Trump is too busy trying to circumvent legislative authority to find ways out of the Russian sanctions. Why would he implement more?

Trump seems to have no use for the rule of law. Senator Menendez is correct.

Russia is out of step with most international treaties. I don't even understand why it is part of the G20. If Russia can't be trusted to comply with international treaties and laws, why trust Russia with trade?

January 24, 2019
By Morgan Chalfant

A Democratic senator (click here) is admonishing the Trump administration for not yet imposing a new round of sanctions on Russia for its poisoning of an ex-Russian spy in Britain as mandated under law.

“These sanctions are more than two months overdue,” Sen. Bob Menendez(N.J.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday and released Thursday.

“I urge you to impose these sanctions immediately to ensure that the statutorily mandated sanctions regime is not undermined," Menendez added.

In August, the Trump administration sanctioned Russia for using a military-grade nerve agent against ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury, England, earlier in the year.

The U.S. brought the sanctions under a 1991 law known as the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act, or CBW Act. Moscow has denied any involvement in the poisoning, which Skripal and his daughter survived.

Under the law, a second tranche of sanctions is automatically triggered unless Russia meets a number of strict criteria, including showing it is no longer using chemical or biological weapons and allowing for independent inspections.

The State Department alerted Congress in November that Moscow had not complied with the requirements to avoid a second round of sanctions. However, the U.S. has not formally announced new sanctions on Moscow in the more than two months that have passed....

Conservative politicians and their media minions should be ashamed of themselves for carrying on "hate politics" on the backs of federal employees and endangering the public, but, also the national security of the USA.

President Trump came to the conclusion that extremism doesn't work for America and ended the shutdown. He signed legislation he should have signed last year. He did the right thing only 35 days too late.

Now, the idiots that line the right wing extremism need to reassess their media minions and stop being lead around by the nose for no real apparent reason except to know who is a right wing nut and who is not. There is no purpose to the extremism witnessed after the bill was signed into law.

One of the culprits in all this is the 501(c)4. It is the reason the extremism exists in the first place. The Tea Party was built after President Obama was elected and their battle cry was extremist right wing positions and rhetoric. It spawned the most extremist caucus in the legislature, "The Freedom Caucus." They are dangerous and only exist because of illicit money thrown in to 501(C)4 coffers. The entire entity of government called the 501(c)4 has to be rewritten to exclude foreign money and when affiliated with a political party accountability provided.

The way the 501(c)4 is allowed to exist in the USA today, it has corrupted the country and allowed extremism to bring peril to our democracy and people. The reason the extremists are carrying on today is that they don't want to lose their money. It hasn't got to do with right or wrong, lawful or lawless, it is about plenty of money and the benefits it brings to themselves and their PACs. These PACS can spend 49 percent of their monies on political campaigns so long as they spend 51 percent on things like ultrasound imaging machines in abortion clinics.

Personage rights for the US Dollar have to end as well as that of corporations. The next thing will be to assign voting rights according to the amount of money one has in the bank. It won't be one vote per citizen, it will be one vote per dollar, including crytocurrency.

Why is justice coming into view now that Governor Whitmer is in office.

I mean that. Justice, as we know it, is finally coming into focus. Why is that? Why the corruption by Snyder? 

January 25, 2019
By Ron Fonger

Flint -- Former emergency managers (click here) in Flint acted as officers or employees of the state before and during the city’s water crisis and lawsuits against them must be considered by the Michigan Court of Claims, the state Court of Appeals said in a decision Thursday, Jan. 24.

In the 17-page unpublished decision, the Appeals Court agreed with attorneys for Flint residents and property owners who sued officials including former emergency managers Mike Brown, Gerald Ambrose, Ed Kurtz and Darnell Earley in 2016.

In a consolidated appeal, the residents and property owners contended -- and the Appeals Court agreed -- that the Court of Claims had mistakenly dismissed the emergency managers from the lawsuits when they granted motions for summary disposition due to a lack of jurisdiction....

