George Will is right. It’s not enough to boot Donald Trump out of office: In life’s unforgiving arithmetic, we are the sum of our choices. Congressional Republicans have made theirs for more than 1,200 days. We cannot know all the measures necessary to restore the nation’s domestic health and international standing, but we know the first step: Senate Republicans must be routed, as … Read More
COVID-19: Day 5
As of 12:30 pm: US cases are 14,322 (with 210 deaths). That’s quite a leap over yesterday’s 9,000 or so, but we are testing more. NC has 123 cases, zero deaths. Five cases in my county. Dow is down 200 points. Again, seems to be veering from huge changes. The biggest development — GOP scandal: Senator Richard M. Burr sold … Read More
What If He Does It Again?
If Trump wakes up tomorrow and decides to condition military aid to Saudi Arabia or Egypt in exchange for those foreign regimes agreeing to damage his political rivals, what will happen? The answer is now clear: absolutely nothing. As they prepare to acquit Trump without even so much as a single witness, Senate Republicans have legitimized presidential abuse of power. … Read More
Impeachment Of Trump: It’s Over But For The Actual Acquittal
No witnesses. That is the incredible decision of the Senate on mostly partisan lines. Only Mitt Romney and Susan Collins had the backbone to vote to hear John Bolton, whose manuscript indicates much more about Trump’s attempt to coerce Ukraine into investigating Biden. It’s a pathetic commentary on the state of American civics that the biggest issue of the Senate … Read More
Seven Outright Falsehoods in GOP Staff Report on Impeachment
On December 2, 2019, Republican staff of the three committees overseeing the impeachment inquiry published a report prepared for the GOP Chairs: Representatives Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan, and Michael McCaul. This report, however, is not a serious examination of the evidence, nor is it intended to be. Unlike the House Intelligence Committee’s Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Inquiry Report , the minority staff report makes no attempt … Read More
Justice Department IG Likely To Ignore Conspiracy Theories In His Report . . . Because There’s No There There, And Rudy Gets Dirt From The Corrupt Ukrainians
The report from Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz on the origins of the investigation into collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016 has still not been released, though every indication is that the core report was completed weeks, if not months, ago. But while that report is still getting some final edits around the DOJ, one thing … Read More
Views On The Republican Prebuttal
The Republican staff report is as predictable as a typical Trump tweet—and as mendacious. It assails and belittles the Democrats’ effort to investigate whether Trump muscled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to initiate investigations that would dig up dirt on Joe Biden and produce information to back up a nutty conspiracy theory that holds that Ukraine, not Russia, hacked the 2016 election. And … Read More
RNC Scandal: Pay For Play
CBS News: A CBS News investigation has uncovered a possible pay-for-play scheme involving the Republican National Committee and President Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to the Bahamas. Emails obtained by CBS News show the nominee, San Diego billionaire Doug Manchester, was asked by the RNC to donate half a million dollars as his confirmation in the Senate hung in the … Read More
Don Jr. Triggered By… The Right?!? Heh!
Here’s a little bit of fun: Donald Trump Jr ventured on to the University of California’s overwhelmingly liberal Los Angeles campus on Sunday, hoping to prove what he had just argued in his book – that a hate-filled American left was hell-bent on silencing him and anyone else who supported the Trump presidency. But the appearance backfired when his own … Read More
House GOP Strategy To Defend Trump Is To Throw His Loyal Underlings (Except Themselves) Under The Bus
Um… House Republicans’ latest plan to shield President Trump from impeachment is to focus on at least three deputies — U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, Trump’s lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, and possibly acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney — who they say could have acted on their own to influence Ukraine policy. All three occupy … Read More
Breaking: Gaetz And Other Republicans Perform Desperate Stunt [And Other Impeachment news]
About two dozen House Republicans, chanting “Let us in! Let us in!” tried to storm the secure room where a Defense Department official arrived this morning to testify in the impeachment inquiry, refusing to leave even after they were turned back by Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California and the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee that was leading … Read More
Document Dump: Graham In Bed With Mother Russia?
The media has not picked up on this, but it goes a long way to explaining Lindsay Graham, who once said that if Trump is elected, it will be the end of democracy. Now, he is hardcore Trump. Is this why?
Impeachment Weekend
Compared to last week, there was little development over the weekend on the impeachment inquiry, but for a lot of eyes on the Trump team’s defense, as well as GOP reaction in Congress. From the talking heads on Sunday’s news shows, it looks like the Trump team defense is going to be… ineffective. On this particular day, the GOP decided … Read More
The NC GOP Lies And Cheats
Since June, Republicans in the North Carolina House have been searching for the votes necessary to override Democratic Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of the state’s budget. Republicans hold 65 of the chambers 120 seats but need the backing of two-thirds of state representatives for a veto override. The Republicans failed to attract the necessary support. So they decided to cheat. … Read More
Psychologists Shame GOP For Blaming Massacres On ‘Mental Health’
The Republican attempt to pin the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton on “mental health” issues was rebuked by the American Psychological Association on Monday. “Routinely blaming mass shootings on mental illness is unfounded and stigmatizing,” said APA President Rosie Phillips Davis in a statement. “Research has shown that only a very small percentage of violent acts are committed by people who … Read More