Category: Daily Check-In

Daily Check-In 11/05/2018

Monday, November 5th, and the weekend.

 

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

 

RIGHT WING TERRORISM & WHITE NATIONALISM

 

KHASHOGGI & SAUDI ARABIA

 

COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS

 

SCOTUS & #METOO

 

TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET

 

TRAITOR TOTS

 

FIGHTING BACK

One justification the press should use in covering what Trump does and says a lot less is that he doesn’t actually spend much time Presidenting.

Why cover a crazy old man’s Fox-watching habit? Would you do it if he were your senile dad?

But if you’re going to cover Mr. Trump’s carnival barkering, it should be clearly labeled as such: “While Trump was neglecting Puerto Rico after Maria, he spent 3 hours on Twitter creating this faux scandal and watched 4 straight hours of Fox and Friends”

Then talk about what the people who are doing the job of the President are doing. “While Mr. Trump watched his third hour of Fox, John Bolton was dismantling the global legal order based on his own authority, and Stephen Miller was kidnapping brown children.”

Enough indictments to field a football team?  According to my running list on The Indicted, there 42 people and companies that have been indicted so far.  5 of them have not been indicted by Mueller’s team, and 3 of them are companies.  Even still, that gives us 34 people that have been charged with crimes by the Special Counselor’s Office.  That’s more than an average High School Varsity Football team in a decent sized school district.  Considering that 11 players are on the field at a time, we could realistically meet that statement with 17 or 18 indictments.  But 34-42 puts us in a small college team, almost at an NFL sized active roster.  An NFL team dresses 46 players for a game, with 7 more listed at inactive.  We’re only 4 indictments away from determining who’s riding the pine.  That means sitting on the bench.

 

IMMIGRATION

 

COLD WAR 2.0

 

#NEVERAGAIN

 

FIXING THE INTERNET

 

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

 

TRADE WAR AND ECONOMY

 

GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD

 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

 

ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE

 

ELECTION 2018

 

IN OTHER NEWS…

 

RUMOR MILL

 

That’s it for the last few days.  And tomorrow’s the big day.  Whatever happens, it’ll resonate for a long time.  Either we’ll see the most corrupt politician in American history get a free pass from his party to trash this country, or the people send a message that this is a nation of laws.

Right now, it feels like things are paused as everyone holds their breath, waiting to see what happens.  There are lots of rumors from both sides that things will get crazy starting Wednesday, but I’m not so certain about that.

Here’s why.  The House and Senate aren’t in session every day until next year, working weekends and burning the candle at both ends.  They’re scheduled for 19 more working days this session.  19.  They work 4 days next week, the last week of November, and the first two weeks of December.  A lot of that time is going to be spent organizing for the next session, selecting the new leadership bodies, and passing some last minute resolutions and appointments.  This type of session is called a Lame Duck Session.  Traditionally, nothing gets done.  Imagine the mentality of a workplace where 1/3rd of the staff has either put in their notice or will be fired at the end of the month.  Now, combine that don’t-give-a-fuck attitude with the replacements coming in, acting like they’ll make a difference, and you’ve got nothing getting done.

This is why I’m hesitant to buy in to the rumors surrounding Jeff Sessions or Rod Rosenstein getting fired or resigning.  If one or both of them get fired, who’s going to replace them?  Even if they were fired on Wednesday and a replacement nominated the same day, there is no guarantee that the Senate would be able to clear their calendar to make room for this appointment.  Unless the Republicans hold on to the Senate, firing is a dangerous option as there’s once again no guarantee that they’d be able to get anything other than a known quantity through the Senate in a hurry.

As far as Mueller dropping some bombshells this week, that once again depends on timing and the election results.  I’ve never gotten the sense that partisan politics plays into this, but if Mueller releases dangerous information against Trump and Pence that implicates them directly in crimes against the United States, I can see the craziest scenario taking place where, in an effort to keep the White House under Republican control until 2020, they fast track an Impeachment against Trump and Pence, get Pence to resign, vote in the Senate to remove Trump from office, and following the chain of succession, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan gets sworn in as President to finish out the term.  The odd of that happening are pretty damn low.  More likely would be Pence resigns, Trump appoints a safe choice as VP like Marco Rubio or John Kasich, then gets voted out in the next session.  Still highly unlikely, but I like to spitball these things.

Things will get crazy later this week.  Wednesday morning will be spent doing a Postmortem by one party and a celebration by the other.  But we’ve got at least a day before that happens.

