Wednesday, January 2, 2019
THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION
- Giuliani: Trump ‘doesn’t remember’ when Trump Tower Moscow talks stopped
- Trump illegally asked Russia to help him win in 2016. He shouldn’t get away with it
- Paul Manafort pressured by Russians to pay back debt while Trump’s campaign chair, Time magazine says
- Julia Davis: Re: Paul Whelan’s arrest in Russia, some say: “Why didn’t the Russians arrest GOP lawmakers spending the 4th of July in Moscow?” Funny enough, they actually pondered that. State TV host Olga Skabeeva said, “We should have arrested all of them before they went back to Washington.”
- Brother Reveals Why Retired U.S. Marine Arrested on Spying Charges Was in Moscow
- Russia Expert Says Retired Marine Paul Whelan Was Arrested ‘As Leverage’ for Maria Butina
- Pompeo ‘hopeful’ for consular access to detained American in Russia
- Russia: Detained US citizen Paul Whelan has been granted consular access
I’m not surprised that the Russians would pull a tit-for-tat move, but I am surprised at the timing. This move makes more sense back in the Summer. Now, it’s so obvious that this is a political move that even if he was passing state secrets, it looks like it’s a political move. Plus, I’d put dollars to donuts that Butina has already given some evidence and testified at least once before a Grand Jury. Her words are on the record.
COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS
- Attorney for Trump golf club employees says club mistreated illegal immigrant workers
- Attorney says more undocumented workers are employed at Trump golf course
- FBI investigating Trump golf club for hiring undocumented workers after tip to Mueller
- Democrats to ask for 10 years of presidential tax returns in new bill
TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET A.K.A. INDIVIDUAL-1
Afghanistan
- Trump says Soviets were ‘right’ to invade Afghanistan. His State Department very much disagrees.
- Trump endorses the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in freewheeling Cabinet meeting
- Kyle Griffin: Trump: “Russia used to be the Soviet Union. Afghanistan made it Russia because they went bankrupt fighting in Afghanistan. Russia.” Trump then goes on to endorse the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Via Fox.
- Max Boot: Trump says that Russia was in Afghanistan because terrorists from there were going into Russia. He’s confusing it with Chechnya. Also says that Pakistan is there and should be fighting. It is—it’s promoting the Taliban which has been fighting against the US and its allies. 🤦♂️
- Garry Kasparov: The USSR was right to be in Afghanistan?! Not even Russia says this anymore! Has Trump forgotten which country he sold out to?
- Donald Trump Gets Busted Boasting About Positive News Coverage Written By Own Aides
- Donald Trump Will Resign The Presidency In 2019 In Exchange For Immunity For Him And His Family, Former Bush Adviser Says
- Trump’s Attacks on Prominent Generals Are Corrosive
- Trump in Cabinet meeting claims he essentially “fired” Mattis
SHUTDOWN
- Senate will not consider House Democratic bills to end shutdown: Republican McConnell
- Trump’s Shutdown Is Not About Border Security; About 800,000 federal employees, and the citizens who depend on them, are being hurt for an empty political stunt.
- ‘Federal work force shouldn’t be used as a pawn’: Union sues Trump administration over shutdown
- Congressman Norman Introduces Constitutional Amendment Preventing Members Getting Paid During Shutdown
- During shutdown, janitors, security guards, and other federal contractors receive no back pay | Unlike federal employees, contractors won’t get back pay during shutdown.
- Pelosi has a message for Trump: ‘Nothing for the wall’ – “We can go through the back and forth,” the incoming House speaker told NBC News. “No. How many more times can we say no?”
- Pelosi on negotiations with Trump: ‘Nothing for the wall’
- Nancy Pelosi reveals her endgame for negotiations with Trump: Democrats will give ‘nothing for the wall’
- Source: Trump tells Schumer he can’t accept Dems’ offer because he’d ‘look foolish’
TRAITOR TOTS
- Evangelicals who don’t support Trump may be “immoral”, Jerry Falwell Jr. says
- Nikki Haley loses all her Twitter followers, posts due to Obama-era rule
- Nikki Haley praises Brazil’s President Jair Bolsanaro after he targets LGBT on 1st day in office
- Rand Paul’s Russian Connection
- Trump Wants Us Focused on the Wall and Not Whitaker
- Everyone who enabled Trump — doctors, lawyers, Republican legislators — should be held accountable
FIGHTING BACK
- This guy made physical flip-flops out of Trump’s contradictory tweets — and he sold out his entire inventory in less than a month
- Tomorrow is the day Donald Trump’s presidency totally changes
- Trump doesn’t understand his leverage is gone
- Harry Reid: Trump is ‘amoral’ and ‘the worst president we’ve ever had’
- Trump, Putin defeated by Gritty in a 2019 Mummers skit
ROMNEY
- Romney attacks Trump, saying he causes dismay around the world
- Romney says Trump ‘has not risen to the mantle of the office’ in scathing op-ed
- Romney’s attack prompts call to protect Trump from 2020 primary challenger
- The Only Mantle Mitt Romney Might Seize Is Being the Biggest Fake in American Politics
- Trump Takes A Swipe At Romney After Critical Op-Ed
- Entire Party Furious at Mitt Romney for Calling Trump a Terrible Person
- Don’t Count Romney Out Just Yet
- Countercheckist: The RISistance bots/trolls are very active criticizing Mitt Romney and his letter. Unsurprisingly, so are the MAGA bots/trolls. Almost like they’re being run by the same people… “weird.”
