This happens for different reasons , but a key element is the vicious cycle between holding strong attitudes on an issue and something called “ selective perception. ” Essentially , the stronger your views are on an issue like Trump ’ s impeachment , the more likely you are to attend more carefully to information that supports your views and to ignore or disregard information that contradicts them . Consuming more belief-consistent information will , in turn , increase your original support or disapproval for impeachment , which just fortifies your attitudes . So , no , not much change will be seen in the minds of the 33 percent .\nExcept , maybe . One of the more interesting findings from research on attitude change is that our more important , self-defining attitudes do not seem to change incrementally , a little at a time , but they can change dramatically , from one extreme to another . Typically , when others try to change our views on important issues that we hold firmly , their attempts to persuade us with facts and figures end up bolstering our original attitudes or pushing us out to even further extremes . But strong attitudes can experience what psychologists call “ threshold-effect changes. ” Over time , when we are exposed to information contradicting our attitudes , that information—even if we ignore , discount or deny it—can seep into our thinking and accumulate to a point where , across some threshold , people radically change their views to the opposite side of the spectrum . In other words , nothing much changes until everything changes .\nThese jumps from one extreme attitude to another on self-defining issues are not uncommon , and have been seen with former skinheads turned tolerance trainers , peace activists turned violent militants , and religious zealots turned atheists . This type of drastic transformation is , of course , hard to predict , and it can be triggered by seemingly insignificant events ( the tipping point for one skinhead was when his black co-worker tossed him half of his submarine sandwich when he had no lunch ) . But it typically occurs after repeated exposure to information contradicting their attitudes .\nSo , yes , it is possible that if some of the testimonies in the hearings are experienced by true believers ( at either extreme ) as counter to their beliefs but also persuasive , this information can plant seeds of a different point of view , that might , someday , lead to a big change . Still , this is unlikely to happen very soon .\nMinds , however , can change among the vast majority of people who don ’ t hold extreme views . A recent study by the nonpartisan group More in Common found that about 67 percent of moderate Americans on both sides of the political divide—a group the authors of the study call “ the exhausted majority ” —are fed up with our current dysfunction , despise the contemptuous state of polarization we are in , and are eager to find ways to talk , compromise and work together again . These folks , particularly the 26 percent of moderates who are politically disengaged and thus are much less identified with either tribe , can be swayed . Of course , this assumes that they are not so burned out by the vitriol of our politics that they are unwilling to devote some attention to information coming out of the hearings .\nResearch suggests a few basic strategies for changing minds that are , well , changeable . First , immediately establishing the credibility of the witnesses—to both progressives and conservatives —is paramount . For example , the introductions of the witnesses should emphasize their merits for both the left and the right to see . Second , logic and evidence can matter when they are clearly laid out , compelling and derived from trusted sources . Third , moving testimony by witnesses about the profound moral dilemmas they faced in coming forward , and any specific threats they experienced to their and their family ’ s physical safety , can help to humanize otherwise dry , technical testimony and move the listener . And finally , because most viewers tend to lean either red or blue ( even though they are “ exhausted ” ) and so will view the proceedings to some degree through their team ’ s lens , it is critical for the lawmakers to choose to emphasize just a few takeaway points , and then to stress the urgency and importance of the viewers ’ attention to them . This can serve to move viewers from their more automatic , heuristic modes of cognitive processing to more intentional , systematic modes , where they will be more likely to take in new information and learn .\nBut here is a caution for our leaders in Congress on both sides . Clearly , by many accounts , America is more polarized , anxious and exhausted by our political climate today than ever before . No , this is not all Congress ’ doing , but many in Washington are playing their part . The resulting rise in the toxicity of our culture is such that today 86 percent of Americans are seriously concerned that our divisions will soon lead to violence .\nSo , as our Republican and Democratic members of Congress prepare for the public hearings—ready themselves to make their case and score points and change minds—they should understand what is at stake . A narrow focus on short wins today can bring devastating outcomes tomorrow . Of course , members of Congress have a job to do to reveal the truth and share the facts with the American public . But our social fabric is stretched to the limit , and the future of our society , in the form of our basic capacities for compassion , connection and shared humanity across our divide , is on the line . The impeachment hearings ’ primary audience—the 67 percent ( not base voters ) —is persuadable through credibility , logic and evidence . This is a chance for lawmakers to plant seeds for changing minds in the future . So , please , for our nation ’ s sake , rise to your best selves .\nAs someone who knew something about divisions once wrote , “ We are not enemies , but friends . We must not be enemies . Though passion may have strained , it must not break our bonds of affection . The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched , as surely they will be , by the better angels of our nature. ” Come Wednesday , lawmakers will need to find a way to make their public case effectively , while not inflaming our already heightened sense of contempt and enmity for the other side . In the long run , this is all that will matter .


A full week after the alleged “ shellacking “ of President Obama and the Democrats , the country remains a “ stucknation ” locked in a partisan standoff where both factions hold each other in contempt and have a long list of past grievances they want to relitigate .\nFor several years now , the two parties have so amped up the partisan rhetoric that what used to be middle ground is nothing but scorched earth . It 's a machine fueled by animus , but raises hundreds of millions of dollars for the warring factions and keeps the nation from a necessary reconciliation that 's a prerequisite for moving forward .\nListening to this cacophony that passes for political discourse , an alien from outer space would come to the conclusion that Americans really can ’ t stand each other and just don ’ t want to defeat their opponents but annihilate them .\nHistory is never shaped by one thing , but a confluence of trends and events . We have a president who just can ’ t figure out why everybody is not as smart as he is , and a disloyal opposition that so lusts for his demise they would shut down the government to make a rhetorical point .\nFor many Democratic partisans , the reactionary right is waging a war on women ’ s reproductive rights and working around the clock to strip the right to vote from people of color . A key core belief of many Tea Party Republicans is that Democrats can only win elections if they steal them .\nThis delegitimizing of the nation ’ s political process popped up for Democrats in Gore v. Bush in 2000 and now has captured conservatives , who pretty much refute the results of every election except for the ones they win . ( A notable exception was Ed Gillespie ’ s concession to Sen. Mark Warner , which went some distance in restoring the notion of a Virginian gentleman . )\nJust spend an hour listening to national talk show host Michael Savage and his many less talented imitators that blanket the airwaves . You will hear such a deep hatred for the president you ’ ll understand that Savage and his crowd just don ’ t have contempt for the president -- but for the tens of millions of their fellow Americans that voted for him twice .\nEven as ISIS does its thing Savage has described the sitting president as the “ enemy within ” who wants to spread Ebola , open the door to “ illegals , ” all so as to make the U.S. a third-world nation in a kind of egalitarian “ marxist ” exercise aimed at collapsing capitalism . These statements are made despite the president ’ s record deportations and unprecedented profits enjoyed by U.S. corporations during the president ’ s tenure . A mediocre chief executive he may be , but he certainly is not a marxist .\nWhile largely ignored by the mainstream media , Savage ’ s millions of loyal listeners are also voracious readers who sent his recently released “ Stop the Coming Civil War : My Savage Truth ” on to the Barnes and Nobles big seller list . The bookseller ’ s website says Savage tells his readers “ our nation is in real trouble and the seeds of a second conflagration have been sown . ”\nThis near violent alienation extends into the global warming debate with one side insisting that as long as there is a God we need not worry about environmental consequences and we must burn as much fossil fuel as possible to fire up prosperity for future generations . Their opponents see these “ climate change deniers ” as a clear and present danger to the planet , funded by fossil fuel profiteers , whose only reason for existing is accumulating as much material wealth as possible so as to extend their dominion over a quickly dying planet .\nThere is just no reconciling these alienated factions . Billions of dollars are backing up both narratives , even as the homeless stretch out in the street and West Africa begs for the basics . No wonder most Americans decided to sit out Choice 2014 .\nIn the aftermath of the 2014 midterms , the milquetoast political press offers a ho-hum narrative dominated by the politicians ' personal story . What ’ s President Obama ’ s legacy ? Which Republican will claim the 2016 nomination ? How do the results of 2014 impact former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ’ s chances to win the presidency ?\nRank them . Sort them . Do whatever your cyberalgorithms tell you will get the most eyeballs . The political reporting is so fixated on who 's winning or falling behind that the horse race eclipses the actual economic and social conditions of the country . What they seem to be missing is just how badly polarized the nation is and just how many American households are still falling behind .\nAs for the voters ' hearts and minds , they get their shot during the exit polls . Based on those polls Republicans would be mistaken to interpret their victory as some kind of blank check . As the New York Times reported , voters surveyed this time around were skeptical of both parties . They believed the U.S. economy is rigged for the 1 percent and are doubtful their children will do better than they have .\nThere is something that is ruminating out there beyond the Beltway and the safe green zone of the corporate media that acts as its buffer . Looking at the “ right way-wrong way ” survey data by the NBC News/Wall Street Journal it has pretty much been all downhill from right after the Sept. 11 attack . That was when just over 70 percent of those surveyed thought the nation was headed in the right direction as ground zero still smoldered , the nation pulled together and the world embraced us as a victim of terrorism .\nBy this summer , more than 12 years into our global war on terror , and a few years into the “ recovery , ” that same poll was totally upside down with 70 percent now saying the nation was headed in the wrong direction . In the immediate run-up to the midterms the president said U.S. intelligence missed the rise of ISIS , the Secret Service left the front door of the White House and the Centers for Disease Control fumbled the initial response of Ebola .\nMost all the Democrats ran away from the president . Consistently the president was a couple of beats behind the breaking news where his handlers must have thought it was safe . Whether it was responding to the wave of undocumented children crossing the border , ISIS or Ebola the White House waited for events to play out for weeks and even months , and only when the media declared a “ crisis , ” would we get presidential action . It was as if President Obama ’ s heart wasn ’ t in doing his job .\nOff course for the Savage contingent this passiveness was extrapolated as premeditation and diabolical planning to collapse the nation into an oozing morass of disease and lawless chaos .\nThe president ’ s poor performance , whatever the reason for it , had consequences down ballot . Republicans not only won the U.S. Senate but they now hold 31 of the nation ’ s governorships , replacing Democrats in Arkansas , Illinois , Massachusetts and Maryland . The GOP now has total control , that is the governorship and the state legislatures , in 21 states compared to the Democrats who now have a third of that many .