Lazy Weekend
Posted on: April 20, 2019
Happy Weekend Widdershins!
Well, the Mueller report was released with some massive reductions. But even ignoring the redacted parts, William Barr lied his ass off in the original letter and then in his press conference. Trump is guilty of obstruction of justice, even if Mueller wants to leave the details to Congress. The only person exonerated by the report was Hillary Clinton, frankly. But we already knew that.
Anyway, Barr lied and Democrats in the House should impeach him. Get that sonofabitch outta there!
Our musical themes are: Liar, Leave Us Alone and GTFOH (that’s Get The Fudge Outta Here.)
Activist Tuesday: GOT or TMR?
Posted on: April 16, 2019
- In: Donald Trump | Russia
- 84 Comments
Happy Tuesday, Widdershins. I hope Tax Day was not too hard on you all. Had we not sold our house this year and moved to California, we would have been screwed by the Republican middle-class tax increases. Next year we will have to watch our step!
Like most of you, I watched Game of Thrones (GOT) on Sunday. I thought it was terrific. I waited for it with a great deal of anticipation, and it did not disappoint. But it’s nothing compared to the anticipation I feel, waiting for The Mueller Report (TMR) this Thursday.
But MadamaB, I hear you saying, The Mueller Report is going to be edited by that slimy piece of elephant dung, William Barr. (I do not use the word “redacted,” as there is no legitimate reason to change a single letter of that report.) He’s going to make that report as meaningless as possible. Nothing actionable will come of it.
Well, if that’s true, then why are the Republicans preparing a 140-page “counter-report” (which is, by the way, NOT A THING)?
That’s a huge about-face from when Barr first released his summary of the Mueller memo.
When it was released last month, Trump administration officials and conservative backers celebrated the president’s exoneration and attacked reporters, Democrats, and members of the public who were vocal about the evidence suggesting the president colluded with Russia.
(snip)
But just days away from the redacted release of the actual report, White House officials are bracing for its findings and the president has once again renewed his attacks on the legitimacy of the investigation.
Drumpf has been tweeting like a lunatic. Sarah Sanders just called Democrats dumb on TeeVee. Kellyanne Conjob has been saying something, I have no idea what (she just sounds like a droning, whining baby to me). Ghouliani has been looking like this whenever the report is mentioned:
So, yeah. I think there is going to be enough in the report to make the Mango Moron look really, really, REALLY guilty. And I am also quite sure that sooner or later (my money’s on “sooner”), the entire report will come out, either through Democratic subpoenas, or through Mueller’s testimony to Congress, or through leaks.
This is the beginning of the end of the disgusting sham of the Trump government and the Republican Reign of Error.
This is an open thread.
Lazy Weekend
Posted on: April 14, 2019
Happy Weekend Widdershins!
Our Fredster is having computer troubles. Let us hope for a quick reboot on that front!
I’m feeling a bit in the dumps again because of all the craziness going on. But I don’t want to bring everyone else down for the weekend, so let’s do the opposite! Music that makes you happy, puts a smile on your face! Doesn’t have to be music; could be a comedy routine. Whatever it is.
- In: Congress | Current Events | Democratic Values | Donald Trump | Government | Human Rights | Immigration | Open Thread | Republicans | Resistance
- 39 Comments
Good Tuesday, Widdershins! Today is a bellwether day because last night, Rachel Maddow finally stopped using the word “inexplicably” and used Occam’s Razor instead.
In her opening segment, Rachel was highlighting the fact that Drumpf has a very large number of weak, “acting” cabinet secretaries and vacant deputy positions that haven’t been filled. She then noted that this framework for governing concentrates power in the hands of the President. “There’s a particular type of government that works this way,” she said. “It starts with an ‘a.'”
Indeed! Welcome to the autocracy party, Rachel. It’s quite scary to admit what the end goal of Putin’s Puppet is; kudos for starting to wrap your head around it.
The autocratic end game, however, cannot be won merely by eviscerating critical government agencies like the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, the EPA and so many others. What will really set the tone for declaring Trump King Forever is a determination that he is above the law. And from where I sit, he’s trying his best to make that determination happen. Let me count just a few ways:
- The tax returns. The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Richard Neal, has demanded Drumpf’s tax returns. The Mango Moron has refused, which is illegal. The deadline for turning them over to the Ways and Means Committee is Wednesday, April 10. If this goes to court, will he get a favorable ruling?
- The family separation policy. One of the most Nazi-like policies this evil Administration has ever set in place, family separation was ruled illegal last year. But now, Drumpf is clearing house at DHS, firing Kirstjen Nielsen and others, and to try and find people who will impose the policy despite its illegality. He may have found at least one.
Though he may not be installed immediately, the Trump administration is likely to find a way to make sure [Kevin] McAleenan will step in for Nielsen on an acting basis, even if it means firing Grady. NBC News reports that McAleenan “has not ruled out” family separation as an option, and that he would consider allowing parents to bring their children with them into long-term detention as an alternative.
What happens if McAleenan does try to go ahead with family separation despite the judge’s orders? Who will tell him he can’t?
- The Fake National Emergency. When Der Drumpfenfuhrer declared a fake national emergency at the border and started appropriating funds for his ridiculous wall, the Democrats sued him.
