Liberty In Peril

                                                                                              formerly,

                                                                                       The Llano Ledger

'President' Trump 21                          7-5-19 And Continuing  ©2019 All Rights Reserved

8-30-19

Trump grows increasingly desperate.  The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump is so eager to complete hundreds of miles of border fence ahead of the 2020 presidential election that he has directed aides to fast-track billions of dollars’ worth of construction contracts, aggressively seize private land and disregard environmental rules, according to current and former officials involved with the project. He also has told worried subordinates that he will pardon them of any potential wrongdoing should they have to break laws to get the barriers built quickly, those officials said. Trump has repeatedly promised to complete 500 miles of fencing by the time voters go to the polls in November 2020, stirring chants of “Finish the Wall!” at his political rallies as he pushes for tighter border controls. But the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed just about 60 miles of “replacement” barrier during the first 2½ years of Trump’s presidency, all of it in areas that previously had border infrastructure. The president has told senior aides that a failure to deliver on the signature promise of his 2016 campaign would be a letdown to his supporters and an embarrassing defeat. With the election 14 months away and hundreds of miles of fencing plans still in blueprint form, Trump has held regular White House meetings for progress updates and to hasten the pace, according to several people involved in the discussions. When aides have suggested that some orders are illegal or unworkable, Trump has suggested he would pardon the officials if they would just go ahead, aides said. He has waved off worries about contracting procedures and the use of eminent domain, saying “take the land,” according to officials who attended the meetings. “Don’t worry, I’ll pardon you,” he has told officials in meetings about the wall. “He said people expected him to build a wall, and it had to be done by the election,” one former official said."

Report goes on and on.  Fascinating, isn't it?

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8-30-19

Nazi justice.  NBC News reports:

"A toll-free hotline designed to help immigrants in detention centers get legal counsel was shut down by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the number was mentioned in the acclaimed Netflix series "Orange Is The New Black," according to the California-based group that runs it. The Freedom for Immigrants’ National Immigration Detention Hotline has been an available resource to people in immigration detention since 2013, but it was shut down on Aug. 7, about two weeks after the premiere of the last season of "Orange Is The New Black," the organization said in a press release. The hotline was featured in various episodes. After two longtime characters, "Blanca" and "Maritza," end up in deportation proceedings, they learn that immigrants don’t have the right to a free phone call after they are detained. Without access to money, both characters learn about the Freedom for Immigrants hotline and start passing out the number to others in the facility. “The timing of the shutdown is deeply concerning. Freedom for Immigrants is being targeted for exposing abuses in detention and amplifying the stories of people suffering in the system” said Christina Fialho, an attorney and executive director of Freedom for Immigrants, in a statement. Seven producers and actors of the popular Netflix show joined 121 organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center, in signing a letter sent to ICE on Thursday. “We are heartbroken to hear about the shutdown of this hotline," said Vicci Martinez, who plays "Daddy" in "Orange Is The New Black" and one of the actors who signed the letter. "We stand with Freedom for Immigrants and urge ICE to restore their hotline immediately.” The letter was sent to ICE alongside a cease and desist notice "for blocking Freedom for Immigrants’ ICE Pro Bono telephone extension from being accessed nationwide." Actresses Diane Guerrero and Laura Gómez, who played "Maritza" and "Blanca" respectively, were part of the "Orange Is The New Black" cast who signed the letter to ICE. Cynthia Galaz, the director of the organization's national hotline, said the service "allows for communication and community building between those inside and outside of detention." "By blocking access to Freedom for Immigrants’ hotline, ICE furthers community disenfranchisement and prevents the public from knowing about what happens inside these facilities,” she added."

No foreign power, no terrorist organization, not even the criminal element, -- presents a greater threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties than all levels and branches of government.  Nazi America.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

Growing injustice in an outrageously corrupt, abusive system.  NPR reports:

"The Trump administration is making changes to the agency that operates the nation's immigration court system, a move immediately denounced by the immigration judges' union as a power grab."

Readers are reminded the immigration court system is not part of the Judiciary.  It is under the thumb of the Trump nazi and his henchmen.  No true separation.

"The agency is called the Executive Office for Immigration Review and it is an arm of the Justice Department. Under the interim rule announced Friday, the agency's director will have the power to issue appellate decisions in immigration cases that have not been decided within an allotted timeframe. It also creates a new office of policy within EOIR to implement the administration's immigration policies."

No more than goddamned kangaroo justice.  Think the Founders aren't spinning in their graves?

"The head of the immigration judges' union accused the administration of trying to strip power away from judges and turn the immigration court system into a law enforcement agency. "In an unprecedented attempt at agency overreach to dismantle the Immigration Court, the Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today published a new interim rule, effective next Monday, which takes steps to dismantle the Immigration Court system," Judge Ashley Tabaddor, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said in a statement. "DOJ's action ends any transparency and assurance of independent decision making over individual cases."

Nazi justice.  Courtesy of our fuhrer, the Trump nazi, and his henchmen.  Outrageously, un-American.

"The new rule, first reported by The Associated Press, comes after the administration announced an effort to decertify the immigration judges' union. The judges, 440 in total, are employees of the Justice Department and not part of the independent judiciary. The Trump administration has also imposed quotas on judges in an effort to speed up deportations and reduce the backlog of more than 900,000 cases pending in immigration courts."

Raw nazism.  Time to wake up.

"Tabaddor said the administration is trying to concentrate its power over immigration proceedings. "The new rule is a wolf in sheep's clothing," Tabaddor said. "While couched in bureaucratic language, the impact of this regulation is to substitute the policy directives of a single political appointee over the legal analysis of non-political, independent adjudicators." The EOIR did not respond to a call for comment."

What could they say?  Raw nazism.

Think not?  Wake up.  Get this:

"Earlier this week, the EOIR sent the immigration judges a newsletter containing a blog post from VDare, an anti-immigration website, which included an anti-Semitic reference, according to Tabaddor. After she protested, Justice Department officials said some information included with the newsletter had been compiled by a third-party contractor and should not have been distributed. "The Department of Justice condemns anti-Semitism in the strongest terms," Kathryn Mattingly, a spokeswoman for EOIR told BuzzFeed."

Goddamned liars.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

More nazi justice, courtesy of our fuhrer, the Trump nazi, and his henchmen.  NPR reports:

"The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a new student loan watchdog, and his appointment is raising questions about who is safeguarding the interests of student borrowers."

No one.

"Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren, who helped create the CFPB, sent a scathing letter on Thursday to the bureau's current director. In documents obtained by NPR, Warren called the appointment of Robert Cameron "an outrageous slap in the face to student loan borrowers across the country." Warren also sent letters to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and directly to Cameron, writing "your employment history presents an irresolvable conflict of interest that will prevent you from being able to serve as an effective Student Loan Ombudsman."

Precisely, the intention of our fuhrer, the Trump nazi, and his henchmen.  No justice.

"The watchdog job has been vacant since last summer, when the CFPB's previous student loan ombudsman resigned in protest, arguing that the Trump administration was not doing enough to protect student borrowers."

Imagine that. Couldn't be, could it?

"Cameron, the newly appointed ombudsman, is a U.S. Army veteran and a staff judge advocate for the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. But here's the part of his resume that has Warren so incensed: Before taking the long-vacant job, Cameron was a top lawyer for one of the country's largest student loan servicers, the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, known as PHEAA. There, according to the CFPB's announcement, Cameron was "a high-ranking official responsible for litigation, compliance, and risk mitigation efforts." PHEAA manages more than $400 billion of student loan debt, most of it for the U.S. government, and has been the target of considerable criticism, including for its handling of a troubled student loan forgiveness program and a grant program that hurt thousands of public school teachers."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

More nazi justice courtesy of our fuhrer, the Trump nazi, and his henchmen.  NBC News reports:

"The Trump administration Friday filed a brief with the Supreme Court arguing that gay workers are not protected by federal civil rights law. The filing came exactly one week after the administration argued the same for transgender workers. The brief was submitted in combined cases concerning Gerald Bostock, a gay man fired from his job as a child welfare services worker by Clayton County, Georgia, and the late Donald Zarda, a gay man fired from his job as a skydiving instructor by New York company Altitude Express. The Bostock and Zarda cases are two of three cases concerning LGBTQ workers’ rights that the Supreme Court is expected to hear this fall. This latest brief, submitted by Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco and other Department of Justice attorneys, argues that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin, “does not bar discrimination because of sexual orientation.” “The ordinary meaning of ‘sex’ is biologically male or female; it does not include sexual orientation,” the brief states. “An employer thus discriminates ‘because of * * * sex’ under Title VII if it treats members of one sex worse than similarly situated members of the other sex. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, standing alone, does not satisfy that standard.”

Nazi justice.  Legalized discrimination.  In a goddamned de facto fascist police-state, quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

"The issue of whether “sex” discrimination in Title VII includes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity has caused a split in lower courts over the past several years, with some backing gay workers and others the employers who have fired them. In addition to the Zarda and Bostock cases, the Supreme Court is set to hear R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, et al. That case concerns Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman who was fired from a Detroit funeral home after she informed her employer that she was beginning her gender transition. The Trump administration filed an amicus brief in the Stephens case Aug. 16, siding with the employer."

Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini reincarnated.  No greater threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

"Prior to its amicus briefs in the Bostock, Zarda and Stephens cases, the Trump administration had already made its position clear on the scope of sex discrimination in Title VII. In July 2017, the Department of Justice submitted an amicus brief with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the Zarda case opposing the extension of Title VII discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation. And in October 2018 — prior to the Supreme Court decision to hear the Stephens case — the Justice Department filed a brief with the high court siding with the funeral home. In the Stephens case, the federal government is pitted against itself, since the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a defendant in the case. The Supreme Court will hear the cases next term, which begins in October."

Our formerly great country remains under dire threat.  No longer a democratic republic.  In name only.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

State attorneys general across the country are standing up to the Trump nazi.  NBC News reports:

"A group of 18 attorneys general from across the country Thursday supported a challenge to a Trump administration rule that broadly expands its ability to quickly deport undocumented immigrants. The attorneys general filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in a lawsuit brought by advocacy organizations challenging the rule, which expands “expedited removal.” The rule means immigration officials have a much broader ability to deport undocumented immigrants anywhere in the United States who cannot prove they have been in the country continuously for two years or more. The attorneys general wrote in the brief that they support a preliminary injunction barring the rule from being in effect as the court case plays out. The group wrote that the states involved in the brief are “home to hundreds of thousands of people who have come to this country because they fear persecution, torture or violence in their countries of origin or to seek a better life for their families.” “They face severe consequences if placed in expedited removal,” they wrote. “We are fighting back to ensure that every person is afforded appropriate protections under the law, and that this administration does not rip any more families apart,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement Thursday announcing the action. “Everyone in this nation — regardless of legal status — has the right to due process under the U.S. Constitution, and we will not waver in our fight to ensure this protection.” The states involved are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, in addition to Washington, D.C."

Hat's off.  About time.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

Seventy mayors resist the Trump nazi.  NPR reports:

"The Trump administration's proposal to push millions of people out of the federal food stamp program would punish some of the country's neediest, including children, seniors and people with disabilities, according to mayors of 70 American cities who have sent a letter to an administrator for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Under a new rule proposed in July by the Agriculture Department, more than 3 million people would lose their food assistance. The mayors say the move would also hurt their local and regional economies. The change to SNAP is aimed at plugging what critics say is a loophole that allows states to give benefits to people whose savings and other assets the Trump administration says should make them ineligible for food stamps. Anti-poverty groups view the shift as part of a broader push by the Trump administration to peel people off government assistance. Republicans who back the move say the new rules are needed to curb abuse of federal safety net programs. Through the change, the Trump administration aims to cut spending by some $2.5 billion a year. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has pledged the plan will also preserve "the integrity of the program." But dozens of mayors counter that shaking up the eligibility requirements will exact a toll on some of the nation's most vulnerable people. "This proposal will put children's health and development at risk by removing their access to healthy school meals; and harm our economy by reducing the amount of SNAP dollars available to spur regional and local economic activity," wrote the city leaders, in a letter sent from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The mostly Democratic mayors who signed the letter come from around the country, from Fremont, Calif., to Houston and from Edina, Minn., to Philadelphia. "Our nation cannot remain globally competitive if our children do not have enough to eat; if our citizens do not have access to affordable health care; if housing and other basic needs are priced out of reach; and if adults who are willing and able to work cannot find jobs that will help them support their families," the mayors wrote."

None of the above would be an issue if the minimum wage was indeed a livable one.  It's not, -- by design.  Precisely, how the top of the food chain lines its pockets.  Exactly, why the economy is increasingly, dangerously zero-sum, winner-take-all.  Two extremes, top and bottom.  Middle class, quickly vanishing.

"The majority of the people who receive SNAP are children, the elderly or people who struggle with a disability. Government statistics show that the average monthly benefit per person is $135 a month. Federal food assistance is a pathway out of desperate circumstances, the mayors argue. "SNAP is not only a critical resource in the fight against hunger and food insecurity, but also lifts people out of poverty," their letter states."

Can't have that.  Forget?  How else can the top of the food chain keep the peasants under control, equally important, under their thumb?

"Since the new federal rule has been open to public comment, more than 4,000 people have weighed in on the proposal, with many strongly opposing the Trump administration's move. "It's horrifying to think that millions of people will not have food stamps! I encourage the American government to act for the people that need a hand up from desperate situations," wrote Kala Nyx. "I am a 55 year old white male from rural Texas," wrote Johnny Dotson, who said he has known many families who have depended on SNAP. "You should be ashamed of yourselves if you believe it is ok to make children go hungry for ANY reason. You may think there will be so few children negatively affected it would be worth the cost, but you are wrong."

Amazing how so very many people are compassionate, understanding, insightful.  Others?  Achingly clueless, hopelessly ignorant:

"Others, like Joal Devendorf, embraced the Trump administration's proposed move. "We should close loopholes such as the SNAP loophole. Temporary Assistance is fine; ongoing dependence is not," he wrote."

Again, wouldn't be an issue if the minimum wage was, indeed, a livable one.  Wake up.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

Clueless.  ABC News reports:

"As the economy flashed warning signs of a possible downturn, President Donald Trump, with his political future potentially at stake, spent this week suggesting a variety of remedies -- even as he argued they were unnecessary. His sending mixed signals on the economy comes as he and his senior advisers try to stave off consumer concerns about a possible recession -- and as the president makes the state of the economy a central message of his reelection campaign.

"As negative economic news piled up this week, Trump repeatedly argued the economy was strong -- but in the same breath (or tweet) said the Federal Reserve needed to provide a fiscal boost by lowering interest rates. One day, he said he was considering payroll tax cuts, after a White House spokesperson had denied it hours earlier; the next day, the president said they were off the table. He has floated indexing and a capital gains tax cut, too. And he has turned to other news -- making policy pronouncements, then backtracking -- talking to reporters in marathon sessions at the White House and near his New Jersey golf club about Greenland (he was interested in buying it from Denmark), the Danish prime minister (she dismissed the idea of selling Greenland; Trump cancelled a trip to Denmark in response), guns (first he wanted "meaningful background checks," then he said the U.S. already had "strong background checks"), Jewish voters (he said they were "disloyal" if they cast ballots for Democrats, a charge widely labeled anti-Semitic), and a myriad of other topics. Asked Sunday if his administration was preparing for a recession, the president dismissed the possibility of a downturn. "Honestly, I'm prepared for everything," he told reporters in Morristown, N.J. "I don't think we're having a recession."

Trump is not stable.  Continues to flounder.

Report goes on and on.  Contradictions, inconsistencies, desperation clearly growing by the day.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

There are other problems developing within the Trump administration.  The Washington Post reports:

"For two days running in the summer of 2017, the temperature inside a metal barn in Iowa hovered above 96 degrees. Nearly 300 raccoons, bred and sold as pets and for research, simmered in stacked cages. Several lay with legs splayed, panting and drooling, a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector wrote. On the third day, the thermometer hit 100, and 26 raccoons were “in severe heat distress” and “suffering,” the inspector reported. Then a USDA team of veterinarians and specialists took a rare step: They confiscated 10 of the animals and made plans to come back for the others. But after an appeal from an industry group to a Trump White House adviser, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and senior USDA officials intervened, according to five former employees. The inspectors and veterinarians were blocked from taking the remaining raccoons and ordered to return those they had seized. In the months that followed, the Iowa incident was described by USDA officials at internal meetings as an example of the new philosophy of animal welfare protection under the Trump administration and Perdue. Leaders of the agency’s Animal Care division told inspectors to treat those regulated by the agency — breeders, zoos, circuses, horse shows and research labs — more as partners than as potential offenders. They have been told to emphasize education, not enforcement."

This is a problem.  A big problem.

"The change began in the Obama administration but has accelerated under President Trump. In interviews with The Washington Post, more than a dozen recently departed USDA staffers, including eight veterinarians, said the more lenient approach has curtailed inspectors’ ability to document violations and has put animals at risk. Some spoke on the condition that they not be identified because they feared retaliation. “It feels like your hands are tied behind your back. You can’t do many things you’re supposed to when it comes to protecting animals. You’re seeing inspectors so frustrated they’re walking out the door,” said Denise Sofranko, who spent 20 years as an inspector and elephant specialist and left at the end of 2017. The USDA did not respond to questions about Perdue’s involvement in the raccoon case or to questions about other cases. The agency said in a statement that it is committed to upholding animal welfare laws and has worked hard to make sure licensed facilities understand the regulations. Animal Care is working more closely with businesses and their veterinarians to correct problems, the statement said."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

Trump's instability grows.  NPR reports:

"Trump's acknowledgment that he really has been talking about the United States buying Greenland — and that he was offended when Denmark's prime minister called the idea "absurd" — were the jaw-dropping coda from an Aug. 16 report in The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper reported that the Greenland idea has been a pet project of Trump's for some time. Once it broke into the open, Trump not only owned up to the idea, but said he was wounded when Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rejected it as beneath consideration. "I thought the prime minister's statement ... was nasty," Trump said on Wednesday. "It was not a nice way of doing it. She could have just said 'no, we'd rather not do it' ... they can't say 'how absurd.'"

Jesus Christ.  Give me a break.  Expect anything more of an out of control narcissist?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

Government doesn't want the truth.  NPR reports:

"An audit of the federal system that fines mining companies for unsafe conditions found no evidence that more than $1 billion in mine safety penalties over 18 years deterred unsafe mining practices."

Imagine that.  Just a cost of doing business.  Could it be the fines weren't high enough?  LOL.  Or, could it be the 'audit' was cleverly designed to discredit NPR?  Both?  LOL.

"The audit was prompted by a 2014 NPR investigation of thousands of mines and mining companies that did find such a connection. Specifically, NPR found that mines that persistently ignored their penalties had injury rates 50 percent higher than mines that paid their fines. In total, NPR examined the safety records of mines that had failed to pay nearly $70 million in penalties, some with delinquent fines that were decades old. The auditors instead reported data for mining companies, not individual mines, and in a statement to NPR acknowledged taking a different approach with their review."

Convenient, no?

"We focused on mine operators as they are responsible for the safety of miners and are assigned the financial responsibility for penalties," the OIG's statement explained. The office did not respond to specific questions NPR submitted and declined a request for an interview."

Fascinating, isn't it?  Surprised?

"The audit doesn't say whether the measures of safety and violations applied only after mines or mining companies failed to pay safety fines or while they continued to be delinquent. NPR's analysis of delinquent fines and safety applied only to mines while they were delinquent. The auditors also measured safety by looking at raw numbers and averages of "serious accidents" and "serious violations," which is not the primary safety metric used by MSHA. The agency instead typically uses "incident" or injury rate, which takes into account the number of injuries that occur in a mine during the hours worked."

Can't dazzle 'em with brilliance?  Baffle 'em with bullshit.

"This shows that "penalties just aren't high enough to deter bad behavior," says Wes Addington, the executive director of the Appalachian Citizens Law Center in Whitesburg, Kentucky. Addington once conducted his own analysis of delinquent mine safety penalties and their impacts on safety. The audit shows that "violations are just a cost of doing business," Addington adds. He also calls the audit "superficial" and "poorly designed" because it mixes coal mines with what are called metal and nonmetal mines. "Coal mining is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States," Addington says. Including other mines in the analysis "skews the data. They don't have the injuries and violations coal mines have."

"The NPR investigation found that mining companies continued to operate multiple mines, and continued to put thousands of miners at risk, even after persistent failure to pay mine safety fines. In one case, the operators of the Kentucky Darby mine amassed nearly $3 million in safety fines after a deadly accident that killed five miners. That includes $500,000 in fines the owners of the mine failed to pay for safety failures that contributed to the tragedy. In that and many other cases, NPR found that MSHA failed to use some of its authority to force companies to pay and to seek closure of mines that were persistently delinquent."

Were they bribed?

"MSHA has recently resisted public disclosure of mining companies that fail to pay penalties. NPR sued MSHA in federal court last year under the Freedom of Information Act after the agency failed to provide its current delinquent mines data. A settlement resulted in the release of that data, which showed that the nation's top delinquent mine owners are companies owned by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and his family."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

A good trade.  Puerto Ricans think so.  NBC News reports:

"President Donald Trump has been joking recently about trading Puerto Rico for Greenland. But now it's Puerto Ricans who are the ones laughing — and many say they'd be happy with the trade."

Bet they would.  LOL.

"Some called themselves the "Caribbean Vikings" and others shared all the benefits they would have if they stopped being a U.S. territory and became an autonomous Danish territory.

    "You can hear the Caribbean Vikings coming from the dembow beat over the horizon. #dinamarcaPR #denmarkPR #puertoRicodinamarca
    — Fernando (@mercadofuertes) August 22, 2019

"I don't know about you, but I have no problem with being sold to Denmark," Gabriel René, a digital ad executive, tweeted, after The New York Times reported on Trump's joke. "Denmark is the country with the best education in the world," a man wrote on Twitter. "Honestly being part of Denmark may be the best thing to ever happen to us," Dartina Marie Pérez, who lives in Puerto Rico, tweeted.

"A Puerto Rican podcaster, known as Nieto, shared what some labeled as the Danish "Starter Kit."

    Yo me he ido preparando para cuando Trump nos intercambie por Groelandia y seamos colonia de Dinamarca. pic.twitter.com/4FhJQn1NN3
    — Nieto ™ (@MrTonitas) August 22, 2019

"I have been preparing for when Trump exchanges us for Greenland and we are a colony of Denmark," Nieto tweeted in Spanish, sharing photos of "Danish Delights" butter cookies, the TV show "Vikings" and Danish beer bottles."

LOL.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

In an editorial, Philip Rucker of The Washington Post brilliantly opines:

"President Trump decided long ago that it would be smart politics for him to yoke his administration to Israel and to try to brand the Democratic Party as anti-Semitic. He set about executing a pro-Israel checklist: moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing the Golan Heights as part of sovereign Israel, and taking a hard line against Iran. And he promoted himself as the greatest president — a deity even — for Jewish people. Yet Trump has become flummoxed that Jewish Americans are not in turn lining up to support his reelection, according to people familiar with his thinking, and he has lashed out in predictable fashion. “If you vote for a Democrat, you’re very, very disloyal to Israel and to the Jewish people,” Trump said Wednesday on the South Lawn of the White House. He was amplifying a statement he made in the Oval Office a day earlier: “I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat, I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.” Trump’s use of the word “disloyalty” drew immediate criticism from Jewish groups, whose leaders said it echoed anti-Semitic tropes about where American Jews’ loyalty lies. The president insisted his comments were not anti-Semitic. Regardless, this turn in the president’s rhetoric about Jews magnifies his transactional approach to politics and his miscalculation that his hawkish interpretation of support for Israel should automatically translate into electoral support from Jewish Americans. It also reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the motivations of many Jews, who are not a monolithic voting bloc but rather prioritize a wide range of issues — not only Israel, but also education, the economy and the environment, as well as civility and morality."

Certainly, highly indicative of Trump's raging narcissism, profound ignorance.

“He is reflecting a concept of Jewish Americans as single-issue voters around Israel, which we’re not; that we’re uniformly hawkish on these issues, which we’re not,” said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, a liberal pro-Israel advocacy group. “In reality, what matters most to us are the exact values that the president is spending his term trashing. We care about equality and justice, and we embrace the notion that this is a nation of immigrants and opportunity for all.”

Trump remains achingly shallow, delusionally shortsighted.  The mark of a national socialist, fascist, nazi.  A dictator.

"Daniel Shapiro, who served as U.S. ambassador to Israel under President Barack Obama, said Trump’s expectation that Jewish people vote for him because of his record on Israel is “breathtakingly cynical.” “In his typical buffoonish way, he thinks that by [pushing] out these instructions, essentially, to American Jews to get in line and become his supporters he’s going to be successful,” Shapiro said. “It’s all shaped by his narcissism. It’s all shaped by his transactional nature. It’s all shaped by his insatiable need for praise and confirmation of his greatness and appreciation for the gifts he’s bestowed on whoever it is he’s courting. And it’s not going to fly with this community.” Trump’s transactional expectations for Jewish voting patterns reflect how he views other voting blocs. He routinely defends himself against charges that he is racist by citing the relatively low unemployment rate for blacks on his watch, as well as the criminal justice legislation he signed last year, as if those are the only issues of concern to black voters."

Highly demonstrative of profound ignorance.

"Trump has been told over and over again that he is “the most pro-Israel president ever,” according to a former senior administration official, delivering on a wish list that includes recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel — but the official said Trump is angry that he has not received more plaudits from Jewish Americans. Trump contrasts his unpopularity with Jews to the overwhelming support he enjoys from evangelical Christians. This official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about the president’s mind-set, argued that Trump’s rhetoric of late is “a manifestation of frustration of not getting the recognition and the praise and the support that he feels like he deserves as a result of what he’s done.”

Other than nazify our formerly great country, he's done nothing.  Massive failure.

NPR reports:

"President Trump doubled down Wednesday on his remarks that American Jews who vote for Democrats are disloyal to Israel. "In my opinion, you vote for a Democrat, you're being very disloyal to Jewish people, and you're being very disloyal to Israel," Trump told reporters outside the White House on Wednesday, "and only weak people would say anything other than that."

Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini reincarnated.

"It was the second time in two days that the president questioned the loyalty to Israel of Jewish people who vote Democratic. On Tuesday, he questioned their smarts, too. "I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat, I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty," Trump said from the Oval Office."

Unparalleled ignorance displayed by our fuhrer, the Trump nazi.

"Trump's comments display a lack of understanding of how and why Jewish Americans vote the way they do, which is overwhelmingly Democratic. While Israel is a threshold issue for Jewish voters, it is not determinative to the votes of most of them — and many don't agree with President Trump's or Republicans' approach to Israel. Jewish people who vote Democratic care about what Democrats care about — social justice, health care, climate change, the welfare of immigrants and more."

"We see evidence that it [the Jewish vote] is moving even more towards Democrats now during Trump's presidency," said Jim Gerstein, a Democratic pollster. He added that American Jews don't even necessarily agree with Trump's policies toward Israel — and they have other concerns. "They're so hostile to Trump himself because of all the immigration issues and white nationalism and the rise of anti-Semitism, all that makes them so hostile to him that anything he says or does doesn't matter — even if they were to agree with it," said Gerstein, who called views of Israel "a threshold issue" for Jewish voters. "But they don't necessarily agree with him on the Israel stuff to begin with."

"Disloyalty, "a centuries-old anti-Semitic idea" The "disloyalty" claim reminds some of an anti-Semitic trope. "This loyalty claim or disloyalty claim is actually a centuries-old anti-Semitic idea that dates back to European monarchies," said Rabbi Alissa Wise, deputy director of Jewish Voice for Peace. "This idea that Jews are somehow disloyal to or have more loyalty to an entity outside of the state to which they live."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

Trust?  What's that?  NBC News reports:

"The Trump administration has virtually closed the door on Iraqis who worked as interpreters for the American military, issuing only two U.S. visas to former interpreters last year, according to government statistics obtained by NBC News. The interpreters have faced threats, abductions and attacks for their association with American forces, and hundreds have been killed by militants since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Former interpreter Shaker Jeffrey fled to Germany while awaiting admission to the United States, but he says that even there he has been targeted by the Islamic State group's militants. "I am a hunted man," Jeffrey, who has been waiting for a visa for 10 years, said. "If I return to Iraq, I will be assassinated." A backlog of tens of thousands of Iraqis — who worked as interpreters or in other jobs for the U.S. — have applied for admission to the U.S. but have yet to receive a final decision, despite legislation designed to help them gain entry, according to refugee advocates and several former officials.

"The interpreters who are still in Iraq, he said, "live as prey."

Who will ever trust us again?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

China retaliates.  NPR reports:

"China says it will slap tariffs on autos, auto parts and thousands of other U.S. goods worth a total of $75 billion. President Trump promised to respond. Friday's announcement by China marks an escalation in a trade war that has rippled through the world economy and raised fears of a U.S. recession. The first batch of tariffs will go into effect Sept. 1, and a second, on autos and auto parts, is due to go into effect Dec. 15. The tariffs range from 5% to 25%. President Trump tweeted that he "will be responding to China's Tariffs this afternoon." "My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?" Trump said, referring to the Federal Reserve Chairman, whom he's been urging to cut interest rates, and China's leader."

Trump is a traitor.  His last question is treasonous.

"Trump said the United States has lost "stupidly" trillions of dollars to China over the years, citing the theft [of] intellectual property. "We don't need China and, frankly, would be far better off without them," he said."

Conveniently forget? Cheap goods.  Think consumers will agree with Trump's stance?  The equally treasonous corporate management suite in our formerly great country should never have acquiesced to theft of intellectual property by the Chinese.  Did so for one reason and one reason only.  To line corporate coffers short-term.

"Trump said U.S. firms doing business with China should look elsewhere. "Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA," he said."

Trump's delusional.  First, he doesn't get to dictate to business where they make their products.  Second, doesn't get to 'order' the business community to do anything.

"China's finance ministry called the new tariffs "a forced move to deal with U.S. unilateralism and trade protectionism." U.S. stock markets fell sharply after Trump's tweets on China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down about 300 points, or 1% in late morning trading."

Stock traders certainly don't goose step in unison with our fuhrer, the Trump nazi.

"Earlier this month, the Trump administration postponed until Dec. 15 new 10% tariffs on some imports from China that were due to take effect Sept. 1. They were part of a new set of tariffs on $300 billion worth of goods that triggered a sharp selloff in the U.S. stock market."

Also, proof positive Trump lied when he falsely claimed China is paying the tariffs.  American consumers and businesses pay them:

"President Trump said the delay was intended to ease the effect on U.S. consumers during the holiday shopping season."

Trump is a liar.  A narcissistic, congenital liar.

NBC News reports:

"President Donald Trump on Friday savaged his hand-picked Federal Reserve chairman in a pair of tweets, slamming Jay Powell as an “enemy” who could pose a bigger risk to the U.S. than Chinese President Xi Jinping. “As usual, the Fed did NOTHING! It is incredible that they can ‘speak’ without knowing or asking what I am doing, which will be announced shortly,” Trump tweeted. “We have a very strong dollar and a very weak Fed. I will work ‘brilliantly’ with both, and the U.S. will do great.” Trump added: “My only question is, who is our biggest enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?” referring to the Chinese leader. Trump misspelled Powell's name in an initial tweet, before correcting it.

    "As usual, the Fed did NOTHING! It is incredible that they can “speak” without knowing or asking what I am doing, which will be announced shortly. We have a very strong dollar and a very weak Fed. I will work “brilliantly” with both, and the U.S. will do great...
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2019"

This man is unfit for office.  An out of control narcissist.  Doing great damage that will take quite some time to correct, undo.

"The tweets came after Powell, whom Trump picked for the role of Federal Reserve chairman last year, spoke at a highly anticipated conference in Wyoming, where he pledged to help maintain a growing economy while also saying that U.S. trade policies and tariffs could be causing the economy to slow."

Spoke the unvarnished truth.  Trump is the problem.

"Earlier Friday morning, Beijing announced it would impose $75 billion in new tariffs on American soybeans, crude oil, and cars, escalating the trade war between the two countries and causing the stock market to drop. “While monetary policy is a powerful tool that works to support consumer spending, business investment, and public confidence, it cannot provide a settled rulebook for international trade,” Powell said, according to his prepared remarks. “We can, however, try to look through what may be passing events, focus on how trade developments are affecting the outlook, and adjust policy to promote our objectives.”

The Fed must remain independent of politicsNot manipulated by the president or influenced by any political considerations.

The Washington Post reports:

"The trade war between the U.S. and China worsened Friday as Beijing imposed retaliatory tariffs on $75 billion in American goods and President Trump took the extraordinary step of ordering U.S. companies to stop doing business with China. The new tariffs, which included reinstated levies on auto products Friday, delivered a strategically timed blow as recession warning signs cast doubt on the strength of the U.S. economy. Trump initially directed his ire at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell in Friday tweets, painting the Fed’s lack of monetary easing as a greater threat to American workers and businesses. But moments later, he said he would be responding to China’s tariffs later today and demanded American companies cut ties with China.

    "....your companies HOME and making your products in the USA. I will be responding to China’s Tariffs this afternoon. This is a GREAT opportunity for the United States. Also, I am ordering all carriers, including Fed Ex, Amazon, UPS and the Post Office, to SEARCH FOR & REFUSE,....
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2019

“Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA," Trump tweeted."

Jesus Christ.  This man is insane, a national socialist, fascist dictator:

"The White House does not have the authority to force companies to follow such directives, but his comments came in the middle of a Twitter tirade in which he appeared to be expressing mounting fury that his economic agenda is not coming together. “I have no idea how the president thinks he can order companies to stop working with China. I’m baffled,” said Brian Riedl, a budget expert at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think-tank. While dozens of major companies including Google and Nintendo have already shifted supply chains out of China, most are rebuilding them abroad, primarily in Southeast Asia."

That, alone, has to be enraging our fascist fuhrer.

"Trump’s attacks could put him under intense pressure at the Group of Seven summit in France this weekend, where he has called a special session to discuss the global economy. Trump repeatedly lauds the U.S.' economic prowess, while saying economies elsewhere in the world are in trouble. But the U.S. economy’s performance is much more intertwined with global pressures than Trump has acknowledged, and this entanglement is forcing White House officials to decide whether they need to recalibrate Trump’s approach before the 2020 election or stick with the president’s impulses."

LOL.  His 'impulses' are insane.  Inflict great damage.

“China’s imposition of tariffs is a forced response to the unilateralism and trade protectionism of the United States,” said the Communist Party-run Global Times. The outlet said it hoped the trade conflict would be resolved "on the premise of mutual respect and equality and trustworthiness in words and deeds.” The Dow Jones industrial average sank more than 400 points after Trump’s comments. In highly anticipated comments earlier Friday, Powell acknowledged the trade uncertainties were affecting the global economy. “The global growth outlook has been deteriorating since the middle of last year. Trade policy uncertainty seems to be playing a role in the global slowdown and in weak manufacturing and capital spending in the United States,” Powell said. But Powell offered little in way of concrete assurance, saying the Fed will “act as appropriate to sustain the expansion” -- a phrase he returns to frequently -- and cautioned that there are “no recent precedents" to guide policy response to the trade war. “While monetary policy is a powerful tool that works to support consumer spending, business investment, and public confidence, it cannot provide a settled rulebook for international trade,” Powell said."

Things appear to be coming to a head.  Status quo, unsustainable:

"China’s retaliation marks yet another escalation in the trade war that has hogtied two of the world’s most powerful economic engines for more than a year, and the conflict is taking a toll across the globe. China’s economic growth has slowed to its lowest rate in 27 years, as factory output declines and unemployment rises. Meanwhile, central bank leaders in Europe, Asia and Australia have cut interest rates in recent weeks, attributing the need for economic stimulus to the fallout from the trade war. The manufacturing sector has contracted for the first time in a decade. The U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 49.9 in August from 50.4 in July, according to IHS Markit. It is the first time the closely watched indicator has fallen below 50 since September 2009. Sales of U.S. exports also decreased at the fastest pace since August 2009. When exports fall, manufacturers typically react by reducing inventories and cutting production, which could spur job cuts. Air freight volumes also fell nearly 5 percent in June, marking the eighth consecutive month of decline. Freight airlines cited the trade disputes between the U.S. and China as a prime reason for slumping demand."

All the above, directly due to the insanity of our fuhrer, the Trump nazi.  -- Hard to believe one individual in a supposedly democratic republic can do so much damage to so many both domestic and foreign, but here we are.

"While consumers, whose spending fuels about 70 percent of the U.S. economy, have been largely shielded from the trade war’s carnage, American families will feel the pain of the impending rounds of tariffs on Chinese goods. Earlier this week, JPMorgan researchers calculated that after the 10 percent levies go into effect, American families will be facing about $1,000 in additional costs from all tariffs on Chinese goods annually. If the upcoming tariffs are raised to 25 percent, as Trump has warned, consumers’ costs could go as high as $1,500 a year, researchers estimated. And last week, for the first time since the run-up to the Great Recession, the yields — or returns — on short-term U.S. bonds eclipsed those of long-term bonds. This phenomenon, which suggests investor faith in the economy is faltering, has preceded every recession in the past 50 years. Despite signs of a homegrown slowdown, Trump — at least publicly — maintains that the U.S. is immune to the weakening economic trends rattling other countries. In tweets Friday morning before China’s tariffs announcement, Trump blamed the media and political foes for recession fears that have gripped the U.S. for the past week.

    "..willing to lose their wealth, or a big part of it, just for the possibility of winning the Election. But it won’t work because I always find a way to win, especially for the people! The greatest political movement in the history of our Country will have another big win in 2020!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2019"

Trump is out of control.  Delusional.  Insane.

"In private, Trump and his aides have been scrambling to avert an economic downturn, The Post has reported. Ideas that have been floated include imposing a currency transaction tax that could weaken the dollar and make U.S. exports more competitive; creating a rotation among the Federal Reserve governors that would make it easier to check Powell — whom Trump has relentlessly castigated for not doing more to increase growth — and pushing to lower the corporate tax rate to 15 percent in a bid to spur more investment. Some, if not all, of these steps would require congressional approval."

Not only that, the deficit would skyrocket.

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump escalated his unprecedented attacks against America’s central bank Friday, calling Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell an “enemy” of the United States that is as bad as China, a tweet that triggered a stock market slide and came minutes after Powell vowed to keep the economy growing. Powell said Friday that the trade war is a “complex, turbulent” situation and that the central bank will “act as appropriate to sustain the expansion,” suggesting another interest rate cut may be coming but not the large decline that Trump has demanded. “Our economy is in a favorable place,” Powell said, but he added that there are “significant risks" from slowing global growth and the U.S.-China trade fight. China just announced major new tariffs on U.S. products, the latest in an exchange of blows between the two nations that have caused numerous countries around the world to teeter on the verge of a recession. Trump lashed out at both Powell and China, blaming them for harming the U.S. economy. “My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?” Trump tweeted after Powell’s speech. Trump and his advisors have privately discussed ways to change who gets to vote on interest rate levels at the Fed. Stocks dropped sharply after Trump tweets suggested he is preparing more retaliation against China with the Dow Jones industrial average falling more than 450 points, or 1.75 percent. Trump wants the Fed to stimulate the economy to counterbalance any harm from his trade war, but Powell warned Friday there is only so much the central bank can do. “While monetary policy is a powerful tool that works to support consumer spending, business investment and public confidence, it cannot provide a settled rulebook for international trade,” Powell said."

NPR reports:

"President Trump on Friday announced higher tariffs on goods from China, hours after Beijing said it will slap tariffs on $75 billion of autos and other U.S. goods. Earlier in the day, he "ordered" U.S. companies to stop doing business with China though it was unclear he had the power to do that. Trump tweeted that starting Oct. 1, $250 billion worth of goods from China currently being taxed at 25% will face tariffs of 30%. And, starting Sept. 1, $300 [billion] worth of other goods will be subject to tariffs of 15% — up from 10% previously announced. Trump's announcement came after the stock market closed. U.S. stock markets fell sharply after Trump's earlier tweets threatening to respond to China's latest tariffs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 623 points, or about 2.4%. The S&P 500 dropped about 2.6% and the Nasdaq composite fell 3%. Friday's tit-for-tat announcements mark an escalation in a trade war that has rippled through the world economy and raised fears of a U.S. recession.

"Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA," he said. It was unclear what Trump could do to force U.S. companies to make such a move. "The president has no authority to order companies to pull out of China," said Jennifer Hillman, a professor at the Georgetown Law Center. "Those companies have already invested in China for reasons that they chose to go into China." China's Finance Ministry called the new tariffs "a forced move to deal with U.S. unilateralism and trade protectionism."

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump’s extraordinary edict demanding U.S. companies move out of China — delivered in a series of angry tweets Friday — left industries of every stripe scrambling to understand how seriously to take the order, and how the White House might enforce it.

"Trump does not have the authority to “duly order” companies to leave China, according to Jennifer Hillman, a Georgetown University law professor and trade expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. But under the law he cited, Trump can prevent future transfers of funds to China, she said. First, he would have to make "a lawful declaration that a national emergency exists,” she said. Congress could terminate the declaration if it wishes, she said. “Moreover, even if all this happened, it would not provide authority over all of the U.S. investments that have already been made in China,” Hillman said. Other trade experts said Trump does have powerful tools at his disposal to encourage companies to leave. They include continuing to hike tariffs on imports from China, as Trump did again on Friday. The White House could also try to punish companies by cutting them out of federal procurement deals, economists said. “The tweet isn’t entirely cheap talk,” said Derek Scissors, a China expert at the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank partly funded by industry."

CNN News reports:

"President Donald Trump claimed he has the "absolute right" to "order" US companies to stop doing business with China that would involve using his broad executive authority in a new and unprecedented way under a 1977 law. On Friday, China unveiled a new round of retaliatory tariffs on about $75 billion worth of US goods, the latest escalation in an on-going trade war that's putting a strain on the world's two largest economies. In response, Trump wrote on Twitter later Friday: "Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China including bringing ...your companies HOME and making your products in the USA." When leaving the White House for the G7 summit in France, Trump told reporters, "I have the absolute right to do that, but we'll see how it goes." He later explained that he was referring to the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and in a Friday tweet wrote: "For all of the Fake News Reporters that don't have a clue as to what the law is relative to Trump's latest comments again raise questions as to how far the President's authority goes under the IEEPA. In May, Trump threatened to slap Mexico with punitive tariffs unless it slowed the passage of migrants from Central America to the US. The IEEPA, according to the Congressional Research Service, has never been invoked to impose tariffs, and Trump ultimately drew back at the last minute. The IEEPA, passed in the wake of Watergate and Vietnam, gives Trump "broad authority to regulate a variety of economic transactions following a declaration of national emergency," according to an analysis by the CRS. Those presidential powers can be used "to deal with any unusual and extraordinary threat....to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States." Under the IEEPA, the President has to consult with Congress before invoking his authority and, after declaring a national emergency, send a report to Congress explaining why.

"Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who has mounted a longshot bid against Trump for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination, called it "outrageous" that a US President would tell US companies how to conduct business. "That he believes he can actually carry out such an outrage is the insanity of a would-be dictator," Weld tweeted Saturday."

Time for Republicans to put an end to this insanity.  Rein in their out of control nazi fuhrer.  If impossible, then join Democrats.  Impeach the nazi in the House.  Convict him in the Senate.  Remove him from office.  Then, warn Pence the same could happen to him.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

Trump continually lies. The Washington Post reports:

"Speaking to reporters on the White House’s South Lawn on Wednesday, President Trump claimed he was warmly welcomed at hospitals in the wake of recent mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, and intimated that surgeons had even deserted their patients to meet him. “The doctors were coming out of the operating rooms,” Trump said. “There were hundreds and hundreds of people all over the floor. You couldn’t even walk on it.” But the hospitals he visited say that isn’t what happened — and that doctors would never pause surgery to greet the president."

That would never happen.  Trump is delusional.  A congenital liar.

“At no time did, or would, physicians or staff leave active operating rooms during the presidential visit,” Ryan Mielke, a spokesman for University Medical Center of El Paso, said in a statement to The Washington Post on Thursday. “Our priority is always patient care.”

Has to be.

"Trump visited University Medical Center earlier this month, days after a gunman police say was motivated by anti-immigrant hatred killed 22 and wounded dozens at a Walmart. Although two patients who had already been discharged returned to the hospital to meet the president, none of the eight victims who were still being treated wanted to do so, Mielke told The Post at the time. “This is a very sensitive time in their lives,” he said. “Some of them said they didn’t want to meet with the president, some of them didn’t want any visitors.” The rejection apparently stung, because Trump returned to the subject on Wednesday, weeks after his visit to the city. When asked during a freewheeling exchange with reporters if he had spoken to the victims of mass shootings about whether they would support changes to gun laws, he ignored the question and instead took the opportunity to complain about news coverage of his visits to El Paso and Dayton. At hospitals in both cities, the president claimed, “the love for me — and me, maybe, as a representative of the country — but for me — and my love for them was unparalleled. These are incredible people. But if you read the papers, it was like nobody would meet with me.” That wasn’t true, he insisted: “Not only did they meet with me, they were pouring out of the room.”

Jesus Christ.  This man is insane.  A narcissist unfit for office.

"White House officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment late Thursday, and it’s not clear whether Trump was describing his visit to the Texas hospital or the Ohio hospital, or both, when he claimed that surgeons rushed out of operating rooms to see him. “Our physicians and staff at no time leave an active operating room, procedural area or patient room to greet anyone," Ben Sutherly, a spokesman for Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, told The Post on Friday."

Had that happened, they would have lost their licenses, been sued.  That's just not done.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

The insanity continues.  Promises, promises.  The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump on Saturday promised to cut taxes if Republicans win the White House and retake the House of Representatives next year, saying he would pass a “major” middle-class tax cut, the latest in a string of varying tax pledges that he has made in the past week. Trump has offered few details about the new tax cut or explained how or if it would be paid for. The 2017 tax legislation he signed into law increased the federal deficit by more than $1.5 trillion, according to nonpartisan estimates.

    “Face It, You Probably Got A Tax Cut!” This was a New York Times headline, and it is very true. If Republicans take back the House, and keep the Senate and Presidency, one of our first acts will be to approve a major middle income Tax Cut! Democrats only want to raise your taxes!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2019"

Trump grows increasingly desperate.

"In the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections, Trump similarly promised an unspecified middle-class tax cut if Republicans retained control of the House. But Republicans lost and talk of the tax cuts evaporated. Trump’s comments, made in a Twitter post while he was in France for the Group of Seven summit, marked one of multiple tax ideas that he has floated in the past week. On Tuesday, Trump said he was considering whether to pursue a payroll tax cut and also reducing capital gains taxes. On Wednesday, he said both of those ideas were off the table, but later in the week a top adviser said the White House would propose new tax cuts ahead of the election."

As the deficit soars, national debt spirals out of control.

"Trump’s latest comments seemed to suggest the tax-cut idea would come together after the election, and only if he were reelected and Republicans won back the House. A number of Democrats have proposed rolling back the 2017 GOP tax overhaul and focusing tax cuts more narrowly on middle-class families or repealing the tax cuts to fund improvements in health care, education or infrastructure. On Thursday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told the Fox Business Network the administration is working on a second round of proposed tax cuts — “tax cuts 2.0” — ahead of the 2020 presidential election that would lower rates for individuals and businesses. Kudlow suggested the personal tax rates could be lowered and the number of tax brackets reduced but offered few additional details."

Insanity has gripped the entire regime.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

Trump again makes a jackass of himself.  The Washington Post reports:

"A global summit between President Trump and other leaders ended here without significant progress on any of the world’s most pressing issues, laying bare the widening gulf between the U.S. and other nations as they struggle to address issues like trade and climate change. French president Emmanuel Macron said leaders at the Group of Seven summit agreed to endorse just a one-page document of issues and then to continue working on a range of other challenges that have proved elusive, including trade imbalances, climate change, and Iran, among other things. “There was a lot of nervousness at the outset,” Macron said. He said that the three days of talks here had a “lot of tension and we had a lot of conflicts” but he considered it a success that they were even able to produce a one-page document. Trump seemed pleased with the outcome. “This was a very special, very unified two-and-a-half days,” Trump said."

Jesus Christ.  Day is night, night is day, and shit smells perversely sweet in the world of our fuhrer, the Trump nazi.  All ass backwards from reality.

"The final day was set to be pivotal for the leaders, as they sought to cap a summit marked more by whiplash, mixed signals and surprises than by concrete results. They were unable to convince Trump to quickly resolve his trade fight with China, but instead urged him to wrap the fight up as quickly as possible. “What’s bad for the world economy is uncertainty and the quicker an agreement is arrived at, the quicker uncertainty will dissipate,” Macron said. This will likely mark only the second time since 1975 that the G-7 summit did not end with a substantive joint statement, known as a communique. The document is meant to reflect shared values between some of the world’s largest countries, but Trump has pulled the U.S. back from global consensus on trade, climate change, and Iran."

Our fuhrer remains delusional:

"Trump said Monday that the meeting had been a success. “We’ve had a lot of fake news where they’re saying, ‘Oh there’s no unity, there’s no unity.’ There’s total unity. I’m talking about all the seven countries, and it’s been really good,” Trump said Monday alongside a bemused German Chancellor Angela Merkel before the two met for talks. “We’ve had great unity even with Iran, a lot of progress made in Iran,” Trump said. “The biggest part of the conclusion, they can’t have nuclear weapons.” Illustrating the divide between Trump and the other leaders meeting in the resort town, the French all-but-abandoned efforts to craft a joint statement at the end of the summit, cognizant of how the United States is drifting further away from other nations on a growing number of issues. Negotiators from each country talked trade and other issues late into the night, but the U.S. delegation blocked any consensus, a senior European official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door discussions. The talks continued on Monday."

Trump continues to lie out his ass:

"And he also sought to boost what he called a trade deal “in principle” with Japan that he announced the previous day along side Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, saying that it would boost automobile manufacturing in the United States. Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Takeshi Osuga said Monday that talks were still at a more preliminary stage. Trump also said that his position on trade with Europe was essentially unchanged after the days of talks. “The European Union, and I’ve said this openly, I say with respect, I think they’re as tough as China,” he said. The summit’s careful choreography was punctuated on Sunday by a surprise: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made an unannounced visit to Biarritz that dominated news coverage on a day the United States had sought to focus the gathering on the economy."

Trump failed to take advantage of a golden unexpected opportunity to meet with the Iranian.  Clearly, unprepared for any such encounter.  Shouldn't have mattered the Iranian was not head of state, not Trump's equal.

Certainly remained determined to continue behaving like the jackass he truly is:

"Trump himself has been happy to depart from his aides’ planned focus on the global economy. He spent much of Sunday evening retweeting several conspiracy theories alleging corruption and malfeasance at the FBI. In one post related to the G-7, the president amplified the commentary of a libertarian Canadian media personality who accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of “assuming a submissive position” in meetings with Trump despite “trash-talking” him in Canada. “No, we actually had a very good and productive meeting. Nice!” Trump tweeted, in a post that also served to broadcast the original tweet — with a picture a cross-legged Trudeau sitting next to a stern-looking Trump — to the president’s 63 million followers."

Certainly, intends to continue lining his pockets:

"Trump said Monday that next year’s summit, which will be hosted by the United States, will most likely be hosted at Trump’s Doral resort in Miami. “It’s right next to the airport, a few minutes away. People are really liking it,” Trump said alongside Merkel, offering what sounded at times like a real estate pitch for a location that he said had buildings with “50 to 70 units” that were perfect for a conference. Hosting the summit will give Trump significant control over the agenda, the guest list and the strategy of the meeting."

To say nothing of enriching himself.

 "Macron abandoned the idea of trying to convince Trump to sign on to a joint communique this year, deeming the effort “pointless.” The symbolic statements are typically issued at the end of global summits, but U.S. officials have resisted in recent years. French officials realized well in advance that the Trump administration had no interest in agreeing to a joint statement, and they began dialing back expectations. The move reflects Trump administration’s belief that it does not need to coordinate its policies with other leaders, particularly on issues that the president feels strongly about, such as trade. But it also could make it more difficult for leaders to address problems as they arise because they aren't starting from the same level of understanding. It also shows how other world leaders are growing more comfortable separating themselves from the United States on policy issues, said Brian Klass, who teaches global politics at University College London. “People are making nice publicly,” he said. “But I think privately, most in the G-7 are panicking about what Trump’s doing with the trade war, they are panicking about his increasingly erratic behavior and wondering whether they can continue to behave as if everything is business as usual.”

Why even hold a meeting when it turns out to be a total waste of time, effort, and money?  ... Better yet?  Hold the meeting, but don't invite the Trump nazi until he finally displays some semblance of sanity, demonstrates a level of maturity commensurate with his seven decades, that is, finally grows up.  LOL.

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump said Monday he was likely to hold next year’s Group of Seven summit in Doral, Fla., at his resort, meaning he would personally profit from one of the world’s most prestigious gatherings of foreign leaders."

That's a problem.  An Emoluments Clause issue.

"Trump, appearing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a bilateral meeting at the G-7 conference, touted Trump National Doral for its proximity to the Miami airport, among other reasons. “They love the location of the hotel,” he said, adding it is near the airport. “We haven’t found anything that’s even close to competing with it. Really you can be there in a matter of minutes after you land.” He went on to give a long commercial of sorts for the property, hailing its acres, separate buildings for different delegations and “great” conference rooms. The president said a final decision had not been made. Aides say Trump has sought for months to hold the summit there, but many of his advisers have warned against the idea, concerned about the ethics of the president profiting from an official government event."

Trump has no ethics.

"Since taking office, Trump has faced pushback about his official visits to his properties from some of his aides, including inside the White House Counsel’s Office. They worried about the appearance that he was using the power of the presidency to direct taxpayer money into his own pockets, according to current and former White House officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations."

Clearly, staff members have some modicum of ethical standards, -- unlike Trump himself.

"Trump has not divested from his private business interests and has regularly visited them during the presidency, eating out at his own hotel in the District and spending many weekends at his properties in New Jersey and Florida, where GOP officials often hold fundraisers. In all, his scores of trips to his properties have brought his private businesses at least $1.6 million in revenue, from federal officials and GOP campaigns who pay to go where Trump goes, according to a Washington Post analysis this year."

That's a problem.

"The Constitution prohibits presidents from taking “emoluments,” or payments, from foreign states. Trump has continued to do business with foreign governments at his hotels — saying the Founders meant to ban outright bribes, not business transactions. But his company has also said it is not actively seeking foreign governments as customers. This is a sharp move in the opposite direction. In this case, Trump is using his power as president to compel foreign officials — the six other leaders and their entourages — into becoming his customers. The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to an early-morning request for comment. The company says it donates all its profits from foreign governments to the U.S. Treasury, but has not explained exactly how it calculates “profit” in this case."

Convenient, isn't it?

"At Doral, which Trump has listed in federal disclosures as his biggest moneymaker hotel, room rates, banquets, golf and overall revenue were all down since 2015. In two years, the resort’s net operating income — a key figure, representing the amount left over after expenses are paid — had fallen by 69 percent. The president continues to brag about his properties even in the Oval Office, associates say."

The Founders?  Spinning in their graves.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

No end to Trump's jackbooted nazism.  NPR reports:

"Nineteen states and the District of Columbia are suing the Trump administration over its plan to pull out of a decades-old court settlement that governs the care of migrant children in federal detention. The federal government has abided by a court agreement known as the Flores settlement since 1997. It says migrant children should be detained in the least-restrictive setting possible and only for about 20 days. Last week, the Trump administration announced it will soon allow children detained with their families to be detained indefinitely."

Kangaroo justice.  Nazi America.

"The states, led by California and Massachusetts, argue that the government is already failing to provide detained children with safe and sanitary conditions. (Earlier this month, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that detained children should receive adequate food, clean water and basic hygiene.) Their suit also says the government plan will have a negative long-term impact on the detained children if they are held indefinitely. "This new Trump rule callously puts at risk the safety and well-being of children," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. "No child deserves to be left in conditions inappropriate and harmful for their age. We're taking the Trump Administration to court to protect children from the irreparable harm caused by unlawful and unnecessary detention."

Don't Republicans claim to be the party of the family?

"The states also say the administration's plan will result in an expansion of family detention centers that are not licensed by the states. The administration says it will set its own standards for care — in effect, licensing itself. "With this rule, the Trump Administration is paving the way for [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to imprison innocent children for indefinite periods of time and is attempting to take away the ability of states to stop them," said Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey."

The mark of a nazi dictator.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

Another Trump narcissist.  ... Couldn't be, could it?  LOL.  The Washington Post reports:

"Brazil’s president on Tuesday walked back his country’s initial rejection of a $22.2 million package from the Group of Seven nations to help fight fires sweeping through the Amazon rainforest. But President Jair Bolsonaro said any consideration of the aid remained tied up in his dispute with French President Emmanuel Macron — even as officials in the fire-stricken regions spoke of negotiating directly with other countries for help if needed. Bolsanaro said he wouldn’t make a final decision until Macron apologized for remarks that Bolsonaro considered a challenge to his credibility and an attack on Brazil’s sovereignty. “Before speaking or accepting anything from France, even if it comes from the best possible intentions, he must retract his words. Then we can talk,” he told journalists. His comments were the latest escalation of the feud between the two presidents while the world’s most precious rainforest burns. Macron threatened last week to block a free-trade agreement between the European Union and South America, saying Bolsonaro lied to him about his commitment to the environment. Over the weekend, Bolsonaro appeared to mock the appearance of Macron’s wife."

Jesus Christ.  Give me a break.  Yet, another narcissistic Trump nazi.  LOL.

Gets worse.  Get this:

"Brazil’s ambassador to France told national television early Tuesday that the country would reject the G-7 offer because it was not involved in the decision-making process. Bolsonaro — a climate change skeptic — has questioned the donors’ “colonial mentality.” “We cannot accept that a President, Macron, issues inappropriate and gratuitous attacks against the Amazon,” he tweeted. “Nor that he disguises his intentions behind an ‘alliance’ of the G-7 countries to ‘save’ the Amazon, as if it were a colony or no man’s land.”

A Trump clone.  Couldn't be, could it?  LOL.

What strange bedfellows:

"Bolsonaro said Sunday he had accepted an offer from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to send Israeli airplanes and pilots experienced in fighting fires. President Trump has said the United States is ready to help, but has not offered specifics. “I have gotten to know President @jairbolsonaro well in our dealings with Brazil,” Trump tweeted Tuesday. “He is working very hard on the Amazon fires and in all respects doing a great job for the people of Brazil — Not easy. He and his country have the full and complete support of the USA!”

Narcissistic brother to narcissistic brother?  LOL.

Here's the problem:

"Bolsonaro campaigned on a promise to open the Amazon up for business and development. Since his inauguration in January, deforestation and fires — many of them started by farmers and loggers to clear land — have surged. The number of blazes in the Amazon states has risen by more than 75 percent this year, and the rate at which they’re scorching the earth has doubled. The Amazon serves as the lungs of the planet, a key defense against climate change. It takes in 25 percent of the carbon dioxide absorbed by the world’s forests. But scientists warn that deforestation is approaching a tipping point — between 20 percent and 25 percent — when the damage could be irreversible, and large swaths could transform into savanna. Earlier this month, Germany and Norway cut a combined $72 million in aid to the Amazon after Bolsonaro said he would give some of the money to cattle and soy farmers. The fires have become Bolsonaro’s biggest international and domestic crisis since taking office. Macron has threatened to block the long-negotiated Mercosur-European Union trade deal over Bolsonaro’s Amazon policies, and polls show support for Bolsonaro and his government is slipping."

As they are for the Trump nazi.  Imagine that.

"In Rio de Janeiro, where a majority voted for Bolsonaro in last year’s presidential election, some were reconsidering their choice Tuesday. Valerie Ottoni, a security worker at the Santos Dumont Airport, said she voted for Bolsonaro because he seemed willing to take on the corruption and crime plaguing the country. “He appeared like a hero to Brazil, but now we’re thinking of all the things he’s doing,” said Ottoni, 51. “We shouldn’t be closed to international alarms. We’re not stupid. This will be difficult for him to take this decision.”

NBC News reports:

"Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Tuesday that he will accept the offer of international aid to help fight the fires raging across the Amazon rainforest, but that French President Emmanuel Macron must first apologize to him. Bolsonaro appeared offended by Macron's comments related to his handling of the unfolding crisis in the Amazon, and wanted them retracted. "And then we can speak," he said, according to The Associated Press."

Trump reincarnated?  LOL.

"The Brazilian leader's demand for an apology follows Macron lashing out after a Bolsonaro supporter mocked Macron's wife, Brigitte, in a Facebook post, comparing her to Bolsonaro's wife, Michelle, and suggesting Macron was jealous."

Jesus Christ.  The bullshit never ends.  Time for the nazi element to finally grow up.

"Bolsonaro commented on the post in Portuguese, "don't humiliate the guy ... haha," leading Macron to respond during the Group of Seven summit on Monday that the comment was "very disrespectful." "He said very disrespectful things about my wife. I have great respect for the Brazilian people and can only hope they soon have a president who is up to the job," Macron said."

Same here in the United States.  LOL.

"Macron did not immediately respond to Bolsonaro's conditions for accepting the money, worth roughly $20 million and pledged Monday during the G-7 summit in France. In addition, Britain said it would donate $12 million and Canada another $11 million as part of the effort."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

Trump transferring funds.  NBC News reports:

"The Trump administration is pulling $271 million in funding from the Department of Homeland Security, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Relief Fund, to pay for immigration detention space and temporary hearing locations for asylum-seekers who have been forced to wait in Mexico, according to department officials and a letter sent to the agency by a California congresswoman. To fund temporary locations for court hearings for asylum-seekers along the southern border, ICE would gain $155 million, all from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, according to the letter from Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., which was seen by NBC News. The allocations were sent to Congress as a notification rather than a request, because the administration believes it has the authority to repurpose these funds after Congress did not pass more funding for ICE detention beds as part of an emergency funding bill for the southwest border in June. Specifically, the Department of Homeland Security will lose $116 million previously allocated for Coast Guard operations, aviation security and other components in order to fund nearly 6,800 more beds for immigrant detainees, the officials said."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

Temporary relief from a nazi law.  CBS News reports:

"Missouri's eight-week abortion ban was temporarily blocked from being implemented by a federal judge on Tuesday. The regulation was scheduled to go into effect on Wednesday. State legislators in May passed the "Missouri Stands for the Unborn," act, a sweeping piece of anti-abortion legislation. In addition to banning the procedure after eight weeks into a woman's pregnancy, the legislation includes a "trigger law" and a ladder of less-restrictive time limits ranging from 14 to 20 weeks, depending on what the courts find to be constitutional. In late July, Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Paul Weiss LLP — the law firm that successfully fought to legalize gay marriage — challenged the law, arguing that Missouri's ban on abortion after eight weeks is in violation of Supreme Court precedent that protects access to abortion. Tuesday's injunction only covers the state's pre-viability abortion bans and not the law's ban on abortions based solely on race, sex or a "prenatal diagnosis, test, or screening indicating Down Syndrome or the potential of Down Syndrome."

Raw disingenuous bullshit:

"Like Attorneys General who came before him, Attorney General Eric Schmitt is tasked with defending the laws of the state and is dedicated to protecting Missourians, born and unborn," Chris Nuelle, spokesperson for the Missouri Attorney General, said in a statement provided to CBS News on Tuesday. "We're currently reviewing the judge's ruling and are deciding on next steps."

Here's the problem:

"If Missouri's eight-week ban were to be implemented, it "would prohibit more than two thirds of [Planned Parenthood of St. Louis] patients from obtaining abortions," U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs wrote in his written decision Tuesday. That clinic is the last remaining abortion provider in the state. Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood's acting president and CEO, said the judge's decision "blocks a harmful law that bans abortion before many know they're pregnant." "What little abortion access in Missouri is left, will stay in place for the time being. In the meantime, we cannot ignore the part of this law that remains in place, which allows politicians to interfere with the patient-provider relationship," Johnson said in a statement to CBS News. "Let's be very clear: these severe restrictions on abortion access do nothing to address disability rights or discrimination. They only stigmatize abortion and shame the people who seek that care."

Precisely, the intention of the Nazi Right.  -- In a desperate attempt to force their outrageously perverse ideological and religious views on all by statute:

"In an unprecedented flood of anti-abortion legislation, state lawmakers introduced over 300 bills restricting access to the procedure in the first half of 2019, according to data compiled by the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research organization. Six states, including Missouri, passed so-called "heartbeat" bans, laws that would prohibit abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected in the early weeks of pregnancy. Alabama went a step further, passing a law that bans the procedure in nearly all cases."

The damage to women, infringement on all civil and constitutional rights and liberties have been horrendous.  Right Wing Nazi.

"Planned Parenthood and the ACLU have been on the front lines, bringing legal challenges to those laws. Federal judges in every state have granted preliminary injunctions to block the laws from implementation with the exception of Georgia, where the court has yet to make a decision. In Missouri, abortion access is already difficult, even without the eight-week ban in place. Women seeking an abortion are required to undergo a 72-hour waiting period and receive state-mandated counseling designed to dissuade them from receiving an abortion. Various other regulations have closed all but one clinic in the state: a lone Planned Parenthood in St. Louis."

NPR reports:

"Portions of a Missouri law banning abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy were blocked by a federal judge just a day before the legislation was to go into effect. U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs issued the order halting the law, whose provisions also call for physicians who perform an abortion after eight weeks to face possible prison time and have their license suspended or revoked. "While federal courts should generally be very cautious before delaying the effect of state laws, the sense of caution may be mitigated when the legislation seems designed, as here, as a protest against Supreme Court decisions," Sachs wrote in his opinion. Sachs denied a full preliminary injunction on technical grounds, but his ruling achieved what he called the "desired result" sought by Planned Parenthood for now. He left in place — at least for now — prohibitions on abortion for reasons of race, sex or a suspected diagnosis of Down syndrome in the fetus. The legislation that Republican Gov. Mike Parson signed in May has an exception for medical emergencies, but not for victims of rape or incest."

Raw nazism.

"Planned Parenthood filed suit to halt the law last month, and its lawyers told the court that the legislation would mean "patients will be subject to significant and irreparable constitutional, medical, emotional, and other harms for which no adequate remedy at law exists." In a statement, Kristan Hawkins of the anti-abortion rights group Students for Life called Tuesday's ruling "a travesty of justice and an insult to the democratic process." Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement: "Today's decision blocks a harmful law that bans abortion before many know they're pregnant. What little abortion access in Missouri is left, will stay in place for the time being. In the meantime, we cannot ignore the part of this law that remains in place, which allows politicians to interfere with the patient-provider relationship." Sachs' ruling follows several other federal court decisions that have barred restrictive abortion laws from being implemented in states such as Ohio and Mississippi. Many of those laws criminalize the procedure as soon as heartbeat activity can be detected — as early as six weeks, which is before many women even know they're pregnant."

Here's the issue:

"Anti-abortion-rights activists are hoping that legal challenges to one of the state laws will reach the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion established by the landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade. In its July lawsuit, the clinic, Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, said the Missouri law would "directly violate long-standing Supreme Court precedent," calling it "Missouri's unrelenting campaign to deny patients the health care they seek and to which they are entitled." The state's law was written with an eye toward banning the procedure as early as the courts will allow it. If an eight-week ban is thrown out, the law includes a cascading series of 14-, 18- and 20-week abortion bans that could take effect instead. "The hostility to, and refusal to comply with, the Supreme Court's abortion jurisprudence is most obviously demonstrated in the attempt to push 'viability' protection downward in various weekly stages to 8 weeks," the judge wrote, referring to the way the state crafted the law. In a separate process, the fate of the last remaining clinic that provides abortions in Missouri remains uncertain. Parson's administration says the clinic is not meeting state health regulations. Planned Parenthood officials say they have done all they can to comply but that the rules are being arbitrarily enforced for political reasons. A hearing in that matter is planned for October."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-30-19

Privacy?  What's that?  Technology columnist Geoffrey A. Fowler of The Washington Post reports:

"I recently used my credit card to buy a banana. Then I tried to figure out how my credit card let companies buy me. You might think my 29-cent swipe at Target would be just between me and my bank. Heavens, no. My banana generated data that’s probably worth more than the banana itself. It ended up with marketers, Target, Amazon, Google and hedge funds, to name a few. Oh, the places a banana will go in the sprawling card-data economy. Despite a federal privacy law covering cards, I found that six types of businesses could mine and share elements of my purchase, multiplied untold times by other companies they might have passed it to. Credit cards are a spy in your wallet — and it’s time that we add privacy, alongside rewards and rates, to how we evaluate them."

Report goes on and on.  There is no privacy with credit or debit cards.  Your personal data is marketed and sold.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

Raw nazism.  Jackbooted bastards in ICE.  NBC News reports:

"The number of migrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Deep South has quadrupled in the past year, alarming immigration advocates and attorneys who are struggling to keep up. According to previously unreported ICE data the agency shared with NBC News, the number of detainees in facilities contracted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Louisiana and Mississippi surged from just over 2,000 at the end of 2017 to more than 8,000 as of July. That’s nearly four times as many as were detained in the two states in November 2017, the numbers show. Louisiana, with a population of more than 6,500, now has the largest population of ICE detainees of any single state apart from Texas. Immigration attorneys on the ground say they’re worried about the speed of that expansion, referring to many of the sites as “black holes,” locations brought online for ICE detainees so recently that lawyers say they’ve lost track of their clients for days at a time.

"According to Department of Homeland Security data, the rate of detainees granted parole in the New Orleans AOR has decreased from 75.5 percent in 2016 to just 1.5 percent in 2018, making it the lowest parole rate of any AOR in the country. In May, the Southern Poverty Law Center sued Department of Homeland Security and ICE officials over the parole rate, accusing the agency of violating its own protocols, which they argue requires the agency to release people who are not a flight risk or a danger to their community. The lawsuit names a dozen plaintiffs now detained in Louisiana and Alabama, many of whom have been inside for months, some as long as a year. For family members like Katis, who asked that only her first name be used to protect her brother’s identity, those numbers are personal. Her brother has been detained in ICE custody for 10 months, and is now in the Adams County Correctional Facility, one of the eight facilities that came under ICE contract this year."

Her brother is a physician.

“When they get there it’s like arriving to a cemetery. You don’t have an exit. There’s no answer,” she told NBC News correspondent Morgan Radford in Spanish at her home in Roanoke, Virginia. In a sworn declaration submitted as part of the law center's lawsuit, her brother says he lived and worked in Cuba as a doctor until 2018, when he fled the country out of fear of violence and political persecution. “I was forced to flee Cuba after Cuban state officials detained and brutally beat me on multiple occasions because I refused to comply with the Cuban government’s unethical orders,” he said in the declaration, which he dictated in Spanish for translation. He presented himself at the Laredo, Texas, port of entry and asked for asylum. From there he was transferred to facilities in Texas and Louisiana before winding up at the Adams County Correctional Center. He was denied asylum in May, then applied for parole, citing his sister’s status as a citizen and his profession as a doctor as proof that he wasn’t a flight risk or a danger. ICE denied that request, which means he will remain in ICE custody for the duration of his appeals. “We came looking for liberty because it’s supposed to be the country of liberty,” Katis said. “They haven’t even gotten freedom.” "Es peor,” she added, which means, “It's worse.”

Nazi America.  Trump's Fourth Reich.

NPR reports:

"Yoel Alonso sat in a cell for 10 months before he ever met with a lawyer. His wife had to travel 1,000 miles to visit him at the remote Louisiana facility where he was detained. Alonso is not imprisoned for committing a crime. In fact, he turned himself in to immigration officials last October, seeking asylum from Cuba. Since then, he has been detained in two rural facilities — first in Louisiana, and now in Adams County, Miss. — where he is faced with daunting legal hurdles. Chief among them: Alonso has met his lawyer only once in his nearly 11 months in federal custody. And his plight is becoming more common. More than half of immigrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are housed in remote rural prisons, according to a new NPR analysis, about 52%. That number is increasing. That is a mounting concern for those who advocate on behalf of immigrants, because detainees in rural areas are facing higher barriers to obtaining a lawyer, more likely to have their asylum cases denied and more likely to be deported to their home countries. Alonso sought asylum in the U.S. last October, turning himself over to immigration officials in Laredo, Texas. He was soon moved to a rural detention facility in Pine Prairie, La., a four-hour drive from New Orleans and 1,000 miles away from his family. "I had the chance to visit him [once] even though it was very far away," says Alonso's wife, Midalis Rodriguez, a permanent U.S. resident who lives in southern Florida with their two children. In June, Alonso was transferred to another rural prison in Adams County, Miss., 100 miles from the nearest city of Baton Rouge. "It's a very concerning trend that immigration detention is moving to rural areas, remote areas, where it makes it so much harder for a person in detention to get the support that they need," says Liz Martinez, a board member for Freedom for Immigrants, an immigrant rights group. In fact, only a minority of detainees have lawyers at all. According to a 2015 study published in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, only 14% of immigrant detainees have legal representation. Those in urban areas are at least four times more likely to have an attorney. Last year, the Southern Poverty Law Center sued ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, alleging the agency was deliberately detaining people in rural areas far from legal resources."

ICE is becoming akin to the Nazi Gestapo.

"ICE, which currently detains 55,530 undocumented immigrants, declined to comment on that lawsuit. In an emailed statement, a spokesman said ICE considers proximity to airports, health care and legal resources when selecting facilities. He also says detainees have access to phones and video teleconferencing and can also meet with their attorneys during visiting hours. But many immigration attorneys say in reality, there are lots of roadblocks: not enough phones, poor connections, little or no access to interpreters, and restrictive visiting hours. For Alonso, who is 50, it has led to an excruciating wait. His health is failing; he has severe gout and was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. Alonso eventually found attorneys to take his case, pro bono; he is among a very tiny fraction of detainees able to secure such free legal services. So far, he has been denied humanitarian parole twice. His wife says it has been extremely hard for the family. "What more could a wife with a sick husband want, other than to be with him?" she says in Spanish. "At the very least, I want to offer him my support, and for my children to offer support."

Don't Republicans claim to be the party of the family?

ABC News reports:

"Chaos broke out at the protest of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Rhode Island late Wednesday when a truck tried to drive through protesters and corrections officers ended up pepper-spraying the crowd. The protest outside the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, Rhode Island, less than 10 miles north of Providence, was led by members of the "Never Again" movement, which likens undocumented immigrants being imprisoned to the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust. Protesters have been organizing outside the ICE facility since early July. About a dozen people were treated for irritation due to the pepper spray Wednesday, while one person was taken to the hospital for a minor injury, Providence ABC affiliate WLNE reported. Protesters surrounded the pick-up truck as it left the facility, with at least one person jumping on the back, before the group refused to move. They could be heard chanting, "The whole world is watching," as officers repeatedly asked them to move back. After about 45 seconds, at least one corrections officer is seen unleashing a large cloud of pepper spray -- sending the dozens of protesters scattering. The person driving the truck was not an ICE employee, an official told ABC News."

Carefully consider the following:

"Every time we ask ourselves would I have done something during the Holocaust? Would I have done something?" protester Jack Silverman told WLNE. "I want to make sure that when I tell my grandkids, 'This is what was happening in the United States, and they say, 'Well what did you do?' I need to say that I did these things, and this is how it helped. Because I wouldn't be able to live with myself otherwise."

This is clearly a repeat of history under our fuhrer, the Trump nazi.  Wake up.

"The group, Never Again, released a statement, saying, "Last night we experienced a small example of the violence that ICE uses against our immigrant neighbors every day. As Jews, our families taught us the lessons of the Holocaust, and we promised that we would speak out and act if we ever saw a group of people being targeted, dehumanized, and rounded up. "We are answering the call of our ancestors to sound the alarm: #NeverAgainIsNow. Every person in the United States needs to join the fight to close the concentration camps, shut down ICE, and secure permanent protection for all undocumented people in the U.S."

Why aren't the Israelis doing precisely the same?  Why are they supporting the Trump nazi?  Why are they brutalizing the Palestinians?  Why does the United States stand by and do nothing?  Worse, encourages the Israeli aggressor?

"The protest had been peaceful throughout the night until just before 10 p.m. "Correctional officers came out and physically pushed us out of the way and then pepper-sprayed us, which is burning my face right now," protester Jared Goldstein told WLNE. Eighteen people were arrested at a protest by the same group outside of Wyatt Detention Center on July 2, according to the Providence Journal."

NBC News reports:

"ICE used data from immigrants' ankle monitors to raid seven food processing plants in Mississippi, raising concerns about privacy and immigrants’ rights. Federal immigration authorities were able to track an undocumented Guatemalan woman from the time she left her home in the morning and headed to work at a food processing plant in Mississippi, to the time she left work roughly 10 hours later. They were able to do so because the woman had received an ankle monitor upon being released from ICE detention, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials used data gleaned from her monitor to target raids this month on her plant and six others that led to the arrests of nearly 700 people."

Jackbooted motherf--kers.  Trump's Gestapo.

"Unsealed search warrants from the raid reveal that immigration authorities have tracked such GPS data from dozens of undocumented immigrants with ankle monitors. Lawyers and immigration advocates told NBC News they had not previously heard of ICE employing this tactic, which they called “troubling” and said raised concerns about immigrants’ rights."

They have none.  Certainly, not in a de facto fascist police-state, quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

“It’s troubling to us that people who are released are being tracked for reasons that have nothing to do with whether they’re likely to appear for their court cases or abscond,” said Judy Rabinovitz, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrants' Rights Project."

Forget?  Nazi America. Sue the jackbooted nazi storm troopers.

“I think it raises questions about whether this is a proper use of the ankle monitors because taken to its extreme it means they can be monitoring every place this person goes, every person they meet with, and that raises various privacy concerns,” Rabinovitz said."

Forget?  There is no privacy.  Certainly, none in a goddamned fascist police-state.

"Michelle Lapointe, senior supervising attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center, said she questioned whether undocumented immigrants were being told "about the uses to which monitors can be put toward before someone agrees to that as a condition to their release."

Why would these jackbooted motherf--kers do that?  Would be most inconvenient for these achingly clueless nazi bastards.

"I would want to know if all of this is disclosed to people, particularly if it's going to be used as evidence against those people in a criminal proceeding down the road," she said."

You've got to be kidding.  Forget?  Trump and his henchmen do as they please.  Precisely, why you need to sue these bastards every goddamned step of the way.

"Oscar Chacón, co-founder and executive director of the Alianza Americas, a Latino immigrant advocacy group, said such a surveillance tactic “further stigmatizes” immigrants who wear ankle monitors. Chacón said he believed the use of the worksite raids and of tracking ankle monitor data as a tactic was “part of a larger effort to use fear as a way of promoting the idea that people may feel so trapped” they abandon their immigration cases or leave the U.S. Marshall Goff, an immigration attorney in Mississippi representing some of the families affected by the raids, said people in their communities were still frightened. “It’s been scary,” he said. “A lot of people are still frightened right now, and they’re afraid to ever leave their homes, really to do anything.”

