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BILL BERKOWITZ FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

Mike Pence at CPAC. (Photo: Gage Skidmore)Shortly after the November election, The Intercept's Jeremy Scahill observed that while Mike Pence is often seen as the adult in the room, and a "counterbalance" to Donald Trump, "there is every reason to regard him as, if anything, even more terrifying than the president-elect." Scahill called Pence's ascension to vice president "a tremendous coup for the radical religious right."

While many in the nation were celebrating Pride Month held in June to commemorate the activists who began the modern gay rights movement at the Stonewall Riots -- the White House was silent.

During the same period, Vice President Mike Pence was off singing the praises of Dr. James Dobson, one of America's premier conservative Christian anti-gay political leaders. Pence told a cheering crowd at a celebration in Colorado Springs, Colorado, of the 40th anniversary of James Dobson's "Focus on the Family" radio program, that they have "an unwavering ally in President Donald Trump."

Pence said that the passage of President Trump's health care bill will finally "defund Planned Parenthood once and for all," and he added that "the time is now" to re-engage in politics.

Earlier in June, at Ralph Reed's Faith & Freedom Road to Majority conference, Pence praised Dobson, calling him his "mentor," when the founder of Focus on the Family received the organization's Winston Churchill Lifetime Achievement Award. Pence assured the audience that Trump will "never stop fighting for the values and ideals that make this nation great."

"You've done more for faith and freedom in your lifetime ... than any one person could do in ten lifetimes," he told Dobson. "Not only is your country grateful, but I say with confidence, great is your reward. You've made an eternal difference in the lives of millions."

"Raised Catholic, in a Kennedy Democratic household," he became a devout evangelical after being "converted at a Christian music festival in Kentucky while in college," Scahill pointed out. "Pence now describes himself as 'a Christian, a Conservative, and a Republican, in that order.'"

As the Elite Daily's Lisa Dunn pointed out, Pence's record on gay rights is abysmal: In 2006, Pence led the conservative Republican Study Committee, who among other things, sought to ban gay marriage and legally define marriage as between one man and one woman. The following year he voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, stating that "this sets up something of a constitutional conflict between the right to religious freedom in the workplace and another person's newly created right to sue you for practicing your faith or acknowledging your faith in the workplace."

In 2009, he voted against legislation that would expand the 1969 Federal Hate Crimes Act to include sexual orientation and/or gender identity. In 2010 he voted against the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, maintaining that "Homosexuality is incompatible with military service because the presence of homosexuals in the ranks weakens unit cohesion."

"From his time as U.S. Congressman to being Indiana's governor, Pence's anti-LGBTQ activism spans decades, and it would only continue if he reached the nation's highest political office," Sarah Kate Ellis, the President and CEO of GLAAD, agreed, told AOL News.

Given the breadth of Pence's synchronization with the religious right's agenda, he was a natural fit to sing the praises of Dobson.

Dobson the Kingmaker

Focus on the Family, "rejects reproduction freedoms for women, opposes sexuality education in schools except 'abstinence-only,' works to ban curricular materials it deems inappropriate including notions of multiculturalism and specifically anything it has determined promotes the so-called 'homosexual' or 'gay agenda,' encourages prayer in schools, supports private school vouchers to pay for parochial education at tax payer expense and to the detriment of public schooling, and many other conservative causes," lgbtqnation.com's Warren J. Blumenfeld recently pointed out.

James Dobson's radio program, which he began in 1977, "eventually grew to 7,000 stations in 150 countries and at its peak reached 220 million people each day," CBN News' Wendy Griffith recently pointed out, and led to the founding of the Focus on the Family organization, which at one time, was one of the most powerful and influential organizations on the Christian Right. At its height, FotF employed over 1,000 people. Dobson became a much sought out voice for anti-gay, and anti-abortion political action.

In the early 1990s, Dobson was one of the major backers of the notorious anti-gay Amendment 2 in Colorado, "a ballot measure to block any anti-discrimination laws aimed at protecting gays in cities and counties in the state."