RIGHT WING TERRORISM & WHITE NATIONALISM
- Qasim Rashid, ESQ: 2018 Recap of the “Muslim threat” Americans killed by: •Americans w/guns: 40,000 •Falling out of bed: 700 •Hit by bus: 260 •Lawnmowers: 70 •Lightning: 30 •Armed toddlers: 20 •White supremacists:15 •Muslim extremists: 1 WH: 100% Silence on white supremacy🤔#HappyNewYear
- U.S. doctor tweeted she would ‘purposely give Jews the wrong meds’
KHASHOGGI & SAUDI ARABIA
- Netflix pulls comedy show episode in Saudi Arabia
- Hasan Minhaj Responds After Netflix Pulls Episode of His Comedy Show in Saudi Arabia
- House Republicans Let Trump Weasel Out on Jamal Khashoggi Blame
SCOTUS & COURTS
#METOO & WOMEN’S RIGHTS
IMMIGRATION
- Prosecutors Mull ‘Assault’ Charges After Videos Show Children Being Dragged and Hit at Arizona Immigration Detention Center
- Nancy Pelosi reveals her endgame for negotiations with Trump: Democrats will give ‘nothing for the wall’
- President Trump’s error-filled holiday tweets on the border wall
- Trump falsely claims Mexico is paying for wall, demands taxpayer money for wall ahead of meeting with Democrats
- Walls Work, Trump Says In Front Of A Poster Memeing “Game Of Thrones,” Where A Wall Absolutely Did Not Work
COLD WAR 2.0
- The new autocrats
- An Italian car of a country, Argentina looks great but just doesn’t work
- Joe Lieberman formally registers as lobbyist for Chinese telecom giant ZTE
- China’s president offers promises and threats as he calls unification with Taiwan inevitable
#NEVERAGAIN
- Teen commits suicide after accidentally shooting and killing friend: Police
- Shannon Watts: Four teen boys were playing with a loaded handgun in Georgia yesterday when one of them unintentionally shot one and killed his friend. The teen then called 911 and shot and killed himself before they arrived. Lock up your goddamned guns.
FIXING THE INTERNET
- FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Takes Victory Lap Over Congress’ Failure To Revive Net Neutrality Rules
- Tech predictions for 2019: It gets worse before it gets better
- ‘There’s so many different things!’: How technology baffled an elderly Congress in 2018
- 2018 was the year of online hate. Meet the people whose lives it changed.
THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
- New Law Aimed at Russian Media Could Ensnare Al Jazeera English
- Ohio Dem: US is Being Governed ‘From Rush Limbaugh’s Studio’
- Trump averaged 15 lies a day in 2018, triple his 2017 average, The Washington Post estimates
WHITE HOUSE CHAOS
TRADE WAR AND ECONOMY
- Dow tumbles by more than 350 points at the open as China slowdown spooks Wall Street to start 2019
- Living paycheck to paycheck is disturbingly common: ‘I see no way out.’
- New year, new bloodbath: Stocks plunge after weak data from China
- Dozens of pharmaceutical makers raise prices on hundreds of drugs to ring in the new year
- He runs one amateur football game per year. He makes more than $1 million.
- Six-Year-Old Moira is One of the Sickest People in America. So Why is North Carolina Trying to Gut Her Health Care? – Kids with complex medical problems were supposed to get the care they need at home—until states began taking away their services.
GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD
- Romney’s attack prompts call to protect Trump from 2020 primary challenger
- Trump allies anxious about a primary challenge from another top Republican, according to email
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- Judge says no to Kevin Spacey’s bid to skip court date
- Kansas Supreme Court Says Cops Can Search Your Home Without a Warrant If They Claim It Smells Like Pot
- Bush era mercenery hired for private security in Iraq convicted of 2007 murder of over 14 unarmed civilians
- House Ethics Committee says Rep. Tom Garrett misused official resources, was ‘trying to run out the clock’ on probe
PRIESTS & RELIGION
- Pastor blasts Jerry Falwell Jr. for putting Trump above Christian values: It’s how “Hitler rose to power”
- Evangelicals who don’t support Trump may be “immoral”, Jerry Falwell Jr. says
- Jerry Falwell Jr. Gets A Bible Lesson After Tone-Deaf Comments About Poor People
ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE
- Republicans push ‘innovation’ as climate change solution
- Senator Sheldon Whitehouse: This is such bull***t.
