Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Trump stated regarding receiving foreign information about his opposition candidate, "I would do both. (He would receive the information and then inform the FBI.)" In regard to turning over the information to the FBI without receiving it himself for his own use, he also stated, "The world doesn't work that way."
Yes, it does. Trump lives in a bubble by his own rules. This is the third USA House Committee that has voted on Contempt of Congress charges. THE THIRD COMMITTEE.
Judiciary
Intelligence
Oversight and Reform
June 12, 2019
By Joe Perticone and Sonam Sheth
Washington - The House Oversight and Reform Committee (click here) voted on Wednesday to hold Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with subpoenas relating to the addition of a citizenship question on the 2020 US Census, ramping up pressure on more Trump administration officials who are refusing to cooperate with investigations.
Barr had already been the subject of a civil-contempt resolution that passed the House on Tuesday, and Ross marks another cabinet-level official to be reprimanded by House Democrats.
The committee voted 24-15, with Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan as the sole Republican vote in favor of holding Barr and Ross in contempt....
Yes, it does. Trump lives in a bubble by his own rules. This is the third USA House Committee that has voted on Contempt of Congress charges. THE THIRD COMMITTEE.
Judiciary
Intelligence
Oversight and Reform
June 12, 2019
By Joe Perticone and Sonam Sheth
Washington - The House Oversight and Reform Committee (click here) voted on Wednesday to hold Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with subpoenas relating to the addition of a citizenship question on the 2020 US Census, ramping up pressure on more Trump administration officials who are refusing to cooperate with investigations.
Barr had already been the subject of a civil-contempt resolution that passed the House on Tuesday, and Ross marks another cabinet-level official to be reprimanded by House Democrats.
The committee voted 24-15, with Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan as the sole Republican vote in favor of holding Barr and Ross in contempt....
Poland does not have to buy F35s to receive military armaments from the USA.
There are other stealth jets. The F35 is proving to be a problem. Still.
June 12, 2019
By Valerie Insinna
Over the past several years, (click here) U.S. Defense Department leaders have gone from citing technical problems as their biggest concern for the F-35 program to bemoaning the expense of buying and sustaining the aircraft.
But the reality may be worse. According to documents exclusively obtained by Defense News, the F-35 continues to be marred by flaws and glitches that, if left unfixed, could create risks to pilot safety and call into question the fighter jet’s ability to accomplish key parts of its mission:
F-35B and F-35C pilots, compelled to observe limitations on airspeed to avoid damage to the F-35’s airframe or stealth coating. Cockpit pressure spikes that cause “excruciating” ear and sinus pain. Issues with the helmet-mounted display and night vision camera that contribute to the difficulty of landing the F-35C on an aircraft carrier....
This is a film loop of the F-22 Raptor. The Raptor is designed for air superiority. I don't know if Poland needs stealth fighters, so much as a strong presence in the region. Stealth can be nice and there are other stealth fighters than the F-35. Poland should consider it's choices carefully.
A Polish delegation, including military generals, might want to visit with the US Congress about these choices. These decisions can be made to complement NATO as well.
The US Congress will have to approve these sales. It would be good if a Polish Delegation paid a visit and won the Congress' confidence. Congress can help with details and contacts to the companies involved as well.
June 12, 2019
By Valerie Insinna
Over the past several years, (click here) U.S. Defense Department leaders have gone from citing technical problems as their biggest concern for the F-35 program to bemoaning the expense of buying and sustaining the aircraft.
But the reality may be worse. According to documents exclusively obtained by Defense News, the F-35 continues to be marred by flaws and glitches that, if left unfixed, could create risks to pilot safety and call into question the fighter jet’s ability to accomplish key parts of its mission:
F-35B and F-35C pilots, compelled to observe limitations on airspeed to avoid damage to the F-35’s airframe or stealth coating. Cockpit pressure spikes that cause “excruciating” ear and sinus pain. Issues with the helmet-mounted display and night vision camera that contribute to the difficulty of landing the F-35C on an aircraft carrier....
This is a film loop of the F-22 Raptor. The Raptor is designed for air superiority. I don't know if Poland needs stealth fighters, so much as a strong presence in the region. Stealth can be nice and there are other stealth fighters than the F-35. Poland should consider it's choices carefully.
