JFK Assassination Forum
Off Topic => News - Off Topic - Weird & Wacky => Topic started by: Rick Plant on November 05, 2021, 10:50:46 PM
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This thread is for discussion on United States politics: which includes local, state, and federal elections, important political issues, political news, and the Biden Administration.
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President Biden is moving the country forward and is cleaning up the Trump economic disaster that devastated America.
ADP: Employers Added 571,000 Jobs in October, Beating Expectations:
Large companies in the services sector powered the strong monthly performance.
November 3, 2021
Employers added 571,000 jobs in October, above expectations, according to a monthly survey released Wednesday by private payroll firm ADP.
Gains were strongest among large companies, with increases of 342,000, and heavily concentrated in the services sector of the economy, with 458,000 new hires. The leisure and hospitality industry added 185,000 jobs.
Economists had been looking for 400,000 jobs to be created following September's increase of 568,000.
"The labor market showed renewed momentum last month, with a jump from the third quarter average of 385,000 monthly jobs added, marking nearly 5 million job gains this year," said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. "Service sector providers led the increase and the goods sector gains were broad based, reporting the strongest reading of the year. Large companies fueled the stronger recovery in October, marking the second straight month of impressive growth."
Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, which helps ADP prepare the report, said, "The job market is revving back up as the Delta-wave of the pandemic winds down. Job gains are accelerating across all industries, and especially among large companies. As long as the pandemic remains contained, more big job gains are likely in coming months.
The report comes two days before the Labor Department issues the monthly jobs numbers for October, with economists expecting close to 400,000 new jobs added in the month following September's disappointing 194,000 reading.
The labor market has been recovering, albeit unevenly, from the effects of the coronavirus which saw 22 million Americans lose their jobs in April of last year. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, has fallen to 4.8%.
But companies say they find it difficult to find workers and are having to pay higher wages and offer flexible schedules to attract jobseekers. Nonetheless, companies continue to post jobs and say they expect robust hiring ahead.
Data from HireVue, a firm that provides businesses with virtual interviewing technology, says interviews picked up in October, with tech companies seeing the biggest increase, completing 66.3% more interviews than in September, with retailers completing 64.7% more interviews.
A separate report from ADP found that wage growth, which picked up sharply following the pandemic, is now returning to more normal levels. Wages grew 3.3% during the third quarter overall, but for job switchers the pace was double at 6.6%.
The health of the job market is one of two factors the Federal Reserve Board is considering as it decides when to begin "tapering" its $120-billion-per-month purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. The central bank is widely expected to announce later Wednesday that it will cut that amount by $15 billion a month with a goal of ending the pandemic-era program by the middle of next year.
The other factor is inflation and there the news is not as sanguine. Consumer prices have been running about 5% higher year over year in 2021 and there are indications an inflation mindset has begun to set in that could make the Fed's job more difficult going forward.
It also complicates the political situation in Washington as President Joe Biden seeks to pass twin infrastructure bills with a razor-thin margin in Congress, which now seems even more in peril following Tuesday's election results which saw a Republican take the Virginia governor's race and a closer-than-expected contest for governor in the reliably Democrat state of New Jersey.
"An unmorring of inflation expectations can be self-fulfilling and self-perpetuating," economists Joseph LaVorgna and Troy Ludtka of Natixis CIB wrote Tuesday. "University of Michigan 5-year ahead inflation expectations have risen to a 10-year high but are still within their long-term range."
"However, the New York Fed's consumer price series has bounded higher," they added. "Is the U of M series headed for an upside breakout? We think so."
https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2021-11-03/adp-employers-added-571-000-jobs-in-october-beating-expectations
Companies add 571,000 jobs in October thanks to a big boost in hospitality hires, ADP says
Companies added 571,000 jobs for the month, beating the 395,000 Dow Jones estimate.
Leisure and hospitality led the way with 185,000 new positions.
Large businesses were by far the biggest creators, adding 458,000
Private sector job creation popped higher in October thanks to a burst in hiring in the hospitality sector, payroll processing firm ADP reported Wednesday.
Companies added 571,000 for the month, beating the 395,000 Dow Jones estimate and just ahead of September’s downwardly revised 523,000. It was the best month for jobs since June.
Leisure and hospitality, a category that includes bars, restaurants, hotels and the like, saw a gain of 185,000 for a sector that remains well below its pre-pandemic employment level. The sector is seen as a proxy for an economic recovery that stalled over the summer due to a rise in the Covid delta variant and a massive clog in supply lines.
“The job market is revving back up as the delta wave of the pandemic winds down,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, which aids ADP in compiling the report. “Job gains are accelerating across all industries, and especially among large companies. As long as the pandemic remains contained, more big job gains are likely in coming months.”
Growth in the sector helped fuel an overall 458,000 gain in services jobs.
Professional and business services also contributed 88,000 hires, trade transportation and utilities added 78,000, and education and health services jobs were up 56,000.
On the goods-producing side, which added 113,000 positions, construction was up 54,000 and manufacturing contributed 53,000.
From a size standpoint, businesses with more than 500 employees by far led the way with 342,000 new hires. Businesses with fewer than 50 workers added 115,000 and medium-sized firms increased by 114,000.
The ADP report comes two days before the Labor Department’s more closely watched nonfarm payrolls count, which is projected to show an increase of 450,000, according to Dow Jones.
While ADP can serve as a precursor to the government’s count, the two can differ widely.
In September, ADP’s tally of private payroll creation – initially at 568,000 before being revised lower by 45,000 – was well above the Labor Department’s 317,000. The total nonfarm payrolls count for September was just 194,000, well below estimates and held back by a loss of 123,000 government jobs.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/03/private-payrolls-up-571000-in-october-on-jump-in-hospitality-hires-topping-395000-estimate-.html
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An excellent October jobs report confirms President Biden is moving America forward by exceeding expectations with more news jobs created in a month with 531,000 and a better than expected unemployment number dropping to 4.6%.
Job creation roars back in October as payrolls rise by 531,000
November 5, 2021
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 531,000 in October, beating the estimate of 450,000.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.6%, a new pandemic low and better than expectations.
Wages rose 0.4% for the month and were up 4.9% from a year ago.
Leisure and hospitality led job creation, followed by professional and business services and manufacturing.
The U.S. job market snapped back in October, with nonfarm payrolls rising more than expected while the unemployment rate fell to 4.6%, the Labor Department reported Friday.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 531,000 for the month, compared with the Dow Jones estimate of 450,000. The jobless rate had been expected to edge down to 4.7%.
Private payrolls were even stronger, rising 604,000 as a loss of 73,000 government jobs pulled down the headline number. October’s gains represented a sharp pickup from September, which gained 312,000 jobs after the initial Bureau of Labor Statistics estimate of 194,000 saw a substantial upward revision in Friday’s report.
The numbers helped allay concerns that rising inflation, a severe labor shortage and slowing economic growth would tamp down jobs creation.
“This is the kind of recovery we can get when we are not sidelined by a surge in Covid cases,” said Nick Bunker, economic research director at job placement site Indeed. “If this is the sort of job growth we will see in the next several months, we are on a solid path.”
Markets rallied strongly on the news, with the Dow up nearly 350 points in early trading and government bond yields mostly lower.
The critical leisure and hospitality sector led the way, adding 164,000 as Americans ventured out to eating and drinking establishments and went on vacations again as Covid numbers fell during the month. For 2021, the sector has reclaimed 2.4 million positions lost during the pandemic.
Other sectors posting solid gains included professional and business services (100,000), manufacturing (60,000), and transportation and warehousing (54,000). Construction added 44,000 positions while health care was up 37,000 and retail added 35,000.
Wages increased 0.4% for the month, in line with estimates, but rose 4.9% on a year-over-year basis, reflecting the inflationary pressures that have intensified through the year. The average work week edged lower by one-tenth of an hour to 34.7 hours.
The unemployment rate drop came with the labor force participation rate holding steady at 61.6%, still 1.7 percentage points below its February 2020 level before the pandemic declaration. That represents just shy of 3 million fewer Americans considered part of the workforce and is reflective of ongoing concerns about staffing levels.
“While the strength of employment was an encouraging sign that labor demand remains strong, labor supply remains very weak. The labor force rose by a muted 104,000, which is not even enough to even keep pace with population growth,” said Michael Pearce, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics.
However, one metric that the Federal Reserve watches closely, the participation rate among so-called prime age workers 25 to 54, ticked higher to 81.7%.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen weighed in on the report with a Twitter thread Friday afternoon in which she said the administration’s aggressive fiscal policies that have pumped in more than $5 trillion to the economy helped stave off more dire consequences from the pandemic.
“Bold fiscal policy works,” Yellen wrote. “A rebound like this was never a foregone conclusion. When our administration took office back in January, there was a real risk that our economy was going to slip into a prolonged recession. Now our recovery is outpacing other wealthy nations’.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/05/jobs-report-november-2021.html
Big rebound in jobs: America adds 531,000 jobs to the economy in October
November 5, 2021
America's jobs recovery gathered some steam last month as US employers added 531,000 positions in October.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.6%, the lowest level since the economic recovery started in May 2020.
The number of jobs added in October easily outpaced economists' prediction of 450,000 jobs. It marked the first month since July that the official number didn't undercut the consensus estimate.
The US economy gained jobs across the board last month, with leisure and hospitality, manufacturing and transportation and warehousing leading the job gains. The leisure and hospitality sector was hit hardest during the pandemic recession and is still 1.4 million jobs short of its pre-pandemic level.
October's jobs report marks a turning point after two months of sluggish job gains, slowed by rising coronavirus cases as the Delta variant raged across the globe.
"This is the kind of recovery we can get when we are not sidelined by a surge in Covid cases," said Nick Bunker, economic research director at Indeed.
"The labor market is not yet fully recovered from the coronavirus-induced recession. But today's report is a sign that recovery could be closer than many thought," he said.
The nation has come a long way since the height of the pandemic. More than 18 million jobs have been added back since the recovery started, still leaving America short 4.2 million jobs compared with February 2020.
And the late summer months weren't quite as bad as they initially appeared: The Labor Department revised August and September's reports higher by a combined 235,000 jobs. The US economy added 795,000 jobs in August and September -- not bad for a so-called lull.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/05/economy/october-jobs-report/index.html
October jobs report: Payrolls grew by 531,000 as unemployment rate fell to 4.6%
https://news.yahoo.com/october-2021-jobs-report-labor-department-hiring-covid-shortages-180531280.html
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Great news all around as the stock market soars to a record high level.
Dow jumps 200 points to a record on strong jobs report, S&P 500 notches 7th straight day of gains
November 5, 2021
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U.S. stocks rallied to record levels on Friday after the October jobs report came in better than expected, boosting optimism about the economic recovery.
A major development from Pfizer regarding its easy-to-administer Covid-19 pill fueled hope for a smooth reopening further, sending shares of airlines and cruise line operators soaring.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 203.72 points, or nearly 0.6%, to 36,327.95. The S&P 500 gained 0.4% to 4,697.53 for its seventh straight positive day. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.2% to 15,971.59. All three major averages reached their respective record closing highs.
The move for stocks came as data showed job gains for the month of October totaled 531,000. Consensus estimates called for 450,000 jobs added, according to Dow Jones. The report also revised September’s disappointing number up to 312,000 job gains from 194,000 previously, and increased its August number by a similar amount.
“Markets are cheering a much better than expected jobs report this morning as nonfarm payrolls smashed expectations,” said Cliff Hodge, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Wealth. “Gains were broad-based across industries, and manufacturing was a real bright spot.”
All three major averages notched a winning week. The S&P 500 gained 2% this week, pushing its 2021 gains to 25%. The Dow rose 1.4% this week, while the Nasdaq rallied nearly 3.1% for its best weekly performance since early April.
Pfizer shares surged nearly 11% after the company said its Covid-19 drug, used with an HIV drug, cut the risk of hospitalization by 89%. Pfizer board member Dr. Scott Gottlieb said Friday that the pandemic could be over in the U.S. by the time President Biden’s workplace vaccine mandates take effect in early January.
The news boosted classic reopening plays. United Airlines shares jumped more than 7%, while American Airlines popped 5.7%. Carnival and Royal Caribbean rallied more than 8% each, while Norwegian Cruise Line advanced 7.8%.
Recovery stock Expedia saw its shares roar higher by 15.6% a day after the company said renewed travel demand boosted its top and bottom lines higher than analysts had expected.
“The labor market recovery is back on track, but it will still take several months to get to maximum employment,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda. “Alongside the Pfizer COVID pill news, this strong [jobs] report should ease some of the supply chain problems and that will make some investors embrace the reopening trade.”
Peloton shares cratered more than 35% after the fitness platform and maker of interactive treadmills and exercise bikes reported a much larger loss than expected and cut its full-year outlook as fitness buffs headed back to the gym and away from at-home workouts.
The company also cited ongoing supply chain challenges for its “challenged visibility” over the near term that CEO John Foley said is causing the company to lower its expectations.
Earlier this week, investor digested the Federal Reserve’s plan to begin tapering its pandemic aid by the end of November, putting the central bank on track to end its asset purchase program by the middle of next year.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/04/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html
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The GOP once again proves just how racist they are.
Newly elected New Jersey Republican posted photo of himself in blackface — and isn't sorry
(https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/pitman-new-jersey-councilmember-elect-vincent-kelly-in-blackface-facebook.png?id=27912717&width=800&height=450)
On Friday, The Daily Beast reported that Vincent Kelly, a Republican who was just elected to the town council of Pitman, New Jersey, is facing outrage over a newly surfaced Facebook post of him in blackface — and that he is declining to apologize for it.
"Vincent Kelly, a white GOP candidate who won the Pitman city council elections, had posted a photo depicting him dressed as rapper Flavor Flav at what appeared to be a Halloween party on his Facebook page," reported Corbin Bolies. "The 2015 photo, which still remains on Kelly's page, drew condemnation from the Pitman Anti-Racist Collective, which called for an apology from Kelly Thursday night."
According to the report, Kelly is pushing back on the criticism.
"I didn't put blackface on," said Kelly to the Daily Journal. "I went to a costume party. And it came … with it. This is what you got with it. That's what I did. There was no intention to do blackface, or to belittle African Americans, or anything like that. It was a simple Halloween party."
This controversy comes amid multiple other incidents of local politicians being caught wearing blackface in old pictures. A Republican school board candidate in Monroe, Connecticut, insisted that there was "nothing racist about" his costume depicting Miami Vice Detective Ricardo Tubbs, and a white town councilman in Richmond County, Virginia compared himself to recently controversial Black comedian Dave Chappelle after criticism for a photo of him dressed as musician Randy Watson.
https://www.rawstory.com/republican-blackface/
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University of Florida backs down -- and now will let professors testify against DeSantis administration
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Professors at the University of Florida will now be able to testify against Gov. Ron DeSantis's administration after having been previously been blocked by their employer from doing so.
The Washington Post reports that the University of Florida backed down on Friday and "should not be barred from testifying in a voting rights lawsuit against" DeSantis's administration.
The initial decision to block the three political science professors from testifying drew an uproar from both faculty and alumni, who accused the university of bowing to political pressure and of suppressing their professors' freedom of speech.
Kenneth Nunn, a law professor at the university, welcomed the school's reversal and said that "it's great that the president saw the university's reputation was being damaged by their unfortunate decision to restrict those three faculty members from testifying in their case."
The professors will now be testifying in a lawsuit against a Florida law passed earlier this year that places new restrictions on mail-in voting and ballot drop boxes.
https://www.rawstory.com/university-of-florida-desantis/
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House passes $555 billion infrastructure bill, sends legislation to Biden's desk: The 228-206 vote hands Biden a bipartisan legislative victory
The House passed a $555 billion infrastructure bill on Friday night, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden who is expected to quickly sign the measure into law.
The funding package, which passed 228 to 206 and relied on Republican votes to get across the finish line, will ramp up government spending on roads, bridges and airports, as well as funding for public transit, water and broadband.
Six Democrats voted against the measure and 13 Republicans voted in favor. The Democratic opposition was progressive members who were unhappy that the bill was being voted on before passage of a $1.75 trillion social safety net spending bill.
The vote hands Biden a victory on a major bipartisan bill, but one that took months to get through Congress and revealed deep divisions in the Democratic Party. The Senate approved the bill in August before it stalled for months as House progressives clashed with Democratic centrists on a $1.75 trillion social safety net measure that could get a vote later this month.
Earlier on Friday, Biden put new pressure on House Democrats to pass both the infrastructure package and the social policy measure, also known as the Build Back Better bill.
“I'm asking every member of the House of Representatives to vote yes on both these bills right now,” Biden said during remarks from the White House. “Send the infrastructure bill to my desk, send the Build Back Better bill to the Senate. Let's build on incredible economic progress, build on what we've already done because this will be such a boost when it occurs.”
House leadership later decided to push back the vote on the safety net bill due to several moderates insisting on first seeing a Congressional Budget Office cost estimate of the legislation to ensure the bill is fully paid for. Democrats cannot afford to lose more than a handful defections given their narrow majority in the House.
Progressives, however, wanted the infrastructure package to be linked to the social spending plan out of concern that passing infrastructure first would weaken their leverage in shaping and advancing the Build Back Better bill.
Democrats are now aiming to vote on the safety net bill before Thanksgiving. House passage would send the legislation to the Senate, where it will need the support of all 50 Democrats to find its way to Biden's desk.
On the House floor, shortly before the vote, Pelosi called both bills as “historic,” saying they will create millions of jobs and help working families.
In August, the Senate voted 69 to 30 to pass the infrastructure bill, with 19 Republicans joining all Democrats.
The spending package would provide new federal spending on bridges and roads, as well as energy systems and transit programs. It would create a program aimed at building and repairing bridges in rural communities, and one to expand internet connectivity in Tribal and rural communities. The bill would further provide funding to protect water systems, particularly in low-income communities.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the legislation would add $256 billion to the federal deficit over a 10-year span.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-passes-555-billion-infrastructure-bill-sends-legislation-biden-s-n1280527
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Democrats are moving the country forward while Republicans once again vote against Americans. Republicans have no interest in working for the American people as their allegiance is for billionaires and corporations. There were 13 Republicans that did vote to pass this bill so they deserve all the credit for making this happen. But their party as a whole is disgraceful. 6 Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for voting against this historic bill that benefits ALL Americans.
House passes $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that includes transport, broadband and utility funding, sends it to Biden
The House passed a more than $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, sending it to President Joe Biden for his signature.
The legislation would put $550 billion in new funding into transportation, broadband and utilities.
The House passed a more than $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill late Friday, sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk in a critical step toward enacting sprawling Democratic economic plans.
The Senate approved the revamp of transportation, utilities and broadband in August. The legislation’s passage is perhaps the unified Democratic government’s most concrete achievement since it approved a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package in the spring.
The measure passed in a 228-206 vote. Thirteen Republicans supported it, while six Democrats voted against it. Biden could sign the bill within days.
Washington has tried and failed for years to pass a major bill to upgrade critical transportation and utility infrastructure, which has come under more pressure from extreme weather. The White House has also contended passage of the bill can help to get goods moving as supply-chain obstacles contribute to higher prices for American consumers.
The vote Friday followed a day of wrangling over how enact the two planks of the party’s agenda. The push-and-pull exemplified party leaders’ months long struggle to get progressives and centrists — who have differing visions of the government’s role in the economy — behind the same bills.
Democrats entered the day planning to pass both the infrastructure legislation and the party’s larger $1.75 trillion social safety net and climate package. A demand from a handful of centrists to see a Congressional Budget Office estimate of the social spending plan’s budgetary effects delayed its approval. Progressives sought assurances the holdouts would support the bigger proposal if they voted for the infrastructure bill.
After hours of talks — and a Biden call into a progressive caucus meeting urging lawmakers to back the infrastructure bill — the party’s liberal wing got assurances from centrists that they would support the larger package.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said the group reached a deal to back the infrastructure plan in exchange for a commitment to take up the safety-net bill “no later than the week of November 15.” A group of five centrists separately issued a statement saying they would back the Build Back Better legislation pending a CBO score that assuages their concerns about long-term budget deficits.
Ahead of the vote, Biden aimed to assure his party that both plans would pass.
“I am confident that during the week of November 15, the House will pass the Build Back Better Act,” he said in a statement of the social spending bill. The House is out of Washington next week, and it could take the CBO days or weeks to prepare a score of the legislation.
The bills together make up the core of Biden’s domestic agenda. Democrats see the plans as complementary pieces designed to boost the economy, jolt the job market, provide a layer of insurance to working families and curb climate change.
The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act would put $550 billion in new money into transportation projects, the utility grid and broadband. The package includes $110 billion for roads, bridges and other major projects, along with $66 billion for passenger and freight rail and $39 billion for public transit.
It would put $65 billion into broadband, a priority for many lawmakers after the coronavirus pandemic highlighted inequities in internet access for households and students across the country. The legislation would also invest $55 billion into water systems, including efforts to replace lead pipes.
Before the vote, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told MSNBC that “the moment the president signs this, then it’s over to our department on the transportation pieces to get out there and deliver.” It can take years to complete major projects after Congress funds them.
The spending package includes universal pre-K for all 3- and 4-year-olds, investments in affordable housing, premium reductions under the Affordable Care Act, major investments aimed at addressing climate change and an additional year of the expanded child tax credit.
Here's a closer look at what's in the infrastructure bill that now heads to Biden's desk:
Transportation
- Roads, bridges, major projects: $110 billion
- Passenger and freight rail: $66 billion
- Public transit: $39 billion
- Airports: $25 billion
- Port infrastructure: $17 billion
- Transportation safety programs: $11 billion
- Electric vehicles: $7.5 billion
- Zero and low-emission buses and ferries: $7.5 billion
- Revitalization of communities: $1 billion
Other infrastructure
- Broadband: $65 billion[/b]
- Power infrastructure: $73 billion
- Clean drinking water: $55 billion
- Resilience and Western water storage: $50 billion
- Removal of pollution from water and soil: $21 billion
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/05/house-passes-bipartisan-infrastructure-bill-sends-it-to-biden.html
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So, the left wing "squad" voted against American infrastructure and to help their constituents. No surprise there but these 13 Republicans deserve a great amount of respect to help their constituents and to help move our country forward. Was just on Twitter reading far right wing MAGA extremist tweets and they are outraged this huge bill passed. How could anybody be outraged about investing in our own country and the American people so our country can be state of the art with technology and sound infrastructure? Guess they are just sour grapes that President Biden accomplished this historic feat or are just delusional in their own ignorance and conspiracy theories.
Here are the 6 Democrats who voted against the bill and the 13 Republicans that voted for it.
DEMOCRAT NO VOTES:
Bush, Bowman, Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pressely, Tlaib
GOP YES VOTES:
Bacon, Gonzalez, Garbarino, Fitzpatrick, Katko, Kinzinger, Malliotakis, McKinley, Reed, Chris Smith, Upton, Van Drew, Young
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President Biden has cut child poverty in half. Another historic feat for his administration.
The U.S. is cutting poverty in half. Shame on us for not doing this sooner
A surge in COVID-19-inspired initiatives will reduce Americans in poverty by a whopping 20 million people. Why didn't this happen sooner?
The myth of “the welfare queen” that flourished under Ronald Reagan, powered 40 years of Republican election victories and guided government policy as America largely dismantled its social safety net, is finally dead. Or at least on life support.
Instead, the nation is finally learning that the real beneficiaries of government aid are women like New Hampshire’s Christina Darling, who is spending her monthly checks for $550 a month in the new expanded child tax credit program on things like buying more fresh produce for her two kids. Her new monetary lifeline isn’t leading to fur coats or a Cadillac — the stuff of GOP campaign trail fantasy for decades — but it is helping make payments on the modest car that the 31-year-old bought to take the children safely to day care. Darling told the Associated Press she might even occasionally hire a babysitter — to get more involved in civic life and run for her city’s council.
"The additional money does help alleviate the pressure,” another New Hampshire beneficiary of the program — 29-year-old Brianne Walker, a mother of three who quit a job to raise her two siblings after her mom died from a drug overdose and began receiving $800 a month this summer — told the AP. The news service talked to parents across the nation about the new tax credit program — part of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill signed by President Biden, which expanded the benefits and turned it from a more complicated year-end tax filing to the monthly checks — and found the payments were going to rent, paying off debt, or putting more food on the table, and giving beleaguered working-class folks a chance to breathe.
One study suggested that the new, expanded tax credits — going out to more than 35 million households with children — could reduce child poverty in America by 45%. That’s remarkable, and it’s just part of a broader trend as the shock of the global pandemic forced the government to take the economic struggles of the poor and the lower middle class more seriously than any time since Lyndon Johnson’s war on poverty in the mid-1960s.
A New York Times report last week looked at the wider array of expanded safety programs that were enacted since early 2020 to respond to the economic shocks of the coronavirus outbreak — one-time government stimulus checks, expanded unemployment benefits, and increased food stamps — and the impact was staggering. Experts cited by the Times found that some 20 million Americans rose out of poverty since 2018, which would essentially cut the rate of those the government classifies as poor in half, now at the lowest level since Washington began keeping track.
"Wow — these are stunning findings,” Bob Greenstein, a veteran anti-poverty expert now with the Brookings Institution, told the newspaper. That sums up the almost giddy mood of experts who hadn’t seen such a rapid policy shift in their lifetimes. For a brief, shining moment in the 1960s, defeating poverty had seemed like the final frontier for a nation that had helped win World War II and was sending astronauts to the moon — and LBJ’s Great Society did make a significant dent for a few years before the backlash. White resentment politics that played up any reports of abuse and ignored the public good had won the day by the 1980s.
Those same forces of reaction are still out there, still lurking. The vast web of conservative think tanks created amid the anti-welfare backlash is still arguing — with little or no evidence — that these programs discourage able-bodied people from working, the great immoral panic of capitalism. The Heritage Foundation’s Robert Rector told the Times, “You want policies that encourage work and marriage, not undermine it” — but that just seems totally bass-ackward. Affording child care or a working automobile actually helps people find jobs, and what historically has been more destructive to marriage than poverty?
That’s why it’s so critical that the public keeps hearing these success stories — like Walker and Darling or 24-year-old Jessica Moore of St. Louis, who lost her job as a banquet server with the pandemic but has used her stimulus checks and extended unemployment benefits to buy a car and enroll in community college, where she’s studying to become an emergency medical technician. In other words, a job. Are you listening, Heritage Foundation?
Whoever controls this narrative between now and the 2022 midterm elections is going to control the future of America’s middle class, which has been shrinking for generations. Even progressives agree that a lot of the 2020-21 government aid was emergency relief that won’t be continued, but the last 17 months have also taught us how a real safety net can improve daily life, especially for children who need to start out life with a fair shot.
Several key decisions loom, including whether to make the expanded child tax credit permanent but also an array of pro-family programs proposed by the Biden administration that would greatly expand child care — probably the most pro-job, anti-poverty measure in the toolbox — and make community college tuition-free, and much more. Conservatives will argue that America can’t afford this, and to be sure it wasn’t cheap to so sharply reduce the poverty rate. It’s estimated that — largely because of the one-off payments made necessary by the pandemic — spending on the basic social safety net quadrupled to $1 trillion.
The costs of the proposals forward are not as great, and there’s a powerful case — given the improvement these programs have made in people’s lives, and, thus, in a civil society — that how can we afford not to do this? Remember, we’re talking about the United States of America, the nation that just spent $2.26 trillion on an almost “forever war” in Afghanistan that after its first year or two seemed to accomplish little or nothing.
Regardless of which party is in power, the White House and Congress never ask, “Can we afford it?” as they constantly expand the Pentagon budget to an astronomical $750 billion a year, or more than the next 11 biggest nations combined. Just a modest rightsizing of what still would be the world’s most powerful military would free up hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild America’s middle class. So would simply restoring tax rates on our uber-profitable corporations and the billionaires who run them back to the historically low level those rates were at in 2017 (or, heaven forbid, the 50% top marginal tax rate that existed *after* Reagan’s popular 1981 tax cut).
Given the obscene space program funding fortunes accumulated by the likes of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos or Walmart’s Walton family — employers where low-wage workers often already get government benefits like food stamps to make ends meet — even a wealth tax of the kind proposed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren deserves a debate, in the name of restoring balance to a U.S. society that’s spent 40 years careening off the rails.
It’s impossible, frankly, not to look at America’s struggling working-class moms finally putting some greens on the dinner table or driving off to community college and wonder why this hasn’t been a top priority — as opposed to new fighter jets and propping up the U.S. yacht industry. The news that the United States is cutting poverty in half — at least for now, if the jackals can be held at bay — is, on one hand, a feel-good story, yet in another way, it’s a deeply troubling one. Because the world’s richest nation had the power and the ability to do this years ago. The fact that we didn’t should be a moment of national shame and reflection.
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/child-tax-credit-us-poverty-cuts-20210801.html
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Josh Hawley sued for accepting nearly $1 million in illegally coordinated campaign expenses
The Giffords gun safety organization has sued the National Rifle Association and the campaigns of U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley and U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana, alleging group used shell corporations to improperly aid the Republican lawmakers in 2018.
The suit alleges two NRA affiliates made up to $35 million in illegal campaign contributions — in the form of coordinated communications efforts — to the GOP Senate campaigns of Hawley, Rosendale, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Cory Gardner of Colorado and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, as well as Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
It was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia this week.
The NRA Political Victory Fund, a political action committee, and the NRA Institute for Legislative Action spent millions on supposedly independent political advertising for the six Senate candidates and Trump in the 2014, 2016 and 2018 federal election cycles, according to the suit.
The Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan campaign finance group, is representing Giffords, a gun-safety group founded by former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., in part to counter the NRA's influence in national politics.
Under a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision, outside groups are allowed to spend unlimited amounts on political speech, including advertisements in favor of candidates.
But federal campaign finance rules require such advertisements to be commissioned without coordinating with campaigns. Coordinated messaging counts as an in-kind contribution.
Political action committees are subject to a $5,000 limit per cycle on contributions, including in-kind contributions, to a single candidate. Corporations are not allowed to spend treasury funds for coordinated messaging on behalf of political candidates.
The suit accuses the NRA and the campaigns of using the same political messaging firms to disguise coordinated campaign activity as independent advertising.
The NRA paid Starboard Strategic Inc., a Virginia and Maryland-headquartered company, for advertising in support of the candidates. The candidates paid a company called OnMessage that the suit says is “functionally indistinguishable" from Starboard.
“They are led by the same people and located at the same address, and no internal separation or firewall exists between the staff who work for each entity," the suit says. “OnMessage has been nominated for, and has accepted, industry awards for [NRA] ads contracted through Starboard."
The companies, which the suit alleges are actually one firm operating under two names, then coordinated to create and place complementary advertisements—exactly the type of coordination that is not supposed to be allowed between campaigns and outside groups.
“By falsely claiming their advertising spending was independent, however, the NRA affiliates evaded [federal] contribution limits, source prohibitions and disclosure requirements," the Campaign Legal Center said in a statement.
OnMessage previously drew controversy in Missouri after the Kansas City Star revealed that soon after Hawley was sworn in as state attorney general in 2017, he brought consultants from the firm who would go on to run his Senate campaign into his official office to help direct taxpayer-funded staff.
A report issued by the state auditor's office in 2020 was unable to say conclusively whether the arrangement violated the law because state business was being conducted using private email and text messages.
During the 2018 campaign, Rosendale seemed to publicly confirm his campaign was coordinating with the NRA, the suit alleges. At a July 18, 2018, fundraiser, Rosendale said the NRA Institute for Legal Affairs political director, Chris Cox, would make expenditures in support of Rosendale, then accurately described the content and the timing of the ads that ran weeks later, according to the suit.
The suit says Rosendale accepted up to $383,196 in coordinated expenditures. Hawley accepted up to $973,196, the suit says.
The bulk of the illegal expenditures—$25 million of the $35 million total alleged—went to Trump's 2016 campaign, according to the suit.
Although the suit only names Hawley and Rosendale, other matters concerning the other candidates named in the suit could be proceeding at the Federal Election Commission, the federal regulator for campaign finance violations. The FEC keeps proceedings secret while they are ongoing.
The suit arose from an administrative proceeding at the FEC that Giffords brought in April 2019, but the commission— long derided as a toothless regulator—took no action.
A September court order gave the agency 30 days to act. If the agency did not act, Giffords would be allowed under that order to bring the matter to civil court. The FEC has not acted since that court order.
Because the original complaint was made in 2019, it did not cover the 2020 elections, when Rosendale, Tillis, Gardner, Cotton and Trump all ran again for federal office.
Representatives for the NRA, Hawley, Rosendale, Tillis, Johnson and Gardner did not respond to messages seeking comment Friday.
Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence.
https://www.rawstory.com/nra-lawsuit/
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Once again folks, there's no such thing as a "Liberal Media" which right wingers constantly lie about and here's another perfect example. The media is owned by right wing corporations, and our main stream media and cable news outlets like CSPAN, allow far right wing extremists like Matt Schlapp to push lies and propaganda without ever being called out on their blatant lies. This is how lies are being peddled in the main stream media from these right wing hacks who come on these programs.
C-SPAN host raked over the coals for letting Matt Schlapp spew lies about 2020 election for an hour
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Washington Journal weekend host Bill Scanlan was hammered by a listener on his own show after an interview with conservative Matt Schlapp who went off on a rant about the 2020 election being fraudulent. The claim, which has become known as "the big lie," has been proven false by even conservative news outlets.
A woman from Illinois said that she'd been a loyal CSPAN viewer for 20 years and was aghast hearing Scanlan allowing Schlapp "go on, and on, and on. Even though I got into your program late, I didn't even hear a Democrat come on. All I heard were Republicans and Independents and it seems that times when I tune in to listening to your show that a lot of times I hear that mostly Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents that are getting through on your show."
She went on to say that she doesn't understand why Scanlan allowed Schlapp to "sit there and tell all those lies that he did."
This isn't the first time that Bill Scanlan is being questioned about allowing conservatives to rant on his airwaves. In 2010, The Atlantic reached out to ask why Scanlan allowed "a caller to launch into a grotesque anti-Semitic rant on Monday, and why he didn't challenge the caller or cut him off." He refused to comment. By 2020 when another caller went off on a racist rant, Scanlan learned to drop them. That didn't extend to guests spinning falsehoods on air.
See the video below:
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A SPECIAL GRAND JURY IN GEORGIA COULD BE THE LATEST SPLITTING HEADACHE FOR TRUMP
The criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, part of his larger crusade to invalidate Joe Biden’s win at the time, appears to be gaining steam. Fani Willis, the Atlanta D.A. leading the inquiry, is expected to soon convene “a grand jury dedicated solely to the allegations of election tampering,” the New York Times reported Saturday, though the decision isn’t yet finalized. The news is the latest development in the investigation against Trump and his allies, which has been quietly moving forward since Willis opened it in February. If she convenes a grand jury, it would be a step toward holding the former president accountable for, among other things, pressuring Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to reverse Biden's victory in the state.
The pace of the Georgia investigation has thus far been hampered by local issues demanding Willis’ attention, as well as a backlog of cases overwhelming her office. Willis’ team has looked to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot for backup, as congressional investigators are pursuing evidence that could be of considerable use to them. But that avenue has also been bogged down “by delays in the panel’s fact gathering,” according to the Times. Nonetheless, Willis appears ready to get the ball rolling. Convening a special grand jury focused solely on Trump’s attempts to interfere with Georgia’s election results would indicate “that her own investigation is ramping up,” the paper notes. A special grand jury would consist of 16 to 23 members and be able to issue subpoenas, though the Times adds that Willis “would need to return to a regular grand jury to seek criminal indictments.”
There are many charges the former president could be hit with in relation to his post-election conduct in Georgia, according to a recent analysis by D.C. think tank the Brookings Institution. They note that Trump made personal “entreaties to senior state officials”—from Secretary of State Raffensperger to Attorney General Chris Carr to Governor Brian Kemp, all of whom are Republicans—“to alter the outcome of a presidential election” whose results had already been certified. Among the crimes Trump could be charged with are “criminal solicitation to commit election fraud” and “state RICO violations,” the report concluded, an analysis based entirely on publicly-available data. Criminal liability could also extend to Trump allies who allegedly assisted Trump’s effort to subvert the results, the Brookings Institution notes, such as his former counsel Rudy Giuliani.
The probe in Georgia is not the only active criminal investigation the 45th president and his inner circle are facing. The D.C. attorney general is investigating Trump for inciting the attack on the U.S. Capitol, while the Manhattan District Attorney’s office is examining Trump’s financial dealings—a probe that has already produced numerous charges against the Trump Organization and its longtime CFO, with further indictments potentially on the way.
As my colleague Bess Levin recently noted, Raffensperger, a Republican, bolstered the potential case against the former president last week with the release of his new book. “I felt then—and still believe today—that this was a threat,” he wrote of Trump’s call asking him to “find” more votes. “For the office of the secretary of state to ‘recalculate’ would mean we would somehow have to fudge the numbers. The president was asking me to do something that I knew was wrong, and I was not going to do that.” Raffensperger has said he would “gladly participate” in an interview with Fulton County prosecutors investigating Trump’s alleged election meddling.
Also worsening the potential case against Trump is Trump himself, the Times notes, by adding commentary about his conduct in Georgia. At a rally in the state in September, the former president recalled to the crowd how he called Kemp about Georgia’s “big election-integrity problem” and asked him to “help us out and call a special election.” Norman Eisen, one of the authors of the Brookings Institution report, told the Times that, by elaborating on his original conversation with Kemp, Trump “offered the prosecution free admissions about the content of that exchange.”
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/11/a-special-grand-jury-in-georgia-could-be-the-latest-splitting-headache-for-trump
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More Texas voters unhappy than satisfied over power grid, abortion and property taxes
Texas voters have a net disapproval for how state leaders have handled the reliability of the electricity grid, abortion and property taxes, according to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll.
In an October poll of 1,200 registered voters, respondents expressed major disapproval for the state's handling of the reliability of the main power grid after statewide power outages in February left millions of Texans without power for days. Only 18% of voters approved of how state leaders handled the issue, and 60% of voters disapproved. Even lawmakers themselves have expressed frustration that the laws they wrote to prepare the power grid for extreme weather haven't led to enough preparations ahead of this winter.
"The lurking uncertainty and doubts about the electricity grid [are] a mine waiting to go off," said Jim Henson, co-director of the poll and head of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. "If there's another even moderate infrastructure problem in the state in the grid or service delivery writ large that can be connected with the February outages and the failure of the Legislature to respond in a way that people expect it to be effective, it's a real political problem for incumbents."
The internet survey was conducted from Oct. 22-31, a few days after the conclusion of a third special legislative session, and has a margin of error of +/ - 2.83 percentage points. For now, that special session wrapped up nearly 10 months of frantic activity at the Legislature, which passed laws that loosen gun restrictions in the state, severely restrict abortion access and double down on state spending on border security.
According to the poll, 39% of voters approved of how state leaders have handled abortion policy while 46% disapproved. Lawmakers this year passed the most restrictive abortion law in the nation, barring the procedure before many people know they are pregnant.
Only 20% of voters said they approved of the Legislature's handling of property taxes, while 46% said they disapproved. The Legislature has tried for years to cut increasing property taxes for homeowners across the state, but voters see only minor reductions in their bills.
Voter disapproval for the state's handling of the issue increased from June, when pollsters at the University of Texas last asked about the issue after the Legislature's regularly scheduled five-month special session.
The state's handling of property taxes was unpopular across the political spectrum, but disapproval increased the most among Republicans. In June, 33% of Republicans disapproved of how the issue had been handled. By October, that share had grown to 43%.
During the final days of the most recent special session, lawmakers approved placing a higher homestead exemption on next year's ballots that would amount to about $176 in yearly savings for the average homeowner. Voters would still have to approve that change.
But Henson said voters don't appear convinced by the minor effect on their tax bills.
"The approach that they've taken up to this point is not moving public opinion, and to the extent that it is moving public opinion, it's moving it in the wrong direction," he said.
In particular, voters had net approval for Gov. Greg Abbott using state money to add border barriers between Texas and Mexico, with 53% approving and 40% opposing. More than 90% of Republicans approved of that use of state money.
"He's playing the right tune," said Joshua Blank, research director for the Texas Politics Project. "There's no threat to the mantle of fiscal conservatism."
Henson said the issue's popularity likely means voters next year will hear more from Republicans about border security and immigration than about property tax cuts.
But there are also signs of concern for GOP leaders. More than 50% of independents disapproved of how the state handled immigration and border security, and half of independents disapproved of the state's handling of abortion policy.
Blank said there was a "significant decline" in how independents evaluated the state's handling of immigration since June, when 26% approved and 33% disapproved.
"What exactly is driving this among independents who are generally defined by their lack of attention to politics, we can't know," he said. "It's hard to say, but it's something to keep an eye on."
A plurality of 47% of voters opposed banning abortions after about six weeks, as the state's new law does, and 45% approve. Fifty-seven percent of voters oppose the law's provision allowing private citizens to sue people they believe helped someone obtain an abortion, including 35% of Republicans. Only 30% of voters said they approved of that portion of the law. If the plaintiff wins such a lawsuit, the law allows that person to be awarded at least $10,000, as well as costs and attorney fees.
"The idea of bounties and the problems with having private enforcement of public laws of what are seen currently as constitutional rights strikes at least more people as problematic than the actual law itself," Blank said.
Overall, the polls showed an uptick in approval of how the state has handled abortion policy since the last time voters were polled on the subject in June. Then, 32% of voters approved and 42% disapproved. Blank said that was marked by an increase in approval from Republicans as more voters learned of the state's new abortion law, which was passed in May.
Polls remained consistent on exceptions to abortion restrictions. More than 80% of voters said abortions should be allowed if a woman's health was at risk, and nearly three quarters said they should be allowed in cases of rape or incest. Nearly 60% said they should be allowed if there was a strong chance of a serious defect to the baby, but support for other exceptions dropped substantially from there.
On the state's growing racial and ethnic diversity, 41% of voters said it was a cause for optimism while 28% said it was a cause for concern. Both Republicans and Democrats said on the net it was a cause for optimism, but independent voters said it was a cause for concern.
Younger voters were more likely to believe the state's racial and ethnic diversity was a cause for optimism. Fifty-three percent of 18- to 29-year-olds believed it a cause for optimism while only 32% of those 65 years and older agreed.
Blank said that differences among age groups reflect how the state's younger residents are more likely to be people of color.
"That is the leading edge of the changing demographics of the state, so really that is the group that should be more optimistic," he said. "Conversely, the over 40, over 50, over 60 population in Texas is significantly more white, and so they're looking at a Texas that is going to be very different from the one that they were in growing up, so it's not surprising to see more reticence toward that among that group."
The poll showed broad support for gun rights, with 46% of voters saying they approved of how the state had handled Second Amendment rights and 32% saying they disapproved. But when the questions became more specific, voters began to show disapproval for the state's handling of gun violence and a recently enacted law that allows legal gun owners over the age of 21 to carry handguns in most public places in Texas without a permit.
A plurality of voters — 41% — disapproved of the state's handling of gun violence while 35% of voters approved. A majority of voters — 55% — opposed the state's permitless carry law, while 38% said they supported it.
While 51% of voters say Texas state government serves as a model for other states to follow, 42% of voters disagree with that statement. Moreover, that number has steadily dropped over the last decade. In February 2010, nearly 60% of voters said Texas served as a model, while only 31% disagreed.
Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors.
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Democrats are turning their focus to a social safety net and climate bill after Congress passed bipartisan infrastructure legislation.
The House aims to approve the plan next week, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said both chambers aim to pass it by Thanksgiving.
Democratic leaders have to keep nearly every member of their caucuses on board as they iron out the final details of the sprawling economic package.
While many Democrats let out a sigh of relief when the House passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill, the party has a grueling few weeks ahead of it to enact the rest of its economic agenda.
The more than $1 trillion package passed Friday that would refresh transportation, broadband and utilities fulfills one part of President Joe Biden’s domestic vision. Democrats now have to clear multiple hurdles to enact the larger piece, a $1.75 trillion investment in the social safety net and climate policy.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said Democrats aim to pass the social spending bill by Thanksgiving. Meeting the deadline will require both chambers of Congress to rush while keeping nearly every member of a diverse Democratic caucus united — a challenge that has led to repeated roadblocks as lawmakers advanced the bills this year.
Biden on Saturday sounded sure that his party would line up behind a sprawling bill that it aims to sell on the midterm campaign trail next year.
“I feel confident that we will have enough votes to pass the Build Back Better plan,” he told reporters.
Biden also signaled he could sign the infrastructure bill next week after lawmakers return to Washington. Asked Monday when the president would sign the bill, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said “I do not have a date, but it will be very soon.”
His administration plans to send key officials around the country to sell the benefits of the package, NBC News reported, citing a memo from a White House official.
The House plans to take the next step in passing the social spending plan. The chamber will try to approve the bill during the week of Nov. 15 once it returns from a weeklong recess. With no Republican support expected, Democrats can lose no more than three votes for the package.
It would then go to the Senate. To pass the bill under special budget rules, all 50 members of the Democratic caucus will have to support it.
Schumer will have to win over conservative Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who has not yet blessed a framework agreement on the legislation. The House could also send the Senate a bill that includes four weeks of paid leave for most American workers — a provision Manchin has opposed.
Once the Senate irons out any objections from Manchin or other Democrats, in addition to any constraints budget reconciliation rules put on the bill, it could approve a different version of the plan than the House does. The House would then need to vote on the Senate plan or go to a conference committee with the upper chamber to hash out disparities.
All told, Democrats will have to navigate a series of obstacles to get the bill to Biden’s desk in the coming weeks. Pulling it off will require cooperation and trust between centrists and progressives who have disparate views about how large of a role the government should play in boosting households and combating climate change.
The infrastructure bill passed only after House progressives and centrists made a nonbinding pact to approve the social spending plan this month. Five centrist Democrats said they would vote for the larger bill if a coming Congressional Budget Office cost estimate projects it will not add to long-term budget deficits.
On Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — who has pulled off a range of legislative high-wire acts in her career — expressed confidence that the centrists will honor their side of the deal.
“As has been agreed, when the House comes back into session the week of November 15th, we will act with a message that is clear and unified to produce results,” she wrote to House Democrats.
The nonpartisan CBO could take weeks to release a cost estimate for the sprawling plan. However, the centrist holdouts in a Friday statement committed to voting for the legislation “in no event later than the week of November 15th.”
If Democrats can push the bill through Congress this month, they will still have another big lift on their hands before the end of the year. Lawmakers need to raise or suspend the debt ceiling sometime in December — or risk the first-ever default on U.S. debt.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/08/infrastructure-bill-passes-whats-next-for-biden-build-back-better-plan.html
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The Build Back Better Framework
PRESIDENT BIDEN’S PLAN TO REBUILD THE MIDDLE CLASS
President Joe Biden believes that there’s no greater economic engine in the world than the hard work and ingenuity of the American people. But for too long, the economy has worked great for those at the top, while working families get squeezed. President Biden promised to rebuild the backbone of the country – the middle class – so that this time everyone comes along. The Build Back Better Framework does just that.
This framework will set the United States on course to meet its climate goals, create millions of good-paying jobs, enable more Americans to join and remain in the labor force, and grow our economy from the bottom up and the middle out.
Here’s what the Build Back Better Framework will mean for Linda from Peoria, IL:
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Read more about the Build Back Better Framework:
The most transformative investment in children and caregiving in generations:
- Offers universal and free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds, the largest expansion of universal and free education since states and communities across the country established public high school 100 years ago.
(Preschool in the United States costs about $8,600 per year. The Build Back Better framework will enable states to expand access to free preschool for more than 6 million children per year and increase the quality of preschool for many more children already enrolled. Importantly, parents will be able to send children to high-quality preschool in the setting of their choice – from public schools to child care providers to Head Start. The program will lead to lifelong educational and economic benefits for children and parents, and is a transformational investment in America’s future economic competitiveness. In fact, research shows that every $1 invested in high-quality early childhood care and education can yield $3 to $7 over the long-run, as they do better in school, are more likely to graduate high-school and college, and earn more as adults.)
- Makes the largest investment in child care in the nation’s history, saving most American families more than half of their spending on child care.
(For decades, child care prices in the United States have risen faster than family incomes, yet the United States still invests 28 times less than its competitors on helping families afford high-quality care for toddlers. The Build Back Better framework will ensure that middle-class families pay no more than 7 percent of their income on child care and will help states expand access to high-quality, affordable child care to about 20 million children per year – covering 9 out of 10 families across the country with young children. For two parents with one toddler earning $100,000 per year, the framework will produce more than $5,000 in child care savings per year. Nearly all families of four making up to $300,000 per year will be eligible. And, better access to high-quality child care can increase the likelihood that parents, especially mothers, are employed or enrolled in education and training beyond high school, while also providing lifetime benefits for children, especially those who are economically disadvantaged.)
- Delivers affordable, high-quality care for older Americans and people with disabilities in their homes, while supporting the workers who provide this care.
(Right now, there are hundreds of thousands of older Americans and Americans with disabilities are on waiting lists for home care services or struggling to afford the care they need, including more than 800,000 who are on state Medicaid waiting lists. A family paying for home care costs out of pocket currently pays around $5,800 per year for just four hours of home care per week. The Build Back Better framework will permanently improve Medicaid coverage for home care services for seniors and people with disabilities, making the most transformative investment in access to home care in 40 years, when these services were first authorized for Medicaid.)
- Provides 39 million households up to $3,600 (or $300 per month) in tax cuts per child by extending the American Rescue Plan’s expanded Child Tax Credit.
(The Build Back Better framework will provide monthly payments to the parents of nearly 90 percent of American children for 2022 – $300 per month per child under six and $250 per month per child ages 6 to 17. This historic tax cut will help cover the cost of food, housing, health care, and transportation and will continue the largest one-year reduction in child poverty in history. And critically, the framework includes permanent refundability for the Child Tax Credit, meaning that the neediest families will continue to receive the full Child Tax Credit over the long-run.)
The largest effort to combat climate change in American history:
- Delivers substantial consumer rebates and tax credits to reduce costs for middle class families shifting to clean energy and electrification.
(The consumer rebates and credits included in the Build Back Better framework will save the average American family hundreds of dollars per year in energy costs. These measures include enhancement and expansion of existing home energy and efficiency tax credits, as well as the creation of a new, electrification-focused rebate program. The framework will cut the cost of installing rooftop solar for a home by around 30 percent, shortening the payback period by around 5 years; and the framework’s electric vehicle tax credit will lower the cost of an electric vehicle that is made in America with American materials and union labor by $12,500 for a middle-class family. In addition, the framework will help rural communities tap into the clean energy opportunity through targeted grants and loans through the Department of Agriculture.)
- Ensures clean energy technology – from wind turbine blades to solar panels to electric cars – will be built in the United States with American made steel and other materials, creating hundreds of thousands of good jobs here at home.
(The Build Back Better legislation will target incentives to grow domestic supply chains in solar, wind, and other critical industries in communities on the frontlines of the energy transition. In addition, the framework will boost the competitiveness of existing industries, like steel, cement, and aluminum, through grants, loans, tax credits, and procurement to drive capital investment in the decarbonization and revitalization of American manufacturing.)
- Advances environmental justice through a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator that will invest in projects around the country, while delivering 40% of the benefits of investment to disadvantaged communities, as part of the President’s Justice40 initiative.
(The framework will also fund port electrification; facilitate the deployment of cleaner transit, buses, and trucks; and support critical community capacity building, including grants to environmental justice communities. In addition, the framework will create a new Civilian Climate Corps – with over 300,000 members that look like America. This diverse new workforce will conserve our public lands, bolster community resilience, and address the changing climate, all while putting good-paying union jobs within reach for more Americans.)
- Bolsters resilience and natural solutions to climate change through a historic investment in coastal restoration, forest management, and soil conservation.
(The framework will provide resources to farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners, supporting their efforts to reduce emissions. At its peak, the increased investments in climate smart agriculture alone could reach roughly 130 million cropland acres per year, representing as many as 240,000 farms. Farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners have long demonstrated leadership in environmental stewardship with strategies that provide benefits for the farm, the environment, and the public. These investments will help meet the demand from the farming community for conservation support and enable producers to realize the full potential of climate benefits from agriculture.)
The biggest expansion of affordable health care in a decade:
- Reduces prescription drug costs.
Finally let Medicare negotiate drug prices.
Medicare will negotiate prices for high-cost prescription drugs. This will include drugs seniors get at the pharmacy counter (through Medicare Part D), and drugs that are administered in a doctor’s office (through Medicare Part B). Drugs become eligible for negotiation once they have been on the market for a fixed number of years: 9 years for small molecule drugs and 12 years for biologics. Medicare will negotiate up to 10 drugs per year during 2023, with those prices taking effect in 2025, increasing to up to 20 drugs per year.
The policy will establish a clearly defined negotiation process that is fair for manufacturers, and gets the biggest savings on drugs that have been on the market a long time. This discourages drug companies from abusing laws to prolong their monopolies, while encouraging investments in research and development of new cures. Drug companies that refuse to negotiate will owe an excise tax.
Impose a tax penalty if drug companies increase their prices faster than inflation. Starting when this bill becomes law, future drug price increases will be compared to their current prices. We will finally put an end to the days where drug companies could raise their prices with impunity. If prices for a drug increase faster than inflation, manufacturers will owe a tax penalty, holding down prices for Americans with all types of health insurance.
Directly lower out-of-pocket costs for seniors. Today, there is no cap on how much seniors and people with disabilities have to pay for drugs, and millions of seniors pay more than $6,000 a year in cost-sharing. This proposal puts an end to this burden, and ensures that seniors never pay more than $2,000 a year for their drugs under Medicare Part D.
The plan will also lower insulin prices so that Americans with diabetes don’t pay more than $35 per month for their insulin. Lawmakers have also agreed to lower seniors’ cost-sharing for all types of drugs and they are working expeditiously to finalize legislative text that will save seniors money at the pharmacy counter without increasing premiums.
Strengthens the Affordable Care Act and reduces premiums for 9 Million Americans.
(The framework will reduce premiums for more than 9 million Americans who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace by an average of $600 per person per year. For example, a family of four earning $80,000 per year would save nearly $3,000 per year (or $246 per month) on health insurance premiums. Experts predict that more than 3 million people who would otherwise be uninsured will gain health insurance.)
- Closes the Medicaid Coverage Gap, Leading 4 Million Uninsured People to Gain Coverage.
(The Build Back Better framework will deliver health care coverage through Affordable Care Act premium tax credits to up to 4 million uninsured people in states that have locked them out of Medicaid through. A 40-year old in the coverage gap would have to pay $450 per month for benchmark coverage – more than half of their income in many cases. The framework provides individuals $0 premiums, finally making health care affordable and accessible.)
- Expands Medicare to cover hearing benefits.
(The Build Back Better framework will expand Medicare coverage to cover hearing coverage, so that older Americans can access the affordable care they need.)
- Makes the single largest and most comprehensive investment in affordable housing in history.
(The framework will enable the construction, rehabilitation, and improvement of more than 1 million affordable homes, boosting housing supply and reducing price pressures for renters and homeowners. It will address the capital needs of the public housing stock in big cities and rural communities all across America and ensure it is not only safe and habitable but healthier and more energy efficient as well. It will make a historic investment in rental assistance, expanding vouchers to hundreds of thousands of additional families. And, it includes one of the largest investments in down payment assistance in history, enabling hundreds of thousands of first-generation homebuyers to purchase their first home and build wealth. This legislation will create more equitable communities, through investing in community-led redevelopments projects in historically under-resourced neighborhoods and removing lead paint from hundreds of thousands of homes, as well as by incentivizing state and local zoning reforms that enable more families to reside in higher opportunity neighborhoods.)
- Extends the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for around 17 million low-wage workers.
(Before this year, the federal tax code taxed low-wage childless workers into poverty or deeper into poverty — the only group of workers it treated this way. The Build Back Better framework will extend the American Rescue Plan’s tripling of the credit for childless workers, benefiting 17 million low-wage workers, many of whom are essential workers, including cashiers, cooks, delivery drivers, food preparation workers, and childcare providers. For example, a childless worker who works 30 hours per week at $9 per hour earns income that, after taxes, leaves them below the federal poverty line. By increasing her EITC to more than $1,100, this EITC expansion helps pull such workers out of poverty.)
- Expands access to affordable, high-quality education beyond high school.
(Expand access to affordable, high-quality education beyond high school. Education beyond high school is increasingly important for economic growth and competitiveness in the 21st century, even as it has become unaffordable for too many families. The Build Back Better framework will make education beyond high school – including training for high-paying jobs available now – more affordable. Specifically, the framework will increase the maximum Pell Grant by $550 for more the more than 5 million students enrolled in public and private, non-profit colleges and expand access to DREAMers. It will also make historic investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and minority-serving institutions (MSIs) to build capacity, modernize research infrastructure, and provide financial aid to low-income students. And, it will invest in practices that help more students complete their degree or credential. The framework will help more people access quality training that leads to good, union, and middle-class jobs. It will enable community colleges to train hundreds of thousands of students, create sector-based training opportunity with in- demand training for at least hundreds of thousands of workers, and invest in proven approaches like Registered Apprenticeships and programs to support underserved communities. The framework will increase the Labor Department’s annual spending on workforce development by 50% for each of the next 5 years.)
- Promotes nutrition security to support children’s health.
(The Build Back Better framework will help children reach their full potential by investing in nutrition security year-round. The legislation will expand free school meals to 8.7 million children during the school year and provide a $65 per child per month benefit to the families of 29 million children to purchase food during the summer.)
- Strengthens the middle class through a historic investment in equity, safety, and fairness.
(The legislation makes a transformative investment in Rural America through a new Rural Partnership Program that will empower rural regions, including Tribal Nations and territories, by providing flexible funding for locally-led projects. The Build Back Better framework will provide nutrition security to millions of American children by expanding free school meals, which are the healthiest meals that children consume during the day. It also will make an historic investment in maternal health and establish a new and innovative community violence intervention initiative, in addition to investing in small businesses and preparing the nation for future pandemics and supply chain disruptions.)
- Invests in immigration reform.
(The framework includes a separate $100 billion investment in immigration reform that is consistent with the Senate’s reconciliation rules, as well as enhancements to reduce backlogs, expand legal representation, and make the asylum system and border processing more efficient and humane.)
The Build Back Better framework is fully paid for:
Combined with savings from repealing the Trump Administration’s rebate rule, the plan is fully paid for by asking more from the very largest corporations and the wealthiest Americans. The 2017 tax cut delivered a windfall to them, and this would help reverse that—and invest in the country’s future. No one making under $400,000 will pay a penny more in taxes.
Specifically, the framework:
- Stops large, profitable corporations from paying zero in tax and tax corporations that buyback stock rather than invest in the company.
(2019, the largest corporations in the United States paid just 8 percent in taxes, and many paid nothing at all. President Biden believes this is fundamentally unfair. The Build Back Better framework will impose a 15% minimum tax on the corporate profits that large corporations—with over $1 billion in profits—report to shareholders. This means that if a large corporation says it’s profitable, then it can’t avoid paying its tax bill. The framework also includes a 1% surcharge on corporate stock buybacks, which corporate executives too often use to enrich themselves rather than investing workers and growing the economy.)
- Stops rewarding corporations for shipping jobs and profits overseas.
(President Biden has led the world to stop the race to the bottom in corporate taxes and that rewards corporations that ship jobs and profits overseas. That’s why the President won an agreement among 136 countries on a 15% global minimum tax. This framework would help finish the job. Consistent with that agreement, it’d adopt a 15% minimum tax on foreign profits of U.S. corporations, so that they can no longer claim huge tax benefits by shifting profits and jobs abroad. And, it’d make sure that other countries abide by the agreement they adopted by imposing a penalty rate on any foreign corporations based in countries that fail to abide by the international agreement. Other countries will not be able to try to take advantage by failing to meet their commitment.)
- Asks the highest income Americans to pay their fair share.
(The Build Back Better framework includes a new surtax on the income of multi-millionaires and billionaires – the top 0.02 percent of Americans. It would apply a 5 percent rate above income of $10 million, and an additional 3 percent above income of $25 million. The Build Back Better framework will also close the loopholes that allows some wealthy taxpayers to avoid paying the 3.8 Medicare tax on their earnings.)
- Invests in enforcing our existing tax laws, so the wealthy pay what they owe.
(Regular workers pay the taxes they owe on wages and salaries—with a 99 percent compliance rate—while too many wealthy taxpayers hide their income from the IRS so they don’t have to pay. And, as a result of budget cuts, audit rates on those making over $1 million per year fell by 80 percent between 2011-2018. Wage earners have a 99 percent compliance rate, and, by contrast, the top 1 percent evades over $160 billion per year in taxes. President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda will create a fairer tax system – a tax system that requires the wealthy to finally pay their fair share and rewards work, not wealth. The President’s plan will accomplish this through transformation investments in the IRS: hiring enforcement agents who are trained to pursue wealthy evaders, overhauling technology from the 1960s, and investing in taxpayer service, so ordinary Americans can get their questions answered. Additional enforcement resources will be focused on pursuing those with the highest incomes; not Americans with income less than $400,000.)
https://www.whitehouse.gov/build-back-better/
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Another historic day for the stock market and the S&P 500. The stock market soared another 104 points to a record high 36,432.22. The S&P 500 closed above 4,700 for the first time. Another Biden record. Good things happen when you have strong and competent Democratic leadership. Remember, every Republican except for 13 in the House voted against this infrastructure bill that benefits ALL Americans.
S&P 500 closes above 4,700 for the first time as infrastructure stocks rally
The S&P 500 closed at a record high Monday after Congress approved an infrastructure spending package.
The broad index gained 0.09% to close above 4,700 for the first time at 4,701.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 104.27 points, or 0.3%, to close at 36,432.22. The Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.07% at 15,982.36. All three stock averages posted record closes.
The U.S. House of Representatives late Friday passed a more than $1 trillion infrastructure bill, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden for his signature. First passed by the Senate in August, the package would provide new funding for transportation, utilities and broadband, among other infrastructure projects.
“Investors have waited for a significant step-up in infrastructure spending for decades,” Citi’s Anthony Pettinari said in a note. “We view this generational investment as a significant catalyst for growth for a number of our stocks.”
Industrials and materials stocks rallied Monday with those names set to benefit from the spending package. The Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development exchange-traded fund rose nearly 1.3% and hit a new all-time high Monday morning.
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Mining company Freeport-McMoRan, construction materials stock Vulcan and steel corporation Nucor were among the notable gainers on the S&P 500. Construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar led the Dow’s rally with a 4% gain. Heavy equipment producer Deere saw its shares rise about 1.6%. United Rentals, Martin Marietta and Jacobs Engineering were among other infrastructure-related gainers.
Elsewhere, chip maker Advanced Micro Devices led gains on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite. AMD rallied 10.1% after the company announced it won Meta, formerly known as Facebook, as a chip customer and revealed new chip products.
Meanwhile, Tesla founder Elon Musk rattled investors this weekend, asking in a Twitter poll whether he should sell 10% of his stock as a response to political clamoring to tax unrealized gains from equity holdings. Nearly 58% of respondents said yes, and shares of Tesla closed 4.8% lower Monday.
The passage of the infrastructure stimulus, an improving Covid situation in the U.S., and a better-than-expected labor market reading boosted investor confidence in the economic recovery. The October jobs report came in Friday better than economists expected as U.S. payrolls added 531,000 jobs last month, according to the Labor Department.
“We expect Equities to continue to climb the ‘wall of worry’, as risks look largely priced in and showing signs of improvement,” JPMorgan’s Marko Kolanovic said in a note Monday.
The S&P 500 has now posted 64 record closes in 2021 and is up more than 25% this year.
Investors await fresh inflation readings in the week ahead. The producer price index and consumer price index are slated for release on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Economists expect both reports to remain hot for October.
The Federal Reserve is eyeing both inflation and jobs data to guide its timeline on normalizing monetary policy.
Last week, the Fed announced a plan to begin tapering its pandemic-era economic aid by the end of November, putting the central bank on track to end its asset purchase program by the middle of next year.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/07/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html
Dow hits record high as infrastructure bill lifts cyclicals
Nov 8 (Reuters) - The Dow hit a record high on Monday as the passage of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill lifted industrials, materials and other economy-focused sectors, while Tesla fell on top boss Elon Musk's plan to sell about a tenth of his stake.
Five of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes were higher after the Congress on Saturday passed the long-delayed infrastructure bill hailed by President Joe Biden as a "once in a generation" investment.
"That infrastructure bill is going to put some energy into companies like 3M, Caterpillar and other companies that power the industrial sector, but we also think the materials sector is going to really benefit from that bill," said Greg Bassuk, chief executive at AXS Investments in Port Chester, New York.
Travel and tourism stocks rallied, led by airlines, as the United States lifted travel restrictions slapped on much of the world since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The S&P 1500 Airlines index (.SPCOMAIR) gained 1.1%. read more
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index (.SOX) rose 1.3% to a record high.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.O) jumped 9.0% after it signed up Meta Platforms Inc (FB.O) as a data center chip customer and announced new supercomputing chips to take on its bigger rival Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O). read more
Wall Street's main indexes hit record highs last week, supported by an upbeat earnings season, strong October jobs data and a positive update on Pfizer Inc's (PFE.N) experimental pill against COVID-19.
https://www.reuters.com/business/futures-tick-higher-after-congress-clears-infrastructure-bill-tesla-falls-2021-11-08/
Dow Heading for Record Highs, Tesla Tumbles—and What Else Is Happening in the Stock Market Today
https://www.barrons.com/articles/stock-market-today-51636365285
Caterpillar Leads Dow Jones Up 116 Points on $1 Trillion Infrastructure Deal
Congress finally passed a bipartisan infrastructure spending bill that investors expect will boost spending for Caterpillar's equipment.
https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/11/08/caterpillar-leads-dow-jones-up-116-points-on-1-tri
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Radical right wing Republicans have no interest in working for the American people. They are only there to promote their racist and fascist agenda. When Republicans in the Party decide to vote to pass legislation aimed at helping their own constituents these radical right wing Republicans try to banish them from the party. The GOP is a radical anti American extremist cult.
'Sedition caucus' trying to strip committee assignments from 13 Republicans because they voted for infrastructure
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House Republicans have no problem with one of their members posting a tweet depicting him murdering Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez but they are outraged at 13 members of their caucus who voted to pass President Joe Biden's infrastructure bill.
According to Jake Sherman's Punchbowl News, rank and file GOP members of Congress are trying to force Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to strip the 13 of their committee assignments, noting that "GOP leadership is bracing" for the attempt. McCarthy was opposed to the bill, which will vastly improve basic necessities like roads, bridges, rail, and the nation's ports, expand broadband access, and help localities protect against climate change.
Not only are GOP members of Congress angry the 13 voted for the legislation, they are angry they voted "early," rather than forcing Democrats to cross the majority threshold of votes to pass the bill without Republicans.
"Much of the anger is directed at Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), who voted early for the legislation. Katko is the ranking member on the Homeland Security Committee. Katko told multiple lawmakers on the House floor that he had seen Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) on television talking about the infrastructure bill, and he was voting early."
Members of the Sedition Caucus, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and Matt Gaetz have publicly attacked their fellow Republicans for voting to help the American people by voting for the bill.
https://www.rawstory.com/gop-infrastructure/
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We see the Trump disaster on the left and the Biden transformation on the right.
Under Trump we were losing 1 million jobs per month. Biden came in and got Americans back to work creating an average of 620,000 jobs per month and 5.6 million total which is the most jobs ever created by a President in less than 10 months.
Under Trump the unemployment rate soared. Biden has lowered the unemployment rate way down to 4.6%.
The vaccine rollout under Trump was an absolute dismal failure with less than 1 million shots per day. President Biden completely transformed America's vaccine rollout into the best in the world vaccinating over 4 million people which is an amazing record. 70% of adults have been fully vaccinated.
The GDP has soared under the Biden Administration.
This is amazing progress in just a few months time!
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Biden rolls out multibillion-dollar plan to upgrade aging U.S. ports after passage of infrastructure bill
The Biden administration outlined several initiatives on Tuesday aimed at addressing immediate supply-chain challenges and other disruptions affecting global commerce, a move that follows the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
The $1 trillion infrastructure bill, the single largest federal investment in American history, includes $17 billion for infrastructure improvements at coastal and inland ports, waterways and ports of entry along the U.S. border.
WASHINGTON – The Biden administration outlined several initiatives on Tuesday aimed at addressing immediate supply chain challenges and other disruptions affecting global commerce.
Several senior administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to share details of the proposed plans, said the administration will begin work within the next 60 days with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on $4 billion worth of construction work at coastal ports, inland waterways as well as other corps-eligible facilities.
The plan will also identify and prioritize $3.4 billion in upgrades to obsolete inspection facilities that will make international trade more efficient through the northern and southern borders, a senior administration official said.
“This is a long-overdue infrastructure improvement and it has clearly been a bottleneck in the past,” the person added.
The officials said the administration plans to standardize data-sharing requirements for shipping lines, terminal operators, railroads, truckers, warehouses and cargo owners.
“There is not a lot of data-sharing among the private sector and participants in the goods movement chain,” the official said, adding that the lack of data exchange causes delays and inefficiencies as cargo moves from one part of the supply chain to another.
The U.S. Digital Service is working with the Federal Maritime Commission and the joint program office at the Department of Transportation to build a data framework that will help move goods more efficiently, the senior Biden administration official said.
“This is one of the more important but less visible parts of this program,” the person added.
The world’s supply chain – already exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic – is continuing to bear the brunt of surging consumer demand, labor shortages and overseas manufacturing delays, which has led to higher transportation costs and inflation.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden will visit the Port of Baltimore to discuss how the $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed by lawmakers Friday will improve ports and strengthen supply chains.
The bipartisan infrastructure bill, which passed the Senate in August but sat idle in the House for months, will finance colossal upgrades to America’s roads, bridges, airports, seaports and rail systems.
The bill, the single largest federal investment in American history, includes $17 billion in infrastructure improvements at coastal and inland ports, waterways and ports of entry along the U.S. border.
The measure, which Biden has yet to sign into law, includes an additional $110 billion to repair roads, bridges as well as other major transportation projects across the United States.
When asked for the timing of these investments, a senior administration official said that work was “already underway” on some projects while other programs would take anywhere from 45 days to 90 days.
The officials did not indicate when Biden would sign the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
The bill’s passage came on the heels of Biden’s attendance at the annual forum of the “Group of 20,” or G-20, referring to the 20 major economies that account for more than 80% of world GDP and 75% of global trade.
While at the G-20, Biden convened a summit alongside leaders from 14 other countries and the European Union calling for their unbending commitment on supply chain issues.
“Supply chains are something that most of our citizens never think twice about until something goes wrong. And during this pandemic, we’ve seen delays and backlogs of goods from automobiles to electronics, from shoes to furniture,” Biden said in his debut at the G-20 since becoming president.
“Ending the pandemic is the ultimate key to unlocking the disruptions we’re all contending with. But, we have to take action now, together with our partners in the private sector, to reduce the backlogs that we’re facing,” he said.
Now that the pandemic has highlighted vulnerabilities in the system, he said, “we cannot go back to business as usual.”
Last month, the Biden administration unveiled a plan to run operations 24/7 at the California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation’s busiest port complex.
Shortly thereafter, the twin California ports, which account for 40% of sea freight entering the United States, announced new fines on carriers in order to clear the intensifying logjam of cargo ships.
Starting on Nov. 1, offloaded containers moved by trucks will have nine days before fines start accruing. Containers scheduled to move by rail will have three days. In accordance with these deadlines, carriers will be charged $100 for each lingering container per day.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/09/supply-chain-fix-biden-administration-to-spend-more-than-4-billion-on-aging-us-ports.html
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Pro-infrastructure Republicans are facing a barrage of abuse from furious Trump supporters: report
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-supporters-infrastructure/
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‘Somebody’s going to get killed’: Dem lawmaker hammers GOP for refusing to punish Gosar for violent video
https://www.rawstory.com/kevin-mccarthy-paul-gosar/
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President Biden touts infrastructure bill at Port of Baltimore, says it will boost economy
https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/president-biden-touts-infrastructure-bill-at-port-of-baltimore-says-it-will-boost-economy
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And right wing Republicans in Indiana voted against President Biden's infrastructure bill that will revitalize Indiana.
HOWEY: Biden infrastructure bill will bring $9 billion to Indiana
The bill will bring more than $8 billion to Indiana just to revitalize roads and bridges
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INDIANAPOLIS — In a week after the Dow crossed 36,000 for the first time ever and 531,000 new jobs were created in October, House Democrats aided by 13 Republicans – though none from the Indiana delegation – voted late Friday night to pass President Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill by a 228-206 vote. Six progressive Democrats voted against the measure after Speaker Nancy Pelosi received commitments on the Build Back Better Act to split the votes from this record infrastructure bill.
The bill will bring more than $8 billion to Indiana to revitalize roads and bridges; $751 million to ensure safe, clean drinking water; $680 million to improve public transportation systems; $350 million to expand broadband internet access, especially in rural areas; and $20 million for Indiana to respond to extreme weather events.
But like just about everything else in this era of American politics, the infrastructure bill was characterized as “solving problems” in the words of Democrat U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, or denounced as a “socialist scheme” according to Republican U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski, despite the fact that U.S. Sen. Todd Young helped negotiate the version that passed the Senate. Young voted no because it would have been followed by President Biden’s Build Back Better bill.
“We have discussed the need to make desperately needed investments in our infrastructure and broadband technology for too long,” Mrvan told the NWI Times following the House vote. “Today, we delivered.”
Walorski said, “As Hoosier families face the devastating ramifications of President Biden’s inflation and supply chain crises, President Biden and the Democrats’ socialist tax and spend scheme is astonishingly out of touch with the American people.”
U.S. Reps. Larry Bucshon, R-Newburgh, and Jim Baird, R-Greencastle called the bill a “Trojan Horse” designed to pave the way for future spending.
Walorski, Bucshon and Baird have rediscovered their fiscal conservatism, which was missing during the $7 trillion in additional debt accrued under President Trump. Hoosier Republicans didn’t balk at receiving a portion of the estimated $28 billion the Trump administration paid to American farmers from 2017 and 2020 as part of the Market Facilitation Program for losses driven by tariffs that China placed on agricultural imports from the U.S. in retaliation for Trump’s trade war.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act comes on the heels of Biden’s American Rescue Plan last spring that will bring some $4 billion in federal investments to Indiana, including $1.28 billion for municipalities. ARP funds will also fund Gov. Eric Holcomb’s $500 million READI grants. So Hoosier governments are going to be seeing an unprecedented $13 billion over the next four or five years.
Recently released state-level data demonstrate that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will deliver an array of upgrades for Indiana, coming some 16 years after the $3.8 billion Indiana Toll Road lease fueled Gov. Mitch Daniels’ 10-year, fully funded road program that includes remaking the U.S. 31 freeway and extending I-69 from Bloomington to Indianapolis.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed and signed by President Obama in February 2009 during the Great Recession and included $1.4 billion for Medicaid expansion (HIP 2.0), $1.3 billion for education, $650 million for roads and bridges, $400 million for nutrition and another $600 million for weatherization, water quality, housing, public transit and child care.
The historic Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is designed to:
- Repair and rebuild Indiana roads and bridges with a focus on climate change mitigation, resilience, equity, and safety for all users, including cyclists and pedestrians. In Indiana there are 1,111 bridges and over 5,478 miles of highway in poor condition with this legislation providing $6.6 billion.
- Improve healthy, sustainable transportation options for millions of Americans with the state expecting to receive nearly $680 million over five.
- Build a network of electric vehicle chargers to facilitate long-distance travel and provide convenient charging options with Indiana receiving $100 million over five years.
- Help connect every American to reliable high-speed internet. According to the White House, 16% of Indiana households do not have an internet subscription, and 3.2% of Hoosiers live in areas where, under the FCC’s benchmark, there is no broadband infrastructure. Indiana will receive a minimum allocation of $100 million that will provide access to at least 217,000 Hoosiers who currently lack it.
- Prepare more of our infrastructure for the impacts of climate change, cyber attacks, and extreme weather events. From 2010 to 2020, Indiana experienced 34 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $10 billion in damage. Indiana will expect to receive $20 million over five years to protect against wildfires and $20 million to protect against cyber attacks.
- Deliver clean drinking water to every American and eliminate the nation’s lead service lines and pipes. Indiana will expect to receive $751 million over five years to improve water infrastructure.
- Airports in Indiana would receive approximately $170 million for infrastructure development for airports over five years.
https://www.wthr.com/article/news/politics/howey-biden-infrastructure-bill-will-bring-9-billion-to-indiana/531-4634e4cf-6566-4bfa-9d67-f9f66f1d48e2
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Right wing nut and American traitor Marjorie Taylor Greene is strongly advocating for Trump's deranged base to harass and threaten the 13 Republicans that voted for President Biden's Infrastructure Bill which revitalizes American cities. These members of Congress are getting death threats from these deranged lunatics all because they voted "YES" so that roads, bridges, ports, freeways can be updated with sound infrastructure. Rural areas will get high speed broadband internet along with clean drinking water and families with children will get child tax credits. Only an Anti American would vote against repairing American cities and helping working families. And the GOP did except for 13 and now they are being threatened by nuts like Marjorie Taylor Greene. She voted against Georgia and America. Criminal Donald claimed every week he would pass an Infrastructure Bill and failed miserably. Now Trump's stooges are on the attack because President Biden and the Democrats delivered for the American people.
'The calls will continue': Marjorie Taylor Greene snaps at accusations she encouraged her followers to harass lawmakers
https://www.rawstory.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-2655546482/
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'Where is Kevin McCarthy?': CNN panel buries GOP leader for letting his members encourage death threats
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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was dragged over the coals on CNN on Sunday morning as panelists pointed out the toxic atmosphere in the House since the Jan 6th insurrection has grown worse as a few GOP members have encouraged violence against their colleagues.
Acting as host, CNN's Kaitlan Collins summed up the problem by asking, "Where is Kevin McCarthy."
With panelists citing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) for calling some of her colleagues "traitors" and tweeting out their congressional phone numbers, and Rep Paul Gosar (R-AZ) posting a video of him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio -Cortez (D-NY), questions were raised about when McCarthy would rein his caucus in.
According to Paul .... of the Washington Post, "Look, the House of Representatives ... it is a cauldron. It has never healed itself or come close to healing itself after Jan 6th. The Senate still has tensions that are there, the House is still heated. They have magnetometers set outside the chamber -- every member has to walk through to prove that they don't have a weapon on them. It seems a little bit ridiculous at times to think, all right, these are members of Congress, come on."
After Collins brought up the absence of McCarthy, the Daily Beast's Jackie Kucinich added, "It's an excellent question. I'm sure a lot of those members that are receiving these death threats want an answer to it and they're entitled to it."
Tarini Parti of the Wall Street Journal interjected, "I think what's interesting, the members who voted for it [the infrastructure bill] are moderate Republicans who need to win re-elections. You would think the Republican leadership would want them to win the re-election and would support them because they think this is the type of issue if they vote for it, they would help re-elect them."
Watch below:
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Who in their right mind would be against repairing and revitalizing communities and states?
31% of Americans who are far radical right wingers are against removing lead pipes so they can have clean drinking water. They are against repairing roads with potholes, against securing bridges, updating the railroad, high speed internet and so many more essential updates we need. The GOP calls this "socialism" and they all voted against this bill except for 13 Republicans. Other countries like Japan update their infrastructure all the time and have surpassed the United States in mass transit and technology. Republicans want us to lag behind these other countries as they lead the world. It's about time America leads the world once again and with Republicans you will never have that as we will always be last with them.
President Biden to sign big infrastructure bill with $13B for N.J. on Monday. Here’s what to expect.
Billions of federal transportation dollars will flow to New Jersey in the coming months and years after President Joe Biden signs the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill Monday at a White House ceremony.
Deputy U.S. Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg, calling the bill the “largest investment in infrastructure since the creation of the interstate highway system,” said states could see some of the money within months, while other programs will take longer to get underway. The transportation bill sets policy for the next five years.
According to the White House and U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez, New Jersey will receive at least $13.5 billion over the next five years under the infrastructure bill. Here’s what’s in the legislation that could benefit the Garden State.
- Airports. The bill includes around $272 million to help fund improvements to New Jersey airports.
-- Amtrak. The nation’s passenger railroad will get $66 million, including funds for the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak has proposed extending its route network, including running trains from New York City through New Jersey to Scranton and to Easton and Allentown, all in Pennsylvania.
-- Bridge repairs. Under the current federal formula, the state will receive $1.1 billion. The state ranked 21st among the 50 states with 502, or 7.4%‚ of its 6,801 bridges rated as deficient, according to an analysis of Federal Highway Administration data by NJ Advance Media.
-- Broadband. The White House said 31% of New Jersey households do not subscribe to an internet service. The state will receive at least $100 million to expand high-speed internet connections to least 115,468 residents. In addition, there would be funding to subsidize access for 1.6 million low-income New Jerseyans.
-- Climate change. Based on historical formulas, the state will receive $15 million to protect against wildfires.
-- Cyberattacks. New Jersey will expect $17 million to protect its computer systems.
-- Electric vehicles. To encourage the move to electric cars from gasoline-powered vehicles, the bill includes funding for a network of charging stations. New Jersey could expect to receive $104 million.
-- Gateway. Biden has endorsed it. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has touted it. Trottenberg called it a “huge priority.” Full funding is in place for a new Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River, and billions of additional dollars were put in accounts that could be used to help fund the new Hudson River tunnel. But first, the Federal Transit Administration needs to change its rating to allow the Gateway Tunnel to tap those funds. Trottenberg said the Biden administration was working “to get the next steps to that project completed.”
-- Highways. New Jersey will get $6.8 billion for highways over five years. The state has hundreds and hundreds of miles of highway rated as being in poor condition. That has helped increase commuting times by 8.8% since 2011, and costs the average motorist an additional $713 a year.
-- Lead pipes. The state Legislature has passed legislation requiring that every lead water pipe be replaced, and the infrastructure bill will provide $1 billion to help cover the cost. Newark residents in August 2019 started lining up for bottled water because of high lead levels. The American Water Works Association estimated it would cost $2.3 billion to replace New Jersey’s 350,000 lead service lines.
-- Mass Transit. Under the current plan, the state will get $4.1 billion for public transportation such as NJ Transit. Some of those funds could be used to replace outmoded buses and trains as 25% of such vehicles are past their useful life.
-- Reconnecting neighborhoods. “Almost every American city has had a highway that has plowed through communities of color or cut off a neighborhood,” Trottenberg said. There is $1 billion in the bill to reconnect communities, and Trottenberg said other federal funds could be used as well. One of those highways is Interstate 280 through Orange, and Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-10th Dist., plans to work with local mayors and other elected officials on that issue, according to spokesman Patrick Wright.
-- Superfund. There is funding in the bill to help clean up Superfund sites, which New Jersey has more of than any other state.
-- Toll credits. New Jersey has built up $5.5 billion in credits for using toll revenues to maintain its interstate highways. The credits then are used to cover the local share of federally-funded road and bridge projects. The state has so many credits that it can’t spend them all, and the bill would let it sell them to other states at a discount. New Jersey therefore could raise billions of dollars for highway construction without raising taxes while the buying states could cover their local shares for less money.
In a Monmouth University Poll released Wednesday, 65% of Americans supported the measure, with 31% in opposition.
“I think we’re in a good spot now,” said Rep. Donald Norcross, D-1st Dist. “We’re going to keep to our message of passing bills that will help people.”
https://www.nj.com/politics/2021/11/biden-to-sign-big-infrastructure-bill-with-13b-for-nj-on-monday-heres-what-to-expect.html
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The Trump Disaster compared to Biden Progress
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Biden signs bipartisan infrastructure bill with Republicans on hand to celebrate win
House Democrats aim to vote on Biden’s Build Back Better framework this week
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After months of negotiations, a massive bipartisan infrastructure bill that promises significant investments in every pocket of the country got President Joe Biden's signature on Monday.
"My fellow Americans, today I want you to know we hear you, and we see you. The bill I'm about to sign into law is proof that, despite the cynics, Democrats and Republicans can come together and deliver results," Biden said. "We can deliver real results for real people we see in ways that really matter each and every day to each person out there. And we're taking a monumental step forward to 'Build Back Better' as a nation."
Biden was joined by a bipartisan group for the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill signing at a White House ceremony -- marking a major victory for lawmakers from both parties who committed to working in a bipartisan way and even more so for Biden, who campaigned on a promise to work across the aisle.
"For too long, we've talked about having the best economy in the world. We've talked about asserting American leadership around the world with the best and the safest roads, railways, ports, and airports. Here in Washington, we've heard countless speeches, promises, and white papers from the experts," Biden said. "But today, we are finally getting it done. And my message to the American people is: America is moving again. And your life is going to change for the better."
The infrastructure package, with $550 billion in new spending, will address the nation's core infrastructure needs including $110 billion for highways, roads and bridges, $66 billion for passenger rail, $65 billion in high-speed internet, $55 billion for water, $39 billion in public transit, $25 billion for airports, $7.5 billion for electric vehicle charging stations, and $17 billion for ports, among other areas.
"We got it done, America," Vice President Kamala Harris said with a smile.
The White House said the plan will create on average 1.5 million jobs per year over the next decade.
Several congressional Republicans joined Democrats at the White House for the South Lawn signing ceremony, as well as GOP leaders at the state and local level. Bu in all, only about 18% of Republicans who voted for the popular legislation were in attendance -- and the entire group faces extreme criticism, and in some cases, death threats, for supporting the infrastructure package -- blowback encouraged by former President Donald Trump.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., a leader in negotiations, spoke ahead of the president, along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
"Our plan will create millions of jobs and make our country stronger, safer, and more globally competitive without raising taxes on everyday Americans," Sinema said to the crowd of approximately 800 guests gathered before American flags on the South Lawn, going to thank the bipartisan group of lawmakers who negotiated the deal.
"The American people want to see us coming together," said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who led negotiations for Republicans. "They know that despite our differences we should be able to figure it out and work together to solve big problems. We can start by recognizing that finding common ground to advance the interests of the American people should be rewarded not attacked," Portman added. "This should be the beginning of a renewed effort to work together on big issues facing our country."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has touted the bill in his home state of Kentucky as "good for the country," said last week he has "other things I've got to do other than go to the signing ceremony."
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The White House has announced that former lieutenant governor of Louisiana and former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who helped that city recover from Hurricane Katrina, will join the Biden administration as a senior advisor and oversee the implementation of the package. Biden will also sign an executive order on Monday creating a task force to implement the package into law, which will be co-chaired by Landrieu and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-signs-bipartisan-infrastructure-bill-republicans-hand-celebrate/story?id=81181787
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House to vote on resolution censuring Paul Gosar and removing him from House Oversight Committee
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The House of Representatives on Wednesday will vote on a resolution to censure Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) after he posted an anime video that depicted him murdering Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
According to Politico's Heather Caygle, the resolution would not only censure Gosar but also remove him from the House Oversight Committee, where he currently serves alongside Ocasio-Cortez.
The resolution would let Gosar keep his spot on the Natural Resources Committee, which means that he would not be fully stripped of his committee assignments as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was earlier in the year.
Gosar, who earlier this year also spoke at a conference organized by white nationalists, has claimed that he wasn't advocating violence against Ocasio-Cortez even though the video he posted depicted a cartoon version of himself murdering her.
https://www.rawstory.com/paul-gosar-censure-2655747648/
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Thanks to President Biden manufacturing is thriving again and so is our auto industry. Manufacturing was in a deep recession under Criminal Donald.
US auto factories swung back into gear in October: govt
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American car assembly lines roared back into action last month, according to official data released Tuesday, a sign the effects of the global semiconductor shortage that has hobbled production may be ending.
The gains at automakers helped propel US industrial production 1.6 percent higher in October, according to the Federal Reserve, about double expectations and gaining back ground lost in September, when supply constraints pushed output sharply lower.
The Fed said factories recovering from Hurricane Ida made up about half of the overall gain in production.
Manufacturing rose 1.2 percent, driven by an 11 percent increase in motor vehicles and parts, its first gain after two months of declines.
However, auto production was still 1.5 percent lower than October 2020, a sign of the lingering damage from the shortage of crucial computer chips that forced some factories to cut production.
"The level of manufacturing output is back above its pre-pandemic level, for the second time, and this time the absence of hurricanes and the continued strength in the regular monthly surveys points to further gains ahead," Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics said.
Mining output rose 4.1 percent and utilities climbed 1.2 percent, the report said.
https://www.rawstory.com/us-auto-factories-swung-back-into-gear-in-october-govt/
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Biden sells infrastructure law in visit to 'structurally deficient' New Hampshire bridge
The bridge has been on the state's "red list" since 2013, requiring inspections twice a year because of poor conditions.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday visited an 82-year-old steel bridge in rural New Hampshire that he pointed to as an example of how one of his biggest legislative victories will benefit communities across the country.
Biden said the bridge, which crosses the Pemigewasset River in the town of Woodstock, is just one of hundreds in urgent need of repair. The newly enacted infrastructure law, he said, will give states the funding to tackle those projects.
"This law is a blue collar blueprint to rebuild America and leaves nobody behind," Biden said.
The president also talked about how the $555 billion measure will expand broadband access, replace lead pipes and address the effects of climate change.
The bipartisan package will pump billions into shoring up the nation's roads, bridges, airports and seaports.
Tuesday’s event in New Hampshire, a day after a bill signing ceremony at the White House, is the first in a series of trips Biden and top administration officials plan to make to sell the infrastructure law to voters, with less than a year before the 2022 midterm elections. Biden is slated to travel to Detroit on Wednesday to meet with UAW workers who are building the next generation of electric vehicles.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, along with first lady Jill Biden and Cabinet officials will be making a similar push for the infrastructure law, the White House said.
Those efforts come alongside the administration’s goal to pass a $1.75 trillion social safety net bill that could be voted on by the House as early as this week. Biden said Tuesday he was confident that House lawmakers would pass the bill in the coming days.
The bridge in Woodstock has been on New Hampshire's "red list" since 2013, meaning it’s considered "structurally deficient" and requires inspections twice a year.
Biden said the bridge can only carry 20 ton trucks, rather than 40 ton trucks, and that without the bridge it would be a 10 mile detour to cross the river.
"These bridges are essential in small towns, rural areas, to farmers and small businesses, like in my state of Delaware," Biden said.
Biden's visit comes after the state's Republican governor, Chris Sununu, said he would not run for the U.S. Senate. Sununu was a top GOP recruit to take on incumbent Democrat Maggie Hassan, and his decision to instead seek re-election delivered a blow to the party's hopes of regaining control of the Senate. Polls have found Hassan vulnerable to a strong challenge.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-sell-infrastructure-law-visit-structurally-deficient-new-hampshire-bridge-n1283931
President Biden leaves New Hampshire after speaking on infrastructure bill
President touches on some of $1.2 trillion bill's benefits for Granite Staters
WOODSTOCK, N.H. — Speaking in front of an 82-year-old bridge in Woodstock that is sorely in need of repair, President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill he signed into law will help fix it and the 214 other red-listed bridges in New Hampshire.
New Hampshire was Biden's first stop after signing the bill Monday. Amid light snow flurries, he spoke at the Route 175 bridge over the Pemigewasset River, which is a key route for emergency vehicles.
"This may not seem like a big bridge, but it saves lives and it solves problems," Biden said. "Let me tell you why: Businesses depend on it. Like the local propane company, or the sand and gravel company, or logging trucks. Public services depend on it, school buses, wastewater trucks cross it every day. It's essential to Woodstock Fire Station about a quarter-mile away. Without this bridge, as I said earlier, it's a 10-mile detour just to get to the other side."
The bridge has been red-listed since 2013, meaning it needs major repairs.
"Thanks to the infrastructure law, we’re going to make the most significant investment to modernize our roads and our bridges in 70 years. The law is going to speed up replacement of bridges by at least a year and allow New Hampshire to invest in other critical infrastructure needs," Biden said.
The president said neglecting road and bridge infrastructure is costly to Granite Staters.
"You have about 700 miles of highway in New Hampshire that’s listed in poor condition," Biden said. "Driving on these roads that need repair costs New Hampshire drivers an estimated extra $476 every year per person driving in gasoline, repairs and long commute times. That's $476 in hidden taxes on New Hampshire drivers as a result of deteriorating infrastructure."
Biden touted other parts of the infrastructure bill, such as replacing lead pipes and dealing with water contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
"Every American, every child should be able to turn on the faucet and drink clean water, which will also create thousands of good-paying jobs for plumbers and pipefitters replacing these pipes," Biden said.
He praised New Hampshire's congressional delegation, saying they pushed for other items, such as expanding high-speed internet.
"Today, one in every 10 New Hampshire households doesn't have internet subscriptions. And in a lot of places, there's no broadband infrastructure at all," Biden said. "And the law is going to make high-speed internet affordable and available everywhere in New Hampshire -- urban, suburban and rural. It's going to create jobs laying down those broadband lines in the 21st century America."
The president specifically cited U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen for her efforts to bring the bill across the finish line.
"(Shaheen was) the key member of this bipartisan group of senators that negotiated this infrastructure deal. You’re calm, common sense, as usual, always leads the way. I mean that sincerely," Biden said.
Earlier Tuesday, Biden was greeted at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport by Gov. Chris Sununu, who sent a letter to Biden raising several questions about the federal infrastructure funds. He said New Hampshire receives the lowest funding nationwide for highway programs and asked if Biden is willing to work with Congress for more equitable funding in the future.
Sununu also asked how much flexibility states will have in allocating the federal funds.
The governor met Biden at the airport and said in a written statement that the two had "a very pleasant conversation" in which they discussed inflation and workforce shortages, along with rising fuel costs.
https://www.wmur.com/article/joe-biden-woodstock-new-hampshire-11162021/38264578
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17 Nobel Prize–winning economists back Biden’s $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan
https://fortune.com/2021/09/21/nobel-prize-winning-economists-back-joe-biden-build-back-better-plan/
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FBI raids home of MAGA clerk Tina Peters — and Lauren Boebert's former campaign manager
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The FBI on Tuesday raided the homes of Mesa County, Colorado clerk Tina Peters and three associates, as part of its investigation into whether the MAGA-loving official was involved in an election security breach.
"The FBI carried out a court-ordered search of Peters' home in Mesa County early Tuesday morning, leaving her 'terrified,' Peters said Tuesday night in an appearance on Lindell TV, an online channel run by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a Trump supporter and proponent of discredited claims the 2020 election was stolen," Colorado Politics reports. "Lindell said one of the homes raided by law enforcement authorities belongs to Sherronna Bishop, a Garfield County resident and former campaign manager for U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert."
The Daily Beast notes that Peters, who has been stripped of her ability to run elections in the county, was "involved in an amateur QAnon-tied investigation of voter fraud in the 2020 election."
"Peters briefly became a star on the right last summer when she appeared at MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's 'cyber-symposium' on voter fraud," according to the Daily Beast. "A few days before her appearance, alleged QAnon mastermind Ron Watkins posted images from Mesa County voting machines, while hard drives from the county's equipment later leaked online. That inspired suspicions that Peters was somehow involved in the potentially illegal leak, and she briefly went into hiding."
https://www.rawstory.com/mike-lindell-2655749166/
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How Tucson and Arizona benefit from Biden's infrastructure bill
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan infrastructure bill into law on Monday that gives more than a trillion dollars to public works projects nationwide. More than 7 billion is coming to Arizona.
“One trillion dollars, this historic funding for infrastructure, we’re going to feel it directly here in Pima County,” said Adelita Grijalva, Pima County Supervisor, District 5.
The largest portion of the money, around $5 billion, is going into highway projects such as widening Interstate 10.
“Traffic delays continue to interfere on our quality of life," said Andrés Cano, Arizona State Representative, District 3. "I think ultimately the bottom line is that these dollars are going to be able to create jobs, provide good opportunity to make the investments we need in the infrastructure that has gone underserved.”
There’s investment in low-emission transportation, with $118 million going to Sun Tran buses.
“It allows us to set up the stations," Grijalva said. "Where are you going to plug all of these zero-emission electric vehicles? We don’t have the infrastructure for that right now, but we will after this.”
Representatives want to use some of the money to rebuild the Drexel Bridge, connecting southern Tucson to the rest of the city.
“In reality, what we now have is an opportunity to be able to say this is a key priority for southern Arizona,” Cano said.
The bill also promises to improve the infrastructure of public water systems, the hope is to bring reusable, clean water to Tucson.
“It's an existential issue, water security, water contamination," said Steve Kozachik, Tucson City Council member. "When we’re getting ready to serve ground water necessarily because of the situation in the Colorado River and Lake Mead.
More than $500 million are going towards renovating land ports of entry along Arizona’s southern border.
"It’s better for both communities, both Arizona and Mexico, to have that cross-commerce happen faster,” Grijalva said.
The bill invests $100 million to create affordable, high-speed internet access across the country. There's also specific funding set aside for rural communities in Arizona. Part of that funding will go towards a permanent Affordable Connectivity Benefit program. The program provides low-income families with a monthly voucher for $30 to access internet.
Arizona will also get money for wildfire management, and $54 million per year to replace lead pipes.
https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/how-tucson-and-arizona-benefit-from-bidens-infrastructure-bill
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Infrastructure bill: Here's how California, LA benefit
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure bill into law, bringing billions of dollars to California for public transit projects, wildfire preparation, bridge and road repair, broadband internet and more.
"No parent should have to sit in the parking lot at a fast food restaurant again just so their child can use the Internet to do their homework. That's over," Biden said.
Members of the California State Legislature and local representatives were in attendance, including Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
"This bill will invest millions and produce countless jobs for cities such as Fontana. It will improve roadways, transit systems, our access to clean water," Warren said.
Funding will go out over the next five years, but it could take months or longer for the major projects to begin.
"The infrastructure deal means funding for megaprojects like (Metro's) Sepulveda Transit Corridor, which will revolutionize the way Angelenos get around. With more investment in (Metro's) bus lanes and the (Los Angeles Department of Transportation's) NextGen Bus Plan network, we can speed up our transit system and reduce congestion,'' Garcetti said on Twitter after the bill's signing.
Here's how Los Angeles benefits
Garcetti also said Los Angeles will receive funding for:
-- electrifying Metro's bus fleet by 2030;
-- Metrolink projects, including the Link Union Station project;
-- ecosystem restoration projects, including the restoration of Los Angeles River habitat;
-- Los Angeles International Airport modernization efforts;
-- projects to improve the flow of goods at the Port of Los Angeles;
-- the expansion of the city's electric vehicle charging network;
-- climate resilience and extreme heat mitigation efforts, including through cool pavements and tree canopies;
-- water recycling and reuse projects; and
-- the city's transition by 2035 to 100% renewable energy.
"This once in a generation deal will transform our nation's infrastructure and L.A. for the better,'' Garcetti said.
Here's how California benefits
Gov. Gavin Newsom praised the bill after it passed Congress on Nov. 6 as a "historic infrastructure package (that) stands to accelerate investments in our clean transportation infrastructure, help mitigate some of the worst impacts of climate change and accelerate new projects that will create thousands of jobs.''
The state is expected to receive:
-- $25.3 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs;
-- $4.2 billion for bridge replacement and repairs over five years;
-- $9.45 billion over five years to improve public transportation options across the state;
-- $384 million over five years to support the expansion of an electric vehicle charging network, with the opportunity to apply for the $2.5 billion in grant funding dedicated to electric vehicle charging;
-- at least $100 million to help provide broadband coverage across the state;
-- $84 million over five years to protect against wildfires;
-- $40 million to protect against cyberattacks;
-- $3.5 billion over five years to improve California's water infrastructure and ensure clean, safe drinking water; and
-- $1.5 billion for infrastructure development for airports over five years.
The bill includes legislation introduced by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-CA, to improve tribal health infrastructure, strengthen electrical grids, improve water resiliency, help ensure clean drinking water and electrify school bus fleets.
https://abc7.com/infrastructure-bill-california-roads-federal-dollars-biden/11240429/
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President Biden’s infrastructure bill: How will Michigan use the money?
Bill will send billions to state
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/politics/2021/11/17/president-bidens-infrastructure-bill-how-will-michigan-use-the-money/
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So once again the GOP makes it official thst they condone violence against Democrats.
House censures Paul Gosar for video depicting murder of AOC — and only two Republicans vote yes
https://www.rawstory.com/paul-gosar-censured/
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EXCLUSIVE Rating agencies say Biden's spending plans will not add to inflationary pressure
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-rating-agencies-say-bidens-spending-plans-will-not-add-inflationary-2021-11-17/
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So, it turns out that President Biden's record job creation is better than we thought, but it does come at a price. The BLS has severely undercounted Biden's job numbers which totals 626,000 jobs. That's almost 1 million jobs that were left off the books in June, July, August, and September. That led to negative news cycles against the President for no reason at all. The right wing media hammered away at Biden and accused him of being incompetent and trashed him all over social media. The main stream media also took part in continuous negative news cycles attacking the President for a lack of job creation. Even though the job numbers in those 4 months were significantly lower than expected, it was still more jobs created than Trump who was losing 1 million jobs per month. But as it turns out, the job numbers were not significantly lower at all as the BLS had to readjust the job numbers for June-September. The job numbers were actually higher than expected with an additional 626,000 jobs created for those 3 months. But people wouldn't know it, as the President was trashed by the media and these re-adjustment totals barely has received any press at all. So much for a "liberal media bias" that right wingers want to claim.
As a result, President Biden was unfairly attacked in the media for a lack of job creation which is clearly not the case. People listened to this negative press and it could have caused voters to form a negative opinion of the President when this never should have happened in the first place. One has to wonder if someone is purposely trying to sabotage President Biden, perhaps a Trump holdover because never in our history of the BLS reporting job numbers have they ever missed close to 1 million jobs off 4 job reports for 4 consecutive months. Something has to give and it smells rotten in Denmark.
Biden Dogged By Unprecedented Revisions That Have Undercounted Almost a Million New Jobs in 2021
The Department of Labor has undercounted new jobs at record rates under President Joe Biden, leading to several negative news cycles that turned out to be wrong.
Every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its Employment Situation Report, which generates the headlines based on the number of jobs created the prior month.
But each report also includes revisions to prior months’ totals that don’t get nearly as much attention, if any. As The Washington Post’s Andrew Van Dam pointed out Wednesday, BLS has undercounted the most recent four months by a whopping — and unprecedented — total: 626,000 jobs.
But a review of BLS revisions for the entire year shows eight months in which jobs were undercounted by a whopping 1,022,000 jobs, and one month in which the total was revised downward by 131,000 — a net of 891,000 jobs undercounted.
https://www.mediaite.com/news/biden-dogged-by-unprecedented-revisions-that-have-undercounted-almost-a-million-new-jobs-in-2021/
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House could vote Thursday on Biden's Build Back Better legislation, Pelosi says
Pelosi said she's waiting for more Congressional Budget Office cost estimates on the bill, which the agency said it would release later Thursday
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-could-vote-thursday-biden-s-build-back-better-legislation-n1284112
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So, it turns out that President Biden's record job creation is better than we thought, but it does come at a price. The BLS has severely undercounted Biden's job numbers which totals 626,000 jobs. That's almost 1 million jobs that were left off the books in June, July, August, and September. That led to negative news cycles against the President for no reason at all. The right wing media hammered away at Biden and accused him of being incompetent and trashed him all over social media. The main stream media also took part in continuous negative news cycles attacking the President for a lack of job creation. Even though the job numbers in those 4 months were significantly lower than expected, it was still more jobs created than Trump who was losing 1 million jobs per month. But as it turns out, the job numbers were not significantly lower at all as the BLS had to readjust the job numbers for June-September. The job numbers were actually higher than expected with an additional 626,000 jobs created for those 3 months. But people wouldn't know it, as the President was trashed by the media and these re-adjustment totals barely has received any press at all. So much for a "liberal media bias" that right wingers want to claim.
As a result, President Biden was unfairly attacked in the media for a lack of job creation which is clearly not the case. People listened to this negative press and it could have caused voters to form a negative opinion of the President when this never should have happened in the first place. One has to wonder if someone is purposely trying to sabotage President Biden, perhaps a Trump holdover because never in our history of the BLS reporting job numbers have they ever missed close to 1 million jobs off 4 job reports for 4 consecutive months. Something has to give and it smells rotten in Denmark.
Did I not call this out correctly?
The BLS never makes severe errors like this undercounting job numbers on offical job reports. Especially for 4 consecutive job reports in a row when the numbers were slated to be high. So when the job report numbers from June-September were released and they were reported as underwhelming, the right wing media immediately went to work hammering President Biden. The Main Stream Media also took part in negative press against the President in continuous newscycles and headlines in newspapers and online articles. As it turned out, the job numbers weren't low at all, and 626,000 jobs were taken off those June-September job reports. That led me to believe something was extremely wrong and I suspected sabotage by a Trump holdover trying to destroy President Biden. My suspicion turned out to be 100% correct as news broke today that a Trump holdover was responsible for purposely removing job number totals from 4 consecutive job reports from June-September. This is criminal and because our country relies on these reports for our economy. We now have a right wing Trump stooge sabotaging President Biden trying to make him look bad so his poll numbers will drop. And even more information came out that, this same Trump stooge was purposely inflating Trump's job numbers to make him look good when in reality 922,000 jobs were lost. Trump is cheater, a pathological, liar, and a fraud, and he had a his own handpicked stooge at the BLS illegally inflating jobs that was never even created. This all has to be coordinated with the GOP because they all had their talking points ready to go all over social media and on tv. Never in the history of America have we had an Anti American party like the GOP trying to destroy our country so they can seize power and replace democracy with fascism and autocracy government.
Head of federal agency responsible for wildly inaccurate jobs numbers is Trump holdover
Some areas of the U.S. federal government are sacrosanct.
The CDC doesn't screw around with reporting COVID information, because millions of people, including scientists, make life or death decisions based on those data.
The Labor Dept. doesn't tweak jobs numbers for political purposes, or to make a president look good or bad, because to report inaccurate results leads to tremendous distrust of the government, messes up markets, and plans of major corporations.
And yet under President Donald Trump the Health and Human Services Dept. altered CDC documents – once considered sacrosanct documents – for political purposes, CNN reported last year.
"Amid tension between the administration and the CDC, former Trump campaign official turned chief HHS spokesman Michael Caputo and his team had demanded to see reports out of the CDC before they are released, a senior administration official said. Officials within HHS had defended the demand, saying the CDC fell under the agency's umbrella and that all communications and public documents needed to be cleared at the top."
A federal official told CNN that in addition to reviewing reports, HHS political appointee Paul Alexander has regularly added his input -- often interpreted by CDC officials as political in nature -- to weekly scientific reports intended to track the ongoing coronavirus pandemic response. The development marks the latest example of political interference by administration appointees at the nation's health agencies.
So when The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the federal government "sharply underestimated job gains for most of 2021, including four months this summer in which it missed more job growth than at any other time on record," some expressed concern.
"In the most recent four months with revisions, June through September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported it underestimated job growth by a cumulative 626,000 jobs — that's the largest underestimate of any other comparable period, going back to 1979. If those revisions were themselves a jobs report, they'd be an absolute blockbuster," the Post noted.
They add, "recent revisions have been big enough to turn a substantial slump into a surprising surge."
Americans, in other words, have been living under the false belief that the labor market wasn't exactly hopping, thanks to wildly inaccurate numbers out of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the agency under the Dept. of Labor that collects, tracks, and analyzes these critical numbers.
Yes, under President Joe Biden the labor market has been surging, we now know, contrary to the information that's been coming out of the BLS.
Curiously, as the Post also noted, the exact opposite happened last year, when Donald Trump was president.
"Revisions in the already calamitous months of March and April 2020," under Trump, "found the economy had lost 922,000 more jobs than initially reported."
Oops.
Given what we know happened at CDC, you'd think some might be wondering what's going on.
Well, we are.
As it turns out, William Beach – the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the agency that since the start of the pandemic has been churning out wildly inaccurate (but very pro-Trump) numbers – was appointed by Donald Trump, used to work for a very pro-Trump think tank known as the Heritage Foundation, worked for a university research center that is funded by the very pro-Trump Charles Koch (as in the Koch Bros.), and also used to work for the Republicans on the the Senate Budget Committee.
(And while it's unclear when Beach left Heritage, it's important to know that right wing think tank is a purveyor of climate change denialism, fake critical race theory and voter fraud claims, and voter suppression legislation.)
So, who cares if the labor numbers are wrong?
Well, everyone, when they read headlines calling Biden's jobs numbers a “colossal miss," “ugly," “dismal" and “disappointing," as The Post noted. Companies make major decisions based on these numbers, which everyone realizes are just estimates, but up until last year were good indicators of what is going on.
Under Beach, the Biden administration has been slammed, giving Republicans a false tool to attack. And like bad newspaper articles that appear on page one and linger in Americans' minds for days, corrections only appear on the back pages, invisible to the vast majority of people who only remember what was false.
An important side note: the Bureau of Labor Statistics is also responsible for reporting out the Consumer Price Index, which in recent days has claimed massive price increases.
NCRM emailed Commissioner Beach on Wednesday, asking if he intended to resign, and asking him to explain what caused these massive errors and if that has been fixed.
We also asked if he maintains any professional, personal, or financial ties to The Heritage Foundation, Senate Republicans or any of his previous right wing employers.
Commissioner Beach did not respond, but Bureau of Labor Statistics Deputy Commissioner William J. Wiatrowski did – with a boilerplate explanation of revisions, and a statement assuring us that the "integrity of BLS data collection and reporting is paramount. The BLS commissioner, as has always been the case, does not see data until they are finalized. Civil servant economists and statisticians tabulate and analyze the data."
No word on any resignation – or if this massive problem has been fixed.
There's no evidence to say these massive screw ups are intentional – or worse, politically motivated – but the American public and American businesses deserve better, they deserve factual data they can count on, and they deserve to know what's actually happening on their President's watch – any president.
If that cannot happen under this commissioner, it's time for a new one.
https://www.rawstory.com/head-of-federal-agency-responsible-for-wildly-inaccurate-jobs-numbers-is-trump-holdover/
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Lauren Boebert walloped by local news anchor in scathing on-air takedown
A local broadcaster shredded Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) in a scathing on-air editorial.
Kyle Clark, a KUSA-TV anchor, scolded his fellow journalists for holding the Colorado Republican to a much different standard that other elected officials in the state.
"We hold Congresswoman Boebert to a far lower standard," Clark said. "If we held her to the same standard as every other elected Republican or Democrat in Colorado, we would be here near nightly chronicling the cruel, false and bigoted things that Boebert says for attention and fundraising."
"This is not about politics, assuming politics is still about things like taxes, national security, health care, jobs and public lands. This is about us, as journalists, recognizing that we'll hold the politicians accountable if they say something vile once, but we won't do it if they do it every day."
"Our double standard is unfair to all the elected officials in Colorado, Republicans and Democrats, who display human decency," he added.
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Another right wing extremist that has no business being in Congress. This fascist is openly calling for violence.
Madison Cawthorn celebrates Rittenhouse verdict by telling followers to 'be armed, be dangerous'
Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) on Friday celebrated Kyle Rittenhouse's not guilty verdict by encouraging his followers to arm themselves.
The right-wing congressman posted a video shortly after the Rittenhouse verdict in which he called the jury's decision a victory for freedom.
"Kyle Rittenhouse is not guilty, my friends!" he said. "You have a right to defend yourself! Be armed, be dangerous, and be moral!"
Cawthorn also posted a text message on the video offering Rittenhouse an internship at his office.
https://www.rawstory.com/kyle-rittenhouse-madison-cawthorn/
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The House Just Passed Biden's Build Back Better Bill. Here's What's In It
https://time.com/6121415/build-back-better-spending-bill-summary/
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Happy Birthday to President Biden. Under Biden the economy is soaring and is the best economy in history!
Biden Has More S&P 500 Records Than Trump
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2021/11/20/biden-has-more-sp-500-records-than-trump/?sh=1ab5f0334547
Trump's economic record is being 'soundly beaten' by Biden as economy bounces back: Forbes
According to an analysis by Forbes that will likely displease former president Donald Trump, current President Joe Biden is blowing by his predecessor's economic records he was so proud of as the U.S. economy comes roaring back.
Chuck Jones of Forbes reports that Trump was in the habit of boasting about economic gains during his administration, but now his records are being "soundly beaten" according to the S&P 500.
Writing, "The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Thursday at 4,704.54 (its third close above 4,700) and fell just short of another record on Friday when it dropped 6.58 points or 0.14% to 4,697.96. The Nasdaq closed at a record high of 16,057, its first close above 16,000 while the Dow Industrials is the laggard at 35,601, almost 1,000 points below its record," Jones added despite rising inflation and the possibility that interest rates could rise the economy under Biden is thriving.
"By President Trump's favorite measure of success President Biden's post-election gains in the S&P 500 Index have soundly beaten Trump's equivalent at just over their one-year election anniversary," he wrote before explaining that, "Charlie Bilello, Founder and CEO of Compound Capital Advisors, has created a chart that shows how many times the S&P 500 has hit record highs in any year since 1929. For 2021 the Index has eclipsed the record 66 times, which is the second highest number to 1995's 77 times. Biden's record number also eclipses Trump's best year in 2017 when the Index broke its all-time high 62 times."
For good measure, he pointed out: "Using the Index's returns from when Biden's election was called the weekend after the election to Friday Biden's market returns are substantially above Trump's by 13.3% and 9.7% from his inauguration."
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-biden-economy/
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Trump stooge Louis DeJoy is finally on his way to being ousted as Postmaster General affer he completely destroyed and dismantled the USPS. Criminal Donald put him in the position in which he has zero qualifications. He was a Trump donor who gave him and the GOP millions of dollars in campaign contributions so in return Trump put him in charge of the USPS as his personal stooge. DeJoy purposely dismantled the USPS by removing mail sorting machines in major post offices in Democratic counties all across America and also removed mail boxes in the towns. He did this so it would cripple mail delivery so mail in ballots wouldn't be received on time helping Criminal Donald to steal the election. DeJoy also wanted to destroy the post office for his own personal gain and as a result Americans are paying higher prices to ship and waiting longer to receive mail and packages.
'Now fire DeJoy': Biden moves to replace Trump-picked postal board members
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President Joe Biden won applause Friday for moving to replace Ron Bloom and John Barger, two members of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors who've shown unwavering loyalty to scandal-plagued Postmaster General Louis DeJoy even as he's dramatically worsened mail delivery performance.
"It's affirmatively good to remove Bloom and Barger from the board, men who said they were 'tickled pink' with DeJoy's actions."
But replacing Bloom—a Democrat and the USPS board's current chairman—and Barger, a Republican, is just the first step toward rescuing the mail service from the ongoing right-wing assault, progressive advocates and Democratic lawmakers stressed Friday.
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.) called Biden's decision to replace Bloom "great news," slamming the outgoing postal board chair as DeJoy's "chief enabler and cheerleader."
"Now fire DeJoy," Pascrell added.
On Friday, Biden nominated former General Services Administration official Daniel Tangherlini and Derek Kan—a Republican and the former deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget—to replace Bloom and Barger.
If Biden's picks are confirmed by the Senate, his nominees will have a majority on the nine-member postal board—enough votes to remove DeJoy.
Bloom and Barger were both nominated to the postal board by former President Donald Trump, who repeatedly attempted to sabotage the USPS ahead of the 2020 presidential election, which relied heavily on mail-in ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic.
DeJoy—a Trump donor—was selected to head the USPS by the postal board in May of 2020. Upon taking charge of the agency in June, DeJoy wasted little time moving to overhaul mail service operations and slow package delivery.
Last month, DeJoy's decade-long plan for the USPS took effect as experts and Democratic lawmakers warned the changes would ensure the continued decline of Postal Service performance for years to come.
Lisa Graves, executive director of True North Research, told Common Dreams on Friday that Bloom and Barger "disqualified themselves from serving in positions of public trust by their enthusiastic support for Trump donor Louis DeJoy despite all the ways DeJoy has harmed the American people through his dictates, including charging people more for slower and less reliable mail."
"They failed to object to his 'ten-year' plan to weaken the service standards or to DeJoy continuing to receive millions each year from an arrangement he has with his former company, a contractor of the Postal Service that got a $100+ million contract to outsource postal work, among other things," Graves noted. "It's affirmatively good to remove Bloom and Barger from the board, men who said they were 'tickled pink' with DeJoy's actions."
While Graves expressed concern over Biden's choice to replace Bloom and Barger with Tangherlini and Kan—calling them "not the right people at all" for the roles—she said the transition will be "an opportunity for the Postal Service to move in a new direction, given the destructive path chosen by DeJoy and enabled by Trump's appointees."
The Washington Post reported Friday that Biden's decision to remove Bloom—who's currently serving a one-year holdover term that expires in December—"came as a surprise to the postal industry and policymakers in Washington."
"Bloom as recently as last week told confidants he expected to be renominated," according to the Post. "Last week, Trump appointees on the governing board reelected him as chairman over the objections of Biden-appointed Democrats."
The Post noted that at least four members of the Senate Democratic caucus—Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)—have pointed to Bloom's enthusiastic support for DeJoy as a reason to oust him from the postal board.
"We need a Postal Service board of governors that is committed to replacing Mr. DeJoy with a postmaster general who will protect and strengthen the Postal Service, not undermine and sabotage it," Sanders told the Post.
In a statement on Friday, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said he's "tickled pink that two DeJoy enablers" are on the verge of being replaced.
"This action is a good thing for the Postal Service and, most importantly, a great thing for the American people," he added.
https://www.rawstory.com/louis-dejoy-2655768317/
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A right wing judge let a white supremacist punk named Kyle Rittenhouse off the hook for murder. Never in my life have I've seen such biased behavior from a judge who is supposed to be impartial. He did whatever he could to get a 'not guilty' verdict including letting the murderer pick his own jurors from a tumbler. Now these were jurors that were dismissed. Dismissed jurors are removed because of clear bias. But the judge let the murderer Rittenhouse pick his own biased jury for his own personal advantage. How the hell is this even legal? Who else in America gets to pick their own favorable jury? Nobody, but this killer was able to pick his own.
This white supremacist is the MAGA poster boy for guns and violence. He is (and has been for over a year) being cheered by the right wing media and GOP politicians as a "hero" for murdering people in the streets with a semi automatic weapon that he shouldn't even be allowed to carry since he isn't even an adult. So the fake "Pro Life" GOP party is cheering on death and a murderer. That should be no surprise since the GOP couldn't care less how many people die from COVID including babies and children.
These are the same right wing hypocrites who still viciously attack a Capitol Police officer for shooting Qanon MAGA insurrectionist rioter Ashi Babbitt for illegally smashing through the Capitol window in which she was a threat to his life so she was shot in self defense. But they praise a white supremacist punk killing people in the streets as 'claimed self defense'. As long as you are white and brandish guns the GOP will make you into a hero for their fascist movement.
So, his mother drove him across state lines so he could walk the streets with a semi automatic weapon looking for trouble. This white supremacist punk is not in law enforcement and had no business being there. When things got heated, he murdered people in the streets claiming it was self defense.
This sets a dangerous precedent where anybody can come armed to the teeth with weapons and shoot protesters in the street and claim 'self defense'. This is pure right wing fascism on display because the far right wants to silence voices they don't like and violently attack them. We've already seen the violent meme that Paul Gosar tweeted against AOC which the entire GOP House condoned except for Cheney and Kinzinger. The GOP hates Democrats and supports violence against them. We've already seen that in Texas where a 'Trump Train' harassed a Biden campaign bus and attempted to run it off the road. The GOP was gleeful about it and Trump retweeted the incident in full support.
This is the violence the GOP condones and it's getting worse with all the far right wing extremist hate groups that want a civil war and this disgraceful verdict emboldenes these right wing thugs to do the same. The insurrection showed us that these domestic terrorists will do anything to be violent and even try to overthrow the US Government. Now this bogus ruling will indeed allow more violence in America. Steve Kerr has a good take on this below and the bogus verdict green lights more violence from far right violent Proud Boys to carry out similar murders. This ruling says that anybody can be armed and then murder somebody they don't like. Republicans are ecstatic over it. America is slowly becoming a fascist nation with no law and order.
Rittenhouse verdict step on 'dangerous path': Warriors coach Kerr
https://www.rawstory.com/rittenhouse-verdict-step-on-dangerous-path-warriors-coach-kerr-2655768286/
For far-right groups, Rittenhouse's acquittal is a cause for celebration
https://www.npr.org/2021/11/19/1057478725/far-right-groups-rittenhouse-acquittal-celebration-violence
Experts Are Warning That Kyle Rittenhouse’s Acquittal Might Inspire More Far-Right Extremist Violence
“There's precedent for acquittals like this to be used in inciting to and carrying out further violence.”
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/christopherm51/kyle-rittenhouse-acquittal-far-right-violence-experts
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Current GOP politicians who have no business being in Congress anyway are actively calling for and cheering on more violence to happen. "Be armed, be dangerous" they are telling their supporters. They want more murders to happen. They are all sick and deranged. These anti American traitors all need to be defeated in a landslide in 2022. We can't allow a GOP party that condones and calls for violence against fellow Americans just because they have different color skin, a different religion, and belongs to another politcal party to be in control of our government.
'Be armed! Be dangerous!' Republicans celebrate Kyle Rittenhouse verdict
https://www.rawstory.com/republicans-celebrate-rittenhouse-verdict/
(https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/marjorie-taylor-greene.png?id=28004148&width=980&height=551)
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Why Biden's record on jobs has been 'dramatically underestimated'
As one senator put it, "I guess I'm not exactly sure why what's happening isn't being characterized as a booming recovery from a worldwide shutdown."
(https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best/newscms/2021_46/3520167/211119-joe-biden-ew-247p.jpg)
A couple of weeks ago, the latest monthly jobs report offered great news: The U.S. economy added more than 500,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate improved to a 19-month low. For those concerned about the strength of the economic recovery, the data created new confidence.
The Republican National Committee, however, didn't quite see it that way. Sure the job the numbers were encouraging, but, the RNC said, the news followed months of "bad jobs reports."
All of which led to an important follow-up question Republicans have been reluctant to answer: "What bad jobs reports?" The Washington Post ran an important piece on this overnight, with a headline that read, "The government dramatically underestimated job growth this summer."
The government sharply underestimated job gains for most of 2021, including four months this summer in which it missed more job growth than at any other time on record. In the most recent four months with revisions, June through September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported it underestimated job growth by a cumulative 626,000 jobs — that's the largest underestimate of any other comparable period, going back to 1979. If those revisions were themselves a jobs report, they'd be an absolute blockbuster.
For those who may be unfamiliar with monthly jobs reports, it's probably worth pausing to explain the process.
On the first Friday of the month, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics releases a report on the previous month's job totals. When these new numbers reach the public, there's a temptation to react to them at face value, but there's a problem: The totals are preliminary, and will be revised.
Under normal economic conditions, these revisions are modest and inconsequential. For example, if an initial assessment from the BLS says there were 150,000 jobs created in a given month, and the revisions conclude that the actual tally was 160,000, no one makes much of a fuss.
But in recent months, the revisions have been dramatic — and all in the same direction.
In June, for example, the preliminary tally under-reported the jobs totals by 112,000. A month later, the initial total under-reported 148,000 jobs. The month after that, it was 248,000 jobs.
All told, we're talking about 626,000 jobs that we didn't know were created until officials retroactively updated initial tallies.
To be sure, there's no reason to suspect anything nefarious. The Labor Department relies on employer surveys, and the system was disrupted by the pandemic and the degree to which they affected businesses. It wasn't that the BLS under-reported the job totals on purpose; it just took more time for the BLS to get the full employment picture.
But there's an unmistakable political dimension to this. Over the summer, President Joe Biden and his Democratic Party received months of negative press — even as early voting was getting underway in Virginia and New Jersey — with headlines about discouraging and disappointing jobs totals.
The Post's report added, "From April to June, polls found that most Americans (51 percent) approved of Biden's handling of the economy, according to an average of polls from Fox, NBC, Quinnipiac and The Post. But as bad economic numbers came out and the national political climate turned south, those numbers fell steadily — in October, just 39 percent approved of Biden's handling of the economy, while 57 percent disapproved."
What the public didn't see was a bunch of news stories saying, "Never mind those bad headlines; we didn't realize until later that the job totals were actually great after all."
Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii added this morning, "I guess I'm not exactly sure why what's happening isn't being characterized as a booming recovery from a worldwide shutdown."
The senator's point is sound: The U.S. economy has already created 5.8 million jobs this year — far above any year in recent memory — and it's currently on pace to finish 2021 with nearly 7 million jobs created this year.
By any fair measure, that's a success story Americans can and should feel good about, headlines and RNC press releases based on incomplete preliminary job totals notwithstanding.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/why-biden-s-record-jobs-has-been-dramatically-underestimated-n1284038
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Another right wing talking point and false attack against President Biden has been easily destroyed. Right wingers have been falsely attacking President Biden for 'inflation' that he had no control over. It wasn't because of anything he did wrong because it's happening to other countries as well due to the global pandemic we are facing. But right wingers lie to you trying to claim it's because of Biden. That is an absolute lie. When President Biden took over, Criminal Donald left him with a year long economic and health crisis that exacerbated the rise of inflation plus top economists were warning last December 2020 that inflation would occur and that was even before President Biden took office. We also have right wingers doing whatever they can to keep COVID surging because they want the economy to suffer to they can sabotage President Biden. The GOP is anri American purposely trying to destroy the US economy and keep people sick and dying in America because they think it will help them sieze power. They tried it in 2020 and lost in a blowout election and they are trying a replay for 2022.
It’s not just the U.S.: Inflation alarm bells are also ringing in Japan and—most worryingly—in China
https://fortune.com/2021/11/11/us-inflation-rate-consumer-price-index-2021-china-japan/
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Why the silence as per Georgia in the Mainstream Media?
This is from a press release dated Nov 4, GA Democratic Party:
In Georgia’s November 2, 2021 statewide municipal elections, Democrats gained a net total of more than 30 seats and counting, including mayorships in Cairo, Stone Mountain, Hampton, and McDonough and crucial city council seats in Lawrenceville, Peachtree Corners, Sandy Springs, Tucker, Stone Mountain, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Kennesaw, and Powder Springs.
Throughout the municipal election season, the Democratic Party of Georgia (DPG) made nearly 91,000 calls and sent nearly 185,000 texts to voters across the state to get out the vote in dozens of targeted races.
Candidates in DPG-targeted races flipped 41 seats in 21 counties across Georgia, while Republican candidates picked up just 6. The counties that saw Democratic flips include Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Chatham, Clarke, Cobb, Cook, DeKalb, Fulton, Grady, Gwinnett, Heard, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Lanier, Meriwether, Mitchell, Oconee, Troup, and Walton.»
I follow politics religiously. Today is the 8th. And today was the first I’d heard of this.
I realize that nothing must ever disrupt professional punditry’s script. Last Tuesday, by their estimation, is the death throes of the Biden Administration because one state—which flipped 11 of 12 times last 12 elections to the party out of power in DC—flipped by a whopping 70,000 votes. Never mind New Jersey or all the municipal elections nationwide—why, Youngkin defeating a marginally popular retread means left wing Armageddon.
Kudos to Stacey A as always. But where o where was all this in the “wrap up” of the 2021 election?
Crickets.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/11/8/2063005/-Why-the-silence-as-per-Georgia-in-the-Mainstream-Media
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Here's another perfect example of why there is no "Liberal Media" in the United States. Right wing Ted Cruz was allowed to come on Face The Nation and spout off bogus conspiracies and right wing propaganda. If the media was so "liberal", wouldn't the networks stack these shows with all liberals? At least the host shut down the lies this time. Normally, hosts like Chuck Todd and Dana Bash will let these right wingers lie through their teeth and will never push back against them. At least Ted "Cancun" Cruz was called out for pushing bogus 'election fraud' conspiracies.
'You know that': CBS host shuts down Ted Cruz by reminding him 'there is no evidence of fraud' in 2020
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CBS host Margaret Brennan reminded Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Sunday that there is "no evidence of fraud" that would overturn the 2020 election.
During an interview on Face the Nation, Brennan asked Cruz about reports that he had spoken to former President Donald Trump on Jan. 6.
"You knew there was no congressional authority to overturn the election," the CBS host noted. "Didn't indulging the doubters damage our democracy and our standing in the world?"
For his part, Cruz said that he was unaware of media reports claiming that he had spoken to the then-president on the same day that the U.S. Capitol was attacked.
"I didn't happen to have any conversations with President Trump on Jan. 6," Cruz insisted. "I had many conversations with him in the days, weeks and months leading up to Jan. 6. I talk to the president sometimes as often as once a week or once a day."
The senator went on to claim that he had a "responsibility" to object to the certification of electoral votes and "to review the claims of voter fraud."
"You know what you're laying out is an intellectualized argument here is not what people gathered and chanting things like Mike Pence were talking about," Brennan pointed out. "You know that."
Cruz agreed that the violence on Jan. 6 was "horrific" and should be prosecuted. But he continued to insist that Republicans could have overturned the election by appointing an electoral commission.
"Because we right now have a substantial chunk of our country that has real doubts about the integrity of the election," he opined. "And if we had had a credible electoral commission do an emergency audit, it would have enhanced faith in democracy. But instead, Democrats and a lot of the press decided to just engage in incendiary rhetoric rather than acknowledge voter fraud is real. It is a problem. And the allegations of voter fraud needed to be examined on the merits."
Brennan interrupted: "OK, Senator, there is no evidence of fraud that would really have drawn the outcome of the election into doubt. You know that."
Cruz tried to argue that voter fraud is "persistent" but Brennan ignored him and moved on to the next question.
Watch the video below:
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This right winger Sean Parnell was accused of beating his wife and children. He just lost custody of his kids. Criminal Donald and the GOP backed him anyway. MAGA voters still would have voted for him. Not one Republican said a word about his abuse towards his wife and kids or disowned him. That's how disgusting these people are, the GOP supports and condones violence and now domestic violence. So much for the GOP "family values". Parnell publicly pretends to be "Pro Life" but behind the scenes was forcing his wife to get an abortion. These right wingers are total frauds.
Trump-backed Senate candidate to suspend campaign after losing custody of children
(https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/sean-parnell.jpg?id=28015263&width=980&height=551)
A Trump-backed United States Senate candidate is suspending his campaign after losing custody of his children after his estranged wife leveled shocking allegations of abuse against him.
Politico reports that Pennsylvania Senate hopeful Sean Parnell suspended his campaign shortly after losing the custody battle on Monday.
According to Politico's sources, Parnell even phoned Trump to personally inform him of his decision to suspend the campaign.
Laurie Parnell weeks ago testified under oath that Parnell both physically and emotionally abused her and their three children, and even told the court that he "tried to choke me out on a couch and I literally had to bite him to escape."
As the Philadelphia Inquirer reported at the time, Laurie Powell told the court that "her husband would call her a 'wh**e' and a 'piece of sh*t'" and "also testified that he once put her out of the car and left her by the road after they argued when he told her she had to get an abortion.
https://www.rawstory.com/sean-parnell-suspends-campaign/
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Why are Republicans against capping insulin prices at $35 per month?
Democrats reach deal on prescription-drug pricing shaped by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema
Congressional Democrats have come to terms on a prescription-drug plan favored by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema that brings the party a step closer to agreeing on a bill that is the cornerstone of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda.
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives accepted a deal to include rule changes expected to limit the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare recipients to $2,000 annually, including a $35 monthly cap on insulin charges.
The Sinema-backed drug plan tracks a bill from Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., that would cap out-of-pocket prices for Medicare recipients. Sinema, D-Ariz., lowered the insulin cap from $50 per month in the Peters bill to $35.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the agreement "a massive step forward" on addressing an issue that has long been among the Democrats' most important. He discussed the importance of Sinema's agreement. Among those Schumer singled out for praise was Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.
The deal on prescription drugs could help clear the way for Democrats to pass Biden's $1.75 trillion "Build Back Better" social spending plan, as well as the $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal Sinema helped broker this summer.
Republicans have largely rejected the Democratic agenda, saying it is too costly and expansive.
The prescription-drug plan came about after lengthy negotiations, especially in the past week, that involved Sinema, Kelly, the White House and others in Congress.
The plan would limit out-of-pocket costs to Medicare patients, though it would provide only limited authority for the government to leverage its buying power to lower pharmaceutical prices. Under the deal, the government can negotiate prices on the 10 priciest drugs that are commonly prescribed, which includes some medicine for cancer patients.
House Democrats had favored a more-expansive plan that would allow the government to negotiate with drugmakers more directly. That plan was led by Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Even so, the deal announced Tuesday could represent a key policy victory that has eluded Democrats for decades.
“The Senator welcomes a new agreement on a historic, transformative Medicare drug negotiation plan that will reduce out-of-pocket costs for seniors — ensuring drug prices cannot rise faster than inflation — save taxpayer dollars, and protect innovation to ensure Arizonans and Americans continue to have access to life-saving medications, and new cures and therapeutics,” Hannah Hurley, a Sinema spokesperson, said in a written statement.
Kelly, who made the issue of prescription-drug prices a major focus of his campaign, called the deal a "big win" for the elderly.
“Lowering the cost of prescription drugs has been one of my top priorities in the Senate, and I’ve been working on it over the past week with my colleagues in the Senate, House, and the White House," Kelly said in a written statement. "We’ve now reached an agreement that will drive down prescription drug prices, lower out-of-pocket costs for seniors, and prevent price gouging. This will be a big win for Arizona seniors and I’ll keep working to get it over the finish line.”
Others were less than effusive.
Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., implied that Sinema had held up progress on badly needed change.
"I've been pushing for Medicare to use its power to negotiate drug prices since I entered Congress — it will save Arizonans millions of dollars and it's the common-sense thing to do," Stanton said in a pair of tweets. "I'm grateful that after months of negotiations, the last Senate Democratic holdout now understands what it can mean to Arizona. It's time to put people — not Big Pharma — first."
The CEO of AARP, which bills itself as the nation's largest advocate for seniors, praised a deal to negotiate prices as a step in the right direction.
“There’s no greater issue affecting the pocketbooks of seniors on Medicare than the ever-increasing costs of prescription drugs. For decades, seniors have been at the mercy of Big Pharma. Allowing Medicare to finally negotiate drug prices is a big win for seniors," Jo Ann Jenkins said. "Preventing prices from rising faster than inflation and adding a hard out-of-pocket cap to (Medicare) Part D will provide real relief for seniors with the highest drug costs. Lawmakers must work quickly to turn today’s announcement into a legislative reality that delivers on the promises made to older Americans."
The deal would limit price increases on drug charges to Medicare recipients in line with inflation. Drugs that are not subject to exclusivity protections would also see cost rollbacks phased in over time.
It caps insulin costs at $35 monthly, with that provision to be expedited. It was not immediately clear how soon that could be implemented if the bill is passed into law.
Sinema has come under heavy criticism for months from people in her own party who have seen her as blocking the Democratic agenda. The prescription-drug issue enjoys relatively broad popularity, adding to the sense of frustration.
The pharmaceutical industry has resisted government pricing, arguing that it would inhibit its ability to develop new drugs, something that could especially apply to smaller companies that have a more-limited menu of approved medicines.
The House is hoping to vote on the social spending bill later this week, and it will now include the prescription-drug plan, something that had not been included in the White House framework announced last week.
The House is expected to vote on the Sinema-backed infrastructure bill this week. Both measures are expected to pass the Democratic-controlled chamber on party-line votes.
The social spending bill will go to the Senate, where the parliamentarian will pick through it to ensure it meets spending rules that allow the chamber to pass it on a simple majority vote. It would bypass a possible filibuster, but opens the door to an array of proposed amendments by Republicans intended to exert political pain on Democrats.
That will likely mean the Senate passes a bill that differs from the House's, requiring the House to pass the Senate-altered bill before it can go to Biden's desk.
Together, the legislation could reshape the rules and resources affecting a wide swath of policy concerns: child and elder care; construction of roads, railways and broadband connectivity; and climate-change mitigation. They are financed in part through tax hikes targeting corporations and the wealthy.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2021/11/02/democrats-reach-deal-on-prescription-drug-pricing-shaped-by-sen-kyrsten-sinema/6254224001/
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President Biden comes through again delivering for the American people and this time he will lower gas prices. Right wingers are angry. They should be happy we will have lower gas prices.
U.S. to release oil from reserves in coordination with other countries to lower gas prices
The U.S. will release 50 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the White House said Tuesday.
The move is a coordinated effort between energy-consuming nations including China and Japan to combat the rapid rise in energy prices.
Prior to Tuesday’s announcement the Biden Administration repeatedly said that it was looking at the tools at its disposal as prices at the pump hover around a seven-year high.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the administration will tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of a global effort from energy-consuming nations to calm 2021′s rapid rise in fuel prices.
The coordinated release between the U.S., India, China, Japan, Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom is the first such move of its kind.
In total, the U.S. will release 50 million barrels from the SPR. Of the total 32 million barrels will be an exchange over the next several months, while 18 million barrels will be an acceleration of a previously authorized sale.
“The President stands ready to take additional action, if needed, and is prepared to use his full authorities working in coordination with the rest of the world to maintain adequate supply as we exit the pandemic,” the White House said in a statement.
Tuesday’s announcement follows the administration saying for months that it was looking into the tools at its disposable as West Texas Intermediate crude futures surged to a seven-year high above $85.
Prices at the pump have followed the ascent, and are currently hovering around their highest level in seven years. The national average for a gallon of gas stood at $3.409 on Monday, according to AAA, up from $2.11 one year ago. Crude prices make up between 50% and 60% of what consumers pay to fill up their tanks, AAA said.
“This is a well timed move to try and lower oil prices,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital. “This added supply should help to bridge the production shortfall ahead of winter, especially if we get confirmation of meaningful supply, as well, from several of the major Asian consuming nations,” he added.
As of Nov. 19 the SPR held 604.5 million barrels spread across four sites, according to the Department of Energy. It takes 13 days after a presidential announcement for the oil to hit the market, according to DofE.
In total the SPR, which was founded in 1975 after the Arab Oil Embargo, can hold 727 million barrels.
The SPR can be tapped in three ways, according to the DofE: a full drawdown to counter a “severe energy interruption,” a limited drawdown of up to 30 million barrels, or a drawdown for an exchange or test sale.
U.S. oil dipped 1.9% to a session low of $75.30 per barrel following the announcement, before recovering some of those losses. The contract last traded 34 cents lower at $76.41. International benchmark Brent crude stood at $79.98 per barrel, for a gain of 34 cents.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/23/biden-says-us-will-tap-strategic-petroleum-reserve-as-gas-prices-hover-around-7-hear-high.html
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Here's the massive turkey shortage that Republicans are lying about! In fact most of these birds probably won't even be sold.
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The right wing media and right wing Republicans are lying because there's plenty of turkey to go round.
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The media shamefully claims gas prices is $5 when gas is under $3.
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Our President Joe Biden and our First Lady Jill Biden were at Fort Bragg serving our troops. It's great to have a President that respects our men and women in the military again.
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The Republicans are taking their terror campaign to the next level
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Republicans in Wisconsin have upped the operational tempo in their ongoing war on free and fair elections. Trump stalwart United States Senator Ron Johnson is exhorting state GOP legislators in his home state to illegally seize control of federal election administration over the objections of the governor. Johnson's plan is contravened not only by a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling, but also by a ruling of the US Supreme Court. But who's counting?
Johnson is buoyed by a fringe constitutional theory popularized by Trump lawyer John Eastman in his notorious coup memos. Eastman asserted that state legislatures had ultimate power over election administration, including the right to cast aside the popular vote for Biden and choose Trump electors instead, provided a Republican yells "fraud" loudly enough.
A long-awaited report commissioned by the Republican state legislature found no evidence of election fraud in 2020. Instead of reflecting on the life choices that have led their state to the brink of one-party rule, the Wisconsin GOP has redirected its rage towards the non-partisan Wisconsin Elections Commission. These legislators are looking for a pretext to abolish the WEC and usurp its powers.
The report alleged a handful of picayune violations of election law by the WEC, including sending absentee ballots to nursing homes. WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe defended her commission's work and said the report contains errors. These errors could have been resolved if the WEC had been allowed to review the report before publication, as audited agencies typically are. But the first rule of endlessly re-litigating the 2020 election is never to let the facts get in the way of a good smear.
Republican vindictiveness knows no bounds. It's not enough to slander Wolfe and her colleagues, and demand their resignations. Earlier this month, the Republican sheriff of Racine County asked the Republican district attorney to file felony charges against five of the WEC's six members. Their alleged crime? Helping little old ladies vote in nursing homes while protecting them from Covid.
If Racine County DA Patricia Hanson agrees to go along with this charade, these dedicated public servants could each be charged with two Class 1 felonies, which, in the vanishingly unlikely event they are convicted, could carry up to three and a half years in prison apiece.
Wisconsin law requires pairs of officials known as "special voting deputies" to visit every nursing home in the state twice to help residents vote. However, during that phase of the pandemic, most nursing homes banned all visitors, including the deputies. And for good reason. It didn't seem very safe to send these officials and their various hangers-on traipsing from one nursing home to the next, interacting with patients, and possibly spreading the virus.
Therefore, the WEC voted to stop trying to send deputies to nursing homes (where they were already banned) and instead to send absentee ballots to nursing homes. The sheriff alleges that illegal votes were cast because cognitively impaired residents were assisted in voting. This despite the fact that people with cognitive disabilities retain their right to vote in Wisconsin unless a judge determines that they are incompetent. A family member's gut feeling that Mom is too senile to vote is legally worthless.
Wolfe insists the decision to send absentee ballots was not only legal but required by state law: "The law says if you cannot accomplish those two visits by special voting deputies, if a voter cannot vote during those two visits, that you have to send the ballots to the voters in those care facilities," Wolfe explained. She also noted that if they hadn't sent absentee ballots, these elderly and disabled voters would have been disenfranchised.
Elections officials across the country have been subjected to death threats from voters who have been duped by the Big Lie of election fraud. The threat of felony charges is taking the terror campaign to the next level.
https://www.rawstory.com/redistricting/
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Ilhan Omar fact-checks 'buffoon' Lauren Bobert's lie: 'This whole story is made up'
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Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) went back to her home district for the Thanksgiving holiday, and while there she spoke to constituents where she made fun of her Democratic colleagues. However, it turns out that her story was all a lie.
According to Boebert, she was in a capitol elevator with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) when a Capitol police officer ran up.
"Well, she doesn't have a backpack. We should be fine," Boebert claimed she said, illuding to Omar being a terrorist because she's Muslim. She went on to call Omar a member of the "jihad squad."
But Omar is speaking out. After seeing the tweet, she tweeted that the incident never happened. In fact, Omar said that Boebert seems too scared to even look her even the eye.
"Fact, this buffoon looks down when she sees me at the Capitol, this whole story is made up," Omar tweeted Thursday evening. "Sad she thinks bigotry gets her clout. Anti-Muslim bigotry isn't funny & shouldn't be normalized. Congress can't be a place where hateful and dangerous Muslims tropes get no condemnation."
Click Link for racist video:
https://www.rawstory.com/ilhan-omar-fact-checks-lauren-boebert/
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Thanks Biden!
US. unemployment claims fall to 52-year low after seasonal adjustments
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plummeted last week to the lowest level in more than half a century, another sign that the U.S. job market is rebounding rapidly from last year’s coronavirus recession.
Jobless claims dropped by 71,000 to 199,000, the lowest since mid-November 1969. But seasonal adjustments around the Thanksgiving holiday contributed significantly to the bigger-than-expected drop. Unadjusted, claims actually ticked up by more than 18,000 to nearly 259,000.
The four-week average of claims, which smooths out weekly ups and downs, also dropped — by 21,000 to just over 252,000, the lowest since mid-March 2020 when the pandemic slammed the economy.
Since topping 900,000 in early January, the applications have fallen steadily toward and now fallen below their prepandemic level of around 220,000 a week. Claims for jobless aid are a proxy for layoffs.
Overall, 2 million Americans were collecting traditional unemployment checks the week that ended Nov. 13, down slightly from the week before.
“Overall, expect continued volatility in the headline figures, but the trend remains very slowly lower,” Contingent Macro Advisors wrote in a research note.
Until Sept. 6, the federal government had supplemented state unemployment insurance programs by paying an extra payment of $300 a week and extending benefits to gig workers and to those who were out of work for six months or more. Including the federal programs, the number of Americans receiving some form of jobless aid peaked at more than 33 million in June 2020.
The job market has staged a remarkable comeback since the spring of 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic forced businesses to close or cut hours and kept many Americans at home as a health precaution. In March and April last year, employers slashed more than 22 million jobs.
But government relief checks, super-low interest rates and the rollout of vaccines combined to give consumers the confidence and financial wherewithal to start spending again. Employers, scrambling to meet an unexpected surge in demand, have made 18 million new hires since April 2020 and are expected to add another 575,000 this month. Still, the United States remains 4 million short of the jobs it had in February 2020.
Companies now complain that they can’t find workers to fill job openings, a near-record 10.4 million in September. Workers, finding themselves with bargaining clout for the first time in decades, are becoming choosier about jobs; a record 4.4 million quit in September, a sign they have confidence in their ability to find something better.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/u-s-unemployment-claims-fall-to-52-year-low-after-seasonal-adjustments
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This is the GOP of today...vile, racist, and hateful of other religions. They mimic the behavior of Donald Trump because it plays well with his cult.
'Flat-out wrong' Lauren Boebert doesn't understand the meaning of Christianity: former GOP governor
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On CNN Friday, former Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) tore into Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) for likening Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) to a suicide bomber in a comment to supporters — and suggested that it is an indication her own religious faith is rotten.
"For a woman to make this kind of statement means she's ignoring the fact we're all made in the image of God," said Kasich. "We all deserve respect. We don't deserve attacks. People who laugh at this, they don't understand what faith is all about. We wonder in this country why there's so much fighting, why there's so much name-calling, not just in politics about across the board. It's because people have lost sight of how important religion is, in terms of guiding individual behavior, and it's not about the negatives. It's about the positives."
"The idea that somebody would say something like this means they have really little understanding of what it means to have faith," continued Kasich. "I can't question her or think she's not a faithful person, but it sure gives you a sense that she does not understand that that is completely and totally inappropriate, and, frankly, as a person that is a Christian, it's flat-out wrong and it's very disappointing. These things need to be healed. These things need to be observed if we're going to begin to heal this country."
Watch below:
'Absolute garbage rhetoric': Mitch McConnell adviser hammers Lauren Boebert on CNN
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On CNN Friday, former Mitch McConnell adviser Scott Jennings slammed Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) for her comments joking that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was a suicide bomber.
"Scott, was it just another day at the office and they got these folks in the far right in certain parts of the caucus that they just can't control?" asked anchor Jim Acosta.
"Senator McConnell serves in the Senate," said Jennings. "I guarantee you, I know what he's thinking. It's a garbage comment from a garbage politics. I'm as anti-Squad as the next [Republican], but there's plenty of ways to debate these folks without stooping to this garbage rhetoric. I noted, by the way, that Boebert has been forced to apologize. I assume that didn't happen in a vacuum, but she's of course committed the ultimate sin, which is the people she's being performative for here would say you never should apologize."
"Ultimately this is not the future of the party, not the future of the country, not the future of what any of us wants," added Jennings. "These are not the leaders that we need for America or for the Republican Party."
Watch below:
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This is a big deal. Less than 2 years ago, the economy was in freefall, unemployment was rising to Great Depression levels, workforce participation was falling, GDP collapsing and unconstrained disease spread. Electing responsible adults like President Biden matters. https://washingtonpost.com/business/2021/11/24/jobless-claims-pandemic/
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This is a historic jobs recovery: 5.6 million jobs have been created since President Biden took office and an unemployment rate of 4.6% two full years earlier than experts predicted was possible.
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Billions and trillions: Climate efforts set for big boost if Build Back Better bill passes
The Biden administration's $1 trillion infrastructure bill included historic levels of funding for climate projects, but it's the $2 trillion spending bill that has experts feeling optimistic.
For climate experts and policymakers, $1 trillion is just a start.
As the U.S. seeks to prove it’s serious about its international climate commitments, the focus now is on whether the Biden administration can pass its $2 trillion spending bill, which includes $555 billion to fight climate change and could be the new cornerstone of federal climate policy.
The $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by Congress this month already commits historic levels of funding for climate projects. But experts say the U.S. won’t reach its climate goals or restore its international credibility unless the administration can pass its Build Back Better bill, which features a variety of other climate initiatives and calls for significant investments in clean energy.
The sizable dollar figures offer a sense of the scale of the challenge the U.S. faces in rolling back its emissions, undoing some environmental damage and preparing for more climate-related natural disasters.
“These are the biggest pieces of climate policy legislation the U.S. has seen in a decade,” said Katharine Hayhoe, a climate researcher and the chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy. “The faster we can act, the better off we’ll be, because we’re already late to the table. The time for half-measures was 30 years ago.”
The provisions are particularly timely as the U.S. tries to move past President Donald Trump’s efforts to unwind significant climate efforts by pulling the country out of the Paris Agreement and killing a slew of environmental protections.
President Joe Biden’s participation in COP26, the worldwide summit on climate policy held in Scotland this month, marked the U.S.’s return to global climate negotiations after Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement in January.
U.S. officials at the conference faced an uphill fight to restore international trust in the U.S.’s climate commitments.
As part of Biden’s updated COP26 pledge, the U.S. aims to slash greenhouse gas emissions at least 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. David Waskow, the director of the International Climate Initiative at the World Resources Institute, a Washington-based nonprofit research organization, said the goal was “quite ambitious,” adding that the U.S.’s return to international diplomacy on climate change was significant in itself.
“It’s critical to remember that if you go back a year, there wouldn’t have been a U.S. administration that was engaging constructively in these talks,” Waskow said.
While Biden went to COP26 projecting a new tone, the country’s ability to deliver on its 2030 targets is likely to hinge on the success of infrastructure projects and the outcome of the Build Back Better Act, which, if it passes, could wind up being significantly scaled back.
Both are needed to meet the country’s emissions goals, experts say.
The infrastructure bill will harden the country’s roadways and ports to better deal with the effects of climate change, but it offers comparatively less to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that will intensify climate change.
In Washington state, for example, projects funded by the bill are expected to help re-engineer roads and bridges for a warmer and wetter future, boost transit projects like light rail and improve stream passageways for fish struggling with climate change.
Flooding this month following record rainfall in parts of Western Washington sent landslides onto the state’s most-traveled interstate and poured floodwaters into small towns — a preview of what climate scientists expect more often.
“All of the money to some degree has a bearing on our ability to be more resilient,” said Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat who ran a 2020 presidential campaign centered on climate action. “But it doesn’t get us close to what we need to reduce the rate at which these floods get worse.”
The infrastructure bill will spend about $70 billion to upgrade the country’s electricity grid and $7.5 billion more to build a network of charging stations for electric vehicles, which could hasten the transition away from gas-guzzling cars.
But from Inslee’s perspective, it offers only a “step” toward progress, whereas the Build Back Better bill’s clean energy investments would be “transformative.”
The act calls for spending more than a half-trillion dollars on clean energy investments, incentives and tax credits to shift the economy away from fossil fuels.
Analysis by the independent Rhodium Group says the budget bill could reduce U.S. carbon emissions by nearly a gigaton, which would be about equivalent to removing the yearly emissions of light-duty vehicles from U.S. roadways. Combining the budget bill with the infrastructure bill and state and local regulations, the U.S. could meet Biden’s 2030 emissions target, with the budget bill representing the “lion’s share” of reductions, the analysis says.
“There’s no question that the Build Back Better Act is crucial. It can drive the U.S. a substantial distance toward achieving the 50 to 52 percent reduction,” Waskow said.
The legislation also prioritizes environmental justice by earmarking 40 percent of the overall benefits of investment for disadvantaged communities.
The infrastructure bill committed $216 million to the Bureau of Indian Affairs specifically for climate resilience projects in Indian County, according to the White House. About $130 million of the money will go toward relocation projects for tribes that need to move away from climate hazards.
Some tribal communities — including many in Alaska — may need to move in the coming decades because of climate hazards like coastal erosion, flooding and thawing permafrost, the Government Accountability Office said in a report last year.
Fawn Sharp, the vice president of the Quinault Indian Nation, whose seaside villages in Washington state face threats from tsunamis, coastal erosion and rising sea levels, estimated that her community needs at least $150 million to complete plans to uproot for higher ground — at least $20 million more than what is committed to all tribes.
“It’s unprecedented and a level of funding we’ve not seen in our lifetime,” Sharp, the president of the National Congress of American Indians, said broadly of the infrastructure bill. “While this is significant, we have a long way to go to restore tribal nations.”
Climate scientist Jonathan Foley sees reasons to feel encouraged even beyond what happens in Congress.
“Sometimes we get obsessed with these large policies, as if they’re going to save the world, but the real work of reducing emissions and addressing climate change is often lots of invisible forces working every single day,” said Foley, the executive director of Project Drawdown, a nonprofit organization that provides resources about climate solutions.
Market forces and technological advances have, for example, helped drive down the cost of solar and wind power, which in turn is contributing to the shift away from fossil fuels. Vocal opposition, led in particular by young activists, is also pressuring government officials to act, Foley said.
“Good policymakers can accelerate change, but activism, technology and markets are already getting things done on their own,” he said. “That has nothing to do with who is in the White House.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/climate-change-efforts-set-big-boost-build-back-better-bill-passes-rcna6471
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Biden administration approves second major offshore wind project, to provide power to N.Y.
The administration plans to build at least 16 offshore wind energy facilities by 2025
The Biden administration said Wednesday it plans to build a wind farm off Rhode Island to supply power to New York.
The approval from the Interior Department paves the way for the country's second large-scale offshore wind farm after a similar project got underway in Massachusetts. The administration aims to put the U.S. on a path to generate 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, powering about 10 million homes.
“We have no time to waste in cultivating and investing in a clean energy economy that can sustain us for generations,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement Wednesday.
The approximately 130-megawatt project — 19 miles southeast of Block Island, Rhode Island, and 35 miles east of Montauk Point, New York — will eventually power about 70,000 homes on Long Island and create more than 300 jobs, the Biden administration said.
The Interior Department said it adopted “a range of measures” to “avoid, minimize, and mitigate potential impacts that could result from the construction and operation of the proposed project.” It said it consulted with tribes, local governments and industries.
Construction began last week on the first major offshore project — an 800-megawatt wind farm 15 miles off Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The project is expected to start sending power to the grid in 2023.
The administration plans to build at least 16 offshore wind energy facilities by 2025.
The U.S. is a latecomer in the global race to build offshore wind farms to lower carbon emissions. Many countries have already expanded their renewable energy capabilities using offshore wind projects.
Worldwide, 6.1 gigawatts were created by new offshore wind projects last year, according to a recent report by the Global Wind Energy Council. China led the pack, adding more than 3 gigawatts, followed by the Netherlands, with 1.5 gigawatts, and Belgium, with 706 megawatts, the report said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/biden-administration-approves-second-major-offshore-wind-project-provide-power-n1284601?icid=recommended
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Racists like Lauren Boebert have no business being in Congress. This is a woman who's been arrested several times over her lifetime and is a high school dropout. But as long as she holds up a semi automatic weapon and spouts off racist and anti Democratic rhetoric the racist maga base will always vote for degenerates like this. Boebert spouted off a racist rant at an event against a Democratic member of Congress. Then in a private conversation she doubled down with her racism. Congress needs to censure her as well. These racists have no business representing districts in America.
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What do you expect from a woman who is a High School dropout? Unfortunately, this type of behavior will never end until the GOP has respectable people in their party and I don't see that happening. The MAGA crowd like Boebert is there to mimic Donald Trump, so they will be hateful, vile, racist, and defend violence as their "message" because it plays well with the base and that's the "message" they accept. That's why Greene, Gosar, etc. act the way they do and others will all behave the same way.
'This has to stop': GOP congressman slams Lauren Boebert's 'high-school level' behavior
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On Monday's edition of CNN's "OutFront," Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) fiercely condemned the remarks by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) suggesting that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) is a terrorist.
"You know, this really went from ugly to uglier, just when you thought it couldn't get more ridiculous in the House of Representatives," said anchor Kate Bolduan. "I mean, what — what do you think of this?"
"I would agree," said Reed, a former leader of the House Problem Solvers' Caucus who is retiring from Congress. "I mean, first, obviously, I disagree and condemn the kind of comments that were made by my colleague in Congress towards a fellow colleague on the other side of the aisle. But you're absolutely right. This is a pox on all our houses. And I would just tell you, this rhetoric, this type of commentary, has to stop. We need to focus on the American people and solving their problems. That's got to be the mission. But these — these types of rhetoric exchanges are very disappointing."
"I mean, Boebert's a flamethrower and clearly doesn't care," said Bolduan. "But this is — as you are getting at, this is bigger than her. It speaks to kind of a larger, more insidious problem of, if you allow this type of behavior to slide, if you try not to give it oxygen or attention, Congressman, hasn't the last Congress shown that it only gets worse?"
"I would agree, that you have to confront this but you have to look at the bigger picture here, too," said Reed. "Like — like you are articulating. This is the institution of Congress, this is the People's House and we have to respect each other. We can — we can disagree. I am a proud Republican. I know colleagues on the other side who are proud Democrats. But it doesn't mean we go into that chamber not united as Americans first. We are American citizens that should be working together, as opposed to engaging in what could be called antics of a high-school level nature at times."
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These radical right wingers only want to promote racism and hate. We have right wing anti American traitors like Lauren Boebert leading the way fueling this hate movement.
CNN releases shocking new video of Lauren Boebert: ‘We see her for who she is’
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Controversial Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) has spent days receiving criticism for her bigoted remarks about Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
In a video that went viral, Boebert told a story suggesting Omar, who is Muslim, should be considered a potential suicide-bombing terrorist. She said Omar belonged to the "Jihad Squad."
On Tuesday, CNN broadcast new video showing that Boebert told a similar story — with enough differences to draw the credibility of both of her accounts into question.
"More just-see-it-for-yourself evidence today of the hate and bigotry in the Republican ranks," CNN's John King reported. "This new video is from a September Republican fundraiser, Boebert not only tells her elevator story, she also calls Omar and another Muslim of Congress black-hearted and evil."
King described why he found the video to be so powerful, noting that, "our eyes and ears don't lie. We see her for what she is and what she believes."
Watch:
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Republicans love fascism and authoritarian dictators and they are hellbent on ending our democracy and turning our country into another 1940's Germany. They meet with and drool over dictators. White supremacist Tucker Carlson interviewed one this year.
Marco Rubio met with far-right candidate tied to Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship
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Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) reportedly met with a far-right Chilean presidential candidate who defends military dictator Augusto Pinochet.
"José Antonio Kast is locked in a runoff election against a left-wing challenger and is often referred to as Chile’s Jair Bolsonaro, the would-be dictator in Brazil who regularly speaks warmly of his own nation’s time under a military dictatorship. Rubio, who is Cuban American and a member of the Republican Party, has long had links to the Latin American right," The Intercept reported Wednesday.
The Spanish news site Emol published a photo of the two.
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"Kast’s family has deep ties to the dictatorship. His father, Michael Kast, was a lieutenant in the Nazi army before fleeing to Chile and raising sons who shared his far-right politics. One son, Miguel Kast, was appointed by Pinochet to be minister of labor and then president of the central bank," The Intercept reported. "He was one of the so-called Chicago Boys, a collection of young economists trained by Milton Friedman, set loose on Chile to launch a neoliberal experiment that saw social spending slashed and wealth funneled upward to the very rich. Christian Kast, according to journalist Javier Rebolledo’s book A La Sombra De Los Cuervos, was linked to peasant massacres under Pinochet, and José Antonio Kast campaigned against the the plebiscite that rewrote the Chilean Constitution and paved the way for Pinochet’s removal. 'I’m not a pinochetista, but I value everything he did,' Kast has said, adding that the dictatorship 'laid the foundations of modernity.'"
The runoff election is Dec. 19.
https://theintercept.com/2021/12/01/marco-rubio-chile-pinochet-jose-antonio-kast/
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GOP anti-Biden revolt officially thwarted as Senate passes bill to stop government shutdown
https://www.rawstory.com/government-shutdown/
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38 House Democrats sign letter demanding Boebert be stripped of committee assignments for ‘weaponizing bigotry’
Thirty-eight Democrats from the House Progressive Caucus have signed on to a letter calling for leadership to strip committee assignments from U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who was seen in at least three videos suggesting Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) is a terrorist.
The lawmakers in a statement cite Boebert's "Islamophobic comments and incitement of anti-Muslim animus," and note Omar has been ther target of "death threats and vitriol" as a result. Representatives Jamaal Bowman (NY), Cori Bush (MO), André Carson (IN), and Pramila Jayapal (WA) led the move.
They say that Boebert "has repeatedly weaponized dangerous, anti-Muslim bigotry" at Rep. Ilhan Omar.
"Instead of apologizing, Rep. Boebert has continued her Islamophobic rhetoric and chosen to spread hateful speech even further," which they warn "creates a dangerous work environment and furthers a climate of toxicity and intolerance."
They also chastise House Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's "decision to allow and embolden continued hostility from his members," which they say "speaks clearly to the Republican party's willingness to allow hate and division to grow at the expense of our people, our values, and our institutions."
In at least one of the videos Boebert says Congresswoman Omar is "black-hearted" and "evil." In two separate videos speaking to different audiences Boebert tells two very different versions of a story centered around being in an elevator with Omar but noting that because she wasn't wearing a "backpack" she was unafraid. Omar calls the entire story fake.
"Congress cannot forgo accountability when a Member engages in hate speech that dehumanizes not only a colleague, but an entire people," the House Democrats' letter also says. "We cannot be complicit as members of this body, who swore an oath to protect and defend the constitution of the United States, trample on the fundamental right of religious freedom."
Axios' Andrew Solender reports Rep. Jayapal "told me today me Pelosi has been 'reaching out to Ilhan today.'" He posted their letter:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FFoOvH7XwAkQtN4?format=png&name=small)
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Senate Approves Spending Bill Averting Government Shutdown
Fight over vaccine rules threatened to slow progress on legislation, which passed House earlier in the day and now goes to Biden
https://www.wsj.com/articles/lawmakers-reach-deal-to-prevent-government-shutdown-11638454923
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This is the garbage being put out by the right wing media. They aren't talking about the nearly 6 million jobs President Biden created which is the fastest job creation in history. They aren't talking about unemployment going down to 4.2% in record time. Nope, they are going back to their oldies but goodies greatest hits of lying right wing propaganda trying to smear Democrats based on an outright lie. The phony right wing media is telling their viewers that "Biden and the Democrats declared a war on Christianity". What an absolute joke. President Biden is a devout Catholic and goes to church every Sunday. Nancy Pelosi is a Catholic as well as many Democrats are in the Party. First Lady Jill Biden has beautifully decorated The White House in an amazing Christmas display. But these right wing liars make fun of the decorations and still make the false claim about the imaginary war Democrats have on Christianity. And here we have these right wingers worshipping an orange charlatan as their "God" which is blasphemous anyway trying to smear Democrats. Totally pathetic and you get zero news from those right wing outlets, only phony propaganda. Here's what the right wing media doesn't want you to know.
Newsmax host attacks Biden and entire Democratic party for declaring ‘war on Christianity’
https://www.rawstory.com/newsmax-host-falsely-biden-and-entire-democratic-party-for-declaring-war-on-christianity/
Here's what President Biden has accomplished so far in record time!
Unemployment is down to 4.2% three years faster than experts predicted. That’s the American Rescue Plan passed by Democrats at work.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FFtp3kaXIAcC5jD?format=jpg&name=medium)
What a remarkable turnaround from the 2020 Trump Disaster. President Biden's leadership has cut unemployment to a record low, employed more Americans, and saved more money for hard working Americans.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FFtwI0QXsAE34rF?format=jpg&name=medium)
Household survey is everything you want to see. More people in the labor force, more people working, fewer unemployed or not in labor force. This is a Biden success!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FFr8i3uWYA4wMvw?format=jpg&name=large)
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This is just sickening. Innocent children are being murdered by these same assault weapons in mass shootings and these right wingers are glorifying semi automatic weapons in Christmas photos with their families. Families in Michigan will be without their sons and daughters this Christmas because Republicans refuse to pass gun control legislation which will prevent these mass shootings from happening. But they claim to be "Pro Life" and standing up for the "sanctity of life". What an absolute joke.
GOP lawmaker blasted for posting family Christmas photo with assault rifles in wake of Mich. massacre
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Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie sparked intense backlash on Saturday when he posted a photo that appeared to show seven members of his family, including himself, brandishing assault rifles in front of a Christmas tree.
"Merry Christmas!," Massie wrote above the photo on Twitter alongside a Christmas tree emjoi.
"ps. (SIC) Santa, please bring ammo," he added, followed by a gift emoji.
Massie's photo generated thousands of responses, with many pointing out that it seemed particularly tone deaf in the wake of yet another deadly high-profile school shooting.
Four people were killed Tuesday at Oxford High School in Michigan by a 15-year-old whose parents are now charged with involuntary manslaughter for giving him access to a gun.
Shortly after Massie posted the photo, the father of a Parkland, Florida school shooting victim appeared on CNN to discuss the Oxford tragedy.
Host Jim Acosta asked Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin "Guac" Oliver was one of 17 people murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, about his reaction to Massie's photo.
"That’s a huge part of the problem," Oliver responded. "Someone elected leaders like this one that think that — I don't know if they're trying to be ironic, funny, or what — but it's the worst taste ever. ... It's a very nasty post."
Watch below:
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In order to be seen as viable in the GOP, all you need to do is embrace bogus conspiracy theories and preach Trump's racism and hate, then the MAGA crowd will love you. You don't even need to talk any real solid policies that will help these people in their everyday lives. Just make up fake conspiracy theories and base your platform on racism and these people will support you 100%. A perfect example is the current situation in Congress. Republicans voted against Covid Relief for Americans. They voted against money that went hard working Americans after Trump destroyed our economy. They voted against the Infrastructure Bill which repairs our crumbling infrastructure and creates thousands of good paying jobs in every major American and suburban city. Not to mention broadband internet to rural areas and brand new roads for them. The Build Back Better Act caps insulin at $35 but Republicans are against that and want people to pay the full outrageous price of $1200 a month where most people can't afford it. Republicans are also against raising the minimum wage so their own constituents can get above the poverty line. So, these Republican voters are voting against their own interests. Democrats are helping them everyday while the people they support in the Republican party are voting against them and their well being. But it doesn't matter to them because as long as these right wingers keep pushing racism and keeping their voters angry, that's all they care about and they ignore the fact the GOP party keeps voting against them.
Nebraska's GOP governor is ramping up the 'nuttiness' as he embraces Trump's policies
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According to a report from the Daily Beast's Noah Kirsch, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) is trying to turn himself into a national player in the Republican Party by ramping up the "nuttiness quotient" and embracing far-right conspiracies.
As Kirsch notes, Ricketts previously kept his distance from former president Donald Trump but is now "embracing" the way the former president gained a mass audience while using the president's extremist playbook.
"Billionaire’s scion and Nebraska governor Pete Ricketts set a high watermark for controversy during his first six years in office. There was his 'crazy' refusal to lock down the state despite a surge of COVID-19 cases, the unearthed racist messages from his former campaign field director, and his maskless gabfest at a sports bar on election night 2020. (The restaurant worker who filmed the governor was fired)," the report states before adding, "Yet in recent months the nuttiness quotient has somehow metastasized."
According to political observers, Ricketts seems to have his eye on higher office, positioning himself for a possible cabinet position in the next Republican administration or, looking higher, the vice-presidential spot on the ticket.
Explained John McCollister, a Republican member of the Nebraska Legislature, "I think he’s gunning for either a cabinet office when a Republican president takes over in ’24 or a vice presidential slot. It’s ironic because he [initially] didn’t support Trump, but he’s embracing Trumpian types of policies now. I’d say during his first term, when I was in the legislature, he wasn’t embracing so many of these cultural issues.”
Another Nebraska politico claimed Ricketts seems to be trying to catch Trump's eye and attract the attention of his rabid followers.
“The only thing I can think of is that he expects Donald Trump to be a factor in the next election, whether he is a nominee or whether he anoints somebody else… and I think [Ricketts] is trying to appeal to the Trump faction of the party," the official explained.
As Kirsch notes, Ricketts can count on the support of his wealthy family which "collectively owns a majority stake in the Chicago Cubs," and "owes much of its wealth to the online brokerage TD Ameritrade" to fund his ambitions.
Noting the governor's previous resistance to Trump, the report states, "Pete Ricketts ultimately endorsed Trump, who infamously launched his campaign by calling many Mexican immigrants criminals and 'rapists.' Now, as the governor seems to be contemplating a similar presidential bid, he is fanning flames of his own, " with Kirsch writing that locals believe, "the governor seems to believe that political wedge issues offer his best shot at national office."
Read more:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-is-nebraska-governor-pete-ricketts-acting-extra-crazy
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GOP lawmakers inadvertently exposed their fake populism at recent House hearing
Some analyses of Trumpism and Republican populism have claimed to detect a strain of anti-corporate sentiment. It is true that today’s right-wingers are willing to criticize big tech companies for supposedly treating them unfairly, but most of the time the GOP continues to serve the interests of big business.
That was clear during an important hearing just held by the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on antitrust, commercial and administrative law. Subcommittee chair David Cicilline (D-R.I.), vice-chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), other Democratic members and the witnesses all raised serious questions about the current regulatory system, focusing on issues such as disclosure and social equity.
The Republicans, on the other hand, did their best to change the subject or spoke in favor of less rather than more oversight. Ranking member Ken Buck (R-Colo.) used his opening remarks to attack “executive overreach” and praise the Trump Administration’s wholesale attack on regulation.
Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) spent his time attacking what he claimed was a plan by the Justice Department to treat parents critical of school boards as domestic terrorists. One of the witnesses, NAACP climate justice director Jacqueline Patterson, was asked by Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) whether she was a revolutionary. She was also chastised for a facetious tweet about vaccines. The comments of GOP members on regulation were mainly limited to attacks on “woke bureaucrats.”
Despite these antics, there was a serious exchange between the Democrats and the witnesses on the failures of the current regulatory system. These issues are also addressed in the Stop Corporate Capture Act introduced by Rep. Jayapal. The legislation would create more transparency in rulemaking, reduce corporate influence over the process and create a framework for considering social equity. It would fine companies that lie about the impact of public interest rules. It would also create a Public Advocate to provide for more robust public participation.
It turns the usual discussion on its head. Rejecting the idea of executive overreach, the bill correctly diagnoses the problem as a situation of what one might call regulatory anemia. Agencies are not aggressive enough in tackling serious problems relating to the environment, the workplace and the marketplace. The parties meant to be targeted instead are playing an outsized role in creating the rules. Hence the reference in the bill’s title to regulatory capture.
Jayapal’s proposal is what one might call a populist approach to reforming the regulatory system—one that is not likely to receive support from corporate lobbyists. When they are not simply kicking up dust, Republicans, by contrast, are doing the bidding of big business by continuing the Trump Administration’s drumbeat against regulation.
This is one of those areas in which the conventional labels of U.S. politics continue to baffle me. Why are those working to benefit giant corporations called populists, while those who are seeking to rein in that power are called elitists?
https://www.rawstory.com/gop-lawmakers-inadvertently-exposed-their-fake-populism-at-recent-house-hearing/
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President Biden is moving the country forward and is cleaning up the Trump economic disaster that devastated America.
ADP: Employers Added 571,000 Jobs in October, Beating Expectations:
Large companies in the services sector powered the strong monthly performance.
November 3, 2021
Employers added 571,000 jobs in October, above expectations, according to a monthly survey released Wednesday by private payroll firm ADP.
Gains were strongest among large companies, with increases of 342,000, and heavily concentrated in the services sector of the economy, with 458,000 new hires. The leisure and hospitality industry added 185,000 jobs.
Economists had been looking for 400,000 jobs to be created following September's increase of 568,000.
"The labor market showed renewed momentum last month, with a jump from the third quarter average of 385,000 monthly jobs added, marking nearly 5 million job gains this year," said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. "Service sector providers led the increase and the goods sector gains were broad based, reporting the strongest reading of the year. Large companies fueled the stronger recovery in October, marking the second straight month of impressive growth."
Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, which helps ADP prepare the report, said, "The job market is revving back up as the Delta-wave of the pandemic winds down. Job gains are accelerating across all industries, and especially among large companies. As long as the pandemic remains contained, more big job gains are likely in coming months.
The report comes two days before the Labor Department issues the monthly jobs numbers for October, with economists expecting close to 400,000 new jobs added in the month following September's disappointing 194,000 reading.
The labor market has been recovering, albeit unevenly, from the effects of the coronavirus which saw 22 million Americans lose their jobs in April of last year. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, has fallen to 4.8%.
But companies say they find it difficult to find workers and are having to pay higher wages and offer flexible schedules to attract jobseekers. Nonetheless, companies continue to post jobs and say they expect robust hiring ahead.
Data from HireVue, a firm that provides businesses with virtual interviewing technology, says interviews picked up in October, with tech companies seeing the biggest increase, completing 66.3% more interviews than in September, with retailers completing 64.7% more interviews.
A separate report from ADP found that wage growth, which picked up sharply following the pandemic, is now returning to more normal levels. Wages grew 3.3% during the third quarter overall, but for job switchers the pace was double at 6.6%.
The health of the job market is one of two factors the Federal Reserve Board is considering as it decides when to begin "tapering" its $120-billion-per-month purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. The central bank is widely expected to announce later Wednesday that it will cut that amount by $15 billion a month with a goal of ending the pandemic-era program by the middle of next year.
The other factor is inflation and there the news is not as sanguine. Consumer prices have been running about 5% higher year over year in 2021 and there are indications an inflation mindset has begun to set in that could make the Fed's job more difficult going forward.
It also complicates the political situation in Washington as President Joe Biden seeks to pass twin infrastructure bills with a razor-thin margin in Congress, which now seems even more in peril following Tuesday's election results which saw a Republican take the Virginia governor's race and a closer-than-expected contest for governor in the reliably Democrat state of New Jersey.
"An unmorring of inflation expectations can be self-fulfilling and self-perpetuating," economists Joseph LaVorgna and Troy Ludtka of Natixis CIB wrote Tuesday. "University of Michigan 5-year ahead inflation expectations have risen to a 10-year high but are still within their long-term range."
"However, the New York Fed's consumer price series has bounded higher," they added. "Is the U of M series headed for an upside breakout? We think so."
https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2021-11-03/adp-employers-added-571-000-jobs-in-october-beating-expectations
Companies add 571,000 jobs in October thanks to a big boost in hospitality hires, ADP says
Companies added 571,000 jobs for the month, beating the 395,000 Dow Jones estimate.
Leisure and hospitality led the way with 185,000 new positions.
Large businesses were by far the biggest creators, adding 458,000
Private sector job creation popped higher in October thanks to a burst in hiring in the hospitality sector, payroll processing firm ADP reported Wednesday.
Companies added 571,000 for the month, beating the 395,000 Dow Jones estimate and just ahead of September’s downwardly revised 523,000. It was the best month for jobs since June.
Leisure and hospitality, a category that includes bars, restaurants, hotels and the like, saw a gain of 185,000 for a sector that remains well below its pre-pandemic employment level. The sector is seen as a proxy for an economic recovery that stalled over the summer due to a rise in the Covid delta variant and a massive clog in supply lines.
“The job market is revving back up as the delta wave of the pandemic winds down,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, which aids ADP in compiling the report. “Job gains are accelerating across all industries, and especially among large companies. As long as the pandemic remains contained, more big job gains are likely in coming months.”
Growth in the sector helped fuel an overall 458,000 gain in services jobs.
Professional and business services also contributed 88,000 hires, trade transportation and utilities added 78,000, and education and health services jobs were up 56,000.
On the goods-producing side, which added 113,000 positions, construction was up 54,000 and manufacturing contributed 53,000.
From a size standpoint, businesses with more than 500 employees by far led the way with 342,000 new hires. Businesses with fewer than 50 workers added 115,000 and medium-sized firms increased by 114,000.
The ADP report comes two days before the Labor Department’s more closely watched nonfarm payrolls count, which is projected to show an increase of 450,000, according to Dow Jones.
While ADP can serve as a precursor to the government’s count, the two can differ widely.
In September, ADP’s tally of private payroll creation – initially at 568,000 before being revised lower by 45,000 – was well above the Labor Department’s 317,000. The total nonfarm payrolls count for September was just 194,000, well below estimates and held back by a loss of 123,000 government jobs.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/03/private-payrolls-up-571000-in-october-on-jump-in-hospitality-hires-topping-395000-estimate-.html
All of which is all well and good. But the one reason I intend to vote for Biden in 2024, or whoever the Democratic nominee is, is because I am confidence that the Democratic nominee does not intend to become President for Life. Anything else that President Biden can give us, more jobs, a better economy, save the Ukraine, is gravy. But maintaining America as a democracy, a land where the will of the people means something, and can not be overturned by false claims of stolen elections, is President’s Biden most important job. I wish him every success.
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All of which is all well and good. But the one reason I intend to vote for Biden in 2024, or whoever the Democratic nominee is, is because I am confidence that the Democratic nominee does not intend to become President for Life. Anything else that President Biden can give us, more jobs, a better economy, save the Ukraine, is gravy. But maintaining America as a democracy, a land where the will of the people means something, and can not be overturned by false claims of stolen elections, is President’s Biden most important job. I wish him every success.
Hi Joe,
I definitely agree with you on that. Preserving our democracy is the main important issue going forward and keeping the radical GOP out of office. We can't allow a party that supports fascism and neo nazi hate groups to be in power. Especially one that won't hold a criminal accountable for his crimes. And a party who has ties to insurrectionists.
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Congress reaches agreement to avert calamitous US debt default
US senators struck a deal Tuesday to create a one-time law allowing Democrats to lift the nation's borrowing authority and avert a catastrophic credit default without requiring votes from the opposition Republicans.
The House of Representatives approved the fix in an evening vote and it is expected to be approved by the Senate in the coming days -- allowing lawmakers to avert the crisis with a simple 51-vote majority in the upper chamber.
The Bipartisan Policy Center said last week it expected the United States would no longer be able to meet its debt repayment obligations between December 21 and January 28. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has put the deadline even earlier -- next Wednesday.
"Nobody wants to see the US default on its debts. As Secretary Yellen has warned, a default could eviscerate everything we've done to recover from the Covid crisis," Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor of the chamber.
"We don't want to see that, I don't believe we will see that, and I continue to thank all my colleagues for cooperating in good faith to preserve the full faith and credit of the United States."
America spends more money than it collects through taxation, so it borrows money via the issuing of government bonds, seen as among the world's most reliable investments.
Around 80 years ago, lawmakers introduced a limit on how much federal debt could be accrued.
The ceiling has been lifted dozens of times to allow the government to meet its spending commitments -- usually without drama and with the support of both parties -- and stands at around $29 trillion.
Democratic leaders have spent weeks underlining the havoc that a default would have wrought, including the loss of an estimated six million jobs and $15 trillion in household wealth, as well as increased costs for mortgages and other borrowing.
But Republicans in both chambers of Congress initially objected to helping raise the limit this time around, saying they refused to support President Joe Biden's "reckless" taxing and spending plans.
In reality, both parties see raising the borrowing cap as politically toxic, and Republicans hope to weaponize the issue in the 2022 midterm election campaign.
Under the complex, multi-step compromise proposed Tuesday, the Republicans can essentially stand on the sidelines, offering help to create the new law but offering no votes to increase the limit.
Congress would have to specify the exact dollar amount of a new borrowing cap -- likely upwards of $30 trillion.
After the Senate has followed the House in approving the new process, both chambers are expected to pass the extension by simple majority votes ahead of the deadline.
Crucially, Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republicans in the Senate, is backing the process.
"I think this is in the best interest of the country, by avoiding default," he told reporters when questioned about the convoluted approach.
Agence France-Presse
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Devin Nunes' resignation reveals a depressing truth about the destruction of democracy
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In any time before, leaving Congress to work for Donald Trump would be a huge financial step down in the world, like trading a job as a corporate lawyer for selling handmade Christmas ornaments in the park. Trump is, after all, one of the most spectacularly incompetent businessmen of all time. He is a man who was gifted a real estate empire and a billion dollars by his father and producer Mark Burnett, yet somehow managed not only to burn through all that money but also to go another one billion dollars into debt. Leaving your cush job as a congressman on the verge of chairing a prominent House committee to work for the guy who somehow lost $2 billion seems like a bad bet. But it's a bet that Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., is taking.
On Monday, the Trump loyalist announced that he's leaving the House to take a job as the CEO of the newly-formed Trump Media & Technology Group, even though, as Jon Skolnik reports for Salon, "Trump's new social media platform is reportedly under investigation by federal regulators." While it's tempting to snicker at Nunes and hope this business venture fails as badly as every other Trump business, the depressing truth is that Nunes is probably right that this is a cash cow. Due to the huge right-wing base that can be endlessly milked for profit, being a fascist stooge these days is like printing money.
For proof, look no further than this new report from the Washington Post, exposing how lucrative it was for Trump lawyer Sidney Powell to spread lies about President Joe Biden "stealing" the 2020 election. In the months after the November election, Powell raised an eye-popping $14 million "from donors inspired by her fight to reverse the outcome of the vote," the Post reports. Unsurprisingly, "questions about where the money was going" have led to "acrimony between Powell and her top lieutenants," as they scuffle over these ill-gotten gains.
Or take the example of former White House advisor Steve Bannon, who seems to be doing just fine, grifting-wise, even though he literally got arrested in 2020 on charges of defrauding donors for his phony "border wall" project. Bannon was pardoned in the hours before Trump was finally forced to leave the White House, but got right back to shaking down gullible MAGAheads for money. As a report by ProPublica published last month shows, Bannon has set up an elaborate scheme to make money off Google Ads, despite the company's policies against funding violently fascist propaganda. Bannon's front page on his website tricks the ad algorithim with "innocuous stock content, such as tips on how to protect your phone in winter weather." Right below, however, is a video player that "routinely portrays participants in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot as patriots and airs false claims about the 2020 election and the COVID-19 pandemic." All funded, inadvertently, by "prominent brands as Land Rover, Volvo, DoorDash, Staples and even Harvard University."
Right-wing politics have always been deeply intertwined with sleazy and even illegal grifting schemes meant to separate elderly racists from their kids' inheritance. Nearly every right-wing figurehead has an email newsletter that directs readers to dish out money for fake cancer cures, gold bug scams, and useless "survivalist" goods. But after the failed January 6 insurrection, there's expanded opportunity for pumping the right-wing base for money, with promises that democracy will be overturned and power restored to a shrinking conservative minority.
To be certain, Trumpists like Powell and Bannon are entirely sincere about their hopes that they can gut electoral systems and install Trump as an illegitimate authoritarian president. But they also recognize how the millions of Americans who share those hopes are only too happy to turn over their retirement accounts for the fascist cause.
Of course, there is no bigger fraudster than Trump himself.
Trump's supposed media company, the one Nunes is joining, is looking very much like an elaborate scam. Trump has raised hundreds of millions of dollars of investor funds, even though, as Matt Levine of Bloomberg writes, there "absolutely no financial or technical or business information" available publicly about the company and almost no sign that the company is "actually building a social network or a streaming platform or anything else." The supposed valuation of the project is $1.6 billion, but that is literally based on nothing but the fact that Trump is attached to it. You know, the guy who took a billion cash and managed to turn it into a billion dollars of debt before running for president.
As Judd Legum of Popular Info reports, the people involved in this scheme seem less interested in building a company than "than fleecing retail traders for a quick buck," by artificially driving up the price of stocks and flipping "these stocks immediately." No wonder the whole shady deal is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Still, Nunes is running towards this scheme and not away, and it's no wonder.
Even if, as it seems likely, the whole thing is a scam, there's no reason to think that it will backfire on the scammers. Trump and most of his buddies haven't paid a single legal penalty for trying to overthrow the U.S. government. Of course, they feel confident that they'll get away with shaking down a bunch of gullible investors who mistakenly think Trump, who couldn't manage his own checking account if he had to do so himself, is somehow going to create a major media company. Yes, some of the low-level fraudsters in Trumpworld do face legal penalties, but Trump's ability to skirt justice seems bulletproof, especially when Attorney General Merrick Garland seems afraid to actually deal with the former president.
On one hand, it's hard not to laugh. Who cares if Trump and his buddies separate MAGA fools from their money? On the other hand, the problem is these frauds aren't merely frauds. They really are financing what is so far an extremely successful effort to lay the groundwork for stealing the 2024 election.
The fascist movement is very real, even if there's a lot of fraud wound into it by leaders hoping to get their beaks wet while they end democracy. Our legal system's inability to deal with the fraud aspect is just a symptom of a larger problem, which is a failure to deal with these arsonists of democracy at all. If that doesn't change, this country will have a lot more to worry about than idiot retirees emptying out their bank accounts for the latest "stop the steal" scam.
https://www.rawstory.com/devin-nunes-resignation-reveals-a-depressing-truth-about-the-destruction-of-democracy/
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Republicans now stand for nothing except trolling, vigilante violence and death
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The Kyle Rittenhouse verdict sent a shudder through America as terrorists and vigilantes celebrated: One right-winger called for wholesale slaughter of Democrats, saying on Telegram, "The left won't stop until their bodies get stacked up like cord wood."
On Facebook, right-wing sites celebrating the verdict were the most popular nationwide by a factor of nine to one.
The parents of Anthony Huber, shot dead by Rittenhouse as Huber tried to disarm him, put out a public statement that said, in part:
Today's verdict means there is no accountability for the person who murdered our son. It sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street.
A right-wing militia group in New York celebrated in the streets and then put a punctuation mark on their disdain for the law and simple rules of a civil society by entering the New York subway system through emergency exits, bypassing the turnstiles. "Rules don't apply to us!" they seemed to be shouting, along with, "You can't stop us!"
Trump wannabes in public office who are still trying to capture the white supremacist and white nationhood vote have doubled down on his strategy of fear, hate and vigilantism.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for example, recently signed legislation that gives legal protections to people who drive their cars into protesters in the street, and defines everybody in any protest as a criminal felon if anybody in that protest breaks a window or engages in other illegal activity.
With DeSantis and other Republican governors pre-exonerating people like the driver who viciously killed Heather Heyer, as well as vigilante protest shooters like Rittenhouse, many are worried that we're entering a new era where vigilante shooters and drivers-into-crowds will become normalized and accepted, just as Amy Vanderpool documents how normalized daily mass shootings have become in America.
Laws similar to Florida's have been passed or are pending in numerous Republican-controlled states, presumably in anticipation of citizen protests when those states use their newly passed laws to overturn the will of voters in the 2022 and 2024 elections. Object to your politicians handing an election they lost to themselves? You go straight from the streets to the jail, just like in tinhorn dictatorships.
There's always been a fringe movement of violent white supremacist vigilantes in America, particularly since the end of the Civil War, but they've never before been embraced by or succeeded in capturing a political party. Today, astonishingly, that's the case in our country.
So, what's motivating today's vigilantes and the police who often aid and support them, as in the Rittenhouse case?
Centuries ago, as white people fanned out across this continent to occupy land stolen from Native Americans, it usually took years or decades for stable government institutions to be created, including local police forces. Therefore, communities would organize their own forces, called "vigilance committees" whose job was to be "vigilant" to protect their own homes and communities.
That sort of "classic vigilantism" pretty much completely disappeared in the U.S. after the Civil War, however, when the Southern states' slave patrols were merged into those states' militias (what we call the National Guard) and professional police forces, state and local, took over.
Modern post-Civil War violent vigilantism, therefore, doesn't usually emerge because the government is failing to protect citizens and therefore communities field their own equivalent of police forces.
Instead, these days it's almost always a conservative response to cultural change that creates a vigilante backlash.
Virtually the dictionary definition of "conservative" is "opposed to rapid change in society." That's why, as America becomes more diverse and states like Texas have become less than 50% white, racist "conservative" factions that have had a home in the GOP since 1968 are turning to violence to try to maintain the absolute dominance of straight white men in American society.
When the Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973, for example, those who were opposed to that change in our society, symbolized by the Roe v. Wade decision, organized vigilante groups that threatened women outside abortion clinics, followed and harassed women seeking health care and people who worked in the clinics, and murdered multiple doctors and bombed multiple clinics across the nation.
In the 1980s, conservative billionaires who supported Reagan helped impose neoliberal austerity on America, so for 40 years the country has been in steady decline as jobs went overseas, wages fell so badly the middle class sagged below 50% of Americans by 2015, and a general rage began to build across the country.
Much of that rage was channeled into "anti-government" movements that were encouraged by Reagan, who told us that government was the problem and not the solution. Neoliberal billionaires backed Republican politicians who kept their taxes low while openly and proudly obstructing any government efforts to help working class people.
The GOP also revived Nixon's "Southern strategy" in 1980, using open appeals to racism with Reagan warning about "strapping young bucks" and Black "welfare queens" taking white people's tax dollars. George H.W. Bush put it on steroids in 1988 with his "Willie Horton" television advertisements against Michael Dukakis, charging the Democrat wasn't doing enough to protect Massachusetts from violent Black criminals.
By this time the GOP had totally embraced neoliberalism and stopped proposing any sort of policies that would lift up America. Instead, their efforts went to subsidizing billionaires with tax cuts and increasing profits for polluting industries via deregulation.
Working-class white people continued to fall behind, particularly in rural areas, as wealthy CEOs and trust-fund billionaires made out like bandits, pouring their surplus cash into the campaigns of politicians because five right-wingers on the Supreme Court legalized political bribery with Citizens United in 2010.
The Republican answer to the growing white angst in the country was to start a movement against affirmative action in the 1980s and 1990s, calling it "reverse racism," reviving the old saw from the 1950s that "Black people want to take your job!"
Women, since the 1970s, have also been successfully competing for jobs formerly held by white men, building misogynist frustration and rage among lower-income and lower-education white men, and turning "incels" murderous.
Much of this white male rage was channeled in the 1990s into the fringe "white nationalist" movement, which got their martyrs with Ruby Ridge in 1992 and Waco in 1993, where heavily armed white supremacists shot it out with the feds and lost terribly.
That provoked Tim McVeigh to follow the "Turner Diaries" script for creating "a race-based civil war by provoking the government to seize guns so we can fight back," blowing up the federal building in Oklahoma City on the anniversary of Waco in 1995, killing 168 and injuring 860.
He, however, was condemned by both political parties and ultimately put to death by a Republican president. The GOP had not yet fully turned toward embracing fascists, vigilantes and terrorists in the 1990s.
Modern race-based vigilantism with the support of the GOP took a big step forward after 9/11, when multiple Republican leaders used that crime as an excuse to vilify Muslims specifically and brown-skinned Arabs more generally. Most famously, Donald Trump perpetrated the lie that Muslims in New Jersey were celebrating in the streets the afternoon of 9/11.
George W. Bush took that anti-Muslim energy and amplified it as he pushed a revenge-based war against Afghanistan and Iraq, another Muslim country that had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11.
Following Bush's presidency, a Black man whose middle name was Hussein became our president, creating a frenzy of bizarre conspiracy theories on the Fox Propaganda Channel and across right-wing internet and social media outlets.
Was Obama a "real" American? Was he really a secret Kenyan Muslim sleeper agent? Was he trying to flip America communist with his radical Obamacare program? Trump and Republicans asserted that those were all true claims.
With the hard right now empowered by these conspiracy theories on Fox and talk radio, in 2014 Cliven Bundy challenged the authority of the Obama administration to restrict him from grazing his cows on public federal land without paying a fee. Obama flinched and backed down, giving Bundy and armed, anti-government white men a huge national PR victory (as well as getting his cows back).
Two years later Cliven's son, Ammon Bundy, occupied another federal facility, this time the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon near the Idaho border. His armed vigilantes pointed their weapons at federal officers on live television, and again the Obama administration backed down.
Bundy's 2016 "victory" animated white supremacist vigilantes across the nation and made him enough of a media figure that he's now running in the Republican primary for governor of Idaho.
Things really stepped up throughout the Trump administration when the new president openly welcomed white nationhood militias and neo-Nazis into the GOP and praised them from the presidential pulpit, something no president had done since Woodrow Wilson hosted the debut of the Klan recruiting film "Birth of a Nation" at the White House in 1915.
Trump invited vigilantes to the southern border to "help" with the problem of brown-skinned refugees trying to enter the country, and sucked up to police, encouraging them to be even more brutal with (presumably minority) criminal suspects.
His presidency marked a turning point for American politics, with the GOP abandoning any pretense of caring about policy debates to full-on embrace of fear and hate of racial, religious and gender minorities as their core political position and strategy going forward.
As a result, NBC News chronicles, threats against federal officials reported to Capitol Police have about tripled since Trump's first year in office, reaching more than 9,000 incidents so far this year.
When we've seen these kinds of things happen in other countries, we've historically called them out as naked assaults on democracy; now Trump and his armed Republican faction have turned America's moral and political standing in the world on its head.
International observers have issued repeated alarms about the state of democracy in America since Trump's 2016 election. In 2017, the U.S. was downgraded by The Economist magazine's Intelligence Unit: instead of being a "full democracy," we are now a "flawed democracy." The international think tank IDEA just reported that we're now a "backsliding democracy."
Today, while the Democratic Party is working hard to secure benefits to all Americans, the Republicans have only two responses: Block legislation and support armed white nationhood vigilantes.
All the Republican Party has left, now that they've abandoned any pretense over the past 40 years of supporting working people or even rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, is hate, fear and death.
As Franklin D. Roosevelt said in his 1933 inaugural address about an earlier generation of Republican obstructionists: "They know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish."
And if we don't return to sanity, our democracy could perish as well.
https://www.rawstory.com/republicans-now-stand-for-nothing-except-trolling-vigilante-violence-and/
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Trump supporters are now calling Crenshaw "Pirate Dan" or "One Eyed Dan" because of the eye patch he wears. Doesn't take long for MAGA to turn on their own.
GOP's Dan Crenshaw ignites furious uproar after warning of grifters and liars inside his own party
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U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, is facing an uproar from some in his party after warning about "grifters" and liars among fellow conservatives, including in the House Freedom Caucus.
Crenshaw, one of the most visible members of the Texas congressional delegation, sought Thursday to clarify his comments, which came at a Houston-area GOP gathering over the weekend.
“When I said grifters and liars, I wasn’t talking about the Freedom Caucus," Crenshaw told the GOP podcast "Ruthless." "I was talking about a general group of people that exists on our side."The Freedom Caucus is a group of House conservatives who hold considerable sway within the GOP minority. It includes at least a few Republicans from Texas, like Rep. Louie Gohmert of Tyler, Ronny Jackson of Amarillo and Chip Roy of Austin.
Crenshaw made the original comments at an event Sunday in Cypress for the Texas Liberty Alliance PAC, and a clip of them went viral later after being tweeted by Ron Filipkowski, a Florida lawyer and former Republican. Crenshaw was introducing two congressional candidates he is supporting and sought to differentiate them from "performance artists" in Congress who he said say what conservative voters want to hear. He then sought to make the point by arguing that U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger — a prominent GOP critic of former President Donald Trump — actually voted more in line with Trump's agenda during his first two years in office than did "everybody in the Freedom Caucus — all of them."
"We have grifters in our midst," Crenshaw said in the clip. "I mean in the conservative movement. Lie after lie after lie. Because they know something psychologically about the conservative heart. We’re worried about what people are gonna do to us, what they’re gonna infringe upon us."
The comments drew denunciations from Freedom Caucus defenders and even from a key supporter of Crenshaw in his 2018 underdog run for Congress — Houston radio host Michael Berry.
"No, I do not support [Crenshaw]," Berry tweeted Tuesday. "I am embarrassed I helped him win."
Discussing the Freedom Caucus on the podcast Thursday, Crenshaw said there are "definitely some in there I don't like, obviously, but for the most part, no," he said he was not referring to the caucus with his weekend remarks. He offered praise for Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the current vice chair of the caucus, and went on to say he was mostly referring to people who "messaged knowingly falsely about" recent legislation to improve the sharing of data nationally about vaccinations.
In the full video of Crenshaw's remarks Sunday, he indeed went on to cite the immunization bill, which passed with the support of Crenshaw and 79 other House Republicans. Crenshaw said the proposal would decrease and "put guardrails on" funding for existing vaccine databases that do not track Americans individually. Some GOP opponents of the bill claimed it would create a new vaccine database.
"So you've got less money for it and more guardrails that requires you in the law to make the data anonymous," Crenshaw said. "So the real question is why did so many Republicans vote against that and then lie to you about it? Grifters."
One of the Freedom Caucus members from Texas, Roy, brushed off the uproar surrounding Crenshaw, saying the media "wants to focus on palace intrigue rather than the issues hammering everyday Americans."
"Dan is a good friend, and we can agree to disagree on some things," Roy said in a statement. "I am confident in standing behind my record and the record of the Freedom Caucus of successfully fighting for the people we represent — including this last week protecting against drafting our daughters, preventing our service members from dishonorable discharge, and fighting a dangerous [Department of Defense] office of extremism, among other things."
Crenshaw made the original comments while seated alongside Wesley Hunt and Morgan Luttrell, two Houston-area congressional candidates and fellow veterans that Crenshaw is backing. Hunt is running for Texas' new 38th District, where he has been the frontrunner, while Luttrell is vying in a crowded primary to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands.
Luttrell's race is particularly relevant to the Freedom Caucus controversy. One of his competitors is Christian Collins, who has committed to joining the caucus and has already received over a quarter-million dollars in support from a caucus-aligned super PAC.
https://www.rawstory.com/gop-s-dan-crenshaw-ignites-furious-uproar-after-warning-of-grifters-and-liars-inside-his-party/
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Analysis: Texas’ electric grid is half-ready for another winter freeze
You never hear politicians promise that hurricanes and tornadoes won’t hurt you, that you won’t get wet (or flooded) when it rains, that protracted heat waves won’t endanger anyone or that urban fires are no threat during droughts.
That would be nuts.
But after the storm that left Texans across the state freezing in the dark last February, the state’s leaders are promising now that the winter just ahead of us won’t cause any electric blackouts.
The odds are probably in their favor. Freezes like the one this year are rare, and freezes that cover the entire state are rarer still.
But making a promise that nobody is going to have a power failure is a big bet, and an unnecessary one. It would probably be enough to say, for political purposes, that they’ve taken steps to protect the state’s electric grid if the weather repeats itself.
While Texas Democrats aren’t openly hoping for a freeze or a power failure, that sort of disaster would be helpful to their political chances in a year when circumstances favor the Republicans. Democrats still want to turn Texas blue — their 2020 election slogan — but turning Texans blue to get there could be a smidge too literal for the liberals.
The guarantee that the lights will stay on started with Gov. Greg Abbott, and has now filtered down to the regulators he installed after the last freeze.
“I can guarantee the lights will stay on,” Abbott told Austin’s Fox 7 News last month. He said he was confident because of the laws put in place in response to the February freeze. This week, Peter Lake, the chair of the state’s Public Utility Commission, echoed his patron.
“The ERCOT grid is stronger and more reliable than ever,” said Lake, who was appointed to the PUC — the state’s electric utilities regulator — in April. “We are going into the winter knowing that the lights will stay on.”
One difference between now and this time last year is that state regulators and the main players in the electric grid — the companies that generate, transmit and distribute electricity and the companies that supply electric plants with fuel — know just how wrong things can go.
So do the state’s politicians, who set up the current regulatory framework and whose standing with voters could hinge on whether the state’s homes are lighted and heated when it gets cold outside.
New laws and rules require electric generators to prepare their facilities for the cold, taking a precaution that was recommended but not heeded after winter blackouts in 2011.
The natural gas companies that provide most of the fuel for those plants during winter months aren’t yet being held to the same standard. The Texas Railroad Commission regulates them, and state lawmakers didn’t require winterization of those suppliers. They and the electric generators are powerful and influential, but the electrics suffered most of the blame for the blackouts, and the Texas Legislature was more lenient with the gas suppliers. They have another year before they have to worry about winterization requirements, and then only after a new committee makes recommendations.
That’s on the other side of the coming winter. Natural gas lobbyists say the best protection against winter weather is keeping their electricity on. That’s half of what is supposed to be a kind of virtuous cycle, where electric companies heat the gas providers who supply the electric companies. Last February, it was often a vicious cycle: Gas companies that weren’t identified as essential customers lost power, froze up and stopped sending the needed fuel to the electric companies.
Texas blacked out. Nearly everyone was miserable, and hundreds of Texans died.
The long-range weather forecasts this year are better than they were 12 months ago. Meteorologists — who, unlike politicians, don’t make promises about what’s going to happen two or three months from now — say a storm like the last one is less likely this winter.
Texas legislators did put some new safeguards in place this year, mostly aimed at the electric companies. Before Abbott and the regulators were promising a warm and well-lighted winter, lawmakers gave gas providers more time, gambling that Texas wouldn’t get another storm like the last one — at least, not right away.
https://www.rawstory.com/analysis-texas-electric-grid-is-half-ready-for-another-winter-freeze/
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Without hesitation, President Biden signed a federal emergency declaration for Kentucky. This is a state that didn't vote for President Biden, but since he is a President for ALL Americans he signed it without any problem. That's what a President is supposed to do. Under the hateful and partisan regime of Criminal Donald, he refused to sign emergency declarations for blue states because verything was about him and he made everything political in times of tragedy. Glad those days are gone.
Biden signs federal emergency declaration for Kentucky in wake of deadly tornado outbreak
https://www.wlky.com/article/biden-kentucky-emergency-declaration-deadly-tornado/38492420
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Hypocrite Rand Paul was begging President Biden for federal dollars after tragedy struck Kentucky. Rand Paul is a guy who voted against a bill for 9/11 first responders who needed help after they developed diseases when they were at ground zero. Paul cited the debt and said we couldn't afford to pay our heroes who nearly gave their own lives on 9/11. Paul voted for the debt because nearly 8 trillion dollars went into the pockets of corporations and billionaires in Criminal Donalds tax cut giveaway. Rand Paul and the rest of these right wingers rail against federal assistance from the government. They call that "socialism" and call Democrats "socialists" for offering for those in need. Well, here's hypocrite Rand Paul with his hands out begging for the "socialism" that he rails against. Republicans are socialists as well as long as the money benefits them politically. Right wingers are total hypocrites and believe in Republican socialism.
Rand Paul begs Biden for federal aid to Kentucky tornado victims -- after a career of voting 'no' when others needed the same
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Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky dashed off a letter to President Joe Biden today pleading for expeditious federal relief aid to victims of a deadly 200-mile tornado that struck his state Friday.
That was of course the right to do. But Paul is a strange one to have done it.
Throughout his two terms in the U.S. Senate, Paul has prided himself as a Tea Party fiscal conservative willing to say no to the most milquetoast causes if federal spending is involved. Opposing federal disaster relief is one of his pastimes.
In 2017, Paul was one of just 17 senators to oppose an emergency $15.3 billion federal relief bill for victims of Hurricane Harvey. It had wreaked havoc similar to Friday’s tornado, but not in Kentucky.
In 2013, Paul was one of 31 Republican senators who voted against a $50.5 billion relief aid package for Hurricane Sandy -- “after previously disaster aid for their home states,” as reported by ThinkProgress.org.
In 2011, Paul’s first year in the Senate, he was among 38 Republicans voting against a major FEMA funding package despite the fact -- not lost upon publicintegrity.org -- that his own state of Kentucky had been the nation’s largest recipient of FEMA funding ($293 million), mostly because of a 2009 ice storm.
A decade later, Paul wrote to Biden like the two were old liberal spendthrift friends.
“Last night and early this morning devastating storms swept across multiple states, including Kentucky. A single tornado from that system may have been on the ground for over 200 miles, and a large swath of the Commonwealth has been severely hit.
“As the sun comes up this morning we will begin to understand the true scope of the devastation, but we already know of loss of life and severe property damage.
“The governor of the Commonwealth has requested federal assistance this morning, and certainly further requests will be coming as the situation is assessed. I fully support those requests and ask that you move expeditiously to approve the appropriate resources for our state.”
Paul’s stinginess with federal aid to people outside of Kentucky has hardly been limited to aid responding to physical disasters.
In the very first coronavirus Senate aid package -- a mere $8 billion passed on March 5, 2020 -- Paul stood out as the lone Senator to vote no.
His complaint: Congress never cuts other spending as the direct offset he insists upon having for federal aid not earmarked for Kentucky:
“This isn't the first time we've had emergency money,” Paul complained after the first COVID-19 spending passed. “This is probably the tenth time we've done emergency money in the past two or three years. So everything is an emergency."
https://www.rawstory.com/rand-paul-2655999297/
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Glad to see a Governor finally taking action and turning the tables on these right wingers.
Newsom says he will use Texas abortion law tactics to restrict assault weapons
"If that's the precedent then we'll let Californian's sue those who put ghost guns and assault weapons on our streets," Newsom said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/newsom-says-he-will-use-texas-abortion-law-tactics-restrict-n1285794
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Dark money group with ties to Ohio Republican named in subpoena in bribery lawsuit
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A former FirstEnergy executive, defending himself in a shareholders’ lawsuit stemming from his alleged role in the company’s statehouse bribery operation, has subpoenaed correspondence with two political operatives with close ties to U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel.
Attorneys for Mike Dowling, former senior vice president of external affairs for the utility company, subpoenaed records from two political nonprofits that played key roles in funneling FirstEnergy’s money into a political machine allegedly operated by the former Speaker of the Ohio House. That machine engineered legislative passage in 2019 of nuclear bailouts and other favorable provisions worth an estimated $1.3 billion to FirstEnergy.
Dowling is seeking communications from those groups — “Partners for Progress” and “Generation Now” — with a fellow nonprofit called “Liberty Ohio Inc.” Dowling also requested the two nonprofits’ correspondence with two Liberty Ohio board members: secretary Scott Guthrie and treasurer Thomas Datwyler.
Both men have close ties to the campaign of Mandel, who’s running in the GOP primary to replace U.S. Sen. Rob Portman in 2022. Campaign finance records list Datwyler as Mandel’s treasurer. Guthrie has worked on Mandel’s political campaigns for years, per his resume on LinkedIn, and has been quoted in media reports as Mandel’s campaign manager.
Liberty Ohio’s president, Michael Lord (who was not named in the subpoenas), served as chief of staff for Mandel when he was state treasurer.
Mandel’s campaign, Guthrie and Datwyler did not respond to written questions or phone calls.
The Mandel-affiliates are but a handful in a long list that includes “any current or former member of the Ohio Legislature” plus more than 30 Republican politicians and operatives from whom Dowling is seeking correspondence. The list includes Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, several defendants in the related criminal prosecution, and a spread of political entities and operatives. Also included is former state GOP Chairwoman Jane Timken, who is running against Mandel in the primary. Dowling’s subpoenas were issued only to Partners for Progress and Generation Now, not the named individuals themselves.
The issue at large traces back to the passage of House Bill 6, which provided massive, ratepayer-funded bailouts to nuclear plants owned at the time by a subsidiary of FirstEnergy and a separate bailout of coal plants owned by a cooperative of several Ohio utility companies.
FirstEnergy this summer admitted in court documents to giving about $60 million — using Partners for Progress as a pass-through — to Generation Now. The latter was allegedly controlled by then-House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford. Householder, who has since been expelled from the House, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of racketeering and awaits trial.
FirstEnergy fired Dowling in October 2020, after two of the five men charged in the alleged conspiracy pleaded guilty. The company entered into a deferred prosecution settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in July, agreeing to pay a $230 million penalty and cooperate with prosecutors and in return avoiding a charge of wire fraud.
Liberty Ohio has other, indirect connections to the FirstEnergy scandal: it and Generation Now, which pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge, share donors from within the same web of nonprofits often described as “dark money,” given they aren’t legally required to disclose the source of their funding.
According to government prosecutors, Householder unlawfully controlled Generation Now, a purportedly independent entity, by using operatives to sign paperwork and attend meetings as his proxy. Neil Clark, a lobbyist who was charged alongside Houeholder, allegedly identified himself as the Speaker’s “appointed guy” in a meeting. Clark died by suicide earlier this year.
FirstEnergy gave Generation Now $60 million to pass the bailouts, the company admitted in court documents. It gave $25 million to Partners for Progress between 2017 and 2019, $15 million of which flowed to Generation Now. Separate tax records show that other donors contributed to the fund. Empowering Ohio’s Economy, which was solely funded by American Electric Power, gave $700,000 to Generation Now between 2017 and 2019. 55 Green Meadows, a nonprofit operated by Ohio’s nursing home industry, contributed $485,000 to Generation Now between 2018 and 2020 (the group’s $150,000 donation in 2020 has not previously been publicly reported).
These same donors gave hundreds of thousands to Liberty Ohio.
Empowering Ohio’s Economy gave $100,000 to Liberty Ohio between 2019 and 2020. Partners for Progress gave $150,000 to Liberty Ohio in 2019. 55 Green Meadows gave $515,000 to Liberty Ohio. (Partners for Progress and Liberty Ohio have not made their 2020 tax filings publicly available, clouding the public view of their donor history. Officials with the nonprofits did not respond to requests to provide them.)
John McCaffrey, an attorney for Dowling, declined to comment on why he included Liberty Ohio and its officers on the subpoena.
Some of those named in the subpoena have downplayed the importance. Dan Tierney, a spokesman for DeWine, said neither the governor nor the lieutenant governor have received any subpoenas or been asked to submit to questioning in any civil or criminal matters related to the passage of House Bill 6, which was signed into law by the governor hours after it was passed by lawmakers.
He said he didn’t know why DeWine was included in the subpoena but noted that it’s one name of hundreds (given the number of still living former legislators).
“We clearly have no involvement,” Tierney said.
Partners for Progress was incorporated by DeWine’s former top lobbyist. FirstEnergy also admitted to paying former PUCO chairman Sam Randazzo about $4.3 million for legislative and regulatory favors. DeWine appointed Randazzo, who has not been charged with a crime.
The Timken campaign did not respond to an email. However, she told the Columbus Dispatch through spokesman Rob Secaur (who's also named in the subpoena) that the two had "no involvement with HB6 and zero contact with Generation Now or Partners for Progress."
What does Liberty Ohio do?
Liberty Ohio, like many political 501(c)(4)s, has little to no public profile.
Its tax records list it under the Washington D.C. address of an office building. Tax records from other entities who have donated to Liberty Ohio list a Bexley address. Franklin County records show the residence is owned by the family of Lord, the organization’s president.
As of 2019, Liberty Ohio has more than $1 million in the bank. Its stated mission on tax forms: "To educate the public on policy issues."
No public-facing website for the group could be located.
In March 2020, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that a “Liberty Ohio Inc.” owned a website at the time calling Candice Keller, a state representative running for the state Senate, “crazy.” Other records from the Federal Communications Commission show Liberty Ohio purchasing ads criticizing Keller before she lost in her Senate Republican primary to current Sen. George Lang.
Liberty Ohio's 2020 tax records are not yet publicly available. Guthrie did not respond to a request for them left via voicemail.
Several donors to Liberty Ohio, including representatives of 55 Green Meadows, Partners for Progress and Empowering Ohio's Economy, did not respond to calls and voicemails.
https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2021/12/13/dark-money-group-with-ties-to-mandel-subpoenaed-in-firstenergy-bribery-lawsuit/
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Herschel Walker is another domestic abuser being pushed by Donald Trump as a failed candidate. Walker also suffers from mental issues with over a dozen alternate personalities. Nobody like that should be in the Senate.
Republican Herschel Walker claims he's 'accountable' for domestic violence — then claims accusations are made up
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Republican Herschel Walker, who is trying to run for the Senate in Georgia, has been accused by his first wife of domestic violence. But according to Walker, he can be both accountable and call it fake news at the same time.
An exclusive from Axios revealed Monday that Walker claimed he tells people "I'm accountable to it." He then followed the accountability with accusations that "people" make things up.
"I'm always accountable to whatever I've ever done. And that's what I tell people: I'm accountable to it," the statement began. "People can't just make up and add on and say other things that's not the truth. They want me to address things that they made up."
Walker's spokesperson then had to come back and say that what Walker meant to say was that he doesn't deny abusing ex-wife Cindy Grossman. Allegations by two other women, however, in 2002 and 2012, Walker appears to be saying are false.
Grossman described the abuse as threats and Walker choking her. She explained to CNN that Walker held a gun to her temple "and said he was going to blow my brains out." In Dec. of 2005, Grossman filed for a protective order with accounts also submitted by her sister, Maria Tsettos. She claimed that Walker threatened Grossman's life as well as hers and her boyfriend at the time.
Walker says that he considers Grossman a "best friend." Unlike Grossman, the other two women don't appear to have come back to be friends with him. One of the women told police that she saw someone "sneaking around outside her house." She said she thought she knew it was Walker because he had followed her home.
In response to the allegations, the Walker campaign spokesperson attacked the media for "false statements" and "stereotyping."
He also discussed his mental health issues and how he's worked on those throughout the years.
Read the full report at Axios.com:
https://www.axios.com/exclusive-herschel-walker-confronts-his-mental-health-domestic-violence-allegations-33b96336-77c1-4b3c-915d-896746c52694.htm
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Here's another corrupt right wing Republican and Trump worshipper Kristi Noem. Instead of protecting her constituents in South Dakota from Covid 19 she illegally abused her power to get her kid a real estate license she wasn't qualified for. She needs to be removed as Governor.
Official testifies Republican Kristi Noem used her position to help her daughter score real estate license
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Republican Gov. Kristi Noem was named by a fired state official who testified that the South Dakota governor used her position to score a real estate license for her daughter. The employee, Sherry Bren, was then pushed out of her position as the executive director of the South Dakota Appraiser Certification Program, CNN.com reported.
It was previously reported that Noem stepped in to ensure her daughter, Kassidy Peters, got an extra chance to correct her work on the exam and application before it was submitted for approval. She was facing a denial of her certification and that's when the July 27, 2020, meeting occurred.
"Peters had experienced difficulty meeting the state's criteria to complete the process because of deficiencies in her work," CNN reported, citing documents they obtained. The documents also show that there was a stipulation that Peters participate in a mentoring plan so that she could complete her certification, which was given just 11 days later.
Bren testified that she was then forced to retire months later "at the behest of the Administration."
She also clarified that she wasn't the only one who witnessed the alleged nepotism, but she was the only one forced to retire. She filed an age discrimination complaint and asked for $200,000 in a settlement.
According to the testimony Tuesday, Peters was told before the meeting with the governor that she would be denied certification because the application was "insufficient." Noem then raged about the "serious deficiencies" in the application.
"Noem asked a series of specific questions about her daughter's application during the meeting with Bren and other state officials while her daughter was present," CNN said, citing Bren's testimony. There was then an agreement with the governor that Noem's daughter be granted a third chance to correct her application problems. Typically an applicant is only given two chances.
Peters has already surrendered her license due to the investigation.
Noem denies the allegations. In Oct., she tried to claim that having her daughter's application approved was really about helping everyone because she said that the process was stalled. That conflicts with the timeline, however, because Peters had already gotten her notification ahead of the meeting with her mother.
Noem is also under investigation by the state's attorney general.
Read the full report at CNN.com:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/14/politics/kristi-noem-south-dakota-daughter-real-estate-license/index.html
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Democrats have a plan to cap insulin at $35 a month
President Biden, citing the "outrageously expensive" cost of insulin and other prescription drugs in the U.S., called on Congress Monday to pass his Build Back Better bill, which contains provisions to lower drug prices.
In brief remarks at the White House, the president pointed to the cost of insulin needed to treat Type 1 diabetes, which Biden says affects some 1.5 million Americans, who pay anywhere from $375 to $1,000 per month for the drug. The House-passed measure would cap insulin prices at $35 per month.
"I think it's safe to say that all of us, all of us, whatever our age, wherever we live, we can agree that prescription drugs are outrageously expensive in this country," Biden said, adding, "Shame on us as a nation if we can't do better than this."
Biden's plan would also allow Medicare to negotiate certain drug prices with manufacturers, something now prohibited, and it would cap out-of-pocket costs for some prescription drugs for Medicare recipients at $2,000 a year.
Biden said he wants congressional approval of the roughly $2 trillion Build Back Better Act "as early as we can get it."
"I want to get it done, no matter how long it takes," he told reporters.
Before his remarks, Biden met with two women suffering from diabetes. The president said one of them, Sa'Ra Skipper, told him "that affording insulin has been the challenge of her and her family's entire life," and that "sometimes she and her sister rationed doses."
"Health care should be a right, not a privilege in this country," Biden said. "This is not a partisan issue."
The pharmaceutical industry, which opposes the Build Back Better Act, responded to Biden's remarks. In a statement, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said that a "damaging bill jammed through a partisan process will not provide patients struggling to afford their medicines meaningful relief."
Wall Street economists are confident Biden’s Build Back Better bill will become law – and boost infrastructure firms
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/07/wall-street-believes-biden-build-back-better-bill-will-become-law.html
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DEMOCRATIC REP. RASKIN INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO GET FOREIGN MONEY OUT OF U.S. ELECTIONS BY CLOSING THE CITIZENS UNITED LOOPHOLE
December 14, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, along with 19 of his colleagues in the United States House of Representatives, introduced the Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections Act. The legislation closes a campaign finance loophole that allows for-profit U.S. corporations appreciably owned by foreign investors to pour unlimited cash into American elections.
“Six days after the Supreme Court invented corporate free speech rights in Citizens United, President Obama warned that the Court had just opened ‘the floodgates’ for foreign interests to funnel cash freely into American elections through corporations,” said Rep. Raskin. “He was right.”
“The Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections Act will stop this dangerous stream of foreign cash and influence from flowing in our campaigns through corporate spending,” Raskin explained. “It’s imperative to fortify our electoral institutions against constant efforts by plutocrats and autocrats to shape political outcomes in America. I thank the Center for American Progress, Public Citizen, Free Speech For People and Common Cause for their support of this critical project.”
“The Center for American Progress strongly endorses Rep. Raskin’s legislation to close a dangerous loophole opened by Citizens United and prohibit political spending by foreign-influenced U.S. corporations,” said Will Roberts, Managing Director for Democracy Policy at the Center for American Progress. “For several years, CAP has advocated for this popular, common-sense policy and applauds the leadership of Rep. Raskin and the cosponsors of this bill. When enacted, this legislation will take a giant step toward assuring Americans that foreign entities are not influencing our elections, either directly or indirectly through under-the-radar routes like ownership in U.S. corporations. The future of our democracy must be decided by American voters, not foreign entities or multinational corporations that spend hundreds of millions of dollars each election cycle, diminishing the voices of everyday people.”
“One of the great pillars of our democratic system that enjoys consensus across all parties is that foreign nationals and foreign governments should not be making campaign contributions and expenditures in U.S. elections,” said Craig Holman, Government Affairs Lobbyist at Public Citizen. “But our safeguards against foreign intervention are littered with loopholes. One of the most gaping loopholes is allowing foreign-owned corporations to spend in American elections through their U.S. subsidiaries. Raskin’s “Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections Act” would close that loophole and ensure that any U.S. subsidiary that is significantly owned or controlled by foreign interests could not spend money to influence our elections.”
"We applaud Congressman Raskin for introducing this critical legislation in the defense of our democracy and the fundamental principles of American self-government,” said John Bonifaz, Co-Founder and President of Free Speech For People. “This legislation will ensure that corporations with significant foreign investment will no longer be able to spend their general treasury funds to influence our elections and to drown out the voices of voters across this country. The people, not multinational corporations, shall govern. We urge Members of Congress to stand with democracy and pass this bill.”
“Americans deserve to know who is trying to influence our voices and our votes, and foreign entities should have zero role in determining American elections,” said Karen Hobert Flynn, President of Common Cause. “The Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections Act would help ensure that hostile foreign actors cannot influence our elections, and we commend Congressman Raskin for introducing this common-sense legislation.”
Although current law prohibits individual foreign nationals from spending in U.S. elections, no such law bars political spending from American-registered corporations—including major multinationals—that are foreign-owned, foreign-controlled, foreign-influenced or all three. The Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections Act, supported by the Center for American Progress, Public Citizen, Free Speech For People and Common Cause, would prevent this foreign spending and ensure that the ultimate origin of money spent in American political campaigns is U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.
Rep. Raskin has introduced previous versions of the Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections Act during the 116th and 115th Congresses. This bill joins similar legislative efforts at the state and local level to separate foreign money from democratic elections. In January 2020, Seattle passed a similar policy into law, and in June 2021, the New York State Senate passed similar legislation with bipartisan support. Additional bills are pending in several other states, including Massachusetts and Hawaii.
Original cosponsors of the bill include: Reps. Ed Case (HI), Jim Cooper (TN), Danny K. Davis (IL), Mark DeSaulnier (CA), Theodore E. Deutch (FL), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson (GA), Mondaire Jones (NY), Ted Lieu (CA), Jim McGovern (MA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Mark Pocan (WI), Mike Quigley (IL), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA), Jan Schakowsky (IL), Thomas R. Suozzi (NY), Dina Titus (NV), Rashida Tlaib (MI), David Trone (MD) and Nikema Williams (GA).
Text of the bill is available here:
https://raskin.house.gov/2021/12/rep-raskin-introduces-legislation-to-get-foreign-money-out-of-u-s-elections-by-closing-the-citizens-united-loophole
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BUSTED: Former Trump official caught listing hotel as his address as he attempts political comeback in Montana
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Former Secretary Ryan Zinke left Donald Trump's administration in disgrace and marred in scandal after it was revealed he was using taxpayer resources to supplement his fancy lifestyle and a real estate scandal.
Now as he tries to mount a political comeback, he's already raising eyebrows by using a hotel as his Montana address while running for Congress.
Multiple probes tied to Zinke's real estate dealings in Montana were reported by The Washington Post in Dec. 2018, when the Interior Department's inspector general referred one of its inquiries to the Justice Department.
"President Trump announced Zinke's exit via Twitter on Saturday morning and praised the departing Interior chief," the Post report said. "Behind the scenes, however, the White House had been pushing Zinke for weeks to resign, administration officials said. Last month, the officials said, Zinke was told he had until the end of the year to leave or be fired."
Zinke had announced he would likely run for Congress in 2022, though in Nov. 2021, it was discovered he spends the overwhelming majority of his time in Santa Barbara, California, living on his wife's yacht.
Now he's facing another controversy as Zinke's opponent, Tom Winter, took a walk in the Montana winter snow over to the address that Zinke said was his "residence." As it turns out, the residence is a hotel.
"I think it's pretty obvious when you show up in March with a really killer tan that you haven't been here for a long time," Jennifer Fielder said in Oct. She served as a former Republican state senator, but she's now backing Zinke's challenger.
The Snow Frog Inn is owned by an LLC tied to Zinke's family. During a 2013 City Council meeting, those starting the hotel said that it would feature six bedrooms for guests, a kitchen, a living room space and lodge area, the ABC affiliate reported at the time. The Inn was Zinke's family home, but he turned it into a bed and breakfast, meaning he could rent out rooms while staying in Santa Barbara or in Washington.
See the video below:
https://www.rawstory.com/ryan-zinke-hotel-house-montana/
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Biden surveys 'beyond belief' tornado damage in Kentucky, commits to federal aid
"No one is walking away. We are in this for the long haul," Biden said.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday surveyed damage in Kentucky he described as "beyond belief" and met with families in neighborhoods ravaged by deadly tornadoes last weekend.
After Biden surveyed the destruction in Mayfield by air and then on the ground, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear later choked up when thanking Biden publicly and introducing him in Dawson Springs, where Biden had stopped and talked to families whose homes were destroyed, including a 12-year-old girl carrying an American flag in a neighborhood where nearly every tree had been uprooted.
Biden opened his remarks by reminding people used to travel to Dawson Springs for the city's healing waters, but, Biden said, "Now it's our turn to help the entire town to heal."
"I intend to do whatever it takes, as long as it takes to support your state and local leaders, and as you recover and rebuild because you will recover and you will rebuild," Biden said, surrounded by storm damage. "The scope and scale of this destruction is almost beyond belief. When you look around here, it's almost beyond belief. These tornadoes devoured everything in their path."
He also offered condolences for those who lost someone and insisted "something good must happen" from the tragedy.
"I met one couple on the way up, said they're still looking for four of their friends. They don't know where they are. And those who have lost someone, there's no words for the pain of losing someone. A lot of us know it." Biden said.
"Keep the faith," Biden added. "No one is walking away. We are in this for the long haul."
Ahead of his remarks, Biden updated a presidential disaster declaration to boost federal disaster funds from 75% to 100% coverage for debris removal and emergency protective measures in Kentucky for a 30-day period.
Earlier, before receiving a briefing from state and local officials in Kentucky "on the impacts of the tornadoes and extreme weather," according to the White House, Biden vowed all the federal support he can provide to the area, both now and in the months to come.
"Immediately after a disaster is a time when people are really, really moving, and trying to help each other and trying to get things done. But after a month, after six weeks, after two months, people can get themselves to a point where they get fairly depressed about what’s going on, particularly young kids, particularly people who've lost somebody. And so I just want you to know, the help that we're able to offer at the federal level, is not just now," Biden said.
"I've instructed my team to make you all aware of everything that is available from a federal level," Biden added later on. "And some of it has to do outside of FEMA, outside of Homeland Security, there's other programs, including education, there’s a whole range of things, but I'm here to listen."
The president seemed struck by the scale of the damage he saw on his aerial tour.
"As you fly over here, as I've done in the past, I've not seen this tornado, this much damage from a tornado. You know, you think, but for the grace of God, why was I not 100 yards outside that line? Which makes it so different," he noted.
Biden was joined for the visit by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who were on the ground there on Sunday.
At least 88 people have been confirmed dead across five states, 74 in western Kentucky alone, and the death toll could rise "significantly," Beshear said on Tuesday.
See video below:
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-surveys-tornado-damage-kentucky-ahead-remarks-extreme/story?id=81770219
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Biden approves more federal disaster assistance for Kentucky
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/586000-biden-approves-more-federal-disaster-assistance-for-kentucky
After he asked Biden to help his own state of Kentucky, Rand Paul lashed out at critics who brought up his history of opposing disaster-relief bills
https://news.yahoo.com/asked-biden-help-own-state-042834477.html
WATCH: President Biden arrives in western Kentucky
https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/watch-president-biden-arrives-in-western-kentucky/article_66b19cc4-5dbd-11ec-b350-17e722a033b4.html
President Biden tours Kentucky tornado damage, says he'll help 'as long as it takes'
https://www.wlky.com/article/president-biden-kentucky-tornado-damage-mayfield-dawson-springs/38519600
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'Jim Jordan is a traitor': Democrat blasts Trump ally for text message urging Pence to reject Biden votes
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A Democratic lawmaker ripped into Trump ally Jim Jordan on Wednesday night, after it was revealed that the Ohio Republican forwarded a text message to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows urging Vice President Mike Pence to reject some electoral college votes on Jan. 6.
"I feel like Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca right now — absolutely not surprised," Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) told MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell.
"Look, Jim Jordan is a traitor," Gallego added. "He's a traitor to the Constitution of the United States. He has been a traitor to the Constitution of the United States for quite a while, and now we actually have it in text."
Gallego added that no one should be surprised given that Jordan was among those who "made up lies on the House floor" on Jan. 6 about fraudulent votes in states including Arizona.
"How is anybody surprised by any of this?" he said. "My biggest issue isn't Jim Jordan. My issue is the fact that there are a lot of people who are not taking this seriously — the fact that there is a slow-moving coup that is happening right now all over this country led by the Jim Jordans and other people."
Gallego said that instead of storming the Capitol, Trump supporters are now focused on capturing seats that could allow them to overturn a future election.
"The coup is ongoing," he said. "The traitors are still there, and they're going to continue to destroy our Constitution every opportunity they have."
Watch the full interview below:
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Biden set to surpass Trump in first-year judicial nominees; a window into a major Democratic push
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President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced his latest wave of nine judicial nominees, capping a year where the selections -- and an effort to establish an imprint on the federal courts -- served as a focal point for his administration.
Biden announced his intent to nominate nine district court nominees, bringing the administration's total for the year to 73 -- one more than former President Donald Trump nominated in his first year in office.
Among the nominees Biden announced his intent to name are Jessica G.L. Clarke, the chief of the New York Attorney General's Civil Rights Bureau since 2019, for the Southern District of New York. He will also nominate Sherilyn Peace Garnett, a former prosecutor and current California Superior Court judge, for the Central District of California.
For Biden and other Democrats, the filling of federal judicial openings took on a new level of significance in the wake of the historically successful push by Trump and Senate Republicans. Biden pledged during his presidential campaign not only to make nominations a priority, but also to pursue nominees who brought both personal and professional diversity to the bench.
"These choices also continue to fulfill the President's promise to ensure that the nation's courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country -- both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds," a White House official said in a statement.
Biden's efforts have been closely coordinated with Senate Democrats and have resulted in 28 confirmations, with at least two other nominees expected to win confirmation before the end of the year. That number also exceeds Trump's first year in office, which has served as an unofficial benchmark of sorts for an administration keen on emphasizing its focus on the courts.
Trump's success marked a cornerstone achievement for then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, and elevated the issue among Democrats, who saw the balance of courts from the Supreme Court on down reshaped before Trump's 2020 reelection defeat.
To this point, Biden has not faced a Supreme Court opening, though Democrats have closely watched his selections as potential steps toward who he would pick should one occur.
Biden's first-year nominees have led to the confirmation of nine circuit court judges, including Lucy Koh, who was confirmed this week by the Senate for the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals.
The confirmations underscore the effort to fill critical appeals court openings, which are viewed as exceedingly important in the effort to shape the second-highest courts in the country.
An 11th circuit court confirmation -- for Jennifer Sung, also for the 9th Circuit -- is expected to clear the Senate on Wednesday, as is the confirmation of Samantha D. Elliott to be a US district court judge for the District of New Hampshire.
But in a 50-50 Senate controlled by Democrats, time is of the essence for the White House with the midterm elections looming less than a year away.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, has made clear that processing and confirming judicial nominees is a priority on the Senate floor. Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, has echoed that emphasis in his committee.
Beyond the numbers themselves, Biden's final group of nominees for the year underscores what has become a model of sorts for his selections in a push to diversify the ranks of the federal judiciary.
The President's selections have included 53 women, making up 73% of all judicial nominees, as well as 20 African Americans, 15 Hispanics and 13 Asian American Pacific Islander picks.
They also include 21 public defenders, 16 civil rights lawyers and five labor lawyers, as the administration has sought to elevate nominees with more diverse professional backgrounds.
The other district court picks are:
Hector Gonzalez, a partner at Dechert LLP, for the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Kenly Kiya Kato, US magistrate judge for the Central District of California, for the US District Court for the Central District of California.
Nina Morrison, senior litigation counsel at the Innocence Project, for the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
William S. Pocan, the deputy chief judge of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Jennifer L. Rochon, general counsel of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Fred W. Slaughter, California Superior Court judge, for the US District Court for the Central District of California.
Sunshine Suzanne Sykes, California Superior Court judge, for the US District Court for the Central District of California.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/15/politics/biden-judicial-nominations-trump/index.html
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Biden Administration Releases $2.9 Billion in Infrastructure Funds to Remove Lead Pipes
The Biden administration announced plans on Thursday to eliminate lead from the nation's drinking water with an infrastructure bill that would dedicate $2.9 billion to the removal of lead pipes.
White House officials reported that an estimated 10 million U.S. homes receive water via lead pipes. Lead from these pipes has been known to seep into drinking water, poisoning people in places such as Flint, Michigan.
According to the World Health Organization, lead poisoning, even in smaller quantities, can be especially dangerous to children, as it can affect brain development and cause behavioral changes, along with a host of other health complications.
"There is no reason in the 21st century for why people are still exposed to this substance that was poisoning people back in the 18th century," Vice President Kamala Harris said in remarks delivered Thursday.
The administration has a 10-year goal of replacing every lead service line in the country. Harris added that doing so would help create jobs.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not set to finalize its requirements for reaching the goal until 2024, which some environmentalists worry could be too little, too late.
Erik Olson, senior strategic director of health at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the administration needs to be more specific on its plan to remove the pipes.
"The top priority must be to require removal of all lead pipes within the decade and to set a strict at-the-tap standard, which is the only way to prevent another generation of kids from drinking water through what is essentially a lead straw," Olson said. "Good intentions won't be enough to get the job done."
In recent years, the risks facing cities with lead service lines have come into focus, most notably in connection to the Flint, Michigan, water crisis.
While the EPA considers how to strengthen the nation's lead-in-water rules, it will allow the previous Trump administration's overhaul of lead regulations to move forward, officials said Thursday. When the Biden EPA's requirements are finalized by 2024, they are expected to call for the replacement of remaining lead drinking water pipes "as quickly as is feasible."
"The science on lead is settled—there is no safe level of exposure and it is time to remove this risk to support thriving people and vibrant communities," EPA administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.
Environment America senior attorney John Rumpler called the administration's plans "long-overdue and an indispensable step toward securing safe water." He said the EPA should set a 10-year deadline to replace lead service lines, as New Jersey did in July.
A Trump administration rule said public water systems should replace 3% of their lead service lines annually if lead levels exceed 15 parts per billion, a rate lower than the previous 7% requirement. Trump administration officials said that the rule eliminated loopholes allowing water systems to avoid removing pipes and would therefore make the replacement process faster.
But environmental groups were critical, saying it allowed the removal to happen too slowly.
The Trump administration also set requirements to make sure that water systems prevent lead in pipes from corroding into drinking water. It also revamped lead testing to make sure water samples come from water sitting in lead pipes instead of near a faucet—a move experts say could push lead level results higher for many utilities nationwide.
The Biden EPA is considering ways to strengthen key parts of the regulation, including the 15 parts-per-billion threshold.
Congress approved $15 billion for lead service line replacement in the infrastructure bill—about one-third less than what the White House and water experts say it will cost to replace them nationally.
Administration officials spoke about additional efforts to limit lead exposure, including more childhood surveillance testing for lead exposure by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to remove lead paint in public housing. Also, the Treasury Department is announcing that surplus COVID-19 relief funds can be used for lead service line replacement projects.
"The challenge that we face is, without any question, great. Lead is built into our cities. It is laid under our roads, and it is installed in our homes," Harris said.
https://www.newsweek.com/biden-administration-releases-29-billion-infrastructure-funds-remove-lead-pipes-1660345
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Utah airports to receive millions from Biden infrastructure plan
SALT LAKE CITY — Several airports in Utah will be recipients of $39.2 million from the Federal Aviation Administration in 2022. The funds are part of the Biden administration’s infrastructure plan.
According to the FAA, the plan sets aside $2.89 billion dollars for airports across the country in 2022. The bill allocates $15 billion in total for airports over the coming years.
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has given us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build safer and more sustainable airports that connect individuals to jobs and communities to the world,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement.
"With this new funding, urban, regional and rural airports across the country now can get to work on projects that have waited for years, modernizing their infrastructure and building a better America."
All in all, 33 airports in Utah will be beneficiaries of the money, including those in Cedar City, Ogden, Moab, Provo, Vernal, St. George, and Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake City International airport will receive the bulk of the money, roughly 69%.
The federal dollars are for roadways, runways, terminals, safety measures, and sustainability projects, according to the FAA.
A spokesperson for the Salt Lake airport said they just learned of the funding project this week and have not yet developed a strategy for spending the money most effectively. However, they said the funds would likely be used for the next phase of the new airport facilities still under construction.
The breakdown of the disbursements are as follows:
Canyonlands Field in Moab: $1,010,713
Cedar City Regional in Cedar City: $1,015,726
Ogden-Hinckley in Ogden: $1,010,481
Provo Municipal in Provo: $1,424,960
Salt Lake City International in Salt Lake City: $24,752,219
St George Regional in St. George: $1,486,245
Vernal Regional in Vernal: $1,008,207
https://kslnewsradio.com/1961210/utah-airports-to-receive-millions-from-biden-infrastructure-plan/
'Americans always rebuild’: Biden promotes infrastructure investments
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — President Joe Biden visited here to tout the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill he signed into law last month, expected to bring billions in spending on roads and bridges, clean water, public transportation, high speed internet and the states.
The president said the investments amount to a “blue collar blueprint” for rebuilding the country, providing more good-paying jobs and economic opportunities, 95 percent of which don’t require a college degree.
For the better part of the 20th century, the United States became a global leader through “our willingness to invest in ourselves,” he said citing the space race and the federal highway system. Now, he said, China and the rest of the world are catching up and moving ahead.
Running through Biden’s speech, delivered at the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, was a thread of frustration at the state of the nation’s infrastructure and the difficulties faced by those who struggle to afford prescription drugs or access the internet, implying the nation should be doing far better.
“We never break. We never stop. We Americans always rebuild, and we will rebuild this country,” Biden said.
Biden said the law does something historic in rebuilding the country, fulfilling a promise he made on the campaign trail.
“When I announced for office, I said I was running for three reasons,” Biden said. “One, to restore the soul of this country, a sense of decency and honor. Two, to rebuild the backbone of this country, working class and hard working middle class people — that’s the backbone of this country. And thirdly, to unite the country, which is turning out to be one of the most difficult things, but we’re going to get it done.”
The far-flung city of half a million people has struggled to keep up with the infrastructure needs across its 300 square miles. For years, residents’ water bills rose by double digits every year to fund a federally mandated upgrade to keep the city’s wastewater from overflowing. The city renegotiated that mandate with the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year.
Kansas City’s iconic Buck O’Neil Bridge has long needed replacing and had to be rehabilitated in 2018 while it awaited funding for replacement. The state-owned bridge is now being rebuilt at the cost of $250 million, half of which the city contributed through a sales tax increase.
Missouri’s highways are notoriously troublesome with more than $4.5 billion in unfunded needs. The Missouri General Assembly this spring increased the tax on gasoline for the first time in almost 30 years.
Under the legislation, Kansas is expected to get $2.6 billion in highway funds and $225 million for bridges over five years. Missouri is expected to receive $6.5 billion and $484 million for those investments.
Both states would get hundreds of millions to expand broadband service to disconnected rural areas and low-income families that can’t afford internet access.
Biden said no parent in 21st century America should have to sit in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant to use the Internet, like many did during the pandemic.
“This is the United States of America, for God’s sake,” Biden said.
Biden said the bill also marked the largest investment in passenger railways in the U.S. for 50 years, joking about his own affinity for riding the train from Washington to Delaware.
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat who represents the Kansas side of the Kansas City area, said she was excited by the billions of dollars that would flow into the region through infrastructure investments. She said residents can feel the economic impact of decades of underinvestment in infrastructure.
“From bridges to broadband, we’re continuing to create opportunities, because that’s what this is about,” Davids said.
The federal infrastructure bill includes $89 billion for local transit projects over the next five years, with $5.6 billion earmarked for low- or zero-emission vehicles.
In 2020, Kansas City, Mo., became the first major American city to eliminate fares for public transportation. The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority operates 78 bus routes across state lines, serving 14 million riders annually. The fleet includes four battery-powered buses, and only zero-emission buses will be added.
Biden also touted the elements of the bill meant to help the environment and protect communities from the effects of climate change. He said roads and bridges would be rebuilt to be more resistant to climate change. He praised Kansas City for its move to zero-emissions buses.
Biden said he grew up like a lot of Americans in a middle class household, but he would hear his parents talk about struggles, like his father losing his health insurance.
“My dad used to say everybody deserves just a little bit of breathing room,” Biden said.
Biden also took the opportunity to tout his Build Back Better plan, which still needs approval by the U.S. Senate. He said the bill would invest in universal preschool to help America catch up on early childhood education. He noted the country ranks 34th.
During the pandemic, women have been forced from the workplace in huge numbers as school closures and quarantines upended their normal childcare plans.
He spoke of a young woman who told him she was forced to ration her insulin because she couldn’t afford it and nearly died as a result. He said the bill would ensure insulin costs no more than $35 per month.
“Think about that,” Biden said. “The difference between nearly dying and thriving is the cost of one drug that cost $10 to make. … It can cost consumers now $1,000 a month.”
https://floridaphoenix.com/2021/12/10/americans-always-rebuild-biden-promotes-infrastructure-investments/
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President Biden has done some remarkable things this year and this is all with GOP obstruction.
1. Passed a Rescue Plan
2. Largest Infrastructure Bill in generations
3. Set record for job creation
4. Cut child poverty in half
5. More judges than any President in 50 years
6. Vaccinated 200m people
Back in March:
Biden signs $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law
Washington — President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act into law on Thursday, finalizing an early policy victory that will send much-needed aid to millions of Americans still struggling from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country and giving people in this nation, working people, middle class folks, people who built the country, a fighting chance," Mr. Biden said before signing the bill, one day earlier than expected.
The bill was narrowly approved by the House on Wednesday with a vote of 220 to 211, with one Democrat joining all Republicans in voting against it. It passed the Senate on Saturday with a 50 to 49 vote, also along party lines.
Mr. Biden signed the bill hours before delivering his first prime-time national address to mark the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has since taken more than 529,000 American lives. The White House said the president and Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Atlanta next Friday, part of what the White House is calling the "Help is Here" tour to tout the new relief bill in cities around the country.
New CBS News polling shows that the bill is widely popular with the public, with three in four Americans approving of its passage. Two-thirds of Americans also say Mr. Biden is doing a good job in his handling of the pandemic.
The American Rescue Plan provides $1,400 direct payments to individuals making up to $75,000 annually, $350 billion in aid to state and local governments and $14 billion for vaccine distribution. The bill also provides $130 billion to elementary, middle and high schools to assist with safe reopening.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the first wave of direct deposit checks would begin hitting Americans' bank accounts as soon as this weekend.
It includes an additional $300 billion in weekly jobless benefits through September and an expanded tax credit of up to $3,600 per child, initially distributed in monthly installments. The child tax credit could raise 4 million children out of poverty, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
More than $50 billion will be distributed to small businesses, including $7 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program. The bill also provides $25 billion for relief for small and mid-sized restaurants, which have suffered significantly during the pandemic.
The measure expands eligibility for subsidies to purchase health insurance to people of all incomes under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a provision that was particularly controversial for Republicans who oppose the bill. It also incentivizes states to expand Medicaid under the ACA by having the federal government pay for new recipients. Several million people could save hundreds of dollars in health care costs once the bill becomes law.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-signs-covid-relief-bill-american-rescue-plan-into-law/
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GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert and husband racked up arrests in home district
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Rep. Lauren Boebert, the gun-toting freshman Republican Colorado congresswoman who ran on a law-and-order platform, has had several dust-ups with police, starting as a teenager.
The 34-year-old lawmaker, who beat her district’s very conservative Rep. Scott Tipton in a primary upset last June, has a rap sheet unusually long for a member of Congress.
And her track record of thumbing her nose at the law continued this week after she tussled with Capitol Police officers over her refusal to walk through newly installed House metal detectors.
“I am legally permitted to carry my firearm in Washington, DC, and within the Capitol complex,” she tweeted in defiance, while calling the detectors “another political stunt by Speaker Pelosi.”
While the lawmaker was eventually allowed to enter the House chambers, she is facing growing questions about her possible role in assisting the deadly Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill. Just hours before the violence, she tweeted, “today is 1776.” In the days leading up to the unrest, Boebert made a spectacle of her intention to remain armed in the Capitol, earning another rebuke from local law enforcement.
Back in June 2015, Boebert was cuffed for disorderly conduct at a country music festival near Grand Junction, Colo., after police said she attempted to interfere in the arrest of minors busted for underage drinking and encouraged the accused to run off. Boebert said the revelers had not been read their Miranda rights and that the arrest was illegal.
"Lauren continued yelling and causing the underage drinkers to become unruly,” an arresting officer said in a statement at the time. “Lauren said multiple times that she had friends at Fox News and that the illegal arrest would be national news.” At the time, Boebert was running Shooters Grill in Rifle, Colo. The story was first reported by Colorado Newsline.
Boebert subsequently missed two court appearances and was arrested again in December 2015. The charge was dismissed.
A year later, in September 2016, Boebert was charged with careless driving and operating an unsafe vehicle after rolling her truck into a ditch, police said. When she failed to show up for court a month later, a warrant was issued for her arrest. She was booked on Feb. 13, 2017. She ultimately pleaded guilty to the unsafe vehicle charge and paid $123.50 in fines and court costs. The careless driving charge was dismissed. The incident was first reported by the Colorado Times Recorder.
"It’s certainly of concern that on a couple of occasions she apparently failed to appear for court,” Tom Silverman, a Democrat and former president of the Colorado Municipal Judges Association, told The Post. “I was disappointed when she was elected.”
Colin Wilhelm, a Colorado defense attorney and Democrat who plans to challenge Boebert in 2022, agreed: “It’s concerning when you claim to be a member of ‘back the blue’ and yet are so anti-authority when they are trying to do their job.”
In September 2010, Boebert was arrested after a neighbor, Michele Soet, accused Boebert’s two pit bulls of attacking Soet’s dog. Soet’s dog narrowly escaped injury after jumping into a van. The future legislator pleaded guilty to a single count of “dog at large,” paying a $75 fine.
Boebert’s future husband, Jayson, also had brushes with law enforcement. In January 2004, he was arrested after allegedly exposing himself to two women at a bowling alley, according to an arrest affidavit. Lauren Boebert (then age 17 and known as Lauren Opal Roberts) was also there. Jayson Boebert pleaded guilty to public indecency and lewd exposure, earning himself four days in jail and two years’ probation.
In February 2004, he was booked on a domestic violence charge, against Lauren Boebert. He “did unlawfully strike, shove or kick … and subjected her to physical contact,” a spokesman for the Garfield associate county court clerk told The Post. They had been dating at the time.
Jayson Boebert ultimately served seven days in jail. The busts were first unearthed by Colorado blogger Anne Landman.
Lauren Boebert took her revenge in May 2004 during an altercation with Jayson at his home in which she scratched his face and chest and trashed his residence, according to a police report. She was slapped with third-degree assault, criminal mischief and underage drinking charges. A rep for the Garfield County Combined Court said they could not reveal any information about the case’s final disposition.
The Boeberts married in 2005, and have four children.
Jayson Boebert did not respond to a request for comment from The Post.
https://nypost.com/2021/01/16/gop-rep-lauren-boebert-and-husband-have-racked-up-arrests/
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Republicans voted against the American Rescue Plan.
Charlie Crist touts $151 Million in Child Tax Cuts for Pinellas families
Pinellas County families have received more than $151 million since July from the Child Tax Credit payments, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist announced.
That accounts for 72,000 families within Crist’s district. The expanded Child Tax Credit, included in the American Rescue Plan, seeks to cut childhood poverty by 40%. The American Rescue Plan expanded the credit to up to $3,600 per child for children under 5, and $3,000 per child for children ages 6 to 17.
“One of the most impactful parts of that law was a historic expansion of the Child Tax Credit,” Crist said of the American Rescue Plan.
https://thetampabay100.com/politics-category/2021/12/15/charlie-crist-touts-151-million-in-child-tax-cuts-for-pinellas-families/18331
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Corrupt West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin is blocking President Biden's agenda from passing which the overwhelming majority of Americans voted for and want to Build Back Better.
'Not everybody in West Virginia has a houseboat': CNN's Acosta on Joe Manchin
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CNN's Jim Acosta called out Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) after he revealed he wouldn't support President Joe Biden's Build Back Better pan that would give Americans the child tax credit, tech neutral energy tax incentives and control of drug prices, as Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) explained in his letter to his West Virginia colleague.
@RonWyden releases outline for the pillars of an updated BBB that might fit Sen. Manchin’s criteria while also bringing along progressives.
-Long-term expansion of the current child tax credit
-Tech neutral energy tax incentives
-Rx drug price control
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Speaking to CNN political analyst John Avlon, Acosta noted, "I do think that Joe Manchin did mislead a lot of people in his party for many many months," said Acosta. "And yes, he may represent a MAGA state now and so on but not everybody in West Virginia has a houseboat."
"Traditionally one of the things centrists tend to do is they look at what's actually popular as opposed to ideological wishlist items that maybe have a minority of support in America, and they try to bring folks together. And I think the White House has been negotiating in good faith with Manchin," Avlon agreed. "And I think Manchin — you want to take at his word that he had been working with the president. But he pulled the plug the week before Christmas when so many of these items are not only popular but things that Manchin has supported in the past, things that would benefit his own constituents in West Virginia, things that would help the Democratic Party reach out to working-class voters who have suffered from the economic divide."
See the discussion below:
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Bank predicts American GDP will go down because Joe Manchin killed the human infrastructure plan
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After Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) revealed that he would not support President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" plan, which is known as the "human infrastructure" bill, Dow Futures tumbled. Now, a major world bank is warning that they're readjusting predictions about American GDP.
Sunday evening Investors.com revealed that the stock market is predicted to tumble on Monday. Due to Manchin's interview with Fox News Sunday morning, the big bank Goldman Sachs gives the Biden bill a less than 50-50 chance of passing Congress. The company then lowered its 2022 GDP forecasts for the United States.
It puts Manchin in a difficult position to single-handedly hurt the U.S. economy, tweeted CNBC Contributor James Pethokoukis.
As Goldman said in the statement, "There is also still a chance that Congress retroactively extends the expanded child tax credit, with some modifications, though we think the odds of this occurring are less than even."
There is also a concern that anti-vaxxers are also causing COVID-19 to spread and evolve into yet another variant.
