Daily Skimm: It's Tuesday

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

SHARE THIS SHARE THIS

Skimm for January 19th

Skimm’d from an (indoor) hotel rooftop.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “JOSEPHSTALIN” – Former Soviet dictator, and also the promo code for a discount on Papa John’s Pizza in Russia. It’s going over about as well as a dry wedding in Siberia. Skimm This

FRENEMIES FOREVER

THE STORY Over the weekend, the US and Iran brought the drama. EXPLAIN. On Saturday, President Obama said the US and friends officially got rid of economic sanctions on Iran as part of that nuclear deal you’re always hearing about. Great news for Iran, whose economy has been crippled from years of these harsh restrictions. And great news for Obama, who’s been trying to get this deal done forever. And bonus – Obama also negotiated a prisoner swap to get four American prisoners released from Iran. Mic, dropped. WHO ARE THESE PRISONERS? Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter who was convicted last year of espionage in a closed-door trial that raised a lot of international eyebrows. The others include a former US Marine and a pastor. A fifth US prisoner was also released, but it wasn’t part of the official swap. In exchange, the Obama administration released seven prisoners back to Iran who reportedly hadn’t been charged with any violent crimes. WHAT THEN? The White House waited until most of the freed US prisoners were on their way home before slapping Iran with new sanctions. This time, they’re for ballistic missile tests that happened late last year, and are targeting individuals and companies involved. To which, Iran said ‘WTF is this?’ theSKIMM This prisoner swap is a sign that the US and Iran are willing to work together on more than the nuclear deal. That relationship could come in handy on big international to-do’s like ending Syria’s years-long civil war. But the new sanctions are a warning that the US is still throwing side-eye on things. THE *: Meanwhile over the border in Iraq, three US contractors went missing over the weekend. The US is working with Iraqi officials to find them. Stat. Skimm This