While Amendment 2 passed (53 percent to 47 percent), the Colorado Supreme Court later ruled that "fundamental rights may not be submitted to a vote," and it never went into effect.

In his 2004 book, Marriage Under Fire, Dobson wrote: "Like Adolf Hitler, who overran his European neighbors, those who favor homosexual marriage are determined to make it legal, regardless of the democratic processes that stand in their way"

After Dobson left the organization in 2010, Focus on the Family shrunk to about half of its peak size. According to Associated Press' Nicholas Riccardi and Kristen Wyatt, FotF's new leader Jim Daly, "scaled back involvement in politics see[ing] himself as part of a younger generation of religious leadership."

While Dobson heartily endorsed Trump, saying "I believe he really made a commitment but he is a baby Christian." Daly chose to remain neutral.

As part of its 40th anniversary celebration, CBN's Griffith noted that Family Talk Dobson's current radio program -- is launching the Dobson Digital Library, which "brings four decades of tried-and-true, family-centered content to a new generation of families on the worldwide web."

In June, Dobson was presented with the Winston Churchill Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ralph Reed's Faith & Freedom Coalition's Patriot's Gala. In presenting the award to Dobson, Reed said that Dobson had "served at the forefront of the evangelical conservative movement in America for decades, fighting for traditional marriage, the sanctity of human life and encouraging godly families."

At Dobson's anniversary dinner, Pence was determined to un-neutralize Focus on the Family supporters, getting them to gear up for more political action.

Focus on the Family is not disengaged from politics, Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State told the Associated Press. "Look at the data they put out," Lynn said, referring to Focus' arguments against bans on conversion therapy and suggestions that transgender children are being misled. "This is really hard-core stuff and it's not easily distinguished from the way Jim Dobson talked when he ran the place."

"What LGBTQ Americans are witnessing since Donald Trump became president is a systematic erasure to the LGBTQ community," Ellis continued. "The Trump Administration has removed LGBTQ people from government websites and the upcoming 2020 U.S. Census, but if Mike Pence were to ever become president, this erasure would be placed into overdrive."

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Inside Man: Mike Pence Is the Religious Right's White House Agent - Truth-Out

It was a short twenty minute meeting. A nothing burger. There was a time I didn't know the Trumps.

These are certainly strange times. Every day there's something new coming out of the White House...most of it is troubling. If the general public is stressed by all the revelations, you can only imagine what the people who work for #45 think.

The quotes at the top are words said by Conway, Priebus and Pence. It usually takes less than twenty-four hours before the Trump family makes their words sound foolish. That was about the timeline for this one.

Kellyanne Conway and Reince Priebus are bright, well-spoken people....most of the time. They both played major roles in electing the fool that is now President. It wasn't an easy job. You have to give them and the Russians credit for that. Congrats guys. But then they went all in. They took jobs in the White House working for a guy who doesn't have a clue. Okay...I get that, too. It's a chance to shape policy and make a difference...not to mention the power.

But I bet they never figured they'd be babysitters and apologists for the Trump children. Turns out that working for 45 is like dating a person who has children. It's a package deal. You might love the person but you better find a way to love the kids, too or there's trouble. Kellyanne, Reince and Mike found trouble.

Here are words I never thought I would type...poor Kellyanne. First she has to defend little Ivanka's fashion line. She gets in trouble for saying she was goingbuy some shoes. Now there's this with Junior and Jared.

Here are more words I never thought I would type...poor Reince. First, what the Hell is a Nothing Burger. It sounds like what I order at McDonald's....just the sandwich plain. On Sunday, Reince says to Chuck Todd it's nothing. A day later, Junior makes Reince look like a schmuck.

Then there's Mike Pence...Vice-45. He's been such a good company man for the last year. There's nothing that his boss can do that he can't explain away. He loves his wife, family and God. Nothing wrong with that and when he says that stuff, it rings true. He doesn't have a single political view that I agree with, but I buy into his character. You have to believe that all this crap was wearing him down. Does he have a breaking point? Looks like he does because he threw his boss and the kids under the bus. The explanationis he's getting ready to be President but that would be cynical and I'm above that (eyeroll).