No other defendant in the State of Michigan had millions of dollars spent on private attorneys to defend them. $30 million dollars. If a defendant needs a court appointed attorney they have to qualify for one, not wait for legislation to pad their take from the state treasury.

These monies are in addition to their annual salaries. They aren't paying a dime of their salaries for their representation. Are the defense monies considered part of their salary? Are they paying taxes on those monies?

January 25, 2019
By Leonard N. Fleming

Millions in state tax dollars (click here) for the legal defenses of Flint water crisis defendants are in danger of being cut when the aid runs out this year, as Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pledges to ensure taxpayers "are getting their money's worth."

The specter of losing funding has the private-practice lawyers for the two highest-profile defendants saying the state should continue to pick up the tab because the water crisis happened under the state government's watch. The price tag is now $30.6 million and growing.

If state legal aid were cut off for the defendants, legal experts said it would pressure them to make deals with the special prosecutor — unless they have enough money to hire experts and mount a vigorous defense. 

Republican former Gov. Rick Snyder convinced the GOP-led Legislature to foot the legal bills of the 10 state employee defendants who were involved with Flint's switch of water sources in 2014 and an associated 2014-15 outbreak of Legionnaires' disease. They included two high-profile health department appointees, Nick Lyon and Eden Wells, who were accused of involuntary manslaughter and other crimes.

Whitmer has raised questions about the legal funding for private defense attorneys, while Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel has asked Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy to review the legal cases. 

Whitmer told The Detroit News last week that "of course I'm worried about" the "legal bills that were from activity that were not on my watch." But she said it's too early to say how she will handle the issue and is working with Nessel to figure out the answers.

"Unfortunately, there's no easy solution here," Whitmer said. "It's not easy, but I'm going to make sure that taxpayers are protected and are getting their money's worth and that people of Flint get the justice they deserve."...

Congratulations to everyone.

Federal employees
The Media 
Congress and the president
The American people that wrote their congressmen and congresswomen

The terrible nightmare is over.

The southern border states need to petition Congress for the type of border protections that would work best for their state. Any state legislature can petition the federal government regarding border security. The states can be funded to do the work themselves as well. There are solutions and it is best left to the states to decide.

Stone said he was falsely charged. Right?

I take it the judge didn't reject the indictment. Right? Judges are not just passive observers of the proceedings between lawyers, they have standards, too. If an indictment is weak, it will fail in court. This indictment of Stone has substance otherwise it would not have been granted the right to proceed.

January 25, 2019
By Noah Feldman

The indictment of Roger Stone, (click here) who was arrested Friday by the FBI and charged with lying to Congress, provides the first detailed evidence that Stone was a go-between for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign with WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange. In 2016, WikiLeaks had and released a large numbers of emails that had been stolen by Russian intelligence from the Democratic National Committee and from Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Stone’s coordination between the campaign and WikiLeaks is substantive, from what the court filings show. Stone, a Republican political operative and confidant of Trump, got advance notice of WikiLeaks document releases that he passed on to the Trump campaign. That included information about an “October surprise,” which turned out to be the leaking of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails....

This just isn't right. I don't think Air Traffic Controllers should be working a second job.

It is not right that flight attendants can't estimate the degree of danger they may face from one flight to the next. There are far better ways to determine if there is still 911 type dangers to the airlines than waiting for the odds to catch up with everyone.

It just isn't right.

January 25, 2019
By Dom DiFurio

Flights out of DFW Airport (click here) are experiencing delay times averaging 41 minutes for travelers heading to La Guardia Airport Friday while the rest of the airport remains business as usual, according to the FAA's flight delay information.

Traffic at DFW Airport remains normal as the airport continues to monitor checkpoints, according to DFW International Airport Media Relations Manager Cynthia Vega.

Generally, arrivals to DFW are experiencing delays of up to 15 minutes.

The Federal Aviation Administration halted flights into New York's LaGuardia Airport because of a shortage of air-traffic control staff, escalating the pressure on President Donald Trump and lawmakers to end the government shutdown....

