This week Urban Outfitters sold a great sweatshirt. It said Kent State and had, what appeared to be a blood stain. Everybody except, allegedly, Urban Outfitters saw the sweatshirt as a reference to the blood-stained history of Kent University where, in 1970, the National Guard killed four students and injured 10. Urban Outfitters released an apology, via Twitter, which is really huge. And then they came out with another apology which was surprisingly honest in its acknowledgement of how little their word counted:
this truth does not excuse us from our failure to identify potential controversial products head on. We, as a company who caters to a college-age demographic, have a responsibility to uphold to our customers. Given our history of controversial issues, we understand how our sincerity may be questioned.
Because it turns out, Urban Outfitters has an amazing resume of offensive products under its belt. And to be fair, they take diversity really seriously. They are an equal opportunity offender, whose products have mocked eating disorders, Jews, African Americans, Native Americans. I know I'm leaving someone out, so I apologize. On this week's Morning Jew, Heather Gold and I talk about these Urban Outfitters blunders, which include a game of "Ghettopoly," which sounds sooooo fun, full-figured fashion, and Jewish behinds. Enjoy!
CNN International host Lynda Kinkade reminded viewers that former President Donald Trump considers the Fifth Amendment "a sign of guilt" after he asserted the privilege during a deposition in New York.
In a report on Wednesday morning, Kinkade noted that Trump had refused to answer questions from New York Attorney General Letitia James' office, which is investigating decades of alleged financial fraud.
"In the past, Trump has said not answering questions would be a sign of guilt," Kinkade explained. "Did he answer any questions today?"
Correspondent Kara Scannell confirmed that Trump had invoked his Fifth Amendment right.
The correspondent explained: "Even though the former president said that very comment in 2016 when he was out on the campaign trail, today behind closed doors in the building behind me, he said he's not going to answer any questions, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination."
During his 2016 campaign, Trump argued that the use of the Fifth Amendment was a sign of guilt.
“If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment,” he said, referring to Hillary Clinton.
Both of North Carolina’s Republican U.S. senators, Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, are facing backlash in their state after opposing a proposal to limit how much private insurance companies can charge for the insulin used by diabetics.
The debate on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which at one point included a $35 insulin price cap for private insurance companies, began Saturday morning and stretched into Sunday.
Watch Washington Democratic Senator Patty Murray plea with Burr, Tillis and other colleagues to vote in favor of the insulin proposal.
GOP senators prove 'commitment to protecting Big Pharma' by opposing $35 insulin cap | RawStory.TVGOP senators prove 'commitment to protecting Big Pharma' by opposing $35 insulin cap | RawStory.TV
Senate Democrats forced Burr, Tillis and other Republicans to go on the record about whether or not they believed a $35 insulin cap should be part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 — and both of them are being lambasted for, critics say, throwing diabetics under the bus.
On Sunday, the U.S. Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a $750 billion package addressing energy, climate change, health care and taxes. The bill passed 51-50 via the process known as budget reconciliation, allowing the Senate’s narrow Democratic majority to bypass the 60-vote rule of the filibuster.
Now, the bill will go to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration, and Democrats are optimistic that it will pass in the House and make it to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
Journalist Danielle Battaglia, in an article published by the Raleigh News and Observer on August 8, stresses that Burr and Tillis are facing a “vehement backlash” in their state for opposing the proposal to limit the cost of insulin to $35. She observes in her article that people took to social media Sunday and Monday ridiculing the North Carolina Senators for their indifference toward insulin users. She notes that, “The posts and tweets were laced with profanity.”
Battaglia also quotes North Carolina’s Democratic Party spokeswoman Ellie Dougherty as saying, “While President Biden and Democrats are working day in and day out to lower the cost of prescription drugs, reduce the deficit and fight rising costs without raising taxes a single penny on middle class families, Burr and Tillis’ vote underscores the GOP’s commitment to protecting Big Pharma and special interests over easing costs for North Carolina families.”
Cheri Beasley, the Democratic nominee in North Carolina’s 2022 U.S. Senate race, was also quick to lambast Burr and Tillis on Twitter stating, “I will always fight for the people — not cower to corporate special interests…. Senator Burr and Tillis’ votes today were inexcusable.”
Senator Burr is not seeking re-election in November and Senator Tillis’s current term does not end until January 2027. It seems that despite the backlash they have received this week, neither will be affected in any meaningful way. In November, Beasley will face off against Trump endorsed Republican nominee Ted Budd for the open senate seat in North Carolina.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) is the more Donald Trump-like of the two senators in the state, the other being Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT). But it's Lee who is up for reelection this year against former Republican Evan McMullin, who previously ran for president in Utah to try and deny Trump the electoral votes in 2016.
Behind the scenes, however, Lee has been using an unofficial Twitter account that has gone unnoticed by the public, but appears to have been promoted by some far-right activists. The Star Tribune outed the senator with details on some of his more catty tweets.
It was something noticed after Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort was searched by the FBI for classified information. Lee's social media accounts were dead silent. Noting that it's rare for a politician to be quiet about anything unless they're pleading their Fifth Amendment rights, reporters started searching.
"Lee’s personal Facebook page links to a Twitter thread from a Twitter account — 'Based Mike Lee' — that was created in July," the report said. "The account, full of attempted snark and sarcasm, at one point had a profile picture of a young Mike Lee with digital sunglasses superimposed on his face — a reference to the 'Deal with it' meme that was popular in the early 2010s. A source close to Lee says the account is Lee’s personal Twitter which he manages by himself."
So, it appears Lee has made a statement about the search warrant, through his private Twitter account. He asked if the attorney general personally approved the search warrant and then rants about Hillary Clinton, protests at the homes of the Supreme Court justices and Hunter Biden.
In a fundraising email sent by Lee's reelection campaign, he uses a lot of the same language that appeared in the Twitter thread and calls on his followers to "Hold Merrick Garland Accountable" with a photo of Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). About 12 hours after the email was sent, the photo was changed to Merrick Garland. The page doesn't allow users to hold Garland accountable, it simply serves as a way for Lee to get email addresses so he can raise money.
Other tweets from the Based Mike Lee account appear to promote himself in unique verbiage.