A Polish delegation, including military generals, might want to visit with the US Congress about these choices. These decisions can be made to complement NATO as well.
The US Congress will have to approve these sales. It would be good if a Polish Delegation paid a visit and won the Congress' confidence. Congress can help with details and contacts to the companies involved as well.
There is no doubt the USA stands with Poland since Russia flexed it muscle too much.
President Trump didn't once say President Andrzej Sebastian Duda's name. Trump dominated the answers to the press. The most we heard from President Duda was that Poland is great. I am assuming that is without Vladimir Putin being involved. Once again, Trump was including Russia in statements about how he wants everyone to get along. Really?
I think the welcoming ceremony highlights the relationship that already exists between the people of the USA and Poland.
June 12, 2019
US troops, part of a NATO mission to enhance Poland's defense, before an official welcoming ceremony in Orzysz, northeastern Poland, April 13, 2017
...Poland (click here) has long courted the United States for a permanent military presence to serve as a barricade against Russian influence. Despite Poland's pleas, however, Washington has stuck with a more flexible defense approach in the country. But that may soon change now that US President Donald Trump's at the helm.
For more than a year, the United States and Poland have been in talks over such an agreement, which Polish officials have indicated could be finalized by as soon as Sept. 1.
However, such a fixed US presence near Russia will undoubtedly spur Moscow to ramp up its own military presence near Poland's borders — placing Warsaw squarely in the middle of Moscow and Washington's increasingly heated great power competition....
By carrying out military exercises that threaten Western Europe, there is no doubt where loyalties lie when it comes to the USA, Poland and the Post Soviet countries. Putin is not interested in having diplomatic relations. I don't know what Trump is talking about. Putin wants war.
August 29, 2018
By Todd South
Following last year’s massive Russian military exercise (click here) on the western border, the country is headed into the largest military drills in nearly four decades on its eastern flank.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced this week that the Vostok-2018 exercise from Sept. 11-15 would involve as many as 300,000 troops, 1,000 aircraft and 900 tanks with units from China and Mongolia also participating.
The drills will be “on an unprecedented scale both in terms of the area covered and in terms of the numbers,” Shoigu told Russian state media.
It will include all their military’s airborne units and both northern and Pacific naval fleets, he said.
“Imagine 36,000 pieces of military equipment moving together at the same time — tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles. And all of this, of course, in conditions as close to combat as possible,” he said, CBS News reported...
June 12, 2019
US troops, part of a NATO mission to enhance Poland's defense, before an official welcoming ceremony in Orzysz, northeastern Poland, April 13, 2017
...Poland (click here) has long courted the United States for a permanent military presence to serve as a barricade against Russian influence. Despite Poland's pleas, however, Washington has stuck with a more flexible defense approach in the country. But that may soon change now that US President Donald Trump's at the helm.
For more than a year, the United States and Poland have been in talks over such an agreement, which Polish officials have indicated could be finalized by as soon as Sept. 1.
However, such a fixed US presence near Russia will undoubtedly spur Moscow to ramp up its own military presence near Poland's borders — placing Warsaw squarely in the middle of Moscow and Washington's increasingly heated great power competition....
By carrying out military exercises that threaten Western Europe, there is no doubt where loyalties lie when it comes to the USA, Poland and the Post Soviet countries. Putin is not interested in having diplomatic relations. I don't know what Trump is talking about. Putin wants war.
August 29, 2018
By Todd South
Following last year’s massive Russian military exercise (click here) on the western border, the country is headed into the largest military drills in nearly four decades on its eastern flank.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced this week that the Vostok-2018 exercise from Sept. 11-15 would involve as many as 300,000 troops, 1,000 aircraft and 900 tanks with units from China and Mongolia also participating.
The drills will be “on an unprecedented scale both in terms of the area covered and in terms of the numbers,” Shoigu told Russian state media.
It will include all their military’s airborne units and both northern and Pacific naval fleets, he said.
“Imagine 36,000 pieces of military equipment moving together at the same time — tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles. And all of this, of course, in conditions as close to combat as possible,” he said, CBS News reported...
Existential means of or relating to existence
Got that?
Existential means of or relating to existence.
What is being stated by the Former Vice President Biden is not a campaign slogan or political rhetoric, it is a warning.
I believe Americans concerned for the country with Trump's leadership are FEELING it. It is a threat and I believe many Americans know instinctively there is something very wrong in the Trump White House.