Things are going to get too dicey and everyone will go on a nationwide strike. Once the country is completely crippled, then Donald Trump and the Senate Republicans might see their way clear to pass a bill and sign it.

Federal employees are very valuable people. They care. They want the country to function and function well. But, when it comes to safety they won't compromise. They know what happens if they do.

January 25, 2019
By Lori Arantani

Federal officials temporarily restricted flights Friday (click here) into and out of New York’s LaGuardia Airport, another example of the toll the partial government shutdown – in its 35th day – is having on the nation’s airports.

“We have experienced a slight increase in sick leave at two facilities,” a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said in an emailed statement. “We’ve mitigated the impact by augmenting staffing, rerouting traffic and increasing spacing between aircraft when needed. The results have been minimal impacts to efficiency while maintaining consistent levels of safety in the national airspace system.”

Travelers were notified of air traffic issues at fly.faa.gov and were advised to check with their airline for more information.

The FAA’s Airport Status Information website cited shortages at two facilities, including one near Washington, which manages air traffic. The temporary restrictions affect arriving and departing flights at the airport. Arriving flights were delayed an average of 41 minutes and departures were experiencing delays between 15 and 29 minutes, the FAA said.

No one should be surprised Roger Stone was arrested.

To begin, Roger Stone has been uncooperative with the Special Council Investigation. Roger Stone has been a long time associate of Paul Manafort.

Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and Donald Trump have a very long relationship.

...Unlike his old business partners, (click here) Roger Stone and Lee Atwater, you would never describe Manafort as flamboyant....

January 25, 2019

Stone faces obstruction, witness tampering charges in connection with the Mueller investigation.

Washington — Roger Stone, (click here) an associate of President Donald Trump, has been arrested in Florida.

That’s according to special counsel Robert Mueller’s office, which says he faces charges including witness tampering, obstruction and false statements.

Stone is scheduled to make a court appearance later Friday.

Stone has been under scrutiny for months but has maintained his innocence....                

There is an escalation of activity along the Hidalgo County, New Mexico border with Mexico.

This crisis at the border in Hidalgo County has two components that are very typical to the USA southern border; one is violent, but, the majority of people crossing the border are non-violent and seeking asylum.

The violent aspect of these crossings are the drug cartels and they are armed with military style weapons that may have come from "straw purchasers." 

The problem is the cartels are escalating their activity and the county is being overwhelmed. The migrants may or may not be responsible for stealing vehicles. This escalation is probably due to increased enforcement efforts elsewhere. The increased border protections elsewhere is compressing the cartels crossings to less patrolled areas of the border.

Something has to be done for Hidalgo County, New Mexico with this escalation, but, is the long term solution a wall? They may need an improvement of some kind of a physical barrier, however, there is every reason to believe that is not going to stop either the cartels or the migrants. The best measure is the Border Patrol which takes down drug smugglers successfully.

Surveillance of electronic means can help identify border crossers to find them and bring them to justice, however, the drug smugglers aren't necessarily making a one way trip. The drug activity is the most dangerous and ultimately effects the country, but, the USA cannot turn away asylum seekers.

To be perfectly clear, this is Hidalgo County, New Mexico. Texas does not want a wall. Other solutions have to be found.

January 23, 2019
By Chris Ramirez

...New Mexico’s Boot Heel (click here) sits in Hidalgo County, wedged between Arizona and Mexico. The county shares 87 miles of its boundary with Mexico and there is no border wall in Hidalgo County....

...“It's not getting any better, it's getting worse and there is now an influx of people," said Billy Darnell.  “We know something is going to happen every day we go out.”

KOB 4 asked if any of them had been victimized by people who they believe to be undocumented immigrants.  All but one raised their hands to state yes. 

“We've had vehicles stolen,” said Randy Massey.

“They've had bundles of weed, coke and carrying heavy artillery,” said Cammi Moore.

“The worst part of it, we had an employee kidnapped. And that was probably the worst night of my entire life until we got him back,’ said Elrock.

“It's getting to the point where these confrontations are getting more aggressive and more and more violent,” said Kris Massey....