Go out and Vote.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

 

 

Vote

On Tuesday, November 6th, this country has a very important election.  Called the Midterm Election, it comes halfway into a presidential term.  At the Federal level, all seats in the House of Representatives and 1/3rd of the Senate are being contested.  At the State level, many governorships and state legislature seats are being contested as well.  Also, there are local offices and referendums on the ballot.

HOW TO VOTE

How to find your polling place – This article has links on how to find your local polling place.

Ballotpedia will tell you who’s on the ballot and what referendums are up for decision.

If you need a ride to your polling place, Uber will offer $10 off a ride to the polls.  Lyft  will offer half off rides.  Also, this article mentions a few other options like Carpoolvote.com for voters in need of a ride.

WHO TO VOTE FOR

I don’t normally tell people what to think or how to vote, but anyone who has read this site for more than 10 seconds knows that for 2018 I heavily encourage EVERYONE to vote for every single Democrat running for office, and not vote for a single Republican if possible.

But, I guess if someone’s looking for a reason to vote for the Party of Trump, here’s a few that I came up with.

 

Reasons to Vote Republican

If you think that Checks and Balances are for pussies, Vote Republican.

If you think that rich people need more money, and that the poor should pay for them, Vote Republican.

If you think that ethics regulations don’t count, Vote Republican.

If you think that it’s okay for a Congressional Representative to run for re-election while under Federal indictment, Vote Republican.

If you think love guns more than you love children, Vote Republican.

If you “blame the media” for the string of violence that includes shooting up schools, places of worship, and fitness studies, Vote Republican.

If you think back to the 50’s as the “Good Ole Days”, Vote Republican.

If you think that Treason is cool if your party does it, Vote Republican.

If you think that black people have gotten too “uppity” in the last couple generations, Vote Republican.

If you think that women should get back in the kitchen where they belong, Vote Republican.

If you think that multiple sexual assault accusations are worthy of removing a Democratic Senator from office, but not worth disqualifying a nominee from the Supreme Court, Vote Republican.

If you look at this picture…

immigrant-children-separated

And think “Damn, I want to put them in cages,” Vote Republican.

If you think that only rich people should be able to afford an education, housing, or health care, Vote Republican.

If you don’t care if this experiment in Democracy survives, Vote Republican.

If you’re okay with a Fascist Wannabe Strongman in charge, as long as it’s YOUR Fascist Wannabe Strongman, Vote Republican.

If you think that it’s perfectly okay for your cable company or internet service provider to sell your web traffic data to the highest bidder, Vote Republican.

If you still think that an elderly woman forwarding herself emails is a more heinous crime than conspiring with our enemies to rig the election, Vote Republican.

If you think that only the Christian religions should get protection under the law, and that they should get preferential treatment, Vote Republican.

If you scream “Fuck your feelings” at someone pointing out that you’re being an asshole, Vote Republican.

If you think “Draining the Swam” means hiring a bunch of con-men, grifters, and thieves to government positions, Vote Republican.

If you think gerrymandering and voter suppression is a good thing because it helps your team win, Vote Republican.

If you think that deficits only matter if a black guy is President, Vote Republican.

If you look at Climate Change and say “fuck it, I’ll be dead soon”, Vote Republican.

If you don’t give a shit about leaving a better world for your children or grandchildren, Vote Republican.

 

Reasons to Vote Democrat

If, however, you’re not a complete and total asshole, Vote Democrat.

If you think that everyone under the law deserves equal protection, Vote Democrat.

If you want our government to function, Vote Democrat.

If you want your children to have world to live in and grow up in, Vote Democrat.

If you think that Congress should do it’s job, Vote Democrat.

If you think that no one is above the law, Vote Democrat.

If you think that your data is your data, Vote Democrat.

If you think that conspiring with a foreign power to steal the election is illegal, Vote Democrat.

If you think that America is worth fighting for, Vote Democrat.

If you think everyone should have access to an education and health care, Vote Democrat.

If you think that we need a humane and common sense approach to gun control, immigration, and taxes, Vote Democrat.

If you’re sick and tired of our country being an embarrassment, Vote Democrat.

If you want this country to exist as a healthy democracy, where the constituents choose their representatives and not vice versa, Vote Democrat.

 

Reasons to Vote Green Party or Libertarian

Fuck you.  Fuck your protest vote.  Fuck your waste of a vote.  Don’t believe me when I call your third party vote a waste?  Jill Stein’s vote totals in Pennsylvania and Michigan were greater than Trump’s margin of victory.  Those hundred thousand people helped make Donald Trump the winner.  All because they wanted to “clear their conscience.”

 

Suck it up

Listen up, cupcake, because I’m only going to say this once.  Not every candidate in every election will be perfect.  They won’t all pass the purity test or check every box in the issues column, or be cool or relatable.