"While many questions remain unanswered, we now think a moderate downside scenario where the virus spreads more quickly but immunity against severe disease is only slightly weakened is most likely," said Goldman economist Joseph Briggs, CNN reported.
See the full statement below or at CNN.com:
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https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/04/economy/goldman-sachs-us-gdp-omicron/index.html
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How Georgia's Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue conspired against democracy
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Anyone in public life who supported, advocated, justified, participated in, financed or helped to organize the scheme to void the 2020 Electoral College vote, take away the voice of the people, and MacGyver state legislatures into keeping Donald Trump in the White House is guilty of conspiring to end American democracy.
History will record that as a fact.
Now, some might disagree. I mean, it’s not as if Republicans just hyped themselves into a frenzy with a totally groundless story about “voter fraud,” then used that frenzy as an excuse to throw out tens of millions of legitimate votes, cancel the election, overrule the American people and re-install a president whom voters had clearly and definitively rejected. If all that had happened, even the skeptics would have to agree they had conspired against democracy.
Of course, all that did happen.
So let’s call out some names:
You, David Perdue. You conspired to end American democracy. As a U.S. senator sworn to defend the Constitution, you instead supported efforts to trash that document. You conspired to throw out the 5 million votes that were cast legally and in good faith by your fellow Georgians so that Republican legislators could substitute their will for the will of the people. You did so for no other reason than you didn’t like the outcome.
You had – and have – no evidence of voter fraud to justify such breathtaking action. The laughable lawsuit that you recently filed accuses Fulton County election officials of “unlawful, erroneous, negligent, grossly negligent, willful, malicious, corrupt, deceitful, and intentional manipulation of votes.” It claims “Fulton County permitted great multitudes of fraudulent persons to fraudulently vote in the General Election using the name(s) of qualified and eligible Georgia voters.”
1. Produce these “great multitudes.” You have made the charge: Back it up.
If what you allege is true, then thousands of legally registered voters in Fulton County – if you believe Trump, tens of thousands – must have been barred from voting on Election Day because when they got to their precincts, they would have been told that somebody else had fraudulently cast ballots in their name through the absentee process.
So produce these “great multitudes.” You cannot. You cannot because they exist only in the land of unicorns, fairies, magic rainbows and GOP lawsuits.
I know, I know – we’ve all heard the excuse: The lawsuits are necessary to uncover the evidence that you’re sure is there. Yet that in itself is a damning admission. Given your support a year ago for blocking the transfer of power to President Biden, it is a confession that you were willing to subvert American democracy based on evidence that to this day you do not have.
Furthermore, in your campaign for governor you have made it clear that you would use the powers of that new office to do even worse in the next election, if given the chance. Indeed, that promise is the entire animating force behind your candidacy. And if you’ve somehow managed to convince yourself that all this nonsense is true, if that self-delusion helps you sleep better at night, it doesn’t make the Big Lie any less of a lie. It just makes you a bigger fool.
But of course, Perdue is far from alone.
You, then-Sen. Kelly Loeffler, joined Perdue last year in supporting a Texas lawsuit that would have rendered 5 million Georgia voters voiceless in the presidential election, based on the false claim of 80,000 forged absentee ballots in our state. Your fellow Republican, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, had condemned that suit as “constitutionally, legally and factually wrong,” but that didn’t deter you in the slightest. No defender of the Constitution or democracy would have taken the momentous step of trying to throw out millions of ballots without overwhelming evidence. You did so with no evidence whatsoever.
Twenty-eight state legislators also joined in supporting that ridiculous lawsuit, as did seven House members from Georgia. Again, we should name names: House members Jody Hice, Rick Allen, Buddy Carter, Doug Collins, Drew Ferguson, Barry Loudermilk, Austin Scott: You too have conspired against American democracy. When the vote of the people of Georgia went against your candidate, you tried to silence their voice, and all but Scott did so again on the House floor on Jan. 6.
Hice is now running for Georgia secretary of state, the office entrusted with the sacred power of guaranteeing the fairness and legitimacy of our democratic republic. As with Perdue, the entire reason for Hice’s candidacy is his eagerness to use the powers of that office to succeed next time where he and others failed last time. He has no other platform, no other agenda.
Hice, Perdue and too many other GOP candidates are asking the people of Georgia not just to validate their past attempts to subvert democracy. They are asking that you join in that conspiracy, that you participate in it.
Don’t do that.
https://georgiarecorder.com
Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence.
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Every House Republican voted against a monthly insulin co-pay cap
About a century ago, Dr. Frederick Banting patented the lifesaving drug insulin. Insulin is a hormone that controls blood sugar levels by helping one’s body use and store glucose in the bloodstream.
While insulin is naturally produced and secreted by one’s pancreas in healthy individuals, people with diabetes either cannot produce insulin, produce insufficient levels of insulin, or do not respond to the presence of insulin in the bloodstream and thus require alternative medication to control their blood sugar.
Regardless of Dr. Banting’s good will, skyrocketing insulin prices have now put the drug out of reach of many across the globe that Banting sought to help. Back in the 1920s, Banting and his colleagues sold the patent for insulin to the University of Toronto for $1 each. Imagine...
For decades, the diabetes community in America has bore the exhausting weight of heavy insulin costs — the price of which nearly tripled between 2002 and 2013, according to an American Diabetes Association study. In fact, Americans have paid more than 10 times as much for insulin than Canadians do, according to a commentary published in the Nov. 7, 2019 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Since 2012, list prices of many modern forms of insulin have risen rapidly, with average annual increases cited at more than 15%. As a result, the United States is a global outlier on the amount of money spent on insulin products annually. The U.S. represents approximately 15% of the global insulin market, but generates nearly half of the industry’s insulin revenue.
As a result of high costs, one in four insulin-dependent Americans reported needing to ration their insulin on a monthly basis.
Without a doubt, this is absolutely despicable — and moreover, it’s just flat-out wrong.
Believe me, if my diabetic grandmother was still here, she’d have some choice words, that’s for darn sure.
Sorry, Lucille.
I hear enough medical dispatches over the scanner on a weekly basis about insulin-related incidents. It’s about time things change. Without a doubt, this is an issue that hits close to home for many Oswego County residents.
Insulin price-gouging and associated high costs in the United States are largely a consequence of the exact opposite of the definition of a “free market,” so much so that a monopoly exists on a lifesaving drug that, if not acquired, could amount to a massive death toll, especially among the senior citizen population of this country.
U.S. laws have allowed “Big Pharma” and pharmaceutical manufacturers set their own prices and raise them without limit. Secondly, as the situation stands, a significant competitor in the U.S. insulin market has not come along to shift things up. It’s complicated to explain, for insulin is a complex compound, and there’s biological barriers that exist as well.
According to Volume 7 of the Journal of Law and the Biosciences, Insulin is a biologic, which is a drug “derived from living materials, including viruses, therapeutic serums, toxins and antitoxins, vaccines, blood and blood products, and cells, tissues, and gene therapy products.” Most drugs are small molecule drugs, which are regulated under the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and approved under a New Drug Application (NDA) or associated accelerated pathway. Most biologics are approved through a Biologics License Application (BLA) under the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act). However, insulin was approved before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) created the biologics approval process and was regulated as a small molecule drug under the FDCA until March 23, 2020. Only three companies — Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, and Eli Lilly — provide insulin to American dependents, despite the existence of several other manufacturers globally.
If you’re confused, that’s totally fine.
What you need to know is this: with multiple barriers to entry in existence, current insulin manufacturers have esentially blocked the introduction of such products by making it virtually impossible to obtaining new patents based on inventions such as insulin delivery devices and products that focus on less invasive measures, such as discreet insulin ports, tubes, etc.
How did any right-minded politician allow this to happen?
It’s too late to ask that question, ‘cause they downright did.
Thankfully, the American Diabetes Association® (ADA) hailed a major victory recently when the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act, including the most sweeping nationwide effort to date to put a cap on out-of-pocket co-pays for insulin. The national co-pay cap, which the ADA has aggressively advocated for and promoted, would apply to Medicare beneficiaries, individuals on private insurance, and those covered by other group health plans.
ADA-led efforts around the country advocated for co-pay caps. Thankfully, legislation has been enacted in 20 states and the District of Columbia.
“These states paved the way for this week’s historic action in the House,” said Lisa Murdock, chief advocacy officer for the ADA. “We thank those members of the House of Representatives who supported a national insulin co-pay cap, building on the efforts of state leaders before them. Together, these leaders are working to ensure that millions of people with diabetes will be able to afford their insulin and will not have to skip doses or ration because they don’t have enough money to pay for this life-saving drug,” Murdock said.
Nevertheless, not a single House Republican voted for capping insulin costs in the Build Back Better Act. And you can damn well bet they know people — family, friends, coworkers — who are diabetic and dependent on insulin. Many of those people would benefit from a $35/mo. cap on insulin price.
http://www.oswegocountynewsnow.com/opinion/every-house-republican-voted-against-a-monthly-insulin-co-pay-cap/article_91a63ac2-4c7c-11ec-aa15-c3d111ee14aa.html
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'Unfit to serve': Columnist makes case for expelling all pro-Trump coup members from Congress
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Writing for USA Today, Jill Lawrence argued that congressional Trump supporters who planned to stop the certification of the 2020 election deserve to be expelled from Congress.
Writing Monday, Lawrence recalled the recent revelation that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) was among those who text messaged White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Jan. 5 on ways to overthrow the 2020 election.
A legal analysis forwarded by Jordan to Meadows argued that then-Vice President Pence should "call out all electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional as no electoral votes at all." Meanwhile, after Jan. 6, another lawmaker sent an apologetic text saying that they were "sorry nothing worked," as they attempted to stop the 2020 election results from being certified.
Meanwhile, at the Ellipse, Trump's allies were telling supporters to "fight like hell" because "if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore."
There were 21 Republican state lawmakers who participated in Jan. 6 events, according to a DLCC report. Among those 21 lawmakers, only one has been censured by his home state and that was only after he was arrested after live-streaming himself breaking into the Capitol.
Lawrence noted that it's a stark contrast to members of the U.S. government who were expelled after betraying the United States after its founding.
"Fifteen senators have been expelled, one in 1797 for plotting to give U.S. territories to Great Britain and, more than 60 years later, 14 because of 'support for Confederate rebellion.' The House has only expelled five members – two for corruption and three for 'disloyalty to the Union; fighting for the Confederacy,'" she wrote.
"Support for a rebellion and disloyalty to the nation were hallmarks of the Jan. 6 insurrection," Lawrence continued. "As U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss put it in July when he sentenced defendant Paul Hodgkins, a Tampa, Florida crane operator who carried a Trump flag into the building: 'He was staking a claim on the floor of the United States Senate, not with the American flag, but with a flag declaring his loyalty to a single individual over a nation.'"
It is similar language that Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) used when talking about whether Donald Trump "through action or inaction, corruptly sought to obstruct or impede Congress's official proceeding to count electoral votes."
Lawrence closed by arguing that all of those in control -- from President Joe Biden to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Attorney General Merrick Garland -- "must make examples of public officials who created chaos and brought America to the brink, all so Trump could stay president for life, or until he got bored. They aren't fit to lead or serve in any capacity."
Read the full column at USA Today:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/12/20/punish-trump-congress-capitol-insurrection-jim-jordan-meadows/8942436002/?gnt-cfr=1
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Why You Should Care About The Build Back Better Act
The US government may give a tremendous Christmas gift to working families across America: by Christmas, the Senate intends to vote on HR 5376, better known as the Build Back Better Act. While many of the bill’s original features, like community college for all, have been gutted, what remains is still a bill full of provisions that can help increase family income and health care outcomes, and ensure increased tax revenue is available from the wealthy and corporations to help pay for it. Wall Street is confident that it will pass, but with 50 Republican Senators opposed, and one Democrat on the fence, Senator Manchin of West Virginia, that’s not quite so clear. "We have basically 49 of us in agreement to move forward. So we have one colleague we're continuing to work with, and he's been successful at making a number of changes. And so hopefully he'll be joining us," Senator Debbie Stabenow, D-Michegan, told NBC.
Particular attention has been given to the needs of red states in Build Back Better. Most of the states struggling with deep-rooted poverty are historically conservative, and stand to benefit from what will be close to $2 trillion invested in human needs and infrastructure. Build Back Better specifically helps the working poor throughout the Deep South and Midwest. Senator Manchin’s West Virginia is next-to-last of all states by median income . Hundreds of thousands of working West Virginians living paycheck-to-paycheck could critically use these resources.
Here are just a few of the reasons why this will benefit Americans, and why the Senate and West Virginia Senator Manchin would be wise to enact this legislation.
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1. Working Families Will Have More Cash
Since the American Rescue Plan expanded the Child Tax Credit in March of 2021, the families of over 65 million children have benefited. Notably the impact on child hunger has been great—according to the Center for American Progress, the US Census Bureau found that “After just one payment, food insecurity in households with children dropped by 24 percent.”This will run out in December unless Build Back Better passes, and could plunge close to 10 million children back into poverty. Build Back Better will extend the Child Tax Credit (CTC) for another year, sending $300/month per child to help ease the burden of childcare and necessities.
It will also extend the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for another year, a program that the IRS explains “helps low- to moderate-income workers and families get a tax break. If you qualify, you can use the credit to reduce the taxes you owe – and maybe increase your refund.” EITC is a critical piece of the American social safety net, with the IRS noting that they “estimate that four out of five workers claim the EITC, which means millions of taxpayers are putting EITC dollars to work for them.”
2. Comprehensive Health Coverage For New Moms
The US has long struggled to provide adequate care to new mothers, with maternal mortality on the rise, especially for poor women of color. Build Back Better would add full coverage through the Medicaid program to mothers for a year after birth.
What’s unique about this provision is that it will apply to parents in all states, not just those with broader Medicaid coverage. In most states (and DC), people who make 133% the Federal Poverty Line—about $29,000/year for a family of three—qualify for Medicaid. However there are 13 states that have kept stricter guidelines for Medicaid—in Alabama, for instance, a family of three would have to be under $3,952 in annual income to qualify in 2021. This means that many families in the Deep South, as well as Wisconsin, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Kansas have been locked out of Medicaid.
Build Back Better would extend these programs to all new mothers, regardless of the state’s Medicaid expansion status. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, for the millions of women living in these states and much of the South, the added Medicaid coverage for natal and post-natal care is essential for giving American children a healthy start in life.
3. Insulin Will Be Cheaper
Insulin has infamously been sold in the US at a remarkably high, and to many, seemingly inexplicable markup. It is not scarce. It is not expensive to produce. It is required by 10% of diabetics to survive. And yet, in the US it has become a catastrophic and tragic symbol of the failures of the American health care market. As Senator Dick Durban noted, one manufacturer historically charged close to ten times the price to US consumers as they did to Canadian consumers for the exact same vial of insulin. We could spend a lot of time unpacking how this problem began—or with the Build Back Better Act, just fix the problem.
Even “expensive” types of insulin cost just over $6 to produce, yet monthly supplies can range from $350 to over $1,000 for some people, a surcharge on life. The Build Back Better act would enforce a $35 cap for those on medicare or on private insurance. This still leaves room for a reasonable profit margin, and guarantees that people will not be literally price gouged to death.
4. The Wealthiest .01% of Americans Will Pay More Taxes
Build Back Better establishes a 5% surtax on income above $10M, and 8% for income above $25M. This increase, impacting just over .01% of Americans will help shore up many social programs, bringing back tax revenue lost from Trump-era tax cuts.
IRS enforcement would also get a huge boost with the act, something that is desperately needed. This would mostly be focused on “modernizing” the IRS to help officials close the tax gap — the difference between what the government is owed, and what the government successfully collects.
Taxes on wages are 99% compliant, but the less-visible sources of income common like capital gains are only 45% compliant. This costs American taxpayers more than $600 B each year.
A 2019 ProPublica study found IRS workers simply don’t have the resources to pursue wealthy individuals or businesses who require more complicated audits, which then contributes to the challenge of ensuring that everyone pays their fair share.
5. Corporations Will Pay A Fair Share
The current American tax system is dominated by loopholes that undermine the intentions of the tax code. Warren Buffet infamously pays a lower tax rate than his secretary (though has thoughtfully used this fact publicly to argue for tax reform, a tactic pioneered by groups like Responsible Wealth who organize wealthy individuals to advocate for higher taxes). Many corporations enjoy similarly cushy positions: in 2020, 55 of the nation’s largest corporations like Nike and FedEx paid zero federal income tax on $40B of profits.
To add insult to injury, given various federal rebates, these corporations actually had a 9% negative tax rate! The Build Back Better act should largely pay for itself in large part by ensuring minimum taxes on large companies. It will introduce a 15% domestic minimum tax on large corporations, a 15% global minimum tax for international corporations (in line with the movement to help hold megacorps responsible globally), and a 1% tax on corporate stock buys.
6.Companies That Hurt Will Be Held Responsible
In the US’ rush to industrialize the country, industries left in their wake numerous heavily polluted sites. Between copper mining, nuclear fuel refining, oil production and much more, the US is peppered with them. Dubbed Superfund sites by the 1980 CERCLA, the EPA set up plans to invest in cleaning up and restoring communities impacted by the 1,322 most contaminated sites.
Much of this was intended to be paid for by those responsible — often petrochemical companies, refinery groups, etc. — but those taxes expired in 1995. Since then, it’s typically been on American taxpayers to foot the bill. The Build Back Better act will reinstate the original Superfund taxes, putting the onus on those who made a mess of communities to pay for their cleanup.
7.Clean Energy Investments For All
Build Back Better will dramatically expand who can claim solar tax credits, as well as offering rebates for installing new green tech like heat pumps, advanced insulation and HVAC system upgrades. Even better, they’re scaled to the effectiveness of the upgrade, instead of the cost, which was a loophole in prior plans. It would also provide an additional 20% tax credit if the installed solar facility is connected to low-income housing, or 10% if it’s located within a low-income community.
Expanding solar tax credits and extending the program for at least ten years will empower thousands of communities and millions of people to gradually help restructure the US’ grid to a decentralized, adaptable one. If people take full advantage of the programs offered, even poor homeowners and renters will be able to build property value, save on energy, and enjoy a more reliable grid — all without pumping poison into the air or risking the lives of energy workers. These provisions in particular have been celebrated by the solar industry in Joe Manchin’s West Virginia.
In summary: we have a bill providing massive benefits to low-income families in red states, despite Republican opposition. A bill that largely pays for itself and ensures the wealthy “pay their fair share,” as Senator Manchin has stated as a positive before—he even voted for the Paying a Fair Share Act back in 2012. The Senate has a critical choice to make: they can offer Americans healthcare and income, and invest in our future, or plunge ten million children or more back into poverty. Hopefully the Senate does the right thing—so that families who chose to celebrate can ensure there is food on the Christmas table.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/morgansimon/2021/12/16/why-you-should-care-about-the-build-back-better-act/?sh=2414f5763d21
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In less than one year in office, President Biden has:
- driven the fastest decrease in unemployment in US history
- gotten over 200M Americans fully vaccinated
- delivered more than 171M rescue checks
- delivered a once-in-a-generation infrastructure investment
Biden's Economic Performance Has Proved Unbeatable
No first-year president going back to Carter comes close to matching the current White House occupant’s No. 1 or No. 2 ranking in each of 10 key measures.
U.S. financial markets are outperforming the world by the biggest margin in the 21st century, and with good reason: America’s economy improved more in Joe Biden's first 12 months than any president during the past 50 years notwithstanding the contrary media narrative contributing to dour public opinion.
Exceptional returns from dollar-denominated assets, especially the S&P 500 Index in both absolute terms and relative to its global counterparts, can be attributed to record-low debt ratios enabling companies to reap the biggest profit margins since 1950. Corporate America is booming because the Biden administration's Covid-19 vaccination programs and $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan reduced the jobless rate to 4.2% in November from 6.2% in February, continuing an unprecedented rate of decline during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Consider that real, or inflation adjusted, gross domestic product surged at an average annual rate of 5.03% in each of the first three quarters of 2021, and is poised to expand 5.6% for the year based on the average estimate of more than 80 economists surveyed Bloomberg. If that forecast proves accurate, it would be more than 2.8 times the average between 2000 and 2019 and double the average since 1976.
All of which makes Biden's first year in the White House the standout among the seven previous presidents, based on 10 market and economic indicators given equal weight. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, no one comes close to matching Biden's combination of No. 1 and No. 2 rankings for each of the measures:
Gross domestic product (1)
Profit growth (1)
S&P 500 performance (2)
Consumer credit (1)
Non-farm payrolls (2)
Manufacturing jobs (2)
Business productivity (2)
Dollar appreciation (2)
S&P 500 relative performance (2)
Per capita disposable income, which rose 1.08% this year, is the only comparable weakness for Biden, trailing Donald Trump’s 2.17%, George W. Bush’s 2.01%, Jimmy Carter’s 1.80% and Ronald Reagan’s 1.42%.
GDP growth in every incoming administration during the past four decades never exceeded 2.74% until 2021. Biden is now positioned to surpass Carter (5.01%) as the GDP champion of presidents since 1976. Much of the credit goes to The American Rescue Plan, which poured $66 billion into 36 million households and reduced the child poverty rate by 50%, helping the U.S. recover faster from the pandemic than most other nations.
Leading the Pack
The economy is poised to expand 5.5% in Biden's first year as president
Corporate America was never healthier than under Biden in 2021. Efforts to support consumers flowed through to America’s companies, which are enjoying profit margins of around 15%, the widest since 1950, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Non-financial profit increased 39.3%, making Biden No. 1 among eight presidents with Obama a distant second at 21.6%.
Earnings Bonanza
Corporate profits have boomed in Biden's first year in office
The boom times have allowed companies to reduce net debt as a percentage of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to the lowest since data was compiled in 1990 for companies in the S&P 500. All this helps explain why the stock market under Biden is second only to George H.W. Bush of any incoming president since Carter.
Bull Market
Biden edges Obama for second-best first-year stock performance
Americans are certainly feeling good. Consumer credit surged $196 billion through October, a record under Biden that is 27% more than the increase under No. 2 Donald Trump ($154 billion). Although some of the gains reflect a rebound from 2020 when the pandemic caused many consumers to retrench, they wouldn’t be adding debt if they weren’t feeling confident.
Feeling Flush
A surge in credit borrowing by consumers signals high economic confidence
The way the jobs market is improving, it’s not hard to see why consumers are in such a good mood. Biden is the only president over the past half century with robust increases in non-farm payrolls (4.3%) and manufacturing jobs (2.6%), approaching the gains enjoyed by Carter in general employment (4.6%) and factory workers (3.9%). Trump, who inherited the longest expansion in modern times and said in 2015 he would “be greatest jobs producer that God ever created,” is an also-ran, with non-farm and manufacturing payrolls inching up 1.4% and 1.3%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Jobs Boom
Only Carter tops Biden for best growth in payrolls in their first year in office
Companies need all the workers they can get. U.S. business output, a measure of productivity, increased 4.4%, putting Biden ahead of every predecessor except Carter, where it gained 6.25%. No wonder confidence among chief executive officers of the largest U.S. companies soared to a record this year as expectations for hiring, capital investment and sales improved. The Business Roundtable's CEO Economic Outlook index, launched in 2004, rose 10 points to 124 in the fourth quarter, the highest in 20 years.
The good times may extend into 2022. Biden's bipartisan $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act bodes well for the economy and American labor because it will rebuild the nation's deteriorating roads and bridges as well as fund climate and broadband initiatives that create jobs. Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said his priority was preventing the Biden agenda, voted for the law along with 18 fellow Republicans.
See charts and graphs in link below:
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-12-20/president-biden-s-economic-performance-has-proved-unbeatable
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Joe Manchin and the GOP refused Build Back Better — now 9/11 health care program is in jeopardy
WASHINGTON — The death sentence Joe Manchin declared for President Biden’s massive domestic policy bill is also threatening a key priority of New York lawmakers — plugging a nearly $3 billion gap in the 9/11 health program.
New York’s powerful Democratic congressional delegation, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in the Senate and Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney in the House, had hoped to ensure the funding hole was plugged by including the money in Biden’s roughly $2 trillion Build Back Better legislation.
But Manchin, a conservative Democrat from West Virginia, flatly declared in a Fox News interview on Sunday that he would not vote for the legislation, suddenly leaving the 9/11 health program in limbo.
When the health program was made permanent in 2015, some legislators had hoped for more robust funding but were unable to push more through the Republican-controlled Congress.
Since then, more people have signed up for health care related to Ground Zero exposure than anyone expected, and thousands more have gotten sick, often with costly illnesses such as cancer.
The program should have enough money on hand to avoid making cuts for another couple of years but would likely have to begin making hard decisions as soon as 2023.
In defending his decision Monday, Manchin told the West Virginia radio outlet MetroNews that he wanted the entire process restarted with new committee hearings and votes. He also said he declared his opposition over the weekend because he was furious at unspecified actions by White House staff, who he evidently believed were behind some negative stories about him.
“I just got to the wit’s end,” Manchin said.
While there are certainly many other important and larger programs now facing an uncertain future, the situation is all too familiar and painful for advocates and patients in the 9/11 program, who have dealt with congressional wavering for more than 15 years.
“9/11 responders and survivors across the country are going to be at their ‘wits end,’ when they hear that the funding for their medical care is not going to be there,” said advocate Ben Chevat, who runs the 9/11 Health Watch. “I can’t imagine that Sen. Manchin wants them not to get the medical care they need.”
Schumer’s office declined to speak directly to the fate of the 9/11 funding since the majority leader still believes he can get some version of Build Back Better passed. A letter he sent to fellow Democrats on Monday declared he would bring the bill to the floor for a vote in January, and keep pushing to get the larger measure passed.
Maloney said the BBB bill is “an essential piece of legislation that would touch the lives of so many New Yorkers,” but was especially important for 9/11 responders and survivors because of the $2.86 billion for their health care.
She also suggested if the BBB package disintegrates, she would pursue other pathways. “This critical funding is too important for those who have already sacrificed so much, and it remains a priority to get it across the finish line, whether in BBB or another package,” Maloney said.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who was the lead author in the Senate of the 9/11 health legislation, also hinted the massive spending bill being held up by the West Virginian isn’t the only way to prevent the 9/11 budget gap.
“Closing the funding shortfall in the World Trade Center Health Program is critical for first responders, survivors and their families who need benefits for 9/11-related health conditions,” Gillibrand said. “There is strong bipartisan support for this important provision and I remain confident that Congress will work together to uphold our promise to those suffering from 9/11-related illnesses.”
Historically, it has been difficult to pass 9/11 legislation on its own, and doing so now would require Congress to start fresh in the new year.
© New York Daily News
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'I'm not joking about this': Biden gets angry talking about parents struggling as child tax credit ends
President Joe Biden got angry when talking about the pieces of his Build Back Better plan that would help American families, particularly children. The plan was shot down by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who said that he refused to support the measure. All Republican senators have indicated that they oppose the bill.
Talking about Manchin, Biden said that he doesn't hold a grudge and he's focused on getting the bill done. He then cited an interview with Manchin who said that it wasn't Biden who misled people it, "I mislead you."
"You saw what happened yesterday," Biden continued. "All the talk about how my Build Back Better plan was going to increase inflation and cause debts and all the like. What happened? Goldman Sachs said if we don't pass Build Back Better, we're in trouble because it will grow the economy. Without it, we're not going to grow. What happened? Stock prices went way down. It took a real dip. If you take a look -- everybody thinks because I quoted 17 Nobel laureates saying this will help inflation — think about it in terms of you're a hard working person and you are making $60,000 if you are alone or a mom or dad making $90,000 like a lot of people do and you are worried about inflation. You should be worried about it. It is devastating for working-class and middle-class folks. It really hurts. Where is most of the cost now?"
He said that while costs like gasoline and food may be going up until the pandemic continues to rage, his plan would help families with other costs that are hurting them.
He cited 20 million women who would be able to reenter the workforce because childcare would be significantly reduced. It would stop the increase in costs for insulin, which has grown significantly over just the past 10 years.
"We have 200,000 kids with type 1 diabetes," Biden said. "It costs between 10 cents and $10 to come up with the formula a while ago. Do you know what it costs on average: $560 -- $640 a month. Up to $1,000 a month. What do you do if you're a mom and dad working with minimum wage busting your neck? You look at your kid and you know if you don't get that drug for them? What happened? He could go in a coma or die."
That's when Biden's voice increased and he seemed angry.
"Not only do you put the kid's life at stake, you strip away the dignity of the parent!" he exclaimed. "I'm not joking. Imagine being a parent. Looking at the child and you can't afford and you have no house to borrow against. You have no savings. It's wrong. All the things in that bill are going to reduce prices and costs for middle-class and working-class people. It will reduce their cost."
He closed by saying he intends to continue talking to Manchin, but didn't say whether he'd reach out to more moderate Republicans up for reelection in 2022.
See the video below:
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GOP congressman becomes first Republican to publicly admit he regrets voting to overturn the 2020 election
(https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/tom-rice-and-donald-trump.jpg?id=28280473&width=800&height=450)
Only hours after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump seeking to overturn the 2020 election, Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC) voted to back the insurrectionists by voting against certifying the vote.
Now Rice is the first Republican to go on record voicing regret for his vote, Politico reported Wednesday.
“In retrospect, I should have voted to certify,” Rice said. “Because President Trump was responsible for the attack on the Capitol.”
“In the wee hours of that disgraceful night, while waiting for the Capitol of our great country to be secured, I knew I should vote to certify. But because I had made a public announcement of my intent to object, I did not want to go back on my word. So yeah, I regret my vote to object," Rice explained.
Rice said Trump "did nothing to stop it" from the safety of the White House.
“There was a coward in that equation, but it wasn’t Mike Pence," he argued.
https://www.rawstory.com/republican-trump-jan-6-insurrection/
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President Biden extends moratorium on student loan repayments
The move is expected to impact the student debt of some 41 million people.
"We know that millions of student loan borrowers are still coping with the impacts of the pandemic and need some more time before resuming payments," Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
"Given these considerations, today my Administration is extending the pause on federal student loan repayments for an additional 90 days — through May 1, 2022 — as we manage the ongoing pandemic and further strengthen our economic recovery," he said.
The move comes just days after hopes faded for Senate passage of Biden's massive social spending bill.
The president has been unable to muster a Senate majority for his $1.7 trillion "Build Back Better" plan that would address such issues as health care, education and climate change.
Upon taking office in January 2021, Biden directed the Department of Education to pause federal student loan repayments through September.
He later extended the pause until January 31, 2022.
© Agence France-Presse
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Criminals working on more corrupt GOP candidates campaigns.
Stephen Miller and Hope Hicks advising Pennsylvania candidate after Trump’s pick flames out
(https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/stephen-miller-hope-hicks-and-donald-trump.jpg?id=28276928&width=800&height=450)
Top alums of the Trump administration are backing the U.S. Senate campaign in Pennsylvania of hedge fund executive David McCormick.
"The list includes Trump White House veteran Hope Hicks. Hicks, who has been helping McCormick arrange meetings and reach out to people ahead of his anticipated early 2022 announcement, is working on her first campaign since being a top staffer on Trump’s 2016 effort," Politico reported Wednesday. "Two other prominent top staffers in the Trump administration — Stephen Miller and Cliff Sims — are also expected to serve in advisory roles. Several others, including Kellyanne Conway, Tony Sayegh, Matthew Pottinger and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is running for governor in Arkansas, are also supportive."
Trump backed Sean Parnell for the Pennsylvania Senate seat.
"The only reason Senator 'Gloomy' Pat Toomey is not running for the Senate in Pennsylvania is that I would not give him an endorsement—I feel he has been a terrible representative for both Pennsylvania and the United States, as a whole," Trump said in a September statement. "Fortunately for Pennsylvania, we have a great Senate candidate, Sean Parnell, who I have just given my Complete and Total Endorsement. He will do all of the things that Toomey is incapable of doing."
Less than three months later, Parnell quit the race after losing custody of his children. Now Trump allies are trying their luck with McCormick, who is married to former Trump White House official Dina Powell.
Also running is television personality Mehmet Oz, who goes by Dr. Oz.
"Oz’s team has its own connection to the former president: He has hired Larry Weitzner, who helped craft the TV commercials on Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns. The candidate has been making regular appearances on the Fox News Channel program of Sean Hannity, a Trump favorite," Politico reported. "A third candidate, Carla Sands, has been promoting her role as Trump’s ambassador to Denmark."
Read the full report:
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/22/trump-alums-david-mccormick-staff-525935
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This 232-year-old power has never been used by Congress — but it could save the republic
The Founders of this nation, and the Framers who wrote our Constitution, created (as Ben Franklin famously said) a constitutional republic: a government “deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed” through citizens’ (then white men) right to vote.
They referred to this as “republicanism” because it was based on the Greek and Roman republics (then thousands of years in the past but still remembered and idealized), and when put into law they called it “a Republican Form of Government.”
Today that form of government in crisis in America, as that core right to vote that defines republicanism is under attack by Republican legislators in red states across our nation.
“In emergency, break glass” is the almost-never-used option available should a building catch fire or otherwise be in crisis. There’s a similar alarm and safety valve built into the US Constitution that, like that glass in so many buildings, has never before been used to protect our republic.
It’s called the Guarantee Clause, and it’s the basis of the Right To Vote Act that has passed the House and is stalled by a Republican filibuster in the Senate.
The Guarantee Clause, however, has never been used as a part of our everyday politics or law: most people, in fact, have never heard of it.
It’s never been used or adopted as law by the courts so it’s essentially “potential power,” a powerful but tightly coiled force quietly waiting for a real emergency, buried deep in our Constitution for 232 years.
But it comes alive when Congress activates it for the first time, which could be right now because the Freedom to Vote Act does just that, explicitly firing it up by name.
Joe Manchin is one of its co-sponsors, although it’s mostly an effort by Senators Klobuchar (its main sponsor), Kaine, King, Merkley, Padilla, Tester, and Warnock. On the Republican side, it appears to have support from Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski.
And when you understand the background of the Guarantee Clause, the urgency and the consistency of The Right To Vote Act with the Framer’s vision about the possibility of this political moment is unmistakable:
July 18, 1787
It was a brutally hot summer in Philadelphia that year, and a week and a day after a mob chased down Mrs. Korbmacher on the streets outside Independence Hall (then the seat of the Pennsylvania legislature) and beat her to death for witchcraft.
Inside the Hall, the delegates were writing the Constitution for a new nation, and the question had come up whether the new US government should have the power — or the obligation — to “guarantee” that no state could so change its laws as to deprive its citizens of a “Republican Form of Government.”
This was particularly important, as British law at the time specifically outlawed republicanism: only monarchy was allowed, and citizens had to swear fealty to the king. Nowhere in the “civilized world” of 1787, in fact, was it legal for a nation to elect their own representatives and live under their own laws, all made and enforced “by the consent of the governed” through “a Republican Form of Government.”
At the end of the long, intense day, James Madison wrote a short letter to Thomas Jefferson, who was then the US envoy to France and living in Paris, assuring him he was taking “lengthy notes” but couldn’t fill his mentor in on the details because he was “still under the mortification of being restrained from disclosing any part of their proceedings.”
In fact, those notes taken during the Convention wouldn’t see publication for another roughly 50 years, after all the men in the Hall were dead, a concession to numerous delegates who’d essentially sold out their wealthy acquaintances by ensuring a republican democracy or allowing slavery to continue (there were compromises on both sides, some of which, like the electoral college and setup of the 2-votes-only-regardless-of-population Senate, cripple us to this day).
Before them for debate that day was proposed constitutional language: “That a republican constitution and its existing laws ought to be guarantied to each state by the United States.”
An immediate objection came up from both New York’s Gouverneur Morris and New Jersey’s William Houston, because that language would allow the new states to keep laws that some delegates thought weren’t “republican” in nature.
Morris, in particular, was an outspoken abolitionist and (from the left) wanted slavery phased out, and also opposed (from the right) laws like the one Rhode Island’s legislature was then debating that would have equalized all wealth in that state every 13 years. That “Jubilee” idea was a prescription for chaos, Morris believed, and thus a threat to the new republic.
The judgment of history weighed on Morris. Madison later recounted that, “He came here as a representative of America; he flattered himself he came here in some degree as a Representative of the whole human race; for the whole human race will be affected by the proceedings of this Convention.”
Thus it was no surprise when Morris rose to object that the proposed language could keep terrible state laws in place.
“Mr. GOUVERNEUR MORRIS thought the resolution very objectionable,” Madison wrote. “He should be very unwilling that such laws as exist in Rhode Island should be guarantied.”
New Jersey’s William Houston, a mathematics professor and abolitionist who served as a Captain in Washington’s army, concurred — although he was more concerned with not wanting to encourage laws that maintained slavery and debt peonage.
“Mr. HOUSTON,” Madison noted, “was afraid of perpetuating the existing constitutions of the states. That of Georgia was a very bad one, and he hoped would be revised and amended.”
At which point several men rose to point out they were debating the power of the federal government to “guarantee a Republican Form of Government” to all the states — but what if power-hungry people in a particular state were to rise up in rebellion and seize control of that state’s government, thus ending statewide republicanism and creating a minor dictatorship or cult?
And then, what if that state then threatened other states’ ability to have a government reflecting the will of the people?
Or tried to take them over either by corrupting them from within or invasion? (This was not an idle fear: both happened just 74 years later in 1861.)
Massachusetts’ Nathaniel Gorham was particularly outspoken about this, given how there had been attempts by both rich landowners and Pilgrim clergy in his state over the past century to turn the state into a dictatorial theocracy (leading Roger Williams to flee and split off Rhode Island in the 1670s).
If such a thing were to happen again and succeed, Gorham wondered, shouldn’t the federal government have the power to intervene so it could guarantee the states around Massachusetts and its residents a republican form of government where those with political power had to answer to “the people” rather than just the clergy or the rich? What if a wealthy oligarch declared himself a monarch?
“Mr. GORHAM thought it strange that a rebellion should be known to exist in the empire,” Madison wrote, “and the general government should be restrained from interposing to subdue it. At this rate, an enterprising citizen might erect the standard of monarchy in a particular state; might gather together partisans from all quarters; might extend his views from state to state, and threaten to establish a tyranny over the whole,—and the general government be compelled to remain an inactive witness of its own destruction.” [emphasis added]
In response, Pennsylvania’s James Wilson, a scholar of Greek democracy and an abolitionist, suggested different language for the Fourth Section of the Constitution’s Fourth Article:
“[T]hat a republican form of government shall be guarantied to each state; and that each state shall be protected against foreign and domestic violence.”
That did the trick.
“This seeming to be well received,” Madison noted, “Mr. MADISON and Mr. RANDOLPH withdrew their propositions, and, on the question for agreeing to Mr. Wilson’s motion, it passed, nem. con.” The convention then adjourned for the day and Madison went home to write his letter to Jefferson.
That day’s debate is what gave us Section 4 of Article IV of the Constitution:
“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.”
It’s an amazing sentence, that could be as sweeping in its power as the Commerce Clause (which JFK and LBJ used to force integration of the South), but has never really been used in any meaningful way since it was written on that hot summer day in 1787.
The first time this “Guarantee Clause” came before the Supreme Court, slavery was the law of the land and Chief Justice Roger Taney, a former slaveholder, was determined to keep it that way by bottling up that Clause’s power.
Seven years before he tried to cement slavery into the law of every state in the union with his Dred Scott decision, Taney ruled in Luther v Borden (1849) that his Supreme Court would never be allowed to interfere with state’s rights on the basis of the Guarantee Clause.
“Under this article of the Constitution,” Taney wrote, “it rests with Congress to decide what government is the established one in a state.”
In other words, Taney said: The definition of what a ‘Republican Form of Government’ actually means isn’t yet laid out in the law or previous interpretations of the Constitution: therefore, it’s politics. And politics is the province of Congress, not the Supreme Court, which must limit itself to law.
On that foundation, later Supreme Courts repeated Taney’s assertion that the question was political and not one to be decided by the courts: instead it was up to the politicians in Congress if they were going to “guarantee a Republican Form of Government” to — or within — any particular state at any point in the future.
Taney was quoted “lucidly and cogently” in Pacific States Telephone & Telegraph v Oregon (1912) and Chief Justice John Roberts noted in 2019 that, “This Court has several times concluded that the Guarantee Clause does not provide the basis for a justiciable claim.”
Thus, to this day, it’s up to Congress, not the Court, to decide what a “Republican Form of Government” is and how Congress will guarantee it to and/or within every state.
Which brings us to today, and how Congress can end partisan gerrymanders, dial back the power of money in politics, and guarantee the right of every American citizen to vote without undue difficulty.
The opening of the Freedom To Vote Act lays it out clearly:
“Congress also finds that it has both the authority and responsibility, as the legislative body for the United States, to fulfill the promise of article IV, section 4, of the Constitution, which states: ‘The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a “Republican Form of Government.”’” [emphasis added]
The proposed law even notes as justification for its existence how the Supreme Court has dropped — or laid down — the ball and therefore Congress must pick it up:
“Congress finds that its authority and responsibility to enforce the Guarantee Clause is clear given that Federal courts have not enforced this clause because they understood that its enforcement is committed to Congress by the Constitution.”
The Freedom To Vote Act ensures a “Republican Form of Government” in America by providing:
- Automatic voter registration and online registration for 16 year olds who will be 18 and thus eligible to vote in the next election
- Same day voter registration nationwide
- Ends partisan gerrymandering
- Limits campaign contributions to a maximum of $10,000
- Criminalizes “pass through” groups to get around campaign finance laws
- Requires companies to fully and rapidly disclose all election spending over $10,000
- Requires all websites (like Facebook) with more than 50 million users to create a publicly available and publicly searchable archive of political adsBrings web-based election expenditures under the same disclosure rules as TV.
- Makes it a federal crime to prevent a person from registering to vote
- Requires 14 consecutive days for early voting, at least 10 hours each day
- Requires easy access to polling places for rural and college campus voters, and easy access to voting for all voters by public transportationGuarantees that all voters, nationwide, can vote by mail with no excuses necessary
- Guarantees that all voters can put themselves on a permanent vote-by-mail list and automatically receive a ballot in the mail
- Requires states to give voters the ability to track their mail-in ballots to be sure they’re counted or contest any challenge to their ballot
- Forbids states from forcing mail-in voters to have their ballots witnessed, notarized or jump through other onerous hoopsRequires secured and clearly labeled ballot drop boxes in all jurisdictions
- Requires the Post Office to process all ballots on the day they’re dropped off and without postageRequires states to keep voting lines shorter than 30 minutes in all cases and places
- Allows people waiting in line to vote to receive food or water from others
- Gives the right to vote to all felons who have served their sentences, in all states
- Prohibits voter “caging” where failure to return a postcard gets you purged
- Prohibits states from deleting voters from the rolls because they haven’t recently voted
- Empowers voters to sue in federal court any state or local officials who interfere with their right to vote
- Criminalizes intimidating, threatening or coercing any election official or election worker
- Requires federal prosecution of anybody who tries to harm or undermine public officials by doxxing the personal information of an election worker or their immediate familyMakes it a federal crime to publish or distribute false information about elections (when, where, etc.)
- Increases federal penalties for voter intimidation or otherwise interfering with your absolute right to voteKeeps partisan “poll watchers” at least 8 feet from voters in all circumstances, including while voting
- Requires paper ballots in all cases and all elections (there are exceptions for disabled voters)Requires post-election auditsProvides criminal penalties for any candidate or campaign that fails to fully and immediately report any interactions with foreign governmentsGives lower income individuals $25 they can use to give to candidates in $5 or more increments.
The Freedom To Vote Act is more urgently needed with every passing day, as multiple Republican-controlled states openly (and ironically) tear down actual “republican principles” of representative government by continuing to pass laws that pre-rig election outcomes.
Some have even gone so far as to introduce laws that authorize their legislatures to ignore or reject votes they don’t like, in anticipation of the 2024 election.
Passing this law must now be the Senate’s first priority because, “It’s a republic, ma’am, if you can keep it."
https://www.rawstory.com/voting-rights-2656094670/
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Joe Biden 'saved Christmas' — and Democrats should put it on a bumper sticker: Morning Joe
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Fears that supply chain issues would destroy Christmas failed to materialize — and Democrats should put it on a bumper sticker, according to one MSNBC personality.
That advice came from former Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-FL) on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
Politico White House bureau chief Jonathan Lemire noted that Biden press secretary Jen Psaki joked that the White House saved Christmas.
"Put it on a bumper sticker," Scarborough advised.
"Republicans would put it on a bumper sticker," he explained. "The White House should put this -- 'the White House that saved Christmas.' If you don't think Republicans wouldn't doesn't that, you don't know Republicans."
Later in the segment, Scarborough explained his thoughts on Democrats' messaging.
"Democrats, they like to apologize or put caveats on bumper stickers. You didn't see 'Make America Great Again' asterisk. It doesn't work that way," he said.
Watch:
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Democrats can win the Senate in 2022 -- and make it Manchin-proof
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The Democratic Party enters the 2022 midterm elections in far better position than conventional wisdom suggests for maintaining -- and even increasing -- their slim control of the U.S. Senate.
The reason is simple: Math may mean more than history in the upcoming cycle.
History is clear: The American political party in power routinely gets crushed in Congressional midterm elections. In the past 21 election cycles dating back to 1938, the incumbent lost seats in both the chambers 15 times. (Only once, in the first post-911 election of 2002 under President George W. Bush, did it gain in both the House and Senate).
The pattern is especially pronounced in the House, where 19 of those 21 elections saw losses for the party in power. The Democrats hopes of holding their slim control of the House in 2022 therefore seem dim. That would be true even if Republicans didn’t hold their monstrous gerrymandering advantage as the party controlling most statehouses after a Census.
But the Senate is an entirely different matter. Overlooked in most analyses is that the Democrats enter the election in a far stronger position than Republicans based upon the specific seats that are in play.
Two-thirds of the Senate is not up for election in each two-year cycle. So, it is the nitty gritty of the contested third that provides the lens through which election prospects should be viewed.
In the case of 2022, the Democrats enter the race with a significant advantage among the seats not being contested. And of the ones in play, Democrats are defending incumbents while all the vulnerable open seats are currently held by Republicans.
It’s far too early to draw conclusions about next November -- in any direction. But much political talk today focuses upon assumptions of midterm electoral history or even President Biden’s weak poll numbers. Those numbers, too, can change -- just as Donald Trump’s future status in the criminal-justice system might.
When viewed seat by seat in the Senate, the Democrats’ prospects are brighter than their present “woe is me” tenor would suggest.
Here’s an overview:
For starters, there are 66 seats not up in 2022. Of those, Democrats (and independents who caucus with them) hold 36 seats. Republicans hold just 30.
There are 24 seats which appear solid for the party holding them. Of those, 10 are held by Democrats, 14 by Republicans. That brings the total of likely safe seats to 46 Democrats, 44 Republicans.
That leaves 10 seats more realistically in play. CNN labeled them as “most likely to be flipped” in a November analysis. It tracks with projections by the Cook Political Report except for Missouri, which Republicans now fear is in jeopardy, as reported recently at Raw Story.
What’s notable -- and underestimated -- is that of those 10 seats, only four are held by Democrats and six by Republicans. Even more significant, all four Democratic seats are held by incumbents seeking reelection, while four of the six Republican seats are open seats in which the incumbent is retiring.
Incumbency remains an advantage for both sides. According to data at opensecrets.org, in the past 40 years the reelection rate of Senate incumbents has dropped below 82% only three times (75% being the lowest). And it has been as high as 96.3%.
Barring a dramatic upset on either side in the “safe” seats, the Democrats could maintain their perilous 50-50 “majority” in the Senate by defending their incumbents. That presumes no flips among the six Republican seats in play.
If they can hold their current seats, Democrats then would need just one pickup among the six Republican seats in play to “Joe Manchin-proof” their caucus at 51 members. They’d need a second pickup to get to 52 for a cushion that might diminish the influence of the likes of moderate Sen. Kirsten Sinema of Arizona.
Nothing is certain nearly 11 months before any election. But here’s a snapshot of the 34 seats up for election in 2022, beginning with the 10 most likely in play:
FLIPPABLE SEATS--DEMOCRAT (4)
Arizona: Sen. Mark Kelly. He unseated Sen. Martha McSally in a 2020 special election by 88,000 votes, or 2.4%. That was tight, but more than eight times Biden’s 10,467 win in that cycle. Kelly raised $8 million in the last quarter alone, CNN reports. And there’s this on the other side: “The primary in Arizona is still a free-for-all that's causing some concern for the GOP. As the major statewide elected official in the race, Attorney General Mark Brnovich would seem to start with an advantage, but he raised only $564,000 in the third quarter, which would be mediocre money for a candidate in a competitive House district, let alone a top-tier Senate race. He's also taking incoming fire from his GOP rivals. A super PAC backing Blake Masters, the president of the Thiel Foundation, is attacking Brnovich on the air on immigration.” All that said, Arizona is the least blue of the incumbent seats Democrats are defending.
Georgia: Sen. Raphael Warnock. He unseated Sen Kelly Loeffler in a 2020 special election runoff by 93,000 votes or 2%. Stacey Abrams’ announcement this month that she will make another run for governor ensured that Georgia will likely be the most-watched state in the 2022 elections. It also is a good sign for Warnock, according to strategist Donna Brazile, according to the New York Times: “What he’ll get from Stacey is somebody who can stir up the electorate to get the results he needs to win in 2022,” Ms. Brazile said.” The Times added, “Herschel Walker, the Georgia college football legend backed by Mr. Trump, is the favorite among seven Republicans who have filed to run so far. He has faced repeated accusations of threatening his ex-wife.” Warnock smashed Georgia fundraising records in the third quarter to emerge with $17.2 million in hand. He will undoubtedly be running against a well-funded opponent, but his own numbers show Warnock is ready to battle.
Nevada: Sen. Cortez Masto. A two-term incumbent, she won reelection in 2016 by the same 2.4% margin that Trump lost the state in that year and 2020. But unlike the other Democrats on this list, Masto -- the Senate’s lone Latina -- seems certain to face a well-known candidate with unified Republican support in former state Atty. Gen. Adam Laxalt. The grandson of former Nevada senator and governor Paul Laxalt, he was among the most vocal advocates of Trump’s Big Lie in the 2020 election. Laxalt lost a 2018 bid for governor, but he is supported by both Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Nevada Independent reports that Masto starts the race with better approval ratings than Laxalt and a 4-point lead.
New Hampshire: Sen. Maggie Hassan. She unseated Sen. Kelly Ayotte in 2016 by just 1,017 votes. But the moderate Hassan received good news last month when her most formidable Republican challenger -- Gov. Chris Sununu -- ruled out a race for her Senate seat, as has Ayotte. Reports the Times: “Sununu's announcement that he would forgo the race disappointed national Republicans, who had been salivating over taking out Hassan. Had he run, this seat would have shot near the top of the list of seats likely to flip. Republicans have long maintained that Hassan would be among the most vulnerable incumbents even without the governor running, but as of now they don't have an A-list candidate.” Biden won the state by seven points in 2020.
SAFE DEMOCRATIC SEATS (10)
California: Sen. Alex Padilla
Colorado: Sen. Michael Bennet
Connecticut: Sen. Richard Blumenthal
Hawaii: Sen. Brian Schatz
Illinois: Sen. Tammy Duckworth
Maryland: Sen. Chris Van Hollen
New York: Sen. Chuck Schumer
Oregon: Sen. Ron Wyden
Vermont: Open
Washington: Sen. Patty Murray
SAFE REPUBLICAN SEATS (14)
Alaska: Sen. Lisa Murkowski
Alabama: Open
Arkansas: Sen. John Boozman
Idaho: Sen. Mike Crapo
Indiana: Sen. Todd Young
Iowa: Sen. Chuck Grassley
Kansas: Sen. Jerry Moran
Kentucky: Sen. Rand Paul
Louisiana: Sen. John Kennedy
North Dakota: Sen. John Hoeven
Oklahoma: Sen. James Lankford
South Carolina: Sen. Tim Scott
South Dakota: Sen. John Thune
Utah: Sen. Mike Lee
https://www.rawstory.com/democrats-senate-2022/
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A 'flood' of right-wing 'dark money’ played a major role in Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation
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Although Democrats have won the popular vote in seven of the United States’ last eight presidential elections, six of the U.S. Supreme Court’s nine justices are Republican appointees — including Justice Amy Coney Barrett, whose confirmation was rammed through the U.S. Senate only a month before then-President Donald Trump was voted out of office. The far right wanted Barrett confirmed ASAP, and according to Daily Poster reporters Andrew Perez and Julia Rock, “conservative dark money” played a major role in Barrett’s “confirmation campaign.”
Perez and Rock, in an article published on December 19, report, “A conservative dark money group led by former President Donald Trump’s judicial adviser Leonard Leo bankrolled Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation campaign with nearly $22 million in anonymous cash, while another nonprofit that Leo helps steer saw a fundraising bonanza and showered cash on other organizations boosting Barrett, according to tax returns obtained by The Daily Poster. The new tax returns shed light on how Barrett’s successful last-minute confirmation campaign was aided by a flood of dark money.”
Those tax returns, the reporters add, “also reveal the rapid growth of Leo’s already highly successful dark money network and its tentacles in the broader conservative movement.”
“Leo is a longtime executive at the Federalist Society, a group for conservative lawyers,” Perez and Rock explain. “He formed the Rule of Law Trust (RLT) in 2018, and the group quickly raised nearly $80 million. RLT started spending that money in 2020, donating $21.5 million to the Judicial Crisis Network (JCN), another group steered by Leo that played a key role in Republicans flipping the Supreme Court and building a conservative supermajority.”
Perez and Rock add that JCN “spent millions pressing Republican senators to block (President Barack) Obama’s 2016 Supreme Court pick, Merrick Garland, and subsequently spent millions boosting each of Trump’s High Court nominees — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Barrett — all while Leo was advising Trump’s judicial strategy.”
The fact that JCN opposed Garland’s nomination so vehemently speaks volumes. After Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in 2016, Obama went very centrist with his Garland nomination; he didn’t nominate someone as liberal as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg or Chief Justice Earl Warren. And Obama was more than willing to meet Republicans half way.
In fact, Garland, as U.S. attorney general under President Joe Biden, has cited Edward Levi — Republican President Gerald R. Ford’s attorney general during the mid-1970s — as his role model for how the U.S. Department of Justice should operate. Ford, of course, was vice president under President Richard Nixon before Nixon resigned, in August 1974, because of the Watergate scandal. And the JCN is so far to the right that they consider even the legal and judicial standards of the Ford Administration too liberal.
"Leo also helps direct the 85 Fund, a charitable organization being used to fiscally sponsor a host of conservative nonprofits, including the Judicial Education Project, which has long been JCN’s sister arm,” Perez and Rock note. “The 85 Fund reported bringing in nearly $66 million in 2020, according to its latest tax return. That’s a huge increase over the roughly $13 million the organization raised in 2019, per OpenSecrets, which found the majority of the 85 Fund’s 2020 money came from DonorsTrust, a group known as a ‘dark money ATM,’ for its use as a pass-through vehicle.”
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/12/conservative-dark-money-group-raised-record-50m-in-2020-after-election-rebranding/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=twitt_darkmoney-rebrand/12/16/21
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These right wing MAGA's are despicable.
Defiant MAGA candidate replaces prohibited 'Let's Go Brandon' Christmas display with larger 'FJB' lights
A Trump-loving congressional candidate in Florida has replaced his controversial "Let's Go Brandon" Christmas display with a lighted "FJB" sign that is nine times larger.
Both displays, of course, are intended to convey the same message: "F*** Joe Biden."
Martin Hyde was facing fines of up to $150 per day from his homeowners association in Sarasota over the "Let's Go Brandon" sign, which he created with lighted letters on a second-floor balcony facing the street, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The display included an inflatable Santa Claus standing behind the sign on the balcony.
"Hyde has embraced 'Let's Go Brandon' as he tries to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan from the right. He had bumper stickers and shirts made with the phrase on them," the newspaper reports. "Known for being provocative and outspoken, Hyde hired Roger Stone, a famous GOP provocateur, as a campaign consultant. So it may not be surprising that his Christmas display also would veer into the realm of provocation."
After being warned about the "Let's Go Brandon" display by the homeowners association, Hyde took it down and unveiled lighted "FJB" letters on Wednesday night. He says the new display cost him $1,000 to have made, and he's willing to risk being fined for it.
"He parked his campaign bus outside and played music while offering free pizza, beer and wine to supporters," the newspaper reports. "He gave a speech and then unveiled large lettering wrapped in Christmas lights that read "#FJB."
“When you poke the bear, there are outcomes and circumstances," Hyde told the newspaper.
"We had a blast in Sarasota pushing back on 'Cancel culture,'" he wrote above video from the event on Facebook.
Hyde, who reportedly lives in a liberal-leaning neighborhood, accused the homeowners association of selectively enforcing its ban on signs.
"If I put a message up there they liked, they’d be slapping me on the back," he said. "It’s got everything to do with they don’t like what it says."
But homeowners association president John Habbert said the dispute has nothing to do with politics.
"When he purchased his house, Mr. Hyde signed documents stating that he would abide by all HOA rules -- including no signs other than house numbers or For Sale notices," Habbert said. "Other residents have been asked to remove signs and have complied without any problems, but Mr. Hyde refuses to do so."
https://www.rawstory.com/martin-hyde-biden-sign/
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Ron DeSantis flattened by top Florida paper for fear-mongering in Christmas Day editorial
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Florida's Republican governor was blasted for being a "reactionary and authoritarian" liar in a hard-hitting Christmas Day editorial published by the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
"Remember the boogeyman, that specter your parents invoked to make you behave? Almost every culture has one. So do politicians when they want to create fear. Gov. Ron DeSantis has a boogeyman for the people of Florida. It is a real thing known as critical race theory — a discipline taught at some colleges but not in Florida public schools," the newspaper explained. "The governor wants nonetheless to ban it from schools and, for good measure, from the human resource policies and sensitivity training courses of privately owned businesses. That is not conservative; it is reactionary and authoritarian."
DeSantis calls his proposal the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (W.O.K.E.) Act.
"It perpetuates two persistent great lies: That racism did not have a major influence on American history and that it is not an issue now," the newspaper explained. "That is the current dogma of DeSantis’s Republican Party in its determination to retain the allegiance of white voters who are terrified of losing social and political dominance to changing demographics. Demonization of critical race theory, by making it into a boogeyman, is one front in the Republican culture wars. DeSantis would make Floridians ignorant of the most troublesome aspects of our past, present and future."
The editorial board concluded that DeSantis "knows critical race theory isn’t being taught in the schools," but is lying about the issue anyway.
"There’s been nothing like the DeSantis bill in the 96 years since Tennessee outlawed the teaching of evolution. John Scopes, a high school teacher, volunteered to test the law in what became known, to the state’s everlasting mortification, as the 'monkey trial.' Tennessee failed to repeal science, of course, but it did stunt the intellectual growth of a generation of children," the newspaper explained. "In the same vein, Virginia textbooks in the mid-20th century fed students a fiction of happy slaves who loved their kindly masters. One particularly deceitful illustration portrayed a well-dressed Black family — father, mother and children — being welcomed with a handshake aboard a slave ship."
The newspaper explained the impacts of DeSantis' lies.
"Although the Civil War ended slavery, it took another century to outlaw Jim Crow. But the effects persist, documented by the racial disparities in employment, income and incarceration; in ghettoes segregated by government housing policies; and by how Republican legislatures try to suppress Black votes. These truths are evident almost everywhere that honest eyes look," the editorial board wrote. "In truth, no one is teaching kids to hate our country or each other, but we do need to teach them not to hate each other, even unconsciously, and to recognize prejudices for what they are. That cannot be done by pretending they do not exist."
https://www.rawstory.com/ron-desantis-woke-act/
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Wisconsin Republicans pump new life into scrutinizing the 2020 election
The aim of the investigations has shifted to trying to subvert election boards and long-standing voting protocols
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. — The cash bar was open for business, the Lilydale Dance Hall decked out in holiday garland, but Michael Gableman wasn't here with good tidings.
The attorney stood in front of Republican activists to share horror stories he'd heard in his investigation of the 2020 election: ballot harvesting, dead people left on state voter rolls and private grants to operate COVID-era elections used to get out the vote for Joe Biden, some claims misleading, some unsubstantiated. Gableman admitted he doesn't think China or Russia hacked into voting machines, but they easily could have.
"I don't think there's anything too confusing about taking the dead people off of the voter rolls," Gabelman said under the holiday lights, a stark reminder that more than a year had passed since Donald Trump lost the presidency.
Scenes like this are playing out across Wisconsin in the most aggressive effort by Republicans in any battleground state to pump new life into scrutinizing the last election. While some of the players are the same, their aim is different than it was a year ago, when groups unsuccessfully tried to overturn results that elected Biden. Republicans' focus now is trying to subvert election boards and long-standing voting protocols in Wisconsin ahead of the critical midterm and 2024 presidential race.
"What you are seeing are people literally advocating for maybe having an election but allowing the state Legislature to override it regardless of who wins and install their own preferred candidate," said Ann Jacobs, the Democratic chair of the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission, which is under attack by Republicans. "For a while it was sort of done quietly, and now it is just out in the open, this advocacy for the elimination of democratically elected representatives."
Gableman's taxpayer-funded investigation into the election has stretched on for months, flooding the state's large cities with data requests. He's asked to jail the mayors of Madison and Green Bay if they don't comply with requests for private interviews. Some Republicans are calling for mass resignations from people who run Wisconsin elections. The Racine County Sheriff wants criminal charges brought against most members of the the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
"On the one hand, it's absolutely laughable because there's no legal basis here. They clearly don't know what they're doing," Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said. "On the other hand, it's terrifying because it illustrates the lengths they are willing to go to cast doubt on our elections."
Madison's election clerk has faced death threats, poll workers are frustrated and morale in the office is low, Rhodes-Conway said, as the latest push sows fresh doubts among voters about unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud. She said Gableman's current investigation is just "one piece of the picture."
"If you couple that with all of the lawsuits, all of the elections-related complaints, the legislation that has been introduced and in some cases passed to make it more difficult to vote, the dialogue and the conversations in the public sphere and the press, that's what worries me," she said. "All of that adds up to setting the stage for state legislatures around the country to overturn the will of the people in democratically conducted elections."
Wisconsin Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson has gone the furthest. He says a provision in the U.S. Constitution allowing state legislatures to set the time and place of federal elections means Republicans who control the statehouse could simply take over federal races without the approval of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
The Legislature has done the work of setting the time and place of federal elections by passing laws that were signed by a governor, said Kevin Kennedy, who ran elections in the state for more than three decades. To undo those, Kennedy says lawmakers would have to get approval from the governor again.
"It really is part of the total strategy for 2022 and 2024, which is to say you can't trust the election process unless we are in charge," he said. "It's ironic that they are going to take that position, because most of what they are doing is being very, very critical. They are not offering constructive alternatives."
Republicans controlled the governor's office and Legislature when they created the Wisconsin Elections Commission in 2016, after controversies prompted them to shut down a different accountability board, run by Kennedy.
But in the wake of Trump's roughly 21,000-vote loss in the state, Republicans have scrutinized decisions made by the evenly-split commission during the pandemic, including a ruling last March to not send special voting deputies into nursing homes to assist residents.
No one criticized the bipartisan vote at the time, which commissioners argued was necessary as nursing homes closed their doors to most visitors. But the Racine County Sheriff said in an October press conference that investigators in his office have now heard examples of staff taking advantage of residents in one care facility as they tried to vote.
He said the commission violated the law by not allowing deputies in, calling for felony charges against five of its six members. No prosecutors in the state have moved on his request.
"It's not up to me to decide what's legal or what's not," said Robert Spindell, a Republican appointee on the elections commission who has supported calls to dig into the 2020 election. "It's really irrelevant whether there was any fraud or not, the point here is that there are many people who do not have faith in the elections, or that it was handled fairly, and we need to have these questions answered."
The Wisconsin Legislature ordered an investigation from the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau, which found no new evidence of voter fraud, but recommended dozens of changes to the elections commission.
Republicans in the assembly and Gableman are also zeroing in on a shared $6.3 million election administration grant from the Mark Zuckerberg-funded Center for Tech and Civic Life, which was split among the state's five largest cities last year. The grants were given to help administer COVID-safe elections, but Republicans allege the money gave too much information to outside groups over how elections were run.
Election leaders and city officials have said they're proud of the actions they took in extraordinary circumstances to make sure people were able to safely exercise their democratic right to vote during the pandemic. Everything was done out in the open, including in more than 40 hearings held by the elections commission last year, Jacobs said.
"It's really a rejection of government as something that can be trusted and function appropriately," she said. "And the misguided believe that what we feel is more important than what is real."
Part of the issue for Republicans is that they're stuck, said Rep. Mark Spreitzer, the Democratic lead on the assembly's election committee. Recounts and the courts in Wisconsin upheld the results of the 2020 election, and the governor vetoed Republican-backed election law changes.
Assembly Republicans have held sporadic hearings on the election over the last year and Speaker Robin Vos brought in Gableman, a retired Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, to conduct his investigation. Vos's office did not return a request for comment.
"In almost all cases, it is clear at least to me that there's not going to be any finding of actual illegality and wrongdoing under current laws," Spreitzer said.
Gableman's inquiry has faced criticism from the start as a partisan effort. The investigation is staffed by several people with connections to Trump and past efforts to overturn the election results. Gableman's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Republican state Sen. Kathleen Bernier, a former elections clerk who leads the chamber's elections committee, wants the investigation to wrap up its work.
She criticized Gableman's meetings as "jazzing up" the base, but she's worried it will have the opposite effect, depressing turnout from Republicans who don't trust the systems her colleagues have been attacking.
"This is a charade, what's going on with this constant drumbeat of all the massive voter fraud," she said at a press conference this month. "This country was based on states' rights and individual liberty, and we are being played from the top down."
https://www.startribune.com/wisconsin-republicans-pump-new-life-into-scrutinizing-the-2020-election/600130326/
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Thanks Biden!
U.S. holiday spending rose at fastest pace in 17 years, despite Delta and Omicron
U.S. holiday sales rose 8.5 percent over 2020, the biggest gain in 17 years, Mastercard SpendingPulse reported Sunday. Consumers also spent 10.7 percent more in the holiday season compared with the same Nov. 1-Dec. 24 period in 2019, before the pandemic. Mastercard, whose survey tracks spending on all kinds of goods and services (though not automobiles), had forecast an 8.8 percent jump for holiday buying back in September, before the Delta coronavirus wave peaked and the Omicron variant roared in.
Online purchases continued their upward trajectory, rising 11 percent over 2020 and 61 percent versus 2019, Mastercard said, but sales at bricks-and-mortar stores also rose 8.1 percent versus 2020. "The consumer is extremely healthy and has held up really well," said Stephen Sadove, a senior adviser to Mastercard and the former CEO of Saks. "No longer are people just staying at home in sweatpants," he added. "They are going back to the malls."
Consumer spending rose significantly on clothing (47 percent rise over 2020), jewelry (32 percent jump), and electronics (16 percent rise), Mastercard's report found. Concerns about supply chain disruptions and delivery delays prompted many Americans to start their Christmas shopping in October, The Wall Street Journal reports, muting the effects of COVID-19's latest resurgence.
https://theweek.com/spending/1008419/us-holiday-spending-rose-at-fastest-pace-in-17-years-despite-delta-and-omicron
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REVEALED: Gov. Greg Abbott intervened to put a positive spin on Texas' power grid
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The two most powerful people overseeing Texas’ electric grid sat next to each other in a quickly arranged Austin news conference in early December to try to assure Texans that the state’s electricity supply was prepared for winter.
“The lights are going to stay on this winter,” said Peter Lake, chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, echoing recent public remarks by Gov. Greg Abbott.
Two weeks earlier, Abbott had told Austin’s Fox 7 News that he “can guarantee the lights will stay on.” The press conference that followed from Lake and the chief of the state’s independent grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, came at the governor’s request, according to two state officials and one other person familiar with the planning, who were not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“It was 150% Abbott’s idea,” said one of the people familiar with the communication from Abbott’s team. “The governor wanted a press conference to give people confidence in the grid.”
A source close to Lake said the idea for the press conference was Lake's, and the governor supported it when Lake brought up the idea during a meeting.
Abbott has for months been heavily involved in the public messaging surrounding the power grid’s winter readiness. In addition to the press conference, he has asked a major electric industry trade group to put out a “positive” public statement about the grid and has taken control of public messaging from ERCOT, according to interviews with current and former power grid officials, energy industry trade group representatives and energy company directors and executives.
But the messaging has projected a level of confidence about the grid that isn’t reflected in data released by ERCOT or echoed by some power company executives and energy experts who say they’re worried that another massive winter storm could trigger widespread grid failures like those that left millions of Texans without power in February, when hundreds of people died.
Abbott has also met one-on-one with energy industry CEOs to ask about their winter readiness — but those meetings happened weeks after Abbott made his public guarantee about the grid.
“You’d think he would have asked to meet with us before saying that,” one person involved in the energy company meetings, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said of Abbott’s guarantee.
Ten months after the power grid failures caused hundreds of deaths and became national news, an election year is approaching and Abbott’s two top primary challengers and his top Democratic challenger have already been harshly criticizing the governor over his handling of the power grid.
“It might be a good political move, but it’s just a political move,” Peter Cramton, an energy markets expert and former ERCOT board member who resigned after the storm, said of Abbott’s promise. “It’s not surprising. His fate is on the line. So this is a sensitive political issue now.”
For many Texas energy officials and experts, the line has blurred between Abbott’s executive leadership on the power grid and his 2022 reelection campaign. By promising the lights will stay on, Abbott has wagered that Texas doesn’t experience widespread extreme weather this winter — and that the grid will work the next time freezing weather hits the state.
“The Governor is deeply engaged with the new commissioners at the PUC and the new leadership at ERCOT as they work to improve the Texas electric grid,” Renae Eze, Abbott’s spokesperson, said in a statement. “The House and Senate passed substantial reforms this year, and Governor Abbott is working to ensure those reforms are properly implemented so that the grid provides stable and reliable power for the state.”
Lake, who was appointed by Abbott and whose agency oversees ERCOT, said he has met frequently with Abbott since the summer.
“He’s super focused on it and wants to know what’s going on,” Lake said in an interview.
A majority of power companies have spent money since February preparing their equipment for extreme winter weather, but some say the grid won’t be ready if another storm as powerful as February’s strikes this winter because lawmakers didn’t require gas companies — which supply fuel to more than half of the state’s power plants — to be weatherized immediately.
“What I'm uncertain about is the gas supply,” Cramton said. “That’s the big question.”
2022 opponents use grid failures to attack Abbott
While a warming earth has brought milder winters, Abbott’s bet could be complicated by emerging science that suggests extreme cold spells in Texas could also result from climate change messing with complex weather processes.
But even though Abbott’s promise in late November was a gamble on the weather this winter, his guarantee was more likely an effort to boost his reelection campaign in 2022, Texas political communication experts said.
“I don’t think it's a coincidence he's responding with a guarantee about the power grid almost immediately in the aftermath of Beto O'Rourke's entry into the race because that's been O'Rourke's frontline attack,” said Stephanie Martin, a scholar of political communication at Southern Methodist University.
Abbott has faced criticism over the power grid from O’Rourke and both of his best-known Republicans primary opponents, Allen West and Don Huffines.
“Greg Abbott said we did everything we needed to do to fix ERCOT,” Huffines, a former state senator, said in November. “Obviously that is not the case. Texans deserve a governor who can keep the lights on.”
“This ‘promise’ is dangerous, potentially deadly,” O’Rourke said. “Experts continue to warn that Texas could face another grid failure the next time we experience an extreme weather event. Abbott and his appointees shouldn’t be betting our lives on the weather.”
The issue has animated voters, too. In a University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll of 1,200 registered voters in October, respondents expressed major disapproval for the state’s handling of the reliability of the grid after February’s catastrophe. Only 18% of voters approved of how state leaders handled the issue, while 60% of voters disapproved. Even state lawmakers have shown frustration that the new laws they passed earlier this year to prepare the grid for extreme weather haven’t led to enough preparations ahead of this winter.
When Abbott has been asked in recent months about criticism of the state’s handling of the winter storm crisis, he has responded that he “signed almost a dozen laws that make the power grid more effective” and he’s praised regulators for working to implement new rules following guidance from lawmakers and from Abbott.
“In politics, when you’re explaining, you're losing, and to try to talk about what happened last February in a way that doesn't just accept the abysmal failure of the Abbott administration means he has to try to explain something that's almost impossible to explain,” Martin said. “The only way out of that is to not acknowledge it — by promising it will never happen again.”
Dictating the message
When Brad Jones took over as ERCOT’s interim CEO in the spring — after the previous CEO and many board members resigned after the grid catastrophe — he began by promising that ERCOT would be more transparent with the public and state leaders.
“My guarantee to you is that we intend to communicate more clearly than we’ve done in the past,” Jones said during his first public hearing with lawmakers. “To remove industry jargon, to speak to you in ways that all of us can understand.”
In recent months, however, ERCOT has been nearly silent on social media and its leaders have barely spoken publicly. People familiar with ERCOT’s operations say the organization has needed to receive approval from the governor’s office for most of its public communications, a stark contrast to how the grid operator did business in the past.
Every spring and fall, ERCOT releases its report assessing potential scenarios for the grid during more extreme weather. And the organization’s technical experts typically brief reporters on the assessment to help translate complex electricity jargon into plain language that the general public can understand.
This fall, that briefing never happened. Instead, ERCOT simply posted its assessment for this winter to its website on a Friday afternoon in November. The report concluded that the Texas grid is still vulnerable to blackouts during severe winter weather, even with new preparations.
“We just made a mistake on that,” Jones said about not holding the briefing, adding that rather than big press conference calls, he’s been focusing on touring the state, listening to Texans and doing interviews with local media.
“First piece of it is, I need to listen,” Jones said. “I need to hear them tell me what they went through. That’s an important part of the healing process.”
Another biannual report, called the Capacity, Demand and Reserves report, contains a multiyear forecast of peak electricity demand and the expected generation resources available. The assessment is released every May and in early December. The report has not yet been released this month because the governor’s office is still reviewing it, according to people familiar with the delay. A recent ERCOT email said the report is now scheduled to be released on Dec. 29.
It’s not uncommon for elected officials to become much more hands-on in the aftermath of disasters, said Amy Myers Jaffe, an energy expert and advisor who worked in Texas for more than two decades: “There’s an element of ‘the buck stops here.’”
But Myers Jaffe said decision-making at ERCOT, an organization that Abbott immediately blasted after the storm in February, should be left alone by politicians who don’t have electricity expertise.
“An independent, nonprofit technical organization should be making its decisions based on fulfilling its mission, and its communications should be about the actions it’s taking to fulfill that,” said Myers Jaffe, who now runs Tufts University’s Climate Policy Lab. “It shouldn't be politicized.”
But much of the public messaging this year from the grid operator has had to be approved by a governor who’s running for reelection, according to people familiar with the matter.
“I think the challenge is now that it would be very hard for the ERCOT communications office to do something that isn't viewed as political,” Cramton said.
As November turned to December, Abbott’s team asked the Association of Electric Companies of Texas to put out a “positive” statement about the power grid’s readiness for winter, according to four people in the energy industry familiar with the request. AECT, a major industry trade group, was its public face in the aftermath of the storm, testifying before lawmakers and lobbying on behalf of major power companies.
On Dec. 8, the same day as Lake and Jones’ news conference, AECT released its statement. The message stopped short of making definitive claims about the lights staying on this winter but did go into detail about preparations power plants and transmission and distribution facilities have made. It also thanked “Texas leaders and the Legislature for their efforts during the past session to strengthen the resilience of the grid, as well as AECT’s member companies for their efforts to prepare for this winter for the benefit of Texas consumers.”
After public promise, Abbott met with energy CEOs
Nearly three weeks after promising the lights wouldn’t go out this winter — and after Lake echoed him in the December press conference — Abbott’s team arranged for several energy companies to meet with the governor in Austin. Energy companies and executives meeting with the Texas governor is not uncommon, but the timing was curious to some companies involved, as well as to power grid officials and political scientists.
The mid-December meetings included large energy companies Calpine, Kinder Morgan, NRG, Vistra and Energy Transfer Partners — whose CEO, Kelcy Warren, gave $1.1 million to Abbott immediately after this year’s regular legislative session.
The executives and others involved in the meetings told the Tribune that the opportunity to sit down with the governor was important as the energy industry and state leaders try to assure Texans wary of winter that the power will stay on this year.
Abbott asked the energy CEOs detailed questions about their expectations for the coming months, their companies’ readiness for winter and whether the CEOs feel ready for another severe winter storm, according to people in the meetings.
"It was literally, like: ‘If we have another (Winter Storm) Uri, are y’all going to be ready?’” said a person involved in one of the meetings, who was not authorized to speak publicly. “We said, ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Tell me why, what is different?’”
The person added: “He was really in fact-finding mode. He didn't say: ‘You guys better be ready.’ It was: ‘I want to know if your company is ready and, if so, I want to know why.’”
Companies that spoke to the Tribune said they laid out to the governor how they had been preparing their facilities for winter.
Calpine CEO Thad Hill said in a written statement that the governor “was doing his direct due diligence ensuring the grid would be reliable this winter.” NRG CEO Mauricio Gutierrez welcomed the opportunity “to highlight our companywide winter-readiness efforts to meet the energy needs of our growing state,” NRG said in a statement.
Vistra CEO Curt Morgan, who has criticized the state’s natural gas producers for not adequately preparing for extreme winter weather, told Abbott that Vistra “has invested more than $50 million to further harden its power generation fleet in Texas, focused on learnings from Winter Storm Uri,” Vistra said in a statement.
Still, some wondered why Abbott didn’t gather information from the energy CEOs before promising the lights would stay on during the next winter storm.
“If it were truly about executive leadership and government transparency, then you wouldn't get what almost amounts to a slogan: ‘I guarantee,’” Martin said. “You’d get a meaningful articulation of what's behind the guarantee.”
https://www.rawstory.com/texas-power-grid/
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Swing voters are angry with GOP critics of the Jan. 6 riot committee
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New data from two online focus groups spearheaded by the Swing Voter Project revealed that Republicans who disrespected the January 6 committee were not winning over swing voters. The two online focus groups on Dec. 14 consisted of four Republicans, three Independents and six Democrats, according to The Bulwark.
Key takeaways from the group of 13 Trump-to-Biden voters in key swing states included the need for accountability and an understanding of how and why the U.S. Capitol riots commenced - and how to stop it from happening again.
Data showed that Democrats, meanwhile, remained on firm political ground with “persuadables” when they endorsed the committee’s investigation.
Only one respondent thought said the Jan. 6 committee was a waste of time and money. Other responses were exploratory.
“People need to be held accountable. That was a terrible day in our history,” said Sherrie, 64, from Pewaukee, Wisconsin.
RELATED: The public part of the Jan. 6 committee is about to begin
“[Trump] wants to run again for president, so I think it’s important for us to know the facts,” added Kathleen, 48, from Casselberry, Florida.
“I think that it’s important to know why this really happened in order to keep it from happening again,” said Alisa, 41, from Phoenix.
“If nothing happens to them, people are just going to keep on doing it," said Alicia, 36, from Burnsville, Minnesota. "They need to be responsible for their actions."
Anna, 35, from Onalaska, Wisconsin, agreed: “I think with their positions, there needs to be transparency and accountability.”
“If somebody refuses to testify, that means they must have something to hide, and it must be pretty important," said Tabatha, 51, from Monroe, Georgia.
The Bulwark reported that during the online focus groups, official, unlabeled headshots of Reps. Paul Gosar, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Madison Cawthorn, Lauren Boebert, and Matt Gaetz were presented to respondents. They photos were numbered one through five and respondents were unable to name three or more based on images alone. Only two members who were recognizable at all were Greene and Gaetz and just five could recognize either or both of them.
“She’s the first openly QAnon-supporting person in Congress,” Michael, 29, from Doral, Florida said of Greene.
“She’s from Florida, and she’s the one who was going after that kid in college, harassing him over gun rights,” added Linda, 62, from Levittown, Pennsylvania.
Anna said, “She’s a whack job.”
https://www.thebulwark.com/swing-voters-dont-like-the-january-6-committee-critics/
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Texas AG Ken Paxton dealt another 'election fraud' blow as judge dismisses 'politically motivated' case
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For the second time this month, Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton has suffered a major setback in a criminal case in which he alleged "election fraud."
Paxton, who's been endorsed for re-election by former president Donald Trump despite facing felony charges, earlier this year accused Medina County Justice of the Peace Tomas “Tommy” Ramirez of running a vote-harvesting operation out of assisted living centers during the 2018 Republican primary.
Ramirez says the allegations led to threats and harassment against him, and he accused Paxton of pushing for an indictment just to get headlines and rile up his base, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
On Tuesday, a judge dismissed all charges against Ramirez.
“This case was politically motivated and was totally unjustified,” Ramirez said. “My family and I have received anonymous hate mail and ugly social media attacks. My law office was vandalized and I was even asked by the State Bar of Texas if I wanted to voluntarily surrender my law license.”
Ramirez alleged that Paxton conducted a year-long investigation and continued to press for charges even after one of the AG's investigators found there was no probable cause to pursue the case.
The dismissal of the charges against Ramirez "followed a ruling by a separate court that struck down a law allowing the state attorney general to unilaterally prosecute election law cases," the Express-News reports.
"In an 8-1 ruling, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said a provision of the law violates the separation of powers clause in the Texas Constitution," according to the newspaper. "The state attorney general can only get involved in a case when asked to by a district or county attorney, the court determined. That ruling was a blow for Texas Republicans who have promoted former president Donald Trump’s discredited claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election."
https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-2656178238/
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'Dr. Oz is dangerous': Former colleagues offer scathing takedown of a 'guy is willing to do whatever it takes for money'
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Dr. Mehmet Oz is running for Senate in Pennsylvania, where Republicans are wary of him, and his former colleagues don't have many good things to say about him.
The cardiac surgeon became a household celebrity as a guest on Oprah Winfrey's daytime talk show and then hosted his own before deciding to seek the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, but the media mogul had little to say about his candidacy, according to a lengthy profile by New York Magazine's Olivia Nuzzi.
“Ms. Winfrey is not doing interviews at this time,” her spokeswoman Nicole Nichols tersely replied 14 days after a request for comment, but followed up a few days after that. “I have one statement for you from Ms. Winfrey. No other comments: ‘One of the great things about our democracy is that every citizen can decide to run for public office. Mehmet Oz has made that decision. And now it’s up to the residents of Pennsylvania to decide who will represent them.’ —Oprah Winfrey.”
Another reporter who profiled Oz said he remains "haunted" by the way his subject could perform a heart transplant one day and then turn around and discuss with TV producers whether cotton or Silly Putty would be a better material for prop testicles to hand out to audience members during a show taping.
"I mean, how do you go from A to B?" said New York Times columnist Frank Bruni, who profiled Oz. "Why does he seem more excited about the fake testi*les than the open-heart surgery? The answer is because the latter was the route to fame and riches — and that’s the Faustian bargain.”
“I’ve met and profiled very few if any people who so embody the wages of ambition," Bruni added.
Some of his former producers feel the same way, including one who was horrified when Oz decided to do regular segments on true crime for the talk show.
“I was like, ‘What?! How the f*ck are we going to do true crime on The Dr. Oz Show?’ ” the former producer said. “And then it was twice a week, sometimes three times a week during ratings week. It was a stretch. The only way that you could tie it to something medically was to talk about some DNA evidence. It was a sign to me that this guy is willing to do whatever it takes for money. So it wasn’t a shock or a surprise for me when I saw that he was running for office, because he just wants to f*cking win.”
A veteran daytime producer agreed, saying that Oz became obsessed with money and his own self regard.
“Somewhere, I’m not sure how, he started to sell out — it happens to a lot of people when they get money and success; they want more money and more success. He went from doctor to entertainer to scam artist,” the veteran daytime producer said. “Dr. Oz is dangerous because he believes he’s got some divine power.”
https://www.rawstory.com/mehmet-oz-celebrity/
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Thanks to President Biden for the Biden Boom
Dow rises over 350 points, S&P 500 logs 69th record of 2021 as holiday spending buttresses stock market Monday
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-futures-point-higher-but-travel-stocks-pressured-after-weekend-of-covid-holiday-disruptions-11640601276
S&P 500 Hits Record as Strong Holiday Sales Offset Covid Fears
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-27/s-p-500-hits-record-as-strong-holiday-sales-offset-covid-fears
S&P 500 scores record high on retail sales cheer
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/sp-500-scores-record-high-retail-sales-cheer-2021-12-27/
With 68 record highs, 2021 was a wild year on the S&P 500
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-12-26/2021-sp-500-performance
Holiday sales soared, with e-commerce notching huge gains, a report says
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/26/business/holiday-sales-data.html
US holiday retail sales rise 8.5% as online shopping booms, Mastercard says
https://www.ksl.com/article/50318192/us-holiday-retail-sales-rise-85-as-online-shopping-booms-mastercard-says
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Democrat demands that Congress expel Marjorie Taylor Greene
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In a tweet this Tuesday, Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene suggested that Democratic voters who move from blue states to red states should be subject to restrictions in order to prevent them turning red states to blue.
Greene was quote-tweeting another Twitter user who said he supports "discriminating" against "transplants like this" through legislation. "They shouldn’t be able to vote for a period, and they should have to pay a tax for their sins."
In her tweet, Greene said the suggestion is "possible in a National Divorce scenario."
"After Democrat voters and big donors ruin a state like California, you would think it wise to stop them from doing it to another great state like Florida. Brainwashed people that move from CA and NY really need a cooling off period," Greene wrote.
According to Democratic New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Greene is "toying with the idea of civil war."
"The fact that a sitting Member of Congress is toying with the idea of a civil war 8 days before January 6 should alarm everyone. We expelled 14 Members in 1861 for supporting the confederacy," Bowman tweeted.
"Why does Marjorie Taylor Greene still have her seat? She must be expelled," he added.
Greene was stripped of her committee assignments after less than one month in office.
https://www.rawstory.com/congress-expel-marjorie-taylor-greene/
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Dangerous Qanon cult lunatics like Marjorie Taylor Greene have taken over the GOP and are extremely dangerous. They all need to be voted out in a landslide next November.
'This isn't fringe anymore': Democrats express horror at Marjorie Taylor Greene's dangerous idea
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on Wednesday suggested temporarily barring Democrats who move to red states from voting, in what she called a "national divorce scenario."
Greene took issue with Democrats moving from blue states to red states and suggested they need a "cooling off" period before being allowed to vote.
"After Democratic voters and big donors ruin a state like California, you would think it wise to stop them from doing it to another great state like Florida," she wrote on Twitter. "Brainwashed people that move from CA and NY really need a cooling off period."
Greene made the comment in response to a tweet from Pedro Gonzalez, an editor at the conservative Chronicles magazine and a fellow at the right-wing Claremont Institute. Gonzalez suggested "actively discriminating against transplants like this through legislation."
"They shouldn't be able to vote for a period, and they should have to pay a tax for their sins," he tweeted.
Greene said that Gonzalez's suggestion would be "possible in a National Divorce scenario" between red and blue states.
Greene hosted a Twitter poll in October asking her followers if the country should have a "national divorce." Though more people supported staying together than splitting up in her unscientific survey, Greene used the numbers to claim the country's divisions have become "irreconcilable."
"So many people talk to me about how divided our country is and how it's irreconcilable," she said in an interview with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon in October. "I've been hearing that from so many...about dividing the country between Republican and Democrat states."
Bannon pushed back on Greene's suggestion but she insisted that the poll was a "wake-up call" for "Republicans who refuse to act like Republicans, and not just the Democrats."
She echoed that sentiment on Twitter.
"So many people tell me daily how devastated they are over the state of our union on every level, and I completely share their utter disgust and heartbreak for the condition of our country," she wrote in October. "National Divorce is talked about often privately, but not publicly, so I took a poll."
She doubled down again after her comments on Wednesday, writing that "we Republicans don't want your blue votes ruining our red home states."
Greene's House colleagues accused freshman congresswoman of calling for civil war.
"There is no 'National Divorce' either you are for civil war or not," tweeted Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. "Just say it if you want a civil war and officially declare yourself a traitor."
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., urged his followers not to "ignore" Greene's rants.
"I want you to see what a GOP-run country looks like. They will take your right to vote if you don't agree with them. MTG may sound batty but she's not kidding and she has [House GOP leader] Kevin McCarthy fully behind her," Swalwell wrote.
"The most popular national Republicans are openly advocating for an end to American democracy," tweeted Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. "This isn't fringe anymore. This is mainstream Republican thinking, folks."
https://www.rawstory.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-2656199450/
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Gun-toting GOP extremists fail to grasp how pathetic they look
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It’s not hard to find photos of each one of the three Republicans in Colorado’s congressional delegation posing with guns.
The images aren’t just out there on the internet — the members want you to see them. They released them as part of campaigns or policy statements. The discouraging implication is that they assume such posturing will resonate with a substantial portion of their base.
They’re hardly alone. Many conservatives suffer from a compulsion to be photographed shooting, brandishing or fondling firearms. It’s looney. But it also contributes, in ways that don’t get enough attention, to the epidemic of gun violence in America.
On Monday, five people were killed as a result of the latest paroxysm of gun violence in Colorado, a state where bullets have claimed so many lives it occupies a special place of shame in the national gun debate. A man went on a killing spree that started at Sol Tribe Custom Tattoo and Body Piercing in Denver and ended at the Belmar shopping district in Lakewood.
In a healthy society, such a heinous act of violence would be extraordinary. But our society is sick, and such violence is routine. The Monday shooting in Denver might have been the worst single act of gun violence in America that day, but it was nowhere near the only one — there were victims in more than 20 other cities. During a single week in November, nine high school students were shot in two incidents in Aurora. In March, a gunman killed 10 people in a Boulder grocery store.
There have been more than 20,000 non-suicide gun deaths throughout the country in 2021, according to the Gun Violence Archive. That’s the most in at least seven years.
A major incident of gun violence is often accompanied, along with thoughts-and-prayers pablum, by calls for new laws. While legislative reform will be central to any anti-gun violence solution — including repeal of the Second Amendment, which in modern times does much more harm than good — we must also recognize how gun glorification on the right whets the country’s appetite for slaughter.
Earlier this month, Rep. Lauren Boebert posted a Christmas-themed photo of herself with her four boys, who were brandishing assault weapons. The youngest is 8. Fetishization of guns is the main theme of Boebert’s political persona (not unrelated to sedition being the main theme of her political identity).
Boebert might take Second Amendment zeal to buffoonish extremes, but she typifies the childish proclivity of conservatives who are desperate for people to see them shooting things. The climax of a campaign ad that Rep. Ken Buck released last year, when he still doubled as the chairman of the Colorado GOP, shows the congressman firing a semi-automatic rifle at a target. Constituents can find pictures on Rep. Doug Lamborn’s official government website of the lawmaker squeezing off rounds at the Magnum Shooting Center in Colorado Springs. The election-denying state Rep. Ron Hanks launched his U.S. Senate campaign in October with a video of him firing a rifle at a fake voting machine, which explodes.
Around the country there is no shortage of elected gun nuts gun-nutting for the camera. Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and many others have demonstrated an inability to resist the urge to strut with weapons.
What these extremists fail to grasp is how weak such posing makes them appear. People who are confident in their strength don’t need to peacock. An elected official posing with a weapon is a micro version of a military parade — if you’re tempted to be impressed when a member of Congress showboats with a firearm, just think of Kim Jong-Un.
But as silly as these leaders make themselves look, the message they send is dangerous. When elected officials extol instruments of death, they reinforce strains of violence in the country’s political culture and encourage lethal aggression. It’s easy for most Americans when they see gun cosplay from their leaders to laugh it off as the antics of children. But disturbed and aggrieved viewers will derive inspiration from such displays, with bloodshed too readily the result. It’s still unclear what motivated the shooter on Monday, but initial indications are that he espoused far-right political hatred, and it’s reasonable to suppose that right-wing celebration of firearms helped clear space for his murderous rampage.
If you feel you need it for personal protection, go ahead and carry a gun. If spraying bullets into a target makes you feel tough, no one’s stopping you. But if you prefer to live in a safe community, and want to appear strong — not playground strong, but actually strong — leave the camera at home.
Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence.
https://coloradonewsline.com/2021/12/30/stop-posing-with-guns/
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Gov. DeSantis seems hellbent on taking us back to the ’60s — only it’s the 1860s
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And just like that, it’s 1861.
Gov. Ron DeSantis likes to call this the “Free State of Florida.” If he hasn’t yet wrapped himself in the Tenth Amendment or threatened secession, it’s only because he’s been too busy playing soldiers, organizing his private battalion, rewriting the past, and trying to destroy democracy.
Give him time. You have to lay some groundwork if you want to be the next Jefferson Davis.
Step one: that little militia. Yes, other states also have them. Other states, however, do not have a governor who acts like Victor Orban with a bad case of acid reflux.
DeSantis announced his new Praetorians flanked by sofa-sized gents in camo in front of a sign that read “Let Us Alone.”
(Note: that “Let Us Alone” thing does not apply to the $9 billion from the feds now plumping up Florida’s budget).
The governor probably likes the historical precedent of gubernatorial troopers. Three days before Florida officially left the Union, and three months before Fort Sumter kicked off the party in earnest, a local militia took St. Augustine’s Castillo de San Marcos from the feds.
Those boys answered to Gov. Madison Perry, not Washington, and certainly not that dangerous radical Abraham Lincoln who’d been elected in 1860.
Wonder what the Brigata DeSantis uniform will look like? Brown shirts? Helmets with kevlar Mickey Mouse ears?
Maybe the Brigata DeSantis will help enforce the governor’s determination to silence public school teachers who might sully the ears of precious white children with the dreaded Critical Race Theory.
Not that DeSantis would recognize Critical Race Theory if it knocked him upside the head.
Not that any public K-12 school in Florida teaches Critical Race Theory: It’s law school-level stuff, a means of exploring how race has shaped our legal, governmental, and social systems beginning with enslaving Africans and continuing through Jim Crow, criminal justice, school funding, redlining, and a whole slew of other demonstrably discriminatory practices feeding white supremacy throughout American history.
Certainly, this might be a bit much for 5th grade social studies — which is why you won’t find it there.
But why let reality get in the way of demagoguery? DeSantis’ gauchely named new Fox-bait proposal, Stop WOKE (“Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees”) Act, will allow parents to sue schools if “pernicious ideologies” show up in the classroom.
He seems to think that examining the reality of historical racism will “scapegoat someone based on their race” and make people see themselves as “inherently racist, to say that they are an oppressor, or oppressed, or any of that, and that’s good and that’s important.”
His point, if you can pick though the word salad, is that you can’t go hurting white people’s feelings talking about racism, never mind that people of color experience racism every day.
DeSantis must long for those good old antebellum days when Southern states banned expressing disapproval of slavery and made disseminating abolitionist literature a felony.
White folks knew how to run a white folks’ country back then: A piece in the Richmond Enquirer from 1856 exhorts schools to make sure children learn that slavery “is the common, natural, rightful, and normal state of society.”
DeSantis’ updated version insists children learn that America is an exceptional nation founded on “universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence” — “universal principles” that included slavery.
According to this spurious understanding of history, only individuals can be racist, not systems, not institutions.
The white men who have run the country since 1619 learned one really important thing during Reconstruction: Certain people have no business voting. They don’t do it right.
To that end, the governor’s new elections-crime office will help curb excessive democracy.
The plan is to hire 45 investigators to look into all those elections infractions that are not actually happening, unless you count the Republican woman in Lake County who falsified voter registration forms changing party affiliations from Democrats to Republicans, or those three Trumpers in the Villages who voted twice.
And how about those Republican-funded “ghost candidates” who stole elections from Democratic candidates?
But that’s not what DeSantis means by election crimes; he means “ballot harvesting,” taking your grandmama’s ballot along with the ballots of several of her friends and depositing them at the supervisor’s office.
He’d like the Legislature to make that a felony. He’s already signed the law that restricts the use of drop boxes and absentee voting.
We breathlessly await literacy tests and poll taxes.
Here, in the “Free State of Florida,” DeSantis is happy to take federal money while preaching distrust of the federal government, rather like the way South Carolina’s Sen. John C. Calhoun declared that states could ignore any federal law they deemed “unconstitutional” in 1832.
No doubt the Great Nullifier would agree that 62,000 Florida dead of COVID is a small price to pay for DeSantis’s heroic defiance of Washington on vaccines and masking.
DeSantis seems to think Florida should only tangentially belong to the United States.
The “Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union” says a state can choose to be “separate and independent” with “full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent States may of right do.”
That was Dec. 20, 1860. We all know what happened next.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence.
https://floridaphoenix.com/2021/12/27/gov-desantis-seems-hellbent-on-taking-us-back-to-the-60s-only-its-the-1860s/
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Trump's most rabid Qanon conspiracy theorist lunatics are running for election this year. These loons are violent radical extremists and they're even more radical than Marjorie Taylor Greene. Handpicked Trump cultists like this have no business holding a government position just so they can corrupt our government by doing whatever Trump wants. All of these far right Trump worshippers need to be soundly defeated so the GOP can return to a civil and conservative party like they used to be.
Meet the scariest Republican candidates of 2022
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The Trump era saw a far-right takeover of the Republican Party. But the Big Lie and the fallout from the Capitol riot last January threaten to move the party even further into the extremist fringe after the 2022 midterms.
Republicans have long inched toward extremist positions on issues like immigration, women's rights and gun rights but Donald Trump's election helped mainstream racist, xenophobic and white nationalist forces. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., arguably one of the most effective conservative political figures in recent history, has increasingly been cast as a RINO ("Republican in Name Only") while the once-fringe House Freedom Caucus has grown massively to become a leading force in Washington. Longtime conservatives like former House Speaker Paul Ryan and former Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., ran for the hills while conspiracy theorists like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., became the faces of the new MAGA wing of the GOP.
Though the majority of the House Republican caucus voted to back Trump's Big Lie and tried to block the certification of President Biden's victory after the deadly Capitol riot, Trump and his allies wasted no time in launching a revenge tour, with the explicit aim of purging lawmakers seen as insufficiently loyal, while his supporters in state legislatures around the country seek to make it easier to overturn the next election. With Democrats facing a difficult if not impossible task of keeping the House despite plummeting approval ratings, the next wave of Republican freshmen could be the scariest yet – and may pose a true threat to democracy as we know it.
Kari Lake — Arizona governor
After failing to convince outgoing Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey to help him overturn his election loss, Trump is backing a largely unknown conspiracy theorist, who vowed she would not have certified Biden's win, to replace Ducey. Lake, a longtime Arizona news anchor with no political experience, has even demanded that election officials "decertify" the election results, which is not legally possible. Lake, who is also backed by election conspiracists Mike Lindell and Michael Flynn and Capitol riot-linked Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., has called for Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (who is also a gubernatorial candidate this year), to be imprisoned for unspecified election crimes. Trump has also praised Lake for opposing COVID restrictions, "cancel culture," and "woke" school curriculums, all issues likely to dominate the next cycle of Republican primaries and beyond. Trump's endorsement catapulted Lake atop the race, where she leads former Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., by more than a two-to-one margin.
Eric Greitens — Missouri governor
Greitens, once a rising star and considered a potential presidential contender, resigned as Missouri governor in 2018 after a woman with whom he had an extramarital affair accused him of sexual assault and revenge porn. A St. Louis grand jury indicted him that year on felony invasion of privacy charges, and although prosecutors dropped the charges, a special committee in the Republican-led state legislature released a report in April 2018 deeming the woman's allegations "credible." The legislature moved to start impeachment proceedings against Greitens in May 2018, leading him to resign in exchange for prosecutors dropping an unrelated felony charge for using a veterans' charity email list for his campaign.
There was a time when such scandals would end a political career but Greitens has rebranded himself as an election conspiracist in the wake of Trump's loss, calling for "audits" of the election results nationwide and "decertification" of the 2020 results, and is back for another run at the governor's mansion. Republicans worried that Greitens could cost them the race have pleaded for Trump not to endorse Greitens, but Trump World appears to be rallying behind the disgraced former governor with endorsements from Donald Trump Jr., his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle and former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Greitens is just one of numerous Republican candidates accused of violence against women, a list that also includes Trump-backed Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker and Trump-endorsed Ohio House candidate Max Miller, who was accused of assault by Trump's former press secretary Stephanie Grisham.
Joe Kent — Washington, 3rd congressional district
Kent is running to unseat Rep. Jamie Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., who voted to impeach Trump after the Capitol riot, and is the most prominent candidate backed by the "Insurrection Caucus," meaning Trump allies like Greene, Boebert, Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina and Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida. The Washington Post reported last week that the group has little appetite for direct battle with Democrats and instead aims to push House Republicans even further right.
Kent told the Post he wants to force the party to vote on articles of impeachment against Biden and a full congressional investigation into the 2020 election, which he has claimed (without evidence, of course) was stolen. "A lot of it will be shaming Republicans," he told the Post. "It's put up or shut up," he said.
Trump critics are particularly alarmed about the extremist pro-Trump wing gaining power.
"We're looking at a nihilistic Mad Max hellscape," former Republican strategist Rick Wilson, who co-founded the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, told the Post. "It will be all about the show of 2024 to bring Donald Trump back into power. … They will impeach Biden, they will impeach Harris, they will kill everything."
Mark Finchem — Arizona secretary of state
While most eyes will be on prominent gubernatorial and congressional races, the 2022 slate of secretary of state races may be the most consequential. Secretaries of state, who oversee elections, certified the election results in all the states Trump sought to contest, regardless of party affiliation. Next time may be different.
Finchem, a state lawmaker who attended the "Stop the Steal" rally ahead of the Capitol riot and spoke at a similar protest the previous day, has earned Trump's endorsement — and has also espoused QAnon-linked conspiracy theories and been linked to extremist groups.
A Finchem win could prove consequential in a state that was decided in 2020 by fewer than 12,000 votes. But Trump is also backing Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., another election conspiracist, against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who pushed back on Trump's attempts to overturn his loss. The ex-president has also thrown his support behind Kristina Karamo, an election conspiracist who hopes to challenge Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat.
Democrats increasingly worry that prominent election conspirators may soon be in charge of overseeing the votes. "That is 'code red' for democracy," Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, chairwoman of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, told Reuters.
David Perdue — Georgia governor
At the start of the COVID pandemic, there appeared to be no governor closer allied with Trump than Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. But Kemp's refusal to help Trump try to block Biden's win forever cost the governor Trump BFF status and put him squarely in the former president's crosshairs. Trump has made it a point to back primary challenges to his perceived enemies, throwing his support behind former Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga. — who lost to Democrat Jon Ossoff in a January 2021 runoff — even as the state's Republican lawmakers pleaded for him to stay out after many blamed him for costing the party both of its Georgia U.S. Senate seats.
Perdue was already out of the Senate last Jan. 6, but now says he would have voted to block Biden's win. After landing Trump's endorsement earlier this month, Perdue filed a dubious lawsuit calling for an investigation of absentee ballots in his Senate race over vote-rigging allegations against Democratic election officials, some 11 months after his defeat. He also said earlier this month that he would not have certified Biden's victory if he had been governor.
Ron Watkins — Arizona, 1st congressional district
Watkins has long been a prominent QAnon conspiracy theorist and many believe he outed himself as the mythical "Q" in a recent HBO documentary. As former administrator of the far-right imageboard 8kun, for years he has pushed nonsensical conspiracy theories alleging that a cabal of liberal Satan-worshipping pedophiles are running a global child sex-trafficking ring and plotting against Trump. Earlier this year, he filed paperwork to run for Congress in Arizona — in a Phoenix-area seat now held by Rep. Tom O'Halleran, a Democrat — after moving back to the U.S. from the Philippines.
But Watkins is just one of at least 49 federal candidates who have publicly expressed some support for the QAnon conspiracy theory, according to the watchdog group Media Matters.
Adam Laxalt — Nevada, U.S. Senate
While many Republicans cheered Trump's bogus voter fraud lawsuits from the sidelines, Laxalt, Nevada's former attorney general, filed multiple lawsuits contesting Biden's victory in the state. Though all of the challenges were rejected by the court, Laxalt has continued to stoke voter fraud conspiracies, leading the Las Vegas Sun editorial board to label him the "Nevada version of Rudy Giuliani." Laxalt, who is now running for the Senate seat held by Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, vowed to file lawsuits to "tighten up the election" more than 14 months before a single vote is cast. Democrats in the state say Laxalt is using Trump's "Big Lie playbook" for his campaign and seeking to "limit Nevadans' voting rights and potentially overturn the election when he loses."
Mellissa Carone — Michigan state House
Readers may remember Carone from her bizarre testimony to Michigan lawmakers alongside Giuliani last December or the subsequent mockery she received on "Saturday Night Live." Carone, a former IT contractor for Dominion Voting Systems who has continued to espouse debunked claims of election rigging, is now running for the Michigan state House as a Republican and pushing white nationalist talking points about liberals seeking to "eliminate white people in America" with so-called critical race theory and transgender rights.
Carone is one of hundreds of pro-Trump diehards running in state legislature races in 2022, a trend that could have severe implications. Republican-led state legislatures this year pushed hundreds of voting restrictions, measures undercutting COVID regulations, legislation barring the teaching of certain history in school, and bills cracking down on LGBTQ rights.
J.D. Vance — Ohio, U.S. Senate
Vance, a longtime venture capitalist and the best-selling author of "Hillbilly Elegy," is running for U.S. Senate in Ohio, where incumbent Republican Rob Portman is retiring. Vance and fellow Republican candidate Josh Mandel have desperately tried to rebrand themselves as Trump-style, anti-immigrant, anti-Big Tech zealots. Vance's politics appear to be closer to that of Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., than to the former president, but it's his financial backers who have raised the most concern.
Vance is backed by the Mercer family, who funded Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Trump adviser Steve Bannon and many of the key players involved in stoking election lies and the subsequent Capitol riot.
Vance's biggest benefactor is venture capitalist Peter Thiel, who has increasingly thrown big money at Trump and other far-right Republicans. Thiel, who has worked with Vance for years, dropped $10 million to back his Senate bid and another $10 million to support his protégé Blake Masters' Senate bid in Arizona, along with maximum donations to several House campaigns. Though Thiel largely keeps a low public profile, he is "in many ways further to the right than Trump," author Max Chafkin, who profiled Thiel in a recent book, told Salon earlier this year, and "wants to be the patron of the Trump wing of the Republican Party."
Noah Malgeri — Nevada, 3rd congressional district
Trump has frequently drawn condemnation for calling for "locking up" political opponents but some Republicans have gone even further, calling for actual violence against their adversaries.
William Braddock, a Republican running for a Florida House seat vacated by outgoing Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla. (who is running for governor), threatened to send a "hit squad" to make his Republican primary opponent "disappear." His opponent was granted a restraining order.
Wyoming state Sen. Anthony Bouchard, who is running to unseat Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., earlier this year suggested executing White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, which the state's Democratic Party reported to the FBI.
Earlier this week, Noah Malgeri, who is running in the Republican primary to face Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., called for the execution of Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has been targeted by Republicans for a call he made to a Chinese general to reassure him that the United States was not planning to attack.
"We don't need a congressional commission to investigate the crimes of Mark Milley, all the evidence is out there," Malgeri said in a Facebook Live interview this week. "What did they used to do to traitors if they were convicted by a court? They would execute them," he added. "That's still the law in the United States of America. I think, you know, if he's guilty of it by a court martial, they should hang him on CNN. I mean, they're not going to do it on CNN. But on C-SPAN or something."
https://www.rawstory.com/gop-2022-election/
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Marge is having a tough go of it lately.
Pro-Trump pastor buries Marjorie Taylor Greene: She 'spouts racist sounding stuff and wants us to defend it'
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Pro-Trump Pastor Darrell Scott on Monday hammered Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), whom he accused of putting Black conservatives "in a bad position."
Writing on Twitter, Scott took Greene to task for criticizing GOP outreach efforts to Black voters as "pandering."
"I’m tired of White Conservatives LIKE MARJORIE TAYLOR GREEN putting Black Conservatives in a bad position by spouting racist sounding stuff and wanting us to defend it and/or her," he wrote. "She called outreach to Black voters 'pandering.' I’m not standing next to that drivel."
Scott followed this up by noting people like Greene "don’t think 'formulating strategy to attract white suburban women' is pandering."
Some of Scott's followers tried to defend Greene by asking him to point to racist things she's said, and Scott pointed to videos she made before being elected in which she said it was impossible for Muslims to be loyal to the United States, as well as infamous remarks she made comparing pandemic-related restrictions to the Holocaust.
Greene has been suspended from Twitter for repeatedly violating the platform's ban on spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read tweets in link
https://www.rawstory.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-2656211669/
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More madness in Wisconsin as Republican floats way to nullify elections
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In the waning hours of 2021, a Republican legislator in Wisconsin named Timothy Ramthun wasn’t chilling champagne or relaxing with his family. No, he was still scheming to subvert our democracy.
Ramthun, who in November introduced a resolution to rescind Wisconsin’s Electoral Colleges votes that were certified on Jan. 6, introduced a bill on Dec. 30 that would permit the nullification of an election and the mandating of a do-over 30 days later in some circumstances.
Those circumstances include where the total number of absentee ballots exceeds the margin of victory, which, under his bill, would necessitate a forensic audit. (In the November 2020 elections, almost 2 million Wisconsinites voted by absentee ballot, and Biden won by about 21,000 votes.)
After such an audit, if the Wisconsin Elections Commission or the Attorney General or a district attorney “having jurisdiction over the matter determines that a violation of the laws relating to election threats, bribery, or fraud occurred,” then the election is null and void.
This is way off the charts. There’s no precedent for nullifying elections in Wisconsin.
And note that Ramthun has totally aced out the judiciary, which up to now has had the authority to resolve election disputes.
Ramthun sidelines the judges and would conveniently hand power over to partisan officials.
This is an assault not only on our right to vote but on the separation of powers and our very system of checks and balances.
The anti-democracy madness in Wisconsin has got to stop!
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/brief/wisconsin-republican-floats-way-to-nullify-elections/
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Biden debuts $1 billion meatpacking competition plan
President Joe Biden unveiled plans Monday to allocate $1 billion in federal money to increasing competition in the meatpacking industry.
“Without meaningful competition, farmers and ranchers don’t get to choose who they sell to,” Biden said. “Put another way, our farmers and ranchers have to pay whatever these four big companies say they have to pay.”
The top four companies in the pork, beef and poultry industries control more than half of their markets. Biden said the lack of competition allows those companies to drive up the prices of meat at the grocery store without paying more to farmers.
“This reflects the market being distorted by lack of competition… Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism, it’s exploitation,” Biden said in a livestreamed address.
Biden’s initiative to increase competition has four components, he explained:
- Investing $1 billion in new and expanded meat and poultry processing. The funding will come from the American Rescue Plan and is meant to give farmers more options than “giant processing conglomerates.”
- Strengthening federal rules to protect meat producers. Biden ordered the USDA to rewrite rules in the Packers and Stockyard Act, a 1921 law that regulates meatpackers.
- Enforcing existing competition laws “vigorously,” including launching a new program to make it easier for individuals to report violations of laws that restrict anti-competitive behavior.
- Making the industry more transparent by requiring additional reporting on meat prices
Congress is also working to address competition in the industry. Iowa lawmakers have led an effort to increase price transparency between packers and producers. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst introduced the bill in the Senate, and all four of Iowa’s representatives introduced it in the House.
.@ChuckGrassley and I have been working across the aisle to return fairness to the cattle marketplace and improve market transparency for Iowa’s hardworking cattle producers.
Our bipartisan effort needs to be part of President Biden’s conversation with farmers today.
“I will continue to work with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle and the White House to pass the legislation to help level the playing field for family farmers,” Rep. Cindy Axne, a Democrat, said in a statement Monday.
Biden has led several initiatives in the past year to address meatpacking competition.
In July, Biden ordered the Department of Agriculture to write new rules that would give farmers more power in pricing their livestock. He pointed toward meatpacking monopolies as the cause of increased meat prices in the U.S.
“Four large meatpacking companies dominate over 80% of the beef market and, over the last five years, farmers’ share of the price of beef has dropped by more than a quarter — from 51.5% to 37.3% — while the price of beef has risen,” a July White House fact sheet read.
The USDA announced a $500 million grant program to establish new meat-processing facilities or support existing small operations.
The White House announced in September that the USDA would invest $1.4 billion in pandemic assistance to small producers and processes.
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/brief/biden-debuts-1-billion-meatpacking-competition-plan/
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Schumer says U.S. Senate to consider changing the filibuster if voting rights stalls
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned on Monday that the Senate is prepared to debate changes in the filibuster if Republicans continue to block the advancement of voting rights legislation.
In a sternly worded letter to other senators, the New York Democrat set a deadline of Jan. 17 for the chamber to consider revising the filibuster rules, which require a 60-vote threshold for legislation to move ahead in the evenly divided Senate.
Jan. 17 is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“We must ask ourselves: if the right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, then how can we in good conscience allow for a situation in which the Republican Party can debate and pass voter suppression laws at the State level with only a simple majority vote, but not allow the United States Senate to do the same?” Schumer wrote in the letter.
It’s unlikely that enough Senate Republicans will join Democrats to pass the current versions of voting rights legislation.
Another sticking point for Schumer is that not all Democrats are on board either with reforming or pushing for a carve out of filibuster rules.
With the midterm elections approaching, congressional Democrats have without success pushed for enactment of broad voter rights protections. Since the 2020 presidential election, Republicans at the state level have introduced hundreds of bills that would impose strict voting requirements, in response to former President Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud in the presidential election.
Schumer argued that with the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol this week, Congress needs to understand that the attack “was a symptom of a broader illness — an effort to delegitimize our election process, and the Senate must advance systemic democracy reforms to repair our republic or else the events of that day will not be an aberration — they will be the new norm.”
“Given the urgency of the situation and imminence of the votes, we as Senate Democrats must urge the public in a variety of different ways to impress upon their Senators the importance of acting and reforming the Senate rules, if that becomes a perquisite for action to save our democracy,” he said.
Senate Republicans have repeatedly blocked debate on a voting rights bill. Only one Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, said in November that she would back Senate Democrats in a compromise voting rights measure named after a civil rights icon, the late Rep. John Lewis of Georgia.
In his letter, Schumer did not specify which voting rights bill the Senate aims to pass — Democrats have introduced several.
But Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota has spent the last few months working on a package that has the support of West Virginia’s Sen. Joe Manchin III, a Democrat who has expressed his opposition to changing the Senate’s rules.
The same stance is shared by Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who opposes any type of filibuster reform.
“As she has throughout her time in the U.S. House and Senate, Senator Sinema also continues to support the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, to protect the country from repeated radical reversals in federal policy which would cement uncertainty, deepen divisions, and further erode Americans’ confidence in our government,” her office wrote in a statement, the same one she made in December in response to questions about her position on the filibuster.
The bill backed by Klobuchar, known as the Freedom to Vote Act, has the support of every Senate Democrat, including Sinema.
The legislation would establish Election Day as a national holiday and set minimum standards that each state must have for elections, such as two weeks of early voting and an option for same-day voter registration. Manchin has vowed to get 10 Senate Republicans on board, but so far has not succeeded.
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2022/01/03/schumer-says-u-s-senate-to-consider-changing-the-filibuster-if-voting-rights-stalls/
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President Biden is creating a record number of jobs and the Biden Boom continues.
U.S. added 807,000 private jobs in December, more than twice the number expected
Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Private companies in the United States added more than 800,000 jobs during the month of December, an amount more than twice what analysts expected.
ADP and Moody's Analytics said in their monthly report on Wednesday that private employers made about 807,000 hires last month.
Most experts projected the report would show around 380,000 new jobs.
According to the report, larger businesses -- those with more than 500 employees -- made the most hires, about 389,000. Medium-sized businesses made 214,000 and smaller businesses about 204,000.
"December's job market strengthened as the fallout from the Delta [coronavirus] variant faded and Omicron's impact had yet to be seen," Nela Richardson, ADP chief economist, said in a statement.
"Job gains were broad-based, as goods producers added the strongest reading of the year, while service providers dominated growth."
The services sector was responsible for most of the growth, almost 670,000 jobs, particularly in leisure and hospitality. The goods-producing sector added close to 140,000, with manufacturing contributing more than half of that figure.
"December's job growth brought the fourth quarter average to 625,000, surpassing the 514,000 average for the year. While job gains eclipsed 6 million in 2021, private sector payrolls are still nearly 4 million jobs short of pre-COVID-19 levels."
The report from ADP and Moody's came two days before the Labor Department issues its official December jobs report. Most analysts expect that report, which includes the public sector, to show about 400,000 new jobs.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/01/05/adp-moodys-private-jobs-report-december/6931641388838/
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Thanks President Biden!
The US economy grew 5.7% throughout last year, the fastest expansion since 1984
It's "Morning in America" all over again.
US gross domestic product grew 5.7% through 2021, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced Thursday morning.
That marks the strongest annual economic growth since 1984, when President Ronald Reagan was hoping for his second term in the White House. The 40th president ran with the now famous "Morning in America" message as he looked to pull the US out of its inflation nightmare and into a new era of economic prosperity.
Similarities abound with the country's present situation. Thursday's GDP print caps a standout year for the US economy. Job growth was the strongest in the country's history, with the US adding 6.4 million jobs. Consumer spending fully recovered and then some. The economy isn't just booming; it's recovering at a pace much faster than in the wake of previous recessions.
Biden isn't seeking reelection for another couple years, but the latest GDP data gives the president another metric to tout as he hits the campaign trail ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
It also places his first-year economic scorecard far above what most economists anticipated. GDP growth through 2021 exceeded forecasts from the Federal Open Market Committee, Congressional Budget Office, and the country's top business economists, according to Jason Furman and Wilson Powell, researchers at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-gdp-growth-best-since-reagan-inflation-economic-recovery-1984-2022-1
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The Biden Boom is going strong and even bigger than we thought.
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'Get tested' for COVID if you run into potential super spreader Sarah Palin: NYC mayor's spokesman
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Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been spotted dining out on the town in Manhattan despite the fact that she recently tested positive for COVID-19 and should be in isolation.
The New York Daily News reports that a spokesman for New York Mayor Eric Adams has now put out an advisory warning New Yorkers about the danger of coming in contact with Palin.
"We encourage any New Yorker who came into contact with Sarah Palin to get tested, just as we encourage all New Yorkers to get tested regularly, especially those who believe they may have been exposed to COVID-19,” Adams spokesman Jonah Allon said.
The Daily News notes that Palin, who has steadfastly refused to get vaccinated, was spotted on Wednesday at an Upper East Side Italian eatery just days after she revealed her infection.
Luca Guaitolini, the manager of the restaurant, tells the Daily News that Palin's visit was "unfortunate" but that "we’ve moved on" from talking about it.
https://www.rawstory.com/sarah-palin-2656496893/
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Thanks President Biden!
The US economy grew 5.7% throughout last year, the fastest expansion since 1984
It's "Morning in America" all over again.
US gross domestic product grew 5.7% through 2021, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced Thursday morning.
That marks the strongest annual economic growth since 1984, when President Ronald Reagan was hoping for his second term in the White House. The 40th president ran with the now famous "Morning in America" message as he looked to pull the US out of its inflation nightmare and into a new era of economic prosperity.
Similarities abound with the country's present situation. Thursday's GDP print caps a standout year for the US economy. Job growth was the strongest in the country's history, with the US adding 6.4 million jobs. Consumer spending fully recovered and then some. The economy isn't just booming; it's recovering at a pace much faster than in the wake of previous recessions.
Biden isn't seeking reelection for another couple years, but the latest GDP data gives the president another metric to tout as he hits the campaign trail ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
It also places his first-year economic scorecard far above what most economists anticipated. GDP growth through 2021 exceeded forecasts from the Federal Open Market Committee, Congressional Budget Office, and the country's top business economists, according to Jason Furman and Wilson Powell, researchers at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-gdp-growth-best-since-reagan-inflation-economic-recovery-1984-2022-1
This propaganda reminds me of Bagdad Bob and his proclamations of victory during the Iraq war. Biden's polls numbers have cratered to Watergate-like numbers. Even the leftist media has conceded that he is a disaster. The Dems closed the country down in 2020 bringing it to ruin. When it is reopened (ironically with even more virus cases than when this started - thanks Joe!) and the people go back to work, they proclaim economic success. HA HA HA. It's a miracle! You can't make that up. Imagine the economy improving after being closed down for a pandemic? Amazing Joe! Another record to add to inflation, crime, illegal immigration, and possibly WWIII due to his blundering. As Cool Hand Luke said, "Wish you'd stop being so good to me Captain."
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This propaganda reminds me of Bagdad Bob and his proclamations of victory during the Iraq war. Biden's polls numbers have cratered to Watergate-like numbers. Even the leftist media has conceded that he is a disaster. The Dems closed the country down in 2020 bringing it to ruin. When it is reopened (ironically with even more virus cases than when this started - thanks Joe!) and the people go back to work, they proclaim economic success. HA HA HA. It's a miracle! You can't make that up. Imagine the economy improving after being closed down for a pandemic? Amazing Joe! Another record to add to inflation, crime, illegal immigration, and possibly WWIII due to his blundering. As Cool Hand Luke said, "Wish you'd stop being so good to me Captain."
:D :D :D
Hilarious how people like Richard Smith continue to deny reality. Criminal Donald was a disaster and President Biden saved America in one year. Dems can't "close a country down".
U.S. economy grew by 5.7 percent last year, fastest pace since 1984
The nation’s gross domestic product has bounced back from the 2020 coronavirus recession
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/us-economy-grew-57-2021-rebounding-2020-recession-rcna13771#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20economy%20grew%20last,the%20Commerce%20Department%20reported%20Thursday.
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President Biden went to Pittsburgh, PA today to speak about his historical economic success and his historical Infrastructure Bill. Tragedy happened as a bridge collapsed injuring 10 people. This is why the passing of President Biden's Infrastructure Bill was so important, because we have structurally deficient bridges all across America in desperate need of repairs. Only a few Republicans voted for this Bill while the rest attacked the Bill and voted against it.
How can anybody be against a Bill that revitalizes American cities, keeps Americans safe, and provides millions of new good paying jobs which will give us an economic boom? That just goes to show you how partisan and anti American these right wingers are. There's a few frauds in the GOP who are trying to falsley take credit for all the new infrastructure projects starting up in their states when they voted against this Bill. All these right wing frauds are being called out and we won't allow them to take credit for this Bill they opposed and voted against.
Pittsburgh bridge collapses, injuring 10 people
Several vehicles were on the Forbes Avenue bridge over Fern Hollow Creek in Pittsburgh's Frick Park when the span collapsed
PITTSBURGH —The Forbes Avenue bridge over Fern Hollow Creek in Pittsburgh's Frick Park collapsed Friday morning, with several vehicles, including a Port Authority bus, on the span at the time.
Ten injuries were reported in the collapse, which happened in the area of Forbes and South Braddock avenues near the city's Point Breeze neighborhood. Four people were taken to area hospitals.
The bridge that collapsed is known as the Fern Hollow Bridge, used by an estimated 14,500 vehicles daily. Video above shows the collapse.
President Joe Biden visited the site of the bridge collapse, just after he arrived in the city for a previously scheduled speech on infrastructure.
"You realize, I’ve been coming to Pittsburgh a long time and as a former Pennsylvanian, but I didn’t realize there are literally more bridges in Pittsburgh than any other city in the world. More than Venice. I knew there were a lot of bridges – I had no idea of that. And we’re gonna fix them all. It’s not a joke. This is going to be a gigantic change. There’s 43,000 nationwide and we’re sending them money," Biden said.
City officials said the bridge came down at 6:39 a.m. Witnesses said the loud noise from the collapse was followed by a hissing sound and the smell of natural gas.
A major gas leak caused a strong odor in the area. Some homes were evacuated due to the leak, but all residents have been able to return to their homes.
Rescuers had to rappel nearly 150 feet and form a human chain to reach the people in the articulated bus that fell with the bridge into the ravine.
Port Authority officials said a driver and two passengers were on the 61B bus, which was headed outbound from downtown Pittsburgh to Braddock when the collapse happened. Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said the passengers were taken to the hospital for treatment.
According to officials, there were a total of ten injuries. Four people were taken to hospitals, with UPMC reporting that the patients were in fair condition. One of the patients was treated and released Friday afternoon.
There were no life-threatening injuries, officials said.
Authorities flew drones to make sure no one was under any collapsed sections of the bridge, and a spokesman for Mayor Ed Gainey said a search-and-rescue team combed the area for any other possible victims.
Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the collapse.
Owned by the city, the bridge is an important artery that leads to Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill and Oakland neighborhoods. Public Safety officials say the span was most recently inspected in September.
The bridge was in "poor" overall condition, according to a statewide listing of bridge conditions on the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation website. The report listed the deck condition as poor and said the substructure was satisfactory.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
https://www.wtae.com/article/pittsburgh-bridge-collapse/38926079
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Economic growth so strong, the GOP is literally at a loss for words
Economic growth was so good in President Joe Biden's first year that Republicans literally found themselves at a loss for words
"The public learned that economic growth in 2021 reached its highest level in nearly four decades, on the heels of news that the economy created 6.4 million jobs last year and saw the sharpest one-year improvement in the unemployment rate on record."
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/economic-growth-so-strong-gop-literally-loss-words-n1288163
'This is no accident’: Biden takes credit for soaring economic growth
Jared Bernstein, one of President Biden’s economic advisors, tells Lawrence O’Donnell that in addition to fast economic growth, unemployment dropped at a record rate in 2021. “Those statistics make the connection between a strong growing economy on the GDP side and with that growth reaching working families through an extremely tight labor market.” - Jan. 27, 2022
https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/-this-is-no-accident-biden-takes-credit-for-soaring-economic-growth-131884101889
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The Biden Boom: Economic Recovery in 2021
President Joe Biden took office one year ago amid one of the worst economies in generations, but the U.S. economy has since made tremendous progress toward recovery, and workers are benefiting.
January 20 marks one year since President Joe Biden took office: It’s time to take stock of the historic economic boom under his leadership.
Though the United States faces serious economic challenges amid the ongoing global pandemic, 2021 was an extraordinary year of economic growth and recovery. The country saw record job gains and an unprecedented drop in unemployment. The economy likely grew faster than in any year since 1984, as measured by real gross domestic product (GDP). In 2021, the economy not only regained all pandemic-related GDP losses—it also surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Despite elevated inflation, Americans’ disposable incomes were higher in 2021 in real (inflation-adjusted) terms than they were in 2019 and 2020. Additionally, by many important measures such as savings and bank balances, Americans are more financially secure. The United States also made dramatic progress in lowering its exceptionally high rate of child poverty.
None of this was inevitable. Rather, it was the result of bold policies that bolstered the recovery and provided direct aid to households, most importantly the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the COVID-19 vaccine program. Much of this aid was disbursed to families hit hardest by the devastating economic impact of the pandemic: the unemployed, the poor, and families struggling with the high costs of raising children. Bold federal action helped families make ends meet through additional stimulus checks; expanded unemployment insurance benefits; expanded monthly child tax credit payments; and other policies. These policies addressed weaknesses in the social safety net that became more acute during the pandemic but existed well beforehand. And many of these interventions were temporary. Much work remains to not only ensure a strong recovery but also to extend progress beyond the pre-pandemic status quo toward an economy that works for all.
While the challenges are urgent and real, the fact is that, by so many key measures, the economy today is booming. This Biden Boom has been particularly strong for workers—who have access to better-paying jobs—and are seeing their wages growing after decades of seeing economic benefits accrue to the wealthy and corporations.
More jobs were added, and unemployment fell faster than ever before
The U.S. economy has added jobs in record numbers since President Biden took office, gaining an average of 565,000 per month, and 6.2 million in total from January 2021 through December 2021. (see Figure 1)
Under Biden, we have seen the most jobs created on record
Change in U.S. nonfarm payroll employment from January to December, in thousands, 1939–2021
https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/CES0000000001
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FKIKE6ZWYAQWnd_?format=jpg&name=medium)
The unemployment rate fell at a record pace (see Figure 2)—and much faster than economic experts projected before the passage of ARPA. (see Figure 3) Last February, the Congressional Budget Office forecasted that the U.S. unemployment rate would not reach 3.9 percent until 2026. Thanks to ARPA, that benchmark was reached four years earlier.
Under Biden, we have seen the fastest decline in the unemployment rate on record
Percentage-point change in the U.S. unemployment rate from January to December, 1948–2021
https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/LNS13000000
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FKRCYaQVIAIZ3qp?format=jpg&name=medium)
Since the passage of the American Rescue Plan, unemployment has fallen much faster than expected
Actual U.S. unemployment rate vs. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projection, by month, January to December 2021
https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56970
Strong growth brought output above its pre-pandemic level
In the second quarter of 2021, the United States surpassed its pre-pandemic level of economic output. The United States was the first country in the G-7—the seven leading advanced economies—to recover all real GDP lost during the pandemic. (see Figure 5) Real GDP growth is estimated to be 5.5 percent for 2021, which would be the highest rate of GDP growth in nearly four decades.
Real disposable incomes were up and poverty fell despite inflation
Severe pandemic-related disruptions to supply chains amid the global recovery, coupled with changing consumer buying patterns, led to increased levels of inflation in 2021. Prices were substantially higher for many goods and services. But even with inflation taken into account, Americans still had more disposable income—that is, money available to spend or save as one wishes—in 2021 than in either 2020 or 2019. (see Figure 6) This is the result of several factors, including employment gains, wage growth—particularly amongst low-wage workers—and the direct aid to families provided by ARPA, including the $1,400-per-person economic impact payments and the major expansion of the child tax credit.
Though rising prices led to a sense of unease, by a host of measures, Americans’ financial security was generally stronger than in prior years. Propelled by gains in home values and retirement savings, the net wealth of the bottom 80 percent of Americans by income increased by $4 trillion during the first three quarters of 2021. Retirement security was greatly enhanced for many Americans, with the stock market seeing large gains in 2021: The S&P 500 went up 27 percent and notched 70 all-time highs in 2021, a record that is second only to 1995. Americans also had more money in their checking accounts, particularly low-income families.
One of the most important parts of ARPA was a substantial expansion of the child tax credit. ARPA increased the credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000—and $3,600 for children under age 6. Crucially, ARPA extended the full benefit of the child tax credit to the families of 27 million low-income children who had previously been fully or partially excluded. And, for the first time, the child tax credit was paid out on a monthly basis, with families receiving up to $250 or $300 per child beginning in July 2021. The child tax credit had an immediate and dramatic impact when monthly payments started in July. The child poverty rate was nearly 30 percent lower than it would have been without the expanded child tax credit and fell 38 percent over the course of the year. (see Figure 7) And the number of families with children reporting that they were experiencing food insufficiency dropped by 37 percent.
Poverty among children fell by 38 percent from 2020 to 2021
Poverty rate among U.S. children, November 2020 to November 2021
Workers were empowered to take better jobs
In 2021, workers, particularly low-wage workers, regained power in the labor market and used that power to demand better quality jobs and higher wages. Contrary to what headlines heralding a “Great Resignation” may suggest, workers are not quitting jobs to sit on the sidelines. (see Figure 9) Instead, they are switching jobs for higher pay and better benefits and working conditions. Low-wage workers in particular experienced strong wage growth. Americans also applied to start new businesses in record numbers in 2021. (see Figure 10)
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-biden-boom-economic-recovery-in-2021/
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Thanks President Biden for this historic success!
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Biden cites 40-day timeline for Supreme Court confirmation
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WASHINGTON — The chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin, and the panel’s top Republican, Chuck Grassley, met with the president Tuesday afternoon to discuss a 40-day confirmation timeline for a new Supreme Court pick.
“The Constitution says, ‘advise and consent, advice and consent,’ and I’m serious when I say that I want the advice of the Senate as well as the consent to arrive on who the nominee should be,” President Joe Biden told reporters, according to pool reports.
Biden said that once he announces a nominee to replace Justice Stephen Breyer by the end of the month, he’s hoping for a 40-day confirmation process, a similar timeline to other nominees. That would put the final Senate vote sometime this spring, since Biden has said he will make an announcement by the end of February.
Biden has vowed to pick the first Black woman to serve on the court.
“He’s looking at the nominees and going to report to us,” Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said to reporters after he returned from the White House.
Breyer, 83, was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1994. He will retire at the end of the 2022 term.
“I had the chance to tell him that I want somebody that’s going to interpret the law, not make law,” Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said after the White House meeting.
The last Supreme Court nominee, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, took 27 days to confirm in a Senate controlled by Republicans in 2020.
During a Tuesday press briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that Biden has been looking at potential Supreme Court nominations for about a year.
“The president’s view is that after 230 years of the Supreme Court being in existence, the fact that not a single Black woman has served on the Supreme Court is a failure in the process, not a failure or a lack of qualified Black women to serve as Supreme Court justices,” she said.
Senate leaders of both parties had little to say about a prospective Supreme Court pick following their weekly caucus lunches, reserving most of their remarks for the economy and tensions with Russia.
Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Biden’s pledge to select a Black woman would help make the Supreme Court more reflective of the U.S. population.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, the No. 4 Senate Democrat, noted that Tuesday was the first day of Black History Month and said the prospect of confirming a Black nominee was “very exciting.”
Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota, pledged to treat Biden’s nominee with respect during a “thoughtful process.”
“It’s pretty hard to comment on a nominee until you get one,” McConnell told reporters.
“The Republican minority will treat the nominee with respect and go through the process in a serious, thoughtful way,” he said.
Biden’s pledge to choose a Black woman to serve on the court would allow him to fulfill a campaign promise from 2020.
So far, Justices Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas have been the only Black members of the court. One woman of color, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, has served.
Some top contenders include 51-year-old Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who currently serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She was previously vetted by the Obama administration in 2016 as a possible nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina is also pushing for the nomination of 55-year-old Michelle Childs, a federal judge in South Carolina who has been nominated to serve on the federal appeals court in Washington.
Childs also has the approval of South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham, who praised her as a “highly qualified” candidate during an interview on “Face the Nation.” Graham is a top member of Senate Judiciary.
Another possible front-runner is 45-year-old California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger and 47-year-old Georgia U.S. District Court Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner, the sister of Stacey Abrams, who is currently running for governor in Georgia.
Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence.
https://www.virginiamercury.com/2022/02/01/biden-cites-40-day-timeline-for-supreme-court-confirmation/
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What a total disaster failed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is. He let 1 million COVID tests expire in a warehouse. 1 million people who desperately needed covid tests couldn't get them because of DeSantis' negligence. He allowed a covid test shortage to occur in Florida. What is absolutely disgusting is that DeSantis lied and said President Biden didn't send the COVID tests. DeSantis let them expire and he tried to cover it up. He pathetically lied falsely accusing the President when it was his own negligence and the lying right wing media pushed DeSantis' same lie. Despicable!
DeSantis admits to finding 1 million expired COVID-19 tests stockpiled in warehouse
In a press conference Thursday morning, Governor DeSantis admitted state officials found 1 million unused COVID-19 tests in a warehouse. The admission came as DeSantis unveiled a plan to get 1 million COVID-19 tests to Florida’s seniors.
Kevin Guthrie joined DeSantis at today’s press conference. Guthrie, the head of Florida’s Department of Emergency Management said, “We had between 800k and a million Abbott test kits in our warehouse that did expire.”
Today’s revelation follows allegations by Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried that the governor was stockpiling tests which were soon expiring. On Wednesday, the Governor’s office called that allegation “bizarre.”
The governor said he’s asking the federal government to extend the expiration date on these newly-discovered tests. They are awaiting an answer.
“We actually wanted to send a bunch of those [tests] to long-term care facilities at the beginning when we got them,” DeSantis said.
He went on to claim facilities didn’t have adequate staff on hand to accept them.
“So while families all over the state of Florida were waiting in line 4, 5 hours taken away from their vacation, families holidays and while the governor was sitting on these tests,” Fried said on Thursday.
“A million tests that should have gone out to nursing homes, state run facilities that have not been opened up. There are no testing sites statewide run testing sites in our state,” said Fried.
“The question is was this intentional or a complete derelict of his responsibilities? People of our state and people should be outraged,” Fried stated.
“I’m sorry he’s the governor of the state of Florida. The buck stops with you” Fried concluded.
April Masa was frustrated when she heard the state had expired tests. She said she had been trying for days to get tested after she became ill. Masa, like many people waiting in line, wanted an investigation to find out what happened.
“Someone needs to be held accountable to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” she said.
https://nbc-2.com/news/state/2022/01/07/nikki-fried-claims-nearly-1-million-covid-19-tests-are-being-stockpiled-by-the-state/
ORIGINAL REPORT, January 5:
LEE COUNTY, Fla. – Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried announced Wednesday in Lee County that she believes nearly one million COVID-19 tests have been stockpiled by the state’s executive branch of government.
The explosive allegation comes as thousands of people wait hours in long lines to receive a COVID-19 test. Fried visited a plant farm in Alva to announce a clean water initiative and plans to randomly test for nutrients being used around Florida.
“This is definitely something we have concrete information coming from inside the governor’s office,” Fried said. “It may not be his executive suite but certainly the different agencies he oversees but there is a stockpile of these tests either to expire Dec. 31 or soon thereafter.”
NBC2’s Dave Elias spoke with Fried after announcement in Lee County:
Dave Elias: What proof do you have to prove this?
Nikki Fried: I believe my staff this morning sent a public records request asking for this information.
Dave Elias: I reached out to the governor’s office. Press secretary Christina Pushaw said this is a very bizarre allegation and that they don’t have a stockpile. Your reaction?
Nikki Fried: It’s not a bizarre allegation when I know it’s to be true. We’ve not alleged that the governor’s office has them. It’s the agencies he controls.
Governor Ron DeSantis was in Collier County on Tuesday downplaying vaccines and testing while pushing more monoclonal treatment.
Dave Elias: Your thoughts on the way the governor is handling this?
Nikki Fried: His leadership on this is void.
Dave Elias: The governor believes people are hysterically running out to get tested. Do you believe that?
Nikki Fried: I don’t know a single person that would sit in four or five hours over hysteria.
Dave Elias: Finally, there are a lot of people who do support the way the governor is handling this and concerned about their freedoms, who some argue are making the situation worse?
Nikki Fried: I do say to those individuals this of course is your choice at this point. There of course is no mandate. Nor should there ever be a mandate, and I’ve said that very publicly. I do not agree with mandates or bans. I think they’re two extremes, one from the governor’s office and one from the president’s office. It needs to be in the middle.
The governor’s press secretary did pass along the claims to the Department of Health. So far they have not responded.
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Biden to announce relaunch of Cancer Moonshot program started under Obama
The president is expected to lay out a goal of reducing the cancer death rate by 50 percent over the next 25 years.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday will announce a relaunch of the Cancer Moonshot program that was started during the Obama administration to end a disease that kills more than 600,000 people a year in the U.S., the White House said.
Biden's revamped Cancer Moonshot aims to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years and improve the experiences of people diagnosed with cancer and their families, according to a fact sheet shared by the White House.
Biden is scheduled to make the announcement Wednesday afternoon in an event in the East Room of the White House, where he will be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, the first lady and the second gentleman.
In a call with reporters, an administration official said the initiative was deeply personal to both Biden and Harris. Biden lost his son Beau in 2015 to brain cancer, and Harris' mother, a breast cancer researcher, died of colon cancer in 2009.
Biden previously oversaw the Cancer Moonshot program, which was announced during former President Barack Obama's last year in office, and he later founded the Biden Cancer Initiative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to cancer prevention and research. The initiative closed in 2019 after Biden announced his White House bid.
An administration official said the Cancer Moonshot program was being revamped now because "a lot has changed that makes it possible to set really ambitious goals."
Congress provided $1.8 billion for the Cancer Moonshot program in 2016, very little of which is left.
The Biden official said the administration is "very confident that there will be robust funding going forward," arguing that few issues garner as much bipartisan support as cancer research.
Biden on Wednesday will announce a new position, that of Cancer Moonshot coordinator in the White House, as well as a “Cancer Cabinet,” which will include such agencies as the departments of Health and Human Services, Defense and Energy, in addition to the Environmental Protection Agency. He also will announce plans to host a Cancer Moonshot summit at the White House.
The president and the first lady will urge more people to get screened for cancer, especially after millions of screenings have been skipped during the Covid pandemic.
Biden has spoken extensively about his experience losing his son to cancer and has said he wants to be the president remembered for ending the disease.
During a visit last year to Pfizer’s vaccine manufacturing facility in Michigan, Biden said, "I want you to know that once we beat Covid, we're going to do everything we can to end cancer as we know it."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-announce-relaunch-cancer-moonshot-program-started-under-obama-n1288399
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Republicans are now out in the open and very vocal with their full on racism.
GOP senator worried Biden’s SCOTUS pick won’t know a 'law book from a J.Crew catalog'
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Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., joined a growing chorus of Republicans bashing President Joe Biden's Supreme Court nominee — well before the president has picked anyone — even as Republican leaders try to avoid a losing fight ahead of the midterms.
Republican Senate leaders worry that picking a fight over Biden's nominee to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, when they lack enough votes to block the nomination, would be "counterproductive" and could "backfire" by distracting from key election issues, according to Wednesday's edition of Politico Playbook. (Judicial nominations cannot be blocked through a Senate filibuster, a change introduced by Republicans when they held the majority.) Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told members on Tuesday that replacing a liberal justice with another liberal would not affect the balance of the court, especially after the party packed the court with conservatives under former President Donald Trump.
But some Republican senators have repeatedly attacked Biden for vowing to nominate a Black woman to the court, even though Trump and former President Ronald Reagan similarly vowed to nominate women to diversify a court that has been dominated by white men for generations.
"No. 1, I want a nominee who knows a law book from a J.Crew catalog," Kennedy told Politico Tuesday after meeting with the GOP leaders. "No. 2, I want a nominee who's not going to try to rewrite the Constitution every other Thursday to try to advance a 'woke agenda.'"
Kennedy, an Oxford-educated lawyer and career politician, rebranded himself as a folksy Republican after a long stint as a Democrat. Louisiana publications have likened his one-liners to Foghorn Leghorn but people who knew him before he became a prominent Republican told BuzzFeed News last year that it's all an act (which he denies).
"John Kennedy is not folksy — he's just offensive," MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan tweeted in response to Kennedy's comment to Politico.
"Kennedy manages to squeeze in sexism, racism, and his fake down home Foghorn Leghorn bit all in about 15 words," wrote Fred Wellman, the former executive director of the Lincoln Project. "Enough is enough with this con artist."
Kennedy rejected GOP leaders' pleas to tone down the rhetoric on Biden's nomination.
"I think some members of leadership think they can control what people want to talk about," he told Politico. "I don't agree with that proposition. I'm going to talk about what I want to talk about, and if they don't like that, they can call somebody who cares."
Kennedy has frequently used the puzzling J.Crew quip in response to a range of issues.
"Anyone who knows a law book from a J.Crew catalog does not take this charge seriously," he declared during Trump's first impeachment.
"Anyone who knows a law book from a J.Crew catalog knows that Democrats' attempt to add D.C. as a state is unconstitutional," he said in a Fox News interview last year.
"Nobody knows what he even means by 'a law book,'" tweeted attorney Max Kennerly. "A casebook? Only students use those. The Federal Reporter? No one calls that a 'book.' A John Grisham novel?"
Other Republican senators have also attacked Biden for vowing to nominate a Black woman.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., suggested last week that Biden's nominee would be a "beneficiary" of affirmative action policies.
The White House fired back by citing Wicker's very different response to Trump's promise to nominate a woman.
"When the previous president followed through on his own promise to place a woman on the Supreme Court, Sen. Wicker said, 'I have five granddaughters, the oldest one is 10. I think Justice Amy Coney Barrett will prove to be an inspiration to these five granddaughters and to my grown daughters,'" White House spokesman Andrew Bates told CNN. "We hope Sen. Wicker will give President Biden's nominee the same consideration he gave to then-Judge Barrett."
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said over the weekend that it would be "offensive" and "insulting" to select a Black woman because Black women only make up 6% of the population.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted on Tuesday that Cruz "had no objection to Donald Trump promising he'd nominate a woman in 2020" and had praised Barrett as a "role model for little girls."
"There is no outcry around that," Psaki said. "The president's view is that after 230 years of the Supreme Court being in existence, the fact that not a single Black woman has served on the Supreme Court is a failure in the process."
That sentiment was echoed by Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Graham is backing the same potential nominee as Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., that being South Carolina District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs.
"Put me in the camp of making sure the court and other institutions look like America. You know, we make a real effort as Republicans to recruit women and people of color to make the party look more like America," Graham told CBS News on Sunday. "Affirmative action is picking somebody not as well qualified for past wrongs. Michelle Childs is incredibly qualified. There's no affirmative action component if you pick her. I can't think of a better person for President Biden to consider for the Supreme Court than Michelle Childs."
Biden is also reportedly considering D.C. Court of Appeals Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a former editor of the Harvard Law Review who clerked for three federal judges, including retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, a former editor of the Yale Law Journal who argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court while serving in the Justice Department under Barack Obama, is also in the running.
Republicans' attacks have little to do with the candidates' qualifications, and even less to do with the makeup of the court, given that 108 of 115 Supreme Court justices in U.S. history have been white men.
The attacks are intended to "reiterate the narrative that liberals elevate unqualified Black Americans at the expense of others who are truly deserving" to reinforce the messages that "advocacy for equal rights is turning white conservatives into an oppressed class," wrote The Atlantic's Adam Serwer. "If the Republicans seeking to stoke resentment over this appointment can successfully turn the story of the first Black woman on the Supreme Court into another example of Black people getting free stuff they haven't earned, they will be perfectly satisfied, even if she is confirmed," he wrote. "The important battles over the future of the Court have already taken place, and the right has already won them."
https://www.rawstory.com/gop-senator-thinks-bidens-scotus-pick-wont-know-a-law-book-from-a-j-crew-catalog/
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President Biden heading to NYC Thursday to talk gun violence
NEW YORK (PIX11) — As the city lays to rest another NYPD officer, and more officers face gunfire in Queens, President Biden will make his way to New York City.
“We’re going to have the president of the United States here in this city, and we’re going to lay out clear items on the federal level,” said Mayor Eric Adams early Wednesday morning.
He spoke while visiting another NYPD officer in the hospital, after he was shot during a carjacking in the Rockaways on his way to work. Police said the suspects fired upon more officers before being arrested.
The mayor doubled down on his pledge to protect the city during Officer Mora’s funeral hours later.
“We will work to end the gun violence that has engulfed our city with pain and despair, and protect those who put their lives on the line every day,” Adams said.
Adams has called for more crime intelligence sharing coordinated at the federal level.
He also wants federal funding for trauma intervention at hospitals, DNA testing to close gun cases and anti-gun trafficking efforts.
Ideally, Adams wants to see federal gun law changes, including measures long blocked by Republicans like background checks on all gun sales.
“We support the mayor and his effort to keep the city safe which we wholeheartedly understand,” said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.
She said President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland will seek to better understand the needs of NYC and other cities experiencing gun violence by meeting with police and community based violence interrupters on Thursday.
She said the administration has already been funding many efforts through the American Rescue Plan, and the President hopes to do more through his currently stalled social spending plans and the upcoming budget.
“There’s $300 million for community policing for cities, $200 million for community based violence interrupters, we know all of this will reduce crime,” Jean-Pierre said.
The White House also points to 37,000 DOJ gun cases opened in recent months working in coordination with local authorities.
https://pix11.com/news/local-news/president-biden-heading-to-nyc-thursday-to-talk-gun-violence/
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Breaking News: President Biden says US military forces have “taken off the battlefield” the Islamic State’s leader during an operation in Syria, and that all Americans returned safely. Just another example of what a strong capable leader we have to make America and the world a safer place.
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The top anti-Trump propagandist Jeff Zucker has resigned in disgrace at CNN. Joining Chris Cuomo and his disgraced brother Andrew Cuomo in the halls of shame. The chickens are really coming home to roost for all their fake stories.
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The top anti-Trump propagandist Jeff Zucker has resigned in disgrace at CNN. Joining Chris Cuomo and his disgraced brother Andrew Cuomo in the halls of shame. The chickens are really coming home to roost for all their fake stories.
Glad to see Jeff Zucker gone from CNN. The dishonest attacks against President Biden for ratings has gone on for too long.
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Trump stooge Greg Abbott is an absolute failure. He knew no improvements were made to fix this problem and now 70,000 Texans are freezing in the dark without power again. Once again, this is a reminder that Republicans can't be trusted to be in charge and proves how vital sound infrastructure is to a state. Right wing Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn both voted against President Biden's Infrastructure Bill that will help keep the power on during Texas Winter storms. Greg Abbott is up for re-election in November. Time to vote this clown out. I wonder if Ted Cruz booked his flight to Cancùn?
'Déjà vu all over again’: Despite Gov. Abbott’s promises 70,000 now without power in Texas as winter storm hits
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70,000 electric customers in Texas are without power once again after a winter storm hit the Lone Star state, despite Republican Governor Greg Abbott‘s promise after last year’s massive outage that reportedly killed about 700 people, that the lights would stay on this winter.
Certified Broadcast Meteorologist for Fox San Antonio and NBC San Antonio, Brad Sowder posted a photo of some of the damage from the storm:
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Austin, Texas NPR affiliate KUT on Tuesday reported how Abbott was preemptively breaking his promise: “Gov. Abbott promised last fall that ‘the lights will stay on.’ Now he says there’s no guarantee.”
“I can guarantee the lights will stay on,” he said in an interview with Fox 7’s Rudy Koski in November.
Apparently not, Texans are learning today.
“It’s a little traumatic. It’s like last year. Déjà vu all over again,” Angelica Carlin told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times as she “stood in line at an Austin H-E-B on Wednesday night with bags of dog food and water bottles in her cart.”
Carlin lost power for three days during last year’s massive power outage. “She remembers lying in bed crying and seeing steam from her breath — inside her home.”
Many Texans believe state lawmakers did not require all the necessary infrastructure improvements to guard against a repeat of the widespread blackouts, when millions went without power and at least 246 people died.
Also on Tuesday, Abbott was bragging that “Energy is the centerpiece of the Texas economy.”
https://www.rawstory.com/winter-storm-texas/
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Biden to sign executive order boosting rights of 200,000 construction workers
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Friday requiring "project labor agreements" in federal construction projects over $35 million, a potential boost to construction workers and unions that negotiate these deals, and a shift the administration says will speed up building times.
The order will apply to $262 billion in federal construction contracting and impact nearly 200,000 workers, according to a draft of the executive order seen by Reuters.
Project labor agreements are collective bargaining agreements between building trade unions and contractors, which set wages, employment conditions, and dispute resolution on specific projects. Democratic presidents in the past have typically supported applying such agreements to the massive U.S. federal contracting budget, while Republican presidents have rescinded them.
The order, which will go into effect immediately, comes on the heels of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill signed into law by Biden that invests in the country's roads, ports and bridges.
Much of that money will flow through federal agencies to states and local governments. The new executive order excludes projects funded by grants to non-federal agencies, a senior administration official said, adding that will make up for a bulk of the projects under the bill. But it will apply to billions of other federal spending on waterways, military bases and other areas.
Biden will visit Ironworkers Local 5 in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Friday to sign this executive order, the White House has said. Details on the contents of the order have not been previously reported.
The U.S. construction industry - including workers, owners, developers, contractors - has been one of the hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to a slowdown of available goods and labor and the termination of entire projects.
Biden has vowed to strengthen unions and increase membership in the United States after years of steady decline, and to increase salaries for hourly workers in construction, health care and other jobs.
"Contractors who offer lower wages or hire less qualified workers will need to raise their standards to compete with other high-wage, high-quality companies," the order says. Earlier executive action by Biden requires federal contractors in new or extended contracts to pay a $15 per hour minimum wage.
Biden's move also found support from some contractors.
"This streamlines the negotiation process and gives employers access to a highly skilled pool of craftworkers," Daniel Hogan, chief executive of the Association of Union Constructors, that represents 1800 contractor companies, told Reuters.
© Reuters
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The GOP is the party of cancel culture. They cancel their own real conservatives as the radical extremists have taken over. The extremists are afraid of the truth coming out against Criminal Donald and the GOP extremists involved in the January 6th insurrection.
GOP planning to censure Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for investigating January 6 insurrection: report
On Thursday, POLITICO reported that the Republican National Committee is planning to vote on a resolution formally censuring Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) for serving on the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"The resolution, which RNC officials said cleared an RNC committee vote on Thursday, is likely to be approved by the RNC’s full body at its winter meeting on Friday," reported David Siders and Natalie Allison. "The measure rebukes Cheney and Kinzinger for their involvement on the Jan. 6 select committee investigating Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the result of the 2020 election."
"The resolution would amount to a weaker admonishment of Cheney and Kinzinger than initially proposed," noted the report. "Led by David Bossie, a longtime Trump ally and RNC member from Maryland, ardent Cheney and Kinzinger critics had lobbied for a resolution calling for their ouster from the House conference. That proposal had drawn resistance from some RNC members, who said they feared the language was unnecessarily inflammatory."
Cheney and Kinzinger were among ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for his role in inciting the insurrection, and have been vocal against conspiracy theories in their party that the presidential election was stolen.
They are the only two Republican members of the Select Committee investigating the matter, because Senate Republicans blocked the creation of an outside bipartisan commission, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) boycotted the creation of the Committee.
Already, these members have been censured by state and local party chapters, respectively.
@Liz_Cheney "The leaders of the Republican Party have made themselves willing hostages to a man who admits he tried to overturn a presidential election and suggests he would pardon Jan. 6 defendants, some of whom have been charged with seditious conspiracy. (1/2)
I’m a constitutional conservative and I do not recognize those in my party who have abandoned the Constitution to embrace Donald Trump. History will be their judge. I will never stop fighting for our constitutional republic. No matter what. (2/2)"
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@AdamKinzinger "My statement on the RNC censure. I am now even more committed to fighting conspiracies and lies:
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https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/03/gop-rebuke-cheney-kinzinger-00005547
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Biden praises Mayor Adams’ anti-crime plan, unveils new gun crackdown while in NYC: ‘We are not about defunding’
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NEW YORK — President Biden praised Mayor Adams’ crimefighting agenda Thursday and unveiled a new federal initiative to stem the flow of illegal weapons from southern states that has contributed to a recent surge in violence in New York.
Marking his first visit to the city since Adams’ inauguration, Biden gave his seal of approval to the mayor’s anti-crime push during a press conference at the NYPD’s downtown Manhattan headquarters, where they also received a classified briefing from the department’s joint gun violence task force.
“I want to help every major city follow New York’s lead,” said Biden, who was flanked by Adams, Gov. Hochul, Attorney General Merrick Garland, members of the state’s congressional delegation and various police officials.
Vowing to be Adams’ “partner” in public safety, Biden said his administration is embarking on a new crackdown on so-called “ghost guns,” homemade weapons that typically aren’t subject to background checks and lack traceable serial numbers.
The NYPD confiscated a record number of the eerily-named weapons in the city last year, and Biden said the Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are deploying teams of specialized prosecutors and investigators to every district in the country to help local law enforcement track down the weapons and catch those who use them in crimes.
“If you commit a crime with a ghost gun, not only your state and local prosecutors are going to come after you, but expect federal charges and federal prosecution as well,” Biden said.
Adams, who has politically aligned himself with the president, vowed to work hand-in-hand with the commander-in-chief on the anti-ghost gun program.
“Mr. President, Eric Adams is reporting for duty and ready to serve,” Hizzoner said.
Like Adams, Biden has distanced himself from progressives in their party who have advocated for scaling down police departments in favor of finding alternative solutions for public safety.
Instead, Biden and Adams have pushed a muscular approach for addressing an uptick in violent crime in the U.S. during the pandemic.
Last summer, the president released a comprehensive anti-crime blueprint that called on Congress to earmark $300 million for local police departments to hire more cops. Adams, for his part, announced his own public safety plan last month, replete with stipulations for beefing up the NYPD, including by reintroducing a modified version of the department’s controversial plainclothes units, which were disbanded in 2020 in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.
"The answer is not to defund the police,” Biden said at Thursday’s event. “It is to give you the tools, the training, the funding, to be the partners, to be the protectors communities need.”
“We are not about defunding. We are about funding,” the president added.
Adams, who often calls himself the “Biden of Brooklyn,” said the president was right on target.
“The president is here because he knows what the American people want: Justice, safety, and prosperity, and they deserve every bit of it. He wants to end the gun violence in our city and in our country,” said Adams, who served in the NYPD for over two decades before turning to politics.
But local progressives, who have clashed with Adams on various issues since he took office, slammed the tough talk on crime as a rehash of failed policies.
“We cannot continue to throw policing at every problem. We have the largest police department in the entire country, and we can’t keep doubling and tripling down on these same strategies and keep thinking that we’ll get different results,” Queens Councilwoman Tiffany Caban told the Daily News.
Caban, a former public defender and democratic socialist, specifically referenced the newly reinstated plainclothes units, which were involved in some of the city’s most infamous police killings, including the 2014 death of Eric Garner.
“That’s the style and legacy,” Caban said.
After the sit-down at the NYPD’s headquarters, Biden and Adams visited a public school in Long Island City, Queens, where they met with community violence interrupters who use de-escalation techniques to reduce crime.
Adams’ public safety plan calls for more funding for violence interrupters and community-based public safety solutions.
But NYPD Commissioner Keeshant Sewell signaled that the Adams administration views the NYPD as the top priority.
“This violence is not acceptable against our citizens or our police officers, and we know it has to be stopped, and we know this starts here, at the NYPD, with action,” she said at the department’s headquarters.
Biden’s visit came at a perilous time for the Big Apple.
According to NYPD data, shootings overall in the city spiked by 31.6% last month compared with January 2021.
Among last month’s shooting victims were six NYPD cops. Officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora died from their injuries after a gunman attacked them in a Harlem apartment where they were responding to a call of a domestic dispute.
Biden said he spoke to the families of the two slain officers and called them the personifications of “the who and what law enforcement ought to be.”
On ghost guns, Hochul noted that it’s illegal to sell, produce or possess them in New York under a bill she signed into law last year.
But the problem lies in illegal guns coming into New York from mostly southern states via the so-called “iron pipeline,” the governor noted.
“It is an American crisis,” she said.
Federal strike forces were deployed last year to New York and other big U.S. cities to hunt down traffickers of illegal firearms, and Biden said those teams have confiscated thousands of weapons since then.
The president conceded, though, that New York and other states with strict weapons laws will likely continue to see an influx of illegal guns due to a refusal by congressional Republicans to pass long-stalled gun control bills, like mandating background checks for all firearms purchases on a federal level.
During an evening press conference at City Hall after Biden’s visit, Adams also acknowledged it appears unlikely Congress will act anytime soon on the bills.
“We may not get them unless we get the control we need in Washington, D.C.,” Adams said of the bills, which his public safety plan describes as critical for disrupting the iron pipeline.
Democrat Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the dean of New York’s congressional delegation, shared the frustration over the lack of gun control action in Congress.
“Legislation that we’ve passed in Congress is wholly inadequate,” Nadler said.
© New York Daily News
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House Democrats have the lead as shown on The Cook Political Report's 2022 redistricting scorecard. They're on track to net 2-3 seats from new maps vs. the old ones.
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Here is the fake news from Faux Propaganda.
January jobs report could be ugly after recent omicron surge: White House is bracing for disappointing January jobs figure
https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/january-jobs-report-after-omicron-surge
And here is the actual facts. President Biden continues to deliver creating nearly a half a million jobs as the Biden Boom is still surging. December's numbers were severely undercounted again as it was revised up to 510,000 jobs. That's almost 1 million jobs in the last 2 months!
January jobs report 2022: US adds 467,000 jobs, 4 percent unemployment
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/02/04/january-jobs-report-unemployment-2022/
U.S. employers shrug off omicron, add 467,000 jobs in January
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a burst of 467,000 jobs in January despite a wave of omicron inflections that sickened millions of workers, kept many consumers at home and left businesses from restaurants to manufacturers short-staffed.
The Labor Department’s report Friday also showed the unemployment rate ticked up from 3.9% to 4%. Estimated job growth for December was also revised much higher, from 199,000 to 510,000.
The strong hiring gain, which was unexpected, demonstrates the eagerness of many employers to hire even as the pandemic maintains its grip on the economy. Businesses appear to have seen the omicron wave as having, at most, a temporary impact on the economy and remain confident about longer-term growth.
The still-high number of people who have remained on the sidelines of the workforce has exacerbated a labor shortage and led employers to raise pay to try to draw them back in.
The overall outlook for the job market remains bright, with openings near a record high, the pace of layoffs down and the unemployment rate having already reached a healthy level. The nation gained more jobs last year, adjusted for the size of the workforce, than in any year since 1978. The unemployment rate fell by nearly 3 percentage points — from 6.7% to 3.9% — the sharpest yearly decline on records. Much of that improvement represented a rebound from record job losses in 2020 that were driven by the pandemic recession.
https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-pandemics-economy-b1b4e2c2e28d60e5439639a0e2fb8706?
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Glad to see Jeff Zucker gone from CNN. The dishonest attacks against President Biden for ratings has gone on for too long.
Whew. You can't be for real. That is far out stuff. CNN runs almost continuous anti-Trump stories even over a year after he has left office. It should be called the Jan. 6 Network.
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Michael Avenatti - that darling of the leftist media who they once touted as a presidential candidate - has now been convicted. Heading to the slammer for an actual crime and not one made up for political purposes. Joining disgraced Chris Cuomo, Andrew Cuomo, Jeff Zucker, and a parade of anti-Trump establishment GOP and Dems leaving Congress into the hall of shame. What a great week for Trump! He keeps on winning even after leaving office.
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Whew. You can't be for real. That is far out stuff. CNN runs almost continuous anti-Trump stories even over a year after he has left office. It should be called the Jan. 6 Network.
Far out stuff? Trump's coup and January 6th insurrection was the worst attack against the United States so it will be discussed. Faux Propaganda tries to cover it all up. You call CNN "leftist" but they hire right wing Trump hacks to come on the air to push anti Biden propaganda.
CNN's hiring of serial liar and Trump propagandist Alyssa Farah is a huge mistake
Farah’s only relevant professional experience is promoting right-wing lies
https://www.mediamatters.org/cnn/cnns-hiring-serial-liar-and-trump-propagandist-alyssa-farah-huge-mistake
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Biden takes victory lap with January jobs report
“America’s job machine is going stronger than ever,” Biden said at the White House.
President Joe Biden sounded a triumphant note Friday after the monthly jobs report came in significantly above expectations.
“America’s job machine is going stronger than ever,” Biden said at the White House.
Employers in the U.S. added roughly 467,000 jobs in January and the numbers for November and December were revised significantly upward — an unexpected jolt to the economy that came in the midst of the surging Omicron variant of Covid-19.
“America is back to work,” the president said.
Biden said that with Friday’s news, the economy has added more than 6.6 million jobs over his first year in office.
“If you can't remember another year when so many people went to work in this country, there's a reason. It never happened,” Biden said. “History has been made here.”
The strong jobs numbers seemed to have caught the White House off guard, as officials had been signaling in the run-up to its release that the January report may have been weighed down by the spike in Covid-19 infections.
The jobs figures also offers a political tailwind to the administration, which in recent weeks has seen key parts of its legislative agenda sputter in Congress and Biden’s poll numbers sink.
Biden also used the January jobs report to make the case for his stalled Build Back Better plan, which has floundered on Capitol Hill since late last year, when lynchpin Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced his opposition to the massive social spending package.
“The bottom line is this, the United States is once again in a position to not only compete with the rest of the world, but outcompete the rest of the world once again,” he said.
Biden did acknowledge that more work still needs to be down to tamp down the rate of inflation, which has eaten into economic progress on other fronts.
“We still need to ease the burden on working families by making everyday things more affordable and accessible,” he said, arguing that his spending blueprint would help do so.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/04/biden-victory-lap-jobs-report-january-00005772
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Once again, the November and December 2021 jobs report was severely undercounted just like it was from June-September 2021. All of those job numbers has been revised and added to the totals. Remember, the GOP voted against President Biden's American Rescue Plan last year which is one of the factors in this historic job growth. Just another reminder that the GOP does nothing for the American people and the economy.
The economy added 709,000 more jobs than originally reported in the final 2 months of 2021
"The bottom line is that the recovery has been faster and steadier than measured," a former top Obama economist wrote on Twitter.
The US economy is steamrolling its way into a remarkable stretch of job growth.
The latest jobs report released Friday showed the economy added 467,000 jobs in January. .
But January's strong hiring wasn't the only good news in the report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics revised its previous data for November and December, finding that the economy added 709,000 more jobs than previously reported, closing out 2021 with the labor market gaining steam.
"January 2022 will be remembered as the month the virus ceased to be boss. It wreaked havoc & death at a terrible scale. But the economy no longer cares," Jason Furman, a former top Obama administration economist, wrote on Twitter. "People returned to the workforce. The economy added jobs. Wages rose. You would barely know it happened from the economic data."
BLS also made other regular annual adjustments to their previous data releases. The changes reflected how the pandemic disrupted the federal government's ability to measure the health of the economy. The agency revised figures for June and July downward, making overall figures from one month to the next seem less turbulent than they originally did through 2021.
"The bottom line is that the recovery has been faster and steadier than measured," Betsey Stevenson, a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan, wrote on Twitter.
At the industry level in January, leisure and hospitality businesses experienced the largest jump in hiring with firms adding 151,000 payrolls. The sector has led the hiring recovery throughout the pandemic, largely due to the sector shedding the most jobs when the pandemic slammed into the economy.
Other revisions showed warehousing and storage as the sector adding the most jobs in recent months, per Indeed economist Nick Bunker. Wages climbed as well, though inflation continues eating into workers' paychecks. Bunker told Insider that the revisions mean "recovery has been stronger than we previously thought" and that "it's been more stark in terms of its distribution than we previously thought."
"The nice nature of this report, it was not just what happened in January, but also finding out that payroll gains were so much stronger in 2021. [It] looked like that monthly average gain in payrolls was over a half million a month, which is great to see," Bunker told Insider. "I do think it's also noticeable to see how the distribution of gains when it comes to employment changed as well. There's even more transportation and warehousing jobs than we thought and even fewer leisure and hospitality positions."
"Hopefully we can keep up this strong pace of payroll gains while also potentially seeing some more gains from some of the sectors that have been hit hardest," Bunker said.
https://www.businessinsider.com/january-jobs-report-bls-revisions-in-2021-payrolls-2022-2
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Biden signs executive order aimed at strengthening union construction jobs
"The Executive Order I signed today is all about making sure federal construction projects get completed efficiently, saving taxpayers money, clearing construction zones quickly, and ensuring that everything the federal government signs a contract to build is built to last." - President Biden 2/4/22
https://thehill.com/regulation/labor/592871-biden-signs-executive-order-on-labor-for-federal-construction-projects
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Thanks to President Biden, 2021 was the greatest year of job creation in U.S. history. Notice that Trump was in the minus losing jobs as the worst jobs "president" in the modern era.
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'She doesn't have any friends': Kristi Noem's political future in danger as Republicans turn on her
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According to a report from the Daily Beast's Tom Lawrence, Gov. Kristi Noem's plan to break out of South Dakota and became a high-profile figure in the Republican Party is blowing up in her face because has she alienated GOP lawmakers in her state who have grown tired of her act.
Noem, has closely allied herself with Donald Trump in an effort to raise her profile and set herself up for a run for national office, is finding few allies at home among the Republican leadership despite her popularity with voters in her home state.
According to the Beast's Lawrence, "Gov. Kristi Noem, who has been riding high in polls in her state, has never lost an election. She served four terms in Congress before being elected governor in 2018. The South Dakota legislature has supermajorities in both chambers, with Republicans holding 94 of 105 seats. No Democrat holds statewide office. But Noem has suddenly found plenty of opponents with whom to wage bitter political battles: fellow Republicans."
According to political observers who have been watching Noem's political star rise, she will likely still win re-election but may stall out there due to her war with her Republican colleagues.
"University of South Dakota political science professor Michael Card told The Daily Beast that Noem has raised hackles in part by the very nature of how she performs duties essential to her job. Specifically, he pointed to her repeatedly referring to South Dakota issues with terms like 'my bill' and 'my budget' in a state with old-school lawmakers who like to maintain their fiefdoms."
That, in turn, has angered GOP lawmakers who are the ones creating and passing the bills that she is attempting to take credit for.
With a GOP insider bluntly stating, "She doesn’t have any friends," the Beast's Lawrence adds, "State political insiders suggest Noem is basically alone in Pierre, and that even if she remains beloved by large swaths of the Republican base, her image has taken a serious dent among the very people she needs to get things done."
Add to that, Noem is the subject of investigations in her state which her opponents within her own party could use against her.
"One is Noem’s use of state airplanes for multiple trips out of state to appear at conservative political gatherings. For months, the governor has claimed she needed to keep details of her travels private for security reasons. Now the Republican-dominated legislature is interested in digging into those trips," The Beast report states. "Noem also has taken heat for her involvement in her daughter Kassidy Peter’s efforts to obtain a real estate appraiser license from the state. That led to a meeting between the governor, the state employee who oversaw the process, that employee’s boss, and other officials—as well as Noem’s daughter—as the Associated Press reported."
According to State Sen. Reynold Nesiba (D), Noem's problems with her GOP colleagues are self-inflicted.
"She’s not very good at being governor,” Nesiba explained.
You can read more here:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-republican-knives-are-out-for-south-dakota-gov-kristi-noem
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What a miserable failure Ron Johnson is. You can never have enough jobs and a Senator who refuses to fight for good paying jobs to help his state has no business being in Senate. This is another Trump stooge that needs to be voted out in November.
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The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel revealed that Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) doesn't think that his state needs more jobs.
Over the weekend, Johnson revealed he wouldn't work to keep a Wisconsin manufacturer to add new jobs in his hometown.
"It's not like we don't have enough jobs here in Wisconsin. The biggest problem we have in Wisconsin right now is employers not being able to find enough workers," Johnson said about Oshkosh Corp.'s plans to relocate 1,000 jobs to South Carolina.
While all elected officials tend to serve as kind of ambassadors to their state, on Saturday, Johnson explained he would be taking another route.
"I wouldn't insert myself to demand that anything be manufactured here using federal funds in Wisconsin," Johnson told reporters while in Washington County. "Obviously, I'm supportive of it. But in the end, I think when using federal tax dollars, you want to spend those in the most efficient way and if it's more efficient, more effective to spend those in other states, I don't have a real problem with that."
The Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce hasn't commented on the issue through their website or social media.
'It's not like we don't have enough jobs here in Wisconsin': Ron Johnson won't try to land Oshkosh Corp. postal vehicle work
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said Saturday he won't try to persuade a Wisconsin manufacturer to place more than 1,000 new jobs in his hometown.
"It's not like we don't have enough jobs here in Wisconsin. The biggest problem we have in Wisconsin right now is employers not being able to find enough workers," Johnson said about Oshkosh Corp.'s plans to locate the jobs in South Carolina.
Johnson, who is seeking a third term this fall, said he supports having more manufacturing jobs in the state but indicated the company is best suited to make the call on where to build vehicles for the U.S. Postal Service.
"I wouldn't insert myself to demand that anything be manufactured here using federal funds in Wisconsin," Johnson told reporters after appearing at a "Parent Empowerment Rally" in Washington County. "Obviously, I'm supportive of it. But in the end, I think when using federal tax dollars, you want to spend those in the most efficient way and if it's more efficient, more effective to spend those in other states, I don't have a real problem with that."
Johnson's approach contrasts with Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who says she's trying to get the trucks built here by the company's Oshkosh Defense segment.
"To me, it’s simple — I want Oshkosh Defense to manufacture trucks in Oshkosh with Wisconsin workers," Baldwin said in a statement.
The two stances show the dramatic fault lines between the two senators.
But they also hint at what's to come over the coming months as Johnson, up for, re-election, faces a campaign where economic issues are likely to be front and center.
While Johnson has sought to frame the economic debate on his terms: blasting the Biden administration for soaring debt and rising inflation. The crowded field of Democratic contenders has stressed the need to create family-supporting jobs for more Wisconsinites.
When told of Johnson's remarks, Democratic candidate and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson was dumbfounded, declaring that the added jobs — and money — would help the wider community.
"He wants a third term and he just doesn't understand economic development," Nelson said. "It's mind blowing, breathtaking."
In February 2021, Oshkosh Corporation's Oshkosh's Defense division won a contract with the U.S. Postal Service to produce up to 165,000 Next Generation Delivery Vehicles.
In June, Oshkosh Defense announced its decision to manufacture the vehicles at a new facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where it planned to hire more than 1,000 employees.
Under the plan, more than 100 employees in engineering and program support for the project would be based in Oshkosh at the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle Technical Center.
Unionized workers in Oshkosh, along with their national counterparts, have asked the company to reconsider the decision. Baldwin and others have contended production in South Carolina would likely be done by non-union labor.
In late November, Baldwin and U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, sent a letter to Oshkosh Corp. management to get more information on the plans to manufacture in South Carolina as well as information the firm supplied to USPS.
In a statement, Baldwin said she would "continue to urge Oshkosh Defense and the Postal Service to further scrutinize the final production location in South Carolina based on the strength of our existing, experienced workforce in Wisconsin."
Last week, the White House and the Environmental Protection Agency sent letters to USPS asking it to reconsider its plans to buy primarily gas-powered vehicles. Oshkosh Defense said it could make adjustments to meet new requirements for all-electric vehicles if the contract changes.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/02/06/sen-ron-johnson-wont-try-get-oshkosh-corp-jobs-wisconsin/6683226001/
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Van Hollen Discusses American Rescue Plan Funds, Future Collaboration With Southern Maryland Delegation
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D) met virtually with the Southern Maryland Delegation in the General Assembly to answer questions about the running issues in Southern Maryland and to reassure the region of their importance. The meeting highlighted the regional impact of the American Rescue Act Plan.
“Bless Southern Maryland because Southern Maryland is where it all started many years ago, and we thank you for an abundance of Natural Resources that we have here in Southern Maryland,” Delegate Gerald “Jerry” Clark said.
The meeting started with Senator Van Hollen explaining that the meeting was to cultivate a relationship with Southern Maryland because local government is vital to helping the federal government keep track of the money.
“The federal government has been providing lots of resources to counties, municipalities, and the state,” Senator Van Hollen said.
Van Hollen continued to explain that the American Rescue Plan Act had two goals. One was to deploy vaccines quicker and in greater volumes, and the other was to provide a “safety net” for the economy. The American Rescue Plan helped the state and local regions receive funds.
Charles County received $44 million. Calvert County received $26 million. St. Mary’s county received $26 million. Meanwhile, the state of Maryland will receive $3.7 billion overall. The first half of the money already came in, and the second half will come during the summer for the state and local governments, according to Van Hollen.
Besides the general funds, the federal government put $300 million towards the American broadband issue. Southern Maryland benefits from these specific funds through a rapid transit project.
After, C.T. Wilson mentioned there is a disconnect between improving the environment and the average citizens in Southern Maryland. The changes that help the environment become expensive if the federal government does not fund the plans, according to C.T. Wilson. Wilson used the example of the government raising gas prices by 17 cents to get people to buy electric cars.
“I believe there’s a disconnect between the average citizen and the environmental ideology,” C.T. Wilson said. “I would ask how I could create a committee that can work with your office to get access to the monies [infrastructure and transmission funds].”
Van Hollen responded that Wilson and his committee would have to work with the Maryland General Assembly since they gave the money to the state.
Last, Clark asked if there are any more ways to expand the use of nuclear energy, so they are more clean energy-based.
“Nuclear power needs to be part of the solution,” Van Hollen said. “Most of that is in the second Build back better agenda, but we are making it clear that clean power is again part of the solution. We are going to be pushing that it is not treated unfairly.”
At the end of the meeting, everyone thanked Van Hollen for appearing at their meeting. They had all their questions answered for the time being, and they look forward to working with him in the future.
https://thebaynet.com/van-hollen-discusses-american-rescue-plan-funds-future-collaboration-with-southern-maryland-delegation/
Watch:
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Conservative baffled by the 'stupidity' of the Republican National Committee
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Writing for Commentary this Monday, conservative Noah Rothman contends that the current political environment "feels as or more hostile toward Democratic candidates as it was toward Republicans in the Trump era."
In his new article, titled "Staggering Stupidity from the RNC," Rothman points to the Republican National Committee's formal censure of Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for “actions in their positions as members of the January 6th Select Committee not befitting Republican members of Congress."
According to Rothman, it’s bad enough "that this language tacitly suggests that this congressional investigation into a historic and unprecedented attack on the seat of government is somehow illegitimate, but the resolution later makes this implicit contention explicit. The resolution further condemned Cheney and Kinzinger for participating in the 'persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.'"
Rothman wonders who the RNC were pandering to when they not only censured their own members for investigating January 6 but glossed over the events of that day. "They certainly were not talking to the universe of persuadable voters that the GOP will need to win over next November," Rothman writes. "It’s not even clear that they were appealing to their fellow Republicans, who polls have shown are as offended by the attack on the Capitol and the agitation that preceded it as is everyone else."
According to Rothman, GOP voter "just want to move on" from the Trump presidency, but Trump and the RNC won't let them. "And now, this act of political malpractice will be hung around the necks of Republican candidates and incumbents, through no fault of their own."
Read the full op-ed over at Commentary:
https://www.commentary.org/noah-rothman/staggering-stupidity-from-the-rnc/
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GOP senators melt down on the RNC after Pence criticizes Trump
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The Republican Party is in disarray following the Republican National Committee's controversial move to lash at at GOP members of Congress for participating in the House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"Senate Republicans are not happy with the Republican National Committee," Politico reports. "In interviews on Monday evening, GOP senators lashed out at their own national party's overwhelming vote to censure Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) for working on the House's investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. They warned that alienating a portion of the party for being overly anti-Trump is not a political winner heading into the midterms, a sharp message from sitting members that goes far beyond criticism already aired by a handful of GOP pundits."
RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel has been a particular target of scorn.
“A very unfortunate decision by the RNC and a very unfortunate statement put out as well. Nothing could be further from the truth than to consider the attack on the seat of democracy as legitimate political discourse,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), McDaniel's uncle, said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said the Republican Party is heading in the "wrong direction."
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said, “I don’t think you can kick out of the party everybody you disagree with. Or it’s going to be a minority party.”
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) said the RNC shouldn't censure members of Congress.
“I wish they wouldn’t. I would leave it up to the states," she said.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) said, “We’ve got a lot of issues that we should be focusing on besides censuring two members of Congress because they have a different opinion."
The comments criticizing the Trump-controlled RNC come against the backdrop Mike Pence's comments noting "President Trump is wrong" in claiming the vice president can overturn an election.
"Trump remains the party’s most dominant figure and its most likely nominee in 2024. But perhaps for the first time since he left office, some in his party have concluded that criticizing him is not tantamount to swallowing a poison pill," Howard Kurtz wrote for Fox News. "Trump still commands huge support among the rank and file, if not at the stratospheric level he did earlier. This may turn out to be a passing wave, or it may be that Mike Pence was the little boy who removed his finger from the dike."
https://www.rawstory.com/gop-senators-melting-down-on-the-rnc-as-pence-criticism-of-trump-provides-opening-for-criticism/
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Cheating and stealing elections is the only way the GOP think they can win. The GOP taking advantage of the elderly is disgraceful and illegally changing their registration to Republican is a crime.
WATCH: Elderly Floridians speak out to CNN after Republicans secretly switched their voter registration
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In an interview aired on Monday, CNN's Randi Kaye talked to elderly residents of a Florida housing complex who allegedly had their party registrations switched from Democratic to Republican without their permission by voter registration volunteers — focusing in particular on the plight of a man named Juan Salazar.
"This is the old card," said Kaye. "And it says, right here, Democratic Party."
"Yeah," said Salazar.
"And the new card says Republican Party of Florida," continued Kaye. "And that's not what you want?"
"No," said Salazar. "I want to be Democrat."
"There are hundreds of these third-party voter registration organizations throughout the state, and it is legal for them to reach out to voters," said Kaye. "When it becomes a problem is if they didn't register with the state or if they are filling out these forms for the voters, instead of having the voters do it themselves. Or if they are changing party affiliation without the voter's consent. Then it becomes illegal, and that's what they are investigating."
Watch below:
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RNC calls this "legitimate political discourse"?
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Pro-Trump rioters beat and stomped DC police officer with American flag pole
The Republican National Committee formally declared the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election “legitimate political discourse.” The Republicans think that destroying the peaceful transfer of power, a hallmark of our democracy since our founding, and attacking the seat of our government while threatening the lives of lawmakers, staff, police, and hunting down the vice president of the United States “legitimate political discourse.” Well, of course they do.
Meanwhile, did our state rep and state senator have any idea what was in the “Back the Blue“ bill the governor signed? Welcome to Republican governance. No platform, no direction, no boundaries they won’t cross.
The RNC censure resolution accuses Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger of “participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse,” and of “utilizing their past professed affiliation to mask Democrat abuse of prosecutorial power for partisan purposes.” Funny, we all thought the bipartisan effort was justified “congressional oversight.”
Now they’re into banning books. As B.B. Alston points out, “when you erase the history/experience of one kid to protect another, what you’re also saying is that there is one type of kid worth protecting.” It’s astonishing that so few American people are making the connection between banned books and Nazism. It really is an indicator of just how effective the dumbing down of American society has really been. Let’s hope Iowans will choose better in the future.
William Windsor
Fort Madison
https://www.mississippivalleypublishing.com/daily_gate/rnc-calls-this-legitimate-political-discourse/article_39a8f577-020e-5f99-86a8-2ab2a1cc1674.html
Watch video of Pro Trump terrorists beating cops:
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Press: Clubbing cops is not 'legitimate political discourse'
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Abraham Lincoln was only 28 years old, a young lawyer in Springfield, Ill., when he gave one of the most important speeches in his life and made one of his most profound reflections on the survival of our democracy. Right at the top of what became known as his “Lyceum Address,” in addressing “The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions,” Lincoln raised the question of where the danger to our democracy might someday come from. “If it ever reach us,” he declared, “it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher.”
No words could more accurately describe what happened on Jan. 6, when the greatest threat to our democracy since the Civil War came — not from foreign invaders — but from an armed mob of MAGA zealots sicced on Congress by a power-mad president as the climax of his efforts to overturn an election and destroy our democracy.
Nor could any words more accurately describe what happened last week in Salt Lake City, when the Republican National Committee (RNC) adopted a resolution censuring two Republican members of Congress — Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois — for serving on the House select committee investigating Jan. 6. The RNC condemned Cheney and Kinzinger for “participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in” — and here’s the key phrase: engaged in “legitimate political discourse.”
Calling the violent attack on the Capitol “legitimate political discourse” defies belief. We know what happened. We saw it live on television. As described by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) in his new book “Unthinkable,” we saw the mob “taunt, push, shove, punch, gouge, scratch, spray, smash, jab, and harass the U.S. Capitol Police force.”
And when it was over, Raskin continues, the insurrectionists left “at least five people dead (with several more to come by suicide of officers) and more than 140 officers wounded and injured, many of them hospitalized with traumatic brain injuries, concussions, broken arms, broken legs, broken ribs, broken vertebrae, black eyes, broken noses, lost fingers, broken necks, broken jaws, post-traumatic stress syndrome and every manner of emotional and psychological damage.” Only the sickest mind could label such violent assault on police officers “legitimate political discourse.”
And make no mistake about it. The RNC was not just speaking, as its feckless chair Ronna McDaniel tried to claim, about a handful of peaceful protestors who remained outside the building. Read the language of the resolution. It makes no such distinction. The RNC is dismissing the actions of everybody who participated in the sacking of the Capitol — including the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, and QAnon followers — as “legitimate political discourse.”
Shocked at how far the RNC will go to please Donald Trump by downplaying the violence of Jan. 6, several leading Republicans — including Sens. Mitt Romney (Utah), Bill Cassidy (La.), and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and former RNC Chair Michael Steele — rushed to condemn the RNC’s action. The National Review called it “both morally repellent and politically self-destructive.”
But the damage has already been done. In reality, the Republican Party barely exists anymore. Certainly not the party of Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush. They’re no longer the “law-and-order” party. They’re no longer the party of ideas. They don’t even have a party platform. Today’s Republican Party’s nothing more than a quasi-religious personality cult. Much like Italy under Mussolini (except Mussolini had a better hair job).
Donald Trump has forced Republicans to choose between being “pro-democracy Republicans” and “anti-democracy Republicans.” Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are on the right side.
https://thehill.com/opinion/opinion/593196-press-clubbing-cops-is-not-legitimate-political-discourse
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Conservative Charlie Sykes wants to know if Nikki Haley realizes how ridiculous she sounds
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Nikki Haley has mastered the art of the political windsock, quickly changing direction depending on who she's talking to, Republican Ana Navarro once said. When the political winds change, Haley moves fast to make it sound like it was her belief all along.
"Does Nikki Haley have any idea how ridiculous she sounds?" Charlie Sykes asked opening his Tuesday newsletter for The Bulwark. "That is, of course, a rhetorical question, because she is, apparently beyond caring."
Sykes explained that it might not seem fair because Haley is merely doing what every other Republican is attempting as they're stuck between the Republican Party and Donald Trump.
Republicans like Haley are being asked to defend the expulsion of fellow Republicans like Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) for participating in the investigation into Jan. 6. In wake of Vice President Mike Pence disagreeing that he could overturn the election, Republicans are also being asked whether they believe Pence or Trump.
"They are clarifying questions, but deadly ones," wrote Sykes, "because they force the GOPers to take sides on the issue that the Orange God King in Exile has made a litmus test for political survival in his party. Their choice: embrace Trump’s vast array of lies and his unconstitutional attempt to overturn the election — or tell the truth. It’s a bitter conundrum for Republicans in the Overtime Age of Trump."
It's the reason that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) was twisting himself in knots trying to avoid giving an answer that angered either side.
It wasn't long ago that Haley was decisively saying that Jan. 6 was wrong and so was Trump for attacking Pence.
And then there was Nikki Haley, whose desperate attempts at political contortionism have brought us to this moment.
"We need to acknowledge he let us down," she told Tim Alberta. "He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again."
Sykes noted that "ever" lasted just a few months until she was crawling back to Mar-a-Lago to beg Trump's forgiveness.
Monday night, Haley embraced a different kind of dodge.
“Mike Pence is a good man,” Haley said. “He’s an honest man. I think he did what he thought was right on that day. But I will always say, I’m not a fan of Republicans going against Republicans."
"So Nikki clutches her pearls as she insists that she doesn’t cotton to Republicans criticizing other Republicans. Because Trump, or something," Sykes characterized.
He closed by saying that no one should expect Haley to take umbrage with Trump when he goes after other Republicans, but her Monday statements were "still a clarifying moment" because she drew the line of what is and isn't acceptable in the world of GOP civility.
"Trump is wrong," is where Haley draws the line.
Read the full column at The Bulwark:
https://morningshots.thebulwark.com/p/the-unbearable-lightness-of-nikki
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Kentucky Congressman Hal Rogers apologizes for cursing at Democrat over masks
WASHINGTON —A senior Republican lawmaker from Kentucky apologized late Tuesday for using an expletive when Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty asked him to put his mask on while in the Capitol.
The confrontation was just the latest dust-up in the House over mask-wearing, which many Republicans have refused to do.
Earlier Tuesday, Beatty, D-Ohio, ran into Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., outside her congressional office. Rogers, who has served in Congress since 1981, was maskless when they entered an elevator.
Beatty asked him to put on his mask and Rogers begrudgingly agreed, she said in an interview with The Associated Press shortly after it happened. Rogers proceeded to take his mask off when they got off the elevator and the two crossed paths again upon entering a train in the Capitol complex. That is when the interaction became hostile.
Beatty once again asked Rogers to put his mask back on.
"He poked me in the middle of my back and said, 'Get on the train,'" she said. "And I said, 'Don't you ever touch me.'"
According to Beatty, Rogers replied, "Kiss my a—."
In a video obtained by The AP, Beatty can be heard asking Rogers for an apology on the train.
"I hate to think if it had been reversed and a man of color ... they would have ushered him off the floor," Beatty said.
In a statement shortly after the incident, Rogers said he met with Beatty and apologized.
"My words were not acceptable and I expressed my regret to her, first and foremost," the congressman said.
The apology came less than two hours after all 56 members of the Congressional Black Caucus, which Beatty chairs, stood on the steps of the House and demanded Rogers' apology.
"For a member of the U.S. House of Representatives tells another member to kiss his a—, I'm telling you today that is not the America that we will accept," Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., told reporters on the steps.
Beatty said she alerted House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., about the incident and will file a complaint with House Committee on Ethics. Several Republican lawmakers have racked up thousands of dollars in fines for going maskless on the House floor.
https://www.wlky.com/article/kentucky-hal-rogers-cursing-democrat-over-masks/39017839
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Florida Senator Marco Rubio attempted to dishonestly distort Val Demings record on crime and she totally owned him in this tweet. Demings is challenging Rubio in the Florida Senate race.
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Hate and division is all the GOP promotes. They ban books at schools and implement bogus "critical race theory" laws in order to go after teachers who taught about slavery and civil rights for decades. Now DeSantis wants to go after gay people. Just more of the GOP fascism and oppression they want to install in America.
Florida GOP's 'Don't Say Gay' bill ignites national condemnation
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Opponents of bigotry and censorship are raising their voices in protest after Florida's GOP-controlled Senate Education Committee on Tuesday advanced legislation that would effectively prohibit teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in primary grades or at any level "in a manner that is not age-appropriate."
"It is always appropriate for kids to talk about themselves, their experiences, and their family. These are not taboo subjects, but banning them makes them seem so."
Dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by critics, S.B. 1834 and its companion, H.B.1557, would also require all school districts' trainings on "student support services" to adhere to the guidelines, standards, and frameworks established by the Florida Department of Education (DOE). But as the ACLU of Florida pointed out, the state DOE "currently excludes anti-bullying resources intended to help prevent LGBTQ+ youth suicides."
Kara Gross, legislative director of the ACLU of Florida, said Tuesday in a statement that "this government censorship bill seeks to ban classroom discussions related to sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. If passed, it would effectively silence students from speaking about their LGBTQ+ family members, friends, neighbors, and icons."
In addition, said Gross, "it would bar LGBTQ+ students from talking about their own lives and would deny their very existence. It is always appropriate for kids to talk about themselves, their experiences, and their family. These are not taboo subjects, but banning them makes them seem so."
After Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis voiced support for the legislation earlier this week, President Joe Biden tweeted: "I want every member of the LGBTQI+ community—especially the kids who will be impacted by this hateful bill—to know that you are loved and accepted just as you are. I have your back, and my administration will continue to fight for the protections and safety you deserve."
Equality Florida, the state's largest organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, has launched a petition people can use to tell lawmakers to oppose legislation that the group says "is meant to stigmatize LGBTQ people, isolate LGBTQ kids, and make teachers fearful of providing a safe, inclusive classroom."
"If we don't speak up now, and act, Republicans will keep fighting to make laws like DeSantis' hateful 'Don't Say Gay' bill the norm," warned Patrick Gaspard, president of the Center for American Progress.
According to Gross, the "dangerously vague provisions" in S.B. 1834 and H.B. 1557 "would have a chilling effect on support for LGBTQ+ youth because it creates new costly liabilities for school districts. Under the bill, any parent who thinks that a classroom discussion was inappropriate or who is unsupportive of a district's policies would be given broad powers to sue for damages and attorneys' fees."
Jeffrey Sachs, a researcher at PEN America, recently noted that GOP lawmakers across the U.S. have introduced at least 137 bills that aim to limit the ability of teachers and students to discuss gender, racism, and other topics—including a growing number of proposals to establish so-called "tip lines" that would empower parents to discipline teachers.
In an opinion piece published Wednesday, Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent argued that this tidal wave of restrictive education bills has "an obvious purpose: to make teachers feel perpetually on thin ice, so they shy away from difficult discussions about our national past rather than risk breaking laws in ways they cannot themselves anticipate."
"But there's another, more pernicious goal driving these bills that might well succeed politically precisely because it remains largely unstated," Sargent continued. "The darker underlying premise here is that these bills are needed in the first place, because subversive elements lurk around every corner in schools, looking to pervert, indoctrinate, or psychologically torture your kids."
The "combination of... vagueness and punitive mechanisms such as rights of action and tip lines" is intentionally designed to promote self-censorship, wrote Sargent. "Precisely because teachers might fear that they can't anticipate how they might run afoul of the law—while also fearing punishment for such transgressions—they might skirt difficult subjects altogether."
He added:
Florida-based strategist Rick Wilson, who has broken with the GOP and knows from within how Republicans prosecute such culture wars, calls this a new "snitch culture" that's taking hold of his former party.
"They want teachers to be scared in the classroom," Wilson says. "We're going to see test cases... all over this country." As Wilson notes, the entire point is to put the base on high alert for "apostasy."
The roots of this run deep. As a great episode of the "Know Your Enemy" podcast details, calls for maximal parental choice and control in schools have been used by the right for decades as a smoke screen to sow fears and doubts about public education at its ideological foundations. The move from restricting race discourse to more "snitch" lines is perfectly in sync with that history.
Gross, meanwhile, said that the Florida bill "does nothing to help and support our youth." To the contrary, it "will have a real and devastating impact on LGBTQ+ youth, who already experience higher rates of bullying, homelessness, and suicide."
"Legislators," she added, "should oppose this bill and instead pass proposals that protect all students and truly address the challenges so many LGBTQ+ youth face in Florida schools."
https://www.rawstory.com/don-t-say-gay/
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The only way the GOP can win is by cheating and stealing elections which is why they keep trying to do it.
Ohio Republicans throw temper tantrum as attempts to cheat with gerrymandering shot down
It takes a real dirtbag sensibility to claim the Ohio Supreme Court demanding districts in line with the Ohio Constitution voters overwhelmingly amended that actually represent Ohioans’ political preferences and still give your party a majority is somehow the real gerrymandering.
Nevertheless, that’s what we’re seeing from many Ohio Republican Statehouse politicians confronted with the possibility they may have to finally actually compete in competitive elections.
The childish temper tantrum being thrown by Ohio politicians upset they’ve been stopped from cheating their way into reelection with rigged districts is sadly completely unsurprising.
This is what happens when people who never face accountability are actually held accountable.
Just because the Ohio Supreme Court won’t let them get away with cheating, the politicians who keep trying to cheat don’t get to complain now about election calendar disruptions when they could’ve just acted constitutionally from the beginning.
First, we need to go over the history. Ohio Republicans have controlled redistricting since the 1990’s, and since the 1990’s they’ve stacked the deck in their favor, more egregiously with each passing decade. In 2015, more than 71% of voters amended the Ohio Constitution to snuff out gerrymandering of state House and Senate districts, and nearly 75% did so again for U.S. Congressional districts in 2018.
Instead, this fall, Ohio Republicans gave voters more supermajority gerrymandering of the Ohio House, more supermajority gerrymandering of the Ohio Senate, and absurdly disproportionate continued gerrymandering of Ohio’s U.S. Congressional districts.
Maps were proposed to the commission that actually represent the 54-46 Republican to Democratic political split of Ohioans, as averaged over 16 partisan statewide elections, directly mirroring the 1.9 million to 1.6 million Republican to Democratic registered voter split of Ohioans.
GOP leaders instead awarded themselves more supermajorities, with a House breakdown of 62 seats to 37 Dems, and 23 to 10 in the Senate, according to their own figures. Dave’s Redistricting App projected a 65-seat GOP supermajority in the House. Meanwhile, Republicans in the state legislature passed a congressional map along party lines that awarded themselves a 11-2 GOP-to-Democratic map with two potential toss-ups.
The Ohio Supreme Court declared these efforts unconstitutional gerrymanders and ordered them to be redrawn.
The Ohio Redistricting Commission returned to work this winter and produced a second map, based on their original gerrymandered map, and once again it passed along partisan lines, this time with Republicans giving themselves a 57 GOP to 42 Dem split in the Ohio House, and a 20 GOP to 13 Dem breakdown in the Senate.
In the House, 12 of the “Democratic leaning” seats in the GOP plan were tossups, with a Dem favor of only 50-51%. All of the GOP-leaning seats favored Republicans by more than 52%.
On Monday, the Supreme Court struck down this second attempt as well.
“The (Ohio Redistricting Commission’s) choice to avoid a more proportional plan for no explicable reason points unavoidably toward an intent to favor the Republican Party,” the 4-3 majority wrote in its ruling.
This is when the childish hysterics began.
Even though the deciding vote came from Republican Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, GOP politicians whined of a “liberal” court, not standing up against gerrymandering, but somehow trying to enforce Democratic gerrymandering.
That might be a line that sells to unthinking rubes, but anybody paying attention knows that at no point did either Democrats or anti-gerrymandering advocates offer a map that would give Democrats a majority in either chamber of the General Assembly or U.S. Congressional districts.
In fact, all maps offered by Democrats and independent groups preserved the GOP’s majority, and the court itself cited the same 54/46 partisan split of Ohioans statewide election results bear out.
The infantile GOP response to the court can be summed up thusly: How dare you hold us accountable for trying to cheat. By not letting us cheat, you’re gerrymandering yourselves!
Fair, competitive maps are not gerrymandering. Acting in bad faith to produce imbalanced maps that maximize every advantage possible for your party and maximize every disadvantage possible for the opposition party, that’s gerrymandering.
Gerrymandering pushes politicians to extremes, denies voters their voice, opens the door to corruption, radicalizes political discourse, kills compromise, and disintegrates democracy. Gerrymandering poisons everything.
Politicians who would gerrymander themselves to victory in rigged districts are not acting in good faith. They’re afraid of competing on a level playing field in a general election. Why? I don’t know.
Maybe they’re more comfortable appealing to their rabid base than they are to the broad general electorate that actually comprises all Ohioans and all of their constituents.
Maybe they’re more comfortable knowing they can get away with doing whatever they want without ever facing any accountability because their primary voters will just keep returning them to positions of public trust no matter what corruption goes down on their watch.
Whatever the case, it doesn’t really matter because Chief Justice O’Connor has stood up for the American Republic despite them. And of course, now she’s facing calls for her impeachment because of it.
Vying to replace her, as she is prevented by age from running for reelection, is Supreme Court Justice Sharon Kennedy who dissented in the rulings and would’ve allowed GOP politicians to cheat voters every four years ad infinitum.
Elections really do have consequences, and this whole spectacle in many ways is Ohio’s last stand for fair elections.
https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2022/02/10/ohio-republicans-throw-temper-tantrum-as-attempts-to-cheat-with-gerrymandering-shot-down/
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Trump’s mishandling of classified material lands under investigation by House Oversight Committee
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Donald Trump is facing yet another investigation into alleged misconduct as president of the United States.
On Thursday, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform announced it has launched an investigation into the boxes of Trump documents that the Archivist of the United States obtained at Mar-a-Lago, citing a Washington Post report.
"The National Archives and Records Administration has asked the Justice Department to examine Donald Trump’s handling of White House records, sparking discussions among federal law enforcement officials about whether they should investigate the former president for a possible crime, according to two people familiar with the matter. The referral from the National Archives came amid recent revelations that officials recovered 15 boxes of materials from the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida that were not handed back in to the government as they should have been, and that Trump had turned over other White House records that had been torn up," the newspaper reported. "Archives officials suspected Trump had possibly violated laws concerning the handling of government documents — including those that might be considered classified — and reached out to the Justice Department, the people familiar with the matter said."
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), the committee's chairwoman, said she was "deeply concerned that these records were not provided to [National Archives and Records Administration] promptly at the end of the Trump Administration and that they appear to have been removed from the White House in violation of the Presidential Records Act (PRA)."
“I am also concerned by recent reports that while in office, President Trump repeatedly attempted to destroy presidential records, which could constitute additional serious violations of the PRA," she added.
Legal experts have blasted Trump for taking the documents.
“Former President Trump and his senior advisors must also be held accountable for any violations of the law,” Maloney said. “Republicans in Congress obsessively investigated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server for official communications. Former President Trump’s conduct, in contrast, involves a former president potentially violating a criminal law by intentionally removing records, including communications with a foreign leader, from the White House and reportedly attempting to destroy records by tearing them up.”
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/09/trump-archives-justice-department/
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Another phony right wing Republican trying to look "tough" in a commercial. And as usual, they have to depict violence against Democrats. GOP hatred and their violence is despicable.
Arizona GOP candidate's Super Bowl ad features him firing a gun at likenesses of Biden and Pelosi
https://www.rawstory.com/jim-lamon-arizona/
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GOP fascists hate America and their dream is to overthrow the government by force and turn it into an authoritarian dictatorship. They already tried on 1/6 and now they have their right wing funded "convoy" in Canada attempting to shut down the Canadian and American economies. Now GOP fascist Thomas Massie is openly endorsing an overthrow the government by force from a minority of their seditious traitors. These GOP fascists want far right wing extreme Americans to own nuclear and biological weapons to unleash on Americans they don't like. These fascists are mentally ill.
Thomas Massie says Americans must own enough weapons to overthrow the government if 30-40% agree on ‘tyranny’
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A U.S. Congressman is calling on Americans to own "sufficient" weaponry to overthrow the government, suggesting they should do so "if 30 to 40 percent agree" the nation is living under "tyranny."
"If 30 to 40 percent could agree that this was legitimate tyranny and it needed to be thrown off they need to have sufficient power without asking for extra permission – it should be right there and completely available to them in their living room in order to effect the change," U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said in a video (below) posted by Right Wing Watch.
Congressman Massie, who recently came under fire for tweeting a quote by a neo-Nazi and falsely attributing it to French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire, appeared on far-right Youtuber Tim Pool's show.
Pool's videos get "millions" of views each day, according to The Daily Beast, which adds he "has racked up more than a billion views and millions in earnings while dangerously whitewashing the far right."
Massie, known for his assault-weapons brandishing Christmas family photo this week was widely mocked for arguing against Medicare for All, because "Over 70% of Americans who died with COVID, died on Medicare.”
During Pool's show, according to Right Wing Watch, the YouTuber added that he believes the Second Amendment entitles Americans to own nuclear and biological weapons.
Watch video in link below:
https://www.rawstory.com/thomas-massie-2656635531/
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Ron DeSantis wants to rig Florida's congressional maps against Black voters — but GOP lawmakers think he's going too far.
On Friday, The Washington Post reported on how Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is attempting to push the GOP-controlled legislature to pass a more aggressive gerrymander of the state's congressional maps — in particular urging they carve up a North Florida district spanning from Tallahassee to Jacksonville that exists to allow Black voters to elect a candidate of their choice.
The new report notes that even some Republicans who are normally allied with him are pushing back on the idea.
Florida is a rare example of a Republican-controlled state that was not already gerrymandered going into this decade's redistricting process. The Florida Supreme Court struck down the GOP's original 2011 gerrymander in 2015, citing the state's Fair Districts Amendment, and forced implementation of a fair map. But Republican appointees taking over the state Supreme Court, combined with Florida gaining a new seat from the Census, led some GOP activists to hope the state could draw an aggressive gerrymander that would survive the whole decade, possibly giving Republicans 3 to 4 more seats.
DeSantis has led the charge — but, according to the report, his fellow Republicans in the legislature aren't on board, believing a map that too aggressively denies seats to Black voters won't hold up in court.
It ... shocked even fellow Florida Republicans when, in the midst of a pressure campaign from Donald Trump’s former senior adviser Stephen K. Bannon, DeSantis incited a redistricting battle with his own party, roping the state’s two legislative chambers into the fray and asking the state’s highest court to pick sides," reported Colby Itkowitz, Lori Rozsa, and Michael Scherer. "Days before the Florida state Senate was to vote on new congressional district lines in January, DeSantis presented a dramatically more partisan map that boosted Republican seats and eliminated a district where a plurality of voters are Black."
"The state Senate ignored DeSantis’s last-minute appeal and passed its version, a map that received support from every Republican and all but four Democrats in the chamber," noted the report. "DeSantis responded by asking the state Supreme Court to weigh in on whether his map’s erasure of the 5th Congressional District, where Black Democrats are advantaged, would withstand legal scrutiny ... On Thursday, in a rare legal setback for DeSantis, the state Supreme Court rejected his request for an advisory opinion, saying the governor’s request was 'broad and contains multiple questions that implicate complex federal and state constitutional matters and precedents interpreting the Voting Rights Act of 1965.'"
State Sen. Ray Rodrigues, who heads up redistricting efforts in the Florida Senate for Republicans, put things bluntly: “I’m a proud Republican, a very conservative Republican, but when I was elected, I was sworn into office on an oath to follow and protect the Constitution whether I like it or not. I have a responsibility to be in compliance with our Constitution.”
The Florida State House's proposed map is a bit more favorable to Republicans than the Senate's; it reduces Black voters' representation in the Tampa-based 10th District and makes the currently Democratic-held 7th District in suburban Orlando more Republican-leaning. But neither the House nor Senate plan, which will need to be reconciled in a compromise draw, will be much like the aggressive racial gerrymander that DeSantis sought.
You can read more here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/11/desantis-florida-redistricting/
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President Biden to visit Cleveland, Lorain to discuss bipartisan infrastructure law
CLEVELAND — The White House announced Saturday that President Joe Biden will visit Northeast Ohio this coming week to talk about infrastructure and how it affects Ohioans and other Americans.
He is set to visit Cleveland and Lorain on Thursday. Specific times and locations have not been announced.
According to the White House, Biden will "discuss how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law delivers for the American people by rebuilding roads and bridges, upgrading water systems, cleaning up the environment, and creating good-paying, union jobs."
When Biden signed the bill into law in November, he touted the legislation as "a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America." He highlighted provisions that would rebuild America's roads and bridges, as well as expand public transportation and rail travel. He also touched on how the law would replace lead pipes across the country that carry drinking water as well as providing expanded access to high-speed internet.
https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/president-biden-to-visit-cleveland-lorain-to-discuss-bipartisan-infrastructure-law
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Biden’s Infrastructure Bill Includes an Unprecedented $1.1 Billion for Everglades Revitalization
The money will go toward funding projects in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, a Florida law passed in 2000 that consists of 68 different projects that will cost a total of $23 billion.
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ORLANDO, Fla.—When the tide is right, the ink-colored water spreads like a shadow across the aquamarine Indian River Lagoon.
The dark water represents one of the most startling symptoms of what silently is killing the 156-mile lagoon, an estuary on Florida’s east coast that is among the most biologically diverse on the continent: nutrient pollution.
Nutrients are a component of fertilizers used on farm crops and front lawns. In the Indian River Lagoon the pollution has wreaked havoc, nourishing harmful algae blooms that can cloud the historically crystaline water, preventing sunlight from reaching the seagrass undulating beneath the surface. Most notably widespread seagrass losses led in 2021 to a record die-off of some 1,100 manatees in Florida, prompting wildlife agencies to resort to providing supplemental lettuce for starving manatees in the lagoon, where the majority of the deaths occurred.
The problem is among those targeted with an unprecedented $1.1 billion in federal funding aimed at revitalizing Florida’s treasured and troubled Everglades, a watershed responsible for the drinking water of more than 8 million Floridians and the subject of one of the most ambitious attempts at ecological restoration in human history.
In the Indian River Lagoon, the money is intended to improve water quality by helping to manage polluted water flowing from area farms, said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades.
“That black plume of polluted water, which comes from agricultural lands west of the lagoon,” she said, “will no longer exist. So it’s really going to help water quality in that specific section of the Indian River Lagoon.”
The money also is intended to fortify the Everglades against the rising seas and other impacts of climate change. The funding is part of the infrastructure measure President Joe Biden signed into law in November and represents the single largest investment ever in Everglades restoration, according to the White House.
The money comes at a somewhat heady time in Everglades restoration. In recent years, millions of dollars in new funding has helped jumpstart the massive federal-and-state effort, which had languished initially after the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan became law in 2000. Today construction is underway on several CERP projects, and the first major project is complete: a reservoir and engineered wetlands aimed at filtering water of nutrients before the water flows into the south end of the Indian River Lagoon.
Samples and other leaders also celebrated the completion last year of a separate project predating CERP: a major restoration of the Kissimmee River, which along with its tributaries represents the headwaters of the Everglades.
“We are absolutely seeing more ribbon cuttings occurring and more groundbreakings,” said Kelly Cox, director of Everglades policy at Audubon Florida. “Now we get to see how (the projects are) working and how well they’re working. And from the projects that we’ve already seen come online just in the past several years, we know that Everglades restoration works, and the Kissimmee River restoration project is a good example of that. That project was done in phases, and we saw ecological returns with every single phase of that project.”
The Everglades begin in central Florida with the Kissimmee River, which historically meandered lazily to Lake Okeechobee. The lake, a shallow depression in the land, spilled its excess water over its southern brim, forming a shallow sheet that was the river of grass. Draining large swaths of the Everglades has made modern Florida possible and left the state’s most important freshwater resource on the brink. The new federal money will fund a series of projects together aimed at improving water quality and flow and adding water storage in the Everglades.
For instance, one project relies on yet another reservoir to help improve water quality and address that shadow of dark water that occurs in the south end of the Indian River Lagoon. Another is designed to manage polluted water that flows from western Broward County and eventually ends up in Everglades National Park. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says that project will improve habitat for fish and wildlife, including five federally listed species. Yet another project is meant to improve water flows into Biscayne Bay.
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Indian River lagoon is pea-soup green, raising fears of another 'bloom of doom'
Conspicuously missing from the list is one that is considered crucial in restoring the Everglades’ historic flow south: a large reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee in the Everglades Agricultural Area. That reservoir is aimed at alleviating harmful discharges east and west from Lake Okeechobee to fragile coastal estuaries like the Indian River Lagoon, which in recent years triggered widespread blooms of toxic algae. The omission prompted outrage among the state’s Republican leadership, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2024 and has made Everglades restoration a priority of his administration. U.S. Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) went as far as to characterize the omission as a “middle finger” from the Biden administration for Florida.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency overseeing Everglades restoration, answered Mast’s criticism by saying that the corps remains committed to the reservoir, and construction is scheduled to begin this year. The Army Corps says the remaining work is projected to cost more than $3 billion, more than the $1.9 billion available in the infrastructure measure for restoration projects nationwide.
“That’s the centerpiece of restoration,” said Steve Davis, chief science officer at the Everglades Foundation. “That’s the project that does it all, really. It takes water from Lake Okeechobee. So it reduces discharges to the east and west coasts by substantial amounts, over 50%. And it sends enormous quantities of water south.”
While the new federal money is significant, it is not enough to fully fund CERP, which involves some 68 projects, most massive on their own. Altogether the cost is projected to be some $23 billion.
“We will see some progress, but this is a multigenerational effort,” said Samples of Friends of the Everglades. “We’re going to be waiting until my 13-year-old son is a grown man to see the results of some of these long-term infrastructure projects.”
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/11022022/biden-infrastructure-bill-florida-everglades/
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Shots fired at Louisville Democratic mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A person fired multiple gunshots at Louisville Democratic mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg in his campaign office Monday morning, missing him but striking his clothing.
"We consider ourselves very fortunate," Louisville Metro Police Chief Erika Shields said at a press conference about a block away from Greenberg's offices in the Butchertown Market building.
She said a person had been detained by police and no motive was known. "We also have no reason to believe at this time that this individual was acting anything but alone."
Shortly after the shooting, Greenberg tweeted that he and his team were safe and thanked others for their "outpouring of support." He said he would provide an update soon.
Police said they responded to the four-story building about 10:15 a.m. after receiving reports of "an active aggressor." They said multiple shots were fired and it was determined that Greenberg's office had been targeted, So officers evacuated Greenberg and his staff, LMPD said in a statement.
Shields said a round struck a "piece" of Greenberg's clothing but was not more specific.
Besides police, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was called to the scene.
Shields said the police would be investigating the incident "from all angles" to determine a motive. She said it was unknown if the incident could be related to politics, the fact that Greenberg is Jewish or if the person could have had mental issues.
"We have to really keep an open mind and really just be diligent in taking care of our community," she said.
Matt Goldberg, director of community relations for the Jewish Federation of Louisville, noted that Greenberg is an "active member" of the local Jewish community but was cautious about assigning a motive.
"I think until we hear from LMPD or any of the investigators ... that he was specifically targeted because he was Jewish, there isn't anything specifically we're doing," he said of the Jewish community.
"You don't expect to see anything like that in Louisville or anywhere, but to see it for someone you know is very, very frightening," he said. "We're thinking about his family of course and his friends and the people on his campaign."
Other mayoral candidates swiftly commented on the shooting and offered support to Greenberg and his team.
Philip Molestina, a Republican running for mayor, said the news that Greenberg was targeted in a shooting is surreal but the most important thing is the safety of Greenberg and everyone else at his office.
This shooting, he said, "makes it even more important for us to have a safe city and work, all of us together, to make sure that happens regardless of political affiliations or anything else."
David Nicholson, a Democrat in the race, said the news of the shooting led him to take extra security precautions.
"I was immediately notified of the shooting by LMPD, and I have since spoken with Mr. Greenberg," Nicholson said. "While our campaign received no prior threats or indication of danger, my campaign has taken the necessary precautions to protect my family, campaign team and myself."
Greenberg launched his campaign for mayor last year and quickly built up a big fundraising lead (which he has since maintained) in the race to succeed outgoing Mayor Greg Fischer.
Before he got into politics, he worked as CEO of 21c Museum Hotels and also served on the University of Louisville board of trustees for a couple of years. He became a co-owner of Ohio Valley Wrestling alongside Kentucky Sports Radio founder Matt Jones last year and started a firm, Greenberg Group, that's centered on urban revitalization projects.
Runner, trustee, JCPS grad:What to know about Louisville mayor candidate Craig Greenberg
Greenberg has said public safety would be his No. 1 priority if he's elected mayor this year.
He released his public safety plan for Louisville last month, which called for "fully" funding and staffing a "community-oriented police force" and expanding mental health treatment, among other things.
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2022/02/14/shots-fired-louisville-mayor-candidate-craig-greenberg-metro-council-president-says/6784596001/
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Why accelerationist Proud Boys latched on to big conservative rallies in DC last month
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The weekend of Jan. 21-23 brought the annual anti-choice March for Life to Washington, DC, followed two days later by the Defeat the Mandates rally to oppose vaccine mandates. The two events brought thousands of conservatives to the nation’s capital, along with throngs of far-right extremists looking to recruit from their ranks.
A phalanx of members from the avowedly fascist group Patriot Front formed their own column along the March for Life, under heavy police protection as antifascist counter-protesters confronted them. Patriot Front’s appearance, in turn, appeared to act as a magnet for other extremists. Two young men wearing khaki pants, camouflage jackets, work boots and skull masks, as captured in a video by a team member of the veteran-owned open-source intelligence firm Sparverius, showed up and heckled the counter-protesters as Patriot Front members marched past.
One of the men signaled his white power beliefs in ways that were both subtle and blatant: a patch with the red-and-white checkered insignia of the Croatian Legion, a division of the German Army during World War II; stickers on his helmet depicting the image of American Nazi Party founder George Lincoln Rockwell and the slogan “White Lives Matter”; and a Confederate battle flag patch on his military-style backpack.
Two days later, the two men joined members of the Maryland DC Proud Boys chapter at the Lincoln Memorial for the anti-vaccination rally. Among the group of more than a dozen men, about half wore skull masks. Their coats concealed bulky tactical vests, and they carried heavy backpacks. After marching from the Washington Monument, the Proud Boys entourage gathered at the end of the reflecting pool, holding a position at the edge of the large anti-vaccination crowd and near a handful of counter-protesters clumped together at a nearby knoll. At one point, some of the Proud Boys went over to confront the counter-protesters, but then walked off without incident.
“These accelerationists — the guys wearing skull masks, they wear that because they… were signaling to each other that they are extremists, but to the general public they are telegraphing that they are tough, something to be feared, masculine,” Kristofer Goldsmith, Sparverius’ CEO, told Raw Story. “They’re attracting people who think it’s a drinking and street brawler club, and they’re putting them in a pipeline to extremism that ends in domestic terrorism.”
Goldsmith, who is also a senior fellow at the Innovation Lab of Human Rights First, said the Proud Boys’ public presence in DC last month marked a significant turn, following a year in which members across the country have mostly focused on flashpoints of local controversy like school board meetings.
“That weekend Friday through Sunday, between the anti-choice and anti-vax events, was the first major return to DC after the attack on the Capitol,” Goldsmith said. “Though it wasn’t the same numbers and there wasn’t violence the way there had been the year prior, what it did establish to these groups in their psychology is that it is now safe to return to DC in an election year.”
Members of the Proud Boys group also distributed stickers at the anti-vaccination rally with the Proud Boys logo and text, “We are watching.” When a journalist posted a photo of herself holding up the sticker in front of the crowd gathered at the Lincoln Memorial on Twitter, the Proud Boys chapter confirmed responsibility with a post of its own on its Telegram channel that read: “Local antifa scum wanted a business card. That’s right, we are watching.
Matthew Kriner, the managing director of the Accelerationist Research Consortium, told Raw Story that he views the text as a signal that the Proud Boys and their affiliates who attended the rally “are looking for circumstances to insert themselves to instigate further violence and destabilize the political system.” Kriner is also a senior research scholar at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism and Counterterrorism at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.
“After January 6th, this stands out to me as something that shows they’re not afraid to engage in instigator behavior, because we saw them do that on January 6th,” Kriner added. “They instigated a crowd at a right-wing event that became a riot.”
The Maryland DC Proud Boys chapter commemorated its appearance at the anti-vaccination rally by posting a photo of a member nicknamed “Ghost” posing with a plate carrier in front of the Washington Monument, accompanied by the text, “We’re back!” Another heavily stylized photo posted on Telegram shows a handful of members, including the neo-Nazi wearing the Croatian Legion patch, marching away from the Washington Monument. A variation of the image posted on Telegram shows the members superimposed on a war-ravaged urban landscape with the chapter logo slapped in the middle.
Members of the chapter did not respond to requests for comment for this story. Raw Story was able to reach Brandon Heffner, who was identified as the recipient of funds from a GiveSendGo campaign to raise money for a recent Christmas toy drive. Heffner told Raw Story that he is not involved in the chapter, but agreed to handle the funds for the toy drive.
Raw Story also left a voicemail at a phone number listed on the Telegram account for a user named “Joe Bonadio,” eliciting no response.
Notwithstanding Heffner’s claim to not be involved in the chapter, a Telegram user named “HEFF,” along with the “Joe Bonadio” account expressed enthusiasm for a planned White Lives Matter rally in the DC-Maryland-Virginia area last March. In a channel set up to promote the planned rally, “HEFF” commented, “#f**kantifa proudboys will be the there [sic] in plain clothes or not,” while “Joe Bonadio” wrote, “I’m with ya.” The person behind the “HEFF” account also appears to have a family member involved in the chapter. A user named “LadyHeff” periodically comments on content on the chapter’s Telegram channel, including a post last month blaming people of color for urban decay in which she wrote, “They can take their diversity and shove it up their *ss.”
The ethno-nationalist content shared on the chapter’s Telegram channel echoes the white power symbols displayed in public by some of its members. Since December, the channel has forwarded at least two posts from Greyson Arnold, a podcaster who has spoken approvingly about Nazi Germany and who once duped a Republican National Committee member into saying that white nationalist Nick Fuentes should have a voice in picking candidates to run for office in Republican primaries. Later that month, the channel for the Maryland DC chapter forwarded a post by Lauren Witzke, a former US Senate candidate from Delaware who has retweeted posts from VDARE, a white nationalist website.
Beyond forwarding content from other white nationalists, the channel has contributed its own white power messaging. Without specifying the target, a Dec. 29, 2021 post declared, “Special place in hell for these people. Day of the rope mutha f**a.”
“Day of the rope” is an explicit reference to The Turner Diaries, a novel written by neo-Nazi William Pierce that inspired the Oklahoma City bombing and an numerous other acts of terrorism and racist violence by perpetrators seeking to emulate the novel’s protagonist by “stockpiling biological weapons, engaging in a racist shooting spree, robbing banks, and assembling pipe bombs with Jewish and Black targets in mind,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
“I would portray the Proud Boys as antisemitic, racist bigots; they would not see themselves as such,” said Michael Loadenthal, an advisory board member at the Accelerationist Research Consortium. “It’s undeniable when they start sharing content that is explicitly racist and antisemitic.”
Loadenthal and Goldsmith both said the barriers between Proud Boys and hardcore neo-Nazi groups, always permeable, are becoming increasingly porous.
Goldsmith said antifascist researchers have identified current members of the openly fascist group Patriot Front who had previously been identified as Proud Boys, indicating a migration between the two groups and a radicalization path towards more extreme violence and racism.
Last week, the Maryland DC Proud Boys chapter reshared a propaganda video produced by the fascist media outfit Media2Rise, which was embedded with Patriot Front during its surprise march through DC in December 2021 and produced high-quality video from the event. Goldsmith told Raw Story that one of Patriot Front leader Thomas Rousseau’s lieutenant’s, Graham Whitson, operates Media2Rise’s online store. Whitson was arrested with Rousseau in August 2020 for plastering Patriot Front stickers on the grounds of county courthouse in Grapevine, Texas.
“Here, we’re establishing the skeleton of how the Proud Boy-fascist pipeline works,” Goldsmith said.
Proud Boys Telegram channels, including the Maryland DC chapter, routinely share content from the “Western Chauvinism” channel, which is named after a primary tenet of Proud Boys doctrine.
“Western Chauvinism produces high-production quality video that is targeting Proud Boys,” Goldsmith said. “It’s shared in Proud Boys channels. It’s encouraging people to embrace fascism as the true law-and-order ideology. I recognize the propaganda videos are deadly serious, and they’re created by people who are deadly serious.
“The actual absurdity of trying to whitewash Hitler and put on pedestal Hitler himself and the rise of the Nazis is deliberately too far,” he continued. “It’s part of the Proud Boys’ claim that ‘we’re not actually Nazis, just edge lords; we’re just trolling the libs.’ The reason we had kids in their early twenties showing up in Charlottesville is they started out on the internet making jokes about the Holocaust, and then they started to believe in it."
https://www.rawstory.com/accelerationist-proud-boys/
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They don't even hide it anymore. The GOP is the party of white nationalists and white supremacists.
Arizona Republican hyping far-right event featuring notorious white nationalist: report
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The America First Political Action Conference in Orlando is receiving a major boost from a prominent Arizona Republican, The Daily Beast reported Wednesday.
"Organized by white nationalist and 'Unite The Right' attendee Nick Fuentes, the conference is a watering hole for people who think the Conservative Political Action Conference (also next week) needs to use more slurs," Kelly Weill reported. "But the fringe conference is also playing footsie with elected officials, this year with Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers, who promoted the event on Telegram. It’s the second year in a row that an Arizona politician has backed the conference, putting them in league with [Tim 'Baked Alaska' Gionet] and other legally challenged extremists."
The 2021 America First Political Action Conference was addressed by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ). Gosar recently defended Fuentes, who is described as a white nationalist by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
"The post was far from Rogers’ first in support of Fuentes, an open bigot. ('This is going to be the most racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, Holocaust-denying speech in all of Dallas this weekend,' Fuentes boasted of one of his upcoming speeches after he was kicked out of CPAC in 2021.) Rogers has authored at least two dozen fawning posts about Fuentes, according to Left Coast Right Watch," The Beast reported. "Fuentes has returned the favor, using Rogers’ posts to hype AFPAC and even hinting that the state senator might be involved, researcher Arizona Right Wing Watch reported."
The conference is seen as a vehicle for Republicans to reach out to younger racists.
"Both Gosar and Rogers have well-documented ties to the militant right, particularly the paramilitary group the Oath Keepers. Rogers announced her membership to the group several years ago and gave a speech for members in March 2021, while Gosar allegedly told an Arizona Oath Keepers leader that the U.S. was already in a civil war, 'we just haven’t started shooting yet.' But their friendliness with Fuentes and his “America First” movement signals an effort to ingratiate themselves with a younger generation of racists—an effort both cringe-worthy and at times downright dangerous for the Arizona politicians’ constituents," The Beast reported.
Read the full report:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/arizona-state-senator-wendy-rogers-promotes-far-right-event-featuring-hanukkah-basher-baked-alaska
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New data shows retail sales increased by 3.8% in January. This is no accident, President Biden has taken concrete action to get Americans back to work, battle COVID-19, and address supply chain issues. Biden's strong leadership is helping our economy continue to build on what has already been a historic period of growth in 2021 moving into 2022.
January retail sales surge 3.8%
NEW YORK (AP) — Fueled by pay gains, solid hiring and enhanced savings, Americans sharply ramped up their spending at retail stores last month in a sign that many consumers remain unfazed by rising inflation.
Retail sales jumped 3.8% from December to January, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, a much bigger increase than economists had expected. Though inflation helped boost that figure, most of January’s gain reflected more purchases, not higher prices.
Last month’s increase was the largest since last March, when most households received a final federal stimulus check of $1,400. The fact that consumer spending remains brisk even after government stimulus has faded — enhanced unemployment aid ended in September — suggests that Americans’ pay is rising enough to drive a healthy pace of spending and economic growth.
Job growth is strong, wages are increasing and household wealth is way up thanks to rapidly rising home values and, until recently, stock prices.
Retail sales rose solidly across the spectrum in January. Sales at general merchandise stores rose 3.6% and at department stores 9.2%. Purchases at furniture and home furnishings stores increased 7.2%. Online sales jumped 14.5%.
Restaurants were an outlier in January: Sales fell 0.9%, likely a reflection of many people refraining from dining out at a time when reported omicron infections were exploding.
Gasoline sales fell 1.3%, possibly a result of the cost and cases of omicron, which rose in tandem, according to Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com.
Since the pandemic erupted two years ago, spending has continued to be heavily weighted toward goods — things that people can own. But as COVID-19 cases decline, Americans are expected to begin spending more on concerts, movies and dinners out.
At the same time, Wednesday’s retail report covers only about one-third of overall consumer spending; it doesn’t include such services as haircuts, hotel stays and plane tickets.
The New York clothing company Untuckit has registered a rebound in recent weeks, with more people preparing for an eventual return to the office, said Aaron Sanandres, the CEO and a co-founder.
“I am optimistic that this time there is a bit more momentum,” Sanandres said.
The omicron variant that emerged in late November caused widespread worker shortages, with many employees calling in sick. Yet the wave of the most recent variant appears to have been short-lived. Reported infections began to decline by mid-January as fast as they rose late last year. Cases have plunged from 436,000 a day two weeks ago to 136,000 Monday.
January’s robust increase in retail purchases followed gains in October and November before a sharp drop in December, a month when sales are normally high. By January, despite surging inflation — consumer prices soared 7.5% last month from 12 months earlier — Americans appeared ready to renew spending.
The strong January report comes as major retailers, including Walmart, are slated to release their fiscal fourth-quarter financial figures, starting as early as Thursday. Bryan Eshelman, a managing director in the retail practice at AlixPartners, believes the earnings reports, which cover November through January, will be strong as stores have been able to wield their pricing power. But he questions whether consumers will continue to pay full price or go back to their old behaviors of waiting for a sale.
“Will retailers be willing to have the discipline to hold the line?” he asked.
The volatility in retail sales data is also emerging after the pandemic and related supply crunches drastically altered the behavior of Americans, particularly at the end of 2021. Major retailers companies urged people to shop early to avoid shortages, and Americans did, in huge numbers.
Services spending, at least in some sectors, is rising along with goods purchases. Joseph Aquino, who runs a real estate services firm in New York, says leasing activity for retail spaces is picking up, recovering from a steep downturn in that sector.
Still, the sector’s recovery has a long way to go. Rents on Madison Avenue had ranged from $1,500 to $1,800 a square foot before the pandemic, Aquino said. Now, the same space is now going for between $600 to $800 per square foot.
“There is a sense of optimism, ”Aquino said. “People are realizing that the virus is slowly dissipating.”
https://apnews.com/article/business-retail-sales-17b82619e44299b2fd6f8b83882b1658
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Every single Republican senator refused to show up to their jobs on the Banking and Housing committee to consider President Biden's Federal Reserve nominees. The committee could not conduct business because there was not a quorum. The Federal Reserve is the most important institution in America in the fight against inflation. But five critical positions are unfilled because Republican Senate partisans are blocking a vote. Republicans also boycotted the committe vote in order to prevent these important positions from being filled. The GOP goal is to keep inflation rising to sabotage President Biden's presidency because they think it will help them politically. Senate Republicans are purposely hurting Americans and our economy for their own lust for power.
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Senate Republicans boycott committee vote on Biden's Federal Reserve nominees
Senate Republicans are blocking all President Biden's nominees for the Federal Reserve from advancing as they raise questions over his pick to be the top banking regulator. In a statement early Tuesday, ranking member Pat Toomey announced Republicans would not attend the meeting, meaning Democrats would not have the quorum necessary to hold the votes.
The Senate Banking Committee was forced to delay votes Tuesday on advancing the nominations of Jerome Powell to serve a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve and Lael Brainard as vice chair. The committee was also supposed to move forward with the nominations of Sarah Bloom Raskin as vice chair of supervision and Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson as members of the Board of Governors.
Democrats warned the boycott could hurt American workers amid soaring inflation and hamper the recovery from the pandemic. But Republicans skipped the meeting over one specific nominee – President Biden's choice of Raskin as the Fed's top banking regulator, responsible for developing regulatory policy recommendations.
"They're not showing up to do their constitutional duty that they were elected to do," said Senator Jon Tester, who pointed out Republicans showed up during the last administration to vote for nominees who he said were not qualified.
All 12 Democrats during the meeting signaled they would support all of the nominees even as Republicans were absent. Brown dismissed the idea of breaking up the votes to advance Biden's picks for the Central Bank.
Democrats also blasted Republicans Tuesday, saying if they cared so much about inflation and the impact of rising prices on Americans, they would show up to make sure the Fed has a fully functioning board.
"They're taking away probably the most important tool that we have, and that's the Federal Reserve to combat inflation," Brown said of his Republican colleagues.
There are three empty seats on the Federal Reserve board. Powell and Brainard are serving in their roles in an acting capacity. If Mr. Biden's nominees are confirmed, it would be the first time the Fed has its full seven-member board in a decade.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-republicans-block-federal-reserve-nominees-sarah-bloom-raskin/
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Embrace of accelerationism signals a potential escalation of violence by Proud Boys (Part II)
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The caption under the video, despite being couched in edgy humor, leaves little to the imagination.
The 27-second video compiling screengrabs of news headlines about a Planned Parenthood clinic in Knoxville, Tenn. that was destroyed by arson on New Year’s Eve backed with a hip hop track went out on the Great Basin Proud Boys Telegram account, with the giddy commentary: “Bro this year is about to be LIT.”
This is part two in a three-part series on accelerationism in the Proud Boys movement.
You read part one here: https://www.rawstory.com/accelerationist-proud-boys/
At least one other Proud Boys chapter, Maryland-DC, forwarded the post.
An earlier post on the channel was even more direct.
“When I hear that California is going to be an abortion sanctuary state and I live less than an hour from the California border,” the caption reads. Text superimposed on an image of a cartoon donkey completes the thought: “I’m makin’ pipe bombs.”
According to the pinned message on the Great Basin Proud Boys channel, the account is primarily run by the president and vice president of the northern Nevada chapter. Raw Story was not able to determine their identities.
In January, the Maryland DC chapter distributed a TikTok video of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan discussing COVID control measures that featured the absurd headline “Military state is beginning” on its Telegram channel. The commentary accompanying the video on the Maryland DC Proud Boys channel included a personal attack on the governor, ending with the hashtag #bringbackpublichanging.
Content advocating for terrorism and the execution of elected officials swapped on Telegram by Great Basin and Maryland-DC along with other hardline chapters reflects a kind of rhetoric wouldn’t be out of place in discussions among members of The Base and Atomwaffen, said Matthew Kriner, the managing director of the Accelerationist Research Consortium and a senior research scholar at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism and Counterterrorism at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Following a law enforcement crackdown beginning in 2017, several members of the two groups are either serving sentences or awaiting trial on charges of murder, conspiracy to threaten journalists, swatting, stockpiling explosive material and firearms violations.
“That kind of rhetoric is indicative of accelerationist tactics and views,” Kriner said. “That kind of rhetoric is far more likely to be found in chat rooms of The Base, Atomwaffen or Feuerkrieg Division discussing tactics that they believe are necessary for the overthrow and collapse of the political system.”
Content promoting accelerationism, proactive violence and overt white power ideology is becoming increasingly prevalent in online spaces where Proud Boys interact, while the group as a whole serves as a bridge from mainstream conservative entities like the GOP to more extreme far-right activity. As an example of the content that blatantly celebrates violence, posts on the Great Basin Proud Boys channel routinely celebrates Ted Kaczynski, the eco-terrorist who carried out a bombing campaign over the course of 17 years that resulted in three deaths and dozens of injuries.
“We’re seeing that these communities are absorbing and interacting with neo-fascist content that is distinct from the broader Proud Boys community,” Kriner said. “The broader Proud Boys community tends to be far-right conservative or crypto-fascist.”
Progressives and centrists might not see much difference between the two positions, Kriner said, but the distinction is critical to understanding when extremists feel justified in resorting to violence.
“The difference is that the crypto-fascists and far-right conservatives don’t generally call for proactive violence,” he said, “whereas the neo-fascist accelerationists explicitly call for violence as a means of generating action.”
Michael Loadenthal, who serves on the advisory board of the Accelerationist Research Consortium, said accelerationism should not be understood as a movement in the same way that MAGA or the anti-vaccination mobilization are.
“It’s more of a brand and an aesthetic and a tactical repertoire,” he said. “Use of firearms, scary posters with black, white and red colors, advocacy for violence, actively racist and homophobic, advocacy for industrial sabotage — if you do these things, you’re accelerationist.”
The Telegram channels for the Great Basin, Mid-Missouri and Maryland-DC Proud Boys chapters promote particularly accelerationist content, alongside posts that are openly racist and antisemitic as well as violent. The appearance of more than a dozen men attached to the Maryland-DC chapter who wore Proud Boys clothing, skull masks and tactical gear to the Defeat the Mandates rally in Washington DC last month showed that the accelerationist tendency has moved beyond digital space and into the streets.
In one example of antisemitism, a user named “Simon Bolivar” commented on a post in the Maryland-DC channel last month purporting to show immigrants from Latin America who were secretly smuggled into the country on a flight into New York City.
“How ironic would it be if we turn these migrants into national socialists and have them go after the jews?” “Simon Bolivar” commented. “Just tell them Henry Kissinger destroyed their nation and they need to avenge their ancestors.”
Meanwhile, a post in the Mid-Missouri advocating for “decentralized banking” uses the “triple echo” parentheses — a code used by white supremacists for Jews — to charge that “(((They)))” create wage slaves by encouraging usury,” while another post displaying a Jewish caricature suggests that Jews don’t like talk about “natural immunity” because they’re behind the pharmaceutical industry’s push for bigger profits.
The overt antisemitism displayed on the Mid-Missouri and Maryland-DC channels is at odds with the Proud Boys party line, which discourages discussion of the “JQ” — a shorthand among white supremacists for “Jewish question.”
The Great Basin chapter’s endorsement of fascism is not veiled. Twice in December the Telegram channel for the chapter shared a video with the headline “It’s f***ing Mussolini Monday” that showed the fascist dictator striking various poses accompanied by a goofy dance music soundtrack. Another video shared on the channel in December depicts a speech by British fascist Oswald Mosley.
Kristofer Goldsmith, a senior fellow at the Innovation Lab of Human Rights First, has noted that a Telegram channel named “Western Chauvinism” — named for the Proud Boys foundational doctrine — generates fascist content that specifically targets Proud Boys and is widely circulated in the digital spaces where they interact.
Most Proud Boys propaganda is implicitly racist and antisemitic, but where the accelerationist faction marks a departure is in their willingness to express it openly, Loadenthal said.
“I would portray the Proud Boys as antisemitic, racist bigots,” he said. “They would not see themselves as such. But it’s undeniable when they start sharing content that is explicitly racist and antisemitic. You see more and more of that — some call it ‘siege culture’ or accelerationist aesthetic — in the mainstream versions of the Proud Boys, the nationalist version of the far right. Those groups want to see themselves as nationalist. They’re interacting more with people who would identity as fascist or eco-fascist. Those walls used to be higher. They’re not higher anymore.”
Beyond the Proud Boys, Loadenthal said the broader accelerationist network appears to be poised for a “second renaissance,” following a period of reshuffling after the law enforcement disruption campaign that took place from 2017 to 2020.
“We have observed in recent history, specifically the period after the January 2021 assault at the US Capitol building the expanded recruitment by accelerationist groups such as The Base and Atomwaffen, and individuals involved in those groups documenting their presence throughout the United States and Western Europe,” Loadenthal said.
The Base and Atomwaffen jointly released a 90-second propaganda video depicting a “winter survival training” on their respective Telegram channels in late January, Loadenthal said. The text accompanying the video describes the two groups as “brothers in arms” and invites viewers to “Join us in the struggle to Save Our Race.”
“Someone in Atomwaffen and someone in The Base got together and made a video,” Loadenthal said. “It could be two people, it could be four people, it could be more. What it shows is some degree of coordination.”
Another indicator of a rise in accelerationism within the Proud Boys is content shared on Telegram that glorifies Kaczynski — no less than nine times on the Great Basin channel since the beginning of December 2021. Last week, the Great Basin chapter shared a TikTok video that explicitly traces a radicalization path from enthusiasm for Donald Trump to support for terrorism. It begins with footage of Trump dancing to “YMCA” by the Village People, captioned, “My political beliefs in 2016,” and then turns to static, before a new frame shows Kaczynski being led away in handcuffs, with the caption, “My ‘political’ beliefs in 2021.”
Admiration for Kaczynski on the far right extends beyond the Proud Boys. Ryan Sanchez, a neo-Nazi from southern California who is affiliated with the Groyper movement, noted news that Kaczynski had been diagnosed with cancer with the hashtag #PrayForTed on his Telegram channel. Sanchez is currently organizing a “team” to accompany the truckers convoy that planned to begin in southern California on March 6 and travel to DC.
"They embrace the unmitigated nature of the attack, and it shows they don’t feel the need to go through representative democratic systems,” Loadenthal said, explaining the appeal Kaczynski holds for the far right. “They don’t feel the need to go through communities of affinity. They don’t care if they alienate people. They are apocalyptic, and they are not concerned with the optics.”
Samantha Kutner, who has extensively interviewed members of the Proud Boys and is at work on a book about the group, said she is concerned about the potential for an escalation of violence, citing the mobilization around trucker convoys and the upcoming mid-term elections. She said it’s impossible to predict when someone will decide to carry out an act of violence, or whether it will be a member of the Proud Boys or someone who holds no organization affiliation.
“There are incidents like in 2018 during the mid-terms with the MAGA bomber where you can see how Trump’s rhetoric acts as a mobilizing force,” she said. “There’s no consideration of these disastrous effects.
“My fear is that he’s going to incite further violence and there will be, if not the Proud Boys, other of his followers who act on it,” Kutner continued. “Individuals who commit violence might be identified as MAGA, but they might not have any affiliation. The likelihood of violence based on past precedent and Trump’s rhetoric right now is incredibly high.”
https://www.rawstory.com/accelerationist-proud-boys-2656637219/
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The radical right is getting more radical each day. Far right wing extremist Kansas candidate for Governor Kandiss Taylor has a slogan "Jesus Guns Babies”. Once again, the radical right is advocating for more violence with guns. The right has no issues except this nonsense. Guns don't put food on the table or get you better healthcare.
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Never forget
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'Embrace the hate': Accelerationism has been a part of the Proud Boys all along
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When Proud Boys from the Maryland-DC chapter showed up at the anti-vaccine Defeat the Mandates rally in Washington, DC last month, about half of the dozen-plus members wore skull masks, an aesthetic associated more with accelerationist terror groups like Atomwaffen and The Base than the street brawler network that asserted itself as shock troops for the MAGA movement.
This is installment three in a three-part series on accelerationism in the Proud Boy movement.
You can read part one: https://www.rawstory.com/accelerationist-proud-boys/
and part two here: https://www.rawstory.com/accelerationist-proud-boys-2656637219/
Two of the men wearing skull masks at the anti-vax rally had heckled antifascist counter-protesters on the sidelines of a march held by the avowedly fascist Patriot Front two days earlier. One of the men wore a helmet with a sticker depicting American Nazi Party founder George Lincoln Rockwell and the slogan “White lives matter.” These were overtly white nationalist signals distinctly at odds with the Proud Boys' claim to be a civic nationalist organization that welcomes men of all races.
In truth, since the Proud Boys were founded in 2016, only a thin membrane has separated rank-and-file members from hardcore neo-Nazis, providing a degree of plausible deniability while also maintaining enough elasticity to draw together a broad coalition of far-right extremists. But accelerationism — a posture that advocates hastening societal collapse — has become increasingly prominent among the Proud Boys’ membership.
A video posted on the Maryland-DC Telegram channel two days before the chapter’s appearance at the anti-vax rally dispenses with the filters that typically camouflage Proud Boys messaging. The video features images of Adolf Hitler and Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet along with images of the World Trade Center attack juxtaposed with photos of prominent Jews like Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. The caption under the video openly declares, “Hate has built our nation.” Building through a tirade against public education and “celebrities, rappers and false gods,” it concludes, “We hate that the clock has begun for the [New World Order], and covid is just the beginning. Embrace the hate.”
Alongside Maryland-DC, the Telegram channels for the Mid-Missouri and Great Basin chapters are rife with the endorsements of white power ideology and antisemitism.
Samantha Kutner, who has interviewed numerous Proud Boys and is writing a book about the organization, said it doesn’t surprise her to hear “there are overtly neo-Nazi chapters,” but the national leadership would likely brush aside questions about such transgressions through a strategy of “deny, disavow, deny, disavow.”
Experts say the tension between a kind of inclusive patriotism that claims skin color is irrelevant and ethno-nationalism has been baked into the Proud Boys’ identity since the beginning. The Southern Poverty Law Center has described founder Gavin McInnes as playing “a duplicitous rhetorical game: claiming to reject white nationalism while espousing a laundered version of popular white nationalist tropes,” while noting that McInnes “has contributed to such hate sites as VDARE.com and American Renaissance, which publish the work of white supremacists and so-called race realists.”
A Jan. 28 post on the Mid-Missouri Proud Boys channel that was forwarded by the Maryland-DC chapter transparently displays the laundering. The Mid-Missouri chapter forwarded a post from White Lives Matter USA that promotes natalism, which read, “Love the Mothers. Make White Babies.” The Mid-Missouri chapter subtly tweaked the message by incorporating one of the Proud Boys’ doctrinal principles and substituting the word “Western” in place of “white”: “Venerate the housewife. Have Western babies.”
Another post from the Mid-Missouri chapter on Jan. 19 chillingly expresses opposition to mixed-race relationships while nostalgically suggesting the Allied forces should have appeased Adolf Hitler during World War II. It features a photo of a white woman standing beside a Black woman juxtaposed with a video depicting a white man looking at his cell phone and addressing the camera. “I just have a question,” he says. “I wonder if this image alone was enough, if shown to your great grandfather in a foxhole at the Battle of the Bulge to convince him: Maybe you should have at least heard the other side out.”
Experts say that accelerationism exists more on a continuum than as a distinct offshoot of the Proud Boys’ more mainstream conservative tendencies. Matthew Kriner, the managing director of the Accelerationism Research Consortium, told Raw Story that the Proud Boys as a whole are “mobilized around broader grievance narratives that are accelerationist in nature,” even if not every individual member is necessarily motivated by a desire for accelerationist violence.
But the Great Basin, Maryland-DC and Mid-Missouri chapters, which frequently share each other’s content, have self-consciously embraced accelerationism.
A Feb. 5 post by the Great Basin chapter most clearly articulates the underlying philosophy, using homophobic language.
“Stop looking back at 2019 with rose-tinted glasses,” the post reads. “Everything has been gay for a long time. The only way forward is with three feet on the gas pedal. Accelerate the world; decelerate your tribe.”
A screengrab of an anonymous post on 4chan that was circulated on Telegram on Feb. 2 by Maryland-DC and forwarded by Great Basin and Mid-Missouri appears to apply the concept to the trucker convoys that are currently crippling commerce in Canada. Also deploying homophobic language to imply inferiority on the part of their enemies, the author writes, “The honking is so incredibly effective at causing accelerated menticide in normalfags, it is tantamount to a miracle. There is no need to boil the frog or slow roll the honkening [sic]. These people have no principles or convections [sic], they will not fight for anything because they stand for nothing. Honking is literally the ACCELERATE meme applied in real-time. They are breaking down so fast that the narrative writers don’t know what to do.”
The tension between the classical liberal position that the Proud Boys attempt to project to outsiders and unrepentant ethno-nationalism continues to play out. In a post last November, the Cape Fear chapter in southeastern North Carolina articulated an exceptionalist view of the United States as uniquely color-blind.
“There is no ‘American race,’" the chapter leaders wrote on Telegram. “Instead, America is an idea. This idea has been enshrined in our constitution. Anyone who was born here or comes to this country legally and believes in our constitution can be American."
The Northern Nevada Proud Boys (now known as Great Basin) rebuked the Cape Fear chapter, responding on their channel with a position almost indistinguishable from Patriot Front.
“While we love you, Cape Fear, you guys are so unbelievably wrong," they wrote. "We are not an idea. We are a people. Our ancestors fought and died to secure a nation for US. NOT FOREIGNERS.” The post concluded: “Get your head out of your *ss and actually take pride in your heritage.”
Inextricably entwined with questions about white power ideology and accelerationism in the Proud Boys is internal controversy over the leadership of Enrique Tarrio. The Great Basin, Mid-Missouri and Maryland-DC chapters all posted mocking memes depicting Tarrio leaving jail after completing a prison sentence in January. Tarrio is a Cuban-American man who describes his skin color as “brown” and who by some accounts stepped down as chairman of the Proud Boys after completing a prison sentence last month.
“We disavow and have zero association with Enrique Tarrio,” the Mid-Missouri chapter posted. “He is not to be trusted.”
The Maryland-DC chapter derided Tarrio with the photo of him leaving jail modified that included a yellow arrow pointing towards an accordion folder stuffed with documents that reads, “Lists of new grifts and ways to f**k over Proudboys.”
The post from the Great Basin chapter was equally derisive: “I really do wonder why anyone thought appointing this embarrassment as chairman of anything was a good idea.”
Kriner noted that Tarrio’s leadership has always been challenged, and the accelerationist faction has vied for primacy since the beginning of the organization.
“Throughout the history of the Proud Boys, one of the dissenting voices was also the faction leader of the accelerationist tendency,” Kriner said. “That was Kyle Chapman, the leader of the Fraternal Order of the Alt-Knight, which was both the hyper-violent accelerationist faction and paramilitary faction.”
The Proud Boys’ history of overlap with accelerationist neo-fascists also includes the brief leadership of Jason Van Dyke, a lawyer who briefly led the organization after founder Gavin McInnes stepped down in 2018 and before Tarrio became chairman. After leading the Proud Boys, Van Dyke reportedly attempted to join The Base but was rejected because he was considered a “liability.”
Kutner said that regardless of his current status in the Proud Boys, Tarrio has utility for the group, noting that when she’s talked to him he has projected “a laissez faire approach” that provides plausible deniability and allows leaders to deploy a “no true Scotsman” argument to address almost any transgression.
“When an individual in this ‘rogue chapter’ commits a crime of violence or goes to a rally wearing a shirt saying ‘6 Million Wasn’t Enough,’ they can say, ‘Not one of our chapters. Rogue chapter. Not us.’” Kutner said. “Or, ‘He only made first degree. Not sure about him.’”
In the larger universe of the far right, Kriner said “groups like the Proud Boys" act "as a bridge between overtly extremist violence and obscure justified violence.”
There may be less contradiction between the mainstream faction of the Proud Boys that built inroads with the GOP in late 2020 and provided the backbone for the Jan. 6 attack, and accelerationist faction that is flirting with terrorism, Kutner said.
When she interviewed Tarrio before he served his prison sentence, Kutner said he told her that he would give every journalist a different story about his plans with regard to whether he intended to relinquish his role as national chairman.
“That serves the accelerationist function of eroding trust in the media,” Kutner said. Whether he is still the chairman or not might be beside the point.
“I would say that he’s incredibly valuable to the group at a national level because of the optics,” Kutner said. “Whether or not he remains the chairman or not, he is seeking political legitimacy by encouraging people from every chapter to run for office.” She added that running Proud Boys for office “serves an anti-establishment function” that aligns with former White House strategist Steve Bannon’s goal to achieve the “deconstruction of the administrative state."
"Whether it’s military training camps similar to The Base that are trying to hasten the collapse of society or using the remnants of the GOP to try to destroy the Republican Party from the inside, it’s the same agenda,” Kutner said.
Kutner said the Proud Boys can best be understood as “a radicalization vector,” noting that not every member will harbor explicitly neo-Nazi views.
“There are narratives that concern me,” Kutner said, “like Tarrio stating, ‘I used to be for God, family and country; now, I’m for God, family and tribe.’”
Kriner described the Proud Boys membership as a “tapestry” with a loose governance structure that “allows for a wide range of behaviors and viewpoints that can make it seem like people are at odds with each other.” Regardless, he said, “the goal is to move everyone towards a more antagonistic stance towards the liberal, democratic state.”
And the crisis in liberalism is ultimately the reason accelerationism is on the rise, he said.