June 11, 2019
By John McCormack
Democrats (click here) are split on the question of repealing the Hyde amendment, the ban on federal funding of elective abortions under Medicaid, according to a Morning Consult poll conducted June 7 to 9. Only a plurality of Democratic primary voters, 45 percent, support repealing the measure, while 38 percent oppose repeal....
If there ever was a deep state it involves the oppression of women on a cultural basis.
That said, I believe the Hyde Amendment was hiding a religious agenda. That religious agenda has used the courts to legislate issues. The Republicans chronically, in past decades, have accused the Democrats of choosing judges that "legislate from the bench." It is quite the opposite.
One of the reasons Republicans like the Hyde Amendment is that it protects the soul from having abortion touch the monies paid in taxes through paid abortions with Medicaid. That idea launched a STRATEGY to defeat the USA Constitution and it's separation of church and state. Today, the abortion issue is being promulgated as a national priority for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.
If the Robert's Court was ever to unseat Roe v. Wade and end the demand of every state having access to abortion it will be a strike for a theocracy rather than a democracy. Abortion rights must exist in any society to allow women the ability to control their outcomes in life.
Currently, in the White House is a man that seeks to end all the civil rights accomplished by women, minorities and the LGBTQI communities. We know he has ordered the USA military to discriminate against transgender members. YES, Trump is now building highly discriminatory policies against Americans that identify as Transgender.
A transgender person is someone who identifies as a gender other than his or her biological sex. For example, a person who is biologically male but identifies as female may identify as transgender. Transgender individuals are not excluded from military service, and DOD policy specifically prohibits discrimination based on gender identity. But all persons, whether or not they are transgender, must meet all military standards, including the standards associated with their biological sex. Waivers or exceptions to these standards may be granted on a case-by-case basis.
So, regardless of a transgender American in the military identifying as the opposite gender, sex reassignment surgery cannot take place, they cannot conduct themselves as the opposite gender and must live with a sexual identity they do not recognize as their own.
There are currently members of the US military serving as their PREFERRED gender identity. The idea a person has to be facing the choice between gender identity and valuable service to the USA is a threat to the volunteer military. The Trump administration is making far reaching changes and not simply the military. These changes effect clear air and clean water which is the basis of a promising trouble free life.
Donald J. Trump, in his policy positions, is an existential threat to the USA. We have children dying at the USA border in detainment camps. Children are not criminals. Children are not a threat to the USA. This is simply not us.
Existential means of or relating to existence.
What is being stated by the Former Vice President Biden is not a campaign slogan or political rhetoric, it is a warning.
I believe Americans concerned for the country with Trump's leadership are FEELING it. It is a threat and I believe many Americans know instinctively there is something very wrong in the Trump White House.
June 11, 2019
By John McCormack
Democrats (click here) are split on the question of repealing the Hyde amendment, the ban on federal funding of elective abortions under Medicaid, according to a Morning Consult poll conducted June 7 to 9. Only a plurality of Democratic primary voters, 45 percent, support repealing the measure, while 38 percent oppose repeal....
If there ever was a deep state it involves the oppression of women on a cultural basis.
That said, I believe the Hyde Amendment was hiding a religious agenda. That religious agenda has used the courts to legislate issues. The Republicans chronically, in past decades, have accused the Democrats of choosing judges that "legislate from the bench." It is quite the opposite.
One of the reasons Republicans like the Hyde Amendment is that it protects the soul from having abortion touch the monies paid in taxes through paid abortions with Medicaid. That idea launched a STRATEGY to defeat the USA Constitution and it's separation of church and state. Today, the abortion issue is being promulgated as a national priority for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.
If the Robert's Court was ever to unseat Roe v. Wade and end the demand of every state having access to abortion it will be a strike for a theocracy rather than a democracy. Abortion rights must exist in any society to allow women the ability to control their outcomes in life.
Currently, in the White House is a man that seeks to end all the civil rights accomplished by women, minorities and the LGBTQI communities. We know he has ordered the USA military to discriminate against transgender members. YES, Trump is now building highly discriminatory policies against Americans that identify as Transgender.