SKIMM YOUR CANDIDATE: Gov. John Kasich (OH), Republican Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) is one of many, many Republicans who want your vote in 2016. Note: ALL candidates have been offered the chance to Guest Skimm. Opinions are of the candidate, not theSkimm. To Skimm other candidates go here.  HOMETOWN Westerville, Ohio. It’s just outside of Columbus. FUN FACT I like to play golf. WHAT’S YOUR HANDICAP? You can know just about anything you want, but that’s one that stays private. But I’m pretty good. HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE YOUR LAST NAME? Kay-sick. It rhymes with basic. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF. I have twin daughters who are gonna turn 16 on the 16th of January, 2016. I have a wife who is very smart and pretty. My daughters are smart and pretty. I’m lucky. I’m in public office, but I’m normal. I lead a very normal life. WHAT’S THE MOST NORMAL THING ABOUT YOU? One person described me many years ago when I was a congressman. It was a young boy who had a very serious illness. He told his mother, he said ‘John Kasich is just a kid in a congressman’s body.’ That’s sort of what I am. A kid in a governor’s body. SO WHY SHOULD AMERICA HIRE YOU? Well because I have had good results in bringing people together, improving the economy, putting us in a position of good job creation, and I don’t think we should leave anybody behind. Especially people in the shadows. WHO SHOULD WE CALL FOR A REFERENCE? Can you call 11.5 million people in the state of Ohio? That’s who can give you a reference. WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST STRENGTH? Determination. WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS? When I don’t refresh myself with the messages from the Scriptures. HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR FAITH TO YOU? Very important. Well, because it gives you perspective on life....Inevitably the storms come. And the question is, is your house built on sand or is it built on solid rock? And faith gives you the sense that somebody greater than you is in charge and that all things will work in the end for good for those that love God. WHERE DO YOU STAND ON THE FOLLOWING… GUN CONTROL AND PRESIDENT OBAMA’S RECENT EXECUTIVE ACTIONS. Well I personally take executive actions, but I do it mostly in coordination with the leadership of the legislature. Because if you don’t, you’re gonna create huge problems down the road. Secondly, I’m a second amendment person. I think the one aspect of the president’s plan I like is the effort to make sure we deal with the mentally ill and keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. ARE YOU IN FAVOR OF THE BACKGROUND CHECKS? Oh yeah, we have background checks on the books right now. THE ECONOMY. Well the economy is poor. That’s why young people can’t get jobs, it’s why people in their 50s get laid off, and it’s why wages aren’t growing faster. So I was actually chairman of the Budget Committee when we balanced the budget and cut taxes. And the economy in America was strong and now the economy in Ohio is strong. One of the strongest in the country. So you create certainty. You limit your regulations, you cut taxes, and you’re fiscally responsible. It creates certainty for job creators. Because in uncertain times, you won’t survive. IMMIGRATION. I’m for finishing the border so we can protect the country. A guest worker program so people can come in and out, work and go home. And for the 11.5 million people who broke the law to get here, if they haven’t broken the law while they’ve been here, then I would give them a path to legalization. Maybe pay back taxes as a fine. If you’ve violated the law since you’ve been here, then that’s a different story. WHAT ABOUT LETTING IN MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES, SPECIFICALLY FROM SYRIA? We have to be able to determine who these folks are. At this point, I think we should take a pause. EDUCATION AND STUDENT LOANS. Well number one, I think potential students shouldn’t go to school on the basis of brand. They should go on the basis of affordability....The leaders of our universities need to be mindful of their administrative costs, which they’re not doing a good job of. And in addition, students in high school should be able to take both remedial courses to prepare themselves for college and secondly, to get college credit. And if you have big debt, there’s two things we can think about. One is to perhaps give employers an incentive to help you pay that debt. And secondly, the idea of some sort of a legitimate community service to help you work off some of your debt. RIGHT TO CHOOSE. YES OR NO? I’m pro-life. With the exception of rape, incest, and life of the mother. FEDERAL FUNDING FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD. I’m not for it. But I am for robust women’s health funding. Just not in the hands of an organization that I think has really been discredited. SUPREME COURT’S RULING ON GAY MARRIAGE. I follow it. I’ve accepted it. WERE YOU IN FAVOR OF IT? No, I’m for traditional marriage. But now that the court has ruled that’s where we’re gonna go and I’ve been to my first gay wedding. They had really good champagne....Just because you go to a wedding, doesn’t mean you’re gonna get good champagne. WOULD YOU CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT HOW THE US IS HANDLING THIS WHOLE ISIS THING? I would put a coalition together and I would destroy them. DOES THAT MEAN BOOTS ON THE GROUND? It does. It means that we’ll have to be there and be the leader. And we have to destroy them. Because if we don’t destroy them, they’re coming to destroy us. WHERE DO YOU STAND ON SYRIAN PRESIDENT ASSAD? Assad has to go. He’s aligned with Iran and Russia and that’s a very dangerous alliance and he has to go. I would not have the US directly involved in the civil war, but we delayed too long in supporting the rebel groups. And now we’re sort of obfuscating about whether he should stay or go, and I think he should go. WHAT IS A POLITICAL POSITION YOU’VE CHANGED YOUR MIND ON? I can’t think of one. CLIMATE CHANGE. I think that human beings affect the climate, but I don’t think we know to what degree. And I think we have to be careful that as we deal with it, we don’t put people out of work. I believe in all forms of energy, including renewables. I believe in solar and wind. But I also believe in traditional sources, because if we drive up the cost of energy, then there are gonna be people who manufacture it who lose their jobs. OBAMACARE. Well I want to repeal Obamacare, but I have a plan to replace it so that people who are the working poor can still get health insurance. And secondly, I wanna change the whole model of health insurance to reward doctors who either keep us healthy or get us healthy and who offer higher quality and lower prices. And I wanna put money in their pocket for achieving lower prices and higher quality. THE EXPANSION OF MEDICAID IN OHIO…IT RUFFLED SOME FEATHERS WITH MEMBERS OF YOUR OWN PARTY... That’s life. I politely disagree with them, and not always as politely as I should. I’m not in politics to win a poll. I’m in politics to improve people’s lives. And because of the expansion of Medicaid, we have people whose lives have been saved and I’m very, very happy about that. WHAT WOULD YOU ASK THE WHITE HOUSE CHEF TO MAKE FOR YOUR FIRST MEAL? My favorite food is pasta. I guess it’s not good for us, but I don’t care. WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING ON NETFLIX RIGHT NOW? I don’t have Netflix. But what I just watched was “The Butler”….and I just got done watching Star Wars Six with my daughter. Six, not the new one. HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU HIT SNOOZE IN THE MORNING? I don’t. I sleep in late enough where I have to get up. HOW DO YOU TAKE YOUR COFFEE? Black. Skimm This theSKIMM 2016 is here, and Gov. Kasich only has eyes for New Hampshire. A good performance there could be his last chance to show voters that he's the best alternative to the Trump in the room. ALL candidates have been invited to Guest Skimm. To Skimm other candidates go here.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR FRIEND WHO SAVES ALL OF HER ‘I VOTED’ STICKERS... Crazy Sunday night? Over the weekend, the Democratic presidential candidates got together for their fourth debate. NBC’s moderators kept it profesh. Others did not. See: questions asked in cartoon form . Meanwhile, the candidates decided to stop saying “I agree” all the time. Former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton reminded everyone how much time she’s spent with President Obama “in the Situation Room.” She brought him up on questions about gun control, health care, foreign policy. And on. And on. Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT) pulled a Trump and reminded everyone how great his poll numbers are. He thinks he’s the far-left man of liberals’ dreams - especially on health care (hint: Medicare for all).  Just don’t ask him about Bill Clinton. Former Gov. Martin O’Malley (MD) started off the night by saying, “my name is Martin O’Malley.” And barely spoke again for the next two hours. Heads up: the primary season starts in Iowa next month - and what used to look like a Clinton cake walk is turning into a horse race with Sanders. Giddyup. Skimm This