Sometimes, candidates suck.  Sometimes, it’s a choice between two evils.  Sometimes, it’s a choice between a candidate that you only somewhat agree with, and one that you don’t like at all, but they say they agree with your one issue that you love.  Sometimes, you know someone who’s running for office, and they’re normally a good guy off the campaign trail.

Guess what.  This election is different.  I’ve never seen a midterm election with this much at stake.  Donald Trump has tried to do everything he can to throw the rules and laws out the window and become a king-like figure.  The only things stopping him are ineptitude and he doesn’t have enough of a stranglehold on Congress or the courts. If he gets that stranglehold, kiss this system of the Rule of Law goodbye.  If Democrats hold at least one of the house of Congress, they will investigate him and his followers until he’s removed from office, and people are in jail for their crimes.

So, Vote Democrat.  If you don’t, there might not be another chance to vote.

Daily Check-In 11/02/2018

Friday, November 2, 2018

 

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

 

COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS

 

RIGHT WING TERRORISM & WHITE NATIONALISM

 

KHASHOGGI & SAUDI ARABIA

 

SCOTUS 

 

TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET

 

TRAITOR TOTS

 

FIGHTING BACK

It is not written in stone that the United States of America must always exist. It is not guaranteed that the country that goes by that name will always be a democracy. You cannot assume the greatness or strength or stature we have grown accustomed to will always endure.

Throughout our history we have been reminded of the fragility of the American idea and of the country it inspired. We got off to a fitful start with an ill-conceived system. We have seen civil war and foreign despots committed to wiping us off the map.

We have been compromised to the point of negating the good that has gone into our heritage by slavery, genocide, corruption, suppression of the basic rights of women, racism and greed that has literally divided the country into one in which the 99% largely work to enrich the 1%.

At each of those junctures, we have reached deep into the character of the nation and found the fortitude and judgment to correct our course or repulse our enemies. But that should not provide too much comfort. We only have to fail to do so once for the entire experiment to end.

We are at another such juncture where the risk to the idea of America so many of us grew up with is so great that we can see if vanishing before our eyes. I’m not talking about some impossible idea of some flawless nation.

Realistic Americans understand that there are always flaws that must be attended to, that our greatness is not rooted in perfection but in our ability to work, to struggle to perfect ourselves, to correct our errors, to get better. That’s what great countries do.

Their greatness is both in their resilience and in their willingness to reassess and to struggle to get ever greater. But now, we find ourselves at a moment when there are those in high positions of power who would defeat our best impulses and serve ideas that will destroy us.

Donald Trump, as evidenced by his appalling behavior in the final weeks of this campaign, his lies, his fear-mongering, his racism, his narcissism, his defense of murderous foreign despots, his minimizing of acts of domestic terror, his doubling down on his own worst acts…

has presented himself with each passing day as not just a failing president or a profoundly damaged person, but as a threat to the very idea of the country he was elected by a minority to run. He was compromised from the start. Not just by his ties to foreign enemies…

…but by his record as a con-artist and a champion of bad ideas. But he was empowered and joined in his endeavor by a Republican Party that accepted his defects as their own, that would do literally anything to achieve a narrow agenda benefiting a few special interests.

There was not one square inch of the foundations of this country that they would not rent out or sell off or tear apart if it might serve the richest Americans or big companies or the NRA or a handful of evangelicals and their misogynistic agenda.

And so we come to one of those turning points as we did during the civil war or the World Wars or the McCarthy era or the era of Jim Crow or the Cold War when we are being tested. What is at stake is not just how we are perceived as a country, or who we are…

…but whether America as we know it can continue to exist. Don’t take everything you have grown used to for granted. Don’t take democracy in this country for granted. Don’t take progress for granted. Don’t assume our institutions will work to serve us.

All of that is open to question because of this depraved and dangerous president and the craven cabal around him. Who can save us? Only we can. How? Only at the voting booth. The time has come to make a stand against these bastards, this enemy army within.

Vote next Tuesday. Make sure your friends vote. Make sure your family votes. Help the elderly to vote. Canvas your neighbors. Drive people to the polls. This is the greatest test America has faced since the end of the Cold War.

Vote. Vote. Vote like the very idea of America depended upon it.

 

 

 

IMMIGRATION

 

COLD WAR 2.0

 

#NEVERAGAIN

 

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

 

WHITE HOUSE CHAOS

 

TRADE WAR AND ECONOMY

 

GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD

 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

 

PRIESTS & RELIGION

 

ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE

 

ELECTION 2018

Early voting numbers compared to 4 years ago.