...In the last few weeks, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has sent news releases out that illustrate the ranchers' concerns.  On January 16th, U.S. CBP reported that a group of 247 migrants turned themselves in near the Antelope Wells Port of Entry in Hidalgo County.  Two days later, U.S. CBP released night video showing a group of migrants jumping over the Normandy barriers. Many, if not all, of the migrants are asylum seekers....

The Republicans are now the obstructionist party. Is that treason? Will obstruction cause damage to the country and ultimately to the country's sovereign national security?

Donald Trump stated the shutdown can last years. He said that. He would rather shut down the government until November of 2020 than govern. Trump wants to be the utmost obstructionist.

What bank or credit union is going to advance government workers two years of salary without taking payment on the loan?

These government workers have been out for over one month. Any loan that was made in January would require a payment in February. What are the government workers going to do borrow the payment and another month's salary? This is crazy. This is a belligerent Republican Party dug in without caring about the country or the people that work for it.

The previous Congress gave Trump a down payment. He batted it away.

Donald Trump is not going to sign a bill into law to end the shutdown. Congress has to act to bring about an end to the government shutdown.

The US House needs to carry out oversight and vote during breaks from the committees.

Which state has the best drivers in the country?

Maine has the worst. (click here)

An insurance comparison website has ranked Mainers the absolute worst drivers in the country....

...The annual ranking was released Thursday by Quotewizard.com. The site said it used incident data from the users of its website, as well as Federal Highway Administration fatality data. It looked at accidents, speeding tickets, citations, fatalities and drunk driving incidents....

The best belongs to the state that is home to the motor companies - MICHIGAN!

Mitch McConnell has to begin to take responsibility for this government shutdown. 

When Nancy Pelosi brought a very viable bill to the House floor it passed and she knew it would pass. McConnell, on the other hand, did nothing to propose a Senate bill and only voted on the president's bill which was never going to pass and then brought the US House bill to the floor without knowing what the outcome would be. Well, he doesn't get away with the idea he is not to blame. The blame for McConnell is mounting and he is doing nothing to end this impasse.

Why is McConnell waiting on the sidelines? Because if no bill passes he doesn't have to worry about overriding a veto or taking two separate bills into Reconciliation.

Mitch McConnell is not blameless.

Get the CR done, Mitch!

116th Congress, 1st Session (click here)

The tentative schedule for 2019 has been announced. The list below identifies expected non-legislative periods (days that the Senate will not be in session). The schedule is also available in calendar format (pdf image). The 2018 tentative schedule is still available.

Date	Action	Note
Jan 3	Convene
Jan 8	Reconvene
Jan 21 - Jan 25	State Work Period	Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday- Jan 21
Feb 18 - Feb 22	State Work Period	Presidents' Day- Feb 18
Mar 18 - Mar 22	State Work Period
Apr 15 - Apr 26	State Work Period
May 27 - May 31	State Work Period	Memorial Day- May 27
Jul 1 - Jul 5	State Work Period	Independence Day- Jul 4
Aug 5 - Sep 6	State Work Period	Labor Day- Sep 2
Sep 30 - Oct 14	State Work Period	Columbus Day- Oct 14
Nov 11		Veterans Day
Nov 25 - Nov 29	State Work Period	Thanksgiving- Nov 28
Dec 16 - Dec 31	State Work

Clueless with no empathy for those that serve our government.

January 24, 2019
By Damian Paletta

Washington — Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross (click here) on Thursday said he didn’t understand why federal workers were visiting food banks during the government shutdown, saying they should instead seek low-interest loans from banks and credit unions to supplement their lost wages.

“I know they are, and I don’t really quite understand why,” Ross said on CNBC when asked about federal workers going to food banks. Ross is a billionaire and longtime friend of President Donald Trump....

What a nightmare for this young Belarus woman.

I congratulate all the authorities involved in resolving this issue and providing her freedom again. I realize that may mean congratulations to Vladimir Putin.

It was correct to release her to go home. She is young and innocent and simply involved in social media that provides her popularity.

