Friday, May 17, 2019 and the weekend
THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION
- Rep. Justin Amash: Here are my principal conclusions: 1. Attorney General Barr has deliberately misrepresented Mueller’s report. 2. President Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct. 3. Partisanship has eroded our system of checks and balances. 4. Few members of Congress have read the report. THREAD
- Thread by @justinamash: “Here are my principal conclusions: 1. Attorney General Barr has deliberately misrepresented Mueller’s report. 2. President Trump has engaged […]”
- Justin Amash becomes first Republican to call for Trump’s impeachment
- Justin Amash Is The First Congressional Republican To Say Trump Committed Impeachable Offenses; The Michigan congressman also said that after reading the Mueller report, he believes Attorney General Bill Barr has deliberately misrepresented its findings.
- Justin Amash’s impeachment call puts the Constitution ahead of Trump
- Breaking With Party, G.O.P. Lawmaker Says Trump’s Conduct Reaches ‘Threshold of Impeachment’
- GOP congressman says that Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct
- GOP lawmaker says Trump’s conduct meets ‘threshold for impeachment’
- GOP lawmaker: Trump has engaged in multiple actions that ‘meet threshold for impeachment’
- Republican Congressman Breaks Ranks, Declares Trump Committed ‘Impeachable Conduct’
- Republican Rep. Justin Amash says Trump should be impeached
- Romney: GOP Rep’s Call to Impeach Trump a ‘Courageous Statement’
- Andrew Laufer: Now if a GOP Senator comes forward and displays the courage and guts @justinamash just exemplified, then I will rethink my stance on impeachment hearings. @SenateGOP are you all cowards or does at least one of you stand for the rule of law?
The first domino to fall is always the hardest.
- Deutsche Bank Staff Saw Suspicious Activity in Trump and Kushner Accounts
- Anti-money laundering staff at Deutsche Bank flagged Trump, Kushner transactions: NYT
- Deutsche Bank Ignored Potential Illicit Activity in Trump, Kushner Accounts
- Deutsche Bank reportedly ignored employees’ calls to report Trump transactions to a federal watchdog
- Deutsche Bank Staff Saw Suspicious Activity in Trump and Kushner Accounts
- Deutsche Bank staff saw suspicious Trump and Kushner activity – report
- Deutsche Bank staffers flagged suspicious transfers from Jared Kushner’s companies to Russians
- Keith Boykin: Specialists at Deutsche Bank recommended in 2016 and 2017 that transactions from Donald Trump and Jared Kushner be reported to the Treasury Department for money laundering, but top bank executives stepped in and never reported the transactions.
- Angry White House Staffer: That’s suspicious. And pretty on brand for Deutsche Bank. FWIW, we’ve been talking about Trump and Jared laundering money on Twitter – primarily through Deutsche Bank – for over two years now. Glad it’s finally being covered.
- Eric Garland: Hey, could this Deutsche Bank money laundering thing be what started that SIX-AGENCY investigation into Trump that went back to Jan 2016? THREAD
It’s almost like we’ve been talking about money laundering for about two years. Because we have. What gets interesting in this story is that it directly implicates Deutsche Bank management in the cover up, the story mentions that others that are publicly exposed are involved, and that Kushner was paying individuals in Russia. Not even companies, but people directly.
See why Trump is suing to keep this private?
- Michael Flynn Was Fired a Week After Trump’s Personal Counsel Reached Out to Him for a ‘Heads Up’
- The Michael Flynn ‘Tape’ May Have Just Changed the Landscape of the Investigation Into Trump
- The President Is Accusing People of ‘TREASON!’ on Twitter. It’s Just Another Morning in America. | The president conveniently went ballistic with the “spying” stuff after we learned about the Flynn tape.
- Trump claims no one told him not to hire Michael Flynn. Obama did.
- Court to consider unsealing more Mueller documents at CNN request
- Ecuadorians to let US officials ‘help themselves’ to Assange’s gear
- Mueller’s report is done. Is there still a point in having a prayer candle with his image on it?
- Panhandle county that backed Trump among Russian hacking victims
- We don’t have an attorney general
- Eric Holder: AG Barr has deliberately misrepresented the Mueller report. He has started examinations of the conduct of Intell/FBI personnel without a predicate-for political reasons. He is protecting the President. He does not stand up for the good people he leads. He is not fit to lead DOJ.
- Senator Kamala Harris: Today marks 1 month since the release of the redacted Mueller report, and Attorney General Barr still hasn’t provided Congress with the full report or the underlying evidence. What is Barr hiding?