IMG_7682

Early turnout is much higher than previous years.  But how did the turnouts look in those states in 2014?  Let’s find out.

According to this site by Elections Project, here’s the voter turnout for 2014.  All but Texas are the total number of ballots submitted.  Texas didn’t have that number available, so I had to use the number of ballots cast for the highest office in the state.

  • Arizona – 1,537,671
  • Florida – 6,026,802
  • Georgia – 2,596,947
  • Indiana – 1,387,622
  • Montana – 373,831
  • Nevada – 552,546
  • Tennessee – 1,430,117
  • Texas – 4,727,208

Wow.  So far, more people have voted early this year in Texas this year than in all of 2014.  Nevada and Tennessee have almost surpassed those numbers.  Arizona is over 80 percent of the way there.  The only state listed from that list that hasn’t eclipsed the halfway point of the 2014 total turnout is Indiana, and they’ve tripled their early turnout from 4 years ago.

I don’t like to make predictions on results or turnout, but this is promising.

 

IN OTHER NEWS…

You know something that pisses me off…

The same mother fuckers that scream “fuck your feelings” or call me a snowflake for asking them to not be racist, sexist shitheads freak the fuck out because there isn’t enough of their religion on a coffee cup.  They’ll lose their shit because how dare they have to acknowledge that people with other beliefs exist.

To the people who don’t think there’s enough Jesus on their coffee cups, I’d like to sincerely wish them “Happy Holidays.”

 

RUMOR MILL

*Dispatches from Operation Faithful Patriot* [Day 1] “Dearest mother, I have arrived at the border. Solitude and dirt surround us. The men are in high spirits. We have been told our deployment will be short. I dug a trench today. I saw a lizard. Will write again soon.”

[Day 9] “Dearest mother, It’s been over a week. We haven’t seen a single migrant. We set up C-wire. I dug a second trench behind the first trench in case we get overrun. It’s lonely here. My battle buddy keeping singing ‘All my exes live in Texas’ over and over. I miss home.”

[Day 16] “Dearest mother, I think it’s been two weeks. It’s hard to tell. Time has no meaning here on the border. I’ve dug three more trenches. I’ve started pooping in the first one bc I forgot where the porta John is. I killed a gopher. My first kill. Felt good. Send smokes.”

[Day 31] “Dearest mother, Haven’t seen the caravan yet. We expect it any day now. The officers say they’re almost upon us. I’ve dug 14 trenches. The first three have poop in them. The fourth one is filled with Burger King wrappers. I hope this ends soon. The men are restless.”

[Day 50] “Mom, I can’t take this much longer. We’ve dug so many trenches they’ve come up to the Wal-Mart parking lot. I’m sorry I missed Thanksgiving, but you know how important this mission is. Can you buy me new pants? I’ve gained 20 pounds from eating so much BK.”

[Day 63] “Ma, We had our first deserter a few days ago. Doug ran off last week. We found him in the garden section of Wal-Mart the next day. He was eating the perennial bulbs. I won’t lie to you, morale is low. On the bright side, we filled in 5 trenches and re-dug them.”

[Day 89] “Mommy, I wanna come home. It’s hell out here. The Wi-Fi shut off. The Burger King ran out of chicken fries and I can no longer fit in my uniform. I’m wearing a bathrobe I bought at the Bed Bath & Beyond down the street. I don’t know why we’re here anymore.”

[Day 125] “Mem, I kant due this no mor. I stare @ dirt all day wating fur a dangerus cavaran to appoch. My e tool broke and I kant dig mor trenchs. I pooped in my helmet today. Are they saying we’ll be comin home soon? Nobode tells me anething. I hate Texes.”

[Day 199] “…poop. poop. poopie. doop. doop. doopie. i ate a cactus.”

[Day 365] “🦐🥔🎳🖼🔬“

 

 

That’s it for today.  Yes, I said today.  I finally got an article posted on the day it’s supposed to be due.

This weekend I’m writing an article about voting, and saying how I think people should vote.  I’ve never been comfortable with telling people what to think, but with how to think.  Those are two vastly different ideas.

Telling someone what to think is not the same as telling them or teaching them HOW to think.  Telling someone what to think takes away their ability to make decisions in the future.  Sure, it’s easy to let someone else make the decisions, but that’s a violation of the basic tenets of critical thinking and logic.  It’s also how we ended up in this mess in the first place.

Teaching someone how to think is far more important.  Giving a person the tools and abilities to spot bullshit, to avoid bullshit, and to fight against bullshit has a far greater payoff.  That’s part of what I do here.  I’d like to think that I’m not telling people what to think, but giving them the information and tools to reach their own conclusions.  I don’t make a claim unless I have evidence to back it up, and even those claims I hedge.

