U.S. Politics

[Rick Plant]

The RNC's latest complaint is another sign they have slipped deeper into 'authoritarianism'

According to an analysis by MSNBC's Zeeshan Aleem, a decision by the head of the Republican National Committee to boycott future presidential, debates is not only wrong-headed but also a sign that the GOP is becoming more authoritarian and, thus, unwilling to have their views challenged.

On Thursday, RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel announced the party has no intention of having anything to do events scheduled by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

According to McDaniels, who is one of Donald Trump's biggest supporters, "Debates are an important part of the democratic process, and the RNC is committed to free and fair debates. The Commission on Presidential Debates is biased and has refused to enact simple and commonsense reforms to help ensure fair debates including hosting debates before voting begins and selecting moderators who have never worked for candidates on the debate stage."

As Aleem notes, the move seemed designed as a pre-emptive attempt to keep the former president from having to defend his four years in office when confronted by his Democratic opponent and the moderator should he be the nominee in 2024.

He wrote, "For observers of the GOP’s slide into authoritarianism, it’s another sign that the party is increasingly hostile to democratic norms and happy to corrode citizen trust in the idea that nonpartisan public institutions are possible."

The MSNBC analyst added that it would be impossible to find anyone who was entirely neutral, but that candidates nonetheless should be prepared to have their claims challenged or fact-checked.

"The Commission on Presidential Debates is not some panel of judges who transcend politics entirely and are perfectly neutral — no such organization exists, because making claims about truth requires making value judgments. But it is a bipartisan commission that has held debates since 1988, and it’s not known for ganging up on one candidate," he wrote before adding, "The GOP has not made it clear what kind of alternatives it would propose"

Pointing to a Wall Street Journal report that stated, the GOP would "...sanction debates based on input from presidential campaigns and criteria that may include timing, frequency, format, media outlet, candidate qualifications and the ‘best interest of the Republican Party.’”

That, he claimed, was evidence that the Republicans want to game any debate in their favor, writing, "That last point is disturbing — it seems to suggest that the GOP might only propose debate forums that favor it in some sense. Which undermines the fundamental purpose of the debate, which is not to deliver propaganda to voters but to share one’s views and let voters decide which political vision they prefer."

"Such an arrangement would be terrible for trust in democracy, as citizens are exposed yet again to the idea that public institutions can’t be trusted unless they exhibit partisan commitment."

You can read more here:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/rnc-to-require-gop-presidential-candidates-to-sign-debate-pledge-11649952540

[Rick Plant]

There is absolutely no excuse for voting against NATO. 63 Republicans voted against our national security and supporting our allies.

WATCH: Kevin McCarthy refuses to condemn 63 Republicans who voted against supporting NATO

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Sunday refused to rebuke 63 Republicans who voted against a resolution in support of NATO.

During an interview on Fox News, guest host Mike Emmanuel asked McCarthy if his colleagues were wrong to vote against a House resolution affirming support for NATO.

"No, there's strong support for NATO moving forward," McCarthy replied. "Always has been. NATO is in the process of defending themselves but the one thing we need to make sure is NATO countries spend the money -- more than 2%."

"This affects everybody and that's why we should stand up for Ukraine and provide them the weapons to defend themselves where Putin cannot continue to do these atrocities," he added.

Watch the video below from Fox News.

[Rick Plant]

Rotting fruit, spoiled vegetables: How Texas just made the supply chain even worse



San Francisco CNN — A weeklong protest by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott against President Biden’s recent immigration policy reached a resolution on Friday, but the gridlock it created has resulted in hundreds of millions of lost dollars and delays in shipments of everything from avocados to automobile parts that will have a longer-term impact.

On Friday, Abbott reversed course on an order he put in place last week that required lengthier “enhanced safety inspections” of commercial vehicles entering Texas. The efforts, he said, were to help stop the flow of illegal contraband and human trafficking.

Abbott’s move, which Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller criticized as “political theater,” ultimately created a logjam of trucks between the US and its largest goods trading partner. Vegetable producers say their produce is spoiling in idling trucks and they are losing hundreds of millions of dollars.

Mexico is a critical supplier of vehicles, automotive parts, electrical machinery, chemicals and agricultural goods. Nearly $9 billion of fresh produce crosses the Texas border from Mexico each year, said Dante L. Galeazzi, CEO and president of the Texas International Produce Association.