But hey....it's jut another day in D.C.

These jobs don't pay that much. Kellyanne and Reince make $170,000ish/year. Mike makes $230,7000. They can all do better in the private sector. You can easily picture all of them going home each night and pounding their head against the wall and wondering if it's all worth it. Kellyanne, Reince and Mike....is it?

Related Post: Kellyanne Conway ruined my Sunday

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Kellyanne Conway, Reince Priebus and Mike Pence: Second thoughts? - ChicagoNow (blog)

He was great, Mr. Trump told people about his sons appearance on Sean Hannitys Fox News program the previous evening.

A New York Times investigative reporter takes you through the twists and turns of uncovering the details of a secretive meeting.

By midday Wednesday, the mercurial president was telling friends and advisers that he believed the situation had improved. I think this is getting better, he said to one group of aides, hours before he was set to take off for a trip to France to mark Bastille Day.

The Trump family, friends said, always draws closer under intense pressure. But Mr. Trump bridles at the idea that his children, who have not spent years in the public spotlight like him, are now facing unrelenting scrutiny over what he believes to be a manufactured scandal by the news media.

While Donald Trump Jr. has been on the firing line, the meeting with Ms. Veselnitskaya could arguably be a bigger distraction for Mr. Kushner. As a senior adviser to the president, he is involved in several of the administrations most sensitive foreign-policy issues, from China to the Middle East peace process. His involvement in the meeting led reporters to ask the White House whether he still held his security clearance.

Also under scrutiny is how forthcoming Mr. Kushner was with his father-in-law about the nature of the June meeting. He met with Mr. Trump to discuss the issue, according to advisers to the White House, around the time he updated his federal disclosure form to include Ms. Veselnitskayas name on a list of foreign contacts that Mr. Kushner was required to submit to the F.B.I. to obtain a security clearance.

Mr. Kushner supplemented the list of foreign contacts three times, adding more than 100 names, people close to him said.

Mr. Kushner played down the significance of the meeting and omitted significant details, according to two people who were briefed on the exchange. They said Mr. Kushner informed the president that he had met with a Russian foreign national, and that while he had to report the name, it would not cause a problem for the administration.

Another official said Mr. Kushners assurance to the president was based on the fact that nothing came of the June meeting.

Donald Trump Jr. received an email on June 3, 2016, promising dirt on Hillary Clinton. The information was described as being part of Russia's support for his fathers presidential bid. His reply? I love it.

In an interview with Reuters, Mr. Trump said he had not been told last summer that his son was meeting with a Russian lawyer. No, that I didnt know until a couple of days ago when I heard about this, he said.

Mr. Kushner, colleagues say, has kept up a regular work schedule, meeting on Wednesday with Gary D. Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, to discuss the administrations impending moves on trade. He is also in touch with Jason D. Greenblatt, Mr. Trumps Middle East envoy, who is in Israel for meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. And next week, he plans to take part in a high-level economic dialogue with China.

Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka, are not accompanying Mr. Trump to Paris. Instead they plan to attend the annual media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, sponsored by the investment firm Allen & Company. An official said the couple would pay for their own travel and lodgings.

Mr. Kushner is expected to cooperate in the next several weeks with the Senate and House Intelligence Committees that are looking into Russias intervention in the American election and any possible collusion with the Trump campaign. He will have to devote some time to preparing for those appearances with his team of lawyers.

Colleagues of Mr. Kushner said he had remained focused and upbeat despite the drumbeat of negative headlines a trait they ascribe to his experience dealing with the legal troubles of his father, Charles Kushner, who was convicted of tax evasion and witness tampering.

But even as the White House labors to present a business-as-usual facade, there is evidence that Mr. Trumps family will be drawn deeper into the investigation. Two officials familiar with the Senate Intelligence Committees investigation said the panel was now planning to expand its inquiry to include Donald Trump Jr.

The officials said Mr. Trumps shifting reasons for the meeting and his acknowledgment that he was lured by the promise of Russian dirt on Hillary Clinton had forced the Senate panel to begin examining his role in the campaign, and any contacts he may have had with Russians.