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR CO-WORKER WHO PAINTED HIS FACE FOR THE OFFICE FANTASY DRAFT… And then there were four. Over the weekend, eight NFL teams battled it out in the playoffs. That’s why your newsfeed was a series of videos of Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers throwing an incredible Hail Mary. Again.  But the Packers needed more than divine intervention - they lost to the Arizona Cardinals in OT. They’ll face the (almost) undefeated Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship next weekend. Forecast calls for dabbing. Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos’ kicker is still icing his foot . He kicked five field goals to help the team beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Broncos face everyone’s favorite NFL boy band ‘Brady and the Patriots’ in the AFC Championship next weekend. Winners head to the Super Bowl. Left Shark hasn’t RSVP’d. Yet. Skimm This

WHAT PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT… Burkina Faso. Over the weekend, a terrorist attack in the West African country killed at least 29 people, including one American. A group linked to al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack, which happened at a luxury hotel where foreigners usually stay. This comes months after this same group attacked a hotel in neighboring Mali.

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR FRIEND WHO HAS SEEN “THE REVENANT” FOUR TIMES ALREADY... Enough with the bear. There’s pre-pre-show Oscar drama. Nominations for the awards show were announced last week. But everyone in Hollywood is still talking about the biggest snub of the year : the entire African American community. No African American actors were nominated for the second year in a row. And now some celebrities are speaking out. Yesterday, director Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith said they’re boycotting next month’s ceremony because of the lack of diversity. And apparently the president of the Academy isn’t too happy about it either, saying “this is a difficult but important conversation, and it’s time for a big change.” Skimm This

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR FRIEND OFFERS TO PAY YOU TO TAKE HER SERIES 7 TEST… Pretty sure that’s not legal. Yesterday, tennis star Novak Djokovic casually dropped that he was offered $200,000 back in 2007 to purposely lose a match. Djokovic opted not to take the money. His announcement came on the first day of the Australian Open and after a recent report that lays out suspected cheating among top men’s tennis players. The report doesn’t name names, which didn’t sit well with some top players ( cc: Roger Federer). It says that many players who have been flagged for cheating are playing in the Australian Open this week. Good timing. Skimm This

THING TO KNOW Glenn Frey: A founding member of the Eagles. He co-wrote songs you used to listen to on family road trips like “Best of My Love,” “Take It Easy,” and “Hotel California.” Frey died yesterday at age 67.

SKIMM LIFE Heads up: you have to hire a new president this year. Which is why we made you this website. You’re welcome.

