Digby (@digby56) and Anthony Fantano (@theneedledrop), host of the Needle Drop, join us!

On today's show: Trump walks into TP USA summit. TP USA uses fake presidential seal by accident.

Digby (@digby56), of Salon.com and Digby's Hullabaloo, joins us to talk Mueller hearings and the case for impeachment. As usual, Sam and Digby wonder what, exactly, the Democrats are smoking to be so risk averse at this point in the game.

Anthony Fantano (@theneedledrop), host of The Needle Drop, joins us to discuss Trump's efforts to free the rapper A$AP Rocky from Sweden's clutches. Anthony then discusses the relationship between pop and politics before giving personalized music recs to each member of the crew.

On the fun half: Trump says illegals are donning disguises and voting many times in California. Asked if she's trying to run the clock out on impeachment, Pelosi says no, "let's get sophisticated." Edited Ilhan Omar video shared by the right vs. what she actually said about the threat posed by white men. Donald Trump tells Hannity that Barr can share classified intel documents w/ Nunes. Hannity and Nunes speak in unison.

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Get your tickets to the Michael Brooks Chicago Live Show, with special guest Chuck Mertz of This is Hell on August 24th here!

Check out The Michael Brooks Show at patreon.com/tmbs, and the TMBS YouTube channel for all short TMBS clips. And check out Year Of Lead, a new book on Brazil with an introduction by Michael Brooks!

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Good morning, on today's Majority Report, Fernando Tormos-Aponte from Scholars Strategy Network joins Michael Brooks to discuss his recent piece in the Jacobin, "Puerto Rico Rises," to explain how the Puerto Rican people organized and mobilized for change in their government after leaks of Governor Ricardo Rosselló and his administration's callous communications. We're live at 12:00 pm EST.

Brooks and Tormos-Aponte begin the interview looking back at the now former governor, Ricardo Rossello, who Tormos argues has been bred for the governorship since his youth when his father, Pedro Rosselló, was governor of Puerto Rico and young Ricardo was educated at private schools and Ivy League schools in the States. Tormos-Aponte then details the leaked text group involving Rossello and his executives, which showed the government's corruption with its fiscal control board and the elected officials cruel remarks about Hurricane Maria victims and the LGBTQ community. But why did leaked group texts lead to the governor's resignation? Much of Puerto Rico's financial distress and growing poverty can be attributed to the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act or PROMESA, which established strict oversight of the island's finances and austerity leading to large cuts in the public sector. Beyond PROMESA's austerity, Puerto Ricans believe Rossello has not fought hard enough on their behalf, where budgets to education and law enforcement have been cut and the electrical grid privatized. According to Tormos-Aponte, the island has not seen such strong protests since 2001 when cross-sectional mass protests called for the removal of the US military from the island municipality of Vieques. Tormos-Aponte says the next steps in taking back the government are just as important as removing Rossello. This is a bottom up revolution that will investigate the debt issued to Puerto Rico and one that won't stop with Rossello, who "they know he's just a figurehead," says Tormos-Aponte. Brooks ends the interview asking how the continental 48 can extend solidarity to Puerto Rico. For Tormos-Aponte, it's a simple, advocate for a constitutional assembly in Puerto Rico decide its own future, whether that be statehood or outright independence.

And in the Fun Half:

Anti-BDS measures are meant to drive wedge on the left, ICE terrorizes black and brown people to ethnically cleanse America, Cole James Cash tells all about his Jesse Lee Peterson experience, Bernie gives his pitch to the NAACP conference in Detroit, Trump's next big global peace efforts in Kashmir, ICE officers break a migrant's car window without a seizure warrant, Josh Hawley is seeding the ground for national socialism, plus your calls and IMs!

Become a member today at JoinTheMajorityReport.com

Get your tickets to the Michael Brooks Chicago Live Show, with special guest Chuck Mertz of This is Hell on August 24th here!

