Monday, May 27, 2019. Covering from Friday May 24th.
THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION
- Robert Mueller Needs to Testify in Front of the American People. Period. | It’s too late to avoid a political spectacle. That ship sailed when he put responsibility in Congress’s hands.
- House Democrats must insist that Robert Mueller testifies publicly
- Calls for Mueller’s Public Testimony Intensify After It’s Revealed That He Wants to Avoid ‘Political Spectacle’
- Dear Robert Mueller: Not Testifying Publicly Is an Intensely Political Decision
- Trump gives Barr power to declassify intelligence related to Russia probe
- Trump grants Barr power over classified Russia probe info
- Barr could expose secrets, politicize intelligence with review of Russia probe, current and former officials fear
- Intelligence Director Dan Coats Puts Barr on Notice Not To Imperil National Security
- Some federal prosecutors disagreed with decision to charge Assange under Espionage Act
- Under DOJ’s Own Theory For Prosecuting Julian Assange, Donald Trump Probably Violated The Espionage Act
CONGRESS
- Facebook has Shown 2.4 Million Users a Doctored Video of Nancy Pelosi, and it Isn’t Going to Stop. – The social media site takes a pass on battling misinformation.
- Facebook refuses to delete fake Pelosi video spread by Trump supporters
- AOC: Wow! When Trump tweeted that spliced video of Ilhan a few weeks ago to a weak response in the House, I definitely didn’t think he’d try it again + escalate. 🤷🏽♀️ Whatever this lawless President does to one of us, he does to all. Until we learn that lesson, he will keep going.
- Doctored Pelosi videos offer a warning: The internet isn’t ready for 2020
- Pelosi’s daughter responds to fake videos: ‘Madam Speaker doesn’t even drink alcohol!’
- Ted Lieu: Dear @realDonaldTrump : Using Twitter to spread this misleadingly edited video of @SpeakerPelosi is WEAK & COWARDLY (but I’m saying this in a calm way). You should woman up & delete the tweet. I note that even in the doctored video, Speaker Pelosi sounds more coherent than you.
- Whoops: Giuliani Busted With Doctored Pelosi Video As He Tweets About Integrity
- ‘I Believe This Is An Illegitimate President’: Former GOP Rep Calls For Impeachment
- Yes, it’s time to impeach Donald Trump — but the failure of democracy is much bigger than him
- Ex-GOP lawmaker says Trump ‘illegitimate president,’ should be impeached
- For Pelosi, the biggest test awaits: Impeach or not impeach?
- Impeaching Donald Trump is ‘About doing what’s right now for our country,’ Rashida Tlaib says
- Senate GOP vows to quickly quash any impeachment charges
- The Democrats Are Overthinking Trump’s Impeachment. Naturally. – They’re scared that trying to remove him would backfire, but they’re taking the wrong lessons from the past—and ignoring voters’ wishes in the present.
- Tlaib Says Trump Impeachment ‘Not About’ 2020 Elections: ‘Public’s Trust Is At Stake’
- New York Times: Hope Hicks’ decision on whether to comply with subpoena is ‘an existential question’
- Ocasio-Cortez hits NYT over story on Hope Hicks: It’s framed ‘as some Lifetime drama’
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accuses former Trump aide Hope Hicks of ‘considering participating in a coverup led by the President’
- Elizabeth Wydra: Complying with a congressional subpoena is the law, a legal requirement foundational to our system of checks and balances—not “an existential question.” Unless you’re talking about the continued existence of functional democracy, I suppose.
- $19.1 billion in nationwide disaster aid stalls after single House Republican objects
- Pelosi Statement on House Republican Sabotage of Bipartisan Disaster Relief Bill
- Democrats have been seeking compromise since Clinton. It hasn’t worked.
- Maxine Waters’ Committee Will Seek Signs Of ‘Illicit Funds’ In Trump Deutsche Bank Records: “No other bank would lend him money. We want to understand that relationship,” the congresswoman tells Chris Hayes.
COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS
- The Trump coverup no one is talking about: The emperor has no money
- ‘He Is Walled Off’: Kushner Companies’ $800M Federally-Backed Deal Raises Ethical Questions
- Million Dollar Donation To Trump’s Inaugural Comes Under Scrutiny: Franklin Haney’s political donation came as he was seeking regulatory approval and financial support for his bid to acquire an Alabama nuclear plant
TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET A.K.A INDIVIDUAL-1
- Propagandist-in-Chief
- Can a Pardon Be a War Crime?: When Pardons Themselves Violate the Laws of War
- ‘He will have taken a step to dishonor our armed forces’: One of the most highly-decorated retired US Army generals warns Trump against pardoning war criminals
- The President* Is Acting in Pure Paranoia. There’s Nothing Funny About This.
- Trump has reportedly raged at aides over headlines calling him quick-tempered and angry
- Trump invokes emergency powers to sidestep congress and sell arms to Saudi Arabia
- Trump refuses to rule out opponents being put to death for treason
- Trump Should Not Have Access to Nuclear Codes or State Secrets
- Trump Stands With North Korean Dictator Over Americans
- Trump to sidestep Congress to clear arms deals benefiting Saudi Arabia, UAE
- Trump’s Old Pearl Harbor Tweet Resurfaces At The Most Awkward Possible Time
- Retired military colonel slams Liz Cheney’s treason accusations, says her father committed a “war crime”
- Lawyer for Navy SEAL accused of war crimes also works for Trump Organization
- AP Fact Check: Trump Takes Credit for Obama’s Gains for Vets
TRAITOR TOTS
- Conrad Black’s unconventional path to a pardon boosted by one of Trump’s biggest on-air defenders
- North Korea: Bolton a “war monger” and “defective human product”
- Lindsey Graham squirms when confronted with double standard on Clinton and Trump impeachments
FIGHTING BACK
- Trump’s ghostwriter says writing “The Art of the Deal” is the greatest regret of his life
- Senator says John McCain ‘kept reciting’ dictator names during Trump’s inauguration
- Rep. Seth Moulton slams President: “I have never seen a weaker commander in chief in American history”
- ‘I don’t do cover-ups’ is Trump’s ‘I am not a crook’
- If Trump is right, he has temper tantrums. If Nancy Pelosi is right, he pretends to have temper tantrums. Neither is acceptable
- Preet Bharara Tells Liz Cheney to ‘Knock it the Hell Off’ After She Says Strzok Texts Could Be Treason
EMERGENCIES, SHUTDOWN, & IMMIGRATION
- ‘He always brings them up’: Trump tries to steer border wall deal to North Dakota firm
- Federal judge issues temporary injunction blocking part of Trump’s plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border
- The Statue of Liberty was created to celebrate freed slaves, not immigrants, its new museum recounts
- AOC: Ever since the Bush Admin, Patriot Act, & creation of Dept. Homeland Security, the dangerous erosion of American civil liberties has worsened. We’re melting away our Constitutional rights – all for the excuse of hating immigrants. We’re shredding what it means to be American.⬇️
- Elderly Mexicans are visiting their undocumented children in the U.S. – with State Department approval
- AOC: Yesterday, GOP moved to silence Lauren Underwood’s words bc she had the audacity to say the obvious: that stealing children away from their parents, trafficking, & caging them w/o end is intended to do harm. They tried to silence her; make her back down. She didn’t. Be proud 👏🏽
RACISM, RIGHT WING TERRORISM & WHITE NATIONALISM
- Alabama Goes Scorched-Earth Over Same-Sex Marriage, Votes to Eliminate Marriage Licenses and Weddings Altogether
- Black Trans Women Are Being Murdered in the Streets. Now the Trump Administration Wants to Turn Us Away From Shelters and Health Care.
