thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-01--Joe Biden Is Really Touching People In Iowa

Biden ’ s penchant for physically touching people in close encounters has been controversial .
Former Nevada state Assemblywoman Lucy Flores , for instance , wrote last year the former vice president made her feel “ uneasy , gross , and confused ” when he rubbed her shoulders and kissed her head in 2014 .
In a video response , Biden tried to explain that in his long political career , he has always shaken hands and touched people , but he acknowledged that “ social norms are changing ” and he would be more mindful of people ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , however , are designed for touching .
At small gatherings in Ottumwa , Fort Madison and Mount Pleasant over the past two days , Biden has given a 30-minute stump speech followed by at least as many minutes of hands-on greeting time .
Attendees , who tend to be older , line up for handshakes , hugs , selfies , kisses and the occasional poke in the chest .
And they seem to love it .
Three people who said they were previously undecided told HuffPost they became Biden supporters .
One @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to talk to her convalescent son back home .
Following his speech in Fort Madison , Foss , an 84-year-old former travel agent , said she told Biden that she would pray for him .
He responded by clasping her hands and showing her how he prays on his fingers .
Then he kissed her on the cheek .
Afterward , Foss said she ’ d support Biden on Monday in the Iowa caucuses , the crucial first event of the up-for-grabs Democratic presidential nomination .
She appreciates his experience in the White @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ He ’ s just a very down-to-earth man and he ’ s had some problems in his own life , so he has a lot of empathy for people , ” Foss said .
( She denied that the kiss itself sealed the deal . )
Biden ’ s empathy is a trait his campaign emphasizes , drawing a sharp contrast with President Donald Trump , who revels in cruelty .
The candidate and his surrogates talk about the personal loss Biden suffered as a senator , when his wife and daughter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as vice president , when one of his sons died of brain cancer .
“ It ’ s important for the president to have suffered , ” Christie Vilsack , the former first lady of Iowa , said Friday evening at a Biden event in Mount Pleasant .
Part of the president ’ s job , she said , is to help the nation cope with tragedy .
After his speech at an American Legion post in Ottumwa on Thursday , Biden met Melinda Jones , a 36-year-old schoolteacher who came to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Jones had previously supported Cory Booker , who dropped out of the race last month .
Biden bent down and asked Jones ’ daughter how she was doing and said it was great to see her .
He asked her name and age , and then Jones told Biden that she ’ d previously supported Booker , but that she now would likely go for Biden .
He thanked her before they hugged and took pictures .
Biden poked Dickson in the chest , saying “ the guy was a cheat ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which he did , smiling .
The incident escaped the notice of reporters , likely because the campaign plays loud music during meet-and-greet time , making it difficult to hear Biden ’ s conversations .
In Fort Madison , Ann Cahoon , 62 , said she has long appreciated the way Biden tells the story of losing his son , and she said it ’ s given her strength .
Her 37-year-old son also had brain cancer .

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FORT MADISON, Iowa ― Carol Foss said she hadn’t made up her mind which Democrat she liked best when she arrived at a Joe Biden campaign event here on Friday.
Biden made a strong impression, both during his speech and after.
“He gave me a kiss on the cheek and I’ll never wash that cheek again,” Foss said, adding with a laugh that the moment made her feel “really nice and warm and fuzzy.”
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Biden’s penchant for physically touching people in close encounters has been controversial. Former Nevada state Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, for instance, wrote last year the former vice president made her feel “uneasy, gross, and confused” when he rubbed her shoulders and kissed her head in 2014.
In a video response, Biden tried to explain that in his long political career, he has always shaken hands and touched people, but he acknowledged that “social norms are changing” and he would be more mindful of people’s space.
Biden’s campaign events, however, are designed for touching. At small gatherings in Ottumwa, Fort Madison and Mount Pleasant over the past two days, Biden has given a 30-minute stump speech followed by at least as many minutes of hands-on greeting time. Attendees, who tend to be older, line up for handshakes, hugs, selfies, kisses and the occasional poke in the chest.
And they seem to love it. Three people who said they were previously undecided told HuffPost they became Biden supporters. One woman wept as Biden used her phone to talk to her convalescent son back home.
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Following his speech in Fort Madison, Foss, an 84-year-old former travel agent, said she told Biden that she would pray for him. He responded by clasping her hands and showing her how he prays on his fingers. Then he kissed her on the cheek.
Afterward, Foss said she’d support Biden on Monday in the Iowa caucuses, the crucial first event of the up-for-grabs Democratic presidential nomination. She appreciates his experience in the White House and on the world stage.
“He’s just a very down-to-earth man and he’s had some problems in his own life, so he has a lot of empathy for people,” Foss said. (She denied that the kiss itself sealed the deal.)
Former Vice President Joe Biden greets a voter during a campaign event on Jan. 31, 2020, in Burlington, Iowa. Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
Biden’s empathy is a trait his campaign emphasizes, drawing a sharp contrast with President Donald Trump, who revels in cruelty. The candidate and his surrogates talk about the personal loss Biden suffered as a senator, when his wife and daughter died in a car accident, and as vice president, when one of his sons died of brain cancer.
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“It’s important for the president to have suffered,” Christie Vilsack, the former first lady of Iowa, said Friday evening at a Biden event in Mount Pleasant. Part of the president’s job, she said, is to help the nation cope with tragedy.
Biden’s personal touch also contrasts with the style of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), his top rival at the moment, who tends to leave events quickly without hugging tons of people.
After his speech at an American Legion post in Ottumwa on Thursday, Biden met Melinda Jones, a 36-year-old schoolteacher who came to the event undecided, and her 7-year-old daughter. Jones had previously supported Cory Booker, who dropped out of the race last month.
Biden bent down and asked Jones’ daughter how she was doing and said it was great to see her. He asked her name and age, and then Jones told Biden that she’d previously supported Booker, but that she now would likely go for Biden. He thanked her before they hugged and took pictures.
“When you speak to him, he is really looking at you and engaged with your conversation,” Jones said.
In Mount Pleasant on Friday, Seth Dickson, a 26-year-old Trump supporter from Galesburg, Illinois, infiltrated Biden’s greeting line. He asked Biden why as vice president he’d pushed Ukraine to fire a prosecutor, an act that Republicans have falsely said Biden did to benefit himself.
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Biden poked Dickson in the chest, saying “the guy was a cheat” as campaign staff asked Dickson to leave, which he did, smiling. The incident escaped the notice of reporters, likely because the campaign plays loud music during meet-and-greet time, making it difficult to hear Biden’s conversations.
In other words, it looked like Biden was just poking another guy in the chest.
“It’s whatever,” Dickson said of the poke. “This guy has no clue what he’s doing.”
Biden talks on the phone with Ann Cahoon's son during a campaign event in Fort Madison, Iowa, on Jan. 31. Carlos Barria / Reuters
In Fort Madison, Ann Cahoon, 62, said she has long appreciated the way Biden tells the story of losing his son, and she said it’s given her strength. Her 37-year-old son also had brain cancer.
She talked to Biden after his speech and told him that a December surgery to remove her son’s cancer had been successful. Biden wanted to talk to him, but he wasn’t there.
“He said, ‘Call him on the phone,’” Cahoon said. Biden then talked to her son for more than a minute while Cahoon looked on, her eyes red with tears.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-01--Someone Just Edited The Senate's Wikipedia Page In The Most Savage Way

The United States Senate was formerly the upper chamber of the United States Congress , which , along with the @ @ @ @ @ ― the lower chamber ― comprised the legislature of the United States .
It died @ @ @ @ @ , when senators from the Republican Party refused to stand up to a corrupt autocrat @ @ @ @ @ the United States , refusing to hear testimony that said individual blackmailed Ukraine in order @ @ @ @ @ presidential election .

The United States Senate was formerly the upper chamber of the United States Congress, which, along with the United States House of Representatives ― the lower chamber ― comprised the legislature of the United States. It died on January 31, 2020, when senators from the Republican Party refused to stand up to a corrupt autocrat calling himself the president of the United States, refusing to hear testimony that said individual blackmailed Ukraine in order to cheat in the 2020 presidential election.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-03--Rush Limbaugh Announces Advanced Lung Cancer Diagnosis

Rush Limbaugh , the conservative radio host and political commentator , announced on air Monday that he ’ s been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer .
“ The Rush Limbaugh Show ” host , 69 , said he received the diagnosis on Jan. 20 and informed his staff earlier on Monday .
“ I can ’ t help but feel that I ’ m letting everybody down with this , but the upshot is that I have been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer , ” an emotional Limbaugh said .
He will not be present for his show until at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his doctors determine his course of treatment .
“ I wish I didn ’ t have to tell you this , and I thought about not telling anybody , ” he said .
“ I thought about trying to do this without anybody knowing , because I don ’ t like making things about me , but there are going to be days that I ’ m not going to be able to be here.
” Limbaugh , whose show is nationally syndicated by Premiere Networks , said he is “ at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comes about a month after the network , which is a division of the radio giant iHeartMedia , renewed his contract .
Though the company has declined to state the length of Limbaugh ’ s new contract , President Donald Trump said at a rally that it was for four years .
Premiere bills Limbaugh ’ s show , which has been nationally syndicated for over three decades , as “ the most-listened-to national radio talk show in America.
” Limbaugh , perhaps the most prominent figure in political radio , wields enormous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theories .
He has been a consistent supporter of Trump throughout his presidency and continually defended him throughout his impeachment and ongoing trial .
Prior to his cancer diagnosis , Limbaugh was vocal about his severe hearing loss and diagnosis of autoimmune inner ear disease , which led him to receive a cochlear implant .

Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio host and political commentator, announced on air Monday that he’s been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer.
“The Rush Limbaugh Show” host, 69, said he received the diagnosis on Jan. 20 and informed his staff earlier on Monday.
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“I can’t help but feel that I’m letting everybody down with this, but the upshot is that I have been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer,” an emotional Limbaugh said.
He will not be present for his show until at least Thursday, he said, while his doctors determine his course of treatment.
“I wish I didn’t have to tell you this, and I thought about not telling anybody,” he said. “I thought about trying to do this without anybody knowing, because I don’t like making things about me, but there are going to be days that I’m not going to be able to be here.”
Limbaugh, whose show is nationally syndicated by Premiere Networks, said he is “at the moment experiencing zero symptoms.”
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His news comes about a month after the network, which is a division of the radio giant iHeartMedia, renewed his contract. Though the company has declined to state the length of Limbaugh’s new contract, President Donald Trump said at a rally that it was for four years.
Premiere bills Limbaugh’s show, which has been nationally syndicated for over three decades, as “the most-listened-to national radio talk show in America.” Limbaugh, perhaps the most prominent figure in political radio, wields enormous influence through his live monologues and conspiracy theories.
He has been a consistent supporter of Trump throughout his presidency and continually defended him throughout his impeachment and ongoing trial.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-03--The Shadow Of Sanders vs. Clinton Loomed Over Final Days Before Iowa Caucuses

The events , which are likely to reawaken hurt feelings , anxiety and anger left over from 2016 , could spark new urgency among Democrats on all sides of the divide in the hours before Iowans start voting Monday evening .
Supporters of former Vice President Joe Biden and some portions of the Democratic establishment could feel more determined than ever to stop Sanders from winning their party ’ s presidential nomination .
Sanders partisans could be filled with a fresh rage at the DNC and the establishment .
And backers of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former South Bend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be even more determined to find a middle path out of the 2016 morass .
“ Let me say this so there is no misunderstanding : Certainly I hope that we ’ re going to win , ” Sanders told the crowd at Simpson College .
“ But if we do not win , we will support the winner and I know that every other candidate will do the same .
We are united in understanding that we must defeat Donald Trump.
” “ You can tell how good I feel by how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said in a video posted to Twitter by his campaign .
“ Suddenly , we have the Democratic establishment very nervous about our campaign.
” Sanders ’ rhetoric is likely to delight the “ Bernie would ’ ve won ” crowd that blames the DNC ’ s failure to stay neutral in the 2016 primary for Sanders not grabbing the nomination and then subsequently defeating Trump .
At the same time , it ’ s likely to aggravate Clinton loyalists who ― like Hillary Clinton herself ― still insist Sanders did too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ allies sent mixed messages about Tlaib ’ s comments .
Campaign manager Faiz Shakir and documentarian Michael Moore both suggested that no apology was necessary , while California Rep. Ro Khanna , a Sanders campaign co-chair , released a statement praising Clinton .
But Nick Merrill , a spokesman for Clinton , released a statement after Tlaib ’ s apology suggesting that the Michigander would pay a political price for her Clinton criticism .
In the middle of this back-and-forth , Politico reported that a “ half-dozen ” DNC members were discussing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unelected convention delegates who can vote for whichever candidates they choose ― as a way to deny Sanders the nomination .
This effort is almost certainly doomed : Six people are a tiny portion of the DNC , which has hundreds of members , and the party just went through a painstaking process to limit the power of superdelegates after the 2016 nomination fight .
“ The one thing we can ’ t afford to do is get caught up in the politics of the past , whether it ’ s the distant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about Social Security in the 1990s ― I ’ m worried about protecting Social Security today ― or whether it ’ s the recent past and reliving the 2016 primary , ” Buttigieg told a Saturday crowd in Anamosa , Iowa , with a nod to Sanders and Biden ’ s recent battles over whether the latter previously pushed for Social Security cuts .
“ I did not much care for that experience the first time around .
I definitely don ’ t want 2020 to resemble 2016 in any way.
” Warren @ @ @ @ @ @ @ efforts to portray herself as the only candidate who can hope to stop the fighting between the party ’ s squabbling wings .
Her campaign has been airing ads featuring Sanders , Clinton and Trump voters from 2016 .
“ We can ’ t afford a fractured party , ” says one voter who backed Sanders in 2016 .
“ I ’ ve been building a campaign from the beginning that is not a campaign that ’ s narrow , not a campaign that says it ’ s us and nobody else , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stump speech in Cedar Rapids .
“ It ’ s a campaign that says , ‘ Come on in , ’ because we are in this fight together.
” Biden , for his part , has avoided directly weighing in on the 2016 battle in recent days , though he has mentioned Sanders ’ resistance to joining the Democratic Party .
But the Democratic establishment ’ s efforts to stop Sanders , however limited they are so far , tacitly support him .
“ They make it really difficult for someone who ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” she said of the DNC .
“ The people in leadership at the DNC are mostly established older folks with some level of privilege , power and money , so it makes sense that they would choose someone like Joe Biden .
”

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DES MOINES, Iowa ― The final days before the first contest of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary were consumed with people relitigating the 2016 version of the same race.
A series of electorally insignificant but symbolically potent events before the Iowa caucuses ― a smattering of Democratic National Committee members suggesting a rules change to stop Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Sanders surrogate booing 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton ― served as a reminder of the trauma that many Democratic voters still feel over President Donald Trump’s victory, and a further prod to prioritize beating Trump this year.
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The events, which are likely to reawaken hurt feelings, anxiety and anger left over from 2016, could spark new urgency among Democrats on all sides of the divide in the hours before Iowans start voting Monday evening. Supporters of former Vice President Joe Biden and some portions of the Democratic establishment could feel more determined than ever to stop Sanders from winning their party’s presidential nomination. Sanders partisans could be filled with a fresh rage at the DNC and the establishment. And backers of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg could be even more determined to find a middle path out of the 2016 morass.
Sanders struck a conciliatory tone at a rally in Indianola, Iowa, on Saturday afternoon.
“Let me say this so there is no misunderstanding: Certainly I hope that we’re going to win,” Sanders told the crowd at Simpson College. “But if we do not win, we will support the winner and I know that every other candidate will do the same. We are united in understanding that we must defeat Donald Trump.”
But at the same time, Sanders and his surrogates played up what they claim is the Democratic establishment’s growing anxiety that he might take the nomination.
“You can tell how good I feel by how nervous the establishment is getting,” he said in a video posted to Twitter by his campaign. “Suddenly, we have the Democratic establishment very nervous about our campaign.”
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Something big is happening across the country. We’re going to finish the political revolution we started. pic.twitter.com/cFhlN4NRTQ — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 2, 2020
Sanders’ rhetoric is likely to delight the “Bernie would’ve won” crowd that blames the DNC’s failure to stay neutral in the 2016 primary for Sanders not grabbing the nomination and then subsequently defeating Trump. At the same time, it’s likely to aggravate Clinton loyalists who ― like Hillary Clinton herself ― still insist Sanders did too little to help her win.
Clinton kicked off the latest round of recriminations with a podcast appearance in which she blamed Sanders’ allies for encouraging people to vote for third-party candidates in 2016. Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Sanders endorser, responded by encouraging voters to boo a mention of Clinton.
“You all know I can’t be quiet. No, we’re going to boo,” Tlaib told a crowd on Friday night. “That’s all right. The haters will shut up on Monday when we win.”
The congresswoman apologized the next morning. “I allowed my disappointment with Secretary Clinton’s latest comments about Senator Sanders and his supporters [to] get the best of me,” she said.
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Sanders’ allies sent mixed messages about Tlaib’s comments. Campaign manager Faiz Shakir and documentarian Michael Moore both suggested that no apology was necessary, while California Rep. Ro Khanna, a Sanders campaign co-chair, released a statement praising Clinton. But Nick Merrill, a spokesman for Clinton, released a statement after Tlaib’s apology suggesting that the Michigander would pay a political price for her Clinton criticism.
In the middle of this back-and-forth, Politico reported that a “half-dozen” DNC members were discussing a proposal to bring back superdelegates ― unelected convention delegates who can vote for whichever candidates they choose ― as a way to deny Sanders the nomination. This effort is almost certainly doomed: Six people are a tiny portion of the DNC, which has hundreds of members, and the party just went through a painstaking process to limit the power of superdelegates after the 2016 nomination fight.
While Sanders’ candidacy evokes memories of 2016, Buttigieg and Warren are pitching themselves as the only candidates who can avoid a repeat of that clash between the party’s liberal and moderate wings.
“The one thing we can’t afford to do is get caught up in the politics of the past, whether it’s the distant past and arguing over who said what about Social Security in the 1990s ― I’m worried about protecting Social Security today ― or whether it’s the recent past and reliving the 2016 primary,” Buttigieg told a Saturday crowd in Anamosa, Iowa, with a nod to Sanders and Biden’s recent battles over whether the latter previously pushed for Social Security cuts. “I did not much care for that experience the first time around. I definitely don’t want 2020 to resemble 2016 in any way.”
At times in the past week, Buttigieg has explicitly referenced both Sanders and Biden as relics of the political past.
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Warren, meanwhile, has turned up her efforts to portray herself as the only candidate who can hope to stop the fighting between the party’s squabbling wings. Her campaign has been airing ads featuring Sanders, Clinton and Trump voters from 2016. “We can’t afford a fractured party,” says one voter who backed Sanders in 2016.
And on Saturday, Warren went out of her way to praise candidates who have dropped out of the Democratic race, including California Sen. Kamala Harris, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.
“I’ve been building a campaign from the beginning that is not a campaign that’s narrow, not a campaign that says it’s us and nobody else,” Warren said as part of her stump speech in Cedar Rapids. “It’s a campaign that says, ‘Come on in,’ because we are in this fight together.”
Biden, for his part, has avoided directly weighing in on the 2016 battle in recent days, though he has mentioned Sanders’ resistance to joining the Democratic Party. But the Democratic establishment’s efforts to stop Sanders, however limited they are so far, tacitly support him.
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And Sanders supporters remain ever vigilant in their search for establishment meddling. Olivia Samples, a 23-year-old dula and activist from Des Moines who was attending a Progress for Iowa Super Bowl party on Sunday night, said she didn’t trust the Democratic National Committee to stay neutral.
“They make it really difficult for someone who’s not their chosen candidate to win,” she said of the DNC. “The people in leadership at the DNC are mostly established older folks with some level of privilege, power and money, so it makes sense that they would choose someone like Joe Biden.”
Dan Wright, a Sanders-supporting database engineer from out of state touring Iowa caucus campaign events with his wife, naturopathic doctor Krissy Haglund, and their two kids, worried that the reforms disempowering superdelegates on the first convention ballot did not rule out establishment meddling.
“They’ve got other tricks,” he said.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-03--Christian Adoption Agency Announces End To International Adoptions