Check out The Michael Brooks Show at patreon.com/tmbs, and the TMBS YouTube channel for all short TMBS clips. And check out Year Of Lead, a new book on Brazil with an introduction by Michael Brooks!

Check out Matt’s podcast, Literary Hangover, at Patreon.com/LiteraryHangover or on iTunes

Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada, at patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or via your favorite podcast app.

Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter:

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@_michaelbrooks

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@jamie_elizabeth

@BF1nn

The MR Crew breaks down Robert Mueller's appearance in front of the House Judiciary Committee.

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Become a member today at JoinTheMajorityReport.com

Get your tickets to the Michael Brooks Chicago Live Show, with special guest Chuck Mertz of This is Hell on August 24th here!

Check out The Michael Brooks Show at patreon.com/tmbs, and the TMBS YouTube channel for all short TMBS clips. And check out Year Of Lead, a new book on Brazil with an introduction by Michael Brooks!

Check out Matt’s podcast, Literary Hangover, at Patreon.com/LiteraryHangover or on iTunes

Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada, at patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or via your favorite podcast app.

Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter:

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@BF1nn

Welcome to Majority.FM's AM QUICKIE! Brought to you by justcoffee.coop

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

Robert Mueller throws in a last-minute request ahead of today's blockbuster testimony, and Republicans aren't happy about it. (NBC News)

The House votes to condemn the Boycott Israel Movement despite protests from Reps. Ilhan Omar And Rashida Tlaib. (BF News)

And lastly, Trump tells a crowd of confused right-wing teens that he has the Constitutional power to do “whatever I want as president.” Spoiler alert: He doesn’t! (BI)

And our QUICKER QUICKIES HEADLINES:

Bloomberg reports House Democrats have unveiled climate change goals that are a far cry from the ambitious Green New Deal being championed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other progressives.

Right Wing Watch reports that Danielle Stella, a Republican candidate seeking to unseat Rep. Ilhan Omar in 2020, is a firm believer in the QAnon conspiracy theories. 

The Hill reports that former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is now working for some of the same oil and mining companies he regulated while at the helm of the Department of Interior. 

And WaPo is reporting that government agencies in parts of Maryland are now banned from cooperating with ICE raids or investigations, in what advocates say is the strongest action taken in support of undocumented immigrants in the Washington DC region.

Anthony Abraham Jack, Assistant Professor of Education at Harvard University, joins us to discuss his book, The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students. 

On today's show: Ainsley Earhardt says waiters want tips, not wages; Brian Kilmeade says the waitstaff talent scouts might hear about you, too.

Anthony Abraham Jack, Assistant Professor of Education at Harvard University, joins us to discuss his book, The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students. Elite colleges and universities have begun admitting a more racially and economically diverse range of students in recent years. But once they get there, these students face difficulties that are not being addressed. From campus culture to food insecurity, Jack explores the areas in which colleges must improve if they want to adequately support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

On the fun half: Predictions for how the Democrats will screw up tomorrow's Mueller hearings. Larry Kudlow says there's nothing to raise wages like private sector growth. Matt Walsh argues for a $0 minimum wage after negative McDonald's experience. Trump says he could wipe out Afghanistan and win the war in 10 days. Fake Susan Collins campaign ad: "Disappointed." ICE attempted to bring a TN man into custody; his neighbors formed a human chain to protect him and his son. Nadler says Mueller doesn't need to listen to DOJ request to remain within boundaries. DeBlasio says ConEd should become a public utility.

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Become a member today at JoinTheMajorityReport.com

Get your tickets to the Michael Brooks Chicago Live Show, with special guest Chuck Mertz of This is Hell on August 24th here!

Check out The Michael Brooks Show at patreon.com/tmbs, and the TMBS YouTube channel for all short TMBS clips. And check out Year Of Lead, a new book on Brazil with an introduction by Michael Brooks!

Check out Matt’s podcast, Literary Hangover, at Patreon.com/LiteraryHangover or on iTunes

Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada, at patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or via your favorite podcast app.

Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter:

@majorityfm

@SamSeder

@_michaelbrooks

@MattLech

@jamie_elizabeth

@BF1nn

Welcome to Majority.FM's AM QUICKIE! Brought to you by justcoffee.coop

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

Democrats and Trump agree on a budget deal that neither side will be completely happy with. (PBS)

Meanwhile, DOJ officials tell Robert Mueller make his congressional testimony on Wednesday as pointless as possible. (Splinter)

And lastly, Trump turns the cartoon super-villainy up to eleven, as the White House makes plans to take food stamps away from over 3 million Americans. (Daily Beast)

And our QUICKER QUICKIES HEADLINES:

NBC News reports Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her family have seen profits soar since Trump’s deregulation efforts and his massive tax cuts for the rich.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Monday predicted an imminent economic crisis unless the Trump administration and Congress quickly pass legislation to regulate the financial sector and significantly reduce middle class household debt.

Sen. Kamala Harris and Rep. Jerry Nadler introduced a bill on Tuesday that would expunge marijuana-based convictions and use tax revenue to help create trust funds for communities impacted by the War on Drugs. (Daily Beast)

Vice reports that 26% of all climate change references have vanished from .Gov sites since Trump took office.

And Axios reports that a Louisiana police officer who suggested on Facebook that Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez should be shot was fired from his job, along with a second officer who liked his post.

On today's show: Ron Johnson says "love it or leave it" wasn't racist in the 60s. White House's Mercedes Schlapp: Trump is not a racist, he "stands with the people who support him." Stephen Bannon: core of Trump's platform is "deconstruction of the administrative state." Sam breaks down how Trump's been doing this and the threat it poses.

On the fun half: John from San Antonio on the latest primary polls. Con Ed foists intentional blackout on Canarsie; residents are pissed. Stephen Miller tells Chris Wallace Omar and squad are not patriotic, calling the country "garbage;" Chris Wallace pulls up old Trump tweet where he says the same thing about Obama. Cole James Cash on his impending Jesse Lee Peterson appearance. Mimi Rocha says Bernie Sanders makes her skin crawl. Dave Rubin destroyed by orbs and logic. Greg Abbott signs Texas Chik Fil A "free speech" bill into law. TP USA graphic is helping to abolish the electoral college. Hong Kong mob of "white shirts" beat up protesters who want greater autonomy from China.

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Become a member today at JoinTheMajorityReport.com

Get your tickets to the Michael Brooks Chicago Live Show, with special guest Chuck Mertz of This is Hell on August 24th here!

Check out The Michael Brooks Show at patreon.com/tmbs, and the TMBS YouTube channel for all short TMBS clips. And check out Year Of Lead, a new book on Brazil with an introduction by Michael Brooks!

Check out Matt’s podcast, Literary Hangover, at Patreon.com/LiteraryHangover or on iTunes

Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada, at patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or via your favorite podcast app.

Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter:

@majorityfm

@SamSeder

@_michaelbrooks

@MattLech

@jamie_elizabeth

@BF1nn

Welcome to Majority.FM's AM QUICKIE! Brought to you by justcoffee.coop

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

Puerto Rico's governor says he’ll finish his term, will not run for reelection next year (Miami Herald)

Most Americans disagree with Trump's "go back" tweets (CBS News) 

Immigrants and their kids founded 45% of U.S. Fortune 500 companies (New American Economy)

And our QUICKER QUICKIES HEADLINES:

Axios reports Jared Kushner will travel to Jerusalem and several other capitals in the Middle East next week to discuss how to move forward with the Trump administration’s Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.

WaPo is reporting that congress is nearing a federal budget deal that would include few—if any—immediate spending cuts, and would lift the debt limit for two years.

AFP reports Israel began demolishing a number of Palestinian homes south of Jerusalem early Monday, a move which has drawn international concern.

And the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a statement that the Trump administration plans to revise the U.S. citizenship test to ensure that "it continues to serve as an accurate measure of a naturalization applicant's civics knowledge.” (NPR)