- KKK Members Outnumbered By Counter Protesters At Dayton Rally Saturday
- New Trump administration rule would weaken protections for transgender people in health care
- Ted Lieu fires back at Twitter critic: I served in the military to defend your right to say ‘stupid, racist sh—’
- Donald Trump Campaigned as a President for LGBTQ Americans. But He Keeps Rolling Back Protections for Them
- Trump selling Pride shirts is a grotesque insult to the LGBTQ community. Just today, he proposed allowing healthcare workers the right to deny LGBTQ services.
SCOTUS & COURTS
- Democrats claim victory as Trump gets battered in court
- Utah judge suspended for bashing Trump online and in court
- ‘Welcome to the beginning of the fascist takeover’: A Utah judge was suspended without pay for making anti-Trump comments online and in court
#METOO & WOMEN’S RIGHTS
- American Civil Liberties Union sues Alabama over near-total abortion ban
- Leaked GOP talking points: Forced birth better than abortion for rape, incest victims
- Harvey Weinstein reportedly reaches $44 million settlement over sexual misconduct lawsuits
- In Nevada’s legislature, women outnumber the men — a first in the nation. Carson City may never be the same.
- Lily Lines: What can be ‘detrimental’ for women in offices – The Lily
- Nevada becomes nation’s first female-majority legislature
- Saudi Arabia’s abortion laws are more forgiving than Alabama’s
- The Secret Money Behind the Push to Ban Abortion
COLD WAR 2.0
- Theresa May to resign, make way for new prime minister, after Brexit failures
- EU vote faces new covert digital threats: report
- GOP Armed Services senator breaks with Trump: I find North Korean missile tests ‘very disturbing’
- GOP Congressman Duncan Hunter Admits He Took Photos Of Dead Enemies While In Marines
- Sanders introduces petition to prohibit war with Iran without Congress’ approval
- Sanders refuses to apologize for opposing war with Iran
- Still angling for a deal, Trump backs Kim Jong Un over Biden, Bolton and Japan
- ‘This Is Big’: 76 Retired US Generals and Diplomats Warn Trump Against War With Iran
- Trump denies North Korea launched ballistic missiles, contradicting Japan
- Why Is Trump Sending More Troops and Firepower to the Middle East? That’s Classified
- Will U.S. war on Huawei help China end its dependency on Western tech?
- Graham: I ‘got a real problem’ with arms sales to Saudi Arabia
- Mike Pence predicts war everywhere in the next few years
- Noam Chomsky: We Must Confront the “Ultranationalist, Reactionary” Movements Growing Across Globe
#NEVERAGAIN
FIXING THE INTERNET
- #DeleteFacebook: Twitter Users Urge People To Deactivate Accounts After Fake Nancy Pelosi Video Goes Viral
- YouTube Is The Only Social Platform Taking Down Doctored Pelosi Videos
- Facebook has Shown 2.4 Million Users a Doctored Video of Nancy Pelosi, and it Isn’t Going to Stop. – The social media site takes a pass on battling misinformation.
- Facebook refuses to delete fake Pelosi video spread by Trump supporters
- Facebook’s response to the doctored Nancy Pelosi video was as spineless as ever
THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
- Facebook has Shown 2.4 Million Users a Doctored Video of Nancy Pelosi, and it Isn’t Going to Stop. – The social media site takes a pass on battling misinformation.
- Facebook refuses to delete fake Pelosi video spread by Trump supporters
- Facebook’s response to the doctored Nancy Pelosi video was as spineless as ever
- Manipulated Nancy Pelosi video may be a sign of things to come in the 2020 election cycle
- Chris Wallace Owns Lindsey Graham With Clip Of Him Lashing Clinton On Ignored Subpoenas: “You’re becoming the judge and jury,” complained Graham, who said in the late ‘90s that ignoring a congressional subpoena was an impeachable offense.
- CNN’s Anderson Cooper grills Facebook exec over fake Pelosi video
- MSNBC’s Wallace alters video of herself to show how Trump tried to ‘smear’ Pelosi
- Trump lies a lot. But the media must focus on what he’s lying about, not how often he does it.