And for the past week, that produce has been held hostage, with businesses and goods “being used as bargaining chips,” Galeazzi said.

What used to be a routine border crossing turned into a 30-hour wait for some trucks. Meanwhile, the fruits and vegetables in those trucks spoiled, leaving some produce department shelves sparse or empty in advance of the holiday weekend, he said.

“It could take a week or longer, up to probably three weeks, before the supply chain realigns,” Galeazzi said.

In recent days, Abbott has met with the governors of the four Mexican states that border Texas, and reached agreements to cease the increased checks. On Friday, after meeting with the governor of Tamaulipas, Abbott said the commercial checks would end immediately.

The “financial pain” was a necessary consequence to “get the public to insist that their government leaders” take action to curb illegal immigration, Abbott said.

'One thing after another’

Losses to fruit and vegetable producers are estimated to be more than $240 million, said Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas.

Consumers will also pay a price as producers look to recoup some of their losses and supplies run low.

Americans can expect to spend more on strawberries, avocados and asparagus as soon as this weekend, with the impacts being felt the heaviest in the Midwest and Northeast, Jungmeyer said.

“This is not just a localized issue,” said Jerry Pacheco, president and chief executive officer of the Border Industrial Association in New Mexico. “It’s going to hit you in St. Louis or up in Seattle. We’re connected to a global supply chain.”

“It’s a bad time to be adding this to consumers’ pockets to pay out their pocketbook,” Jungmeyer said.


A long line of trucks is seen stalled at the Zaragoza International Bridge, one of two ports of entry in Ciudad Juarez going into the US on April 12th.

At El Corral Supermarket, a Mexican specialty grocery store and meat market in Stephenville, Texas, co-owner Santos Avila was warned of shortages by his beer suppliers because of glass that got delayed coming into the US from Mexico.

“It’s just one thing after another,” Avila said, noting the price increases and product shortages that have occurred over the past two years due to pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions.

At places like Luna’s Mexican Restaurant in St. Francis, Wisconsin, which have yet to see any price hikes as a result of the delayed shipments from Mexico, the mere prospect of any delays or shortages for staples like avocados, tomatoes and limes causes worry, said owner Jenny Bustillos, who runs the restaurant with her daughter, Brittanie Sexton.

Luna’s has already seen prices triple because of pandemic-related supply chain challenges and inflation, Bustillos said. A case of limes that used to run $30 a case pre-pandemic is now $90, and a case of avocados rose from $40 to $120, said Bustillos.

“Everything [we make] contains some type of fresh vegetables, so that is very worrisome for a business like us,” said Sexton, Luna’s manager. “Everyone who works here, we are supporting our families with this. We aren’t some chain [restaurant]. This is our livelihood.”

Adding to supply chain instability

It could ultimately take several weeks for supply chains to recover from the weeklong slowdown at the border, said Matthew Hockenberry, a Fordham University assistant professor who studies supply chains and logistics.

“It’s also just so hard to predict, because there’s so much supply instability right now,” he said, noting that China’s latest wave of lockdowns and the war in Ukraine are causing even more disruptions. “The amount of supply uncertainty is so high that to add another straw here to the camel’s back is a dangerous proposition.”

The logjam also has the potential to compound existing supply chain issues in the manufacturing industry, said Erik Lundh, principal economist at The Conference Board.

Following the early stages of the pandemic, when lockdowns in China resulted in significant delays in shipments, it spurred a renewed interest by US companies in working with suppliers in Mexico, he said.

"What are companies going to think about this?” he said. ‘What are they going to think when they see that Mexico, which has emerged as a potential alternative to China, can suffer these kinds of impacts in this US political sphere.”

Those issues could further compound inflationary woes that are already heightened by the war in Ukraine and the new wave of Covid that has hit China, he said.

“Coupled with the difficulty in getting things across the border from Mexico,” he said, “it layers two different kinds of sources of inflationary pressure on top of one another and makes things even more complicated.”

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/16/economy/texas-mexico-abbott-border-economic-impact/index.html

[Rick Plant]

President Biden's historic economic success continues.

Unemployment rates fell in 37 States last month and 17 States hit or tied their lowest rates on record (data back to 1976), according to data out this morning from the BLS. https://bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm



The States with new record lows include Nebraska and Utah at 2 percent each. The unemployment rates in Indiana and Montana were 2.2 percent and 2.3 percent respectively.