CONGRESS
- Justin Amash becomes first Republican to call for Trump’s impeachment
- Democrats still don’t want to impeach: It’s time for the people to force their hand
- Maxine Waters: Trump ‘has done everything that one can even think of to be eligible for impeachment’
- Schiff: Impeachment proceedings could be ‘tool’ to get information, evidence
- The Balance Has Shifted: The Data on Impeachment Favor Moving Ahead
- Trump administration ignores federal law that gives Congress access to the president’s tax returns
- “Throw their rear ends in jail”: Democrats want punishments for officials withholding Trump’s taxes
- Progressives Demand House Dems Hold Mnuchin in Contempt for Defying Subpoena for Trump’s Tax Returns. “It is unconscionable for our country to have a Treasury secretary who repeatedly shows us that he will continue to obstruct justice at every turn in order to do Trump’s bidding.”
- Steven Mnuchin Refuses to Comply With Subpoena for Trump’s Tax Returns
- Treasury, IRS set to miss subpoena deadline on Trump tax returns
- Lincoln’s Bible: If he is not arrested right now, then mark this moment as when the rule of law cratered to a corrupt oligarchy. Those charged with enforcing our laws must do so. Those who took an oath to the constitution, must honor & enforce it. This is not politics. It’s our foundation.
- Andrew Laufer: This violates both Section 6103(f)1 of the tax code and 18 USC 1505. It isn’t a mishap or merely the dog ate my homework excuse. Criminal charges can certainly be levied against Mnuchin for obstruction. Stop whitewashing this.
- Angry White House Staffer: There comes a point where you stop asking nicely — or asking period — and start doing something about it. We’re there. History won’t be kind to the Democrats if they let this obstruction continue unabated.
- AOC asks pharma CEO why $2,000 HIV drug costs just $8 in Australia: ‘People are dying for no reason’
- Senate confirms Jeffrey Rosen to replace Rod Rosenstein at DOJ
COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS
- Deutsche Bank Staff Saw Suspicious Activity in Trump and Kushner Accounts
- Bank staff flagged Trump, Kushner transactions for watchdog: NYTimes
- Atlantic City knew Trump was a grifter. His tax figures are proof
- No One Wants to Live in Trump’s Decrepit, Tainted Tower | “The name on the building became a problem. . . . No one wants in that building.”
TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET A.K.A INDIVIDUAL-1
- Trump May Be Preparing Pardons for Servicemen Accused of War Crimes
- Angry White House Staffer: This is a slap in the face to not only the rule of law, but to the men and women who uphold the standards of the uniforms they wear every day.
- Jake Tapper: Combat veteran I know just texted me, furious: “Pardoning convicted war criminals is a slap in the face to everyone who fought honorably. To everyone who didn’t commit war crimes. To everyone who chose the harder right over the easier wrong… THREAD
- Thread by @jaketapper: “Combat veteran I know just texted me, furious: “Pardoning convicted war criminals is a slap in the face to everyone who fought honorably. To […]”
- Caroline Orr: “Platoon members said he spent much of his time in a hidden perch with a sniper rifle, firing three or four times as often as other platoon snipers. They said he boasted about the number of people he had killed, including women.” … that’s who Trump is getting ready to pardon.
- Trump Accuses the FBI of Treason Because He’s Up Early and No One Took His Phone
- Trump might reportedly skip his Ireland trip because its prime minister won’t meet at his golf course
- Trump, Russia seek to use end of Mueller investigation as pivot point in relationship
- What does the Trump team say to Russia behind closed doors? We’re about to get a glimpse.
TRAITOR TOTS
- No holds Barred: Trump and his troops push for imperial presidency
- Mitt Romney’s spine is missing in action again
- Twitter Turns on Sen. Lindsey Graham: ‘Traitorous Trump Lapdog’
- Remember Carson’s $30K Dining Room Set? Looks Like It Was An Illegal Purchase
FIGHTING BACK
- If Donald Trump wants to leave asylum seekers stranded in Florida, let’s take them to his hotels, mayor says
- Dozens of graduates walk out in protest of Pence address
- Experts: Trump Likely Violated Two Laws in One Tweet
- The 1990s GOP would have demanded a special prosecutor for Trump’s Air Force One campaigning
EMERGENCIES, SHUTDOWN, & IMMIGRATION
- Trump administration identifies at least 1,700 additional children it may have separated
- Acting DHS secretary says migrants won’t be sent to Florida, sanctuary cities
- Trump plans to release thousands of migrants in two Democratic strongholds, Florida officials say
- White House confirms Trump is considering using the military to remove immigrants
- White House leaves open possibility of invoking Insurrection Act to remove migrants
- Donald Trump Is Micromanaging Construction of Border Barrier, Confusing Project Engineers: Report
- Trump wants his border barrier to be painted black with spikes. He has other ideas, too.