- ‘Birthing centers for polarizing rhetoric’: The outsize influence of Fox, CNN and MSNBC
- Fox News’ Chris Wallace Challenges Lindsey Graham On His 1998 Claim That Ignoring Subpoenas Is Impeachable
- Fox’s Chris Wallace challenges Graham over past comments on ignoring subpoenas
- A Lesson From 1930s Germany: Beware State Control of Social Media
- Howard Stern says he has inside info that Trump campaign was ‘publicity stunt’
- Scarborough Says People Close To Trump Worry He’s ‘Pre-Dementia’
WHITE HOUSE CHAOS
- Trump HUD Official: ‘I Honestly Don’t Care’ If I’m Breaking Federal Law
- ‘I honestly don’t care’ about following the law, Trump administration official says
- Trump Staff Dreads Traveling Overseas With Toddler President
- ‘He will not go to sleep’: White House staffers reportedly dread foreign trips with Trump aboard Air Force One, where he holds meetings at odd hours and constantly watches Fox News
TRADE WAR, HEALTH CARE, & ECONOMY
- ‘American Soil’ Is Increasingly Foreign Owned
- Are Americans benefiting from the strong economy — aside from the rich? A Fed report raises questions.
- China is not the source of our economic problems — corporate greed is
- Kentucky farmers hurt by Trump’s trade wars won’t speak up — they fear GOP backlash
- No longer a simple tit-for-tat: China is ready to endure — and inflict — real pain on the U.S. | “There’s a great deal of pain yet to be inflicted. We’re talking about a couple of trillion dollars of economic activity and a couple of million U.S. jobs,” said one China expert.
- No, Mr. President: China didn’t steal our jobs. Corporate America gave them away
- The real (surprisingly comforting) reason rural America is doomed to decline
- The stock market would be much lower if it weren’t for companies buying back their own shares
- ‘They failed me’: How the promise of retraining U.S. coal miners came up empty | CBC News
- Trump Administration Eases Ban On Huawei After Technology Stocks Tumble
- Trump falls short on infrastructure after promising to build roads, bridges and consensus
STUDENT ISSUES
- 51 attorneys general call on Betsy DeVos to cancel up to 42,000 disabled veterans’ student debts
- Five myths about student debt
- Olivia Jade knew parents Lori Loughlin, Mossimo Giannulli allegedly bribed her way into USC: report
GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD
- “I’m the Longest-Serving Republican in the Iowa Legislature, and I’m Switching Parties”
- Georgia GOP candidate appears to threaten Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders in video
- If Republicans hate governing so much, they should leave
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- FBI says ‘we must learn from the Panama Papers’
- Louvre casts doubts on $450 million ‘Leonardo’ authenticity
- Man who kidnapped 12-year-old Jayme Closs and killed her parents is given life in prison without parole
- MLB teams’ involvement with Cuban players under Justice Department scrutiny
- San Francisco’s top cop calls for probe of his own force over raid of reporter’s home
- Stan Lee’s ex-business manager arrested in Arizona on suspicion of elder abuse
PRIESTS & RELIGION
- Commentary: Abortion bans are a result of the crumbling of church-state separation
- Prosperity gospel believers are less likely to be entrepreneurs, study finds
ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE
- 50 years after Apollo, conspiracy theorists are still howling at the ‘moon hoax’
- A nonsynonymous mutation in PLCG2 reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia, and increases the likelihood of longevity
- Mount Everest has gotten so crowded that climbers are perishing in the traffic jams
- New Paper Confirms Near-Room-Temperature Superconductivity in Wild, Hydrogen-Rich Material
- New study reveals gut segments organized by function, and opportunities for better drug design – News
- Officials searched 3 days for a lost hiker. Volunteers wouldn’t quit — and found her weeks later.
- She was pregnant when NASA offered to send her to space. Anna Fisher didn’t hesitate.
- The Puerto Rican island of Vieques still has no hospital. Democrats demand answers from FEMA.