Bethany Christian Services , one of the country ’ s largest adoption agencies , has helped place nearly 15,000 children with American families since 1982 .
The nonprofit announced last month that it has decided not to renew its international adoption accreditation next year .
Instead , Bethany will shift its focus towards finding adoptive homes for children in their home countries , the organization ’ s vice president of global programs , Kristi Gleason , said in a blog post on Jan. 21 .
The charity said it has already launched efforts to encourage foster care and adoption in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ South Africa .
“ The future of adoption is working with local governments , churches , and social services professionals around the world to recruit and support local families for children and to develop and improve effective , safe in-country child welfare systems , ” she wrote in the blog .
The shift in focus would also be more cost-effective , Gleason said , noting that placing just one child with an American family costs approximately $ 50,000 .
“ With that same amount of money , we can help 50 children in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ find loving foster or adoptive homes nearby , ” Gleason said .
Bethany Christian Services is a Christian social services agency based in Grand Rapids , Michigan .
The charity , which has close ties with the family of Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos , helps place children in adoption and foster care , and also works with refugees .
In Michigan , Bethany handles about 8 % of the state ’ s over 13,000 foster care and adoption cases involving kids from troubled households .
The charity formerly refused to place @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policy last year for cases referred by the state , after a lawsuit brought forth by the American Civil Liberties Union .
The nonprofit has also been criticized by adoptees for its role in resettling migrant children who arrive in the U.S. as unaccompanied minors .
Bethany ’ s announcement signaled the end of an era .
The charity ’ s international adoption program began in 1982 , after it assumed responsibility for a program run by the state of Michigan that placed children from South Korea with American families .
Over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to children in other parts of Asia , Eastern Europe , Africa and Central America .
The expansion coincided with a burgeoning adoption movement within American evangelicalism .
Reaching its height in the mid-2000s and early 2010s , the movement called on evangelicals to fulfill the Bible ’ s call to care for “ orphans and widows in their distress ” by adopting children from around the world .
Churches set up “ orphan care ” ministries and started subsidizing adoption costs , and multiple evangelical adoption organizations and conferences emerged from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s largest Protestant denomination , the Southern Baptist Convention , issued a resolution encouraging its member churches to mobilize around adoption and encouraging every Southern Baptist family to consider adopting or fostering a child .
But critics cast the movement as an expression of the white savior complex ― an attempt by white evangelicals to “ rescue ” Black and brown children from other countries .
Child-trafficking scandals also tainted the effort .
Bethany ’ s decision to ends its international adoption program comes amid a significant decline in the number of Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government restrictions from sending countries curtailed transnational adoptions .
According to statistics from the State Department , there were 4,058 international adoptions in fiscal year 2018 , down from close to 23,000 in fiscal year 2004 .
While McKee has reservations about Bethany ’ s work in the U.S. , she said that the charity ’ s decision to end its international adoption program is “ one step ” toward acknowledging the benefits of family preservation and supporting economically disadvantaged parents in sending countries .
“ Until the Christian adoption movement reconsiders the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effort of child rescue and considers the role of poverty and economic precarity in the lives of birth parents , Christian adoption agencies fail to engage the systemic issues plaguing why adoption persists , ” she wrote in an email .
“ To merely focus on what many call an orphan crisis , ignores the reasons why some children with living parents may be placed in orphanages for short-term care .
”

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A major faith-based adoption agency says it is ending an international adoption program that has brought thousands of foreign-born children to the U.S.
Bethany Christian Services, one of the country’s largest adoption agencies, has helped place nearly 15,000 children with American families since 1982. The nonprofit announced last month that it has decided not to renew its international adoption accreditation next year.
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Instead, Bethany will shift its focus towards finding adoptive homes for children in their home countries, the organization’s vice president of global programs, Kristi Gleason, said in a blog post on Jan. 21. The charity said it has already launched efforts to encourage foster care and adoption in countries such as China, Ethiopia and South Africa.
Bethany’s decision is “not a criticism” of the international adoption program, Gleason said.
“The future of adoption is working with local governments, churches, and social services professionals around the world to recruit and support local families for children and to develop and improve effective, safe in-country child welfare systems,” she wrote in the blog.
The shift in focus would also be more cost-effective, Gleason said, noting that placing just one child with an American family costs approximately $50,000.
“With that same amount of money, we can help 50 children in our Africa programs leave an orphanage and find loving foster or adoptive homes nearby,” Gleason said.
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Bethany Christian Services is a Christian social services agency based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The charity, which has close ties with the family of Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, helps place children in adoption and foster care, and also works with refugees.
In Michigan, Bethany handles about 8% of the state’s over 13,000 foster care and adoption cases involving kids from troubled households. The charity formerly refused to place kids with LGBTQ couples but reversed that policy last year for cases referred by the state, after a lawsuit brought forth by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The nonprofit has also been criticized by adoptees for its role in resettling migrant children who arrive in the U.S. as unaccompanied minors.
Bethany’s announcement signaled the end of an era. The charity’s international adoption program began in 1982, after it assumed responsibility for a program run by the state of Michigan that placed children from South Korea with American families. Over the ensuing years, Bethany expanded the program to children in other parts of Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and Central America.
The expansion coincided with a burgeoning adoption movement within American evangelicalism. Reaching its height in the mid-2000s and early 2010s, the movement called on evangelicals to fulfill the Bible’s call to care for “orphans and widows in their distress” by adopting children from around the world.
Advertisement
Churches set up “orphan care” ministries and started subsidizing adoption costs, and multiple evangelical adoption organizations and conferences emerged from the boom. In 2009, America’s largest Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, issued a resolution encouraging its member churches to mobilize around adoption and encouraging every Southern Baptist family to consider adopting or fostering a child.
But critics cast the movement as an expression of the white savior complex ― an attempt by white evangelicals to “rescue” Black and brown children from other countries. Child-trafficking scandals also tainted the effort.
Bethany Christian Services has helped place nearly 15,000 children with American families since 1982. boonchai wedmakawand via Getty Images
Bethany’s decision to ends its international adoption program comes amid a significant decline in the number of Americans adopting children from abroad, as tighter government restrictions from sending countries curtailed transnational adoptions. According to statistics from the State Department, there were 4,058 international adoptions in fiscal year 2018, down from close to 23,000 in fiscal year 2004.
Kimberly McKee, an adoptee and a scholar of transnational adoption at Michigan’s Grand Valley State University, told HuffPost that Bethany Christian Services, and other Christian adoption agencies more generally, were instrumental in shaping international adoption as a worldwide phenomenon.
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While McKee has reservations about Bethany’s work in the U.S., she said that the charity’s decision to end its international adoption program is “one step” toward acknowledging the benefits of family preservation and supporting economically disadvantaged parents in sending countries.
“Until the Christian adoption movement reconsiders the notion of international adoption as a humanitarian effort of child rescue and considers the role of poverty and economic precarity in the lives of birth parents, Christian adoption agencies fail to engage the systemic issues plaguing why adoption persists,” she wrote in an email. “To merely focus on what many call an orphan crisis, ignores the reasons why some children with living parents may be placed in orphanages for short-term care.”
She also said that more broadly, adoption agencies like Bethany should do more to center the voices of international adoptees.
“So often, these voices are silenced or dismissed,” McKee said. “More intentional listening and incorporation of adoptees’ experiences beyond tokenistic inclusion is needed.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-03--YouTube Says It Will Remove Birther Conspiracy Videos Ahead Of Caucuses