- He voted for Trump. Now he and his wife raise their son from opposite sides of the border
- Appeals court rules Trump end of DACA was unlawful
RACISM, RIGHT WING TERRORISM & WHITE NATIONALISM
- The far-right Australian politician who blamed the New Zealand mass shooting on immigration was voted out of office
- 173 Republicans vote against Equality Act banning LGBTQ discrimination
- Her daughter died at Charlottesville. She wants the feds to do more to fight hate.
SCOTUS & COURTS
- Denzican Grimes: Brett Kavanaugh clerked under Justice Kennedy. Justice Kennedy’s son worked for Deutsche Bank, the same bank that gave Trump so many loans. Then Kavanaugh’s $200,000 credit card debt disappeared before his confirmation. Pay attention, everything is connected.
- Kavanaugh, Collins back in spotlight after Alabama abortion law is signed
#METOO & WOMEN’S RIGHTS
- A Missouri House member said rape can be ‘consensual.’ A female colleague quickly corrected him.
- After abortion vote, calls to boycott Alabama
- Alabama doctor: Why I won’t stop providing abortions
- Alabama legislators refuse to fund mother and child health care as they ban nearly all abortions
- Alabama students speak out on abortion ban: ‘I’m not planning on living here after I graduate’
- Elizabeth Warren Demands Congress Pass Federal Laws Protecting Abortion Rights
- Elizabeth Warren Has a Plan to Save Abortion Rights
- Elizabeth Warren Just Dropped a Plan for Fighting the Alabama Abortion Ban
- How Gerrymandering and Voter Suppression Paved the Way for Abortion Bans
- Howard Stern: The Trump I know wasn’t anti-abortion because he probably got a ‘few people abortions’
- If a fetus is a person, it should get child support, due process and citizenship
- ‘It’s Time to Fight Back.’ Elizabeth Warren Unveils Her Strategy to Protect Abortion Access
- ‘I’ve got a plan’: Elizabeth Warren’s running as the policy wonk candidate and her poll numbers keep going up
- Journalist Elizabeth Drew used her lifetime achievement award speech to call out sexism in the industry
- Leslie Jones leads the charge against Alabama’s abortion ban in the SNL season finale
- Missouri expected to pass bill that bans abortion at 8 weeks, with no exception for rape or incest
- Pennsylvania governor vows to veto ‘any anti-choice bill’ that lands on his desk
- Previously Unreleased Poll Shows Alabama Voters Disapprove of Extreme Abortion Ban
- Rape victim who had illegal abortion aged 13 condemns Alabama’s new law as ‘abomination’ – ‘We are going to return to the back alleys. We are going to return to where women will do abortions to themselves. We will return to the coat hangers and perforated uteruses,’ says Maralyn Mosley
- Sailors Created ‘Rape List’ Aboard Navy’s 2nd Sub to Integrate Women
- Sailors ranked female crew and the sex acts they wanted to perform with them, Navy report says
- Senator Warren calls for federal laws protecting abortion access
- The “Pro-Life” States Are Not Pro-Life States – On a per capita basis, Alabama sentences more people to death than anywhere else in the country.
- The Republican Party is causing more abortions than it’s stopping
- These Are the 25 Men Who Voted for the Most Restrictive Abortion Ban in America
- This Doctor Won’t Stop Mailing Abortion Pills to the U.S. — Even Though the FDA Ordered Her to
- Trump says he’s an antiabortion champion like Reagan. History says: Not quite.
- Trump signals Alabama abortion law goes too far but stresses he’s ‘strongly pro-life’
- Trump, Republicans distance themselves from Alabama abortion law
- Two Republicans in Georgia Actually Fist-Bumped After Banning Abortion
- Women at two Va. universities wanted more access to the morning-after pill. So they took ‘matters into their own hands.’
- AOC: What angers me about the GOP’s attempts to turn the United States into a far-right Christian theocracy is how dishonest they are about it. At least be forthright about your desire to subvert and dismantle our democracy into a creepy theological order led by a mad king.