- USDA to shift some inspector tasks to pork plant workers — in everything but name
- You Could Get Prison Time for Protesting a Pipeline in Texas—Even If It’s on Your Land
- Maine governor signs bill to remove religious, philosophical vaccine exemptions
ELECTIONS
- Nevada passes bill to automatically restore felons’ voting rights upon release from prison
- Stacey Abrams Wants Democrats to Fight for Every Vote — Even in the South
- Texas secretary of state resigns after botched voter purge
THINKING AHEAD
- Bernie Sanders introduces Senate bill protecting employees fired for union organizing
- Bernie’s Millions: No, Bernie is not part of the 1 percent. He’s fighting against the interests of the super-rich and outlets like Politico hate him for it.
- Biden says he was a staunchly liberal senator. He wasn’t
- Buttigieg accuses Trump of ‘eroding the integrity of the military’ with possible pardons
- Buttigieg: “No Question” Trump Falsified Disability Status to Avoid Serving in Vietnam War
- Buttigieg: I’m Not Scared of a Reality TV Hack Who Faked His Bone Spurs
- Buttigieg: Trump is eroding the integrity of the military
- Cory Booker Says Beating Trump Should Be ‘the Floor, Not the Ceiling’
- How each 2020 Democratic presidential candidate could win
- Joe Biden’s campaign of limited exposure: How long can he keep it up?
- Nos. 44 and 45 broke the mold. What does that mean for the future of the presidency?
- Ocasio-Cortez slams Politico for ‘money trees next to the only Jewish candidate for president’
- She’s got a plan for that. Warren tries to breakout with flurry of policy proposals. — Democratic voters want someone who can beat Trump, but they say they want to hear from candidates about their specific ideas, too.
- Trump and allies take aim at Biden — and his family — as their top Democratic target
- Trump GOP Challenger Bill Weld Claims President Would Prefer An ‘Aryan Nation’ with ‘No Immigrants’
- Trump slams ‘low IQ’ Biden – while both misspelling his name and contradicting top advisers
PROGRESS IS PROGRESS
- Black Lives Matter Is Making Single Moms Homeowners
- Colorado law caps cost of insulin at $100 a month
IN OTHER NEWS…
Memorial Day
- Ready, set, grill: A guide to outdoor cooking
- The contested Confederate roots of Memorial Day
- What’s the best hot dog in America? We tried 15 popular brands to find out.
- Army Tweets ‘How Has Serving Impacted You?’ Gets Thousands of Responses About the Horrors of War
- How to name your dog without offending its canine sensibilities
- When money in Venezuela stopped functioning as currency, this photographer turned it into art
- Why Roger Federer is the most graceful athlete of our time
That’s it for the last few days. I feel like I’m about to make another excuse for the lack of content, but dammit, it’s a good one.
As I mentioned recently, I’m in the middle of trying to sell a house, handle the bills for someone else, and I’m trying to find a potential sibling. To further the last goal, I took a 23andMe test on the off chance that she also joined one of these programs. I’m already on Ancestry, but no luck with that one. I decided that since I already had an ancestry test, I might as well go with the health test as well.
The good news is the results came back a lot sooner than I expected. The bad news is that the results show that I’m likely to have a wheat sensitivity or have celiac disease. What’s worse is that I was scarfing down a pizza while reading that part.
The short version is that I have a couple genes that flipped from a T to a C or vice versa, and because of this it could cause my immune system to treat wheat like an infection.
I have a doctor’s appointment scheduled in a week or so, but in the meantime, I’m trying to go gluten free. And it sucks. Not the food replacements, but having to check EVERY FUCKING LABEL. Seriously, Pringles has wheat in it. Granola bars aren’t necessarily safe. Fucking Rice Krispies has malt flavoring, which comes from barley.
I don’t think I’ve craved a pizza so much in my life. At least I now have an excuse to try a gluten-free one. 😐
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur
None of this is Normal 