YouTube is making clear there will be no “ birtherism ” on its platform during this year ’ s U.S. presidential election — a belated response to a type of conspiracy theory more prevalent in the 2012 race .
The Google-owned video service is also reiterating that it won ’ t allow election-related “ deepfake ” videos and anything that aims to mislead viewers about voting procedures and how to participate in the 2020 census .
YouTube clarified its rules ahead of the Iowa caucuses Monday .
The company is mostly reiterating content guidelines that it has been putting in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2016 .
Its ban on technically manipulated videos of political figures was made apparent last year when YouTube became the first major platform to remove a doctored video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi .
But the announcement Monday further clarifies that it will take down any election-related videos that are technically altered to mislead people in a way that goes beyond simply taking clips of speech out of context .
The company also said it would remove doctored videos that could cause “ serious risk of egregious harm ” — such as to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is dead .
Facebook , which last year had resisted early calls to yank the Pelosi video , said in January that it was banning “ deepfake ” videos , the false but realistic clips created with artificial intelligence and sophisticated tools .
Such videos are still fairly rare compared to simpler “ cheap fake ” manipulations such as were used in the video that altered Pelosi ’ s speech to make it seem like she was slurring her words .
Google also said Monday that it will remove any videos that advance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elected officials are eligible to serve in office .
That had been policy before , but wasn ’ t made explicit .
The company ’ s announcement comes about nine years after celebrity businessman Donald Trump began to get notice for claiming that Barack Obama , the nation ’ s first African American president , was not born in the United States .
Trump repeatedly voiced citizenship doubts even after Obama produced his long-form birth certificate .
Trump only fully backed off from the idea in the final stages of his 2016 presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crack down on any attempts to artificially increase the number of views , likes and comments on videos .
It changed its systems for recommending what videos users watch last year in a push to curb harmful misinformation .
Twitter and Pinterest also last week outlined their efforts to reduce election misinformation on their platforms .

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YouTube is making clear there will be no “birtherism” on its platform during this year’s U.S. presidential election — a belated response to a type of conspiracy theory more prevalent in the 2012 race.
The Google-owned video service is also reiterating that it won’t allow election-related “deepfake” videos and anything that aims to mislead viewers about voting procedures and how to participate in the 2020 census.
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YouTube clarified its rules ahead of the Iowa caucuses Monday. The company is mostly reiterating content guidelines that it has been putting in place since the last presidential election in 2016.
Its ban on technically manipulated videos of political figures was made apparent last year when YouTube became the first major platform to remove a doctored video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But the announcement Monday further clarifies that it will take down any election-related videos that are technically altered to mislead people in a way that goes beyond simply taking clips of speech out of context. The company also said it would remove doctored videos that could cause “serious risk of egregious harm” — such as to make it appear that a government official is dead.
Facebook, which last year had resisted early calls to yank the Pelosi video, said in January that it was banning “deepfake” videos, the false but realistic clips created with artificial intelligence and sophisticated tools. Such videos are still fairly rare compared to simpler “cheap fake” manipulations such as were used in the video that altered Pelosi’s speech to make it seem like she was slurring her words.
Google also said Monday that it will remove any videos that advance false claims about whether political candidates and elected officials are eligible to serve in office. That had been policy before, but wasn’t made explicit.
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The company’s announcement comes about nine years after celebrity businessman Donald Trump began to get notice for claiming that Barack Obama, the nation’s first African American president, was not born in the United States.
Trump repeatedly voiced citizenship doubts even after Obama produced his long-form birth certificate. Trump only fully backed off from the idea in the final stages of his 2016 presidential campaign.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-03--Greta Thunberg Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize

COPENHAGEN , Denmark ( AP ) — Two lawmakers in Sweden have nominated Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize .
Jens Holm and Hakan Svenneling , who are both members of Sweden ’ s Left Party , said Monday that Thunberg “ has worked hard to make politicians open their eyes to the climate crisis ” and “ action for reducing our emissions and complying with the Paris Agreement is therefore also an act of making peace.
” The 2015 landmark Paris climate deal asks both rich and poor countries to take action to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is melting glaciers , raising sea levels and shifting rainfall patterns .
It requires governments to present national plans to reduce emissions to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius ( 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit ) .
Thunberg , 17 , has encouraged students to skip school to join protests demanding faster action on climate change , a movement that has spread beyond Sweden to other European nations and around the world .
She founded the Fridays for Future movement that has inspired similar actions by other young people .
Any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nobel Peace Prize , and three members of the Norwegian Parliament nominated Thunberg last year .
In 2019 , she was among four people named as the winners of a Right Livelihood Award , also known as the “ Alternative Nobel ” and she was named Time magazine ’ s “ Person of the Year.
” The Norwegian Nobel Committee doesn ’ t publicly comment on nominations , which for 2020 had to be submitted by Feb. 1 .

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Two lawmakers in Sweden have nominated Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.
Jens Holm and Hakan Svenneling, who are both members of Sweden’s Left Party, said Monday that Thunberg “has worked hard to make politicians open their eyes to the climate crisis” and “action for reducing our emissions and complying with the Paris Agreement is therefore also an act of making peace.”
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The 2015 landmark Paris climate deal asks both rich and poor countries to take action to curb the rise in global temperatures that is melting glaciers, raising sea levels and shifting rainfall patterns. It requires governments to present national plans to reduce emissions to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
Thunberg, 17, has encouraged students to skip school to join protests demanding faster action on climate change, a movement that has spread beyond Sweden to other European nations and around the world. She founded the Fridays for Future movement that has inspired similar actions by other young people.
Any national lawmaker can nominate somebody for the Nobel Peace Prize, and three members of the Norwegian Parliament nominated Thunberg last year.
In 2019, she was among four people named as the winners of a Right Livelihood Award, also known as the “Alternative Nobel” and she was named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year.”
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-03--8 Things To Watch For In The Iowa Caucuses

The general state of the play is clear .
Four candidates have a chance to win .
The front-runner in polls is Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders , with former Vice President Joe Biden , Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former South Bend , Indiana , Mayor Pete Buttigieg closely following .
Two other candidates ― Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and entrepreneur Andrew Yang ― could surge to surprisingly strong finishes , and will at least play some role in the results .
Not every caucus is actually in Iowa .
For the first time , Iowans will be able to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In an effort to make the time-intensive process more accessible , the party added 87 satellite caucus locations .
While most of them are in Iowa , there are also sites in California , New York , Pennsylvania ― and even as far away as Georgia ( the country , not the state ) .
Several of the sites are meant to reach out to underserved communities , with Spanish-language caucuses , sites at Muslim community centers and a caucus held at a facility that cares for people with disabilities .
Watch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have notably different results than the local precincts .
There ’ s an element of “ Survivor ” on Iowa caucus night .
Candidates have to prove they are viable — by gaining the support of at least 15 % of voters present at a precinct — in order to be eligible to win any delegates .
If candidates ’ don ’ t have enough support in any given precinct , they essentially get voted out of the precinct .
That leaves their supporters with some options : They can just remain uncommitted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caucus for their second choice .
And that ’ s where things can get interesting on caucus night .
There ’ s a chance a number of candidates won ’ t be viable in all the precincts ; so far only four candidates have been consistently polling above 15 % in the state .
It ’ s up to the leading campaigns to effectively train their volunteers and precinct captains to make the case for their candidate in the room and convince the uncommitted caucusers to join their team .
This process will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which campaign is most effective at organizing , but also how candidates ’ bases might overlap .
There are some predictions of what might happen .
In places where Warren or Yang fail to achieve viability , it could benefit Sanders .
Klobuchar or Buttigieg failing to meet viability is expected to help Biden , who shares their relative moderation .
But the math may not be that simple .
Almost every candidate will miss viability in at least some places , and Buttigieg or Warren could easily benefit if the other isn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ backed Klobuchar could shift to Warren if the Minnesotan fails to reach 15 % of the vote in some places .
Moral victories are more than possible .
At the end of the day , every presidential candidate ’ s goal is to leave the Iowa with as many pledged delegates as possible .
The Iowa caucuses are like a mini-Electoral College system .
And until this year , the state ’ s Democratic Party declared the winner based on who won the most “ state delegate equivalents ” ― the share of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by an individual candidate — which then translates into pledged delegates .
But this year , the Iowa Democratic Party will also be releasing raw vote totals .
It ’ s possible the candidate with the most state delegates didn ’ t necessarily have the popular vote .
If that happens , we should expect a lot of messaging around the popular vote , and what that means for a candidate ’ s momentum going into the other 2020 contests .
The Sanders campaign has been blunt : If they don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ re unlikely to win the caucus .
To that end , Sanders has held rally after rally in the state ’ s major college towns , hoping to build an insurmountable edge there .
But he ’ s struggled to put a dent into Biden ’ s advantage with older voters , even after hammering him over his past support for Social Security cuts .
Biden will root for low turnout from college students , and hope his steady support from reliable older voters will help him perform well in rural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system , like the Electoral College , ends up giving additional voting power to rural areas .
That means a candidate could run up the score in urban areas and college towns , win the popular vote , but ultimately receive fewer delegates than a candidate whose performance is more evenly distributed across the state .
Klobuchar and Buttigieg , who have both campaigned extensively in the state ’ s smaller counties – Klobuchar managed to visit all 99 – could benefit .
Iowa has a small but growing Latino population , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state .
Sanders has worked to aggressively organize these voters , hosting “ Unidos Con Bernie ” events and futsal tournaments in Des Moines , hoping to persuade a significant number of them to show up to the time-intensive caucuses .
So far , according to the Sanders ’ campaign estimates , only about 4,000 Latinos in the state have caucused out of 68,000 who are eligible .
If Sanders pulls off a narrow victory , his Latino outreach strategy could be key .
Biden ’ s campaign hopes to run up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 56,000 and longtime manufacturing hub in the state ’ s northeast .
The city and its surrounding areas are a hub of Iowa ’ s Catholic population , and the Biden campaign is exploiting that by having nuns send handwritten letters to voters in the area .
Biden , who is Irish Catholic himself , started Sunday by attending Mass in Dubuque .
He also has the endorsement of the city ’ s popular House member , Rep. Abby Finkenauer .
The gloves could come off soon after .