“There is a growing dissatisfaction with the liberal democratic order among many individuals of many different ideological views,” Kriner said. “The unchecked proliferation of accelerationist narratives in spaces like Telegram and previously on the mainstream social-media platforms has allowed those views to take hold, where in the past they would have been more stymied by normal barriers to communication. The ease of communication of those views makes it more likely people will come across them.”
https://www.rawstory.com/accelerationism-proud-boys/
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"I have signed an Executive Order to deny Russia the chance to profit from its blatant violations of international law. We are continuing to closely consult with Allies and partners, including Ukraine, on next steps." - President Joe Biden
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White Supremacy and White nationalism are the members and values of MAGA.
Arizona Republicans are flocking to attend white nationalist Nick Fuentes’ far-right conference
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Some of the leading MAGA voices in Arizona are giving political cover to far-right extremism by supporting the America First Political Action Conference organized by white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
The Daily Beast explained the conference "derives its name from a merger of Fuentes’ America First podcast and the event it is designed to siphon crowds from: the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)."
The CPAC conference has been a mainstay in GOP politics for decades, but Fuentes' counter-programming conference has been embraced by top Arizona Republicans, who went all-in on Trump's "big lie" of election fraud with the widely-panned Cyber Ninjas' "audit" of the vote in Maricopa County.
"Arizona’s Rep. Paul Gosar opened for Fuentes at last year’s AFPAC conference and has continued to root for the young white nationalist. Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers, popular with Trump and other 2020 election deniers nationwide, has also sung Fuentes’ praises online. Both Arizona politicians are slated to appear at AFPAC this weekend, in addition to former Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio and Iowa Rep. Steve King, both of whom hold notoriety for harboring unusually cruel anti-immigrant attitudes. Trump-endorsed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake was advertised as a speaker on one iteration of the event’s flier, though she has since denied that she plans to attend," The Beast reported
.Writing for The Beast, domestic extremism researcher Jared Hold noted that Fuentes was once considered politically toxic.
"There was a period in time where associating with Fuentes and his posse’s naked extremism and hate was a mark of death on conservative political figures’ mainstream careers, and rightfully so. Though Fuentes often denies considering himself a white nationalist, he espouses the ideology verbatim in public settings often and specifically. Fuentes also regularly proclaims anti-semitic beliefs; he has engaged in Holocaust denialism and once denounced far-right commentator Matt Walsh as a 'shabbos goy race traitor' because Walsh, who is white, works for an outlet run by conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, who is Jewish," Holt reported. "Fuentes was a leading figure in 2020’s 'Stop the Steal' election-denial movement and has been resultantly subpoenaed by the House committee investigating the Capitol riot. At last year’s AFPAC, Fuentes praised the deadly attack and told the crowd at his conference that 'we need a little bit more of that energy in the future.'”
The month following Trump's 2020 defeat to Joe Biden, Fuentes led a crowd at a "Stop the Steal" rally in booing Shapiro.
"There has been an apparent lack of interest in condemning or correcting those who have effectively sanitized Fuentes to a portion of the post-Capitol riot conservative landscape. After attending last year’s AFPAC conference, Gosar appeared on a panel at CPAC the next morning without fuss from CPAC organizers or other conference speakers. This indifference has enabled Fuentes to expand his tent to include more far-right figures," The Beast reported. "This year’s conference will also host an expanded rogues gallery of extremist movement figures and disgraced far-right media personalities. Gavin McInnes, the Canadian media figure who founded the violent Proud Boys group, is new to this year’s roster.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-america-first-political-action-conference-is-courting-republicans-towards-extremism?ref=scroll
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State of the Union: Joe Biden pledges to make Putin pay for Ukraine invasion
President condemns attack and seeks to reassure Americans exhausted by pandemic and its economic fallout
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Joe Biden vowed in his first State of the Union address to defend democracy threatened by war in Europe, pledging to punish Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine, while also promising to tame rising inflation and return the nation to a “more normal” state as the coronavirus pandemic appears to wane.
Speaking before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, at a perilous moment for his presidency and the world, Biden accused the Russian president of trying to “shake the foundations of the free world” with a “premeditated and unprovoked” invasion of its Democratic neighbor.
But he said the Russian leader had “badly miscalculated”, underestimating the response of the US and its allies, including ordinary Ukrainians.
“He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over,” Biden said. “Instead he met a wall of strength he never imagined … Putin was wrong. We were ready.”
The president’s hour-long address was divided between the two biggest challenges confronting Biden’s presidency: the war in eastern Europe threatening an international order he spent much of his political career promoting and domestic travails threatening Democrats’ control of Congress in this year’s midterm elections.
From the wood-paneled House chamber, now a reminder of the fragility of democracy at home following the 6 January 2021 insurrection by supporters of Donald Trump, Biden declared that in “the battle between democracy and autocracy, democracies are rising to the moment”.
Speaking to an anxious nation, Biden detailed the administration’s efforts to prevent an invasion of Ukraine by declassifying intelligence and making Moscow’s plans public while claiming credit for rallying a global response, to impose crippling sanctions on Russian banks, industries, companies, elite oligarchs and Putin himself.
Biden again affirmed that the US would not send troops to fight Russia in Ukraine, but he made clear he would “defend every inch of territory of Nato countries with the full force of our collective power”.
As part of the White House’s efforts to isolate Putin, Biden announced on Tuesday night that the US would shut its airspace to Russian aircraft, following similar decisions by European Union nations and Canada, and would seek to mitigate the consequences of isolating oil-rich Russia by agreeing with other world powers to release 60m barrels of oil from their strategic reserves.
“When dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos,” Biden warned.
The war in Ukraine brought rare bipartisanship to the House chamber, where members of both parties rose to applaud Biden when he disparaged Putin. Hailing the “fearlessness” and the “iron will” of the Ukrainian people, Biden introduced the visibly emotional Ukrainian ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova. He asked the chamber to stand with him and send “unmistakable signal”, a message of solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
“Light will win over darkness,” he told her.
In his address, traditionally one of the most widely viewed speeches a president makes, Biden sought to assure Americans demoralized after two years of a global pandemic that transformed American life, and, now, rattled by a land war in Europe.
“I want you to know that we are going to be OK,” the president said.
Biden spoke before daybreak in Ukraine, where Russia’s missiles rained down on cities across the country, killing civilians as an armored Russian military convoy advanced toward the capital, Kyiv. Between rehearsals of his address on Tuesday, Biden spoke by phone to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“Last year Covid-19 kept us apart,” Biden said, surveying the chamber filled with lawmakers, cabinet officials and the justices of the supreme court as he opened his prime-time address. “This year we are finally together again.”
In a hopeful sign of the virus’s retreat, Biden arrived without a mask and hugged and clasped hands with attendees as he made his way to the rostrum. The chamber was nearly full for the first time since the pandemic began, with all 535 members invited to attend. Mask and vaccine requirements were dropped, but lawmakers had to test negative for the virus before entering the chamber.
Even as the crisis abroad overshadowed many of the political debates at home that have hurt his standing, Biden spent considerable time addressing concerns over inflation and the prolonged pandemic. Expressing empathy with Americans who were “tired, frustrated, and exhausted”, he highlighted the improving public health and economic outlook and declared that the country had reached a “new moment” in the fight against Covid-19.
“Let’s use this moment to reset,” Biden said. “Let’s stop looking at Covid-19 as a partisan dividing line and see it for what it is: A God-awful disease.”
In his remarks, Biden highlighted passage of his coronavirus relief package, known as the American Rescue Plan, and the bipartisan infrastructure law, which he plans to tout at an event in Wisconsin on Wednesday.
He also emphasized his nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black woman to serve on the US supreme court, while praising the service of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, whom she would replace on the bench.
Refusing to abandon his hopes of bipartisanship, even in the face of a Republican party that had broadly refused to accept his legitimacy as president, Biden outlined a “unity agenda” that he said could find bipartisan support. The list included combatting the opioid epidemic, expanding mental health resources, supporting the nation’s veterans and supercharging the “moonshot” effort to fight cancer, which is deeply personal for Biden, whose son Beau, died of brain cancer in 2015.
In rat-a-tat fashion, Biden unveiled several policy proposals and initiatives on a host of issues, including to invest in clean energy, improve supply chains, protect nursing home residents, and address mental health. Speaking to the members of Congress present, he asked for a long list of legislation, much of it unlikely to pass.
And pushing back on progressive activists in his party, he denounced calls to defund the police, stating loudly that the answer was to “fund the police” – a declaration that brought Republicans to their feet in agreement.
In closing, Biden offered a positive assessment of the strength of democracies around the world.
“We are stronger today than we were a year ago. And we will be stronger a year from now than we are today. Now is our moment to meet and overcome the challenges of our time – and we will,” he said.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/01/joe-biden-ukraine-state-of-the-union
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While democracy is under attack in Europe, GOP plots to destroy democracy in America
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While Russia was invading Ukraine, prominent Republicans instead were condemning another “invasion” — which isn’t an invasion at all.
Promoting the white supremacist conspiracy of replacement theory, Donald Trump and other GOP politicians and leaders at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando discussed the “invasion” on the border with Mexico — and actually made comparisons between besieged immigrants seeking asylum and Putin’s armed troops storming Ukraine.
Congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado said that the U.S. and Canada — where anti-vax truckers obstructed the streets of Ottawa protesting vaccine mandates — need to be liberated like Ukraine.
And many discussed a convoy of trucks headed to a capitol — but it wasn’t the Russian convoy headed to Ukraine intent on seizing the city of Kiev. Instead is was a pathetic, dwindling copy-cat convoy of the Canada anti-vaxers, which had been on its way from California to Washington to protest Covid restrictions — even though mask mandates have been lifted everywhere and the federal government isn’t mandating truckers get vaccinated.
While democracy is under attack in Europe against America’s allies, the GOP in the U.S. is plotting to destroy democracy in the U.S. They held panel discussions at CPAC that promoted banning books and passing laws to stop the teaching of history regarding slavery and race in schools. They planned out how they would further attack transgender teens and censor discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.
And they continued the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen, while promoting ways to steal it in the mid-terms via voter suppression laws, gerrymandering and propaganda campaigns to demonize Democrats.
Trump, in his speech at CPAC, doubled down on his statements heralding Putin as “genius” and “smart” (even as he perfunctorily, and passionlessly, called the invasion an “atrocity,” helping give the GOP cover as Republicans suddenly scramble to look like they’re not pro-Putin as the American public is outraged by the images it is seeing from Ukraine.)
Trump also came close to announcing he’s running in 2024. “We did it twice, and we’ll do it again,” Trump said, falsely claiming again that he won the 2020 election. “We’re going to be doing it again a third time.” The crowd thundered, heralding the idea of having an authoritarian back in the White House, one who bowed to Putin, a dictator who’s currently engaged in war crimes.
CPAC was a white supremacist conference in and of itself. But to some MAGA, it’s not extreme enough. So they organized a whiter supremacist conference at the same time a few miles away, the America First Political Action Committee, organized by Nick Fuentes, who’s been kicked off social media for promoting white supremacist hate and was involved in the infamous Charlottesville Unite the Right rally.
At AFPAC Fuentes, in discussing Putin, defended both Putin and Adolf Hitler. And Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, the QAnon cultist from Georgia, spoke at the conference, getting applause while she viciously attacked transgender youth. Later, after criticism, she feigned ignorance that it was a white supremacist conference — though it received enormous attention last year when GOP Congressman Paul Gosar of Arizona (who sent a video message this year to the conference) attended and spoke. Greene went back to CPAC, where she wasn’t barred but was instead welcomed, because, as one of the CPAC organizers said, we don’t “cancel” people.
Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy made weak statements this week about how “wrong” it was for Greene to attend and how white supremacy supposedly doesn’t have “a place” in the GOP.
But when asked again about it by reporters today, McCarthy refused to discuss it. There is no plan by him and GOP leaders in the House to censure or expel Greene, so obviously there is a “place” for white supremacists in the GOP — as well as anti-vaxers, QAnon supporters and anti-LGBTQ extremists.
As we watch democracy under attack abroad, Republicans are making it even easier for Democrats to make a clear connection back to the GOP and the insurrection heading into the mid-term elections. And they must hit on it every day.
https://signorile.substack.com/p/while-democracy-is-under-attack-in
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Our economy created over 6.5 million new jobs just last year. More jobs created in one year than ever before." - President Joe Biden
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Well, the greatest jobs President in history, President Joe Biden keeps on creating record numbers of jobs and lowering unemployment with another spectacular jobs report. Not only that, 92,000 more jobs were revised for December and January.
Economy added 678,000 jobs in February as omicron faded, dining, travel picked up, unemployment fell to 3.8%
Employers added a roaring 678,000 jobs in February as COVID-19’s omicron variant faded, spurring idled employees to return to work and reviving dining, travel and other activities.
The unemployment rate fell from 4% to 3.8%, the Labor Department said Friday.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated that 400,000 jobs were added last month.
The 678,000 gains marks the strongest showing since July.
The drop in unemployment came even as the number of people working or looking for jobs grew by 304,000, pushing the labor force participation rate to 62.3% from 62.2%. That means more people caring for children and others on the sidelines are returning to a favorable labor market with rising wages.
Also encouraging: Job additions for December and January were revised up by a total 92,000.
Meanwhile, COVID cases have fallen more than 90% since peaking in mid-January as omicron eased, according to Oxford Economics. That has led to a pickup in dining, travel and hotel occupancy, along with beefed-up hiring in those sectors, says Diane Swonk, chief economist of Grant Thornton.
The number of businesses open, employees working and hours worked all increased sharply in February, according to Homebase, which supplies payroll software to small businesses.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2022/03/04/jobs-report-february-unemployment-rate/9368885002/
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‘Longest streak on record’: Economists praise ‘very strong’ jobs report
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The economy continues to explode. The February jobs report released Friday morning is being called "very very strong" and "very solid" by economists.
The economy added 678,000 new jobs, greatly beating expectations (one Harvard economist admits he projected 150,000.) Unemployment dropped to nearly pre-pandemic levels.
The AP calls it "another gain that underscored the economy’s solid health as the omicron wave fades and more Americans venture out to spend at restaurants, shops and hotels."
"The Labor Department’s report Friday also showed that the unemployment rate dropped from 4% to 3.8%, extending a sharp drop in joblessness as the economy has rebounded from the pandemic recession."
Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research:
@DeanBaker13 "as expected, another very strong report 678k jobs, unemployment down to 3.8 percent."
@DavMicRot "US has gained 506,000 more jobs in Biden's first 13 months, than it did in Trump's first 37 months (i.e., our peak month before the COVID crash)."
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Calling it "longest streak on record," New York Times economics, business, and data reporter Ben Casselman notes: "We've added at least 400k jobs every month since May."
@bencasselman "Time for charts! (Will update as I get time.)
First off, the 678k gain in February was another in a streak of strong growth. We've added at least 400k jobs every month since May. That's the longest streak on record."
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"This was an unambiguously strong jobs report," writes economist and public policy scholar Justin Wolfers, a professor the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.
"Strong payrolls growth. Similar strength in the household survey. Broad-based gains. People getting back to work. Robust revisions. And signs that wage growth may not be the constraint some had feared."
https://twitter.com/bencasselman/status/1499740035737952258
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We're finally getting it done': President Joe Biden talks infrastructure in Wisconsin
On Wednesday on the heels of his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden traveled to Superior, Wisconsin. The purpose of the visit was to talk up the president’s bipartisan infrastructure law.
"When I signed that infrastructure law 100 days ago, we hit the ground running announcing $100 billion in new investments to create jobs for millions of Americans, modernizing our roads, our airports, our ports, our waterways," he said.
Biden touted some keys points in his speech at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
He said the legislation will replace all the lead pipes in the country, so people have access to clean water. And he saif the funding will provide affordable high-speed internet access to every American whether in urban, rural, suburban or tribal areas.
Biden also referenced Tuesday’s State of the Union address. In it, he talked about plans this year to improve 65,000 miles of highways and repair 1500 bridges.
Superior borders Duluth, Minnesota, and the Blatnik Bridge crosses both cities. Biden said folks know its value because many used the bridge to get their families to safety when the Husky Oil Refinery exploded in 2018.
"What you may not know, the bridge is 61 years old at the end of its useful life. The corrosion over the years has lowered the weight it can sustain to safely handle. This bridge also has outdated design — tight curves led to higher-than-average crash rates on this bridge," he said.
Biden added that there are 971 bridges in Wisconsin and 661 bridges in Minnesota in poor condition. And, he said there are nearly 7,000 miles of highway between the states that need repair.
"And now after years of talking about infrastructure, we’re finally getting it done," Biden said.
Ahead of the visit by the Democratic president, Wisconsin Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany said he supports an improvement project on the Blatnik Bridge. But he also wanted Biden to mention rebuilding the refinery in Superior and getting pipeline projects done.
"Like Line 5 — there is a permit that’s being held by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources right now for Ashland County. It is critical to get that done," he said.
Tiffany said that is some of the infrastructure that fuels America.
https://www.wuwm.com/2022-03-03/were-finally-getting-it-done-president-joe-biden-talks-infrastructure-in-wisconsin
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Jen Psaki - White House Press Secretary
When it comes to U.S. energy production – and how we achieve energy security – it’s important to look at the facts. So here are 9 specifics:
1. Production is up, rising, and approaching records, yet Russia’s actions still leave our consumers vulnerable. It’s a reminder that real energy security comes from reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.
2. U.S. production of natural gas and oil is rising and approaching record levels: More natural gas than ever this year, more oil than ever next year, and, even with a global pandemic, more oil production this past year than during the previous administration’s first year.
3. The trendlines also point up. Oil production is up more than 700K b/d from Jan to Dec of last year, and is projected to be up more than 700K b/d from Jan to Dec this year, and to rise nearly 500K b/d to new record over the course of next year.
4. In fact, the U.S. was a net exporter of petroleum + petroleum products in each of the last two years, and will be a net exporter of natural gas for years to come.
5. We also know that producers have no shortage of opportunity, nor – after the high profits experienced last year – do they have any shortage of capital.
6. And on public lands and waters (and let’s not forget that nearly 90% of onshore oil production in the U.S. takes place on non-federal land): The industry holds more than 9,000 unused, approved permits to drill onshore.
7. Despite all this, even at this scale, domestic production has not insulated us from the price volatility of fossil fuels or the whims of those who control them, such as President Putin. Americans know that.
8. The only way to protect US over the long term is to become energy independent. That is why the President is so focused on deploying clean energy technologies that don’t require fossil fuels bought and sold on the global market, which will always be vulnerable to bad actors.
9. So as we navigate how to protect Americans and the global community from Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine, let’s remember to move past the talking points and ground this discussion in facts.
https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1500587988610424838
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"This afternoon, I took a virtual tour of two Siemens facilities — one in California and one in Texas. Because of the investments our infrastructure law delivers, Siemens is upgrading and expanding these facilities — creating 300 new good-paying jobs."- President Joe Biden
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"The Blatnik Bridge connects Wisconsin and Minnesota — and is one of the most important bridges in the region. Bridges like this are critical to our economy and keep us connected. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will invest in fixing over 15,000 bridges." - President Joe Biden
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Trump-backed Arizona candidate threatens Australian journalist: ‘Your days are numbered’
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Kari Lake, the Trump-endorsed candidate for Arizona governor, has made international news for her ongoing denial of the fact Donald Trump lost both her state and the country in the 2020 election.
Lake is featured in a new "60 Minutes" Australia exposé on the former president and his supporters.
"On '60 Minutes,' Donald Trump eyes off another go at the top job," the narrator says in a new tease of the program. "Only this time, he and his followers, aren't taking no for an answer."
The preview features Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland during the Trump administration. Taylor argued that the MAGA movement is "the biggest cult phenomenon in western history."
The video features Lake, a former local Fox broadcaster, threatening an interviewer while walking off set.
"You want to keep pushing propaganda, your days are numbered," said conspiracy theorist said, whom CNN has described as a "serial promoter of election lies."
Watch:
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The GOP plan is to raise taxes on Americans, cut social security, and gut their healthcare. It's the "Tax and Gut" GOP plan!
RICK SCOTT’S “11 POINT PLAN TO RESCUE AMERICA” WILL RAISE TAXES ON AMERICANS AND CUT SOCIAL SECURITY
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Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), a multimillionaire member of the Senate GOP leadership and chair of its election committee, has released his “11 Point Plan to Rescue America” that he says Republicans will pursue if they win back power. It’s no surprise that it recycles many of the worst GOP ideas over the years and attacks working families while protecting corporate tax cuts and billionaire tax cheats.
Toplines:
- The Republican leadership plan shows once again that they are on the side of the wealthy and corporations, rather than here to help working families. Their plan will raise taxes on 100 million Americans, most of them of moderate means.
- Under the GOP plan working families will pay $100 billion more in federal income taxes this year alone. Those making less than about $27,000 annually—would pay an average of nearly $1,000 more in taxes in 2022. Low-income families with children would see their after tax incomes slashed by more than $5,000 – about 20%.
- Meanwhile the GOP plan will not require the rich and corporations to pay a dime more in taxes. Not one tax loophole benefiting the rich and corporations will be closed. Not one billionaire will pay more in taxes. We need to create a tax system where the wealthy and corporations start paying their fair share of taxes like the rest of us do.
RAISING TAXES ON WORKING FAMILIES
- The GOP plan calls for raising taxes on 100 million low- and moderate-income Americans, while making it easier for billionaires and huge corporations to evade paying their fair share.
- It would increase federal income taxes by more than $100 billion this year alone. More than 80% of the tax increase would be paid by households making about $54,000 or less. 97% would be paid by those making less than about $100,000. [Tax Policy Center]
- Working families struggling to pay their bills already pay a larger share of their income in federal and state taxes compared with the wealthy. They pay Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, federal excise taxes like the gas tax, and state and local taxes. But the head of the Republican Senate campaign committee thinks they should pay even more.
- Requiring everyone to pay some federal income taxes would mean that low-income households would no longer receive much benefit from tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit, which rewards work, and the Child Tax Credit, which helps lift families with children out of poverty. These credits are fully or partially ‘refundable’ which means that even a family whose tax liability is zero, can still get a refund back at tax time. For example, if the credit is worth $600 and the family’s tax is $400, they would get a $200 check. Under the GOP plan, they would owe $100.
- The plan would also reduce the value of the standard deduction for millions of low- and middle-income households, requiring them to pay a lot more in taxes. Low-income households making less than about $27,000 a year would pay about $1,000 more in taxes in 2022, on average. Low-income families with children would see their after tax incomes slashed by more than $5,000 – about 20%. [Tax Policy Center]
- McConnell has tried to deny that the GOP would raise taxes on the most vulnerable half of the country if given the chance, but his record gives the American people little reason to trust him. So long as McConnell continues to hide what he’ll do if he regains power, the Scott plan is the only insight we have for the whole Senate GOP.
PROTECTING WEALTHY TAX CHEATS
- The GOP plan seeks to defund the IRS, the cop on the beat trying to prevent the wealthy and corporations from evading their taxes. The nation’s richest 1% evade $160 billion in lawfully owed taxes every year.
- Yet, the GOP plan would slash the IRS budget in half. Because the GOP slashed funding for the IRS, between 2010 and 2019 IRS audit rates of millionaires declined by 71% and of large corporations by 54%.
PROTECTING EXTREME WEALTH CONCENTRATION
- The Senate GOP leadership’s 31-page plan makes no mention of closing the gaping loopholes in the tax code that allow billionaires and huge corporations to legally dodge their taxes, or that encourage multinational corporations to move jobs and profits offshore.
- In several recent years, billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Warren Buffett and Michael Bloomberg, have paid zero federal income taxes.
- In the three years since passage of the Trump-GOP tax scam in 2017, which mostly cut taxes for the rich and corporations, 39 big corporations—including FedEx and T-Mobile—paid zero federal income taxes, despite over $120 billion in collective profits.
CUTTING BENEFITS AND SERVICES
- The GOP’s reckless, radical plan appears to promote the end of federal guarantees of vital services like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans benefits, clean air and water. Under this plan, the GOP would abandon Americans to corporations and local governments with a long history of profiteering and discrimination, and even make it easier to hide the racist impact of public programs and practices.
- As with every other GOP plan in recent memory, this one claims to balance the budget and reduce debt—but not by catching rich tax cheats or stopping billionaires and big firms from paying little or nothing. Instead, the GOP once again plans to cut services and benefits that working families depend on. We’ve seen this GOP playbook over and over again.
- The GOP plan would make it harder for the federal government to respond to national disasters like the coronavirus, the 2008 financial crisis and climate catastrophes. As was shown during the pandemic, robust federal action is often the only way to keep workers employed, families fed and housed, and the economy afloat in times of national emergency. Choking off federal resources would leave Americans without help when they need it most.
SOCIAL MEDIA MESSAGING
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When @SenRickScott says “all Americans should pay some income tax” does he mean the billionaires who routinely pay nothing, or does he just mean the lowest-income Americans he considers “moochers?” Asking for a friend.
Once and for all, the 47% of Americans who have too little income to pay federal income taxes aren’t “moochers.” The billionaires and their billion-dollar corporations who pay $0 in federal income taxes are.
“Billionaires got $2.1 trillion richer during the pandemic”
“Billionaires pay an effective tax rate of just 8.2%”
“Corporations see fattest profit margins since 1950”
“55 Fortune 500 companies paid $0 federal income tax”
Republicans: *raise taxes on 100 million lower-income Americans*
https://americansfortaxfairness.org/issue/talking-points-rick-scotts-11-point-plan-rescue-america/
Johnson backs Scott: Calls plan to raise taxes and cut social security “A positive thing”
Today, during a Breitbart News Daily interview, Wisconsin U.S. Senator Ron Johnson agreed with “most of” NRSC Chair Rick Scott’s 11 point plan to raise taxes on half of all Americans, while also cutting Social Security and Medicare, calling it “a positive thing.”
According to the Associated Press, Scott’s “11-point plan [would] would impose a modest tax increase for many of the lowest paid Americans, while opening the door for cutting Social Security and Medicare.” Already, the new Republican agenda has put GOP candidates in tight positions, especially in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Florida, and highlighted the “growing civil war” within the GOP.
Scott’s plan is facing fierce backlash and Johnson — who last month told Wisconsin workers he “wouldn’t insert [him]self” to fight for jobs in his own hometown and was caught complaining that he’s “only doubled” his wealth as a U.S. Senator — will now have to explain to voters why he thinks we should raise taxes on seniors and sunset entitlement programs millions of Wisconsinites rely on.
https://www.wispolitics.com/2022/american-bridge-johnson-backs-scott-calls-plan-to-raise-taxes-and-cut-social-security-a-positive-thing/
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Revealed: New GOP plan to raise taxes on working people and end Social Security
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They’re at it again: Republicans want to raise taxes on poor and working-class Americans, end Social Security and Medicare, jack up pollution and corporate profits, all while continuing to pamper their billionaire donor base.
This time it’s the guy in charge of getting Republican senators elected and re-elected, Florida’s Senator Rick Scott.
You may remember him as the guy who ran the company convicted of the largest Medicare fraud in the history of America, who then took his money and ran for Governor of Florida, where he prevented the state from expanding Medicaid for low-income Floridians for all the years he ran the state.
Now he’s the second-richest guy in the senate and, IMHO, the leading candidate for the GOP nomination for president in 2024. And, true to form, he’s echoing the sentiments of the richest guy in the Senate, Mitt Romney, the last guy before Trump to have that nomination.
“There are 47 percent who are with him,” Romney said of Obama voters back in 2012, “who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. These are people who pay no income tax.”
Low income working people in America generally pay a higher percentage of their income as taxes than do most of our billionaires and multi-multi-millionaires. They pay Social Security taxes, Medicare taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, taxes in the form of fees for everything from a driver’s license to road tolls to annual car inspections.
As Romney pointed out, though, about 47 percent of Americans in 2012 made so little money that, after applying the standard deduction, they paid no income tax.
This doesn’t just reveal how few people pay taxes, though. To the contrary, it reveals how many Americans are living in or on the edge of poverty.
The simple reality is if you want more people to pay income taxes, all you have to do is raise working people’s pay. We saw this in a big way between 1950 and 1980, when Keynesian economics reigned and labor unions helped wages — and the taxes they paid — steadily rise for working people.
But Republicans don’t like the idea of what they call “wage inflation.” They’d rather just squeeze working people harder, while continuing their subsidies of the lifestyles of the morbidly rich “donor class.”
More than half of Americans make so little money from their employment that they can’t deal with an unexpected $1000 expense like a car accident or medical bill. And it’s these very people who Rick Scott and the GOP believe need to be further taxed so they’ll have what Scott calls “skin in the game.”
In the early years of the Reagan administration, before his neoliberal “trickle down” and “supply side” policies started to really bite Americans, only 18 percent of Americans were so poor that their income didn’t qualify to be taxed.
As “Right to Work for Less” laws spread across America and Republicans on the Supreme Court made it harder for unions to function, more and more working people fell below the tax threshold.
Today it takes two working adults to maintain the same lifestyle that one worker could provide in 1980, so an estimated 61 percent of working Americans this year will make so little pay that their income isn’t subject to taxation.
Rick Scott and the GOP’s solution to this situation isn’t to raise the income of working-class people. Quite to the contrary, they’re suggesting that low-income people should be hit with their very own income tax — in addition to the dozens of other taxes they’re already paying — all so multimillionaires and billionaires like Scott and his friends can hope to see their own taxes go down a tiny bit.
Doing his best imitation of Newt Gingrich, Scott has rolled out his 11-point-plan to soak the American middle class, lock down elections, destroy consumer protections, increase pollution and climate change, and squeeze a few more dollars out of every family, no matter how tight their budgets may already be.
Scott calls that “rescuing America.” And it may be true, if you’re morbidly rich and made your money spewing pollution or hustling opioids.
His plan not only calls for a 50 percent cut in the IRS workforce, presumably to end all audits of rich people like Scott, but also demands all federal legislation to “sunset” within five years. That would almost certainly end Social Security and Medicare, programs that have been in the crosshairs of Republicans since Reagan’s day.
Realizing how “raising taxes on 60% of American voters” will play in campaign ads, Mitch McConnell has backed away from Scott’s bizarre proposal. But Fox “News” is all over it, inviting Scott on repeatedly to hawk his plan and prepare the ground for his candidacy. After all, billionaires like Rupert Murdoch and his family need their tax breaks!
As Sean Hannity told Scott during a recent appearance, “I want to applaud you. I'd like to see the House and the Senate come together on these issues, make these promises to the American people, get elected and then fulfill those promises.”
No doubt multi-millionaire Hannity was speaking his own truth. But for the majority of Americans who are so poor they barely have to pay income taxes, Scott’s plan is just the latest in a 40-year barrage of assaults and insults coming from the GOP.
https://www.rawstory.com/revealed-new-gop-plan-to-raise-taxes-on-working-people-end-social-security-medicare/
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Senate votes to make daylight saving time permanent
Daylight saving time began Sunday and runs through Nov. 6.
WASHINGTON — The Senate approved legislation Tuesday that would make daylight saving time permanent in the U.S. starting next year.
The bill, called The Sunshine Protection Act, was passed by unanimous consent, meaning no senators opposed it. If it is enacted, Americans would no longer need to change their clocks twice a year.
"We got it past the Senate, and now the clock is ticking to get the job done so we never have to switch our clocks again,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said on the Senate floor. “So I urge my colleagues in the House to act as swiftly as the Senate — let’s get this bill on President Biden’s desk and deliver more sunshine to Americans across the country.”
Daylight saving time started in the U.S. in 1918 to create more daylight hours during warmer months. It was extended by four weeks starting in 2007. States are not required to follow daylight saving time — Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe it.
Under the legislation, states with areas exempt from daylight saving time would be permitted to choose standard time for those areas.
"It’s time for Congress to take up our bipartisan legislation to make Daylight Saving Time permanent and brighten the coldest months with an extra hour of afternoon sun," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., a co-sponsor of the legislation, said in a tweet.
Whitehouse reintroduced the measure last week with Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., James Lankford, R-Okla., Roy Blunt, R-Mo., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Ed Markey, D-Mass.
The bill now heads to the House, where passage would send it to President Joe Biden's desk. Daylight saving time began Sunday and lasts until Nov. 6.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-passes-bill-making-daylight-saving-time-permanent-rcna20158
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Biden signs government funding bill that includes $13.6 billion in Ukraine aid
President Joe Biden signed a funding bill to keep the government running through September and send $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine.
The money for Ukraine will go both to helping refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion and to defensive equipment and training for the country’s military.
Biden is set to travel to Brussels next month for a summit among NATO leaders.
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President Joe Biden, center, signs H.R. 2471, the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022,” in the Indian Treaty Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, March 15, 2022.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a $1.5 trillion bill that funds federal operations through September and sends billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine as the country fights off a Russian invasion.
Washington had to approve a spending plan by the end of the day to prevent a government shutdown.
The bill includes $13.6 billion for assistance to Ukraine, which fits into a broader U.S. effort to bolster Ukrainian defense, hamper Russia’s economy and support civilians displaced by the war. The money will fund defensive military equipment and training, along with aid for Ukrainian refugees both within the country and in neighboring nations.
“We’re moving further to augment support to the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their country,” Biden said Tuesday before he signed the bill. He added that the U.S. will be “better positioned to provide for the rapidly growing humanitarian need of the Ukrainian people.”
Biden signed the bill shortly after the White House announced he would travel to Brussels this month for an extraordinary summit about Russia’s attack on Ukraine. He also approved the funding hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s planned address to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday morning.
While the bill includes critical funding for U.S. efforts in Ukraine, it also stamps out some risks in the U.S. for now. The federal government will avoid a shutdown, which can damage the economy and put many federal employees out of work temporarily.
The bill provides enough money to cover federal spending through the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30 after Congress passed multiple stopgap plans to keep the lights on in recent months.
Lawmakers will have to approve another funding bill later this year as the midterm elections approach.
The funding legislation did not include $15.6 billion in supplemental coronavirus relief that was originally tucked into the plan. The White House has warned its efforts to curb and treat infections will suffer if Congress does not approve more aid.
While the Democratic-held House could pass more pandemic relief money, Senate Republicans may block it from getting to Biden’s desk.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/15/biden-signs-government-funding-bill-with-ukraine-aid.html
White House says U.S. will run out of money to fight pandemic if Congress doesn’t pass Covid funding bill
The White House is urging Congress to pass $22.5 billion in Covid spending, warning that the U.S. is running out of money to fight the virus.
House Democrats last week stripped $15 billion in Covid funding from a broader spending bill after failing to reach a bipartisan agreement with Republicans.
The White House said the U.S. will not have enough money for booster shots, antiviral pills, monoclonal antibodies and robust testing if Congress fails to approve more funding.
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The White House on Tuesday warned the U.S. won’t have enough booster shots and lifesaving Covid treatments for Americans if Congress fails to pass $22.5 billion in additional pandemic funding.
Senior Biden administration officials, on a call with reporters, said the U.S. could face another wave of Covid infections in the coming months, even as new cases and hospitalizations have dramatically declined from the peak of the unprecedented omicron surge in January. Infections are already on the rise again in major European nations, such as the U.K. and Germany. China is battling its worst outbreak since 2020.
The officials warned the funding is urgently needed to get ahead of another Covid wave. House Democrats last week stripped $15 billion in coronavirus funding, which was already less than Biden requested, from a broader spending bill after failing to reach a bipartisan agreement with Republicans. The GOP has insisted that Congress offset new Covid money by cutting funds for state and local governments allocated for the spring, a demand many Democrats were unwilling to accept.
The senior administration officials told reporters the federal government will not be able to purchase enough booster shots, vaccines that target specific variants or more antiviral pills beyond the 20 million already on order from Pfizer if more funding isn’t approved.
There is also no more funding for additional monoclonal antibody treatments, including an order planned for March 25, the officials said. If more funding doesn’t come through, the federal government will have to cut state allocations of monoclonal antibodies by more than 30% starting next week, they said.
The federal government will also not be able to maintain sufficient Covid testing capacity beyond June in the event of another surge, the officials said. During the omicron wave, there was a run on at-home tests and in-person clinics, resulting in hourslong lines and empty pharmacy shelves.
Uninsured people will also no longer have coverage for Covid testing and treatments, according to the White House. The fund that covers them will stop accepting new claims a week from now, forcing health-care providers to either absorb the costs or turn patients away, the officials said. The fund will completely end in early April and the uninsured will no longer have coverage for vaccinations, they said.
Some investments made in surveillance of new Covid variants will also have to be wound down, the officials said, leaving the U.S. without the capabilities it needs to stay on top of how the virus is evolving. The emergence of the highly mutated omicron variant blindsided the U.S. and much of the world in November.
The White House said the money is also needed to fund the development of a vaccine that covers a range of Covid variants, and support the administration’s efforts to help increase the vaccination rate in developing nations. Without the money, the risk will rise that new variants will emerge, the officials said. Omicron emerged in South Africa and Botswana, and the delta variant was first identified in India.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/15/covid-white-house-says-us-will-run-out-of-money-to-fight-pandemic-.html
Biden heading to Brussels for NATO meeting
U.S. President Joe Biden plans to travel to Brussels next week to meet with NATO allies about bolstering support for Ukraine as it fights to fend off Russia’s unprovoked attack.
The “extraordinary summit” on March 24 will bring together North American and European leaders to discuss “further strengthening NATO’s deterrence & defence,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.
The alliance is expected to call on its military commanders Wednesday to send more troops and missile defenses to eastern Europe, Reuters reported. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also scheduled to address U.S. lawmakers Wednesday morning.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/15/russia-ukraine-live-updates.html
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Biden urges city leaders to take advantage of billions in federal relief funds
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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday urged local and city governments to continue to use the $130 billion in funds allocated to them from the American Rescue Plan to help during the pandemic.
The president of the National League of Cities, Vince Williams of Union City, Georgia, introduced the president to attendees of the organization’s Monday conference.
In Biden’s brief speech, he said he was proud that nearly 6,000 local governments were able to directly receive funding to help with job training and reopen schools that were shuttered during the pandemic.
“A big part of the reason we’re so successful is because the rescue plan went directly to you without having to ‘Pass Go,’ without having to go to the statehouses,” Biden said.
More importantly, he urged local leaders to take advantage of the flexibility afforded by the ARP.
“One year later, the rescue plan is still delivering,” Biden said. “So (I) urge you all to use the flexibility we built in the law to spend these funds wisely to reduce violence in your communities, like members are doing in Baton Rouge and Baltimore and New York City.”
He also touted the bipartisan infrastructure bill he signed into law that would help bring jobs and help strengthen local governments’ economy.
“The law is going to create millions of jobs — you’re building Americans’ roads, bridges, highways, ports and airports,” he said.
Biden said that states should use the funds from the ARP to help with job training so that Americans can partake in nearly 4,000 jobs that have been authorized through the implementation of the infrastructure bill.
“Build a strong, diverse workforce to take on these infrastructure jobs,” he said. “So that families in your communities can deal themselves into this booming economy.”
https://michiganadvance.com/2022/03/15/biden-urges-city-leaders-to-take-advantage-of-billions-in-federal-relief-funds/
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Proud to join @POTUS today as he authorized an additional $800M in security assistance to further support #Ukraine’s Armed forces – the 5th emergency support pkg. the Biden-Harris Admin. has authorized since August. @SecBlinken
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https://twitter.com/DepSecDef/status/1504147782797516805
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Biden urges city leaders to take advantage of billions in federal relief funds
Imagine having to "urge" government bureaucrats to "take advantage" (irony) of available funds. LOL. Even they can't find ways to spend the Biden pork that resulted from the fake COVID relief package. That resulted in hyperinflation for the American people and a DOJ investigation for approximately $10 billion in fraud. That's $10 billion. The incompetence of the Biden administration will cost Americans for generations. Way to go Brandon. Per Cool Hand Luke: "I wish you'd stop being so good to me, Cap'm"
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Hunter Biden is another step closer to the big house per the NY Times. He apparently somehow got a "loan" to pay his $1 million delinquent tax bill. Imagine who gave him that loan. Nothing suspicious about that. And the NY Times has finally acknowledged the fact that the emails on Hunter's laptop are authentic. After dismissing this as a hoax until after Biden could be elected. Way to go NY Times! All the news fit to print (eventually).
"People familiar with the investigation said prosecutors had examined emails between Mr. Biden, Mr. Archer and others about Burisma and other foreign business activity. Those emails were obtained by The New York Times from a cache of files that appears to have come from a laptop abandoned by Mr. Biden in a Delaware repair shop. The email and others in the cache were authenticated by people familiar with them and with the investigation."
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President Biden took over an absolute disaster created by Donald Trump with the worst economic crisis since The Great Depression. In just a few months time, we started to witness the turnaround President Biden made to our economy starting with the "COVID Relief Bill", then the "American Rescue Act" which put money in people's pocket and started the economic boom. Not one Republican voted for it but now they falsley want to take credit for it. Since President Biden came into office he has created over 7 million jobs the most of any President and the lowest unemployment claims in over 50 years.
Unemployment claims in U.S. decline again; total jobless figure lowest since 1970
March 17 (UPI) -- New unemployment claims in the United States continue to decline and indicate a strong labor market that's come a long way since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago.
The Labor Department said in its weekly report on Thursday that there were 214,000 new filings last week -- beating forecasts from most economists, who expected the report to show about 220,000 new jobless claims.
The figure is a decline of about 15,000 filings from the previous week.
First-time filings are typically viewed as a reflection of the national pace of layoffs.
A total of about 1.4 million U.S. workers were collecting unemployment benefits for the week ending March 5, the department said, which is the lowest total figure since 1970. The total decreased by more than 70,000 last week.
The weekly jobless figure of 214,000 is the lowest so far for any week in 2022. With the exception of two historically low weeks in November and December, Thursday's report continues a steady decline in unemployment claims as the U.S. economy rebounds from disruptions ushered in by COVID-19 in early 2020.
Thursday's figures came about a week after the department reported that there were 11.3 million job openings in the United States at the end of January, a historically high number.
Earlier this month, the department said that the U.S. economy added close to 700,000 new jobs during the month of February -- a total that shattered expectations and surprised analysts. The jobs report said the national unemployment rate declined to 3.8% last month.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/03/17/unemployment-claims-jobless-filings-economy/9331647522935/
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Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson admitted Russia interfered in the 2016 election, then backtracked after visiting Moscow on the 4th of July. He then voted against every election security bill. Now he's blaming Biden for Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Watch:
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Does Hunter have a "go fund me" page to pay back that $1 million "loan" to pay the delinquent taxes that the media suggested where the product of Russian disinformation? Maybe he can get free legal advice from Avenatti when they share the same jail cell.
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Mark Meadows now under investigation from NC state officials over shady voter registration address
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Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows has come under scrutiny for using a North Carolina mobile home that he allegedly never used as his voter registration address -- and now it's sparked a formal investigation.
The Washington Post reports that state investigators in North Carolina have launched a probe into Meadows's shady voter registration address.
“Local district attorney Ashley Welch has referred this matter to the Department of Justice’s Special Prosecutions Section, and we have agreed to her request,” Nazneen Ahmed, press secretary for the North Carolina Department of Justice, said in a statement given to the Washington Post. “We have asked the SBI to investigate and at the conclusion of the investigation, we’ll review their findings.”
It is unclear at the moment whether Meadows using the mobile home as his voter registration address would constitute fraudulent activity, although the Post notes that "it is illegal to provide false information on a voter registration, and while Americans can have multiple residences, they can have only one official domicile, which is tied to their voter registration."
A Meadows spokesperson did not respond to the Post's request for comment.
https://www.rawstory.com/mark-meadows-2656981678/
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Yesterday, @POTUS and @FLOTUS stopped by a Cancer Cabinet meeting with senior White House officials and leadership from across the Biden-Harris Administration. During the meeting, the Cabinet announced initial steps for the reignited Cancer Moonshot: https://whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/03/17/fact-sheet-white-house-announces-initial-steps-for-reignited-cancer-moonshot/
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https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1504521525705203716
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When the Congress passed President Biden's American Rescue Plan, every Republican in Congress voted against it. They pounded the podium and screamed it would balloon the deficit, kill jobs, and destroy the economy. Did any of those lies that Republicans were screaming ever happen? Of course not. It was all right wing propaganda to get Americans to turn against this extraordinary plan that saved America. So, then why would you believe anything the GOP tells you?
Let's not forget that when President Biden was inaugurated on January 20, 2021 he was taking over the worst economic crisis since The Great Depression caused by Donald Trump. Trump was a job killer and is the worst jobs "president" in the modern era. Trump also destroyed the great economy that President Obama and Vice President Biden created in 2009, the same one he took credit for by doing nothing. As of Dec. 31, 2020, the national debt had jumped to $27.75 trillion, up 39% from $19.95 trillion when Trump was sworn in. So, the "King of Debt" who bankrupted his casinos, bankrupted the United States as well. We can see this was all projection coming from the GOP because Donald Trump was the one who ballooned the deficit, killed jobs, and destroyed the economy. So, why would anybody trust Republicans with the economy? Bush put us into an economic crisis in 2008 and Trump did the same in 2020. Republicans are terrible with the economy and it's always Democrats who are left to fix their mess. It's always been that way going back to Herbert Hoover.
Because of President Biden's American Rescue Plan, we have seen the greatest job creation on record with over 7 million jobs in just one year and the lowest unemployment rate in over 50 years. Not only that, people have money to spend with retail spending up 4.9% in January. People are quitting their jobs in record numbers and taking on better high paying jobs. That's something we haven't seen in over 40 years.
The American Rescue Plan also provided a total of $360 billion for direct fiscal assistance to state and local governments that have health care workers, firefighters, police officers. Remember the fake right wing talking point that "Democrats want to defund the police"? Yeah, that was another lie being pushed by the right. President Biden and Democrats funded the police with this bill and every single Republican voted against it. So, it's Republicans who refused to fund the police. They clearly don't want to "back the blue", do they?
President Biden's American Rescue Plan also put billions of dollars into state governments which is now being used for infrastructure projects and other essential government funding. We now see right wing Governors touting all the new projects going up in their states as they falsely try to take credit for what President Biden and the Democratic Congress gave them. Kim Reynolds, a right wing Governor of Iowa, is investing $100 million from President Biden's American Rescue Plan to modernize airports in Iowa. She is another one who was against the bill but is now gushing to her constituents about what "a vital investment" it is to the state. Never once did she give credit to President Biden for making it all possible, but she pretended it was "her idea" to invest in the state with $100 million she never would have had. Reynolds isn't the only one, every right winger knows how popular this plan is and they are falsely taking credit for a bill they either voted against or opposed as Governor.
The simple fact is if there was a Republican President in office along with a Republican Congress, there would be no great economy, record job creation, infrastructure act, or American Rescue Plan that saved America. It was a Democratic President and a Democratic Congress who gave it to you. There were 13 Republicans that voted for the Infrastructure Bill, and they deserve credit for investing in America, but it was Democrats and President Biden that wrote the bills and passed them to make it law.
Republicans don't want to invest into American infrastructure or the working class which is the backbone of our country. They had plenty of opportunities over the last decade and they ignored blue collar workers, working families, single mothers, and senior citizens. Who did they invest in? Billionaires, multi millionaires, and corporations. The top 1% got the huge tax breaks and all the benefits as our debt exploded and ended up nearly collapsing our economy twice under Bush and Trump.
Did Republicans invest in infrastructure under Trump? No, they couldn't even get two sentences on paper to start a bill.
Did Republicans invest in the middle class, working families, and senior citizens under Trump?. No, they gave the largest tax break on record to the top 1%.
Republican Florida Senator Rick Scott has his "11 point GOP plan" which will raise taxes on Americans including seniors who won't be able to afford a Republican tax hike. The GOP plan will gut healthcare, including Medicare, as well as Social Security. This disastrous plan also calls to eliminate the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare by throwing millons of people off their insurance plans while we are still facing a global pandemic. And this is all because the GOP wants to go back to giving the top 1% money they don't need and will make the overwhelming majority of Americans suffer with less money and no healthcare.
We remember the dark days of Donald Trump and George W. Bush when millions of people were losing their jobs and the economy was collapsing. The GOP wants to return back to those days with an exact carbon copy of the same failed plans and policies. Why would anybody in their right mind would want to do that all over again?
President Biden is the greatest economic President in history along with a Democratic Congress who passed his agenda to make it possible. And nobody can argue against that. Let's keep building on this great success and not go backwards into the darkness again with GOP plans that will destroy all the progress we made.
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Biden touts one-year anniversary of American Rescue Plan in Philadelphia
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(CNN) - President Joe Biden marked the one-year anniversary of signing the American Rescue Plan into law with a trip to Philadelphia, where he celebrated the pandemic recovery plan's passage with Democratic members of Congress and touted the law's educational funding at a local elementary school.
During his keynote speech at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference, the President credited members in the room for successfully passing the American Rescue Plan, saying, "Few pieces of legislation -- no hyperbole -- in American history have done more to lift this country out of a crisis than what you did."
Biden discussed what times were like for many Americans before the landmark law was passed last year and Covid-19 vaccines were not widely available, recalling long lines at food banks, job insecurity and eviction fears. He underscored how Democrats passed the law without the help of any GOP members.
"We did it alone, without one single solitary Republican vote. The American economy was flat on its back. It was the Democrats -- it was you -- that brought us back," he said.
The Philadelphia visit also included a stop at the Hon. Luis Muñoz-Marín Elementary School, which was intended to highlight how that $1.9 trillion package's education funding delivers "critical resources to keep schools safe and open, combat learning loss and address student mental health," a White House official told CNN.
The White House told CNN that the School District of Philadelphia received $1.1 billion from the American Rescue Plan's Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. The funds are being used for facilities, mental health supports, as well as before-school, after-school and summer programs.
The President spoke with teachers about the school's use of the Covid-19 funds, visiting a classroom and hold conversations with students at the majority-Hispanic school.
While visiting students in a classroom, one student thanked the President for being able to return to in-person learning.
"Makes a big difference being in school than on a computer, doesn't it?" he asked.
Muñoz-Marín Elementary School, the White House official said ahead of the visit, has used funding for a number of the measures he outlined. Already, the school has set up after-school reading intervention groups for students in first through third grades for those who are struggling to transition back to the classroom or are Spanish speakers, the official said. With the American Rescue Plan funds, the school has hired more academic coaches for teachers and funded after-school "enrichment programs" to improve classroom culture.
Signed last year on March 11, the emergency assistance package secured about $128 billion for K-12 schools to help them facilitate remote learning or reopen and operate safely while combating learning losses. Money was also targeted to help students with disabilities and youth experiencing homelessness.
Biden, in his State of the Union address last week, had called on the nation to "take on mental health."
"Especially among our children, whose lives and education have been turned upside down," he said in those remarks. "The American Rescue Plan gave schools money to hire teachers and help students make up for lost learning. I urge every parent to make sure your school does just that."
According to a fact sheet, the White House credits the American Rescue Plan with increasing school operations from 46% open before the measure to 99% of schools currently open. The White House also credits the emergency package with leading to record growth in local education jobs that it says "are critical to meeting students' academic and mental health needs," among other benefits.
"Although there is more work to do to address longstanding educator shortages and return to pre-pandemic levels, ARP has led to record jobs growth in the education sector," the fact sheet states."Local governments added more than 279,000 education jobs in 2021 -- the best calendar year of jobs growth since records began in 1956 -- and added an additional nearly 46,000 jobs in the first two months of 2022."
Earlier this year, the Biden administration sought to keep schools open as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus swept the US.
The administration announced in January that it would distribute 5 million free rapid tests and 5 million free PCR tests to schools each month in an effort to keep classrooms open. In October, it had released a seven-point plan to address rising mental health concerns among students across the country.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/11/politics/joe-biden-philadelphia-american-rescue-plan/index.html
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Biden touts one-year anniversary of American Rescue Plan in Philadelphia
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Hunter will soon need a "rescue plan" to escape the big house. Maybe he and Avenatti can dig a tunnel together.
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WATCH: Ted Lieu hilariously shames GOP's failure to discipline members who attended white nationalist conference
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Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) on Friday took some time on the House floor to shame his Republican colleagues for failing to do anything to discipline Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) for being featured speakers at a white nationalist conference last month.
Lieu started out his speech by touting the Democrats' passage last year of the American Rescue Plan, which he credited for helping create millions of jobs and lowering unemployment to under 4 percent.
He then turned his attention to the GOP.
"What are Republicans doing? I don't know," he said. "But I do know that two of them attended a white nationalist conference last month. And let me now tell you all the actions that House Republican leadership took against these two Republican members who attended and spoke at a white nationalist conference last month."
Lieu then stood in complete silence for more than 15 seconds before saying, "I yield back."
Watch the video below:
Lieu: Let me now tell you all the actions that House Republican leadership took against these two Republican members who attended and spoke at a white nationalist conference
…
I yield back
https://twitter.com/i/status/1504839389037297668
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Every single day President Biden is working hard for every American regardless of their political preference. That's what a REAL President does!
"Today, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion announced that they’ll no longer record most medical debt on credit reports. This is a step in the right direction, thanks to @CFPB. We'll keep fighting for consumers - from increasing transparency to preventing surprise billing and more. - President Joe Biden
Big scoop from @AAndriotis: Credit bureaus will remove tens of billions of dollars in medical debt from consumers’ credit reports.
https://twitter.com/charlesforelle/status/1504794970452017161
Most Medical Debts to Be Removed From Consumers’ Credit Reports
Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are making sweeping changes to how they report medical debt in collections beginning this summer
https://www.wsj.com/articles/most-medical-debts-to-be-removed-from-consumers-credit-reports-11647604803
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President Biden signed the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act into law on Friday.
He then pulled Dr. Breen's family from the ropeline at departure and gave them an impromptu tour of Marine One. What a great President we have.
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If you are not aware of what the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Protection Act is, the article below explains it in detail.
Doctors and nurses had to go through excruciating hours during the surges of the covid pandemic. It was exacerbated by the anti vaxxers and anti maskers who ended up getting seriously sick in hospitals putting even more strain on these overworked medical professionals. There was absolutely no need for that when widely available masks and vaccines would have prevented it. But they chose to put themselves in that predicament because of spite and stubbornness and our amazing health professionals were forced to go through that nightmare.
Family of ER doctor who died by suicide early in pandemic reacts to new law in her name
The Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act provides federal grants for mental health programs for health care professionals combating stress during the pandemic.
The family of Dr. Lorna Breen vowed two years ago to do everything they could to help other health care professionals combat burnout and mental health issues after Breen's death by suicide in the early days of the pandemic.
Their tireless effort has brought life to the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, a bill expected to be signed into law and mentioned by President Joe Biden at his State of the Union address on Tuesday night.
The new law is the first legislation of its kind and provides federal grants for training programs on treatment to reduce burnout for health care professionals, offer mental health services and prevent deaths by suicide by health care workers.
Breen's sister, Jennifer Feist, and brother-in-law, Corey Feist, spoke to Savannah Guthrie in an exclusive interview on TODAY Tuesday about honoring Breen's legacy by helping others in her profession.
“My mom texted me right before we started talking to you, and she said, 'Here’s my two cents. I think Lorna is in heaven smiling down at all the good that has come about,'" Jennifer Feist told Savannah. "We are so pleased and honored to be turning it into something positive and turning it into an experience that will help others for years to come. I think my sister would be thrilled by that."
Breen, 49, was an emergency room doctor at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital in New York City who was on the front lines in March 2020 when the first wave of COVID-19 patients overwhelmed the hospital system.
She suffered from the virus herself before going back to working 12-hour days during the surge of patients and deaths. Breen's family shared on TODAY in 2020 that she reached out to them for help while dealing with mental health issues from the stress of the pandemic.
Her sister had a pair of friends drive Breen from New York to Baltimore, where Jennifer picked her up to take her to her home in Charlottesville, Virginia, where Breen stayed for 11 days.
Breen died by suicide at the Feists' home, putting a spotlight on the question of who is helping the frontline workers cope with the overwhelming stress of their jobs during the pandemic.
Breen had never had any previous mental health issues, according to her family.
“I never could have imagined losing my sister ever,” Feist said. “I thought we would be old ladies together.
“But if she can’t be here with me, I’m happy that Corey and I can carry the flag for her.”
Since the pandemic began, nearly half of the 13,000 physicians across 29 specialties surveyed by Medscape last year reported feeling burned out.
Nearly one in five health care workers has quit their job during the pandemic, while another 12% have been laid off, according to Morning Consult.
"We heard from hundreds and hundreds of health care workers across the country, in some cases across the world, who said to us, 'We have not been able to get help ourselves. We’ve not been able to take a break,'" Corey Feist said.
The Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act easily passed both houses of Congress and is now headed to Biden's desk to be signed into law. Funding for it was included in the American Rescue Plan Act that was passed last year, according to Corey Feist.
The money has been allocated to 46 institutions across the country working to help health care professionals. The Feists said they are also about to take part in a nationwide awareness campaign with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The couple also announced on TODAY last year that they had formed the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation, dedicated to funding research and programs aimed at reducing burnout among health care workers and reducing the stigma of health care professionals seeking assistance for mental health issues.
"It is making an impact, and we are hearing from the health care workforce that it is already working and helping," Corey Feist said. "And the the gratitude and appreciation for this right now, given what they’ve been through is, frankly, even more important than the dollars."
Watch video in link:
https://www.today.com/health/health/family-dr-lorna-breen-reacts-law-protect-health-care-workers-rcna18081
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Many politicians over the years, especially Presidents, have made bold claims that they were going to invest in research to find cures for diseases. They all made big promises telling people what they wanted to hear and when it came time to make good on their pledge it never came through.
In 2020, Joe Biden made medical research one of his main priorities as a candidate. His goal as President was to continue his Cancer Moon Shot program and find cures for other diseases that affect people all around the world. After President Biden was elected, he made good on his campaign promise and developed ARPA-H to find cures for various diseases. No other President has come through for Americans like President Biden has and this program will be instrumental in changing lives for the better and curing all these horrible diseases. Results matter and President Biden is delivering for the American people like he has promised. That's what a true leader does.
President Biden
@POTUS
"ARPA-H will have a singular purpose: to drive breakthroughs in cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes, and more. We can do this.
Tune in as I meet with researchers and patients to discuss ARPA-H – a new cutting-edge health research agency that will accelerate progress on curing cancer and other health innovations."
Watch video: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1504935486573453319
Watch Biden meet with researchers: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1504874750455300104
Biden touts new agency he says will drive breakthroughs in biomedicine
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President Biden on Friday touted the newly launched biomedical research agency, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), saying it will pursue bold ideas and drive breakthroughs in medicine.
“ARPA-H will have a singular purpose: to drive breakthroughs in biomedicine to prevent, detect and treat diseases including cancer, Alzheimer’s and diabetes,” Biden said in remarks at the White House.
ARPA-H officially launched this week, after a government spending bill Biden signed into law on Tuesday included $1 billion for the agency.
“ARPA-H will pursue ideas that break the mold on how we normally support fundamental research and commercial products in this country. Ideas so bold, no one else, not even the private sector, is willing to give them a chance or to sink a lot of money into trying to solve,” Biden said. “Ideas so audacious that people say they just might work only if, only if, we could try. Well, we’re about to try in a big way.”
ARPA-H is modeled after the Defense Department’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that develops emerging technologies for military use.
It will focus on equity, “because every American should have access to cutting edge health care and innovations and to make the impossible, possible,” Biden said.
Biden met with researchers and patients to discuss the new agency and its goals to accelerate progress on curing cancer and other diseases, produce medical innovation and address disparities in health outcomes.
DARPA Director Stephanie Tompkins joined the meeting, as well as Alondra Nelson, the head of the White House Office on Science and Technology, and Francis Collins, White House science adviser and former director of the National Institutes of Health.
The president also heard from a patient who he said benefited from DARPA research that enabled him to use a prosthetic arm to move and provide a sense of touch.
The launch of ARPA-H is part of Biden’s focus on cancer research and follows him reigniting the "cancer moonshot" initiative last month. The initiative is focused on reducing the cancer death rate by 50 percent in 25 years, and its goals include diagnosing cancer sooner by increasing access to ways to screen for the disease, with a focus on equity and addressing inequities across race and region.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/598781-biden-argues-new-agency-arpa-h-will-drive-breakthroughs-in
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Hunter is ever closer to the slammer. The stripper he impregnated is cooperating with the authorities to finally bring him to justice. Turning over the financial documents that she obtained when Hunter refused to pay child support for his love child (who he has never bothered to see). What a great guy! The "big guy" must be proud to have raised such an upstanding son. Now it is America's turn. Way to go Brandon!
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Biden Touts $409 Million in New Infrastructure Projects
President Biden touts $409 million in new funding for infrastructure projects, including fleets of electric busses for cities and towns.
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Biden signs law on reporting critical infrastructure cyber attacks
President Joe Biden signed a law that requires critical infrastructure entities to report cyber attacks within 72 hours and report ransom payments in 24 hours.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed into law a federal cyber attack reporting requirement aimed at protecting critical infrastructure in the United States.
The Strengthening American Cybersecurity Act of 2022 was created to shore up cyberdefenses and increase the power of agencies investigating cybersecurity incidents. The Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 is a part of the new law that focuses on how critical infrastructure organizations must report cyber attacks to the federal government, specifically the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
The Critical Infrastructure Act states that an entity in the critical infrastructure sector "shall report the covered cyber incident to the Agency not later than 72 hours after the covered entity reasonably believes that the covered cyber incident has occurred." It also says that the director of CISA may not require a report any earlier than that 72-hour mark.
Peter Guffin, chair of law firm Pierce Atwood's privacy and data security practice, discussed the aim of the law with SearchSecurity.
"As its name suggests, the Strengthening American Cybersecurity Act, passed by the U.S. Senate last week, aims to bolster the defenses of federal government agencies and critical infrastructure owners, such as energy and healthcare facilities, against major cyberthreats and cyber incidents, including ransomware attacks," Guffin said. "The expectation is that the prompt reporting and subsequent sharing of such information will arm federal agencies and critical infrastructure owners with the information they need to be able to defend themselves against major cyberthreats and incidents."
On top of the initial report, any entity that submits a ransom payment to a threat actor must also report that they did so to CISA within 24 hours of delivering the payment.
The law details not only the timeline for reporting cyber attacks and specifically ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure, but also outlines the new powers and responsibilities given to CISA.
The law identifies CISA as the head agency in charge of collecting and analyzing the data on cyber incidents, but it also dictates that the agency must "coordinate and share information with appropriate Federal departments and agencies to identify and track ransom payments, including those utilizing virtual currencies."
Sharing information with other agencies was a sticking point when the bill got to Congress, as it did not explicitly require CISA to assist other agencies, something that the Department of Justice took issue with.
The bill was passed by the House, however, and was adjusted so that all federal agencies were able to see what reported incidents CISA was handling if they wished. It also stated that CISA was required to share relevant findings with not just federal departments, but local entities as well.
Subsection (a)(4-5) of section 2241 states that the agency must provide "timely, actionable, and anonymized reports of cyber incident campaigns and trends, including, to the maximum extent practicable, related contextual information, cyber threat indicators, and defensive measures," to all "appropriate entities, including sector coordinating councils, Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations, State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments, technology providers, cybersecurity and cyber incident response firms, and security researchers."
Another key part of the law comes from a subsection titled "Periodic Briefing," which states that on the first day of each month, the director of CISA must collaborate with the national cyber director, attorney general and the director of national intelligence to give a briefing on the "national cyber threat landscape." This briefing would feature the total number of reports received by CISA in the previous month, new trends in cyber incidents and ransomware attacks, and how the past month compares to the month before it. It also says that the briefing must have a summary of how the information in the received reports was used by CISA.
The law requires the briefings to be delivered to the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, the speaker of the House and the minority leader of the House, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Homeland Security.
https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/news/252514713/Biden-signs-law-on-reporting-critical-infrastructure-cyber-attacks
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New details emerge about indicted GOP lawmaker — including a 'brown bag with $30,000' from Nigerian billionaire
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Testimony resumed on Monday for the federal corruption trial of Nebraska Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry. One main witness in the trial was a Los Angeles doctor who gave personal accounts of his role in funneling money to the official.
The Omaha World-Herald quoted Dr. Eli Ayoub, who confessed that he funneled money from Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury in a brown paper bag to the Fortenberry campaign.
"A go-between handed the money to Ayoub. Ayoub set the bag of cash in the back seat of his car. After arriving for lunch following a funeral, Ayoub handed his keys to a valet and went inside the restaurant," said the report.
The bag of cash was still sitting on the seat when he got the car back, however.
Prosecutor Mack Jenkins asked to confirm if he really left $30,000 in cash on the back seat of his car.
"Yes, I remembered I forgot it in the car during lunch, and I was very nervous about it," Ayoub told the court.
Fundraiser Alexandra Kendrick also testified about a Los Angeles event for Fortenberry she helped organize where she saw "some red flags."
"I had many concerns. For one, we weren’t given an RSVP list before the event. ... That’s not normal. I was apprehensive," she said.
She remembered a fundraiser she ran for former Republican Rep. Jack Kingston (GA). After the event was over, the host revealed that the cash raised for Kingstone was "dirty, siphoned to the campaign through a foreigner. Different nationalities had been at the fundraiser. The FBI was involved."
The event for Fortenberry brought back a lot of those fears, she explained. The LA event was a result of Fortenberry's advocacy for the Yazidis, Christians often persecuted by ISIS. About 3,000 Yazidis refugees have moved to Lincoln, Nebraska.
“He was excited because he finally had a group of people who were willing to financially support him to thank him for the work that he had done,” Kendrick said.
A big part of the trial has been about whether Fortenberry should have known if the money was dirty. Kendrick said that it was clear to her. Fortenberry's attorney asked if she was just a racist because many of the people on the event list weren't white.
“It was more than that,” Kendrick said. “Any time you can’t get a list of names and know where the money is coming from … it’s concerning for a multitude of reasons."
Fortenberry asked the go-between of the Nigerian billionaire if everything was above board, and was assured it was, even if it wasn't.
"Eventually, Ayoub doled out more of Chagoury’s money to other politicians’ campaigns: $50,000 to former presidential candidate Mitt Romney; $30,000 to California Rep. Darrell Issa; and $20,000 to former Nebraska Rep. Lee Terry," said the Herald. In those cases, the candidates returned the money.
Fortenberry is charged with three felonies. The first charge is that he tried to conceal illegal foreign donations and lied twice to the FBI.
https://www.rawstory.com/corruption-trial-jeff-fortenberry/
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These right wingers sure aren't shy about their racism anymore. The GOP wants to take us back to the 1950's and some want to go even further back to the 1700's.
Republican Senator Mike Braun Says Supreme Court Should Have Never Legalized Interracial Marriage
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/mike-braun-says-interracial-marriage-should-be-illegal-1325336/
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US to offer funds of $2.9 billion for major infrastructure projects
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House will announce on Wednesday a funding opportunity of $2.9 billion earmarked by the Transportation Department for major infrastructure projects this year, as part of a $1-trillion law Congress approved in 2021.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu will unveil the plans at an event held at a major bridge linking the U.S. capital of Washington with Arlington, Virginia.
The grant funding offers "a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix our outdated infrastructure and invest in major projects for the future of our economy," Buttigieg said. Applications are due by May 23.
The figure includes $1 billion for projects of national or regional significance that are too large or complex for traditional funding programs, which Buttigieg described as the "cathedrals of our infrastructure."
Such structures could be bridges or tunnels linking two states, new rail and transit lines or freight hubs integrating ship, train and truck traffic.
The department also plans to award $300 million for rural projects and $1.55 billion for other highway, multimodal freight and rail projects.
A potential funding recipient is a $12.3-billion project that aims to build a new tunnel between New York City and New Jersey and reconstruct an existing one.
Buttigieg said he expected the project to apply for funding but it would face review, like all the rest. On a visit to the existing tunnel, Buttigieg added, he saw a "sense of urgency around those much needed upgrades."
The Hudson Tunnel Project is a key component of the Gateway Program, a major project to overhaul much of the aging rail infrastructure in the New York City area.
The New York City-area rail tunnel, which opened in 1910, was damaged in 2012 when Superstorm Sandy flooded parts of the city.
Congress approved $66 billion for rail as part of the massive infrastructure bill, with passenger railroad Amtrak receiving $22 billion. The bill also sets aside $36 billion for competitive grants.
© Reuters
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These right wingers sure aren't shy about their racism anymore. The GOP wants to take us back to the 1950's and some want to go even further back to the 1700's.
Republican Senator Mike Braun Says Supreme Court Should Have Never Legalized Interracial Marriage
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/mike-braun-says-interracial-marriage-should-be-illegal-1325336/
Maybe check the history books and learn which party promoted racism in the US. Here's a hint. Lincoln was a republican.
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Every single Republican voted against President Biden's American Rescue Plan that saved America from the Trump Economic Disaster.
American Rescue Plan boosts environmental work in Chesapeake region
When Congress hit the start button one year ago on a massive $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid measure, it also sent a surge of spending toward environmental efforts.
The American Rescue Plan Act was largely directed at providing a financial stimulus to households and speeding the country’s response to the pandemic.
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The rooftop of the Maycroft Apartments in the District’s Columbia Heights neighborhood is covered with 192 photovoltaic panels, squeezed in among air conditioning units, skylights and vents. Electricity generated by the solar array goes to the grid, earning the building’s residents sizable credits on their power bills. Credit: Timothy B. Wheeler
But the aid package also delivered $100 million to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which was split in half: $50 million for environmental justice initiatives and $50 million for air-quality monitoring.
It also set aside $350 billion for states and local governments, with modest restraints on how it could be spent. The fate of much of that total is up in the air, as jurisdictions grapple with spending plans and, in some cases, the capacity to implement them.
Last summer’s first wave of payments largely went toward plugging budget gaps caused by the pandemic’s economic fallout. To prepare for the second wave, due to begin in May, many cities and counties over the past few months arranged in-person and online meetings to seek ideas for how to best spend the money. In some places, officials and community members are advocating for clean water and conservation projects, pointing out that some projects bring multiple benefits, such as outdoor space for recreation, “green” jobs and the reduction of urban “heat islands.”
All funds must be committed by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.
Across the Chesapeake Bay region, some funding announcements are trickling in. Here is a look at some of the recipients (and proposals) in the “green” sector.
District of Columbia
The District received $2.3 billion. As of the end of last August, the deadline for the first federal reporting period, the District had spent $83 million of that sum.
$16 million to the DC Department of Energy & Environment and the DC Sustainable Energy Utility to provide grants to “under-resourced” buildings to conduct energy audits and predevelopment design and construction work. Eligible facilities include senior care centers, schools, hospitals and places of worship.
$17.5 million to DOEE’s Solar for All program to provide solar energy assistance funds to an additional 3,800 low– and moderate-income households and install more community solar projects.
Maryland
The act set aside about $3.9 billion for state government. This year’s budget swallowed about $2.1 billion of that sum. About $1.7 billion remains.
City and county governments across Maryland will divvy up a separate pot of $2.3 billion.
$200,000 for Baltimore’s YH2O mentoring program, an on-the-job training program for young adults. Participants are involved in water quality monitoring, sampling and reporting — skills that will help them transition into water infrastructure jobs. To be eligible, they must be 18–24 years old, have a high school diploma or GED and be unemployed or underemployed. The new funding is drawn from $50 million set aside nationwide from EPA funds dedicated to environmental justice.
$13,000 to the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art in Salisbury to develop materials for a new series of artwork highlighting Black experiences on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The funding comes from an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant program tied to the rescue plan.
$1.5 million to Baltimore County (proposed) to plant trees in less-affluent areas where the existing tree canopy is often thin.
$6.6 million to Baltimore County (proposed) to complete a living shoreline and aquatic habitat project along the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River.
Nearly $23 million to Prince George’s County to address stormwater problems, flooding and stream restoration needs, including $2.3 million to develop a stormwater management plan. One of the projects will restore 3,100 linear feet of streams in the historically Black community of Eagle Harbor, where a nearby power plant has exacerbated flooding in recent years.
Virginia
Virginia received $4.3 billion at the state level, while its cities and counties got $2.9 billion. The current state budget is absorbing $3.2 billion of the funding, leaving $1.1 billion to be spent in the future.
$50 million to the Department of Health to support equal access to clean drinking water in small and disadvantaged communities.
$125 million to the Department of Environmental Quality to help pay for sewage treatment plant upgrades aimed at reducing the frequency of overflows. Alexandria and Richmond would each receive $50 million, while Lynchburg would get $25 million. Each city must provide 100% matching funds.
$75 million to DEQ for septic, pipe and sewer system repairs and upgrades.
$2 million to Norfolk (proposed) to reduce flooding along Surrey Crescent, a residential road in the low-lying Larchmont/Edgewater neighborhood.
$850,000 to Norfolk Botanical Garden (proposed) to establish “Nature’s Wonderland,” which would include a new destination exhibit, renovations to the butterfly house and the creation of a staff-guided kayak program on Lake Whitehurst.
$1.5 million to Richmond to acquire land for new parks on the Southside, a historically underserved section of the city. The goal is to reduce the number of residents who don’t have access to park space within a 10-minute walk of their homes.
$19 million to Richmond in environmental spending, including $12.5 million in stormwater system upgrades and
$1.5 million for a climate-risk assessment plan.
$1 million to the state Department of Conservation and Recreation to be provided to Fairfax County for trail system connections at Lake Royal Park.
$25 million to DCR to cover outdoor recreation area maintenance and construction needs.
Pennsylvania
The act made available about $7.2 billion for the state government. The state’s current budget used about $1 billion of that total, leaving $6.2 billion to be spent by the 2026 deadline.
Federal officials allotted $6 billion for local governments in Pennsylvania. In Lebanon County, Palmyra Borough received $752,000 to bore a stormwater pipe below a rail line and extend the system elsewhere.
Also, bills are pending in the General Assembly that would apply more still funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to clean water projects across the state.
https://southernmarylandchronicle.com/2022/03/20/american-rescue-plan-boosts-environmental-work-in-chesapeake-region/
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Maybe check the history books and learn which party promoted racism in the US. Here's a hint. Lincoln was a republican.
Perhaps you should check your calendar. It's March 2022 not March 1862.
People don't care about the Republicans of 1862, they care about Republicans in 2022 promoting racism.
Abe Lincoln wouldn't be welcome in today's Republican Party. Trump would call him a RINO trying to kick him out.
Republicans are promoting racism today and this is a horrible racist statement by Mike Braun. And he isn't the only Republican who feels this way. Racism like this should not be tolerated. It's disgusting.
Republican Senator Mike Braun Says Supreme Court Should Have Never Legalized Interracial Marriage
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/mike-braun-says-interracial-marriage-should-be-illegal-1325336/
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That's why he's known as Criminal Donald. Lock him up in the big house!
Trump committed ‘numerous’ felonies, said resigning New York prosecutor – report
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/23/donald-trump-crime-accusation-prosecutor-mark-pomerantz
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President Biden continues to do great things and now he's working on eliminating Russian fossil fuel in Europe.
Biden to announce sweeping plan to get Europe off of Russian fossil fuel dependency: report
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On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that President Joe Biden is planning a sweeping new initiative to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe, in an effort to wean them off of reliance on Russian energy amid the invasion of Ukraine and embargo against the Kremlin.
"The announcement, a dramatic effort to deprive Russia of leverage as it continues to batter Ukraine, would mark an unusual move to reorder the world’s energy flow — a shift that could have an impact long after the war is over," reported Tyler Pager, Ashley Parker, John Hudson, and Jeff Stein. "It comes as European officials have asked the United States to do more to help them cut their reliance on Russia for oil and natural gas."
"Biden is also expected to use his stop in Brussels on Thursday and Friday — where he is meeting with NATO, the Group of Seven and the European Council — to announce additional sanctions against Moscow, as well as a crackdown on evasions of the current sanctions," continued the report. "The sanctions are expected to hit numerous members of Russia’s parliament, defense companies and subsidiaries, and additional sectors of its economy, according to two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe matters not yet made public. They cautioned that planning was fluid and subject to change."
The United States is the world's largest producer of natural gas. Russia is second, meaning that it will require a lot of exports to keep European countries properly supplied if Russian energy markets are fully cut off.
Already, Germany took a major step as the invasion escalated by shutting down the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would have increased capacity to deliver Russian gas to Europe. Oil exports to Western countries have plummeted too, although China is the largest buyer of Russian oil.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/23/biden-russia-sanctions-brussels/
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Hard to believe it could get any worse but Biden's poll numbers continue to fall:
Biden approval rating falls to new low: poll
"President Biden's approval rating dropped to 40 percent this week, according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll, an all-time low for the president in that survey.
The survey showed that Biden had a 54 percent disapproval rating amid high inflation and tensions caused by Moscow's deadly invasion of Ukraine, according to Reuters."
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Perhaps you should check your calendar. It's March 2022 not March 1862.
People don't care about the Republicans of 1862, they care about Republicans in 2022 promoting racism.
Abe Lincoln wouldn't be welcome in today's Republican Party. Trump would call him a RINO trying to kick him out.
Republicans are promoting racism today and this is a horrible racist statement by Mike Braun. And he isn't the only Republican who feels this way. Racism like this should not be tolerated. It's disgusting.
Republican Senator Mike Braun Says Supreme Court Should Have Never Legalized Interracial Marriage
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/mike-braun-says-interracial-marriage-should-be-illegal-1325336/
You are the one who referenced turning America back to 1950. Of course, in 1950, it was the Democrats who promoted segregation, blocked Civil Rights legislation, and joined the KKK. Biden was part of that crowd in the Senate with his KKK buddy Robert Byrd. So maybe understand the historical context that you are referencing before making such claims.
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Racist Mike Braun should be removed from his seat. People like him have no business serving in Congress when his votes are clearly meant to be biased against African Americans. That goes for the rest of these racist Republicans who are just like him. All Democrats need to be asking their Republican opponents if they agree with Mike Braun's statement about the legalization of interracial marriage and watch how they duck the question.
A 'disaster for Indiana': Mike Braun’s constituents revolt after GOP senator criticized legalization of interracial marriage
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Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) is facing serious blow back for his remarks arguing the legalization of interracial marriage should not have been a U.S. Supreme Court ruling but rather a decision left to individual states. The controversial remarks came during the confirmation hearings held for President Joe Biden's SCOTUS justice nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson.
At one point during his questioning of Brown Jackson, Brau complained about what he described as "judicial activism" as he highlighted a number of historic rulings he appeared to have issues — with interracial marriage being one of them.
"When it comes to issues, you can't have it both ways," Braun said. "When you want that diversity to shine within our federal system, there are going to be rules and proceedings, they're going to be out of sync with maybe what other states would do. It's the beauty of the system, and that's where the differences among points of view in our 50 states ought to express themselves."
Shortly after making the remarks, Braun attempted to backpedal. In a statement offering further explanation for his remarks, the Indiana lawmaker wrote: "Let me be clear on that issue — there is no question the Constitution prohibits discrimination of any kind based on race, that is not something that is even up for debate, and I condemn racism in any form, at all levels, and by any states, entities, or individuals."
However, that still wasn't enough to quell the critical reactions that followed. Shortly after reports began circulating about Braun's remarks, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, political candidates, Indiana residents and other Twitter users began flooding the social network with critical reactions.
Indiana Democrats
@INDems
"There’s no typo in that headline. @SenatorBraun believes #SCOTUS was wrong to legalize interracial marriage nationwide.
This rhetoric is un-American and once again demonstrates how dangerous the @indgop’s culture wars are for Indiana. #INSen
Sen. Mike Braun said interracial marriage ruling should be left to states
https://fox59.com/indiana-news/sen-mike-braun-said-interracial-marriage-ruling-should-be-left-to-states/
Mike Schmuhl, who serves as the Indiana Democratic Party's chairman, quickly fired back with blistering comments in response to Braun's remarks which he described as "un-American."
"The United States Supreme Court has affirmed many times that marriage equality in our country extends to any committed couple regardless of sex, race, orientation, or religious affiliation, and to question that legitimacy questions the very fabric of America and its people," Schmuhl said.
Schmuhl went on to slam the Republican Party's "culture wars" which he believes are impacting America's future.
"Democrats implore all Hoosiers to ask themselves if they want to be associated with someone as embarrassing as Mike Braun and a form of partisanship that endorses white nationalist views — because these are the same views that led to the insurrection against our nation on January 6, 2021," he said. "If Mike Braun wants to question the legitimacy of anything, it should be his own standing as a United States Senator. He cheated his way into office and consistently shows that he does not represent us.”
However, Democrats aren't the only ones slamming Braun for his remarks. Some Republican lawmakers and candidates have also pushed back in disagreement. Speaking to The Indy Star in an emailed statement, Indiana Republican Party chairman Kyle Hupfer said he believes "some rights are so 'intrinsic' that they cannot be left up to states, and one of those is ensuring 'racial equality.'"
Others took to Twitter to express their concerns. "It is appalling that a US Senator from IN claims that the US Supreme Ct shouldn’t decide the right of people to marry inter-racially," tweeted Mayor Thomas McDermott (D), who is running for the Indiana Senate. "I condemn [Senator Braun] ‘s comments and I urge [Sen. Todd Young] to join me in condemning views that should be left behind in our nation's past.
From a second Twitter account, McDermott tweeted, "The modern-day GOP has become a disgrace. Comments like these, from a sitting US Senator, were wrong in the 1950’s, and are appalling in the year 2022. It’s up to us #Hoosiers to take care of business and drive backwards thinking politicians out of Washington DC."
Members of interracial families have also pushed back against Braun for his offensive remarks.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) went a step further in dissecting Braun's statement. The lawmaker shared her interpretation of his statement as she challenged him to speak publicly again and denounce his previous remarks.
"Senator Braun’s statement does not walk back what he said," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.
She concluded, "He needs to go on the record to clarify whether he believes states should be allowed to reinstate anti-miscegenation laws, and whether it’s his belief SCOTUS should overturn Loving v. Virginia as he does w/ Roe v. Wade."
Read all tweets in link: https://www.rawstory.com/a-disaster-for-indiana-mike-brauns-constituents-revolt-after-gop-senator-criticized-legalization-of-interracial-marriage/
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Marjorie Taylor Greene faces new lawsuit that seeks to disqualify her as an insurrectionist: report
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A new lawsuit filed Thursday seeks to bar U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from holding federal elected office based on the 14th Amendment's ban on engaging in insurrection against the United States.
"The suit argues that Greene’s statements and activities related to the attack on the Capitol on January 6th make the congresswoman an insurrectionist," writes The New Yorker's Charles Bethea, who first reported the news. "A clause of the Fourteenth Amendment specifically prohibits those who have 'engaged in insurrection or rebellion' against the United States from holding public office. The suit, citing this clause, contends that Greene 'is constitutionally disqualified from congressional office and, as such, ineligible to run as a candidate under state and federal law.'”
The lawsuit is being brought by Free Speech For People, a nonprofit that brought a similar lawsuit against Congressman Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), The group's legal director is Ron Fein. A Trump-appointed federal district judge blocked the Cawthorn lawsuit under reasoning disputed by legal experts. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals "sent it back to that judge for expedited reconsideration," Bethea notes.
Today's lawsuit cites "numerous instances in which Greene, on social media or in person, has 'advocated for political violence, up to and including, her encouragement of the insurrectionists on January 6.'"
Among the examples is a tweet that Greene sent out on January 5, 2021, calling the next day “our 1776 moment!” (Fein said that the year 1776, with its invocation of the American colonists’ rebellion against British authority, has become “a code word for violence.”) The lawsuit also points to a video on Facebook in which Greene says, “You can’t allow it to just transfer power peacefully like Joe Biden wants and allow him to become our President because he didn’t win this election.” Taken together, the suit insists, “Greene’s actions and the events of January 6 provide, at a minimum, a prima facie case” for disqualification.
Georgia’s secretary of state, the Republican Brad Raffensperger, is required to put any challenge to a candidate’s eligibility before an administrative-law judge, who will then consider the lawsuit’s claims. (Greene has been a vocal critic of Raffensperger, who refused Trump’s request, days before the insurrection, that Raffensperger “find” votes to tip Georgia in Trump’s favor.) “There are many possibilities along the way for different actors to evaluate it in different ways,” Fein told me, of the suit. He said that he expects Greene to appeal the case all the way to Georgia’s Supreme Court, and he was not inclined to guess how its judges would rule should it reach them. “But just looking at the facts and law,” he said, “it’s a strong case.”
© 2022 AFP
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New jobless claims under Biden are lower that in ANY period under Donnie's self-proclaimed "greatest economy in history." And don't forget that President Obama and Biden created the previous economy that Criminal Donald tried to take credit for and then he destroyed it by putting the United States into an economic crisis. President Biden has turned around Criminal Donald's economic disaster and has created the best economy on record.
New jobless claims hit a low not seen since 1969
'Americans are getting back to work,' President Joe Biden said.
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The Department of Labor announced on Thursday that initial unemployment claims for the week ending March 19 had decreased by 28,000 from the previous week to 187,000. That figure is the lowest number of applications since 1969, and lower than at any time during the four-year presidency of former President Donald Trump.
"This morning, we learned that new unemployment claims are now at a level not seen since 1969. America's historic economic recovery is strong. Americans are getting back to work," President Joe Biden wrote on Twitter in response to the news.
The number of unemployment claims was below the 210,000 predicted by a Bloomberg survey of economists. Additionally, continuing claims for state unemployment benefits numbered 1.35 million, the lowest that figure has been since the 1970s.
During Trump's time in office, Republicans in Congress praised his leadership for levels of unemployment claims that were above those reported under Biden.
In May 2018, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy touted jobless claims for being at their "lowest level since 1973" and argued that the figure was evidence that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed under Republicans in 2017 was working. That policy significantly added to the national deficit, overwhelmingly benefitted large corporations, and failed to prevent an economic downturn after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) praised the level of jobless claims under Trump in April 2019, while Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) hailed "good economic news" in response to jobless claims reports in November 2017.
The report on jobless claims follows the release of the jobs report in early February that showed 467,000 jobs had been added to the economy in January, despite the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. That report revealed that job gains for November and December 2021 had been upwardly revised to 709,000 and that the unemployment rate is 4%.
The unemployment rate hit a five-year high of 14.7% in April 2020 when Trump was in office.
https://americanindependent.com/new-jobless-claims-president-joe-biden-donald-trump-republicans/
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So long Jeff....Happy Trails!
‘Guilty’: Jury convicts Republican Jeff Fortenberry on three felony charges
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The Republican Caucus in the House of Representatives now includes a convicted felon.
"After just two hours of deliberation, a California jury found Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) guilty on all three charges: one count of scheming to falsify or conceal material facts and two counts of making a false statement to a government agency," KOLN-TV reported. "Fortenberry is out on bond until sentencing on June 28 in California. Fortenberry faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Har had harsh words for Fortenberry during her closing arguments, Politico reported.
"The evidence has proven the defendant guilty and he can no longer avoid the consequences of his actions," she said.
Fortenberry's defense had said he did not lie, it was just a "failed memory test."
"Fortenberry, 61, a nine-term Republican congressman facing reelection, has pleaded not guilty to charges he deliberately misled FBI agents and prosecutors who were investigating the 2016 donations. It is illegal for U.S. politicians to accept foreign funds," Politico reported. "Prosecutors allege Fortenberry lied about what he knew during an interview at his Lincoln home in March 2019 and a follow-up meeting four months later in Washington. He allegedly didn’t properly disclose the contribution received at a Los Angeles fundraiser."
https://www.knopnews2.com/2022/03/25/jury-reaches-verdict-fortenberry-case/
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Biden meets with troops, humanitarian leaders in Poland
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — President Joe Biden’s visit to Poland as his final stop in Europe this week has given him a chance to underscore the U.S. commitment to protect a key NATO member on Ukraine’s doorstep.
Biden met on Friday with American soldiers who are serving alongside Polish troops on NATO’s eastern flank.
"We're in a new phase, your generation. We're in an inflection point," Biden told the troops. "I don't want to sound philosophic here, but you're in the midst of a fight between democracies and oligarchs."
Biden also made time to have pizza with members of the 82nd Airborne Division.
The president then went on to meet with Humanitarian leaders in Poland. Sitting beside Polish President Andrzej Duda, Biden reiterated his feelings about Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"The single most important thing that we can do from the outset is keep the democracies united in our opposition and our effort to curtail the devastation that is occurring at the hands of a man who, quite frankly, I think is a war criminal, and -- and I think will meet the legal definition of that as well," Biden said.
Biden also thanked everyone for their work in support of the Ukrainian people.
https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/national/biden-meets-with-troops-humanitarian-leaders-in-poland
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Joe Manchin says he plans to vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.
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Carl Bernstein says it's time to investigate Ginni Thomas -- and gives a tip of the hat to old partner Bob Woodward
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The latest reports about the efforts of Ginny Thomas to encourage the overturning of the 2020 presidential election are occurring in a far different media environment than during Richard Nixon's downfall, but legendary Watergate journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are once again teaming up
After winning the Pulitzer Prize for their Watergate reporting in 1973, the pair's 1974 book All the President's Men was turned a hit 1976 movie starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman.
On Thursday, Woodward's name was first on the byline in a bombshell report in The Washington Post.
"Virginia Thomas, a conservative activist married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, repeatedly pressed White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to pursue unrelenting efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in a series of urgent text exchanges in the critical weeks after the vote, according to copies of the messages obtained by The Washington Post and CBS News. The messages — 29 in all — reveal an extraordinary pipeline between Virginia Thomas, who goes by Ginni, and President Donald Trump’s top aide during a period when Trump and his allies were vowing to go to the Supreme Court in an effort to negate the election results," Woodward reported with Robert Costa.
Bernstein took to Twitter to offer his thoughts on what comes and his message was retweeted by Woodward.
"Time for an investigation of Justice Clarence Thomas & his wife, Ginni, after Woodward (yeah, him) and Costa revealed her unrelenting campaign inside the Trump White House to overturn the 2020 presidential election (and the Constitution)," Bernstein wrote.
https://twitter.com/carlbernstein/status/1507472187577421831
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/24/virginia-thomas-mark-meadows-texts/
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We’re seeing the lowest unemployment claims since 1969 because the American Rescue Plan got Americans back to work faster. The American Rescue Plan was President Biden's plan to Build Back Better and not one single Republican voted for this bill that has transformed America. Unemployment claims are at the lowest level since 1969. This is further evidence that President Biden and Congressional Democrats' investments in jobs and the economy are getting Americans back to work and getting the economy back on track.
U.S. weekly jobless claims lowest since 1969; continuing claims shrink
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/24/us-weekly-jobless-claims-lowest-since-1969-continuing-claims-shrink.html
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Great to see the President thanking our troops -- on the front line of NATO -- for their service.
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"I visited Ukrainian refugees who have fled to Poland this afternoon. You don’t need to speak the same language to feel the roller-coaster of emotions in their eyes. I want to thank my friend Chef José Andrés, his team, and the people of Warsaw for opening your hearts to help." - President Joe Biden
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The authoritarian aggression is also here at home with a Republican Party who attempted an illegal coup to keep Trump in power via an insurrection.
Biden says Putin ‘cannot remain in power’ in sweeping speech on Russian invasion of Ukraine
President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” over his invasion of Ukraine.
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In a sweeping speech in Poland that marked the finale of a three-day trip to Europe, Biden urged democracies around the world to unify and commit to a long fight against authoritarian aggression.[/i]
President Joe Biden on Saturday said Russian leader Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power,” ratcheting up international pressure and further uniting NATO allies against Putin over his invasion of Ukraine.
“A dictator, bent on rebuilding an empire, will never erase the people’s love for liberty,” Biden said at the end of a sweeping speech in Poland. “Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, for free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness.”
“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said.
Biden has hurled invective at Putin throughout the crisis in Ukraine, labeling him a “murderous dictator” and a “war criminal,” but has previously stopped short of calling for his removal from power.
Later Saturday, a White House official attempted to clarify that Biden “was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change,” but rather was making the point that Putin “cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region.”
The president’s address at the Royal Castle in Warsaw marked the grand finale of a three-day trip to Europe. While in Poland, Biden met with Ukrainian refugees who had fled Russian aggression, as well as with U.S. troops stationed in Rzeszow, near Ukraine’s border.
In his speech, Biden urged democracies around the world to unify against Russia and commit to a historic battle against authoritarian aggression.
“In this battle, we need to be clear-eyed,” he said. “We need to steel ourselves for the long fight ahead.”
Biden directly and repeatedly condemned Putin throughout the speech, accusing the Russian president of “using brute force and disinformation to satisfy a craving for absolute power and control.”
Biden slammed Putin for invoking Nazi imagery as a pretext for an invasion, calling it an “obscene” lie. And he said it is “Putin who is to blame” for the mountain of international sanctions that are crushing Russia’s economy and its currency, noting that the Russian ruble has been reduced to “rubble.”
Biden also spoke past Putin, attempting to deliver an appeal to whichever Russian citizens may be able to hear the speech.
“This is not the future you deserve for your families and children,” Biden said. “I’m telling you the truth, this war is not worthy of you, the Russian people.”
Biden’s message to Ukraine was more direct: “We stand with you. Period.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/26/biden-says-putin-cannot-remain-in-power-in-sweeping-speech-on-russian-invasion-of-ukraine.html
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WATCH: Marjorie Taylor Greene throws tantrum over Constitution's ban on insurgents running for Congress
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Controversial Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) lashed out over a lawsuit challenging her eligibility to run for office following her efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
"A lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of Georgia voters on Thursday seeks to bar Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from running for re-election over her support for rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol last year," MSNBC's Ja'han Jones reported. "The complaint resembles a lawsuit filed against Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) in January, which also cited the 14th Amendment’s language prohibiting people who have 'engaged in insurrection or rebellion' from serving in Congress."
Greene lashed out at the constitutional eligibility requirement.
"They are trying to take away my district's right to vote for me," she said, even though the lawsuit says her district has no such right to vote for her after she broke her oath.
"Their lawsuit is such a scam, it is so ridiculous, it's obvious they've never read the Constitution before," she argued, even though the Constitution appears quite clear on the point.
"No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress...who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress...to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same," reads Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
Watch: https://twitter.com/BobBrigham/status/1507816756898787330
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Rogue FBI informant tried to keep Whitmer kidnap plot alive, destroy evidence, feds say
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DETROIT — A rogue FBI informant tried to keep the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot alive, obstruct justice and destroy evidence after federal agents arrested more than a dozen men in fall 2020, prosecutors said Friday.
The informant, Wisconsin resident Stephen Robeson, urged others to destroy evidence, warned accused plot ringleader Barry Croft that he was wanted by the FBI and told another to destroy evidence by throwing a gun in a lake, according to a court filing.
Prosecutors leveled the allegations while trying to prevent Robeson from being called as a defense witness during the ongoing trial of four men charged with plotting to kidnap the governor.
Defense lawyers are expected to call Robeson as a witness in the next week or two and ask about his work as an FBI informant and leader of a fake militia who organized trainings and meetings and recorded members of the alleged kidnap plot.
Prosecutors Friday said Robeson is likely to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination due to the possibility he would be charged with new crimes related to the kidnap plot.
Prosecutors Friday said Robeson is likely to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination due to the possibility he would be charged with new crimes related to the kidnap plot.
The court filing Friday provides new details about Robeson's breakup with the FBI and wrongdoing that led to the convicted felon being indicted on a gun charge and dropped from the kidnap case in October 2020.
That is the same month FBI investigators arrested 13 men in connection with the alleged plot.
"The reason: Steve had been breaking the law without authorization and surreptitiously assisting the other conspirators," Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler wrote.
FBI agents sanctioned Robeson's activities, paid him, rewarded him, gave him secret recording equipment and let him commit illegal activities while working for the government, defense lawyers wrote in a request earlier this week to have Robeson testify.
"Robeson now seeks to assist the government to avoid answering for their actions by hiding behind the pretense of self-incrimination despite being given nearly carte blanche authority by his agents and handlers to gallivant across the country, parading himself as the leader of a national militia and being a significant link in the defendants’ case," defense lawyers Joshua Blanchard and Christopher Gibbons wrote.
They represent accused plotters Croft, 46, of Delaware and Adam Fox, 38, of Potterville. They are standing trial alongside Lake Orion resident Daniel Harris, 24, and Brandon Caserta, 33, of Canton Township.
The group was arrested in early October 2020. Robeson knew about the looming arrests and was instructed not to tell anyone. He warned Croft anyway, and told another person, who was secretly working as an FBI informant, to encrypt a training roster, according to prosecutors.
Robeson also said despite the arrests, he was willing to continue helping with the kidnap plot, prosecutors wrote. He called another FBI informant, Dan Chappel, and told him to throw Croft's gun in a lake and get rid of a vehicle that was used during surveillance, according to the government.
"Steve dubiously claimed in a statement to agents that he did the above things to try and avoid being 'outed' as a source," Kessler wrote.
Robeson was indicted in March 2021 and accused of illegally obtaining a sniper rifle in what amounted to the first sign of trouble with a high-profile case of domestic terrorism that has revealed and raised questions about FBI agent misconduct.
He pleaded guilty in October and avoided a prison sentence under terms of a deal with prosecutors.
Prosecutors Friday asked Chief U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker to schedule a hearing outside the presence of jurors so Robeson can be questioned. Then Robeson's testimony in front of jurors should be barred, according to the filing.
"The government believes that — at a minimum — Steve will invoke his privilege against self-incrimination in response to the government’s questions on cross-examination," the prosecutor wrote. "Assuming he does, his refusal to testify will be based on a well-founded fear of incriminating himself arising from his obstructive and other potentially criminal actions outside the scope of his work as a(n informant)."
Meanwhile, defense attorneys on Friday in court Friday tried to blunt the testimony of a man who said he plotted to kidnap Whitmer, getting him to admit that after his arrest he had referred to the group as a “bunch of jokers” just playing roles.
But Kaleb Franks, who pleaded guilty in February, said he had lied to the FBI because he feared going to jail for his part in a staggering scheme to grab Whitmer from her vacation home in northern Michigan just before the 2020 national election.
Franks said he was hoping that “LARPing” — live-action role-playing — would “explain the firearms ... all the stuff that was a part of the crime."
“If you were LARPing, would you have pled guilty?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Roth asked.
“No,” Franks replied.
He testified on the 10th day of trial of the four men charged with conspiring to kidnap Whitmer. Franks agreed to cooperate with prosecutors with the hope of getting a lighter sentence in June.
He said Fox believed Whitmer’s COVID-19 restrictions were “tyrannical” and that the U.S. Constitution gave the men a right to strike back. Earlier in the week, another man who pleaded guilty, Ty Garbin, said a kidnapping could ignite a U.S. civil war involving anti-government groups and possibly prevent the election of Joe Biden.
Franks' main testimony occurred Thursday in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He described training in summer 2020 for an eventual assault on Whitmer's second home in Elk Rapids, reinforcing testimony earlier in the week from Garbin, the first person to plead guilty.
“I was going to be an operator,” Franks said. “I would be one of the people on the front line, so to speak, using my gun.”
He said he stayed with the group because he was depressed and had hoped he would be killed in a shootout with police.
Defense attorneys on Friday tried to trip Franks up by highlighting inconsistencies.
“Your testimony from the last couple days has been, ‘These guys were serious.’ That's not what you said to the FBI when you were arrested,” Croft lawyer Joshua Blanchard said. “You referred to the group as a whole as a bunch of jokers, that they're LARPing. ... When we use that term we're referring to people who go to the comic con to dress up as Pokemon."
Franks acknowledged telling investigators that Fox, described as the leader, was regularly egged on by a man who turned out to be an FBI informant secretly recording conversations for months. It conflicted with his earlier remarks that Dan Chappel didn’t try to steer the group.
“I was untruthful in that interview because I was trying not to go to jail,” Franks told the jury.
He also acknowledged a heroin problem and that he had illegally used an opiate substitute while in custody in the case.
Defense attorneys were trying to show the jury that there was no credible plot, just a lot of profane, violent and crazy talk about Whitmer and other politicians trampling their rights during the pandemic.
The jury was sent home about 50 minutes early Friday because a government witness hadn't arrived yet. Jonker was unhappy.
© The Detroit News
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This is a landmark proposal from President Biden, a minimum tax that also applies to unrealized gains—as a prepayment against future capital gains. This should get serious consideration as a fair and efficient way to raise significant revenue.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOzVeOpWQAg4CtI?format=jpg&name=large)
President Biden to unveil new minimum tax on billionaires in budget
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/03/26/billionaire-tax-budget-biden/
Biden budget seeks minimum tax on households worth $100m
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden intends to propose a minimum tax of 20% on households worth more than $100 million and cut projected budget deficits by more than $1 trillion over the next decade, according to a fact sheets released Saturday by the White House budget office.
The introduction of the minimum tax on the wealthiest Americans would represent a significant reorienting of the tax code. It would apply to the top 0.01% of households with half of the expected revenue coming from households worth $1 billion or more. The minimum tax would effectively prevent the wealthiest sliver of America from paying lower rates than families who think of themselves as middle class, while helping to generate revenues to fuel Biden’s domestic ambitions and keep the deficit in check relative to the U.S. economy.
In his proposal expected Monday, the lower deficits also reflect the economy’s resurgence as the United States emerges from the pandemic. It’s a sign that the government’s balance sheet will improve after a historic burst of spending to combat the coronavirus.
The fading of the pandemic and the growth has enabled the deficit to fall from $3.1 trillion in fiscal 2020 to $2.8 trillion last year and a projected $1.4 trillion this year. That deficit spending paid off in the form of the economy expanding at a 5.7% pace last year, the strongest growth since 1984.
For the Biden administration, the proposal for the budget year that begins Oct. 1 shows that the burst of spending helped to fuel growth and put government finances in a more stable place for years to come as a result. One White House official, insisting on anonymity because the budget has yet to be released, said the proposal shows that Democrats can deliver on what Republicans have promised before without much success: faster growth and falling deficits.
Yet the Biden budget would pledge to do so through a kind of wealth tax that many Republicans say would hurt the economy by diminishing private investment in companies that create jobs and cause the wealthy to put their fortunes to work abroad.
Biden inherited from the Trump administration a budget deficit that was equal in size to 14.9% of the entire U.S. economy. But the deficit starting in the upcoming budget year will be below 5% of the economy, putting the country on a more sustainable path, according to people familiar with the budget proposal who insisted on anonymity to discuss forthcoming details.
The lower deficit totals will also be easier to manage even if interest rates rise.
The expected deficit decrease for fiscal 2022 reflects the solid recovery in hiring that occurred in large part because of Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. The added jobs mean additional tax revenue, with the government likely collecting $300 billion more in revenues compared to fiscal 2021, a 10% increase.
Still, the country will face several uncertainties that could reshape Biden’s proposed budget, which will have figures that don’t include the spending omnibus recently signed into law. Biden and U.S. allies are also providing aid to Ukrainians who are fighting against Russian forces, a war that could possibly reshape spending priorities and the broader economic outlook.
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This is a landmark proposal from President Biden, a minimum tax that also applies to unrealized gains—as a prepayment against future capital gains. This should get serious consideration as a fair and efficient way to raise significant revenue.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOzVeOpWQAg4CtI?format=jpg&name=large)
President Biden to unveil new minimum tax on billionaires in budget
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/03/26/billionaire-tax-budget-biden/
Biden budget seeks minimum tax on households worth $100m
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden intends to propose a minimum tax of 20% on households worth more than $100 million and cut projected budget deficits by more than $1 trillion over the next decade, according to a fact sheets released Saturday by the White House budget office.
The introduction of the minimum tax on the wealthiest Americans would represent a significant reorienting of the tax code. It would apply to the top 0.01% of households with half of the expected revenue coming from households worth $1 billion or more. The minimum tax would effectively prevent the wealthiest sliver of America from paying lower rates than families who think of themselves as middle class, while helping to generate revenues to fuel Biden’s domestic ambitions and keep the deficit in check relative to the U.S. economy.
In his proposal expected Monday, the lower deficits also reflect the economy’s resurgence as the United States emerges from the pandemic. It’s a sign that the government’s balance sheet will improve after a historic burst of spending to combat the coronavirus.
The fading of the pandemic and the growth has enabled the deficit to fall from $3.1 trillion in fiscal 2020 to $2.8 trillion last year and a projected $1.4 trillion this year. That deficit spending paid off in the form of the economy expanding at a 5.7% pace last year, the strongest growth since 1984.
For the Biden administration, the proposal for the budget year that begins Oct. 1 shows that the burst of spending helped to fuel growth and put government finances in a more stable place for years to come as a result. One White House official, insisting on anonymity because the budget has yet to be released, said the proposal shows that Democrats can deliver on what Republicans have promised before without much success: faster growth and falling deficits.
Yet the Biden budget would pledge to do so through a kind of wealth tax that many Republicans say would hurt the economy by diminishing private investment in companies that create jobs and cause the wealthy to put their fortunes to work abroad.
Biden inherited from the Trump administration a budget deficit that was equal in size to 14.9% of the entire U.S. economy. But the deficit starting in the upcoming budget year will be below 5% of the economy, putting the country on a more sustainable path, according to people familiar with the budget proposal who insisted on anonymity to discuss forthcoming details.
The lower deficit totals will also be easier to manage even if interest rates rise.
The expected deficit decrease for fiscal 2022 reflects the solid recovery in hiring that occurred in large part because of Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. The added jobs mean additional tax revenue, with the government likely collecting $300 billion more in revenues compared to fiscal 2021, a 10% increase.
Still, the country will face several uncertainties that could reshape Biden’s proposed budget, which will have figures that don’t include the spending omnibus recently signed into law. Biden and U.S. allies are also providing aid to Ukrainians who are fighting against Russian forces, a war that could possibly reshape spending priorities and the broader economic outlook.
Inflation, crime, open borders, record gas prices, and world war are not enough? Biden has to add more taxes to the misery that he has unleashed on the American public. That sounds like a winning agenda for the Dems. Keep up the good work bungling Joe! The mid-term elections are just around the corner. And when the republicans control the House and Senate, Joe can blame his failures from that point onward on the republicans. His only hope to now avoid going down as the worst President in history.
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Inflation, crime, open borders, record gas prices, and world war are not enough? Biden has to add more taxes to the misery that he has unleashed on the American public. That sounds like a winning agenda for the Dems. Keep up the good work bungling Joe! The mid-term elections are just around the corner. And when the republicans control the House and Senate, Joe can blame his failures from that point onward on the republicans. His only hope to now avoid going down as the worst President in history.
More BS:
Criminal Donald handed a total disaster off to President Biden including an economic crisis and COVID disaster. President Biden has created the best economy on record and the most jobs of any President in history with 7.4 million. And now the pandemic is under control for a second time. Crime, inflation, and gas prices all started under Criminal Donald. Those are the facts. And once again, you have zero sources for your propaganda.
We had record crime and homicide under Criminal Donald.
Provisional data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, released early Wednesday, suggest the homicide rate for the United States rose 30% between 2019 and 2020. It is the highest increase recorded in modern history.
Researchers noted that provisional data on gun-related deaths also increased last year, climbing from a rate of 11.9 firearm deaths per 100,000 in 2019 to 13.6 per 100,000 in 2020 -- a 14% increase.
The FBI released its annual Uniform Crime Report for 2020, showing that the number of homicides increased nearly 30% from 2019, the largest single-year increase the agency has recorded since it began tracking these crimes in the 1960s.
Inflation started in 2020 under Criminal Donald.
More Groceries, Less Gas: The Pandemic Is Shaking Up The Cost Of Living
September 11, 2020
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/11/911880715/more-groceries-less-gas-the-pandemic-is-shaking-up-the-cost-of-living
Oil companies are setting gas prices high for profit.
Excluaive: oil companies’ profits soared to $174bn this year as US gas prices rose
Exxon, Chevron, Shell and BP among group of 24 who resisted calls to increase production but doled out shareholder dividends[/i]
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/dec/06/oil-companies-profits-exxon-chevron-shell-exclusive
Biden is doing what Americans demand by taxing billionaires. The overwhelming majority of Americans support taxing billionaires and corporations who pay nothing while Rick Scott's tax America plan will soak working Americans and seniors while ending social security and Medicare. The GOP will get wiped out in November.
Poll: Two-thirds of voters say billionaires should pay a wealth tax
https://thehill.com/hilltv/what-americas-thinking/484771-poll-67-of-voters-believe-billionaires-should-pay-wealth-tax
GOP's new plan: Raise taxes on working people, end Social Security and Medicare
https://www.salon.com/2022/03/14/gops-new-plan-raise-on-working-people-end-social-security-and-medicare_partner/
Criminal Donald is already the worst "President" ever.
Trump Ranks Among The Worst Presidents In History, According To Survey
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More BS:
Criminal Donald handed a total disaster off to President Biden including an economic crisis and COVID disaster. President Biden has created the best economy on record and the most jobs of any President in history with 7.4 million. And now the pandemic is under control for a second time. Crime, inflation, and gas prices all started under Criminal Donald. Those are the facts. And once again, you have zero sources for your propaganda.
We had record crime and homicide under Criminal Donald.
Provisional data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, released early Wednesday, suggest the homicide rate for the United States rose 30% between 2019 and 2020. It is the highest increase recorded in modern history.
Researchers noted that provisional data on gun-related deaths also increased last year, climbing from a rate of 11.9 firearm deaths per 100,000 in 2019 to 13.6 per 100,000 in 2020 -- a 14% increase.
The FBI released its annual Uniform Crime Report for 2020, showing that the number of homicides increased nearly 30% from 2019, the largest single-year increase the agency has recorded since it began tracking these crimes in the 1960s.
Inflation started in 2020 under Criminal Donald.
More Groceries, Less Gas: The Pandemic Is Shaking Up The Cost Of Living
September 11, 2020
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/11/911880715/more-groceries-less-gas-the-pandemic-is-shaking-up-the-cost-of-living
Oil companies are setting gas prices high for profit.
Excluaive: oil companies’ profits soared to $174bn this year as US gas prices rose
Exxon, Chevron, Shell and BP among group of 24 who resisted calls to increase production but doled out shareholder dividends[/i]
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/dec/06/oil-companies-profits-exxon-chevron-shell-exclusive
Biden is doing what Americans demand by taxing billionaires. The overwhelming majority of Americans support taxing billionaires and corporations who pay nothing while Rick Scott's tax America plan will soak working Americans and seniors while ending social security and Medicare. The GOP will get wiped out in November.
Poll: Two-thirds of voters say billionaires should pay a wealth tax
https://thehill.com/hilltv/what-americas-thinking/484771-poll-67-of-voters-believe-billionaires-should-pay-wealth-tax
GOP's new plan: Raise taxes on working people, end Social Security and Medicare
https://www.salon.com/2022/03/14/gops-new-plan-raise-on-working-people-end-social-security-and-medicare_partner/
Criminal Donald is already the worst "President" ever.
Trump Ranks Among The Worst Presidents In History, According To Survey
That is music to republican ears! A sure strategy to lose by an historic margin in the midterms. Blaming all the ongoing disasters of Biden's administration on Trump. Two years into his term Biden is going to say he failed and it was all somehow Trump's fault? And then raise their taxes. What an inspirational message to voters! The red tsunami has formed and will coming crashing down on the Dems in November. That's the best thing that can happen to Old Joe as he can then use the Obama excuse to blame everything on the republicans. This is the same guy who promised during the campaign that his experience in Congress would allow him to work across the aisle. But when he gets into office he suddenly can't to do it. That's the classic political bait and switch that led to Trump's election in 2016. The American public is fed up with the political establishment lying to them and failing to deliver. If you were truly interested in defeating Trump in 2024, it would not be through phony conspiracy theories and politically driven investigations to "lock him up" but through actual results that benefit Americans. Unfortunately, that is not something Biden can deliver. He is prototype swamp creature. Promise the moon, fail to deliver, then blame someone else. Stay in power so that your family acquires incredible wealth.
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Adam Kinzinger hints at Ginni Thomas subpoena: 'We'll call in whoever we need to call in'
(https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/adam-kinzinger.jpg?id=29600713&width=1500&height=843)
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) on Sunday suggested that the House Select Committee to Investigate Jan. 6 may ask for testimony from Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, because she allegedly sent texts to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows about overturning the 2020 presidential election.
During an interview on Face the Nation, guest host John Dickerson asked Kinzinger about reports that the committee has seditious text messages exchanged by Thomas and Meadows.
"I can't as a member of the committee confirm or deny the existence of those," Kinzinger replied. "We are going to in a methodical, fact-driven way get to the answers here. We'll call in whoever we need to call in."
"I think the bottom line for the committee is this: Was there an effort to overturn the legitimate election of the United States?" he continued. "What was Jan. 6 in relation to that and what is the rot in our system that led to that and does it still exist today?"
"So no one is disputing the authenticity of these texts," Dickerson followed up. "It's the question, will the committee subpoena Ms. Thomas and question her?"
Kinzinger said that he wanted to "make sure" that the committee's actions are not driven by political motivations.
"So when it comes to any future potential calling in of Ms. Thomas, we'll take a look at what the evidence is and we'll make a decision and you all will know as soon as we do," the congressman added. "I think what we don't want to do is get into speculating too much."
Dickerson wondered if the "rot in the system" that Kinzinger was referring to reaches the Supreme Court.
"I'm not going to say that," the Republican lawmaker remarked. "I'm not going to say that it does or doesn't. We're just going to present the American people with what the answer is. And the Supreme Court handles its own ethics, they handle their own internal stuff."
Kinzinger concluded: "But what we need to is present to the American people where they've been lied to, where they've believed lies, where there are bad actors out there. ... That kind of stuff is very important so in five or ten years when kids are reading in the history books about Jan. 6, they're not buying into any of these conspiracy theories, they're getting the truth."
Watch the video below from CBS:
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The GOP's plan is to raise taxes on hard working Americans and seniors. They are also going to cut social security and Medicare. Something they've been dreaming about for decades. Even a Fox News host called out Rick Scott on his "Tax and Gut plan".
Fox News Anchor Calls BS: on GOP Senator’s Spin Over Taxing the Poor: ‘It’s in the Plan!’
"It's not a Democratic talking point! It's in the plan,” Roberts exclaimed on Sunday when Scott attempted to spin his proposal on taxing the poor and sunsetting Social Security.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1508128360316219396/v4nuL0h2?format=jpg&name=medium)
Even Fox News isn’t buying Sen. Rick Scott’s ridiculous spin on his proposal to possibly “sunset” Social Security and force poor people to pay more in taxes.
Ostensibly appearing on Fox News Sunday to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and President Joe Biden’s European trip, the Florida Republican soon found himself being grilled by anchor John Roberts over the legislative agenda he recently unveiled.
As the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Scott hoped to give GOP candidate a platform to run on by putting forth his “11-Point Plan to Rescue America” last month. The plan, however, was roundly mocked across the political aisle, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell quickly dismissed it.
We will not have as part of our agenda a bill that raises taxes on half the American people and sunsets Social Security and Medicare within five years,” McConnell said earlier this month.
During Sunday morning’s interview with Scott, Roberts brought up two of the most contentious items in the politically ambitious senator’s proposal.
“Two of the big points are ‘all Americans should pay some income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount. Currently over half of Americans pay no income tax,’” the Fox News moderator stated. “It also says, ‘All federal legislation sunsets in five years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.’ So that would raise taxes on half of Americans and potentially sunset programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Why would you propose something like that in an election year?”
Despite Roberts reading directly from his plan, the conservative lawmaker immediately objected and insisted that the anchor was echoing “Democrat talking points,” prompting Roberts to push back.
“No, no, it’s in the plan! It’s in the plan!” Roberts dramatically exclaimed.
“But here’s the thing about reality for a second,” a clearly flustered Scott begged, only to find the Fox host continue to grill him.
“But, Senator, hang on," Roberts declared. “It's not a Democratic talking point! It's in the plan!”
Defending his policy proposals, Scott went on to say that his plan “says we ought to every year talk about exactly how we are going to fix Medicare and Social Security,” adding that “no one that I know of wants to sunset” those programs. Additionally, he appeared to paint poor Americans as freeloaders that need to be taxed more by the government.
“Here’s what’s unfair. We have people that don’t—that could go to work and have figured out how to have government pay their way. That’s not right. They ought to have some skin in the game. I don’t care if it’s a dollar. We ought to all be in this together.”
Roberts, meanwhile, pointed out that McConnell doesn’t agree with Scott’s plan, noting that the Florida senator followed that up with a Wall Street Journal op-ed declaring that he was standing up the “Beltway cowardice” with his proposal.
“Are you calling Mitch McConnell a coward?” Roberts wondered.
Dodging the Fox News Sunday host’s question, Scott instead sounded a familiar right-wing refrain about culture war issues and the “woke left” destroying America.
© 2022 The Daily Beast Company LLC
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That is music to republican ears! A sure strategy to lose by an historic margin in the midterms. Blaming all the ongoing disasters of Biden's administration on Trump. Two years into his term Biden is going to say he failed and it was all somehow Trump's fault? And then raise their taxes. What an inspirational message to voters! The red tsunami has formed and will coming crashing down on the Dems in November. That's the best thing that can happen to Old Joe as he can then use the Obama excuse to blame everything on the republicans. This is the same guy who promised during the campaign that his experience in Congress would allow him to work across the aisle. But when he gets into office he suddenly can't to do it. That's the classic political bait and switch that led to Trump's election in 2016. The American public is fed up with the political establishment lying to them and failing to deliver. If you were truly interested in defeating Trump in 2024, it would not be through phony conspiracy theories and politically driven investigations to "lock him up" but through actual results that benefit Americans. Unfortunately, that is not something Biden can deliver. He is prototype swamp creature. Promise the moon, fail to deliver, then blame someone else. Stay in power so that your family acquires incredible wealth.
:D :D :D
Hilarious! More falsehoods and made up nonsense which is why you never cite any sources because it's all fiction.
President Biden promised to Build Back Better from the 4 year Trump disaster and he already has delivered for the American people in less than a year.
7.4 million jobs created and the lowest unemployment rate since 1969. Plus manufacturing jobs are booming where Criminal Donald had manufacturing in a recession. And now a historic bipartisan infrastructure bill implemented into law.
President Biden already worked across the aisle to pass his historic bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. That's what bipartisan means, working across the aisle. Why are you making up blatant falsehoods again saying "he can't do it"? Biden already did it last year.
No other President has ever gotten an historic bipartisan bill like this passed.
Here are the facts which is sourced and documented.
Congress passes $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, delivering major win for Biden
https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/05/politics/house-votes-infrastructure-build-back-better/index.html
Congress Passes Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill
Late November 5, the House of Representatives passed the long-awaited bipartisan infrastructure bill, totaling $1.2 trillion over five years, including $550 billion of new spending. These investments will go toward “hard infrastructure” such as roads, bridges, water and energy systems, and broadband, including some provisions that could be beneficial for schools. The Senate had passed the legislation in August.
https://ctepolicywatch.acteonline.org/2021/11/congress-passes-bipartisan-infrastructure-bill.html
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The bottom has dropped out on Biden. Even the radical leftist NBC media poll numbers have him now at historic lows after botching Ukraine.
Biden's job approval falls to lowest level of his presidency amid war and inflation fears
Seven in 10 Americans expressed low confidence in the president's ability to deal with Russia's invasion of Ukraine as his approval fell to 40 percent in the new NBC News poll.
"Amid Europe’s largest land war since World War II, 7 in 10 Americans expressed low confidence in President Joe Biden’s ability to deal with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a new NBC News poll, and 8 in 10 voiced worry that the war will increase gas prices and possibly involve nuclear weapons."
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Biden’s new plan: Tax the top 0.01% to lower the deficit by $1 trillion and fund clean energy independence.
GOP plan, per NRSC Chair Rick Scott: Raise taxes on households earning less than $50,000 by an ADDITIONAL $4,500 after CUTTING taxes for the rich.
Vote accordingly.
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Today, President Biden released a budget outlining his vision to expand on the progress we’ve made in a fiscally responsible way — cutting deficits, improving our country’s long-term fiscal outlook, and growing our economy from the bottom up and middle out.
During the last administration, the national deficit increased every year.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FO8r5YcWUAUhpn2?format=png&name=medium)
Under President Biden's leadership, America is on the move again.
- We created more than 6.5 million jobs in 2021.
- Our economy had the strongest growth in nearly 40 years.
- The unemployment rate has fallen to 3.8%.
- And the deficit fell last year by over $350 billion.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FO8r5v2XEAMXCcn?format=jpg&name=medium)
The President's budget includes investments to keep our communities safe here at home and abroad.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FO8r6ClWYAcvilO?format=jpg&name=medium)
President Biden's budget also includes funding that is focused on helping us Build a Better America for all by expanding opportunity and lowering costs for working families.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FO8r6VsWQAM-wnT?format=jpg&name=medium)
The investments laid out in President Biden's budget are more than fully paid for through tax reforms that ensure corporations and the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FO8r6qdXMAMwhSt?format=jpg&name=medium)
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America is on the move again because of President Biden's strategy to grow our economy from the bottom up and the middle out. His budget details how to expand on our progress—cutting deficits, reducing costs for families, and ensuring our safety & security.
Biden is now the 3rd consecutive Dem President to have seen the annual deficit drop significantly on their watch.
It rose significantly under the last 3 GOP Presidents.
Biden on track to deliver on deficit reduction boast
The Democrat said he’d soon become the only president “ever to cut the deficit by more than $1 trillion in a single year.” He’s on track to deliver.
March 11, 2022
(https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1504952888128286721/GZv5-DDd?format=jpg&name=medium)
It wasn’t necessarily the most memorable line in President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, but for some lawmakers in attendance, it stood out.
“By the end of this year,” the Democrat boasted, “the deficit will be down to less than half what it was before I took office.” Biden added that he would soon become the only president “ever to cut the deficit by more than $1 trillion in a single year.”
And while it’s impossible to say with certainly what to expect in the coming months, at least for now, the president appears to be on track to deliver on his boast. Bloomberg News reported yesterday:
"The U.S. budget deficit shrank by more than half in the first five months of the latest fiscal year as government pandemic spending wound down and revenue jumped. The shortfall in the October-to-February period was $475.6 billion, 55% smaller than the same five months a year earlier, and the least for the timeframe since the fiscal year ended in 2018, according to Treasury Department data released Thursday. The gap narrowed to $216.6 billion last month, compared with $310.9 billion in February 2021.
The deficit in Biden’s first year was $360 billion smaller than the budget shortfall from Donald Trump’s final year in office, and in the Democrat’s second year, it’s on pace to be $1 trillion smaller.
There’s no great mystery as to why: As the economic recovery continues, and spending related to the pandemic becomes less necessary, the deficit is predictably getting much smaller in a hurry.
As for why anyone should care, there are a few angles to this to keep in mind.
First, there’s Sen. Joe Manchin. The conservative West Virginia Democrat, having already effectively killed the Build Back Better plan, has signaled a willingness to support some kind of new package, just so long as deficit reduction is part of the plan.
The White House can now credibly tell the senator his priorities are already being addressed — in nominal terms, at a pace without precedent.
Second, there’s recent history to consider. As The Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell explained before the Covid-19 crisis, “Federal deficits have widened immensely under Trump’s leadership. This is striking not only because he promised fiscal responsibility — at one time even pledging to eliminate the national debt within eight years — but also because it’s a historical anomaly. Deficits usually narrow when the economy is good and we’re not engaged in a major war.... Trump’s own policies are to blame for this aberration.”
That was plainly true. The White House and congressional Republicans swore up and down in late 2017 that they could slash taxes for the wealthy and big corporations without increasing the deficit because, as they repeatedly insisted, “tax cuts pay for themselves.” We didn’t need additional evidence that their ridiculous belief was, and is, wrong, but the evidence soon followed anyway.
Then, of course, the pandemic hit, at which point the annual deficit ballooned to over $3 trillion.
And finally, there’s the historical pattern. As we’ve discussed, when it comes to the deficit, Americans have endured a remarkably consistent pattern for four decades.
It starts with a Republican presidential candidate denouncing the deficit and vowing to balance the budget if elected. That Republican then takes office, abandons interest in the issue, and expresses indifference when the deficit becomes vastly larger. Then a Democrat takes office, at which point GOP lawmakers who didn’t care at all about the deficit suddenly decide it’s a critical issue that the new president must immediately prioritize.
During the Democratic administration, the deficit invariably shrinks — a development Republicans tend to ignore — at which point the entire cycle starts over.
AFP
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President Biden
@POTUS
"Here’s what my budget all adds up to:
- Historic deficit reduction
- Historic investments in our security at home and abroad
- An unprecedented commitment to building an economy where everyone has a chance to succeed
- And a plan to pay for the investments we need as a nation
My budget also invests in other areas of bipartisan common ground — what I call my Unity Agenda.
Beating the opioid epidemic, taking on the challenge of mental health, supporting our veterans, and ending cancer as we know it.
My budget invests in building more homes to help us deal with skyrocketing housing costs.
Let’s make college more affordable.
My budget doubles the maximum Pell Grant to nearly $13,000 and helps the more than 8 million students who rely on Pell Grants pay for college.
Let’s provide universal preschool and cap the cost of child care at 7% of a family’s income.
For many families, that will cut the cost of child care in half.
The budget provides the resources we need to keep Americans safe — ensuring that our military remains the best-prepared, best-trained, best-equipped military in the world.
My budget puts more police on the street for community policing and hires more agents. It funds body cameras, crime prevention, community violence intervention, drug treatment, mental health, criminal justice reform, and reentry for people coming home after incarceration.
My budget lowers family energy costs with tax credits to help people make their homes more efficient — and includes research and development investments to broaden the reach of solar and build a clean energy future.
Right now, billionaires pay an average rate of 8% on their total income.
A firefighter or teacher pays double that.
My budget contains a Billionaire Minimum Income Tax — a 20% minimum tax that only applies to the top one-hundredth of one percent of American households.
My budget also ensures that corporations pay their fair share.
In 2020, 55 of the most profitable corporations paid zero dollars in federal income taxes on $40 billion in profit.
My budget raises the corporate tax rate to 28%.
We can restore fiscal responsibility by rolling back the Trump Tax cuts.
Under my plan no one making less than $400,000 will pay an additional penny in taxes. But the wealthy and corporations will finally pay their fair share.
After my predecessor’s fiscal mismanagement, we’re reducing the Trump deficits and returning our fiscal house to order.
This year, my Administration is on track to cut the deficit by more than $1.3 trillion.
$1.3 trillion — that would be the largest one-year reduction in the deficit in U.S. history.
My father had an expression: “Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget—and I’ll tell you what you value.”
The budget I’m releasing today sends a clear message that we value fiscal responsibility, safety and security, and the investments needed to build a better America."
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1508614908413456392
Tune in as I announce my budget for Fiscal Year 2023.
Watch: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1508518313567166481
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President Biden has already lowered the Trump deficit by over $350,000,000,000 and America is now on track for the largest deficit reduction in history this year: $1.3 TRILLION.
Republicans always talk about the debt, but the deficit rose every single year Trump was in office.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FO8r5YcWUAUhpn2?format=png&name=medium)
Meanwhile, the deficit has already fallen by $350 billion under Biden.
A new analysis shows that the 2022 Republican platform proposed by NRSC Chair Rick Scott would raise taxes on households with children earning less than $50,000 by an ADDITIONAL $4,500.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1508464644607950854/5-rlWnbD?format=jpg&name=medium)
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RING THE ALARM: Republicans have a plan to end health coverage for MILLIONS.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FO9dLmCXMAwaAVq?format=jpg&name=medium)
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This is a landmark proposal from President Biden, a minimum tax that also applies to unrealized gains—as a prepayment against future capital gains. This should get serious consideration as a fair and efficient way to raise significant revenue.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOzVeOpWQAg4CtI?format=jpg&name=large)
President Biden to unveil new minimum tax on billionaires in budget
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/03/26/billionaire-tax-budget-biden/
Biden budget seeks minimum tax on households worth $100m
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden intends to propose a minimum tax of 20% on households worth more than $100 million and cut projected budget deficits by more than $1 trillion over the next decade, according to a fact sheets released Saturday by the White House budget office.
The introduction of the minimum tax on the wealthiest Americans would represent a significant reorienting of the tax code. It would apply to the top 0.01% of households with half of the expected revenue coming from households worth $1 billion or more. The minimum tax would effectively prevent the wealthiest sliver of America from paying lower rates than families who think of themselves as middle class, while helping to generate revenues to fuel Biden’s domestic ambitions and keep the deficit in check relative to the U.S. economy.
In his proposal expected Monday, the lower deficits also reflect the economy’s resurgence as the United States emerges from the pandemic. It’s a sign that the government’s balance sheet will improve after a historic burst of spending to combat the coronavirus.
The fading of the pandemic and the growth has enabled the deficit to fall from $3.1 trillion in fiscal 2020 to $2.8 trillion last year and a projected $1.4 trillion this year. That deficit spending paid off in the form of the economy expanding at a 5.7% pace last year, the strongest growth since 1984.
For the Biden administration, the proposal for the budget year that begins Oct. 1 shows that the burst of spending helped to fuel growth and put government finances in a more stable place for years to come as a result. One White House official, insisting on anonymity because the budget has yet to be released, said the proposal shows that Democrats can deliver on what Republicans have promised before without much success: faster growth and falling deficits.
Yet the Biden budget would pledge to do so through a kind of wealth tax that many Republicans say would hurt the economy by diminishing private investment in companies that create jobs and cause the wealthy to put their fortunes to work abroad.
Biden inherited from the Trump administration a budget deficit that was equal in size to 14.9% of the entire U.S. economy. But the deficit starting in the upcoming budget year will be below 5% of the economy, putting the country on a more sustainable path, according to people familiar with the budget proposal who insisted on anonymity to discuss forthcoming details.
The lower deficit totals will also be easier to manage even if interest rates rise.
The expected deficit decrease for fiscal 2022 reflects the solid recovery in hiring that occurred in large part because of Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. The added jobs mean additional tax revenue, with the government likely collecting $300 billion more in revenues compared to fiscal 2021, a 10% increase.
Still, the country will face several uncertainties that could reshape Biden’s proposed budget, which will have figures that don’t include the spending omnibus recently signed into law. Biden and U.S. allies are also providing aid to Ukrainians who are fighting against Russian forces, a war that could possibly reshape spending priorities and the broader economic outlook.
That didn't take long to fall apart. Maybe Old Joe should make sure his own party supports his massive tax increase before making a fool of himself Another massive failure. Back to the drawing board!
Per the NY Times:
Manchin Denounces Billionaires Tax as Divisive
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President Biden just signed the Emmett Till Anti Lynching Act into law. Lynching is now a federal crime in America. Should have been done a long time ago. Thanks to President Biden and the Democratic Congress for making this a priority to get done.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FPC4CfTWUAg5peo?format=jpg&name=900x900)
The House just passed the bipartisan Better Cybercrime Metrics Act — and it is now headed to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law! This bill will help prevent cybercrime and equip America’s law enforcement to combat the next generation of cyberattacks.
President Biden and Democrats were able to work across the aisle to get an important bill passed to keep America safe. This is how it should be. Shame on the 48 Republicans who don't want to keep America safe from cyberattacks.
Once again, President Biden delivers and one more campaign promise has been kept.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FPDOToOWYAwOEih?format=jpg&name=small)
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Even leftist CNN is now reporting that Hunter Biden is in big trouble. The liberal media buried the Hunter Biden story for over a year but the chickens are coming home to roost. A laundry list of crimes from tax evasion, money laundering, illegal purchase of a firearm, foreign lobbying laws, influence peddling.
CNN:
Federal investigation of Hunter Biden heats up
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"It was an honor to host Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore at the White House today. We are deepening the ties between our nations at a critical time in history." - President Joe Biden
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Whenever new damaging information comes out against Criminal Donald, we get right wing conspiracies about Hunter for deflection. The whole thing is pathetic and has already been debunked. And yesterday, Criminal Donald was asking murderous dictator Putin to help him get "dirt" on Biden when after Russian State TV was calling for regime change in the U.S. to install Criminal Donald. This whole thing is one giant scam. Over 50 former U.S. Intel officials concluded that this is all Russian disinformation. Even Ukraine stated the same thing. What we do know is that Criminal Donald and his partner in crime Putin are colluding right out in the open with a criminal conspiracy.
Trump urges Russia to release dirt on Hunter Biden now that 'Putin is not exactly a fan of our country'
https://theweek.com/donald-trump/1011934/trump-urges-russia-to-release-dirt-on-hunter-biden-now-that-putin-is-not
Russian Host Says Biden Should Be Ousted for Moscow 'Partner' Donald Trump
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-ukraine-putin-popov-partner-donald-trump-1693210
Ukraine found no evidence against Hunter Biden in case audit: former top prosecutor
June 4, 2020
KIEV (Reuters) - An audit of thousands of old case files by Ukrainian prosecutors found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Hunter Biden, the former prosecutor general, who had launched the audit, told Reuters.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment-ukraine-idUSKBN23B2RB
Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say
More than 50 former intelligence officials signed a letter casting doubt on the provenance of a New York Post story on the former vice president's son.
More than 50 former senior intelligence officials have signed on to a letter outlining their belief that the recent disclosure of emails allegedly belonging to Joe Biden’s son“has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
The letter, signed on Monday, centers around a batch of documents released by the New York Post last week that purport to tie the Democratic nominee to his son Hunter’s business dealings. Under the banner headline “Biden Secret E-mails,” the Post reported it was given a copy of Hunter Biden’s laptop hard drive by President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who said he got it from a Mac shop owner in Delaware who also alerted the FBI.
While the letter’s signatories presented no new evidence, they said their national security experience had made them “deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case” and cited several elements of the story that suggested the Kremlin’s hand at work.
“If we are right,” they added, “this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this election, and we believe strongly that Americans need to be aware of this.”
Nick Shapiro, a former top aide under CIA director John Brennan, provided POLITICO with the letter on Monday. He noted that “the IC leaders who have signed this letter worked for the past four presidents, including Trump. The real power here however is the number of former, working-level IC officers who want the American people to know that once again the Russians are interfering."
The former Trump administration officials who signed the letter include Russ Travers, who served as National Counterterrorism Center acting director; Glenn Gerstell, the former NSA general counsel; Rick Ledgett, the former deputy NSA director; Marc Polymeropoulos, a retired CIA senior operations officer; and Cynthia Strand, who served as the CIA’s deputy assistant director for global issues. Former CIA directors or acting directors Brennan, Leon Panetta, Gen. Michael Hayden, John McLaughlin and Michael Morell also signed the letter, along with more than three dozen other intelligence veterans. Several of the former officials on the list have endorsed Biden.
Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said on Monday that the information on Biden’s laptop “is not part of some Russian disinformation campaign,” though the FBI is reportedly conducting an ongoing investigation into whether Russia was involved.
The New York Times raised questions on Sunday about the rigor of the Post’s reporting process, revealing that several of its reporters had refused to put their name on the Biden stories because they were concerned about the authenticity of the materials. The Post stood by its reporting, saying it was vetted before publication.
But the release of the material, which POLITICO has not independently verified, has drawn comparisons to 2016, when Russian hackers dumped troves of emails from Democrats onto the internet — producing few damaging revelations but fueling accusations of corruption by Trump. While there has been no immediate indication of Russian involvement in the release of emails the Post obtained, its general thrust mirrors a narrative that U.S. intelligence agencies have described as part of an active Russian disinformation effort aimed at denigrating Biden’s candidacy.
“We want to emphasize that we do not know if the emails, provided to the New York Post by President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, are genuine or not and that we do not have evidence of Russian involvement,” the letter reads. But, it continues, “there are a number of factors that make us suspicious of Russian involvement.”
“Such an operation would be consistent with Russian objectives, as outlined publicly and recently by the Intelligence Community, to create political chaos in the United States and to deepen political divisions here but also to undermine the candidacy of former Vice President Biden and thereby help the candidacy of President Trump,” the letter reads.
National Counterintelligence and Security Center Director Bill Evanina said in August that Russia has been trying to denigrate Biden’s campaign, specifically through a Ukrainian lawmaker named Andriy Derkach who has met with Giuliani at least twice to discuss corruption accusations against Biden. Derkach was sanctioned by the Treasury Department last month for allegedly acting as a Russian agent and interfering in the 2020 election.
Giuliani brushed off concerns about Derkach in an interview with The Daily Beast this week, saying “the chance that Derkach is a Russian spy is no better than 50/50.” And he told The Wall Street Journal of the purported Biden email trove: “Could it be hacked? I don’t know. I don’t think so. If it was hacked, it’s for real. If it was hacked. I didn’t hack it. I have every right to use it.”
The former officials said Derkach’s relationship with Giuliani and fixation on the Bidens, along with Russia’s reported hack on Burisma — the Ukrainian energy company that gave Hunter Biden a board seat and is at the center of Trump and his allies’ corruption allegations — “is consistent with” a Russian operation.
“For the Russians at this point, with Trump down in the polls, there is incentive for Moscow to pull out the stops to do anything possible to help Trump win and/or to weaken Biden should he win,” the letter says. “A ‘laptop op’ fits the bill, as the publication of the emails are clearly designed to discredit Biden.”
Top Biden advisers who staffed him during his vice presidency, citing their own recollections as well as a review of Biden’s official schedules, have sharply rejected suggestions that Biden ever met with a representative of Burisma in 2015 or has otherwise been involved in Hunter Biden’s business interests.
"Investigations by the press, during impeachment, and even by two Republican-led Senate committees whose work was decried as 'not legitimate' and political by a GOP colleague have all reached the same conclusion: that Joe Biden carried out official U.S. policy toward Ukraine and engaged in no wrongdoing,” Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said last week. “Trump administration officials have attested to these facts under oath.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/19/hunter-biden-story-russian-disinfo-430276
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So much for Hunter's laptop being "Russian disinformation" as Joe Biden lied to the American public. The leftist NY Times, CNN, and now Wash Post have all confirmed the authenticity of the content. All these leaks mean they are preparing the public for the indictment. The noose is getting tighter and tighter. It turns out Trump was right again. The real disinformation and conspiracy theories were those of the mainstream and social media that tried to cover up the scandal.
"The Washington Post has authenticated thousands of emails from Hunter Biden's laptop after the paper joined other outlets in downplaying and disparaging the New York Post's reporting during the 2020 presidential election."
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Here's another fine example which proves there is no such thing as a "liberal media" that right wingers lie about.
In America, we have a far right wing media that is the political arm of Trump and the GOP, and then we have a Mainstream Media which favors Trump and the GOP for ratings and clicks because that's what keeps them in business.
Here's the proof right here....this is CBS CEO Lee Moonves on tape showing his public bias support for Trump as the media protects him. He knows full well that Trump is a total disaster but is good for controversy and scandals which brings in high ratings so CBS favors Trump to get those ratings they want to beat the other networks.
"It may not be good for America but it's good for CBS. The money’s rollin in…this is fun…this is going to be a very good year for us…It’s a terrible thing to say but … bring it on Donald. Go ahead. Keep goin.” - CBS CEO Lee Moonves
Listen: https://twitter.com/i/status/1509269538335985664
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Missouri Gov believes Eric Greitens beat his wife — but may back his Senate bid anyway
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Disgraced former Gov. Eric Greitens (R-MO) may receive the support of his successor even after allegations of physical abuse from his ex-wife.
"Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday said he believed allegations of domestic abuse against former Gov. Eric Greitens, but stopped short of calling on him to drop out of the U.S. Senate race," The Kansas City Star reported Wednesday. "The allegations, made by Greiten’s ex-wife Sheena Greitens last week in an affidavit filed as part of an ongoing child custody dispute, accused the former governor of hitting their then 3-year-old across the face, yanking him by his hair and knocking her down. Greitens had been previously accused of blackmailing and se**ally assaulting his former hairdresser in 2018."
Greitens resigned in June of 2018.
"Parson, however, side-stepped questions about whether Greitens should drop out of the race and whether he would endorse and vote for Greitens in his bid for U.S. Senate," the newspaper continued. "Asked about supporting Greitens if he receives the Republican nomination for Senate, Parson said, 'We’ll see what that all comes about, the day it comes.'”
Other candidates in the GOP primary include state Attorney General Eric Schmidtt, Rep. Vicky Hartzler, Rep. Billy Long, legislator Dave Schatz, and gun rights activist Mark McClowsky.
"Sheena Greitens – and Greitens’ ex-hairdresser in 2018 – made their allegations under sworn testimony. While Greitens has denied their claims, he has never done so under oath," the newspaper noted. "While national Republicans have generally avoided comment, Missouri Senators Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley have called on him to drop out, along with all of the major candidates who are running for U.S. Senate."
The winner of the GOP nomination is likely to face either Democrat Lucas Kunce or Trudy Busch Valentine.
https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article259958145.html
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President Biden
@POTUS
Americans are back to living their lives again. We can’t surrender all of that now. Congress must act immediately on COVID funding. The consequences of inaction are severe.
Just as we’ve reached a critical turning point in this fight, Congress must provide the funding America needs to continue to fight COVID-19.
We’re already seeing the consequences of Congressional inaction.
Take monoclonal antibodies. They’ve helped save lives. This isn’t partisan. It’s medicine. But Congress hasn’t provided enough money to keep purchasing them.
Without more funding we’ll start to run out by the end of May.
We’ve also had to scale back our plan to purchase more preventive therapies for Americans who are immunocompromised. Critical tools to protect the most vulnerable among us. Without more funding we risk running out of supply this fall.
The same is true for testing.
It took months to ramp up our testing capacity. But without funding, we won’t be able to sustain our testing capacity beyond June.
If we fail to invest now we’ll leave ourselves vulnerable if another wave hits. And on vaccines, we’re also running a risk.
If Congress fails to act we won’t have the supply we need this fall to ensure that shots are available for free and easy to access for all Americans.
We cannot allow that to happen. Congress needs to act now.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1509277753153105924
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"My second booster didn’t hurt a bit. If you’re 50 and older or immunocompromised, get your second booster as soon as you’re eligible."
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President Biden
@POTUS
"When I took office about 14 months ago, the pandemic was raging, the economy was reeling, and the deficit was soaring.
Most schools were closed. We didn’t have enough vaccines. And unemployment claims were sky-high.
But then we got to work, and we delivered.
Enough vaccines for every American. Effective treatments and at-home tests that are free and easily accessible. Over 99% of our schools are open again. Businesses are open again. A record 6.7 million jobs.
None of that happened by accident.
We were able to do it because we coordinated across government and partnered with state and local leaders and the private sector to leverage every resource we had against this virus.
We left no stone unturned.
Because of the strategy we executed over the past year on vaccinations, testing, treatments, and more, we are now in a new moment in this pandemic.
That does not mean that COVID-19 is over.
It means that COVID-19 no longer controls our lives.
Today, I am announcing the launch of http://COVID.gov. A one-stop shop where anyone in America can find what they need to navigate the virus."
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President Biden’s budget makes sure billionaires pay their fair share, lowers costs for families, and cuts the deficit.
Senator Rick Scott’s Republican Party platform raises taxes on seniors and working families.
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The Biden Boom is going strong. Robust private sector job growth remains STRONG. America is back to work and Biden is building back better. In 2021, the economy grew 5.7%, the strongest since 1984 and economists say 2022 will top last year's growth.
Private payrolls rose by 455,000 in March, topping expectations: ADP
Private sector payrolls rose by 455,000 in this past month, ADP said in its latest report Wednesday. Consensus economists were looking for 450,000 jobs to return, according to Bloomberg data.
Later this week, the Labor Department's "official" jobs report will likely further underscore the hot labor market conditions at present, with non-farm payrolls set to rise anew as the unemployment rate falls to a fresh pandemic-era low, based on consensus economists. Namely, Wall Street economists are looking for jobs to rise by nearly half a million in March as the unemployment rate steps down to 3.7%, from the 3.8% posted for February.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/adp-jobs-report-march-2022-labor-work-121553497.html
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New Jersey GOP mayor caught on tape repeatedly using racial slurs — and the city paid to cover it up
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On Wednesday, The Daily Beast reported that Clark Township, New Jersey paid $400,000 to silence a whistleblower who came forward with recordings of the former Republican mayor, police chief, and his associates using racial slurs — but the whistleblower is now coming forward, claiming that the town is withholding his pension in retaliation.
"According to NJ.com, Antonio Manata, a former police lieutenant, recorded several Clark Township officials using racial slurs and making derogatory statements, then threatened to file a lawsuit exposing them. But Clark officials ultimately decided to fork over $400,000 to Manata under an agreement that required the ex-cop to turn over his recordings," reported Brooke Leigh Howard. "In seven recordings obtained and published by NJ.com, Manata captured the mayor and two top police officials referring to Black people as 'sp**ks,' 'sh*nes,' and 'n—s.'"
Per the report, Black people account for less than 2 percent of the population of Clark Township.
"In one recording from 2019, Clark Township Mayor Sal Bonaccorso, a Republican serving his sixth term, was leaving a meeting at the Clark Recreation Center when an officer pointed out some ropes hanging from above and asked what they were. 'We [expletive] hang the sp**ks up there,' Bonaccorso responded as laughter filled the audio," said the report. "In another recorded conversation from 2019, Clark Police Chief Pedro Matos spoke about reopening a bias crimes investigation into the high school incident. 'I’m going to prove that them [expletive] n—-s did it,' Matos can be heard saying. In another recording, Internal Affairs Sgt. Joseph Teston allegedly said a Black suspect’s mugshot reminded him of a National Geographic photo and said he had a 'big [expletive] monkey head.'"
According to the report, Bonaccorso also said that he "hopes there are never any" women police officers, and that every woman put on the force has been a "[expletive] disaster."
This comes amid heightened scrutiny on the culture in police departments around the country. According to another report in February, the police chief of Castroville, Texas used the N-word at least three times while investigating a murder scene.
Listen to the recordings here, first obtained by NJ.com: (strong language)
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Can’t wait to hear what Desantis has to say about why he likely just lost most or all of the $300 million from the Florida state employees pension fund that he has tied up in Russia. His spokesperson assures us we just have to wait for the market in Moscow to come back around. Is there any Republican not involved with Russians?
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Florida Dems call for state, Gov. DeSantis to end $300M in Russian investments
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — More than a month after Russia invaded Ukraine, Florida Democrats have continued calls for Gov. Ron DeSantis to formally end the state’s investments in Russian companies.
According to DeSantis’ Democratic critics and political opponents in the coming gubernatorial election, Florida’s governor has not taken enough action to move away from its economic ties to Russia. U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg), who is running for governor against DeSantis, said he has “failed” to be tough on Putin. Crist has repeatedly urged the governor to divest state investments in Russian companies.
Current Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikkie Fried, another contender for governor against DeSantis, has taken a similar stance, calling for the state to divest from the companies and submitted a plan to do so, as well as move toward what she calls clean energy independence. Fried said the state must “act on it as soon as possible” to buffer its dependence on foreign energy.
To that end, an amendment in the state legislature came during appropriations votes to pull the money away from Russian investment, but failed to gather enough support to pass. Florida has about $300 million the wrapped up in what are called Russian domiciled entities, or a company based in Russia.
The amendment to divest was introduced by Hillsborough state representative Andrew Learned, a Democrat. In new comments that Rep. Learned posted to Twitter, he criticized Florida Republicans for their silence on the matter.
“Reminder: still crickets from Florida GOP about divesting our Russian investments,” Learned tweeted.
The state’s investments in Russian companies are managed by the State Board of Administration. The Florida SBA operates as an investment fiduciary, and before any decision to invest or divest is made, the board has to review the funds.
The SBA is, by law, under the control of the Governor, alongside the state’s Chief Financial Officer and Attorney General, Jimmy Patronis and Ashley Moody, respectively.
That said, a representative for DeSantis said investment and divestment decisions must be made in accordance with state law, and any federal regulations, which include Treasury Department sanctions. The representative also said the $300 million mentioned for investment was the amount held before the latest federal sanctions on Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine, and the value of the assets in question “may have changed due to volatility in the stock market.”
“The SBA has been reviewing investments in Russian domiciled entities,” according to the Governor’s Office. “Any decisions will be announced after the SBA has concluded its review.”
https://www.wfla.com/news/politics/florida-dems-call-for-state-gov-desantis-to-end-300m-in-russian-investments/
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The media is really laying the groundwork before Hunter's indictment. Trying to soften the blow by slowly acknowledging the obvious after years of denial and suppression of the topic as a conspiracy theory. Will Hunter go to prison? Probably not. But he will cut a deal pleading guilty to numerous crimes that will expose his corruption (along with the entire Biden family) and the media coverup. Trump will be vindicated once again.
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We are days away from the vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson, and the polling speaks volumes—Judge Jackson is more than qualified for SCOTUS and Americans overwhelmingly support her confirmation.
Senate Republicans' attacks on Ketanji Brown Jackson have fallen flat
Americans broadly support confirming Judge Jackson to the Supreme Court, recent polling shows.
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Senate Republicans have spent the past several weeks levying false attacks against Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden's nominee for the Supreme Court. But a new poll indicates the smears have not convinced the vast majority of American voters — two-thirds of whom back her confirmation.
A Marquette Law School poll released Wednesday found 66% of the nation's adults said they would vote to confirm Jackson — who would become the first Black woman in U.S. history to serve on the high court — if they were members of the Senate. Interestingly, 64% of poll respondents who were surveyed before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings began said they supported Jackson's confirmation, compared to 72% of poll respondents who were interviewed after the hearings began.
"It is an interesting and meaningful result given that some of the initial criticism before she was picked was, 'Why is Biden narrowing the field to just this demographic group?'" polling director Charles Franklin told USA Today. "Our evidence, at least, is that it certainly looks like a little bit of a net positive."
This poll matches the results of other recent polls, which indicated that Jackson is one of the most popular Supreme Court nominees in decades.
GOP senators started attacking Jackson's record as a judge and lawyer soon after Biden nominated her to the high court in February.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham first criticized Biden for picking someone who attended Harvard Law School, objecting to the fact that eight of the nine current justices earned law degrees from Harvard and Yale Universities — though he had himself voted to confirm six of them.
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley began pushing widely debunked claims that "Judge Jackson has a pattern of letting child p*rn offenders off the hook for their appalling crimes, both as a judge and as a policymaker" and that she showed an "alarming trend of lenient sentencing." As Missouri's attorney general, Hawley had agreed to a plea deal in at least one s*x crime case that allowed a sheriff to avoid any jail time.
Republicans then used the very same "embarrassing antics" at Jackson's confirmation hearings to try to undermine her nomination that they had previously decried and vowed not to use.
Specifically complaining that Jackson — like GOP nominees before her — refused to weigh in on policy questions that are up to Congress, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, said last Thursday that he "cannot and will not support Judge Jackson for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court."
Minority Whip John Thune, Republican Conference Chair John Barrasso, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, and Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker have also announced their intention to vote no.
So far, only one Republican — Maine Sen. Susan Collins — has indicated her support for Jackson.
Thune (R-SD) told the Hill on Wednesday that he does not expect Jackson to get more than one or two more GOP votes. "I think the universe of votes that she could get in the Senate among Republicans is probably similar to what happened in the appeals court," he said, referencing the three Republican votes she received in June 2021.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote next Monday to advance Jackson's nomination to the full Senate.
https://americanindependent.com/ketanji-brown-jackson-poll-supreme-court-senate-republicans/
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Why are Republicans so afraid to let people vote? Because when more people vote Republicans lose.
Judge blocks all new Florida voter suppression laws — then knocks the Supreme Court for putting voting rights 'under siege'
In a 288-page document, District Court Judge Mark Walker blocked the Florida voter suppression bill and specifically called out judges and the Supreme Court for undercutting the Voting Rights Act. Mark Joseph Stern, Slate's court and law writer, cited several excerpts in the judge's decision that make the decision groundbreaking. Until the case goes to the Supreme Court, Florida's suppression laws will be stopped.
Republicans around the country have been pushing voter suppression laws after former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election after a record-setting voter turnout. In Texas, for example, Republicans confessed that the law they passed putting additional barriers on vote by mail wasn't due to an outbreak of voter fraud. Instead, it was to make people feel better.
"This is a preventative measure for us," Republican state Rep. Travis Clardy said. "I think it is our job to make sure that doesn't blossom into a problem that disturbs the underlying and one of the underpinnings of our democracy, and that is confidence in our elections."
Florida SB 90 created their own restrictive legislation that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in 2021. The Florida voter suppression law makes voter registration more difficult, puts additional barriers on vote by mail and changes the rules for election observers.
"Having reviewed all the evidence, this Court finds that, for the most part, Plaintiffs are right" wrote Judge Walker. "Thus, as explained in detail below, this Court enjoins Defendants from enforcing most of SB 90’s challenged provisions. In so ruling, this Court recognizes that the right to vote, and the VRA particularly, are under siege."
He went on to cite Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who wrote in a letter to the New York Amsterdam News in June 1965 about the VRA that “to deny a person the right to exercise his political freedom at the polls is no less a dastardly act as to deny a Christian the right to petition God in prayer."
Then he dropped the hammer on the Florida law, explaining that Florida "has repeatedly, recently, and persistently acted to deny Black Floridians access to the franchise," meaning the right to vote. He thus placed the state back under preclearance, which mandates that any election laws in the state must be approved by the federal government.
He went on to detail an extensive "horrendous history of racial discrimination in voting," and explained that when the Florida Legislature passes so many laws that disproportionately burden Black voters, "this Court can no longer accept that the effect is incidental."
Judge Walker then attacked the Supreme Court, recalling Chief Justice John Roberts 2013 majority opinion, "Voting discrimination still exists; no one doubts that. The question is whether the act's extraordinary measures, including its disparate treatment of the states, continue to satisfy constitutional requirements."
"Nearly 50 years later, things have changed dramatically. Largely because of the Voting Rights Act, voter turnout and registration rates in covered jurisdictions now approach parity," the majority opinion continued. "Blatantly discriminatory evasions of federal decrees are rare and minority candidates hold office at unprecedented levels."
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg responded with a dissent, writing, "Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet."
According to Judge Walker, "In short, without explaining itself, the Court has allowed its wholly judge-made prudential rule to trump some of our most precious constitutional rights."
He said that the parts of the Florida law were inspired by racist desires to suppress Black votes. He then put the state back under the VRA's preclearance restrictions and said that the state must get federal approval before passing any new laws limiting voter registration, drop boxes, or "line warming."
So-called "line warming" is when people bring food, water, blankets, jackets, or even chairs while people spend hours standing in line to vote. Georgia passed a law this year banning any efforts to help anyone in line trying to vote. So, if someone has to use the bathroom after several hours, they have to do it on the sidewalk outside the poll place or soil themselves, otherwise, they'll lose their place in line.
https://www.rawstory.com/voting-rights-florida-decision/
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President Biden's plan will set us on a path to true energy independence.
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President Biden is Building Back Better. Labor income up $1.2 trillion since Biden took office.
Wages Up by $1.2 Trillion Since Biden Takes Office, $9,400 per Household
Okay, this is not 100 percent kosher, but since we seem to have entered the political silly season, and the media have jumped in with both feet, these are real numbers from the Commerce Department. The $1.2 trillion increase refers to all labor income, which counts employer provided health care insurance, pensions, and other benefits. More importantly, these data are not adjusted for inflation, but even when price increases are factored in, labor income is still up by 1.6 percent from when President Biden took office.
This is worth noting, because the news media have filled their pages and broadcasts with stories of workers who are suffering because of the rise in gas prices and inflation more generally. There are undoubtedly many workers who are seriously suffering, but this is always true. Since labor income is higher today than it was before the pandemic, we can reasonably infer that many more workers were having trouble making ends meet in 2019 than today. If we hear more stories of hardship now, it is because of the decision by the media to give us more stories of hardship, not because more stories exist in the world.
For those who want a picture of how labor income growth since Biden took office compares with prior years, here’s the picture since 2010.
(https://cepr.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Book3_30832_image001.png)
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and author’s calculations.
As can be seen, labor income generally rises. The one exception was 2011, when austerity measures slowed job growth and high unemployment dampened wage growth.
The other item that jumps out in this picture is that in 2014 and 2015, which were the second and third strongest year for labor income growth, oil prices fell sharply. Since wage growth and job growth don’t usually change much year by year, changes in the rate of inflation are a major determinant of the pace of real labor income growth. Oil and energy prices in turn, are major factors in the rate of inflation.
The jump in oil prices since the pandemic ended, which has been aggravated by disruptions, and the threat of disruptions, associated with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has been a major factor depressing real labor income growth since President Biden took office. The impact of higher oil prices, and other supply chain issues associated with the pandemic, have led to a big jump in inflation rates everywhere. For example, in the United Kingdom inflation has risen by 6.2 percent over the last year. In Germany, inflation has been 7.6 percent.
It is understandable that Republicans don’t like to call attention to the extent that the pandemic is responsible for higher inflation and its negative impact on living standards. It is a bit harder to understand why ostensibly neutral reporters don’t like to call attention to this fact. It’s a bit like reporting on a rise in homelessness in an area, without mentioning that much of the housing stock had been wiped out by a hurricane. But such is the state of reporting in the United States today.
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Big news today: President Biden is taking on the greedy oil industry who is artificially keeping gas prices high for profit by releasing 1 million barrels of oil per day from the strategic reserve. "The action, which Biden will formally announce later Thursday, will represent the largest release from the reserve in its nearly 50-year history." He is also going to make sure these companies are producing oil in the U.S. like they are supposed to instead of just sitting on 9,000 permits while doing nothing with his "Use It or Lose It" policy. There is absolutely no need for these greedy oil companies to take advantage of us. They already made enough profits at our expense.
Biden to release 1 million barrels of oil per day from strategic reserve to drive down gas prices
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WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden will order the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day over the next six months from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve in response to a spike in gas prices triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The action, which Biden will formally announce later Thursday, will represent the largest release from the reserve in its nearly 50-year history.
Gas prices at the pump have soared by nearly $1 per gallon in the month since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The war means less Russian oil is getting to the market, and the reduction in supply is raising prices at the pump.
Senior administration officials who briefed reporters ahead of Biden's announcement could not say how much the release of oil from the strategic reserves is expected to lower prices at the pump or how soon prices will start to fall.
The administration predicts that release of the oil will serve as a bridge until the end of the year, when domestic production ramps up. The Energy Department will use revenue from the release to restock the emergency stockpile in future years, the officials said.
What is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a stockpile to preserve access to oil in case of natural disasters, national security issues and other events. Maintained by the Energy Department, the reserves are stored in caverns created in salt domes along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coasts. There are roughly 605 million barrels of petroleum in the reserve.
The reserve was established by Congress in 1975 after the oil crisis in 1973, when oil-exporting nations throttled their production and caused energy prices to soar.
Biden promotes domestic oil production
Meanwhile, to encourage U.S. companies to ramp up domestic production, Biden also is proposing a "use it or lose it" policy for companies to produce more oil with the resources they already have. Right now, the oil and gas industry is sitting on more than 9,000 approved but unused permits for production on federal lands.
Biden will call for Congress to force companies to pay fees on wells from leases that they haven't used in years. Companies that are producing from leased acres and existing wells won't be subject to the fees. But companies that continue to sit on non-producing acres will have to choose whether to start producing or pay a fee.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/biden-to-release-1-million-barrels-of-oil-per-day-from-strategic-reserve-to-drive-down-gas-prices/ar-AAVIJ0A?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=792b2aa487e64100bd966aef51f5ce01
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House Democrats have just passed a bill to cap insulin prices at $35. Republicans call saving Americans money for their necessary medication "socialist".
Anytime Democrats want to help people save money, radical Republicans bring out the old right wing "socialist" buzzword in order to turn off their own voting base from a bill that helps them. Republicans would rather have people go into debt or miss crucial insulin doses (in which they can die) than save them money on outrageous insulin prices. And yet Republican voters keep voting against their own interests as the party they vote for forces them to go into debt over their life saving insulin they need to survive.
When a car dealership has a huge sale on cars and trucks to save folks some money, would Republicans call that "socialist" too?
193 Republicans voted against capping insulin for their own supporters who need it. House Republicans would rather have them pay well over $100 as drug companies gouge them for profits. How can anybody be against saving people money for the necessary medication they need each day? This vote was not partisan or political. It was about saving Americans money from being gouged by drug companies so they can afford their necessary insulin. This vote was a no brainer, but almost every single Republican voted "no" to save lives and save people money, which includes their own voters.
Once again, Republicans fail Americans, but mostly their own voters by proving they do not care about them. If Republicans cared about them, they would have voted "yes" to save them money on their insulin. Their "no" vote has proven they do not care.
How can the GOP claim to be "Pro Life" when they voted against another pro life issue? If someone misses their insulin shot because they can't afford it that person is likely to die. Yet, the GOP made sure that was possible by voting no to cap insulin at $35 so people can afford to live. Thankfully we have Democrats in charge of the House to save lives and to make people's lives more affordable, otherwise this crucial bill never would have passed the House.
Republicans already voted against "The American Rescue Plan" and the 'Infrastructure Bil" which has created the best economy on record, giving 7.4 million people new jobs, lowering unemployment to the lowest number since 1969, and putting more money in people's pockets. Republicans are more interested in banning books, banning transgenders from playing sports, taking away women's reproductive rights, and passing anti voter laws, none of which helps struggling families and individuals pay for the necessary medications they need to survive.
The GOP is not "Pro Life" and are not for the working man. Their voting record proves it each time they vote.
So my question is, "what has the GOP done to help the average American better their lives"? And the answer is absolutely nothing, because the GOP has already have voted "no" on every single bill in 2021/2022 that does exactly that. The GOP is the party of "NO". Remember that this November.
House passes bill to cap insulin prices
The House of Representatives voted Thursday to approve legislation that would limit cost-sharing for insulin under private health insurance and Medicare. The vote was 232-193, with 12 Republican members joining their Democratic colleagues to pass the measure.
The Affordable Insulin Now Act would cap insulin prices at either $35 a month or 25% of an insurance plan's negotiated price — whichever is lower. The legislation aims to take effect in 2023 but its fate in the Senate remains unclear.
"This is a kitchen table issue, "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said to reporters ahead of the bill's passage on Thursday.
"One in four Americans is forced to skip or ration doses of insulin and that's life-threatening," she said, noting the legislation "paves the way" for further action on negotiating lower drug prices beyond insulin.
independent nonprofit that studies health care prices, which shows prices for insulin doubled between 2012 and 2016.
"No one should have to choose between taking their medication as prescribed and putting food on the table or a roof over their head," said Rep. Dan Kildee, one of three Democratic lawmakers who sponsored the legislation.
"As a father of a type 1 diabetic, I have seen firsthand how the high price of prescription drugs like insulin can harm patients and harm families," the Michigan Democrat said during debate on the House floor. "When my daughter turned 26 and got her own health insurance, there were months where she spent a third of her take home pay because she's diabetic on staying alive."
Critics of the bill argue the cap alone doesn't do enough to solve the underlying problem of rising prescription drug prices.
"We want lower prices for drugs, particularly for insulin," said Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga, during debate. "But instead of fixing a broken system, this bill aims to control it," he adding, calling the bill a "socialist plan."
House Democrats passed legislation in November as part of a broader spending package that would have enabled Medicare to negotiate lower prices for various prescription drugs.
Because that package remains stalled in the Senate, Democrats are working to more narrowly tackle making common drugs like insulin more affordable.
There is a similar bipartisan effort under way in the Senate but its path is unclear as Republicans have traditionally been opposed to price caps.
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/31/1090085513/house-passes-bill-to-cap-insulin-prices
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It's been confirmed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' wife Ginni Thomas was in a Lifespring cult. So, she went from the Lifespring cult to the Trump Qanon cult participating in an attempted coup.
Cult expert claims this never-seen-before footage features Ginni Thomas discussing Lifespring experience
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An expert on cults on Thursday published video that he says shows him interviewing Ginni Thomas in 1989.
Steven Hassen, "one of the world's foremost experts on mind control, cults and similar destructive organizations," is the author of the 1988 book Combatting Cult Mind Control, the 2012 book Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs, and the 2019 book The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control.
"I knew Ginni Thomas. Ginni Thomas was in a cult (the large group awareness training cult, Lifespring). Here she is in 1989 speaking at an event I hosted for former members," Hassan wrote on Twitter before posting his video.
The time that Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, spent in Lifespring has been previously reported.
"Ginni graduated from Creighton University, in Omaha, and then attended law school there," Jane Mayer reported in a January New Yorker profile. "Her parents helped get her a job with a local Republican candidate for Congress, and when he won she followed him to Washington. But, after reportedly flunking the bar exam, she fell in with a cultish self-help group, Lifespring, whose members were encouraged to strip naked and mock one another’s body fat. She eventually broke away, and began working for the Chamber of Commerce, opposing 'comparable worth' pay for women. She and Thomas began dating, and in 1987 they married."
In February, The New York Times reported Clarence Thomas attended one of her de-programming meetings.
"Clarence and Ginni met in 1986 at a conference on affirmative action, which they both opposed. After a stint at the civil rights office of the Education Department, he was running the E.E.O.C.; she was an attorney at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and mused that year to Good Housekeeping about someday running for Congress. She had extracted herself from a New Age-y self-help group called Lifespring, which she would denounce as a cult, but was still attending meetings held by a cult-deprogramming organization, and she took him along to one. He would describe her as a 'gift from God,' and they married in 1987 at a Methodist church in Omaha; it was her first marriage, his second," The Times reported.
It was also mentioned in a 1991 Washington Post profile titled, "The Nominee's Soul Mate."
"Some women's rights activists are upset by her lobbying against such issues as comparable-worth legislation and the Family Leave Act. Some religious rights groups are troubled by her anti-cult activities in light of her involvement with Lifespring, a controversial motivational group," the newspaper reported. "She has declined to talk with reporters until after the hearings. She's not the story, she said. Yet she is a compelling and persuasive figure."
Steven Hassan, PhD
@CultExpert
"I knew Ginni Thomas. Ginni Thomas was in a cult (the large group awareness training cult, Lifespring). Here she is in 1989 speaking at an event I hosted for former members. Until today, almost NO one has seen this video.
Watch the video here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1509602849763778561
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President Biden
@POTUS
"I know gas prices are painful. My plan will help ease that pain today and safeguard against it tomorrow.
I'll continue to use every tool at my disposal to protect you from Putin’s price hike. And I’m calling on Congress to put aside partisanship. Let’s meet this moment together.
When you combine production here at home with less dependence on oil it means more energy security.
Between ramping up production in the short-run and driving down demand in the long-run we can free ourselves from our dependence on imported oil from across the world."
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1509686541127495687
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President Biden
@POTUS
"Clean energy made in America helps safeguard our national security, tackle climate change, and support millions of good-paying jobs for generations to come.
But the most important thing my plan will do right away is save your family money.
If you take advantage of the next generation of electric vehicles, the typical driver will save about $80 a month in perpetuity from never having to pay at the gas pump again.
If your home is powered by safer, cheaper, clean electricity like solar and heat pumps, you save about $500 per year on average.
This week, my Administration is making $3.2 billion — ten times the historical level — available to states, Tribes, and territories to retrofit homes.
A program that in the past has delivered the average family another $372 a year in savings.
We’re setting new standards to boost the fuel economy of vehicles an average of 10 miles per gallon within 5 years.
We’re setting similar standards for smaller appliances — just one of 100 actions we’re taking to save the average household another $100 per year on utility bills."
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1509636945806348292
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The Biden Administration wants effectively a "use it or lose it" clause in federal oil leases. The industry is probably going to kick up a fuss about any new restrictions, but this is widely how it’s done in contracts with private landowners - where the vast majority of production comes from. I'm sure Republicans will join in on attacking Biden when he's trying to drive down gasoline prices so let's see how long it takes them to do that. But this is criminal what the gas industry is doing to Americans by sitting on 9,000 unused permits while we pay high gas prices increasing their profits. Republicans and the right wing media lies claiming it's the "Keystone Pipeline" or "Biden policies" for the high gas prices but it's their oil buddies that refuse to drill to give us the oil we need.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FPMIIJHWYAUz7Xj?format=jpg&name=medium)
This is a very solid SPR release plan from the White House. Note the key detail about restocking to "provide a signal of future demand and help encourage domestic production today." President Biden is thinking ahead here while getting our allies around the world to help join us so it's not just us doing it alone. Smart and effective leadership.
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This is what's in White House gas plan that was released Thursday:
-- Release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the SPR reserves - the biggest ever in history.
-- Urge Congress to enact fees on industry wells not being used (anti hoarding) to drive down prices.
-- Restock SPR to encourage production.
-- DPA to bolster critical materials for clean energy.
A truly solid plan that will drive down high gas prices and force the greedy oil industry to keep producing oil instead of gouging us with high prices on purpose.
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President Biden
@POTUS
"Today, I am issuing a directive to strengthen our clean energy economy. To use the Defense Production Act to secure American supply chains for the critical materials that go into batteries for electric vehicles and storage of renewable energy.
We need to reduce our dependence on oil altogether.
We need to choose long-term energy security over energy and climate vulnerability.
And we can do that by passing my plan to speed the transition to a clean energy future that is made in America with American values.
The oil and gas industry has nearly 9,000 unused permits for drilling on federal lands.
I’m calling for a “use it or lose it” policy.
Congress should make companies pay fees on idle wells on federal leases and on public lands they’re hoarding without producing.
U.S. oil companies made nearly $80 billion in profits last year.
This isn’t the time to sit on record profits.
This is the time to step up for the good of your country. To invest in the immediate production we need to respond to Vladimir Putin.
Americans are feeling Putin’s gas price hike at the pump.
That’s why today, I’m authorizing the release of 1 million barrels a day from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve — and taking steps to lay a new foundation for lasting American energy independence through clean energy."
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FPMkfJcX0A0UWl4?format=jpg&name=medium)
"Tune in as I deliver remarks on my Administration’s actions to reduce the impact of Putin’s price hike on energy prices and lower gas prices at the pump for American families."
Watch: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1509588381893894148
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Biden uses Cold War powers to spark battery metals production
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President Joe Biden will issue a directive Thursday to boost domestic production of metals and minerals used in large capacity batteries, electric vehicles and the energy sector, according to the White House.
Why it matters: Adding the materials under the 1950 Defense Production Act is part of the Biden administration's efforts to curb rising fuel prices from supply chain disruptions and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
What they're saying: The White House said the materials will include lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and manganese.
- It added that the Department of Defense will "implement this authority using strong environmental, labor, community, and tribal consultation standards."
The big picture: Beyond rising oil prices, the fallout from the invasion of Ukraine has also driven up the cost of battery inputs, like nickel. Russia is a major supplier of many of these materials.
https://www.axios.com/biden-cold-war-powers-battery-metals-production-cff4abd6-4c1a-44ba-ab27-6a8be553f018.html
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Yesterday, 193 Republicans voted AGAINST lowering the price of insulin to $35 per month. Republicans voted against Americans for life saving insulin they need to survive. Absolutely cruel and villainous. When Republicans have a chance to vote for Americans they vote AGAINST them.
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The rats are jumping ship before the mid term disaster and indictments begin. The cratering poll numbers will soon lead to more resignations. And more confirmation of media bias. MSNBC - LOL?
White House press secretary Jen Psaki will leave for an on-air role at MSNBC
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The rats are jumping ship before the mid term disaster and indictments begin. The cratering poll numbers will soon lead to more resignations. And more confirmation of media bias. MSNBC - LOL?
White House press secretary Jen Psaki will leave for an on-air role at MSNBC
More nonsense.
The only indictments that will be coming is from the previous criminal regime.
Jen made perfectly clear when she took the job as Press Secretary that she would only stay on until the end of December 2021 because she has 2 small children. She stayed on 4 months longer. Criminal Donald went through 4-5 press secretaries in 4 years. And CBS and CNN hired right wing Trump hacks.
With record job creation and a booming economy, nobody will be voting for a Republican especially when they voted against their own diabetic voters to cap insulin prices at $35. Republicans do not care.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki says she'll resign next year when it's 'time for somebody else to have this job'
Psaki says she accepted the job after agreeing with the transition team to serve for about a year.
May 7, 2021
https://www.businessinsider.com/jen-psaki-step-down-as-biden-press-secretary-next-year-2021-5
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President Biden's historic job creation continues as the March 2022 jobs report showed 431,000 new jobs created and unemployment dropped to 3.6% which is even lower than expected. 3.7% was the prediction and Biden was able to drop it even lower.
In the past 50 years, there have been only 3 months when the unemployment rate has been lower than March's 3.6%.
This is the fastest economic recovery in history. We went from Trump's economic meltdown disaster losing 20 million jobs in a month with 6.4% unemployment when Biden entered office, down to 3.6% today with nearly 8 million jobs created in just over a year. The 3.6% is really almost as low as you can get and it was reduced in a little over a year which is just mind-blowing.
The pace of job growth in recent months is really remarkable. The U.S. has added at least 400,000 jobs a month every month since April 2021. Averaging more than 550k per month so far this year. The numbers from February's jobs report was adjusted to 678,000 jobs, which is incredible. This chart shows below this incredible job growth.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FPQpcXZWYAgROVq?format=jpg&name=medium)
What's even more amazing about President Biden's historic economic success and recovery is you have to look at our previous economic disasters and look at the length it took to recover from them.
It took 5.5 years to do what President Biden has done in 1 year after the 2001 recession. And it took nearly 8 years to do this after the 2007-08 Great Recession. Let's note that these economic disasters were created by Republicans Bush and Trump and it took Democrats Obama and Biden to clean up their mess and get America back on track. Also note, that when Obama was leaving office his economic boom started for which Trump took credit for and then destroyed with neglect and incompetence.
The BLS also confirmed today that Americans ages 25 to 54 are returning to jobs at a rapid pace. People have jobs
thanks to President Biden and Democrats. The American Rescue Plan ignited this historic economic success and every single Republican voted against it.
And let's be clear, the Biden Administration has done it while CUTTING the federal deficit both years they've been here, and with a budget to cut it further next year. Trump and Republicans soared the debt to astronomical levels which gave record tax breaks to billionaires and corporations. Biden is cutting their debt. Biden and Democrats are investing in working class families, blue collar Americans, and infrastructure which is why we see this amazing success. Trickle down economics has never worked and that will always be the GOP plan. Republicans want to tax hard working Americans $4500 which is written in their tax plan. They also want to gut social security, Medicare, and healthcare for people with pre-existing conditions. Americans will not support the GOP tax hike.
Let's not forget 193 House Republicans yesterday voted "no" to cap insulin prices at $35. Only a 14 voted yes. Republicans can't even give their own voters a break on outrageous insulin prices where elderly and struggling Americans have to decide between their necessary medicine or to pay rent. The fact is, Republicans simply do not care and their resounding "no" vote makes that abundantly clear.
None of this economic success would have happened under a Republican President and Republican Congress because they never accomplished it. Biden and Democrats did. So, voters are not going to vote for Republicans who have voted against them in 2021 and so far in 2022. People are going to vote for the party that's giving them jobs and easing their financial burden of paying outrageous prices for insulin, and that is the Democratic party that's helped them.
March Jobs Report: 431K New Jobs
This morning's employment report for March showed a 4318K increase in total nonfarm payrolls, which was below the Investing.com forecast of 490K jobs added. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.6%.
Here is an excerpt from the Employment Situation Summary released this morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 431,000 in March, and the unemployment rate declined to 3.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Notable job gains continued in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade, and manufacturing.
https://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/2022/04/01/march-jobs-report-431k-new-jobs
March jobs report: Payrolls rise by 431,000 as unemployment rate falls to 3.6%
The U.S. economy notched another sizable payroll gain in March as the labor market extended a strong and speedy recovery to bring employment closer to pre-pandemic levels.
March's closely watched jobs report marked a fifteenth consecutive month of expansion for the U.S. workforce. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had anticipated payrolls to rise by 490,000, according to consensus data. At 678,000, last month's employment report reflected a stunning upside surprise to investors, with payrolls rising 255,000 more than consensus estimates projected at the time. Moreover, job gains from the last report were also upwardly revised even further to show 750,000 jobs added or created.
The unemployment rate dropped a more-than-expected two-tenths of 1%, edging closer to the historic low of 3.5% seen in February 2020, Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick noted, though pointing out that the labor force participation rate remains 1 percentage point below its pre-pandemic level.
AP
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Another phony Republican anti Biden talking point has been easily debunked.
Right wingers flat out lie calling it "Biden Inflation". They also lie saying that Biden's "policies" created high inflation. Both fake claims are a lie.
Inflation started in the Summer of 2020, well BEFORE Biden ever took office and he never implemented a "policy" that caused inflation. Global Inflation is happening due to a global pandemic and it has nothing to do with "Biden policies" that Republicans lie about. Europe is suffering from record high inflation so it's a global problem. Republicans know that as well, but they continue to lie just to smear Biden hoping to score cheap political points.
And let's be clear, Republicans have not been serious about defeating this pandemic. They have lied about the virus not being deadly and they lied about vaccines. They blocked measures to get more people vaccinated and refuse to vote on Biden nominees to posts which will help ease inflation. All the problems the GOP has caused allowed inflation to stay high which is their goal so they can blame Biden.
European Inflation Soars to Record 7.5% on Fuel, Food Costs
Inflation in Europe has soared to another record.
(https://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/da3b42a/2147483647/thumbnail/970x647/quality/85/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.beam.usnews.com%2F09%2F5d56b9332bc93bee7f9748aac663b6%2Fmedia%3A2344bed5d0054994864124148a178cdbEurope_Inflation_24381.jpg)
Personal trainer Antonia Kalantzi, 38, shops at a grocery store in Athens, Greece, on Feb. 16, 2022. Inflation in Europe soared to another record, a fresh sign that rising energy prices fueled by Russia’s war in Ukraine are squeezing consumers and adding pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates. Consumer prices in the 19 countries that use the euro currency rose by an annual rate of 7.5% in March, according to the European Union statistics agency, Eurostat.The latest reading smashed the high set just last month, when it hit a revised 5.9%. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
LONDON (AP) — Inflation in Europe soared to another record, according to new EU figures released Friday, in a fresh sign that rising energy prices fueled by Russia’s war in Ukraine are squeezing consumers and adding pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates.
Consumer prices in the 19 countries that use the euro currency rose by an annual rate of 7.5% in March, according to the European Union statistics agency, Eurostat.
The latest reading smashed the high set just last month, when it hit 5.9%. It's the fifth straight month that inflation in the eurozone has set a record, bringing it to the highest level since recordkeeping for the euro began in 1997.
Rising consumer prices are a growing problem around the world, making it more difficult for people to afford everything from groceries to their utility bills. Spiking energy costs are the main factor driving inflation in Europe, with those prices surging 44.7% last month, up from 32% in February, Eurostat said.
Oil and gas prices had already been rising because of increasing demand from economies recovering from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic. They jumped higher after Russia, a major oil and gas producer, invaded Ukraine, on fears that sanctions and export restrictions could crimp supplies.
It's also getting more expensive to eat in Europe. Food costs, including alcohol and tobacco, rose 5%, compared with 4.2% in the prior month.
Mina Agib, who runs an Egyptian restaurant called Meya Meya in Berlin, said prices for frying oil and meat have shot up by 70% to 100% recently.
“Who isn’t affected?” Agib replied, when asked whether he’s feeling the impact of rising prices.
Two weeks ago, one of his suppliers said meat prices would increase by 70 euro cents (77 cents) per kilogram, Agib said. “They told us to expect another increase next week.”
To avoid losing money, Agib has had to raise the price of some dishes. One customer, angry at having to pay half a euro more for a plate of sliced meat, dips and salad, posted a negative online review — the first since his restaurant opened over a year ago.
"We’re between a rock and a hard place,” he said. “We want to keep customers happy with high-quality ingredients and homemade food. But we also have to pay the prices our suppliers demand.”
At an outdoor market this week in Cologne, Germany, shopper Andreas Langheim also bemoaned how life was getting more expensive.
“I can see the effect of increasing prices, especially here at the market,” Langheim, 62, said as he picked up some bread from a bakery van. “Everything is more expensive now.”
Prices also increased for goods like clothing, appliances, cars, computers and books, up 3.4% from the 3.1% set the month before, and for services, which were up 2.7% from 2.5%.
The latest figures make it more urgent for the European Central Bank to get off the sidelines and take action, analysts said. The bank is balancing record inflation with the threat that the war may hurt an economy under pressure. Last month, it sped up its exit from economic stimulus efforts to combat inflation, but has not taken more drastic steps.
“We think that the ECB will soon conclude that it can’t wait any longer before starting to raise interest rates,” Jack Allen-Reynolds, senior Europe economist at Capital Economics, said in a report.
Other central banks have started raising rates, including in the U.S., where inflation has soared to a 40-year high of 7.9%. European countries that don’t use the euro, including Britain, Norway and the Czech Republic have done the same.
Italian Premier Mario Draghi, a former European Central Bank president, outlined how the problem hits households.
“Inflation is rising because raw materials prices are going up, in particular those for foodstuffs. Those are the ones that hit hardest a family’s buying power,’’ Draghi told foreign journalists Thursday. “Shortages in some raw materials creates a bottleneck in production and forces further price hikes.’’
Draghi said that as long as inflation remains temporary, governments can respond with budgetary measures, such as payments to help low-income families with higher heating and electricity costs. But if it becomes a longer-term issue, the response will have to be structural, he said.
Italy’s construction industry has raised the alarm over how jobs at thousands of public and private construction sites are at risk from inflation. It warned that the sector could not only slow down but come to a complete halt because of soaring costs for fuel and raw materials, including iron, reinforced concrete and steel, which has doubled in price.
https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2022-04-01/inflation-in-19-nations-using-euro-soars-to-record-7-5
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Disgraced ex-congressman pardoned by Trump finally hit with fine from election officials
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On Friday, The Daily Beast reported that the Federal Election Commission has finally handed down fines against disgraced former Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and his associates for a massive campaign finance fraud scheme.
However, noted the report, the actual size of the fine is small relative to the actual amount of money he stole — just $16,000 in total, $12,000 for Hunter and his wife and $4,000 for campaign treasurer Chris Marston.
"Hunter had committed what were widely seen as among the most flagrant personal use violations in recent history," reported Roger Sollenberger. "Over a period of several years, he and his wife — Margaret Hunter, who doubled as his campaign manager — stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from his campaign account and spent it on personal items like vacations, gifts, groceries, oral surgery, and credit card bills. Hunter himself was accused of using thousands of dollars in donor money to fund numerous extramarital affairs, including with multiple lobbyists and a Republican aide. Margaret Hunter, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2018 and cooperated against her husband, served eight months under house arrest. Duncan Hunter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to misuse campaign funds in December 2019, resigned from Congress the next month, and was sentenced to 11 months in prison in March 2020."
Ultimately, though, Hunter never served any of his sentence, as former President Donald Trump pardoned him on his way out the door in December 2020.
"Although the Justice Department administers criminal statutes of campaign finance law, of which there are relatively few, the FEC retains jurisdiction for civil violations. And so, a full two years after sentencing and nearly four years after the initial 60-count indictment, the FEC, in a rare unanimous 6-0 vote, finally moved on the Hunters," said the report. "First they had to get past the pardon. Although the general counsel’s report acknowledged that courts have not 'squarely addressed' whether presidential pardon powers extend to civil violations, the text of Trump’s pardon in this case, the report concluded, was narrow and 'directed squarely at the criminal conviction and resulting punishment.'"
Hunter's pardon was one of a flurry Trump issued for his political allies. He also pardoned former strategist Steve Bannon for an alleged scheme to defraud people donating to a private fund to build a border wall. Bannon has since been re-indicted on totally separate charges for contempt of Congress after refusing to cooperate with the House investigation of the January 6 attack.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/feds-slap-disgraced-rep-duncan-hunter-with-measly-fine-after-trump-pardon
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'It wasn't just talk,' feds say as Whitmer kidnap trial of 4 men nears end
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Four men on trial and accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer didn’t just talk about wanting to kidnap and kill Michigan's governor, they planned, prepared and armed themselves to spark a second Civil War, a federal prosecutor said during closing arguments Friday.
“In America, there’s a lot of things you can do. You can criticize the government publicly, absolutely," Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler told jurors. "If you don’t like the government’s policies, you can protest them. If you don’t like elected leaders, you can vote them out at the ballot box. What you can’t do is kidnap them, kill them or blow them up.
"It wasn't just talk."
Jury deliberations are expected later Friday once defense lawyers have delivered closing arguments that followed a 14-day trial in federal court in Grand Rapids. The trial is one of the most closely watched domestic terrorism investigations in decades that has focused attention on violent extremism that flared ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
Jurors listened to and watched secret recordings of the defendants building bombs in Wisconsin, firing weapons in rural Michigan, going on a night surveillance run past the governor's cottage and griping about tyrannical government officials during a hotel meeting in Ohio. Jurors also listened to recordings that captured defendants mulling ways to torture or kill Whitmer — everything from posing as a pizza-delivering assassin to hog-tying the governor and leaving her on a boat in the middle of Lake Michigan.
There was no boat and there was no plot, defense lawyers argued during the trial. Just tough talk from men on the fringes of society, including Potterville resident Adam Fox, who was so poor he lived in the basement of a vacuum shop, so disrespected that even though prosecutors call him a ringleader, the other accused plotters called him Captain Autism. This group, defense lawyers argued, was manipulated by a rogue government team that entrapped the men and orchestrated a conspiracy.
“The evidence shows, clearly, those plans belong to the government,” Fox’s lawyer, Christopher Gibbons, told jurors Friday.
He blamed FBI Special Agent Jayson Chambers and informant "Big" Dan Chappel for orchestrating the case. In one text, Chappel told the agent “If you need it to happen, I make it happen.”
“That’s manipulation,” Gibbons told jurors Friday.
What the government calls a conspiracy was just talk, Gibbons said.
“The only people moving and the only people trying to make it happen, it all starts and ends with Jayson Chambers and Big Dan,” Gibbons said.
Lake Orion security guard Daniel Harris, the only defendant to testify, told jurors Thursday he did not plot to kidnap Whitmer or attack the state Capitol.
"Absolutely not," Harris, 24, said.
Harris is standing trial alongside Barry Croft, 46, of Delaware and Fox, 38, and Brandon Caserta, 33, of Canton Township. The group was arrested in early October 2020 and accused of hatching the plot due to distrust of the government and anger over restrictions imposed during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. They face up to life in prison if convicted of kidnapping conspiracy.
The trial coincide with jurors in federal court in Washington, D.C., hearing the first cases involving people charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Together, the trials provide the first tests of federal laws being used to punish extremist behavior that erupted nationally in 2020 and 2021 around the presidential election and pandemic.
The Whitmer kidnap trial has featured tense moments and dramatic confrontations.
The government's two star witnesses — convicted plotters Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks — testified the group conceived of the plot, not FBI agents.
"Liars," Harris testified Thursday.
Chief U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker addressed the entrapment issue during jury instructions Friday. He told jurors that in order to find the defendants were entrapped, there must be undisputed evidence that government agents induced them to commit the crime and that Fox, Croft, Harris and Caserta were not predisposed to commit kidnapping conspiracy.
On Friday, the prosecutor recounted the group’s motivation. Croft was driven by vanity and viewed himself as the country’s “re-founding father,” Kessler said.
Fox was motivated by wanting to humiliate Whitmer for his own shortcomings, telling co-defendants his life on the edges of society, in a makeshift apartment without a working toilet or water was the fault of that “tyrant b----,” the prosecutor said.
“In the world Adam Fox wanted, the person with the biggest muscles and guns makes the rules,” Kessler said.
Accused ringleader Adam Fox purchased an 800,000-volt Taser to use in kidnapping Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, according to the FBI.
Harris, meanwhile, never saw combat as a Marine.
“Maybe he wanted to see it now,” the prosecutor said.
And Caserta was filled with conspiracy theories about international Zionist bankers pulling the strings of government, Kessler said.
"He wanted to live in a world where nobody could tell him what to do,” he said.
Kessler countered several “red herrings” mentioned by defense lawyers. The defendants were not simply engaged in a “juvenile soldier fantasy” or cosplay, or merely talking tough while high or drunk during a roughly five-month investigation.
“Do you know anybody who is stoned for five straight months?” Kessler asked jurors.
© The Detroit News
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President Biden
@POTUS
"We just learned that unemployment is now down to 3.6% and, in March, our economy created 431,000 jobs.
This is a historic recovery — Americans are back at work.
Today, we learned our economy created 431,000 jobs in March. And we learned that in January and February, the economy created about 100,000 more jobs than we previously thought.
That means over the last three months, the economy created more than a half-million jobs a month.
Over the course of my presidency, our economy has now created 7.9 million jobs.
More jobs created over the first 14 months of any presidency, in any term, ever.
In March, the unemployment rate fell to 3.6%.
Down from 6.4% when I took office.
The fastest decline in unemployment at the start of a president’s term ever recorded.
There have been only three months in the last 50 years where the unemployment rate in America was lower than it is now.
What this means is clear: Americans are back to work."
Watch: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1510021375490199559
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The White House
@WhiteHouse
Economy Update: This morning we learned that unemployment is down to 3.6% and the economy created 431,000 jobs in March. Here’s a closer look at our economic recovery, and what’s next:
First, jobs: @POTUS’s first year in office was the largest year of job growth in American history. This was a direct result of the American Rescue Plan and other actions that overcame an ongoing global pandemic. The trend is continuing.
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This recovery and growth was not inevitable – we can see that by comparing our economic growth and money in people’s bank accounts to other major economies. The U.S. was the first major advanced economy to get to stronger levels than before the pandemic.
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The jobs recovery under @POTUS is unprecedented. Not only are initial unemployment claims, meaning people newly out of work, down near historic lows, but the total people on unemployment benefits is at its lowest level since 1969.
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Throughout all of this, @POTUS has managed to actually reduce the deficit as well. The deficit fell by over $350 billion last year and is on track to fall by $1.3 trillion this year.
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@POTUS is doing everything in his power to lower costs at home by:
- Addressing short-term supply chain issues
- Increasing oil supply
- Pushing for lower prescription drug prices, child care costs, and more
- Promoting competition
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1509936784334983170
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The United States is currently reporting 16,138 coronavirus hospitalizations, the lowest mark since reporting began in July 2020, according to data from @CNN and the Department of Health and Human Services.
U.S. Covid hospitalizations hit new low, falling 32 percent in the last two weeks
Covid hospitalizations are at their lowest levels since the U.S. began keeping records at the start of the pandemic, according to an NBC News analysis of data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Average hospitalizations fell to 16,760, lower than the previous low of 16,808, set before the delta wave in June. Hospitalization figures from the past few days could change as hospitals finalize numbers.
Since March 2020, when HHS began recording hospitalizations, as many as 159,000 people have been hospitalized in a day with Covid, a peak that was set Jan. 20 during the omicron surge. On average, the country has reported 63,000 hospitalizations a day.
In the past two weeks, hospitalizations have fallen by 32 percent, from an average of 24,595 to 16,760.
President Joe Biden declared in his State of the Union address this month that “Covid-19 need no longer control our lives.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/covid-19-hospitalizations-country-hit-new-low-march-31-rcna22441
Coronavirus vaccine are free and accessible thanks to President Biden’s historic vaccination campaign. The American Rescue Plan have saved more than 1 million American lives and will continue to save countless more.
Go to http://covid.gov to find a free vaccine near you!
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Thursday night, the House passed the Affordable Insulin Now Act. This is a tremendous moment in American health care history and it's extremely disappointing that only 12 Republicans voted in favor of capping the cost of insulin at $35. The overwhelming majority of House Republicans couldn’t care less about their diabetic constituents who have to ration medicine to pay for food and rent. They will remember this vote in November when Republicans voted "no" to cap outrageous insulin prices.
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More nonsense.
The only indictments that will be coming is from the previous criminal regime.
Jen made perfectly clear when she took the job as Press Secretary that she would only stay on until the end of December 2021 because she has 2 small children. She stayed on 4 months longer. Criminal Donald went through 4-5 press secretaries in 4 years. And CBS and CNN hired right wing Trump hacks.
With record job creation and a booming economy, nobody will be voting for a Republican especially when they voted against their own diabetic voters to cap insulin prices at $35. Republicans do not care.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki says she'll resign next year when it's 'time for somebody else to have this job'
Psaki says she accepted the job after agreeing with the transition team to serve for about a year.
May 7, 2021
https://www.businessinsider.com/jen-psaki-step-down-as-biden-press-secretary-next-year-2021-5
Hunter is going down soon. His financial records confirm that Old Joe's brother and wife are also implicated. So is the "big guy" with his cut but the corrupt DOJ will not go that far. They like their cushy jobs. Peppermint Patty is getting out of Dodge before the posse comes to carry them all away to the slammer. She also knows that the disasters unfolding will only get worse under Biden's incompetence and cognitive impairment culminating in a republican tsunami in the mid term elections. Rats have a good sense of self preservation. The ship is sinking faster than the Titanic.
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The one of the main faces of the Republican party, Madison Cawthorn says his GOP colleagues go to 'cocaine parties' and Roger Stone said it's true. The GOP is a mess.
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/599987-cawthorn-says-people-in-dc-have-invited-to-orgy-done-cocaine-in-front-of-him/
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92% of House Republicans voted AGAINST lowering the cost of insulin.
193 House Republicans vote to keep insulin prices high
Only 12 Republicans in the House of Representatives joined all Democrats to vote for the Affordable Insulin Now Act.
Nearly all House Republicans on Thursday night voted against a bill that would dramatically lower the cost of insulin, the life-saving diabetes drug that has skyrocketed in price in recent years.
The House passed the Affordable Insulin Now Act by a vote of 232-193, with every Democrat and just 12 Republicans voting for the bill. If enacted, the bill would cap the price for a month supply of the drug at $35, or 25% of the negotiated insurance price.
According to the website GoodRx Health, the average price for insulin spiked by 54% between 2014 and 2019, an increase that's led to insulin rationing, a dangerous and sometimes deadly tactic in which diabetics use less insulin than needed in order to avoid depleting their supply of the expensive drug.
"Insulin prices are outrageous! Diabetics, like me, pay almost $100 for a unit that costs $12 in Canada. It causes some to ration or skip days to survive," Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ) tweeted. "Today, I voted for a bill to cap insulin prices at $35 per month. No one should have to choose between food or medicine!"
Republicans condemned the bill as government interference in health care.
"Today it's the government fixing the price of insulin. What's next?" Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) said during debate on the bill. "Gas? Food? History tells us that price-fixing doesn't work."
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), while calling the legislation "another big government bill that claims to serve the American people by subverting basic economic theory with the proposed codification of government price controls," blamed the rising cost of insulin on increased demand due to Americans getting fatter.
"The number of diabetes cases in the U.S. has nearly doubled. The demand for insulin has increased and the requisite price increase has followed suit. In other words, the price of insulin increases as waistlines increase," Gaetz tweeted.
However, polling finds that voters support capping the cost of the drug.
A Data for Progress survey in November 2021 found that 87% support capping the cost of insulin at $35 per month.
Provisions that would have lowered prescription drug prices were included in President Joe Biden's Build Back Better framework, which stalled in the Senate.
It's unclear whether the standalone insulin bill can pass in the Senate.
Democrats would need to convince 10 Republicans to allow the bill to come up for a vote to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to stop a filibuster of it.
https://americanindependent.com/affordable-insulin-now-act-build-back-better-republicans-democrats-house-representatives-prices/
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92% of House Republicans voted AGAINST lowering the cost of insulin.
193 House Republicans vote to keep insulin prices high
Only 12 Republicans in the House of Representatives joined all Democrats to vote for the Affordable Insulin Now Act.
Nearly all House Republicans on Thursday night voted against a bill that would dramatically lower the cost of insulin, the life-saving diabetes drug that has skyrocketed in price in recent years.
The House passed the Affordable Insulin Now Act by a vote of 232-193, with every Democrat and just 12 Republicans voting for the bill. If enacted, the bill would cap the price for a month supply of the drug at $35, or 25% of the negotiated insurance price.
According to the website GoodRx Health, the average price for insulin spiked by 54% between 2014 and 2019, an increase that's led to insulin rationing, a dangerous and sometimes deadly tactic in which diabetics use less insulin than needed in order to avoid depleting their supply of the expensive drug.
"Insulin prices are outrageous! Diabetics, like me, pay almost $100 for a unit that costs $12 in Canada. It causes some to ration or skip days to survive," Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ) tweeted. "Today, I voted for a bill to cap insulin prices at $35 per month. No one should have to choose between food or medicine!"
Republicans condemned the bill as government interference in health care.
"Today it's the government fixing the price of insulin. What's next?" Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) said during debate on the bill. "Gas? Food? History tells us that price-fixing doesn't work."
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), while calling the legislation "another big government bill that claims to serve the American people by subverting basic economic theory with the proposed codification of government price controls," blamed the rising cost of insulin on increased demand due to Americans getting fatter.
"The number of diabetes cases in the U.S. has nearly doubled. The demand for insulin has increased and the requisite price increase has followed suit. In other words, the price of insulin increases as waistlines increase," Gaetz tweeted.
However, polling finds that voters support capping the cost of the drug.
A Data for Progress survey in November 2021 found that 87% support capping the cost of insulin at $35 per month.
Provisions that would have lowered prescription drug prices were included in President Joe Biden's Build Back Better framework, which stalled in the Senate.
It's unclear whether the standalone insulin bill can pass in the Senate.
Democrats would need to convince 10 Republicans to allow the bill to come up for a vote to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to stop a filibuster of it.
https://americanindependent.com/affordable-insulin-now-act-build-back-better-republicans-democrats-house-representatives-prices/
Great news. Biden is finally implementing Trump's initiative after delaying it for years.
"The Trump administration finalized a rule in 2020 requiring federally qualified health centers to provide insulin at discounted prices, but the Biden administration has not implemented the rule. Former President Donald Trump also worked with drug manufacturers and insurance companies to allow Medicare enrollees to sign up for prescription plans offering insulin at $35 a month."
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President Biden is the greatest job creation president in history. This is the Biden Boom. Where was Donnie's jobs?
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Great news. Biden is finally implementing Trump's initiative after delaying it for years.
"The Trump administration finalized a rule in 2020 requiring federally qualified health centers to provide insulin at discounted prices, but the Biden administration has not implemented the rule. Former President Donald Trump also worked with drug manufacturers and insurance companies to allow Medicare enrollees to sign up for prescription plans offering insulin at $35 a month."
:D :D :D
Insulin was never capped at $35 and almost every single Republican just voted against capping it. Nice try.
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Madison Cawthorn made bold allegations — here's why a legal expert thinks he might be right
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Allegations from Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) of orgies and cocaine use among senior members of Congress he respects may not be entirely off base, a MSNBC analyst explained on Saturday.
On Saturday, MSNBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reported on the aftermath of Cawthorn's remarks.
"Madison Cawthorn is in hot water with the GOP after suggesting that members of his party participated in cocaine fueled orgies," Mohyeldin reported.
For analysis, the host interviewed attorney and comedian Dean Obeidallah.
"Didn't you see 'Eyes Wide Shut'? You're not supposed to tell people about these parties," he said, referencing the 1999 Stanley Kubrick movie staring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
He noted that 2020 GOP Senate nominee Lauren Witzke said Cawthorn was right.
"There might be something going on," he said. "I don't want to have any mental images of Kevin McCarthy at an orgy, but I think there might be something going on behind the scenes. It might be big Republican donors inviting these younger, attractive Republicans over for some fun," he said.
"But I will say, in all seriousness, I think there's something here. I think there really is something going on, maybe not to that extent, exaggeration is not a denial. So no mental images here, but I think there's something ugly going on in the GOP caucus.," Obeidallah said.
Watch:
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Biden got two more federal judges confirmed on Thursday.
Total # at this point of presidency:
TRUMP: 29
BIDEN: 58
Biden’s now confirmed judges at twice the rate of Trump
Biden has appointed most federal judges through March 1 of a president’s second year
https://news.ballotpedia.org/2022/03/04/biden-has-appointed-most-federal-judges-through-march-1-of-a-presidents-second-year/
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The United States is currently reporting 15,647 coronavirus hospitalizations, the lowest mark since reporting began in July 2020, according to data from @CNN and the Department of Health and Human Services.
President Biden promised to get the coronavirus under control and he has done it.
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The GOP is not "pro life" and they just proved it again by voting against millions of diabetic Americans and their families. Thankfully we have Democrats in charge of the House who voted to help millions of Americans pay $35 for insulin. There was absolutely no reason for Republicans to vote against capping insulin prices at $35. I agree, Remember in November.
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Republicans didn't care when Madison Cawthorn was advocating violence against Democrats, was supporting insurrection, praised Hitler, sent out a swastika tweet, or when several women accuse him of assault. But as soon as he mentions Republican "cocaine parties" they all flip out and start raging at him. Seems like he finally hit a nerve with his GOP colleagues.
Republican goes off on Madison Cawthorn allegations for almost 10 minutes: 'You should name them'
Former Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) is so furious with Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) that he was spitting fire on the Fox network Sunday.
Cawthorn got in trouble this week when he announced that members of his party invited him to s*x parties. Other Republicans, Cawthorn said, spend their time and efforts fighting the drug war, meanwhile, he witnessed them doing cocaine. While many other Republicans have been caught promoting white supremacists, klan ideology or using anti-Semitic imagery, it was Cawthorn that drew a stern warning from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
Speaking about it Sunday, Gowdy said that the people he was around, while in Congress, did none of what Cawthorn described, explaining that he was never invited to the orgy. He suggested that Cawthorn was simply "hanging around with the wrong people." Since Gowdy was in office, 29 new Republican members of Congress have entered the House.
He went on to suggest that Cawthorn name names because their constituents deserve to know what they're doing with their time in Congress and at taxpayer's expense. If Cawthorn participated in any of it, Gowdy demanded that he come forward about it.
See his rant below:
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Under President Biden, America has created more jobs in the past 14 months than any similar stretch in American HISTORY......almost 8 million jobs in 14 months. More people are working full-time now than at any time pre-pandemic.
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Thanks to President Biden, Americans enjoy the highest average annual average wages in the world. Republicans want to tax Americans $4500. That would mean less money for more Americans.
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Don't forget that every single Republican voted against President Biden's American Rescue Plan calling it "socialist", "wasteful", and "pork". Is nearly 8 million new jobs, record GDP growth, and a 3.6% unemployment rate "wasteful"? Without this Rescue plan, America would have been really struggling. The rule of thumb is to tune out Republican talking points and buzzwords because they clearly don't know what they are talking about. The results of this American Rescue Plan speaks for itself, it helped to create the greatest economy and job creation on record.
President Biden
@POTUS
Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we were able to get Americans vaccinated, schools open, and businesses humming.
Moody’s estimates that because of the Rescue Plan, 4 million more jobs were created and unemployment is 2% lower than it would have been had we failed to act."
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1510297332981641227
New analysis from Moody's found that for 2021, the American Rescue Plan resulted in 4 million more jobs and nearly doubled GDP growth. Moody's finds that without the American Rescue Plan, unemployment would have risen in summer 2021 to back over 7% and remain materially higher after that. Mar 11, 2022
https://home.treasury.gov/news/featured-stories/what-they-are-saying-state-and-local-leaders-new-data-highlight-impact-of-american-rescue-plan-on-anniversary#
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The taxpayers will be saved a bundle when Hunter goes to the slammer:
"Secret Service is renting $30,000-a-month Malibu mansion to protect Hunter Biden, ABC News reports"
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The taxpayers will be saved a bundle when Hunter goes to the slammer:
"Secret Service is renting $30,000-a-month Malibu mansion to protect Hunter Biden, ABC News reports"
Criminal Donald wasted 1.7 million on his criminal kids and staff affer he lost the election.
Post-White House Secret Service for Trump's Adult Children and Staff Cost $1.7M
Spending records reviewed by The Washington Post show U.S. taxpayers spent more than $52,000 to guard Steven Mnuchin, a multimillionaire and former investment banker, during a June trip to the Middle East
The six months of extra Secret Service protection approved by outgoing President Donald Trump for his four adult children and other staffers before leaving office cost taxpayers $1.7 million, according to spending documents analyzed by The Washington Post.
PEOPLE confirmed in January that Trump had extended the protection for his kids for six months when he left Washington, D.C., with a Secret Service source saying that the former president, 74, issued the last-minute extension as a "transition period" for Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump (and her husband, Jared Kushner), Eric Trump (and his wife Lara Trump) and Tiffany Trump.
The source added that some other non-Trump family members were also given an extended period of security but could not provide names.
The Post reported that former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Trump's former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien were among those granted extended protection.
On Friday, the Post reported the high cost of that extra protection, including that that the U.S. government paid up to $3,000 each for plane tickets and $11,000 for rooms at the St. Regis Doha during a trip Mnuchin took to the Middle East in June.
"In all, the records show U.S. taxpayers spent more than $52,000 to guard a multimillionaire on a business trip," the paper reported.
Mnuchin, 58, was previously an investment banker and film producer prior to joining the Trump cabinet as secretary of the Treasury.
A spokesperson for Mnuchin told the paper that he did not ask Trump to provide the extra Secret Service protection but also did not turn it down on the advice of "government officials." The spokesperson added that Mnuchin intends to reimburse some of the costs but did not elaborate further.
As the Post notes, the Secret Service's $2.4 billion budget is more than enough to cover the unusual request for extra coverage. The protection is still notable, however, as it extends to adults (like Trump's elder sons) who had no official role in government and seemingly have enough wealth to pay for their own security as private citizens.
https://people.com/politics/post-presidency-secret-service-for-trump-children-and-staff-cost-more-than-1-million/
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Criminal Donald wasted 1.7 million on his criminal kids and staff affer he lost the election.
Post-White House Secret Service for Trump's Adult Children and Staff Cost $1.7M
Spending records reviewed by The Washington Post show U.S. taxpayers spent more than $52,000 to guard Steven Mnuchin, a multimillionaire and former investment banker, during a June trip to the Middle East
The six months of extra Secret Service protection approved by outgoing President Donald Trump for his four adult children and other staffers before leaving office cost taxpayers $1.7 million, according to spending documents analyzed by The Washington Post.
PEOPLE confirmed in January that Trump had extended the protection for his kids for six months when he left Washington, D.C., with a Secret Service source saying that the former president, 74, issued the last-minute extension as a "transition period" for Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump (and her husband, Jared Kushner), Eric Trump (and his wife Lara Trump) and Tiffany Trump.
The source added that some other non-Trump family members were also given an extended period of security but could not provide names.
The Post reported that former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Trump's former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien were among those granted extended protection.
On Friday, the Post reported the high cost of that extra protection, including that that the U.S. government paid up to $3,000 each for plane tickets and $11,000 for rooms at the St. Regis Doha during a trip Mnuchin took to the Middle East in June.
"In all, the records show U.S. taxpayers spent more than $52,000 to guard a multimillionaire on a business trip," the paper reported.
Mnuchin, 58, was previously an investment banker and film producer prior to joining the Trump cabinet as secretary of the Treasury.
A spokesperson for Mnuchin told the paper that he did not ask Trump to provide the extra Secret Service protection but also did not turn it down on the advice of "government officials." The spokesperson added that Mnuchin intends to reimburse some of the costs but did not elaborate further.
As the Post notes, the Secret Service's $2.4 billion budget is more than enough to cover the unusual request for extra coverage. The protection is still notable, however, as it extends to adults (like Trump's elder sons) who had no official role in government and seemingly have enough wealth to pay for their own security as private citizens.
https://people.com/politics/post-presidency-secret-service-for-trump-children-and-staff-cost-more-than-1-million/
LOL. The secret service won't have to pay a penny soon to protect Hunter. His next accommodation will come with its own security detail. The slammer. They will even provide him with a nice orange jump suit. At least he will have company with his uncle and Avenatti.
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Women within Missouri GOP speak out against Eric Greitens as party remains silent
https://www.rawstory.com/eric-greitens-2657089350/
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Biden to highlight administration's efforts to boost trucking jobs
The administration has made it a priority to hire more military veterans and women into the industry, the White House said.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday plans to highlight the progress made on his administration's plan to boost trucking employment in an effort to strengthen U.S. supply chains.
In afternoon remarks, Biden is expected to say that last year was the best on record for trucking job growth since 1994, the White House said. After the administration introduced its plan to boost trucking employment in December, the U.S. has had the best three-month stretch for long-distance trucking hiring since the 1990s, it said.
Biden will discuss the effort to expedite the issuing of commercial driver's licenses needed to operate trucks. The White House said since Jan. 2021, states have issued more than 876,000 of those special licenses, and trucking employment now exceeds pre-pandemic levels by 35,000 jobs.
The administration has also made it a priority to hire more military veterans and women into the industry, which is dominated by men. As part of the plan, the industry has partnered with major veterans' organizations "to support the recruitment and retention of veterans and military family members in trucking," the White House said.
"Trucking moves 72 percent of goods in America and is a lynchpin in our goods movement supply chain," the White House said in preview of the progress report. "Trucking costs grew more than 20 percent last year as a surge in demand for goods caused by the pandemic confronted a decline in trucking employment that preceded the pandemic. The low supply of drivers is driven by high turnover and low job quality."
To improve retention and prevent fast turnover in the trucking industry, the administration has nearly doubled apprenticeship programs for trucking through 100 employers and seven trade associations, the White House said. It also held multiple listening sessions with truck drivers, advocates and unions to understand how to make trucking jobs more appealing and high-quality.
The plan is part of a joint effort by the Department of Transportation and Department of Labor and stems from the infrastructure legislation that Congress passed and Biden signed into law last year.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-highlight-administrations-efforts-boost-trucking-jobs-rcna22799
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Today, The White House held an event to highlight steps the adminsitration has taken to recruit and retain more truckers and improve systems for transport of goods to ease supply chain stress.
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Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien met with President Biden today during an event on the U.S. trucking industry at the White House. This is Biden's Trucking Action Plan.
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Biden brings truckers to the White House, says 'drivers are facing real challenges'
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In December, the White House announced a 90-day plan to improve the trucking industry and help loosen up supply chains in the process.
And since then, the industry has been challenged further by high fuel prices that have left some truckers — who often operate as independent contractors — worried about going bankrupt. Diesel prices hit their highest level since 1994 in mid-March, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
On Monday, President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg gathered in front of trucks on the White House South Lawn to highlight progress in the industry. "Trucking moves about 70% of all the goods in this country, and truck drivers are facing real challenges," said Biden.
"Nobody pays for wasting a truck driver's time except the trucker themselves," Buttigieg added in a follow-up interview on Yahoo Finance Live shortly after the event ended, adding, "These are the definition of essential workers and we have got to back them up, stand with them and make sure they are paid and treated like the very important workers that they are."
While there is little it can do about soaring diesel prices, the administration said it's focusing on improving working conditions in the industry. According to White House data, some companies must replace 90% of their workers each year due to high turnover as a result of, as the White House put it, “low job quality.”
"In this iconic American industry, it is getting harder and harder to raise a family with the dignity and pride that you deserve, and it's no surprise that so many drivers left their jobs," Biden said.
"In this iconic American industry, it is getting harder and harder to raise a family with the dignity and pride that you deserve, and it's no surprise that so many drivers left their jobs," Biden said.
'Better quality trucking jobs’
The administration highlighted what it calls “unprecedented actions” to both expand and improve trucker jobs since Biden's inauguration.
The administration points to job growth among truckers over the course of 2021 and, in particular, between December 2021 and February 2022. In a release, the White House called it the "best three-month stretch for long-distance truck hiring since the 1990s."
'Driver pay continues to rise’
The administration also touted wage gains, as well as new apprenticeship programs to get more Americans — specifically more veterans and women — interested in getting behind the wheel.
The White House says that truckers' real wages have risen in the last year, even in the face of inflation. And an effort on Capitol Hill would provide income tax credits to further raise take-home pay.
“As driver pay continues to rise at a historic pace, this bipartisan bill would further benefit truckers and attract more into the profession,” the American Trucking Association recently said.
Biden officials focused on “detention time” as a way to improve the pay for truckers — and also address supply chain issues. Researchers estimate that truckers spend 40% of their time waiting while their cargo gets loaded or unloaded, often without being paid for that time.
Efforts to unclog ports would help alleviate this, but Biden officials say they plan to do more, including a new study of where drivers are being most often held up.
"Time equals money when they're waiting to pick up a load," Buttigieg said.
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Great to see this bipartisan support for Judge Jackson!
Republicans Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney have just confirmed they are voting "Yes" to confirm Judge Jackson as the next Supreme Court Justice.
Lisa Murkowski:
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Mitt Romney:
"I intend to vote in support of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to be an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. My statement:
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Senator explains how the GOP swamp 'delivered talking points' to Republicans against Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson
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The third Republican Senator announced Monday that they'd be supporting Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in the approval vote at the U.S. Supreme Court. But that wasn't what MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell wanted to talk about during his hour. He connected the dots for the groups and right-wing people who manufactured things they could use against her.
O'Donnell explained that the only Republican to support Judge Jackson when she was up for a vote the last time, is Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Graham supported her then but doesn't support her now. Nothing has changed in her record. The issues he cited were all there the last time, but he didn't care about it then.
Most Supreme Court nominees come prepared for an examination of their past statements, past decisions and body of work. That didn't happen with Judge Jackson. Out of the hundreds and hundreds of cases, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) singled out a handful of cases where Judge Jackson pointed to outdated sentencing laws to account for an era of child exploitation images sent over electronics.
She urged Congress to update laws on such things to take into account the age of the internet and not the mail. The average of the sentences in those four cases was lower than the average. If the GOP averaged all of the cases, beyond those four, they'd find her sentences were over the average recommendations.
But when it came to other issues, Republicans had to come up with some unique issues. In an era of hysteria over teaching about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Republicans have complained that teaching about the Civil Rights Movement is really about "critical race theory."
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was the first to pick up some children's books that were read in a third-grade classroom at a private school where Judge Jackson sits on the advisory board. The book argues that people aren't born racist. Cruz appeared to take issue with that claim.
Speaking to O'Donnell, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), "Yeah I mean you actually think Ted Cruz was running around that elementary school library pulling books off shelves looking for something offensive. No, this stuff gets fed to them in this case it was his old opposite guy who was doing some of the research."
He's referring to a collection of conservative groups that all share the same address. Everything from the Independent Women's Forum to Independent Women's Voice, Independent Women's Law Center, which are attached to Leonard Leo. He is a former Executive Vice President of the Federalist Society and a close ally of Cruz who introduced him when speaking to the Federalist Society.
His groups are The 85 Fund and The Concord Fund, which previously went under the name The Judicial Crisis Network. They're all funded by the Kochs and Betsy DeVos’ family and supported the "big lie" that Trump won the 2020 election. These networks of dark money groups also have Sen. Josh Hawley's wife working on staff.
See the full conversation below:
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Arizona is leading the way on new anti-democratic laws fueled by Republican election lies
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As right-wing legislators are restricting access to the ballot for millions across the country, the nation’s most severe attack on our sacred freedom to vote is happening right here in Arizona. Last week, Gov. Doug Ducey signed House Bill 2492, a bill that could potentially purge hundreds of thousands of Arizonans from the voter rolls and deny them the right to vote. This bill is one of several anti-democracy bills being pushed into law by Republican lawmakers in Arizona — and this phenomenon is neither new nor surprising.
Arizona has long been a battleground for democracy. As we witnessed first-hand in Arizona in 2020, fringe right-wing activists increasingly show up at polling sites in Black, Latino, and Native neighborhoods to intimidate voters without cause or authority. Fringe right-wing activists showed up and formed a 75-foot line outside of these polling sites to check ballots and scare off voters, without authority. The fact remains that these right-wingers have been further enabled by the likes of Donald Trump and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, both of whom spread the false gospel of Trump’s “Big Lie.”
With the U.S. Senate’s failure to pass voting rights legislation earlier this year, the voting rights fight has come to Arizona. We are on the front lines. Americans must not look away from what is happening in Arizona—all of us, from Phoenix to New York City, must heed Arizona’s warnings to ardently defend the freedom to vote in every city, county and state.
The 2020 election marked the highest voter turnout in American history, thanks in no small part to mail-in voting. In Arizona, more than 80 percent of votes are regularly cast by mail-in ballot (with an estimated 89% doing so in 2020), and voting by mail has become increasingly popular in marginalized communities. Thanks to vote-by-mail, more senior, disabled, and working-class voters can cast their ballots freely and fairly. Because of that, there has been a slow but steady transformation in who holds power in Arizona — as the 2020 election showed, more everyday citizens are turning out and casting their ballots. This increased turnout, thanks to mail-in voting, has made Arizona’s local and state governments increasingly representative of the true majority of eligible voters. But, it also means opponents of a fair and free democracy in Arizona are mobilizing quickly to reverse this progress.
In 2020, communities from across Arizona exercised their right to vote and elected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. But in the wild, wild West, there were rumblings from the Arizona Republican Party about plans to undermine the legitimate election results. Arizona Senate President Karen Fann, a big-time Trump supporter, used the power of her gavel to call for a partisan review of ballots in Maricopa County, the sixth largest county in the nation. At Fann’s behest, the Senate hired a small, unknown (and biased) firm out of Florida to “audit” 2.1 million ballots, and pro-Trump donors raised a whopping $5.7 million dollars to pay for this partisan, biased attempt to discredit Joe Biden’s victory.
Since 2020, Republicans in the Arizona legislature have been abusing their power to set up future efforts to overturn election results while the rest of the state is busy working to recover from the pandemic. Why? To secure their grip on power, against the tides shifting democratically toward everyday citizens. It goes without saying that these right-wing attacks on the freedom to vote hurt Black, Latino, Native, senior, and disabled Arizonans most — and that is no accident. As our most recent presidential election proved, when every eligible voter is able to freely participate in our democracy, democracy thrives and we begin to see political power redistributed from a handful of wealthy, white elites to the 99 percent.
That is why Arizonans, and Americans across the country, must urgently contact their elected representatives in their state legislatures and in Congress to tell them to protect our freedom to vote freely and fairly.
Our freedom to vote is at risk in Arizona and across the nation, but a growing movement of voting rights advocates will not give up on the fight to protect our sacred right to vote and our democracy. The tides of power are slowly shifting toward those of us who should have held it all along—isn’t that progress worth fighting for?
Arizona Mirror is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence.
https://www.azmirror.com/2022/04/04/arizona-is-leading-the-way-on-new-anti-democratic-laws-fueled-by-republican-election-lies/
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President Biden
@POTUS
"Today, we hosted truck drivers and their families at the White House to discuss the progress we’ve made on our Trucking Action Plan. These are the folks who literally make our economy run and are making our comeback possible. Thank you for all you do to keep America moving.
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A key ingredient to getting and keeping more drivers was increasing training programs. Typically, it takes months to create a registered apprenticeship program. Now, it takes as little as two days. As a result, in the last 90 days 100 major employers have launched new programs.
We’re creating a pipeline of hardworking men and women from all backgrounds to get behind the wheel. And we’re making the largest investment in America’s roads and bridges since the creation of the Interstate Highway System.
That means a bright future for American trucking.
When we heard that there were long wait times in many states for people wanting to get Commercial Drivers Licenses, we took action.
We provided hands-on help, as well as $57 million. I’m proud to report that so far in 2022 we’re issuing CDLs at double the rate of last year.
Since I took office, we’ve begun to turn things around. 2021 was the best year for trucking employment since 1994.
There are now 35,000 more trucking jobs than there were before the pandemic.
After a long, tough stretch, Americans are back to work. And our economy has gone from being on the mend to being on the move.
Tune in as I deliver remarks on the progress made on our Trucking Action Plan to strengthen our nation’s supply chains".
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1YpKkZmAjYBxj
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1511090529936756740
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Every single Republican in Congress voted against the American Rescue Plan, which got our economy back on track. No wonder Republicans are so quiet.
As job growth soars, Republican leaders are literally speechless
How strong have the U.S. job numbers been in recent months? Strong enough to leave Republican leaders literally speechless
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At Donald Trump’s rally in Michigan over the weekend, attendees heard from Republican Rep. Lisa McClain, who made a variety of strange claims, including telling the crowd that the nation’s unemployment rate has reached a “40-year high.”
Even by contemporary standards, this was ridiculous. In January 2021, when President Joe Biden was inaugurated, the unemployment rate was 6.4 percent. Now, it’s 3.6 percent. This is one of the lowest jobless rates of the last half-century — unemployment didn’t reach 3.6 percent at any point throughout the 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s — and at no point since the government started keeping track has the rate improved this much over such a short period of time.
In other words, the first-year GOP congresswoman got reality backwards.
It’s possible that McClain struggled to tell the truth because her party’s leadership didn’t offer members much in the way of direction on the issue. After all, the day before the Michigan lawmaker spoke, the public saw the latest evidence of a job market on an amazing hot streak: The U.S. economy added 431,000 jobs in March while the unemployment rate fell to 3.6 percent.
In fact, our economy has now seen 11 straight months of jobs gains above 400,000 for the first time on record. The economy is far from perfect — inflation remains on consumers’ minds for a reason — but for those rooting for Americans getting back to work, the news is worth celebrating.
It was against this backdrop that House and Senate Republican leaders said ... nothing.
Circling back to our coverage from last month, when GOP leaders were similarly silent, it seemed at least possible leading Republican officials would argue that Democrats don’t deserve credit for the economic recovery. Or perhaps they’d argue that robust job growth was inevitable after the 2020 recession. Maybe they’d even try to say that Trump was somehow responsible for creating economic conditions he had nothing to do with.
But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy instead ignored the economic news altogether: No press releases, no tweets, and no public comments. They literally found themselves speechless.
As regular readers may recall, it was nearly a year ago when we saw the worst month for job growth since Biden’s inauguration: In April 2021, the economy created 269,000 jobs. Under normal circumstances, that would’ve constituted a great total, but with the country still climbing out of its pandemic-driven hole, the April 2021 report was a disappointment.
Republicans wasted no time in pouncing on the data, blaming Democrats for the disappointment. McCarthy released this press statement soon after the data was released:
“Today’s disappointing jobs report confirms once again that President Biden’s tax-and-spend policies are bad for American workers, families, and small businesses.... Experts are calling this jobs report the ‘worst miss in 23 years’, and it was a direct result of President Biden’s counterproductive policies. So President Biden is not fixing a crisis, but creating new ones.”
In the days that followed, the House GOP leader continued to make a direct connection between the White House’s economic agenda and the U.S. job market. A week after April numbers were released, McCarthy again argued, “President Biden and Democrats will make excuses for this abysmal reality, but the truth is their own massive spending agenda created this problem.”
It wasn’t just McCarthy. The Republican National Committee connected Biden’s policies and job growth over and over and over again. McConnell’s Senate website blamed “persistent unemployment” on Democrats.
There was one important problem with this strategy: It was apparently based on the idea that the U.S. job market would continue to fall short for the indefinite future.
It did the opposite: The economy created over 6.7 million jobs in 2021, which was a record high that surpassed the total number of jobs created across each of Trump’s first three years in office combined. All told, we’re now up to 8.4 million jobs since January 2021 — a total that seemed impossible as last year got underway.
The political problem for Republicans is obvious: If a discouraging monthly jobs report is proof that the Democratic economic agenda is a failure, then several months’ worth of encouraging monthly jobs reports is necessarily evidence that the Democratic economic agenda is a success.
The more GOP leaders say Biden is directly responsible for the nation’s economic conditions, the easier it is for the Democratic White House to take credit when those conditions look great.
It’s okay for Republicans to applaud good news for their own country. When the unemployment rate reached 3.6 percent in the last administration, for example, McCarthy was eager to celebrate. Does he care to explain why he has so little to say now?
Postscript: It’s important to note for context that the Republican National Committee did issue a press statement on Friday morning acknowledging the existence of the latest monthly jobs report. It credited “Republican-led states” for the good employment data.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/job-growth-soars-republican-leaders-are-literally-speechless-rcna22812
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The media is now desperately spinning the Hunter story to keep it away from Old Joe (aka "the big guy"). They are suddenly hanging Hunter out as the sacrifice for Biden, Inc. The evidence, however, clearly links Old Joe to his family's mafia-like activities. His brother and wife are also implicated. The sea change in media coverage may also be an attempt to pressure Old Joe to resign or not run in 2024 to avoid a crushing defeat with his historically low poll numbers and laundry list of disasters. Hunter gets to take one for the team. Both figuratively and literally in prison.
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This is the guy that Donald Trump refuses to condemn!
Ex-wife of 'unhinged' Republican Eric Greitens says she has photos that prove her abuse allegations
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Former Missouri First Lady Sheena Greitens says in a new court filing that she has photos and other evidence to back up her claims that former Gov. Eric Greitens physically abused her and their children as his political career unraveled.
In a statement embedded in a court filing Thursday in Boone County Circuit Court as part of her ongoing child custody battle with the former governor, Sheena Greitens said she tried to resolve differences without a public fight. But she said that Eric Greitens’s attacks on her character, push for records to be sealed and demands that the case be sent to mediation show he cares more about his campaign for U.S. Senate than his sons.
Her attorney, Helen Wade, wrote in the latest filing that Sheena Greitens asked for mediation on eight previous occasions and her ex-husband refused.
The abuse claims, made in an affidavit filed March 21, stated that as he faced criminal charges and possible impeachment in 2018, Eric Greitens repeatedly threatened to commit suicide unless she showed “specific public political support” for him. In one incident of child abuse, that she swore in the affidavit occurred in November 2019, one of their sons came home from a visit with his father with a swollen face, bleeding gums and loose tooth and said his father had hit him.
Eric Greitens, both publicly and in court filings, has challenged those statements, noting that prior to their divorce in 2020, Sheena Greitens signed a document stating there were no undisclosed material facts and agreeing to a parenting plan of joint custody. In his first statement issued after the filing, Eric Greitens called his ex-wife “a deranged individual” and said she had “a documented history of mental illness and emotionally-abusive behavior.”
But in last week’s filing, Sheena Greitens said she did report and document the abuse. She only agreed to the parenting plan as the best option to move with their two boys to Texas.
“In fact, they were reported to multiple lawyers, therapists, and our mediator, in 2018 and afterward,” Sheena Greitens said. “I will provide contemporaneous documentation of the relevant communications, as well as photographic evidence of my child’s 2019 injuries, to the court at an appropriate time.”
She also challenged his characterizations of her mental health. The “documented history” is therapy she sought from January 2018 to April 2020, first in an attempt to save their marriage and later to cope with her ex-husband’s behavior.
In the filing, Wade wrote that Eric Greitens “has launched an all-out, calculated, and purposely public attack on (Sheena Greitens) – outside the confines of the courtroom, off the witness stand and notably without being under oath.”
Sheena Greitens is trying to move court control of the child custody case from Missouri to Texas, where she works as an associate professor at the University of Texas. At the time of their divorce, she was employed at the University of Missouri.
The allegations of domestic violence come as Eric Greitens is attempting a political comeback as a candidate for the U.S. Senate in a crowded Republican primary.
Prior to the allegations becoming public, Greitens was leading in polls. Since then, he has slipped into a statistical dead heat with his leading rivals, U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler and Attorney General Eric Schmitt.
The affidavit overshadowed another event, a guilty plea from former FBI agent William Tisaby admitting evidence tampering in the 2018 investigation, that Greitens had hoped would boost his image as a man wronged by political enemies.
Greitens has used right wing media to tie the two events together, accusing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and former presidential advisor Karl Rove as masterminding the affidavit.
In her latest filing, Sheena Greitens denied she had consulted with any of her former husband’s political enemies prior to filing her abuse claims.
“I drafted the previously filed affidavit,” Sheena Greitens said. “Neither Karl Rove, nor Mitch McConnell, nor any other so-called political operatives drafted it for me. The only person I have been ‘victimized’ by is Eric.”
The next hearing in the case is set for May 10, when Associate Circuit Judge Leslie Schneider will hear arguments on whether to order AT&T and Verizon wireless to turn over phone logs and text messages for phones assigned to Sheena Greitens, her sister, Catherine Linkul, Rove and Greitens’ campaign manager for his 2016 run for governor, Austin Chambers.
Rove, Sheena Greitens and Linkul, who works for Pathway Public Affairs, a consulting firm run by a close ally of McConnell, did not respond to messages seeking comment. Chambers said Monday that he had no contact with Sheena Greitens about the affidavit before it was filed.
“I did not talk to her about the contents of the affidavit,” Chambers said. “I learned about the affidavit when it was filed, like everybody else.”
Sheena Greitens’ veracity
Several of the allegations Sheena Greitens made in her March 21 affidavit are familiar to law enforcement and service agencies that deal with domestic abuse. To help victims understand the level of threat in their relationship, a questionnaire called a “Danger Assessment” asks 20 questions about coercive or violent actions.
The allegations of abuse contained in Sheena Greitens’ affidavit would check off seven of the 20 actions included on the assessment, including threats to commit suicide, controlling daily activities and physical violence. That, according to the scoring matrix, would put a person in severe danger as they left the relationship.
In Kansas City, police use the Danger Assessment on domestic violence calls and help victims connect to services, said Lisa Fleming, CEO of the Rose Brooks Center, a domestic violence shelter in Kansas City.
“It lets them know, and that is the really blunt, direct message, that people in your situation that have experienced similar things have been killed and we are worried about your safety,” Fleming said.
The creator of the Danger Assessment, Jacquelyn Campbell, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, conducted research to test its predictive value in cases where women were murdered by partners. Campbell found that more than half of women involved in attempted murder cases had been in the extreme danger category, one step above where Sheena Greitens would have scored based on her affidavit.
The assessment helps victims make choices to keep themselves and their children safe, said MaryAnne Metheny, CEO of Hope House, a shelter in eastern Jackson County.
“That is part of the goal,” she said. “When the police officers ask those questions, they can say, based on how they answer, that research has shown you are at a high risk of being killed if you stay in this relationship.”
A person inside an abusive relationship can feel trapped, underestimate the danger or realize that others have experienced similar abuse, Metheny said.
“People don’t understand how difficult it is to navigate out of that,” she said.
Schneider will be the judge of which side is more credible when Sheena Greitens’ motion to move the proceedings to Texas is heard on May 27.
Eric Greitens, through attorney Gary Stamper, has told the court she is lying.
“Common sense suggests no parent would agree to share joint legal and physical custody with the fictional parent described in the filing leaked to the press before it was accepted by the circuit clerk and available to the court or the inquiring public,” Stamper wrote.
So far, as Wade noted in her filing, Eric Greitens has not been questioned under oath about the allegations in Sheena Greitens’ affidavit. And in the statement included with the filing, Sheena Greitens said the pattern she saw in 2018 to 2020 has begun again.
“Eric’s behavior since 3/21 is consistent with several patterns that I have previously experienced,” she said. “When his public future is at risk, he becomes erratic, unhinged, coercive and threatening. He accuses me of things that are untrue and generates conspiracy theories about me collaborating with his ‘enemies’ when I have done no such thing. He uses words like ‘nasty’ and ‘vicious’ to describe my behavior, and threatens to take my children away.”
Last week, Gov. Mike Parson – who took office when Eric Greitens resigned – noted that swearing to a false affidavit carries the risk of a perjury charge and added that he had a “great deal of respect” for Sheena Greitens.
“I have no reason to doubt Sheena Greitens on what she said,” Parson said.
Going public
In her statement included in the latest court filing, Sheena Greitens warned that she is under immense pressure to tell her story through the media. She is trying to avoid that, she said, but the delay until May 27 will make that difficult.
“I would like to continue to restrict my comments on this to the courtroom, but it will be difficult to do so if we cannot resolve the question of where this case should be decided until May 27, because I expect I will have to go through two months of untrue public attacks on my character, motherhood and professionalism,” she said.
Since her affidavit was filed, Eric Greitens has produced a video attacking her claims, done interviews on friendly conservative media and used press conferences with his attorneys to claim he is the victim of a coordinated political attack.
The affidavit was unnecessary for a case only about jurisdiction, attorney Tim Parlatore said in a Washington, D.C., press conference where he tried to link Sheena Greitens to Rove and McConnell.
“They were filed solely for the purpose of having a statement in the court record that could be used for political purposes,” said Parlatore, who has not entered an appearance in court on Eric Greitens behalf.
The attack campaign uses a few facts and makes many assumptions based on those facts. One fact is that Sheena Greitens was in Washington when she signed the affidavit; the assumption is that she had contacts with Rove and, through her sister, to McConnell.
In the latest filing, she denied that.
“I went to Washington, D.C., to discharge my responsibilities as a paid employee and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and my conversations there were about American national security and U.S. policy toward China – subjects about which I publish frequently and testified last year to the Senate Armed Services Committee,” she said.
The best place for the case is in Texas, where it would receive much less public attention, Wade wrote in Thursday’s filing.
Eric Greitens wants it in Missouri, Wade wrote, because “this is perhaps the only place in the United States where the respondent believes that he can effectively leverage his influence to punish petitioner for speaking the truth, to intimidate her into retreating into silence once again, and doing so in the name of protecting the children.”
Since the affidavit was filed, Greitens has weathered calls from rivals for the Senate nomination, and others, to withdraw from the race. Some Republican women leaders have also begun to question the party’s official silence on whether Greitens should remain in the field.
He has remained defiant and has only lost a few points in recent polls. Greitens’ success in the Aug. 2 primary could hinge on whether the public believes him or his ex-wife. In her latest statement, Sheena Greitens said her concern in how the political fight bleeds into the court proceedings.
“Because this is so public,” she said, “I am desperately worried about how it could impact the legal process, and feel immense pressure to respond to set the record straight – or else risk my silence, or delay in responding, being construed as an endorsement of the truth of Eric’s false public statements.”
Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence
https://missouriindependent.com/2022/04/05/sheena-greitens-says-she-has-photos-records-to-document-abuse-by-former-missouri-governor/
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Biden administration details new research plan on ‘long COVID’ illness
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced plans Tuesday to create a national research action plan that could provide answers to public health officials trying to diagnose and treat so-called long COVID-19.
The illness that lasts for months and possibly even years has so far confounded doctors trying to figure out exactly why some people are left with life-changing symptoms after fighting off the initial illness.
The new initiative — designed to provide guidance on diagnosis, treatment and support — will be run out of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, but will include several other federal stakeholders, according to the White House.
A memo Biden signed Tuesday also directs HHS to “issue a report outlining services and supports across federal agencies to assist people experiencing Long COVID, individuals who are dealing with a COVID-related loss, and people who are experiencing mental health and substance use issues related to the pandemic.”
The Biden administration said it would work to expand and strengthen 18 facilities the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has set up to address long COVID-19.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, the White House said, would create a project “to gain insights into the experiences and patient journeys of people living with Long COVID and associated conditions, to help inform high-quality care and contribute to standardized best practices at Long COVID clinics.”
Part of the new initiative will focus on explaining the types of services the federal government makes available to people with disabilities, if people experiencing long COVID-19 fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act or other federal laws such as the Affordable Care Act.
“Individuals with Long COVID may need help doing things they did by themselves in the past, or may need accommodations in their daily activities based on changes in their abilities,” the White House said in a fact sheet.
The White House also plans to increase the number of people included in the National Institute of Health’s $1.15 billion Long COVID-19 research project to 40,000.
The Biden administration said those people will span “all ages, races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic statuses — including pregnant people, individuals with disabilities, and those from the communities hardest hit by the pandemic.”
https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/biden-administration-details-new-research-plan-on-long-covid-illness/
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63 Republicans vote against Support For NATO resolution.
63 of these radical Republicans continue to support Putin every step of the way. Every single member of Congress should have voted "yes" to support NATO and our national security. How can anyone in Congress vote against supporting NATO and our allies?
Recently, 31 Senate Republicans out of 50 voted against military aid for Ukraine, so this is not just a one time vote. Radical Republicans continue to vote against America, Ukraine, our allies, our national security, and they keep voting for Putin.
This vote was a big deal. 63 Republicans voted against a resolution reaffirming “unequivocal support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as an alliance founded on democratic principles.”
Republicans have been openly anti-democracy for years now, but the media treats this as totally normal and they refuse to address it.
Does this surprise me? Of course not. This is the same Republiican party that voted not to convict Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial when he illegally stopped military aid for Ukraine until President Zelenskyy would issue a phony story against Joe and Hunter Biden to damage Joe Biden politically. Republicans also pushed lying anti Ukraine Kremlin talking points that Ukraine hacked our 2016 election when it was Putin and Russia. All of this proves is that the Republican party will side with Russia over America and Ukraine.
Elections are coming up in November, and we will hear bogus claims from these same radical right Republicans that they are "patriots". They will tell us they "support America" with their "America First" garbage. And finally, they will lie telling us that they are "tough" on national security.
How can Republicans "support America" and be "America First" when they just voted AGAINST America AGAIN to put Russia first?
How can Republicans be a "patriot" and "support America" when they voted AGAINST America? Voting against America is not being a "patriot". You can't "support America" when you vote against America. That's what these Republicans did.
How can Republicans be "tough" on national security when they vote to weaken our national security? Republicans voted against military aid for Ukraine which has direct implications to our national security and they just voted against NATO. Republicans are not "tough" they are weak and 63 House Republicans and 31 Senate Republicans voted to help Russia's national security over America's. That's called being a traitor.
Republicans continue to vote against America and our allies. Disgraceful. All 63 of these anti American Republicans who support Putin need to be voted out of Congress in November and replaced with members that will support America and our allies. They have no business being in our government. 143 Republicans supported America and NATO and we thank them for doing their job as elected officials.
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The Republican Party makes it more clear each day that they are anti American traitors and the party of Putin. Instead or defending America and NATO they vote for Putin. 63 Trump MAGA stooges just voted against America.
Meet The 63 House Republicans Who Voted No On A Resolution To Defend Democracy
Sixty-three House Republicans voted against a resolution supporting NATO and creating a center for democratic resilience.
Manu Raju tweeted the list:
63 Rs voted NO on a non-binding resolution reaffirming “unequivocal support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as an alliance founded on democratic principles" and calling on Biden to push to establish a "center for democratic resilience" at NATO.
https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2022/roll1
https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1511450233095569411
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Many of the names on this list are well-known and outspoken enemies of democracy such as Boebert, Cawthorn, Gaetz, Gosar, Gohmert, Perry, Greene, Rosendale, and Massie. Rosendale and Massie recently attended the emergency meeting of Putin supporting GOP on Ukraine.
Many of the others listed above were were supporters of, or suspected participants in Trump’s coup and the Capitol attack.
The list is essentially a list of the Putin sympathizers within the House Republican caucus. The Republicans aren’t hiding. They oppose NATO. They are sympathetic to Vladimir Putin. These are the Republicans who tried to destroy democracy once to keep Donald Trump in office and they will keep trying because they value power and celebrity more than freedom and the American people.
The domestic threat to America is literally inside the House.
https://www.politicususa.com/2022/04/05/meet-the-63-house-republicans-who-voted-no-on-resolution-to-defend-democracy.html
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President Biden
@POTUS
"It’s time to fix what's referred to as the "family glitch."
It's a common issue facing 5 million Americans who can’t get financial help to get coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
Here's the problem: Under the current rules, a working mom is told that as long as she can afford employer-based coverage for herself, she can’t qualify for premium subsidies to afford coverage for her family.
We're working to change that.
Once today’s proposed rule is finalized, starting next year working families will get the help they need to afford full family coverage.
As a result, these families will save hundreds of dollars a month and an estimated 200,000 currently uninsured Americans will gain coverage.
Instead of destroying the Affordable Care Act, let’s keep building on it.
Extend the American Rescue Plan subsidies that are lowering premiums and expanding coverage. Close the Medicaid coverage gap. Lower prescription drug prices.
We can do this.
If congressional Republicans have their way, 100 million Americans with a pre-existing condition will once again be able to be denied health care coverage by insurance companies.
We need to keep up the fight.
In America, health care should be a right — not a privilege."
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1511483936853180422
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Instead of passing bills to help people get better jobs, higher wages, affordable health care, these are the types of bills radical Republicans are writing and passing.
Tennessee Republicans push to abolish age limit on heterosexual marriages amidst "groomer" outrage
The bill's sponsor wants to give Tennesseans “an alternative form of marriage” for people who want to marry minors
https://www.salon.com/2022/04/05/tennessee-push-to-abolish-age-limit-on-heterosexual-marriages-amidst-groomer-outrage/
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President Biden
@POTUS
"When I ran for president, I promised to protect and build upon the Affordable Care Act. As soon as I entered office, that’s exactly what we did.
We passed the landmark American Rescue Plan, which not only helped us get COVID-19 under control and our economy back on track, but got millions more people insured under the Affordable Care Act.
We made it easier for people to sign up for coverage in the middle of a pandemic by opening a special enrollment period, quadrupling the number of navigators out in communities helping folks sign up for coverage, and continued expanding Medicaid.
Over 31 million Americans now have health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
Four out of five Americans can find quality coverage for under $10 a month.
And the average family is saving $2,400 a year on their annual premiums.
The bottom line is this: The Affordable Care Act is stronger now than it has ever been.
And today, we’re strengthening it even further.
I just signed an Executive Order that directs federal agencies to continue doing everything in their power to expand the quality and affordability of health coverage.
Twelve years ago, I had the honor of being gifted one of the pens President Obama used to sign the Affordable Care Act into law. Today, I gifted one to him as we work to strengthen the law and lower health care costs for hardworking Americans."
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1511413580675133445
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Nancy Pelosi @Speaker Pelosi
"It was an honor to join @POTUS, @BarackObama and Members of Congress at the White House. With today’s bold action to strengthen the ACA, we are realizing a key priority of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act passed by the House Democrats in 2020."
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Barack Obama @BarackObama
"The Affordable Care Act is an example of why you run for office – not just to occupy a seat, but to make a difference in people’s lives.
Today I’m joining @POTUS and @VP at the White House to celebrate everything the ACA has achieved, and help make it even better.
Passing the ACA was incredibly difficult. People who had coverage were worried about losing it, the media was skeptical, misinformation was flying around, and Republicans showed no interest in working with us. But Joe, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and I were determined.
Because so many people made sacrifices and some members of Congress took courageous votes, we got the ACA across the finish line. Now, more than 30 million Americans have health coverage, and 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions can’t be dropped or denied coverage.
The ACA also lowered prescription drug costs for 12 million seniors, and allowed young people to stay on their parents’ plan. And it’s eliminated lifetime limits on benefits that often put people in a jam.
But the ACA was never perfect, and we always knew we would have to make it better. That’s what @POTUS has done since taking office. Today, he’s going even further – lowering premiums for nearly 1 million people and helping 200,000 more uninsured Americans get access to coverage.
Progress often feels slow, and victories are sometimes incomplete. But the ACA shows that if you believe that we can improve people’s lives, and if you’re willing to work through obstacles and continually improve, you can make America better."
https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1511358084106629120
President Biden @POTUS
"It’s an honor to welcome my friend President @BarackObama back to the White House. I look forward to discussing the big step we’re announcing today that would expand coverage under the Affordable Care Act for families and lower health care costs for hardworking Americans."
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1511398453552861201
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Who’s Soft on Russia? Meet the Republican Anti-Ukraine Caucus!
The Republicans who love Russia and hate America.
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Russian nesting dolls with images of Donald Trump and the president of Russia Vladimir Putin.
After years of defending a pro-Putin American president and dismissing Russia’s interference in American elections, Republicans have returned to their old shtick: accusing Democrats of being soft on Russia. Their hypocrisy is galling, but the bigger problem is that their depiction of the two parties is backward. In polls, Republicans are more dovish on Russia and Ukraine than Democrats are. And in Congress, the purveyors of isolationism, appeasement, and Russian propaganda are on the right, not the left.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the House of Representatives has voted on three measures specific to the war. The first vote, taken on March 2, was on a resolution that endorsed sanctions against Russia, reaffirmed Ukrainian sovereignty over territory seized by Russia, advocated military aid to Ukraine, and pledged to support the Ukrainian resistance. All six members of the progressive “Squad”—Reps. Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib—voted for the resolution. So did Rep. Barbara Lee, the Democrats’ foremost opponent of military spending. Not one Democrat voted against the resolution. But three Republicans did: Reps. Paul Gosar, Thomas Massie, and Matt Rosendale.
On March 9, the House passed a bill to suspend oil and gas imports from Russia. Five of the seven Democratic leftists voted for the suspension. The two who voted against it—Bush and Omar—were joined by 15 Republicans who also voted no. In addition to Gosar and Massie, this time the list included Reps. Andy Biggs, Dan Bishop, Lauren Boebert, Madison Cawthorn, Scott DesJarlais, Matt Gaetz, Louie Gohmert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Glenn Grothman, Clay Higgins, Bill Posey, Chip Roy, and Tom Tiffany.
On March 17, the House passed a bill to end favorable trade relations with Russia and its accomplice in the war, Belarus. Eight Republicans voted against the bill. Every Democrat, including the seven leftists, voted for it.
Several Republicans have gone further. Cawthorn and Gosar are pushing legislation that would prohibit the U.S. military from deploying “by reason of the situation in Ukraine” any more troops than are stationed at the Mexican border. No sensible military planner would want more troops guarding a friendly border than deterring an imminent threat to our most important alliance, but that’s what this bill would do: It would block deployments to NATO countries in Eastern Europe. It’s a gift to Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile, 10 Republicans have signed on to a bill that would bar any delivery of military aid to Ukraine until “a border wall system along the United States-Mexico border is completed.” The cosponsors include Reps. Bob Good, Jody Hice, Mary Miller, Ralph Norman, and Randy Weber. (Don’t bother trying to square this demand with Trump’s insistence that he has basically built the wall, except for a couple of tiny spots.)
Altogether, that’s 21 Republicans who have opposed, or at least sought to constrain, aid to Ukraine or sanctions on Russia. That’s a group three times the size of “the Squad,” which Republicans claim is in control of every aspect of Democratic policy. Imagine how much power those 21 Republicans would wield in a GOP-controlled House.
The other side of the equation is the near-unanimity of support among Democrats, even from very progressive members, for standing up to Russia. Leftist Democrats generally oppose armed intervention, yet nearly all of them voted for sanctions against Russia and military aid for Ukraine. Why is that?
It’s because they recognize the war as a showdown between right and wrong. “We have to hold Putin accountable,” Pressley told her constituents at a town hall last week. Ocasio-Cortez, at her own town hall, applauded President Biden for refusing to be “walked over” by Putin. And in a progressive teleconference on the Ukraine crisis, Lee endorsed “security and military assistance” to the Ukrainians because “we’ve got to help them defend themselves.”
Many of the 21 House Republicans, however, don’t see it that way. They’ve swallowed a cocktail of isolationism, defeatism, partisan paranoia, and Russian disinformation. Here are the main pillars of their reasoning:
America has no responsibilities in the world. “The United States has no legal or moral obligation to come to Ukraine’s aid,” says Rosendale. Biggs and Gosar also oppose America’s commitment to Article 5 of the NATO charter, which obliges each member state to defend the others. Gaetz and Massie oppose financial support, not just military assistance, to Ukraine and other eastern European countries. Gaetz calls these countries “welfare cases.” Massie says we should scrap NATO because “Americans are done subsidizing socialism.”
America should worry about its own borders, not Ukraine’s. This is the most popular theme among the 21 Republican resisters. In mid-February, when Biden sent troops to Europe to protect NATO allies from a possible Russian attack, Miller scoffed: “Biden wants U.S. troops to defend Ukraine’s border instead of our own.” A week later, on the eve of the invasion, Bishop said the U.S. should focus on the Mexican border instead of getting “distracted” and “absorbed in the predicament of Ukraine.”
Russia is powerful, so America should retreat. The resisters fret that Putin would punish the West’s sanctions with “drastic measures,” that America should accept Russia’s domination of its neighbors, that we shouldn’t send “money and weaponry to Ukraine to fight a war they cannot possibly win,” and that instead we should “take NATO membership for Ukraine off the table” to appease the Kremlin.
The invasion was provoked. Some of the resisters blame Ukraine for the war. “Ukraine just kept poking the bear and poking the bear . . . and Russia invaded,” says Greene. Others blame NATO. “We’re jabbing and have been jabbing Russia in the eye by expanding NATO,” says Massie. “They feel threatened.”
Sanctions on Russia are a Democratic plot to hurt Americans. Many Republican lawmakers agree with Donald Trump that domestic liberals, not foreign tyrants, are America’s real enemies. Roy says he voted against banning Russian oil and gas because the ban was “designed purposefully to depress American oil and gas production” and “advance their [Democrats’] radical climate agenda.” He says Ukraine is just a cover story: “They WANT your gas to cost more. This is why Democrats jumped on the opportunity to ban Russian oil.”
Sanctions on Russia are part of the gay agenda. Grothman said he voted against sanctions on March 17 because the bill would “leave open the possibility of the U.S. government weaponizing our vast financial wealth to threaten foreign officials that hold traditional views on life or marriage.” He specifically cited concerns about gay and transgender rights. Gosar retweeted a similar argument: “Do you really want gay pride parades in Kieve [sic] so badly that you’ll get into a nuclear confrontation with Russia?”
Ukraine is a tool of the Biden family and the Democratic party. Trump’s propaganda about the Russia investigation and the Ukraine impeachment has saturated his party. Cawthorn calls Ukraine “incredibly evil”; Gaetz calls it “the third-most corrupt country in the world”; Greene says it was “the Number 1 donor to Hillary Clinton.” (It wasn’t.)
These views aren’t confined to the fringe. Other Republicans have also insinuated that Biden is defending Ukraine for corrupt reasons. Weber calls Putin’s invasion “an attack on Hunter Biden’s income.” Miller complains: “After Hunter Biden made millions in Ukraine and held ‘10% for the Big Guy,’ Joe Biden is now making the United States responsible for Ukraine’s border.” (Even if you buy the “10% for the Big Guy” story, it was supposedly a deal Hunter Biden was trying to make in China, not Ukraine.)