\nIn the state races there were no doubt local issues also in play . Yet New Jersey Gov . Chris Christie , who led the Republican Governors Association 's bid to capture as many state capitals as possible , says in the 35 states he visited voters expressed major anxiety about the president ’ s lack of leadership . “ I wouldn ’ t call it fear . I ’ d call it anxiety , really anxious . I think the best way to describe it was a woman I met who told me she was in her 80s from Vero Beach and she said to me , 'Governor what 's happened to our country ? We used to control events , now events control us . ' ”\n“ I think the reason folks are anxious is they feel like the president is weak and as a result our country is perceived to be weak , ” Christie told reporters after he voted . “ I think the country is looking for the president to be strong and I wish he would be . He ’ s my president too. ” Up against Michael Savage Christie sounds like Eisenhower , a throwback to the Republican Party that pledged allegiance to the flag and respected the occupant of the White House , no matter what his party affiliation , because they respected the office and by extension the broader electorate .\nThis nation ’ s existential crisis started well before President Obama was on the scene , as any graph over the growing wealth disparity will illustrate . What ails us goes deeper than a passive and detached president who 's reliably two beats behind the news wave and a Republican Party leadership committed to derailing his presidency at any cost . Even as the factions continue their war of attrition on each other , the American worker continued to fall behind , thanks to stagnant or declining wages despite increased productivity .\nThese are the same economic conditions candidate Barack Obama railed against , and before him candidate Bill Clinton . Yet from 1979 until 2013 productivity grew by almost 65 percent but average workers only saw their compensation increase by a measly 8 percent increase in those 33 years . More recently , from 2007 until 2013 the median U.S. income dropped every year and when adjusted for inflation was the lowest since 1995 .\nAll you need to know about the frame of mind of Americans for the 2014 midterm was in the small print of the latest Department of Labor report on employment that came a couple of days after the election . “ In October , the number of long-term unemployed ( those jobless for 27 weeks or more ) was little changed at 2.9 million , ” writes the Department of Labor , which translates to roughly a third of the unemployed . Civilian labor force participation continued its steady decline , hovering now at 62.8 percent , flat since April .\nLast month the DOL reported 7 million people were consigned to part-time work , even though they wanted full-time opportunities . Also in October , DOL said 2.2 million people were “ marginally attached to the labor force , ” a disconcerting stat DOL says “ was little changed from a year earlier. ” “ These individuals were not in the labor force ” but “ had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months . They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the four weeks preceding the survey . ”\nAt the same time that most U.S. households were stuck in neutral or slipping back into reverse , the top 1 percent continued to buzz by in overdrive leaving the rest of the U.S. in their dust . From the first half of 2013 to the first half of 2014 , real hourly wages fell across the board with the exception of states that raised the minimum wage . Meanwhile “ the wealthiest one percent captured 95 percent of the post financial crisis growth since 2009 , while the bottom 90 percent became poorer , ” according to the World Economic Forum ’ s Outlook on the Global Agenda 2014 .\nAnd while the business press chirped out happy faces over the officially declining unemployment number , the rest of the stats in the latest Department of Labor data described the ongoing wasting of a nation through workforce and wage stagnation .\nAmericans are trying to walk up the downward escalator whose motor is driven by corporate greed and bipartisan complicity . While corporations keep a lid on compensation and hiring they have increasingly become more skilled at stashing hundreds of billions of dollars in profits offshore , shifting their tax burden onto the same population that they have been squeezing for decades .\nBy some estimates as much as $ 2 trillion remains stashed offshore , kneecapping any real recovery . This creates a phony scarcity to help build back the pressure to get their tax cuts , shrink the federal government , help rescind the social contract and break what ’ s left of the American labor movement .\nHaving totally captured both political parties it is in the interests of corporations to fund the great American political kabuki dance that perpetuates the myth that on the issues that matter most to the corporations there ’ s a big difference between how both parties would govern . This partisan sideshow keeps the electorate distracted from the widening income disparity , wealth concentration and tax shifting that has happened under the leadership of both political parties for decades .\nIn 2008 we went for `` hope and change , '' but six years later there 's this sense we are still on a downward trajectory , despite the booming stock market and gas prices dropping so fast experts are worried . Our kids are burdened with billions in debt and now the very same Wall Street vultures that created the mortgage meltdown are coming back to buy up foreclosed homes so they can rent them to the serfs who now can ’ t afford their own castle .\nIt is this gnawing insecurity about the prospects for our families that is the psychological fallout from the Great Recession and our wars without end . For our grandparents it was shorthanded as the `` Depression era '' mentality . It defined every choice they made but also burnished a sense of national purpose , self-sacrifice and collectivity . It beat fascism on two fronts , came home , had a parade , built the interstate highway system , and sent their soldiers to school for free . But back then we had FDR who united the population against the speculators .\nToday most people grapple with their economic dislocation in isolation . The TV says we are in a recovery so it must be just me , my family , my household falling behind . Every day the TV says the market is up and yet that seems to have less and less to do with the average American family 's economic well-being .\nYes , we are a war-prone republic , but we have always had periods when we collectively stood down , albeit briefly . Now we are told we are in a further notice eternal war where peace comes only when we leave this earthly plain . I do n't know if the human psyche is wired for that .\nBut there is something else at work structurally that the media also shies away from because it undermines our superpower status narrative and the notion of our exceptionalism . Even talking about it one risks looking unpatriotic . For many Americans this has been the linchpin for their sense of well-being in an ever-changing world . We are just not up to coming to grips with the notion that planetary peace , prosperity and stability is truly a multilateral project . Where ’ s the national pride in that ?\nWhen the president was n't propping up the phony Bush war on terror narrative , he spoke eloquently about this reality as he did at West Point .\nPresident Obama is presiding in a period where in the scheme of world affairs , save the nuclear war option , the presidency is shrinking . This globally integrated marketplace we were so hell-bent to create has geopolitical consequences .\nYou can ’ t rely on China to finance your federal debt and not expect to lose leverage in the world . While Republicans like to put the shrinking of the presidency on the current occupant of the White House , it ignores structural things like that and the well-documented choice by U.S. multinationals and hedge funds to bet against America because they can make more money someplace else .\nIronically , these very hedge fund players that helped fund Christie ’ s Republican Governors Association , like Elliot Management ’ s Paul Singer who gave over a million dollars to the RGA , are the same crowd looking to profit from the inversion deals being cut by U.S. corporations to abandon the U.S. to reduce their U.S. tax liability .\nSo is it now , `` ask not what your country can do for you '' but which country gives you the highest rate of return ?


It was the Hawkeye State that scuttled Hillary Clinton ’ s presidential ambitions in 2008 . Iowa ’ s energetic caucus-goers were not moved by Clinton ’ s self-professed qualities of electability and inevitability , and they voted for both Barack Obama and John Edwards over the former first lady . Clinton learned that she would have to earn her party ’ s nomination that night , and the primary campaign that followed the Iowa caucuses would prove to be an intensely fought one . It was a fight , however , from which she was not fated to emerge victorious .\nAs Clinton is preparing to mount a new campaign for the presidency , she faces a predicament similar to the one she faced six years ago . In Iowa , all the energy is behind non-establishment ideals ( as opposed to flesh and blood candidates ) , and the caucus system rewards enthusiasm and organization over raw support . While another upset seems unlikely , the ingredients that make for a political surprise are present .\n“ Interviews with more than half of Democratic chiefs in Iowa ’ s 99 counties show a state party leadership so far reluctant to coalesce behind Mrs. Clinton . County Democratic officials also voiced qualms about Mrs. Clinton ’ s ability to win a general election and her fundraising ties to Wall Street firms and corporations , which remain a target of liberal ire , ” read a report in Monday ’ s Wall Street Journal that should concern Team Hillary .\nMany county officials said they would like to see senators including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont enter the race , though they were split over whether any could gain traction and overtake Mrs. Clinton . “ My heart wouldn ’ t be in it for Hillary to the extent that it might be if it was a different candidate , ” said Jennifer Herrington , chair of the Page County Democrats in southwest Iowa . “ I admire Hillary , she ’ d be a great president , but you know , she isn ’ t my first choice I guess . ”\nIn many ways , Iowa ’ s Democratic electorate mirrors its Republican counterpart . 2012 proved that there are a sizable number of GOP voters in Iowa who are happy to back the contender dubbed most electable in spite of the pejorative label “ establishment. ” Mitt Romney came in an extraordinarily narrow second place behind former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum , and for much of the evening it looked like Romney had shocked the political world by emerging from Iowa victorious . But for all of Romney ’ s 24.5 percent of the Iowa vote , another three-quarters backed a non-establishment candidate . It was a narrow loss that shattered Romney ’ s own cultivated sense of inevitability , and one which fueled a fierce opposition to his candidacy that continued until May .\nEven a narrow loss for Clinton in Iowa could spell disaster for her second presidential bid , but that prospect seems remote . You can ’ t lose to nobody , and the Clinton machine has , thus far , been able to fend off top-tier challengers . But how long can Democratic politicians with aspirations for higher office ignore the Siren Song of Iowa ’ s county-level party chairs crying out for a liberal champion ? Discontent with Clinton is palpable , and her support in the polls could be an artificial result of standing alone on the presidential stage .\nBut Democrats who want to see Clinton challenged in a primary are also smartly laying the foundations to blame her for a 2016 defeat if a challenge does not materialize . According to The Journal , local Democrats note that the energy , donations , and political infrastructure acquired during a contested primary also become critical tools to use in the general election . Without those , the Democratic nominee is likely to be at a disadvantage when the vibrant and ideologically diverse GOP concludes its primary contest . Could appeals like these prompt Clinton to rein in her loyal soldiers ? Some of these allies are apparently so trigger happy that , simply for displaying the gall to consider a likely doomed challenge to Clinton , they would seek to impugn one-term Sen. Jim Webb for having penned mildly racy content in his novels .\nWhile the argument that a party that undergoes a contested primary is a stronger party is a valid contention , Clinton is unlikely to welcome a serious challenge . 2008 ’ s memories from Iowa are too fresh . Anti-Clinton forces , too , seem resigned . Those disaffected liberals who are prepared to accept her coronation are also preparing to consign the name Clinton to history ’ s dishonorable scrap piles should she lose . It would be a bitter irony that the name Clinton , one which for the last 20 years has been associated with reviving the moribund Democratic brand , might soon become synonymous with its destruction .


US President Donald Trump has launched a furious attack on Special Counsel Robert Mueller and on his critics at a conservative summit .\nIn the longest speech of his presidency , Mr Trump railed against the inquiry into alleged collusion between his campaign and Russia .\n`` We 're waiting for a report by people who were n't elected , '' he told a crowd of cheering conservatives .\nMr Mueller is expected to hand in his report to the attorney general shortly .\n`` Unfortunately , you put the wrong people in a couple of positions and they leave people for a long time that should n't be there and all of a sudden they are trying to take you out with bullshit , okay ? '' the president said .\nMr Trump has frequently called the special counsel 's investigation a `` witch hunt '' .\nThe speech - clocking in at more than two hours - also included sharp attacks on former Attorney General Jeff Sessions , former FBI head James Comey , the Democratic Party and those critical of his approach to North Korea .\nMr Trump 's second summit with Kim Jong-un in Vietnam ended abruptly without a deal this week .\nSpeaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland , Mr Trump lashed out at his detractors in a wide-ranging speech .\n`` This is how I got elected , by being off script . . . and if we do n't go off script , our country is in big trouble , folks , '' he began .\nThe president repeatedly said that Mr Mueller had `` never received a vote '' , nor had Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein , who appointed Mr Mueller to his position .\nMr Rosenstein plans to step down by March after frequent presidential attacks .\nThe president alleged Mr Mueller was `` best friends '' with former FBI head James Comey , and mocked the accent of former attorney general Mr Sessions , whom he fired in November .\nHe said Mr Sessions was `` weak and ineffective and he does n't do what he should have done '' .\nHe called the Green New Deal proposal - pitched by some Democrats as a radical bid to combat climate change - `` the craziest plan '' , saying `` when the wind stops blowing , that 's the end of your electric '' .\nAfter a series of remarks on immigrants who , he said , must `` love our country '' , Mr Trump said , `` We have people in Congress that hate our country . ''\n`` And you know that , and we can name every one of them if you want , '' he said .\nHe also defended his summit with North Korea leader Mr Kim , telling the crowd they had made `` a lot of progress '' and saying the country had `` an incredible , brilliant future '' .\nMr Trump also pledged to protect free speech on US university campuses with an executive order .\nThe speech came at the end of a difficult week for the president .\nMr Trump 's former lawyer Michael Cohen called him a `` racist '' , `` conman '' and a `` cheat '' in a congressional hearing .


WASHINGTON — During his final year in Congress in 2008 , then-senator Joe Biden heralded his top picks for the nation 's elite service academies with a congratulatory news release and led a group of academy-bound students on a personal tour of his domain as Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman .\nAs vice president , Biden has the power to nominate students to three of the nation 's service academies . However , the names of the students he chooses for these plum assignments are now secret .\nNeither Biden 's staff nor the academies would disclose the identities of his nominees to ███ , citing student privacy . So it 's unclear how the vice president uses his nominations — which this year included the daughter of a congressman and an Air Force Academy nominee his office took an interest in .\nA ███ examination of the nomination system found a process with little disclosure or oversight . Each member of Congress and the vice president can have up to five nominees in each military academy — the U.S. Military Academy at West Point , N.Y. , the Naval Academy in Annapolis , Md. , and the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs , Colo . But the nominations largely are made in secret with no standard process or criteria for awarding them .\nVice presidential nominations are unique . They are the only nominations that everyone can apply for and anyone can receive . For some American students living overseas , it may be the only option available to them .\nAs a result , the vice president gets thousands of requests for nominations each year . The service academies say they take the lead in vetting the students and submitting to Biden 's office a list of top-scoring applicants who lack only a nomination from another source .\nThis year , however , Biden 's staff took an interest in a particular candidate and let the Air Force know . `` His contact called me and said , 'Hey , we 've had some express interest in this individual , ' `` said Jim Dahlmann , the Air Force Academy 's congressional liaison .\n`` Sure enough , he was a qualified candidate , which is great . And he 's of interest to the vice president . Well that 's easy enough , we 'll make sure he 's on the list , '' he said .\nThe student also had secured nominations from a U.S. senator and a local congresswoman , but academy officials took the extra step of putting the student at the top of the list they submitted to Biden 's office , Dahlmann said . `` We wanted to make sure they could say , 'Oh yeah , the academy is listening to us . ' ``\nGenerally , Dahlmann said , Biden 's office is more removed from the process than congressional offices .\nAt the Naval Academy , the list of vice presidential nominations this year included the daughter of Rep. Andy Harris , R-Md . Harris spokesman Chris Meekins said the younger Harris , a track standout , was recruited for the academy 's track team late in the year — after congressional application deadlines had passed — and the vice presidential nomination was the only option available .\nShe was offered an appointment to Annapolis but did not accept it . Harris is now studying at Notre Dame on a track scholarship .\nThe vice president 's office would not discuss any nominations on the record . `` In order to protect the privacy of individuals who are nominated to the service academies and consistent with previous administration practices and service academy protocols , we do n't release names to the public , '' said Kendra Barkoff , a Biden spokeswoman .\nBut some of the academies say Biden 's office is more engaged in the process than was his predecessor . `` This vice president has been active in making the selections , '' said Col. Deborah McDonald , West Point 's director of admissions . While vice president Dick Cheney 's nominations came in before the deadline , Biden 's often come in months after the congressional nominations are due Jan. 31 — and in some cases as late as June , just before cadets and midshipmen report to the academies .\nThat additional time allows the vice president 's office to ensure that its nominations are going only to candidates who do n't have any other source of a nomination . `` I 'm guessing what they were doing was making sure they were looking at all the congressional nominations that came in to try to — and I 'm just guessing this — expand the candidate pool , '' she said .\nOther vice presidents have taken an interest in their nominations .\nFormer vice president Walter Mondale , who served in the late 1970s , said his staff took the step of reviewing the applications of nominees recommended by the academies . `` I used the staff to vet them to see if there were any embarrassments there , '' Mondale said . `` Most were just fine . ... I think ( the academies ) were very careful about sending up the best . ''\nUnder a separate system of nominations , the president also makes nominations for the children of Medal of Honor winners and members of the armed forces . But those nominations are presidential in name only — the entire process is delegated to the Defense Department and the academies , which do n't release those names .


Rep. Ilhan Omar , D-Minn. , sparked backlash Sunday evening from members of both parties -- including former first daughter Chelsea Clinton -- after she accused a prominent lobbying group of paying members of Congress to support Israel .\nOmar , who became the first Somali-American woman elected to Congress in November , responded to a Twitter post by journalist Glenn Greenwald criticizing House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy , R-Calif. , for threatening to take action against Omar and another freshman lawmaker , Rashida Tlaib , D-Mich. , over allegedly anti-Semitic remarks .\n`` There ’ s situations in our conference where a member does something that is wrong — I think you ’ ve seen from my own actions that I take action about it , '' McCarthy told reporters Friday , making an apparent reference to Republican congressman Steve King of Iowa . `` I think when they stay silent , they are just as guilty ... I think this will not be the end of this , and if they do not take action then I think you will see action from myself . It ’ s unacceptable in this country , especially when you sit back and think about and listen to what this country went through in World War II . ''\nMCCARTHY ASKS DEMS TO DENOUNCE ALLEGED ANTI-SEMITIC REMARKS : 'THIS WILL NOT BE THE END OF THIS '\nGreenwald accused McCarthy of targeting Omar and Tlaib for their numerous criticisms of Israel , to which Omar chimed in `` It 's all about the Benjamins , baby , '' quoting a 1997 rap song by Puff Daddy . She then doubled down when challenged by Batya Ungar-Sargon , the opinion editor of The Forward newspaper .\n`` Would love to know who @ IlhanMN thinks is paying American politicians to be pro-Israel , though I think I can guess , '' Ungar-Sargon tweeted . `` Bad form , Congresswoman . That 's the second anti-Semitic trope you 've tweeted . ''\nIn response , Omar tweeted `` AIPAC ! '' referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee , which regularly has been accused by progressives of agitating for a conflict with Iran .\n`` We are proud that we are engaged in the democratic process to strengthen the US-Israel relationship , '' AIPAC tweeted Sunday evening . `` Our bipartisan efforts are reflective of American values and interests . We will not be deterred in any way by ill-informed and illegitimate attacks on this important work . ''\nAnother freshman Democrat , Max Rose of New York , tweeted that Omar 's statements `` are deeply hurtful to Jews , including myself . ''\n`` When someone uses hateful and offensive tropes and words against people of my faith , I will not be silent , '' Rose said in a statement . `` ... At a time when anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise , our leaders should not be invoking hurtful stereotypes and caricatures of Jewish people to dismiss those who support Israel . In the Democratic Party - and in the United States of America - we celebrate the diversity of our people , and the Gods we pray to , as a strength . The congresswoman 's statements do not live up to that cherished ideal . ''\nJEWISH GROUPS CONDEMN REP. RASHIDA TLAIB OVER TIES TO RADICAL PRO-HEZBOLLAH , ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST\nHouse GOP conference chair Liz Cheney , R-Wyo. , slammed Omar 's remarks and called for House Democrat leaders to remove Omar from the Housed Foreign Affairs Committee .\nZudhi Jasser , a physician and President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy , took Cheney ’ s call a step further , arguing that removing Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee would be a “ good first step , followed by a swift sanction against @ IlhanMN for bigotry unfit for the US Congress with removal from all committees . Ignoring this would bring the “ bigotry of low expectations ” to a new low for Muslims . ”\nThe Republican Jewish Coalition called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif. , to take action against Omar and asked rhetorically if other House Democrats would `` care to comment on the outrageous anti-Semitism being spewed by one of your fêted members ? ''\n`` [ House Majority ] Leader [ Steny ] Hoyer [ D-Md . ] - you 've led many AIPAC trips to Israel , '' RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks tweeted . `` Will you speak out against this ? ? ''\nMcCarthy himself tweeted : `` Anti-Semitic tropes have no place in the halls of Congress . It is dangerous for Democrat leadership to stay silent on this reckless language . ''\nFormer U.S . Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley , who repeatedly accused the global body of anti-Israel bias during her tenure , tweeted that Omar 's statements `` CAN NOT be tolerated in our own Congress by anyone of either party . In a time of increased anti semitism , we all must be held to account . No excuses . ''\nChelsea Clinton tweeted : `` We should expect all elected officials , regardless of party , and all public figures to not traffic in anti-Semitism . ''\nMeghan McCain , daughter of late Arizona Senator John McCain , lauded Clinton for calling out anti-Semitism `` on all sides , in all spaces , no matter how uncomfortable . ''\nLeft-wing historian and Politico Magazine contributing editor Joshua Zeitz tweeted : `` I 'm one of those American Jews who opposes the occupation [ of the West Bank and Gaza Strip ] , laments Israel 's anti-democratic drift , and does n't regard the country as especially central to my Jewish identity . And I knew exactly what the congresswoman meant . She might as well call us hook-nosed . ''\nClinton later promised that she would `` reach out '' to Omar Monday after another user said she was `` disappointed '' that Clinton was `` piling on . ''\n`` I would be happy to talk , '' Omar tweeted at Clinton in response . `` We must call out smears from the GOP and their allies . And I believe we can do that without criticizing people for their faith . I look forward to building an inclusive movement for justice with you . ''\nSunday marked the latest in a long line of statements by Omar that critics have slammed as anti-Semitic . In 2012 , she tweeted that `` Israel has hypnotized the world , may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel . # Gaza # Palestine # Israel. ” She did not apologize for posting the tweet until last month .\nIn January , Omar argued in a Yahoo ! News interview that Israel could not be considered a democracy and compared it to the Islamic theocracy in Iran .\n`` When I see Israel institute laws that recognize it as a Jewish state and does not recognize the other religions that are living in it , and we still uphold it as a democracy in the Middle East I almost chuckle because I know that if we see that any other society we would criticize it , call it out , '' she said . `` We do that to Iran , we do that to any other place that sort of upholds its religion . And I see that now happening with Saudi Arabia and so I am aggravated , truly , in those contradictions . ''


LISTEN TO ARTICLE 5:37 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email\nU.S. President Donald Trump is pushing his trade conflict with China toward a point where neither side can back down .\nBy Aug. 30 , as the U.S. nears mid-term elections vital for Trump ’ s legislative agenda , the White House will be ready to impose 10 percent tariffs on $ 200 billion of Chinese-made products , ranging from clothing to television parts to refrigerators . The levies announced Tuesday -- together with some $ 50 billion already in the works -- stand to raise import prices on almost half of everything the U.S. buys from the Asian nation .\nChina has seven weeks to make a deal or dig in and try to outlast the U.S. leader . President Xi Jinping , facing his own political pressures to look tough , has vowed to respond blow-for-blow . He ’ s already imposed retaliatory duties targeting Trump ’ s base including Iowa soybeans and Kentucky bourbon .\nYet matching the latest U.S. barrage would force China to either levy much higher tariffs or take more disruptive steps like canceling purchase orders , encouraging consumer boycotts and putting up regulatory hurdles . Not only does that risk provoking Trump to follow through on threats to tax virtually all Chinese products , it could unleash nationalist sentiment on both sides that fuels a deeper struggle for geopolitical dominance .\nTrump on Wednesday framed his trade actions as necessary to shield American businesses and farmers from harmful trading practices .\n“ Other countries ’ trade barriers and tariffs have been destroying their businesses . I will open things up , better than ever before , but it can ’ t go too quickly , ” Trump said in a Twitter post from Brussels , where he ’ s attending a NATO summit . “ I am fighting for a level playing field for our farmers , and will win ! ”\n“ It ’ s already past the point of no return , ” said Pauline Loong , managing director at research firm Asia-Analytica in Hong Kong . “ What ’ s next is not so much a trade war or even a cold war as the dawn of an ice age in relations between China and the United States . ”\nRead more on the escalating conflict Handbags and Cameras Hit as Trump Tariffs Target Consumers\nYou Have a Month to Comment on Bull Semen , Vegetable Hair Tariff\nTrump Must Meet Xi to Stop Trade War , Top House Republican Says\nThose Cheap Chinese TVs ? They May Just Get a Lot More Expensive\nStocks fell and commodities slid with emerging-market assets Wednesday as investors assessed the fallout . The S & P 500 Index ended the longest rally in a month and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index retreated . While earlier tariffs were expected to have only a limited impact , economists warn a full-blown trade war could derail the strongest economic upswing in years .\nThe Chinese Commerce Ministry said Tuesday that it would be forced to retaliate against what it called “ totally unacceptable ” U.S. tariffs . There have been no confirmed high-level talks between the two sides since an early June visit to Beijing by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that achieved no breakthroughs .\nBeijing “ never yields to threat or blackmail ” and will retaliate against the “ groundless ” tariffs , China ’ s Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said in written comments to ███ . “ The U.S. side ignored the progress , adopted unilateral and protectionist measures , and started the trade war . ”\nWhat Our Economists Say ... “ As the targeted imports broaden to include more consumer products , a hit to household wallets and a bump to inflation could start to shift the political calculus in the U.S. , ” said ███ ’ s China economist Fielding Chen .\nThe Aug. 30 date ensures the trade fight features prominently in November ’ s U.S. congressional elections , and the announcement exposed fissures between Trump and his Republican Party about the strategy . House Ways and Means Committee chief Kevin Brady , of Texas , warned of “ a long , multi-year trade war between the two largest economies in the world that engulfs more and more of the globe . ”\nSenate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch , of Utah , called the new levies “ reckless ” and not “ targeted. ” Senator Chuck Grassley , a Republican from Iowa , said he had a “ great deal of concern ” about the trade spat with China and the level of uncertainty it ’ s creating among farmers and businesses in his state. “ When you don ’ t know what ’ s going to be the outcome , it ’ s very uncertain , and it ’ s had a definite impact , ” he told ███ Television . “ How long is this going to go on ? I hope we can settle pretty soon . ”\nRead more : Some tariffs apply to flows that don ’ t exist\nThe latest move suggests that Trump -- who in March declared that “ trade wars are good and easy to win ” -- may be compromising on his pledge to spare consumers from the pain . The tariffs could raise the prices of everything from baseball gloves to handbags to digital cameras just as voters are heading to the polls . Other high-profile items such as mobile phones have so far been spared .\nThe U.S. felt it had no choice , but to move forward on the new tariffs after China failed to respond to the administration ’ s concerns over unfair trade practices and Beijing ’ s abuse of American intellectual property , according to two senior officials who spoke to reporters . The Trump administration has so far rejected Chinese offers to trim its massive trade surplus by buying more American goods , and is demanding more systemic change .\n“ For over a year , the Trump administration has patiently urged China to stop its unfair practices , open its market , and engage in true market competition , ” Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement . “ China has not changed its behavior -- behavior that puts the future of the U.S. economy at risk . ”\nAlthough the looming elections provide an immediate concern for Trump , a trade war poses a more existential concern for Xi , whose Communist Party has built its legitimacy on economic success . Prominent academics and some government officials have begun to question if China ’ s slowing , trade-dependent economy can withstand a sustained attack from Trump , which has already weighed heavily on stock prices .\nAmong other things , the U.S. is asking China to roll back its “ Made-in-China 2025 ” program , a signature Xi initiative to dominate several strategic industries , such as semiconductors to aerospace development . Since abolishing presidential term limits , Xi has strengthened his control over the levers of power and money in China and can ’ t afford to look weak .\n“ China is showing no signs of backing down and instead looks like it is preparing for a drawn out conflict , ” said Scott Kennedy , deputy director of China studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington . “ China has a million and one ways to retaliate . ”\n— With assistance by Jenny Leonard , Andrew Mayeda , Bryce Baschuk , and Kevin Cirilli