- Caroline Orr: I still can’t get over this video of GOP Rep. Barry Hovis defending Missouri’s draconian abortion ban (which would force impregnated rape victims to give birth) by suggesting that many rapes are actually “consensual rape.” oh, and Hovis is a 30-year veteran of the police force.
- Ron Howard to shoot ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ in Georgia despite abortion bill boycott
- Lincoln’s Bible: Women do not have to take a job on any level of this production. Say no to it. Amy Adams, Haley Bennett, & Glenn Close can quit. It’s also not too late to move production. This project has big names. Taking a public stand does more for the fight than 1-time contribution to ACLU.
- Reddit: War on Women
COLD WAR 2.0
- ‘I get the same intel:’ Iran threat exaggerated by GOP hawks, Rep. Gallego says
- Trump warned us: A “desperate” president would attack Iran to win re-election
- War With Iran Wouldn’t Be Like Iraq | It would be worse.
- John Schindler: Is that so? Iran was an empire during the Iron Age. They’re not worried about Cheeto Jesus. Regimes come and go, as do hucksters. Nations are ancient — none more than Iran. THREAD
- Europe’s far right says it is united. But can ultranationalists find a way to work across borders?
- Brexit talks collapse, setting up Theresa May’s likely departure
- Exit polls in India indicate victory for Narendra Modi and the BJP
- U.S.-style polarization has arrived in India. Modi is at the heart of the divide.
#NEVERAGAIN
- Trayvon Martin’s Mother Is Running for Miami-Dade County Commission
- 3-year-old boy killed in accidental shooting in south Kansas City, police say
- Shannon Watts: An accident: An event that happens by chance or that is without apparent or deliberate cause. Negligence: You left an unsecured, loaded gun around a 3-year-old.
- 23-year-old Greenville woman shot and killed by father who mistook her for intruder
- Shannon Watts: A South Carolina man mistakenly believed an intruder was attempting to gain entry to his home through a door early Sunday morning. He shot through the door, striking the individual, who was discovered later to be his 23-year-old daughter.
- Sanders’ gun votes again a potential liability among Democratic base
- Shannon Watts: “He is the only senator currently running for president who did not sign a March 2019 letter demanding Senate hearings on the first gun safety legislation passed by the House in a generation.”
THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
- Fox News surprising poll results: Mueller is more trusted than Trump and Barr
- Fox News’ Chris Wallace: Bill Barr ‘Clearly Is Protecting’ Trump
- Trump Sulks Over Fox News Holding Town Hall With Buttigieg: ‘Wasting Airtime’
WHITE HOUSE CHAOS
TRADE WAR, HEALTH CARE, & ECONOMY
- U.S. reaches deal with Canada, Mexico to lift steel, aluminum tariffs, clearing key obstacle to passage of Trump’s new trade deal
- Warren Buffett: If a bank needs a government bailout, the CEO and spouse should lose ‘net worth’
- The Trump economy is hurting most Americans. Statistics won’t fool voters
- Thousands of Americans are crossing the border into Mexico every year to get affordable medical treatment
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says It’s Not ‘Crazy’ to Want to Tax CEOs of Bailed-Out Banks
- Amazon is the third superpower heightening the drama of the U.S.-China trade war
- As Trump escalates China trade dispute, economic ties lose stabilizing force in matters of national security
- Connecticut Passes $15 Minimum Wage
- Are the U.S. and China heading for a deal — or a divorce?
STUDENT ISSUES
- Why is it so hard to keep schools staffed with teachers? This graphic explains it.
- Billionaire Robert F. Smith pledges to pay off Morehouse College Class of 2019′s student loans
GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD
- Joe Walsh: What have we learned these past two and a half years? That there are plenty of Republicans, even Conservatives, who will happily support & worship a king, as long as the king gives them shit they like.
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: GOP Doesn’t Care About Brown, Black Or Poor Babies
- G.O.P. Voters Think Losing $1 Billion Makes Someone (Trump) a Good Businessman
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
PRIESTS & RELIGION
- Ocasio-Cortez: Republicans Are Trying to Turn U.S. Into “Far-Right Christian Theocracy”
- AOC: What angers me about the GOP’s attempts to turn the United States into a far-right Christian theocracy is how dishonest they are about it. At least be forthright about your desire to subvert and dismantle our democracy into a creepy theological order led by a mad king.
- AOC: Usury – aka high interest – happens to be explicitly denounced in the Bible (& in many other religions). Looking forward to having the religious right uphold their principles + sign onto my bill. 😇Unless of course they’re only invoking religion to punish women + queer people.
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Challenges Religious Right On Specific Bible Passages—The freshman lawmaker from New York says if they want to follow the Bible, they can start by backing her bill.
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Is Right—the Bible Denounces High Interest Rates
- Research Shows Religious People Believe They Are Morally Superior, But Their Motivations Are Largely Egoistic
ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE
- A daily aspirin is good for your heart, right? Actually it’s time to rethink that but here’s why many doctors don’t.
- A Major Coal Company Went Bust. Its Bankruptcy Filing Shows That It Was Funding Climate Change Denialism.
- A massive Gulf oil spill is finally being contained after more than 14 years
- Aboriginal artists find a surprising new champion: Steve Martin
- BP pushed for Arctic drilling rights after Trump’s election
- Review | Rock this way: AirPods, Beats and Bose wireless earbuds take the headbang test
- Texas State Bill Would Make Protesting Pipelines a Felony on Par With Attempted Murder
- These extreme athletes are proof that pregnant women don’t have to take it easy
- With more than 1,100 dead, Congo’s Ebola outbreak is only getting worse. Now doctors are forced to go undercover.
- What ‘Avengers: Endgame’ tells us about the mysteries of time travel
ELECTIONS
THINKING AHEAD
- Countercheckist: HAHAHA! I’m number 18 on @TulsiGabbard’s campaign “to troll” list. Tulsi, you and your Kremlin pals can still f—k off.
- When it comes to the Democratic presidential field, bigger is not better
- At rally, Biden pledges to unite the country: ‘We’re all in this together’
- Bernie Sanders Calls for Ban on For-Profit Charter Schools, $60K Minimum Salary for Teachers
- Bernie Sanders just unveiled his plan to overhaul public education, and it includes raising teachers’ starting salaries to $60,000
- Bernie Sanders will call for ban on for-profit charter schools
- Bernie Sanders: Banks have been ripping off Americans for too long. I have a plan to end it
- Sanders pledges to only nominate Supreme Court justices that support Roe v. Wade
- Sanders: It’s ‘not good enough’ just to defeat Trump in 2020
- No, I don’t want a beer with Elizabeth Warren. But can she come over for Settlers of Catan?
PROGRESS IS PROGRESS
- Opening up about opening up: 3 comic artists share their experiences with therapy – The Lily
- Colorado Bill Would Allow Doctors To Recommend Medical Marijuana Instead Of Prescription Painkillers
IN OTHER NEWS…
- ‘Game of Thrones’ prophecies and visions: What has been fulfilled or broken and what’s still in play?
- How a community of obscure language inventors made it big with ‘Game of Thrones’
- Review | The new John Wick movie does what John Wick movies do best, beautifully and brutishly
- Meet the new Howard Stern. He’d like to make amends for the old Howard Stern.
- Horse racing is a sport without a rider
- ‘We’re like their grandparents’: When retired people hang out with retired racehorses
- Grumpy Cat has died. The Internet-famous feline with the perpetually miserable mug was 7.
RUMOR MILL
- Countercheckist: “The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism.” — George Washington
- Lincoln’s Bible: What are the chances that Trump’s lawyers/ politicians defend and support him because they don’t want the mobligarch atm machine to stop?
- Rick Wilson: The only way Trump read the Mueller report was if it was reduced to a simple pantomime or pictograph.
- Ming: Ming bet $1 Flynn give up gaetz bondi and scott.
- John Schindler: Is that so? Iran was an empire during the Iron Age. They’re not worried about Cheeto Jesus. Regimes come and go, as do hucksters. Nations are ancient — none more than Iran. THREAD
- Angry White House Staffer: This. So much this. Guys, I get that you’re stressed out. Everyone is stressed out, but we have to embrace potential allies. Acting like Eeyore isn’t going to make anyone — including you — feel any better. A movement is built one action at a time. We need the moderate R’s.
That’s it for the last few days. Like I’ve said for the last few posts, I’m trying to get back in the rhythm and find a nice balance. This feels like a good start. Writing is like working out. If not done every day, it’s hard to get back in the routine, but if done on a schedule, a day doesn’t feel complete without it.
Keep an eye out on the Deutsche Bank stories and upcoming hearings and rulings from Team Trump fighting subpoenas. They’re resorting to the same argument in all of them, and it’s a lousy one at that claiming that Congress has no authority to investigate unless there is a legislative purpose. They’ve used this same argument multiple times and are flailing around wildly hoping that one of the judges takes their side. If even one of them strikes it down, they don’t have a leg to stand on. We should hear something on those in the upcoming days.
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur
None of this is Normal 