The first step, officials said, would be for Senate investigators to sit down with Mr. Trump. The Senate panel might also request that he turn over emails and financial records from any dealings with Russia, which they have done with other subjects of their investigation.

At the same time, Mr. Kushner now looms larger in the Senate investigation, the officials said. Its investigators concluded as early as March that his meetings during the transition with the Russian ambassador and a Russian banker tied to the Kremlin warranted further scrutiny.

For the president, friends said, the pain of seeing his son ensnared in the Russia scandal was real. In part, that is because, of all his children, he has had the most complicated relationship with Donald Jr., who was a teenager when his parents divorced and did not speak to his father for a year.

Friends who have known the Trump family for many years said they believed Donald Trump Jr., in setting up the meeting, was only focused on trying to help and even impress his father with information that could help his campaign.

President Trump has been equally protective of his other children. After Ivanka came under criticism for taking her fathers seat in Germany, he defended her in a tweet and cited Angela Merkel, the German chancellor. When I left Conference Room for short meetings with Japan and other countries, he said, I asked Ivanka to hold seat. Very standard. Angela M agrees!

Nobody offered a more passionate defense of Ivanka than Donald Trump Jr.

Look at the attacks on Ivanka, he told Mr. Hannity on Tuesday night. If she was anyone elses daughter, shed be a feminist icon this incredible, brilliant, well-spoken woman. And they try to belittle her at every chance. Its really sad.

For me as a family member, as her brother, as her older brother, you know you do take it personally and it does make you want to fight back, he added. What we are is we are fighters and they dont take well to that, either, because most people dont like being called on their stuff.

Peter Baker and Matthew Rosenberg contributed reporting from Washington, and Jo Becker from New York.

A version of this article appears in print on July 13, 2017, on Page A14 of the New York edition with the headline: Glare on Trump Family Turns Political Personal.

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With Glare on Trump Children, Political Gets Personal for President - New York Times

(WASHINGTON) A California Democrat filed an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump Wednesday in a longshot bid to remove the president from office.

Rep. Brad Sherman accuses Trump of obstructing investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, in part by firing former FBI Director James Comey.

Sherman acknowledges that filing the article is "the first step on a very long road."

"But if the impulsive incompetency continues, then eventually many, many months from now Republicans will join the impeachment effort," Sherman said in a statement.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Sherman's resolution was "utterly and completely ridiculous" and "a political game at its worst."

Sherman's effort has little chance of success in the Republican-led House. Sherman doesn't even have the backing of many fellow Democrats.

Democratic leaders have distanced themselves from the efforts to impeach Trump, believing it serves only to energize the president's supporters. Sherman's resolution has one co-sponsor, fellow Democrat Al Green of Texas.

Sherman filed the article a day after the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., acknowledged that he met with a Russian lawyer during the campaign. An intermediary for the lawyer promised damaging information from the Russian government about Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Trump Jr. said he received no information about Clinton at the meeting.

The president has questioned his own intelligence agencies and whether the Russians actually interfered in the election. However, federal authorities say they have definitive evidence that the Kremlin meddled in the U.S. presidential election.

See the article here:
The First Attempt to Impeach Donald Trump Just Got Underway - TIME

We took a closer look at Rob Goldstone, a British publicist who brokered the meeting, and his client Emin Agalarov, a Russian pop star. Our reporter discussed unearthing Mr. Goldstones emails on our podcast The Daily.

The email leaks show how we have dangerously overcommitted to this form of communication, our tech columnist writes.

Christopher Wray, Mr. Trumps nominee for F.B.I. director, pledged to resist pressure from the White House during his confirmation hearing. Meanwhile, Democrats are going to try to block the Republican health care bill by exploiting procedural rules.

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Mr. Trump arrived in Paris earlier this morning. Alongside President Emmanuel Macron, he will watch as American troops participate in the Bastille Day parade tomorrow.

The visit could help secure Mr. Macrons position as Mr. Trumps primary contact in Western Europe. Before Mr. Trumps arrival, Mr. Macron will host Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany for talks.