Everything Russia said about Ukraine is true. Some of the resisters claim that Ukraine is dangerous because of its “biological labs,” that its government exists only “because the Obama State Department helped to overthrow the previous regime,” or that U.S. military aid might fall “into the hands of Nazis in Ukraine.” These smears are identical to Kremlin propaganda.
Russia is no worse than Canada or the United States. Boebert says the fuss over Ukraine is overshadowing a bigger story: COVID tyranny in Canada and America. “We also have neighbors to the north who need freedom and need to be liberated, and we need that right here at home, as well,” she argues.
Massie agrees: “People are complaining about communists who may invade Ukraine. But what the hell have they been doing to our country? When you can tell people they can’t go to church, they can’t go to work, their kids have to wear these muzzles . . .”
This is the reality of the partisan divide in Congress today. The Democratic left supports sanctions and military aid, while a significant bloc of Republicans is trying to obstruct American intervention. Some of these Republicans see themselves as an antiwar caucus. They denounce “war hawks on both sides of the aisle,” and they protest that “the left is so addicted to war.” But what they’re preaching isn’t pacifism. It’s nihilism, cynicism, cowardice, partisan derangement, and a loathing of contemporary America.
https://www.thebulwark.com/whos-soft-on-russia-meet-the-republican-anti-ukraine-caucus/
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Sad to see Biden roaming around alone like an escaped dementia patient while Obama was surrounded by people at the WH event yesterday. Poor Joe is weak and ignored even in his own White House. Never seen anything like that. Every president, even Biden, deserve some level of loyalty from his own staff but they apparently understand that he is finished politically.
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NEW: 52% of Americans approve of President Biden's decision to release oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve
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Blocking and obstructing is what Republicans do best. Republicans are now blocking COVID funding which will produce deadly results. President Biden has got the pandemic under control for a second time and now Republicans are blocking crucial funding so cases will rise again. Once again, the GOP goal is to sabotage our President and put millions of lives at risk. Why else would the so called "pro life" party block crucial covid funding to keep this pandemic under control? There is absolutely no reason for Republicans to be doing this.
Ben Wakana @benwakana46 COVID-19 Response Team. Deputy Director of Strategic Communications & Engagement
"Last night, Senate Republicans blocked critical funding for vaccines, boosters, and life-saving treatments.
The solution is simple: it's time for Republicans to stop playing games with this pandemic.
The bill is:
- fully offset
- has bipartisan support in Congress
- enjoys support from the vast majority of Americans
Pass the bill.
Here's a look at the consequences & headlines across America.
Thread (1/5)"
https://twitter.com/benwakana46/status/1511742721819652109
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The United States is now reporting 524 coronavirus deaths per day, the lowest seven-day average since August 9, 2021, according to CNN data from Johns Hopkins University. Covid deaths continue to decline each week.
U.S. average daily deaths from COVID fall below 800 to lowest level since mid-August, and FDA allows second booster shot for people 50 and older.
March 30, 2022
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-average-daily-deaths-from-covid-fall-below-800-to-lowest-level-since-mid-august-and-fda-allows-second-booster-for-people-aged-50-and-older-11648567051
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President Biden @POTUS
"I just signed the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 into law – setting the Postal Service on more stable financial footing and creating a more modern, accountable service for tomorrow."
"Tune in as I sign the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 into law."
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1511802596947808264
Six-days-a-week mail delivery saved; Biden signs Postal bill
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President Joe Biden signs the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. Watching from left are Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Annette Taylor. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A sweeping overhaul of the U.S. Postal Service meant to shore up the popular but beleaguered agency's financial future and cement six-days-a-week mail delivery was signed into law Wednesday by President Joe Biden.
The legislation cleared Congress last month after fully a dozen years of discussion that took on a new sense of urgency amid widespread complaints about mail service delays. Officials had repeatedly warned that without congressional action, the Postal Service would run out of cash by 2024.
"The Postal Service is central to our economy and essential to rural America,” Biden said. He added that mailmen and women deliver 4 million prescriptions per day, along with letters, consumer goods and even live animals, “often to parts of the country that private carriers can't or won't or aren't required to reach.”
The final legislation achieved rare, bipartisan support by scrapping some of the more controversial proposals and settling on core ways to save the service. Delivering the mail is among the most popular things the government does, with 91% of Americans having a favorable opinion of the Postal Service, according to a Pew Research Center poll released in 2020.
The bill signing came the same day the Postal Service announced it plans to raise rates effective July 10. Under the proposal submitted to the Postal Regulatory Commission, the cost of a first-class Forever stamp would increase by 2 cents to 60 cents.
The Postal Service said the increase, which is less than the annual rate of inflation, will help the agency implement Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-year plan to stabilize agency finances.
Lawmakers from both parties attended the signing ceremony and the mood was jovial, a big improvement from Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran previously saying the service was in a “death spiral” that was particularly hard on rural Americans.
The Postal Service Reform Act lifts budget requirements that have contributed to the agency's red ink, and spells out that mail must be delivered six days a week, except for federal holidays, natural disasters and some other situations.
Postage sales and other services were supposed to sustain the Postal Service, but it has suffered 14 straight years of losses. Growing worker compensation and benefit costs, plus steady declines in mail volume, have exacerbated losses, even as the service delivers to 1 million additional locations every year.
The new law ends a requirement that the Postal Service finance workers’ health care benefits ahead of time for the next 75 years — an obligation that private companies and federal agencies do not face. Biden said that rule had “stretched the Postal Service's finances almost to the breaking point."
Now, future retirees will enroll in Medicare, while other health plans and the Postal Service cover only current retirees’ actual health care costs that aren’t paid for by the federal health insurance program for older people,
“In recent years we saw how unfair policies forced this treasured institution to cut costs and delayed the delivery of medication, financial documents and other critical mail,” Michigan Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, who helped write the legislation, said in a statement. “These long overdue reforms will undo these burdensome financial requirements.”
To measure the agency's progress in improving its service, the law requires it to set up an online dashboard that would be searchable by ZIP code to show how long it takes to deliver letters and packages.
Dropped from the package as it neared actual legislation were efforts to cut back mail delivery. Also set aside — for now — were other proposals that have been floated over the years to change operations, including to privatize some services.
Criticism of the Postal Service peaked in 2020, amid the COVID-19 crisis and ahead of the presidential election, as cutbacks delayed service at a time when millions of Americans were relying on mail-in ballots during the pandemic. Then-President Donald Trump acknowledged he was trying to financially pinch the service to limit its processing ability for an expected surge of mail-in ballots, which he worried could cost him the election he eventually lost.
Dominated by Trump appointees, the agency’s board of governors had tapped DeJoy, a major GOP donor, as postmaster general. He proposed a 10-year plan to stabilize the service’s finances with steps like additional mail slowdowns, cuts in some offices’ hours and perhaps higher rates.
Biden said Wednesday that more needs to be done to reform the Postal Service, including investing in an electrified vehicle fleet that could save money while helping combat climate change. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform is examining a Postal Service contract to replace its huge fleet of mail-delivery trucks with a mix of gas and electric vehicles, which the Environmental Protection Agency and Democratic lawmakers argue has too few electric vehicles.
“Today we enshrine into law our recognition that the Postal Service is fundamental to our economy, to our democracy, to our health and the very sense of who we are as a nation," Biden said.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/six-days-week-mail-delivery-215413982.html
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Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar will mark Hitler’s birthday by attending white nationalist bash
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Prescott Republican Congressman Paul Gosar is set to be a “special guest” with the white nationalist American Populist Union at an event that will be on a date popular among white nationalists and Neo-Nazis: Hitler’s birthday.
The American Populist Social will be held in Tempe on April 20, a date revered by white supremacists and Neo-Nazis.
The American Populist Union is closely aligned with groypers, a group of white nationalists who strive for their ideas to become a part of the Republican mainstream and are largely followers of 23-year-old white nationalist Nick Fuentes. In 2021, Gosar was the first elected official to speak at Fuentes’ America First Political Action Conference in 2021. This year, the conference saw speeches by Gosar, Rogers and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Earlier this month, Gosar said his March video message to attendees of AFPAC was the fault of a staffer who sent his video message to the wrong group. He distanced himself from Fuentes, telling Politico that the young Holocaust-denying racist “has a problem with his mouth.”
Fuentes shared the story on the encrypted messaging app Telegram with the message “April Fool’s!” and later said in a livestream that he and Gosar will continue to “collaborate behind the scenes.”
The group which Gosar will be joining later this month has connections to Fuentes ideologically and through its members. The group hobnobbed with Arizona politicians in December when it held an event across the street from Turning Point USA that attracted a slew of fringe activists and groypers.
The other featured guest at the event, John Doyle, has allied with and promoted groypers, and he organized a “Stop the Steal” rally in Michigan with Fuentes. Doyle, a YouTube personality who runs a show called “Heck off Commie,” regularly advocates far-right ideology. He has said that Martin Luther King was “not a hero” and has claimed that liberalism is linked to satanism.
Doyle has also posted highly misogynistic content, such as saying that women shouldn’t be allowed to vote, and he once called for “low IQ offenders” to be executed in response to a story about a Black man committing a violent crime. Doyle, along with other members of APU, were also in attendance at the first 76Fest which was dubbed “Hitler Youth, without the Hitler” by one of its organizers.
Arizona state Sen. Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, is also listed as a featured guest, but he told the Arizona Mirror he is not attending.
“When they first contacted me, I thought it was a County Young Republican event,” Petersen said. “After I realized it was an organization I was unfamiliar with, I respectfully declined to speak.”
APU did not respond to a request for comment asking it chose April 20 — a Wednesday — for its event. The organization still lists Petersen as a “special guest” at the event.
Gosar’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
https://www.azmirror.com/blog/paul-gosar-to-attend-white-nationalist-social-gathering-on-hitlers-birthday/
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Why do Tennessee Republicans want to marry kids?
Proposed legislation could legalize child marriage in Tennessee
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Some Tennessee Republicans want to make common law marriage legal. But the bill being pushed through the legislature this week doesn’t have any age requirements and opponents say that paves the way for allowing child marriage.
Twenty-four Tennessee Republicans are sponsoring this legislation and right now it is making headlines around the world. Newsweek, The Hill and The Daily Mail in the U.K. have all written about it, Twitter is all abuzz about it, and all eyes are on the Volunteer State as people wonder if the state’s lawmakers are about to legalize child marriage.
State Rep. Tom Leatherwood, the Republican from Shelby County who represents Arlington, sponsored House Bill 233, introducing it in the Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee on April 23. The legislation is designed to legalize common law marriage in Tennessee as a way to push back against the LGBTQ movement.
“I’ve seen a change in the tide, and if there’s any hostility, it’s against those people who do believe marriage comes from God, not from government and do believe it’s between a man and a woman,” said Leatherwood.
“What’s the age limit on this bill?” inquired Rep. Mike Stewart, a Democrat from Nashville, “My concern would be you’re changing the law and we have strict age limits on marriage in Tennessee and I don’t think we want to get away from that.”
“So your current language does not have an age limit? You’re aware our current law does have an age limit and you know what that age limit is?” Rep. Torrey Harris of Memphis asked Leatherwood.
Current Tennessee law states you can get married as young as 17 if you have parental consent. Critics worry House Bill 233, if passed, would pave the way for child marriage and child sex abuse.
“What in your legislation would stop a 16-year-old from going down with someone else to the courthouse and getting this done, since there’s no age restriction within your law?” asked Rep. Harris.
“I think it would be construed that minors would not be able to enter into this,” Leatherwood replied.
“So it would be assumed?” said Harris. “So we’re going to take the assumption that minors would not be included in this?”
Rep. Rush Bricken, a Republican from Tullahoma, said HB 233 simply creates new paperwork for couples to fill out if they want their union to be a common-law marriage, and not a marriage requiring a license from the state.
“We’re making a whole bunch to do and getting off in the weeds here when this strictly is a form, and we should give our citizens the right to choose,” said Bricken.
Harris said if the bill ultimately passes, it would likely lead to a 14th amendment court challenge.
“We have no age limit in this legislation and that’s very much a problem,” said Harris.
State Senator Raumesh Akbari from Memphis told Action News 5: “It’s ugly enough Republicans are advancing an unconstitutional bill to undermine marriage equality, but the fact that this bill reopens the debate on child marriage is outrageous. Kids need time to grow and mature. Kids need to be kids, not brides and mothers.”
The bill passed the House subcommittee and now goes before the House Civil Justice Committee on April 6, and the full Senate will hear the bill on Thursday, April 7.
https://www.actionnews5.com/2022/04/06/proposed-legislation-could-legalize-child-marriage-tennessee/
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Rick Scott throws Ron DeSantis under the bus over his war on Disney
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On Wednesday, POLITICO reported that Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) refused to back up Gov. Ron DeSantis over his threats to revoke special protections in law for the Walt Disney Corporation, in retaliation for their criticism of the "Don't Say Gay" law recently passed in Florida.
"Scott said he supports the legislation and complained during a lengthy television interview on Bloomberg Television and also on Twitter about 'woke companies' such as Disney, which also came under fire for not taking a stance on the bill until Florida lawmakers approved it," reported Gary Fineout. "But the former two-term governor sidestepped a question on whether Florida legislators should repeal a half-century state law that created a special district for the theme park that allows it to essentially establish its own independent government. DeSantis previously said he’d be 'receptive' to making changes to that law."
"My experience with Disney had been positive," Scott told POLITICO.
The law in question is the Reedy Creek Improvement Act of 1967, which basically allowed Disney to operate the public services in the area that would become the Walt Disney World resort complex. Prior to Disney taking over the land, it was considered uninhabitable.
For years, reporting has suggested that Scott and DeSantis have a hostile and adversarial relationship, with both seeing the other in conflict with their own presidential ambitions. In 2019, Scott even left DeSantis' inauguration speech early, prompting him to ad lib out the parts of his speech in which he would have thanked Scott for his service as governor.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/06/rick-scott-fissures-desantis-disney-00023582
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If Rick Scott and Republicans get their way they will tax working class Americans $4500. Also, ending social security and Medicare is part of their 2022 plan as well. That's all in Rick Scott's 11 point plan to destroy America. We finally dug out of the ditch Donald Trump put us in, and Republicans want to put us back in there again, but this time even further. I don't know of anybody who wants to pay Rick Scott's $4500 tax. Do you?
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Rick Scott Can’t Even Get Fox News to Buy His Lies
“It’s not a Democratic talking point. It’s in [your] plan,” host John Roberts scoffed at the senator’s attempts to deny reality
Republican Sen. Rick Scott couldn’t convince Fox News host John Roberts to buy his ridiculous 11 point “Plan to Rescue America,” which includes proposals to force all Americans to pay income tax, sunset all federal legislation within five years, and complete the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico to name it after former President Donald Trump.
“You recently put out an 11-point plan to rescue America,” Roberts said when interviewing Scott on Fox News Sunday. “Two of the big points are, quote: ‘All Americans should pay some income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount.’ Currently, over half of Americans pay no income tax. It also says: ‘All federal legislation sunsets in five years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.'”
"Sure. John, that’s, of course, the Democrat talking points. It’s… ” Scott began, but Roberts interrupted.
“No, it’s in the plan. It’s in the plan,” Roberts insisted.
Undeterred by Roberts’ fact checking, Scott continued pushing back. “Also in the plan, it says we ought to, every year, talk about exactly how we’re going to fix Medicare and Social Security,” Scott said. He then pivoted to defending his plan to increase taxes for the 57 percent of Americans who did not pay federal income tax last year.
“Here’s what’s unfair,” Scott continued. “We have people that don’t — that could go to work and have figured out how to have government pay their way. That’s not right. They ought to have some skin in the game. I don’t care if it’s a dollar. We ought to all be in this together.”
To be clear, millions upon millions of Americans both work and do not pay income tax, many of them because they qualify for enough in deductions and credits to zero out their tax bill. One way to have more Americans pay income tax to this would be policy efforts to make help low-income workers earn more, but that isn’t a part of Scott’s plan.
But you don’t have to take our word for it, or even just the Democrats (and the Fox News host) who have criticized Scott’s 11 points. Roberts noted that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell dissed Scott’s plan for exactly the reasons Roberts stated: it would raise taxes while threatening Social Security and Medicare.
“Let me tell you what would not be a part of our agenda,” McConnell said earlier this month. “We will not have as part of our agenda a bill that raises taxes on half the American people and sunsets Social Security and Medicare within five years. That will not be part of the Republican Senate majority agenda.”
https://twitter.com/i/status/1508086607269830667
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/rick-scott-fox-news-taxes-medicare-social-security-1328178/
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President Biden
@POTUS
"America is stronger than we were a year ago, but we are still recovering from the pandemic and the unprecedented economic disruption it caused. Today’s extension of the pause on student loan repayments will provide a continued lifeline as we recover and rebuild from the pandemic.
This afternoon, I signed the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 into law. The bill recognizes that the Postal Service is a vital public service — one that we are ensuring can continue to serve all Americans for generations to come."
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President Biden continues to work hard for unions and blue collar workers who are the backbone of America.
Biden takes aim at Amazon as he touts unions
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden drew loud applause at a labor event on Wednesday when he turned a spotlight on Amazon.com Inc while touting his administration's efforts to promote unions.
After highlighting a government task force on worker organization he launched a year ago “to make sure the choice to join a union belongs to workers alone,” Biden called out the online retail giant, whose own workers at a New York City warehouse voted last week to unionize.
“And by the way, by the way, Amazon here we come. Watch. Watch,” he said during a speech to the North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) Legislative Conference.
Amazon did not respond to requests for comment.
Widely considered the most pro-union president in decades, Biden has swiftly ousted government officials deemed by unions to be hostile to labor and reversed rules of past President Donald Trump that critics said weakened worker protections.
Asked at a briefing with reporters whether Biden was endorsing unionization at Amazon, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said he was not sending a message that he or the U.S. government would get involved directly in such efforts.
"What he was conveying is his long-time support for collective bargaining, for the rights of workers to organize, and their decision to do exactly that in this case," she said.
Last week some 55% of workers at a warehouse in the New York City borough of Staten Island voted to form the first U.S. union at Amazon, America's second-largest private employer, building on recent grassroots successes by labor activists pushing into new industries.
Amazon has said it may file objections, due on Friday, before the election outcome is certified.
Employees at 10 U.S. Starbucks locations have likewise voted to unionize as well.
Biden's task force, which includes more than 20 heads of agencies and Cabinet officials such as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, seeks to help reverse decades of declining union membership and power, labor experts said.
© Reuters
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Republicans have voted against Americans each and every time, and here's another perfect example with President Biden's Child Tax Credit. But Republicans falsely take fake credit when Democratic laws are popular with their voters. Their voters should be voting for Democrats because Republicans are giving them nothing.
Child Tax Credit Payouts Biggest in GOP States, Despite No Republicans Voting for Bill
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The expanded Child Tax Credit has benefited Republican states and is popular among the party’s voters, a new analysis found, despite the fact that it received no GOP support in Congress. In this photo, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks during a press conference on the Child Tax Credit at the U.S. Capitol on July 15.
President Joe Biden's expanded Child Tax Credit has benefited Republican states and is popular among the party's voters, a new analysis found, despite the fact that it received no GOP support in Congress.
Reuters, using data from the Treasury Department, found the top 10 states by average monthly payouts in August were Utah, Idaho, South Dakota, Alaska, Nebraska, Wyoming, North Dakota, Iowa, Kansas and Montana.
All of those states voted for Donald Trump over Biden in the 2020 election, and all but one, Kansas, is led by a Republican governor.
The news organization also found that the policy has broad support among the public: 59 percent of U.S. adults backed it in a recent poll, including 41 percent of respondents who identified as Republicans.
In fact, the Child Tax Credit was far more popular among Republicans than Biden, who in the latest poll garnered 11 percent job approval from self-identified conservatives.
But the benefit, which was part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, didn't receive a single Republican vote.
The legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives in a party line vote, and the Senate used a process known as reconciliation to bypass the filibuster. The coronavirus relief package was ultimately signed by Biden in March with zero GOP support.
The expanded and advanceable Child Tax Credit—which bumped the payout from $2,000 to $3,600 for each child aged 6 to 17, or $3,000 per child under 6—began being dispersed among eligible households in July.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sent out more than $15 billion in August in the second round of monthly payments for child tax credit. The payout went to families that include roughly 61 million eligible children.
The July payment was predominately used by households to pay for food, according to a U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey. The benefit was also largely used to pay for utilities and clothing.
Some Republican lawmakers have touted the child tax credit and other aspects of the American Rescue Plan, such as restaurant relief and health funding, even though they rejected the legislation.
Biden mocked those promoting the bill they didn't support, holding up a list of names guilty of the behavior during a press conference.
"I mean, some people have no shame," the president said. "But I'm happy. I'm happy they know that it benefited their constituents. That's OK with me. But if you're going to try to take credit for what you've done, don't get in the way of what we still need to do."
Democrats are seeking to extend the Child Tax Credit expansion for an additional four years as part of a $3.5 trillion spending bill largely opposed by Republicans on Capitol Hill.
https://www.newsweek.com/child-tax-credit-payouts-biggest-gop-states-despite-no-republicans-voting-bill-1629809
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The media continues to celebrate the US governments seizure of assets from private individuals because they are: 1) Russian and 2) wealthy. Individuals are being fired from their jobs and subject to harassment due to their nationality. Imagine the hue and cry if the US government had done this to Chinese citizens in response to the pandemic? It would have been decried as racism. An unbelievable overreach of governmental authority that hasn't occurred since the Japanese internment camps of WWII.
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Biden held a super spreader event this week that has disabled half the government. Imagine bringing all these people together during a pandemic for a photo op? Not a mask to be seen. His attorney general, commerce secretary, sister, and Nancy Pelosi have all since tested positive. Who knows how many others were infected?
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An historic day for America as the first black woman is confirmed to the Supreme Court. Joe Biden has kept another campaign promise as he clearly stated under a Biden presidency we will have the first black woman on the Supreme Court. Judge Jackson is one of the most qualified justices ever to be on our court and it was despicable how Senate Republicans treated her during the hearings with their vicious racist attacks and smears. Not a good look for Republicans as the overwhelming majority of Americans support her.
Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court, making her the first Black woman to serve as a justice
The Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, making her the first Black woman to serve on the top U.S. court.
The 53-47 final vote tally showed bipartisan support for Jackson, with three Republicans joining all Democrats to elevate the 51-year-old federal judge to a lifetime appointment.
Jackson is President Joe Biden’s first Supreme Court nominee. She will replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, who was confirmed to the bench in 1994.
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US President Joe Biden and judge Ketanji Brown Jackson watch the Senate vote on her nomination to an an associate justice on the US Supreme Court, from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC on April 7, 2022.
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, making her the 116th justice — and the first Black woman — to serve on the top U.S. court.
The 53-47 final vote tally showed bipartisan support for Jackson, with three Republicans joining all Democrats to elevate the 51-year-old federal judge to a lifetime appointment on the high court.
“This is a great moment for Judge Jackson, but it is a greater moment for America as we rise to a more perfect union,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said before the vote.
Jackson is President Joe Biden’s first Supreme Court nominee. She will replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, who was confirmed to the bench in 1994.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman ever to hold that title, presided over the vote to confirm Jackson. Harris appeared to momentarily choke up with emotion as she read out the vote result, which drew a swell of applause and cheering from the Senate floor.
Jackson will join a court that has grown substantially more conservative following the appointment of three of former President Donald Trump’s nominees. Her addition will maintain the size of the court’s liberal wing, which is outnumbered 6-3 by the conservative bloc.
Just five women — Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett — have served on the Supreme Court. Only two Black men, Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, have ever been appointed to the bench. No Black women have previously sat on the high court.
“Judge Jackson’s confirmation was a historic moment for our nation,” Biden said in a tweet after the vote. “We’ve taken another step toward making our highest court reflect the diversity of America. She will be an incredible Justice, and I was honored to share this moment with her.”
Jackson is also set to become the first Supreme Court justice to have served as a public defender. Democrats have touted that experience as more evidence that Jackson will bring fresh perspective to the historically homogeneous court.
Public defenders are assigned to defend people in criminal cases who may otherwise be unable to hire their own counsel, a constitutional right. Republicans, however, have tried to wield Jackson’s public-defender experience against her by accusing her of sympathizing with the views or actions of some of her past clients, including detainees at the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was criticized for remarking Tuesday on the Senate floor that while former Justice Robert Jackson “left the Supreme Court to go to Nuremberg and prosecute the case against the Nazis ... this Judge Jackson might have gone there to defend them.”
Jackson fielded that criticism and others during more than 23 hours of questioning over two grueling days of confirmation hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee last month.
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Members of the House Congressional Black Caucus speak after the successful confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, April 7, 2022.
While her qualifications and temperament were rarely questioned, Republicans tore into Jackson’s judicial record, arguing that her rulings show a willingness to legislate from the bench. They also focused intently on her sentencing record in a handful of child-pornography cases, accusing her of doling out light punishments to those offenders.
Fact-checkers have disputed that characterization, and Democratic committee members pushed back aggressively against the Republicans’ criticisms.
Members of the American Bar Association, which unanimously awarded Jackson its top rating of “Well Qualified,” also defended Jackson’s record during her confirmation hearings.
Despite her endorsements, Republicans including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have framed Jackson as a fellow travelers of far-left politics.
But after her confirmation hearings, Jackson picked up the support of centrist Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah.
“While I do not expect to agree with every decision she may make on the Court, I believe that she more than meets the standard of excellence and integrity,” Romney said when he announced his support Monday.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/07/ketanji-brown-jackson-confirmed-to-supreme-court-first-black-woman-justice.html
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Six more Republicans sued over Constitution’s ban on insurrectionists running for office
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A legal effort to bar politicians who participated in events that led up to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol from running for reelection is gaining steam after lawsuits were filed suit against three Arizona GOP lawmakers and three from Wisconsin to bar them under the 14th Amendment from running again.
"In three separate candidacy challenges filed in Superior Court in Maricopa County, Ariz., voters and the progressive group, Free Speech for People, targeted Representatives Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs and State Representative Mark Finchem, who is running for Arizona secretary of state with former President Donald J. Trump’s endorsement," The New York Times reports. "A separate action is being pursued by a Democratic-aligned super PAC against Senator Ron Johnson and Representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Fitzgerald, all Wisconsin Republicans."
The suits allege that the lawmakers are not qualified to run for office due to their support for rioters who stormed the Capitol building that day, making them "insurrectionists" as defined by the Constitution.
The little-known third section of the 14th Amendment declares that “no person shall” hold “any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath” to “support the Constitution,” had then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
Read the full report over at The New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/us/politics/insurrectionists-congress.html
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Seditionists and insurrectionists have no place in our government as stated in the Constitution. All of them need to be barred from holding a government position. Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene are white nationalists who speak at white nationalist conventions. Madison Cawthorn and Paul Gosar are both Nazi Hitier sympathizers. They have no business being in Congress.
Two more GOP ‘insurrectionists’ face ballot challenges as voters seek to disqualify them from office
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Activists have challenged whether Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) can run for reelection after his alleged participation in the Jan. 6 attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election and overthrow the result for President Donald Trump. Now Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) are getting the same challenge.
The argument is that a clause in the 14th Amendment stops “insurrectionists” from running for Congress. In the case of Cawthorn, U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II claimed that The Amnesty Act of 1872 eliminated the section of the law by declaring "all political disabilities imposed by the third section" of the 14th Amendment were "hereby removed from all persons whomsoever." The problem that Cawthorn, and now Gosar and Biggs, will likely face is that there can't be an amendment to the Constitution by a law alone.
There are three lawsuits that were filed on Thursday over the Republican members' alleged participation in the Jan. 6 attack.
"The voters are represented by Free Speech For People, a nonpartisan, non-profit legal advocacy organization with constitutional law expertise, which is serving as co-lead counsel in the matter, alongside the Tempe-based election law firm Barton Mendez Soto and the New York-based firm Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel," the group said.
While The Amnesty Act may have given an agreed-upon pass to Confederate Soldiers, the legal argument is that without amending the 14th Amendment, the act technically is unconstitutional.
To pass an amendment to the Constitution, the document outlines, "Congress may submit a proposed constitutional amendment to the states, if the proposed amendment language is approved by a two-thirds vote of both houses. Congress must call a convention for proposing amendments upon application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states (i.e., 34 of 50 states). Amendments proposed by Congress or convention become valid only when ratified by the legislatures of, or conventions in, three-fourths of the states (i.e., 38 of 50 states)."
The Amnesty Proclamation of December 1863 gave blanket pardons to all those who had not held a Confederate civil office, would sign the oath of allegiance to the United States and who hadn't abused prisoners.
So, the question is whether a judge in another district court would rule differently.
All candidates in Arizona must file nomination papers with the Secretary of State that requires they declare they “will be qualified at the time of election to hold the office the person seeks.” According to the Free Speech for the People group, to enforce that requirement, “any elector” may challenge a candidate’s nomination “for any reason relating to qualifications for the office sought as prescribed by law.” That is the rule under which they are issuing the suits.
Read the full piece at the Free Speech for People site:
https://freespeechforpeople.org/arizona-voters-challenge-congressmen-gosar-and-biggs-and-state-rep-finchem-candidate-for-secretary-of-state-under-fourteenth-amendments-insurrectionist-disqualification-clause/
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The noose continues to tighten on Biden, Inc. CBS News (a bastion of leftist ideology) is reporting that there were a shocking 150 suspect transactions to the accounts of Hunter and James Biden. Including millions from Commie China! Wow. Hunter might actually get a lengthy prison sentence. I thought the corrupt DOJ would cut a deal in which Hunter pleads to a few crimes and does no jail time. But he is going to the slammer. James Biden as well. And it is hard to understand how Old Joe avoids impeachment since he is in this up to his neck. I would expect the impeachment to begin after the mid-term elections. This makes Watergate look like child's play.
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"Biden, a veteran of a more bipartisan Senate, said from the beginning that he wanted support from both parties for his history-making nominee, and he invited Republicans to the White House as he made his decision."
'He kept a promise’: How Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation boosts Biden’s legacy
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WASHINGTON - White House allies say they’re confident Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court will shape President Joe Biden’s legacy long after he leaves office — even if the appointment does not offer Democrats a political boost in time for November’s midterm elections. For a president besieged by surprise crises from new coronavirus variants to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the unexpected opening on the Supreme Court allowed Biden to reassert control over his own presidency and fulfill a promise of special importance to his most loyal base of supporters. Prominent Biden allies say that putting the first Black woman on the Supreme Court will play a consequential role in how future generations of Americans view his tenure, particularly if Jackson continues to serve on the high court for decades after he exits politics.
“I hope it is viewed as a positive turning point,” said Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat and close ally of Biden’s. “I hope that the public now appreciates the significance of the confirmation of Justice Jackson. But I am confident that the public in the future will realize the significance of this moment.” Jackson’s confirmation comes at a critical moment in Biden’s presidency, with his presidential approval rating near a personal all-time low and federal elections just months away. Since the fall of last year, Biden has struggled to control surging inflation, a persistent pandemic and members of his own political party, who have stalled part of his legislative agenda. Those setbacks have prevented the president from restoring the sense of normalcy he promised the country during his campaign and enacting the sweeping societal changes he envisioned.
But Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement announcement this winter presented a constructive opportunity, allies say, one in which the president had considerably more influence than other issues plaguing the White House. That Jackson’s nomination was never in serious doubt and eventually won the support of three Republican senators reinforced the perception that the former Judiciary Committee chairman handled the process capably. “Unfortunately he cannot, by himself, control the coronavirus,” said former Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, who served with Biden in the Senate for a dozen years. “Or dictate all the details of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.” “A human being can be only held accountable for what they have the ability to control,” she continued. “And he himself, one man, he himself can personally determine who his nominee is going to be. He made a promise, and he kept a promise.”
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn said that he expects Biden, who pledged publicly to appoint a Black woman at a South Carolina presidential primary debate, to build upon the success of Jackson’s confirmation. “I think he’s going to keep plugging along, keep doing the things he promised to, keep doing the things that need to get done. And I think that at some point in the not too distant future people will see what that’s all about, and I think he’ll be rewarded successfully,” Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, said in an interview.
HISTORIC SUPREME COURT APPOINTMENTS
Supreme Court appointments have always been among the most meaningful areas of a president’s legacy. Dwight Eisenhower’s selection, for instance, of former Chief Justice Earl Warren left an enduring mark on the country’s legal system, expanding civil rights and ending school segregation. Jackson’s nomination in particular could influence views of Biden’s legacy, presidential historians say, because of the historic nature of the pick.
“Anytime racial, gender or ethnic barriers are broken on the court, it’s a milestone in history,” said Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian from Princeton University. “And that’s part of what the president has done.” Zelizer cautioned that Biden wasn’t able to change the court’s ideological makeup in the way former President Donald Trump did with his appointment of three Supreme Court justices, potentially tempering the appointment’s impact. Jackson will replace Breyer, who regularly sided with liberals during his tenure, maintaining conservatives’ 6-3 edge on the court. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that in spite of the international turmoil and domestic challenges the president is facing, his administration intends to celebrate Jackson’s confirmation and it expects many Americans to do the same. “I can’t make a prediction on what that will mean for polls, and it’s really not about that for us,” she added.
BIDEN’S LEGISLATIVE HEADWINDS
Biden had some help this week from Barack Obama, who he had lunch with Tuesday at the White House prior to an East Room event celebrating the former president’s signature legislative achievement.
Obama reflected on his dedication to getting the Affordable Care Act passed into law, despite worries it might cost him reelection. He told assembled Democratic lawmakers and Biden administration officials that sometimes “progress feels way too slow” and “victories are often incomplete,” but the episode is evidence of what is possible for elected officials who follow their convictions in the face of obstacles and criticism.
“President Joe Biden understands that. He has dedicated his life to the proposition that there’s something worthy about public service and that the reason to run for office is for days like today,” Obama said.
Psaki insisted that Obama’s message was not about the midterms but acknowledged it “sounds pretty similar to what we’re working on today” as she noted that the former president also talked about overcoming skepticism, Republican dissenters and division within his own political party.
In an interview, Clyburn, who attended the Obama event, compared Biden to former President Harry Truman during his first term, pointing out that Truman’s presidential approval rating plummeted after he integrated the armed services.
“Now people look back and talk about him being in the top 10,” Clyburn said of Truman, who won election to a second term. “So, Joe Biden is doing what he needs to do for the country. And let the polling and the headline seekers do what they want to do.”
Coons said that when the chapter is written about this period in Biden’s presidency, it would reflect that the “president managed to nominate the right person, we got through the hearings, and we got her confirmed in the middle of war breaking out in Europe.”
Jackson was, according to polls, one of the most popular Supreme Court nominees in recent times. A Gallup survey released in March found that 58% of Americans supported her confirmation, higher than all but one former nominee (current Chief Justice John Roberts) in the last 30 years. Just 30% of adults opposed her confirmation.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article260205140.html
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The noose continues to tighten on Biden, Inc. CBS News (a bastion of leftist ideology) is reporting that there were a shocking 150 suspect transactions to the accounts of Hunter and James Biden. Including millions from Commie China! Wow. Hunter might actually get a lengthy prison sentence. I thought the corrupt DOJ would cut a deal in which Hunter pleads to a few crimes and does no jail time. But he is going to the slammer. James Biden as well. And it is hard to understand how Old Joe avoids impeachment since he is in this up to his neck. I would expect the impeachment to begin after the mid-term elections. This makes Watergate look like child's play.
A "noose" is depicting a violent act, especially when insurrectionists installed on on Jan 6th. Reported for forum violation.
So desperate to push phony right wing conspiracies. Whenever damaging news comes out against Donald Trump, the right pushes Hunter Biden conspiracies as deflection and projection. The fact is Donald Trump is on his way to prison.
Manhattan DA says Trump criminal investigation continues
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/07/manhattan-da-says-trump-criminal-investigation-continues-.html
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"Biden, a veteran of a more bipartisan Senate, said from the beginning that he wanted support from both parties for his history-making nominee, and he invited Republicans to the White House as he made his decision."
'He kept a promise’: How Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation boosts Biden’s legacy
(https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1512143313566060551/JjMkU9jd?format=jpg&name=medium)
WASHINGTON - White House allies say they’re confident Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court will shape President Joe Biden’s legacy long after he leaves office — even if the appointment does not offer Democrats a political boost in time for November’s midterm elections. For a president besieged by surprise crises from new coronavirus variants to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the unexpected opening on the Supreme Court allowed Biden to reassert control over his own presidency and fulfill a promise of special importance to his most loyal base of supporters. Prominent Biden allies say that putting the first Black woman on the Supreme Court will play a consequential role in how future generations of Americans view his tenure, particularly if Jackson continues to serve on the high court for decades after he exits politics.
“I hope it is viewed as a positive turning point,” said Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat and close ally of Biden’s. “I hope that the public now appreciates the significance of the confirmation of Justice Jackson. But I am confident that the public in the future will realize the significance of this moment.” Jackson’s confirmation comes at a critical moment in Biden’s presidency, with his presidential approval rating near a personal all-time low and federal elections just months away. Since the fall of last year, Biden has struggled to control surging inflation, a persistent pandemic and members of his own political party, who have stalled part of his legislative agenda. Those setbacks have prevented the president from restoring the sense of normalcy he promised the country during his campaign and enacting the sweeping societal changes he envisioned.
But Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement announcement this winter presented a constructive opportunity, allies say, one in which the president had considerably more influence than other issues plaguing the White House. That Jackson’s nomination was never in serious doubt and eventually won the support of three Republican senators reinforced the perception that the former Judiciary Committee chairman handled the process capably. “Unfortunately he cannot, by himself, control the coronavirus,” said former Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, who served with Biden in the Senate for a dozen years. “Or dictate all the details of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.” “A human being can be only held accountable for what they have the ability to control,” she continued. “And he himself, one man, he himself can personally determine who his nominee is going to be. He made a promise, and he kept a promise.”
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn said that he expects Biden, who pledged publicly to appoint a Black woman at a South Carolina presidential primary debate, to build upon the success of Jackson’s confirmation. “I think he’s going to keep plugging along, keep doing the things he promised to, keep doing the things that need to get done. And I think that at some point in the not too distant future people will see what that’s all about, and I think he’ll be rewarded successfully,” Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, said in an interview.
HISTORIC SUPREME COURT APPOINTMENTS
Supreme Court appointments have always been among the most meaningful areas of a president’s legacy. Dwight Eisenhower’s selection, for instance, of former Chief Justice Earl Warren left an enduring mark on the country’s legal system, expanding civil rights and ending school segregation. Jackson’s nomination in particular could influence views of Biden’s legacy, presidential historians say, because of the historic nature of the pick.
“Anytime racial, gender or ethnic barriers are broken on the court, it’s a milestone in history,” said Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian from Princeton University. “And that’s part of what the president has done.” Zelizer cautioned that Biden wasn’t able to change the court’s ideological makeup in the way former President Donald Trump did with his appointment of three Supreme Court justices, potentially tempering the appointment’s impact. Jackson will replace Breyer, who regularly sided with liberals during his tenure, maintaining conservatives’ 6-3 edge on the court. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that in spite of the international turmoil and domestic challenges the president is facing, his administration intends to celebrate Jackson’s confirmation and it expects many Americans to do the same. “I can’t make a prediction on what that will mean for polls, and it’s really not about that for us,” she added.
BIDEN’S LEGISLATIVE HEADWINDS
Biden had some help this week from Barack Obama, who he had lunch with Tuesday at the White House prior to an East Room event celebrating the former president’s signature legislative achievement.
Obama reflected on his dedication to getting the Affordable Care Act passed into law, despite worries it might cost him reelection. He told assembled Democratic lawmakers and Biden administration officials that sometimes “progress feels way too slow” and “victories are often incomplete,” but the episode is evidence of what is possible for elected officials who follow their convictions in the face of obstacles and criticism.
“President Joe Biden understands that. He has dedicated his life to the proposition that there’s something worthy about public service and that the reason to run for office is for days like today,” Obama said.
Psaki insisted that Obama’s message was not about the midterms but acknowledged it “sounds pretty similar to what we’re working on today” as she noted that the former president also talked about overcoming skepticism, Republican dissenters and division within his own political party.
In an interview, Clyburn, who attended the Obama event, compared Biden to former President Harry Truman during his first term, pointing out that Truman’s presidential approval rating plummeted after he integrated the armed services.
“Now people look back and talk about him being in the top 10,” Clyburn said of Truman, who won election to a second term. “So, Joe Biden is doing what he needs to do for the country. And let the polling and the headline seekers do what they want to do.”
Coons said that when the chapter is written about this period in Biden’s presidency, it would reflect that the “president managed to nominate the right person, we got through the hearings, and we got her confirmed in the middle of war breaking out in Europe.”
Jackson was, according to polls, one of the most popular Supreme Court nominees in recent times. A Gallup survey released in March found that 58% of Americans supported her confirmation, higher than all but one former nominee (current Chief Justice John Roberts) in the last 30 years. Just 30% of adults opposed her confirmation.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article260205140.html
Biden has held events this week that have infected the speaker of the house, Attorney General, and Commerce Secretary with the virus. He was hugging Nancy Pelosi who has tested positive this week. And now he's working on the Supreme Court for a photo op? Imagine the media outcry if half the leadership of the Trump administration had the virus and they were still meeting and hugging each other without any masks? Unreal.
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Under Trump people lost their jobs. Under Joe Biden people have jobs. The numbers speaks for itself.
Americans needing unemployment benefits, when Biden took office vs now:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FPxYUTgXMAcecZy?format=jpg&name=medium)
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A "noose" is depicting a violent act, especially when insurrectionists installed on on Jan 6th. Reported for forum violation.
So desperate to push phony right wing conspiracies. Whenever damaging news comes out against Donald Trump, the right pushes Hunter Biden conspiracies as deflection and projection. The fact is Donald Trump is on his way to prison.
Manhattan DA says Trump criminal investigation continues
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/07/manhattan-da-says-trump-criminal-investigation-continues-.html
LOL. A noose is not depicting a violent act. It is a metaphor for legal authorities closing in on Hunter. Get a grip. This is particularly rich coming from the same person who celebrated the virus-related deaths of unvaccinated people and called them "morons." Sick.
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Biden has held events this week that have infected the speaker of the house, Attorney General, and Commerce Secretary with the virus. He was hugging Nancy Pelosi who has tested positive this week. And now he's working on the Supreme Court for a photo op? Imagine the media outcry if half the leadership of the Trump administration had the virus and they were still meeting and hugging each other without any masks? Unreal.
Says the anti mask and vaxx guy. You sure are desperate to post b.s. as Biden continues winning.
More propaganda here. Trump was a Superspreader and killed his own supporters.
Trump's White House event in focus over Covid spread
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54401186
Trump campaign rallies led to more than 30,000 coronavirus cases, Stanford researchers say
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/31/coronavirus-trump-campaign-rallies-led-to-30000-cases-stanford-researchers-say.html
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LOL. A noose is not depicting a violent act. It is a metaphor for legal authorities closing in on Hunter. Get a grip. This is particularly rich coming from the same person who celebrated the virus-related deaths of unvaccinated people and called them "morons." Sick.
No, you depicted violence and you've been reported and the authorities might be interested in your violent post against Biden.
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Says the anti mask and vaxx guy. You sure are desperate to post b.s. as Biden continues winning.
More propaganda here. Trump was a Superspreader and killed his own supporters.
Trump's White House event in focus over Covid spread
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54401186
Trump campaign rallies led to more than 30,000 coronavirus cases, Stanford researchers say
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/31/coronavirus-trump-campaign-rallies-led-to-30000-cases-stanford-researchers-say.html
This is a lie. I'm neither anti-mask nor anti-vaxx. I believe that the Trump vaccine is effective. Like President Trump, I have been vaccinated. I've never suggested that anyone not be vaccinated. That is a product of your biased fantasy. Retract this statement or be reported for an actual violation of forum rules.
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No, you depicted violence and you've been reported and the authorities might be interested in your violent post against Biden.
From the Merriman-Webster dictionary:
tighten the noose
: to make a situation more difficult for someone
Now retract your threats and slander or be sued.
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From the Merriman-Webster dictionary:
tighten the noose
: to make a situation more difficult for someone
Now retract your threats and slander or be sued.
No slander. Insurrectionists who have been arrested use the term "noose" as violence against Democrats. It's a symbol. And you've done the same twice. Those are your words. Retract your words. This isn't the first time you've talked about a "noose".
The noose is getting tighter and tighter around Hunter's neck. The media is trying to sacrifice him to save Old Joe. Old Joe is up to his neck in Biden, Inc. along with his brother and Hunter. DOJ will want to bring the hammer down well before the mid-term elections to avoid any implication that they are influencing the republican landslide in November.
You've used the word "noose" in more than one post. This is another time you've said it and it's disturbing.
You've slandered me for months in this forum making outright false accusations and I'm getting tired of it.
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History doesn't happen by accident. 81 million people voted for President Biden in a pandemic to make it possible for the first Black woman Vice President to preside over the confirmation of the first Black woman to serve on Supreme Court. This a great day in history.
"Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson made history today. Judge Jackson is a hero to so many Americans across our country. She will be the first Black woman on the highest court in the land."- Vice President Kamala Harris
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https://twitter.com/VP/status/1512161287890952202
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Police were warned about Eric Greitens — before he allegedly assaulted his wife
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New information is coming out about the latest Eric Greitens scandal to rock Missouri's GOP primary for the U.S. Senate.
"Missouri state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed grew concerned enough about Gov. Eric Greitens’ potential for violence in April 2018 that she sent a letter asking the Department of Public Safety to investigate rumors of an incident involving 'troubling behavior' at Greitens’ private home," The Kansas City Star reported Thursday. "DPS Director Charles “Drew” Juden wrote back the next day. He had contacted the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Capitol Police and law enforcement in Warren County, where the Greitens lived in the wealthy, largely gated community of Innsbrook. None of the agencies had received any similar information, he said."
In 2018, Greitens resigned as governor in disgrace following s*x and campaign finance scandals.
"In an affidavit filed last month, Sheena Greitens said in late April 2018 Eric Greitens knocked her down and confiscated her cell phone, wallet and keys so she couldn’t call for help or leave the Innsbrook home," the newspaper reported. "The letters demonstrate that at least once during that tumultuous period, concerns about Gov. Greitens’ at-home conduct were shared with state and local authorities. The former first lady’s recent statements raise questions about whether officials missed a chance to intervene before the former governor’s alleged abuse."
Greitens is in a contested primary to succeed retiring Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO). He is competing against Attorney General Eric Schmidt, GOP Reps. Vicky Hatzer, Billy Long, and gun activist Mark McClowsky for the nomination.
Helen Wade, an attorney for Sheena Greitens, said the letter was sent before Eric Greitens allegedly knocked her down and that her client was not contacted by any law enforcement at the time.
“It’s just probably by the grace of God she’s still alive. Because someone should have intervened,” Nasheed told the newspaper.
Helen Wade, an attorney for Sheena Greitens, said the letter was sent before Eric Greitens allegedly knocked her down and that her client was not contacted by any law enforcement at the time.
https://www.rawstory.com/eric-greitens-wife/
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US ends normal trade ties with Russia over Putin's Ukraine invasion
The US Congress voted Thursday to end normal trade relations with Moscow and codify the ban on Russian oil, as the White House ratchets up pressure on President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine.
The legislation -- which also applies to Russia's ally Belarus -- enables President Joe Biden to inflict steep tariff hikes on imports from both countries.
Biden announced the steps in a speech last month arguing that Russia must "pay the price" for the bloodshed in its ex-Soviet neighbor, where it has denied accusations of committing atrocities.
"Putin must absolutely be held accountable for the detestable, despicable war crimes he is committing against Ukraine: the images we have seen coming out of that country... are just pure evil," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
"It reminds us of the worst moments in human history, caused by the evil man, Putin: hundreds of civilians murdered in cold blood."
A key principle of the World Trade Organization, the so-called most favored nation status known in the United States as permanent normal trade relations (PNTR), requires countries to guarantee one another equal tariff and regulatory treatment.
The latest trade sanction, which passed the House with support from every Democrat and just a handful of Republicans voting no, caps several rounds of measures intended primarily to sever Moscow's economic and financial ties with the rest of the world.
They have included banning Russian oil imports -- a measure Biden already implemented by executive decree -- seizing the assets of billionaires tied to Putin, and freezing the nation's stockpile of cash.
Unwavering support
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hailed the latest action as a sign that the United States was "unwavering" in its commitment to support Ukraine and hold Russia to account.
"Putin's aggression and barbaric war crimes have horrified the world and demand a strong response," she said in a statement.
Together, the moves have already pushed Moscow to the brink of a debt default.
They have also caused prices for key commodities like gasoline and wheat to soar, harming US consumers already facing the highest inflation in four decades.
The United States imported just under $30 billion in goods from Russia last year, including $17.5 billion in crude oil.
The legislation includes a measure to reauthorize Magnitsky Act sanctions that target human rights violations and corruption with visa bans, asset freezes and other penalties.
The United States moved Wednesday to block foreign investment in Russia and state-owned enterprises and levied further sanctions on the country's banks and senior officials.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC News that global punishments had put the Russian economy into a "deep recession."
"And what we're seeing is a likely contraction of the Russian economy by about 15 percent," he said.
"That is dramatic... We've seen an exodus from Russia of virtually every major company in the world. And Putin, in the space of a matter of weeks, has basically shut down Russia to the world."
© Agence France-Presse
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Jobless claims fall to 166K, lowest level since 1968
New weekly claims for unemployment insurance fell to the lowest level since 1968 at the end of March, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department.
In the week ending April 2, the seasonally adjusted total of new claims for jobless benefits fell to 166,000, a decline of 5,000 from the previous week. Seasonally adjusted weekly jobless claims have fallen to the lowest level since the week ending Nov. 30, 1968, when 162,000 Americans filed to start a new cycle of unemployment insurance.
The Labor Department also revised the previous week’s seasonally adjusted total of jobless claims down by 31,000 to 171,000 from an initially reported level of 202,000. The size of the revision may be due in part to new seasonal adjustments used by the Labor Department this week to better account for the effects of the pandemic.
Without seasonal adjustments, weekly jobless claims fell 3,674 to a total of 193,137, a decline of 1.9 percent from the previous week.
After briefly rising in mid-January during the peak of the omicron wave, jobless claims have fallen steadily through 2022 as businesses seek to hire and retain as many workers as possible amid historic demand for labor.
Companies have avoided laying off workers, even those initially hired for seasonal roles, as job openings outnumber jobseekers nearly 2 to 1. While firms are still hiring from a smaller pool of workers than before the pandemic, the U.S. added almost 1.8 million jobs in the first three months of March and pushed the unemployment rate to 3.6 percent, 0.1 percentage points higher than in February 2020.
AFP
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The Biden-Harris Administration Announces $500 Million Program for Better School Infrastructure
APRIL 4, 2022
DOE Seeks Public Input on Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding Program for Energy Upgrades to America’s 100,000 Public School Facilities
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, as part the new Biden-Harris Action Plan for Building Better School Infrastructure, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a Request for Information (RFI) for a $500 million grant program from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for K-12 public school energy upgrades. The program will help deliver cleaner and healthier classrooms, libraries, cafeterias, playgrounds, and gyms where over three million teachers teach and 50 million students learn, eat, and build friendships every day. Energy upgrades to America’s public schools, including leveraging renewable power sources and electric school buses, will bring the nation closer to President Biden’s goal to build a net-zero economy by 2050.
“Children should be able to learn and grow in environments that are not plagued with poor insulation and ventilation, leaky roofs, or poor heating and cooling,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “President Biden fought for these funds to give schools and their communities the resources they need to improve student and teacher health and cut energy costs, allowing districts to focus more resources on student learning.”
Many of America’s public schools are in desperate need of energy improvements. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s 100,000 public K-12 schools a D+ in their 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure report. Dilapidated school facilities can negatively affect student learning and health as indoor air quality problems can aggravate respiratory illnesses, reduce student and teacher attendance and performance, and increase risk of transmission of respiratory infections like COVID-19.
Energy consumption is the second-highest operational expense schools face with a significant portion of this energy lost through leaky school walls, windows, and other inefficient equipment and systems. Districts that serve rural, high poverty, or Hispanic/Latino, African American, and Native American communities experience the greatest burden of failing or antiquated school facilities.
Public school facilities will be eligible for energy improvements that result in a direct reduction in school energy costs, including improvements to the air conditioning and heating, ventilation, hot water heating, and lighting systems. In addition, funding would support any improvement, repair, renovation to, or installation in a school that leads to an improvement in teacher and student health.
President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s grant funding will also support additional improvements, repairs, or renovations such as the installation of renewable energy technologies, the installation of alternative fueled vehicle infrastructure on school grounds such as school buses or the purchase or lease of alternative fueled vehicles to be used by a school.
DOE encourages Local Education Agencies, school staff, states, local governments, energy service companies, unions, service providers, and utilities to respond to the RFI.
https://www.energy.gov/articles/biden-harris-administration-announces-500-million-program-better-school-infrastructure
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Just a reminder that every single Republican voted against President Biden's American Rescue Plan that rescued our economy, created 8 million jobs, and got this pandemic under control. Small businesses were saved under this law.
SBA Says American Rescue Plan Has Given $450 Billion to Small Business
In a statement on the first anniversary of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), President Biden’s plan to contain COVID-19 and rescue the economy, the Small Business Association (SBA), said the plan has given $450 billion to small business.
To mark the one-year anniversary, SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, issued a statement on how the ARP has been critical for small business survival.
“The SBA was transformational for small businesses, providing over $450 billion in critical recovery funding to more than 6 million entrepreneurs, helping them survive, reopen, and once again thrive even in the face of deep challenges.”
Helping Small Businesses Navigate Challenging Times
The SBA Administrator went on to note how the different programs of the American Rescue Plan have helped small businesses and entrepreneurs navigate these challenging times.
The different programs, some of which are aimed at specific industries, include the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the Paycheck Protection Program, COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loans, and Shuttered Venue Operators Grants. Casillas Guzman notes how many small businesses credit the different programs as saving their business.
The SBA Administrator stated how because of the ARP, the people of American have been able to return to work at an “unprecedentedly fast pace.”
Record Rates of New Business
With entrepreneurs applying to start new businesses at a record rate, which is now 30% higher than before the pandemic, Casillas Guzman said the recovery efforts have sparked a surge in entrepreneurship.
The SBA stated that despite the efforts, gains and successes, there is more to be done and the Biden-Harris Administration is “working to strengthen supply chains and open more doors of opportunity so small businesses can continue to serve their customers and keep creating good-paying jobs.”
More Opportunities on the Horizon
In the one-year statement of the ARP’s anniversary, Casillas Guzman informed that there are more opportunities for small businesses on the horizon, with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Made in American priorities, alongside the SBA and its local partners continuing to work to ensure the smallest businesses in the US benefit from such prospects.
For small businesses and entrepreneurs in the US, it is important they remain informed and up-to-date with the opportunities available to them through the SBA, so they are best equipped for growth and success.
https://smallbiztrends.com/2022/04/sba-says-american-rescue-plan-has-given-450-billion-dollars-small-business.html
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Republicans who are holding up Pentagon nominations are threatening our national security.
WATCH: Dem senator brings receipts of Josh Hawley's record in epic floor speech
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Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) was blasted on the floor of the United States Senate on Thursday.
The spectacle occurred as Hawley held up Pentagon nominations, which received harsh criticism from Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI).
"He is damaging the Department of Defense," he said. "And this comes from a guy who raised his fist in solidarity with the insurrectionists."
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Senator Hawley criticized for acknowledging Capitol insurrectionists with a fist pump
"And this comes from a guy who, before the Russian invasion, suggested that maybe it would be wise for Zelensky to make a few concessions about Ukraine and their willingness to join NATO. This comes from a guy who just about a month ago voted against Ukraine aid! He’s saying it’s going too slow? He voted 'no' — he voted 'no' on Ukraine aid and now he has the gall to say it’s going too slow!"
And he kept going.
"And coming from a person who exonerated Donald Trump for extorting Zelensky for withholding lethal aid? They withheld lethal aid until, unless Zelensky would release false smears against Joe Biden’s son. And then he voted to exonerate President Trump for this. And so spare me the new solidarity with the Ukrainians and with the free world because this man’s record is exactly the opposite," Schatz said.
Watch:
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President Biden
@POTUS
"Last week, I announced the largest ever release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Today, the rest of the world is joining us — releasing 240M barrels of oil in total.
This will expand supply for oil and gas companies. Now it's on them to lower prices for consumers.
Over the last four weeks, fewer Americans filed initial claims for unemployment insurance than at any time in our nation’s recorded history.
America is back to work."
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1512122979228000256
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President Biden
@POTUS
Judge Jackson’s confirmation was a historic moment for our nation. We’ve taken another step toward making our highest court reflect the diversity of America. She will be an incredible Justice, and I was honored to share this moment with her.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FPwyfNQWQAI9e-e?format=jpg&name=medium)
For those who are asking:
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Morning Joe pounds Republicans for disrespecting Ketanji Brown Jackson after historic Senate vote
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough bashed Republican senators for disrespecting newly confirmed Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson after she became the first Black woman to join the court.
Four GOP senators -- Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Rand Paul (R-KY) -- voted against Jackson's confirmation from the Senate cloakroom, after Graham showed up in a polo shirt and Paul in khaki slacks, which violate the dress code, and Republicans then walked out after her nomination passed 53-47.
"Listen, the parties treat each other despicably -- please, they do," said the "Morning Joe" host. "You are talking about what-about-ism? Yeah, I am, it is horrific. Even on the issues of race I was hearing people talking about, well, this shows how race -- I remember. Let's just say it, Chuck Schumer acting abhorrently towards a Black woman trying to go to the D.C. circuit, saying, we're not going -- okay, but all of that aside. Let's put all of that aside, Okay, I'm showing, yes, both sides are horrific."
Scarborough said some historical moments are so important that politics must be set aside, and he said Jackson's confirmation should have been one of those.
"I didn't vote for Barack Obama [but] when Barack Obama got elected, I turned to the person I was with and I said, I didn't vote for him, but what an incredible country we live in," Scarborough said. "I had chills -- again, I thought he was too liberal, I didn't -- I could go down the list, but even in that moment I knew something really incredible had happened that made me proud to be an American, right? Yesterday, I'm watching, first of all, Rand Paul, serious, deliberately, I don't know what he was doing, but that holding up of history. I don't know, Lindsey, I don't know, maybe did his tie get shredded?"
"But then afterwards, given our history as a nation, given the way women have been treated, the way Black people have been treated, the way Black women have been treated, just as a matter of history, it is a matter of fact, as much of a fact as this is a coffee cup," Scarborough continued, holding up his own cup, "you don't think more Republicans than Mitt Romney could have stayed in the chamber, taken to their feet and applauded the moment even if they didn't agree with her judicial philosophy?"
"I'm sure I don't agree with a lot of her judicial philosophy, but you know what I agree on?" he added. "This country, despite all of our problems, despite our screw-ups, we are still stumbling toward being a more perfect union. A moment like that, stand on your feet and applaud."
Watch:
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Every member of the GOP must be asked these questions: Did Trump control you then? Does he control you now?
CNN Exclusive: ‘We control them all’: Donald Trump Jr. texted Meadows ideas for overturning 2020 election before it was called
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Washington CNN — Two days after the 2020 presidential election, as votes were still being tallied, Donald Trump’s eldest son texted then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows that “we have operational control” to ensure his father would get a second term, with Republican majorities in the US Senate and swing state legislatures, CNN has learned.
In the text, which has not been previously reported, Donald Trump Jr. lays out ideas for keeping his father in power by subverting the Electoral College process, according to the message reviewed by CNN. The text is among records obtained by the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021.
“It’s very simple,” Trump Jr. texted to Meadows on November 5, adding later in the same missive: “We have multiple paths We control them all.”
In a statement to CNN, Trump Jr.’s lawyer Alan S. Futerfas said, “After the election, Don received numerous messages from supporters and others. Given the date, this message likely originated from someone else and was forwarded.”
The November 5 text message outlines a strategy that is nearly identical to what allies of the former President attempted to carry out in the months that followed. Trump Jr. makes specific reference to filing lawsuits and advocating recounts to prevent certain swing states from certifying their results, as well as having a handful of Republican state houses put forward slates of fake “Trump electors.”
If all that failed, according to the Trump Jr. text, GOP lawmakers in Congress could simply vote to reinstall Trump as President on January 6.
“We have operational control Total leverage,” the message reads. “Moral High Ground POTUS must start 2nd term now.”
The text from Trump Jr. is revealing on a number of levels. It shows how those closest to the former President were already exchanging ideas for how to overturn the election months before the January 6 insurrection – and before all the votes were even counted. It would be another two days before major news outlets declared Joe Biden the winner on November 7.
The text also adds to a growing body of evidence of how Trump’s inner circle was actively engaged in discussing how to challenge the election results.
On March 28, Judge David Carter, a federal judge in California, said that Trump, along with conservative lawyer John Eastman, launched an “unprecedented” campaign to overturn a democratic election, calling it “a coup in search of a legal theory.”
George Terwilliger, an attorney for Meadows, declined to comment for this story. A spokesperson for the House select committee declined to comment.
Foreshadowing the Trump campaign strategy
In the weeks following the 2020 election, Trump and his allies eventually filed more than 60 unsuccessful lawsuits in key states, failing to convince the courts that his claims about a stolen election were justified, or uncover any evidence of widespread voter fraud.
They also called for various recounts based on those same unfounded voter fraud claims. A number of states conducted recounts in the months after the election, though none of them revealed any fraud substantial enough to have changed the outcome of the vote in any state.
While Trump Jr. was publicly pushing various voter fraud conspiracy theories and generally casting doubt about the results in states like Pennsylvania and Georgia, his text to Meadows reveals there were other ideas being discussed privately.
Specifically, Trump Jr. previews a strategy to supplant authentic electors with fake Republican electors in a handful of states. That plan was eventually orchestrated and carried out by allies of the former President, and overseen by his then-attorney Rudy Giuliani.
In his text to Meadows, Trump Jr. identifies two key dates in December that serve as deadlines for states to certify their electoral results and compel Congress to accept them. Though the dates are largely ceremonial, in his text Trump Jr. appears to point to them as potential weaknesses to be exploited by casting doubt on the legitimacy of the election results.
Seeking Trump electors
Trump Jr.’s November 5 text to Meadows came as similar notions of faithless electors were starting to percolate publicly on conservative social media. Trump Jr. sent the text to Meadows at 12:51 p.m., just minutes after conservative radio host Mark Levin had tweeted a similar idea and suggested state legislatures have final say on electors.
If secretaries of state were unable to certify the results, Trump Jr. argues in his text to Meadows that they should press their advantage by having Republican-controlled state assemblies “step in” and put forward separate slates of “Trump electors,” he writes.
“Republicans control Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina etc we get Trump electors,” Trump Jr. adds.
Trump Jr.’s text, however, refers to an untested legal theory that state houses are the ultimate authority in elections and can intervene to put forward a different slate of electors than those chosen by the voters, when in reality this is a ceremonial process and the outcome is essentially a foregone conclusion.
The Justice Department and the House committee are both investigating the fake electors plot within the context of what unfolded on January 6 and Trump’s broader effort to overturn the election.
The strategy floated by Trump Jr. is similar to what was outlined by former Texas Governor and Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who texted Meadows on November 4 suggesting three state legislatures ignore the will of their voters and deliver their states’ electors to Trump.
“HERE’s an AGRESSIVE (sic) STRATEGY: Why can t (sic) the states of GA NC PENN and other R controlled state houses declare this is BS (where conflicts and election not called that night) and just send their own electors to vote and have it go to the SCOTUS,” Perry’s text message read.
A spokesman for Perry told CNN at the time that the former Energy secretary denies being the author of the text. However, multiple people who know Rick Perry previously confirmed to CNN that the phone number the committee has associated with that text message is Perry’s number.
‘We control them all’
Trump Jr. also texts Meadows that Congress could intervene on January 6 and overturn the will of voters if, for some reason, they were unable to secure enough electoral votes to tip the outcome in Trump’s favor using the state-based strategy.
That option, according to Trump Jr.’s text, involves a scenario where neither Biden nor Trump have enough electoral votes to be declared a winner, prompting the House of Representatives to vote by state party delegation, with each state getting one vote.
“Republicans control 28 states Democrats 22 states,” Trump Jr. texts. “Once again Trump wins.”
“We either have a vote WE control and WE win OR it gets kicked to Congress 6 January 2021,” he texts Meadows.
In a series of memos in early January, conservative lawyer John Eastman proposed a variation of that idea.
Eastman’s memo laid out a six-step plan for Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election for Trump, which included throwing out the results in seven states because they allegedly had competing electors. In fact, no state had actually put forward an alternate slate of electors – there were merely Trump allies claiming without any authority to be electors.
Eastman, who has been subpoenaed by the House select committee and is fighting to keep some of his records secret from investigators, was accused by Carter of likely engaging in a criminal conspiracy with Trump to overturn the election.
“Dr. Eastman has an unblemished record as an attorney and respectfully disagrees with the judge’s findings,” his attorney Charles Burnham said in response to the judge’s ruling.
Trump Jr. pushes Meadows to fire Wray and install loyalist at FBI
Trump Jr. ends his November 5 text by calling for a litany of personnel moves to solidify his father’s control over the government by putting loyalists in key jobs and initiate investigations into the Biden family.
“Fire Wray; Fire Fauci,” he texts, referring to FBI Director Christopher Wray and White House coronavirus adviser Anthony Fauci. Trump Jr. then proposes making former acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell interim head of the FBI and having then-Attorney General Bill Barr “select Special prosecutor on HardDrivefromHell Biden crime family.”
As Trump refused to concede in the days and weeks after the 2020 election, rumors swirled that he was still considering firing Wray, along with several other top officials with whom he had grown frustrated.
Trump and his allies sharply criticized Wray for failing to produce information that they claimed would be harmful to the President’s political enemies, including Biden. CNN previously reported that the prospect of Trump firing Wray hung over the FBI for weeks, dating to before Election Day.
While Wray remains in his post and Barr resigned in mid-December 2020 without naming a special prosecutor to investigate the Bidens, Trump Jr.’s text underscores just how precarious the situation at DOJ was in the immediate aftermath of the election.
The same is true for Trump Jr.’s recommendation that Meadows replace Wray with Grenell, someone who not only lacked the usual qualifications to lead the FBI but also had a proven track record of doing the former President’s bidding.
After serving a controversial three-month stint as Trump’s acting intel chief, Grenell hit the campaign trail in late 2020 to help promote Trump’s unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud and support his legal challenges in a key swing state: Nevada.
On November 5, Biden held a slim lead over Trump in Nevada but appeared poised to win the state’s six electoral votes. That same day, Grenell and Trump campaign officials announced they were filing a new lawsuit to “stop the counting of illegal votes” but provided no evidence to support their claims of rampant fraud.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/08/politics/donald-trump-jr-meadows-text/index.html
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GOP Official Who Called for 'Lynching' of Lloyd Austin Refuses to Resign
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A Republican official in Virginia is being pushed to resign by the local GOP after a Facebook post was discovered in which he used the N-word and floated the idea of "lynching" Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and other leaders in Washington, D.C.
The Republican Party of Hampton, Virginia last week became aware of a February 2021 Facebook post by Hampton Electoral Board Chair David Dietrich. In the post, Dietrich attacked Austin—the first Black Defense Secretary in U.S. history—and other Democratic leaders. The controversy was first reported by local WAVY News 10.
Dietrich said in the post that Austin's efforts to root out white nationalists in the military was actually a ploy "to remove conservative, freedom-loving Americans from the roles." He said Austin and other Democratic leaders are "vile and racist," describing them as "stinking" N-words.
"If it is a civil war they want, they will get it in spades," he wrote. "Perhaps the best way to pull us back from the brink is a good public lynching."
On Thursday, the Hampton GOP called on Dietrich to step down, reiterating the call on Friday—sharing a screenshot of the post. The local Republicans said Dietrich had used "abhorrent and unacceptable racist language that has no place in our Party or our Commonwealth." It said it immediately called on him to resign after learning of the post.
"In light of Mr. Dietrich's refusal to resign, the Hampton City Republican Party has asked the chief judge of the Hampton Circuit Court, the appointing authority for all electoral board members, to remove Mr. Dietrich from his position," the local Republican Party said.
"The Hampton City Republican Party unequivocally condemns all forms of racism and bigotry, and specifically condemns the language employed by Mr. Dietrich."
Philip Siff, chair of the local GOP, reiterated that he and other leaders "unequivocally condemn all forms of racism and bigotry," in a Friday comment to WAVY. Siff said that Dietrich was still refusing to resign.
Newsweek reached out to the Hampton GOP and Dietrich for comment.
Austin, a retired four-star general, was first announced as President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Pentagon in December of 2020. He became the first Black secretary of defense in U.S. history after he was confirmed by the Senate on January 22, 2021—with a substantial bipartisan vote of 93 in favor to just two senators opposed.
The Biden administration official retired from military duty in 2016 after 41 years of service. In addition to CENTCOM commander, Austin served as vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army and director of the joint staff.
https://www.newsweek.com/gop-official-who-called-lynching-lloyd-austin-refuses-resign-1696507
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Federal judge open to challenge that would keep Marjorie Taylor Greene off the ballot: CNN
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According to a report from CNN, Federal Judge Amy Totenberg has indicated a willingness to take a look at whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) can be kept from running for re-election due to her connection to the Jan 6th Capitol assault.
CNN is reporting that Totenberg is expected to "issue a ruling next week, likely on Monday."
"Federal Judge Amy Totenberg of the Northern District of Georgia said during a lengthy hearing that she has 'significant questions and concerns' about a recent ruling in a similar case, which blocked the same challenge against Rep. Madison Cawthorn, a North Carolina Republican," CNN's Marshall Cohen wrote. "A group of Georgia voters, backed by a coalition of constitutional scholars and liberal activists, lodged the challenge against Greene last month with state election officials. Greene then filed her own lawsuit in federal court, asking Totenberg to shut down the state-level proceedings."
An attorney for Taylor Greene, James Bopp Jr. complained that the challenge is concocted from "50 pages of newspaper articles, hearsay and political hyperbole.”
He also warned that, should the challenge be successful, Democratic activists may attempt to use the ruling to keep Donald Trump off the ballot should he run for president in 2024.
You can read more here:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/08/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-candidacy-challenge-lawsuit/index.html
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Manufacturing Adds 38,000 Jobs in March
WASHINGTON—The manufacturing sector boosted U.S. employment by 38,000 jobs in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last Friday. Durable goods industries increased by 22,000 jobs and non-durable goods industries by 16,000.
On the durable goods side, the increase was paced by transportation equipment, up 10,800 jobs. That included a gain of 6,400 jobs in motor vehicles and parts. Other industries showing job increases included fabricated metal products (up 3,700 jobs), miscellaneous manufacturing (up 2,300), furniture (up 2,200) and machinery (up 1,700). Industries with job losses included non-metallic mineral products (down 4,500 jobs) and primary metals (down 700).
Manufacturing employment totaled 12.657 million jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis in March. That was up from an adjusted 12.619 million the month before and 12.268 million in March 2021.
The Bureau also reported that the U.S. unemployment rate slid to 3.6 percent in March, down from 3.8 percent in February.
AFP
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Biden cracks down on ghost guns with new rule to tackle gun violence
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden will announce a new rule to rein in ghost guns and ban the manufacturing of such firearms on Monday as the administration faces growing pressure to crack down on gun deaths and violent crime in the United States.
Ghost guns are privately made firearms that are not marked with a serial number and are difficult for law enforcement to trace when used to commit a crime.
Biden and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco will announce the final rule from the Department of Justice at an event at the White House on Monday. The final rule has been making its way through the federal regulation process for nearly a year and is likely to draw opposition and litigation from gun advocates in the coming weeks.
At the event, Biden will also nominate Steve Dettelbach, a former U.S. attorney from Ohio, to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, a senior administration official told reporters.
The announcement is part of a series of measures announced by Biden and the Justice Department in April last year to tackle growing gun violence in the United States and curb mass shootings.
In 2021, there were about 20,000 suspected ghost guns reported to ATF as having been recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations – a tenfold increase from 2016, according to statistics shared by the White House.
The Justice Department rule bans unserialized "buy build shoot" kits that individuals can buy online or at a store without a background check and can readily assemble into a working firearm in as little as 30 minutes with equipment they have at home. It also turns some ghost guns already in circulation into serialized firearms.
Gun deaths increased in 2021 over 2020, according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive.
In 2021 there were 20,726 gun deaths in the United States, not counting suicides by gun, the nonprofit reported. This included 693 mass shootings, defined by four or more people being shot, and claimed 702 lives and injured more than 2,800 people, the group reported.
© Reuters
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Whitmer signs bill to pour $140M into Michigan unemployment fund
LANSING, MI – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill Monday to boost jobless aid funding and provide money to address unemployment fraud.
The legislation appropriates $139.8 million to the Michigan Unemployment Compensation Fund. This includes $106.8 million in federal funds, $24 million from the state general fund and $8.9 million of state restricted funds.
“This fiscally-responsible, bipartisan bill will lower costs for small businesses and fight waste, fraud, and abuse in our unemployment system,” said Whitmer in a statement.
The fund took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic dropping from $4.6 billion to about $500 million in a year. Michigan employers, who pay into the fund, have to pay more whenever it drops below $2.5 billion.
“By making a deposit into the Unemployment Compensation Fund, we can help small businesses balance their books by lowering the costs of unemployment,” Whitmer said.
Michigan has paid out nearly $40 billion to unemployed Michigan workers since March 2020. Most of that, about $31 billion, came from federal programs and not state dollars.
Through the legislation, the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency can hire additional employees to escalate fraud enforcement efforts. It also helps the Michigan attorney general’s office pursue unemployment claimant fraud, employee fraud and identity theft, a news release said.
“Together, we will pursue anyone who improperly exploits unemployment benefits to pad their own pockets and ensure they are prosecuted to the full extent of our laws,” Whitmer said. “Attorney General Dana Nessel, Michigan’s UIA agency, our federal partners, and my administration will continue working together to utilize this funding as effectively as possible to crack down on fraud and save taxpayers money.”
Michigan created an Unemployment Insurance Fraud Response Team late last year after a report found the state paid out $8.5 billion in fraudulent benefits during the pandemic. That total includes nearly $4 billion the Michigan UIA paid out in error.
Due to the agency mistake about 530,000 people were asked to pay their benefits back. Many are still waiting on those bills to be waived, and the state last week announced collections will be paused on pandemic repayments until May 7.
https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2022/04/whitmer-signs-bill-to-pour-140m-into-michigan-unemployment-fund.html
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Biden announces new gun regulation and names ATF nominee
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Washington CNN — President Joe Biden announced a new firearm regulation Monday meant to contain the use of privately made weapons as he comes under pressure to take more steps to address a national crisis of gun violence.
The regulation on so-called “ghost guns” – unregulated, untraceable weapons made from kits – will address a critical gap in the government’s ability to track them by requiring background checks before purchase and serial numbers on some of the components. Though ghost guns make up a relatively small share of the guns recovered by law enforcement, they have been seen with increasing frequency in recent years.
Biden brought one of the kits to the Rose Garden on Monday, declaring the new rules “basic common sense” before holding aloft one of the weapons made from the gear.
“If you buy a couch you have to assemble, it’s still a couch. If you order a package like this one over here that includes that parts that you need and directs the assembly of a functioning firearm, you bought a gun,” he declared, striding over to the kit and demonstrating the ease of constructing the weapon.
“It doesn’t take very long,” he said. “Anyone can order it in the mail.”
Biden also named Steve Dettelbach, a former US attorney from Ohio, as his nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The President’s previous nominee was forced to withdraw amid opposition in the Senate.
“This mission of this agency isn’t controversial – it’s public safety,” Biden said.
The moves came as gun violence and crime have ticked up in the United States, putting pressure on the White House to take action. A rash of shootings over the weekend underscored the emergency: Four people, including two teens, were shot shortly after a Major League Baseball game in Washington, DC, on Saturday night, police said. In Illinois, six people were found injured after a shooting occurred in a residential neighborhood.
Police are also investigating a shooting at a birthday party in Indianapolis where six people were shot and one person was killed. And two people were also killed and 10 hospitalized after a “targeted attack” at a Cedar Rapids nightclub, police say.
Routine deadly gun violence is a uniquely American problem. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deemed gun violence a “serious public health threat” last year. Biden has made modest progress on gun control, but major steps like banning assault weapons or closing background check loopholes would require congressional action.
“None of this absolves Congress … for the responsibility to act,” Biden said.
Gun violence traditionally spikes in the summer months, lending further urgency to Monday’s actions.
The new rule issued by the Justice Department seeks to rein in a type of weapon that has been seen more and more at crime scenes across the country. Ghost gun kits can be purchased online, and a weapon can be self-manufactured in as little as 30 minutes. Because regulators cannot trace them, ghost guns are appealing to criminals and those with criminal histories, according to officials.
The new rules require anyone purchasing a kit to undergo a background check, as is required for other types of firearm purchases. It also requires those selling the kits to mark components with a serial number, so the eventual weapon produced can be traced. And it mandates firearm dealers add a serial number to already built ghost guns they come across in their businesses.
“All of a sudden, it’s no longer a ghost,” Biden said of the new rules. “It has a return address. And it’s going to help save lives, reduce crime and get more criminals off the streets.”
“Ghost guns look like a gun, they shoot like a gun, and they kill like a gun, but up until now they haven’t been regulated like a gun,” John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said in a statement celebrating the Biden administration for “doubling down on its commitment to gun safety.”
Mia Tretta, who was shot and wounded with a ghost gun in a school shooting in California in 2019, similarly praised the administration for taking “a critical step” with the new regulation. Tretta introduced the President in the Rose Garden on Monday.
“If you can put together an IKEA dresser, you can build a ghost gun,” she said in a statement. “Unfortunately, it is that easy to get a weapon that has not only changed my life but has done the same thing to thousands of others. Finalizing this rule is a critical step to making sure no one else has to go through what my family has had to go through.”
The Justice Department previously launched a national ghost gun enforcement initiative, which will “train a national cadre of prosecutors and disseminate investigation and prosecution tools to help bring cases against those who use ghost guns to commit crimes,” according to the White House.
Biden said Monday that those who commit a crime using a ghost gun should “expect federal prosecution.”
“This rule is an important step. It is going to make a difference, I promise you,” Biden said.
Ghost guns have been used in multiple recent shootings, including at a Maryland high school in January. The exact number in circulation is unknowable, given the inability of regulators to track them.
Between 2016 and 2021, the ATF received 45,000 reports of privately made firearms recovered by law enforcement, including 692 from homicides or attempted homicides. The agency was able to trace only 1% of them, officials said, because the firearms lack serial numbers.
Multiple states have moved to restrict their sale as ghost guns become more common at crime scenes.
Last week, Maryland joined Washington, DC, and 10 other states – California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington – in banning or restricting the purchase or use of ghost guns, which are often bought online and assembled at home.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer again decried the use of ghost guns during a press conference Sunday, calling for a crackdown on the rise of the privately made firearms and speaking about a deadly shooting in the Bronx Friday.
The New York Democrat blamed Republicans for holding up gun reform legislation, while pressing Biden’s administration to go further. “Today I am calling on the administration to go all after ghost guns, by putting out regulations that will stop them. The federal government has the ability through regulation to stop these ghost guns,” he said.
Still, Biden’s planned firearm regulation drew backlash from gun rights advocates even before being officially announced.
Aidan Johnston, the director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America, said in a statement Sunday, “Biden’s proposal to create a comprehensive national gun registry and end the online sale of gun parts without the passage of a new law exemplifies his disregard for the Second Amendment.”
In September, Biden withdrew his nomination of David Chipman to lead the ATF after facing opposition from Republicans and certain moderate Democrats.
Chipman, a former career official at ATF, came under scrutiny from gun rights supporters and the National Rifle Association for his work as a senior adviser to Everytown for Gun Safety and Giffords – the organization started by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot at an event in her Arizona district in 2011.
Dettelbach ran unsuccessfully for Ohio attorney general in 2018 after serving as US attorney in the state.
"We will be working hard to ensure that Steve Dettelbach receives the fair hearing and confirmation that he deserves. He should be a noncontroversial candidate because he has a long record of working in law enforcement and for the public safety of the people of Ohio and the American people,” one of the officials said.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/11/politics/gun-regulation-atf-steve-dettelbach/index.html
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ABC-Ipsos poll:
A large majority of Americans say oil companies and Vladimir Putin are to blame for increases in gas prices.
More than two-thirds of Americans blamed Putin (71%) and oil companies (68%) a "great deal" or a "good amount" for the increases in gas prices.
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President Biden and the Department of Justice's additional work to stop ghost guns will focus in three main areas:
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Support for President Biden and Democrats’ economic plan is at the highest level of support in this Navigator tracking poll dating back to last summer.
By a 45-point margin, Americans overwhelmingly support President Biden’s economic plan.
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Make billionaires finally pay their fair share...or raise taxes on middle-class Americans?
Which plan would you choose?
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Yesterday, President Biden took new action to bring down prices at the pump by propelling the development of homegrown ethanol: a powerful tool to fight Putin’s Price Hike. Doing so will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and empower America’s farmers to help fight Putin’s Price Hike.
Biden taps ethanol to help lower fuel prices
MENLO, Iowa (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled plans on Tuesday to extend the availability of higher biofuel blends of gasoline during the summer to curb soaring fuel costs and to cut reliance on foreign energy sources.
The decision represents a win for the U.S. corn lobby by likely expanding demand for corn-based ethanol and a setback for oil refiners, which view ethanol as competition.
The measure will allow Americans to keep buying E15, a gasoline that uses a 15% ethanol blend, from June 1 to Sept. 15. While E15 is only 10 cents cheaper on average and is less "energy dense," meaning drivers would need to buy more fuel, it should still help lower expenses, senior administration officials told reporters on a Monday call previewing the announcement.
Only a few thousand U.S. gasoline retailers offer E15 at the pump and they must turn off the pumps during the summer season to comply with existing law. Biden told the crowd in Iowa that will change this summer, if only temporarily.
"You're not going to show up at your local gas station and see a bag over the pump that has the cheapest gas. You're going to be able to keep filling E15," Biden said.
He added there is more to do to bring down gas prices.
"It's not going to solve all our problems," Biden said.
The decision comes after several weeks of internal debate within the White House that pitted environmental advocates like Gina McCarthy against Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a former governor of Iowa, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
The summertime ban on E15 was imposed over concerns it contributes to smog in hot weather, though research has shown that the 15% blend may not increase smog relative to the more common 10% blends sold year-round.
Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide a half a world away," Biden said.
Biden last month announced that the United States would sell 180 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at a rate of 1 million barrels per day starting in May, the biggest release from the stockpile since it was created in the 1970s.
CORN VS OIL
Biden made the E15 extension announcement during a visit to POET Bioprocessing, the largest biofuels producer in the United States in major corn producing state Iowa.
"We applaud President Biden and his administration for recognizing that low-cost, low-carbon ethanol should be given a fair opportunity to strengthen our energy security and reduce record-high pump prices,” Renewable Fuels Association President Geoff Cooper said.
Representatives of the oil industry slammed the administration for the decision.
"Americans are looking for long-term solutions, not short-term political fixes (to high gas prices)" said Ron Chittim, a spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry's main lobbying organization.
To make the change, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to issue a national emergency waiver closer to June, administration officials said. The EPA is also considering additional action to allow for the use of E15 year-round, the White House said.
The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) industry group questioned whether the expansion of E15 sales was lawful, arguing the EPA waiver being used is reserved for specific unforeseen events, such as hurricanes.
Reuters
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President Biden
@POTUS
I was in Iowa today, where 16% of households don’t have an internet subscription.
In some places, there’s no high-speed internet infrastructure at all.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will make high-speed internet affordable and available around the country.
We’re investing $1 billion in American Rescue Plan funds for independent meat and poultry processing capacity.
That will give farmers and ranchers more options, shore up a weak point in our food supply chain, and bring down prices for American families.
This afternoon, I toured POET Bioprocessing — a biofuel plant in Iowa. We want to see facilities like these all over the Midwest. They support farmers, create good-paying jobs, reduce our reliance on foreign oil, and give you a choice at the pump.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1514015681943060482
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Longtime GOP lawmaker primaries Lauren Boebert for her ‘embarrassing juvenile antics’
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Controversial first-term Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) is facing a primary challenge from a longtime state legislator.
"U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert will face a Republican challenger in Colorado's June primary election after state election officials announced Tuesday that state Sen. Don Coram submitted enough valid signatures on nominating petitions," the Denver Gazette reports. "The Montrose lawmaker said he's anxious to put up his record of delivering results for the Western Slope against what his campaign described as Boebert's 'embarrassing juvenile antics on the national stage.'"
Coram, who got his start as as school board member, was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2010 when a seat opened up because Scott Tipton was elected to Congress. In 2016, Coram was elected the state Senate. Tipton served five terms in Congress before losing to Boebert in the 2020 primary.
When Boebert won the primary, The New York Times described her as "a political novice and gun-rights activist who has spoken approvingly of the pro-Trump conspiracy theory QAnon."
On his website, Coram warns of "rhetoric, grandstanding, and cheap political tricks."
"When the fringe leaders of both political spectrums have taken all the oxygen in the room and act more like out-of-touch celebrities than members of Congress, we have a problem," he argued.
Boebert, however, has the support of Donald Trump.
AFP
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White House press sec. Jen Psaki says Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s “unnecessary and redundant” inspections of trucks at border are “causing significant disruptions” to supply chains.
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US food supply is being disrupted by Greg Abbott’s delivery trucks battle at Texas border
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A long trail of delivery trucks are backed up at the U.S.-Mexico border because the Texas governor is refusing to allow them to come into the United States without additional inspections by the Texas state troopers. Typically it's the federal government that inspects trucks. The decision is creating a massive backup at the border.
The Texas Tribune reported this week that the busiest trade crossing, the bridge connecting Pharr and Reynosa is the choke point. On the border Monday, the trucks were backed up for miles. It was the fifth day in a row they were dealing with the blockage. As a result, producer importers canceled orders.
Avocados, broccoli, peppers, strawberries and tomatoes are among the things being brought into the United States. Berries like strawberries are the largest import into the US, with bananas not far behind.
“One of our customers canceled the order because we didn’t deliver on time,” said Sterling Fresh Inc. sales manager Modesto Guerra. “It’s something beyond our control.”
At a time when Americans are frustrated over inflation and additional costs, Abbott's backup is significantly slashing supply and access in the United States, the White House said in a statement Wednesday.
"Governor Abbott's unnecessary and redundant inspections of trucks transiting ports of entry between Texas and Mexico are causing significant disruptions to the food and automobile supply chains, delaying manufacturing, impacting jobs, and raising prices for families in Texas and across the country," said press secretary Jen Psaki. "Local businesses and trade associations are calling on Governor Abbott to reverse the decision because trucks are facing lengthy delays exceeding 5 hours at some border crossings and commercial traffic has dropped by as much as 60 percent. The continuous flow of legitimate trade and travel and CBP's ability to do its job should not be obstructed. Governor Abbott's actions are impacting people's jobs and the livelihoods of hardworking American families."
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/11/texas-border-inspections-truckers-protest/
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Greg Abbott bussed migrants to Washington DC and just so happened to drop them off in front of the Fox News studio as Fox cameras stood by for their ‘exclusive’ report.
So dehumanizing and cruel.
Greg Abbott's bus-load of Texas migrants dropped off in front of Fox News headquarters
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It has been less than a year since Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) threatened to bus migrants to President Joe Biden's state of Delaware, but on Wednesday morning, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott made good on his threat.
According to photos posted to Twitter, the charter bus arrived at Fox News headquarters where photographers were outside. Just moments later Fox News had the story posted. Fox's report said that the bus dropped them off "blocks from the U.S. Capitol," but neglected to mention that it was directly in front of their building.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, the senior policy counsel at the American Immigration Council, alleged that the whole stunt was "coordinated closely with Fox News, which had an article up immediately. One man said he was heading to Florida—sign that Abbott's 'voluntary' bus trips were probably not."
"Upon the bus's arrival in Washington, D.C., individuals disembarked one by one except for family units who exited together. They checked in with officials and had wristbands they were wearing cut off before being told they could go," Fox News reported.
Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) told Fox News that Abbott's plan is working because now that they're capturing people and bussing them across the country, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol stopped dropping immigrants off in their towns.
See the posts below:
Texas Governor @GregAbbott_TX carries out his pledge to transport illegal migrants to Washington, DC. The bus pulled up right in front of the building that houses @FoxNews , @NBCNews and @cspan
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The bus arrived an hour ago. Not sure where people are going now. But this was all coordinated closely with Fox News, which had an article up immediately.
One man said he was heading to Florida—sign that Abbott's "voluntary" bus trips were probably not.
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https://www.rawstory.com/greg-abbott-bus-migrants/
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President Biden
@POTUS
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has driven up gas prices and food prices all over the world. 70% of the increase in prices in March came from the Putin Price Hike.
I’m doing everything I can to bring down prices and address the Putin Price Hike.
To help deal with this Putin Price Hike, I authorized the release of 1 million barrels per day for the next 6 months from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve — and over 30 countries agreed to release 60 million additional barrels.
This is the largest collective release in history.
That helped stop a run up in oil prices and has begun to bring those prices down as a result of countries acting together to release reserves.
And Americans should be seeing the savings.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1513989084598972419
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No surprise that radical right wingers still try to downplay the deadly 1/6 insurrection. They see no problem with attempting to overthrow the United States government by force as long as they can seize power. They are just angry thst their coup didn't work. Radicals who support violence and a coup to gain power has no business being in government.
Republicans running for Oregon governor defended the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. One was even there
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A panel of Oregon Republican candidates for governor, including one currently facing federal criminal charges for assaulting police officers at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, uniformly insisted recently that the events of that January day were a righteous protest.
Reed Christensen, Brandon Merritt, Tim McCloud, Kerry McQuisten, Amber Richardson, Bill Sizemore and Marc Thielman made their comments at a private Republican forum in Baker City in late March.
Their remarks came to light Tuesday, when a conservative organization founded by an aide on Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign complained that video of the conversation had been removed from YouTube for violating the video platform’s policies on misinformation.
The group, Look Ahead America, has been leading rallies throughout the country against what it refers to as “political persecution” of people who participated in a violent riot aimed at preventing Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s election. Five people died, nearly 140 police officers and countless rioters were injured and more than 700 people are facing federal criminal charges.
Christensen, a former Intel employee from Hillsboro, is among those facing charges. He is scheduled to appear via video in a Washington, D.C., U.S. District Court on May 10, just a week before Oregon’s primary election.
According to court documents, Christensen struck or pushed several law enforcement officers and led a group that removed bike racks blocking people from moving closer to the Capitol. Officers sprayed him with a chemical irritant to discourage him from pushing through the bike racks, but he continued to push through, according to charging documents
Christensen told Republicans in Baker City that he was trying to wave a flag on the steps of the Capitol, though photos included in court documents don’t show him with a flag. He compared himself to early Americans who participated in the Boston Tea Party.
“We wanted to wave the flag on the steps of the Capitol,” he said. “They had bicycle racks with guards behind them, so I got a little upset. You can steal an election, break state law, federal law, I have to stay off the grass and stay behind your line and not wave the flag? So I got a little rowdy.”
The audience applauded for Christensen after he told them he was facing charges.
Other candidates praised him. Merritt, a marketing consultant from Bend, said Christensen had a “great story” to tell before he falsely claimed that police invited rioters into the building.
“January 6 was not an insurrection,” he said. “If the left is calling that an insurrection, what in the world are we calling what’s happening in Portland? Because it certainly ain’t peaceful protests.”
McQuisten, the mayor of Baker City, said she talked with Christensen and several eastern Oregonians who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6. They were engaged in “peaceful prayer,” she claimed.
“None of the first-person accounts I’ve heard line up with the media,” McQuisten said.
News organizations including the New York Times have obtained thousands of videos recorded by both rioters and police to reconstruct the events of the hours-long siege on the Capitol. Videos show frantic scrambles between police and protesters outside and inside the Capitol as crowds swarmed the building.
Sizemore, an anti-tax activist who was instrumental in passing several ballot measures and now owns a painting business in Redmond, referred to the Jan. 6 insurrection as an “understatement.”
He accused Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg of swaying election results, a theory that stems from grant money that election offices throughout the country received from a nonprofit organization supported by Zuckerberg. Local election officials used money to buy equipment, including personal protective equipment for election workers to reduce Covid infection risks, to pay staff and to adapt to changing laws, including in several states that greatly expanded mail voting because of the pandemic.
Sizemore said he was initially hesitant to believe false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, but that he’s become convinced people will do whatever it takes to win.
“We’re going to need more protests like January 6,” Sizemore said.
In an email to the Capital Chronicle, Sizemore allowed that a “few bad actors” engaged in wrongdoing, but said Democrats and journalists were trying to make the incident seem worse than it was.
McCloud, a Salem business development analyst, said the Capitol and all government buildings belong to the American people and they have the right to enter it at any time.
Thielman, the former superintendent of the Alsea School District, said the attempted insurrection was a response to the government failure.
“When our courts wouldn’t hear it, when our Congress wouldn’t hear it, when our executive branch wouldn’t hear it, we the people did what our Constitution allows us to do,” he said. “It was a wonderful patriotic protest.”
He told the Capital Chronicle that the incident became a “mess,” and that he didn’t condone behavior like storming the Capitol or sitting in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk, both of which rioters did.
Richardson, a licensed massage therapist from White City, said she’s been part of a group “canvassing” elections in Jackson County, going door to door to talk to voters about fraud.
“January 6 was not an insurrection,” she said. “November 3 was, and we know that.”
She told the Capital Chronicle that she stood by her comments, and that she believes the media skewed perceptions of Jan. 6.
In November 2020, Jackson County Clerk Chris Walker found the phrase “VOTE DON’T WORK. NEXT TIME BULLETS” painted in 6-foot letters in the parking lot across from her office. Walker and other county clerks still receive regular threats and angry calls and emails from people about the 2020 election, and they’re preparing to combat misinformation about the 2022 election.
Christensen, Merritt and McCloud did not immediately respond to emails Tuesday afternoon.
The Republican candidates’ response to questions about the Jan. 6 Capitol siege reflects a political divide in Oregon.
Recent polling from the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center found that about three-quarters of Democrats described the events as an attempted coup or insurrection, and most other Democrats thought it was best described as a “riot out of control.” A plurality of Republicans, 38%, said it was an out-of-control riot, but 16% described it as a reasonable protest and nearly a quarter said it was carried out by Trump’s political opponents.
The Oregon Republican Party last year passed a resolution declaring the incident a “false flag” operation. Christine Drazan, then the House GOP leader and now a candidate for governor, led all 23 House Republicans in condemning the state party for that resolution.
Another candidate, Sandy Mayor Stan Pulliam, has spent months trying to walk back comments he made to Portland alt-weekly Willamette Week shortly after Jan. 6 blaming Trump for inciting violence. He now presents himself as the only candidate willing to say that the 2020 election was fraudulent.
Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence.
https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2022/04/12/republicans-running-for-oregon-governor-defended-the-jan-6-capitol-attack-one-was-there/
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Brit Hume labels Greg Abbott’s bussing migrants a ‘publicity stunt’
Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott is pushing a "publicity stunt" by bussing migrants to Washington, DC according to Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume.
"I think it is in a sense a publicity stunt. It’s probably no accident that they were dropping the migrants off just outside our bureau in Washington," Hume noted.
Fox News correspondent John Roberts posted a photo of the bus outside the bureau.
The "publicity stunt" has also drawn criticism from Florida GOP Gov. Greg DeSantis.
"The migrants told Fox News that they are planning to head down to Miami, Florida, likely by train. The bus ride conducted by the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) concluded in D.C. and is not continuing on to Florida, so migrants would have to find their own way down to the southern state," the network reported. "However, DeSantis is taking issue with the fact that the migrants are planning to head to the Sunshine State, with his executive office issuing a clear message: 'Do not come.'"
Another part of Abbott's efforts, the inspection of trucks at the Texas-Mexico border, is creating chaos and threatening to tank the economy.
https://www.rawstory.com/brit-hume-labels-greg-abbotts-bussing-migrants-a-publicity-stunt/
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Republican Texas Greg Abbott is ensuring that the supply chain stops at the Texas border. The GOP wants higher costs, they want the inflation, they want the long waits for goods, because they think it’ll help them in midterms. And they don’t care what they have to destroy in their pursuit of power.
This is what it looks like when a Republican governor sabotages supply chains in order to hurt a sitting Democratic president.
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Senate Democrats are working to cap the cost of insulin at $35/month.
There’s no reason for this lifesaving medication to be unaffordable for those who need it.
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Front pages across Iowa are highlighting President Biden's historic announcement on expanding ethanol this summer to bring gas prices down.
Des Moines Register
BIDEN LIFTS ETHANOL BAN
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Gazette
Biden in Iowa pitches more ethanol access
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President Biden
@POTUS
The American Rescue Plan offers historic tax relief for working families. A household that files their taxes this year can get $3,600 in tax relief for every child under 6 and $3,000 for every child between 6 and 17. Head to http://ChildTaxCredit.gov to learn more.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1514234681683853313
"Today, I spoke with President Zelenskyy and shared with him that my Administration is authorizing an additional $800 million in weapons, ammunition, and other security assistance to Ukraine."
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Sure, Jason Ravnsborg Was Impeached. He Still Got Away With Killing Someone.
South Dakota’s attorney general might lose his job. But he underscored how unserious America is about deadly crashes.
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On Tuesday, the South Dakota house of representatives impeached the state’s Republican attorney general, Jason Ravnsborg, for killing a 55-year-old pedestrian with his Ford Taurus in September 2020. Ravnsborg paid a small fine and pleaded no contest last year to using his cellphone while driving and driving outside his lane before the crash, but he avoided jail time and more serious charges.
Ravnsborg’s impeachment has intensified divisions within the South Dakota GOP. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, who harbors national political ambitions, has repeatedly called for him to resign. Ravnsborg has accused Noem of breaking the law by violating a cease-and-desist order to not discuss the impeachment, and he previously floated investigating Noem for using her state office to help her daughter. The impeachment is a notable development for the no doubt dozens of people invested in Ravnsborg’s political future, but it only underscores the grim reality of his case: As a politician, he may pay a steep price. As a driver, he’s faced few consequences for years of bad behavior.
Ravnsborg told the dispatcher the night of the accident that whatever he hit “was in the middle of the road,” and that he had no idea what it had been. He later said he thought he’d struck a deer but found no sign of one and only came across the body of Joe Boever the next morning, when he went to return the car the responding sheriff had lent him.
But investigators learned that Ravnsborg’s vehicle had been solidly on the right shoulder of the two-lane state highway, traveling more than 60 miles per hour, at the time of the crash. Boever, the victim, had been walking along the side of the road with a flashlight. Ravnsborg shouldn’t have had much confusion about where he was on the road—he’d crossed the rumble strip separating the lane from the shoulder. Nor should it have been hard to miss Boever’s body—his flashlight had remained on all night.
When he was interviewed by investigators from the North Dakota Bureau of Investigation (who were brought in to avoid a conflict of interest), more cracks started to appear in his story. For one thing, humans and deer aren’t hard to tell apart. There’s literally an expression to describe what deer look like in the path of a vehicle.
“His face was in your windshield, Jason, think about that,” one investigator told him. Boever’s glasses had even been found in Ravnsborg’s passenger seat.
And Ravnsborg’s account seemed to bolster investigators’ doubts. In his interview with police, the AG said that while he was walking along the road after the crash, he had turned around “and saw him,” and then quickly backtracked. At another point, Ravnsborg said he didn’t see what he’d hit “until the impact,” which is different than not seeing anything at all. Per the Associated Press, “The investigators determined that Ravnsborg would have walked right past Boever’s body and the flashlight Boever had been carrying as Ravnsborg looked around the scene the night of the crash.”
Equally perplexing was the conduct of the local sheriff, who responded to the 911 call and then let the attorney general borrow his car and return it the next day. (In his first public statement after the crash, Ravnsborg took pains to note that he had topped off the tank before he returned it to the sheriff.) The sheriff accepted the deer story and told investigators that he did notice the glow from Boever’s flashlight but did not look to see what it was.
Prosecutors eventually determined that Ravnsborg’s phone was locked at the time of the crash. But they also determined that he had been using it just a moments before, and he wasn’t just consulting Waze; he was reading news articles—including one about Hunter Biden from the right-wing website JustTheNews.com.
In a last-ditch letter to lawmakers on Monday Ravnsborg defended himself with the same care and attention to detail he previously extended to the certification of the Electoral College vote. He wrote that Article V of the Constitution guaranteed him the right to due process, which it does not. Article V lays out the process by which the Constitution can be amended by states; the Fifth Amendment assured him due process, something he already received when he pleaded no contest to the two misdemeanor counts last year. It’s a weird mistake for the state’s top lawyer to make in a memo in which he’s pleading to continue serving as the state’s top lawyer, and it’s not the only one. The document is riddled with typos, and at one point, he includes a line of argument he started and then stopped:
“The prosecutors admitted there was no cell phone use at the time of the accident,” he wrote. “Therefore, the charge does not seem to apply to impeachment because who among you has never used your cell phone while driving? Cell phone usage was ruled is not right but unrelated to the accident and not the basis for impeachment.”
The strikethrough was his. I don’t even know how you do that.
In case none of these points resonated, Ravnsborg deployed an argument previously used by Donald Trump’s attorneys in Trump’s first impeachment trial. “Your decision could overturn an election,” Ravnsborg wrote.
Ravnsborg, of course, is not the only politician to have killed someone with his car, nor is he the first to evade accountability. Bill Janklow, a predecessor as South Dakota attorney general, killed a motorcyclist after running a stop sign in 2003 while he was serving in Congress, leading to his resignation and a 100-day jail sentence. Ted Kennedy killed a woman and then fled the scene as she drowned while serving in the Senate—and then continued serving in the Senate without consequences for another three decades.
The years-long Ravnsborg saga has also been a reminder of the way that certain kinds of powerful people coddle other kinds of powerful people. Many Americans live in fear of a traffic stop. Real power in American life is when the sheriff lends you his car after you’ve mysteriously totaled your own. It resides in the exculpatory styling of the passive voice. The “accident…tragically involved a pedestrian,” Ravnsborg wrote days after the crash. The pedestrian’s involvement was that he died. Before Ravnsborg took a deal, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported that his lawyer was preparing to argue that the crash was actually Boever’s fault.
But Ravnsborg’s latest letter, as damning as it is, contains a kernel of truth: He commits the faux pas of asking his colleagues to treat a traffic death caused by reckless inattention with the kind of cavalierness with which, well, policymakers generally do treat such traffic deaths. Ravnsborg is a bad driver and continues to be one; he got another speeding ticket for going 57 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone last August 22, just three days before the judge ruled on the case stemming from the fatal crash. (This time he told the state trooper he wasn’t carrying his license.) But he is the kind of bad driver that policymakers and regulators and cops have decided on a structural level to accommodate, no matter what the PSAs they fund or the laws they’ve passed might say.
As the journalist Jessie Singer lays out in her new book, There Are No Accidents, when it comes to making American roads safer, the US is profoundly unserious in just about every way, seemingly content to maintain conditions in which 40,000 or so annual death toll is considered routine. Until very recently, the US Department of Transportation didn’t require automobile design to take into account pedestrian safety. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration didn’t care for a full year that new Teslas let drivers literally play computer games while the vehicle is moving. Traffic enforcement, when it exists at all, exists to generate revenue and, thus, has little interest in preventing people from driving dangerously. On a major thoroughfare near my apartment, people get run over at the same poorly designed intersection over and over again and the press conferences from elected officials have never led to anyone actually redesigning it. It is basically open season on cyclists.
The laws and regulations and systems, in other words, are set up to keep such bad drivers behind the wheel and position them to do maximum damage when they err. Which is why, when all of this is over, Jason Ravnsborg may no longer have a job—but he will still have his license.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/04/sure-jason-ravnsborg-was-impeached-he-still-got-away-with-killing-someone/
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Ex-Omaha mayor demands to know what GOP lawmaker was wearing when pro-Trump candidate assaulted her
https://www.rawstory.com/charles-herbster/
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Republican Ron Johnson would rather sell you snake oil than talk about his most significant legislative achievement
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On tax day this year, wouldn’t you like to be Sen. Ron Johnson?
Wisconsin’s senior U.S. senator paid only $2,015 in state income tax in 2017, despite earning more than $450,000 that year. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Dan Bice, who first reported on Johnson’s teeny-weeny tax bill, pointed out that the multimillonaire’s 2017 Wisconsin tax payment was two dollars less than what a married couple filing jointly paid on a taxable income of $40,000.
Johnson also recently confirmed that he personally benefited from the change in the tax code that he pushed through in 2017. Johnson cast the deciding vote for President Donald Trump’s tax code rewrite giving corporations tax cuts worth $1.4 billion — but only after he arm-twisted Trump and Congress into including special benefits for so-called “pass-through” corporations — companies like his own PACUR plastics firm — whose profits are distributed to their owners.
A few months later, Johnson began the process of selling his company, reaping the benefits of the tax law change, which increased the value of pass-through companies and made him more money on the sale.
Johnson won’t say how much money Trump’s “big, beautiful tax cut,” was worth to him personally, but he spins his work on the tax bill as some sort of populist crusade, claiming that the tax break was good for “90% of small businesses.” That might be true of the general, across-the-board corporate tax cuts contained in the massive piece of legislation, but when it comes to the pass-through clause Johnson personally shoehorned in, an analysis by Pro Publica of confidential tax records “reveals that Johnson’s last-minute maneuver benefited two families more than almost any others in the country — both worth billions and both among the senator’s biggest donors.” Those two families are Liz and Dick Uihlien of Pleasant Prairie and Beloit billionaire Diane Hendricks, who donated a combined $20 million to groups backing Johnson’s 2016 re-election campaign. Between them, according to Pro Publica, they netted $215 million in deductions in 2018 alone thanks to Johnson’s tax stand.
Johnson makes no bones about whose interests he represents in the U.S. Senate. He voted against federal pandemic relief, wrote a letter asking Gov. Tony Evers to cut unemployment benefits on the grounds they make people too lazy to work, embraced outsourcing of good, union jobs from his hometown in Oshkosh — saying “It’s not like we don’t have enough jobs here in Wisconsin” — and opposed the 2021 child tax credit for couples who made $150,000 or less and which the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated would benefit 1.2 million children in Wisconsin. “In general,” Johnson explained in relation to anti-child tax credit position, “I don’t like to use the tax code for either economic or social engineering.”
But Johnson is willing to do plenty of reverse engineering when it comes to lightening the tax burden on the rich and increasing taxes on the less wealthy. In a Fox News interview he took a stand against progressive taxation, calling tax brackets that allow people with less money to pay less in taxes “absurd.” He endorsed “most of” a controversial 11-point plan by Rick Scott, chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, that would raise taxes on the bottom half of Americans and open the door for cuts in Social Security and Medicare, calling it “a positive thing.” The poorest one-fifth of Americans would pay 34% of the total tax increase under the proposal, through an average tax hike of about $1,000, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which also estimates that 32% of Wisconsinites would see their taxes go up under the proposal.
These ideas are so bad for the majority of Wisconsinites, it’s hard to see how Johnson can run on them. And, in fact, raising taxes on the poor and middle class is not the centerpiece of his campaign. This week Johnson released an ad with testimony from a COVID-19 patient who says he was close to death and only access to an alternative remedy not approved by the FDA saved his life. The ad touts a bill Johnson promoted that allows terminal patients to use drugs that haven’t been approved.
Off-label drug use is standard practice and speeding up the process for experimental drug use for terminal patients was the centerpiece of the early movement to force action on AIDS. But Johnson’s advocacy for unproven COVID remedies, one of his proudest achievements in the U.S. Senate, is an embarrassment.
Like a peddler pushing quack medicine he has aggressively promoted the horse dewormer Ivermectin, prompting the FDA to launch a public information campaign urging people to stop trying to self-treat their COVID symptoms with veterinary medicine. And Johnson has continued to go to great lengths to undermine confidence in doctors and scientists in the midst of a public health crisis.
His public promotion of wild theories, undermining trust in physicians, has some very negative real-world consequences. Just ask hospital staff in Madison who have had to treat the flood of unvaccinated COVID patients from all over the state. These patients and their families, bolstered by internet conspiracies, have become hostile and confrontational, demanding remedies they’ve read about online that are entirely inappropriate, rejecting appropriate medicine, accusing doctors of withholding life-saving medication and even of trying to do their patients harm.
Johnson’s press conference featuring people allegedly harmed by the COVID vaccine during the height of the pandemic was the opposite of a public service announcement. But then, Johnson’s whole record shows that he’s the opposite of a public servant. He’s a public official who has used his office to serve himself.
Going after the wingnut aspect of Johnson’s record — going back to his interrogation of the MIT nuclear physicist who served as President Barack Obama’s Energy Secretary, Ernest Moniz, on internet conspiracy theories about electromagnetic pulse weaponry — is like shooting fish in a barrel. But none of Johnson’s would-be Democratic opponents appears very interested in pursuing that line of attack.
Instead, they are emphasizing how out of touch Johnson is – a multimillionaire who complains that he has “underperformed” by merely doubling his net worth during his time in the Senate.
Johnson, an advocate of trickle-down economics, responded to that criticism last Friday in Medford, Wisconsin, by saying, “Now, did my business benefit? Sure. Did some of my donors’ businesses? Sure. When you give tax relief to everybody, everybody benefits.”
But serious analysis of the 2017 tax cut shows just the opposite.
As Chye-Ching Huang of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities explained in February 2019 testimony to Congress, the 2017 tax law Johnson helped craft exacerbated inequality, weakened revenue and encouraged “rampant tax avoidance and gaming.”
It also, contrary to the fiscally conservative posturing of Johnson and his fellow Republicans, blew a nearly $2 trillion hole in the deficit. Their answer is to raise taxes on people who can afford it least, while proposing to cut essential services for most people.
No wonder Johnson would rather sell you snake oil than talk about his most significant legislative achievement — making the rich more comfortable and sticking it to workers by making the tax code less fair.
Wisconsin Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Wisconsin Examiner maintains editorial independence
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2022/04/14/ron-johnsons-tax-rebellion/
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Marjorie Taylor Greene, a stain on Congress, must be washed out of public life
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If the House Republican Conference has a sense of decency, it will now unanimously support a resolution of censure for Georgia’s radical Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Greene deserves to be shunned — and, in the state’s Republican primary, to be overwhelmingly defeated.
It would be one thing if the congresswoman were merely prone to verbal blunders of the slightly embarrassing but harmless kind. Instead, Green so frequently says and does things beyond the pale, such as parroting Russian lies that Putin's invasion of Ukraine is necessary to save Ukrainians from "Nazi groups that torture innocent people, especially women and children.” According to her, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a “thug,” no ban should be instituted on Russian oil, no plane flew into the Pentagon on 9/11, former President Bill Clinton was responsible for the “murder” of John F. Kennedy Jr., who actually died while badly piloting a plane, California wildfires were started by a space laser financed by wealthy Jews, and the threesome of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Nancy Pelosi should be executed.
Greene also makes no apologies for speaking at conferences organized by virulent white nationalists who joined neo-Nazi protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, and who cheer openly for Russian murderer Vladimir Putin. And those are only a sampling of the idiocies and viciousness she has promoted.
After all of which, Republicans in the House spent more time complaining that Democrats had stripped Greene of her committee assignments than they did in castigating her themselves. Well, Greene, who also is the subject of campaign ethics complaints, in the past two weeks has given them more reasons finally to make clear she is anathema.
First, she tweeted, and then defiantly repeated, that Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, and Mitt Romney of Utah “are pro-ped*phile” because they voted to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. This is not just nasty — it's vile, especially considering the actual records of those three senators. Even for those of us who think Jackson absolutely should not have been confirmed, this would have been an epithet too far to apply to the judge herself, much less to the senators who decided to go old-school by deferring to the president’s choice for the high court.
What’s worse is that Greene’s obsessions are so strong that she voted against funding America’s defense forces while claiming she did so because she didn’t want to cast a vote forcing military personnel to get vaccinated. Memo to Greene: The defense budget bill didn’t address that issue, so her vote against our nation’s defenses was sheer performance art.
Then again, perhaps Greene’s truer feelings about military service emerged in an April 9 interview with former cable news host Lou Dobbs. In response to a question from Dobbs, she said that to serve in the military effectively means “throwing your life away.” Even in the context of a leading question, no normal, patriotic person would have said such a thing.
Fortunately, an even better-than-normal, patriotic conservative is mounting a strong campaign against Greene in Georgia. Jennifer Strahan is an entrepreneur who put herself through college and two graduate schools before building a national company advising healthcare facilities, municipal governments, and nonprofit organizations on how to cut costs while improving patient services. One of five Republican challengers to Greene in the May 24 primary, she is garnering the most attention and polling support among them.
In a phone interview, Strahan told me that not only is Greene unable to legislate effectively because she serves on no committees and has made herself a pariah, but complaints are widespread about Greene’s poor constituent service.
“If you aren’t legislating and you are not taking care of constituents, we have to ask the question what is she doing all day?” Strahan said. “Instead, we see that she is acting out on social media and … [making] comments that parrot the Russian rationale for invading Ukraine.”
Calling herself pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, pro-Israel, and a supporter of free speech and religion, Strahan sounded particularly passionate about reining in “atrocious” government spending.
“My business is all about helping organizations [including local governments] operate as efficiently and effectively as possible,” she said, adding that her work has made her especially aware of the damage caused by federal regulatory burdens and the need to mitigate them.
“I think government needs to be held accountable,” she said.
As is easy for outside observers to see, the incumbent Greene can’t even hold her own mouth or hatefulness accountable. Greene is a discredit to Georgia and to Congress. Maybe she should be sent packing to Putin’s Georgia, half a world away. She certainly should be more welcome in the Caucasus than in the Republican Caucus.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/marjorie-taylor-greene-a-stain-on-congress-must-be-washed-out-of-public-life
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Big Pharma Front Group to Kyrsten Sinema: “We’ve Got Your Back”
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Since Senator Kyrsten Sinema started undermining Democrats’ plan to allow Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, Big Pharma has been her BFF.
Center Forward, a dark money group funded by the drug industry and led by pharmaceutical lobbyists, has been running ads touting Democratic senator Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona for five months — ever since she started working to undermine Democrats’ plan to allow Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.
Sinema’s demolition campaign came despite polling showing that 94 percent of Arizonans support the idea of Medicare negotiating drug prices. A 2017 survey found that more than a quarter of residents in her state had stopped taking prescribed medication because of the cost.
Amid that crisis, Arizonans earlier this month started seeing a new TV ad from Center Forward saying that “Arizonans are tough and independent, just like Kyrsten Sinema.” Center Forward’s previous ads contained similar drivel about independence and bipartisanship — but this latest ad does something special: it screams the quiet part out loud about who Sinema actually works for.
“Thank Kyrsten Sinema and tell her: Keep fighting,” the ad says. “We have your back, just like you’ve always had ours.”
Yes, really: a pharma front group put an ad on TV saying of Sinema, “We have your back, just like you’ve always had ours” — after she helped to water down and stall the party’s signature drug pricing bill — and they want Arizonans to thank Sinema for this. This ad is supposed to help boost Sinema’s poor poll numbers.
A Washington Front Group With No Ties to Arizona
Front groups like Center Forward often run ads like this one to thank their legislative allies for going to bat for their financiers. The hope, of course, is that people aren’t paying enough attention to catch that the ad isn’t paid for by Sinema’s campaign, but by an industry propaganda outfit. People probably wouldn’t trust the message if they know who’s paying for it, but who has the time to research the name behind every ad they see on TV?
For all of its talk about what Arizonans are like, Center Forward couldn’t be more removed from the Grand Canyon State. Center Forward is a Washington, DC–based front group run by corporate lobbyists. The organization lists its address, in its filing for the ad purchase and in DC incorporation records, as a Northern Virginia McMansion owned by one of its lobbyist board members.
Center Forward has long been funded by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a drug industry lobbying powerhouse that generated $573 million in revenue in 2020, according to its tax return. PhRMA donated $7.2 million to Center Forward from 2016–20, accounting for more than a quarter of its revenue.
Two Center Forward board members, Libby Greer and Cindy Brown of Forbes Tate Partners, lobby for PhRMA. They also lobby for many individual drug companies, including Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Amgen, Bayer, Eli Lilly, Emergent Biosolutions, Gilead Sciences, Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi.
The Cost of Protecting Industry
Sinema played a key role in gutting Democrats’ drug pricing measure, significantly reducing the money it would cost the pharmaceutical industry — and how much money it would save the public — if it becomes law.
She also helped stall President Joe Biden’s broader health care, climate, and social spending bill, the vehicle being used to pass the drug pricing measure. Democrats failed to pass that package late last year — and its prospects this year remain dim.
More recently, Sinema led a crusade to preserve the legislative filibuster — a top priority for the US Chamber of Commerce and big business lobbyists — helping Republicans block Democratic legislation meant to protect the public from state GOP voter suppression laws.
These efforts have helped Sinema raise tons of money, but it’s come at a cost. A recent poll found Sinema’s favorability numbers are underwater among Democrats and even weaker among independents. She has also alienated the state Democratic party. Sinema isn’t up for reelection until 2024, but it looks like she will have a tough time winning another a Democratic primary.
If Sinema wants to continue her political career, she will need all the industry air support she can get. At least she knows one Big Pharma front group has her back.
As Center Forward’s full ad puts it:
Arizonans are tough and independent, just like Kyrsten Sinema. Every day, she fights to improve the lives of working families while protecting our pocketbooks — like leading on the bipartisan infrastructure bill that controls costs, rebuilds our roads, and grows the Arizona economy with good jobs. Working tirelessly until the job is done right, just like we do here in Arizona. Thank Kyrsten Sinema and tell her: Keep fighting. We have your back, just like you’ve always had ours.
https://jacobinmag.com/2022/02/big-pharma-front-group-kyrsten-sinema-medicare
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‘Rot wasn’t just Donald Trump’: Neal Katyal says Jan 6. Committee has proof implicating GOP leaders
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Culpability for former President Donald Trump's coup attempt extends far across the GOP, former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal explained on MSNBC on Friday.
"We're starting to see more incriminating evidence leak out, we're seeing just how deep the plan to steal the election of 2020 was. Newly revealed text messages obtained by CNN show Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX) going right to Mark Meadows in full support of the claims of fraud being pushed by Trump and the MAGA team," MSNBC anchor Jason Johnson reported.
For analysis, Johnson interviewed Katyal and Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks.
"We know that it's bad and exposes what the Republicans were trying to do, but what can DOJ do with the text messages with the case that they're currently pursuing?" Johnson asked.
"I think they can do a lot," Katyal replied. "And even before we get to DOJ, I think it paints a bigger picture about what the January 6th investigation is all about. And I think a lot of us have been wondering, 'Why is it that the Republican Party hasn't cared more about what happened on January 6th?' Right after it happened, Mitch McConnell and others condemned it and the like. And I think these texts today, Jason, start to point to an answer, which is that the rot wasn't just Donald Trump. It goes to many leaders in the party."
The extent of the rot was discussed by the panel.
Wine-Banks argued viewers should give a break to GOP senators who voted to accept the Electoral College results. Only six GOP senators voted to overturn the election after the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Katyal disagreed, he argued that the culpability extended to every Republican who voted against convicting Trump in his second impeachment trial.
Watch:
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GOP fails to keep Democrat Abby Finkenauer from challenging Chuck Grassley for US Senate
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The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday ruled that former Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D-IA) qualified to run for U.S. Senate in Iowa.
The court overruled a district court decision that would have kept Finkenauer off the ballot.
"The ruling ends a tense week for Finkenauer, a former U.S. representative who is vying for the Democratic nomination to take on Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley," the Des Moines Register reported. "A pair of Republicans brought the challenge against Finkenauer: Kim Schmett, a former chair of the Polk County Republicans, and Leanne Pellett, co-chair of the Cass County Republicans."
Grassley has served in public office since winning his campaign for the legislature in 1958 and has served in the Senate since 1981.
"Finkenauer is seen as the front-runner in the three-candidate Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate race. She is competing against Mike Franken, a retired Navy admiral, and Glenn Hurst, a doctor and Minden city council member. Finkenauer has led in fundraising and secured a range of endorsements," the newspaper reported."
Finkenauer celebrated the court ruling on social media:
The GOP’s attempts to undermine ballot access and our election process were pathetic and desperate.
Today they lost.
With a unanimous decision by the Iowa Supreme Court, we're still in this fight and we WILL beat Chuck Grassley in November.
It's a good day for our democracy.
https://twitter.com/Abby4Iowa/status/1515022369231982599
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Greg Abbott's truck inspections an utter failure as state admits no traffickers were found
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On Friday, at a joint meeting in Weslaco with Tamaulipas Gov. Francisco Javier García Cabeza de Vaca, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw made an admission: The controversial enhanced truck inspections by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott have yielded no actual cases of human trafficking or drug trafficking, the supposed basis for the inspections in the first place.
Abbott, however, was quick to claim that it was "no surprise" that this had happened — because the drug cartels knew the inspections were coming and stopped using commercial vehicles ahead of the policy going forward.
This comes as Abbott has come under heavy criticism for the inspections, which have snared traffic along the roads of entry into the United States and resulted in a protest blockade of Mexican truck drivers.
Experts have warned the backups could cause shortages of produce and worsen inflation throughout the country; gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke has slammed Abbott as an "economic arsonist," and even GOP state Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller slammed the policy as bad for business.
AFP
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Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz funnel thousands of dollars to Trump’s ‘coup memo’ lawyer
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Attorney John Eastman, who was still trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election as recently as last month, has received thousands of dollars from a joint fundraising committee set up by MAGA Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
Politico reports that Gaetz and Greene's committee Put America First forked over at least $25,000 to Eastman's law firm, the Constitutional Counsel Group.
"It's unclear what Eastman's firm is doing for the lawmakers," notes Politico. "The committee reported at least three separate payments to the firm — one that amounted to $10,000 on Sept. 13, 2021, a $5,277.08 payment on Dec. 15, 2021, and another $10,000 payment on Jan. 14 of this year."
Eastman is currently under investigation by the California Bar Association for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and he faces the risk of disbarment.
Eastman was the author of the infamous "coup memo" that urged former Vice President Mike Pence to reject the certified 2020 election results from multiple swing states so that the election could be decided by Republican-controlled state legislatures.
https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/04-15-2022/payments-to-eastmans-firm/
Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene pay $25k to firm linked to lawyer behind Trump ‘coup memo’
Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz paid a combined more than $25,000 in the last two years to a legal group tied to the lawyer
Right-wing firebrand Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz paid a combined more than $25,000 in the last two years to a legal group tied to the lawyer who devised a plot for then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election results.
The money was paid via Put America First, a fundraising organisation operated by Ms Greene and Mr Gaetz.
Ms Greene, a freshman congresswoman from Georgia, raised $1.07m in the first three months of 2022 as she heads into reelection, according to her campaign’s filing to the Federal Election Commission.
The report showed that her campaign also paid $10,000 on 14 January of this year to the Constitutional Counsel Group, which is affiliated with John C Eastman, the lawyer who concocted a plan for Mr Pence to essentially steal the presidential election results. The New York Times’s Shane Goldmacher first reported the expenditure.
Mr Eastman, who worked with former president Donald Trump to challenge the 2020 presidential election results, spoke at the “Stop the Steal” Rally before the January 6 riot at the Capitol.
More notably, he infamously drew up the “Eastman Memo”, which featured a plot in which Mr Pence would have interrupted the certification of Arizona’s Electoral College votes by saying Arizona had sent “multiple slates of electors”. Mr Pence would then have to set aside election results from other states the Trump campaign disputed, which reduce the number of Electoral College votes from 538 to 454. At that point, Mr Pence would have certified Mr Trump as the winner of the 2020 election.
But Mr Pence rejected the plan, despite Mr Trump imploring Mr Pence to “to do the right thing”. Mr Pence has since said he did not have the right to overturn the 2020 election.
“President Trump is wrong,” he said. “I had no right to overturn the election.”
The Independent has reached out to Mr Eastman and Ms Greene’s campaign for comment.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/gaetz-greene-coup-memo-trump-b2059015.html
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GOP's Mike Lee and Chip Roy election texts exposed 'half-baked' attempt to save Trump
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According to the Washington Post's Aaron Blake, CNN's release of a trove of texts from Sen Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows exposed how shoddy and ill-planned the attempt to steal the 2020 election was as the lawmakers fumbled around to find evidence to fit their pre-conceived conclusions.
CNN reported the two lawmakers were frantically communicating with each other and Meadows leading up to the Jan. 6 election certification vote that was disrupted by supporters of Donald Trump who had exhorted them to descend on Washington D.C. that day for a "Stop the Steal" rally.
What the texts revealed was two lawmakers who went from believing the White House could help them make the case that the election was stolen, to begging for help, to dismay at what they were presented to resigning and dismay that there was no case to made to fit their plans.
According to Blake, the texts and desperation they revealed had a sadly comical quality to them, including the ultimately misguided belief that attorney Sidney Powell would come through with irrefutable evidence of fraud.
"The texts reinforce the Keystone Kops nature of the effort, and they also shed light on internal GOP misgivings about the electoral fraud evidence that was being presented — reservations that few Republicans actually shared publicly," he wrote. "As Election Day gave way to late November, then December and early January, it was clear Powell’s 'Kraken' was indeed mythological. And the texts reinforce that the two GOP lawmakers understood that, as they pleaded for something — anything — to work with as they publicly sought to legitimate Trump’s claims."
Blake added, "One of the effort’s defining features was how half-baked it was. And Lee’s texts reinforce that. In addition to complaining about the evidence presented (or the lack thereof), he repeatedly argued that the Trump campaign needed states to submit alternative slates of electors for any of it to work: Congress needed competing slates from which to choose."
As the analyst notes, even that plan was doomed from the start because former vice president Mike Pence was not agreeable to overturning the election results or derailing the vote certification.
In the end, Roy admitted they had been chasing their tails, texting, "The President should call everyone off. It’s the only path. If we substitute the will of states through electors with a vote by Congress every 4 years... we have destroyed the electoral college... Respectfully," before advising Trump, "Give a statesman speech. End strong.”
You can read more here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/15/lee-roy-meadows-texts/
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Ron DeSantis' radical agenda is 'the death rattle of white supremacy': MSNBC panel
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In a discussion about the Florida "Don't Say Gay" bill, panelists couldn't help but observe the radicalized agenda for America that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has for achieving his own far-right vision.
Host Julian Castro explained that the changing America is moving forward whether the far-right wants to or not.
"As our country makes strides accepting people of all backgrounds, Republicans want to go slam the brakes on that progress," he said. "Last week DeSantis approved a 15-week ban on abortions and no exceptions for rape or incest. There's the so-called 'don't say gay' law, limiting how teachers and students can express themselves in school."
He went on to say that Republicans are going up against Disney after the company reaffirmed its support of LGBTQ+ people.
Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali called out DeSantis from the start, saying that his bigotry is just more of the extremist behavior the GOP is known for.
"Yeah, what we are witnessing right now is the death rattle of white supremacy that has become a death march," Ali said. "If you want to see the blueprint for how the GOP wants to achieve the minority rule — and as a minority rule for white Christian men exclusively — then you have to look at Florida. Specifically, they don't care about democracy. They don't care about rule of law. They don't care about rights. They just care about winning and owning the libs. They want to violently hijack this country and take the DeLorean back to 1953."
He listed off some of the things in the Republican agenda like attacking women's rights and refusing to allow women the ability to get an abortion even if she's raped, molested or endured human trafficking. He noted the schools and private companies who are being punished for embracing diversity and equality. Republicans are passing voter suppression laws. The GOP is also banning books that talk about civil rights and equality while intimidating school boards, teachers and anyone "who is not in lockstep with this radicalized vision of America."
"This is the blueprint for the GOP moving forward and DeSantis has raised over $100 million. So, it's successful and we should not discount this."
Former Rep. David Jolly (R-FL) warned that this kind of politics will continue as long as the public continues to reward it. Once the public decides that they support women, equality and people of color and will vote against leaders who endorse these ideas, the GOP will evolve their campaigns or face extermination.
See the full panel below:
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The GOP's war on Disney is headed for failure
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According to a report from Politico's Derek Anderson, the Republican party's full-on attack on the Disney Company for supporting the LGBTQ community is likely headed nowhere just as a previous battle with the NFL over Black Lives Matter was a major flop.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has been leading the charge against the entertainment giant after they criticized Florida's so-called "Don't say gay" bill he signed, and that has led some conservatives to join his war to the point where they have gone off the rails with accusations of ped*philia.
As Anderson wrote, "The attempt by Republicans to demonize one of America’s most beloved and trusted corporations seems so quixotic on its face that it invites a simple question: not 'Why would they do this?' or even 'Why would they think it could be done?' but 'Why would it even seem advantageous to try?'"
The answer, he explained is that culture wars have generally been effective for the GOP over the years and the Republicans have never been shy about falling back on what worked before despite cultural changes.
"The story of fighting back against that gradual, seemingly inevitable leftward cultural creep is more or less the story of conservatism itself. The incentives and pressures that have led conservatives on this particular quest, however — one that’s not only almost certainly hopeless, but that has led them into sinister rhetorical territory in referring to opponents of the law as 'groomers,' or manipulative ped*philes — are quite modern, and reveal how much both our cultural and political landscape have shifted over just the past decade of American life, " he wrote, before adding that America has been down this road before.
"The approach recalls the anti-gay crusades of the 1970s," he explained. "But to argue that corporate America is engaged in a mass conspiracy to turn your kids gay decidedly does not."
He continued, "The GOP attacks on Disney are reminiscent above all else of their unsuccessful campaign against the NFL, with its support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Both are among the few remaining monocultural institutions in American life and present an irresistible opportunity to make a broader case about the national 'character.' Ideological conservatives are nowhere near the rooms in which decisions about those institutions’ publicly-professed politics are made, and therefore seek to steer the conversation from the outside. And in both cases, conservatives have conflated corporate messaging with support for extreme edge cases within each issue, like police abolition or medical youth gender transition, hoping that Americans will do the same."
He then warned that hard-right conservatives may win over the base with their attacks -- but at the risk of alienating the masses.
"If you’re an ambitious Republican like Ron DeSantis, it’s a potential opportunity to win the base’s fealty. In going on the offense against Disney, he and other Republicans like Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene are betting they can do that without alienating the vast middle," he wrote. "But in their choice of target, and the hateful and off-putting character of their attack to all but the most extremely online conservative activists, they’ve unwittingly revealed just how little leverage they really wield when it comes to America’s cultural mainstream."
You can read his whole piece here:
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/04/17/why-the-gop-turned-on-disney-00025639
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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
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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.
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Rotting fruit, spoiled vegetables: How Texas just made the supply chain even worse
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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Mike Lee must be held accountable for his actions to 'subvert our election': Former US attorney general
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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/
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Nebraska's GOP governor tells Trump-backed candidate to 'get help' and drop out after groping allegations
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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
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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
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This is Kathryn Kimball Mizelle. She is a Federalist Society judge who worked for Clarence Thomas. The American Bar Association said she is unqualified to hold office, but Republicans confirmed her anyway after Trump lost.
She just ruled the CDC can’t require masks on planes. Because of her, we will see more virus cases increase.
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Biden to visit New Hampshire harbor to highlight investments in nation’s ports and waterways
CNN — President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit a harbor in New Hampshire on Tuesday to highlight how billions of dollars from the bipartisan infrastructure law are being spent on rebuilding the nation’s ports and waterways, a White House spokesperson tells CNN.
Biden will travel to Portsmouth Harbor and is expected to deliver remarks on how investments in the nation’s port infrastructure are are aiming to strengthen supply chains and bring down costs for American families, the spokesperson said.
The trip comes as the White House grapples with persistent global supply chain issues that have been driving up prices for American families. A recent report showed consumer prices hit a new 40-year high in March, and much of that jump was driven by rising gasoline and food prices. These problems are only getting worse amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and as parts of China implement lockdowns due to a fresh spike in Covid-19 cases.
“American ports are a cornerstone of the US economy, but outdated infrastructure and the Covid-19 pandemic have strained their capacity and jeopardized global supply chains – which has caused delays and passed costs directly to consumers,” the spokesperson said.
The White House says Portsmouth Harbor handles approximately 3.5 million tons and nearly $2 billion of cargo a year. The US Army Corps of Engineers completed a $18.2 million project earlier this month to widen the harbor’s turning basin and is investing an additional $1.7 million for maintenance dredging of the shipping channel and basin, according to the White House.
These funds were allocated from the bipartisan infrastructure law, which is one of Biden’s biggest legislative victories since taking office. The law invests $17 billion in port infrastructure. The President has made several trips around the country to tout the bipartisan achievement and highlight the infrastructure investments that were made possible by the law.
The cargo that passes through Portsmouth Harbor includes material to make drywall, road de-icing salt, home heating oil and underwater fiber optic cable, according to the White House. It is also a staging and transport location for several wind energy projects and for nuclear power plant components manufactured at the nearby Westinghouse Electric.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/18/politics/biden-new-hampshire-harbor/index.html
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Biden to require infrastructure projects be made with U.S. iron, steel
Federal agencies will have to ensure that new projects funded by the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package are made with U.S. materials.
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is directing federal agencies to ensure that new construction projects funded by the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package are made with U.S.-made materials.
In 17 pages of guidance Monday, the Office of Management and Budget instructs federal agencies to make sure that by mid-May, any projects to build or repair roads, bridges, water pipes or even broadband internet are made with domestic products, including iron and steel.
"This means all manufacturing processes, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, occurred in the United States," the guidance says of the metals requirement.
Agencies must also ensure that the bulk of components of any manufactured products used in the construction projects are made in the U.S.
Government agencies can obtain waivers for the requirements if it's found that procuring the products domestically isn't in the public's interest, that quantities of the materials aren't "sufficient and reasonably available ... or of a satisfactory quality," or if the U.S.-sourced materials would raise the cost of a project by more than 25 percent, the guidance says.
The new guidance is part of the administration’s moves to implement the infrastructure law, which President Joe Biden signed in November. It's also part of Biden's strategy to alleviate supply chain issues in the U.S. amid the Covid pandemic and inflation.
During the previous administration, then-President Donald Trump hit European countries with steep tariffs on steel and aluminum products, which raised prices on those materials in the U.S. At the G-20 summit in October, Biden announced that the U.S. had reached a deal to reverse those tariffs.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-require-infrastructure-projects-made-us-iron-steel-rcna24816
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This Tax Day, the difference in approach between the President and Congressional Republicans couldn’t be clearer.
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https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1516071246462693379
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‘It’s getting worse for him’: Maddow breaks down Mike Lee’s growing scandals
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The host of "The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC broke down the latest scandals involving the efforts of Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) to overturn the 2020 election.
"A few days ago, we learned from CNN that Utah Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Lee had comported himself after the November election and in the lead up to the January 6th attack in a way that didn't at all match what he has said publicly about what he did at the time," Maddow reported.
"Sen. Lee has repeatedly presented himself as a person who didn't approve of Donald Trump's efforts to try to overturn the election and stay in power even though he had lost. He's presented himself as someone who had a real patriotic conscience about that kind of thing, not just a conservative, but a constitutional conservative, who never would have gone along with any of those scams," Maddow explained. "Well, then, CNN obtained text messages that Sen. Lee sent to Trump's chief of staff, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, at a time all that was going on. The text messages tell a very different story."
Maddow noted a new editorial from The Salt Lake Tribune titled, "Saturday’s Utah State Republican Convention would be a great place for Mike Lee to come clean, Editorial Board writes."
"It is past time for Mike Lee to start fessing up to all he knows about the plot to set aside the results of an honest and fair election to keep Donald Trump in power. We know Utah’s senior senator had a much greater role in that plot than he has previously acknowledged, his constituents deserve a much more detailed accounting of what went on and the extent of Lee’s participation in it," the newspaper noted. "Yesterday would be a great time for Lee to come clean. Saturday’s Utah State Republican Convention would be a really good opportunity, too."
Watch:
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Ron DeSantis plan to go after Disney could massively backfire -- and leave taxpayers footing the bill
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Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has laid out as one of his goals for the Florida legislature's special session a bill to abolish the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special taxing zone that essentially allows the Walt Disney World resort complex to act as its own local government. The move is intended to punish the Disney corporation for criticizing his infamous "Don't Say Gay" law, which limits the ability of teachers to discuss the existence of sexual orientation or gender identity in the classroom.
But according to Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald, there's a bit of a snag in the proposal: abolishing the district involves paying Disney's $2 billion worth of bond debt from building the resorts — and to do that, families in Orange and Osceola Counties would have to pay thousands of dollars.
In other words, this bill intended to punish Disney would actually be a huge transfer of money to the company, at taxpayer expense.
Mary Ellen Klas @MaryEllenKlas
Details emerge on @GovRonDeSantis idea to repeal Disney's special district governing authority. To pay the Disney's $2 B in bond debt, Orange and Osceola county families would have to be assessed $2,200 tax bill says @FarmerForFLSen. "This is shoot first and ask questions later."
Sen. @JeffreyBrandes asks: "My concern is this bill essentially wipes away Disneys' $2 billion of debt...if the legislative intent here is ultimately to attack them, then why would we want to cancel $2 billion of debt?"
The special district bill, alongside a Republican gerrymandering proposal that would wipe out half the Black congressional districts in the state, come as Republicans escalate a culture war panic nationwide, introducing bills limiting classroom information on race and sexuality, and even seeking to purge books from libraries.
https://twitter.com/MaryEllenKlas/status/1516573779840974858
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Trump-appointed judge lives up to her 'not qualified' bar rating with stunning ruling
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Fifteen days after Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, a 33-year-old conservative lawyer whose only courtroom experience was as an intern while in law school was handed a lifetime appointment as a federal judge in Florida.
Kathryn Kimball Mizelle was confirmed on November 18, 2020, by a straight party line vote of 49-to-41 by the Republican Senate, then controlled by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The American Bar Association had labeled her “unqualified” in opposing her nomination because of her inexperience.
On Monday, Mizelle provided a real-life primer into what can go wrong when an uncredentialled ideologue gets a federal judgeship. She rocked the world of air and train travel by broadly banning mask mandates, punctuated by a false claim about masks that showed she was equally unqualified in public health.
“Wearing a mask cleans nothing,” Mizelle wrote in her decision. “At most, it traps virus droplets. But it neither ‘sanitizes’ the person wearing the mask nor ‘sanitizes’ the conveyance.”
That unsourced opinion was delivered confidently with all the authority of someone who had interned somewhere -- as opposed to having actual public-health credentials. And it was in keeping with the formula with which Mizelle had been able to don judicial robes without judicial credentials.
Mizelle’s views on the efficacy of masking are directly refuted by a recent international research study that found masks plays “a crucial role” in slowing virus spread, as reported last month at Science News. The Mayo Clinic also continues to state that “face masks combined with other preventive measures, such as getting vaccinated, frequent hand-washing and physical distancing, can help slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.”
Mizelle’s “disappointing decision” -- in the words of White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki -- was magnified by the reality that it was the product of Republicans’ cynical politicization of the judiciary. By a judge who wasn’t about to be deterred by science.
Mizelle had checked off the right MAGA-world boxes before her confirmation. She had joined the Federalist Society. She had clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Her husband Chad Mizelle had served as chief of staff and acting general counsel in Trump’s Homeland Security department.
Mizelle herself had held a job in the Trump Justice Department that involved supervising litigation handled by its Civil Rights division. Her experience there prompted the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights to condemn her as “an ultraconservative ideologue" and a Trump loyalist" who “worked to dismantle many critical civil-rights protections.”
But what set Mizelle apart was the historic nature of her ascendancy to the federal bench. It was truly an outlier. Both her confirmation at the age of 32 and its political timing had been nearly unprecedented, as the Daily Beast reported at the time:
“Russell Wheeler, an expert on the judiciary and a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Mizelle’s young age sets her apart. He had to go back to 1937, when FDR appointed Alfred Murrah to the district court at age 32, and then Joseph Story, whom President James Madison appointed to the Supreme Court in 1811 at age 32. ‘There may be other appointments in their early 30s, but it's rare,’ he said.”
And McConnell’s cynical timing was also nearly unheard of. Wheeler told the Daily Beast that only once since 1896 had a lame duck Senate continued to conform nominees of a president after he had been defeated (Stephen Breyer’s 1980 appointment to the Court of Appeals.)
The Daily Beast also had reported that “Mizelle is the 227th Trump nominee confirmed to the federal bench—in what has been this administration’s real “operation warp speed”—and the 10th to be found “not qualified” by the ABA, a stigma that prior administrations sought to avoid and that Trump supporters treat as a badge of honor, evidence of Trump’s disruptive power.”
For its part, the ABA had written a letter on September 8, 2020 to the Senate Judiciary Committee stating that “a substantial majority” of its Standing Committee on the Judiciary had placed that “not qualified” label upon her as a candidate for the U.S. District Court. It noted that Mizelle’s mere eight-year career as a lawyer at the time was a “rather marked departure” from its 12-year minimum standard for judges. And there was this:
“Since her admission to the bar Ms. Mizelle has not tried a case, civil or criminal, as lead or co-counsel. Of her four distinguished federal clerkships, one clerkship was in the trial court. That year, plus her 10 months at a reputable law firm and approximately three years in government practice translates into 5 years of experience in the trial courts. We have taken into account the nominee’s experience in federal grand jury proceedings, which are non-adversarial and do not take place before a judge.
“Ms. Mizelle has a very keen intellect, a strong work ethic and an impressive resume. She presents as a delightful person and she has many friends who support her nomination. Her integrity and demeanor are not in question. These attributes however simply do not compensate for the short time she has actually practiced law and her lack of meaningful trial experience.”
Seventeen months later, it appears Mizelle has had her “meaningful trial experience” on the job. The ABA looks prescient. And the world of travel is a little less safe to show for it.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/mcconnells-newest-judge-is-seriously-not-qualified-and-dangerous
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Any votes for Marjorie Taylor Greene will be 'discarded' if she's ruled ineligible to run for Congress: attorney
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Controversial Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) lost her committee assignments only a month after being sworn in to office and now the first-term lawmaker may not even make the ballot to stand for re-election.
Following Greene's attempts to overturn the 2020 election, her eligibility to run is being questioned under the Constitution's ban on insurrectionists holding office.
"No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress...who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress...to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same," reads Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
The attorney behind the lawsuit, Ron Fein, was interviewed by MSNBC chief legal correspondent Ari Melber on Tuesday.
Melber noted Greene will be the first sitting legislator to be questioned under oath about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"If you win, what would happen?" Melber asked Fein.
"If we prevail in this hearing on Friday, then the judge will make a formal written recommendation, which of course could be appealed, but that would say that Marjorie Taylor Greene is disqualified from public office," he explained.
"And then the secretary of state would put instructions at all the polling places in her district in Georgia saying votes cast for her will not count and will be discarded.," he explained.
Melber also played clips of the QAnon congresswoman ranting about a "global cabal of Satan-worshipping ped*philes" and voicing 9/11 conspiracy theories.
Fein said Greene isn't being challenged because of her political views.
"Marjorie Taylor Greene has a wide range of despicable views, but that's not what this is about. This is about the Constitution of the United States and our principle of that Constitution that you can't take an oath to support the Constitution and then break that oath and engage in insurrection against the United States. You have to pick one side or another and Marjorie Taylor Greene picked her side," he explained. "Under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, she is not only a danger to the entire country, but she's disqualified from any public office."
Watch:
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Chad Mizelle, who was acting General Counsel for DHS in the Trump Administration, works at Jared Kushner’s new investment firm…AND is the husband of Trump appointed Judge Katherine Mizelle, who just ruled against the CDC mask mandate.
Such a small, small world and they are all connected.
Jared Kushner’s Investment Firm Hires Former Trump Staffers
Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners venture has drawn some controversy because Kushner has been seeking capital from some of the Middle Eastern countries that he dealt with in the White House, including Saudi Arabia.
January 20, 2022
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Jared Kushner, the son-in-law and former senior adviser to former President Donald Trump, is relying on Washington as well as Wall Street to build out the staff of his new private equity firm.
Affinity Partners filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month reporting assets raised, names of several employees and strategies the firm will pursue.
Some of those numbers are already out of date. Affinity now has more than 20 staff, including four from the Trump Administration, said a person familiar with the firm.
Kushner, who brokered a deal between Israel and several Middle Eastern countries while working in the White House, plans to open an investment office there that will seek regional investments with neighbors in North Africa and the Gulf.
The firm also hopes to capitalize on macro trends, according to its Dec. 23 registration, which was filed under the name A Fin Management.
“Affinity believes that geo-political risks are creating competitive pressure for advanced industrial countries to increase investment in key industries,” including artificial intelligence, cloud computing and digital payments, the firm said in the filing. “Affinity will seek to understand these trends to identify specific markets that it believes can achieve outsized growth.”
Kushner, who turned 41 earlier this month, began setting up Affinity Partners in June. The venture has drawn some controversy because Kushner has been seeking capital from some of the Middle Eastern countries that he dealt with in the White House, including Saudi Arabia, according to the New York Times.
Affinity Partners had raised $2 billion by the end of November, according to last month’s filing, which didn’t include details on the investors. The firm plans to update the filing in the next several weeks to reflect additional commitments, which now exceed $3 billion, according to the person.
Kushner hired private equity veterans Bret Pearlman and Asad Naqvi to select investments and negotiate deals for the Sunny Isles Beach, Florida-based firm.
Ian Brekke, who served as deputy general counsel and acting general counsel of the Department of Homeland Security under Trump, replaced Nicholas Butterfield as compliance officer in December. Butterfield, a former deputy White House policy coordinator, still works for the firm.
John Rader, who worked on U.S. trade relations with Mexico and Canada for the Trump administration, became Affinity Partners’ chief operating officer in September, the filing shows. Chad Mizelle, a former assistant counsel to the President, has also been hired, the person said.
Lauren Key, who most recently was as a managing director at Orion Energy Partners, joined Affinity Partners as chief financial officer in October.
Before joining the White House, Kushner worked for his family’s real estate firm, Kushner Cos., which his father built as a simple business buying and refurbishing suburban garden apartments on the East Coast. Jared, encouraged the firm to move aggressively into New York, including with the 2007 purchase of 666 Fifth Ave., a Manhattan office tower, bought for $1.8 billion that was soon hit by the financial crisis. Since Jared’s departure, the firm has reverted to less flashy investments outside of New York.
https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2022/01/20/jared-kushners-investment-firm-hires-former-trump-staffers/
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REVEALED: Ginni Thomas texted friend whose boss tried to get Trump election challenges to Supreme Court
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Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, had more than just Mark Meadows as a texting buddy in the effort to overturn Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 presidential election.
She was also communicating with none other than Connie Hair, chief of staff to Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), who signed on to two failed legal efforts to challenge the results -- one of which could have ended up before her husband and the U.S.Supreme Court, CNN reports.
Ginni Thomas' newly reported exchanges with Hair are amplifying calls for Justice Thomas to recuse himself from any election- or insurrection-related matters that might come before the court.
Stephen Gillers of NYU School of Law, is one of those calling a Thomas recusal. "Mrs. Thomas has a First Amendment right to speak publicly and forcefully on issues that might come before the Supreme Court without thereby forcing recusal of her husband," Gillers told CNN. "But in the current situation, her interests are caught up in cases that could come before the court."
Ginni Thomas reportedly has a years-long friendship with Hair, including attending social outings with her at which Clarence Thomas was present. Their text exchanges, which Ginni Thomas shared with Meadows, demonstrate the ardor with which she was working to subvert the voting will of the American people and promote discredited theories of massive fraud.
"Was on a call with the Trump campaign manager and legal folks for a briefing this morning. WE ARE SEEING THIS THROUGH TO THE END OF THE COURT/COUNT BATTLE," Hair posted on Nov. 7, four days after the election. And on Nov. 21, Hair posted: "Massive amounts of voter fraud in big cities throughout the contested states."
The Supreme Court ultimately decided not to take up Gohmert's lawsuit against then-vice president Mike Pence or a Texas case the lawmaker supported against states Trump lost.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/20/politics/ginni-thomas-mark-meadows-connie-hair-texts-january-6/index.html
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This 'coded' MTG tweet may be decisive in kicking her off the ballot: attorney
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Before controversial Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was permanently banned from Twitter for repeatedly pushing pandemic misinformation, the first-term member of Congress may have implicated herself in Donald Trump's coup attempt — and it could prevent her from seeking re-election.
On Friday, Greene will be forced to testify under oath about her role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in response to a lawsuit challenging her eligibility to seek re-election under the Constitution's ban on insurrectionists running for office.
"No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress...who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress...to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same," reads Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
Ron Fein, the attorney who will get to question Greene on Friday, was interviewed by MSNBC's Ayman Mohyeldin.
"As you know, I cannot give a sneak preview of the questions that we are going to ask a hostile witness, but even before we ask a single question, we know four things already," Fein said. "One is that she called for Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden to be executed for treason. She told her followers that they could not allow a peaceful transfer of power."
And then he pointed to a "coded" tweet than Greene sent on Jan. 5, 2021.
"She worked with the planners of some of the events of Jan. 6th and then the day before the attack, she signaled to her followers a code word, meant to storm federal buildings and supposedly overthrow tyrants. So, we are going to ask her about all of that and more," he explained.
The coded word referred to Greene referring to the blocking of the Electoral College as Republicans' "1776 moment."
In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed, starting America's Revolutionary War.
"'1776' was used as a codeword for violence in the run-up to January 6. For instance, Ali Alexander, a violent extremist who listed Representative Greene as a speaker at his January 6 event, and referred to Greene as a 'friend,' replied to a tweet by Greene on December 30, 2020, promising that '1776 is *always* an option' if objections to certification were blocked. The responses indicate it was understood as a call to storm the Capitol," the complaint alleges.
"Alexander increasingly used references to '1776' between December 30 and January 6 as a call for violence if Trump was not installed as president for another four years," the complaint continues. "By this time, it was well known that events Alexander planned and promoted developed into violence. Similarly, Enrique Tarrio, until recently the leader of the 'Proud Boys,' had on hand a detailed plan for the far-right extremist group to distract police, swarm federal buildings, and obstruct their functioning. The title of the document describing the plan was '1776 Returns.'”
The complaint argues the tweet is a smoking gun.
"Greene’s references to '1776,' made two days after she took the oath to uphold and protect the Constitution, had a specific meaning to her intended audience, when taken in the context of her well-known history of advocating political violence, the widespread use of '1776' by violent extremists as a codeword for violence and for storming government buildings, and the widespread reports of planned violence on the Capitol. Specifically, her remarks had the intent and effect of signaling to her supporters that she was calling not for peaceful protest, but for violent resistance, to a peaceful transfer of power to the president-elect, in defiance of the Constitution," the lawsuit alleges.
Watch:
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Marjorie Taylor Greene Is Terrified of the Media Watching Her Testify Under Oath
The conspiracy theorist from Georgia is set to testify on Friday in a case seeking to disqualify her from office for her alleged role in the events of last Jan. 6
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Marjorie Taylor Greene is going to appear in court on Friday. The media will be there, too, and she’s furious about it.
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Totenberg ruled earlier this week that an effort to disqualify the conspiracy theorist from running for reelection over her alleged role in the attack on the Capitol last Jan. 6 can proceed. The group who filed the challenge, Free Speech for People, is alleging that Greene is in violation of the 14th Amendment, which states that if someone took an oath to defend the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion,” they can’t serve in Congress.
Totenberg’s decision means Greene will have to testify under oath on Friday. Greene seems a little worried, perhaps because she’s built her entire career on pushing lies and unfounded conspiracy theories — from Jewish-funded space lasers starting the California wildfires to the 2020 election being stolen — and has little experience telling the truth, which she’ll now have to do lest she open herself up to perjury charges.
"You want to talk about it? It’s a big lie,” she said recently on One America News. “They want to talk about the big lie, this is the big lie and it’s destroying democracy.”
Greene grew even more animated about the media presence in the courtroom. “I really hope you guys get a camera in that courtroom,” she continued. “You know what the Democrats and the media are going to do: They’re going to click and cut and paste so they can sell a lie on their networks every night.”
The Republican Accountability Project
@AccountableGOP
"The MTG meltdown continues"
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1516585561280159748
Greene talking about “destroying democracy” is pretty rich. Rolling Stone reported last fall that Greene was one of several lawmakers who participated in the planning of the “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the riot at the Capitol. She’s since valorized those who stormed the Capitol in attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election results. “If you think about what our Declaration of Independence says, it says to overthrow tyrants,” she said in October.
Greene made the same argument against the media’s presence in the courtroom on The Jennis Ellis Show, hosted by Trump’s former election attorney. “It’s absurd what they are claiming and lying about,” she said on Tuesday. “They’re going to allow the press in the courtroom. They’re going to allow the whole thing to be videoed live. … You know what that’s going to look like. The Democrats and the nasty mainstream media … are going to be able to twist and turn and clip out any little piece they want.”
Ron Filipkowski
@RonFilipkowski
Marge getting scared for court Friday: “They’re going to allow the press in the courtroom. They’re going to allow the whole thing to be videoed live. They’re going to be able to clip out any little piece they want of the horrible things .. they’re going to say about me.”
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1516546478076043270
Greene tried to block the effort to get her booted from the ballot earlier this month, arguing that the move is unconstitutional while “vigorously” denying that she “aided and engaged in insurrection.” Judge Totenberg didn’t buy it. “This case involves a whirlpool of colliding constitutional interests of public import,” the judge, who was appointed by President Obama, wrote. “The novelty of the factual and historical posture of this case — especially when assessed in the context of a preliminary injunction motion reviewed on a fast track — has made resolution of the complex legal issues at stake here particularly demanding.”
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Myers II, who was appointed by Trump, last week ruled in favor of Madison Cawthorn as the North Carolina representative moved to block a similar effort to disqualify him from Congress for his alleged involvement in the events of last Jan. 6. Cawthorn, like Greene, was mentioned in Rolling Stone‘s report about the organization of the rally that preceded the riot. Greene wasn’t as lucky as Cawthorn, but it will likely be hard to prove that she, or any of the other lawmakers who may have helped incite the riot, actually violated the 14th Amendment — even though the evidence against Greene in particular is pretty copious.
Regardless, Friday’s testimony could be illuminating. Up to this point, Greene has been free to peddle lies ad infinitum, and because Republican leadership doesn’t seem to care, the only real consequence she’s faced has been getting banned from Twitter. She’ll now have to speak not only under the specter of media scrutiny, but of perjury charges.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/marjorie-taylor-greene-media-testimony-disqualified-office-1340262/
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GOP candidate released a dramatic 'savior' ad – and it might be blowing up in his face
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A Republican candidate looking to replace Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly is getting some blowback for a campaign ad, making it the third time this year his public messaging struck a sour note, according to the Phoenix New Times' Elias Weiss.
Self-funded political newcomer Jim Lamon ran an ad that has even some Christian Republicans raising their eyebrows. In the Easter-themed ad, Lamon hints that he's Arizona's savior. "It's a close marriage of church and state that doesn't sit right with everyone in his target audience, a departure from previous attempts," Weiss writes.
“These are dark times. Times of plague and turmoil," Lamon says in the ad, suggesting he knows God's plan to save America.
Speaking to the New Times, Chandler-based trial attorney Tom Ryan, who is a Christian and former GOP voter, said that the ad's offensiveness was due to the "whole notion that he is the Savior."
“It’s wholly inappropriate and offensive. It made me sick to my stomach when I saw that," Ryan said.
“There is a real rise of Christian dominionism, which is not true Christianity at all,” Ryan continued. “It should be concerning to everybody. By hitching their wagon to Christianity, they retain power, like in Nazi Germany.”
Lamon is among a group of prominent Republicans who falsely claimed to be an elector for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election and funded security efforts in the election audit in Maricopa County.
Darlene Packard, a straight-ticket Republican voter and devout Christian from Prescott, told the New Times that Lamon's rhetoric is the kind thing that will potentially be the GOP's "downfall."
“When you go too far to the right, you piss people off and they go the other way. I get offended at that ‘holier than thou’ attitude," Packard said.
Watch the ad below:
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Nice lame excuse Mike!
GOP's Mike Lee defends texts with Mark Meadows about overturning election: 'He knew I wasn't there to do his bidding'
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Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee says that the text messages he exchanged with then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, in which they discussed strategy for overturning the 2020 election results, don’t really mean that he wanted to overturn the election results.
In his first interview since CNN last week revealed dozens of his texts with Meadows, the Utah Republican told Deseret News in an interview on Wednesday that was simply trying figure out if Congress could exert any legal authority over the presidential election. He also denied that he was Donald Trump's lapdog.
Lee told the newspaper that the string of texts between Nov. 7, 2020, and Jan. 4, 2021, were written with "a level of informality that would be reserved for a friend."
“He knows that when I said things like, ‘Tell me what we ought to be saying,’ what I was just trying to figure out was, ‘What is your message?’ He knows me well enough to know that that doesn’t mean I will do your bidding, whatever it is,” Lee said in a 45-minute phone interview. “Conversations I had with him at the time on the phone and in person, he knew that. He knew I was not there to do his bidding,” Lee said of his conversations with Meadows.
Lee asserted that the release of his texts to Meadows was done for “political motives” and were “leaked” to hurt his re-election campaign.
Even today, though, Lee refuses to directly answer the question when asked if President Joe Biden is the rightly elected president. Lee said: “President Biden is the president of the United States. ... We know that he is the president of the United States because the Electoral College met on Dec. 14 and then cast electoral votes. Those electoral votes signaled the victory for President Biden.”
Asked if there was fraud in the 2020 election, Lee demurred, saying, “I’ve answered your question."
https://www.deseret.com/2022/4/20/23034383/what-mike-lee-says-about-text-messages-donald-trump-2020-election-mark-meadows-fraud
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Because of President Biden's plans and strong leadership, the United States leads all the major advanced economies in GDP.
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'Cowards': Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy called out for caving to Trump
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Republican leaders in Congress received harsh criticism on MSNBC on Thursday after new reporting shows how livid they were with former President Donald Trump — before they decided to support him post-coup.
The analysis came after a bombshell report by The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/21/us/politics/trump-mitch-mcconnell-kevin-mccarthy.html
"In the days after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol building, the two top Republicans in Congress, Representative Kevin McCarthy and Senator Mitch McConnell, told associates they believed President Trump was responsible for inciting the deadly riot and vowed to drive him from politics," the newspaper reported. "But within weeks both men backed off an all-out fight with Mr. Trump because they feared retribution from him and his political movement. Their drive to act faded fast as it became clear it would mean difficult votes that would put them at odds with most of their colleagues."
For analysis, MSNBC anchor Ari Melber interviewed attorney Elie Mystal, justice correspondent at The Nation magazine.
Mystal said, "in the words of the great Walter Sobchak, 'No, Donny, these men are cowards.' We've always known they were cowards, we've always known they were craven and would debase themselves for Donald Trump, but I think what this reporting shows, that we need to start thinking about with a little bit more intentionality in the media, is that who are these people afraid of? Because at the end of the day, they're not afraid of Donald Trump, they're afraid of his violent beast. They're afraid of the very people who attacked them on Jan. 6."
"We have to stop acting like the Republican base is some kind of fringe, lunatic side show. No, this is mainstream Republican politics. Mainstream Republicans are the people who attacked the nation and will continue to attack the nation until we, as an intelligent society, do something about it," Mystal said.
Watch:
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Legal expert: Existence of more tapes creates ‘powerful incentive’ for Republicans to cooperate
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The dynamics into investigations into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election may have shifted on Thursday after House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was caught telling a "flat out lie."
MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow played an audio recording of McCarthy talking to Rep. Liz Cheney (R-CA). The recording proved McCarthy lied about denying saying he was going to ask for Trump to resign following Jan. 6.
Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance explained the psychological impact of the recording.
"They're all scared that there are tapes now. Family, members of Congress, party officials. They're going over every conversation they had in their minds, thinking thru whether someone might have taped them. It's a powerful incentive for people to decide to cooperate with prosecutors," she explained.
And apparently, there is a lot more tape from the period after the attack on the Capitol.
MSNBC
@MSNBC
We have a lot more on tape from this period ... it is sensitive, it is delicate, and we have it all on tape," New York Times reporter Jonathan Martin says. "It's going to tell a very different story about this period than the story that many people are trying to tell right now."
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1517323112068624390
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This has always been the MAGA money making scam that Criminal Donald used for years. They say or do something controversial which outrages the public, the public call them out on it, and then they play the victim whining to their gullible base that "Liberals" are attacking and trying to cancel their "freedom of speech". After that, they set up a fundraiser for their suckers to shower them with campaign cash. It's called the MAGA scam and they are nothing but vile right wing trolls and fraudsters.
Trump's 'MAGA Goon Squad' is 'grasping at straws' as they scramble for campaign cash
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Appearing on the Daily Beast's "The New Normal," Roger Sollenberger -- who has been investigating the campaign finance woes of Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) -- explained that fundraising for the three has become more difficult as they scramble to ramp up the outrage that normally shakes loose cash from supporters of Donald Trump.
Last week Sollenberger reported that Taylor Greene is spending enormous amounts of cash on fundraising which has created the illusion that she is taking record sums, but now it is catching up with her.
Added to that, he notes, the far-right House lawmakers -- including Rep Lauren Boebert (R-CO) -- are falling on hard times getting the kind of attention that generated donations.
Labeling them the "MAGA Goon Squad," Sollenberger pointed out to the "New Normal" hosts, that the four GOP lawmakers as a group spent "$275,000 more than they took in in the first quarter of 2022."
Focusing on Greene -- who is facing being bumped off the ballot due to her ties to the Jan 6th insurrection -- he explained, "... this has been a pattern of her fundraising for a long time. Her numbers are kind of a sleight of hand in that way. People really see how much money she’s bringing in, but they don’t see that she spends a whole lot to get there. And this quarter gave the lie to that. She switched over to this like direct mail campaign and stopped doing so much digital stuff. And then just kind of ate it pretty hard.”
He went on to elaborate that trying to raise cash using Jan 6 has lost its luster and the four are "grasping at straws" trying to find a fresh approach to ramp up new outrage.
"They raised so much money off of the controversy that they could stir on the heels of that tumultuous and explosive event that generated so much resentment from the far right and they tapped right into that and were able to stir up millions of dollars last year on the heels of the riot," he stated. "And so in the past few months they've been kind of grasping at straws, right? Greene hasn’t really been able to attract much controversial lightning. Gaetz is—you know, his own investigation, we haven’t heard much out of it recently, it’s ongoing clearly, but it’s just not in the news."
"The only person who’s been in the news is Cawthorn for his orgy and cocaine remarks, and he just got blasted for that stuff. So they haven’t really been able to turn the magic on. The sauce hasn’t been there for the past few months and it really shows in the money," he added.
Read more and listen to it here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-maga-goon-squad-dug-themselves-a-deep-hole-after-jan-6
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But wait....there's more!
'We Have a Lot More’: New York Times Reporters Tease Additional McCarthy Audio
"It is sensitive, it is delicate, and it is high-stakes."
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) didn’t have the best of days on Thursday, as his denial of a New York Times story about his comments after the Jan. 6 insurrection was proven false after audio of a phone conversation he had with colleagues was leaked.
And yet things might not be getting any better for McCarthy, if what the two Times reporters on that story told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow comes to pass.
Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin appeared on Maddow’s primetime show to discuss their story—specifically, the phone call in which McCarthy told Republican leaders in Congress that he would tell then-President Donald Trump he should resign in light of the impending impeachment resolution.
“I would just say for the book-buying audience out there, for people who work in politics: This is only the start,” said Martin, whose co-bylined report Thursday is derived from the upcoming book This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future. “We have captured some of the most intimate and sensitive conversations in the extraordinary period following Jan. 6 on tape. And there is much more to come between now and when the book is out on May 3.”
Maddow then asked Burns about how McCarthy’s denial of the Times story now looks. “It really does appear to not be the truth for Mr. McCarthy,” the MSNBC host said.
“Well, that’s a pretty diplomatic way of putting it, Rachel. It was a totally bogus denial, as your audience just heard,” Burns replied. “And I think that what this moment captures, in addition to everything Jonathan just said, and what this tape in particular captures, is just the staggering gulf between what Republican leaders say about Donald Trump in public, and to his face, and what they will say about him in private.”
Maddow then said she wouldn’t be surprised if there were calls for McCarthy’s resignation.
“But of course, he answers to his caucus,” she acknowledged.
The MSNBC host then asked if the pair have on tape how McCarthy also called for some members of his party to have their social media accounts suspended, as Twitter and Facebook did with then-President Donald Trump.
“That is correct, and we have a lot more on tape from this period, which is at the highest levels of American politics,” Martin said. “It is sensitive, it is delicate, and it is high stakes. We have it all on tape, and it’s going to—I think—tell a very different story about this period than the story that many people are trying to tell right now.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-times-reporters-alexander-burns-and-jonathan-martin-say-they-have-a-lot-more-kevin-mccarthy-audio
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Marjorie Taylor Greene to testify under oath about Jan. 6
GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Friday will become the first member of Congress to publicly testify under oath about the events surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Monday night, a federal judge allowed a legal challenge by a group of Georgia voters to move forward as they seek to disqualify Greene from running for reelection, citing her alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The voters argue a provision of the Constitution's 14th Amendment known as the "disqualification clause" prevents Greene from holding federal office.
Passed shortly after the Civil War, the Disqualification Clause bars any person from holding federal office who has previously taken an oath to protect the Constitution -- including a member of Congress -- who has "engaged in insurrection" against the United States or "given aid or comfort" to its "enemies."
An avid supporter of former President Donald Trump, Greene has denied any involvement in the attack and said she is appealing.
Judge Charles Beaudrot will preside over Friday's hearing and witnesses will also be called to testify.
The time frame for the judge to render his decision on whether or not Greene should remain on the ballot is tight. Early voting for the Georgia primary begins May 2 and the primary itself is on May 17.
In an interview Tuesday with ABC News affiliate WTVC, Greene called the legal challenge a "scam."
"All I did was what I'm legally and allowed to do by the Constitution as a member of Congress, and that was I objected to Joe Biden's Electoral College votes from a few states," Greene said.
Greene also said she was a "victim" on Jan. 6.
Mike Rasbury, one of the voters challenging Greene's eligibility to run for reelection, said in a statement that Greene "took an oath of office to protect democracy from all enemies foreign and domestic ... However, she has flippantly ignored this oath and, based on her role in the January 6 insurrection, is disqualified under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution from holding any future public office."
Rasbury will be in the courtroom when Greene testifies.
Ron Fein, a lawyer representing the voters and legal director of Free Speech For People, told ABC News in an email that the Georgia "voters who filed this lawsuit have a right to have their challenge heard" and that he looks forward to questioning Greene under oath.
James Bopp, Greene's attorney, told ABC News Tuesday that the challenge to Greene is "absurd" and that it shouldn't be up to judges to decide who represents Georgia's 14th Congressional District.
Bopp also represents GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who is facing a similar challenge against his reelection from a group of voters in North Carolina.
Cawthorn's lawsuit to dismiss the challenge to his reelection is set for oral arguments May 3 before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia.
Speaking on Fox News Monday night, Greene told host Tucker Carlson that Democrats are trying to keep her name off the ballot, maintaining she had nothing to do with the attack on the Capitol.
"I have to go to court on Friday and actually be questioned about something I've never been charged with and something I was completely against," Greene said.
The challenges against Greene and Cawthorn are part of a larger legal effort to prevent anyone allegedly involved in the events surrounding Jan. 6 -- or who supported it -- from running for reelection.
Similar challenges are being brought against GOP Reps. Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs of Arizona and theoretically could be brought against Trump if he decides to run for office again in 2024.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-testify-oath-jan/story?id=84219632
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Marjorie Taylor Greene testimony immediately starts out with dispute over her oath of office
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At the start of her testimony, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) immediately clashed with an attorney representing Georgia voters who want her removed from the ballot over her alleged support for the Jan. 6 insurrection.
The Georgia Republican was called to testify at an evidentiary hearing Friday, and she repeatedly clashed with Andrew Celli, an attorney for Free Speech for People -- including the manner in which she took her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
"You were elected to Congress in November 2020, right?" Celli asked, and Greene agreed. "And you became a member of Congress on Jan. 3, 2021, is that correct?"
Greene agreed, and Celli asked whether she became a member of Congress by virtue of taking her oath of office -- and the lawmaker bristled.
"I became a member of Congress by being elected by the people of the 14th District," Greene said.
Celli pointed out that she was permitted to take her seat in the House of Representatives only after taking the oath of office, and Greene conceded that she had sworn the oath.
"That required that you would support and defend the Constitution of the United States, correct?" Celli said, and she agreed. "It required you to swear an oath that you would support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, correct? As part of the oath that you took, it said yet you would undertake that obligation to defend the Constitution against all enemies freely without any reservation or purpose of evasion. Do you recall that part?"
"I think so," Greene said.
Watch:
Lawyer busts Marjorie Taylor Greene for saying 'we can't allow a peaceful transition of power'
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) tried to argue that she was being taken out of context when she was reminded that she once said that "we can't allow a peaceful transition of power" in the days leading up to the January 6th Capitol riots.
During a court hearing on Friday, attorney Andrew Celli asked Greene about statements she made about trying to stop President Joe Biden's election victory from being certified.
"You said in the video on your Facebook page that the peaceful transfer of power ought not be allowed to occur," Celli said.
"I don't recall," Greene replied.
"You said the peaceful transfer of power should not be allowed to occur because [Biden] did not win the 2020 election, correct?" he asked again
"I don't recall," Greene again replied.
Celli then played the court a video of Greene saying exactly that.
"This is an important time in our history," said Greene. "We cannot allow this to be let go. You cannot allow it to just transfer power peacefully, like Joe Biden wants, and allow him to become our president. He did not win this election. It is being stolen, and the evidence is there."
Greene objected that this was only a "partial statement" that she made and was being taken out of context.
Watch the video below.
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Marjorie Taylor Greene squirms when lawyer confronts her with past statements about executing Nancy Pelosi
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Friday had trouble during a court hearing in which she was asked about her past statements about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
While being cross examined about her past violent rhetoric, Greene was asked whether she believes Pelosi is a "traitor to this country."
The question immediately made Greene uncomfortable.
"I'm not answering that question," she said. "It is speculation."
"You have said that, haven't you?" the attorney pressed.
"No, I have not said that," Greene replied.
The attorney would go on to read aloud a past statement from Greene in which she said exactly that.
"She's a traitor to our country, she's guilty of treason," Greene said of Pelosi in a 2019 Facebook video. "She took an oath to protect American citizens and uphold our laws. And she gives aid and comfort to our enemies who illegally invade our land. That's what treason is. And by our law representatives and senators can be kicked out and no longer serve in our government. And it's a crime punishable by death is what treason is. Nancy Pelosi is guilty of treason."
CNN reported last year that "Greene repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent Democratic politicians in 2018 and 2019 before being elected to Congress."
Watch the video below
WATCH: Judge declares Marjorie Taylor Green a hostile witness
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A judge declared Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA) an adverse witness after she repeatedly evaded questions by an attorney who represents voters challenging her eligibility to hold federal office.
The Georgia Republican testified Friday during an evidentiary hearing in the lawsuit, which argues that Greene should be removed from the 2022 ballot because she supported the Jan. 6 insurrection, and she clashed with Free Speech for People attorney Andrew Celli over whether she believed in December 2020 that Donald Trump's election loss was fraudulent.
"When you sent out this tweet, you wanted people to read the tweet and know that it was your view that the vote for Mr. Biden for president was fraudulent, or some of them were," Celli said, but Greene denied that. "I am asking when you sent this, you are communicating to your people who read this Twitter account that you believe that there were fraudulent votes for Mr. Biden, and your goal was to keep the president in the White House."
Greene said she was looking for a senator to join her objection to Biden's election, which she said was her responsibility as a member of Congress.
"I agree with that," Celli said, "but the purpose of that was because you believe that the votes for Mr. Biden were fraudulent, correct? At least some of them?"
Greene said she saw evidence of fraud, and she started to explain it before abruptly changing the topic.
"We had been sending a vast amount of time reading and researching and talking to people, and we have seen tremendous evidence of -- I don't know if you're aware -- aware, but we currently have our secretary of state," Greene began, before Celli cut her off.
Celli asked the judge to strike Greene's remarks from the transcript, and then he asked the judge to remind the congresswoman to answer his questions.
"I'm entitled to get answers to my question, your honor," Celli said. "Can I ask the court to acknowledge that this is an adverse witness, a hostile witness?"
The judge agreed, saying Greene was an adverse witness and the attorney had a right to cross examine her.
"I would ask the court to remind the witness that in this posture, she has to answer my questions, she cannot give speeches," Celli said. "Is that fair?"
"And can I ask the court she's an adverse witness, a hostile witness...she has to give answers, she can't give speeches."
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1517531542116962306
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Republican Kevin McCarthy under fire after audio shows he urged Trump to resign
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressman Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, came under fire from his own party after an audio recording showed him saying that then-President Donald Trump should resign over the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.
The comments, which McCarthy had denied hours before the recording emerged, could undermine his widely known ambition to become House speaker next year if Republicans take control of the chamber in November's midterm elections, as expected.
"Question for Kevin McCarthy ... how can you honestly feel ok with the lies? Yes, other people lie too, but you have claimed to fight for a higher purpose," Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger, a Trump critic, asked Thursday night on Twitter.
"Honestly Kevin, is it worth it?"
The audio, recorded days after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and delayed certification of Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory, depicts a conversation between McCarthy and Representative Liz Cheney, who was ousted from party leadership weeks later over her opposition to Trump.
McCarthy told Cheney he planned to call Trump to discuss a mechanism for invoking the 25th Amendment, under which then-Vice President Mike Pence and members of the Cabinet could have removed the Republican president from office.
"The only discussion I would have with him is that I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign," McCarthy says in the recording, released on cable news channel MSNBC late on Thursday.
McCarthy's office did not respond to a query seeking comment on Friday.
The first reference to McCarthy's comments appeared earlier on Thursday in a New York Times article published as part of a forthcoming book by two Times reporters.
The Times also reported that McCarthy told other Republican leaders he wished big tech companies would strip social media accounts from party lawmakers who supported Trump's false claims of a rigged 2020 election.
McCarthy initially denied the Times account in a statement that called the reporting "totally false and wrong."
Another attack on McCarthy came on Friday from Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, a staunch Trump ally and hard-line conservative who has actively opposed Cheney -- who is running for re-election in Wyoming -- for supporting Trump's 2021 impeachment and joining the Democratic-led House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot.
"While I was rallying in Wyoming against Liz Cheney ... Kevin McCarthy was defending Liz Cheney among House Republicans ... you should have trusted my instincts, not your own," Gaetz said in a tweet.
McCarthy, who has also faced criticism from other hard-line conservatives within his caucus, publicly zigzagged on Trump's culpability for the Jan. 6 riot by first saying the former president bore some responsibility for the violence -- but finally visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort home in Florida and posed for a photograph with him.
© Reuters
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'Giving them power would be just pointless': Some PA swing voters balking at voting for Republicans
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Any belief by Republicans that swing voters in Pennsylvania will embrace them once again after almost a year and a half into the Joe Biden administration may be dampened by a report at the conservative Bulwark.
According to campaign and messaging analysts Rich Thau and Mitch Stefee, a recent focus group with 12 Pennsylvania voters -- six Republicans, four Democrats, and three independents -- revealed both frustrations with the state of the country as well as a lack of enthusiasm for handing the reins of power back to the GOP.
According to their Bulwark report, "We were surprised to hear them reject the conventional wisdom that persuadable voters such as themselves will vote for Republican senate candidates in November merely out of frustration with the Democrats’ inability to control inflation, crime, and various other problems," adding, "The conventional wisdom is that 2022 is shaping up to be a wave election for Republicans. But only one of our respondents personified this view."
One panelist, David from Phoenixville, suggested, "I think maybe we need to have Republicans controlling the House and the Senate to provide good checks and balances for Biden," but others were not so sure.
Brian, 40, chimed in, "For me, it depends. Are they being backed by Trump? Are they big Trump fans? Are they preaching the election was stolen? All that jazz that I just can’t stomach . . . I couldn’t fathom voting for a Republican that is pro-Trump, that might think like him, act like him. No way is that happening."
Amy, 43, was less than enthused about the GOP coming back into payer, explaining, "I think both parties have made mistakes and there are issues with both of them. I can’t put the blame on one over the other . . . I don’t know that Republicans would make any better choices [if they regain control of Congress].”
Stacy from Marcus Hook got into specifics when it comes to what the GOP stands for.
“To me, [Republicans in Congress] seem like babies and very, very petty . . . I feel like we can never truly move forward because they block things just to block things,” Stacy detailed. "It’s never to understand the other opinion. It’s never to understand the other side. It’s merely because they don’t have control. . . . Giving them power would be just pointless in my opinion. It would go totally the other way, and they would make decisions quickly, in their favor. And in their favor, nine times out of 10, do not benefit minorities or people that don’t have a lot of money—middle class or lower.”
“If Republicans were the majority of the House and Senate, I think we’d see a lot of moving backwards, personally, in my opinion, when it comes to social issues . . . Just knowing that some of the things that have been coming up in bills that have been raised in a lot of our southern states, it makes me nervous, being a woman," Cristina from Conshohocken added.
Read more here: https://www.thebulwark.com/pennsylvania-swing-voters-arent-rushing-back-to-republicans/
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'National embarrassment': Marjorie Taylor Greene's 'bad day in court' roasted by MSNBC panel
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MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace and former Donald Trump staffer Miles Taylor on Friday discussed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's day in court in which she was confronted for her past statements advocating violence.
Wallace began with a series of videos showing what Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said on the stand in her administrative hearing Friday about whether she could run for office as someone who participated in the insurrection. Wallace then contrasted those words under oath with videos of what Greene was saying publicly.
Taylor noted that the main sticking point for him is that, even if Greene isn't blocked from the ballot, her voters should disqualify her because she can't remember anything about things that happened less than two years ago. Many legal analysts observed something similar, but also noted that they believed she was lying under oath.
"So, we are not lawyers for either side here, but we were able to find what she was saying in court today is lies, with the evidence disproving most statements as such, as lies," said Wallace.
"I had to laugh while you played that. This is a bad day in court for anyone, even if she is not disqualified for insurrection," said Taylor. "Maybe voters should consider she is not fit for office because she can't remember pretty important things. The tapes of Greene leaving the White House not only film them and star in them and seen them on TV over and over and over. So, you know the denial is stunning, and the first clip you played of her not remembering and then remembering when she would be called out on tells you everything you need to know."
He went on to note that the Constitution makes it clear that someone can't hold office if they were engaged in rebellion or insurrection. The case against her used her own past statements about not allowing a peaceful transfer of power.
Former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal said that Greene's testimony made her look like "a national embarrassment."
"I can't imagine the foreign leaders are watching, foreign adversaries are watching this as a national leader," he continued. "I've never seen a more forgetful witness. She could barely remember her name. More so than Herald and Kumar when they were stoned!"
See the full conversation below:
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Speaking of being a national embarrassment, Maddie Cawthorn takes the cake. Here this bible thumping hypocrite attacks gay and trans people daily, and now we find out he dresses up in women's lingerie and hoop earrings in his spare time. The GOP is an absolute joke and these clowns are the main faces of the party. These unqualified jokers have absolutely no business being in Congress. What ever happened to real Republicans that used to be respected? Today's Republicans engage in treason, insurrection, sedition, support white nationalists, dress up like women, and go to cocaine parties according to Cawthorn.
Republican Madison Cawthorn photographed wearing women's lingerie at wild-looking party
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Embattled Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) now has another political headache.
Politico has obtained photographs of Cawthorn attending a wild-looking party dressed in women's lingerie.
"They were provided to POLITICO by a person formerly close to Cawthorn and his campaign. A second person formerly close to Cawthorn and his campaign confirmed the origin of the photos."
The photos are ironic because Cawthorn recently angered several of his Republican colleagues by alleging they took part in a decadent D.C. party culture that's filled with cocaine-fueled orgies.
Cawthorn was rebuked by House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, and multiple North Carolina Republicans have endorsed his primary opponent.
Cawthorn has also made a habit of attacking the transgender community, and Politico notes that, just last week, he sent out a tweet saying "there’s only one God and two genders."
Photographs obtained by POLITICO appear to show Madison Cawthorn, the embattled Republican congressman from North Carolina who recently accused his GOP colleagues of inviting him to orgies, wearing lingerie in what appears to be a party setting.
Cawthorn, 26, was raised in a conservative Baptist community in Henderson County, North Carolina, and has staked his political persona on arch-traditional Christian principles and the insistence of the importance of a kind of hypermasculinity. His comments about “the se*ual perversion” in Washington made on a podcast, which he later admitted were exaggerated, drew the public disapproval and disavowal of Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy as well as other Republican leaders including those in his North Carolina congressional caucus.
The revelation of the two photos is the latest in a series of unflattering headlines for the freshman member of Congress in the run-up to the primary in his first re-election bid. The primary in North Carolina is May 17. Cawthorn has seven Republican opponents who see him as vulnerable.
Cawthorn, who was paralyzed from the waist down as a passenger in a car accident in Florida in 2014, in recent months has called Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “thug,” suggested teetotaling Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has a drinking problem, and racked up a collection of traffic transgressions including speeding, driving with expired tags and driving with a revoked license. He has court dates in May and June.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/22/madison-cawthorn-photos-00027286
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Ronnie DeSantis took on Mickey Mouse and now residents in Orlando are going to see their taxes go up $2200 for this pathetic political stunt.
Florida Gov. DeSantis signs bill revoking Disney’s special district status
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed into law a bill revoking the Walt Disney Company’s special district status in the state, just days after the legislation was first introduced on Tuesday.
Disney has up to this point declined to comment on the legislation, but the dispute is likely to end up in court.
Sunsetting the Reedy Creek Improvement District means that local counties will likely be left to foot the bill for potholes and emergency services at Disney World.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed into law a bill revoking the Walt Disney Company’s special district status in the state, just days after the legislation was first introduced on Tuesday.
The bill, which would see the Reedy Creek Improvement District dissolved, passed the state Senate on Wednesday with a vote of 23-16 and the state’s House of Representatives on Thursday by a vote of 70-38.
Disney has up to this point declined to comment on the legislation, but the dispute is likely to end up in court.
For more than five decades, Disney has been able to make additions to its resort area, including new theme parks, hotels and other tourism experiences, without interference from local counties. That’s set to change in June 2023 now that DeSantis has signed the bill into law.
Widely seen as a contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, DeSantis is locked in a bitter and public feud with the entertainment giant over the company’s denouncement of Florida’s HB 1557 law last month. While proponents of the bill have denied that it is a retaliatory act against Disney, critics see it as retribution for publicly quarreling with the governor.
Reedy Creek was created in 1967 by the Florida legislature so Disney could develop the infrastructure for Walt Disney World at no cost to Florida taxpayers. Disney established and continues to maintain more than 130 miles of roadways and 67 miles of waterways as well as government services such as fire protection, emergency services, water, utilities and sewage.
Tax experts and legislators say eliminating the district could have unintended consequences for county taxpayers. Disney’s special tax district status allows the company to levy an additional tax on itself to pay for municipal services, something that other counties cannot do. That tax currently amounts to $105 million per year, said Orange County tax collector Scott Randolph. Reedy Creek also receives additional revenue of nearly $60 million from Disney to pay its bond debt.
Sunsetting Reedy Creek means that local counties will begin paying for those services without that special status in place. Taxpayers will likely be left to foot the bill for potholes and emergency services.
The counties would also absorb Reedy Creek’s debt. The district historically operates at a loss of around $5 million to $10 million each year, according to its financial reports. But since Disney can subsidize its own operations with theme park revenue, that debt doesn’t have much impact on its bottom line.
According to lawmakers, there’s around $1 billion in debt on the balance sheet that taxpayers would become responsible for should the special district get absorbed, leading to higher taxes.
And salvaging those budgets won’t be easy. State law prohibits counties from raising sales taxes or impact fees to cover costs, and they must tax all areas of the county equally. So, whatever they enact will apply to everyone.
Randolph said the county will likely have to raise property taxes by 20% to 25% to make up the difference.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/22/florida-gov-desantis-signs-bill-revoking-disneys-special-district-status.html
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End of Reedy Creek: Disney won’t pay more taxes, but you will
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ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — One of the biggest myths circulating on the internet is that the end of Reedy Creek will finally force Disney to pay its fair share of taxes, boosting the economies of Florida and the counties its resorts are located in.
Let’s dispel that rumor right now: not only is it wrong, it’s the opposite that will take effect.
This much is true: the Reedy Creek Improvement District is an extension of Disney that shields the company from oversight others have. The theme park operator taxes itself and gives itself permission to build whatever, wherever so long as it follows building codes and other state and federal laws.
What Reedy Creek isn’t is a replacement for the counties it exists in. Disney still pays the same property taxes levied by the government and the school district that every other landowner pays. Orange County, for example, collected $40 million from the House of Mouse in 2021, Tax Collector Scott Randolph (D) said.
So, how does Reedy Creek operate its own fire and sewer departments? The special tax district status allows Disney to levy an additional tax on itself to pay for those services. The tax, amounting to $105 million per year, is illegal anywhere else in the county, along with the additional $58 million per year the company taxes itself to pay off Reedy Creek’s bond debt.
When the district is dismantled on June 1, 2023, Orange County will begin paying for those services and paying off the debt, without that special status in place.
“The moment that Reedy Creek doesn’t exist is the moment that that those taxes don’t exist,” Randolph said. “Orange County can’t just slap a new taxing district onto that area and recoup the money that was lost.”
Effectively, Disney’s loss of control also hands it a $163 million per year tax break. If the entire state of Florida was responsible for covering the hole, each taxpayer would have to cough up roughly $7.50.
However, this burden will not be shared equally. Despite zero debate or public comment, and the near-total opposition of Central Florida’s delegation to this maneuver, Orange and Osceola County taxpayers will shoulder the hit alone, leaving both counties staring at financial ruin.
Salvaging the budgets won’t be pretty. State law prevents the counties from raising sales taxes or impact fees to cover the costs. They also must tax all areas of the county equally, meaning whatever they enact must apply to everyone.
That leaves one avenue: property taxes, of which Orange County collects approximately $600 million per year right now.
“I don’t see how Orange County doesn’t raise property taxes by 20% to 25%,” Randolph said. “That’s what [the county] would probably have to do to cover this financial situation.”
Normally, such a move would be a political poison pill in an election year and go against the typical Republican promise to never raise taxes.
Most people expect the legislature to backtrack on their plans in January, paring down some of Disney’s unnecessary powers while maintaining Reedy Creek’s taxing abilities, which would solve legitimately held complaints about the district’s broad abilities while preventing the worst effects of this past week.
However, Randolph said some damage was already done. For one, county and Disney staff will spend the next nine months or more meeting to discuss how to dissolve the district and transfer responsibility to the counties.
The second effect: making businesses think twice about moving jobs to Florida, knowing the state could change the rules overnight if an executive has a different opinion than a politician.
“They’re dissolving something the size of the city of Orlando in 72 hours,” Randolph said. “This is not the way to run a state.”
https://www.wftv.com/news/local/end-reedy-creek-disney-wont-pay-more-taxes-you-will/3TK6ASNJT5EXHICW3DQ3ZHEZYA/
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New poll from Navigator.
7 in 10 Americans support President Biden's and Democrats’ new economic plan that will lower health care costs, expand Medicare, and other popular initiatives.
Republicans in Congress must pass the agenda the overwhelming majority of the American population wants.
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GOP official threatened elections clerk — over 450 days after Biden was sworn-in
An illegal effort to audit voting machines in North Carolina was revealed on Saturday in a bombshell new report.
"A local Republican Party leader in North Carolina threatened to get a county elections director fired or have her pay cut unless she helped him gain illegal access to voting equipment, the state elections board told Reuters. The party official, William Keith Senter, sought evidence to support false conspiracy theories alleging the 2020 election was rigged against former U.S. President Donald Trump," the wire service reported Saturday.
Reuters identified Senter as chair of the Surry County Republican Party. His threats were directed at the county's selections director, Michella Huff.
"Senter was 'aggressive, threatening, and hostile,' in two meetings with Huff, the state elections board said, citing witness accounts," Reuters reported. "Huff, who refused Senter's demands, was disturbed by the incident of political intimidation. Such threats have become common nationwide since the 2020 election. Reuters has documented more than 900 threatening or hostile messages aimed at election officials in a series of investigative reports."
Huff is a former Republican now registered as an independent.
"Senter's demands are a potential violation of state law. In a legal memo responding to community calls for a "forensic audit" of voting machines, Mark Payne, an attorney retained by the Surry County Board of Elections, wrote this week that it was illegal to provide access to voting machines to unauthorized individuals. Anyone threatens or intimidates an election officer could also face felony charges, according to a state statute," Reuters reported. "Senter and a prominent pro-Trump election conspiracist, Douglas Frank, met with Huff on March 28, claiming 'there was a 'chip' in the voting machines that pinged a cellular phone tower on Nov. 3, 2020, and somehow influenced election results," the state election board said, calling the claim 'fabricated disinformation.'"
The March 28 meeting occurred 458 days after Joe Biden was sworn in as president.
"Exactly how Senter planned to retaliate against Huff remains unclear. He claimed to have the backing of Surry County commissioners, all five of whom are Republican, to take action against her. But neither Senter nor the commission has any official power over her job, which rests with the state election board. The state board has three Democratic members and two Republican members," Reuters noted.
Read the full report here: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-local-election-chief-threatened-by-republican-leader-seeking-illegal-2022-04-23/
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Biden trashes GOP for attacking Disney over ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law: ‘Christ, they’re going after Mickey Mouse’
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President Joe Biden is giving lots of love to Mickey Mouse while trashing the GOP at the same time.
The president told a Democratic fundraiser that the Republican Party has swung so far to the right that it’s even attacking Disney because the family-friendly media company stood up for LGBTQ rights.
“This is not your father’s Republican Party,” Biden said at a Seattle fundraiser Thursday night. The White House released a transcript Friday. “The far-right has taken over the party.”
“It’s not even conservative in a traditional sense of conservatism. It’s mean, it’s ugly,” he said. “Look at what’s happening in Florida: Christ, they’re going after Mickey Mouse.”
Biden was referring to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to retaliate against Disney, the biggest employer in the state, for the company’s opposition to his so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law that allows schools to restrict discussion of gender identity and se*uality.
Stung by the stand by the firm known in its Orlando home base as The Mouse, DeSantis is pushing to revoke a state edict passed in 1967 that effectively lets Disney run and fund its own local government.
“There’s nothing conservative about deciding you’re going to throw Disney out of its present posture because ... you think we should not be able to say, you know, ‘gay,’” he said.
Riling up big Democratic donors, Biden told a later event in Portland that he thinks the party could flip two Republican-held Senate seats in the midterms.
He said the GOP was shooting itself in the foot by putting its radical conservative base ahead of the moderate voters that determine elections.
“This is a MAGA party now,” he said. “These guys are a different breed of cat.”
© New York Daily News
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Rating agency issues warning after DeSantis signs bill retaliating against Disney in Orlando
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill dissolving a special tax district in Orlando that governs the sprawling Disney World resort — the same day a leading credit agency warned of the risks of the bill.
The special tax district, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, has controlled 25,000 acres in Orange and Osceola counties.
KOMO-TV News reported, "During a bill-signing ceremony Friday in Hialeah Gardens, DeSantis acknowledged that the measures were aimed at punishing Disney for defying him on the education bill, which was formally titled the 'Parental Rights in Education Act' but was dubbed by opponents as the 'don’t say gay' bill."
Florida has been a leader on the GOP's attacks on LGBTQ equality — which some Republicans think will backfire on the party.
"If it is dissolved, the Reedy Creek district’s debt obligations, revenues and responsibilities would be transferred to Osceola and Orange counties and the small cities of Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake. The legislative action prompted credit-rating agency Fitch Ratings on Friday to place a “rating watch negative” on about $1 billion in outstanding district debt," KOMO reported. "The Fitch alert, issued before DeSantis signed the bill later in the day, did not lower the district’s bond ratings but cautioned investors about future actions."
Rating agency gives a 'rating watch negative' as DeSantis signs Disney bill
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WPEC) — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a bill aimed at dissolving a special taxing district that has granted Walt Disney World unique self-governing powers for more than five decades, even as a leading bond-rating agency cautioned investors about the proposed changes.
The bill (SB 4-C) targets the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which encompasses about 25,000 acres in Orange and Osceola counties on property in and around the “most magical place on earth.” The district has authority over issues such as land use and provides traditional functions of government, including fire protection and wastewater services.
DeSantis, who is seeking re-election and is widely mentioned as a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, came out swinging against Disney — one of the state’s largest employers and a major tourism draw — after the company vowed to fight a controversial law restricting education on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.
The governor added two Disney-related measures to a special session this week on congressional redistricting. The Republican-controlled Legislature quickly took up the bills and passed them.
During a bill-signing ceremony Friday in Hialeah Gardens, DeSantis acknowledged that the measures were aimed at punishing Disney for defying him on the education bill, which was formally titled the “Parental Rights in Education Act” but was dubbed by opponents as the “don’t say gay” bill.
The measure affects the Reedy Creek district and five smaller special districts: the Bradford County Development Authority, the Sunshine Water Control District in Broward County, the Eastpoint Water and Sewer District in Franklin County, the Hamilton County Development Authority and the Marion County Law Library.
The law would dissolve the districts on June 1, 2023, though it would allow the Legislature to re-establish the districts before then.
If it is dissolved, the Reedy Creek district’s debt obligations, revenues and responsibilities would be transferred to Osceola and Orange counties and the small cities of Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake.
The legislative action prompted credit-rating agency Fitch Ratings on Friday to place a “rating watch negative” on about $1 billion in outstanding district debt.
The district has about $79 million in outstanding utilities revenue and refunding bonds and approximately $766 million in outstanding ad valorem tax bonds, according to an alert issued by Fitch. The district’s various debt ratings range from A to AA-, Fitch said.
“The negative watch indicates the ratings could stay at their present levels or potentially be downgraded,” Fitch said.
The negative watch “reflects the lack of clarity regarding the allocation” of the district’s assets and liabilities, “including the administration of revenues pledged to approximately $1 billion in outstanding debt,” following the dissolution of the district, Fitch said.
Fitch said the debt is expected to be transferred to Orange County and, to a lesser extent, Osceola County.
“Fitch believes the mechanics of implementation will be complicated, increasing the probability of negative rating action,” the agency said.
The Fitch alert, issued before DeSantis signed the bill later in the day, did not lower the district’s bond ratings but cautioned investors about future actions.
The message also touched on what is known as ESG, or environmental, social, and governance principles, which the agency ranks on a scale of one to five. Scores of one or two indicate “no impact on the credit score rating;” a score of three reflects minimal risk; and scores of four and five “indicate that the ESG risk is either an emerging risk or a contributing factor to the credit decision,” according to Fitch’s website.
Fitch revised the Reedy Creek district’s “general government” score on “rule of law, institutional & regulatory quality, control of corruption” from three to five “to reflect state actions to dissolve the district, which points to a substantially reduced degree of independence from political pressure,” the agency said.
“These actions potentially diminish government effectiveness and could prove harmful to bondholders, which has a negative impact on the credit profile and is highly relevant to the Negative Watch action,” Fitch said.
Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings Agency on Friday did not issue a warning about the Reedy Creek district but acknowledged the district’s pending dissolution.
The legislation did not lay out a plan for exactly how the district’s debt obligations would be transferred.
During debate on the measure this week, Democrats warned that taxpayers in Central Florida could be on the hook to pick up the tab for the outstanding debt as well as utilities and other services.
Rep. Andrew Learned, D-Brandon, told The News Service of Florida that Fitch’s warning translates into “real world consequences” for DeSantis and Republican lawmakers’ culture wars. He noted that the credit-agency warning came even before the district is dissolved.
“That’s the main takeaway. We are all going to pay more now, just because of the threat. Nothing even has to change. Just the threat of it changing is going to raise prices and affect bond ratings. And that’s what’s happening,” Learned said.
But DeSantis brushed off such concerns Friday.
“We’re going to take care of all that. Don’t worry. We have everything thought out. Don’t let anyone tell you that somehow Disney is going to get a tax cut out of this. They’re going to pay more taxes as a result of that,” he said.
DeSantis on Friday also signed a separate bill targeting Disney that will remove an exemption for theme parks that was placed in a 2021 law seeking to punish social-media platforms that strip users from platforms or flag users’ posts.
A federal judge last year issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law from being enforced, saying it was “riddled with imprecision and ambiguity.”
An Atlanta-based appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments Thursday in the state’s appeal of U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle’s decision.
https://komonews.com/news/nation-world/rating-agency-wary-as-desantis-signs-disney-bill-reedy-creek-improvement-district-orange-and-osceola-counties-legislature-parental-rights-in-education-act-credit-agency-tax-cuts-social-media-platforms-dubbed-by-critics-as-dont-say-gay-bill
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Well, the phony right wing standard attack against President Biden and Democrats has been debunked by failed Texas Governor Greg Abbott himself with his extremely costly political stunt. These right wingers constantly lie about migrants and drugs pouring over the border at record rates but not one migrant or drug was found during Abbott's bogus truck inspections right at the border. Which proves their "border crisis" talking point is nothing but one big fat giant lie. All Abbott did was allow $240 million dollars of produce to spoil for no reason and this farce cost Texas $4.2 Billion....not million but billion. We will now have supply chain problems and inflation due to this ridiculous Abbott stunt so he is directly to blame for this. This clown is up for re-election in November so hopefully people in Texas will get angry enough to vote this idiot out who just cost his state $4.2 Billion in damages plus Texas residents will now be paying through the nose for fruits and vegetables.
Gov. Greg Abbott truck inspections turned up zero drugs, migrants but cost Texas $4.2 billion
The costly policy, which experts estimate cost hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of a single week, did not result in any migrant detentions or illegal substance seizures.
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Gov. Greg Abbott increasing inspections of commercial trucks entering from Mexico in the hopes of staunching illegal smuggling activity resulted in zero migrants detentions or illegal drug seizures, despite allegedly costing the Lone Star State billions of dollars.
Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller stated in an email to supporters this week that the enhanced truck inspections cost Texas consumers and businesses an estimated $4.3 billion "despite not catching a single illegal alien or confiscating a single gram of illegal drugs."
"However, Governor Abbott successfully persuaded Mexico states to enhance security on their side of the border," Miller added. "Both of these things are true at the same time."
The Texas Tribune reports that over an eight-day period beginning on April 8, troopers conducted more than 1,400 truck inspections. Despite no drugs being discovered, troopers managed to take 850 trucks off the road for various equipment violations, including under-inflated tires, broken turn signals and oil leaks.
The inspections also created a backlog of 18-wheelers on both sides of the border, with some truckers reporting waiting more than 30 hours for a process that typically takes three hours, according to the Dallas Morning News. The delays resulted in $240 million in spoiled produce and empty shelves at local markets.
Miller's estimate roughly coincides with findings released by The Perryman Group, a Waco-based economic analysis firm, which estimates the delays cost the state $4.2 billion in gross domestic product and the U.S. nearly $9 billion in GDP.
Abbott ordered the enhanced truck inspections in response to President Joe Biden ending Title 42, a border policy that allowed federal agents to quickly deport migrants attempting to enter the country citing COVID-19 restrictions. Last week, the Republican leader called off the inspection initiative after signing agreements with leaders of four Mexican states that border Texas who said they would increase border security measures.
Despite the economic impacts of shutting down traffic at the border, Abbott isn't ruling out reinstating the policy. Asked about the impacts during a roundtable with law enforcement in San Antonio Thursday, Abbott responded, "Obviously there are concerns about the economy but there are even larger concerns about the unabated immigration that the Biden administration is promoting."
https://www.lmtonline.com/politics/article/Border-inspections-law-Abbott-policy-migrants-cost-17119380.php
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President Biden
@POTUS
"Our recovery has now created 7.9 million jobs — more jobs created over the first 14 months of any presidency ever.
Unemployment is at 3.6% — down from 6.4% when I took office. That’s the fastest decline in unemployment to start a President’s term ever recorded.
Last year, we cut the deficit by more than $350 billion. And this year, we’re on track to cut the deficit by more than $1.3 trillion — the largest one-year reduction in the deficit in U.S. history."
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1517233853395611650
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Blunt is lying. The job of a Senator is to either convict or acquit in an impeachment trial. And also, it was Mitch McConnell and the Republicans who purposely delayed the trial until Criminal Donald left office in disgrace. They did that on purpose so they had an excuse not to convict Donnie for insurrection claiming "he is no longer in power" and its "unconstitutional" to convict a former president. The GOP purposely let a treasonous criminal off the hook.
Mitch McConnell proposes delaying Trump's impeachment trial
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/21/mitch-mcconnell-trump-impeachment-senate-trial-delay
Mitch McConnell Delayed Trump’s Impeachment Trial. Now He Says the Delay Makes It Unconstitutional.
The Senate GOP leader will not hold Trump accountable for incitement.
https://www.motherjones.com/mojo-wire/2021/02/mitch-mcconnell-delayed-trumps-impeachment-trial-now-he-says-the-delay-makes-it-unconstitutional/
McConnell rejects emergency session for Trump impeachment trial, making delay until Biden presidency all but certain
https://www.8newsnow.com/news/politics/mcconnell-rejects-emergency-session-for-trump-impeachment-trial-making-delay-until-biden-presidency-all-but-certain/
'Not my job': GOP Sen. Roy Blunt defends his vote against convicting Trump for Jan. 6
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Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) explained on Sunday that he did not vote to convict former President Donald Trump over the Jan. 6 riot because it wasn't his "job."
During an interview on Meet the Press, guest host Kristen Welker asked Blunt if he could confirm reports that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called Trump's actions "impeachable."
"I never heard anything like that," Blunt insisted. "At the end of the day, he didn't vote for impeachment. And you know, the Democrats were trying to impeach somebody that was already out of office. I think my view has been, if President Trump did anything that was illegal, there's a process for that but you don't remove people from office who are already out of office."
Welker wondered if Blunt's "gut reaction" was to convict Trump.
"No," Blunt stated.
"You never considered convicting former President Trump?" Welker pressed.
"It's not my job," Blunt replied. "What I've said about that, whether it was President Trump or the people who inappropriately attacked the Capitol, anybody who committed a crime there, planned a crime or committed a crime, there is a process for that. And I'm not suggesting that President Trump did either of those things. But there's a process for that and it's not a political process. It's a judicial and legal process."
Watch the video below from NBC.
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The real reason today’s Republican Party hates corporations like Disney
A stunning move by America's third-largest state against free speech is deeply tied to the far right's crusade to destroy U.S. education.
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It’s kind of a shame that one of the great myths of my baby boomer childhood — that the late Walt Disney had frozen himself so he could spring back to life, Sleeping Beauty-like, after humankind had cured cancer — turned out to be an urban myth. Because these days ol’ Walt would probably be spinning so fast he’d be melting up the cryogenics lab, if he only knew what his former best friends in the GOP were saying about his beloved business empire.
To say that the original Disney was an icon of 20th-century blood sport capitalism is like saying Michael Jordan was a good basketball player. At the dawn of the Cold War in 1947, the cartoonist-turned-entrepreneur proved his anti-communist bona fides by naming names before the notorious House Un-American Affairs Committee (HUAC), even though the alleged “reds” whose lives were ruined by Disney were just workers who wanted to unionize his studio.
So how crazy was it this week to see a leader of today’s extreme-right, anti-democratic Republican Party, Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs — still a member of Congress despite his involvement in a 2021 coup against the U.S. government — tweeting a picture of the Disney company logo with the “D” replaced by the hammer-and-sickle of the USSR? Or, much more important, to see the governor and lawmakers of America’s third-largest state enact a law that explicitly punishes Disney for criticizing the government, a nuclear-level violation of the First Amendment?
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The new law signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis late last week strips Disney of the ability the state granted the firm in the late 1960s to self-govern its massive Orlando-area theme parks, with uncertain but expected to be massive economic consequences — a measure DeSantis and other Republicans unambiguously linked to the Disney stance on an earlier bill about not raising LGBTQ+ issues in a grade-school classroom.
The punitive move — whether or not it’s constitutional, and I’d argue it’s not — makes a mockery of right-wing wailing about “free speech” and “cancel culture.” It’s also inspired a growing mob of QAnon types — taking their cues from elected officials who know better — to accuse decent folks who work for Disney of serving as pedophilic “groomers” of young children, first online and then in mobs outside Walt Disney World. Surely innocent people will get hurt.
I don’t mean to give short shrift to the First Amendment issues raised by Florida’s all-out assault on one of the state’s largest employers — especially since my livelihood and passions as a journalist depend on continuing America’s imperfect traditions of free speech, and a free press. That part of the story was summarized pretty succinctly by Ian Millhiser writing for Vox: “Florida’s decision to strip a government benefit from Disney because, in DeSantis’s words, Disney expressed ‘woke’ opinions and ‘tried to attack me to advance their woke agenda,’ is unconstitutional. And it’s not a close case.” I sure hope our Trumped-up federal courts agree.
But it’s also important to put the move in a much broader context. For starters, the Disney attack is just the latest and most forceful salvo in a wider Republican war against what they’ve branded as “woke corporations.” These are big firms where socially conscious branding has evolved — with a push from their younger, college-educated workforce, accelerated during 2020′s George Floyd protests — into stands on issues like transgender rights or voter suppression that are typically at odds with today’s GOP.
But a place like DeSantis’ Florida, which has become a kind of laboratory for the mad science of post-Trump neo-fascism, isn’t only attacking so-called woke corporations like Disney with the heavy, blunt object of punishing their free speech. Republicans pushing dark censorship in the so-called Sunshine State also want to pull up the very roots of “woke corporations” — which is any schooling that might have taught these people to embrace diversity and fairness in the first place. At the risk of verbally sinking to their crude level, DeSantis seems to be “grooming” Florida’s kids ... to be stupid.
There is too much irony here to bear. For most of the last half-century, Republicans and their handpicked judges have invested greatly in the idea that corporations like Disney have the full rights of personhood, which includes First Amendment free speech rights — because that’s what got you to unlimited corporate campaign donations. Conservatives never anticipated the blowback of corporations using free speech to undermine their political agenda. As a result, right wingers in the 2020s don’t just suddenly hate “woke corporations” but other institutions they also used to revere, like the “woke military” or the “woke CIA.”
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/desantis-disney-republican-war-corporations-20220424.html
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The Biden Boom
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One of the most corrupt Senators in office is Joe Manchin who makes millions in big coal which is why he is blocking important legislation from being passed in the Senate.
Manchin Bailed Out Plant That Pays Millions to His Family’s Coal Company
Here's how Joe Manchin made his millions in the waste coal industry.
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In the late 1980s, Joe Manchin was a West Virginia state senator with a part-time salary from the legislature and a failing carpet business.
According to a 2014 lawsuit filed by Joe’s brother, Dr. John Manchin II, the Manchin Carpet Center, which Joe had started years before with their brother Roch, required funding and a loan guarantor to avoid bankruptcy.
To bail his brothers out, John Manchin’s suit claims he provided more than $1.7 million to pay off their debt in exchange for becoming a partner in their company Manchin Brothers and a one-third stake in the brothers’ next venture: a coal reserves and brokerage business.
The Manchins had agreed that John would be repaid in full out of proceeds from the coal business, his breach of contract suit states, but what happened instead led to a decades-long rift. The suit claims that Joe and Roch Manchin, out of hot water, soon sold off the carpet company, then quietly dissolved Manchin Brothers and transferred its remaining funds and assets to Manchin Enterprises, controlled by Joe and his son Joseph Manchin IV.
Documents John Manchin submitted to the court include a July 2012 repayment agreement that appears to be signed by Joe and Roch, as well as a surprising bit of evidence: a letter on U.S. Senate letterhead from the chief counsel to Joe Manchin, by then a U.S. senator, regarding a “Funds Sharing Agreement” to sign.
According to the agreement, the three brothers would split money from a proposed power plant in Greene County, Pennsylvania, being developed by Wellington Development. But Dr. Manchin determined that Joe had no interest in Wellington and hadn’t received any payments from it and declined to sign the agreement or, initially, to drop his lawsuit.
Joe Manchin would not comment on the dispute, calling it a “family matter,” and Dr. John Manchin dropped the lawsuit against his brothers in June of 2015.
Joe and Roch Manchin’s businesses in the late 1980s and early 1990s included the carpet store, real estate, and some fledgling plays in the area’s coal industry. One of the entities Joe Manchin founded in 1987 was the mining services company Transcom, later reorganized to be Farmington Resources, named after the family’s hometown in coal country. Joe Manchin continues to hold up to $500,000 in assets in the company, according to his most recent financial disclosure.
But it was the coal brokerage he co-founded in 1988, Enersystems, that has provided the vast majority of Joe Manchin’s outside income since becoming a U.S. senator: over $5.2 million in total, including nearly half a million dollars last year. While he serves as chair of the Senate Energy Committee, Manchin reports that his stake in his family coal company, which has a fuel agreement with the waste coal-fired power plant in Grant Town, West Virginia, is worth up to $5 million.
Enersystems, now run by Joseph Manchin IV, has virtually no online presence and is inaccurately tagged as “permanently closed” in its Google Maps listing. Its registered address is in the Manchin Professional Building plaza in Fairmont, West Virginia, where it is located along with the Manchin Law Group, a firm founded by Joe’s cousin Timothy Manchin.
From public records, interviews with individuals in the West Virginia coal industry, and reports from environmental advocates, a clearer picture emerges of how Enersystems grew to send millions of dollars in income to Sen. Manchin, who is now worth an estimated $7.6 million and entertains lawmakers on his D.C. houseboat—and holds a crucial vote over the climate policies and voting access bills up for consideration this month in Congress.
For this story, Sludge sought comments from Sen. Manchin’s office and Joseph Manchin IV at Enersystems, among others detailed below, and received no response to multiple inquiries.
Millions as a Waste Coal Middleman
Enersystems was incorporated on Oct. 20, 1988 by Roch Manchin with Joe Manchin as president, secretary, and treasurer. While the private company does not make its financial information public, it has filed annual reports with the West Virginia Secretary of State for most years since 2000.
At the time, the Manchins’ home county of Marion was gearing up for the construction of an 80 megawatt waste coal-fired facility proposed by American Bituminous Power Partners LP (AmBit) and approved by regulators to provide power to electric utility Monongahela Power Company (Mon Power). In 1990, construction on the approximately $185 million Grant Town Power Plant commenced at the former site of the Federal #1 mine.
Through decades of mining activity, piles of waste coal—referred to as “gob” in West Virginia—had accumulated around former mining sites. The Grant Town Power Plant consumes around 565,000 tons of waste coal annually, and records from the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) show that Enersystems has held a waste coal handling agreement with AmBit since at least 1999 and a waste fuel services agreement since at least 2013.
According to a PSC transcript from 2017 of the cross-examination of witness John Mustonen, a consultant for AmBit on the Grant Town Power Plant operations, Enersystems performs virtually all of the plant’s operating and maintenance functions. Mustonen confirmed that project labor costs at the Grant Town facility were $1 million a year higher than those of six comparable plants, but he testified that the higher costs were justified by savings on overall operations and maintenance. Two AmBit employees did not respond to requests for comment on the breakdown of costs in Enersystems’ waste fuel services agreement, which the PSC labeled as confidential. In 2017, according to court records from the PSC, the price of waste coal from the Barrackville refuse pile, where Enersystems sourced its fuel, was nearly $16 per ton, with hauling costs at $3.50 per ton and handling costs at $2.50 per ton.
Due to the low quality of the waste coal burned there, the Grant Town Power Plant produces more sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide per unit of energy output than any other coal plant in the state, according to 2018 calculations from Jim Kotcon of the West Virginia Sierra Club. The federal government effectively subsidized the construction of waste coal-burning plants with the passage of Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), mandating that local utilities buy the electricity generated at above-market rates, attempting to create jobs while reducing the environmental blight of gob piles.
“The issue is that burning the gob creates pollution from the plant,” the chapter’s conservation chair Kotcon told Sludge. “Add in the greenhouse gas emissions and increasing price competition from renewables, and we conclude that a land reclamation approach is preferable to burning the gob.”
While a state senator in the 1990’s, Manchin was periodically invited to submit regulatory comments to the PSC on behalf of Enersystems. By 1994, Manchin had become state chair of the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and a national director of the secretive group, which crafts model bills that benefit corporate interests such as its fossil fuel industry members. In 2000, when he was elected Secretary of State, Manchin handed the operation of Enersystems to his son Joseph, and after being elected governor in 2004, said he put his investments in a blind trust.
Rescues for AmBit and Waste Coal
As governor, Manchin allied with the coal industry by moving the state’s Department of Environmental Protection from enforcement toward what he called “compliance assistance,” effectively removing deterrents for pollution from mining. Over three campaigns for statewide office, he raised nearly $330,000 from businesses, unions, and individuals in the mining industry, putting mining interests among his top career donors, according to the National Institute on Money in Politics. His campaigns in 2000, 2004, and 2008 also brought in nearly $30,000 in donations from the electric utility industry.
In 2006, Enersystems’ business partner AmBit represented to the PSC that it was in financial distress and would be forced to discontinue operations at Grant Town unless its revenue was increased. Unlike a petition a decade earlier, Mon Power joined the petition, and the PSC, under Manchin, approved three amendments to the agreement between the companies that benefited AmBit: an increase in the rate it was paid by Mon Power, from $27.25 to $34.25 per megawatt-hour; an extension of its agreement from the original 2028 until 2036; and deferment of some repayments. Though Gov. Manchin held his Enersystems stake in a blind trust, the rescue of the Grant Town coal plant by the PSC, whose commissioners are appointed by the governor with the approval of the State Senate, likely saved his company’s contract there.
Mon Power, in turn, was authorized by the PSC to pass on the higher costs set by the 2006 amendments to West Virginia ratepayers. According to watchdog group Energy Efficient West Virginia, Mon Power customers saw their rates increase by 30% from 2008 to 2011.
In 2009, then-Gov. Manchin directed the West Virginia House speaker to introduce the Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Act, later signing it into law. The bill requires the state’s power companies to produce a certain portion of electricity from renewable or alternative fuels, but it defined alternative fuels to include many sources of greenhouse gas pollution, specifically stating that waste coal would qualify.
‘Friends of Coal’
Manchin was first elected to the U.S. Senate in the Nov. 2010 special election to fill the seat of Robert Byrd. Just under a month before the election, which Manchin won with over 53% of the almost 530,000 votes cast, he announced the state would sue the Environmental Protection Agency to defend the coal mining industry’s mountaintop-removal practices. Also in Oct. 2010, Manchin appeared at a rally of Friends of Coal, an industry-created nonprofit advocacy group, to pledge his support.
Manchin’s favors for the coal industry as West Virginia governor didn’t just benefit Enersystems’ business partners—those around him also cashed in on their connections to the industry. When Manchin moved to D.C., his longtime chief of staff Larry Puccio, who had been with him from the Secretary of State’s office to the Governor’s Mansion, started lobbying for businesses including the Virginia-based Southern Coal Corporation. Puccio was also elected chairman of the West Virginia Democratic Party, and in 2015 stepped down from that role to become chairman of Manchin’s leadership PAC, Country Roads PAC. As of 2014, Puccio’s lobbying practice had Mon Power owner FirstEnergy as a client, and state ethics records show that Puccio has remained registered to lobby for FirstEnergy since 2017. FirstEnergy’s PAC has donated $35,000 to Country Roads PAC since the 2009-2010 election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission records, with more donations coming in to the PAC from American Electric Power, Dominion Energy, and trade group Edison Electric Institute.
By 2015, the Grant Town coal-fired plant needed another rescue, and the PSC allowed the higher rate of payment set to expire in 2017 to stay in place, sending $4.6 million more annually to AmBit. The West Virginia Sierra Club and other groups have been battling the PSC’s bailout, arguing that the agency should prioritize investments in renewable energy over the polluting coal-burning plant, and noting that between 2013 and 2016, payments to Grant Town exceeded the market price of power by over $56 million.
Bailing out money-losing coal plants like Grant Town has proven costly for state ratepayers, according to Emmett Pepper, policy director for Energy Efficient West Virginia. Pepper submitted testimony to the PSC in utilities cases with findings that from 2009 to 2018, the amount the average household pays for its residential electric bills increased from 2.8% to 3.4% of its median income—currently standing a full percentage point higher than households in Ohio, Pennsylvania, or the United States average. “Our position is that Mon Power and others should have energy efficiency programs to help ratepayers take control of their own energy bills and reduce costs,” Pepper said.
Just this week, the PSC approved the coal-fired Mitchell Plant in West Virginia to continue operations until at least 2040. A recent report from the International Energy Agency found that extraction of fossil fuels including goal and natural gas must immediately cease, and that advanced economies must zero out emissions from polluting power plants as soon as 2035, in order for the planet to avoid the worst effects of catastrophic climate degradation.
https://readsludge.com/2021/08/06/manchin-bailed-out-plant-that-pays-millions-to-his-familys-coal-company/
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Madison Cawthorn called out for 'lying' in new ad funded by Republican senator's super PAC
A super PAC associated with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. accused Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., of "lying" about his past in a new political ad released just last week.
"Madison Cawthorn lied about being accepted to the Naval Academy to get elected," the 30-second spot, first reported by Axios, narrated. "Now, Cawthorn's been caught lying about conservatives. In perpetual pursuit of celebrity, Cawthorn will lie about anything."
"An attention-seeking embarrassment, Cawthorn's antics help him but hurt us. Lying about conservatives, stolen valor, Madison Cawthorn lies for the limelight," it added.
The ad, which reportedly cost the senator $310,000, was released on YouTube last Thursday, and references a number of the freshman congressman's dubious claims about his past – most notably that he was accepted into the Naval Academy before becoming paralyzed in a 2014 car accident.
The ad also suggests Cawthorn "lied about conservatives," an apparent allusion to the congressman's recent allegations that he'd been invited to orgies by several of his GOP role models. Those remarks earned the young conservative much scorn from much of his party. Last month, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., firmly claimed that Cawthorn had "lost my trust."
Tillis has endorsed Cawthorn's primary opponent, state Sen. Chuck Edwards, who has also been backed by a number of other Republicans, including North Carolina state Sen. Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore.
"Madison Cawthorn has fallen well short of the most basic standards Western North Carolina expects from their representatives, and voters now have several well-qualified candidates to choose from who would be a significant improvement," Tillis said last month.
Last week, Cawthorn, a staunch religious conservative, took a beating over recently-surfaced photos of him wearing women's lingerie in what appeared to be a party setting. The photos were first reported by Politico.
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Exclusive: Madison Cawthorn photos reveal him wearing women’s lingerie in public setting. The embattled congressman has outraged Republican colleagues with accusations of orgies and drug use.
The Super PAC ads in Madison Cawthorn's primary have started.
"Results for NC" was formed in 2013 as a pro-Thom Tillis group. It won't have to disclose its donors this cycle until after the primary but previously received big money from Bill Foley and Reynolds American.
Watch:
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Mark Meadows is 'up to his neck' in two possible federal crimes: MSNBC legal analyst
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Speaking to MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on Monday, Los Angeles Times legal analyst Harry Litman alleged that Mark Meadows might be in deep legal trouble after the revelations over the past several days.
According to court filings that revealed testimony from Meadows's own aides, it became clear that the former chief of staff knew what they were plotting on Jan. 6 was illegal and he was warned that it could be violent.
"It was the premeditation," began Wallace. "There isn't anyone more senior than the White House chief of staff. That's it. Especially in the Trump White House. The record is clear that that person was the only adult in the room when it was a White House chief of staff and a president. What does the premeditation and knowledge of violence ahead of time mean for everyone who had that knowledge? Was in possession of the knowledge and has testified to eyewitnesses now who have testified before congress?"
Litman agreed, saying that it's clear Meadows had the knowledge.
"Meadows is in the middle of everything, however crazy, however completely half baked or quarter baked, but your point really is the right one because once we have knowledge of the violence, he is up to his neck in a potential conspiracy to obstruct the proceedings because what's the point of the violence?" asked Litman. "It's to delay or hinder and that's exactly what it did. So, for that, he's in serious hot water. And the [Justice] department, if it shows, can really put the screws to him."
He went on to say that because Meadows was also involved in the fake electors' conspiracy it could even be worse. Litman explained that there is an Office of Legal Counsel opinion that makes it clear what they were trying to do was illegal.
"That puts him in the soup for potential conspiracy against the United States," said Litman. "A slightly different crime, 371, but knowing it's unlawful and pursuing it. Though he is right in the middle of everything, however crazy, but now he's really up to his eyebrows in two potential, federal crimes. Serious federal crimes that give a lot of time. We know he's susceptible, right? He started to cooperate and backed off at the prospect of a single year in prison and there could be much, much more leverage now brought against him with these new revelations."
Watch:
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President Biden
@POTUS
With their victory last season, the Tampa Bay Lightning joined rare company: One of only eight teams over the last century to win two Stanley Cups in a row. It was great to welcome the back-to-back champions to the White House today.
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President Joe Biden honors Tampa Bay Lightning at White House for winning past 2 Stanley Cups
WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden joked that Steven Stamkos was getting old after playing in the NHL for 14 seasons, praised the Tampa Bay Lightning's vaccine efforts and otherwise avoided politics while honoring the team for winning the Stanley Cup in each of the past two seasons.
In a rare sports break amid his administration's response to Russia's war in Ukraine, the president on Monday referenced first lady Jill Biden's attendance at a vaccination event at the Lightning's home arena last year and congratulated the Lightning for winning two pandemic championships: one in an empty building in a quarantined bubble and another in a packed house at home in Tampa, Florida.
"I'm not saying that the first lady being there at your arena during the playoffs is why you won," Biden said with a smile. "But just saying that she was there during the election season, as well. She seems to show up when people win. Just something to think about."
Biden made little mention of players other than Stamkos while talking about the Lighting's back-to-back title runs, which relied heavily on Russian goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, forward Nikita Kucherov and defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. Vasilevskiy was the playoff MVP last year, and Kucherov was the top scorer in each postseason.
All three players attended the event, and Sergachev shared photos of them around the White House on social media. There were no noticeable absences, and a handful of players from the Lightning's 2020 championship team who had departed or retired even made appearances.
Just for this occasion, the team made a third trip to the nation's capital in eight months after already visiting the Washington Capitals twice this season. The Lightning flew Sunday night after playing at the Florida Panthers and were set to return home before facing the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday in one of their final games of the regular season before the playoffs begin next week.
"Pretty much everybody was on board, and everybody that could make it -- former players and stuff -- they all tried to make it here," alternate captain Ryan McDonagh said. "It's just a great tradition that we have: You become part of a championship team, you get to go to the White House and meet the president."
Despite the Lightning winning the Stanley Cup three times -- in 2004, 2020 and 2021 -- it was the organization's first time visiting a sitting president at the White House. The 2004-05 NHL lockout prevented that year's team from going, and the pandemic delayed this opportunity until nine months after the second of these back-to-back championships.
"It was a long time in the making," Stamkos said. "We weren't sure if we were going to get this opportunity, but it was certainly worth the wait."
Stamkos, who is Canadian, deferred to McDonagh, who is from Minnesota, to speak on behalf of the team at the ceremony. Players and coach Jon Cooper, who were wearing both Cup rings, were most impressed by Biden inviting them into the Oval Office to chat afterward.
"In the position he's in [being] the leader of the free world and all that stuff, he has an amazing ability to wipe that persona aside and just be a human being like he was one of our teammates," said Cooper, who is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada. "I kind of wanted to get greedy and sit down with a beer on a barstool with this guy and listen to the story of his life. You can see why he was elected president."
Biden won some more points when he praised the Tampa area for Major League Baseball's Rays reaching the World Series in 2020 and the NFL's Buccaneers winning the Super Bowl months later. He said the Lightning "may be here next year -- who knows?"
The Lightning are again among the NHL's top teams and are looking to become the first to win the Cup three years in a row since the New York Islanders dynasty in the early 1980s.
"The good thing with our group is the hunger's still there," McDonagh said. "We don't need any kind of extra motivation, but certainly this does heighten the excitement, for sure, going into the last week of the regular season and before the start of the playoffs."
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/33805225/president-joe-biden-honors-tampa-bay-lightning-white-house-winning-last-2-stanley-cups
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President Biden
@POTUS
Twelve years later, Congressional Republicans still haven’t stopped their attacks on the Affordable Care Act.
Instead of destroying it, let’s keep building on it.
Congress needs to extend lower ACA premiums, close the Medicaid coverage gap, and lower prescription drug costs.
In my State of the Union address, I announced that we would propose expanding disability and health benefits to veterans suffering from nine rare respiratory cancers.
Today, the VA is delivering on that promise and upholding our sacred obligation to care for our veterans.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1518662122997223424
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Thanks to President Biden's "American Rescue Act" states all over the country now have the necessary money for law enforcement to fight violent crime. Let's not forget that every single Republican voted against the "American Rescue Act" and they did not fund the police.
DeWine awards $3.7 million in grants to 21 Ohio law enforcement agencies to combat violent crime
Columbus police will receive nearly $414,000 and the Franklin County Sheriff's Office will receive $338,000.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine awarded more than $3.7 million to 21 law enforcement agencies across the state on Monday to help combat violence in their communities.
The Columbus Division of Police and the Franklin County Sheriff's Office are two of the agencies receiving the grant money.
Columbus police will receive nearly $414,000 and the state says the division will use the money to increase the solvability of violent crimes, including homicide and felonious assault.
The money will be used on a new digital forensics unit responsive vehicle, which will be used to quickly go to serious crime scenes to recover video evidence from local businesses, residences, community crime cameras and traffic cameras. The state says this will allow Columbus police detectives to more quickly follow up on leads.
The Franklin County Sheriff's Office is receiving nearly $338,000 of the grant money, which will go to the office's Central Ohio Violence Eradication Response Team. The group is responsible for preventing violent crimes, including murder, robbery and aggravated assault.
COVERT will also work to bring mentorship and counseling services to at-risk youth.
The money is coming from the Ohio Violent Reduction Grant Program, which was created last year to give law enforcement officials more tools to hold the small number of criminals responsible for the most violent crime in the state.
“This is just the beginning of our concentrated efforts to give local law enforcement the specific tools they need to combat crime through localized strategies,” Governor DeWine said. “There is no one-size-fits-all approach to fighting crime, and I am dedicated to helping our local agencies prevent violence using the methods they know will make the most difference in their local neighborhoods.”
The program originally launched with $8 million from the state's operating budget, but it was increased to $58 million with additional money from the American Recovery Plan.
To see a list of all 21 law enforcement agencies and how much money they are receiving, click the link below.
https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/state-awards-37-million-grant-money-21-ohio-law-enforcement-agencies-to-combat-violent-crime/530-07fa73e7-d513-4bec-890f-c00aa9eea3dd
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Biden doubles availability of COVID therapeutic pills
President Joe Biden's administration said Tuesday it is doubling the number of outlets where at-risk Americans can obtain free Covid-19 therapeutic pills.
Oral therapeutics such as Pfizer's Paxlovid pill are seen as an important new weapon in the struggle to knock out a virus that at its peak a year ago killed more than 3,000 people a day in the United States alone and disrupted economic activity around the globe.
While sharply reduced in lethality, the latest Omicron variant continues to spread and the White House hopes the growing combination of vaccinations, natural immunity and therapeutics will help Americans finally turn the corner on the pandemic.
"One of the most effective available treatments is Pfizer's oral antiviral pill, Paxlovid, which has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by about 90 percent," a senior government official told reporters.
With 20 million pill packs ordered for government purchase, they are now "in ample supply" and distribution will be ramped up from the current 20,000 locations to close to 40,000, the official said.
The pills are available in pharmacies, community health centers, hospitals, and government medical facilities, including those run by Veterans Affairs. The Food and Drug Administration cleared the medicine for use by people 12 and older who are at high risk after Covid infection.
The official said that so far, about half a million courses of antivirals had been used and that the rate is on the increase.
"I think in recent weeks, you know, I think through about a month ago, we were at around 22,000 courses, recorded as used in a week. And I think last week, we were over 55,000," the official said.
"We're trying to dramatically increase the footprint of the ways treatments are available."
The Biden administration's strategy for the long-term assault on Covid-19 -- including domestic programs and a large-scale foreign vaccine donation drive -- is at risk, however, with Congress so far deadlocked on approving more funding.
A package currently close to approval would inject $10 billion into fighting Covid-19, with half of that going to therapeutics, although none for foreign vaccine programs.
The senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was already funding to buy all the promised 20 million packs of therapeutics, but what "we're really worried about, going forward, are future treatments. And so we need funding from Congress to secure the essential needs."
© 2022 AFP
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Pro-Trump Republican running for Michigan Speaker expelled from GOP caucus
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On Tuesday, Bridge Michigan reported that Matt Maddock, a pro-Trump Michigan state representative angling to be speaker of the state House of Representatives, has been expelled from the Republican Party for violating caucus rules.
"Sources say current House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Wentworth, booted Maddock for 'violating caucus rules.' He allegedly discussed confidential caucus matters publicly, prompting his removal," reported Jonathan Oosting. "Maddock did not immediately return a voicemail seeking comment. As of Tuesday evening, the Milford lawmaker's page on the Michigan House Republican website was no longer active."
Maddock recently gained attention for proposing a bill that would force journalists involved in "fact-checking" to register with the state of Michigan and pay $1,000 in daily fines if they "mistakenly" call a politician's claim false.
According to WWMT, the decision to expel Maddock from the caucus is highly unusual.
"The last Michigan state Rep. to be removed from caucus was in 2019, when Grand Traverse Co. Republican Rep. Larry Inman was removed after being charged with bribery, extortion and lying to an FBI agent," said the report. "In 2015, Republican Rep. Cindy Gamrat of Plainwell was removed from the House Republican Caucus after being accused of breaching caucus confidentiality rules by posting on Facebook about legislation, an accusation Gamrat denied at the time."
This comes after Michigan Republicans moved to nominate hardline extremists and conspiracy theorists for statewide office at their party convention, including Matt DePerno for attorney general and Kristina Karamo for Secretary of State — both of whom have espoused Trump's "Big Lie" that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/matt-maddock-trump-favorite-ousted-michigan-gop-caucus
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Tennessee GOP operative at center of corruption scandal taken to court – by GOP attorney general
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The Republican attorney general in Tennessee is taking the one-time chief of staff to a former GOP Speaker of the state General Assembly to court for failing to comply with subpoenas in an investigation into "shadowy" political action committee, Fox 17 Nashville reports.
"Attorney General Herbert Slatery asked a Nashville judge late last week to order Cade Cothren to explain why he shouldn’t be held in contempt of court for not obeying the subpoenas in the investigation of the Faith Family Freedom Fund PAC. Cothren worked for Rep. Glen Casada before both resigned their top leadership roles in 2019 amid scandals," the network reported. "Ahead of the 2020 GOP primary election, the PAC attacked then Rep. Rick Tillis, who is the brother of North Carolina U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis. Rick Tillis lost to Republican Rep. Todd Warner, who was among those subject to FBI searches at the legislative building and other addresses in January 2021, alongside Casada, Cothren and ex-Republican Rep. Robin Smith."
Casada announced he would not seek re-election; Smith resigned and pleaded guilty to wire fraud.
"Neither Casada nor Cothren has been charged in the case, though both were referred to in Smith's charging documents as Individuals 1 and 2," the Tennessean reported. "Smith's plea deal in the case indicates federal prosecutors will recommend a lesser sentence in exchange for her cooperation in an ongoing investigation, which involved a shrouded grand jury in late March."
https://fox17.com/news/local/state-turns-to-court-after-ex-house-aide-refuses-subpoenas
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Perdue invokes Trump election lies in Georgia GOP primary
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Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue is building his campaign around Donald Trump and veering to the right as he tries to unseat Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in a May 24 GOP primary.
Perdue is trying to stitch together a coalition of Republican malcontents, emphasizing debunked election fraud claims. Critics say that's a change from the millionaire in a denim jacket who won a Senate seat in 2014.
One example of Perdue's path is his embrace of the group VoterGA, which has been protesting Georgia's election systems for years. Perdue also supports a vote on a white-majority neighborhood seceding from Atlanta.
The two candidates squared off in a debate on Sunday.
“The only reason I’m not in the United States Senate is because you caved in and gave the elections to Stacey (Abrams) and the liberal Democrats in 2020,” Perdue said.
Kemp, who denounced calls of election fraud while defending election officials, fired back at Perdue's loss in the 2020 senate race.
"Weak leaders blame everybody else for their own loss instead of themselves,” Kemp said.
Abrams is once again seeking the Democratic nomination to go against either Perdue or Kemp in November. She narrowly lost to Kemp in 2018.
Since the election defeat, Abrams has been an active voting-rights advocate, which caused many Democrats to credit her for President Joe Biden's victory in Georgia in 2020.
https://www.wcpo.com/news/national/perdue-invokes-trump-election-lies-in-georgia-gop-primary
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Rep. Madison Cawthorn caught bringing loaded gun through airport security
This was the second offense for the congressman.
Madison Cawthorn, a Republican congressman from North Carolina, was caught trying to go through security with a loaded gun at Charlotte Douglas International Airport Tuesday morning, according to multiple sources.
This was the second time the controversial congressman has been stopped trying to bring a weapon through airport security.
TSA officers spotted the gun at the checkpoint and called airport police.
Cawthorn was issued a citation for possession of a dangerous weapon on city property by Charlotte Mecklenburg police.
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He was later released, and the CMPD took possession of the firearm, which is normal procedure, police said.
Individuals can face fines up to $13,000 for a second offense, according to TSA.
The congressman's office did not immediately respond to an ABC News request for comment.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rep-madison-cawthorn-caught-bringing-loaded-gun-airport/story?id=84322678
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McCarthy said Gaetz was ‘putting people in jeopardy’ with remarks post-Jan. 6
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) aired frustration with members of his own party for making disparaging comments about GOP colleagues, saying lawmakers such as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) were “putting people in jeopardy.”
The comments, disclosed in newly released audio from The New York Times, show McCarthy frustrated by the tenor of some of those comments in the days after Jan. 6, 2021 — a feeling that appears to have faded as GOP lawmakers continue to disparage the two Republicans who sit on the committee investigating the riot.
“These members calling out other members, that stuff’s got to stop,” McCarthy can be heard saying in a Jan. 10, 2021 recording on a call with a small group of members of House GOP leadership.
“The tension is too high. The country is too crazy. I do not want to look back and think we caused something. … I don’t want to play politics with any of that,” he added.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) also called out Gaetz, with another member chiming in to say he had made comments about Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), now the vice chairwoman of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack.
“This is serious stuff. It has to stop,” he said. “It’s potentially illegal what he’s doing.”
McCarthy agreed, saying Gaetz was “putting people in jeopardy.”
“And he doesn’t need to be doing this. We saw what people would do in the Capitol, you know, and these people came prepared with rope, with everything else,” he added.
Gaetz lashed out at McCarthy and Scalise in a statement Tuesday evening, bashing them for their “sniveling calls with Liz Cheney” and that “they disparage Trump and the Republicans in Congress who fight for him.”
“This is the behavior of weak men, not leaders,” Gaetz said. “They deemed it incendiary or illegal to call Cheney and [Rep. Adam] Kinzinger ‘Anti-Trump,’ a label both proudly advertise today.”
Later in the call, McCarthy and Scalise went over “incendiary remarks” from other lawmakers, noting remarks from Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) and others who spoke at the Jan. 6 rally.
“Today is the day that American patriots start taking down names and kicking *ss,” Brooks said at the rally near the White House.
“If you think the president deserves to be impeached for his comments that almost even goes further than the president did,” McCarthy responded.
Scalise said that some members had brought up stripping Brooks of his committee assignments “in the vein of Steve King.”
McCarthy later grimaced over a tweet from Rep. Barry Moore (R-Ala.) commenting on a police shooting involving a Black police officer shooting a white female veteran.
“You know that doesn’t fit the narrative,” he tweeted, and then later deleted.
“Can’t they take their Twitter accounts away too?” McCarthy responded, a nod to Trump’s then-recent booting from the platform.
But McCarthy’s reservations in the days after Jan. 6 seem at odds with many of his actions since.
He did not take any actions to strip Republican members from their committees.
Instead it was Democrats who booted far-right Republicans from their posts, including Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) for tweeting an animated video of him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for endorsing conspiracy theories, racist dogma and violence against Democratic politicians.
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/3466595-mccarthy-said-gaetz-was-putting-people-in-jeopardy-with-remarks-post-jan-6/
After new tapes were released yesterday of Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise critical of Matt Gaetz’ behavior after Jan 6, Gaetz released a statement trashing McCarthy and Scalise last night.
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Biden Has Already Done More for Rural America Than Trump Ever Did
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/26/opinion/biden-trump-democrats-rural-america.html
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Under Donald Trump, manufacturing was in a recession due to his ineptness and failed policies. With President Biden at the helm, manufacturing is back and the industry is seeing huge job growth.
U.S. manufacturing is in a recession. What does that mean for the rest of the country?
SEPTEMBER 6, 2019
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-manufacturing-is-in-a-recession-what-about-the-rest-of-the-country/
US manufacturing plunges deeper into recession
January 3, 2020
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/03/economy/december-manufacturing-downturn/index.html
MARCH UPDATE: THE U.S. ADDED MANUFACTURING JOBS ACROSS THE COUNTRY UNDER PRESIDENT BIDEN
March 21, 2022
Under President Biden the U.S. has added 423,000 manufacturing jobs, creating manufacturing jobs across the country and in key supply-chain industries.
Notably, almost every state added manufacturing jobs in the first 11 months after President Biden came into office. By comparison, the U.S. added just 2,000 manufacturing jobs in 2019.
- Congress is moving forward on the biggest investments in American supply chains, manufacturing and innovation in modern history.
- Major companies have recently announced significant investments in American manufacturing.
- The bipartisan innovation bills passed in the Senate and House are a vital down payment on the future of the U.S. economy, creating a pipeline that begins with innovation and leads to manufacturing jobs here in the U.S.
See below for your state's manufacturing job numbers.
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It's quite interesting that the Republican Party didn't care to reprimand Madison Cawthorn when he was openly supporting insurrection and sedition, advocating violence against Democrats in his tweets and speeches, praising Hitler and showing support for Putin, having several women accusing him of harassment and assault, bringing a loaded gun to the airport.
Republicans didn't care about any of his despicable behavior up to that point, but only when Cawthorn stated that his Republican colleagues attend wild cocaine parties did they finally become outraged enough to turn on him. It's obvious that someone from the GOP leaked the photos of Cawthorn wearing women's lingerie and now his Republican colleagues are calling for investigations into his insider trading scheme. If Cawthorn said nothing about "Republican cocaine parties" then they wouldn't be going after him like this. What is the Republican Party trying to cover up in regards to "cocaine parties"?
Fellow Republican calls for investigation into Madison Cawthorn's alleged 'pump and dump' crypto scheme
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In the wake of news that North Carolina GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn may have violated insider trading laws for hyping a so-called "pump and dump" crypto scheme, North Carolina GOP Sen. Thom Tillis fired off a tweet this Wednesday calling out his fellow Republican.
"Insider trading by a member of Congress is a serious betrayal of their oath, and Congressman Cawthorn owes North Carolinians an explanation," Tillis tweeted. "There needs to be a thorough and bipartisan inquiry into the matter by the House Ethics Committee."
This Tuesday, the Washington Examiner reported that Cawthorn "posed at a party with James Koutoulas, a hedge fund manager and the ringleader of the Let’s Go Brandon cryptocurrency, a meme coin set up in the wake of the chant mocking President Joe Biden."
"LGB legends. … Tomorrow we go to the moon!" Cawthorn posted on Instagram. One day later, the value of LGBCoin shot up after NASCAR driver Brandon Brown announced his partnership with the anti-Biden cryptocurrency.
Watchdog groups told the Washington Examiner that the Instagram post indicates that Cawthorn had advanced nonpublic knowledge of the deal.
"The watchdogs said the post, combined with Cawthorn's statement that he owns LGBCoin, warrants an investigation from the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission to determine whether the lawmaker violated federal insider trading laws," the Washington Examiner reported.
Madison Cawthorn implicated in potential insider trading scheme, experts say
EXCLUSIVE — Rep. Madison Cawthorn may have violated federal insider trading laws as he hyped up an alleged pump-and-dump cryptocurrency scheme, multiple watchdog groups told the Washington Examiner.
On Dec. 29, the beleaguered North Carolina congressman posed at a party with James Koutoulas, a hedge fund manager and the ringleader of the Let's Go Brandon cryptocurrency, a meme coin set up in the wake of the chant mocking President Joe Biden.
"LGB legends. ... Tomorrow we go to the moon!" Cawthorn, who has stated publicly he owns the cryptocurrency, posted on Instagram in response to the picture posted on Koutoulas's Instagram page.
The next day, LGBCoin did exactly as the lawmaker predicted.
NASCAR driver Brandon Brown announced on Dec. 30 that the meme coin would be the primary sponsor of his 2022 season, causing LGBCoin's value to spike by 75%. Brown's statement featured comments from Koutoulas, who was pictured with Cawthorn just a few hours prior.
Multiple watchdog groups told the Washington Examiner that Cawthorn's Dec. 29 Instagram post suggests the lawmaker may have had advanced nonpublic knowledge of LGBCoin's deal with Brown. The watchdogs said the post, combined with Cawthorn's statement that he owns LGBCoin, warrants an investigation from the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission to determine whether the lawmaker violated federal insider trading laws.
"This looks really, really bad," said Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, the government affairs manager for Project on Government Oversight, a federal watchdog group. "This does look like a classic case of you got some insider information and acting on that information. And that's illegal."
"I think there's probably a strong case here," Hedtler-Gaudette added. "I don't want to prejudge, but based on everything that's out there, I think there is a very strong possibility that if someone is going to investigate this, they're going to find something."
Craig Holman, a government affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen, said if Cawthorn purchased LGBCoin before Dec. 30 with nonpublic knowledge of the cryptocurrency's pending deal with Brown, that would constitute insider trading, a federal crime that can involve prison time.
Immediately following Brown's Dec. 30 announcement, the value of all LGBCoin in circulation eclipsed $570 million. By the end of January, the market cap of the meme coin dropped to $0.
Koutoulas said in a Feb. 20 livestream that two factors led to LGBCoin's precipitous decline: First, NASCAR rejected LGBCoin's sponsorship deal with Brown on Jan. 4, and then later that month, unidentified insiders that owned an outsize share of the coin dumped all their holdings at once, causing the coin's market value to evaporate.
The swift rise and fall of the meme coin led one jilted investor to file a class-action lawsuit in April accusing Koutoulas and other LGBCoin insiders of using the digital currency to orchestrate a pump-and-dump scheme.
While Cawthorn isn't named as a defendant in the class-action lawsuit, he is identified as one of the coin's celebrity endorsers that helped Koutoulas inflate LGBCoin's market value before the rug was pulled.
Koutoulas relaunched LGBCoin in February, claiming the second iteration of the meme coin came with restrictions preventing "whales," or people with significant holdings in the coin, from offloading all their coins at once.
Since its relaunch in February, LGBCoin has traded around 95% below the peak price set in late December.
Despite the poor performance of the meme coin, Cawthorn has continued to tour the nation with Koutoulas, promote his ownership of the coin, and urge his followers to purchase the asset.
"I got Let's Go Brandon coin," Cawthorn said at the Conservative Political Action Conference, according to a video Koutoulas posted to his Instagram page in late February. "It's working out well, very well."
Cawthorn promoted the coin again with Koutoulas in March during the American Freedom Tour in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
"This is going to the moon, baby! To the moon!" Cawthorn said while pointing to an LGBCoin logo pinned to Koutoulas's suit jacket. "Letsgobrandon.com — get on the train. Get on the train. Take the power of currency away from the government."
Also in March, Cawthorn appeared with Koutolulas at Freedom Fight Night in Miami. The two were pictured inside a UFC-like arena pointing at the LGBCoin logo.
"The blood on the logo is from the guys that sold the dip," Koutoulas said on Instagram.
Cawthorn appeared at multiple events with Koutoulas before the meme coin spiked in late December.
"Incredible spending back to back nights with the affable Patriot @CawthornforNC," Koutoulas wrote in a Dec. 5 tweet with a picture of him posing with Cawthorn, who was holding a pin with the LGBCoin logo.
Koutoulas has also signaled that Cawthorn owns LGBCoin.
Both Koutoulas and the LGBCoin Twitter account retweeted a photo in early April that identified Cawthorn as a holder of the meme coin. Koutoulas also retweeted a message claiming the North Carolina lawmaker had "endorsed" the coin.
And in his Feb. 20 livestream, Koutoulas claimed that unidentified members of Congress had purchased LGBCoin.
"We've had several people who are on the America First platform, who are actually congressional candidates and/or current members of Congress that have bought with their own money, and I believe members have donated to [charities] with LGB," Koutoulas said.
Lawmakers are required to disclose if they purchase over $1,000 worth of any cryptocurrencies, but Cawthorn has not filed any disclosures indicating he owns LGBCoin.
Koutoulas said in his Feb. 20 livestream that both iterations of LGBCoin were designed so that the meme coin was not classified as security for regulatory purposes.
"It is not technically or legally possible for a decentralized meme coin that exists to promote free speech and charitable giving to be classified or treated as a security," Koutoulas told the Washington Examiner.
But Hedtler-Gaudette, the government affairs manager for POGO, said that even if LGBCoin isn't considered a security, that won't render Cawthorn immune from insider trading laws.
"No matter what, though, having advance and nonpublic information that is then used to gain advantage in a financial market (including straight up commodities) is illegal, making my call for DOJ or SEC investigation still operative in this case," Hedtler-Gaudette said.
Holman, the Public Citizen government affairs lobbyist, added that Cawthorn would need to disclose if he purchased over $1,000 of the coin — even if it isn't considered a security for regulatory purposes.
Amid his public promotion of LGBCoin, Cawthorn used his authority as a lawmaker to introduce a resolution in the House in February that would "deregulate cryptocurrencies and incentivize blockchain innovation."
While Cawthorn's proposed resolution lacked any specifics, Holman said Cawthorn could have run afoul of the STOCK Act if he introduced the measure for his own financial benefit.
"Owning cryptocurrency would be an asset subject to disclosure of a lawmaker’s annual financial disclosure form," Holman said. "It also could constitute a 'personal benefit' under the STOCK Act, making any official actions taken by Cawthorn to specifically and substantially benefit its value a violation of the STOCK Act."
Cawthorn's office did not return requests for comment.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/madison-cawthorn-implicated-in-potential-insider-trading-scheme-experts-say
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Marjorie Taylor Greene tells far-right Catholics their church is ruled by Satan
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Last Thursday, on the eve of testifying in a lawsuit that seeks to prevent her from running for re-election, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the legendary or notorious Georgia Republican, granted an hourlong interview in her home to an unlikely outlet: the far-right Catholic news organization Church Militant, which for years has positioned itself as one of the noisiest and most outlandish partisans in the Roman Catholic Church's ongoing fight with itself. Greene is an evangelical Protestant, not a Catholic, but Church Militant is making the most of this opportunity, and has featured segments of the interview all week, starting with its opening video on Monday, entitled "Marjorie for Pope."
In the interview, Greene rehashed old beefs, described herself as a victim of Jan. 6, said the United States is so sinful she doesn't understand "why God hasn't destroyed us" and — most exciting for Church Militant — suggested that Satan is controlling the Catholic Church.
That might sound like a claim that would offend most Catholics, but Church Militant is not most Catholics. Originally founded as Real Catholic TV by former CBS News producer Michael Voris in 2008 to offer a more orthodox depiction of Mother Church than is found in pop culture fare like "The Da Vinci Code," the organization grew increasingly strident and at odds with the formal church, until the Archdiocese of Detroit, where it's located, successfully blocked it from using the word "Catholic" in the outlet's name.
These days, Voris describes the website as an apostolate trying to preserve authentic Catholicism in the face of a church hierarchy he describes as an "international crime syndicate" run by a gay cabal. In his crusade against the church, Voris has launched two coalitions for what he calls "canceled" and "persecuted" priests as well as an anonymous network he calls "the New Catacombs," comprising clerics who denounce "the evil in the hierarchy."
In 2020, Church Militant pronounced itself the home of "the red-pilled laity" and became such a vitriolic supporter of Donald Trump's re-election campaign that Voris warned that a Biden presidency would result in faithful Catholics being declared "illegal" and "hunted down" and said that if any viewers considered Trump too "crass" to support, they'd better not complain when they were "herded onto the trains headed for the camps."
The Church Militant site calls itself the home of "red-pilled laity" and warned that a Biden presidency would end with Catholics "herded onto the trains headed for the camps."
After cheering on the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, last summer Church Militant brought disgraced former "alt-lite" personality Milo Yiannopoulos into the fold. He had recently declared that returning to the Catholic faith had helped him become "ex-gay" — similar to Voris, who in 2016 publicly repented for having had same-sex relationships and committed to live a "chaste" life — and that he was planning on opening a Catholic conversion therapy clinic in Florida.