A transgender person is someone who identifies as a gender other than his or her biological sex. For example, a person who is biologically male but identifies as female may identify as transgender. Transgender individuals are not excluded from military service, and DOD policy specifically prohibits discrimination based on gender identity. But all persons, whether or not they are transgender, must meet all military standards, including the standards associated with their biological sex. Waivers or exceptions to these standards may be granted on a case-by-case basis.
So, regardless of a transgender American in the military identifying as the opposite gender, sex reassignment surgery cannot take place, they cannot conduct themselves as the opposite gender and must live with a sexual identity they do not recognize as their own.
There are currently members of the US military serving as their PREFERRED gender identity. The idea a person has to be facing the choice between gender identity and valuable service to the USA is a threat to the volunteer military. The Trump administration is making far reaching changes and not simply the military. These changes effect clear air and clean water which is the basis of a promising trouble free life.
Donald J. Trump, in his policy positions, is an existential threat to the USA. We have children dying at the USA border in detainment camps. Children are not criminals. Children are not a threat to the USA. This is simply not us.
Parents needed to reduce illiteracy around the globe.
The definition of literacy has a high standard and not simply a skill whereby a person can write the alphabet. A literate person can read and write well.
The rate of literacy refers to the ability to sufficiently read and write. Many factors, such as accessibility and quality of education, can contribute to these rates.
Reading and reading well is a global priority. The USA is ranked 125th in literacy with 86 percent able to read well.
Over the past several decades, (click here) global literacy rates have significantly increased. The main reasons for such an upward trend stems from the evolution of the educational system of many developing countries, and an increased acknowledgement of the importance of education to these societies in their respective entireties....
There is 26 countries in the 100 percent literate level in the world. Many of them are not readily thought to have such a phenomenal accomplishment.
A literacy rate that hovers around 100% is seen in quite a few other countries of the world, including Azerbaijan and Cuba. Countries such as Georgia, Tajikistan, Russia, Poland, and Slovenia have also all achieved literacy rates on or near 100%. Focusing on Russia, it is estimated that 53% of the population there receives some form of tertiary education. The government believes in free educational deliverance systems, and the fields greatly focused on therein are in “STEM” fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)....
The USA is outclassed by many other countries. The USA continues to lose it's foothold on high literacy rates because of the allowance of Charter Schools that under perform compared to public schools which is compounded by inaccessible higher education.
The Millenials is the first generation with a 50 percent college educated generation. Russia is still out performing the USA in regard to the college educated citizen.
June 7, 2019
By Rebecca Winthrop and Fred Dews
Senior Fellow Rebecca Winthrop, (click here for audio presentation) director of the Center for Universal Education at Brookings, says that global organizations project that by 2030 half of the world’s young people will not have the 21st-century skills and academic competencies they will need to thrive. The pace of change is too slow, and it could take a century for the poorest children to catch up.
What’s needed, she said, is a way to rapidly accelerate progress by leapfrogging education. And parents have a crucial role to play in this transformation.
The rate of literacy refers to the ability to sufficiently read and write. Many factors, such as accessibility and quality of education, can contribute to these rates.
Reading and reading well is a global priority. The USA is ranked 125th in literacy with 86 percent able to read well.
Over the past several decades, (click here) global literacy rates have significantly increased. The main reasons for such an upward trend stems from the evolution of the educational system of many developing countries, and an increased acknowledgement of the importance of education to these societies in their respective entireties....
There is 26 countries in the 100 percent literate level in the world. Many of them are not readily thought to have such a phenomenal accomplishment.
A literacy rate that hovers around 100% is seen in quite a few other countries of the world, including Azerbaijan and Cuba. Countries such as Georgia, Tajikistan, Russia, Poland, and Slovenia have also all achieved literacy rates on or near 100%. Focusing on Russia, it is estimated that 53% of the population there receives some form of tertiary education. The government believes in free educational deliverance systems, and the fields greatly focused on therein are in “STEM” fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)....
The USA is outclassed by many other countries. The USA continues to lose it's foothold on high literacy rates because of the allowance of Charter Schools that under perform compared to public schools which is compounded by inaccessible higher education.
The Millenials is the first generation with a 50 percent college educated generation. Russia is still out performing the USA in regard to the college educated citizen.
June 7, 2019
By Rebecca Winthrop and Fred Dews
Senior Fellow Rebecca Winthrop, (click here for audio presentation) director of the Center for Universal Education at Brookings, says that global organizations project that by 2030 half of the world’s young people will not have the 21st-century skills and academic competencies they will need to thrive. The pace of change is too slow, and it could take a century for the poorest children to catch up.