Yes, even when I call Trump a traitor to the United States, I’m pulling my punches, and only making claims that I can back up with evidence.

But this piece this weekend will be a little different.  I’m due for something a little different.  And a glass or 3 of wine.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

Daily Check-In 11/01/2018

Thursday, November 1, 2018

 

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

Hindsight is 20/20 – Let’s “Keep it in the Family”/THREAD THEY KNEW – EXACTLY HOW BAD THIS WOULD BECOME.

June 15, 2016 Ryan: He [visiting Ukrainian Prime Minister Vladi­mir Groysman] has this really interesting riff about… people have said that they have Ukraine fatigue, and it’s really Russian fatigue because what Russia is doing to us, financing our populists… 1/

Ryan cont’d: …financing people in our governments to undo our governments, you know, messing with our oil and gas energy, all things Russia does to basically blow up our country, they’re just going to roll right through us and go to the Baltics and everyone else. 2/

Rodgers: Yes! Ryan: So we should not have Ukraine fatigue, we should have Russian fatigue. Rodgers: Yes! The propaganda…my big takeaway from that trip was just how sophisticated the propaganda… Ryan: It’s very sophisticated. Rodgers: Coming out of Russia and Putin. 3/

Ryan: Very sophisticated. Rodgers: Not just in Ukraine. They were once funding the NGOs in Europe. They attacked fracking. Ryan: Correct. Rodgers: Russia TV. I was not… you know..I hadn’t tuned into Russia TV until that trip. It’s FRIGHTENING. 4/

Ryan: This is, this isn’t just about Ukraine. Rodgers: So, yeah, it is a, um… a way…it’s really a messaging…you know…they are..it’s a PROPAGANDA WAR. 5/

Ryan: Russia is trying to turn Ukraine against itself. Rodgers: Yes. And that’s…it’s sophisticated and it’s, uh… Ryan: Maniacal. Rodgers: Yes. 6/

Ryan: And guess…guess who’s the only one taking a strong stand up against it? We are. Rodgers: We’re not…we’re not, but we’re not… 7/

McCarthy: [unintelligible]…I’ll GUARANTEE you that’s what it is. The Russians hacked the DNC and got the opp research that they had on Trump. McCarthy: laughs 8/

McCarthy: There’s… there’s two people, I think, Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump [laughter] Swear to God. 9/

Ryan: This is an off the record… …[laughter]…NO LEAKS… …[laughter]…Alright?! [Laughter] 10/

Ryan: This is how we know we’re a real family here. Scalise: That’s how you know that we’re tight. [Laughter] Ryan: What’s said in the family stays in the family. 11/

Ryan: The Russians hacked the DNC… McHenry: …to get oppo… Ryan: …on Trump and like delivered it to… to WHO? 12/

Here’s the link to the transcripts of this conversation that Ryan and his GOP House cronies had the DAY AFTER it was reported that the Russians had hacked the DNC.

House majority leader to colleagues in 2016: ‘I think Putin pays’ Trump

My second favorite part. THIS had already happened ⬇️:

Ryan announced on June 2, 2016 – a little over a week before this conversation took place – that he would vote for Trump to help “unite the party so we can win in the fall” but continued to clash with the candidate, including over Putin.

Thank you & for the great reporting and cool timeline graphic ⬇️. Now just drop the audio tape. PLEASE. /The End

CODA: Republicans Say Secret Talk About Putin Paying Trump Was Just a Joke Meanwhile, 18 previously undisclosed contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia have been uncovered.

REPUBLICANS SAY SECRET TALK ABOUT PUTIN PAYING TRUMP WAS JUST A JOKE Meanwhile, 18 previously undisclosed contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia have been

 

RIGHT WING TERRORISM & WHITE NATIONALISM

 

KHASHOGGI & SAUDI ARABIA

 

#METOO

 

TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET

 

FIGHTING BACK

 

IMMIGRATION

 

COLD WAR 2.0

 

#NEVERAGAIN

 

FIXING THE INTERNET

 

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

 

WHITE HOUSE CHAOS

 

TRADE WAR AND ECONOMY

 

GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD

 

ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE

 

ELECTION 2018

 

RUMOR MILL

 

That’s it for Thursday.  It’s a little light today on the non-election news, and it’ll be that way until next Wednesday.  Pretty much everything from here on out should be about the election.

That being said, don’t be surprised if some crazy shit comes out about Russian shit, or some other cray cray.

Remember, go out there and vote.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur