subsidies are eliminated, and could actually double in a decade, according to the CBO.

Meanwhile Donald Trump, who during the campaign boasted of his “very good brain,” has had four shifting positions:

Position 1) He urged the Senate to Repeal and Replace

Position 2) Repeal only to start a “clean slate”, which would lead us to the healthcare fiasco we had before ObamaCare.

Position 3) Do nothing, sit back, and deliberately let ObamaCare crater. In reality, this would mean the total collapse of the American Healthcare system. Of course, Donald Trump, members of Congress and their families would have great healthcare, while millions of other people would lose their insurance.

Position 4: Trump is demanding that House and Senate members don’t go home for summer break until an awful repeal and replace bill is passed.

And, of course, the future “position 5,” Say, “screw it” and go golfing with Russians at Mara-Lago.

Trump seems to think needy Americans have become spoiled because ObamaCare gave them the opportunity to visit doctors when they’re sick. According to Trump:

“Once you get something, it’s awfully tough to take it away.” But why would lawmakers – who are supposed to protect us – deliberately try to take away our healthcare, which should be a right?

Even more bizarre, Donald Trump told the New York Times this week that he thinks people get health insurance for $12 a month. That’s a great price, especially if you get a heart attack from that greasy 15-cent hamburger you ate, at your $5 dollar front row Wrigley Field seat at a Cubs game. What bizarre universe does this out of touch president live in?

***

The essence of Repuli-Care is to perversely get as many Americans as possible uninsured. The goal is to keep insurance executives filthy rich and to save the government money.

This makes sense in the same way we could save money by eliminating jails and letting all those expensive prisoners go free and roam our streets. Or the way we could save a fortune by eliminating public schools and ensuring mass ignorance instead of education. Or eliminating food stamps and just letting the 43 million Americans who use them eat out of trashcans or starve.

The truth is, ObamaCare was an improvement over the cruel system that left people with preexisting conditions out in the cold, or drove people with illnesses to bankruptcy and destitution.

How bad were the bad old Days that Republicans want us to return to?

Pre-ObamaCare, insurance companies turned down one out of every 7 applicants with preexisting conditions. These insurance denials increased by nearly 50% between 2007 and 2009, as companies saw this as a way to rake in more money at the expense of peoples’ lives.

Still, ObamaCare has major shortcomings and is insufficient. The obvious answer is Medicare for All. However, this won’t happen until voters repeal and replace Republicans on Capitol Hill, as well as demand that Democrats listen to their base instead of greedy insurance companies.

This is your daily Reality Check with Wayne Besen.
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July 8, 2017 • Uncategorized • 1232

Ad: Bruce Rauner is Making Us Sick

Ad Text:

TrumpCare is so extreme that Republican governors helped lead the charge against it.

But not Bruce Rauner. He was Trump’s political puppet – doing nothing while 1 million Illinoisans are in danger of losing their healthcare.

TrumpCare is projected to cost Illinois $40 billion dollars in Medicaid, $8.4 billion dollars each year in lost economic activity, and 60,000 lost jobs.

Bruce Rauner doesn’t care about your health – or the economic health of Illinois. Rauner and Trump. They aren’t making Illinois greater – just sicker.
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