After starting as a columnist, by last fall Yiannopoulos was hawking Virgin Mary icons and CDs of himself reading from the books of Psalms and Proverbs on Church Militant's home shopping channel. He even appeared on behalf of the group in a Baltimore court as Church Militant fought to hold a protest rally outside the annual gathering of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. When the protest took place last November, Yiannapoulos served as emcee, pairing jokes about gay culture with homophobic slurs as he egged on the audience to chant "Lock them up" at the bishops meeting next door.
This February, Yiannopoulos also facilitated Greene's appearance as the honored "surprise guest" at white nationalist Nick Fuentes' third America First Political Action Conference. At that gathering, Greene greeted the crowd of 1,200 white nationalists as fellow "canceled Americans," and told them they had been "handed the responsibility to fight for our Constitution and stand up for our freedoms and stop the Democrats who are the Communist Party of the United States of America." In the aftermath of that colorful event — which featured chants in support of Vladimir Putin, calls to hang political enemies, abundant "great replacement" theory and Fuentes praising Hitler — Greene defended her appearance as an effort "to break barriers and speak to a lost generation of young people" who had "gathered to declare that Christ is King."
In a tweet on Monday, Greene referenced Yiannopoulos again, seemingly in response to the news that Elon Musk had bought Twitter, calling on unseen forces to "bring back" her personal Twitter account as well as those of Trump, COVID skeptic Robert Malone, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Yiannopoulos and the entire "canceled nation." It's fair to speculate that Yiannopoulos helped facilitate Greene's interview with Church Militant as well, in which Voris praised her as "the lioness in the Congress, defender of traditional values, America, all of that," and suggested that she might become the next speaker of the House.
In the interview, MTG did what MTG does. She insulted Joe Biden, claimed that Speaker Nancy Pelosi had forbidden members of Congress from using "pronouns and family names" such as "mother" and "grandparent," recounted confrontations with fellow lawmakers and Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg, and described efforts to address the student loan debt crisis as "Satanic." Here's the logic on that one: "When people think they don't have to be responsible with their money and they can just borrow as much as they want and not have to care about giving it back, that is Satan destroying rules."
This interview was recorded just before Greene's appearance in a lawsuit challenging her eligibility to run for Congress again on the grounds that she supported the Jan. 6 insurrection. So she protested, predictably enough, that she too was "a victim" of Jan. 6, since she'd been evacuated from the House chamber as well. The lawsuit, which is unlikely to be successful, is based on a provision of the 14th Amendment, written in the aftermath of the Civil War, which holds that people who have sworn an oath to protect the Constitution and subsequently support an insurrection are barred from holding any political office in the future.
But in the interview, Greene showed herself willing to be party to another civil war: the one within the Catholic Church, which for most of the last decade has pitted conservative American Catholics against a pope they consider too liberal to be legitimate, as well as against much of the rest of the global church.
After asking Greene how she gauged the "spiritual character of the United States right now" — the question that prompted her to wonder why God hadn't destroyed America yet for its failure to end abortion — Voris guided her into issues within Catholic World, taking specific aim at the church-affiliated aid organization Catholic Relief Services, which has recently been targeted by conservative Catholics for its work to help immigrants at the southern border.
"What it is, is Satan's controlling the church," Greene responded. Catholics and other Christians who cited biblical mandates to "love one another" by taking care of migrants, she continued, were "perverting" both the meaning of the Bible and the Constitution.
Greene argued that Christians who cite the biblical mandate to "love one another" by caring for migrants and refugees are "perverting" the Bible and the Constitution.
Instead, Greene argued, the U.S. government should cut off all aid to Central American countries until they repatriate any citizens who have immigrated to the U.S. "We should hold those countries accountable. 'Oh, I'm sorry, Guatemala, you're not getting a check this year because you've sent X number of thousands and tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands and millions of people to illegally invade our country as if they're an army,'" she said. "'We won't be able to send you your foreign aid until you bring your people back."
As for the Catholic Church, she continued, "The bishops of Catholic Relief charities and services, they should be all in support of that…. If the bishops were reading the Bible and truly preaching the word of God to their flock… and not covering up child sex abuse and pedophilia, that would be loving one another, would have the true meaning and not the perversion and the twisted lie that they're making it up to be."
Greene isn't the only political figure to have visited Church Militant, despite its marginal reputation. Onetime Trump adviser Steve Bannon has been a frequent guest. Former Newsmax host Michelle Malkin, who has openly associated with white nationalists, spoke at the group's November rally in Baltimore, charging that U.S. bishops' aid to immigrants was part of their larger agenda to "destroy the historical American nation." In the fall of 2020, just weeks before the election, Trump's Federal Election Commission chair Trey Trainor talked with Voris in a lengthy interview in which he described the election as a "spiritual war." This year, Church Militant has interviewed a number of right-wing Catholic candidates for higher office, including gubernatorial candidates Dan Cox of Maryland, Ryan Kelley of Michigan and Jim Renacci of Ohio, as well as Missouri Senate candidate Mark McCloskey, who became internet-famous for waving a gun at Black Lives Matter marchers in the summer of 2020.
"What I find interesting about Church Militant's increased focus on promoting far-right politicians and influencers is that, a year and a half after the 2020 election, the alliance between reactionary Catholic media and the Republican Party seems to have only grown stronger," said Mike Lewis, founder of the website Where Peter Is, which tracks the role of the far-right within the Catholic Church.
"In a lot of ways, a significant part of the U.S. Catholic Church resembles today's Republican Party," he continued. "I think that Greene and her advisers see in this group a small but motivated segment of her base." As for Church Militant, he continued, "the benefits are obvious. When [Voris] gives attention to politicians, especially well-known figures like Greene, he raises his own profile and gets attention in the mainstream press. He's trying to expand his audience, and he's going to do that more effectively if he interviews fewer Catholic figures and more national figures."
"There used to be a genuine 'ecumenism of the barricades' among culture-war believers, like the old First Things crowd in the Richard John Neuhaus days," said David Gibson, director of Fordham University's Center on Religion and Culture, referencing the ecumenical Christian right magazine that helped cement the partnership between conservative Catholics and evangelicals. "But they were believers." Greene and Voris, by contrast, he continued, "seem to be political performers following a script more than scripture. They are so alienated from their respective faith communities it is hard to see them as evangelical Protestant or Roman Catholic. They seem to be trying to pump each other up more than pursuing some actual goal."
https://www.rawstory.com/2657223200/
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'We've heard the tapes': Billboards taunting Kevin McCarthy to 'stop lying' pop up in congressman's district
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy may have received a standing ovation from his GOP colleagues in Washington on Wednesday, but his constituents back home in California have a different picture of their representative to observe.
The Huffington Post reports that the conservative group Republican Accountability Project (RAP) has put up six billboards in McCarthy's home district to remind residents that the congressman was caught in a lie last week when he denied saying he had never considered asking former President Donald Trump to resign in the wake of the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection.
The billboards say, “We’ve heard the tapes, Kevin. Stop lying about January 6th."
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Last week, McCarthy tried to deny a New York Times report about the resignation contemplation. But just hours after he issued that denial, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow played the audio recording of him saying exactly that. The recording also captured McCarthy saying he had "had it" with Trump.
“In a focus group I recently conducted with Ohio Trump voters, no one had heard about the McCarthy tapes,” RAP executive director Sarah Longwell said in a news release. “So we’re going to jumpstart that conversation, starting in McCarthy’s district.”
The Republican Accountability Project, a group of never-Trump conservatives, has been working against GOP lawmakers who supported and enabled the former president. The organization has taken out TV spots, digital ads and billboards, and has placed McCarthy in its online “Hall of Shame.”
The billboards will be up for two weeks.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kevin-mccarthy-lying-billboards_n_626a45c0e4b04a9ff897ddf7
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President Biden
@POTUS
"Since I took office, our economy has created 7.9 million jobs and unemployment has dropped to 3.6%. It’s historic.
Our economy has gone from being on the mend to being on the move.
A vial of insulin costs drug companies $10 to make, but families pay an average of $683 a month for it. It’s ridiculous.
That’s why I’m fighting to cap the cost of this lifesaving drug at $35 a month.
I urge Congress to send a bill to my desk."
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1519041082767650818
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Rep. Eric Swalwell @RepSwalwell
"There’s no more being polite. Our children are running for their lives because Republicans block gun safety laws. Republicans are the party of mass shooters."
https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1518998201407348736
Police release statement on video of gunfire interrupting youth baseball game in N. Charleston
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A parent’s video shows children ducking for cover Monday night as gunfire erupted during a youth baseball game in North Charleston.
North Charleston Police say they are actively investigating the shooting. Police spokesman Harve Jacobs said police responded to Pepperhill Park in the 7600 block of Brandywine Road where gunshots had been reported.
A police report released Tuesday states witnesses told responding officers that a “large group” of teenagers pulled into the parking lot and began fistfighting. Witnesses then told officers the teenagers began shooting at each other before they fled in their vehicles where it appeared shots were fired from one vehicle towards another, the report states.
Mayor Keith Summey watched a citizen’s video of the children on the field during this incident, and was “appalled by what he heard and saw,” Jacobs said.
Assistant Chief Greg Gomes is shocked by the video and horrified at the events that took place, he said.
“He vehemently denounces this violence and is outraged at those responsible for putting so many innocent lives in danger,” Jacobs said.
North Charleston Police promised to investigate the incident “to the fullest extent of the law and will do everything in their power to locate and arrest the individuals involved in this heinous and reckless act.”
“We will leave no stone unturned in bringing these suspects to justice,” Jacobs said.
“Witnesses indicated that multiple vehicles pulled into the parking lot, where a physical altercation took place, followed by dozens of gunshots,” Jacobs said. “Several youth baseball games were underway when this incident occurred.This incident tonight had nothing to do with the Park, youth athletes, parents or coaches. Thankfully no injuries were reported.”
Blake Ferguson was recording the game as his son was on the pitching mound at Pepperhill Ball Field. Ferguson’s video captured the sound of multiple shots, sending children and officials running for cover. Ferguson said he heard between 50 to 75 shots and believes the gunfire happened in the parking lot.
The gunfire began at approximately 8:45 p.m., he said. Lori Ferguson said she heard the booms and initially thought someone was setting off fireworks.
“And then all of a sudden, boom, boom, and ‘Get down, everybody, get down!’ And you’re at a park. My kids are not with me directly and you just see everybody scattering,” she said. “And my son’s on the pitcher mound by himself and it was just the most traumatic thing as a mother, as a citizen of this city, that you just feel helpless. I felt completely helpless.”
After the shooting ended, Blake Ferguson said multiple parents’ vehicles had been struck by gunfire.
Lori Ferguson said police responded to the park to investigate where the shooting occurred, but said officers did not come onto the ball field to check on the families or escort them off the field.
“But nobody ever came and checked like, ‘Hey, are these kids okay?’” she said.
The incident, she said, left her children shaken, even after they were back home.
“Now, I understand we could walk down the street, something could happen. We could be at church, something can happen. One-hundred percent understand that,” she said. “My kids asked me where the police were to protect them. They didn’t want to take a shower, in our own home, because now they’re traumatized by what happened tonight.”
North Charleston to form ‘safety plan’ for city parks, playgrounds
Police planned to meet Tuesday morning with city recreation staff to formulate a safety plan “to ensure that our city’s youth can feel safe when playing on our parks and playgrounds,” Jacobs said.
“We will also make arrangements for the children, parents, coaches, and volunteers who were affected by this event are provided with the resources necessary to assist them in dealing with such a traumatic incident,” Jacobs said.
He said the police department has spoken with the Dee Norton Children’s Advocacy Center to help provide those services.
Games scheduled at the field for Tuesday will be canceled while these plans are finalized.
Video showed children taking cover as gunfire began
Watch:
https://www.live5news.com/2022/04/26/gunfire-interrupts-youth-baseball-game-north-charleston/
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Thanks to President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are set to boost green jobs and curb emissions by plugging old oil and gas wells!
U.S. to boost green jobs, curb emissions by plugging old oil and gas wells
Government sets aside $4.7 billion to stop wells leaking methane
Many abandoned well locations are unrecorded, unknown
Sealing them properly could create tens of thousands of jobs
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CLEVELAND, Ohio, April 26 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - For years, the smell of gas wafting through the grounds of the Franciscan Village senior housing facility in Cleveland was a joke among its residents, although they did not realize where the odor was coming from. A few months ago they found out.
An old gas well left unused since the 1950s had broken its clay plug, and methane and other chemical compounds were seeping out, just a few dozen feet from the three apartment buildings making up the 176-unit independent living facility.
“There were a couple of chairs back there, and I’d just sit around and read or listen to the birds, and it was beautiful. And all of a sudden, you’d go, ‘Oh my god, I’ve got to leave,’” said Susie Black, a resident for nearly eight years, recalling the nasty smell.
This year, construction at the facility uncovered the leaking well - and prompted quick action.
Curtis Shuck, chairman of the nonprofit Well Done Foundation that has been plugging the well, pointed to two nearby buildings, both just 30 feet (9 m) away.
He was squatting under a large rig that would be used to drill out the culprit: a shallow hole with an old, six-inch (15-cm) metal pipe going down perhaps as far as 2,700 feet - no one was sure, he said.
For the first time, the U.S. government is giving such old wells major attention in an effort to curb environmental pollution, reduce climate-heating emissions of methane, and create green jobs.
In November, it allocated $4.7 billion to tackle the problem of the orphan wells nationally.
This month officials released final guidance on how states could start applying for the money.
Already 26 states – almost every one with documented orphan wells – have indicated they intend to apply for the grants, according to the Interior Department.
There are tens of thousands of old wells on federal lands nationwide, and at least another 130,000 on state and private lands, according to department official Steven H. Feldgus.
But, he told a congressional hearing last month, "the actual number is probably much higher".
The full number is unknown because for decades energy companies were not required to maintain or even record where their capped wells were located.
Adam Peltz, a senior attorney with the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), said there could be up to a million in total across the country.
Government officials, green groups, oil service workers and others are now expecting a stampede of action throughout the coming decade, with implications for local economies, groundwater contamination and climate change.
A federal program to plug a half-million wells could create as many as 120,000 specialized oil and gas industry jobs, according to 2020 research from Columbia University and Resources for the Future, a think-tank.
The Well Done Foundation has already been doing this work for a few years, pioneering a funding approach that uses carbon credits linked to curbing the wells’ methane emissions.
That morning, it had received its plugging permit for the Cleveland site – a process that would probably take a small crew a week or two.
Shuck, who set up the foundation in 2019 after three decades in the oil and gas industry, wrapped a large bag around the top of the pipe and timed how long it took to quickly inflate with escaping gases.
“This one is averaging about 5,000 cubic feet per day - a lot of impact to the environment,” he explained.
Oil and gas development in the United States began in the mid-19th century in Pennsylvania, noted Peltz of the EDF, and since then about 4 million wells have been drilled.
Operators have long been required to plug wells once finished, but “the system hasn’t worked right", he added.
Most of the new federal money will now go to the known backlog of orphan wells, but some will also help track down lost wells using drones, landowner reports and more, said Peltz, who helped write the new legislation.
“These wells are everywhere, in every kind of urban, suburban and rural setting. Around 9 million people live within a mile of these documented orphaned wells,” he said.
Other funds will seek to bolster preparations for plugging the 1 million wells still active today, up to three-quarters of which are already producing low volumes, Peltz said.
Energy production is today one of the largest drivers of changing land use in the United States, said Matthew D. Moran, a biology professor at Hendrix College.
Most oil and gas wells are on private land, so companies typically lease the rights to drill, and after the wells run out, the rights revert to the owner, he said.
“In many cases, an abandoned pad might be an acre in size, and nothing is going on. It’s an abandoned piece of land, and restoring it costs money,” he explained.
Last year he and other researchers estimated it would cost about $7 billion to restore 430,000 well sites on 800,000 hectares nationally - but found the financial benefits of doing so would be about three times higher.
Factoring in harder-to-quantify effects such as rising property values and attractiveness would yield even more - altogether adding up to probably five or six times the cost, the team estimated.
“We think that’s pretty concrete and direct to the economies in these places,” Moran said. “We consider this an investment.”
WORK FOR DRILLERS
Back in Cleveland, Keith Moore was getting ready to do what his family has done for decades: drill oil and gas wells.
He has not drilled any new wells since 2014, however, with changing economics making small-scale operations unprofitable, he said.
Instead, for years, he and his crews have been doing the complicated work of plugging old wells.
“We un-drill them, that’s the best way to describe what we do,” he said, standing next to his equipment at the Franciscan Village site.
There was no formal record of the well here, said Donnald J. Heckelmoser Jr., chief executive of LSC Service Corporation, which manages the property.
“We always knew something was there, but never knew it was an orphan well,” Heckelmoser said.
Its discovery halted the construction of a new atrium that will cover the landscaped yard area, but with the capping underway, Heckelmoser felt the project was getting back on track.
As someone who oversees multiple properties and seeks to develop more affordable housing in the Cleveland area, he now knows what to do should the situation arise again.
“There’s a solution, and luckily we were able to find that,” he said.
After drilling out the well to its full depth, the hole is filled with concrete, which can take a few days to weeks, said Moore, who will do 15 to 20 such projects this year.
He recalled plugging wells in some crazy places, including a highway and a school gymnasium.
“If you took a shotgun and shot a map, that’s how many wells are left to be capped,” he said. "They’re anywhere and everywhere.”
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-boost-green-jobs-curb-emissions-by-plugging-old-oil-gas-wells-2022-04-27/
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Catholic League calls on Congress to sanction Marjorie Taylor Greene after she linked church leaders to Satan
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On Thursday, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights released a statement calling on Congress to sanction Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) for her recent statements attacking the Catholic Church.
"Greene has a history of offending African Americans and Jews, so bigotry is something that is apparently baked into her," wrote Catholic League President Bill Donohue in the letter to House Ethics Committee leaders Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Jackie Walorski (R-IN).
"The time has come for her to be either reprimanded or censured," Donohue added. "Her irresponsible behavior has already caused her to be removed from committee assignments. Accordingly, her burst of anti-Catholicism now demands stronger sanctions against her."
Greene, who has said she grew up Catholic but is now an evangelical Protestant, stirred controversy earlier this week when she claimed in an interview with Church Militant that the Catholic Church is "controlled by Satan," citing the work of Catholic charities that help immigrants in the United States, and the Church's history of covering up clergy who have committed sexual abuse of children.
"The Church is not doing its job, and it's not adhering to the teachings of Christ," she said in that interview.
The comments have drawn rebuke from other right-wing commentators, like Erick Erickson, who called Greene's attack on Catholics "inexcusable."
Greene, who has promoted QAnon conspiracy theories, was already stripped of her House committee assignments last year after the emergence of social media activity in which she appeared to endorse the killing of prominent Democratic politicians for treason.
https://www.rawstory.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-catholic-league/
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CNN's Jim Acosta throws Marjorie Taylor Greene's words back in her face during contentious exchange
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) got into a heated exchange with CNN reporter Jim Acosta after he confronted her with her past text message where she floated declaring martial law to keep former President Donald Trump in the White House.
"Did you send a text asking the president to declare martial law?" Acosta asked her as the two of them walked down the street in Washington D.C.
"You know, I don't recall those being my text messages," Greene replied.
Even though Greene couldn't say for certain whether she'd really sent the text in question, she nonetheless grew very defensive about it and accused Acosta of mischaracterizing its contents.
At issue is the fact that Acosta's initial question implied Greene directly pushed for a declaration of martial law, whereas the actual text message shows she merely floated it as a possibility.
Acosta then took out his phone and read her text aloud.
"In our private chat with only Members, several are saying the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call for Marshall law [sic]," Greene wrote on January 17, 2021. "I don’t know on those things. I just wanted you to tell him."
Acosta then tried to ask her why she would even think of bringing up martial law more than ten days after Congress legally certified the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Greene, however, flew into a rage at him.
"You're lying!" she said. "You know why people don't like you? Because you're a liar! Why do you want to lie on television!"
Watch the video at this link: https://twitter.com/i/status/1519758033294925824
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Republican Paul Gosar tweeted a meme used by neo-Nazis on Holocaust Remembrance Day
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, Republican Congressman Paul Gosar posted — and later deleted — a meme rooted in violent and racist online culture that was praised by neo-Nazis and white nationalists.
Gosar’s social media postings on Twitter and Gab featured a picture of the Prescott Republican with a red filter that is part of the meme movement known as “DarkMAGA,” an aesthetic that evokes a dystopian view of the world and pushes for former President Donald Trump and other conservatives to be more violent and hardlined with their rhetoric.
Read more here: https://www.azmirror.com/2022/04/27/on-holocaust-remembrance-day-paul-gosar-tweeted-a-meme-used-by-neo-nazis/
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Democrats Target Big Oil Companies For Price Gouging Consumers
U.S. Democrats announced legislation Thursday to punish fuel companies they accuse of unfairly raising prices at the pump.
The reforms would allow regulators to impose heavy fines on companies exploiting the war in Ukraine and a pandemic-related surge in crude prices to cash in at the expense of American motorists.
"At this time of war -- at any time -- there is no excuse for Big Oil companies to profiteer, to price gouge or exploit families," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told a news conference.
"That is why Democrats are moving forward with forceful action that will stop, and hold accountable, oil and gas companies for profiteering and manipulating markets."
The Democrats' proposals would give the Federal Trade Commission and individual states increased authority to go after businesses that manipulate prices in both wholesale and retail sales.
They are hoping to pass legislation before the end of May but would need support from Senate Republicans, who are pressing instead for hikes in domestic fossil fuel production.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone said however that oil giants were "ripping off the American people" by suppressing production to maximize profits.
In March, President Joe Biden announced a record release from US strategic oil reserves of a million barrels per day for six months to "ease the pain" of soaring prices.
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm argued at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Thursday that the Ukraine invasion underlined the need for Americans to stop relying on the volatile oil market.
"Ultimately, these crises tell us that global energy security, energy independence and energy affordability all depend on a shift toward American-made clean energy," she said.
© AFP
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President Biden
@POTUS
More Americans applied to start a small business in 2021 than ever before — and those small businesses are creating jobs at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
This didn’t happen by accident, it’s a direct result of the American Rescue Plan and our economic agenda.
To keep our historic small business growth going, we will:
- Offer $300 billion in loans and equity investments
- Make historic investments in technical assistance programs
- Level the playing field by reforming the tax code
We are working tirelessly to open doors for entrepreneurs.
Unfortunately, Congressional Republicans have a different approach. Their plan would raise taxes on 6.1 million small business owners.
My plan cuts taxes for 4 million small business owners and provides tools to thrive.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1519796709378904067
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Thanks to President Biden's historic economic success small businesses were created in record numbers.
New businesses soared to record highs in 2021. Here's a taste of one of them
https://www.npr.org/2022/01/12/1072057249/new-business-applications-record-high-great-resignation-pandemic-entrepreneur
A Record Number of Businesses Started in 2021
https://smallbiztrends.com/2022/01/record-number-new-businesses-started-2021.html
Business startups had record year, Census Bureau to begin keeping official tally
https://www.fox29.com/news/business-startups-had-record-year-census-bureau-to-begin-keeping-official-tally
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Judge rejects pro-Lauren Boebert group's attempt to boot her Republican opponent off the ballot
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On Thursday, The Colorado Sun reported that a Denver District Judge Alex Myers has shot down a legal challenge from a group supportive of Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) trying to disqualify her Republican primary opponent, state Sen. Don Coram, from the ballot.
"A lawsuit filed by a group that includes a man who has tried to discredit Coram and another who has donated to Boebert’s campaign alleged that 390 of the 1,568 petition signatures submitted by Coram and accepted by the Secretary of State’s Office were flawed. If the judge agreed, Coram would have fallen below the 1,500-signature threshold he needed to meet to make the primary ballot," reported Jesse Paul of The Colorado Sun.
"But Myers, in a 14-page ruling, found that only 19 of the signatures accepted by the Secretary of State’s Office should have been rejected, not enough to disqualify Coram from the primary."
One of the people behind the group, David "Dee" Laird, has attacked Coram for using signatures to qualify for the ballot at all, rather than going through the caucus system, writing two local letters to newspapers on the matter.
"Before being cajoled into signing his petition, voters should take a few moments to educate themselves and do their own background check on Coram. Check out corruptcoram.com,' Laird wrote in both letters," said the report.
"Corruptcoram.com is a website created by Boebert’s campaign to dubiously attack Coram, who is also from Montrose, over his work on hemp policy at the Colorado Capitol, calling it self-dealing because the state lawmaker once cultivated hemp himself."
Coram has spoken out against Boebert, an ally of former President Donald Trump, attacking her for "embarrassing juvenile antics" and "cheap political tricks."
https://coloradosun.com/2022/04/28/lauren-boebert-primary-don-coram-proceeds/
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2022 Generic Congressional Ballot Poll:
Democrats 44% (+4)
Republicans 40%
@YouGovAmerica/@YahooNews ~ 1,187 RV ~ 4/19-4/22
https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/v4b3724q7j/20220422_yahoo_toplines.pdf
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These two right wing trolls are a total embarrassment to the GOP. Neither one of them has ever voted for a bill that's helped their constituents. All they are focused on is to create controversy and to ask for campaign donations.
Warring Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert had to be separated at GOP conference
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According to a report from Politico's Olivia Beavers, despite all outward appearances, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert are at odds with each other, with the Colorado Republican unhappy she is mentioned in the same breath as her Georgia colleague.
In a deep dive into squabbles that are pulling apart the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, Beavers reports that at a recent conference the two had to be separated.
According to the report, "Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert look from the outside like MAGA twins, both loathed by Democrats for their incendiary right-wing rhetoric. But inside the House GOP, they’re not quite buddy-buddy."
The report notes that Boebert fits in more with the thinking of her Republican colleagues ("a team player") and she joined many of them in being furious with Greene over her appearance at a white nationalist conference well months ago.
As Beavers wrote, when the House Freedom Caucus board of directors gathered last month at its usual spot a few blocks from the Capitol, the two tangled over Greene’s appearance at a February event organized by a known white nationalist."
"Their confrontation grew so heated that at least one onlooker feared the Greene-Boebert back-and-forth might escalate beyond the verbal cage match had another board member not stepped in to de-escalate, according to a GOP lawmaker who was granted anonymity to describe what happened," Politico reports.
"The incident was confirmed by three people connected to the Freedom Caucus, whose members largely avoided public criticism of Greene and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) at the time and focused their discontent on the event organizer, Nick Fuentes," the report added.
Read more here: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/29/house-republican-freedom-caucus-challenges-00023071
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Anti-Trump Ohio Republican rising in polls
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Much of the attention on the Ohio Republican gubernatorial primary has been focused on J.D. Vance and former President Donald Trump's endorsement of his candidacy.
But with just a few days to go before the May 3 primary, the GOP candidate experiencing a surge in the polls is the only one who hasn't made the journey to Mar-a-Lago to get in Trump's good graces: state Sen. Matt Dolan.
Politico reports that while Vance is leading the most recent Fox News poll, Dolan is gaining ground on Vance and in fact placed first in a different survey by Blueprint Polling, besting Vance 18 percent to 17 percent. That poll found no GOP candidate with support by more than 20 percent of Buckeye voters and more than a third are still undecided.
After Dolan's rise in the polls this week, Trump released a statement saying that the state senator is "not fit" to serve in the U.S. Senate and take over the seat of retiring Sen. Bob Portman.
The new polling suggests that Trump's status as Republican Party kingmaker is not as potent as the former president would have you believe.
Mike Murphy, a Republican strategist who lives out of state but donated $250 to Dolan’s campaign in October, said this about Dolan to Politico: “I think there’s mounting evidence that he’s in a scenario where he’s running up the middle, unmolested, with a unique message and some things in his favor. Does it mean he has a lock on the race? No way. But it’s a competitive race, and he’s in it. He’s got the momentum, as of last week.”
Dolan said in an interview, “When I made my decision to get into the race, I knew that it was going to be a tough slog, at least publicly, for a while. I knew that I would not be doing well in the polls until much, much later in the campaign. I think it’s playing out as I thought it was going to play out.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/29/trump-says-matt-dolan-is-not-fit-for-ohios-senate-seat-hes-gaining-ground-anyway-00028824
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Madison Cawthorn scandal exposes how the GOP depends on right-wing media to delude their base
https://www.rawstory.com/madison-cawthorn-scandal-exposes-how-the-gop-depends-on-right-wing-media-to-delude-their-base/
Republicans never liked Madison Cawthorn — and now they're trying to destroy him
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Republicans have had enough of first-term Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) and are ready to send him packing after just two years.
Cawthorn's troubles began last month when he claimed that people he admired had invited him to an orgy and used cocaine in front of him, and House minority leader Kevin McCarthy turned against the North Carolina congressman and damaging leaks started coming out as he faces a primary battle against establishment candidates, reported Independent correspondent Eric Garcia.
"The opposition research about him now falling off the back of the GOP truck is prodigious," Garcia wrote. "But the real question is why Cawthorn is the target, particularly given there are equally controversial members in the caucus, including some who, like him, helped incite a literal insurrection."
While the cocaine orgies make for a lurid topic for gossip, the truth is that Republicans never really liked Cawthorn in the first place and were saddled with him because Mark Meadows resigned from that congressional seat to become Donald Trump's chief of staff and got the former president to endorse family friend Lynda Bennett, who flopped.
“The original sin in all of this is the son of a b**ch Mark Meadows,” a Republican source told Garcia, "[for] the way he blocked those other legislators from running."
Cawthorn also irked the GOP establishment in North Carolina by moving to a newly drawn congressional district, which was eventually struck down by the state Supreme Court, and returned to run in his old district as state House speaker Tim Moore was considering a run himself.
"If Cawthorn does lose," Garcia concluded, "it will be because enough Republicans didn’t like how he p*ssed all over them – and they intend to make sure it ends with him soiling himself."
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/madison-cawthorn-republican-cocaine-primary-b2068354.html
Madison Cawthorn is a 'monster of Republicans' own creation' -- and he won't be the last: columnist
According to the Washington Post's Dana Millbank, the leadership of the Republican Party would like to see Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) go away so they won't have to answer for his almost daily antics including repeatedly being stopped for speeding while driving on an expired license to trying to take guns on planes to blurting out stories about drug-fueled conservative orgies in Washington D.C.
As the longtime political observer notes, even if voters in Cawthorn's district oust him -- there will be more Cawthorn's coming down the pike in the upcoming midterm election and elections beyond November.
With Cawthorn vying for media attention with fellow freshman House members Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, Millbank suggested that North Carolina Republican's extracurricular activities are proving to be more than mainstream lawmakers are willing to put up with.
However, those same lawmakers are the same ones who not only made a "monster" like Cawthorn possible in the first place but eased the path to him winning in 2020.
"Ousting Cawthorn in his May primary won’t cure this Republican illness; the North Carolina congressman is just a symptom," the Washington Post columnist wrote. "More than 50 QAnon believers have run for Congress as Republicans in 2022, the liberal watchdog Media Matters reports. Several who participated in the events of Jan. 6, 2021, have run for Congress. If Republicans succeed in taking the House in November, the new majority could make the current Congress — with Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert and the rest — look like Periclean Athens."
The reason for the rise of what a "Morning Joe" panel on Friday called the "lunatic fringe" taking over the party, is a culmination of years of increasingly incendiary rhetoric along with changes at the state level where gerrymandering has created unassailable GOP districts, Millbank said.
"Cawthorn and the many rising oddballs and extremists are the inevitable result of Republican leaders’ choices: drawing increasingly uncompetitive districts, blessing unlimited dark money, exercising timid leadership, embracing disinformation, flirting with white nationalism, stoking conspiracies and undermining elections," he wrote.
The columnist claims the North Carolina Republican understood the prevailing winds and took advantage of it as far back as 2015 when he told a newspaper, "I absolutely will run for Congress," with Millbank pointedly adding, "And so he did, on the basis of audacious lies and winks at white nationalists."
Listing off a varied selection of controversies Cawthorn has enmeshed himself in -- including accusations of sexual improprieties -- the Washington Post columnist claimed Republicans still haven't learned their lesson with some GOP leaders backing his re-election because he received the nod from former president Donald Trump.
As he put it: "Now that their young gun is going off half-cocked, Republicans have only themselves to blame."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/29/madison-cawthorn-republicans-created-guns-photos/
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Republicans' rush to block Biden from forgiving student debt backfires
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Over the last two years, Republicans argued that President Biden, who made a campaign promise to cancel student debt, does not have legal authority to fulfill that pledge, insisting that the tens of millions of Americans currently crushed by student loans should be forced to pay them down. But now, amid new reports that Biden is considering a partial jubilee, Republicans are backing a bill that would prevent the president from pulling the trigger – a tacit acknowledgment Biden appears to have the power to finally make good on his promise.
On Wednesday, five Senate Republicans introduced the "Stop Reckless Student Loans Action Act," a measure that would end Biden's ability to continue suspending debt payments (for debtholders of a certain income) and prohibit the president from canceling the debt altogether in the case of a national emergency.
The bill's sponsors – Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., Richard Burr, R-N.C., Mike Braun, R-Ind., Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Roger Marshall, R-Kansas – have attempted to frame the measure as a bulwark for American taxpayers.
"As Americans continue to return to the workforce more than two years since the pandemic began, it is time for borrowers to resume repayment of student debt obligations," Thune said in a statement. "Taxpayers and working families should not be responsible for continuing to bear the costs associated with this suspension of repayment. This common-sense legislation would protect taxpayers and prevent President Biden from suspending federal student loan repayments in perpetuity."
Braun has meanwhile claimed that a jubilee would force people without college degrees to "pick up the tab" for graduates.
"This transfer of wealth is not a move to 'advance equity,' but rather a taxpayer handout to appease far-left activists," he said.
The Republican-led measure comes just weeks after Biden extended his student loan repayment pause for the sixth time over the course of his administration. According to the Federal Reserve, Biden has saved borrowers, who hold roughly $1.7 trillion debt, about $5 billion in interest a month. Those savings have been a lifeline for over 40 million student debtholders, 11.1% of whose loans prior to the pandemic were in default or delinquent by at least 90 days.
Toward the beginning of Biden's presidency, many Republicans and establishment Democrats were adamant that the president could not forgive student debt by executive order. Some experts suggested that only Congress could rubber-stamp such a move, in part because it was the legislature – not the president – that appropriated the funds loaned out to borrowers.
But now, with the GOP waging a pre-emptive counteroffensive amid reports that Biden might relieve the debt, there's more reason to believe that the president has that very authority, as The American Prospect's David Dayen wrote this week.
"There would be no need for such [the GOP's] bill if there was not already authority granted by Congress to the executive branch to suspend, defer, or cancel student loan payments," Dayen argued. "The bill represents an effort to claw that authority back, or at the very least clarify the statute to remove all doubt."
Republicans appear to be targeting provisions contained within the HEROES Act of 2003, an amendment to the Higher Education Act that "allows the secretary of education to waive or modify any requirement or regulation applicable to the student financial assistance programs" in a time of national emergency.
The Stop Reckless Student Loans Action Act would prohibit the president from using the HEROES Act to pause repayments for any longer than 90 days. It would also means-test these pauses and make them subject to the Congressional Review Act, an esoteric law that allows the legislature to overturn actions taken by federal agencies, like the Department of Education.
To be sure, it's unlikely that the Stop Reckless Student Loans Action Act will be approved by a Democratic-majority Senate, paving the way for Biden to leverage the HEROES act without opposition. But even then, Biden will undoubtedly face a deluge of legal challenges, which could stop a jubilee in its tracks.
At present, very little legal precedent exists on whether Biden has the unilateral power to forgive student debt. No president before him has attempted the move, and "no court has considered where the outer boundaries of the Secretary's HEROES Act authorities lie," as the Congressional Research Services wrote last year.
Luke Herrine, Yale Law Ph.D. who has studied the legality around a potential jubilee, describes the predicament as "a vague terrain."
"Who would sue? I mean, that's the real question," Herrine said. "The [debt] servicers are probably the most plausible, but there are a number of problems with them having standing [...] They are not guaranteed any amounts of payments under their contracts with the Department of Education, so it's not really clear what their claim is."
There's also the question of whether sweeping debt relief would qualify as a mere "modification" or "waiver," as the Congressional Research Services noted. In the 1992 case MCI Telecommunications Corp. v. AT&T, the Supreme Court declined to defer to the Federal Communications Commission's interpretation of what the company felt was a modification to its tariff policies.
"If a court deemed the HEROES Act sufficiently analogous to the statute in MCI, it might conclude that the power to 'modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the' Title IV programs likewise does not authorize the Secretary to make fundamental changes to statutes or regulations," the Congressional Research Services wrote.
And all of this legal analysis, Herrin said, will have to be weighed against the "political calculus" of issuing a jubilee whose economic implications are still ill-defined.
"First of all, do we think this is good policy? Is it regressive or is it progressive? Is it good politically?" Herrine explained. "I think that's the calculus that's really changed over the past few months."
Biden's pause on student debt repayments is set to expire on May 1. On Monday, Biden indicated to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus that he is open to both extending the repayment suspension and wiping away a portion of the debt, according to The Washington Post.
"I feel very confident that he is pushing on his team to do something, and to do something significant," Rep. Tony Cárdenas, D-Calif., a member of the caucus, told the Post. "That's my feeling.
https://www.rawstory.com/republicans-rush-to-block-biden-from-forgiving-student-debt-backfires/
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Marjorie Taylor Greene rebuked by right-wing Christians for attack on Catholic Church
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Conservative Christians are quickly piling on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who this week accused churches that help resettle undocumented immigrants of being controlled by Satan.
Prominent right-wing pundits and Catholic organizations alike castigated the freshman GOP congresswoman from Georgia.
Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, called Greene "a disgrace," saying that "she slandered the entire Catholic Church."
"Satan is controlling the Catholic Church? She needs to apologize to Catholics immediately," Donohue said in the statement. "We are contacting House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy about this matter. He's got a loose cannon on his hands."
Donohue's remarks are in reaction to an interview Greene gave with the Church Militant, a Christian news organization, last week, first reported on by Salon's Kathryn Joyce.
"The church is not doing its job, and it's not adhering to the teachings of Christ," she claimed, speaking of churches that help undocumented people.
Her comments drew immediate backlash from a number of conservative religious leaders, including the right-wing radio host Erick Erickson.
"It is inexcusable to accuse the Christian community of being controlled by Satan for stepping up to help immigrants, illegal aliens, and refugees the United States government, not the church, has allowed into this country," Erickson tweeted.
James J. Martin SJ, a priest and the editor-at-large of the Jesuit magazine America, also condemned the freshman lawmaker.
"Marjorie Taylor Greene thinks the Catholic Church is controlled by Satan. She also believes that caring for the stranger is 'perverting the Gospel,'" Martin tweeted. "Jesus disagrees, saying that caring for the stranger *is* the Gospel (Mt 25). I'll side with Jesus."
Greene, herself a Christian, has since walked back her remarks, claiming that she was rebuking church leadership rather than the Catholic Church writ large.
"I refuse to use kinder, gentler language as Bill Donohue might prefer when I talk about his disgusting and corrupt friends, who have made him rich with the donations from ordinary churchgoing Catholics," she added.
It isn't the first time Greene has made controversial remarks about religion. Back in December, the Georgia Republican expressed a desire to "restore" America's Christian principles. That same month, Greene denounced Kwanza as a "fake religion created by a psychopath."
https://www.salon.com/2022/04/27/marjorie-taylor-greene-to-right-wing-catholic-site-how-come-god-hasnt-destroyed-america/
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Congressman Ryan Announces Over $15 Million to Lower Working Ohioans' Energy Costs
April 26, 2022
Press Release
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tim Ryan (OH-13) today announced that Ohio will receive $15,847,745 in federal funds to bring down heating and cooling costs for working families. These investments, secured through the FY22 government funding legislation Ryan helped pass, will be used to cut Ohioans’ energy bills, provide crisis assistance, and help weatherize homes.
“As hardworking families grapple with rising energy prices, we must do everything in our power to lower costs while ensuring that Ohioans are safe and comfortable in their homes,” said Congressman Ryan. “Thanks to our funding legislation, a fourth round of federal energy assistance will help families afford their utility bills, bring down costs, and weatherize their homes. As we continue to deliver these investments to Northeast Ohio households, I remain committed to getting more money in the pockets of working people, growing paychecks, and creating good-paying jobs.”
This needed funding is being administered under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). These investments are especially critical for lower-income households and communities of color who continue to disproportionately feel the impacts of climate change and extreme weather.
The funding announced today represents the fourth round of LIHEAP assistance over the past year. In total, Congressional Democrats have fought for and won $387,689,005 in energy assistance for Ohio households since last May. Previous rounds were delivered through:
American Rescue Plan: $226,879,639
2021 Continuing Resolution: $140,491,616
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: $4,470,005
https://timryan.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-ryan-announces-over-15-million-lower-working-ohioans-energy-costs
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President Biden, USDA Announce $420 Million Investment in Watershed Infrastructure Projects to Benefit Rural and Historically Underserved Communities
ALBANY, Georgia, April 21, 2022 – Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was joined by White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu and Congressman Sanford Bishop (GA-2) to announce the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest $420 million in 132 infrastructure projects in 31 states, including rehabilitating dams, flood prevention, and watershed restoration projects. Today’s investments are funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and build on a $166 million investment announced earlier this year.
Secretary Vilsack and Mitch Landrieu made the announcement in Albany, Georgia, as part of the Building a Better America Rural Infrastructure Tour. There, NRCS is helping improve the flow of Radium Springs. Radium Springs does not flow consistently and is highly dependent on underground water. Funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) will be used to implement strategies that blend efficient irrigation methods with better resource management to ensure consistent flow to support agriculture, provide wildlife habitat, improve water quantity and quality, and improve the recreational value within the existing public park. Over $69 million will go towards eight projects that will provide relief for flood related watershed concerns.
“President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebuild our infrastructure, create good-paying jobs and build new economic opportunity,” Vilsack said. “Our watershed programs help communities rebuild after natural disasters and prepare for future events. This includes communities that we’ve historically underserved. The President believes we will grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out and this will occur in partnership with rural communities. That’s what Building A Better America is all about.”
Vilsack added: “The President believes that when rural communities thrive, America thrives. Building A Better America means that no community is left behind. These projects exemplify why this historic investment in our watersheds was needed and the adeptness of our agency to act swiftly.”
Today’s infrastructure announcement includes funding through two programs: the Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations (WFPO) Program provides technical and financial assistance for new watershed infrastructure, and the Watershed Rehabilitation Program (REHAB) upgrades existing USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) dams.
The Albany project is funded through WFPO. Additional examples of WFPO projects funded through the investment announced today include:
The City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas: Over the past five years, flooding has caused significant problems for both humans and property in Pine Bluff. Funding will be used to explore solutions, from design to construction, that will eliminate flooding issues that have impacted the safety, health and quality of life of its citizens.
Tumalo, Owyhee and East Fork Irrigation Districts Modernization Projects, Oregon: Modernization provides a climate resilient solution to offset the impact of drought throughout the regions of Deschutes River, Tumalo Creek, Snake River, and Hood River watersheds. Open irrigation canals will be converted to pipe delivering water in a more efficient manner and preserving water where it is needed to restore critical habitat for designated trout and salmon species. Pipe conveyance conserves water by reducing loss from evaporation and seepage, diverts less water from rivers, and increases flow downstream.
Examples of REHAB projects include:
- Settingdown Creek Dam 54 & 56 – Forsyth County, Georgia: Both earthen dam structures serve Forsyth County as part of the Coosa River Watershed and were built in 1954 to provide flood control to the surrounding community. The area has seen substantial urban growth within the drainage area and breach zones making both dams no longer compliant with federal or state safety laws. Funds are needed to extend the service life of the dams and bring them to current NRCS design safety criteria and performance standards.
- Jewell Brook Watershed, Ludlow, Vermont - Sites #1, #2, #3, and #5: The dams have outlived their design life span and three dams in the watershed experienced erosion during Hurricane Irene. Action is needed to reduce the risk of loss of life in the event of a potential breach and to reduce the risk of flood damage within the downstream flood zones to homes, businesses, infrastructure and agriculture. Funding will be used to rehabilitate the dam to current design safety criteria and performance standards.
In total, NRCS received $918 million of BIL funding to allocate through its watershed programs. In addition to WFPO and REHAB, this includes funds for Emergency Watershed Program (EWP) to help communities recover from natural disasters. NRCS will continue to assist communities as it receives disaster requests.
A full list of projects is available on NRCS’ Bipartisan Infrastructure Law webpage.
How Communities Can Get Help
NRCS encourages communities to engage with their local project sponsors, participate in developing a sound conservation plan that serves to protect and preserve local watersheds, and connect with their local NRCS office to learn more about Watershed Program assistance.
NRCS will continue to review additional requests and compile a third round of BIL watershed funding as funds are available.
More Information
Since 1948, NRCS’ watershed programs have designed and built 11,850 dams, constructed water storage structures, flood management systems, stabilized streambanks, relocated residences, redirected stream flows, re-established wildlife habitat and more to save lives and protect watersheds.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.
https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2022/04/21/president-biden-usda-announce-420-million-investment-watershed
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'Horrible plague’: Biden rips Trump at correspondents' dinner — and even makes a coup joke
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President Joe Biden roasted his predecessor during a Saturday evening speech to the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.
"This is the first time the president attended this dinner in six years," Biden said. "It's understandable, we had a horrible plague followed by two years of Covid."
"Just imagine, if my predecessor came to this dinner this year, now that would have been a real coup if that occurred," he said.
"A little tough, huh?" Biden said with a smile.
The annual event, often referred to as "nerd prom," featured Trevor Noah as the host.
Trump attended the 2011 dinner at which host Seth Meyers said, "Trump said he's running as a Republican. Which is surprising; I just assumed he was running as a joke."
Watch:
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Marjorie Taylor Greene accused of lying under oath
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Lawyers working on efforts to get Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) booted off the ballot as she seeks her second term filed a brief on Friday saying she lied under oath when talking about the Jan 6th insurrection with texts she exchanged with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows proving she was not being truthful.
Just over a week ago the controversial Georgia Republican sat before an administrative law judge in Georgia and was questioned about Jan 6th and statements she made before and during the Capitol riot that sent lawmakers fleeing for their lives.
Attorneys handling the case now contend they can prove Taylor Greene lied while being questioned.
According to the Guardian's Martin Pengelly, Attorneys for Free Speech for People alleged in their Friday brief that the GOP lawmaker was being dishonest when answering questions.
The attorneys' contention rests on texts released this week that undercut her answers from just days before.
According to Pengelly, "In the text message released this week, Greene told Meadows on 17 January 2021, 11 days after the riot and three days before Biden’s inauguration: “In our private chat with only Members several are saying the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call Marshall [sic] law. I just wanted you to tell him. They stole this election. We all know. They will destroy our country next.”
In their brief, the lawyers contended: “Greene’s testimony at the hearing that she could not remember discussing martial law with anyone was already dubious," before adding, "This text with President Trump’s chief of staff makes her testimony even more incredible because it seems like the kind of message with the kind of recipient that a reasonable person testifying truthfully would remember.”
Attorney James Bopp Jr., who is representing the Georgia lawmaker has since fired back, issuing a statement that asserts: "The text very clearly said she doesn’t know about those things. It couldn’t be clearer. Tt’s just another outrageous fabrication that we have been seeing from the other side throughout this case, because they don’t have the law on their side.”
You can read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/30/marjorie-taylor-greene-accused-lying-capitol-attack-case
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US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi travels to Kyiv, meets with Zelenskyy
House of Representatives leader Nancy Pelosi became the highest-ranking US official to visit Ukraine
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United States Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi traveled to Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv and met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a visit that was not previously announced.
Third in line for the US presidency, Pelosi is the highest-ranking American leader to visit Ukraine since the war began. She joined a congressional delegation including other members of the US congress.
"You all are welcome," Zelenskyy told the delegation. "I am grateful to you for this signal of strong support from the United States, the people, and Congress – bicameral and bipartisan support."
"This shows that the United States today is a leader in strong support for Ukraine during the war against the aggression of the Russian Federation."
"We believe that we are visiting you to say thank you for your fight for freedom," Pelosi told Zelenskyy. "We are on a frontier of freedom and your fight is a fight for everyone. Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done," she added.
https://www.dw.com/en/us-house-speaker-nancy-pelosi-travels-to-kyiv-meets-with-zelenskyy-live-updates/a-61648396
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The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent
Zelensky awarded U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi with the Order of Princess Olga for a “significant personal contribution" to strengthening Ukrainian-American cooperation and "supporting sovereign, independent and democratic Ukraine.”
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https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1520680217177726977
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Nancy Pelosi @Speaker Pelosi
Our Congressional Delegation was honored to meet with @ZelenskyyUa in Kyiv to salute his leadership and courage, to commend the Ukrainian people for their outstanding defense of Democracy and to say that we are with you until victory is won.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1520672718823297032
Our Congressional Delegation traveled to Kyiv and met with @ZelenskyyUa to send an unmistakable and resounding message to the entire world: America stands firmly with Ukraine.
President Zelenskyy conveyed the need for continued security, economic & humanitarian assistance from the U. S. & our delegation delivered the message that additional American support is on the way, as we work to transform
@POTUS’ funding request into a legislative package.
Our delegation conveyed our respect and gratitude to President Zelenskyy for his leadership and our admiration of the Ukrainian people for their courage in the fight against Russia’s oppression.
Our delegation will now continue our travels in Poland, where we will meet with President @AndrzejDuda and senior officials. We look forward to thanking our Polish allies for their dedication and humanitarian efforts.
When we return to the United States, we will do so further informed, deeply inspired and ready to do what is needed to help the Ukrainian people as they defend democracy for their nation and for the world.
Read my full statement here:
Pelosi, Congressional Delegation Statement on Visit to Kyiv, Ukraine
MAY 1, 2022 PRESS RELEASE
Rzeszow, Poland - Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Members of a Congressional delegation issued this statement following their visit to Kyiv, Ukraine. This visit is the first official Congressional delegation to have visited Ukraine following Russia’s invasion. The full delegation, which includes Chairman Jim McGovern, Chairman Gregory Meeks, Chairman Adam Schiff, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Congressman Bill Keating and Congressman Jason Crow, will continue travel in southeast Poland and Warsaw.
"Our Congressional Delegation had the solemn opportunity and extraordinary honor of meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top Ukrainian officials in Kyiv.
Our delegation traveled to Kyiv to send an unmistakable and resounding message to the entire world: America stands firmly with Ukraine. Our meeting with President Zelenskyy began with him thanking the United States for the substantial assistance that we have provided. He conveyed the clear need for continued security, economic and humanitarian assistance from the United States to address the devastating human toll taken on the Ukrainian people by Putin's diabolic invasion – and our delegation proudly delivered the message that additional American support is on the way, as we work to transform President Biden’s strong funding request into a legislative package. Our delegation conveyed our respect and gratitude to President Zelenskyy for his leadership and our admiration of the Ukrainian people for their courage in the fight against Russia’s oppression.
"Our delegation will now continue our travels in Poland, where we will meet with President Andrzej Duda and senior officials. We look forward to thanking our Polish allies for their dedication and humanitarian efforts. We will proudly convey the gratitude of America for the work of U.S. servicemembers and diplomats and other civilian leaders in Poland. When we return to the United States, we will do so further informed, deeply inspired and ready to do what is needed to help the Ukrainian people as they defend democracy for their nation and for the world."
https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/5122
Join Members of our delegation and me in Rzeszów, Poland for a press conference on the situation in Ukraine.
https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1lPKqmkrvDZKb
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A new ABC/WP poll shows voters prefer Democrats to control the House of Representatives 46%-45%.
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Reminder: House Democrats capped insulin at $35 and McConnell Republicans have been blocking it for over five months.
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Bill Pascrell, Jr. @BillPascrell
480 days ago insurrectionists ransacked the US Capitol and *hours later* 138-of-202 (68%) House republicans voted to make trump a dictator. They tried to finish the rioters’ job and end democracy. Never forget it.
Here are the 138 House republicans who voted to install trump as a dictator hours after rioters tried to do the same.
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https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1520916615902248961
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Ron DeSantis' war on Disney has bondholders panicked over who's responsible for $1 billion in debt: report
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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a decision by the Republican-led legislature in Floria -- at the behest of Gov. Ron DeSantis -- to strip the Disney Company of its special taxing privileges has bondholders in a frenzy over who will be responsible for approximately $1 billion in debt payments.
The Disney bill, signed by the governor in retaliation after the media titan criticized his so-called "Don't say gay" bill, leaves the future of the special taxing district known as Reedy Creek up in the air -- and that has anxious investors asking questions.
Withn the report stating, "Florida law dictates the bondholders must be paid," the Journal's Heather Giller wrote, "Those caught up in the fight include municipal bond investors, firefighters, and the $210 billion global media and marketing enterprise behind Star Wars, the Avengers and ESPN."
With investors asking, who will be held accountable for repaying nearly $1 billion in municipal debt used to build the infrastructure surrounding the massive Disney World theme park, the Journal is reporting, "One of the bill’s sponsors is now considering re-establishing a watered-down version of Reedy Creek to unwind the legal mess. "
According to the report, Reedy Creek bonds are plunging in value over repayment concerns.
"Reedy Creek bonds maturing in 2028 traded at 87.5 cents on the dollar Thursday and Friday, down from about 100 cents in January, according to Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board data. Two major ratings firms have flagged the bonds for potential downgrade, saying it isn’t exactly clear who owes investors their money," the Journal's Giller explained.
According to Michael Rinaldi, head of U.S. local government ratings at Fitch Ratings, "It’s mere speculation at this point. We don’t have any information.”
With a DeSantis spokesperson is trying to calm the financial community, claiming the governor has a plan, Florida State Rep. Randy Fine (R) who co-sponsored the bill, suggested what may come to pass.
According to the Journal, Fine claimed "... a court or additional legislation could help determine how to divide the debt up among local governments," adding "...another option would be for lawmakers to re-establish a less-powerful version of the Reedy Creek Improvement District for the purpose of servicing the debt."
The Journal report added, "Mr. DeSantis’s office said in a statement when he signed the Reedy Creek bill that he didn’t expect it to increase residents’ taxes. The impact to local governments could extend well beyond having to take over debt payments, however."
You can read more here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/floridas-1-billion-disney-question-11651347911
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Marjorie Taylor Greene becomes visibly frustrated as reporter grills her over 'Jewish space laser' rant
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Monday clashed with a reporter who questioned her about a 2018 Facebook post in which she suggested the Rothschild family might be using satellites to ignite wildfires in California.
Greene has faced frequent criticism for the comments, which went viral after New York Magazine published a headline that stated: "GOP Congresswoman Blamed Wildfires on Jewish Space Laser."
“This is your post under your name,” the reporter said, “and you’re talking about the Rothschild family, which has been at the center of anti-Sematic conspiracies since the 19th century.”
“I did not know that,” Greene interjected. “I have no idea. I’m telling you.”
The congresswoman said that in 2018, she was just “a regular American. Never been in politics. I couldn’t have told you some people back in politics or families names, don’t know their backgrounds.”
“But now that you do know,” the reporter pressed, as Greene became visibly frustrated. “Now that you’ve been told… anti-Semitism is on the rise at an alarming rate.”
“I’m fully against anti-Semitism,” Greene said. “You’re mixing two things together. You’re accusing me of something I did not do, and then you’re trying to blame me for anti-Semitism.”
Watch video below:
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Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate shares photo of self in front of swastika
https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2022/05/02/gop-gubernatorial-candidate-shares-photo-of-self-in-front-of-swastika/
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Senior administration officials are traveling the U.S. to discuss how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is fulfilling
@POTUS's promise to rebuild safe roads and bridges, provide clean drinking water, create good-paying jobs, and deliver for rural communities.
A few highlights:
@EPAMichaelRegan toured a wastewater treatment plant in West Salem, WI where @EPA funding helped make critical upgrades to the facility’s capacity & ability to protect public health. This is the kind of investment the infrastructure law will fund in rural communities nationwide.
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@MitchLandrieu46 visited a community in South Carolina where they highlighted the $100M+ the Biden-Harris Administration has committed to investing in the state so every South Carolinian has access to affordable, high-speed internet.
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@SecDebHaaland met with wildland fire leaders at Heil Valley Ranch in CO — an area severely impacted by the Cal-Wood fire — to discuss how the infrastructure law will improve wildfire mitigation, firefighter training, post-fire recovery, & more, especially in western rural areas.
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@SecretaryPete visited Tell City, IN, a small port with a big impact. Materials handled there go into equipment and economic activity that benefits people thousands of miles away. The infrastructure law will support our growing economy by investing in ports just like Tell City.
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@USDOT Under Secretary Carlos Monje traveled to Alaska and met with University of Fairbanks engineers who are working on drones to transport goods to rural Alaskans. Monje also met with tribal leaders in Venetie to learn about native communities' transportation needs and goals.
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Arlando Teller, @USDOT Dep. Assistant Secretary for Tribal Affairs, visited New Mexico where he inspected multiple bridges in disrepair. Teller discussed how the infrastructure law will rebuild our nation's bridges, including those providing access to Navajo Community Facilities.
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@SecVilsack and @EPA Administrator Regan visited a waste water facility in Franklinton, North Carolina to highlight the importance of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and how it will help fund projects like this across the country.
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To learn more about how President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is supporting and investing in rural communities, visit http://build.gov/rural.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/build/rural/?utm_source=build.gov
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1521260753998725122
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Biden Administration Announces $3.16 Billion from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to Boost Domestic Battery Manufacturing and Supply Chains
DOE Funding Will Support Growing Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Demands Through Increased Battery Manufacturing, Processing, and Recycling
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $3.1 billion in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to make more batteries and components in America, bolster domestic supply chains, create good-paying jobs, and help lower costs for families. The infrastructure investments will support the creation of new, retrofitted, and expanded commercial facilities as well as manufacturing demonstrations and battery recycling. DOE is also announcing a separate $60 million to support second-life applications for batteries once used to power EVs, as well as new processes for recycling materials back into the battery supply chain. Both funding opportunities are key components of the Administration’s whole-of-government supply chain strategy to strengthen America’s energy independence to reduce our reliance on competing nations and support the President’s goal to have electric vehicles make up half of all vehicles sales in America by 2030.
“Positioning the United States front and center in meeting the growing demand for advanced batteries is how we boost our competitiveness and electrify our transportation system,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “President Biden’s historic investment in battery production and recycling will give our domestic supply chain the jolt it needs to become more secure and less reliant on other nations—strengthening our clean energy economy, creating good paying jobs, and decarbonizing the transportation sector.”
With the global lithium-ion battery market expected to grow rapidly over the next decade, DOE is working with industry to prepare the United States for increased market demand. As of the end of March 2022, more than 2.5 million plug-in electric vehicles have been sold in America, with more than 800,000 of those having been sold since President Biden took office. Battery costs have fallen more than 90% and since 2008, and energy density and performance have increased rapidly, paving the way for an accelerated transition to zero-emission vehicles. Responsible and sustainable domestic sourcing of the critical materials used to make lithium-ion batteries—such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite—will help avoid or mitigate supply chain disruptions and accelerate battery production in America to meet this demand and support the adoption of electric vehicles.
“For too long, other countries have been outpacing the United States in funding new technologies. We are at a critical moment in our competition to build the next generation of electric vehicles and batteries here in America and to secure Michigan’s automotive leadership in these next generation vehicles. Thanks to our bipartisan efforts in Congress, and with the President’s leadership, this funding will help us win this race by investing in our supply chain and manufacturing here at home. Our workers are the best in the world, and there’s nothing more American than ensuring that our products and technology are built in America,” said Senator Debbie Stabenow (MI).
“I secured provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support the domestic critical mineral supply chain used in battery production,” said U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (NV). “Nevada’s innovation economy is at the forefront of battery manufacturing and recycling, and the infrastructure law could bring vital new investments to the state. These grants to grow U.S. battery manufacturing are going to create good-paying jobs, spur our economic competitiveness, and help us combat the climate crisis. I appreciate Secretary Granholm and the dedicated staff of the Department of Energy for advancing this priority in timely manner.”
“The future of mobility is electric – and this support could help to ensure Michigan remains on the forefront of innovation by shoring up our supply chains for advanced battery technologies necessary to deploy the next all-electric fleet,” said U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI). “I was proud to help secure this funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to lessen our dependence on foreign producers like the Chinese government for these critical technologies – and help our automakers meet the growing demand for cleaner, safer cars.”
“Establishing a new generation of mobility in this country requires bringing our supply chain home, investing in domestic production of minerals and materials for electric vehicle batteries, and creating good-paying, union jobs here in Michigan and the United States,” said U.S Representative Debbie Dingell (MI-12). “Today’s announcement utilizing funding provided by my battery material legislation enacted under the IIJA demonstrates the Biden Administrations commitment to making good on our promise of ensuring half of all auto sales are electric vehicles by 2030. We have a lot of work to do to meet that goal, but today marks an important milestone in our efforts. In the days and weeks ahead, I will continue to bring labor, environmental advocates, industry leaders, and elected officials together to move us forward.”
“The 13th Congressional District is home to many frontline communities that have already seen the devastating impacts of climate change which underline the urgent need for a just and equitable energy transition,” said U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib (MI-13). “I am thankful to Secretary Granholm and the Department of Energy for visiting our communities and investing in the future with the announcement of funding to increase battery production. This type of funding is what we need to ensure that a green future is accessible to all. I look forward to continuing to work with the DOE to ensure we rapidly deliver clean, renewable energy and a livable planet for generations to come.”
The “Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing” and “Electric Drive Vehicle Battery Recycling and Second Life Applications” funding opportunities are aligned with the National Blueprint for Lithium Batteries, authored by the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries, and led by DOE and the Departments of Defense, Commerce, and State. The blueprint details a path to bolstering the domestic battery supply by equitably creating a robust and diverse battery workforce by 2030. In alignment with President Biden’s Justice40 initiative, establishing a goal that 40% of the benefits of Federal investments in climate and clean energy flow to disadvantaged communities, applicants for new funding opportunities will be prompted to consider how project benefits can flow to relevant disadvantaged communities. DOE’s Office of Economic Impact and Diversity today issued a letter to Americans that reiterates this mandate as a priority for President Biden’s Administration.
Strengthening America’s Supply Chains
In response to President Biden’s Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains, DOE issued a 100-day review of the large capacity battery supply chain which recommended establishing domestic production and processing capabilities for critical materials to support a fully domestic end-to-end battery supply chain, as well as investments in battery recycling and the circular economy to increase domestic supply and reduce the future need for new extraction and raw materials.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law directs more than $7 billion to strengthen the U.S. battery supply chain, which includes producing and recycling critical minerals without new extraction or mining and sourcing materials for domestic manufacturing. The funding opportunities mark the first to be released as a collaboration between DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the new Office of Manufacturing and Supply Chains, created by DOE’s organizational realignment to ensure that the Department has the structure needed to effectively implement the clean energy investments in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Energy Act of 2020. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also includes $7.5 billion for electric vehicle chargers, $5 billion for electric transit buses, and $5 billion for clean and electric school buses.
https://www.energy.gov/articles/biden-administration-announces-316-billion-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-boost-domestic
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Watch: Marjorie Taylor Greene gets confronted by a veteran for her 'craziness'
First-term Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was confronted for her "craziness" by a constituent who said he was ashamed of her conduct.
Bryanna Idzior of WTVC-TV Chattanooga reported on the interaction with veteran Alex Boyle, who was critical of the congresswoman's comments that joining the military is "like throwing your life away."
Boyle, of Chickamauga, did not allow Greene to try and change the subject and then expanded his argument.
"I heard what you said, I read the texts," he said. "Here's the problem, you've cast disparaging things against the Jewish community, you suggested a space laser."
"No, sir, I have not," Greene responded.
"You are disrespecting the United States Congress and you're a shame," he said.
"No sir," she replied.
"You've been watching the fake news," an off-camera woman interjected.
"I'm really, horribly, saddened that the fourteenth district has gone to such craziness," Boyle said.
He then explained that he had just cast his primary vote and hoped to see Greene forced into a run-off.
Watch:
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Biden-Harris Administration Announces $10 Million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Investments for Tribal Water Systems
WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior today announced that $10.65 million provided by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be used for vital repairs and upgrades for Indian Affairs-owned water systems. These systems serve Tribal workplaces, schools, detention centers and more.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests more than $13 billion directly in Tribal communities across the country, including a total of $466 million to the Bureau of Indian Affairs over five years, which includes funding for water and sanitation projects.
“Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, historic investments in Tribal water infrastructure will help ensure every community has access to safe, clean drinking water,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “This critical funding in water sanitation and water systems will facilitate much-needed repairs and upgrades for Tribal water systems, supporting our efforts to safeguard sacred water resources and water rights in Indigenous communities.”
“Operational, efficient and resilient water systems are necessary to protect our communities and fulfill our agency’s trust responsibilities,” said Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland. “This investment will allow us to address challenges such as climate change and chemical contamination that impact the aging water systems of Indian Affairs, so that we can continue to provide safe drinking water for Indigenous communities.”
These funds will be used to address Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notice of violations, contamination issues, critical risks of system failure, and other system upgrades as needed.
The following three projects will be supported with the funding:
- $8.72 million for the Hopi Arsenic Management Project in Arizona to cover infrastructure upgrades necessary to connect three BIA-owned water systems with the regional water system funded by the Indian Health Service and EPA. This investment is critical to address naturally occurring elevated arsenic concentrations in the groundwater wells of three water systems.
- $1.05 million for the Nez Perce Northern Idaho Water System to replace current the water storage and distribution system. This investment is critical to address widespread deficiencies and deteriorated infrastructure that resulted in an emergency order from the EPA on the water system in 2018.
- $880,000 for Columbia River In-lieu Treaty Fishing Sites to cover engineering and design services for infrastructure upgrades needed to address water sanitation and contribute to the progress being made on projects authorized under the Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act.
Assistant Secretary Newland announced these critical investments today from the banks of the Columbia River along with leadership of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission who operate and maintain 31 fishing sites along the Columbia River that are for the use of fishers from the commission’s four member Tribes: Warm Springs, Umatilla, Yakama and Nez Perce.
https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-10-million-bipartisan-infrastructure-law
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President Biden Releases Bipartisan Infrastructure Law “Rural Playbook”
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President Biden has released a “Rural Playbook” for how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) will invest billions in rural communities. This playbook identifies all of the programs and sources of funding set aside for rural communities and provides an overview of the key flexibilities and other benefits available to rural communities under the BIL.
Bottom Line: The BIL provides billions to help strengthen rural communities on multiple levels, notably the BEAD Program will provide $42.45 billion to fund broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas. Rules on how states will apply for these grant funds will be issued on or before May 16, 2022.
Rural Playbook
Broadband Funding
The BIL invests $65 billion to help deploy high-speed broadband to more rural Americans, provide technical assistance to rural and Tribal communities seeking to expand broadband, and help lower internet costs. The BIL provides funding for key programs such as: the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, the ReConnect Program; the Middle Mile Grants Program, Digital Equity Grants, the Tribal Connectivity Broadband Program, and the Affordable Connectivity Program. Rural communities are encouraged to also work with state legislators and infrastructure coordinators to make use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that are currently available for broadband deployment.
Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program
The Department of Commerce’s $42.45 billion BEAD Program, to be administered by the National Telecommunications and Infrastructure Administration (NTIA), provides grant funding to states and territories, which in turn will provide subgrants to entities for eligible projects. In order to implement this program, NTIA is required to release a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) on or before May 16, 2022 pursuant to the statutory deadlines established by the BIL. The NOFO will dictate how states apply for grant funds and will set limitations on how they can award subgrants. The BEAD Program has a 25 percent matching requirement that can be waived in certain cases.
ReConnect Program
The BIL provides $1.9 billion for the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) ReConnect Program, which offers loans, grants, and loan-grant combinations directly to states, territories, local governments, Tribes, and other eligible entities to build the necessary infrastructure and equipment for high-speed broadband in rural communities. Projects are prioritized based on the rurality of the service area, the economic need of the community and the level of existing service. Funds provided by the ReConnect Program can cover the cost of construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities and equipment to provide broadband service capable of 100/20 Mbps. Under the BIL, Tribes, Alaska Native Corporations, and projects serving persistent poverty counties and socially vulnerable communities will receive waivers of the matching funds requirement for this program. It is anticipated that the window for filing applications for this program will open in the third quarter of 2022.
Middle Mile Grants Program
The BIL provided $1 billion for this NTIA grant program to fund the construction, improvement, or acquisition of middle mile infrastructure, purposed with lowering the costs of connecting unserved and underserved areas. The grant program is authorized for five years, from FY 2022 through FY 2026. To be eligible, an applicant must prioritize: (1) connecting middle mile infrastructure to last mile networks that provide broadband service to households in unserved areas; (2) connecting non-contiguous trust lands; or (3) offering of wholesale broadband service at reasonable rates. NTIA is required to release a NOFO on or before May 16, 2022 to be able to open the application window and outline the rules of the program. Awards will be made no later than 270 days after the NOFO is issued.
Digital Equity Grants
The BIL created three digital equity grant programs to be administered by NTIA. The first program, the State Digital Equity Planning Program, is a $60 million formula grant program for states and territories to develop digital equity plans. This program is expected to be launched in the second quarter of 2022. After the state digital equity plans are developed, NTIA will launch the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, which is a $1.44 billion formula grant program designed to support the implementation of the state digital equity plans. The formula for determining grants will consider a state’s overall population, the number of individuals likely to be impacted by the digital equity plan, and a comparative ratio of availability of broadband in that state compared to national averages.
Lastly, after awards are made for the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, NTIA will release a NOFO for the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program. This $1.25 billion discretionary grant program will distribute funds over a five-year period to foster broadband adoption in underserved areas and supplement other relevant grant and loan funding. Eligible applicants include community anchor institutions, educational groups, agencies, and nonprofit entities.
Tribal Connectivity Broadband Program
An additional $2 billion has been allocated to NTIA’s Tribal Connectivity Broadband Program to fund broadband deployment on Tribal lands to promote telehealth, distance learning, broadband affordability and digital inclusion. The BIL also granted extensions of certain deadlines (e.g., commitment and expenditure deadlines) within the program.
Affordable Connectivity Program
The BIL allocated $14.2 billion in funding for the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program, replacing the temporary Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. This program will provide up to a $30 discount for lower-income households per month on internet services as well as a one-time $100 discount on eligible devices (e.g., laptop, desktop, or tablet). Eligible households for this program include households with income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, those with at least one member eligible for the National School Lunch Program, and those with at least one member that receives benefits through SNAP, WIC, SSI, Medicaid, and other federal assistance programs.
American Rescue Plan Act Funds
ARPA made $350 billion in funds available to help rural communities respond to the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding broadband deployment is among the eligible uses of these funds. The State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, administered by the Department of Treasury (USDT), provide funding to states, territories, and localities to fund expansion of broadband in rural unserved and underserved communities.
Additionally, the $10 billion Capital Projects Program, administered by USDT and funded by ARPA, includes broadband deployment projects and digital connectivity projects as eligible uses of these funds. Each state has been allocated more than $100 million, each territory has been allocated more than $14 million, and each Tribal government has been allocated $167,000. States and territories must submit their grant plans explaining how they will distribute funding by September 24, 2022.
Other Available Funding for Rural Communities
The BIL also provides billions in funding to: (1) clean up pollution in rural communities; (2) improve rural Americans’ transportation options; (3) repair rural roads and bridges; (4) ensure clean drinking water and basic sanitation in rural communities; (5) increase resiliency to weather-related hazards; (6) assist rural communities combat cyber threats; (7) upgrade electricity and transmission infrastructure; and [8] support regional commissions and other locally-based authorities.
More information on these programs can be found in the link below
https://www.womblebonddickinson.com/us/insights/alerts/biden-releases-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-rural-playbook
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Tim Ryan wins Democratic nomination for Ohio US Senate, AP projects
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Tim Ryan has won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Ohio primary election, AP projects.
The 10-term congressman from Ohio’s blue-collar Mahoning Valley defeated progressive Morgan Harper, a former consumer protection attorney, and one other rival to claim the Democratic nomination for the seat being vacated by retiring Republican Rob Portman.
Ryan’s victory was widely expected, given his long history in office and his backing by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, the state’s highest-ranking Democrat. Democrats see the November election as one of its best chances nationally to flip a seat.
Ryan represented the area from Akron from Lorain and the suburbs in between. Ryan is finishing out his tenth term in Congress. He's been a force in Democratic politics on the national stage challenging Nancy Pelosi for the Speaker of the House position in 2016.
Ryan also ran a short big for Democratic nomination for president in 2019.
Ryan will face the winner of the crowded Republican primary in the November general election. “Hillbilly Elegy” author JD Vance, former state treasurer Josh Mandel and investment banker Mike Gibbons are among the candidates competing for the GOP nomination. Vance was endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
Ryan directed his campaign message at working class Ohio residents, promising to increase jobs and boost wages.
https://www.wlwt.com/article/tim-ryan-us-senate-democrat-nomination-primary-election/39898863
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Democrat Glanville scores upset, flips west Michigan GOP state House seat
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Democrat Carol Glanville scored an upset victory Tuesday night over Republican Robert Regan in a west Michigan state House race that promised to narrow the GOP's edge in the House.
In state House District 74, Democratic Walker city commissioner Glanville won 5%-40% over Regan with an unusually large 8% going to write-in votes for the seat that was left vacant when former Rep. Mark Huizenga, R-Walker, was elected to the state Senate.
House Republicans currently hold a 55-51 majority. Republicans originally were expected to win three of the four state House races on Tuesday, but Glanville's victory likely means the GOP will hold on two seats and see their edge in the state House fall to 57-53. It had been 58-52.
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Regan created the political opportunity for Democrats after being rebuked by party officials, including Michigan Republican Party Chairman Ron Weiser, for comments that touched on rape and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Regan, a Grand Rapids entrepreneur, made a comparison two months ago during a livestream between rape and the abandonment of efforts to decertify the 2020 election.
"Having three daughters, I tell my daughters, well, 'If rape is inevitable, you should just lie back and enjoy it.'" Regan said. "That's not how we roll. That's not how I won this election. We go right at it."
Regan would not say after his primary victory whether he would join a state House resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, likening opposition to the issue to some sort of conspiracy theory.
“I am so grateful to the voters in the 74th district who showed up tonight to stand up to hate and keep it out of the State House,” Glanville said in a statement.
“My opponent’s extreme, violent, and antisemitic views have no place in state government, and tonight the people of the 74th District made clear that they won’t stand for extremism."
A political action committee connected to the conservative Michigan Freedom Fund reported a $3,500 expenditure in late April to support write-in candidate Mike Milanowski.
"Candidates matter. Voters decide. The GOP won this seat 63%-37% in 2020. We couldn’t support Regan & it’s clear voters couldn’t either," Michigan Freedom Fund Executive Director Tori Sachs said Tuesday night on Twitter.
Glanville's competitiveness Tuesday night was reflected in campaign fundraising.
The Walker Democrat raised $54,424, including $18,554 over the last fundraising period of the campaign. The Michigan Education Association's political action committee gave $2,500 to boost her campaign.
By contrast, Regan’s campaign has reported raising $12,943 with the majority coming from Regan himself. From March 22 through April 17, the final fundraising period before the special election, Regan disclosed raising just $20. Regan also has posted anti-Semitic messages to social media.
Glanville emphasized her union roots — indicating she is a daughter of union workers — and said she would stand up for educators and working families. She also took direct aim at Regan's controversial comments.
© The Detroit News
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Biden Comes Out Swinging Against GOP’s 'Extreme' MAGA Agenda
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The midterm election season is on, and the bipartisan gloves are off.
President Joe Biden Wednesday cast Republicans as a bunch of extremists bent on taxing low-income families, putting popular programs like Social Security in peril and threatening the rights of women and LGBTQ people.
"This MAGA crowd is really the most extreme political organization that's existed in recent American history," the president said in remarks at the White House.
His comments, part of an event to tout his administration's progress in reducing the federal deficit, marked a shift from his previous rhetoric while speaking from the White House.
In the midst of entrenched partisanship on Capitol Hill and across the country, Biden - a veteran of more cooperative times in Congress - has taken pains to laud individual Republicans for their bipartisan work on legislation, and repeatedly has insisted he is willing to hear the GOP point of view and work together.
"Senator Rick Scott of Florida," who is chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, "released what he called the ultra MAGA agenda. It's a MAGA agenda alright, Biden said, flipping former President Donald Trump's signature phrase against him. “It's extreme, as most MAGA things are."
"It will actually raise taxes on 75 million American families, over 95% of whom make less than $100,000 a year. Among the hardest hit? Working families," the president said accusingly.
A campaign strategy memo Scott wrote includes proposals to require that all Americans - even low-income people - pay taxes, and would make now-permanent federal programs subject to every five years, Biden noted.
"Social Security is something seniors have paid into their whole life, and it has to be reauthorized? It has to be reauthorized every five years?" Biden said, tapping what has long been known as the "third rail of politics," since people old enough to receive Social Security benefits are among the most reliable voters.
"It's hard to make this up. But then again, it's a MAGA agenda," Biden said.
Biden, who served in the Senate for 36 years and often recalls the days when Democrats and Republicans would work together as competitor-friends, was determined to take Washington back to a more bipartisan time after four tumultuous Trump years. That has produced some successes, including a big-ticket bipartisan infrastructure law.
He noted that under Trump - whose name he declined to say, as is usual for him —the deficit went up every year, while under the current administration, the deficit dropped $350 billion, and is projected to drop by another $1.5 trillion this year.
"I don't want to hear Republicans talk about deficits and their ultra MAGA agenda. I want to hear about fairness. I want to hear about decency," Biden said, blaming the GOP's $2 trillion tax cut for both Trump-era deficits and income inequality.
In a response to a question about Tuesday's bombshell leak of a Supreme Court opinion reversing the Roe v Wade ruling guaranteeing legal abortion, Biden warned that Republicans were after much more - including other "privacy" issues such as contraception, sexual orientation and identity.
"What happens if you.. change the law, saying children who are LGBTQ can't be in a classroom with other children. Is that legitimate?" Biden said in a clear reference to a potential 2024 rival, GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
"What are the next things that are going to be attacked?" Biden said.
The draft Supreme Court opinion has angered and energized largely pro-abortion rights Democrats. Republicans - while speedily calling the draft a victory for their antiabortion agenda, have also been avoiding discussing the actual impact on women. Polling shows Americans overwhelmingly support Roe v Wade, although support for abortion rights drops when voters are asked about late-term procedures.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky refused to discuss the impact of the ruling on the midterm elections, chiding reporters to focus on what he said was the real story - the shocking leak of a Supreme Court draft.
Democrats are using the draft to cast the GOP as out-of-touch and extreme on social issues. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, promised to push legislation codifying the right to abortion though it stands little chance of passage.
It is not expected to survive a filibuster attempt. But Schumer and Democrats will still get what they want - a way to put the GOP on the record.
AFP
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SCOTUS justices lied to pull off a 'religious power grab' -- and here's what the Senate can do about it: conservative columnist
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The United States Supreme Court appears poised to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling and end abortion rights in many states, but one columnist argued the Senate isn't powerless to stop what amounts to a tyrannical move.
The 5-4 decision drafted by Justice Samuel Alito would allow many states to criminalize abortion and severely undermine privacy rights under the 14th Amendment, which would expand government power into Americans' personal lives and endanger a number of basic liberties -- and Congress should take immediate action, argued conservative Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin.
"The livid reaction from progressive advocacy groups and Democratic politicians across the country about the potential evisceration of abortion rights — and possibly others protected by the 14th Amendment — should tell the media this is not simply about 'culture' nor is it a 'war,'" Rubin wrote. "It’s a religious power grab by justices who, according to at least two female Republican senators, dissembled under oath about their intentions regarding Roe. The Senate Judiciary Committee should hold hearings and call GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) to testify. If those senators were really duped, they should consider advocating for extreme measures, including impeachment and a filibuster exception to codify Roe."
The court's right-wing majority and their supporters have apparently rejected the founding principle that religion shall not be imposed by the government, and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) revealed in his 11-point plan that Republicans intend to use state power to serve the religious beliefs of some on everyone else.
"It wasn’t so long ago that 'conservatives' stood for the proposition that government, especially the federal government, should not control the totality of traditions, habits and decisions made in civil society," Rubin wrote. "The family, for example, should remain undisturbed to work out arrangements that reflect its members’ values, faith and views in a pluralistic society. The principle of limited government posits that — unlike totalitarian states that override personal conscience, family and religion — free peoples do not tolerate an all-pervasive government."
What's happening is far worse than a culture war, which Rubin said diminishes its threat.
"The Supreme Court is poised to roil the very essence of our constitutional tradition and strike at the heart of a pluralistic democracy," she concluded. "Let’s call it what it really is: state-enforced theocracy, or if you prefer, religious authoritarianism."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/04/culture-wars-diminishes-danger/
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US Senate candidate leads first lawsuit challenging dissolution of Disney World’s Reedy Creek district
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ORLANDO, Fla. — Three Central Florida taxpayers represented by a lawyer running for U.S. Senate are suing Gov. Ron DeSantis over the dissolution of Disney World’s Reedy Creek Improvement District.
The lawsuit filed this week in federal court is the first in what could be a barrage of legal challenges to ending The Walt Disney Co.’s private government in Florida.
The plaintiffs are Michael and Edward Foronda of Kissimmee and Vivian Gorsky of Orange County. They are represented by William Sanchez, a Miami lawyer and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.
The lawsuit accuses Florida of violating a state law called the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, as well as a contractual obligation with Reedy Creek’s bondholders and Disney’s First Amendment rights. DeSantis is listed as a defendant, along with Secretary of State Laurel Lee and Jim Zingale, executive director of the Florida Department of Revenue.
“Plaintiffs, who are property owners in the surrounding counties, fear that they will now have to assume the tax burden that Disney previously assumed under the special tax status,” the lawsuit reads. “Their fear is well founded, and it is through this taxpayer lawsuit ... that they are able to protect their rights.”
Sanchez did not return a message Wednesday seeking comment. In a video posted on YouTube, he said he is “punching back hard” against a law he thinks is discriminatory.
“We are basically letting Gov. DeSantis know that he has to follow the Constitution also,” Sanchez said. “Just because he is governor and he’s raised $100 million (for his reelection campaign) doesn’t mean he gets to do whatever he wants just like President Trump used to do.”
DeSantis signed legislation on April 22 abolishing the district on June 1, 2023.
No economic study was done on the ramifications of ending the district. Central Florida officials say local taxpayers could be forced to pick up the district’s $1 billion of outstanding debt and other obligations, resulting in a significant tax increase for residents.
DeSantis insists Central Florida homeowners will not face higher tax bills or other negative consequences. His office has not released a plan explaining how the dissolution would proceed. Christina Pushaw, a DeSantis spokeswoman, said she could not comment specifically on the lawsuit but reiterated the governor’s position.
“The local residents of Orange and Osceola counties will not have to bear the burden of Disney’s debt, as the governor has stated,” she said in an email. “And, there is no scenario where the state would inherit Disney’s debt.”
Reedy Creek, which encompasses Disney World and neighboring properties, has the power to issue tax-free bonds, levy taxes, oversee land use and environmental protections and provide essential public services.
The lawsuit cites the Florida Taxpayer Bill of Rights, which includes requirements to keep taxpayer information confidential and the “right to fair and consistent application of the tax laws.” It also accuses the state of violating a pledge to bondholders not to dissolve the district until its $1 billion in bond obligations are “fully met and discharged.”
Reedy Creek has previously issued a statement to its investors pointing out the state’s pledge to bondholders, too.
State Sen. Linda Stewart, an Orlando Democrat, said Monday she thinks dissolving Reedy Creek would require a voter referendum. The bill’s Republican sponsors said that provision doesn’t apply.
“I can tell you that right now there are legal minds on all sides that are working to see what exactly is possible legally,” Stewart said.
© Orlando Sentinel
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Dow surges 900 points, books best day since 2020
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-stock-futures-rise-as-market-awaits-what-could-be-the-biggest-fed-rate-hike-since-2000-11651658512
Joe Biden @JoeBiden
Senator Rick Scott released an Ultra-MAGA Agenda.
It could raise taxes on 75 million American families.
Under this new plan, while big corporations and billionaires would pay nothing more, working-class folks are going to pay a hell of a lot more.
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1521999366898298882
President Biden @POTUS
For the first time since 2016, the Treasury Department is planning to pay down the national debt issued to the public this quarter. For all the talk that Congressional Republicans make about deficits — it didn’t happen during a single quarter under my predecessor.
This week, my Administration released new information that confirms that we’re on track to cut the federal deficit by another $1.5 trillion by the end of this fiscal year — the biggest decline in a single year ever in American history.
All the talk about the deficit from my Republican friends in Congress – I love it.
I’ve reduced it $350 billion in my first year in office.
The unemployment rate was 6.4% when I took office. Now, because of our economic plans, it’s down to 3.6%.
That’s the fastest decline in unemployment ever recorded.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1521956738492252161
Biden touts economic growth, debt and deficit reduction
President Joe Biden on Wednesday said that the federal government will pay down the national debt this quarter for the first time in six years.
His remarks on economic growth came ahead of the Federal Reserve announcing a hike in interest rates Wednesday afternoon in an attempt to manage soaring inflation.
"Bringing down the deficit is one way to ease inflationary pressures in an economy, where a consequence of a war and gas prices and oil, food, and it all – it's just a different world right this moment because of Ukraine and Russia," Biden said.
Biden's remarks from the White House come after the Treasury Department updated estimates this week to project that the U.S. deficit will fall by over $1.5 trillion this year, a revision from the $1.3 trillion projected in Biden's budget.
"For all the talk the Republicans make about deficits, it didn't happen a single quarter under my predecessor, not once," Biden said. "The bottom line is the deficit went up every year under my predecessor, before the pandemic and during the pandemic, and it's gone down both years since I have been here. Period. There are the facts."
He credited the American Rescue Plan for growing the economy, though not a single Republican in Congress voted for the bill.
"Looking ahead, I plan to reduce the deficit even more which will help reduce inflationary measures and lower the cost for everyone's families," Biden said, as he tries to revive a stalled legislative agenda in Congress.
A White House official said, "This deficit reduction is occurring because the robust economic recovery means earnings and incomes are higher, which is increasing revenue, and because the Administration is winding down emergency spending."
"There is no reason why a billionaire should be paid a lower tax rate than a teacher or firefighter," Biden said Wednesday. "That is a sharp contrast to what's today's Republican Party is offering."
Raising a plan released by Florida GOP Sen. Rick Scott, Biden blasted what he called "this ultra-MAGA agenda," which he said would raise costs for Americans families.
Former President Donald Trump's massive tax cut in 2017 has added more than $1 trillion to the debt by some estimates -- a point Biden hit head on.
AFP
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Funny how all these right wing radicals who were never Republicans call long time conservatives "RINOs". It's these far right wing radicals who are the RINOs, they call themselves Republicans, but hold no true conservative beliefs. These radicals hijacked the Republican party and turned it into a violent Christian nationalist movement based on absurd conspiracy theories. The true conservatives are leaving the GOP and the remaining ones who are still left are being purged by these right wing radicals.
Regan blames special state House election loss on ‘coup’ from ‘RINO establishment’
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The day after far-right Republican Robert Regan lost a special state House election Tuesday in a surprise upset, Regan blamed establishment Republicans for his loss during a radio talk show appearance.
“This was a big, big win for … quite frankly, the RINO [Republican in Name Only] establishment, who’s proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they would rather have a Democrat in office than an American-first Republican candidate like me,” Regan said on “Trucker Randy” Bishop’s radio show Wednesday.
Bishop, a longtime GOP activist who filed to run for state Senate as a Democrat, agreed and said there was a “coup” to make sure Regan didn’t win on Tuesday.
Regan faced backlash and lost some GOP establishment support during his campaign after saying that he tells his daughters “if rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it.” He also called the war in Ukraine “a fake war just like the fake pandemic,” and shared a meme claiming that feminism is a “Jewish program to degrade and subjugate white men.”
Democrat Carol Glanville defeated Regan on Tuesday. She said the Republican’s “extreme, violent and antisemetic views” have no place in the House district that includes suburbs around Grand Rapids like Grandville, Rockford and Walker.
The House seat had been left vacant after former state Rep. Mark Huizenga (R-Walker) won a special Senate election in 2021. Glanville’s win in the heavily red district marks the first state legislative flip of 2022 nationwide.
While speaking on Bishop’s show Wednesday, Regan said “establishment” Republicans are “trying to destroy” him.
In contrast, Regan said he and others like him are “street fighters” who “don’t mind getting dirty.”
“We need men and women that are willing to get dirty, get down in there and really go after these people. Because that’s what it’s gonna take,” Regan said. “Kind of how [former President] Donald Trump was, you’ve got to be willing to take and throw punches and go after these people.
“… You have to be willing to fight these people because they are downright evil, and they do not have our best interests at heart and they want to destroy our republic,” he added.
Regan also spoke at length about the long-debunked conspiracy theory that President Joe Biden did not rightfully win the 2020 presidential election.
“There is no way that Joe Biden won Michigan,” Regan falsely claimed.
Biden won Michigan by more than 154,000 votes.
Regan then claimed that he is in contact with active and retired “constitutional sheriffs around the state,” like Barry County’s Dar Leaf, who are planning to hold state officials accountable for widespread election fraud (which does not exist).
So-called constitutional sheriffs are anti-government, militia-friendly sheriffs that have openly declared their refusal to uphold state orders like guns at polls, COVID-19 orders and more.
“We’re working with the sheriffs and we’re working from the legal aspect to hold their feet to the fire because clearly, our RINO elected legislators, they’re not doing anything,” he said.
Regan said he plans to connect with far-right commentator Dinesh D’Souza and “his investigators” to dig up evidence for the sheriffs.
He also said his supporters are planning to “take over” the Kent County Republican Party via precinct delegate elections on Aug. 2.
In response to Regan’s radio appearance, Michigan GOP spokesperson Gustavo Portela tweeted Wednesday that Regan was “possibly the worst candidate I’ve ever seen.”
“There’s no room in our party for someone like him, advocating for violence against women,” Portela said, adding that Republicans will “win this seat back.”
https://michiganadvance.com/2022/05/04/regan-blames-special-state-house-election-loss-on-coup-from-rino-establishment/
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Republican wins GOP nomination — from jail as he awaits trial for murdering his wife
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Despite being jailed after allegedly murdering his wife after she filed for divorce, an Indiana man advanced in a local election in Tuesday's primary election.
"Andrew Wilhoite, who’s suspected of fatally striking his wife with a gallon-sized concrete flower pot, secured a spot Tuesday as one of three Republican candidates in the race for a seat on the Clinton Township Board," the Indianapolis Star reports. "The 40-year-old has been incarcerated in the Boone County Jail since March after police said he told investigators he threw a concrete flower pot at his wife, Nikki Wilhoite, the night before and dropped her body over the side of a bridge."
Brad King, co-director of the Indiana Election Division, explained that under Indiana law, Wilhoite is allowed to run.
“Under our legal system, every person is innocent until proven guilty,” he explained. “If a candidate is ultimately convicted, then depending upon the timing of that conviction, the person can be replaced on the ballot by the political party that has a vacancy.”
Nikki Wilhoite was reported missing March 25.
"Investigators in a probable cause affidavit said Andrew Wilhoite initially told police he last saw his wife sleeping on the couch after the couple had an argument. When police spoke further with him, he asked for an attorney. Police said Andrew Wilhoite called again shortly after and said he’d take them to his wife’s body," the newspaper reported.
Fox 59 reports police say Wilhoite confessed.
"Police say they found blood in the master bedroom and bathroom and learned Nikki, who had recently successfully underwent chemo treatment, had filed for divorce on March 17. After being questioned by Indiana State Police, a probable cause affidavit shows Andrew confessed to fatally striking Nikki in the face with a gallon-sized cement flower pot and then throwing her body in a nearby creek," the station reported.
Watch story: https://fox59.com/indiana-news/boone-county-murder-suspect-wins-60-votes-in-primary-election/
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2022/05/05/andrew-wilhoite-accused-killing-wife-clinton-township-indiana-primary-winner/9659893002/
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Florida GOP official claims DUI investigation is a 'witch hunt' after crashing head-on into tree
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The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office has released body cam footage that documents a deputy declaring a Republican Florida politician was intoxicated after crashing his truck.
"Video and audio footage show Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse slur his words and struggle to answer questions in a recorded 911 call and deputy’s bodycam footage that captured the moments immediately after his alleged DUI crash," the Bradenton Herald reported Thursday. "The commissioner has not been arrested in connection with the crash, and denies he was drinking."
In the bodycam footage, which was released after a public records request from the newspaper, was taken on the evening of April 20. A white Ford F-150 can be seen crashed into a tree.
By the time the deputy arrived, Kruse's wife Jessica was already on the scene.
The footage shows another sheriff's deputy pull up and discuss the situation.
"What happened?" the second deputy asked.
"The dude freaking crashed into a tree," the first deputy said, saying Kruse was "drunk."
"I just can't do a DUI because nobody can put him behind the wheel," he explained. "When I got here, he was in his wife's car."
Kruse told the Business Observer that the investigation was "entirely political."
"It's just a witch hunt. There was no alcohol, there were no drugs involved. My citation does not check that box," he claimed.
The Bradenton Herald reported there are inconsistencies in how Kruse explained the crash. "During an interview with the sheriff’s office, Kruse said that he 'cut a curb' when another driver sped past him, but investigators found that he told his insurance company that he swerved to avoid a small animal," the newspaper explained.
The body cam footage shows the initial deputy on the scene discussing the situation with Jessica Kruse.
"You understand your husband could go to jail for intoxicated driving," he said. "So you need to just talk to him about that. He's obviously impaired. It's obvious. This kind of crush depth for this kind of crash, he was not doing the speed limit this road requires."
"I will say though, that this asphalt has been a complete sh*tshow," she replied.
The sheriff's office told the newspaper it has completed its investigation and handed over all evidence to the State Attorney's Office with a recommendation that charges be filed.
Watch WFLA-TV's coverage below
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Ron DeSantis banned from NY Museum of Jewish Heritage ahead of speaking role at the facility
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On Thursday, WFLA reported that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has been banned from the grounds of the New York Museum of Jewish Heritage — following an invitation to speak there by organizers of the Jewish Leadership Conference in June.
This was first revealed in an editorial by two of the organizers in the Wall Street Journal.
"Elliott Abrams and Eric Cohen are leading members of Jewish non-profit Tikvah Fund. Abrams is the chairman, while Cohen has been executive director of the organization since 2007, according to biographies of them on the Jewish Leadership Conference website," reported Sam Sachs. "The Tikvah Fund is a philanthropy organization, founded to support the 'intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish State.' According to the Tikvah Fund, the organization 'invests in a wide range of initiatives' around the world, including in the United States and Israel."
"The two writers said staff from the museum had told them that DeSantis was banned while the Tikvah Fund was still planning out the event details," said the report. "Museum staff reportedly told Abrams and Cohen that 'DeSantis didn’t ‘align with the museum’s values and its message of inclusivity.'' Conference leaders were told that either the governor could be disinvited, or the event would not be welcome at the museum, according to the editorial."
Abrams and Cohen complained about the decision in the editorial. "We know things are bad when a Jewish institution — in this case, a museum whose purpose is to keep Jewish heritage alive by remembering the Holocaust — turns on its own and tries to make a virtue of its own intolerance," they wrote, arguing that Florida is experiencing a "remarkable Jewish renaissance" they thought DeSantis could offer some perspective on.
DeSantis has inflamed controversy by signing a law that prohibits teachers from even mentioning sexual orientation or gender identity in classrooms, known by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" law. He compounded this by signing a bill seeking to strip the Walt Disney corporation of its special district status for criticizing the measure, which could reportedly cause taxes to skyrocket for families in Orlando and Kissimmee.
https://www.wfla.com/news/politics/gov-desantis-reportedly-banned-from-ny-museum-of-jewish-heritage/
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Arizona Republican Paul Gosar spent nearly $8,000 of taxpayer money to attend events with far-right groups
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Prescott Republican Congressman Paul Gosar spent more than $7,800 for travel, lodging and vehicle expenses while attending events with far-right groups and white nationalists, according to a review of the congressman’s finances by a nonpartisan watchdog group.
The Moonlight Foundation conducted a review of congressional travel that showed Gosar has spent more on travel than any other congressman in the past five years. An additional review of the data by CNN found he has spent nearly $1 million on travel since 2016 — including having taxpayers pay for his trip to speak at a white nationalist conference in Florida in 2021.
Gosar was the first sitting politician to attend the America First Political Action Conference, or AFPAC for short, that is organized by white nationalist Nick Fuentes who Gosar is now attempting to distance himself from.
Gosar spent nearly $3,500 to travel to Florida with his chief of staff Tom Van Flein to attend both the Conservative Political Action Conference and AFPAC. While there, the pair billed an additional $1,000 in hotel rooms. Gosar also charged the government an additional $1,000 for what appears to be a single day vehicle rental during that week.
In July 2018, Gosar came under scrutiny for having a lengthy dinner with Belgian official Filip DeWinter, a leader in the far-right Flemish Nationalist party that traces its roots back the Vlaams Blok, which sought to collaborate with the Nazis in WWII.
Gosar was speaking with DeWinter about an anti-Muslim activist who was jailed in the United Kingdom for breaking rules barring reporting on ongoing court cases. Initially, Gosar told a house ethics committee that a group named the Middle East Forum had paid for the trip. However, an analysis by CNN found he charged taxpayers $2,300 in commercial travel expenses.
A day after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, Gosar charged $1,787 on commercial transportation, the Moonlight Foundation found.
A spokesman for Gosar’s office told CNN that the expenses were all within the realm of official activity and have been reviewed both “in-house” and by the House of Representatives. However, lawmaker spending is largely protected from public scrutiny, as expenses are filed under general categories such as “commercial transportation” or “travel.”
Gosar has far outspent other members of Arizona’s delegation. Republican Congressmen Andy Biggs spent only $69,000 in 2021 and David Schweikert spent just $47,000.
https://www.azmirror.com/blog/paul-gosar-spent-nearly-8000-of-taxpayer-money-to-attend-events-with-far-right-groups/
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Another strong jobs report as the Biden boom continues. Biden's record job creation is now at over 8 million jobs since he took office with the lowest unemployment rate since 1969.
April jobs report: Payrolls rise by 428,000 as unemployment rate holds at 3.6%
U.S. job growth remained robust in April as the unemployment rate held near its pre-virus low, further underscoring the still-tight domestic labor market.
The Labor Department released its monthly jobs report for April Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET. Here were the main metrics from the print, compared with consensus data compiled by Bloomberg
Non-farm payrolls: +428,000 vs. +380,000 expected and a revised +428,000 in March
Unemployment rate: 3.6% vs. 3.5% expected, 3.6% in March
Average hourly earnings, month-over-month: 0.3% vs. 0.4% expected and a revised 0.4% in March
Average hourly earnings, year-over-year: 5.5% vs. 5.5% expected, 5.6% in March
The U.S. economy has brought back payrolls each month so far in 2022, and April's payrolls gains still represented growth well-above pre-pandemic trends. Throughout 2019, payroll growth had averaged about 164,000 per month. And though payroll gains were also slightly downwardly revised for February and March, these increases were still solid on a historical basis. In February, employment grew by 714,000, versus the 750,000 previously reported, while March employment was upwardly revised by 3,000 to reach 428,000.
Services-based employers have brought back some of the most jobs yet again in April, as companies hastened to hire back workers let go during the pandemic to meet renewed consumer demand. Employment in the leisure and hospitality industry increased by 78,000 in April, slowing just slightly from March's 100,000. Education and health services employers brought back slightly more jobs in April compared to March at 59,000. Transportation and warehousing payroll gains increased much more markedly in April compared to March, rising by 52,000 compared to 9,500 during the prior month.
In the goods-producing sector, payroll growth was little changed month-on-month, with jobs growing by 66,000 in April. This was in turn led by hiring in manufacturing, where payrolls grew 55,000.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate held steady in April at 3.6%, or just a hair above February 2020's level of 3.5% from before the pandemic. That, in turn, had been the lowest level for joblessness since 1969.
Wages also climbed yet again, albeit at a slower monthly and annual pace compared to March. On a month-over-month basis, average hourly earnings increased by 0.3%, slowing from March's upwardly revised 0.5% increase. And on a year-over-year basis, average hourly earnings were up 5.5%.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/april-2022-jobs-report-labor-department-unemployment-usa-184903769.html
Biden heads to Ohio to tout industrial renewal plan
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US President Joe Biden will travel to political battleground state Ohio on Friday to announce the launch of a new industrial renewal plan that his administration hopes will revive the country's manufacturing sector.
The initiative, dubbed "AM Forward" (Additive Manufacturing Forward), is aimed at increasing the use of 3D printing and other next-generation production technologies among US companies, a White House statement said.
Several top US firms, including GE Aviation, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Siemens Energy, have committed to a voluntary pact to support US-based suppliers in adopting new parts manufacturing technologies, the statement said.
Small and medium enterprises that choose to take up the initiative will be able to avail the support of federal programs to boost their competitiveness in the sector, the administration promised.
Biden will announce the plan in the US midwestern state of Ohio -- a political battleground that has often been a bellwether in US presidential polls -- ahead of a general election in November.
The president's Democratic Party will be seeking to build on its majority in the US Congress at the polls.
The election for Ohio's next senator, a position previously held by a Republican considered moderate, is one that will be closely watched.
It will pit Democrat Tim Ryan against far right Republican J.D. Vance, a 37-year-old former marine and author known for his bestselling memoir "Hillbilly Elegy."
He graduated from the Ivy League Yale Law School and was previously opposed to Trump -- famously dubbing him "America's Hitler" -- but later became an ardent supporter.
AFP
President Joe Biden will visit United Performance Metals in Butler County during Cincinnati visit
President Joe Biden will visit a metal manufacturer in Hamilton, Ohio, and talk 3D printing on Friday afternoon.
While in the Cincinnati region, Biden will push Congress to pass a bill designed to boost manufacturing in the United States, particularly products hampered by overseas supply chain issues. That’s according to a release from the White House.
Biden will speak at United Performance Metals in Hamilton. The company is a global distributor of high-performance metals serving industries including aerospace, semiconductor, power generation, oil and gas and others.
Air Force One is expected to fly into the Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport at 1 p.m.
Biden will tout the "Bipartisan Innovation Act" that would provide money for making semiconductors and other technology that have suffered from delays in the supply chain. The semiconductor chip shortage has slowed auto manufacturing.
This will be Biden's second trip to Cincinnati as president and first since he held a town hall at Mount St. Joseph University in July 2021. It's his fifth trip to Ohio. He came to Lorain in Northeast Ohio in February to talk about his infrastructure law and how it would pay for $1 billion to clean up the Great Lakes.
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2022/05/05/president-joe-biden-visit-united-performance-metals-hamilton-during-cincinnati-visit/9656004002/
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Ron DeSantis' crusade against Disney is drawing fire from some Republicans
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Not all Republicans are on board for the ride with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' in his war against the Walt Disney Company, according to a CNN report.
The Republican head of the Sunshine State made a big splash recently when he ordered lawmakers there to craft legislation to strip the company of its special tax status because the company's CEO publicly criticized the governor for enacting a new law restricting classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity.
DeSantis wants to eliminate the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the special governing body that has overseen Disney's theme parks and Orlando-area properties for half a century. That new measure, critics argue, could impose a massive new tax obligation - up to $1 billion - on central Florida residents.
DeSantis, who is running for reelection, is widely expected to make a run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024. One of his potential opponents in that race, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, dismissed what he sees as a purely political retaliatory move by DeSantis. "I don't believe that government should be punitive against private businesses because we disagree with them," he told CNN. "That's not the right approach either. And so, to me, that's the old Republican principle of having a restrained government."
The network also reports that Kenneth Griffin, a billionaire hedge fund owner who has donated more to DeSantis' campaign than any other individual, is "troubled" by the governor's move against Disney.
Griffin said, "I don't appreciate Gov. DeSantis going after Disney's tax status. It can be portrayed or feel or look like retaliation. And I believe that the people who serve our nation need to rise above these moments in time in their conduct and behavior."
Even pro-Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis has jumped in to denounce DeSantis's crusade against Disney as "vengeful."
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/06/politics/ron-desantis-florida-disney-republicans/index.html
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President Biden
@POTUS
Today, we learned that the economy created 428,000 jobs in April — bringing the total number of jobs created since I took office to 8.3 million.
That’s record setting job creation in my first 15 months in office.
Today, I’m in Cincinnati to meet with manufacturing leaders, see new technologies at work, and discuss how we can build on the 545,000 manufacturing jobs created since I took office by passing the Bipartisan Innovation Act.
Our plans and policies have produced the strongest job creation economy in modern times.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FSFmiqCX0AcRix1?format=png&name=medium)
Tune in as I deliver remarks calling on Congress to pass legislation like the Bipartisan Innovation Act.
Watch here: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1522655189261553666
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Dozens of mail ballots are going to a GOP ward leader’s South Philly P.O. box, raising ‘ballot harvesting’ concerns
PHILADELPHIA — A mail ballot mystery is unfolding at an otherwise unremarkable post office box in South Philadelphia.
City elections officials last week received applications from more than three dozen Republican voters across a pocket of the neighborhood. Those applications requested that mail ballots be delivered not to the voters’ homes, but to P.O. Box 54705, an address registered to a recently formed GOP political action committee, according to state data.
Many of those voters told The Inquirer they have no idea why their ballots were sent there. Some said they never even applied to vote by mail.
And yet one out of every six Republican ballot requests in the 26th Ward — the section of deep South Philly south of Passyunk Avenue and west of Broad Street that voted twice for former President Donald Trump — listed the P.O. Box. That made it the largest single destination for ballots in the city other than nursing homes or elections offices.
“This doesn’t even make any sense,” said Rose DeSantis, 35, who was surprised when told by a reporter that a ballot she says she never requested had been sent to the P.O. box this week. “You would think that would raise some red flags.”
At a time when Republican lawmakers and candidates have attacked mail voting and falsely portrayed it as rife with abuse, the ballot requests and interviews with voters reveal an effort by one GOP operative to use mail ballots that may violate or at least push the boundaries of state law.
For example, the mailing address portion of the form — where the P.O. Box was written — is in a visibly different handwriting from the rest of the form on many of the applications, according to two sources who have reviewed the documents. And that handwriting appears on multiple forms, suggesting that the same person wrote in the P.O. Box for the voters.
“We have been aware of the allegations and have been actively monitoring the situation,” said Nick Custodio, deputy under Lisa Deeley, the chair of the city commissioners.
The commissioners, the office that runs elections, had already sent some ballots out before staffers began contacting some of the affected voters this week and diverting their ballots to their home addresses. Ballots that had already been sent out to the P.O. Box will be set aside for the commissioners to review when they’re returned.
“After we were presented with the additional information by the Philadelphia Inquirer, to protect the enfranchisement of the affected voters, we began the process of contacting them to determine if they desired a replacement ballot to be sent to an address where they can directly receive it,” Custodio said in a statement.
The District Attorney’s Office is aware of the issue and “that there are inconsistencies with the handwriting” on the applications, spokesperson Jane Roh said.
The ballots appear to be the effort of one man: Billy Lanzilotti, a 23-year-old GOP operative, South Philadelphia ward leader, and chairman of the Republican Registration Coalition, the PAC he registered at the P.O. Box earlier this year.
In an interview, he said everything about the situation was legal and appropriate.
“I didn’t do anything that to my understanding was against the law,” he said.
‘Help pump out the Republican voter turnout’
Lanzilotti, who already runs a nearby ward, also wants to become the Republican leader for the 26th Ward. Aiming “to help pump out the Republican voter turnout,” he said, he began going door-to-door earlier this month and signing up residents of the 26th to vote by mail.
He’d hand them a form on which he or people he works with had already filled out the voter’s name and his P.O. Box as the destination, he said. Having the ballots sent there was a “convenience to the voter,” he said, so it could be hand-delivered to them later by someone they trusted.
“There’s been a number of problems with the post office lately,” he said. ”Checks are being stolen out of the mail. They like it this way because I’m someone they trust.”
But many of the voters said they don’t know who Lanzilotti is and had no idea he was submitting mail ballot applications in their names.
The Inquirer spoke to 12 of the 39 voters whose applications requested their mail ballots be sent to Lanzilotti. Only two said they knowingly filled out a ballot application with the understanding it would be sent to him instead of their home address.
Five others were unaware their applications had requested their ballots be diverted to Lanzilotti’s P.O. Box, at the post office at Broad Street and Castle Avenue.
And five more were adamant they hadn’t applied to vote by mail at all — or at least didn’t know that’s what they were doing when a man showed up at their doorstep to talk to them about the May 17 primary election.
Only one said he’d actually received the ballot Lanzilotti applied for in her name.
Rose Centeno, 59, at first insisted she would never vote by mail, echoing false Republican claims about mail ballots. But when told an application had been submitted last week and a ballot mailed out in her name, Centeno said she wasn’t surprised.
"That’s what they do,” she said. “That’s why you can’t trust the mail ballots. This whole city’s screwed up.”
She later recalled that she had filled out some paperwork with the assistance of a man who showed up at her door and offered to help her change her voter registration from Democrat to Republican.
Maria Morris, 55, also remembered agreeing to switch her party registration during an unannounced visit from a man at her doorstep. She signed some papers, she said, not really paying attention to what they were.
“He didn’t mention anything about ballots,” she said.
And Joseph Tralie III, 63, insisted he hadn’t filled out any paperwork at all.
He doesn’t vote, he said, and had no plans to do so this month. He learned that a ballot in his name had been sent to Lanzilotti’s address when he was contacted Thursday evening by the City Commissioners Office.
“I have my address on my voter registration,” he said. “If someone’s asking for my ballot to be sent to a random P.O. Box, I’m not sure how that can count.”
‘Smacks of unlawful conduct’
Republicans up and down the ballot have spent two years attacking mail voting, led by Trump’s lies about fraud and the 2020 election being stolen.
The top Republican candidates for governor are campaigning on repealing Act 77, the 2019 law that allows any voter to cast a ballot by mail. The reality is voter fraud in any form is vanishingly rare, and the handful of confirmed instances in 2020 involved Republicans seeking to cast votes for Trump. Even in Lanzilotti’s case, which lawyers from both parties described as concerning, there’s no evidence of fraudulent votes being cast.
It’s unclear whether Lanzilotti’s behavior crosses legal lines, the lawyers said. Much of it depends on details that aren’t yet known.
“There’s some things you’re describing that I think have arguments that could be made that they’re appropriate, there’s some arguments that can be made that they’re inappropriate,” said Matt Haverstick, an elections lawyer in Montgomery County who works with Republican campaigns. “But the whole zeitgeist of what you’re telling me smacks of unlawful conduct.”
It’s legal for voters to have ballots sent to an address other than their homes — that’s what absentee ballots were intended for in the first place.
“If the circumstance is, it’s mail delivered at a retirement home, and some kindly ward person gets them from the mailroom and hands them out, that’s one thing,” Haverstick said. “Going to a P.O. Box at the address for a PAC? I have to think about that one. It’s certainly one that would give me pause under the election code.”
The voters don’t have access to the P.O. Box to retrieve their ballots. A few said this week they hadn’t yet received ballots, which Lanzilotti said was because he’s been busy and hasn’t yet delivered them.
"I can only do this in my spare time,” he said. “I have a full-time job.”
It’s also unclear whether delivering ballots to voters is allowed: State election law isn’t explicit on the question, and Act 77 hasn’t been tested on it.
Other legal questions are clearer.
Voters are supposed to fill out their own mail ballot applications, unless they’re ill or did not sign an authorization for a specific person to help them.
None of the 39 requests noted any help in filling out the form. The two sources who reviewed them said many of the applications featured two different sets of handwriting, in line with Lanzilotti’s explanation that he handed voters pre-filled forms.
Ballots are also only to be returned by the voters themselves, with the sole exception for disabled voters who must explicitly authorize a person to help.
Democrats have argued that third-party ballot delivery should be allowed in Pennsylvania, as it is in some other states, because it provides greater access for voters, especially those who need assistance for reasons other than disability. But current law doesn’t allow it, as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed in 2020.
Republicans have focused on reports of voters returning multiple ballots — Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, voted by mail and his wife returned his ballot along with her own — to criticize the mail voting system.
Emphasizing that “ballot harvesting,” as they call it, is illegal under state law, state Senate Republicans last month passed legislation that would ban drop boxes, calling it a necessary step to ensure voters are the only ones who return their own ballots.
Lehigh County’s district attorney sparked controversy this week when he said he would send detectives to monitor drop boxes to ensure voters only return their own ballots. Leigh Chapman, who as acting Pennsylvania secretary of state is the highest-ranking elections official, asked him Thursday to reconsider, warning that it could amount to voter intimidation.
Lanzilotti said he’s not returning anyone’s completed ballots.
But Leonard Armstrong, 71, said Lanzilotti offered to do exactly that.
Armstrong said he’s known and trusted Lanzilotti for years as a “kid from the neighborhood.” So when Lanzilotti brought him his ballot last week, Armstrong filled it out that same afternoon, he said, and handed it back in the sealed envelope. He said Lanzilotti had offered to deliver the ballot on his behalf.
“I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t trust him,” Armstrong said.
Lanzilotti insisted Armstrong was mistaken, telling The Inquirer that all he had done was drop off the ballot at Armstrong’s home.
As for the other voters who accused him of submitting ballot applications without their knowledge, Lanzilotti said, “I don’t know what to say.”
“The voters signed those forms saying they wanted their ballot sent [to me,]” he added. “They’re the ones that signed it.”
By Thursday evening, word of the unusual number of ballots being sent to Lanzilotti had begun to spread through the 26th Ward.
“Everybody’s talking about it. Nobody any of us knows has a P.O. Box,” Rose DeSantis said. “This sounds like some fraud or crook stuff.”
© The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Conservative Supreme Court justices lied to the Senate and they lied to us
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For almost five decades, Roe v. Wade has been established American law, guaranteeing the constitutional right of choice to all Americans. Even those Supreme Court justices now ready to toss that precedent aside have previously testified under oath during their Senate confirmation hearings that they believed Roe is established law that ought to be respected.
They lied.
They lied to the Senate, and they lied to us. The fact that most Americans on both sides of the abortion question understood them to be lies at the time they were told does not alter their character as lies. And those lies have been accompanied by multitudes of other lies, as lies tend to be.
For example, we have been told for most of the decades since Roe that the pro-life movement was not seeking an absolute ban on abortion, that of course reasonable exemptions would be allowed in cases of rape, incest, life of the mother or health of the mother. Of course it would not apply to ectopic pregnancies, or to pregnancies in which fetal defects would make it impossible for the baby to survive. To impose a ban in those situations would be barbaric.
Likewise, we have been reassured that a reversal of Roe would not mean a national ban on abortion, but would merely return the decision-making powers to the 50 states, which would each craft its own approach to the issue. We have also been told earnestly that post-Roe, no one would be seeking to prosecute those who sought abortions, out of sympathy for women placed in such a difficult situation.
But now, on the precipice of that change, all such reassurances are being abandoned. Congressional Republicans are preparing legislation to ban abortion nationwide. Laws already on the books in various states in anticipation of Roe’s reversal would outlaw not just abortion but the crossing of state lines to seek an abortion. Think of them as fugitive abortion laws. Bills are also moving in state legislatures to treat abortion as homicide, with pregnant women, doctors, nurses and administrators as murderers or accomplices.
And those three exceptions? Republicans who today dare to support allowing abortion in cases of rape, incest or life of the mother risk excommunication from their party, in yet another example of the party’s increasing radicalism. The only acceptable position now is to insist that human life begins at conception, and all else flows from that.
If human life begins at conception then any attempt to end that life must be treated as murder. If human life begins at conception then it doesn’t matter how that conception occurred – rape, incest — it doesn’t matter. A woman who was given no choice about whether to have sex is also given no choice whether to carry to term and give birth if that rape results in pregnancy.
“Oh, don’t worry,” we are told. “Rape rarely results in pregnancy,” which is false. But if those instances truly are rare, then surely we can allow an exception in those cases?
No, we cannot. If human life begins at conception then all abortion is murder. If human life begins at conception then of course it is criminal to cross state lines to end that life. If human life begins at conception, if embryos are full-blown U.S. citizens, then of course the U.S. government must intervene; it cannot allow pre-born Americans to die in one state but live in another.
four of his nine colleagues on the Supreme Court, Justice Samuel Alito dismisses the idea that Americans have a constitutional right to privacy, and with it the idea that some decisions are too intimate and personal to be decided by the heavy hand of government. As Alito notes, the words “privacy” and “abortion” are mentioned nowhere in the Constitution, therefore leading him to conclude that we have no right to such things.
He also waves away the Ninth Amendment, which the Founders included in anticipation of just such an argument. “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people,” it states. Alito writes that the amendment does not apply, because the right to abortion “is not deeply rooted in the nation’s history and tradition.”
But if there is no right to privacy in the Constitution, if it is not among those rights “retained by the people” even if it is not explicitly mentioned, then the door is reopened to challenge other rights granted as part of the right to privacy: the right to obtain contraceptives, the right of gay Americans to live as straight Americans live, the right to marry. Because after all, “gay” and “contraceptive” also do not appear in the Constitution.
Instead, Alito writes, “it is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
If that draft opinion holds, as it probably will, the state legislators that you elect, the members of Congress and the attorneys general and governors that you elect, will now decide whether and how the rights that we have enjoyed for half a century will continue to exist.
The Constitution, as construed by this court, will no longer protect us. Our only remaining protection is through the ballot box, and if we don’t make our voices heard loudly and clearly there, then we can expect even worse rulings in the years ahead. Vote wisely or accept the consequences.
Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence.
https://georgiarecorder.com/2022/05/06/bookman-roe-v-wades-rights-guarantees-not-settled-law-after-all-they-lied/
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Biden plugs manufacturing initiative at Ohio metal company
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Hamilton, Ohio (AP) — President Joe Biden pledged Friday that 3D printing technology would help return factory jobs to the U.S. and reduce inflationary pressures as he traveled to an industrial Midwestern state with a Senate seat in play to make his case for the future of manufacturing.
Biden is staking his presidency in part on the promise that his policies on matters ranging from infrastructure to computer chips can create a more resilient economy.
“The pandemic and the economic crisis that we inherited and Putin’s war in Ukraine have all shown the vulnerability when we become too reliant on things made overseas,” Biden said. “We learned the hard way that we can’t fight inflation if supply chains buckle and send prices through the roof every time there’s a disruption.”
Biden went to United Performance Metals in Hamilton to highlight commitments by five leading U.S. manufacturers to boost their reliance on small and medium American firms for 3D printing. GE Aviation, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Siemens Energy have agreed to take part in the program. The president toured the factory with executives.
The promise of 3D printing is that it could reverse the outsourcing of factory jobs and industrial production, allowing for more components to be manufactured in the U.S. An analysis by the consulting firm Kearney estimated that the technology could produce $600 billion to $900 billion in economic value by enabling more production domestically.
The president also pressed Congress to approve a stalled competition and innovation bill that the Democratic president says is critical to bolstering domestic manufacturing and helping solve a semiconductor shortage that has delayed production of life-saving medical devices, smartphones, video game consoles, laptops and other modern conveniences.
“Pass the damn bill and send it to me,” Biden said Friday in his remarks.
GE Aviation and Raytheon set a goal of looking to small and medium firms for 50% of their requests for quotes for products requiring 3D printing or related technologies.
Siemens Energy committed to targeting 20% to 40% of externally sourced 3D print parts and will work with 10 to 20 small and medium firms to help improve their capability. Lockheed Martin has agreed to work with smaller suppliers on research to improve the use of 3D printing as an alternative to castings and forgings. Honeywell is offering technical assistance including part design, data generation, machine operation and post-processing to small and medium suppliers it works with.
The semiconductor chip problem has been building since coronavirus pandemic-related lockdowns shut down major Asian chip factories more than two years ago. Now it could extend past this year, despite the semiconductor industry’s efforts to catch up with demand.
There is bipartisan support for boosting domestic chip production, but lawmakers in the Senate and the House still need to negotiate over differences.
The House in February passed a version of the legislation that could pump $52 billion in grants and subsidies to the semiconductor industry to help boost U.S. production. The bill must now be reconciled with a Senate version passed eight months ago.
House Democrats also tucked in other priorities that have raised Republican concerns about the bill’s cost and scope.
The bill includes $8 billion for a fund that helps developing countries adjust to climate change; $3 billion for facilities to make the U.S. less reliant on Chinese solar components; $4 billion to help communities with significantly higher unemployment than the national average; and $10.5 billion for states to stockpile drugs and medical equipment.
© Associated Press
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Here's another look at the historic job creation under President Biden.
We had another really strong month for our booming economy with 428k new jobs. Unemployment is at 3.6% so adding nearly one half million new jobs with an incredibly low unemployment rate when people already have a job is really remarkable.
So with the addition of 428,000 new jobs in April 2022, President Biden has now created 8.3 million jobs in just 15 months. No other President has ever accomplished that feat before. Both Bushes and Trump only created 1.6 million jobs between all three of them in a span of 16 years. Most of those jobs were created by Bush Senior because Bush Jr. and Trump were the worst economic jobs Presidents in modern times. President Biden has them all beat in just over 1 year.
So, these "pundits" that claim "Republicans are better for the economy" are just full of crap because the results speak for themselves. And don't forget about the 33 million + jobs that Clinton and Obama created further proving Democrats are the best for job creation and the economy.
That brings us to:
33.8m jobs - 16 yrs Clinton Obama
8.3m jobs - 15 months Biden
1.9m jobs - 16 years Bush Sr., GW Bush, Trump
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Now here is another economic fact:
Of the 44 million jobs created since 1989, 42 million of them - 96% - have come under Democratic Presidents. We lost millions of jobs because of the George W Bush economic crisis and Donald Trump economic crisis they gave us. Both times a Democrat, Obama and Biden, got us out of the economic disasters that they inherited from a Republican.
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So yes, 4 times as many jobs have been created in Biden's first 15 months as were created under the last 3 GOP Presidents combined.
But by month, Biden job creation is 50 times that of those last 3 GOP Presidents. 50 times more. And Biden even beats Clinton and Obama who were two of the best jobs Presidents in modern history.
That's why President Biden's record job creation is historic and is truly remarkable. This President has already accomplished more than what a President can do in 4 years. Actually, President Biden has done more in 15 months than what 3 Republican Presidents have done for a combined 16 years. So no, Republicans are not better for the economy. They hardly created any jobs which barely registered 1.6 million for 16 years and we suffered 2 economic crises due to their failed leadership and disastrous economic policies. Why would anybody vote for a Republican to give us another economic crisis with the same failed trickle down economics that has always falied? GOP Senator Rick Scott currently has this same failed plan for the 2022 Republican platform that has failed us twice before.
Once again, these statistics speak for themselves.
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Lauren Boebert's campaign caught possessing tens of thousands in illegal donations
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Controversial first-term Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) has found herself caught in yet another scandal over her alleged failure to follow the campaign finance laws that govern political candidates in America.
"In a warning letter from the Federal Election Commission made public on Thursday, Boebert’s latest campaign finance filing for the first quarter of 2022 shows her campaign accepted as much as $30,000 in contributions that exceed federal campaign finance limits," the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reported Saturday. "The six-page letter notes 20 separate incidents where the campaign took more than the $2,900 that is allowed for individuals to give in any one election."
Less than two weeks before being elected to Congress, Boebert paid of nearly $20,000 in state tax liens on Shooters Grill, her financially challenged firearms-themed restaurant. She also claimed more than $22,000 in mileage reimbursements from her campaign. To receive that much money in gas reimbursements, Boebert would have had to have driven 38,712 miles — which is 13,811 miles more than the circumference of Earth.
She also failed to disclose her husband's income and received $6,650 via Venmo from her campaign.
Boebert is being challenged by Republican state Sen. Don Coram in the GOP primary.
"Last month, Boebert’s campaign finance reports to the FEC showed that she raised more than $4 million in her reelection bid, about two-thirds of which have come from donors who live outside the 3rd Congressional District," the Daily Sentinel reported.
Read the full report: https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/fec-to-boebert-campaign-donations-exceed-legal-limits/article_36506dfe-ccac-11ec-a7b9-0b562227c42f.html
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The Republican war on women continues to go even further. And this is another Republican who praises nazis.
GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters wants to allow states to ban contraception use
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After the U.S. Supreme Court overturns women’s constitutional right to abortion this summer, one Arizona Republican candidate for U.S. Senate thinks judges should also take aim at the right to buy and use contraception.
Blake Masters, a Tucson-based venture capitalist, boasts on his website that he will only vote to confirm federal judges “who understand that Roe and Griswold and Casey were wrongly decided, and that there is no constitutional right to abortion.” Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, decided in 1973 and 1992, respectively, both upheld a constitutional right to abortion access.
But the ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965 protected a married couple’s right to buy and use contraceptives without government restrictions. The case centered on a Connecticut law that banned the use of contraceptives, which the court determined violated a married couple’s constitutional right to privacy, establishing the basis for the right to privacy with respect to intimate practices.
Masters’ campaign could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Supreme Court in June will issue its ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case centered on a Mississippi abortion law that is a vehicle for the court to overturn Roe, as conservative justices appear poised to do in a draft opinion that was leaked.
In Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion, he mentioned other landmark cases that could potentially be overturned in the future, Including Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage.
Donald Trump hasn’t yet endorsed an Arizona Senate candidate, but Masters is viewed as the favorite to receive his endorsement. His campaign is also being supported by his former boss and mentor, technology investor Peter Thiel, who is spending at least $10 million to bankroll a campaign to support Masters. Masters has already won the support of some extremist Republicans, most recently Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who spoke to a white nationalist conference earlier this year. Other media reports have noted his past praise for the Unabomber and Hermann Goering, one Hitler’s top military leaders and one of the most prominent members of the Nazi Party.
AFP
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New poll reveals warning signs for GOP on abortion ahead of midterms
Many right-wing politicians and pundits have spent the week rejoicing over Monday's momentous report that five conservative Supreme Court justices appear poised to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that established a constitutional right to abortion almost half a century ago.
Yet a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll, one of the first to be conducted entirely after the leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s controversial draft opinion, suggests that Republicans risk overplaying their hand on abortion ahead of the 2022 midterms — and that Democrats could benefit if the hot-button issue is on the ballot.
The survey of 1,577 U.S. adults, which was conducted from May 3 to May 6, found that registered voters initially preferred a generic Democrat (44%) over a generic Republican (39%) by 5 percentage points when asked how they would vote in their district if the congressional election were being held today.
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But when voters were asked to choose instead between a “pro-choice Democrat” and a “pro-life Republican,” GOP support fell to 31% while Democratic support held steady — more than doubling the gap between the two candidates, to 13 percentage points.
By the same token, 69% of Americans say they would “oppose Congress passing a law that bans abortion nationwide.” The Washington Post reported this week that conservative groups have already met with their congressional allies about a possible “nationwide ban on the procedure if Republicans retake power in Washington,” and several GOP senators have started sketching out policy details.
"I think you could expect that pro-life activists would push for federal protections” if the Supreme Court overturns Roe, GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota told NBC News. “I wouldn't take that off the table.”
A mere 22% of Americans say they would favor such a law — while more than twice as many (48%) would support a law "that keeps abortion as legal and accessible nationwide as it had been under Roe.”
These warning signs for Republicans reflect a deeper, and remarkably consistent, pattern. On question after question, only about a third of Americans say they agree with the transformative decision the court is now careening toward — that is, a decision to end all federal protections for abortion, allowing state legislatures to restrict or ban the procedure as they please.
Just 31% of U.S. adults, for instance, say Roe v. Wade should be overturned. Just 34% say abortion should be illegal in “all” or “most” cases. Only 33% say they want their own states to make all or most abortions illegal. And just 30% say abortion is “something that individual states should be [able to] outlaw.”
In contrast, nearly twice as many Americans see abortion as “a constitutional right that women in all states should have some access to” (56%) and say the procedure should be legal in all or most cases (55%).
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The Yahoo News survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,577 U.S. adults from May 3 to 6, 2022.
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Facts
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The American people are continuing to create new business at an explosive, historic rate - another sign of the remarkable economic vitality we are witnessing. This is all due to President Biden's American Rescue Plan which jump started the economy. Don't forget that every single Republican voted against The American Rescue Plan and now they want to try and falsely take credit for it. Via @uscensusbureau
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There are more than 5 million job openings than there are unemployed people in America today.
Another sign of the historic health, vitality of the US economy right now. We are living in an extraordinary boom.
"Employers posted a record 11.5 million job openings in March, meaning the U.S. now has an unprecedented 2 job openings for every person who is unemployed.”
https://www.9and10news.com/2022/05/03/employers-post-record-11-5-million-job-openings-in-march/
Manufacturing job openings remain near an all time high.
There were 860,000 manufacturing job openings in March, with increased postings for both durable and nondurable goods firms. Over the past 12 months, job openings in the sector have averaged nearly 865,000, including the record 943,000 in July.
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Biden is the 3rd consecutive Dem President to have dramatically lowered the annual deficit. Clinton even got us to surplus.
The last 3 GOP President's saw the deficit explode on their watch. Under Trump it grew more than any President since WWII.
Biden highlights deficit reduction, says U.S. will pay down national debt for first time in 6 years
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-deficit-national-debt-reduction/
Biden is the third consecutive Dem President to have seen the unemployment drop significantly on their watch. It has risen under the last 3 GOP Presidents. Trump was first with net job loss since Hoover.
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GDP growth under Biden is running twice what it ran for last 3 GOP Presidents. 4 times Trump.
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GOP lawmaker who was raped says 'vast majority of Republicans' support abortion rights
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Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) argued on Sunday that it was important for pro-choice Republicans to speak up after a leaked ruling indicated the Supreme Court will overturn federal abortion rights.
During an interview on Face the Nation, host Margaret Brennan noted that Mace had spoken out about abortion rights because she was a victim of rape.
"You said that it took you 25 years to talk about your attack and that you only shared it with your mother and one of your good friends," Brennan observed. "So I wonder what you think about some of these restrictions in states that would require rape victims to provide police reports in order to obtain an abortion."
"From experience as a state lawmaker, I know that South Carolina's fetal heartbeat bill would not have passed without exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother," Mace insisted. "And I told that story. I thought it was a really important story that's often missed and not told because women are afraid."
Mace revealed that she is often attacked on social media for speaking about her rape.
"And one of the things that I think that's missing in this conversation is that, when you have it, when Ohio did their fetal heartbeat bill, there was a 10-year-old girl that had been found to be pregnant that was raped repeatedly by her father," she recalled. "And so, I know it's part of the Republican Party platform. The vast majority of Republicans support those exceptions for rape and incest and life of the mother."
She added: "And it's important for some of us to step forward and tell those stories that are often missed in all of this."
The Associated Press reported over the weekend that many conservative states are looking to eliminate exceptions for rape and incest if the Supreme Court allows them to outlaw abortion.
Watch the video below from CBS.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1523325299055857667
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First Lady Jill Biden makes unannounced visit to Ukraine
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(Reuters) -U.S. first lady Jill Biden made an unannounced trip to Ukraine on Sunday to show support for its people amid Russia's invasion, visiting a school that is serving as a temporary shelter and meeting Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska.
"I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop and this war has been brutal and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine," Biden said, according to a report by a Washington Post reporter shared with other media organizations.
The school is serving as a shelter for 163 displaced Ukrainians, including 47 children, the report said.
Biden, who had been traveling in neighboring Slovakia, gave flowers to Zelenska, who was making her first public appearance since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24, according to a U.S. official. The two women hugged.
Zelenska said Biden was courageous for making the trip.
"We understand what it takes for the U.S. first lady to come here during a war when the military actions are taking place every day, where the air sirens are happening every day even today," she said through an interpreter, according to the report.
"We all feel your support and we all feel the leadership of the U.S. president, but we would like to note that the Mother's Day is a very symbolic day for us because we also feel your love and support during such an important day."
U.S. President Joe Biden has been leading efforts to impose economic sanctions on Russia and pressure President Vladimir Putin to end the war. The U.S. president has not been to Ukraine since the invasion, but other top U.S. officials have: Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Kiev in the last two weeks.
Jill Biden returned to Slovakia after her trip across the border.
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© Reuters
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These 4 liars lied about their real stance on Roe during their confirmation hearing to get on the Supreme Court. If they revealed their true intentions they never would have been confirmed. All 4 lied under oath and they need to be impeached.
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Texas Republicans say if Roe falls, they’ll focus on adoptions and preventing women from seeking abortions elsewhere
State leaders say expanding a social safety net for children and prosecuting abortion funders are among their priorities. “We’ll continue to do our best to make abortion not just outlawed, but unthinkable,” said state Rep. Briscoe Cain.
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During their 20 years in control of the Texas Legislature, Republican lawmakers have steadfastly worked to chip away at abortion access.
Bound by the limits of Roe v. Wade, which stopped them from enacting an outright ban on the procedure, lawmakers got creative. They required abortion clinics to have wide hallways and deputized private citizens to sue providers in an effort to shut down facilities that offer the procedure.
Future lawmaking on the topic will likely not require such ingenuity. A leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion, published last week by Politico, suggests the court will reverse the landmark abortion ruling in the coming weeks, allowing states to regulate abortion as they see fit. Texas has a “trigger law” that would make performing an abortion a felony, which would go into effect 30 days after the Supreme Court overturns Roe.
Their decadeslong goal achieved, Republican lawmakers said there’s still work to be done. Texas GOP leaders and members of the Legislature said it is now time to turn their attention to strengthening the social safety net for women and children and investing in foster care and adoption services.
“It only makes sense,” said Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands. “The dog’s caught the car now.”
At least some of the more conservative members of the House said they also want to ensure strict enforcement of the abortion ban and to prevent pregnant Texans from seeking legal abortions in other states.
“I think I can speak for myself and other colleagues that align with my policy beliefs — we’ll continue to do our best to make abortion not just outlawed, but unthinkable,” said Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus.
Texas already has an arsenal of statutes to punish virtually anyone involved in the procurement of an abortion, said University of Texas at Austin law professor Liz Sepper. These include last year’s Senate Bill 8, which empowers private citizens to sue anyone who “abets” an abortion after six weeks of gestational age, as well as unenforced pre-Roe abortion statutes criminalizing a person who gets the procedure, which the Legislature never repealed — some dating to the 1850s.
“If Roe is overturned, there’s already a criminal ban, there’s already an aiding and abetting ban, there’s already a ban on mailing medication abortion,” Sepper said. “In terms of law’s ability to change behavior, they’ve almost filled all the gaps — with the exception of criminalizing the pregnant person involved in an abortion.”
Cain said he has a particular interest in going after abortion funds, which seek contributions from donors to help defray the cost of out-of-state trips for pregnant Texans to receive the procedure, citing a state law that prohibits “furnishing the means for procuring an abortion.”
In a March letter to one such group, the Lilith Fund, Cain threatened to file a bill in the coming legislative session that would empower district attorneys to prosecute abortion-related crimes across the state even when local authorities refuse to do so.
Attempts to prohibit individuals from contributing to abortion funds would likely violate the First Amendment’s protections on free speech, said South Texas College of Law Professor Charles “Rocky” Rhodes.
“Helping people go get abortions is going to be one of these difficult questions that’s going to arise in a post-Roe world if a legislature tries to criminalize the ability of a pregnant person to get an abortion someplace where it’s legal,” Rhodes said.
Cain said he is in discussions with fellow Republicans about other abortion-related legislative priorities but that it is premature to discuss them. The next legislative session is scheduled to begin in January.
Texas Democrats, who are vastly outnumbered at the Legislature, characterized the leaked opinion as “bleak” but said they would not stop fighting for access to abortion.
“This will only power our fight to codify the right to abortion at the federal level,” Hannah Roe Beck, the Texas Democratic Party’s co-executive director, said in a news release. “It’s more important than ever that we elect leaders who are ready to put everything on the line to get this through Congress. We cannot tolerate anything less.”
An effort in Congress to do this, however, failed to pass the Senate in February. Another vote scheduled for this week is also expected to fail.
Austin state Rep. Donna Howard spoke of expanding the safety net in terms of pregnant Texans who still will be seeking abortions.
“How do we provide enough health care to those who we are going to be forcing to have pregnancies and carry them to term?” Howard said. “It’s more going to be a focus, I think, on that now, if there’s a way to look at how people can access medication abortion that is a way to get around the law.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a staunchly conservative Republican, said in a statement Tuesday that the Legislature would continue to strengthen adoption programs in the state.
"Texas has led the way to protect innocent life in the womb, and we will continue to do so moving forward in the Texas Senate,” Patrick said.
Gov. Greg Abbott did not respond to questions from The Texas Tribune about abortion-related legislative priorities for the coming session in January. House Speaker Dade Phelan said in a statement that he was confident the Legislature would “rise to the occasion and redouble our commitment to maternal health care in our state.”
State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, the author of SB 8, did not respond. He posted on Twitter on Thursday that Texas would “lead the way in a post-Roe world.”
Republicans have good reason to avoid discussing enforcing Texas’ pre-Roe laws, said Renée Cross of the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston: A full abortion ban is broadly unpopular with voters.
Just 15% of respondents in a University of Texas at Austin poll released this week said they support prohibiting all abortions. More troubling for Abbott’s reelection bid this year, Cross said, is the fact that a majority of independents said they believe abortion should be available in most circumstances.
“The Republican Party has been able to rely often on independent voters, but not on this issue,” Cross said. “We saw some Republican voters, particularly suburban women, not vote for President Trump in 2020. A lot of those women will probably think twice about voting for Gov. Abbott.”
Other Republican lawmakers spoke about pitching nonpunitive measures in the upcoming legislative session. Toth said if abortion is outlawed in the state, Republicans in the statehouse will focus on expanding social programs to help pregnant women and their children.
“Now more than ever, the pro-life community and legislators need to step up and make sure we help out women in a crisis pregnancy,” he said. “It means prenatal care, helping them stay in school. It means making sure that we help women once the baby is born, it means adoption services.”
Toth said the expansion of safety net programs would be a “moral response” to the outlawing of abortion in the state. Such an expansion would require an increase in state funding for adoption services, foster care and welfare programs, which Republicans have been hesitant to support in the past. But Toth, a member of the staunchly conservative House Freedom Caucus, said he believes GOP lawmakers would now support the increased funding.
Joe Pojman, executive director of the anti-abortion group Texas Alliance for Life, said he would also support an increase in funding for the Alternative to Abortions program, which the Legislature funded with $100 million this two-year budget cycle. The program pays a far-flung network of nonprofits — many of them ardently anti-abortion — for counseling, classes on prenatal nutrition and newborn care, and the provision of baby items.
But Pojman says lawmakers need to better promote the program so more pregnant people have access to it.
“We have to now work really hard to help these new moms and these new babies,” Capriglione said. “I’m going to be pushing for it.”
But Republicans are also preparing for a protracted fight with Democrats in Congress who will be reenergized to push for access to abortion at the federal level.
“This is not going to go away,” Toth said. “Nothing really changes.”
Rhodes, the South Texas law professor, said the potential overturning of Roe could also weaken federal protections ensuring access to contraceptives. He said states could consider reclassifying emergency contraception such as Plan B, the pill that prevents pregnancy by the delaying the release of an egg from the ovary, as forms of abortion.
“It’s pretty wide open, with how creative our Legislature has been lately, for creating additional restrictions on our reproductive freedoms,” Rhodes said.
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/05/09/texas-republicans-roe-wade-abortion-adoptions/
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Two more major law enforcement groups endorse Biden pick for ATF
The ATF hasn't had a Senate-confirmed director in more than six years.
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President Joe Biden's nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has received the endorsement of two more major law enforcement groups, according to two letters obtained by ABC News.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the world's largest group for police leaders, and the Women in Federal Law Enforcement Foundation (WIFLE), offered their support of Biden's nominee, former U.S. attorney Steve Dettelbach, in letters to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.
"Dettelbach's years of experience as a United States Attorney have provided him the opportunity to work closely with law enforcement agencies and gain a unique understanding of the challenges and complexities agencies face in combating firearms violence, gang-related crime, and other threats to our communities," IACP President Chief Dwight Henninger said in the association's letter.
"We believe that Mr. Dettelbach’s experience, expertise, and record of success are evidence of his outstanding qualifications to serve as the next Director of the ATF."
WIFLE's President Catherine Sanz similarly praised Dettelbach's previous experience as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, where he served for seven years under the Obama Administration.
"He has used innovative anti-violence approaches and partnerships focusing on crime prevention as well as data driven approaches to target criminal organizations and violent offenders," Sanz said. "He also engages with the communities to create a more coordinated and inclusive approach to law enforcement."
In recent weeks, an increasing number of national law enforcement groups have thrown their support behind Dettelbach, who the White House hopes will become ATF's first Senate-confirmed director in more than six years.
David Chipman, who served 25 years as an ATF agent before later becoming a vocal gun control advocate and senior policy advisor for the Giffords Foundation, was forced to withdraw his nomination last September following a major campaign opposing his nomination from gun groups like the National Rifle Association.
In addition to unanimous opposition from Republicans in the Senate, several moderate Democrats, in addition to independent Sen. Angus King, withheld announcing their support for Chipman's nomination.
While WIFLE endorsed both Dettelbach's nomination as well as Chipman's, IACP was among several law enforcement groups that had notably withheld announcing their support for Chipman.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/major-law-enforcement-groups-endorse-biden-pick-atf/story?id=84552536
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'Pass the damn bill:’ Biden demands chips legislation to counter China tech rise
President Biden urged Congress to swiftly pass the Bipartisan Innovation Act, a multibillion dollar investment in the U.S. semiconductor industry.
“Pass the damn bill and send it to me,” Biden said. “If we do, it’s going to help bring down prices, bring home jobs and power America’s manufacturing comeback.”
The president stressed the bill appeals to American lawmakers because it seeks to bolster U.S. technology and innovation and keep pace with China.
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President Joe Biden on Friday demanded Congress swiftly pass the Bipartisan Innovation Act, a multibillion-dollar investment in the U.S. semiconductor industry that both Republican and Democrat say will help insulate the country from future supply chain disruptions in Asia.
Biden spoke at United Performance Metals, a metal manufacturer near Cincinnati. Sens. Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, a Democrat and Republican, respectively, from Ohio, joined the president.
Biden applauded the two men for their collaboration on the legislation as part of the broader bipartisan effort to bulk up domestic manufacturing.
“This is a bipartisan bill,” Biden told workers at the plant. “Senators Brown and Portman are working hard to get it done.”
“Pass the damn bill and send it to me,” the president continued. “If we do, it’s going to help bring down prices, bring home jobs and power America’s manufacturing comeback.”
While the Bipartisan Innovation Act is popular with members of both parties, House and Senate lawmakers are about to begin work on rectifying differences in their two legislative versions. Negotiators for both chambers, including Brown, will hold their first formal meeting on the bill on Thursday, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Among its many provisions, the Bipartisan Innovation Act includes $52 billion in government subsidies to ramp up U.S. semiconductor production.
Biden said Friday that the sum will encourage semiconductor companies to build facilities in the U.S. and help prevent the types of chip shortages that currently undermine the automotive and electronics industries.
But the president stressed the thrust of the bill appeals to American lawmakers because it seeks to bolster U.S. technology and innovation and keep pace with China, a key geopolitical rival.
It’s going to help “strengthen our economic and national security,” Biden said. “It’s no wonder the Chinese Communist Party is literally lobbying — paying lobbyists — against this bill passing.”
In his remarks, Biden highlighted the Labor Department’s April employment report, which showed U.S. employers added 428,000 jobs last month.
The April report was the 12th straight month of gains over 400,000.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/06/biden-demands-congress-pass-chips-innovation-bill-to-counter-china.html
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Psaki delivers strong warning on Republicans working to enact total ban on abortion and contraception
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White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki delivered a lengthy and detailed statement when asked about the impending Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade and Republicans’ war on both abortion and contraception.
“I think we’re at serious risk,” Psaki told a reporter asking about Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s threat to enact a nationwide ban on abortion.
“As you noted Mitch McConnell and other Republicans in Congress are talking about a national ban on a woman’s right to choose,” she continued, noting “dozens and dozens of Republicans in Congress signed on to the Mississippi court case and advocating for severe restrictions on a woman’s right to choose, and a woman’s right to make choices about her own body.
“And we’ve seen in other places in the country,” she added, pointing to the Governor of Mississippi’s refusal to state “whether they would directly go after the right to use contraception.”
“So as the President has said, over the course of the last nearly week, his concern is about yes, a woman’s right to make choices about her own health care, about what this final [Supreme Court] opinion could be. It’s also about what choices could be made that go beyond that. I’d also note that Louisiana legislators advanced a bill to classify abortion as homicide which would allow women to terminate their pregnancies to be charged with murder and potentially criminalized in vitro fertilization and forms of birth control. So in some ways, yes, you’re seeing an outcry by the nearly two thirds of the public and many of them peacefully protesting, who are concerned about what this opinion will say, but you’re also seeing a number of Republicans in states and some in Congress double down on this potential to overturn a law that has been the law of the land for 50 years.”
Responding to a different question Psaki warned, “when we’re talking about Roe, Roe has been the precedent for a number of other laws passed by the Supreme Court that impacts people’s fundamental lives, their basic rights, their freedoms, their privacy and their protections, including if you look back Griswold v. Connecticut, Eisenstaedt v. Baird, which ensured the right to use contraception was protected. That is law now, but we are clear-eyed about this being a precedent for that and what could come next. Obergefell v. Hodges, which protects the right to marry. Lawrence v. Texas, which stops government from preventing sexual relationships between consenting adults. For 50 years Roe has been the basis for a number of these decisions that have have impacted and change people’s lives, in our view for the better.”
CSPAN @CSPAN
Q: "How at risk does the administration believe the U.S. is to completely outlawing abortion?"
@PressSec Jen Psaki: "I think we're at serious risk."
https://twitter.com/i/status/1523755086421372928
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Republicans admit they're trying to destroy Madison Cawthorn: 'Get this guy out'
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Democrats hoping to see Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R) ousted from his seat representing North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives after just one term are getting an able assist from some unlikely allies -- Republicans and former friends of the controversial lawmaker back in his home state.
According to a report from the Daily Beast's Sam Brodey and Roger Sollenberger, Republicans and conservatives in North Carolina -- with the support of outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) -- are openly boasting that they want him gone and are connected to leaks of embarrassing photos and videos of Cawthorn that have reportedly even disgusted former president Donald Trump, who has nonetheless endorsed him.
As the report notes, Republicans tolerated Cawthorn's antics -- much like they have turned a blind eye to Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) -- until he stated in a podcast that conservatives in Washington D.C. engage in drug-fueled orgies and, since that time, he has been on the receiving end of embarrassing disclosures.
Some of the disclosures, the report notes, have reportedly come from former friends and allies in North Carolina who have soured on him.
Labeling the flood of embarrassing disclosures an "ever-worsening public relations trainwreck," as the May 17th primary approaches, the Beast report argues that "the sources of the coordinated stories seem clear: the attacks are coming from inside the house."
One longtime GOP operative in the state admitted, "It’s definitely a hit job that I’m happy to be a party to. Most of the GOP universe has come around to align against this guy. You’re seeing a full-court, state-based, establishment pushback against him. Get this guy out. Take him out. We’re gonna see if we can pull it off in eight days.”
According to the Beast, "... the reality is Cawthorn has spent the last year making enemies, from Capitol Hill to the corner of North Carolina that he represents. The congressman’s string of unforced errors -- from the coke-and-orgy comments to disparaging Ukraine’s president as a 'thug' -- merely helped to consolidate a powerful coalition of longtime foes and former friends."
David Wheeler, a North Carolina Democrat who runs the Fire Madison PAC, stated he and his partner have been happy to be the conduit for the attacks by Republicans on Cawthorn.
“Obviously, we have a target, we’re not afraid to take him on and put out the information his opponents wouldn’t—or the Democrats wouldn’t," he said with the Beast report adding, "That included a video last week, released with many disclaimers and caveats, showing a naked Cawthorn mounting another man in bed... seemingly as a joke, but bizarre nonetheless. Cawthorn did not deny the video was authentic, but he dismissed it as horseplay, and said his foes were trying to 'blackmail' him by publishing it."
"People think we’re under Kevin McCarthy’s finger, and that he’s telling us what to do because he wants to get back at Madison,” Wheeler claimed. "It’s not folks out of Washington that are sending this stuff. It’s folks who used to work with him, who were his supporters.”
You can read more here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-relentless-campaign-to-ruin-madison-cawthorn?ref=home
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Some Republican states set to ban abortion without exceptions for rape and incest
As states across the country prepare for the likely overturning of Roe v. Wade in June, attention has shifted to the forthcoming efforts to outlaw abortion in Republican-controlled states. And, despite the unpopularity of such measures, it seems that many red states are planning to ban abortion without any exceptions for rape or incest.
Of the 22 states with abortion bans that will instantly take effect if the landmark Supreme Court ruling is overturned, 10 have passed laws that make no exceptions for rape or incest: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.
The majority of these measures were passed by Republican-controlled state legislatures, suggesting that the issue may become an albatross for the party. When Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, he falsely asserted that his state’s abortion ban has an exception for rape and incest. When host Chuck Todd noted that it doesn’t, Reeves avoided taking a position on whether such an exception should be added to the law.
“That decision was made by the Mississippi Legislature, and I think there is certainly a conversation,” Reeves said. “We’ll see what happens based upon the ultimate outcome of the Dobbs case that is before the Supreme Court.”
Republican senators, meanwhile, are mostly ducking the question when asked. “You’re asking me a hypothetical question,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters, according to Insider. “Come back and see me after the Supreme Court rules.”
“I’m not projecting ahead,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the only woman in the Republican Senate leadership. “We need to go through the process with the Supreme Court.”
Most of the American public supports legal abortion in general, and banning abortion without exceptions is especially unpopular — even among Republicans.
The latest Yahoo News/YouGov poll, which was conducted from May 3 to May 6, found that 31% of U.S. adults want Roe v. Wade to be overturned. The 1973 Supreme Court ruling established a constitutional right to an abortion in the early months of pregnancy. A draft majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, written by Justice Samuel Alito and leaked to Politico last week, would remove that protection, paving the way for states or the federal government to outlaw abortion.
The Yahoo News/YouGov poll also found that only 22% of Americans support a national ban on abortion — which Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said last Thursday may be passed if the GOP takes control of Congress — versus 48% who would support a federal law protecting abortion rights.
But the unpopularity of an abortion ban without exceptions is even starker: 71% said abortion in cases of rape or incest should be “generally legal,” while just 15% said it should be “generally illegal.” Eighty percent of Democrats, 60% of Republicans and 74% of independents said abortion should be legal in cases of rape or incest. Only 25% of Republicans said abortion should be illegal in cases of rape or incest. Eighty-eight percent of people who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 said it should be legal, as did 61% of those who voted for former President Donald Trump.
Other polls have found similar results. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in March found that just 8% of American adults think abortion should be illegal with no exceptions, whereas 29% said it should be illegal but with exceptions.
For the last four decades, most Republican elected officials have been broadly anti-abortion, but the lack of exceptions is a newer phenomenon. While every Republican president since Ronald Reagan has favored exceptions for rape and incest, Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who chairs the National Republican Senate Committee, recently declined to comment to Insider on whether he will support such exceptions after Roe is overturned.
Not all Republican politicians are as reticent: In Pennsylvania, the frontrunner for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, favors outlawing all abortions without exceptions.
“Something has changed, at least in Arkansas, and I perceive nationwide,” Arkansas state Sen. Jim Hendren, who left the GOP and became an independent after the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, recently told the Guardian. Hendren identifies as a “pro-life” legislator, but he voted “present” on Arkansas’s blanket abortion ban after determining that an amendment he drafted creating exceptions for rape and incest would not have the support to pass.
"The fact is, it’s a different ethical dilemma when you’re talking about a 10-year-old girl who is a rape victim being responsible for the actions of a criminal, versus someone who is responsible for their own actions,” Hendren said. He added that some of his Republican colleagues privately told him they agreed with his proposal but feared being branded as pro-abortion by a primary opponent.
Despite the unpopularity of no-exception abortion bans, even among Republican voters, the legislators responsible for such laws have not faced repercussions at the ballot box.
“We’ve seen state legislatures adopt restriction after restriction and ban after ban, and these legislators remain in power,” Elizabeth Nash, a policy analyst at the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion-rights think tank, told the Atlantic. “It doesn’t feel like there are any consequences for them.”
Under Roe, these laws were essentially symbolic. Once they take effect, the public may react. According to the Yahoo News/YouGov poll, Democrats led Republicans by 5 percentage points when survey respondents were asked which party they will vote for in the upcoming congressional elections, but the Democrats’ advantage widened to 13 points when the question was framed as a “pro-choice Democrat” versus a “pro-life Republican.”
Abortion rights advocates, meanwhile, argue that legal exceptions for rape and incest do not actually protect all victims of rape, as they typically require rape survivors to file a police report, which most rape victims — often feeling shame or fearing being ostracized — fail to do. (The Associated Press recently reported that just one-third of sexual assaults are reported to police, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.)
Idaho and Utah both have abortion bans with exceptions for rape or incest on the books, but they require the pregnant woman to have filed a police report and shown it to the abortion provider before getting the procedure.
Nash of the Guttmacher Institute told the AP last week that of 86 proposed state-level abortion restrictions this year, only a few include rape and incest exceptions.
"You might think these exceptions are helpful,” Nash said. “But in fact they’re so restricted, they’re very hard to use.”
https://news.yahoo.com/some-republican-states-set-to-ban-abortion-without-exceptions-for-rape-and-incest-204305491.html
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President Biden @POTUS
This afternoon, I signed the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 into law. This bill provides another important tool in our efforts to support Ukraine and its people in their fight to defend their country and democracy against Putin’s brutal war.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1523796583120265217
Biden signs bill that aims to streamline U.S. military aid to Ukraine
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed a bill Monday that will streamline the lengthy process of supplying Ukraine with the military equipment needed for the fight against Russia.
“I’m signing a bill that provides another important tool that directly supports the government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people and their fight to defend their country and their democracy against Putin’s brutal war,” Biden said from the Oval Office.
“The cost of the fight is not cheap, but caving to aggression is even more costly,” Biden added.
Biden’s signature on the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 will make it easier for the U.S. to lend or lease military aid to allies affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Biden already has some power to lend or lease equipment, but the legislation he will sign into law will ease some of the requirements for doing so.
Under the measure, Ukraine can request streamlined transfers of U.S. weapons and other security assistance. The U.S. will get guarantees that the country will replace or reimburse the assets at a later date.
Monday’s legislation evokes the “Lend-Lease Act,” through which the U.S. supported allies, including the Soviet Union, during World War II.
On Friday, the Biden administration announced a new weapons package for Ukraine worth $150 million.
The latest military aid package, the ninth security assistance installment, brings the U.S. military aid commitment to $3.8 billion since Moscow invaded its neighbor in late February.
The $150 million pledged on Friday comes from the remaining $250 million in presidential drawdown authority, which allows the president to transfer excess weapons from U.S. arsenals without congressional approval.
Last month, Biden requested $33 billion from Congress after he exhausted his remaining drawdown authority. He reiterated his request on Friday.
He said that for Ukraine to succeed against Russia, the U.S. and its allies must continue to move weapons and ammunition into the country.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/09/biden-signs-ukraine-lend-lease-military-aid-bill-amid-russia-invasion.html
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President Biden @POTUS
Today, we’re launching a program that allows millions of American families to get high-speed internet for free. To learn if you qualify, head to http://GetInternet.gov.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1523775142039597060
More than 30 million Americans live in places where speeds are too slow or where there is no broadband infrastructure at all.
Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re delivering high-speed internet infrastructure to every part of this country.
High-speed internet is not a luxury. It’s a necessity.
But today, too many families simply can’t afford it.
That’s why in November, when we passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we created something called the Affordable Connectivity Program. Here’s how it works.
If your household income is twice the federal poverty level or less — or if a member of your household is on Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, or a number of other programs, you’re eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program.
Nearly 40% of American households qualify.
Families who are eligible can select a plan from a participating provider and receive high-speed internet at no cost in most cases.
To find out if you’re eligible and enroll in the program, call 877-384-2575 or head to http://GetInternet.gov.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1523735716194357250
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Is DeSantis “scared” to state his stance on an all-out abortion ban?
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During a virtual press conference on looming threats to abortion access, Orlando Democrat Rep. Anna Eskamani said Gov. Ron DeSantis is “scared” to indicate whether he would support an all-out abortion ban if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the landmark Roe v. Wade case.
“I wouldn’t say we’re fearful, we don’t operate in a place of fear. We operate on a place of endurance and resilience. We absolutely expect there to be an all-out ban on abortions, whether it’s going to be during a special session, or in the general regular session. Now I will say that Governor Ron DeSantis is scared,” Eskamani said during questions Tuesday at the virtual press conference hosted by the Florida Democratic Party.
She added:
“It’s clear to me that Florida Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, are super awkward and uncomfortable talking about an all-out ban. They want to avoid it as much as possible, because they know the second they commit to it, it will wake up voters across the state of Florida and that is not what they want to do before a November election year.”
Eskamani has previously worked at a Planned Parenthood organization, including in Central Florida.
DeSantis’ spokesperson, Christina Pushaw said, “We are not going to respond to Rep. Eskamani’s comments.”
This is not the first time that reporters have asked about DeSantis’ stance on the potential for overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade case. But DeSantis has not answered questions directly on the issue.
However, he has focused on the leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion indicating that the high court will overturn the right for pregnant people to access abortions. And DeSantis has said he is awaiting the final ruling connected to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi.
DeSantis is considered a potential presidential contender and is currently running for reelection in the gubernatorial race this year.
He recently signed legislation that implements a ban on abortions after 15-weeks of pregnancy, starting July 1.
Eskamani continued during the press conference:
“The fact that he tip-toes around it and pivots to other issues – every time he’s asked about abortion, he pivots to other issues. I mean, that’s not a coincidence, that’s a tactic, because he’s trying to avoid talking about (an) all-out ban so that he doesn’t alarm voters on where he actually stands.”
“But we need people to know that if he’s reelected, next on deck will be an abortion ban — an all-out abortion ban in Florida,” she said.
State Sen. Lauren Book, the Democratic Leader in the Senate, said that Eskamani was “100 percent spot-on” when it comes to the November election and a potential all-out abortion ban.
https://floridaphoenix.com/blog/is-desantis-scared-to-state-his-stance-on-an-all-out-abortion-ban/
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Trump candidate loses Nebraska GOP primary
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WASHINGTON – Charles Herbster, a Donald Trump-endorsed businessman who has been repeatedly accused of se*ual misconduct, lost his bid to be the GOP's nominee for Nebraska governor in the state's Republican primary on Tuesday.
University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen was the winner of the gubernatorial primary, according to the Associated Press, just ahead of Herbster and state senator Brett Lindstrom.
Herbster could not overcome the many misconduct allegations lodged against him, despite his denials.
Eight women, including a state senator, told the Nebraska Examiner during the campaign that Herbster had groped, forcibly kissed or improperly touched them at public events over the past six years.
Trump's candidates have fared well in 2022 Republican primaries, but the Nebraska governor's race proved that the ex-president's endorsement is not an automatic ticket to victory.
Pillen, who is also a veterinarian and a pig farmer, enjoyed the support of more establishment Republicans in Nebraska, including current Gov. Pete Ricketts.
Pillen adapted a familiar Trump phrase in thanking his supporters. "Tonight, we will celebrate a great victory," the new nominee said in a speech Tuesday night. "Tomorrow, it's back to work in the fight to keep Nebraska great."
Speaking with his supporters, Herbster called the race "one of the nastiest campaigns" in Nebraska history, and that may have played a role in his defeat. Herbster also said he spoke to Pillen and conceded the contest.
Herbster was one of at least nine candidates nationwide facing accusations of a se*ual nature.
The list includes former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, a Republican seeking a U.S. Senate seat, and former football star Herschel Walker, a GOP member running for the U.S. Senate from Georgia. Trump has endorsed Walker.
Will voters care?: At least 9 midterm candidates face misconduct or abuse allegations
Trump, who has been repeatedly accused of se*ual assault himself, re-doubled his support for Herbster in the wake of the allegations. He told a crowd at a rally in Nebraska that "I have to defend my friends... These are malicious charges to derail him long enough that the election can go by before the proper defense can be put forward."
The Republican nominee for Nebraska governor will be favored in the fall election against Carol Blood, a state senator who won the Democratic primary in this GOP-leaning state.
Trump endorsed Herbster back in October, but several Republicans in Nebraska did not follow suit.
In addition to Ricketts, Pillen had the had the support of the Nebraska Farm Bureau. The former Nebraska football player also had the endorsement of former congressman and Cornhuskers coach Tom Osborne.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/05/10/nebraska-primary-results/9710268002/
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Republicans respond to potential South Philly ‘ballot harvesting’ by GOP operative with firings, campaign attacks
PHILADELPHIA — The fallout from the discovery of a potential GOP “ballot harvesting” operation in South Philadelphia continued Tuesday, as two state party staffers lost their jobs, the matter became fodder for attacks in the Republican primary for governor, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle jockeyed to define just what the situation said — or didn’t — about the security of voting by mail.
Republican Party officials fired Shamus O’Donnell, 27, and C.J. Parker, 24, both of whom had been affiliated with the Republican Registration Coalition, the political action committee behind the South Philadelphia mail ballot operation, according to four party sources familiar with the matter.
Prior to his termination, O’Donnell, the PAC’s former treasurer and a Republican ward leader in Northeast Philadelphia, had worked as a field organizer for the state party, most recently on the campaign of state Senate candidate Sam Oropeza. Parker, also a GOP ward leader in the Northeast, had worked as a personal aide to state party Chair Lawrence Tabas.
O’Donnell and Parker declined to comment Tuesday and party officials, including Tabas, did not respond to requests for comment.
But the sources who described the terminations — and spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter — said the party’s decision to cut ties with the two men stemmed from an Inquirer story last week that raised questions about the PAC’s work registering people in South Philadelphia to vote by mail.
The news organization found that dozens of Republican mail ballots for the May 17 primary were being diverted to a P.O. Box registered to the Republican Registration Coalition. The committee’s chairman — Billy Lanzilotti, a onetime Republican ward leader in Philadelphia and former campaign staffer for U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R., Bucks — said he’d helped the voters fill out their ballot applications, inserting his P.O. box on the form where voters would typically write their home addresses.
Though Lanzilotti maintained he was doing this as a “service to the voters” and intended to hand deliver the ballots once they arrived, many of the affected voters said they did not remember applying to vote by mail and had no idea why their ballots were going to Lanzilotti instead of directly to them. One said Lanzilotti had delivered his ballot back to the city once it had been filled out — which would violate state law.
Of the top 10 mailing addresses for Philadelphia ballots, Lanzilotti’s P.O. box was the only one that was not an elections office or a nursing home.
Philadelphia’s fellow GOP ward leaders voted Saturday to oust Lanzilotti from his position as the leader of South Philadelphia’s 39th Ward, calling the situation troubling at a time when Republican lawmakers and candidates have attacked mail voting and falsely characterized it as rife with abuse by their Democrat rivals.
In an interview Tuesday, Matt Wolfe, an attorney for O’Donnell, said his client had no involvement in Lanzilotti’s ballot operation and had merely agreed to sign on as treasurer for his PAC.
“Shamus had no knowledge of the mail ballot applications and what Billy Lanzilotti was doing,” said Wolfe, who also serves as a Republican ward leader in West Philadelphia.
He declined to say whether O’Donnell had lost his job with the state party but said the Republican City Committee had not considered voting to remove O’Donnell and Parker as ward leaders when they ousted Lanzilotti last week.
None of the affected voters interviewed by The Inquirer said Lanzilotti had attempted to influence or alter their votes.
State law forbids third-party ballot delivery — what Republicans call “ballot harvesting” — except when disabled voters specifically authorize someone else to turn in their ballot for them. But the Lanzilotti ballots, even if delivered in a way forbidden by state law, have not been found to be fraudulent.
Voter fraud — especially the kinds of complex, shadowy operations at the center of many baseless conspiracy theories — is rare.
But that didn’t stop Republicans from seeking to weaponize the situation Tuesday in their ongoing efforts to cast doubt on the security of voting by mail.
In the governor’s race, candidate Bill McSwain attempted to connect Lanzilotti’s operation to one primary opponent, former Delaware County Councilmember Dave White.
Lanzilotti’s Republican Registration Coalition PAC was formed earlier this year with $6,500 in donations from a fund controlled by GOP fund-raiser and former Republican National Committee member Bob Asher, who is supporting White in the primary. Lanzilotti had gathered signatures for White’s nominating petitions in Southeast Philadelphia.
“There is a clear connection between Dave White’s closest advisers and a scheme to manipulate … voters perpetrated by Dave White operative Billy Lanzilotti and the Republican Registration Coalition,” McSwain’s campaign manager, James Fitzpatrick, said in a statement Tuesday. “Any connection between a gubernatorial candidate and potential election misconduct is unacceptable.”
Bob Salera, campaign manager for White, shot back, denying any connection to Lanzilotti.
“These baseless allegations are what the last desperate gasps of Bill McSwain’s dying campaign look like,” he said. “It’s just sad.”
In Harrisburg, State Rep. Seth Grove, R., York, the House GOP’s elections point person and chair of the House Government Committee, cited the situation as he renewed his call for changes to how counties process and approve mail ballot applications — a measure that was part of a much larger bill vetoed by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf last year.
“This is nothing more than ballot harvesting,” Grove said in a statement Tuesday.
It’s not clear the specific policies advocated by Grove would have prevented the South Philly ballots from going out.
The signatures on the ballot applications for example, appear to be legitimate. The mailing address fields — where Lanzilotti’s P.O. box is written — appear to have been filled out in different handwriting. But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court noted in 2020 that elections workers aren’t trained handwriting analysts as it barred counties from conducting signature analysis on ballot envelopes.
And Democrats pointed to the fact that Lanzilotti was caught as proof that the system was working and secure.
City elections officials have said they will segregate the affected ballots when they are returned so they can be considered separately from the rest of the election’s ballots.
“As you can see,” State Sen. Anthony Williams, D., Philadelphia, wrote in a letter to his colleagues Monday, “the current systems that we have in place to provide secure elections worked, as the individual who engaged in this egregious behavior was identified and removed from the process.”
© The Philadelphia Inquirer
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This bill should have been passed unanimously with no question in the Senate, but Republicans are blocking another bill that helps Americans. These Americans are our veterans who gave their lives to defend our country and became sick due to their service. Republicans make lame excuses as to why they can't pass a necessary bill to give life saving health care to our veterans but had no problem voting "yes" for a $1 trillion tax cut that went for billionaires and corporations under Trump. Republicans don't care about our vets, they just use them as pawns for their campaigns at election time. When it comes time to vote for health care for Americans and our veterans, the GOP makes excuses and prevents the bill from passing. Tell these Senate Republicans that our veterans deserve to have quality healthcare and voting them out of office in November will stop all their obstruction from passing the legislation that the overwhelming majority of Americans want.
Senate GOP Puts Up Roadblocks to Bipartisan House Bill for Veterans’ Burn Pit Care
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Thousands of military veterans who are sick after being exposed to toxic smoke and dust while on duty are facing a Senate roadblock to ambitious legislation designed to provide them care.
The Senate could start work as soon as this week on a bipartisan bill, called the Honoring Our PACT Act, that passed the House of Representatives in March. It would make it much easier for veterans to get health care and benefits from the Veterans Health Administration if they get sick because of the air they breathed around massive, open-air incineration pits. The military used those pits in war zones around the globe — sometimes the size of football fields — to burn anything from human and medical waste to plastics and munitions, setting it alight with jet fuel.
As it stands now, more than three-quarters of all veterans who submit claims for cancer, breathing disorders, and other illnesses that they believe are caused by inhaling poisonous burn pit smoke have their claims denied, according to estimates from the Department of Veterans Affairs and service organizations.
The reason so few are approved is that the military and VA require injured war fighters to prove an illness is directly connected to their service — something that is extremely difficult when it comes to toxic exposures. The House’s PACT Act would make that easier by declaring that any of the 3.5 million veterans who served in the global war on terror — including operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Persian Gulf — would be presumed eligible for benefits if they come down with any of 23 ailments linked to the burn pits.
Although 34 Republicans voted with Democrats to pass the bill in the House, only one Republican, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, has signaled support for the measure. At least 10 GOP members would have to join all Democrats to avoid the threat of a filibuster in the Senate and allow the bill to advance to President Joe Biden’s desk. Biden called on Congress to pass such legislation in his State of the Union address, citing the death of his son Beau Biden, who served in Iraq in 2008 and died in 2015 of glioblastoma, a brain cancer included on the bill’s list of qualifying conditions.
Senate Republicans are raising concerns about the measure, however, suggesting it won’t be paid for, that it is too big, too ambitious, and could end up promising more than the government can deliver.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would cost more than $300 billion over 10 years, and the VA already has struggled for years to meet surging demand from troops serving deployments since the 2001 terror attacks on America, with a backlog of delayed claims running into the hundreds of thousands. Besides addressing burn pits, the bill would expand benefits for veterans who served at certain nuclear sites, and cover more conditions related to Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam, among several other issues.
While the bill phases in coverage for new groups of beneficiaries over 10 years, some Republicans involved in writing legislation about burn pits fear it is all too much.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, summed up the concern as stemming from promising lots of assistance “that might look really good,” but the bottom line is that those “who really need the care would never get into a VA facility.”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), another member of the panel, agreed. “What we’re concerned with is that you’ve got a backlog of 222,000 cases now, and if you implement, by legislative fiat, the 23 presumptions, we’re gonna go to a million and a half to two and a half million backlog,” he said. Tillis has advanced his own burn pits bill that would leave it to the military and VA to determine which illnesses automatically were presumed to be service-connected. That tally is likely to cover fewer people. “So the question we have is, while making a new promise, are we going to be breaking a promise for all those veterans that need care today?”
Republicans have insisted they want to do something to help veterans who are increasingly getting sick with illnesses that appear related to toxic exposure. About 300,000 veterans have signed up with the VA’s burn pits registry.
Sen. Jerry Moran from Kansas, the top Republican on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, held a press conference in February with Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the committee chairman, advocating a more gradual process to expand access to benefits and define the illnesses that would qualify.
The event was designed to show what would easily gain bipartisan support in the Senate while the House was still working on its bill.
Veterans’ service organizations, which try to avoid taking partisan positions, have praised such efforts. But they’ve also made clear they like the House bill. More than 40 of the groups endorsed the PACT Act before it passed the lower chamber.
Aleks Morosky, a governmental affairs specialist for the Wounded Warrior Project, plans to meet with senators this month in hope of advancing the PACT Act.
“This is an urgent issue. I mean, people are dying,” Morosky said.
He added that he believes some minor changes and input from the VA would eliminate the sorts of problems senators are raising.
“This bill was meticulously put together, and these are the provisions that veterans need,” Morosky said. “The VA is telling us that they can implement it the way they’ve implemented large numbers of people coming into the system in the past.”
He pointed to the recent expansion of Agent Orange benefits to Navy veterans and to VA Secretary Denis McDonough’s testimony to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs committee in March. McDonough largely supported the legislation but said the VA would need new leasing authority to ensure it had adequate facilities, as well as more say over adding illnesses to be covered.
Senate Republicans are not so sure about the VA’s ability to absorb such a large group of new patients. Tillis and Rounds suggested one solution would be to greatly expand the access to care veterans can seek outside the VA. They pointed to the Mission Act, a law passed in 2018 that was meant to grant veterans access to private health care. Some critics say it has not lived up to its promise. It’s also been expensive, requiring emergency appropriations from Congress.
“You better think about having community care — because there’s no way you’re going to be able to ramp up the medical infrastructure to provide that purely through the VA,” Tillis said.
Tester said in a statement that the committee was working on McDonough’s requests — and could have a modified bill for a vote before Memorial Day.
“In addition to delivering historic reform for all generations of toxic-exposed veterans, I’m working to ensure this legislation provides VA with additional resources and authorities to hire more staff, establish new facilities, and make critical investments to better ensure it can meet the current and future needs of our nation’s veterans,” Tester said.
Whether or not those changes satisfy enough Republicans remains to be seen.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who chairs the Armed Services subcommittee on personnel and earlier wrote a burn pits bill, said neither cost nor fears about problems on implementation should get in the way of passing the bill. Her proposal was incorporated into the House’s PACT Act.
“To deny service because of a lack of resources or a lack of personnel is an outrageous statement,” Gillibrand said. “We promised these men and women when they went to war that when they came back, we would protect them. And that is our solemn obligation. And if it needs more resources, we will get them more resources.”
She predicted Republicans would come along to help pass a bill.
“I’m optimistic, actually. I think we just need a little more time to talk to more Republicans to get everybody on board,” she said.
© Kaiser Health News
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Josh Hawley is spending his time attacking Disney instead of voting "yes" on bills for our veterans who need life saving healthcare and also voting to cap insulin prices at $35 for all Americans including his own voters in Missouri. Once again, the GOP wants to start fake culture wars to appeal to the most radical segment of the GOP base instead of doing their jobs to actually help Americans including our veterans.
Republican Josh Hawley seeks to punish Disney by stripping the company of extraordinary copyright protections
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The Republican Party's war on The Walt Disney Company has expanded from Florida to Washington, DC as the party seeks to punish the iconic company for criticizing culture war battles instigated by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis.
"Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) joined other Republicans in Congress in shaking their fists at the Walt Disney Company for opposing Florida’s 'Don’t Say Gay' law prohibiting classroom discussion of sexual orientation. This week, Hawley introduced a bill to shorten the duration of federal copyright protection," the HuffPost reported Tuesday.
The law would narrowly apply to companies in the motion picture industry with market capitalization over $150 billion.
"Hawley acknowledged that Disney’s response to the Florida law inspired his legislation but stressed the bill did not solely target Disney — since a law punishing an individual entity could be unconstitutional," HuffPost reported. "Hawley cast his bill as part of his broader campaign against Big Tech and 'woke corporations'; it is also the latest bit of culture war grandstanding by Republicans after Disney said it opposed Florida’s ban on the classroom discussion of sex*al orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade."
Disney has repeatedly convinced Congress to extend copyright protection to prevent its characters from entering the public domain.
The controversial GOP bill signed by DeSantis has blocked the distribution of yearbooks at Lyman High School.
"Yearbooks at a central Florida high school won't be distributed until images of students holding rainbow flags and a 'love is love' sign while protesting the state's so-called 'Don't Say Gay' law can be covered up. District officials said they don't want anyone thinking that the school supported the students' walkout," CBS News reported Tuesday.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/josh-hawley-disney-copyright_n_627ac821e4b046ad0d82c098
Legal experts slam Josh Hawley's 'blatantly unconstitutional' anti-Disney bill
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) on Tuesday introduced legislation designed to revoke many of the copyrights owned by Disney and other "woke" companies.
As reported by Variety, Hawley’s bill would constitute a major rewrite of U.S. copyright law, shortening by several decades the total term available to all copyright holders going forward. He also wants to retroactively limit Disney’s copyrights, effectively stripping the company of much of its intellectual property. That particular provision would face several legal obstacles.
“That is a blatantly unconstitutional taking of property without compensation,” said Prof. Paul Goldstein, an intellectual property expert at Stanford Law School.
In a press release Hawley said that Disney had benefited from “unnecessarily long copyright monopolies,” and that it is time to end “the age of Republican handouts to Big Business.”
“Thanks to special copyright protections from Congress, woke corporations like Disney have earned billions while increasingly pandering to woke activists,” said Hawley, who once clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts. “It’s time to take away Disney’s special privileges and open up a new era of creativity and innovation.”
Hawley’s move is another shot against the entertainment giant by conservatives. Last month Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that would strip Disney of its long-standing special tax status in the Orlando area.
"Restricting copyrights to 56 years would also likely draw opposition from every corner of the creative world — not just from Disney and other entertainment companies, but from authors, composers, songwriters, and many others," Variety reports.
Prof. Tyler Ochoa, an intellectual property expert at the Santa Clara University School of Law, also said that is likely unconstitutional.
“This has zero chance,” he said. “He’s showboating.”
https://www.rawstory.com/josh-hawley-disney/
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President Biden @POTUS
I happen to think it’s a good thing when American families have more money in their pockets at the end of the month.
But Republicans in Congress don’t seem to think so. Their plan is going to make working families poorer.
The bottom line is this: There are two paths, reflecting two very different sets of values.
My plan attacks inflation and grows our economy by:
- Lowering costs for working families
- Giving workers a well-deserved raise
- Reducing the deficit by historic levels
- Making big corporations and the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share
The ultra-MAGA plan put forward by Congressional Republicans will:
- Raise taxes on working families
- Lower the incomes of workers
- Threaten Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid
- Give big corporations and billionaires break after break
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1524131844463247360
President Biden’s plan to tackle inflation will help give working families a little more breathing room and ensure the wealthy pay their fair share. Congressional Republicans’ plan will raise taxes on middle class families and let billionaires off the hook.
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Rick Scott's 11-point nightmare is a revival of Mitt Romney's '47 percent of Americans pay no taxes' schtick
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Florida Senator Rick Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has released a plan which says, honestly and clearly, exactly what Republicans want to do to the poor.
It’s this plan that Joe Biden highlighted Tuesday in setting up a contrast between the Democratic agenda and the Republicans’.
“Republicans in Congress are so deeply committed to protecting big corporations and CEOs that they would rather see taxes on working American families and try to depress their wages than take on inflation, never mind the fact that many of these companies are recording record profit margins even as ... they raise prices,” he said.
Scott’s peers have not welcomed the plan. They have distanced themselves from his proposals. In doing so, they have demonstrated the extent to which Republican economic policies rely on hypocritical populism to cover for their assault on the disadvantaged.
Scott’s Plan to Rescue America, unveiled at the end of March, included a lot of rabid Republican nativism and conspiratorial bigotry.
It demands all students in public school be forced to recite the pledge of allegiance. It promises to double down on completing Trump’s failed border wall. It says Republicans will ban a debt increase — which would trigger default and precipitate a massive recession or worse.
Republican campaigns marinate in this kind of festering nonsensically symbolic stew of word and gesture. But Scott, who is worth north of $250 million, adds policies that deliberately target the least affluent.
Scott’s plan states that, “All Americans should pay some income tax to have skin in the game even if a small amount. Currently over half of Americans pay no income tax.”
By his own account, therefore, Scott’s plan would raise taxes on more than half of Americans — most of whom pay no income tax because they don’t earn enough income on which to pay income tax. About 102 million individuals or married couples would owe under his plan.
In addition, Scott proposed that “all federal legislation sunsets in five years.” This would throw the government into chaos. More, it would eliminate Social Security and Medicare. Imagine a divided Congress passing such sweeping legislation quinquennially. You can’t.
Democrats criticized the plan quickly.
Republicans, meanwhile, disapproved or sidestepped.
Senate candidate Billy Long said he didn’t support Scott’s tax increases. Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks issued a statement denouncing tax increases. Senator Marco Rubio dodged the issue, saying he didn’t know whether he agreed with it.
In 2012, Republican candidate Mitt Romney suggested Americans who didn’t pay taxes were freeloading or were not invested in the system. There was a massive backlash. Since then Republicans have generally opposed all tax increases of any sort for everyone.
Trump in 2016 promised a big middle-class tax cut. He also promised to preserve entitlement programs — at least when he’s not, in typically incoherent Trump fashion, promising to cut them.
The Republicans can be trusted generally to say they are committed to reducing the burden on the working and middle class. But what they do is more in line with the goal of Rick Scott’s proposal– soak the poor.
Trump’s 2017 tax cut was a bonanza for the rich and a punch in the gut for the less affluent. The richest, earning at least $308,900, had their income tax cut, giving them a 3 percent boost in income.
The poorest saw a decrease in income of about 3 percent. That’s because it repealed the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate.
Similarly, Republicans almost uniformly opposed President Joe Biden’s Child Tax Credit program which provided hundreds of dollars in cash payments to poor families with children.
Thanks to GOP obstruction, the program ended in January.
When it did, child poverty spiked by 41 percent.
The Republicans and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin look more heartless as it becomes clear the conservative Supreme Court intends to shred abortion rights, allowing states to force women to give birth.
That should make clear that Republicans are keen to control women’s bodies, but lose interest once they’re born. Some Republicans have made vague noises about maybe providing some limited benefits for children, but these plans sound half-hearted at best.
The GOP is eager to shovel money into the wealthy’s deep pockets. They are just as eager to take money from those who need it most.
More, they love restricting, regulating and harassing the poor by denying them access to reproductive healthcare or any healthcare.
The Republicans and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin look more heartless as it becomes clear the conservative Supreme Court intends to shred abortion rights, allowing states to force women to give birth.
That should make clear that Republicans are keen to control women’s bodies, but lose interest once they’re born. Some Republicans have made vague noises about maybe providing some limited benefits for children, but these plans sound half-hearted at best.
The GOP is eager to shovel money into the wealthy’s deep pockets. They are just as eager to take money from those who need it most.
More, they love restricting, regulating and harassing the poor by denying them access to reproductive healthcare or any healthcare.
Romney accurately explained the Republican philosophy when he characterized the rich as “makers” and the poor as “takers.”
To Romney, bosses were virtuous wealth generators who deserved all the resources. Poor and working people, who actually did the labor that created the goods and services, were leeches to be brushed aside.
Open contempt for working people proved to be fairly unpopular. Republicans have instead embraced a pallid populism with which they blame the country’s economic woes on immigrants and mutter indistinctly about helping the middle class.
Scott’s plan gives the game away. It openly acknowledges the policies that Republicans don’t like to admit to their own voters.
Scott wants to take money from the poor triumphantly, rather than quietly letting their cash payments lapse. He wants to slice benefits with a flourish, rather than scuttling them in the fine print.
He says the less powerful are less worthy, rather than (or in addition to) using dog whistles and insinuations to encourage people to think that GOP hate is directed solely at immigrants, Black people, LGBT people — anyone but the GOP’s core constituency of white people.
Rick Scott’s plan advertises what voters can expect from Republicans. His party wants to harm working people and the less affluent.
When they’re out of office, they dream of it.
When they’re in office, they’ll deliver it.
Rick Scott: The Man With The Plan?
Watch:
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Republican Glenn Youngkin facing backlash after adding religious language to diversity training
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A new diversity training Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration enacted includes two references to a “creator,” religious language that struck several workers who saw it as inappropriate for inclusion in training material that’s mandatory for new state government employees.
The Youngkin administration created the “Working Together for Virginia” video as its own attempt to comply with a 2020 law requiring the state’s human resources agency to provide an online diversity and cultural competency training course for state employees.
The “creator” lines appear to be drawn from a portion of Youngkin’s inaugural speech that was repeated in a later executive order that reshaped the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the governor’s cabinet.
“Most of all, every one of us is made in the image of our creator,” the narrator in the training course says, quoting from Youngkin’s executive order. “Since the first settlers arrived a little more than 400 years ago, we have been an imperfect people on the course to a more perfect union. At times, we’ve truly failed to live up to our ideals, but we all want to do what is right and what is morally just, even if we fall short. What is seared in our heart by a loving, almighty creator is not a desire for power or conquest, not a love of self or personal advancement, rather it’s a belief that life is worth living when we serve a greater cause than self.”
Three state employees who spoke to the Virginia Mercury on the condition of anonymity to avoid job retaliation described being shocked to find religious themes in a training they were required to take.
“It was an instant, knee-jerk, gut reaction that this is wrong on any level,” said one self-described agnostic employee. “I’m working for the state. I didn’t choose to go work for the church down the street where I expect this.”
The fact the text appeared to come from an earlier Youngkin speech, the employee said, didn’t make a difference.
“It actually makes me even madder,” the worker said. “Because then it just seals the deal that this is just all his agenda being forced into government employee training.”
Youngkin is open about his Christian faith, and shortly after being sworn into office he led a public prayer for the state. Every session of the Virginia General Assembly begins with a prayer delivered by various faith leaders, and it’s not uncommon for Virginia politicians in both parties to publicly refer to their religious beliefs. The section of the Virginia Constitution on freedom of religion and separation of church and state begins: “That religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence.”
Rules for religion in the workplace are more complicated, with federal protections generally requiring employers to accommodate both religious and non-religious employees alike. The definition of harassment in Virginia’s employee handbook includes conduct that “shows hostility or aversion” on the basis of religion.
A second state employee who took the training said it left them feeling “equal parts angry and sad.”
“Politics plays a role in being state employees that are subject to political whims,” the second employee said. “But never before this have I seen any sort of overt religious bias injected into anything that’s aligned with the state.”
Macaulay Porter, a Youngkin spokesperson, said the new training “reinforces the governor’s commitment to diversity while adhering to the fundamentals of equality.” In a Tuesday email, she wrote that the administration developed the course in coordination with other state agencies and officials, including the Department of Human Resource Management, Secretary of Administration Lyn McDermid and Secretary of the Commonwealth Kay James.
Asked about the employee concerns over the religious references, Porter said the language was “derived from the Declaration of Independence and other documents from the United States’ founding fathers.”
“At this time, we have not received concerns from employees,” she added. “We welcome and appreciate any feedback as the aim of the training is to guide best practices for an inclusive workplace.”
The Virginia General Assembly first mandated diversity training for state employees in 2020, passing legislation that required an online module with specific information on race, ethnicity, gender, religion and other protected classes. The original training was developed under the state’s first-ever director of diversity, equity and inclusion appointed by former Gov. Ralph Northam.
Youngkin’s office has significantly revised the course along with adding religious references. Porter confirmed that the eight and half-minute video comprises the entirety of the administration’s current diversity training for state employees. The module now includes a message from Youngkin, as well as defining terms such as “diversity,” “equitable opportunity” and “inclusion.”
“We acknowledge that too many of our citizens have not received the equal opportunity they deserve and we recognize that diversity, when genuinely embraced, strengthens our commonwealth,” the narrator in the video says. There are also some references to specific goals, including aligning the demographics of agency staff with the demographics of Virginia as a whole.
A former official with the Northam administration who was familiar with the development process said the Northam-era module was developed in conjunction with the One Virginia plan, a framework released in 2021 that sought to “institutionalize” diversity within state agencies. The official, along with a state employee interviewed by the Mercury, said the first training was roughly an hour long, including a discussion component, and included specific sections on terms such as microaggressions and examples of ways to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Their descriptions were confirmed through a Freedom of Information Act request to the state’s Department of Human Resource Management. The agency on Wednesday provided multiple videos used in the original version of the training as well as the script, which encouraged employees to reflect on the materials and point out instances of inappropriate or insensitive behavior.
The state employee said the new course from the Youngkin administration completely removed the original training’s interactive elements with guidance on inclusive language and exercises intended to foster empathy among employees with diverse backgrounds. The lack of specificity — along with the religious overtones — left some staff feeling overlooked by the administration, the employee said.
“I’d say it’s pretty insensitive to some and actually offensive to others,” the worker added.
Another state employee, along with the former Northam official, expressed doubt that the revised training met the requirements of the 2020 law, which directed the course to include specific strategies on creating an inclusive and equitable culture and promoting diversity in recruitment and hiring.
“It sounds like we’re not meeting the actual statutory obligation, which is what our video was intended to do,” said the former official, who spoke under condition of anonymity to candidly discuss concerns over the changes. Del. Elizabeth Guzman, D-Prince William, also said the new course failed to meet the intent of the legislation, which she developed after working with a constituent who wanted to change the gender listed on their government-issued identification to match their identity.
Guzman said she ultimately had to escalate the request to the commissioner of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, underscoring the need for inclusion training among lower-level employees.
“The governor talks about what he wants to accomplish, but he’s been on the job now for five months and we have yet to see what he’s trying to do specifically to diversify the workforce at the state level,” Guzman said. “And that’s something that’s under his control.”
Both she and the former official also shared concerns that the revised course — including the message from Youngkin — injected politics into a training that initially focused solely on workplace practices for state agencies and employees. The original material did not feature Northam or any of his political appointees, the former official said, with the hope that the module would “live beyond the administration.”
Revising much of Virginia’s former work on equity and inclusion initiatives has been a focal point of Youngkin’s term as governor. His first executive order banned “inherently divisive concepts,” including what he’s described as critical race theory, from public school classrooms. The order put an immediate end to some initiatives at the state’s Department of Education, including a push to revise statewide math curricula that factored in concerns over disproportionately lower test scores among Black, Hispanic and low-income students.
Less than two months after he took office, his administration repealed virtually every other equity-based policy within the department, including teaching resources intended to help educators address biases in the classroom. The move was part of a broader effort to remove the word “equity” from many government offices, including renaming the director of diversity, equity and inclusion — the new position created by Northam — as the director of diversity, opportunity and inclusion.
Proponents of the equity concept describe it as a more assertive approach to addressing racial disparities and systemic racism by realigning resources to ensure better outcomes for historically marginalized groups. Supporters argue that a focus on providing equal opportunities to everyone is insufficient given the historic treatment of many communities, including Black Americans, that’s put them at a continued disadvantage.
Youngkin and other conservative critics argue it encourages overly broad racial stereotypes and reorients public policy away from the idea that government action should be race-neutral. In his first executive order, the governor said that “divisive concepts,” including critical race theory, “instruct students to only view life through the lens of race and presumes that some students are consciously or unconsciously racist, sexist, or oppressive, and that other students are victims.”
In public appearances, Youngkin has expressed support for concepts such as diversity while skirting specific instances of current and historic racism or oppression. His inaugural address referenced a country with “chapters of great injustice” while encouraging Virginians to come together in the present.
“We are one Virginia,” he said, language incorporated into the state’s new diversity training. “We are all sailing in the same boat.”
The ACLU of Virginia said it was looking into the matter.
“The ACLU of Virginia is very concerned by the inclusion of religious indoctrination in a required training for state employees,” said Matt Callahan, a senior ACLU staff attorney. “The First Amendment guarantees the religious freedom of all individuals by ensuring the separation of church and state, including for Commonwealth employees.”
https://www.virginiamercury.com/2022/05/11/youngkins-almighty-creator-rhetoric-in-new-diversity-training-offends-some-state-employees/
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Steve Schmidt Is Right: The Degeneration of the GOP Began Long Before Trump
Operatives with ties to “Putin’s oligarch” ran John McCain’s campaign.
John McCain labeled his 2008 presidential campaign the “Straight Talk Express.” But that was just a slogan. In reality, McCain’s campaign was a desperately disingenuous project that saw the candidate and a cabal of corrupt aides lie to reporters and the American people, foster false impressions of their rivals, give Sarah Palin a national platform, and set the stage for the degeneration of the Republican Party into the antidemocratic confederacy it has since become.
The GOP’s debasement has had a lot to do with Donald Trump, but it did not begin with the 45th president. It had deep roots that were entangled not only with unprincipled strategists on the domestic front but also with oligarchs who were aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin. And it continues to haunt the party, and the United States, at a moment when Putin’s military is waging a genocidal war against Ukraine.
That is the most important takeaway from the headline-grabbing pronouncements of McCain campaign aide turned “Never Trump” Republican Steve Schmidt, who is currently embattled in a Twitter war with the late senator’s self-dealing daughter, Meghan McCain.
Schmidt is one of the most ubiquitous public figures on the American political scene, and his many sharp comments over the years on various social media platforms and during MSNBC interviews have inspired criticism that he is driven by rancor over unsettled scores. But when I referenced that criticism in the previous version of this article and suggested that it is easy to get lost in the political minutiae, Schmidt pushed back, noting that, “I did not respond to any of this for 14 years, I carried the burden of John McCain’s recklessness.” He rejected my suggestion that some of his recent messaging could be characterized as gossip or personal infighting, and I think he’s right to make this point. But, nonetheless, the people who have not agreed with Schmidt, personally or politically, should pay attention to what he’s saying now.
Schmidt has gotten to the point that needs making when he recalled in a tweet on Saturday that during one of the many collapses of John McCain’s failed 2008 presidential bid, “[the] campaign imploded over the vicious infighting between Rick Davis and John Weaver. Weaver gave an ultimatum. No Manafort. No Davis. McCain chose Davis The fight was over Ukraine and Deripaska.”
Weaver was a senior adviser to McCain for a number of years, and an ally of Schmidt. Davis was the manager of McCain’s 2008 campaign, and a business partner of Paul Manafort. Yes, that Paul Manafort.
This salient detail provides insight into how the Grand Old Party became such a dangerous player, domestically and internationally. Manafort did not magically appear in 2016 as Donald Trump’s campaign chair at a point when the Republican platform was rewritten to remove language that called for providing weapons to Ukraine to fight Russia. Manafort joined the Trump team as a veteran Republican strategist who used his connections to expand the influence of Putin’s allies over a party that had historically been antagonistic to the Soviet Union and Russia. His manipulations would frame the narrative for the most compelling sections of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian influence on Trump’s campaign and presidency. But they began years earlier.
Manafort and Davis had worked as a team for years, leading twinned careers that took them to the top of the GOP’s political hierarchy. They engineered the takeover of the 1996 campaign of former Senate majority leader Bob Dole, for which Manafort served as convention manager and Davis served as deputy campaign manager. Famously inept when it came to the practical work of politics, Manafort and Davis managed the Dole campaign to a finish with just 40 percent of the national vote. The nominee, a World War II hero who seemed a natural for conservative Southern and border regions, lost Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, and West Virginia—states that have consistently voted Republican in every election since. But failure is rarely if ever punished in the upper echelons of American politics, and Manafort and Davis quickly got their hooks into another presidential contender: John McCain.
When McCain partnered with Davis, who would manage the Arizonan’s failed 2000 and 2008 presidential bids, he linked himself to a pair of operatives who for a number of years maintained a lucrative relationship with Russian billionaire named Oleg Deripaska. In an October 2008 piece for The Nation, Mark Ames and Ari Berman described Deripaska as “a Putin-blessed aluminum tycoon with an estimated $40 billion fortune” who “adhered to an unwritten understanding between Putin and the oligarchs: as long as they support the Kremlin, they can operate with impunity.”
As recently as March of this year, Deripaska was described by The Guardian as “Putin’s favorite” oligarch.
Davis and Manafort had no apparent qualms about putting McCain in the same room with Deripaska for what the oligarch described as an “intimate” 2006 dinner outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In January of 2008, when McCain was again bidding for the presidency, The Washington Post would report that “Rick Davis, who is now McCain’s campaign manager, helped set up the encounter between McCain and Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska in Switzerland during an international economic conference. At the time, Davis was working for a lobbying firm and seeking to do business with the billionaire.”
The Post noted that the work of Davis’s firm—known then as Davis Manafort—“put him on the opposite side of Eastern European politics from McCain, who has spoken out vigorously against what he sees as Putin’s attempts to subvert elections in former Soviet republics such as Ukraine.” It added that “Davis’ firm provided political advice to a pro-Russian party in Ukraine during the parliamentary elections of 2006. McCain, on the other hand, backed President Viktor Yushchenko, a Western-oriented reformer who led 2004’s Orange Revolution, which overturned what he and his allies considered an election stolen by the party helped by Davis’s firm.”
This is what Schmidt was referring to in his recent Twitter message to Meghan McCain, which featured a link to The Nation article and Schmidt’s comment, “Your Father tolerated his campaign chairman being in business and working for Putin through his association with Yanukovych.”
Schmidt added, “Yanukovych, as you probably have no idea, was Putin’s puppet in Ukraine. The story of American corruption in Ukraine starts here. It starts in John McCain’s operation, not Trump’s.”
That is a fact. And it matters a lot more than the sordid details of the lies the 2008 McCain campaign told about the senator’s affair with a telecommunications lobbyist—although that corruption ought not be forgotten. What needs to be understood is that, while Davis and Manafort eventually went their separate ways, the seeds of Putin’s influence within the Republican Party were planted long before Trump took over. Trump nurtured the seeds to fruition, with an assist from Manafort that led a 2020 report from the Republican-controlled US Senate Intelligence Committee to conclude that Manafort’s “high-level access and willingness to share information with individuals closely affiliated with the Russian intelligence services” created a circumstance during the Trump campaign and presidency that “represented a grave counterintelligence threat.”
Permanent fixtures in American politics, who leap from campaign to campaign, and who pick up extra cash by doing the bidding of foreign strongmen and oligarchs, are rarely held to account in the United States. This lack of accountability obscures the ways in which not just the electoral but the governing process too is corrupted.
While it is true that Manafort’s over-the-top machinations got him briefly jailed in 2019, he was pardoned by Trump in 2020. As for Davis, he parted company with Manafort after the 2008 campaign and joined a private equity firm. But he remains politically connected, as a trustee of the McCain Institute for International Leadership, a group that says its mission is “advancing character-driven leadership in our own communities and around the world.” Davis’s biography on the institute’s website notes, “In 2000 and 2008, Davis served as Senator John McCain’s national campaign manager, leading all aspects of the campaign activity.”
All aspects.
That explains why Steve Schmidt now says, “The McCain Institute should immediately remove Rick Davis from the Board of Trustees which includes General David Petraeus. The presence of a man who advanced Putin’s agenda and made millions with Manafort, Deripaska and Victor Yanukovych has no business being involved in an Institute that exists to promote Democratic values while Ukrainians are being killed by the Russians Davis worked for. Moral obscenity doesn’t begin to describe it.”
Say what you will about Schmidt—as many of his former compatriots now attack him, and as some in the media mock him—but he has provided a true picture of the degeneracy of a Republican Party that began the process of surrendering its honor long before Donald Trump joined its ranks.
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/steve-schmidt-john-mccain/
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Republicans in disarray.
Marge wasn't the only Republican attacking the $40 Billion aid package to Ukraine, fellow white nationalist Republicans Paul Gosar and Thomas Massie also did the same. These Putin worshippers in the GOP are outing themselves. Guess they are angry because they can't get Russian money flooding their campaigns like they used to.
Marjorie Taylor Greene flips out on her GOP colleague after he praises the destruction of Russia’s military
On Wednesday, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) got into a public feud with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) after she attacked the idea that the U.S. has an obligation to defend Ukraine against Russian invasion.
The argument began after Crenshaw replied to a right-wing account attacking him for voting on the bipartisan $40 billion aid package to Ukraine, which among other things supplies weapons and economic assistance to the war-torn country, and funding to address global food shortages caused by the disruption of Ukraine's agriculture industry.
"Yeah, because Investing in the destruction of our adversary’s military, without losing a single American troop, strikes me as a good idea. You should feel the same," Crenshaw told the critic.
Greene attacked Crenshaw for his response, accusing him of wanting Ukrainian lives to be "used and thrown away" for a "proxy war with Russia" — and suggesting none of this would help Americans.
"So you think we are funding a proxy war with Russia?" Greene tweeted. "You speak as if Ukrainian lives should be thrown away, as if they have no value. Just used and thrown away. For your proxy war? How does that help Americans? How does any of this help?"
Crenshaw was quick to respond, accusing her of spreading Russian propaganda. "Still going after that slot on Russia Today huh?" he tweeted.
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Greene has consistently claimed that Ukrainian resistance against Russia is futile as a justification for opposing aid to Ukraine — even as Russia entered its Victory Day celebrations this week with virtually none of the strategic goals for the Ukraine invasion met.
This comes after some allies of former President Donald Trump have taken the opposite tack and claimed that President Joe Biden's requested assistance to Ukraine will not actually help them survive a war — which military experts have refuted.
https://www.rawstory.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-2657301678/
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You probably have heard there's a baby formula shortage due to the recall of popular formulas because they contained Cronobacter.
Republicans and the right wing media are viciously attacking President Biden for the shortage by claiming "it's his fault" which he obviously has no control over. But that doesn't stop the right from pushing lying propaganda by trying to score cheap political points based on nothing but lies.
The fact of the matter is, Abbott Management who manufactures the formulas for the popular brands tried to cut corners by refusing to repair dilapidated and failure-prone drying machines turning the plant into proverbial petri dishes for cronobacter, because they needed that $5.73 billion for stock buybacks. And somehow this is all "Biden's fault"? What a joke. Quit listening to Republicans and the right wing media because they are nothing but lying propagandists. They lie about non existent voter fraud, they lie for Trump, they lie about the baby formula, they lie about everything.
The FDA recalled the formulas and are doing an investigation on the matter. But here's documented information on previous 2019 audit for Abbott Management.
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FDA Takes Important Steps to Improve Supply of Infant and Specialty Formula Products
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is providing an update on its work to increase the availability of infant and specialty formula products. On Feb. 17, the agency warned consumers not to use certain powdered infant formula products from Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis, Michigan facility, and Abbott initiated a voluntary recall of certain products. Since that time, the agency has been working with Abbott and other manufacturers to bring safe products to the U.S. market.
“We recognize that many consumers have been unable to access infant formula and critical medical foods they are accustomed to using and are frustrated by their inability to do so. We are doing everything in our power to ensure there is adequate product available where and when they need it,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D. “Ensuring the availability of safe, sole-source nutrition products like infant formula is of the utmost importance to the FDA. Our teams have been working tirelessly to address and alleviate supply issues and will continue doing everything within our authority to ensure the production of safe infant formula products.”
Prior to the voluntary recall of several infant formula products produced at the Abbott Nutrition facility, the FDA was working to address supply chain issues associated with the pandemic including those impacting the infant formula industry. The FDA continues to take several significant actions to help increase the current supply of infant formula in the U.S. In fact, other infant formula manufacturers are meeting or exceeding capacity levels to meet current demand. Notably, more infant formula was purchased in the month of April than in the month prior to the recall.
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-takes-important-steps-improve-supply-infant-and-specialty-formula-products
FDA Investigation of Cronobacter Infections: Powdered Infant Formula (February 2022)
Do not use recalled Similac, Alimentum, or EleCare powdered infant formulas produced at Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis, MI, facility
https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/fda-investigation-cronobacter-infections-powdered-infant-formula-february-2022
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Longshot Republican surging against Dr. Oz
GOP panics over ‘ultra-MAGA’ Pennsylvania Senate wild card
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Less than one week before Pennsylvania's May 17 GOP primary, all eyes are on a Republican surging against Donald Trump's endorsed candidate.
"Influential Republicans in Washington and among the nationwide party elite are having a belated "oh s--t" moment over the previously unimaginable prospect that Kathy Barnette could win their party's nomination for the open Senate seat in Pennsylvania," Axios reported Wednesday. "In Barnette, who's been soaring in the polls ahead of Tuesday's primary, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell would be dealing with a general election candidate who'd be an opposition researcher's dream — potentially endangering the GOP effort to take back the Senate."
Dan McLaughlin also reported on the Barnette surge in the National Review.
"Trafalgar has new polls out in the Pennsylvania Republican primaries, which will be held next Tuesday. The Senate poll is not far from a three-way dead heat, with Dr. Oz at 24.5 percent, Kathy Barnette at 23.2 percent, and Dave McCormick at 21.6 percent, with 15 percent undecided and the other candidates in single digits," he reported. "The RCP average in the Senate race has Oz 23.3, Barnette 21.0, and McCormick 20.3."
In Pittsburg, the Post-Gazette used the headline, "Kathy Barnette’s surge in GOP polls puts her in line with Oz, McCormick 6 days out from Pa.’s primary."
"Ms. Barnette got an additional boost this week after the anti-tax Club for Growth endorsed her on Wednesday and has begun airing TV ads on her behalf, as well as the endorsement of the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List’s decision on Tuesday to back her over Mr. Oz, who has the endorsement of former President Donald Trump," the newspaper reported. "Ms. Barnette’s surge was timed well with the recent Supreme Court draft opinion leak about the landmark Roe v. Wade case. During a debate last week at Grove City College, Ms. Barnette said her mother had conceived her after being raped at 11 years old. An advertisement with her mom, telling their life stories growing up Black and poor in the South on a pig farm, has also gone viral on social media in recent days."
Barnette's surge is drawing new scrutiny.
"Rival campaigns, along with news outlets, were scrambling this week to vet Barnette and her backstory. Top Senate operatives in both parties are so unfamiliar with her that they were at a loss about whether she’d make a strong general election candidate," The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. "Questions are starting to simmer about some of Barnette’s links to fringe elements on the right, her false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, and some of her past incendiary comments — including a 2017 tweet about banning Islam and a 2010 opinion piece claiming that the 'homose*ual AGENDA' was seeking 'domination.'"
Barnette is also backing state Senator Doug Mastriano for governor and his support for her senate bid.
"Now, Republicans are concerned about losing both races in November if primary voters embrace such out-of-the-mainstream candidates," The New York Times reported.
https://www.axios.com/2022/05/12/gop-panics-pa-senate-wild-card-kathy-barnette
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GOP filibuster derails bill to codify Roe v. Wade protections
The Women’s Health Protection Act, designed to codify Roe v. Wade protections, was derailed today by a Republican filibuster, but the fight isn’t over.
In the wake of Justice Samuel Alito’s leaked draft, as the political world started coming to terms with the looming demise of the Roe v. Wade precedent, President Joe Biden issued a statement arguing the nation “will need more pro-choice senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt legislation that codifies Roe, which I will work to pass and sign into law.”
That, in a nutshell, became the Democratic plan. The governing majority can’t twist Supreme Court jurists’ arms, and they don’t appear ready to expand the number of justices on the high court, but it’s within lawmakers’ power to establish reproductive rights that Republican-appointed justices appear poised to take away.
For now, that legislative vehicle is the Women’s Health Protection Act, passed the House last fall, 218 to 211, overcoming the unanimous opposition of the chamber’s Republican members. In late February, Senate Democrats brought it the chamber floor, where it needed 60 votes. It received 46.
Today, against a backdrop of a looming decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Senate majority tried again. Everyone knew in advance that the bill would fall short, and as NBC News reported, it did.
The Senate failed to advance a Democratic-led bill Wednesday that would enshrine broad protections for legal abortion nationwide, a vote triggered by a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that indicates Roe v. Wade will likely be overturned.... All 50 Republicans and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., voted against proceeding to debate.
The final tally was 49 to 51. (Note, this was a procedural vote to proceed with a debate on the legislation, not a vote on the bill itself. Manchin and every GOP senator in the chamber voted to prevent that debate from happening.)
There’s been a fair amount of speculation of late about whether holding a doomed vote was worth senators’ time, but Democratic leaders, eager to prove that they’re at least making an effort and committed to the underlying principle, declared that it was important to get members on the record. They’ve now done exactly that.
But is that all they’ve done? Perhaps not.
The past couple of days have proven to be a bit more informative than many observers, including me, expected. For example, Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, a longtime opponent of abortion rights, announced yesterday that he now supports the Women’s Health Protection Act and the effort to codify the status quo in federal law. (The Pennsylvanian previously voted to begin debate on the bill, but opposed the underlying proposal. Now, in “a major shift,” he’s changed his mind.)
As for Congress’ most conservative Democrat, it’s no secret that Manchin has never been one of Congress’ proponents of reproductive rights, and no one was surprised when the West Virginian voted with the Republican minority today and when the bill first came up a few months ago.
But when announcing his opposition to the bill earlier today, Manchin also told NBC News that he believes a “clean” bill — with no extraneous provisions — to codify the Roe precedent would be “the reasonable rational thing to do.”
He added, “I would vote for a Roe v Wade codification, if it was today. I was hopeful for that. But I found out yesterday in caucus that wasn’t going to be.”
In other words, Manchin balked at the Women’s Health Protection Act because, as he sees it, the bill builds on the rights women currently enjoy. A more narrowly focused proposal could, if the senator’s comments today were sincere, theoretically still receive his support.
As best as I can tell, the conservative Democrat hasn’t been quite this explicit on the issue before.
To be sure, as a legislative matter, the significance is limited. Even if Manchin were persuaded to support a “clean” bill, and he managed to bring along nominally moderate Republicans such as Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, that would represent a majority of senators, but not a supermajority. The arithmetic is stubborn: 52 is less than 60.
But with Casey backing the bill, and Manchin endorsing the legal status quo, there’s at least something resembling kinetic political activity on the issue in Democratic politics.
What's more, let's not forget that legislation to codify Roe had been introduced in every Congress for a decade, but it had never received so much as a vote in committee. In this Congress, however, it passed the House, and received near-unanimous support from Senate Democrats.
There’s no reason to think we’ve heard the last of this.
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/roe-wade-senate-blocks-bill-vote-codify-roe-v-wade-gop-rcna28434
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Inflation is high all around the world due to a global pandemic and Putin's war in Ukraine. But right wing Republicans, the right wing media, and the mainstream media wants to pretend that inflation is only happening in the United States. Inflation started to rise in the Summer of 2020, so this nonsense that "Biden policies caused inflation" is a total lie. Countries all around the world are affected and those countries have higher inflation than the United States. Inflation is finally starting to lower thanks to Biden's actions to lower it.
European inflation soars to record 7.5 percent on fuel, food costs
LONDON (AP) — Inflation in Europe soared to another record, according to new EU figures released Friday, in a fresh sign that rising energy prices fueled by Russia’s war in Ukraine are squeezing consumers and adding pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates.
Consumer prices in the 19 countries that use the euro currency rose by an annual rate of 7.5 percent in March, according to the European Union statistics agency, Eurostat.
The latest reading smashed the high set just last month, when it hit 5.9 percent. It’s the fifth straight month that inflation in the eurozone has set a record, bringing it to the highest level since recordkeeping for the euro began in 1997.
Rising consumer prices are a growing problem around the world, making it more difficult for people to afford everything from groceries to their utility bills. Spiking energy costs are the main factor driving inflation in Europe, with those prices surging 44.7 percent last month, up from 32 percent in February, Eurostat said.
Oil and gas prices had already been rising because of increasing demand from economies recovering from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic. They jumped higher after Russia, a major oil and gas producer, invaded Ukraine, on fears that sanctions and export restrictions could crimp supplies.
It’s also getting more expensive to eat in Europe. Food costs, including alcohol and tobacco, rose 5 percent, compared with 4.2 percent in the prior month.
Mina Agib, who runs an Egyptian restaurant called Meya Meya in Berlin, said prices for frying oil and meat have shot up by 70 percent to 100 percent recently.
“Who isn’t affected?” Agib replied, when asked whether he’s feeling the impact of rising prices.
Two weeks ago, one of his suppliers said meat prices would increase by 70 euro cents (77 cents) per kilogram, Agib said. “They told us to expect another increase next week.”
To avoid losing money, Agib has had to raise the price of some dishes. One customer, angry at having to pay half a euro more for a plate of sliced meat, dips and salad, posted a negative online review — the first since his restaurant opened over a year ago.
"We’re between a rock and a hard place,” he said. “We want to keep customers happy with high-quality ingredients and homemade food. But we also have to pay the prices our suppliers demand.”
At an outdoor market this week in Cologne, Germany, shopper Andreas Langheim also bemoaned how life was getting more expensive.
“I can see the effect of increasing prices, especially here at the market,” Langheim, 62, said as he picked up some bread from a bakery van. “Everything is more expensive now.”
Prices also increased for goods like clothing, appliances, cars, computers and books, up 3.4 percent from the 3.1 percent set the month before, and for services, which were up 2.7 percent from 2.5 percent.
The latest figures make it more urgent for the European Central Bank to get off the sidelines and take action, analysts said. The bank is balancing record inflation with the threat that the war may hurt an economy under pressure. Last month, it sped up its exit from economic stimulus efforts to combat inflation, but has not taken more drastic steps.
“We think that the ECB will soon conclude that it can’t wait any longer before starting to raise interest rates,” Jack Allen-Reynolds, senior Europe economist at Capital Economics, said in a report.
Other central banks have started raising rates, including in the U.S., where inflation has soared to a 40-year high of 7.9 percent. European countries that don’t use the euro, including Britain, Norway and the Czech Republic have done the same.
Italian Premier Mario Draghi, a former European Central Bank president, outlined how the problem hits households.
“Inflation is rising because raw materials prices are going up, in particular those for foodstuffs. Those are the ones that hit hardest a family’s buying power,” Draghi told foreign journalists Thursday. “Shortages in some raw materials creates a bottleneck in production and forces further price hikes.”
Draghi said that as long as inflation remains temporary, governments can respond with budgetary measures, such as payments to help low-income families with higher heating and electricity costs. But if it becomes a longer-term issue, the response will have to be structural, he said.
Italy’s construction industry has raised the alarm over how jobs at thousands of public and private construction sites are at risk from inflation. It warned that the sector could not only slow down but come to a complete halt because of soaring costs for fuel and raw materials, including iron, reinforced concrete and steel, which has doubled in price.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/european-inflation-soars-to-record-7-5-percent-on-fuel-food-costs
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Florida Senator Rick Scott is proud of his 11 point tax plan, or should I say scam, that he claims will "rescue America".
How does taxing the middle class and the working poor "rescue them"? High taxes will place a heavy burden on them.
Rick Scott specifically has written in his plan that “All Americans should pay some income tax to have skin in the game", so he isn't shy about taxing people who are just getting by. How would more taxes "rescue them"?
The so called "Rescue America Plan" would increase middle-class families’ taxes an average of nearly $1,500. This immoral plan would also take $100 billion out of the hands of middle-class families each year.
A $1,500 tax increase on someone making $30,000 isn’t just bad. It’s appalling.
The Republican tax increase on seniors, the middle class and working poor is just another gimmick to give tax breaks to the ultra wealthy like Rick Scott himself. This is Trump's tax scam on steroids which ballooned the deficit to $1 trillion dollars and put our economy into a recession before the pandemic.
Rick Scott's tax plan would increase taxes by $1,020, on average, for the bottom 20 percent. That’s people who make less than about $30,000. The plan would increase taxes by $2,250 for the 20 percent above them. That’s people who make more than about $30,000 but less than about $55,000. Imagine squeezing people making this kind of money. It would be absolutely devastating to their lives and it's immoral.
Here is a full run down of Scott's plan and how does this "rescue America"? It will destroy America and all the progress we made getting out of the Trump economic disaster.
Scott's plan calls for, among other things, forcing non-workers to pay an income tax, effectively raising taxes on tens of millions of U.S. households, and requiring that all federal programs, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, be "reauthorized" every five years or they will expire.
That's a total scam.
We don't need a "rescue plan" from mega millionaire Republican Rick Scott because President Biden already rescued America from the last Republican disaster named Donald Trump who put us into an economic depression. Biden has already created 8.3 million jobs which is the most jobs ever created at this point in history. Unemployment is at the lowest in over 50 years. Americans are quitting their jobs and moving into a higher quality jobs. That's something that hasn't happened in over 40 years. A record number of small businesses are being created. And finally a President is paying down the debt.
High taxes from Republicans will destroy the middle class and the working poor. It will lead to massive job loss, high unemployment, and people losing their homes once again. And don't forget Republicans are itching to end social security and Medicare.
Millions of Americans will never support this GOP tax scam. Would you?
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CHARLIE CRIST CAMPAIGNS FOR GOVERNOR IN KEY WEST
Former governor seeks to defeat DeSantis
Charlie Crist ordered a Miller Lite and rolled up his sleeves at a Key West bar, enlisting local voters in his effort to “get rid of the clown we have now” in the governor’s office.
“I’m here to get rid of him for you,” Crist told a group of Florida Keys Democrats at Sally O’Brien’s Irish pub on May 9.
The former Florida governor (2007-2011) and current U.S. representative is running as a Democrat to defeat incumbent Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a right-wing favorite, a presumed presidential candidate in the coming years, and a formidable incumbent opponent.
"What has he done? He’s taken away women’s right to choose. He’s made LGBT kids feel ashamed,” Crist said in Key West. “Housing — what’s he done for that? He raided the Sadowski Fund (created to fund affordable housing). And why? Because he doesn’t give a damn. He doesn’t care.
“You don’t have to be a Democrat to realize he’s so far gone. He’s just gone,” Crist said. “He’s chasing that rabbit hole, hard-right, red-meat Republican vote for 2024 and he’s completely taken his eye off the ball of Florida. We’re one-third Republican, one-third Democrat, one-third independent. We’re purple. But he’s lost sight of that because he’s intoxicated about being in the White House. Perfect. Let him go down those rabbit holes. It’s fun as you-know-what to run against this boneheaded guy.”
Crist emphasized on Monday that he’s running against DeSantis, not the fellow Democrats he must defeat in the Aug. 23 primary to secure his party’s nomination.
“They’re good people; they’re friends of mine, but we have to win,” Crist said.
The primary field of Democrats includes Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried and State Sen. Annette Taddeo, who is prohibited from campaigning during the legislature’s two-month session.
In launching his gubernatorial campaign one year ago in May 2021, Crist said he wants to bridge the fissure that divides Floridians and restore decency and civility to state government.
“Florida has a governor that’s only focused on his future, not yours,” Crist said at the May 2021 press conference announcing his campaign. “He doesn’t care, and unless you can write him a campaign check, you don’t exist. … Unlike this governor and the Republican leadership in Tallahassee, we will listen to our fellow Floridians. … You deserve jobs you can live on, housing you can afford and justice that’s equal.”
When asked about Crist’s candidacy in 2021, DeSantis asked, jokingly, “Which party? Do we even know for sure?” The Tampa Bay Times reported in May 2021.
After being elected governor as a Republican, Crist became a Democrat in 2012, when he was alienated by Republicans for greeting the newly installed President Barack Obama with a bipartisan hug. He ran for governor again in 2014, this time as a Democrat, but lost by one percentage point to Republican Rick Scott.
https://keysweekly.com/42/charlie-crist-campaigns-for-governor-in-key-west/
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Conservative warns that many Americans – even Democrats – are ‘in denial’ about the US authoritarian threat
(https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/kevin-mccarthy-and-donald-trump.jpg?id=26151899&width=3500&height=1968)
When democracies are replaced by authoritarianism, it isn’t necessarily because of a violent coup d’état or golpe de estado like the overthrow of Salvador Allende by fascist dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet and his allies in Chile in 1973. Sometimes, authoritarians are voted into office and gradually undermine a democracy’s check and balances until it becomes increasingly undemocratic, which is what has happened with Viktor Orbán in Hungary and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey. And it is what MAGA Republicans are trying to do in the United States.
Many of the warnings against the authoritarian efforts of former President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement have been coming from the left, but some Never Trump conservatives have been speaking out as well. One of them is Washington Post opinion columnist Max Boot, who warns that too many Americans — including some Democratic voters — fail to realize how great a “threat” U.S. democracy is facing.
Boot, in his May 10 column, points to a CNN poll released in February. CNN asked if it is likely that “in the next few years, some elected officials will successfully overturn the results of an election”; 51% of Republicans and 44% of Democrats responded that it’s not at all likely.
“This reminds me of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denying, before February 24, that a Russian invasion was imminent and telling people not to ‘panic’ even as Russian armies were massing in plain sight,” Boot writes. “Panic is generally a bad idea, but sometimes, it is warranted. Now is one of those times for anyone who cares about the fate of U.S. democracy.”
Boot continues, “Republicans have succeeded in restricting voting rights in 19 states. Democrats have failed to protect voting rights at the national level because they can’t break a Senate filibuster. Meanwhile, at least 23 supporters of the Big Lie — which holds that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump — are running for secretary of state posts to oversee elections in 19 states. Other election deniers are joining election boards.”
Max Boot @MaxBoot
"The only way to save democracy is to vote for Democrats in the fall. And I say that as an ex-Republican turned independent.
It doesn’t matter if you disagree with Democrats on some issues. The overriding issue is the preservation of our democracy."
https://twitter.com/MaxBoot/status/1524345353545388032
The conservative columnist, who supported now-President Joe Biden in the 2020 election and is a scathing critic of former President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, notes that “fealty to the Big Lie” has “become a litmus test for Republican candidates because it has become gospel for Republican voters.”
“Despite all the damning details that have emerged about his efforts to overturn the 2020 election,” Boot laments, “Trump remains the dominant figure within the GOP — which means that most Republicans have tacitly accepted that inciting an insurrection is no big deal.”
MAGA Republicans, Boot warns, won’t hesitate to steal the 2024 presidential election in an “authoritarian” way.
“(Trump’s) ‘trump card,’ so to speak, is the House, needing it to be under GOP control after the midterms,” Boot explains. “CNBC founder Tom Rogers and former Democratic Sen. Timothy Wirth point out in Newsweek that controlling the House can allow Trump to steal the presidency if the election is close. Republican state legislatures in swing states that Biden or another Democrat narrowly wins can claim the results are fraudulent and send in competing slates of electors pledged to Trump. The House and Senate would then vote on which electors to accept.”
Boot continues, “Even if the Senate remains Democratic, a GOP-controlled House could prevent Biden from getting the 270 electoral votes needed to win. It would then fall to the House to decide the presidency.”
“The only way to save democracy is to vote for Democrats in the fall,” Boot stresses. “And I say that as an ex-Republican turned independent. It doesn’t matter if you disagree with Democrats on some issues. The overriding issue is the preservation of our democracy. That may sound hyperbolic to some, but that’s precisely the problem. Like so many Ukrainians before February 24, most Americans remain in denial about the threat to our country.”
MAGA Republicans, Boot warns, won’t hesitate to steal the 2024 presidential election in an “authoritarian” way.
We’re in danger of losing our democracy. Most Americans are in denial.
It has been stirring to see so many Americans come together to support Ukraine’s fight for freedom. But it is dismaying to see that there is no similar consensus on defending democracy at home. Indeed, much of the country remains in denial about the threat.
A year after the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol, a CNN poll asked whether it’s likely “that, in the next few years, some elected officials will successfully overturn the results of an election.” Fifty-one percent of Republicans and 44 percent of Democrats said it’s not at all likely. Only 46 percent of Democrats and independents said that U.S. democracy is under attack, which helps to explain why Democratic candidates aren’t campaigning on defending democracy.
This reminds me of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denying before Feb. 24 that a Russian invasion was imminent and telling people not to “panic” even as Russian armies were massing in plain sight. Panic is generally a bad idea, but sometimes it is warranted. Now is one of those times for anyone who cares about the fate of U.S. democracy.
Republicans have succeeded in restricting voting rights in 19 states. Democrats have failed to protect voting rights at the national level because they can’t break a Senate filibuster. Meanwhile at least 23 supporters of the "big lie" — which holds that the 2020 election was stolen from former president Donald Trump — are running for secretary of state posts to oversee elections in 19 states. Other election deniers are joining election boards.
Fealty to the "big lie" has become a litmus test for GOP candidates because it has become gospel for Republican voters. More than 70 percent of Republicans regard Biden’s victory as illegitimate. Despite all the damning details that have emerged about Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, the former president remains the dominant figure within the GOP, which means that most Republicans have tacitly accepted that inciting an insurrection is no big deal.
Look at what just happened in Ohio’s U.S. Senate primary: J.D. Vance, who had been languishing in third place, won the nomination after Trump endorsed him. A fervent, born-again Trumpkin, Vance told a Vanity Fair reporter that Trump supporters “should seize the institutions of the left” and launch a “de-woke-ification program” modeled on de-Baathification in Iraq. (That worked so well, right?) He says that if Trump wins again in 2024, he should “fire … every civil servant” and “replace them with our people.” If the courts try to stand in the way, ignore them. As Vanity Fair noted, “This is a description, essentially, of a coup.”
If Trump wins again, he undoubtedly will be eager to implement such an authoritarian agenda. We continually learn more about his deranged desires, which were only thwarted by the kind of responsible officeholders who will never get appointed in another Trump term.
Mark T. Esper, Trump’s former defense secretary, writes that Trump wanted to shoot peaceful protesters and launch missiles at Mexico. “He is an unprincipled person who, given his self-interest, should not be in the position of public service,” Esper concludes. John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, says that having Trump back in the White House would threaten U.S. national security. Trump’s former communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, tweets, “Anyone who worked for Trump knows he is a maniac.”
The only way to save democracy is to vote for Democrats in the fall. And I say that as an ex-Republican turned independent. It doesn’t matter if you disagree with Democrats on some issues. The overriding issue is the preservation of our democracy.
That might sound hyperbolic to some — but that’s precisely the problem. Like so many Ukrainians before Feb. 24, most Americans remain in denial about the threat to our country.
Washington Post
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January 6 committee subpoenas 5 GOP lawmakers close to Trump, including McCarthy
Washington — The House select committee investigating the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol issued subpoenas Thursday to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and four other House Republicans, a significant escalation in its efforts to obtain information from GOP lawmakers as part of its probe.
In addition to McCarthy, the select committee subpoenaed Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Mo Brooks of Alabama, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Andy Biggs of Arizona for testimony. The demand from the panel is likely to spark a legal fight, as others who have been called to testify before lawmakers, such as former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, have turned to the courts to challenge subpoenas issued by House investigators.
Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi, said the GOP lawmakers have information relevant to its investigation, and the panel was forced to issue the subpoenas after they rebuffed the opportunity to participate voluntarily.
"We urge our colleagues to comply with the law, do their patriotic duty, and cooperate with our investigation as hundreds of other witnesses have done," he said in a statement.
If the five Republicans defy the subpoenas, Thompson said the committee could recommend contempt charges, as it has done for others, though members have not discussed that step. The panel could also make a referral to the House Ethics Committee or explore other civil options, he said, adding the committee is "taking it one step at a time" and hopes lawmakers comply with their subpoenas.
The panel asked the Republican lawmakers for their voluntary cooperation with their investigation into January 6 riots, but they declined to provide information to its members. Brooks, who spoke at the rally outside the White House hours before the Capitol attack, said earlier this month that while he would have testified voluntarily at some point in the past, he would only do so if subpoenaed and vowed to fight such a demand.
While the select committee has issued subpoenas for McCarthy, Jordan, Brooks, Perry and Biggs, it has also asked GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson to participate in voluntary meetings with investigators. It's unclear whether the panel will subpoena Jackson in the future.
The panel told Jordan and Brooks in earlier requests for information they would like to discuss conversations the two had with former President Donald Trump regarding his efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Investigators believe Perry played an "important role" in efforts to install former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark as acting attorney general, and found the Pennsylvania Republican communicated with Meadows about Clark through text messages and Signal, an encrypted messaging app.
The committee believes Biggs participated in meetings at the White House and remotely regarding planning for January 6, including on the strategy for Vice President Mike Pence to reject electoral votes from key battleground states Trump lost in the 2020 presidential election. The panel also said it learned Biggs was involved in plans to bring protesters to Washington on January 6, when lawmakers were convening for a joint session to count state electoral votes and reaffirm President Biden's win. Additionally, it has information about Biggs' alleged efforts to convince state officials the 2020 election was stolen and to seek their help with Trump's efforts to overturn the results, and former White House staff identified Biggs as potentially involved in effort to seek a presidential pardon for activities tied to Trump's campaign to reverse the election outcome.
The panel said McCarthy was in contact with Trump "before, during and after" January 6, and wants information about his conversations with fellow lawmakers in the days after the January 6 attack. In a conference call with Republican leaders, McCarthy said the then-president had acknowledged bearing some blame for the assault, according to recently released audio.
"He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened. And he needs to acknowledge that," the top House Republican said.
McCarthy said in another leaked call that he was considering asking Trump to resign.
"The only discussion I would have with him is that I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign," he told Rep. Liz Cheney in a January 10, 2021, call, referring to an impeachment resolution crafted by House Democrats. Cheney is one of two Republicans on the January 6 committee and serves as vice chair.
At the Capitol on Thursday, Cheney said the decision to subpoena sitting members of Congress was "a reflection of how important and serious the investigation is, and how grave the attack on the Capitol was."
"We asked these five individuals to come in and speak with us and they've refused, and they have an obligation," the Wyoming Republican said. "They have critically important information about the attack that we need for the investigation."
The committee has signaled for weeks that it could issue subpoenas if the congressmen didn't voluntarily comply with their requests. Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, the other Republican on the panel, told "Face the Nation" earlier this month that the committee would "ultimately [do] whatever we can do to get that information" from members.
"We've requested information from various members. In terms of whether we move forward with a subpoena, [that] is going to be both a strategic, tactical decision and a question of whether or not, you know, we can do that and get the information in time," Kinzinger said in the May 1 interview.
Kinzinger said Thursday that the committee members were "well aware" of "the impact" of subpoenaing members of Congress, but "what happened in January 6 was unprecedented."
McCarthy, Perry and Brooks said they had not yet received the subpoenas before the committee announced them, but they denounced the proceedings conducted by their colleagues.
Perry told reporters the demands were "all about distracting America from their abysmal record of running America into the ground," while McCarthy said the committee is "not conducting a legitimate investigation." Brooks said in a statement his compliance hinges on several factors, including whether his testimony will be public, whether questions will be limited to events relevant to the January 6 assault, and who will be questioning him. The Alabama Republican also said he plans to consult with the other Republicans the committee wants to depose.
In the course of its investigation into the January 6 insurrection and events surrounding it, the committee has issued more than 90 subpoenas to a wide range of former White House aides, allies of Trump, former campaign officials, organizers of the rallies protesting the results of the 2020 election and far-right extremist groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
A number of prospective witnesses have unsuccessfully tried to nullify the subpoenas in federal court. Most recently, a U.S. district judge in Washington rejected an attempt by the Republican National Committee to block a subpoena from the select committee to its email fundraising vendor, finding the committee was seeking information relevant to its investigation.
The House has also voted to hold Meadows, and former White House top aides Dan Scavino, Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress after they failed to comply with subpoenas. Bannon was indicted by a federal grand jury in November for refusing to appear for a deposition and turn over documents, and has pleaded not guilty.
Some members of Trump's family, meanwhile, have spoken to House investigators, including Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law.
Much of the committee's work thus far has been conducted behind closed doors, with lawmakers and staff conducting more than 900 interviews and depositions and receiving more than 100,000 documents in the course of their probe. But the panel's examination of the January 6 assault will enter its public phase next month, holding a series of eight hearings beginning June 9.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/january-6-committee-subpoenas-kevin-mccarthy-jim-jordan-mo-brooks-scott-perry-andy-biggs/
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So, the guy who lost by over 7 million votes is questioning another candidates' electability? :D
Sean Hannity is scared his preferred candidate Dr. Oz is going to lose the Pennsylvania primary to an even more radical MAGA candidate, Kathy Barnette, that he spent the bulk of his propaganda show attacking her. Donald Trump is backing Oz as well but his endorsements don't have much influence. Polls have Ms. Barnette surging and that is an absolute fact if you've been on Twitter. Yesterday afternoon, the Really American PAC put out a Dr. Oz video, titled #RejectOz, which showed his corrupt ties to Turkey. Several right wing MAGA "influencers" joined in on the hashtag attacking Oz as they showed their full support of Ms. Barnette even though their hero Donald Trump endorsed Oz. So, Donnie clearly doesn't have the influence he once had as his own sycophants are not supporting his endorsement. The Dr. Oz video is posted below. The GOP is in disarray. And good luck to Ms. Barnette!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FSmc6I1VEAAhhau?format=jpg&name=900x900)
Donald Trump questions Kathy Barnette’s electability in Pennsylvania Senate race
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate primary is in chaos.
Kathy Barnette’s late surge has turned the nationally watched race into a mad scramble, with former President Donald Trump warning Republicans against nominating her and opponents only now doing basic background research in an attempt to stop her as the clock ticks closer to Tuesday’s primary.
Such vetting, usually strategically unspooled over the course of a lengthy campaign, rolled out in frenetic bursts at a range of disparate targets Thursday.
The rush to find anything to puncture Barnette’s story came as she threatened to overtake longtime GOP front-runners Mehmet Oz and David McCormick, who have spent tens of millions of dollars on the campaign but failed to pull away.
The haphazard moment was embodied by a Trump statement urging Republicans to support his endorsed candidate, Oz, but also predicted a bright future for Barnette, a conservative commentator and a prominent election denier with a trail of incendiary comments, including some targeting gay and transgender people and Muslims.
“Kathy Barnette will never be able to win the General Election against the Radical Left Democrats,” Trump said.
"She has many things in her past which have not been properly explained or vetted,” he added, “but if she is able to do so, she will have a wonderful future in the Republican Party — and I will be behind her all the way.”
Barnette, 50, brushed off the attack during a campaign stop Thursday night at the Southampton Fire Department in Bucks County.
“We know that President Trump did not mince words,” she told reporters after the event, though media were largely barred while it took place. “I think that letter was favorable. And I look forward to working with the president.”
She agreed with a suggestion that being targeted was confirmation of her rise.
“There’s a reason we have the words swamp creatures,” she had told the crowd earlier, according to a recording made by reporters who were briefly inside but forced to leave. ”The long knives are coming out at this point, and I had the best day of my life today.”
Barnette responded to questions about her background in a 25-minute interview with conservative radio host Chris Stigall. She accused her opponents, and some conservative media figures, of twisting past statements.
She explained her work history, where she went to college, when she moved to Pennsylvania (2014, according to a GOP questionnaire she once filled out), and her 10 years in the Army Reserve. She described her political fight now as “David and Goliath."
Barnette’s campaign had spent less than $2 million as of April 27, according to public disclosures. That’s dwarfed by more than $35 million from McCormick and two super PACs funded by his wealthy allies, and more than $18 million by Oz and his supporters.
As rivals raised questions about her chances of winning a statewide election, Barnette noted that Oz and McCormick have already bloodied each other with brutal ad campaigns.
“Why would you take people with very high negatives in the Republican primary into the general (election) and think you’re gonna win?” she asked in the radio interview.
Barnette, running a tireless race on a shoestring budget, has stunned insiders in both parties. She has capitalized on Oz and McCormick’s withering attacks on each other, her own combative rhetoric, and her ties to State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the leading GOP candidate for governor.
But her prominence, like Mastriano’s, has some Republicans worried they could nominate a pair of candidates too extreme to win a swing state, even in a year that appears likely to strongly favor the GOP.
”I have concerns about some of the things I’ve heard her say, and I think it’s incredibly important that the person that’s nominated can win this seat,” McCormick, an Army veteran and former hedge fund CEO, said during a campaign stop in Northeast Philadelphia. “We have to have someone who can withstand what’s going to be required in the general election to win.”
Strategists were wrestling with whom Barnette might weaken more, Oz or McCormick, if she can’t win — illustrating how she had upended a contest focused for months on just two contenders.
Barnette, with her combative style and history of challenging the 2020 election, has many qualities that appeal to Trump’s supporters.
But some Republicans worry about past comments attacking gay people and Islam. She once called the religion “a political and a military system that is incongruent with the U.S. Constitution,” CNN reported, and tied it to pedophilia. On her radio show in 2015, she said, “Two men holding hands, two men caressing, that is not normal,” the cable news outlet reported.
She also embarked on a failed push to find voter fraud after losing a 2020 U.S. House race. But neither Republicans nor Democrats took her seriously enough to dig through her history or personal story until now.
This late in the race, it’s unclear if the attacks will have enough time to sink in before Tuesday’s vote, though a super PAC aligned with Oz blasted them out by text message Wednesday and Thursday.
After McCormick allies earlier this week challenged Barnette to produce records from her decade in the Army Reserve — which she did — her rivals turned to other topics Thursday. A McCormick aide pointed out Barnette said she worked “on Wall Street,” but an old LinkedIn profile listed her working in St. Louis for Bank of America’s investing arm.
Others accused Barnette, who is Black, of expressing sympathy for the Black Lives Matter movement because she tweeted the #BLM hashtag.
Yet that led to a video in which she sharply criticized violence that followed some protests after the 2020 police murder of George Floyd. Barnette told Stigall she only used the hashtag to inject her views into the online discourse.
Oz, appearing on Fox Business, said Barnette “attacked George Washington.”
It was a reference to a 2019 YouTube video in which Barnette, while visiting Washington’s Mount Vernon home, discussed the people he enslaved, praising their strength and perseverance and saying Black people should honor what they endured. She said that while some white visitors saw Washington as “high and mighty,” Americans should have a “balanced” view of the country’s history, good and bad.
“The best way we can honor those slaves who came before us as Black people is to live an honorable life,” she said in the video.
Oz also questioned whether she could win a key swing state.
“She said things that are going to make her very difficult to elect in a general election,” he said on Fox Business. “The Republican community’s going to coalesce around me. I’m confident in part because of [her] past statements, in part because of the clear mission and vision we’ve been offering to the voters of Pennsylvania.”
His appearance came a day after Fox News host Sean Hannity, who has endorsed Oz, hammered Barnette in a 10-minute segment.
Hannity slammed Barnette for old social media posts in which she appeared to criticize Trump and support a statue of Barack Obama. In the posts, allegedly from Barnette’s Twitter account but no longer available, she criticized a Trump debate performance during the 2016 Republican presidential primary, calling it “horrid,” and saying he was “just as liberal as” Democratic leaders.
She made other critical statements about Trump that year, like many Republicans, but by the spring was posting feverishly in his favor.
Barnette told Stigall she voted for Trump in both the 2016 primary and general elections. And she said she called for an Obama statue because she wanted more statues at a time when activists were removing some recognizing Confederate figures, and thought it would be appropriate to honor the country’s first Black president.
Outside Barnette’s event Thursday night, Rich Hohenshilt said the new attacks don’t change his plans to vote for her, but he does want to know if there’s anything that could be unearthed later.
”They’re gonna throw everything at her including the kitchen sink,” said Hohenshilt, 55, a cross-country truck driver from Penndel who wore a Trump hat and Barnette T-shirt. “They’re gonna do every lie that they could possibly do. … They’re gonna do everything they can to knock her out.”
He also said he loves Trump, but “Donald Trump is not Jesus. He’s capable of making a mistake, and she believes he made a mistake by endorsing the wrong person. And I do, too.”
Barnette also found some defenders in the conservative media, many of whom have also balked at Trump’s Oz endorsement.
On Trump ally Steve Bannon’s talk show Thursday, guest Jack Posobiec said that what opponents are doing to Barnette “is the same thing they did to Donald Trump.”
“They’re going into videos and clipping things completely out of context,” said Posobiec, a pro-Trump commentator prominent on social media. “It reeks of desperation to be attacking someone’s military record when you have a woman like her who stepped up and served.”
© The Philadelphia Inquirer
Dr. Oz EXPOSED voting in Turkey's election, denying Armenian genocide
Mehmet Oz refuses to give up his Turkish citizenship. He served in their military, is paid millions by Turkish airlines, votes in their elections, is cozy with their dictator, and even adopts the regimes line of denying the Armenian genocide. #RejectOz
Watch:
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House panel exposes how 'shameful' meatpackers put profits over worker health during pandemic
A congressional report published Thursday revealed that meat processing companies worked with and lobbied the Trump administration to continue operating during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite the danger to workers in the high-risk industry.
"The devastating impacts of the Covid crisis on workers in these industries should push lawmakers and the Biden administration to crack down on the meatpacking giants."
The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis report—entitled Now to Get Rid of Those Pesky Health Departments!—shows how major meatpackers including Tyson Foods, JBS USA, and Smithfield Foods engaged political appointees in the Trump administration in "an aggressive campaign to ensure their facilities remained at maximum capacity."
As a result of the meat processing industry's successful efforts, employees—many of them low-income Latino and other immigrants—were forced to work in dangerously close quarters in plants with a high risk of coronavirus transmission.
"This coordinated campaign prioritized industry production over the health of workers and communities, and contributed to tens of thousands of workers becoming ill, hundreds of workers dying, and the virus spreading throughout surrounding areas," Committee Chair Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said in a statement.
Food & Water Watch @foodandwater
Last year, we filed a lawsuit against Smithfield Foods for claiming that a nonexistent meat shortage justified endangering workers. The House's report also shows evidence of #PandemicProfiteering. The Biden admin must hold these corporations accountable![/i]
"The shameful conduct of corporate executives pursuing profit at any cost during a crisis and government officials eager to do their bidding regardless of resulting harm to the public must never be repeated," he added.
At one point during the spring of 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified Smithfield's Sioux Falls, South Dakota plant as the nation's biggest single source of Covid-19 cases, and several other meat processing facilities were listed in the top 10. Through May 2020, counties with meatpacking plants recorded 10 times as many coronavirus infections as counties without such facilities, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture study.
All told, at least 59,000 workers at plants operated by just five companies—Tyson, JBS, Smithfield, Cargill Meat Solutions, and National Beef—were infected, and at least 269 people died. As they were dying, Tyson managers placed bets on how many employees at the company's Waterloo, Iowa plant would become infected. More than 1,000 workers—over a third of the facility's staff—would test positive for Covid-19, at least five of them died, and the plant ultimately shut down for two weeks.
The new report, which is based on more than 151,000 pages of documents collected from companies and interest groups, found that meatpacking industry representatives identified "fixers" in the Trump administration who would block attempts by regulators to improve health and safety conditions in processing plants.
The publication also shows how the industry collaborated with the administration to ensure that workers remained on the job despite the clear risk to their lives—even as meatpacking companies sought federal liability protection against lawsuits from workers who were infected with coronavirus on the job.
Instead of working with state and local health departments to ensure worker safety, companies treated them as impediments to maximizing profits. One lobbyist, voicing what the report says is an industry-wide sentiment, once even said, "Now to get rid of those pesky health departments!"
Furthermore, Tyson attorneys drafted an executive order to invoke the Defense Production Act—a civil defense provision—to ensure continued peak operations and then relentlessly lobbied the Trump administration to issue the order. Then-President Donald Trump did so on April 28, 2020, less than a week after receiving the Tyson draft.
"From the very beginning of the pandemic, consumer advocates and industry watchdogs warned that meat giants like Smithfield and Tyson were stoking fears of a shortage in order to keep their plants operating—putting public health and workers' lives at risk," Wenonah Hauter, executive director of the advocacy group Food & Water Watch—which last year sued Smithfield for allegedly lying to consumers about a looming meat shortage in order to protect profits—said in a statement.
"These fear-mongering PR campaigns were nothing more than a cover-up for corporate greed and pandemic profiteering," she continued. "The unsafe conditions in meatpacking plants have raised alarms for decades."
"The devastating impacts of the Covid crisis on workers in these industries should push lawmakers and the Biden administration to crack down on the meatpacking giants," Hauter added. "This is an urgent matter of public health, food safety, and workers' rights."
New Investigation Documents Meatpackers’ Pandemic Deceptions
House report should prompt serious action
Today, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released a report documenting how leading U.S. meatpacking companies stoked fears about a meat shortage in order to keep their plants open during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report shows that corporate giants like Tyson and Smithfield worked closely with the Trump administration to keep their operations running despite the risks to workers. It also documents how pork companies were exporting record amounts of pork while stoking fears of a shortage.
In June of last year, Food & Water Watch filed suit charging that Smithfield Foods repeatedly lied to consumers about a looming meat shortage in order to protect its profits.
In response to today’s report, Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter released the following statement:
"From the very beginning of the pandemic, consumer advocates and industry watchdogs warned that meat giants like Smithfield and Tyson were stoking fears of a shortage in order to keep their plants operating – putting public health and workers’ lives at risk. These fear mongering PR campaigns were nothing more than a coverup for corporate greed and pandemic profiteering.
“The unsafe conditions in meatpacking plants have raised alarms for decades. The devastating impacts of the COVID crisis on workers in these industries should push lawmakers and the Biden administration to crack down on the meatpacking giants. This is an urgent matter of public health, food safety and workers’ rights.”
Read the House Report Here: https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2022/05/12/new-investigation-documents-meatpackers-pandemic-deceptions/
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Republicans and the right wing media are lying to Americans about the baby formula shortage in the United States. They are falsely attacking President Biden for the shortage, which obviously he has no control over, when the formula was contaminated with bacteria at the factory. The bacteria made babies sick, with two that died, so the factory was shut down to prevent any more sickness or death. Abbott Management, no relation to the right wing Texas Governor, cut corners and refused to update their old equipment and as a result bacteria contaminated their supply of formula. This article from NBC News details the contamination at the factory.
Amid baby formula shortage, factory stays shut as investigators try to pinpoint source of bacteria that sickened infants
The CDC said it found no match between bacteria samples from two sick infants and samples from a Michigan formula factory that paused production earlier this year.
April 15, 2022
Amid a nationwide baby formula shortage, federal investigators have been unable to definitively determine the source or sources of a rare bacteria that sickened four infants, two of them now dead, who all consumed powdered formula made at one Michigan factory.
Abbott Nutrition’s factory in Sturgis, Mich., halted production of Similac earlier this year amid reports of Cronobacter infection in the four infants, who had all ingested powdered formula from the plant, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration told NBC News they found no match between bacteria samples taken from two of the infants and samples from the factory.
CDC officials also said, however, that they could not obtain or test samples from the two other infants who got Cronobacter infections and had consumed formula from the factory.
Abbott Nutrition and the FDA, which is investigating conditions at the plant, declined to say if additional cases had surfaced besides the four already reported. Cronobacter infections are rare, but can be deadly in newborns. The germs can cause sepsis, a dangerous blood infection or meningitis. Two of the four infants with reported Cronobacter cases died.
Members of Congress have raised concerns the FDA acted too slowly in response to the cases.
FDA officials told NBC News the investigation into factory conditions is ongoing and has “many moving parts,” but declined to answer questions from NBC News about the investigative timeline.
Abbott Nutrition voluntarily issued a recall on Feb. 17 after infant sicknesses were reported.
Production at the Michigan factory, which makes three of the country’s most popular brands, Similac, Alimentum and EleCare, was halted and remains paused.
Abbott said in a statement that it “continues to enhance our manufacturing and quality processes to ensure that our products remain free of Cronobacter Sakazakii” and has “already begun implementing corrective actions and enhancements at the facility.”
The company added that the lack of a genetic match between sick infants and the formula confirmed its own internal testing showing there was no link and said it has not found the bacteria in any of its distributed products. The company says it is also working with the FDA to address findings from the inspections.
Cronobacter can be introduced into baby formula in different ways, according to the CDC, including after a container has been opened by the end user.
More than 30 percent of the most popular formulas were out of stock across the U.S. last week, according to an analysis by the firm Datasembly, which tracked the supply at more than 11,000 stores. Walgreens is now limiting shoppers to three purchases of infant and toddler formula per transaction because of “increased demand and various supplier issues,” according to the company.
The recall
In February, the FDA and the CDC reported that four infants had gotten sick with Cronobacter. All four infants consumed powdered infant formula from the Sturgis facility, according to the CDC.
CDC typically receives reports of two to four Cronobacter infections per year, and an FDA spokesperson says concerns were raised when FDA personnel realized all four infants had consumed powdered formula from the same factory.
When the FDA inspected the facility between Jan. 31 and March 18 in response to the cases, inspectors found the factory failed to “establish a system of process controls covering all stages of processing” to prevent contamination.
According to the inspection report, the FDA and Abbott “found evidence of Cronobacter” in the “powdered infant production environment.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/feds-find-no-match-bacteria-samples-sick-infants-samples-baby-formula-rcna24361
'Abbott supports letting babies starve': Critics fed up with Texas governor trying to milk formula mess
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Few Americans know why there is a baby formula shortage in the U.S., and Governor Greg Abbott, along with many in the Republican Party, is taking the problem and pinning it on President Joe Biden, who has very little to do with what some parents see as a crisis.
Thursday afternoon the Texas Republican issued a statement blasting the Biden administration after one Florida Congresswoman tweeted out a photo of baby formula in a Texas immigrant detention center, which was mostly apple sauce. Republicans have been demanding the Biden administration end what they call "catch and release," and instead detain immigrants who cross into America illegally. Sometimes those immigrants have babies, and those babies need to be fed.
But not according to Governor Abbott, apparently, whose press release says "Children are our most vulnerable, precious Texans and deserve to be put first."
Abbott blasts the Biden administration for being, it says, "happy to provide baby formula to illegal immigrants coming across our southern border," and calls feeding babies in detention, "yet another one in a long line of reckless, out-of-touch priorities from the Biden Administration when it comes to securing our border and protecting Americans."
What no Republican is telling anyone is that the baby formula shortage came after the Food and Drug Administration found bacteria in baby formula. Two infants died, and batches from that manufacturer, ironically also named Abbott, were recalled. (Abbott denies any link between the bacteria found in its facility and the bacteria that killed the two infants.) Also, thanks to then-President Donald Trump, there is now a high tax on foreign baby formula, making it more expensive to import. The federal government does not manufacture or distribute baby formula, so it's unclear why the Governor of Texas thinks the Biden administration made a decision to send baby formula to a detention center in McCallen Texas, but not to, say, Costco, or a local grocery store. The federal government bought baby formula because it had to.
As many on social media noted, the obvious conclusion is that Governor Abbott wants to take formula from immigrant detention centers and starve the children there.
Read comments here: https://www.rawstory.com/abbott-supports-letting-babies-starve-critics-fed-up-with-texas-governor-trying-to-milk-formula-mess/
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Democrats launch investigation into baby formula shortage as Biden meets with manufacturers
House Democrats on the powerful Oversight Committee are launching an investigation into the nationwide baby formula shortage, one day after President Joe Biden met with the industry's top manufacturers.
"The national formula shortage poses a threat to the health and economic security of infants and families in communities across the country—particularly those with less income who have historically experienced health inequities, including food insecurity," Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) wrote in letters to Abbott Nutrition, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Nestle USA and Perrigo," ABC News was first to report Friday.
On Thursday President Biden met with infant formula manufacturer executives and top retailers including Target, Walmart and Nestle's Gerber, Reuters reports, "pressing them to do everything possible to get families access amid a nationwide shortage."
Also on Thursday the White House released a statement outlining steps the administration is taking to help families. They include cutting red tape to get more product on store shelves, addressing price gouging via the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general, and working through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to increase imported formula.
"Tight supplies of formula dwindled further after Abbott Laboratories in February recalled Similac and other baby formula made at its Sturgis, Michigan, plant following consumer complaints of bacterial contamination," Reuters also reports. "The FDA later cited five bacterial infections reported in babies given the company's formula, including two deaths."