What’s needed, she said, is a way to rapidly accelerate progress by leapfrogging education. And parents have a crucial role to play in this transformation.
In this episode, Winthrop talks with four education leaders, whom she met at the LEGO Idea Conference in Denmark, about the role of parents and the power of innovative approaches like playful learning in pursuing education transformation....
| Advice and consent - Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote. International treaties include trade as well. Trump hasn't had any trade treaties brought to the US Senate for a vote. I would think that if there are an exceptionally large number of vacant government offices it would indicate a need to remind the president of his responsibilities. McConnell never did that in a letter to document the request. The more one looks at the lack of action by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the more it is obvious he isn't interested in the country. He is interested in the power and his own family's wealth. Why does that sound familiar? Taking an example from Kushner? May 6, 2018 By Margaret Hartmann ...So is Chao the rare Trump official (click here) who’s doing her job and not abusing her office in any way? Apparently not. Politico reported on Sunday that since her nomination, she’s appeared in at least a dozen interviews with her father James Chao, the founder and chairman of the Foremost Group shipping company, which carries goods between Asia and the U.S. All of the interviews are with Chinese and Chinese-American media outlets, and the secretary is otherwise press shy; she’s never held a press conference for beat reporters and usually refuses to answer reporters’ questions after public events. Federal employees are prohibited from using their office for their “own private gain, for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity.” But Chao makes no apparent effort to show she’s promoting her family’s business only as a daughter, not as U.S. Transportation secretary, and in fact, it appears several of the videos were filmed in her government office. DOT flags are shown in several of the spots, like the New China Press interview below, and one video features the state flag of Kentucky, highlighting her tie to the majority leader.... It is really curious that McConnell is elected term after term. The people of Kentucky love the Affordable Care Act. There is every indication it has benefited the health of citizens of that state, yet McConnell will act to cause it to be reduced to rubble so the people of Kentucky are left without a health care option. McConnell touts he saves coal jobs. He never saved one coal job in all his years in government. Coal jobs have been replaced by automation and the people of Kentucky need new jobs and retraining, but, every time he runs for office he lies continually to the people of Kentucky as if the entire state's economy relies on coal jobs. Mitch McConnell is calling himself the Grim Reaper. He sure does seem to own up to that name. |
McConnell is not doing his job and when he does it is corruption that rules the day.
January 15, 2019
Donald Trump (click here) promised to hire only the “best people” to head government agencies, but two years into his four-year term, as many as a third to half of the federal agency executive positions he’s supposed to appoint are vacant, either because they resigned, were never confirmed by the Republican-led Senate, or were never nominated to begin with....
...OSHA: Scott Mugno To head the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Trump nominated Scott Mugno, a former FedEx executive with a career-long history of opposing new OSHA regulations. At a January 2018 confirmation hearing, Mugno couldn’t name a single new OSHA rule he had supported during his two decades as safety chief at FedEx. The Republican-led committee approved him anyway, but his nomination never came up for a vote by the full Senate.
Wage and Hour Division: Cheryl Stanton The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division is responsible for regulating and enforcing minimum wage, overtime, and family leave requirements, as well as prevailing wage laws for construction employees on federal contracts. To lead it, Trump nominated Cheryl Marie Stanton, a South Carolina workforce agency executive and member of the board of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. Stanton formerly clerked for federal judge Samuel Alito (the labor foe who later became Supreme Court justice and wrote the anti-union Janus decision.) She also worked as a White House lawyer for President George W. Bush, serving as the administration’s liaison to the Labor Department and the National Labor Relations Board. Her nomination passed out of the Senate Health, Labor and Pensions Committee in January 2018, but never got a Senate floor vote.
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: Gordon Hartogensis To head the federal government’s pension insurance agency, Trump nominated Gordon Hartogensis, a wealthy private investor and Republican donor with no experience in government or pension fund management. Hartogensis, 48, retired at age 29. He has spent the last seven years managing his family’s money. He’s also married to Grace Chao, the sister of Trump’s Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, and is thus the brother-in-law of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky). spends most of his time now managing his family’s money.