These States also saw all-time low unemployment rates: Alaska (5 percent), Arizona (3.3 percent), Georgia (3.1 percent), Idaho (2.7 percent), Mississippi (4.2 percent), Tennessee (3.2 percent), West Virginia (3.7 percent), Wisconsin (2.8 percent).

Five other States—Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, and Minnesota—had unemployment rates in March that equaled their lowest rates on record.

Jobs gains were statistically significant in 10 States last month, and in 49 States and D.C. over the past year. The biggest percent gains in March occurred in Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, and North Carolina.

These BLS data show the geographical scope of the strong national labor market (national rate was 3.6 percent in March), with 17 States posting the lowest jobless rate in the 46-year history of these data.

[Rick Plant]

Mike Lee must be held accountable for his actions to 'subvert our election': Former US attorney general



Former Attorney General Eric Holder is calling for Sen. Mike Lee to be held accountable for his role in attempting to overthrow the 2020 election.

It was revealed last week that Lee was very involved in efforts to keep former President Donald Trump in the White House, even though there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

CNN released over 100 text messages from Lee and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) that were sent between the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and they showed Lee was initially 100 percent committed to Trump's election overthrow efforts, although he eventually got cold feet when Trump's lawyers produced no hard evidence of fraud.

In response, Holder tweeted, "Mike Lee has to be confronted about his actions to subvert our electoral process and then held accountable. Let him explain - if he can - his efforts. Media focus on this is not partisan - it’s their job."

https://www.rawstory.com/mike-lee-election-overthrow-accountability/

[Rick Plant]

Nebraska's GOP governor tells Trump-backed candidate to 'get help' and drop out after groping allegations



Republican Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts on Monday called on Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster to drop out after multiple women leveled allegations that he groped them.

In remarks before reporters, Ricketts trashed Herbster for blowing off the multiple allegations of inappropriate behavior made against him.

"Herbster is saying the Republican establishment somehow created a conspiracy, that these eight women are somehow behind, to accuse him of se*ual assault," Ricketts said. "And I would say read the article, because that article is one of the most well researched, corroborated articles I've ever seen on this topic."

Ricketts then explained what he wanted to see Herbster do next.

"I think he needs to apologize to the women, then I think he should seek help, then he should step out of the race," he said.

Ricketts also said that the allegations leveled against Herbster were "very different" from those leveled against Trump, although Ricketts seemed to imply the only allegations against Trump related to his infamous "Access Hollywood" video, when in reality dozens of women have accused him of se*ual misconduct.

Watch the video below:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1516156752030576652

[Rick Plant]

Who Is Kathryn Mizelle? Trump-Appointed Judge Who Struck Down Mask Mandate

Federal judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle struck down the national mask mandate for transportation including airplanes and trains on Monday.

Mizelle, appointed by former President Donald Trump, ruled that the mandate exceeded the authority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Her lengthy 59-page ruling also said the CDC failed to justify the mandate.

In her ruling, Mizelle said the only remedy is to void the mandate as it would be impossible to end it for only those who objected by filing the lawsuit, according to the Associated Press.

"Because our system does not permit agencies to act unlawfully even in pursuit of desirable ends, the court declares unlawful and vacates the mask mandate," she wrote.

Mizelle currently serves as a judge on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. She was appointed to the position by Trump in August 2020 and was confirmed by the Senate three months later, with 49 Republicans voting in her support and 41 Democrats voting against her. Mizelle was appointed to the bench at 33, making her one of the youngest federal judges in the nation.

Prior to her nomination to the court, she worked as an attorney at the Jones Day law firm and served at the Department of Justice as Counsel to the Associate Attorney General, a trial attorney in the Tax Division and as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

She also served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas after graduating from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Trump's nomination of Mizelle drew criticism from some in the legal community. At the time, the American Bar Association (ABA) wrote in a letter to Senators Lindsey Graham and Dianne Feinstein they determined she was "not qualified" for the position.

In the letter, the ABA wrote Mizelle began to practice law eight years earlier — a "departure" from the 12-year minimum the ABA's committee uses as a benchmark for determining qualifications of nominees — and that she had not tried a case as lead or co-counsel. However, the ABA's letter praised her as having a "very keen intellect, a strong work ethic and an impressive resume."

https://www.newsweek.com/who-kathryn-mizelle-trump-appointed-judge-who-struck-down-mask-mandate-1698705