Republicans have tried to blame the Biden administration for the shortage, despite it not being caused by the federal government. It has been partially exacerbated by a trade deal negotiated by then-President Donald Trump that makes it more difficult and expensive to import formula from other countries.
https://www.rawstory.com/democrats-launch-investigation-into-baby-formula-shortage-as-biden-meets-with-manufacturers/
What’s Behind America’s Shocking Baby-Formula Shortage?
Bacteria, a virus, a trade policy—and a lesson
America’s baby-formula shortage has gone from curious inconvenience to full-blown national crisis.
In many states, including Texas and Tennessee, more than half of formula is sold out in stores. Nationwide, 40 percent of formula is out of stock—a twentyfold increase since the first half of 2021. As parents have started to stockpile formula, retailers such as Walgreens, CVS, and Target have all moved to limit purchases.
The everything shortage isn’t new. But rationing essentials for desperate parents? That’s a twisted turn in the story of American scarcity.
Three factors are driving the U.S. baby-formula shortage: bacteria, a virus, and a trade policy.
First, the bacteria. After the recent deaths of at least two infants from a rare infection, the Food and Drug Administration investigated Abbott, a major producer of infant formula, and discovered traces of the pathogen Cronobacter sakazakii in a Michigan plant. As a result, the FDA recalled several brands of formula, and parents were advised to not buy or use some formula tied to the plant.
Recalls are common. Thousands of drugs and products are recalled every year, and they don’t create a meltdown at pharmacies or require CVS to instate Soviet-style rationing of essentials. So something else is going on here.
That brings us to the second cause: the virus. The pandemic has snarled all sorts of supply chains, but I can’t think of a market it’s yanked around more than infant formula. “During the spring of 2020, formula sales rocketed upwards as people stockpiled formula just like they stockpiled toilet paper,” Lyman Stone, the director of research at the consulting firm Demographic Intelligence, told me. Then, as “families worked through their stockpiles, sales fell a lot. This oscillation made planning for production extremely difficult. It was complicated to get an idea of the actual market size.” Meanwhile, Stone’s research has found that an uptick in births in early 2022 has corresponded with a “very dramatic decline in rates of breastfeeding” among new mothers, which pushed up demand for formula once again.
In brief: Demand for formula surged as parents hoarded in 2020; then demand fell, leading suppliers to cut back production through 2021; and now, with more new mothers demanding more formula in 2022, orders are surging faster than supply is recovering.
Finally, the third factor: America’s regulatory and trade policy. And while that might not sound as interesting to most people as bacteria and viruses, it might be the most important part of the story.
FDA regulation of formula is so stringent that most of the stuff that comes out of Europe is illegal to buy here due to technicalities like labeling requirements. Nevertheless, one study found that many European formulas meet the FDA nutritional guidelines—and, in some ways, might even be better than American formula, because the European Union bans certain sugars, such as corn syrup, and requires formulas to have a higher share of lactose.
Some parents who don’t care about the FDA’s imprimatur try to circumvent regulations by ordering formula from Europe through third-party vendors. But U.S. customs agents have been known to seize shipments at the border.
U.S. policy also restricts the importation of formula that does meet FDA requirements. At high volumes, the tax on formula imports can exceed 17 percent. And under President Donald Trump, the U.S. entered into a new North American trade agreement that actively discourages formula imports from our largest trading partner, Canada.
America’s formula policy warps the industry in one more way. The Department of Agriculture has a special group called WIC—short for Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children—that provides a variety of services to pregnant and breastfeeding women and their young children. It is also the largest purchaser of infant formula in the United States, awarding contracts to a small number of approved formula companies. As a result, the U.S. baby formula industry is minuscule, by design. A 2011 analysis by USDA reported that three companies accounted for practically all U.S. formula sales: Abbott, Mead Johnson, and Gerber.
The Biden administration is focused on expanding domestic manufacturing of formula to meet families’ needs. But the bigger problem is our trade policy. “The U.S. is a captive market for domestic dairy producers like Abbott, and during times of crisis, the lack of alternative supplies becomes a pretty big problem,” Scott Lincicome, the director of general economics and trade for the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, told me.
Conservative populists and even liberals who are skeptical of globalization sometimes argue that if the U.S. made everything within our borders, our economy would be more resilient. But the baby-formula shortage suggests that things don’t always work out that way. Instead, we’re seeing what happens when we reduce trade with other countries for an essential good: We’re more vulnerable to emergencies like a bacteria-infested plant in Michigan.
There is a better way. “What we should want to maximize is total global capacity and system-wide flexibility and dynamism,” Lincicome said. “The location of the supply doesn’t matter as much as having as much as possible within a nimble system that can replace one plant’s supply with another’s.”
America’s reasonable instinct to protect infants has metastasized into an unreasonably protectionist trade policy that makes the U.S. formula market exquisitely sensitive to existential shocks (like a pandemic) and domestic shocks (like a major recall). Today, the shocks are everywhere, and that’s why baby formula is not.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/baby-formula-shortage-abbott-recall/629828/
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Here's what former Tea Party Republican Joe Walsh has to say about today's Republican Party.
Joe Walsh @WalshFreedom
"No, I’m not a Democrat, and, yes, I disagree with the Democrats on a hell of a lot of policy, but the Republican Party, my former political party, is an anti-democracy, pro-authoritarian, anti-truth cult.
If you support democracy, this isn’t even a close call.
https://twitter.com/WalshFreedom/status/1524917536701153284
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Dems drop new nickname on Elise Stefanik over her latest 'ridiculous faux outrage'
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Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), part of the House Republican leadership, is facing backlash on the social media platform Twitter after criticizing President Joe Biden for sending baby formula to the southern border.
“Joe Biden continues to put America LAST by shipping pallets of baby formula to the southern border as American families face empty shelves,” Stefanik tweeted. “This is unacceptable. American mothers and their babies shouldn’t suffer because of the #BidenBorderCrisis.”
The congresswoman was referencing new reports that the Biden administration was delivering baby formula to federal immigration detention centers near the U.S.-Mexico border.
“#EliseStarvefanik the new leader of the pro starvation caucus,” tweeted Congressman Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) in response to Stefanik.
“If you are in Congress and propose starving babies to death you deserve to have your name trend. #EliseStarvefanik,” added Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA).
The White House vowed Thursday to take action to boost supplies of baby formula as Biden met with company leaders.
Last week the average out-of-stock rate for baby formula was 43 percent, according to Datasembly, which collected information from more than 11,000 retailers.
Officials say they are also working with the states to cut red tape on poor families buying infant milk through food stamps.
Biden has asked the Federal Trade Commission to look into abuses linked to the shortage, including the resale of infant milk online at prices far above normal.
The president met manufacturers and retailers for discussions described as "productive and encouraging" by an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Republican opposition, which has set its sights on wresting back control of Congress in November's midterm elections, has seized on the issue to berate Biden and the Democrats.
“This is a ridiculous faux outrage. The shortage of baby formula is a serious issue that the administration is seeking to address. But at the same time, the administration cannot be faulted for following the law and providing baby formula to undocumented immigrants,” The Washington Post wrote in a fact-check.
AFP
The faux outrage that Biden is stockpiling baby formula for undocumented immigrants
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/12/faux-outrage-that-biden-is-stockpiling-baby-formula-undocumented-immigrants/
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Pence adviser explains why fixing democracy may be impossible: ‘We're in greater danger today than Jan. 6’
A former judge who has been considered for the U.S. Supreme Court by Republican presidents believes political polarization may make the task of repairing democracy impossible.
Michael Luttig, who advised former vice president Mike Pence to resist Donald Trump's pressure to overturn his election loss, spoke with The Bulwark's Bill Kristol about the ongoing threat those corrupt efforts continue to pose to constitutional democracy, and he revealed why he's less optimistic about the future.
"Well, the five-alarm fire has been going off continuously since Jan. 6," Luttig told Kristol. "That's why I am very concerned about where the country is today. In my view, we haven't even begun to address the problems and, as I said, as of this moment, I believe there's a complete unwillingness to address the problems."
The House select committee is expected to make recommended changes to the Electoral Count Act, which has some embedded ambiguities some Trump allies tried to exploit to nullify the election results, but Luttig is concerned that political polarization may prevent meaningful reform.
"The country is now completely politicized and politically polarized, that there’s a natural unwillingness for any of the players who can address the problems, to address them, in fact," Luttig said.
"Because of this frightening politicization of everything and of American society, and the complete polarization of our politics, I believe that we are in greater danger today than we were on Jan. 6," he added. "The reaction has been just the opposite of what it ought to have been. Namely, we have a complete denial of the 2020 election. We have a denial of the significance of Jan. 6 for our country, and we have a continued war going on now over America over its institutions of democracy."
https://www.rawstory.com/michael-luttig-2657316776/
'For 6 years I have watched in disgust': GOP judge unloads on party for caving to Trump again and again
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Michael Luttig, a former Republican-appointed United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, spoke out this week about the disgust that he's felt watching his party cozy up to former President Donald Trump.
While talking with the conservative attorneys group Checks and Balances, Luttig talked about what inspired him to write a recent New York Times editorial in which he called Trump a "clear and present danger to our democracy."
"For the past six years, I have watched and listened... in disgust," he said in describing the GOP's obedience to Trump in spite of his lawless actions. "Not one single leader of ours [had] the moral authority, the courage, and the will to stand up and say, 'No, this is not who we are, this is not what America is, it's not what we want to be.'"
Luttig went on to say that Republicans for years have shown a "paradigmatic failure of leadership" in dealing with Trump, particularly in the wake of his incitement of a violent riot at the United States Capitol building.
"Not one single person has had the courage to stand up and say no!" he reiterated.
Watch the video below:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1494064827760840713
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'Sad state of affairs': Pennsylvania's Number One Newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer says it can't endorse any GOP candidates this year
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The Philadelphia Inquirer, perhaps the most influential and well-respected newspaper in Pennsylvania, says that after an in-depth look at Republican primary candidates for statewide office, it cannot endorse any one of them.
The newspaper's editorial board wrote on Friday, "With Pennsylvania voters headed to the polls Tuesday to choose the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor and U.S. Senate, it’s as if the primaries are occurring on two different planets."
As evidence, the Inquirer cited responses to questionnaires it sent to GOP candidates asking the simple question "who won the 2020 presidential election?"
"Only one candidate — Jeff Bartos — agreed to acknowledge reality," it reports.
The blistering editorial continued: "If one of these Republicans wins the general election, they will represent Pennsylvania at the next State of the Union address. We guarantee that it will not be Donald Trump who walks into the U.S. Capitol to deliver the speech. The 2020 election is over. A candidate won, he lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and his name is Joe Biden."
The editors then questioned how it was possible to support the election of any candidate who would not acknowledge this basic fact.
"How do you find points of agreement when you can’t reach common ground on facts so basic that they could be used in a field sobriety test?" they asked.
In deciding against supporting any GOP candidate, the editorial board also noted the U.S. Supreme Court's apparently impending ruling to strike down Roe v. Wade: "Given the Supreme Court’s apparent plans, the members of the board asked each other if we could bring ourselves to support a candidate who, if given the opportunity, was all but certain to use their pen as governor to ban abortion once the protections of Roe are no longer in place. We could not."
In conclusion the newspaper asks, "How can this nation come to a place where we reach different conclusions and hold different opinions while operating from the same commonly shared set of facts? We don’t have an answer."
The editorial described the predicament as a "sad state of affairs."
Read the full editorial below:
We wanted to endorse in Republican primaries this year. We can't
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/editorials/pennsylvania-senate-governor-republican-20220513.html
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Democrats are 'salivating': Trump considers backing pro-QAnon Capitol riot witness for PA governor
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On Friday, Axios reported that former President Donald Trump is considering giving an endorsement of Doug Mastriano for governor of Pennsylvania.
"Trump is worried about his endorsed Senate candidate Dr. Oz losing, according to two sources familiar with the situation, so his endorsement of Mastriano could be a way of hedging his bets on Tuesday," said the report. "Republicans are also belatedly panicking over the previously unimaginable prospect that Kathy Barnette could win their party's nomination for the open Senate seat in Pennsylvania, as Axios reported."
The trouble for Pennsylvania Republicans, though, is that a Mastriano nomination is the exact last thing they want. Many Republicans in the crowded field of candidates are dropping out and throwing support behind former Congressman Lou Barletta, himself a pro-Trump figure, in an eleventh-hour attempt to consolidate voters behind an alternative to Mastriano.
Even by Trump supporter standards, Mastriano is incredibly controversial.
He helped organize buses to the Capitol on January 6 and was on the Capitol grounds during the violent attack — although he denies participating in the attack himself — and has been subpoenaed by House investigators on the matter. He has also attended events promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory, which states that America is run by a network of Satanic child-trafficking cannibals, and has ties to the "Rod of Iron Ministries," a church that teaches the AR-15 is literally a holy instrument ordained by the Bible.
"Democrats are salivating because they see him as beatable in a general election even in a political environment that's extremely favorable to Republicans. Leading Democratic candidate Josh Shapiro even ran an ad highlighting Mastriano in the primary contest," noted the report. "With time running out before Tuesday's primaries, Republicans are panicking about the prospect of such a polarizing candidate with limited appeal leading the ticket."
https://www.rawstory.com/trumps-endorsements/
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Jen Psaki leaves the White House after holding 224 briefings — more than all of Trump's press secretaries combined
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Jen Psaki leaves the White House having held more press briefings than all of her Trump predecessors combined.
An expert on White House communications said this illustrates the differences between Trump and Biden.
Psaki said her goal was to re-establish a "tone of respect" in the briefing room.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki leaves her post on Friday having held more formal press briefings in the past 15 months than former President Donald Trump's press secretaries held in four years, a sign that the tradition that once faced an uncertain future has been restored to its usual prominence.
"We were following an administration that did not do daily press briefings," Psaki said during an event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor on Thursday. "It should be that this is a forum for people to ask difficult questions Monday through Friday."
Martha Joynt Kumar, director of the White House Transition Project, has kept meticulous records of the press briefings. Psaki has held 224 briefings as of Friday compared to the 205 formal briefings held by Trump's press secretaries, according to Kumar's tally.
Trump had four press secretaries during his single term: Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham, and Kayleigh McEnany. Grisham held the title for eight months but didn't conduct a single on-record press briefing in the role.
Outgoing White House press secretary Jen Psaki delivered an emotional farewell from the briefing room podium Friday afternoon -- expressing thanks to President Joe Biden, her administration colleagues and even the White House press corps.
Looking back at the last 15 months and 244 briefings, Psaki said she was "very nervous" when she first visited the Bidens in Delaware in November 2020, saying the majority of that conversation was about "the importance of returning integrity, respect, and civility to the White House."
After bringing back the daily press briefings that grown heated and then mostly disappeared under the Trump administration, Psaki appeared to relish good-natured sparring with reporters while consistently defending Biden administration policy, making her a favorite target of Fox News hosts and even former President Donald Trump.
"The small sliver of – of my job here in engaging with all of you, that doesn't - not mean that we have let our Irish side show, mine and the president's as well, from time to time. I recognize that. But on my best days, and as I look back, and when I look back, I hope I followed the example of integrity and grace that they have set for all of us, and do set for all of us every day."
Thanking some of the senior administration officials, as well as her press shop, Psaki said she was "very grateful to them," and countered those she said label Washington as "rotten" and "corrupt."
"People always ask me, and I'm sure you guys get asked this too, about whether Washington is rotten," she said to the reporters. "You know, whether everybody is corrupt here and you know nothing good happens, and we all just argue with each other. And I, having done this job, believe the absolute opposite is true, because I have worked with and engaged with all of these incredible people across the administration and this amazing team, many of whom are here that I get to work with every day."
Psaki is being succeeded by her deputy, Karine Jean-Pierre, who now becomes the first Black and openly gay woman to hold the job.
She has often said she regrets once getting a stern letter of reprimand from a government ethics watchdog for politicking from the podium.
Wrapping up her statement, Psaki turned to the White House reporters she said "challenged" and "pushed me" throughout her time in the high-pressure role.
"You have debated me. And at times we have disagreed. That is democracy in action. That is it working," she said. "Without accountability, without debate, government is not as strong. And you all play an incredibly pivotal role, thank you for what you do. Thank you for making me better. And most importantly, thank you for the work every day you do to make this country stronger."
Psaki, who has two young children originally planned to hold the job for only ten months. She has not confirmed reports she will be joining MSNBC.
AFP
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President Biden @POTUS
This afternoon, I met with a group of local elected officials and police chiefs to discuss what they’re doing to keep communities safe. Through the American Rescue Plan, we’re ensuring communities have more resources than ever before to reduce violence and ensure safety.
We need to fund the police with the resources and training they need to protect our communities.
That’s why we designed the American Rescue Plan not only to beat the pandemic and rebuild our economy — but to restore public safety.
Through the American Rescue Plan, we provided $350 billion directly to cities, counties, and states. Money they could use to hire back police officers and to invest in proven strategies like community violence interruption and prevention programs.
Because of the American Rescue Plan funding, states and cities added back 460,000 jobs — including police officers, firefighters, educators, and other important roles.
Not a single Republican member of Congress voted for the funding for law enforcement and public safety.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1525277940497383424
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U.S. Manufacturing Job Creation Gains More Momentum
May 9, 2022
Today’s official April U.S. jobs report featured such a strong showing by U.S.-based manufacturers that, by one measure, they reclaimed title of America’s best job-creating sector during the CCP Virus era.
Domestic industry boosted its payrolls sequentially last month by 55,000 workers, its best such performance since July’s 62,000 gain. In addition, revisions were excellent. March’s initially reported 38,000 increase is now pegged at 43,000, and February’s upgraded 38,000 rise is now judged to have been 50,000.
As a result, manufacturing’s share of U.S. non-farm employment (the federal government’s definition of the American jobs universe), has improved from 8.38 percent in February, 2020 – the last full data month before the virus began roiling the national economy – to 8.41 percent as of last month.
And during this period, manufacturing’s share of America’s private sector jobs is up from 9.83 percent to 9.86 percent.
Domestic industry has recovered a slightly smaller share of the jobs it lost during the sharp pandemic-induced downturn of spring, 2020 (95.89 percent) than the private sector (97.62 percent). But it also shed fewer jobs proportionately than the rest of the private sector during that terrible March and April. (For the record, because of a drag created by public sector hiring, the share of all non-farm jobs regaine d now stands at 94.59 percent.
In all, U.S.-based manufacturing employment is now down a mere 0.44 percent from immediate pre-pandemic-y February, 2020.
April’s manufacturing jobs winners were broad-based, but the biggest among the major sectors tracked by the Labor Department were:
Transportation equipment, whose 13,700 employment improvement was its best such performance since last October’s 28,200.
Machinery, where 7,400 jobs were added on month – an especially encouraging result since its products are so widely used throughout the rest of manufacturing and the entire economy. Even better, March’s initially reported 1,700 employment increase was revised all the way up to 6,700, and February’s perfomance – which had been revised down from an 8,300 rise to one of 6,600, recovered a bit to 6,700.
Automotive, which boosted headcounts by 6,400 – its best monthly gain since last October’s 34,200 plant reopening-driven burst.
Plastics and rubber products, which upped employmment by 5,700 sequentially in April, the best such performance since last August’s 7,800. Job-wise, these sectors are now 3.38 percent larger than in February, 2020.
Good job gains continued in March in the aviation cluster as well. Aircraft manufacturers (including still-troubled industry giant Boeing) rose by 1,100 sequentially – the best monthly gain since last June’s 4,400. February’s increase was upgraded from 500 to 600. This net increase brought aircraft employment to within 11.08 percent of its February, 2020 level.
The aircraft engines and engine parts industry followed February’s unrevised 900 hiring increase by adding 500 more workers in March.
Industry Today
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President Biden @POTUS
I know families across the country are worried about the availability of infant formula. That’s why yesterday, I brought together manufacturers to discuss how we can increase supply as soon as possible.
Families across the country — especially those who need specialty formulas — depend on the availability of infant formula.
I'm announcing new actions and working with the private sector to get infant formula into stores as quickly as possible without compromising safety.
Parents looking to feed their child should not be taken advantage of by retailers unfairly jacking up prices.
I'm calling on the FTC and State Attorneys General to crack down on price gouging and unfair market practices related to the sale of infant formula.
My Administration is going to increase imports and cut unnecessary red tape to help manufacturers meet demand and distribute formula to stores so it's available to the families who depend on it.
Today, I spoke with retailers and manufacturers to discuss ways we can all work together to do more to help families access infant formula.
My team is working overtime to increase supply as quickly as possible without compromising safety.
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Watch: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1525184121387237377
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Republicans and the right wing media falsely blame Biden for baby formula shortage and are not telling you the truth about the real reason for the shortage.
Abbott, the company that manufacturers and produces the main brands of baby formula, were operating under unsanitary conditions and did not update their old equipment. And as a result, bacteria contaminated the formula where babies who drank the formula ended up getting sick and some even died because of the deadly bacteria.
So, all the brands of baby formula were recalled due to bacteria contamination, and since Abbott is the main company that produces the formula supplies have been scarce.
Donald Trump's disastrous rewrite of NAFTA limited Canada's exports of formula to the United States so there is no way that supply can keep up with the demand since only a limited amount of formula can be exported to the United States.
So, with Trump's USMCA restricted imports of baby formula from Canada, we imported no formula from Canada in 2021, leaving us vulnerable to domestic shock. The shock hit when Abbott plant was contaminated and the supply could not be replenished.
President Biden now has to deal with another Trump disaster by having to import baby formula from other sources since Canada can't provide us with more formula due to Trump's restrictions on dairy and baby formula which was written in the USMCA trade agreement.
We also can't forget about Trump's deregulation which allowed companies like Abbott to cut corners by not operating under a safe environment and updating old equipment which allowed the bacteria outbreak to occur. This company twice in 2019 had bacteria problems and they never cleaned up their act as it happened once again in 2022, but this time it was even worse.
Trade deal concessions threaten jobs at Kingston, Ont., baby formula plant
Chinese invested $225M to make formula in Canada - before the U.S. demanded pricing change, limits on exports
October 12, 2018
The revised North American trade agreement restricts shipments of a product Canada isn't even exporting at the moment: infant formula.
Why on earth would the U.S. demand that?
As with so many of the strategic priorities of the Trump administration, it's all about China.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/feihe-future-usmca-1.4858338
FDA Failed to Act on Critical Safety Information Before Infant Formula Recall
Inspection records of Abbott Nutrition’s manufacturing plant suggest that problems with the company’s now-recalled products, linked to at least two deaths, could’ve been uncovered sooner
Infant formula made by Abbott Nutrition tested positive for a deadly bacteria at least twice dating back to 2019, according to newly released records, an issue the Food and Drug Administration cited last month when announcing a recall of products made by the company.
Abbott issued the sweeping recall over concerns of bacterial contamination in multiple products—including certain Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare brands—that are now linked to at least two infant deaths and multiple illnesses. The risk stems from a particularly rare and deadly bacteria, Cronobacter sakazakii.
But Abbott tells Consumer Reports that it shared those test results with the FDA during prior inspections.
The revelations may reignite concerns among lawmakers and consumer advocates that the FDA could have acted sooner to remove infant formula from the market.
For weeks, lawmakers and advocates have questioned whether the FDA had a chance to catch the problem earlier. The agency first learned in September 2021 about a potential link between powdered infant formula made by Abbott and cronobacter, a rare and deadly infection, yet the recall wasn’t issued until four months later, after reports that at least two infants died and others were hospitalized after consuming the products. The FDA, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says the reports of death and illnesses are being investigated.
The new records—released Tuesday in response to Freedom of Information Act requests by CR and other news organizations—include agency inspection reports in 2019, 2021, and 2022. The reports show that the FDA had documented serious and ongoing safety concerns at Abbott’s plant just as the outbreak emerged through this month.
But the FDA seemingly failed to make the company’s testing records a concern until additional reports of death and illness emerged.
An Abbott spokesperson says the company is taking the situation “very seriously and are working closely with the FDA to implement corrective actions.”
“We have already begun implementing corrective actions and enhancements at the facility,” the spokesperson says, “leveraging new technology and strengthening our processes, to give parents and customers renewed confidence in the quality of manufacturing at our Sturgis plant when we restart operations there.”
The spokesperson also says that no infant formula comes into direct contact with areas in the factory where Cronobacter was found, and that its testing did not detect that bacteria or salmonella in any of the products it distributed to consumers. In addition, they say, “Importantly, the unique genetic makeup of the Cronobacter sakazakii microbes found in nonproduct areas at the Sturgis facility did not match the Cronobacter sakazakii microbes from the reported cases.”
James E. Rogers, PhD, director of food safety and research at CR, points out that cronobacter may still have been present in other untested samples of product distributed to consumers. And he says that Abbott’s statement on the genetic makeup of cronobacter strains found at the company’s facility and in sick infants is puzzling.
“I am not sure why Abbott would emphasize this fact because plants can contain multiple strains of a pathogen,” he says. “Just because the patient strains and those isolated so far don’t match does not mean that the patients were not, or could not be, sickened by cronobacter from infant formula.”
Unanswered Questions
When the FDA announced the recall, the agency said that multiple samples taken at Abbott’s lab last month revealed cronobacter in several locations, and it said the company’s own records showed that infant formula was previously destroyed because of bacterial contamination.
But questions have swirled about what the FDA knew as the first reports of bacterial infections emerged.
The FDA had sent an inspector to Abbott’s plant in September 2021, the same week it first learned about an infant in Minnesota who was hospitalized with cronobacter after consuming formula made by the company, CR reported last month. The report of that inspection, released Tuesday, documented serious sanitation concerns.
For example, the report cites an employee who failed to wash his hands and change his gloves after touching nonfood contact surfaces.
“In addition,” the report says, “the Operator’s exposed wrists, between the glove and smock cuff, were observed entering the inside of the potassium chloride ingredient bag when scooping ingredients.”
Yet that inspection report does not mention Abbott’s test records showing that formula was previously destroyed in 2019 and 2020 after tests revealed it was contaminated with cronobacter. Those tests weren’t documented by the FDA until the agency conducted a follow-up inspection last month.
The Abbott spokesperson says the company provided the FDA the test results during earlier inspections.
“Our quality system and testing are set up to detect the presence of microbes prior to distribution,” the spokesperson says. “As a result of that system, once in 2019 and once in 2020, our regular testing found the presence of Cronobacter sakazakii in finished product. This product was never distributed to consumers.”
CR has repeatedly asked the FDA over several weeks about why it sent an inspector to Abbott’s facility in September 2021, and whether that inspector knew of the cronobacter report. (Infant formula makers are typically inspected by the agency once per year.) Beyond what was uncovered at that inspection, the FDA already had documented reasons of concern, suggesting that it could have acted more urgently: An earlier inspection by the agency had also cited the company for failing to test a representative sample of formula for salmonella. The FDA also has authority to mandate a recall of infant formula if problems are found.
On Wednesday, an FDA spokesperson told CR that the September 2021 visit was “a regularly scheduled surveillance inspection” but declined to explain whether that inspector was made aware of the cronobacter report.
“This remains an open investigation with many moving parts,” the spokesperson said. “Accordingly, the agency is not in a position to comment further.”
The more recent inspection, completed this month, offers other examples of contamination concerns in Abbott’s own records that seemingly could’ve been detected at the earlier inspection, including that Abbott identified cronobacter in production areas on at least eight occasions between September 2019 and February 2022.
Sanitation issues persisted after the September 2021 inspection, as well, the records show. In the most recent inspection, the FDA cited Abbott again for personnel failing to wear protective gear while handling ingredients. The FDA also said that Abbott failed to adequately investigate complaints of bacterial illness.
Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at CR, says the reports of conditions at Abbott’s plant are alarming.
“The FDA knew back in 2019 that microbiological testing going on at Abbott’s plant was insufficient and later found that there was surface contamination from a dangerous bacteria at the facility,” says Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at CRs. “It seems evident that the agency should have acted sooner. There will be plenty for the FDA to review about their enforcement process when this investigation concludes.”
https://www.consumerreports.org/baby-formula/fda-failed-to-act-before-infant-formula-recall-a1963857913/
Plant behind Abbott baby formula recall was unsanitary, FDA finds
Baby formula maker Abbott failed to maintain sanitary conditions and procedures at the Michigan manufacturing plant recently linked to a cluster of infant illnesses, according to findings released Tuesday by federal safety inspectors.
The Food and Drug Administration posted its initial inspection findings from the Abbott plant that's been tied to several infant hospitalizations, including two deaths, due to a rare bacterial infection. Abbott recalled various lots of three popular powdered infant formulas in mid-February after four babies reportedly became sick and were hospitalized. The recall was expanded in March to include some lots of Similac PM 60/40 Powdered Instant Formula. FDA inspectors have been on site inspecting the Sturgis, Michigan, facility since late January.
Abbott didn't maintain clean surfaces used in producing and handling the powdered formula, according to the FDA inspection, which concluded last week. Additionally, inspectors found a history of contamination with the bacteria, known as cronobacter, including eight instances between fall 2019 and February of this year.
The report gives the agency's preliminary findings and is likely to be followed by a formal report and a warning to the company.
Food safety advocates who have followed the recall noted that neither the FDA nor the company has been able to explain what caused the contamination.
"This sheds a little more light on what went wrong, but we still don't have all the answers," said Sarah Sorscher of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "Abbott and the FDA really need to do more work to get to the bottom of what happened so we can prevent the next outbreak."
Abbott said in a statement it is "taking this very seriously and working closely with the FDA to implement corrective actions."
Abbott has not confirmed how many units have been recalled, but the company's brands include some of the best-selling baby formulas in the world, including Similac, Alimentum and EleCare. The company says it continues to produce baby formula at its other plants in the U.S. and overseas.
Infections with the cronobacter bacteria are rare but can be fatal in babies. The FDA in March said five infants had to be hospitalized due to reported bacterial infections which it said "may have contributed to death in two patients."
Powdered baby formula mostly
Almost all outbreaks reported in the U.S. have been linked to powdered baby formulas, which don't undergo the same high temperatures used to kill germs in many other foods. Manufacturers have long said that it's impossible to eliminate all bacteria from the formulas.
There had been little new information about the recall since last month, despite requests from Senate lawmakers for Abbott to turn over documents on conditions at the Michigan plant.
In a letter last month, members of the Senate health committee specifically asked Abbott about the amount of time it took to start the recall. According to the letter, Abbott first received a report of an illness tied to its formula from Minnesota health officials in September, with additional reports in coming months from Ohio and Texas.
Failure to take action after first visit
It's also unclear why the FDA didn't take action at the plant earlier. FDA inspectors visited the plant in late September and cited several problems, including unsanitary conditions, a lack of temperature controls, and employees who failed to sanitize their hands. But none of the problems resulted in a formal FDA warning or requirement that Abbott halt production.
The FDA released the September inspection report Tuesday evening along with another from 2019.
In addition to its plant inspectors, the FDA has scientists at its Washington headquarters who specialize in food outbreaks linked to baby food and formulas. A high-ranking FDA deputy commissioner is also assigned to oversee food safety issues.
The recalled Abbott products can be identified by examining the coding on the bottom of each container. The affected formulas all have an expiration date of April 1, 2022, or later. The company has set up a website where parents can check if products have been recalled.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/abbott-baby-formula-recall-fda-details/
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Buffalo shooting came 8 months after NY newspaper warned of congresswoman's racist conspiracy theory
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Saturday's mass shooting in New York occurred less than eight months after a local newspaper scolded a Republican congresswoman for pushing the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory.
"A white 18-year-old wearing military gear and live-streaming with a helmet camera opened fire with a rifle at a supermarket in Buffalo, killing 10 people and wounding three others Saturday in what authorities described as 'racially motived violent extremism.' The gunman wore body armor and military-style clothing during the attack on mostly Black shoppers and workers at Tops Friendly Market," the Times Union reported Saturday.
The suspect was identified by the newspaper as Payton Gendron, of Conklin, New York.
Prior to the shooting, the white 18-year-old reportedly posted a 106-page manifesto citing the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory as motivation.
In September of 2021, the newspaper's editorial board wrote about the conspiracy theory.
"Back in 2017, white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, Va., carrying torches and chanting, 'You will not replace us' and 'Jews will not replace us.' Decent Americans recoiled at the undeniable echo of Nazi Germany," began the editorial, which was illustrated with a photo of the notorious Charlottesville tiki torch march.
"That rhetoric has been resonating ever since in the right wing, repackaged lately in what’s known as 'replacement theory,' espoused by conservative media figures like Fox News’ Tucker Carlson. And it has seeped into the mainstream political discourse in the Capital Region, where Rep. Elise Stefanik has adapted this despicable tactic for campaign ads," the editorial board wrote.
Stefanik, the chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, is the third-ranking Republican in Congress.
"Ms. Stefanik isn’t so brazen as to use the slogans themselves; rather, she couches the hate in alarmist anti-immigrant rhetoric that’s become standard fare for the party of Donald Trump. And she doesn’t quite attack immigrants directly; instead, she alleges that Democrats are looking to grant citizenship to undocumented immigrants in order to gain a permanent liberal majority, or, as she calls it, a 'permanent election insurrection.' Quite a choice of words, of course, considering that the country is still suffering the aftershocks of the Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington by supporters of Mr. Trump who tried to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election," the newspaper wrote.
The editorial board wrote that Stefanik knew what she was doing was wrong.
"The Harvard-educated Ms. Stefanik surely knows the sordid history and context of this. The idea of stoking racial, ethnic, and religious tribalism among voters dates back to this country’s earliest days. At various times, politicians have warned that Catholics, Jews, or Muslims were out to change the “culture,” or that Irish, Italian, Asian or eastern European immigrants would take the jobs — to 'replace' white, Protestant Americans," the editorial board explained. "If there’s anything that needs replacing in this country — and in the Republican party — it’s the hateful rhetoric that Ms. Stefanik and far too many of her colleagues so shamelessly spew."
Stefanik did not mention racism in her statement on the shooting, but did mention National Police Week.
Stefanik is not the only Republican member of Congress with history on the issue.
Also in September of 2021, after the Anti-Defamation League called on the network to fire Tucker Carlson for pushing the racist conspiracy theory, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) declared the ADL "a racist organization" and claimed Carlson "is CORRECT about Replacement Theory as he explains what is happening to America."
https://www.rawstory.com/elise-stefanik-great-replacement/
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Buffalo mass shooter cited racist 'Great Replacement' conspiracy theory in 106-page manifesto: report
The suspect in a Buffalo mass shooting reportedly live streamed the massacre on Twitch and posted a 106-page manifesto pushing a racist conspiracy theory prior to the attack.
"A man has opened fire at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York while live-streaming on Twitch, killing at least 10 people and injuring several others, local officials and witnesses say," BNO News reported Saturday. "A 106-page online manifesto, believed to have been uploaded by the shooter, explained that he was motivated by a conspiracy theory that white people are being replaced by other races. In the document, he says he is 18 years old and a self-described white supremacist and anti-semite."
J.J. MacNab, a researcher at George Washington University program on extremism, studied the 106-page manifesto allegedly posted by the shooter.
"He self identifies as a white supremacist fascist with Neo-Nazi beliefs who is anti "high fertility immigrants" under the white replacement theory. There are several 4chan markers," she explained. "He states that he was radicalized online on 4chan and was inspired by Brenton Tarrant's manifesto and livestreamed mass shooting in New Zealand."
Anti-racism educator Tim Wise says those who push racist conspiracy theories are to blame for the inevitable violence that ensues.
"The Buffalo shooter's manifesto rants about immigration & white birthrates, both of which feature prominently in mainstream conservative & MAGA rhetoric. And he embraces an explicitly accelerationist rationale for violence...hoping to cause further strife and societal collapse... Those who spread these ideas are to blame, not just the ones who pull the trigger," he explained. "There is nowhere else replacement theory rhetoric and logic can lead except for violence. It is inevitable..."
Fox News personality Tucker Carlson has been the most prominent proponent pushing the conspiracy theory. In 2021, the president of the Anti-Defamation League demanded Fox News fire the anchor for pushing the conspiracy theory on his primetime show.
"Another white supremacist terrorist has committed mass murder, inspired by the 'great replacement' thinking pushed regularly by Tucker Carlson and others on the right. Blood is on their hands, 100%," Wise said. "The white supremacist groups peddling this sh*t like the Groyper/Nick Fuentes/America First bigots, need to be sued out of existence for inspiring this terrorism. Vicarious liability. End them."
The suspect reportedly used an assault rifle to carry out the attack.
Brian Tyler Cohen @briantylercohen
NEW: A mass shooter in Buffalo, NY who killed at least 10 people had posted a manifesto online espousing the White Replacement Theory, per @BNONews.
White Replacement Theory has been long promoted and championed by Tucker Carlson on Fox News.
NEW: A mass shooter in Buffalo, NY who killed at least 10 people had posted a manifesto online espousing the White Replacement Theory, per @BNONews.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1525581101623758848
Authorities held a press conference on the shooting.
"This was pure evil," said Erie County Sheriff John Garcia.
"It was a straight up, racially motivated hate crime from somebody outside of our community, outside of the city of good neighbors as the mayor said, coming into our community and trying to inflict that evil upon us," he said.
Watch:
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'Blatantly racist' element of society is a domestic terrorism threat: Buffalo's congressman
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The congressman who represents Buffalo, New York in Congress warned of racist domestic terrorism after an 18-year-old white man allegedly murdered ten people at a mass shooting being investigated as a hate crime.
The suspect reportedly wrote a 106-page manifesto pushing the racist "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory espoused by Fox News personality Tucker Carlson.
Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY) discussed the racist dynamics of the attack in an interview with CNN's Pamela Brown.
Higgins noticed the investigation was in its early stages, but said it appears "cohesive in terms of the motivation."
"This was an individual that was from outside our area, he was not from Buffalo. He came to Buffalo heavily armed with at least an AK-47 that was modified, killed ten people, three people are in the hospital, expected to recover. but this is a sad day for Buffalo, a sad day for the nation," he explained.
"There's premeditation. when you make a charge against somebody, you have to put all those pieces together. but even in the preliminary information that we have, clearly this is an individual that selected Buffalo, selected an area of Buffalo that is predominantly African-American, from outside the area. That is not coincidental," he argued. "And we believe, and law enforcement officials believe, that this is part of an organized effort to attack the minority community generally and the community of Buffalo as its target."
"When you say part of an organized effort, what do you mean by that?" Brown asked.
"That there is an element in our society that is blatantly racist, and they're violent and this is clearly an indication of domestic violence. There was -- you know, he live-streamed the horrific detail in real time of this murder of innocent people," he explained.
He warned racism is a threat to the country.
"And so all indications are, this points to an effort to exact domestic terrorism that is racially motivated on a community. But that threat to our community in Buffalo and western New York is a threat to the nation," he said.
Watch:
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Buffalo shooter's manifesto shows folly of 'lone wolf' theory when there is an 'apparatus of hate': analysis
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The existence of a racist manifesto reportedly posted online by an 18-year-old white male before killed ten people in a mass shooting rampage in a Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York shows the limits of a "lone wolf" theory explaining how people are radicalized, a CNN homeland security analyst explained on Saturday.
Juliette Kayyem was interviewed about a 106-page manifesto pushing the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory that was reportedly written by the suspect whose rampage is being investigated as a hate crime.
CNN's Pamela Brown inteviewed Kayyem after the network's Brian Stelter reported the online video company Twitch confirmed the suspect live-streamed the shooting.
"There's two issues going on. So you can say that someone acted alone and that's what we tend to think of as lone wolf, that it's not five people or ten people or orchestrated attack. But the idea of a lone wolf, I think, I've been saying for a couple of years should be put to rest, because in every single up with of these cases, you're seeing an apparatus that essentially supported their hate," she explained.
"Now that might not have been an apparatus that told them to do this on that date, but these are people who are getting radicalized by an ecosystem of hate. this is what the FBI has been documenting for over a decade, it's what we mean in government when we violent extremism," she explained. "Lone wolf makes sound like they woke up one day and just decided to kill a bunch of Black people. That just doesn't happen."
"The reason why the manifesto is relevant is it will show where did that apparatus and the hate come from," she explained. "Lone wolf excuses an apparatus of hate that exists in this country and is the number one terror threat in this country right now."
That apparatus was in full display in 2021 when Fox News personality Tucker Carlson pushed the same "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory. When the Anti-Defamation League called on the network to fire the host, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) called the ADL "a racist organization" and claimed Carlson "is CORRECT about Replacement Theory as he explains what is happening to America."
Watch:
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Ron Filipkowski @RonFilipkowski
Elise Stefanik must be so proud to have worked so hard to advance the ideas that drove a white nationalist to mass murderer.
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https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1525644218156437505
Ron Filipkowski @RonFilipkowski
AZ State Senator Wendy Rogers is saying that the Buffalo mass murder was a false flag operation by the FBI. She must be removed from office immediately. The AZ GOP is a damn disgrace.
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https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1525672875717427207
Ron Filipkowski @RonFilipkowski
What is happening to America is racist, white nationalist POS have advanced to very influential positions of power in the government and media, and their toxic ideas are being acted upon by deranged cult members they derive their power and income from.
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https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1525645360512831489
Elise Stefanik invokes racist 'great replacement' theory in campaign ads
The white nationalist 'great replacement' theory continues to grow in popularity within the Republican ranks.
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New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the third-ranked Republican in the House, began running a series of campaign ads on Facebook on Wednesday invoking a racist conspiracy theory that falsely alleges that immigrants are being invited to the United States to replace white voters.
The campaign for Stefanik, who is up for reelection in November 2022 for New York's 22nd Congressional District, is promoting ads that read:" Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Nancy Pelosi are attempting to flood our voter roles with 11 MILLION NEW VOTERS by giving illegal immigrants amnesty."
The ads link to a fundraising page featuring similar copy, which alleges, "Democrats want citizenship for 11 MILLION illegal immigrants… so they can stuff the ballot box for socialism."
Stefanik's ads make reference to efforts made by Democrats, including President Joe Biden, to create a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 10.3 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States.
The ads also invoke the conspiracy theory known as "the great replacement," which the Anti-Defamation League has defined as "the hateful notion that the white race is in danger of being 'replaced' by a rising tide of non-whites."
Messages that promote the theory have become increasingly common among Republican elected officials and in conservative media.
In 2016, as he was running for office, former President Donald Trump said, "I think this will be the last election that the Republicans have a chance of winning because you’re going to have people flowing across the border, you're going to have illegal immigrants coming in and they're going to be legalized and they're going to be able to vote and once that all happens you can forget it."
Fox News has also latched on to the message and many of its on-air personalities have spent the ensuing years repeating and amplifying the racist smear.
The most prominent advocate on the network has been host Tucker Carlson, who has invoked the idea on numerous occasions.
"I have less political power because they are importing a brand new electorate. Why should I sit back and take that?" Carlson said on the April 8 edition of his program.
In an April 9 letter to Fox News executives, Anti-Defamation League CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt called on Fox News to fire Carlson for using the trope.
"It is dangerous race-baiting, extreme rhetoric. And yet, unfortunately, it is the culmination of a pattern of increasingly divisive rhetoric used by Carlson over the past few years," the letter read.
But Carlson was undeterred. On April 12, Carlson said on his program, "Demographic change is the key to the Democratic Party’s political ambitions." And on April 21, Carlson told his audience, "You're being replaced, and there's nothing you can do about it."
Other Fox News hosts, including Laura Ingraham, Brian Kilmeade, and Jesse Watters, have also promoted the same racist "replacement" trope.
And Republicans in Congress have followed suit.
In a campaign video released on April 11, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) falsely claimed that Democrats "want borders wide open," alleging that this "helped Democrats take over the entire state of California" in the past.
During a congressional hearing on April 14, Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) claimed, "We’re replacing national-born American — native-born Americans to permanently transform the political landscape of this very nation."
Two days later, on April 16, while appearing on Fox Business, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) attacked Democrats on immigration, asking, "Is it really they want to remake the demographics of America, to ensure their — that they stay in power forever? Is that what's happening here?"
The theory has had deadly real-world implications. It was cited in a manifesto left behind by the white supremacist who shot and killed 51 people and injured 40 in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019. The idea was also invoked by neo-Nazis who protested in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, using the slogan, "Jews will not replace us."
https://americanindependent.com/elise-stefanik-campaign-racist-great-replacement-theory-house-republicans-tucker-carlson/
Elise Stefanik Blasted for 'Despicable' Facebook Ads Pushing 'Replacement Theory'
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New York Rep. Elise Stefanik was blasted by her hometown newspaper over "despicable" new Facebook ads it says push the racist "replacement theory."
"Radical Democrats are planning their most aggressive move yet: a PERMANENT ELECTION INSURRECTION," says one ad that was paid for by Stefanik's campaign. The text accompanied an image of numerous migrants reflected in the aviator sunglasses worn by President Joe Biden.
In a scathing editorial with the title "How low, Miss Stefanik?" published Friday, the Times Union's editorial board accused the No. 3 House Republican of touting the conspiracy theory that white people are being intentionally replaced by immigrants.
The editorial noted that white supremacists had chanted slogans such as "you will not replace us" at a 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia and that "decent" Americans had "recoiled at the undeniable echo of Nazi Germany."
"That rhetoric has been resonating ever since in the right wing, repackaged lately in what's known as 'replacement theory,' espoused by conservative media figures like Fox News' Tucker Carlson," it said.
The editorial claims "replacement theory" has now "seeped into the mainstream political discourse in the Capital Region, where Rep. Elise Stefanik has adapted this despicable tactic for campaign ads.
"Ms. Stefanik isn't so brazen as to use the slogans themselves; rather, she couches the hate in alarmist, anti-immigrant rhetoric that's become standard fare for the party of Donald Trump," it continued.
"And she doesn't quite attack immigrants directly; instead, she alleges the Democrats are looking to grant citizenship to undocumented immigrants in order to gain a permanent liberal majority, or, as she calls it, a 'permanent election insurrection.'
"Quite a choice of words, of course, considering that the country is still suffering the aftershocks of the Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington by supporters of Mr. Trump who tried to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election."
Stefanik's loyalty to Trump in the aftermath won her a leadership post in the House Republican caucus.
The Times Union editorial accused her of using "fear-based political tactics" that echo Trump's attacks on Mexicans and Muslims during his 2016 presidential campaign.
"The idea of America as a melting pot is not some idealistic fiction of the left; it is part of the foundation of this nation's greatness," it concluded.
"If there's anything that needs replacing in this country—and in the Republican Party—it's the hateful rhetoric that Ms. Stefanik and far too many of her colleagues so seamlessly spew."
https://www.newsweek.com/elise-stefanik-blasted-despicable-facebook-ads-pushing-replacement-theory-1630545
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The right wing fascist assault on our freedoms and personal lives continues.
Oklahoma's GOP governor threatens the state's more than 40 Native American tribes
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Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, has warned the states of many Native American tribes that if they allow abortion on sovereign land he will intervene.
“Oklahomans will not think very well of that if tribes try to set up abortion clinics," Stitt said on Fox News Sunday.
“You know, the tribes in Oklahoma are super liberal,” he said. “They go to Washington, D.C. They talk to President [Joe] Biden at the White House; they kind of adopt those strategies. So yeah, we think that there’s a possibility that some tribes may try to set up abortion on demand. They think that you can be 1/1,000th tribal member and not have to follow the state law. And so that’s something that we’re watching.”
Native American tribes are allowed to govern themselves on their own land. Their sovereignty is the reason that they can have things like casinos in states where it is banned. Once known as Indian Territory, the state has more than 40 tribes in its borders.
It was just last month that Oklahoma politicians faced off against tribes in an ongoing refusal to cooperate with the Supreme Court decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma.
"In the McGirt ruling, the Supreme Court held that much of eastern Oklahoma is Indian country under the terms of an 1833 treaty between the U.S. government and the Muscogee Creek Nation," explained Professor Kirsten Matoy Carlson of Wayne State University. "Based on that treaty and an 1885 federal law, the ruling effectively means that the state of Oklahoma cannot prosecute crimes committed by or against American Indians there. Federal and tribal officials are the only ones who can pursue these cases."
Oklahoma's state government has asked the Supreme Court to rehear the case over 40 times. Under the existing Supreme Court rulings, about 43% of Oklahoma is ruled by tribal lands. It ultimately means that the GOP governor doesn't have control over the whole state when it comes to his laws.
There has been a conversation among activists searching for loopholes in anticipation of the unmaking of Roe v.Wade that putting clinics under tribal lands could be possible. Such a decision would require involvement by tribal councils, however. Sources involved in the tribal government of one Oklahoma tribe told Raw Story that many are unlikely to rock the boat.
If Stitt and others in the Oklahoma legislature attempt to restrict the tribes under the guise that they are trying to stop abortions, they could end up in a considerable legal battle over the right for Native tribes to govern themselves.
Stitt is up for reelection in November.
https://www.rawstory.com/oklahoma-native-american-sovereignty-kevin-stitt/
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The Republican Party and the right wing media continues to make Americans unsafe. Their violent and racist rhetoric based on lies, incites white nationalists and supremacists to commit these heinous acts of violence. The Republican Party made a hero out of murderer Kyle Rittenhouse in their own party as they elevate the worst people you can think of. We have a serious problem with white supremacy which Donald Trump ignited as Republicans and the right wing media embrace. GOP Reps. Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene speak at white nationalist conventions and members of the GOP had contact with proud boys posing for pictures. It's only going to get worse as the GOP aims their violent rhetoric at Democrats and groups they do not like. Republicans and the right wing media downplay these acts of violence as a "mental health problem" when we have white supremacy and a gun problem that they continue to ignore.
Conservative warns Buffalo shooter's ideology is mainstream to right-wing — while Fox dodges their role
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The Buffalo, New York shooter has been exposed as a racist man who believes in the conspiracy theory that Democratic leaders are attempting to replace white people with people of color. Known as "great replacement" theory, the Fox network has been responsible for elevating the idea to its millions of viewers many times.
Washington Post columnist Max Boot, a conservative, explained that this kind of ideology has become mainstream not just on the Fox network but also in the Republican Party. Writing Sunday, Boot recalled the conservative writer who coined the phrase “ideas have consequences.”
Already some are blaming Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) for promoting the theory to New York residents in interviews and online.
"The young man wrote that he got his beliefs 'mostly from the Internet,' specifically from the 4chan bulletin board where white supremacists congregate," Boot noted. "But his repugnant views are not confined to an obscure corner of the Internet. They have become mainstream within the Republican Party."
It's the same brand of racism that the Christchurch shooter espoused when he killed 51 people at two mosques in 2019.
“Why is diversity said to be our greatest strength?” the Buffalo shooter's manifesto asked. “Said throughout the media, spoken by politicians, educators and celebrities. But no one ever seems to give a reason why. What gives a nation strength? And how does diversity increase that strength?”
It's what Fox host Tucker Carlson asked in 2018.
“How, precisely, is diversity our strength?" Carlson asked of his audience. "Since you’ve made this our new national motto, please be specific as you explain it. Can you think, for example, of other institutions such as, I don’t know, marriage or military units in which the less people have in common, the more cohesive they are?”
Fox has spent most of the time after the shooting refusing to even use the words "great replacement." Instead, they're trying to dodge accountability by parroting the NRA line that guns aren't the problem, mental health is.
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Yet, gun advocates have opposed any rules that would regulate guns among the mentally ill. The current law stands that no person who has been institutionalized to buy a gun.
Boot cited Republican politicians like Rep. Matt Gaetz (FL), Rep. Scott Perry (PA) and Sen. Ron Johnson (WI), who have all openly promoted the so-called “great replacement” theory.
He went on to cite Arizona Senate candidate Black Masterson, who tweeted after the shooting. “The Democrats want open borders so they can bring in and amnesty **tens of millions** of illegal aliens — that’s their electoral strategy.”
Republican J.D. Vance, who is running as the GOP's Ohio Senate nominee and is bankrolled by billionaire Peter Thiel, explained that Democrats are not only opening the borders to create “a shift in the democratic makeup of this country.” He went on to claim that President Joe Biden is intentionally letting fentanyl into the U.S. “to kill a bunch of MAGA voters in the middle of the heartland.”
A December 2021 poll showed nearly half of all Republicans believe that there is a plot afoot to "replace" white so-called "native-born" Americans with immigrants. Native-born Americans are not to be confused with Native Americans, who trace their lineage to the first residents of the U.S. before being invaded by Europeans.
He anticipates the GOP will respond not with a policing of their own extremist leaders, but with nothing more than "thoughts and prayers."
Read the full article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/15/buffalo-shooter-hate-tucker-carlson/
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GOP lawmakers scorched for promoting the 'hateful paranoid nonsense' that led to the Buffalo mass shooting
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In a blunt column for the conservative Bulwark, Cato Senior Fellow Cathy Young raged against the spread of the so-called "replacement theory" that played a major part in prompting an 18-year-old white man in New York to go on a shooting rampage Saturday afternoon in a Buffalo-area grocery store situated in a community that is reportedly 80 percent black.
As Young put it, "Those who follow the news know that this is far from the first time “replacement theory” has figured in the ravings of a mass shooter," before adding, "We know these ideas are floating out there. We also know that, disturbingly, “replacement theory” is being mainstreamed on the right," the columnist specifying Fox News host Tucker Carlson who has repeatedly claimed that Democrats are trying to "replace" Americans with immigrants.
As Young notes, two prominent Republican lawmakers have also taken up the "replacement theory" banner, with Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL) tweeting, "The Left/Media think of replacement solely on race/ethnicity terms. I don't at all. Democrats failed voters who relied on them to run their states/cities. Now they are importing new voters. That is my argument. Those reading more into it are projecting their own bias."
Add to that, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who Young explained, ".. jumped on the bandwagon as well with a Facebook ad claiming that the Democrats were going to use amnesty for illegal immigrants to 'overthrow our current electorate and create a permanent liberal majority in Washington.'"
"This is hateful, stupid, paranoid nonsense," she wrote before adding, "It is also, need I point out, the epitome of collectivist 'identity politics' the right sometimes likes to deplore in its progressive guises."
Noting that a recent poll shows that a third of Americans "agree at least somewhat that 'There is a group of people in this country who are trying to replace native-born Americans with immigrants who agree with their political views,'" Young wrote, "In a sane and decent political climate, both media figures and political figures on the right would quickly and emphatically disavow “great replacement” as un-American, race-baiting nonsense. Which means … don’t hold your breath."
"That was a joke. Cue bitter laugh," she lamented.
You can read more here: https://morningshots.thebulwark.com/p/the-replacement-theory-and-terrorist
'Elise has chosen chaos': Stefanik slammed by Dem colleague for extremist tweet prior to Buffalo shooting
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Reacting to the Buffalo, New York mass shooting at a grocery store in a predominately Black neighborhood committed by an admittedly racist 18-year-old white man, Rep Eric Swalwell (D-CA) pointed the finger at the third-ranking Republican in the House for a tweet she made earlier that has received universal condemnation.
As was noted Saturday afternoon following the shooting that claimed ten lives and left three more wounded, Rep. Elise Stefanik has been a proponent of the conspiracy-minded "Great Replacement" belief popular among white supremacists.
Eight months ago, the Time Union took Stefanik to task in an editorial, writing, "That rhetoric has been resonating ever since in the right-wing, repackaged lately in what’s known as 'replacement theory,' espoused by conservative media figures like Fox News’ Tucker Carlson. And it has seeped into the mainstream political discourse in the Capital Region, where Rep. Elise Stefanik has adapted this despicable tactic for campaign ads."
With that in mind, Swalwell noted that prior to the shooting Stefanik attacked liberals on Twitter where she wrote, "The White House, House Dems, & usual pedo grifters are so out of touch with the American people that rather than present ANY PLAN or urgency to address the nationwide baby formula crisis, they double down on sending pallets of formula to the southern border. Joe Biden has NO PLAN."
According to Swalwell, that type of rhetoric which included the inflammatory "pedo grifters" is one of the causes of violence in the U.S.
Retweeting her post, he commented, "You know why Elise’s tweet is so awful? We just suffered another mass shooting as a country from a shooter motivated by extremism. You know what feeds extremism? This tweet from Elise."
He then added, "We can have community or we can have chaos. Elise has chosen chaos. Let’s all make her own this."
Rep. Eric Swalwell @RepSwalwell
You know why Elise’s tweet is so awful? We just suffered another mass shooting as a country from a shooter motivated by extremism. You know what feeds extremism? This tweet from Elise. We can have community or we can have chaos. Elise has chosen chaos. Let’s all make her own this.
https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1525656301216313344
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‘We’re not going back’: Val Demings slams Rubio, anti-abortion rhetoric at pro-choice conference
ORLANDO, Fla. — In a speech in Orlando on Saturday, U.S. Senate hopeful Val Demings touted her pro-choice stance and attacked Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s position on abortion as “radical.”
Rubio, who’s seeking a third term, has long supported bans on abortion with no exceptions, most recently saying a failed Senate bill to codify Roe v. Wade would legalize ”the killing of unborn children right up to the day of delivery.” The 1973 Supreme Court ruling is on the cusp of being overturned, according to a draft opinion obtained by Politico.
His campaign described his likely opponent in November as “a radical who supports abortion up until the moment of birth,” in what is likely to become a wedge issue in the race, Florida Politics reported.
Demings called the claim “foolishness,” voicing her support for abortions “up until the point of viability or when it threatens the health of the mother.” She also pointed to Rubio’s past support for a 2001 “scarlet letter” law signed and later deemed unconstitutional, which required unwed mothers in Florida who wished to put their children up for adoption to publish details about their sex lives in newspapers.
“Desperate people say desperate things,” Demings said in response. “... I know they are searching for something to draw the attention away from his extreme view about the constitutional right that people have in this country.”
She added, “The nerve of him to say there should be no restrictions, even including incest, rape and abuse — now I think that’s extreme.”
Speaking at the She’s the Change conference hosted at the Rosen Plaza Hotel by pro-choice group Ruth’s List, Demings also called Roe v. Wade “established law.” The Women’s Health Protection Act, the Senate bill that would have codified the ruling and invalidated state abortion bans, failed to overcome the Republican filibuster, with a 51-49 vote against moving the legislation forward.
“When I decided to raise my family, I didn’t ask my congressman, I didn’t ask my governor and I’m dang sure I didn’t ask my senator,” Demings said. “Women have a right to choose her own destiny. We’re not going back, we’re not shutting up, we’re not sitting down, we are going to fight and fight and fight some more.”
The leaked draft opinion penned by Justice Samuel Alito sparked outrage throughout the U.S., with mass protests taking place around the country while doctors and abortion providers speak out as others, including religious conservatives, praise the possible decision.
It also comes as Republican state legislatures pass restrictive abortion bans in anticipation of the Supreme Court’s official ruling, expected to come down later this year. Last month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, except if the fetus is found to have a “fatal fetal abnormality.”
The law, which many fear could be expanded next year after the Supreme Court’s ruling, does not include exceptions for rape or incest. A statewide poll by the University of North Florida found nearly 60% of Floridians are opposed to the newly-signed ban.
“We are here today to protect life,” DeSantis said at a signing ceremony in Kissimmee. “We are here today to defend those who can’t defend themselves.”
Florida Democrats have scrambled to mobilize their base ahead of November’s elections, where Rubio’s Senate seat and the governorship are at stake, as the party nationally has embraced abortion as a key issue in this year’s midterms. A Pew Research Center poll in March found 61% of voters support legal abortion in all or most circumstances.
Ruth’s List, the group that hosted Saturday’s conference, recently released a list of pro-choice Democratic women candidates, including State Rep. Anna Eskamani of Orlando and attorney general candidate and former Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala.
We need the steadfast and bold leadership of pro-choice women in office to fight for our families and our rights, now more than ever,” Mini Timmaraju, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, told the audience.
But Democrats have also been criticized as pro-life Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia broke party ranks against the bill to codify Roe v. Wade and as top leaders lend their support to pro-life candidates.
In Texas, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has refused to pull her endorsement of Rep. Henry Cuellar’s reelection campaign against a progressive challenger, despite him being the only anti-abortion House Democrat.
Demings didn’t comment on the House party leaders’ support for Cuellar, preferring to keep the discussion about her race with Rubio.
“I don’t know what’s going on in Texas,” she said. “But here in Florida, the overwhelming majority of men and women believe in a woman’s right to choose.”
© Orlando Sentinel
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So if a woman is brutally attacked, radical Republicans are going to force the woman to give birth no matter what because of their radical evangelical religious beliefs. Republicans are voiding what the Constitution states where we have a separation between church and state. These are the same right wingers who foamed at the mouth when mask mandates were implemented to stop the spread of a deadly virus so we could prevent deaths in children and adults. They cried masks were "unconstitutional" and claimed it was their "body and their choice" not to wear a mask, but now they will not let a woman have control over their own body as they are forcing her to give birth to rapists' babies. This is the beginning of right wing Republican facism and authoritarianism. If Republicans can force women to give birth if they are brutally raped, they can force Americans to do anything they want against their will if Republicans have the full power. Think about it.
Those are babies too': Nebraska's GOP governor plans to outlaw abortion exceptions for rape and incest victims
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During an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," Gov. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) made it perfectly clear that, if Roe v Wade is overturned by the conservative Supreme Court as expected, he doesn't want to see any exceptions made for victims of rape or incest.
Speaking with host Dana Bash, the lawmaker brushed aside concerns about victims of horrific crimes being forced to give birth.
With Nebraska having just failed to pass a so-called "trigger law" that would ban abortions entirely, host Bash asked, "The abortion ban you tried to pass did not include any exceptions for rape or incest,” then added, "Can you clarify: do you think that the state of Nebraska should require a young girl who was raped to carry that pregnancy to term?”
Ricketts replied by labeling his state as a "pro-life satte" before adding, "Those are babies, too. If Roe v. Wade -- a horrible constitutional decision -- gets overturned by the Supreme Court, which we’re hopeful of, here in Nebraska we’ll take further steps to protect those preborn babies."
“Including in the case of rape or incest?” the CNN host pressed.
“They’re still babies, too. Yes, they’re still babies," he replied before adding, "I will work with our speaker of the legislature to have a special session and do more to protect preborn babies."
Watch below:
Ricketts replied by labeling his state as a "pro-life satte" before adding, "Those are babies, too. If Roe v. Wade -- a horrible constitutional decision -- gets overturned by the Supreme Court, which we’re hopeful of, here in Nebraska we’ll take further steps to protect those preborn babies."
“Including in the case of rape or incest?” the CNN host pressed.
“They’re still babies, too. Yes, they’re still babies," he replied before adding, "I will work with our speaker of the legislature to have a special session and do more to protect preborn babies."
Watch below:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1525834166335684610
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Fox host acknowledges 'white replacement theory' could have led to Buffalo shooting
For the first time since the Buffalo, New York shooting, the Fox network is mentioning the so-called "great replacement" theory, which was a key part of the accused gunman's manifesto.
Speaking about it on Sunday, host Eric Shawn noted that the man who lived in far south New York drove to the neighborhood in Buffalo because it was known for being heavily African American.
"Which raises my last question," Shawn continued. "The issue of white supremacist ideology, of terrorism, of him allegedly citing the manifesto of 'white replacement' theory — how concerned are you about that, those allegations and what may have been in his mind?"
Erie County New York District Attorney John Flynn said that they're very concerning and that a "terrorism charge by hate" is on the same level as a murder in the first-degree charge. Mandatory sentencing, however, brings a life-without-parole sentence in terrorism by hate charge, whereas first-degree murder doesn't automatically assign that.
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Idaho Republicans scrambling to avoid party takeover by militia members
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According to a report from the New York Times, the already highly conservative Idaho Republican Party is attempting to stave off an insurgency of militia members, John Birch Society members and other far-right extremists who are trying to grab the reins of power in the sparsely populated state.
As the Times' Mike Baker documents, aspiring candidates recently showed up to make their pitch at a John Birch sponsored candidates' forum in north Idaho, where some attendees applauded when an aspiring lawmaker proposed “machine guns for everyone" and another advocated taking over federally-owned lands.
According to Baker, the battle between extremist Lt. Gov Janice McGeachin (R) and current Gov. Brad Little, who has pushed to slash taxes and ban abortions, is an example of how far the Idaho GOP could be headed.
"The bitter intraparty contest between Ms. McGeachin and Mr. Little, set to be settled in the state’s primary election on Tuesday, reflects the intensifying split that is pitting Idaho’s conventional pro-gun, anti-abortion, tax-cut conservatives against a growing group of far-right radicals who are agitating to seize control of what is already one of the most conservative corners of the Republican Party in the country," Baker wrote, adding that Idaho has, for years become a hub of anti-government sentiments and now there is a move to take over the GOP apparatus and move the state even farther into extremism.
"Over the years, the Idaho panhandle has been home to white supremacist groups and people ready to take up arms against the U.S. government. Such groups and their allies have been particularly wary of the changing nature of Idaho’s cities, including the legions of other newcomers responding to a booming job market in Boise," the report states. "In Idaho, where Mr. Trump won 64 percent of the vote in 2020, carrying 41 of the state’s 44 counties, many longtime Republicans fear the party’s name, identity and deep conservative values are being commandeered by the state’s fringe elements."
In an interview, former lieutenant governor Jack Riggs issued w warning to his fellow Republicans stating, "If traditional Republican principles in Idaho want to survive, then the traditional Republicans are going to have to work harder.”
The Times report adds, "Mr. Riggs said the local party has been increasingly taken over by zealots motivated by a desire to limit the influence of government, sometimes at the expense of the traditional Republican goals of promoting business and growth. Many of the new activists, he said, express a willingness to fight the U.S. government, with arms if necessary."
Of note, Baker wrote is the resurgence of the Birchers in the state.
"One of the growing powers in the region is the John Birch Society, which dominated the far right in the 1960s and 1970s by opposing the civil rights movement and equal rights for women while embracing conspiratorial notions about communist infiltration of the federal government," he explained. "The group was purged from the conservative movement decades ago but has found a renewed foothold in places like the Idaho panhandle."
You can read more here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/15/us/idaho-republican-primary-little-mcgeachin.html
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Mitch McConnell takes shot at Rand Paul after meeting with Ukraine's Zelenskyy
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Returning from Ukraine where he and other lawmakers met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) blew off fellow Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul's plans to try and stop an aid package for the country warding off an invasion by Russia.
According to a report from Politico's Burgess Everett, the senior Republican is fighting a small-scale war of his own with the MAGA-aligned members of his own caucus who are becoming more and more non-interventionist when it comes to helping the embattled Ukrainians.
According to Everett, "It’s Mitch McConnell vs. MAGA when it comes to Ukraine," adding, "At least a half-dozen Republican senators are expected to oppose the aid bill, according to one Republican senator. And in private meetings, an increasing number of GOP senators have questioned various aspects of the request."
Pushing back, McConnell explained on Sunday, "It’s in America’s interest to do this. This is not a charity we’re involved in here. It’s in our interests to help Ukrainians just like it’s in the interest of NATO countries. So this is not some handout.”
Pressed on Paul's vocal opposition to the bill, which he blocked last week, but will likely pass when brought up again this week, McConnell took a jab at the junior senator from his state, telling reporters, "Well, it’s no secret. Rand and I have a different world view of the importance of Americans’ role around the world."
He then added, "So that was not surprising. And it won’t create a problem. We’ll get the job done by Wednesday."
Read more here: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/15/mcconnell-maga-ukraine-visit-00032572
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A major GOP group is ditching Bill McSwain, joining a last-ditch effort to help Lou Barletta stop Doug Mastriano
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An influential Harrisburg conservative group that controls one of the biggest political action committees in Pennsylvania endorsed former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta for governor on Sunday, calling on other contenders to do the same to stop State Sen. Doug Mastriano from winning the Republican nomination.
In doing so, Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs, a membership association, publicly joined a last-ditch effort to rally behind Barletta as some Republicans worry Mastriano's views are too extreme to win in a purple state.
Commonwealth Partners had previously endorsed former US attorney Bill McSwain, and its political group has spent nearly $13 million boosting his candidacy. On Sunday, the group called on McSwain and another GOP gubernatorial hopeful, former Delaware County Councilman Dave White, to withdraw from the race and endorse Barletta in Tuesday's primary election.
"It's become abundantly clear in recent days that nominating Lou Barletta for governor is Republicans' best chance to defeat Josh Shapiro in November," Commonwealth Partners president and CEO Matt Brouillette said in a statement. Shapiro, the state attorney general, is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
"Months ago, Commonwealth Partners began cautioning of the dangers of nominating Doug Mastriano, as he would not be able to win the swing voters necessary to win in November," Brouillette said.
"Unfortunately, although Mastriano is garnering support from less than 30% of likely primary voters, given the large field of candidates, this could be enough to secure him the nomination," Brouillette said.
Representatives for McSwain and White did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Scores of current and former Republican elected officials have rallied behind Barletta over the last week, as some in the party argued that Mastriano would march to the nomination absent a major campaign shakeup. The eleventh-hour effort to stop Mastriano already faced steep odds.
Mastriano has said the effort shows he's running against the establishment.
© The Philadelphia Inquirer
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The Buffalo Shooter Isn’t a ‘Lone Wolf.’ He’s a Mainstream Republican
The right-wing extremists who control the modern GOP are all gripped by a racist delusion. The shooter is just the latest to act on it
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There’s no such thing as a lone wolf — an appellation often given, in error, to terrorists who act alone, particularly those of the white supremacist variety. There are only those people who, fed a steady diet of violent propaganda and stochastic terror, take annihilatory rhetoric to its logical conclusion.
Such was the case on Saturday, when a teenaged white supremacist named Payton Gendron opened fire in a supermarket in a Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, killing 10 people, while livestreaming the carnage on the live-video site Twitch. Prior to the shooting, he had posted a 180-page manifesto in which he laid out his rationale clearly: He was an adherent of what is called Great Replacement Theory, the idea that white people, in the United States and white-majority countries around the world, are being systematically, deliberately outbred and “replaced” by immigrants and ethnic minorities, in a deliberate attempt to rid the world of whiteness. It’s a conspiracy theory that has inspired terror attacks in New Zealand and Pittsburgh, San Diego, and El Paso – an ideology that marries demographic panic with the idea of a cunning, nefarious plot. Reading through the document, what struck me hardest, however, was how very close the killer’s ideas were to the American mainstream – the white-hot core of American politics.
Five years ago, when white supremacists walked down the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, chanting “Jews will not replace us!” and carrying tiki torches, few people understood their intent – the fact that they were referring to replacement theory. The idea seemed outlandish, even incomprehensible; at the time, it was a fairly obscure rallying cry, based around a 2012 book by French novelist Renaud Camus fearmongering about a nonwhite-majority Europe, absorbed into the fetid stew of white-supremacist cant, where it acquired a vicious antisemitism. For many white supremacists, it is Jews who are orchestrating the “reverse colonization,” as Camus put it, of white countries, in order to more easily manipulate a nonwhite and therefore more malleable general populace. In Gendron’s manifesto, after explaining in detail why he picked the particular supermarket he did — it was in a majority-Black neighborhood with a majority-Black clientele — he felt the need to explain why he did not choose to attack Jews. “[Jews] can be dealt with in time, but the high fertility replacers will destroy us now, it is a matter of survival we destroy them first,” he wrote, before listing his weaponry in detail with price points included — a manual for future murders. While Gendron’s choice to engage in mass slaughter puts him on the radical fringe of those who enforce their beliefs with bullets, and his overt antisemitism differs slightly from vaguer blame of “elites,” “Democrats” and “globalists,” his fixation on white birthrates and demographic change are neither fringe nor particularly unusual. The gnawing fear of a minority-white America has utterly consumed conservative politics for the past half-decade, creating a Republican party whose dual obsessions with nativism and white fertility have engendered a suite of policies engineered to change the nature of the body politic. What unites murderers like Gendron, and the long list of white supremacist attackers he cited with admiration, with the mainstream of the Republican party is the dream of a white nation.
the population considered white is shrinking. This change is occurring faster than anticipated, thanks to the relative ages of white and nonwhite populations in the country — the nonwhite population trends significantly younger — and all national population growth is being driven by nonwhite groups, according to an analysis by Brookings. This confluence of death, birth, and immigration is in and of itself morally neutral, a matter of the natural ebb and flow of populations over time. But as the era of the white majority nears its end, a revanchist, racist right has treated the facts of demography as an occasion for a sweeping, violent moral panic.
Donald Trump’s ascendance was a key marker of the force of white racial panic; from the moment he launched his candidacy, his overt racism set the party’s agenda, and from the very first, his rhetoric directly provoked racist violence. Far from ebbing as Trump has ceased to be the party’s sole center, however, the tide of white animus has become even more central to a new crop of Congresspeople and candidates.
The Republican Party’s embrace of nativism has been more of a full-on dash than a slow slide, and it has been catalyzed by the vast constellation of right-wing media. Chief among these is the juggernaut that is Fox News. As a New York Times analysis revealed, the network’s flagship prime-time show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, has an obsession with replacement theory: In more than 400 shows the newspaper analyzed, Carlson evoked the idea of forced demographic change through immigration and other methods. Carlson is not alone: A Media Matters examination of Fox’s rhetoric throughout 2021 found that the network fulsomely embraced replacement theory, or, as it is more commonly known among extremists, “white genocide.” Such fears have become commonplace campaign talking points among Republican candidates: Ohio senatorial candidate J.D. Vance recently declared that Democrats are “bringing in a large number of new voters to replace those that are already here”; in Arizona, far-right state senator Wendy Rogers responded to an article about migrants with the ominous message, “We are being replaced and invaded.” Just hours after the mass shooting in Buffalo, Senate candidate Blake Masters posted a video appearance in which he declared that Democrats’ electoral strategy involves bringing in “millions” of immigrants to vote for them. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene rode extremism into Congress, long after sharing a video that declared that an “unholy alliance of leftists, capitalists, and Zionist supremacists has schemed to promote immigration and miscegenation, with the deliberate aim of breeding us out of existence in our own homelands.” This clamor — from politicians and pundits, candidates and conspiracy theorists — has become the radioactive center of the right’s policy.
Once you understand an obsession with racial composition and white fertility to be the driving engine of Republican politics, a number of seemingly disparate movements begin to fit together into an ugly whole. Some aspects are obvious: The anti-immigrant movement that has seen U.S. refugee admissions at historic lows and asylum seekers marooned in purgatorial camps in Mexico continues to dominate the right-wing airwaves. Historic levels of gerrymandering are ensuring that a diversifying populace remains beholden to the views of a white minority — alongside openly antidemocratic restrictions on voting and changes in election administration.
Other aspects are more veiled, but no less vitriolic. Years of fearmongering about transgender rights, and in particular their influence on youth, are linked to fears of waning fertility: anti-trans demagogues like Abigail Shrier describe trans bodies as “maimed and sterile,” and, as such, a chief motivation for the legion of anti-trans laws passed by state legislatures is the future fertility of trans children born female. The violent antifeminism of a far-right movement that sees women principally as vessels for breeding a new white generation expresses itself in a fixation on a return to “traditional” gender roles. And the culmination of generations of right-wing activism, which will secure the “domestic supply of infants,” as Justice Samuel Alito memorably put it, is poised to arrive in the form of the dissolution of Roe v. Wade. Payton Gendron, and those like him, are listening: like Brenton Tarrant, the mass shooter at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Gendron opened his manifesto with a screed on the supposedly apocalyptic consequences of “sub-replacement fertility rates” among white women.
In his manifesto, Gendron claims to have acted alone, while in the same breath admitting, “I’ve had many influences from others.” The 180 pages of the document reveal the breadth of those influences: it is largely pastiche, with page upon page of racist and antisemitic memes compiled in repulsive collages; collections of scientific studies of I.Q. differentials between racist groups; screenshots and links to news articles that confirm his prejudices; and segments of other manifestos, including Tarrant’s, bloat a thin line of racist scrawl. He may have, as he claims, become radicalized by over-enthused browsing of the Internet’s sewers, principally 4chan. But his fixations mirror those of the right wing more broadly, from violent transphobia to a loathing of immigration to a preoccupation with the possibility of civil war.
When the rhetoric of an entire movement devolves into Manichaean demonization of their political foes; when demographic shifts are represented as apocalyptic; and when a party can appeal to nothing but the consolidation of white power, it is an inevitability that such rhetoric will leave bodies in its wake. The Republican Party caters chiefly now to those who claim that to be born the wrong color is an act of genocide, and act with appropriate fervor. There has never been a lone wolf when it comes to racist terror in the United States; it suffuses every aspect of our politics and policy, and in latter years the mass howl of fear at change comes from a jaw that drips with blood. As long as we fail to recognize the wellspring of racial animus that animates the right wing in this country, the corpses will continue to accrue.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/buffalo-shooter-white-supremacist-great-replacement-donald-trump-1353509/
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In Idaho governor’s race, a far-right candidate leans into extremism
Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin’s campaign, whether it’s successful or not on Tuesday, has become a flashpoint in the discussion of extremism in state politics — and White women’s role in it.
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In 2019, just months into her job as Idaho’s lieutenant governor, Janice McGeachin posted a photo of herself outside her statehouse office with two men linked to a militia group. Weeks later, she delivered an oath to militia members that is often reserved for state military.
McGeachin’s embrace of extremism would continue: In October 2020, she appeared in a libertarian group’s video against state COVID-19 restrictions, placing a gun on top of a bible. In February, she agreed to a pretaped speech at a conference hosted by the white nationalist Nick Fuentes. This month, McGeachin told an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist that “God calls us to pick up the sword and fight, and Christ will reign in the state of Idaho.”
McGeachin is challenging Gov. Brad Little in Tuesday’s primary for governor, arguing her candidacy better reflects the values of a state where former President Donald Trump received more than 60 percent of the vote in 2020. Idaho has a history of anti-government sentiment, which has gradually created factions within its Republican Party between far-right populists like McGeachin and more traditional conservatives like Little.
Like many GOP candidates across the country, McGeachin has highlighted her opposition to COVID-19 mitigation efforts as well as teachings about racism in schools. But McGeachin has taken these issues further than many in the Republican Party by not only sowing doubt about the 2020 election results but also supporting “state sovereignty” that actively rejects areas of federal government oversight.
Whether McGeachin’s long-shot bid in a crowded primary is successful or not, her attempt to unseat Little has become a flashpoint in the discussion of extremism in state politics — and White women’s role in it.
“What happens on the far right is that there’s a way in which White women are kind of the velvet glove on the iron fist,” said Jessie Daniels, a researcher on extremism and author of “Nice White Ladies.” “They soften in some ways the real brutality of these policies.”
McGeachin, a business owner who was elected lieutenant governor in 2018 after a brief stint away from serving in the statehouse, has campaigned on a platform of challenging the 2020 election. At a campaign rally this month, the 59-year-old described her vision as “protecting individual liberty, defending your health freedom and upholding your constitutional rights.”
“It includes defending Idaho’s state sovereignty, reducing Idaho’s financial dependence on federal dollars and strengthening our economy through the development of our state’s many resources,” she said.
She has also embraced many of the issues propelling the right. At the same campaign rally, McGeachin committed to “fixing” Idaho’s education system, “eradicating” critical race theory — a catch-all phrase used by some Republicans to describe certain lessons about race — and what she calls “other forms of Marxist indoctrination.” Last year, McGeachin announced a task force that would target “indoctrination” in schools. And after a leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft indicated Roe v. Wade will be overturned, McGeachin called for a special legislative session to end exemptions to abortion that include cases of rape and incest. Such exemptions have been widely supported by conservatives who oppose abortion.
Little, a sheep and cattle rancher, has tried to frame his campaign around cutting taxes and state regulations. But he also signed into law a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy this year. In 2020 he signed anti-trans legislation into law.
However McGeachin has also chosen to publicly associate with media personalities who hold views about the pandemic, immigration, elections and race that are outside mainstream conservatism. McGeachin defended her speech at the America First Political Action Conference — hosted by Fuentes, who participated in the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville and has denied the Holocaust — by claiming she didn’t know who he is. McGeachin also said she wanted to reach young conservative people.
“There’s a growing number of conservatives, young conservatives all across the country, that are really concerned about the direction that our country is headed,” she told television station KTVB in February.
McGeachin, whose campaign did not return a request for an interview, has also not shied away from other far-right figures. Her May 4 rally was attended by Stew Peters, who has pushed anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, and Michelle Malkin, who has been described by the ADL as supportive of white supremacists. Wendy Rogers, an Arizona senator who was censured by fellow state lawmakers in part because she, too, recorded a message for Fuentes’ conference and suggested the hangings of unspecified “traitors,” was also in attendance.
Kelly J. Baker is an author who has studied religion and white supremacist movements. She noted that McGeachin sometimes echoes language used by far-right personalities but can also be ambiguous about it. Trump, who has endorsed McGeachin, took a similar tactic, refusing at times to denounce white supremacists who supported him.
“When she’s speaking at something organized by white nationalists or participating in events with far-right figures, she isn’t disavowing them,” Baker said. “But that kind of ‘winking in that direction’ is a strategy that I think works to get voters who are sympathetic.”
Baker added that McGeachin’s self-described identity as a mother, coupled with being a White woman, may be advantageous to her campaign and has echoes of politicians like Sarah Palin and her bid for vice president more than a decade ago.
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A child tosses a surgical mask into a fire during a mask burning event at which Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin was a speaker. (NATHAN HOWARD/GETTY IMAGES)
“Their rhetoric is still rough, right? And the things they are saying are pretty bombastic and controversial,” Baker said. “But I do wonder if there’s something about gender roles that are working for them — that they’re able to play into this somewhat in a way that White men don’t have the option to.”
Heath Druzin is an Idaho-based journalist who hosts the “Extremely American” podcast covering militia groups and politics. He has reported on McGeachin for years and noted that other far-right women candidates are running campaigns in Idaho, including for lieutenant governor and secretary of state. Many of them have been elected to office before their current bids.
“It’s not that they appeared out of nowhere,” Druzin said. “They have been leaders in the far-right movement in Idaho for a while. But it’s more that the far right just gained a lot more prominence recently, especially with the pandemic. And they were sort of there ready to step into the spotlight.”
In Idaho, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run on separate tickets in both the primary and general election. The fissures between McGeachin and Little started soon after the two were elected. McGeachin would gain acting governor status when Little was out of the state, and several times she used that authority to try to change state policies. Her informal oath to two members of a militia group happened during one such stint.
Some of her administrative actions focused on pandemic measures: In May 2021, McGeachin signed an executive order banning mask mandates. Little rescinded the order and called it an “irresponsible, self-serving political stunt.” Then in October, she signed an executive order banning COVID-19 vaccine mandates and testing. Little again quickly rescinded the order.
Druzin said his reporting indicates the effects of COVID-19 restrictions gave far-right movements and its supporters new talking points.
"Without the pandemic, Janice McGeachin might still be running,” he said. “But I think she would be getting a lot less oxygen.”
McGeachin’s campaign is being tracked as one indicator of Trump’s ongoing political power as he eyes a 2024 presidential run. He endorsed her in November, something McGeachin has featured heavily in her promotional materials, including on social media. Trump’s snub of Little has not weakened the incumbent’s public support for the former president — and it may not be hurting him either. Little has a substantial lead over McGeachin in both polling and fundraising.
Jaclyn Kettler, an associate professor of political science at Boise State University, said that while McGeachin’s pandemic-related actions appears to have boosted her popularity, it still may not be enough to best an incumbent.
“She clearly had some strong support, but whether or not that’s enough to mobilize against the incumbent governor, was probably going to be a fairly large task,” Kettler said.
Without the pandemic, Janice McGeachin might still be running,” he said. “But I think she would be getting a lot less oxygen.”
McGeachin’s campaign is being tracked as one indicator of Trump’s ongoing political power as he eyes a 2024 presidential run. He endorsed her in November, something McGeachin has featured heavily in her promotional materials, including on social media. Trump’s snub of Little has not weakened the incumbent’s public support for the former president — and it may not be hurting him either. Little has a substantial lead over McGeachin in both polling and fundraising.
Jaclyn Kettler, an associate professor of political science at Boise State University, said that while McGeachin’s pandemic-related actions appears to have boosted her popularity, it still may not be enough to best an incumbent.
“She clearly had some strong support, but whether or not that’s enough to mobilize against the incumbent governor, was probably going to be a fairly large task,” Kettler said.
Robert Boatright, a political science professor at Clark University in Massachusetts, has studied the intersectionality between primaries and extremism. He cautioned against making too many assumptions about what a primary outcome in a state with a history of conservative infighting means for other areas of the country.
“It’s important to put these things in context so that we don’t draw these giant lessons from it,” he said. “We can make an idiosyncratic race this giant national narrative about what is happening in our politics, and sometimes, that’s a little bit of an over interpretation.”
Others see McGeachin’s bid as a possible preview of future election dynamics elsewhere. Melissa Ryan, a consultant who works to combat disinformation and extremism and writes a newsletter on the subject, said gerrymandering, as politicians draw more safe seats for both major parties, could lead to more extreme views from candidates as they don’t have to court voters with as many perspectives. She specified the Republican Party’s gerrymandering tactics.
“I think it’s really important to point out that what’s happening in Idaho is happening in races all across the country, everywhere from city council to U.S. Senate,” she said. “The trend is going to get worse before it gets better.”
And it’s not just American politics. Daniels noted the gradual political rise of other far-right women in countries like France, where the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen lost against President Emmanuel Macron in April but by a smaller margin than her previous attempt in 2017. Le Pen took a more moderate approach this time, focusing on economic issues. It’s possible more women with extreme views outside of mainstream conservatism will pick up the mantle. Daniels recommended people hold their elected officials accountable when that happens.
“I think that the Idaho governor’s race is really going to be a harbinger of what comes next on the national and international stage,” she said.
https://19thnews.org/2022/05/idaho-governor-race-extremism-election-2022/
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GOP Senate Candidate Kathy Barnette Spotted Marching With Proud Boys on Jan. 6
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Photos from Jan. 6 reveal that “ultra-MAGA” Pennsylvania Senate candidate Kathy Barnette marched alongside Proud Boys toward the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Though there has been no evidence that Barnette ever entered the Capitol building, some Proud Boys in the photo were later arrested and indicted for breaking in and assaulting police, NBC News reports. Barnette’s campaign told NBC: “Kathy was in DC to support President Trump and demand election accountability. Any assertion that she participated in or supported the destruction of property is intentionally false. She has no connection whatsoever to the proud boys.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/gop-senate-candidate-kathy-barnette-spotted-marching-with-proud-boys-on-jan-6
GOP's Kathy Barnette paid for 3 busloads of Jan. 6 'patriots' for '1776 moment'
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On Monday, CNN revealed that Kathy Barnette, the rising dark horse candidate for Pennsylvania's Republican Senate nomination, paid to bus people to D.C. on January 6, 2021.
"Calling it 'our 1776 moment,' Barnette promised those attending the rally would make their voices heard, according to previously unreported comments from the time reviewed by CNN's KFile," reported Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck. "In another interview before the rally, Barnette said she helped bring three buses to Washington."
"'You're gonna see a bunch of pi**ed off patriots that are like, 'We're not having this anymore,'' Barnette told radio host and conservative activist Ed Martin on January 5, 2021," said the report. "'You're gonna have to hear our voices. And so I'm so very grateful that Americans are not rolling over. Democrats are used to, you know, being loud, whining, calling us names and then our side of the aisle, simply roll over and play dead. I am so proud that there are an innumerable number of Americans who are just like, no, we are not rolling over. We're not going back to sleep. You're gonna have to hear us.'"
This comes after NBC News confirmed that Barnette was photographed marching toward the Capitol on January 6 with members of the extreme-right Proud Boys, some of whom were charged with trespassing in the Capitol and assaulting police officers. Barnette denies any affiliation with the Proud Boys and denies having entered the Capitol herself.
Barnette, who has called for abolishing Islam and claimed transgender people are "deformed," is not the only major Pennsylvania GOP candidate with apparent ties to the Capitol insurrection. Doug Mastriano, the Trump-backed frontrunner for the gubernatorial nomination, also paid to bus people to the Capitol on January 6 and was on the complex during the attack, but denies actually participating in the attack himself.
Other candidates challenging Barnette for the Senate nomination include Dr. Mehmet Oz, a controversial daytime TV show host who has Trump's endorsement, and David McCormick, a former Treasury Department official and hedge fund executive.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/16/politics/kathy-barnette-1776-moment-january-6-kfile/index.html
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Karine Jean-Pierre makes history at White House
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Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday will become the new face of President Biden’s White House — marking a historic change that some have been waiting to see for years.
Jean-Pierre will be the first Black and the first openly LGBTQ person to serve as White House press secretary.
For years, a small group of influential Black communicators has quietly lobbied several administrations to appoint an African American to the podium.
The hit television show “Scandal” is based on Judy Smith, a former George H.W. Bush press aide who became the first Black spokesperson to hold a briefing at the White House in 1991 and went on to become a crisis management expert. She never served as press secretary.
The nation elected the first Black president in 2008 in Barack Obama, and during his administration deputy press secretary Bill Burton was considered for the role. He was ultimately passed over, and three white men served as press secretary under Obama.
Now, Jean-Pierre will break the ceiling in the Biden administration in a moment that many will celebrate.
“You can’t understate how huge this is, how important it’s going to be to so many people of color who have and are working so hard in the communications field to see a black LGBTQ woman representing the president of the United States at the podium,” said Democratic strategist Rodell Mollineau.
The change has also been noted within the administration.
“Twenty years ago, it was pretty hard to find a Black press secretary to a U.S. senator, Cabinet secretary or presidential candidate,” said Jamal Simmons, who serves as communications director to Vice President Harris. “Now there will be a Black press secretary at the White House podium. President Biden has broken one more barrier for African Americans in politics.”
Jean-Pierre is taking over for veteran Democratic communicator Jen Psaki, whose official last day was Friday. She has served as Psaki’s deputy for the last 16 months, sometimes briefing reporters from the podium or aboard Air Force one.
“I think being a White House press secretary is one of the hardest jobs in politics,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who served as a spokesman in the George W. Bush White House. “If there’s good news to announce you let the president do it, if there’s bad news, that falls to the press secretary.”
Those who know Jean-Pierre well say she’s up to the job.
“She’s a remarkable woman. She has a lot of experience. But the thing about White House press secretary is that your constituency is actually the American people,” said Donna Brazile, former acting Democratic National Committee chairwoman. “This is probably a different job than any job she’s ever done.”
Jean-Pierre brings to the table some different experience than her predecessor Psaki, who said last week that she has spent more time in the White House than anywhere else in her career.
Psaki also has more foreign policy experience, having served as a State Department spokeswoman.
Democrats who have risen through the ranks with Jean-Pierre say she will bring a different tenor to the White House press office and to the podium.
“For starters, she’s a political person. She’s an organizer,” said one Democrat who has known Jean-Pierre for years. “Psaki was born and bred as a flack. That’s not Karine.”
“Her personal style is more close to the vest,” the source said. “She’s not going to go for the jugular.”
The source said Jean-Pierre is a good fit for the podium job as the midterm elections approach.
“She can deliver a political message without the sharp elbows, without it seeming over the top,” the source said.
Democratic strategist Karen Finney added that because of Jean-Pierre’s organizing background, “she’ll bring a different perspective about how to frame some of these issues and talk about some of these in a way that will keep the conversation resonating with the American people.
“Bringing that sensibility to the conversation is a real service,” Finney added.
Jean-Pierre first got to know the Bidens in Obama’s White House and while working on the Obama and Biden campaigns. She also served as a spokesperson for the progressive group MoveOn and as an MSNBC commentator. A graduate of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, Jean-Pierre also returned to the college to teach for several years.
Ester Fuchs, a professor of international and public affairs at Columbia who taught Jean-Pierre and also helped her get the teaching position, described her former student as “tough as nails,” well-prepared, smart, and driven. Fuchs recalled Jean-Pierre pushing to teach the course on political campaigning solo, despite her suggestion that she might try doing so as part of a team.
“She literally said to me, ‘No. I really want to do it myself,’” Fuchs said. “And I was really quite taken aback.”
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Jean-Pierre.
After Biden hired her to be chief of staff to Harris during the presidential election, she and the running mate often clashed, sources say. Some staffers on the campaign felt as though Jean-Pierre remained powerless in the role throughout the general election campaign. When Biden won, she moved over to his team in the West Wing.
Like her predecessor, Jean-Pierre is sure to become a target at times for attacks from Republicans.
Not long after Jean-Pierre was named, some conservatives criticized her over old tweets she wrote about Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s election over Democrat Stacy Abrams being “stolen.” She also referred to Trump’s election in 2016 as a “stolen election,” referencing the Russian hack of Democrats’ emails.
Jean-Pierre’s allies say she should pay no attention to the criticism.
“I would not allow Republicans to color anybody with crayons, because all they’re doing is throwing slime,” Brazile said.
Finney added that anyone in the administration will be a target of the right wing “because they are looking for ways to drive their very divisive, at times racist, sexist, bigoted agenda of using issues to divide people.”
“We’ve seen particularly despicable attacks against Black women, from the vice president to [the Justice Department’s] Kirsten Clark and Judge [Ketanji Brown] Jackson, so she’s in very esteemed company,” Finney added.
It’s not clear how different the regular briefings will be under Jean-Pierre, though she did commit Friday to holding daily briefings — something the Biden White House resurrected after four years of inconsistent press briefings under former President Trump.
Psaki acknowledged last week that Jean-Pierre would “bring her own style” to the job. She also offered some words of advice for her successor: Ask Biden a lot of questions and sit in on a lot of policy meetings.
“It is not about — and this is just broad advice to everybody, right, who’s doing this job in the future — this is not about reading talking points from a book,” Psaki told reporters at a Christian Science Monitor Breakfast last week.
“It is about understanding policies to a level of depth that you can explain them to your mother-in-law, to your friend on the street, and answer the ninth question reporters may have about them.”
https://thehill.com/news/administration/3488091-karine-jean-pierre-makes-history-at-white-house/
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Major US baby formula producer agrees with regulators on restarting production
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Abbott warned that it will take six to eight weeks to get baby formula back on the shelves even afer it resumes production at its facility in Sturgis, Michigan
Washington (AFP) - Amid a US shortage of baby formula, officials announced Monday a previously closed manufacturer would re-open and encouraged foreign companies to apply to import their products -- although it will take weeks to see more stock back on store shelves.
A "consent decree" agreement between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and major formula manufacturer Abbott outlines steps needed to restart production at the company's plant in Michigan, which was shut down due to a recall, Abbott said in a statement.
"Once the FDA confirms the initial requirements for start-up have been met, Abbott could restart the site within two weeks," the statement said.
However, the company cautioned that "from the time Abbott restarts the site, it will take six to eight weeks before product is available on shelves."
Abbott, which produces the popular Similac brand used by millions of American families, announced a voluntary recall on February 17 after the death of two babies.
In a separate move, the FDA also said Monday it plans to accept applications from international baby formula manufacturers "who don't normally distribute their infant formula products in the US," FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said in a statement.
Currently, the United States produces about 98 percent of the formula it consumes.
Import applications
The FDA plans to work to quickly review such applications, especially ones that come from "countries that have health and safety inspection systems similar" to the United States, according to a senior White House official.
The process would also prioritize applications showing "clear quality and safety and nutritional adequacy," a different senior administration official added.
According to Califf, foreign-made baby formula could appear on US shelves within "weeks."
The Biden administration was also reaching out to US manufacturers to offer help with logistical challenges, such as shipping, the officials said.
US families have grown increasingly desperate for formula amid a perfect storm of supply chain issues and the massive recall.
The average out-of-stock rate for baby formula hit 43 percent earlier this month, according to Datasembly, which collected information from more than 11,000 retailers.
Abbott's agreement with the FDA to restart production at the plant in Sturgis, Michigan also needs to be reviewed by a federal court after the Justice Department filed a complaint on Monday.
The complaint says the facility "failed to comply with regulations designed to ensure the quality and safety of infant formula, including protection against the risk of contamination from bacteria."
"The actions we are announcing today will help to safely increase the supply of baby formula for families," US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Robert Ford, chairman and chief executive officer of Abbott said he regretted the situation and that the company already had begun "working to implement improvements and take corrective action."
"We know millions of parents and caregivers depend on us and we're deeply sorry that our voluntary recall worsened the nationwide formula shortage," he said in the statement.
The FDA and White House officials reiterated Monday that parents who are concerned about running out of baby formula should talk to their child's doctor, and that it is not safe to water down existing formula or to make your own at home.
© Agence France-Presse
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President Biden's infrastructure plan has 4,300 projects
Six months after the signing of President Joe Biden's $1 trillion infrastructure package, the government said Monday there are 4,300 projects underway with more than $110 billion in funding announced — milestones the administration is publicly heralding as midterm politics intensify.
White House senior adviser Mitch Landrieu, the former mayor of New Orleans, said the roads, bridges and other projects are laying "a foundation for tremendous growth into the future." Landrieu said Biden and members of his administration have made more than 125 trips to highlight the bipartisan investments in infrastructure.
"I think that if Americans step back, we will all have to admit that for the last 50 years we've had the need to do this and we haven't found the will or the way to get it done," Landrieu told reporters. He added that this is a "wonderful down payment" on infrastructure needs in the country that total roughly $7 trillion.
The administration made a strategic calculation that delivering results would help Democrats retain control of the House and the Senate in this year's elections. Infrastructure was a rare source of bipartisan unity as Biden struck a deal that attracted several Republican senators. The law contains money to expand internet access and replace lead water pipes and for rail and public transit projects and investments to address climate change.
When Biden signed the law on Nov. 15, he pledged to voters that "America is moving again and your life is going to change for the better."
Of the $110 billion announced so far, $52.5 billion is for federal highway funding this fiscal year and $20.5 billion for public transit. There is another $27 billion over five years for bridges, as well as money for safety, rural highways, airports, ports, drought resilience and other programs.
The infrastructure spending is also one area where political leaders will have to share credit with each other. Governors and mayors are responsible for 90% of the expenditures in the law, while the federal government accounts for 10% of the spending. The administration has actively tried to help state and local governments compete for the money, with Landrieu noting that even Republican critics are generally eager to receive the funding.
"Some really smart person said, you know, even those people that voted no want the dough," he said. "This is as close to consensus in my political life that I have seen."
The Commerce Department last week called on states to begin the process of submitting their plans for universal access to high-speed internet. Biden has also taken steps to maximize the likelihood that construction materials are made domestically, as the money has started to go out.
Landrieu said the two biggest challenges of coordinating the spending have involved offering technical assistance to smaller governments and enabling workforce development to fill the jobs being created. There are 7.6 million construction jobs in the U.S., with employers advertising about 400,000 openings in the sector.
Landrieu said that those challenges are also "an unbelievable opportunity to get right something that we actually haven't been collectively very good at in the country."
If the government succeeds with coordination and future administrations follow suit, Landrieu said, "America is going to grow exponentially faster and winning the 21st century is not going to be a challenge for us."
AFP
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Backed by Murdoch and Koch, Pennsylvania Senate GOP campaigns spend over $55 million on primary ads
Data shows that the campaigns of former Bridgewater Associates CEO Dave McCormick and veteran physician Dr. Mehmet Oz spent more than $20 million, combined, on ads.
The stretch of ads during the final weeks of the election have been funded in part by a wide array of business leaders and special interests.
In April, News Corp Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch donated $200,000 to the pro-McCormick group Honor Pennsylvania.
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The Pennsylvania Senate Republican primary on Tuesday could be one of the most expensive races in the 2022 election cycle, with candidates and political action committees spending more than $55 million on television and radio ads, according to ad tracker Medium Buying.
Data shows that the campaigns of former Bridgewater Associates CEO Dave McCormick and veteran physician Dr. Mehmet Oz spent more than $20 million, combined, on attack ads and other advertising. Honor Pennsylvania, a super PAC backing McCormick, has spent just over $17 million for its candidate, while the pro-Oz American Leadership Action PAC has invested over $3 million in the race. Oz, McCormick and their allied super PACs have combined to raise over $50 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Super PACs can accept and spend unlimited amounts of money backing a single candidate or issue so long as the funds aren’t directly controlled by the candidate.
Some of Wall Street’s billionaires have donated big money toward backing either McCormick or Oz, including Ken Griffin, the CEO of Chicago-based investment firm Citadel, and Nelson Peltz, the co-founder of investment firm Trian Partners.
Representatives for McCormick and Oz did not respond to requests for comment before publication.
Despite all that money, Kathy Barnette, a conservative political commentator running for the same Senate seat, has surged in recent polls to nearly tie Oz and McCormick. All three are among the candidates vying for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat that is being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.
A Fox News poll of Pennsylvania Republican primary voters conducted May 3-7 shows Barnette with a 19% approval rating, just three points behind Oz, who leads that survey with 22% support. Her campaign has raised over $1.7 million, including over $180,000 in April, mainly from small-dollar donors, records show. The campaign has spent over $197,000 on ads throughout the entire election, according to AdImpact, which also tracks campaign spending.
That surge by Barnette has led to outside groups backing Oz and McCormick to run anti-Barnette spots in the final days of the election, Medium Buying said.
The stretch of ads during the final weeks of the election have been funded in part by a wide array of business leaders and special interests.
News Corp Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch donated $200,000 in April to the pro-McCormick group Honor Pennsylvania, according to FEC records. After raising over $2.8 million that month, the organization has gone on air to take aim at Barnette. A representative for News Corp did not respond to requests for comment.
News Corp owns newspapers around the world, including The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. Murdoch is also the chairman of Fox Corp., the controlling company of Fox News. Sean Hannity, a network anchor and ally of Trump’s, supported Oz’s candidacy. Laura Ingraham, a fellow conservative network host, called Trump’s endorsement of Oz a “mistake.”
Oz’s campaign saw a $5,800 donation from Julia Koch last month, the widow of the late billionaire David Koch. Julia Koch’s website says she’s on the board of the massive conglomerate Koch Industries, a company her husband ran with his brother Charles Koch. Julia Koch declined to comment, but a person familiar with the contribution said it was tied to her longtime friendship with Oz and his wife, Lisa.
McCormick’s campaign, meanwhile, saw donations from more Wall Street titans during the final weeks of the election, including $5,800 from Howard Lutnick, the chairman and CEO of financial advisory firm Cantor Fitzgerald, and $2,900 from Marc Rowan, the CEO of investment firm Apollo Global.
Representatives for Rowan and Lutnick did not respond to requests for comment.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/16/backed-by-murdoch-and-koch-pennsylvania-senate-gop-campaigns-spend-over-55-million-on-primary-ads.html
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This will be very interesting. Make sure to watch!
Watch Live: Pentagon officials testify on UFOs in rare House hearing
Washington — Congress is holding its first public hearing on unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in more than half a century on Tuesday.
Pentagon officials are testifying before a House Intelligence Committee subcommittee about how the Defense Department is organizing reports of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) — the military's term for UFOs — after a congressionally mandated report released last year found most of the incidents analyzed remain unidentified.
Rep. Andre Carson, a Democrat of Indiana and chairman of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Counterintelligence, Counterterrorism, and Counterproliferation, opened the hearing by saying UAPs "are a potential national security threat, and they need to be treated that way."
"For too long, the stigma associated with UAPs has gotten in the way of good intelligence analysis. Pilots avoided reporting or were laughed at when they did. DOD officials relegated the issue to the backroom or swept it under the rug entirely, fearful of a skeptical national security community," Carson said. "Today, we know better. UAPs are unexplained, it's true. But they are real. They need to be investigated. And any threats they pose need to be mitigated."
The report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Pentagon's UAP Task Force found no evidence to suggest the objects are extraterrestrial or from a foreign adversary — but the report also could not explain most of the objects.
Investigators were able to identify one of the 144 reports analyzed in their study of unidentified objects "as a large, deflating balloon." But the other 143 reports of UAP from 2004 to 2021 remain a mystery.
There is little doubt that the unidentified objects are real objects, whatever they may be, because at least 80 of the 144 incidents were detected by multiple sensors, the report found.
The finding in the report that demonstrates the need for further study is the one stating, "UAP clearly pose a safety of flight issue and may pose a challenge to U.S. national security."
Tuesday's hearing will have a session that's open to the public, followed by a closed classified session.
"We want to see footage that we can't find on open source materials like YouTube," Carson told reporters on Capitol Hill on Friday. "We want to see the footage and have it explained to us, and that's what we're going to accomplish."
The Pentagon in recent years has confirmed the authenticity of several videos and images showing objects under investigation by the UAP Task Force. Last year, the Defense Department confirmed three images posted by MysteryWire and a video posted by a UFO filmmaker had been taken by Navy personnel.
In 2020, the Pentagon released three videos — FLIR, GOFAST, and GIMBAL — showing encounters military aviators had with unidentified objects. The fighter pilots who witnessed the object in the FLIR video from 2004 spoke to "60 Minutes" last year about their experience.
In November 2021, the Pentagon established the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG) to succeed the Navy's UAP Task Force, with the intention of better coordinating the reporting and investigating incidents.
Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Ronald Moultrie, whose office houses the AOIMSG, and Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray are testifying Tuesday.
"I know Mr. Moultrie is looking forward to walking members of Congress through how we're going to organize around this effort," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Monday.
The last public congressional hearing on UFOs was held in the 1960s before the disbandment of "Project Blue Book," a U.S. Air Force program that investigated and analyzed reports of UFOs. The project lasted from 1947 to 1969 and was disbanded in part because the objects were found to pose no threat to national security, according to an Air Force fact sheet.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ufo-hearing-congress-pentagon-watch-live-stream-today-2022-05-17/
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President Biden @POTUS
We are doing everything we can to make more infant formula available while the closed factory comes back online.
Last night, there was another breakthrough.
The FDA will allow formula from outside the US to be safely imported, which will quickly increase supply.
Watch: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1526548254749560833
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President Biden @POTUS
Jill and I are in Buffalo to stand with the community and to grieve with the families. As a nation, we must find purpose to live a life worthy of those we lost. We must resolve that from tragedy will come hope and light and life.
We have to refuse to live in a country where Black people grocery shopping can be gunned down by weapons of war deployed in a racist cause.
We have to refuse to live in a country where fear and lies are packaged for power and for profit.
White supremacy is a poison running through our body politic.
We need to say as clearly and forcefully as we can that the ideology of white supremacy has no place in America.
Failure to do so will be complicity. Silence will be complicity. We cannot remain silent.
In America, evil will not win.
Hate will not prevail.
White supremacy will not have the last word.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1526641001091178498
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Cawthorn didn't lose because he was too extreme, supported the 1/6 insurrection, praised Hitler, tweeted violence towards Democrats, called Ukraine's President Zelenskyy a thug, assaulted multiple women. He lost because he squealed on unknown members of the Republican Party for attending wild cocaine parties. After he revealed that private information in an interview, the GOP establishment destroyed him by leaking photos of him dressed up in women's lingerie and in an intimate setting with another man. They were angry he broke their code of silence and they ruined him. Donald Trump begged voters in his district to give Cawthorn another chance but Donnie's plea fell on dead ears as insurrectionist Cawthorn was dumped from the party. So, the GOP couldn't have cared less about his previous despicable behavior because they totally ignored it, only when Cawthorn mentioned the "wild cocaine parties" they finally went after him personally to destroy him politically. Seems like the GOP wants these "wild cocaine parties" hidden from the public. Cawthorn should spill the beans about which GOP members attend these cocaine parties.
Trump-backed Rep. Cawthorn ousted in North Carolina
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Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) was projected to lose his primary in North Carolina on Tuesday night, marking the end of a brief yet controversial tenure in the House that earned him critics on both sides of the aisle.
The Associated Press called the race for Cawthorn’s rival, state Sen. Chuck Edwards, at 11:09 p.m. ET.
Cawthorn’s campaign confirmed earlier Tuesday that the lawmaker had already conceded to Edwards.
Heading into the Tuesday primary, Cawthorn faced a crowded field of Republican rivals, though he remained the favorite to clinch the nomination in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District.
But the many controversies and missteps that haunted Cawthorn’s reelection bid appeared to catch up to him.
Cawthorn drew a handful of GOP rivals last year after he said that he would change districts to run for a seat closer to Charlotte. He returned to his old district, however, after state courts struck down North Carolina’s new House map.
Since then, Cawthorn’s political difficulties only continued to mount.
He angered many of his fellow House Republicans earlier this year after he suggested in a podcast interview that his colleagues were attending orgies and snorting cocaine. He has also been the subject of a series of salacious revelations, including a leaked nude video that he dismissed as “blackmail.”
In two separate incidents this year he was cited for driving with a suspended license and attempting to take a gun through an airport security checkpoint. And he drew headlines for calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “thug.”
Cawthorn sought to cast the revelations and attacks as an effort by the so-called Washington establishment to oust him.
But Cawthorn also made powerful enemies within his home state. The top Republicans in the state General Assembly endorsed Edwards, as did Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
“Republicans chose Chuck Edwards tonight because he is the embodiment of Mountain values who will fight for them every single day in Congress with honor and integrity,” Tillis said in a statement on Tuesday night after Cawthorn conceded the race.
Retiring Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) called him an “embarrassment” during a March appearance on CNN.
Nevertheless, Cawthorn retained the backing of former President Trump, who endorsed him last year and doubled down on his support ahead of the primary, saying that the first-term congressman made some “foolish mistakes” but deserved a “second chance.”
That endorsement, however, wasn’t enough to save him from defeat on Tuesday.
https://thehill.com/news/campaign/3491377-cawthorn-concedes-in-north-carolina-house-gop-primary/
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Well Kathy lost, so it looks like she won't be supporting the Pennsylvania GOP Senate nominee after all. She has the support of several far right wing social media "influencers", so we will see if they follow suit and not support the nominee as well. The GOP establishment went after her hard and destroyed her character in the final days of the campaign. That should anger her most ardent supporters into not casting a vote for the establishment nominee Oz or McCormick who both received millions from billionaires along with Rupert Murdoch and Charles Koch. As of this morning, the Pennsylvania GOP Senate race has not yet been officially called but Dr. Oz is slightly in the lead.
Pennsylvania Sen. race: Kathy Barnette won’t support Republican nominee if she loses
GOP Pennsylvania Senate candidate Kathy Barnette said in an interview with Breitbart News she would not support the Republican nominee in the state’s race for the Senate if she does not win Tuesday’s primary.
“I have no intentions of supporting globalists,” Barnette said on “Breitbart News Daily” on SiriusXM Monday.
Barnette is running against celebrity surgeon Mehmet Oz, who has the support of former President Trump, and former hedge fund manager Dave McCormick. Barnette was far behind in the polls weeks ago but has shot up in the race and is seen as a real contender to win — despite some barbs from the former president.
"I believe we have ran out of room on this runway for this spaceship. I believe we have very little rope left to just roll the dice and we’ll see how it all works out on the other end. I believe our country is in trouble,” Barnette said in the interview, explaining why she would not vote for one of her primary rivals if they win the race.
“I don’t believe we have much longer and I believe what I have done is I have made it possible where Pennsylvanians do not have to hold their nose and vote for the lesser of two evils this time. I don’t think we have room to just vote for any old warm body with an R next to their name. I think we can do better than that,” she added.
Barnette has a much smaller budget for her campaign than her rivals, but has won support in the state through strong performances on the stump and debating the other candidates. Her personal story of how she was born after the rape of her mother has resonated with the anti-abortion community.
Barnette has been endorsed by the Club for Growth and Susan B. Anthony List, but has drawn ire from both Trump and more establishment Republicans, who believe she might lose a general election in the fall.
The battle for the Senate majority will run through Pennsylvania, where the contenders are racing to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey.
Other Republicans argue that Barnette is not electable in the swing state due to her hard-line stances and controversial background.
“My concern, whether it’s valid or not, is that I want to make sure that she’s been vetted so that we don’t nominate someone that the Democrats are going to dump a truckload of opposition research on right after the election,” Sam DeMarco, the chair of the Allegheny County GOP, said. “We know what politics is like today. You want to be comfortable that the person you nominate.”
https://www.abc27.com/2022-united-states-senate-election-in-pennsylvania/pa-sen-race-kathy-barnette-wont-support-republican-nominee-if-she-loses/
Kathy Barnette's Senate campaign fizzles out
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Kathy Barnette's Senate candidacy fizzled out on Tuesday, appearing headed to a third place finish behind Trump-backed Dr. Oz and hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick.
Between the lines: The Oz-McCormick race was too close to call as of 11:00pm ET on Tuesday.
Why it matters: The longshot candidate surged in the last weeks of the campaign with her compelling life story — which still hasn't faced deep scrutiny — while winning accolades from some Trumpworld figures for her "ultra-MAGA" beliefs.
Barnette’s past bigoted statements have come to light in recent weeks, including attacks on gay people and Islam. She also refused to concede her 2020 U.S. House race, echoing baseless claims about fraud in her own election and the presidential contest and attended the rally on Jan. 6 in Washington D.C.
State of play: Barnette's sudden rise panicked Republican operatives, kicking off a wild scramble to destroy her chances in the final stretch of the campaign, as Axios' Jonathan Swan, Lachlan Markay and Andrew Solender reported.
The big picture: The race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey is one of the most closely watched in the nation and could decide control of the chamber.
https://www.axios.com/2022/05/18/kathy-barnette-trump-oz-pennsylvania-gop
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We can officially say that Donald Trump's "endorsements" don't mean anything and are not influential with Republican voters. He lost badly in Nebraska a few days ago, with Cawthorn last night, and now with the far right wing extremist Trump fanatic Janice McGeachin of Idaho. Even the most staunch Republicans didn't cast their vote for Donnie's handpicked candidates. If Donnie has the "influence" as the media falsley claims, his candidates would be winning in a landslide as soon as the polls close instead of losing early in the night. It's about time the mainstream media acknowledges this as well instead of pretending his endorsements influence voters.
Idaho Gov. Little defeats Trump-backed McGeachin
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Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Tuesday won the GOP gubernatorial primary, beating a Trump-backed challenger who had repeatedly criticized the incumbent for not being conservative enough.
The intraparty contest between Little and Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin was an example of the choice GOP voters face nationwide between established candidates and insurgents endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
Little and McGeachin frequently feuded over coronavirus precautions and the role of government. Last year McGeachin twice attempted a power grab when Little was out of state on business.
Republicans are almost guaranteed of winning in the general election as Democrats haven’t held the governor’s office since 1995 or statewide office since 2007. Republicans hold supermajorities in the House and Senate, and Democrats aren’t even contesting more than half of the Legislature’s 105 seats.
Little was attending a Republican Governors Association meeting in Tennessee last May when McGeachin issued an executive order banning mask mandates. Little quickly rescinded the order and decried her actions as an “irresponsible, self-serving political stunt.” He had never issued statewide COVID-19 mask mandates, instead saying that local officials should be able to do what they see fit.
She tried it again a few months later when Little was away, issuing an executive order that expanded on a directive that no Idaho government could require vaccine passports. She sought to add K-12 schools and universities to the ban.
McGeachin accused Little, the first-term governor, of rejecting conservative principles, writing on Twitter that “protecting individual liberty means fighting against tyranny at ALL levels of government.”
Little, a rancher from southwest Idaho, served as lieutenant governor from 2009 to 2019 before becoming governor. He touts the record $600 million income tax cut he signed earlier this year that includes a one-time $350 million in rebates and $250 million in permanent income tax reductions going forward for people and businesses.
The 68-year-old Little also highlighted his “Leading Idaho” plan that includes a record $300 million education spending increase, plus spending $200 million ongoing for roads and bridges, the largest ever increase for transportation.
The 59-year-old McGeachin had, and frequently touted, an endorsement by Trump, who won Idaho with 64 percent of the vote in the last general election. McGeachin has also promoted Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen from him through mass voter fraud.
https://www.idahostatejournal.com/freeaccess/idaho-gov-little-defeats-trump-backed-mcgeachin/article_08b43e21-bc49-5073-bef1-fa0dc5315a81.html
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Fetterman wins Democratic nomination for Senate in Pennsylvania
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PITTSBURGH — Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has won the Democratic Senate primary in Pennsylvania.
The win came two days after Fetterman announced he had suffered a stroke while campaigning but that doctors had told him he had suffered no cognitive damage and would be able to return to the campaign trail. The campaign announced that Fetterman underwent a successful Election Day procedure to have a pacemaker with a defibrillator inserted.
The campaign still held an election night rally, headlined by Fetterman’s wife, Giselle, a fixture at his events. National Democrats see Pennsylvania as the party’s best chance of flipping a U.S. Senate seat this fall.
"Thank you, Pennsylvania,” Fetterman said in a statement. “The fact that so many of you entrusted me with your vote means the world to me, and it’s something I’ll never take for granted. I’m feeling better every day, and I’m going to be back on the campaign trail to thank you all in person soon.”
The 52-year-old Fetterman previously served as the mayor of Braddock, a Pittsburgh suburb. He ran in the 2016 Senate primary as the progressive candidate but finished third before winning the primary for lieutenant governor two years later.
Fetterman gained a higher profile in the aftermath of the 2020 election, when he was a constant presence on cable news and social media rebutting Republican claims of fraud.
Fetterman is also a memorable figure with an atypical look for a politician with a master’s degree from Harvard: He is tall, bald, goateed, tattooed and chooses to wear gym shorts and hoodies whenever possible. When he entered the race in February 2021, he had immediate success in fundraising, bringing in millions from a grassroots network. By the time his primary rival, Rep. Conor Lamb, had entered the race in August, Fetterman had established a lead that carried him through to May.
Part of Fetterman’s political strategy has been to visit every county in the state, including rural areas where Democrats typically lose by 3-1 margins. While there, he doesn’t shy away from espousing support for progressive priorities: He wants to eliminate the legislative filibuster in the Senate (centrist Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is a foil Fetterman likes to invoke), has made marijuana legalization a top priority and is a prominent supporter of unions as well as LGBTQ and abortion rights.
Fetterman has been criticized for missing events at Black churches and a 2013 incident with a Black jogger but he earned the endorsement of the Philadelphia Tribune, the oldest Black newspaper in the country, which wrote he “has demonstrated through his campaign that he is the candidate with the broadest appeal across the state and is the best candidate to represent the Democratic Party’s agenda.”
That was one of the few formal endorsements he earned, with most elected officials who opted to support a candidate going for Lamb. Following the primary loss, the congressman said he was throwing his support behind Fetterman.
"Our entire democracy is on the line in November," Lamb said in a statement. "Democrats need to be unequivocally united in our defense of this democracy, and we will be. John’s vote in the Senate is essential to protect this democracy, and he will have my vote in November. I will do everything I can to help Democrats win."
https://news.yahoo.com/john-fetterman-pennsylvania-democratic-senate-nomination-win-005644290.html
Statement from President Biden:
Electing John Fetterman to the United States Senate would be a big step forward for Pennsylvania’s working people.
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Josh Shapiro to Face Doug Mastriano in Pa. Governor's Race
With the victory, Mastriano completed a meteoric rise through the state Republican Party ranks, despite efforts from many of the party’s establishment trying to keep him from winning the nomination.
Doug Mastriano, the ultra-conservative state senator from central Pennsylvania, won the Republican primary for Pennsylvania governor, NBC News projects, setting up a race against Democrat Josh Shapiro in the November general election.
With the victory, Mastriano completed a meteoric rise through the state Republican Party ranks, despite efforts from many of the party’s establishment trying to keep him from winning the nomination.
His far-right view on the 2020 presidential election results – he still wants to audit the votes – and his attendance at the “Stop the Steal” protests in Washington D.C. during the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021 have caused many in his own Republican party to worry that he could get “clobbered” by Shapiro in the general election later this year.
Shapiro, the state attorney general and a former Montgomery County commissioner who lives in Abington Township, did not have any opponents for the Democratic nomination for governor. He has also raised record-setting amounts of cash for his campaign. He had so much cash, in fact, that in the closing weeks of the primary election cycle, his campaign bought television ads promoting Mastriano.
Republicans tried to stop Mastriano’s momentum in the last month by coalescing around Lou Barletta, a former congressman from Northeast Pennsylvania. Other candidates who had been running for governor, Jake Corman and Melissa Hart, actually dropped out of the race just last week and backed Barletta.
But it was too little too late. Mastriano garnered 40.5% of the votes cast in the primary, as of 9:42 p.m. Barletta had with 22.7%, followed by Bill McSwain with 15.4%. That was after 39% of votes were counted.
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/decision-2022/
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EXCLUSIVE! Here is the Proud Boys’ plan to take over the Republican Party in South Florida
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Members of the Proud Boys right-wing extremist group linked to its founder Gavin McInnis are openly planning and executing a takeover of the Republican Party apparatus in South Florida under an active and rebranded political front group.
Led by practicing attorney Gabe Carrera, who recently published a video of himself in-person on Telegram with both he and McInnes wearing their Proud Boys regalia, the Floridians First group has a comprehensive set of plans with a toolkit that includes sign-up materials for joining Republican Executive Committees in order to take over county-level Republican party committees.
In the largest county, Miami-Dade, the Floridians First group is led by Carrera’s apparent friend and realtor, Chris Barcenas, a Miami-Dade Republican Executive Committee member who attended the January 6th insurrection march wearing a black t-shirt with “Enrique Tarrio did nothing wrong” emblazoned on its front in white lettering. The shirt is a callout for his associate, the now-convicted Proud Boys leader Tarrio, who is facing new January 6th related conspiracy charges and is presently held without bail. Sedition hunters identify him as #USAPB.
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Second from right: Enrique Tarrio, Proud Boys leader. Left: Chris Barcenas. Source: Floridians First Facebook page.
Their efforts to obtain party appointments appear to be having measurable success.
Based on the most recently available Miami-Dade Republican Executive Committee roster we’ve got, which includes members who have been appointed since the 2020 general election, at least seven are confirmed to be members of the Proud Boys right-wing violent extremist organization.
Five members of the Miami GOP went to the January 6th Capitol insurrection rally, including Barcenas, and three are presently facing criminal charges in connection with that day.
According to a recent roster, the Miami-Dade Republican Executive Committee has approximately 142 authorized members, of which 82 of those positions are known to be elected roles voted upon during primary elections in general election years. Included in a REC membership list obtained by Occupy Democrats are notorious Proud Boys members. (embedded at the bottom)
They include Gilbert Fonticoba, who has been indicted on numerous criminal charges related to the criminal conspiracies to obstruct Congress from certifying the Presidential vote on January 6th, 2021. Other members of the Committee who are also Proud Boys members include Gabriel Garcias, who has been indicted on charges of assaulting a police officer on January 6th, and who recently told the New York Times that the party had no problem with him remaining because he is innocent until proven guilty. Committeeman Alan Chovel stormed the Capitol on January 6th. Since then, he’s been seen with Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis.
"Newly unsealed indictment charges alleged Hialeah, FL Proud Boys member Gilbert Fonticoba in Jan. 6 Capitol riot in case related to Nordean/Biggs/Rehl/Donohoe conspiracy and the Jackman/Rae Fla. group.
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REC member Ozzie Perez-Cerezal used to be the Vice President of Latinos For Trump, a political committee that raised about a quarter of a million dollars during the last cycle. He is also a Proud Boys member. So is Adolfo Dominguez-Fuentes, who is listed as a current advisor to Latinos for Trump in addition to his REC membership. Lastly, Pedro Barrios is another Proud Boy who is also an REC member.
With his rebranded Proud Boys group, Gabe Cabrera is pushing to recruit 300 people to Fort Lauderdale’s Broward Republican Executive Committee to elect “red hot spicy chili” MAGA candidates to leadership positions. MAGA refers to the acronym “Make America Great Again,” which is the first Trump presidential campaign’s slogan.
Included in Cabrera’s recruitment materials is a membership package claiming that they are ”Like America First, But with Attitude,” promoting the Floridians First main Telegram channel, and concluding that the group is an “is an UNASHAMED Red Hot Chili MAGA Loving Movement Pushing TRUMP Policies for Broward County!”
The Proud Boy/attorney also has a plan to take over Miami’s GOP districts by creating shadow Republican precinct committee representatives, a strategy which is outlined in a blog post and video (embedded below) where Cabrera cautioned Floridians First members not to use the term “GOP” or “we’ll be sued.”
An overall Proud Boys plan is outlined on the “Floridian’s First” group’s website, and their mission statement is clear:
"Floridians First mission is NOT to create a 3rd party as some are doing, but rather to TAKE OVER the local GOPs by having America First Constitutional Conservatives apply in numbers to out vote the Republicans In Name Only (RINO’s)”
"MAGA recovery” is described as a three-step plan involving removing what they deem as not conservative enough Republicans from power.
The first step, according to Floridians First, involves recruiting 300 “America First MAGA-minded supporters to join their local Republican party as active voting members.
After raising “an army of MAGA-Minded individual [sic] who are [sic] willing to participate in the local GOP!” to “Drain the GOP Swamp of its snakes and slimy politico creatures aka RINOs” before establishing a slate of “Red-Hot Chili MAGA candidates.”
The Floridians First group also wants to send out legal notices calling for a no-confidence vote to remove “RINOs” and install their MAGA officers.
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Floridians First aka Proud Boys, plan to take over South Florida’s Republican Party apparatus starting in Fort Lauderdale’s Broward County. Source: floridiansfirst.us
The final step in its plan involves holding the new officers accountable to the “MAGA SAVE AMERICA Agenda” and assisting the new executive board in vetting “MAGA-Minded Candidates for public office.
“THE BEST IS YET TO COME” is printed at the bottom of the plan alongside a link to join the Broward Republican Executive Committee with a complete membership package. Floridians First’s website continues:
“We are starting our focus in South Florida to drain the political Broward GOP Swamp. There are political fights of the swamp all over Florida and we seriously recognize that. As we grow in numbers with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ blessing us we will open other Florida First chapters throughout the state of Florida. For now we are focusing right here in sunny Broward County that is the most progressive bluest county in all Florida.”
An archived copy of Floridians First’s original website says that lawyer Gabe Carrera “got pissed-off like 80-Million other Trump supporters (President Joe Biden won more than 81 million votes in 2020) and created the group.
The above-described plan has been present on the earliest version of the website through today.
Miami-Dade’s Chapter of Floridians First is no longer linked to the main page, but a search of the Google Cache (archived here) shows that the page existed. It appears to hold some of the same content found in an active blog post entitled “THE AMERICA FIRST MIAMI-DADE STRATEGY FOR FLORIDIANS FIRST!” containing a video showing Carrera lecturing about the Miami-Dade GOP’s party structure and how to best infiltrate it.
“The program is going to be called the ‘precinct patriot plan,’ and what that is is that we’re going to assign people who raise their hand and step forward a precinct,” explained Carrera. “And what does that mean? It means you’re going to be the neighborhood GOP guru. Well, not GOP, because we can’t use that; we’ll get sued. You’ll be the conservative, liberty-loving, US Constitution flag-hugging individual that’s going to educate those in your precinct.”
From its now-private Instagram account, the Floridians First Miami-Dade group shares links with easy-to-follow instructions entitled “Become a Miami-Dade Republican Committee Member” alongside links to its Telegram channels. “Let me know if you have any questions,” concludes the instruction sheet with links to the specific forms necessary to join the Republican Executive Committee and signed “Chris Barcenas, Director of Miami-Dade Floridians First” with his phone number. (archived)
Today, the Miami Proud Boys inside the Republican Executive Committee and their associates can be found at many of the events Florida Governor Ron DeSantis holds in South Florida. Current Executive Committee members who are affiliated with the Proud Boys are Gilbert Fonticaba, Pedro Barrios, Ozzie Perez-Cerezal, Nowell Sangueiro, Chris Barcenas, Adolfo Dominguez-Fuentes, and Gabriel Garcia. The January 6th participants are Gilbert Fonticaba, Chris Barcenas, and Gabriel Garcias. Additional Executive Committee members who were at the January 6th insurrection are Alan Chovel and Barbara Balsameda.
Anyone can see the Florida governor — who is fearful of questions from the press — if they follow the Floridians First Miami-Dade Telegram channel, which Barcenas is believed to run.
In March, the channel administrator posted a link to the governor’s campaign event with famous Cuban-American UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal two days before the fundraiser at The Wharf, a popular bar outside of downtown Miami.
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Despite Masvidal’s pending multiple felony charges, DeSantis kept the appointment with the fighter accused of causing brain damage when he allegedly assaulted a UFC fighter and former roommate who only recently defeated him in a nationally televised pay-per-view match.
In early April, tickets to the governor’s party appearance at the Miami-Dade Republican Party’s Lincoln Day dinner were made available.
Since DeSantis’ appearance, though, the Miami GOP has been roiled by internecine warfare, starting when one of its executive committee members Nowell Salgueiro, a Proud Boys member, is alleged to have assaulted a woman after several people in the dinner were escorted out by security.
Occupy Democrats exclusively reported the incident last week with footage of a corresponding restraining order being served against Salgueiro at the party’s meetings in West Miami’s Renaissance Ballrooms in late April.
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Miami GOP did not use that venue for a follow-up meeting in which our article was discussed by Executive Committee members.
The drift towards right-wing extremism within the ranks of Miami-Dade Republicans has been a public and violent one with its roots in the middle of the Trump era.
Just before the pivotal 2018 Midterm elections, members of the Miami GOP led by the party’s chairman staged an unhinged protest outside of former Congresswoman Donna Shalala’s campaign office.
Whipped into a frenzy by the soon-to-be future leader of the Proud Boys national hate group and led by Miami GOP Party Chairman Nelson Diaz and future-Florida Trump campaign chairman Kevin Cabrera, the gathering of Republicans, which included multiple paid Florida GOP operatives, descended quickly into a riot-like scene. Cabrera, a former district director for Rep. Carlos Curbelo, is now running for an open seat on Miami-Dade’s Board of County Commissioners and raised $100,000 in the first week of fundraising for his Dade First Political Committee in that race.
A mob entered the campaign office’s private entranceway to confront then-Minority leader Nancy Pelosi shouting obscenities while she entered the office flanked by the Capitol Police. With Diaz in the lead, the mob terrified local political volunteers when they started violently pounding on the office’s side entrance demanding entry, earning a rebuke from one of the officers.
Nelson Diaz apologized for the embarrassing episode while facing widespread condemnation even from his former boss, Marco Rubio, only after both the Republican chairman’s emails — and his RSVP to the Facebook event page organizing the catastrophe — were exposed .
The Senator, who employed Diaz as Chief of Staff when he was the Speaker of the Florida House, is of Cuban-American descent like the former Chair. That amplified the meaning of Sen. Rubio’s remarks when he described the scene his protege led as a “repudiation mob,” an intimidation tactic used by Fidel Castro in Cuban for actos de repudio, which is when the regime in Cuba engineered mob denouncements of government critics or political opponents to sew the fear of violent political retribution, public beatings or death.
Yet, Nelson Diaz remained in charge of a Republican party political operation that welcomed violent and extremist far-right actors within its ranks until late last year.
Former Florida State Senator Rene Garcia, who won election to the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners after being termed out for a second time, is the Miami GOP’s new chairman.
Last year, the rebranded Miami-Dade Republican Party hired Brandon Diaz as its executive director. He previously served as director of communications for the Miami Young Republicans. According to the Facebook profiles of both parties, Brandon Diaz is involved in a romantic relationship with Barbara Balsameda, a GOP operative that was an intern for Senator Marco Rubio. In 2018, Balsameda served as an organizer in Ron DeSantis’s first gubernatorial campaign.
More recently, she worked as campaign manager for Florida State Senator Ileana Garcia who is best known for winning the 2020 Senate race by 34 votes after a fake candidate scheme that led to criminal charges against former GOP State Senator Frank Artiles. The fake candidate pled guilty.
Balsamera recently came into prominence after being potentially identified in pictures inside the U.S Capitol on the January 6th insurrection mob alongside Proud Boys members Gabriel Garcia and Ethan Nordean, both of whom were arrested and charged in connection to their participation in storming the Capitol on January 6th.
The GOP political operative Balsmera was indeed inside the Capitol that day, according to a former Proud Boy member’s statement to the Miami New Times.
Diaz resigned at the end of April with only one day’s formal notice to pursue an unspecified position “more in line with my field of expertise in Marketing & Communications.” His resignation letter bragged about hosting the “largest and most successful Lincoln Day dinner in the 74-year history of the Party” and concluded, “The best is yet to come.” Last week, the Miami-Dade Republican Party lost its appeal against a hefty $21,000 fine incurred at the start of his tenure as executive director for failure to file timely campaign finance reports.
The 2021-2022 Republican Executive Committee roster shows that Barbara Balsameda is still a member alongside Gabriel Garcia.
Other far-right members of the Miami GOP Executive Committee include Chris Barcenas and Nowell Salgueiro.
The saying goes, the fish rots from the head down, which is certainly the case for the Republican Party of Florida. While no footage of him inside the Capitol has surfaced, the RPOF’s Vice-Chair was a January 6th rally participant.
Chair Joe Gruters boasted on social media about sending buses to a rally that always aimed to overturn legitimate election results.
The first step in the Proud Boys’ plan involves recruiting 300 “America First MAGA-minded supporters to join their local Republican party as active voting members. After establishing a slate of “Red-Hot Chili MAGA candidates”, Floridian’s First wants to send out legal notices calling for a no-confidence vote to remove “RINOs” and install their MAGA officers. The final step in their plan involves holding the new officers accountable to the “MAGA SAVE AMERICA Agenda” and assisting the new executive board in vetting “MAGA-Minded Candidates for public office.
The influx of Proud Boys and January 6th rioters into the Republican Party of Miami-Dade doesn’t seem to have impacted their operations positively. Miami-Dade Republicans just lost the appeal of a $21,181 fine issued by the county elections department for three months late filing a quarterly financial report in 2021.
County Commissioner Sen. Rene Garcia, who is the Chair of the Miami-Dade GOP, blamed the fine on a gap between the resignation of their previous treasurer and the election of the current treasurer, Annette Hernandez.
Brandon Diaz resigned from his Executive Director position in a letter addressed to Rene Garcia sent on April 29th, 2022. The reason for Diaz’s departure in his letter is that he has accepted another offer “for a position more in line” with his “field of expertise.” Whether that may be the case, public records confirmed the $21,000 fine, which equaled 25% of the party’s campaign contributions for that quarter. A source familiar with his departure mentioned his relationship with Balsameda and association with other January 6th participants created tension within the Miami-Dade Republican Executive Committee.
There are notable figures holding leadership positions within the Miami GOP’s Executive Committee. As we previously noted, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Rene Garcia serves as Chairman, alongside recently elected City of West Miami Mayor Eric Diaz Padron. We contacted both Garcia and Padron for comment regarding their comfort level, knowing that far-right extremists and January 6th participants serve in this leadership body alongside them. Neither man responded for comment.
2022 Miami Republican Executive Committee List:
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https://occupydemocrats.com/2022/05/17/exclusive-here-is-the-proud-boys-plan-to-take-over-the-republican-party-in-south-florida/
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Biden condemns racist theory of white supremacy in visit to Buffalo after mass shooting
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Family members of 86-year-old Ruth Whitfield who was killed during a mass shooting at Tops market listen as attorney Benjamin Crump speaks at a May 16 press conference. A gunman opened fire at the store on Saturday killing ten people and wounding another three. Scott Olson/Getty Images
President Joe Biden on Tuesday commemorated the victims of last weekend’s mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, and condemned the ideology that drove the killer to “carry out a murderous, racist rampage” at a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
In a visit to the Upstate New York city, Biden and other New York Democrats, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, rebuked the racist “great replacement” conspiracy theory the shooting suspect adhered to and called for federal action to restrict access to guns.
But before talking about gun policy or replacement theory, Biden named the victims in the Saturday rampage at Tops Friendly Markets. The Buffalo News reported that 13 people were shot and all 10 victims who died were Black, in the city’s worst shooting in history.
They included 77-year-old Pearl Young, a grandmother and public school teacher who also ran a local food pantry, and Andre Mackneil, a restaurant worker who was buying a cake for his son’s third birthday.
“His son’s celebrating a birthday asking, ‘Where’s Daddy?’” Biden said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has said the crime is being investigated as a hate crime and an act of racially motivated violent extremism, with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives working in conjunction with Buffalo police.
A ‘poison’ in U.S. society
After that introduction memorializing the victims, Biden focused his remarks on white supremacy, which he called “a poison … running through our body politic.”
He alluded to politicians and media members who exploited the so-called great replacement theory — a false view that holds white Americans are under threat of extinction by a plot to systematically replace them with nonwhite people.
The suspected Buffalo killer, 18-year-old white man Payton Gendron of Conklin, New York, reportedly posted a 180-page document filled with “great replacement” talking points before traveling to the supermarket on Buffalo’s predominately Black East Side to commit the killings. Gendron has been charged with one count of murder and will return to court on Thursday for a felony hearing, officials said.
“The internet has radicalized angry, alienated, lost and isolated individuals into falsely believing that they will be ‘replaced,’” Biden said. “I and all of you reject the lie. I call on all Americans to reject the lie. And I condemn those who spread the lie for power, political gain and profit.”
Biden did not specifically name anyone who exploited that lie for their own gain. White replacement is a frequent theme on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News program and leading Republicans, including the No. 3 House Republican, Elise Stefanik of New York, have echoed its core premise.
Earlier Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration was choosing not to name anyone associated with the ideology, to deny them attention.
“The people who spread this filth know who they are, and they should be ashamed of themselves,” she told reporters en route to Buffalo. “But I’m not going to give them or [the] obnoxious ideas they’re pushing the attention that they desperately want.”
Schumer writes to Fox executives
Schumer took a different approach, writing to Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and three other Fox executives Tuesday, calling for an end to the airing of great replacement views. Carlson was carbon copied on the letter.
“This pernicious theory, which has no basis in fact, has been injected into the mainstream thanks in large part to a dangerous level of amplification by your network and its anchors,” Schumer wrote.
In a Tuesday afternoon tweet, Schumer said Carlson had invited him on the program to “debate the letter.” Schumer declined, he said.
On his Monday show, Carlson distanced himself from Gendron’s writings and accused Democrats of using the tragedy against him.
“Because one mentally ill teenager murdered strangers, you cannot be allowed to express your political views out loud,” he said. “That is what they are telling you. That is what they wanted to tell you for a long time, but Saturday’s massacre gives them a pretext and justification.”
A representative for Fox News did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday.
The letter followed a Monday floor speech Schumer gave that also called out Carlson by name and linked great replacement ideology to former President Donald Trump.
“Unfortunately, with each passing year, it seems harder and harder to ignore that replacement theory, and other racially motivated views are increasingly coming out into the open and given purported legitimacy by some MAGA Republicans and cable news pundits,” Schumer said Monday.
Schumer said the shooter’s goal was to kill as many Black people as possible. Hochul noted Gendron drove three hours and chose the location specifically with that goal in mind.
Biden called the shooting “domestic terrorism.”
Biden said radicalization could not be stopped, but that the use of the internet to advance its dangerous effects possibly could be.
“We can’t prevent people from being radicalized to violence,” he said. “But we can address the relentless exploitation of the internet to recruit and mobilize terrorism.”
Biden linked the Buffalo attack to shootings at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 and three Asian-American spas in Atlanta last year and to the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that he said inspired him to run for president.
Charlottesville rally goers chanted replacement theory slogans. Trump later defended the rally, calling some participants “very fine people.”
Hate and guns a lethal combination
Hochul blamed the shooting on a mix of hateful ideology and easy access to guns.
“It is that lethal combination that resulted in the loss of 10 decent, good people,” she said.
Gendron used a rifle with a modified magazine that she said was illegal in New York. She called for “a national gun policy,” saying that the killer easily brought a magazine from Pennsylvania that was not permitted under New York state law.
U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins, a Democrat who represents Buffalo, also called for a national gun law.
Biden called for keeping assault weapons off the streets, saying a previous ban enacted when he was U.S. Senate Judiciary chairman led to a decrease in shootings. Congress did not renew that ban when it expired in 2004.
Schumer said he would work in the Senate to combat white supremacy and rid “our streets of weapons of war.”
Congressional Democrats have for years routinely tried to pass federal gun legislation after mass shootings, but have not been successful.
Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence.
https://georgiarecorder.com/2022/05/17/biden-condemns-racist-theory-of-white-supremacy-in-visit-to-buffalo-after-mass-shooting/
WATCH: Biden condemns ‘replacement theory’ in speech during an Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month event
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Exclusive: Senate Republicans bristle after being asked about white supremacy in wake of Buffalo shooting
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White supremacists are an growing threat in America, according to the FBI, National Counterterrorism Center, and Department of Homeland Security. But Republicans on Capitol Hill beg to differ, no matter the mounting evidence to the contrary from Buffalo, El Paso, and even last year’s attack on their own office building, the United States Capitol, on Jan. 6.
In the wake of this weekend’s deadly Buffalo shooting – by an alleged gunman who said on social media he was targeting Blacks – most Republicans deny there’s a trend.
“I think it's tragic. I don't know if you could call it a trend or not,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) told Raw Story on his way to a closed-door intelligence briefing in the underbelly of the Capitol.
The close ally of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell represents El Paso, which is still healing from the 2019 attack that left 23 dead – and another 23 injured – at the hands of a racist who released a manifesto before his cowardly act. But to Cornyn, whether it’s El Paso, Charleston, Charlottesville, or the Jan. 6 attack – where Black officers were repeatedly called the N-word as they fought to protect Cornyn and others – there’s no white supremacy to see in America, a nation founded on the doctrine that Blacks were only 3/5ths human.
“It's just a cop out, trying to blame this on – I mean, it's violence committed by either criminal people or people who are deranged,” Cornyn said. “And if people want to put that in a pigeonhole or category – whether it's ‘hate crime’ or whatever – it doesn't make it any less evil.”
Other Republicans see conspiratorial tinges when they have to even entertain questions about white supremacists – even days after a self-appointed white supremacist allegedly slayed innocent Black shoppers. The problem is the question itself.
“I think it's awful. I think it's grotesquely divisive,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told Raw Story while riding up an elevator just off the Senate floor. “What it is is the media's showing themselves for who they are, which are advocates for the radical left. And they're just trying to cover up for Biden now.”
Recently, Johnson served as chair of the Senate’s Homeland Security Committee.
“We see gangs. We see cyber threats. I mean, I think there's actually more threatening threats,” Johnson continued, “I mean, there's more serious threats facing this nation than what's posed by white supremacists. Now again, I condemn it. Obviously.”
The Wisconsin senator then pointed to Chicago and all the murders there that are “Black on Black.
“Now, I'd be concerned about that. Again, I'm concerned about all violence. But I mean, I would focus my attention on where the murders are actually occurring,” Johnson said on Tuesday, three days after 10 people were killed in Buffalo. “And I'd be focusing my attention on what can we do to start preventing overdose deaths.”
Down in Indiana, there may be white supremacists – more than 15 white supremacist hate groups are being tracked by the Southern Poverty Law Center in the Hoosier State alone – but the state’s senior senator isn’t worried. He won’t even answer questions about it.
“Oh gosh,” Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) told Raw Story while heading into a Republican-only lunch at the Capitol. “I'll tell you, what's on most Hoosier’s minds is inflation, border security, war in Europe. I think the president and our national Democratic leaders would be well served by finding some solutions to our most pressing challenges.”
To other Republicans, it’s a problem, but they’re not sure anything can be done to stop white domestic extremists.
“The question is: can you find a lone actor?” Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) told Raw Story, before stepping in to buy lunch in the Capitol basement.
The former Senate Intelligence Committee chair helped ramp up domestic and foreign surveillance in the wake of 9-11, but says these cases – involving angry, homegrown white boys – are different.
“Unless you're going to surveil somebody 24/7 – and it didn't sound like it raised to a level to do that – there's that vulnerability in a free society,” Burr said, explaining U.S. law now makes it easier to surveil foreign terrorists. “We have different tools to surveil them versus domestic. I think you get into some very big constitutional questions pretty quickly.”
There’s no reason to focus attention on white supremacist violence – even in the wake of white supremacist violence – according to current Senate Intelligence Vice-Chair Marco Rubio (R-FL) who waxed philosophical when approached by Raw Story on his way to a classified meeting.
“Sadly, there isn't an ideology – or, frankly, religion – in the world that doesn't have adherents that commit horrifying atrocities. These deranged people can justify it anywhere they want, but we've had Black nationalist shootings in America. We had a Chinese immigrant go after Taiwanese immigrants in California the day after that shooting in Buffalo. We've had a congressional shooting here targeted by a socialist,” Rubio continued, “So once people make up their mind about some ideology or some belief system, they can justify it. You know, radical Islam. History has been replete with people that justify violence with Christianity. So it's a terrible part of the human condition.”
“Oh my God,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said, her voice dropping, after Raw Story relayed what her Republican colleagues have been saying about white supremacists in the wake of the Buffalo shooting.
“That continues the false narrative that Fox News puts out,” Gillibrand continued, “White supremacy is a scourge. It’s something that we have to address head on. It is proliferating evil and hate and division in this country, and we all have to stand up and fight against it.”
https://www.rawstory.com/senate-republicans-questioned-about-white-supremacists/
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For a second time, judge blocks state from using DeSantis’ congressional districts
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A state trial judge has forbidden the state from running this year’s midterm elections using the congressional redistricting map that Gov. Ron DeSantis forced the Legislature to enact, citing the prospect of “irreparable harm” to voters, especially North Florida Blacks.
Circuit Judge Layne Smith, sitting in Leon County, insisted Monday that the state stick to an alternative map that he approved on Friday, which maintains a Black-access district stretching from Duval to Gadsden counties, including parts of Tallahassee.
Smith, a DeSantis appointee, said the law allows him to vacate an automatic stay that took effect once the state filed its appeal of last week’s ruling if the interest of fairness or if the state is unlikely to prevail on appeal and if it would cause irreparable harm.
“The court finds overwhelmingly compelling circumstances against maintaining the stay in this action,” Smith continued.
“Fundamental rights are at stake and time is both short and the of the essence. There are no do-overs when it comes to elections; in essence, there is no remedy for a Florida voter once their constitutional rights have been infringed,” he wrote.
The state’s appeal remains pending before the First District, although that court could ask the state Supreme Court to take the case right away given the late date: Qualifying for congressional elections runs from June 13 to June 17; primaries are set for Aug. 23 and the general election for Nov. 8.
Voting rights organizations including Black Voters Matter, the Equal Ground Education Fund, the League of Women Voters of Florida, and five individual voters who live within the contested district challenged the governor’s district boundaries in Smith’s court.
The lawsuit names Secretary of State Laurel Lee, who oversees elections, Attorney General Ashley Moody, House Speaker Chris Sprowls, Senate President Wilton Simpson, and the head of the state House and Senate redistricting committees.
Lee has announced her resignation, which took effect on Monday; DeSantis has named state House Republican Cord Byrd to replace her pending confirmation by the state Senate.
A separate federal legal attack on the DeSantis map is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
The DeSantis plan provides for 20 GOP seats among the 28 Florida is entitled to following the 2020 U.S. Census. It also splits Black communities in Central Florida and the Tampa Bay area, eliminating two of the state’s four reliable Black districts, but they didn’t figure in Smith’s order.
That North Florida district, CD 5, mirrors a constituency the Florida Supreme Court created in 2015, citing the Fair Districts amendment; Black Democrat Al Lawson has held the seat since then. However, DeSantis complained the district amounted to a racial gerrymander.
The governor forced the Legislature to OK map during a special session in April. The House debate broke down for about one hour because Black and other Democrats staged a sit-in on the floor, but Republicans returned and pushed the governor’s map through to passage.
https://floridaphoenix.com/2022/05/17/for-a-second-time-judge-blocks-state-from-using-desantis-congressional-districts/
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Because of Donald Trump's disastrous USMCA trade deal which prohibits the amount of dairy and baby formula that Canada can export, President Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act to increase the supply of baby formula to the United States.
Biden invokes Defense Production Act for formula shortage
President Joe Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act to speed production of infant formula and has authorized flights to import supply from overseas
WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act to speed production of infant formula and authorized flights to import supply from overseas, as he faces mounting political pressure over a domestic shortage caused by the safety-related closure of the country's largest formula manufacturing plant.
The Defense Production Act order requires suppliers of formula manufacturers to fulfill orders from those companies before other customers, in an effort to eliminate production bottlenecks. Biden is also authorizing the Defense Department to use commercial aircraft to fly formula supplies that meet federal standards from overseas to the U.S., in what the White House is calling “Operation Fly Formula.”
Supplies of baby formula across the country have been severely curtailed in recent weeks after a February recall by Abbott Nutrition exacerbated ongoing supply chain disruptions among formula makers, leaving fewer options on store shelves and increasingly anxious parents struggling to find nutrition for their children.
“I know parents across the country are worried about finding enough formula to feed their babies,” Biden said in a video statement released by the White House. ”As a parent and as a grandparent, I know just how stressful that is."
The announcement comes two days after the Food and Drug Administration said it was streamlining its review process to make it easier for foreign manufacturers to begin shipping more formula into the U.S.
In a letter Wednesday to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, Biden directed the agencies to work with the Pentagon to identify overseas supply of formula that meets U.S. standards over the next week, so that chartered Defense Department flights can swiftly fly it to the U.S.
“Imports of baby formula will serve as a bridge to this ramped-up production,” Biden wrote.
Regulators said Monday that they’d reached a deal to allow Abbott Nutrition to restart its Sturgis, Michigan, plant, the nation's largest formula plant, which has been closed since February due to contamination issues. The company must overhaul its safety protocols and procedures before resuming production.
After getting the FDA’s OK, Abbott said it will take eight to ten weeks before new products begin arriving in stores. The company didn’t set a timeline to restart manufacturing.
“I’ve directed my team to do everything possible to ensure there’s enough safe baby formula and that it is quickly reaching families that need it the most,” Biden said in the statement, calling it “one of my top priorities.”
The White House actions come as the Democratic-led House is expected to approve two bills Wednesday addressing the baby formula shortage as lawmakers look to show progress on what has become a frightening development for many families.
One bill expected to have wide bipartisan support would give the secretary of the Department of Agriculture the ability to issue a narrow set of waivers in the event of a supply disruption. The goal is to give participants in an assistance program commonly known as WIC the ability to use vouchers to purchase formula from any producer rather than be limited to one brand that may be unavailable. The WIC program accounts for about half of infant formula sales in the U.S.
The other measure, a $28 million emergency spending bill to boost resources at the Food and Drug Administration, is expected to have less bipartisan support and it’s unclear whether the Senate will take it up.
“This is throwing more FDA staff at a problem that needs more production, not more FDA staff,” said Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the Democratic chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said the money would increase FDA staffing to boost inspections of domestic and international suppliers, prevent fraudulent products from getting onto store shelves and acquire better data on the marketplace.
Abbott’s voluntary recall was triggered by four illnesses reported in babies who had consumed powdered formula from its plant. All four infants were hospitalized with a rare type of bacterial infection and two died.
After a six-week inspection, FDA investigators published a list of problems in March, including lax safety and sanitary standards and a history of bacterial contamination in several parts of the plant. Under Monday’s agreement, Abbott must regularly consult with an outside safety expert to restart and maintain production.
Chicago-based Abbott has emphasized that its products have not been directly linked to the bacterial infections in children. Samples of the bacteria found at its plant did not match the strains collected from two babies by federal investigators.
But FDA officials pushed back on that reasoning Monday on a call with reporters — their first time publicly addressing the company’s argument. FDA staffers noted they were unable to collect bacterial strains from two of the four patients, limiting their chances of finding a match.
“Right from the get-go we were limited in our ability to determine with a causal link whether the product was linked to these four cases because we only had sequences on two,” FDA’s food director Susan Mayne said.
Fixing the violations uncovered at Abbott’s plant will take time, according to former FDA officials. Companies need to exhaustively clean the facility and equipment, retrain staff, repeatedly test and document there is no contamination.
As part of the FDA’s new import policy, regulators said companies would need to provide documentation of their factory’s inspections.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/biden-invokes-defense-production-act-formula-shortage-84820352
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Feud erupts among House Republicans as Freedom Caucus seeks to obstruct legislation
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On Wednesday, POLITICO reported that an argument broke out on the floor of the House between two key Republican lawmakers over how much the GOP caucus should abuse legislative procedure to slow down the passage of noncontroversial bills.
"Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee and a self-described Freedom Caucus critic, confronted certain members, including the group's chair, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), warning them that they were burning bridges with their own colleagues, according to a Republican source familiar with the back-and-forth," reported Olivia Beavers. "Rogers suggested if they keep causing headaches with their colleagues, it will come back to bite Freedom Caucus members later on."
At issue is the use of a specific procedure to allow quick passage of bills with overwhelming support. Far-right Republicans want leadership to abandon decorum and stop the use of this procedure.
"Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), the former Freedom Caucus chair, and Chip Roy (R-Texas) joined Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on his podcast this week to discuss how they have hamstrung the House's ability to quickly pass popular bills. Essentially, certain Republicans have stopped allowing Democrats to quickly pass noncontroversial legislation by voice vote, making them take recorded votes on nearly every bill," said the report. "Biggs and Roy knocked leadership and their colleagues for allowing voice votes — a generally accepted practice that saves members hours on passing legislation. Their pushback on voice votes has even split members within the Freedom Caucus, with some opposing their colleagues’ frequent push for recorded votes."
"Biggs recalled a Republican member getting 'in my face last night,' telling him he had better things to do than spend hours more voting on a bill that was expected to pass with ease," the report continued.
This comes as Biggs and Perry are among a handful of Republicans subpoenaed by the House Select Committee over their roles in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/05-18-2022/gop-exhales/
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So, are Republicans and the right wing media going to blame Biden for the record high inflation in the U.K.? These liars want to sell you a pack of lies saying "Biden policies created inflation" when there is a global inflation problem due to a global pandemic. No matter who would be in the White House there would be high inflation. Inflation is higher in the U.K. than it is in the United States.
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U.K. Inflation Hits 40-Year High, Putting Government on Defensive
Price-rise acceleration comes as British economy faces a recession, economists and politicians say
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-k-inflation-hits-40-year-high-putting-government-on-defensive-11652866547
Britain’s Inflation Rate Surges to a 40-Year High of 9%
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-18/britain-s-inflation-rates-surges-to-a-40-year-high-of-9
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President Biden @POTUS
I’m taking two new steps to increase baby formula supply:
- Invoking the Defense Production Act to increase domestic production
- Launching Operation Fly Formula to use federal planes to fly formula in from abroad
We're making sure safe formula gets to all who need it.
Watch: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1527047326476410880
"Operation Fly Formula" to aid the baby formula shortage
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden invoked the Defense Production Act Wednesday and directed Defense Department aircraft to import infant formula.
Biden authorized flights to go overseas to import baby formula. The Defense Production Act requires suppliers of formula manufacturing to fulfill those orders before other customer orders.
On Wednesday, the White House said they will do what they can to provide enough baby formula for the U.S.
Biden has invoked this act to ensure that enough baby formula products will be sent safely and urgently.
https://www.fox4now.com/news/local-news/operation-fly-formula-to-aid-the-baby-formula-shortage
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Last night, the House of Representatives held a vote to fund the baby formula shortage.
192 Republicans voted against funding to fix the baby formula shortage.
So, almost the entire GOP House voted to starve babies after showing off infront of the cameras with faux outrage over the formula shortage. It was just more political GOP theatre to cause chaos trying to score political points.
This vote was held to fix the baby formula shortage problem, and once again, Republicans in almost a unanimous fashion voted against the American people. They recently voted against capping insulin at $35 for their diabetic constituents. How could they do that? And last year, every single Republican voted against The American Rescue Plan which jump started our economy, put money in people's pockets, and funded the police and local governments. The GOP also voted against our national security by refusing to aid Ukraine in their effort to defeat Putin.
Vote after vote, the Republicans continue to vote against American families and the middle class. This time they voted against American parents who need baby formula to feed their babies. This is a party who claims to be "pro life" wanting to "protect babies" and they voted resounding "no" to starve them.
What are Republicans doing to help Americans? The answer is absolutely nothing as they vote "no" each and every time.
If it wasn't for the Democratic Party working to help Americans and passing this crucial legislation, we would have nothing, because the Republicans never would have passed any of it.
But if Republicans gain control of Congress, they will definitely vote "yes" to raise your taxes, gut your social security and Medicare, and eliminate the Affordable Care Act where millions of people will get kicked off their health insurance. Are you ok with that?
Here is the disgraceful vote by Republicans voting against American parents who need feed their babies. Republicans voted against their own constituents again, and these saps that keep voting Republican, keep voting against their own interests because their Republican Representative keeps telling them "no" and making their lives more difficult.
How can anybody vote "nay" to starve a baby? Well, almost every Republican did. Thanks to the 12 that voted "yea".
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In another vote, The House has voted 413-9 to pass a bill ensuring that families in need can continue to buy baby formula with WIC benefits during a public health emergency.
9 Republicans voted 'no". No surprise as to who the nine NO votes were:
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And finally, 203 Republicans voted against a bill to combat domestic terrorism. So the GOP voted "no" to keep you safe from domestic terrorism which comes from the violent radical Republican base like the Buffalo mass shooter.
The GOP House had a busy night voting against American families and the safety of every single American.
Democrats delivered last night for the American people. They provided a solution to the baby formula shortage by funding for formula and by keeping you safe from domestic terrorism. Remember in November.
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Full List of 192 House Republicans Who Voted Against FDA Baby Formula Bill
The House on Wednesday passed a $28 million emergency spending bill to address the nationwide shortage of baby formula.
The bill, known as the Infant Formula Supplemental Appropriations Act, passed 231 to 192 in a vote mostly along party lines. All House Democrats supported the legislation, along with 12 Republicans who bucked their party leadership to support it. Four Republicans and one Democrat did not vote.
Another bill to address the formula shortage passed in a 414-9 vote. That bill—the Access to Baby Formula Act—would allow more formulas to be purchased with benefits under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC. Both bills now head to the Senate.
Also on Wednesday, President Joe Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to boost the production of infant formula and authorized flights to import supply from overseas.
Here is a list of all Republicans who voted against the Infant Formula Supplemental Appropriations Act:
Robert Aderholt of Alabama, Rick Allen of Georgia, Mark Amodei of Nevada, Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota, Brian Babin of Texas, James Baird of Indiana, Troy Balderson of Ohio, Jim Banks of Indiana, Andy Barr of Kentucky, Cliff Bentz of Oregon, Jack Bergman of Michigan, Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma, Andy Biggs of Arizona.
Gus Bilirakis of Florida, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Mike Bost of Illinois, Kevin Brady of Texas, Mo Brooks of Alabama, Vern Buchanan of Florida, Ken Buck of Colorado, Larry Bucshon of Indiana, Ted Budd of North Carolina, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Michael Burgess of Texas, Ken Calvert of California.
Kat Cammack of Florida, Mike Carey of Ohio, Jerry Carl of Alabama, Buddy Carter of Georgia, John Carter of Texas, Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, Steve Chabot of Ohio, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Ben Cline of Virginia, Michael Cloud of Texas, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Tom Cole of Oklahoma, James Comer of Kentucky.
Rick Crawford of Arkansas, Dan Crenshaw of Texas, John Curtis of Utah, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Rodney Davis of Illinois, Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, Byron Donalds of Florida, Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, Neal Dunn of Florida, Jake Ellzey of Texas, Tom Emmer of Minnesota, Ron Estes of Kansas.
Pat Fallon of Texas, Randy Feenstra of Iowa, Drew Ferguson of Georgia, Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota, Scott Fitzgerald of Wisconsin, Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee, Scott C. Franklin of Florida, Russ Fulcher of Idaho, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, Andrew R. Garbarino of New York.
Mike Garcia of California, Bob Gibbs of Ohio, Carlos Gimenez of Florida, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Tony Gonzales of Texas, Bob Good of Virginia, Lance Gooden of Texas, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Kay Granger of Texas, Garrett Graves of Louisiana, Sam Graves of Missouri, Mark Green of Tennessee, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
Morgan Griffith of Virginia, Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin, Michael Guest of Mississippi, Brett S. Guthrie of Kentucky, Andy Harris of Maryland, Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee, Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Yvette Herrell of New Mexico, Jaime Herrera Butler of Washington, Jody Hice of Georgia, Clay Higgins of Louisiana.
French Hill of Arkansas, Ashley Hinson of Iowa, Richard Hudson of North Carolina, Bill Huizenga of Michigan, Darrell Issa of California, Ronny Jackson of Texas, Chris Jacobs of New York, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Bill Johnson of Ohio, Dusty Johnson of South Dakota, Jim Jordan of Ohio, David Joyce of Ohio, John Joyce of Pennsylvania.
Fred Keller of Pennsylvania, Trent Kelly of Mississippi, Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, Young Kim of California, David Kustoff of Tennessee, Darin LaHood of Illinois, Doug LaMalfa of California, Doug Lamborn of Colorado, Robert E. Latta of Ohio, Jake LaTurner of Kansas, Debbie Lesko of Arizona, Julia Letlow of Louisiana, Billy Long of Missouri.
Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, Frank Lucas of Oklahoma, Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Nicole Malliotakis of New York, Tracey Mann of Kansas, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Mast of Florida, Kevin McCarthy of California, Michael T. McCaul of Texas, Lisa McClain of Michigan, Tom McClintock of California.
Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, Peter Meijer of Michigan, Daniel Meuser of Pennsylvania, Mary Miller of Illinois, Carol Miller of West Virginia, Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, John Moolenaar of Michigan, Alex Mooney of West Virginia, Barry Moore of Alabama, Blake Moore of Utah, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma.
Gregory Murphy of North Carolina, Troy Nehls of Texas, Dan Newhouse of Washington, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Jay Obernolte of California, Burgess Owens of Utah, Gary Palmer of Alabama, Greg Pence of Indiana, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, August Pfluger of Texas, Bill Posey of Florida, Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, Mike Rogers of Alabama, Harold Rogers of Kentucky, John Rose of Tennessee, Matthew Rosendale of Montana, David Rouzer of North Carolina, Chip Roy of Texas, Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, David Schweikert of Arizona, Austin Scott of Georgia, Pete Sessions of Texas.
Mike Simpson of Idaho, Jason Smith of Missouri , Adrian Smith of Nebraska, Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania, Victoria Spartz of Indiana, Pete Stauber of Minnesota, Michelle Steel of California, Elise Stefanik of New York, Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, Greg Steube of Florida, Chris Stewart of Utah, Van Taylor of Texas.
Claudia Tenney of New York, Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania, Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, William Timmons of South Carolina, David Valadao of California, Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, Beth Van Duyne of Texas, Tim Walberg of Michigan, Jackie Walorski of Indiana, Michael Waltz of Florida, Randy Weber of Texas.
Daniel Webster of Florida, Brad Wenstrup of Ohio, Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, Roger Williams of Texas, Joe Wilson of South Carolina, Robert Wittman of Virginia, Steve Womack of Arkansas and Lee Zeldin of New York.
© 2022 AFP
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Republicans fail to keep you safe from domestic terrorism.
Second most-powerful Senate Republican says bill to fight domestic terrorism after Buffalo is too ‘partisan’ to pass
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Senate Republican Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota immediately poured cold water on a just-passed House bill to help fight rising domestic terrorism, in the wake of his past weekend's massacre of ten Black people in Buffalo by a self-avowed white nationalist and antisemite and a California church shooting deemed a "politically motivated hate incident" by local law enforcement.
The House bill passed with all Democrats and just one Republican voting for it. 203 Republicans voted against the legislation that would establish new offices across three federal agencies to help identify and combat domestic terrorism. Three of the Republicans who voted against the legislation are original co-sponsors of the bill, and many who voted for a very similar bill two years ago voted against this bill Wednesday. The final tally was 222-203.
CNN's Manu Raju reports Senator Thune, the second-most-powerful Senate Republican, is "skeptical the domestic terrorism bill that passed the House will get 10 GOP senators," which it would need to pass, assuming all 50 Democrats vote for it.
"He noted that it was a 'pretty party-line vote.' Said he had not studied the details of the bill yet but noted the outcome in the House makes him think it is 'largely a partisan bill.'"
Republicans have a long history of blocking any attempt to curtail or get out in front of preventing domestic terrorism, despite – or because of – the vast majority of extremist-related murders are committed by right-wing extremists.
Republicans' opposition to addressing right-wing extremism and domestic terrorism goes back at least as far as 2009, when, as Wired reported, "an analyst at the Department of Homeland Security focusing on far-right extremist groups" published this report about the danger of right-wing extremism. Outrage was so dramatic DHS was forced to retract it.
In 2016 Politico reported Congressional Republicans also in 2009 "succeeded in pushing to shut" down a DHS program, an intelligence unit "called the Extremism and Radicalization Branch." Its mission? "Studying and monitoring sub-sections of the population for potential signs of ideological and political radicalization."
https://www.rawstory.com/second-most-powerful-senate-republican-says-bill-to-fight-domestic-terrorism-after-buffalo-is-too-partisan-to-pass/
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Ron DeSantis ignored a real crisis in Florida because he is obsessed with owning the libs
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From far-right Gov. Ron DeSantis to the GOP-controlled Florida State Legislature, Republicans in the Sunshine State have been aggressively fighting the culture wars, defending the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, railing against critical race theory and punishing Disney for not being on board with their agenda. Washington Post opinion writer Lisette Alvarez, in a biting column published on May 19, argues that Florida Republicans have been putting so much time and energy into owning the liberals that they neglected a very real problem: Florida’s “property insurance crisis.”
That crisis, Alvarez writes, is so “dire” that DeSantis has “ordered state lawmakers back into a special session” that is scheduled to start on Monday, May 23. In Florida, property owners are facing a combination of canceled policies and major rate hikes.
Republicans in the Florida State Legislature, Alvarez observes, “squandered weeks of the regular session trying to control what teachers and corporations can say and do instead of addressing a mess that alarms millions of Floridians: a meltdown in the home insurance market.”
“Let’s look at what Floridians face: skyrocketing property insurance premiums, up 25% from 2020 to 2021 on average, but in some cases tripling in one year, according to the Insurance Information Institute, a nonpartisan, nonprofit trade group that tracks industry trends,” Alvarez writes. “The average cost of homeowner’s insurance in Florida was $3600 in 2021, double the rate for the rest of the country. That’s if you can even get insurance.”
Alvarez continues, “In the past 12 months, more than 400,000 Florida home policies have been dropped, most of them in the past 90 days, according to the Institute. One insurance holding company, this week, announced 68,200 cancellations.”
Mark Friedlander, spokesman for the Insurance Information Institute, has described Florida as the “most volatile property insurance market in the country,” warning that it is “headed for collapse.”
In Florida, Alvarez notes, private insurance companies are “reluctant to take new clients” — which is why “many homeowners have no choice but to enroll with Citizens, Florida’s state-run, nonprofit insurer.”
“Funded by premiums and taxpayers, Citizens was designed to be a last-ditch insurer, yet it is now the largest in Florida,” Alvarez explains. “The 420,000 policies it had in October 2019 have more than doubled. Soon, it will top 1 million, according to the insurance institute. If a large hurricane hits Florida, Citizens will quickly deplete its reserves — it had $166 million in underwriting losses last year — and taxpayers will have to make up the difference.”
Alvarez adds, “Plus, Citizens is limited: It only insures houses valued less than $700,000, or $1 million in Miami-Dade and the Florida Keys.”
Alvarez points out that because of its insurance crisis, Florida is becoming increasingly “inaccessible” for first-time homeowners.
“Those who do have private insurance often face new, arbitrary rules — such as requiring roofs to be younger than 15 years old — or risk being cut loose, even by Progressive and other large insurers,” Alvarez warns. “The spiraling costs of property insurance have made Florida, one of the most expensive housing markets in the country, even more inaccessible, especially for first-time and middle-class buyers.”
https://www.alternet.org/2022/05/ron-desantis-ignored-real-crisis/
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Republicans sic 'army of lawyers' on each other as Dr. Oz faces recount
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Republicans Dr. Mehmet Oz and David McCormick are "preparing for a drawn-out vote-counting process marked by hand-to-hand combat behind the scenes" according to a new report by Politico.
The television doctor's lead has shrunk to 1,083 votes in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate, which is one-tenth of a percentage point.
"Despite essentially being tied, the Oz and McCormick teams are both publicly projecting confidence that they will be on top once all the ballots are counted. By state law, an automatic recount will be triggered if the race comes down to half of one percent or less — unless the runner-up backs down and officially declines a recount," Politico explained. "But at this juncture, neither camp is signaling that they’ll throw in the towel. Instead, Pennsylvania Republicans are predicting trench warfare that could drag out for weeks — and be fought in the media, as well as potentially in the courts — in the state’s closely watched primary."
An extended primary could exacerbate GOP delusions of vote fraud and depress Republican turnout in the general election, Dave Wasserman of the nonpartisan Cook Political Reporter explained on MSNBC.
"Both Oz and McCormick have enlisted alumni from former President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign to gird themselves for a potential recount," Politico explained. "Mike Roman, the director of Trump’s Election Day operations, is helping the McCormick team, according to a source familiar with his efforts. The Oz campaign has brought onboard James Fitzpatrick, who led Pennsylvania’s Election Day operations for Trump. Wally Zimolong, a Pennsylvania-based attorney, is also working for McCormick."
A recount must be completed by June 7.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/19/oz-mccormick-pa-senate-race-00033961
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All Republicans except for Adam Kinzinger voted against fighting domestic terrorism in the United States.
How can anybody in Congress vote against keeping Americans safe against violent extremists and hate groups?
Republicans are telling their own constituents and Americans across the country that they are soft on crime and don't care about their safety.
Once again, Democrats deliver by fighting against violent domestic terrorism.
House passes bill to aid fight against domestic terrorism after Buffalo supermarket shooting
The vote was 222-203, with all Democrats voting in favor of the proposal.
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In the wake of the Buffalo, New York, supermarket shooting that left 10 Black people dead, the House on Wednesday approved a measure to beef up federal efforts to combat domestic terrorism and white supremacy.
The vote was 222-203, with Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Illinois, voting with all Democrats in favor of the proposal.
The bill from Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Illinois, would create new offices within the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation to "monitor, analyze, investigate, and prosecute domestic terrorism."
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., and other progressives were initially wary of the measure earlier this year, but reached an agreement on language in talks with leadership and the American Civil Liberties Union to address concerns about the potential infringement on Americans' First Amendment rights.
"I was proud to lead my colleagues in a successful effort to strengthen protections in this bill for protesters, narrow the domestic terrorism definition, and enhance the scope of Congressional oversight to ensure that civil rights and civil liberties continue to be protected," Bush said in a statement to ABC News. "As an activist, I know first-hand the ways in which law enforcement agencies have targeted, surveilled and prosecuted marginalized communities."
All Republicans besides Kinzinger opposed the measure, arguing that it would be duplicative and could be used to target parents raising concerns at local school board meetings.
That could jeopardize its passage through the Senate, where Democrats have pledged to hold a vote but need the support of ten Republicans to advance legislation past the 60-vote threshold.
"By diverting resources that could be used to actually combat domestic terrorism and mandating investigations into the armed services and law enforcement, this bill further weaponizes and emboldens the DOJ to target Americans' First Amendment rights and go after those who they see as political threats," House GOP Whip Steve Scalise's office wrote to Republican lawmakers in a memo encouraging them to vote against the measure.
The Justice Department and Attorney General Merrick Garland have said Republicans are mischaracterizing a memo issued last fall to the FBI and U.S. attorneys' offices around the country encouraging them to meet with local law enforcement partners to address a rising number of threats against local school board officials.
Even Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who co-sponsored the original resolution introduced with Schneider, said he was "torn" on the bill ahead of passage, and ultimately voted against it.
"Maybe for four months after I put my name on that bill, every meeting I went to, I had people upset I was on that bill," he told ABC News. "They said, 'Will I be investigated because I am pro-life?' I heard overwhelming feedback."
The Justice Department has already established a domestic terrorism unit, and the Biden administration has requested funding from Congress to support 60 attorneys focused on domestic terrorism cases.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has called domestic terrorism one of the greatest threats to the United States.
The problem of domestic terrorism has been metastasizing across the country for a long time now and it's not going away anytime soon," Wray told a Congressional panel in March of 2021. "At the FBI, we've been sounding the alarm on it for a number of years now."
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/house-vote-domestic-terrorism-bill-buffalo-supermarket-shooting/story?id=84805890
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Republicans are on a roll voting against Americans.
On Wednesday, Republicans in the House voted not to fund money to supply baby formula to babies that need it. House Republicans also voted against fighting domestic terrorism.
On Thursday the Republicans in the Senate killed the Restaurant Revitalization Fund which helps small businesses all across America that were affected by the pandemic.
And for good measure, also on Thursday, House Republicans voted against the gas price-gouging bill which would prevent oil companies from gouging consumers at the pump. 4 disgraceful Democrats voted against this bill too. President Biden has been asking Congress to pass this bill so we can have affordable gas prices again.
So, for two weeks we saw Republicans feigning outrage over the baby formula shortage trying to attack President Biden which he had no control over. Then when the bill was brought to the House floor to fund baby formula, Republicans voted against it.
Then we see these same right wing Republicans on Twitter and tv screaming about high gas prices as they falsley blame President Biden for it. And once again, when the bill comes to the House floor to stop these big oil companies from gouging consumers at the pump, the Republicans all vote against it.
Do you see a pattern here? Republicans couldn't care less about high gas prices or that there was a baby formula shortage. They just want to grandstand infront of the cameras and go on Twitter to attack President Biden hoping to lower his popularity. It's all GOP political theatre. They scream and yell for show, and when it comes time to vote, they all vote against what they were screaming for.
The simple fact is, Republicans want gas prices to remain high so they can keep attacking President Biden for it. That's their main talking point. If this bill passes the Senate, then gas prices would quickly fall because oil companies won't be able to artificially keep gas prices high. And when that happens, the GOP will lose their talking point. Also, corrupt Republicans and a few corrupt Democrats take money from Big Oil Companies so there is no way they would vote against their cash cow because they would lose their campaign money Big Oil gives them. So, Republicans voted no to keep gas prices high and Senate Republicans will do the same because they don't care about you.
Once again, it's the Democrats working hard for Americans voting to lower gas prices and to make people's lives more affordable.
House Dems pass gas price-gouging bill
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The House's Democratic majority overcame some internal opposition to pass legislation on Thursday addressing high gas prices by cracking down on high price gouging from oil companies.
The bill was approved along party lines in a vote of 217-207. Four Democrats -- Texas' Lizzie Fletcher, Jared Golden of Maine, Stephanie Murphy of Florida and Kathleen Rice of New York -- joined all Republicans in the chamber in voting against the legislation.
The Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act, introduced by Reps. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., and Katie Porter, D-Calif., would give the president the authority to issue an energy emergency proclamation that would make it unlawful for companies to increase fuel prices to "unconscionably excessive" levels.
It would also expand the powers of the Federal Trade Commission to investigate alleged price gouging in the industry and would direct any penalties toward funding weatherization and low-income energy assistance.
"The problem is Big Oil is keeping supply artificially low so prices and profits stay high. Now I think that when the market is broken, that's when Congress has to step in to protect American consumers," Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a hearing on Monday. "And that's what this bill does: It empowers the FTC to go after the gougers and empowers the agency to effectively monitor and report on market manipulation."
Oil executives previously testified before Congress to address concerns about their prices but insisted it was the result of larger forces, including supply and demand.
"If you don't support legislation to stop price gouging, you are for price gouging," Speaker Nancy Pelosi told members during a whip meeting on Wednesday.
Though the legislation passed in the House, it faces a tough climb in the Senate. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., promised to bring the bill to the floor -- though it has no pathway to passage without GOP support.
Lawmakers had discussed introducing other legislation to lower gas prices such as measures codifying a federal gas tax holiday. That proposal didn't gain traction among Democratic leaders, like Pelosi, who argued consumers wouldn't benefit.
"I think we need to start with something like this bill and see what we can do," Rep. Porter told ABC News. "I think it is better to invest in those [gas tax holidays] through something like the infrastructure bill, which I supported."
AFP
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Don't let Republicans tell you they are for small business and restaurant owners. They are not. Republicans just killed a bill that would have helped restaurant owners all across America. Then after they killed it they make lame excuses. Americans want action and not excuses. This isn't a Republican or a Democrat issue, this is an American issue and people's livelihoods are at stake. Republicans just killed their restaurant businesses.
Senate votes to kill the $40 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund round two
52 Senators voted to advance the bill on Thursday -- not enough votes to pass this crucial round of financing for restaurants that did not receive it the first time around
The Senate declined to advance the bipartisan $48 billion Small Business COVID Relief Act (which included a $40 billion replenishment of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund) in a vote on Tuesday. The bill received 52 “yes” votes, which was eight votes shy of the amount needed to begin debate on the bill.
This is likely the death knell for the replenishment bill, which was first proposed last summer and would have funded the 265,000 restaurant and bar operators that applied and were denied funding (more than two-thirds of total applicants).
“Today, a Senate filibuster dashed the promise made to more than 177,000 small business owners in communities across the country” Sean Kennedy, executive vice president of public affairs for the National Restaurant Association said in a statement. “These restaurant owners believed the creation of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund was a down payment, and that the Senate would complete the mission with this vote […] While there are valid questions about government spending and inflation, restaurants should not be caught in the crossfire."
Republicans voted against advancing the bill to the floor for debate.
"I think we've been talking to restaurant people about this issue; then we talk to the hospital people about needing money,” Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) told Roll Call earlier this week. “If you respond to all these — and I think it might be unfair to respond to one, rather than all of them — you could easily have another trillion-dollar package.”
Other Republican Senators, including Mitt Romney (R-Utah), claimed in interviews with Roll Call that they were not aware of the bill, but would likely vote against it.
On the other side of the aisle, Democrats believed that even though the country is no longer in emergency mode, that the $40 billion of funding should be treated as such because the first round of RRF funding during the crisis could not cover all who were eligible and applied.
During the last round of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund in May 2021, the U.S. Small Business Administration at first wanted to prioritize businesses owned by women, minorities and veterans, but after a series of discrimination lawsuits, were required to abandon this prioritization. As a result, many businesses that were awarded RRF funding controversially had their grants rescinded.
This is not the first time over the past year that restaurants have gotten their hopes up for a restaurant relief refill.
In June, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act of 2021 was introduced as a $60 billion piece of legislation in a bipartisan effort by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Roger Wicker (R-Minn.) and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.). Other efforts included House Republicans introducing similar legislation — the ENTRÉE Act — which would have added $60 billion funds to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, with funding provided by unspent EIDLs and funds from Biden’s American Rescue Plan, and another piece of legislation introduced by Senate Democrats that would have added $48 billion in emergency funding to the depleted Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
This final vote on Thursday was the last hope for restaurants.
"Neighborhood restaurants nationwide have held out hope for this program, selling their homes, cashing out retirement funds, or taking personal loans in an effort to keep their employees working and their doors open,” Erika Polmar, Executive Director of the Independent Restaurant Coalition said in a statement. “We estimate more than half of the 177,300 restaurants waiting for an RRF grant will close in the next few months as a result of Congressional inaction.”
AFP
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President Biden arrives in South Korea for talks with President Yoon
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OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in South Korea on Friday, the first leg of his first trip to Asia as president.
Biden was greeted at the U.S. air base at Osan by South Korean foreign minister Park Jin, and the commanding general of U.S. forces in Korea, Paul LaCamera, among other American and South Korean officials.
Biden was due to meet with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol later Friday at a Samsung Electronics plant, ahead of a full day of events on Saturday.
The visit will be the first meeting between the two leaders. Yoon took office on May 10, and has vowed to deepen ties with Washington.
The South Korean president hopes to gain assurances from Biden that the United States will strengthen its deterrence against North Korean threats, while expanding the decades-old alliance to tackle other issues.
Biden, meanwhile, is expected to bring a theme of countering China's presence in the region.
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© Reuters
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We keep hearing the phony "America First" slogan from Republicans.
Well, they had several bills to vote on the last two days to put "America First" and they voted against every single one of them. How is that putting "America First" when they vote against the best interests of Americans?
The GOP Senate killed a bill that would have helped small businesses and restaurants all across America. Yet they claim they are for small business owners. That's a lie because Senate Republicans voted against small businesses owners yesterday.
The GOP House after they were feigning outrage over the baby formula shortage voted against funding for baby formula to get it back on the shelves for parents. Yet they claim they are "pro life" and for families. That's a lie because they are not "pro life". The GOP would have let babies starve because they did nothing to fund for the shortage. It was the Democrats who passed the bill to end the baby formula shortage.
The GOP House voted against a bill to stop Big Oil Companies from gouging consumers at the pump. They claim they want low gas prices but this bill would have lowered gas prices and they voted against it. Another GOP lie. The GOP is in bed with the oil industry and their vote just proved it. The GOP sided with Big Oil over the consumers by voting against a bill to lower gas prices and to stop Big Oil gouging.
The GOP House voted against a bill for Domestic Terrorism Prevention. We have a serious problem with white supremacy and violence thanks to Donald Trump, the right wing media, and GOP politicians who promote racist conspiracy theories to incite these radical domestic terrorists and neo nazi hate groups to cause violence. The number one job of an elected official is to keep communities safe, but the GOP refused to keep us safe. Republicans claim they are tough on crime but they just voted to show Americans they are soft on crime and violence.
Vote after vote the GOP votes against Americans. The GOP wants to sunset social security and Medicare meaning that Congress will have to vote for both to keep the programs running. After all this voting against Americans, do you honestly think the GOP would vote "yes" to save social security and Medicare when it's on the line? If you think they would, then I have ocean front property to sell you in the middle of the desert.
So, after all these "no votes" by Republicans....how are they "putting America First" when they voted against their own constituents?
What are the Republicans for? They voted against babies & parents, consumers, restaurant and small business owners, and the safety of all Americans. Sorry, that's not "America First" by voting against all Americans each time a bill comes to the floor.
If it wasn't for Democrats, we would have nothing, and we certainly wouldn't have the lowest unemployment rate in over 50 years and the most jobs created in history at 8.3 million and counting. It's Democrats who are getting the job done and doing the work Americans expect. Republicans are just there to troll and to cause chaos and division.
The GOP is the do nothing party and their voting record proves it because they do nothing to help the American people.
Full List of 203 Republicans Who Voted Against Domestic Terrorism Bill
The House of Representatives passed new legislation designed to deal with the threat of domestic terrorism on Wednesday along a largely party line vote, with just one Republican in favor.
Members of Congress approved the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act by a vote of 222 to 203, with Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois joining Democrats in voting yes.
Four Republican members of the House didn't vote on the new legislation, which was passed in the wake of a mass shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York, that left 10 people dead.
President Joe Biden has described the attack, which authorities believe may have been racially motivated, as "domestic terrorism."
The bill would create an office of domestic terrorism in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI. It will now head to the evenly divide Senate.
This is the list of Republicans who voted against the bill, grouped by state in the link below.
https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-203-republicans-voted-against-domestic-terrorism-bill-1708018
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President Biden @POTUS
I just toured a cutting-edge plant in the Republic of Korea that makes some of the most advanced semiconductor chips in the world. Thanks to the investment that Samsung is making, the United States will have a facility like this one in Texas — creating 3,000 good-paying jobs.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1527658443510775809
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Data out today shows that under President Biden's economic policies:
- 17 States have the lowest unemployment ON RECORD
- US to outgrow China for the first time in 46 years!
US Growth Seen Outpacing China’s for First Time Since 1976
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-20/us-growth-seen-outpacing-china-s-for-first-time-since-1976
Today, 17 states are at their lowest level of unemployment on record!
Here are the states with their lowest unemployment rates on record as of this morning:
https://whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/20/statement-from-president-biden-on-record-low-state-unemployment-rates/
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Republicans are on a roll voting against Americans.
On Wednesday, Republicans in the House voted not to fund money to supply baby formula to babies that need it. House Republicans also voted against fighting domestic terrorism.
On Thursday the Republicans in the Senate killed the Restaurant Revitalization Fund which helps small businesses all across America that were affected by the pandemic.
And for good measure, also on Thursday, House Republicans voted against the gas price-gouging bill which would prevent oil companies from gouging consumers at the pump. 4 disgraceful Democrats voted against this bill too. President Biden has been asking Congress to pass this bill so we can have affordable gas prices again.
So, for two weeks we saw Republicans feigning outrage over the baby formula shortage trying to attack President Biden which he had no control over. Then when the bill was brought to the House floor to fund baby formula, Republicans voted against it.
Then we see these same right wing Republicans on Twitter and tv screaming about high gas prices as they falsley blame President Biden for it. And once again, when the bill comes to the House floor to stop these big oil companies from gouging consumers at the pump, the Republicans all vote against it.
Do you see a pattern here? Republicans couldn't care less about high gas prices or that there was a baby formula shortage. They just want to grandstand infront of the cameras and go on Twitter to attack President Biden hoping to lower his popularity. It's all GOP political theatre. They scream and yell for show, and when it comes time to vote, they all vote against what they were screaming for.
The simple fact is, Republicans want gas prices to remain high so they can keep attacking President Biden for it. That's their main talking point. If this bill passes the Senate, then gas prices would quickly fall because oil companies won't be able to artificially keep gas prices high. And when that happens, the GOP will lose their talking point. Also, corrupt Republicans and a few corrupt Democrats take money from Big Oil Companies so there is no way they would vote against their cash cow because they would lose their campaign money Big Oil gives them. So, Republicans voted no to keep gas prices high and Senate Republicans will do the same because they don't care about you.
Once again, it's the Democrats working hard for Americans voting to lower gas prices and to make people's lives more affordable.
House Dems pass gas price-gouging bill
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The House's Democratic majority overcame some internal opposition to pass legislation on Thursday addressing high gas prices by cracking down on high price gouging from oil companies.
The bill was approved along party lines in a vote of 217-207. Four Democrats -- Texas' Lizzie Fletcher, Jared Golden of Maine, Stephanie Murphy of Florida and Kathleen Rice of New York -- joined all Republicans in the chamber in voting against the legislation.
The Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act, introduced by Reps. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., and Katie Porter, D-Calif., would give the president the authority to issue an energy emergency proclamation that would make it unlawful for companies to increase fuel prices to "unconscionably excessive" levels.
It would also expand the powers of the Federal Trade Commission to investigate alleged price gouging in the industry and would direct any penalties toward funding weatherization and low-income energy assistance.
"The problem is Big Oil is keeping supply artificially low so prices and profits stay high. Now I think that when the market is broken, that's when Congress has to step in to protect American consumers," Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a hearing on Monday. "And that's what this bill does: It empowers the FTC to go after the gougers and empowers the agency to effectively monitor and report on market manipulation."
Oil executives previously testified before Congress to address concerns about their prices but insisted it was the result of larger forces, including supply and demand.
"If you don't support legislation to stop price gouging, you are for price gouging," Speaker Nancy Pelosi told members during a whip meeting on Wednesday.
Though the legislation passed in the House, it faces a tough climb in the Senate. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., promised to bring the bill to the floor -- though it has no pathway to passage without GOP support.
Lawmakers had discussed introducing other legislation to lower gas prices such as measures codifying a federal gas tax holiday. That proposal didn't gain traction among Democratic leaders, like Pelosi, who argued consumers wouldn't benefit.
"I think we need to start with something like this bill and see what we can do," Rep. Porter told ABC News. "I think it is better to invest in those [gas tax holidays] through something like the infrastructure bill, which I supported."
AFP
Do you see a pattern here? Republicans couldn't care less about high gas prices or that there was a baby formula shortage. They just want to grandstand in front of the cameras and go on Twitter to attack President Biden hoping to lower his popularity. It's all GOP political theatre.
Yesterday, I wrote how Republicans couldn't care less about high gas prices. They only feign outrage on Twitter and grandstand in front of the cameras just so they can attack President Biden hoping to lower his popularity.
In the House of Representatives on Thursday, a bill came to the floor called "The Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act" which prevents Big Oil Companies from purposely gouging consumers for profits like they are doing now. That article is above in the quote. All the phony outrage the Republicans were putting on over gas prices was proven to be just that, because they voted against this bill which will lower gas prices for consumers. The simple fact is, Republicans don't want gas prices to be lower. They want gas prices to remain high so they can keep attacking President Biden for high prices he has no control over because Big Oil is purposely setting the prices high for profit. Their "no" vote proved it. Thankfully Democrats passed this bill and it moves on to the Senate.
Leader McConnell @LeaderMcConnell
Today marks 11 straight days of record-breaking gas prices. Getting to work, running errands, and hitting the highway for a modest family vacation all costs 88% more at the pump than it cost when President Biden put his hand on that Bible.
https://twitter.com/LeaderMcConnell/status/1527690084530667527
Yesterday Mitch McConnell, went on Twitter to feign outrage over high gas prices just so he could attack President Biden. Mitch was terribly ratioed as people weren't having any of his fake outrage. He has the "The Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act" all ready to be passed by Republicans in the Senate but instead he chooses to falsley smear President Biden on Twitter. Will the Republicans pass this bill to lower gas prices for consumers? The answer is no, they will do everything they can to prevent it from passing because they want prices to remain high so Mitch and his right wingers can scream at Biden on Twitter. Remember that the next time you fill up at the pump, gas prices would have been normal but Republicans won't allow it to be because they want you to pay more since they are hoping to score political points for the election. All they have to do is pass this bill to lower gas prices for consumers. And like I said on Thursday, this fake outrage from Republicans is nothing but political theatre. You just saw that with McConnell's tweet, all he has to do is pass the bill to lower gas prices so there are no reasons for these fake outrage tweets from him. It's GOP political theatre and all Republicans are doing it.
The United States is still paying less in gas than other countries which is significantly higher and Europeans would love to pay our lower prices than they are paying right now.
A Look at Gas Prices Around the World
Gas prices in the U.S. are often much less expensive than those in European countries like Norway and Denmark
At an average of $4.59 per gallon as of May 19, American consumers are dealing with the highest gas prices the nation has ever seen.
But the pain at the pump is actually much worse in some other countries. The global average price of a gallon of gas, in American dollars, is about $5.13, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com. But there’s a wide range in the price paid by country.
Residents of Hong Kong pay the highest international gas prices, with one gallon setting them back $10.97. Norway has the second-highest gas prices at $9.64 per gallon, followed by Denmark where gas costs an average $9.32 per gallon.
“People say that it’s terrible that the price of gas here is over $4, but gas prices in Europe are $6 or $7,” says Giacomo Santangelo, an economist with Monster Intelligence. “To Europeans, $4 a gallon is nothing.”
https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/spending/articles/a-look-at-gas-prices-around-the-world
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President Biden @POTUS
So much of the future of the world is going to be written in the Indo-Pacific over the next several decades. This is the moment to invest in one another, deepen our business ties, and bring our people even closer together.
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The United States and the Republic of Korea work together to make the best, most advanced technology in the world. This factory is proof. And that gives us both a competitive edge in the global economy if we can keep our supply chains resilient, reliable, and secure.
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We’ve seen just how critical it is. A global semiconductor shortage is contributing to higher prices around the world. And now, Putin’s brutal and unprovoked war on Ukraine has further spotlighted the need to secure our critical supply chains.
A critical part of how we’ll do that is by working with close partners who share our values — like the Republic of Korea — to source more of what we need and to bolster our supply chain resilience. That’s why our strategy is built around strengthening our ties and cooperation.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FTNwf-lXEAAaS9U?format=jpg&name=small)
Together with the Republic of Korea, we’re producing semiconductor chips that are critical to our two countries and essential sectors of the global economy.
Watch: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1527812744950472706
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Business owner in Marjorie Taylor Greene's district fears 'retaliation' for supporting her GOP primary opponent
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According to a report from CNN on how things look on the ground in Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's Georgia district with the voters heading to the polls on Tuesday, there is growing discontentment with the controversial lawmaker among Republican voters and a bit of fear of the lawmaker for opposing her re-election.
As CNN's Simone Pathe reports, more than a few voters stated they like what Taylor Greene stands for before admitting they don't care for the way she has represented them or conducted herself since they sent to Congress in 2020.
With the focus of Pathe's piece on Taylor Greene's only serious opponent, Jennifer Strahan, for the Republican Patry nomination, a few conservatives stated they are already in the mood for a change after two years of the freshman lawmaker.
According to Pathe, "The controversial Greene is often mentioned in the same breath as other Donald Trump acolytes in the US House, such as North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who lost his primary earlier this week. But unlike in the Tar Heel state, where Republicans -- including the state's junior GOP senator -- mobilized against Cawthorn, Greene hasn't encountered the same level of organized opposition -- or spending -- against her."
That doesn't mean there is ant a groundswell of opposition to her re-election with one voter explaining why he has already cast his ballot for Strahan and a local business owner wishing to remain anonymous about her support for Strahan out of fear of Taylor Greene.
Kenneth Studdard of Dogwood Books said he has a view of a local cafe Taylor Greene patronizes when she is in town, and said he already voted for the challenger fully knowing her chances of an upset are slim in the highly conservative district.
"If you're Strahan, you're trying to do two things: Hold her under 50 (percent) and come in second," he explained.
Another business owner spotted putting a Strahan sign in their shop window, didn't want to be named in the CNN report.
According to Pathe the owner "had trepidatiously put a Strahan sign in her shop window, [and] said Strahan would be more effective in Washington but requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation -- specifically the fear of receiving a threatening voicemail from the congresswoman."
"My stomach is churning just talking to you," the shop owner told CNN.
According to the executive director of VIEW PAC whose mission is to elect Republican women to Congress, Taylor Greene is a hindrance to their work.
"It's unfortunate that in 2020, we elected some really tremendous Republican women and the only one people talk about is the only one who has no business being in Congress," Julie Conway told CNN.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/21/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-republican-georgia-primary/index.html
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Biden says first shipments of baby formula flying in from Europe this weekend
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(Reuters) - The first shipments of infant formula from Europe to address a critical shortage in the United States should begin arriving this weekend, President Joe Biden said on Friday amid criticism of his administration's handling of the issue.
Biden said on Twitter the initial military cargo plane flights under "Operation Fly Formula" meant that "up to 1.5 million bottles of safe Nestlé infant formula will be coming to U.S. shelves as soon as possible."
A Feb. 17 recall by top baby formula maker Abbott Laboratories during an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration has created one of the most urgent food shortages in recent history for U.S. families.
Biden this week said he was invoking the Defense Production Act to increase supplies.
"The Secretary of Defense ordered today the first flights supporting Operation Fly Formula. Due to the urgency of the situation, these flights will comprise U.S. military aircraft and will depart Ramstein Air Base in Germany this weekend," White House Communications Director Kate Berner said on Twitter.
The flights will transport 132 pallets of Nestlé Health Science Alfamino Infant and Alfamino Junior formula to Indianapolis, IN. These formulas have been prioritized because they serve a critical medical purpose and are in short supply in the US because of the plant closure," Berner wrote.
Aptamil maker Danone SA has stepped up shipments of infant formula from Europe to address a shortage in the United States, according to U.S customs data and an analysis of ocean cargo data by shipping consultancy Ocean Audit for Reuters.
© Reuters
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New 2022 Congressional Poll:
The latest polling from the NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll shows that 47% of registered voters say they will support the Democrat on the ballot in this year’s Congressional Midterm Elections. 42% think they will back the Republican.
So, that is two polls taken by major polling firms in the last week that shows Democrats up by 5 points. When you look at polling to be accurate, you take the polling averages of several polls to determine the accurate number. Both the YouGOV poll and the Marist poll both have the same numbers with Democrats up by 5% which would be a solid victory.
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Mitch McConnell slammed for still backing 'absolute degenerate' Herschel Walker after new report
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During an appearance on MSNBC's "The Sunday Show," former Republican party campaign consultant Tara Setmayer trashed conservatives -- and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) still backing former football player Herschel Walker's run for Georgia's U.S. Senate seat by in light of new revelations that he is being scrutinized over his ties to a group accused of preying on military vets.
Speaking with fill-in host Michael Steele, Setmayer went on an extended rant about Walker who seems poised to win the GOP nomination on Tuesday.
"MAGA world is all gaga for him," host Steele prompted his guest, "How does that shape up for you? How does that Senate race against Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock look to you?"
"You know, this just gave Senator Warnock a much greater chance at winning reelection in November," Setmayer replied. "He's been doing an excellent job as a senator, he's very well respected in the state."
"And then you compare him to an absolute degenerate like Herschel Walker," she continued, warming up to the subject at hand. "He is a degenerate loser, liar, fraud and domestic abuser. And this is someone who the Republican Party has backed as their Senate candidate. Shame on [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell and everyone else who has put up with the sham that Herschel Walker is. What an embarrassment."
"Michael, you and I know that candidate recruitment was really important and something that the Republicans used to be prideful about ... and you have this fool as your leader for the Senate race in Georgia?" she continued. "I mean, not only is he a liar, he lied about graduating top of this class in Georgia."
"Let's be honest, he's also has a violent history against women, police officers, he's talked openly about murderous thoughts. I mean, really?" she told the host. "Not only that, it just came out recently in, I believe it was an AP report that there is questions about his role in a veterans charity which is something that he's used as a point is his biography and his resume as something that he's done working with veterans. There's questions about the role that he played they are and whether they preyed on veterans and scammed the government. This is so on-brand for Donald Trump and who he supports."
Watch below:
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President Biden @POTUS
I met with President Yoon of the Republic of Korea to further strengthen our economic cooperation and security partnership. We will continue to work together to confront the biggest global challenges that we face.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FTTB1ajX0AURmcR?format=jpg&name=medium)
Together with the Republic of Korea, we’re producing semiconductor chips that are critical to our two countries and essential sectors of the global economy.
Watch: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1527812744950472706
The White House @WhiteHouse
President Biden and President Yoon of the Republic of Korea participated in a bilateral meeting – affirming the strength of the U.S.-ROK alliance.
Watch: https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1528068085810356225
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78,000 pounds of infant formula arrives in US
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A military plane carrying enough specialty infant formula for more than half a million baby bottles arrived Sunday in Indianapolis, the first of several flights expected from Europe aimed at relieving a shortage that has sent parents scrambling to find enough to feed their children.
President Joe Biden authorized the use of Air Force planes for the effort, dubbed “Operation Fly Formula,” because no commercial flights were available.
The formula weighed 78,000 pounds (35,380 kilograms), White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One as Biden flew from South Korea to Japan.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in Indianapolis to greet the arrival of the first shipment.
The flights are intended to provide “some incremental relief in the coming days” as the government works on a more lasting response to the shortage, Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Sunday.
Deese told CNN’s “State of the Union” that Sunday’s flight brought 15% of the specialty medical grade formula needed in the U.S., and because of various actions by the government, people should see “more formula in stores starting as early as this week.”
Longer term, he said, the U.S. needs more formula providers “so that no individual company has this much control over supply chains.”
Later Sunday, the White House announced the first two Defense Production Act authorizations for infant formula, both coming from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The manufacturer Abbott Nutrition can now receive priority orders of raw materials like sugar and corn syrup for infant formula, which the White House said will allow the manufacturer to increase production quickly by one-third. Reckitt, owner of Mead-Johnson, can now receive priority orders of consumables like filters and other single-use products necessary to generate certain oils needed to produce infant formula, the White House said, which will allow Reckitt facilities to operate at maximum capacity.
The White House has said 132 pallets of Nestle Health Science Alfamino Infant and Alfamino Junior formula was to leave Ramstein Air Base in Germany for the U.S. Another 114 pallets of Gerber Good Start Extensive HA formula were expected to arrive in the coming days. Altogether, about 1.5 million 8-ounce bottles of the three formulas, which are hypoallergenic for children with cow’s milk protein allergies, are expected to arrive this week.
Indianapolis was chosen because it is a Nestle distribution hub. The formula will be offloaded into FedEx semitractor-trailers and taken to a Nestle distribution center about a mile away where the company will do a standard quality control check before distributing the supplies to hospitals, pharmacies and doctor’s offices, according to an administration official on site.
In a statement Sunday, the White House said a Pentagon-sourced FedEx Express flight of Nestlé S.A. formula from Ramstein Air Base would be bound for a Nestle facility in Pennsylvania.
Nestle said that over the past few months it has worked “around the clock” to address the formula shortage and help meet demand.
“We have significantly increased the amount of our formulas available to consumers by ramping up production and accelerating general product availability to retailers and online, as well as through hospitals and home health care for those most vulnerable,” the company said in a release.
"At Nestle we are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to get parents and caregivers the formula they need so their children can thrive,” it added. “We prioritized these products because they serve a critical medical purpose as they are for children with cow’s milk protein allergies.”
Under “Operation Fly Formula,” the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services are authorized to request Department of Defense support to pick up overseas infant formula that meets U.S. health and safety standards, so it can get to store shelves faster, according to the USDA.
Alfamino is primarily available through hospitals and home health care companies that serve patients at home.
U.S. regulators and Abbott Nutrition hope to have its Michigan plant reopened next week, but it will take about two months before product is ready for delivery. The Food and Drug Administration this week eased importation requirements for baby formula to try to ease the supply crunch, which has left store shelves void of some brands and some retailers rationing supply for parents nervous about feeding their children.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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President Biden @POTUS
Folks, I’m excited to tell you that the first flight from Operation Fly Formula is loaded up with more than 70,000 pounds of infant formula and about to land in Indiana.
Our team is working around the clock to get safe formula to everyone who needs it.
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I have an update on Operation Fly Formula. We have secured a second flight to transport Nestlé specialty infant formula to Pennsylvania.
The flight and trucking will take place in the coming days, and I will continue to keep you updated.
This evening, I announced our first two Defense Production Act authorizations for infant formula for Abbott Nutrition and Reckitt. This allows the two infant formula manufacturers to add legally binding language to their orders with suppliers that will give them priority.
Abbott can now receive priority orders of raw materials so they can quickly increase production by over one third where it stands today.
Reckitt can now receive priority orders of consumables like filters which will allow their facilities to operate at maximum capacity.
I will continue to identify additional opportunities to invoke the DPA and further increase infant formula production to maximum capacity.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1528545284845977601
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Biden: US would intervene with military to defend Taiwan
President Joe Biden says the U.S. would intervene militarily if China were to invade Taiwan
TOKYO -- President Joe Biden said Monday that the U.S. would intervene militarily if China were to invade Taiwan, saying the burden to protect Taiwan is "even stronger' after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It was one of the most forceful presidential statements in support of self-governing in decades.
Biden, at a news conference in Tokyo, said “yes” when asked if he was willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if China invaded. “That’s the commitment we made,” he added.
The U.S. traditionally has avoided making such an explicit security guarantee to Taiwan, with which it no longer has a mutual defense treaty, instead maintaining a policy of “strategic ambiguity" about how far it would be willing to go if China invaded. The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which has governed U.S. relations with the island, does not require the U.S. to step in militarily to defend Taiwan if China invades, but makes it American policy to ensure Taiwan has the resources to defend itself and to prevent any unilateral change of status in Taiwan by Beijing.
Biden's comments drew a sharp response from the mainland, which has claimed Taiwan to be a rogue province.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin expressed “strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" to Biden's comments. “China has no room for compromise or concessions on issues involving China’s core interests such as sovereignty and territorial integrity."
He added, "China will take firm action to safeguard its sovereignty and security interests, and we will do what we say.”
A White House official said Biden’s comments did not reflect a policy shift.
Speaking alongside Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Biden said any effort by China to use force against Taiwan would “just not be appropriate,” adding that it “will dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in Ukraine.”
China has stepped up its military provocations against democratic Taiwan in recent years aimed at intimidating it into accepting Beijing's demands to unify with the communist mainland.
“They’re already flirting with danger right now by flying so close and all the maneuvers that are undertaken,” Biden said of China.
Under the “one China” policy, the U.S. recognizes Beijing as the government of China and doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. However, the U.S. maintains unofficial contacts including a de facto embassy in Taipei, the capital, and supplies military equipment for the island’s defense.
Biden said it is his “expectation” that China would not try to seize Taiwan by force, but he said that assessment “depends upon just how strong the world makes clear that that kind of action is going to result in long-term disapprobation by the rest of the community."
He added that deterring China from attacking Taiwan was one reason why it's important that Russian President Vladimir Putin "pay a dear price for his barbarism in Ukraine," lest China and other nations get the idea that such action is acceptable.
Fearing escalation with nuclear-armed Russia, Biden quickly ruled out putting U.S. forces into direct conflict with Russia, but he has shipped billions of dollars in U.S. military assistance that has helped Ukraine put up a stiffer-than-expected resistance to Russia’s onslaught.
Taipei cheered Biden's remarks, with Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Joanne Ou expressing “sincere welcome and gratitude” for the comments.
“The challenge posed by China to the security of the Taiwan Strait has drawn great concern in the international community,” said Ou. “Taiwan will continue to improve its self-defense capabilities, and deepen cooperation with the United States and Japan and other like-minded countries to jointly defend the security of the Taiwan Strait and the rules-based international order, while promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.”
It's not the first time Biden has pledged to defend Taiwan against a Chinese attack, only for administration officials to later claim there had been no change to American policy. In a CNN town hall in October, Biden was asked about using the U.S. military to defend Taiwan and replied, “Yes, we have a commitment to do that."
Biden's comments came just before he formally launched a long-anticipated Indo-Pacific trade pact that excludes Taiwan.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed Sunday that Taiwan isn’t among the governments signed up for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which is meant to allow the U.S. to work more closely with key Asian economies on issues like supply chains, digital trade, clean energy and anticorruption.
Inclusion of Taiwan would have irked China.
Sullivan said the U.S. wants to deepen its economic partnership with Taiwan on a one-to-one basis.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/biden-us-intervene-military-defend-taiwan-84904398
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Senate Republicans Want Your Cleaning Lady to Pay Income Tax, but Not FedEx
Dwindling revenues from corporate taxes are beggaring the Treasury, and the GOP doesn’t care.
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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen traveled to Poland this week to urge support for a 15 percent global minimum tax on corporate income. These negotiations are slow going, but the Poles will be pushovers compared to the United States Senate. The same Senate Republicans who wish to impose a minimum income tax on people refuse to impose one on corporations.
“All Americans should pay some income tax,” says Senator Rick Scott of Florida, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, in his Rescue America plan. In practice, that means someone making, for example, $30,000 annually should pay the IRS more than $1,000 in income tax. A thousand bucks is an awful lot of money to someone living on $30,000 a year. But it’s necessary for this person to pay something, Scott insists, so that he or she will “have skin in the game.”
It’s a matter of behavioral conditioning—Pavlov’s dogs, B.F. Skinner’s box, that sort of thing. Without skin in the game, the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal explained 20 years ago (“The Non-Taxpaying Class”), people who are too poor to pay income tax become “that much more detached from recognizing the costs of government.” (Never mind that our friend making $30,000 already pays $2,295 annually in Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax to pay for Social Security and Medicare.) Instead, this person thinks of the government merely as an automated teller machine that spits out food stamps and welfare checks.
Should all American corporations pay income tax, Senator Scott? They don’t right now. A report by the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that is cited a lot by President Joe Biden identified 55 large corporations, more than 10 percent of the S&P 500, that paid no income tax in 2020. These included FedEx, Nike, and Archer Daniels Midland. A report by the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation that sampled tax returns from 50 large corporations covering the years 2014 to 2018 found the percentage that paid no income tax was more like 20 percent.
Applying Scott’s logic, and that of the Journal’s editorial page, FedEx, Nike, and Archer Daniels Midland don’t have skin in the game. Ten to 20 percent of the biggest corporations in America have become “that much more detached from recognizing the costs of government.” Instead, they think of government merely as an automated teller machine that spits out accelerated depreciation schedules and opportunity zone tax credits.
Yet Scott and the Senate GOP’s Rescue America plan make no mention of President Joe Biden’s proposed minimum income tax on corporations; the Journal’s editorial page fervently opposes it; and various Senate Republicans pledged to oppose it, too. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called it a “red line.”
The ranking members of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, Representative Kevin Brady of Texas and Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho, wrote Yellen last June about the minimum corporate tax. “Other countries have shown that they will aggressively seek to gain market share and strip away our tax base,” they said. “The administration should not surrender jobs, growth, or tax revenues to other countries in order to advance a partisan tax increase agenda at home.”
That was grandstanding. As Brady and Crapo well know, the minimum corporate tax proposed by the Biden administration is a global minimum worked up by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to halt an international arms race of tax cutting. A corporate minimum tax is necessary precisely because tax havens are slashing tax rates to attract U.S. corporations. In 2017, President Donald Trump entered this game of limbo by dropping the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.
Before we proceed, allow me to share a couple of charts from a 2020 report by Harvard economist Jason Furman for the Brookings Institution’s Hamilton Project.
The first chart shows revenue from the U.S. corporate income tax since 1930 as a percentage of gross domestic product. Note its downward slope. Corporate taxes, Furman writes, “are less than half their historic average.”
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The second chart compares tax revenue from U.S. corporations, as a share of GDP, to that in other advanced industrial democracies. Even before the 2017 tax cut, the effective corporate tax rate in the U.S. was, when you figured in various exemptions and deductions, about the same as in other comparable nations. But as a share of GDP, it wasn’t about the same; it was way behind—indeed, one up from dead last, just ahead of Latvia.
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Don’t let anybody tell you corporate taxes are high in the U.S. By historic standards and by international standards they are very, very low. As Scott would say (but doesn’t), corporations don’t have a lot of skin in the game.
Unlike Scott’s anxieties about the working poor who don’t pay income tax, the shortfall of corporate tax revenue is not an abstract concern. Low corporate tax revenue is a major reason why the U.S. Treasury is starved for cash. In 2018, Furman observed, overall tax revenue for the federal government was, omitting cyclical downturns, at a 50-year low relative to GDP. And that was before Congress spent $4 trillion on Covid relief (most of it on a bipartisan basis).
There are two reasons for the downward trend in corporate revenue. One is that tax havens like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands have much lower tax rates (or, in the case of the Caymans, no corporate income tax at all). Hence the OECD proposal for a 15 percent minimum corporate income tax. As Yellen’s Poland trip shows, there remain some obstacles abroad to implementing the minimum tax. But after the G-7 nations endorsed it last year, 130 nations, representing more than 90 percent of global GDP, signed on, including, in principle, Poland. Even the Caymans signed on! Congressional Republicans, by contrast, won’t endorse an international minimum even in principle.
The second reason for the downward trend is that tax laws, both here and abroad, make it laughably easy for corporations to lower their tax bills by allocating profits to foreign tax havens. Before the Trump tax cut, this practice cost the Treasury more than $100 billion annually, according to congressional testimony last year by Kimberly Clausen, deputy assistant secretary for tax analysis at the Treasury Department. The loss was less after the Trump tax cut, but only because the U.S. corporate tax rate was lower.
The 2017 tax cut included a couple of provisions intended to reduce profit-shifting, including a tax on intellectual property and other “intangible income” when it’s assigned to other countries. But the 2017 law also included a couple of other provisions that made profit-shifting easier. The net result, Clausen observed in her testimony, was that the share of U.S. corporate income in the seven biggest tax havens (Bermuda, the Caymans, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Switzerland) remained about the same after the 2017 law was enacted.
The OECD plan would go after the profit-shifting problem more aggressively, in part by shifting tax jurisdictions to places where customers actually reside, which is mostly in wealthier nations with higher corporate tax rates. Because it’s more complicated, the details of the profit-shifting proposal are taking longer to produce. They will also be harder to implement, because they’ll require alterations to various existing international treaties.
In the U.S., that poses the biggest obstacle. At least in theory, the 15 percent minimum corporate tax can be folded into a reconciliation bill—it was included, for instance, in the Build Back Better bill—and therefore would require only 51 votes in the Senate. But the profit-shifting changes alter U.S. treaties and therefore require 67 votes in the Senate.
Don’t Republicans want corporations to pay their fair share? Not on your life. If anything, Republican opposition is hardening. “I certainly hope that the deal does not get implemented by the U.S.,” Crapo told Bloomberg reporter Laura Davison on Wednesday. “That would be a terrible mistake.” Corporations don’t want to pay a minimum income tax, and therefore Senate Republicans (and, to be fair, a few Democrats) don’t want to impose one. I doubt your cleaning lady wants to pay a minimum income tax, either. But as far as Senate Republicans are concerned, she’ll just have to suck it up.
https://newrepublic.com/article/166537/senate-republicans-corporate-taxes-dwindling
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President Biden @POTUS
Today I toured the Air Operations Center’s Combat Operations Floor at Osan Air Base and met with the service members who represent the commitment U.S.-ROK have made to each other and the strength of our alliance.
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Today, I had the great honor of meeting service members and military families at Osan Air Base. They represent the commitment our two countries made to each other and to the strength of the U.S.-ROK alliance
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Thank you to the American troops at Osan Air Base. Thank you for what you do to defend our country and our ally, and for representing our country so very well.
And to the Korean forces, thank you for your service, and for having our backs just as we have yours.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1528458275230040064
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House ethics panel to investigate GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn over cryptocurrency
The House Ethics Committee has voted unanimously to launch an investigation into Rep. Madison Cawthorn for his connection to an alleged cryptocurrency scam and a possible inappropriate relationship with a member of his staff.
The scandal-prone Cawthorn (R-NC), who lost his renomination bid earlier this month, has been accused of insider trading related to the Let's Go Brandon cryptocurrency, a Washington Examiner investigation revealed.
"Pursuant to the Committee’s action, the Investigative Subcommittee shall have jurisdiction to determine whether Representative Madison Cawthorn may have: improperly promoted a cryptocurrency in which he may have had an undisclosed financial interest, and engaged in an improper relationship with an individual employed on his congressional staff," the committee said in a press release.
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) will oversee the subcommittee, and the statement notes that an investigation is not a declaration of guilt.
Jordan Libowitz, the communications director for the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, hailed the committee's decision to investigate Cawthorn's promotion and reported financial interest in the meme cryptocurrency but noted that the committee doesn't have much time to complete its inquiry following Cawthorn's primary defeat last week to North Carolina state Sen. Chuck Edwards.
"It's good that House Ethics will be investigating this, Libowitz told the Washington Examiner. "However, their jurisdiction is limited to Cawthorn's time in Congress, so we hope that they are able to complete their investigation before his term is up and they are forced to drop the matter."
Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, the government affairs manager for the Project on Government Oversight, noted the significance of the committee's unanimous vote to launch an investigation into Cawthorn.
"There is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Cawthorn may have committed insider trading or some other manner of impropriety," Hedtler-Gaudette told the Washington Examiner. "The natural next step is an official investigation, and the findings of that investigation will be important to the effort to prevent this kind of misconduct in the future. The unanimous, bipartisan vote from the committee underscores the seriousness of these allegations, and that is encouraging from the standpoint of Congress wanting to get its house in order."
The announcement comes just weeks after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) cited the Washington Examiner's reporting and called on the House Ethics Committee to investigate allegations that Cawthorn engaged in an insider trading scheme with LGBCoin.
Sen Thom Tillis - "Insider trading by a member of Congress is a serious betrayal of their oath, and Congressman Cawthorn owes North Carolinians an explanation. There needs to be a thorough and bipartisan inquiry into the matter by the House Ethics Committee."
Multiple government watchdog groups previously told the Washington Examiner that Cawthorn may have implicated himself in an insider trading scheme when he wrote: "LGB legends ... Tomorrow we go to the moon!" in response to a Dec. 29 Instagram picture of himself posing with the meme coin's ringleader, James Koutoulas.
The next day, Koutoulas was featured in a statement from NASCAR driver Brandon Brown announcing that the coin would be the primary sponsor of his 2022 season, causing the cryptocurrency's value to spike by 75%.
LGBCoin is a reference to the "Let's go Brandon" chant mocking President Joe Biden.
Koutoulas revealed in response to the Washington Examiner's reporting that Cawthorn last traded the coin three weeks before the announcement was made.
But Cawthorn has never filed any financial disclosures reporting his purchase of LGBCoin, which members of congress are required to do whenever they purchase more than $1,000 of any cryptocurrency.
Both Cawthorn and Koutoulas later said knowledge of LGBCoin's pending deal with Brown was all public knowledge in early December when the lawmaker reportedly traded the coin.
But neither Cawthorn nor Koutoulas were able to provide any records to the Washington Examiner showing that the deal was public knowledge in early December.
Craig Holman, a government affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen, previously told the Washington Examiner that Koutoulas's statement that Cawthorn traded the meme coin before it struck its deal with Brown strengthened his suspicions that Cawthorn had insider knowledge at the time of his trade.
"The new information that Madison Cawthorn did indeed buy up LGBCoin prior to the public announcement of the NASCAR endorsement adds greater evidence to the suspicions of Cawthorn violating the insider trading laws," Holman said. "If Cawthorn knew of the nonpublic material information that would radically boost the value of the cryptocurrency, and purchased LGBCoin with that knowledge, this would likely constitute insider trading."
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house-ethics-panel-to-investigate-gop-rep-madison-cawthorn-over-cryptocurrency
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Court upholds the block on Florida's social media 'censorship' law
The 11th Circuit court found that social media companies "are 'private actors' whose rights the First Amendment protects."
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Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Florida's social media bill into law last year, before it was almost immediately blocked.
As the Supreme Court weighs whether to block Texas' social media "censorship" law, a court of appeals has decided to uphold the injunction on a similar Florida law, finding that social media companies "are 'private actors' whose rights the First Amendment protects."
The 11th Circuit ruling comes in response to a lawsuit brought by NetChoice and CCIA, the same trade groups who filed an emergency application with Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito after a similar Texas social media law went into effect earlier this month. The court found that Florida's argument that social media giants are not entitled to First Amendment rights doesn't hold up.
"Not in their wildest dreams could anyone in the Founding generation have imagined Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or TikTok," the court wrote in its opinion. "But 'whatever the challenges of applying the Constitution to ever-advancing technology, the basic principles of freedom of speech and the press, like the First Amendment’s command, do not vary when a new and different medium for communication appears.'”
The opinion stands in stark contrast to the Fifth Circuit's decision to lift an injunction on Texas' law earlier this month without so much as a sentence of explanation. That decision created potentially catastrophic consequences for the tech industry, leading NetChoice and CCIA to file an emergency application asking the Supreme Court to stay the Fifth Circuit's decision. The Supreme Court has yet to issue its decision, which could come any day now.
The 11th Circuit's decision on the Florida law upheld an injunction on parts of the law that would prohibit companies from "deplatforming" political candidates, prioritizing or deprioritizing posts "by or about" political candidates and removing any content by a "journalistic enterprise." It also blocks provisions that require companies to provide a “thorough rationale” for every content moderation decision.
But the court did allow the other disclosure provisions in the law — which includes having clear content standards and allowing users to access their data — to stand, finding that they are "far less burdensome" and unlikely to violate the First Amendment.
Whatever the Supreme Court decides with regard to the emergency application in Texas, the Florida decision tees up a possible circuit split in the event that the Texas law, which is still awaiting appeal, is upheld. That could create an opportunity for the Supreme Court to decide once and for all whether social media platforms enjoy First Amendment rights or whether they should be, as Justice Clarence Thomas has suggested, considered common carriers of a new age.
The tech groups behind both lawsuits were encouraged by the Florida decision and what it could mean for the Supreme Court's forthcoming decision. “The First Amendment protects platforms and their right to moderate content as they see fit—and the government can’t force them to host content they don’t want," NetChoice Vice President Carl Szabo said in a statement. “This makes it even more likely that the US Supreme Court will overturn the 5th Circuit’s split decision on the similar Texas law.”
https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/florida-social-media-law-block
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President Biden @POTUS
I had a very productive three days in the Republic of Korea. Looking forward to what we will accomplish in Tokyo next.
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It was an honor to meet with Emperor Naruhito yesterday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The strong relationship between our two nations is anchored by our people-to-people ties and I look forward to building on that foundation during my time here in Japan.
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The U.S.-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region — and our relationship is stronger than ever before. I met with Prime Minister Kishida to deepen our cooperation on security, emerging technologies, clean energy, and more.
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Yesterday, I met with family members of Japanese citizens who were abducted by North Korea several decades ago. Their stories were heartbreaking, and I call on North Korea to right this historic wrong and provide a full accounting of the 12 Japanese nationals who remain missing.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1528877655789117441
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David Perdue attacks Stacey Abrams: 'She is demeaning her own race'
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Former Sen. David Perdue, a Republican candidate for governor in Georgia, accused Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams of "demeaning her own race" because she had suggested a plan for creating higher-paying jobs.
Perdue made the remarks while appearing at a campaign stop in Georgia on Monday afternoon.
"Did y'all see what Stacey said this weekend?" he asked the crowd. "She said that Georgia is the worst place in the country to live. Hey, she ain't from here. Let her go back where she came from if she doesn't like it here."
"The only thing she wants is to be president of the United States," he continued. "When she told Black farmers, you don't need to be on the farm. And she told Black workers in hospitality and all this, you don't need to be -- she is demeaning her own race when it comes to that."
Perdue added: "I am really over this. She should never be considered material for governor of any state, much less our state, where she hates to live."
Perdue was most likely referring to remarks Abrams made about agricultural work in 2018. Abrams later clarified that she was "the only candidate with detailed plans to invest in rural Georgia by creating good-paying jobs, expanding access to broadband, and investing in rural educators and students."
Watch the video below from John Fredericks Radio Network:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1528848054916468736
Trump-backed candidate sounded ‘foghorn’ of racism after getting endorsement from ‘low-energy Don’
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough accused David Perdue of sounding a "foghorn" of racist rhetoric in the closing days of his Georgia gubernatorial campaign.
The "Morning Joe" host was disgusted by the former GOP senator, who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, after he hurled a litany of racist attacks against Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams over the weekend.
"I don't know where to start with that," Scarborough said. "No endorsement from low-energy Don is going to erase all the things that happened there. He got replacement theory in there, the fascist refrain of, 'Go back to where you came from,' then you have an old, white millionaire being indignant that Black people might, quote, 'get off the farm.'"
"This is just, this is, this is not a dog whistle, this is, like, a foghorn blaring," he added. "And it's a foghorn through a megaphone, I guess. Again, even an endorsement from low-energy Don is not going to erase the horrors of this."
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McCormick sues over mail-in ballot procedures amid close GOP Senate fight with Oz
U.S. Senate candidate David McCormick has filed a lawsuit in a Pennsylvania court to compel the counting of Republican mail-in ballots submitted without a handwritten date on the outside envelope in a bid to close the gap with primary opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz.
The lawsuit, filed late Monday in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, asks the state to force all 67 counties' boards of elections to count Republican mail-in ballots received on time but without a handwritten date on the outside envelope, as mandated by the statute. McCormick campaign lawyers are basing their case on a fresh decision by a federal appellate court that ruled such ballots should be counted in a dispute over a Pennsylvania election in 2021.
"Both the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit have held that mail-in ballots should not be disqualified simply because the voters failed to hand write a date on the exterior mailing envelope of their ballots,” McCormick campaign Chief Legal Counsel Chuck Cooper said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner.
“Because all ballots are time-stamped by the County Boards of Elections on receipt, a voter's handwritten date is meaningless,” he added. “All timely ballots of qualified Republican voters should be counted."
Oz led McCormick by .08 percentage points with most precincts reporting as ballots continued to be counted six days after the primary election. But McCormick says that he believes he won the nomination and insists he will overtake Oz once remaining Republican mail-in ballots are tallied. With some Election Day votes and a sizable number of mail-in ballots and overseas military ballots left to count, McCormick’s claims are viable.
Going to court, however, presents a political risk for McCormick, at least in the court of Republican public opinion.
Former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Oz, is critical of mail-in ballots generally, as well as lawsuits filed to force states and municipalities to count votes in ways not expressly permitted by state law. Grassroots conservatives have historically opposed court-ordered rules changes but not necessarily mail-in balloting. But haranguing by Trump has made Republican voters suspicious of the latter and even more troubled by the former.
The McCormick campaign believes its lawsuit presents minimal risk because the goal here, unlike legal wrangling in the 2020 presidential contest, is simply to ensure that all Republican voters have their ballots counted.
“Every Republican primary vote should be counted, including the votes of Pennsylvania’s active-duty military members who risk their lives to defend our constitutional right to vote. When every Republican vote is counted, Dave looks forward to uniting the party and defeating socialist John Fetterman in the fall,” said McCormick campaign spokeswoman Jess Szymanski.
The Oz campaign has dismissed McCormick’s optimism and said mail-in ballots would not change the outcome of this contest, which is likely headed for a recount. Perhaps anticipating Monday’s legal action by McCormick, the Oz campaign issued a preemptive statement criticizing lawsuits that might seek to include the counting of excluded mail-in ballots.
“David McCormick has been a formidable opponent, but it is becoming obvious that he is likely going to come up short to Dr. Mehmet Oz. Unfortunately, the McCormick legal team is following the Democrats’ playbook, a tactic that could have long-term harmful consequences for elections in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Oz campaign manager Casey Contres said.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/mccormick-sues-over-mail-in-ballot-procedures-amid-close-gop-senate-fight-with-oz
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Shapiro: ‘Dangerous’ Republican rival Mastriano could override will of voters
Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania governor says if Mastriano wins he could wield power to choose his own slate of electors and overturn presidential election results
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Josh Shapiro, who was nominated this week as the Democrats’ candidate for governor in the electorally critical state of Pennsylvania, has accused his Republican rival of intending to override the democratic will of voters and pick his own winners in future elections.
Shapiro launched his attack on Doug Mastriano in an interview on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. He called Mastriano, a far-right state senator, “dangerous and divisive” and warned that were he to become Pennsylvania’s governor he could wield power to choose his own slate of presidential electors as a means of overturning the results of the 2024 presidential election.
“Senator Mastriano has made it clear that he will appoint electors based on his belief system,” Shapiro said. “He is essentially saying, ‘Sure you can go vote, but I will pick the winner’. That is incredibly dangerous.”
Fears about the anti-democratic leanings of Mastriano have rippled across Pennsylvania and through the country since he won the Republican primary last week. Were he to go on to defeat Shapiro, the state’s current attorney general, in November he would have considerable powers at his disposal to support what would in effect be an insurrection.
As governor, he would theoretically be able to refuse to certify the results of an election even though it had been conducted freely and fairly. He would also have the power to appoint Pennsylvania’s secretary of state – the position that controls all elections in the state.
Donald Trump endorsed Mastriano for the governor nomination shortly before the primary. The move was seen as rewarding the candidate’s loyalty in backing the former president’s attempt to cling to power illegitimately in 2020 – as well as paving the ground for a possible similar attempt at insurrection in 2024.
Mastriano was one of the most avid proponents of Trump’s “big lie” that electoral fraudsters stole the 2020 race against Joe Biden from him. He was present at the US Capitol on 6 January when Trump supporters and white supremacist extremists made their violent attempt to throw out the election results and keep Trump in office.
“Senator Mastriano wants to take us to a divisive and dark place,” Shapiro told CNN. “He has openly talked about, if he were governor, with a stroke of a pen doing away with voting machines which had votes that he didn’t agree with.”
Pennsylvania has been a vital swing state in recent presidential elections. Trump won the commonwealth by 44,000 votes in 2016, but he lost it to Biden four years later by 82,000 votes.
Mastriano is seen as being so extreme by Democratic strategists that the Shapiro campaign went to the lengths of running adverts during the primary that appeared to boost the Republican state senator – presumably on the principle that his far-right tendencies would make him easy to beat in November. The ad called Mastriano “one of Donald Trump’s strongest supporters” and said if he won the Republican nomination “it’s a win for what Donald Trump stands for”.
Shapiro was asked by CNN whether the move was an irresponsible attempt to help a candidate “because you think you can beat him”. The Democratic nominee denied the claim, saying he ran the ad as a way of getting an early start on the general election campaign.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/22/pennsylvania-josh-shapiro-democrat-republican-rival-doug-mastriano
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One of the most corrupt politicians in Washington is Democrat Kyrsten Sinema who is owned by Big Pharma. She is one of the reasons why people can't get affordable prescriptions such as insulin at $35. Big Pharma is giving her money to block President Biden's agenda to lower prescription prices for Americans. The other two reason is equally corrupt Democrat Joe Manchin and 50 Republican Senators who refuse to pass the legislation the overwhelming majority of Americans want. Who doesn't want to save money on medicine if you take it? These corrupt politicians won't let you.
Kyrsten Sinema has taken $2.5 million from corporate PACs since 2021
The Democratic senator has been a top corporate ally, opposing a repeal of Trump-era business tax cuts
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At the same time that Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema was standing in opposition to Democratic efforts to raise taxes on corporations, she was raking in campaign cash from many of the companies lobbying against the tax increases — corporate PACs have given Sinema more than $2.5 million since 2021, more than one out of every three dollars she’s raised.
An Arizona Mirror analysis of campaign finance reports between Jan. 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022 for both Sinema’s personal campaign and her leadership political action committee, Getting Stuff Done, show that her prodigious fundraising is powered by corporate money.
Her reports over that span shows she accepted just under $2 million for her campaign and $567,000 for her PAC. (Her PAC has drawn media scrutiny for spending thousands of dollars on wine, paying for a personal trip to Europe and a $34,500 payment to rent a resort in Sedona.) These numbers don’t reflect individual contributions from corporate executives or other employees at companies whose PACs gave her money.
In all, her campaign has raised more than $5.8 million in that same time, while her leadership PAC has brought in slightly less than $1.1 million. Her committees have received 36% of their combined money from corporate PACs.
Sinema received checks from businesses like Amazon, Honeywell, Intel and Merck, among many others, that have been actively fighting off Democratic efforts to reverse the 2017 tax cuts on businesses that Republicans passed while they were in power. Those groups are all part of The Business Roundtable, a coalition of prominent corporate leaders that argue increasing taxes is a threat to their future plans.
Sinema’s opposition to undoing those 2017 tax cuts is also a far cry from her campaign in 2018 against Martha McSally, when she attacked her opponent for supporting Donald Trump’s “huge tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations at the expense of our middle class.”
Accepting millions of dollars from corporate PACs -- mostly from pharmaceutical companies, public utilities, banks and hedge funds -- puts her at odds with Mark Kelly, Arizona’s other senator.
Kelly, a first-term Democrat, has sworn off accepting corporate PAC money and called for them to be banned entirely. His message is summed up in a recent ad his campaign has placed on social media: “I don’t take money from corporate PACs because I know who I’m fighting for.” Kelly also introduced a bill with Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff to ban for-profit corporate PACs altogether.
Sinema’s office refused to answer specific questions for this story, but pushed back on whether she is actually opposed to raising the corporate tax. Her campaign did not respond.
Communications director Hannah Hurley said when Sinema told business leaders at a private Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry event that, “You all know, the entire country knows, that I'm opposed to raising the corporate minimum tax rate,” what she really meant was she is opposed to raising tax rates on corporations — President Joe Biden sought to raise the corporate rate from 21% to 28% — but is still in favor of setting the corporate minimum tax rate to 15%, ensuring that profitable companies aren’t able to dodge paying taxes through loopholes and other measures.
Even so, Sinema has stymied legislation or proposals she says she supports because she has steadfastly refused to end or change the filibuster, which requires the support of 60 senators for any legislation to receive a formal vote. In a Senate that is split 50-50, with Democrats holding the tie-breaking vote in Vice President Kamala Harris, that means any legislation that doesn’t have the backing of at least 10 Republicans cannot advance.
On May 23, activists protested Sinema in Tucson for her stance on the filibuster and questioned whether she was beholden to her “corporate donors” or the “people, democracy and planet.” Hurley did not address whether Sinema prioritizes her corporate donors over her constituents.
Sinema has the benefit of not being up for re-election until 2024, while Kelly is up this year. But Sinema also has so angered Democrats that the party censured her earlier this year and she is likely to face a primary challenger. Many Democrats believe that U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, a progressive who just had the best fundraising quarter in his political career, will run against her.
Sinema has already received scrutiny for some of her notable campaign contributors in the past, including several billionaires who backed Donald Trump’s presidential bids.
She has been a thorn in the side of her party since Democrats won control of both congressional chambers and the presidency, mostly due to her unwillingness to kill the filibuster. And her opposition to key parts of President Joe Biden’s agenda, along with that of West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, has prevented much of the administration’s sweeping policy proposals from passing.
But Sinema has been able to claim victory on some issues: She was instrumental in a bipartisan deal on infrastructure spending, though the final plan was scaled back from what Democrats and Biden had initially sought.
Democratic political consultant Tony Cani told the Arizona Mirror that, while Sinema’s corporate backing isn’t popular in Democratic politics, it’s unlikely to change how people view her. At the end of the day, Democratic voters have already made up their minds, and those opinions are unlikely to change barring something drastic happening, he said.
“I personally think that the only thing that saves her from a viable primary challenge is if no credible Democrat decides to run against her,” Cani said.
When corporations give money to candidates, they're saying they believe in the same basic principles — in Sinema’s case, that she supports their interests. Cani likened it to anti-LGBTQ corporations contributing to campaigns of politicians or any corporation giving money to an “insurrectionist.”
“Voters should take into account which corporate PACs elected officials are taking money from, and consumers should take into account which elected officials corporations are giving to, because they are making a definitive statement,” he told the Mirror.
Cani also said candidates like Kelly are waving away corporate PAC money because it’s not as transparent as the money coming directly from individuals.
From Sinema’s Getting Stuff Done PAC, at least two scandal-plagued contributions stood out raising questions about why she accepted such money and what either has to do with Arizona’s needs.
In November, she raised $5,000 from Pacific Gas & Electric, a California utility company that just two months earlier was charged with manslaughter for starting a wildfire that killed four people. The company, which is the largest public utility in the country, also pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter in 2020 for a similar reason.
Neither Sinema’s office nor her campaign would answer questions about the contribution.
But the other standout contribution came from the multi-level marketing firm Herbalife, which gave Sinema’s PAC $5,000. Herbalife admitted to engaging in criminal activity for a decade and paid a fine of $123 million in 2020 for criminal corruption and fraud. The company also contributed another $2,500 directly to Sinema’s campaign coffers.
Sinema previously faced scrutiny for accepting money from Herbalife and other MLMs because she took their money while those companies were working to kill a Democratic-sponsored labor bill called the PRO Act. Local business groups called on both Sinema and Kelly to oppose the legislation last year, which would wipe out Arizona’s “right-to-work” law that prohibits mandatory union membership.
She faced additional scrutiny last year when she hosted a private fundraiser with business leaders who were strongly opposed to Biden’s Build Back Better proposal. She charged up to $5,800 for the event which lasted 45 minutes on Sept. 27, 2021. Campaign finance records show she raised $82,000 for her campaign and another $47,500 for her PAC between Sept. 27 and Sept. 30 from PACs alone.
It was one of several fundraising events she held that correlated with moving legislation the corporations boosting her campaign coffers were against.
https://www.azmirror.com/2022/05/24/kyrsten-sinema-has-taken-2-5-million-from-corporate-pacs-since-2021/
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'Bankrupt conscience': Texas newspaper blisters Greg Abbott after latest mass shooting
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Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott was blasted for his firearms policies as he began his general election campaign against Democrat Beto O'Rourke.
Abbott described the Uvalde gunman's actions as “Horrifically, incomprehensibly," which resulted in a harsh editorial from the Houston Chronicle, which took issue with the second word.
"But the second word Abbott used — 'incomprehensibly' — is just as much cowardice as it is a bald-faced lie," the editorial board wrote. "Of course it’s impossible to fathom why someone would shoot up an elementary school, or any school, but it’s hardly incomprehensible that it happened. It keeps happening, in Texas and across the nation. No one, especially not the governor of a state with some of the most inept, irresponsible and dangerous gun laws in the nation, should be confused, somehow unable to comprehend, the reasons for this never-ending tragedy of mass shootings in our country."
The newspaper said the state's permit-less carry legislation is moving the state in the wrong direction.
"Texas had 1 million registered weapons in 2021, more than second-place Florida and third-place Virginia combined. The United States leads all wealthy nations with its gun murder rate, and all nations in the rate of suicide by gun. And since September 2018, Texas has far more than its fair share of victims of mass shootings. Of the 2,000 such deaths recorded, 195 happened in Texas, far more than any other state," the newspaper noted.
The newspaper noted Abbott's comments after the 2018 school shooting in Sante Fe and the 2019 mass shootings in El Paso and then Odessa and Midland.
"As we speak, the National Rifle Association is excitedly gearing up for its annual meeting in Houston this Friday, May 27-29, at the George R. Brown Convention Center," the newspaper noted. "But also on hand this weekend, in a fierce, strong, protesting posture, should be every single Texan, including sensible gun owners, who want to stop the madness, stop the killing, and stop the NRA’s stranglehold over Texas’ elected leaders."
The newspaper suggested gun laws should be a major focus in the 2022 gubernatorial election.
"We call on Abbott, whose campaign war chest is comfortably overflowing in his reelection bid against Democrat Beto O’Rourke, to replenish his bankrupt conscience and do something, anything, to stop the blood of children and the tears of parents. We call on O’Rourke as well to demonstrate the kind of leadership, passion and gun reform policy ideas that we’ve lost faith Abbott can provide," the newspaper noted. "Go vote. Go fight."
Read the full editorial:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/abbott-uvalde-shooting-reaction-17196685.php
Watch: Texas Attorney General suggests arming teachers after 15 shot and killed at elementary school
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called for arming teachers and "doing more at the school" to prevent school mass shootings, immediately after14 elementary school students and one teacher were shot and killed in Uvalde, Texas.
Paxton, who is in a tight re-election primary runoff race, was speaking to a Newsmax host who noted that Texas is "not a stranger to shootings."
"Yes, sadly, this has happened again, and it's a horrible tragedy," Paxton said, after being asked what efforts have been talked about or taken to prevent school shootings.
"Having one point of entry, making it more difficult for people even to get in that point of entry, and having, potentially, teachers and other administrators who have gone through training and who are armed because first responders typically can't get there in time to prevent a shooting. This is just not possible unless you have a police officer on every campus, which for a lot of these schools is almost impossible. So I think you're gonna have to do more at the school because it typically involves very short periods of time and you have to have people trained on campus to react."
The host talked about hardening schools "so they're not easy prey for crazy people who go nuts with firearms."
Defending his call for people to be armed Paxton went on to say people who are "not following murder laws" are "not going to follow gun laws."
Watch: "Having one point of entry, making it more difficult for people even to get in that point of entry, and having, potentially, teachers and other administrators who have gone through training and who are armed because first responders typically can't get there in time to prevent a shooting. This is just not possible unless you have a police officer on every campus, which for a lot of these schools is almost impossible. So I think you're gonna have to do more at the school because it typically involves very short periods of time and you have to have people trained on campus to react."
The host talked about hardening schools "so they're not easy prey for crazy people who go nuts with firearms."
Defending his call for people to be armed Paxton went on to say people who are "not following murder laws" are "not going to follow gun laws."
Watch:"Having one point of entry, making it more difficult for people even to get in that point of entry, and having, potentially, teachers and other administrators who have gone through training and who are armed because first responders typically can't get there in time to prevent a shooting. This is just not possible unless you have a police officer on every campus, which for a lot of these schools is almost impossible. So I think you're gonna have to do more at the school because it typically involves very short periods of time and you have to have people trained on campus to react."
The host talked about hardening schools "so they're not easy prey for crazy people who go nuts with firearms."
Defending his call for people to be armed Paxton went on to say people who are "not following murder laws" are "not going to follow gun laws."
Watch:"Having one point of entry, making it more difficult for people even to get in that point of entry, and having, potentially, teachers and other administrators who have gone through training and who are armed because first responders typically can't get there in time to prevent a shooting. This is just not possible unless you have a police officer on every campus, which for a lot of these schools is almost impossible. So I think you're gonna have to do more at the school because it typically involves very short periods of time and you have to have people trained on campus to react."
The host talked about hardening schools "so they're not easy prey for crazy people who go nuts with firearms."
Defending his call for people to be armed Paxton went on to say people who are "not following murder laws" are "not going to follow gun laws."
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1529209566436655104
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This is right wing Republican Tony Gonzales, who represents the district of Uvalde, Texas where 19 children were murdered at their school. Another right winger stopping common sense gun laws which will save lives and this tragedy happened in his own district. Mass shootings can happen anywhere and anyplace as we've seen over this last decade. All Americans are at risk to gun violence as Republicans allow people to carry weapons with no background checks or permits. When you apply for a job, you have to go through a background check, but not for an assault weapon. In order to do renovations to your building you have to get a permit, but not for assault weapons. And the GOP will do nothing to stop this carnage as they want more guns in society.
“will do everything I can to oppose gun grabs from the far Left.” Congrats, @TonyGonzales4TX, you succeeded. You must be so proud. We aren’t “far Left” either. We are the vast majority of Americans who have had enough of mass deaths and children being murdered unable to have a full life.
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s old pro-gun tweet resurfaces after deadly school shooting
Within minutes of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announcing 14 students and a teacher had been killed earlier Tuesday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, an old Abbott tweet calling for Texans to buy more guns resurfaced on Twitter.
“I’m EMBARRASSED: Texas #2 in nation for new gun purchases, behind CALIFORNIA. Let’s pick up the pace Texans,” Abbott tweeted on October 28, 2015, during his first year in the governor’s mansion, while also plugging the NRA and linking to an article about the state’s gun sales.
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This isn’t the first time the tweet has recirculated after a mass shooting in the Long Star State. The same thing happened after several other mass shootings during Abbott’s terms, including the Sutherland Springs church shooting in November 2017 (26 dead, 22 injured), the May 2018 shooting at Santa Fe High School (10 dead, 13 wounded), the August 2019 shooting at an El Paso Walmart (23 dead, 23 injured) and the Midland-Odessa shooting spree — also August 2019 — that left seven dead and 25 wounded.
© New York Daily News
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Tragically the death total is now up to 19 children dead.
Watch: Chris Murphy erupts on the Senate floor after latest mass shooting leaves 14 children dead
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Senate Republicans were denounced on the floor on Tuesday for their refusal to address America's gun violence crisis.
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who represents survivors of the fatal mass shooting in Sandy Hook,
"Mr. President, 14 kids — dead — in an elementary school in Texas right now. What are we doing? What are we doing?" he asked.
"Our kids are living in fear every single time they set foot in the classroom because they think they're going to be next. What are we doing? Why do you spend all this time running for the United States Senate, why do you go through all the hassle of getting this job, of putting yourself in position of authority, if your answer as the slaughter increases, as our kids run for their lives we do nothing? What are we doing?" he asked. "Why are you here?"
"Our heart is breaking for these families. Every ounce of love and thoughts and prayers we can send we are sending. But I'm here on this floor to beg, to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg any -- beg my colleagues. Find a path forward here. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely," he asked.
"Why are we here?" he asked. "What are we doing?"
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Watch:
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Deleted tweet by Arizona Republican Paul Gosar. He wasn’t trans. He wasn’t leftist. He wasn’t an illegal alien. The only thing Gosar got right was the name. Another in an endless list of despicable acts by Gosar just to promote hate.
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President Biden @POTUS
Thank you to Prime Minister Kishida and Mrs. Kishida for the warm welcome to Japan and for hosting yesterday’s tea ceremony and dinner.
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Yesterday was a great day of meetings with Emperor Naruhito and Prime Minister Kishida. The United States and Japan are demonstrating the strength of democracies in action, and we’re working together to create opportunity and prosperity throughout the Indo-Pacific.
Watch: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1528891095714783232
Yesterday in Tokyo, we launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity to create a stronger, fairer, more resilient economy for families, workers, and businesses in the United States and in the Indo-Pacific region.
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The future of the 21st century economy is going to be largely written in the Indo-Pacific. That’s why we launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity to help all of our countries’ economies grow faster and fairer.
Watch: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1528903675296550913
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GOP's Ken Paxton sued for allegedly lying to the Supreme Court about the 2020 election
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Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton has been sued by the Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline for "dishonest" representations to the United States Supreme Court while attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
The lawsuit, a copy of which was posted online by Reuters legal columnist Alison Frankel, accuses the attorney of "professional misconduct."
"Respondent made representations in his pleadings that: 1) an outcome determinative number of votes were tied to unregistered voters; 2) votes were switched by a glitch with Dominion voting machines; 3) state actors 'unconstitutionally revised their state’s election statutes;' and 4) 'illegal votes' had been cast that affected the outcome of the election. Respondent’s representations were dishonest," the commission argued.
"His allegations were not supported by any charge, indictment, judicial finding, and/or credible or admissible evidence, and failed to disclose to the Court that some of his representations and allegations had already been adjudicated and/or dismissed in a court of law," the lawsuit continues. "In addition, Respondent misrepresented that the State of Texas had 'uncovered substantial evidence… that raises serious doubts as to the integrity of the election process in Defendant States,' and had standing to bring these claims before the United States Supreme Court."
The lawsuit cites the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, stating, "a lawyer shall not engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation."
The Commission for Lawyer Discipline asked the court to "impose an appropriate sanction, including an order that Respondent pay reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs of court and all expenses associated with this proceeding."
Read the full complaint: https://www.rawstory.com/ken-paxton-2657391024/
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Watch: Ron Johnson attempts to flee through locked door as he avoids question on school shooting
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Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) refused to answer a question about gun background checks on Wednesday.
CNN's Manu Raju caught up with Johnson in a Senate hallway following the mass shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas. The senator immediately tried to avoid the CNN reporter by fleeing through a door that turned out to be locked.
"In the wake of this shooting, why not expand background checks, including on firearms and all gun sales?" Raju asked.
Johnson, however, pretended not to notice the reporter who was inches from him.
"Why not expand background checks?" Raju pressed.
Johnson continued ignoring Raju until the senator eventually found an unlocked door and disappeared.
According to the Brady Campaign, Johnson has received $1,269,486 from the National Rifle Association.
Watch: https://twitter.com/victorjacobo_/status/1529512043279265794
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Herschel Walker’s Response to the Uvalde Shooting Was Incoherent. So Is His Senate Bid
The former Heisman Trophy winner is riding Trump’s endorsement — and not much else — to a showdown with incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock
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Heisman Trophy winner and Republican candidate for Senate Herschel Walker speaks at a rally on May 23, 2022, in Athens, Georgia.
"What I like to do is see it and everything and stuff.”
This is how Hershel Walker responded on Tuesday night when asked about gun control in the wake of a shooter killing 21 people, including 19 children, at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school hours earlier.
Manu Raju @mkraju
Asked if he believes there should be new gun laws in the wake of the Texas shooting, Georgia Senate GOP nominee Herschel Walker told me in ATL: “What I like to do is see it and everything and stuff.” He didn’t engage further.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1529281988158541825
The hollow incoherence on display here is sadly typical of the man Georgia’s Republican voters just deemed worthy of representing them in the Congress.
Walker is best known for his Heisman Award-winning turn at the University of Georgia, followed by a relatively lackluster career in the NFL. He hasn’t done much since that would indicate he’d be a capable public servant. He has, however, pledged his allegiance to Trump and flirted with the conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was rigged, landing him the former president’s endorsement and, in turn, frontrunner status to land the nomination.
Walker doesn’t have much in his background to portend a career in Congress, but he does have a history full of red flags indicating he’s unfit for office, which is probably why Republicans have been warning that he has little chance to unseat incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock in the general election this fall. Here’s a brief list of the warning signs that Walker could be a disaster should he wind up in Congress.
He’s a compulsive liar
The scant few qualifications Walker may have for public office are largely fabrications. The Associated Press reported last summer that though Walker has repeatedly claimed his company employs hundreds of people, brings in $70-$80 million a year, and owns a chicken processing division. None of this is true. The company listed just eight employees when it applied for a Covid loan in 2020. Walker admitted in a court case that the company brings in less than $2 million a year. He doesn’t own chicken processing plants, either; he only licenses his name to them. The Daily Beast reported last month that Walker also lied about owning the nation’s largest upholstery business.
Walker has lied about his academic achievements, as well. CNN reported in April that though Walker has repeatedly claimed to have been the valedictorian of his high school and graduated from the University of Georgia in the top one percent of his class, there’s no evidence either claim is true. CNN even points to stories from the time about Walker saying he maintained a B average at UGA, and that he had a 3.0 GPA before his grades began to suffer. He never graduated, having left school early to enter the NFL draft.
Walker’s most ridiculous lie, however, may be that Trump has never claimed the 2020 election was stolen. “I’ve never heard President Trump ever say that,” he said.
The Republican Accountability Project @AccountableGOP
According to Herschel Walker, Trump has never said the election was stolen.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1529104369928785920
He doesn’t believe in evolution
It shouldn’t come as a shock that Walker didn’t finish in the top of class considering some of the hare-brained beliefs he’s spouted. He seemed perplexed about evolution, for example, during a church appearance in March. “At one time, science said man came from apes, did it not?” he said “If that is true, why are there still apes? Think about it.”
He’s pushed quack Covid remedies
Trump once suggested that Covid could be cured by bringing “light inside the body.” Walker has made similarly outlandish claims.
“Do you know right now, I have something that [you can bring] into a building, that will clean you of Covid, as you walk through this, this dry mist?” he told Glenn Beck in the summer of 2020. “As you walk through the door, it will kill any Covid on your body,” he added, claiming the product was “EPA-, FDA-approved.”
Walker said that “they” don’t want the public to know about the miracle spray.
He has a long history of abusive and threatening behavior
Walker has talked openly about his struggles with mental health, writing in his 2008 book that he has experienced violent urges. Walker has on multiple occasions described playing Russian roulette, and has also threatened physical harm on those close to him.
The Associated Press uncovered court documents showing that Walker’s ex-wife, Cindy Grossman — who filed for divorce in 2001, citing “physically abusive and extremely threatening behavior” — in 2005 filed for a protective order against her ex-husband. She claimed Walker was unable to accept that she was dating someone else and started calling her family members. Her sister said Walker threatened to kill Grossman and her new boyfriend, “stat[ing] unequivocally that he was going to shoot my sister Cindy and her boyfriend in the head.”
The threats continued, with Walker telling Grossman’s sister that he wanted to “blow their fucking heads off.” He also allegedly confronted Grossman at a mall, during which he “slowly drove by in his vehicle, pointed his finger at [her] and traced [her] with his finger as he drove,” according to Grossman.