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More than 13 months of campaigning, thousands of town halls, and tens of thousands of selfies later, the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses will finally take place Monday night.
The general state of the play is clear. Four candidates have a chance to win. The front-runner in polls is Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, with former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg closely following. Two other candidates ― Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and entrepreneur Andrew Yang ― could surge to surprisingly strong finishes, and will at least play some role in the results.
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But the ultimate outcome is still up in the air, and there are plenty of variables that could impact the final result and the ability of candidates to claim a boost to their campaign.
Here are eight things to watch on Iowa Caucus Day:
Not every caucus is actually in Iowa.
For the first time, Iowans will be able to caucus somewhere other than their local precinct. In an effort to make the time-intensive process more accessible, the party added 87 satellite caucus locations. While most of them are in Iowa, there are also sites in California, New York, Pennsylvania ― and even as far away as Georgia (the country, not the state). Several of the sites are meant to reach out to underserved communities, with Spanish-language caucuses, sites at Muslim community centers and a caucus held at a facility that cares for people with disabilities. Watch to see if some of these caucuses have notably different results than the local precincts.
Second choices matter.
There’s an element of “Survivor” on Iowa caucus night. Candidates have to prove they are viable — by gaining the support of at least 15% of voters present at a precinct — in order to be eligible to win any delegates. If candidates’ don’t have enough support in any given precinct, they essentially get voted out of the precinct.
That leaves their supporters with some options: They can just remain uncommitted to a candidate, or they can caucus for their second choice. And that’s where things can get interesting on caucus night. There’s a chance a number of candidates won’t be viable in all the precincts; so far only four candidates have been consistently polling above 15% in the state.
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It’s up to the leading campaigns to effectively train their volunteers and precinct captains to make the case for their candidate in the room and convince the uncommitted caucusers to join their team. This process will give an interesting window not only into which campaign is most effective at organizing, but also how candidates’ bases might overlap.
There are some predictions of what might happen. In places where Warren or Yang fail to achieve viability, it could benefit Sanders. Klobuchar or Buttigieg failing to meet viability is expected to help Biden, who shares their relative moderation. But the math may not be that simple. Almost every candidate will miss viability in at least some places, and Buttigieg or Warren could easily benefit if the other isn’t viable. Or women who backed Klobuchar could shift to Warren if the Minnesotan fails to reach 15% of the vote in some places.
Moral victories are more than possible.
At the end of the day, every presidential candidate’s goal is to leave the Iowa with as many pledged delegates as possible. The Iowa caucuses are like a mini-Electoral College system. And until this year, the state’s Democratic Party declared the winner based on who won the most “state delegate equivalents” ― the share of delegates to the state party convention won by an individual candidate — which then translates into pledged delegates.
But this year, the Iowa Democratic Party will also be releasing raw vote totals. It’s possible the candidate with the most state delegates didn’t necessarily have the popular vote. If that happens, we should expect a lot of messaging around the popular vote, and what that means for a candidate’s momentum going into the other 2020 contests.
Sanders and Biden’s generation gap.
The Sanders campaign has been blunt: If they don’t get record turnout from college students, they’re unlikely to win the caucus. To that end, Sanders has held rally after rally in the state’s major college towns, hoping to build an insurmountable edge there. But he’s struggled to put a dent into Biden’s advantage with older voters, even after hammering him over his past support for Social Security cuts. Biden will root for low turnout from college students, and hope his steady support from reliable older voters will help him perform well in rural parts of the state.
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Iowa’s own Electoral College.
The caucus system, like the Electoral College, ends up giving additional voting power to rural areas. That means a candidate could run up the score in urban areas and college towns, win the popular vote, but ultimately receive fewer delegates than a candidate whose performance is more evenly distributed across the state. Klobuchar and Buttigieg, who have both campaigned extensively in the state’s smaller counties – Klobuchar managed to visit all 99 – could benefit.
John Deeth, a veteran Iowa Democrat, calculated that in 2016 it took just 45 caucus attendees to earn a state delegate equivalent from Fremont County, population 6,993. In Story County, the home to Iowa State University, it took about 212 attendees to earn a state delegate equivalent.
Sanders has made extensive outreach to Latinos.
Iowa has a small but growing Latino population, which now makes up about 6% of the state. Sanders has worked to aggressively organize these voters, hosting “Unidos Con Bernie” events and futsal tournaments in Des Moines, hoping to persuade a significant number of them to show up to the time-intensive caucuses. So far, according to the Sanders’ campaign estimates, only about 4,000 Latinos in the state have caucused out of 68,000 who are eligible. If Sanders pulls off a narrow victory, his Latino outreach strategy could be key.
Biden’s Dubuque advantage.
Biden’s campaign hopes to run up the score in Dubuque, a city of 56,000 and longtime manufacturing hub in the state’s northeast. The city and its surrounding areas are a hub of Iowa’s Catholic population, and the Biden campaign is exploiting that by having nuns send handwritten letters to voters in the area. Biden, who is Irish Catholic himself, started Sunday by attending Mass in Dubuque. He also has the endorsement of the city’s popular House member, Rep. Abby Finkenauer.
The gloves could come off soon after.
The Democratic Primary, so far, has been historically free of negative advertising. Only one directly negative ad has aired: A Democratic Majority for Israel ad attacking Sanders that started running this week. Part of the reason? A crowded field and the desire to be some voters’ second choices has meant candidates have been reluctant to alienate voters.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-03--Read Live Updates From Senate Impeachment Trial Closing Arguments

The Senate ’ s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump is expected to conclude this week , starting with up to four hours of closing arguments beginning at 11 a.m. Monday .
A final vote on the two articles of impeachment is slated for Wednesday afternoon — when GOP senators , led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-Ky. ) , are expected to hand Trump an acquittal .
Last week ’ s marathon proceedings concluded Friday , when GOP senators voted down a measure to hear testimony from witnesses , with two GOP senators — Mitt Romney ( Utah @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — breaking ranks and joining Democrats .
The vote dealt a final blow to Democrats ’ efforts to push for a fair and transparent trial .
After the vote Friday , Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ( D-N.Y. ) denounced the result as a “ grand tragedy.
” “ America will remember this day , unfortunately , where the Senate did not live up to its responsibilities and turned away from truth , ” he said .
“ If the president is acquitted with no witnesses , no documents , the acquittal will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know that this trial was not a real trial .
”

The Senate’s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump is expected to conclude this week, starting with up to four hours of closing arguments beginning at 11 a.m. Monday.
A final vote on the two articles of impeachment is slated for Wednesday afternoon — when GOP senators, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), are expected to hand Trump an acquittal.
Last week’s marathon proceedings concluded Friday, when GOP senators voted down a measure to hear testimony from witnesses, with two GOP senators — Mitt Romney (Utah) and Susan Collins (Maine) — breaking ranks and joining Democrats. The vote dealt a final blow to Democrats’ efforts to push for a fair and transparent trial.
After the vote Friday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) denounced the result as a “grand tragedy.”
“America will remember this day, unfortunately, where the Senate did not live up to its responsibilities and turned away from truth,” he said. “If the president is acquitted with no witnesses, no documents, the acquittal will have no value, because Americans will know that this trial was not a real trial.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-03--Here's Why It's So Hard To Predict Who Will Win In Iowa