Clearly, ICE tactics are working as intended by the Trump nazi and his henchmen.  Are you suing these pieces of shit?  Dragging their sorry asses into court?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

The Judiciary has its problems.  Lack of consistency is certainly one of them.  The Washington Post reports:

"The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the Trump administration’s latest asylum restrictions to take effect Friday in the border states of Texas and New Mexico — but not in California and Arizona — in a ruling that centered on whether a judge has authority to impose an injunction nationwide. The 2-1 decision stemmed from a new federal policy that would bar most migrants from requesting asylum at the southern border if they traveled through Mexico or another country where they could have sought refuge instead."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

Think Trump's not inspiring White Supremacist violence?  Nazi violence.  The Washington Post reports:

"Weeks before the bullets of El Paso, the words of Greenville echoed through this small city on the North Carolina coastal plain — and across the nation. Samar Badwan, a Greenville resident, watched that day as 8,000 neighbors and fellow citizens jammed a local basketball arena to serenade the president with a chant of “Send her back,” a response to Trump’s insistence that a Muslim, Somali American congresswoman should “go back” to the land of her birth. “As we say in the South, he’s stirring the pot,” Badwan remembers thinking. “And that’s a very dangerous game. People are listening.” That visit — and that chant — continues to reverberate loudly here nearly a month later, particularly for those such as Badwan, who see themselves as targets of a campaign to whip up xenophobia and hate. After this month’s El Paso shooting, in which 22 people were killed by a gunman who parroted the president’s warnings about an “invasion” of immigrants, the words carry a particularly ominous resonance: as a prelude to murder. “In my heart, I knew what his message was going to be,” Badwan said, as she sipped sweet tea at her local Starbucks. “I didn’t know the extent to which it would impact our small town.”

Has an impact all across our formerly great country.  Hard to believe our population has seemed to have forgotten the cost of Hitler's Third Reich to hundreds of thousands of our best and brightest.  Second World War European Theater. Wake up.

"Before that day, Badwan never had to question whether her hijab was incompatible with her Southern drawl. She never had to fear that her North Carolina neighbors might hold her Palestinian heritage against her. She never had to think that in Greenville — a city she has been proud to call home for 30 years, raising three children along the way — her faith would mark her as an unwanted outsider. Then the president came to town."

Adolf Hitler reincarnated.  Trump's Fourth Reich.

"Greenville, a university city of just under 100,000, touts itself as diverse and inclusive, but it was introduced to much of the country through a chant condemned by the Anti-Defamation League as “the sound of intolerance.”

Hitler reincarnated.  Trump's Fourth Reich.  Especially ironic, achingly tragic, exceptionally short-sighted, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is buddy-buddy with this racist fascist currently occupying the Oval Office.

"Trump’s rally prompted heated exchanges on the letters page of Greenville’s newspaper, the Daily Reflector. “I have a confession to make. I was at the president’s rally Wednesday night, and when the chant ‘send them back’ broke out, I joined in, with enthusiasm,” wrote Steven Van Cleave, a resident of nearby Winterville. “And I have another confession to make. I do not feel the slightest need to apologize to anyone for doing so.”

Exceptionally chilling.  The same happened in Nazi Germany.  Germans cheered on their Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler.  Just as you clueless idiots are doing with your fuhrer, the Trump nazi.  Wake up.

"The chant, Van Cleave wrote, had been directed at four congresswomen who “have nothing but contempt for this country” and who “should leave and go to a country they admire such as Cuba or Venezuela.”

As German citizens enthusiastically bought Adolf Hitler's bigotry, so does Van Cleave buy Trump's.  It's amazing how such insanity is so contagious.  Unlike Nazi Germany, however, Trump only has current support of approximately one-third the population.  As divided as our formerly great country is now, Trump is meeting increasing resistance across the board.  Challenged every step of the way in the courts.  Democrats need to place country ahead of partisan interests and formally vote for an impeachment investigation.

"The four congresswomen, who have been told by Trump to “go back” to where they came from, are all people of color. Three were born in the United States; the fourth, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), was born in Somalia and came to the United States as a refugee when she was a child. At the dental office where she works, Serrano challenged co-workers who support the president to defend his words — and the crowd’s. They did: The chant, she was told, was all about the congresswomen and their political beliefs, not about their race, ethnicity or religion."

They're liars, delusional, and/or simply not informed.  The truth is far more complicated, convoluted than what the Trump nazi and his henchmen gutlessly claim, falsely, delusionally make it out to be.  These Congresswomen are speaking a most inconvenient truth.  Trump is lying.  As covered here in edition after edition of this publication and elsewhere.

"Serrano was unconvinced. She felt “hurt and betrayed,” the crowd’s words settling in her mind like a slur against entire groups of people. It’s something, she said, she couldn’t have imagined only a few years ago."

It's been in the works for decades.  Certainly, quite evident since the McCarthy days of the Fifties.

“There was a filter, and now the filter has been broken,” she said. “My Hispanic friends are afraid to go to the store. They’re afraid to do anything. It’s scary.” Newcomers to Greenville say that they, too, have noticed a shift. Tareq al-Hilali, 33, came to the city as a refugee five years ago after fleeing his native Iraq. He and his family soon opened a convenience store, where they serve fried chicken to an appreciative clientele and field inquiries about the finer points of their religion. “Why don’t you eat pork? Why does your sister wear a hijab?” said Hilali. “People ask questions, but they’re nice questions.” His sister is less convinced that the interest is so benign. When she first moved to the United States, she said, she felt no fear walking around the city while wearing her hijab. That has changed. Trump, she said, is responsible. “I don’t feel safe anymore,” said Sura al-Hilali, 24. Something else has changed, too. A few months ago, after hours of study crammed in between work at the store and her university classes, she passed her citizenship test. “They can’t send me back now,” she said. “I have my rights.”

That may be true at the moment, but certainly not indefinitely as our formerly great country continues to embrace national socialism, fascism, nazism.  Readers are reminded Japanese-American citizens were imprisoned in detainment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Yet, Democrats are certainly part of the current problem.  Continue to behave stupidly.  The following is appalling.  The Washington Post reports:

"It is rare that an amicus brief filed in a Supreme Court case is characterized as both a brassy reality check and unprecedented political bullying. But such is the controversy that Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and four other Democratic senators have ignited with a filing that instructs the Supreme Court to either drop a New York gun case it has accepted for the coming term or face a public reckoning. “The Supreme Court is not well. And the people know it,” writes Whitehouse, who is listed as the attorney of record on the friend-of-the-court brief. “Perhaps the Court can heal itself before the public demands it be ‘restructured in order to reduce the influence of politics.’ ” The phrase is from a poll question with which a majority of Americans agreed. Democratic Sens. Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) Richard J. Durbin (Ill.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) joined the incendiary brief, which questions whether the court’s conservative majority — nominated by three Republican presidents — is motivated by partisan intent and is in the pocket of the National Rifle Association and the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group. “Out in the real world, Americans are murdered each day with firearms in classrooms or movie theaters or churches or city streets, and a generation of preschoolers is being trained in active-shooter survival drills,” Whitehouse writes. “In the cloistered confines of this Court, and notwithstanding the public imperatives of these massacres, the NRA and its allies brashly presume, in word and deed, that they have a friendly audience for their ‘project.’ ”

Jesus Christ.  It is indeed aggressive stupidity to abrogate the last, best defense against corrupt and abusive government, -- the Second Amendment.

"The brief has lit up the right. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) called it an extraordinary threat from one branch of government to another and tweeted: “Packing the Supreme Court ... Bad idea. Liberal dream. Trump’s 3rd term is looking better and better.”

Remove your head from your ass, Senator.  Stupidity is indeed most unbecoming a United States Senator.  "Trump's 3rd term?"  Are you stupidly trying to incite a revolution in a country that is growing increasingly unstable as it continues to nazify?

Time to take a close look at the growing malignancy, that is, the progressive nazification of the Republican Party since the McCarthy era of the Fifties.  Culminating today in the Trump nazi.  Neither party is worth a crap.  For totally different reasons.  What ever happened to the sanity of the Center in our formerly great country?  Gone.

"The Wall Street Journal editorial board dubbed it the opposite of an amicus filing — an “enemy-of-the-court brief” — and the National Review’s David French called it “astonishing.” “It is easily the most malicious Supreme Court brief I’ve ever seen,” he wrote. “And it comes not from an angry or unhinged private citizen, but from five Democratic members of the United States Senate.”

What it certainly is indicative of is the growing instability in our formerly great country.  A most dangerous, volatile development.

"In an interview, Whitehouse was unapologetic, saying he was cautioning the court, not threatening it. “In the same way that you might warn somebody walking out on thin ice — ‘Hey, the ice is thin out there, you want to be careful, maybe you want to come in’ — I think that was the motivation for filing this brief,” said the former U.S. attorney and state attorney general. “To warn the court that it already has its reputation in some degree of trouble ... it’s getting to the danger that they might fall through the ice.”

Already have on a variety of other issues.  Certainly, not on the Second Amendment, however.  At least, not yet.  Again, the last best defense against outrageously corrupt and abusive government as intended by the Founders is indeed the Second Amendment.  Readers are reminded liberty is not free.  There's always a cost, price to be paid.  The right to bear arms ultimately provides the last best defense against corrupt, abusive government.

The price for this most precious right is indeed the cost of crimes perpetrated by illegal use of these very same weapons.  The Second Amendment protects against the greater evil, that is, loss of liberty to out of control government.  In the last two and a half years of the Trump nazi, most of the mass shootings were perpetrated by White Supremacists inspired by Trump.  Wake up.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

Think there may be hope for Scaramucci after all?  LOL.  CNN News reports:

"Anthony Scaramucci, a former White House communications director who has recently withdrawn his support for President Donald Trump, said Monday that he is putting together a coalition of former Trump Cabinet officials to denounce the President ahead of the 2020 election."

... Couldn't be, could it?  LOL.  Don't you love it?  LOL.

"I'm in the process of putting together a team of people that feel the exact same way that I do. This is not a 'Never Trump' situation. This not just screeching rhetoric. This is -- OK, the guy is unstable. Everyone inside knows it, everyone outside knows it. Let's see if we can find a viable alternative," Scaramucci told CNN's Alisyn Camerota on "New Day." "Moreover, I have to get some former Cabinet officials in unity to speak up about it. They know it's a crisis," he added. Scaramucci did not provide any names of people associated with the coalition he said he is assembling, but predicted that by "middle to late fall" there will be a "trove" of people willing to speak out against Trump."

Jesus Christ.  Couldn't be some sanity returning to the GOP, could it?  LOL.

"Last week, Scaramucci announced he no longer supports Trump's reelection bid and that the top of the 2020 Republican presidential ticket may need to be replaced. During his "New Day" appearance on Monday, Scaramucci said that if more Republicans begin publicly opposing Trump, it would jumpstart a "process" that could eventually replace Trump on the GOP ticket."

Think so?  LOL.

"Trump, in an apparent response to Scaramucci's "New Day" interview, labeled his former aide a "nut job" on Twitter and said he "barely knew him," even though he hired him as communications director and Scaramucci frequently defended him on television."

'Kettle calling the pot, black.'  LOL.  Joke aside, think Trump's not shitting?

"Trump is already facing a Republican primary challenge by former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who announced in April he was officially entering the race to take on Trump in 2020. Earlier this year, Weld, who was the vice presidential nominee on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2016, told CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead" that it would be a "political tragedy" and he would "fear for the Republic" if the country had six more years of Trump as President."

You think?  Trump presents an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

"Trump could also face a challenge from former South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford, who is mulling a longshot bid against the President for the Republican primary. On Sunday, Sanford told NBC that Trump doesn't deserve to be reelected because he is taking the country in the "wrong direction" and that there needs to be a "course correction." Scaramucci, who has not publicly endorsed a Republican challenger, told Camerota that the party has to "offer Republicans a viable candidate and you also have to offer them an off ramp," adding that while it's "tough" to support the President, "you want to be loyal" to the party."

Hard to believe all this has gone on as long as it has.  Trump makes Richard Nixon look like a choir boy.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

The following is beyond comprehension in a supposedly democratic republic.  NPR reports:

"A federal appeals court in California ruled that migrant children detained by U.S. immigration authorities must be provided with edible food, clean water, and basic hygiene items such as soap and toothbrushes, in accordance with a decades-old court order. The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a Trump administration challenge of a lower court decision finding that the government failed to offer detained minors safe and sanitary conditions as required by the 1997 Flores settlement. In 2017, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee found that the government was violating that settlement by not providing safe and sanitary conditions when it held minors in conditions that deprived them of sleep — cold and over-crowded cells – and denied them access to food, water and basic hygiene.

"Assuring that children eat enough edible food, drink clean water, are housed in hygienic facilities with sanitary bathrooms, have soap and toothpaste, and are not sleep-deprived are without doubt essential to the children's safety," wrote Judge Marsha S. Berzon, a Clinton appointee. "The district court properly construed the Agreement as requiring such conditions rather than allowing the government to decide whether to provide them," she added. The Justice Department declined comment. During a hearing held before the appellate panel in June, an attorney for the government, Sarah Fabian, told a skeptical Judge A. Wallace Tashima that the Customs and Border Protection agency may not be required to provide toothpaste and soap to minors held short-term. A video of their exchange went viral."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

Inconvenient truth often comes out on a hot mic.  NBC News reports:

“CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell was caught on a hot mic during a segment on sexual harassment appearing to say: "Sounds like somebody else here.”

You go, gal.  LOL.  Let it rip.  LOL.

"The comment was made during a Tuesday night package on Placido Domingo, the opera legend accused by eight singers and a dancer of sexual harassment and abuse of power, detailed in an Associated Press report. O’Donnell’s comment came toward the end of the segment, right after Domingo’s statement was read aloud, where he said he believed all of his interactions and relationships were “welcomed and consensual.” Heard on air, the comment appears to have since been scrubbed from the network’s website. Her words are not completely clear, as O’Donnell, the recently installed anchor of the "CBS Evening News," could be referring to any of the many sexual harassment and misconduct scandals that have plagued the network in the past few years. Charlie Rose, O’Donnell’s former “CBS This Morning” co-host, was fired in 2017 after being accused of decades of sexual harassment. At the time Rose said in a statement he was coming to a "newer and deeper recognition" of the pain his behavior caused, adding, "I have learned a great deal as a result of these events, and I hope others will, too." After the allegations surfaced, O’Donnell commended the women who came forward with accusations against Rose, saying it took “courage.”

Indeed, it did.  No woman should have to put up with this shit.

No matter what she was referring to, O'Donnell should not be fired for the comment.  Would be a colossal mistake.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

In follow up to the last edition, NBC News reports:

"Democrats slammed Israel Thursday over its decision to block pro-Palestinian Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering the country on a trip they had planned to take this weekend to Israel and the West Bank. Many lawmakers warned of the move's potentially negative impact on the U.S.-Israel relationship; called on Israeli officials to reverse Thursday's announcement and return to an earlier position of allowing the pair to enter the country; and accused President Donald Trump of instigating the move. Ahead of the Israeli government’s announcement, Trump tweeted that it would “show great weakness” if the country allowed the two to enter, later tweeting that "Representatives Omar and Tlaib are the face of the Democrat Party, and they HATE Israel!" Omar and Tlaib are the first two Muslim woman elected to Congress."

Trump's action is treasonous.  To say nothing of abject bigotry against women of color.  These two ladies are U.S. Congresswomen.  Had every right to travel to Israel in their official capacity.

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the decision "a sad reversal" and "deeply disappointing." "I pray that the Government of Israel will reverse that denial," she said in a statement, calling the move "a sign of weakness, and beneath the dignity of the great State of Israel."

No question.  Israel, clearly, is no longer what it claims to be.

"Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who is Jewish, also said in a statement that denying the two lawmakers entry was "a sign of weakness, not strength" that "will only hurt the U.S.-Israel relationship and support for Israel in America."

No question.

"Many strong supporters of Israel will be deeply disappointed in this decision, which the Israeli government should reverse," he said."

No question.

"Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who is running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and has also been a critic of the Israeli government, tweeted: "Banning Congresswomen Omar and Tlaib from entering Israel and Palestine is a sign of enormous disrespect to these elected leaders, to the United States Congress, and to the principles of democracy. The Israeli government should reverse this decision and allow them in."

No question.  What is the Israeli aggressor so afraid of?  The truth?

"Omar, of Minnesota, responded in a lengthy Twitter post Thursday afternoon, saying that "Trump's Muslim ban is what Israel is implementing, this time against two duly elected Members of Congress," and calling the decision "both an insult to democratic values and a chilling response to a visit by government officials from an allied nation."

No question.  Israel has again disgraced itself.

    "MoC are frequently asked to visit Israel to “see things for ourselves.”

    "But Netanyahu choosing to ban the only 2 Muslim women in Congress from entering tells the US that only *some* Americans are welcome to Israel, not all.

    "Trump is exporting his bigotry &making matters worse. https://t.co/PFdMDxuIfJ
    — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 15, 2019"

Quite true.  Trump is the problem.  The Israeli aggressor is catering to our fuhrer's wishes.

"Tlaib, of Michigan, echoed Democratic leadership in calling the move on Twitter a "sign of weakness" and saying Israel had made the decision because "the truth of what is happening to Palestinians is frightening."

    This woman right here is my sity. She deserves to live in peace & with human dignity. I am who I am because of her. The decision by Israel to bar her granddaughter, a U.S. Congresswoman, is a sign of weakness b/c the truth of what is happening to Palestinians is frightening. pic.twitter.com/GGcFLiH9N3
    — Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) August 15, 2019"

Certainly, true.  The Israeli aggressor is emulating Hitler's barbaric treatment of the Jews at the very beginning of the Nazi regime.  Far worse was yet to come.

Consider the following:

"Several Democrats, including Reps. Nita Lowey and Jerry Nadler, both New York Democrats and Jewish, who have questioned Omar and Tlaib for their critical statements about Israel, defended them and criticized Israel over Thursday's move."

Rightfully, so.

“I don’t like the way these members often talk about Israel, but a decision to ban congressional critics from Israel would be a big mistake," tweeted Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., adding that the move to bar the two would "do long term harm to the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

No question.  Already has.

“When you attack one of us, you attack all of us," said Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., a close ally of Omar and Tlaib, who Pressley said have been subject of “some of the most vile and vicious attacks simply for being who they are.” Pressley said Netanyahu was "stoking division and punishing dissent just like the occupant of the White House." Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. — the fourth member of the "the squad," along with Pressley, Omar and Tlaib — tweeted that lawmakers "are frequently asked to visit Israel to 'see things for ourselves.' But Netanyahu choosing to ban the only 2 Muslim women in Congress from entering tells the US that only *some* Americans are welcome to Israel, not all," adding that "Trump is exporting his bigotry & making matters worse."

No question.  Aggressive stupidity at its very worst.  Netanyahu is gutless.  What a marvelous opportunity he stupidly forfeited to have sat down with both Congresswomen to air their differences.  What was he so afraid of?  The truth?  Should have suggested their first stop be a meeting with him.

Ferociously pointedly, hard to believe an Israeli Prime Minister would ever stoop to the level of bigotry embraced by our fuhrer, the Trump nazi.  Yet, here we are.

"Many members suggested that the move was provoked by Trump’s policies and statements, including comments specifically about the two congresswomen. “This is a craven, partisan, racist weaponization of the US-Israel relationship that will do lasting damage,” Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., tweeted, suggesting that Trump was trying to play “electoral map games” with the states the two women represent. “Banning Muslims from travel is one of Trump's most consistent policy positions,” tweeted Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., referring to Trump’s proposal during his 2016 presidential bid to ban all Muslims from entering the United States."

Racism.  Unbridled.  Unbecoming the president of the United States.

Equally remarkable?  Get this:

"House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., who co-led an official congressional delegation trip to Israel last week with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., had helped secure a statement from the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer, last month that the government there would not deny entry to any member of Congress "out of respect for the U.S. Congress and the great alliance between Israel and America," an aide to Hoyer told NBC News on Thursday — a position reversed on Thursday. Hoyer had been working since Wednesday to convince the Israeli government to allow the pair entry, speaking directly to Dermer and Netanyahu, the aide said. Other House Democrats who lobbied Dermer not to bar Omar and Tlaib from visiting the country included Reps. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Lowey, NBC News confirmed with sources familiar with the conversations. The most influential pro-Israel group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, said on Twitter that all members of Congress should be able to visit the country.

    "We disagree with Reps. Omar and Tlaib’s support for the anti-Israel and anti-peace BDS movement, along with Rep. Tlaib’s calls for a one-state solution. We also believe every member of Congress should be able to visit and experience our democratic ally Israel firsthand.
    — AIPAC (@AIPAC) August 15, 2019"

The following is gutless insanity:

"In a statement defending the decision shortly after Trump's tweet, Netanyahu called Omar and Tlaib "leading activists in promoting boycott legislation against Israel in the US Congress" and accused them of "planning a campaign whose sole purpose was to strengthen the boycott and negate Israel's legitimacy.”

The Israeli aggressor is doing all that on its very own through its actions.  Critics of Israel are merely pointing out the truth, -- truth that the Israeli leadership is unwilling to address.

"He added that they had not sought "any meeting with an official Israeli official in both the government and the opposition."

So what?  Had you brains and guts, you would have extended a formal invitation to meet with them.  Taken advantage of that opportunity to air differences.  Too goddamned gutless?

"Omar and Tlaib were among 17 House members to vote against a bill last month that opposed efforts to delegitimize Israel through the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, known as BDS, which passed overwhelmingly with 398 members in support."

So what?  Both are on the right side of history.  The other 398 in support made a horrendous mistake.

"Few GOP lawmakers weighed in early Thursday on the Israeli move, though Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida tweeted that it was a "mistake."

    "I disagree 100% with Reps. Tlaib & Omar on #Israel & am the author of the #AntiBDS bill we passed in the Senate

    But denying them entry into #Israel is a mistake.

    Being blocked is what they really hoped for all along in order to bolster their attacks against the Jewish state.
    — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 15, 2019"

Wake up, Senator.  You're out to lunch.  Can't see the forest for the trees.  You cluelessly ignore the horrendous atrocities the Israeli aggressor is brutally inflicting on the Palestinians.  Israeli behavior, currently, is precisely akin to early Nazi Germany shortly after Hitler became Chancellor.  The worst then, yet to come.  As today, in the Middle East vis a vis the Israeli aggressor.

"Several Republican members of Congress visited Israel last week on the official congressional delegation visit led by Hoyer and McCarthy. Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, McCarthy said that Omar and Tlaib should have joined the Israel tour last week with other members of Congress. "The one thing that should’ve happened, they should’ve come with their colleagues," McCarthy said. "They should’ve come together where they can have a meeting with Israel, with the Palestinian Authority, with those who were running against [Netanyahu] at the same time."

So what?  They're Congresswomen.  Why would the Israeli leadership not take advantage of any visit, at any time?  Had Netanyahu extended a formal invitation for a meeting, don't think the pressure on both would have been enormous to meet with the Israeli dictator?  Don't think they wouldn't have taken advantage of such an invitation to share their views?  Wake up.

The Washington Post reports:

"Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) said Friday that she will not travel to Israel after the Israeli government initially banned her from entering the country and then reversed course. Israel had relented after Tlaib sent a letter requesting to see her 90-year-old grandmother, who lives in the occupied West Bank, during a four-day trip planned for next week. “In my attempt to visit Palestine, I’ve experienced the same racist treatment that many Palestinian-Americans endure when encountering the Israeli government,” she said in a statement. Tlaib had initially hoped to arrive in Israel on Sunday with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on a trip focused mainly on viewing the impact of recent U.S. policies and aid cuts on Palestinians. Israel’s decision to prevent their entry for that trip immediately drew widespread criticism from Democratic lawmakers and American Jewish organizations, including the staunchly pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, with some critics saying it set a new, unfortunate precedent for U.S.-Israel relations. In her statement, Tlaib said the Israeli government had taken advantage of her personal situation and her desire to visit her grandmother, requesting that she pledge not to advocate for a boycott of Israel while she visited. “The Israeli government used my love and desire to see my grandmother to silence me and made my ability to do so contingent upon my signing a letter — reflecting just how undemocratic and afraid they are of the truth my trip would reveal about what is happening in the State of Israel and to Palestinians living under occupation with United States support,” the lawmaker wrote. She said visiting her family under such “oppressive conditions meant to humiliate me would break my grandmother’s heart.”

This entire fiasco has been poorly handled by Trump, Netanyahu, and both Congresswomen.  What should have happened did not.  That is, both Congresswomen, along with the other two members of the 'Squad' who did not plan on coming, should have sought a meeting with Netanyahu first to discuss their differences before proceeding on to the rest of their business.  Cleared the air with the Israeli Prime Minister who is clearly in the pocket of our fuhrer, the Trump nazi.

Had such a meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister been planned, might have prevented what wound up happening including the following:

"Israel’s Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, who on Friday approved an overnight request from Tlaib to visit based on humanitarian grounds, called Tlaib’s decision not to visit a provocation. “Last night, she sent me a letter asking to allow her to visit her 90-year-old grandmother ‘because this could be my last chance to meet her,’” said Deri. “I approved it for humanitarian reason, but it turns out that it was a provocation to embarrass Israel. Her hatred for Israel overcomes her love for her grandmother.”

Jesus Christ.  That's bullshit.  Both women have a viewpoint the Israeli leadership needs to hear.  What are the Israelis so afraid of?  The truth?  The same is true of Trump.  Had our fuhrer been any other president, he would have long since invited both Congresswomen, and the two other members of the 'Squad,' to the Oval Office to make their case.  Scheduled sufficient time to do so properly.  Trump, just like Netanyahu, has no regard, no interest in the truth.  Clearly, the truth is unacceptable, doesn't meet their needs.  Precisely, why both countries are failing.  Time to act before too late.  The American public will finally wake up.  When that happens, financial and military support from the U.S. will dry up.  At that time, all bets are off.

"Tlaib and Omar have said their criticism of the Israeli government is based on policy differences and have repeatedly denied harboring any animus toward Jews or Israelis. Both have voiced support for a boycott movement against Israel to oppose the treatment of Palestinians. In 2017, Israel passed legislation banning entry to activists who actively promote the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, which has found growing support in Europe and the United States in recent years."

For damned good reason.  The Israeli aggressor is out of control.

Crisis grows.  The Washington Post reports:

"A politically explosive fight over Israel’s attempt to block two members of Congress from entering the country — at President Trump’s urging — has elevated rifts between it and Democrats who have increasingly started to view the Israeli government and its leader as out of line or, in the eyes of at least two presidential candidates, even racist."

Exactly, right.  The true colors of the Israeli aggressor are becoming clearer and clearer.  Trump's action is traitorous.  These two Congresswomen are American citizens, duly elected representatives of their districts.

"The shift in dialogue has been accelerated by the tight embrace between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and after a dizzying 48 hours, some Democrats are more openly discussing the unusual step of reconsidering foreign aid to the longtime ally."

About time.  What took so long?  Abuse of the Palestinians by the Israeli aggressor has been an ongoing issue for decades.

"The dispute has fractured bipartisan support for Israel and moved debates over it into partisan space more typically home to issues such as abortion, gun control and immigration."

Comes as no surprise as our formerly great country continues to deteriorate under a national socialist, fascist, nazi 'president.'

The following is indeed frightening:

“There is this tectonic shifting of one of the fundamental plates of American politics,” said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group. “This has been a plank of the rule book for 60 years, and things are shifting in a really important way.” The situation also has put many Democratic lawmakers in the awkward position of defending colleagues they find politically toxic while rebuking a country they support. It has complicated a months-long effort by congressional Democrats to distance themselves from Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and repair some of the damage flowing from accusations that they were anti-Israel or, in the case of Omar, had made anti-Semitic remarks."

We are a country coming apart at the seams.  What we're increasingly witnessing here is raw nazism.  Time to wake up.  Before too late.

"Trump has worked to portray those members of Congress as the face of the Democratic Party. But his extreme action — urging an ally to bar two members of Congress from entering — has forced many Democrats to defend Omar and Tlaib even while making clear that they do not agree with all of their views."

Trump's actions are treasonous.  Worse?  The sick, narcissistic, fascist bastard is taking a raucous hard dump on the Constitution, abrogating his falsely sworn oath of office to uphold the United States Constitution.

“The only person who won and got what they wanted was Trump. No one else was happy about it,” said Aaron Keyak, a Democratic strategist who works with pro-Israel groups. “He goes over the top in attacking them, and Israel goes over the top in responding. And then you force even hawkish Democrats to jump to their defense.”

Trump is great evil.  Unfit.  Presents an exigent, direct threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

“This is exactly what Trump wants,” he added. “And in the meantime it is hurting the support for the thing the pro-Israel community most cares about, which is the U.S.-Israeli relationship.”

That relationship is increasingly in question due to the Israeli aggressor's treatment of Palestinians.  Both political parties remain unwilling to question the tactics employed by the Israelis.  -- Tactics highly reminiscent of early Nazi Germany well before the very worst.  Survivors of Nazi concentration camps liberated at the end of the Second World War rightfully claimed "Never Again!"  Yet, the Israeli aggressor is employing Nazi tactics against the Palestinians.

"For decades, Israel held a special place in American politics, with almost universal support. That has eroded over the past several years but seemed to disintegrate this week in a way that some fear could do irreparable damage."

It's not too late.  Not yet.  Time to wake up.

"Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), has been one of the most outspoken recent critics of Israel and has suggested withholding foreign aid. He labeled the country’s government as “dare I say, racist,” the same description fellow candidate and former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke used for Netanyahu."

Exactly, right.  About time.  Well overdue.  What took so long?  -- If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, guess what? It's a duck.

“If Israel doesn’t want members of the United States Congress to visit their country ... maybe they can respectfully decline the billions of dollars that we give to Israel,” Sanders said on MSNBC."

Not good enough.  Nowhere near.  Time to threaten withdrawal of funding if the Israeli aggressor refuses to end its brutal tactics against the Palestinians.  Forget?  Thousands and thousands of our best and brightest died fighting this very same shit.  Second World War European Theater.  Time to wake up.

"The past few days also have jumbled a months-long strategy on the part of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her leadership team to try to emphasize that Democrats are friends of Israel, after months of accusations by the president that they are not. When Omar first sparked an uproar in February for using anti-Semitic tropes to criticize Israel, Trump attempted to suggest all Democrats are “anti-Jewish” and cast Republicans as the only true allies of the Middle Eastern democracy."

Jesus Christ.  Wake up, Madam Speaker.  The only viable solution is a formal vote to launch an impeachment investigation.  Time for Democrats to place principle ahead of partisan interests.

"But now, many hawks on Israel have found themselves in a position of having to release statements criticizing a nation they have long defended. “This matter is a self-inflicted wound by one of America’s closest allies, one of our closest friends, and a vibrant democracy,” Hoyer said in a Friday statement, his second such remark in about 24 hours. “President Trump’s urging of such action and its implementation were — and are — unacceptable.”

Jesus Christ.  ... You think?  The number one problem in this entire fiasco is not the Israeli aggressor.  It's the Trump nazi.  Democrats can easily force the Israeli aggressor issue by cutting off all funding.  Since funding originates in the House, doing so is indeed possible.  Dealing with Trump is far more difficult.  Especially, with the Senate run and owned by Republican nazis.  Precisely, why a formal vote on launching an impeachment investigation is so necessary.  Tie the 'president' up the rest of his term defending himself in the House.  Would at least slow him down.  As more and more is revealed during the investigation, pressure on Republicans would become enormous.

"Hoyer, who personally pleaded with Netanyahu on Wednesday to allow Omar and Tlaib entry, went on to rebuke Israel for making Tlaib sign a letter limiting her actions in Israel in order to visit her grandmother in the West Bank. Tlaib ultimately declined to go."

Never make a deal with the devilAlways a mistake.

"Omar on Friday rebutted Netanyahu’s claim that the group had not requested to meet with any Israeli officials, and she outlined aspects of the itinerary, which included visits to Palestinian areas. “As many of my colleagues have stated in the last 24 hours, we give Israel more than $3 billion in aid every year. This is predicated on their being an important ally in the region, and the ‘only democracy’ in the Middle East,” she wrote on Twitter. “Denying visits to duly elected Members of Congress is not consistent with being either an ally or a democracy. We should be leveraging that aid to stop the settlements and ensure full rights for Palestinians.”

No kidding.  Yet, Republicans remain too stupid, Democrats too gutless to do the right thing.

"Numerous Democrats said they worried about the long-term effects of politicizing the U.S.-Israel relationship. In an interview, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), a vocal defender of Israel who like Sanders is Jewish, ticked off a range of policy ramifications should some of his colleagues start to view Israel negatively rather than as a strategic ally. Israel is the greatest recipient of U.S. foreign aid, with the two countries signing a memorandum of understanding in 2016 outlining $38 billion in military aid for the next 10 years. Typically, Congress approves the funds on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis — but with Democrats such as Sanders calling that into question, the future is uncertain. "This will no doubt have an impact on the debate, on attitudes toward Israel, and on the growing concerns about Israel's actions under Netanyahu's right-wing leadership," said  Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. "It's too early to come to conclusions as to where this debate will take us, but certainly aid is an issue that will be discussed."

About time.  Things have to change.  If not, all bets are off.

Trump is great evil personified:

"Trump in 2015 played into Jewish stereotypes, telling the Republican Jewish Coalition “you’re not going to support me, because I don’t want your money.” In 2017, he equated the anti-Semitic marchers in Charlottesville with those who were protesting them, saying there were “very fine people on both sides.” At the same time, Trump is focused on trying to motivate evangelical Christians, who have a deep religious connection to Israel and have long made up a core of Trump’s base. Many American Jews also have viewed Netanyahu as problematic and oppose some of his policies and his abandonment of a two-state Middle East solution. “What’s so challenging to Democratic leaders here is they look at what’s happening in Israel and they see the reflection of Trump,” Ben-Ami said. “This is a strategic blunder of epic proportions that Netanyahu and his advisers have made, turning Israel into a branch of the Republican Party. This is a tiny little country in a very bad neighborhood that needs all the friends it can get.”

Time for change.  Before too late.  The United States has great power and influence.  Can and should pressure the Israeli aggressor to viably settle the Palestinian issue.  If not, the American public will eventually wake up.  See the aggressor precisely for what it is.  At that time, funding will be cut off.  On its own and without American support, all bets are off.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

Trump's insanity knows no bounds.  NBC News reports:

"In this coastal town of about 2,000 people in eastern Greenland, residents weren't sure whether to believe the news: Could President Donald Trump really be serious about wanting to buy Greenland? “I think we take it as a sick joke by a crazy president," said Anna Kûitse Kúko, 63, who has lived in Tasiilaq nearly all of her life and teaches English here. The remark was one of several from local residents who reacted with a mixture of mockery and anger to the reports, which originated with a report by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday. According to the reports, Trump has repeatedly asked advisers and his White House counsel to explore the possibility of acquiring the 811,000-square-mile island in the North Atlantic, which belongs to Denmark and is home to about 56,000 people."

Jesus Christ.  Give me a break.  LOL.  Clearly, the man's lost his mind.  LOL.

"NBC News confirmed that Trump had expressed interest in buying the island, which has natural resources including coal and uranium and already houses an American airbase, part of the U.S.'s ballistic missile early warning system. It's not clear how much the United States would offer for Greenland, and whether Denmark would be amenable to a sale. The U.S. has looked into buying Greenland twice previously, in 1867 and then 1946, when President Harry Truman offered $100 million but Denmark declined to sell."

Jesus Christ.  Don't we have more than enough to handle right here?  Are we still trying to create an empire?

"Greenland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted that the island was not looking for a buyer: "Greenland is rich in valuable resources such as minerals, the purest water and ice, fish stocks, seafood, renewable energy and is a new frontier for adventure tourism. We're open for business, not for sale."

"Online, locals mocked the idea of Trump's interest in buying their homeland. “Wow I didn't know trump knew greenland existed,” tweeted Miki Fleischer from Nuuk. “Oh please God no,” wrote Emil Malta in response to the idea."

No, you don't want this insanity.  Nor do most of us forced to live with it.  LOL.

"Another resident reposted a parody photo of a traditional Greenlandic landscape unexpectedly dwarfed by a glittering gold Trump Tower.

    Trumpysund 2023 :-) https://t.co/vPwUmRNAfm
    — Ole Heinrich (@uuli) August 16, 2019"

About the size of it.  LOL.

"You cannot be serious! We are not something you can just buy. Keep away from our country," said Greenlander Allan Schroder in a series of angry tweets."

No kidding.  Trump has again disgraced himself and the United States.  Kindly, be advised most Americans don't sanction this insanity now residing in the Oval Office.  We apologize for it.

"Denmark's former Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen expressed confusion over the suggestion. "It must be an April Fool’s Day joke ... but totally out of season!” he wrote. Rufus Gifford, former U.S. ambassador to Denmark, called the idea "a complete and total catastrophe." Greenland "is remarkably pristine and complex. A place unlike any other corner of the planet. It simply must be handled with immense care and the best intentions for the people there and the global climate," he wrote. "If anyone believes Trump has either in mind, please reconsider your reality."

No kidding.  Quite an insult to both Greenland and Denmark.

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump has pushed top aides to investigate whether the U.S. government can purchase the giant ice-smothered island of Greenland, two people with direct knowledge of the directive said. The presidential request has bewildered aides, some of whom continue to believe it isn’t serious, but Trump has mentioned it for weeks. The two people with knowledge of the presidential demand spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to reveal such White House planning. As with many of Trump’s internal musings, aides are waiting for more direction before they decide how seriously they should look into it."

Jesus Christ.  Imagine having to work under such conditions.

"Among the things that have been discussed is whether it is even legal, what the process would be for acquiring an island that has its own government and population, and where any money to purchase a giant landmass would originate."

No kidding.

"According to the CIA’s World Factbook, Greenland is 2.2 million square kilometers, with 1.7 million of that covered in ice. It has considerable natural resources, such as coal and uranium, but only 0.6 percent of the land is used for agriculture. It has about 58,000 residents, making it one of the world’s smallest countries by population. It is a self-governing country that is part of the kingdom of Denmark. Trump is scheduled to visit Denmark in two weeks."

Could that have anything to do with it?  LOL.  Trump intending to 'make them an offer they can't refuse?'  LOL.

"Typically, Congress must appropriate money before the White House can use it, but Trump has already shown a willingness to get around those restrictions. It was unclear why Trump might want the United States to buy Greenland, though his administration has identified the Arctic as an area of growing importance to U.S. national security interests."

The following is equally insane:

“This is America’s moment to stand up as an Arctic nation,” Pompeo said in May during a speech in Finland. “The region has become an arena of global power and competition.” With melting ice making the region more accessible, the United States has been firm in trying to counter any moves by Russia and China in the Arctic. China declared itself a “near-Arctic nation” last year and has defended its desire for a “Polar Silk Road” in which Chinese goods would be delivered by sea from Asia to Europe. China recently sought to bankroll the construction of three airports in Greenland, drawing concern from then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and prompting the Pentagon to make the case to Denmark that it should fund the facilities itself rather than rely on Beijing. “Countries should be wary of piling on monumental debt, particularly ‘loan to own’ projects, that undermines their freedom of political action and sovereign choices,” a Pentagon official, Johnny Michael, said previously. “Beijing’s lack of transparency in its polar research, expeditionary activities and approach to natural resource development is also of concern.”

So is the massive debt of the United States.  Don't Republicans claim to be conservative?

Subsequent to the above, Trump postponed his trip to Denmark when learning it had no interest in selling Greenland.  LOL.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

Need a good laugh? Seatbelts on.  Trump hopelessly remains an idiot.  So what else is new?  Get this.  The Washington Post reports:

"About half an hour into his lengthy campaign rally in Manchester, N.H., on Thursday, President Trump was interrupted by a protester. The commotion unfolded on the balcony behind him and to his left, with some shouts aimed at derailing Trump's speech competing with the ambient noise of the arena and the amplified sound of Trump's rhetoric. As the crowd slowly realized that a protester was present, it turned its attention to the location of the disruption, prompting Trump to similarly turn and observe what was going on. When he looked, a man was standing at the edge of the balcony, gesticulating at the crowd. “That guy’s got a serious weight problem,” Trump said. “Go home. Start exercising. Get him out of here.” “Got a bigger problem than I do!” he added. “Got a bigger problem than all of us. Now he goes home and his mom says, 'What the hell have you just done?'" If Trump was talking about the guy on the balcony, he immediately didn’t go home. That guy was actually a Trump supporter, wearing a “Trump 2020” shirt."

LOL.  What a goddamned idiot.  LOL.  -- Both Trump and the supporter.  LOL.

"The interruption was spurred by what appeared to be a group of three young people holding two banners reading “Jews Against the Occupation” and disparaging the president’s policies. When they stood up and began shouting, their voices didn’t carry far. But the man to whom Trump appeared to be referring was sitting nearby and quickly leaped into action. He grabbed one banner from a protester and threw it into a nearby entryway. He grabbed the second and, after a brief struggle, threw it over the edge of the balcony where it fluttered into the crowd below. By that time, security had arrived to remove the group of protesters, who were led out through the same nearby entryway. The crowd cheered the man who'd grabbed the banners, and he reveled in their applause. It appears to have been only at this point that Trump turned his attention to the scene. It’s not clear if he saw the protesters who’d been removed or if he only saw the man at the edge of the balcony. Of the four, though, the largest was the man who grabbed the banners — a man who was presumably a Trump supporter and who remained at the rally."

'Can fix ignorant, can't fix stupid.'  LOL.

"It’s possible, of course, that Trump was just riffing, seeing a commotion and deciding to disparage the protesters without being particularly concerned about accuracy. That line about the protester going home to his mother is a common line from Trump campaign rallies, implying that protesters are necessarily immature children. It’s also possible that he essentially mocked the weight of a Trump fan."

You're giving Trump too much credit.  LOL.  Get this:

"Update: The Daily Mail’s David Martosko reports that Trump was in fact referring to the man who confronted the protesters, identified as Frank Dawson. Trump later called and spoke with him."

Think he might have apologized?  LOL.  Excuse me, what was I thinking?  A narcissist apologizes for shit squat.  LOL.

"Why target the protesters? It’s part of the scene. When protests emerge at a Trump rally, it provides an opportunity for the supporters in the audience to target their hostility at an opponent in the room. The man at the balcony embodied what many in the room would have liked to have done: Confront a Trump opponent and literally rip their argument away from them."

Psycho shit, courtesy of the Trump nazi.  LOL.

"That impulse to go after protesters can get awkward. When Trump later in the rally noticed a woman at the front of the crowd experiencing a medical issue, he drew the emergency team’s attention to it. He stepped away from the mic while police and EMS workers moved into the crowd. Someone in the crowd, apparently believing that there was another protester, offered some advice. He yelled out, “Kick his a--!” Happily, the medical workers instead escorted the woman out in a wheelchair."

LOL.  Never a dull momentCan we stand it?  LOL.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

More Trump insanity.  Need another good laugh?  Get this.  NBC News reports:

"President Donald Trump made a rare move Thursday night — holding a rally in a state he didn’t win in 2016, New Hampshire.

"Trump suggested without evidence that the only reason he lost New Hampshire in 2016 was because the election here was stolen from him. “New Hampshire should have been won last time, except we had a lot of people come in at the last moment, which was a rather strange situation,” Trump told reporters before departing his summer retreat in Bedminster, New Jersey, for the rally in Manchester. “Thousands and thousands of people coming in from locations unknown. But I knew where their location was.” It was a claim he repeated during the rally. “New Hampshire was taken from us,” he said. In an hour and a half speech, Trump hit on most of his usual themes — emphasizing the economy and saying New Hampshire had been hit worse than most other states by negative long-term trends. “You look like central casting for the closing of factories,” Trump said."

If that happens, it'll be directly due to your ongoing trade wars, you idiot.  LOL.

"In a week when bond markets flashed what has historically been a major recession warning and the stock market had its worst day of the year to date, the president rolled out both his positive and negative economic pitches, again arguing that if he loses re-election, the stock market will plummet. “You have no choice but to vote for me, because your 401(k) is down the tubes. Everything’s going to be down the tubes,” Trump said. “So whether you love me or hate me, you’ve gotta vote for me.”

Jesus Christ.  Unparalleled Aryan arrogance, unbridled narcissism from our hopelessly insane nazi fuhrer.  Give me a break.  You're at the root cause of the coming financial debacle, you idiot.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

More Trump insanity.  CBS News reports:

"President Trump says he wants to reopen mental institutions as a way to address mass shootings, an idea he pushed twice Thursday and has floated before."

That's nuts.  Unbridled insanity on the part of the Trump nazi.  Here's precisely why:

"The president's insistence that mental illness is the cause of mass shootings has disconcerted mental health professionals who insist that most people with mental illness are nonviolent. These experts also say people afflicted with mental illness are more likely to be the victims of violent crime than the perpetrator, and fear the president's language only further stigmatizes those struggling with mental health issues."

Trump continues to stupidly, ignorantly talk out the ass:

"I do want people to remember the words 'mental illness,'" the president told reporters on his way to a rally in New Hampshire Thursday afternoon, responding to a question about gun control. "These people are mentally ill and nobody talks about that. But these are mentally ill people, and people have to start thinking about it. I think we have to start building institutions again because, you know, if you look at the '60s and '70s, so many of these institutions were closed...But a lot of our conversation has to do with the fact that we have to open up institutions. We can't let these people be on the streets."

Those institutions were closed for damned good reason.  They were hell holes that accomplished no good.  Abused patients.  Trump is too hopelessly ignorant to understand this.  Stupidly seeks overly simplistic solutions to enormously difficult problems.  The mark of an idiot.

"The president reiterated that thought at his rally hours later, insisting the U.S. "will be taking mentally deranged and dangerous people off of the streets." He didn't say exactly how that might happen."

Hasn't a clue.  Just talking out his sorry ass.

"We are working very hard to make sure we keep guns out of the hands of insane people and those who are mentally sick and shouldn't have guns. But people have to remember however that there is a mental illness problem that has to be dealt with. It's not the gun that pulls the trigger, it's the person holding the gun," the president said to thunderous applause."

Surprised?  Why?  They're as hopelessly stupid, achingly ignorant as him.  The problem is far more complex than this idiot makes it out to be.

"Years ago many cities and states I remember so well closed mental institutions for budgetary reasons...We're going to have to give major consideration to building new facilities to those in need, we have to do it. And at the same time we will be taking mentally deranged and dangerous people off of the streets so we won't have to worry so much about that, a big problem. We don't have those institutions anymore and people can't get proper care."

Jesus Christ.  This man has no clue.  First, that's not why these hell holes were closed.  They were closed because they were ineffective.  Worse?  Abusive.  Second, the institutionalized received no proper care.  Third, the mentally ill are rarely perpetrators of violence.  Usually, they're victims of it.  Trump is uninformed.  Hopelessly, ignorant.

"Mr. Trump also floated opening new psychological institutions last year after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. At the time, the idea went nowhere."

For damned good reason.  Again, these institutions are ineffective.  Worse?  Trump is encouraging these massacres perpetrated mainly by violent white supremacists.  Needs to look in the mirror to see the root cause of the massacres since he took office.

"Although psychiatric hospitals still exist in the U.S., their numbers have declined precipitously in recent decades. This is due to a combination of factors, including laws that made it harder for the government to involuntarily commit people in many jurisdictions, as well as budget cuts at the state and local level."

Certainly, part of it, but far from the whole story.  These institutions don't work.  Only warehouse.

"Former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole contradicted Mr. Trump's assertion that mental health is a major factor in mass shootings. "Mental health is not the problem," she recently told CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett on CBS News' "The Takeout" podcast. "My experience has been, that these are individuals that, if there is a mental health issue, they still are able to function very strategically, and in a very cold-blooded and callous manner. So, mental health is not the problem," O'Toole said. Fewer than 25% of mass shooters are clinically diagnosed with mental health issues, O'Toole added. The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that roughly one in five adults in the U.S., or more than 46 million people, "experiences mental illness in a given year."

One of the few things Republicans are doing right is their refusal to pass gun control.  Forget?  Last best defense against corrupt, abusive, out of control government is indeed the Second Amendment.  CNN News reports:

"Two weeks after two mass shootings occurred in less than 24 hours, Congress and the White House have not moved closer to passing any kind of gun legislation to address what many are calling a crisis, and some Republican senators, including Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, don't think any new gun legislation is likely to pass. Johnson expressed skepticism about any of the legislation options that have been floated in the past two weeks, including so-called red flag laws -- or rules that would allow officials to temporarily remove guns from people in crisis through a court order -- as well as strengthening background checks or mandatory gun buyback programs. "All I can tell you is what I hear in Wisconsin. The debate really hasn't changed much at all," Johnson said. "People still ask the same questions. OK, if you propose some kind of gun legislation, first of all, how would that have prevented these tragedies in the past? How would they prevent them in the future?" Johnson referred to mandatory buyback programs as "compensated confiscation" and said that all of the options that have been proposed are "just a further infringement on second amendment rights." "I realize the clamor. I realize the polling, but the polling I don't think accurately assesses people's knowledge of what we're talking about here," he said. Johnson also noted that even in places with strict gun legislation, like Chicago, that legislation doesn't always lead to less crime. "You take a look at states, you take a look at jurisdictions that have really strong gun control, I mean, look at Chicago. You've got a lot of murders in Chicago still. They are just basic facts that need to be plugged into this whole gun discussion," Johnson said. When asked about proposed red flag legislation from Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, which would not make red flag checks federal law, but would instead incentivize states to implement those kind of laws through a grant program, Johnson said, "I don't anticipate, that we're going to pass any federal red flag law, I think all Sen. Graham is talking about is a grant program." Red flag laws refer to extreme risk protection order laws, which allow the temporary removal of guns from people deemed at high risk of harming themselves or others through a court order. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have passed some type of these laws, and the details vary from state to state. "If we have that discussion, if we're going to offer grants to states to pass red flag laws, we ought to attach to those grants very strict guidelines in terms of due process," Johnson said."

Report goes on and on.  Fascinating, isn't it?  Encouraging, as well.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

The chickens are coming home to roost.  ABC News reports:

"President Donald Trump is warning of an economic crash if he loses reelection, arguing that even voters who personally dislike him should base their ballots on the nation's strong growth and low unemployment rate."

That's insanity.  Trump is the root cause.  Forget?  The trade war.

"But privately, Trump is growing increasingly worried the economy won't look so good come Election Day."

Likely, won't.  Hasn't been for the bottom of the food chain and the vanishing middle class.  The top of the food chain revels under the Trump nazi.  Not sustainable.

"The financial markets signaled the possibility of a U.S. recession this week, sending a jolt of anxiety to investors, companies and consumers. That's on top of concerns over Trump's plans to impose punishing tariffs on goods from China and word from the United Kingdom and Germany that their economies are shrinking.

Can't go on forever.  Got to 'pay the piper.'  Sooner or later.

"Though a pre-election recession here is far from certain, a downturn would be a devastating blow to the president, who has made a strong economy his central argument for a second term. Trump advisers fear a weakened economy would hurt him with moderate Republican and independent voters who have been willing to give him a pass on some [of] his incendiary policies and rhetoric. And White House economic advisers see few options for reversing course should the economy start to slip."

No kidding.  Worse?

"Trump has taken to blaming others for the recession fears, mostly the Federal Reserve, which he is pushing for further interest rate cuts. Yet much of the uncertainty in the markets stems from his own escalation of a trade war with China, as well as weakened economies in key countries around the world. Some of Trump's closest advisers have urged him to lower the temperature of the trade dispute, fearing that further tariffs would only hurt American consumers and rattle the markets further. The president blinked once this week, delaying a set of tariffs in an effort to save Christmas sales. Aides acknowledge it is unclear what steps the White House could take to stop a downturn. Trump's 2017 tax cut proved so politically unpopular that many Republicans ran away from it during last year's midterms. And a new stimulus spending program could spark intraparty fighting over big deficits. The hope among administration officials is that a mix of wage gains and consumer spending will power growth through 2020. Yet Trump knows his own survival hinges on voters believing that he alone can prolong the economy's decade-plus expansion."

That's nuts.  Insanity.  Who the hell does he think he is?  The messiah?

"You have no choice but to vote for me because your 401(k), everything is going to be down the tubes," the president said at a Thursday rally in New Hampshire. "Whether you love me or hate me, you've got to vote for me."

Jesus Christ.  Out of control narcissism.  The markets are sliding due to his trade war, other economic policies as well.

Consider the following malignancy:

"Trump has spent much of the week at his New Jersey golf club, many of his mornings on the links, his afternoons watching cable television and his evenings calling confidants and business executives to get their take on the market's volatility. Though he has expressed private worries about Wall Street, he is also skeptical about some of the weaker economic indicators, wondering if the media and establishment figures are manipulating the data to make him look bad, according to two Republicans close to the White House, not authorized to discuss private conversations. His skepticism has been reinforced by White House officials who have long been inclined to only show Trump rosier economic assessments."

The insanity never ends:

"Amid the market turmoil this week, the president tweeted out defenses of his economic record. He blasted the Fed for not cutting interest rates deeper, under the belief that sharper cuts would lead to more lending activity and make the U.S. dollar more competitive against foreign currencies. The president also highlighted the strength of consumer spending — as retail sales have jumped 3.4% from a year ago. Yet his focus on the Fed may be counterproductive. The Federal Reserve voted last month to trim rates for the first time since 2008, a step taken to insulate the economy against trade uncertainty. But consumers interpreted that as a precautionary move ahead of a downturn rather than as part of an effort to keep the economy growing, according to the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey released Friday. Consumer confidence has dropped 6.4% since July. The pessimism could worsen if the Fed decides to slash rates in accordance with Trump's wishes. "Additional cuts in interest rates would act to increase consumer apprehensions about a potential recession," said Richard Curtin, director of the survey."

What webs we weave.  Nothing is ever simple.  Trump thinks in the here and now.  Moment to moment.  Lack of vision, glaring.

At the moment, things don't look good.  We'll see.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

More bigotry.  This time against the LGBTQ community.  NBC News reports:

"The Trump administration on Friday filed a brief with the Supreme Court arguing that transgender workers are not protected by federal civil rights law and can be fired because of their gender identity."

Bigotry.  Raw nazism.

"The brief was submitted in a case concerning Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman who was fired from a Detroit funeral home after she informed her employer that she was beginning her gender transition. The case, R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, et al., is one of three cases concerning LGBTQ workers’ rights that the Supreme Court is expected to hear this fall. The brief, submitted by Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco and other Department of Justice attorneys, argues that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin, “does not bar discrimination because of transgender status.” “In 1964, the ordinary public meaning of ‘sex’ was biological sex. It did not encompass transgender status,” the brief states. “In the particular context of Title VII — legislation originally designed to eliminate employment discrimination against racial and other minorities — it was especially clear that the prohibition on discrimination because of ‘sex’ referred to unequal treatment of men and women in the workplace.” If the Supreme Court sides with the Trump administration, it will be overturning a decision by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with Stephens in March 2018. “Discrimination against employees, either because of their failure to conform to sex stereotypes or their transgender and transitioning status, is illegal under Title VII,” Judge Karen Nelson Moore wrote in the 6th Circuit’s decision. “The unrefuted facts show that the Funeral Home fired Stephens because she refused to abide by her employer’s stereotypical conception of her sex." Moore added that requiring the Christian business owner, Thomas Rost, "to comply with Title VII's proscriptions on discrimination does not substantially burden his religious practice."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

Trump can't take no for an answer.  Has to have his way.  The Washington Post reports:

"The global standoff between the United States and Iran over shipping escalated Saturday after the United States issued a warrant for the seizure of an Iranian oil tanker detained in Gibraltar, just hours after the ship was ordered released."

Question to be asked here is quite simple.  Does Trump delusionally believe he runs the world?

"The Grace 1 supertanker was intercepted in waters off Gibraltar by the British navy last month on suspicion that it was delivering oil to Syria in violation of E.U. sanctions. The move triggered the capture by Iran two weeks later of a British oil tanker in the Persian Gulf in apparent retaliation."

Nothing is ever quite as simple as we might like it to be.  There are always ramifications of each and every action taken.

"A Gibraltar court ordered the release of the Grace 1 on Thursday after Britain said it had received guarantees from Tehran that the ship would not deliver oil to Syria. The step had been widely expected to encourage Iran to release the British ship, the Stena Impero, that has been detained in Iranian waters since July. Instead, the Grace 1’s departure is likely to be further delayed as the authorities in Gibraltar consider whether to act on the U.S. warrant, unveiled late Friday night in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It seeks the seizure of the ship, the forfeiture of the 2.1 million barrels of oil it is carrying and the sum of $995,000 on the grounds that the shipment violates U.S. sanctions against Syria and also Iran."

Complicating matters?

"The Grace 1 had been expected to leave Gibraltar earlier Friday, but it had already been delayed because the captain and five crew members resigned, the Gibraltar Chronicle reported. A new captain and crew were expected to arrive Sunday, the newspaper said."

Can't imagine why they resigned.  LOL.

"The warrant marks the first attempt by the United States to seize a ship since President Trump walked away from the international deal over Iran’s nuclear program and imposed tough new sanctions. It could also provoke further tensions between the United States and Iran in the Persian Gulf, where U.S. and British warships have embarked on patrols to protect commercial shipping. A court document issued in support of the warrant alleges an elaborate effort to disguise the Iranian origins of the Grace 1’s cargo. The ship left Iran in April, turning off its transponders while it was in Iranian waters and carrying forged documents to show that the oil it was carrying came from Iraq, the document alleges. “Relevant authorities in Iraq have confirmed that the documents were fraudulent,” it says."

Reports goes on.  Be interesting to see whether or not all this goes anywhere.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

The fear is increasingly palpable in Trump's Fourth Reich.  CNN News reports:

"Carol Anderson was scanning Twitter recently when she saw something that brought back a chilling memory. Someone asked Latina women if they had changed the way they acted in public after a white man allegedly targeting Mexicans was arrested for gunning down 22 people in an El Paso Walmart. One woman said she no longer speaks Spanish when out alone, checks store exits and now feels like a marked person when among whites. "The hate feels like a ball in my stomach, and a rope around my neck," the woman said."

Nazi America.  Stunning, isn't it?

"For Anderson, the allusion to lynching wasn't just a metaphor. It was personal. She had an uncle who was almost lynched in the early 20th century for standing up to a white man in an Oklahoma store. She also is a historian who wrote about the lynching era in her book, "White Rage." She says the white men who are driving a surge in white supremacist violence in places like El Paso today are sending the same message to nonwhite Americans that their counterparts did in the lynching era: You will never be safe wherever you go. "The thing about the lynching era was the capriciousness of it -- no space was safe," says Anderson, an African-American studies professor at Emory University in Atlanta. "Folks of color were never at ease. You're looking all the time. You're wondering. Is this a place I can go? You could be walking down the street or in a store or you could be sitting on your front porch and you could get killed." The term lynching evokes images of a bygone era: black men dangling grotesquely from trees, Southern whites posing proudly by charred bodies, Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit." But Anderson and others warn that many of the same elements that spawned the lynching era are stirring once again in America. One commentator even described the El Paso shooter as "a lynch mob of one." The result, Anderson says, is that more Americans -- Latinos, blacks, Muslims, Jews, anyone not seen as white enough -- are now experiencing the same fear of being murdered at random in public that their relatives faced during the lynching era. "It is tiring. It is ridiculous. It is infuriating," she says. There's a perception that lynch mobs were motivated by mindless violence. But they were primarily driven by fear."

Report goes on and on.  In considerable detail.  Wake up.  We're losing our country.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

Not so flattering.  CBS News reports:

"Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called recent suggestions that he has aligned himself with President Trump to benefit his career "ludicrous." In an interview on "CBS This Morning" Tuesday, Pompeo responded to criticism made in a New Yorker profile. In the 21-page article, an unnamed former U.S. official described Pompeo as being "among the most sycophantic and obsequious people around Trump." An unnamed former U.S. ambassador went further, calling Pompeo a "heat-seeking missile for Trump's ass."

LOL.  ... Don't you love it?  LOL.  Certainly, great truth to it.  LOL.

"Despite those criticisms, Pompeo told "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King that he is simply doing his duty as secretary. "I find the language offensive, and I find the statement ludicrous. I work hard for the president of the United States, who was constitutionally elected. He is my leader, my task is to share with him the best information. If we disagree, my duty is to go share with him our disagreements. I do that with great frequency, but when he makes a decision, and it's legal, it is my task to go execute that with all the energy and power that I have," said Pompeo. Pompeo, who supported Sen. Marco Rubio in 2016 and vocally expressed his displeasure with then-candidate Trump, joined the administration first as CIA director, and then he was tapped to run the State Department after Mr. Trump fired Secretary Rex Tillerson. Chalking up his past comments that Mr. Trump was an authoritarian to a "tough political campaign," Pompeo said he's "all in" for the president. "He cares deeply about America, he wants to see the American people secure, he wants to grow our economy, he wants better lives for them," said Pompeo."

Jesus Christ.  Pompeo remains as psychotic as his fuhrer, the Trump nazi.

"Meanwhile, Pompeo has rebuffed calls to run for Senate in his home state of Kansas and said he's keen on staying in the role of secretary of state should Mr. Trump win another term in 2020. "I would love to serve for him just as long as I can," said Pompeo."

Still think Pompeo's not a sick sycophant?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

Where are the parents?  ABC News reports:

"A group of Southern California high school students sparked outrage on Monday after video surfaced of them giving the Nazi salute while a German World War II-era marching song played in the background. The video shows several male students from Pacifica High School in Garden Grove, California, giving the Adolf Hitler salute and laughing as the song plays. At least one student appeared to sing along with the music."

Second World War European Theater.  Think the thousands and thousands of war dead and their families consider it laughable?

"Officials with the Garden Grove Unified School District said the video was taken in November 2018, but the school became aware of it in March and took “immediate action," according to a statement released Monday. The school district said it could not disclose if any of the students had been disciplined as a result of the video, citing federal privacy laws. "Garden Grove Unified School District and Pacifica High School strongly condemn a video recorded last year of some students who engaged in offensive Nazi-related gestures," the statement said. "It was not brought to the attention of the administration of Pacifica High School until March of 2019, four months following the banquet, at which time school administrators took immediate action and addressed the situation with all students and families involved." The video was initially "shared within a small group of students on SnapChat" and was taken during an off-campus student athletics banquet in an empty and unsupervised room at the facility, district officials said."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-23-19

Trump does as he pleases.  CBS News reports:

"The Trump administration on Wednesday unveiled a sweeping plan to detain migrant families and children for longer periods of time than currently allowed, touting a final regulation that would overhaul the immigration detention system in the U.S. and scrap a longstanding court settlement. For more than two decades, the court settlement known as the Flores Agreement has governed the care of migrant children in U.S. custody. The 1997 agreement sets sweeping standards for the treatment of unaccompanied migrant children, from housing to medical care, as well as education, nutrition and hygiene. In more recent rulings, the federal judge overseeing the settlement has also effectively prohibited the government from detaining for more than 20 days families apprehended with children. Under the administration's rule, which will be published in the Federal Register Friday and would go into effect 60 days later, there would not be a limit to the number of days families and children could be detained. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan said in a briefing Wednesday that there is "no intent" to hold families for "a very long time." He suggested that if cases involving detained families could be adjudicated at the same pace they were in 2015, they'd be in custody for an average of about 50 days. Peter Schey, the lead attorney for the team representing thousands of unaccompanied migrant children in the Flores case, said the terms of the Flores Agreement prohibit the government from implementing rules that undermine it. In a Tuesday night interview with CBS News, Schey said the only way to terminate the settlement would be to issue a final regulation that codifies the full agreement into federal law. Schey said he expects the judge that oversees the Flores case to reject the administration's efforts. "These regulations do not implement the settlement. In fact, it abrogates the settlements. And so I think their efforts will be futile," said Schey, who had not yet seen the final regulations, but reviewed a draft published in September 2018."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-16-19

Highly reminiscent of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors, Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following.  It's appalling.  Runs against the grain of everything our formerly great country once stood for.  No longer.

The jackbooted bastards in ICE strike again.  CBS News reports:

"U.S. immigration authorities on Wednesday rounded up hundreds of undocumented workers in food processing plants during a sprawling operation in Mississippi that officials touted as the largest immigration enforcement sweep in a single state in U.S. history. By targeting workplaces across six different cities in southern Mississippi, Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agents, with the help of the local district attorney's office, apprehended approximately 680 undocumented immigrants. At a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi Mike Hurst said the large-scale raids collectively represented "the largest single state immigration enforcement operation in our nation's history."

Highly reminiscent of Hitler's Gestapo.  Nazi America.  Readers are reminded our UNDOCUMENTED forebears arrived here centuries ago, STOLE this land from its native inhabitants, then BROKE every goddamned treaty signed.  The hypocrisy?  Off the chart.

Coup de grace?  Get this:

"While we are a nation of immigrants, more than that, we are first and foremost a nation of laws," he told reporters at the press conference, where he was flanked by Acting ICE Director Matthew Albence."

Jesus Christ.  How are we a nation of laws when the Department of 'Justice,' on its own authority and in contradiction of the United States Constitution, rules the president is above the law while in office?  That is, cannot be indicted?  That alone is further indication we no longer live in a democratic republic, but in a de facto fascist police-state since 9/11 quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

"While officials on Wednesday framed the operation as a crackdown on employers who hire undocumented workers, advocates have long denounced an apparent disparity between the prosecution of unauthorized immigrants and the people and companies who employ them. Researchers at Syracuse University in New York found that between April 2018 and March of this year, just 11 individuals were criminally prosecuted for knowingly hiring unauthorized workers and only three of them were sentenced to time in prison. No companies were prosecuted. During that same time span, more than 85,000 immigrants were prosecuted for illegal entry."

Called nazi justice. Fascism, nazism, national socialism defined as the pernicious blend of government, business, and religion. 'Justified' by perversion and bastardization of the latter.

Republican national socialists, fascists falsely claim to be the party of the family.  They're not.  They're liars like the Trump nazi.  The following?  Achingly, demonstrative:

"On Wednesday afternoon, Magdalena Gomez Gregorio tearfully pleaded for the return of her dad, one of hundreds of undocumented immigrants rounded up Wednesday by ICE. "My dad didn't do nothing. He's not a criminal," she said through tears. The 11-year-old and other children of those arrested stayed at a community center gymnasium overnight after about 600 immigration agents targeted food processing plants across central Mississippi.

"In Forest, Mississippi, gym owner Jordan Barnes and other community leaders were taking donations to put some of the children up for the night in his Clear Creek Boot Camp and get them to school Thursday morning, reports CBS Jackson, Mississippi affiliate WJTV. The station says many children of those arrested across the state were left with nowhere to go. Children, some as young as toddlers, were relying on neighbors and even strangers to pick them up and drive them to the gym, where people tried to keep them calm. But many of them couldn't stop crying for their parents, WJTV said."

Nazi America.  The Fourth Reich.

"The raids drew quick and scathing condemnation from immigrant advocates and Democrats. Julia Solórzano, a legal fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said these types of large-scale workplace operations "terrorize" and "destroy" communities, while accomplishing little for the administration. "For a lot of the cities where these raids occurred, it was the first day of school. We know from past immigration enforcement actions of this type, that there are going to be children who go home tonight and their parents will be gone," Solórzano told CBS News. "It's extremely disruptive to families. It's — in many cases — depriving the family of the primary breadwinner." Denouncing the operation, Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas, who is chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, accused the administration of sowing fear in Latino and immigrant communities. "Let's be clear: ICE raids of this scale are not conducted for the purpose of immigration enforcement, they're to strike fear in our communities in a time when Latinos are already living in terror," the Texas Democrat wrote in a statement."

Then, why are you and fellow Democrats gutlessly refusing to formally vote for an impeachment investigation?  The tactics embraced by the Trump nazi and his henchmen are remarkably reminiscent of those of Adolf Hitler at the very beginning of his Third Reich.  Yet, all you and fellow Democrats do is talk.  No action.

"Claudia Valenzuela, an attorney at the American Immigration Council, said the workers apprehended will have a difficult time finding counsel rapidly because predominantly rural Mississippi does not have as robust of a presence of legal aid and pro-immigrant groups, compared to states with large immigrant and Latino communities like New York and California. She said the magnitude of the operation alone would present challenges to any community, even those with well-established networks of advocacy organizations ready to represent and help undocumented immigrants. "It would be hard for a city like Chicago or New York to respond in the wake of such a large-scale raid," Valenzuela said."

Exactly, as the Trump nazi and his henchmen want.  Nazi America.  Trump's Fourth Reich.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-16-19

'Don't do as I do, do as I say.'  The Washington Post reports:

"For nearly two decades, the Trump Organization has relied on a roving crew of Latin American employees to build fountains and waterfalls, sidewalks and rock walls at the company’s winery and its golf courses from New York to Florida. Other employees at Trump clubs were so impressed by the laborers — who did strenuous work with heavy stone — that they nicknamed them “Los Picapiedras,” Spanish for “The Flintstones.” For years, their ranks have included workers who entered the United States illegally, according to two former members of the crew. Another employee, still with the company, said that remains true today. President Trump “doesn’t want undocumented people in the country,” said one worker, Jorge Castro, a 55-year-old immigrant from Ecuador without legal status who left the company in April after nine years. “But at his properties, he still has them.” Castro said he worked on seven Trump properties, most recently Trump’s golf club in Northern Virginia. He provided The Washington Post with several years of his pay stubs from Trump’s construction company, Mobile Payroll Construction LLC, as well as photos of him and his colleagues on Trump courses and text messages he exchanged with his boss, including one in January dispatching him to “Bedminster,” Trump’s New Jersey golf course. Another immigrant who worked for the Trump construction crew, Edmundo Morocho, said he was told by a Trump supervisor to buy fake identity documents on a New York street corner. He said he once hid in the woods of a Trump golf course to avoid being seen by visiting labor union officials. The hiring practices of the little-known Trump business unit are the latest example of the chasm between the president’s derisive rhetoric about immigrants and his company’s long-standing reliance on workers who cross the border illegally.  And it raises questions about how fully the Trump Organization has followed through on its pledge to more carefully scrutinize the legal status of its workers — even as the Trump administration launched a massive raid of undocumented immigrants, arresting about 680 people in Mississippi this week."

Report goes on and on in great detail.  Where's ICE?  Doing the bidding of its fuhrer, the Trump nazi?  Goddamned hypocrisy.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-16-19

Highly reminiscent of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors, Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following.  It's appalling.  Runs against the grain of everything our formerly great country once stood for.  No longer.

The following is an exceptionally poignant example of the deadly damage done by the jackbooted bastards in ICE.  NPR reports:

"Jimmy Aldaoud was deported from the U.S. in June to Iraq, a country that his family said he had never set foot in. Two months after he arrived there, his family got word that he was found dead in Baghdad. Aldaoud was born in Greece, his sister Mary Bolis said, after his family fled Iraq. He didn't speak Arabic. He was 41 when he died, and he arrived legally in the U.S. in May 1979 when he was a year old, his lawyer, Chris Schaedig, said. He lived near Detroit until he was put on a plane to Najaf by U.S. federal officials. "I begged them. I said, 'Please, I've never seen that country. I've never been there.' However, they forced me," Aldaoud said in a video recorded shortly after his arrival in Iraq, which was posted on Facebook by a family friend. Aldaoud is shown looking dejected and exhausted. He said he was trying to find food. "I've got nothing over here, as you can see," he said. "I was sleeping in the street," he said, adding that he was kicked in the back by a man who said Aldaoud was on his property. "I'm diabetic. I take insulin shots. I've been throwing up, throwing up." Bolis also said her brother had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia."

Nazi America.  De facto fascist police-state since 9/11, quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-16-19

Can law enforcement and the jails do anything right?  The Washington Post reports:

"Attorney General William P. Barr on Monday decried what he called a “failure” by federal jail officials in New York to secure registered sex offender and multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who was found hanging in his cell over the weekend."

A massive failure that raises many, many questions.

"But the country’s top law enforcement official said Epstein’s death would not derail the ongoing investigation into those who might have aided Epstein’s alleged sex abuse of minors. “Let me assure you that this case will continue on against anyone who was complicit with Epstein,” Barr said. “Any co-conspirators should not rest easy. The victims deserve justice, and they will get it.”

Means nothing from a shill appointed by his fuhrer, the Trump nazi, to cover the 'president's' sorry ass on other matters.  This piece of crap has zero credibility.

"Speaking to law enforcement officials in New Orleans, Barr said he “was appalled … and frankly, angry” to learn of the Metropolitan Correctional Center’s “failure to adequately secure” Epstein, who was awaiting trial on new sex trafficking charges. “We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation,” he said."

There are egregious systemic problems within law enforcement nation-wide.  Where is your concern, Mr. Barr?  This piece of shit has zero credibility.  Has placed his fuhrer, the Trump nazi, above the law.  Forget?

"The attorney general’s comments were noteworthy in that he publicly blamed the Bureau of Prisons, which is part of the Justice Department, for the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s apparent suicide. Barr did not specify what irregularities had been found in the aftermath of Epstein’s death, but vowed to “get to the bottom of what happened,” adding: “There will be accountability.”

Not credible.  Forget?  The Trump nazi and Epstein were pals years ago.  Why would Barr do anything that might raise questions as to what the true nature of that relationship might have been, criminal or otherwise?

"Epstein, whose case has raised questions about whether he received preferential treatment in the past from Justice Department officials, was found hanging in his jail cell Saturday morning, according to people familiar with the matter. His death has prompted investigations by the FBI, Justice Department inspector general, and the New York City medical examiner, and raised a number of questions about conditions inside the federal jail in Lower Manhattan where the 66-year-old millionaire died. Corrections officers had not checked on Epstein for “several” hours before he was found around 6:30 a.m., a person familiar with the matter said, just one in a series of missteps in the hours leading up to his death."

How is that possible?  How does something like that happen in a jail?

"Officers should have been checking on Epstein, who was being held in a special housing unit of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, every 30 minutes, and, under normal circumstances, he also should have had a cellmate, according to the person familiar with the matter and union officials representing facility employees. But a person who had been assigned to share a cell with Epstein was transferred Friday, and — for reasons that investigators are exploring — he did not receive a new cellmate, the person familiar with the matter said Sunday night. That left Epstein, who had previously been placed on suicide watch, alone and unmonitored — at least in the hours before his death — by even those officers assigned to guard him."

Raises numerous unanswered questions.

"The person familiar with the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation. The two corrections officers assigned to the special detention unit where Epstein was held were working overtime — one forced to do so by management, the other for his fourth or fifth consecutive day, the president of the local union for staffers said. Serene Gregg, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3148, said the Metropolitan Correctional Center is functioning with less than 70 percent of the needed correctional officers, forcing many to work mandatory overtime and 60- or 70-hour workweeks. She said one of the individuals assigned to watch Epstein’s unit did not normally work as a correctional officer but, like others in roles such as counselors and teachers, was able to do so. She declined to say which one or specify the person’s regular role. “If it wasn’t Mr. Epstein, it would have been somebody else, because of the conditions at that institution,” Gregg said. “It wasn’t a matter of how it happened or it happening, but it was only a matter of time for it to happen. It was inevitable. Our staff is severely overworked.”

Fascinating, isn't it?

"Also Sunday, Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson said Epstein’s autopsy was complete, but she had not reached a determination on cause of death “pending further information.” The medical examiner also allowed Michael Baden, a private pathologist, to observe the autopsy at the request of Epstein’s representatives, Sampson said. Epstein’s death has ratcheted up scrutiny of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which operates the Metropolitan Correctional Center, a high-rise facility where Epstein was awaiting trial on charges that he sexually abused dozens of young girls in the early 2000s. After being found, he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The incident, which authorities have classified an “apparent suicide,” triggered multiple investigations of how such a high-profile inmate, who was supposed to have been carefully monitored, could have died in federal custody. It also caused outrage among his victims and their representatives, who had hoped that Epstein’s trial next year would produce the justice they thought he had long evaded."

So many, many unanswered questions.

NBC News reports:

"Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke criticized President Donald Trump on Sunday for sharing unfounded conspiracy theories about the death of Jeffrey Epstein, accusing Trump of misusing the presidency to “attack his political enemies.” “This is another example of our president using this position of public trust to attack his political enemies with unfounded conspiracy theories,” O’Rourke, who is running for president, said on CNN’s "State of the Union."

"Later on Saturday, Trump took to Twitter to promote conspiracy theories about Epstein's death, including retweeting an unfounded claim that former President Bill Clinton was involved. O’Rourke added that Trump’s tweets were aimed to focus the conversation on the president's “bizarre behavior” rather than “the fact that we just lost 22 people in this community,” referring to the mass shooting that occurred in El Paso last week. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., another presidential candidate, also slammed Trump for his tweets during an appearance on CNN. “This is just more recklessness," Booker said. "What he is doing is dangerous. He is giving life to not just conspiracy theories but really whipping people up into anger and worse against different people in this country."

Trump presents an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

"Booker also pointed to Trump's history of promoting conspiracy theories about the Clintons, including the debunked theory that the former president was responsible for the death of White House deputy counsel Vince Foster. Foster, a close friend of the Clintons, died of suicide in 1993. The New Jersey senator compared Trump's spreading misinformation to Russian propaganda. "This is a very dangerous president that we have right now," he said. "Trying to divide us against each other and really using the same tactics and same language not just of white supremacists, but also using the same tactics and languages of the Russians if you look at the intelligence reports about how they're coming at our democracy." At the time of Booker's interview on Sunday, #Clintonbodycount was the top hashtag tweeted by trollbots, according to Bot Sentinel, a website that tracks bot activity on Twitter. And the Kremlin-funded media outlet RT was leading its English language website with stories about conspiracy theories related to Epstein's death."

Trump is a congenital liar.  Has no credibility.

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump’s proclivity for spouting exaggerated numbers, unwarranted boasts and outright falsehoods has continued at a remarkable pace. As of Aug. 5, his 928th day in office, he had made 12,019 false or misleading claims, according to the Fact Checker’s database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement the president has uttered. Trump crossed the 10,000 mark on April 26, and he has been averaging about 20 fishy claims a day since then. From the start of his presidency, he has averaged about 13 such claims a day. About one-fifth of these claims are about immigration, his signature issue — a percentage that has grown since the government shut down over funding for his promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. In fact, his most repeated claim — 190 times — is that his border wall is being built. Congress balked at funding the concrete barrier he envisioned, so he has tried to pitch bollard fencing and repairs of existing barriers as “a wall.” False or misleading claims about trade, the economy and the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign each account for about 10 percent of the total. Claims on those subjects are also among his most repeated. Trump has falsely claimed 186 times that the U.S. economy today is the best in history. He began making this claim in June 2018, and it quickly became one of his favorites. The president can certainly brag about the state of the economy, but he runs into trouble when he repeatedly makes a play for the history books. By just about any important measure, the economy today is not doing as well as it did under Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson or Bill Clinton — or Ulysses S. Grant. Moreover, the economy is beginning to hit the head winds caused by the president’s trade wars. On 166 occasions, he has claimed the United States has “lost” money on trade deficits. This reflects a basic misunderstanding of economics. Countries do not “lose” money on trade deficits. A trade deficit simply means that people in one country are buying more goods from another country than people in the second country are buying from the first country. Trade deficits are also affected by macroeconomic factors, such as currencies, economic growth, and savings and investment rates. Trump has falsely said 162 times that he passed the biggest tax cut in history. Even before his tax cut was crafted, he promised that it would be the biggest in U.S. history — bigger than Ronald Reagan’s in 1981. Reagan’s tax cut amounted to 2.9 percent of the gross domestic product, and none of the proposals under consideration came close to that level. Yet Trump persisted in this fiction even when the tax cut was eventually crafted to be the equivalent of 0.9 percent of GDP, making it the eighth-largest tax cut in 100 years. This continues to be an all-purpose applause line at the president’s rallies."

Report goes on and on.

NPR reports:

"The warden of the federal prison in New York City where Jeffrey Epstein was found dead has been reassigned, the Department of Justice says. Two other staffers were placed on leave. The administrative moves took place amid official investigations into Epstein's death and following harsh official criticism of the Bureau of Prisons. Epstein's death, the result of an apparent suicide, shows "deficiencies in inmate protocol and has allowed the deceased to ultimately evade facing justice," wrote House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and ranking member Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., in a letter to BOP. Attorney General William Barr said Monday that investigators had already discovered "serious irregularities" at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, where Epstein had been housed. The warden who was supervising the center has been reassigned to the Bureau of Prisons' Northeast Regional Office, according to the Justice Department. The warden was not identified in the announcement and the department has not responded to a request to confirm the name of a person connected in other documents with the Metropolitan Correctional Center. James Petrucci, who was overseeing a prison in Otisville, N.Y., will take over as acting warden, the Justice Department said."

