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By CNN | Smart takes from CNN Opinion
Team Trump reflects divisive campaign rhetoric
<b>(CNN) —</b> Asked on ABC whether the President-elect agrees with the assessment of his new National Security Adviser, Gen. Michael Flynn, that "Islam is not a real religion, but a political ideology masked behind a religion," Reince Preibus responded, "Well, I think so."<p>The soon-to-be White House Chief …
Donald TrumpCould Romney last on a Trump team of loyalists?
<b>(CNN) —</b> The word a lot of people use to describe the Trump transition is "chaos." That's inaccurate. His appointment schedule is right on time and you might not like his choices but they make sense. They have so far been a rejection of the "team of rivals" approach associated with Obama and modeled …
Republican Party'Hamilton' is Trump's dead cat
<b>(CNN) —</b> There is a story, popular among British politicians and attributed to the Australian strategist Lynton Crosby, known as "The Dead Cat." A CEO is confronted with poor statistics at a board meeting, and to divert attention from this unpleasant news, he suddenly pulls out a dead cat and throws …
Civil LibertiesWho really won the Trump University settlement?
<b>(CNN) —</b> The Trump University lawsuit "thorns," long festering in the side of the Trump transition team, have now been excised in an out-of-court settlement. Both sides have reason to claim at least a partial victory in the final resolution of this class action litigation drama.<p>The suits asserted …
U.S. PresidencyFrance is paying the price for normalizing Islamophobia
<b>(CNN) —</b> Nicolas Sarkozy's defeat in the French Republican primary Sunday night could mean a reshuffling of priorities on the center right of French politics.<p>The race will now be between two former prime ministers, Alain Juppe and Francois Fillon, and the winner will then have to lead the mainstream …
FranceWhat happens to Raqqa after ISIS is defeated?
<b>(CNN) —</b> Three weeks ago, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces announced the beginning of the long-anticipated offensive to take over ISIS' de facto capital, Raqqa. Since then, the coalition of Kurdish and Arab militias -- spearheaded by the YPG Kurdish militant group -- has achieved a slow but …
Middle EastChilled by Trump tweets? You should be
<b>(CNN) —</b> This weekend we saw President-elect Donald Trump lash out twice at Americans who were exercising their constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression. His reaction should chill every American with its implication: A President Trump may well try to suppress speech.<p>On Friday …
Republican PartyHow to prepare for the Day After
<b>(CNN) —</b> As President-elect Donald Trump's transition continues with an unprecedented level of confusion and delay, it is worth noting that this, in fact, is the easy part. Transitions from one administration to another are so formalized and organized at this stage -- buoyed by a congressional …
PoliticsWhy fake news stories thrive online
<b>(CNN) —</b> Fake news stories proliferated in this heated election cycle.<p>"Terrorists are funding 20% of Hillary's campaign."<p>"Obama told illegal immigrants to vote."<p>"Tim Kaine will ban the Catholic Church from the US if they don't change their stance on same sex marriage."<p>And while the election has come …
PoliticsShould Democrats cooperate with Trump?
<b>(CNN) —</b> A fight has broken out among congressional Democrats about how to respond to President-elect Donald Trump. Now that the dust from the election has started to settle, there are two contradictory arguments about what the strategy should be in the coming months.<p>Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose …
PoliticsTrump's challenge: Solving the Middle East's many problems
<b>(CNN) —</b> The next US President will have a lot of global challenges to deal with, and the Middle East is one of them. Here's what you need to know.<p>Trump on the Middle East<p>"If I become President, the era of nation-building will be ended. Our new approach, which must be shared by both parties in …
Middle EastSessions will undo decades of progress
<b>(CNN) —</b> The inevitable confirmation of Sen. Jeff Sessions -- Donald Trump's nominee to be attorney general as the successor of Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch, the first African-American male and female to hold that office, will slow, if not halt, the momentum gained during the last eight years to …
Jeff SessionsWhat the Trump camp gets wrong on immigrant registry
<b>(CNN) —</b> This week, President-elect Donald Trump's immigration adviser, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, proposed reinstating a national registry for immigrants from Muslim majority countries.<p>Kobach was referring to the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, a program instituted in …
ImmigrationWhere liberals will run to hide from Trump
<b>(CNN) —</b> Donald Trump's election, in addition to worrying many Americans, will usher in a new age of self-development in American life. Following what many liberals see as a profound political defeat, people are likely to see politics as a losing game and give up on it entirely. They will stop …
Republican PartyThe question 7 billion people are asking: How do you deal with Donald Trump?