The protective order was granted, and a judge temporarily banning Walker from possessing firearms. When his book was released in 2008, Grossman elaborated on Walker’s abuse in an interview with ABC News, alleging he held a gun to her head in 2001 said, “I’m going to blow your fucking brains out.”
He was too scared to show up for the Republican primary debates
Walker has bailed on the Republican primary debates, opting instead to stick to events where he can control the narrative while letting Trump’s endorsement buoy his polling numbers. “Herschel Walker is ignoring the Georgia voters and ignoring us,” Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said during one of them in May. “If that’s what he does now, that’s what he’ll do in the future.”
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Georgia U.S. Senate candidate Latham Saddler points at an empty podium belonging to candidate Herschel Walker as he participates in a Republican primary debate on Tuesday, on May 3, 2022, in Atlanta.
He won’t acknowledge that President Biden won the 2020 election
The primary prerequisite for landing an endorsement from Trump is a belief in the conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was stolen. Walker hasn’t railed against election fraud like some of Trump’s other preferred candidates, but he certainly isn’t acknowledging that Trump lost to Biden. “I don’t know,” told The New York Times when asked if Biden won. “I do think there was problems. And I think everybody else thinks there was problems, and that’s the reason right now everybody’s so upset.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/herschel-walker-georgia-senate-primary-1357872/
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This article is from last year, but even law enforcement was concerned about this dangerous Texas gun law that allows anybody under the sun to carry a gun without a permit or a background check. 18 year olds in Texas can now purchase any amount of guns and ammo they want while they still are not allowed to purchase alcohol or tobacco legally until they are 21.
New Texas law allowing people to carry handguns without permits stirs mix of fear, concern among law enforcement
Starting Sept. 1, most Texans will be able to carry handguns in public without going through training or having to get permits. Law enforcement officers worry that could make their jobs more dangerous.
AUG. 16, 2021
A new state law will soon let most Texans carry handguns in public without going through training or having to get permits. Gov. Greg Abbott lauded the so-called “constitutional carry” legislation and other firearms bills when he signed them into law.
“You could say that I signed into law today some laws that protect gun rights,” Abbott said at the bill signing in June. “But today, I signed documents that instilled freedom in the Lone Star State.”
But some Texas law enforcement officers fear that removing restrictions to carrying handguns could increase crime rates while putting officers and residents in danger.
“When it comes down to it, it’s just a sense of disappointment that the bill ultimately was passed,” said Kevin Lawrence, executive director of the Texas Municipal Police Association.
Conservative activists have long pushed for a permitless carry law in Texas, but such measures got little traction in the previous three legislative sessions. In 2019, a permitless carry bill didn’t even get a committee hearing in the Texas House.
When lawmakers gaveled in for the 2021 regular legislative session in January — the first since back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso and Midland-Odessa — some legislators expected to pass substantive firearm restrictions.
Instead, the Texas Legislature moved in the other direction.
Advocates of permitless carry said a shakeup in House leadership and the growing number of states with similar laws meant this year was their best chance to get a bill through. The Senate and House passed different versions of House Bill 1927, but agreed to a negotiated piece of legislation in May. The House approved the final version 82-62.
It was part of a slew of pro-gun legislation that lawmakers passed this year. Other measures passed include a bill that would bar government contracts with those who discriminate against the firearm industry as a whole, one that would remove firearm suppressors from the state’s list of prohibited weapons, and a House bill that prohibits state and local governments from enforcing new federal gun regulations.
“Texas is finally a pro-gun state despite years of foot-dragging, roadblocks, and excuses from the spineless political class,” Texas Gun Rights executive director Chris McNutt said in a statement after Abbott signed the bill. “I’m proud of the work grassroots gun owners have put in to get Texas Constitutional Carry finally signed into law.”
None of the five lead authors of HB 1927 responded to requests for comment.
Currently, Texans are mostly required to be licensed to carry handguns, regardless of whether they are open or concealed. To attain a license, applicants are required to submit fingerprints, complete four to six hours of training, and pass a written exam and shooting proficiency test. This doesn’t apply to rifles, which do not require licenses to be carried in public.
The new law — set to go into effect Sept. 1 — will allow anyone 21 years or older to carry a handgun in public without need for a permit or training as long as they aren’t otherwise prohibited from owning a firearm by law, such as people with felony or domestic violence convictions.
Most Texas voters opposed the idea of allowing people to carry handguns in public places without permits or licenses, according to a University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll conducted in April. Although 56% of Republicans supported unlicensed carry, 59% of all voters opposed it.
Texas law enforcement officers voiced staunch opposition to the new law as it moved through the Legislature.
“I don’t know what it’s a solution to,” said James McLaughlin, executive director of the Texas Police Chiefs Association. “I don’t know what the problem was to start with.”
Lawrence, also the chair of trustees for the Texas Fraternal Order of Police, said part of the reason the bill got support was because of some increased crime rates last year, leading Texans to fear that law enforcement might not be able to protect them. He also noted it could have partially been pushback to calls last year to “defund the police,” a movement that aims to lower law enforcement budgets and reallocate funds to social service programs.
“The entire process was done to appease a certain block of voters, to appease a very, very vocal, active group that were just demanding that they be allowed to carry guns,” he said.
Lawmakers added several amendments to the bill to assuage law enforcement’s concerns, including a requirement that the Department of Public Safety offer a free online firearm safety training course.
Ray Hunt, executive director of the Houston Police Officers’ Union, said the bill could potentially have grave consequences for law enforcement officers, noting that it could be harder for them to decipher whether someone carrying a weapon is legally able to do so.
His opposition toward the bill lessened after lawmakers changed it to ease law enforcement’s worries about certain provisions, including one that would have banned officers from questioning a person based solely on their possession of a handgun.
Hunt and other law enforcement officials hope their fears over the permitless carry law won’t come to pass.
Law enforcement heavily condemned 2016’s “open carry” law that permits Texans to openly carry handguns in public as long as they have a permit. Many said they didn’t end up seeing noticeable effects after it passed.
“We were completely opposed to ‘license to carry’ when it happened, and we said all of the same arguments that we’re saying now,” Hunt said. “And nothing happened, so we’re hoping that we’re overreacting. We’re just concerned because anytime there’s more guns, there’s a problem.”
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/16/texas-permitless-carry-gun-law/
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Hours after Uvalde school shooting, Gov. Greg Abbott attended a fundraiser 300 miles away
A spokesperson for Abbott said he had previously committed to the event but all campaign-related activities are postponed until further notice.
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Gov. Greg Abbott attended a fundraiser for his reelection campaign Tuesday night in East Texas, hours after a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at an elementary school over 300 miles away in Uvalde. His campaign says he is postponing all political activities going forward.
Abbott went to the fundraiser after visiting Taylor County — another part of the state — to survey the state's wildfire response there. While holding a news conference there, he gave an update on the Uvalde shooting, which had just happened.
The news of Abbott's attendance at the fundraiser was first reported by Quorum Report.
"After holding a briefing and press conference on the current wild fires in Taylor County, where he also provided an update the situation in Uvalde, the Governor did stop by a previously scheduled event last night at a private home in Walker County," Abbott campaign spokesperson Mark Miner said in a statement. "All campaign and political activity, including a scheduled fundraiser for this evening, have postponed until further notice."
Abbott addressed the fundraiser during a news conference Wednesday afternoon in Uvalde, suggesting he only made a brief appearance cut short by the news of the shooting.
"On the way back to Austin, I stopped and let people know that I could not stay, that I needed to go and I wanted them to know what happened and get back to Austin so I could continue to my collaboration with Texas law enforcement," Abbott said.
Abbott, a prolific fundraiser, is running for a third term against Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke. O'Rourke's response to the Uvalde shooting has included criticism of Abbott for loosening gun laws in Texas, and O'Rourke has called on Abbott to pull out of an appearance at a National Rifle Association convention this weekend in Houston.
Abbott's appearance at the fundraiser came as other Texas politicians were canceling similar events due to the tragedy. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, who represents Uvalde, canceled a campaign fundraiser that had been scheduled for Tuesday evening in Austin. A Republican state representative, San Antonio's Steve Allison, also nixed a campaign fundraiser for Wednesday in Austin.
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/05/25/greg-abbott-political-fundraiser-uvalde-shooting/
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Beto O’Rourke confronts Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at Uvalde press conference: “This is on you”
O’Rourke’s disruption drew angry responses from the elected officials onstage, with Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin calling him a “sick son of a b**ch.”
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Beto O’Rourke caused a dramatic scene Wednesday when he angrily confronted Gov. Greg Abbott at his the governor's news conference about the school shooting, yelling, "This is on you."
O’Rourke, who is running for governor against Abbott, moved to the third row of the Uvalde High School auditorium about 15 minutes after the governor began speaking to the media alongside other state and local leaders onstage. When Abbott concluded his comments and introduced Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, O’Rourke rose and walked to the stage and spoke directly to Abbott.
“You are doing nothing,” O’Rourke said. “You are offering up nothing. You said this was not predictable. This was totally predictable when you choose not to do anything.”
Some of the Republican officials onstage quickly denounced O'Rourke. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz told him, "Sit down and don't play this stunt." Patrick told O'Rourke he was "out of line and an embarrassment." And Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin gave the most colorful response.
“I can’t believe that you’re a sick son of a b**ch that would come to a deal like this to make a political issue,” McLaughlin said.
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Biden signs executive order on policing 2 years after George Floyd's death
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President Biden signs an executive order on policing in the East Room of the White House on Wednesday, May 25, 2022.
Washington — President Biden signed an executive order aimed at reforming federal police practices and establishing a national database of police misconduct on Wednesday, two years to the day since George Floyd was murdered at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis.
"This executive order is going to deliver the most significant police reform in decades. It applies directly, under law, to only 100,000 federal law enforcement officers, all the federal law enforcement officers. And through federal incentives and best practices that are attached to it, we expect the order to have significant impact on state and local law enforcement agencies as well," he said.
The president delivered remarks at the White House and signed the order as the nation grieves the murder of 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Texas, the deadliest school shooting in nearly 10 years. The president said he would soon travel to Texas to meet with families of the victims, and implored Congress to pass new gun control measures in the wake of the massacre.
"While they clearly will not prevent every tragedy, we know certain ones will have significant impact and have no negative impact on the Second Amendment," Mr. Biden said. "The Second Amendment is not absolute."
The policing order is intended to "advance effective, accountable policing and criminal justice practices that will build public trust and strengthen public safety," according to the White House, by requiring federal law enforcement agencies to implement dozens of reforms, and incentivizing state and local forces to improve their policing practices.
Efforts to enact police reform in Congress have stalled in the two years since Floyd's death sparked a national reckoning on police brutality, with a bipartisan group of lawmakers failing to broker a compromise during lengthy negotiations last year. Mr. Biden's order seeks to address some of the issues raised during those talks, although his authority to implement changes on a state and local level is limited without further congressional action.
The president faulted Senate Republicans for blocking the House-passed bill, known as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and said the executive order "reflects inputs from a broad coalition represented here today," including several law enforcement organizations.
"I know progress can be slow and frustrating and there's a concern that the reckoning on race inspired two years ago is beginning to fade," Mr. Biden said. "But acting today, we're showing what our dear friend, the late John Lewis, congressman, wrote in his final words after his final march for justice in July 2020 — he said, 'Democracy is not a state. It is an act.'"
The families of Floyd and Breonna Taylor, who was killed in 2020 by officers executing a "no-knock" warrant in an apartment in Louisville, Kentucky, were present at Wednesday's signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House.
The executive order directs the attorney general to create a new National Law Enforcement Accountability Database, with all federal law enforcement agencies — such as the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Secret Service and Customs and Border Protection — required to participate. The database will include records of officers convicted of crimes, firings and "sustained complaints or records of disciplinary actions for serious misconduct," among other issues, and will be available to state and local agencies.
Non-federal entities are not required to report misconduct incidents to the new database, but are "encouraged" to do so, according to the White House.
"This is a call to action based on a basic truth: public trust, as any cop will tell you, is the foundation of public safety. Without trust, the population doesn't contribute, doesn't cooperate," Mr. Biden said. "As we've seen all too often, public trust has frayed and broken, and that undermines public safety."
The order also strengthens federal "patterns and practices" investigations over local agencies, mandates the use of body cameras by federal agents and requires all federal law enforcement agencies to implement new use-of-force policies, consistent with new guidelines issued by the Justice Department earlier this week. It also bans the use of chokeholds and limits the use of no-knock warrants by federal agents.
Democratic lawmakers and police reform advocates welcomed news of the executive order, even though it falls short of what could be accomplished with new legislation.
"I think the president's team — using the powers that he has — [has] done an excellent job of advancing the call that I think all Americans feel to do everything you can to improve the policing profession, to empower our officers with both accountability and support," Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey told CBS News on Tuesday.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson welcomed the executive order and said there was no better way to honor Floyd's legacy. "We know full well that an executive order cannot address America's policing crisis the same way Congress has the ability to, but we've got to do everything we can," he said in a statement.
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/biden-policing-executive-order-george-floyd-watch-live-stream-today-2022-05-25/
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As expected, and as I predicted last week that it would happen, Senate Republicans yesterday blocked a bill to keep America safe from domestic terrorism from white supremacists. Republicans have zero interest in fighting crime and violence in America. Bill after bill that addresses crime and violence the GOP votes against. They are only there to block and obstruct President Biden's agenda that the overwhelming majority of Americans want. Then as more crimes and violence occurs, right wingers head to Twiiter or come on tv to scream about the crime rates and falsely blame Biden for it when they are the ones blocking legislation that will fight crime and violence.
Again, if you want anything accomplished in Congress, vote these obstructionist saboteur Republicans out of office who don't care to keep Americans safe. How can anyone in Congress vote against the biggest threat that faces America which is domestic terrorism from white supremacists? The Republicans just did. They don't deserve to be in office when they refuse to do the job they took an oath to do which is to defend and protect America.
Top law enforcement officials say the biggest domestic terror threat comes from white supremacists.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/12/us/politics/domestic-terror-white-supremacists.html
Senate Republicans block bill requiring agencies to monitor domestic terrorism
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a bill that would require federal agencies to monitor domestic terrorism incidents, including those potentially related to white supremacy.
The failure of the Senate procedural vote showed again how difficult it is for Congress to agree on any response to U.S. gun violence. It followed a racist mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, earlier this month that took the lives of 10 Black people in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
Another mass shooting, this one at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, killed 19 children and two adults.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had scheduled the domestic terrorism legislation, already passed by the Democratic-controlled House, for a vote following the shooting in Buffalo.
“The bill is so important, because the mass shooting in Buffalo was an act of domestic terrorism. We need to call it what it is: domestic terrorism,” said Schumer, a New York Democrat.
“It was terrorism that fed off the poison of conspiracy theories like white replacement theory. Terrorism that left 10 people dead, and a community forever torn asunder.”
But senators fell far short of the 60-vote threshold needed to move debate forward on the legislation. Schumer through a procedural move could bring the bill, H.R. 350, up again if there is more support.
The vote was 47-47, with six senators not casting their votes. Only Democrats backed advancing the bill. The House on May 18 had passed the bill, 222-203, with just one Republican vote.
Meanwhile, Schumer said Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Chris Coons of Delaware, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, and others are reaching out to Republican senators to work on some type of bipartisan gun control legislation.
“Make no mistake about it, if these negotiations do not bear fruit in a short period of time, the Senate will vote on gun safety legislation,” he said. “But our hope, even amidst our deep skepticism, is that during this week, Democrats and Republicans at long last will come to agree on something meaningful that will reduce gun violence in a real way in America.”
Schumer on the floor Wednesday had implored Senate Republicans to join Democrats in passing the domestic terrorism bill, as well as bipartisan gun control legislation, in reaction to this month’s mass shootings.
The domestic terrorism legislation creates domestic terrorism offices within the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the FBI to monitor domestic terrorist activity and requires Congress to take steps to prevent domestic terrorism. That includes white-supremacist-related incidents or attempted incidents.
The bill also “creates an interagency task force to analyze and combat white supremacist and neo-Nazi infiltration of the uniformed services and federal law enforcement agencies,” according to a bill summary.
Shortly before the procedural vote, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said the bill would brand police and military service members as white supremacists.
“To insinuate that the military is consumed with white supremacy is an insult,” Paul said on the Senate floor.
The Pentagon drafted a report, obtained by Roll Call, that found U.S. military personnel and veterans were considered high prizes as recruits for white supremacist groups.
The chair of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, said that the bill would not create any new laws, and the purpose of it is for Congress to be informed of reports of domestic terrorism.
Durbin said on the Senate floor that it’s important to include the threat of white supremacy in that category because “this is a category of crime in America that is metastasizing.”
There have been several shootings in the last few years that have targeted communities of color and places of worship. Besides Buffalo, that includes Atlanta, where shootings at several spa shops targeted Asian-American women; El Paso, Texas, where dozens of Latinos were gunned down; and Pittsburgh, where the Tree of Life synagogue was targeted.
https://michiganadvance.com/2022/05/26/u-s-senate-republicans-block-bill-requiring-agencies-monitor-domestic-terrorism/
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GOP frontrunners for Michigan governor kicked off ballot for election fraud
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Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer may have a far easier path to re-election after the GOP frontrunners were kicked off the ballot for botched election fraud schemes.
"Two of the leading candidates for the GOP nomination for Michigan governor say they will ask the courts to intervene after they were found ineligible Thursday for the August primary, reshaping the race to challenge Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the battleground state this fall," Click on Detroit Channel 4 News reported Thursday.
"Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who has led in most primary polls, and businessman Perry Johnson, along with three other lesser-known candidates, did not qualify for the ballot. The state elections bureau recommended they be disqualified, saying it found thousands of fraudulent signatures on petitions submitted by the candidates."
Neil Vigdor wrote in The New York Times the disqualification, "sent the race, in a key battleground state, into chaos and dealt a serious blow to the party’s plans to challenge Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic incumbent."
In addition to the frontrunners, Republicans Donna Brandenburg, Michael Brown and Michael Markey were also disqualified.
Johnson has spent millions on his campaign.
"The Republicans who remain on the ballot are Dixon, who recently was endorsed by the family of former Trump administration Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, real estate agent Ryan Kelley, businessman Kevin Rinke, pastor Ralph Rebandt and chiropractor Garrett Soldano," Channel 4 reported.
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New poll spells trouble for Michigan Republicans peddling conspiracy theories and opposing abortion rights
Most voters said they dislike Trump and oppose a ban on abortions
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Republicans could be in trouble in Michigan because they are out of step with voters on abortion, former President Donald Trump, and conspiracy theories about the election, according to a recent poll on statewide races and Roe v. Wade.
In an EPIC-MRA poll of 600 likely voters between May 11 and 17, 63% of voters said they disagree with the Supreme Court’s draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that legalized abortion.
Only 26% of voters said they support the draft decision.
Many Republican candidates, including virtually all of those running for governor, are running on a platform of opposing all forms of abortion, a position that is very unpopular in Michigan.
Of those surveyed, 57% identify as pro-choice, and 33% are opposed to abortion rights. An additional 10% are undecided.
The poll also shows that between 83% and 85% of likely voters don’t recognize the GOP picks for attorney general and secretary of state — Matt DePerno and Kristina Karamo, respectively, both of whom have echoed Trump’s lies about widespread election fraud.
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Secretary of State candidate Kristina Karamo and attorney general candidate Matt DePerno.
The survey found that only 27% of likely voters believe Joe Biden stole the election from Trump, compared to 61% who believe Biden won fairly. About 12% are undecided.
Biden won the election in Michigan by 3 percentage points.
Of those surveyed, 54% said they view Trump unfavorably.
Detroit Metro Times
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Pennsylvania GOP U.S. Senate primary race headed for a recount
The Pennsylvania Republican U.S. Senate race is headed for a recount.
Acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman announced Wednesday afternoon that the margin between Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick in the GOP primary is enough to trigger an automatic recount, which could last into June and cost more than $1 million in taxpayer dollars.
Unofficial results for the contest from all 67 counties show Oz with 419,365 votes and McCormick with 418,463 votes.
Pennsylvania election law requires a recount if the difference between the final two candidates for a statewide office is 0.5 percent of the vote or less. The candidate in second place can decline a recount in writing to the secretary of state, but Chapman said McCormick has not waived the recount.
Chapman said she plans to issue the formal declaration of the recount by 5 p.m. on Thursday, and counties can begin the process as early as Friday.
Local election officials must begin the recount process no later than June 1, with results due by June 7. Recount results must be submitted to the Department of State no later than noon on June 8.
https://www.penncapital-star.com/blog/pa-gop-u-s-senate-primary-race-headed-for-a-recount/
What to know about the Pa. GOP U.S. Senate race recount
Pennsylvania’s top election official announced this week that the Republican U.S. Senate primary race is in for a recount.
“The recount will be conducted transparently as dictated by law,” acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman told reporters during a press conference on Wednesday. “The affected candidates or their attorney representatives are entitled to be present and observe the proceedings.”
The margin between GOP candidates Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick is enough to trigger an automatic statewide recount, with less than 0.5 percent of the vote separating them as of Thursday afternoon.
Both candidates have expressed confidence in the race and facing Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, in November.
While Oz maintains a narrow lead, McCormick has filed a lawsuit to ensure that undated and incorrectly dated mail ballots still returned by 8 p.m. on Election Day count toward final totals. Earlier this week, the Department of State issued guidance to counties, telling them to segregate and tabulate the undated ballots separately.
Here’s what to know about recounts and what comes next:
Who carries out a recount?
Counties carry out the recount process.
Local election officials must recount all ballots with a different method than the initial tabulation, or they can tabulate by hand.
When does the recount start?
Chapman said she plans to issue the formal declaration of a recount by 5 p.m. on Thursday. Counties could start the process as soon as Friday.
The law requires that counties begin the recount no later than June 1.
How long does a recount take?
Counties must finish the recount by noon on June 7, with final results due to the Department of State by noon on June 8.
How much will a recount cost?
The Department of State estimates that the recount will cost taxpayers more than $1 million.
Is a recount required?
Pennsylvania law requires an automatic statewide recount if 0.5 percent or less of the vote separates the leading two candidates.
The candidate with the second-highest number of votes could waive the recount requirement, but McCormick has not.
https://www.penncapital-star.com/blog/what-to-know-about-the-pa-gop-u-s-senate-race-recount/
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Texas Democrat Demands FBI Probe of Police Response to Uvalde Shooting
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U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas urged the FBI on Thursday to investigate law enforcement's response to the deadly elementary school shooting in Uvalde, a demand that came as local police officers faced growing scrutiny and anger over their actions during the massacre and contradictory statements in its wake.
"The people of Uvalde, of Texas, and of the nation deserve an accurate account of what transpired," Castro, a Democrat, wrote in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray. "However, state officials have provided conflicting accounts that are at odds with those provided by witnesses."
"Onlookers allege that parents unsuccessfully urged law enforcement to enter the building during this time and confront the shooter."
Castro pointed specifically to officials' divergent, muddled, and fast-changing narratives on "whether the school security officer and the gunman exchanged fire outside the school" and "how long law enforcement officers were in adjoining classrooms while the gunman barricaded himself in a classroom with students and teachers."
Shortly following Tuesday's shooting—during which a gunman identified as Salvador Ramos killed 19 children and two teachers—a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) claimed that a school police officer exchanged gunfire with Ramos before the shooter entered the building through an unlocked door.
The director of DPS later altered that account, saying a school police officer "engaged" Ramos but there was no gunfire exchange.
On Thursday, Victor Escalon Jr.—a regional director of DPS—said that, in fact, no officer confronted Ramos before he entered Robb Elementary School and killed more than 20 people.
Escalon also revealed during a press conference Thursday that the gunman—who crashed his grandmother's vehicle in a nearby ditch—was outside the school for roughly 12 minutes, firing shots at passersby, before he entered the building, an account that conflicted with earlier statements from local authorities.
The gunman was inside the school building for about an hour before a Border Patrol agent shot and killed him.
In his letter on Thursday, Castro noted that "a block of time between 11:30 am and 1 pm local time has yet to be fully accounted for."
"Onlookers allege that parents unsuccessfully urged law enforcement to enter the building during this time and confront the shooter," Castro wrote. "I urge the FBI to use its maximum authority to thoroughly examine the timeline of events and the law enforcement response and to produce a full, timely, and transparent report on your findings."
"Your agency must ensure that the American people have a complete and comprehensive account of how this tragedy occurred," he added.
It's hardly surprising that the details of such a chaotic and horrific incident would come into clearer focus in subsequent days, but the deep contradictions and false messages from state officials have been jarring, particularly to grieving parents who were on the scene as the massacre unfolded.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that "people who arrived at the school while Ramos locked himself in a classroom, or saw videos of police waiting outside, were furious."
"The police were doing nothing," Angeli Rose Gomez, a parent of two children at Robb Elementary School, told the newspaper. "They were just standing outside the fence. They weren't going in there or running anywhere."
The Journal reported that Gomez "was one of numerous parents who began encouraging—first politely, and then with more urgency—police and other law enforcement to enter the school sooner."
"After a few minutes, she said, U.S. Marshals put her in handcuffs, telling her she was being arrested for intervening in an active investigation," according to the Journal. "She said she saw a father tackled and thrown to the ground by police and a third pepper-sprayed. Once freed from her cuffs, Ms. Gomez made her distance from the crowd, jumped the school fence, and ran inside to grab her two children. She sprinted out of the school with them."
https://www.rawstory.com/texas-democrat-demands-fbi-probe-of-police-response-to-uvalde-shooting/
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Dem interrupts Greg Abbott presser to demand action on gun safety: ‘You have to do something man’
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The Democrat who represents Uvalde in the Texas State Senate interrupted a Friday press conference held by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to demand he call the legislature back for a special session on gun safety legislation.
During the press conference, as Abbott was talking about Texas having a long history of allowing 18-year-olds to buy long guns, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez seized the floor.
"My colleagues are asking for a special session, you are getting a letter tomorrow," Gutierrez announced.
"The Senate Democratic Caucus, we have asked for changes, I'm asking you now. I apologize for interrupting your press conference about the needs of this community," he added.
Prior to the press conference, Gutierrez was interviewed by CNN. “There’s no way in the world that an 18-year-old kid should access a militarized weapon like it happened in this situation,” he said. “And I put that on people that are in power in Texas.”
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Right wing Republicans like Ted Cruz want to do more for Russia than help the United States of America. Think about that....it's always about Russia with these traitors.
Letter reveals Ted Cruz demanded Biden lift sanctions on Russian ammunition manufacturers
On Friday, The Washington Post reported that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was one of several lawmakers who wrote to the Biden administration in September demanding an end to the embargo on Russian ammunition imports.
"The group sent a letter dated Sept. 3 to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen accusing the administration of using the sanctions as a means to enact gun control measures and arguing that it would exacerbate a shortage of ammunition," said the report. "'Wholesalers, retailers, small businesses, gun owners, and shooting sportsmen rely on ammunition imported from Russia and are rightfully concerned that this is an attempt at gun control,' the lawmakers wrote in the letter."
The sanctions were first imposed in response to the 2020 poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with the nerve agent Novichok. He survived this attempt but was imprisoned on dubious charges upon returning to Russia.
'Two weeks before the letter was sent, the lobbying arm of the NRA wrote about the sanctions, calling it an 'overreach' and 'crusade against law-abiding gun owners' by the Biden administration," said the report. "The letter mirrors the same points the NRA made in its article. The organization wrote that it is exploring all of its legislative, legal and policy options to block the policy."
Other Republican lawmakers who signed the letter include Caucus Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and far-right Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO).
AFP
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Republican arrested for DUI won’t say where he was before crashing car at 3:45 am
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The likely GOP nominee for state treasurer in Vermont is refusing to answer press questions sessions about an incident that resulted in his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence only weeks before filing for office.
"Kevin Divney, a 57-year-old financial analyst who lives in Londonderry, was arrested around 3:45 a.m. on May 11 in the town of Landgrove. A Vermont State Police press release later that day said he showed "signs of impairment." The release did not say whether he was injured in the crash," the Burlington weekly Seven Days reported Friday evening.
Divney is facing "perennial candidate" H. Brooke Paige for the GOP nomination for treasurer. Paige is also the only Republican running for attorney general.
"A political newcomer, Divney declared his candidacy under the wire on Thursday, but has the backing of Vermont GOP Chair Paul Dame," the local news site VT Digger reported.
Divney has appeared on CNBC and Fox Business as a financial analyst.
"In a phone interview on Friday, Divney told Seven Days that he was heading home on the night of his arrest, but he would not say from where," the weekly reported. "Divney was more willing to discuss his candidacy, explaining how he began considering a run for treasurer after he was contacted by the state GOP not long after his arrest. A phone call with former Republican governor Jim Douglas, who once held the treasurer position, ultimately convinced him to run, he said."
Dame, the GOP chairman, is still supporting Divney.
"Although I don’t know the details of exactly what happened, it’s very uncharacteristic," Dame said. "It doesn’t look like a pattern, and I think he’s got some of the best technical experience that we’ve had for somebody in this position."
"At the end of the day, voters will decide," he added.
Treasurer Beth Pearce (D) did not seek re-election due to health reasons. Former Financial Regulation Commissioner Mike Pieciak is running unopposed for the Democratic Party nomination.
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/vermont-gop-state-treasurer-candidate-was-recently-charged-with-dui/Content?oid=35668348
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Another Republican who claims to be "America First" but she votes against Americans each time she votes on a bill.
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'Boldly ignorant' Ted Cruz slammed by retired NYPD detective for his suggestions to protect kids
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Appearing on MSNBC's "The Katie Phang Show," a retired NYPD detective expressed disgust with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) over his attempts to dismiss the idea of new gun laws to protect children in schools and instead is insisting America needs to turn schools into fortresses.
In interviews and appearing at the NRA convention this weekend in Houston, Cruz has vociferously disregarded the easy availability of high-powered weapons and instead focused on a door that was left open at the elementary school where the shooting occurred.
After host Phang shared a clip of the Texas Republican making his case, she asked former law enforcement detective Marq Claxton his thoughts on what Cruz was proposing.
Calling the controversial senator "boldly ignorant," he proceeded to rip Cruz's proposal apart.
"Marq, I was a prosecutor for half my career, I never prosecuted somebody for leaving a door open. How absurd is this proposal by Ted Cruz that the solution is to make sure that we don't have too many doors at our schools?' host Phang asked.
"Ted Cruz's statements were boldly ignorant and dismissive of the clear obvious danger that is faced by so many people in society because of the prevalence of violence and gun violence in particular," he replied. "It really shows just how so many political electeds lack the fortitude to move forward and do the right thing: save lives."
"Instead of sloganeering, Mr.Cruz and his other elected colleagues really should be working on legislation that provides, or minimizes the risk of damage, and could quite possibly and probably save lives," he continued. "That is some additional gun restrictions, some background checks, there are other things that are out there that will undoubtedly be effective and save lives, and prevent these gun violence deaths."
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'The evil in Texas' is Greg Abbott: Uvalde state senator calls out governor over his NRA comments
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Appearing on MSNBC with host Alex Witt, State Sen. Roland Gutierrez who represents the district that was home to a mass shooting at an elementary school on Tuesday, hammered Gov. Greg Abbott for not doing anything to limit the availability to purchase high-powered weapons and then having the audacity to speak to an NRA convention just days after the 19 children and two adults were murdered by a gunman.
Noting that Abbott used his speech to lament the "evil" in the world that he blames for mass shootings, Guiterrez begged to differ.
"Last night, a speaker after speaker denounced the massacre," host Witt prompted the lawmaker. "They insisted that any new gun laws are not the answers to prevent future tragedies. Sir, it feels like statistics are indicating otherwise, and the feelings of the vast majority of Americans are simply being ignored. Even right there, it is like the speakers are playing to the crowd in the convention center. They are ignoring the throngs of protesters outside. What is your reaction to their tin ear?"
"I think it is the most disgusting thing coming to a community three days after a massacre like this, they should have canceled," he began. "They refused."
"Abbott should not have gone, he says 'Well, I didn't go,' well he sure sent us a video in support thereof, right?', he continued "He talking about mental health, talking about evil. The only evil that we have in Texas is that we have a feckless leader. That he has refused to do anything on this issue, even a modicum of gun-sense sense. That is the evil in Texas."
"Governor Abbott was probably pulling a CYA by not attending the convention," host Witt added. "He claimed he was busy doing other things. Perhaps."
Watch below:
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Texas Dems demand special session to raise the age to buy AR-15s and require background checks
The Texas Senate Democratic Caucus is urging Gov. Greg Abbott to call an emergency special legislative session to consider a variety of gun restrictions and safety measures in the wake of a mass school shooting in Uvalde that left 19 children and two adults dead this week.
In a letter released Saturday morning, all 13 Senate Democrats demanded lawmakers pass legislation that raises the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21 years old. The Uvalde gunman was 18 and had purchased two AR-style rifles which he used in the attack.
The caucus is also calling for universal background checks for all firearm sales, “red flag” laws that allow a judge to temporarily remove firearms from people who are considered an imminent threat to themselves or others, a “cooling off period” for the purchase of a firearm and regulations on high capacity magazines for citizens.
“Texas has suffered more mass shootings over the past decade than any other state. In Sutherland Springs, 26 people died. At Santa Fe High School outside Houston, 10 people died. In El Paso, 23 people died at a Walmart. Seven people died in Midland-Odessa,” the letter reads. “After each of these mass killings, you have held press conferences and roundtables promising things would change. After the slaughter of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, those broken promises have never rung more hollow. The time to take real action is now.”
Such laws are unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-controlled Legislature, which has a track record of favoring legislation that loosens gun restrictions. Only the governor has the power to call lawmakers back into a special session for emergency work.
Asked about a special session at a Friday press conference in Uvalde, Abbott said “all options are on the table” adding that he believed laws would ultimately be passed to address this week’s horrors. However, he suggested laws would be more tailored toward addressing mental health, rather than gun control.
“You can expect robust discussion and my hope is laws are passed, that I will sign, addressing health care in this state,” he said, “That status quo is unacceptable. This crime is unacceptable. We’re not going to be here and do nothing about it.”
He resisted the idea of increasing the age to purchase a firearm, saying that since Texas became a state, 18-year-olds have been able to buy a gun.
He also dismissed universal background checks saying existing background check policies did not prevent the Santa Fe and Sutherland Springs shootings, which both happened while he has been in office.
“If everyone wants to seize upon a particular strategy and say that’s the golden strategy right there, look at what happened in the Santa Fe shooting,” he said. “A background check had no relevance because the shooter took the gun from his parents…Anyone who suggests we should focus on background checks as opposed to mental health, I suggest is mistaken.”
Since the massacre at Robb Elementary School, the governor’s comments about potential solutions have centered around increasing mental health services, rather than restricting access to firearms.
But in the letter, Senate Democrats criticized the governor for blaming a “broken mental health care system – that you and other state leaders continue to underfund severely.”
“We need evidence-based, common sense gun safety laws. Without a doubt, if at least some of the measures noted above had been passed since 2018, then many lives could have been saved,” the caucus wrote.
Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the letter.
After the Santa Fe school shooting in 2018, Abbott released a variety of recommendations to address school safety, including a call to the Legislature to consider a “red flag” law.
At the time, Abbott claimed in his plan to improve school safety that similar protective orders restricting gun possession could have prevented the mass shootings in Sutherland Springs, southeast of San Antonio, and Parkland, Florida.
But Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and gun rights activists pushed back and the proposal died.
By the end of the 2019 legislative session Abbott signed a package of school safety measures that primarily focused on expanding mental health resources and “hardening school buildings.” He expanded the number of school staff who could have a firearm on school grounds.
When he signed that legislation at the end of the 2019 session, reporters asked if he still supported a “red flag” law.
Abbott said such a measure wasn’t necessary in Texas “right now.”
On Friday, Roland Gutierrez, the Democratic state senator who represents Uvalde, interrupted Abbott’s press conference by walking to the front of the auditorium and urged the governor to bring lawmakers back for three weeks.
"We have to do something, man,” he said to Abbott, the second Democratic politician to interrupt a press conference this week. "Just call us back.”
In the hours after the shooting on Tuesday, Gutierrez told the Texas Tribune that the state needed to make it more difficult to obtain a firearm, especially the gun used by the shooter, an AR-15, which he called a “weapon of mass destruction.”
“There's not a hunter in Texas that utilizes these kinds of weapons,” he said. “And so I'm not saying let's take those kinds of weapons away, I'm saying that we should have some greater accessibility restrictions …When you've got an 18-year-old kid getting his hands on this kind of weaponry, it just makes no sense to me.”
https://www.rawstory.com/texas-special-session/
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'Not the kind of country I want to live in': Adam Kinzinger bashes Ted Cruz's proposal to stop school shootings
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Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union" with host Dana Bash, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) dismissed the central half-measure being made by some of his Republican colleagues to halt school shootings and admitted that he s now open to some type of ban on assault weapons.
Speaking just moments after his House colleague, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) blew off the idea of any changes to the country's law gun laws, Kinzinger said his party needs to get behind some kind of reform -- and that Sen Ted Cruz's plan for "hardening" schools is a questionable solution after the Uvalde mass shooting.
After admitting that Republicans really don't want to address the problem, he stated, "If you look at this [Uvalde] shooting, you look at Buffalo, you look at Parkland and all these others, there are people taking these ARs under the age of 21, can we stop all of it? No. Can we mitigate it? Certainly and we should be doing that now."
"Texas Governor Greg Abbott says this shooting shows the need for more laws addressing mental health. Texas Senator Ted Cruz wants to reduce the number of doors in schools, put armed cops on school campuses and bulletproof glass. Is that enough to stop mass shootings if the U.S. doesn't also do something about guns?" host Bash asked.
"Ultimately I think it's a hard issue because people have to make a decision to go and do a mass shooting," the GOP lawmaker replied. "But basically turning schools into military camps, if we think that's going to be the answer, even if it does work, which it won't, but even if it does, that's not the kind of country I want to live in."
"I've got a kid that's 4-months old and will be going to school someday. I don't want him to have a military ID. to get into an elementary school," he continued. "These politicians that are scared to death to talk about the gun issue, they know that this is an issue, but they're scared to talk about it so they launch into this thing about mental health. We all agree that mental health is a problem. First off, I'd ask have they actually put any more money into mental health, people like Ted Cruz? Highly doubt it."
"But, secondarily, at the same time, why is an 18-year-old buying an AR?" he asked. "It's not an if or that. There's always the old saying too about the way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Typically I agree, but there are there were 150 good guys with guns at this shooting who didn't do anything until basically Border Patrol SWAT showed up. We've got to take handle of this, this is insane."
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Biden grieves with Texas town as anger mounts over school shooting
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(Reuters) - President Joe Biden on Sunday headed to a Texas town to comfort families ripped apart by the largest U.S. school shooting in a decade amid lingering questions about whether law enforcement's failure to act swiftly contributed to the death toll.
Biden’s familiar role as consoler-in-chief will be complicated by local anger over a decision by law enforcement in Uvalde, Texas, to allow the shooter to remain in a classroom for nearly an hour while officers waited in the hallway and children in the room made panicked 911 calls for help.
Investigators on Saturday were seeking to determine how critical mistakes were made in the response to the shooting that left 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School dead, and some are calling on the FBI to look into police actions.
Biden is scheduled to visit a memorial erected at the school, and meet with victims' families, survivors and first responders.
"He has to stay focused on the pain and grief of the families and the community and understand that all of this has been compounded by the fact that we still don't know exactly what happened. The more we learn, the more it seems the children were poorly served," said Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist and a spokesperson for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
The Democratic president also confronts the stark reality that he has been relatively powerless to stop American mass shootings or convince Republicans that stronger gun controls could stem the carnage.
The Texas visit will be his third presidential trip to a mass shooting site, including earlier this month when he visited Buffalo, New York, after a shooting that left 10 Black people at a supermarket dead.
"Too much violence, too much fear, too much grief," Biden told graduates in a commencement speech Saturday at the University of Delaware. "We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer. We can finally do what we have to do to protect the lives of the people and of our children.”
The Uvalde shooting has once again put gun control at the top of the nation's agenda, months ahead of the November midterm elections, with supporters of stronger gun laws arguing that the latest bloodshed represents a tipping point.
"The president has a real opportunity. The country is desperately asking for a leader to stop the slaughter from gun violence," said Igor Volsky, executive director of Guns Down America.
He urged Biden to immediately enlist a senior official to tackle the country’s gun problem and crisscross the United States to pressure Congress to pass meaningful gun reform, saying Biden promised to be a deal maker and to tackle guns.
Vice President Kamala Harris called for a ban on assault-style weapons during a trip to Buffalo on Saturday, saying that in the wake of two back-to-back mass shootings such arms are "a weapon of war" with "no place in a civil society."
White House aides and close allies say Biden is unlikely to wade into specific policy proposals to avoid disrupting delicate gun control negotiations in the Senate. He is also unlikely to immediately take executive action to crack down on firearms, sending Republican lawmakers otherwise open to negotiating back to their corners, aides say.
Meanwhile, leading Republicans like U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and former President Donald Trump rejected calls for new gun control measures and instead suggested investing in mental health care or tightening security at the nation's schools.
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott denied that newly enacted Texas gun laws, including a controversial measure removing licensing requirements for carrying a concealed weapon, had "any relevancy" to Tuesday's bloodshed. He suggested state lawmakers focus renewed attention on addressing mental illness.
© Reuters
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'Do something!’: Biden visits Uvalde after mass shooting as onlookers urge him to take action
President and first lady seek to comfort community as DOJ launches investigation into police response to school shooting
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President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visit a memorial at Robb elementary school to pay their respects to the victims of the mass shooting, Sunday, in Uvalde, Texas. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP
President Joe Biden on Sunday visited Uvalde, Texas, seeking to comfort a community devastated by the latest American mass shooting, which claimed the lives of 19 elementary school children and two teachers.
The visit marked the second presidential visit related to a massacre within two weeks following a racist attack in Buffalo, New York, as Democrats in Washington offered tentative hope of bipartisan gun reform legislation in Congress.
Onlookers cheered Biden but also called out to the Democratic president and visiting Texas Republican governor Greg Abbott about taking action to make America safer for their children.
The US president and First Lady Jill Biden, both wearing black, paid their respects at a makeshift memorial site outside the Robb elementary school in Uvalde, laying a bouquet of white flowers amid a mass of candles, flowers, and photographs of the victims.
Biden could be seen reaching out to touch the pictures of the children and at one pointed wiped tears from his eyes as he made his way slowly through the memorial.
Abbott was close by and since last Tuesday’s shooting has talked about greater security for schools, but not about restrictions on guns, drawing heckling on Sunday. “We need help, Governor Abbott,” shouted one onlooker. “Shame on you, Abbott,” shouted another.
Uvalde resident Ben Gonzalez, 35, called out to the politicians and said after that he wanted to see change on several issues, including more gun laws, more resources for mental health and for schools and that it was up to state and federal lawmakers to act.
“At a certain point of time it’s going to be on us, because we vote these people in to represent us and they are not representing us and it’s heartbreaking because things like this happen. Something needs to be done, we need change, we need help and my biggest fear is that nothing is going to change, and six months from now Uvalde is just going to be Uvalde, it’s just going to be history and nothing will have changed,” he told CNN.
The Bidens walked past the school before being whisked away in the presidential motorcade to attend mass at the local Catholic church, without making public comment.
After the service the Bidens left the church and someone in the crowd yelled: “Do something!”
The president called back: “We will.”
Biden was due to join mourners after the service and, later, first responders, as the US justice department announced it would conduct a critical incident review of the law enforcement response to the shooting, after it emerged that local police had waited for at least an hour outside the classroom where the gunman had barricaded himself and opened fire.
On Saturday in a speech in Delaware Biden lamented “too much violence, too much fear, too much grief” in repeated gun violence across America, which he called “acts of evil”.
The Texas visit came as senators in Washington DC, offered cautious optimism over a legislative deal on a package of small-scale gun safety measures.
On Sunday, Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said ongoing talks between Senate Democrats and Republicans would involve compromises on both sides of the political aisle.
“I think there is something dying inside the soul of this country when we refuse to act at a national level, shooting after shooting,” Murphy told CBS News.
“And I do think there is an opportunity right now to pass something significant. I’ve seen more Republican interest in coming to the table and talking this time than at any moment since Sandy Hook,” he said, referring to the devastating mass shooting in an elementary school in his state almost 10 years ago that claimed 26 lives.
A small group of US senators began negotiations earlier in the week with a number of control measures reportedly on the table. These include a national expansion of background checks for firearms purchases and the adoption of so-called red flag laws, which allow authorities to order the removal or restriction of weapons from a person deemed to be a public safety risk.
But Murphy, who is joined at the negotiating table by a handful of senior Republican senators, including John Cornyn from Texas and Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, made clear that a number of key proposals endorsed by gun control advocates were unlikely to form part of any legislative package. These included a national ban on assault rifle purchases or limits to magazine capacity.
Vice-President Kamala Harris made a fresh call on Saturday for banning military-style assault weapons for the general public, as she attended the last funeral for the 10 victims gunned down in Buffalo, two weeks ago in a racist attack on a supermarket in a majority-Black neighborhood.
Both the alleged gunman in New York and the one who attacked the elementary school in Uvalde last week were 18 year-olds but were legally able to buy the assault rifles and ammunition they used in the attacks.
There remain significant hurdles to achieving any major legislative measures, which have continually faltered in the aftermath of mass shootings in recent years.
At least 10 Senate Republicans would need to cast a vote in favor of proposed legislation in order to win the 60 votes required for legislative passage, with the chamber split 50-50 between the two parties.
This week, the New York Times contacted all 50 Republican senators to gauge their position on gun reform. Only five have so far indicated a willingness to vote for any legislation, highlighting the power the pro-gun lobby holds over the party.
In Texas a handful of senior state Republicans joined Democrats in calling on Abbott to convene a special session of the state legislature, who later said: “All options are on the table”.
But any reform is still likely to be an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled state, that has passed successive pieces of legislation loosening gun laws after recent mass shootings.
On Sunday, Texas Republican congressman Dan Crenshaw knocked down new restrictions when interviewed on CNN.
Crenshaw, a former US Navy SEAL, also claimed AR-15-style assault rifles are “more self-defense weapons” than a tool of war.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/29/texas-school-shooting-biden-visits-uvalde
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After another mass shooting, Texas Democrats again push for gun control measures
https://www.rawstory.com/after-another-mass-shooting-texas-democrats-again-push-for-gun-control-measures/
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Texas governor has not yet spoken with Uvalde's state senator — who says Abbott has 'done nothing'
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Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has not yet spoken to state Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D) about the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, which he represents in the legislature.
Gutierrez was interviewed on Monday, nearly a week after the attack, but MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell.
On Friday, Gutierrez interrupted a press conference the governor was holding to demand a special session of the legislature to address the mass shooting crisis in Texas.
O'Donnell noted Abbott did not respond to Gutierrez and simply said, "next question" and asked if that was the longest time he has gotten to speak with the governor.
"Yes, Lawrence," Gutierrez replied. "To be clear, the lieutenant governor called and asked what I needed for the community that he could do within his power. He's been helpful."
"I've had Republican colleagues in the senate call me. The governor has not contacted me," he said.
"If I'm the governor, I'm coming down here to help people and give them the things they need and talk about policy changes that need to happen. He has gone through seven massacres and done nothing, Gutierrez said.
On Sunday, Abbott was booed in Uvalde.
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Ohio is 2½ weeks from allowing people to carry a concealed firearm without a permit: The Wake Up for Thursday, May 26, 2022
https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2022/05/ohio-is-2-weeks-from-allowing-people-to-carry-a-concealed-firearm-without-a-permit-the-wake-up-for-thursday-may-26-2022.html
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Big Oil is taking in record profits worldwide as they are contributing to global inflation. This is called corporate greed. The Democratic House passed the Big Oil Price Gouging Bill to stop Big Oil from gouging consumers at the pump. House Republicans voted against this bill and Senate Republicans are now blocking this bill from becoming law because they want high gas prices for political gain. Republicans are purposely letting consumers pay more for gas because they think it will help them politically. The UK imposed a windfall tax and the US needs to as well.
U.K. imposes windfall tax on oil and gas company profits as inflation bites
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/27/britain-windfall-tax-oil-gas-inflation/
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Funerals to begin for Uvalde victims as Biden vows action on guns
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Grieving families were to hold the first funerals Tuesday for Texas shooting victims one week after a school massacre left 19 children and two teachers dead, with President Joe Biden vowing to push for stricter US gun regulation.
Mourners attended wakes in the town of Uvalde on Monday for some of the child victims gunned down by a local 18-year-old man who was then killed by police.
At one funeral home -- just across the street from Robb Elementary School where the shooting occurred -- friends, family and strangers attended a closed-casket visitation for 10-year-old victim Amerie Jo Garza. Pictures of the young girl decorated the space.
Esther Rubio, who described the scene as "very somber," came from nearby San Antonio with her husband.
"I don't know what else to say, because there's no words to describe (it)," she said.
Remembrances for another slain student, Maite Rodriguez, began just hours later.
In Washington, Biden -- who visited the small town about an hour's drive from the Mexico border earlier in the weekend -- responded to desperate calls for weapons reform.
"I've been pretty motivated all along" to act on guns, Biden told reporters Monday.
"I'm going to continue to push," he said, adding, "I think things have gotten so bad that everybody is getting more rational about it."
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers worked through the Memorial Day weekend to pursue possible areas of compromise.
They reportedly were focusing on laws to raise the age for gun purchases or to allow police to remove guns from people deemed at risk -- but not on an outright ban on high-powered rifles like the weapon used Tuesday in Uvalde or the one used 10 days earlier in Buffalo, New York.
Uvalde's first funerals are set for Tuesday, with others scheduled through mid-June. The huge number of victims, many with horrific wounds, has left the town's two funeral homes turning to embalmers and morticians from across Texas for help.
One anonymous donor has pledged $175,000 to help cover funeral costs, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said.
Rational action'
The Uvalde massacre -- the deadliest school attack since 20 children and six staff were killed in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012 -- came less than two weeks after 10 people died in the attack at a Buffalo grocery store by a young gunman targeting African Americans.
While mass shootings draw anguished attention and spur momentary demands for change, most US gun violence passes with scant notice.
The country's Memorial Day weekend -- Monday is a national holiday -- has been marked by yet more graphic violence.
At least 132 gun deaths and 329 injuries were recorded nationwide from Saturday to Monday evening, according to the Gun Violence Archive website.
Gun-control advocates hoped the shock over the Uvalde tragedy, coming even as people in Buffalo were burying victims of the attack there, might finally prompt politicians to act.
A few key lawmakers, including a Democratic senator involved in the weekend talks in Washington, have expressed guarded optimism that the group might make progress, even in the face of deep resistance from most Republicans and some rural-state Democrats.
"There are more Republicans interested in talking about finding a path forward this time than I have seen since Sandy Hook," Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut told TV interviewers Sunday, adding that bipartisan "serious negotiations" were underway.
Biden said Monday he is deliberately "not negotiating with any of the Republicans yet."
But, he added, "I know what happened when we had rational action before" on gun regulation.
"It did significantly cut down mass murders."
Mourners in Uvalde -- a mostly Latino town of 15,000 -- have echoed calls for change.
"At the end of the day, if this child cannot even sip a glass of wine because he's too young, then guess what? He's too young to purchase a firearm," said Pamela Ellis, who traveled from Houston to pay her respects.
AFP
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Texans can now openly carry guns in public without a permit or training. Police say the new law makes it harder to do their jobs
https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/01/us/texas-open-carry-laws/index.html
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Beto O’Rourke plans forum in Dallas to talk about protecting kids after Uvalde shooting
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2022/05/30/beto-orourke-plans-forum-in-dallas-to-talk-about-protecting-kids-after-uvalde-shooting/
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‘He’s there as a decoy’: Michael Steele busts John Cornyn's ‘stall and delay tactics’ in response to Uvalde
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MSNBC's Michael Steele expressed doubt that Republicans intended to negotiate gun safety legislation in good faith.
The former chairman of the Republican National Committee told "Morning Joe" that Republicans had no intention of passing serious legislation in response to the deadly Uvalde massacre, and he said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) was not nearly as "rational" as President Joe Biden seems to think.
"What you're looking at is a political party and a political leadership that values the fight over inflation, the 'own-the-libs' narrative, you know, the insurrectionist, you know, efforts by Democrats, you know, to 'groom' our children over the lives of those very same children, and I think -- I was struck by the comment of, you know, someone on Capitol Hill saying that, you know, this is really something interesting that, you know, Sen. Cornyn's at the table," Steele said, "and why is that so interesting? Why are you so jacked up about that? Nothing's happened. He's there as a decoy. He's not there to actually address what the country needs to have addressed at this moment."
"This is the stall-and-delay tactic," Steele continued. "Look, they've got -- they're not back yet from their Memorial Day holiday. They're going to be in town for a couple of weeks, and then it's off for the Fourth of July. They come back for another couple of weeks, then they're off for August. When does this bill get done? When does all of this great negotiation happening, and of course, you've got [Senate minority leader Mitch] McConnell talking about something that nobody's talking about. Yeah, everybody gets mental health, part of the conversation, but the crux is what do we do about the guns being used, the AR-15s, the access by 18-year-olds."
"More kids will be killed this year than all of the other statistics combined that you showed because of his lack of concern about the fact that more kids would be killed," Steele added. "Because if that was a major concern, then guess what, there will be a serious conversation. Everything would be on the table, and the leadership from both sides would know exactly where that sweet spot is because the American people are giving them the numbers."
Substantial majorities support expanded background checks, red-flag laws and other safety measures, but Republicans won't approve them.
"It's not like we don't know somewhere the sweet spot is to move the needle here," Steele said. "It's just that the Republicans don't want to, because the NRA's told them not to. Because if they do, guess what, we're going to primary you. We're going to cut off your checks and that matters more to them than the lives of those kids being buried."
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Michigan Republicans hatching 'unprecedented' plot to create 'chaos' at polling places: reporter
Reporter Heidi Przbyia on Wednesday broke down new revelations about Michigan GOP operatives launching what she describes as an "unprecedented" effort to recruit poll workers to directly contest elections at polling places across the state.
As Przbyia reported in Politico, the plan is to "install trained recruits as regular poll workers and put them in direct contact with party attorneys" so they can challenge votes in real time.
Speaking about the report on CNN, Przbyia outlined just how much this could disrupt the voting process on election day.
"Election legal experts I talked to say that this this is unprecedented," she said. "That a political party would be putting together this type of a network where they're recruiting folks, many who are election deniers, to get into the architecture of the election system, equipping them with training as well as new tools including, for instance, a hotline so that they are in constant contact with roving party attorneys."
She then noted that these Michigan GOP poll workers would be installed in heavily Democratic areas with the goal of creating enough uncertainty about the actual election results so that they can be challenged legally.
"On election day, they could really kick up a haze of legal uncertainty in these primarily Democratic districts," she said. "Now, the concern there is that if there are these legal questions in these primarily democratically districts, if they create this type of chaos, that you raise questions about being able to certify."
Watch the video below:
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Herschel Walker ‘mad’ at Trump for taking credit for ex-NFL star’s Senate bid
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/01/herschel-walker-donald-trump-mad
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Republicans have become a ‘death cult’ in favor of ‘mass human sacrifice’: MSNBC panel
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The Republican Party was described as a "death cult" on MSNBC for fighting against gun safety legislation by a panel on MSNBC's "Deadline: White House."
Host John Heilemann discussed the current state of the GOP with Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez and historian Kurt Andersen.
"We've got new criticism this week of the Republican Party's stepped up and intentional promotion and glorification of guns — including the kind that was used to kill 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas.
Heilemann showed photos of Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) posed with guns and showed clips of Pennsylvania U.S. Senate hopeful Dave McCormick and gubernatorial candidate Mehmet Oz showing AR-15 style rifles in campaign ads.
"There is something going on here more than public policy argument and more than an argument about the second amendment," Heilemann said to Anderson.
"There is a culture war going on within this fight over gun safety and gun regulation," he continued. "Talk about the way in which of all the signifiers out there now in the Republican Party of 2022, being for guns, just full stop, is kind of what it means to be Republican.
"Yeah," Anderson replied.
"It is — when you overuse the word icon, but this is a fetishized icon of not just guns, yes, guns in general, but especially now these assault weapons," he explained. "Which, of course, by doing this it owns the libs."
"It is another of the most grotesque and society-destroying way of owning the libs, which is to say upsetting these people who don't think guns ought to be political play things and symbols," he continued. "I mean, we all say, 'Oh, nothing surprises me anymore,' but it keeps getting worse. It keeps getting lower."
"It's extraordinary I wrote, as you know John, a piece some months ago looking at the anti-vaccine movement for the last two years by the Republican Party as a kind of mass human sacrifice. But, of course, their increasingly hysterical, absolute opposition to gun control — making it impossible, really, to have effecrtive gun regulation in this country is what preceded that as effectively, a mass human sacrifice before and will continue because it's worth the price of freedom, that is their argument,"
Heilemann said, "it is like the Republican Party has become a death cult. And I know I am going to get hit for that, but there's a lot of it that's true, I'm afraid.
Watch:
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Republican says there are no solutions to gun violence – and blames legal abortion
https://www.rawstory.com/billy-long-2657442378/
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Today's #JOLTS data shows manufacturing in America is resilient, with 506,000 workers hired in April after a record 514,000 in March. Still, there is more to be done. It's time for Congress to pass the China competition bill so we can continue to expand opportunity in the U.S. but President Biden has gotten us out of the disastrous Trump manufacturing recession.
U.S. manufacturing sector regains speed in May-ISM
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-manufacturing-sector-regains-speed-may-ism-2022-06-01/
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Lauren Boebert, American menace
The Colorado congresswoman is responsible for causing personal harm to multiple people
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Many public officials are guilty of bad behavior. But few can as readily be held responsible for harassment, personal threats and violence as Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado.
What’s worse, ghastly conduct represents the totality of her public service. Her legislative record is a dismal exhibition of performative gestures that offer no real benefit to Coloradans and serve mainly to complement her TV segments and social media showboating.
And if she were just an entertainer who happened to possess a congressional pin, her constituents might be content to wait out her place-holding stint as the representative from the 3rd Congressional District until a true public servant were ready to succeed her.
But she is more than a mere circus act. She is responsible for causing personal harm to multiple people.
The latest example involves Nina Jankowicz, a disinformation expert whom the Department of Homeland Security assigned to lead its new Disinformation Governance Board. The board was meant to ensure the delivery to Americans of reliable information about homeland security, until disinformation about the board itself and vile abuse directed at Jankowicz prompted the department in May to abandon the project.
Boebert, with a trademark style of dishonesty and provocation, helped lead an anti-board mob and inspire personal threats against Jankowicz. In an interview on NPR’s “Fresh Air,” Jankowicz described the outcome of vitriolic rhetoric from members of Congress, such as doxxing, sexually abusive language, body-shaming, allegations of pedophilia, and violent threats.
“They’re encouraging this sort of abuse from the people who listen to them and follow them,” Jankowicz said. “One person said, ‘This is a hill to die on. Get ready. We will not tolerate this.’ And this to me seems to have come directly from a tweet that Rep. Lauren Boebert sent out saying that this was Stalinist or Mao-level and this was a hill to die on — so, directly echoing her language in the threat.”
A white supremacist last month who gunned down Black shoppers in a Buffalo grocery store was motivated by the “great replacement” theory, which falsely holds that white Americans are intentionally being replaced by non-white populations. The racist Fox News host Tucker Carlson is the most visible promoter of this erroneous narrative, but Boebert is arguably its most influential proponent in Colorado.
“This is why the Southern Border is wide open,” she tweeted in September. “They want to replace the unvaccinated with foreign workers at a lower price. Get ready, they will replace you if you won’t comply.”
The “great replacement” falsehood was behind other acts of violence, including mass shootings in El Paso and Christchurch, New Zealand.
Bigotry is baked into Boebert’s character. In November, she was caught in a video suggesting that if Democratic Rep. Ilhah Omar were wearing a backpack she would suspect the Minnesota lawmaker, who is Muslim, of being a suicide bomber. The comments were “hateful and dangerous,” as Omar herself described them, and, as was depressingly predictable, death threats against Omar followed. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi characterized Boebert as making “repeated, ongoing and targeted Islamophobic comments and actions against another Member of Congress.”
Boebert shared blame for the danger that befell elected officials in her own party during the Jan. 6 insurrection, when members of Congress fled for their lives. In the lead-up to the event, her office reportedly was in communication with organizers of the protests that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol, during which rioters angry at the then-vice president chanted “Hang Mike Pence” — a call for an execution of which former President Donald Trump approved.
Boebert helped foment mob grievances by promoting falsehoods about the election and, on the morning of Jan. 6, tweeting, “Today is 1776,” which was understood by her followers as a call to arms.
Worst of all, in light of the routine slaughter of school children in America, is Boebert’s pathological promotion of firearms. Other crises in America might directly affect more individuals. Not a single human in the world can escape the adverse effects of climate change. The erosion of democracy threatens constitutional order. The elimination of abortion rights would be a staggering reversal of progress. But the proliferation of gun violence — in that it manifests so grotesquely in mass murder, and because conservative political obstruction so clearly precludes obviously effective gun safety measures — most starkly portends a cratering of national stability, and few figures in the country embody its blood-drenched gun culture with more diabolical gusto than Boebert.
Boebert might have mostly forsaken her constituents in Colorado, but she has amassed a fanbase that extends way beyond the state’s borders. She could use her platform to help improve people’s lives, promote the interests of vulnerable Americans, heal the divisions that jeopardize the country’s future.
But she does the opposite. She degrades and attacks people, particularly those who are vulnerable. She thrives in and exploits divisions and leaves them deeper.
There’s a word for this sort of person. She is a menace.
https://coloradonewsline.com/2022/06/02/lauren-boebert-american-menace/
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Watch: Jim Jordan gets repeatedly slapped down at hearing after complaining Dems 'rushed' to pass gun laws
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Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) complained that Democrats were rushing to pass gun safety laws following the massacre of 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School, and he was repeatedly met with criticism.
The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing Thursday on the Protecting Our Kids Act, and the Ohio Republican opened his remarks by expressing sympathy for the families of those killed in Uvalde, Texas, as well as those killed in Buffalo last month and then Tulsa on Wednesday, but then complained that Democrats wanted to pass legislation in response to the murders.
"No one wants another tragedy, no one wants this to happen again," Jordan said. "That's why it's regretful that Democrats have rushed to a markup today in what seems more like political theater than a real attempt at public safety or finding solutions. The Democrats never once reached out to us to seeking out before the legislation we are considering today. Protecting children is not a Republican or Democrat issue."
Jordan pointed out the Democratic majority had already passed gun safety measures in the House of Representatives, but he claimed the narrowly divided Senate wouldn't vote on the because, he claimed, they were too radical.
"Those bills are radical attempts to legislate away Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens," Jordan said. "The Senate has not taken up the legislation, just like it won't take up this bill. What we're doing is designed to appeal to Democratic primary voters."
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) was the first to fact check Jordan, saying comprehensive gun safety laws had been delayed for decades.
"The Democrats are not rushing anything," Cohen said. "The public is demanding we take action because they have seen what happened in Uvalde, Texas, they have seen what happened in Buffalo, they have seen what happened in Tulsa. It is happening all too often. It is deadly. Assault weapons were banned from 1994 to 2004, it was constitutionally permissible. It wasn't until 2008 and the Heller decision, when Justice [Antonin] Scalia said that people had a right based on the Second Amendment to protect their homes with reasonable weapons and said that that was not something that would prohibit government from having more restrictive laws on people with mental health problems or people who have criminal backgrounds or other possible changes in the law."
Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) went next, saying that Americans had failed the children killed in Uvalde, whom she identified by name, but she singled out Republican legislators for blame.
"One young man pulled the trigger, but we all have failed them," Garcia said. "America failed them and the other thousands of children who died as result of gun violence. Republicans are complicit in negligence and neglected to responsibly address comprehensive gun reform. Republicans are complicit in the shooting in Buffalo, for encouraging white supremacy and promoting replacement theory. The Republicans are complicit in the lives lost in Pulse [Nightclub] Florida for their homophobia and anti-human rights narrative. Republicans are complicit in El Paso for their anti-immigrant narrative and putting gun lobby interests over people's lives. House Democrats stand with the victims and the loved ones."
"We stand to act with the people, not gun interests," Garcia added. "We have been consistent, we are not rushing. We have already passed some bills. There are solutions, they are not premature. We have passed reforms and measures to ensure we are protecting our community, and most especially our little children, our angels."
Then Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) took his shots, reminding Jordan that guns were the leading cause of death for children and that more than 311,000 students had been exposed to gun violence since the Columbine massacre.
"Tell the parents who lost children, tell the family members who saw loved ones slaughtered that we are rushing," Cicilline said. "The real question is why has it taken us so long, and there is one reason: We don't have Republican colleagues in the fight with us. We passed two bills to strengthen criminal background checks. Our ranking member described those as radical attempts to take away the Second Amendment. That is a bill supported by 90 percent of the American people. Common sense, as well as closing the Charleston loophole. Enough with these bogus arguments about the Second Amendment. This is about fulfilling our responsibility to keep our constituents safe from gun violence."
Watch:
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Rep Greg Steube (R-FL) shows his guns during House Judiciary Cmte hearing on gun control.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) says "I hope the gun isn't loaded"
Rep. Steube responds, "I'm at my house. I can do whatever I want with my guns"
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Desantis will veto the bill to fund the Tampa Rays new Spring Training facility because of their recent statements about bringing awareness about gun violence statistics following the Buffalo and Uvalde mass shootings.
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'Quit filibustering!' Angry constituents challenge Republican Chuck Grassley over inaction on gun control
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United States Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) was confronted by a roomful of constituents frustrated with the federal government's inaction on stopping gun violence during a town hall in Columbus Junction, Louisa County, Iowa on Wednesday.
Grassley, 88, was bombarded with questions about why he and other Republican lawmakers refuse to agree to modest proposals like raising purchasing age requirements, limiting high-capacity magazines, or expanding background checks, even as the nation grapples with the 233rd mass shooting so far this year.
Grassley declined to reveal what sort of new regulation he would support and insisted that his colleagues are working on the problem.
“Yesterday, they had a meeting by Zoom and they had very positive results, and they think they have a framework put together that something can be done to stop this violence through some gun legislation and through some school safety issues,” Grassley said of Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut). “To answer your question, I’m going to wait until they report next week before I decide what I’m going to do.”
One of the people in attendance asked Grassley if he would consider a ban on the AR-15, which is the weapon of choice in the vast majority of firearm massacres.
“They’re there to kill people," the man said of the semi-automatic rifle.
Grassley noted that because "there are 400 million guns in the United States" and that "15 million of them are AR-15s... you’re still going to have AR-15s even if you stop selling them right now."
A woman sitting in the back of the room immediately shot that down.
“The answer is not to do nothing!” she exclaimed.
Grassley, however, reverted to his previous statement on the Senate's negotiations.
“The answer to your question is a process answer. Whatever we do through the Cornyn/Murphy cooperative effort to make schools safe and do what you can with guns, that probably would not get 60 votes," he said.
“Quit filibustering it then!” another person shouted, referring to Grassley personally blocking Murphy's unanimous consent request on universal background checks last December.
Watch below via Iowa Starting Line:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1532417401777803264
Asked about banning AR-15s, Grassley noted that there’s already millions out there
“The answer is not to do nothing!” one woman replied
Grassley then said it probably wouldn’t get 60 votes anyway
“Quit filibustering it then!” another person said,
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1532419227633733634
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Biden calls for ban on assault weapons: 'This time we must actually do something'
A string of deadly shootings continued with one in Oklahoma on Wednesday.
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As mass shootings continue to rock the nation, President Joe Biden delivered prime-time remarks on guns Thursday evening, imploring the nation to "For God's sake, do something."
Rows of illuminated white candles lined the carpet of the White House Cross Hall as Biden called on lawmakers to take action, listing off reforms he'd like to see passed to curb gun violence.
"We need to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines. And if we can't ban assault weapons, then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21, strengthen background checks, enact safe storage laws and red flag laws. Repeal the immunity that protects gun manufacturers from liability, address the mental health crisis," he said in an impassioned address.
The latest mass shooting on Wednesday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, leaving four dead, follows a massacre of 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, as well as an apparently racially-motivated attack at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, leaving 10 Black people dead.
"We spent hours with hundreds of family members who were broken, whose lives will never be the same," Biden said. "They had one message for all of us. Do something. Just do something ... After Columbine, after Sandy Hook, after Charleston, after Orlando, after Las Vegas, after Parkland, nothing has been done. This time that can't be true. This time we must do something."
Biden took the national spotlight amid questions over why he has not yet lobbied lawmakers personally and more forcefully as negotiations continue.
The president said he supports the bipartisan effort, but described stiff Republican opposition as a major roadblock. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Ted Cruz and other GOP figures have made the case that mental illness and school security are the problems underscoring these shootings, not guns.
"The fact that the majority of the Senate Republicans don't want any of these proposals even to be debated or come up for a vote I find unconscionable," he said. "We can't fail the American people again."
"This isn't about taking anyone's rights. It's about protecting children," he added. "It's about protecting families, it's about protecting whole communities, it's about protecting our freedoms to go to school, to a grocery store to a church without being shot and killed. According to new data just released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention guns are the number one killer of children in the United States of America. The number one killer. More than car accidents, more than cancer. Over the last two decades, more school-aged children have died from guns than on-duty police officers and active-duty military combined."
"Think about that," he said, adding, "How much more carnage are we willing to accept? How many more innocent American lives must be taken before we say enough, enough?"
Biden said earlier this week he was "not confident" Congress would succeed in passing gun reform legislation, referencing his own time in the Senate.
While serving as then-President Barack Obama's vice president, Biden was tasked in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting to lead the administration's effort to enact tougher gun control laws -- but in the nearly decade since the nation mourned for Newtown, no action on gun control has passed at a federal level.
The last meaningful gun reform legislation passed on Capitol Hill was the 1994 assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004 due to a "sunset" clause in the legislation. Similar legislation has failed for decades in the Senate due in large part to the filibuster rule, which requires 60 senators for a measure to advance toward a final vote. Though Democrats hold a razor-thin majority in Congress, they cannot push legislation through the Senate without the support of at least 10 Republicans.
The American public is widely supportive of universal background checks, which have already passed through the House's Democratic majority. An ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted in September 2019 found 89% support for universal background checks, including at least eight in 10 Republicans and conservatives.
The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted along party lines, 25-19, to approve the Protect our Kids Act and send to the full chamber for a vote next week.
The markup lasted over nine hours and concluded as Biden addressed the nation and called on Congress to take up specific gun control reforms - many of which are included in Democrats' proposal.
The bill, which would raise the purchasing age for semiautomatic rifles to 21, limit large capacity magazines, create safe storage requirements and tighten regulation of "ghost guns," lacks 60 votes to pass in the Senate.
As Biden prepared for his speech on Thursday, funerals were underway in Uvalde, where he visited families of victims.
He claimed earlier this week to have visited more aftermaths of mass shootings than any other American president.
"Jill and I met with the owner and staff for the funeral home," Biden said during his address on Thursday night. "He's being strong, strong, strong, strong to take care of their own. And the people in Uvalde mourn, as they do over the next 17 days, what will we be doing as a nation?"
"It's time for each of us to do our part," he added. "It's time to act. For the children we've lost, the children we can save, for the nation we love, let's hear the call and the cry. Let's meet the moment, let us finally do something. God bless the families who are hurting."
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-calls-ban-assault-weapons-time/story?id=85139497
'How much more carnage?' Biden cites Scalia in address on plan to save children from America's 'killing fields'
President Joe Biden addressed the nation on Thursday evening as the country mourns a series of mass shootings.
He spoke of visiting Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
"Innocent victims murdered in a classroom turned into a killing field. Standing there in that small town like so many other communities across America, I couldn't help but think there are too many other schools, too many other everyday places that have become killing fields, battlefields here in America."
He said America wants Congress to "do something."
"Just do something. For God's sake, do something. After Columbine, after Sandy Hook, after Charleston, after Orlando, nothing has been done," he said. "This time that can't be true. We must do something."
Biden spoke in front of 56 candles representing the states and territories of America, CNN reported.
"It was Justice Scalia who wrote, 'the rights granted by the Second Amendment are not unlimited.' Not unlimited," he said. "It never has been."
"We can't fail the American people again," Biden said. "Let's meet the moment, let us finally do something."
Watch:
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Another fantastic jobs report for May. Even with record low unemployment, more new jobs continue to be created during the Biden Boom.
Payrolls rose 390,000 in May, better than expected as companies keep hiring
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 390,000 in May, above the 328,000 Dow Jones estimate.
The unemployment rate held at 3.6%, while a more encompassing jobless rate edged higher to 7.1%.
Average hourly earnings rose slightly less than expected but were still up 5.2% from a year ago.
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The U.S. economy added 390,000 jobs in May, better than expected despite fears of an economic slowdown.
At the same time, the unemployment rate held at 3.6%, just above the lowest level since December 1969.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for nonfarm payrolls to expand by 328,000 and the unemployment rate to edge lower to 3.5%.
“Despite the slight cooldown, the tight labor market is clearly sticking around and is shrugging off fears of a downturn,” said Daniel Zhao, Glassdoor’s senior economist. “We continue to see signs of a healthy and competitive job market, with no signs of stepping on the brakes yet.”
Average hourly earnings increased 0.3% from April, slightly lower than the 0.4% estimate. The year-over-year increase for wages of 5.2% was in line with expectations.
Job gains were broad-based. Leisure and hospitality led, adding 84,000 positions. Professional and business services rose by 75,000, transportation and warehousing contributed 47,000, and construction jobs increased by 36,000.
Other areas that saw notable gains included state government education (36,000), private education (33,000), health care (28,000), manufacturing (18,000) and wholesale trade (14,000).
Labor force participation edged higher, rising to 62.3% though still 1.1 percentage points below February 2020, as the labor force is smaller by 207,000 from that mark.
A more encompassing measure of unemployment that takes into account those not looking for jobs and those holding part-time positions for economic reasons moved higher to 7.1%, up one-tenth of a percentage point from April. Unemployment for Asians fell to 2.4%, the lowest in nearly three years, while the rate for Blacks was 6.2%, an increase of 0.3 percentage point.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/03/jobs-report-may-2022-.html
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If a Republican elected official doesn't go along with the rest of the cult then they will go after that official.
The overwhelming majority of Americans support an assault weapons ban. Republican Rep. Chris Jacobs endorsed the ban and members of the GOP Congress quickly turned on him. So now, he is ending his political career for doing what his constituents want which is an assault weapons ban but his political GOP party won't allow it.
The GOP is out of touch with Americans. Republicans want a violent society with mass shootings every day and want to control women's bodies by prohibiting them from getting an abortion when they have complications to their pregnancy or if they are brutally attacked. They would rather let a woman die than get an abortion but have no problem when children are slaughtered at school with military grade weapons that mutilates the body. That's why the GOP is going to lose in a landslide in November. People are sick of this violence and tired of the GOP preventing gun laws from being implemented. Also, women do not want to become second class citizens and will come out in droves to vote Republicans out of office.
GOP congressman drops out of NY race just days after endorsing assault weapons ban
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On Friday, according to WKBW's Natalie Fahmy, Rep. Chris Jacobs (R-NY) announced that he is suspending his campaign for New York's 23rd Congressional District.
This comes after Jacobs was one of the only sitting Republicans to publicly say last week that he would support a federal ban on assault weapons in the wake of the white supremacist mass shooting in Buffalo, which is near to the district. He acknowledged that that position has made it impossible for him to win nomination for the district, saying, "Since making those comments, every Republican who supported me withdrew their endorsement."
Jacobs currently represents New York's 27th Congressional District, which is being eliminated as a result of the Census reapportioning New York to have only 26 seats. He had hoped to take over the 23rd District, which shares some territory with his old seat, after the incumbent Republican there, Rep. Tom Reed, resigned over a sexual misconduct allegation.
In his place, House GOP Caucus chair Elise Stefanik, also an upstate New Yorker, has announced she is endorsing Carl Paladino, a far-right former member of the Buffalo Board of Education and one-time ally of former President Donald Trump.
Paladino famously caused outrage in 2016 when he said of former First Lady Michelle Obama, “I’d like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.” Even the Trump campaign itself condemned him as racist following the incident.
Political observers widely believe Republicans will once again block any consideration of an assault weapon ban in the Senate, although President Joe Biden has also called for more modest measures including a 21 year age limit to purchase such weapons.
BREAKING: Representative Chris Jacobs has withdrawn from the NY-23 race. This comes after he publicly supported an assault weapons ban. “Since making those comments, every republican who supported me withdrew their endorsement.”@WKBW
https://twitter.com/NatalieFahmy/status/1532815112301682689
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Wisconsin gunman's list included Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's name
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Lansing — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's name appeared on a list of a gunman who's suspected in the killing of a retired judge in Wisconsin, her office said Saturday.
Zack Pohl, Whitmer's deputy chief of staff, said in a statement that law enforcement officials notified Whitmer of the list on Friday. That was the same day that retired Juneau County Judge John Roemer was shot and killed in "a targeted attack in his home" in New Lisbon, Wisconsin, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"While the news reports are deeply troubling, we will not comment further on an ongoing criminal investigation," Pohl said. "Gov. Whitmer has demonstrated repeatedly that she is tough, and she will not be bullied or intimidated from doing her job and working across the aisle to get things done for the people of Michigan."
The incident in Wisconsin is under investigation, according to a press release from the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
At about 6:30 a.m. Friday, the Juneau County Sheriff’s Office received a call about an armed person and two shots fired in home in New Lisbon, according to the department. The caller had left the home and contacted law enforcement.
The Juneau County Special Tactics and Response Team eventually entered the home and located the homeowner, who wasn't named in the department's press release, deceased. A 56-year-old male was also found in the basement of the home with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
He was transported to a medical facility.
"This incident appears to be a targeted act," the Wisconsin Department of Justice said. "There is no immediate danger to the public."
Officials said law enforcement had found Roemer "zip-tied to a chair and fatally shot," according to a Wisconsin TV station.
"A law enforcement official said a 'hit list' was found in the suspect's vehicle," WISN 12-Milwaukee reported.
The list included Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, according to the TV station's reporting.
Whitmer, a Democrat, has faced a string of threats during her time in Michigan's top office. In October 2020, federal agents revealed what they described as a plot to overthrow the government and kidnap and harm her.
In April, jurors acquitted two men accused of being involved in the plot and deadlocked on charges against the two alleged ringleaders. Daniel Harris, 24, of Lake Orion, and Brandon Caserta, 34, of Canton Township were freed after nearly two years behind bars.
Andrew Birge, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Michigan, has vowed to retry the accused ringleaders Adam Fox, 38, of Potterville, and Barry Croft, 46, of Delaware. The four men in the Whitmer kidnapping case faced kidnapping conspiracy charges, a felony punishable by up to life in prison.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/06/04/gov-whitmer-wisconsin-gunmans-list/7514269001/
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Great news from Georgia last month. The Trump endorsed candidates for Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General, all lost in the Republican primary. Georgia, at least, will not, in 2022, automatically select Trump as the winner of the 2024 Presidential election. Still, the fight continues in other states. But the results in Georgia are a big relief. If Trump can’t ‘fix’ the election in Georgia, to automatically give him a good result in 2024, where can he succeed?
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Great news from Georgia last month. The Trump endorsed candidates for Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General, all lost in the Republican primary. Georgia, at least, will not, in 2022, automatically select Trump as the winner of the 2024 Presidential election. Still, the fight continues in other states. But the results in Georgia are a big relief. If Trump can’t ‘fix’ the election in Georgia, to automatically give him a good result in 2024, where can he succeed?
The most telling sign that Donnie has lost his relevance with Republican voters is that his own endorsed candidates lost badly in Idaho which is the most radical extreme state in the country.
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GOPer insists he made 'the conservative vote' by impeaching 'narcissist' Trump
https://www.rawstory.com/tom-rice-impeachment/
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The key difference is that President Biden's American Rescue Plan has generated a world-beating economic recovery for the US, allowing us to face this global challenge from a unique position of strength. And don't forget that every single Republican voted AGAINST The American Rescue Plan!
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In April under President Biden, the United States had the largest monthly budget SURPLUS ever recorded since the Treasury Department began keeping records.
This follows Trump, who ran up the largest deficit in American history.
U.S. Treasury reports record budget surplus in April as revenues soar
The U.S. government posted a $308 billion surplus in April - a record for any month - as receipts nearly doubled from a year earlier amid a strong economic recovery
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-treasury-posts-record-budget-surplus-april-revenues-soar-2022-05-11/
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Trump Added More to the National Debt Than Obama and Bush
The fiscally irresponsible 45th president somehow bloated deficits more in four years than his predecessors did in eight.
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Donald Trump's final tab is in. Legislation and executive actions signed by former President Trump added $7.8 trillion in ten-year budget deficits. When accounting for non-legislative budget savings, the total projected budget deficits expanded by $3.9 trillion over the decade.
These figures appear in my new report, “Trump’s Fiscal Legacy: A Comprehensive Overview of Spending, Taxes, and Deficits” which analyzes Congressional Budget Office data.
It begins with the ten-year (2017-2027) budget baseline that Trump inherited in January 2017, and then measures all subsequent changes to those ten-year estimates that occurred during his presidency. This includes aggregating every line-item of every bill he signed, as well as the deficit shifts driven by economic changes and the Congressional Budget Office’s technical re-estimates of existing tax-and-spending policies.
Rather than just look at the deficit totals, this accounting method separates out the inherited deficit baseline from the actual policies that a president can control.
When President Trump was inaugurated, the CBO projected $10 trillion in deficits over the 2017-2027 decade. By the time Trump left office, CBO’s estimate had grown to $13.9 trillion.
Reducing deficits from the $10 trillion projection should have been easy. During Trump’s presidency, faster-than-expected economic growth raised the ten-year revenue projections by $1.3 trillion, and lower-than-expected interest rates shaved the ten-year interest cost projections by $2.6 trillion. That’s $3.9 trillion in automatic budget savings without lifting a finger.
Instead of building on those savings, the president helped enact $7.8 trillion in new initiatives, flipping his total fiscal imprint to a $3.9 trillion net cost. The largest drivers were pandemic-relief legislation ($3.9 trillion), the 2017 tax cuts ($2 trillion), and legislation raising the discretionary spending caps ($1.6 trillion). Other costs included disaster aid and other discretionary spending ($493 billion), repeal of several Affordable Care Act-related taxes ($299 billion), and hundreds of small policies ($201 billion).
On the savings side, the president’s tariffs saved $367 billion, and the repeal of the ACA’s individual mandate and independent payment review board saved $317 billion.
From a fiscal responsibility point of view, President Trump’s record compares poorly to his predecessors.
Using the same methodology, former President Barack Obama added $5 trillion in legislative costs over a decade, while former President George W. Bush added $6.9 trillion. Not only did Trump sign more ten-year debt into law than his immediate predecessors, he also did it in just a single four-year presidential term, compared to his predecessors’ eight years in the Oval Office.
Congressional Democrats have understandably decried the Trump deficits, yet they share much of the responsibility. The $3.9 trillion in pandemic spending was drafted and passed by a split-control Congress, with a higher percentage of Democratic votes than Republicans. The $1.6 trillion cost of raising the discretionary spending caps reflected a bipartisan compromise to hike both defense and social spending by roughly equal amounts. Disaster aid and the repeal of the ACA taxes were also bipartisan. In many instances, congressional Democrats had wanted to spend even more than the final legislation included.
Of course, Trump owns the 2017 tax cuts, tariffs, and ACA individual mandate reforms. Overall, the $7.8 trillion in new initiatives resulted from $1.3 trillion in purely Republican policies, and $6.5 trillion in (often overwhelmingly) bipartisan legislation.
Similar deficit bipartisanship also occurred under President Obama, when four-fifths of the $5 trillion legislative costs arose from bipartisan votes to cancel scheduled tax increases, and just one-fifth came from party-line Democratic legislation, such as the 2009 stimulus. Few actions unite Democrats and Republicans like adding red ink.
My purpose here is not to relitigate the necessity of the pandemic-response spending, or the wisdom of the tax cuts or discretionary spending hikes. Rather, it is to inform that debate by accounting for their steep costs.
However, there is no dispute that President Trump left the federal budget outlook in poor shape. He departed the White House with the largest peacetime budget deficit in American history, and a national debt exceeding 100 percent of the economy for the first time since World War II.
The Trump administration’s failure to address unsustainable Social Security and Medicare shortfalls leaves a CBO-projected 30-year baseline deficit of $112 trillion. And now, rising interest rates threaten to drive the cost of servicing these deficits to unsustainable levels. These past several years suggest that Washington is ill-prepared to address these ominous trends.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-added-more-to-the-national-debt-than-obama-and-bush
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The record job growth by President Biden is simply historic.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUc9spvXoAIJx6V?format=jpg&name=medium)
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Court documents shed light on secretive Christian sect tied to Amy Coney Barrett
https://www.rawstory.com/people-of-praise-2657462391/
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GOP committee has second 'embarrassing' ad in three weeks pulled off the air: report
(https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/rick-scott.jpg?id=29941111&width=2400&height=1384)
In the space of three weeks, the National Republican Senatorial Committee overseen by Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) has watched two ads attacking Democrats that were blatantly misleading pulled off the air, according to a report from MSNBC.
According to Steve Benen of MSNBC, complaints about misrepresentation in attack ads are common, but what is less common is the offending ads being yanked from public view by local TV stations.
"It can be frustrating, but the vast majority of the time, stations don’t want to be in the business of deciding which commercials are so brazenly dishonest that they’re ultimately unsupportable," but that there are exceptions which Scott's committee found out the hard way in less than a month.
The first ad claimed that gas prices under Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) increased 23 percent during her prior tenure as governor -- which turned out to not only be false, but prices actually decreased according to the report the GOP cited.
The second ad went after North Carolina’s Cheri Beasley and accused her of setting free a "child p*rn offender,” when she served as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.
As the New York Times reported, "On Friday, five TV stations in Raleigh and Charlotte said they would pull the ad or that they had 'paused' it pending an examination of its claims, according to emails from the stations to Courtney Weisman, a lawyer working for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which were reviewed by The New York Times. On Thursday, two Charlotte stations took the ad off the air."
According to Benen, who called the two ads an "embarrassing" black eye for Republicans, "For those keeping score, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has now had two television ads pulled over the course of three weeks. Election Day 2022 is still 22 weeks away, and I don’t imagine anyone would be too surprised if that total grows."
https://www.rawstory.com/gop-ads-misinformation/
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Fact:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUlaaF5XoAER2em?format=jpg&name=900x900)
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Facts:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUl5CAPX0AM5VUa?format=jpg&name=medium)
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The President is absolutely 100% correct.
When Biden took over, the United States was in an economic crisis with massive job loss and a busted economy. Thanks to President Biden we have nearly 9 million new jobs created in just one year and a half. No other President in history ever accomplished this feat. Unemployment is at a record low since 1969. People are now quitting their job in record numbers and taking on a more high quality paying job. That's the first time since 1976 that this occurred.
When Biden took over, COVID was out of control. 4,000 people were dying per day with nearly 400,000 daily infections. We had no vaccine plan and a vaccine shortage. President Biden engineered the best vaccine rollout plan in the world vaccinating 4 million people per day and secured enough vaccines for all Americans. Due to his strong effective leadership, he was able to get the covid crisis under control twice. This chart speaks for itself. The greatest economic recovery on record.
President Biden
At the time I took office about 16 months ago, the economy had stalled and COVID was out of control.
Today, thanks to the economic plan and the vaccination plan that my Administration put into action, America has achieved the most robust recovery in modern history.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUfuobIX0AE7W2c?format=png&name=medium)
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President Biden @POTUS
I led the world to coordinate the largest release from global oil reserves in history, directed the sale of gasoline using homegrown biofuels this summer, and more.
These actions have already helped to blunt what would have been an even larger Putin Price Hike.
We’ve laid an economic foundation that is historically strong.
Now we are moving forward to a new moment where we can build a future of stable, steady growth. So we can bring down inflation without sacrificing all of the historic gains we’ve made.
I am doing everything I can on my own to help working families during this stretch of higher prices — and I will continue to do that.
But Congress needs to act as well. We can do so much more if we come together to lower costs for American families.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1532789212923166725
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The monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report was released last Friday, and it was another good one.
And it's time to update the new statistics!
33.8 million jobs - 16 years Clinton-Obama
8.7 million jobs - 16 months Biden
1.9 million jobs - 16 years of 2 Bushes, Trump
4 times more Biden jobs than last 3 Republicans COMBINED.
President Biden in one year and 4 months created 6.8 million MORE jobs than 3 Republican Presidents did in 16 years. That is absolutely historic, and nobody can ever try to claim that Republicans are better for the economy and for jobs. That is absolutely false and these numbers prove it.
The fact is, President Biden has done more for American workers and the economy in just a little over a year than 3 Republicans in 16 years. Both Bushes and Trump couldn't even create 2 million jobs between the three of them. Bush senior created the most jobs because under Bush Junior and Trump we were in an economic crisis.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUVFa1bWIAYkZwW?format=png&name=medium)
President Biden's strong recovery continues even with unemployment at a record low 3.6%. The 390K plus jobs in May shows the vitality of the strong U.S. economy that Biden has turned around the Trump economic crisis into the best economy in the world.
The graph gives you a sense of scale, showing that persistent job growth around +390k is stronger than it's ever been.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUVFXT3XsAIe71c?format=jpg&name=medium)
Jobs created per month:
Biden - 543,000
Clinton/Obama - 176,000
2 Bushes/Trump - 9,600
The Biden job creation rate is 50 times the rate of last 3 GOP Presidents. 50 times!
Look at the measly Republican number - 9,600 a month for 16 years.
Both Clinton and Obama were the greatest job creating Presidents in modern time and Biden blows past both of them with record job creation each month. That is historic. No other President has ever done this in American history..
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUVH2xsWUAIZT7g?format=png&name=medium)
There are now twice as many jobs openings in the US as there are unemployed people.
It's a stunning statistic, one we are likely to ever see again.
U.S. Job Openings Rose Unexpectedly to Record 11.5 Million
Record 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in March
Vacancies rise in retail trade and durable goods manufacturing
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-03/u-s-job-openings-rose-unexpectedly-to-record-11-5-million
GDP growth under Biden is more than twice the rate than the average of the last 3 GOP Presidents.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUVJuRNWIAIaEYT?format=png&name=900x900)
New businesses continued to be started at historically high rates. Love this chart. US has seen an explosion of entrepreneurship, ingenuity in a time of great challenge.
Speaks powerfully to our character, our grit, our resilience. We are not being "crushed" as right wing Republicans lie about.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUVK0emWYAAyzNK?format=jpg&name=900x900)
Yes, inflation is too high due to the pandemic, but typical American worker who works full time is still coming out ahead.
The majority of American workers are not "falling behind", and they are still coming out ahead which debunks false right wing talking points.
Data from Atlanta Fed.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUVMzTiWAAAl9gS?format=jpg&name=900x900)
Of the 44 million jobs created in America since 1989, 42 million - 96% - have been created under Democratic Presidents. Basically all of them.
Republicans have not done their part to move the country forward over many decades now but we always hear the myth that "Republicans are better for jobs and the economy". Well these government statistics shatters that false illusion. Republicans are horrible at creating jobs and with the economy. We had an economic crisis in 2008 and 2020 under 2 Republicans and not one under any Democrat.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUVTM3bWAAAnJuz?format=png&name=medium)
To recap:
4 times as many Biden jobs as last 3 GOP Presidents combined.
Twice as many job openings as unemployed people.
Historic rate of new business formation.
Biden job growth 50x per month last 3 Republicans.
Of the 44 million jobs created since 1989, 42 million were creates under Dems.
Truly historic and President Biden has even beaten both Clinton and Obama in monthly job creation.
Don't ever let anyone tell you Republicans are better for jobs and the economy. These government stats proves that to be a total myth.
Democrats have created the most jobs and have given us the greatest economies. Republicans screw it up by losing jobs and putting us in an economic crisis. We were put in 2 by Republicans in just a decade.
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President Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act authorizing the U.S.Department of Energy to accelerate domestic production of clean energy technologies which will:
✅ Increase our energy independence
✅ Lower prices for Americans
✅ Help us reach net zero by 2050
Once again, President Biden comes through for Americans and has kept another campaign promise by making the United States energy independent with production of clean energy in the United States.
Biden to invoke Defense Production Act for clean energy
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President Biden will shield solar project developers from the costs of potential trade penalties and offer new federal support for domestic panel manufacturing, the White House said Monday.
Driving the news: The Biden administration plans to provide a two-year reprieve from panel import tariffs that may stem from an ongoing Commerce Department probe of whether Chinese companies are dodging U.S. penalties.
Biden also plans to invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) to boost the manufacturing of panels and other clean energy equipment in the U.S., senior administration officials told reporters Monday morning.
Reuters first reported the upcoming moves and, citing a source familiar with the matter, said the trade effort is designed to "allay companies' concerns about having to hold billions of dollars in reserves to pay potential tariffs."
Why it matters: The U.S. solar industry and analysts say the months-long Commerce investigation has slowed the pace of U.S. projects, calling it a hurdle that adds to supply chain woes and other headwinds.
A recent estimate from the consultancy Rystad Energy said 64% of 2022 U.S. solar additions are "in jeopardy," mostly because of the threat of new tariffs.
Commerce Department officials have called predictions of potential tariffs far over 200% overblown, with any levies more likely to be an order of magnitude lower.
What's next: A source familiar with the upcoming announcement said Biden would "take steps to provide U.S. solar deployers the short-term stability they need to build clean energy projects."
Biden will invoke the Defense Protection Act for solar panel parts, like photovoltaic modules and module components, heat pumps, electrolyzers, fuel cells and platinum group metals, as well as infrastructure for the power grid, such as transformers, a White House fact sheet states.
The Commerce probe will continue, according to a senior administration official.
Part of the administration's actions also includes ramping up federal procurement of clean energy, including solar.
The intrigue: The Commerce inquiry, initiated by the U.S. manufacturer Auxin Solar, has become a politically delicate problem for the Biden administration.
The policy announcement shows how it has reached the top levels of the White House.
Officials are trying to accelerate renewable power deployment to meet the White House goal of 100% of U.S. electricity coming from zero-carbon sources by 2035.
What they're saying: "We applaud President Biden’s thoughtful approach to addressing the current crisis of the paralyzed solar supply chain," Abigail Ross Hopper, CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said in a statement.
"During the two-year tariff suspension window, the U.S. solar industry can return to rapid deployment while the Defense Production Act helps grow American solar manufacturing," she said.
Reuters
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So, nearly half of Republicans say we must learn to "accept" mass shootings where our children, family, and friends are under siege from white supremacists and people that shouldn't be allowed to have weapons. Republicans want us to live in a constant state of violence and just shrug our shoulders when people are massacred at grocery stores, churches, schools, concerts, movie theaters, bars, doctors offices, or fairs. Just about every place we go we can be under attack and almost half of Republicans say "we have to accept this carnage". We are being held hostage by a minority of true idiots. Republicans ARE the problem.
Face The Nation
In a new @CBSNewsPoll, 72% of the nation believes mass shootings are preventable, however, there is a partisan split with 44% of Republicans saying mass shootings are something we have to accept.
https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1533460327924387840
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Truth:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUWhhTJWIAA1UYA?format=jpg&name=medium)
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What would an American fascist government look like?
https://www.rawstory.com/what-would-an-american-fascist-government-look-like/
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Matthew McConaughey breaks down at the White House talking about murdered children in his hometown Uvalde
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Actor Matthew McConaughey appeared at the White House on Tuesday to talk about his hometown of Uvalde, Texas where 21 were killed by a mass shooter who bought assault weapons on his 18th birthday.
He told a story about one of the many children killed last month: Maite Rodriguez. She wore green converse high-tops to show off her love of the Earth and the environment. She drew a heart on the toe of the shoes. Many of the children were so unrecognizable that the only way they could be identified was from a DNA test comparing them to their parents. In the case of Maite, it was her shoes.
McConaughey had someone in the White House press briefing room hold up the shoes as his voice cracked and tears formed in his eyes.
He began his speech by saying that he and his wife spent the last week on the ground in Uvalde with the families of the victims. He wants to have a national discussion about how to make the horrifying deaths of these children matter.
"While we honor and acknowledge the victims, we need to recognize that this time, seems that something is different," he continued. "There's a sense that perhaps there's a viable path forward. Responsible parties in this debate seem to at least be committed to sitting down and having a real conversation about a new and improved path forward. A path that can bring us closer together and make us safer as a country. A path that can actually get something done this time. Camila and I came here to share my stories from my hometown in Uvalde, came here to take meetings with elected officials on both sides of the aisle. We came here to speak to them, to speak with them, and to urge them to speak with each other. To remind and inspire them that the American people will continue to drive forward the mission of keeping our children safe because it's more than our right to do so."
He explained it's the responsibility of all officials to do it. He said he hopes that he can inspire energy, reason and passion and turn it into action.
"We are in a window of opportunity right now that we have not been in before," McConaughey continued. "A window where it seems like real change, real change can happen. Uvalde, Texas, is where I was born. It's where my mom taught Kindergarten less than a mile from Robb Elementary. Uvalde is where I learned to master a Daisy BB gun. I think that took two years before I graduated to a .410 shotgun. Uvalde is where I was taught to revere the power and the capability of the tool that we call a gun. Uvalde is where I learned responsible gun ownership. And Uvalde called me on May 24th when I learned the news of this devastating tragedy."
He said that when he heard the news of what happened he began driving home to hold his children and talk to his wife about what they would do to help.
"We loaded up the truck and drove to Uvalde. When we arrived, a few hours later, I got to tell you, even from the inside of our vehicle, you could feel the shock in the town. You could feel the pain, the denial, the disillusion, anger, blame, sadness, loss of lives, dreams halted. We saw ministries. We saw first responders, counselors, cooks, and families trying to grieve without it being on the front page news. We met with the local funeral director and countless morticians who hadn't slept since the massacre the day before, because they had been working 24/7, trying to handle so many bodies at once. So, many little innocent bodies who had their entire lives still yet to live."
He broke down describing the families who told him about their lost children. One father recalled his love of spoiling his daughter. There were promises of taking her to Sea World that McConaughey said would never happen.
He closed by saying that there is a chance "to reach for and to grasp a higher ground above our political affiliations, a chance to make a choice that does more than protecting your party, a chance to make a choice that protects our country now and for the next generation."
He urged everyone to take a sober, humble and honest look into the mirror and ask what is truly of value in our society.
"We got to get some real courage and honor our immortal obligations instead of our party affiliations," he said. "Enough with the counterpunching. Enough of the invalidation of the other side. Come to the common table that represents the American people. Find a middle ground, the place where most of us Americans live anyway. Especially on this issue, because I promise you, America, you and me, we are not as divided as we are being told we are. No. How about we get inspired? Give ourselves just cause to revere our future again. Maybe set an example for our children, give us reason to tell them, hey, listen, and watch these men and women."
He called on lawmakers to lead with humility and uphold values inherent to the world.
"So, where do we start? We start by making the right choices on the issue that is in front of us today," said McConaughey. "We start by making laws that save innocent lives and don't infringe on our second amendment rights. We start right now by voting to pass policies that can keep us from having as many columbines, Sandy Hooks, Parklands, Las Vegases, Buffalos, and Uvaldes from here on. We start by giving Alithia a chance to be spoiled by her dad. We start by giving Maite a chance to become a marine biologist. We start by giving Ellie a chance to read her Bible verse at the Wednesday night service. We start by giving Irma and Joe a chance to finish painting their house, maybe retire, and get that food truck. We start by giving McKenna, Layla, Eliahana, Annabell, Jackie, Eva, Amerie and Lexi — start by giving all of them our promise that their dreams are not going to be forgotten. We start by making the loss of these lives matter. Thank you, thank you."
Watch below:
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President Biden @POTUS
Tune in as I sign nine bipartisan bills into law that honor and improve care for veterans.
Watch: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1534252791207800833
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The simple fact is, gas prices are high all over the world due to Big Oil Price Gouging and Putin's war.
Putin's war is spiking global oil prices.
A gallon of gas in the U.S. is up $1.51 since Putin started amassing troops.
But this is a tough, GLOBAL issue:
Germany: gas is $8.88/gal, up $2.16/gallon
EU: gas is $8.15/gal, up $1.74/gallon
Canada: gas is $6.23/gal, up $1.93/gallon
So, other major industrialized countries are paying MORE for a gallon of gasoline than Americans are here in the United States because of Putin and Big Oil Price Gouging.
The right wing media, Republican politicians, and the mainstream media wants to pretend that Joe Biden set these gas prices and made them high only in the United States because of his "policies".
That's an absolute lie, as gas prices are high globally (higher than the United States) and world leaders are trying to deal with the Putin price hike.
If it wasn't for President Biden tapping into the Strategic Oil Reserve we would be paying $10 for a gallon of gas.
House Democrats put a bill on the floor that will lower gas prices. "The Big Oil And Gas Price Gouging Bill" will stop Big Oil from gouging consumers at the pump for profits like they are currently doing. Every single Republican in the House voted against lowering gas prices for you. They don't care about lowering gas prices for you. All they want to do is keep gas prices high so they can continue to attack President Biden hoping to score political points. All the Republicans had to do was vote "Yes" to lower gas prices but they voted "NO" instead. So, these hypocrites have no reason to be complaining when THEY refused to lower gas prices.
This bill passed in the House only because Democrats control the House and Democrats passed the bill to lower gas prices for you.
The bill is now sitting in the Senate currently being blocked by Republicans who refuse to vote on the bill for debate. Senate Republicans don't want this bill passed to lower gas prices because then they can't attack President Biden for high gas prices when this bill will immediately lower gas prices. They would lose their main political talking point. So, Republicans are blocking a bill to lower gas prices and are making you pay more for gas because they think it will help then politically in November. That's why these all these corrupt right wingers need to be voted out. We have the bill to lower gas prices but Republicans won't allow it to go through to pass. They know if this bill went to the Senate floor it would easily pass and they don't want it to. Republicans are playing politics with your finances.
Here is a screen shot of the "Big Oil And Price Gouging Bill" passed only by Democrats in the House and voted AGAINST by EVERY single Republican. Don't let these Republican liars whine and complain about high gas prices when they ALL voted "NO" to lower it for you!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FTIomJqUYBEhTdZ.jpg)
And here was the final House vote on the "Big Oil and Gas Price Gouging Bill".
EVERY single Republican in the House of Representatives voted NO to lower gas prices for American consumers. The do nothing Republican Congress once again did nothing to help Americans. Senate Republicans are even worse, since they are blocking this bill from becoming law. You can blame Republicans for playing politics with your finances because that's exactly what they are doing. They are blocking this bill from becoming law to lower gas prices because they think if gas prices remain high the rest of the year, you will vote for them in November. Americans know the sadistic game Republicans are playing with their lives. This is the same party that tried to steal the 2020 election with Trump to keep him in power. So, these treasonous Republicans will try to do anything to seize control of power, including purposely blocking legislation to help Americans pay normal gas prices.
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President Biden signed NINE bipartisan bills to honor and improve care for veterans yesterday.
Thank you President Biden for supporting our nation's military!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUroTUSWQAUgmPM?format=jpg&name=medium)
President Biden @POTUS
I’ve long believed we have a sacred obligation to properly train and equip those we send into harm’s way — and to care for them and their families when they return. Today, I signed nine bipartisan bills into law that will honor that obligation and improve care for our veterans.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUr8D1xWYAM24b3?format=jpg&name=medium)
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1534315777167347712
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South Dakotans crush GOP effort to preemptively sabotage Medicaid Expansion vote
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South Dakotans on Tuesday resoundingly defeated a Republican-authored constitutional amendment that would have raised the threshold for passage of most ballot initiatives from a simple majority to 60%, an effort motivated by GOP lawmakers' desire to head off a Medicaid expansion vote set for November.
Voters rejected the proposal, known as Amendment C, by a margin of 67.4% to 32.6%, dealing a decisive blow to state-level Republicans' latest attempt to weaken the ballot initiative process.
"Amendment C is a political ploy that would empower special interests, lobbyists, and politicians at the expense of South Dakota voters."
"The people of South Dakota have preserved their right to use direct democracy," said Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, a national group that worked to defeat the South Dakota amendment. "This victory will benefit tens of thousands of South Dakotans who will choose to use the ballot measure process to increase access to healthcare for their families and neighbors, raise wages, and more policies that improve lives."
"We look forward to what's next in South Dakota: an aggressive campaign to expand Medicaid in the state," Hall added.
If passed, Amendment C would have required a 60% supermajority to approve any voter-initiated referendum that would "increase taxes or fees or that would require the state to appropriate $10 million or more in the first five fiscal years." The proposal was endorsed by South Dakota's Republican Gov. Kristi Noem and the powerful Koch network, which spent big on pro-Amendment C ads and mailers.
"Amendment C is a political ploy that would empower special interests, lobbyists, and politicians at the expense of South Dakota voters," South Dakotans for Fair Elections said ahead of Tuesday's vote. "If you care about secure and fair elections, vote no on C."
Republican sponsors and supporters of the amendment readily admitted that their expedited campaign to get Amendment C on the primary election ballot was fueled at least in part by opposition to the Medicaid referendum, which would make South Dakota the seventh state since 2017 to approve an expansion of the healthcare program through the voter initiative process.
Only Idaho's 2018 Medicaid expansion initiative received more than 60% of the vote, an indication that Amendment C would likely have spelled doom for the South Dakota referendum.
As Daniel Nichanian of Bolts noted late Tuesday, "GOP lawmakers in South Dakota were not able to increase the threshold of passage for initiatives on their own, without consulting voters, since the change would have affected the state constitution."
"And South Dakotans' refusal to go along with this stands out as reaffirming the state's historical legacy," Nichanian observed. "South Dakota was the first in the nation to adopt a process for citizens to initiate ballot measures. In 1898, voters approved a constitutional amendment to that effect that was pushed by local populist leaders—a legacy that voters reaffirmed on Tuesday."
https://www.rawstory.com/south-dakotans-crush-gop-effort-to-preemptively-sabotage-medicaid-expansion-vote/
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A lot of work still to do, but the latest data shows that COVID deaths are down 90% since President Biden
took office -- in part due to his vaccine and booster efforts, and our world-leading deployment of Paxlovid.
On the day President Biden took office, we had over 4,000 deaths per day and nearly 400,000 infections due to Trump's covid disaster. What a remarkable turnaround with covid deaths down 90%.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html
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DeSantis spokeswoman belatedly registers as foreign lobbyist after DOJ scrutiny
Christina Pushaw the spokeswoman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has belatedly registered as a lobbyist for a foreign politician over work she did in the country of Georgia two years ago.
The Washington Post reports that Pushaw did work for former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili between 2018 and 2020 that earned her roughly $25,000.
“Her efforts included writing op-eds, reaching out to supporters and officials, and advocating on his behalf in Georgia and in the United States,” said attorney Michael Sherwin, who is representing Pushaw. “The work ended in 2020."
Sherwin also said that she made the decision to register amid scrutiny from the United States Department of Justice.
"Ms. Pushaw was notified recently by the DOJ that her work on behalf of Mr. Saakashvilli likely required FARA registration," he said. "Ms. Pushaw filed for the registration retroactively as soon as she was made aware.”
Pushaw has openly talked on social media about her work for Saakashvilli in Georgia and will most likely not face any penalty for waiting for years to register as a foreign agent.
https://www.rawstory.com/christina-pushaw-georgia/
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Fox News-hyped New Jersey gym owner gets crushed by yacht-building rival in GOP primary
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On Wednesday, NJ.com reported that Ian Smith, a New Jersey gym owner who became a star on Fox News for illegally defying COVID-19 lockdown rules, lost his bid for Congress in last night's Republican primary.
Smith had also caused controversy in March for telling a police officer about his congressional run to try to get out of a DUI arrest.
"Gyms, casinos, and movie theaters were ordered to shut in March 2020 as the virus first spread, but Ian Smith, co-owner of the Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, reopened the establishment in May and then defied arrest and fines in a losing battle to keep it open," noted the Daily Beast's Phillippe Naughton. "Smith was handily beaten by businessman Bob Healey in the Republican primary for New Jersey’s 3rd District, with Healey taking 53 percent to Smith’s 28 percent."
Smith became a Trump fan favorite, appearing on Fox News and offering free gym memberships to people who refused to be vaccinated for COVID-19.
Healey, meanwhile, is best known for running a family yacht manufacturing business, the Viking Yacht Company, which he took over from his late father.
He will now go on to face Democratic Rep. Andy Kim, who was first elected in 2018 in a surprise upset against a Republican lawmaker who played a key role in trying to pass repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
https://www.rawstory.com/ian-smith-gym/
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DeSantis gets blasted after scrapping another Cabinet meeting: It is 'an insult' to Floridians
https://www.rawstory.com/desantis-gets-blasted-after-scrapping-another-cabinet-meeting/
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'How dare you?' Katie Porter clashes with Republican witness at gun violence hearing
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Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) clashed with Amy Swearer of the conservative Heritage Foundation at a hearing on gun violence in the United States.
While appearing as a witness for the minority at a House Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday, Swearer insisted that Porter had accused her of perjury regarding assault weapons legislation.
"Would you like the explanation?" Swearer asked.
"I have not yielded, Ms. Swearer."
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) interrupted to complain that Swearer was not permitted to speak. But the chair ruled that Biggs was out of order.
"I have been accused of falsely testifying under oath and I would like to address it!" Swearer demanded.
"Earlier today, you testified you hope this is the last time you have to testify before this Congress," Porter pointed out. "For the sake of our nation and the integrity of this Congress, I do too."
"I said after a mass shooting," Swearer shot back, "trying to figure out how to solve a problem that we are heavily invested in solving."
"How dare you?" the witness asked.
"Reclaiming my time," Porter said. "How dare you misstate the law?"
"How dare you ask questions that you do not even want the answer to?" Swearer gasped.
"Ms. Swearer, I'm moving on," Porter remarked as the witness grimaced.
Watch the video below:
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Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Bill Pascrell, Jr. @BillPascrell
If you paid a fortune at the pump this weekend, we recently voted to crack down on gas price gouging and every single republican voted no.
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https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1533803445454610434
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Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Bill Pascrell, Jr. @BillPascrell
Children at Uvalde were *decapitated.* Decapitated. That is what war weapons do. Republicans are ok with decapitated kids to keep these instruments of death on your streets.
https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1534571748607373312
CBS News @CBSNews
Doctor who treated Uvalde victims recalls the massacre: "2 children whose bodies had been pulverized by bullets fired at them, decapitated, whose flesh had been ripped apart that the only clue as to their identities was the blood-spattered cartoon clothes still clinging to them."
Watch: https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1534552507598483456
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Expert claims foreign terrorists are plotting to use loose US gun laws to commit attacks
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Donell Harvin, the former chief of Homeland Security for Washington, D.C., revealed that there continues to be "chatter" monitored by United States intelligence agencies that international terrorist groups are considering using loose gun laws to commit acts of terror in the country.
Speaking to MSNBC on Wednesday, Harvin called it a "serious concern."
"I have spoken with many of my colleagues in the intelligence community," Harvin explained. "They are seeing online chatter from domestic threats as well as foreign threats, encouraging people to gout out and carry out mass shootings. The conversations on the Hill, in the DOJ, they are timely. We haven't seen the last of the mass shootings. There are people online continuously encouraging this."
Last month, Republicans blocked a bill that would have allowed increased funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the FBI. Their goal is to allocate resources to track and analyze domestic terrorist activity as it takes place.
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) told CNN that it was unlikely that 10 Republicans would be willing to join the required "super majority" to break a filibuster. Republicans claimed that the laws are already in place to allow them to do a lot of what is in the bill. It doesn't include the funding, however.
"Today the Senate will have a chance to act on a pernicious issue that has recently become an increasingly prevalent component in America's gun violence epidemic -- the evil spread of white supremacy and domestic terrorism," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
There is a small group of bipartisan Senators who are working on some kind of federal gun safety legislation. Some of the ideas included in the negotiations are things included in the bill crafted by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) in 2013 that failed without 60-vote support in the Senate.
See the comments from the former Homeland Security official below:
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Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the "Protecting Our Kids Act" with no help from Republicans as 202 of them voted "NO" to protect kids from gun violence and being murdered in their school. Only 5 Republicans felt it was important to protect kids.
Right wing Republicans are banning abortion to protect an unborn fetus, but once that fetus is born and becomes a child, right wing Republicans couldn't care less about the living and breathing human child.
If a politician can't vote "Yes" to protect a child, then they have no business being in office as a Representative. Even after learning from the doctor who attended to the children murdered in Uvalde being decapitated and mutilated beyond recognition, House Republicans still voted "NO" to prevent another Uvalde school massacre from happening.
Now this bill will head to the Senate where it will be blocked by Mitch McConnell and the Republicans. That's why if you want any meaningful legislation passed, you need to vote blue and kick these obstructionist Republicans out of office who are blocking every single bill that the overwhelming majority of Americans want. With Republicans out of the Senate in a clear minority, it will give Democrats a clear Senate majority to pass legislation the American people demand.
Here is the final House vote where Republicans once again voted AGAINST the safety of children. These monsters are NOT "Pro Life", they are a pro death cult.
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House passes sweeping gun package, the Protecting Our Kids Act, in largely party-line vote
The House passed a sweeping gun package on Wednesday in response to last month’s mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y. and Uvalde, Texas, which killed more than 30 people and reignited the push for firearm legislation on Capitol Hill.
The package, dubbed the Protecting Our Kids Act, passed in a 223-204 vote. One Republican did not vote.
Two Democrats, Reps. Jared Golden (Maine) and Kurt Schrader (Ore.), bucked the party in opposing the measure. Five Republicans — Reps. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Chris Jacobs (N.Y.) and Fred Upton (Mich.) — supported it.
The legislation consists of seven separate provisions aimed at addressing gun violence in America. The House voted on the individual provisions separately, all of which cleared the chamber in mainly party-line votes. The overall package, however, is the only legislation that will be sent to the Senate for consideration, where it faces GOP opposition.
The House package would raise the minimum age for buying a semi-automatic weapon from 18 to 21, prohibit civilian use of ammunition magazines with more than 15 rounds, and enact new federal criminal offenses for gun trafficking and straw purchases of firearms — when an individual who is unable to pass a background check buys a gun through a proxy.
It also seeks to require that ghost guns — firearms that are untraceable and do not have serial number — undergo background checks and receive serial numbers, impose a ban on bump stocks for civilians, and bolster storage of guns in homes where minors may have access to the firearm.
Additionally, the package compels the attorney general to submit a report to congressional committees on the individuals who were deemed ineligible to purchase a firearm by a background check.
Passage of the legislation comes just over two weeks after a shooter opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, killing 19 students and two adults. Ten days before that, a gunman fatally shot 10 Black individuals at a grocery store in Buffalo.
"America is in the midst of a shocking gun violence epidemic that should shock the conscience of everyone and has devastated children, families and communities. We must address it with the fierce urgency of now,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said on the House floor during debate of the package on Wednesday.
“It is not okay that mass murder has become a way of life in the United States of America. That is why we must pass comprehensive gun violence prevention legislation, address this epidemic decisively and allow America to be the best version of itself,” he added.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called on her colleagues to support the measure — making a particular plea to Republicans, without addressing them by name.
“To those who a moment of silence is good enough because you don’t have the courage to take a vote to protect the children, I would say your political survival is totally insignificant to the survival of, or compared to the survival of our children,” she said.
https://wgntv.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/house-passes-sweeping-gun-package-in-largely-party-line-vote/
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Good!
FBI arrests Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate on Jan. 6 charges
Ryan Kelley has acknowledged being in D.C. for the protests that preceded the deadly Capitol riot
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Ryan Kelley at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.FBI
WASHINGTON — A Republican candidate for governor in Michigan was arrested by the FBI on Thursday and charged with misdemeanors for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, the agency said.
Federal agents raided Ryan Kelley's home in Allendale, Michigan, on Thursday morning. NBC News received a tip about the raid, which was confirmed by a law enforcement official.
An FBI spokesperson later confirmed that a search warrant was executed at the home where Kelley, 40, was arrested. He faces four charges related to his alleged actions at the Capitol, including disorderly conduct and willfully injuring or attacking U.S. property, according to the criminal complaint.
The FBI said it had received multiple tips about Kelley's presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and a bureau source also identified him as one of the people seen at the siege.
Kelley in the past has acknowledged having been in Washington for the protests that preceded the deadly riot by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. But he said he never entered the Capitol.
A local sheriff’s deputy and an Allendale official, who both know Kelley, have identified him in photos from the riot, the FBI said.
A statement from an FBI special agent, released Thursday by Justice Department officials, includes and describes video and other images that indicate Kelley was involved in breaching the Capitol and directing others to participate.
"At approximately 2:20 p.m., Kelley continued to gesture to the crowd, consistently indicating that they should move towards the stairs that led to the entrance of the U.S. Capitol interior spaces," the agent states.
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Ryan Kelley at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.FBI
Kelley's arrest comes as the House committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 riot prepares for its first public hearing Thursday night. And it follows the disqualifications of at least two other leading GOP candidates for governor in Michigan, including front-runner James Craig, after they turned in allegedly fraudulent signatures to qualify for the August primary.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/fbi-raids-home-michigan-gop-gubernatorial-candidate-rcna32761
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Carl Bernstein says Jan. 6 hearing presents ‘a moment of truth for the Republican Party’
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Legendary Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein said Thursday's prime-time hearing by the House Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol has forced the Republican Party into a moment of truth.
Bernstern was interviewed by CNN's Anderson Cooper alongside his old partner, Robert Woodward.
Woodward compared the "historic" hearings to a famous Senate hearing that occurred exactly 68 years early.
"I also think this committee has done kind of the equivalent of what happened in the famous Army-McCarthy hearing when Joe McCarthy was accused by a lawyer in a very memorable way saying you have -- do you have no shame," Woodward said. "This committee has essentially said, to Donald Trump, do you have no shame?"
"First of all, we have a picture now of the audacity of a criminal, conspiratorial president of the United States," he said. "Not just sedition, but a coup he attempted in which he tried to take over the vice presidency, the Department of Justice, the attorney general, the states attorney general. This was a coup in this country, we've never even seen and attempted anything like this."
"This is a moment of truth for the Republican Party. There's been few like it. There's been 68 years ago, Joe McCarthy, Nixon, this is the next real test of what the Republican Party is. And Liz said there will come a time when 'Donald Trump is gone but your dishonor will remain,'" Bernstein explained. "Really, Bob asked the right question here. 'Have you no shame?'"
Watch:
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The Republican party sure has a fascination and idolization of Adolf Hitler. Don't forget Elise Stefanik is the GOP congresswoman who pushed the racist "The Great Replacement" conspiracy theory which incited a white supremacist to murder African Americans inside a Buffalo grocery store. How is the blatant praise for Hitler "taken out of context"? Stefanik is a professional liar gaslighting us again.
Congressional candidate Carl Paladino (R-NY) said that Adolf Hitler is “the kind of leader we need today. We need somebody inspirational. We need somebody that is a doer.” Paladino is endorsed by Elise Stefanik, the chair of the House Republicans.
GOP Candidate Carl Paladino Calls Adolf Hitler 'The Kind Of Leader We Need Today'
The New York House candidate has the endorsement of the third-ranked Republican in the House.
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WASHINGTON ― Republican House candidate Carl Paladino praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s ability to rouse “the crowds” and declared Hitler “the kind of leader we need today” in a February 2021 interview on the radio station WBEN in Buffalo, New York.
Paladino, a businessman and leading GOP figure in New York state who was the party’s gubernatorial nominee in 2010, is running for the Republican nomination to replace the retiring Rep. Chris Jacobs (R-N.Y.).
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), chair of the House Republican Conference, the third-ranking position in GOP House leadership, swiftly endorsed Paladino after Jacobs announced his retirement. Jacobs became a target of conservative gun rights activists following his endorsement of limited gun control measures.
When presented with Paladino’s statement that Hitler is “the kind of leader we need today,” Stefanik claimed it was taken out of context.
“I condemn any statement, but don’t take it out of context,” Stefanik told HuffPost. “That is not accurate reporting.”
Paladino’s pro-Hitler comments, first reported by the liberal media watchdog Media Matters, were made on The r-House Radio Show, a radio show hosted by real estate company executive Peter Hunt on a local Buffalo radio station.
"Many people don’t voice their opinion or just become, see it as utter futility,” Hunt said. “How do you rouse the population? How do you get people thinking about the possibility of change here in New York state and what that might mean for our, for everyone here?”
“I was thinking the other day about — somebody had mentioned on the radio Adolf Hitler and how he aroused the crowds,” Paladino responded, chuckling a little bit as he said the Nazi dictator’s name. “And he would get up there screaming these epithets and these people were just — they were hypnotized by him. That’s, I guess, I guess that’s the kind of leader we need today. We need somebody inspirational.”
Adolf Hitler was the fascist dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide at the end of World War II in 1945. He was responsible for ending democracy in Germany and starting a war for global domination that cost the lives of between 75 and 80 million people. That included approximately six million Jews mass murdered who died in the Holocaust, the attempted genocide of Jewish people orchestrated by Hitler.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/carl-paladino-adolf-hitler_n_62a216dce4b06594c1c58d4a?atc
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Trump insurrectionists should not be allowed to run or be in office as defined by Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
"No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same."
Ryan Kelley was arrested by the FBI yesterday for his participation in the January 6th insurrection incited by Donald Trump.
Doug Mastriano is another insurrectionist who should be disqualified from running for Governor of Pennsylvania. He's a far right wing radical religious fanatic who has stated if he is elected Governor he would overturn election results he doesn't like. People like this cannot be allowed to be in charge of a state overturning election results.
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House Judiciary GOP ripped to shreds for declaring Jan. 6 hearing ‘old news’
https://www.rawstory.com/house-judiciary-republican/
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House Jan. 6 committee opens public hearing with never-before-seen video and officer testimony: "It was a war scene"
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/january-6-committee-hearing-video-testimony-day-1/
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Liz Cheney does not mind losing her seat — she’s ‘surgically focused on extinguishing Trump’: report
The vice-chair of the House Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol may lose her re-election in Wyoming as she remains focused on holding Donald Trump accountable.
"For weeks, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) has been, in the words of those close to her, 'obsessed' with investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection," Paul ...., Josh Dawsey, and Jacqueline Alemany reported for The Washington Post. "She has devoted more than half of her working hours to collecting evidence, leafing through thousands of pages of testimony, writing scripts for the hearings and strategizing on how best to convince her constituents and fellow Republicans that the events of that January day were part of a chilling conspiracy overseen by former president Donald Trump to undermine democracy."
Cheney was praised for her performance during Thursday's prime-time hearing.
"The former rising star of the GOP has already been alienated by party leaders, abandoned by longtime supporters and consistently attacked by Trump and his allies, who are backing a primary challenger Cheney will face in August. While most of the nine other Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after Jan. 6 have either decided not to run for reelection or mostly avoided discussing the former president, Cheney has made her role as the vice chair of the select committee investigating the insurrection central to her pitch to voters. She is trying to convince them she’s on the right side of history — and that her Trump-free approach to conservatism is the right one," the newspaper reported.
Polls show Cheney losing her bid for re-nomination to Trump-backed challenger Harriet Hagerman.
"In more than 20 conversations with lawmakers, political operatives, foes and friends of the Wyoming Republican, they uniformly describe her as obstinately and surgically focused on extinguishing Trump from the modern conservative movement that he has largely redefined in recent years, with little introspection regarding the forces bigger than Trump that facilitated her ousting from the Wyoming Republican Party earlier this year," the newspaper reported. "Cheney’s Republican colleagues have struggled to understand her motives, especially given the political price she is paying in Wyoming, where Trump celebrated his largest margins of victory. Some wonder whether she is angling to run for a higher office."
Cheney, the former number three GOP leader in Congress, has exposed a rift with Republican leadership.
"House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told Cheney after her impeachment vote that he would try to protect her if she would drop the Trump attacks, but she declined, people familiar with the matter said. He has privately described her as 'obsessed' with Trump and with destroying his political power, they said. Cheney has repeatedly criticized McCarthy for going to Mar-a-Lago to see Trump soon after the attack and has come to see him as responsible for Trump’s resurrection in the wake of Jan. 6, according to a person familiar with her thinking," the newspaper reported.
Watch Cheney's Jan. 6 remarks:
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She was skeptical of the Jan. 6 hearings – but what she saw left her stunned
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In an op-ed this Friday, Reason Senior Editor Elizabeth Nolan Brown said she thinks the purpose of most congressional hearings is "political grandstanding," but according to her, "last night's (widely-televised and streamed) hearing of the House select committee on January 6 was different."
The House select committee laid out its case Thursday during a prime-time presentation that Donald Trump and his claims of a stolen election were at the heart of what amounted to an "attempted coup" to remain in power.
Brown writes that Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney "displayed a TV prosecutor's command of narrative," allowing her to put forth "a cohesive and disturbing view of the lead-up to the day's events and their aftermath." She also added that the never-before-seen footage of the Capitol riot "presented the day's much more sinister side."
She went on to say that the new details, which included new footage of interviews of former Trump aides and participants of the riot "breathed life into the narrative that we all know well by now—how Trump lobbied the Department of Justice and Pence to help him overturn the 2020 presidential election results."
"As someone who was skeptical going in that this hearing had any value, I've changed my mind about that," Brown writes.
"I still don't think we're on the verge of democracy dying, or that we need a new war on domestic extremism or anything like that," she continued. "But what went down was frightening, and many of those involved in spreading the lies that led to the riot and to whitewashing it afterward (including but certainly not limited to Trump) are still major political players."
Brown concluded that "it's been easy to look at January 6 through slightly rose-colored glasses to dismiss grave pronunciations as just so much melodrama. Last night's hearing—and hopefully those to come—serves as a powerful antidote to this."
The House select committee aims to demonstrate that the violence was part of a broader -- and ongoing -- drive by Trump and his inner circle to illegitimately cling to or regain power, tearing up the Constitution and more than two centuries of peaceful transitions from one administration to the next.
"I think what happened tonight was historic. I think it's a brilliant, truly brilliant presentation by Benny Thompson and by Liz Cheney. Listen to the detail and the — they have it, they have it cold as best I can tell and from my own reporting," legendary journalist Robert Woodward said after watching Thursday's hearing.
Five subsequent hearings over the coming weeks will focus on Trump's role in the multi-pronged effort to return him to the Oval Office by disenfranchising millions of voters.
Trump has defiantly dismissed the probe as a baseless "witch hunt" -- but the public hearings were uppermost in his mind Thursday as he fired off a largely false tirade on his social media platform, defending the insurrection as "the greatest movement in the history of our Country to Make America Great Again."
The case the committee wants to make is that Trump laid the groundwork for the insurrection through months of lies about fraud in an election described by his own administration as the most secure ever.
His White House is accused of involvement in several potentially illegal schemes to aid the effort, including a plot to seize voting machines and another to appoint fake "alternative electors" from swing states who would ignore the will of their voters and hand victory to Trump.
https://www.rawstory.com/capitol-riot-jan-6-hearing/
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Pennsylvania’s GOP gubernatorial nominee is 'like Jim Jones in Guyana' and has both parties worried: report
https://www.rawstory.com/doug-mastriano-2657495096/
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Lots of assertions on websites about why gasoline production is not keeping up with demand, but here’s a fact about US oil output:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FVBSMN0XEAA6KwM?format=jpg&name=medium)
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Why is no one talking about Doug Mastriano’s plan to destroy public education in Pa.?
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Say this about the GOP’s candidate for governor in Pennsylvania, the right-wing extremist State Sen. Doug Mastriano: His plans for what he and a presumably Republican-led state legislature will do if they win in November are pretty clear and easy to understand.
Abortion? Mastriano says, “I want to ban abortion, period” — even in cases of rape, incest or health risks to the mother. Guns? He says he’d make Pennsylvania “a Second Amendment sanctuary” for unrestricted firearms ownership. And he’s promised to name a secretary of state who shares his belief in Donald Trump’s Big Lie about 2020 election fraud.
So why aren’t more people talking about his simple, radical plan for the issue that voters tend to care the most about: the education of roughly 2 million children currently attending K-12 schools in the Keystone State? Because here, too, Mastriano has been crystal clear on what he would do. The only part left unsaid is what education experts say would be the ultimate impact of the Republican’s agenda: decimating Pennsylvania’s public schools as we know them.
Here’s how Mastriano himself explained the plan in March, during a radio interview with WRTA. At a moment of fraught debate and a high-profile lawsuit about how well, and equitably, Pennsylvania funds its public schools, Mastriano actually believes taxpayer spending on education can be slashed by more than half. He cited a ballpark estimate of what Pennsylvania currently spends, on average, on a pupil: $19,000 annually.
“I think instead of 19,000 [dollars], we fund each student around 9,000 or 10,000 and they can decide which school to go to, public school, private school, religious school, cyber school or home school,” Mastriano said. “And the money goes to the kids. And I believe that would incentivize and drive down the costs of public education.”
The driver of Mastriano’s scheme would be his push to eliminate, or at least radically reduce, the biggest source of school dollars in Pennsylvania: the property tax. He just wouldn’t replace this proposed massive loss of tax dollars. And the downsized government spending that still existed would be available to families in vouchers they could use to attend nonpublic schools, including religious schools or homeschooling — two pillars of Mastriano’s Christian nationalist movement.
“This is a policy that would break the schools that are working well, and make things even worse for kids in the schools that are struggling,” Susan Spicka, the executive director of the advocacy group Education Voters of PA, told me. “It’s incomprehensible.”
It does seem incomprehensible from a political standpoint. After all, Pennsylvania’s last Republican governor, Tom Corbett, in 2014 also became the commonwealth’s first governor in modern times to be defeated for a second term, and one of the big reasons was the fallout from a $1 billion cut to state education spending, which caused teacher and staff layoffs and larger class sizes and angered many parents.
Now, Mastriano is suggesting much deeper and more radical cuts. According to a 2022 ranking by World Population Review, spending $9,000 per pupil would put Pennsylvania on a par with Mississippi ($8,935), a state that’s often criticized for the poor quality of its public education.
But while most pundits believe Mastriano faces an uphill fight in November — because of his extreme views and because his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, has a strong track record in statewide elections — he will also benefit from national Republican headwinds, with voters mad about inflation and President Biden’s popularity at record lows. A wild card will be the role in November of Pennsylvania’s richest man, the hedge fund trader Jeff Yass, who spent a whopping $18 million on primary candidates but opposed Mastriano. Will Mastriano’s fervent support for Yass’ No. 1 issue — school choice, including vouchers — convince this oligarch to hold his nose about the nominee’s extremism and climb on board?
Mastriano has, of course, spoken quite a bit about schools on the campaign trail, but largely in the prism of the “culture wars” that currently dominate conservative politics — harsh restrictions on trans kids, or bans on antiracism education. But his ideas about school choice and school funding — especially working with a GOP majority in Harrisburg that could be even more right wing than past iterations — could have a much greater impact on more kids, and their future.
"School choice is going to be a knock-down, drag-out fight. And my goal on taking on school choice, of course, we’ll have a fight with the unions, but that’s a fight we have to have because the lack of school choice and $30 billion a year going to public education is driving up property taxes,” Mastriano said last month on the Wendy Bell radio show.
“So,” he added, “if we instead of funding the schools, fund the students in the form of education scholarships, that will both save us on property taxes and as well as give us opportunity that you pick the type of school that you want to send your kids to if the money goes to the kids rather than being a corrupt system.”
As a current lawmaker, Mastriano has backed bills that would expand existing state programs that aid kids who attend nonpublic schools, like the Educational Improvement Tax Credit, or EITC. He’s also pushed to create a new program called Educational Opportunity Account Scholarships that target exceptional students or military families but which presumably could be expanded to accomplish Mastriano’s vision for universal school choice. In a February video with the Pennsylvania chapter of Gun Owners of America, he made it clear that religious schools and even homeschooling are part of his vast vision for radically shaking up education.
Here in Pennsylvania, we currently fund our schools more heavily from local property taxes than most other states. That is a prime reason why the state sees such vast disparities in both spending and outcomes from affluent suburban districts and its struggling former industrial towns and cities, which spend far less per pupil. Yet Mastriano pushed his plan for eliminating the property tax altogether in a February op-ed, insisting that by giving families money for school choice “Pennsylvania can actually save money on expenditures for education while improving its quality.”
There’s no evidence this has ever happened, anywhere. But not only does Mastriano insist that school dollars are wasted on bloated administration and unionized teacher salaries, he deals in frankly racist and classist tropes that some kids couldn’t cut it in school no matter what we did for them. “With the rise in broken homes in certain communities, more students are coming to school unprepared to learn,” he wrote in a January op-ed. “No amount of money is going to allow these schools to do what they cannot: fill in for disengaged or absent parents.’”
The irony is that Mastriano’s vision for education is the polar opposite of what advocates so persuasively argued over the last year in a Harrisburg courtroom in the high-profile state trial over school funding disparities. The plaintiffs in the funding case showed that kids in urban districts like Philadelphia or Chester-Upland are robbed by a system that gives them unequal levels of support. But the Republican candidate for governor is now proposing that all districts across Pennsylvania spend less per pupil than Philadelphia does now.
Donna Cooper, executive director of the Children First schools advocacy group, says Mastriano’s plans are wildly out of touch with the realities of K-12 education in the state, including that even religious schools in the state’s more prosperous regions cost more than the $9,000 a year he’d give families. Added Cooper: “One of the reasons he’s advancing these proposals is his concern that teachers are paid too much. But we have an average teacher salary that is $70,000 — and Pennsylvania is facing a massive teacher shortage.”
The advocate Spicka, who like Mastriano hails from Franklin County in south-central Pennsylvania, said it would be impossible to end property taxes and achieve Mastriano’s school spending goal without large-scale layoffs of teachers and staff, in districts where parents are already aggravated at how many costs are being met through things like PTO bake sales. “There would be no insulation,” she said.
Of course, the destruction of public schools — once the engine powering an expanded American middle class, yet derided by Christian nationalists like Mastriano or billionaire libertarians like Yass as “government schools” that indoctrinate kids — is a feature of these so-called education plans, not a bug. The ultimate success of right-wing authoritarian movements like that headed by Mastriano is their brand of indoctrination — heavy on religious instruction, and light on critical thinking. That’s why Pennsylvania voters need to think critically between now and November about what a Mastriano administration would really mean for our most valuable asset — our two million kids.
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/doug-mastriano-education-plan-pennsylvania-20220612.html
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No freedom of speech in Florida with Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis Vetoes Funds for Rays After Team’s Tweets on Gun Violence, per Report
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Florida governor Ron DeSantis vetoed $35 million in state funding to the Rays reportedly due to the team tweeting awareness about gun violence in America, CNN reported on Friday.
The money was supposed to help fund a sports training and youth tournament complex in Pasco County in the Tampa Bay area. The hope was to make this facility the new player development facility for the Rays.
The governor announced the veto on Friday, giving the reason that he doesn’t “support giving taxpayer dollars to professional sports stadiums.”
However, sources told CNN that the Republican was unsure about the funding until the team began tweeting about the recent mass shootings and called for change. Additionally, the team donated money to Everytown, a charity that supports gun reform. DeSantis, who has been open about his opposition to gun reform, reportedly changed his mind about the funding then.
DeSantis told reporters on Friday that it would be “inappropriate to subsidize political activism of a private corporation.”
“Either way, it’s not appropriate, but we were not in a situation where use of tax dollars for a professional stadium would have been a prudent use,” DeSantis continued.
During the first game of the recent Yankees–Rays series on May 26, the two teams posted facts about gun violence in America throughout the entirety of the game to spread awareness. These are the tweets DeSantis reportedly references being “inappropriate.”
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The Rays’ tweets were in response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Tex., on May 24 that left 21 people dead, including 19 children.
The Pasco County community was excited to have the facility come to their area, according to the chair of the Board of County Commissioners Kathryn Starkey. She is not aware for the official reasoning why DeSantis voted to veto the funding.
“Everyone I talked to in the community was excited about the possibility of the players development complex coming, but we’re going to continue to talk to the Rays and try to come to an agreement,” Starkey said to CNN. “This makes it more difficult.”
The facility also required $35 million from the Rays organization and local governments.
https://www.si.com/mlb/2022/06/03/ron-desantis-tampa-bay-rays-florida-veto-funding-facility-team-tweets-gun-violence-everytown-donations
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NYC LGBTQ rights activists, local politicians protest Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis event at Chelsea Piers: ‘Get the hell out of my city!’
NEW YORK — Ron, be gone!
That was the message Sunday from dozens of LGBTQ rights activists and local elected officials outraged over Chelsea Piers’ decision to host a conservative conference featuring Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Amid chants of “Shame!” and calls for a boycott they voiced their fury over Chelsea Piers’ refusal to cancel the event and denounced DeSantis for his support of the so-called “don’t say gay” bill in his home state.
“It is unacceptable that Chelsea Piers has not canceled a speech by the most anti-LGBTQ public official in America,” said state Sen. Brad Hoylman, a Dem who represents the area. “This is a disgrace given the history of the Piers, the proximity to the birthplace of the LGBTQ human rights movement and the fact that we’re in the middle of Pride.”
DeSantis was scheduled to speak at the conference, hosted by the conservative Jewish organization the Tikvah Foundation, on Sunday afternoon.
He’s come under fire from LGBTQ groups and many Democrats since signing the law banning instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation from kindergarten through third grade — “or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards” — in March.
Chelsea Piers and Pier Sixty, the West Side gala space hosting the conference, have gone on the defensive since news of the DeSantis event surfaced earlier this month. But they rejected calls to cancel it.
“We could not disagree more strongly with many of Ron DeSantis’ actions in office,” Chelsea Piers said in a Friday statement, promising that Pier Sixty would donate the payment it receives from the Tikvah Foundation to pro-LGBTQ groups.
That wasn’t good enough for protesters who stood behind police barricades amid drizzling rain near the Pier Sixty entrance.
“It’s insulting,” Mike Dunn, a 31-year-old social worker, said of Pier Sixty’s donation plans. “I hope everybody here makes them regret this for years. We are not going away tomorrow.”
“Ron DeSantis is a feckless coward, [a] bootlicker who is actively hurting some of the most vulnerable people in this country,” Dunn added.
Protesters said the “don’t say gay” law has nationwide ramifications.
“This kind of behavior is about violence,” said Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, a Manhattan Democrat. “It is about hurting us. It is about making it so our communities are harmed.”
The campaign for DeSantis, a Republican, did not immediately answer a request for comment. Neither did the Tikvah Foundation.
VIP conference attendees like DeSantis and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared to avoid the protesters by being driven in black cars to Pier Sixty’s garage.
“I’m furious about what is happening here,” said Joseph Alexiou, 38, a freelance journalist.
DeSantis is “like the worse person for gay people right now in this country and they’re hosting him here,” he added. “Get the hell out of my city.”
© New York Daily News
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Hatemongers like Ron DeSantis who pushes hate against LGBT groups has made it possible for white supremacists groups like this to coordinate a planned attack against them. This is GOP fascism.
Members of white nationalist group charged with planning riot at Idaho pride event
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(Reuters) - Police in northwest Idaho arrested more than two dozen members of a white nationalist group on Saturday and charged them with planning to stage a riot near a LGBTQ pride event, authorities said.
Lee White, police chief in the city of Coeur D'Alene, told reporters 31 members of Patriot Front face misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to riot and additional charges could come later.
A local resident spotted the men, wearing white masks and carrying shields, getting into a U-Haul truck and called police, telling the emergency dispatcher it "looked like a little army," according to White. Police pulled the truck over about 10 minutes after the call.
Video taken at the scene of the arrest and posted online showed about 20 men kneeling next to the truck with their hands bound, wearing similar khaki pants, blue shirts, white masks and baseball caps.
Police recovered at least one smoke grenade and documents that included an "operations plan" from the truck, as well as shields and shin guards, all of which made their intentions clear, White said.
"They came to riot downtown," he said.
The men come from at least 11 states, White said, including Texas, Colorado and Virginia.
Patriot Front formed in the aftermath of the 2017 white nationalist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, when it broke off from another extremist organization, Vanguard America, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups.
Reuters
31 Patriot Front members arrested near Idaho pride event
Authorities arrested 31 members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front near an Idaho pride event Saturday after they were found packed into the back of a U-Haul truck with riot gear.
The men were standing inside the truck wearing khakis, navy blue shirts and beige hats with white balaclavas covering their faces when Coeur d’Alene police stopped the U-Haul and began arresting them on the side of the road.
“They came to riot downtown,” Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said at a news conference.
All 31 were charged with conspiracy to riot, a misdemeanor, White said. The men were going through the booking process Saturday afternoon and are scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, he said.
Based on evidence collected and documents, authorities found that the group was planning to riot in several areas of downtown, not just the park, White said.
Police found riot gear, one smoke grenade, shin guards and shields inside the van, White said. They wore arm patches and logos on their hats that identified them as members of Patriot Front, he said.
Police learned about the U-Haul from a tipster, who reported that “it looked like a little army was loading up into the vehicle” in the parking lot of a hotel, White said. Officials spotted the truck soon after and pulled it over, he said.
Videos of the arrest posted on social media show the men kneeling on the grass with their hands zip-tied behind their backs.
“Reclaim America” was written on the back of one shirt.
Police led the men, one by one, to the front of patrol cars, took off their masks and then brought them to a police van.
Those arrested came from at least 11 states, including Washington, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Illinois, Wyoming, Virginia, and Arkansas, White said.
Only one was from Idaho, he said.
The truck was stopped near where the North Idaho Pride Alliance was holding the Coeur d’Alene Pride in the Park event. Police had stepped up their presence in the area during the event.
“It appears these people did not come here to engage in peaceful events,” Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris told a Coeur d’Alene Press reporter.
Patriot Front is described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as “a white nationalist hate group” that formed after the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.
“Patriot Front focuses on theatrical rhetoric and activism that can be easily distributed as propaganda for its chapters across the country,” the Southern Poverty Law Center said of the group.
The group’s manifesto calls for the formation of a white ethnostate in the United States, the Southern Poverty Law Center said.
Bellisle reported from Seattle.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/31-patriot-front-members-arrested-near-idaho-pride-event
Idaho sheriff releases addresses of 'Patriot Front' members accused of planning riot
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An Idaho sheriff has released the names and addresses of 31 purported members of a right-wing group that has been accused of planning a riot at a Pride event.
At a press conference on Saturday, Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said that the 31 men came from at least 11 states. He named Washington, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Illinois, Wyoming, Virginia and Arkansas.
Videos of the Saturday arrests suggest men in masks were traveling in a rented truck to the LGBTQ+ event.
On Sunday, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris released a list of names and addresses of the men who were charged.
The 31 men are facing charges of criminal conspiracy. Bond was set at $300 for each.
Patriot Front founder Thomas Rousseau was listed among the charged suspects.
Watch video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1535732251308150784
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Democratic Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut has a Twiter announcement!
Chris Murphy @ChrisMurphyCT
NEWS: We have a deal. Today a bipartisan group of 20 Senators (10 D and 10 R) is announcing a breakthrough agreement on gun violence - the first in 30 years - that will save lives.
I think you’ll be surprised at the scope of our framework.
1/ Here’s what it includes:
2/ Major funding to help states pass and implement crisis intervention orders (red flag laws) that will allow law enforcement to temporarily take dangerous weapons away from people who pose a danger to others or themselves.
3/ Billions in new funding for mental health and school safety, including money for the national build out of community mental health clinics.
4/ Close the “boyfriend loophole”, so that no domestic abuser - a spouse OR a serious dating partner - can buy a gun if they are convicted of abuse against their partner.
5/ First ever federal law against gun trafficking and straw purchasing. This will be a difference making tool to stop the flow of illegal guns into cities.
6/ Enhanced background check for under 21 gun buyers and a short pause to conduct the check. Young buyers can get the gun only after the enhanced check is completed.
7/ Clarification of the laws regarding who needs to register as a licensed gun dealer, to make sure all truly commercial sellers are doing background checks.
8/ Will this bill do everything we need to end our nation’s gun violence epidemic? No. But it’s real, meaningful progress. And it breaks a 30 year log jam, demonstrating that Democrats and Republicans can work together in a way that truly saves lives.
9/ So grateful to @JohnCornyn @kyrstensinema @SenThomTillis @SenToomey @Sen_JoeManchin @SenBlumenthal
@SenatorCollins @LindseyGrahamSC @ChrisCoons @TeamHeinrich @BillCassidy and others for their amazing work to get us this far.
Drafting this law and passing it through both chambers will not be easy. We have a long way before this gets to the President’s desk. But with your help and activism, we can get this done. This time, failure cannot be an option.
https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1536013616843046912
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Mitch McConnell adviser slams GOPers attempting to undercut the Jan 6th hearings
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During a panel discussion on CNN's "State of the Union," conservative political consultant Scott Jennings -- a key adviser to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) -- railed at Republicans who have tried to undercut the televised Jan 6th hearings.
Speaking with host Dana Bash, the conservative appeared visibly upset about what he saw during Thursday night's multi-media presentation that was viewed by over 20 million Americans.
"It's very difficult to watch all this footage and not feel your blood boiling all over again. I mean, the thing about this issue is it all happened live on television. It didn't happen behind closed doors. We all watched it," he began.
"There are a lot of Republicans who say don't believe your lying eyes," CNN's Bash interjected.
"I don't know how you watch these videos, how you watch the testimony of Officer [Carolyn] Edwards who was completely compelling and what she went through was horrific," he continued. "How do you not come to the conclusion this was a terrible day, somebody caused it and something has to come from this?"
"In the short-term, there's nothing anyone can do about Donald Trump," he continued. "But in the long-term Republicans have to decide are we going to look to the future in 2024 or relitigate the 2020 election and the chaos again? I would submit it's better for the party to look to the future and put this behind us by acknowledging what happened."
Watch below:
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Photo emerges of Texas Governor Greg Abbott and one of the high ranking Proud Boys who orchestrated and participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
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President Biden @POTUS
One of the key ways to fight inflation is by lowering the cost of moving goods through supply chains.
That’s why I’ve been focused on ports — like the one I visited yesterday in Los Angeles.
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Last fall, ports around the world were congested due to disruptions caused by the pandemic. So we brought together operators, shipping companies, and labor to ease bottlenecks.
As a result, over the holidays about 97% of packages were delivered on time or with minimal delays.
Today, there are about 40% fewer containers clogging the docks for long periods than last November.
And we’ll continue expanding the capacity of our ports thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
One of the reasons prices have gone up is because a handful of companies who control the market have raised shipping prices by as much as 1,000%. It’s outrageous — and I’m calling on Congress to crack down on them.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1534919703864528899
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1535704049194045442
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US senators reach bipartisan gun control deal after recent mass shootings
Proposal does not ban assault weapons or raise age required to buy them to 21, but if enacted it would come after years of stalemate
Joe Biden has urged US lawmakers to get a deal on gun reforms to his desk quickly as a group of senators announced a limited bipartisan framework Sunday responding to last month’s mass shootings.
The proposed deal is a modest breakthrough offering measured gun curbs while bolstering efforts to improve school safety and mental health programs.
It falls far short of tougher steps long sought by Biden, many Democrats, gun reform advocates and America citizens. For example, there is no proposal to ban assault weapons, as activists had wanted, or to increase from 18 to 21 the age required to buy them.
Even so, if the accord leads to the enactment of legislation, it would signal a turn from years of gun massacres that have yielded little but stalemate in Congress.
In a statement, Biden acknowledged the deal’s weaknesses but welcomed and urged quick action.
“It does not do everything that I think is needed, but it reflects important steps in the right direction, and would be the most significant gun safety legislation to pass Congress in decades,” he said.
The president added: “There are no excuses for delay, and no reason why it should not quickly move through the Senate and the House. Each day that passes, more children are killed in this country: the sooner it comes to my desk, the sooner I can sign it, and the sooner we can use these measures to save lives.”
Leaders hope to push any agreement into law quickly – they hope this month – before the political momentum fades that has been stirred by the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas.
Significantly, the “agreement in principle” appears to have the backing of at least 10 Republican senators, enough to reach a 60-vote threshold in the chamber and overcome the filibuster.
The deal aims to make the juvenile records of gun buyers under age 21 available when they undergo background checks. The suspects who killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo and 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde were both 18, and many of the attackers who have committed mass shootings in recent years have been young.
The agreement would offer money to states to implement “red flag” laws that make it easier to temporarily take guns from people considered potentially violent, and to bolster school safety and mental health programs.
And it would take other steps, including requiring more people who sell guns obtain federal dealers’ licenses, which means they would have to conduct background checks of purchasers.
The agreement follows weeks of intense negotiations between the divided groups of senators, led by Chris Murphy of Connecticut on the Democratic side, and for the Republicans by John Cornyn of Texas.
In a statement, the bipartisan group of lawmakers said the measures provide “needed mental health resources, improves school safety and support for students, and helps ensure dangerous criminals and those who are adjudicated as mentally ill can’t purchase weapons”.
Senate majority whip Dick Durbin expressed his blessing on social media.
“Each of the elements in this bipartisan gun safety package has the potential to save lives,” he wrote in a series of tweets.
“I continue to believe military-style assault weapons that can shred the bodies of their victims have no place in civilian use – but we cannot let the perfect Congressional response be the enemy of the good.
“Though this agreement falls short in this and other respects, it can and will make our nation safer.”
Gun reform advocacy groups also welcomed the development. John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said in a statement: “If the framework announced today gets enacted into law, it will be the most significant piece of gun safety legislation to make it through Congress in 26 long and deadly years.
“We applaud this bipartisan coalition, led by senators Murphy and Cornyn, for leading this push to address our nation’s raging gun violence crisis, and we call on their colleagues to answer the call of history, and honor the victims and survivors of gun violence with long overdue action.”
Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, said: “We’re breaking the logjam in Congress and proving that gun safety isn’t just good policy – it’s good politics.
“Our grassroots army has been demanding action from the Senate for nearly a decade and now we’ll fight like hell to get this historic deal over the finish line.”
The announcement came one day after thousands of people protested in numerous March for Our Lives events around the country on Saturday, calling for stronger gun laws.
David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, and co-founder of the movement, tweeted a photograph of himself celebrating with a giant milkshake.
"When senators reach a bipartisan deal on guns for the first time in 30 years – time to celebrate with the breakfast of champions,” he wrote.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/12/us-senators-bipartisan-gun-control-deal
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MAGA reaction to yesterday’s news of a bi-partisan compromise in the Senate for gun reform bill.
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And these people claim to be "Christian" but have hate in their hearts.
Lauren Boebert receives cheers at a Christian center after saying she prays that Biden's 'days be few and another take his office'
Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert joked about praying for President Joe Biden's demise.
Boebert made the comments to a cheering crowd while speaking at a Christian event in Colorado Springs.
Boebert was touted as a speaker at the event who had "proven God's Word" alongside several pastors.
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Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert received cheers and applause when quipped that she prays for President Joe Biden's demise while speaking at a Christian event.
Boebert made the comments during a weekend event called the Family Camp Meeting at Charis Christian Center in Colorado Springs, which included a series of pastors and speakers "who have proven God's Word," according to the center's website.
A video of Boebert making the comment has circulated on social media.
"I do want you to know that I pray for our President. Psalm 109:8 says, 'May his days be few and another take his office.' Hallelujah! Glory to God," Boebert said with a laugh as the crowd clapped and cheered.
PatriotTakes @patriottakes
Lauren Boebert’s prayer for President Joe Biden: “May his days be few.”
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1535771933165363200
The Charis Christian Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday, nor did representatives for Boebert, who is currently under investigation for claims that she misused campaign funds.
The infamous psalm has been used in the realm of politics before. In 2016, former Georgia Sen. David Perdue directed the verse at former President Barack Obama while the Senator spoke at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority conference.
"In his role as president, I think we should pray for Barack Obama. But I think we need to be very specific about how we pray. We should pray like Psalms 109:8 says. It says, 'Let his days be few, and let another have his office,'" Perdue said at the time.
https://www.businessinsider.com/lauren-boebert-she-prays-psalm-1098-bidens-days-be-few-2022-6
Lauren Boebert's use of campaign funds is under scrutiny by Colorado officials following a complaint by the same PAC that leaked a video of Madison Cawthorn
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Rep. Lauren Boebert's use of campaign funds is being investigated in Colorado.
Boebert was accused of filing inaccurate mileage estimates and using donor cash to pay tax liens.
Colorado officials are investigating whether controversial GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert may have misused campaign funds.
According to The New York Times, local officials in Colorado are investigating whether Boebert falsely logged the mileage she clocked on the 2020 campaign trail. The officials are also examining whether Boebert used around $20,000 in donor cash to pay tax liens on her restaurant, Shooters Grill, per the outlet.
The investigation was sparked by a complaint against Boebert by the American Muckrakers PAC, an organization that brought an ethics complaint against Rep. Madison Cawthorn. The ousted congressman was the subject of multiple video leaks from the website "FireMadison.com" which was set up by the PAC.
The people behind the PAC, including its president, David Wheeler, have now turned their attention to Boebert with the website "FireBoebert.com."
The Denver Post first reported in 2021 that Boebert had cashed $22,259 worth of checks for mileage reimbursement, based on a mileage estimate of 38,712 miles on the road — more than the circumference of planet Earth.
The complaint about Boebert's use of funds centers around tax liens from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment filed against Boebert from August 2016 to February 2020, which demanded payment on unemployment premiums for Shooters Grill.
Boebert paid off the liens in late 2020 and reimbursed herself for campaign travel during the same period. However, the complaint suggests there was an inappropriate use of funds on Boebert's part, among other allegations.
"As you are both fully aware, utilizing an illegal source of funds or ill-gotten funds to pay off a tax lien is illegal in Colorado and under federal law," the PAC's complaint wrote. "That is the very definition of ill-gotten funds."
On Tuesday, Janet Drake, Colorado's deputy attorney general, confirmed that the Colorado Department of Revenue and the Department of Labor and Employment would "investigate the issue," per The Times. A spokesman for Colorado's attorney general also said that an interagency group would "evaluate the allegations and whether legal actions are justified."
Meanwhile, representatives for Boebert told The Times that the lawmaker had accounted for the mileage and paid off the tax liens before the donor reimbursements were banked.
"Colorado citizens should be disgusted with Lauren Boebert. Lauren Boebert created this problem on her own and is finally going to be held accountable. This is what happens when you elect a clown that can't even pay her employees money owed to them or pay the appropriate taxes," wrote Wheeler in a press release about the Boebert investigation.
Wheeler added that he thought Boebert "should be ashamed of her actions."
"Anyone that uses donor money to pay their taxes is not fit to hold public office," Wheeler wrote.
https://www.businessinsider.com/colorado-officials-to-inspect-lauren-boeberts-use-of-campaign-funds-2022-6?inline-endstory-related-recommendations=
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Inflation is a global problem and is happening all over the world due to the pandemic and Putin's war in Ukraine. Anyone who claims it's only happening in the United States due to "Biden polices" is a liar. Biden has nothing to do with inflation as almost every country on every continent is dealing with high inflation rates. Most of these countries have record high inflation.
Australia raises rates by most in 22 years to battle surging inflation
https://www.ft.com/content/b6f57a30-5790-4bf7-83f6-521ae5a3b314
China's imminent precarious era of high inflation
https://www.fxstreet.com/analysis/chinas-imminent-precarious-era-of-high-inflation-202206090754
Brazil inflation dips to 11.73 percent in May
https://www.macaubusiness.com/brazil-inflation-dips-to-11-73-percent-in-may/
Gas and food prices are rising in Kenya, too, driven by the war in Ukraine
https://www.npr.org/2022/06/10/1104291214/gas-and-food-prices-are-rising-in-kenya-too-driven-by-the-war-in-ukraine
Canadian Inflation Hits New Three-Decade High of 6.8%
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-18/canada-s-inflation-rises-to-new-three-decade-highs-on-housing#xj4y7vzkg
Bank of England set to raise rates again as inflation heads for 10%
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/bank-england-set-raise-rates-again-inflation-heads-10-2022-06-10/
French Inflation Hits Another Record, Feeding Rate Debate
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-31/french-inflation-hits-another-record-feeding-rate-hike-debate#xj4y7vzkg
Iranians Struggle To Cope With Crippling Inflation
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-inflation-food-prices/31870044.html
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Herschel Walker falsely claimed to work in law enforcement at least three times: report
https://www.rawstory.com/herschel-walker-law-enforcement/
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Ex-conservative walks through how Trump's election criminality is bringing down the Republicans too
Washington Post columnist and former conservative Jennifer Rubin responded to the second day of public hearings from the House committee investigating Jan. 6 by tying the Republican Party to Donald Trump's criminality.
One of the things the committee pointed out is that former President Donald Trump was already spinning false election fraud claims months before the election. The evidence presented by former Attorney General Bill Barr, and acting AG Jeffrey Rosen, Fox editor Chris Stirewalt and Bill Stepien made it clear that the 2020 election not only wasn't stolen but that there was nothing Trump could do to change the results.
"All this leads to the conclusion that Trump was so adamant not to acquire the 'loser' title that he furiously sought confirmation of specious allegations," wrote Rubin. "Finding none, he was willing to burn down the system to keep power. This is not delusion; it’s intentional destruction of American democracy."
There are those who think that Trump was "so nuts" that he didn't believe every adviser, lawyer, judge or anyone else around him trying to explain that he lost.
"If that’s the case, what is the excuse for election deniers such as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy?" asked Rubin. "If Trump is deranged, Republicans bear an even greater responsibility for the mayhem and continued threat to democracy. Presumably, they can process facts and accept the findings of the Trump inner circle, the courts and Republican secretaries of state that there was no fraud rendering the election illegitimate."
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has been caught swinging one way to the other about the so-called "big lie" and the attack on Congress that followed. After McCarthy was talking about removing Trump through the 25th Amendment, he rushed to Trump's side for a photo-op.
McCarthy, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), knew that the so-called election fraud was fake, but continued not just to placate Trump but prop him up in public and call the election into question.
As the 50th anniversary of the Watergate scandal is approaches, Rubin wrote that once again a president is being "revealed to be a huckster. Financial fraud seems to be [a] promising lead to follow."
After all of the testimony on Monday, Rubin concluded that no reasonable person could agree that there were doubts about the 2020 election.
"Trump never had evidence of fraud. And he was willing to destroy the country to stay in power when he lost. That’s an indictment for the Republicans who continue to support him.
Read more here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/13/second-hearing-jan-6-exposes-trump-lies-indictment-of-gop/
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Herschel Walker Mocked Over False Claim He Was FBI Agent: 'Humiliating Lie'
(https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/2057441/herschel-walker-addresses-rally-georgia.webp?w=790&f=83885d7e8b39eddbf1f03fdc50bb3f90)
Georgia Republican U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker has been widely panned following a report that he falsely claimed to be a police officer and an FBI agent.
Walker claimed in 2017 that he was with the Cobb County Police Department in Georgia, but the department has now told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution it has no record of him working there
His campaign said he was an "honorary deputy," but the police department could not confirm this. Walker also falsely claimed to have been an FBI agent in 2019 despite not being an agent, though he participated in a week's training at the FBI's school in Quantico, Virginia.
The former football star reportedly told an audience in 2019: "I spent time at Quantico at the FBI training school. Y'all didn't know I was an agent?"
Social media users slammed Walker, with many accusing him of being a liar. Walker is running in the Senate race against incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat.
Occupy Democrats, a group that supports progressive Democrats, tweeted that Walker "must suspend his campaign after he was caught in a humiliating lie as it was exposed that he falsely claimed to have worked as a police officer and even an FBI agent."
"Herschel Walker is the first person I've seen who actually lies more often than Donald Trump. Makes sense that they love each other so much," tweeted Matthew Sheffield, founder of media platform Flux and who describes himself as "post-conservative."
Walker was endorsed by former President Donald Trump in the Georgia Republican Senate primary and some Twitter users highlighted that connection.
Bakari Sellers, former member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, shared The Atlanta-Journal Constitution's story and tweeted: "He may literally be the only person who lies more than Trump."
Comedian Steve Hoffstetter wrote: "Herschel Walker, after falsely claiming to have been an FBI agent, said 'Y'all didn't know I was an agent?' No, we didn't. Because you were never an FBI agent."
"Herschel Walker lies so often I'm starting to wonder if he ever played football," Hofstetter added.
Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor and political science at Georgia State University, tweeted: "At this rate, it appears that the only title Herschel Walker has failed to falsely claim for himself is Miss Georgia World 1976."
"Herschel Walker is simply one of the worst candidates for major office any of us will ever see," wrote Simon Rosenberg, founder of liberal think tank New Democrat Network.
"Herschel Walker just can't stop lying," tweeted Jon Cooper, former Long Island campaign chair for former President Barack Obama.
In the past, Walker has falsely claimed to have graduated from the University of Georgia as well as wrongly saying he was high school valedictorian and that he had founded a charity for veterans.
Walker had also made headlines during his primary campaign for questioning evolution and asking "why are there still apes?"
Newsweek has asked Walker's campaign for comment.
https://www.newsweek.com/herschel-walker-fbi-agent-police-false-claim-lie-1715498
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Watch: Ted Lieu shreds Jim Jordan's 'lie' in House floor debate over Supreme Court 'intimidation'
https://www.rawstory.com/ted-lieu-jim-jordan-supreme-court/
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Don Coram says Lauren Boebert’s public corruption accusation has ‘zero truth’
https://coloradonewsline.com/2022/06/14/don-coram-says-lauren-boeberts-public-corruption-accusation-has-zero-truth/
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President Biden @POTUS
Under my plan no one making less than $400,000 per year will pay a penny more in federal taxes.
But we’ll no longer have a situation where 55 of the largest corporations in America pay zero in federal income taxes on $40 billion in profits.
The fact is we’ve got about 790 or so billionaires in America.
You know what their average tax rate is? About 8%.
I believe that no billionaire should be paying a lower tax rate than a teacher, a firefighter, an electrician, or a cop.
Ask yourself: How well are you going to sleep at night knowing that every five years Ted Cruz and other Congressional Republicans pushing ultra-MAGA policies are going to vote on whether you’ll have Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid?
That’s their plan.
We’re not going back to the false promises of trickle-down economics
We’re going forward to an economy that works for everyone.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1536737677655031808
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The simple fact is the entire world is fighting global inflation. Republicans and the right wing media like to lie pretending the United States is the only country with inflation. Other countries have much higher inflation than the United States.
1)The US has led the world on economic recovery.
2) The US is in the “middle of the pack” fighting global inflation.
We’re fighting global challenges, but we’ve had the best response.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FVOH9VJWIAE3Dnj?format=jpg&name=900x900)
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What an absolute disaster in Texas as over 160,000 people are without water in Odessa during a major heatwave right on the cusp of Summer. Greg Abbott the right wing Governor is a total failure. This was always a danger with faulty deficient water lines that was never repaired just like he never fixed the power grid problem. That's why President Biden's Infrastructure Bill was so important to repair all the crumbling infrastructure in our states but Republicans for years ignored these projects that needed to be fixed.
Almost every Republican in the House and Senate voted against President Biden's Infrastructure Bill. The few Republicans that did, Donald Trump tried to primary them in the primary elections. Once again, Republicans are voting against the American people. They vote against things that are important and truly matter by repairing water mains so they don't burst and run out of water.
Instead, Republicans ban books in schools and ban transgenders from playing sports. How does that benefit your life? It doesn't. Republicans only push bogus cultural issues and ignore what matters most which is jobs, healthcare, and sound infrastructure so we don't have disasters like this.
165,000 people in West Texas could be without water for days amid heat wave after main breaks
Ector County declared a state of disaster as the city of Odessa potentially faces 48 hours of no water.
(https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-1120w,f_auto,q_auto:best/rockcms/2022-06/220614-odessa-water-main-break-se-307p-e8b569.jpg)
A water main break in West Texas could leave the 165,000 residents in and around Odessa with little or no water for 48 hours, officials said Tuesday, just as a heat wave grips the city.
There's an "imminent threat" of "severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property" looming in the famed oil boom town because of a "main water line failure," according to a declaration of disaster from the Ector County Office of Emergency Management.
"The loss of potable water is expected to be forty-eight hours at this time," the declaration said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed state agencies to help coordinate the local response and restore the water supply.
The water main break couldn’t have come at worse time for Odessa as residents face an early summer heat wave, with a high temperature of 100 degrees Tuesday and forecasts for 98 Wednesday and 96 Thursday.
Crews are working to repair the break underneath the intersection of 42nd and San Jacinto streets, according to a city statement.
Despite best efforts of workers, the city said repairs are "taking longer than anticipated."
"Water levels have reached a point that a Boil Water Notice has been issued," the city added. "Citizens should expect a significant loss in water pressure and/or no water at all. A significant portion of the community remains without water at this time."
Those caring for children, senior citizens and people with weakened immune systems must take particular note of the boil water order, the city said.
"To ensure destruction of all harmful bacteria and other microbes, water for drinking, cooking, and ice making should be boiled and cooled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes," according to another city statement. "The water should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil and then boiled for two minutes."
Tammy Henken, a 47-year-old mother of seven in Odessa, chuckled at the city's water boil notice.
"How can we boil water that we don't have?" Henken said Tuesday afternoon.
She hopes to get through the next 48 hours leaning on friends in neighboring Midland, who have not been impacted by the water main break, and visiting her husband's workplace on the outskirts of Odessa, which has its own well.
"And I take this as a chance to help my children learn how to trust God," Henken added.
Bottled water is being distributed at three locations: McKinney Park, Ector County Coliseum and the intersection of West University Boulevard and Farm to Market Road (FM) 1936 in West Odessa.
Hospitals and nursing facilities are being provided with emergency water supplies, said state Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa.
"I know this is a frustrating day in our community," he told constituents in a statement.
Odessa, which sits more than 350 miles west of Dallas on Interstate 20, might be best known from author Buzz Bissinger's seminal non-fiction work "Friday Night Lights," looking at the town's love affair with high school football.
The book led to a movie and critically acclaimed NBC television show of the same name.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/165000-people-west-texas-water-days-heat-wave-main-breaks-rcna33561
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Trump’s pick for Pa. governor says he sees ‘parallels’ to Hitler’s power grab in Capitol riot
Doug Mastriano — who attended the Jan. 6 rally — was asked whether the riot was similar to the Reichstag fire, which Hitler used as a pretext to seize more power in 1933.
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WASHINGTON — The Donald Trump-endorsed nominee for governor in Pennsylvania compared the Jan. 6 attack to historical events staged by the Nazis, saying that he saw "parallels" between the criticism of the Jan. 6 attack and the 1933 Reichstag fire, which Hitler used to seize more power.
Doug Mastriano was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Mastriano, a Pennsylvania state senator, has been subpoenaed by the House Jan. 6 committee. He organized buses to D.C. that day, according to receipts his campaign's lawyer previously acknowledged turning over to the Jan. 6 committee. Video shows he was just feet away as rioters ripped down police barricades, but he has said he followed police lines “as they existed” and says he left the Capitol when it was “apparent that this was no longer a peaceful protest.”
His primary election victory last month has prompted a renewed look at his role on Jan. 6, including previously unpublished photos that show him in the back of a crowd that breached a police barricade.
He is also receiving increased attention about his comments about Jan. 6.
Last week, Mastriano live-streamed on Facebook as he was interviewed Friday for the podcast "The World According to Ben Stein."
Stein — a former Richard Nixon speechwriter who hosted the 1990s gameshow "Win Ben Stein's Money" and played an economics teacher in the 1986 movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" — called the deadly Jan. 6 attack "a ridiculously trivial thing" on the podcast.
Stein said the country is getting "more and more into a dictatorship," and compared Jan. 6 to the 1933 fire on the Reichstag, the legislative branch in Berlin, that Hitler blamed on communists. The Nazis then used the fire as a pretext to suspend civil liberties and assume more power.
"The Nazis immediately seized upon it [the Reichstag fire] to impose emergency measures," Stein said. "I think something like this is happening with the Jan. 6 nonevent."
Stein called the riot a "ridiculously trivial thing."
“It was not an insurrection," he added. "It was not an attempt to take over the government. It was a demonstration by a group that felt frustration by the statistical impossibility of the vote having gone the way the Democrats said it did.”
Mastriano responded to Stein's comparison, saying he concurred with the comparison between Jan. 6 and the Reichstag fire.
"I agree with the political, with the historic analogy laid out there, so using something that was very suspicious in Berlin to advance their agenda, you know, the national socialists there," Mastriano said. "I do see parallels.”
Mastriano, who previously said that those who broke the law on Jan. 6 "must be prosecuted," said on Stein's podcast that law enforcement had taken "extreme, heavy-handed measures" in response to the attack.
"It's just really heartbreaking watching how quickly our country's falling down, and that we have people being publicly arrested for show to send a message," Mastriano said. "I think what we're seeing in America now makes McCarthy in the '50s look like an amateur."
A member of the online sleuths Sedition Hunters — individuals who have spent the past 17 months investigating the Jan. 6 attack and identifying hundreds of rioters to law enforcement — say they have found new photos of Mastriano on the Capitol grounds moments before the rioters breached a police barricade line on the eastern side of the U.S. Capitol. Minutes later, rioters smashed the window of a door leading into the Capitol rotunda, according to timelines the online sleuths have constructed using the videos, photos, press coverage and social media posts of the day.
Online sleuths have assisted the FBI in hundreds of Capitol riot investigations, successfully identifying rioters months before they are arrested.
NBC News has reviewed the videos and images used to construct the timelines and compared other images of Mastriano at the rally with those identified by the sleuths. In the images, Mastriano appears to be wearing the same scarf and hat and is in a consistent place in the crowd. In the series of images, Mastriano is accompanied by a woman who appears to be his wife, and Mastriano has publicly acknowledged that his wife was with him that day. He has never disputed his identification in previous images.
The images, shared with NBC News, appear to show Mastriano holding up his cellphone as rioters in the front of the mob face off with police at the Capitol steps. Reconstructed timelines and other videos filmed nearby show rioters would breach this police line within minutes, ripping away a crowd control rope line and rushing past officers up the stairs. The timelines and videos, including unedited versions, that show Mastriano in the crowd were reviewed by NBC News.
(https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-1120w,f_auto,q_auto:best/rockcms/2022-06/220611-Doug-Mastriano-tweet-mn-1530-85c3a5.jpg)
Online sleuths also identified a video posted by "Stop the Steal" organizer Mike Coudrey on Jan. 6 that appears to show Mastriano taking photos or video with his cellphone as rioters face off with police on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Coudrey's tweet celebrated the mob, which he said "broke through 4 layers of security at the Capitol building.
Mastriano’s campaign did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment. Mastriano previously said that he “respected all police lines as I came upon them" and that he never stepped foot on the Capitol stairs. One of his campaign aides, Grant Clarkson, was near the front of the mob, NBC previously reported. There has been no evidence that Clarkson entered the Capitol that day and he has insisted he did not.
Mastriano is facing Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, in November.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/trumps-pick-pennsylvania-governor-says-sees-parallels-hitlers-power-gr-rcna33167
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Lindsey Graham confirms Republicans would go after Social Security, Medicare if they get a Senate majority
(https://images.dailykos.com/images/866755/story_image/GettyImages-1228806300.jpg?1602213564)
Sens. Bernie Sanders and Lindsey Graham held a debate about the economy Monday at the the Edward M. Kennedy Institute in Massachusetts, aired on Fox Nation. The event was supposed to be some kind of kumbaya bipartisan thing, bringing the two sides together for a discussion about the economy. Sanders, an independent from Vermont, gave a full-throated defense of the vision progressives have for America: a public health care system, a living wage, and tax fairness. Graham, a South Carolina Republican, reiterated his party’s dream of ending Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
“In the United States, Lindsey, we spend twice as much per capita on health care compared to the people of any other country, while major countries like Canada, the U.K., Germany manage to supply health care to all their people,” Sanders said. “Why is that?” he asked rhetorically. “Because they’re not having insurance companies ripping off the system.”
That’s socialism, said Graham. “And it’s not going to fix America. We are not a socialist nation. There is a better way, I promise you this.” His better way happens to be at the center of a big Senate Republican fight, and puts him at odds with his party leader, Mitch McConnell, who really does not want Republican members sticking their necks out right now and telling the American people that their vision is to do away with the decades-old programs that Americans revere, not to mention depend on.
If Republicans take over the Senate, Graham promised, they will start right in on the cuts. It’s not idle talk, by the way, as Graham is the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee—he’d take over in 2023 if Republicans win the majority. “Entitlement reform is a must for us to not become Greece,” he said in the debate. By “reform,” he means cutting benefits and disqualifying people.
To be fair, Sen. Rick Scott was a lot less subtle about his plan to do away with the programs and pretty much everything else as we know it in American society, a plan McConnell has been apoplectic about going public. The Florida Republican, tasked with regaining the majority as head of the National Senate Republican Committee, released his vision earlier this year, a plan in which everything passed by Congress—every existing program—ends after five years.
This plan was exactly what McConnell did not want Republicans to talk about doing, and Scott has doubled down in opposition to his leader.
McConnell tried to defuse the situation back in March, telling reporters that he’s the one in control. “If we’re fortunate enough to have the majority next year, I’ll be the majority leader. I’ll decide in consultation with my members what to put on the floor.”
“We will not have as part of our agenda a bill that raises taxes on half the American people and sunsets Social Security and Medicare within five years. That will not be part of the Republican Senate Majority Agenda.” Note how careful he’s being there in talking about the programs he knows Americans love—Social Security and Medicare—without saying he’ll prevent them from being cut.
Which is precisely what Graham was talking about, a less radical and bombastic plan to end the programs as we know them, but an end nonetheless. That’s an agenda McConnell isn’t going to denounce.
Republicans are promising to come after your Social Security and Medicare.
Watch Video Here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1536436486119346176
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Republican Nancy Mace defeats Trump-endorsed challenger Katie Arrington in SC primary
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Republican Nancy Mace defeated Katie Arrington in one of South Carolina’s most hotly-contested primary congressional races Tuesday night, delivering another setback to Donald Trump’s primary endorsement record.
Mace’s win over Arrington, who was once Mace’s colleague in the State House, dashes Arrington’s second attempt to represent the 1st Congressional District after she won her primary in 2018 only to lose to Democrat Joe Cunningham.
The Associated Press called the race for Mace at 11:13 p.m., showing Mace with about 53 percentage points to Arrington’s nearly 45%.
Mace declared victory at her primary night event in Mount Pleasant. In her speech, she thanked Arrington, who conceded the race, for running against her.
“It is not easy to put yourself out there, to put yourself in public, to put it all on the line and take that risk,” Mace said. “I want to thank her for her passion.”
Arrington conceded and endorsed Mace from her primary night event in Summerville. Mace touted being an “independent voice” in the Republican Party, which she said is important to winning key swing districts across the country and regaining the Republican majority in Congress.
“Getting the majority starts right here in South Carolina,” Mace said. “So what are we going to do in November? Keep the 1st.”
She will face Charleston pediatrician Annie Andrews, the Democratic candidate who ran unopposed, in November.
Mace’s win puts her on track to potentially secure a second term as the 1st District’s representative, making her the first woman to win a reelection bid in the district.
If she claims victory in November, she would become the first female representative to win two consecutive terms in the Lowcountry district that covers Beaufort and Berkeley counties, as well as parts of Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester and Jasper counties.
A SLIP IN TRUMP’S INFLUENCE
Mace, 44, adds another defeat to Trump’s national endorsement record, with Arrington joining the ranks of other Trump-backed losses like Georgia gubernatorial candidate David Perdue.
Trump, who referred to Mace as an “absolutely terrible candidate,” endorsed Arrington in February. Mace responded through a video in front of Trump Tower posted to Twitter, where she said Arrington would be “more than qualified” to lose to a Democrat again, referencing Arrington’s 2018 loss to Cunningham.
Mace is the second Republican House incumbent from South Carolina Trump tried to oust. The other he was successful. State Rep. Russell Fry defeated U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, R-Myrtle Beach, who found himself a Trump target after he voted with nine Republicans to impeach Trump over his Jan. 6 riot response.
The outcome came as a surprise to some who anticipated the 7th District’s Republican primary to go to a runoff because it was a seven-person race.
But a loss for Trump doesn’t likely mean his influence will entirely go away in the state, where he enjoys overwhelming support among S.C. Republican voters.
It could, however, give a boost to other South Carolina Republicans, particularly former Trump administration official Nikki Haley, who are possibly eyeing a presidential run in 2024. Haley endorsed Mace in her primary and campaigned for her ahead of Tuesday.
Mace garnered endorsements in addition to Haley from a wide variety of political figures and organizations in the months leading up to Election Day, including former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Summerville Mayor Ricky Waring and national lobbying organization the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
© The State (Columbia, S.C.)
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Herschel Walker Has a Secret Son He Doesn’t See
The Trump-endorsed Georgia Senate candidate who said a “fatherless home is a major, major problem” is an absentee dad himself
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/herschel-walker-secret-son-report-1368573/
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President Biden @POTUS
My approach has brought down COVID deaths by 90%.
It’s opened schools and businesses that were shuttered.
And it’s created the greatest jobs recovery in American history. 8.7 million new jobs in just 16 months – an all-time record.
Last week, I spoke with retailers about how ocean shipping price hikes are forcing them to raise costs.
Tonight, Congress passed a bipartisan bill to crack down on this behavior. It'll help lower costs for American families. I look forward to signing it.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1536498144745234434
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Exclusive: Senator Tim Kaine says a key piece of new gun bill would dramatically reduce shootings
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) compared the new gun safety legislation to seat-belt laws, saying that both laws aren't likely to stop all fatalities but they'll help.
Speaking to Raw Story on Wednesday afternoon, Kaine noted that the "straw man purchase" was back in the bill after it had been previously taken out.
The legislation would crack down on illegal purchases of guns through other individuals to circumvent background checks and enact new rules for purchasers under 18. Last week, a man was arrested in Dallas for the illegal trafficking of almost 100 guns, some of which were used in north Texas shootings. There are laws already in place to help reduce weapons trafficking, but the Senate bill aims to raise the penalties for such tactics.
"It would dramatically reduce [the problem]," said Kaine. "There is nothing that we're going to do that will end it, but it's like a seatbelt does in every traffic fatality it makes rider safe. And, look, that's one of the more underreported pieces of the compromise. More intense background analysis of 18-21 year-olds including juvenile records."
He went on to cite the mental health piece of the bill, saying it was "fantastic," particularly after the COVID-19 crisis. Kaine proposed a bill that was passed in Feb. 2022 that helped fund mental health resources for healthcare workers who have been overworked and emotionally devastated after facing so much death with the pandemic.
As Kaine explained, the gunman responsible for the Virginia Tech shooting was previously diagnosed with selective mutism and severe depression. The laws on the books currently mandate that a person be officially institutionalized before they can be prevented from purchasing a gun. It makes the mental health restrictions considerably higher. Virginia changed their laws after the shooting, eliminating the loopholes that would allow those adjudicated as mentally unsound to purchase guns.
The mental health piece of the bill will be a big test for Republicans, who have said for decades that mass shootings are all related to mental health issues.
https://www.rawstory.com/tim-kaine-gun-legislation/
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President Biden @POTUS
Wall Street didn’t build this country.
The middle class built this country.
And unions built the middle class.
Our economic plans have created the greatest jobs recovery in American history.
Watch: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1537207782042214400
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Democrats John Fetterman, Josh Shapiro lead Republicans Mehmet Oz, Doug Mastriano in first big Pa. general election poll
The first reputable general election poll of Pennsylvania’s two key statewide races — released by USA Today Network and Suffolk University on Wednesday — shows Democrats leading in both, but in a better position to flip the U.S. Senate seat than hold the governor’s mansion.
In the Senate contest, Democratic candidate John Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s sitting lieutenant governor, is up by 9 points over Republican Mehmet Oz, the celebrity cardiothoracic surgeon, 46% to 37%, with 13% of respondents undecided.
And in the race for governor, Democrat Josh Shapiro, the state attorney general, leads Republican Doug Mastriano, a state senator, by a slimmer margin — just 4 points, 44% to 40% — with 13% of respondents again declaring themselves undecided.
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2022/06/15/pa-us-senate-governor-race-2022-polling-candidates-john-fetterman-dr-mehmet-oz-josh-shapiro-doug-mastriano/stories/202206150083
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Another Republican that fled his state under declared emergency. Ted Cruz fled to the warmth of Cancun when Texans were freezing to death without any power in the dead of Winter and now Greg Gianforte is staying in luxury in Tuscany while Montanas are being flooded out. And yet people in both states keep voting Republican like saps. These so called "elected officials" don't care about their constituents. All they care about is themselves. When it came time to help their residents and offer support both Ted and Greg left for better weather so they didn't have to deal with it.
Greg Gianforte was vacationing in Tuscany during Montana’s historic floods
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Montana's flooding disaster continued for the fourth day on Thursday as the state's Republican governor returned from a Tuscany vacation.
"Devastating floodwaters that wiped out miles of roads and hundreds of bridges in Yellowstone National Park and swamped scores of homes in surrounding communities moved downstream Wednesday and threatened to cut off fresh drinking water to residents of Montana’s largest city," the AP reported. "Billings had a just a 24- to 36-hour supply of water and officials asked its 110,000 residents to conserve while expressing optimism that the river would drop quickly enough for the plant to resume operations before the supply ran out. The city also stopped watering parks and boulevards, and its fire department was filling its trucks with water from the Yellowstone River."
Gianforte's office announced on Tuesday, the second day of the flooding, that he would return to Montana in a "few days."
On Wednesday, his office said that his vacation during flood season was a "long-scheduled personal trip."
Former NBC Montana reporter and Newsy correspondent Maritsa Georgiou reported she "obtained a time-stamped photo that shows he's been in the Tuscany region of Italy."
Gianforte, who was one of the richest members of Congress before being elected governor, flies in his own 10-passenger private plane.
Gianforte's Pilatus Aircraft PC-12/47E has a max range of 1,800 nautical miles and a max cruise speed of 334 miles per hour, according to the company's website.
https://www.rawstory.com/greg-gianforte-2657521213/
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A Democratic written bill to help our Vets was finally passed and not blocked by Republicans.
Senate passes historic vote ensuring health care relief for military veterans exposed to burn pits
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WASHINGTON — Help is on the way for hundreds of thousands of veterans suffering from 9/11-like toxic exposure illnesses after the U.S. Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed the most significant expansion of the Veterans Administration in modern times.
According to the VA, some 3.5 million American veterans were exposed to air from poisonous burn pits in deployments overseas since the nation went to war in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Growing numbers have gotten sick or died from that exposure, having breathed in smoke all-too-similar to the toxic clouds surrounding the devastated World Trade Center. The smoke came from massive pits that the military used to burn plastics, medical waste, ammunition and anything else, even setting it aflame with jet fuel, much like the accelerant that burned the twin towers.
But around three-quarters of ill service members and veterans who submitted claims were denied by the VA because toxic exposures were not covered.
The bill, named the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act after a soldier who died from his exposure, would guarantee health benefits without red tape to any veteran suffering from various illnesses, including certain cancers and breathing disorders.
The bill also improves care for some Vietnam veterans and people who served at nuclear sites. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the total cost, including existing funding that is shifted by the legislation, will cost some $280 billion over 10 years.
The centerpiece of the measure focuses on the burn pits, written by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., modeled on 9/11 legislation.
She said passing the bill was a matter of living up to its title — honoring the pact the nation makes to care for the people who fight its wars.
“Our service members and their families give everything for our country. And as a nation we promise to care for them when they come home,” Gillibrand said. “At last, we are honoring that promise and paying the price we owe them for our freedoms, our values, and our safety.”
The bill will need to be approved by the House, but it is expected to be non-controversial and will likely reach President Joe Biden’s desk by Independence Day.
The Senate’s changes to the bill, negotiated by Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Kansas GOP Sen. Jerry Moran, slowed the implementation but won strong Republican backing.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., described the bill as “the greatest advance in veterans’ health care in decades.” He said scores of America’s veterans went off to serve their country in perfect health only to come back and get sick from toxic exposure, and, when they applied for disability benefits, oftentimes found out they didn’t qualify.
“It’s a confounding indignity for our nation’s heroes to sacrifice everything for our country only to come home, get sick and discover the VA is not there for them,” Schumer said.
Republicans had been concerned the VA would not be able to deal with the surge in ill veterans, leading to chaos and disappointment. But Moran said the changes addressed those concerns, and Congress owes it to veterans to care for them, regardless of the price tag.
“There’s no doubt that the cost of taking care of our veterans is high, but the truth is, freedom is not free. We say that, but this is evidence that we believe that,” said Moran on the Senate floor.
“There’s always a cost of war. It’s always high. It’s always dramatic. It’s always something that costs people their lives,” Moran said. “The cost of war is not fully paid when the war is over. We are now on the verge of honoring that commitment to Americans, veterans and their families.”
© New York Daily News
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Fired-up Biden blames Republicans for blocking his plan to fight inflation
Biden slammed the GOP's tax plan to a union crowd in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
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President Joe Biden delivered fired-up remarks on the economy before a friendly, cheering audience of union workers in Philadelphia Tuesday -- nodding to inflation, high food and gas prices, and his plans to try to ease the economic pressures American families are facing.
Shouting at times, receiving standing ovations, and delivering plenty of classic "Bidenisms," the president spoke about the economy to a convention of the AFL-CIO federation of labor unions -- and acknowledged the record-high inflation rates his administration is trying to combat.
"Jobs are back, but prices are still too high," Biden conceded, arguing Republicans are blocking him from carrying out his plan to bring down costs. "COVID is down, but gas prices are up. Our work isn't done."
Biden blamed Republicans for blocking a lot of his ideas to lower prices for Americans.
During his campaign-like speech, he heavily praised organized labor -- and delivered a midterm message.
"You're a gigantic reason why I'm standing here," Biden told the crowd. "Standing here today as your president. I really mean it."
'Jobs are back, but prices are still too high'
While Biden focused his message on the economy, he did not address inflation until well into his speech, and when he did, he reiterated how his personal experience with inflation gave him an understanding of what families are facing.
"Republicans in Congress are doing everything they can to stop my plans to bring down costs on ordinary families. That's why my plan is not finished and why the results aren't finished either," Biden argued.
The president pointed to his efforts to bring down prices at the pump in particular by tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to get more oil to market, but noted the entire world is facing high inflation, and that in the United States, "It's sapping the strength of a lot of families."
Biden also went into more detail than usual about the food crisis stemming from the war in Ukraine, saying, part of his plan to help bring down food costs included the U.S. working to get Ukrainian grain out of the country and to the global markets.
He acknowledged the complicating factors involved in doing so, particularly because of the differences between Ukraine's rails and the rest of Europe.
"We're going to build silos, temporary silos in the borders of Ukraine, including in Poland, so we can transfer it from those cars into those silos into cars in Europe and get it out to the ocean and get it across the world," Biden pledged, but conceded, "it's taking time."
Midterm message and support for Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania, Atlanta
With the midterm elections just a few months away, Biden used his remarks to also deliver a message to voters -- trying to draw contrast between his party and Republicans on the economy.
"Our work isn't done but here's the deal. America still has a choice to make. A choice between a government by the few for the few or a government for all of us. Democracy for all of us, an economy where all of us have a fair shot and a chance to earn our place in the economy," Biden pitched to the crowd.
The president, who had prided himself on bipartisanship, said he is under no "illusions" when it comes to the Republican party today, hitting Florida GOP Sen. Rick Scott's tax proposal in his remarks.
"The fact is Republicans in Congress are still in the grip of the 'ultra-MAGA' agenda. And they still refuse to consider any part of the Trump tax cuts, which delivered a massive windfall to billionaires and others. And they weren't paid for," Biden said.
"They still refuse to consider a minimum corporate tax of 15%, minimum tax," he said. "They seem to think that the problem in America today is the working families aren't paying enough."
He also delivered messages of support for two midterm candidates in particular: Pennsylvania Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and the Democratic nominee for governor in Georgia, Stacey Abrams.
Biden said he held a Zoom call on Monday with Fetterman, who is running for Senate in Pennsylvania and recently suffered a stroke, telling the crowd Fetterman was "looking good" and "can't wait to get back on the trail" -- adding a joke about Fetterman's size.
"If you're in a foxhole, you want John with you man," Biden said. "I know he can't wait to get back on the trail. He's looking good. He's no bigger, stronger voice for working people in this state than John. Certainly no bigger one, for that matter."
He also called on the union members to support Abrams, who he said was in attendance.
"I gotta ask y'all a favor: Help her in Georgia. Help Stacey Abrams in Georgia," he said. "There's three things I learned about her early on. One, she's loyal. Two, she's capable. And three, she's smarter than me. She knows what she's doing. So folks, please help her out."
Touts pro-union credentials
Speaking before the union crowd, Biden said "nothing had made me prouder than that" to be called "the most pro-union president in history" by the AFL-CIO'S leadership.
"I promised you I would be, and I commit to you as long as I have this job I will remain that," Biden said.
The president also called on Congress to pass the PRO Act, which would expand labor protections and the right to organize.
He touted his accomplishments, including the infrastructure bill, the millions of jobs created during his time in office, and how American families are carrying less debt and have more savings.
"I love these guys talking about why these guys left my employment, went to another job," Biden said. "Because he got paid more! Isn't that awful, isn't that a shame that they gotta compete for labor. Better paying jobs, for better jobs for them and their families. It's been a long time since that's happened in this country, but it's happening now."
He contrasted himself with his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, and the poor state of the economy in 2020.
"I promise you, I'm going to keep fighting for you," Biden shouted, to loud cheers. "Are you prepared to fight with me?"
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1536736695495835648
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So much for being "Pro Life". DeSantis won't even protect kids from getting sick from a virus and then blames the media for his surging infections in his state. What an idiot.
DeSantis defends state decision not to order COVID vaccines for young kids
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Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday defended the state’s decision not to preorder COVID-19 pediatric vaccines for children under 5, saying that parents who want the shots can access them without the state’s help.
“Our Department of Health has been very clear: The risks outweigh the benefits and we recommend against,’’ DeSantis said at a news conference in the Everglades to announce the state’s annual python capture challenge.
“Doctors can get it. Hospitals can get it. But there’s not going to be any state programs that are going to be trying to, you know, get COVID jabs to infants and toddlers and newborns,” he said. “That’s not something that we think is appropriate, and so that’s not where we’re going to be utilizing our resources in that regard.”
Florida is the only state in the nation that has notplaced preorders for the vaccines for young children, the Miami Herald reported on Wednesday. The decision leaves healthcare centers and pharmacies to obtain the supply on their own, potentially delaying access to the vaccines in Florida.
The preordered vaccines specifically tailored for children ages 6 months to 5 years will be delivered in two tranches beginning as early as Monday to thousands of pediatricians’ offices, children’s hospitals, pharmacies and health centers across the country.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo broke with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics in March when he recommended against giving vaccines to healthy children.
The Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee met this week to review data and recommended authorizing emergency use of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for children over 6 months old.
The News Service of Florida reported that Ladapo would not support inoculating the state’s youngest children.
“From what I have seen, there is just insufficient data to inform benefits and risk in children. I think that’s very unequivocal,” Ladapo said Tuesday.
DeSantis said Thursday that there is “practically zero risk” of COVID-19 complications in children, and he has called the clinical trial data “abysmal.”
A response from the White House
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday the decision from Florida officials will make finding a vaccine harder for parents in the state.
“Some pharmacies and community health centers in the state get access to federal distribution channels, but those options are limited for parents,” Jean-Pierre said.
Differing points of view from doctors, scientists
But Mary Jo Trepka, an infectious disease epidemiologist and professor at Florida International University, disagrees with the governor and surgeon general. She said she considers the vaccine for children “very safe” and the data show clear benefits.
“People think, ‘Oh, in young children it is a mild illness.’ Well, it is for the majority, but there have been many hospitalizations from COVID-19, including during the omicron surge, for children under the age of 5,’’ Trepka said.
“Even young children can benefit from the vaccine because it will prevent them from getting a severe illness, against long COVID and a very rare, but extremely serious condition called multi-system inflammatory syndrome.”
Peter Marks, the FDA’s top vaccine regulator, told the FDA committee Wednesday that at least 442 children under age 5 have died due to COVID-19 through the end of May, exceeding the number or deaths typically seen from flu or other severe respiratory illnesses.
DeSantis emphasized Thursday that although the state is not going to get involved in preordering the pediatric vaccines, “that’s not the same as banning it. I mean, people can access it if they want to, and parents can do.”
The state’s failure to preorder the vaccines could delay delivery to medical facilities relying on what the state orders from the federal government. Because the state has not placed a preorder, pharmacies and health facilities will remain without supply until Florida places an order.
Parents in Florida seeking vaccines for their children will have two options to access the shots. Some community health centers have ordered vaccines directly through the federal government, and federal pharmacy partners will also have supply, although several chains will be prioritizing children ages 3 and up.
Many Florida pharmacies will be providing vaccines
In Florida, 11 retail pharmacies are enrolled in theFederal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 vaccines, including CVS Health, Walgreens, Publix, Costco and Kroger. Walmart, which owns Sam’s Club and Southeastern Grocers, the parent company of Winn-Dixie, Fresco y Mas, and Harveys Supermarket, is also enrolled.
CVS Health — which owns traditional CVS stores, Navarro Discount Pharmacies and CVS y mas — said it plans to provide the shots to kids as young as 18 months across the country through its 1,100 MinuteClinic locations.
Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, part of the Memorial Healthcare System, told the Miami Herald it placed an order but expects to experience a delay because the state is its supplier of COVID-19 vaccines.
Jeremy Redfern, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Health, said in a statement “there are currently no orders in the department’s ordering system for the COVID-19 vaccine for this age group.“
He added: “It is also no surprise we chose not to participate in distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine when the department does not recommend it for all children.”
On Tuesday, the FDA advisory committee voted to recommend Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine tochildren and teens ages 6-17, making both the Pfizer and Moderna shots available to that age group. On Wednesday, the panel endorsed the use of both vaccines for children over 6 months old.
“Given the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic and likelihood of continued SARS-CoV-2 transmission during the ensuing months, deployment of the vaccine for use among children six months through 4 years of age will likely have a beneficial effect on COVID-19 associated morbidity and mortality in this age group,” the FDA wrote in its briefing document.
The FDA emphasized that the rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are higher for children 6 months to 4 years old compared with children and teens ages 5-17.
Redfern has defended the state’s decision to recommend against COVID-19 vaccinations for children, pointing to childhood vaccination guidelines in Norway, the United Kingdom and Sweden.
Norway’s guidelines note that healthy children and adolescents are at lower risk of severe illness from COVID and can be vaccinated. Norway, however, recommends a longer interval between doses of eight to 12 weeks compared to the CDC’s recommendation of three to eight weeks.
The U.K. government website states that, “COVID-19 vaccines are the best way to protect yourself and others” and recommends the doses occur12 weeks apart for children.
Sweden, however, decided against recommending the vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11,Reuters reported in January.
A surge in hospitalization of unvaccinated Floridians
Trepka of FIU said that Florida is currently experiencing a surge of hospitalizations from COVID-19, primarily among people who are unvaccinated. She said that access to the vaccine will help children in daycare or camp settings who are in contact with a lot of other children and whose risk of being exposed is greater, and will help to relieve the stress on parents who have limited activities for their kids to avoid exposure.
“We need to look at it from all these different angles from not just the community but also the effect on families and the individual children,’’ she said.
DeSantis, however, pointed to “media hysteria” for causing parental concern over their children getting the virus.
DeSantis said that during the FDA hearing this week, one physician noted that “parents are really, really frightened, like we know that the risk is low, we’re not sure how this is going to work, but we parents are really frightened about COVID for their kids.”
DeSantis asked: “Why would they be frightened about it? It’s because of media hysteria. It’s because of a lot of misinformation. That’s why they’re scared.”
© Miami Herald
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President Biden @POTUS
We need an economy built from the middle out and the bottom up — not the top down.
Because I know that when the middle class does well, everybody does well.
Congressional Republicans like to portray me as some sort of big spender, but let’s compare the facts.
Under my predecessor, the deficit exploded – rising every year.
Under my plan, we cut the deficit by $350 billion last year. And we’re cutting it by $1.6 trillion this year.
The vast majority of global ocean shipping is controlled by nine major companies.
Nine.
During the pandemic, these carriers increased their prices as much as 1,000% — the bipartisan Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 allows us to crack down on those excessive hikes.
Tune in as I sign into law S. 3580, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1mrGmaQQXmzGy
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President Biden is 100% correct about the astronomical debt that Trump racked up for 4 years. But the good news is that President Biden is cutting that debt. This ProPublica article from last year details the massive debt that Trump heaped upon our country.
Donald Trump Built a National Debt So Big (Even Before the Pandemic) That It’ll Weigh Down the Economy for Years
The “King of Debt” promised to reduce the national debt — then his tax cuts made it surge. Add in the pandemic, and he oversaw the third-biggest deficit increase of any president.
Jan. 14, 2021
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One of President Donald Trump’s lesser known but profoundly damaging legacies will be the explosive rise in the national debt that occurred on his watch. The financial burden that he’s inflicted on our government will wreak havoc for decades, saddling our kids and grandkids with debt.
The national debt has risen by almost $7.8 trillion during Trump’s time in office. That’s nearly twice as much as what Americans owe on student loans, car loans, credit cards and every other type of debt other than mortgages, combined, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It amounts to about $23,500 in new federal debt for every person in the country.
The growth in the annual deficit under Trump ranks as the third-biggest increase, relative to the size of the economy, of any U.S. presidential administration, according to a calculation by a leading Washington budget maven, Eugene Steuerle, co-founder of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. And unlike George W. Bush and Abraham Lincoln, who oversaw the larger relative increases in deficits, Trump did not launch two foreign conflicts or have to pay for a civil war.
The National Debt Increased Under Trump Despite His Promise to Reduce It
Daily total national debt from 2009 to present.
(https://assets-c3.propublica.org/images/articles/_threeTwo800w/20210114-borrowing-increased-under-trump-despite-promise-to-repay-national-debt-small.png)
Economists agree that we needed massive deficit spending during the COVID-19 crisis to ward off an economic cataclysm, but federal finances under Trump had become dire even before the pandemic. That happened even though the economy was booming and unemployment was at historically low levels. By the Trump administration’s own description, the pre-pandemic national debt level was already a “crisis” and a “grave threat.”
The combination of Trump’s 2017 tax cut and the lack of any serious spending restraint helped both the deficit and the debt soar. So when the once-in-a-lifetime viral disaster slammed our country and we threw more than $3 trillion into COVID-19-related stimulus, there was no longer any margin for error.
Our national debt has reached immense levels relative to our economy, nearly as high as it was at the end of World War II. But unlike 75 years ago, the massive financial overhang from Medicare and Social Security will make it dramatically more difficult to dig ourselves out of the debt ditch.
The Debt to GDP Ratio Is the Highest It's Been Since World War II
Federal debt held by the public as a percentage of gross domestic product since 1900.
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Falling deeper into the red is the opposite of what Trump, the self-styled “King of Debt,” said would happen if he became president. In a March 31, 2016, interview with Bob Woodward and Robert Costa of The Washington Post, Trump said he could pay down the national debt, then about $19 trillion, “over a period of eight years” by renegotiating trade deals and spurring economic growth.
After he took office, Trump predicted that economic growth created by the 2017 tax cut, combined with the proceeds from the tariffs he imposed on a wide range of goods from numerous countries, would help eliminate the budget deficit and let the U.S. begin to pay down its debt. On July 27, 2018, he told Sean Hannity of Fox News: “We have $21 trillion in debt. When this [the 2017 tax cut] really kicks in, we’ll start paying off that debt like it’s water.”
Nine days later, he tweeted, “Because of Tariffs we will be able to start paying down large amounts of the $21 trillion in debt that has been accumulated, much by the Obama Administration.”
That’s not how it played out. When Trump took office in January 2017, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office was projecting that federal budget deficits would be 2% to 3% of our gross domestic product during Trump’s term. Instead, the deficit reached nearly 4% of gross domestic product in 2018 and 4.6% in 2019.
There were multiple culprits. Trump’s tax cuts, especially the sharp reduction in the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%, took a big bite out of federal revenue. The CBO estimated in 2018 that the tax cut would increase deficits by about $1.9 trillion over 11 years.
Meanwhile, Trump’s claim that increased revenue from the tariffs would help eliminate (or at least reduce) our national debt hasn’t panned out. In 2018, Trump’s administration began hiking tariffs on aluminum, steel and many other products, launching what became a global trade war with China, the European Union and other countries.
The tariffs did bring in additional revenue. In fiscal 2019, they netted about $71 billion, up about $36 billion from President Barack Obama’s last year in office. But although $36 billion is a lot of money, it’s less than 1/750th of the national debt. That $36 billion could have covered a bit more than three weeks of interest on the national debt — that is, had Trump not unilaterally decided to send a chunk of the tariff revenue to farmers affected by his trade wars. Businesses that struggled as a result of the tariffs also paid fewer taxes, offsetting some of the increased tariff revenue.
By early 2019, the national debt had climbed to $22 trillion. Trump’s budget proposal for 2020 called it a “grave threat to our economic and societal prosperity” and asserted that the U.S. was experiencing a “national debt crisis.” However, that same budget proposal included substantial growth in the national debt.
By the end of 2019, the debt had risen to $23.2 trillion and more federal officials were sounding the alarm. “Not since World War II has the country seen deficits during times of low unemployment that are as large as those that we project — nor, in the past century, has it experienced large deficits for as long as we project,” Phillip Swagel, director of the CBO, said in January 2020.
Weeks later, COVID-19 erupted and made the financial situation far worse. As of Dec. 31, 2020, the national debt had jumped to $27.75 trillion, up 39% from $19.95 trillion when Trump was sworn in. The government ended its 2020 fiscal year with the portion of the national debt owed to investors, the metric favored by the CBO, at around 100% of GDP. The CBO had predicted less than a year earlier that it would take until 2030 to reach that approximate level of debt. Including the trillions owed to various governmental trust funds, the total debt is now about 130% of GDP.
Normally, this is where we’d give you Trump’s version of events. But we couldn’t get anyone to give us Trump’s side. Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, referred us to the Office of Management and Budget, which is a branch of the White House.
OMB didn’t respond to our requests. The Treasury directed us to comments made by OMB director Russell Vought in October, in which he predicted that as the pandemic eases and economic growth rebounds, the “fiscal picture” will improve. The OMB blamed legislators for deficits when Trump submitted his proposed 2021 budget: “Unfortunately, the Congress continues to reject any efforts to restrain spending. Instead, they have greatly contributed to the continued ballooning of Federal debt and deficits, putting the Nation’s fiscal future at risk.”
Still, the deficit growth under Trump has been historic. Steuerle, of the Tax Policy Center, has done a comparison of every American president using a metric called the “primary deficit.” It’s defined as the deficit minus interest costs, because interest is the only budget expense that presidents and Congress can’t control unless they want to do the unthinkable and default on the debt. Steuerle examined the records of 45 presidents to see how the primary deficit had shrunk or grown relative to the size of the economy between the first and final years of each president’s administration.
Trump had the third-biggest primary deficit growth, 5.2% of GDP, behind only George W. Bush (11.7%) and Abraham Lincoln (9.4%). Bush, of course, not only passed a big tax cut, as Trump has, but also launched two wars, which greatly inflated the defense budget. Lincoln had to pay for the Civil War. By contrast, Trump’s wars have been almost entirely of the political variety.
Our national debt is now at its highest level relative to our economy since the end of World War II. After the war ended, the extraordinary military expenses disappeared, a postwar recovery began and the debt began to fall rapidly relative to the size of the economy.
But that’s not going to happen this time. When World War II ended 75 years ago, Social Security was in its infancy and Medicare didn’t exist. Today, many of our biggest and most rapidly growing expenses, especially Social Security and Medicare, are baked into the budget because of our nation’s aging population. These outlays are slated to rise sharply. Steuerle recently calculated that Social Security, health care and interest costs are projected to absorb 122% of the total growth in federal revenues from 2019 to 2030.
What’s more, our investment in the future — things like research and development, education, infrastructure, workforce training and such — is declining as a proportion of the budget. OMB data shows that in 1970, mandatory spending (such as Social Security and Medicare, but not including interest on the debt) and investment each made up around 30% of total federal spending. But as of 2019, the most recent available year, mandatory spending had doubled to around 61% of total federal spending while investment fell by more than half, to around 12.5%.
Mandatory Spending Outstrips Investment in the Future
Mandatory and investment spending as a percentage of total U.S. government spending from 1970 to 2019. Mandatory (also known as nondiscretionary) spending includes programs such as Social Security and Medicare, while investment includes infrastructure, research and development, education and training.
(https://assets-c3.propublica.org/images/articles/_threeTwo800w/20210114-mandatory-spending-outstrips-investment-in-the-future-small.png)
Spending more and more on past promises and shrinking the proportion of spending for the future doesn’t bode well for our kids and grandkids. Had Trump done what he said he’d do and paid off part of the national debt before COVID-19 struck rather than adding significantly to the debt, the situation would be considerably less dire. And had Trump done a better job of coping with COVID-19, the economic and human costs would’ve been greatly reduced.
In addition to forcing us to reduce the proportion of the budget spent on the future to help pay for the past, there’s a second reason that huge and growing budget deficits matter: interest costs.
Bigger debt ultimately means bigger interest costs, even in an era when the Federal Reserve has forced down Treasury rates to ultralow levels. The government’s interest cost (including interest paid to government trust funds) was around $523 billion in the 2020 fiscal year. That outstrips all spending on education, employment training, research and social services, Treasury data shows.
Interest costs are way below where they’d be if the Fed hadn’t forced rates down to try to stimulate the economy and mitigate the impact of the pandemic. One-year Treasury securities cost taxpayers a minuscule 0.10% in interest at year-end, down from 1.59% at the end of 2019. The 10-year Treasury rate was 0.93%, down from 1.92%.
In late December, the Fed reported boosting its Treasury holdings by more than $2 trillion from a year earlier. The increase is primarily in longer-term securities. That has kept the federal government from having to raise trillions of dollars in the capital markets, and therefore has kept longer-term interest rates way below where they would otherwise be.
But unless something changes, even the Fed’s promise to keep interest rates near current levels for several years won’t fend off future problems. Most of the government’s borrowing to fund pandemic relief has been shorter-term borrowing that will have to be refinanced in the coming years. If rates rise, so will the government’s interest expense.
Even with rates where they are, interest on the debt is already going to be the fastest-growing budget category this decade, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, which tracks the issue. Annual net interest costs are projected to double in 10 years and grow so large beyond 2030 that interest will become a driving factor in annual deficit growth, according to Peterson estimates.
Listen to what CBO Director Swagel had to say on the subject in a report to congressional Republicans in December: “Although the current low interest rates indicate that the debt is manageable for now and that the United States is not facing an immediate fiscal crisis, in which interest rates abruptly escalated or other disruptions occurred, the risk and potential budgetary consequences of such a crisis become greater over time.”
Trump was asked about this risk during a virtual discussion with the Economic Club of New York last October. “If we have another stimulus bill out of Congress, are you worried that the entire amount of federal debt will be too large for us to pay off in a sensible way?” asked David Rubenstein, a private equity executive.
Trump answered by falsely claiming that the U.S. was starting to pay off the national debt before the pandemic, and he claimed that future economic growth would let it do so. “I think you’re going to see tremendous growth, David, and the growth is going to get it done,” Trump said.
Two months later, when Congress finally approved $900 billion of economic stimulus that is being financed with debt, Trump challenged Congress to spend — and borrow — even more. Then he went golfing.
https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump
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Former GOP governor thinks Jan. 6 hearings are working — and changing the minds of Republican voters
The former Republican governor of Ohio believes the minds of GOP voters are being changed by the evidence presented in public hearings by the House Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Attack at the U.S. Capitol.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer questioned former Gov. John Kasich, legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and political analyst Gloria Borger on Friday evening.
"Jeffrey, is it at all surprising to you that Trump is attacking the select committee and still pushing the very lies that led to the deadly attack up on the capitol?" Blitzer asked.
"No, it's not surprising. But I think what makes this situation somewhat different from previous Trump controversies is that all of the witnesses he is attacking are Republicans," Toobin said. "This is his attorney general. This is his daughter. These are his people who are presenting the evidence against him, which I think makes his task somewhat harder in trying to discredit them."
"Gov Kasich, next week we will hear from Georgia election officials and former Justice Department officials during the next round of hearings. How effectively is the committee telling the story of Jan. 6, relying once again as Jeffrey pointed out, on a lot of Republican witnesses?"
"I think that's a key point, Wolf," Kasich replied. "And I would also say I think what's beginning to happen is that Republicans who had thought well, the election wasn't fair or whatever, I think there are growing numbers of people across the country who watch this, considering the fact that these are Republicans who are testifying, and I think there are people beginning to say, 'You know what? I think maybe this election was fair, that in fact, Joe Biden did win."
"And secondly, I think in regard to Donald Trump, I think all of this information, all of this testimony, all of this video, it's weighing him down. It's going to seep into the consciousness of people over time," he predicted. "And remember, we're only about halfway there. There are a lot more cards to be turned over and I think in the process, it's weighing him down and having a significant impact on how voters feel about him and about how America feels about him."
"So I think they've done a very good job," Kasich said.
Toobin, however, took issue with his analysis.
"But governor, a Republican congressman who voted against Trump in one area got 25% of the vote in South Carolina," Toobin said. "I mean, that sure suggests a lot of Republican conservatives still standing by Trump."
"He went after the governor of Georgia and got crushed," Kasich replied. "He went after the secretary of state in Georgia and he got crushed. So you can't look at it -- you have to look at it race by race and what's happened at each of these races. And some of these districts remain very strongly pro-Trump."
"I'm just saying there are growing of numbers of Americans who are saying, 'You know what? That election was fair, honey, it actually happened.' And I do think it's taking an impact on Trump."
Watch below:
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'Dumber than a sack of Matt Gaetzes': Florida columnist destroys Ron DeSantis over gas tax scheme
A veteran journalist laid into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for abusing his power -- and costing taxpayers money -- to aid his re-election campaign.
The Florida Republican, who's widely believed to be eying a 2024 presidential run, has picked fights with COVID-19 experts, Disney World, the Special Olympics and many others in his political rise, but Tampa Bay Times guest columnist Daniel Ruth said DeSantis had reached a new low by pausing a 25-cent reduction in gas taxes.
"It seems a factotum on the governor’s crack staff suggested it might be a swell idea to delay the 25-cent tax break until October, which by amazing coincidence is the month before the November election," Ruth wrote. "Whew! No political mischief at work. Nothing to see here. Of course, the governor could have said, 'Not on my watch! I’m not going to use the fine people of Florida as mere political pawns to advance my electoral prospects.''"
"Instead, he went along with the scam, which only proves we all have a price; it’s only a matter of negotiation," Ruth added. "And Ron DeSantis can be had at 25 cents. Such a deal."
Florida Republicans insisted the tax cut was delayed until tourism season was over, but Ruth said that's obviously ridiculous and not even backed by the state's own tourism data.
"DeSantis is assuming the people of Florida are stupid, that they are dumber than a sack of Matt Gaetzes," Ruth wrote. "It’s not entirely a bad bet. Cynical, yes, but in DeSantis world, the people can’t be hurt by what they don’t know."
Read more here:
https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2022/06/16/did-politics-influence-the-timing-of-floridas-25-cent-gas-tax-holiday-editorial/
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Former RNC chair blasts GOP for backing Trump after he showed he 'didn't give a damn' about America
On Friday's edition of MSNBC's "The ReidOut," former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele outlined how former President Donald Trump has been a graver threat to democracy than Richard Nixon ever was.
This comes amid the 50th anniversary of the Watergate complex break-in — and as the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack lays bare the scheme of Trump's allies to overturn the election.
"Say what you want about, you know, how [Nixon] performed in office," said Steele. "He had a connection to the country, and he knew where the bright lines were. Trump didn't give a damn about the connection to the country. Had no clue where the lines were. In fact, didn't want to know where the lines were because that was just an unnecessary burden that he'd have to carry around to know that, okay, I've got to pretend like, you know, I really care here."
Steele took aim at his longtime party for furthering Trump's assault on democratic order.
"So there's a big difference, and what's stark about that in my view is how much the party, how much the party just acquiesced to obliterating the lines, no longer caring about the country, which is what the stand was for me personally in 2020, the country matters more than the party. And I think a lot of people see that now starkly as these hearings on the Hill have shown."
The committee hearings have revealed new details about the plot, including the fact that one of Trump's top lawyers, John Eastman, knew the whole thing was illegal.
Watch:
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15 states hit all time record lows on unemployment in Friday's BLS new report thanks to President Biden's historic job growth and record economy.
How it started, when President Biden inherited the Trump economic disaster with record high unemployment.
To
How it’s going now, with record job growth and record low unemployment.
Here's unemployment state by state, when Biden took office vs. now after a year and a half of the Biden presidency.
Dark blue is above 5%, and the lighter the better. Shocking contrast all around America and a truly historic turnaround in less than 2 years.
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Rick Wilson names GOP senators who worked to undermine the election results before Jan 6th
Appearing on MSNBC early on Sunday morning with host Ayman Mohyeldin, former Republican campaign consultant Rick Wilson suggested that not enough attention is being paid to Republican members in the Senate who were working to undermine the 2020 presidential election results before the Jan 6th election riot.
According to Wilson, the insurrection encouraged by Donald Trump might have been successful if it had been run by competent people instead of a "clod" like attorney John Eastman.
Having said that, he pointed the finger at high-profile members of the Senate for being complicit in paving the way for the attack on democracy.
"Donald Trump has people around him who would throw a school bus full of toddlers into a volcano to stay in office. There is no upper boundary," he began. "We've got very very lucky that [John] Eastman was, in fact, somewhat of a clod in putting this together."
"He was not a [election lawyer] Ben Ginsberg, or not a more sophisticated attorney. He's an ideologue before he's a legal thinker and scholar," he continued. "That's the only reason that we escaped from this, without somebody with a more sophisticated style and presentation, who could've worked McConnell's people and could have worked the Senate process differently and could've somehow juiced it into a situation where he didn't look like a mob or a horde was coming in."
"Remember this, there were a lot of senators that day, before the mob attacked, who were trying to undermine the process of the electoral vote count," he added. "Rick Scott, Tommy Tuberville, Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley, the whole package of these guys; they were all trying to burn down the process before the mob arrived. They had a legal strategy in their minds that was underpinning this."
"In a lot of ways, the mob reflected Trump's id, and so they went to the Capitol and attacked it but they almost got away with this," he told the host. "We were very close to losing the country that day. They almost got away with this."
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Weak Faux Propaganda clown Tucker Carlson, a right wing hack who never served his country, mocked Republican congressman Dan Crenshaw calling him "Eyepatch McCain" for losing his eye in combat as a Navy Seal. Crenshaw is about as far right as you can get, but Carlson had a problem with Crenshaw supporting Ukraine, debunking Trump's election fraud conspiracies, and calling out QAnon cult conspiracy theorist GOP congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene for pushing Russia Propaganda in support of Putin. Carlson is another Putin apologist and a friend of Greene's, so he attacked Crenshaw on air disparaging him and another war Veteran, the late John McCain.
So, these Republicans who claim "they love the military", but never served themselves, are always attacking, disparaging, and mocking our veterans who served our country and sustained war injuries.
So, the MAGA cult that watched Carlson on television verbally attack Crenshaw, decided to publicly harass Crenshaw this weekend at the Texas Republican Party convention. They said Crenshaw should be "hung for treason" all because he supports our ally Ukraine and didn't push "election fraud" conspiracies.
Ukraine is our ally and the war in Ukraine has direct implications to our national security, but the radical MAGA fascists are supporters of Putin like Carlson is, so in their deranged minds they believe it's "treason" to oppose Putin who is a murderer. And this is the radical right wing element that wants to take over our government. They support Putin's interests over our own country. That's why these right wing radicals need to be defeated in November.
Crenshaw is about as far right you can get, but if you don't go 100% along with the MAGA rabid cult, they will turn on you and come after you. We saw what these people did on Jan 6th as they beat Capitol police officers and were attempting to hang Mike Pence and Democratic members of Congress. MAGA is a violent radical cult. Crenshaw has found out what they are truly capable of as he was part of this cult but now they have turned on him.
Right-wingers harass Rep. Dan Crenshaw at Texas Republican convention: ‘Eyepatch McCain’
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They were itching for a ballroom brawl.
Right-wing internet personalities attempted to confront Rep. Dan Crenshaw at Texas’ Republican Party convention Saturday, calling him “eyepatch McCain” and saying he should be “hung for treason.”
Videos posted by the combative conservatives showed Crenshaw walking through a convention center while they hurled insults at him. Crenshaw’s security team manhandled the hecklers to keep them from reaching the congressman.
“Dan Crenshaw is a traitor!” shouted a man in a pro-Donald Trump hat. “He needs to be hung for treason!”
Crenshaw was quiet at the convention center but responded on Twitter with a schoolyard taunt.
“This is what happens when angry little boys like @alexstein99 don’t grow up and can’t get girlfriends,” he tweeted.
Fox News’ Tucker Carlson was the one who came up with the “eyepatch McCain” joke while criticizing Crenshaw for supporting a bill to send money and weapons to Ukraine. Crenshaw lost his right eye to an improvised explosive device while serving as a Navy SEAL in Afghanistan.
Crenshaw is a staunch conservative but has angered some Republicans by calling them grifters and charlatans not interested in actual conservative politics. Last August, he told some election deniers to get over themselves and admit that Trump lost the 2020 election.
“Don’t kid yourself into believing that’s why we lost,” Crenshaw said. “It’s not.”
Also at the Texas Republican convention on Saturday, the party made anti-LGBTQ bigotry an official part of the Republican platform in the state.
© New York Daily News
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New Mexico county shows that ‘Republican election sabotage’ is well underway: legal experts
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Defenders of U.S. democracy, from liberals and progressives to Never Trump conservatives, have been warning that if “Stop the Steal” MAGA Republicans and promoters of the Big Lie are able to take control of the administration of elections, they will simply throw out any election results they don’t like — which is what they brazenly attempted after the 2020 presidential election. And sure enough, MAGA Republicans in a rural county in New Mexico recently tried to do exactly that.
The county is Otero County, where MAGA Republicans on the country commission refused to certify recent election results — saying that they don’t trust the Dominion voting machines in their area. Legal experts Laurence Tribe and Dennis Aftergut, in an op-ed published by CNN’s website on January 20, warn that this is the type of power grab and attack on democracy to expect from MAGA Republicans in the months ahead.
“The commissioners had evidently fallen hook, line and sinker for the completely debunked 2020 election conspiracy theory spread by Trump and his acolyte, lawyer Sidney Powell, that Dominion Voting Systems' machines secretly switched votes from Trump to Joe Biden,” Tribe and Aftergut explain. “On Wednesday, (June 15), the New Mexico Supreme Court ordered the commission to reverse course and certify the June 7 election results.”
Tribe and Aftergut add, “That's the good news. Courts — at least those below the U.S. Supreme Court — continue to be reliable institutions affirming truth and the rule of law. The bad news is that judges are unlikely to be able to sustain the heavy burden required to extinguish the disinformation wildfires that have now spread to the election certification process. Republican election sabotage, in which GOP officials refuse to certify the winners, has started.”
The legal experts point to Otero County as proof that “Republican election sabotage in which GOP officials refuse to certify the winners has started.”
Tribe and Aftergut point to Jim Marchant, who won the GOP primary for Nevada secretary of state on June 14, as an example of the type of Republican who would refuse to honor election results he didn’t like.
“Marchant says he would not have certified Joe Biden's 2020 Nevada victory,” Tribe and Aftergut observe. “And he has said he is open to sending to Congress a slate of electors in 2024 who would not vote for Nevada's popular vote winner.”
To make matters worse, they observe, some right-wing justices on the U.S. Supreme Court are open to hearing a case involving the Independent State Legislature Theory.
“The anti-democracy premise of ISL is that state legislatures can do whatever they want in federal elections, including ignoring the winner of the state's popular vote,” Tribe and Aftergut note. “The ISL theory is pockmarked with legal holes, as law professors Vikram David Amar and Akhil Amar have ably demonstrated in multiple articles. But if you think that will stop the Court majority from favoring legislatures' ability to destroy majority rule, think again. Over the last decade, the conservative majority has given Republican-controlled legislatures carte blanche to adopt measures suppressing the voting rights of Blacks and other large blocs of voters.”
Tribe and Aftergut conclude their op-ed by warning that Otero County won’t be MAGA Republicans’ last attempt to throw out democratic election results.
“We just saw in New Mexico how broadly the disinformation fueling the conspiracy has spread,” they write. “Only We The People can stop it.”
https://www.rawstory.com/new-mexico-county-shows-that-republican-election-sabotage-is-well-underway-legal-experts/
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Republican Adam Kinzinger: ‘My party has utterly failed the American people’
Discussing bomb threats recently called into his home, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) — one of two Republicans in the U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack — told ABC’s “This Week” that “My party has utterly failed the American people at truth.”
“It makes me sad, but it’s a fact,” he added.
Kinzinger’s comment came as “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos asked Kinzinger why, in a recent poll, only 20 percent of Republicans said that former President Donald Trump should be prosecuted for his role in inciting the Capitol riots and trying to overturn the 2020 election. The same poll found that 90 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of American voters felt that Trump should be prosecuted.
“It is leadership, lack of leadership in the Republican Party,” Kinzinger explained. “If you have people that don’t trust what they hear on the media, and they don’t trust what they hear from certain leaders…. Everybody has people they trust and where they get their information, that whole segment of leaders that Republican voters trust… If you’re going to stand up to those people and lie to him and tell him Donald Trump’s right, the election was stolen… We could have no doubt that 80 percent of the country is going to believe what their leaders are saying.”
Kinzinger added that he is not personally worried about the bomb and death threats that were recently mailed to his house. The threats promised violence against his wife and their five-month-old child.
“I’ve never seen or had anything like that,” he said, adding, “It was sent from the local area.”
He also said he expects threats of violence to increase leading into the 2024 presidential election as Trump’s supporters have also gained control of political positions that will enable them to contest or sabotage the next election’s results.
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'They are nuts': Conservative slams Texas GOP's 'mess' of a party platform
The Texas Republican Party over the weekend voted in favor of a platform that refused to recognize the legitimacy of President Joe Biden's 2020 victory, while also declaring that homosexuality was an "abnormal lifestyle."
Appearing on CNN Monday, conservative commentator Margaret Hoover acknowledged that the Texas GOP platform was a significant problem for the party, although she tried to distance it from the views of run-of-the-mill GOP voters.
"The activist base of the Republican Party in Texas is a mob mentality and it has taken over the apparatus that is the GOP infrastructure," she said. "The activist base of the party is different than primary voters in Texas, self-identified GOP primary voters. You see this because Dan Crenshaw just survived a Republican primary contest by 35,000 votes, I mean it wasn't even close."
All that said, Hoover argued Republican leaders needed to do more to steer their party in a more sensible direction.
"They are nuts," she said of Texas GOP activists. "This isn't a five-alarm fire, this is like an asteroid is coming for Earth if you're in the GOP party in Texas. It's a mess. You really have to take it very, very seriously."
CNN host John Berman then noted that when some establishment members of the Texas GOP showed up to the party convention this weekend, "They were booed."
"They need to stand up against it," Hoover said. "Where is the leadership, the calmer, saner voices that can cool the passions of the masses?"
Watch:
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GOP is building 'paramilitary wing' as their voters turn to bullets over ballots: columnist
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On Monday, writing for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, columnist J. Patrick Coolican warned that far-right Republican lawmakers are effectively building up their branch of the party into a "paramilitary wing" — driven in part by their voting base's own fetishization of political violence.
"J.R. Majewski, a Republican candidate for Congress in Ohio, ran an ad (since taken down for copyright issues) in which images of President Joe Biden, Minnesota U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and Colin Kaepernick (?!) are flashed on the screen, and then Majewski casually walks around with a rifle and says he’ll 'do whatever it takes to return this country back to its former glory,'" wrote Coolican. "Blake Masters, the Trump-endorsed U.S. Senate candidate in Arizona, builds his own guns and recently showed one off on social media with the caption: 'I will remind everyone in Congress what ‘shall not be infringed’ means.' It’s an especially sinister message, given that Masters’ potential opponent is U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, whose wife former Rep. Gabby Giffords was badly injured in a 2011 mall shooting."
As Coolican wrote, people should not dismiss these as idle threats — because in the past, long before former President Donald Trump was even born, elected lawmakers and large blocs of their constituents endorsed and carried out acts of violence in similar ways, with horrible consequences.
"America has a long history of political violence, often — though not always — rooted in white supremacy," wrote Coolican. "As Jelani Cobb recounted in 2020, the American Party, aka the 'Know Nothings,' were infamous for their bludgeoning mobs, particularly against immigrant voters. The brutal caning of abolitionist U.S. Sen. Charles Sumner by U.S. Rep. Preston Brooks on the floor of the Senate in 1856 was just the most infamous attack during a time when physical combat in the U.S. Congress was shockingly common, as historian Joanne Freeman records in 'The Fields of Blood.' Between 1830 and 1860, there were more than 70 violent incidents in House and Senate chambers, on nearby streets and — yes, this is real — 'dueling grounds.'"
Coolican invoked another recent example of 2010 Nevada GOP Senate candidate Sharron Angle, who lost even as her party saw huge gains after claiming people might need "Second Amendment remedies" to get rid of her opponent, then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Her violent rhetoric, he said, is actually a core part of gun rights activists' beliefs.
"Writing in the conservative journal National Review eight years later, David French spelled out the argument in detail while defending the right of Americans to collect arsenals of high powered weaponry: 'Citizens must be able to possess the kinds and categories of weapons that can at least deter state overreach, that would make true authoritarianism too costly to attempt,'" wrote Coolican. "What if this is backwards? Well-armed partisans emerge as the paramilitary wing of authoritarian parties, using violence and the threat of violence to vault the movement to power."
Read The Full Article:
https://www.penncapital-star.com/commentary/what-do-about-the-emerging-paramilitary-wing-of-the-gop-j-patrick-coolican/
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GOP Candidate Fantasizes About Murdering Political Opponents in New Ad
Eric Greitens is dispensing with any subtlety as he seeks former President Trump’s endorsement
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The Jan. 6 committee has, for the past few weeks, been reminding Americans about the horrifying “war scene” that unfolded during the attack on the Capitol. Some conservatives are ignoring the panel’s findings and dismissing the hearings as a distraction. Others are doubling down on political violence. Eric Greitens, a scandal-ridden Republican running for Senate in Missouri, released an ad on Monday advocating for “hunting” RINOs, or Republicans In Name Only, a term for conservatives who haven’t veered far enough to the right.
The ad is not subtle. It isn’t even metaphorical. It features Greitens and an armed military team breaking into a house to execute Republicans who don’t sufficiently support former President Trump. “Join the MAGA crew,” Greitens says. “Get a RINO-hunting permit. There’s no bagging limit, no tagging limit, and it doesn’t expire until we save our country.”
Facebook removed the video shortly after Greitens posted it Monday morning. “We removed this video for violating our policies prohibiting violence and incitement,” a spokesperson said. Twitter did not remove the video, but did put a public interest notice on it for violating its rules against hateful content. Twitter also prohibited people from liking, comments, or retweeting the video, although it is allowing quote tweets.
Greitens is no stranger to gun-laden campaign ads. He was joined by Donald Trump Jr. earlier this year for a video in which the two shot guns at targets for a few seconds. “Striking fear into the hearts of liberals everywhere, folks,” Trump Jr. said. During his 2016 campaign for governor, Greitens released a spot of himself unleashing hell with an automatic Gatling gun. He won that election but resigned two years later amid scandals ranging from allegations of sexual misconduct to felony charges for using a veterans charity list to raise campaign cash. Greitens thinks he’s still fit for federal office, however, running this year to replace retiring Sen. Roy Blunt. He’s still mired in scandal, too. His ex-wife in March accused him of physically abusing their children, taking away her belongings, threatening her on multiple occasions, and threatening to kill himself if she didn’t stand by him as he was trying to weather his past scandals.
Greitens introduces himself in the video released Monday as a Navy SEAL. He’s tried to leverage his once-held military position for political gain on multiple occasions, something that hasn’t sit well with his former colleagues on the elite unit — especially in 2018 as his misconduct was spilling into public view, The New Yorker reported at the time.
Guns have been a fixture of Republican campaign ads ahead of the midterm elections, with several candidates implying they should be used to kill people. Blake Masters, the venture capitalist who recently landed former President Trump’s endorsement for Senate in Arizona, said in an ad that the “Second Amendment isn’t about duck hunting.” Janice McGeachin, who lost the Republican primary for governor in Idaho despite Trump’s endorsement, similarly said in an ad that the Second Amendment “isn’t about bird hunting.” But Greitens isn’t leaving the actual purpose of the Second Amendment to the imagination. He made abundantly clear in his campaign ad on Monday that it’s about executing those with opposing political views.
Trump is still mulling whom to endorse in the Republican primary for Senate in Missouri. The former president’s blessing could swing the race, and it wouldn’t at all be surprising if he lined up behind the gun-loving alleged sexual abuser who’s been charged with ripping off money from a veterans charity.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/eric-greitens-rino-hunting-campaign-ad-1370910/
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A proposal to import drugs from other countries creates an unusual alliance in the Senate
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Harmony is not often found between two of the most boisterous senators on Capitol Hill, Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
But it was there at Tuesday’s Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee markup of legislation to reauthorize the Food and Drug Administration’s user fee program, which is set to expire Sept. 30.
This user fee program, which was first authorized in 1992, allows the FDA to collect fees from companies that submit applications for drug approval. It was designed to speed the approval review process. And it requires reauthorization every five years.
Congress considers this bill a must-pass piece of legislation because it’s used to help fund the FDA, as well as revamp existing policies. As a result, it also functions as a vehicle for other proposals to reach the president’s desk — especially those that couldn’t get there on their own.
And that’s why, on Tuesday, Sanders took advantage of the must-pass moment to propose an amendment to the user fee bill that would allow for the importation of drugs from Canada and the United Kingdom, and, after two years, from other countries.
Prescription medications are often much less expensive in other countries, and surveys show that millions of Americans have bought drugs from overseas — even though doing so is technically illegal.
“We have talked about reimportation for a zillion years,” said a visibly heated Sanders. “This bill actually does it. It doesn’t wait for somebody in the bureaucracy to make it happen. It actually makes it happen.” He then went on for several minutes, his tone escalating, citing statistics about high drug prices, recounting anecdotes of people who traveled for drugs, and ending with outrage about pharmaceutical companies’ campaign contributions and the number of lobbyists the industry has.
“I always wanted to go to a Bernie rally, and now I feel like I’ve been there,” Paul joked after Sanders finished talking. He went on to offer his support for the Vermont senator’s amendment — a rare bipartisan alliance between senators who are on opposite ends of the political spectrum.
“This is a policy that sort of unites many on both sides of the aisle, the outrage over the high prices of medications,” added Paul. He said he didn’t support drug price controls in the U.S. but did support a worldwide competitive free market for drugs, which he believes would lower prices.
Even before Sanders offered his amendment, the user fee bill before the committee included a limited drug importation provision, Sec. 906. It would require the FDA to develop regulations for importing certain prescription drugs from Canada. But how this provision differs from a Trump-era regulation is unclear, said Rachel Sachs, a professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis and an expert on drug pricing.
“FDA has already made importation regulations that were finalized at the end of the Trump administration,” said Sachs. “We haven’t seen anyone try to get an approval” under that directive. She added that whether Sec. 906 is doing anything to improve the existing regulation is unclear.
Sanders’ proposed amendment would have gone further, Sachs explained.
It would have included insulin among the products that could be obtained from other countries. It also would have compelled pharmaceutical companies to comply with the regulation. It has been a concern in drug-pricing circles that even if importation were allowed, there would be resistance to it in other countries, because of how the practice could affect their domestic supply.
A robust discussion between Republican and Democratic senators ensued. Among the most notable moments: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) asked whether importing drugs from countries with price controls would translate into a form of price control in the U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said his father breaks the law by getting his glaucoma medication from Canada.
The committee’s chair, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), held the line against Sanders’ amendment. Although she agreed with some of its policies, she said, she wanted to stick to the importation framework already in the bill, rather than making changes that could jeopardize its passage. “Many of us want to do more,” she said, but the bill in its current form “is a huge step forward, and it has the Republican support we need to pass legislation.”
“To my knowledge, actually, this is the first time ever that a user fee reauthorization bill has included policy expanding importation of prescription drugs,” Murray said. “I believe it will set us up well to make further progress in the future.”
Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the committee’s ranking member, was adamant in his opposition to Sanders’ amendment, saying that it spelled doom for the legislation’s overall prospects. “Want to kill this bill? Do importation,” said Burr.
Sanders, though, staying true to his reputation, didn’t quiet down or give up the fight. Instead, he argued for an immediate vote. “This is a real debate. There were differences of opinions. It’s called democracy,” he said. “I would urge those who support what Sen. Paul and I are trying to do here to vote for it.”
In the end, though, committee members didn’t, opting to table the amendment, meaning it was set aside and not included in the legislation.
Later in the afternoon, the Senate panel reconvened after senators attended their weekly party policy lunches and passed the user fee bill out of the committee 13-9. The next step is consideration by the full Senate. A similar bill has already cleared the House.
KHN Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues.
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Pennsylvania Firefighters Association endorses Democrat Josh Shapiro
The Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters Association representing over 7,000 career professional firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics across the state has endorsed Democrat Josh Shapiro for governor.
In a statement, the association's president said:
"Josh Shapiro and Austin Davis know our worth to this commonwealth. We proudly endorse their ticket because they are one of us. Josh and Austin are our brothers, and we will be with them in this campaign, and on this journey."
Attorney General Shapiro thanked the firefighters for their support saying:
"As Governor, I will always fight for the brave men and women who keep our communities safe."
https://www.wgal.com/article/pennsylvania-firefighter-association-endorses-democrat-josh-shapiro/40327388
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President Biden is a truly historic jobs president!!
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Josh Shapiro emerges from primary season with strong fundraising advantage over Mastriano
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Heading into the November election campaign, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro had $13.4 million on hand while his Republican opponent had just under $400,000, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Department of State.
The reports, which were due last Thursday, reflect the candidates’ receipts and spending from May 3 to June 6, which includes the final weeks of the primary campaign.
Republican nominee Doug Mastriano, of Franklin County, who ran a grassroots campaign in a crowded Republican field, added only $162,092 to his campaign coffers with more than one-third in donations of less than $250 from individuals.
Mastriano, a state senator, spent $557,000 including $294,000 on advertising and $29,000 on text messaging.
Two of Mastriano’s donors made five-figure contributions: Benjamin Beiler, of Millerstown, gave $10,000 and Heller Capital Group, a Lancaster private equity firm headed by Daryl Heller, gave $15,000.
Shapiro, the two-term elected attorney general from Montgomery County, who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination, nonetheless spent $7 million. That included $4.4 million on advertising and $900,000 in donations to Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Austin Davis, and more than $600,000 to the state Democratic party.
Shapiro collected nearly $4.7 million in donations, mainly from larger donors who contributed at least $250.
Major individual donors included pediatric oncologist Jennifer Duda of Menlo Park, California, who gave $500,000; video game developer Unity Technologies CEO John Riccitetto of San Francisco, who gave $200,000; pediatric clinic director Lisa Mennet of Seattle, who gave $100,000; and Yakir Gola, founder of the online food and drink delivery service goPuff, who gave $55,000.
Shapiro also reported large contributions from the Democratic Governors Association, which gave $500,000; the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association PAC, which gave $100,000 and the United Food and Commercial Workers PAC, which gave $160,000
https://www.penncapital-star.com/blog/shapiro-emerges-from-primary-season-with-strong-fundraising-advantage-over-mastriano/
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Missouri GOP Senate leader slams 'mentally unstable' Eric Greitens over 'RINO hunt' ad
Missouri's Republican Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden appeared on CNN Tuesday to slam GOP Senate hopeful Eric Greitens for putting out an ad this week that promotes "hunting" other Republicans who are not loyal to the agenda of former President Donald Trump.
While talking with host Brianna Keilar, Rowden explained why he contacted law enforcement after the release of Greitens's ad, which features the candidate waving around a gun and threatening to hunt down "RINOS," which is an acronym for "Republicans in Name Only."
"Former Governor Greitens had been in a custody dispute in my home county of Boone County, he may be there even this week," Rowden explained. "He's accused of abusing his wife and kids. In my hometown where the court proceedings are happening, there are folks who don't feel safe."
Rowden then went on to explain how Greitens has a long history of troubling behavior.
"I think this is an ongoing record, ongoing pattern of just being mentally unstable," he said. "This is just another in a long line of issues that the former governor has had. We wanted to make sure that we were serious about it. Some of the other rhetoric we got from followers is clearly out of bounds. and we want to take this seriously."
Keilar then asked Rowden if he believed Greitens is a threat to hurt other people.
"I think he's in the middle of his custody dispute with his ex-wife regarding potentially abusing her, potentially abusing his kids," he said. "You know, I think that there's any number of things that can come from that and I think it's a serious thing for us to take seriously."
Watch:
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Republican South Dakota AG removed from office after killing a constituent: report
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The South Dakota Senate sustained the impeachment of Attorney General and removed him from office on Tuesday, the Rapid City Journal reported.
AP reporter Stephen Groves posted a picture from the Senate gallery before the vote.
Ravnsborg fatally ran over Joe Boever on Sept. 12, 2020.
Jonathan Ellis of the Argus Leader reported that earlier in the day senators were privately shown pictures of Boever's body.
"In April, state Representatives voted 36-31 (three excused) to impeach Ravnsborg on two counts – certain crimes and malfeasance in office. The crimes and malfeasance all stem from a September 12, 2020, crash where Ravnsborg’s private car struck and killed Joe Boever, who was walking on the north shoulder of U.S. 14," KELO-TV reported.
"South Dakota AG Jason Ravnsborg prepares for a vote on whether he’ll be convicted of impeachment. He appears to be writing the names of senators to track the voice vote," he reported.
It was the state's first impeachment trial.
Read more here:
https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/breaking-senate-sustains-ravsnborg-impeachment-remove-him-from-office/article_4398361d-4e86-55ec-ae87-134041bb800e.html
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President Biden @POTUS
I know that too often we’ve had an economy where the wealthy do better and better and the middle class gets left behind.
So, we went to work to change that.
It started with the American Rescue Plan. That law helped 41 million people put food on the table.
It put money in the pockets of hardworking Americans who were in trouble through no fault of their own.
It gave them what my dad called “just a little bit of breathing room.”
The next step was the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
And now, not only has ‘Infrastructure Week’ finally arrived, we’re looking forward to an ‘Infrastructure Decade.’
What this all means is jobs. Good-paying union jobs. Jobs you can raise a family on.
Congressional Republicans have it all backwards.
Their plan literally calls for increasing taxes on middle class and working people – and cutting taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans
I’m not talking about punishing anyone. Just pay your fair share.
Together, we've made extraordinary progress in laying a new foundation for our economy.
But there's still so much at stake.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1538922127306407936
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Greitens says violent video about hunting people was meant to be humorous
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens hit the conservative talk radio circuit Tuesday, arguing that a campaign video showing him storming a house with soldiers in search of “Republicans in name only” was intended to be a humorous metaphor.
“I don’t think there is a real person in Missouri who thinks about it literally. Not one,” Greitens said in an interview on KFTK radio. “What you’re seeing is a tremendous amount of faux outrage from leftists and RINOs.”
The video, released Monday, shows Greitens holding a shotgun and accompanying a team armed with assault rifles and flash grenades as they rush into a house in search of RINOs.
“Join the MAGA crew,” Greitens, a former Navy SEAL, says. “Get a RINO hunting permit. There’s no bagging limit, no tagging limit, and it doesn’t expire until we save our country.”
Later Tuesday, on Kansas City’s KCMO talk radio, the Republican candidate for Missouri’s open U.S. Senate seat said the controversial video was “clearly a metaphor.”
“Every normal person around the state of Missouri saw that,” said Greitens, who is attempting a political comeback after he quit as governor in 2018.
Greitens’ campaign did not respond to requests for comment from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. During his abbreviated and rocky tenure as governor, and in his run for Senate, Greitens has parroted former President Donald Trump’s complaints about the “mainstream media.”
The 38-second video was panned by fellow Republicans and Democrats, as well as by outside groups.
The Eagle Forum PAC, the political action committee launched by the late Phyllis Schlafly, denounced the video as “deeply disturbing.”
“Advocating violence is a disqualifier for public office,” said chairwoman Anne Schlafly Cori. “Eric Greitens is not fit to serve the voters of Missouri.”
The Missouri State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, which has endorsed Attorney General Eric Schmitt in the crowded GOP primary, also criticized the ad.
“This deplorable video has no place in our political system and sends a dangerous message that it is somehow acceptable to kill those who have differing political beliefs,” the statement said.
Others denouncing the video were some of his GOP opponents, including U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler and Missouri Senate President Dave Schatz.
Schmitt’s campaign tweeted an eye-roll emoji.
Amid a rise in political violence, ranging from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and the arrest of a man who threatened to kill U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Facebook took the video down and Twitter pasted a warning over the link.
© St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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What President Biden has done for job creation and unemployment is truly remarkable.
Check out the unemployment map of each state before Biden took over and the current map for May 2022. What a huge difference. President Biden is fixing the Trump economic disaster in record time!
President Biden @POTUS
"Fifteen states are now at their lowest unemployment rates on record, and last month, the unemployment rate broke new records in nine states.
That's huge.
Our nation's hard-fought, historic economic recovery was just the beginning of lasting change – we are moving to steady and stable growth that works for working people.
Since my Administration began, our economy has added more than 8 million jobs — more on average per month than under any other President in history.
We've come a long way but still have more work to do before our economy serves every last American."
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1539258093711785984
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FACT SHEET: President Biden Calls for a Three-Month Federal Gas Tax Holiday
JUNE 22, 2022 • STATEMENTS AND RELEASES
The price of gas is up dramatically around the world, and by almost $2 per gallon in America, since Putin began amassing troops on the border of Ukraine. President Biden understands that high gas prices pose a significant challenge for working families. That’s why he has taken action in recent months to boost the supply of oil and gas, including an historic release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and encouraging oil companies and refiners to boost capacity and output to get more supply on the market.
Today, he is calling on Congress and states to take additional legislative action to provide direct relief to American consumers who have been hit with Putin’s Price Hike. Specifically, he is calling on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for three months, through September, without taking any money away from the Highway Trust Fund. And he is calling on states to take similar action to provide some direct relief, whether suspending their own gas taxes or helping consumers in other ways.
Federal Gas Tax Holiday
Right now, the federal government charges an 18 cent tax per gallon of gasoline and a 24 cent tax per gallon of diesel. Those taxes fund critical highways and public transportation, through the Highway Trust Fund. But in this unique moment, with gas prices near $5 a gallon on average across the country, President Biden is calling on Congress to suspend the gas tax for three months – until the end of September – to give Americans a little extra breathing room as they deal with the effects of Putin’s war in Ukraine.
The President is also calling on Congress to make sure that a gas tax holiday has no negative effect on the Highway Trust Fund. With our deficit already down by a historic $1.6 trillion this year, the President believes that we can afford to suspend the gas tax to help consumers while using other revenues to make the Highway Trust Fund whole for the roughly $10 billion cost. This is consistent with legislation proposed in the Senate and the House to advance a responsible gas tax holiday.
President Biden understands that a gas tax holiday alone will not, on its own, relieve the run up in costs that we’ve seen. But the President believes that at this unique moment when the war in Ukraine is imposing costs on American families, Congress should do what it can to provide working families breathing room.
State and Local Action
In addition to federal gas tax relief, the President is calling on state and local governments to provide additional consumer relief. Already, some states and local governments have acted: for example, in Connecticut and New York, governors temporarily suspended their gas taxes, and in Illinois and Colorado, governors delayed planned tax and fee increases. And, around the country, in states like Michigan and Minnesota, states and local leaders are considering a number of forms of consumer relief – from temporary suspensions and pauses on state sales tax on gas to consumer rebates and relief payments. The President believes more states and local governments should do so.
Ongoing Actions to Blunt the Impact of the Putin Price Hike
Today’s announcements follow a series of actions the President has taken to lower gas prices for American families.
- The President announced the release of a record 1 million barrels per day from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which just last week a leading oil market analyst confirmed has been critical to keeping prices from rising even more.
- He rallied international partners to join us, releasing a combined 240 million barrels of oil on the market.
- He expanded access to biofuels like E15—gasoline that uses a 15 percent ethanol blend—to increase supply and lower prices at thousands of gas stations across the country.
- He and his Administration are engaging with oil and refining companies to ask them to work with the Administration to bring forward concrete solutions that increase refinery capacity and output. Secretary Granholm is meeting with these CEOs this week.
Already, the United States produced more oil under the first year of this Administration than it did under the first two years of the prior Administration, and is on track to set new records next year. At the same time, the President understands that our efforts to increase energy production in the near-term must be coupled with medium- and long-term efforts to transition our economy away from fossil fuels produced by autocrats and to clean energy.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/06/22/fact-sheet-president-biden-calls-for-a-three-month-federal-gas-tax-holiday/
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'He must resign': Staff texts over fake elector slates implicate Ron Johnson
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Wisconsin Democrats on Tuesday led calls for U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson's resignation after the House January 6 committee revealed texts indicating that the Republican's office wanted to hand-deliver certificates of fake electors to then-Vice President Mike Pence in service of former President Donald Trump's attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
"Ron Johnson actively tried to undermine this democracy. He literally tried to hand Mike Pence fake ballots."
The bipartisan congressional panel probing the deadly 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol showed an exchange of text messages initiated by Johnson's chief of staff Sean Riley to Pence legislative director Chris Hodgson that the Republican senator wanted to advance an "alternate slate of electors" for Wisconsin and Michigan, both of which Biden won.
"Do not give that to him," Hodgson texted back.
In response to the presentation during Tuesday's hearing state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-76) tweeted that "Sen. Ron Johnson should resign, effective immediately."
While Johnson is not among the 147 congressional Republicans who voted to overturn President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory, he did host a December 2020 hearing at which supporters of Trump's "Big Lie" that the election was "stolen" spent hours promoting conspiracy theories about the contest.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) called Johnson's action "direct support for for Trump's conspiracy to overturn the will of the people in Wisconsin."
Four Democratic candidates for Johnson's Senate seat also called on him to resign.
"Ron Johnson actively tried to undermine this democracy. He literally tried to hand Mike Pence fake ballots," Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes said in a statement. "Once again, Ron Johnson has proven he's a danger to our country and our fundamental rights. I'm calling for him to resign immediately."
State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski argued that "it is clear Ron Johnson is a threat to our democracy and is unfit to continue serving in the United States Senate."
Former state lawmaker Tom Nelson called Johnson "a criminal and a traitor" who should "be prosecuted."
"He must resign," Nelson added.
Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry, also running in the primary to oust Johnson, tweeted that "Trump and his MAGA allies planned, promoted, and paid for a seditious conspiracy to overturn an election they lost. And Ron Johnson attempted to deliver it to D.C. on a silver platter."
Responding to the congressional committee's revelation, Johnson spokesperson Alexa Henning tweeted that "the senator had no involvement in the creation of an alternate slate of electors and had no foreknowledge that it was going to be delivered to our office."
"This was a staff-to-staff exchange," she added. "His new chief of staff contacted the vice president’s office," which "said not to give it to him and we did not. There was no further action taken. End of story."
Aaron Rupar @atrupar
"apparently fake Michigan electors who said they were working with the Trump campaign planned to hide out in the Michigan Capitol overnight"
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1539309328246591491
Aaron Rupar @atrupar
"wow. The committee's investigation uncovered that a staffer for Ron Johnson wanted to hand deliver Wisconsin's fake slate of electors to Pence just before the proceedings began on January 6"
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1539309879185137665
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Republicans turn on Mitch McConnell after bipartisan gun reform bill clears first hurdle in Senate
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Republicans are bashing their own caucus in the Senate as more members of the party sign onto a bipartisan gun reform package in the wake of a devastating school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left nineteen children and two adults dead.
The right-wing outrage stems largely from a Tuesday Senate vote in which 14 Republicans and 50 Democrats approved modest legislation, dubbed the "Bipartisan Safer Communities Act," designed to crack down on America's epidemic of gun violence.
The 80-page bill would be the first gun legislation of its size in decades. It would, among other provisions, expand mental health support; require broader background checks for buyers under 21; enhance punishments associated with straw purchases; and add incentives for states to enact red flag laws, which allow law enforcement to confiscate firearms from any gun owners who present a danger to themselves or their community.
With the support of fourteen senators, the bill is highly likely to overcome a Republican filibuster, allowing the Senate to cast a final vote on the legislation this week.
But while the measure has significant bipartisan backing, the possibility of its passage has sparked the ire of numerous Republicans in both the House and Senate, leaving the party in a rare state of disunity on an issue that is sacrosanct.
This week, former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, the U.S. Senate candidate accused of physically abusing his ex-wife and children, called the legislation a "gun confiscation bill."