Trump declared a national emergency in February to shift federal funds toward construction of the border wall after Congress refused to provide him with the amount he requested.The initial standoff resulted in a 35-day partial government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history.
The complaint was filed one day after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced that the House would sue the president to block Trump’s national emergency declaration to build a wall along the southern border.
“The Congress has a solemn responsibility to defend its exclusive constitutional responsibilities, and protect our system of checks and balances,” Pelosi said of the lawsuit in a statement Friday. “The very integrity of our democratic institutions are at stake. We will not let the President trample over the Constitution.”
These are just three examples. Bottom line is, a Constitutional crisis could result from any of these. If the pResident decides to just brazen it out and declare he is above the law, will the Senate stand up to him? Or will they continue to demonstrate their moral decrepitude and lack of interest in our core democratic principles, and help him establish an autocracy in America?
I think we’d all better start stretching our leg muscles and ensuring we’ve got comfortable shoes. While I hope we won’t need to, we must prepare to march to prevent Orange Caligula from consolidating enough power to destroy our country for the foreseeable future. Our activism may be the only thing standing between us and the “a” word.
This is an open thread.
Lazy Weekend~sick weekend ~ugh
Posted on: April 6, 2019
Fredster is a sick pupper today. Pollen counts have been astronomical and I have no idea if that’s it or not.
So as Linda Rich says, “tawk amongst yourselves”.
The most open of open threads.
Lazy Weekend: Control+Z
Posted on: March 30, 2019
Happy Weekend Widdershins!!!
I know I’m mostly MIA these days, but fear not, I’m around. How’s everybody doing?
One interesting thing happened since MB’s post on William Barr’s letter trying to save Trump’s ass “NO COLLUSION!” is that late on Friday William Barr sent another letter (dude likes to write letters). This time he says he will submit the full 400-page Mueller Report, with redactions that they are working on now, that they currently do not intend to submit the Report to the White House for approval beforehand. (Chair of the House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler has said he rejects Barr’s timeline and expects to have the full un-redacted report in a few days. Stay tuned for how that works out…)
But the funnest part of Barr’s 2nd missive was this:
Oh…….how interesting. This is, of course, disingenuous. The original letter was presented as a summary of the Mueller Report and certainly every pathetic reporter who has been presenting it as such. Trump and all the Republican have been using it that way. Barr’s need to correct the record on that suggests that the Mueller Report does not quite exonerate Trump the way Barr wanted us to believe. So we see-saw up and down up and down I’ve got whiplash ya’ll!
And on that note, William Barr trying to un-do, re-do, walk-back, try again, “oops did I do that?” his first letter is our musical inspiration for the weekend.
Activist Tuesday: WSDD?
Posted on: March 26, 2019
Well, it looks like Barr is doing the job Drumpf hired him to do. He is whitewashing and weaseling and trying like hell to protect the criminal and his cabal currently sh*tting all over American democracy. His four-page summary left much to be desired, and quoted not a single full sentence from the Mueller Report. And the Democrats are determined to get the full story.
The Democratic chairmen of the House Judiciary, Oversight, Intelligence, Financial Services, Ways and Means, and Foreign Affairs committees have written a letter to Attorney General William Barr requesting that he submit the full Mueller report to Congress by April 2.
What they’re saying: “Your four page summary of the Special Counsel’s review is not sufficient for Congress, as a co-equal branch of government, to perform [our oversight activities]. The release of the full report and the underlying evidence and documents is urgently needed by our committees to perform their duties under the Constitution … To the extent that you believe applicable law limits your ability to comply, we urge you to begin the process of consultation with us immediately in order to establish shared parameters for resolving those issues without delay.”
So that’s one thing the Democrats are doing. But it’s clearly not enough, so I would like to pose this question to all of you Widdershins out there:
What [Else] Should Democrats Do?
I think there are a number of avenues they can pursue.
- Subpoena Robert Mueller. The DOJ might block it, but “what are they trying to hide” is a powerful question.
- Turn their focus to other matters. There’s an interesting argument at the link…and, I just read that now that Barr is in charge of the DOJ, all of a sudden they’re cool to overturn the entire ACA. Seriously! This is truly horrendous, and it’s happening right now, when no one is paying attention.
The Trump administration wants the federal courts to overturn the Affordable Care Act in its entirety, an escalation of its legal assault against the health care law.
The Justice Department said in a brief filed on Monday that the administration supports a recent district court decision that invalidated all of Obamacare. So it is now the official position of President Trump’s administration that all of the ACA — the private insurance markets that cover 15 million Americans, the Medicaid expansion that covers another 15 million, and the protections for people with preexisting conditions and other regulations — should be nullified.
When combined with Trump’s endorsement of the various Republican legislative plans to repeal and replace Obamacare and other regulatory actions pursued by his subordinates, the Trump administration’s clear, consistent and unequivocal position is that millions of people should lose their health insurance and that people should not be protected from discrimination based on their medical history.
- Continue to investigate. In the absence of any real insight into what Mueller found, the Democrats seem to be committed to continuing to probe the most corrupt administration in history.
- Something else. Any other options you can all think of!
What do you think, Widdershins?
This is an open thread.
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