Employment and Training Administration: John Pallasch To head the agency in charge of job training and apprenticeships, Trump nominated John Pallasch, a Kentucky state workforce director and former Bush Jr. administration Labor Department official who also worked for anti-union education reformer Michelle Rhee.
Donald Trump (click here) promised to hire only the “best people” to head government agencies, but two years into his four-year term, as many as a third to half of the federal agency executive positions he’s supposed to appoint are vacant, either because they resigned, were never confirmed by the Republican-led Senate, or were never nominated to begin with....
...OSHA: Scott Mugno To head the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Trump nominated Scott Mugno, a former FedEx executive with a career-long history of opposing new OSHA regulations. At a January 2018 confirmation hearing, Mugno couldn’t name a single new OSHA rule he had supported during his two decades as safety chief at FedEx. The Republican-led committee approved him anyway, but his nomination never came up for a vote by the full Senate.
Wage and Hour Division: Cheryl Stanton The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division is responsible for regulating and enforcing minimum wage, overtime, and family leave requirements, as well as prevailing wage laws for construction employees on federal contracts. To lead it, Trump nominated Cheryl Marie Stanton, a South Carolina workforce agency executive and member of the board of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. Stanton formerly clerked for federal judge Samuel Alito (the labor foe who later became Supreme Court justice and wrote the anti-union Janus decision.) She also worked as a White House lawyer for President George W. Bush, serving as the administration’s liaison to the Labor Department and the National Labor Relations Board. Her nomination passed out of the Senate Health, Labor and Pensions Committee in January 2018, but never got a Senate floor vote.
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: Gordon Hartogensis To head the federal government’s pension insurance agency, Trump nominated Gordon Hartogensis, a wealthy private investor and Republican donor with no experience in government or pension fund management. Hartogensis, 48, retired at age 29. He has spent the last seven years managing his family’s money. He’s also married to Grace Chao, the sister of Trump’s Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, and is thus the brother-in-law of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky). spends most of his time now managing his family’s money.
Employment and Training Administration: John Pallasch To head the agency in charge of job training and apprenticeships, Trump nominated John Pallasch, a Kentucky state workforce director and former Bush Jr. administration Labor Department official who also worked for anti-union education reformer Michelle Rhee.
Mitch McConnell does not love the USA. He loves the power and abuses it on a regular basis, including the abuse of Merrick Garland.
A Senate Majority Leader that isn't interested in fixing the problems that allow foreign interference in the country's elections; is not worthy of the job. Every American should be up in arms to realize the work of the Special Counsel is being ignored when it comes to USA sovereign elections. This is outrageous and McConnell believes that reform would hurt his party's chances in future elections. What does that say about the Republican Party when it comes to safeguarding USA sovereignty?
People should be afraid, very afraid.
June 10, 2019
By Jonathan Chait
The House Judiciary Committee (click here) held hearings today on the Mueller report and its devastating findings of the Trump campaign efforts to collude with Russia, and Trump’s obstruction of justice thereof. The Republican message, articulated by ranking member Doug Collins, is that this is all in the distant past — the Mueller report came out in early spring; it’s already late spring — and we should focus on the future. “We’re not bringing Russians front and center,” he complained. “If we were attacked, then the priorities should be to go on the battlefields and not to the sideshow.”
Funny thing about that: There actually are a lot of bills to safeguard the 2020 elections from the next Russian attack. Mitch McConnell is blocking all of them.
The New York Times reported a few days ago that McConnell is refusing to bring to a vote any bill to safeguard the elections from foreign attack. There’s a Democratic bill to provide election funding to state and local governments. There’s a bipartisan Senate bill to “codify cyberinformation-sharing initiatives between federal intelligence services and state election officials, speed up the granting of security clearances to state officials, and provide federal incentives for states to adopt paper ballots.” McConnell won’t allow any of them to come to a vote....
It seems obvious to me that McConnell likes the idea of an understood mutual agenda between the Russians and the Republican Party. McConnell is not at all alarmed by the cyber attacks Russia carries out against the USA's elections. That is not reasonable. McConnell is negligent of his duties to the country and is allowing continued cyber warfare by Russia.
If nothing else McConnell should be repeatedly brought up on ethics violations, but, his negligence of the national security of the USA is pre-meditated. That is more than an ethics violation.
People should be afraid, very afraid.