Why hasn't the warden been identified?  Why are they sitting on this information?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-16-19

Trump remains delusional.  Clearly, out to lunch.  ABC News reports:

"President Donald Trump has repeatedly refused to accept any responsibility for inciting violence in American communities, dismissing critics who have pointed to his rhetoric as a potential source of inspiration for some citizens acting on even long-held beliefs of bigotry and hate. "I think my rhetoric brings people together," he said last week, four days after a 21-year-old allegedly posted an anti-immigrant screed online and then allegedly opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 and injuring dozens of others. But a nationwide review conducted by ABC News has identified at least 36 criminal cases where Trump was invoked in direct connection with violent acts, threats of violence or allegations of assault. In nine cases, perpetrators hailed Trump in the midst or immediate aftermath of physically attacking innocent victims. In another 10 cases, perpetrators cheered or defended Trump while taunting or threatening others. And in another 10 cases, Trump and his rhetoric were cited in court to explain a defendant's violent or threatening behavior. Seven cases involved violent or threatening acts perpetrated in defiance of Trump, with many of them targeting Trump's allies in Congress. But the vast majority of the cases -- 29 of the 36 -- reflect someone echoing presidential rhetoric, not protesting it."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-16-19

McCabe steps up.  Sues FBI  The Washington Post reports:

"Andrew McCabe, the acting FBI director who authorized an investigation into President Trump for ties to Russia and possible obstruction of justice, filed a lawsuit against the bureau and the Justice Department on Wednesday, alleging he was illegally demoted and fired as part of a plot by Trump to remove those who were not politically loyal to him. McCabe asked that a federal judge declare his termination a “legal nullity” and essentially allow him to retire from the FBI as planned, with all the benefits that would have afforded him. He was fired from the bureau in March 2018, a little more than 24 hours before McCabe was set to retire, costing him significant retirement benefits. The termination came after the Justice Department inspector general found that McCabe made an unauthorized disclosure to the media, then lied to investigators about it. “It was Trump’s unconstitutional plan and scheme to discredit and remove DOJ and FBI employees who were deemed to be his partisan opponents because they were not politically loyal to him,” the lawsuit alleges, adding that McCabe’s firing “was a critical element of Trump’s plan and scheme.” Justice Department and FBI spokeswomen declined to comment. White House officials did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The inspector general referred McCabe’s case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., which has been using a grand jury to determine if McCabe should also be charged criminally. McCabe has long asserted he did nothing wrong, and that his termination, ordered by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, was a politically motivated effort by Trump to undermine the FBI’s work. Trump had vigorously criticized McCabe even before he was removed from his post.

"McCabe’s lawsuit is notable for its forcefulness, alleging that Trump enlisted the highest-ranking members of the federal law enforcement apparatus in a scheme to stifle dissent. The suit singles out in particular Sessions and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, who it claims “knowingly acted in furtherance of Trump’s plan and scheme, with knowledge that they were implementing Trump’s unconstitutional motivations for removing Plaintiff from the civil service.” “Trump demanded Plaintiff’s personal allegiance, he sought retaliation when Plaintiff refused to give it, and Sessions, Wray, and others served as Trump’s personal enforcers rather than the nation’s highest law enforcement officials, catering to Trump’s unlawful whims instead of honoring their oaths to uphold the Constitution,” the lawsuit alleges. Plaintiff refers to McCabe, who filed the suit."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-16-19

In follow up to the last edition, NPR reports:

"In a shake-up of the top ranks of U.S. national intelligence, President Trump announced Thursday that he will name Joseph Maguire, the current Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, as the nation's acting top intelligence official. Trump made the announcement close on the heels of a tweet disclosing the resignation of the current deputy director of national intelligence, Sue Gordon. Her resignation takes effect on August 15, the same day as that of outgoing Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, which had already been announced."

Although highly qualified and in line for the new position, she was forced out by the Trump nazi.

"The director of national intelligence oversees the country's civilian and military intelligence. On Maguire's appointment, Trump tweeted:

    "I am pleased to inform you that the Honorable Joseph Maguire, current Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, will be named Acting Director of National Intelligence, effective August 15th. Admiral Maguire has a long and distinguished....career in the military, retiring from the U.S. Navy in 2010. He commanded at every level, including the Naval Special Warfare Command. He has also served as a National Security Fellow at Harvard University. I have no doubt he will do a great job!"

The hypocrisy of the Trump nazi is beyond galling:

"Trump praised Gordon in his initial tweet. "Sue Gordon is a great professional with a long and distinguished career. I have gotten to know Sue over the past 2 years and have developed great respect for her. Sue has announced she will be leaving on August 15, which.... coincides with the retirement of Dan Coats. A new Acting Director of National Intelligence will be named shortly."

Readers will recall from the last edition:

"Trump initially intended to nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, as the new DNI succeeding Coats. But Trump's plan to nominate Ratcliffe ran into a bipartisan wall of opposition from lawmakers who questioned his expertise. The president dropped his intention to nominate Ratcliffe late last week complaining that the Texas lawmaker had been treated "unfairly" by the news media."

The media reported the truth.  Did so accurately.  Ratcliffe was clearly unqualified.  Worse, had deliberately overstated, that is, lied about his past accomplishments as a prosecutor.

The saddest part of this entire fiasco is the woman most qualified for the job was forced out by the Trump nazi:

"Gordon was a career CIA officer who Trump said he could consider as acting DNI, something supporters argue was owed to her by the law. The New York Times had reported that Trump barred her from intelligence briefings in the Oval Office at least once. Publicly, Trump stated, "I like Sue Gordon."

Jesus Christ.  No consistency.  None.  Constantly contradicts himself.  Hypocrisy, off the chart.

Gordon 'fell on her sword' for the Trump nazi:

"In her letter of resignation, Gordon thanked the president "for the opportunity to serve the Nation as the Principal Deputy Director of national Intelligence for the past two years." Gordon won praise from both the chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The chairman, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., called her resignation "a significant loss for our Intelligence Community." "In more than three decades of public service, Sue earned the respect and admiration of her colleagues with her patriotism and vision," Burr said in a statement. "She has been a stalwart partner to the Senate Intelligence Committee, and I will miss her candor and deep knowledge of the issues." Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the committee vice chairman, echoed those remarks in a series of tweets praising Gordon and suggesting that she was pushed out by Trump. "The mission of the intelligence community is to speak truth to power," Warner wrote. "Yet in pushing out two dedicated public servants in as many weeks, once again the President has shown that he has no problem prioritizing his political ego even if it comes at the expense of our national security."

Precisely the problem with an insane, narcissistic, fascist dictator.

Here's the clincher:

"In a handwritten note to the president, Gordon made it clear she did not wish to leave her post. She wrote: "I offer this letter as an act of respect & patriotism, not preference. You should have your team. Godspeed, Sue"

Sad, isn't it?

ABC News reports:

"Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., criticized the removal of Coats and Gordon in a statement Thursday night. "President Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that he is seemingly incapable of hearing facts that contradict his own views," he said. "The mission of the intelligence community is to speak truth to power; Yet in pushing out two dedicated public servants in as many weeks, once again the President has shown that he has no problem prioritizing his political ego even if it comes at the expense of our national security."

Exactly, right. Where are the Republicans?  Clearly, placed partisanship ahead of national security.  Gutless cowards.

NBC News reports:

"Sue Gordon, a career CIA official who is serving as the principal deputy director of national intelligence, told the White House she would leave her job on Thursday after she learned she would be passed over as director of national intelligence. In a handwritten note to President Donald Trump, Gordon wrote: "Mr. President — I offer this letter as an act of respect & patriotism, not preference. You should have your team. Godspeed, Sue."

"A source with direct knowledge of the matter told NBC News that Coats had recommended that Gordon replace him but that White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney told him the White House had someone else in mind. When Coats told that to Gordon, she felt she had no choice but to hand in her resignation, the source said.

"Gordon's departure may raise the hackles of both Republican and Democratic senators, who supported her vigorously. The source said she had recently assured Sens. Richard Burr, R-N.C., chairman of the Intelligence Committee, and Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the committee, that she would stay on and serve as acting director. Warner praised Gordon in a statement, calling her departure "a great loss not only to the intelligence community, but to the country." He also sharply criticized Trump. "President Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that he is seemingly incapable of hearing facts that contradict his own views," Warner said. "The mission of the intelligence community is to speak truth to power; Yet in pushing out two dedicated public servants in as many weeks, once again the President has shown that he has no problem prioritizing his political ego even if it comes at the expense of our national security." Burr said in a statement: "Sue Gordon's retirement is a significant loss for our Intelligence Community. In more than three decades of public service, Sue earned the respect and admiration of her colleagues with her patriotism and vision. She has been a stalwart partner to the Senate Intelligence Committee, and I will miss her candor and deep knowledge of the issues. I look forward to seeing what new challenges she will tackle next."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-16-19

Refreshing to see one lone Republican putting his constituents ahead of his corporate masters.  NPR reports:

"Back home in Iowa for the August recess, Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley is making the case in this conservative state for a sweeping drug bill, even though many in his party do not support it. "One of the few times, if it isn't the only time, that I've been chairman of various committees that I haven't had at least a majority of Republicans on my side," Grassley conceded at a town hall meeting in Aurelia this week, but he added: "It's probably more valuable to have the president on your side."

Think so?  LOL.  Aren't you f--ked either way, Senator?  LOL.  Forget?  Trump changes his mind far more frequently than most people change their underwear.  LOL.

"For 39 years and counting, the Republican senator has traveled to all 99 counties in his home state every year to meet with constituents, and this year the high cost of prescription drugs has come up in nearly all of them."

Bottomless corporate greed.  Called a vicious, raucous, butt-f--king without the K-Y or Vaseline.

"It's why Iowans like Allan Yeager showed up, to hear more about plans that could help his family, where his wife has faced high out-of-pocket drug costs. "She's a severe diabetic, she had gastric bypass. When we retired she got a bonus and they were used up like that," he told NPR. Grassley's bill to reduce seniors' out-of-pocket costs and limit drug price increases under Medicare is popular here, among dozens of older Iowans. But it was also met by skepticism by Iowans like John Comstock, who told the senator he's not convinced Congress could actually get it done. "Based on coming out of committee, with not having total Republican support, what do you feel in your gut and experience is the chances of that passing are?"

Would certainly cost Republicans millions in corporate loot.

"As Grassley tells it, the fact that nine of the Senate Finance Committee's 15 Republicans voted against his bill in July is a good sign for what comes next. "If you just looked at doing something in Washington with having every Republican on my side before you can move ahead, we wouldn't get much done, and it takes a lot of bipartisanship in Congress to get things done," he told the crowd."

Jesus Christ.  Give me a break.  Reasoning like that is precisely why nothing ever gets done in Washington.  LOL.  -- Requires too many figurative bedfellows at a time of extreme partisanship.  LOL.

"In order to get a prescription drug bill that has a shot at overcoming a filibuster, Grassley started working with the top Democrat on the committee, Ron Wyden of Oregon, back in January. Last month, they unveiled legislation that will limit out-of-pocket costs for seniors in Medicare's Part D prescription drug program to $3,100 per year starting in 2022."

Nowhere near enough, -- but better than nothing.

"It's going to give peace of mind to people," he said."

Delusionally, believe so?

"Grassley got it through committee over the objection of a majority of Republicans, but every Democrat voted for it. Those Republicans opposed it on free-market grounds, because the plan includes price controls on the pharmaceutical industry, limiting their ability to raise drug prices faster than the rate of inflation."

No such thing as a 'free-market.'  No more than a myth promulgated by national socialist, fascist Republicans desperate to line their pockets with corporate loot.  Forget?  The market is owned, manipulated by those with the wealth.  Certainly, has grown increasingly clear the last fifty years or so.

"Grassley told NPR in an interview that he is unmoved by this argument and shrugged off Republicans "complaining" about it. The government will not set prices, he argues, "there's just got to be a limit to what they can increase it year over year." He knows he's unlikely to win over many opponents, especially with support from the drug industry, which opposes his bill."

While capitalism is indeed the very best system to live under, it needs to be properly regulated.  To control bottomless greed.  Not laissez-faire, that is, unregulated or extremely poorly regulated as it is in our formerly great country.  Precisely, why our economy has become zero-sum, winner-take-all.  Two extremes.  Top and bottom.  Vanishing middle class.

As illustrated by the following:

"Not very often is Big Pharma taken on, and this is something they just don't like, and they've got plenty of friends in politics," he said. Grassley is facing an uphill battle against some in his own party, the powerful drug lobby, and a Senate majority leader who does not like to bring bills to the floor that divide the party on core issues like government regulation of markets."

Doesn't, however, look like the Senator is willing to give up:

"Grassley said he's got other factors working in his favor, including 22 Republicans up for reelection in 2020. "Every one of them are asking me to do something about the high cost of prescription drugs because it's a big issue in their campaign," he said. He's also got initial backing from President Trump. "The president wants this very bad," Grassley said."

Maybe today, but maybe not tomorrow.  One never knows.  LOL.

"Lowering drug costs is a top 2020 campaign priority for the Trump administration. Trump wants a win, and in order to get it, his administration has also indicated a willingness to buck party orthodoxy. It praised Grassley's plan when it came out of committee. However, Grassley said the president is going to have to do a lot more to persuade Republicans. "I think the president is going to personally have to get involved, and I'm told he will get involved when that time comes."

Delusionally, think so?  Trump vacillates from one moment to the next.  LOL.  No consistency.  None at all.

"Grassley wants the Senate to take up the drug debate this fall, ahead of the election year. He and other Republican chairmen are working with top Democrats to try and meld a number of health care cost-cutting bills to make it as politically appealing to as many senators as possible. He said he doesn't see his efforts as bucking the party on health care. He's trying to help it politically, too. "Fourteen percent more people feel like Democrats are better for them on health care than we Republicans are. It might help narrow that." Back home in Iowa, Grassley makes no apologies for working with Democrats to pass his bill. "That's my reputation, and that's how I get things done," he said."

Certainly, how it used to be decades ago.  Sadly, Grassley may be one of the last of his breed of Republicans.  May be one of the reasons why a number of Republicans are retiring from the House.  We'll see, won't we?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-16-19

The following, and its aftermath recently, are precisely why White Supremacy, that is, nazism, must be vigorously challenged, not excused.  NPR reports:

"It was late August in Charlottesville, Va., two years ago this month, with temperatures pushing into the high 80s. But what then-Mayor Mike Signer remembers most vividly about those days is the cold. He'd walk into rooms and instantly feel a chill, an iciness, from townsfolk who had lost faith in their leadership. Sometimes people cried, sometimes they screamed. "You had a whole city that basically needed therapy," Signer said. At the time, less than a month had passed since hundreds of racists descended on Charlottesville for a violent rally that came to symbolize the dangers of a reinvigorated white supremacist movement. Signer, as mayor, was the face of the city's response. And when the tiki torches and hateful chants spiraled into clashes and a deadly car ramming, Signer became the face of the city's many failures. An independent review found that officials had botched security and communication for the rally; Signer didn't seek a second term. He has repeatedly blamed police for the missteps in planning and response, but, overall, he acknowledges that as head of the local government, he bears responsibility. And he's spent much of the past two years on a mission that seems equal parts education and atonement. "There was the Charlottesville that was kind of the great reveal of how violent modern-day extremism is, a lot of the time enabled by social-media planning," Signer said. "And then the second hashtag Charlottesville was about those very significant setbacks in the governmental planning and response at every level: federal, state and definitely local." Signer, 46, has written an upcoming book, Cry Havoc: Charlottesville and American Democracy Under Siege, and, in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League, created Communities Overcoming Extremism: The After Charlottesville Project. He travels the country, presenting his city's experience as a cautionary tale as he urges local governments, tech companies and nonprofits to take seriously the rise of the violent far right, which the FBI calls the deadliest and most active form of domestic extremism."

Better late than never.  This brand of nazism goes back decades to the not-so-good-old days of the 50s, The John Birch Society, 'Red Under Every Bed' delusional saga.  Certainly, makes one wonder who truly won the Second World War European Theater.

"Beyond his experience as a former mayor, Signer said, he's also focused on these issues as a Jew who's alarmed at the increase in anti-Semitic rhetoric and imagery in political discourse, and the uptick in hate crimes. His Jewish identity drew extra attention from supporters of the rally – one sent Signer a doctored image that depicted him in a gas chamber, with the Confederate general Robert E. Lee pushing the lethal button. He began to think seriously about the safety of his family – his wife, professor Emily Blout, and their twin toddlers."

Raw nazism.  Reincarnated in the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

"We're juggling just the day-to-day activities while waves of hate are coming into your home," Signer recalled. "I got a voicemail on my phone that was somebody from Florida and it was just audio of Hitler ranting about Jews."

Report goes on and on.

As it was back in 1933 when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Nazi Germany, the worst was yet to come.  As certainly the case now.  Wake up.

Nazism and bigotry is certainly alive and well in Nazi America.  In another article, NPR reports:

"A welcome sign on the way into town reads "Historic Appomattox: Where Our Nation Reunited." But here in Appomattox, where the Civil War ended more than 150 years ago, there are still reminders of division. Not far away, a sign posted in front of Friendship Baptist Church reads "AMERICA: LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT." Pastor Earnie Lucas said he posted that message on his church sign several weeks ago. It was around the same time that President Trump tweeted an attack on four Democratic members of Congress — all women of color — saying they should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."

    ....and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run. Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how....
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2019"

Readers are reminded all four women are U.S. citizens.  Had to be citizens to run for Congress.  Three were born here.  One was naturalized as a teenager.

"Lucas, 85, is white and has been a pastor in this community for decades. He defends his sign and expresses anger about the response it has received online and in news reports. "Don't talk to me about that flag out yonder, or that sign out yonder!" he thundered from the pulpit. "This is America! And I love America!"

No.  You don't.  If you did, you wouldn't be a goddamned racist, a national socialist, fascist, a nazi.

Wake up:

"Lucas asks if anyone in the small, all-white congregation is "from Yankee land." No one raises their hand. "The letters that came from north of the Mason-Dixon Line, I am sorry to say, those folk don't know how to talk," Lucas said. "You're talking about some vile, wretched language. And where they told me to go, and how long to stay — they were filthy in their conversation." Lucas said he has gotten threats of violence, even death, since putting up the sign. He also got letters of support, including some donations, from around the country. Local media initially reported that several members of the congregation had staged a walkout in protest — or out of fear of the backlash. But last weekend, Lucas said most of the regulars had returned."

As hopelessly ignorant, racist nazi as you, Pastor.  Self-righteous hypocrisy.  ... And you call yourself a Christian, Pastor?  What a crock of shit.

The following would be laughable if not so dangerous, achingly false:

"I had no ill intent against anyone — around here or in the state of Virginia," Lucas said. "I was talking about people who have come over here illegally and want to tear the place up."

They come to find a better life, work their asses off at jobs Americans don't want, for a wage Americans wouldn't work for.

The 'Pastor's' hatred is so virulent he cannot, will not be confused by the truth:

"During the service, he mentioned the recent mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, that left 22 people dead. But afterward, he said he doesn't believe news reports that the white shooter was targeting Latinos. Lucas also said he does not believe analyses suggesting that undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit violent crimes than others living in the United States."

As all racists, remains hopelessly blind to his bigotry:

"Lucas doesn't see his words, or the president's, as racist. "I think this idea of racism has been blown out of proportion," Lucas said. "I really do. We've got some sorry people, black and white ... but I don't pay any attention to that. If a man comes to me and behaves himself, we get along good together, I'll go to bat for him, any way I can."

Coup de grace?  Epitome of delusional racist insanity?  Get this:

"One of Lucas' church members, Dianne Cook, 69, said she agrees with the message on her church sign, and with her pastor. She said Trump was right to criticize the four Democratic congresswomen, who include the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. "Where'd their parents come from? Are they Americans?" Cook asked. "Just because she was born in America does not make her American." "Doesn't it?" I asked. "Doesn't it legally, though, under the Constitution?" "Under the Constitution, yes," Cook acknowledged, then paused. "But I don't know how to express that, to make you understand that I wish she, I wish they, well — I don't want any Muslims in America."

In stark contrast to the above, imagine being in the following situation:

"Norwood Carson, pastor of Friendship Baptist Church of Hopewell, Va., and his staff have fielded calls from people angry about the sign. They tell callers, "We are not that church that says, 'America Love it or Leave it.'" Two hours away in Hopewell, Va., is another Friendship Baptist Church. The congregation is predominantly black, and the members are experiencing this moment very differently from the Friendship Baptist congregants in Appomattox. Sitting in his church office, Pastor Norwood Carson said his secretary has received angry calls from people confused about their name. "We gave a standard response to all of them," Carson said. "'You are calling the Friendship Baptist Church of Hopewell. The church that loves God, loves others, and serves the community. We are not that church that says, 'America Love it or Leave it.' " Carson, 59, said the meaning of that sign is clear. "Obviously, it's a racist statement," he said. "But to find out it came from a church just really took me for a loop." Carson said he'd like to talk to Pastor Lucas at Friendship Baptist in Appomattox, and try to understand more about what motivated that sign. Lucas said he's open to the conversation."

Think so?  Certainly, hope so.

"Elaine Thomas is a longtime member at Friendship Baptist Church in Hopewell, Va. She says she and her husband had no idea they would have to worry about their family being exposed to the kinds of things they saw and heard during the civil rights era. Elaine Thomas, 70, is a longtime church member at Hopewell's Friendship Baptist Church. She was a teenager growing up outside Richmond, Va., at the height of the civil rights movement. "My husband and I were looking forward to [having] peace, security, watching our grandchildren grow — now our great-grandchildren," Thomas said. "And we had no idea that we would have to start to worry about them being exposed to the types of things that we saw and that we heard when we were young." Thomas said President Trump is responsible for stoking renewed racism in America. "This is not who we are," Thomas said. "This may have been how we were at some point. ... But this is not who we are right now. We've come too far to turn around and go back, and we're not going back."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-16-19

Trump and his henchmen are certainly devious, hopelessly disingenuous.  NPR reports:

"The Trump administration is moving forward with regulations that are expected to dramatically reshape the U.S. immigration system by denying green cards and visas to immigrants who use — or are expected to use — a wide range of federal, state and local government benefits, including food stamps, housing vouchers and Medicaid. The final version of the so-called "public charge" rule, which has been a top priority for immigration hardliners in the White House, is set to be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday. Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, announced the move Monday morning. He said the purpose is to clarify existing law, which is designed to ensure that immigrants do not become dependent on the government."

Not true.  Disingenuous bullshit.  Especially, the following:

"Through the public charge rule, President Trump's administration is re-enforcing the ideal of self sufficiency and personal responsibility, ensuring that immigrants are able to support themselves and become successful in America," he said."

Window dressing.  No more than that.  Forget?  Nearly all those here undocumented work at non-livable wages, doing jobs Americans can't, or won't do. Wake up.

"The rule is set to take effect in 60 days, but is expected to draw legal challenges from immigrant rights groups and others."

For a number of reasons.

"A preliminary draft published last year drew more than 260,000 comments. Many of the comments expressed outrage that the administration would penalize immigrants for using benefits that they are legally entitled to receive. The change is seen as part of a broader administration effort to limit both immigration and the overall use of public benefits. Immigrant advocates immediately denounced the final rule, which they say could hurt millions of immigrants already living in the U.S., as well as their citizen children. They say it could also sharply curtail legal immigration, especially when coupled with tough new State Department standards that take the likelihood of an immigrant's use of public benefits into account when granting visas. "This news is a cruel new step toward weaponizing programs that are intended to help people by making them, instead, a means of separating families and sending immigrants and communities of color one message: you are not welcome here," said Marielena Hincapié , executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, which announced that it intends to file a legal challenge against the new rule."

The following illustrates the profound disingenuousness of the Trump nazi and his henchmen:

"Cuccinelli says the administration is merely trying to enforce a long-standing goal of U.S. immigration law, which is to prevent individuals from becoming a "public charge." But in recent decades, the government has interpreted the "public charge" requirement to mean that immigrants are not likely to depend on cash welfare programs, which most immigrants are barred from receiving anyway. The new regulations greatly expand the definition of "public charge" to include non-cash benefits as well — such as nutrition assistance, housing vouchers and subsidized medical insurance. Cuccinelli notes that there will be a number of exceptions, including certain benefit use by refugees and asylum seekers, military members, and children and pregnant women. Under the rule, green card and visa applicants can be denied not merely for being "primarily dependent on the government for subsistence," as in the past, but if they are likely to need public assistance "at any time." The regulations also add new requirements for income and financial assets. Advocates say that will make it difficult for immigrants earning less than 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines (more than $64,000 for a family of four) to get green cards, although the administration argues that the limit is closer to 125 percent of poverty. The new rule would not apply retroactively, but to future applicants for green cards and visas. Past use of most benefits would not be held against the applicant, and neither would the use of such benefits by dependents and other family members. Still, public health and social service providers say they have already seen a chilling effect among immigrants who are afraid to get government aid — not only for themselves, but for their U.S. citizen children — for fear it could be held against them. The impact was felt as soon as rumors began to spread early in the Trump administration that the rule change was under consideration."

Precisely, the intention of Trump and his henchmen.

"The Urban Institute reported recently that one in seven adults in immigrant families said that they or a family member did not participate in a benefit program last year "out of fear of risking future green card status."

The intended effect as envisioned by Trump and his henchmen.

Think these bastards have truly thought this through?  Wake up.  Get this:

"Opposition is expected to be widespread. A group of 17 state attorneys general sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget last month, arguing that DHS had "entirely failed to estimate the true costs" of the regulation. "The proposed rules would cause extensive injury to our states' economies and to millions of our states' residents," Washington AG Bob Ferguson wrote. "If implemented as proposed, the rules will result in a reduction of total economic output, a drop in workers' wages, and elimination of jobs in our states." Businesses, such as the home care industry, are also expected to be affected. An estimated 25% to 40% of the nation's two million home care workers are recent immigrants. The average wage is about $10 an hour, which makes many of them eligible for public assistance."

Not even a livable wage anywhere in our formerly great country.

"William Dombi, president of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, says there is already a shortage of home care workers and the new rule will only exacerbate the problem. "This is very hard work and it's very poorly paid," he says. Dombi says the irony is that many home care workers need public assistance because their low pay rates are set by the government program — Medicaid — that funds many of the services they provide. "The fact that the workers may be earning $20-$25,000 a year is primarily due to the fact that Medicaid is not paying enough for them to have a living wage," he says."

Not sustainable.  While capitalism is indeed the very best system to live under, it must be regulated.  Not laissez-faire, that is, unregulated or extremely poorly regulated as it is in our formerly great country.  No such thing as a 'free' market.  A ruse promulgated by hopelessly greedy Republicans who line their pockets off their corporate masters.  Those with the wealth control the market.  Precisely, why the financial system is zero-sum, winner-take-all.  Top and bottom.  Vanishing middle class.  ... Hear the rumble?  An unwanted, dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looms.  As the delusional, out to lunch powers-to-be figuratively 'fiddle while Rome burns.'

NPR reports:

"Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge," Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said Tuesday, twisting Emma Lazarus's famous words on a bronze plaque at the Statue of Liberty."

Spoken as the Aryan arrogant nazi motherf--ker this fascist piece of shit truly is.  -- He got his, now you go get yours.

"Cuccinelli was speaking to NPR's Rachel Martin about a new regulation he announced Monday that targets legal immigration. The rule denies green cards and visas to immigrants if they use — or are deemed likely to need — federal, state and local government benefits including food stamps, housing vouchers and Medicaid. The change stands to impact hundreds of thousands of immigrants who come to the United States legally every year."

Our UNDOCUMENTED forebears came to this land centuries ago, STOLE it from its native inhabitants, then BROKE every goddamned treaty signed.  The hypocrisy?  Off the chart.  Raw nazism.  Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini reincarnated in our fuhrer, the Trump nazi, and his henchmen.  Trump's Fourth Reich.

"The final version of the "public charge" rule is scheduled to be published Wednesday in the Federal Register. A public charge refers to a person who relies on public assistance for help. On Tuesday, Cuccinelli described the public charge as a "burden on the government." He told NPR the new regulation was a prospective rule, "part of President Trump keeping his promises."

Raw nazism.  Trump's Fourth Reich.  The impoverished in our formerly great country would not need public assistance of any kind if the minimum wage was a livable one.  It's not.  Precisely, why there are now two extremes.  Top and bottom of the food chain.  Zero-sum, winner-take-all.  Exactly, why the middle class has become an endangered species.

The undocumented work at jobs citizens want no part of.  Hard labor.  Not paid a livable wage.  Now, our fuhrer, the Trump nazi intends to deport thousands of them?  Prevent as much new immigration as possible?  Who the f--k does he think he'll get to replace them?  His head remains figuratively, securely lodged up his nazi ass.  Day is night, night is day, and shit smells perversely sweet to the national socialist, fascist, nazi element in our formerly great country.

"The new rule will go into effect Oct. 15, and only government aid used after that point will be assessed, Cuccinelli said. Welfare benefits will be just one factor that immigration service officers use to determine an applicant's fate in the United States, in addition to age, health, education and financial status. "If they don't have future prospects of being legal permanent residents without welfare, that will be counted against them," Cuccinelli said. "All immigrants who can stand on their own two feet, self-sufficient, pull themselves up by their bootstraps," would be welcome, he added."

Only, the well-to-do need apply, right, you nazi son of a bitch?

"Asked if that changes the definition of the American Dream, Cuccinelli said, "No one has a right to become an American who isn't born here as an American."

Why don't you tell that to the Native Americans our UNDOCUMENTED forebears f--ked over the last several centuries.  -- Still f--king over to this very moment.  What a clueless piece of shit.

"Then he clarified. "It is a privilege to become an American, not a right for anybody who is not already an American citizen, that's what I was referring to."

Jesus Christ.  Again, tell that to the millions of Native Americans, -- whom pieces of shit like you are f--king over to this very day.  Hypocrisy?  Off the chart.  You and your fuhrer, the Trump nazi, put Adolf Hitler to shame.

"He said the welcoming words from the 1903 plaque at the Statue of Liberty, "Give me your tired, your poor," were put there "at almost the same time" as when the first public charge law was passed — in 1882."

Goes to show you how incredibly Aryan arrogant Congress, run and owned by white men, was even back then.  LOL.  Especially, in light of the fact the Statue of Liberty was given to the United States by France.  LOL.  Think the French were misguided?  LOL.  Give me a break.  The 'thinking' of the nazi element is delusionally ass backwards from reality.  Not only back then, but to this very day.

"Critics have denounced the rule as a sweeping attempt to stem immigration and favor wealthy migrants."

That's exactly what it is.  Zero-sum.  Winner-take-all.  What the nazi element fails to understand is egregiously disparate income distribution often sparks the unthinkable, unwanted.  A revolution catastrophically looms as these nazi assholes figuratively 'fiddle while Rome burns.'  Aggressive stupidity at its very worst.  As our formerly great country remains more polarized than it's ever been. Making for extremely dangerous times.

"The regulation is expected to be challenged by immigration groups in court." Leon Fresco, a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Obama administration, said the case could wind up in the U.S. Supreme Court. "I also expect lawsuits from individuals who say that, at the end of the day, if Congress provided certain benefits to be accessible by certain groups of immigrants, that meant that they did not want them then banned under the public charge rule," Fresco told NPR."

That's right.  Trump and his henchmen are re-writing the law.  The Executive Branch doesn't get to do that.  Congress does.  Trump has again traitorously abrogated his oath of office to uphold the United States Constitution.

"Rumors that the Trump administration was considering the regulation already led to a chilling effect on immigrants looking to put down roots through legal and permanent residency. Public health and social service providers report that immigrants are worried about seeking medical and housing aid for themselves and their children, who may be U.S. citizens. Cuccinelli, a former Virginia attorney general, has long held a hard-line stance against immigration and asylum policies. President Trump tapped him to be the acting director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in June, bringing him to the helm of an agency he had never worked in."

Like the Trump nazi, another national socialist, fascist traitor.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-16-19

Coup de grace?  Get this.  NPR reports:

"The Justice Department late last week moved to seek the decertification of the union representing hundreds of U.S. immigration judges, ratcheting up a simmering battle over the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies."

What do you know?  LOL.  Our fuhrer, the Trump nazi, is anti-labor.  Who'd 'a 'thunk' it, no?  LOL.

"The department filed a petition Friday asking the Federal Labor Relations Authority to determine whether the certification of National Association of Immigration Judges as the union representing some 440 immigration judges should be revoked "because the bargaining unit members are management officials under the statutory definition," according to a Justice Department spokesperson. "This is nothing more than a desperate attempt by the DOJ to evade transparency and accountability, and undermine the decisional independence of the nation's 440 Immigration Judges," Judge Ashley Tabaddor, speaking in her capacity as president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said in an emailed statement. "We are trial court judges who make decisions on the basis of case specific facts and the nation's immigration laws. We do not set policies, and we don't manage staff." The administration and the immigration judges union have been at loggerheads over a variety of issues, including the judges' status as employees of the Justice Department. Judges are appointed by the attorney general and they are not part of the independent judiciary. They have publicly argued for their separation from the Justice Department."

Currently, they are no more than shills of the Trump nazi and his henchmen.  No true independence.  Their 'courts' are no more than kangaroo.  Beholden to the nazi occupying the Oval Office.

Here's proof:

"Last year, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions took the unusual step of reviewing some judicial decisions in the name of reducing the backlog of hundreds of thousands of cases clogging the courts. Sessions also ordered judges to end the practice of temporarily removing cases from their dockets without issuing decisions, a move known as "administrative closure." The Justice Department also imposed a quota system on judges, linking the number of cleared cases to their performance evaluations. The judges' union said the courts need more immigration judges, not assembly-line proceedings."

Kangaroo courts.

"President Trump has appointed 190 immigration judges since taking office. As of June 2019, there are more than 900,000 pending cases in immigration courts, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. The move to decertify the immigration judges' union comes as no surprise to many judges. "Clearly they want to use the judges to ramrod through cases and ramp up deportation regardless of any due process defects their policies have," said one judge who isn't authorized to speak for the union and requested anonymity. Without the union, judges would be effectively muzzled and unable to publicly share their views about the courts, the judge added."

Mark of a nazi dictator.

"This is not the first time the Justice Department has tried to decertify the immigration judges' union. The Clinton administration sought decertification, but the Federal Labor Relations Authority rejected the notion that judges are managers who make policy. But some judges are concerned that the FLRA under the Trump administration would be less sympathetic to the union. "It's absurd that anyone would consider us managers," said Tabaddor, a judge based in Los Angeles. "We don't even have the authority to order pencils."

Jesus Christ.  All you essentially do is rubber stamp your fuhrer, the Trump nazi.  Justice?  What's that?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-16-19

Trump and his henchmen take another raucous hard dump on the environment, -- to line the pockets of the corrupt corporate management suite.  NPR reports:

"In a move that critics say will hurt plants, animals and other species as they face mounting threats, the Trump administration is making major changes to how the Endangered Species Act is implemented. The U.S. Department of Interior on Monday announced a suite of long-anticipated revisions to the nation's premier wildlife conservation law, which is credited with bringing back the bald eagle and grizzly bears, among other species. Republican lawmakers and industry groups celebrated the revisions, some of the broadest changes in the way the act is applied in its nearly 50-year history."

To line the pockets of corporate America at the expense of the environment.

"They come at a moment of crisis for many of the world's plant and animal species. As many as 1 million species are at risk of extinction — many within decades — according to a recent U.N. report."

Republicans and their corporate masters cannot, will not be confused by the truth.

"Wildlife groups and Democratic lawmakers, pointing to that document, are promising to challenge the new rules in Congress and in court. "Now is the time to strengthen the ESA, not cripple it," said New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall on a press call. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt says the revisions will help conservation efforts and increase transparency around the law."

That's a lie.  Here's the proof:

"One of the changes will allow economic costs to be taken into account while determining whether a species warrants protection. Another will weaken the initial protections given to species deemed to be threatened, one step shy of being endangered. The changes will apply only to future listing decisions."

Here's another massive lie:

"U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says the changes fit "squarely within the president's mandate of easing the regulatory burden on the American public, without sacrificing our species' protection and recovery goals."

The direct opposite is the truth.  First, Trump and his henchmen are easing the regulatory burden on the corporate management suite, not the American public.  Second, to let them do as they please, line their pockets at the expense of the environment.  No more complicated than that.  Money trumps all.

"Numerous environmental groups and state attorneys general vow to sue the administration over the changes, alleging they are illegal because they're not grounded in scientific evidence. "We don't take these challenges lightly," said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra during a conference call. "We don't look to pick a fight every time this administration decides to take an action. But we challenge these actions by this administration because it is necessary."

Trump and his henchmen have done much damage to our formerly great country in the last two and a half years of his regime.  -- Damage that will, sadly, take decades to reverse.  -- The ultimate egregious cost of national socialism, fascism, nazism.  ... Who truly won the Second World War European Theater?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-16-19

The following is an example of aggressive stupidity at its very worst.  NBC News reports:

"The main storyline on reproductive rights for months now has been this: Men, many of them conservative, have moved to curtail access to legal abortion and even ban it, imposing their will upon women. The truth, however, is more complicated. White women have joined men, mostly but not exclusively in the Deep South, in using their conservative majorities in multiple state legislatures to make sweeping changes to abortion policies this year."

-- Until these ladies, or their daughters and other family members and friends, get knocked up and have no alternative available other than a dangerous back alley abortion or a coat hanger.

Here's the saddest problem this unabashed nazism imposes:

"Those laws that survive legal challenges will most deeply affect women too poor to travel or move to a state with better access to abortion services. That’s a group that is disproportionately black and Latino — and, in the case of black women, a group that tends to support access to legal abortion. This gap between those making the decisions and those affected by them, experts say, is a dynamic with deep roots in American history. The role of white women — long key players in dictating and constraining the reproductive choices of others — is too often discounted and overlooked, experts say. In 2019, new abortion restrictions were passed in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana after white women co-sponsored them, many voted for them and in one state, signed the changes into law. (In those four state legislatures, 48 women — almost all of them white — voted for the restrictions.)"

Fascinating, isn't it?  Goddamned racist as well.

“These abortion laws, in combination with other policies, pretty much ensure that women who are already poor will remain poor with little chance to climb,” said Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers, a historian at the University of California, Berkeley, who wrote the book “They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South.” Among the reasons: Women who don’t have complete control of their fertility cannot make firm career or economic plans. And working parents must also find ways to cover the cost of child care, in which fees are typically assessed per child. In Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, the overall share of people living in poverty ranges from 12 percent to 17 percent. White poverty rates in those states are lower, between 7 percent and 10 percent, while black and Latino poverty rates are higher, ranging from 17 percent to 31 percent. Exacerbating these disparities are weak social safety nets and worker protections in these four states, three of which have no state minimum wage and decided not to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Last month, the Trump administration also announced plans to alter eligibility guidelines for federal food aid and school lunches, a decision that opponents say will put more financial pressure on families already struggling and receiving little in the way of government assistance."

At the same time, millions are not paid a livable wage.  -- So the top of the food chain can line its bottomless pockets.

"Jones-Rogers describes the recent efforts to curtail abortion without expanding access to birth control or other social services as part of a lengthy history of policies and practices that have affected black women’s reproductive rights in America, dating back to slavery. These decisions, largely made by white men and women, had the effect of creating or maintaining a class of black workers who could not rise out of poverty — or, in the case of slavery, had no life choices at all. The recent effort to change abortion policy “ties almost directly to a long history of needing and sometimes brutally creating a very cheap labor force in this county,” Jones-Rogers said."

Not only is that an issue for blacks, but all people of color.  To say nothing of poor whites.  Report goes on and on.  Will become an increasingly dire problem as our formerly great country continues to nazify.

Above quotes courtesy of a most gifted, insightful writer, Janell Ross.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-16-19

The following is not sustainable.  CBS News reports:

"CEO compensation rose 940% from 1978 to 2018, compared with a 12% rise in pay for the average American worker during the same period, according to the Economic Policy Institute. In 2018, average CEO pay at the 350 biggest U.S. companies was $17.2 million. Chief executives at large companies make roughly $278 for every $1 a typical worker earns -- that's up from a ratio of 20-to-1 back in 1965 and a ratio of 58-to-1 in 1989. The chasm between what the country's corporate leaders and their workers earn is widening to Grand Canyon-like proportions, according to new research that shows CEO compensation surged 940% between 1978 to 2018 while the average worker saw a meager 12% pay hike over the same 40-year period. "CEOs are getting more because of their power to set pay, not because they are increasing productivity or possess specific, high-demand skills," economist Lawrence Mishel and research assistant Julia Wolfe said in the report from the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. Depending on how it's calculated, the average pay of CEOs at the 350 biggest U.S. companies last year came to $17.2 million, the EPI research found. (Or, alternatively, about $14 million, with the smaller number valuing the stock options that make up a big chunk of CEO pay at the time they were granted rather than when they were cashed in at typically higher prices.)"

Egregious inequality:

"Other factors that have driven income inequality in recent years: failure to raise the federal minimum wage, eroding union membership and globalization -- all of which reflect shifts in economic policy in ways that favor big corporations and the rich, Mishel said. The EPI findings are in line with an analysis by Equilar for the Associated Press earlier this year that found that CEOs at S&P 500-listed companies made a median of $12 million last year, including salary, stock and other compensation. Many CEOs who haul in massive stock awards aren't necessarily demonstrating their worth, EPI's Mishel told CBS MoneyWatch this week. Rather, the jump in executive compensation broadly reflects the runup in stocks in recent years. "When every industry stock goes up, their stock goes up, and they're rewarded as though they hit a triple, Mishel said. "That's not for performance as they are sitting in the bleachers."

Based on deception:

"Excessive CEO pay is the result of a rigged system that creates the wrong incentives for top executives and is the same time terrible for company morale, observed Steven Cliffords, CEO of King Broadcasting for five years and National Mobile Television for nine."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-16-19

The Israeli aggressor is bigoted against women of color.  So is the Trump nazi.  The Washington Post reports:

"Caught between the opposing views of President Trump and Democratic leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reversed himself on Thursday and decided to prohibit Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) from visiting Israel during a trip scheduled to start Sunday. The move followed an unusual intervention by Trump and immediately opened up a new battle between Netanyahu and Democrats, who had privately warned that such a decision would be unprecedented and inconsistent with Israel’s claims of tolerance and openness. “The decision has been made; the decision is not to allow them to enter,” Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely told Israel’s Reshet Radio. Several pro-Israel groups in the United States criticized the decision, an about-face on the part of Netanyahu’s government. “Any sitting member of Congress should be welcome to visit Israel as official representatives of Israel’s closest ally and most critical source of international support,” said the Israel Policy Forum, a New York-based Jewish organization. “We strongly urge Prime Minister Netanyahu to reconsider.” The Democratic Party’s leading progressive presidential primary candidates also swiftly condemned the decision, with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) calling it a “sign of enormous disrespect to these elected leaders” and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) warning that it would be a “shameful, unprecedented move.”

More on this as the story develops.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

Highly reminiscent of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors, Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following.  It's appalling.  Runs against the grain of everything our formerly great country once stood for.  No longer.

Ohio officers get theirs.  Doesn't your heart bleed?  NPR reports:

"Five Columbus, Ohio, police officers are facing departmental punishment for their roles in arresting Stephanie Clifford — better known as Stormy Daniels — in a strip club last summer. They include a police commander, a lieutenant, a sergeant, and two of the officers who arrested Daniels."

Jackbooted pieces of shit.  Did they get their cookies off?

"Daniels was arrested last July at the Sirens Gentlemen's Club, months after suing President Trump. At the time, Daniels was fighting to void a nondisclosure agreement — a "hush deal" she had agreed to that involved a $130,000 payment from Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen. As Gabe Rosenberg of member station WOSU reports, "Along with Miranda Panda and Brittany Walters, Daniels was charged with violating Ohio's 'Community Defense Act,' " which targets physical contact between patrons and "nude or semi-nude" dancers. Columbus Division of Police Interim Chief Tom Quinlan did not identify the officers, other than saying that they worked for the "now-disbanded Vice Section." They are now facing departmental charges, he said."

The public is entitled to this information, Chief.  Why are you stonewalling?

"Quinlan omitted any details about the officers' actions that prompted the charges, saying only, "I made this decision because these officers violated our rules of conduct."

Again, the public is entitled to this information, Chief.  Why are you sitting on it?  The public is entitled to know the identity of its oppressors.  ... As well as the nature of all offensive and/or criminal conduct perpetrated by these pieces of human excrement.

"In the next procedural step, the officers' conduct will be scrutinized in individual hearings with the director of public safety. After that, Quinlan said, "The range of discipline for these officers can include a reprimand, a suspension, demotion, and/or termination."

Why not criminal prosecution?

"The charges against Daniels were dismissed within hours of her arrest. But she filed a lawsuit against Columbus police in January, accusing the officers of trying to damage her reputation and punish her for speaking out about the president. In March, the Columbus police department's internal investigation concluded that while Daniels' arrest was "improper," it had not been planned "for political motivation," as WOSU reported. A federal inquiry into the incident is also ongoing. "Because of pending litigation as well as a concurrent federal criminal investigation, I will not elaborate further on our investigations findings at this time," Quinlan said as he announced the action against the five officers."

No excuse.  The public is entitled to this information.

"Panda and Walters — the two women who were arrested along with Daniels — filed their own lawsuit over the incident; in January, the Columbus City Council settled that suit for $150,000."

Not enough.  Nowhere near.  The only thing corrupt, abusive law enforcement and its government handlers understand is being soaked, -- and the reaction of looted taxpayers.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

Not only are Trump and his henchmen bigoted against people of color, but the LGBTQ community as well.  NBC News reports:

"Nearly three dozen members of Congress sent a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday morning expressing their concern over the agency’s treatment of transgender detainees and demanding the agency take transgender migrants’ asylum claims more seriously. The letter, sent by 34 lawmakers and spearheaded by Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., was signed by Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Deb Haaland, D-N.M., and Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., among others and comes after the deaths of two transgender women who were held in detention. In their message, the lawmakers said, “We urge ICE to seriously consider the asylum claims of transgender migrants who demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution based on their ‘membership in a particular social group’ and adhere to its own policies regulating the treatment of transgender detainees.” The letter stressed ICE should especially consider asylum claims coming from the “Northern Triangle” countries of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, where “violence against the transgender community occurs at alarming rates.” In one study conducted by the UN Refugee Agency, 88 percent of LGBTQ asylum seekers fleeing the Northern Triangle reported experiencing sexual and gender-based violence in their countries of origin. The letter comes at the time when ICE’s treatment of transgender asylum seekers has come under continued and increased scrutiny."

For damned good reason:

"On June 1, Johana Medina Leon, a transgender nurse from El Salvador seeking asylum in the U.S, died in Texas after spending six weeks in ICE custody. Her family is mounting a wrongful death suit against ICE, saying Leon, 25, was discriminated against and mistreated, and ICE is responsible for her premature death. Leon’s passing came a year after Roxsana Hernandez, a transgender woman from Honduras, died in ICE custody in New Mexico. In March, the American Civil Liberties Union, along with the Santa Fe Dreamers Project and other groups, alleged “rampant” abuse and "unconscionable conditions" for LGBTQ immigrants at a New Mexico ICE facility, and an NBC News investigation found that transgender migrants often are placed in solitary confinement and face mistreatment while in detention."

American gulags.

"In their letter, lawmakers cited the violence and structural challenges transgender migrants seeking asylum face in their home countries. “Transgender women have been murdered after they were deported once their asylum claims were denied,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter, highlighting the case of Camila Díaz Córdova, who died in a hospital in El Salvador after she was kidnapped and beaten. Díaz Córdova had sought asylum in the U.S., documenting years of constant death threats, but was nonetheless deported. The lawmakers also brought up the treatment of Alejandra Barrera, a 44-year-old transgender woman from El Salvador who they say requested asylum in November 2017 and has been held in detention by ICE since. Barrera, the lawmakers wrote, has been denied humanitarian parole five times, despite the fact that she requires specialized medical care. The letter asks for Barrera’s request for humanitarian parole and asylum to be seriously considered."

The abuse runs rampant:

"ICE did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment, but in previous statements noted that asylum seekers often enter the U.S. with "untreated" medical conditions. ICE has also touted its unit for transgender women in the Cibola County Correctional Center in New Mexico as an example of their fair treatment of transgender migrants, despite documented concerns about the conditions there."

But lawmakers are rightfully not satisfied:

“We ask that you honor the longstanding reputation of the United States as a safe refuge for individuals who face persecution and violence,” the lawmakers said. “Specifically, we ask that you bring ICE into compliance with its stated policy for the treatment of transgender detainees.” Pallone condemned the "inhumane" and "illegal" treatment of vulnerable immigrant communities in a statement to NBC News, saying the U.S. "is turning its back on those who desperately need our help and who should be protected under U.S. law.” "For a long time, it’s been evident that ICE isn't prepared to manage the health care needs of people seeking their right to asylum," Haaland said in an interview with NBC News Tuesday morning, adding that "ICE's record of mistreatment of trans individuals took Johana Medina's life" and she is worried about other transgender migrants currently at-risk. "As an indigenous woman, our history shows that we supported and accepted LGBTQ people into our communities for centuries and centuries," the congresswoman said. "We want every human being to be valued. We need to stop this horrible treatment." Closing their letter, the lawmakers demanded ICE “take tangible steps to protect the legal rights of transgender individuals who meet the necessary criteria to be considered for asylum.”

Yet, Democrats remain too gutless to formally vote for an impeachment investigation of the Trump nazi.  Abject cowardice.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

Racism remains alive and well in the Trump nazi's Fourth ReichThe Washington Post reports:

"Alright my fellow Infidels for Trump...due to OVERWHELMING demand...you may come by the shop (next week) and get your...
    Posted by Cherokee Guns on Monday, July 29, 2019"

Raw racist nazism.

"The sign warns of the “4 Horsemen” — typically a reference to biblical imagery symbolizing the end of the earth: conquest, war, famine and death."

Here's the problem:

"But the North Carolina billboard that went up over the weekend does not depict horsemen. It shows photos of the freshman congresswomen also known as “the Squad”: Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts. The billboard calls the progressive Democratic members of Congress “idiots” and is signed by “the Deplorables.” Cherokee Guns, a Murphy, N.C., gun shop about a mile away from the sign, took responsibility for the billboard. An image shared to the shop’s Facebook page Sunday went viral this week and drew a sharp rebuke from the women pictured, as well as anti-gun-violence advocates. The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence on Monday called the billboard “violent rhetoric.” “Threats against members of Congress, particularly minority members are [trending upward] and it is driven by the president’s racial rhetoric,” the group wrote. “This is dangerous!!!” For the congresswomen, the menacing billboard is just another high-profile threat — one of many they say they have faced since they took office in 2018. “How the hell is this not inciting violence?” Tlaib asked in a Wednesday evening tweet."

Exactly, what it is.  Ironically, coming at a time when the Second Amendment is under ferocious assault by Democrats who clearly wish to eviscerate this last best defense against corrupt, abusive government.  What is this fool trying to do?  Enable the Democrats to get more oppressive gun control legislation into law?

"In her own tweet, Pressley called out Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), whose district, she noted, houses the shop. She implored Meadows to “do the right thing.”

    "#Racist rhetoric from the occupant of the @WhiteHouse has made hate our new normal. We are still vulnerable. @RepMarkMeadows – Cherokee Guns is in your district & you and I serve on a committee together. Here’s your chance to finally do the right thing. https://t.co/IvR1eunFQt
    — Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@RepPressley) July 30, 2019"

At the same time, these four courageous congresswomen, who have determinedly stood tall challenging the Trump nazi and his henchmen, have placed themselves in danger doing so:

"In April, a New York man was arrested and charged with threatening to kill Omar in a phone call to her Washington office. “Do you work for the Muslim Brotherhood?” authorities say the man asked the staffer who answered the phone. “Why are you working for her, she’s a [expletive] terrorist. I’ll put a bullet in her [expletive] skull.” Days later, President Trump tweeted a video juxtaposing Omar with footage of the twin towers falling on 9/11, a post that triggered a flood of threatening messages so severe that Democratic leaders increased the congresswoman’s security, and an independent cybersecurity executive took it upon himself to flag them for the social network’s monitors. Last week, two Louisiana police officers were fired for a Facebook post that suggested Ocasio-Cortez should be shot. At the time, the congresswoman blamed Trump’s rhetoric for the deluge of threats she and her colleagues had received. “This is Trump’s goal when he uses targeted language & threatens elected officials who don’t agree w/ his political agenda,” she wrote on Twitter. “It’s authoritarian behavior. The President is sowing violence. He’s creating an environment where people can get hurt & he claims plausible deniability.”

That's precisely what the duplicitously gutless Trump nazi is doing.

"As people flocked to Cherokee Guns’ Facebook page Monday, the store put out a statement indicating it had received “OVERWHELMING demand” for apparel with the billboard’s image. “Alright my fellow Infidels for Trump ... due to OVERWHELMING demand ... you may come by the shop (next week) and get your very own FOUR HORSEMEN COMETH STICKER ... simple ... eat a piece of bacon ... tell us you’re voting for Trump in 2020 ... then get your limited edition bumper sticker! (While supplies last!) Snowflakes and Liberals are not eligible ... sorry...”

Raw nazism.  Racist bigots.  Hopelessly, clueless.

"Cherokee Guns has a rich history of controversial billboards, especially ones that are overtly Islamophobic. In 2017, the store posted a picture of a different sign with “a great message.” “INFIDEL ARMAMENT” it read in block letters above Arabic script and a rifle. Two years before that, the Asheville Citizen-Times wrote, the shop put up a billboard that said, “Give me your tired, your poor ... Keep your Syrian refugees.”

Jesus Christ.  An insidious cancer growing in our formerly great country.

"This week, the Citizen-Times reported that it spoke to the store’s owner, Doc Wacholz, who downplayed his billboard’s implications and sought to justify its message. “They’re socialists, from my point of view,” he told the local paper, before adding, “I also feel a couple of them, being Muslim, have ties to actual terrorists groups." ”I’m not inciting any violence or being racist,” he added. “It’s a statement. It’s an opinion.”

Delusionally, clueless.  Called insanity.  A classical example of national socialism, fascism, nazism.  Fascism, nazism, national socialism defined as the pernicious blend of government, business, and religion. 'Justified' by perversion and bastardization of the latter.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

In follow up to a case recently covered here and elsewhere, NPR reports:

"Military awards given to prosecutors in a case against a SEAL who was acquitted of murder in the death of a prisoner in Iraq have been revoked by the Navy's top official after President Trump tweeted Wednesday that the commendations should be withdrawn. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer ordered seven Navy Achievement Medals and three letters of commendation given to the prosecution team be rescinded, Navy spokesman Cmdr. Jereal Dorsey said Wednesday, hours after a pair of scathing tweets from the president. In the high-profile case, Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher was found not guilty by a military jury of premeditated murder of the 17-year-old Islamic State prisoner in 2017. In early July, Gallagher was sentenced to a demotion in rank and a reduction in pay for posing with the dead captive's body. The jury heard testimony from fellow SEALs that Gallagher stabbed the captive in the neck, but one of the witnesses dramatically changed his story at trial, saying that in an act of mercy, he had killed the prisoner by blocking his airway after Gallagher stabbed him. A SEAL sniper and medic, Gallagher, 40, was serving his eighth deployment at the time of the incident. He is a 19-year Navy veteran who had previously been awarded the Bronze Star. He was also accused of shooting unarmed Iraqi civilians but was acquitted on those counts as well."

There certainly were constitutional issues in this case:

"The prosecution's case was plagued by problems, including a sanction from the military judge for violating the defendant's constitutional rights. The lead prosecutor, Cmdr. Christopher Czaplak, was removed from the case for conducting a warrantless surveillance program aimed at tracking emails sent by the defense team. Prosecutors were also accused of granting immunity in an effort to block defense witnesses from testifying, according to the Navy Times. In Trump's tweets on Wednesday, the president said the prosecutors had been "ridiculously given" the awards, adding, "Not only did they lose the case, they had difficulty with respect ... to information that may have been obtained from opposing lawyers and for giving immunity in a totally incompetent fashion."

    "The Prosecutors who lost the case against SEAL Eddie Gallagher (who I released from solitary confinement so he could fight his case properly), were ridiculously given a Navy Achievement Medal. Not only did they lose the case, they had difficulty with respect....
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2019

    ....to information that may have been obtained from opposing lawyers and for giving immunity in a totally incompetent fashion. I have directed the Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer & Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson to immediately withdraw and rescind the awards....
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2019"

Here's the problem.  Gross inconsistency:

"The president's remarks via Twitter on Wednesday marked the third time that he had publicly commented on the case. After Gallagher's acquittal in early July, Trump tweeted his congratulations, writing: "Glad I could help!"

Jesus Christ.  Give me a break.

"Former Pentagon spokesman David Lapan, a retired Marine colonel, told The Associated Press that the personal intervention of the president represented the "further politicization of the military," calling it "ludicrous ... in the face of so many more important and pressing personnel issues."

Clearly, Trump is incompetent.  Doing great damage.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

Think you've heard it all?  You haven't.  NPR reports:

"The children's lawyer was incensed. Her two tiny clients — one of them blind — had been in a shelter for three months, separated from their mother. The family had traveled from Mexico to the United States, reaching Nogales, Arizona, on March 1, 2018. Officials at the border found that the mother, Nadia Pulido, had "credible" reasons for seeking asylum from an ex-partner who, she says, beat her and stalked her after their relationship ended. But U.S. Customs and Border Protection still sent Pulido into an adult detention center run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She had an hour to say goodbye and try to assure her blind daughter, 6, and sobbing 3-year-old son that she'd see them in a couple of hours. "A couple of hours turned into months. Painful months," Pulido recalled in an interview."

Yet, Republicans continue to falsely claim they're the party of the family.  They're not.  They're liars.  Democrats?  No better.  Gutless.  Won't launch a formal impeachment investigation of the Trump nazi.

"To help the children, pro bono attorney Maite Garcia turned to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. She filed a complaint with the office on June 7 of last year, explaining that Pulido's daughter was "completely blind and requires assistance for daily living" and would be better off with her stepfather, a U.S. citizen. Nearly two weeks went by before the civil rights office replied. "The issues you raise are very important to us," CRCL finally said in its emailed response. Then came a disclaimer: "Please be advised that our complaint process does not provide individuals with legal rights or remedies. ... Instead, we use complaints like yours to find and address problems in DHS policy and its implementation."

Jesus Christ.  What a crock of shit.  They serve as rubber stamp to Trump's bullshit.

"The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties was created within the Department of Homeland Security in 2002. The office's mission is to advise the department and prevent civil rights violations. But some insiders say the unit has always lacked teeth. That was the last Garcia heard from the nearly 100-person office in Washington, D.C. The tepid response from the department's civil rights office bolsters objections — not least from former staff — that the DHS watchdog is failing to stop rights abuses as they're happening inside a detention system that's expanding rapidly under the Trump administration. The ineffectual handling of individual complaints adds to criticism that DHS leaders no longer heed recommendations from the agency's own civil rights experts."

It's all a sham.  Been so since 9/11.  A de facto fascist police-state since the catastrophe.  Readers are reminded the State Department failed to do full background checks on the 19 hijackers.  Failed to take action when the flight schools informed the United States government the terrorists wished only to learn how to fly straight and level, not take off and land.

Instead, both Democrats and Republicans, after the fact, traitorously, treasonously imposed the USA 'Patriot' Act, Homeland 'Security' Act, 'Real' ID Act, etc., creating a de facto fascist police-state, eviscerating all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

The Trump nazi and his henchmen have exponentially taken it much further, -- the Fourth Reich.  The worst?  Yet, to come.  As was the case when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933.  Wake up.   You've been bamboozled by the Trump nazi.

"Put yourself in the shoes of the person who's sitting in the cell or who's separated from their parent or who's wondering where their child is," former CRCL staff attorney and adviser Ellen Gallagher said. A recent whistleblower, Gallagher has accused the civil rights office of failing to investigate multiple individual complaints alleging unjustified solitary confinement of detainees in ICE custody. Gallagher is now with DHS' Office of Inspector General, a separate internal watchdog specializing in issuing reports after lengthy investigations. "It seems to mislead the public, to invite complaints involving specific information about the individual or the family and the alleged violation, if Civil Rights and Civil Liberties had no intention of specifically investigating or resolving those individual complaints," Gallagher said."

... As clearly happened in Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy.  Wake up.  You've been bamboozled.

"Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan has insisted that DHS has "layers of oversight" to correct abuses. "We have good supervisory oversight, and we hold people accountable," he said during a July 9 interview on CNN in response to questions about filthy conditions in CBP holding facilities."

This piece of shit is a liar.  Just like the Trump nazi.  The Inspector General of Homeland Security has condemned the conditions.  Wake up.

"Gallagher's impression, however, is that the civil rights office "was actually fairly intimidated by ICE and CBP and did not want to engage in activity that might offend either. That is an odd and even disturbing posture for an oversight authority."

To be expected in a fascist police-state.  Certainly, happened in Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy. Wake up.

"Some CRCL staff members say that individual employees contact CBP or ICE to try to informally resolve civil rights complaints. But they can only advise agencies, they say, because their office isn't set up to halt abuses as they happen. Cameron Quinn, chief of the civil rights office and an appointee of President Trump, declined a request for an interview. Another CRCL official responded in writing to questions, asking not to be quoted by name. "CRCL does not have authority to remedy individual complaints but instead focuses on systemic issues" at DHS, the official wrote. The office does have authority, however, to seek "remedies" for people facing disability discrimination, the official said, declining to elaborate."

A ruse.  The very same happened in Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy. Wake up.

"With regard to family separations," the official said, "CRCL investigated the issue from a policy and process standpoint." The civil rights office then sent its recommendations to ICE and Customs and Border Protection in a memo. CRCL declined to release the memo, calling it a "deliberative" document."

Called bullshit.

Report goes on and on.  Our government remains out of control.  Wake up.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

Trump's ignorance knows no bounds.  ABC News reports:

"President Donald Trump on Friday sarcastically tweeted "Too bad!" responding to reports that the West Baltimore home of his recent African American target, Rep. Elijah Cummings, had been burglarized.

"Really bad news! The Baltimore house of Elijah Cummings was robbed," Trump tweeted. "Too bad!”

    Really bad news! The Baltimore house of Elijah Cummings was robbed. Too bad!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2019"

What a piece of crap.  New low, -- even for the racist Trump nazi.

"Trump has attacked Cummings for not doing enough to improve his district, previously tweeting, "If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place." He's also called the city a "rat and rodent infested mess" and said people there are "living in hell."

He's too busy heroically standing up to the racist nazi now occupying the Oval Office, Mr. 'President.'

"The president's comments received widespread backlash for being racist, to which the president has responded that he is the "least racist person" in the world."

Delusional bullshit.  Direct opposite is the truth,  Usually is, -- when someone claims not to be a racist.

The following is extremely interesting.  Get this:

"The break-in happened prior to Trump's tweet storm about Cummings and Baltimore last weekend."

How about that?

"In a statement, Cummings said an individual attempted to gain entry to his home at 3:40 a.m. on Saturday, July 27. "I was notified of the intrusion by my security system, and I scared the intruder away by yelling before the person gained entry into the residential portion of the house," Cummings said. "I thank the Baltimore Police Department for their response and ask that all further inquiries be directed to them.” Baltimore City Police reported it is "investigating a report of a burglary that occurred on July 27, 2019, at approximately 3:40 a.m. at a home in the 2000 block of Madison Avenue. At this time, it is unknown if any property was taken from the location."

You've got to be a piece of shit to revel in someone else's misfortune, victimization by the criminal element.  Especially egregious, when the person reveling in that victimization happens to be the nazi currently occupying the Oval Office.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

Once again, Trump and his henchmen display overt racism.  NPR reports:

"The Trump administration is moving to weaken the civil rights-era Fair Housing Act — making it much harder to bring lawsuits alleging discrimination in housing, according to housing advocates. But conservative groups applaud the move and say it would stop frivolous lawsuits."

'Frivolous' only to goddamned racists.

"A draft of the Department of Housing and Urban Development rule, obtained by NPR, would target a powerful weapon that's used in discrimination cases. It's called "disparate impact." That means that to prove discrimination in a lawsuit, plaintiffs don't have to prove, for example, that a bank employee is refusing to make loans to people of color. They just have to show that a company has a business practice that, on its face, may not purposefully discriminate but has a discriminatory effect."

This rule prevents racists from weaseling their way out of financial responsibility for engaging in discrimination.  The Trump nazi and his henchmen obviously want these pieces of human excrement to receive a free pass.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

Trump nominates unqualified 'yes man.'  CBS News reports:

"As the newest Republican member of the House Intelligence Committee, Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe has demonstrated a prosecutor's acumen in political battles stemming from the panel's investigations of President Trump and his associates. But he has shown less zeal for the day-to-day work of intelligence oversight, according to public records, committee members and other officials familiar with Ratcliffe's work. Now nominated by the president to succeed Dan Coats as director of national intelligence — a role that requires "extensive national security expertise" by statute and an apolitical stance by tradition — Ratcliffe's record of defending the president while criticizing some of the work of U.S. intelligence agencies has prompted questions about his suitability for the role."

He's not.

"While Ratcliffe's fellow intelligence committee members describe him nearly universally as "bright" and "personable," colleagues of both parties say the learning curve for understanding the expanse and intricacies of the work of intelligence agencies is steep, and that in his brief tenure on the committee, Ratcliffe has done only some of the things that would prepare him for a role atop the 17-agency intelligence community. He has personally visited at least a few of the agencies he would be charged with managing — including the CIA, National Security Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), according to his office, though only ODNI would confirm those visits occurred in the past six months and in his capacity as a congressional overseer. In April, Ratcliffe traveled on a week-long congressional delegation (CODEL) to South America led by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, but a congressional source said Ratcliffe had not yet traveled overseas with the intelligence committee as part of an oversight CODEL. "This is the bread and butter of committee business and oversight," said the source, who requested anonymity to discuss non-public matters. "Just understanding the intelligence community is a major investment in time and energy," said Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, who has served on the committee for seven years and chairs an intelligence subcommittee on which Ratcliffe sits. "It's not taking anything away from John — who I think is a decent guy — to say that he just hasn't been doing this very long," he said. "I think it's going to be very challenging for him to be successful."

Recipe for failure.  Trump wants a 'yes man' to stroke his ego, -- not challenge him with truth and/or reality.

"GOP Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas, who joined the committee in 2011 and announced his retirement earlier this week, said Ratcliffe "doesn't have a lot of depth with the 17 agencies at this point in time," but said he is "a good, quick learner and a really smart guy." "Bringing those lawyer-type skills, where you're responsible for digging into an awful lot of things that you may not know much about right off the bat in order to ... get what you want done," Conaway said. He believed that Ratcliffe, a former federal prosecutor, would "do a good job" as the country's top intelligence official."

Good that Conaway has chosen to retire.  Remains as delusional as his fuhrer, the Trump nazi:

"But with six months as a member of the intelligence committee, Ratcliffe, who sits on three other House committees and six subcommittees, may simply not have had the bandwidth to absorb essential facts and context about how the 100,000-member, multi-billion dollar, multi-agency, multi-disciplinary intelligence apparatus operates, intelligence and congressional officials said. "This is really hard," Himes said. "You're not going to ask a guy with six months of experience to run a hospital. And I promise you that running the intelligence community is a hell of a lot more complicated than running a hospital."

The following is of great concern:

"The House Intelligence Committee conducts the vast majority of its work behind closed doors and, often, beyond the walls of the Capitol. But a CBS News review of the eight open hearings the committee has held to date show that Ratcliffe engaged comparatively little during those sessions with the substance of intelligence topics in the panel's purview. While in open session, he did not ask any questions related to the work of the intelligence community — or unrelated to the Mueller investigation — in his six-month tenure on the panel.

"But Ratcliffe was either absent or silent during the committee's other public hearings on different, intelligence-related topics. Though some of them — including one hearing on "Putin's Playbook" and another on the national security implications of climate change — did not appear designed to maximize bipartisan engagement, others tackled topics with which the intelligence community is known to be currently and intensely grappling. Ratcliffe did not question expert witnesses invited to hearings focused on the threat posed by China, or about the challenges of "deep fakes" and artificial intelligence. He was not present at all for a hearing on "Diversity and Inclusion in the Intelligence Community," which featured testimony by senior intelligence community officials, including one from ODNI, about recruitment and retention efforts. A spokeswoman for Ratcliffe said he was "at the Department of Justice reviewing classified documents during that time period."

Report goes on and on.  Be interesting to see where this all goes.

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump’s choice to lead the nation’s intelligence community often cites a massive roundup of immigrant workers at poultry plants in 2008 as a highlight of his career. Rep. John Ratcliffe claims that as a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Texas, he was the leader of the immigration crackdown, describing it as one of the largest cases of its kind. “As a U.S. Attorney, I arrested over 300 illegal immigrants on a single day,” Ratcliffe (R-Tex.) says on his congressional website. But a closer look at the case shows that Ratcliffe’s claims conflict with the court record and the recollections of others who participated in the operation — at a time when he is under fire for embellishing his record."

How about that?  Another congenital liar.  Incapable of distinguishing fact from fiction.

"Ratcliffe played a supporting role in the 2008 sweep, which involved U.S. attorneys’ offices in five states and was led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, according to a Justice Department news release. The effort targeted workers at poultry processor Pilgrim’s Pride who were suspected of using stolen Social Security numbers. Only 45 workers were charged by prosecutors in Ratcliffe’s office, court documents show. Six of those cases were dismissed, two of them because the suspects turned out to be American citizens. One of those citizens, a 19-year-old woman, was awakened in her home and hauled away by immigration agents, the woman said in an interview. John Ratcliffe claimed that as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas in 2008, he led an immigration raid on poultry plants. Others involved in the case say he inflated his role and the raid’s scale. (Matt Slocum/AP) Two people involved in the planning or execution of the enforcement effort said they could not recall Ratcliffe playing a central role.  A.J. Irwin, a former immigration investigator who was involved in the early planning stages before retiring, said in an interview that the operation was a costly failure. Later, as a private immigration consultant, he advised the poultry processor after the sweep and gathered details about the woman who was arrested. “At the end of the day, it did not deliver,” Irwin said. “It was the biggest waste of money and hype.”

Nothing quite like a little sunlight, is there?

"A spokeswoman for Ratcliffe, Rachel Stephens, did not respond to questions about the operation but said in a statement that it grew out of a prior investigation and arrests in the Eastern District of Texas at the company’s national headquarters. Ratcliffe’s background has come under scrutiny since Trump announced Sunday that he plans to nominate the lawmaker to be the next director of national intelligence, replacing Daniel Coats, a former longtime senator and diplomat who was often at odds with the president. Ratcliffe has dialed back his earlier claims that he had won convictions in a high-profile terrorism case as a federal prosecutor. His planned nomination has drawn opposition from Senate Democrats and tepid support from key Republicans."

A blowhard has no credibility.  Precisely, Trump's problem as well.

"Some current and former intelligence officials have said Ratcliffe is the least-qualified person ever nominated to oversee the country’s intelligence agencies — previous directors have been former diplomats, senior intelligence officials and military leaders — and questioned whether he would use the position to serve Trump’s political interests. The post was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to coordinate the 16 other agencies of the nation’s intelligence community. At a July 24 House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Tex.) claimed the second part of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s ‘report was not authorized.’ (The Washington Post) Ratcliffe has been a staunch defender of the president and has alleged anti-Trump bias at the FBI. Trump tweeted out his plan to nominate Ratcliffe several days after the lawmaker attacked former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III during a hearing."

Report goes on and on.  Basically, background information indicating he's not qualified for the role Trump allegedly wants him to play in the national security arena.  Like his fuhrer, the Trump nazi, embellishes, distorts, denies reality.

CBS News reports:

"Congressman John Ratcliffe said Friday that he was withdrawing his name from consideration to take over as director of national intelligence, following media scrutiny over his qualifications for the role. President Trump tweeted that Ratcliffe was "being treated very unfairly by the LameStream Media" and that he would be nominating someone else to the role "shortly."

    "Our great Republican Congressman John Ratcliffe is being treated very unfairly by the LameStream Media. Rather than going through months of slander and libel, I explained to John how miserable it would be for him and his family to deal with these people....
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2019"

Called the truth, Mr. 'President.'  A concept of which you haven't a clue.

"He added, "John has therefore decided to stay in Congress where he has done such an outstanding job representing the people of Texas, and our Country. I will be announcing my nomination for DNI shortly."

What a crock of crap.  Give me a break.

NPR reports:

"President Trump abruptly dropped his intention to nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, to serve as director of national intelligence on Friday. Coolness from Senate Republicans and reports in the press about past overstatements about Ratcliffe's record appear to have prompted the White House to calculate that it was wiser to cut bait now than try to press ahead against those headwinds. Trump wrote on Twitter that Ratcliffe had been treated "unfairly" in media coverage and that he'd told the congressman it might be easier to just stay in the House.

    "Our great Republican Congressman John Ratcliffe is being treated very unfairly by the LameStream Media. Rather than going through months of slander and libel, I explained to John how miserable it would be for him and his family to deal with these people....
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2019"

Called the truth.

"Tensions between the president and the intelligence community also appear to have worsened over the Ratcliffe episode, as some people in the spy world made clear how unqualified they believed he is and how unwelcome he would be atop the sprawling alphabet soup of domestic and foreign spy agencies. The feeling apparently is mutual: The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump has at least once barred Coats' deputy, Sue Gordon, from the Oval Office — and that the White House might attempt to stop her from serving as the interim DNI during the interregnum after Coats' departure. Gordon is an intelligence community lifer with some three decades of experience and has served as the day-to-day, hands-on manager within ODNI. Her supporters faulted what appeared to be a scheme to deny her at least an interim role in the top job, which they argue is owed her by law. Senate intelligence committee ranking member Mark Warner, D-Va., told The Times the idea of rejecting Gordon was "outrageous."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

In addition to the above, consider the following.  NBC News reports:

"The Trump administration's intelligence watchdog has declined a request from four top Senate Democrats to investigate how the White House has handled security clearances for Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and other employees, according to a letter obtained by NBC News. Michael Atkinson, the inspector general of the intelligence community, meaning the chief internal watchdog for the nation's intelligence agencies, wrote to the senators that he would be happy to conduct such an investigation, but could only do it if President Donald Trump asks him."

Aryan arrogance of this goddamned nazi is stunning:

"The authority over access to classified information ultimately rests with the President of the United States," Atkinson wrote to Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, and the three other senators. "It is well-established that the President of the United States has broad latitude concerning the process through which security clearances are granted, transferred, or revoked, as well as broad flexibility in determining whom to choose as his advisors and to what extent those advisors may gain access to information, including national security information." "Given the concerns raised by your letter, the ICIG is available and willing to conduct a review, similar to that suggested in your letter, at the request of the President or his designees," he added."

Jesus Christ.  One of the constitutionally-mandated duties of Congress is oversight.  This nazi has apparently not read the Constitution.  ... Or, more likely, is in the pocket of the Trump nazi.

"In response, the senators — Warner, Dianne Feinstein of California, ranking member on the Judiciary Committee; Bob Menendez of New Jersey, ranking member on the Foreign Relations Committee; and Jack Reed of Rhoda Island, ranking member on Armed Services — wrote a letter to Trump on Wednesday asking him to order an investigation."

Good luck.  -- Like asking the fox to guard the chicken coop.

"Over the last two years, public reporting has raised serious concerns about irregularities and questionable decisions related to eligibility determinations for (White House) personnel access to classified information," the letter said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House has previously declined to comment on the security clearances."

To be expected.  What nazi fuhrer is ever beholden to anyone other than himself?

"The senator's Wednesday letter to Trump points to reports that individuals have been granted temporary access to extremely sensitive intelligence without undergoing a complete background investigation, and that the White House has extended these temporary clearances beyond the usual six-month time frame. The letter also alludes to NBC News reporting that officials in the White House security office overruled unfavorable adjudication recommendations by career security professionals in more than 30 cases, including that of Kushner and Ivanka Trump, and that officials in the Executive Office of the President have threatened to revoke former officials' eligibility for access to classified information for reasons other than the adjudicative guidelines."

To be expected from a nazi fuhrer beholden to no one other than himself.

"NBC News reported in January that Kushner's application for a top-secret clearance was rejected by two career White House security specialists after an FBI background check raised concerns about potential foreign influence on him — but their supervisor overruled the recommendation and approved the clearance, according to two sources familiar with the matter. NBC News later reported that career officials were also overruled when they balked at giving Ivanka Trump a top-secret clearance. Kushner's was one of at least 30 cases in which a supervisor overruled career security experts and approved a top-secret clearance for incoming Trump officials despite unfavorable information, the two sources said. They said the number of rejections that were overruled was unprecedented."

To be expected from a nazi fuhrer.

"The New York Times reported in February that President Trump ordered his chief of staff to grant Kushner a top-secret security clearance."

Trump does as he pleases.  National 'security?'  What's that?  ... Right, Mr. 'President?'

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

Trump loses yet again in court.  ABC News reports:

"The Trump administration’s policy to prohibit migrants from seeking asylum unless they come into the United States through a designated port of entry was rejected by a federal judge on Friday, the latest loss the White House has faced in the courts. The administration was trying to stop those crossing the southern border illegally -- outside a designated port of entry -- from applying for asylum. But U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington, D.C., ruled that the policy was unlawful and “in excess of statutory … authority.” The judge said that while Congress grants the U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary the authority to create additional restrictions on asylum policy, those limitations still must fit within the confines of the law as established by Congress. Trump has launched multiple efforts to limit asylum, including a new controversial rule that was announced and immediately challenged just last month. That rule aimed to further limit who could apply for asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border by attempting to force migrants to apply for asylum in a third country if they were passing through before applying upon arrival in the United States. If a migrant failed to do this, per the rule, their asylum claim would be denied and they would be immediately deported. A migrant “who enters or attempts to enter the United States across the southern border after failing to apply for protection in a third country outside the alien’s country of citizenship, nationality, or last lawful habitual residence through which the alien transited en route to the United States is ineligible for asylum,” according to the rule."

Trump and his henchmen desperately attempt to re-write asylum law.  The Executive Branch doesn't have the power to do so.  Only Congress has that authority.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

Walls closing in.  NPR reports:

"In symbolic milestone, a majority of House Democrats are now publicly backing an impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Twenty-five lawmakers have announced this position since former Special Counsel Robert Mueller testified before the House intelligence and judiciary committees last week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., now stands apart from most of her caucus in opposing such a move, at least for now. She recently cited ongoing litigation as a reason why she is not ready to advance an impeachment process. "My position has always been: whatever decision we made [regarding impeachment] would have to be done with our strongest possible hand, and we still have some outstanding matters in the courts," Pelosi said during a press conference last week. "We have subpoenas in the courts... when we get that information we can make that judgement... this isn't endless, understand that. But we have live cases in the courts." The passing of this threshold will put more pressure on Pelosi to take action, and it's notable that some of the newest public supporters of impeachment include close allies of the speaker's. The lawmakers who have announced their support for an impeachment inquiry in recent days include House Appropriations Committee Chair Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and House Ethics Committee Chair Ted Deutsch, D-Fla. On Friday Pelosi released a statement touting the work various panels are doing to probe the administration, but the lengthy press release did not mention impeachment. "To protect our democracy and our Constitution, Democrats in the Congress continue to legislate, investigate and litigate," Pelosi said. The speaker has regularly stressed public sentiment as an important factor in deciding how to proceed."

No, it's not.  Shouldn't be.  Certainly, not according to the United States Constitution that mandates all three branches of government act as check and balance on the other.

"But while a rush of lawmakers have come out to support impeachment following Mueller's testimony, national polling doesn't suggest that public opinion has shifted in the same way. A Politico/Morning Consult poll taken in the aftermath of the Mueller hearings found that just 37 percent of voters say Congress should begin impeachment proceedings."

Matters not.  For two reasons.  First, you've sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution.  That requires you to provide oversight, hold the president accountable for his crimes.  Second, public opinion will change as the House conducts an impeachment investigation.  There is more than enough probable cause in the Mueller Report alone.  Ten examples of obstruction of justice posited by Mueller and his team.  The only reason why Democrats are unwilling to begin an impeachment investigation is because they fear retribution at the polls.  That's gutless.  Self-serving.  Partisanship, personal self-interest do not trump principle, nor oath of office.  Something, gutless Democrats seem to have forgotten.

NBC News reports:

"Hours after a majority of her House Democrats came out in support of opening an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that “no one is above the law” and that Trump “will be held accountable.” In a statement, Pelosi, D-Calif., stuck to her existing position on impeachment: that her caucus should focus their attention on ongoing congressional investigations and legal battles. But the speaker also referred to the 10 examples of Trump possibly having obstructed justice that were outlined in former special counsel Robert Mueller's report and said the president's “more recent attempts to prevent us from finding the facts” represented “further evidence” of obstruction. “To protect our democracy and our Constitution, Democrats in the Congress continue to legislate, investigate and litigate,” Pelosi said, before laying out in detail the status of the House’s investigations into Trump and his administration. “We owe it to our children to ensure that no present or future president can dishonor the oath of office without being held accountable,” Pelosi said in the statement. “In America, no one is above the law," she continued. "The President will be held accountable."

Time to end the talk, Madam Speaker.  Time to act.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

Two Republican racists. The Washington Post reports:

"It was October 1971, and the United Nations had just voted to recognize the People’s Republic of China. Then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan was infuriated that delegations from Africa did not align themselves with the U.S. position — that the U.N. should recognize Taiwan as an independent state — and wanted to get President Richard Nixon on the phone. He was apparently disgusted after watching delegates from Tanzania celebrate the U.N. decision to support Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan. “To see those, those monkeys from those African countries — damn them, they’re still uncomfortable wearing shoes!” Reagan said. Nixon replied with a big laugh. “Well and then they — the tail wags the dog, doesn’t it? The tail wags the dog,” Nixon said. The conversation between Reagan and Nixon was published in The Atlantic. Tim Naftali, a history professor at NYU and the former director of the Nixon Presidential Library, worked to get the tape released and wrote the subsequent article for The Atlantic. The National Archives withheld the racist comments in the recording’s first release in 2000, which Naftali says was apparently in protection of Reagan’s privacy. But after Reagan’s death in 2004, and amid continued review process by the National Archives, Naftali was successful in getting the full conversation released. “It was worse than I expected,” Naftali told The Washington Post, referring to the audio on the tape. “It was the combination of the slur by Reagan and then Nixon’s repeating it, not once but twice in later conversations. This was not just revealing about what Ronald Reagan thought about Africans in 1971, and arguably later, it was also a reminder of how Nixon could hold racist views but not think of himself as a racist.”

Just like the racist Trump nazi.

"After the call with Reagan, Nixon phoned Secretary of State William Rogers and then employed the same language Reagan used as he described the frustrations over the U.N. decision. “As you can imagine, there’s strong feeling that we just shouldn’t, as [Reagan] said, he saw these, as he said, he saw these — these, uh, these cannibals on television last night, and he says, ‘Christ, they weren’t even wearing shoes, and here the United States is going to submit its fate to that,’ and so forth and so on,” Nixon said in the recorded phone call. In a second conversation with Rogers on the same day, Nixon spoke about Reagan’s disgust once again. He was recorded saying Reagan “practically got sick at his stomach,” and that the California governor said “this bunch of people who don’t even wear shoes yet, to be kicking the United States in the teeth,” characterizing Reagan’s feelings about what had happened, according to Naftali.

"But many African Americans have long regarded Reagan as an exploiter of racism for political gain. He kicked off his 1980 presidential campaign at the Neshoba County Fair in Mississippi, a Ku Klux Klan stronghold where civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner and James Chaney were murdered in 1964. As Bob Herbert wrote a decade ago in the New York Times, Reagan appeared "in front of a white and, at times, raucous crowd of perhaps 10,000, chanting: ‘We want Reagan! We want Reagan!’"

Reagan told the crowd, “I believe in states’ rights,” signaling his views on racial justice. “Reagan may have been blessed with a Hollywood smile and an avuncular delivery," Herbert wrote, “but he was elbow deep in the same old race-baiting Southern strategy of Goldwater and Nixon.” He was opposed to the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was the same year that Goodman, Schwerner and Chaney were slaughtered. As president, he actually tried to weaken the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He opposed a national holiday for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He tried to get rid of the federal ban on tax exemptions for private schools that practiced racial discrimination. And in 1988, he vetoed a bill to expand the reach of federal civil rights legislation."

Yet, Republican fascists still consider Reagan to be their hero.

"Naftali said the new Reagan audio should spark new conversations about presidential views on race and how it impacts real world policy. He said he hopes his research encourages others to plumb the voluminous records available on all presidents. “Understanding how our presidents think about race is not a matter of character assassination, it’s about understanding what drives their decision making,” he said. “It’s not partisan gamesmanship, it’s about how these people with the power we gave them as result of an election have used it. If their minds are poisoned by prejudice, we need to know.”

Imagine being the daughter of Ronald Reagan and having to deal with this.  Patti Davis, in an editorial in The Washington Post, opines:

"Tuesday afternoon, before the first round of the Democratic debate in Detroit, a friend sent me a link to an article in the Atlantic: The headline is “Ronald Reagan’s Long-Hidden Racist Conversation With Richard Nixon.” As I clicked on the link, my mind was already heading in the direction of: Something was taken out of context. Or: His words were careless, not harmful. I was preparing my defense ahead, composing a reasonable explanation for whatever I was about to encounter.

"But I wasn’t prepared for the tape of my father using the word “monkeys” to describe black African delegates to the United Nations who had voted in a way that angered him. Nor could I wrap my head around his comment about them not being comfortable wearing shoes. I don’t know if it was masochism or shock, but I listened to the tape twice before allowing myself to cry. I wanted the story to go away, to get buried in the news of the debate. I wanted to immediately go back in time to before I heard my father’s voice saying those words.

"There is no defense, no rationalization, no suitable explanation for what my father said on that taped phone conversation.

"If I had read his words as a quotation, and not heard them, I’d have said they were fabricated. That he would never say such things. Because I never heard anything like that from him. In fact, when I was growing up, bigotry and racism were addressed in my family by making it clear that these were toxic and sinister beliefs that should always be called out and shunned. I can’t tell you about the man who was on the phone with Richard Nixon that day in 1971. He’s not a man I knew."

Stunning, isn't it?  Poignant, as well.

"All I can do is tell you about my father. That man held a small girl in his lap and answered her question about why people come in different colors. “God made all his creations in different colors,” he said. “It would be pretty boring if we all looked the same.” I can tell you about my father’s father, who wouldn’t let his two sons see “The Birth of a Nation” because it glorified the Ku Klux Klan, and how both Jack and Nelle Reagan drilled into their sons that racism in any form would not be tolerated. I can tell you about a night when my father was in college, on the football team, and the team came to his hometown for a game. They arrived at the local hotel and were told that the black players couldn’t stay there. My father said, “Then I’m not staying here,” and he took them to his parents’ house. When he was governor of California, he was given a membership to a ritzy country club in Los Angeles. He turned it down because the club didn’t allow Jews or African Americans."

Clearly, Reagan lost himself somewhere along the way.

"I can tell you all these things, and more, but it doesn’t remove the knife cut of the words I heard him say on that tape. That wound will stay with me forever. But I believe, if my father had, years after the fact, heard that tape, he would have asked for forgiveness. He would have said, “I deeply regret what I said — that’s not who I am.” He would have sought to make amends for the pain his words caused."

She adds:

"My father has been accused of racism before, in policy decisions and chosen phrases such as “states’ rights.” Each of those can be analyzed in different ways. I grew up listening to him talk about how the federal government should back off and let states decide how to govern themselves. He meant the phrase literally; he was not without his blind spots when it came to other meanings attached to the phrase, and so he stubbornly clung to it. But the words he used in his conversation with Nixon cannot be interpreted as anything but ugliness. That’s what makes this so painful. Legacies are complicated, though, and for people to be judged fairly, the landscape of a lifetime has to be looked at."

Not good enough.  Nowhere near.  Hypocrisy remains stunning, appalling.  Sadly, expected from the nazi element in our formerly great country.

"The best I can do — the only thing I can do — is find forgiveness in my heart for a conversation that stands in stark contrast to how he lived and how he taught his children to live. Forgiveness is always hard — it’s a wrestling match deep in the soul. And it’s even harder when the world is watching and judging. In reaching for forgiveness in myself, my hope is that others will forgive my father for words that should never have been uttered in any conversation. Words that, for those of us who knew Ronald Reagan, will always be an aberration."

Clearly, the pain of his daughter is profound, heartrending.

ABC News reports:

"However, this is not the first time the former Republican president has been criticized for racist remarks. During his 1966 campaign for governor in California Reagan told a crowd of supporters that, “If an individual wants to discriminate against Negroes or others in selling or renting his house, it is his right to do so,” according to Politico. He also, famously, began the “welfare queen” stereotype against black women, helping create a narrative that black women abuse taxpayer dollars to support lazy and lavish lifestyles. Historians have also cited “racist policies” he implemented during his presidency to disproportionately harm people of color which laid the groundwork for his “War on Drugs.”

Clearly, like the Trump nazi, Reagan was a racist.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

Free speech challenged in New York.  ABC News reports:

"New York ethics officials are threatening to fine a woman for unregistered lobbying after she rented billboards to criticize state laws on molestation and share her own story of abuse."

First Amendment Freedom of Speech means nothing to the assholes running New York.

"Kat Sullivan, a nurse who says she was assaulted by a teacher at a private school in upstate New York two decades ago, was part of the successful push that got lawmakers in Albany to relax the statute of limitations on molestation cases earlier this year. Last year, as part of the effort, she rented three billboards to criticize the old law, which contained some of the nation's tightest limits on the timing of molestation charges or lawsuits. She got the idea from the film "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," in which a woman uses billboards to seek justice for her daughter's murder. Sullivan also set up a website and hired a pilot to fly a plane around Albany carrying a banner supporting the legislation. Then she received a letter from state ethics officials saying she could be fined for violating a law requiring individuals to register as lobbyists if they spend more than $5,000 on efforts to influence the Legislature."

Jesus Christ.  Raw nazism.  The assholes running and owning government in our formerly great country certainly can't stomach dissent, any challenge of their authority.  Tough shit.  Seem to delusionally forget they work for the people, not the other way around.

"They're talking about fining me up to $75,000," Sullivan, who has refused to agree to the commission's terms, said Wednesday. "This is intentional overreach. They're targeting citizens. They're worried about citizens having access to equal representation in government." Walt McClure, a spokesman for the commission, declined to discuss the specifics of the case but said the commission treats all people and organizations the same when it comes to lobbying."

Bullshit.  Simply, not true.

"The law requires disclosure to the public about who is lobb[y]ing their lawmakers and how much is being spent on those lobbying efforts," he said in a statement. The conflict, first reported in The Times Union of Albany, highlights the increasingly blurred lines between paid lobbying and political advocacy by individuals or grassroots groups trying to be heard in a state Capitol known for insiders, cronyism and backroom dealing."

There is none of that going on in this particular case.  What is their problem?  Free speech?

"The Child Victims Act passed in January following years of efforts by abuse victims and their advocates. Under the new law, victims have until age 55 to file civil lawsuits and may seek criminal charges until they turn 28, as opposed to 23 under the old statute. The act also creates a one-year window for past victims to file civil suits that had been barred by the old statute of limitations. That window opens Aug. 14. Powerful institutions including the Catholic Church had long opposed the act."

To protect priests who sexually abuse.

"Sullivan said she spent about $14,000 on the three billboards, though only one of them was in New York state. The other two were in Massachusetts and Connecticut — places where the person Sullivan accused of rape moved. One of the billboards featured a black-and-white photo of a woman with text that read: "My rapist is protected by New York State Law. I AM NOT." Sullivan said she paid for the billboards using money from a legal settlement with her former school, Emma Willard School in Troy. She said it makes no sense to compare her actions to those of a professional lobbyist paid by another organization to influence lawmakers. She's hired an attorney and said she's ready to fight any attempt to fine her. "The right thing for them to do is to drop it," she said."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

The carnage continues.  CBS News reports:

"Multiple people were killed and one person was in custody after a shooter went on a rampage Saturday at a shopping mall, police in the Texas border town of El Paso said. Police responded in the early afternoon to an active shooter scene at the Cielo Vista Mall, and were advising people to stay away from the area. Sgt. Enrique Carrillo, a police spokesman, said a male suspect was in custody and there was no longer danger to the public. Earlier, El Paso police tweeted that they had received reports of "multiple shooters" but police later said they did not believe there was more than one gunman. University of Medical Center of El Paso told CBS News it had also received 11 shooting victims, including one who died. They said a 4-month-old child was among the patients it was treating. Hospital spokesman Ryan Mielke said all of the victims suffered traumatic injuries in Saturday's attack. He declined to provide additional details about the victims, including the one who died. Mielke said two children, ages 2 and 9, were stabilized at the medical center before being transferred to the neighboring El Paso Children's Hospital."

All these mass shootings over the last several years are indicative of a country coming apart at the seams.  While the level of violence was much higher in the Sixties, the country was nowhere near as divided back then as it is now.  These are especially dangerous times, consequently.  Under current circumstances, these mass shootings are tragically, in effect, low-grade insurrection, portend of far worse likely to come.  Time to wake up.

As usual, rabidly ignorant Democrats offer same old egregiously ineffective non-starters to remedy this growing cancer in our formerly great country.  CNN reports:

"As the nation reeled Sunday morning from news of a second mass shooting in the span of 13 hours, Democratic lawmakers began demanding that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell take action this week on long-stalled gun control legislation they argue could help prevent the next large-scale tragedy."

Simply not true.  All gun control would do is eliminate the last best defense against outrageously corrupt and abusive government as intended by the Founders, -- the Second Amendment.

"I hope that Sen. McConnell would bring the Senate back tomorrow and pass the background check bill and send it to the President. The President must sign it. Period," Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union."

Bullshit.  Staunch support of the Second Amendment is one of the few things Republicans have done right.

"Early Sunday morning, a shooter in Dayton, Ohio, opened fire in the city's Oregon District, a popular downtown area, leaving nine dead. The shooter, a 24-year-old male, was shot and killed by responding officers. Thirteen hours earlier, a gunman opened fire at a shopping center in El Paso, Texas, killing at least 20 people. A 21-year-old white supremacist is in custody in the Texas domestic terrorism case."

The Trump nazi is a racist who has repeatedly inspired this White Nationalist cancer in our formerly great country.

"A number of lawmakers have joined Brown's call for McConnell to act on gun control legislation, including Ohio Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, who told Fox News on Sunday that "this is ridiculous."

What is insanely ridiculous is the failure of gutless Democrats to formally vote to initiate an impeachment investigation of the Trump nazi.

"In a statement, Pelosi said, "The Republican Senate must stop their outrageous obstruction and join the House to put an end to the horror and bloodshed that gun violence inflicts every day in America. Enough is enough." And Schumer tweeted the majority leader "must call the Senate back for an emergency session to put the House-passed universal background checks legislation on the Senate floor for debate and a vote immediately."

What is truly outrageous obstruction, Madam Speaker, is your gutless failure to initiate a formal impeachment investigation of the president, -- fearing retribution at the polls.  No courage.  Instead, Democrats continue to do all they can to eviscerate the last best defense against outrageously corrupt, abusive government, the Second Amendment.  Ferociously pointedly, Democrats have egregiously failed to honor their oaths of office to uphold the United States Constitution, including constitutionally-mandated oversight of the Trump nazi and his henchmen.

NBC News reports:

"President Donald Trump on Monday condemned “racism, bigotry and white supremacy” in an address to the nation following a devastating and bloody weekend in the U.S. during which two mass shootings in less than a day left at least 29 people dead. "In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy," Trump said in a nationally televised address from the White House, his first remarks to the nation following the horrific mass shootings over the weekend. "These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America.”

Trump is the root source of this scourge.  Has spent the last two and a half years supporting the racist Nazi Right. His behavior in office has enabled, clearly inspired this ongoing violence.

"Just before the El Paso attack that left 21 dead and even more injured, the alleged suspect — identified by police as Patrick Crusius, 21, from the Dallas area — posted a diatribe against immigrants, a senior law enforcement official told NBC News. He railed against immigrants in Texas and pushed talking points about preserving European identity in America."

Raw racist nazism.

"The president did not specifically condemn anti-immigrant rhetoric on Monday, instead blaming violent video games and mental illness for the scourge of mass shootings that have been a steady drumbeat throughout his presidency. It is unclear either of those were factors that led to the pair of weekend shootings."

These racist nazis have been inspired by Trump.  Studies have been done indicating no link between violent video games and mass shootings.

"The president voiced support for stronger death penalty legislation for those who commit mass shootings, putting additional resources and new tools toward helping identify early warning signs before shooters act, and reforming mental health laws. “Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun,” he said."

What the hell is that supposed to mean?  LOL.

"During Trump's address, he misstated the Ohio city where the shooting took place, referring to "the memory of those who perished in Toledo."

Trump remains clearly unfit.  Yet, Democrats remain too gutless to initiate a formal impeachment investigation.  -- Republicans continue to traitorously, treasonously march in goose step with their fuhrer, the Trump nazi.

"Trump avoided calling for any specific gun control laws, in contrast to a tweet this morning where he said Congress should pass background check legislation tied to immigration reform, a move that could give Republicans leverage over Democrats in passing controversial immigration measures."

Trump couldn't care less about the loss of life in both massacres.  All he cares about is re-election, continued imposition of his Fourth Reich.  He has enabled these bastards.  Incited them through his racist rhetoric.  He's the problem.  The answer is not further abrogation of the Second Amendment.  Rather, a formal impeachment investigation conducted by the House.

The following is highly indicative of his abject insanity:

“We cannot let those killed in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, die in vain. Likewise for those so seriously wounded. We can never forget them, and those many who came before them. Republicans and Democrats must come together and get strong background checks, perhaps marrying this legislation with desperately needed immigration reform,” Trump said in a pair of tweets Monday morning. “We must have something good, if not GREAT, come out of these two tragic events!” he added."

That's nuts, hopelessly insane.  Worse?  Get this:

"While criticizing social media in his White House remarks for stoking hatred, Trump used his Twitter account in a Monday morning to blame the news media for "the anger and rage" that has led to a rash of mass shootings in the United States."

A crock of shit.  Trump, himself, has stoked hatred, inspired the racist nazis who commit these atrocities.  Media does the very best it can to report the truth.  The following is an abject lie, egregious distortion of reality by our insane fuhrer:

"The Media has a big responsibility to life and safety in our Country. Fake News has contributed greatly to the anger and rage that has built up over many years. News coverage has got to start being fair, balanced and unbiased, or these terrible problems will only get worse!" he wrote.

    "The Media has a big responsibility to life and safety in our Country. Fake News has contributed greatly to the anger and rage that has built up over many years. News coverage has got to start being fair, balanced and unbiased, or these terrible problems will only get worse!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2019"

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump urged the nation Monday to condemn bigotry and white supremacy after a pair of mass shootings and focused on combating mental illness over new gun-control measures in remarks delivered from the White House. “In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” Trump said. “Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart and devours the soul.”

You should know, Mr. Trump.  Certainly, has done great damage to you, sir.

"Trump’s televised remarks prompted swift criticism from Democrats, who argued he does not have a coherent plan for addressing gun violence."

... Nor do Democrats have any intention of holding the Trump nazi accountable for enabling and inspiring this violence through his rhetoric and actions the last two and a half years of his national socialist, fascist, racist regime.

"In a text message shared publicly by his campaign manager, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) called Trump’s remarks “a bull--t soup of ineffective words.” “This is so weak. We should quickly condemn his lack of a real plan,” wrote Booker, a Democratic presidential candidate."

Democrats need to be condemned for gutlessly failing to hold the president accountable since taking over the House in January.

"Trump also drew criticism for mistakenly referring to Toledo, rather than Dayton toward of the end of his nearly 10-minute remarks. “May God bless the memory of those who perished in Toledo, may God protect them,” Trump said."

Again, he's not fit for office.  Wake up.  Worse?  He presents an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

"In another tweet Monday morning, Trump appeared to blame the media for recent mass shootings. “The Media has a big responsibility to life and safety in our Country,” he wrote. “Fake News has contributed greatly to the anger and rage that has built up over many years. News coverage has got to start being fair, balanced and unbiased, or these terrible problems will only get worse!”

Jesus Christ.  Give me a break.  Media reports the truth as best it can.  This piece of crap in the Oval Office desperately needs to take a look in the mirror.  He's the problem.  Yet, blames everyone else.

"In recent days, many Democrats have said that divisive rhetoric from Trump on immigration has contributed to the carnage."

Yet, you bastards in the House continue to refuse to hold him accountable.  Won't schedule a formal vote to initiate an impeachment investigation, -- gutlessly fearing retribution at the polls.

“I mean, connect the dots about what he’s been doing in this country,” former congressman Beto O’Rourke (D-Tex.) told reporters on Sunday at a vigil in El Paso for victims of the shooting. “He’s not tolerating racism, he’s promoting racism. He’s not tolerating violence, he’s inciting racism and violence in this country.”

Then, why won't you and fellow Democrats force the Speaker to hold an impeachment investigation?  Like Ms. Pelosi, you're all talk.  No action.

Get this:

"While the motives of the shooter in Dayton’s entertainment district remain unclear, the shooter at an El Paso Walmart Supercenter in El Paso is thought to have posted an anti-immigrant screed on 8chan, an online messaging board known for its racist, bigoted and anti-Semitic content, authorities said. Portions of the 2,300-word essay, titled “The Inconvenient Truth,” closely mirror Trump’s rhetoric, as well as the language of the white nationalist movement, including a warning about the “Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

How about that?  Yet, gutless Democrats continue to refuse to hold an impeachment investigation.

"The author’s ideology is so aligned with the president’s that he decided to conclude the manifesto by clarifying that his views predate Trump’s 2016 campaign and arguing that blaming him would amount to “fake news,” another frequent Trump phrase. Democrats were quick to criticize Trump Monday for suggesting gun laws and immigration laws should be paired. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Trump was suggesting that “we have to keep guns out of the hands of the invading hordes of less than human people coming across our borders.” “That’s the implication. That’s disgusting,” Nadler said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “It reminds me of the 1930s in Germany.”

Empty rhetoric.  Democrats remain too gutless to hold this insane, racist, fascist bastard accountable.  These gutless cowards fear retribution at the polls.  Place partisan interests ahead of principle.

ABC News reports:

"Making his first formal remarks after the weekend mass shootings, President Donald Trump said Monday the U.S. was "overcome with shock, horror and sorrow" and that the nation must condemn "racism and white supremacy." Trump said a "wicked man" went to a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, in that mass shooting and said a "twisted monster" carried out the shooting in Dayton, Ohio, just hours later. “These barbaric slaughters are an assault upon our communities, an attack upon our nation and a crime against all of humanity," Trump said. “The shooter in El Paso posted a manifesto online consumed by racist hate," the president said. "In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy."

The perpetrator mirrored you, Mr. 'President.'  All mass shootings by the White Nationalist movement in our formerly great country the last two and a half years have been inspired by your rhetoric and actions, Mr. Trump.  No bull, just fact.

"Today I am also directing the Department of Justice to propose legislation ensuring that those who commit hate crimes and mass murders face the death penalty and that this capital punishment be delivered quickly, decisively..." the president added."

What?  No due process?  Like your forebears in Nazi Germany, Mr. 'President?'  ... Just line 'em up against a wall and shoot 'em, Mr. Trump?

"Trump said the country needs to put partisanship aside, saying it is "not up to mentally ill monsters, it is up to us." "The perils of internet and social media cannot be ignored and will not be ignored," the president said, blaming "gruesome and grizzly video games" for the "glorification of violence in our society."

The problem is you, Mr. Trump.  Not the internet, not media, not video games.  Indeed, the 'glorification of violence in our society' comes courtesy of the criminal jackbooted bastards in blue who continue to murder innocent, unarmed civilians.  Embrace a 'shoot first, ask questions later' mentality.  Where is your outrage, Mr. Trump?  Instead, you rhetorically continue to support and defend this insanity.

"At the same time, Trump also blamed the news media for "the anger and rage that has built up over many years."

    "The Media has a big responsibility to life and safety in our Country. Fake News has contributed greatly to the anger and rage that has built up over many years. News coverage has got to start being fair, balanced and unbiased, or these terrible problems will only get worse!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2019"

-- 'Fair and balanced' like Fox News which has become no more than a shill for you, Mr. 'President?'  Mainstream media reports the truth.  Does it's level best to get it right.   Admits when it fails to do so.  Does not distort reality, and/or continuously lie like you do, Mr. 'President.'  Most importantly, does not subscribe to bogus conspiracy theories promulgated by the Nazi Right.

CBS News reports:

"President Trump called out "white supremacy" by name Monday and and urged the nation to condemn it with one voice in the wake of the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, and the racist manifesto authorities believe the suspect posted shortly beforehand. "In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America," the president said in a speech Monday in the White House Diplomatic room."

Hypocrisy?  Off the chart.

"The president said he is "open and ready to listen" for ways to prevent mass shootings."

Very simple, Mr. Trump.  End the white supremacist rhetoric you've embraced the last two and a half years.  Better yet, do the right thing.  Resign in disgrace.  You've repeatedly, egregiously failed to uphold the United States Constitution.  Have done all you could to transition the de facto fascist police-state we've lived in since 9/11 to the Fourth Reich.

"Near the end of his remarks, the president misspoke, saying, "May God bless the memory of those who perished in Toledo," instead of Dayton, where Sunday's shooting occurred. It's unclear whether the teleprompter was incorrect, or whether the president misspoke on his own."

Either way, illustrates his gross unfitness for office.

"Critics had wondered whether Mr. Trump would call out white supremacy by name to address the El Paso suspect's manifesto. The president will still face questions from reporters this week about his own past rhetoric that critics say has fueled racial hatred in American culture."

Trump has repeatedly, concertedly reinforced, enabled the racist Nazi Right.

"Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke drew a direct connection between the president's rhetoric on immigration and the possible motives of the white man suspected of killing 20 people in the border city Saturday. "I mean, connect the dots about what he's been doing in this country," O'Rourke said of President Trump in an interview with CNN Monday. "He's not tolerating racism — he's promoting racism. He's not tolerating violence — he's inciting racism and violence in this country."

Empty rhetoric.  Democrats remain too gutless to hold the Trump nazi accountable vis a vis an impeachment investigation.  Speaks volumes.

NBC News reports:

"President Donald Trump defended his anti-immigration rhetoric, saying it was uniting the country, hours after slamming presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, a native of El Paso, Texas, where nearly a dozen people were killed in last weekend's mass shooing. "It brings people together," Trump said of his language. "Our country is doing incredibly well."

This man is a lunatic.  Detached from reality.  The number of dead stands at 22, currently.

Continues to lie:

"He continued to call illegal immigration a "terrible thing for our country" while saying he has toned down his rhetoric."

Aimed another salvo at Latinos:

"Shortly before Trump left the White House to meet with first responders and shooting victims in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, he tweeted that O'Rourke the used a "phony name to indicate Hispanic heritage" and told him to "be quiet!" The Democratic presidential candidate, whose full name is Robert Francis O'Rourke and has long been called by the childhood nickname of "Beto," responded in a tweet saying “22 people in my hometown are dead after an act of terror inspired by your racism.”

No question.  The unvarnished truth.  Expose this racist nazi for precisely whom and what he is.

    "Beto (phony name to indicate Hispanic heritage) O’Rourke, who is embarrassed by my last visit to the Great State of Texas, where I trounced him, and is now even more embarrassed by polling at 1% in the Democrat Primary, should respect the victims & law enforcement - & be quiet!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2019

    "22 people in my hometown are dead after an act of terror inspired by your racism. El Paso will not be quiet and neither will I. https://t.co/dakFPKj0vJ
    — Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) August 7, 2019"

The Trump nazi is not welcome:

"Trump was expected to draw a chilly reception in both cities. While the president will seek to play consoler-in-chief, his visit has drawn increasing criticism from elected officials there over his inaction on gun regulations and his divisive stance towards immigrants. Residents in both cities have planned protests. Outside the Dayton hospital that the president was expected to visit, protesters inflated a large balloon of Trump as a baby, with signs reading "you are why" and "words have consequences." Another group of protesters gathered near the site of the shooting, chanting "do something." “His rhetoric has been painful for many in our community, and I think people should stand up and say they are not happy if they are not happy he’s coming,” Dayton mayor Nan Whaley told reporters."

When good men and women remain silent in the presence of great evil, they are no longer good.  No longer men.  No longer women.  Gutless cowards.  Republicans need to continue defending the Second Amendment, -- the last best defense against corrupt and abusive government as intended by the Founders.  The Democrats will do all they can to eviscerate the right to bear arms.  The problem is Trump, not the Second Amendment.  Our lunatic fuhrer has inspired and enabled the nazi element in our formerly great country the last two and a half years of his regime.  Wake up.

NPR reports:

"Trump has offended the city of El Paso, too, with repeated claims earlier this year that a border wall erected in El Paso turned it from "one of the most dangerous cities" to "one of the safest." Statistics have shown that happened long before the wall was erected — and that El Paso has never been one of the most dangerous cities in the country. El Paso Mayor Dee Margo, a Republican, has been critical of Trump's comments about the city in the past. In the wake of the shooting, Margo said on Monday, "I will continue to challenge any harmful and inaccurate statements made about El Paso. We will not allow anyone to portray El Paso in a manner that is not consistent with our history and values." But, he added, "I will fulfill my obligations as mayor of El Paso to meet with the president and discuss whatever our needs are in this community and hope that if we are expressing specifics that we can get him to come through for us." Trump's reelection campaign also still owes the city over a half-million dollars for security costs for a rally in El Paso in February, which is now incurring late fees, The Texas Tribune reports. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, who represents El Paso, wrote in a series of tweets that she had asked for a call with the president on Tuesday to talk about his "responsibility to acknowledge the power of his words, apologize for them, and take them back because they are still hanging over us," in order to facilitate "a dialogue that could lead to healing." However, she said she was told that Trump was "'too busy' to have that conversation," and as a result she declined an invitation to join the president on his trip. "I refuse to be an accessory to his visit," Escobar said. "I refuse to join without a dialogue about the pain his racist and hateful words & actions have caused our community and country." In addition to his words on immigration, President Trump's attacks on people of color in Congress in recent weeks have been blasted as racist. Speaking at the White House on Monday morning, though, Trump declared, "In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy."

... While the racist fascist continues to embrace all three.  Hypocrisy, off the chart.

NPR reports:

"President Trump visited survivors of the shooting in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday before heading to El Paso, Texas, the site of the weekend's other deadly violence. Trump remained out of public view during the Dayton stop."

Why?  Afraid of being confronted by protesters?

"Few details were available after his only Dayton stop, a visit to the Miami Valley Hospital. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said the president's visit was closed to the press because it was not a "photo-op."

Delusionally believe Grisham wasn't using the tweet to put her racist nazi fuhrer, responsible for inciting White Supremacist violence, in the best possible light under the circumstances?  Proof positive:

"Grisham tweeted that the president and first lady Melania Trump met with patients and stopped between rooms to thank the "hardworking medical staff. Very powerful moments for all!"

    "Happening Now: @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania are meeting with patients at Miami Valley Hospital here in Dayton. They’ve been stopping between rooms to thank the hardworking medical staff. Very powerful moments for all!
    — Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) August 7, 2019"

Hypocrisy?  Off the chart.  His racist rhetoric incites such violence from the Nazi Right.

"After the visit, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, also a Democrat, met with reporters at the hospital. Brown said the president "was received well by the patients as you'd expect. They were hurting; he was comforting. He did the right things. Melania did the right things. And it's his job in part to comfort people." Whaley said she and Brown both "spoke very directly" to the president about the need to act on gun legislation. Brown said Trump talked to some of the first responders and proposed giving them medals. Brown said he told the president, "Respectfully, the best thing he could do for these police officers is take these assault weapons off the streets."

Trump was certainly not a happy camper.  Took it personally.  What narcissist wouldn't?  Yet, Republicans need to continue doing the one thing they've done right, -- support the Second Amendment, last best defense against corrupt and abusive government.

"A few moments later, Grisham again tweeted, criticizing Brown and Whaley for holding "such a dishonest press conference in the name of partisan politics."

    "President @realDonaldTrump graciously asked Sen Brown & Mayor Whaley to join as he and the First Lady visited victims, medical staff & first responders. It is genuinely sad to see them immediately hold such a dishonest press conference in the name of partisan politics. https://t.co/BB0lXhfBnG
    — Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) August 7, 2019"

Brown and Whaley didn't lie, weren't disingenuous.  Simply articulated a viewpoint opposed by those of us who strongly believe in the Second Amendment.  Had these two Democrats any courage at all, would have asked the Trump nazi to do the right thing.  Resign in disgrace.

"Trump then tweeted while heading to his next stop, El Paso, saying, "it was a warm & wonderful visit. Tremendous enthusiasm & even Love." He said that Brown and Whaley were "misrepresenting" what happened, calling their news conference a "fraud."

Trump's delusional.  Unfit for office.  A congenital liar.

Trump was not well received in El Paso.  Texas Public Radio reports:

"President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited El Paso Wednesday afternoon to meet with first responders and survivors of Saturday’s mass shooting. Those who greeted the president include Gov. Greg Abbott, Sen. John Cornyn, Sen. Ted Cruz, El Paso Mayor Dee Margo and others. Residents, however, turned out in force to protest the visit. It was hot and humid at El Paso’s Washington Park, but hundreds of protesters were there holding signs that declared: “Not Welcome,” “Brown and Proud,” and “Fuera Trump,” which translates to “Trump Get Out.”

"Also in Washington Park was Karen Powers, who staffed a table registering people to vote. She said Trump was not welcome in her city. “It’s like inviting the murderer to the funeral to me,” she said. “I think it’s that gross.” Many of the demonstrators carried signs blaming Trump directly for inspiring the alleged shooter through his anti-immigrant rhetoric.

"Less than a mile away, Trump was at the University Medical Center meeting with their staff and other first responders — as well as survivors of the shooting. Before coming down to Texas, Trump also visited Dayton, Ohio where a mass shooting took place early Sunday morning killing 10 people including the shooter. There were small crowds of protesters near the side streets of the El Paso hospital. Back at the Walmart where the shooting took place, El Pasoans continued to gather near a memorial outside the store. According to reports from the El Paso Police Department, some protest groups began “clashing against each other.”

    The memorial was meant to honor the victims. Do not dishonor them by clashing against each other. Stop the hate

    — EL PASO POLICE DEPT (@EPPOLICE) August 7, 2019"

Exactly right.  Good advice.  Remain peaceful.  The true problem is the Trump nazi.  -- A cancer that grows increasingly malignant by the day.  Lobby gutless Democrats in the House to formally vote for an impeachment investigation.

"After visiting the hospital, the president went to the El Paso Region Communications Center. According to reports, protesters stood on the street outside where someone held up a large white bed sheet with the words “Racist, go home.”

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

The following is a dangerous ancillary to the above.  The Washington Post reports:

"The United States continues to employ a staggering arsenal of armed forces, unmanned drones, intelligence agencies and sweeping domestic authorities to contain a threat — Islamist terrorism — that has claimed about 100 lives on American soil since the nation mobilized after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. No remotely comparable array of national power has been directed against the threat now emerging from the far right, a loose but lethal collection of ideologies whose adherents have killed roughly the same number of people in the United States, post-9/11, as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State combined. The disparity is a source of growing alarm for officials and experts, some of whom now say the United States is overdue for a realignment of national security priorities as violence on the far right escalates."

How is that even remotely possible when the current occupant of the Oval Office has embraced the racist, white supremacist, Nazi Right?

"In the aftermath of a pair of attacks that left dozens dead or wounded in Texas and Ohio over the weekend, a roster of former high-ranking counterterrorism officials issued a statement Sunday saying that domestic terrorism should be treated “as high a priority as countering international terrorism has become since 9/11.” Many experts say that the mobilization in the wake of the attacks on New York and Washington was effective and that the number of Americans killed by Islamist militants would be considerably higher were it not for the far-reaching measures adopted after 9/11 — a catastrophic al-Qaeda strike that killed nearly 3,000 people and whose impact still dwarfs any single episode of violence that has followed in the United States."

At what price?  Liberty.  All civil and constitutional rights and liberties.  Wake up.  All a sham.  Been so since 9/11.  A de facto fascist police-state since the catastrophe.  Readers are reminded the State Department failed to do full background checks on the 19 hijackers.  Failed to take action when the flight schools informed the United States government the terrorists wished only to learn how to fly straight and level, not take off and land.

Instead, both Democrats and Republicans, after the fact, traitorously, treasonously imposed the USA 'Patriot' Act, Homeland 'Security' Act, 'Real' ID Act, etc., creating a de facto fascist police-state, eviscerating all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

The Trump nazi and his henchmen have exponentially taken it much further, -- the Fourth Reich.  The worst?  Yet, to come.  As was the case when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933.  Wake up.   You've been bamboozled by the Trump nazi.

Now, these very same individuals responsible for this loss of liberty want to protect us from the nazi element in our formerly great country that's been a problem since at least the McCarthy days back in the 50s.  Crock of shit.  Give me a break.  How do they intend to do this?  By removing whatever vestige of liberty still remaining?  This government can no longer be trusted to do the right thing.

"Protecting the public from the most pressing terrorist threat “has been our governing principle for many years now,” said Lisa Monaco, who served as the top counterterrorism adviser to President Barack Obama."

Has it?  Truly, believe that?  How is that so when we've lived in a de facto fascist police-state since 9/11, quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich?

"Given the surge in attacks linked to the far right, she said, “we need to prioritize our resources and focus on this threat.”

The true threat is Trump's racist nazism.  He and his henchmen are not only inspiring, but enabling the Nazi Right.

Even these achingly clueless assholes positing this outrageously short-sighted crap quoted above are beginning to understand the true depth of the threat posed by the Trump nazi:

"In some ways, the opposite has occurred under President Trump. Last year, the administration downgraded the position that Monaco previously held, meaning that the top counterterrorism adviser in the White House no longer reports directly to the president. The administration has also curtailed or disbanded a Department of Homeland Security program that had been created to counter violent extremism by working with regional authorities and organizations to identify those vulnerable to radicalization, whether by Islamist groups or the far right. The main obstacle to mobilizing against the white supremacist threat, officials said, may be political. Trump on Monday denounced the alleged white nationalist sentiments of the suspected killer in El Paso. But his presidency has come to be defined by policies that are aligned with aspects of the white nationalist agenda and his penchant for fanning racial animus."

Precisely, why Trump is traitorously, treasonously unfit for office.  Exactly, why he presents an exigent threat to a democratic republic, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

“This both makes the mobilization more necessary and interferes with that mobilization,” said Dan Byman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University and a former staff member of the 9/11 Commission. Trump’s words and actions, he said, amplify the danger by emboldening those with radical, racist views, while his signals of tolerance toward such groups — including his comments after violence in Charlottesville — undermine his subordinates’ ability to agree upon and organize around the threat. Trump’s refusal to acknowledge Russian interference in U.S. politics has also contributed to the far right’s rise, experts said. Since at least 2015, Moscow’s destabilization efforts have included sweeping online operations aimed at sowing racial division in the United States by promoting the positions of white nationalists. A social media study by researcher J.M. Berger concluded that far-right networks online are dominated by intersecting themes: “support for U.S. President Donald Trump, support for white nationalism, opposition to immigration (often framed in ­anti-Muslim terms).”

The longer Trump remains in office, the greater the problem grows.  Precisely, why it's incumbent on Democrats to formally vote in the House for an impeachment investigation.

The following certainly has great truth to it:

"The latter is an area in which the response to 9/11 — with its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and multibillion-dollar investments in border security aimed at blocking entry to radicalized Muslims — may have fostered xenophobic attitudes that contributed to the rise of the far right. There are indications that U.S. national security agencies are beginning to shift toward the far-right threat. FBI Director Christopher A. Wray recently testified that the bureau had made about 100 domestic terrorism arrests in the past nine months and that “a majority of the domestic terrorism cases we’ve investigated are motivated by some version of what you might call white supremacist violence.”

Called national socialism, fascism, nazism.  Why sugarcoat it by not labeling it precisely for what it is?

The following, however, is what's so incredibly dangerous about extending the 9/11 mentality to the rising nazism in our formerly great country:

"Even as the FBI has turned greater attention to domestic threats, federal investigators lack some of the legal tools they have to combat Islamist terrorism. In cases involving al-Qaeda or the Islamic State, federal prosecutors can turn to a statute that makes it illegal to provide any “material support,” such as money or training, to a designated foreign terrorist group. There is no comparable statute for domestic groups such as far-right extremists."

Those very same 'tools' used by this government against foreign terrorists eviscerated all civil and constitutional rights and liberties via The USA 'Patriot' Act, 'Real' ID Act, Homeland 'Security' Act, etc..  These laws traitorously, treasonously passed by both Democrats and Republicans created the de facto fascist police-state we now live in, quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

Ironic, isn't it?  Now these very same people in the intelligence community want to protect us against the Nazi Right, but remain ludicrously unwilling to impeach the ringleader, the Trump nazi.  Would be goddamned laughable, -- if our formerly great country was not coming apart at the seams.  ... As these achingly clueless assholes figuratively 'fiddle while Rome burns.'  An unwanted, dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looms.  ... Hear the rumble?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

The most pernicious legacy of the Trump nazi will likely be his lasting impact on the judiciary.  NPR reports:

"President Trump can be a master of distraction, but when it comes to judges, his administration has demonstrated steely discipline. In the 2 1/2 years that Trump has been in office, his administration has appointed nearly 1 in 4 of the nation's federal appeals court judges and 1 in 7 of its district court judges."

Frightening.  Reflects his determined, concerted, intentional abrogation of all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.  Forget?  We've lived in a de facto fascist police-state since 9/11, now quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.  Loading the judiciary with Republican bona fide national socialists, fascists, nazis enables this process.

"The president recently called filling those vacancies for lifetime appointments a big part of his legacy. Given the relative youth of some of his judicial picks, experts say, those judges could remain on the bench for 30 or even 40 years."

At least some of them will need to be impeached, convicted, and removed from office.  -- An extremely difficult process.

"Legal observers say Trump and his Republican allies in the Senate have placed an unmistakable stamp on the federal judiciary, not only in ideology but in identity."

White Republican racist nazis.

"What stands out to me is that President Trump is deliberately nominating the least diverse class of judicial nominees that we have seen in modern history," said Kristine Lucius, executive vice president for policy at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. "It is stunning to me that 2 1/2 years in, he has not nominated a single African American or a single Latinx to the appellate courts."

Why would that be surprising?  Expect anything more of a racist nazi?

"In all, around 70% of Trump's judicial appointees are white men. Dozens of those nominees have refused to answer whether they support the Supreme Court's holding in Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 opinion that said racial segregation of public schools is unconstitutional. Civil rights advocates say those nonanswers should be disqualifying. But with Republicans holding 53 seats in the Senate and on board with Trump's program to confirm as many judges as possible, these nonanswers usually aren't."

Raw nazism.  Fascism, nazism, national socialism defined as the pernicious blend of government, business, and religion. 'Justified' by perversion and bastardization of the latter.

"Conservative legal analyst Ed Whelan said there are good reasons why some judicial candidates balk at those questions. "I think there's a game being played here, and the critics are part of that game," said Whelan, who leads the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. "It's quite clear that what Democratic senators aim to do with that questioning is say, 'Well, if you can answer questions about Brown, why won't you answer questions about Roe?" Whelan was alluding to Roe v. Wade, the decision that legalized abortion.  Abortion-rights groups worry that Roe is now in peril from the new generation of judges with ties to the conservative Federalist Society, whose leader has consulted with the White House to select two Supreme Court justices and many other candidates for the lower courts."

... Hear the rumble?  An unwanted, dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looms as our formerly great country continues to deteriorate.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-9-19

The jackbooted bastards in ICE conducted massive raids in Mississippi.  More on this in the next edition.


8-2-19

Highly reminiscent of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors, Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following.  It's appalling.  Runs against the grain of everything our formerly great country once stood for.  No longer.

In follow up to the last edition, CNN now reports:

"Cheyenne Hoyt recorded the moment an ICE agent smashed through a car window to arrest her boyfriend, Florencio Millan, who the government says was in the US illegally and wouldn't get out of the vehicle. "He told my boyfriend to get out of the car or this could go bad," she said, adding that she had asked to see a warrant multiple times. "So once again, I asked for the warrant, he refused me again, I asked the name on the warrant and he refused." She said the agent told them he had a "paperless" warrant."

No such thing.  The jackbooted bastard lied.

"After a couple of minutes, Hoyt said the Kansas City Police arrived. "The police told us that they could either do this the easy way or the hard way," she said a day later, during a news conference Tuesday afternoon. "And all I said was 'all I want to see is a warrant or a name' and that's when they started to try to bust the window out of our car."

No warrant. Jackbooted motherf--kers.

"ICE spokesman Shawn Neudauer said Millan was uncooperative and refused to step outside of his car, or "follow lawfully issued commands issued by ICE and local police."

Where was the warrant?  Jackbooted motherf--kers.

"Kansas City Police spokesman Sgt. Jake Becchina said there was an effort by both officers and the ICE agent to ask Millan to get out of his car. After ICE agents broke the window, Hoyt said she told her boyfriend not to resist, "I put my hand on his shoulder and I told him not to refuse or not to resist because I didn't want them to shoot him in front of my kids," she said."

It's how these jackbooted pieces of shit get their cookies off.

"Four officers then grabbed Millan and threw him on the ground, Hoyt said."

Again, it's how these jackbooted pieces of human excrement get their cookies off.  -- Either roughing someone up, or murdering an innocent, unarmed civilian.

"Trinidad Raj Molina, Program Coordinator for Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation (AIRR) is working with Millan following his arrest. "No one is arguing the prior deportation but rather this arrest," Molina said. "We're trying to figure out why it happened like this." Millan was an "immigration fugitive" at the time of his arrest, Neudauer said. "He has a prior criminal history that includes misdemeanor offenses," the spokesman said. "In 2011, a federal immigration judge granted him voluntary departure," and Millan returned to Mexico, he said. "However, five days after he returned to Mexico, he was encountered by immigration officials after he illegally re-entered the United States under an assumed name. He was issued an expedited removal order and removed (deported) from the US." Millan was deported Wednesday evening, according to ICE spokeswoman Nicole Alberico."

Another family broken up by the Trump nazi, his henchmen, and Republicans who falsely claim to be the party of the family.  What a goddamned crock of shit.

"Hoyt says that, with the exception of a parking ticket that led to Millan's voluntary deportation in 2011, he had no other legal issues. "He had a parking ticket in '07 but that other than that nothing," she told CNN. At the time of Millan's arrest, the family said they were taking their 7-month-old daughter to a doctor's appointment. Their son was also in the car. US Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, whose district covers part of Kansas City, described the video as "very concerning as to the traumatization of children and the reasonable use of force," in a tweet. One officer, Hoyt said, told her to "make sure that my baby was covered from the glass." "He was the one that was also able to let me get a couple words in with him (Millan) before he left and then he (Millan) told me he was sorry," she said. Her son, Hoyt said, was crying "don't take my dad."

No warrant.  No due process.  Nazi America.  Readers are reminded our UNDOCUMENTED forebears arrived in this land centuries ago, STOLE it from its native inhabitants, then BROKE every goddamned treaty signed.

No justice.  Precisely, why there is desperate need for a new federal agency whose sole function would be to investigate, arrest, charge, and prosecute corrupt, abusive, criminal officers, prosecutors, and judges in a special court that would adjudicate only these cases.  Total independence.  The only way to rein in these criminals, particularly the murderers in blue.

Sadly, the achingly clueless bastards in law enforcement don't need a legitimate reason to kill.  Enjoy carte blanche to murder on the job.  Nearly always, with impunity.  ... Right, Sheriff?  Sue the living shit out of the jackbooted motherf--kers, the department, and the city.  Any officer engaged in, or threatening this kind of unnecessary violence needs to be criminally prosecuted.  Not protected and coddled.  Not put on paid leave, -- no more than a paid vacation.  Not sent home without pay to catch up on his beauty sleep.

Firing is egregiously insufficient.  How can the law enforcement community be trusted?  No foreign power, no terrorist organization, not even the criminal element presents a greater threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties than the criminal jackbooted bastards in law enforcement.  ... Right, Sheriff?  Madam County Attorney?  "Sonny Boy?"

These are extremely dangerous times for our formerly great country.  ... Hear the rumble?  An unwanted dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming.  -- As our legislators and other government officials figuratively 'fiddle while Rome burns.'

Not good enough.  Nowhere near.  Short of an unwanted dreaded second American revolution, only one way for these atrocities to end.  Again, time for a new federal agency whose sole function would be to investigate, arrest, charge, prosecute corrupt, abusive, criminal officers, prosecutors, and judges in a special court whose sole function would be to adjudicate such cases.  Total independence.

Local  and state authorities are egregiously incapable of handling these cases. Tend to protect their own.  ... Right, Sheriff?  Goes with the territory, doesn't it, Bill?  Precisely, why there is no faith or trust in your criminal jackbooted bastards.  Local authorities here in Nazi Llano County have their heads figuratively, securely lodged so far up their clueless ass their eyeballs are turning inside out.  Protect and coddle your clueless, out of control officers.  Imagine that.

Unadulterated, blatant ongoing horse shit.  ... Right, Bill?  F--k these jackbooted bastards.  Aren't worth a crap.  Continually abrogate their oaths of office to protect and defend the United States Constitution.  ... Right, Sheriff?  Includes not only deputies, but the brass as well.  No principles.  No honor.  Lying, conniving, abusive, murderous jackbooted thieving thugs.  The American Civil Liberties Union needs to step up and represent the victims of abusive law enforcement.

To say nothing of innocent civilians all across our formerly great country who are victimized by abusive police.  Need far better representation than a public defender.  Forget?  It's how the bastards in government line government coffers.  All too often, looting the innocent.  Those on the bottom of the food chain.  ... Right, Sheriff?

No justice.  The American Way.  Nazi America.  When is this shit finally going to end?  All of it.  Wake up, Sheriff.  Again, where is dashcam video of the killing of Jeffrey Gray Wise, 52, of Austin by DPS and the Llano County Sheriff's Office?  One hundred seventy one weeks, now.  A goddamned disgrace.

Why are you still sitting on this information?  What are you hiding, Sheriff?  What is the identity of the officers who killed Wise?  Too gutless to release this information to the public that pays your salary and that of your goons?  Reportedly, there were three officers involved in the shooting.  Who the hell are they?

When will the goddamned 'law' 'enforcement' community finally stop making excuses for engaging in outrageous criminal activity including blatant murder, violent assault, sexual assault, theft, drug trafficking, etc.?  List can go on and on.  Protecting its own no matter what it does or doesn't do? Convenient, isn't it, Sheriff?  Again, no foreign power, no terrorist organization, not even the criminal element presents a greater threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties than all branches and levels of government, -- including law enforcement.

Corruption within law enforcement remains an existential threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.  So what else is new?  ... Right, Bill?  Same old duplicitous, aggressively stupid shit occurs right here in Nazi Llano County.  ... Doesn't it, Sheriff?

Think it'll change any time soon?  Don't hold your breath, readers.  Not how things work in Nazi America, right, Sheriff?  Highly reminiscent of how your goons operate though, isn't it, Bill?  Forget?  'Stupid is as stupid does.'  F--ked up is f--ked up no matter where, no matter how.  Problem throughout all law enforcement.

Including right here in Nazi Llano County, right, Sheriff?  Too many officers clearly have their heads securely lodged where the sun seldom shines.  Egregious insanity continues to be perpetrated by the criminal jackbooted bastards in blue.  Ongoing issue.  All over our formerly great country.

Not just in Dallas as in the Guyger case, but all over the nation.  No end to it.  Surprised? Why?  In today's increasingly national socialist climate anything goes, right, Bill?  Live in a de facto fascist police-state, quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.  Certainly, a problem here in Nazi Llano County, isn't it, Sheriff? Your goons, however, aren't held accountable when they egregiously f--k up. Ever.

Precisely why you refuse to release information on your deputies to the long-suffering public?  That is, employment history, criminal background, results of drug testing, etc..  ... Got to protect your criminal jackbooted thugs preying on the citizenry with virtual impunity, right, sir?

Equally pointedly, why hasn't Llano County Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764 been held criminally accountable for egregious abuse of power involving denial of property rights to a Kingsland property owner?  To say nothing of consequent resultant physical damage done to a motor home on that property.  Why are you protecting this clueless son of a bitch, Sheriff?

Why hasn't he been prosecuted for official oppression?  Where is financial compensation for the damage this jackbooted piece of human excrement is responsible for? Ferociously pointedly, why are the District Attorney and the County Attorney continuing to protect this jackbooted piece of shit?  He and others like him present an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

Equally to the point, why are your jackbooted pieces of human excrement refusing to enforce Berardi's property rights?  Your goons have failed to take action against Theresa Ahrens when she tore down a no trespassing sign and barrier on Berardi's property.  Have you, your goons, and/or Madam County Attorney been bribed by Johnny Greene?

Ahrens frequently drives all the way through Berardi's property.  Coup de grace?  When Berardi complained to Llano County Deputy Idle about the trespassing, the officer's response was insane.  Said the Sheriff told him to tell Berardi since Ahrens believes she owns his property she can't be charged with trespassing.  Perfect Catch-22, right, Sheriff?  You're not fit for office, Bill.  Bribed by Johnny Greene?

Why is Theresa Ahrens allowed by your goons to dictate what vehicles can and cannot be parked on Berardi's property?  Ahrens claims she has proof the property belongs to her where the vehicle was parked.  Has failed to produce it.  Surveyors say otherwise.  Back up Berardi.  Yet, your jackbooted bastards refuse to enforce Berardi's property rights.  Why?  Somebody lining somebody's pockets, Sheriff?

Ms. Ahrens micro-mini portable 'house' is parked on an unused unmarked Llano County road.  Imagine that.  Madam County Attorney well-aware.  Has done nothing.  Shit squat.  Egregiously ignored her oath of office.  Someone bribing you, Becky?  Lining your pockets, Counselor?  Paying you not to sell the unused unmarked County road to Berardi?  Doesn't the County want and need the sale money, to say nothing of the resultant tax income?

No question, County and State agencies remain determinedly, concertedly, achingly incapable of criminal investigation of their own.  Precisely, why a new federal agency desperately needs to be created whose sole function would be to investigate, arrest, charge, prosecute corrupt, abusive, criminal officers, prosecutors, and judges in a special court whose sole function would be to adjudicate only such cases.  Total independence.  Certainly, go a long, long way to cleaning up this cess pool County.  Rein in the outrageously corrupt, abusive, achingly inept, self-serving assholes who run and own this hell hole.

Sheriff, you falsely claim the Kingsland County Commissioner has the authority to resolve this ongoing property rights issue.  Clearly, doesn't.  You, Madam County Attorney, and "Sonny Boy" are certainly an egregious impediment, continue to determinedly stonewall.  Someone's pockets are being lined.  Again, where's financial compensation for the damage Llano County Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764 is directly responsible for to the Pace Arrow?  Why hasn't he been prosecuted for this damage, to say nothing of infringement of Berardi's property rights?  -- Just getting started, Sheriff.  Far more to come.

-- You're not doing your jobs, Sheriff.  You've got a loose vicious dog problem in Kingsland, Bill.  When will you and the troops finally do something about this ongoing issue?  Certainly, a recurring problem on Skyline, particularly on occasion at the intersection of Odessa.  Pedestrians, runners, and cyclists are at risk.  Too busy lining County coffers with bogus tickets?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-2-19

Highly reminiscent of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors, Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following.  It's appalling.  Runs against the grain of everything our formerly great country once stood for.  No longer.

In follow up to the last edition and in much greater detail, NPR reports:

"He thought this might be his big chance. He'd get spotted by a coach, offered a soccer scholarship and instantly be college bound. Instead, Francisco Erwin Galicia, a U.S. citizen, was picked up by Border Patrol officers, processed into detention and held for 26 days."

An American citizen.

"It nearly broke him," Galicia's lawyer, Claudia Galan told NPR. "He said the conditions were horrible, inhumane. And he was about to sign a deportation order ... even though he was born here." Galicia, 18, was in a van with his brother Marlon and three other high school friends on June 27. They were on their way to Houston for a recruitment event when they were stopped at a border patrol checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas — about 50 miles from home and within the corridor of the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector. Officials wanted to know their legal status. Their answers varied. Two of them were immediately cleared but Galicia's 17-year-old brother and another boy, were in the country illegally. They were detained. When officials questioned Galicia, he told them he was born in Dallas. He also produced a Texas ID, a social security card and a copy of a wallet-sized birth certificate."

Yet, the jackbooted bastards f--ked him over, falsely imprisoned him.

"But for some reason that wasn't enough for them," Galan said, noting that the only girl in the group was released without having any documents on her at the time. Galan and the two boys were held in Falfurrias for a night, then transferred to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility. Over the next few weeks, Galicia said he was kept filthy, hungry and in a constant state of anxiety. He was placed in a crowded room with about 60 other men and one open toilet. He was denied access to a shower for more than three weeks and he said he was fed one sandwich three times a day. His lawyer estimates he lost about 20 pounds."

An American nazi gulag.

"Most of the time he was asleep so he wouldn't feel hungry," Galan said. Additionally, Galicia said he was constantly harassed by officers trying to coerce him into signing a deportation order. And each time he asked to make a phone call to his mother, to let her know where he was, "the officers told him that he had no right to an attorney while he was in Border Patrol custody and no right to make a phone call," she added."

The criminal jackbooted motherf--kers lied.

"Meanwhile, Marlon Galicia agreed to self-deport after two days. Although he is a minor, his mother was not informed. He is now living in Tamaulipas, Mexico, with his grandmother. For more than two weeks, their mother, Sanjuana Galicia, tried unsuccessfully to secure her older son's release. Finally, she hired Galan, who says that on July 12, she drove to the Rio Grande Border Patrol station with a copy of Galicia's full birth certificate, hospital birth records, his Texas medicaid card and a student ID. Still, CBP officials said they could not release Galicia."

Nazi America.  ... Hear the rumble?  An unwanted, dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looms as gutless Democrats in the House refuse to hold an impeachment investigation.

Gets worse:

"According to Galan, eight days later, Galicia was transferred to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Pearsall, given an "alien number," and removal proceedings were initiated. She explained confusion over Galicia's nationality stemmed from a tourist visa issued when he was a child and the fact that his mother used an assumed name on Francisco's birth certificate. "After he was born, they went back to Mexico and she couldn't fix the birth certificate," Galan said. So, in order to travel back and forth as a family, she obtained a tourist visa for her U.S.-born son, claiming he had been born in Mexico. "It's confusing," Galan acknowledged. "However," she said, "[CBP] has access to a database where they can check that Francisco was born here in the U.S. It shouldn't have been a problem. They shouldn't have kept him for 26 days just to confirm that he was a natural born citizen."

All courtesy of the Trump nazi and his henchmen.

"In a joint statement, ICE and CBP officials defended their thoroughness. "Generally, situations including conflicting reports from the individual and multiple birth certificates can, and should, take more time to verify," the emailed statement said. "While we continue to research the facts of the situation, this individual has been released from ICE custody. Both CBP and ICE are committed to the fair treatment of migrants in our custody and continue to take appropriate steps to verify all facts of this situation."

Goddamned f--king incompetent, bumbling liars.  CBP and ICE remain egregiously incompetent, abusive, operate outside the law and U.S. Constitution.  Need to be abolished and replaced.

"Galicia was released on July 23. Galan, noted Galicia's prolonged detention and near-deportation comes on the heels of a move by the Trump administration to expand fast-track deportation regulations to include the removal of undocumented immigrants who cannot prove they have been in the U.S. continuously for two years or more. She said, Galicia's case demonstrates the dangers of imbuing CBP officers with the power to decide who is in the country legally and who is not. "It's outrageous," Galan said."

It's shamelessly Right Wing Nazi.  Reminiscent of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini.

"She plans to file a civil lawsuit against the government for what she believes is Francisco Galicia's wrongful detention. She's also trying to reverse Marlon's voluntary removal. "Border patrol should not have allowed [Marlon], a minor, to sign for his own deportation so I am looking into bringing him back," she said."

Sue the living shit out of them for all you can get.  The only thing jackbooted government seems to understand is being soaked.  Our nazi out of control 'Justice' Department is run and owned by the Trump nazi and his henchmen so there will be no criminal prosecution of these jackbooted pieces of human excrement. What ever happened to our formerly great country?  When did we lose ourselves?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-2-19

Here is the sad reality of the immigration fiasco.  CBS News reports:

"A photograph of a Guatemalan mother holding her 6-year-old son and pleading with a Mexican National Guard member to let them go into the U.S. is the latest dramatic image to depict the plight of migrants. A photographer with the Reuters news agency captured Ledy Perez's encounter in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, earlier this week. Jose Luis Gonzalez's photograph shows Perez crouching on a dusty road and holding her son close, crying into his chest as the service member stands nearby with his weapon hanging from his shoulder. "The woman begged and pleaded with the National Guard to let them cross ... she wanted to cross to give a better future" to her son, Gonzalez told Reuters. The news agency reports the service member, who didn't provide his name, didn't display any "overt aggression" toward the mother and her son near the dry riverbed of the Rio Grande that serves as the border between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas. A spokesman for Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador told Reuters the service member was letting Perez know of the dangers of crossing into the U.S. When the service member wasn't looking, Perez and her son made a break for it and crossed the border. U.S. border agents took them into custody, Guatemalan officials told Reuters. Tekandi Paniagua, Guatemala's consul general in Del Rio, Texas, told Reuters Perez and her son were in good condition at a U.S. Border Patrol station in New Mexico."

NPR reports:

"The Trump administration continues to separate hundreds of migrant children from their parents despite a federal court ruling that ordered an end to the practice, according to court documents filed in California by the American Civil Liberties Union."

Trump and his henchmen delusionally believe they're above the law.  Are they?

"The ACLU said that more than 900 parents and children, including babies, have been separated by U.S. border authorities since U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw, a George W. Bush appointee in San Diego, ordered the government to reunite more than 2,700 children with their parents more than a year ago. The controversy caused such an outcry that President Trump ordered an end to family separations on June 20, 2018, six days before Sabraw's ruling. Trump's executive order allowed separations only in cases where the parents posed a risk to the child."

Here is the ongoing problem:

"It is shocking that the Trump administration continues to take babies from their parents," said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project. "The administration must not be allowed to circumvent the court order over infractions like minor traffic violations."

"The 218-page court filing listed various cases:

    "One man was separated from his three young daughters because he has HIV, although the government has not explained why it believes he is dangerous to his children.
    Another man, detained with his one-year-old infant in a facility, was criticized for not changing his daughter's diaper and called a bad father. His infant was taken from him.
    A 3-year-old girl was separated from her father when Customs and Border Protection officials disputed his paternity. A DNA test eventually confirmed the father's paternity, but not before the child was sexually abused while in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
    A 4-year-old boy was separated from his father whose speech impediment prevented his from answering CBP officials' questions. The family was separated even after the father presented a birth certificate showing his paternity."

Trump and his henchmen do as they please.  No regard for the law.  No regard for the United States Constitution.  No regard for a court order.  Nazis.

"When Sabraw ordered an end to family separations in June 2018, he "carved out" exceptions for parents whose criminal histories or communicable diseases posed a risk to their children. The ACLU said the government is abusing its discretion by "separating young children based on such offenses as traffic violations, misdemeanor property damage, and disorderly conduct violations. Some of the separations are for offenses that took place many years ago. And some are for mere allegations or arrests without convictions."

Raw nazism.

"Administration officials acknowledge that families are still being separated. In a written statement before the House Oversight and Reform Committee earlier this month, the acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan (and former CBP Commissioner) cited the exceptions allowed under the judge's order, but he insisted that "CBP generally keeps family units together in its short-term holding facilities." In his testimony, McAleenan said, "This is in the interest of the child. It's overseen by a supervisor, and those decisions are made."

Why haven't their sorry asses been jailed for contempt?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-2-19

Rule of law challenged under Trump nazi.  CBS News reports:

"In seeking "special treatment" for allies like former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn – and "worse treatment" for political adversaries like Hillary Clinton – President Trump's actions have had the effect of undermining the rule of law and some of the institutions that uphold it, says Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Bharara, who was fired by Trump in 2016 after initially being told he would keep his job, said the president "doesn't follow the precepts" that underpin the phrase. "To me, 'the rule of law' means that laws are not to be flouted," Bharara said. "They're to be applied equally, whether you're rich or poor, whether you're white or black, whether you're male or female. And that you put the law not only before particular preferences for folks, and without bias towards groups of people – whether people of color or otherwise – but also above politics."

Not possible in a de facto fascist police-state since 9/11 quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-2-19

More of the same.  NBC News reports:

"On Tuesday, Attorney General William Barr had an ominous message for the American public: so-called “warrant-proof” strong encryption that law enforcement can’t access imposes an unacceptably high risk to the country. “These costs will grow exponentially as deployment of warrant-proof encryption accelerates and criminals are emboldened by their ability to evade detection,” he said at a cybersecurity conference in New York City."

The Attorney General is a liar.  The greatest threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties is government, all levels, all branches.  Barr, himself is proof positive.  Been a goose stepping shill for his fuhrer, the Trump nazi, certainly vis a vis the Mueller Report.  A 'yes man.'  Precisely, why Trump chose this fascist bastard in the first place.

"Barr’s words echoed those of government officials going back more than 25 years who have called for the government’s ability to bust through strong encryption, which can make data held on a cellphone or computer almost unreadable to anyone who does not possess the password to decrypt it."

Remains the only defense from corrupt and abusive law enforcement and their masters in government from going on fishing expeditions.  F--king innocent, law abiding citizens.

"It’s a message security experts have heard before and expect to hear again, particularly now that some major tech companies have embraced encryption as a way to promise security to consumers who are starting to take privacy seriously. Facebook recently announced that it would expand its use of encryption in its apps. Secure messaging apps like Signal have become considerably more sophisticated and easier to use."

About time.  What took so long?  Much more needs to be done, however.

"Barr’s complaints — and those of Justice Department officials going back to the 1990s — centered on what it means for government investigators. He did not offer a specific way that the government should go about, either technically or legally, defeating encryption. “It allows criminals to operate with impunity, hiding their activities under an impenetrable cloak of secrecy. As you know, some refer to this eclipsing of the government’s investigative capabilities as ‘going dark,’” he said. “While encryption protects against cyberattacks, deploying it in warrant-proof form jeopardizes public safety more generally. The net effect is to reduce the overall security of society.”

Abject bullshit.  Simply, not true.  Has not been true quite some time.  At least, dating back to the 9/11 fiasco where corrupt, abusive, inept government failed to do full background checks on the hijackers.  Equally outrageous, failed to heed warnings from the flight schools the hijackers wished to learn only how to fly straight and level, not take off and land.

Instead, gutless legislators in both major political parties, after the fact, imposed on the American public the USA 'Patriot' Act, 'Real' ID Act, Homeland 'Security' Act, etc., eviscerating all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.  Falsely, in the name of national 'security.'  Creating a de facto fascist police-state, now transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.  Our equally fascist Attorney General is treasonously assisting Trump in his efforts to do precisely that.

"Meantime, Barr’s position is not universally accepted in those who still and formerly graced the halls of power. In fact, Gen. Michael Hayden, who previously served as the head of the CIA and the National Security Agency, publicly disagreed with Barr’s remarks. In response to a news story about Barr’s statements that Americans should accept the security risks of back doors, Hayden tweeted: “Not really.”

This government cannot be trusted.  The true threat is not from others that could hack into a 'backdoor' created for the use of government.  It is the goddamned government itself and law enforcement that present the greatest threat.  This government is out of control.  Has been quite some time.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-2-19

Trump loses another one in court.  NBC News reports:

"A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s latest move to widely restrict asylum for migrants coming to the southern border, according to court documents. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in California issued the preliminary injunction blocking the new asylum restrictions Wednesday afternoon, just hours after a hearing where he grilled a government attorney over the new sweeping change to asylum policy. The policy, announced by the Trump administration last week, would broadly end asylum eligibility for migrants who pass through another country on their journey to the United States' southern border with Mexico, but do not attempt to seek the protection in those other countries first. Tigar noted in his order that Congress has already established a "safe third country" rule but that requires an agreement with that other country, as well as determinations about safety and other matters. The U.S. has such an agreement with Canada, but Mexico has said there is no such agreement and Guatemala's high court blocked a possible agreement, the Associated Press has reported. "Congress has ensured that the United States will remove an asylum applicant to a third country only if that country would be safe for the applicant and the country provides equivalent asylum protections to those offered here. The Rule provides none of these protections," Tigar wrote. "An injunction would vindicate the public's interest — which our existing immigration laws clearly articulate — in ensuring that we do not deliver aliens into the hands of their persecutors," Tigar wrote elsewhere in the order."

NPR reports:

"Hours after a federal judge on the East Coast refused to block a Trump administration rule requiring most asylum-seekers to ask for protection in another country before they try to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, a judge on the West Coast put a stop to the new policy. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco issued a preliminary injunction against the controversial rule unveiled by the White House and applied on a "pilot" basis last week. Tigar wrote that the "new Rule is likely invalid because it is inconsistent with the existing asylum laws." Attorney Lee Gelernt with the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups that brought the case, said in a statement that "the Trump administration was attempting an unlawful end run around asylum protections enacted by Congress." During a hearing, Tigar had questioned the Department of Justice attorney about whether the government can require people to apply for protections in countries that lack an asylum process as robust as in the U.S. Responding to the government's argument that a Central American migrant traveling through various countries on the way to the U.S. can theoretically qualify for alternative forms of relief, Tigar said, "I wasn't able to find a scintilla of evidence about the adequacy of asylum system in Guatemala."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-2-19

Trump to resume federal capital punishment.  NPR reports:

"The U.S. government is poised to carry out the death penalty for the first time in nearly two decades, the Justice Department announced Thursday. U.S. Attorney General William Barr has instructed the Federal Bureau of Prisons to change the federal execution protocol to include capital punishment, the Justice Department said. Barr also asked the prisons bureau to schedule the executions of five inmates who have been found guilty of murder. According to the DOJ, the victims in each case included children and the elderly. In some of the cases, the convicted murderers also tortured and raped their victims. "The Justice Department upholds the rule of law — and we owe it to the victims and their families to carry forward the sentence imposed by our justice system," Barr said in a statement."

Delusionally believe the 'Justice' Department truly upholds the rule of law?  How is that possible when the DOJ itself, on its own authority, has ruled that one person in the United States, the president, is indeed above the law when in office, that is, can't be prosecuted?  Hypocrisy, stunning.  Off the charts.  Proof positive the U.S. is a democratic republic in name only.  In reality, for all practical purposes, currently, a de facto national socialist, fascist, nazi dictatorship.

"The U.S. government's use of capital punishment has long been scrutinized on the grounds of racial fairness. In 1972, the Supreme Court's Furman v. Georgia ruling largely put an end to federal executions, after the court found that blacks were far more likely to be executed than whites."

No longer matters in a de facto fascist police-state quickly transitioning to the racist Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

"In 2014, President Barack Obama ordered a review of the death penalty after a botched execution in Oklahoma. But The Associated Press quotes the Justice Department as saying, "That review has been completed and the executions can continue." The federal execution protocol had previously used a three-drug cocktail; the DOJ says that it will now use just one drug, pentobarbital. As NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson reports, one reason the U.S. federal government has not carried out an execution since 2003 was because of problems obtaining the previous three-drug protocol. "There have been shortages for at least one of those drugs," she says, and that scarcity has made it difficult for the federal system to actually carry out death sentence. Barr says federal courts have upheld using pentobarbital alone in execution as consistent with the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Other combinations of drugs have faced significant legal challenges."

The planned, pending executions will likely be delayed as lawsuits are filed.

"Capital punishment has also been criticized because of the risk that the justice system may erroneously convict and punish someone who's innocent. "Since 1973, more than 160 people who had been wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the U.S. have been exonerated," according to the Death Penalty Information Center."

No longer matters in a de facto fascist police-state quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.  Adolf and Benito?  'High-fiving' on their fiery perches.  Nazi America.  ... Who really won the Second World War European Theater?

CBS News reports:

"Just after the Department of Justice reversed a 16-year rule banning the use of capital punishment, Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley said the death penalty has "no place in a just society." In response, the Massachusetts congresswoman is introducing a bill that would reverse the action and abolish the death penalty altogether. While short on details, the bill aims to "prohibit the imposition of the death penalty for any violation of Federal law, and for other purposes." It's the latest piece of legislation introduced by Pressley, a member of the so-called "squad" of progressive Democratic congresswomen, that directly counters the Trump administration. "The same racist rhetoric coming from the occupant of the White House, who called for the execution of the #Exonerated5, is what led to this racist, vile policy," Pressley tweeted, remarking on Mr. Trump's past claims that the wrongly convicted "Central Park Five" should face the death penalty for their alleged crimes. "It was wrong then and it's wrong now. The cruelty is the point - this is by design," she added. Pressley tweeted out an image of the bill. It states, if enacted, "no person may be sentenced to death or put to death on or after the date of enactment of this act for any violation of federal law." It notes that those who were sentenced before the bill's enactment should be re-sentenced for their crimes."

Snowball's chance of passage in a de facto fascist police-state quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

"The bill currently has support from the likes of Pressley's "squad" co-members Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez among 11 other Democrats. It also has support from Rep. Justin Amash, formerly of the Republican party."

Eventually, Americans will wake up, -- as much of the world already has.  In the last half century alone over 160 falsely convicted of capital murder have been exonerated.  Can only wonder how many others may have been executed.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-2-19

Ole Mitch "The Bitch" McConnell traitorously gives the Russians a hand.  CBS News reports:

"Hours after former special counsel Robert Mueller testified Wednesday that Russians are still meddling in the U.S. political system, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked the advancement of legislation to secure the nation's election system. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith also blocked a set of bills on election security Wednesday. In blocking the legislation crafted by Senate Democrats to provide more funding for election security, McConnell declared the effort partisan and insisted the Trump administration has already done much to secure the nation's elections. One bill McConnell objected to would have both required the use of paper ballots and provided funding for the Election Assistance Commission. He also objected to legislation that would have required campaigns and candidates to report offers of election-related aid from foreign governments. McConnell's blocking of the legislation also comes as the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report identifying significant vulnerabilities — like aging voting equipment, paperless machines without backups and insecurity[insecure?] voter registration basis[bias?] — exist in the United States' election system."

Think McConnell hasn't deliberately betrayed the best interests of the United States and its citizenry for crass partisan interests?

"Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized McConnell's decision to halt additional funding for election security ahead of 2020. "Mueller's testimony was a clarion call for election security," Schumer said. "Mueller's testimony should be a wake-up call to every American, Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative, that the integrity of our elections is at stake."

Coup de grace?  Trump won the election courtesy of his Russian friends.  Unbeknownst or otherwise, at the time of the election, to our fuhrer and his henchmen.

"Mueller was emphatic that Russians are continuing to interfere in U.S. elections, and that even more foreign countries are developing the capability to do what Russia did in 2016. "Many more countries are developing the capability to replicate what the Russians have done," the former special counsel testified.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-2-19

Walls closing in.  NBC News reports:

"Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., became the highest-ranking House Democrat to call for opening an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. "I deeply respect the committee work of House Democrats to hold the president accountable, including hearings, subpoenas and lawsuits. All of our efforts to put the facts before the American people, however, have been met with unprecedented stonewalling and obstruction," the sixth-ranking House Democrat said in a statement Thursday evening, adding, "That is why I believe we need to open an impeachment inquiry that will provide us a more formal way to fully uncover the facts."

Time for Democrats to finally smarten up.  Place principle ahead of partisanship.  Even if it costs them dearly at the polls.  Our formerly great country is in dire jeopardy.  We remain a democratic republic in name only.  A de facto fascist police-state since 9/11 courtesy of both gutless major political parties.  USA 'Patriot' Act, 'Real' ID Act, Homeland 'Security' Act, etc..  Now, quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

"Clark made her announcement the day after former special counsel Robert Mueller testified before two House committees about his investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, possible coordination with the Trump campaign and subsequent efforts by the president to obstruct the probe. "Since the release of the Mueller report in April, it has been clear that the president committed impeachable offenses by welcoming interference from a hostile foreign power in the 2016 election and then attempting to obstruct the investigation into his unpatriotic actions," Clark said. "Moreover, he said he would do it all again if given the chance."

Not only is the above true, Trump has repeatedly betrayed his oath of office to uphold the United States Constitution on many, many other matters as constantly reported in this publication and elsewhere the last two and a half years.

"Four other House Democrats also publicly called for moving ahead with impeachment since Mueller's testimony — Reps. Andre Carson of Indiana, Lori Trahan of Massachusetts, Peter DeFazio of Oregon and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware — which brings the number to 94 Democrats who are backing an impeachment inquiry, according to an NBC News count."

The others are too gutless to do the right thing.  To say nothing of most Republicans who certainly understand Trump presents an exigent threat to all civil and constitutional rights and liberties, -- but remain unwilling to hold him accountable for partisan reasons.

"There has been an active discussion for several months inside the House Democratic caucus about whether a formal impeachment inquiry should be launched. On Wednesday night, following Mueller's testimony before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees, House Democrats met behind closed-doors where they discussed ways that impeachment could move forward. Speaker Nancy Pelosi advocated for continuing House investigations into the president to gather facts and pursue litigation to make the strongest case possible if lawmakers decide to impeach. She said, more clearly than she has previously, that each member can decide on impeachment based on their conscience and constituents. Clark said in her statement that "an impeachment inquiry is a process, not an outcome, but I fear there is no amount of wrongdoing that we could uncover that would convince Senate Republicans to hold the President accountable."

She may be right. They already know the truth.  There is more than enough probable cause in Mueller's Report.  Democrats need to find some backbone.  Launch an impeachment investigation.  Let Trump spend what's left of his term struggling to legally defend himself in the House.  Would slow down further damage inflicted by this insane racist nazi.

CBS News reports:

"The House Judiciary Committee said in a court filing Friday that it's actively considering articles of impeachment and is seeking access to redacted materials from the Mueller report in order to decide whether to move forward with the process. "Because Department of Justice policies will not allow prosecution of a sitting President, the United States House of Representatives is the only institution of the Federal Government that can now hold President Trump accountable for these actions," the committee wrote in a filing in U.S. District Court. "To do so, the House must have access to all the relevant facts and consider whether to exercise its full Article I powers, including a constitutional power of the utmost gravity—approval of articles of impeachment," the filing said."

Why are you dragging your feet?  Should have acted months ago.  All of you swore oaths of office to uphold the Constitution.  Yet, to date, you've placed partisan interests ahead of principle.

"The request follows former special counsel Robert Mueller's testimony earlier this week, which covered publicly available portions of his report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and efforts by President Trump to interfere with the investigation. The committee is seeking access to all the portions of the Mueller report that were redacted because they contained grand jury material ("redacted pursuant to Rule 6(e)"). Specifically, they're asking for transcripts of testimony and any grand jury exhibits that relate directly to four things:

    "Mr. Trump's knowledge of Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 election;
    His knowledge of links to or contacts with Russia by people on his campaign;
    His knowledge of criminal acts by himself or members of his administration, campaign, or associates; and
    Actions taken by former White House counsel Don McGahn during the campaign, transition, or McGahn's time as White House counsel.

"We are continuing an investigation of the president's malfeasances, and we will consider what we have to consider, including whether we should recommend articles of impeachment to the House," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, Democrat of New York, said Friday at a press conference announcing the court filing. "We may decide to recommend articles of impeachment at some point. We may not."

End the double talk.  It's unbecoming.

"The counsel to the House Judiciary Committee Democratic staff said the filing essentially gives notice that the committee is actively considering articles of impeachment "in the most formal and official way a committee can." It is, the counsel said, "as serious a step as we can take at this time."

The hell it is.  Why haven't you formally voted to open an impeachment investigation?  Why do you continue to place partisan interests ahead of your duty to hold the president accountable?

"The committee's top Republican, Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, released a statement saying that courts would not allow Democrats to access the grand jury material unless they formally voted to open an impeachment inquiry. He predicted that the Democrats' legal fight is "sure to fail" and would diminish the ability of lawmakers "to conduct oversight now and into the future." "If my colleagues want grand jury information, they should propose legislation allowing Congress to access it," Collins said. But the court filing states that a formal resolution is not required by the Constitution to begin considering articles of impeachment."

Why all the bullshit?  Get on with it.  Do what you were sent to Congress to do.

"What we're doing is consistent with how the House and the Judiciary Committee in particular has done impeachment throughout," Democratic counsel said, arguing that the committee's hearings on the Mueller report – along with a formal impeachment resolution offered in January by Rep. Brad Sherman that has been referred to the committee – constitute a formal inquiry. "That is the impeachment process, and we are deep into it," the counsel said. "A full vote of the House…would come later, depending on whether or not the committee does recommend articles of impeachment." That might come as a surprise to the 100 House Democrats who have publicly said they would back an impeachment inquiry, according to the latest CBS News count. A far smaller number have said they are ready to impeach the president."

Neither party is worth a crap.  The above?  Further indication.

"The counsels for the Judiciary Committee said the court filing had been authorized by leadership, even as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has argued that the House should wait for various investigations and court battles over accessing the president's financial information and business connections to conclude so that the House has the strongest possible argument, should it move to impeach the president. "We will proceed when we have what we need to proceed. Not one day sooner," she said Friday."

Madam Speaker?  You're dragging your feet.  Not fulfilling your constitutional duty of oversight.

"Nadler also announced Friday that early next week, the House will ask the courts to enforce its subpoena of McGahn, who was considered a central witness by the special counsel. The president blocked his testimony before the committee in response to a subpoena last month, arguing that he has absolute immunity that protects him against testifying before Congress."

Trump continues to obstruct.  Time to hold him accountable.  Well past due.  Our formerly great country continues to deteriorate under this insane, racist national socialist, fascist abomination.

"The Judiciary Committee counsel is hopeful that a favorable ruling in court that forces McGahn to testify before Congress could also give the committee access to several other witnesses the White House says are not required to testify."

Democrats are dragging their feet.  Seven months after taking the House.  No excuse.  Partisan interests continue to trump principle, to say nothing of justice.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-2-19

U.S. Supreme Court, now run and owned by five Republican fascists, rubber stamps its fuhrer, the Trump nazi.  The Washington Post reports:

"A split Supreme Court said Friday night that the Trump administration could proceed with its plan to use $2.5 billion in Pentagon funds to build part of the president’s wall project along the southern border. The court’s conservatives set aside a lower-court ruling for the Sierra Club and a coalition of border communities that said reallocating Defense Department money would violate federal law."

Not just federal law, but the U.S. Constitution as well.  Congress expressly refused to provide the Trump nazi with funding for his wall.  The Constitution is clear.  Bills for appropriation of funding originate in the House, then proceed to the Senate.  Then go to the president for his or her signature into law.  Nowhere in the Constitution does it say the president has authority to redirect where these funds are spent.  Clearly, Congress has the power of the purse.  Not the president.  The Trump nazi has, temporarily, successfully bypassed this, now rubber stamped by his fellow nazis on the Supreme Court.  Under false pretenses and a phony 'no standing' technicality:

"Friday’s unsigned ruling came in response to an emergency filing from the administration during the court’s summer recess. The majority said the government “made a sufficient showing at this stage” that private groups may not be the proper plaintiffs to challenge the transfer of money. The court’s action is a stay of the injunction issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on a 2-to-1 vote, and the litigation continues. The administration wants to finalize contracts for the work before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh voted to lift the 9th Circuit injunction. Three justices — Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan — would have left it in place. Justice Stephen G. Breyer proposed a compromise to which no one signed on: allow the government to finalize contracts for the project but not begin construction."

Coup de grace?  Height of folly?  Absolute bullshit?  Aryan arrogance?  Get this:

"In a tweet after the court’s announcement, President Trump declared the development a “Big WIN for Border Security and the Rule of Law!”

Laughable.  Galling.  False.  Direct opposite is the case.  On both counts.  First, funding would be far more effective had it been spent combating the root cause of the current immigration crisis.  -- That is, U.S. support of murderous Right Wing dictatorships in Central and South America over the decades against clearly failing communist regimes.  Second, the rule of law was eviscerated once again by the five Republican nazis on the Supreme Court.  Forget?  Funding originates and is authorized by Congress, not the president.  The president doesn't get to decide how and where these funds are to be spent.  Congress does.  The Constitution is abundantly clear.  The president only signs the spending bill into law.  Doesn't dictate where the money is spent.  Only executes provision of the law.

"The groups opposing the wall construction noted that the litigation continues. “This is not over. We will be asking the federal appeals court to expedite the ongoing appeals proceeding to halt the irreversible and imminent damage from Trump’s border wall,” Dror Ladin, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project, said in a statement. The ACLU represented the groups. “Our Constitution’s separation of powers will be permanently harmed should Trump get away with pillaging military funds for a xenophobic border wall Congress denied,” Ladin said."

The five GOP nazis on the Supreme Court acted treasonously.  Abrogated their falsely sworn oaths of office to uphold the U. S. Constitution.

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also criticized the decision Friday night. “For months, the President has sought to undermine our military readiness and steal from our men and women in uniform to waste billions on a wasteful, ineffective wall that Congress on a bipartisan basis has repeatedly refused to fund. The Supreme Court’s decision tonight to allow President Trump to defy the bipartisan will of the Congress and proceed with contracts to spend billions of dollars on his wall undermines the Constitution and the law,” she said in a statement."

Blame the five Republican traitors on the Supreme Court.  To say nothing of Democrats who have gutlessly failed to open a formal impeachment inquiry.  Failed to rein in this abomination.

"In a decision earlier this month, a 9th Circuit panel noted that a stalemate between Congress and Trump over the issue prompted the longest government shutdown in history. The judges reasoned that Congress made its intentions clear by allocating only about $1.4 billion for enhanced border protection. The appeals court said the public interest was “best served by respecting the Constitution’s assignment of the power of the purse to Congress, and by deferring to Congress’s understanding of the public interest as reflected in its repeated denial of more funding for border barrier construction.”

The five Republican nazis on the Supreme Court treasonously failed to uphold the United States Constitution.  Remain unfit for office.  That's the bottom line of this decision.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-2-19

Once again, Trump has abrogated his oath of office to uphold the rule of law and U.S. Constitution.  CBS News reports:

"A new agreement between the U.S. and Guatemala would require any migrants who pass through that country to seek asylum there, the White House announced Friday. If the law takes effect, migrants who are apprehended in the U.S. would be deported [to] Guatemala despite their country of origin."

Guatemala is rife with violence.  Not a safe place for migrants.  Not a safe place for Guatemalans themselves.  Trump is more than aware of this.

"A similar "Safe Third Country" agreement has been in place between the U.S. and Canada since 2004. The agreement comes after Guatemala's Constitutional Court blocked that country's president from declaring Guatemala a safe third country for asylum-seekers. As of early Friday evening, the details of the agreement have yet to be formally released."

Trump is irrational, hopelessly delusional:

"Look, we've been dealing for many years, I would say, with Guatemala and with other countries, and we are now at a point where we are — we just get along. And they're doing what we've asked them to do and I think it's gonna be a great thing for Guatemala," Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Friday's announcement is a change from Wednesday, when the president said that Guatemala had backed away from talks about a safe third country agreement. Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said the agreement aims to slow "irregular migration." "Thanks to the working groups we have established, officials from the two governments have agreed to support actions that aim to mitigate irregular migration," he said in a statement."

That's insane.  Guatemala does not have the resources to handle this.  Not only that, remains a country rife with violence.  Is not a safe place for migrants.  Did you bribe Mr. Morales, Mr. Trump?  ... Or, just bully him?

"It's not yet clear how this agreement will be carried out. Guatemalan immigration officials from the Guatemalan Migration Institute and Office of International Migration Affairs tell CBS News that there are currently only eight employees at the asylum agency that is responsible for handling asylum applications. More than 235,000 Guatemalans have been apprehended at the southern border so far this year. Guatemala is the country with the largest number of unaccompanied minors and families attempting to cross into the U.S. U.S. Rep. Norma J. Torres, the only member of Congress born in Guatemala, told CBSN in an interview that the agreement was "an insult to common sense."

Indeed, it is.  Then again, Trump is delusional, hopelessly irrational.

"It is inconsolable to think Guatemala — the country that has one of the highest murder rate[s] in the world… could be a safe country for people coming from Venezuela, from Cuba and some countries that are in deep trouble. To think that [Guatemala] is a country that is going to accommodate asylum seekers from anywhere else in the world — that is ridiculous," Torres told CBSN."

Worse?  U.S. asylum law is clear.  Asylum seekers cannot be sent to places that are not safe.

"She noted that Guatemala doesn't have the infrastructure or health care system to accommodate asylum seekers and added that there is a food crisis. Torres said she believed a deal had been reached because Mr. Trump "bullied" the government of Guatemala. "Who knows what else is in this agreement or what was done behind closed doors to get the Guatemalan government to agree to this?" Torres asked. The decision is already being criticized by humanitarian groups. Refugees International President Eric Schwartz condemned the announcement as a violation of U.S. law and declared Guatemala unsafe for migrants. The "safe third country" agreement with Guatemala "is very alarming," Schwartz said in a statement, because Guatemala "is in no way safe for refugees and asylum seekers, and all the strong-arming in the world won't make it so." He went on to say that the agreement "violates U.S. law and will put some of the most vulnerable people in Central America in grave danger," and further, the arrangement "would make a mockery of the notion that those fleeing persecution in Central America have any recourse."

Needs to be quickly challenged in court.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-2-19

Height of Aryan arrogance?  Galling hypocrisy?  ABC News reports:

"The White House says President Donald Trump will travel to Williamsburg, Virginia, on Tuesday to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first representative legislative assembly in America."

Appalling that our fascist fuhrer, the Trump nazi, would even consider attending.  This man is an insane dictator, not a president of what is supposed to be a democratic republic.

"The event comes at a time of heightened election-year partisanship in Virginia, and some Democratic lawmakers have threatened to boycott the event if Trump attends."

Exactly, what they should do.  Honor, principle, patriotism demand it.

"Democratic leaders of the Virginia House and Senate said earlier this month that "the current President does not represent the values that we would celebrate at the 400th anniversary of the oldest democratic body in the western world."

That's right.  Our nazi dictator makes a mockery of the values our formerly great country used to stand for.

"State and national leaders are gathering for the celebration. The convening of the legislative assembly in nearby Jamestown in 1619 formed the basis of today's representative system of government in the U.S."

NBC News reports:

"A Virginia lawmaker, who is Muslim, shouted "you can't send us back!" briefly interrupting President Donald Trump during an event Tuesday commemorating the 400th anniversary of Virginia's first legislative assembly. Ibraheem Samirah, a Democrat elected this year to the state House of Delegates, halted Trump's speech with a one-man demonstration as he held a sign that read "deport hate," "reunite my family" and "go back to your corrupted home." Video from the Jamestown event showed Samirah being led out as some in the audience clapped at his removal while chanting Trump's name."

Deluded national socialists, fascists, nazis.  These insane sick sycophants of the Trump nazi have no clue, no understanding of what Jamestown stands for.  It's significance vis a vis creation of a democratic republic, now eviscerated by Trump and his fellow nazis.

"In a statement later posted to Twitter, Samirah defended his actions, writing that "nobody's racism and bigotry should be excused for the sake of being polite." He added that while he was born in Chicago, his family came to the United States as Palestinian refugees and that his father in 2002 was "forced to literally 'go back'" after he was denied re-entry following a visit to Jordan.

   " I'm sure @realDonaldTrump would rather I stayed overseas, but I came back, got an education, ran for office and am now fighting for my constituents, who overwhelmingly reject his racism. I will always disrupt pomp and circumstance to stand up for what's right. #DeportHate
    — Delegate Ibraheem Samirah (@IbraheemSamirah) July 30, 2019"

Great display of courage, -- standing up to a racist nazi 'president.'  Uncommon Valor.

"Samirah said the protest was motivated by Trump's message earlier this month that four progressive congresswomen should "go back" to the countries where they originally came from and fix those "crime infested places."

"Samirah also criticized Trump for referring to communities of color as "rat infested," alluding to a tweet the president fired off over the weekend attacking House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and his district that includes Baltimore as a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess."

Isn't that highly descriptive of Trump's Oval Office?

"At Tuesday's gathering in Virginia, Trump gave a scripted speech at the site of the first legislative assembly in Jamestown after touring the Jamestown church and a mock 1619 village. In his remarks, he honored the first people to form a government in what would become the United States but also recognized the importation of slaves in 1619 in the same region. "It was the beginning of a barbaric trade of human lives," he said. "Today in honor, we remember every sacred soul who suffered the horrors of slavery and the anguish of bondage."

Vestiges of which we continue to live with to this very day.  Called racism.  As embraced and promulgated by the Trump nazi in his tweets, speeches, and press conferences.  Defended by his equally racist nazi henchmen.  To say nothing of his sick sycophants.

"Speaking to reporters later Tuesday, Trump brushed off Samirah's protest and said it was an otherwise "fantastic" event. Virginia's black state legislators, however, said they would boycott Trump over his most recent incendiary remarks. A statement from the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus said it was "impossible to ignore the emblem of hate and disdain that the president represents" while he continues to "promulgate policies that harm marginalized communities and use racist and xenophobic rhetoric."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-2-19

Once again, our hopelessly racist fuhrer, the Trump nazi, has disgraced himself, brought dishonor to the office of the president of the United States.  CBS News reports:

"In a series of tweets on Saturday morning, President Trump slammed Rep. Elijah Cummings for his criticism of treatment of migrants at the southern border, claiming that Cummings' congressional district was one of the "worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States." "Rep, Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bully, shouting and screaming at the great men & women of Border Patrol about conditions at the Southern Border, when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous. His district is considered the Worst in the USA," Mr. Trump said in the first of several tweets. "As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded. Cumming District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place," Mr. Trump continued. He threatened to investigate the federal funds sent to Cummings' district, and said that "no human being would want to live there."

Trump is a congenital liar.  The Inspector General of DHS has strongly criticized conditions at Border Patrol detention facilities.  That's a fact.

"While Cummings' district encompasses some of Baltimore, it also includes some of the wealthier areas in Maryland. His district has an above-average median income compared to the rest of the U.S. His district is also over 50% black, according to Census data. However, Baltimore has struggled with crime in recent years. In 2017, Baltimore had the highest homicide rate among the country's 50 largest cities. Mr. Trump's tweets quickly stirred outrage online, with many questioning why he would assume the black representative would preside over a squalid district. It is unclear what specifically triggered the attacks on the chairman of the powerful House Oversight and Reform Committee. However, Matthew Gertz of Media Matters reported that a segment criticizing Cummings and his district aired earlier Saturday morning on "Fox & Friends," one of Mr. Trump's preferred cable news shows. In a segment which quickly went viral, CNN host Victor Blackwell, a native of Baltimore, noted that Mr. Trump often invokes infestation when referring to minority lawmakers, such as when he tweeted that four progressive congresswomen should "go back" to the "crime infested places from which they came."

Expect anything better of a racist nazi?

"The president says about Congressman Cummings' district that no human would want to live there. You know who did, Mr. President? I did," Blackwell said, choking up with emotion. "There are challenges, no doubt. But people are proud of their community." "I don't want to sound self-righteous, but people get up and go to work there, they care for their families there, they love their children who pledge allegiance to the flag just like people who live in districts of congressmen who support you, sir. They are Americans too," Blackwell said. In a statement, Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young said it was "unacceptable for the political leader of our country to denigrate a vibrant American City like Baltimore, and to viciously attack U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings a patriot and a hero." Cummings responded to Mr. Trump on Twitter in a series of tweets, saying that "Each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbors." Cummings added that he held a hearing on skyrocketing drug prices this week. "Mr. President, we can address this together. Two years ago, I went to the White House to ask you to endorse my bill to let the government negotiate directly for lower drug prices," Cummings wrote. "You told me then that you supported the legislation and that you would work with me to make it happen. I took you at your word," he said in his final tweet, linking to a 2017 letter by House Democrats expressing disappointment that Mr. Trump did not work with them on lowering prescription drug prices. In a statement to CBS News, Cummings said he "will not be distracted" by Mr. Trump's tweets. "My tweets are all I have to say. I will not be distracted from doing everything I can to uplift the lives of the people in Baltimore, the nation, and the world. That is and will be my sole mission until the day I die," Cummings said."

Trump continues to disgrace himself and the United States.  Remains unfit for office.

"Cummings has been a vocal critic of treatment of migrants at detention facilities at the border. His committee held a hearing on these facilities earlier this month. In his opening statement at that hearing, Cummings noted the reports of squalid conditions for detained migrant children, and urged committee members to ask themselves, "Would you allow this for your own child?" His committee also authorized subpoenas for personal emails and texts used for official business by top White House advisers, including Mr. Trump's daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner."

Cummings continues to do his job.  Trump does not.

Reaction has been ferocious. NPR reports:

"Maryland leaders and residents are condemning a series of tweets by President Trump on Saturday that attacked Rep. Elijah Cummings and derided the black congressman's district as "a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess."

"Cummings, a Democrat, has represented Maryland's 7th congressional district since 1996. The district comprises over half of the city of Baltimore and much of Baltimore and Howard counties. The district, which is majority black, has a median household income of $60,929, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Cummings has been a vocal critic of the president, recently calling the administration's treatment of migrant children at border facilities a form of "government-sponsored child abuse." He also serves as chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, which has opened at least 24 probes into the Trump administration, according to a tally by NBC. On Thursday, the committee voted to authorize subpoenas for records of senior White House officials' use of personal email and text services for business purposes.

"The mayor of Baltimore, Bernard C. "Jack" Young, tweeted a statement calling Trump's tweets "completely unacceptable" and a vicious attack on Cummings and the city. "Mr. Trump, you are a disappointment to the people of Baltimore, our country, and to the world," he wrote.

"This is an example of the racist bully we have as a president, lashing out at Elijah Cummings for speaking the truth and for standing up to the president and his policies," Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., told the Washington Post. "And the president just can't take that and lashed out in a way that clearly had racial overtones."

"Former Baltimore mayor and governor of Maryland Martin O'Malley told NPR's All Things Considered that President Trump "deals in that impoverished vocabulary of a scapegoating fascist. It's always about the other. It's always about them." He acknowledged that Baltimore has struggled with violent crime and drug addiction for the last 40 years. But "from 2000 to 2009 — and I might add, with Congressman Cummings' advocacy and help — Baltimore led the nation in reducing violent crime and led the nation in reducing incidents of drug overdose deaths," he said."

Not to be outdone:

"In a blistering editorial, the Baltimore Sun wrote that Trump's decision to depict Cummings, a black congressman presiding over a majority-black district, as an incompetent lawmaker presiding over a "dangerous" and "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess" was a political move intended to "[warm] the cockles of the white supremacists who love him." "We would not sink to name-calling in the Trumpian manner," the op-ed read. "We would tell the most dishonest man to ever occupy the Oval Office, the mocker of war heroes, the gleeful grabber of women's private parts, the serial bankrupter of businesses, the useful idiot of Vladimir Putin and the guy who insisted there are 'good people' among murderous neo-Nazis that he's still not fooling most Americans into believing he's even slightly competent in his current post. Or that he possesses a scintilla of integrity. Better to have some vermin living in your neighborhood than to be one."

"Responding to the president on Twitter on Saturday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called Cummings a "beloved leader in Baltimore, and deeply valued colleague" and urged Democrats to "reject racist attacks against him and support his steadfast leadership." Pelosi grew up in Baltimore, and her father was once the city's mayor.

"Trump responded to the criticism on Sunday by doubling down, attacking Pelosi's district in San Francisco as "not even recognizable lately" and accusing Democrats of playing "the Race Card."

Just a small sampling of reaction to the Trump nazi's latest tweets.

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump attacked the Rev. Al Sharpton on Monday as “a con man” and someone who “Hates Whites & Cops,” just hours before Sharpton held a news conference in Baltimore to decry Trump’s derogatory weekend tweets directed at the city and an African American congressman. Sharpton, a former Democratic presidential candidate and MSNBC talk-show host, appeared in Baltimore alongside Michael Steele, who formerly chaired the Republican National Committee and served as Maryland’s lieutenant governor. At the event, held at a Baltimore church, Sharpton said Trump had attacked the city and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) in “the most bigoted and racist way.” “He has a particular venom for blacks and people of color,” Sharpton said of Trump. Steele, the first African American elected statewide in Maryland, criticized Trump for “reprehensive comments” and invited him to come to Baltimore. “Put the tweet down brother, and show up,” Steele said."

Too gutless.

"In tweets beforehand, Trump said he had known Sharpton for 25 years. He said the two “always got along well” and attended boxing matches together. “He would ask me for favors often,” Trump said. “Al is a con man, a troublemaker, always looking for a score. Just doing his thing. Must have intimidated Comcast/NBC. Hates Whites & Cops!”

    "I have known Al for 25 years. Went to fights with him & Don King, always got along well. He “loved Trump!” He would ask me for favors often. Al is a con man, a troublemaker, always looking for a score. Just doing his thing. Must have intimidated Comcast/NBC. Hates Whites & Cops! https://t.co/ZwPZa0FWfN
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2019

    "Baltimore, under the leadership of Elijah Cummings, has the worst Crime Statistics in the Nation. 25 years of all talk, no action! So tired of listening to the same old Bull...Next, Reverend Al will show up to complain & protest. Nothing will get done for the people in need. Sad!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2019"

Trump remains a lying racist nazi.  Has no principles.  No honor.  Amoral, that is, without morals.

"Sharpton responded Monday morning on Twitter by sharing a photograph of Trump attending a 2006 conference hosted by Sharpton’s organization, the National Action Network. The photo also included singer James Brown and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson. “Trump at NAN Convention 2006 telling James Brown and Jesse Jackson why he respects my work. Different tune now,” Sharpton wrote. Trump soon responded on Twitter, saying that Sharpton would “always ask me to go to his events” as “a personal favor.” “Seldom, but sometimes, I would go. It was fine,” Trump said. Sharpton later continued the back-and-forth on Twitter, writing: “Trump says I’m a troublemaker & con man. I do make trouble for bigots. If he really thought I was a con man he would want me in his cabinet.”

LOL.

"Trump also renewed his attacks on Baltimore and Cummings on Monday, asserting in a tweet that the city of more than 600,000 people “has the worst Crimes Statistics in the Nation.” “25 years of all talk, no action!” Trump wrote. “So tired of listening to the same old Bull...Next, Reverend Al will show up to complain & protest. Nothing will get done for the people in need. Sad!” Steele also spoke out about Trump over the weekend, raising a question in a tweet about “how much more of Trump’s incessant whining, tweeting, bullying, & racism are we willing to put up with.”

"Sharpton also saw a political motive in Trump’s attacks. During a call Monday morning into MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” he said, “I think this is Trump getting ready for reelection.” Later Monday morning, Trump struck a more hopeful note about Baltimore and suggested that the city’s leaders call him. “The fact is, Baltimore can be brought back, maybe even to new heights of success and glory, but not with King Elijah and that crew,” he said. “When the leaders of Baltimore want to see the City rise again, I am in a very beautiful oval shaped office waiting for your call!”

Jesus Christ.  LOL.  Nothing quite like the Aryan arrogance of a narcissistic racist nazi, is there?  Good to see people finally challenging this abomination.  Forget?  When good men and women fail to stand up to great evil, they are no longer good.  No longer men.  No longer women.  No more than gutless cowards.

The Washington Post reports:

"The Rev. Al Sharpton on Monday lambasted President Trump for his attacks on Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) and the majority-black district he represents, calling Trump’s remarks “bigoted and racist.” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), in a separate radio interview, said the president’s comments describing Baltimore as a “rodent-infested mess” were “outrageous and inappropriate.” But he stopped short of calling them racist. Sharpton, a longtime civil rights leader and MSNBC talk show host who spoke at a news conference in Baltimore with former Maryland lieutenant governor Michael Steele (R), said Trump “has a particular venom for blacks and people of color.” “He attacks Nancy Pelosi, he attacks Chuck Schumer, he attacks other whites — but he never said their districts or their states are places that no human being wants to live,” Sharpton said."

CBS News reports:

"President Trump is not backing off of his salvos against black Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings and Baltimore. On Tuesday, the president told reporters on the White House South Lawn that residents of Baltimore are "living in hell." "Those people are living in hell in Baltimore," Mr. Trump said, continuing his rant against the city just to the north. "They're largely African-American ... and they really appreciate what I'm doing, and they let me know it."

This man is incapable of distinguishing truth from fiction, reality from insanity:

"Mr. Trump claimed, without evidence Tuesday, that "thousands" of people have let his administration know they're "thankful" he's calling attention to Baltimore, saying African-Americans are "happy as hell" he's highlighting the "corruption" there."

Public reaction to date screams otherwise.  Trump is a congenital liar.

"The president has been attacking Cummings and Baltimore since early Saturday morning tweets in which he blamed Cummings for Baltimore being "infested" with rodents. Mr. Trump on Tuesday suggested that Cummings' House Oversight and Reform Committee, which recently issued subpoenas for records belonging to the president's family members, should start investigating Baltimore. Republicans have remained largely silent on the president's attacks."

Republicans remain gutless.  Place partisanship ahead of principle.  The president is advised while Baltimore may indeed have its problems, the Oval Office is itself 'infested' with a two-legged rat.

The following is hopelessly delusional:

"Mr. Trump, accused by critics of at the very least stirring racial tensions, insisted on Tuesday that he's the "least racist person" anywhere in the "world."

His tweets, speeches, and press conferences scream otherwise.

His insanity, unfitness for office grows ever more undeniably obvious:

"And the president insisted his attacks on Cummings and Baltimore aren't hurting him politically, and are even benefiting him. "I think I'm helping myself because I"m pointing out the tremendous corruption that's taking place," both in Baltimore and other cities run by Democrats, Mr. Trump told reporters Tuesday."

How about corruption in the Oval Office including the rest of the Executive Branch, the Judiciary, and Congress?  -- Not to neglect to mention cities, counties, and states run by Republican nazis.  ... Right, Sheriff?

How about the emoluments you continue to receive from foreign and domestic actors desperately seeking favors from you at your places of business in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution Emoluments Clause, Mr. Trump?

"But, contrary to what Mr. Trump says, Baltimore residents CBS News has spoken with aren't encouraged by the president's attacks. Baltimore barber Sherrod Williams told CBS News correspondent Jeff Pegues the president's words do sting, but Baltimore residents are strong.  "It's not going to affect people here. If anything, these people have been through so much, and they know what they are up against," Williams said in an interview. The president frequently cites unemployment figures for African-Americans to back up his claims that his administration is helping the black community, and those figures are at historic lows. But the wealth gap between black and white Americans has grown, and 73 percent of black Americans in a January CBS News poll said race relations are generally bad in America."

A narcissistic national socialist, fascist, nazi 'president' and his equally brain-dead supporters can't, won't be confused by the truth.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-2-19

Sadly, the military continues to have its problems.  CNN reports:

"The US military is taking the rare step of sending home an elite team of Navy SEALs from Iraq due to "a perceived deterioration of good order and discipline" that caused a military commander to lose "confidence in the team's ability to accomplish the mission." "The commander of the Special Operations Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve (in Iraq) ordered the early redeployment of a SEAL Team platoon to San Diego due to a perceived deterioration of good order and discipline within the team during non-operational periods," US Special Operations Command said in a statement Wednesday. "The Commander lost confidence in the team's ability to accomplish the mission," the statement added. A US Defense Department official familiar with the situation told CNN that the unusual step of sending the team home was due to allegations regarding the consumption of alcohol during their downtime, which is a violation of general orders issued to troops participating in overseas campaigns. The official added that there is no evidence the alcohol consumption happened on missions and there is no evidence of drug use. A fact-finding investigation has been initiated. The disciplined service members were members of SEAL Team 7, according to multiple defense officials. US Special Operations Forces in Iraq have been helping to combat the remnants of ISIS, which continues to operate in the area despite the terror group's loss of territory. Special Operations Command said that "commanders have worked to mitigate the operational impact" of sending the SEAL platoon home. "To mitigate potential impacts of this redeployment, other (Naval Special Warfare) personnel are available to complete the assigned operational requirements," Cmdr. Tamara Lawrence told CNN."

Interesting, isn't it?  These are the best of the best.  Highly disciplined, highly trained professionals.

"Naval Special Warfare insists on a culture where ethical adherence is equally important as tactical proficiency. Good order and discipline is critical to the mission -- the loss of confidence outweighed potential," she added. US Special Operations Command said, "All Department of Defense personnel are expected to uphold proven standards and to comply with laws and regulations. Alleged violations are thoroughly investigated." The news comes amid other allegations of misbehavior against Navy SEALs and other Special Operations Forces personnel. Earlier this month, a military court decided that Navy SEAL team leader Eddie Gallagher, a one-time member of SEAL Team 7, would be demoted in rank and have his pay reduced for posing for a photo with a dead ISIS prisoner while he was serving in Iraq. New details have also recently come to light regarding an investigation that found that several members of SEAL Team 10 used cocaine last year while they were stationed in Virginia and were subsequently disciplined. Gen. Richard Clarke, the commander of US Special Operations Command, told Congress in April that "we will hold members of our SOF (special operations forces) enterprise accountable to our ethical , moral, and discipline standards , and preserving the trust America has in its SOF." "The overwhelming majority of our teammates continue to serve with honor and distinction as our ethos demands and anything less than 100% is unacceptable. We understand that criminal misconduct erodes the very trust that enables our success," Clarke said."

NBC News reports:

"A female U.S. service member alleges that she was sexually assaulted by a Navy SEAL in Iraq, according to two U.S. military officials. The accused SEAL is a member of a SEAL Team 7 platoon, the officials said, and the alleged assault is now under investigation. Earlier this week, the platoon was sent back to San Diego from Iraq ahead of schedule. The assault allegedly occurred during a party on the long July 4 weekend that included alcohol, which is prohibited. When questioned, according to the officials, SEALs who were at the party declined to say anything about the alleged incident. The alleged sexual assault was first reported by The New York Times, which said the Foxtrot Platoon was sent home "after commanders heard reports of serious misconduct and a breakdown of discipline in the elite unit." The two U.S. military officials told NBC News the alleged victim is not attached to the platoon. In a statement Wednesday, the U.S. military's Special Operations Command said the SEAL platoon had been sent to the U.S. on a "deliberate redeployment" because of a "perceived deterioration of good order and discipline within the team during nonoperational periods. The Commander lost confidence in the team's ability to accomplish the mission." "All Department of Defense personnel are expected to uphold proven standards and to comply with laws and regulations," the statement said. "Alleged violations are thoroughly investigated." A spokesperson for the Special Operations Command, Ken McGraw, said, "We don’t discuss ongoing investigations."

ABC News reports:

"Sixteen U.S. Marines were arrested on Thursday morning for their alleged involvement in activities ranging from human smuggling to drug-related offenses, the Marine Corps said. The arrests were carried out by officials from 1st Marine Division and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service during an 800-person battalion formation at Camp Pendleton in California. "Information gained from a previous human smuggling investigation precipitated the arrests," the Marines said in a statement. A spokesperson for 1st Marine Division confirmed to ABC News that a case of two Marines charged with human smuggling earlier this month "identified the allegations" against the individuals involved in Thursday's arrests. The 16 Marines were part of 1st Battalion 5th Marines, an infantry battalion that was preparing for deployment overseas, the spokesperson said. The Marines arrested were all low-ranking enlisted males, ranging between private first class and corporal. Eight additional Marines were taken in for questioning on their possible involvement in alleged drug offenses, unrelated to Thursday's arrests. "1st Marine Division is committed to justice and the rule of law, and we will continue to fully cooperate with NCIS on this matter," the statement said. "Any Marines found to be in connection with these alleged activities will be questioned and handled accordingly with respect to due process." The Marines said that none of the 16 Marines who were arrested were part of the Defense Department's deployment of troops to the southern border."

Consider the following:

"Earlier this month, two Marines were charged after allegedly trying to smuggle undocumented immigrants for "financial gain," according to court documents from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Byron Darnell Law II and David Javier Salazar-Quintero were arrested on July 3 after Border Patrol agents intercepted them transporting three Mexican citizens without immigration documents in their vehicle approximately seven miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border and 20 miles east of the Tecate, California, port of entry. Two of the immigrants later told agents they were going to pay $8,000 to be smuggled into the U.S. with destinations of Los Angeles and New Jersey, officials said. Law and Salazar-Quintero are among several active-duty service members who have been charged in recent years in connection with helping immigrants cross the border in exchange for financial benefit, according to the Washington Post."

Fascinating, isn't it?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


8-2-19

Delusionally believe the cancer isn't growing?  NBC News reports:

"The gunman who killed three people and wounded a dozen more at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Northern California was an angry 19-year-old who had recently waded into the world of white supremacy. Santino William Legan, who was shot dead by police Sunday before he could do more damage, posted online about an 1890 racist manifesto, “Might is Right or The Survival of the Fittest,” NBC News confirmed. “Read Might is Right by Ragnar Redbeard,” Legan posted on his Instagram page. He then used slurs against mixed-race people and misogynistic descriptions of white Silicon Valley workers, complaining about "hordes" of them "overcrowding" towns. Redbeard, which was a pseudonym, argued that only strength and violence determined what is morally right. The work, which is filled with misogynistic and anti-Semitic rhetoric, is a staple among neo-Nazis and white supremacists on extremist sites. And the phrase “might is right” is often posted as a sort of motto or catchphrase indicating white supremacy on neo-Nazi extremist forums."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-26-19

Highly reminiscent of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors, Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following.  It's appalling.  Runs against the grain of everything our formerly great country once stood for.  No longer.

Unfit for duty.  Presents an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.  NBC News reports:

"A Louisiana police officer is facing criticism over a comment he made last week suggesting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., be shot. The officer, Charlie Rispoli, a 14-year veteran of the Gretna, Louisiana, police force, called Ocasio-Cortez a "vile idiot" who "needs a round, and I don't mean the kind she used to serve," referring to her past job as a bartender, according to a screenshot posted by nola.com. According to the New Orleans-based news outlet, his comment was a reaction to a fake quote attributed to the congresswoman claiming that "we pay soldiers too much." Both his post and Facebook account have since been taken down."

Jesus Christ.  Stunning that a cop would engage in such activity.

"Gretna's police chief, Arthur Lawson, told nola.com he found the post "disturbing," adding, "This will not go unchecked." "I’m not going to take this lightly and this will be dealt with on our end," he told the outlet. "It’s not something we want someone that’s affiliated with our department to make these types of statements. That’s not going to happen." He said that while he did not think the post constituted an actual threat, it was likely a violation of his department's social media policy."

Think it wasn't posted by this goddamned jackass to inspire others to commit a criminal act? Wake up, Chief.

"Ocasio-Cortez was also the subject of violent and misogynistic Facebook posts in a private group where nearly 10,000 current and former Customs and Border Protection agents exchanged thoughts, a ProPublica investigation revealed. And the four congresswomen targeted in Trump's tweets, Ocasio-Cortez, Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., were the subject of a recent Facebook post by the Republican County Chairmen’s Association of Illinois, which labeled them the “jihad squad.” “Political Jihad is their game,” the since-deleted post read. “If you don’t agree with their socialist ideology you’re racist.”

We've heard this same old tired rhetoric from the national socialist, achingly fascist Nazi Right in our formerly great country the last seven decades.  If you oppose their embrace of nazism, you are labeled a communist, a Marxist socialist, while these very same nazis embrace the early national socialism of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini.  Worst, then, was yet to come.  As it is, now.

"The state's GOP chairman, Tim Schneider, disavowed the post Sunday night. “Bigoted rhetoric greatly distracts from legitimate and important policy debates and further divides our nation,” Mr. Schneider said, adding, “I urge everyone who opposes them to keep the rhetoric focused on policy and ideology.”

No longer possible in a de facto fascist police-state since 9/11, quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-26-19

Follow up on 'massive' ICE raids.  NBC News reports:

"Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 35 people as part of an operation targeting families with deportation orders, officials said Tuesday, a number far lower than the 2,000 targeted in the highly publicized raids touted by President Donald Trump. Of those 35 arrested, 18 were members of families with court-ordered removal orders targeted by the operation and 17 were collateral arrests of people found during enforcement actions, ICE Acting Director Matthew Albence said during a news teleconference Tuesday morning. Albence declined to say when the arrests took place and would not name the cities where they occurred, but said they happened "nationwide in various locations."

NBC News reports:

"When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrived at a Nashville home Monday in an attempt to detain a man there, neighbors and activists gathered to support the man, who remained shuttered in a van with a child for hours before the agents left."

The criminal jackbooted bastards had no warrant.

"And once the agents and police officers they had called to the scene finally drove away, neighbors who had kept the man and the boy fed, hydrated and cool, formed a human chain from the van to the house as the man and the boy shuffled inside. "It was striking to watch neighbors deliver food, water, and gasoline to help their neighbor stay in his car," Nashville Councilman Bob Mendes, who witnessed part of the incident, wrote in a statement. "Having watched this play out, I have a new appreciation for the practical difficulty cities face in dealing with ICE civil immigration enforcement." The ICE agents attempted to stop the white van in Hermitage early Monday morning, but when the driver would not stop, they followed him to a home, according to a statement from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. The agents, driving unmarked vehicles, blocked the van in the driveway, catching the attention of neighbors, according to a statement from the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), whose staffers responded to the incident. Police, who reported to the scene after the ICE agents called them, reported that the man, who has not been identified, had a 12-year-old child with him in the van. TIRRC said that the agents and Metropolitan Nashville police officers remained at the scene for several hours."

Uncommon Valor:

"The neighbors who lent their assistance "reported that they were worried and outraged because some had known the family for more than a decade," the TIRRC statement said. Several people recorded and live-streamed the incident on social media. "They told local media outlets that ICE 'picked the wrong community on the wrong day,'" the statement said. "What happened this morning shows how deeply rooted immigrants are in our community." TIRRC's statement said the ICE agents had "no judicial or criminal warrant to apprehend" the man, who was within his rights to remain in the van. "ICE doesn’t have the authority to enter your home or private property without a warrant signed by a judge," the TIRRC statement said. "The majority of the time, ICE only has an administrative warrant — not a judicial one."

    "If ICE shows up at your house, DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR and know your rights. It's important in this time to make sure our neighborhoods are organized. pic.twitter.com/EO4fdZSC66
    — TIRRC (@tnimmigrant) July 22, 2019"

This is nazi government operating outside the law and United States Constitution.

"TIRRC questioned why police officers responded to the scene. "When immigrant community members and their families associate local police with federal immigration enforcement, they are less likely to report being a victim or a witness to a crime — making the whole community less safe," their statement said. Mendes said that he saw two marked police cars at the scene, and he was told a detective in an unmarked vehicle arrived during the hour he was there. Officers had their blue vehicle lights on shortly after arriving and then turned them off. Mendes said he saw brief conversations between the officers and the ICE agents. One officer told him "there were no known criminal warrants for the man in the van." The officer said that police were there "to protect the public, the people in the van, and the ICE agents if necessary," but otherwise, "would have no role."

Uncommon Valor:

"The officers were instructed to not be involved in the service of the detainer, but to stand by from a distance to keep the peace if necessary," said a statement from Metropolitan Nashville Police Department spokesman, Don Aaron. "Our police officers do not actively participate in immigration enforcement efforts and only serve as peacekeepers," Nashville Mayor David Briley reiterated in a statement, according to NBC affiliate WSMV. "I am keenly aware that this type of activity by our federal government stokes fear and distrust in our most vulnerable communities, which is why we do not use our local resources to enforce ICE orders," Briley said."

ICE lied:

"A statement from ICE said the agents were at the Nashville home Monday "seeking a convicted criminal alien ICE fugitive with an outstanding removal order ... when they were encountered by a small group of protestors." "Out of an abundance of caution for the safety of all persons involved, ICE personnel subsequently made the decision to depart without making an arrest to deescalate the situation," the statement said. ICE's southern region communication director, Bryan D. Cox, added that anyone who interferes or obstructs federal law enforcement officers can face criminal charges. And people who are "ordered removed from the U.S. who willfully fail to depart" can also face criminal charges along with fines up to $5,000."

They had no warrant signed by a judge.  Jackbooted motherf--kers.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-26-19

The ICE follies.  NPR reports:

"Last October, Osny Kidd was arrested outside his Los Angeles apartment and taken to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Adelanto, Calif. "I was in handcuffs from feet to waist to arms. I arrived there in chains," Kidd says. Over 76 days, he says, he was strip searched, subject to filthy conditions, denied medications, and briefly placed in solitary confinement."

Nazi America.

"The treatment and conditions Kidd describes raise questions of whether the detention facility violated ICE's detention standards, based on a review of an ICE manual that details those standards. The contractor ICE hired to inspect its facilities found no problems at Adelanto in recent years. That contractor, a private firm called the Nakamoto Group, has become a lightning rod for criticism. The Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General has repeatedly criticized the company for cutting corners on its investigations, conducting improper interviews, and producing inaccurate reports. In one instance, the government watchdog said ICE failed to take seriously the problem of braided bed sheets hanging in detainee cells. It said similar braided sheets had been used as a noose in one suicide and in several other attempts."

Is ICE encouraging suicide?

"For many critics, Nakamoto's failures cited in the government reports help explain why unsanitary, harsh conditions at the detention centers persist. Public scrutiny of detention facilities continues to increase. Meanwhile, the population of those detained at ICE's facilities last month reached an all-time high of 54,000. At the same time, there are persistent questions from the inspector general about whether ICE is properly overseeing the contractors that run a majority of the agency's facilities. ICE relies heavily on private industry in nearly every aspect of its operation. Outside contractors GEO Group and CoreCivic operate most of ICE's adult detention centers. For the last eight years, Nakamoto has been charged with conducting annual inspections of ICE detention centers, including those run by GEO and CoreCivic. "It's really not an exaggeration to say that there is basically no meaningful accountability or oversight for the companies who are involved," says Heidi Altman, director of policy at the National Immigrant Justice Center, an immigrant rights group. The DHS inspector general not only criticized Nakamoto's work, it also faulted ICE for not properly overseeing Nakamoto. "ICE does not adequately hold detention facility contractors accountable for not meeting performance standards," the inspector general wrote in its latest report in January."

Why has no one been prosecuted?

CBS News reports:

"A U.S.-born 18-year-old was released from immigration custody Tuesday after wrongfully being detained for more than three weeks. Francisco Erwin Galicia left a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Pearsall, Texas. His lawyer, Claudia Galan, confirmed he had been released, less than a day after The Dallas Morning News' reporting about his case drew national attention.

"Galicia lives in the border city of Edinburg, Texas, and was traveling north with a group of friends when they were stopped at a Border Patrol inland checkpoint. According to Galan and the Morning News, agents apprehended Galicia on suspicion that he was in the U.S. illegally even though he had a Texas state ID. Galicia was detained for three weeks by the Border Patrol, then transferred to the ICE detention center. Galan said she believes Galicia was "absolutely" a victim of racial profiling. The others in the vehicle with him were all Latinos, including his 17-year-old brother Marlon, who was born in Mexico and was in the U.S. illegally. Marlon told the Morning News he agreed to be returned to Mexico. "I'm so thankful Francisco is free and he can sleep at home tonight and see his mom," she said. Before Francisco was released, his mother told CBS Harlingen, Texas affiliate KGBT-TV, "I'm devastated, I don't know what to do. I have one son in Mexico and the other detained. I feel bad, I'm heartbroken," Sanjuana Galicia said. She said Marlon is staying with his grandmother in Reynosa, Mexico.

"A 2018 investigation by the Los Angeles Times found that ICE had released more than 1,480 people after investigating their citizenship status. In one case, a U.S. citizen was held in immigration detention for more than three years."

CBS News reports:

"Federal immigration officers trying to arrest a Mexican national smashed a car window and dragged him from the vehicle in front of his girlfriend and two young children, prompting condemnation from the woman's Missouri congressman. A Facebook Live video taken during the arrest of Florencio Millan-Vazquez in Kansas City on Monday shows Immigration and Custom Enforcement and Kansas City police officers trying to persuade him to leave the vehicle. Millan-Vazquez, who is in the U.S. illegally, and his girlfriend, Cheyenne Hoyt, repeatedly ask to see a warrant. After officers warn that they plan to break the window, an immigration officer smashes the glass and others help drag Millan-Vazquez out of the car. "I'm still in shock," a crying Hoyt told The Associated Press Tuesday. "You think that it's not going to happen to my family, like I never thought this was going to happen. You hear the things (President Donald) Trump says, but (Millan-Vazquez) is not a rapist, he's not a murderer, or a drug dealer. And the way they did it in front of the kids, they didn't care."

Jackbooted motherf--kers.  Yet, Republicans haughtily consider themselves the party of the family.

"Hoyt, who shot and posted the video, said they had been on the way to a doctor's appointment for their disabled 7-month-old daughter when immigration officers blocked them in at their apartment complex and ordered Millan-Vazquez out of the vehicle. The immigration officer asked several times to see proof that Millan-Vazquez is allowed to be in the U.S. and tells the couple that ICE doesn't need a warrant to arrest someone who has entered the country illegally. "It was like something you saw on a movie, like you never thought it was going to happen," Hoyt told CBS News affiliate KCTV. Agents must have a warrant when arresting someone inside a home, but the law is less clear for arrests outside a residence, said Jessica Piedra, an immigration attorney with the Kansas City Metro Immigration Alliance. "It's a little murky since he was in his car," Piedra told The Kansas City Star."

Shouldn't matter whether you're in your home or your vehicle.  Nazi justice.

"Hoyt acknowledged Millan-Vazquez was in the country illegally but said he is a hard-working chef and family man who never caused any trouble. Immigration officials said Millan-Vazquez re-entered the country twice after being voluntarily deported in 2011 and that he has misdemeanors on his record. "Millan-Vazquez was uncooperative and refused to exit his vehicle or follow lawfully issued commands issued by ICE and local police," said ICE spokesman Shawn Neudauer. "After attempting to negotiate with Millan-Vazquez for about 25 minutes, the ICE officers were left with no other choice than make the arrest by physically removing him from the vehicle." On the video, the couple's 11-year-old son is heard crying as the window is broken and his father is taken away. Millan-Vazquez can later be heard asking to say goodbye to his son. An ICE agent turns down his request. "Right now we're being extremely nice to you, but what you just put us through, what we had to go through, you're lucky I'm letting you talk to (Hoyt) right now," the agent says. "So no, you can talk to him later, she can bring him up to where you're gonna be and you can see them there."

Aryan arrogant jackbooted nazi motherf--ker.  Trump's Fourth Reich.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-26-19

ICE follies to worsen.  NPR reports:

"The Trump administration announced on Monday it is expanding fast-track deportation regulations to include the removal of undocumented immigrants who cannot prove they have been in the U.S. continuously for two years or more. The change dramatically expands the ability of the Department of Homeland Security to quickly deport certain immigrants without any of the due-process protections granted to most other people, including the right to an attorney and to a hearing before a judge. It is set to go into effect Tuesday and is the latest escalation of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown."

Raw nazism.  Direct, determined, concerted abrogation of the United States Constitution by the Trump nazi and his henchmen.

"The effect of that change will be to enhance national security and public safety — while reducing government costs — by facilitating prompt immigration determinations," DHS said in a notice."

Outrageously, unconstitutional.

"We plan on challenging the change ... speedily," Anand Balakrishnan, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU's Immigrant Rights Project told NPR. Balakrishnan called the policy shift "extremely sweeping," and said it authorizes any Customs and Border Protection officer to determine whether a person has been in the U.S. the requisite amount of time to trigger legal proceedings. "The only way out of that is for the person to affirmatively prove that they've been here for two years or more. To have that evidence on them at all times," he said. "It puts the burden on every noncitizen to prove their continuous presence." He noted, deportations could happen within hours of a person's arrest. "From what we know about the way expedited removals have been administered in the past, it's been rife with errors," Balakrishnan said. "U.S. citizens have been ordered deported" and in other cases, people who have lived in the country for more than a decade have also been ejected, he said."

Trump does as he pleases.  No regard for the rule of law.  Continuous abrogation of his oath of office to uphold the United States Constitution.

"The DHS notice stated unaccompanied children may not be placed in expedited removal under current law. Further, undocumented immigrants can apply for asylum when they are apprehended, potentially delaying an immediate deportation until a credible-fear hearing and a determination is made. People who are deported under expedited removal regulations have no right to appeal. The pro-immigration American Immigration Council estimates thousands of people could be deported as a result of the expansion."

Nazi America.

Particularly galling, outrageously hypocritical considering the fact our UNDOCUMENTED forebears came to this land centuries ago, STOLE it from its native inhabitants, then BROKE every goddamned treaty signed.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-26-19

Law enforcement continues to go on digital fishing expeditions.  Some corporations courageously resist.  ABC News reports:

"In 2018, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a report which concluded that in the previous year, U.S. law enforcement agencies made more than 130,000 requests for access to digital evidence from six of largest technologies companies in the world alone. The requests were sent to companies like Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Microsoft, Verizon Communications media unit Oath and Google. Telecom giants like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T also received more than 500,000 court-ordered requests to identify users and provide location data and communications content for criminal cases. With the expansion of digital platforms, the report found that law enforcement requests for data access had "significantly increased over time." In 2016, law enforcement sent roughly 110,000 requests; the year before that, companies only saw around 96,000. In 1994, the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) passes into law and mandated that all communications companies are required to assist law enforcement’s access to information when under a court order. Yet existing loopholes in the law have prompted some cell phone providers to argue they aren’t communication companies and are thus not required to assist law enforcement. These loopholes have created legal standoffs where tech companies are fighting against releasing information to law enforcement in court. Microsoft has argued that data stored on a company server in another country exempts it from an obligation to cooperate with a U.S. law enforcement request for the data. Last year, Apple updated its software to disable the Lightning port on the bottom of its iPhones one hour after a user locks the phone, preventing a common workaround that law enforcement had used to break into iPhones to access data in the course of criminal investigations, according to the Washington Post. "We’re constantly strengthening the security protections in every Apple product to help customers defend against hackers, identity thieves and intrusions into their personal data," Apple said in a statement announcing the update, the Post reported. "We have the greatest respect for law enforcement, and we don’t design our security improvements to frustrate their efforts to do their jobs."

Called privacy.  Law enforcement hasn't a clue.  Determinedly, concertedly continues to go on fishing expeditions in direct violation of the Fourth Amendment.

"And last fall, a New Hampshire judge ordered Amazon to turn over recordings from an Echo smart speaker in a home where a double murder took place, according to Vox. In a statement to Vox, Amazon said it won’t "release customer information without a valid and binding legal demand properly served on us" and that "Amazon objects to overbroad or otherwise inappropriate demands as a matter of course." It didn’t comment on whether the company will hand over the data once it’s served a motion, or if it will challenge the ruling and the status of the Court Ordered request is still unclear. To date, the status the case of the order remains unclear. Yet in another, similar case in which a judge ordered Amazon to turn over recordings from one of its smart speakers, attorneys for Amazon resisted, writing that ""Given the important First Amendment and privacy implications at stake, the warrant should be quashed unless the Court finds that the State has met its heightened burden for compelled production of such materials." In March, 2017, the tech giant ultimately complied with the order after the defendant consented to the disclosure."

There is good reason for the corporate management suite to be concerned:

"In addition to their desire to protect their customers' privacy, the tech community in Silicon Valley has maintained an uneasy relationship with the U.S. government ever since it was revealed by Edward Snowden in 2013 that the U.S. National Security Administration (NSA) had surreptitiously hacked into their systems to gain unfettered access to their data storage systems."

Jackbooted nazi government.

"For law enforcement, access to this information in a timely fashion is critical to stopping and solving crimes. Often these investigations are time sensitive -- kidnapped children, trafficked humans or murder and the ability to access this information is paramount to solving a case."

Government has lied so many times it cannot be trusted.  Under current circumstances, the corporate management suite should always demand a warrant signed by a judge.  Should the warrant turn out to be bogus, sue the living shit out of the bastards.  The best thing manufacturers could do for privacy is design systems that are highly encrypted, cannot be broken into easily by anyone.

"While this debate continues, Americans have also watched as multiple data breaches have penetrated the defenses of databases maintained by the U.S. government and large corporations alike. Widespread data breaches and this concern for privacy have prompted Congress to find unusual bi-partisan support to further enhance privacy protections. Several members, on both sides of the political aisle, have proposed legislation to "modernize" the U.S. data privacy rules. These include proposed reforms to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986 -- which, if it had been enacted, would of codified a requirement for a court-ordered search warrant for any type of electronic data, including the subscriber information for a phone number, which had previously been obtainable with an issued subpoena."

A step in the right direction but nowhere near good enough.  Government cannot be trusted.

"In the CSIS report, a survey of law enforcement officials on the federal, state, and local level all indicated that their top challenge was accessing data from service providers -- much of which is not encrypted -- through their respective legal processes."

Tough shit.  The citizenry must be protected against corrupt and abusive government.  No greater threat today than from corrupt and abusive government.

"The report also states that "digital evidence will only grow in importance as more of our lives move online and connected devices proliferate." "As the world changes," the report continued, "law enforcement’s capabilities and authorities will need to evolve to keep up, and the relationship between law enforcement and major service providers will become ever more essential to protect the rule of law and public safety, as well as privacy and civil liberties."

No longer possible to do both.  Privacy has to come first since government is incapable of being trusted.  Has lied too many times.  Abused power.  Engaged in jackbooted tactics incompatible with a democratic republic.  As consumers, we need to demand high encryption of any products purchased.  Delusionally believe government isn't the issue?  Readers are reminded the State Department failed to do full background checks on the 9/11 hijackers.

Failed to heed warnings from the flight schools the terrorists wished only to learn how to fly straight and level, not take off and land.  Instead, both the Democrats and Republicans, after the fact, traitorously passed the USA 'Patriot' Act, 'Real' ID Act, Homeland 'Security' Act, etc., creating a de facto fascist police-state, now transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-26-19

The following sound American to you?  NBC News reports:

"A fired-up crowd shouted its approval of President Donald Trump’s attacks on Somali-born Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and three of her colleagues Wednesday by chanting “Send her back!” Trump, emboldened by the House’s sound rejection of an effort to impeach him over racist commentary about the lawmakers just hours earlier, triggered the chant at his re-election rally in Greenville, North Carolina, by resuming his rhetorical assault on Omar, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass."

This is not an American president.  This is a dictator following in the footsteps of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini.  This man is not a conservative.  He's a national socialist, fascist, a nazi.  Fascism, nazism, national socialism defined as the pernicious blend of government, business, and religion. 'Justified' by perversion and bastardization of the latter.

"He has been trying to make the quartet of progressive freshmen women of color the face of the Democratic Party as he seeks re-election on a platform headlined by hard-line immigration policy and aggressive rhetoric about immigrants that sometimes fails to distinguish between those with legal status and those without it."

Trump has no principles.  Remains determinedly morally bankrupt.  Intellectually deficient.  No substance.  A congenital liar.

"On Wednesday, he chided Tlaib for calling him a "motherf----er" — "that's not somebody that loves our country," he said — blasted Ocasio-Cortez for referring to squalid, overcrowded migrant detention facilities on the U.S.-Mexico border as concentration camps, and Pressley for encouraging people of color to speak up for one another. He also accused Omar of being soft on terrorism."

Trump's head, figuratively speaking, remains securely lodged up his achingly clueless ass.  Has no conception of what it means to tell the truth.  No grasp on reality.

"These left-wing ideologues see our nation as a force for evil," Trump said at the rally. Later, he said they are helping to "fuel the rise" of a "dangerous, militant hard left" — connecting them to violence by the group Antifa, even though there is no link."

There is no 'militant hard left.'  Our country remains primarily Nazi Right.  With rare exception.  Republican fascists currently run and own our formerly great country.  Democrats refuse to hold an impeachment investigation in the House.  That sound like a 'militant hard left' to you?

CBS News reports:

"Republican congressional leadership on Thursday maintained its steadfast defense of President Trump's recent tirade against four Democratic congresswomen of color, alleging that the commander-in-chief's criticism of the legislative quartet is strictly a matter of profound ideological differences."

Bullshit is bullshit.  Racism is racism.  Assertions to the contrary by the nazi element in our formerly great country are indicative of the moral, spiritual, and ideological bankruptcy of the Nazi Right.  No principles.  No honor.  No standards.  Raw nazism.

"House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, said chants of "send her back!" at the president's campaign rally in North Carolina on Wednesday have no "place" in the U.S. But he pushed back when asked by CBS News' Nancy Cordes if the chants were a reflection of recent controversial remarks in which Mr. Trump told progressive Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan to "go back" to their own countries.  "I didn't get a chance to see the rally, but I saw clip. The president didn't join in any chant like that," McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol in Washington, referring to the repeated chants the crowd in North Carolina made as Mr. Trump lambasted Omar, a Somali-American and one of two Muslim women in Congress."

He didn't have to join in.  He elicited exactly what he wanted from these idiots.  Knew precisely how they would react.

"Pressed on the similarity between the president's tweets on Sunday and his supporters' racist chants, McCarthy largely demurred, claiming that Mr. Trump's feud with the four progressive lawmakers simply represented a political effort to fend off the socialist ideas he said the congresswomen espouse."

Those ideas have no traction in a system that is now national socialist, fascist, nazi.  A system that is clearly run and owned by the nazi element in the Republican Party.  What are you so concerned about?  The truth?  That is, the embrace of national socialism by the nazi element in our formerly great country?

"He talked about the love of this country. He said if you don't love this country, you can leave."

The criticism of Trump's nazi government is proof these four congresswoman indeed love this country.  If your fuhrer, the Trump nazi, cannot withstand pointed criticism time for him to do the right thing, resign in disgrace.  What he and you fellow nazis embrace is treasonous.  National socialism.  An ideology hundreds of thousands of our best and brightest died fighting.  Second World War European Theater.

"That's a fundamental difference and that's what the president is talking about," McCarthy said. "This is an issue about ideology. This is an issue that when you talk about one of these individuals introduced a bill in support of boycott, divestiture and sanctions against Israel."

The Israeli aggressor is treating Palestinians precisely as the Nazis treated victims of the Holocaust at the very beginning of the Third Reich.  Far worse was to come.

"Despite his scathing criticism of the congresswomen at his rally, Mr. Trump on Thursday tried to distance himself from the cheers of his supporters. "I was not happy when I heard that chant," Mr. Trump told reporters at the Oval Office."

Trump deliberately elicited the chant.  This man is a congenital liar.

CBS News reports:

"Congresswoman Ilhan Omar blasted President Trump as a "fascist" Thursday after racist chants erupted during his campaign rally in North Carolina the previous night."

First time, a legislator has publicly called Trump a fascist.  Hat's off, Congresswoman.  About time a legislator courageously labeled this ongoing fiasco for what it truly is.  Fascism.

"After Mr. Trump called out the Democrat from Minnesota, the crowd began chanting "Send her back!" The president ramped up attacks against Omar and three other progressive congresswomen of color this week. Omar, an American citizen who was born in Somalia, was asked whether his attacks were racist and offered a pointed response directed at the president. "We have condemned his racist remarks," she said. "I believe he is fascist because today even Lindsey Graham defended his comments by saying that if I was wearing a MAGA hat — if there was a Somali person wearing a MAGA hat — they would not be deported. But because I criticize the president, I should be deported?" She added, "And as much as he's spewing his fascist ideology on stage, telling us citizens to go back because they don't agree with his detrimental policies for our country, we tell people that here in the United States, dissent is patriotic here in the United States. Disagreement is welcome, debate is welcomed, and especially in the People's House, all of our voices are heard and we see her. We see me, we see her, we see everyone in this country." While she said she doesn't fear for her personal safety, she is concerned for people who "share my identities." "When you have a president who clearly — who clearly thinks someone like me should 'go back,' the message he's sending is not for me, it's to every single person who shares an identity with me," she said."

This country is confronted with great evil.  At a time of great peril.  A quickly growing, insidious cancer.  Resurrection of Hitler's Third Reich in the persona of the Trump nazi.

"Mr. Trump said Thursday he was "not happy" with his supporters' chant and disagreed with it, despite not doing anything to stop it at the rally. He made the remarks in the Oval Office during a meeting with members of Team USA for the 2019 Special Olympics World Games."

Trump is a congenital liar.  Elicited exactly the reaction from his brain-dead supporters he wanted and expected.

"On Wednesday night, Omar also took to Twitter to address the chants. She quoted Maya Angelou's famous "Still I Rise" poem: "You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I'll rise," she tweeted.  She later posted a picture of herself standing in front of the House Chamber with the caption: "I am where I belong, at the people's house and you're just gonna have to deal!"

    "I am where I belong, at the people’s house and you’re just gonna have to deal! pic.twitter.com/W0OvDXGxQX
    — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) July 18, 2019

"Her tweets came after Mr. Trump singled her out at his rally in Greenville. He accused Omar of having a "history of launching vicious anti-Semitic screeds," denigrating the military and minimizing the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Earlier in the day, he also repeated an unfounded claim that Omar married her brother."

All untrue, -- courtesy of an insane national socialist, fascist, nazi currently occupying the Oval Office.  Fascism, nazism, national socialism defined as the pernicious blend of government, business, and religion. 'Justified' by perversion and bastardization of the latter.

NPR reports:

"Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of the freshman Democratic congresswomen facing attacks from President Trump and his supporters, was cheered as she arrived back at her home district in Minnesota on Thursday. A crowd of people at the airport in the Twin Cities held banners with slogans such as "Stop Racism Now" and chanted "welcome home Ilhan" as the congresswoman emerged from her flight. "We are going to continue to be a nightmare to this president," she said into a megaphone, "because his policies are a nightmare to us. We are not deterred, we are not frightened, we are ready."

When good men and women remain gutlessly silent in the face of great evil, they are no longer good.  No longer men.  No longer women.  Gutless cowards.

"Throughout this past week, Trump has targeted Omar and her fellow progressive congresswomen — New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley — with repeated attacks. In a tweet on Sunday, he said the four women of color should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."

Three of the four were born here.  All four are U.S. citizens elected by their constituents.

"And at a rally on Wednesday, Trump attacked each congresswoman individually. As he spoke about Omar, the crowd started to chant "send her back," echoing the president's tweet. Omar, an American citizen, came to the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia when she was a child. Trump attempted to distance himself from the racist chant on Thursday, saying "I wasn't happy with that message that they gave last night."

Trump is a congenital liar.  Got exactly what he wanted and expected from his brain-dead supporters.

"It was quite a chant, and I felt a little bit badly about it. But I will say this, I did — and I started speaking very quickly. But it started up rather fast," the president added. However, as NPR's Tamara Keith noted, "in reality, Trump stood there for 13 seconds as the chant continued, waiting for it to die down before he resumed his remarks."

The fascist bastard reveled in it.

"Omar traveled to the Twin Cities on Thursday to participate in a town hall to discuss "Medicare for All," as CNN reported. "I know there are a lot of people that are trying to distract us now, but I want you all to know that we are not going to let them," Omar told the crowd. Earlier in the day, Omar told reporters in Washington, D.C., that she sees the president as a "fascist" and said she considered this fight about "what this country truly should be," according to The Associated Press."

NBC News reports:

“We condemned the president’s comments the other day," Pelosi said Thursday when asked about the chant. "That’s our statement." A number of other House and Senate Democrats spoke out regarding the chant, with some comparing it to the "lock her up" cries aimed at 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at prior Trump rallies. “Whether it's "send her back" or "lock her up," "there has to be some form of punishment" or "grab her by the p***y"— the throughline is contempt for women and anyone who threatens this president's fragile ego," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., tweeted. "He should be afraid. We are his worst nightmare. And we will beat him.”

Trump has no respect for women or anyone else for that matter.  What racist narcissist nazi does?  What is truly surprising is the fact the First Lady has publicly remained stone cold silent through all this.  For years.  Through all the foibles.  All the affairs.  All the f--kups.  If she ever dumped his sorry ass, would certainly clean up financially no matter what.

CBS News reports:

"Less than 24 hours after attempting to disavow supporters who chanted "send her back" at his North Carolina rally this week, President Trump reversed course and took their side. "As you know, those are incredible people...those are incredible patriots," the president said Friday."

Trump remains egregiously unfit for office.  Dangerously unstable.  His supporters are not patriots.  They're racists, national socialists, fascists, nazis, just like their fuhrer, the Trump nazi.

"The chant was widely seen as a racist attack on Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who is originally from Somalia but is now an American citizen. After first lady Melania Trump, the president's daughter Ivanka, and several republican lawmakers expressed their concerns about the ugly scene, the president offered a tepid rebuke."

They need to find some modicum of courage, stand up to their sick loved one, call his behavior out for precisely what it is, -- racist nazism.

"I disagree with it, by the way," Mr. Trump said. "But it was quite a chant and I felt a little bit badly about it." But less than a day later, he was back to blaming Omar. "You know what I'm unhappy with? I'm unhappy with the fact that a congresswoman can hate our country," Mr. Trump said. "I'm unhappy with the fact that a congresswoman can say anti-Semitic things."

Trump remains a sick, congenital liar.  Has no clue what he is talking about.  Remains dangerously unfit for office.  Presents an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

"The president seems to see political advantage in his feud with the four democratic congresswomen known as "The Squad" — especially Omar, who has been particularly outspoken. Omar was defiant when she returned to Minnesota on Thursday, saying that as an immigrant in Congress, she's the president's "nightmare." "We are going to continue to be a nightmare to this president because his policies are a nightmare to us!" Omar said. "We are not deterred. We are not frightened. We are ready!"

Uncommon Valor.  This woman is a patriot willing to stand up to nazism.  Has a far better understanding of the United States Constitution than the sick nazi who now occupies the Oval Office.

"That comment appeared to have gotten under the president's skin. "I'm unhappy when a congresswoman goes and says, 'I'm gonna be the president's nightmare,'" Mr. Trump said. "She's gonna be the president's nightmare. She's lucky to be where she is, let me tell you."

F--k that shit.  She is an American citizen.  Elected by her fellow citizens to represent them in  the House of Representatives.  She is courageously exercising her First Amendment right to rhetorically challenge the Trump nazi.  Takes great courage.  She is not lucky to be where she is.  She was elected to office.  Did not steal that office like the Trump nazi did with the help of his Russian friends.

"The president continues to argue that it's not OK for these congresswomen to criticize the country or his policies."

The hell it isn't.  Called the First Amendment Freedom of Speech.  Precisely, what made our formerly great country great.  The Nazi Right in the guise of the Republican Party has been deliberately shitting on this right the last seven decades since the days of the John Birch Society back in the 50s.

The hypocrisy of our sick nazi fuhrer is stunning:

"When asked why it was OK for him to repeatedly call the U.S. "a laughingstock" or its foreign policy "stupid" before he was elected, Mr. Trump responded by saying, "This is the best country in the world."

Trump's head remains figuratively securely lodged up his ass.  He has traitorously, treasonously, treacherously made our formerly great country the laughing stock of the world.

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump broadly declared Friday that no one should criticize the United States while he is president, part of a renewed attack on four minority congresswomen whom he has targeted as un-American. Trump also praised his supporters who chanted at a rally, “Send her back!,” a refrain directed at one of the lawmakers, ­Somali-born Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). The president called the campaign crowd “incredible patriots” — a day after saying he disagreed with the chant. Trump’s shift Friday was reminiscent of how he responded to the deadly clash between white nationalists and protesters in Charlottesville in August 2017. He initially denounced the bigotry and hatred, then issued a stronger statement calling the racism practiced by hate groups “evil,” but the next day he spoke of “very fine people on both sides.” His comments Friday capped a tumultuous week when Trump tweeted that the four women should “go back” to the “totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” and repeatedly defended his words despite widespread criticism that his remarks were racist and divisive. In a rare rebuke, the House voted to condemn his racist tweets about the four lawmakers."

What they should have done was launch an impeachment investigation.  Were too goddamned gutless to do the right thing.

"Trump said Friday that criticism of the United States is unacceptable and that the four congresswomen “can’t get away with” it."

Oh, yes they can.  Called the First Amendment Freedom of Speech.

“I can tell you this, you can’t talk that way about our country, not when I’m the president,” he told reporters outside the White House."

Oh, yes we can, Mr. 'President.'  Called the First Amendment Freedom of Speech.

"Every American has the right of free speech under the First Amendment of the Constitution, a reporter pointed out — and the president acknowledged that. “We have First Amendment rights also ­— we can ... say what we want,” Trump said. It was unclear who he was referring to as “we.”

Who do you think?  LOL.  Should have immediately following up with our nazi fuhrer.  Forced him to clarify precisely what he meant.

"The four Democrats — Omar, and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) — have warned that the country has taken a wrong turn with Trump administration policies, most notably on immigration and climate change."

It's far worse than that.  Immigration and climate change are no more than the tip of the iceberg.

"Trump, in his inaugural address, spoke of “American carnage,” describing empty factories “like tombstones across the landscape,” and separately has talked about China outpacing the United States. His 2016 campaign slogan was “Make America Great Again,” as if it weren’t."

Called hypocrisy.

"At the rally Wednesday, Trump supporters chanted “Send her back!” when the president recounted several of Omar’s comments, mischaracterizing some of them, and lashed out at her for her opposition to the Israeli government. The next day, Trump said he didn’t condone that chant, but by Friday morning he was back on the attack. He assailed the media for its coverage of the episode and hailed the crowd at the North Carolina rally. “Those are incredible people. Those are incredible patriots,” the president said during an event in the Oval Office at which he again attacked Omar. “She’s lucky to be where she is, let me tell you,” he said. “And the things that she has said are a disgrace to our country.”

She spoke the truth.  Unlike you, Mr. 'President.'  Has earned the right to be precisely where she is in the House.  Has not disgraced herself as you by lying.  Not to neglect to mention your treasonous embrace of national socialism, fascism, nazism.

"Asked about his unhappiness with the rally chant, Trump said: “You know what I’m unhappy with? I’m unhappy with the fact that a congresswoman can hate our country. I’m unhappy with the fact that a congresswoman can say anti-Semitic things.” Trump has provided no evidence that Omar has ever said she hates the United States. Earlier this week she said, “I probably love this country more than anyone that is naturally born.” In tweets earlier Friday, Trump characterized media coverage of his rally in Greenville, N.C., as “crazed” and complained that the media was “totally calm & accepting” of what he said were “vile and disgusting statements” made by Omar and the three other minority congresswomen whom he has repeatedly criticized in recent days."

Trump is a congenital liar.  Has no clue.  These four women spoke the truth, -- truth the Nazi Right cannot stand to hear.  Tough shit.  Just the beginning.  When good men and women remain silent in the face of great evil, they are no longer good.  No longer men.  No longer women.  Gutless cowards.

"Trump also complained that the media covered the return of Omar to her home state Thursday. She was greeted at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport by a crowd chanting, “Welcome home, Ilhan!”

Clearly, her constituents approve of precisely how she is representing them.  What would the Trump nazi have the media do?  Not report the truth?  Lie like him?

"Besides Omar, the other three lawmakers were born in the United States. Omar was born in Somalia and became a U.S. citizen in 2000. Much of Trump’s criticism of Omar has focused on remarks she has made about Israel. Earlier this year, she tweeted that support for Israel among members of Congress was “all about the Benjamins,” a reference to $100 bills."

While there is indeed truth to that, the problem extends far deeper and wider than that alone.

"In February, she apologized for her comment, saying in a statement: “Anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes. My intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole.” She also clarified that, in general, her remarks were aimed at criticizing the Israeli government, not Jewish people."

She had nothing to apologize for.  The Israeli aggressor is treating the Palestinians as Hitler and his henchmen did the Jews early in the Third Reich.  Far worse was to come.

"Trump also has falsely accused Omar of praising the terrorist group al-Qaeda."

Trump is a congenital liar who has no clue what the truth is.  Gets worse.  Get this:

"Speaking to reporters Friday afternoon, he claimed that the congresswomen have talked about “evil Jews,” which they haven’t, and inaccurately said ­Ocasio-Cortez had called America “garbage,” when she was actually talking about not settling for incremental policies that were “10 percent better than garbage.”

These lies need to be challenged, rhetorically confronted every step of the way.  Not allowed to stand unchallenged.

"Reporters asked Trump if he believed that the “Send her back!” chant was racist. “No, you know what’s racist to me? When somebody goes out and says the horrible things about our country, the people of our country, that are anti-Semitic, who hate everybody, who speak with scorn and hate,” Trump said. “ ... We’re dealing with people who hate our country.”

Trump is insane.  Has no clue.  Unlike the Trump nazi, the four courageous Congresswomen spoke the truth.  Our insane nazi fuhrer doesn't know the difference between the truth and his distortion of reality for crass political advantage.  Falsely, cluelessly claims he's not a racist when his rhetoric and actions scream otherwise.

"During an event Thursday in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that he did not agree with the chant of “Send her back!” and “felt a little bit badly about it.” He also claimed that he had moved to cut off the chant by starting to speak against it “very quickly,” even though he paused for 13 seconds until the chant died down."

Expect anything less of a lying, racist, nazi?

"Trump’s decision to try to distance himself from the chant came after a flurry of GOP lawmakers publicly condemned it, even while being careful not to denounce Trump directly."

They're gutless.  Place partisanship ahead of principle, country, and the unvarnished truth.

"On Friday, Trump dismissed reports that first lady Melania Trump and his daughter Ivanka had advised him to condemn the racist chant. “False information. It was fake news,” he said."

If so, they are as gutless, unprincipled as you, Mr. 'President.'

"In his tweets Friday, Trump predicted that he would win Minnesota next year, saying voters there “can’t stand” Omar and “her hatred of our Country.”

How does that comport with her fervent welcome home after returning from Washington?

"Ocasio-Cortez, meanwhile, on Friday tweeted footage of Omar’s greeting at the airport as she returned to Minnesota the night before. “This land is your land, This land is my land, This land was made for you and me,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote, adding the hashtag, “#IStandWithIlhan.” In remarks at the airport, Omar pledged to continue to be Trump’s “nightmare.” “When I said I was the president’s nightmare, well you’re watching it now,” she said. “Because his nightmare is seeing a Somali immigrant refugee rise to Congress.”

Think Trump isn't shitting?

CBS News reports:

"For someone to tell me to leave ... is so emotional, even more than a racial slur"

Isaac S. Loftus, 28, Los Angeles

"Something about white nationalism was trending at the time, and I replied. This person replied to me. He was telling me to go back to India. I've only been there twice, I don't speak the language. I asked if I could go back to Ireland instead since my dad is from there and he said no, I wouldn't belong there either. It was someone genuinely expressing their want for me to leave."

"I feel very deeply American and have deep pride for this country and what it stands for. I have a lot of love for this country — what it could be and what it is. I have a lot of respect for the founding principles of this country. For someone to tell me to leave, because I feel so deeply American, is so emotional, even more than a racial slur. That doesn't bother me as much as someone telling me to go somewhere else because I don't belong anywhere else. I belong here."

**************************************

"I was chasing this very thing that wouldn't accept me"

Insia Zaidi, 25, New York City

"I have been told countless times to go back to my country. So many times that I can't even remember."

"I was chasing this very thing that wouldn't accept me. At the same time, I was leaving behind parts of my Indian heritage. I had asked my parents to stop packing me Indian lunches that my white counterparts told me it smelled too bad."

"Now I feel fearful for my peers of color. I feel fearful for children of immigrants. I feel fearful for immigrants."

Wake up.  Racist nazism is unbecoming a U.S. president or any of us.

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump’s own top aides didn’t think he fully understood what he had done last Sunday, when he fired off a trio of racist tweets before a trip to his golf course. After he returned to the White House, senior adviser Kellyanne Conway felt compelled to tell him why the missives were leading newscasts around the country, upsetting allies and enraging opponents. Calling on four minority congresswomen — all citizens, three born in the United States ­­— to “go back” to the “totally broken and crime infested places from which they came” had hit a painful historical nerve. Trump defended himself. He had been watching “Fox & Friends” after waking up. He wanted to elevate the congresswomen, as he had previously discussed with aides. The Democratic lawmakers — Reps. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) — were good foils, he had told his advisers, including campaign manager Brad Parscale. The president said he thought he was interjecting himself into Democratic Party politics in a good way."

This man is insane, losing ground.

"As is often the case, Trump acted alone — impulsively following his gut to the dark side of American politics, and now the country would have to pick up the pieces. The day before, on the golf course, he hadn’t brought it up. Over the coming days, dozens of friends, advisers and political allies would work behind the scenes to try to fix the mess without any public admission of error because that was not the Trump way. “He realized that part of it was not playing well,” said Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), a Trump confidant, who golfed Saturday with the president and spoke to him about it on Monday. “Well, he always doubles down. Then he adjusts.” Like others, Graham urged Trump to reframe away from the racist notion at the core of the tweets — that only European immigrants or their descendants are entitled to criticize the country. Advisers wrote new talking points and handed him reams of opposition research on the four congresswomen. Pivot to patriotism. Focus on their ideas and behavior, not identity. Some would still see a racist agenda, the argument went, but at least it would not be so explicit. “The goal is to push back against them and make it not about you,” Graham said."

Report goes on and on.  Sadly, Trump is unfit for office.  When will both parties finally wake up?

NBC News reports:

"President Donald Trump on Monday prolonged his feud with four Democratic congresswomen of color by calling them “a very Racist group of troublemakers."

    "The “Squad” is a very Racist group of troublemakers who are young, inexperienced, and not very smart. They are pulling the once great Democrat Party far left, and were against humanitarian aid at the Border...And are now against ICE and Homeland Security. So bad for our Country!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2019"

Isn't Trump talking about himself?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-26-19

Hush money.  CBS News reports:

"President Trump talked about quashing stories about his alleged affairs in the days leading up to the 2016 presidential election, according to documents unsealed in the Michael Cohen case Thursday.  A federal judge in Manhattan unsealed records showing the president was involved in discussions about how to keep the stories of alleged affairs with women including adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal from being published. U.S. District Judge William Pauley ruled that the documents be unsealed, after prosecutors concluded their investigation related to the hush money payments and Cohen's campaign finance violations. Cohen is currently serving three years in federal prison. Mr. Trump initially denied knowledge of the payments. Asked in April 2018 if he knew about the payment Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, Mr. Trump responded, "No," and, "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen."

Trump lied:

"But the newly unsealed records make clear he was aware of the frenetic efforts to keep silent both women in the days ahead of the election. Trump attorney Jay Sekulow insisted in a statement Wednesday ahead of the document release that the closing of the Cohen probe exonerates the president. Cohen, however, reiterated his claim that Mr. Trump had directed him to handle the Stormy Daniels payment. "Jay Sekulow's statement is completely distorted and dishonest," Cohen said in a statement. "As I stated in my opening testimony, I and members of The Trump Organization were directed by Mr. Trump to handle the Stormy Daniels matter; including making the hush money payment. The conclusion of the investigation exonerating The Trump Organization's role should be of great concern to the American people and investigated by Congress and The Department of Justice."