This is such bull***t. First it was a hoax. Then the science was uncertain. Then we were “alarmists.” Then any fix was too expensive. Now it will be fixed with “innovation.”
Sheldon Whitehouse Retweeted Sheldon Whitehouse
As the truth emerges, they just fall back to a more credible trench to defend the same industry and its same smelly lies and big fat subsidy. Give me a break.
Follow economics rule to put negative externalities in price (Econ 101); And you will get innovation out the wazoo.
Wanna starve innovation? Protect the fossil-fuel industry from fair competition (
); Give it endless corporate welfare (
Defend the market failure fossil fuel lives by (
Sheldon Whitehouse Retweeted Sheldon Whitehouse
Bottom line? Anything that lets #Republicans defend fossil fuel donors while still having some public story line to sell…
- Applause as Warren Shows Support for Green New Deal—the Plan ‘Every Serious Presidential Contender Should Embrace’
- ‘Not a problem you can run away from’: Communities confront the threat of unregulated chemicals in their drinking water
CONGRESS
- Democrats Announce Major Changes To U.S. House Rules
- Ethics investigation finds outgoing House Republican made staff unload groceries, dog-sit
- House Ethics Committee says Rep. Tom Garrett misused official resources, was ‘trying to run out the clock’ on probe
- Former Pelosi critic says Dems ‘absolutely’ united behind her now
- She once handled and recruited spies in Europe. Now this former CIA operative is headed to Congress.
ELECTIONS
- Tony Evers: It will take lawsuit to get him to follow lame-duck law
- North Carolina GOP Accused of Derailing Investigation into Election Fraud
- Paul LePage’s conservative governorship ends as Democrat Janet Mills is sworn in as the 75th, and first female Governor of Maine-
THINKING AHEAD
- Warren says she will donate her congressional salary during shutdown
- Warren: The Democratic Party is going to say ‘no’ to the billionaires
- Axelrod: Why Warren will be such a major player in 2020
- Applause as Warren Shows Support for Green New Deal—the Plan ‘Every Serious Presidential Contender Should Embrace’
- Elizabeth Warren says ‘government has been bought and paid for’ by big business. Political scientists say she’s got a point.
- Elizabeth Warren: Billionaires shouldn’t be able to fund their own 2020 campaigns
- Elizabeth Warren’s Theory of Everything; The Massachusetts senator is pitching her campaign as a war on corruption in the broadest sense.
- Romney’s attack prompts call to protect Trump from 2020 primary challenger
- Trump allies anxious about a primary challenge from another top Republican, according to email
PROGRESS IS PROGRESS
IN OTHER NEWS…
RUMOR MILL
- Geo Kelly: For all of you hard headed know-it-alls who think my projection of indictments is waaay too big, I posting this for you ONCE. Don’t call me a liar, Q-Anon, or some con artist because I don’t have inclination to even see you on my timeline if you do. Let us begin……/1 THREAD
- Thread Reader: For all of you hard headed know-it-alls who think my projection of indictments is waaay too big, I posting this for you ONCE.
- Eric Garland: My man @geokelley has made a hard forecast with big numbers of how many American politicians could be arrested. Want comparison? BRAZIL. I don’t have any specific source assessing for me how many will go down. But when you compare FARA to OpenSecrets to 20+ years running into corruption and then compare to existing indictments and plea deals, cross-reference all that… …the numbers ain’t small. 😈
- Geo Kelly: I also was told in October prosecutors went to Washington (From SDNY) & approached congresspeople & said they had one chance to make a deal* and the door would shut on November 1. I have no idea how many took that offer. *He said that the offer DID NOT EXTEND to any leadership.
- Vacancies in the United States Senate
- Ming: “I said ‘take those fucking panties off, Lindsey’ ” -M. Butina
- Countercheckist: The RISistance bots/trolls are very active criticizing Mitt Romney and his letter. Unsurprisingly, so are the MAGA bots/trolls. Almost like they’re being run by the same people… “weird.”
That’s it for Wednesday.
As I’m typing this on Thursday, the House is voting for Speaker. So far, the only four names I’ve heard people vote for are Pelosi, McCarthy, Jordan, and one person for John Lewis. Make it 5 as Conor Lamb voted for Joe Kennedy. Ok, 6 as one vote came in for Chris Murphy.
One thing that is funny is that while most people are just yelling out a name, every so often someone puts a bit more flair to their vote. When they do, it’s usually followed by some little applause. So far not one person has yelled “Sit the fuck down, Dave!”
Looks like Nancy Pelosi is the next Speaker of the House. I’ll talk more about that tomorrow.
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur
None of this is Normal 
One thought on “Daily Check-In 01/02/2019”