June 10, 2019
By Jonathan Chait
The House Judiciary Committee (click here) held hearings today on the Mueller report and its devastating findings of the Trump campaign efforts to collude with Russia, and Trump’s obstruction of justice thereof. The Republican message, articulated by ranking member Doug Collins, is that this is all in the distant past — the Mueller report came out in early spring; it’s already late spring — and we should focus on the future. “We’re not bringing Russians front and center,” he complained. “If we were attacked, then the priorities should be to go on the battlefields and not to the sideshow.”
Funny thing about that: There actually are a lot of bills to safeguard the 2020 elections from the next Russian attack. Mitch McConnell is blocking all of them.
The New York Times reported a few days ago that McConnell is refusing to bring to a vote any bill to safeguard the elections from foreign attack. There’s a Democratic bill to provide election funding to state and local governments. There’s a bipartisan Senate bill to “codify cyberinformation-sharing initiatives between federal intelligence services and state election officials, speed up the granting of security clearances to state officials, and provide federal incentives for states to adopt paper ballots.” McConnell won’t allow any of them to come to a vote....
It seems obvious to me that McConnell likes the idea of an understood mutual agenda between the Russians and the Republican Party. McConnell is not at all alarmed by the cyber attacks Russia carries out against the USA's elections. That is not reasonable. McConnell is negligent of his duties to the country and is allowing continued cyber warfare by Russia.
If nothing else McConnell should be repeatedly brought up on ethics violations, but, his negligence of the national security of the USA is pre-meditated. That is more than an ethics violation.
The Do Nothing McConnell Senate.
Mitch McConnell has to have the record of doing nothing in the USA Senate than any majority leader in history. It isn't just this year, it is every time he is majority leader. Every year the Republican majority sits in the US Senate absolutely nothing gets done that benefits the American people, the wealthy sure, but, the people no.
If Joni Ernst is frustrated, just imagine how the people feel, especially Iowa. The tragedy rolling out in Iowa has to be a record in the degree people are suffering.
The Republican Senate has become the USA Obstructionist Senate. They don't get things done.
June 10, 2019
By Burgess Everett and Marianne Levine
The Senate (click here) is going to get back to good old-fashioned legislating any day now. Republicans swear it.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Senate has been almost entirely focused on confirming President Donald Trump’s personnel and judges and has had little in the way of recent legislative victories.
“It is frustrating,” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a top Democratic target in 2020, said of the Senate standstill. “But we are still working on a number of really good bills.”
The paltry list of accomplishments has given Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer an opening to portray the GOP as devoid of any agenda and could endanger Republicans at risk in a tough election cycle. And there’s a growing recognition within the GOP that it needs to do more.
McConnell and his deputy, Majority Whip John Thune of South Dakota, are telling committee chairmen to start approving bills and get them ready for the floor, according to Republican senators. Some lawmakers are optimistic that by August, they will have passed a bill lowering health care costs along with defense policy legislation. Approval of a new North American trade deal this year is also a possibility, as is a bipartisan deal to lift stiff budget caps....
One could almost defend the concentration on appointing judges to the federal bench if it were to fully staff courts that hear immigration issues. But, the trouble is the judges that are being appointed to such gaps in courtrooms are bad judges.
So, McConnell is pushing judges through the Senate only to have the country complain to the DOJ to have them removed. These complaints are not frivolous, there are records that come to bear to account for all the complaints. The Republican Obstructionist Senate aren't even vetting these appointments.
It is going to be a disaster and bog down the courts even longer. The cases Nicholas R. Ford decides sometimes ends up the Appealate Courts only to have his decisions overturned for ABUSE OF DISCRETION. (click here) That means Ford legislates from the bench based on his ideology and not the Rule of Law.
May 16, 2019
By Emily Hoerner
Nicholas R. Ford, (click here) who left behind a checkered record when he retired from the Cook County circuit court last month, has a new job: Ford was appointed this week as a U.S. Immigration Court judge, based in San Francisco.
The appointment immediately drew criticism from one progressive lawyers group, the National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area, which strongly condemned the move and called on the Department of Justice to immediately rescind Ford’s appointment to the bench.
“As someone who has dedicated his career to perpetuating racist state violence, Judge Ford has no place in a courtroom,” said the advocacy group’s executive director, Jay Kim, in a news release. “He is particularly unfit for Immigration Court, where he will be deciding the fate of asylum seekers and torture victims.”