LISTEN TO ARTICLE 2:28 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email\nPresident Donald Trump said he ’ ll likely push forward with plans to increase tariffs on $ 200 billion of Chinese goods , indicating he would also slap duties on all remaining imports from the Asian nation if negotiations with China ’ s leader Xi Jinping fail to produce a trade deal .\nTrump , in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Monday , said he ’ s prepared to impose tariffs on a final batch of $ 267 billion of Chinese shipments if he can ’ t make a deal with Xi when they meet at the Group of 20 meeting in Argentina , which starts Nov. 30 . The rate could be either 10 percent or 25 percent , Trump said .\nTrump said that Apple Inc. ’ s iPhones and laptops imported from China could be hit by new tariffs . Americans could “ very easily ” handle a 10 percent duty , he said .\nRead More : Apple Shares Fall as Trump Suggests 10 % Tariff on IPhones\nThe Trump administration has complained that U.S. companies aren ’ t getting a fair deal in China .\n“ The only deal would be China has to open up their country to competition from the United States , ” the president said , according to the newspaper . “ As far as other countries are concerned , that ’ s up to them . ”\nIn September , the Trump administration plunged deeper into a trade war with China by imposing a 10 percent tariff on $ 200 billion of Chinese goods , and said the rate will rise to 25 percent on Jan. 1 . The U.S. is unlikely to accede to demands from Beijing to refrain from increasing the tariff , Trump said .\n`` This is largely a negotiation tactic , '' said Tao Dong , vice chairman for Greater China at Credit Suisse Private Banking in Hong Kong . `` Putting high stakes pressure onto the other side seems to be a consistent pattern from the Trump administration . ''\nChina ’ s foreign ministry urged the U.S. to work toward a positive outcome at the planned Group of 20 meeting . Teams from the U.S. and China are working to follow through on a Nov. 1 phone call between Trump and Xi during which the leaders agreed to reach a “ mutually acceptable proposal , ” a foreign ministry spokesman told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday .\nThe U.S. already imposed tariffs on $ 50 billion on Chinese products earlier this year , which Beijing retaliated against on a dollar-for-dollar basis . China has since added retaliatory duties on an additional $ 60 billion of American products .\nIn the Crosshairs Consumer goods will be top target if U.S. imposes tariffs on remaining Chinese imports Source : United States International Trade Commission\nChinese officials have said their key outcome from the Trump-Xi meeting is to convince the U.S. to hold off from the tariff increase , the Wall Street Journal reported , without identifying the officials .\nTrump told the Journal that his advice to American companies caught up in the trade conflict is to build factories in the U.S. and make their products domestically .\n— With assistance by Kevin Hamlin , Miao Han , Natalie Lung , and David Ramli


( CNN ) -- Rescue teams are scrambling to reach the site of Monday morning 's strong and shallow earthquake in northwestern China that has killed at least 89 people , according to state media .\nAnother 593 people were injured and five were believed missing after the quake tore through Gansu Province , China Daily reported .\nThe quake hit along the border of two counties -- Min and Zhang -- at around 7:45 a.m. local time , according to state news agency Xinhua .\nEmergency services are converging on the area , including the Red Cross Society of China , which is sending 200 tents and other supplies to shelter and sustain those left without homes .\nAccording to state broadcaster CCTV , Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged crews to prioritize the rescue of survivors and minimize casualties .\nThe original quake and powerful aftershocks caused roofs to collapse , cut telecommunications lines and damaged a major highway linking the provincial capital of Lanzhou to the south , according to the China Daily newspaper .\nMore than 300 armed police troops and 64 heavy machines have been dispatched to repair National Highway No . 212 , the paper reported . Train services in the area have also been suspended .\nRescue efforts are expected to be hampered by heavy rain that 's soaked the region in recent weeks . More rain is forecast and experts have warned about potential landslides .\nAccording to the Gansu Provincial Seismological Bureau , the quake registered a magnitude of 6.6 , however the U.S. Geological Survey said it was a 5.9-magnitude tremor , which struck at the relatively shallow depth of about half a mile ( 1 kilometer ) .\nThe epicenter was eight miles ( 13 kilometers ) east of Chabu and 110 miles ( 177 kilometers ) south-southeast of Lanzhou , the USGS said .\nTremors were still being felt from the quake , Xinhua said , quoting sources within the Min County government . Locals said buildings and trees shook for about a minute .\nResidents within the earthquake zone took to Weibo -- China 's version of Twitter -- soon after to describe how the earth shook .\n`` This morning at 7:40 I was brushing my teeth , all of a sudden everything shook for a few moments , I thought I did n't get enough sleep last night and was feeling dizzy , '' @ wyyy wrote . `` Turns out it was an earthquake , sigh , seems that with the huge rain downpour outside , we really do n't know how much longer this planet is going to let us live here . ''\nAnother , @ dengdjianjyany , said : `` Gansu earthquake . So many natural disasters in so short a time , another flood , another landslide , another earthquake , another something . And it 's not finished , my God ~ is there any safe place left ? Wish everybody a life of peace ''\n@ Heidiping : `` Another earthquake , life really is fragile , survivors , be at peace ! ''


President Donald Trump is moving ahead with steps to protect U.S. intellectual property by punishing China with broad investment restrictions , litigation at the World Trade Organization and hefty tariffs on $ 50 billion worth of Chinese goods .\nThe move , which the White House announced Tuesday morning , reignites trade tensions between the world 's two largest economies and ratchets up the pressure just days before Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is set to travel to Beijing for further trade talks .\nA series of tit-for-tat trade actions earlier this year had depressed markets and threatened to harm consumers and industries in both countries , but relations had calmed down after the two sides launched an economic dialogue that led Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to declare just over a week ago that the trade war was `` on hold . ''\nMnuchin and others had noted , however , that Trump wanted to keep the threat of tariffs at the ready , but he was inclined to tone down the trade war rhetoric as discussions were ongoing .\nThe Trump administration declined to specify on Tuesday what had changed that led the White House to issue its latest announcement . But one administration official said it should be viewed as negotiating leverage rather than as a rebuke of the idea that the trade war is on hold .\n`` You ca n't go soft too quickly or you are not going to get where you want to go , '' the official said .\nStill , the sudden statement caught officials from Washington to Beijing by surprise and angered those who had welcomed a calming of the waters .\n`` Trump ’ s schizophrenic China trade policy is a menace to the global economy , '' said Dan Ikenson , a trade policy expert at the Cato Institute who criticized the decision to reverse course `` yet again . '' `` The president seems to thrive on the uncertainty and chaos that his version of leadership churns out on a daily basis , but whether any of this actually happens is anyone ’ s guess . ''\nStocks again fell in light of the news and turmoil in Europe . The Dow Jones industrial average dropped nearly 400 points , or about 1.6 percent , to end the day at 24,361.45 . The broader Standard & Poor ’ s 500 index was off more than 1 percent to close at 2,689.86 .\nThe steps announced Tuesday involve imposing 25 percent tariffs on imported goods from China that include what the White House called `` industrially significant '' technology and products related to the `` Made in China 2025 '' initiative . The list of targeted goods will be announced by June 15 and the added levy will be imposed shortly after , the White House said .\nThe White House is also pledging to put in place investment restrictions and stronger export controls in a bid to curb Chinese acquisition of `` industrially significant '' technology , which will be announced by June 30 and imposed shortly after . The administration will also continue a WTO case launched in March on accusations that China 's intellectual property practices violate international trade law .\nAll three measures are being taken as a result of a seven-month investigation the Trump administration began into China ’ s handling of data and intellectual property , which wrapped up in late March . The White House argues as a result of that investigation that Beijing commits IP theft and forces foreign companies to hand over valuable data in order to operate in the Chinese market and compete with domestic firms .\nBut China is sure to retaliate against the latest measures , as it has made clear that it will respond in kind to any tariffs the Trump administration levies against its exported goods . On Tuesday , China 's Ministry of Commerce said it was `` surprised '' by the White House 's announcement but also called it `` somewhat expected . ''\n`` This is obviously contrary to the consensus reached between the two sides in Washington not long ago , '' a spokesperson said , according to an informal translation . `` No matter what measures the United States takes , China has the confidence , ability and experience to safeguard the interests of the Chinese people and the country ’ s core interests . China urges the United States to act in accordance with the spirit of the joint statement . ''\nLast month , China promised to respond in kind to Trump 's proposed tariffs on $ 50 billion in goods with its own fees on the same dollar value in imports from the U.S. of amount on soybeans , chemical products and other items . Those would come on top of the tariffs on $ 3 billion in goods in place as of early April on U.S. shipments to China of pork , fruit , nuts , recycled aluminum and other goods .\nThere had been some hope among free traders and the anti-tariff camp that the higher set of tariffs would never ultimately go into effect after the two countries launched a trade dialogue earlier this month in Beijing . After Trump administration officials traveled to China at the start of the month , a Chinese delegation came to Washington two weeks later , and the two sides announced that Beijing would buy significantly more U.S. agricultural and energy products in a bid to reduce the bilateral trade deficit .\nMany in the business sector urged the Trump administration to once again withdraw its threat to impose tariffs , even as they remained supportive of the need to crack down in some way on China 's intellectual property practices .\n“ Tariffs do not work — point blank , '' said Dean Garfield , the president and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council . `` Moving forward with tariffs on goods imported from China will harm U.S. consumers and businesses , and will fail to change China ’ s discriminatory and damaging trade practices . ''\nOn Tuesday , American hog farmers sent out a plea calling on the administration to swiftly resolve disputes with China , saying that is costing producers billions of dollars in lost profits . The group cited research from Iowa State University economist Dermot Hayes , who estimates that U.S. pork producers have lost $ 2.2 billion on an annualized basis as a result of events leading up to and following China 's 25 percent punitive tariff on pork .\nAnd on Capitol Hill , Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer offered muted praise for the announcement but urged Trump not to change his mind again .\n`` While obviously more details are needed , this outline represents the kind of actions we have needed to take for a long time , but the president must stick with it and not bargain it away , '' he said in a statement .\nBut other Democrats appeared less sure that the announcement was a positive one .\nRep. Bill Pascrell of New Jersey , the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee , said that taking steps to curb China 's `` cheating '' was necessary but expressed concern about the rollout of the announcement , which `` seemingly no one knew '' was coming .\n`` The chaos and incoherence of this administration ’ s approach is more head-spinning than a pinball machine , '' he added .


The Hong Kong police have clashed with protesters in the city-state 's airport on Tuesday evening as demonstrators continue to occupy the international travel hub for the fifth day straight since Friday , in a sit-in that has canceled hundreds of flights in the last two days .\nAccording to Skynews , which has a film-crew on the ground providing a live-feed , the police claimed their officers arrived at the airport not to disperse protesters , but to rescue people that were captured by the protesters . But Skynews said that those allegedly captured individuals may have been undercover officers that were secretly surveilling the protests and attempting to cause turmoil .\nThe protestors tied up one individual they suspected of being a `` spy '' for the police force .\nProtesters at the Hong Kong airport tied up a man after a `` I love HK Police '' t-shirt was found inside his bag pic.twitter.com/9eop8dNWwB — Bloomberg TicToc ( @ tictoc ) August 13 , 2019\nThe Skynews broadcast showed at least a few dozen officers outside of the airport at this current moment . Thousands of protesters are still in the airport .\n`` They need to come in much larger numbers if they want to do a clearance operation . I wonder whether they even can , '' said Steward Ramsey , the Sky News reporter on the ground .\nEarlier , protestors butted heads with police trying to leave the airport .\nPolice have been cornered in by protestors while trying to get on a bus to leave the airport in Hong Kong .\nTensions are escalating as riot officers arrive to try and disperse protestors in the airport : https : //t.co/hyF4BMCDUL pic.twitter.com/iQRHc4IOtf — Sky News ( @ SkyNews ) August 13 , 2019\nSome protesters have left the airport after the police arrived , according to SkyNews . At this point , the fullest extent of interaction between police and protesters are not apparent .\nThe protesters mobilized at the eighth busiest airport in the world as police violence against protesters escalate , believing that the authorities will dare not use aggressive policing measures in front of international travelers .\nHowever , as footage from the police action comes out today , it is becoming apparent that measures are escalating as China looks to crack down on the movement .\nViolent clashes at Hong Kong airport between police and protesters pic.twitter.com/RcRQxzhSf5 — The Independent ( @ Independent ) August 13 , 2019\nPresident Donald Trump has also commented on the Hong Kong protests — saying it is a `` very tough situation . ''\nPresident Trump : `` The Hong Kong thing is a very tough situation , very tough . We 'll what see what happens . But I 'm sure it 'll work out . I hope it works out for everybody , including China , by the way . '' pic.twitter.com/QJrFWiUOLu — MSNBC ( @ MSNBC ) August 13 , 2019


China routinely broke federal law by not disclosing how much it spent to publish regime propaganda in the New York Times , the Washington Post , and other newspapers , an expert review of foreign agent registration filings concluded .\nChina Daily , an official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party , has published hundreds of propaganda articles designed to look like ordinary news stories in some of America 's most influential newspapers . While foreign agents may place ads in the United States , the propaganda outlet has repeatedly violated the Foreign Agent Registration Act ( FARA ) by failing to provide full disclosures about its purchases .\nChina Daily has published propaganda in mainstream outlets for decades , but did not disclose its purchases of space in American newspapers to the Department of Justice until 2012 . Even after it began acknowledging its relationship with the papers , the regime mouthpiece continued to violate federal disclosure requirements . China Daily has failed to provide breakdowns of spending activities and withheld copies of online ads , among other omissions that violate federal law , according to experts who reviewed years of its FARA filings .\nThe ███ reviewed all of the physical copies of China Daily ‘ s ads filed with the DOJ , as well as online ads the propaganda outlet did not submit to the department . China Daily has run more than 700 online ads designed to look like news articles and purchased 500 print pages in six American newspapers over the last seven years . These propaganda articles frame state oppression in Xinjiang , Tibet , and Hong Kong in a positive light and run alongside actual news stories produced by reporters at the Post , Times , Wall Street Journal , and other outlets .\nRep. Jim Banks ( R. , Ind . ) , a member of the House Armed Services Committee , has frequently criticized China Daily , arguing that the newspaper should not be distributed to the offices of members of Congress . He said American newspapers traded credibility for ad revenue .\n`` These outlets claim to support democracy , but they 've participated in a cover-up for an ongoing communist-run genocide , '' Banks said . `` It 's disgusting . ''\nA spokesman for the Post told the Free Beacon that the newspaper has run China Daily ads for `` more than 30 years . '' By 2012 , the regime mouthpiece 's operation was running dozens of ads per year mimicking real articles in major outlets under the banner of `` China Watch '' —a self-proclaimed `` high-end think tank platform '' backed by China Daily .\nFederal law requires foreign agents to report and provide copies of all propaganda that is `` disseminated or circulated among two or more persons '' in the United States . Ben Freeman , director of the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative at the Center for International Policy , said China Daily ‘ s ad inserts are subject to those requirements .\n`` Clearly , an ad that 's in the Washington Post , the Wall Street Journal , or any big media outlet is going to be distributed to two or more people , '' Freeman said .\nChina Daily registered as a foreign agent in 1983 , but did not disclose its relationship with U.S. newspapers in its biannual reports for 29 years . The outlet did not respond to requests for comment about its FARA filings .\nJoshua Rosenstein , a FARA lawyer at Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock , P.C. , said China Daily ‘ s failure to report ads prior to 2012 was a clear violation of disclosure requirements .\n`` If they were to have placed paid ads in the Washington Post as early as 2010 , that would be the sort of thing they would need to detail , '' Rosenstein said .\nAfter reviewing China Daily ‘ s most recent report , filed in November , both Rosenstein and Freeman said the outlet continues to flout the law . The report illegally lumps together all expenditures under two vague categories : `` Total Cost of Goods Sold '' and `` Operation Expenses . '' China Daily should have broken down its expenditures , detailing how much money it paid to each outlet for each ad purchase , said the two experts .\n`` If I 'm just looking at one line item for $ 4 million in operating expenses , how can I possibly evaluate that ? '' Freeman said . `` I do n't think I can , frankly . ''\nThe vague disclosures do reveal that China Daily is flush with money from the Chinese Communist Party , including $ 11.8 million that the paper 's Beijing office wired to the U.S. branch over the past year . The cash transfers gave China Daily the ninth-largest budget of all FARA registered entities , according to the Center for Responsive Politics .\n`` I 'm sure the Chinese government would n't have invested so much money into this effort in almost every major newspaper if they did n't think that they were getting some return , '' Zack Cooper , a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute , told the Free Beacon .\nChina Daily uses its large war chest to purchase hundreds of ads in the print and online versions of the Times , Post , and Journal . Ad spending peaked in 2016 , when it took out ads in more than 140 pages in American outlets .\nSpokesmen for all three newspapers declined to say how much they have taken from China Daily over the years , but the spending could easily run into the millions , according to public relations professionals . One firm , which requested anonymity as it continues to publish ads with all three outlets , said full-page ads cost between $ 65,000 and $ 120,000 each .\nWhile many China Daily articles touted the country 's economic achievements or tourist attractions , others pushed explicit political messages . These articles contain the legally required disclaimer that a Chinese entity prepared the ads , but do not say that China Daily is owned by the Chinese Communist Party .\nOne China Daily article from March that appeared on the Journal ‘ s website described China 's detention of more than one million Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang reeducation camps as a `` law-based campaign of de-radicalization . '' A Journal spokesperson said that her outlet reviews all ads for `` issues of taste and accuracy , '' but did not say whether China Daily ‘ s articles on Xinjiang met those guidelines .\nMeanwhile , more than half of the Post ‘ s China Daily ad inserts since 2012 have featured propaganda articles about Tibet , where China has repressed dissidents and Buddhists for decades . Those articles depicted China 's presence in Tibet in a positive light , saying the Chinese Communist Party 's economic and social policies have brought prosperity and peace to the region .\n`` Harmony rules in Tibet 's Catholic town , '' a 2013 China Daily article in the Post says . `` Through mediation by the local government [ Buddhism and Catholicism ] entered an era of coexistence . ''\nA Post spokesperson defended the ads , arguing that the newspaper gives `` wide latitude '' to advertisers as long as the ads do not break any laws .\nSome ads appeared adjacent to real news articles . The Journal , for instance , ran a Journal article and a China Daily article that gave opposite assessments of the Chinese economy side by side in 2014 .\nIn the months leading up to the 2018 election , China Daily ran ads critical of the trade war in Roll Call , a Washington , D.C. , publication , and in the Iowa-based Des Moines Register . The Register ad labeled the trade war a `` fruit of a president 's folly , '' provoking a response from President Donald Trump on Twitter .\n`` China is actually placing propaganda ads in the Des Moines Register and other papers , made to look like news , '' Trump tweeted . `` That 's because we are beating them on Trade , opening markets , and the farmers will make a fortune when this is over ! ''\nA Times spokesperson said that the lucrative ad deals with China Daily have not compromised the paper 's reporting , pointing to a recent exposé on oppression in Xinjiang as evidence .\n`` The New York Times covers China thoroughly and aggressively , and at no time has advertising influenced our coverage , '' she said .\nYaqiu Wang , a researcher at Human Rights Watch , said the Chinese regime targets prominent American newspapers in hopes of influencing reporting . Media companies that run China Daily ads undermine the work of their own reporters , she said .\n`` These newspapers are doing a disservice to their brave journalists in China who are taking tremendous risks to report on the Xinjiang issue , '' she said . `` I think newspapers should take a more principled stance to reject those ads that are clearly not speaking the truth . ''


The Pentagon ’ s top general said Tuesday that the failed special forces mission to rescue James Foley and other hostages being kept by Islamic State militants was the toughest he ’ s ever seen .\nGen. Martin E. Dempsey , chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , didn ’ t go into details , but said the effort expended should answer some of the criticisms raised that the U.S. government didn ’ t do enough to try to get hostages released .\n“ That was the most complex , highest-risk mission we ’ ve ever taken , ” the Army general said .\nFoley , a reporter captured in 2012 , was beheaded by an Islamic State terrorist in a brutal execution the militants filmed and released on the Internet on Aug. 19 .\nFoley ’ s parents have complained that the U.S. government didn ’ t communicate with them about steps that were being taken to try to free him , and said they were told they could be prosecuted if they tried to pay a ransom .\nWhile Gen. Dempsey and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel wouldn ’ t go into details of the rescue mission , they said it showed they were trying to do something .\n“ We have some limitations in our ability to collect intelligence inside Syria , but when we had the opportunity to do so , we tried to get ‘ em , ” Gen. Dempsey said .\nMr. Hagel said that while there are boundaries to what the U.S. can do , including a strict policy that the country does not pay ransoms , officials could do a better job of “ dealing with families and the human part of this . ”\nDuring the mission , which reportedly took place earlier in the summer , special operations forces slipped into Syria but were unable to locate Foley or other hostages , who had apparently been moved in the time since the last intelligence the U.S. had .\nSome military officials have reportedly second-guessed President Obama ’ s decision-making , with one report saying that his hesitation to give the go-ahead reduced the chances for success .\nThe White House , though , said Mr. Obama gave the go-ahead as soon as they believed the mission could be carried out successfully .\nIslamic State militants have also killed American journalist Steven Sotloff and British aid worker David Haines . But another American reporter , Peter Theo Curtis , was released late last month , apparently by the Nusra Front , an al Qaeda-linked group .


The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings was charged Monday with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill three people and wound more than 200 in what FBI investigators said evidence shows was a coldly calculated attack .\nWith chilling detail , the criminal complaint filed against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev says he was seen on video placing a bag near the the finish line of the marathon , watching and reacting with no surprise as the first explosion went off down the street , and then `` calmly but rapidly '' walking away before the second blast occurred at the spot where moments before he had been standing . ( Scroll down to see more from the complaint or to read a complete copy of it . )\nThe FBI 's description of that scene came just before people in Boston and across Massachusetts were to pause for a moment of silence at 2:50 p.m . ET Monday — marking the time exactly one week ago when the first of the two bombs exploded . The criminal complaint filed against Tsarnaev also included a new detail : Previously , officials had said 170 to 180 people were injured in the blasts . In the complaint , they increased that to `` over 200 . ''\nLatest Developments — Surviving suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will not be considered an `` enemy combatant , '' the White House says . That means he will be treated and tried as a criminal defendant . — Tsarnaev , who remains in serious condition at a Boston hospital , was arraigned in his bed . He 's charged with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill three people and injure more than 200 ( a higher number of injured than had previously been reported ) . — According to a transcript — obtained by The New York Times — of today 's initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler , Tsarnaev said one word — `` No '' — when he was asked if he could afford a lawyer . At the end of the hearing — where Tsarnaev was given his Miranda warning — Bowler said she found `` the defendant is alert , mentally competent , and lucid . He is aware of the nature of the proceedings . '' — The investigation continues into whether anyone besides Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan ( who died Friday after a gun battle with police ) may have been involved in the Boston Marathon bombings . — There was a funeral Monday for Krystle Campbell , one of the three people killed in the marathon bombings .\nDzhokhar Tsarnaev , 19 , was arraigned at Boston 's Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital , where he remains in serious condition . As NPR 's David Schaper reported on Morning Edition , it 's not clear yet how or when Tsarnaev was wounded or who inflicted some of his injuries . It 's possible he tried to kill himself . Sources familiar with the investigation into the bombings have told NPR that wounds to his neck and jaw area are preventing Tsarnaev from talking .\nAccording to a transcript of today 's initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler , Tsarnaev said one word — `` No '' — when he was asked if he could afford a lawyer .\nAt the end of the hearing — where Tsarnaev was given his Miranda warning — Bowler said she found `` the defendant is alert , mentally competent , and lucid . He is aware of the nature of the proceedings . ''\nTamerlan Tsarnaev , Dzhokhar 's 26-year-old brother and the other suspect in the bombings , died after a gun battle with police early Friday in the Boston suburb of Watertown , Mass . The brothers allegedly killed an MIT campus police officer and seriously wounded a Boston transit police officer during a wild shooting spree that began Thursday night and lasted into the early hours of Friday .\nDzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured Friday evening after a harrowing day when much of the Boston area was locked down during the police manhunt . He was discovered in a boat stored in a Watertown family 's backyard . Authorities are anxious to know whether anyone else may have been involved and whether any more attacks were planned .\nInvestigators also are trying to piece together how Tamerlan Tsarnaev may have been radicalized in recent years , NPR 's Temple-Raston added Monday . They 're looking to interview his wife . The Tsarnaev brothers , both Muslims , came from an ethnic Chechen family that had been living in the U.S. for about a decade . Tamerlan was a legal resident , and Dzhokhar became a U.S. citizen last year .\nWe 'll keep an eye on developments as the day continues and update this post with the news .\nUpdate at 8:02 p.m . ET . Feds Hand Off Boylston Street :\nIn a move that also had a lot of symbolic significance , federal officers handed custody of Boylston Street back to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino . The Boston Police Department tweeted a picture of the moment a little bit ago .\nCBS Boston reports that this means the city has begun a 5-step plan to reopen the scene of the bombings to the general public .\n`` The 5-steps include testing the area for contamination , structural building assessments , removing debris , internal building assessments and re-entry including communication and counseling . ''\nDzhokhar Tsarnaev was read the Miranda warning today during his initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler .\nA transcript of the proceeding was filed at the United States District Court District of Massachusetts and the document was posted online by The New York Times .\nBowler tells Tsarnaev that he has the right to remain silent and not say anything that will incriminate him . She also asks Tsarnaev if he can afford a lawyer and Tsarnaev appears to answer `` no . ''\nPerhaps most importantly , the judge says , `` At this time , at the conclusion of the initial appearance , I find that the defendant is alert , mentally competent , and lucid . He is aware of the nature of the proceedings . ''\nWilliam Fick , the federal defender representing Tsarnaev , also agreed to a voluntary detention of the suspect .\nFor about seven minutes beginning at 2:50 p.m . ET. , the city of Boston fell silent . Investigators formed a semi-circle around the the site of one the blasts and bowed their heads .\nThe New York Stock Exchange , the House of Representatives in Washington and the Massachusetts State House also paused to remember the three killed and the more than 200 injured .\nThe historic Peabody Square clock , near where 8-year-old Martin Richard lived , was frozen at 2:50 p.m. During the moment of silence , reports the Boston Globe 's Eric Moskowitz , it was restarted .\nUpdate at 2:15 p.m . ET . Details From The Complaint Against Tsarnaev .\nDaniel Genck , an FBI special agent , writes in the criminal complaint that :\n-- On video , a man who appears to be Dzhokhar Tsarnaev can be seen placing a bag down in front of the Forum Restaurant along the marathon route . `` Approximately 30 seconds before the first explosion , he lifts [ a ] phone to his ear as if he is speaking ... and keeps it there for approximately 18 seconds . A few seconds after he finishes the call , the large crowd of people around him can be seen reacting to the first explosion . Virtually every head turns to the east ( toward the finish line ) and stares in that direction in apparent bewilderment and alarm . Bomber Two [ Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ] , virtually alone among the individuals in front of the restaurant appears calm . He glances to east and then calmly but rapidly begins moving to the west , away from the direction of the finish line . He walks away without his knapsack , having left it on the ground where he had been standing . Approximately 10 seconds later , an explosion occurs in the location where Bomber Two had placed his knapsack . ''\n-- The victim of a carjacking Thursday night in Cambridge , Mass. , has told police that one of the two men ( who the agent later identifies as Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev ) said during the carjacking : `` Did you hear about the Boston explosion ? ... I did that . ''\n-- `` A preliminary examination of the explosive devices that were discovered at the scene of the shootout in Watertown [ early Friday ] and in the abandoned vehicle has revealed similarities to the explosives used at the Boston Marathon . ''\n-- In Dzhokhar Tsarnaev 's dormitory room at the University of Massachusetts , Dartmouth , FBI agents found `` a large pyrotechnic , a black jacket and a white hat of the same general appearance as those worn by Bomber Two at the Boston Marathon . ''\nUpdate at 1:55 p.m . ET . The Criminal Complaint Against Tsarnaev :\nUpdate at 1:38 p.m . ET . Confirmed : Tsarnaev Has Been Charged .\n`` Dzhokhar Tsarnaev charged with conspiring to use weapon of mass destruction against persons and property in U.S. resulting in death , '' the U.S. attorney 's offfice for the district of Massachusetts confirms on its Twitter page .\nAnd in a statement , the Department of Justice says he 's been charged `` with using a weapon of mass destruction against persons and property at the Boston Marathon on April 15 , 2013 , resulting in the death of three people and injuries to more than 200 people . ''\nUpdate at 1:05 p.m . ET . Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Will Not Be Charged As Enemy Combatant , White House Says ; He 's Arraigned In Hospital Bed , Official Says :\nConfirming what was expected , the White House has said Tsarnaev will not be treated as an `` enemy combatant , '' but will be prosecuted in civilian courts . And as that news was breaking moments ago , WCVB-TV in Boston was reporting that Tsarnaev today was arraigned in his hospital bed , according to Gary Wente , the circuit executive for the U.S. Courts in Boston . The complaint against him has been sealed , the station added . NPR has not independently confirmed that an arraignment has happened .\nFor more on the legal issues involved in treating someone as an enemy combatant , check this Morning Edition report from NPR 's Tovia Smith .\nUpdate at 12:20 p.m . ET . Tamerlan Tsarnaev 's `` Closest American Friend '' And Two Other Young Men Were Murdered Three Years Ago ; Case Remains Unsolved :\nAfter a Buzzfeed report that `` associates of slain Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev now believe he may have been involved in a 2011 triple murder that claimed the life of his closest American friend , Brendan Mess , '' the prosecutor 's office in Middlesex County , Mass. , is going to go back to see if there 's any connection between Tsarnaev and that unsolved crime , Reuters reports .\n`` 'We are definitely going to pursue any new leads , ' said Stephanie Guyotte , a spokeswoman for the Middlesex District Attorney 's office . She said it was fair to say that investigators will check to see if Tsarnaev had anything to do with the crime . ''\nJohn Allan , owner of Wai Kru Mixed Martial Arts in Allston , Mass. , where Tsarnaev once boxed , had earlier told the Boston Globe that the 26-year-old had once introduced Mess as his best friend . Then two years ago , the Globe wrote , `` Mess and two other men were brutally killed in a Waltham apartment where they were found by police with their throats slit and their bodies covered with marijuana . The murders remain unsolved . ''\nAccording to Buzzfeed , a mutual friend says Tsarnaev did not come to Mess ' funeral . `` A few months after Mess 's murder , '' Buzzfeed adds , `` Tsarnaev went to Russia for six months . ''\nGuyotte , the prosecutor 's spokeswoman , has also told the local Waltham Patch that the triple murders are `` an active homicide case and that investigators would pursue any new leads they receive . ''\nWhile friends are asking whether Tsarnaev might have been involved in the murders , The Wall Street Journal notes that the killings came at a tumultuous time in Tsarnaev 's life and raises the prospect that they might have been among the reasons he appears to have turned to a radical form of Islam .\nThe funeral for 29-year-old Krystle Campbell , one of the three people killed in the bombings , is being held this hour in her hometown of Medford , Mass . The Boston Globe says `` some 200 members of Teamsters Local 25 members began gathering at St. Joseph 's Church before 8 a.m. today , promising to block protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church if they follow through on a threat to picket the funeral . ''\nA memorial service for 23-year-old Lingzi Lu of China , who was a graduate student at Boston University , is planned for 7 p.m . ET Monday at the school . The third person killed at the marathon was 8-year-old Martin Richard of Dorchester , Mass . He was remembered during a Mass on Sunday at Dorchester 's St. Ann Parish . Sean Collier , the 26-year-old slain MIT police officer , is to be remembered later this week .\nUpdate at 10:45 a.m . ET . President Obama Will Observe Moment :\nPresident Obama will also `` observe a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings '' at 2:50 p.m . ET , the White House says in a statement sent to reporters . He will do so in private , the statement adds .\nUpdate at 10 a.m . ET . Wounded Officer `` Shows Hopeful Signs '' :\n`` The transit police officer critically wounded in a gunbattle with the marathon bombing suspects opened his eyes , wiggled his toes and squeezed his wife 's hand yesterday for the first time since he nearly bled to death Friday — hopeful signs for his doctors and family , '' The Boston Herald writes . `` Three-year veteran MBTA cop Richard Donohue remains in critical but stable condition at the surgical intensive care unit at Mount Auburn Hospital . ''\nUpdate at 8:50 a.m . ET . Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Remains In Serious Condition .\n`` According to BIDMC marathon bombing suspect remains in serious condition this morning . Releasing info at hospital 's request . ''\nAs Monday dawned , here were some of the related headlines :\n-- `` Turn To Religion Split Bomb Suspects ' Home . '' ( The Wall Street Journal , behind a paywall )\n-- `` Dead Suspect Broke Angrily With Muslim Speakers . '' ( The Boston Globe )\n-- `` Suspects Seemed Set For Attacks Beyond Boston . '' ( The New York Times )\n-- `` The Inside Story '' Of The Investigation . ( CBS News ' 60 Minutes )\n-- `` Should Marathon Bomber Be Treated As An Enemy Combatant ? '' ( Morning Edition )


With the latest Benghazi ! ™ extravaganza about to begin , the Democrats are faced with a dilemma . Should they boycott the silly hearings , thus leaving the Republicans to put on their pageant unimpeded , or should they join in with a full panel and add legitimacy to the process ? The problem seems to be that whether they like it or not , these hearings are going to be covered . And if the press reaction so far tells us anything , they are looking for a show .\nThis is why they should follow the advice of Ari Rabin-Havt in the American Prospect who says that a boycott would be a `` colossal error . '' He points out the unfortunate reality :\nEven with limited power , ceding the committee room to Republicans—not to mention the televised hearings—will only allow them to parade their Benghazi myths unimpeded by relevant facts framed in questions from the minority\nYes , one might expect that the media would be able to straighten out all the factual misrepresentations and downright lies , but considering the fact that even Lara Logan and the venerable `` 60 Minutes '' imploding with a full-fledged hoax did little to put the story to bed , it 's highly unlikely that allowing the GOP to harangue and harass Hillary Clinton will put an end to this phony scandal .\nIn fact , it 's long past time the Democrats understood that they are not as successful as they think they are at letting the Republicans hang themselves . They seem to believe that because all their friends and wealthy donors think the GOP clown show is appalling that it always reads that way in the rest of the country . `` Smell-test '' scandal-mongering , where people begin to think there must be something to it or they could n't get away with spending all this time and money pursuing it , takes its toll .\nNobody in American politics has dealt with this phenomenon more than the Clintons . And the one thing they were known for back in the day , always , was to never let charges go unanswered . They understood very well that expecting the press and the people to see through such inanity and recognize it for the rank partisan hack job it is is a fool 's game .\nStill , it does n't make a whole lot of sense to try to deal with a three-ring circus by convening an academic seminar . In order to perform their role properly , they need to engage the issue at hand with intelligence and a grasp of the facts but also an ability to guide the questioning in a way that illuminates the absurdity of the hearings as a whole . And yes , they need to provide easy sound bites for the media so they have something to run with .\nLuckily , as Rabin-Havt points out , they have the perfect person right there in the Congress to do it : the original `` congressman with guts , '' Alan Grayson of Florida .\nPerhaps people do n't realize that Alan Grayson is n't just another lawyer/congressman . He 's an experienced litigator who fought whistle-blower fraud cases aimed at military contractors . The Wall Street Journal characterized him in 2006 as `` waging a one-man war against contractor fraud in Iraq . '' And he was very successful at it . As a politician Grayson is usually seen as a pugnacious fighter always at the ready with a pithy put-down on cable news shows . His floor speeches are often fiery indictments of his political opponents and the power elite .\nBut that 's not why the Democrats should tap him for the job . As notable as all those characteristics are , they are not where Grayson 's true talent lies . He is a master at the task of committee questioning . During his first term as a member of the Financial Services Committee he practically had bankers whimpering on the hot seat and he took on everyone from Ben Bernanke to Timothy Geithner , eliciting important information . Unlike the vaunted prosecutor the GOP has tapped to lead the inquiry , Trey Gowdy ( who specializes in browbeating and histrionic questioning ) , Grayson is never rude and he is n't dismissive or insulting . He is serious , composed and extremely well prepared . And when he has the floor he is completely in control .\nAnd yes , choosing him would please the Democratic base and infuriate the Republicans . That should be a feature , not a bug . The Republicans want a show . Grayson will definitely give them one -- but it wo n't be the kind of show they 're looking for . He 'll elicit the kinds of responses from the Democratic witnesses that are needed to make their case and he 'll skewer the conservative scandal-mongers with the facts .\nRabin-Havt had originally suggested that Grayson simply be on the committee as a member , but he and other progressives , including Credo Mobile , are now suggesting that he should be the lone Democrat assigned . It would be an uncharacteristically bold and brilliant move for the House Democrats to do it .\nGrayson says he 's game if they are . Will they have the guts that he has ?