There is no justice in a de facto fascist police-state quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

NPR reports:

"Donald Trump took part in phone calls with his then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen as the attorney and other aides scrambled to arrange hush payments to a woman in 2016 to buy her silence about an alleged sexual relationship with Trump. Those details come from hundreds of pages of court papers — warrant applications, affidavits and other related materials — made public on Thursday. Federal Judge William Pauley of the Southern District of New York ordered the documents unsealed after prosecutors said they had concluded their investigation into the scheme and any related campaign finance violations. Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance charges related to payments made shortly before Election Day in 2016 to former Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult film star Stephanie Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels. Cohen has said that he made the payments in coordination with and at the direction of Trump. Cohen is now serving a three-year prison sentence after he admitted that and other crimes in court. Cohen remains the only person to be charged in connection with the payments, although two individuals struck non-prosecution agreements with the government in exchange for their testimony."

Yet, the kingpin, the Trump nazi, escaped justice.

"The court records released Thursday provide a behind-the-scenes look into how Cohen worked with executives from American Media Inc., the publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid, to make those payments and prevent news of Trump's alleged extramarital affairs from getting out ahead the election. Team Trump was particularly desperate to keep a lid on the alleged affairs after news broke of the Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump uses crude language about touching women. One section of a warrant application filed in April 2018 states that Cohen exchanged a series of calls, text messages, and emails with Trump, Clifford's lawyer, Keith Davidson, AMI's David Pecker and Dylan Howard, as well as Trump campaign press secretary Hope Hicks in the days after the Access Hollywood tape appeared. "Based on the timing of these calls, and the content of the text messages and emails, I believe that at least some of the communications concerned the need to prevent Clifford from going public, particularly in the wake of the Access Hollywood story," wrote the FBI agent affidavit supporting the warrant. The agent then details a flurry of calls on Oct. 8, 2018—one day after the Access Hollywood tape was revealed in The Washington Post. At around 7:20 P.M., the court papers say, Cohen received a call from Hicks. "Sixteen seconds into the call, Trump joined the call, and the call continued for over four minutes," the court papers say. The documents then describe a string of calls over the next hour that Cohen made to Hicks, Pecker, Howard and again Trump. "At 8:03 p.m., about three minutes after ending his call with Pecker, Cohen called Trump, and they spoke for nearly eight minutes," the papers say. After two more quick calls with Howard, Cohen received a text message from Howard that read: "Keith will do it. Let's reconvene tomorrow," referring to Clifford's lawyer, Davidson. Cohen ultimately paid Clifford $130,000 to keep silent about her alleged extramarital affair with Trump. Trump then repaid Cohen with a series of checks drawn from accounts he controlled and which were controlled by his business; Cohen revealed copies of the checks to Congress in March. AMI, meanwhile, also has admitted arranging a separate payment to McDougal in a so-called "catch-and-kill" arrangement to keep her quiet about her alleged relationship with Trump."

Yet, the Trump nazi escapes prosecution.

NBC News reports:

"In a statement from jail, Cohen said, "As I stated in my open testimony, I and members of the Trump Organization were directed by Mr. Trump to handle the Stormy Daniels' matter, including making the hush-money payment." "The conclusion of the investigation exonerating the Trump Organization's role should be of great concern to the American people and investigated by Congress and the Department of Justice," Cohen said. He added that a statement a day earlier from Jay Sekulow, Trump's personal attorney, was "completely distorted and dishonest." Cohen's attorney, Lanny Davis, accused Sekulow of having "issued a misleading and false statement" and asked him to answer two questions. "Is it not a fact that SDNY prosecutors found President Trump to have directly coordinated the commission of felony involving campaign finance federal laws?" Davis wrote in a statement. "Is it not also a fact that upon his loss of purported immunity as President of the United States, he is subject to arrest, incarceration and trial for that?"

The problem here is the fact the 'Justice' Department is currently run and owned by the Trump nazi and his henchmen.  End result?  No criminal prosecution of Trump.  No time soon.  Since Democrats are hopelessly gutless, no impeachment investigation in the House.

"Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and fixer, is serving a three-year prison sentence for a slew of crimes, including breaking campaign finance laws by hiding payments to Daniels and another woman who also claimed she had an affair with Trump. "The campaign finance violations discussed in the materials are a matter of national importance," Judge William Pauley III said in court papers, denying the government's request for limited redactions. "Now that the government’s investigation into those violations has concluded, it is time that every American has an opportunity to scrutinize the materials."

The bottom line is stunningly simple.  Trump escaped justice.  Cohen was the fall guy.

"Last August, Cohen admitted to making the illegal payments to Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal at Trump's behest to silence them ahead of the 2016 election. Trump has denied the affairs."

Trump is a liar.

"The New York probe has long been viewed as potentially perilous for Trump and his associates. The judge's disclosure is the clearest indication yet that federal investigators have concluded their investigation of possible campaign finance crimes involving Cohen and likely any of Trump's other business associates or family members."

Clear indication the fix was in.  While Cohen was involved in this criminal activity up to his eyeballs, probably in retrospect, would have been better advised to have pled not guilty.  Dragged the kingpin into the trial.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-26-19

Criminal contempt.  House acts.  NPR reports:

"The House of Representatives escalated its confrontation with the executive branch Wednesday by holding two Trump administration officials in criminal contempt for not providing complete copies of subpoenaed documents related to the 2020 census. The resolution named Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for failing to cooperate with a congressional oversight investigation. In a deeply divided House, Wednesday's criminal contempt measure passed on a mostly party-line vote of 230-198. The House's lone independent, Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, backed the measure. Four Democrats broke with their leaders and opposed it. The rebuke of Trump Cabinet officials comes just a day after the House passed another resolution condemning the president himself for racist tweets over the weekend."

Time for the House to cut the crap and start holding Trump and his henchmen accountable.  Democrats have held the House for seven months.  This is the first decisive action taken.  Neither party is worth a crap.  More concerned with partisanship and being returned to office, less concerned with principle, or doing something about an unsustainable status quo.  Transparency is the bedrock of a democratic republic.  There is none.  ... Hear the rumble?

"The move marks the second time a sitting attorney general has been found in criminal contempt by the House. The first time was back in 2012, when the House voted to hold then-Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt over his failure to turn over documents for the chamber's "Fast and Furious" probe. Seventeen Democrats joined with what was then a Republican majority to secure that outcome. In a sign of how long these actions can take, the House and Justice Department engaged in a legal battle that took seven years to resolve — and without any criminal penalty for Holder."

This has to change.  In both the House and Senate.  Nothing gets done.  Both parties equally guilty for totally different reasons based on ideology.

Here's the problem:

"Wednesday's vote was a largely symbolic gesture; it's unlikely that the Department of Justice would move to prosecute the attorney general."

Fox guarding the goddamned chicken coop.

"But the symbolism represents a substantial escalation: These would be the first criminal contempt citations passed since Democrats took control of the House in January."

What took so long?  Why aren't you reining in the Trump nazi and his henchmen?  Why are you playing games?  Trump and his henchmen present an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.  We've lived in a de facto fascist police-state since 9/11 courtesy of both parties, -- quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.  Yet, nothing ever truly changes.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-26-19

Mueller fiasco. The Washington Post reports:

"Former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, in a quiet and occasionally halting manner, provided short, clipped answers to most of the questions thrown at him Tuesday morning, often referring lawmakers back to his report during the highly anticipated congressional hearing about his investigation of President Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election."

Sounded exceptionally anxious.  Out of sorts.  Not in full command of himself and the situation he found himself in.  Must not be forgotten this guy's a prosecutor.

"As lawmakers peppered him with questions, Mueller’s reluctance to elaborate on any topic seemed to stem from more than just his previously stated desire to avoid the hearing altogether. He frequently asked lawmakers to repeat their questions. At times he said he could not hear them, sometimes asserting they were speaking too fast. In contrast to his inquisitors, Mueller spoke slowly, and on a few occasions seemed confused by lawmakers’ inquiries. For a prosecutor who built a distinguished career on digging deep into the weeds of investigations, to the point that many of his subordinates complained he was a maddening micromanager, Mueller said several times he was not familiar with some of the specifics of the investigation into Russia’s actions in 2016 and whether Trump obstructed justice. He called the president “Trimp,” before quickly correcting himself. At another moment, he said he was “not familiar” with the opposition research firm Fusion GPS that commissioned a dossier of allegations that played a key role in the early days of the investigation into Russian interference, before Mueller was appointed as special counsel. In the hearing room, Mueller’s muffled voice made his minimal responses nearly inaudible, a sharp contrast to the lawmakers’ whose voices often boomed with indignation. David Axelrod, a former adviser to President Barack Obama, tweeted: “This is delicate to say, but Mueller, whom I deeply respect, has not publicly testified before Congress in at least six years. And he does not appear as sharp as he was then.”

"Before the hearing, current and former law enforcement officials who have worked with Mueller, 74, expressed concerns that he was stepping into a high-octane hearing that would be a tough test of his public demeanor — typically understated and technical. Mueller’s advisers had told committee staff before the hearing he did not plan to read sections of the report out loud, according to people familiar with the discussion. Part of Mueller’s approach appeared strategic — with so many sensitive investigative areas that he was unwilling to talk about, the less he engaged on those subjects, the easier his time at the witness table might pass. When Republicans charged that the genesis of the Russia investigation was hopelessly tainted by anti-Trump bias among some of the investigators, Mueller declined to discuss the issue, saying those matters are under review by the Justice Department inspector general, and therefore beyond his purview. At other times, Mueller’s approach seemed particularly ill-suited for a nationally televised interrogation by dozens of lawmakers rushing to pose as many questions as possible in the five minutes they were each allotted. But Mueller still made some politically charged comments. “The president was not exculpated for the acts that he allegedly committed,” the former special counsel said early in the hearing. “Did you actually totally exonerate the president?” asked the committee chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.). “No,” Mueller replied. Asked if the president, under Justice Department policy, could potentially be prosecuted for obstruction of justice after he leaves office, Mueller responded: “True.”

More to come as the full impact of his testimony becomes apparent.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-26-19

The following is demonstrative of the bottomless greed, narrow mindedness of Republicans in Congress.  In the latest edition of the Conaway Chronicle, Rep. Mike Conaway, 11th District writes:

"On Thursday, I voted against H.R. 582, the Democrats' attempt to increase the federal minimum wage."

Readers are advised the minimum wage proposed was nowhere near a current livable wage anywhere in our formerly great country.  Would not have immediately gone into effect anyway.  As always, would have been delayed making it even further removed from anything resembling a livable wage.

"Any policy that costs the United States 3.7 million jobs is a bad policy as far as I'm concerned."

Wake up, Congressman.  Delusionally believe employers can and will do all the work themselves?  Costs money and time to automate.  Truly think that's a quick alternative to labor?

"If enacted, this bill would cripple small businesses and disproportionately affect those in lower socioeconomic groups and workers under the age of 25."

If business can't survive without paying a livable wage, it should fail.  Called free enterprise.  Many, if not most, businesses make their money off theft of labor.  Certainly, lately.  Failure to pay a livable wage.  To say nothing of increasingly shoddy products, down sizing of product, etc., while simultaneously increasing prices.  Laughing its portly ass off all the way to the bank while pissing and moaning like hell and crying poverty.

Laissez-faire capitalism, that is, capitalism that is either unregulated or extremely poorly regulated as it is in our formerly great country, has become a zero-sum, winner-take-all achingly vicious ass  f--king.  Without the Vaseline. Precisely, why there are two extremes, top and bottom of the food chain.  A middle class that is going extinct, certainly endangered.

All due to unbridled greed at the very top.  The young and poor are favorite targets since they have no power and are so easy to shamelessly loot.  Yet you, Congressman, and others who think like you continue to defend this unsustainable fiasco.  ... Hear the rumble?  An unwanted, dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming as both major parties continue to greedily line their pockets.

"Our economy is currently growing at unprecedented rates, with the lowest unemployment numbers our nation has seen in over 50 years and an average 3.1 percent wage and salary increase for workers in 2018."

It's growing for the top of the food chain including the corporate management suite.  Not for the bottom and middle class.  Precisely, why both continue to suffer, regress financially.  -- While you and your corporate masters, Congressman, continue to laugh your financially portly asses off all the way to the bank.  ... Too deaf to hear the rumble?

"Rather than support the policies that brought our economy to this thriving state, Democrats are hell-bent on hindering businesses and American prosperity."

Give me a break, Congressman.  Truly think the public that stupid to believe your self-serving bullshit?  LOL.  The economy is thriving for the corporate management suite and top of the food chain.  Not for the rest of the masses.  You greedy bastards have amassed your fortune off failure to pay a livable wage.  Shoddy, substandard products.  Abject greed.  The public is finally growing wise to this.  One of the reasons why the country is as divided as it is.

"Raising the minimum wage is a nice idea in theory, but if you ask the millions of Americans who stand to lose their jobs because of this legislation, they'd rather keep their jobs."

Jesus Christ.  Wake up, Congressman.  Condescending, patronizing bullshit.  Aryan arrogant, aren't you sir?  Truly think you speak for the masses?  Most in the House enter office non-millionaires.  Leave office wealthy.  In the Senate, have to be a millionaire to get elected to office.  Anything wrong with this picture?  Anything at all.  Hear the rumble?  An unwanted, dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looms.  As you clueless idiots continue to figuratively 'fiddle while Rome burns.'  Aggressive stupidity at its very worst.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-26-19

While Republicans remain greedily unwilling to pass a livable minimum wage, falsely claim to be the party of the family, the following is one end result of their bottomless greed.  NPR reports:

"Dozens of families in Pennsylvania received an alarming letter from their public school district this month informing parents that if their kid's lunch debt was not settled, their child could be removed from their home and placed in foster care. Wyoming Valley West School District, one of the poorest districts in the state as measured by per-pupil spending, is located in a former coal mining community in Northeastern Pennsylvania, known affectionately by locals as "the valley." When officials there noticed that families owed the district around $22,000 in breakfast and lunch debt, they tried to get their money back. "By mail, email, robo calls, personal calls and letters," said Joseph Mazur, the president of the district's board of education. But, Mazur said, nothing worked."

When the bottom of the foodchain and middle class are not paid a livable wage due to bottomless greed, what do you expect?

"That's when district officials sent out the now-infamous letter to about 40 families deemed to be the worst offenders in having overdue cafeteria bills — those were children with a meal debt of $10 or more. "Your child has been sent to school every day without money and without a breakfast and/or lunch," said the letter signed by Joseph Muth, director of federal programs for the Wyoming Valley West School District. "This is a failure to provide your child with proper nutrition and you can be sent to Dependency Court for neglecting your child's right to food. If you are taken to Dependency court, the result may be your child being removed from your home and placed in foster care."

Jesus Christ.  Nazi America.

"Not all local officials endorsed the move. County officials criticized the threat of foster-care placement, pointing out that the foster-care system should be used only when children are abused or in danger, not as a weapon to collect money."

Wouldn't want to confuse the Aryan arrogant nazi element in our formerly great country with the truth, would we?

Consider the condescending, patronizing, Aryan arrogance of the president of the board of education:

"But in an interview with NPR on Sunday, Mazur defended the letter. "I think you have to pay your bills. I mean, I've been paying my bills all my life. So has everybody else. I mean sometimes you have to do without something for yourself if you want to raise your kids and see that they're taken care of," Mazur said."

Wake up, you self-righteous son of a bitch.  Who the hell are you to talk?  You got yours, now everyone else get theirs, right?  They're not paid a livable wage so pieces of shit like you can line your pockets, then haughtily preach about how better you are than the rest of the 'unwashed masses.'  Crock of shit.

Insult to injury?  Get this:

"The $22,000 owed is a fraction of the school district's $80 million annual budget, but Mazur said times are tough for Wyoming Valley West. "We are in the process of trying to save money wherever we can. We have laid off some employees. We have reduced some of our curriculum. And we're looking anywhere we can save," Mazur said. "I don't care if it's $1,000 or $20,000."

This is a problem all across our formerly great country.  Where is all the money going? Whose pockets are being lined?

"Mazur emphasized that despite some students not having enough money to afford breakfast and lunch, the school district still fed all children. "Every poor kid got a meal," Mazur said. "If the Board of Directors was mean and cruel they'd just honestly say, 'stop the lunches,' but we didn't."

Jesus Christ.  But you're willing to remove these kids from their impoverished families?  What a crock of self-righteous, pompous, condescending, patronizing crap.

"Bill Vinsko, a lawyer in Northeastern, Pa. who used to work in local government, said while the area's weak tax base does put a strain on schools, many households are also struggling to get by on low wage jobs. "And then they get a letter saying their kids might be taken away from them, it's petrifying for them," Vinsko said. "That is really scary for parents who are trying to work for the best interest of their kids." "Vinsko said not being able to pay for school cafeteria meals on a timely basis would likely not meet the state's legal definition of neglect, so a prosecution over a lunch bill would not be likely, "so it's just something that is going to exacerbate the situation," he said. Mazur, meanwhile, said while petrifying people was never the objective, the tactic did help recover some of what was owed."

What else did these families go without to pay the bill?  Food for dinner?  Health care?  Other necessities?

"Was the letter a little strong? Maybe yes," Mazur said. "But it did work, because they're paid now." Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania called that logic callous. "No child should have to imagine the horror of being ripped away from their parents because their family is struggling economically," Casey said."

In Nazi America, financial survival has become a zero-sum, winner-take-all ass-f--king.  Without the Vaseline.  Two extremes.  Top and bottom.  Quickly vanishing middle class.

Get this:

"Mazur said future letters dangling the possibility of parents losing custody of their children will not be sent out to households. Since the poverty level among students has risen in the district recently, new federal nutrition assistance is expected district-wide to cover meals for all students, regardless of their family's economic means. Mazur said that new support should stay in place for the next five years, and he is hoping the letter controversy will soon be put to rest. "I think this whole thing has just been blown out of proportion," Mazur said."

You need to resign in disgrace, you clueless piece of crap.  Unfit for office.  Too damned aggressively stupid.  Hopelessly, callous.  Aryan arrogant.

Subsequent to the above report, NPR now reports at least five charitable donors stepped forward and offered to pay the debt.  The school district refused to accept the offers.  Certainly, indicative the letter sent by the district to those who failed to pay their bills had nothing to do with the debt itself, but with sticking it to the impoverished.  Nazi America.

In a second update, NPR now reports:

"In an about-face, the Pennsylvania school district that threatened to place children in foster care over past-due cafeteria bills is now accepting donations following its initial rejection of those who offered help, a decision that left many observers puzzled. Wyoming Valley West, a financially struggling school district about three hours north of Philadelphia, was initially not interested in charitable contributions after the school district sent letters to dozens of families demanding lunch money payments. The district said the families faced the possibility of being taken to court over the custody of their children. But in a statement released Wednesday evening, the president of the school district's board, Joseph Mazur, apologized for the letter's "tone." "It wasn't the intention of the district to harm or inconvenience any of the families of our school district," Mazur said."

Pressure from the public must have been enormousAn encouraging example of Uncommon Valor by those willing to stand up to the Aryan arrogance of the Nazi Right.

"People who tried to contact school officials to donate the full $22,000 that was owed said they were bewildered that they weren't getting replies from the school district. Now, Mazur said the district will take money that has been offered. State Rep. Aaron Kaufer, whose state district includes the school district, visited the school district's central office in Kingston, Pa., on Wednesday and persuaded the school district's board members to welcome charitable gifts. Kaufer said there appeared to be some infighting among the board members about accepting outside money to cover the meal debt, but the precise reason for donors being ignored was not clear. "I don't understand either," said Kaufer in an interview with NPR. "Nobody likes to see this kind of black-eye story in their area, but I want to see this issue resolved. This is not why we want to see northeastern Pennsylvania in the news." The school district will take money to satisfy cafeteria debts through a foundation dedicated to providing financial assistance to the school district, officials said.

"County officials told NPR that at least five donors stepped forward willing to pay the students' debt. A prominent media figure was among those who expressed interested in donating. In addition, Todd Carmichael, the Philadelphia-based chief executive of coffee roaster company La Colombe, wanted to clear up the district's entire delinquent meal tab. Since last week's news of the letters triggered a national uproar, prompting condemnations from one of Pennsylvania's U.S. senators, the state's lieutenant governor and others, the school district has agreed to drop the foster care threat in the face of harsh criticism from officials who oversee the foster care system. And school officials said that because the poverty level among students in the former coal mining region has risen, new federal nutrition assistance is expected to cover meals for all students, regardless of their family's economic means. "All meals served to students were chosen by the students from our regular menu. No shaming occurred and no alternate meals were provided," Mazur said in the statement on Wednesday. "Please accept our sincere apology for any harm or inconvenience the letter caused."

ABC News reports:

"A Pennsylvania school district that threatened to have children placed in foster care if their parents' didn't pay outstanding lunch tabs has now accepted a businessman's offer to cover the cost after initially rejecting the offer. Joseph Muth, director of the Wyoming Valley West School District's federal programs, told ABC News last week that the warning letter was sent to dozens of parents, saying that the district was owed around $22,476 in lunch money. He described the letter as "over the top" and as a mistake, but suggested that the district would explore other options to get repaid. Todd Carmichael, the CEO and co-founder of La Colombe Coffee Roasters, which is headquartered in Philadelphia, said he offered to give the school district over $22,000 to settle students' massive lunch debt on Monday, after learning about a letter sent to parents earlier this month that threatened children could be "taken from your home and placed in foster care" if their tab wasn't paid. But the district's school board president, Joseph Mazur, initially refused the proposition in a telephone conversation on Monday, arguing that the lunch money is owed by parents who can afford to pay, according to Carmichael's spokesman Aren Platt. Mazur later changed his mind, saying in a statement Wednesday afternoon that the school district would like to "acknowledge" Carmichael's "generous offer." The school board decided to accept the donation after discussions with Wyoming Valley West Educational Foundation President Michael Plaksin and all members of the school board, Mazur said. The funds will be directed to the foundation to "eliminate the debt owed by parents." Mazur, on behalf of the school board, also "sincerely" apologized for the tone of the letter sent to parents regarding the lunch debt. "It wasn't the intention of the district to harm or inconvenience any of the families of our school district," he said. Mazur also thanked all of the concerned citizens who offered donations to whittle down the debt."

Here's the problem:

"More than 14% of people living within the school district are below the poverty line, about 10% higher than the overall number across the state of Pennsylvania, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. "I think it doesn't take a rocket scientist to put A and B together here to realize that these people are struggling," Carmichael said in an interview with ABC Philadelphia station WPVI on Tuesday night. "We're shaming people who are struggling, and that's immoral and that's just wrong."

No kidding.

Uncommon Valor:

"In a letter sent to local newspapers on Monday and later provided to ABC News, Carmichael said he felt he "had to do something" to help because he received free meals at school as a child when his mother struggled to make ends meet. "I know what it means to be hungry. I know what it means to feel shame for not being able to afford food," he wrote. "I worked with my team to reach out to the school district to let them know we were eager to donate the full amount outstanding." For the first time, the school district will qualify for the Community Eligibility Program, which will allow all students to receive free breakfast and lunch for the next five years, regardless of income, Mazur said. "No student was ever denied a meal for lack of payment," Mazur said. In his letter to local newspapers, Carmichael said the offer still stood and urged the school board president to reconsider. "Mr. Mazur, I am offering to pay this debt in full," he wrote. "By saying no, you are not just shaming families who elected you, but you are placing this burden on [Wyoming Valley West] taxpayers, and that is completely unfair."

Stood tall. Uncommon Valor.

"The school board did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment Wednesday. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania weighed in on Twitter, saying "these letters were callous and should never have happened." "Moving forward," Casey tweeted, "the School District has an obligation to find an appropriate way to collect these funds, instead of using threats."

Hopefully, the above resolves this outrageous fiasco.  If not, expect a follow up in this publication.  Clearly, the public hasn't gone completely Right Wing Nazi.  Stood tall when it had to.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-26-19

Think the courts aren't in bed with the Trump nazi?  The Washington Post reports:

"A federal judge temporarily blocked subpoenas from congressional Democrats for President Trump’s financial records after an appeals court weighed in on the issue. The appeals court in Washington intervened Friday in the legal battle between the lawmakers and Trump over whether the president’s private business violates the Constitution’s ban on gifts or payments from foreign governments. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sent the case back to the U.S. District Court judge handling the lawsuit proceedings for another look at how the untested separation-of-powers issues at stake affect whether the case should move ahead and, if so, at what pace. The lower-court judge, Emmet G. Sullivan, promptly issued an order putting the subpoenas on hold. He previously had said the congressional requests could proceed. The appeals-court ruling from Judges Patricia A. Millett, Cornelia T.L. Pillard and Robert Wilkins came in response to the president’s request to halt the lawsuit and block 37 subpoenas for information about his private financial records, including ones related to Trump Tower and his Mar-a-Lago Club in South Florida."

The Constitution is clear.  Why are they protecting the Trump nazi?  The bastard is shamelessly, unconstitutionally lining his pockets courtesy of domestic and foreign actors seeking favor.

The protection is brazen:

"The D.C. Circuit said the lower court had probably “abused its discretion” by not allowing the immediate appeal the president requested. Given the separation-of-powers issues in play, the appeals court said Sullivan had not adequately addressed whether “resolving the legal questions and/or postponing discovery would be preferable” before proceeding to discovery. All three appeals-court judges were nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama."

Stunning, isn't it?  Have to wonder how much they might have been bribed?  LOL.

"The case will now return to Sullivan for “immediate reconsideration” of the president’s request for a midstream appeal before the lawsuit is resolved. The president’s attorneys had cited the “exceptional circumstances.” If Sullivan signs off on that request, the case would go back to the D.C. Circuit for oral argument. Elizabeth Wydra of the nonprofit Constitutional Accountability Center, which is representing lawmakers, said that “this case presents questions that the courts haven’t previously been called upon to answer,” making the decision to bounce back the case to the lower court to reconsider understandable. But she said the courts must act quickly. The Justice Department declined to comment."

What could they say?  Got what they wanted.  No justice.  Been going on over two and a half years since Trump took office.  Needless to say, more on this as the saga continues.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-26-19

Trump sues.  To cover his ass.  CBS News reports:

"President Trump has filed a lawsuit against the House Ways and Means Committee and New York state officials in an attempt to keep them from getting their hands on his state tax returns. The president escalated the already contentious fight over his tax returns Tuesday, filing the lawsuit in federal court in Washington. New York State recently passed a law requiring state officials to release the president's state returns to congressional committees."

Here is the take of the Trump nazi and his henchmen:

"We have filed a lawsuit today in our ongoing efforts to end presidential harassment. The targeting of the president by the House Ways and Means Committee, the New York Attorney General, and a New York tax official violates Article 1 of the US Constitution," Jay Sekulow, counsel to the president, said in a statement. "The harassment tactics lack a legitimate legislative purpose. The actions taken by the House and New York officials are nothing more than political retribution."

What the House needs to do is launch an impeachment investigation.  Remains too gutless to do so.  Partisanship trumps principle.  Democrats are gutlessly afraid they won't be returned to office.  Pitiful.

"New York state has promised to fight the president's attempt to block any state efforts. "President Trump has spent his career hiding behind lawsuits, but, as New York's chief law enforcement officer, I can assure him that no one is above the law — not even the president of the United States," Attorney General Letitia James said. "The TRUST Act will shine a light on the president's finances and finally offer transparency to millions of Americans yearning to know the truth. We have all the confidence that this law is legal and we will vigorously defend it against any court challenge."

What took so long?

"The president filed the suit in his personal capacity. Mr. Trump said he'd release his tax returns while on the campaign trail but reversed course after taking office."

Trump is a congenital liar.  Cannot be trusted.

"The lawsuit is just one of many fronts the Trump White House is fighting, as Capitol Hill looks to shed light on the president's business affairs. The suit also comes one day before special counsel Robert Mueller testifies about his investigation on Capitol Hill."

The public is entitled to know whether or not their president is indeed a criminal.  Congressional oversight of the president is certainly a legitimate function of the Legislative Branch.  The Founders wisely intended all three branches of government to be a check and balance on the other.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-26-19

Think Texas Gov. Greg Abbott upholds the United States Constitution, particularly, the First Amendment Establishment Clause, that is, freedom from religion?  NBC News reports:

"Sitting amid several plastic fast-food cups, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the so-called Save Chick-fil-A bill into law on Thursday. “Today I signed the @ChickfilA law in Texas. And, had a great lunch,” Abbott wrote on Twitter. “No business should be discriminated against simply because its owners gave to a church or to the Salvation Army or to any other religious organization.”

Goes far beyond a charitable donation.  Blatant discrimination directed against the LGBTQ community.  The Governor is outrageously disingenuous.  Knew precisely what he was doing.

"The legislation, known as Senate Bill 1978, prohibits government entities from taking "adverse actions" against businesses or individuals because of their religious beliefs or moral convictions. But while proponents view the bill as a necessary measure ensuring religious freedom, critics say it's a thinly veiled attempt to undermine LGBTQ rights."

Expect anything less of a Republican national socialist, fascist, nazi?

Here's the issue:

"The bill — which has no official connection to Chick-fil-A — received its nickname after the San Antonio City Council banned the fast-food franchise from opening a location in the city's airport because of the company's "legacy of anti-LGBT behavior." Chick-fil-A has been under fire for its LGBTQ track record since 2012, when it was revealed that the company, through the charity of its founder, S. Truett Cathy, who died in 2014, donated nearly $2 million to groups that oppose same-sex marriage."

Not only is our governor a national socialist, he's clearly anti-LGBTQ.

"The Save Chick-fil-A law makes it clear in Texas: You don’t mess with Chick-fil-A, and you don’t mess with religious freedom,” Jonathan Saenz, president of the socially conservative Texas Values Action, said in a statement."

Take your head out of your ass.  What it clearly indicates is the fact the Governor and his supporters are more than willing to force their perverse religious views on the public via outrageously unconstitutional statutes cleverly designed to discriminate.

"Opponents of the bill, however, say the legislation could harm the state’s LGBTQ community and propel discrimination."

Clearly, the intention of the nazi element in our formerly great country.

"Senate Bill 1978 has one aim only: to undermine LGBTQ equality and promote anti-LGBTQ messages. This bill is nothing more than an anti-LGBTQ dog whistle,” Samantha Smoot, interim executive director of statewide LGBTQ group Equality Texas, said in a statement."

The unvarnished truth.  Determined abrogation of all civil and constitutional rights and liberties courtesy of nazis in the Republican Party.

... A raucous boot clicking, goose stepping, treasonous, treacherous, traitorous Seig Heil!, Governor?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-26-19

Assault on liberty never ends.  NBC News reports:

"A federal judge blocked three new abortion restrictions from taking effect Wednesday in Arkansas, including a measure that opponents say would likely force the state's only surgical abortion clinic to close. U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker granted a 14-day temporary restraining order shortly before midnight Tuesday. The 159-page order blocks the state from enforcing the new laws, including a measure prohibiting the procedure 18 weeks into a woman's pregnancy. They also included a requirement that doctors performing abortions be board-certified or board-eligible in obstetrics and gynecology. An official with a Little Rock clinic that performs surgical abortions says it has one physician who meets that requirement, but he only works there a few days every other month. Baker also blocked a law prohibiting doctors from performing an abortion if it's being sought because the fetus was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. The laws are being challenged by Little Rock Family Planning Services, the state's only surgical abortion clinic, and Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood only offers medication-induced abortions at its Arkansas facilities. Planned Parenthood earlier this month stopped providing medication-induced abortions at its Fayetteville facility while it looks for a new location, but is still providing the procedure at its Little Rock center. The challenge was filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by ACLU of Arkansas. Its spokeswoman, Holly Dickson, said ACLU attorneys were poring over the order and will have a statement later Wednesday. For now, "We are so relieved that these bans and restrictions have been temporarily blocked from taking effect. And we are determined to see them blocked for good," she said."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-26-19

LGBTQ community wins one.  NPR reports:

"A federal judge in North Carolina has approved a consent decree that enshrines the right of transgender individuals to use bathrooms that match their gender identities in North Carolina public buildings. The agreement was reached between senior state officials and the plaintiffs, led by a transgender man named Joaquin Carcaño. The judge said the parties agree that nothing in a controversial state law "can be construed by the Executive Branch Defendants to prevent transgender people from lawfully using public facilities in accordance with their gender identity." "After so many years of managing the anxiety of HB 2 and fighting so hard, I am relieved that we finally have a court order to protect transgender people from being punished under these laws," said Carcaño. The settlement also states that any outstanding legal claims against the state officials by the plaintiffs, including the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, are now dismissed."

This is also quite a victory for the Bill of Rights and those who believe in all civil and constitutional rights and liberties under vicious attack by the Aryan arrogant nazi element in our formerly great country.

"We are thrilled to obtain some clarity and relief for transgender North Carolinians who have been suffering under HB 2 and HB 142 for years. While this part of the court fight may be ending, so much urgent work remains as long as people who are LGBTQ are denied basic protections from violence and discrimination simply because of who they are," said Irena Como, acting legal director of the ACLU of North Carolina. Lawmakers passed the original "bathroom bill," HB 2, in 2016 under Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. It required that public agencies clearly indicate that multiple occupancy restrooms, showers and changing areas in their buildings must be used according to the sex listed on a person's birth certificate. The bill drew intense backlash. That included pullouts from major businesses that, according to an estimate from The Associated Press, could have cost the state some $3.76 billion over the course of 12 years."

The potential loss of business certainly was a factor in this ruling.  Forget?  Greed rules in Nazi America.

"In 2017, the newly elected Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper repealed major portions of it with a new bill, HB 142. However, as NPR has reported, the updated law remained controversial with rights advocates because it left state legislators in charge of policy on public restrooms. And like the preceding bill, it also blocked "local jurisdictions from passing anti-discrimination measures protecting LGBT people — but only until 2020, instead of indefinitely." Carcaño, the case's lead plaintiff, said it "remains devastating" that local jurisdictions can't implement such measures yet. "The fight for full justice will continue." The North Carolina General Assembly, which passed these bills, opposed the consent decree, according to a court filing. Cooper and several other senior state officials were in favor of the settlement, while the University of North Carolina and its president didn't take a position."

Be interesting to see where this all goes.  Stay tuned.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-19-19

Aryan arrogance of our hopelessly insane fuhrer, the Trump nazi, knows no bounds.  The following is beyond appalling.  The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump on Monday called on a group of minority, liberal congresswomen to “apologize” to the United States, Israel and him and accused them of “racist hatred” a day after he said in inflammatory tweets that they should “go back” to their countries. “When will the Radical Left Congresswomen apologize to our Country, the people of Israel and even to the Office of the President, for the foul language they have used, and the terrible things they have said,” Trump said in new tweets Monday. “So many people are angry at them & their horrible & disgusting actions!”

LOL.  Kettle calling the pot black.  They spoke the truth.  Unlike you, a congenital liar, Mr. 'President.'  Clearly, you've lost your mind, Mr. Trump.  Remain egregiously unfit for office.  Time for the House to initiate an impeachment investigation.

"He later criticized Democrats for coming to the defense of the congresswomen, who he claimed had shown “racist hatred” in their speech and are “very unpopular & unrepresentative.”

LOL.  Day is night, night is day, and shit smells perversely sweet in the world of the Trump nazi.  All ass backwards from reality.

"With his latest tweets, Trump dug in further on a line of attack that was widely condemned by Democrats as racist and employed a tactic he has used before: accusing his opponents of the same transgressions for which they have criticized him."

The mark of the patently insane, the totally morally bankrupt.

"Trump’s tweets appeared to target four outspoken freshmen lawmakers who have been feuding with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.): Democratic Reps. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (Minn.)."

These women have displayed Uncommon Valor exposing the Trump nazi for precisely whom and what he is.  A racist nazi.  Hat's off, ladies.

"All four have called for Trump’s impeachment — Tlaib has done so using profane language — and have been highly critical of his administration, notably denouncing conditions at federal detention facilities near the U.S.-Mexico border."

For damned good reason.  Trump is a traitor.  Has repeatedly abrogated his oath of office to uphold the United States Constitution.  As far as the use of profane language, tough shit.  Freedom of speech, the First Amendment, -- the Trump nazi has not been able to eviscerate.  Wake up.  Get a clue.  This piece of shit has used the very same language himself during campaign rallies.  What's truly profane is the embrace of nazism by the Trump nazi and his henchmen.  Ignorance of that fact by his supporters and fellow Republicans.

"Trump’s comments regarding Israel appeared to target Omar and Tlaib. Earlier this year, Omar apologized after she was widely accused of anti-Semitic speech for suggesting that supporters of Israel’s government have an “allegiance to a foreign country.”

She had nothing to apologize for.  Spoke the truth.  -- A truth, the Nazi Right in our formerly great country continues to deny.  That is, the Israeli aggressor has become remarkably reminiscent of Hitler in its treatment of the Palestinians.  A truth that's unbearable for the Extreme Right to hear.  These clueless fascist bastards falsely, disingenuously, ironically call it anti-Semitic.  Further proof positive day is night, night is day, and shit smells perversely sweet in the world of the Extreme Right.  All ass backwards from reality.

"Tlaib, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, has advocated what has been dubbed a “one-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Arguing that the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu effectively opposes a two-state solution of neighboring Israeli and Palestinian states, she has supported the transformation of Israel into a single, jointly governed Arab-Jewish nation. But the idea has little support among either Israelis or Palestinians."

Right or wrong, she is entitled to her opinion and the right to express it.

The following is truly obscene, the very definition of obscenity:

    "When will the Radical Left Congresswomen apologize to our Country, the people of Israel and even to the Office of the President, for the foul language they have used, and the terrible things they have said. So many people are angry at them & their horrible & disgusting actions!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 15, 2019"

They spoke the truth.  Unlike you, a congenital liar, Mr. 'President.'  They did so heroically.  At great personal risk.  Uncommon Valor.  True Americans.  Not nazis like you and your henchmen, Mr. Trump.

    "If Democrats want to unite around the foul language & racist hatred spewed from the mouths and actions of these very unpopular & unrepresentative Congresswomen, it will be interesting to see how it plays out. I can tell you that they have made Israel feel abandoned by the U.S.
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 15, 2019"

The hypocrisy?  Off the charts.  Readers are reminded this piece of shit uses the very same language during his campaign rallies.  Mr. Trump, you are the one who is a racist, a bigot who continually spews hatred against people of color.  Kettle calling the pot black.  A racist.  A bigot.  A nazi.  Fascism, nazism, national socialism defined as the pernicious blend of government, business, and religion. 'Justified' by perversion and bastardization of the latter.

"Republicans remained largely silent Monday morning about Trump’s tweets targeting the minority lawmakers."

Gutless fascists cowardly unwilling to stand up to the insanity of their fuhrer, the Trump nazi.

"Ocasio-Cortez went on Twitter to denounce Trump shortly after his latest posts. “It’s important to note that the President’s words yday, telling four American Congresswomen of color ‘go back to your own country,’ is hallmark language of white supremacists,” she wrote. “Trump feels comfortable leading the GOP into outright racism, and that should concern all Americans.”

Raw nazism.  Reminiscent of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini.

“So interesting to see ‘Progressive’ Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run,” Trump tweeted."

These women are all American citizens.  Elected members of Congress.  Have every right to criticize you, Mr. 'President.'  Called the First Amendment.  Can't withstand or tolerate the truth?  Tough shit.  Grow up.

Pernicious reincarnation of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini:

“Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” Trump added. “Then come back and show us how it is done.”

Here's the truth the Trump nazi cannot withstand:

"Pressley was born in Cincinnati, Tlaib was born in Detroit, and Ocasio-Cortez was born in New York. Omar was born in Mogadishu, Somalia; her family fled the country amid civil war when she was a child, and she became a U.S. citizen as a teenager."

Have to be United States citizens to serve in Congress.  Our fuhrer, the Trump nazi, doesn't know that?

"Pelosi subsequently described Trump’s tweets as racist and divisive. “When @realDonaldTrump tells four American Congresswomen to go back to their countries, he reaffirms his plan to ‘Make America Great Again’ has always been about making America white again,” she said in a tweet. “Our diversity is our strength and our unity is our power.” By Sunday evening, at least 90 House Democrats, plus Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.), had denounced Trump’s remarks, with more than half of them using the words “racist” or “racism” to describe his tweets."

That's exactly what they are.  Racist.

Incredibly galling?  Get this:

"The only Republican member of Congress to speak out against Trump on Sunday was Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.), who wrote on Twitter that “POTUS was wrong to say any American citizen, whether in Congress or not, has any ‘home’ besides the U.S.” “But I just as strongly believe noncitizens who abuse our immigration laws should be sent home immediately, & Reps who refuse to defend America should be sent home” in the next election, he added. A few other Republicans were critical of Trump’s tweets when asked about them on Monday. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), speaking Monday on the syndicated radio program “Michigan’s Big Show,” called Trump’s tweets Sunday “really uncalled for” and “very disappointing.” “We don’t respond to everything that’s out there,” he said when asked about the relative silence from GOP lawmakers. “But I would imagine, I would know, that a good number of my Republican colleagues don’t appreciate the comments as well. And actually if you look at the facts ... three of the four were born in this country, so it makes no sense.”

When will you gutless Republican nazis rein in your fuhrer?

"During a television appearance Monday morning, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) counseled Trump to focus on policy differences with the congresswomen rather than on them personally.“Aim higher. They are American citizens. They won an election. Take on their policies,” Graham said on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends.” During the interview, Graham called the congresswomen’s ideas “anti-Semitic” and “socialist” and said their agenda is “disgusting.” “We all know that AOC and this crowd are a bunch of communists,” Graham said, referring to Ocasio-Cortez. “They hate Israel. They hate our own country.”

Wake up, Lindsey.  You're out of touch with reality, to say nothing of the truth.  You sound remarkably like the John Birch Society Republican nazis of the 1950s, Senator.  An anachronism.

"On Sunday night, Trump tweeted that it was “sad” to see Democrats “sticking up for people who speak so badly of our Country and who, in addition, hate Israel with a true and unbridled passion.”

They speak the truth, Donny boy.  Unlike you.  You delusionally believe because they speak the truth vis a vis Israel they hate the Israelis?  They hate what the Israelis do to the Palestinians.  Wake up.  You distort reality and lie shamelessly to further your national socialist, fascist, nazi agenda.  That's the true obscenity, Mr. 'President.'  To say nothing of your abject lack of principles.

NPR reports:

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has been at odds with the four Congresswomen, came to their defense Sunday. She tweeted that when Trump "tells four American Congresswomen to go back to their countries, he reaffirms his plan to 'make America Great Again' has always been about making America white again." Pelosi added "Our diversity is our strength and our unity is our power."

When will you find some backbone, Madam Speaker, and launch an impeachment investigation in the House?

NPR reports:

"The quartet of progressive congresswomen shot back at the president. Ocasio-Cortez, who was born in the Bronx to parents of Puerto Rican descent, said: "You are angry because you can't conceive of an America that includes us." Pressley, who was born in Ohio and is black, responded: "THIS is what racism looks like." Omar replied to Trump by accusing him of "stoking white nationalism." And Tlaib said, "I am fighting corruption in OUR country." She added: "Detroit taught me how to fight for the communities you continue to degrade & attack." Tlaib was born in Detroit to Palestinian parents. In 2018, she and Omar became the first two Muslim women to ever be elected to Congress."

Racist nazism must be ferociously challenged rhetorically.  To not do so is gutless.  Hopelessly, un-American.  Right Wing Nazi.  ... Right, Mr. 'President?'

"Trump's decision to highlight the simmering tension inside the Democratic caucus appeared to have one clear effect: uniting the party in defense of the four freshman lawmakers. Pelosi said that with his tweets, Trump "reaffirms [that] his plan to 'Make America Great Again' has always been about making America white again," adding that Trump's "xenophobic comments" were intended to "divide our nation." Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, who is Hispanic, said that despite being born in the U.S., he used to hear "go back to Mexico" growing up, an insult that he encountered even as an adult, despite serving in the Marine Corps and winning a seat in Congress. "To people like Trump I will never be American enough. So if you wonder why I give no inch to these racists, now you know. Nothing will ever satisfy them, all we can do is stop them," Gallego said on Twitter."

Trump is an anachronism highly reminiscent of two of his most dangerous forebears, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini.

CBS News reports:

"A White House event quickly spiraled into chaos on Monday as President Trump launched into a defiant defense of his earlier tweets suggesting Democratic congresswomen of color should "go back" to their countries. As reporters shouted questions at an event that was ostensibly meant to showcase American-made products, Mr. Trump soon allowed the focus to turn to his explosive comments, at one point saying he is unconcerned by white nationalists championing his words."

Why would he be?  Forget?  He's a racist nazi.

"A reporter asked, "Does it concern you that many people saw that tweet as racist and that white nationalist groups are finding common cause with you on that point?" The president responded, "It doesn't concern me because many people agree with me. And all I'm saying, they want to leave, they can leave."

Don't like criticism, Mr. 'President?'  You leave.

"At Monday's event, the president repeatedly insisted that people who don't love America should leave, as reporters — positioned far from the president during the event — continued to lob questions. "If you're not happy in the U.S., if you're complaining all the time, very simply, you can leave. You can leave right now. Come back if you want, don't come back, it's OK too. But if you're not happy, you can leave," he said. The audience applauded many of the president's remarks."

Heard the same old nazi shit fifty years ago, -- America, Love It Or Leave It.  Horse shit back then.  Gutless horse shit to this very day.  Don't like criticism?  Don't want to hear the truth?  Leave the country, yourself, Mr. Trump.  Do so now.  What are you waiting for, Mr. 'President?'  You've traitorously, treasonously betrayed your falsely sworn oath of office to uphold the United States Constitution.  What does that make you, sir?

"When a reporter pointed out that many of the congresswomen the president appears to be criticizing were born in America and all are citizens, Mr. Trump responded that, "All they do is complain."

Tough shit.  They speak the truth.  Truth, nazis like you, Mr. 'President,' don't want to hear.

Time for Democrats to find some courage, launch an impeachment investigation.  Rein in this nazi abomination.  Tie him up legally defending himself in both the House and Senate the remainder of his term.

The Washington Post reports:

"Trump’s tweets targeted a group of liberal freshmen who have been feuding with Pelosi, including Reps. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (Minn.). All are U.S. citizens, and only Omar was born outside the United States. Trump said at the White House event that all four have been “complaining constantly” about the United States. “These are people that hate our country,” Trump said. “They hate our country. They hate it, I think, with a passion.”

Figuratively, remove your head from your ass, Mr. 'President.'  The four you criticize love this country.  Remain courageously willing to stand up against your embrace of nazism.  Challenge your repeated abrogation of your falsely sworn oath of office to uphold the Constitution.  These women are patriots, heroes.  Unlike you, Mr. Trump, they are the best of what our formerly great country has to offer.

"A House vote rebuking Trump’s tweets targeting the four lawmakers known as the “Squad” could unify a Democratic caucus that has been frayed by tensions between the group and Pelosi. And it would also put Republicans on record about Trump’s comments. Congressional Republicans were largely silent on Sunday after his initial tweets — with some fearful of chastising a president popular with the GOP base — although some began speaking out critically on Monday."

What are the Democrats waiting for?  Hell to freeze over?  Trump and his henchmen present an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.  Traitors.  Unabashed.  Clueless.

Think Trump is no nazi?  ABC News reports:

"Coming to the president's defense is Andrew Anglin, founder of the neo-Nazi news site The Daily Stormer. "This is the kind of WHITE NATIONALISM we elected him for," Anglin said. "This is what elected Trump and this is what will always be the best way for him to gain support," he added."

... A raucous, boot clicking, goose stepping, treasonous, treacherous, traitorous Seig Heil!, Mr. 'President?'

The Washington Post reports:

"As the House of Representatives prepared to vote on a resolution condemning President Trump’s racist tweets about four minority lawmakers, he lashed out at the freshman Democrats again on Tuesday and questioned why Congress was not rebuking them instead."

Very simple answer, Mr. 'President.'  These women stood up to a racist nazi now disgracefully occupying the Oval Office.  An example of Uncommon Valor displayed by these exceptionally patriotic women.  When good men and women gutlessly fail to stand up to great evil, they're no longer good.  No longer men.  No longer women.  These four women are the very best this country has to offer.  Run circles around our traitorous, treacherous, treasonous, racist nazi currently occupying the Oval Office.

Trump remains delusional:

"In a string of tweets throughout the morning, Trump also insisted his tweets were not racist — “I don’t have a Racist bone in my body!” he wrote — and urged fellow Republicans not to fall into a “trap” by voting Tuesday night on the Democratic-backed resolution."

Your continual tweets and other racist, bigoted rhetoric scream otherwise.

“The Democrat Congresswomen have been spewing some of the most vile, hateful, and disgusting things ever said by a politician in the House or Senate, & yet they get a free pass and a big embrace from the Democrat Party,” Trump wrote on Twitter, listing several grievances about the lawmakers. “Why isn’t the House voting to rebuke the filthy and hate laced things they have said? Because they are the Radical Left, and the Democrats are afraid to take them on. Sad!”

They spoke the unvarnished truth.  Unlike the racist, congenital liar currently occupying the Oval Office, Mr. 'President.'

"His tweets marked the third day in a row of attacks on the lawmakers — a series that began Sunday with tweets in which the president said the four Democrats should “go back” to “the crime infested places from which they came.” Three of the lawmakers were born in the United States, and the fourth is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Somalia. Trump has not spelled out what specific comments from the congresswomen that he finds objectionable, and the White House has declined to provide more details."

For one reason and one reason only.  There are none.  Trump is psychotically talking out his ass.  Unfit for office.

"The resolution scheduled for a vote Tuesday night “strongly condemns President Donald Trump’s racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color.” With his tweets Tuesday, Trump made clear that he doesn’t want Republicans to support the resolution. Doing so, he said, would “show ‘weakness.’”

Nonsense.  Quite the opposite.  What it would show is anyone voting for it is indeed principled.  -- Something nearly unheard of in Congress recently.

"At a news conference, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he would vote against the resolution and encourage other Republicans to vote against it as well. McCarthy said he did not consider Trump’s tweets to be racist."

To the nazi element in our formerly great country, day is night, night is day, and shit smells perversely sweet.  All ass backwards from reality:

“I believe this is about ideology,” he said. “It’s about socialism versus freedom.”

It's about socialism, all right.  National socialism, you clueless nazi fool. Fascism, nazism, national socialism defined as the pernicious blend of government, business, and religion. 'Justified' by perversion and bastardization of the latter.

"The four Democrats — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) — held a news conference Monday in which they described themselves as part of a nation of tolerance that offers opportunity to people like themselves. Pressley was born in Cincinnati, Tlaib was born in Detroit and Ocasio-Cortez was born in New York. Omar was born in Mogadishu, Somalia; her family fled the country amid civil war when she was a child, and she became a U.S. citizen as a teenager."

Clincher?  Coup de grace?  Get this:

"Ocasio-Cortez echoed the tone of the news conference Tuesday morning in which she said Trump had “decided he does not want to be President of the United States.” “He does not want to be a President to those who disagree,” she said. “And he’d rather see most Americans leave than handle our nation’s enshrined tradition of dissent. But we don’t leave the things we love.”

Here, here.  Hat's off.  Let it rip.  ... Can't withstand dissent, Mr. 'President?'  Do what's honorable.  Resign in disgrace.

"Several Democratic lawmakers said Tuesday that while they supported the resolution backed by House leaders, they were interested in a more forceful response — such as a censure resolution introduced by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and supported by the four liberal freshmen. “I think there’s going to be a number of responses, and frankly I think what the president did was so egregious I think all of the responses are good,” said Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. “So we’ll see what happens.”

Democrats need to find some desperately lacking backbone.  Call for an impeachment investigation.

    "The Democrat Congresswomen have been spewing some of the most vile, hateful, and disgusting things ever said by a politician in the House or Senate, & yet they get a free pass and a big embrace from the Democrat Party. Horrible anti-Israel, anti-USA, pro-terrorist & public.....
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2019

    .....shouting of the F...word, among many other terrible things, and the petrified Dems run for the hills. Why isn’t the House voting to rebuke the filthy and hate laced things they have said? Because they are the Radical Left, and the Democrats are afraid to take them on. Sad!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2019

In his latest tweets, Trump accused the four lawmakers of being “Horrible anti-Israel, anti-USA, pro-terrorist” and took issue with the “public shouting of the F ... word, among many other terrible things.” All four lawmakers have called for Trump’s impeachment, and Tlaib has done so using profane language."

Good for her.  Let it rip.  Here's the clincher, height of hypocrisy displayed by the Trump nazi:

"Trump frequently used profanity at his campaign rallies, including one in Portsmouth, N.H., in February 2016 when he said that companies that have relocated overseas for more favorable tax rates can “go f--- themselves.”

How about that?  LOL.  Kettle calling the pot black.  What a piece of clueless shit.  LOL.

CBS News reports:

"President Trump has refused to walk back his racist tweets targeting a group of Democratic congresswomen of color in part because he believes his supporters will stand by him. CBS News' Ed O'Keefe spoke to a number of Trump supporters on Monday who say they do. "I know some people don't like his tweets and they think he's crass. I -- that's why I voted for him," said retired businesswoman Mary Lou Kohlhofer.   Another supporter, Doug Thomas, said, "It's unfortunate he had to do it the way he had to do it… It's really the only way he can to get this country back." Nancy Schneider even went so far as to echo the sentiment in President Trump's tweets, saying, "If you think you have it better in your -- where you came from or how they did things there, go back where you came from."

Raw nazism.  Worst, yet to come.  Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini reincarnated.  Hundreds of thousands of our best and brightest gave their lives fighting this cancer three quarters of a century ago.  Now, this very same great evil is in the process of being resurrected  in Nazi America.  Who would have thought that possible?

NPR reports:

"The House of Representatives approved a resolution Tuesday evening condemning the president for a series of racist tweets about four Democratic lawmakers. The vote was mostly along party lines, as the House split 240-187, with four Republicans supporting the nonbinding measure. Republican Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Susan Brooks of Indiana and Will Hurd of Texas joined with Democrats to rebuke the president, as did Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, who recently left the Republican Party to become an independent."

One thing for sure, there are four principled Republicans and one principled former Republican now Independent.

"The House was paralyzed for a substantial portion of the afternoon over legislative procedure. Republicans sought a ruling on the question: Does calling the president's tweets "racist" violate the rules of decorum established in the House? So an already heated debate turned to farce as the House voted on whether to sanction House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for characterizing the president's remarks as "racist," as part of a debate on a resolution that also calls the president's remarks "racist." At issue was the phrasing of Pelosi as she spoke in favor of the resolution. "Every single member of this institution, Democratic and Republican, should join us in condemning the president's racist tweets," she said. "To do anything less would be a shocking rejection of our values and a shameful abdication of our oath of office to protect the American people."

Amazing, isn't it?  Pelosi finally found some modicum of courage to take on our fuhrer, the Trump nazi.

"As House staff and lawmakers huddled to sort out what to do and expected a decision, the presiding chair of the House, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., unexpectedly dropped his gavel and declared that he was "abandoning the chair." Majority Leader Steny Hoyer later delivered the ruling that Pelosi's words were not in order, but Democrats defeated a vote to strike them from the official congressional record. Both the attempted sanctioning of the speaker of the House and Cleaver's decision to walk off the floor and leave the House without a presiding officer are highly unusual developments in the House. The resolution states that the House "strongly condemns President Donald Trump's racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color."

ABC News reports:

"Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, introduced articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening, a move that could force the House to take up the controversial subject later this week over the opposition of Democratic leaders. Green, who has pushed to impeach Trump since 2017, and unsuccessfully pushed the House to vote on impeachment multiple times in the last session of Congress, introduced the measure after the House voted to condemn Trump's Twitter attacks against four Democratic congresswomen of color. Nearly 60 Democrats backed an earlier version of Green's measure in December 2017, which was successfully killed by Republican leaders at the time. The White House declined to comment. The Texas Democrat said the effort was prompted by Trump's tweets over the weekend, as well as previous statements from the president about immigrants and in the wake of the violence in Charlottesville after a white supremacist rally in 2017. "I believe we must check him now or we might find somebody harmed," Green said on MSNBC Tuesday evening. Trump, Green said Tuesday, reading from his impeachment resolution, "has, by his statements, brought the high office of the president of the United States in contempt, ridicule, disgrace and disrepute." Because the resolution is privileged, Green could force a vote on the floor within two legislative days. Democratic leaders could decide to take up the articles of impeachment, table the measure indefinitely, or refer the matter to the House Judiciary Committee."

NBC News reports:

"The House will vote on Wednesday on a resolution to impeach President Donald Trump, marking the first time the Democrat-controlled chamber has weighed in on the divisive issue. It's unclear whether the House will vote to send the resolution to committee, to table it — effectively killing the measure — or vote to proceed forward with it. In addition, the House will vote Wednesday to hold U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in criminal contempt of Congress for withholding information about the administration's failed bid to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. The House scheduled the vote after Barr and Ross withheld documents that had been subpoenaed by the Oversight and Reform Committee as part of its probe into origins of the now-scuttled citizenship question. On impeachment, Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, forced the vote by reading the articles of impeachment on Tuesday night; he told reporters a vote will happen Wednesday afternoon. A Democratic leadership aide confirmed to NBC News the vote would occur.

"More than 80 members of the House have called for opening an impeachment inquiry, but some Democratic leaders have resisted, fearing that it would distract from the party's policy agenda, could rally Trump's base, isn't popular with the public and is doomed to fail in the Republican-controlled Senate."

An impeachment inquiry would slow the Trump nazi and his henchmen down. Force them to concentrate on legally defending themselves rather than imposing their brand of national socialism, fascism, nazism on our formerly great country.

NBC News reports:

"The House voted on Wednesday to table a resolution from Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, to impeach President Donald Trump over racist comments he made about four congresswomen of color, effectively killing the measure. The vote — 332 to 95, with one lawmaker voting "present" — marked the first time the Democratic-controlled chamber has weighed in on impeachment, an issue that has created a widening schism within the party. Progressive newcomers and several 2020 candidates have pushed for impeachment proceedings, but the House leadership, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has been resistant. All Republicans joined with 137 Democrats and the lone independent, Justin Amash, to table the resolution. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., voted against killing the resolution, which his spokesperson said was because he believed the House should have sent it to the Judiciary Committee for consideration. Pelosi, D-Calif., said Wednesday morning that she does not support the resolution.

"In addition, the House will vote Wednesday to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in criminal contempt of Congress for withholding information about the administration's failed bid to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.The House scheduled the vote after Barr and Ross withheld documents that had been subpoenaed by the Oversight and Reform Committee as part of its probe into origins of the now-scuttled citizenship question."

The House voted in favor of criminal contempt.

NBC News reports:

"A fired-up crowd shouted its approval of President Donald Trump’s attacks on Somali-born Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and three of her colleagues Wednesday by chanting “Send her back!” Trump, emboldened by the House’s sound rejection of an effort to impeach him over racist commentary about the lawmakers just hours earlier, triggered the chant at his re-election rally in Greenville, North Carolina, by resuming his rhetorical assault on Omar, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass."

Raw racist nazism.  Unbecoming a 'president' of the United States.  ... A raucous boot clicking, goose stepping, treasonous, treacherous, traitorous Seig Heil!, Mr. 'President?'

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-19-19

Trump is growing increasingly despondent, unhinged as the walls figuratively close in.  The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump assailed Facebook, Google and Twitter on Thursday for exhibiting “terrible bias” and silencing his supporters at a White House “social media summit” that critics chastised for giving a prominent stage to some of the internet’s most controversial, incendiary voices. For Trump, the conference represented his highest profile broadside yet against Silicon Valley after months of accusations that tech giants censor conservative users and websites. In doing so, the president also sought to rally his widely followed online allies, whom he described as “journalists and influencers” that together can reach roughly half a billion people, entering the 2020 presidential election. “Some of you are extraordinary. The crap you think of is unbelievable,” Trump said. Trump delivered his winding diatribe against Facebook, Google and Twitter — charges of political bias that all three companies long have denied — at an event at the White House featuring Republican lawmakers, GOP campaign strategists and social-media meme makers, a move that led some critics to express dismay that the president actually aimed to use the policy summit as a re-election push."

So what else is new?  Despite all his pissing and moaning, Trump seems to spend more time on Twitter and Fox than he does running the country.

"But Democratic lawmakers and watchdog groups said they were most alarmed that Trump had invited supporters who have a history of targeting the president’s political opponents with inflammatory tweets, misleading videos and hard-to-debunk conspiracy theories. At one point, the president praised James O’Keefe, the founder of Project Veritas, which has released widely criticized, highly edited videos of his subjects. “Somebody said he’s controversial,” Trump said. “He’s truthful.”

Jesus Christ.  Day is night, night is day, and shit smells perversely sweet in the world of the national socialist, fascist, nazi element.   All ass backwards from reality.  The son of a bitch is a congenital liar just like you, Mr. 'President.'  Disgrace to himself and the country.  Just like you, sir.

"In response, critics fretted that Trump had essentially endorsed their controversial tactics in the early days of the 2020 presidential race.“ This has the appearance not of a social media summit but a political rally and call for the right,” said Democratic Sen. Mark Warner (Va.). “The fact that some of the most extreme voices on social media are coming to the White House, and they get a forum to complain about how often they’re retweeted, and that the actual platform companies aren’t even invited, smacks of the absurd.” The Southern Poverty Law Center, meanwhile, charged that the president is "essentially conducting a hate summit at the White House,” said Heidi Beirich, the director of the group’s work to track online extremism."

Why are the taxpayers looted to pay for what is no more than a campaign rally in the White House?

"And Trump threatened additional scrutiny to come, promising to bring big tech companies to Washington for an upcoming meeting while directing federal agencies to explore “all regulatory and legislative solutions to protect free speech.”

While Trump himself is eviscerating it.  LOL.  Hypocrisy?  Off the charts.

"Trump has not provided evidence for his allegations that the tech companies seek to undermine Republicans or U.S. elections, and some of the examples he’s cited to illustrate the industry’s bias have been debunked. For example, the president has accused Twitter of tampering with his follower count, a charge he repeated Thursday. The company long has said that users with large followings often experience fluctuations as it removes spam."

"Other attendees included Ali Alexander, who sent the initial, inflammatory tweet questioning whether Sen. Kamala D. Harris (Calif.), a Democratic presidential candidate, is actually an “American black,” and Jim Hoft, the Gateway Pundit founder who has long been faulted for spreading conspiracy theories online."

“It’s not surprising that one of the loudest disseminators of misinformation is inviting known extremists and conspiracy theory peddlers to the White House social media summit," said Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone, who leads the House’s top tech committee. "It’s a shame President Trump would prefer to fan the same fires of online social discord that Russia sparked in the 2016 election rather than bring real experts together to address the issue of content moderation in a thoughtful and rational manner.”

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-19-19

More of the same.  Symbolism over substance.  The Washington Post reports:

"Labor Secretary Alex Acosta resigned Friday amid intense scrutiny of his role as a U.S. attorney a decade ago in a deal with Jeffrey Epstein that allowed the financier to plead guilty to lesser offenses in a sex-crimes case. President Trump told reporters Friday morning that Acosta had decided to step aside. He called Acosta a “great labor secretary, not a good one” and a “tremendous talent.”

Certainly, lined the pockets of the business community at the expense of labor.  Did the Trump nazi's bidding.  Ensured workers would not receive a livable wage any time soon.

“This was him, not me,” Trump said of the resignation decision, as Acosta stood by his side. “I said to Alex, you don’t have to do this.” Acosta, the only Hispanic in Trump’s Cabinet, said he had submitted his resignation to take effect in a week."

Why wait a week, sir?  Why not do the public and labor a favor and depart immediately?  To say nothing of the women victimized by your egregious failure to hold Epstein fully accountable for his crimes.  Two levels of justice.  One for the top of the food chain.  The other for everyone else.

“I don’t think it is right and fair for this administration’s labor department to have Epstein as the focus rather than the incredible economy we have today,” Acosta said. “It would be selfish for me to stay in the position and continue talking about a case that is 12 years old.”

Jesus Christ.  How remarkably 'altruistic' of this incompetent former prosecutor and Trump shill.

NPR reports:

"House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings invited Acosta to testify on July 23 about the nonprosecution agreement. It wasn't immediately clear on Friday whether the Oversight Committee would continue to ask Acosta to appear if he is out of government then. Cummings and other House Democrats also sent a letter to the Office of Professional Responsibility at the Justice Department requesting a briefing about their investigation of the matter. "There are significant concerns with Secretary Acosta's actions in approving an extremely favorable deal for an alleged sexual predator while concealing the deal from the victims of Mr. Epstein's crimes, which a judge found violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act," the lawmakers wrote."

Time to hold this bastard accountable for what he did and didn't do.  Not simply give him a free pass because he resigned in disgrace.  What break did the women get who suffered at Epstein's hands?  Ferociously pointedly, why was he ever confirmed as Trump's Secretary of Labor?  By a bi-partisan vote.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-19-19

What's good for the gander is certainly good for the goose.  NPR reports:

"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is being sued by two people who say they criticized her on Twitter and were then blocked from her account, which has more than 4.7 million followers. The two federal lawsuits were filed Tuesday, the same day a federal appeals court in New York upheld a lower court ruling that President Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking critics on Twitter. The three-judge panel's unanimous ruling said that because Trump uses his Twitter account as a public forum, he cannot bar people who disagree with him from taking part in an open dialogue. The lawsuits against Ocasio-Cortez were filed by Dov Hikind, a former New York state assemblyman, and Joseph Saladino, a social media personality who goes by the name "Joey Salads" and is running for Congress. Saladino announced his lawsuit Tuesday on Twitter, saying, "Trump is not allowed to block people, will the standards apply equally? Stay tuned to find out!"

Most certainly, provided Ocasio-Cortez is determined by a court to have done precisely the same as the Trump nazi.  Equal justice.

"According to the court document he posted, Ocasio-Cortez blocked Saladino on May 9. Hikind's lawsuit states that he lost access to the freshman lawmaker's @AOC Twitter account on Monday, a day before the appeals court ruling on Trump's social media account. "It was spectacular timing, it was godly in a sense, and I say that tongue in cheek," Hikind told NPR by phone from Israel. He added, "I really don't think [the timing] matters, and since it happened, if she had courage, she would just do the right thing." Hikind said he was blocked after criticizing Ocasio-Cortez for equating migrant holding facilities at the U.S. southern border to concentration camps. Hikind accused her of blocking him "purely because of his speech in support of Jewish values and Israel."

Whether or not that is true will certainly be determined by the court.  Have you asked your fuhrer, the Trump nazi, why he blocked critics leading to the recent court decision against him?  Are you simply grandstanding to curry favor?  LOL.

"Ocasio-Cortez's office did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment."

Why not?  The response should have been quick, pointed, ferocious, and directly to the point.  ... If, in fact, she is not guilty of doing precisely what the Trump nazi did.  LOL.

"Saladino, who is running as a Republican for a congressional seat representing Staten Island and Brooklyn, has about 2.5 million subscribers on YouTube and 104,000 followers on Twitter. He said he wants to use his social media skills to help conservatives with messaging after he "suddenly realized his liberal friends were protecting the institutions and establishments that were hostile to Staten Island."

Think so?  Or, more of the same old national socialist, fascist, nazi bullshit now embraced by Republicans?  LOL.

"Some of his videos have spurred accusations of racism. He also discussed his sex life in a Twitter thread."

Jesus Christ.  Give me a break.  Couldn't be, could it?  Conservatives don't engage in such bullshit, do they?  Only nazis do.  LOL

"Some New York Democrats voiced their support for Ocasio-Cortez. "Blocking people on social media — esp as women, typically subjected to an avalanche of hateful and misogynistic speech online — is not a violation of their First Amendment rights," said state Sen. Julia Salazar, D-Brooklyn. "None of us have a constitutional right to use someone's Twitter to abuse them."

Jesus Christ.  Give me a break.  Ocasio-Cortez can more than handle herself and this kind of shit.  Give her some credit.  The answer to objectionable speech is outrageously simple.  More speech.  Precisely, what she should have done with these assholes, -- rather than block them, if in fact she did.  Again, that will be up to a court to determine.

"Hikind said his criticism of Ocasio-Cortez focused on policy and never veered into vile territory. "This is about every elected official," he told NPR. "Just because you don't like what someone is saying, just because you can't deal with someone's criticism of your policy, 'I'll be deaf and dumb,' that's hopefully going to be history all over the country."

Like it recently was with the Trump nazi.  ... Right, Mr. Hikind?  LOL.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-19-19

What took so long?  ABC News reports:

"President Donald Trump announced Thursday he is backing down from his effort to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census, and will instead take executive action that instructs the Commerce Department to obtain an estimate of U.S. citizenship through other means."

Could have done that from the very beginning.  Why didn't he?  LOL.

"I am hereby ordering every department and agency in the federal government to provide the Department of Commerce with all requested records regarding the number of citizens and noncitizens in our country," Trump said in a Rose Garden announcement on Thursday afternoon. "They must furnish all legally accessible records in their possession immediately. We will utilize these vast federal databases to gain a full, complete, and accurate count of the noncitizen population."

To what end?  A round up?  Into concentration camps?

"Attorney General William Barr later took the podium at the event to congratulate the president on the executive order, and indicated that it marks the end of the three separate ongoing court cases the administration is fighting in Maryland, California and New York over the administration's efforts to add the question to the census. "There is simply no way to litigate these issues and obtain relief from the current injunctions in time to implement any new decision without jeopardizing our ability to carry out the census," Barr said, after insisting that he believed the government's effort would have inevitably survived a legal review if brought back before the Supreme Court."

Think so?  Why are you grandstanding, Mr. Attorney General?  You and the Trump nazi got your clocks cleaned at the Supreme Court.  LOL.  The Court saw through the deception.  Challenged it.  You and your fuhrer lost.

"But Barr also suggested, near the close of his remarks, that the administration would explore ways to potentially use the information collected from agencies to advise the congressional redistricting process, a move that would almost certainly generate a legal challenge from the same groups that brought lawsuits over the citizenship question. "There is a current dispute over whether illegal aliens can be included for apportionment purposes," Barr said. "Depending on the resolution of that dispute, this data may possibly prove relevant."

The subsequent court fight would be horrendous and lengthy.  Especially, since your fuhrer, the Trump nazi, keeps reversing himself.  Can't make up his mind what he wants.

"Director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project Dale Ho, who argued the census case before the Supreme Court, celebrated the announcement in a statement Thursday evening. "Trump's attempt to weaponize the census ends not with a bang but a whimper," Ho said. "He lost in the Supreme Court, which saw through his lie about needing the question for the Voting Rights Act. It is clear he simply wanted to sow fear in immigrant communities and turbocharge Republican gerrymandering efforts by diluting the political influence of Latino communities."

NPR reports:

"The executive order marks the administration's latest effort to obtain the information despite a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that bars the administration from including the question on the 2020 census for now. In backing down from the legal fight, Trump appears to be doing what the Census Bureau encouraged over a year ago. Before Ross decided to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, the Census Bureau's acting director, Ron Jarmin, and other officials had tried to convince him to use existing government records about U.S. citizens and noncitizens. Some of the steps Trump outlined are already underway. The Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security, at Ross's direction, had already entered into agreements with the Census Bureau to provide the bureau with information on noncitizens."

If true, that's an egregious betrayal of trust.  Needs to be challenged in court.  Especially, in light of the following:

"Census Bureau research suggests including the question would have been highly likely to discourage an estimated 9 million people from taking part in the constitutionally mandated head count of every person living in the United States. Critics of the question worry that would have led to undercounts of immigrant groups and communities of color, especially among Latinx people. That could have had long-term impacts on how political representation and federal funding are shared in the U.S. through 2030. Census results determine each state's share of congressional seats and Electoral College votes for the next decade. They also guide how an estimated $880 billion a year in federal tax dollars is distributed for schools, roads and other public services in local communities."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-19-19

Think any member of the United States military should have to put up with the following?  NPR reports:

"Enoch Orona is unsure when he'll be dispatched for his third tour of duty. But the Navy sailor's greatest fear is not combat — it's returning home to find that his mom isn't there. Orona, 30, is paying close attention to the news, checking his phone often for any updates on immigration raids that President Trump announced could begin any day now. He can't help but imagine men with guns surrounding his parents' home in Virginia. "It would be like the world crashing down if I come back home to find out that my mother's been deported," Orona said. "She's been pretty much my support this entire time. She supported my dream of going into the military when I was younger. She supported me when I was on deployment when I called home." Orona, a Navy petty officer, hoped his military status would allow him to help protect his mother, who entered the country illegally 35 years ago. His lawyer told him he qualifies for a program designed to prevent the deportation of undocumented residents whose husbands, wives, sons or daughters are fighting overseas for the United States. As NPR first reported in June, the Trump administration is now looking to end or scale back the program as part of its crackdown on illegal immigration. Government lawyers have been told the program protecting family of active duty service members and veterans is "being terminated," which the families and lawmakers fear could harm military readiness."

The Trump nazi and his henchmen do not support the military.  They use and abuse it for crass political and ideological purposes.  Called treason.  Pure and simple.  No more complicated than that.  ... A raucous boot clicking, goose stepping, treasonous, treacherous, traitorous Seig Heil!, Mr. 'President?'

NBC News reports:

"Dozens of people formed a line outside Dewey Elementary School on a recent Monday, awaiting the arrival of a Feeding San Diego truck that gives out free groceries every other week. The vast majority weren't homeless or even newly unemployed. They're the husbands and wives of U.S. military service members. "I knew we wouldn't be wealthy, but I thought it would be a lot more manageable," said Desiree Mieir, a mother of four whose Navy husband's most recent deployment lasted almost eight months. Mieir can't afford cable and often leaves her home's air conditioning shut off to keep her utility bill down. "I didn't know I'd have to try this hard," she said. To make ends meet, Mieir and thousands of other military families around the country routinely rely on federal food assistance, charities or loans from family. Their struggles are caused by a variety of factors: the high cost of living in cities like San Diego, difficulty qualifying for federal food assistance, and a transient life that makes it challenging for spouses to build careers."

How about paying a livable wage?

"I think it is a national outrage," Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a former army helicopter pilot, said. "Can you imagine being deployed and you're in the Persian Gulf, or you're in Iraq right now, and you're worried whether or not your kids are able to have a meal?" "We should say if you come to the military, your kids are going to get a good education, you're going to get good housing, and your kids are going to be fed," she added. Duckworth and Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., have been working on a provision to the National Defense Authorization Act that would help raise the income of some service members whose basic pay is close to or below the poverty line. On a recent visit to the makeshift food pantry at Dewey Elementary, Melissa Carlisle, a mother of two whose husband serves in the military, picked up a bag of potatoes that she plans to spread out over three different meals and freeze the rest for later. "They have this military illusion that we're just rolling in dough, but we're not," Carlisle said. "...We're just really good with the little bit of money that we get." Almost everyone who gets groceries at the Feeding San Diego pantry at Dewey Elementary is military, and everything is free, so Carlisle and other military spouses start lining up early to fill their bags with fresh produce, snacks for the kids, and basic staples such as flour and bread. At a school where almost 80 percent of students are the children of active-duty military personnel and more than 70 percent are eligible for free and reduced lunches, the biweekly free groceries often make the difference between struggling to pay the bills or simply going hungry. When she's not getting free food from Feeding San Diego, Carlisle normally shops at the military commissary, which is tax-free, or at Ralph's, a grocery store in San Diego where purchases of food accrue points she can use on gas. "You don't need to decide, 'Do I need gas, or do I need food?'" But Carlisle said that even with help, just getting by is a constant worry. "I wouldn't say check to check, but pretty darn close. If you sneeze hard, a flat tire goes out, that's it," she said."

Report goes on and on.  Think Republicans and Democrats truly care about military personnel and their families?  Or, ferociously pointedly, more for the corporate management suite that lines their pockets at taxpayer expense vis a vis the defense budget?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-19-19

The raids are on.  ABC News reports:

"President Donald Trump confirmed Friday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would conduct weekend raids this Sunday to deport immigrants with outstanding orders to leave the country. Trump said the raids will target criminals, but immigration advocates say the agency is increasingly targeting families who have recently entered the country. The president did not not give a specific time for when the ICE operations would take place on Sunday. "There's nothing to be secret about. Can I tell you what? There's nothing to be secret about. ICE is law enforcement, they're great patriots. They have a tough job. Nothing to be secret about," Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday."

These bastards are jackbooted storm troopers highly reminiscent of Hitler's Third Reich.  They've consistently abrogated their falsely sworn oaths of office to uphold the United States Constitution.  They, and others like them in law enforcement, present an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

"If the word gets out, it gets out. Hundreds of people know about it. It's a major operation. So if the word gets out, it gets out. It starts on Sunday and they're going to take people out and they're going to bring them back to their countries or they're going to take criminals out, put them in prison, or put them in prison in the countries they came from. We're focused on criminals as much as we can before we do anything else," Trump said."

Our fuhrer, the Trump nazi, remains a congenital liar.

"A law enforcement official briefed on the operation told ABC News agents would target only undocumented immigrants with final removal orders, who would be arrested and in most cases deported.  The same official said the operation will not arrest so-called "collaterals," those people who happen to be with the targeted individual. The official described this operation as a consolidated effort of something ICE does all the time."

No foreign power, no terrorist organization, not even the criminal element in our formerly great country presents a greater threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties than all branches and levels of government.

"Major cities across the U.S. on Thursday were bracing for sweeping deportation raids this weekend, the second time in less than a month that Trump administration insiders have signaled roundups were imminent. Trump also brushed off criticism from mayors who are against the action, saying the criticism is only from sanctuary cities."

Nonsense.  Simply, untrue.  Trump is either lying or egregiously misinformed.  The following is beyond appalling.  It's laughable:

"The mayors in sanctuary cities, a mayor like de Blasio who's probably the worst mayor in the country. I don't know what his attitude is, nobody does, because he doesn't work very hard. Nobody knows what he does. But a guy like de Blasio probably wouldn't want the raid. Many mayors do. Most do. You know why? They don't want to have crime in their cities or states," he said."

Here's the truth Trump continues to ignore:

"When raids were reportedly planned last month, mayors of cities like Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Chicago pushed back, saying the city and local law enforcement would not cooperate with ICE. Mayor Lori Lightfoot in Chicago specifically directed the Chicago Police Department not to help ICE or allow them to access the department's databases. Mayor LaToya Cantrell and DHS confirmed there will be no immigration enforcement this weekend in New Orleans, where the city is bracing for dangerous flooding from tropical storm Barry. The raids were intended as a massive show of force against undocumented immigrants by President Donald Trump, who last month tipped his hand when he vowed on Twitter that "millions" would be deported."

Raw nazism.  Unbecoming the United States.

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said "there may be some possibilities for what we can do" but that it would take some time. She called targeting non-criminal families "heartless" and said it was up to Trump's supporters to press him to abandon his plan.

    "I'm going to appeal to people of faith, the faith-based organizations to appeal to the president ... they put him in office and they have a better voice for this," Nancy Pelosi tells @jparkabc when asked if she will appeal to Trump to put off ICE raids https://t.co/O1HyHo73DL pic.twitter.com/hDPJmLARQI
    — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 11, 2019

"I'm going to appeal to people of faith, the faith-based organizations to appeal to the president. ... They put him in office and they have a better voice for this," she told reporters."

The Speaker is reminded the nazi element has no true religious faith despite their phony claims to the contrary.  Readers are reminded Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini claimed to be Christians.  Think they were?

"The effort to deport individuals over failing to appear in immigration court is now being challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union. A lawsuit filed on Thursday by the ACLU argues that the government has continuously failed to properly inform individuals of their court dates -- an attempt to preempt the massive ICE raids that are reportedly expected to begin this weekend. The lawsuit, according to a statement from the New York Civil Liberties Union, "describes in detail, these refugees failed to appear because of massive bureaucratic errors and, in some cases, deliberate misdirection by immigration enforcement agencies." "The agencies' flagrant and widespread errors made it impossible for people to know when their hearings were being held," the statement continued. "The Trump administration's threats against immigrants run roughshod over basic fairness and due process," said New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman in a statement. "For the many families who came here as refugees fleeing violence, deportation is a death threat. We will fight to ensure no one faces this kind of peril without having their case considered in court." One undocumented woman who has lived in the U.S. for 20 years told ABC News, "How do I protect myself? Mainly one just stays locked inside one's home and tries to not leave unless it's completely necessary -- like to work, to buy food and just stay locked inside."  "That's mainly how I spend my time," the woman, who spoke to ABC News on the condition of anonymity, said in Spanish. "You don't want to venture out to do activities, why? Out of fear that the police will get you, investigate you, question you, there's a lot of fear, a lot of anxiety, a lot of uncertainty that one carries inside due to being unstable."

Nazi America.  De facto fascist police-state quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

"We're here today because the Trump administration is threatening our communities again," said Mony Ruiz-Velasco, president of the board for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "We are also here today because we will not allow that to happen and we are ready, we are ready to defend each other and defend our communities and we are organized." Senate Democrats on Thursday proposed legislation that they said would provide alternatives to migrant detention at the border. "Donald Trump and some of his right wing allies in media would have you believe these are all hardened criminals. They're not. They're simply seeking a better life for themselves and their children," said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y."

Readers are reminded our UNDOCUMENTED forebears arrived here centuries ago, STOLE this land from its native inhabitants, then BROKE every treaty ever signed.  The hypocrisy?  Well beyond appalling.  Right Wing Nazi.

NBC News reports:

"Immigration advocates and lawyers have ramped up efforts to combat widespread raids threatened by the Trump administration by sharing information with immigrant communities about their rights. The raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement scheduled to begin Sunday are set to target about 2,000 undocumented families in major cities across the United States, officials told NBC News. The raids were originally planned to take place three weeks ago but were postponed. Many advocacy groups and some Democratic lawmakers have responded by sharing information, both in person and on social media, to immigrants in multiple languages, informing them of their rights and what to expect should the raids be carried out. “People should understand that they have rights regardless of their immigration status,” Lee Gelernt, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, said. The material includes videos and social media toolkits covering what to do if an ICE agent shows up at their homes. “They do not need do let an ICE agent into their home unless there’s a judicial warrant and rarely does ICE have a judicial warrant,” Gelernt said, adding that ICE usually has its own administrative warrants."

Called nazi justice.  As repeatedly stated here and elsewhere, ICE 'courts' are not part of the Judiciary.  They remain under the thumb of the Trump nazi and his henchmen in the Executive Branch.  No due process.  None.  A sham.  A ruse.

“We’re very concerned about how the raids will be carried out,” he said, adding the ACLU was talking to other groups and private law firms about monitoring the raids “to make sure excessive force is not being used or they’re not being conducted unconstitutionally. Families could be separated.” The ACLU is also part of a pre-emptive lawsuit filed Thursday in New York in response to the planned raids. The lawsuit argued that “constitutional due process requires the government to bring these families and children before an immigration judge so they can have a fair day in court before they face deportation,” according to a statement from the New York Civil Liberties Union."

The problem is these immigration 'judges' are not independent from the Trump nazi and his henchmen.  No true due process.

"The lawsuit is asking for families ordered deported because they did not appear in court to be given a hearing before an immigration judge to determine if their order of removal should be rescinded. The suit said error and "widespread failures" in notifying families of their court dates could have contributed to their absence in court. Such errors include notices to appear in court sent to wrong addresses or receiving a notice just before a hearing or even after a hearing has taken place, the lawsuit said. “The Trump administration’s threats against immigrants run roughshod over basic fairness and due process,” Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in the statement. “For the many families who came here as refugees fleeing violence, deportation is a death threat. We will fight to ensure no one faces this kind of peril without having their case considered in court.” New York City Mayor and 2020 Democratic candidate Bill de Blasio said on MSNBC Thursday that he wanted “to get the truth out to people” regarding the potential raids. He said New Yorkers could call 311 to find out information about their rights. “We tell people their rights, we protect them,” he said, adding that the city also provides legal assistance to families who may be impacted by the raids."

Certainly, a step in the right direction to combat this growing nazism, egregious denial of due process.

“First it starts with trying to take away the fear and say we have your back, we’re going to give you real information,” he said. “Don’t believe the rumors, call a specific hotline, find out what’s really going on.” Melissa Chua, associate director of immigrant protection at the New York Legal Assistance Group, said the group was handing out informational flyers and will be targeting families with outstanding orders of removal, which will reportedly be targeted in the raids. “We’re reaching out to any families in the area that we know may be at risk,” she said. Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, which is hosting a town hall with Democratic presidential candidates in Milwaukee said Thursday the 90-year-old Latino civil rights group will have legal teams in place in various locations to help people who may be arrested in the raids. Meanwhile, other groups shared resources for lawyers looking to help immigrants who might be affected by the raids and lists of local raid response hotlines for the cities that may be targeted. The cities that were previously named as targets of the raids were Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York and San Francisco, but a source told NBC News that two of those cities may change.

"Meanwhile, prominent Democrats such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., have lambasted the planned raids and shared information from advocacy organizations about immigrant rights. Pelosi read from a “know your rights” flyer at her weekly press conference Thursday and said she was going to ask religious leaders to appeal to Trump to stop the raids. “Every person in America has rights,” she said. “These families are hardworking members of our communities in our country, this brutal action will terrorize children and tear families apart.”

Nazi America.  Trump's Fourth Reich.  The worst is yet to come.

While the raids were supposed to start Sunday, 7-14-19, Trump lied.  No evidence of any unusual ICE activity.  Fascinating, isn't it?

CBS News reports:

"The Trump administration on Monday moved to end asylum protections for most Central American migrants in a major escalation of the president's battle to tamp down the number of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. According to a new rule published in the Federal Register, asylum seekers who pass through another country first will be ineligible for asylum at the U.S. southern border. The rule, expected to go into effect on Tuesday, also applies to children who have crossed the border alone. The new rule will affect asylum seekers coming through Mexico from countries like Guatemala and El Salvador. There are some exceptions: If someone has been trafficked, if the country the migrant passed through did not sign one of the major international treaties that govern how refugees are managed (though most Western countries have signed them) or if an asylum-seeker sought protection in a country but was denied, then a migrant could still apply for U.S. asylum. But the move by President Trump's administration was meant to essentially end asylum protections as they now are on the southern border. Mr. Trump has long vented his frustrations with the U.S. asylum system, insisting Democrats need to change the laws.  The policy is almost certain to face a legal challenge, and shortly after the new rule was announced, the American Civil Liberties Union said it intends to sue. "The Trump administration is trying to unilaterally reverse our country's legal and moral commitment to protect those fleeing danger. This new rule is patently unlawful and we will sue swiftly," said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-19-19

Concentration camps.  Nazi America.  The Washington Post reports:

"When Vice President Pence visited a migrant detention center here Friday, he saw nearly 400 men crammed behind caged fences with not enough room for them all to lie down on the concrete ground. There were no mats or pillows for those who found the space to rest. A stench from body odor hung stale in the air. When reporters toured the facility before Pence, the men screamed that they’d been held there 40 days, some longer. They said they were hungry and wanted to brush their teeth. It was sweltering hot, but the only water was outside the fences and they needed to ask permission from the Border Patrol agents to drink."

Nazi America.  Welcome to Trump's Fourth Reich.

"Pence appeared to scrunch his nose when entering the facility, stayed for a moment and left. A few minutes earlier, from a bird’s eye room called “The Bubble,” he’d seen 382 men packed into cells, peering against the windows to get a view of him. Some appeared shirtless. The vice president toured two migrant holding facilities Friday with Republican senators in an effort to defend the administration’s handling of the migrant crisis following reports of inhumane conditions at the facilities. The first center he visited — in Donna, Tex. — while not homey or comfortable, was only two months old, cleaner and allowed Pence to paint a rosier picture of the treatment of migrants held in federal custody. He used the facility to decry Democrats for comparing such areas to “concentration camps.”

Like his fuhrer, the Trump nazi, Pence defends the indefensible.  Both men, a disgrace to themselves, their office, and the United States.  Both men, liars.

"At the second facility in McAllen, he instead described the conditions as the result of the migrant border crisis the administration has been warning about for months but demurred twice when asked if he was okay with the facility’s conditions. “I was not surprised by what I saw,” Pence said later at a news conference. “I knew we’d see a system that was overwhelmed.” He added: “This is tough stuff.”

The Trump nazi and his henchmen are directly responsible, currently.  This fiasco, however, dates back decades, involves both Democrats and Republicans.  Both parties were so paranoid about the failing system of communism, they supported Extreme Right regimes in Central and South America that brutalized their people.  Today, the chickens are finally coming home to roost.  The Pence nazi and Trump continue to make excuses for a problem these two pieces of shit are deliberately exacerbating for ideological purposes.  Both falsely claim to be Christians.  They're not.  They're nazis.

"The vice president’s office said it specifically instructed the Border Patrol agents not to clean up or sanitize the facility beyond what is routine so the American people could see the overcrowding and scarce resources, like lack of beds, and see how serious the crisis is at the border."

A fiasco Trump and his henchmen are directly responsible for exacerbating in a desperate attempt to promulgate their outrageously racist, national socialist, fascist agenda.  Raw nazism.

“That’s the overcrowding President Trump has been talking about. That’s the overwhelming of the system that some in Congress have said was a manufactured crisis,” Pence said during a news conference after visiting the second facility. “But now I think the American people can see this crisis is real.”

Jesus Christ.  It's you disingenuous, lying sons of bitches who don't seem to understand the public is on to your bullshit.  You are the problem, have been the problem.  So too, the Democrats.  They're too goddamned gutless to place principle ahead of partisanship, -- and start an impeachment investigation.  At least, slow down the Trump nazi for the rest of his term.  You fascist bastards deliberately manufactured this crisis.  Forget?  Religious groups were more than willing to care for these migrants, make sure they attended asylum hearings.  How can you so shamelessly lie, Mr. Vice President, yet claim to be a Christian?

"Pence’s comments were at odds with recent statements from Republicans, as well as Trump, who have accused Democrats who have visited similar facilities of exaggerating the poor conditions. Trump earlier Friday called recent media reports and comments from Democrats about poor conditions “phony.”

Jesus Christ.  Give me a break.  How do you argue with the truth?  The evidence right in front of your eyes?  To say nothing of reports by the Inspector General Department of Homeland Security.  Trump is a liar.

"And earlier this month, the president downplayed concerns about how migrants are being treated at the facilities. “Many of these illegals aliens are living far better now than where they came from, and in far safer conditions,” Trump wrote in a July 3 tweet."

At the very least, Trump has no clue what he's talking about.  At worst, a bold-faced liar.

"Pence said the rough conditions are why the administration recently requested and Congress approved $4.6 billion in aid for the border, and he accused Democrats of not supporting more funding for additional beds at facilities for migrants."

Wake up, Mr. Pence.  Your fuhrer would use those funds for the Wall and law enforcement, not humanitarian needs.

"He also defended the job being done by the employees at the detention centers. “I was deeply moved to see the care that our Customs and Border Protection personnel are providing,” Pence said. “Coming here, to this station, where single adults are held, I’ve equally been inspired by the efforts of Customs and Protection doing a tough job in a difficult environment.”

Like your fuhrer, the Trump nazi, you're a liar, Mr. Vice President.  All evidence from multiple sources screams otherwise.  What you claim is simply not true.

"After he toured the first facility, Pence described a much better situation than the one that has been relayed by Democrats and in news reports. He said Trump wanted him there with media cameras to see for themselves how people were being treated. “Every family I spoke to said they were being well cared for, and that’s different than some of the harsh rhetoric we hear from Capitol Hill,” Pence said. “Customs and Border Protection is doing its level best to provide compassionate care in a manner the American people would expect.”

All a lie.  Not true.  A ruse.  Both Pence and Trump are liars.  As Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini lied to their people, so do these two men.

"As Pence toured the facilities, a House committee was having a contentious, partisan debate back in Washington over how migrants have been treated. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) requested to be sworn in when appearing as a witness before the panel to show she was telling the truth when she retold a story about a migrant woman who said she had to drink water from the toilet because her sink broke." Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.) accused her of playing to her millions of Twitter followers. Some Democrats have described the detention centers as “concentration camps” and say the U.S. government is holding children in “cages.” Several children have died after crossing the border and being taken into federal custody. Pence said it was heartbreaking to hear from children who had walked two or three months to come to America and cross the border illegally, but he ultimately blamed Congress for failing to pass legislation that would deal with the influx of migrants at the southern border."

You're heartbroken, Mr. Pence?  Give me a break.  Your fuhrer and his henchmen are directly responsible.  Criminal jackbooted bastards in ICE and the Border Patrol highly reminiscent of Hitler's SS.  Neither party is worth a shit.  For totally different reasons.  Neither party serves the needs of the people.  Only itself.  ... Hear the rumble?  An unwanted, dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming.

NBC News reports:

"Vice President Mike Pence saw firsthand the extreme overcrowding migrants are often forced to endure at federal detention centers when he visited two Friday in Texas. Agents wore face masks, and video showed detainees packed into their holding areas surrounded by chain-link fence, the concrete floors littered with silver thermal blankets. Reporters accompanying Pence described the facility as smelling "horrendous." A group of men detained behind chain link fencing shouted to news cameras, "No shower, no shower!" Pence said afterward that what he saw was evidence of a "system that was overwhelmed." The experience did not appear to temper a statement he made earlier in the day that reports of mistreatment, filthy conditions and lack of basic necessities were "slanderous." The vice president, flanked by Sen. Lindsey Graham. R-S.C., and officials from the Department of Homeland Security, repeated the words, "the crisis is real," in referring to illegal border crossings and legal asylum claims at the border. "But what’s not real," he said, "is the slanderous allegations of heartless mistreatment by Customs and Border Protection. I can see it in your eyes, I can hear it in your voice, about the care and concern."

You're an idiot, Senator.  Out to lunch.  So blinded by partisanship you ignore the fact this is no more than the beginning of Trump's Fourth Reich.

"I couldn't be more impressed with the compassionate work that our Customs and Border Protection are doing here at this border facility," Pence said."

You're an idiot, Mr. Vice President.  Like your fuhrer, the Trump nazi, you're egregiously unfit for office.  An embarrassment to yourself, and the country you and your fuhrer clearly don't serve.

"He said President Donald Trump sent him so "the American people could see what's happening here." A reporter on the tour was not allowed to speak to children or adults being held."

You're no more than a liar, Mr. Vice President.  ... Just like your fuhrer, the Trump nazi.  A shill.

All a sham.  A ruse.

"It's time we moved past the harsh rhetoric of the American left," Pence said at the roundtable held in McAllen."

Jesus Christ.  Wake up.  Called the truth, Mr. Pence.  What Left, Mr. Vice President?  The Democrats have placed partisanship ahead of principle.  Gutlessly, won't start an impeachment investigation of your fuhrer, the Trump nazi.  What are you complaining about?  Cowardly Democrats won't take action in the House.

"Hope Frye, a San Francisco immigration attorney who said she has toured all the federal migrant facilities in the Rio Grande Valley, was adamant that conditions have been deplorable. "The idea that this is false or exaggerated is really offensive to me," she said. "It’s like saying migrants' voices are untrue. It all paints the same picture — depraved indifference to the safety and welfare of children who come to us and are put in our care." In May, the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General wrote an internal report stating that conditions were so bad at an El Paso, Texas, border facility, where about half the migrants in custody were sleeping outdoors, that agents there feared possible rioting.

The traitorous, treasonous nazi element in our formerly great country cannot, will not be confused by the truth:

"South Carolina Republican Graham called U.S. Border Patrol agents "every bit" the patriot that U.S. soldiers fighting overseas are. "I don't know what we pay you," he said, "but it's not enough."

Senator, you're hopelessly aggressively stupid and/or have lost your mind.  Unfit for office.  Blinded by partisanship:

"Like Pence, he laid overcrowded conditions at detention facilities, filled in part with families fleeing poverty and gang violence in Central America, at the feet of congressional Democrats."

Jesus Christ.  Give me a break.  Both parties created this problem decades ago.  By supporting abusive, murderous Extreme Right regimes in Central and South America due to our unfounded paranoia about the failing system of communism.

Gets worse.  More delusional:

"The problem we have here can be fixed, literally overnight," Graham said."

That's insane, Senator.  Ignores reality:

"He sought support for his own legislation that seeks to force asylum seekers to apply for American safe harbor at home, immediately deport unaccompanied minors and increase detention time for migrant children."

Clearly, won't stop them from coming since it does absolutely nothing to address the problems leading to this migration in the first place.   Then again, the Senator is too damned stupid or hopelessly insane to understand this.

NPR reports:

"A House panel heard at times emotional testimony about conditions at facilities run by the Department of Homeland Security. The hearing of the House oversight committee grew heated as Democrats and Republicans on the panel argued over who bore responsibility for the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions at detention centers on the southern border."

The only solution is to start an impeachment investigation.  Democrats are too damned partisan and gutless to do so, fearing retaliation, retribution at the polls.  While our fuhrer would never be convicted in the nazi Senate, would tie Trump up the rest of his term.  Certainly, a step in the right direction.  Would slow the fascist bastard down.

"Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., disputed charges that some of those being held at a Border Patrol facility in Texas were forced to drink water from toilets. "Please, American public," Lesko said, "there is no one asking people to drink out of toilets." She referred to a video from the Arizona Border Patrol showing an agent touring a facility and drinking water from a sink above a toilet unit. But Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who made that accusation in a news conference after visiting a Texas CBP facility earlier this month, stood by her claim. After taking the unusual step of asking to be sworn in before testifying — something not required of the lawmakers — Ocasio-Cortez said when some of the women being held at the facility said they were told to drink from a toilet because the sink was broken, "I believe these women."

If Ocasio-Cortez lies under oath, prosecute her.  If she's telling the truth, time for Republican nazis to wake up.

"Ocasio-Cortez said there were American flags hanging at all of these facilities. "That children being separated from their parents in front of an American flag, that women were being called these names under an American flag," she said. "We cannot allow for this."

It's called nazism.  Trump's Fourth Reich.

"The panel also heard testimony from the Department of Homeland Security's acting inspector general, Jennifer Costello, whose office found "serious overcrowding and prolonged detention in Border Patrol facilities requiring immediate attention." The findings are detailed in a report released earlier this month."

Yet, Republican nazis refuse to be confused by the truth.  Democrats too goddamned gutless and partisan to launch an impeachment investigation.

"The committee released its own report on Friday, charging the Trump administration's child separation policy is "more harmful, traumatic, and chaotic than previously known."

Give me a break.  Why are you sugarcoating the truth?

"The Director of Columbia Law School's Immigrants' Rights Clinic Elora Mukherjee spoke about the dozens of detained children whom she and her colleagues interviewed in June at the Clint Border Patrol facility in Texas. "I was and I remain shaken to my core by what I witnessed at Clint," said Mukherjee, who has been working with detained families and children on the southern border for 12 years."

Yet, Democrats in the House won't hold the Trump nazi accountable.  In direct violation of their oaths of office to uphold the United States Constitution.

Yet, there are people directly responsible for this crisis that remain too damned blind to see and understand the obvious:

"Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting Director Thomas Homan told the panel, "The biggest problem involves the unwillingness of Congress to address the loopholes that are causing this crisis." He said calls for action have been met by deaf ears. "It's about [an] open borders agenda, resisting our president — more interest in that than securing our border," he said."

No, it's not.  It's about the abysmal failure of both major political parties to correct ongoing problems created decades ago by our support of abusive, murderous Extreme Right regimes due to our unfounded paranoia of the failing system of communism.  Until that happens, migration will continue unabated.

"Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., said, "There is no excuse for how we are treating children. Is there no limit to what you will justify in this administration when it comes to the mistreatment of our fellow human beings?"

Yet, like Hitler and Mussolini, Trump and his henchmen falsely claim to be Christians.  They're not.  They're nazis.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-19-19

House ratchets up the pressure.  The Washington Post reports:

"The House voted Friday to prevent President Trump from launching into war with Iran without getting Congress’ approval first, after more than two dozen Republicans joined Democrats to include the provision in the House’s annual defense authorization bill."

How about that?  Amazing, isn't it?  The Constitution is abundantly clear.  Congress declares war.  Not the president.

"The move sets up a likely showdown with the Senate over whether the Iran restriction, which includes an exception for cases of self-defense, will be included in the final bill negotiated between the two chambers. The House voted 220 to 197 Friday to pass its version of the annual defense bill, despite Trump’s threat to veto the legislation."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-19-19

The Aryan arrogance within the Nazi Right knows no bounds.  The following quotes are courtesy of Monica Hesse, a most gifted, insightful writer at The Washington Post:

"It’s charitable to first assume our fellow humans are acting in good faith, so let’s first assume that Robert Foster genuinely believes he is the hero of this story. Let’s assume that when the Mississippi gubernatorial candidate denied a female journalist access to his campaign because she is female, he truly saw himself as a bulwark against moral decay. This doesn’t make him right, of course, but it does give context to the problem — albeit a context that should terrify us all."

Indeed.  No kidding.  At first blush, certainly illustrates the Aryan arrogance and outright haughtiness of the Nazi Right.  Elicits an immediate reaction, -- don't flatter yourself, fool.

"Larrison Campbell, a female reporter with Mississippi Today, revealed this week that she had asked to shadow Foster for a day on the campaign trail. Two of her colleagues were already following other contenders, but Foster turned down Campbell’s request — unless, that is, she brought along a male colleague. The reason? He obeys the “Billy Graham rule,” refusing to be alone with any woman other than his wife, or, as he put it, “avoid any decision that may evoke suspicion or compromise of our marriage.”

Jesus Christ.  Give me a break.  Insult to injury?  Does this jackass delusionally believe he's in the class of Billy Graham?  LOL.

"Criticism followed, and Foster bristled at it: “The liberal left ... can’t believe, that even in 2019, someone still values their relationship with their wife and upholds their Christian Faith,” he tweeted."

Take your head out of your ass, Mr. Foster.  You're an embarrassment to the male half of the species.  Ladies?  Not all men are that stupid, full of themselves, self-righteous, Aryan arrogant.

"But unfortunately, there’s not a single inch of moral high ground achieved via the Billy Graham rule, which purports to honor marriage vows. In similar fashion, Vice President Pence once said he would not dine alone with a woman to whom he wasn’t married. But rules like these don’t honor your wife. They just presume that your marriage vows are so flimsy that you can’t be trusted to uphold them unless a babysitter monitors you. It’s rather like a thief sanctimoniously announcing that he brings a parole officer every time he goes to the bank to make sure he doesn’t rob it. Good for you, dude, for knowing your own limitations — but it doesn’t make you better than the rest of us, who manage to regularly not steal things even when we’re completely alone."

LOL.  The above is precisely the kind of brilliant rhetoric desperately needed to effectively combat the distortion of reality by these hypocritical, phony pieces of human excrement on the Right who insist on forcing their outrageously perverse ideological and religious views on the rest of us by statute.  You don't muzzle bullshit like that.  You verbally combat it.

"Or, as writer Jeremy White offered: “[The rule] presumes either: A) you can’t be trusted or B) women can’t be trusted. Everyone invoking that rule should be prepared to answer which is true.”

LOL.  No shit.  LOL.

"At other points, Foster’s camp seemed to imply that the issue wasn’t about his marriage vows but about optics. “We’re really concerned about bad publicity,” Campbell said Foster’s campaign director told her. The director mentioned the possibility of a rival campaign taking photographs of the pair together, which would put Foster in a “compromising position.” There’s so much wrong with this logic that it’s difficult to know where to start. It implies that a man and woman together are necessarily engaging in compromising activities. Even if they are in public. Even if one of them, like Campbell, is gay. Even if one of them is a candidate on the campaign trail and the other is holding a notebook and wearing a press badge, and they’re making the rounds of public events and rubber chicken dinners. (Truly, if this is what Foster considers being caught in flagrante, I feel deeply sad about his sex life.) It implies that Campbell is a love interest before she’s a journalist, even when she’s specifically there as a journalist."

LOL.  Let it rip, Ms. Hesse.  Let it rip.  Saddest of all?  The ones most in need of reading your material remain too damned aggressively stupid to do so.  Refuse to be confused by the truth.

"This logic further implies that Foster’s silly, specious perception of a “compromised position” is more important than the actual compromised position that his policy creates for Campbell. She has been assigned a job that she is now unable to do. Her news outlet must decide whether to short its readers on coverage of a gubernatorial candidate on a matter of principle or capitulate to the candidate’s insulting demands. (They rightly chose the former and skipped the assignment)."

Did the right thing.  Best to expose this haughty son of a bitch for precisely whom and what he is.  Rather than cave in.

"The most harmful aspect of the Graham/Pence rule is this: It keeps women out of the room. It says that men can forward their careers via mentoring sessions, golf games and brainstorming lunches, but women cannot. Are we to gather that, because of this rule, Foster would also never employ a female chief of staff, attorney or accountant and never visit a female doctor, dentist or physical therapist, since all of those roles would necessitate occasional alone time?"

Stunningly brilliant, Ms. Hesse.  Precisely, what writers need to be doing across the board.  Expose this shit to the light of day.  Figuratively, take no prisoners.

"These might be acceptable, if dispiriting, choices for a private citizen to make in his own life, but a governor making them has cascading effects for hundreds of thousands of people within his bureaucracy. The Graham/Pence rule prevents women from climbing to the top of their careers because the men who have the power to help them get there won’t even let them in the room."

That's right.  Pernicious, concerted effort by the asshole half of the species to deny women their chance to play the game.  These 'men' are pathetically insecure.  An embarrassment.

"To add insult to injury, the men barring the door get to use their faith as the deadbolt. Their discrimination is wrapped in piety; their disdain for women is disguised as honor for wives. Rather than figuring out how to do something truly moral, like create a world in which all genders are equally able to succeed, they create a delusion where women must be protected into oblivion."

This very same shit has gone on for millennia.  Sadly, remains alive and well.  In the closet today, for the most part.  Making it even more difficult to combat.  Yet, combat it we must.  Ferociously.

"Can you imagine if Foster’s faith-based rationale was rooted in any faith but Christianity? Can you imagine if a Muslim male candidate refused to be shadowed by a female reporter? What then do you suppose would be the reaction of far-right conservative evangelicals?"

The hypocrisy and phony self-righteousness would be off the charts.

"Can you imagine what a positive impact Foster could have had if he’d chosen a different route — highlighting his respect for women in professional roles, for example, or building enough trust in his marriage that it didn’t need to be governed by arbitrary rules? If he was uncomfortable with Campbell coming along alone, he could have provided his own campaign staffer, rather than asking her to bring a colleague. He could have brought his wife. He could have live-streamed the trip for video evidence of its propriety. He had options."

Instead, this clueless, haughty son of a bitch chose to grandstand.

"But late Wednesday night, Foster was still defending his position, presenting himself as the wronged party. “My wife and the State of Mississippi deserve a governor who doesn’t compromise their beliefs,” he wrote. And then, a vaguer tweet that also seemed to allude to the incident: “I will not be intimidated into a corner of silence by a group of radical Socialists and Communists whose goal in life is to dismantle America.”

Jesus Christ.  Give me a break.  This hopelessly ignorant, national socialist, achingly fascist f--ker is highly reminiscent of the John Birch Society 1950s.  An anachronism brought back to life by our fuhrer, the Trump nazi and his equally clueless henchmen.  ... For younger readers, the John Birch Society days back in the 50s were a time of insane paranoia, -- 'A Red Under Every Bed.'

Even then, it was quite clear communism was failing.  Five Year Program after Five Year Program in the former Soviet Union were massive failures, catastrophes.  Yet, nazis on the Right at the time couldn't, wouldn't be confused by the truth.  Clearly, little has changed as the reincarnation of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini took office two and a half years ago.

"Dismantle America. Two professional, clothed, adults riding together in a car, in the process of doing their respective jobs, is dismantling America."

LOL.  Pitifully, insane.  This guy is too damned aggressively stupid for any elective office.

"The only upside of Foster continuing to dig this hole was that, by the end of the day, it was difficult to imagine any woman wanting to spend 15 hours in a car with him. Not alone, not with a chaperone, not for work, not for fun. He can’t be in a car with a woman doing her job? Fine. Leave him in the dust, by the side of the road."

LOL.  Ms. Hesse, your article is indeed a work of art.  Masterful.  To the point.  Brilliant.  Ferociously, on message.  Hat's off.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-19-19

Delusionally believe the following to be justice?  CBS News reports:

"The Federal Trade Commission voted to approve a fine of roughly $5 billion against Facebook over user-privacy violations by the social media company that involved tens of millions of people, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing an unnamed person familiar with the matter. The fine would be the largest the FTC has levied on a tech company."

Nowhere near enough.  Nowhere near fairly compensates victims for their losses at the hands of this hopelessly greedy corporation.

"The FTC started looking into Facebook last March, after news reports that Facebook had allowed Cambridge Analytica, a social media data firm that worked on President Trump's 2016 campaign, to collect data from millions of users without their knowledge. Seven years prior, Facebook had reached a settlement with the FTC after it was accused of making data public that it had promised would be private. As part of that settlement, Facebook agreed to ask for users' permission before sharing their data more broadly than their privacy settings specified."

To line their pockets.  No more complicated than that.

"Facebook declined to comment on the Journal's report of the FTC fine; the FTC did not immediately respond to messages for comment from the Associated Press."

What could they say?  The fix was in.  Users took it hard in the ass without the Vaseline.  -- While Facebook laughed its portly ass off all the way to the bank.

"The Journal report says the 3-2 vote by FTC commissioners broke along party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats in opposition to the fine."

Republicans did what they had to do to support their masters in the corporate management suite.  Forget?  They're bought and paid for.  -- Not that Democrats aren't.  Just not quite as greedy as their Republican counterparts.

"The Journal says the FTC report has been moved to the Justice Department for review. In most cases the Justice Department's civil division will review settlements by the FTC, and it is unclear how long the process would take. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the Facebook matter."

Think they won't approve?  Forget?  The 'Justice' Department is run and owned by the Trump nazi and his henchmen.  Translation?  No justice.

Here's the problem:

"Even a record $5 billion penalty won't be too damaging a dent for Facebook, which made a profit of $22 billion last year on $56 billion in total revenue, or a profit margin of 45%. Facebook earmarked $3 billion for a potential fine earlier this year and said in April it was anticipating having to pay up to $5 billion. Wall Street appeared unfazed at the prospect of the fine. Facebook's shares closed at $204.87 on Friday and added 24 cents after hours. The stock is up more than 50 percent since the beginning of the year."

Laissez-faire capitalism.  That is, uncontrolled and/or extremely poorly controlled.  To line the pockets at the top of the food chain:

"This closes a dark chapter and puts it in the rearview mirror with Cambridge Analytica," said Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives. "Investors still had lingering worries that the fine might not be approved. Now, the Street can breathe a little easier."

... Hear the rumble?  An unwanted, dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming.  As nothing ever truly changes.

"The Journal report did not say what else the settlement includes beyond the fine, though it is expected to include limits on how Facebook treats user privacy. Some have called on the FTC to hold Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally liable for the privacy violations in some way, but based on the party line vote breakdown experts said this is not likely."

Unsustainable.  How the unthinkable, unwanted, unexpected has a way of eventually coming to pass.

"Marc Rotenberg, president of the nonprofit online privacy advocacy group Electronic Privacy Information Center, said he was "confused" as to why the Democratic commissioners didn't support the settlement and said he suspects, without having seen the actual settlement, that this was due to the Zuckerberg liability question. "But I thought that was misguided," he said, adding that EPIC instead supports more wholesale limits on how Facebook handles user privacy."

Misses the point.  Does nothing to address the true problem with all this.  Facebook makes its money off selling user information.

"Since the Cambridge Analytica debacle erupted more than a year ago and prompted the FTC investigation, Facebook has vowed to do a better job corralling its users' data. That scandal revealed that the data mining firm affiliated with President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign improperly accessed private information from as many as 87 million Facebook users through a quiz app."

Meaningless.  It's how Facebook makes its money.  Off user information.

"Other leaky controls have also since come to light. Facebook acknowledged giving big tech companies like Amazon and Yahoo extensive access to users' personal data, in effect exempting them from its usual privacy rules. And it collected call and text logs from phones running Google's Android system in 2015."

Nothing ever truly changes due to one simple reason.  Government is bought and paid for by the corporate management suite.

"Rep. David Cicilline, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said in a statement that the reported fine gives Facebook "a Christmas present five months early. It's very disappointing that such an enormously powerful company that engaged in such serious misconduct is getting a slap on the wrist. This fine is a fraction of Facebook's annual revenue."

That's right.  Exactly, the problem.  Ongoing issue.  ... Hear the rumble?  An unwanted, dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-19-19

Another egregious violation of the First Amendment Establishment Clause by a 'judge' imposing her perverse religious views from the bench.  CBS News reports:

"In a ruling that pro-abortion rights advocates called "rogue," an Oklahoma judge upheld a state law on Friday that banned the most common abortion method for women at least 14 weeks into a pregnancy. Oklahoma County District Judge Cindy Truong declined to strike down the 2015 ban on dilation and evacuation abortions, a method considered to be the "standard of care" for women seeking an abortion in the second trimester, according to Julie Rikelman, Litigation Director at the Center for Reproductive Rights, the group that challenged the state law. Once a final order is issued by the courts, the law will take effect immediately, though Rikelman said her group plans to immediately appeal the decision to the state's Supreme Court. "There really is no other standard method of care for women at that point in their pregnancy," Rikelman said in a telephone interview with CBS News on Friday. "It really puts doctors and women in an impossible situation." Prior to Friday's ruling, Oklahoma already had substantial regulations and restrictions in place impacting a woman's ability to receive an abortion, according to data provided by the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion access research organization. Women are required to undergo a 72-hour waiting period before receiving an abortion and private insurances are generally only allowed to cover the procedure in cases of life endangerment, according to the group."

Nazi justice.

"A handful of other states — including Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky and Texas — have passed similar bans on the specific procedure method, but all have been struck down by judges, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights. In June, the Supreme Court decided not to review a lower court's ruling that struck down an identical ban in Alabama that prohibited dilation and evacuation abortions. "It is unconscionable to think that we would allow this practice to continue. Judge Truong is to be commended for declaring this legislation constitutional," Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said in a statement Friday. "Today is a major victory for basic human decency in Oklahoma."

What it is is no more than the nazi element forcing its outrageously perverse moral and/or religious views on the rest of us.  Do you and other nazis who think like you truly believe you fascist bastards own a woman's uterus, Mr. Attorney General?

"Hunter's office did not immediately return a call requesting further comment."

What could he say?  How could the fascist bastard justify the unjustifiable?

"At Trust Women, a network of women's healthcare clinics and one of Oklahoma's three abortion providers, the dilation and evacuation abortion method is "absolutely the most common" protocol for women seeking the procedure in their second trimester, said Julie Burkhart, the co-founder and chief executive officer of the clinic network.  The method is the default choice for doctors at Trust Women because it's the least invasive, safest, most efficient choice, Burkhart told CBS News on Friday. "This ruling substantially interferes with our doctors' relationship with their patients and allowing our physicians to determine what's the best, safest form of treatment," Burkhart said. "It's so frustrating to have that decision making power taken away from these physicians who have gone through medical school and become highly trained in their fields." Once the final decision is signed, Burkhart said her clinic will be forced to stop providing the procedure. "It's frustrating because I know, and all of us who work in abortion care know, that is not some sort of abstract exercise," Burkhart said. "This is reproductive healthcare, service delivery, and medicine that everyday people need, request and come to our clinic in hopes of receiving."

Raw nazism.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

Highly reminiscent of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors, Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following.  It's appalling.  Runs against the grain of everything our formerly great country once stood for.  No longer.

Delusionally believe we don't live in a de facto fascist police-state?  Wake up. The Washington Post reports:

"Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have turned state driver’s license databases into a facial-recognition gold mine, scanning through millions of Americans’ photos without their knowledge or consent, newly released documents show."

Raw nazism.  Law and order national socialists, fascists, nazis in both the Democratic and Republican Parties have sold out their constituents.  ... Hear the rumble?

"Thousands of facial-recognition requests, internal documents and emails over the past five years, obtained through public-records requests by researchers with Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology and provided to The Washington Post, reveal that federal investigators have turned state departments of motor vehicles databases into the bedrock of an unprecedented surveillance infrastructure."

Nazi America.  De facto fascist police-state quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.  Our politicians, both parties, with rare exception, are traitors.  -- Traitors to the United States Constitution.  Traitors to the public they egregiously fail to serve.  Serve only their corporate masters, -- who have bought and paid for them, lined their pockets.

"Police have long had access to fingerprints, DNA and other “biometrics data” taken from criminal suspects. But the DMV records contain the photos of a vast majority of a state’s residents, most of whom have never been charged with a crime."

Raw nazism.  Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini reincarnated.

"Neither Congress nor state legislatures have authorized the development of such a system, and growing numbers of Democratic and Republican lawmakers are criticizing the technology as a dangerous, pervasive and error-prone surveillance tool."

Where the f--k were these clueless, disingenuous, out to lunch, bona fide, traitorous assholes after 9/11?  When these very same gutless, lying pieces of cowardly shit granted government carte blanche to do as it pleased to 'protect' us?  Give me a break.

“Law enforcement’s access of state databases,” particularly DMV databases, is “often done in the shadows with no consent,” House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) said in a statement to The Post. Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio), the House Oversight Committee’s ranking Republican, seemed particularly incensed during a hearing into the technology last month at the use of driver’s license photos in federal facial-recognition searches without the approval of state legislators or individual license holders. “They’ve just given access to that to the FBI,” he said. “No individual signed off on that when they renewed their driver’s license, got their driver’s licenses. They didn’t sign any waiver saying, ‘Oh, it’s okay to turn my information, my photo, over to the FBI.’ No elected officials voted for that to happen.”

Jesus Christ.  What a goddamned crock of disingenuous bullshit.  What do these clueless pieces of human excrement call the USA 'Patriot' Act, 'Real' ID Act, Homeland 'Security' Act, etc., traitorously passed after 9/11?  What did these pieces of shit expect would happen?  Why didn't the cowardly American public rise up when DMVs across our formerly great country demanded thumb prints as a condition of renewing one's drivers license decades ago?  What a crock of shit.  Now, after decades of this crap, these achingly clueless assholes are finally waking up?  Jesus Christ.  Give me a break.  The chickens are coming home to roost.  ... Hear the rumble?

"Despite those doubts, federal investigators have turned facial recognition into a routine investigative tool. Since 2011, the FBI has logged more than 390,000 facial-recognition searches of federal and local databases, including state DMV databases, the Government Accountability Office said last month, and the records show that federal investigators have forged daily working relationships with DMV officials. In Utah, FBI and ICE agents logged more than 1,000 facial-recognition searches between 2015 and 2017, the records show. Names and other details are hidden, though dozens of the searches are marked as having returned a “possible match.”

Every state DMV that granted these jackbooted pieces of shit access to their databases have traitorously, treasonously, treacherously betrayed their residents.

"San Francisco and Somerville, Mass., have banned their police and public agencies from using facial-recognition software, citing concerns about governmental overreach and a breach of public trust, and the subject is being hotly debated in Washington. On Wednesday, officials with the Transportation Security Administration, Customs and Border Protection and the Secret Service are expected to testify at a hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security about their agencies’ use of the technology."

Law enforcement on both the state and federal levels is hopelessly corrupt, abusive, jackbooted nazi.  ... Right, Sheriff?  Madam County Attorney?  "Sonny Boy?"  Cannot be trusted.

"The records show the technology already is tightly woven into the fabric of modern law enforcement. They detailed the regular use of facial recognition to track down suspects in low-level crimes, including cashing a stolen check and petty theft. And searches are often executed with nothing more formal than an email from a federal agent to a local contact, the records show."

Wake up.  This is precisely how revolutions spawn.  Egregious abuse of jackbooted authority.  Most countries don't make it two hundred years before suffering the unthinkable, unwanted.  Wake up.  The worst is yet to come.

“It’s really a surveillance-first, ask-permission-later system,” said Jake Laperruque, a senior counsel at the watchdog group Project on Government Oversight. “People think this is something coming way off in the future, but these [facial-recognition] searches are happening very frequently today. The FBI alone does 4,000 searches every month, and a lot of them go through state DMVs.”

State government allows this, facilitates this, is in bed with the nazis running the federal government.  This is no longer a democratic republic.  In name only.  ... Right, Sheriff?  Madam County Attorney?  "Sonny Boy?"

"The records also underscore the conflicts between the laws of some states and the federal push to find and deport undocumented immigrants. Though Utah, Vermont and Washington allow undocumented immigrants to obtain full driver’s licenses or more-limited permits known as driving privilege cards, ICE agents have run facial-recognition searches on those DMV databases."

State authorities traitorously betray state residents by complying with federal jackbooted authorities.  ... Right, Sheriff?  Madam County Attorney?  "Sonny Boy?"

"More than a dozen states, including New York, as well as the District of Columbia, allow undocumented immigrants to drive legally with full licenses or driving privilege cards, as long as they submit proof of in-state residency and pass the states’ driving-proficiency tests. Lawmakers in Florida, Texas and other states have introduced bills this year that would extend driving privileges to undocumented immigrants. Some of those states already allow the FBI to scan driver’s license photos, while others, such as Florida and New York, are negotiating with the FBI over access, according to the GAO. “The state has told [undocumented immigrants], has encouraged them, to submit that information. To me, it’s an insane breach of trust to then turn around and allow ICE access to that,” said Clare Garvie, a senior associate with the Georgetown Law center who led the research."

Nazi America. Nazi Texas.  ... Right, Sheriff?  Madam County Attorney?  "Sonny Boy?"  ... Hear the rumble?

"An ICE spokesman declined to answer questions about how the agency uses facial-recognition searches, saying its “investigative techniques are generally considered law-enforcement sensitive.”

ICE is a traitorous law enforcement agency that routinely betrays its oath of office to uphold the United States Constitution.  ... Just like you and your jackbooted goons here in Nazi Llano County, right, Sheriff?  Madam County Attorney?  "Sonny Boy?"

"Asked to comment, the FBI referred The Post to the congressional testimony last month of Deputy Assistant Director Kimberly Del Greco, who said that facial-recognition technology was critical “to preserve our nation’s freedoms, ensure our liberties are protected, and preserve our security.”

Jesus Christ.  No more than a goddamned bold-faced lie.  The direct opposite is the truth.  We live in a de facto fascist police-state where nearly anything goes.  Liberty is now perversely defined as the 'freedom' to do what your told.  What the criminal, traitorous, treasonous, jackbooted bastards in blue and their masters in government tell you to do.  Where property rights are routinely violated.  Where a criminal jackbooted bastard is not held legally accountable for damage done to a motorhome parked on private property.  ... Right, Sheriff?  Madam County Attorney?  "Sonny Boy?"  Nazi, jackbooted, out of control, oppressive, repressive government.

"The agency has said in the past that while facial-recognition searches can provide helpful leads, agents are expected to verify the findings and secure definitive proof before pursuing arrests or criminal charges."

So what? Means shit squat.  Rings hollow.  A goddamned fascist police-state where all civil and constitutional rights and liberties are under exigent attack by criminal law enforcement.

"Twenty-one states, including Texas and Pennsylvania, plus the District of Columbia, allow federal agencies such as the FBI to scan driver’s license photos, GAO records show. The agreements stipulate some rules for the searches, including that each must be relevant to a criminal investigation."

Nazi Texas.  ... Hear the rumble?  This state has betrayed its residents.

"The FBI’s facial-recognition search has access to local, state and federal databases containing more than 641 million face photos, a GAO director said last month. But the agency provides little information about when the searches are used, who is targeted and how often searches return false matches."

Nazi America.

"The FBI said its system is 86 percent accurate at finding the right person if a search is able to generate a list of 50 possible matches, according to the GAO. But the FBI has not tested its system’s accuracy under conditions that are closer to normal, such as when a facial search returns only a few possible matches. Civil rights advocates have said the inaccuracies of facial recognition pose a heightened danger of misidentification and false arrests. The software’s precision is highly dependent on a number of factors, including the lighting of a subject’s face and the quality of the image, and research has shown that the technology performs less accurately on people with darker skin. “The public doesn’t have a way of controlling what information the government has on them,” said Jacinta González, a senior organizer for the advocacy group Mijente who was particularly concerned about how ICE and other agencies could use the scans to track down immigrants. “And now there’s this rapidly advancing technology, with very few guidelines and protections for people, putting all of this information at their fingertips in a very scary way.” The records, which include thousands of emails and official documents from federal agencies, as well as Utah, Vermont and Washington state, show how easy it is for a federal investigator to tap into an individual state DMV’s database. While some of the driver photo searches were made on the strength of federal subpoenas or court orders, many requests for searches involved nothing more than an email to a DMV official with the target’s “probe photo” attached. The official would then search the driver’s license database and provide details of any possible matches."

Raw nazism.

"The search capability was offered not just to help identify criminal suspects, but also to detect possible witnesses, victims, bodies, and innocent bystanders and other people not charged with crimes."

A fascist police-state quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

"Utah’s DMV database was the subject of nearly 2,000 facial-recognition searches from outside law enforcement agencies between 2015 and 2017 — sometimes dozens of searches a day, the records show. One document from Utah’s Statewide Information & Analysis Center coached officers on how to make facial-recognition requests; offered four tips for better facial photographs (“lighting, distance, angle, eyes”); and said the database included “over 5 million Utah driver’s license & state identification card photos,” about 2 million more than the state’s population. State officials did not respond to requests for comment. Many of the requests for searches in Utah came from local police forces across the country seeking to find suspects who may have traveled to the state, but roughly half the searches came from federal agents, according to a log of the searches. The records do not provide suspect names or say whether cases ended in arrests or convictions. Washington state’s Department of Licensing said that its “facial recognition system is designed to be an accurate, non-obtrusive fraud detection tool” and that the agency does not share use of the system with law enforcement unless compelled by a court order.
Vermont officials said they stopped using facial-recognition software in 2017. That year, a local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union revealed records showing that the state DMV had been conducting the searches in violation of a state law that banned technology involving “the use of biometric identifiers.” The state’s governor and attorney general came out against the face-scanning software, citing a need to balance public safety with residents’ privacy rights."

Not possible in out of control Nazi Texas.  ... Right, Sheriff?  Madam County Attorney?  "Sonny Boy?"

"In the years before the ban, the records show, Vermont officials ran a number of face scans on driver’s license photos at the request of ICE agents. Investigators from a number of federal and local agencies emailed the state’s DMV with facial-recognition search requests as they pursued people accused of overstaying their visas, providing false information, stealing from stores or, in at least one case, being part of a “suspicious circumstance.” The officers in some emails would provide descriptions of their targets: One was dubbed a “gypsy … scamming elderly people for money,” while another was said to have “VERY LARGE PROTRUDING EARS.” In others, DMV officials talked about the face-scanning tool as if it were the kind of awe-inspiring technical marvel most often seen on prime-time cop shows. In one 2014 email, a police officer in the town of Manchester, Vt., asked a DMV official to scan for a man caught on video “brazenly” stealing. The official forwarded the email to a colleague with a made-for-TV flourish, writing, “Can we play NCIS for this officer?”

Clearly, this government no longer serves the best interests of the public it no longer serves.  Only itself.  ... And its corporate masters.  Hear the rumble? An unwanted, dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming as our formerly great country continues to deteriorate.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

In follow up to the last edition, NPR reports:

"The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General is warning about "dangerous overcrowding" in Border Patrol facilities in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. In a strongly worded report, the inspector general said the prolonged detention of migrants without proper food, hygiene or laundry facilities — some for more than a month — requires "immediate attention and action." The report comes amid growing outrage over detention conditions for migrants and follows reports that migrant children were kept in squalid conditions without enough food and basic necessities in a Border Patrol station in West Texas. Inspectors from DHS's Office of Inspector General in June visited Border Patrol facilities and ports of entry across the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, the busiest sector in the country for illegal border crossings. "We are concerned that overcrowding and prolonged detention represent an immediate risk to the health and safety of DHS agents and officers, and to those detained," they wrote."

These facilities and circumstances are remarkably reminiscent of Nazi Germany circa 1933 shortly after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor.  Worst was yet to come.  So too, in Nazi America.  Wake up.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

Trump can't seem to stop contradicting himself.  The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump appeared to contradict his own administration Wednesday when he tweeted that he was not giving up on including a citizenship question in the census. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Tuesday that the Census Bureau had already started printing the questionnaires for the 2020 Census without the controversial question after the Supreme Court last week froze the administration’s plan to include it on the survey sent to every U.S. household. The Justice Department confirmed that the question had been dropped. But Trump tweeted Wednesday morning that his administration was “absolutely moving forward” with its plan. “The News Reports about the Department of Commerce dropping its quest to put the Citizenship Question on the Census is incorrect or, to state it differently, FAKE!” Trump wrote. “We are absolutely moving forward, as we must, because of the importance of the answer to this question.” It was unclear exactly what Trump meant, including whether he was saying his administration would keep trying to add the question to the 2020 Census or to some future or different survey. The White House, Commerce Department and Justice Department did not respond to requests for clarification."

Has to be extremely difficult for Trump's henchmen to deal with a lunatic who keeps contradicting, reversing himself.

"In a one-line email sent Tuesday, a Justice Department lawyer informed attorneys in a related lawsuit in Maryland federal court that “the decision has been made to print the 2020 Decennial Census questionnaire without a citizenship question, and that the printer has been instructed to begin the printing process.” During a phone call Tuesday night with U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel of Maryland, government lawyers did not explain why the citizenship question was pulled off the table, according to Denise Hulett, senior counsel with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, who also was on the call. The judge, she said, asked for formal notice in writing that the Commerce Department “has given up its fight entirely” to include the question in the 2020 count."

The Washington Post reports:

"Joseph Hunt, assistant attorney general for the department’s civil division, said the administration was looking for a legal path forward after the Supreme Court last week froze the administration’s plan to include it on the survey sent to every U.S. household and said the administration needed to provide a better justification if it wants to add it. Hunt told Judge George J. Hazel of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland that Justice lawyers had been “instructed to examine whether there is a path forward, consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision.” Hunt did not say who issued the instruction. In a separate filing to Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District of New York late Wednesday afternoon, Hunt wrote that the Justice and Commerce departments had been asked to “reevaluate all available options” and that Commerce may adopt “a new rationale” for including the question.

"Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project and a lead attorney for plaintiffs in the New York trial, vowed that “any attempt at an end run around the Supreme Court’s decision will be unsuccessful, and will be met swiftly in court.” [Judge]Hazel told the government it has until 2 p.m. Friday to put into writing that the question was dropped or tell him how it planned to defend against a legal challenge in his court contending the question arose from an intent to discriminate against minorities. If the government fails to reply by then, Hazel said, he will start moving forward with discovery in the case before him. A claim of conspiracy and intent to discriminate had been sent back by an appeals court to Hazel after new evidence suggested the government had worked with a Republican redistricting strategist who saw the question as a way to provide a structural electoral advantage to white Republicans. Hazel had initially ruled that plaintiffs had not proved that charge, but after the new evidence came to light, he said he would reconsider it."

NBC News reports:

"A federal judge Friday ordered that a case go forward on whether a citizenship question can be added to the 2020 census and said it will focus on whether the Trump administration was "steeped in discriminatory motive." U.S. District Court Judge George Hazel's order could allow evidence from recently deceased Republican consultant Thomas Hoeffler to be introduced. Files discovered by his daughter showed that he played a key role in the administration's decision to try to add the question and that it would aid GOP efforts to radically gerrymander legislative districts to the disadvantage of Democrats. Hazel noted that the claims of those against adding the question "are based on the premise that the genesis of the citizenship question was steeped in discriminatory motive. The discovery contemplated by the Court related to the recently discovered evidence in this case goes directly to that issue." The judge issued his order shortly after the administration notified him that government lawyers are looking at "all available options" for adding the question to the 2020 census form that goes to every U.S. household. The notice, in a brief document filed in federal court in Maryland, was expected, given President Donald Trump's comments early Friday that he has not given up on the idea and might issue an executive order directing the Commerce Department to add the question."

An executive order does not trump a ruling by the United States Supreme Court.

"We have four or five ways we can do it. It's one of the ways and we're thinking about doing it very seriously," Trump said before leaving Washington for a weekend at his golf club in New Jersey."

Would be immediately challenged.

"The Supreme Court ruled late last month that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross did not provide an honest reason for why he wanted to include the question. The court accordingly barred the government from using that reason to add the question to the form. That left open the possibility that Ross could offer a new reason, but government lawyers did not view that option as a promising one. On Tuesday, Ross seemed to concede the point. "The Census Bureau has started the process of printing the decennial questionnaires without the question," he said. But Trump told administration lawyers to find some way to get the question on the census form."

This idiot cannot, will not be confused by the truth.

"In the notice filed Friday, Justice Department lawyers said they "have been asked to re-evaluate all available options" following the Supreme Court ruling to "allow for a new decision to include the citizenship question on the 2020 Decennial Census." If the Commerce Department does come up with a new rationale, the groups that have opposed the question and who have prevailed in court so far "will be fully entitled to challenge the decision at that time," the government's court filing said. Anything the administration does from here on, whether by stating a new reason for including the question or acting through executive order, will produce a new round of lawsuits, putting added pressure on the government to get all the forms printed in time. For now, the Justice Department assured the Maryland judge, "the Department of Commerce and Census Bureau currently are enjoining from printing a census questionnaire that includes a citizenship question."

NPR reports:

"A federal judge in Maryland is moving forward with a case that claims the Trump administration intended to discriminate against immigrant communities of color by adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census. U.S. District Judge George Hazel ordered proceedings to continue after lawyers with the Justice Department confirmed in a court filing Friday that they are still exploring possible ways to add the question — "Is this person a citizen of the United States?" — to the census form. On Wednesday, President Trump indicated that he wants to find a way to do that would be acceptable to the Supreme Court. Last month, the Supreme Court voted to leave in place a lower court ruling that rejected the Trump administration's stated reason for the question. In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said that the administration's use of the Voting Rights Act to justify the question "seems to have been contrived." Hazel's order means that as the Trump administration prolongs the legal fight to add a citizenship question to the census, more evidence may be revealed in court about how and exactly why the administration tried to include it."

Nothing quite like transparency.  Trump is behaving stupidly.  His failure to move on after the Supreme Court decision will likely ultimately lead to full exposure of the true reasons why he wants this question included in the Census.  -- Self-serving reasons that will likely line his pockets, benefit Republicans partisanship-wise at expense of the long-suffering public.

"The administration argued for evidence-gathering for the Maryland-based lawsuits to be put on hold while the administration continues searching for a new reason to add the question. But Hazel ordered an immediate start to discovery, the legal process during which both sides dig for information and conduct interviews. Court documents show that officials from the Justice and Commerce departments will have to sit for questioning under oath if the discovery process continues as planned."

The truth will finally come out.  All of it.  Under oath.

"Plaintiffs' remaining claims are based on the premise that the genesis of the citizenship question was steeped in discriminatory motive," Hazel wrote in a letter explaining his order. "Regardless of the justification Defendants may now find for a 'new' decision, discovery related to the origins of the question will remain relevant." Trump administration officials have said the addition of the citizenship question is needed to better protect the voting rights of racial and language minorities. But plaintiffs argue that Trump officials are attempting to give a political advantage to Republicans and non-Hispanic white people when new voting districts are drawn."

"Also on Friday, Trump said he is "very seriously" considering an executive order that would place a citizenship question on the 2020 census. "We have four or five ways we can do it," Trump told reporters. "We're working on a lot of things, including an executive order." Opponents of adding the citizenship question to the census pointed out that an executive order cannot supersede a court ruling. "Such an order does not override a Supreme Court or other judicial decision; nor does it overturn or circumvent the congressionally established process for determining the content of the census," said Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which is representing some of the groups that sued the Trump administration over the question."

The Washington Post reports:

"The Justice Department is swapping out the lawyers who had been representing the administration in its legal battle to put a question about citizenship on the 2020 Census, possibly signaling career attorneys’ legal or ethical concerns over the maneuvering ordered by President Trump. The department announced the move in a statement, which was issued after The Washington Post inquired about whether the career lawyers on the team planned to withdraw. A person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said that at least some of the career attorneys harbored concerns about the administration’s handling of the case — although the nature of those concerns and how widespread they were could not immediately be learned.

"The staffing change comes as the department is moving toward what some analysts say is increasingly unsteady legal ground in its bid to add the citizenship question, despite a Supreme Court decision that would seem to bar it from doing so. Less than a week ago, the Justice and Commerce departments had effectively conceded defeat, saying they were printing the census without the citizenship question and acknowledging even internally that the Supreme Court had given them no other choice. But the surrender infuriated Trump, who ordered the lawyers to do an about-face and come up with ways to keep the fight alive."

The Washington Post reports:

"A federal judge in New York on Tuesday denied a bid from the Justice Department to replace the team of lawyers on the census citizenship question case, writing that its request to do so was “patently deficient.” The department had earlier this week announced its intention to swap out the legal team on the case — without saying exactly why. A person familiar with the matter said the decision was driven in part by frustration among at least some of the career lawyers who had been assigned to the case about how it was being handled, though the department wanted to replace those in both career and political positions. But U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman denied the formal, legal bid to do so. “Defendants provide no reasons, let alone ‘satisfactory reasons,’ for the substitution of counsel,” Furman wrote. He also noted that a filing in the case was due from the department in just three days, and that the department had previously pushed for the matter to be moved along quickly. “If anything, that urgency — and the need for efficient judicial proceedings — has only grown since that time,” Furman wrote. Furman said the department could refile its request, if it gave “satisfactory reasons” for the attorneys’ withdrawal and promise that the attorneys who had worked the case previously would be available upon request. The judge also asked the department to “file an affidavit providing unequivocal assurances that the substitution of counsel will not delay further litigation of this case (or any future related case).”

"Furman’s move could force the Justice Department to expose more of its messy, internal debates over the Census case. Those attorneys who object to the handling of it might proceed without signing briefs, serving up a regular, public reminder of how fraught the case has become internally. The department might also choose to lay out more detailed reasons for wanting the attorneys off in a subsequent request. The Justice Department declined to comment on the judge’s decision."

Fascinating, isn't it?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

Trump has no regard for the First Amendment.  None.  Certainly, no tolerance for free speech personally critical of him.  The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump cannot block his critics from the Twitter feed he regularly uses to communicate with the public, a federal appeals court said Tuesday, in a case with implications for how elected officials nationwide interact with constituents on social media. The decision from the New York-based appeals court upholds an earlier ruling that Trump violated the First Amendment when he blocked individual users critical of the president or his policies. “The First Amendment does not permit a public official who utilizes a social media account for all manner of official purposes to exclude persons from an otherwise open online dialogue because they expressed views with which the official disagrees,” wrote Judge Barrington D. Parker in the unanimous decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. “In resolving this appeal, we remind the litigants and the public that if the First Amendment means anything, it means that the best response to disfavored speech on matters of public concern is more speech, not less.”

No question.

"Trump’s Twitter habits through his @realDonaldTrump account were central to the case brought by seven people blocked after posting disapproving comments in 2017. The First Amendment prevents the government from blocking or excluding views it disagrees with in what is known as “viewpoint discrimination.” The Supreme Court has not directly addressed how the law applies to expanding digital spaces for public debate, and the case involving the president’s account — with millions of followers — was a high-profile legal test. Elected officials throughout the country are also learning to navigate how those principles apply to their social media accounts. The ruling from the New York-based appeals court echoed an earlier decision from the Richmond-based appeals court involving the Facebook page of a Virginia politician. In the president’s case, attorneys from the Knight Institute at Columbia University, representing the blocked users, said Trump’s Twitter account is an extension of the presidency that is routinely used by Trump to announce government nominations, defend his polices and promote his legislative agenda. The comment section is no different from a traditional town hall meeting, they said, and citizens must be allowed to respond directly to government officials and engage in public policy debates. “Public officials’ social media accounts are now among the most significant forums for discussion of government policy,” Knight Institute executive director Jameel Jaffer said in a statement after the ruling. “This decision will ensure that people aren’t excluded from these forums simply because of their viewpoints. It will help ensure the integrity and vitality of digital spaces that are increasingly important to our democracy.”

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

Trump finally does something right, certainly in the best interest of the shamelessly looted, long-suffering public, then gets figuratively shot down for it in court.  NPR reports:

"A federal judge on Monday stopped a Trump administration initiative that would have required drugmakers to reveal the sticker price of their drugs in television ads. Under the rule, if a medicine's list price was more than $35 a month, it would have to be stated during the commercial. The challenge, opponents say, is that a drug's list price and estimates of what people can expect to pay vary widely depending on coverage. The rule was blocked hours before it was set to take effect, the latest setback for the White House as Trump administration officials continue to search for ways to pressure pharmaceutical companies into lowering their prices — a proposal made by the Trump administration in the runup to last November's midterm election. The decision from U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Department of Health and Human Services does not have the regulatory power to make drug manufacturers include the cost of drugs in television commercials. Mehta wrote that in halting the rule, the court was not questioning its wisdom, but resting the issue on the law set by Congress in the first place. "That policy very well could be an effective tool in halting the rising cost of prescription drugs. But no matter how vexing the problem of spiraling drug costs may be, HHS cannot do more than what Congress has authorized," Mehta wrote. Critics pointed out that the rule was toothless, since there was no enforcement mechanism spelled out for when a company did not comply. Instead, the rule relied on the private sector to police itself. The television-ad rule had the support of both the Trump administration and consumer rights advocates. That said, patient advocate groups told NPR that while holding drugmakers accountable for prices is welcome, they remained skeptical that drug companies could be shamed, as the administration intended, into lowering their prices."

Precisely, why Congress needs to step up.  Properly regulate the business community.  Instead of facilitating what has become a laissez-faire financial system that is essentially unregulated and/or poorly regulated.  Forget?  No such thing as a 'free' market.  The market is owned, manipulated, controlled by those with the wealth to do so.  Greed rules.  Precisely, why the system needs to be regulated.  Not allowed to do as it pleases.  The reason why nothing ever truly changes is because legislators in both parties are bought and paid for by the corporate management suite.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

No justice.  The Judiciary is bought and paid for.  NBC News reports:

"A federal appeals court Wednesday dismissed a case brought by the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia that argued President Donald Trump is violating the Constitution by accepting profits through foreign and domestic officials who stay at his Washington hotel."

Trump is effectively bribed by his exceptionally rich and powerful foreign and domestic friends, pockets lined.  Yet, our nazi Judiciary protects and coddles this shameless national socialist who continually violates his oath of office.

Get this:

"The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit said the two attorneys general did not have standing to sue Trump and questioned whether they were "appropriate" in their litigation."

Jesus Christ.  Any citizen of the United States should have standing to sue anyone they choose.  It's up to a jury to ultimately decide a case, not a goddamned bought and paid for 'judge.'  Attorneys on both sides and the judge were intended by the Founders to present a case to a jury, advise the jury on the law and Constitution, but it is up to the jury to ultimately decide.

The Constitution was broadly written by the Founders to facilitate interpretation, not stifle it.  Strict constructionists on the Right do all they can to prevent the Constitution from being a living, breathing document.  Intentionally, bastardize the Constitution to abrogate all civil and constitutional rights and liberties to line their pockets, the pockets of the corporate management suite, shareholders and their bought and paid for shills in government.  To increase power, control, obliterate liberty while perversely calling this 'freedom.'

The law and interpretation of the law has grown exponentially convoluted, overly complicated over the generations.  Intentionally.  All in a pernicious effort to consolidate power, increase the wealth of an increasingly select few, control the masses by criminalizing nearly all human activity in some shape or form.  In the hopelessly psychotic world of the national socialist, fascist, nazi, day is night, night is day, and shit smells perversely sweet.  All ass backwards from reality.

"The District and Maryland’s interest in enforcing the Emoluments Clauses is so attenuated and abstract that their prosecution of this case readily provokes the question of whether this action against the President is an appropriate use of the courts, which were created to resolve real cases and controversies between the parties," Judge Paul  Niemeyer wrote in his opinion on behalf of the panel."

Were you hopelessly ignorant, fascist bastards bought and paid for by the Trump nazi?  Pockets lined?  Shamelessly, traitorously bribed?

"Word just out that I won a big part of the Deep State and Democrat induced Witch Hunt," Trump tweeted. "Unanimous decision in my favor from The United States Court of Appeals For The Fourth Circuit on the ridiculous Emoluments Case. I don't make money, but lose a fortune for the honor of serving and doing a great job as your President (including accepting Zero salary!)."

Crock of shit.  Distortion of reality by the hopelessly insane.  The three 'judges' are bought and paid for Republicans.  Convenient, isn't it?  Your business makes money off foreign and domestic cronies of yours, Mr. 'President' who line your pockets to curry favor.  This case desperately needed to be fully adjudicated to expose you precisely for whom and what you are.  You've pathetically, egregiously disgraced yourself, your office, and the United States the last two and a half years.

Remain egregiously unfit for office.  Your three bought and paid for Republican 'judges' traitorously, treacherously, treasonously abrogated their oaths of office to uphold the United States Constitution.  Just like you.  Did so to curry favor.  Line their pockets legally or illegally.  Further treasonously promulgate and impose the current Republican brand of national socialism, fascism, nazism.

"The Trump International Hotel, just blocks from the White House, has become a favorite of Republicans, lobbyists and diplomats. In 2018, it generated a revenue of more than $40.8 million, up from $40.4 million in 2017, according to the president's annual financial disclosure forms."

Yet, Trump's 'judges' could not, would not, be confused by the facts, -- or with the truth.

"The disclosure reports show revenue, not profits, and some of the figures are given in ranges, giving only a partial picture of his finances. Wednesday's decision came after the judges in March grilled lawyers for Maryland and Washington — the two parties which filed the suit. The three judges on the panel were all nominated by Republican presidents, including one nominated by Trump."

Bought and paid for.  Raw nazism.  Nazi America.  No longer a democratic republic.  In name only.  A de facto fascist police-state quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.  You've been bamboozled, hoodwinked.

"Maryland and Washington had some initial wins in the case, including when a federal judge ruled that the two attorneys general had standing to file such a claim because business that , being sent to the hotel adversely affected other businesses in their jurisdictions. "Today’s pair of decisions by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals is a complete victory," Trump's personal attorney, Jay Sekulow, said in a statement. "The decision states that there was no legal standing to bring this lawsuit in the first place. This latest effort at Presidential harassment has been dismissed with prejudice."

What harassment?  What victory?  The imposition of national socialism, fascism, nazism?  The revolution doomsday clock strikes ever closer to midnight.  ... Hear the rumble?  An unwanted, dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming.  -- As Trump and his henchmen continue to drive our formerly great country into the ground.

"There are two other lawsuits accusing the president of violating the emoluments clause that have been filed in other federal courts. The emoluments clause — a little known section of the Constitution — bars public officials from receiving gifts or cash from foreign or state governments without congressional approval."

The Constitution is more than clear.  The Judiciary consistently fails to uphold it.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

Pressure increases on Trump.  NPR reports:

"Facing a House of Representatives controlled by Democrats who are issuing document demands and subpoenas, President Trump's White House counsel's office grew its payroll by nearly a third, newly released records reveal. From 2018 to 2019, the counsel's office added 10 people. "I'm not surprised by the increase in the number of lawyers in the counsel's office given the 2018 elections," said Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, who tracks White House staffing and turnover at the Brookings Institution. The White House was clearly preparing for investigations, Tenpas said. Pat Cipollone replaced Don McGahn as White House counsel last December and then proceeded to hire additional lawyers. "At the point they started gearing up, they didn't know the outcome of the Mueller report, which may have prompted even more hiring," Tenpas said. This is part of an overall growth in both the number of people working at the White House and how much they are getting paid. In a report to Congress made public last week, the White House detailed the salaries and titles of the 418 staffers working under Trump. It is a snapshot in time, released once a year, but it illuminates trends in White House hiring."

Just the beginning.  Far worse to come as the walls figuratively close in on Trump.

"The Trump White House has gone from boasting about its relatively small staff and payroll figures, which were lower than the Obama administration's, to eclipsing the amount spent on staff salaries in Obama's final year in office. Then-press secretary Sean Spicer told NPR in 2017 that the smaller operation at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. at that time was the result of "trying to give taxpayers the best return."

At some point, Democrats will likely feel compelled to start impeachment proceedings.  Should that happen, all bets are off.  The taxpayers will be mercilessly looted to defend the indefensible.

"In the past year, 44 new positions were added to the White House staff, and just about everyone got a pay raise. There are still fewer people working in the Trump White House than in Obama's, but the combined salaries come in at $41.3 million, a shade more than in Obama's last year. The average salary for Trump White House employees is $99,000, significantly higher than salaries in the Obama years, even when accounting for inflation. This is despite Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, two of Trump's top aides and family members, continuing to work without pay in their government positions."

Still believe the Trump nazi to be a 'conservative?'  LOL.

"President Trump has assembled an incredible team at the White House and across the federal government who — in spite of 93% negative news coverage — has accomplished undeniable successes," said White House spokesman Judd Deere when asked about the payroll changes."

Called the truth.  Got a problem with that?  LOL.  He's certainly lined the pockets at the top of the food chain.  To say nothing of his cronies.  -- While the middle class continues to suffer, becomes endangered.  Two extremes.  Top and bottom.

"Contributing to this increase in spending were pay raises for nearly all White House employees, including the highest-paid staffers. During Trump's first two years, no one employed by the White House made more than $179,700. Today, those same advisers — think of assistants to the president such as Stephanie Grisham, Kellyanne Conway, John Bolton and Larry Kudlow — are making $183,000."

Imagine that.  Pockets lined by looted taxpayers to eviscerate all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

"The two highest-paid aides are acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney ($203,500) and his top deputy, John Czwartacki ($239,595). They are paid more than anyone else since they are technically temporarily assigned to the White House from other parts of the government."

Most convenient, isn't it?  LOL.

"Of course, the high turnover of Trump's White House means that not all those top-tier staffers were around to see those raises. Of those who are making the maximum salary, only half have been with the White House since 2017. "No matter how you slice the data, his turnover is off the charts," said Tenpas."

Couldn't be because he's such a goddamned jackass, could it?  LOL.  Impossible to work for?  LOL.  Too delusional to be reasonable in his demands?  LOL.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

True mark of hopeless ineptitude, an achingly incompetent narcissist?  ABC News reports:

"President Donald Trump in a tweet on Monday said that the United States "will no longer deal with" U.K. Ambassador to the U.S. Kim Darroch after his blunt criticism of the president and administration in diplomatic cables was leaked. In the trove of leaked memos published on Saturday in the Daily Mail, Darroch called Trump "inept" and "incompetent" and described the White House as wildly dysfunctional."

The Ambassador is quite right.  The Democrats certainly understand this.  So do many, if not most Republicans too gutless to admit it.

Height of presidential insecurity?  Get this:

"Darroch was disinvited from a dinner Monday night with the president at the Treasury Department in honor of the amir of Qatar, according to a U.S. official. White House officials said this is an example of the kind of treatment Darroch will likely receive in the aftermath of this leak."

Any other president, from either party, would have summoned the Ambassador.  Asked him what his problem was?  LOL.  Would have courageously insisted on doing government business with him.  Made a point of doing so.   Not reacted as a gutless two-year-old throwing a temper tantrum.

"On Sunday, Trump said Darroch "has not served the U.K. well, I can tell you that."

Simply, untrue.  What the Ambassador did was speak the truth.  Did his job.  Informed his superiors of the obvious.

"We are not big fans of that man," he added."

Why is that, Mr. 'President?' Truth hurts?  Too unbearable?

"In tweets on Monday afternoon, Trump also slammed the U.K. and outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May's handling of Brexit and claimed that he offered May advice that was never taken."

Why should, why would, she take advice from an idiot?  An achingly clueless narcissist?  An embarrassment to the office and our formerly great country?

The following sound like a president in full control of his faculties?  Expressing good judgment by deliberately interfering in the affairs of another nation?

"The good news for the wonderful United Kingdom is that they will soon have a new Prime Minister," Trump tweeted after slamming May. "While I thoroughly enjoyed the magnificent State Visit last month, it was the Queen who I was most impressed with!"

    "I have been very critical about the way the U.K. and Prime Minister Theresa May handled Brexit. What a mess she and her representatives have created. I told her how it should be done, but she decided to go another way. I do not know the Ambassador, but he is not liked or well....
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 8, 2019"

The British would have none of it:

"May's spokesperson did not criticize the diplomat and said he continues "to have the Prime Minister's full support." "We have made clear to the US how unfortunate this leak is. The selective extracts leaked do not reflect the closeness of, and the esteem in which we hold, the relationship. At the same time we have also underlined the importance of Ambassadors being able to provide honest, unvarnished assessments of the politics in their country," a spokesperson said in a statement. "Sir Kim Darroch continues to have the Prime Minister's full support. The UK has a special and enduring relationship with the US based on our long history and commitment to shared values and that will continue to be the case."

The Ambassador did his job.  Exactly, what he was paid to do.  Provide an honest assessment.

"The White House did not respond for a request for comment."

What could they say?  How do you defend the indefensible?  Excuse the inexcusable?  Make any viable excuse for an incompetent idiot?

The Washington Post reports:

"The special relationship between the United States and Britain descended into name-calling on Tuesday, with President Trump tweeting that the British ambassador is “wacky” and “a very stupid guy” and “a pompous fool.”

Aren't you perfectly describing yourself, sir?

"In a trio of posts, Trump went on to insult outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May for her “failed Brexit negotiation.” Trump boasted that he told May how to do the deal, “but she went her own foolish way — was unable to get it done. A disaster!”

Again, sir, aren't you perfectly describing yourself?

"The president’s tirade gave a third day of life to controversy over leaked diplomatic cables in which British Ambassador Kim Darroch described the Trump White House as “inept,” “dysfunctional” and “unpredictable.”

Again, perfect description of yourself, Mr. 'President.'  Wake up.  You're an idiot.  Unfit for office.  An unmitigated disaster.  An embarrassment.

NPR reports:

"Kim Darroch, the British ambassador to the U.S., has announced his resignation days after leaked cables revealed his sharp criticism of the Trump administration and the U.S. president responded by saying he will "no longer deal with him." "The current situation is making it impossible for me to carry out my role as I would like," Darroch wrote in his resignation letter issued Wednesday. He went on, "Although my posting is not due to end until the end of this year, I believe in the current circumstances the responsible course is to allow the appointment of a new ambassador."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

There is one former Republican who did the right thing, stood up for principle.  Think he'll be the last?  In an editorial written by Justin Amash, The Washington Post reports:

"Justin Amash, an independent, represents Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District in the House.

"When my dad was 16, America welcomed him as a Palestinian refugee. It wasn’t easy moving to a new country, but it was the greatest blessing of his life. Throughout my childhood, my dad would remind my brothers and me of the challenges he faced before coming here and how fortunate we were to be Americans. In this country, he told us, everyone has an opportunity to succeed regardless of background. Growing up, I thought a lot about the brilliance of America. Our country’s founders established a constitutional republic uniquely dedicated to securing the rights of the people. In fact, they designed a political system so ordered around liberty that, in succeeding generations, the Constitution itself would strike back against the biases and blind spots of its authors. My parents, both immigrants, were Republicans. I supported Republican candidates throughout my early adult life and then successfully ran for office as a Republican. The Republican Party, I believed, stood for limited government, economic freedom and individual liberty — principles that had made the American Dream possible for my family. In recent years, though, I’ve become disenchanted with party politics and frightened by what I see from it. The two-party system has evolved into an existential threat to American principles and institutions."

No question.  Spot on.  Both parties present an exigent threat to liberty.  Moreover, -- a democratic republic.

The Congressman stood tall:

"Today, I am declaring my independence and leaving the Republican Party. No matter your circumstance, I’m asking you to join me in rejecting the partisan loyalties and rhetoric that divide and dehumanize us. I’m asking you to believe that we can do better than this two-party system — and to work toward it. If we continue to take America for granted, we will lose it."

Here, here.  Hat's off, Congressman.  Did the right thing.  Hopefully, more will join you.  Needs to be done across the board.  Both major political parties.

NBC News reports:

"On Thursday Trump said Amash's decision to leave the party was "Great news."

    "Great news for the Republican Party as one of the dumbest & most disloyal men in Congress is “quitting” the Party. No Collusion, No Obstruction! Knew he couldn’t get the nomination to run again in the Great State of Michigan. Already being challenged for his seat. A total loser!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 4, 2019"

Aren't you talking about yourself, Mr. 'President?'

"Amash, 39, resigned from the conservative House Freedom Caucus last month. He has clashed with Trump and the Republican Party at various points. First elected to Congress in 2010 as part of the tea party wave focused on a limited government and ballooning deficits, he repeatedly clashed with his party on issues of government spending, health care and finally impeachment. Amash's call for impeachment proceedings against Trump drew widespread criticism from Republicans and sparked questions about his political future."

Heroically insisted on doing the right thing.  Placed country before party.  Principle before partisanship.  Uncommon Valor.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

Unlike Rep. Amash, Sen. Mitch "The Bitch" McConnell sadly lacks principles, -- of any kind.  Mindless, clueless, traitorous, treacherous, treasonous partisanship reigns supreme.  CBS News reports:

"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has a challenger in his upcoming 2020 re-election campaign. Retired Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath officially unveiled her campaign on Tuesday.  In her campaign rollout video, McGrath recalls writing a letter to her senator at age 13 about her dreams of becoming a pilot and the challenges women faced of being denied a shot of joining the U.S. military.  "He never wrote back," McGrath tells the camera. "I've often wondered how many other people did Mitch McConnell never take the time to write back or even think about."

The Senator serves only himself, his fuhrer,--  the Trump nazi, and the Republican Party.

"The Democrat, in her 3-minute long appeal, features Kentuckians who also felt passed over by McConnell's conservative policies, claiming the longtime senator has effectively turned Washington into "a place where ideals go to die."

Great truth to that, -- although Democrats remain quite guilty of the same.

"Everything that's wrong in Washington had to start some place. How did it come to this, that even within our own families we can't talk to each other  about the leaders of our country anymore without anger and blame? Well, that started with this man, who was elected a lifetime ago," McGrath says of McConnell.  The former U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel graduated from the Naval Academy to become the first woman in the Marine Corps to fly a combat mission in an F-18 fighter jet. She went on to serve 20 years in the Marines where she flew 89 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, targeting al Qaeda and the Taliban, before retiring and moving back home to Kentucky to raise her family."

Time for new blood in both parties.  Alternative?  Unthinkable.  Unwanted.  ... Hear the rumble?

NBC News reports:

"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said recently he opposes paying government reparations to the descendants of American slaves, has a family history deeply entwined in the issue: Two of his great-great-grandfathers were slave owners, U.S. census records show. The two great-great-grandfathers, James McConnell and Richard Daley, owned a total of at least 14 slaves in Limestone County, Alabama — all but two of them female, according to the county “Slave Schedules” in the 1850 and 1860 censuses. The details about McConnell’s ancestors, discovered by NBC News through a search of ancestry and census records, came in the wake of recent hearings on reparations before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Asked about the reparations issue, McConnell, R-Ky., said he was opposed to the idea, arguing it would be hard to figure out whom to compensate. “I don’t think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago, when none of us currently living are responsible, is a good idea,” he said June 18, a day before the House reparations hearing. “We’ve tried to deal with our original sin of slavery by fighting a civil war, by passing landmark civil rights legislation. We’ve elected an African American president.”