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Kurdish fighters in Syria this week announced the deaths of foreign combatants on the outskirts of Raqqa, the Islamic State stronghold.

We traced the journey of one of them, Robert Grodt, above, from the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York to Syrias civil war.

Drone video from Mosul shows that the battle to seize Iraqs second-largest city isnt over. In a separate video, we look at what is known about Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Islamic States leader, who is said to have been killed.

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At Wimbledon, Venus Williams, above, will take on Johanna Konta in the semifinals, and Garbie Muguruza will face Magdalena Rybarikova.

Among the men, Roger Federer is the only member of the so-called Big Four still playing, after the elimination of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic.

In the Tour de France, Marcel Kittel of Germany won his fifth stage. And in soccer news, Dani Alves is moving to Paris St.-Germain.

Theres a new breed of employers: They build a team, do the job and say goodbye.

A court in Paris rejected a French 1.12-billion-euro tax bill for Google, arguing that its Irish European headquarters could not be taxed in France.

In the U.S., tech companies united to protest the governments plan to scrap net neutrality rules.

Moon Express hopes to launch a soda-can-shaped lander to the moon this year, a prelude to its regular delivery service to space.

Heres a snapshot of global markets.

Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, the enormously influential Brazilian ex-president, was convicted of corruption and sentenced to nearly 10 years. [The New York Times]

In Poland, lawmakers voted for a bill that would give them greater say in the appointment of judges, a move that critics say infringes on judicial independence. [Reuters]

In Britain, Prime Minister Theresa Mays plan to withdraw from Euratom, the European treaty governing nuclear energy, is facing stiff opposition. [The New York Times]

Ms. Mays government is expected today to release its Repeal Bill, with which it seeks to achieve a smooth departure from the European Union. [Reuters]

In a medical milestone, a gene-altering leukemia therapy got an unanimous vote of confidence from a U.S. regulatory panel. [The New York Times]

Lawmakers in Malta voted 66 to 1 to legalize same-sex marriage. [The New York Times]

The chief executive of Swedens biggest security firm was falsely declared bankrupt after his identity was stolen by hackers, who applied for a loan in his name. [Bloomberg]

Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.

A few minutes of meditation a day can help athletes, and everyone else, withstand stress.

Does your phone run out of power midday? Choose your charger wisely.

For something light, go with an herb and radish salad with feta and walnuts.

True bilingualism is a relatively rare and beautiful thing. Its worth it, but its a lot of work, a psychologist said.

A dad look has suddenly become stylish: the tucked-in T-shirt.

10000 Gestures, a French choreographers ambitious new piece, debuts at the Manchester International Festival today.

Finally, a writer reflects on his discovery of the Greek island of Sifnos, and why its best to avoid tourist hot spots.

Recent reports that the Pentagon spent millions to license a camouflage pattern that replicates lush forests to be worn in largely arid Afghanistan got us thinking about the famous design.

As it turns out, the word camouflage appeared in The Times for the first time 100 years ago.

The concept of disguising matriel and soldiers to blend in with their surroundings originated in the 1800s and was further developed during World War I.

In May 1917, a New York lawyer who visited the French battlefront wrote about it for The Timess Magazine section.

The French were among the first to use camouflage on a wide scale, with a unit made up of artists known as camoufleurs. In August 1917, the U.S. Army issued its own call for enlistment in a camouflage force, seeking young men who are looking for special entertainment in the way of fooling Germans.

Camouflage later became common in art and fashion. A 2007 exhibit at Londons Imperial War Museum noted its links to Cubism. (Picasso exclaimed upon seeing a camouflaged cannon in Paris: It was us who created that.)

The artist Andy Warhol also used it, substituting bright colors for earth tones, which removed the military symbolism but retained the notion of hiding.

Karen Zraick contributed reporting.

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This briefing was prepared for the European morning. We also have briefings timed for the Australian, Asian and American mornings. You can sign up for these and other Times newsletters here.

Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online.

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Antarctica, Donald Trump, Wimbledon: Your Thursday Briefing - New York Times