GOP Sen. Shuts Down Military Parade Idea, Pence Denies Gay Athlete Story, And A Holocaust-Denying GOP Candidate

February 8th, 2018 Top Stories --------------------------------------------------------------- [GOP Sen. Shuts Down Trump’s Wish For Military Parade: ‘Confidence Is Silent’]( The Gist: Following reports that President Donald Trump has asked for a military parade, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) on Wednesday offered a succinct explanation as to why that show of force is completely unnecessary. “I don’t think it’s a particularly good idea. Confidence is silent. Insecurities are loud,” he told ABC News. [Pence Attacks Reporter Over Story About Gay Olympic Athlete Refusing Meeting]( The Gist: While in South Korea leading the U.S. delegation to the Olympics this week, Vice President Mike Pence has picked a fight with an American reporter over her story about an openly gay U.S. Olympic athlete refusing to meet with Pence. [Holocaust Denier Running For Congress In IL Tells CNN He’s Not Actually A Nazi]( The Gist: Arthur Jones, the GOP candidate running for Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District, who has been denounced by both the state and national Republican party, told CNN Thursday that he’s not a Nazi while he argued his beliefs that the Holocaust didn’t happen. From The Reporter's Notebook --------------------------------------------------------------- Immigration talks in Congress are going nowhere fast. [TPM's Alice Ollstein has been covering]( the negotiations in the House and Senate, and is hearing that a short-term punt may be all they're able to accomplish, despite Republicans and Democrats alike saying such a result would be "terrible" and "irresponsible." Agree Or Disagree? --------------------------------------------------------------- Josh Marshall: "The upshot of the press coverage is that the Nunes Memo was likely overstated and political. But the idea that bias or anti-Trump animus helped drive the Russia probe remains as a reasonable viewpoint that needs to be accorded some respect amidst the clutter of conflicting claims and reports. [The reality is different](. This is actually quite black and white. There’s no evidence of politicized intelligence or law enforcement or counter-intelligence work at all. Actually not any. All the evidence is based on false claims, logical fallacies or intentionally misleading representations of how standard law enforcement procedures work." Say What?! --------------------------------------------------------------- "We know that humans have most flourished during times of what? Warming trends. So I think there’s assumptions made that because the climate is warming that that necessarily is a bad thing." - EPA chief Scott Pruitt [wondering aloud]( on Tuesday whether global warming might actually be good for humans in the long run. BUZZING: Today in the Hive --------------------------------------------------------------- From a TPM Prime member: "Truthfully Gates' guilt does NOT mean he doesn't get an attorney to represent him AND that attorney should do the absolute best job he can. Yes, Gates is the kind of guy who normally doesn't have to worry about being found guilty of anything. But our system is based on the idea that everyone deserves a fair trial and to be represented by competent counsel. We can't just throw that away because the accused is probably guilty and someone we find repulsive. We can't because then everyone gets to make that judgement and suddenly people, be they POC, or liberals, or the wrong religion get thrown in jail with no trial because 'we all know what they are.' It's the only system we have and looking down on lawyers who do their job only undermines it." Related: [Gates’ Attorneys Say They Want To Quit Because Of ‘Irreconcilable Differences’]( Have something to add? Become a [Prime]( member and join the discussion [here](. What We're Reading --------------------------------------------------------------- Cash For Coalition Against Trump Going Into Consultants’ Pockets Instead ([The Daily Beast]( Quincy Jones On The Secret Michael Jackson And The Problem With Modern Pop ([Vulture]( [unsubscribe from this list]( | [update subscription preferences]( | [view email in browser](