Certainly, continue to live with the pernicious aftermath of slavery.  That is, unbridled racism, bigotry, -- and the murder of innocent, unarmed black men by the criminal jackbooted bastards in blue runs rampant.  To say the least.

"NBC News, in several phone calls and emails to McConnell’s office, asked if the senator was aware that his great-great-grandfathers were slave owners. The office did not respond to those requests."

Fascinating, isn't it?

"Slavery experts have stressed that descendants of slave owners should not be held personally responsible for the deeds of their forebears. But they have also argued that the families that descended from slave owners, like McConnell’s, are likely to have benefited from the labor of slaves that propped up farm families in earlier generations — a point made by many reparations supporters, who have said that descendants of slaves were never compensated for the economic benefit their forebears made to white families."

A similar argument can be made regarding current, rampant legalized theft of labor by the business community that lines its pockets by failure to pay a livable wage.  Where do you draw the line?  Especially, at a time when our formerly great country is torn apart at the seams by the current pernicious rise of national socialism, fascism, nazism now embraced by the Republican Party.

"As a legislator, McConnell has generally been supportive of civil rights measures, and said his parents, whom he has described as “very enlightened Southerners,” opposed the rampant segregation that surrounded his family in northern Alabama. He has said his hero is Sen. John Sherman Cooper, a Kentucky Republican who died in 1991, best known for breaking the filibuster against the 1964 Civil Rights Act that had been led by other Southern senators. However, like most Republicans, he supported the narrowing of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court in 2013, and has also been an advocate for strong voter ID laws. Both positions have been criticized by current civil rights leaders for making it more difficult for minorities to vote."

Papieren Bitte!  Papers Please! Nazi America.

"In the 1850 census, his great-great-grandfather Richard Daley owned five female slaves ranging in age from 2 to 22. Four are classified as “mulatto” — a now-offensive term for mixed-race people. Their ages were 2, 4, 18 and 20. One 22-year-old slave was identified as black. None of them are named in the document. Little is known about the four female slaves listed in the 1860 census who were owned by another of McConnell’s great-great-grandfathers, James McConnell. They are identified in the records only by their ages, which were 1, 3, 4 and 25, and by their race — “mulatto.”

Report goes on and on.  Time for new blood.  Both major political parties.  Status quo, unsustainable.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

Taxpayers looted to pay for Trump's Bastille Day July Fourth extravaganza.  NPR reports:

"President Trump hailed America's military and declared that "our nation is stronger today than it ever was before" in a Fourth of July speech with patriotic themes underscored by flyovers from fighter jets and displays of tanks near the stage at the Lincoln Memorial. Washington observers were watching to see whether Trump would take the highly publicized speech into politics, but instead, the president highlighted heroic military tales and implored Americans to "stay true to our cause."

What 'cause' is that?  Transition from the de facto fascist police-state we've lived in since 9/11 to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich?

"Before the ceremony, Trump had played down the cost of orchestrating the event, expected to be in the millions, and dismissed critics who chided the president for putting himself at the center of an event at the Lincoln Memorial, a national monument to American unity."

First, why won't Trump disclose the amount spent on his Bastille Day July Fourth celebration?  No more than a campaign stop for his supporters, -- at taxpayer expense.  In violation of federal law.  Second, there is no 'American unity.'  Quite the opposite.  This extravaganza was no more than a taxpayer-funded campaign rally.

"Speaking to the soggy crowd, Trump spent most of his speech paying tribute in lofty terms to each branch of the military."

Shamelessly used the military to further his re-election campaign.

"We will always be the people who defeated a tyrant, crossed a continent, harnessed science, took to the skies, and soared into the heavens," Trump said. "We are one people, chasing one dream, and one magnificent destiny."

Simply, not true.  Used to be.  No longer.  We are, and remain, a country tearing apart at the seams.  We have a narcissistic, lunatic tyrant in the Oval Office remarkably reminiscent of Adolf Hitler in 1933 when he became Chancellor of Nazi Germany.  Worst was yet to come.  As it is, now.

"Although Trump did not attack Democrats or go off script, which he regularly does at press briefings and campaign events, the crowd brought a political element to the event. Many people wore "Make America Great Again" hats and other pro-Trump displays. At several points, the crowd played off the president's patriotic messages by breaking out with chants of "USA, USA."

Turned out to be a campaign rally for the Trump nazi at taxpayer expense.  Which is, of course, against federal law.  Yet, who is there to prosecute this fascist son of a bitch when he runs and owns the 'Justice' Department?  When gutless Democrats in the House remain too concerned with partisan interests rather than principle to hold the shameless nazi accountable?  When gutless Republican national socialists, fascists in the Senate continue to goose step in unison with their fuhrer, the Trump nazi?

"Ever since Trump visited France's Bastille Day celebration in 2017, watching scores of soldiers and military tanks move down Paris' famed Champs-Élysées, he has wanted to bring a similar spectacle to the U.S. And on Thursday, Trump got his wish."

Made a mockery of the United States military.  Used it to shamelessly advance his fascist political agenda and re-election campaign.  At taxpayer expense.

"Throughout downtown Washington, armored Humvees and other military vehicles dotted corners around commercial corridors, unusual even on Independence Day. While critics of the president mocked the military presence as a vulgar display of the country's military might, others attendees, like Robert Aguilar, who is in the Navy, appreciated having armored vehicles in the city. "I'm all for it," Aguilar said. "The number of Americans who serve in the military is small, and I think our country should be aware about the people doing this country's business and protecting the country."

The public is well aware of the service and sacrifice of the United States military.  Well aware of the lethality and effectiveness of the weapons systems paid for by the taxpayers.  The public is also quite aware there has been no declaration of war by the United States Congress since the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  Every war since then was not formally declared by Congress in direct violation of the United States Constitution.

Every one of these wars since then was fought under false pretenses.  To line the pockets of the hopelessly greedy corporate management suite and shareholders.  Every one of these 'police actions.'  Including Afghanistan.  Readers are reminded the State Department failed to do full background checks on the nineteen 9/11 hijackers.  Worse, the United States government failed to take action even when the flight schools advised the government the nineteen wished only to learn how to fly straight and level, not take off and land.

9/11 could have been avoided.  Instead, both major political parties traitorously passed the USA 'Patriot' Act, 'Real' ID Act, Homeland 'Security' Act, etc., after the catastrophe, turning our formerly great country from a democratic republic into a de facto fascist police-state.  Now, quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.  We remain a democratic republic in name only.  All a ruse.  As our formerly great country continues to fall apart.  Liberty?  What's that?  You have the 'freedom' to do what you're told, that is, no freedom at all.  Nazi America.   Dream on life support, all but dead.

"The president's opponents were not dazzled by the militaristic display. Media Benjamin, co-founder of the anti-war group Code Pink, criticized the cost of the event and said the military trappings are too reminiscent of authoritarian regimes. "Trump's militarized Mall has the feeling of Red Square and Pyongyang," said Benjamin, adding that Trump used the Fourth of July "for his personal use" at "huge expense."

That's right.  The nazi instructed the military not to answer media questions regarding this needless expense.  Taxpayers are entitled to this information.  Forget?  They're footing the bill.  What is Trump so afraid of?  The truth?  Then again, the fascist son of a bitch remains a congenital liar.  Wouldn't know truth if it figuratively bit him hard on the ass.  Why won't Congress rein him in?  Provide oversight as provided for by the United States Constitution, -- instead of granting the nazi carte blanche to do as he pleases.

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump broke with decades of tradition Thursday by not only attending the Independence Day celebration on the Mall in Washington but making a speech as part of his ‘Salute to America.’ It wasn’t the usual lock-her-up-no-collusion-fake-news fare though. With the aid of a teleprompter, the president spoke for 45 minutes about U.S. history, especially military history, or as he described it, “the greatest story ever told, the story of America.” Historians — at least the ones fact-checking the president on Twitter — were not impressed. One likened the speech to “an angry grandpa reading a fifth grader’s book report on American military history.”

LOL.  An idiot.  Where were the fact checkers?  Speech writers?

"Trump opened with an account of the signing of the Declaration of Independence: “On this day, 243 years ago, our Founding Fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to declare independence and defend our God-given rights.” As most history undergrads could tell you, this isn’t quite true. The Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Great Britain on July 2, 1776. On July 4, they approved the final text of the declaration. They signed it with their John Hancocks on Aug. 2. There were inaccuracies like this peppered throughout the speech — the president still seems to not know exactly who “Douglass, Frederick Douglass, the great Frederick Douglass” is — but Trump was especially befuddled when he described the creation of the U.S. Army. "In June of 1775, the Continental Congress created a unified army out of the revolutionary forces encamped around Boston and New York and named after the great George Washington, commander in chief. The Continental Army suffered a bitter winter of Valley Forge, found glory across the waters of the Delaware and seized victory from Cornwallis of Yorktown. Our army manned the [unclear], it [unclear] the ramparts, it took over the airports, it did everything it had to do. And at Fort McHenry, under “the rockets red glare,” it had nothing but victory. And when dawn came, their star-spangled banner waved defiant."

Again, where were the fact checkers?  Speech writers?  Not just a teleprompter issue as claimed by the Trump nazi:

"On Friday, Trump confirmed he had problems with the teleprompter, telling journalists: “I guess the rain knocked out the teleprompter, so it’s not that, but I knew the speech very well, so I was able to do it without a teleprompter. But the teleprompter did go out. And it was actually hard to look at anyway because there was rain all over it.” But that doesn’t explain the apparent conflation of two wars fought three decades apart. In the first part, Trump mentions Valley Forge, crossing the Delaware and Yorktown, all of which occurred during the Revolutionary War. Then he says, “And at Fort McHenry ...” and describes the battle in which the national anthem was written. This battle was fought in 1814 during the War of 1812. Then there’s the claim the Army — in either 1775 or 1814 or some time in between — “took over the airports.” Odd considering that earlier in the speech Trump noted the Wright brothers first flew at Kitty Hawk in 1903."

Amazing, isn't it?

NBC News reports:

"President Donald Trump's military-style July Fourth parade drained a special Washington, D.C., city fund designed to help pay for extra security and anti-terrorism measures during large events in the nation's capital, the mayor said in a letter to the White House. Expenses related to security at Trump's parade exhausted the fund — known as the Emergency Planning and Security (ESPF) fund — and are expected to soon put it $6 million in the red, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser explained in the letter written to Trump on Tuesday."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

Two peas in a pod?  Two birds of a feather?  Amazing how the top of the food chain always seems to receive favored treatment, isn't it?  The Washington Post reports:

"Back in 2002, when Jeffrey Epstein was known only as a mysterious financial whiz with a private island and a roster of A-list friends, being friendly with him was something to boast about. And Donald Trump did. “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,” Trump told New York Magazine that year for a story headlined “Jeffrey Epstein: International Moneyman of Mystery.” “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”

Jesus Christ.  How about that?  Portend of far worse to come.

"Now, Epstein is in jail, charged with sex trafficking by federal prosecutors who allege he abused dozens of underage women in New York and Palm Beach, Fla. He is no longer a friend anyone would want to claim. And now, Trump doesn’t."

My oh my, how times have changed.

"Alan Garten, an attorney for the Trump Organization, has said Trump had “no relationship” with Epstein. Outside of Trump’s own words, there is clear evidence that the two men — both members of the same highflying societies in Manhattan and Palm Beach — socialized together in the past."

What webs we weave.

"Epstein visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach and posed for photos there with Trump in 1997 and 2000. Epstein’s voluminous personal address book — leaked by an Epstein employee in 2009 — contained 14 phone numbers for Trump, his wife, Melania, and members of his staff, according to media reports. The relationship, whatever it was, appears to have cooled by 2007. Garten said in an interview Monday that although Epstein was never a member of Mar-a-Lago, Trump prohibited him from visiting the club around that time, as a reaction to criminal charges that had been filed against Epstein. “He banned him from stepping foot on the property,” Garten said. He said Trump’s private attorneys were not contacted during the more recent investigation of Epstein, which resulted in a 14-page federal indictment unsealed Monday."

This indictment poses a problem for Trump for one particularly salient reason.

"The White House did not respond to a request for comment."

For damned good reason:

"In the earlier case, Epstein pleaded guilty to Florida charges of soliciting prostitution to resolve allegations that he molested dozens of girls. That arrangement — overseen by then-U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, who is now Trump’s secretary of labor — has been widely criticized as too lenient. As part of the deal, Epstein had to spend just more than a year in jail."

... Released during the day to go out to work.  Tough life, no?

ABC News reports:

"With growing calls from top Democrats for Labor Secretary Alex Acosta to resign over his role in negotiating a plea deal for accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway on Tuesday would not say whether President Donald Trump still has confidence in him."

Imagine that.  Couldn't be, could it?

“Why are you talking about Alex Acosta and not Jeffrey Epstein?” Conway said during an on-camera gaggle with reporters, when asked repeatedly about whether the president has confidence in his Labor secretary. “Jeffrey Epstein is the one raping young girls.”

Jesus Christ.  Wake up, Ms. Conway.  Acosta negotiated a sweetheart deal for that piece of shit.  Helped him elude responsibility for his earlier crimes.  Forget?

"Epstein was arrested over the weekend on federal charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy in New York. Back in 2007, Acosta was U.S. Attorney in Florida and negotiated a plea deal that resulted in Epstein serving just 13 months of an 18 month sentence on state charges in county jail and avoiding federal charges for an allegedly broad pattern of similar conduct. Not long after Conway spoke, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking on the Senate floor, said Acosta must step down. “I am calling on Secretary Acosta to resign. It is now impossible for anyone to have confidence in Secretary Acosta’s ability to lead the Department of Labor. If he refuses to resign, President Trump should fire him,” Schumer said. "This is not acceptable. We cannot have as one of the leading appointed officials in America someone who has done this. Plain and simple.”

Nothing is ever 'plain and simple' in a de facto fascist police-state quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.  Nothing.

Jesus Christ.  Insult to injury?  Get this:

"About noon, Acosta tweeted he supports the New York case against Epstein as "an important opportunity to more fully bring him to justice."

    "Now that new evidence and additional testimony is available, the NY prosecution offers an important opportunity to more fully bring him to justice.
    — Secretary Acosta (@SecretaryAcosta) July 9, 2019"

Time for you to go, Mr. Acosta.

Height of hypocrisy?  Laughable, disingenuous bullshit?

"Conway said she spoke to the president Tuesday morning and that he told her he doesn’t believe he’s been in touch with Epstein in more than a decade but that he finds the charges against him “unconscionable.” “The president told me this morning he doesn’t think he’s talked to him or seen him in 10 or 15 years and like everyone else, sees these charges, or the description of these charges, as unconscionable, and obviously criminal, disgusting,” Conway said."

Jesus Christ.  Give me a break.

"While Conway wouldn’t offer a direct answer to questions about the president’s confidence in Acosta, she did praise the performance of the economy under his leadership at the Department of Labor."

Certainly, lined the pockets of the Trump nazi and the very top of the food chain.  While the middle class continues to stagnate, struggle.

“The president met Secretary Acosta two-and-half years ago when he applied for the job, he was happy to give him the job at Department of Labor, and since then, through any number of reasons, beginning with the president, we’ve got a big jobs boom,” Conway said."

At wage levels that are not livable, cleverly designed to line the pockets of the corporate management suite, shareholders, and the very top of the food chain.

Ms. Conway is particularly adept, quite skilled at making achingly hollow excuses for her fuhrer, the Trump nazi:

"Conway also noted that Acosta was questioned during his confirmation hearing about the previous plea deal and “answered questions under oath” but added that the president didn’t know Acosta at the time of the previous case and “didn’t follow the case very closely.” Asked specifically about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's earlier call for Acosta to resign, Conway criticized Pelosi for putting the focus on Acosta and said the attention should be on Epstein instead. “It’s classic her ... to not focus on the perpetrator at hand, and instead focus on a member of the Trump administration,” Conway said."

Jesus Christ.  'Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.'  LOL.

"Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders had said in March that the administration was reviewing Acosta’s role in the previous plea deal for Epstein. “That's currently under review. Because of that, I can't get into a lot of specifics, but we're certainly looking at it,” Sanders said in March. Asked about the status of that review, Conway did not offer a straight answer and said the focus should be on the charges in New York and not what happened in Florida."

Jesus Christ.  Like her fuhrer, Ms. Conway remains achingly unprincipled, hopelessly shallow.

"Schumer demanded that the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility make the review public. “This review cannot be kept in the dark, particularly given the new revelations," he said, adding that Congress should hold hearings. While the president hasn't commented directly since Epstein’s arrest over the weekend, he was asked back in February if he had any concerns about Acosta’s involvement in Epstein’s case and said that the time that he didn’t know much about it but that it was a “long time ago. “I really don't know too much about it. I know he's done a great job as Labor secretary. And that seems like a long time ago. But I know he's been a fantastic Labor secretary. That's all I can really tell you about. That's all I know about,” Trump said in February."

... A raucous, boot clicking, goose stepping, traitorous, treacherous, treasonous Seig Heil!, Mr. 'President?'

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

Hypocrisy, aggressive stupidity.  Off the charts.  CBS News reports:

"Iran remains open to diplomacy to save its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers but has "no hope" in the international community, the country's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday as the Islamic Republic broke the limit the agreement had placed on its enrichment of uranium."

Why wouldn't it do so?  Especially, in light of the fact the Trump nazi pulled out of the deal a year ago.  Moved the goal posts after an agreement had been made and implemented.  Did Trump stupidly expect the Iranians to cave in and kiss his sorry ass?

"The future of the accord that President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the U.S. from a year ago remains in question. While Iran's recent measures to increase enrichment and break its low-enriched uranium stockpile limit could be easily reversed, Europe has struggled to respond, even after getting a 60-day warning that the increase was coming. Iran wants Europe to come up with a way to help it sell its crude oil abroad and get around U.S. sanctions, but Europe has yet to do so. Meanwhile, experts fear a miscalculation in the crisis could explode into open conflict, as Mr. Trump already has nearly bombed Iran over Tehran shooting down a U.S. military surveillance drone. President Trump warned Tehran on Sunday that "Iran better be careful." He didn't elaborate on what actions the U.S. might consider, but told reporters: "Iran's doing a lot of bad things."

While the Iranians would certainly lose any armed conflict with the United States, Americans and others would immediately suffer huge increases in the cost of petroleum-based products.

"Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said he had no information on how far Iran had taken its enrichment, though a top aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei previously suggested that Tehran had a need for 5%-enriched uranium. Iran's state-controlled media said uranium was being enriched to 4.5% as of Monday. Under the nuclear deal, the cap for enrichment was set at 3.67%, a percentage closely monitored by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog. "We are aware of Iran's announcement related to its uranium enrichment level," IAEA spokesperson Fredrik Dahl told CBS News' Pamela Falk. "IAEA inspectors in Iran will report to our headquarters as soon as they verify the announced development."  Enriched uranium at the 3.67% level is enough for peaceful pursuits but is far below weapons-grade levels of 90%."

There is no way the United States can absolutely prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.  Certainly, not by fiat.  All it can do is offer and implement a carrot and stick approach to the problem.  Moreover, in no uncertain terms inform Iran and others should they use their nuclear weapons, would be quickly incinerated in response.  Hard to believe that hasn't already been conveyed.  Not only in the current administration, but earlier ones as well.

"Mousavi on Monday said Iran appreciated the efforts of some nations to save the deal, but offered a jaded tone on whether Tehran trusted anyone in the negotiations. "We have no hope nor trust in anyone nor any country but the door of diplomacy is open," Mousavi said."

Imagine that.  When Trump unilaterally pulled out of the agreement over a year ago, that action was proof positive the United States could not be trusted to follow through, honor its word.  Lost all credibility.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

Trump again exposed for the congenital liar he happens to be.  The Washington Post reports:

"James Nolan was working in the University of Pennsylvania’s admissions office in 1966 when he got a phone call from one of his closest friends, Fred Trump Jr. It was a plea to help Fred’s younger brother, Donald Trump, get into Penn’s Wharton School. “He called me and said, ‘You remember my brother Donald?’ Which I didn’t,” Nolan, 81, said in an interview with The Washington Post. “He said, ‘He’s at Fordham and he would like to transfer to Wharton. Will you interview him?’ I was happy to do that.” Soon, Donald Trump arrived at Penn for the interview, accompanied by his father, Fred Trump Sr., who sought to “ingratiate” himself, Nolan said.  Nolan, who said he was the only admissions official to talk to Trump, was required to give Trump a rating, and he recalled, “It must have been decent enough to support his candidacy.” For decades, Trump has cited his attendance at what was then called the Wharton School of Finance as evidence of his intellect. He has said he went to “the hardest school to get into, the best school in the world,” calling it “super genius stuff,” and, as recently as last month, pointed to his studies there as he awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to conservative economist Arthur Laffer."

Give me a break.  LOL.  Anyone who haughtily touts his supposed genius is an insecure idiot.  Not what he claims to be.  A phony.  Trump, no exception.

"But Trump, who questioned the academic standing of then-President Barack Obama, has never released records showing how he got into the school — or how he performed once he was there. And, until now, Nolan’s detailed account of Trump’s admission process has not been publicly disclosed."

Fascinating, isn't it?  Anyone who is extremely intelligent doesn't need to advertise it.  Moreover, is intelligent enough to know doing so would make him look like an idiot.  A fool.

"It was not very difficult,” Nolan said of the time Trump applied in 1966, adding: “I certainly was not struck by any sense that I’m sitting before a genius. Certainly not a super genius.”

LOL.  Truth always winds up coming out.  Sometimes, most inconveniently.  ... But, always.

"Trump himself has said that it is crucial to evaluate a candidate’s educational background to determine whether he or she is qualified to be president. For example, in addition to questioning whether Obama was born in the United States, Trump said in a 2011 interview with the Associated Press that he “heard” Obama was “a terrible student, terrible. How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard?”  Then he challenged Obama to release his college transcripts. “I’m certainly looking into it. Let him show his records.” Trump has not applied his standard to himself. He has declined to release his own college transcripts, and during the campaign, his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, threatened colleges with lawsuits if his academic records were released."

Apparently, for good reason.  LOL.

"The idea that Trump was the top performer has persisted partly because the president has continued to let it stand despite the many times it has been debunked. Trump admitted as much last year, saying that he “heard I was first in my class at the Wharton School of Finance. And sometimes when you hear it, you don’t say anything. You just let it go.”

Called reinforcing a lie to benefit oneself.  Speaks volumes about his glaring lack of character, principles.  Growing narcissism.

"The common thread in the early stories about Trump was that he had performed so well at Wharton that he was ready to take the family business to a higher level. Yet Trump is remembered by some classmates as a middling student. Louis Calomaris, who spent considerable time with Trump during real estate classes, said in an interview that he headed a weekly study group. Trump had attended two or three of the study sessions when, one day in class, the professor announced that the most important thing was to attend his lectures. “Out of the corner of my eye, I see Trump close his book and he never came to another study group, but he never missed class,” Calomaris said.  He recalled Trump standing in his three-piece suit and announcing that he planned to be one of the greatest real estate developers in New York City. Calomaris, who has worked as a business consultant and restaurateur and taught marketing at the University of Maryland, said that he thought Trump was “a bright guy” but that “he was always lazy — he wouldn’t read a book. I never considered him stupid, I considered him opportunistic. ... He cared about making money, and he knew that the most prestigious school was Wharton, and that worked with his opportunistic nature.”

So what else is new?  LOL.

"In a 1985 biography about Trump, Jerome Tuccille wrote that Trump hardly viewed his attendance as a priority. “Donald agreed to attend Wharton for his father’s sake,” Tuccille wrote. “He showed up for classes and did what was required of him but he was clearly bored and spent a lot of time on outside business activities.”  By the time Trump in 1987 released his autobiography, “The Art of the Deal,” he had embraced the idea of what he called “truthful hyperbole.”

Called bullshit.  A phony.

"The key to promotion, he explained, “is bravado. I play to people’s fantasies. ... People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular.”

Sad.  Shallow.  Empty.  Hollow.  Has brought the same to the highest office of the land.  Disgraced himself, the office, and his country.

"As recently as June 19, Trump continued to cite his Wharton background, sometimes in misleading ways. Awarding the Medal of Freedom to Laffer, Trump claimed that “I’ve heard and studied the Laffer curve for many years in the Wharton School of Finance.” Trump graduated from Wharton in 1968, and Laffer didn’t outline his tax-cutting theory on the back of a napkin until 1974, according to Laffer’s account in a book he co-wrote called “The End of Prosperity.” Thus, studying the Laffer curve during Trump’s time at the school would have been impossible."

A congenital liar.  An idiot.  Exposed for whom and what he is.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

Same old, same old.  NPR reports:

"Tucked into the 2017 law intended to cut Americans' taxes was a program aimed at helping communities struggling with high unemployment and run-down housing. What's not clear is who's actually getting the most assistance from it. The program allows investors to defer and potentially lower their capital gains taxes in exchange for investing in designated low-income neighborhoods. But critics of the "opportunity zones" say residents in those communities could actually may be harmed, rather than helped, because wealthy investors getting tax breaks could enjoy more of a benefit than local residents."

So what else is new?  Surprised?  Why?

"Supporters of these zones on both sides of the aisle say they are creating jobs and making a difference in places that might otherwise be left behind."

Think so?

"President Trump often refers to the program when talking about what his administration has done for struggling rural and urban communities — and as a part of his outreach to black Americans. The policy has also been championed by lawmakers such as Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina — the only black Republican in the Senate — and Sen. Cory Booker, a black New Jersey Democrat running for president. White House officials said something was needed to help parts of the U.S. that aren't enjoying the same levels of economic success."

Here's the problem:

"But the federal law does not specify how those funds should be used; investors might build affordable housing — or they might build high-end apartment buildings. In other words, some fear, the government's attempt to spur development in poor neighborhoods could wind up pushing out poor people to make room for more expensive new developments.

"The concern voiced by some critics is that these rules create more of an incentive for wealthy people to focus on their own profits than the needs of those in the opportunity zone."

-- No question, capitalism is indeed the best economic system to live under.  Needs to be carefully controlled, however.  Not laissez-faire as it is now, that is, uncontrolled or poorly controlled.  Precisely, why it has become zero-sum, winner-take-all.  Why the middle class is going extinct.  Two extremes.  The bottom and the very top of the food chain.  Unbridled greed rules, reigns supreme.  No such thing as a 'free' market.  The market is owned and manipulated by those with the wealth.  How revolutions spawn.

What is so extremely interesting about the above is the fact that Fred Trump, the president's late father, made his money off providing housing for the not-so-advantaged.  His son, the Trump nazi, made his off catering to the very top of the food chain.  Quite a juxtaposition.  Not sustainable.  One of the reasons why our formerly great country is coming apart at the seams.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

Think Joe Biden truly understands what it means to go without?  Any less clueless than the national socialists, fascists in the Republican Party?  The Washington Post reports:

"Joe Biden on Tuesday afternoon reported earning $15.6 million in income over the past two years, making him the wealthiest among his chief competitors for the Democratic presidential nomination. The vast majority of the former vice president’s income — which totaled $11 million in 2017 and $4.6 million in 2018 — came from book payments and speaking fees. Biden was also a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was paid $371,159 in 2017 and $405,368 in 2018. The tax returns and financial disclosure statements Biden released Tuesday provided the first picture of the wealth he has accumulated since leaving a 44-year career in government. A regular theme of his presidential campaign has been the fact that he was often the poorest member of the U.S. Senate during his tenure there, as determined by disclosure forms. For at least a decade, Biden repeatedly has described himself as “Middle Class Joe.”

Think so?

"But since leaving office, he has benefited from an explosion of wealth, largely through book deals and speaking fees. He gave 49 speeches, according to the new filings, with fees as high as $234,000. His speaking fees and book payments amounted to $10 million in 2017 and $3.2 million in 2018. Jill Biden, his wife, delivered 18 speeches, for which she earned about $36,000 each. He has purchased a $2.7 million, 4,800-square-foot vacation house near the water in Rehoboth Beach, Del., to go along with his primary residence, the nearly 7,000-square-foot lakeside home he built more than two decades ago in Wilmington, Del. Biden also has been renting a 12,000-square-foot home in McLean, Va., that has five bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, marble fireplaces, a gym and a sauna. Biden’s campaign has declined to disclose details about the financial arrangement for the home, which is owned by Mark Ein, a well-connected, politically active donor who owns the Washington Kastles tennis team, the Washington City Paper, and Kastle Systems, which handles security systems for commercial office buildings. Biden’s campaign would only say that the former vice president was paying “substantial monthly rent.” Zillow, the real estate site, estimates monthly rent for the home to be nearly $20,000."

When was the last time ole Joe had to scrounge to pay a bill?  Go without?  How is it House members enter office middle class, leave millionaires?  In the Senate, most Senators enter office wealthy.  Biden, however, isn't particularly wealthy by Senate standards.  Yet, is proof positive wealth has indeed become a zero-sum, winner-take-all orchestrated f--king.  Precisely, why the middle class has become an endangered  species.

Two extremes.  Bottom of the food chain, -- and the very top.  Middle class, quickly vanishing.  Business earns profits the old fashioned way.  Through shoddy products and services at grossly inflated prices.  Steals labor.  Fails to pay a livable wage to line its pockets and those of shareholders.  Unsustainable.  How revolutions spawn.  ... Hear the rumble?  An unwanted, dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming. Wake up.  Before too late.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-12-19

Federal judge stands tall.  CBS News reports:

"A federal judge temporarily blocked an Ohio law Wednesday that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, allowing clinics to continue to provide the procedure as a legal faceoff continues. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett halts enforcement of the so-called heartbeat bill law that opponents argued would effectively ban the procedure. That's because a fetal heartbeat can be detected as early as six weeks into pregnancy, before many women know they're pregnant."

Republican nazis, nonetheless, remain desperate to force their perverse ideological and religious views on all by statute in direct violation of the First Amendment Establishment Clause, church-state separation, that is, freedom from religion.

"Barrett said Planned Parenthood and abortion clinics represented by the American Civil Liberties Union that sued to stop the law "are certain to succeed on the merits of their claim that (the bill) is unconstitutional on its face." Barrett joined the court in 2006 after being nominated by Republican President George W. Bush."

Imagine that.  A Republican judge standing up for the United States Constitution.  The way it used to be.

"Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed the Ohio law in April, after predecessor John Kasich, a fellow Republican, twice vetoed it. Ohio is among a dozen states that have considered similar legislation this year, as abortion opponents have pursued a national anti-abortion strategy to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Freda Levenson, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio, said in an emailed statement the decision "upheld the clear law: women in Ohio (and across the nation) have the constitutional right to make this deeply personal decision about their own bodies without interference from the state."

Precisely, the substance of Roe v. Wade.  Yet, Republican nazis, with rare exception, continue to delusionally believe they own your uterus, ladies.  Do they?

"Ohio Right to Life, the state's oldest and largest anti-abortion group, called the judge's decision disappointing but not surprising. "The heartbeat bill has the potential to be the vehicle that overturns Roe v. Wade," Mike Gonidakis, the group's president, said in a statement. "We know that this temporary restraining order is just a step in the process to finally seeing Roe reconsidered."

If there is no reproductive freedom, there is no freedom at all.  ... Hear the rumble?  An unwanted, dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming.  Reproductive freedom is far, far more than a man keeping it in his pants, a lady keeping her legs crossed, panties on and up.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-5-19

Highly reminiscent of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors, Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following.  It's appalling.  Runs against the grain of everything our formerly great country once stood for.  No longer.

The following gives a whole new meaning to nazi Aryan arrogance.  NPR reports:

"When Austin Savage heard about the migrant children who said they didn't have toothbrushes, soap or enough to eat at a nearby Border Patrol station, the concerned resident headed to the store. He loaded up a van full of toiletries, diapers and other supplies and drove to the facility in Clint, Texas. But he said the agents in the parking lot refused to speak to him. "The agents were just choosing to ignore us," Savage said, adding that he tried on Sunday to deliver the donations and again on Monday. "And neither attempt was successful."

Jackbooted Nazi SS storm troopers.

"Savage isn't the only one who says acts of kindness have been rebuffed by the Border Patrol. A state lawmaker also says the Border Patrol informed him that the agency doesn't take donations when he asked how his concerned constituents could help."

Jesus Christ.  When, where did we lose ourselves?

"The outpouring of concern stems from allegations that more than 300 children — from infants to teenagers — were being detained at the West Texas station without adequate food, water and sanitation. Advocate lawyers who toured the facility said they saw children who were filthy and older kids caring for infants, and that the children described a lack of basic necessities. The lawyers are allowed into the detention centers under a federal court-enforced settlement aimed at ensuring children aren't mistreated. State Rep. Terry Canales, a Democrat who represents Hidalgo County in South Texas, said when he reached out to Border Patrol officials, hoping to work out an agreement that allows nonprofit groups to donate supplies to detention centers, he thought the response was ridiculous. "We quickly received an email response saying, 'We don't accept donations,' " Canales said. Canales said he is concerned the conditions at the Border Patrol station are unsafe and that the children "lack the basic necessities of diapers, toothbrushes, towels because they're not showering." Canales said any child in U.S. custody should be treated with care, and he intends to work with federal officials to change the policy on donations. Savage isn't giving up, either. He said he is going to keep trying to get supplies to detained kids. The Border Patrol is supposed to transfer migrant children within 72 hours to child shelters overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services. About 250 were moved from the Clint station after the allegations surfaced, but 100 were moved back because there wasn't room in HHS shelters."

A de facto fascist police-state quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.  Welcome to Nazi America.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-5-19

Highly reminiscent of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors, Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following.  It's appalling.  Runs against the grain of everything our formerly great country once stood for.  No longer.

Border Patrol runs and operates gulags.  NBC News reports:

"The government’s own internal watchdog warned as far back as May that conditions at an El Paso, Texas, border station were so bad that border agents were arming themselves against possible riots, countering Friday’s assertion by a top Trump administration official that reports of poor conditions for migrants were “unsubstantiated.”

So what else is new?  Our government continually lies, -- just like our fuhrer, the Trump nazi.

"In an internal report prepared by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General and obtained by NBC News, inspectors noted during a May 7 tour of a border station in the El Paso sector that only four showers were available for 756 immigrants, more than half of the immigrants were being held outside, and immigrants inside were being kept in cells maxed out at more than five times their capacity."

Concentration camps.  Run by the Trump nazi and his henchmen.  Our formerly great country is precisely where Nazi Germany was when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor in 1933.  Worst was yet to come.

"Border agents remained armed in holding areas because they were worried about the potential for unrest, the report said. Agents typically put their weapons in a lockbox when they enter holding areas, a DHS official said."

For damned good reason.  Wouldn't want prisoners disarming armed guards.

Think the following isn't a concentration camp?  Wake up:

"A cell meant for a maximum of 35 held 155 adult males with only one toilet and sink. The cell was so crowded the men could not lie down to sleep. Temperatures in the cells reached over 80 degrees, the report said. "With limited access to showers and clean clothing, detainees were wearing soiled clothing for days or weeks," the report said. Medical concerns were also rising during early May, the report found. Agents reported taking sick migrants to the hospital five times a day, treating 75 immigrants for lice in a single day and trying to quarantine outbreaks of flu, chickenpox and scabies. While this particular El Paso facility, the name of which is redacted in the report, did have formula and baby food for children, it did not have soft mats for them to sleep on or clean clothing. News of the inspector general’s report follows remarks by acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan on Friday that news stories of poor conditions for children at a border station in the El Paso sector were "unsubstantiated." Last week, lawyers allowed inside a Border Patrol facility near El Paso in Clint, Texas, reported children taking care of other children and living in soiled clothing."

All courtesy of the Trump nazi and his henchmen.  Congenital liars.

"The report also included interviews with CBP agents at the Paso Del Norte border station in El Paso, where morale was in sharp decline. The agents had concerns that the conditions would lead to riots or hunger strikes by migrants. Some agents were looking to retire early or move to another agency. "The current situation where immigrants are simply giving themselves up to the border patrol [and border patrol must detain] is causing low morale and high anxiety. They are seeing more drinking, domestic violence and financial problems among their agents," the report said. DHS did not respond to a request for comment."

What the f--k could they possibly say?

Insult to injury?  Get this.  NBC News reports:

"Screenshots reportedly from a secret Facebook group for current and former Border Patrol agents, with thousands of members, show posts that joked about the deaths of migrants and discussed throwing burritos at Latino members of Congress visiting a detention facility in Clint, Texas, on Monday."

Racist jackbooted bastards.

"The three-year-old group, which has roughly 9,500 members, shared derogatory and sexist comments about lawmakers, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, ProPublica reported Monday. The group is reportedly called “I’m 10-15." The agency's code for "aliens in custody" is 10-15. “These posts are completely inappropriate and contrary to the honor and integrity I see — and expect — from our agents day in and day out,” Border Patrol chief Carla Provost said in a statement to NBC News. “Any employees found to have violated our standards of conduct will be held accountable.”

How did this happen?  How could you not have known?  No such thing as secrecy on Facebook or anywhere else online for that matter:

"ProPublica said it had received images of several recent discussions in the Facebook group and "was able to link the participants in those online conversations to apparently legitimate Facebook profiles belonging to Border Patrol agents, including a supervisor based in El Paso, Texas, and an agent in Eagle Pass, Texas." The investigative journalism organization said it was unable to reach the group members who made the postings."

Gutless jackbooted bastards.

"One member, apparently a patrol supervisor, wrote, “F--- the hoes.” “There should be no photo ops for these scum buckets,” posted a third member. Ocasio-Cortez, who ProPublica said was a target of most of the disturbing posts, responded to the report in a series of tweets on Monday and questioned the agency's ability "to care for refugees humanely." "They’re threatening violence on members of Congress," she wrote. "How do you think they’re treating caged children+families?" After touring the facility, she tweeted, "I see why CBP officers were being so physically & sexually threatening towards me. Officers were keeping women in cells w/ no water & had told them to drink out of the toilets."

Nazi America.  Concentration camps.  Worst, yet to come.

"CBP has been accused of mistreating children and adults in its custody. Ocasio-Cortez has compared the Trump administration’s border detention facilities to “concentration camps,” eliciting criticism that she was minimizing the Holocaust."

Not at all.  Not possible to minimize the Holocaust.  Quite the contrary.  Ferociously pointedly, we are precisely at a time in our formerly great country where Nazi Germany happened to be in 1933 when Hitler became Chancellor.  The worst was yet to come.  So too, in our formerly great country. Wake up.

"In one exchange in the 10-15 Facebook group, members responded crassly or with indifference to a news story about a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant who died in May while in custody at a Border Patrol station in Weslaco, Texas, according to ProPublica. One member responded with a GIF of Elmo with the quote, “Oh well.” Another posted an image and the words “If he dies, he dies.”

Callous jackbooted nazi bastards.

"The National Border Patrol Council, the official union of Border Patrol employees, condemned the "I'm 10-15" group in a statement: "The content found in this group ... is not representative of our employees and does a great disservice to all Border Patrol agents, the overwhelming majority of whom perform their duties honorably."

That so?

ABC News reports:

“Today, U.S. Customs and Border Protection was made aware of disturbing social media activity hosted on a private Facebook group that may include a number of CBP employees,” CBP’s Matthew Klein, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Professional Responsibility noted in a statement. “CBP immediately informed DHS Office of the Inspector General and initiated an investigation.” Klein added that CBP employees are expected to adhere to the agency’s standards of conduct, “both on and off duty,” directing that its ranks “not make abusive, derisive, profane, or harassing statements or gestures, or engage in any other conduct evidencing hatred or invidious prejudice to or about one person or group on account of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability.” U.S. Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost called the posts “completely inappropriate” and argued the posts are “contrary to the honor and integrity I see—and expect—from our agents day in and day out.” “Any employees found to have violated our standards of conduct will be held accountable,” Provost stated."

How could you not have known?  Approximately, half your work force belongs to this group:

"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was the subject of numerous posts and is participating in the congressional delegation Monday, tweeted, “How on earth can CBP’s culture be trusted to care for refugees humanely.”

    "There are 20,000 TOTAL Customs & Border Patrol agents in the US.

    9,500 - almost HALF that number - are in a racist & sexually violent secret CBP Facebook group.

    They’re threatening violence on members of Congress. How do you think they’re treating caged children+families? https://t.co/AfDB50cgHQ
    — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 1, 2019"

The Congresswoman was not the only one criticizing:

"Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security called for anyone who posted the lewd content to be fired, and asserted that the officials responsible "seem empowered by President Trump." "This Facebook group is beyond sexist and racist – it is truly abhorrent and shameful, and there is no excuse for this depraved behavior. The agents found to be responsible for these vile comments should no longer have the privilege of representing the United States of America in uniform," Thompson, D-Miss., said. "It is clear these Federal law enforcement officials seem empowered by President Trump and seem all too willing to take his anti-immigrant rhetoric to the next level when they think no one is watching. It is also clear that DHS, CBP, and the Border Patrol have serious and systemic problems that must be addressed immediately. The chaos within DHS needs to end and proper leadership needs to be put in place.”

NPR reports:

"Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, condemned the online group, following a tour of the Border Patrol's Clint facility. "That was a vulgar, disgusting and vile page," he told reporters. "That shows, unfortunately, that there are many within CBP who've become desensitized to the point of being dangerous to the migrants in their care."

They're following the example of our achingly fascist fuhrer, the Trump nazi.

"Castro added: "It shocks the conscience that these agents are entrusted with the lives of anybody in their custody."

Where is determined congressional oversight of Trump and his henchmen?  You and your congressional colleagues are not doing your jobs.

"The Clint shelter became a flashpoint last month for critics of the Trump administration's policies over how it treats unaccompanied migrant children. A group of lawyers who visited the Border Patrol-run facility said roughly 300 children were being detained in filthy conditions with no access to showers or personal hygiene products and with little food, for weeks at a time. On Monday, The Associated Press released video of an unidentified girl talking about her experience there after she was reunited with her mother. She said hundreds of children were mistreated by the people who were meant to care for them; children were denied showers and had to sleep on the floor, often sharing blankets, she said."

All courtesy of our fuhrer, the Trump nazi, and his henchmen.

NBC News reports:

"Government investigators have identified poor conditions in another sector of the southern border, publishing graphic photos showing extreme overcrowding in Rio Grande Valley migrant facilities and finding that children there did not have access to showers and had to sleep on concrete floors. Investigators for the Department of Homeland Security who visited border stations in the El Paso, Texas, sector in May found similar conditions: migrants being held in temporary facilities for weeks rather than days, single adults living in standing room-only cells with no space to lie down, and concerns about serious health risks. The investigators for the DHS Office of the Inspector General toured five Border Patrol facilities and two ports of entry in the Rio Grande Valley sector during the week of June 10 and published their report as a "management alert" to the department on Tuesday. The Rio Grande Valley of Texas has the highest volume of immigrants along the United States-Mexico border. At the time of the visits by investigators, Border Patrol was holding 8,000 detainees in custody, with 3,400 being held longer than the 72-hour limit. One senior manager at a facility called the situation a "ticking time bomb," according to the report. When immigrants detained in the facilities saw investigators walking through, they banged on the cell windows and pressed notes against the plexiglass to show the length of time they had spent in custody. One said, "Help. 40 Day Here."

Nazi America. Trump's Fourth Reich.

"On Monday, NBC News published findings by the inspector general that detailed poor conditions for migrants in border stations in El Paso as far back as May 7. Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan said at a press conference Friday that reports of poor conditions for children in border stations were "unsubstantiated." McAleenan said children were given showers as soon as they could be made available. "Most single adults had not had a shower in CBP custody despite several being held for as long as a month," according to the latest report on conditions in the Rio Grande Valley."

Courtesy of our fuhrer, the Trump nazi, and his henchmen.

"The report also detailed what it called "security incidents" in which immigrants have tried to escape and once refused to return to their cells after being removed during maintenance. To address the problem, Border Patrol called in its special operations force to "demonstrate it was prepared to use force if necessary," the report said."

Trump's Fourth Reich. Nazi AmericaWake up.

ABC News reports:

"Congressional Democrats on Tuesday blasted conditions at an immigrant detention center in Homestead, Florida, following a second-straight day of inspecting the government facilities, calling the shelter a "warehouse of children for profit.” After lawmakers traveled to the Texas-Mexico border on Monday, describing continued concerns over the treatment of immigrants detained in El Paso and Clint, Texas, Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, joined a delegation of Democrats at the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, where several Democratic presidential candidates visited while they were in town for the Democratic presidential debate last week. "It’s what I didn’t see that bothers me the most," Thompson, D-Miss., told reporters, expressing concern that the Miami-Dade school system was not involved in the education of immigrants while lamenting that U.S. taxpayers pay $775 per day, per child. "It doesn’t matter what the president or any of his people say, we’re going to get it right." After the tour, Georgia Democrat Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon, said the experience reinforced his deepest beliefs. "I came here to learn. I’ve been deeply moved by what I have seen and what I have heard," Lewis said. "When you see something that’s not right, not fair, not just, you have to say something. You have to do something.”

Time to stand up to nazismNo courage?

"Lawmakers also expressed disgust over a secret Facebook group where current and former border agents purportedly shared lewd content disparaging members of the delegation ahead of their visit. The group was named “I’m 10-15” -- the Border Patrol’s code for “aliens in custody.” Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Florida Democrat, led the delegation and marked her third trip to the facility, called the behavior "a disgrace" and called on any border patrol personnel who posted inappropriate content to be prosecuted. "You cannot intimidate members of Congress," Wilson, D-Florida, said. "It is against the law." Rep. Jahana Hayes, a freshman Democrat who was recognized as the the 2016 Teacher of the Year, said the delegation was shown empty dormitory rooms with neatly-made beds. She bemoaned that Health and Human Services, which operates the shelter, "just missed out on an opportunity to ask Congress for help." "It was too perfect," Hayes, D-Mass., said. "What I saw in there is not anything I’d want for my children. It’s not okay for anyone else’s children." This cannot exist," she continued. "God help us all if this is what Americans do. God help us all."

Raw nazism. Wake upReincarnation of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini.


7-5-19

Trump treasonously turns his back on those who serve in the military.  NPR reports:

"The Trump administration wants to scale back a program that protects undocumented family members of active-duty troops from being deported, according to attorneys familiar with those plans."

Treason.  No more, no less.  Betrayal of those who serve in uniform and their families.

"The attorneys are racing to submit applications for what is known as parole in place after hearing from the wives and loved ones of deployed soldiers who have been told that option is "being terminated."

Raw nazism.  Unbridled.  Trump's Fourth Reich.

"The protections will only be available under rare circumstances, the lawyers said they've been told. "It's going to create chaos in the military," said Margaret Stock, an immigration attorney who represents recruits and veterans in deportation proceedings. "The troops can't concentrate on their military jobs when they're worried about their family members being deported." Officials with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which offers parole in place as a "discretionary option," declined to discuss questions about the ending of the program."

Why?  Can't defend the indefensible?

"The original objective of the policy was to minimize disruption to the life of a soldier, sailor, airman or Marine whose family member might have been subject to deportation. Parole in place enables a soldier serving in Afghanistan, for instance, not to worry that a spouse at home who entered the U.S. illegally might be thrown out of the country while the soldier is deployed. The spouse has the ability to receive "parole" within the U.S. and apply for a green card — unlike someone without that privilege, who might be deported and required to wait for years to apply."

Jackbooted nazi tactics imposed by our fuhrer, the Trump nazi.  A raucous, boot clicking, goose stepping, treasonous, treacherous, traitorous Seig Heil!, Mr. 'President?'

"The procedures are changing as the U.S. government ramps up enforcement proceedings, including against veterans and their family members — sometimes in ways that violate the government's own procedures. For example, a federal watchdog reported earlier this month that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not follow its own policies on deporting former service members since 2013, which included during the Obama administration. Immigrants have always served in the military and often become citizens. Nearly 130,000 troops have been naturalized from more than 30 foreign countries since Oct. 1, 2001. Service doesn't necessarily guarantee citizenship for troops, but it can offer them a path to that, as well as some benefits for people related to those serving, such as the parole privilege. One government lawyer is urging immigration lawyers to act quickly before the program is officially terminated next month. "I would advise clients that if they are eligible for [parole in place] to submit it ASAP," a government lawyer warned other attorneys in a message obtained by NPR, adding later: "Wish there was better news to share. Big take-away is that no group is 'safe' any longer."

Our country is no longer what it once was.

"Carlos Luna, founder and president of a green card veteran chapter of the League of Latin American Citizens, said the ending of parole in place is yet another example of what he called the Trump administration's "war against immigrants." "There are less and less opportunities for these people serving the country and their veteran family to go through the 'legal channels' and stay here in the country, which for many is the only place they've ever known," Luna said. Luna cited the Trump administration's decision this year to close all of its international field offices and the fact that military recruits now must serve 180 days of active duty before becoming eligible to apply for naturalization — unless they're in a combat zone. The Trump administration has also made it harder for some immigrants to enlist in the military with hopes their service would lead to an expedited path to citizenship."

Citizenship should be immediate and permanent, contingent on honorably completing military service, or dying in battle.

"Stock, the immigration attorney, meanwhile said she thought it might be corrosive to military readiness if troops overseas must begin worrying that their family members back home might be deported. "I don't think people really understand we have a global military that has a multitude of immigration problems because of the fact that we deploy immigrants overseas all the time and we recruit immigrants and we recruit U.S. citizens who are married to immigrants and have immigrant parents," Stock said. "The military is very international, and if you got rid of everybody in the military who had a connection to a foreigner — you wouldn't have anyone in the military."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-5-19

Think the above outrageous?  The following?  Worse.  Shows precisely where the Trump nazi's priorities lie.

"President Trump is ordering the Pentagon to rewrite a rule allowing athletes to delay mandatory active service in order to play professional sports directly upon graduation. "These student-athletes should be able to defer their military service obligations until they have completed their professional sports careers," Trump wrote in a presidential memorandum issued on Wednesday."

Why?  Their first commitment should be to the country they chose to serve and to taxpayers that paid for their education.

"Under existing Department of Defense policy, those enrolled in military academies cannot play sports before serving at least two years in the armed forces. That requirement, Trump wrote in his memo, deprives some student athletes of "a short window" they have to take advantage of their athletic talents."

Tough shit.  Then, they should not have gone to a military academy at taxpayer expense.

"During the Obama administration, military academy athletes were able to go right into sports after graduating if they were granted reserve status. But last year, Trump's own Defense Department revoked that policy. "Our military academies exist to develop future officers who enhance the readiness and the lethality of our military services," Pentagon officials wrote in May 2017 announcing rescinding the Obama-era policy. "Graduates enjoy the extraordinary benefit of a military academy education at taxpayer expense."

That's right.

"Pentagon officials pointed to successful professional athletes who completed the minimum of 25 months of service before playing sports, such as Roger Staubach, Dallas Cowboys quarterback, 1963 Heisman Trophy winner and Naval Academy graduate. Staubach became a professional player after serving a tour in Vietnam. Proponents of Trump's order highlight cases like former Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who was drafted into the NFL in 2016 after deferring his military service. It is the first official action Trump has taken to return to the old rule following public comments indicating that the president preferred allowing [the] graduate to defer military service in order to pursue careers in professional sports. "I mentioned this to the coach, and it's a big deal," Trump said in May when the West Point football team visited the White House. "Can you imagine, this incredible coach with that little asset because I would imagine that would make recruiting a little bit easier." In his order, Trump said that the new policy should not be seen as a way out of active duty service. "These student-athletes should honor the commitment they made to serve in the armed forces," Trump said."

Called bullshit.  Blatant double talk.  Clearly, the corporate management suite trumps country to the Trump nazi and those who think like this fascist son of a bitch.  Should these professional athletes be injured, and/or disabled, will they then be required to reimburse taxpayers for the cost of their education?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-5-19

Clearly, from the above two articles, Trump has no true interest in the military, but remains more than willing to use the military to glorify himself.  CNN reports:

"In February, Trump told Americans to "HOLD THE DATE!" for his July Fourth plans, tweeting that there will be a "major fireworks display, entertainment and an address by your favorite President, me!"

Full of himself, isn't he?

"The Department of Interior previously confirmed that Trump will give his "Salute to America" address on the National Mall this July Fourth, an unusual move by the President. Trump and other presidents have previously held events at the White House to celebrate the nation's birthday, but typically have not been present at the traditional large celebrations on the Mall."

The Fourth of July is traditionally about celebration of the nation's birth.  Not grandstanding by a president eager to take advantage of the holiday to shamelessly advance narrow, political, partisan objectives.

"Earlier in his administration, Trump had announced his intent to hold a military parade in Washington, DC, however he canceled those plans following estimates that put the cost of such a parade at tens of millions of dollars."

Think that supposed restriction on spending still holds?  Consider the following:

"The US Navy's flight demonstration team the Blue Angels will participate in the July Fourth celebrations in Washington, DC, this year, US officials have confirmed to CNN. The event is being referred to as a "Salute to America," and will feature fireworks and a speech from President Donald Trump. Other military assets are also expected to be involved with one military official saying that F-35 jets will likely participate. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt teased the squadron's participation in the event, tweeting Thursday that a "big announcement" is coming Friday along with a photo of the Blue Angels.

    "Big announcement coming tomorrow #Salute2America pic.twitter.com/U4uWKcTYp2
    — Secretary David Bernhardt (@SecBernhardt) June 27, 2019

"The plane used as Air Force One will also fly above the National Mall on the Fourth of July as a part of a military flyover during the day's festivities. Since Trump will be on the ground watching rather than on the plane, the aircraft won't officially be Air Force One."

Wake up.  This country is more polarized than ever.  The middle class is going extinct as the economy has become zero-sum, winner-take-all.  ... Hear the rumble?

In another update, CNN reports:

"A small number of M1 Abrams tanks and other armored vehicles will participate in President Donald Trump's July Fourth celebrations in Washington on Thursday, US defense officials have confirmed to CNN. However, they will not parade down Pennsylvania Avenue due to the need to protect roads and bridges. Trump later confirmed tanks would be present during remarks in the Oval Office. "I'm going to be here and I'm going to say a few words and we're going to have planes going overhead, the best fighter jets in the world and other planes too and we're gonna have some tanks stationed outside," Trump said while also acknowledging that measures would need to be taken to protect infrastructure. "You've got to be pretty careful with the tanks because the roads have a tendency not to like to carry heavy tanks so we have to put them in certain areas but we have the brand new Sherman tanks and we have the brand new Abrams tanks," Trump added. While the US continues to operate the M1 Abrams tank the US military has not used World War II-era M4 Sherman tanks since the 1950s. "We have some incredible equipment, military equipment on display -- brand new. And we're very proud of it," Trump said. The event is being referred to as a "Salute to America," and will feature fireworks and a speech from Trump."

These are the very same kinds of spectacles the Republican Nazi Right has been so fond of criticizing when our enemies and other rivals engage in the very same.  The hypocrisy?  Appalling.  Galling.  Self-serving.  Narcissistic.  The military is well aware of its exceptional capabilities.  So is the public.  Why the grandstanding at tremendous taxpayer expense?  This, coming from a Republican nazi 'president' who falsely claims to be a 'conservative.'  Readers are reminded conservatives want as little government as possible.  Fascists thrive on it.

"Officials told CNN that the White House has been actively involved in the planning of the celebration and had asked the Pentagon not to discuss details prior to the event."

Why?  Think the Trump nazi is not doing all this for narrow, self-serving political purposes?  To elevate his poor standing currently in the polls.  Doing so at taxpayer expense, use and abuse of the military for stark political partisan gain:

"The Department of Interior previously confirmed that Trump will give his "Salute to America" address on the National Mall this July Fourth, an unusual move by the President. Trump and other presidents have previously held events at the White House to celebrate the nation's birthday, but typically have not been present at the traditional large celebrations on the Mall."

For damned good reason.  The Fourth is about country.  Not the current incumbent in the Oval Office.  Fascinating, isn't it?

CBS News reports:

"U.S. Army tanks will be present at the July 4 "Salute to America" celebration, but care will be taken not to damage the streets of Washington with their sheer weight, President Trump told reporters Monday.

"The president has long been enamored by the possibility of an even grander-than-typical Independence Day celebration, and he's borrowing ideas from events abroad like France's Bastille Day celebration. Mr. Trump will be speaking at this year's event in the scorching heat. "You've got to be pretty careful with the tanks because the roads have a tendency not to like to carry heavy tanks. So we have to put them in certain areas but we have the brand new Sherman tanks and we have the brand new Abrams tanks," the president told reporters. Sherman tanks went out of service in 1957. "And we have some incredible equipment, military equipment on display — brand new. And we're very proud of it. You know, we're making a lot of new tanks right now. We're building a lot of new tanks in Lima, Ohio — our great tank factory that people wanted to close down until I got elected and I stopped it from being closed down, and now it's a very productive facility and they do, nobody's — it's the greatest tank in the world."

Jesus Christ.  Give me a break.

NPR reports:

"American taxpayers are looking at a bigger bill for this year's Independence Day party in the nation's capital. For this Fourth of July, President Trump has added an address from the Lincoln Memorial, tanks stationed in the area, an extended fireworks display and military aircraft flyovers. Democrats in Congress are complaining about the added expenses. "There's going to be a big price tag for this and the taxpayers will have to pick up the tab," said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which directs spending for such events. The annual July 4 parade will still happen that morning, followed by a new 6:30 p.m. Trump address from the Lincoln Memorial with military flyovers and performances by the Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps and others. That evening, the Capitol Fourth concert, also a trademark of the usual D.C. holiday, will be followed by an extended fireworks show lasting 35 to 40 minutes. Van Hollen and other Democratic appropriators on Capitol Hill have raised questions and concerns for months that spending for the day could go haywire. And just before the big event, they still don't know how much it will all cost."

Congressional oversight?  Where?

"We haven't heard anything," said New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall, ranking Democrat for the Senate Appropriations Committee panel on interior and related agencies. "It's disturbing."

Congress is hopelessly derelict in its duty.  No oversight.  No reining in of the Trump nazi and his henchmen.

"The Federal Aviation Administration said it would suspend operations at Reagan National Airport for 1.5 hours for Trump's speech and flyovers. The aerial program will feature the jetliner used for Air Force One and aircraft representing all five military services, including the Navy's Blue Angels, said Jeffrey Reinbold, a superintendent of the National Park Service. A military official told NPR it could also include F-35s and F-18s. And there will be military tanks parked along the National Mall, Trump said.

"NPR's multiple requests for costs related to the plans, as well as more extensive details on the additional military personnel, equipment and security for the day from the Interior Department, National Park Service, U.S. Secret Service, the Pentagon and the five military services went unanswered. A military official said the White House was not approving Pentagon requests to share such details.

It won't be cheap, experts said. University of Denver professor Andrew Sherbo, who tracks such figures, said the Boeing 747 used for Air Force One could come at a cost of $205,000 an hour (the jetliner is only considered Air Force One when the president is aboard). The cost per flying hour for the F-35 can be $20,000 or more, according to Department of Defense comptroller figures. The Blue Angels could cost a more reasonable $6,000 per day, since air shows are tied to their training, said Sherbo, a former Pentagon official who now teaches finance. That evening, the Capitol Concerts portion of the program is budgeted at $6.4 million from the National Park Service budget, which is under the Interior Department, said Annie Orloff, Udall's press secretary. It will be followed by a joint show put on by two firework companies, Phantom Fireworks and Fireworks by Grucci, that will launch from behind the Lincoln Memorial for a display lasting 15 to 20 minutes. As a result, they are donating an estimated $750,000 or more as part of the plans, said William Weimer, vice president of Phantom Fireworks.

"They will be followed by Garden State Fireworks, a mainstay of the annual D.C. program since 2013, which will put on a 20-minute show from a new location at West Potomac Park. It will come at a cost of more than $250,000, said Christopher Santore, a choreographer whose family founded the company in 1890.

Add to that all the new elements for the presidential address and extended programming, and the costs become even fuzzier. "It's a good question," Cancian said. "It's difficult to answer." Udall, Van Hollen and others have pressed Bernhardt and his agency for answers. They have warned that taxpayer funds can't be used for a political rally and say Trump's plans appear to cross that line."

If that happens, time to impeach the bastard.

"The White House is issuing special VIP tickets to access a new, restricted area at the steps to Trump's speech as well as halfway along the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. A White House official said the area is being reserved for friends, family, Cabinet officials and possibly members of Congress. Military personnel, who are slated to perform, will also be in the ticketed area. On Tuesday, a Republican National Committee official confirmed it had received a "small number of tickets" to distribute for the special section. The official said it was similar to other customary moves under Democratic and Republican administrations to share tickets for Christmas open houses and garden tours at the White House. But some Democrats were quick to disagree. Udall noted there are specific regulations that bar taxpayers from paying for a partisan event, and propaganda is prohibited. Trump's plans seem to veer into that "very tricky area," he said."

If true, time to impeach.

"It is unacceptable that the Interior Department is failing to inform Congress about how it plans to spend taxpayer money to fund the president's lavish July 4th plans, which reportedly include special access to the National Mall for the politically connected," Udall said in a statement Tuesday. "The American people deserve to know how much of their money the president is spending to turn their July 4th celebration into a de facto campaign rally. All reports indicate that the president is planning to turn a national day of unity into a day of vanity – trying to use the military for political purposes and doling out perks to his political backers – at the taxpayers' expense. We need answers."

If so, time to impeach.

"After Trump attended the French celebration of Bastille Day in July 2017, he said one of his first calls was to replicate and "try and top it."

Apparently, our Fuhrer intends to do precisely that.

Sound like conservative government to you?  Or, a de facto fascist police-state quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich?  Readers are reminded conservatives want as little government as possible.  Fascists thrive on it.  ... Right, Mr. 'President?'

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-5-19

The following?  Most encouraging.  Government workers are standing up to the Trump nazi.  NPR reports:

"The labor union for federal asylum officers is condemning President Trump's policy of sending migrants to Mexico as they wait for their assigned court dates in the U.S., calling the Trump administration's program "fundamentally contrary to the moral fabric of our Nation." The asylum officers, who are tasked with carrying out a policy widely known as "Remain in Mexico," said they have a duty "to protect vulnerable asylum seekers from persecution," claiming that Trump's policy creates a conflict between their professional responsibility and the president's directives. The policy formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols is a "widespread violation" of international and domestic law, the asylum workers' union wrote. "[The Migrant Protection Protocols program] violates our Nation's longstanding tradition and international treaty and domestic obligation not to return those fleeing persecution to a territory where they will be persecuted," the union, the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1924, wrote to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in an amicus brief filing."

Great courage to stand up to an insane, egregiously out of control, fascist dictator:

"It is significant and unusual for a sitting president's own federal workers to publicly criticize a policy they have been directed to follow. The asylum officers say the MPP program undercuts a core part of their job and may endanger the lives of asylum-seekers, so the officers are asking the federal appeals court to halt the program. "The MPP, contrary to the Administration's claim, does nothing to streamline the process, but instead increases the burdens on our immigration courts and makes the system more inefficient," the federal workers wrote. The policy does not allow for all migrants to be asked whether they fear persecution in Mexico, only providing for that discussion if the applicant raises it, the workers said. And, according to the filing, some migrants do have a reason to be uneasy about waiting in Mexico for their U.S. court hearing. The union said human rights abuses, gang violence and kidnappings remain a problem in Mexico, citing a State Department report. In particular, migrants who are ethnic minorities could "face persecution in Mexico that is similar to the persecution they face in their home countries." The union writes in the filing that helping advance the MPP could place the lives of migrants hoping to win asylum back into danger, which is "something that they did not sign up to do when they decided to become asylum and refugee officers for the United States government."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-5-19

An out of control, Nazi Right, United States Supreme Court.  NBC News reports:

"The Supreme Court's split ruling on Thursday that federal courts must stay out of disputes over how states draw up congressional districts has dealt a blow to advocates who want to see an end to partisan politics manipulating the maps. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the conservative majority in a 5-4 decision, ruled that while "excessive partisanship in districting leads to results that reasonably seem unjust," that doesn't mean that federal judges should intervene on the issue known as partisan gerrymandering, which has historically been a way to give one political party power over another or weaken a particular group's voting rights. Effectively, Roberts has left the issue with the states and members of Congress — who have been unable to agree on a solution in the first place, advocates calling for change say. "The Supreme Court has walked away from partisan gerrymandering claims," said Michael Li, a senior counsel in the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan public policy institute in New York. "The door was cracked open before, but now they've shut the door and bolted it."

Expect anything less from a Court owned and operated by five Republican nazi partisans?

NPR reports:

"Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court's four liberals, noted in an impassioned dissent: "Of all times to abandon the Court's duty to declare the law, this was not the one. The practices challenged in these cases imperil our system of government. Part of the Court's role in that system is to defend its foundations. None is more important than free and fair elections. With respect but deep sadness, I dissent."

Gets worse.  NBC News reports:

"Police do not need a search warrant to test the blood alcohol level of an unconscious driver, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The ruling was a victory for Wisconsin, upholding its law that says any person who drives on public roads automatically consents to a blood alcohol test, including someone who is unconscious. A total of 28 states have similar provisions in their implied consent laws."

Nazi justice.  That is, no justice at all.  No warrant required.  No check and balance on nazi jackbooted government.  Fourth and Fifth Amendments mean shit squat to the traitorous, treasonous nazi element in our formerly great country.  ... Hear the rumble?  An unwanted, dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming.

NPR reports:

"The Supreme Court has ruled that police may, without a warrant, order blood drawn from an unconscious person suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol. The Fourth Amendment generally requires police to obtain a warrant for a blood draw. But on Thursday the court, by a 5-4 vote, upheld a Wisconsin law that says people driving on a public road have impliedly consented to having their blood drawn if police suspect them of driving under the influence. It also said that "exigent circumstances" permit police to obtain a blood sample without a warrant."

First, no citizen willingly gives 'implied consent' to anything.  Shit squat.  It's forced on the public by out of control nazi government.  No more than goddamned abrogation of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.  Nazi government.  Second, "exigent circumstances" is the excuse the nazi element in our formerly great country conveniently uses to abrogate all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

Called oppression.  Imposed by the criminal jackbooted bastards in blue to subjugate the public they clearly do not serve.  Only their masters in government, -- and the masters of government in the corporate management suite who line theirs.  This is no longer a democratic republic.  In name only.  In reality, a de facto fascist police-state quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

"Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer and Brett Kavanaugh joined Chief Justice John Roberts in the majority vote."

Only surprise?  Breyer, -- a Democrat who chose to traitorously go nazi at least in this decision:

"The decision conflicts with previous court rulings in which the justices ruled that a blood draw is a significant bodily intrusion into a person's privacy, and that there are less intrusive ways of enforcing drunk driving laws against unconscious motorists — getting a warrant, for instance, which in these tech-savvy days can be done relatively easily and quickly. In 2013, for instance, the high court ruled that police violated the Constitution when they ordered a nonconsensual blood-draw, without a warrant, in a routine DUI case. The vote then was 5-to-4, but two of the justices in the majority, Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy, are no longer on the court. The constitutional rights case produced four opinions — two concurring and two in dissent. Twenty-eight states have laws similar to Wisconsin's. The case, Mitchell v. Wisconsin, was accepted by the court at the start of this year, amid sharp divisions among state appellate courts over whether the blood draws violate motorists' Fourth Amendment rights. The case was argued in April."

NPR reports:

"President Trump says he is looking into delaying the 2020 census, hours after the Supreme Court decided to keep a question about citizenship off the form to be used for the head count. Trump tweeted that he has asked lawyers whether they can "delay the Census, no matter how long, until the United States Supreme Court is given additional information from which it can make a final and decisive decision on this very critical matter." He added: "Can anyone really believe that as a great Country, we are not able [to] ask whether or not someone is a Citizen. Only in America!"

Trump is a disingenuous liar.  Our fuhrer wants this question on the Census to enable his goons in the Border Patrol and ICE to find, arrest, and deport the undocumented.  No more, no less.  He lies when he says the question will be used to enforce voting rights.  Despite the fact the question can't be legally used to find, arrest, and deport non-citizens, delusionally believe Trump and his goons will obey the law?  Not only that, inclusion of the question will lead to an inaccurate Census count.  People will refuse to participate.

"The Supreme Court on Thursday left the citizenship question — "Is this person a citizen of the United States?" — blocked from the 2020 census for now, in part because of the government's explanation for why it added it in the first place. However, opponents of the question, who have worked for more than a year to get it removed, are claiming victory. The majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, said it "cannot ignore the disconnect between the decision made and the explanation given" by the Trump administration. "The reasoned explanation requirement of administrative law, after all, is meant to ensure that agencies offer genuine justifications for important decisions, reasons that can be scrutinized by courts and the interested public," the opinion continued. "Accepting contrived reasons would defeat the purpose of the enterprise. If judicial review is to be more than an empty ritual, it must demand something better than the explanation offered for the action taken in this case." The complicated decision comes more than a year after Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who oversees the Census Bureau, overruled the unanimous advice of Census Bureau experts and approved the addition of the question.

"On June 12, the House oversight committee voted to hold Ross and Attorney General William Barr in contempt for failure to produce emails and other documents involving the citizenship question. Unless there is an agreement, the full House could vote on the contempt citation, but the timing is unclear. And unless the issue is resolved through the usual process of negotiation, it would be litigated in the courts.

In a separate development later that same day, organizations challenging the addition of the citizenship question in New York asked the Supreme Court to send the census case back to the lower court if necessary to resolve what the plaintiffs called newly discovered evidence casting doubt on Trump administration claims. The groups cite unpublished documents regarding the citizenship question on the late Thomas Hofeller's hard drives, which were found by his daughter. Hofeller, who died 10 months ago, was long one of the Republican Party's top strategists on redistricting. Attorneys for the challengers in New York, led by the ACLU, contend that his hard drives contain documents showing that Hofeller "played a significant, previously undisclosed role in orchestrating" the addition of the citizenship question to be able to redraw political maps to favor Republicans and non-Hispanic white people. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman of New York is set to review these allegations this summer. "These allegations cut to the heart of this case," attorneys for the New York challengers said in their Supreme Court filing. They said that the Hofeller documents, which were discovered after the census case was argued before the Supreme Court, show that the administration's rationale for adding the citizenship question was "concocted" to hide a racially and politically discriminatory motive."

Trump and his henchmen are liars.  It's all a sham.  Wake up.  The national socialist, fascist bastard and his henchmen are bamboozling you.  The Democrats?  Useless.  Empty rhetoric.  No action.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-5-19

DACA to be revisited by U.S. Supreme Court during next term.  The Washington Post reports:

"The Supreme Court announced Friday it will take up next term whether the Trump administration illegally tried to end the program that shields from deportation young undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. A string of lower courts have said that President Trump’s decision to terminate the Obama-era program was based on faulty legal reasoning and that the administration has failed to provide a solid rationale for ending it. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has become a political football and the object of negotiations — to no end, so far — between Congress and the White House. Initiated in 2012 by a proclamation by President Barack Obama, DACA has protected nearly 700,000 people brought to this country as children, commonly known as “dreamers.” The Supreme Court would likely render its verdict during the 2020 presidential election year. The justices have been in no hurry to take up the issue; they have been considering since January whether to review a ruling against the administration from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in California. It recently denied a request to expedite review of a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit."

Fascinating, isn't it?

"The Trump administration moved to scuttle the program in 2017 after Texas and other states threatened to sue to force its end. Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions advised the Department of Homeland Security that the program was probably unlawful and that it could not be defended."

Not surprising coming from a national socialist, fascist, racist, bigot such as Sessions.

"But courts have rejected that theory and kept the program in place, requiring that those already enrolled be allowed to renew their participation. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D), who is among those fighting the administration’s decision to end the program, said more than 373,000 two-year renewals have been approved since January 2018. Those approved to be in the program are allowed work permits and protected from deportation, as long as they abide by its regulations and do not violate laws."

Why should this program be such a problem for the nazi element in our formerly great country?  Ferociously pointedly, these achingly clueless fascists, hopelessly ignorant, achingly hypocritical assholes are caustically reminded our UNDOCUMENTED forebears arrived in this continent centuries ago, STOLE it from its native inhabitants, then BROKE every treaty signed.

"The judges who have blocked ending the program have said the administration could remedy the legal impasse by providing a detailed reasoning of why the program should be abolished. Instead, it has continued to combat the orders in court."

Could it be Trump and his henchmen have no rationale?

"Trump at times has said he would like to find a way to protect those in the program, but attempts to work out a political compromise over DACA have foundered amid the larger partisan debate over immigration and border security. The administration has been anxious to get the issue before the Supreme Court, where it believes the more conservative wing will be on its side."

First, Trump talks out both sides his ass.  Contradicts himself from day to day.  Incessantly, lies.  No credibility.  Second, five Republican nazis now own and operate a highly partisan U.S. Supreme Court.  Our achingly fascist fuhrer, the Trump nazi, may indeed get his way.  ... Hear the rumble?

“We feel confident that the Supreme Court will find DACA to be unconstitutional,” said Vice President Pence earlier this year."

A Republican nazi dominated Court may indeed do so.  One reason, of an increasing number, a second American revolution catastrophically looms.

"The judges have rejected the administration’s position that courts lacked the power to review the executive branch’s immigration actions. “The government may not simultaneously both assert that its actions are legally compelled, based on its interpretation of the law, and avoid review of that assertion by the judicial branch, whose ‘province and duty’ it is ‘to say what the law is,’” Wardlaw said, borrowing the language of the landmark Marbury v. Madison decision."

Our fascist fuhrer has been all over the spectrum regarding this ongoing fiasco:

“Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really!” the president tweeted in September."

NBC News reports:

"The Trump administration moved to end the program in 2017, but federal courts blocked that attempt. Following a brief hiatus, the government began accepting renewal applications from DACA participants, which must be filed every two years. But the Trump administration then urged the Supreme Court to overturn the rulings that allow DACA to continue. Supporters of DACA have been largely successful in their legal fight to keep the program going. Courts in San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C., have blocked the government from shutting it down. The Justice Department asked the justices late last year to take up those cases on a fast track and decide the issue during the current Supreme Court term. But the court declined that invitation, allowing the program to continue. The Trump administration told the court that the program "sanctions the ongoing violation of federal law by more than half a million people," arguing it is not authorized by immigration statutes. Government lawyers also said leaving DACA in place interferes with the ability to send "a message that leaves no doubt regarding the clear, consistent and transparent enforcement of the immigration laws." Supporters of the DACA program said that nothing in the lower court rulings would prevent the government from undertaking deportation proceedings against any individual DACA recipient if the need arose. They also noted that President Donald Trump himself has taken conflicting positions on the program, saying at one point, "I love the dreamers."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-5-19

Trump loses another one in court.  NPR reports:

"A federal judge has ruled against the use of military funds by the Trump administration for barrier construction at the southern border. Judge Haywood Gilliam ruled Friday in two lawsuits — one filed by the ACLU on behalf of the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition, and one filed by California on behalf of 20 states. The plaintiffs argued that the funds had been denied by Congress already, were not needed for "unforeseen military requirement," and would raise constitutional questions. The administration had intended to transfer Defense Department funds intended for anti-drug activities."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-5-19

In the second Democratic presidential primary debate, Biden's unfitness for office became glaringly apparent.  NBC News reports:

"The front-runner stumbled badly on Thursday. In his first debate of the election season, former Vice President Joe Biden failed to cement his place as the favorite to win the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination — giving a wider opening to a small pack of legitimate rivals."

Both major political parties are overdue for new blood, fresh thought.

"And over the span of two days, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., who dueled with Biden over his record on school desegregation, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who was widely seen as the top debater in Wednesday's first heat of the two-day event, created opportunities for themselves. Heading into debate week, Biden stood in first place in the Real Clear Politics average of national polls at 32 percent, with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders at 16.9 percent, Warren at 12.8 percent and Harris at 7 percent. It was Harris who rattled Biden the most thoroughly, pressing him in a testy exchange over his record on school desegregation. As the only black candidate on the stage, Harris recounted her own experience with integration and told Biden it was "hurtful" that he had worked with segregationist senators and led anti-busing efforts."

Wiped the floor with him.  Made him look like a doddering old fool.

"She was very effective in that moment," said one of the other candidates, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo. Biden accused her of a "mischaracterization" of his record, but reiterated the argument he made at the time: that the federal government should not have been empowered to force schools to use busing as a means of desegregation. Though it didn't come up, Biden pushed similar legislation designed to protect local schools from a federal requirement that they allow black children into the same classrooms as white children. By the end of the back and forth, the usually loquacious Biden cut himself off. "My time is up," he said abruptly. "I'm sorry."

Appeared beaten.

"But that wasn't the only time he found himself on the defensive. The 76-year-old former senator absorbed shots from Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., about how long he's been on the national stage and, in more subtle fashion, from 77-year-old Sanders about his fortitude. "The issue, if I may say, is not generational,” Sanders said. “The issue is who has the guts to take on Wall Street, to take on the fossil fuel industry, to take on the big money interests.”

Harris was far more effective than any of the others:

"In the midst of her back-and-forth with Biden, Harris personalized the issue, creating an indelible political moment for both candidates. She spoke of a little girl who was part of a wave of students integrating schools. "That little girl was me," she said. At once, the line was a dagger for him and exactly the kind of touchstone she needed to let voters in to her personal narrative. There are three big questions now for Biden: whether his poll numbers will suffer at all for a lackluster debate performance, whether he has the wherewithal to rebound and whether he has given Harris, Warren or any other candidates the opening they need to cannibalize his base."

Way too early to tell.  Long, long way to go.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.


7-5-19

Georgia abortion providers step up fight.  NPR reports:

"Abortion providers have filed a lawsuit seeking to block Georgia's controversial new law that bans abortions when heartbeat activity is detectable, typically about six weeks into a pregnancy — before many women know they're pregnant. "This is a constitutional challenge" to the law, the plaintiffs say in the lawsuit, which was filed in a U.S. district court in northern Georgia Friday. The suit was backed by the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood Southeast."

What took so long?

"This law is an affront to the dignity and health of Georgians," reads the suit, which calls the abortion restriction an attack that is particularly aimed at low-income residents, people of color and those who live in rural areas. Those groups, it states, "are least able to access medical care and least able to overcome the cruelties of this law." The lawsuit also notes that black women in Georgia face one of the highest rates of pregnancy-related death in the U.S. Georgia's new abortion law is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2020. The plaintiffs are asking a federal court to stop that from happening. When asked for a response, the office of Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said Friday that it cannot comment on pending litigation. The legal challenge comes more than a month after Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed the measure into law — a move that was welcomed by conservatives but that triggered protests."

These bastards are not 'conservatives.'  They're national socialists, fascists, nazis.  A conservative wants as little government as possible.  A fascist thrives on it.

"We must protect life at all stages. We must remember our higher calling," Kemp said when he signed the bill. He also thanked his allies whom he said "rejected the status quo" by pushing to impose new limits on abortion."

Who the hell are you and those who think like you to force your outrageously perverse religious and ideological views on the rest of us by statute?  You nazi assholes delusionally believe you own a woman's uterus?

"But Georgia's law has also resulted in calls to boycott the state — which could have wide effects and endanger Georgia's thriving film and TV production business."

Exactly, what needs to happen.  Hit 'em where it hurts most, the pocketbook.

"Georgia is one of at least seven states that recently adopted restrictive abortion laws, including Louisiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri and Alabama."

Any state that does this, engages in this activity, needs to suffer the financial consequences of its pernicious embrace of nazism.

"On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Alabama's bid to revive its 2016 ban on a procedure often used in second trimester abortions. The court said it will not review a decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that struck down Alabama's ban on the procedure known as dilation and evacuation."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

Tim Chorney, Publisher
Liberty In Peril



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