<b>(CNN) —</b> Before his election, the closest Donald Trump got to the presidency was on an episode of "The Simpsons" television show, which forecast a dystopian future when he would occupy the Oval Office.<p>Now, he is the president-elect, due to occupy the most powerful job in the world beginning January …
Donald TrumpWhy the USDA should say yes to hydroponic farmers
<b>(CNN) —</b> What makes a product "organic?" In recent debates, it all comes down to dirt -- and water.<p>This week, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), an advisory body to the National Organics Program within the US Department of Agriculture, is meeting in St. Louis to discuss whether hydroponic …
AgricultureWe are witnessing the end of the liberal era
http://ht.cdn.turner.com/cnn/big/politics/2016/11/15/house-democrats-delay-vote-party-shake-up-zeleny-dnt-lead.cnn_947711_768x432_1300k.mp4<p><b>(CNN) —</b> In just two months' time, the world will bid farewell to President Obama. In his final overseas trip before exiting the White House next January, Mr. …
PoliticsWhy Trump can't afford to let down his supporters
<b>(CNN) —</b> How did the twin political earthquakes of Brexit and Donald Trump's victory happen? There are many reasons, but one answer lies in the technological and social media revolution of the last decade.<p>In 2006, Time magazine unveiled its Person of the Year as "You": "You control the Information …
Republican PartyMosul, Raqqa and the failures of the US campaigns against ISIS
<b>(CNN) —</b> This month, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook detailed the US intent to drive ISIS from the Syrian city of Raqqa. He said the removal of the ISIS "cancer from the so-called capital of their so-called caliphate is the next step in our military campaign plan."<p>This step, a Pentagon press …
PoliticsTrump is everything I feared
<b>(CNN) —</b> I'd long suspected Donald Trump had a great chance at winning, but that still didn't prepare me for seeing him sitting in the White House, as our next president. Not only is Trump very much what I feared him to be, but the people he's surrounding himself with are like a rogue's gallery of …
Republican PartyThe judge who saved Trump's campaign
<b>(CNN) —</b> During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump relentlessly attacked Gonzalo Curiel, the judge in a lawsuit charging that Trump University defrauded thousands of consumers. Trump complained that because Judge Curiel is "Mexican," he "is giving us very unfair rulings."<p>The first claim is …
Republican PartyEmbrace the popular vote, restore faith in US democracy
<b>(CNN) —</b> There is a real chance that we have just held the last presidential election that will ignore the results of the national popular vote.<p>Most people believe the mechanism for electing a president can only be changed through a constitutional amendment, an extremely cumbersome process that …
PoliticsMadam Secretary or not, Nikki Haley still a star
<b>(CNN) —</b> The oddest thing has happened. In the wake of the 2016 election and Hillary Clinton's loss, South Carolina has inadvertently positioned itself to become the state that could produce the nation's first woman president: Nikki Haley.<p>Back in January, I wondered if Gov. Haley had missed her …
ElectionsObama has shown he still believes in Europe
<b>(CNN) —</b> With much of Europe torturing itself, wondering where the United States stands these days on the future of the continent and a unionthat appears increasingly fragile, President Barack Obama's choice of Greece and Germany was a most adroit selection for his last overseas trip.<p>By visiting …
EuropeWhy young people are 'focus of hate'
<b>(CNN) —</b> Donald Trump's refusal during his campaign to disavow a number of strange white nationalist bedfellows provided ballast for proliferating racial intolerance. Nationwide protests that erupted in the immediate aftermath of his election last week correctly anticipated the additional and …
RacismTrump should build on Iran deal -- not rip it up
<b>(CNN) —</b> As Donald Trump prepares to enter the White House, he will be the latest in a long line of Presidents to inherit Middle East security challenges.<p>It lies in the interest of the United States to build on the Iran nuclear deal to resolve remaining tensions with Iran and help stabilize the …
Middle EastKeys to a successful Trump transition
<b>(CNN) —</b> After nearly 18 months of campaigning, President-elect Donald Trump has a little more than 60 days to prepare to take the helm of one of the largest entities in the world: the US government. Considering the scale and complexity of the task, every hour counts.<p>Transition preparations have …
Republican PartyEarly Trump-world lesson: Don't cross Jared Kushner
<b>(CNN) —</b> The unceremonious removal of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as chairman of President-elect Donald Trump's transition team won't be the last power play by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, a young businessman who is shaping up as one of the central figures of the new administration.<p>Kushner …
Jared KushnerWhy I walked out with my students
<b>(CNN) —</b> On Wednesday, I joined my students at New York University in a walkout organized in an attempt to pressure the university to declare NYU a sanctuary campus. In the wake of Donald Trump's election, students across the country have staged similar walkouts and protests.<p>Making NYU and other …
Protest