SKIMM BIRTHDAYS * indicates Skimm’bassador. Get out your dancing shoes.  *Jordyn Weisberg (Chicago, IL); *Anthony Kang (Miami, FL); *Catherine Valentine (Charlottesville, VA); *Melinda Wertz (Atlanta, GA); *Chrissie Puchta (Boston, MA); *Ariel Llorente (San Francisco, CA); *Carlota Ágreda (Caracas, Venezuela); *Chandler Marie Morgan (Atlanta, GA); *Hannah Linn (Pittsburgh, PA); *Hannah Warntjes  (Cambridge, MA); *Alyse Reynolds (Jackson, WY); *Catherine Traywick (Spartanburg, SC); *Linda Pacifico (Bethlehem, PA); *Allison Foster (Shreveport, LA); *Amy Dalrymple (Potomac, MD); *Samantha Lipko (Pittsburgh, PA); *Cathy Busby (Phoenix, AZ); *Nika Shahery (Beverly Hills, CA); *Brian Care (Toronto, Canada); *MaryEllen Giombetti (Framingham, MA); *Molly Bremer (McLean, VA); *Lindsey Learn (Winfield, IL); *Missy Chehi  (Philadelphia, PA); *Sarah Dingivan (San Antonio, TX); *Melissa Deutsch (Wilmington, DE); *Liza Nash (Wilton, CT); *Brandy Singer (Kingman, AZ); *Jake Rubinstein (Denver, CO); *Tricia Stingley (Boise, ID); *Jess Amarant (Wayne, PA); *Samira Gilani (Chicago, IL); *Amy Maxey (Huntingburg, IN); *Caroline Preston (Bridgewater, NJ); *Maddie Williams (Houston, TX); *Jayne Jeffries (Chapel Hill, NC); *Veronica Jin  (San Francisco, CA); *Samantha Marko (Naperville, IL); *Sharina Carruthers (Riverside, CA); *Molly Kornstein (New York, NY); *Caroline Jaros (Chicago, IL); *Riley Miller (Lexington, KY); *Lexie Digby (Dayton, OH); *Shannon Leigh Turbeville (Los Angeles, CA); *Kristen Martin (Washington, DC); *Lauren Wray (Jacksonville, FL); *Caroline Elvig (College Station, TX); *Nishant Makhijani (Champaign, IL); *Taylor Smith (New York, NY); * Berit Mansour (St. Petersburg, FL); *Brooke Canova (Charlottesville, VA); *Katie Lorimer (Chicago, IL); Zach Dewitt (San Francisco, CA); Alex Sankin (New York, NY); Barbara Bagnall (Dunedin, FL); Cathy Polivy (Boston, MA); Clay Patterson (Milwaukee, WI); Lauren Jacobson (Philadelphia, PA); Alex Korey (New York, NY); Aly Mang (Hoboken, NJ);  Connie Hoekstra (Glenview, IL); Corinne Fiacco (North Greenbush, NY); Jeffrey Boxer (Madrid, Spain); Eva Melamed (Raleigh, NC); Jack Corley Desroschers (Monroe, NY); Jessica Knuth (Boise, ID); Luigi Lubrano (New York, NY); Becky Auerbach (Nairobi, Kenya); Jessica Robertson (Alexandria, VA); Lisa Bartyzel (Charlotte, NC); Arturo Castrinos (Quito, Ecuador); Karen Hediger (Aldie, VA); Kathleen Smits  (Charlotte, NC); Kerry Mulroy (Westford, MA); Megan Evert (Edmonds, WA); Meghan McCarthy (Greenwich, CT); Mike Keppler (Chicago, IL); Sarah Ritchie (Austin, TX); Nicaurys Rodriguez (New York, NY); Sharyl Stafford (Lakewood, CO); Pasha Aziz (New York, NY); Bonnie Chase (Newport Beach, CA); Deb Abood (Hudson, OH); Bill Keller (New York, NY); Katie Aisner (Dallas, TX); Kerri Smith (New York, NY);  Kevin Kast (St. Charles, MO); Lisa Simon (Chicago, IL); Macoy Elizondo (South Padre Island, TX); Samantha Dalton (St. Jacob, IL); Taylor Laughlin (Lincoln, NE); Jade Thomson (San Diego, CA); Carolyn Barringer (Tallahassee, FL); Jennifer Krinsky (Owings Mills, MD); Alex Kessler (Chicago, IL); Alida Gagliuffi (Miami, FL); Brooke Vail (Phoenixville, PA); Catrina Cummings (Santa Barbara, CA); Chelsea Moor (Washington, DC); Claudia Cobreiro  (Miami, FL); Colette Capretz Stanley (Wynnewood, PA); Corie Stretton (Washington, DC); Julie Anderton (Atlanta, GA); Justine Butler (Wilmington, DE); Karla Cobreiro (Miami, FL); Katelyn Milam (Boston, MA); Katie Hepp (Providence, RI); Kelsey Kreamer (New York, NY); Linda Letson (Madison, MS); Monique Simpson (Raleigh, NC); Nadine Johnson (Boston, MA); Rosie Barr (New York, NY); Silvi Specter (Philadelphia, PA);  Vasco Bilbao-Bastida (New York, NY); Wes Kungel (Washington, DC); Mary Murphy (Deerfield Beach, FL); Alina Vosika (San Francisco, CA); Isabella Teran (Austin, TX)

Skimm'd something we missed? Email SkimmThis@theSkimm.com • Read in browser »

SHARE & FOLLOW US Facebook Twitter Tumblr Instagram Pinterest

Copyright © 2016 theSkimm, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: theSkimm Inc. 584 Broadway, Ste. 409 New York, NY, 10012, United States Update Profile Unsubscribe