I can only imagine being held in Indonesia and then released to travel home only to be traumatized in a Russian airport and find herself again a prisoner of a foreign country. She will need time to absorb all that occurred and realize she is trying to hard to be important to others.

She needs to think about herself and her future. Social media will not guarantee her a future that is achieved through education while she sets herself on a path beneficial to herself and her country. If she wants to be an asset to the world in a real way she will realize what a wonderful thing freedom is and how she can serve her country by being educated.

She put herself in a dangerous situation by being an escort to wealthy men. She needs to think about her well being from this day going forward. I don't think wealthy men should have escorts. I think they should have wives.

But, I wish her well. I understand she is worried about her immediate health. I strongly suggest she see a doctor that can provide a complete physical. Sometimes swelling of any kind is an allergy. She may have been exposed to something she is not usually exposed to and she needs testing for all kinds of things, including any heavy metals or other elements of the air that could cause her harm.

I like her. I think she is spunky. She needs a better path forward. Be well. Everyone. Everyone involved should be well and setting themselves on a path of promise to the future. We all have an Earth to worry about.

22 January 2019

...Russian authorities (click here) said she remains a suspect in an unrelated criminal case, the Tass news agency reported.

On Saturday, a Moscow court ruling had extended her detention for allegedly forcing women into prostitution.

According to Russian news agency Interfax, investigators asked the court for her release on Tuesday.

Her lawyer, Dmitry Zatsarinsky, posted a video on Instagram, showing them both in a car after her release.

"Nastya Rybka is free," Mr Zatsarinsky said in the video. "We're going home."

Ms Rybka became famous after posting a video of Russian billionaire industrialist Oleg Deripaska with Russia's deputy prime minister, Sergey Prikhodko, on a yacht in 2016.

She was one of 10 people arrested in Thailand last February for organising a "sex training seminar"....

I applaud Speaker Pelosi in regard to the State of the Union address.

It is simply wrong to continue to carry out business as usual when there is so much wrong. All those people that make the orderly State of the Union possible are not receiving their paychecks. Their personal lives are in disarray and the man causing the disruption in their lives wants to have his priorities undisturbed.

I sincerely believe Speaker Pelosi is a champion for the people. I have never seen her so committed to protect the legislative capacity of the US House. She wants employees for the federal government back to work. It is unthinkable that President Trump is not so disturbed by the disruptions with the US Coast Guard and the FBI that he simply has to consider a different time and method to demand $5.7 billion for his political wall at the southern border. 

The President of the USA is supposed to protect the country and it's people and no matter where one looks, it is not happening. The president is derelict.

The US House's recent proposal was to provide $5.7 billion for a smart wall at the southern border. Trump says no.

I am confident Speaker Pelosi will continue to seek ways of bringing federal employees back to work. In all honesty, I believe the Congress has to do it without the president. It just is unrealistic to believe this can continue much longer and secure the country and the president is uninterested in the US House's proposals.

The US House Leadership needs to present their proposal of the $5.7 billion to the people so there is no misunderstanding as to the viable solution they have drawn up and why it is a good solution.

More gun violence in Florida.

January 23, 2019
By Amy B. Wang

Sebring – A gunman (click here) who opened fire inside a Florida bank Wednesday afternoon killed five people before surrendering to SWAT negotiators, police said.

Zephen Xaver, 21, was arrested after the shooting at a SunTrust branch, Sebring police Chief Karl Hoglund said at a news conference....

I read a report stating Mr. Cohen is postponing his testimony to Congress because of threats to him and his family by Mr. Guiliani and Mr. Trump. Yes, the president Trump.

Treats are illegal and if there are threats it only goes to prove the Trump White House is not an honorable institution. 

Congress needs to subpoena Mr. Cohen. Mr. Cohen needs to report all threats regardless of source to the police and if the complaints are worthy, there will be prosecutions. That is the way the law works and no one is exempt.

If Mr. Cohen runs into resistance to file a complaint about threats against him or his family, he should report it to Congress along with whatever testimony exists. Congress can ask the FBI to investigate.

This is a pattern that is emerging. Stephanie Clifford had the same experience.

To be clear:

The US Congress, the elected legislative body, is asking for testimony from an American. The Dictator and Chief and his minion are threatening this American family. That is illegal. No one wants to place the Cohen Family in peril. No president, no Republican hack has the right to intimidate the USA government. It is important Michael Cohen testifies. His country wants answers. The Cohen Family is not to be sacrificed because of American justice through criminal acts. The Cohen Family is important. They are not sacrificial lambs. They need to be secure in their lives. If the USA Congress can't receive testimony it cannot govern. I am glad the Cohen Family has come forward about their fears. The governing authority of the people of the USA has to be satisfied. This is outrageous that an American family cannot provide information to the US Congress without fear. This cannot stand.

Anderson Cooper is correct.

January 21, 2019
By Tamar Auber

On Monday night, (click here) CNN’s Anderson Cooper slammed President Donald Trump‘s lawyer for his attempt to mop up his Sunday Trump Tower Moscow mess by claiming what he said was “hypothetical.”...

If I may?

The USA press and probably the international press as well is disrespected by the Trump White House. They have even suspended daily meetings with Sanders for petty reasons.

This mess with Guiliani only proves all the more that the Trump White House and it's minions are manipulating the public dialogue. The lies by Guiliani are many. This is just one more.

The USA media is a dynamic entity in the country and the USA has every reason to be proud of it. It is the fourth arm of government and it is a very valuable place for citizens. Citizens, regardless of what side of the aisle one finds themselves, need the media for information, daily weather for that matter, what is occurring with their city and state and especially in times of danger as we have today, what is occurring with the federal government.

The media in the USA is powerful. Rightfully, so. The people should have a place where power takes up their freedom of speech or conveys a story or is simply a place where public education occurs. I don't abide by the idea infotainment is legitimate media, either.

Rudy Guiliani has made statements now that he was speaking in hypotheticals. Really? He sat on a nationally televised news program and spoke openly about the truth of what was occurring with Trump and Russia during the campaign. I didn't have to hear it from Guiliani, I was waiting for the Special Council to conclude the investigation. But, evidently the DOJ is going to hide the Special Council's report from the public and it will not be known for some time. So, with that Guiliani comes forward to speak. Is he the only minion of Trump that the American public will hear a reporting of the relationship between Trump Company, the president and Russia? Well, today Guiliani has proven himself untrustworthy and his appearances should be limited to FOX News where nothing is the truth unless it suits their purpose.

I would be very insulted if a politician came before my audience and openly manipulated the words he or she spoke. The power of the media lies in the truth. People, regardless of their notoriety, need to speak the truth and where that is abandoned there is no reason to validate it by providing them a voice. Sensationalism is best left for real entertainment.

It is confrontational. The National Mall is a place where citizens come to carry a message.

By being confrontational these young people hoped some sort of emotional outbreak would happen. I don't know why Nathan Phillips (click here) would want to meet with the teenagers, but, he willing to do so.

The teenagers have a profound tilt into insulting behavior. They need to work on that to prevent unnecessary confrontation in the real adult world.

Perhaps Mr. Phillips can educate the teenagers at Covington Catholic about the Native American culture they confronted on the National Mall. That wasn't noise, the performance by Mr. Phillips conveys a message.

Just as a side note, Senator Elizabeth Warren is running for President of the USA in the race in 2020. Native Americans should expect this type of confrontation on a regular basis. Also to note, after Senator Kamala Harris announced her candidacy, Trump and Pence show up at the Martin Luther King Memorial. I think Trump sees it necessary to campaign against all those running for President in 2020. Expect that mess, too.

I think the Democrats are an incredibly dynamic party and their nominees so far are incredible people with strong moral content to their campaign.

The real question is, what is happening with the government workers pensions? It makes sense to me that Trump continues to extend the federal government shutdown to impact pensions.

I am grateful the US Post Office, while required by the US Constitution, operates under their own steam.

The USA government shutdown needs to end and Congress needs to find a way.

end