Kim said her group does not frequently oppose judicial appointments but based on the circumstances felt it was necessary. The group will be tracking Ford’s work through their immigration court observation program....
So rather than studying a topic, researching where the law is failing the people and bringing legislation out of committee for a vote; McConnell has decided to DO NOTHING and legislate from the bench. By placing ideological judges in the courts it will clog the courts sending more and more cases to the appellate courts. That is not what any of the courts in the USA need. They need competent judges that make constitutional decisions that don't turn criminals out on the streets because of abuse of power.
If the only way the American people can have a competent Senate lead by someone with good moral judgment is to kick McConnell out, then kick McConnell out. Replace him with a Senator that actually loves the country beyond the power afforded those that governor. Or are supposed to govern.
There is no room in the USA Senate for Mitch "Grime Reaper" McConnell.
If Joni Ernst is frustrated, just imagine how the people feel, especially Iowa. The tragedy rolling out in Iowa has to be a record in the degree people are suffering.
The Republican Senate has become the USA Obstructionist Senate. They don't get things done.
June 10, 2019
By Burgess Everett and Marianne Levine
The Senate (click here) is going to get back to good old-fashioned legislating any day now. Republicans swear it.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Senate has been almost entirely focused on confirming President Donald Trump’s personnel and judges and has had little in the way of recent legislative victories.
“It is frustrating,” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a top Democratic target in 2020, said of the Senate standstill. “But we are still working on a number of really good bills.”
The paltry list of accomplishments has given Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer an opening to portray the GOP as devoid of any agenda and could endanger Republicans at risk in a tough election cycle. And there’s a growing recognition within the GOP that it needs to do more.
McConnell and his deputy, Majority Whip John Thune of South Dakota, are telling committee chairmen to start approving bills and get them ready for the floor, according to Republican senators. Some lawmakers are optimistic that by August, they will have passed a bill lowering health care costs along with defense policy legislation. Approval of a new North American trade deal this year is also a possibility, as is a bipartisan deal to lift stiff budget caps....
One could almost defend the concentration on appointing judges to the federal bench if it were to fully staff courts that hear immigration issues. But, the trouble is the judges that are being appointed to such gaps in courtrooms are bad judges.
So, McConnell is pushing judges through the Senate only to have the country complain to the DOJ to have them removed. These complaints are not frivolous, there are records that come to bear to account for all the complaints. The Republican Obstructionist Senate aren't even vetting these appointments.
It is going to be a disaster and bog down the courts even longer. The cases Nicholas R. Ford decides sometimes ends up the Appealate Courts only to have his decisions overturned for ABUSE OF DISCRETION. (click here) That means Ford legislates from the bench based on his ideology and not the Rule of Law.
May 16, 2019
By Emily Hoerner
Nicholas R. Ford, (click here) who left behind a checkered record when he retired from the Cook County circuit court last month, has a new job: Ford was appointed this week as a U.S. Immigration Court judge, based in San Francisco.
The appointment immediately drew criticism from one progressive lawyers group, the National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area, which strongly condemned the move and called on the Department of Justice to immediately rescind Ford’s appointment to the bench.
“As someone who has dedicated his career to perpetuating racist state violence, Judge Ford has no place in a courtroom,” said the advocacy group’s executive director, Jay Kim, in a news release. “He is particularly unfit for Immigration Court, where he will be deciding the fate of asylum seekers and torture victims.”
Kim said her group does not frequently oppose judicial appointments but based on the circumstances felt it was necessary. The group will be tracking Ford’s work through their immigration court observation program....
So rather than studying a topic, researching where the law is failing the people and bringing legislation out of committee for a vote; McConnell has decided to DO NOTHING and legislate from the bench. By placing ideological judges in the courts it will clog the courts sending more and more cases to the appellate courts. That is not what any of the courts in the USA need. They need competent judges that make constitutional decisions that don't turn criminals out on the streets because of abuse of power.
If the only way the American people can have a competent Senate lead by someone with good moral judgment is to kick McConnell out, then kick McConnell out. Replace him with a Senator that actually loves the country beyond the power afforded those that governor. Or are supposed to govern.
There is no room in the USA Senate for Mitch "Grime Reaper" McConnell.
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