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NEWS: Anderson Cooper, Limbaugh, Keith Ablow, Allen West, Obama’s Drug War, Facebook Gay Icons

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Anderson Cooper came out today. Smart he did it on a Monday, not a Friday, so we have the week to talk about it. McKay Coppins at Buzzfeed thinks “Coming Out Could Be Anderson Cooper’s Best Career Move Yet.” Meanwhile, El Rushbo, Rush Limbaugh, thinks it was all for ratings — while doubling down on his claims that Barack Obama is gay:

Anderson Cooper has come out of the closet.  He has admitted that he’s gay. “The fact is, I’m gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy.” It’s an AP story.  Wait a minute now.  It worked wonders for Obama’s fundraising.  It may be the best ratings move CNN’s made in I don’t know how long. (interruption) Well, I don’t know how odd it was.  A lot of people knew.  But now the stamp of approval, it’s now official.  Yeah, for those that didn’t know it might give CNN a ratings boost.  We’ll find out.  Yeah, maybe 120,000 up from 115,000.  Who knows.  They’ll take ’em.

On Sunday, Congressman Allen West, who once claimed himself to be a “modern-day Harriet Tubman,” said President Obama “does not want you to have the self-esteem of getting up and earning and having that title of American. He’d rather you be his slave.” West didn’t offer any proof, just as he offered no proof when he claimed there were 80 or so Communists in Congress.

Friend of the blog and Good As You founder Jeremy Hooper got to be the first to use Facebook’s new same-sex couple marriage icon. MSNBC notes “The writer, activist and author of the new book “If It’s A Choice…” updated his Timeline over the weekend with his June 2009 Connecticut  marriage to healthcare CEO Andrew Shulman with a photo of the happy couple, and a two-groom, cake topper-style image,” and added, “Hooper’s Timeline update with the new icon was soon followed by that of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, who married Sean Eldridge on Saturday.”

In “Obama Will Seek To Scale Back Drug War In Second Term: Report,” the Huffington Post points to Marc Ambinder at GQ and writes, “President Barack Obama will take steps to draw down the nation’s decades-long war on drugs if he wins a second term.”

According to Ambinder, Obama’s “aides and associates” say that the president is looking to prioritize reform, a reflection of the president’s long-held beliefs that strict drug prohibition and enforcement policies have done greater damage to society than good.

Sources close to the White House also told The Huffington Post that the administration is looking at ways that it can reduce barriers to reentering society for those caught up in the drug war, such as a longstanding policy that denies federal financial aid to college students convicted of drug-related offenses, including possession.

Wait until the Right catches a hold of that…

Mother Jones catches Focus On The Family scrubbing a blog post that compared the horrific wildfires in Colorado with pre-marital sex. because, you know…

Fox News’ Dr. Keith Ablow, taking time off from attacking Chaz Bono, is now freaking out because Apple’s new iOS — the operating system powering iPhone, iPads, and iPods — will be able to receive emergency alerts from the government. Scary, scary stuff! Because now we “can instantly be distracted, en masse, at some critical moment.”

This literally means that Americans on these and other mobile devices can be forced to—at minimum—glance at information that the government wants to convey to them. And at some date in the future, it might certainly be the case that they have to acknowledge having read it. They can instantly be distracted, en masse, at some critical moment. Perhaps they will have to enable their Face Time system to show them reading WEA messages, while they do.

Physician, heal thyself.

Romney lied about role in Bain’s investment in medical-waste firm that disposed of aborted fetuses

Gallup: “Obama Now Leads Romney, 48% to 43%

Terribly sad: A 22-year old intern for the Associated Press, Armando “Mando” Montano, who was gay, was found dead in Mexico City on Saturday. 22-years old. MetroWeekly notes:

Montano had been a Metro Weekly Coverboy back in August 2011. Asked at the time what he was most grateful for, he replied, “To have a lot of supportive people in my life.”

Montano’s first AP byline was published long before his internship, in 2010, when Montano wrote about same-sex marriages being celebrated at pride in Argentina that summer.

 

In honor of Anderson Cooper coming out, The Daily Beast put together this video:

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/271557391

 

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News

Family Food Costs Hit Record High Despite Trump Touting Cheaper Holiday Dinner

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As Americans prepare for Thanksgiving, President Donald Trump is promoting Walmart’s 25% cheaper holiday meal as evidence that grocery prices are falling. But the discount reflects a smaller, bargain-focused menu with fewer items and fewer name-brand products — lowering the cost of a one-time holiday feast without addressing the broader fact shoppers are seeing at the checkout line, that overall food prices have hit a record high this year.

The fact-checkers at Snopes reported on Friday that the cost of feeding a family of four for one month hit an all-time high of $1,030 this year. Snopes cited data from the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C. think tank, whose October American Affordability Tracker compiled figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A separate report released Friday by Groundwork Collaborative, The Century Foundation, and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) found that many Thanksgiving basics have risen sharply, contradicting the claim that the Thanksgiving holiday meal is generally cheaper.

READ MORE: Trump to Hold Million-Dollar-a-Plate Fundraisers Amid Affordability Push

“The full holiday meal is up nearly 10% this year, more than triple the overall rate of inflation,” the report found. It stated that onions are up 56%, creamed corn is up more than 20%, butternut squash and collard greens have risen over 12%, and french-fried onion topping for a green bean casserole has climbed 15%.

Meanwhile, citing “the highest inflation in decades,” CNN reported on Friday that the “Trump administration’s unprecedented tariffs, the immigration crackdown and global natural disasters have rattled the food supply chain. Grocery prices rose in August at their fastest pace in three years and increased again in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”

“This is coming on the heels of the highest inflation in decades,” the news network noted.

Americans should not expect grocery prices to drop before Thanksgiving, The New York Post revealed on Friday.

“Grocery prices will remain stiff across the board through Thanksgiving despite President Trump’s recent cancellation of tariffs on beef, bananas and more — and coffee drinkers shouldn’t expect relief until after Christmas.”

READ MORE: Trump State Department to Focus on God-Given Rights

 

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Trump to Hold Million-Dollar-a-Plate Fundraisers Amid Affordability Push

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As President Donald Trump and his administration continue their focus on touting affordability — insisting prices for many everyday food items have dropped while consumers lament grocery store prices — the President will be hosting two one-million-dollar-a-plate fundraisers for his super PAC early next year.

Inflation remains high at 3.0%. The unemployment rate is now the highest it’s been in nearly four years. Prices for items like beef, coffee, and bananas have increased by double-digit percentages. Major corporations have announced plans to lay off thousands or tens of thousands of workers. And millions of Americans are seeing their health care premiums for next year skyrocket, as Congress leaves D.C. for Thanksgiving break.

The president, meanwhile, has insisted there is little to no inflation, and calls affordability a Democratic “con job,” as he hosted the crown prince of Saudi Arabia this week for a lavish black-tie White House dinner.

READ MORE: ‘Very Serious Violation of the Law’: Trump Says Military Looking Into Democrats’ Video

“President Trump, who has been hosting fund-raising dinners at a pace unseen by any second-term president, is scheduled to hold two more early next year, according to copies of the invitations seen by The New York Times,” the Times reported on Friday. “Mr. Trump is slated to attend two high-dollar ‘candlelight dinners’ — one at Trump National Golf Club near Washington on Jan. 31, the second at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 27.”

The Times also reports that politicians’ super PACs generally spend funds on the politicians’ own elections, but Trump is term-limited, according to the U.S. Constitution. While he has flirted with running for a third term, he recently acknowledged it is not permitted.

The White House has said Trump will be more focused on the cost of living in the new year.

Last month, a local CBS affiliate reported that “President Trump is expected to headline a $1 million-per-person candlelight dinner at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Oct. 17. The event is hosted by the Trump-aligned super PAC, MAGA, Inc., which raised $177 million in the first half of the year. The event is expected to have an impact on next year’s midterm elections.”

READ MORE: Trump State Department to Focus on God-Given Rights

 

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‘Very Serious Violation of the Law’: Trump Says Military Looking Into Democrats’ Video

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One day after calling for six Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for “seditious behavior,” President Donald Trump is now claiming the military is looking into a video they recorded reminding members of the U.S. Armed Forces and Intelligence Community of their duty to refuse unlawful orders.

“I think it’s a very serious violation of the law,” President Trump told Fox News Radio.

“I know they’re looking into it militarily,” Trump claimed.

“I think Pete Hegseth is looking into it, too,” he said of the Secretary of Defense. “I don’t know for a fact, but I think the military is looking into it — the military courts.”

READ MORE: Trump State Department to Focus on God-Given Rights

The six lawmakers — four House Democrats and two Senate Democrats — in a recorded video said, “No one has to carry out orders that violate the law, or our Constitution.”

Trump lashed out on Thursday.

“It’s called seditious behavior at the highest level,” he charged. “Each one of these traitors to our Country should be Arrested and put on trial. Their words cannot be allowed to stand – We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example must be set.”

“Seditious behavior, punishable by death!” he continued.

Some of the Democrats are speaking out.

READ MORE: ‘Mob Shakedown’: Trump Ukraine Peace Plan Blasted as ‘Surrender to Putin’

On Friday, U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), who is one of the six lawmakers, was asked if she believed illegal orders have been given.

“Well, what I will say is that over the last nine or ten months, about 600 pieces of lawsuits have been filed in response to executive orders or orders in general, that this president and this administration has made. Of those, 150 or so have been ruled as being unlawful, many of them by judges that have been appointed by President Trump.

“So, yes, you know, those kinds of things are going on,” she noted.

READ MORE: ‘Sundown’: Trump Shows ‘Shocking’ Noticeable Mental Decline Journalist Says

 

Image via Reuters

 

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