Over the weekend , the most closely watched poll of the Iowa caucus was abruptly shelved over concerns about a possible mistake .
As Washington Post reporter Mike Madden noted , that ’ s as good a metaphor as any for the larger state of Iowa caucus polling : rife with uncertainty and a hard-to-quantify potential for error .
Even with one fewer poll than planned , there ’ s no shortage of data on the race .
But rather than providing clear guidance about who ’ s likely to win , the picture it presents is of a closely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. ) narrowly edging their rivals , and considerable possibility for movement .
Taken in aggregate , the polls suggest that Sanders and Biden are virtually tied in standing , with former South Bend , Indiana , Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren well within striking distance .
FiveThirtyEight ’ s average puts Sanders at 22 % , Biden at 21 % , and both Buttigieg and Warren near 15 % .
Underlying those tight numbers is considerable variation between many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ few weeks .
The final New York Times/Siena College poll found Sanders with a 7-point lead over Biden ; a Suffolk University/USA Today poll had Biden up about 6 points over Sanders .
In between , Monmouth University and CBS/YouGov surveys found the two candidates more or less deadlocked .
Nothing about the polling augurs a clear winner ― which doesn ’ t make the data useless .
Without it , it ’ d be equally plausible to assume that one of those contenders was on track to a runaway victory .
Still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of agreement between pollsters , it ’ s that this isn ’ t a simple race to call in advance .
“ Caucus electorates are the most difficult to model in polling , ” Monmouth University polling director Patrick Murray wrote .
“ The smartest takeaway from this , or any Iowa poll for that matter , is to be prepared for anything on Monday.
” Voters could change their minds .
Across polls , a significant percentage of voters say they ’ re not entirely committed to their first choice of candidate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instance , found that 40 % of voters said their minds were less than firmly made up ; Suffolk University/USA TODAY polling a week before the caucus saw a majority either undecided or saying they might change their minds .
It ’ s also worth noting that much of the polling on the race wrapped up a few days ago , meaning any significant last-minute swings toward a candidate might not be fully reflected .
The caucusing process is complicated .
In a primary , the voting process more or less resembles the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one candidate from a list .
Iowa ’ s Democratic caucus is more complicated , including provisions for voters to realign their support if their first-choice candidate fails to hit 15 % of the initial vote .
It ’ s not clear what the electorate will look like .
“ It all comes down to turnout ” is in the pantheon of election truisms , but it ’ s especially true of relatively low-turnout events like a caucus .
In surveys of Iowa , pollsters ’ methods for determining who ’ s likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ significant difference on the results .
Monmouth University based their topline findings on an electorate that resembles 2008 .
But the poll also examined several possible turnout scenarios , with the results of even a small swing in turnout ranging from a +6 Biden lead to a +4 Sanders edge .
There ’ s a glaring generational divide between Biden and Sanders supporters , which makes age a crucial demographic to watch : the Biden campaign needs older , habitual voters to dominate the caucuses , while the Sanders campaign is looking for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to flock to the polls .
The New York Times ’ Nate Cohn , who ’ s written extensively about modeling likely voters in the race , explains how sampling and assumptions about turnout can help explain the variation in polls : Pollsters who pick their respondents based on a history of voting in other races have tended to find results more favorable to Biden .
Relying on voters ’ self-reported likelihood of showing up to caucus , by contrast , seems to give an advantage to Sanders .
It ’ s an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regularly voting in elections or their self-reported enthusiasm for the caucus is a better gauge for who ’ ll actually show up this time .
The potential for uncertainty and error may be especially heightened by the circumstances of the Iowa caucus , but it ’ s likely to remain a theme in election polling throughout the year .
Following the 2016 general election , when a perfect storm of issues led to a polling miss in key states and left many voters feeling misled , the survey industry has broadly adopted some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their results on voters ’ levels of education .
But there ’ s also been a renewed effort to highlight the fact that polls are , by nature , neither a precision tool nor a guarantee .

Closeup of election vote button with text that says 2020 adamkaz via Getty Images
Over the weekend, the most closely watched poll of the Iowa caucus was abruptly shelved over concerns about a possible mistake. As Washington Post reporter Mike Madden noted, that’s as good a metaphor as any for the larger state of Iowa caucus polling: rife with uncertainty and a hard-to-quantify potential for error.
Even with one fewer poll than planned, there’s no shortage of data on the race. But rather than providing clear guidance about who’s likely to win, the picture it presents is of a closely fought, volatile race, with former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) narrowly edging their rivals, and considerable possibility for movement.
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Taken in aggregate, the polls suggest that Sanders and Biden are virtually tied in standing, with former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren well within striking distance. FiveThirtyEight’s average puts Sanders at 22%, Biden at 21%, and both Buttigieg and Warren near 15%.
Underlying those tight numbers is considerable variation between many of the surveys conducted in the past few weeks. The final New York Times/Siena College poll found Sanders with a 7-point lead over Biden; a Suffolk University/USA Today poll had Biden up about 6 points over Sanders. In between, Monmouth University and CBS/YouGov surveys found the two candidates more or less deadlocked.
Nothing about the polling augurs a clear winner ― which doesn’t make the data useless. Without it, it’d be equally plausible to assume that one of those contenders was on track to a runaway victory. Still, if there’s any point of agreement between pollsters, it’s that this isn’t a simple race to call in advance.
“Caucus electorates are the most difficult to model in polling,” Monmouth University polling director Patrick Murray wrote. “The smartest takeaway from this, or any Iowa poll for that matter, is to be prepared for anything on Monday.”
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“Our data indicate it’s still a very tight race, and we’re prepared for pretty much anything tomorrow night,” CBS’ Kabir Khanna wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
A few reasons why there’s so much uncertainty:
Voters could change their minds. Across polls, a significant percentage of voters say they’re not entirely committed to their first choice of candidate. The Democratic pollster Civiqs, for instance, found that 40% of voters said their minds were less than firmly made up; Suffolk University/USA TODAY polling a week before the caucus saw a majority either undecided or saying they might change their minds. It’s also worth noting that much of the polling on the race wrapped up a few days ago, meaning any significant last-minute swings toward a candidate might not be fully reflected.
The caucusing process is complicated. In a primary, the voting process more or less resembles the process of being polled: voters pick one candidate from a list. Iowa’s Democratic caucus is more complicated, including provisions for voters to realign their support if their first-choice candidate fails to hit 15% of the initial vote.
It’s not clear what the electorate will look like. “It all comes down to turnout” is in the pantheon of election truisms, but it’s especially true of relatively low-turnout events like a caucus. In surveys of Iowa, pollsters’ methods for determining who’s likely to vote appear to make an especially significant difference on the results.
Monmouth University based their topline findings on an electorate that resembles 2008. But the poll also examined several possible turnout scenarios, with the results of even a small swing in turnout ranging from a +6 Biden lead to a +4 Sanders edge. There’s a glaring generational divide between Biden and Sanders supporters, which makes age a crucial demographic to watch: the Biden campaign needs older, habitual voters to dominate the caucuses, while the Sanders campaign is looking for new voters, like college students, to flock to the polls.
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The New York Times’ Nate Cohn, who’s written extensively about modeling likely voters in the race, explains how sampling and assumptions about turnout can help explain the variation in polls: Pollsters who pick their respondents based on a history of voting in other races have tended to find results more favorable to Biden. Relying on voters’ self-reported likelihood of showing up to caucus, by contrast, seems to give an advantage to Sanders. It’s an open question whether Iowans’ history of regularly voting in elections or their self-reported enthusiasm for the caucus is a better gauge for who’ll actually show up this time.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-03--Adam Schiff: Convict Trump Or 100% Chance He Will Cheat In 2020 Election

Senate Republicans must convict and remove President Donald Trump from office because he will continue to cheat and abuse his power to attempt to stay in office , Rep. Adam Schiff ( D-Calif. ) said Monday in his final argument for ousting Trump .
“ You can ’ t trust this president to do the right thing , ” said Schiff , the lead House impeachment manager .
“ Not one minute .
Not for one election .
Not for the sake of our country .
You just can ’ t .
He will not change and you know it.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ left in office that he will continue trying to cheat ?
” Schiff added .
“ I will tell you : 100 % .
Not 5 , not 10 , not 50 , but 100 % .
If you have found him guilty and you do not remove him from office , he will continue trying to cheat in the election until he succeeds.
” Schiff ’ s remarks were clearly directed at Republican senators like Lamar Alexander ( R-Tenn. ) and Marco Rubio ( R-Fla. ) who now say that the House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office by withholding military aid and a White House head-of-state visit to get Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden , but still say that they won ’ t vote to remove him from office .
Instead , they insist that the voters should decide in November .
“ If a call like this gets you an impeachment , I would think he would think twice before he did it again , ” Alexander said .
“ Hopefully , he ’ ll look at this and say , ‘ OK , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t have done that and shouldn ’ t have done it that way.
’ And he ’ ll focus on the strengths of his presidency , which are considerable.
” To make his point , the congressman ran down the history of Trump ’ s efforts to encourage foreign governments to interfere to help him win an election and then his maneuvers to obstruct the ensuing investigations .
House impeachment manager Adam Schiff argued that President Donald Trump must be removed because his lack of character , decency and sense of right and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ try to win reelection .
During the 2016 presidential campaign , Trump called on Russia to hack opponent Hillary Clinton ’ s private email server .
In the last month of the campaign , he made reference to the emails of Clinton campaign manager John Podesta , which were hacked by Russians , more than 100 times .
At the same time , Trump told the public that he had no business deals with any Russians .
He was , however , involved in negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have been one of the most lucrative of his life .
In May 2017 , Trump fired FBI Director James Comey as an investigation began into whether the Trump campaign had been involved in a conspiracy with Russia to help him win the 2016 election .
That firing led the Department of Justice to appoint Robert Mueller as special counsel to continue the investigation .
Trump then repeatedly attempted to obstruct Mueller ’ s efforts , even directing the White House counsel to fire him and then lie about it .
( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mueller ’ s report ultimately determined that there was not enough evidence to prove a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia .
The special counsel ’ s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on July 24 , 2019 , was a dud .
And Trump declared it “ a great day for me.
” After a whistleblower raised concerns about that call , the Justice Department refused to investigate whether Trump broke any laws by asking a foreign head of state for help in his reelection campaign or by dangling the release @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the grant of a White House visit as bribes to entice Zelensky into doing his bidding .
It was left to the House of Representatives to launch an impeachment inquiry to investigate .
Trump directed the executive branch to not comply with the lawmakers ’ requests for documents and testimony .
“ I have the right to do whatever I want as president , ” he said .
“ He has not changed , ” Schiff said on Monday .
“ He will not change .
He has made that clear himself without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ character or ethical compass will never find his way .
Even as the most recent and most egregious conduct was uncovered , he was unapologetic , unrepentant and , more dangerous , undeterred .
”

