Tag: Trump

Russian Agent charged over her role within NRA, Trump election campaign

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Maria Butina is a Life Member of the NRA

❝ U.S. authorities accused a Russian national of trying to establish a back channel to American politicians during the last election cycle, announcing the charges just hours after President Donald Trump accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assurance his country hadn’t interfered.

The woman, Mariia Butina, tried to create a quiet line of communication between U.S. and Russian officials and attempted to infiltrate the National Rifle Association on behalf of the Russian government in a long-running scheme that traces its origins to at least 2013, prosecutors said. Butina, who appeared in federal court in Washington on Monday, is accused of failing to register as a foreign agent…

❝ …The Justice Department’s national security unit brought the charges against Butina and is handling the continuing investigation stemming from the computer intrusions.

Golly gee. Anyone warn the Fake President about this. I’d suggest he’ll need time to come up with new lies; but – in practice – he seems content repeating the same simple-minded crap that satisfies his “base”.

Trump wants to charge consumers billion$ more for clean energy

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❝ The wind and the sun may be free, but Trump’s energy regulators want you to pay the same price – or more – for clean energy than what we pay for electricity from our country’s aging, dirty coal-fired power plants.

The Republican-dominated Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave states and utilities just 60 days to weigh in on how to do this in nation’s largest wholesale electricity market serving 65 million customers in 13 states and the District of Columbia.

❝ “We’ve never seen this kind of federal intrusion in the energy industries,” said energy consultant Rob Gramlich.

The proposed changes could cost consumers billions of dollars more. One estimate for a narrower proposal said it could cost utility users $14 billion to $24.6 billion roughly over the next 10 years. That’s between $216 to $379 for each of the 65 million people served.

Bad enough Trump pimps for carbon-heavy energy producers. Now, he wants us to pay more than needed for renewables – even as the cost of construction and production come down and will continue to do so over time.

I wonder where he’s stashing his payoffs. A worthwhile topic for another special prosecutor after his butt is pushed out of office.

Want to complain about a telecom company? – Republicans rule that, first, you fork over $225

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❝ The Federal Communications Commission today voted 3-1 to stop reviewing informal consumer complaints about telecom companies. To get an FCC review of a company’s bad behavior, a consumer will have to file a formal complaint—which requires a payment of $225 to the FCC.

Even if an ISP fails to respond to a customer’s informal complaint, the FCC would not review the complaint until after a consumer pays $225 and goes through the formal complaint process…

❝ But the decision was panned by FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, the commission’s only Democrat, who said the FCC has reviewed informal complaints in the past.

“This is bonkers,” she said at today’s meeting. “No one should be asked to pay $225 for this agency to do its job. No one should see this agency close its doors to everyday consumers looking for assistance in a marketplace that can be bewildering to navigate. There are so many people who think Washington is not listening to them and that the rules at agencies like this one are rigged against them—and today’s decision only proves that point.”

It should only take the average Trump-chump a decade or so to realize they were played by a sleazy hustler. Everything he said he was out to change – mostly he has made worse, more profitable for his fellow rip-off artists, more difficult for ordinary citizens.

But, hey, there still are people who miss Nixon.