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Senate Republicans must convict and remove President Donald Trump from office because he will continue to cheat and abuse his power to attempt to stay in office, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Monday in his final argument for ousting Trump.
“You can’t trust this president to do the right thing,” said Schiff, the lead House impeachment manager. “Not one minute. Not for one election. Not for the sake of our country. You just can’t. He will not change and you know it.”
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“What are the odds if left in office that he will continue trying to cheat?” Schiff added. “I will tell you: 100%. Not 5, not 10, not 50, but 100%. If you have found him guilty and you do not remove him from office, he will continue trying to cheat in the election until he succeeds.”
Schiff’s remarks were clearly directed at Republican senators like Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) who now say that the House impeachment managers proved that Trump abused his office by withholding military aid and a White House head-of-state visit to get Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, but still say that they won’t vote to remove him from office. Instead, they insist that the voters should decide in November.
Alexander went further on Sunday, telling “Meet the Press” that the fact that Trump has been impeached should chasten him.
“If a call like this gets you an impeachment, I would think he would think twice before he did it again,” Alexander said. “Hopefully, he’ll look at this and say, ‘OK, that was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done that and shouldn’t have done it that way.’ And he’ll focus on the strengths of his presidency, which are considerable.”
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Alexander’s suggestion that Trump may change was clearly the target of Schiff’s argument.
To make his point, the congressman ran down the history of Trump’s efforts to encourage foreign governments to interfere to help him win an election and then his maneuvers to obstruct the ensuing investigations.
House impeachment manager Adam Schiff argued that President Donald Trump must be removed because his lack of character, decency and sense of right and wrong will lead him to cheat to try to win reelection. ASSOCIATED PRESS
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump called on Russia to hack opponent Hillary Clinton’s private email server. In the last month of the campaign, he made reference to the emails of Clinton campaign manager John Podesta, which were hacked by Russians, more than 100 times.
At the same time, Trump told the public that he had no business deals with any Russians. He was, however, involved in negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Had he made the deal, it would have been one of the most lucrative of his life.
In May 2017, Trump fired FBI Director James Comey as an investigation began into whether the Trump campaign had been involved in a conspiracy with Russia to help him win the 2016 election. That firing led the Department of Justice to appoint Robert Mueller as special counsel to continue the investigation. Trump then repeatedly attempted to obstruct Mueller’s efforts, even directing the White House counsel to fire him and then lie about it. (The White House counsel refused.)
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Mueller’s report ultimately determined that there was not enough evidence to prove a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia. The special counsel’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on July 24, 2019, was a dud. And Trump declared it “a great day for me.”
The very next day Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce investigations into Biden and a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, hacked the Democratic National Committee in 2016.
After a whistleblower raised concerns about that call, the Justice Department refused to investigate whether Trump broke any laws by asking a foreign head of state for help in his reelection campaign or by dangling the release of congressionally approved aid to Ukraine and the grant of a White House visit as bribes to entice Zelensky into doing his bidding.
It was left to the House of Representatives to launch an impeachment inquiry to investigate. Trump directed the executive branch to not comply with the lawmakers’ requests for documents and testimony. “I have the right to do whatever I want as president,” he said.
Before television cameras and reporters on the White House lawn, Trump repeated his call for Ukraine to investigate Biden. He then called on China to investigate Biden as well.
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“He has not changed,” Schiff said on Monday. “He will not change. He has made that clear himself without self-awareness or hesitation. A man without character or ethical compass will never find his way. Even as the most recent and most egregious conduct was uncovered, he was unapologetic, unrepentant and, more dangerous, undeterred.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-03--Rep. Jason Crow Invokes Albus Dumbledore In Final Impeachment Plea

Crow , one of the House impeachment managers , quoted the Hogwarts headmaster in a final bid to sway Republican senators to not vote to acquit the president on charges of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power .
“ Many of us in this room are parents , ” he said .
“ We all try to teach our kids the important lessons of life .
One of those lessons is you won ’ t always be the strongest , you won ’ t always be the fastest , and you won ’ t always win.
” Crow said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teach their children that they can always control their own actions .
“ It ’ s in that spirit that hanging in my son ’ s room is a quote from ‘ Harry Potter , ’ ” he said .
“ The quote is from Professor Dumbledore , who said , ‘ It is our choices that show who we truly are , far more than our abilities.
’ ” '' It 's in that spirit that hanging in my son 's room is a quote from Harry Potter .
The quote is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ it is our choices that show who we truly are , far more than our abilities.
’ ” @ RepJasonCrow just quoted Dumbledore to shame Republican senators .
😭 pic.twitter.com/mn1QoJ9avW — Jennifer Shelton ( @ JenSheltonn ) February 3 , 2020 The freshman lawmaker also quoted a sage warning from author Maya Angelou , reminding senators that Trump had broken his oath of office .
“ But what we have clearly shown the last few weeks , and what President Trump has shown us the past few years , is that this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Crow said .
“ As Maya Angelou said , ‘ When someone shows you who they are , believe them the first time.
’ ” The GOP-led Senate voted last week against allowing new witnesses and evidence at the impeachment trial , all but assuring Trump ’ s acquittal on Wednesday .

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Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) invoked some wisdom from “Harry Potter” character Albus Dumbledore while delivering his closing argument at President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial Monday.
Crow, one of the House impeachment managers, quoted the Hogwarts headmaster in a final bid to sway Republican senators to not vote to acquit the president on charges of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.
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“Many of us in this room are parents,” he said. “We all try to teach our kids the important lessons of life. One of those lessons is you won’t always be the strongest, you won’t always be the fastest, and you won’t always win.”
Crow said he and his wife also try to teach their children that they can always control their own actions.
“It’s in that spirit that hanging in my son’s room is a quote from ‘Harry Potter,’” he said. “The quote is from Professor Dumbledore, who said, ‘It is our choices that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities.’ ”
"It's in that spirit that hanging in my son's room is a quote from Harry Potter. The quote is from Professor Dumbledore, who said, ‘it is our choices that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities.’”@RepJasonCrow just quoted Dumbledore to shame Republican senators. 😭 pic.twitter.com/mn1QoJ9avW — Jennifer Shelton (@JenSheltonn) February 3, 2020
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The freshman lawmaker also quoted a sage warning from author Maya Angelou, reminding senators that Trump had broken his oath of office.
“But what we have clearly shown the last few weeks, and what President Trump has shown us the past few years, is that this promise flows only one way,” Crow said. “As Maya Angelou said, ‘When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.’”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-03--How Bernie Sanders Became Teachers' Favorite Candidate

Katie Nash has been a fan of Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. ) since she saw him speak at a local political rally in the lead up to the 2016 election , but she was careful not to get her hopes up .
Though his worldview aligned with hers , she suspected others might find his progressive ideals unrealistic and lofty .
She didn ’ t think he had a chance of gaining widespread support as a presidential candidate .
That changed in 2018 , when she and around 20,000 other teachers in Arizona participated in a statewide walkout over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Nash ― who had never previously donated to or caucused for a politician ― described it as a political awakening .
Seeing thousands of fellow teachers fighting alongside her for better schools made her realize that maybe she and her neighbors had more in common than she thought .
Nash is one of many teachers who seem to be “ feeling the Bern.
” Far more K-12 teachers are donating to Sanders than any other candidate .
From Jan. 1 , 2019 , through Dec. 31 , 2019 , teachers have donated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to data provided to HuffPost by the Center for Responsive Politics .
They are his top group of donors by profession , followed by servers , bartenders and cooks , and then nurses and caregivers , according to his campaign .
While former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren ( D - Mass . )
previously led an internal poll conducted by the American Federation of Teachers , the nation ’ s second largest teachers union , they have received fewer donations from this group of professionals , indicating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it may be less intense .
Warren ― who spent time working as a public school teacher ― has received the second highest amount of money from K-12 teachers , at $ 875,000 ( she has received more donations from professors than any other candidate ) .
Biden , on the other hand , has only received $ 393,000 from this group , according to the numbers from the Center for Responsive Politics .
HuffPost spoke to eight K-12 teachers around the country about why so many teachers seem to be connecting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ K-12 education plan , which was released before any other candidate in May 2019 , and pushes back on what they see as an effort to privatize public schools ; his strong support for widespread social safety nets that would benefit students living in poverty ; and his proposals for free college and canceling student debt , the latter of which they say resonates especially with professionals who dedicate their lives to public service .
“ The teacher strike wave over the last two years is one of the most important political developments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ labor movement , ” said Eric Blanc , a surrogate for the Sanders campaign who wrote a book about the teacher strikes .
“ Something about participating in a movement like that , in a strike , raises your confidence and expectations for what you deserve and can win.
” “ To see there were hundreds of thousands of people if not more who felt the same way I did about income inequality … I just started looking at things differently , ” said McCormick , a middle school music teacher , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McCormick was quick to get involved with organizing the West Virginia teachers strike in 2018 via a secret Facebook group that allowed educators to swap stories and plan actions .
She suspects that support for Sanders across the state ― he beat Clinton in West Virginia during the 2016 Democratic primary ― helped prime the public with hope for something better .
“ So many of my students , their parents are barely making it .
If health care wasn ’ t tied to their job or wages were better … they could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with homework , ” said McCormick .
Sanders has written op-eds in local newspapers in support of this group and held solidarity events , encouraging its long list of supporters to show up to picket lines to support teachers , according to Heather Gautney , the Sanders campaign education policy adviser .
Warren has also consistently expressed her support for striking teachers , and both the candidates showed up in Chicago recently to back teachers who went on strike this past fall .

Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/HuffPost
Katie Nash has been a fan of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) since she saw him speak at a local political rally in the lead up to the 2016 election, but she was careful not to get her hopes up. Though his worldview aligned with hers, she suspected others might find his progressive ideals unrealistic and lofty. She didn’t think he had a chance of gaining widespread support as a presidential candidate.
That changed in 2018, when she and around 20,000 other teachers in Arizona participated in a statewide walkout over issues of school funding and low pay. Nash ― who had never previously donated to or caucused for a politician ― described it as a political awakening. Seeing thousands of fellow teachers fighting alongside her for better schools made her realize that maybe she and her neighbors had more in common than she thought.
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Ever since the walkout, Nash, a teacher of 14 years, told HuffPost she “hasn’t stopped doing something.” In the lead up to 2020, she has donated to the Sanders campaign, hosted a house party to drum up enthusiasm and participated in organizing calls.
“Seeing what’s possible with grassroots allayed my doubts about his campaign,” said Nash, who is now president of her local union chapter.
Nash is one of many teachers who seem to be “feeling the Bern.” Far more K-12 teachers are donating to Sanders than any other candidate. From Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2019, teachers have donated over $2 million to the candidate, according to data provided to HuffPost by the Center for Responsive Politics. They are his top group of donors by profession, followed by servers, bartenders and cooks, and then nurses and caregivers, according to his campaign.
Sanders has also received notable endorsements from large, influential teachers unions, like United Teachers Los Angeles and the Clark County Education Association.
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While former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D - Mass.) previously led an internal poll conducted by the American Federation of Teachers, the nation’s second largest teachers union, they have received fewer donations from this group of professionals, indicating that even if support is more widespread, it may be less intense. Warren ― who spent time working as a public school teacher ― has received the second highest amount of money from K-12 teachers, at $875,000 (she has received more donations from professors than any other candidate). Biden, on the other hand, has only received $393,000 from this group, according to the numbers from the Center for Responsive Politics.
Teachers For Bernie
HuffPost spoke to eight K-12 teachers around the country about why so many teachers seem to be connecting with Sanders. They point to his K-12 education plan, which was released before any other candidate in May 2019, and pushes back on what they see as an effort to privatize public schools; his strong support for widespread social safety nets that would benefit students living in poverty; and his proposals for free college and canceling student debt, the latter of which they say resonates especially with professionals who dedicate their lives to public service.
But some, notably, also cited his strong support for unions and pointed to overlapping ethos’ between his campaign and the movement of teacher strikes that has swept cities and states in the past few years.
“The teacher strike wave over the last two years is one of the most important political developments in the country and certainly for the labor movement,” said Eric Blanc, a surrogate for the Sanders campaign who wrote a book about the teacher strikes. “Something about participating in a movement like that, in a strike, raises your confidence and expectations for what you deserve and can win.”
Indeed, for some teachers, like Nash, as well as Nicole McCormick in West Virginia, Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign and the teacher strikes are inextricably linked.
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McCormick, president of her local education association in Mercer County, says she used to feel politically disconnected. She didn’t see her views on income inequality, health care or public education represented by any mainstream candidate. That changed after Sanders’ first presidential campaign.
“To see there were hundreds of thousands of people if not more who felt the same way I did about income inequality … I just started looking at things differently,” said McCormick, a middle school music teacher, who has been teaching for 11 years.
McCormick was quick to get involved with organizing the West Virginia teachers strike in 2018 via a secret Facebook group that allowed educators to swap stories and plan actions. She suspects that support for Sanders across the state ― he beat Clinton in West Virginia during the 2016 Democratic primary ― helped prime the public with hope for something better.
“When we went into that strike it’s like, I had that feeling of solidarity,” she said. “I was reaffirmed that people shared my values whenever we started escalating action for the strike.”
Supporters cheer for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who spoke at a rally in support of the Chicago Teachers Union ahead of an upcoming potential strike. Scott Heins via Getty Images
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The teachers HuffPost interviewed ― who, in most cases, worked in high-poverty schools ― also connect their support of Sanders to their firsthand view of the uneven playing field that starts at birth between rich and poor students.
“So many of my students, their parents are barely making it. If health care wasn’t tied to their job or wages were better … they could have a parent there to help them with homework,” said McCormick.
There has been a race to gain the support of teachers among all Democratic campaigns, with most candidates engaging in extensive outreach with unions. Candidates like Sanders and Warren have specifically aimed to support striking teachers.
Sanders has written op-eds in local newspapers in support of this group and held solidarity events, encouraging its long list of supporters to show up to picket lines to support teachers, according to Heather Gautney, the Sanders campaign education policy adviser. Warren has also consistently expressed her support for striking teachers, and both the candidates showed up in Chicago recently to back teachers who went on strike this past fall.
The teachers say they’ve noticed the effort.
“Education has not been made a priority so therefore teachers aren’t treated like professionals,” said Nash. “I think [Sanders] is the best one making those connections.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-03--Trump Ripped For Disrespectful National Anthem Antics At His Super Bowl Party

President Donald Trump was chastised Monday after video footage showed him goofing off as the national anthem played during a Super Bowl party at his West Palm Beach golf resort .
As everyone else around Trump ( including his wife and youngest son ) stood solemnly with their hands over their hearts , Trump fidgeted , waved his hands , pointed at people and pretended to conduct the music .
The video of the president cutting up during the anthem , first reported by the Miami Herald , was part of an Instagram story posted by a real estate agent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a select group of the president ’ s supporters .
The event cost American taxpayers $ 3.4 million , according to an analysis by HuffPost .
Boy .
Good thing Trump is not a black NFL player , because otherwise this behavior would probably be really disrespectful and bad.https : //t.co/hWoN4n2KJo — S.V .
Dáte ( @ svdate ) February 3 , 2020 Trump has said that athletes who take a knee at NFL games to protest racism and police brutality — a movement launched by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re disrespecting America and the military .
“ You have to stand proudly for the national anthem or you shouldn ’ t be playing — you shouldn ’ t be there , ” Trump told “ Fox & Friends ” in 2018 , adding , “ Maybe you shouldn ’ t be in the country.
” When a football player takes a knee , the team owner should “ get that son of a bitch off the field , ” Trump told a rally in 2017 .
Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for sitting during the anthem .
She hasn ’ t yet remarked on the president ’ s antics .
Beyoncé & Jay-Z ( former crack dealer ) sit for the national anthem because apparently the United States of America has oppressed them with millions upon millions of dollars & fans .
Sounds rough .
Maybe they should try another country that allows them a little more freedom & success ?
— Tomi Lahren ( @ TomiLahren ) February 3 , 2020 The Miami Herald mocked Trump in an editorial by sarcastically noting his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s “ amazing that so many ‘ patriots ’ who brandish the flag and wear the red cap actually don ’ t mind any of this , ” the editorial noted .

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President Donald Trump was chastised Monday after video footage showed him goofing off as the national anthem played during a Super Bowl party at his West Palm Beach golf resort.
As everyone else around Trump (including his wife and youngest son) stood solemnly with their hands over their hearts, Trump fidgeted, waved his hands, pointed at people and pretended to conduct the music.
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The video of the president cutting up during the anthem, first reported by the Miami Herald, was part of an Instagram story posted by a real estate agent at the party, which was held for a select group of the president’s supporters. The event cost American taxpayers $3.4 million, according to an analysis by HuffPost.
Boy. Good thing Trump is not a black NFL player, because otherwise this behavior would probably be really disrespectful and bad.https://t.co/hWoN4n2KJo — S.V. Dáte (@svdate) February 3, 2020
Our troops are worthy of a commander-in-chief who respects them. Instead, they’re being led by a self-centered man-child. https://t.co/QsHwtNz7mg — Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) February 3, 2020
Trump has said that athletes who take a knee at NFL games to protest racism and police brutality — a movement launched by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick — should be fired because they’re disrespecting America and the military.
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“You have to stand proudly for the national anthem or you shouldn’t be playing — you shouldn’t be there,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” in 2018, adding, “Maybe you shouldn’t be in the country.”
When a football player takes a knee, the team owner should “get that son of a bitch off the field,” Trump told a rally in 2017.
Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren slammed celebrities Beyoncé and Jay-Z on Sunday for sitting during the anthem. She hasn’t yet remarked on the president’s antics.
Beyoncé & Jay-Z (former crack dealer)sit for the national anthem because apparently the United States of America has oppressed them with millions upon millions of dollars & fans. Sounds rough. Maybe they should try another country that allows them a little more freedom & success? — Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) February 3, 2020
The Miami Herald mocked Trump in an editorial by sarcastically noting his “burst of patriotic fervor.”
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It’s “amazing that so many ‘patriots’ who brandish the flag and wear the red cap actually don’t mind any of this,” the editorial noted.
There were other tweets:
Well, as long as he didn’t take a knee. pic.twitter.com/zwSuC2dGOJ — Cathleen McFarland (@catmcfarland) February 3, 2020
Where is the outrage from his supporters over this? — greeneyed lady 🆘 (@crpswarrior1) February 3, 2020
That’s what a 3 year old would do. — E. (@esther_reedy) February 3, 2020
Maybe we should elect an adult in November. — cathy vogt (@pgdayton) February 3, 2020
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Is something wrong with him? That doesn’t seem normal for anyone. — Betsy (@KyBetsy) February 3, 2020