"They didn't want anyone to actually review the text because this will be one of the most anti-2A laws ever passed," he tweeted. "We need new Senate leadership instead of these weak RINOs who cave to liberals every time."
Sen. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., meanwhile tried his hand at media criticism, attacking various outlets for suggesting that the bill was designed to address gun safety.
"Call it what it is," he wrote over Twitter. "GUN CONTROL, specifically: an infringement on the rights protected by the 2nd and 4th amendments."
Other Republicans, like Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., claimed that the bill's backers ran roughshod of Senate conventions by giving the Republican caucus insufficient time to review the bill. "Process matters," Massie said in a statement. "The American people deserve better from the world's 'greatest deliberative body.'"
The House GOP, for its part, is also expected to mount significant opposition to the bill. According to Punchbowl News, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., have already told the party that they will vote against the measure.
Still, as The Washington Post reported, the party does expect to see some defections.
One among them will no doubt be Rep. Tony Gonzalez, R-Tex., a Trump supporter whose district includes Uvalde. On Tuesday, Gonzalez called it his "duty to pass laws that never infringe on the Constitution while protecting the lives of the innocent."
"In the coming days I look forward to voting YES on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act," he tweeted.
https://www.rawstory.com/republicans-turn-on-mitch-mcconnell-after-bipartisan-gun-reform-bill-clears-first-hurdle-in-senate/
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The GOP has become a 'toxic waste dump' of 'autocracy and denialism': Bush strategist
On Wednesday's edition of MSNBC's "Deadline: White House," former George W. Bush campaign strategist Matt Dowd tore into the current state of the Republican Party.
The problem, he argued, is that notwithstanding the recent losses of Trump-endorsed candidates in Georgia, the former president still has a strong command of the party — and even getting rid of him at this point is not going to course-correct the GOP.
"I think we have to stop looking at the environment through the prism of whether or not Donald Trump wins or loses and how that defines the Republican Party," said Dowd. "Georgia is an outlier in this. 94 percent of people that Donald Trump endorsed have won. That's a pretty good record for Donald Trump. I think the worst thing is — which I actually think is far more dangerous — nearly every Republican candidate who has won a primary, a Republican whether endorsed by Donald Trump or not, either pushes the Big Lie, is an election denier, or doesn't have a problem with the move towards autocracy."
The current state of the Republican Party, continued Dowd, is "a little bit like Chernobyl."
"What led to Chernobyl was bad design, misinformation and bad decision-making by people there," continued Dowd. "Just because you remove a person that hit a wrong switch and contributed to the meltdown doesn't mean you don't have nuclear disaster that spreads. Even if you take that person out, Donald Trump, the Republican Party has become a toxic waste dump of this Big Lie autocracy and denialism. That's, I think, the fundamental problem. There is not Republicans winning who don't buy into a problem that the January 6th Committee is investigating."
This comes as that committee is revealing new details of Trump allies' complicity in the illegal plot to overturn the election, including Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI).
Watch:
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President Biden @POTUS
I understand that a gas tax holiday alone won’t fix the pain Americans are feeling at the pump.
But it will provide families some immediate relief – what my dad would call, "just a little bit of breathing room.”
Earlier today, I called on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for three months and for states to provide similar relief.
I’m also urging oil companies to increase refining capacity and gas stations to pass along the decrease in oil prices to lower gas prices.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1539752007677919233
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Crist campaign claims poll shows him leading DeSantis in governor’s race
Charlie Crist’s campaign on Wednesday released a statement following reporting by NBC News that revealed a secret survey conducted in May by a top GOP pollster showed Crist leading Gov. Ron DeSantis 48 percent to 47 percent in the race for Florida governor.
“Charlie Crist is in this race to defeat Ron DeSantis, and this secret GOP poll shows that he’s doing exactly that,” said Samantha Ramirez, spokesperson for Crist. “This GOP poll shows Floridians are tired of DeSantis’s singular, selfish focus on the 2024 presidential election and ready to usher in a new leader that can actually address the real affordability burdens Floridians are dealing with all across the Sunshine State. Charlie is the experienced fighter Floridians need and want in Tallahassee right now.”
A recent St. Pete Polls survey also showed Crist with a lead in the Democratic primary race for Florida governor, with Crist leading his Democratic opponent with 49 percent of the vote compared to 24 percent and capturing over 60 percent of support from voters under 30 years old.
https://www.villages-news.com/2022/06/22/crist-campaign-claims-poll-shows-him-leading-desantis-in-governors-race/
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President Biden @POTUS
I’m doing everything I can to blunt the Putin Price Hike and bring down the cost of gas and food.
I led the world to coordinate the largest release from global oil reserves in history, and I’m working to get 20 million tons of grain out of Ukraine to help bring down prices.
The price of gas is up by almost $2 a gallon since Putin accelerated his military build-up, and those high prices pose a challenge for working families.
Today, I'm calling on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for three months to provide Americans some much-needed relief.
There are actions we can take to help ease the pain American families are feeling at the pump. We’ve taken them and will continue to do so.
I’m doing my part. It’s time for Congress, states, and industry to do theirs.
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Tune in as I deliver remarks on lowering gas prices and addressing Putin’s Price Hike.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1BdGYwnVmOExX
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'Just ridiculous': Anderson Cooper says Ron Johnson's defense is 'lamest thing I've ever heard'
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CNN's Anderson Cooper was stunned by the explanations offered by GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who on Tuesday became the first Republican Senator implicated in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
CNN's Manu Raju explained his effort to learn more from Johnson.
"In fact, we asked him today, my colleague Ted Barrett asked him whether or not he in fact asked his aide any more information about this. He told me yesterday he had no information, no idea who was providing these fake electors to his office in which he would try to provide to Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021, if Pence had agreed," Raju reported.
"He said he had no idea who that person was. He told our colleague Ted Barrett today he wasn't going to ask any more questions about it because he called it a 'non-story.' And when asked whether or not he looked inside that envelope that included information about the fake electors, he said, 'No, I don't believe I did.' So Anderson a lot of questions about why he accepted information that was not vetted, says he doesn't know where it came from, says it may have come from a house intern initially the ultimately ended up in his chief of staff's hand and they made the effort to go to the vice president of the United States just before a joint session of Congress."
"No real explanation from the senator and he's also very clear he doesn't want to get to the bottom of it," he added.
"I'm sorry, this is just ridiculous," Cooper said.
"This is the lamest thing I've ever heard," he continued. "An intern forwarded a phony slate of electors to Ron Johnson's office and his chief of staff — without consulting Ron Johnson — approached the vice president's staffer on the most important day probably in the vice president's career, on a critical day in American history, with fake electors?"
"And on top of that, Ron Johnson says he's not going to ask any questions about how this happened? Just in terms of office management, wouldn't you want to figure out how it was possible that some unnamed intern is able to pass along a document to your chief of staff who then directly tries to -- I mean, it's insane," he said.
Watch:
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What a disastrous day for American citizens across the United States and the people of New York because of aunqualified far right wing Supreme Court justices.
Today, the radical right wing Supreme Court stripped American citizens of their Miranda warnings and struck down the New York law banning concealed weapons. This disastrous ruling opens the door for people in New York to carry concealed weapons when gun violence is at an all time high. Right wing Republicans are cheering these rulings because they are absolute idiots. The Supreme Court took away our guaranteed rights and Republicans think it's fantastic. The radical right continues to push America towards fascism.
The Supreme Court Strips Us of Miranda Warnings
Today, Justice Alito ruled that you have constitutional rights, but no right to know what they are.
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In 1966, the Supreme Court created the now famous “Miranda warnings,” in the seminal case Miranda v. Arizona. The Constitution had arguably always protected the right against self-incrimination in the Fifth Amendment, but the white men who wrote the Constitution never provided practical protections of that right. In Miranda, Earl Warren invented, out of whole cloth, a set of instructions the government would be required to give people in order to protect their rights against self-incrimination, and their right to an attorney (which is found in the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution). Everybody has heard of these warnings:
“You have right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?”
Before the decision in Miranda, police would routinely arrest people and bully them into making incriminating statements without allowing them to talk to an attorney. Ernesto Miranda himself was questioned at his home, “voluntarily” taken to the police station, placed in a lineup, and eventually convinced to sign a confession, without his ever once talking to a lawyer. The idea was to end the practice of law enforcement tricking people out of their constitutional rights.
Today, in a case called Vega v. Tekoh, the Supreme Court rejects that idea. According to the conservative majority, the Constitution still protects people from incriminating themselves. But now, if cops trick or coerce or threaten or brutalize people into giving up their constitutional rights without telling them they have a right to make the intimidation stop, there’s no way to sue the government for the failure to inform victims of their rights. Justice Samuel Alito, writing for a 6-3 conservative majority, might as well have channeled Agent Smith’s famous line from The Matrix: “What good is a phone call if you are unable to speak?”
In Vega, Alito argues that the failure to give Miranda warnings does not result in a Section 1983 cause of action against the government. Section 1983 is the main vehicle for people to sue the government when government actors violate constitutional rights. Alito argues that the Miranda warnings are not a constitutional “right”; they’re just a thing cops can say if they feel like it. If cops violate constitutional rights under the Fifth or Sixth Amendments, victims can still sue the government (if they can somehow prove a violation occurred), or move to have the evidence unconstitutionally obtained against them at trial excluded. But Alito rejects Miranda’s presumption that constitutional rights are violated if law enforcement fails to give the warning. Essentially, Alito argues that you have constitutional rights, but no right to know what those are.
I couldn’t invent a better example of the difference between a Supreme Court controlled by conservatives versus one controlled by liberals than the one given by the court in its decisions in Vega versus Miranda. People often forget that the Miranda case itself was a 5-4 decision over conservative objections. Here, Vega is 6-3, functionally overturning Miranda with all the conservatives in lockstep. If you want robust protections of people’s rights, there is simply no substitute for having liberals control the court. If you want robust protections of gun rights and corporate rights and Jesus rights, by all means, continue allowing the current conservative majority to rule over all.
Now, most people reading already understand that the current court is more conservative and reactionary than the court in 1966. But the opinion in Vega shows how radical and extremist conservatives are even compared to the conservative court of the 2000s. That’s because Vega also functionally overturns Dickerson v. United States, a 2000 case that upheld Miranda warnings. That case was decided 7-2, by the very same court who would go on to anoint George W. Bush as president of the United States later in the year. Ultraconservative William Rehnquist even wrote the majority opinion defending Miranda warnings.
Oh, Rehnquist only grudgingly upheld Miranda. He didn’t give Miranda a ringing endorsement. Instead, he upheld it simply because it was precedent, and that precedent was simply too popular to overturn. He wrote: “Miranda has become embedded in routine police practice to the point where the warnings have become part of our national culture.”
In her dissent in Vega, Justice Elena Kagan doesn’t spend as much time defending Miranda as she does defending Dickerson. “Dickerson v. United States tells us in no uncertain terms that Miranda is a ‘constitutional rule,’” she writes. Kagan points out that we know the Miranda warnings are part of the constitutional protections enshrined in the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, because courts have turned back legislative attempts to weaken Miranda, including the federal attempt that was at issue in the Dickerson case.
But Alito and the conservative majority (which included Justice Clarence Thomas, who was one of the two dissenters in Dickerson) simply don’t care. Alito recasts the Dickerson opinion as upholding Miranda warnings as an option, not a requirement.
That is the essential difference between the conservatives on the court 20 years ago and the ones appointed this century. They used to do everything they could to bend or break the law toward the Republican Party outcomes they desired, but felt somewhat constrained by prior Supreme Court precedent and overwhelming popular will. Now, they push the law toward their preferred conservative outcomes without regard for past precedent or popular opinion. They have the votes, they have the power, to do what they want when they want to.
The practical effect of this decision will be to unleash already brutal American cops to use even more intimidation and coercion to secure (potentially false) confessions than they already do. Paradoxically, this ruling will do more to deny the constitutional rights of people who are innocent than to infringe those of people guilty of crime. That’s because professional criminals, for the most part, know their constitutional rights. They know they shouldn’t talk to the cops; they know the only word they should say to the police is “lawyer.” You don’t have to tell a street-level drug dealer what to do if he gets held by the cops; he already knows. And you don’t have to tell a banker or a person accused of “white collar” crime what to do either: Those folks have their lawyers on speed dial.
Alito and conservative legal media will hide behind the fact that the Fifth and Sixth amendments still exist. They’ll say people still have the right to remain silent. And that will be true for their rich friends and for people with enough “street smarts” to know how the system works.
But the whole point of Miranda is that constitutional rights should not be tied to whether you have the education and training to know they exist. My kids will know not to talk to cops, because I tell them that every time we see one (I warn my kids about the cops the way other parents warn their kids about taking candy from strangers). But what about kids who don’t have lawyers for parents? Do those kids get less Constitution than mine?
Alito and the conservatives say yes. They always say yes. They always rule in a way that provides constitutional protections to some people, but not all people. And they will continue to rule this way, as long as they are allowed to control the Supreme Court.
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/supreme-court-miranda-rights/
US supreme court overturns New York handgun law in bitter blow to gun-control push
Biden says ruling ‘should trouble us all’ as conservative majority strikes down law requiring ‘proper cause’ to carry guns in public
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Gun violence survivors at a rally outside the supreme court in November. A leading progressive group called Thursday’s ruling ‘shameful and outrageous
The US supreme court has opened the door for almost all law-abiding Americans to carry concealed and loaded handguns in public, after the conservative majority struck down a New York law that placed strict restrictions on firearms outside the home.
The governor of New York, a Democrat, said the ruling was “not just reckless, it’s reprehensible”. Pointing to recent mass shootings in New York and Texas, a leading progressive group called the ruling “shameful and outrageous”.
Joe Biden said: “This ruling contradicts both common sense and the constitution and should deeply trouble us all.”
On the left, outrage is growing over the court’s rightward march. Earlier this week, the court handed down a ruling which attacked the separation of church and state. As soon as Friday, it is expected to undermine or remove the right to abortion, guaranteed since 1973, and to reduce the federal government’s ability to cut emissions contributing to the climate crisis.
The New York law struck down on Thursday required anyone wanting to carry a handgun in public to prove that they had a “proper cause” to do so. The decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v Bruen renders the law an unconstitutional violation of the second amendment right to bear arms.
In his ruling, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote: “Apart from a few late-19th-century outlier jurisdictions, American governments simply have not broadly prohibited the public carry of commonly used firearms for personal defense. Nor have they generally required law-abiding, responsible citizens to ‘demonstrate a special need for self-protection distinguishable from that of the general community’ to carry arms in public.”
The New York law, Thomas wrote, also violated the 14th amendment, which made second-amendment rights applicable to the states.
Biden pointed to the longevity of New York gun laws and to past supreme court acceptance of the need to regulate gun ownership.
The president said: “Since 1911, the state of New York has required individuals who would like to carry a concealed weapon in public to show a need to do so for the purpose of self defense and to require a license. More than a century later, the United States supreme court has chosen to strike down New York’s long-established authority to protect its citizens.”
Biden added: “As the late [conservative] Justice [Antonin] Scalia recognised, the second amendment is not absolute. For centuries, states have regulated who may purchase or possess weapons, the types of weapons they may use and the places they may carry those weapons. The courts have upheld these regulations.
“I call on Americans across the country to make their voices heard on gun safety. Lives are on the line.”
The ruling has profound implications for the safety and conduct of up to 83 million people in New York and seven other states plus Washington DC with similar “proper cause” laws. They include heavily populated states, such as California and New Jersey, which account for roughly three out of every four Americans.
Just weeks ago, an 18-year-old carrying a legally bought assault-style rifle shot and killed 10 people in a racist attack on a supermarket in a majority Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York.
Ten days later, another 18-year-old broke into an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and killed 19 children and two adults before being shot dead by law enforcement.
Democratic and Republican senators have since agreed a framework for gun reform. On Thursday Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, said the proposals did not “lay one finger on the second amendment” and would make the country safer. But any gun legislation inevitably faces strong headwinds, with the potential to blow all the way to the court McConnell helped pack with conservatives.
In his dissent to the New York ruling, Stephen Breyer, a liberal justice soon to retire, wrote: “In 2020, 45,222 Americans were killed by firearms. Since the start of this year there have been 277 reported mass shootings – an average of more than one per day.
“Gun violence has now surpassed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of death among children and adolescents. Many states have tried to address some of the dangers of gun violence just described by passing laws that limit, in various ways, who may purchase, carry, or use firearms of different kinds.
“The court today severely burdens states’ efforts to do so.”
Rahna Epting, executive director of the progressive group MoveOn, lamented “a shameful and outrageous decision”, adding: “The conservative-packed supreme court, in concert with Republicans in Congress, is ensuring our schools, our grocery stores, and our churches will continue to be targets of violence and not the sanctuaries and safe places they should be.”
The court has steadily undermined gun laws, recognising a right to keep guns at home for self-defense in 2008 and extending that right two years later.
In the New York case, two men sued the state. Under the “proper cause” law, the men could secure unlimited permission to carry concealed guns in public only if they could demonstrate a special need for self-protection. Lawyers argued that carrying a firearm outside the home was a “fundamental constitutional right. It is not some extraordinary action that requires an extraordinary demonstration of need.”
Civil rights and gun safety groups attempted to sway the court. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argued that lifting controls on guns in public places would harm first amendment rights such as assembly, association and speech. Gun control advocates warned that scrapping the law could hit relations between police and citizens because anyone in contact with law enforcement would be more likely to be legally armed.
On Thursday, the governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, said: “The supreme court is setting us backwards in dealing with gun violence … This decision is not just reckless, it’s reprehensible.” Hochul also said she was “prepared to call the legislature back into session to deal with this”.
Letitia James, the New York attorney general, said she would not be deterred “from standing up to the gun lobby and their repeated efforts to endanger New Yorkers”.
A leading representative of that lobby, Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association, joined Republicans celebrating “a watershed win” and said: “The right to self-defense and to defend your family and loved ones should not end at your home.”
But Keechant Sewell, the New York City police commissioner, warned gun owners: “If you carry a gun illegally in New York City, you will be arrested. Nothing changes today.”
Epting, of MoveOn, said: “It is hard to imagine a supreme court more out of touch with the people. Commonsense policies to reduce gun violence are supported by nine out of 10 Americans. This court … is now nothing more than the political arm of the most extreme elements of the Republican party.”
Pointing to McConnell’s unprecedented denial of even a hearing to Barack Obama’s third nominee – Merrick Garland, now attorney general – and the confirmation of three justices under Donald Trump, Epting said Republicans “stole seats and packed this court to enact what voters have repeatedly rejected at the ballot box.
“It is far past time we expand the court, reform it, and restore balance to our judicial system.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/23/us-supreme-court-new-york-law-gun-control
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No pressure: Pa.’s Josh Shapiro is being painted as the potential savior of democracy
National voices say Pennsylvania’s next executive could wield great influence over the 2024 presidential election, and the country’s future.
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Does the future of American democracy depend on Josh Shapiro? National commentators, columnists, and reporters are pinning the responsibility on the Pennsylvania attorney general who just locked up the Democratic nomination for governor.
“It is up to Josh Shapiro to save America,” MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell said last week.
The Republican nominee for governor is Doug Mastriano, a state legislator from South Central Pa. who rose to prominence as one of the leading voices alleging massive election fraud in 2020.
Mastriano has said he wants to eliminate no-excuse mail voting and ballot drop boxes, as well as clear the state’s voter rolls so all residents would have to re-register. As governor, he would be responsible for appointing Pa.’s secretary of state, who oversees elections.
The chorus of journalists and analysts summarizing the stakes of the race have noted that Trump tried to influence Georgia’s secretary of state to alter vote counts in 2020, and they worry a similar attempt would be successful in 2024 if Mastriano is governor.
“This is not politics as usual,” Dan Hopkins, a political science professor at University of Pennsylvania, told Billy Penn.
The ominous framing and intense attention puts a great deal of pressure on Shapiro, said Marge Baker of People for the American Way, a progressive advocacy organization. “Our democracy is truly hanging in the balance,” Baker said.
It’s not as though Shapiro is surprised by the stakes. Back in January, on the one-year anniversary of the attack on the Capitol, his campaign released a “Plan to Defend Democracy.”
More recently, Shapiro called Mastriano “a dangerous extremist who wants to take away our freedoms” in a statement Tuesday.
“Mastriano wants to dictate how Pennsylvanians live their lives — that’s not freedom,” Shapiro said.
Likewise, Pennsylvania Democrats are looking to use Mastriano’s candidacy as a motivator to drive voter turnout in the general election this fall. The party put out a press release Tuesday highlighting the public criticism of Mastriano by members of his own party.
Mastriano’s campaign did not immediately respond to Billy Penn’s request for comment.
A chorus of calamity and ‘a dangerous game’
Shapiro and Mastriano were called as their parties’ winners early on election night, with Shapiro running unopposed and Mastriano securing a robust lead over the crowded GOP field.
Over the days that followed, a steady drip of national headlines have cast Mastriano as a major threat to democracy.
Slate’s Jim Newell topped his roundup of May 17 primaries with the Pennsylvania GOP winner, writing, “Doug Mastriano is the new face of the Republican Party’s extremist wing.”
An Associated Press headline read: “How Pa. GOP Gov Pick Could Turn Election Lies Into Action.”
The Hill reported that Mastriano’s win came “despite party concerns,” noting that “Republicans had scrambled to try to head off a Mastriano nomination and waged a bungling effort to coalesce around an alternative candidate.”
The New York Post noted the candidate’s pledge to require re-registration of voters, “even though that’s barred by the National Voter Registration Act and likely violates significant protections under federal, and possibly state, law.”
National political columnist Dick Polman wrote of Mastriano “if this guy winds up as governor, you can forget seeing an honest election in this swing state in 2024.”
A Vanity Fair article, headlined “Doug Mastriano’s GOP primary victory puts democracy on the ballot in Pennsylvania,” said the GOP nominee would make it all too easy for Trump to influence the fate of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes.
The New York Times’ Reid J. Epstein wrote that Mastriano’s win makes “the general election a referendum on democracy in the place where American representative government was born.”
Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch, who covers national politics, said on Twitter, “the fate of the nation and what happens this fall in Pennsylvania are inextricably linked.” Before the primary, Bunch wrote that Shapiro was playing “a dangerous game” by betting on Mastriano being an easy candidate to beat.
Shapiro defended this campaign strategy on Sunday when CNN’s Dana Bash suggested it might be seen as “irresponsible.” By that point it was clear that Mastriano was the leading GOP candidate and Shapiro would likely be facing in November, he said, and he was just getting a jump on the general race.
“I’m not convinced that [Mastriano’s] brand of politics is enough to turn off the majority of the general electorate,” political consultant Mustafa Rashed told Billy Penn on the day of the primary.
Pressure is building
Political observers say the media focus on the threat to democracy is appropriate.
“We came very close to the will of the voters being thrown in the trash,” said Baker, of People for the American Way.
Hopkins, of Penn, said Mastriano’s rise is “deeply alarming” given that he “is calling into question the very democratic process that has allowed him to be nominated.”
Mastriano was present when Trump supporters rallied in DC on Jan. 6, 2021, while legislators were counting electoral votes, which led up to an attack on the U.S. Capitol. He has been subpoenaed by a congressional committee looking into the insurrection.
The national media has done a good job of highlighting the cause for alarm, said Hopkins. But getting that message across is harder now than it has been historically because media audiences are so segmented.
Baker compared the spotlight on Pennsylvania now to the spotlight on Georgia last year during a January runoff election, when Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock flipped two seats in the U.S. Senate to create a narrow Democratic majority.
Even if Shapiro wins, he’ll still be under pressure, Baker noted. Warnock, for example, is already facing another competitive race this fall to keep his seat, and it’s expected to be a tough race.
Said Baker, “It doesn’t end with the election.”
https://billypenn.com/2022/05/25/pennsylvania-governor-shapiro-mastriano-democracy/
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President Biden
@POTUS
"I’m doing everything in my power to combat the effects of Putin’s Price Hike with historic oil production."
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1539988249808101379
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‘Very bad day for Trump’: Morning Joe says latest Jan. 6 hearing exposed ‘sheer idiocy’ of his presidency
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-crimes-2657557491/
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Yesterday, the Extreme Court stripped away Americans' Miranda Rights and ruled against New York state's concealed weapons ban law.
Now today, we get another disastrous ruling that we all knew was going to happen at the end of June, as the Extreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade taking away the rights of women and putting their lives in danger.
In America, the Constitution explicitly states that there is a "separation of church and state".
But with these far right wing radical religious extremists in the GOP, and the religious fanatics that are on the Extreme Court, they ignore what our Constitution defines as the bedrock of our nation and rule on their own personal religious beliefs.
Republicans are no longer allowed to talk about the Constitution because they just ruled against the Constitution with their extreme and barbaric ruling against women.
This is an illegal ruling because it goes against what our Founding Fathers explicitly defined our nation to be, a "separation of church and state".
What the Extreme Court did was give a middle finger to the Constitution and our Founding Fathers, saying their religious beliefs is superior to what's written in our Constitution.
With this right wing extreme ruling, the Extreme Court says that their evangelical religion trumps what our Constitution defines. Therefore, these right wing extremists can base any ruling they want based on their religion and simply ignore what our Constitution defines. This will allow other far right wing radicals to simply ignore what our Constitution defines and implement laws based on their own personal religious beliefs.
Every single one of these Supreme Court extremists lied under oath during their confirmation hearings, and therefore should be charged with perjury and impeached. They said in their hearing statements that "Roe was settled precedent and they would not seek to overturn the decision". It was clearly obvious they were lying so they could get on the Supreme Court to overturn Roe when they had a chance. If they told the truth about overturning Roe, they never would have been confirmed. So, when you lie under oath you deserve to be charged with perjury and impeached from the Court.
Republican extremists are now calling for a total ban on abortion nationwide. Red states will now implement a total ban on abortion with no exceptions.
This disastrous ruling will affect men as well. Some people don't seem to understand the dangerous ramifications that will occur because of this insane ruling.
Understand what the word "No Exceptions" means.
If your mother, sister, daughter, girlfriend, cousin, aunt, friend is brutally attacked and raped she will be forced to carry a rapists child to term under these radical inhumane Republican anti abortion laws. If the trauma become so unbearable that she tries to get an abortion, she will be charged with murder and imprisoned under these radical religious Republican anti abortion laws.
If your mother, sister, daughter, girlfriend, cousin, aunt, friend has complications with her pregnancy and suffers a heartbreaking miscarriage, she could be imprisoned under radical religious Republican anti abortion laws because she did not bring the fetus to full term. She could be accused of inducing an abortion and she has no legal rights. These radical laws are being implemented in red states. So, through no fault of her own, she could be imprisoned for suffering a miscarriage.
If your mother, sister, daughter, girlfriend, cousin, aunt, friend has a serious life threatening complication with her pregnancy, she under no circumstances is allowed to abort the fetus to save her life. If she tries to get an abortion to save her own life, she will be charged with homicide and thrown in prison. So, Republicans expect the woman to die and there is nothing you can do to save her life. Thousands of women will die because of these radical right wing Republicans.
And if the husband tries to help save his wife's life because of a life threatening pregnancy, right wing radical Republican laws says the he will be an accessory the "murder of a fetus". So, the only thing the husband can do is watch his wife die from an excruciating painful death as he will become a widower because of radical right wing Republicans banning abortion and allowing no exceptions.
Are you ok with this?
Don't forget that radical religious Republicans running for office all condone and support these inhumane anti abortion laws.
Republicans are stripping away your rights and they won't stop at Miranda Rights and abortion rights. They will take away whatever rights they feel you shouldn't have based on their extreme radical evangelical religion. They believe their "Christian Nationalism" is superior to anybody else's religion or if a person doesn't even practice a religion.
The overwhelming majority of Americans support abortion rights which is over 85%. Even a large portion of Republican voters support abortion in cases of rape and when the mother's life is in danger. The problem is, we are being held hostage by a minority of the population who are extremist religious radicals that controls the Supreme Court and legislatures in red states pushing these barbaric laws.
The overwhelming majority of Americans are angry and they should be. No right wing Republican should be allowed to prevent a woman from saving her own life and that is exactly what they doing. They will be killing women with these barbaric anti abortion laws and there is nothing we will be able to do to save their lives.
These are the same radicals from the GOP death cult who screamed and cried when elected officials mandated masks to stop the spread of a deadly virus. They cried "you can't force me to wear a mask" but they are now forcing women to give birth even though it could kill her.
These radicals are not "Pro Life'. And if they ever get full control of the government, they will do even more damage as Americans will be forced to live under radical religious laws that our Constitution prohibits. But if they are in charge, our Constitution will no longer matter because they will simply ignore it for their own Christian Nationalist beliefs.
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Just as I stated above, these right wing radicals on the Extreme Court are using their religious beliefs to abolish what they want. They have no regard for the Constitution which declares America is founded on a "separation of church and state". These right wing radicals dismiss what the Constitution says and they implement laws based on their own far right religious beliefs. Now the right wing Extreme Court is going after contraception and same sex marriages because of their evangelical teachings that the overwhelming majority of Americans are not affiliated with.
So once again, the minority of the country is holding the overwhelming majority of Americans hostage with their far right wing extremist laws.
Another dream Republicans have had for decades is to eliminate Social Security and Medicare. Right wingers like Lindsey Graham and Rick Scott are already talking about doing away with both if Republican gain control of the Senate and the House. Rick Scott already has a plan to soak middle class Americans and seniors with high taxes so they can give their billionaire buddies huge tax breaks again. That disastrous plan also calls to sunset Social Security and Medicare which is essentially killing it off because Republicans will simply vote "NO" to keep it functioning. This is a Republican party that voted "NO" to cap insulin at $35 and for middle class tax cuts so you know they will also vote "NO" to keep social security and Medicare. This is also a Republican party that told us to sacrifice seniors to the Covid virus to save the economy, so we know Republicans have no regard for seniors.
The radical right has been talking about eliminating abortion and they finally achieved it by stealing a Supreme Court seat from President Obama. Once they stole the seat and Trump was installed to appoint 3 far right wingers, they were able to end a woman's right to choose with these radical right wing "justices". So, if Republicans control both chambers of Congress they will quickly do away with Social Security and Medicare just like they have been telling us they will do.
Texas Lt. Governor: Old People Should Volunteer to Die to Save the Economy
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/03/dan-patrick-coronavirus-grandparents
NEW: The GOP Plan to Sunset Medicare and Social Security is Massively Unpopular
https://michigandems.com/new-the-gop-plan-to-sunset-medicare-and-social-security-is-massively-unpopular/
Republicans want to ‘reform’ Social Security behind closed doors — beware!
https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/3525372-republicans-want-to-reform-social-security-behind-closed-doors-beware/
Clarence Thomas calls on court to undo rulings on same-sex relationships and contraception: 'We have a duty to correct the error'
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Justice Clarence Thomas on Friday confirmed some of the darkest warnings about the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
The conservative-dominated court overturned the landmark decision that enshrined a woman's right to an abortion and said individual states can permit or restrict the procedure themselves.
"The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives," the court said.
The right-wing court had been expected to overturn the ruling after a draft circulated showing that Justice Samuel Alito had written a decision striking down Roe in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, and many warned the court would next target other agreed-upon rights.
Thomas opened the door to that in a concurring opinion to the 6-3 ruling in Dobbs, saying the court should reconsider rulings that protect the rights to contraception, same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage.
"In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell," Thomas wrote. "Because any substantive due process decision is 'demonstrably erroneous' ... we have a duty to 'correct the error' established in those precedents ... After overruling these demonstrably erroneous decisions, the question would remain whether other constitutional provisions guarantee the myriad rights that our substantive due process cases have generated."
Democrats blasted Thomas for his opinion.
"If you think the Dobbs decision doesn’t affect you, think again. Justice Thomas says the quiet part out loud: he thinks the Court should revoke protections for contraceptive care, sexual intimacy, and marriage equality. This radical Court can’t be trusted to protect your rights," said Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) in a message posted on Twitter.
“This is the first time in our nation's history that the Supreme Court has ruled to eliminate a right that it had previously protected. As Justice Thomas states in his concurring opinion, other rights could follow,” Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NY) wrote on Twitter.
https://www.rawstory.com/clarence-thomas-marriage/
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This racist tweet is from a sitting Senator in the United States Senate. Texas Senator John Cornyn is advocating for segregation to return in America. The radical right just took away women's rights and don't think for a minute these open right wing racists won't strip away civil rights from African Americans If they get control of both chambers of Congress and the presidency. They aren't even hiding it anymore. Cornyn is advocating for segregation in his reply to President Obama. This is a dog whistle to the white supremacist Republican base.
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Radical Republicans are banning books, taking over what they want to be taught in schools, going after gay people, taking away women's rights and soon will strip away civil rights and Social Security and Medicare. Republicans are taking us backwards with their radical extreme agenda.
'I can't imagine a better turnout engine': CNN conservative warns GOP about Roe ruling blowback
On CNN Saturday afternoon, conservative commentator S.E. Cupp insisted the Supreme Court ruling dismantling Roe v Wade after 50 years of allowing women to make choices about their reproductive freedom no matter where they live, will come back the haunt the Republican Party in the 2022 midterms.
As Cupp explained, combined with the battle over gun laws, the unpopular 6-3 decision by the conservative court could be a defining issue that increases voter turnout that will, in turn, cripple GOP efforts to reclaim both chambers of Congress.
Speaking with CNN hosts Christ Paul and Boris Sanchez, Cupp insisted the past week's news has benefitted Democrats as they make their case for November 2022 and beyond.
"Yeah, I think the Roe ruling was a huge -- they [Republicans] might like the outcome, but politically I can't imagine a better turnout engine than this ruling for democrats," Cupp claimed. "And you can make the argument that the Republicans' legislative victories and the Supreme Court victory by a conservative court are regressive, they're taking us backwards. Whether you like them or not, you can't deny the fact that they're going backwards, right? They're taking us back to a different time when these weren't rights."
"Republicans are banning books," she continued. "I mean, it really does feel anachronistic where the country is, so I think that's a good message for Democrats."
Watch below:
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Democratic senator forced to double-check if Kyrsten Sinema was 'serious' she wanted to be involved in gun bill
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Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) has long been working on attempts to establish gun safety legislation that could help stem the national epidemic of gun deaths. He was among those who were working on the bipartisan effort to help bring about a soft bill that made small steps forward on gun issues.
One of the officials that hasn't been part of gun legislation negotiations was Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), who has been persona non grata among Democrats because she refused to support the "Build Back Better" plan and eliminate the filibuster to help codify Roe v. Wade, which was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court this week.
In a text message conversation, Murphy revealed that Sinema expressed interest in the bipartisan legislation negotiations, the New York Times.
Sinema told the press that she wanted to work with members of both parties to write a bill. So, Murphy had reached out to her asking about her statement. She told Murphy that she was interested.
"Are you serious?" Murphy text messaged in response, the report said.
Sinema first worked at a domestic violence shelter and sought tighter restrictions about abusers trying to buy guns, the Times reported. That said, Sinema also previously indicated she was pro-choice and supportive of the Voting Rights Act, but she has refused to shore up those freedoms.
While Sinema signed onto co-sponsor 32 bills in 2021-2022, about 11 of them were only supported by Republicans, ProPublica's bill tracking site recorded. Sinema has been criticized for spending a lot of her time fundraising from political action groups and big business, which has drawn accusations that she's a corporate Democrat.
Read the full report in the New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/24/us/politics/guns-bill-senate-negotiations.html
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Dark Money Led To This Moment
A secretive donor network built the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority, and brought them the case and arguments to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The Supreme Court on Friday overturned its landmark Roe v. Wade decision, invalidating federal protections for abortion rights. The decision will quickly limit reproductive health care access for tens of millions of people.
The decision, which is part of a barrage of devastating, precedent-setting Supreme Court rulings this term, surely has many Americans wondering how we arrived at such a dark moment. The answer is simple, even if it is rarely discussed in corporate media: It lies in a giant pile of anonymous cash that was deployed to buy Supreme Court seats, help determine justices’ caseload, and shape their decisions.
A secretive, well-financed dark money network has spent years working to build the Supreme Court’s radical conservative supermajority and bankrolling many of the politicians and organizations involved in the most controversial cases now before the court, including the abortion rights case decided Friday.
The public will almost certainly never know the identities of the ultra-wealthy individuals and interests who paid to stack this court and influence its decisions, but much of the credit should go to an an anti-abortion zealot named Leonard Leo and his cadre of conservative activists.
The co-chairman of the Federalist Society, the conservative lawyers group in Washington, Leo is best known for serving as President Donald Trump’s top judicial adviser. Leo helped select Trump’s Supreme Court picks while simultaneously leading a dark money network that boosted their confirmations with TV ads and contributions to conservative groups that promoted the judges.
Leo’s dark money network has also funded Republican state attorneys general and conservative nonprofits that are backing and even directly arguing some of the most contentious cases before the high court right now.
It is with these cases that the Supreme Court has ended federal protections for abortion rights, dismantled the high court precedent requiring police officers to inform people of their rights to remain silent and to an attorney when they’re being detained, struck down blue-state restrictions on carrying concealed firearms, and handed conservative state lawmakers more power to chip away at Americans’ voting rights.
In other upcoming decisions, the court could soon strip environmental regulators of their ability to regulate carbon emissions, and weaken tribal sovereignty.
So to fully understand how we got here, it’s important to follow the money — at least to the extent that we can.
Quietly Building The Court’s Conservative Supermajority
Leo and his allies first formed the Judicial Crisis Network in 2005 to help confirm George W. Bush’s Justices, John Roberts and Samuel Alito — and Leo reportedly played a “decisive role” in both of their selections. The organization has grown quietly and steadily since then, and played a key role in flipping the court and building its 6-3 conservative supermajority.
In 2016, following the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, the Judicial Crisis Network spent $7 million on an advertising and advocacy campaign to pave the way for Republican senators to avoid holding a vote on President Barack Obama’s court pick, Merrick Garland.
Under Trump, Leo helped select Trump’s Supreme Court picks, while the Judicial Crisis Network spent tens of millions of dollars on ad campaigns to confirm Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
The Judicial Crisis Network and its sister group, a charitable organization called the Judicial Education Project, both routinely funneled big donations to allied conservative nonprofits that helped create an echo chamber supporting the judges’ nominations.
In early 2020, Leo told Axios of his plans to remake the Judicial Crisis Network and Judicial Education Project and expand their scope.
The Judicial Crisis Network was rebranded as the Concord Fund, while the Judicial Education Project was renamed the 85 Fund. Both organizations maintained their original names as trade names; the Concord Fund continues to run ads under the alias of the Judicial Crisis Network.
Now, both organizations have grown into financial juggernauts. The Concord Fund reported raising more than $48 million between July 2020 and June 2021, a period of time that included Barrett’s confirmation. The 85 Fund brought in nearly $66 million in 2020.
Throughout their history, these organizations have done an exceptional job of keeping their donors secret, while raising giant sums from just a few contributors.
According to its most recent tax return, which was obtained by the watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the Concord Fund raised nearly all of its recent $48 million haul from two anonymous donors. As The Lever previously reported, one of those donors is the Rule of Law Trust, a nonprofit helmed by Leo, which gave the group $22 million in 2020. None of the very few and obviously ludicrously wealthy donors to the Rule of Law Trust have been disclosed.
Between 2018-19, the Concord Fund received $3 million from the 45Committee, a dark money group affiliated with the billionaire Ricketts family, which owns the Chicago Cubs.
The 85 Fund, meanwhile, received more than $20 million in 2020 from a nonprofit called Donors Trust. The latter organization has long been known as a “dark money ATM,” because billionaires use it as a pass-through vehicle to disguise their donations to conservative groups.
A Two-Pronged Attack On The Judiciary
Leo’s dark money network has spearheaded a two-pronged attack on the judiciary: First it has worked to install conservative judges, then it has worked to bring those appointees specific cases designed to destroy previous precedents, along with amicus briefs, or “friend of the court” filings, offering them rationales for doing so.
In its first mission to populate the bench with right-wing ideologues, Leo and his allies have worked closely with Republican Senate leaders. In its 2020-21 tax return, the Concord Fund reported donating $9 million to One Nation, a dark money group affiliated with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who led the Republican strategy to deny Garland a vote as Obama’s nominee in 2016.
At the time, McConnell justified blocking a vote on Garland’s nomination by arguing that the seat should not be filled in an election year. But in 2020, McConnell led the campaign to swiftly install Barrett to the court despite Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death coming just 46 days before the election. Barrett was confirmed eight days before the election.
Those maneuvers, supported with advocacy and donations from Leo’s Concord Fund and 85 Fund, helped turn what could be a 5-4 Democratic majority now into a 6-3 conservative supermajority that just overturned longstanding Supreme Court precedents on abortion rights and policing, and may soon gut the government’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases and potentially much more.
As conservative judges have been installed throughout the judiciary, the Concord Fund and the 85 Fund have simultaneously financed the Republican attorneys general and nonprofits that are supporting and, in some instances, directly leading the highest-stakes cases before the Supreme Court right now. The Concord Fund has long been the top financier of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), which works to elect GOP state attorneys general, donating more than $17 million to the organization since 2014, according to The New York Times.
Meanwhile, other groups funded by Leo’s network have been filing amicus briefs offering legal justification for some of the more destructive cases before the Supreme Court this term. In their most recent annual tax returns, the 85 Fund reported distributing $34 million in grants to political groups and nonprofits, while the Concord Fund gave out $28 million to nonprofits.
How The Scheme Works
The playbook is now straightforward: Leo’s dark-money network installs right-wing judges, then Republican attorneys general boosted by Leo’s network bring cases and amicus briefs, while other groups funded by the same network file their own briefs — all to create the appearance of broad-based support for extremist rulings.
The Supreme Court’s devastating Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, handed down Friday, illustrates how the multi-faceted scheme works in practice.
Mississippi Republican Attorney General Lynn Fitch led the case to overturn Roe. Fitch, who benefited from $225,000 in donations and spending by the Concord Fund-backed RAGA in her 2018 race, asked the Supreme Court to uphold a Mississippi law that would ban most abortions at 15 weeks of pregnancy, even in cases of rape or incest. Eighteen Republican attorneys general filed a brief supporting Mississippi’s petition, as did a dozen Republican governors. The Concord Fund has donated $1 million to the Republican Governors Association this election cycle, according to Political MoneyLine.
According to a Lever review of their most recent tax returns, the Concord Fund and the 85 Fund donated to a long list of groups that filed amicus briefs in the Supreme Court abortion case: the Susan B. Anthony List ($2.3 million from the Concord Fund); Former Vice President Mike Pence’s Advancing American Freedom ($1 million from the Concord Fund); Concerned Women for America ($440,000 from the Concord Fund, $100,000 from the 85 Fund); the Ethics and Public Policy Center ($488,000 from 85 Fund); the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty ($150,000 from the 85 Fund); CatholicVote.org Education Fund ($50,000 from the Concord Fund to Catholic Vote Civic Action); and Family Research Council ($25,000 from the Concord Fund to Family Research Council Action).
This scheme has been consistently replicated in other cases before the high court:
• Carson v. Makin — In a 6-3 decision handed down Tuesday, the court’s conservatives held that Maine must give public money to private religious schools. The decision represents a major infringement on the notion of separation between church and state in the U.S., and threatens the concept of a secular public education.
The Carson decision was undergirded with an amicus brief signed by 21 Republican state attorneys general, who are generally elected with support from the Concord Fund-backed RAGA. Briefs were also filed by Advancing American Freedom and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which received $150,000 from the 85 Fund in 2020.
Another brief was filed by the Independent Women’s Forum and its Independent Women’s Law Center. The 85 Fund donated $310,000 to the Independent Women’s Forum in 2020, while the Concord Fund donated $500,000 to its sister group, Independent Women’s Voice, between 2020-21.
• New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen — The Supreme Court handed down a ruling in this major gun case on Thursday knocking down New York’s concealed carry law. The ruling could invalidate most gun control laws in this country.
Twenty-six Republican attorneys general, many of whom are supported by RAGA, filed an amicus brief supporting the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, which is fighting to weaken the state’s gun laws. The Leo-backed Independent Women’s Law Center also filed a brief.
• Vega v. Tekoh — This case considered whether a person’s constitutional rights are violated if law enforcement officers do not inform them of their so-called Miranda rights — their right to remain silent and right to have legal representation when they’re being detained. On Thursday, the Supreme Court gutted its 1966 Miranda decision, ruling that suspects cannot sue police for damages for violating these rights. Twenty-two Republican attorneys general, many of whom were elected with the help of RAGA, filed an amicus brief supporting the petitioner.
• Berger v. North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP — On Thursday, Justices ruled that state lawmakers can intervene in a lawsuit filed against North Carolina concerning the constitutionality of the state’s restrictive voter ID law. Lawmakers sought to intervene in the case because they disagree with the state attorney general’s handling of the matter.
The upshot of the ruling is that in states with a GOP-controlled legislature and a Democratic attorney general, Republican lawmakers will be able to defend voter suppression laws from challenges, even if the state’s attorney general wanted to settle.
Nine Republican attorneys general with ties to RAGA filed a brief in the case, as did the Republican State Leadership Committee, which has received $1 million from the Concord Fund this cycle. The Honest Elections Project, an organization that’s part of Leo’s 85 Fund, submitted a brief in the case, too.
• West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency— The case could decide whether the EPA is allowed to issue rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and could have significant implications for the government’s ability to tackle the climate crisis, as well as for other federal agencies’ rulemaking abilities. According to The New York Times, “the Supreme Court is expected to hand down a decision that could severely limit the federal government’s authority to reduce carbon dioxide from power plants.”
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R) is leading the case, with 17 Republican attorneys general signing onto his petition. Kentucky Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron offered his own amicus brief on the matter to the high court. The New Civil Liberties Alliance, which received $1 million from the 85 Fund in 2020, also filed a brief.
• Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta — The case will determine whether states have the authority to prosecute non-Native Americans who commit crimes against Indigenous people on tribal lands. States currently have jurisdiction when the culprit and victim are both non-Indian. Handing states the authority to prosecute in the cases where offenders are non-Indian would have sweeping consequences for tribal sovereignty, upsetting “the balances struck between Congress, the tribes, and the states for more than a century,” as The New Republic wrote.
Once again, RAGA members are involved. Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor (R) is leading the case, with five more Republican attorneys general signing on to his petition.
https://www.levernews.com/dark-money-went-in-supreme-court-rulings-are-coming-out/
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$80 million dark money group tied to Trump Supreme Court advisor, Leonard Leo
October 23, 2020
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A close informal advisor to President Trump who has been deeply involved in all three of his Supreme Court nomination battles is the sole trustee of a mysterious group that brought in more than $80 million in 2018, according to a previously unreported tax return uncovered by CREW. The filing vastly expands the amount of money known to be flowing into the growing constellation of dark money groups tied to Federalist Society co-chairman Leonard Leo and provides new details about his role in a secretive firm that was responsible for one of the largest donations received by President Trump’s inaugural committee.
What makes Rule of Law Trust (RLT) particularly interesting is that despite its $80 million haul, the group seems remarkably hollow. It claimed it had no employees and no volunteers in its first year and listed what appears to be a virtual office in Virginia as its main address. Its stated mission is “to advance conservative principles and causes through communications, research, strategy and assistance to other organizations,” but there’s no apparent public information to demonstrate what that work entails, not even a website.
In an unusual financial arrangement, the group also appears to have channeled nearly all of its $2.7 million in expenditures through the BH Group — an enigmatic firm that, the filing reveals, is partly owned by Leo. The company has long been known to be tied to Leo, but the nature of his role was unknown until now. Just months after it was formed in 2016, the BH Group gave $1 million to President Trump’s inaugural committee — though the only known funds that it has received during that time came from other dark money groups allied with Leo. The ultimate source of the money remains unknown to this day.
“The filing vastly expands the amount of money known to be flowing into the growing constellation of dark money groups tied to Federalist Society co-chairman Leonard Leo.”
The only other people linked to RLT in the sparse filing are either longtime Federalist Society officials-turned-consultants like Leo, or operatives with a long history working behind the scenes on dark money groups tied to Leo. For example, RLT’s single largest payment in 2018 was a $1.5 million consulting fee paid to Jonathan Bunch, a former vice president of the Federalist Society who has been involved in a number of entities tied to Leo. Bunch is now the president of CRC Advisors, a firm formed by Leo this past January. RLT paid an additional $300,004 to a firm called YAS, LLC for consulting. According to DC government records, the firm is registered to Maria Marshall, a former director of operations at the Federalist Society who currently serves as the vice president of CRC Advisors.
The records for RLT are maintained by Neil Corkery — who, along with his wife, Ann, is a longtime ally of Leo’s and has been tied to some of the largest conservative dark money groups in the country for more than a decade. Neil Corkery’s most notable connection is to two groups called the Wellspring Committee and Judicial Crisis Network (JCN), both 501(c)(4) social welfare groups like RLT. For ten years, from 2008 until its termination in 2018, Wellspring served as little more than a passthrough for anonymous money into politically active nonprofits that spent tens of millions of dollars on elections around the country and, in the case of JCN, judicial nominations. Leo has never personally held a formal position at either group, but he is reportedly closely involved in the fundraising for both groups.
As of last year, JCN operated out of an office on the same hallway as the Federalist Society in downtown Washington, DC. For years, JCN has been funded almost entirely by the Wellspring Committee — which was in turn funded by massive seven- and eight-figure contributions from anonymous donors. In 2016, JCN spent millions to pressure senators to not consider President Obama’s last Supreme Court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland. The following year, it poured millions into the fight to confirm President Trump’s first nominee, Justice Neil Gorsuch, to fill the same seat on the bench. The group’s president, Carrie Severino, tweeted a picture from Gorsuch’s swearing-in in the White House Rose Garden.
In 2018, the cycle repeated for Justice Kavanaugh’s nomination, and now JCN is pouring millions into the fight to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the seat opened by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Throughout these confirmation contests, Wellspring and JCN have funneled millions of dollars into the BH Group. Leo’s ties to the firm were first identified after he listed it as his employer on a contribution reported to the Federal Election Commission, but the nature of his role in the BH Group has been unclear for years. The Rule of Law Trust filing offers some new details, though. In a note buried deep in the return, RLT reports having reimbursed the BH Group for more than $4.3 million in expenditures that it describes as “independent contractor expenses incurred on behalf of Rule of Law Trust” and notes that BH Group is “more than 35% owned by Leonard Leo.”
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But even as the note provides new details, it raises new questions. In particular, it explains that the more than $2.7 million that RLT spent in 2018 was funneled through the BH Group. In other words, it appears that a firm partly owned by the sole trustee of RLT paid all of RLT’s expenses, including $1.8 million in consulting payments to two former Federalist Society associates who now work at a consulting firm founded by the trustee, and then RLT reimbursed that firm for the expenses.
Another question looms even larger, though, stemming from the fact that RLT ended 2018 with more than $78.2 million on hand. What did it actually do with all its money? It’s not clear, and because of the lag in filings for nonprofit groups like this, no 2019 tax return is currently available. The group likely won’t file a 2020 tax return until late 2021. The same goes for the growing number of dark money groups tied to Leo in recent years.
A picture is emerging, but it will take years to sort out. One thing is clear, though: Leo and his allies have amassed a massive war chest of anonymous donations for their fight to remake the federal judiciary.
https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/80-million-dark-money-group-tied-to-trump-supreme-court-advisor-leonard-leo/
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Endangered GOP lawmakers fleeing questions about destruction of Roe v. Wade: report
GOP lawmakers already facing an uphill battle as they seek re-election in November are now finding that their campaigns are being hampered by questions about their party's part in getting Roe v. Wade overturned by the conservative Supreme Court.
According to a report from Politico's Sarah Farris and Sally Mutnick, with most Republicans across the board praising the controversial ruling written by Justice Sam Alito, GOP lawmakers in battleground states are hoping the furor dies down before people vote later this year.
According to Politico, "as abortion rights remain highly popular with voters, including in swing districts, most of those vulnerable lawmakers were uninterested in discussing the particulars of what, if anything, should happen following the court’s Friday ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade."
Case in point, the report notes, is Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) who is being buffeted by attacks from Democrats and former president Donald Trump, and who gave a terse "No' when asked about codifying Roe v Wade before dashing onto the House floor.
"Democrats say that silence, or occasional deflection, is a telling sign that Republicans know abortion rights remain broadly popular with much of the electorate — and that the GOP will soon face the wrath of suburban and purple-district voters," Farris and Mutnik wrote. "Some Republicans, too, acknowledge that abortion rights polling generally favors the left. But they say voters are harder to pin down when it comes to 'late-term' abortion or 'heartbeat' bans — terms the GOP leveraged to define the debate in recent years as the religious right gained influence."
Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) conceded that the issue could cripple his party in the midterms, telling Politico, “It may well hurt us in old Republican suburban strongholds, but those have been slipping away from us for a variety of reasons, gun control among them."
California Rep. David Valadao (R) also admitted it will be a problem for him while hedging on codifying Roe. "Obviously, I’m very pro-life. I’m going to continue to be. Probably the folks who would make a decision off of that, are probably folks that wouldn’t vote for me anyways.”
You can read more here:
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/26/republicans-biden-abortion-roe-00042371
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Crist calls for Kavanaugh, Gorsuch to be impeached over abortion ruling
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(The Center Square) – Democratic Congressman Charlie Crist, the former Republican governor of Florida who’s running as a Democrat hoping to defeat incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis in November, said Friday that Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh should be impeached if they lied under oath during their Senate confirmation hearings.
Crist's call comes after Gorsuch and Kavanaugh joined in a majority U.S. Supreme Court ruling to overturn two landmark abortion cases – Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The decision returns decisions on the legality of abortion back to the states.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, both Democrats, accused the conservative justices of lying without mentioning them by name.
“Today’s ruling makes clear that Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh lied to Congress when they testified, under oath, that in their view Roe v. Wade was settled precedent,” Crist said in a Facebook post. “Perjury is a crime. If perjury is found to have occurred, the correct remedy is impeachment.”
He provided no evidence of either Gorsuch or Kavanaugh lying under oath.
In a joint statement, Pelosi and Schumer said in part, “Several of these conservative Justices, who are in no way accountable to the American people, have lied to the U.S. Senate, ripped up the Constitution and defiled both precedent and the Supreme Court’s reputation – all at the expense of tens of millions of women who could soon be stripped of their bodily autonomy and the constitutional rights they’ve relied on for half a century.”
Three justices who voted to overturn Roe were appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate: Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
Trump's first nominee to the Supreme Court, Gorsuch, “refused to take a position on Roe,” NPR reports. During his confirmation hearing in 2017, Gorsuch replied to a question posed by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., saying he “would have walked out the door” if Trump had asked him to vote to overturn Roe, NPR points out.
In 2018, Kavanaugh said in his opening remarks that Roe had been “settled as a precedent of the Supreme Court,” and was “entitled the respect under principles of stare decisis.”
Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the majority opinion, was joined by the three justices appointed by Trump and Chief Justice John Roberts. Alito wrote: “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division. It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
He also argued, "a right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the Nation’s history and traditions. On the contrary, an unbroken tradition of prohibiting abortion on pain of criminal punishment persisted from the earliest days of the common law until 1973. ...
“Roe’s constitutional analysis was far outside the bounds of any reasonable interpretation of the various constitutional provisions to which it vaguely pointed.”
https://www.kpvi.com/news/national_news/crist-calls-for-kavanaugh-gorsuch-to-be-impeached-over-abortion-ruling/article_73614887-1ece-58d5-b353-388aad8bb3de.html
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'She's a crook': GOP voters line up against indicted Colorado election denier running for secretary of state
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According to a report from CNN, Republican voters in Colorado have become increasingly alarmed at the prospect that indicted 2020 presidential election denier and former county clerk Tina Peters could be their party's nominee for Secretary of State.
Peters, who was hit with 10 counts related to election equipment tampering by a grand jury -- and is affiliated with fellow election denier Mike Lindell -- is currently the GOP frontrunner for the job, and that has conservatives very worried.
As CNN's Eric Bradner reports, ".... in the county on Colorado's Western Slope where she is barred by a district judge from performing her election-oversight duties, many voters -- including some unaffiliated voters who typically back Democrats but had voted in this year's Republican primary because of Peters' presence on the ballot -- said they want to stop her."
According to one voter, Daria Kent of Grand Junction, "Yes, there was voter fraud. She caused it."
As Colorado Newsline previously reported, "Peters had been under investigation over allegedly enabling a security breach in the Mesa County elections system during a “trusted build” process, which involves a secure software update. She routinely spreads baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and that Colorado’s entire election system is insecure."
One Republican voter, 65-year-old Tammy Reece, cut right to the chase, telling CNN, "She's a crook and should not be running for secretary of state."
Her husband, Bob Reece, 75, concurred, saying, "The system did have a flaw. And that is, the very person who was supposed to protect it had the passwords to it, and opened it up."
He added, "I mean, it's been well-documented in the local paper about all the things that Peters has been accused of. And as the allegations go through court, it's going to be a continuum of decisions. ... I was shocked that she was running for any public office. You lose your job here, and you want the one above it?"
The CNN report adds, "Peters and her top deputy were indicted in March after an investigation by local authorities into a security breach that resulted in confidential voting machine logins, and forensic images of their hard drives, being published in a QAnon-affiliated Telegram channel in early August 2021. In May, after a lawsuit brought by Griswold, a district judge stripped Peters of her duties overseeing this year's elections in Mesa County."
You can read more here:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/27/politics/colorado-republican-secretary-of-state-primary-tina-peters/index.html
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Colorado clerk charged with 10 voting crimes: Lauren Boebert “encouraged me” to breach voting system
Indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters says Boebert “encouraged me to go forward" with breach attempt
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A Colorado election clerk who was indicted on 10 criminal counts has said that Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) "encouraged" her to commit the alleged crimes.
In a report on Sunday, The New York Times recounted the "strange tale" of Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who has fueled right-wing conspiracy theories claiming the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
"Ms. Peters was indicted on 10 criminal counts related to the effort to copy voting equipment software, including attempting to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, identity theft and first-degree official misconduct," the report explained.
On Friday, Peters deflected blame to Boebert, according to the report.
She said Boebert “encouraged me to go forward with the imaging” of voting machines.
But the lawmaker's spokesperson insisted that Peters' claim was false.
Boebert has previously released a statement in support of Peters.
"Many of the constituents I represent have expressed concern about the ongoing investigation into Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters," Boebert said in 2021. "As many of you know, I have been a vocal opponent of the overreach and targeted nature of the FBI’s activities on a national level."
https://www.salon.com/2022/06/27/colorado-clerk-charged-with-10-voting-lauren-boebert-encouraged-me-to-breach-voting-system_partner/
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As I've said a couple of days ago, we no longer have a separation of church and state in the United States because of the far wing radicals on the Extreme Court.
The Extreme Court just ruled 6-3 that public school teachers and other staff can now lead students in prayer, significantly undermining the separation of church and state and overturning decades of established precedence.
So, now teachers in public schools, and even the janitors, can openly assemble to pray in public schools.
Students in the classroom all follow different religions and some don't practice any religion at all. That's the reason why we don't have prayers in public schools because of all the different faiths or non religious students.
What if the teacher is of a different religion than the rest of the class forcing their prayers on students? Why should students be forced to pray along to a religion they don't belong to?
What if a teacher worships Satan? Students will be forced to hear Satanic prayers in the classroom because of this asinine ruling by the Extreme Court.
You can't pick and choose which religious prayers can be in the school. So, now this opens a can of worms with any prayers being spoken out loud at school. And if the students in the class all have different religions and want to say prayers out loud, then students will be praying all day instead of learning.
Nobody should be forcing their religious beliefs on to other people Even if you belong to the same religion, you wouldn't want to force your beliefs at school or on the football field. But this disastrous ruling by the radical Republican Extreme Court is forcing religion upon Americans.
What's even more outrageous is that African American NFL football players were crucified for taking a knee on the football field trying to bring awareness to police brutality against the African American community by Donald Trump, right wing politicians, the right wing media, and his cult followers But these same hypocrites feel it's ok for players to take a knee in prayer. The radicsl right only believes the Constitution grants them their own rights to do what they want. When radical right has a problem when other people express their First Amendment rights, they will do everything to attack, censor, and silence their free speech.
The Constitution and separation of church and state no longer exists in the United States as the radical right has given a middle finger to our Founding Fathers ruling against our own Constitution.
Supreme Court says public school officials can pray openly
https://www.axios.com/2022/06/27/religion-prayer-public-school-supreme-court-ruling
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Legal expert speculates whether Supreme Court will destroy Congress' new gun safety bill next
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The House and Senate both passed a new bipartisan gun safety law, and while it was signed by the president and supported by two branches of government, there's a fear that the Supreme Court will attempt to overrule the law.
A Slate report expressed the concern on Monday after President Joe Biden signed the bill ahead of a G7 meeting. The question becomes whether one branch of government will attempt to go up against the other two.
Slate cited the majority opinion in Bruen saying that "[t]he constitutional right to bear arms in public for self-defense is not ‘a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules than the other Bill of Rights guarantees.’”
"A primary example of a right the majority says has received appropriate respect is the right to free speech," the Slate report explained. "Throughout the opinion, Thomas says that the Second Amendment must receive the same due as the First. Thomas knows that the First Amendment does not provide unlimited protection to speech, that the state may regulate speech in all sorts of ways. So, he is not referencing First Amendment law to suggest that there are no limits on the right to keep and carry arms.
Michael Waldman, President of the Brennan Center for Justice, explained to MSNBC that the Supreme Court saying that states rights apply to an abortion but not to guns is a major issue for the Court.
"The two cases together say that some states can ban abortion but other states and they usually are other states, can't regulate guns and gun violence within their states," said Waldman. "It's a very different approach. The ruling struck down New York's law. A law that goes back to 1911. Saying that you can't carry a concealed handgun in New York City, in a crowded place like that. And it is the first time in a dozen years that the Supreme Court has made a major ruling on the Second Amendment since it first said, and it was only back then in 2008, in 2010, that you had an individual right at all to have a weapon."
"But what's really significant about this case is not just what it will do in New York where there will be more guns and more violence and more crime as is expected in New York. But what it does nationwide, what the Supreme Court said is effectively you can't actually take public safety into account when you're making these gun laws. You can only look at 'history and tradition.' And Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion, used the history very selectively, but what it means is that hundreds of gun laws that have been upheld by the courts, Republican and Democratic judges, federal and state judges over the last 12 years, hundreds of those laws now will get challenged by the NRA and others saying you can't read the history right."
Just last week, the bill that Congress signed was Constitutional, but the question is whether it is now.
"I think it's still constitutional now. obviously, they're going to have to take a look," said Waldman. "Much of that law involved spending money on things like mental health and other things that would not really I think by any sense fall afoul of the Second Amendment right, but there are some aspects to it such as red flag laws saying you can take people's guns away if they're a threat or have a violent mental health issue, and all also the things related to background checks that will be challenged."
"Again, I think it is quite clear that these laws respect individual rights and benefit public safety but it's a lot harder to know how courts and judges are supposed to scratch their heads and figure out this vague new standard. How do you find out what the history and tradition was way back in some imagined past time for these modern laws? It's not a way to run a railroad. It's not a way any other country that you know of makes decisions about protecting public safety."
See his full interview in link below:
https://www.rawstory.com/gun-safety-law-supreme-court/
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A new NPR/Marist Poll has been conducted after the insane Extreme Court decision to overturn Roe. New polling shows Democrats have gained 2 points after Roe was overturned. Democrats lead by 5 points in May after the leaked draft of the Roe v. Wade decision and now it has increased 2 more points to 7 points after Roe was overturned.
Democrats (48%) currently have the advantage over the Republicans (41%) among registered voters.
Here's more on what the polling found:
The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll also shows that 51 percent of voters nationally say the ruling will make them more likely to vote for a congressional candidate who would back a law that would restore the protections of Roe versus 36% that would vote against a candidate with that intent.
56% of Americans are concerned that the Supreme Court’s decision could also jeopardize the rights to contraception, same-sex marriage, or same-sex relationships.
A majority of Americans (57%) think the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was politically motivated and not motivated by the law of the land (36%).
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Watch live: Jan. 6 committee to question 'surprise witness' Cassidy Hutchinson about Trump-Meadows efforts to overturn election
https://www.rawstory.com/jan-6-hearing-watch-live/
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Pennsylvania Attorney General holds rally in Philadelphia to 'protect abortion rights'
The Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade Friday, which had granted birth-givers the right to abortion since its passing in 1973.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- More than a hundred people rallied at the National Constitution Center Saturday to protest the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe V. Wade, eliminating the federal constitutional right to an abortion.
"We are not OK with government-mandated pregnancy," congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon told the crowd.
Protestors carried signs like "Get your laws off my body" and "Women will die" as they cheered on speakers, many of whom were Democratic politicians.
"My granddaughter is not going to have the same freedom I had and that my daughter had, and it's so upsetting to me," said Diana Becerra from Roxborough.
The Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade Friday, which had granted birth-givers the right to abortion since its passing in 1973.
"It gutted me. I am scared for my children. I'm scared for my children's children," said Ronna Dewey, who works with the mom activist group Red, Wine, and Blue.
The crowd heard from local, state, and federal representatives, including Joanna McClinton, a democrat representing the 191st house district in Pennsylvania.
"In the midst of a very dark Friday, I'm thrilled to know there is a glimmer of hope," she said as she stumped for Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania's current attorney general. He is running on the Democratic ticket for governor.
"I trust the women of Pennsylvania to make decisions over their own bodies," Shapiro told the crowd.
Shapiro said he'll protect abortion rights in Pennsylvania, while his Republican opponent, Doug Mastriano, has said he'll make abortions illegal with no exceptions.
"It is clear that more and more issues will likely be coming to the states in future years," said Shapiro.
Action News reached out to state senator Mastriano and his campaign for a response but have not heard back.
The rally at City Hall was part of an even bigger movement across the country, "Bans Off Our Bodies," part of a nationwide day of action.
Similar abortion rights events were planned in more than 200 cities.
"I hope we're able to do this for like a week and keep going, because it's going to keep being an issue people shouldn't forget about it," said Deirdre French of Bristol, Pa.
https://6abc.com/supreme-court-roe-v-wade-national-constitution-center-protect-abortion-rights/11995271/
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A brand new Quinnipiac poll was just released today showing Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock with a huge 10 point lead over Trump stooge Herschel Walker.
Georgia Senate:
Raphael Warnock 54%
Herschel Walker 44%
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The corrupt Federalist Society Extreme Court just gave a victory to big coal and polluters to keep destroying our planet which will continue to heat up the Earth and make weather more severe all over the world. Mitch McConnell stacked this Court for a reason so it can promote radical right wing policies for the GOP and their big business buddies.
How the Supreme Court ruling will gut the EPA's ability to fight the climate crisis
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Emissions rise from a power plant in Kentucky.
(CNN) - The Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a major blow to climate action by handcuffing the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate planet-warming emissions from the country's power plants, just as scientists warn the world is running out of time to get the climate crisis under control.
It is a major loss for not only the Biden administration's climate goals, but it also calls into question the future of federal-level climate action and puts even more pressure on Congress to act to reduce emissions.
Experts tell CNN it could set the US back years on its path to rein in the climate crisis and its deadly, costly impacts.
The opinion makes it "more difficult to achieve larger-scale emissions reductions," Andres Restrepo, senior attorney for the Sierra Club's Environmental Law Program, told CNN. "To avoid the worst impacts of climate change we need to do a lot more and move a lot faster. That's why today's ruling is such a setback."
Why this case was so important for climate action
At the heart of Thursday's opinion was a question over the EPA's authority to regulate planet-warming emissions from power plants, which are a huge contributor to the climate crisis.
Around 25% of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions around the globe and in the US come from generating electricity, according to the EPA. And coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, powers about 20% of US electricity. Emissions from power production rose last year for the first time since 2014, an increase that was mainly driven by coal use.
The surge in fossil fuel use is worrying not only for Biden's climate goals -- the President, in his first months in office, pledged to slash US emissions in half by 2030 -- but also the planet.
"Failing to regulate heat-trapping emissions will harm people and ecosystems worldwide," said Kristina Dahl, a senior climate scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists. "We're already dangerously behind what the science shows is necessary, and the court's majority has made solving the problem much more difficult."
Scientists have become increasingly urgent in their warnings that to make headway on the climate crisis, emissions need to not only be reduced going forward, but the world needs to develop ways to also remove the greenhouse gas that's been pumped into the atmosphere in decades past.
In a landmark report last year, scientists reported that the planet is warming faster than they had previously imagined it would. As it does, they said, extreme weather will become more deadly; water crises will develop and worsen; food insecurity will grow and disease will spread.
To avoid the worst consequences, the world must limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (it's already passed 1.1 degrees), and the only way to do that is to keep the vast majority of the Earth's remaining fossil fuel stores in the ground.
What the court said
The Supreme Court said the Clean Air Act does not give EPA broad authority to regulate planet-warming emissions from power plants. The agency still has options to regulate emissions, but the court said that the law does not empower the agency to put a limit on emissions and force power plants to move away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy.
"The one thing EPA won't be able to do is what the Clean Power Plan did," Richard Revesz, an environmental law expert at NYU School of Law told CNN.
The Clean Power Plan was an Obama-era rule that set a goal for each state to limit carbon emissions, while letting those states determine how to meet those goals. In many cases, ditching coal and natural gas in favor of solar and wind was the most economically viable solution.
Shifting from fossil fuels to renewables "is the most effective, efficient and lowest cost way of reducing greenhouse emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants," Restrepo said. "By taking that tool off the table, the court has removed EPA's most effective tool for controlling greenhouse gas pollution from existing power plants."
Environmental attorneys are digesting the Supreme Court's opinion and determining how the agency could act on climate change going forward.
"This may be about as bad as it could be in terms of limiting EPA's regulatory authorities," Revesz said. "This case by its nature provides significant constraints EPA's authority to regulate the power sector — but not other sectors of the economy" like transportation or industrial emissions.
Revesz said the EPA will now have to consider what action it can take within the confines of the ruling.
"For example, it might consider carbon capture and sequestration and see whether the costs are ones that are reasonable," Revesz told CNN.
Carbon capture and sequestration is where the carbon is scrubbed out of power plant emissions before it enters the atmosphere. It's an expensive technology and scientists have warned that it's not on its own a significant enough solution to power plant emissions.
Opening the door to more challenges
Kirti Datla, an attorney for Earthjustice, a nonprofit focused on litigating climate issues, said this case paves the way for Republican-led states and fossil fuel companies to challenge current and future EPA rules on planet-warming emissions.
"I think the biggest takeaway is that the court produced an opinion that did exactly what the challengers [GOP-led states and coal companies] wanted," Datla said.
In its opinion, the court cut back agency authority by invoking the Major Questions Doctrine -- a ruling that will impact the federal government's authority to regulate in other areas of climate policy, as well as regulation of the internet and worker safety. It says that the biggest issues should be decided by Congress itself, not agencies like the EPA.
"Prior to today, the court would look at [an agency] and say 'this decision is within your lane and expertise and we're going to defer to your technical decision here,'" said Jay Duffy, an attorney and expert on power plant emissions at the Clean Air Task Force. "Today, unless the actual rule you have chosen has been clearly authorized by the Congress, you don't have the authority to do it."
Duffy said that as agencies craft new rules, they will have to go back to Congress to get explicit authorization, assuming the court deems it important.
"It's surprisingly unprincipled," Duffy said. "It's a can of worms that has been opened and without much guidance as to how important is important. How major is major? I think it could create a lot of problems."
Carrie Jenks, the executive director of Harvard Law School's Environmental & Energy Law Program, shared Duffy's concern about the uncertain definition of a "major question."
"The court is saying you can't do big things without Congress speaking, so what is a big thing?" Jenks told CNN. "This doctrine is just starting to emerge from the court. This doctrine is starting to be more defined. I think they will continue to use Major Questions Doctrine to oppose EPA rulemakings."
The court in its opinion did not touch EPA's ability to regulate other sources of greenhouse gas emissions -- for example from vehicles, or methane emissions from oil and gas. But cases on those issues are already circulating in the lower courts and could eventually be elevated to the Supreme Court.
"This [Major Questions] Doctrine is just starting to emerge from the court; this doctrine is starting to be more defined," Jenks told CNN. "I think they will continue to use Major Questions Doctrine to oppose [future] EPA rulemakings."
What's next for the EPA
The Biden administration must now craft a regulation for power plant emissions that will fit within the confines of the Supreme Court's opinion.
Spokespeople for the White House and EPA said in statements they were reviewing the court's opinion and would work to move forward with a rule dealing with power plant emissions. The EPA has publicly committed that rule by March 2024, though it could move faster.
"While I am deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court's decision, we are committed to using the full scope of EPA's authorities to protect communities and reduce the pollution that is driving climate change," EPA administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement. "We will move forward to provide certainty and transparency for the energy sector, which will support the industry's ongoing efforts to grow our clean energy economy."
Regan has previously said that the EPA will work on a strategy to combat other environmental pollutants coming from power plants, including cutting sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and coal ash waste from coal-fired power plants.
Even though those regulations deal with environmental pollution from power plants, they also have the effect of cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
"Our lawyers will study the ruling carefully and we will find ways to move forward under federal law," a White House spokesperson said. An EPA spokesperson added the agency is still "committed to using the full scope of its existing authorities."
Practically, the court's ruling says the EPA can't write rules similar to the Obama-era Clean Power Plan. But it didn't explicitly say how EPA should regulate going forward, environmental law experts noted.
"The court is clear that the Clean Power Plan went too far, the court is much less clear on what EPA can do going forward," Datla said. "Everything in the opinion is going to be used as ammunition by groups that want to challenge what the Biden administration does next, but that doesn't mean the opinion doesn't leave room for EPA to act and hopefully it acts with some speed."
Datla added that EPA still has the ability to carefully look at the statute and "issue a regulation that tries to address this really huge source of emissions for this incredibly pressing problem."
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/30/politics/epa-supreme-court-ruling-effect/index.html
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Rep. Sean Casten @RepCasten
Today, 6 radical, pro-pollution Supreme Court Justices bowed down to the same fossil fuel special interests that bankroll the radical, pro-pollution GOP politicians who appointed them to the highest court in the land.
What happens next hinges on our courage to act. My statement:
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https://twitter.com/RepCasten/status/1542620594662948864
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President Biden at the G7 in Germany.
President Biden @POTUS
This morning I met with President @Sanchezcastejon and thanked him for hosting the NATO Summit and for Spain’s 40 years of contributions to Transatlantic security.
Together, we launched a joint declaration reaffirming our close partnership on addressing global challenges.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1541937411269206016
It was an honor to meet with His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain today and reaffirm the enduring friendship between our nations.
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Today, I left Germany's beautiful Schloss Elmau energized by the G7’s unified vision and ready to execute our newly-launched Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.
This coalition is stronger than ever.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1541885679369691143
Congratulations to Finland, Sweden, and Turkey on signing a trilateral memorandum – a crucial step towards a NATO invite to Finland and Sweden, which will strengthen our Alliance and bolster our collective security – and a great way to begin the Summit.
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Together, the G7 is demonstrating the strong global leadership it will take to maximize the costs to Putin and his enablers and address the impact of his war on the global economy.
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I want to be clear – the G7's announcement of a new global infrastructure partnership isn't aid or charity. It’s an investment that will deliver returns for everyone – including the American people – and boost all of our economies.
There's no substitute for face-to-face diplomacy.
Sitting down with one another, revitalizing alliances and partnerships, and confronting head-on the challenges that will define the coming decades.
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The Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment will mobilize strategic investments in areas vital to sustainable development and our shared global security:
- Health and health security
- Digital connectivity
- Gender equality and equity
- Climate and energy security
Today, the nations of the G7 launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.
Collectively, we aim to mobilize nearly $600 billion from the G7 by 2027 to invest in critical infrastructure that improves lives and delivers real gains for all of our people.
This morning I met with @Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz to discuss our common objective of supporting Ukraine in the defense of its democracy against Russian aggression and a range of shared priorities the G7 will advance together.
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Tune in as I deliver remarks with other G7 Leaders to formally launch our Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment – an effort that is critical to our economic and national security.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1YqKDqpZOjVGV
We’re wheels down in Germany for the G7.
I look forward to conversations around our nations’ shared values and priorities: climate, development infrastructure, global health security, and shaping the rules of the road for the economy and technology for decades to come.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1540874524413071361
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FACT SHEET: President Biden and G7 Leaders Formally Launch the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment
The Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment will deliver game-changing projects to close the infrastructure gap in developing countries, strengthen the global economy and supply chains, and advance U.S. national security
President Biden will announce new flagship projects and lay out the Administration’s comprehensive effort to execute the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.
At the 2021 G7 Summit, President Biden and G7 leaders announced their intent to develop a values-driven, high-impact, and transparent infrastructure partnership to meet the enormous infrastructure needs of low- and middle-income countries and support the United States’ and its allies’ economic and national security interests. Over the past year, members of the Administration have traveled to hear directly from countries on how we can meet their infrastructure needs, deepened our coordination across the U.S Government and with the G7, honed our infrastructure investment tools, and closed game-changing deals.
At the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Schloss Elmau, Leaders will formally launch the Partnership for Global Infrastructure (PGII) to mobilize hundreds of billions of dollars and deliver quality, sustainable infrastructure that makes a difference in people’s lives around the world, strengthens and diversifies our supply chains, creates new opportunities for American workers and businesses, and advances our national security.
Today, President Biden will announce that the U.S. aims to mobilize $200 billion for PGII over the next 5 years through grants, Federal financing, and leveraging private sector investments. Together with G7 partners, we aim to mobilize $600 billion by 2027 in global infrastructure investments. And this will only be the beginning. The United States and its G7 partners will seek to mobilize additional capital from other like-minded partners, multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, sovereign wealth funds, and more.
President Biden will release a Presidential Memorandum to execute the PGII across four priority pillars that will define the second half of the 21st century.
This includes:
- Tackling the climate crisis and bolstering global energy security through investments in climate resilient infrastructure, transformational energy technologies, and developing clean energy supply chains across the full integrated lifecycle, from the responsible mining of metals and critical minerals; to low-emissions transportation and hard infrastructure; to investing in new global refining, processing, and battery manufacturing sites; to deploying proven, as well as innovative, scalable technologies in places that do not yet have access to clean energy.
- Developing, expanding, and deploying secure information and communications technology (ICT) networks and infrastructure to power economic growth and facilitate open digital societies—from working with trusted vendors to provide 5G and 6G digital connectivity, to supporting access to platforms and services that depend upon an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable internet and mobile networks with sound cybersecurity.
- Advancing gender equality and equity—from care infrastructure that increases opportunities for economic participation by women, to improved water and sanitation infrastructure that addresses gender gaps in unpaid work and time use – in order to boost the global economic recovery by ensuring that half the population is not forced to sit on the sidelines.
- Developing and upgrading the infrastructure of health systems and contributing to global health security through investments in patient-centered health services and the health workforce; vaccine and other essential medical product manufacturing; and disease surveillance and early warning systems, including safe and secure labs. Addressing the current pandemic and preventing and preparing for the next one is crucial to U.S. economic and national security.
President Biden will announce flagship projects of PGII, along with additional projects that have been undertaken over the past year. PGII will demonstrate how millions of dollars can mobilize tens or hundreds of millions in further investments and tens or hundreds of millionscan mobilize billions.
- With support from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), U.S. firm AfricaGlobal Schaffer (Washington, DC), in collaboration with U.S. project developer Sun Africa (Miami, FL), signed a contract with the Government of Angola to develop a $2 billion solar project in four southern Angola provinces. The project will include solar mini-grids, solar cabins with telecommunications capabilities, and home power kits. In addition to supporting up to $1.3 billion in U.S. exports, the project will help Angola meet their climate commitments, including generating 70% carbon-free power by 2025.
- In collaboration with G7 members as well as the European Union and multilateral organizations, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is disbursing a $3.3 million technical assistance grant to Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) for early-stage project development for an industrial-scale flexible multi-vaccine manufacturing facility in Senegal with potential annual capacity of millions of doses of COVID-19 and other vaccines, potentially using both viral vector and mRNA technologies. DFC’s grant is part of a $14 million grant financing package that also includes $3.3 million from the International Finance Corporation, $2 million from the Agence Française de Développement, and $5.2 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB). DFC, along with other development finance institutions, is currently evaluating a loan to support IPD’s expansion to supplement EIB’s recent announcement of a nearly $80 million sovereign loan financing package.
- U.S. telecommunications company SubCom (Eatontown, NJ), awarded a $600 million contract, to build the Southeast Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 6 submarine telecommunications cable that will connect Singapore to France through Egypt and the Horn of Africa. The submarine cable will stretch over 17,000 km and connect countries across the region with high-speed, reliable connectivity. The U.S. Government, including through the U.S. Department of State, Commerce’s Advocacy Center, EXIM, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency’s (USTDA) commitment of nearly $4 million in additional capacity building to support five countries using SubCom’s technology, collectively helped secure the award of the construction and deployment of the undersea fiber optic cable for SubCom.
- The U.S. Government with U.S. firm NuScale Power LLC (Tigard, OR) will provide $14 million in support for the Front-End Engineering and Design study for Romania’s deployment of a first-of-its-kind small modular reactor (SMR) plant. Building on U.S. Government efforts, including advocacy support from Commerce and technical assistance from State and USTDA, this investment is meant to mobilize a multi-billion-dollar effort and showcase U.S. ingenuity in the advanced nuclear sector, accelerate the clean energy transition, create thousands of jobs, and strengthen European energy security while upholding the highest standards for nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation.
- The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will aim to commit up to $50 million over five years to the World Bank’s new global Childcare Incentive Fund – $200 million public-private partnership to address the gap in suitable childcare infrastructure; boost women’s employment opportunities, productivity and income, and broader economic growth; and promote human capital and early learning for children. Other partners include the Governments of Canada and Australia, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Echidna Giving, the Ford Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the LEGO Foundation.
- DFC will invest up to $25 million in the Uhuru Growth Fund I-A, which will provide needed growth capital to small-and medium-sized enterprises in West Africa – including women-led businesses. Some of the largest economies in Africa, including Nigeria, Ghana, and Cote d’Ivoire, are facing a shortage of growth capital. Uhuru has committed to investing at least 30 percent of capital in eligible portfolio companies that support DFC’s 2X women’s economic empowerment initiative, and over 40 percent of the Uhuru team members are women. In addition to U.S. support, like-minded partners are investing including $35 million from the German Development Finance Institution, $30 million from the European Investment Bank, and $15 million from British International Investment, among others. Through this investment, DFC expects to mobilize $78 million in private capital.
- The Digital Invest program will leverage $3.45 million in State and USAID funding to mobilize up to $335 million in investment capital for internet service providers and financial technology companies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that use secure network equipment and advance competition and choice in emerging markets. This new blended finance program for fund managers and project developers through the Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Partnership will promote the growth of resilient, secure digital ecosystems in developing countries.
- USAID will invest $40 million in the Southeast Asia’s Smart Power Program to decarbonize and strengthen the region’s power system by increasing regional energy trade, accelerating the deployment of clean energy technologies, and actively engaging private sector leaders and key development partners in shared priorities. The program is expected to mobilize $2 billion in financing as a result of U.S. Government assistance, increase regional energy trade by five percent, and result in 2 gigawatts of advanced energy systems deployed.
- DFC will invest up to $30 million in Omnivore Agritech and Climate Sustainability Fund 3, an impact venture capital fund that invests in entrepreneurs building the future of agriculture, food systems, climate, and the rural economy in India. The Fund seeks to invest in companies that increase food security and promote both climate resilience and climate adaptation in India, as well as improve the profitability and agricultural productivity of smallholder farms. The Fund is targeting a $65 million first close in September 2022 and a final close in 2023 to reach its target capitalization of $130 million. Through this investment, DFC expects to mobilize $30 million in private capital.
- ABD group (Philadelphia, PA), a project development company, was awarded a $320 million healthcare infrastructure project to renovate or construct over 100 hospitals and clinics across Côte d’Ivoire and has already begun work on 10 locations. ABD Group credits the Memorandum of Understanding for commercial cooperation between the U.S. Government and the Government of Côte d’Ivoire with providing the necessary foundation of partnership for this deal to come to fruition. With the support of Commerce, the project has already received $160 million in closed financing with another $160 million nearing completion.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/06/26/fact-sheet-president-biden-and-g7-leaders-formally-launch-the-partnership-for-global-infrastructure-and-investment/
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In the hands of Republicans, Social Security is at serious risk
The Trump administration launched a major attack on Social Security, putting some older adults and people with disabilities at extreme risk. The Washington Post reports on how attorneys at Social Security imposed excessive fines on scores of Social Security recipients who received benefits inappropriately. Now, in an op-ed for The Miami Herald, Max Richtman, the head of the National Committee to Protect Social Security and Medicare, writes about how Senator Rick Scott of Florida wants to privatize Social Security, effectively putting Social Security benefits at risk and undermining the ability of tens of millions of vulnerable Americans to afford basic necessities.
Because Social Security is a national treasure, beloved by Republicans and Democrats alike, Senator Scott is not outright speaking about doing away with Social Security or Medicare. But, Scott’s proposal to require Congressional reauthorization of federal programs every five years would allow for just that. He would require Congress to re-enact Medicare and Social Security every five years to continue them. Since Senator Scott now chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, his proposals are likely to have a lot of influence in Congress, especially if Republicans regain control of the House and Senate.
Some years ago, Senator Scott proposed privatizing Social Security. If Congress privatized Social Security, it would put people’s benefits at serious risk, open to the vicissitudes of the market. Richtman projects that as many as one in three older adults could be impoverished. Moreover, without Social Security and Medicare, local governments and businesses would lose significant revenue.
Social Security and Medicare are earned benefits. Voters should beware of any proposals that would remove Social Security’s critical guarantees, cut their benefits, or otherwise make it harder to be assured of a regular income stream and health insurance.
So far, Republicans have not been successful at privatizing or otherwise cutting Social Security. But, here’s a taste of what the Trump administration did to undermine Social Security:
Trump’s Social Security agency imposed excessively harsh penalties on vulnerable older adults as part of its anti-fraud program. The Biden administration’s acting Social Security commissioner is now investigating those acts. And, Democrats in Congress are seeking an investigation into this possible abuse of authority. They want to prevent future behavior of this sort and help the people who were harshly penalized.
What did the Trump administration do exactly? It imposed huge fines on scores of poor older adults and people with disabilities who received Social Security benefits improperly. The penalties appear to be an abuse of the administration’s authority.
The attorneys working in the Social Security Administration in 2018, when Trump was president, did not follow standard protocols for recouping funds inappropriately paid to Social Security enrollees. In determining penalties for fraud, they should have looked at individuals’ income. Instead, they charged these individuals more than twice what they inappropriately received in Social Security benefits.
https://justcareusa.org/in-the-hands-of-republicans-social-security-is-at-serious-risk/
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Radical right wing Republicans are going hard after your rights and Social Security. Republicans believe they have the right to force women to give birth even when they are violently attacked and assaulted. This is fascism.
Ohio lawmaker says baby born of rape, incest ‘still has the right to life’
Abortion ban sponsor says she believes Republicans have the votes for the bill needed and the support of Gov. DeWine
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The sponsor of legislation that would ban nearly all abortions in Ohio said babies conceived via rape or incest still have a right to life.
Rep. Jean Schmidt, a Cincinnati area Republican, said on conservative talk radio earlier this week that her bill is likely to pass in the legislative session after the November elections.
“I do believe we have the votes in both chambers, and we have the full support of the governor on this bill,” she said.
The bill also creates a new misdemeanor crime of “promoting” abortion, for those who make, sell or distribute drugs or devices used to perform illegal abortions. Schmidt said in the interview this could be used to target some of the companies (including in Ohio) that have announced they will cover costs of employee travel to seek an abortion as needed.
When pressed by 700WLW host Bill Cunningham on whether Ohio should pass legislation banning birth control pills or condoms, she said she’ll listen to both sides of the debate.
House Bill 598, which Schmidt introduced, would ban most abortion in Ohio. Current Ohio law allows for abortions up to six weeks after a woman’s last period. The proposed legislation does not provide exceptions for pregnancies conceived by rape or incest.
Providing any abortion under the bill could lead to a fourth degree felony charge. The law allows the accused to mount a defense, however, if they only did so to save the life of the mother. That physician would need to provide written certification of the woman’s medical need along with that of another physician from a separate practice.
Likewise, the legislation requires at least two physicians present during the abortion: one to perform the abortion in the manner that provides the “best opportunity for the unborn child to survive,” and another to care for the fetus.
Schmidt drew national attention in April when she referred to a hypothetical 13-year-old’s pregnancy spawned by rape as an “opportunity.” Her recent comments, however, come after the U.S. Supreme Court last week overturned a landmark 1973 ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion. That decision wiped out the federal protection and returned control over abortion to the states.
A spokesman for Gov. Mike DeWine did not dispute Schmidt’s characterization of DeWine’s support for her bill, and noted that the governor has previously expressed support for conceptually similar legislation. Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said this week he expects an abortion ban of some sort to pass in late 2022.
Schmidt’s remarks indicate no signs of a softened position, and a sense of opportunity after the removal of a major roadblock to restrictive abortion laws. They, and Cunningham’s questions, have been edited here for length and clarity.
Cunningham: What about rape and incest [as a potential exception to a ban on abortion?
Schmidt: “Rape and incest is an ugly, ugly, ugly act of violence, and that woman is truly harmed and scarred, and those wounds will never go away and we need to make sure that she has all of the love and help and support. But to end the pregnancy of the child is not going to erase those wounds or those scars. That child still has the right to life.”
So, as a leader in the House of Representatives, you would not vote to ban birth control pills in Ohio?
“You know, that’s another issue for another day, and I’m going to have to listen to both sides of that debate. But right now, what I’m really concerned about is the life of the child, and the fact that we have the opportunity in Ohio to protect it from its conception until its natural death. That’s what I’m most excited about.”
Would you vote against gay marriage in Ohio?
“You know, Bill, that’s another decision for another day. The issue right now is abortion, and that’s one I want to make sure sees its end in Ohio in a very quick fashion.”
(Cunningham for 90 seconds talks about various alternatives to surgical abortion, ending in a statement that companies are starting to “pay” their employees $4,000 to travel to more liberal states that allow them to obtain an abortion and other “workarounds”.)
Do you know what I’m saying?
“If those companies want to do that, they better make sure that they’re complying with the laws of the states that allow them to do that. Because in House Bill 598, it says anybody that promotes an abortion will be under the issues of criminal activity. They might have a problem with sending somebody outside the state with a paycheck in hand, because that would be – in some legal eyes – promoting abortion.”
https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2022/07/01/ohio-abortion-ban-sponsor-says-baby-born-of-rape-incest-still-has-the-right-to-life/
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Colorado Republicans rejected several freak-show candidates – but still have an outright seditionist in their ranks
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A common response to the Colorado primary election results this week was to remark that Republican voters rejected the election conspiracists, returned the party to the mainstream, signaled support for the establishment over the fringe.
It’s true that in several high-profile races the most reality-challenged, “team crazy” candidates got beat bad. That’s a relief.
But now we’re supposed to equate those losses to some realignment in the Colorado Republican Party with basic principles of democracy and constitutional order? As former White House lawyer Eric Herschmann might say, “Are you out of your effing mind?”
One candidate said to represent the party’s late preference for “sanity” is Heidi Ganahl, a University of Colorado regent who beat Greg Lopez in the Republican primary for governor. Lopez amplified election conspiracy theories, notably by saying former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election and through vocal support of Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, an over-the-top election denier who is under felony indictment for her role in an election security breach in her own office.
But Ganahl hardly scores much better. From the moment she announced her candidacy in September, Ganahl steadfastly avoided answering whether she believed the “big lie” that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. At the same time, she described Colorado-based U.S. Election Integrity Plan, which promotes baseless conspiracies, as “doing great things.” Earlier this month, she could finally bring herself to say, “I don’t believe there was enough fraud that would have flipped the election.” The approval this earned her was utterly undeserved — she still claims there was fraud, even though it was all but nonexistent, and she continued to promote the idea the election had “issues” that would justify doubts about the security of U.S. elections.
Next to Lopez, Ganahl might appear mainstream. Next to the history of American democratic norms, she’s a subversive extremist.
A bigger obstacle to any claim that Colorado Republicans were chastened by the last two years of nuttery in their ranks is the triumph of Rep. Lauren Boebert.
A similar dynamic was at play in the Republican contest between two U.S. Senate candidates, state Rep. Ron Hanks and construction executive Joe O’Dea. Hanks is a no-nuance election denier who crossed police lines at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection. It’s not hard to run to his left, as did O’Dea, who won the primary. He was lauded for clearing the low bar of accepting Joe Biden’s presidency. But he also said he would support a possible Trump presidential candidacy in 2024. As the recent House hearings on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol have demonstrated, Trump knew that he lost the 2020 election but conspired to pursue illegal and violence-prone efforts to overturn the results. He committed one of the greatest crimes in the history of the country, but O’Dea would put him back in the country’s most powerful office.
Next to Hanks, O’Dea might appear reasonable. Next to the restraints against America’s slide toward autocracy, he’s an enemy of democracy.
A bigger obstacle to any claim that Colorado Republicans were chastened by the last two years of nuttery in their ranks is the triumph of Rep. Lauren Boebert, the face of the party, the state’s most influential election denier, and an outright seditionist. She helped inspire the insurrection and maintains a cultish devotion to Trump. She trounced her primary opponent Tuesday.
There are few figures in the country who approach Boebert’s political looniness. She is the fringe’s fringe. Colorado Republicans did that.
Unlike Ganahl and O’Dea, who are running for offices elected by a statewide electorate, Boebert faced voters only in her district, which is conservative. But it’s hard to imagine Boebert losing a primary in either of Colorado’s other two conservative districts, or just about any conservative district in the country, because, as is demonstrated in her fundraising success, social media popularity and numerous TV appearances, she skillfully embodies a post-Trump Republican style of provocation, insults, cruelty and truth-aversion that has proved so appealing to the party’s OAN-poisoned base. A majority of Republicans still falsely believe the 2020 election was stolen. That does not exclude Colorado Republicans.
The primary election spelled defeat for some of Colorado’s Trumpiest, freak-show candidates. Sure, let’s celebrate that.
The election did not, however, mark a return of the party to sanity. As long as its members support the coup-attempt leader Trump, hedge on election denial, and embrace democracy-hating seditionists, the party will remain unqualified for a status of good standing.
Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence.
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Don Winslow @donwinslow
These are the Republican candidates for Governor of Arizona.
This may also be a strong sign of the end of the world.
Watch: https://twitter.com/donwinslow/status/1543052609551929344
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Because of these barbaric right wing Republican anti abortion laws women and girls who are raped will have their lives put at risk. Many of them will die under their "no exception abortion" law.
Kristi Noem confronted on CNN over pregnant 10-year-old girl's inability to get an abortion
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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) was put on the spot during an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" when the anti-abortion Republican was asked about a pregnant 10-year-old Ohio girl's inability to get an abortion in her state.
What followed was Noem expressing outrage about how the child got pregnant which then forced host Dana Bash to ask her to stick to the question and address the abortion issue.
"The Indianapolis Star is reporting a 10-year-old girl in Ohio, who is six weeks and three days pregnant, now has to travel across state lines to Indiana to receive an abortion," Bash began. "Because this was a trigger law that was passed before you became governor, I want you to be clear, will the state of South Dakota going forward force a 10-year-old in that very same situation to have a baby?"
"What is incredible, Dana, in this tragic story, because I heard about this last night, what is incredible is no one is talking about the pervert, horrible, deranged individual that raped a 10-year-old. What are we doing about that?" the GOP governor parried.
"I couldn't agree more but our bodies are our bodies and women are the ones who get pregnant. In this case, it wasn't a woman, it was a girl," Bash pressed.
"Every single life is precious," Noem offered. "This tragedy is horrific. I can't even imagine. I've never had anybody in my family or myself gone through anything like this. I can't even imagine. But in South Dakota, the law today is that the abortions are illegal except to save the life of the mother."
"You would be okay with a 10-year-old girl having to have a baby," the CNN host persisted.
"No, I'm never okay with that. That story will keep me up at night. It breaks my heart," Noem replied.
"Will you change the law to have an exception for a situation like that?" she was asked.
"I can't even imagine," Noem replied. "I would say I don't believe a tragic situation should be perpetuated by another tragedy. There's more we have to do to make sure we are living a life to say every life is precious, especially innocent lives that have been shattered like that 10-year-old girl."
"It's incredibly complicated, I get it," Bash pressed. "But i guess my question is, given how heartbroken you seem to be about the situation, maybe the question is this, because what I keep thinking about is, how is a 10-year-old girl physically, probably can't even carry a baby without being, never mind emotionally and physically tormented, but physically hurt. Would you consider that mother's life at risk?"
"That's something in that situation the doctor, the family, the individuals closest to that will make the decision for that family," she replied.
Watch:
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Democratic lawmaker has an idea to save women's freedoms and keep the Supreme Court away from taking them again
Speaking to MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan on Sunday, Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY), a Harvard Law School graduate, explained that Congress could protect the freedoms of women and his plan doesn't have anything to do with an attempt to overthrow the government.
"I knew that we would arrive at this point," Jones explained. "My colleague scoffed at me at the time that I introduced the bill, in April of 2021. Of course, the American people are on our side, when you look at poll after poll. And thankfully, we do have about 58 House members who are supportive of adding four seats to the Supreme Court, but that is not nearly enough. We can't pass the Women's Health Protection Act, after getting rid of the filibuster, which we obviously need to do. But this Supreme Court has shown a willingness to strike down newly enacted laws by Congress. They did so with the decision after decision of the Voting Rights Act, which has been authorized nearly unanimously. I'm under no illusions anything short of court reform, specifically adding seats to the Supreme Court, is going to preserve fundamental rights permanently."
He disputed President Joe Biden's statement that adding seats to the court would be "polarizing." Already, the American people have the lowest opinion level of the Supreme Court in history. Jones said that the more polarizing thing is the degradation of the most fundamental rights in America: personal freedoms.
"Whether it is the right to abortion, which is a 50-year-old Constitutional right, or of course, eminently, the right to contraception, and the right to marriage equality, and the right to same-sex intimacy," Jones continued, citing key court decisions cited by Justice Clarence Thomas that he wants to see fall next.
Jones went on to say that one of his ideas with the new voting rights bill was to add a provision that would deprive the Supreme Court of jurisdiction to review the constitutionality and legality of the statute.
"We have seen that this supreme court majority, this far-right majority is hostile to democracy itself," said Jones. "If we are to vote on the Women's Health Protection Act for the second time this term, I am pushing to include a provision to deprive the Supreme Court of review of that statute. There is precedent for this, it has been done before, and it is a practice that has been upheld before. We know that most of the cases the Supreme Court decides, it is only able to decide because of the jurisdiction that Congress has explicitly legislated it to have. The Constitution is very narrow in terms of the scope of jurisdiction that it grants to the Supreme Court. We have tools at our disposal here."
See the full conversation below:
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Nikki Haley ridiculed for math struggles in July 4th attack on Joe Biden: 'And the GOP is banning math books'
https://www.rawstory.com/nikki-haley-math-problems/
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Florida judge strikes down 15-week abortion ban by placing 'burden' of proof on Ron DeSantis
Florida Circuit Judge John C. Cooper officially blocked a state law banning abortion after 15 weeks.
In a ruling entered on Tuesday, Cooper said that he was following a precedent set by the Florida Supreme Court, which decided in 1989 that the state's constitution gave women a right to privacy.
“This Court must follow the Florida Supreme Court’s precedents on the right to privacy as those precedents currently exist, not as they might exist in the future," Cooper wrote in his 68-page ruling.
Cooper noted that Florida's constitution includes a broader right to privacy than the United States Constitution.
"The Florida Supreme Court thereafter determined that this right to privacy is 'clearly implicated in a woman's decision of whether or not to continue her pregnancy,'" he wrote.
The Planned Parenthood victory will be likely nullified automatically when the state files for appeal. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has vowed to fight for the law that first took effect on Friday. Cooper said that the DeSantis administration had the "burden" of proving that the law serves a "compelling state interest."
https://www.rawstory.com/florida-abortion-ban/
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Editorial: If you like what the US Supreme Court just did, you’re going to love the next term
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If you like the decisions the U.S. Supreme Court handed down this term, you’re going to be enraptured by what comes next. For the rest of us, though, the worst could be yet to come.
Worse than forced birth for rape victims and obscene new curbs, not on pollution, but on the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants?
Here’s why it could be: In agreeing to review Moore v. Harper, the Supreme Court is taking up a case that could give state legislatures sole authority over the conduct of federal elections. If that happens, even the most extreme partisan gerrymandering and voter suppression could be deemed just dandy by state lawmakers, no matter what a state’s constitution or supreme court says.
And if that’s what the court decides, there will be no need to storm the U.S. Capitol to overturn the 2024 election. That’s because any state legislature could simply decide to replace the electors chosen by the popular vote with its own slate, just as former President Donald Trump and Rudy Guiliani pressured state lawmakers in Arizona to do after Trump lost in 2020.
Republican Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers testified under oath before the Jan. 6 committee that another Trump lawyer, John Eastman, urged him to unilaterally hold a vote to decertify and replace Arizona’s real electors. “Just do it and let the court sort it out,” Bowers said Eastman told him.
If the Supreme Court turned unchecked control of federal elections over to state lawmakers, how could any court “sort out” such power grabs?
The North Carolina case the court agreed to review concerns a GOP-engineered redistricting that the state Supreme Court rejected as having “subordinated traditional neutral redistricting criteria in favor of extreme partisan advantage.” Of course, Republicans want that map reinstated.
It’s also Republicans, who not incidentally control 30 state legislatures, who have been pushing the idea that the U.S. Supreme Court should review something called the independent state legislature theory.
The Election Clause of the U.S. Constitution says the “Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations.”
Until now, the power of state legislatures to follow purely partisan impulses has been checked by courts. The Supreme Court has never recognized the Constitution’s election clause as bestowing unfettered control on state lawmakers.
As explained by New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, disagreement over how to read the clause “hinges on how to understand the word ‘legislature.’ The long-running understanding is that it refers to each state’s general lawmaking processes, including all the normal procedures and limitations. So if a state constitution subjects legislation to being blocked by a governor’s veto or citizen referendum, election laws can be blocked via the same means. And state courts must ensure that laws for federal elections, like all laws, comply with their state constitutions.”
But “proponents of the independent state legislature theory reject this traditional reading,” insisting instead that the Constitution gives “state legislatures exclusive and near-absolute power to regulate federal elections. The result? When it comes to federal elections, legislators would be free to violate the state constitution and state courts couldn’t stop them.”
Those proponents include Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch.
In North Carolina, state lawmakers themselves passed a law decades ago that gave state courts explicit authority to review redistricting plans.
But the question of whether the court would dare to undermine democracy, and whatever is left of its own credibility, has already been answered. Justices who once said that Roe was “an important precedent of the Supreme Court,” as Alito did at his confirmation hearing, or that it was “settled law,” as Brett Kavanaugh told Sen. Susan Collins it was, would absolutely dare.
Justice Elena Kagan, in her dissent on the climate regulation case decided last week, wrote that “The Court appoints itself — instead of Congress or the expert agency — the decision-maker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening.”
Unfortunately, we can. Because the idea that this term was only a preview, as Thomas promised in the abortion case, is more frightening still.
© The Sacramento Bee
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John Fetterman calls for assault weapons ban after July 4th parade massacre
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Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman on Tuesday voiced support for a federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines following multiple shootings over the long holiday weekend, including one that left six dead and dozens wounded in a Chicago suburb.
"Gisele and I are heartbroken for the victims of these shootings and their families," Fetterman said in a statement. "We wish both law enforcement officers who were injured in the Philadelphia shooting a safe and quick recovery."
"Democrats in the Senate need to scrap the filibuster and immediately pass common-sense reform."
"There is a sad irony about our country experiencing multiple mass shootings on a day that is meant to celebrate its greatness and our freedom," said Fetterman, who is taking on millionaire television personality Mehmet Oz in the race for Pennsylvania's open U.S. Senate seat, a critical race for Democrats as they seek to keep and expand their narrow majority in the upper chamber.
“The unfortunate reality is that yesterday's shooting was not an outlier," said the Democratic candidate, who is currently serving as Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor. "Just several weekends ago in Philadelphia, three people were killed and 12 were shot in one of the city's most vibrant areas, which is a stark reminder that no one and nowhere is immune to gun violence. And while these shootings receive national attention, they pale in comparison to the relentless gun violence afflicting people in their neighborhoods every day."
"We cannot and must not become numb to this ever-increasing gun violence," he continued. "Washington needs to act and take on the NRA by shutting down and prosecuting gun dealers whose weapons routinely wind up at crime scenes. Democrats in the Senate need to scrap the filibuster and immediately pass common-sense reform like universal background checks for all gun sales and a ban on military-grade assault weapons and high capacity magazines."
Despite the proposal's overwhelming popularity with the U.S. public, congressional lawmakers excluded an assault-weapons ban from recently approved compromise gun legislation due to GOP opposition.
In contrast to Fetterman's outspoken support for gun control legislation, Oz has campaigned as a fervent opponent of what he's called "liberal gun grabs" and touted his status as "a member of the National Rifle Association."
When he faced criticism from his GOP primary opponents earlier this year over his past statements supporting gun-safety measures, Oz released an ad declaring, "When people say I won't support guns, they're dead wrong."
https://www.rawstory.com/fetterman-calls-for-weapons-ban-after-july-4th-parade-massacre/
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The GOP tax scam wouldn't just raise taxes on Pennsylvanians, the tax scam would raise taxes on Americans in all 50 states plus ending Social Security as well.
EXCLUSIVE: A Republican Plan to Raise Taxes on Pennsylvanians and Potentially End Social Security and Medicare is Massively Unpopular, Poll Shows
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Florida Sen. Rick Scott introduced a plan that would raise taxes and could end Social Security and Medicare for more than 2.8 million Pennsylvanians and eliminate Medicaid coverage for 3.5 million residents.
Did you know that the Republican senator in charge of winning back control of the Senate for his party introduced a plan to increase taxes on millions of Pennsylvanians and put Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act in jeopardy?
If you answered ‘no,’ you’re not alone. According to a new Courier Newsroom/Data for Progress poll, 94% of likely voters said they have heard little or nothing at all about Florida Sen. Rick Scott’s 60-page plan to “Rescue America,” with 72% hearing nothing at all.
When voters learn about Scott’s plan though, they overwhelmingly oppose it, with 71% of respondents, including 62% of Republicans, opposing Scott’s plan. Only 15% of likely voters support the plan.
When voters learn about Scott’s plan though, they overwhelmingly oppose it, with 71% of respondents, including 62% of Republicans, opposing Scott’s plan. Only 15% of likely voters support the plan.
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w=1400&fm=webp)
Such opposition is not exactly surprising, since the Republican’s plan would raise taxes on tens of millions of Americans and “sunset” all federal legislation in five years, requiring Congress to re-authorize every federal law, including those governing Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. This could create an opening for Republicans—who have long sought to undermine the programs—to ultimately kill them.
If Scott’s plan were to become law, it could:
- End Social Security and Medicare for more than 2.8 million Pennsylvanians
- End Medicaid coverage for 3.5 million residents
- Raise taxes on 36% of people in the state, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
- Raise taxes on 51% of small businesses in the state, with the typical business paying an extra $800 per year in taxes, according to a White House analysis.
“The Republican plan is a slap in the face to the many Pennsylvania seniors who have been paying into Medicare and Social Security for decades, not to mention the working Pensylvanians that could be targeted under a Republican tax hike,” said Pennsylvania Democratic Party Spokesperson, Rosie Lapowsky. “The contrast is clear: while President Biden and Democrats have cut taxes for working families and laid out a plan to lower costs, Republicans are running on an agenda that would force Pennsylvanians to pay more.”
Scott—who in 2018 was worth $260 million—has defended his plan, even as it could have potentially devastating consequences for seniors, families, and the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians.
The survey of 1,110 likely voters, which was conducted from April 30 to May 3, 2022 also shows that the proposal from the Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee—the “only national organization dedicated to taking back the Senate majority”—could be electoral poison for Republicans.
Forty-seven percent of independent voters said Scott’s plan would make them less likely to vote for Republican candidates for Congress in November, while only 12% said it would make them more likely to vote for him and 41% said it wouldn’t impact their choice.
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https://keystonenewsroom.com/story/exclusive-a-republican-plan-to-raise-taxes-on-pennsylvanians-and-potentially-end-social-security-and-medicare-is-massively-unpopular-poll-shows/
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Charlie Crist internal poll shows him with a consistent, insurmountable lead
A new internal poll from Charlie Crist’s campaign shows he maintains a strong lead in the Governor’s race.
The poll from GBAO Strategies shows 55% of likely Democratic Primary voters favor Crist, a Democratic Congressman and former Governor. Only 34% favor Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. That gives Crist a lead well outside pollsters’ 4% margin of error. It also shows Crist winning greater than a majority of the vote, and with just 11% of voters undecided, indicating no path to victory for Fried without winning peeling a substantial number of voters from Crist.
GBAO also said it has found consistent majority support for Crist among Democratic voters throughout 2022. The campaign in February released a GBAO poll with Crist at 54%, Fried at 28% and state Sen. Annette Taddeo at 7%. Taddeo has since left the Governor’s race to run for Congress and endorsed Crist.
GBAO pollsters also showed January polling data pitting Crist and Fried head-to-head and found 56% preferred Crist and 33% wanted Fried to win the nomination. That’s virtually the same state of the race the firm found testing the electorate less than two months from the Aug. 23 Primary.
As far as the current polling, GBAO found Crist leading all demographics. He leads among Black voters 58% to 31%, among Whites 55% to 36% and among Hispanics 48% to 38%.
Despite the prospect of Fried becoming Florida’s first female Governor, Crist leads among women 55% to 35%, about the same as his 55% to 34% performance among men.
And Crist seems to have rallied support within the prominent ideological wings of the party, according to the internal survey. Pollsters found 54% of moderates and 53% of liberals say they prefer Crist, as do 64% of conservative Democrats.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/535997-charlie-crist-internal-poll-shows-him-with-a-consistent-insurmountable-lead/
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New York Republican drops out of state Senate race — and quits the GOP
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On Wednesday, local news outlet WGRZ reported that former Republican Erie County Executive Joel Giambra has suspended his campaign for New York state Senate — and left the Republican Party altogether.
"In an email sent to friends and supporters, Giambra said he, 'can no longer remain a Republican or continue with my campaign to seek the Republican nomination for Senator in the 61st District,'" said the report.
Giambra first began his campaign in February, with an endorsement from the Erie County Republican Party.
"I cannot stand with party leaders who double down in their support of the NRA after yet another mass shooting; who applaud the decision to take away a woman's right to choose and who encourage the elimination of LGBQ rights; and who still believe that Donald Trump is their president," wrote Giambra in his explanation for why he is changing his party affiliation.
This comes a few months after New Hampshire state Rep. William Marsh renounced the GOP and defected to the Democratic Party, citing Republicans' promotion of anti-vaccine propaganda as the reason for his defection.
It also comes as several Republicans in Pennsylvania are planning to endorse Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro for governor, revolting against far-right nominee Doug Mastriano.
https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/politics/joel-giambra-suspends-campaign-for-nys-senate-election-buffalo-erie-county/71-47edcd58-29d5-46f6-8cac-743729432ad9
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So, even Republicans in Pennsylvania know that Doug Mastriano is a far right wing religious extremist who will do incredible damage to the state if he becomes Governor. Several Republicans are endorsing Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, over Mastriano for Governor.
Trump's radical MAGA candidates all over the country are just as extreme as Mastriano and will do incredible damage if they are elected to office. These people have no platform to run on except to peddle insane QAnon conspiracy theories and pledge their loyalty to Trump. None of these people have any qualifications to hold a government position and it's why Republicans are going against these far right radicals.
All Trump asks of these people is to peddle his lies and conspiracies and be extremely loyal to him. After they take a pledge to be loyal to Trump, he will then back them as a candidate. That's why Republicans who have had enough of Trump and this radical MAGA insanity, are either leaving the party altogether, or are endorsing the rival Democrat to bring back sanity in politics.
Pennsylvania Dem to get 'wave of Republican endorsements' as GOP fractures over gubernatorial nominee
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Doug Mastriano is seen as too extreme and radical for some Republicans
On Wednesday, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democratic nominee for governor, is set to receive endorsements from key Republicans as the party divides over their controversial nominee.
"A group of Pennsylvania Republicans with long records in government and politics will form a super PAC Wednesday to support state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democratic nominee for governor, in a rejection of the GOP nominee, State Sen. Doug Mastriano," reported Chris Brennan. "Republicans for Shapiro will be chaired by former U.S. Rep. Jim Greenwood, a Bucks County Republican who in 2020 organized a similar effort to oppose then-President Donald Trump’s bid for a second term. That comes as Shapiro is expected to announce Wednesday a 'first wave of Republican endorsements,' including Greenwood."
“I think he’s an extreme, dangerous guy who is out of touch with the majority of the people in Pennsylvania,” Greenwood said of Mastriano, adding that Shapiro is "a very bright, very thoughtful, mainstream man of good character."
"Shapiro is expected to also announce Republican endorsements from former U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, who represented a Lehigh Valley district; former Montgomery County Republican Party chair Ken Davis; former state Supreme Court Justice Sandra Schultz Newman of Montgomery County; former state House Speaker Denny O’Brien of Philadelphia; Lawrence County Commission Chair Morgan Boyd; and three more former state legislators," said the report.
Mastriano, who defeated a crowded field of candidates in the gubernatorial primary, has repeatedly come under controversy. He has baselessly claimed the 2020 presidential election was stolen and was present at the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — although he has tried to downplay his involvement. He has also said he would ban abortion even in cases where pregnancy is life-threatening, compared gun safety laws to Nazism, has worked with supporters of the far-right and anti-Semitic QAnon movement, and has ties to "Rod of Iron Ministries," a cult-like church that believes the AR-15 is a holy instrument ordained by God.
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Mastriano immediately prior to his win, during a period when he was concerned he'd be humiliated by his Senate choice in Pennsylvania, celebrity medical talk show host Dr. Mehmet Oz, losing out to a dark horse candidate. Ultimately, Oz won his contest too, and is now facing Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in November.
Read More Here:
https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/josh-shapiro-doug-mastriano-governor-republicans-endorsements-20220706.html
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Brand new polling in the Ohio Senate race shows Democrat Tim Ryan opening up a 9 point lead over far right wing radical Trump backed stooge J.D. Vance.
Tim Ryan (D) 43% (+9)
J.D. Vance (R) 34%
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Reagan lawyer: Republicans expanding ‘slow-motion coup’ as they try to ‘repeal the 20th century’
Reagan White House Solicitor General Charles Fried explained how Republicans are conducting a "slow-motion coup" during a Wednesday appearance on MSNBC.
"Our next guest was four years old when he fled Czechoslovakia with his family in 1939 to escape Nazi terror," MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell reported. "Twenty-two years later, he became a Harvard Law professor."
O'Donnell noted that now-Justice Samuel Alito worked for Fried and he testified at John Roberts confirmation that the nominee was "too smart a lawyer to overturn Roe vs. Wade."
O'Donnell noted a November op-ed Fried wrote for The New York Times titled, "I Once Urged the Supreme Court to Overturn Roe. I’ve Changed My Mind."
"To overturn Roe now would be an act of constitutional vandalism — not conservative, but reactionary," Fried wrote.
O'Donnell put an email on-screen that Fried sent to his producer.
"Unions, religion, second amendment, abortion, campaign finance, gerrymandering, regulation of elections. All this is an attempt in the last ten years or so to repeal the 20th century," he wrote. "The greatest threat next term: the 'independent legislature clause' case from North Carolina which would produce a slow-motion coup d'état."
Fried expanded on his analysis.
"What the court is going to have next term, they're gonna start in the fall on this issue and that is, when a state legislature picks electors, the state supreme court cannot do anything about it, because the constitution says that the regulation of electors is supposed to be done by the independent legislature," he explained. "Now, for decades, that has been understood to mean the whole legislative process in a state which includes, of course, the state supreme court."
He explained how such a U.S. Supreme Court ruling would make state gerrymandering of legislative districts even worse.
"North Carolina, which is the case involved, is a hideously gerrymandering," he explained. "The population is half registered Republican, half registered Democrat, but its 13-person congressional delegation is ten Republicans, three Democrats," he said. "And when the head of the legislative committee was asked, 'How did you do that? How come you did this?' 'Because we couldn't think of any way to get just two Democrats.' Now, this is what would be the coup d'état, because these gerrymandered state legislatures in all of the swing states – Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia — would then be able to send the electives -- the electors they choose, not the electors chosen by the people. and there is nothing that could be done about it."
In the over 50 years he has been at Harvard Law, he taught Criminal Law, Commercial Law, Roman Law, Torts, Contracts, Labor Law, Constitutional Law and Federal Courts, Appellate and Supreme Court Advocacy.
Watch below:
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Kari Lake is ‘exactly what the GOP does not want’ as fears grow of ‘Trump triumvirate’ in Arizona
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"Ultra MAGA" Arizona candidate for governor Kari Lake's campaign is facing difficulty with two critical demographics as fears grow about the ramifications of her winning the nomination or governor's mansion.
On Tuesday, conservative Washington Post columnist Henry Olsen argued that it would be awful news for Republicans if Lake were to become the GOP standard-bearer.
"Early voting for Arizona’s primary elections started on Tuesday. Republicans can do something good for their country and party by defeating Kari Lake," he wrote. "There are also questions about whether she believes her own messaging. Former representative Matt Salmon, one of her Republican opponents who recently dropped out of the race, has detailed a number of flip-flops and inconsistencies she made. Her major foe, businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson, calls her 'Fake Lake.' She’s being hammered for donating money to the campaigns of Democratic presidential nominees John Kerry and Barack Obama and for allegedly attending drag queen shows while criticizing them on the campaign trail."
Olson, a former GOP political consultant, noted that Lake's defining position is her election denialism and said that focus is "exactly what the GOP does not want" with Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs as the expected Democratic Party nominee.
"Imagine what would happen in her first debate with Hobbs. The first thing Hobbs would almost certainly ask is, 'Do you think I stole the 2020 election for Joe Biden?' Lake has to say yes, or she will sink her own credibility. That’s when Hobbs could deliver the coup de grace: 'So you’re saying that Biden won because I stole the race rather than because tens of thousands of independent Arizonans decided Trump wasn’t doing the job?' Again, Lake can’t admit the truth without sinking herself. That personally insults all the Arizonans whose votes actually shaped the 2018 and 2020 elections," he explained.
Lake's nomination may not just cost Republicans the governor's mansion, Olson argued it "could also sink the Republican nominee in Arizona’s marquee Senate race, which could decide who controls that crucial body."
"Arizona Republicans can’t take that risk. They should instead give Kari a clear message: Go jump in the lake," he urged.
Independent voters were also warned on Wednesday that Lake's nomination may also not be in their best interests by Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts.
"With just 27 days until Election Day and polls now open, Kari Lake maintains a five-point lead in the Republican race for governor, according to new polling. Or put another way, Karrin Taylor Robson is now within striking distance in a one-on-one matchup that is a statistical dead heat, given the poll’s margin of error. [If] you are one of the legions of independent voters who takes a pass on primary elections, now would be a very good time to reconsider," Roberts wrote.
She noted that Arizona's election laws are "designed to discourage" the participation of independent voters in partisan primaries.
"The good news is, there is still time for independents to request a ballot. Still time to have a say in whether the Trump triumvirate – Kari Lake (governor), Blake Masters (Senate) and Mark Finchem (secretary of state) – will be on the ballot in November. Or possibly in office come January," she explained. "If independents do turn out, it’s hard to see them turning out en masse for Lake, whose campaign is fueled more by outrage and theatrics than by any suggestion that she's ready to run a fast growing state of 7.2 million people. She has endorsed candidates who show an appalling tendency to pal around with white nationalists. (See: Rep. Paul Gosar and state Sen. Wendy Rogers.)"
July 22 the deadline to request an early ballot for the August 2 primary.
Read More Here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/06/please-republicans-dont-nominate-kari-lake-arizona-governor/
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President Biden @POTUS
I've worked, including through Test to Treat, to expand access to Paxlovid, a pill shown to curb the worst effects of COVID-19.
Now, in addition to doctors and providers, the FDA announced pharmacists with your medical information can prescribe Paxlovid to patients.
I promised I'd fight like hell to protect union workers.
The American Rescue Plan's Special Financial Assistance program represents millions of union pensions protected, one of the most significant achievements for union workers and retirees in fifty years, and a promise kept.
The American Rescue Plan re-opened 99% of schools, helped create over 8 million jobs, and sparked the fastest economic growth in decades.
And today, with the Special Financial Assistance program, it will protect the pension benefits of millions of union workers and retirees.
I promised I would be the most pro-union president in our history.
That’s another promise I am keeping.
Imagine working 40 or 50 years. Working hard. Doing everything right to provide for your family. And your pension goes insolvent through no fault of your own.
I did something about it.
The Butch Lewis Act will keep multiemployer plans solvent for decades to come – until 2051.
Tune in as I join union workers and retirees in Cleveland, Ohio to announce the final rule implementing the American Rescue Plan’s Special Financial Assistance program that will protect pension benefits for millions of union workers and retirees.
https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1ypJdEEzZkqxW
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Joe Biden in Cleveland visit touts pension fix while knocking GOP lawmakers on economy
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CLEVELAND, Ohio – President Joe Biden said Wednesday during a Cleveland stop touting a Democratic-backed fix to multiemployer pension funds that social security, Medicare and Medicaid could be in jeopardy if Republicans take back control of Congress and the White House.
During an afternoon appearance at Max S. Hayes High School on the West Side, Biden trumpeted provisions to the American Rescue Plan to keep at-risk pensions solvent through at least 2051 while also using the official White House visit to knock GOP lawmakers for refusing to support the legislation. He also warned that Republicans could target cuts to other benefits programs should they experience massive gains in upcoming elections.
Speaking to a group of hundreds of union workers and supporters, Biden announced the finalization of a rule providing nearly $90 billion for the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation which would help shore up multiemployer pensions for union retirees. Biden, along with several others who joined him on stage, called it one of the biggest victories for union workers in the past 50 years.
“A lot of politicians like to talk about how they’re going to do something about it,” he said. “I’m here today to say we’ve done something about it.”
The pension fix, which was originally introduced as the Butch Lewis Act before being included in Biden and the Democrats’ economic stimulus plan, will help stave off any cuts to the pension plans that could have come about as the PBGC, which insures pension plans, was barreling toward insolvency in 2026.
Now, millions of workers, including an estimated 100,000 Ohioans, will have their pension benefits guaranteed as well as any lost benefits retroactively returned.
The pension plans increasingly stumbled toward trouble during economic downturns when investments tanked coupled with more retirees drawing benefits as companies hired fewer workers. The coronavirus pandemic worsened the situation as some companies that were losing money stopped contributing to retirement plans.
Biden said it was only fair to guarantee the benefits for workers, many of whom gave up salary increases during collective bargaining for future benefits.
“The reality is for so many people is the goalposts keep moving,” Biden said.
Biden also criticized Republicans in Washington for voting against the plan. Members of the party called the pensions “ratholes” as it moved through Congress, he said.
Biden was joined on stage by Sen. Sherrod Brown, a longtime champion of the Butch Lewis Act, as well as Reps. Shontel Brown of Warrensville Heights and Marcy Kaptur of Toledo. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and Rep. Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, also accompanied the president.
Brown, too, chastised Republicans for not supporting the fix to pensions while prioritizing tax cuts for corporations. He credited grassroots efforts by union workers and retirees for pressuring Democrats in Washington to pass a pension fix.
“This is for you,” Brown said to the crowd. “This is our commitment to you: With this president in the United States of America, we keep our promises to working class families.”
Aside from announcing the new rule, the president, who has faced lagging approval numbers as the midterm elections draw closer, used much of his speech to outright attack GOP politicians for what he described as a failure to protect workers and the middle class.
He also painted his first 18 months in office as a success, especially given where the country was during the final year of Republican President Donald Trump’s one term as the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the country.
“Families and cars backed up for miles waiting for a box of food to be put in their trunk because they didn’t have enough to eat. The previous administration lost more jobs on his watch than any administration since Herbert Hoover. That’s a fact. All based on failed trickle-down economics.”
Biden also blamed Republicans for holding up investments into Ohio as part of the Intel deal. Both Biden and Republican Gov. Mike DeWine have promoted the deal to build a massive microchip plant in central Ohio as progress on the economic front. The project is expected to bring more than 7,000 jobs to the state.
Biden said Republicans were holding up another $100 million in federal investments in Ohio. The stalled funding, which is part of the CHIPS Act, has publicly frustrated Intel, who canceled a ceremonial groundbreaking scheduled for July as a message to lawmakers.
Biden’s Ohio visit is his latest since May when he appeared in Cincinnati at a town hall to boost additive manufacturing. In February, he came to Lorain County to promote money for Great Lakes cleanup included in the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
AFP
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Patrick De Haan @GasBuddyGuy
GOOD NEWS: in the days and weeks ahead we're going to see hundreds, nay, thousands of stations falling back under $4 per gallon.
to clarify and set expectations- most of the stations that could fall to $3.99 or less will be in states like SC, GA, MS, LA, AR, TX, AL, TN, NC...
https://twitter.com/GasBuddyGuy/status/1544727964025241600
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Republican Rep. Debbie Lesko of Arizona said during a House floor debate, that she would "shoot her own grandchildren as a last resort in order to protect them". Yes, she actually said that. Is this going to be the new GOP 2022 message? So much for being "Pro Life".
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1544807285544861699
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Fascist Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is going to control schools and Universities the way HE wants it to be. A Governor has no business controlling how a school can operate. And if anybody agrees with that, you clearly do not support freedom and privacy, as you want to be controlled by a right wing fanatic. This is how leaders in countries like Russia, Hungary, and North Korea rule, they control what can be taught in schools and control what teachers can say. That is not having freedom, that is called oppression, in which you are being controlled by an individual on how HE wants to rule your life.
White supremacists like Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott do not want slavery being taught in schools which is basically what our country was founded on and why we fought the Civil War. So, they come up with buzzwords like "WOKE" and "CRT" known as "Critical Race Theory" to make it appear educators are doing something wrong in the classroom. Then they claim "this needs to be stopped" and they implement these bogus laws prohibiting American history from being taught in schools. Slavery has been taught in schools since the 1800's. Black leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. have been discussed in classrooms since he was assassinated in 1968. But right wing fascists like Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott have a problem with these subjects being taught in schools, so they made these oppressive laws against schools and teachers from even discussing these topics. They want to eliminate slavery and black leaders from being discussed since it goes against their racist ideology. They want to pretend slavery, Jim Crow, and racism never happened in America. So, they call it "woke" and "Critical Race Theory" as they ban books that contain these subjects and will punish teachers who discuss it. This is fascism folks, the state is controlling schools by erasing the history they don't like. Once you allow this to happen, the state can control anything they want.
Once they start with the schools, that opens the door for them to control other aspects of your life. Maybe they want to control what you do at work or what you do in your private lives. Maybe they don't think you really need that Social Security check or those VA benefits and take them away from you. After all, this one person gets to decide what's best for your life in a fascist oppressive society. You no longer have a choice in the matter when you are being controlled.
Once you allow fascists to get a foot in the door by controlling what we can do, you can bet they will forge ahead with more oppressive laws.
This is fascism folks, and no democracy has the state controlling what you can do in schools or in any area of your life. This is just a test run in Florida and in red states. If Republicans ever control Congress again, they will implement these fascist oppressive laws all across America where they will decide how you can live your own life. This is their far right wing "Christian Nationalism" they feel every American must abide by. These laws are being shoved through in red states, and if Republicans have full power, they will make these religious laws federal in all 50 states. The Supreme Court took away women's rights based on their evangelical religion, as they gave a middle finger to our Founding Fathers and Constitution which explicitly says that we have a "separation of church and state". If you give them more power, they will use that power to implement more religious oppressive laws. These radicals do not care about our Constitution or democracy, they want us to be ruled by how they believe we should live our lives. They want to control us.
Republicans have already banned books, targeted groups they don't like with hate laws, and are forcing women to give birth even if it kills them. This is all based on their radical extreme religion, and they are implementing these laws on their religion. They feel their "Christian Nationalism" is superior to anything else and all of us must follow what they tell us to do. Again, this is not democracy or freedom, when a minority of religious fanatics are controlling us. We as American citizens no longer have a choice under a fascist oppressive society and they have already begun their control against us.
Republicans are now talking about eliminating Social Security. And of course they will eliminate it because they will decide what's best for you in a fascist oppressive society. You no longer have choices, freedoms, or a right to privacy when you allow yourself to be controlled by the state.
Educators sound the alarm on DeSantis' classroom censorship
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In his latest effort to regulate higher education, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation back in April that will allow the state to oversee the inner workings of universities, or what DeSantis referred to as a "hotbed for stale ideologies." The series of regulations, collectively called the "Stop W.O.K.E. Act," took effect on July 1st and includes changes to the tenure system, the abolishment of widely accepted accreditation practices, and mandatory yearly "viewpoint diversity surveys" — perhaps the most controversial part of the new regime. The law also places a ban on training focused on race or diversity in schools and in the workplace.
"It used to be thought that a university campus was a place where you'd be exposed to a lot of different ideas," DeSantis said at a press conference earlier this year. "Unfortunately, now the norm is, these are more intellectually repressive environments. You have orthodoxies that are promoted, and other viewpoints are shunned or even suppressed."
The "Stop W.O.K.E. Act," where "W.O.K.E." stands for "Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees," falls in line with the right wing's nationwide campaign to rid public education of "critical race theory."
DeSantis, who himself attended Yale and then Harvard Law School, has been a longtime critic of elite universities that he believes have become "repressive environments" for conservative thinking and ideas. At its inception, DeSantis championed the legislation as a strong stand against what he saw as state-sanctioned critical race theory. "We won't allow Florida tax dollars to be spent teaching kids to hate our country or to hate each other," he said.
"I also want Florida to be known as a brick wall against all things 'woke,'" DeSantis said back in February. "This is where 'woke' goes to die."
Since Friday, when the law went into effect, the "Stop W.O.K.E. Act" has already faced strong legal challenges. Led by Associate Professor Robert Cassanello at the University of Central Florida, critics argue that the law violates teachers' constitutional rights.
"The governor, and the Florida Legislature acting at his behest, has repeatedly sought to punish companies who have engaged in speech that displeases him, in flagrant violation of the First Amendment," the preliminary motion filed on last week read.
A professor of the civil rights movement, Jim Crow America, emancipation, and reconstruction, Cassanello is worried that the regulations will restrict his ability to fully teach his courses. DeSantis' new law restricts the "ability to accurately and fully teach these subjects," he said.
Cassanello's institution, the University of Central Florida, withdrew its anti-racism statement after the law went into effect.
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A U.S. District judge is expected to rule on the lawsuit soon.
After the initial passage of the act, several Florida legislators came out strongly against the governor's attack on higher education.
Member of the Florida State Senate Bobby Powell sees the legislation as an attempt to suppress the history of people of color. "You cannot discuss Robert E. Lee, or George Wallace, or Selma or Charlottesville without context…Slavery happened. Hangings happened. Burnings happened. Massacres happened. Jim Crow happened. George Floyd happened. And no amount of legislative banishments can erase those uncomfortable facts," Powell said.
Even amid the lawsuit, Florida's state government started approving mechanisms to enforce the new legislation this week. The board is working on passing penalties for university employees who do not go along with the new regulations. Additionally, the implementation will now tie state university funding to compliance.
Depending on how the judge rules, this legislation could have large implications for other states.
In Texas, for example, Gov. Greg Abbott already passed a controversial bill in 2021 regulating the teaching of slavery and racism in PreK-12 classrooms and could take the passage of the "Stop W.O.K.E. Act" as a green light to continue to regulate education.
One of Cassanello's main concerns is that the nature of these "critical race theory" bans is so vague, making their future impact currently unknown. "People are really concerned about their freedom in the classroom," he said. "A lot of this legislation is unclear about where the lines are."
https://www.rawstory.com/educators-sound-the-alarm-on-desantis-classroom-censorship/
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Ken Paxton seeks to dismiss Texas bar’s lawsuit against him over his attempt to overturn the 2020 election
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking to dismiss a professional misconduct lawsuit filed by the state bar against him related to his legal challenge of the 2020 presidential election, court documents show.
In a court filing June 27, Paxton asked a district court in Collin County to dismiss the Texas State Bar’s lawsuit. The state’s top lawyer, a Republican who is seeking a third term in office, said state bar investigators are biased and politically motivated against him.
After the 2020 election, Paxton filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn elections in battleground states where former President Donald Trump, a Paxton ally, had lost. The Supreme Court eventually dismissed the suit, saying that Texas had no standing to sue.
The suit against Paxton last year came after a group of 16 lawyers, including four former state bar presidents, filed an ethics complaint against Paxton arguing that he demonstrated a pattern of professional misconduct, including filing the suit challenging the results of the 2020 elections.
In the court filing, Paxton said the state bar’s Commission for Lawyer Discipline, which filed the suit, had no authority to “police the decisions of a duly elected, statewide constitutional officer of the executive branch.” Paxton also stood by his decision to challenge the results of the 2020 election.
Paxton did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The Texas Tribune
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Gov. Greg Abbott’s lead over Beto O’Rourke narrows to 6 points in Texas, poll finds
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s lead over Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke narrowed to 6 points last month, according to a poll conducted by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. That’s a smaller gap than when Republican George W. Bush ousted Democrat Ann Richards in 1994 with a 7.6-point win.
Abbott’s unfavorability ratings are also the highest they’ve ever been at 44%, according to the poll, which was conducted after the deadliest school shooting in state history and almost entirely before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion.
Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project, said the mass shooting in Uvalde and scrutiny over how it was handled could have contributed to Abbott’s increased unfavorability, but it’s hard to say how much exactly.
The political poll did not include specific questions related to the shooting in Uvalde, but it did ask participants to rate Abbott’s performance on handling gun violence. About 36% of participants said they approve of how the governor has handled this issue, while 45% said they disapprove.
The mass shooting in Uvalde and the overturning of Roe v. Wade have laid the groundwork for a contentious final four months in the race to lead the state.
Mounting expectations over how the Supreme Court would rule on abortion access could be another factor that contributed to Abbott’s weakened ratings, Henson said. Although the poll ended the same day Roe v. Wade was overturned, it included questions about abortion access that show how voters feel regarding the issue. About 36% of participants said they approve of how Abbott has handled policies related to abortion access, and 46% said they disapprove.
Now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned and Texas is poised to completely outlaw abortion access, it will likely be a pivotal topic in the upcoming months, Henson said.
“If we look back at the half dozen times we’ve asked the standard abortion questions since 2014, no more than a quarter of Republicans have ever said that by law abortion should never be permitted,” he said.
Voters will see that reality reflected in how Abbott and O’Rourke discuss abortion access in the upcoming months, he said.
“In terms of that affecting the election, we can expect Democratic candidates to talk about this a lot, and we can expect Republican candidates to not want to talk about it very much,” Henson said.
AFP
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President Biden went on Twitter and demanded that oil companies bring down the prices at the pump and this new chart shows gas prices plummeted right after. Prices are set to decrease futher all across America in the coming days.
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President Biden @POTUS
With yesterday’s announcement that we’re implementing the Special Financial Assistance program, iron workers, bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers, truck drivers, food workers, and their union brothers and sisters will have the dignified retirement they earned and deserve.
We have to remember who is the backbone of this country.
The American worker.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1545094219324350470
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Tim Ryan addresses business in Wapakoneta
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WAPAKONETA — Ohio Congressman and Senate candidate, Tim Ryan, visited Flex Machine Tools in Wapakoneta on Thursday to discuss the future of business in America. Congressman Ryan is touring Ohio to meet people across the state and talk about his plans to reinvest and create more opportunities to “cut workers in on the deal.”
Ryan met with team members from Flex Machine Tools to have a roundtable discussion about their company. According to their website, “Flex Machine Tools is a growth company disguised as a manufacturing company. Though some of our products have been around for decades, we’re constantly innovating, testing, collaborating and challenging ourselves to be pioneers of tool automation solutions.”
"You can’t be pro-worker without being pro-business. Someone has to take the risk make the investment, hire the people and ultimately invest in the future,” said Ryan. “To me, we have to start working together if we are going to dominate these industries. If we are not doing the next best thing we are eventually going to lose. Business, labor, government and workforce development all have to be on the same page.”
“This tour is about seeing advanced and next-generation manufacturing happening right here in Ohio,” Ryan added. “We are excited about it. These are the jobs and industries of the future. We want to highlight, grow and expand them so we create more jobs. In the coming decades, it will create more stability in Ohio.”
Congressman Ryan had planned visits to Cincinnati, Dayton, Wapakoneta and Bowling Green. He met with multiple different agencies including Ohio Nurses Association, Black-Owned Small Businesses and Young Voters. He plans to meet with the Small Business owners in Toledo and the Ohio Veterans in Cleveland later this week.
Congressman Tim Ryan is currently a Representative in the House and is running against JD Vance to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Current Senator Rob Portman announced he would not seek re-election after his current term ends which leaves a Senate seat open in Ohio this coming election.
Elections will be held on November 8th.
https://www.limaohio.com/news/515423/tim-ryan-addresses-business-in-wapakoneta
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The Biden Boom continues as another fantastic jobs report has been released for June 2022.
372,000 jobs were created beating the 250,000 estimate. What President Biden has done is truly remarkable. No other President in history has created this many jobs in a year and a half. Over 9 million jobs have been created since Biden has taken over. Unemployment continues to stay at a record low 3.6%. And gas prices continues to fall for 23 days in a row.
Payrolls increased 372,000 in June, more than expected
Job growth accelerated at a much faster pace than expected in June, indicating that the main pillar of the U.S. economy remains strong.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 372,000 in the month, better than the 250,000 Dow Jones estimate and continuing what has been a strong year for job growth, according to data Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The unemployment rate was 3.6%, unchanged from May and in line with estimates.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/08/jobs-report-june-2022-.html
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Patrick De Haan @GasBuddyGuy
Today, Americans will be spending ~$115 million less on gasoline than we did 24 days ago. #GasPrices have fallen an average of 30c/gal since then.
Yesterday's 2.6c/gal decline in the national average tied for the FOURTH largest single day drop in the last decade, just after seeing the second largest single day drop the day before. National average now $4.722/gal, down 11 cents in a week.
https://twitter.com/GasBuddyGuy/status/1545389165826678787
After hitting all-time highs, gas prices are finally coming back down
Oil prices are tumbling amid fears of a global recession.
Fears of a global economic slowdown have sent oil prices tumbling recently, less than a month after the national average price of gas in the U.S. reached $5 a gallon for the first time.
Since they hit the milestone the week of June 13, average weekly gas prices have fallen to about $4.75, according to AAA.
The price of worldwide benchmark Brent crude oil fell to about $104 a barrel Thursday, down from nearly $115 last week and well off the highs of nearly $140 briefly reached in March.
Central banks around the world, led by the U.S. Federal Reserve, have been seeking to curb inflation by aggressively raising interest rates. Monetary policy officials hope the higher rates will help cool demand by making it more expensive to borrow money — all while avoiding a recession, an outcome observers say is far from guaranteed.
"All this talk of [higher] interest rates and recession — that's fear, the oil market is reacting on fear," AAA.com spokesperson Andrew Gross said. "It's kind of like the stock market: You have these incredible swings, when it sees rising rates or talk of recession, a global recession, that means an economic slowdown, which means less oil is being consumed. That's bad news for the oil industry. And that’s why prices have been dropping.”
Some analysts expect prices to fall further. Patrick De Haan, a vice president at the gasoline price tracking website GasBuddy.com, tweeted Thursday that recent oil price plunges could bring gasoline prices down to as low as $4.50 per gallon.
Oil industry analyst Andy Lipow said in a note to clients this week that gas prices could go even lower, at the cost of an overall economic slowdown. That's assuming a hurricane doesn’t affect oil markets, he said.
"I have been through six oil price crashes during my career in the oil industry, a recession could trigger a seventh," he wrote.
Because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, oil traders aren’t accessing Russian oil supplies, creating a shortage that has helped push prices higher this year. A recession, Lipow said, could reverse the trend.
"The consumer would get cheaper gasoline at the expense of a slowing economy," Lipow said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/energy/hitting-time-highs-gas-prices-are-finally-coming-back-rcna37107
After the Biden and Bezos war of words, gas prices really are coming back down to earth
After hovering near the $5 mark for a while, the average price of gas could fall to $4 per gallon by mid-August, analysts predict.
Gas prices have been retreating from their highs last month for a couple of weeks now. AAA reports the average price per gallon currently stands at $4.75 nationwide, a 16-cent drop from a month ago. Wednesday’s drop of 2.8 cents per gallon was the second largest single-day drop in the last decade.
The decline comes on the heels of a Twitter feud between Jeff Bezos and President Joe Biden. Four days ago, the Amazon founder slammed Biden for his tweet calling on gas companies to lower prices at the pump.
That spat, of course, wasn’t the catalyst for the dip in prices. Nor was Biden’s tweet, which read, “My message to the companies running gas stations and setting prices at the pump is simple: this is a time of war and global peril. Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you’re paying for the product. And do it now.”
Patrick De Haan, an analyst with GasBuddy, said Wednesday he expects most stations will see drops of one to two cents per gallon every couple of days for the next two to three weeks, possibly longer. If “things do hold steady,” he says, “the national average could drop to $4-$4.25/gal by mid-August.”
As of Thursday morning, GasBuddy found over 2,500 stations that were already charging less than $4 per gallon, a figure which could grow exponentially in the coming days.
The wild card, of course, is oil prices. Those have been falling fairly steadily since reaching recent peaks on June 8. On Wednesday, the price of WTI Crude fell below $100 for a brief period, though it has jumped back above that level today.
A hurricane in the Gulf or a sharp rise in oil prices tied to the stock market’s volatility could endanger the ongoing decline of the price at the pump. And another surge in demand could endanger the price drop. (July, says AAA, is typically the heaviest month for demand.)
If those obstacles are avoided, though, things could be a bit more manageable this fall, though they’ll still be higher than last year’s low- to mid-$3 range. DeHaan says stations in several states, including South Carolina, Georgia and Texas, could see prices fall below $4. (Indeed, some stations in those states are already below that point. At least one location in South Carolina is currently charging $3.80 per gallon.) And California will likely fall back under $6 per gallon, with some stations in that state dropping below $5 per gallon.
AFP
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Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio who claims to be a big "pro life" and "family values man" wrote this cruel and evil bill. He is up for re-election this year.
"In Rubio’s bill, when someone dies before reaching old age, all of the parental benefits they received during their life are deemed overpayments and the SSA makes their estate pay them back.”
Wow.
Same guy who wants to eliminate Social Security and Medicare for seniors.
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Late last month, Marco Rubio released what he described as a “pro-family framework following the Dobbs decision.” The actual content of the framework is recycled policies Rubio put out many years ago, but they perhaps deserve a second look, especially in light of Rubio’s new framing of them as pro-life benefits.
The Rubio framework has two main welfare benefits in it, the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and a parental leave program, which I will discuss in order below.
Child Tax Credit
Unlike the proposed Biden CTC or the child benefit proposed by Members Tlaib and Jones, the Rubio CTC is specifically designed to exclude poor families from the full CTC benefit and to ensure that the poorest families receive nothing at all from the program.
Rubio accomplishes this by making his CTC phase in based on family income, meaning that the more money you earn, the more CTC benefits you receive, up to a certain point. Because of this phase-in, new parents earning less than $29,412 per year are not eligible for the full $4,500 benefit and new parents with no earnings are eligible for absolutely nothing.
It is hard to understand how creating a child benefit that excludes the most desperate families is meant to be a “pro-life benefit” aimed at helping people who, post-Dobbs, are unable to receive abortion services. Abortion is most prevalent among young women with very low or no earnings, including many young women who are still in education. To these women, Rubio offers little to nothing. As is typical with supposedly pro-family Republicans, Rubio’s desire to crush the poor far exceeds any supposed interest he has in an “expansive” pro-life politics.
Parental Leave
Rubio’s parental leave program provides 3 months of leave benefits for new parents with the catch that any parent that claims them will have to undergo a reduction in their Social Security old-age benefits to offset what they received for parental leave. Specifically, the Rubio bill states that a parental leave beneficiary will, at retirement, be required to choose between paying those benefits back by having their Social Security check docked for 60 months or paying those benefits back by having every Social Security check docked until they die.
Requiring parents to pay back their leave benefits through lower old-age pension payments is bizarre for a lot of reasons. The benefits in question would cost very little and could almost certainly be funded by increasing the payroll tax by 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points. Is Rubio really so afraid of such a tiny tax bump that he’d rather concoct a complicated clawback scheme that reduces parental retirement income in direct proportion to the number of children a person has?
In 2014, Rubio used to talk a lot about something he called the “parent tax penalty,” which he said justified the creation of family welfare benefits:
It would also take aim at another pernicious distortion—the parent tax penalty—that is more prevalent, if less understood, even by its victims.
Today, parents are, in effect, double charged for the federal senior entitlement programs. They of course pay payroll taxes, like everyone else. But unlike adults without children, they also shoulder the financial burden of raising the next generation of taxpayers, who will grow up to fund the Social Security and Medicare benefits of all future seniors.
The “parent tax penalty” framing of this is a bit goofy, but the underlying idea here is obviously correct. Old-age benefits like Social Security and Medicare are kept afloat by the creation of future generations of workers, i.e. by having and raising children. This means that everyone who uses those programs, including those that never have children, benefit from the costs parents undertake to raise children. It stands to reason, then, that at least some of the costs of raising children should be socialized by the creation of benefit programs, like parental leave, that we all pay into.
But now eight years later, Rubio is proposing a parental leave program that only parents pay into and in which parental payments are literally assessed as reductions in old-age benefits! The very same old-age benefits that parents make possible for everyone by having and raising children are the ones Rubio wants parents, but not non-parents, to forego in order to finance parental leave. He is literally proposing a “parent tax penalty” collected through the old-age benefit system!
The funding mechanism for Rubio’s parental leave program has gotten the most attention, but there are other aspects of it that are even more odious and obviously at odds with the “pro-life” branding he’s now attached to it. Most glaringly, Rubio’s parental leave program excludes from eligibility anyone who has worked for less than two years. Parents who are still in education or just joined the workforce, which also describes many people who have abortions, will get absolutely no money from this program.
Lastly, buried in the bill text is another curious detail that so far nobody has noticed. In order for Rubio’s proposal to truly be budget-neutral, he needs the Social Security Administration (SSA) to be able to recover all of the parental leave benefits it pays out. For people who live long enough to claim Social Security, this is easy enough: the SSA recovers the leave benefits by docking their Social Security checks.
But what about people who die before they retire? How do you get the money back from them? In Rubio’s bill, when someone dies before reaching old age, all of the parental benefits they received during their life are deemed overpayments and the SSA makes their estate pay them back. So when mom or dad tragically dies a few years after having their third kid, the surviving spouse will have to send a big fat check to the SSA.
To me, this seems cruel.
https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2022/07/07/in-rubios-plan-your-estate-must-repay-your-parental-leave-benefits-if-you-die-early/
Rubio Parental Leave Proposal Would Weaken Social Security
In the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Senator Marco Rubio has renewed his deeply flawed proposal that would force parents to choose between the paid leave they need to care for new babies and their future Social Security benefits. That proposal, which he and Senator Mitt Romney originally introduced in 2019, would undercut Social Security’s benefits and structure, weakening the retirement security it offers workers. The United States needs paid leave, but it shouldn’t be financed by cutting Social Security benefits.
Under the Rubio proposal, parents opting for parental leave would face permanent cuts to their Social Security retirement benefits that ultimately would far exceed their parental leave benefits. The cuts would amount to their parental leave benefits plus decades of interest, as well as an additional reduction to cover the cost of the parental benefits provided to other parents who die or become disabled before they reach retirement and can’t repay their own leave benefits.
For example, parents with moderate incomes would receive about $5,300 in benefits on average for each three months of parental leave they take — but would then lose about $15,100 in lifetime retirement benefits (measured in 2018 dollars) for those three months of leave, according to the Urban Institute.
All told, this amounts to losing about 3 to 4 percent of lifetime Social Security retirement benefits for each three months of leave. So parents who take three periods of parental leave (after three births or adoptions) would lose roughly one-tenth of their lifetime Social Security retirement benefits.
(https://www.cbpp.org/sites/default/files/styles/report_580_high_dpi/public/2022-07/Rubio%20paid%20leave%20blog_f0.png?itok=IkDK1Vag)
The proposal would treat parental leave benefits like loans that accrue interest. For a typical worker who has her first child at age 27 and claims Social Security retirement benefits at the full retirement age of 67, interest would accrue for 40 years. Over such a long period, the amount of interest would ultimately exceed the amount of the benefit; in fact, the Urban Institute estimates that leave-takers would eventually pay back nearly four times as much as they received in leave benefits, on average. These cuts would weaken retirement security and impose the greatest hardship on women and workers of color, as they already face less secure retirement than others.
Using Social Security partly as a piggy bank rather than an insurance policy is central to the design of the Rubio proposal. Carrie Lukas, president of the Independent Women’s Forum — which first developed this approach — has written that getting workers to see Social Security as assets “to be used now or at retirement” is a first step toward partially privatizing Social Security.
At a time when many workers face shaky finances in retirement, policymakers shouldn’t weaken Social Security, which is most workers’ only source of guaranteed retirement income. Policymakers can provide paid leave without asking parents to sacrifice some of their retirement security. In fact, that’s what every existing state program does, by financing benefits with modest payroll tax contributions. It’s also what the overwhelming majority of workers prefer: when polled about the best funding mechanism for a national paid family and medical leave policy, just 3 percent of voters preferred drawing from the Social Security trust funds.
Parents should never be forced to choose between the paid leave they need and their hard-earned retirement security. Instead, we need a national, comprehensive paid family leave policy that is responsibly financed.
https://www.cbpp.org/blog/rubio-parental-leave-proposal-would-weaken-social-security
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Radical right wing Republicans on the courts are doing everything possible to make it harder for Americans to vote as they push insane conspiracy theories to justify their unconstitutional decisions.
We now just received an unconstitutional and insane ruling from the right wing radical Wisconsin state Supreme Court calling official election drop boxes "illegal" while calling blue U.S mail boxes "legal" as both are official mail boxes.
So, what we have is an official election ballot drop box that these radical right wing extremists are falsely calling "illegal". These ballot drop boxes are a mail box for ballots only, where a voter can drop their absentee ballot inside to be collected by county clerk election officials. There is nothing illegal about that at all. Any Green, Independent, Democrat, or Republican voter can drop their absentee ballot inside to be collected. It makes it convenient for the voter to mail their ballot in an official election ballot drop box, instead of having to drop it in a blue mail box which then goes to the post office to be sorted and then sent to the county election site to have the ballot counted.
These right wing radicals voted that the election ballot drop box is "illegal", but get this, it's perfectly ok to drop your ballot inside of a blue U.S. Mail mail box to be collected by a mail carrier.
What is the difference? Absolutely nothing. A person is still dropping their ballot inside a mail box to be collected, except the election ballot drop box is a mail box for ballots only, instead of a blue mail box that has other letters in the U.S. Mail.
So, how can an election ballot drop box be deemed "illegal" by the radical right wing Wisconsin Supreme Court and a U.S. Mail box be deemed perfectly ok? It's the same thing except the ballot drop box is a ballot mail box only.
This is just another attempt by radical right wing Republicans to disenfranchise voters and to push bogus election fraud conspiracies to favor the Republicans.
If you remember back in 2020, Trump installed his unqualified stooge Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General. This corrupt crony DeJoy has zero qualifications to hold this position. The only reason he was appointed to this position was that he donated millions of dollars to Trump and the Republican party and would be a "Yes Man" for Trump to help him steal the election.
And a "Yes Man" he was, as DeJoy got right to work dismantling the efficiency of the Post Office. He made drastic cuts on purpose, dismantled sorting machines in major Democratic districts so it would take longer for mail to arrive and be sorted, and ripped up blue mail boxes from the ground in heavy Democratic cities so people had no mail boxes to mail their ballots.
You remember back in 2020 how long it took to receive mail and how long it took for your package to arrive to its destination. That was all done on purpose by Louis DeJoy trying to steal the election for Criminal Donald.
During the 2020 election we had a pandemic, and it was no secret that Democratic voters were going to vote absentee so they didn't have to risk their health battling a pandemic to wait in line to vote. For years, Republican voters voted absentee and not one of them ever challenged those votes or called them "illegal". But as soon a Democratic voters decided to vote absentee, then Republicans started pushing all these bogus election fraud lies and conspiracies as a ploy to gin up phony controversy to steal the election.
By targeting heavy Democratic cities and districts by dismantling mail sorting machines, it will take longer for the ballots to arrive at the official county election headquarters to be counted.
By removing blue mail boxes from major cities, it makes it harder for people to mail their ballots. That's why counties installed official election ballot drop boxes to make it convenient for voters to mail their ballots. But the right wing radicals call those election mail boxes "illegal" and ordered those to be removed.
So, with right wing radical Republicans slowing the mail and making it harder to mail ballots, they are effectively disenfranchising Democratic voters.
So, what does all these right wing shenanigans do? It raises the possibility that ballots won't be counted in time which gives Republicans an advantage while Democrats lose votes that should have been counted. In a close race and in swing districts, those uncounted ballots could be the deciding factor for a Republican win. And that's why these right wingers on state Supreme Courts are disenfranchising Democratic voters to give their own Republican party the edge. We are all supposed to have a free and fair election, but Republicans are doing everything possible to prevent that from happening.
How is that possible, you say?
Since DeJoy slowed the mail in major Democratic districts by dismantling mail sorting machines, it takes longer for mail to be sorted and will take longer for mailed absentee ballot to arrive at the county election precincts to be counted.
Then we witnessed right wing state Supreme Courts change established election laws because of an increased amount of Democratic absentee voting. The new election laws now requires that a ballot must arrive on election day at a certain time or otherwise it's not allowed to be counted. Before, ballots had to be postmarked by election day to be counted. So, with the slow mail taking longer to be handled, sorted, and delivered those Democratic ballots won't arrive in time to be counted before the new imposed deadline. That means thousands of Democratic votes have the chance of being thrown out favoring Republicans. And that's exactly why right wingers changed established election laws and deemed official election ballot drop box "illegal" so Democratic ballots have a good chance of not being counted in time. With the official election ballot drop boxes, the ballots goes right to the county election site to counted. And that's what Republicans don't want, they want Democratic ballots to be in the slow mail having a good chance of not being counted. The GOP wants to control our elections and to cheat Democrats out of votes.
And mail is slow both ways. Once you mail the ballot, it will take several days for the ballot to arrive to the post office. Then with less sorting machines, it will take longer for the ballot to leave the mail facility. And by the time all the backed up regular mail is included with the ballots to be delivered, we are talking several days both ways which is over 7-10 days. And with thousands of ballots to be sorted in major cities and swing districts, it could take even longer. So a ballot mailed well before the election deadline could still arrive 2 or 3 days after the election, due DeJoy purposely slowing the mail, and it won't be counted because of right wingers on the Courts changing the election laws requiring ballots arrive an hour two after the precinct closes. That's what these right wingers are counting on and It's why they changed laws making it more difficult for people to vote, because they want to control our elections to give themselves the advantage.
With the official election ballot drop boxes all of that is avoided. The voter drops their ballot inside the box and the official election county clerk collects the ballots each day and before the deadline arrives. There is no slowing of the mail where ballots are in danger of not arriving in time. It's easy, simple, fast, and convenient. That's why these right wing radical Republicans are preventing election ballot drop boxes from being used because they won't be able to disenfranchise voters by slowing the mail. Then they push insane conspiracy theories that election drop boxes are "fraudulent and illegal". It's all a right wing scam for Republicans to disenfranchise voters they don't want voting so they can steal more elections.
Here are two mail boxes: One is a U.S. Mail box and the other is an official county election ballot drop box.
What is the difference? Absolutely nothing. Both boxes requires ballots to be collected. The blue U.S. Mail box has mail collected by a mail carrier. The official election ballot drop box has the ballots collected by a certified county election clerk. How can the election ballot drop box be deemed "illegal" and the blue U.S. Mail box be perfectly ok to drop your ballot inside to be collected? People are still dropping their ballots in a box to be collected. With the official election ballot drop box, all the Post Office mess is avoided and that's what Republicans don't want, they want the mess and a chance of Democratic ballots not to be counted.
That's why this insane ruling by the radical right wing Wisconsin Supreme Court is just another attempt to help Republicans in the November midterm elections.
A Blue U.S. Mail box and an official county election ballot drop box. There is no difference. The radical right wing Wisconsin Supreme Court is calling the official election ballot drop box "illegal" while calling the same blue mail box perfectly ok to use. A total right wing scam.
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We now have more PRIVATE sector jobs than we did before the pandemic started -- more than any time in history.
We've fully recovered all the private sector jobs we had pre-pandemic. And despite a much deeper hole, we did that a lot faster than any other recovery in the last 30 years.
Even AFTER adding a record number of jobs in President Biden's first 15 months, the US added an additional 1 million jobs the past three months.
1 million jobs in a quarter.
That never happened, not even once, under ANY of POTUS' predecessors in the past 22 years.
This is truly historic.
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Florida needs to be led by a governor, not a wannabe authoritarian
Make no mistake: Florida's freedoms are at risk
By Charlie Crist
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School is out, summer is here and the state Capitol is empty.
Florida’s political world is taking a collective breath after legislative sessions and before months of non-stop campaigning for the November election. Families are focused on escaping the heat, summer camps for kids and vacations.
But make no mistake: The damage Gov. Ron DeSantis is inflicting upon Florida continues to impact us all as he keeps consolidating power and punishing anyone who disagrees with him. It threatens our economy and our democracy, and the repercussions of the governor’s extremism are just beginning to play out.
Across the state, women are hurt and terrified as they wait for this governor, who praised the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, to completely strip them of their right to choose.
In Orlando, The Walt Disney Co. recently postponed plans to bring 2,000 jobs from California to Florida. The disappointing announcement comes after DeSantis punished Disney for criticizing his discriminatory “Don’t Say Gay’’ law and abolished its special governing district – leaving taxpayers on the hook for $1.7 billion in debt.
The lawsuits challenging the governor’s assault on our freedoms are also piling up. Recently, a Tallahassee circuit judge thankfully ruled against the governor’s cruel abortion ban that offers no exceptions in the case of rape or incest. But with the governor's promise to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court, there is still a tough fight ahead.
Another lawsuit is challenging DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay’’ law that discriminates against LGBTQ students. And yet another lawsuit is challenging DeSantis’ “Stop WOKE Act’’ that could silence civil rights teaching and training at schools, universities and businesses.
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Additionally, there are lawsuits challenging a DeSantis law that makes it harder to vote, and a DeSantis map for congressional districts that eliminated Black representation in Congress.
Because of these lawsuits, DeSantis is forcing taxpayers to pay for ridiculous legal fees to defend the indefensible: currently, the fees total more than $4.4 million (and rising fast).
The governor’s continued assault also risks lives and defies common sense. DeSantis made Florida the only state that failed to preorder COVID vaccines for young children, creating chaos and leading to delays for families eager to protect their kids. This from a governor who constantly invokes parental rights to defend his fight over masks in schools. The hypocrisy is breathtaking.
So is the bullying. DeSantis is seeking to take over local school boards by coaching and electing like-minded supporters. He is also trying to take control of the state Senate by endorsing candidates in Republican primaries who are not backed by Senate Republican leaders – a tactic out of the Trump playbook that no other Florida governor has so brazenly pursued.
Meanwhile, DeSantis is recruiting members for an elections police force and a state militia that only he will control. The potential for abuse of law-abiding citizens should chill every Floridian.
The governor’s thirst for absolute power knows no boundaries. Published reports say he even floated legislation aimed at forcing every public university to reflect his warped reality. Big universities hire dozens of faculty members every year, but the governor wants every one of these hires to be approved by each university’s board of trustees that he controls. That would kill intellectual independence, which appears to be DeSantis’ intention.
In normal times, Floridians could count on checks and balances woven into the fabric of our state to limit an authoritarian-minded, power-hungry governor. Not anymore.
The legislative branch is subservient to DeSantis. The judicial branch is stacked with his right-wing ideologues, the news media has been demonized and shut out of his press conferences, and local governments have been stripped of powers to act in the best interests of their residents.
This regime is not a Florida that I recognize, but it is one imagined by the likes of dictators. They seek total control, tolerate no dissent and silence those who disagree.
Take a breath. Take a vacation. Enjoy your summer. But be prepared to engage during election season and to vote in the Aug. 23 primary and the Nov. 8 general election. Our freedoms, our institutions and the very future of our state are at stake.
U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist is a Democrat from St. Petersburg. He served as governor from 2007-11 as a Republican and is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor.
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/opinion/columns/guest/2022/07/07/florida-needs-led-governor-not-wannabe-authoritarian/7829198001/
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Here's more on the radical right wing Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Wisconsin Supreme Court pushes Trump's 'Big Lie' in new ruling
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Political observers on Friday were alarmed by a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling restricting the use of drop boxes for absentee election ballots—not just because the decision will make it harder for many residents to vote, but also because the high court's right-wing majority openly embraced in its ruling former President Donald Trump's lies about the 2020 election.
In the 4-3 decision, the court's conservative justices argued that the use of ballot drop boxes is unlawful because the boxes are not explicitly mentioned in the state's laws, which allow for absentee ballots to be returned to a municipal clerk.
"After the GOP lost Wisconsin in 2020, the GOP decided that the issue wasn't that they couldn't convince voters to support them—it was that people who didn't support them were able to vote."
The return of a ballot "does not mean nor has it been historically understood to mean delivery to an unattended ballot drop box," wrote Justice Rebecca Bradley in the majority opinion.
Bradley continued that the state's longtime use of hundreds of drop boxes "directly" harmed Wisconsin voters in 2020, when President Joe Biden won the state by about 20,000 votes, beating former President Donald Trump.
Trump and his allies took aim at the drop boxes after the election, saying their use is not explicitly allowed under state law and filing a number of lawsuits.
Bradley suggested that anyone who used a drop box for an absentee ballot did not qualify as a "lawful" voter and said their method of voting "weakens the people's faith that the election produced an outcome reflective of their will."
"The Wisconsin voters, and all lawful voters, are injured when the institution charged with administering Wisconsin elections does not follow the law, leaving the results in question," she wrote, adding that "throughout history, tyrants have claimed electoral victory via elections conducted in violation of governing law" and comparing Biden's win to that of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
Slate journalist Mark Joseph Stern called the language used in Bradley's opinion "outrageously irresponsible."
Mark Joseph Stern @mjs_DC
The Wisconsin Supreme Court decision prohibiting ballot drop boxes includes outrageously irresponsible language
questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 election results and drawing comparisons to elections in North Korea and Syria. https://wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/DisplayDocument.pdf?content=pdf&seqNo=542617
https://twitter.com/mjs_DC/status/1545401931383939072
With the ruling, said journalist John Nichols, the right-wing majority "is not acting as a court. It's a political cabal with a partisan agenda."
The Wisconsin Democrats called the ruling "a slap in the face to democracy itself" and warned that the absence of ballot drop boxes that many voters have used for years will "impact people with disabilities, seniors, people living in rural communities, people with limited means, few transport options, and inflexible work schedules, who are disproportionately young people and people of color."
"For decades throughout Wisconsin, municipal clerks have used drop boxes to collect documents like tax returns, municipal bills—and absentee ballots," said Ben Wikler, chair of the state Democratic Party. "It's always been safe, secure, and convenient. Drop box use expanded dramatically in 2020, in red and blue areas alike."
"But then after the GOP lost Wisconsin in 2020, the GOP decided that the issue wasn't that they couldn't convince voters to support them—it was that people who didn't support them were able to vote," he added.
The three justices who dissented in the ruling denounced Bradley's claims of rampant illegal voting in 2020 as "nonsense."
"There is no evidence at all in this record that the use of drop boxes fosters voter fraud of any kind," they wrote. "None... But concerns about drop boxes alone don't fuel the fire questioning election integrity. Rather, the kindling is primarily provided by voter suppression efforts and the constant drumbeat of unsubstantiated rhetoric in opinions like this one, not actual voter fraud."
The court's right-wing justices also ruled in November that a new redistricting plan should make the least amount of changes possible to maps drawn by the Republican-led Legislature in 2011, ensuring a map that will favor GOP majorities in Wisconsin for at least another decade.
Former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman is also overseeing an investigation into the 2020 election and has suggested that state lawmakers should try to decertify the results.
Friday's ruling came "from what might be the most rogue and vehemently anti-democratic state court in the nation," said Daniel Nichanian, editor-in-chief of Bolts.
https://www.rawstory.com/how-wisconsin-became-ground-zero-for-the-big-lie/
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President Biden @POTUS
We cannot and we will not allow an out of control Supreme Court working in conjunction with Republican officials pushing an extremist agenda to take away our freedoms and our personal autonomy.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1545529943399997441
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Patrick De Haan @GasBuddyGuy
We're in the midst of one of the steepest declines in #gasprices ever. The national average tied for its second largest single day drop in the last decade yesterday. The national average is now $4.699/gal, every day Americans are spending $125 million less on gas vs 25 days ago.
https://twitter.com/GasBuddyGuy/status/1545770714183106560
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So, the GOP is banning books about slavery in schools and doesn't want the subject of slavery to be taught. But now, Republicans have a bill in Ohio wanting educators to promote the Holocaust from the German "point of view". Republicans are doing everything possible to indoctrinate students with fascism.
Rep. Casey Weinstein @RepWeinstein
This is a friendly reminder that Ohio House Republicans are advancing a bill to teach BOTH SIDES OF THE HOLOCAUST.
https://twitter.com/RepWeinstein/status/1545446189310640131
Ohio GOP moves forward with 'both sides of the Holocaust' bill
COLUMBUS— Today, State Reps. Brigid Kelly (D-Cincinnati) and Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson), demanded House Bill (HB) 327, the ‘Both Sides’ bill, be barred from any further consideration by the Ohio House after the Republican bill sponsor said in a recent interview that educators should teach “German soldiers’” perspective of the Holocaust. The bill sponsor then proceeded to make several inaccurate and anti-Semitic claims about the Holocaust during the interview.
“Claiming there are two neutral and legitimate sides to the Holocaust is nothing short of denial,” said Rep. Weinstein, a Jewish member of the Ohio House. “Trying to wipe out and ignore our history while imposing big government on school districts to limit First Amendment rights in an unconstitutionally broad and vague way is chilling and reminiscent of the ‘thought police.’”
The ‘Both Sides’ bill would make “failing to fairly present both sides of a political or ideological belief or position” conduct unbecoming of an Ohio educator, which prompted widespread alarm from teachers and concerned parents. Educators and potentially-impacted organizations across the state have asked how teachers would be expected to confront difficult subjects. How do you teach both sides of the Holocaust? Of 9/11? Of slavery? Of Ukraine?
“These comments are absolutely reprehensible, and reveal HB 327’s true intent: to force our educators to teach ‘both sides’ of topics like the Holocaust, slavery or 9/11 that unequivocally have only a right side and a wrong side. This is exactly why we must trust well informed educators, not partisan politicians, to determine what is taught in our classrooms so our children are best prepared for the future,” said Rep. Kelly.
AFP
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U.S. Manufacturing Employment Back Up to Pre-Pandemic Level (and now slightly above) via @markets
https://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-08/us-job-gains-top-estimates-unemployment-rate-holds-at-3-6?sref=UTbvKgk5
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Pete Buttigieg buries Fox News host for whining about Kavanaugh protests
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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg faced down a Fox News host who complained about peaceful protests against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh over abortion rights.
During an interview on Fox News, host Mike Emmanuel asked Buttigieg if it was "appropriate" for demonstrators to protest outside a restaurant where Kavanaugh was dining.
Buttigieg acknowledged that public officials "should always be free from violence."
"You're never going to be free from criticism or peaceful protests, people exercising their First Amendment rights," the Transporation secretary pointed out.
Buttigieg talked over Emmanuel as he tried to interrupt.
"That's what happened in this case," he explained. "Remember, the justice never even came into contact with these protesters, reportedly didn't see or hear them. And these protesters are upset because a right, an important right that the majority of Americans support was taken away."
Emmanuel tried to interrupt again but the secretary ignored him.
"Not only the right to choose by the way," Buttigieg continued, "but this justice was part of the process of stripping away the right to privacy. Since I've been alive, settled case law in the United States has been that the Constitution protected the right to privacy and that has now been thrown out the window by justices, including Justice Kavanaugh, who as I recall, swore up and down in front of God and everyone including the United States Congress that they were going to leave settled case law alone. So yes, people are upset. They're going to exercise their First Amendment rights."
"Compare that, for example, to the reality that as a country right now we are reckoning with the fact that a mob summoned by the former president..." he added before Emmanuel spoke up.
"Let me follow up," the Fox News host said while the Biden official ignored him.
"...to the United States Capitol for the purpose of overthrowing the election and very nearly succeeded in preventing the peaceful transfer of power," he argued. "I think common sense can tell the difference."
Emmanuel made the mistake of asking a follow-up question.
"But as a high-profile public figure, sir, are you comfortable with protesters protesting when you and your husband go to dinner at a restaurant?" the Fox News host wondered.
"Protesting peacefully outside in a public space? Sure," he responded. "Look, I can't even tell you the number of spaces, venues and scenarios where I've been protested. And the bottom line is this. Any public figure should always -- always -- be free from violence, intimidation and harassment. But should never be free from criticism or people exercising their First Amendment rights."
Watch:
Texas power company tells state to prepare for rolling blackouts despite promises the grid was fixed
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It was just a little over a year ago that Texas power failed due to the overwhelming demand during a deep freeze in the state. After hearings and investigations, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) swore that they had fixed the problem. But on Sunday, they made a plea for Texans to conserve power again and warned of possible rolling blackouts, reported the Dallas Morning News.
Texas, unlike the rest of the 49 states, operates on its own power grid, making it impossible to generate more power than what the existing companies in the state can provide. While other states can borrow power from each other, Texas has essentially seceded from the power grid in the rest of the country.
"A projected reserve capacity shortage with no market solution available," the company said in a statement while begging for energy conservation. The greatest load is expected between 2 p.m. CDT and 8 p.m.
In May, ERCOT announced that they were well prepared for summer and generation capacity is expected to be sufficient to handle the demands "under normal system conditions," reported the Austin American Statesman.
ERCOT provides about 90 percent of the state's power. “I think the longer the finger-pointing goes on, the less likely we are to having meaningful solutions that are implemented,” said Bruce Bullock, Director of Southern Methodist University’s Maguire Energy Institute to Spectrum News 1. “Right now, we have somewhat of a circular firing squad going on, with various parties blaming various other parties, which does very little to solve the problem."
Yet, when the "circular firing squad" ended, ERCOT still couldn't guarantee power.
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2022/07/10/ercot-issues-alert-for-possible-rolling-blackouts-monday/
Roe’s end could mean more pregnant women behind bars. Are Florida’s prisons prepared?
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ORLANDO, Fla. — Prison reform activists worry the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that established a federal right to abortion, could lead to more pregnant people behind bars — a scenario some lawmakers in Florida have been trying to curb for years.
Horrific accounts of women being raped and impregnated by guards and giving birth alone in their cells paint a scary picture of what life can be like for pregnant incarcerated people in Florida. With Roe protections gone, and recent efforts by Florida legislators to further restrict abortion, activists fear a post-Roe world would mean more women criminalized and placed in institutions with a bad reputation of caring for them.
“It’s a horrible experience,” Debra Bennett-Austin, a formerly incarcerated person, said. She served her final five years at Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala, where all of the state’s nine imprisoned pregnant women are currently located.
“The care (pregnant women) get inside Lowell is an absolute joke,” she said. “A doctor comes in once a month and all the pregnant women see him that day. It’s like a factory. They’re in, then they’re out. They get one ultrasound at the beginning and then they don’t get one again.”
Pregnant women accused but not convicted of crimes may also face challenges in receiving care at county jails, where policies concerning prenatal care and abortion access are determined by local officials.
Currently, Orange, Seminole and Osceola county jails have written policies that do mention abortion, but consultation referrals for the procedure are not a standardized practice across all Florida prisons and jails, and are commonly rendered only after the jail’s or prison’s consideration of the pregnancy, legal opinions and state laws.
DOC press secretary Paul Walker said pregnant women in Florida’s state prisons receive a complete physical examination including a pregnancy test.
“If an inmate is pregnant, they are referred to an obstetrician to establish an official expected date of delivery, to receive routine prenatal care (e.g., exercise, nutritional requirements, etc.), and to be screened for high-risk pregnancy,” he wrote in an email. “The obstetrician follows the inmate throughout her pregnancy and makes any necessary specialist consultation referrals. Both pre- and postpartum counseling is available.”
Ban threatens jail for abortions
Bennett-Austin’s 19-year sentence ended in 2018, and she has since been advocating for supporting those in and out of prison through her nonprofit organization Change Comes Now.
Activists like Bennett-Austin and Denise Rock with Florida Cares Charity Corp. worry an abortion ban will unjustly subject women to criminal culpability when a baby dies.
According to the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, between 2006 and 2020, more than 1,300 women were punished by the law for reasons related to a pregnancy, such as for intentionally trying to induce an abortion or unintentionally harming the fetus through use of alcohol or illicit drugs.
In Florida, it’s considered a third-degree felony to willfully perform or actively participate in a termination of pregnancy that violates the state’s current criteria for abortion.
A 15-week abortion ban that signed into law in April also specified abortion providers would face fines, imprisonment and the loss of their medical license, but was temporarily blocked last week by a state judge who ruled it was unconstitutional. The abortion ban was quickly restored after lawyers for the state appealed.
Rock, whose nonprofit works with incarcerated people and their families said, the likelihood of women going to jail or prison increases when abortion is banned.
“The correctional system has the potential to become overwhelmed with the increase in pregnant women,” she said, “Especially those of marginalized communities who due to the health care disparities, have poor prenatal care prior to incarceration and have a higher maternal and infant mortality rates.”
The number of women in Florida prisons has been declining along with prison and jail populations, mainly due to emergency responses to COVID-19.
In 2021, there were 5,014 women incarcerated by the Florida Department of Corrections. About 10 years ago, that number was closer to 7,000.
The number of women, on average, over the last 10 years across three Central Florida county jails also decreased. As of last month, there were nine pregnant women in Orange County Jail; four under the supervision of Osceola County Corrections; and one pregnancy was reported in the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Seminole County.
Limited care choices for imprisoned women
Dr. Carolyn Sufrin, an assistant professor of gynecology and obstetrics at Johns Hopkins University, said access to health care is dependent on the infrastructure and what the prison or jail has available.
Sufrin led a research study that monitored abortion numbers and policy data from 22 state prison systems and six county jails between 2016 and 2017, and spent time as an obstetrician inside San Francisco’s jail from 2007 to 2013 while doing research for a Ph.D. in medical anthropology.
She said pregnant people who are incarcerated don’t get a choice of their provider or how frequently they can see them.
“Many patients in our research studies have described how they might get an ultrasound or a laboratory test and they don’t know what the results were,” she said.
“Being pregnant while incarcerated is very stressful and very anxiety provoking in part because of this uncertainty of the health care, uncertainty of what’s going to happen ... who’s going to take care of your baby and whether you’ll be able to see them or even hold them at the hospital,” she said. “There are many things about the experience that are just categorically stressful, and for many people traumatizing.”
Widely politicized cases in Florida, like the one of Erica Thompson, whose baby died after she was forced to give birth inside Alachua County Jail, prompted the creation of Ava’s Law, legislation that aimed to reduce the number of pregnant people serving time in prison by giving judges the opportunity to defer their sentence until 12 weeks after delivery.
The bill, which was named after Thompson’s baby, failed to pass during this year’s legislative session.
“Florida’s prisons and jails have repeatedly shown that they are dangerously ill-equipped to provide adequate medical care to pregnant people, especially during labor and delivery,” said Daniel Tilley, legal director at the ACLU of Florida, which supported Ava’s Law.
Tilley urges that health providers follow the advice of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which encourages doctors to work inside facilities to advise wardens and law enforcement officials and support efforts to expand access to adequate care behind bars.
He said that’s the best option, while pregnant people in Florida’s jails and prisons “wait for basic dignity and access to medical care, and bills like Ava’s Law to be codified into state law.”
Laws establishing ethical practices in treating pregnant people behind bars usually follow high-profile controversies.
For example, Tammy Jackson Healthy Pregnancies for Incarcerated Women Act, passed in 2020, generally prohibits involuntarily placing a pregnant woman in restrictive housing and safeguards health care guarantees. The woman it was named after gave birth alone in her cell at a South Florida special needs facility in 2019, after seven hours of unassisted labor.
Pregnant women housed in troubled facility
Currently, if you are pregnant and sentenced to prison in Florida you will be sent to Lowell C.I. in Ocala, where about a year and a half ago, a U.S. Department of Justice report found incarcerated women had been subjected to sexual abuse for years.
Instances of physical abuse have also been reported at Lowell. In 2019, guards at Lowell broke the neck of Cheryl Weimar after she refused to clean a toilet, leaving her paralyzed. The Marion County State Attorney in June decided not to pursue charges, citing insufficient evidence.
“This is the most violent, negative, abusive prison in my whole incarceration and I’ve been to five different facilities,” Kimberley Morton, who is currently incarcerated at Lowell, said. Morton, 56, has been in prison for 39 years. “I’ll never believe pregnant women are getting the best health care, no one does here.”
Keiko Kopp, who is imprisoned at Lowell C.I., told WUFT in an October report that staff at the prison had ignored or delayed her requests for care and access to proper nutrition, antibiotics, supplements and an ultrasound while pregnant last year. Kopp, whose video posts on TikTok about the jail’s poor living conditions have attracted millions of views, gave birth to a baby girl who died shortly after.
In 2016, Anquanette Woodall was raped and impregnated by Florida prison guard Travis Hinson during her third year of a 15-year sentence for burglary and robbery at Gadsden Correctional Facility, a private state prison.
Hinson pleaded guilty to sexual battery and is serving a four-year sentence, while Woodall was moved from Gadsden Correctional Facility to Lowell C.I. and is now currently in Homestead Correctional Institution.
The Federal Prison Rape Elimination Act Standards requires authorities provide victims with “timely information about, and access to, all lawful pregnancy-related medical services.” After last week’s ruling, abortion consultation may not be mentioned to victims in states where it is banned.
Often times it’s also the pregnant individual who must cover the expenses of an abortion, leading some to follow through with unwanted pregnancies in prison conditions, because there are no other options.
Ava’s Law would have solidified postpartum assessments, data collection, and reporting requirements for pregnant women in Florida prisons. The Florida Senate’s bill analysis also found Ava’s Law could have reduced the costs of DOC, municipal and county detention facilities to cover prenatal care, delivery services, and postpartum care for pregnant women in prison.
Sufrin’s study found that roughly 15% of pregnancies in jails ended in abortion, which could decline steeply as states ban or restrict the procedure. She noted that abortions “are a lot cheaper than paying for prenatal care and childbirth.”
“There may be more people coming to prison or jail pregnant and these are institutions that are already not well equipped to adequately care for pregnant individuals, so if they see an increase in their volume, that’s going to constrain their abilities even more and potentially pose greater risks for these individuals,” she said.
© Orlando Sentinel
Lauren Boebert reported to FBI after 'terminate this Presidency' tweet
Dozens of people reported Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) to the FBI after she included the words "terminate this Presidency" in a message on Twitter.
"We need to terminate this Presidency," she wrote, adding, "End quote. Repeat the line."
The "terminate" quote likely referred to remarks made by President Joe Biden last week in which he misspoke while talking about reproductive rights.
"Ten years old and she was forced to travel out of the state to Indiana," Biden said, "to seek to terminate the presidency and maybe save her life."
Boebert's intentions were unclear because she did not correctly quote the president. Many commenters forwarded her tweet to the FBI, the Secret Service and the Justice Department.
Read some of the reports in link below:
https://www.rawstory.com/lauren-boebert-terminate-presidency/
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The Right Wing Assault Hits Close To Home
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It’s pretty hard not to take it personally when the highest court in the land erases your humanity. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has rolled back a woman’s right to choose whether to have an abortion, the power of the state reaches right through us, deciding what happens inside our bodies. What we think and feel doesn’t matter. It doesn’t get more personal than that.
By “the state,” I mean, of course, “the states” — in our case, the gerrymandered Republican majority in the Wisconsin Legislature, which the Supreme Court put in charge when it declared, “the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.”
That phrase “the people and their elected representatives” is a cruel joke in Wisconsin, where the people elected Democrats to represent them in every statewide race in 2018 and chose Democratic President Joe Biden in 2020, yet Republicans retain control of our Legislature because they’ve rigged the maps.
Never mind that. State legislatures are the proper forum for regulating individuals’ most intimate lives, according to the majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Roe v. Wade was “wrongly decided” according to that opinion, because the Court “short-circuited the democratic process by closing it to the large number of Americans who disagreed with Roe.”
Most Americans agree with Roe. So do most Wisconsinites. But in states like Wisconsin, where the minority rules, we are governed by the extremists who refuse to revise our Civil War-era felony abortion ban with no exceptions for rape and incest. (And despite Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ promise not to enforce that ancient, draconian law, it is effectively now in force, since Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has decided to stop providing abortions to avoid the risk of future prosecution.)
The rightwing extremists are coming for us. And it feels very personal.
That reality hit close to home in a different way on July 4th, when we learned about the horrific mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois. After murdering seven people at a holiday parade, the shooter drove to Wisconsin, where he planned to commit another mass murder. I was at my house in Madison with my family, sheltering from the thunderstorms that caused our local fireworks display to be canceled, when the shooter drove through town. Apparently he only dropped the idea of going on another shooting spree here because he didn’t have a solid plan in place. A near miss.
Keep in mind that Robert Crimo, the 21-year-old Highland Park shooter, was a licensed gun owner who bought his AR-15 style assault weapon legally.
And, according to another recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, when it comes to guns, “the people and their elected representatives” must not meddle in the sacred individual right to purchase a weapon of mass murder.
In a ruling striking down a New York law that restricted the right to carry a pistol or revolver unless the gun owner could demonstrate a credible need for self protection, the Court ruled that the restriction “violates the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in public for self-defense.”
So states can make it illegal for 10-year-old incest victims to obtain an abortion after being raped, but they can’t stop people like Crimo from bringing their guns to parades, church picnics, and other public gatherings. As Bill Berry wrote in a commentary last week, the Second Amendment has superseded the First Amendment, with its quaint language about “right of the people peaceably to assemble.” We’ve lost that right.
This madness Republicans pass off as patriotism is anathema to American values of liberty and democracy.
As Americans we expect to have the right to be safe in our homes and communities. We expect to have the freedom to regulate our own bodies and private lives without overbearing intervention by the state — not to mention nosy neighbors deputized by state legislatures to chase young women and their family members across state lines on suspicion of seeking abortions where they remain legal. And we expect the right to actual representation, not despotic minority rule.
But the right wing of the Republican party has played a long game, undermining liberty and self-government.
As Nicole Safar, executive director of Law Forward, pointed out in a July 4th commentary for the Examiner, the same bad actors who worked for years to roll back abortion rights and defended anti-abortion terrorist organizations in the 1990s were also the architects of the Jan. 6 fake electors strategy and the attempt to steal the 2020 presidential election for Donald Trump.
“There is a direct through line from the anti-majoritarian movement to overrule Roe and the anti-democracy efforts of the last decade,” Safar writes.
That effort continues with yet another case recently accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court — Moore v. Harper, involving North Carolina’s voting map.
In that case, North Carolina’s state Supreme Court declared an egregiously gerrymandered Congressional district map created by Republican legislators unconstitutional. The state’s Republican leaders appealed, using an obscure, legal theory called the “independent state legislature doctrine” to argue that state legislatures can make their own rules for federal elections, and that state courts can’t override them.
If the Supreme Court agrees with the North Carolina Republicans, state legislatures would be free to override the will of the people and choose the losing candidate in the next presidential election.
Expanding the number of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court — which progressives have called for and Biden has rejected — hardly seems like a radical idea compared with the complete overthrow of democratic elections. But somehow Biden still seems reluctant to take bold steps.
Women’s March activists gathered on Saturday at the White House, where many were arrested in a sit-in, demanding that Biden do more to protect abortion rights than the steps he took in the executive order he signed on Friday to ensure medication abortion is widely accessible and to protect patient privacy. Biden has been agonizingly slow to respond to the long-anticipated elimination of federally protected abortion rights, and advocates want the president to declare a public health emergency and make abortion services available in restricted states on federal land.
The Women’s March is right. The attacks on our rights, our democracy and our civil society have escalated to the point where we have to start taking these things personally. We have to fight like our lives depend on it. Because they do.
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2022/07/11/the-rightwing-assault-hits-close-to-home/
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President Biden @POTUS
On Monday I'm hosting a celebration of the passage of the Safer Communities Act. I'm working on my remarks this afternoon.
I want to hear from you. Text me at (302) 404-0880 and share how gun violence has impacted your community. If it's okay with you, I may share your story.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1545799639919693827
The action we take today on gun violence is a step designed to make our nation the kind of nation it should be.
So many whose lives have been shattered by gun violence have felt the price of inaction.
This has taken too long with too long a trail of bloodshed and carnage. But because of their work, advocacy, and courage, the Safer Communities Act will save lives. Today and tomorrow.
With the Safer Communities Act, we've moved the mountain of obstruction and indifference that has stood in the way of gun safety laws for decades.
Now – in the name of those we've lost in elementary schools, grocery stores, parades – it's time to galvanize that movement.
The action we take today on gun violence is a step designed to make our nation the kind of nation it should be.
It's about the most fundamental things: the lives of our children and our loved ones.
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Join me, Vice President Harris, and the Second Gentleman on the South Lawn of the White House as we commemorate the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1djxXPPnYnPxZ
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When President Biden ran for office in 2020, he made a promise that he would be able to work across the aisle with Republicans to get legislation passed, and he has more than kept his campaign promise.
Last year, Congress passed President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which was the largest package in history to update our crumbling infrastructure and to renovate our cities all across America. Other presidents only "talked about getting it done", but President Biden got it done just 7 months into his presidency, and now new infrastructure projects have already started all across the country.
President Biden promised he would address gun violence and crime in our cities. He promised he would get gun reform passed. Congress just passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act last month, which is the most comprehensive gun reform in over 30 years. This bill also helps to fight crime in our cities. The President celebrated the signing of that law yesterday. Yes, more needs to be done, but the President was able to get another bipartisan law passed when other presidents never could. Two major Bipartisan bills passed in a year and a half under Biden is quite a feat, especially when no other president had an Infrastructure and gun reform bill passed in the same year.
Clean water, secure bridges, smooth roads, and safer communities benefit ALL Americans and not just voters from one political party. All Americans support these laws because it benefits their lives and makes it better. These are the bills being passed because of President Biden which is Building Back Better, just like he promised.
Biden praises bipartisan gun law: 'We're opening door to get much more done'
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President Joe Biden hosted an event at the White House on Monday to celebrate new bipartisan gun safety restrictions and indicate a path toward safer communities.
Congress passed and Biden signed the Safer Communities Act last month.
Democrats in both chambers and several Republicans approved the $13 billion bill, which includes millions of dollars for mental health, school safety, crisis intervention programs and incentives for states to include juvenile records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
The law also makes changes to the process when someone age 18 to 21 goes to buy a firearm, closes the so-called "boyfriend loophole" and encourages states to create or enhance red-flag laws.
At Monday's event, Biden hosted families who have been affected by gun violence, including the recent supermarket shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., and the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
"Nothing can bring back your loved ones, but what we did here is to make sure that other families don't have to experience the same loss and pain that you've experienced," the president said. "You have felt and feel the price of inaction."
Biden said the new law will save lives.
"What we're doing here today is real," Biden added. "It's vivid. It's relevant. The action we take today is a step designed to make our nation the kind of nation we should be. It's about the most fundamental things in the life of our children and our loved ones."
Biden said it is time for the country to match "thought and prayers" for victims and their families with action.
"That's what we're doing here today," he said. "Despite the many naysayers, we can make meaningful progress.
"More has to be done. The provisions in this new legislation will save lives. It's a call to action for all of us to do more. The takeaway from this is how we're opening the door to get much more done."
Several people who have been recently affected by gun violence spoke at the event.
"It is an honor to be here and celebrate the first major gun legislation in 30 years," Dr. Roy Guerrero, a pediatrician in Uvalde, said to applause at the start of the event.
"I spend half of my days convincing kids that no one is coming for them," he added. "But how do I say that knowing that the very weapons used in the attack are still freely available?"
"For 30 years, our nation has failed to pass meaningful gun violence legislation," Vice President Kamala Harris said. "Again and again, Americans have called for common sense action to protect our communities. Last month, their call was finally answered."
The White House said earlier Monday that Biden will build on the law's passage by proposing $32 billion in additional funding to fight crime, including $20.6 billion in discretionary funding for federal, state and local law enforcement and crime prevention programs.
"There is so much more that can and must be done to save lives," the White House said in a statement. "The president will continue to urge Congress to take further legislative action to keep dangerous guns out of dangerous hands, including a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, strengthening background checks and enacting safe storage laws."
AFP
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Ted Lieu @tedlieu
Our Constitutional Republic cannot tolerate Supreme Court Justices who lied in order to get confirmed. The legitimacy of the Court is at stake.
Letter from @AOC and me requesting the Senate to make a finding on whether Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch lied to the American people.
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https://twitter.com/tedlieu/status/1546568769748606976
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A “high level” discussion on climate… By Herschel Walker
You can't make this stuff up! :D
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1546533641865543682
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Moms Demand Action @MomsDemand
You emailed, called, tweeted, voted, and organized to pass the first major federal gun safety law in almost 3 decades! This bipartisan victory shows what’s possible when we roll up our red sleeves, keep going, and follow survivors’ lead. #GunLawsSaveLives
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https://twitter.com/MomsDemand/status/1546541618064400391
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Jan. 6 hearings to focus on Trump's messages to supporters
Tuesday's hearing is expected to focus on the rise of radical extremism and the possible impact the former president’s tweets had on supporters
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/video/jan-hearings-focus-trumps-messages-supporters-86654354
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Another huge deal for President Biden as he continues to clean up the multiple Trump disasters that was given to him.
Donnie made "immigration" his number one issue during his 4 failed years in office. He made an absolute mess at the border for Biden to deal with, and the bogus right wing media calls it the "Biden Border Crisis" when it was Trump who handed Biden the crisis to begin with.
Donnie also lied claiming that he was going to "build a beautiful border wall" and make Mexico pay for it. That was nothing but a sham and a total lie because U.S. tax payers had to pay for it.
President Biden promised he would clean up the Trump border disaster and he made good on another campaign promise. Biden was able to get Mexico to invest $1.5 Billion in new border technology. Mexico should be paying to curb illegal immigration and Biden got them to pay for it when Trump never could.
President Biden is respected by world leaders and so is Vice President Harris, as Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador had nothing but praise for her.
This is a huge deal between the United States and Mexico to help curb illegal immigration. This major story should have been top headline news yesterday but it was barely covered.
The media made a big deal about illegal immigration for months, and now when a deal was struck to curb illegal immigration, it goes unnoticed in the media. That's how awful the mainstream media has been by not reporting on Biden's achievements and only trying to manufacture controversy for ratings. The news isn't supposed to be a reality show but they turned it into that.
Once again, President Biden comes through with another major achievement that no other president could get done.
Yes, that is called Building Back Better.
Mexico agrees to invest $1.5B in ‘smart’ border technology
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador agreed to spend $1.5 billion over the next two years to improve “smart” border technology during meetings Tuesday with President Joe Biden — a move the White House says shows neighborly cooperation succeeding where Trump administration vows to wall off the border and have Mexico pay for it could not.
A series of agreements the two countries hammered out as their leaders spoke called for several other concrete moves, including expanding the number of work visas the U.S. issues, creating a bilateral working group on labor migration pathways and worker protections and welcoming more refugees. Both also pledged to continue joint patrols for Mexico and Guatemala to hunt human smugglers along their shared border.
But the Biden administration hailed securing border funding from Mexico after years of failed attempts by former President Donald Trump.
“Borders that are more resilient, more efficient, and safer, will enhance our shared commerce,” Biden and López Obrador said in a joint official statement. “We are committed like never before to completing a multi-year joint U.S.-Mexico border infrastructure modernization effort for projects along the 2,000-mile border.”
The agreements came after López Obrador began the discussions by talking for more than half an hour as reporters looked on. His far-ranging discourse touched on everything from American drivers heading south for cheaper prices at the pump at Mexican gas stations to the New Deal politics of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He also chiding conservatives and said the U.S. and Mexico should reject the “status quo” on the border.
López Obrador said both countries “should close ranks to help each other” amid spiking inflation and border challenges brutally underscored by 53 migrants who died last month after being abandoned in a sweltering tractor-trailer on a remote back road in San Antonio.
“Increasing inflation impacts the well-being of families in both our countries, and requires strong, immediate, and concerted action,” the joint statement said. “That is why we have committed to jointly combat inflation by accelerating the facilitation of bilateral trade and reducing trade costs.”
López Obrador struck a positive tone with Biden while while heaping praise on Vice President Kamala Harris.
“So happy to be here at the White House once more,” López Obrador said.
Biden was equally conciliatory, saying, “I see, we see Mexico as an equal partner” and shrugging off differences of opinion on policy with López Obrador: “You and I have a strong and productive relationship and I would argue a partnership.”
Biden said “we know we have to meet these challenges together.” He said the U.S. and Mexico agree on the need to increase opportunities for legal migration, especially since more workers can help alleviate U.S. labor shortages and potentially help calm rising prices.
Tuesday’s was the second in-person meeting between Biden and López Obrador at the White House. First lady Jill Biden hosted Mexican first lady Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller during this spring’s White House celebration of Cinco de Mayo.
In the agreed upon announcements released Tuesday night, both Mexico and the U.S. pledged joint actions to modernize and improve infrastructure along key parts of their border, enhance law enforcement cooperation against fentanyl smuggling and promote clean energy.
Biden also said that a “major anti smuggling operation” against fentanyl traffickers has been underway since April and had led to more than 3,000 arrests, and that both countries would continue to cooperate. In addition to the pilot program exploring more avenues for legal migration, Biden noted that the U.S. has already worked to expand visa programs for workers from Mexico and Central America.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been tasked with exploring the root causes of immigration across Latin America, also hosted López Obrador for a Tuesday breakfast. Speaking with Mexico’s president outside the Naval Observatory, which is the vice president’s residence, Harris referenced visiting his country previously.
"The time that I spent with you in Mexico was so special to me,” she said, noting the “friendship that has been so important to both nations.”
“She is our friend,” López Obrador said. “But also a woman with principles. An intelligent woman. Honest. She is a partisan of equality. So I congratulate the American people because they have a first order vice president.”
Watch:
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U.S. gun regulation agency fills empty director post after seven years
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The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Joe Biden's nominee to lead the federal agency overseeing gun regulations, which had lacked a permanent director for over seven years.
Steve Dettelbach, 56, will now become the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), following a series of deadly mass shootings that have shaken the country.
The former federal prosecutor was narrowly confirmed with the support of 48 senators, including two Republicans, against 46 opposed.
He will oversee the ATF's 5,000 employees, half of whom are ballistics specialists who investigate gun crimes. The agency is also tasked with regulating the nation's firearms industry, making it a perennial enemy of the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA).
"After years of obstruction by the gun lobby, the Senate has finally confirmed a permanent director to lead the ATF," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
"While certainly not a panacea to the gun violence epidemic plaguing our nation, having Mr Dettelbach at the helm of the ATF will ensure the feds have all hands on deck in the fight to stop gun trafficking, prevent illegal possession of firearms, and make sure our kids can’t get their hands on dangerous weapons," he added.
According to the Gun Violence Archive website, more than 23,300 people have been killed by firearms in the United States so far this year, including nearly 12,800 who died by suicide.
Agence France-Presse
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President Biden @POTUS
My team and I have been monitoring the BA.5 variant of COVID-19 for months. We're prepared, and we know how to manage this moment with the vaccines, treatments, and other tools we have made widely available.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1546869482278342660
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President Biden @POTUS
Today’s report is a reminder that inflation is too high – fighting inflation is my top economic priority. And while the numbers today are not acceptable, they are also outdated.
In the past 30 days, the average price of gas has dropped by 40 cents a gallon.
That's breathing room for American families, but oil prices have come down $20/barrel while gas at the pump has only come down 40 cents. Oil and gas companies must pass these lower costs on to consumers.
Lastly, annual core inflation is down for the third month in a row. To lower inflation more, without giving up the economic gains we’ve achieved, Congress must act – now. They must work to reduce the cost of everyday expenses for working families.
Send legislation to my desk.
Energy alone comprises nearly half of today's inflation numbers. So, here's what's important:
- The price of gas has decreased for 30 days straight, the price at the pump has dropped by 40 cents since mid-June.
- Gas should continue to come down in the days and weeks ahead.
It's time for gas retailers to pass the cost declines they’re feeling in the market onto American families at the pump.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXkTaJQWAAA-94o?format=png&name=medium)
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1547289291155558401
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Biden greeted as old friend in Israel at start of Middle East tour
(https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=30118350&width=980&quality=85)
TEL AVIV (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden arrived on Wednesday in Israel, which embraced him as an old friend on the first leg of a high-stakes trip dominated by efforts to bring it closer to Saudi Arabia and to persuade Washington's Gulf allies to pump more oil.
Landing at Ben Gurion Airport, whose tarmac he first trod in 1973 as a senator, Biden bumped fists with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and President Isaac Herzog and, in a speech, described the connection between the two nations as "bone-deep".
"You do not need to be a Jew to be a Zionist," Biden added, voicing support for the ideology behind Israel's foundation on lands with ancient Jewish roots, and which is deeply resented by many Palestinians.
(https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=30118362&width=980)
Biden also reiterated U.S. desire for negotiations, stalled since 2014, to create a Palestinian state on Israeli-occupied territory, calling this two state solution "the best hope" for both peoples.
Biden's first visit to Israel as president is his tenth of a long political career. Israel has stepped carefully around disputes with Washington over Iranian nuclear diplomacy and long-stalled Palestinian statehood negotiations.
"Your relationship with Israel has always been personal," Lapid said in a speech, calling Biden "one of the best friends Israel has ever known".
Biden will spend two days in Jerusalem before meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday in the occupied West Bank.
He will then fly directly from Israel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for talks with Saudi officials and to attend a summit of Gulf allies.
U.S. officials say the trip could produce more steps toward normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, historic foes but also two of America's strongest allies in the turbulent region.
That would build on the establishing or upgrading of Israeli relations with United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco under a U.S. initiative in 2020 dubbed the Abraham Accords, after the biblical patriarch revered by both Jews and Muslims.
In a similar vein, Herzog played on Biden's first name, deeming him "both a visionary and a leader" like the biblical Joseph. Biden was "truly amongst family" in Israel, Herzog said.
Biden's trip aims to promote regional stability, deepen Israel's integration in the region and counter Iranian influence and aggression by Russia and China.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan reiterated Washington's desire for the reopening of a Jerusalem consulate shut down by the former U.S. administration of President Donald Trump. The consulate had served the Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem as capital of a future state.
"Obviously that requires engagement with the Israeli government," Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force 1. Israel deems all of Jerusalem its capital - a status not recognised abroad - and does not consent to the consulate reopening.
Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said he saw nothing new from Biden on Palestinian issues.
“Biden’s visit aims to integrate the occupation state in the Arab region and build a new alliance against Iran. When it comes to the promises President Biden made during his electoral campaign and early in office, we don’t see any practical formula to reflect that on the ground,” he added.
(https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=30118365&width=980)
OUTREACH TO PALESTINIANS
Biden's talks with Abbas will be the first between a U.S. president and a Palestinian leader since the Obama administration. The Palestinians boycotted the Trump administration over a peace plan they saw as biased against them.
Tensions are high between Israel and the Palestinians over the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May during an Israeli army raid in the West Bank.
Palestinians say she was killed by Israeli troops deliberately; Israel denies this. Washington has concluded she was killed by a bullet from the direction of an Israeli position but it has no evidence it was intentional.
The Palestinians, while appreciating the resumption of ties under Biden, want him to make good on pledges to reopen the Jerusalem consulate.
They also want the United States to remove the PLO from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations, block changes to rules for worship at Jerusalem sites revered by Muslims and Jews, and curb Jewish settlement expansion in the West Bank.
Israeli officials said Biden's visit would work towards what they called a Jerusalem Declaration on the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership.
One official said the joint declaration "takes a very clear and united stand against Iran, its nuclear program and its aggression across the region and commits both countries to using all elements of their national power against the Iranian nuclear threat."
Biden is likely to face questions from Israel and from Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates about the wisdom of his attempts to revive a nuclear deal with Iran that was abandoned by his predecessor Trump.
At Ben Gurion Airport, Biden received a briefing on Israel's U.S.-supported Iron Dome defense system and a new laser-enabled system called Iron Beam. He will also pay his respects at Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to Holocaust victims in World War Two.
Israel has been jolted by internal political strife with previous prime minister Naftali Bennett's coalition collapsing in June.
This has left Lapid as caretaker prime minister until a new election in November, the fifth in less than four years. He and Biden will give a joint news conference on Thursday.
Biden will also meet past prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, now the opposition leader. Netanyahu was a close ally of Trump and a critic of the Obama administration when Biden served as vice president.
AFP
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The Roe backlash is real. And, as they say, it is spectacular
People are enraged about the Supreme Court unceremoniously overturning Roe. Now we’re seeing just how angry they are.
Organizers behind Michigan’s Reproductive Freedom for All proposal report that they’ve already collected over 800,000 signatures, nearly double the 425,059 needed by July 15 to get the measure on the ballot – a Michigan record for a ballot initiative.
If approved, this proposal would amend that state’s Constitution to sup1931 law that banned abortion until Roe came along.
And more importantly, it would send a message to the enemies of reproductive rights everywhere – be afraid. Right now, you’re looking upon your works. You should despair.
A ten-year-old rape victim forced to flee her home. Doctors fearing prison if they decide to save a patient from an ectopic pregnancy. Red state politicians salivating at being able to hunt anyone seeking an abortion by preventing them from crossing state lines.
For now, you’re getting exactly what you wanted.
But voters won’t rest until the rights Roe guaranteed are restored.
The popularity of this measure also confirms something that should be obvious to anyone who pays attention to politics – Michigan is the model for resisting autocracy.
You may say that I’m a little too proud of my adopted home state. You might also say I’m overcompensating for the shame of my state of having helped elect Donald Trump in 2016.
You would be right. But so am I.
Like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Michigan responded to the realization that they’d put a Putinist in the White House by electing Democrats to key statewide offices, including governor, in 2018.
But the Mitten took the extra step of passing two ballot measures that helped undo some of the damage done to voting rights.
Proposal 2 gave the state one of the best approaches to ending gerrymandering in the nation. Proposal 3 expanded ballot access dramatically by, among many other things, giving every Michigander the option to vote by mail.
Both proposals passed with more than 61 percent support. Both were more popular than the measure legalizing weed, which also passed.
Making it easier to vote helped Michigan reject Trump in 2020 by 146,000 votes, more than 10-times his margin of victory in 2016.
Thanks to our new fair maps, Democrats have a chance to win back the state Senate for the first time since 1984 along with the state House, which has been in GOP hands most of the last decade.
This would not only give Governor Gretchen Whitmer a chance to actually govern in 2023, it would prevent what is shaping up as the GOP’s plan to steal key swing states in 2024 by using gerrymandered legislatures to overrule voters.
Increased voting rights and fair maps are the simplest way to fight back at the attrition of democracy that made Trump possible. And to be fair, I have to note that Michigan has a huge advantage in achieving these goals over many states, including our fellow bricks in the Blue Wall – Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Pennsylvanians need the state legislature to approve a measure before it can go on their ballot. And the GOP-controlled, gerrymandered-for-their-pleasure state House in the Keystone State will never do anything like that to risk their power or ability to help elect Trump or a Trump impersonator.
In Wisconsin, you need the measure to pass two consecutive legislatures to pass a ballot measure that would modify the state Constitution. Something that will never happen because the state is, at this point, barely a democracy.
But Michigan’s unique ability to fight for democracy makes it more important to the rest of the nation, not less.
If Michigan’s Reproductive Freedom for All passes in the nation’s third most important swing state with nearly two-thirds of voters supporting it, as I imagine it will, this will send a message to the rest of the nation.
That message will be loud and it will resonate much in the same way that Mallory McMorrow’s righteous speech calling out Republican BS did. And hopefully it will embolden weak-kneed Democrats to stand up on an issue where voters overwhelmingly and clearly oppose Republican BS.
It will say, we’re sick of your garbage and we’re not going to take it anymore. Yes, this isn’t enough, given the depths and depravity of the threats to our rights and democracy we face.
But it’s definitely a start.
https://www.alternet.org/2022/07/roe-backlash-real-and-spectacular/
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President Biden @POTUS
The United States' support of the State of Israel's defense capabilities is stronger than ever before, including our partnership with Israel on the most cutting-edge defense systems in the world like the Iron Dome and Israel’s new laser-enabled system called the Iron Beam.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXkzCN7WIAA_HXu?format=jpg&name=medium)
Today, I paid a visit to the hallowed ground of Yad Vashem where I had the distinct honor of meeting Dr. Gita Cycowicz and Ms. Rena Quint, two Holocaust survivors.
I vow to continue our shared, unending work to fight the poison of antisemitism wherever we find it in the world.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXk-1oIXgAIzAxb?format=jpg&name=medium)
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1547337043059113986
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Each of these Republicans gave tax cuts to the ultra wealthy resulting in record deficits. The GOP tax scams exploded the debt and put us into an economic crisis in 2008 under Bush and 2020 with Trump. Now, the GOP wants to get back into power to give more tax cuts to the ultra wealthy as they are talking about eliminating Social Security and Medicare.
Each Democrat decreased Republican deficit and fixed Republican economic disasters.
The Bush Tax Cuts Are the Disaster that Keeps on Giving
6/7/11
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-bush-tax-cuts-are-the-disaster-that-keeps-on-giving/
How Trump’s tax cuts and tariffs will make coronavirus recession worse
5/19/20
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-05-19/trumps-tax-cuts-trade-wars-economy-coronavirus-recession
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXgDyJkXEAA025L?format=jpg&name=900x900)
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WATCH: Biden, Israeli leaders deliver remarks in Tel Aviv
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Biden Signs Bipartisan Safer Communities Act Into Law | NBC News
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Republicans want to force women to give birth even if it kills them. That's how radical and extreme they are. They claim to be "pro life" but when the mother's life is at stake, they refuse to save her life. These people are not "pro life" they are sadistic and many women will die because of them.
Texas is suing the Biden Administration and their argument is that a mother's life should not be saved during a medical emergency to her pregnancy. Let that sink in. Republicans just want the mother to die and you can't save her. Many women will die for no reason at all and this insanity can't be allowed to take place in America. If Republicans ever gain control of Congress they will make this a federal law in all 50 states.
How would you feel if a woman in your family had severe complications to her pregnancy and there would be nothing you could do to save her life? You just had to sit there and watch her go through excruciating pain as she is dying. This is what Republicans want for women in America and the husbands who love them.
So as a result of Republicans, the mother dies. the child is never born, the husband becomes a widower, and the family loses the woman. This is absolutely barbaric and insane when Republicans will force women to die all because of their radical extreme religion. Republicans do not care about separation of church and state, they want to force their church on you with their extreme laws. This is not America, this is fascism. If Republicans ever gain control of Congress they will be forcing more of their extreme religious laws on you as they take away more of your freedoms.
Texas sues Biden administration over federal rules that require abortions be provided in medical emergencies to save life of mother
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/07/14/texas-sues-biden-emergency-abortion/
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This is today's Republican party.
NEW: The powerful Indiana attorney Jim Bopp told POLITICO the 10-year-old Ohio girl who crossed state lines to receive an abortion here should have carried her pregnancy to term and would have been required to do so under his law. W/ @meganmesserly
https://twitter.com/adamwren/status/1547626776486039552
.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/14/anti-abotion-10-year-old-ohio-00045843
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The Roe backlash is real. And, as they say, it is spectacular
People are enraged about the Supreme Court unceremoniously overturning Roe. Now we’re seeing just how angry they are.
Organizers behind Michigan’s Reproductive Freedom for All proposal report that they’ve already collected over 800,000 signatures, nearly double the 425,059 needed by July 15 to get the measure on the ballot – a Michigan record for a ballot initiative.
If approved, this proposal would amend that state’s Constitution to sup1931 law that banned abortion until Roe came along.
And more importantly, it would send a message to the enemies of reproductive rights everywhere – be afraid. Right now, you’re looking upon your works. You should despair.
A ten-year-old rape victim forced to flee her home. Doctors fearing prison if they decide to save a patient from an ectopic pregnancy. Red state politicians salivating at being able to hunt anyone seeking an abortion by preventing them from crossing state lines.
For now, you’re getting exactly what you wanted.
But voters won’t rest until the rights Roe guaranteed are restored.
The popularity of this measure also confirms something that should be obvious to anyone who pays attention to politics – Michigan is the model for resisting autocracy.
You may say that I’m a little too proud of my adopted home state. You might also say I’m overcompensating for the shame of my state of having helped elect Donald Trump in 2016.
You would be right. But so am I.
Like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Michigan responded to the realization that they’d put a Putinist in the White House by electing Democrats to key statewide offices, including governor, in 2018.
But the Mitten took the extra step of passing two ballot measures that helped undo some of the damage done to voting rights.
Proposal 2 gave the state one of the best approaches to ending gerrymandering in the nation. Proposal 3 expanded ballot access dramatically by, among many other things, giving every Michigander the option to vote by mail.
Both proposals passed with more than 61 percent support. Both were more popular than the measure legalizing weed, which also passed.
Making it easier to vote helped Michigan reject Trump in 2020 by 146,000 votes, more than 10-times his margin of victory in 2016.
Thanks to our new fair maps, Democrats have a chance to win back the state Senate for the first time since 1984 along with the state House, which has been in GOP hands most of the last decade.
This would not only give Governor Gretchen Whitmer a chance to actually govern in 2023, it would prevent what is shaping up as the GOP’s plan to steal key swing states in 2024 by using gerrymandered legislatures to overrule voters.
Increased voting rights and fair maps are the simplest way to fight back at the attrition of democracy that made Trump possible. And to be fair, I have to note that Michigan has a huge advantage in achieving these goals over many states, including our fellow bricks in the Blue Wall – Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Pennsylvanians need the state legislature to approve a measure before it can go on their ballot. And the GOP-controlled, gerrymandered-for-their-pleasure state House in the Keystone State will never do anything like that to risk their power or ability to help elect Trump or a Trump impersonator.
In Wisconsin, you need the measure to pass two consecutive legislatures to pass a ballot measure that would modify the state Constitution. Something that will never happen because the state is, at this point, barely a democracy.
But Michigan’s unique ability to fight for democracy makes it more important to the rest of the nation, not less.
If Michigan’s Reproductive Freedom for All passes in the nation’s third most important swing state with nearly two-thirds of voters supporting it, as I imagine it will, this will send a message to the rest of the nation.
That message will be loud and it will resonate much in the same way that Mallory McMorrow’s righteous speech calling out Republican BS did. And hopefully it will embolden weak-kneed Democrats to stand up on an issue where voters overwhelmingly and clearly oppose Republican BS.
It will say, we’re sick of your garbage and we’re not going to take it anymore. Yes, this isn’t enough, given the depths and depravity of the threats to our rights and democracy we face.
But it’s definitely a start.
https://www.alternet.org/2022/07/roe-backlash-real-and-spectacular/
Come on you Wolverines! Beat those rebels in November.
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Each of these Republicans gave tax cuts to the ultra wealthy resulting in record deficits. The GOP tax scams exploded the debt and put us into an economic crisis in 2008 under Bush and 2020 with Trump. Now, the GOP wants to get back into power to give more tax cuts to the ultra wealthy as they are talking about eliminating Social Security and Medicare.
Each Democrat decreased Republican deficit and fixed Republican economic disasters.
The Bush Tax Cuts Are the Disaster that Keeps on Giving
6/7/11
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-bush-tax-cuts-are-the-disaster-that-keeps-on-giving/
How Trump’s tax cuts and tariffs will make coronavirus recession worse
5/19/20
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-05-19/trumps-tax-cuts-trade-wars-economy-coronavirus-recession
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXgDyJkXEAA025L?format=jpg&name=900x900)
This is a great graph.
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High-profile conservatives debunk Trump's 2020 election claims: there was 'no fraud that changed the outcome in even a single precinct'
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/high-profile-conservatives-debunk-trump-s-2020-election-claims-there-was-no-fraud-that-changed-the-outcome-in-even-a-single-precinct/ar-AAZAbXo?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=da76d2456081418892292f9bb1d53fe5
A lengthy report written by well-known conservatives debunks Trump's false election claims.
Former federal judge Michael Luttig, a Jan. 6 hearing witness, contributes to the report.
Trump's claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent are "wrong and bad for our country," the report says.
A 72-page report released on Thursday by a group of eight prominent conservatives challenged a slew of election fraud claims former President Donald Trump has made about the 2020 election results.
"Donald Trump and his supporters have failed to present evidence of fraud or inaccurate results significant enough to invalidate the results of the 2020 Presidential Election," the report says. "We do not claim that election administration is perfect. Election fraud is a real thing; there are prosecutions in almost every election year, and no doubt some election fraud goes undetected."
The report continues, "But there is absolutely no evidence of fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election on the magnitude necessary to shift the result in any state, let alone the nation as a whole. In fact, there was no fraud that changed the outcome in even a single precinct."
The report, titled "LOST, NOT STOLEN: The Conservative Case that Trump Lost and Biden Won the 2020 Election," includes the voices of lawyers, retired federal judges, and former senators who analyze the over 60 court cases Trump and his allies filed in the six battleground states he lost, costing him the election. The report was first reported on by CNN.
"It is wrong, and bad for our country, for people to propagate baseless claims that President Biden's election was not legitimate," the report says.
Among the conservatives who contributed to the report is Michael Luttig, a retired federal judge who testified before the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol attack on January 6 during its third public hearing. Luttig, along with several of the other authors of the report, expressed criticism of the former president on many occasions.
Other well-known contributors include former Sen. John Danforth of Missouri, lawyer Benjamin Ginsburg, Thomas Griffith, former federal judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, David Hoppe, chief of staff for former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Michael W. McConnell, former judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, former US solicitor general Theodore B. Olson, and former Sen. Gordon H. Smith of Oregon.
The report is broken down by state and analyzes cases in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Each case analysis includes an addendum showing the case filed, the claim that was made, and the ending result. Many of the cases listed in the report were dismissed on merit or dropped voluntarily by plaintiffs, Trump and his supporters, or by state judges. The writers of the report also looked at how missing mail-in ballot situations were handled by each county election office.
"Fraud, irregularities, and procedural deficiencies formed the basis for challenging the results in five of the six highly contested Electoral College battleground states," the report says. "Trump verbally attacked the elections as fraudulent, but his lawyers never filed such charges in court … We conclude that Donald Trump and his supporters had their day in court and failed to produce substantive evidence to make their case."
The report included a plea to other conservative Republicans to reconsider their priorities and change their tune on the election.
"We urge our fellow conservatives to cease obsessing over the results of the 2020 election, and to focus instead on presenting candidates and ideas that offer a positive vision for overcoming our current difficulties and bringing greater peace, prosperity, and liberty to our nation," the report says.
Read the original article on Insider
The effect of conservative Republican's refuting Trump's stolen election claims? None. Trump supporters don't want to hear it. Period.
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This is a great graph.
Yes it shows all the debt racked up by Republicans since Bush senior.
When these debt increasing Republicans left office, it was Democrats that brought down and decreased their debt.
I remember back in 2012, right wingers accused Obama of "doubling the debt". That was their huge talking point and the right wing media played it up big even though Obama turned around Bush's economic disaster. But as we know, they were lying because Obama did not "double the debt". That debt was George W. Bush's debt that he did not pay off. Two failed wars, his two big tax breaks for the ultra wealthy, and his bogus prescription drug program that did nothing but increase the price of medicine for seniors. So, in order to pay off Bush's debt, Obama had to put that debt on the books so he could start paying it down. So, when the debt increased because it was put on the books to get paid off, right wingers accused Obama of "doubling the debt". That's what a bunch of liars they are. But as the chart shows, Obama brought it down.
Republicans are already talking about eliminating Social Security and Medicare so they can give more tax cuts to their billionaire donors and corporations that fund their election campaigns. If they ever get the power they will do it. People need to vote all of these Republicans out to save Social Security and Medicare. Otherwise, seniors will be starving and without medication when they have no more Social Security income.
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CNN’s Jake Tapper goes off on the ‘utter shamelessness’ of Republicans who doubted 10-year-old was raped
CNN's Jake Tapper blasted Republicans who refused to accept the fact an Ohio child was raped and was forced to travel to Indiana to get an abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade and imperiled access to reproductive health care in America.
"Earlier this month, the Indianapolis Star newspaper published a horrifying story in which a doctor described a 10- year-old girl in Ohio who had been raped and became pregnant as a result of the rape and had to travel to Indiana to get an abortion because Ohio law is so severely restrictive now that Roe vs. Wade has been overturned," Tapper reported.
The child was likely only 9 when she was raped, which authorities have said the suspect admitted doing multiple times.
"Yesterday, in Ohio, the alleged rapist was arrested and charged," Tapper reported. "It is a hideous ordeal and it was made all the more grotesque by the fact that in the days after the story was published and after President Biden mentioned the report and the girl in his speech, many Republican lawmakers and right-wing media figures immediately began attacking the poor girl's story as a lie. It's a lie that these conservatives falsely alleged was invented by liberals now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned and states are enacting strict abortion bans."
Tapper noted comments made by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Fox News, who insisted that investigators were not pursing the case prior to the arrest and said it was likely a "fabrication." He also noted similar comments by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and The Wall Street Journal editorial board.
"Nope, nope, nope," Tapper said. "All of them wrong."
"There's nothing wrong with wanting confirmation of facts," Tapper said. "Facts are vital. You can be forgiven for finding it odd to witness the glee, the utter shamelessness of the various public figures over the past few days declaring this is a lie, seemingly more focused on making political hay out of this tragedy than trying to find out if it was true."
Watch:
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'My mind is blown!' House Republicans slammed for voting against Amber Alerts for mass shootings
This week, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would establish an Amber Alert-style system to let people in an area know there is an active shooter situation. While the bill was bipartisan, 168 House Republicans voted against it — and some of them gave eyebrow-raising reasons.
"It's because they want you to be afraid of the Second Amendment," said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) in a speech on the floor. "It's because they want you to be afraid of responsible gun ownership." "This is another example of Washington creating another department, another position, spending more money we don't have in order to have a policy objective and advance fear among the American people," said Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).
On MSNBC Thursday, anchor Joy Reid tore into the GOP opposition votes with Brandon Wolf, a survivor of the Pulse Nightclub shooting.
"Brandon, my friend, you know, I can't think of anything that should be more bipartisan and easy to vote for than an Amber Alert-type system to let people know, hey, there's an active shooter in your area," said Reid. "This would be like saying the current Amber Alert system, which helps us find sexual predators, is just trying to make people afraid of people who want to rape children. Yeah, we should be afraid of people who want to rape children! That's why we have an Amber Alert system. They kidnap a kid, yes, we're afraid of people who want to abduct and hurt children. My mind is blown that 168 Republicans thought that was a bad idea. I can only imagine what you think."
"The absurdity would be comical if it wasn't deadly in nature," said Wolf. "I think you have to start by considering what the Republican message to this country has been on gun violence for decades. They've told us gun violence is inevitable. Sorry you saw your kid to school only to see them carried out in a body bag. Sorry you had to provide a DNA sample because your nephew's body was mangled. Sorry you sent grandma to the grocery store only to be gunned down in the produce aisle. That's simply the way the cookie crumbles. That has been, for decades, been the Republican message on gun violence. If that's true, if you believe there's nothing we can do about gun violence, that it's just an inevitable way of American life, why on earth would you oppose giving people the very best information possible to be kept alive?"
"I'll tell you why," Wolf continued. "It's because Republican leaders in this country are not capable of, nor are they interested in doing the jobs that they've asked for. Democrats, I think, need to call it like it is. Republican politicians are obstructionist wannabe reality television stars who view their positions in government simply as a chance to see themselves on TV as often as possible. And, America, we have to be honest with ourselves. We have to stop enabling these totally unserious political mercenaries who are content to surround themselves with security without so much as giving us a heads-up that there is a shooter around the block. In a functioning democracy, this would and should cost every one of them their jobs."
Watch below:
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There's always bills in the House of Representatives that will be partisan in voting, but there bills that should be unanimous for both Republicans and Democrats. This was a bill that should have had the support of EVERY House Republican.
This was the "Active Shooter Alert System" bill that warns the public if there is an active shooter in your area. With all the recent mass shootings happening, the public needs to be warned in case of an incident. 168 House Republicans voted "NO" to alerting you if a mass shooter is in your area. How can a Republican vote against the safety of the public especially their own constituents?
I keep telling you these radical Republicans in congess do not care about Americans and this vote is another perfect example. They don't even care to do their job. Ensuring that communities are safe is the number one responsibility of a congressman, they took an oath swearing to protect us, but these Republicans do not even care to keep their own communities safe. That's a clear dereliction of duty and they deserve to be voted out. If they refuse to help keep you safe what good are they? How can they complain about violence when they just voted "NO" to warn you about violence?
Wouldn't you want to be alerted if some nut with an AR-15 was at large in your community? I would.
Republicans have given mass shooters easy access to deadly weapons with lax gun laws. And now when one goes berserk in a city, Republicans vote "NO" to alert us to keep us out of danger. So, it's fair to say that Republicans are on the side of violent mass shooters because there is absolutely no reason to vote against warning the public to save lives when a maniac with a deadly weapon is on the loose. Republicans are helping mass shooters instead of helping the public be alerted.
This bill only passed because of Democrats. If the House was controlled by Republicans, this bill would have been voted down to defeat. 43 Republican did what they were supposed to do but the 80% failed miserably. There is never a reason to vote against public safety and 80% of House Republicans did just that. Shame on them and the one Democrat that voted no.
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree @chelliepingree
House Republicans are so extreme that last night ~80% of them voted against a bill to notify the public when there's an active shooter in their area.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXoTpDvUEAUkrT4?format=jpg&name=900x900)
https://twitter.com/chelliepingree/status/1547571021426765826
Bill Pascrell, Jr. @BillPascrell
We just voted to create an Amber Alert type system for active shootings and 80% of House republicans voted against it.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXoTpDvUEAUkrT4?format=jpg&name=900x900)
https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1547378758633627648
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Another bill that was brought to the House floor for a vote, was "The Amendment To The 2023 Defense Programs Bill". This bill was designed to combat neo nazis and other violent hate groups members that infiltrated our military.
EVERY single Republican voted "NO" to combat neo nazis in our military.
So, It's fair to say that Republicans are on the side of neo nazis because they just voted to protect neo nazis.
How low can these Republicans go?
Republicans are always accused of supporting neo nazis and other hate groups, and after this vote, we can see that they side with the neo nazis. Otherwise, they would have voted "yes" to prevent neo nazis from taking over our military.
Once again, Republicans have shown their true colors.
Bill Pascrell, Jr. @BillPascrell
We just voted to combat neo nazis in our military and every single republican voted no
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https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1547418538356445184
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Republican official learns the hard way not to travel to Las Vegas while under indictment
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Right-wing county clerk Tina Peters was indicted on 10 criminal charges, but she's not in jail yet. So, Peters thought she could flee to Las Vegas without notifying the court, the Colorado Sun reported Thursday.
Peters' indictment comes from her efforts trying to break into voting machines in Mesa County, Colorado after the 2020 election when former President Donald Trump lost the state and she tried to prove the conspiracy theory that the election was stolen through fraud. Trump and his allies have spent the past two years spreading the conspiracy theories despite evidence to the contrary.
Seven of the charges Peters faces are felonies, though she continues to maintain her innocence and even ran for office to be Colorado Secretary of State, but she lost in the GOP primary to someone who believes Trump lost.
While Peters was allowed to travel outside of Colorado to visit Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago while running for office, her campaign is now over. Most defendants on bond must inform the court before any out-of-state travel. District Court Judge Matthew David Barrett agreed with prosecutors and banned Peters from traveling without permission.
Still, Peters ignored it, heading to Vegas for a convention for the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association.
A warrant has now been issued for her arrest and she'll be jailed until the next hearing.
Read the full report at the Colorado Sun.
https://coloradosun.com/2022/07/14/tina-peters-bond-arrest/
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A group representing the majority of House Republicans has signed on to a new agenda calling to cut Social Security and Medicare if they win power. Seniors will lose their income.
Look at what Mitch McConnell said before and now.
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Maryland GOPers defend fellow Republican implicated in Trump meeting to overturn 2020 election
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On Thursday, The Baltimore Sun reported that prominent Maryland Republicans are refusing to do anything to condemn Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) following reports of his close involvement with the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
"The Baltimore Sun reached out to 10 state Republicans, including state party leaders, elected officials and candidates, seeking their opinion on the U.S. House panel’s finding Tuesday that Harris met with Trump and other GOP representatives at the White House and discussed a strategy in which Vice President Mike Pence would reject state electors’ tallies," reported Jeff Barker. "The committee says the plan — which Pence did not follow — was illegal, and Democratic candidates hoping Tuesday’s primary election earns them the chance to run against Harris this fall have called the six-term Republican a 'traitor' seeking to subvert democracy."
However, according to the Sun, some Republican officials in Maryland are largely still defending him — by trying to falsely claim Democrats did the same thing.
“Questioning the outcome of a presidential election is nothing new. Hillary Clinton told her supporters not to accept her loss in 2016,” said state Del. Kathy Szeliga to the paper, evidently unaware that Clinton conceded the election the next morning. Baltimore Republican Party official Tom Kennedy also claimed Rep. Jamie Raskin tried to overturn the 2016 election, saying “What everyone forgets is that, thanks to the Democrats, objecting to election results has practically become an American tradition.” (Raskin did not try to overturn the 2016 election.)
Meanwhile, according to the report, "Six Maryland Republicans, including state party chair Dirk Haire, gubernatorial candidates Dan Cox and Kelly Schulz, and Republican National Committeewoman Nicolee Ambrose did not respond Wednesday or Thursday to Sun emails or texts about Harris sent to them or their spokespersons. Mike Ricci, a spokesperson for Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, referred a reporter to an interview Hogan gave Wednesday on WBAL radio.
The two-term governor, when asked about the significance of Harris’ attendance at the White House meeting, told the station: 'Well, I don’t know anything about the meeting and unfortunately I had about a 14-hour day [Tuesday] so I wasn’t watching television so I didn’t see the hearing.'"
For his part, Harris himself has dodged reporters following the revelations about his involvement in the 2020 plotting.
Read More Here:
https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-andy-harris-trump-republicans-20220714-k6oxumnnzzc5vdlvqrpll2blqe-story.html
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A brand new 2022 congressional poll shows that Americans prefer Democrats to keep control of Congress.
Generic Congressional Ballot:
Democrats 52% (+4)
Republicans 48%
@purespectrum_ , 24,414 Adults, 6/8-7/6
https://osf.io/3d6r8/
https://twitter.com/Politics_Polls/status/1547675071027613702
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President Biden @POTUS
This morning I sat down with Israeli Prime Minister Lapid to sign a new strategic U.S.-Israel partnership based on a bedrock of shared values, our commitment to preserve and strengthen Israel's defense capabilities, and a true and enduring friendship.
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I had the pleasure to join the first leaders meeting of the United States, India, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates.
Together, the I2U2 will harness the vibrancy and entrepreneurial spirit of our nations to tackle some of the greatest challenges confronting our world.
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Israeli President Herzog and I met earlier today to discuss the U.S.’ ironclad support for Israel’s security and efforts to widen the circle of peace in the region.
I celebrate our nation's deep bond with Israel.
Through my decades of service, I've watched Israel grow into its founding fathers' and mothers' wildest dreams.
It was my honor to be awarded the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1547623143069560832
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In order to get an accurate representation of polling, you need to go by the polling averages. One political poll does not give you an accurate account of the numbers because the poll could be heavily skewed to the right or the left. That's why you go by the polling averages, since several polls are averaged in together which gives you the most accurate representation.
There have been four new polls conducted for the 2022 midterm election in the last week and all of them show Democrats leading Republicans. One poll shows Democrats up by 1 point, two polls show Democrats up by 4 points, and another poll has Democrats up by 5. So, Democrats have close to a 4 point lead over Republicans for 2022 in these latest polls. And that's not averaging in the polls taken from before.
Polls have been telling us for months that ending Roe would galvanize the Democratic electorate and fundamentally change the election.
Poll after poll taken since June 24th show the election has fundamentally changed, moving 3-5 pts towards Democrats.
Brand new polling from Morning Consult/Politico
Generic Congressional Ballot:
Democrats 46% (+4)
Republicans 42%
.@MorningConsult/@Politico, 2,005 RV, 7/8-10
https://morningconsult.com/2022/07/13/state-abortion-restrictions-opposition-survey/
https://twitter.com/Politics_Polls/status/1547227482159550466
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Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock @SenatorWarnock
We need to be clear about what Washington Republicans did yesterday: they blocked a Senate bill—without a vote—that would reaffirm Americans rights to travel between U.S. states.
We should all be outraged. #BansOffOurBodies
https://twitter.com/SenatorWarnock/status/1547986851293798400
Republicans block Democratic bill to protect freedom to travel for abortions
Sen. Amy Klobuchar tears into GOP over 10-year-old rape victim as Republicans threaten to ban interstate travel
https://www.salon.com/2022/07/14/block-democratic-bill-to-protect-freedom-to-travel-for-abortions/
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GOP lawmaker who said 2020 was rigged is accused of election fraud
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The Republican nominee to be New York's governor has been accused of election fraud, threatening his chances of having his name under the Independence Party on the November ballot, Newsweek reports.
Lee Zeldin was a supporter of former President Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. As a GOP congressman, he voted against the certification of the election's results, saying, the "debate is necessary because rogue election officials, secretaries of state and courts circumvented state election laws."
But according to Newsweek, nearly 13,000 signatures on petitions for Zeldin to appear on the Independence Party line on the ballot have been invalidated by the New York State Board of Elections after the New York Libertarian Party's secretary, Andrew Kolstee, alleged that around 11,000 of Zeldin's signatures were copies of other pages.
The 13,000 now-invalidated signatures bring Zeldin below the required number of signatures to appear on the ballot.
"While petition signature fraud is different than voter fraud, which Trump alleged had occurred in 2020, it is considered a form of election fraud according to the conservative Heritage Foundation," Newsweek reports. "The right-wing organization describes 'ballot petition fraud,' which is defined as "forging the signatures of registered voters on the ballot petitions that must be filed with election officials in some states for a candidate or issue to be listed on the official ballot," as a 'type' of election fraud."
Read More Here:
https://www.newsweek.com/new-york-representative-lee-zeldin-accused-ballot-petition-fraud-independence-party-line-1725131
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President Biden @POTUS
Today, I met with President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority.
I believe the Palestinian people deserve to live lives of dignity and opportunity, and to give hope to their children that they will one day enjoy the same freedom and self-determination as their neighbors.
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The Palestinian city of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, is a place of enormous significance to me and Christians across the world.
This Holy Land and the Church of the Nativity remind us that everyone must be free to practice their faith in peace, safety, and dignity.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1548053564655747074
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In a year and a half as President, the accomplishments are historic for President Biden.
- 9 mllion jobs created. The most in American history.
- Unemployment at 3.6%, the lowest unemployment since 1969..
- Ended the 20 year war in Afghanistan.
- $1.9T American Rescue Plan. Which rescued our economy, put money into local communities, and funded police departments all across America.
- $1.2T infrastructure law. The largest Infrastructure package in history to upgrade crumbling infrastructure, fund construction projects in American cities, upgrade high speed internet to rural communities, and deliver clean drinking water to Americans.
- The 1st major gun law in 30 years.
- Confirmed 69 federal judges.
- Made an agreement with Mexico who will pay the United States $1.5 Billion for border security.
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President Biden @POTUS
Today, I met with Prime Minister Al-Kadhimi to recommit to the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement and reaffirm the importance of forming an Iraqi government responsive to the will of the Iraqi people and their respect for democracy and independence.
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I look forward to another period of strong and growing cooperation between the U.S. and UAE under President Sheikh Mohammed's leadership. The opportunities and challenges we face today make it important as ever that we spend more time together.
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Earlier today, I sat down with President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi to reaffirm our shared commitment to the U.S.-Egypt strategic partnership, and to discuss regional and global challenges.
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Every chance I get to work with Israel is a blessing. With my visit, I reaffirmed the United States' ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and launched new technology partnerships.
May Israel and the U.S. continue to prosper together for the benefit of the world.
We will continue to support Israel’s integration in the region and support efforts to negotiate a lasting peace between the State of Israel and the Palestinian people that allows both peoples to live side-by-side in peace and security.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1548669461238108162
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There here have been 14 independent polls taken since Roe ended, and the in those polls Democrats now hold a 44.2 to 41.7 lead, 2.5 points.
That's a 4-5 point swing towards Democrats in recent weeks.
With gas prices down now almost 50 cents, there is a new opening for Democrats to broaden economic conversation beyond inflation and establish this basic contrast:
3 straight Democrat presidents have brought job/economic growth and lower deficits
3 straight Republicans have given us recessions and massive debt.
On Friday, July 8th, 2022, the July BLS jobs report was released, and it showed almost 400,000 jobs created in June, another incredibly strong month. The very strong recovery continues, despite Russia's aggression and the global inflation it has caused. The new updated Biden job numbers comes in at:
33.8 million jobs - 16 years of Clinton, Obama
9 million jobs - 17 months of Biden
1.9 million jobs - 16 years of Bush, Bush and Trump
Biden's 9 million jobs is 4 and a half times as many jobs as were created in the 16 years of the last 3 Republican Presidencies, combined. It is also millions more than were created in the entirety of any of their three individual Presidencies. Many millions more. Since 1989 and the end of the Cold War, the US has seen 44 million new jobs created. Remarkably 43 million of those 45 million were created under Democratic Presidents, 96%.
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What this data tells us is that since this new age of globalization began in 1989, a modern and forward looking Democratic Party has repeatedly seen strong economic growth on its watch. Republican Presidents, on the other hand, have overseen three consecutive recessions - the last two, severe. The contrast in performance here is very stark, it is not a stretch to state that the GOP’s economic track record over the past 30 years has been among the worst in the history of the United States.
GDP growth tells a similar story:
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And look at the jobs created per month over these Presidencies - Republicans at just 10,000 per month over 16 years. Biden is running at more than 50 times that so far. Yes more than 50x, and twice as many jobs per day - 18k - as Republicans averaged PER MONTH over 16 years. Disastrous numbers for Republicans. Don't ever let anyone tell you a Republican is good for job creation.
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The bottom line is that Democratic policies have repeatedly been able to make globalization work for the American people in this new and challenging age. GOP policies have repeatedly failed to deliver, as a national party Republicans have repeatedly failed to do their part. For those looking for reasons why America has not made more progress in this era, reactionary Republican policies appear to be a very good place to start.
Importantly, there is a growing recognition of both the very strong economic performance of the economy under Biden, and under the Democrats more broadly. On 2021 being one of the best economic years in recent decades, see these analyses by Rob Shapiro, Matthew Winkler, Paul Krugman and David Rothkopf in the links below. For the the bigger asymmetry in performance between the two parties see these smart pieces by David Leonhardt and Mike Tomasky in the links below.
The Washington Post has published a very good editorial talking about the significance of all these jobs being created, writing "The jobs recovery has been unusually strong.....More than 6.5 million jobs have come back in the past year, one of the greatest employment rebounds in U.S. history. Women and minorities have made especially large gains. For all the concerns about the "She-cession" early in the pandemic, women have come surging back into the workforce in recent months, especially as schools and day cares have reopened. Women’s labor force participation, especially for ages 25 to 54, has now recovered as much as men’s. And the share of African Americans working is almost back at a two-decade high."
It is a firm belief among many, that the current radicalization of the GOP is intimately linked to its repeated failure to handle the challenges of the post-Cold War era. The rigid ideological approach of the modern GOP has left it unable to govern in a time of rapid change; and those repeated failures have left many Republicans angry, reactionary and willing to do the unthinkable to stay in or regain power. The modern GOP has no answers for many of the most important challenges America faces today, and rather than modernizing, adapting, as all institutions must in a time of change, the GOP has decided to fight the future by rigging the system to remain in power while the country and its people drift from their narrow grasp.
It is why Democrats must fight so hard to prevent Republicans from once again cheating their way into power, and establishing a sustained period of minority rule. It is not just a betrayal of the great American experiment, but it will guarantee, as the data here strongly argues, a period of extended decline as much needed progress on the big challenges we face will be further delayed.
With Democrats things get better, but unfortunately we had 3 disastrous Republican presidents ruin our economy and a Democrat was left to clean up their mess. These charts, graphs, and data proves it.
Excellent Articles:
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2021/12/09/its-a-biden-boom-and-no-one-has-noticed-yet/
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-12-20/president-biden-s-economic-performance-has-proved-unbeatable?utm_source=pocket_mylist
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/08/10/senate-passes-infrastructure-bill-bipartisan-support/5539281001/
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/opinion/sunday/democrats-economy.html
https://www.thedailybeast.com/everyone-does-better-when-the-presidents-a-democrat
https://twitter.com/nick_bunker/status/1532713887547670528
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The Dollar is the strongest currency on Earth right now and is at it's strongest level in two decades.
The Dollar Is Surging
The US dollar is giving off Main Character Energy. The world’s most important currency, accounting for $6 trillion in daily economic activity pre-pandemic, is the strongest it’s been in 20 years. Just last week, USD hit 1:1 parity against the euro for the first time since 2002.
But as a mighty dollar ripples through the global economy in profound ways, its impacts are being felt unequally—for some, it’s a major boost; for others, a drag.
A stronger dollar means lower prices for imports into the US—which is key to the central bank’s goal of bringing down inflation. In the past year, prices of imports (excluding fuel) contributed to half of the increase in consumer prices, per WaPo. But in June, they dropped for the second straight month.
When the US dollar rises in value compared to foreign currencies, Americans get more bang for their buck when traveling abroad. Americans traveling abroad this summer will find that their money goes further. “One of the only ways an American can reap the rewards of a strong dollar is by going on holiday,” said Max Gokhman, the chief investment officer at AlphaTrAI, an asset management firm.
As central bankers around the world try to tame inflation by raising interest rates, the Federal Reserve is moving more quickly and more aggressively than most. As a result, rates are now markedly higher in the United States than they are in many other large economies, luring investors attracted by the higher returns on even relatively conservative investments such as Treasury bonds. As money has poured in, the value of the dollar has increased.
“It’s a very, very strong dollar,” said Mark Sobel, a former Treasury official who now serves as the US chair of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, a think tank. The currency has been stronger on only three occasions since the 1960s.
As the world’s most important currency, the dollar often rises in times of turmoil, in part because investors consider it to be relatively safe and stable. The dollar has gained in recent months as global inflation has soared, interest rates have increased and the worries over growth have worsened. “That’s a pretty tough mix,” said Kamakshya Trivedi, the co-head of a market research group at Goldman Sachs.
The main way to gauge the dollar’s strength is by indexing it against a basket of currencies of major trading partners like Japan and the eurozone. By that measure, the dollar is at a 20-year high, after gaining more than 10 per cent this year, a huge move for an index that typically shifts by tiny fractions each day.
Reflecting the drag, companies that generate most of their revenue in the United States have performed better than rivals with more international exposure, according to indexes compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Many companies and governments abroad borrow in dollars, and the currency’s strength is a big problem. This is particularly true for poorer countries attracted to dollar-denominated debt as an alternative to less developed local markets.
AFP
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Forced birth for women and forced payments for men, the GOP is all about controlling every aspect of your life based on their extreme religious beliefs. That's fascism folks!
In Idaho, if the woman's life is in danger because of her pregnancy, Republicans say the woman should be left to die under their "no exception abortion" law. So, these fake "Pro Life" Republicans are going to let women die. These are the barbaric relgious laws Republicans are enforcing in right wing red states. If the GOP ever controls Congress again, they will make the "no exception abortion law" a federal law where women all across America will be dying. This is third world country stuff.
Idaho GOP’s anti-abortion platform makes no exception for saving a mother’s life
Idaho Republicans declare abortion is murder from fertilization as anti-abortion lawmakers across US push severe restrictions after end of Roe v Wade
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Republicans have declared abortion is “murder from the moment of fertilization” and would make no exceptions even to save the life of the mother, according to the state party’s platform.
Republicans at the state’s GOP convention this weekend rejected an amendment to their official party platform that would have provided an exception for a pregnant person to save their life. The platform also makes no exceptions for rape or incest.
Delegates voted against the amendment in the platform – which is used to direct policy within the state’s GOP-controlled legislature – by a vote of 412-164.
The state’s so-called “trigger” law, which passed in 2020 and is designed to take effect after the US Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion, would outlaw nearly all abortions, with exceptions for pregnancies from rape or incest only if such crimes were reported to law enforcement.
Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai’i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky and an abortion provider in the state have sued to block the law. A hearing in that case is set for 3 August.
Scott Herndon, a Republican candidate running for a state Senate seat, argued against the exception, telling delegates that “for the last 49 years we have essentially lost the argument in the culture because we have focused on abortion as the termination of a pregnancy and not the termination of a living human being.”
“We will never win this human rights issue, the greatest of our time, if we make allowances for the intentional killing of another human being,” he said, according to the Idaho Capital Sun.
In a Facebook video following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women’ss Health Organization, Mr Herndon criticised rape and incest exemptions in the state’s anti-abortion law, saying that “you don’t put to death the innocent child for the crime of its father, but that’s what this law would allow.”
At least nine states – Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin – have outlawed abortion entirely in nearly all instances following the Supreme Court’s decision on 24 June to strike down the half-century precedent in Roe v Wade.
As many as 26 states could outlaw abortion without protections affirmed under Roe. Republican-led state legislatures are poised to draft more-restrictive laws in the coming weeks and months.
Anti-abortion laws in at least 10 states – Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas – make no exceptions for pregnancies from rape or incest.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/idaho-abortion-republicans-roe-v-wade-b2125684.html
Rubio pushes bill mandating men pay child support from moment of conception
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U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) is sponsoring legislation that would require anyone whose sperm is used to fertilize an egg to begin paying child support from the moment of conception, upon the mother's request.
The Florida Republican Senator's bill also advances the GOP goal of legally claiming that life begins at conception, and that fertilized eggs are "persons" with all the rights of a human being.
“We should do everything we can to support American mothers and their children. This bill would allow expecting mothers to prepare and support their babies before they are born.” Sen. Rubio said in a statement.
"The bill itself makes a specific change to current federal regulations regarding child support," WFLA reports. "Under the proposed legislation, the government would require that states 'establish and enforce child support obligations of the biological father of an unborn child (and subsequent to the birth of the child) to the mother of such child' at the mother’s request."
Senator Rubio is ranked among the most far-right GOP Senators, according to analysis by GovTrack. The bill is supported by some of the most far-right Senators and organizations in the U.S., including the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America, along with GOP Senators James Lankford and Marsha Blackburn.
In 2012, after claiming he would draft legislation similar to the DREAM Act to protect those he called "blameless" children, and promised to include many GOP sponsors, the Florida Republican Senator filed a bill that excluded low-income immigrant families with undocumented parents from receiving a child tax credit.
He called attempts to provide these needy families with the same support other families were eligible for a "scam."
Just last year Sen. Rubio again opposed a child tax credit, this time claiming it "has been called a ‘child allowance,’ paid out as a universal basic income to all parents.
Read more Here:
https://www.wfla.com/news/politics/rubio-proposes-law-for-child-support-to-start-at-month-of-conception/
GOP passed forced-birth laws for minors. Now they pretend it isn't happening.
When The Indianapolis Star reported that a 10-year-old rape victim had to travel to Indiana for an abortion because of the abortion ban in her home state of Ohio, it sounded like the kind of worst-case scenario that abortion-rights advocates had warned would come with the fall of Roe v. Wade. It sounded so much like it, in fact, that right-wing media, congressional conservatives and even Ohio’s top prosecutor declared it a bogus story. Then the 27-year-old alleged rapist was arrested.
Even without such vivid confirmation arising so quickly, common sense dictates that this hellish dilemma for women and girls is a real one in the post-Roe world. Those who intentionally created that dilemma are disingenuous to pretend now that it isn’t happening.
It’s not surprising that this story was initially hard to corroborate. Privacy laws are strict regarding medical records and juveniles. But anti-choice voices were remarkably quick to declare the lack of information as being proof of a “hoax,” as one Fox News pundit called it. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, tweeted that the story was a “lie,” then quietly deleted the tweet after it turned out to be true. A headline on a Wall Street Journal editorial declared it “An Abortion Story Too Good to Confirm.”
After the alleged rapist’s arrest, the Journal, to its credit, ran a follow-up editorial essentially acknowledging they got it wrong. Most others haven’t.
But why were anti-choice forces so eager to debunk the story in the first place? This outcome — inhibiting virtually all abortion services, even for child rape victims — is the stated goal of these laws across red-state America. Yes, the girl’s age was shocking, but would it be more palatable had the victim been 13, or 16? In their backlash against the story, the supporters of these laws seemed to be suggesting that the very proposition that minors could be impregnated by rapists and then denied abortion services is somehow unbelievable.
It’s not only believable, it’s inevitable. And most of the time, the public won’t even know about it. Given those aforementioned privacy laws, there’s no reason to suppose that other cases like this aren’t unfolding below the media radar right now. Now Indiana’s Republican attorney general says he’s investigating the doctor who performed the girl’s abortion, as if to add a bizarre new political twist to this sordid tale.
Denying any woman the right to control her own body is egregious. But denying that right to a child who has been raped is positively dystopian. The desperate attempts to discredit and politicize this story indicate that, at some level, even many in the anti-choice movement understand that. If legislators in Missouri and other red states aren’t willing to own the prospect of forced birth by already-traumatized children as the unavoidable result of their anti-choice absolutism, they have an obligation to carve out exceptions for rape victims and for minors.
https://www.stltoday.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-gop-passed-forced-birth-laws-for-minors-now-they-pretend-it-isnt-happening/article_cc337a08-690a-5370-ae47-31ff5f6436cb.html
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Dem Gov. Pritzker: FL’s DeSantis is Trump in a mask and GOP likes white extremism
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Illinois' Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivered a blistering speech in Tampa Saturday equating Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis with former president Donald Trump and condemning him for doing more to “protect” Floridians from LGBTQ children and immigrants than from white nationalism and gun violence.
As keynote speaker at the Florida Democratic Party’s annual leadership conference, Pritzker urged Democrats to call out white nationalism and gun violence as domestic terrorism and to campaign against Republican candidates — including DeSantis — who do not.
“This pattern is a clear domestic terrorism threat,” Pritzker said. “He is happy to pick on LGBTQ kids and immigrants, but God forbid he calls out what the FBI refers to as our most pressing security threat: the rise of white extremism.
“Ditch cautious rhetoric and even more cautious electoral strategy, and start speaking honestly … about the dangers democracy is facing from the MAGA Republican party,” Pritzker said, prompting a standing ovation from the audience, estimated at 2,000 at the sold-out event.
Pritzker, governor of the state where a gunman murdered seven people and wounded scores more on July 4 at a parade in Highland Park, on the North Shore of Chicago, said it is true that preventing violence crime requires investments in intervention programs, mental health, and law enforcement, but he said those are not enough.
“Make no mistake, dealing with crime also involves getting guns off the streets. Ultimately, we need a federal assault weapons ban,” the governor said, also calling for national attention to “an epidemic of young men enamored with white nationalism” killing people in mass with assault weapons.”
Pritzker said the national Republican Party is “obsessed” with MAGA politics and weakening support for Democrats by ginning up fury and fear over problems that pale in comparison with gun violence and loss of abortion rights.
“Here is where the Republican game plan is the most audacious: They want to distract you into believing that gay marriage, black history, Disney World and library books are more of a threat to our children than AR-15s,” Pritzker said, and the audience rose to its feet in applause. “Don’t tell us that a 10-year-old is too young to learn about the history of slavery but not too young to run active-shooter drills when she learns how to play dead.”
Citing the U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down abortion rights in place for nearly 50 years under Roe v. Wade, Pritzker called the Republican Party hypocritical for seeking that outcome in the name of “pro-life.”
“No part of the Republican agenda is about life. Give me one example of the Republican Party showing up for life in this country,” Pritzker said, arguing that it is the Democratic Party that supports life by expanding health care, supporting reproductive freedom, supporting humane immigration policies, and promoting diversity in American society.
“Get ready, because the next thing on their to-do list is a nationwide abortion ban,” Pritzker said.
To stop the “GOP insanity” of the MAGA agenda, he said, Democrats such as he, Stacey Abrams of Georgia, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and President Joe Biden should stand firm for Democratic principles and elect more Democrats, especially to the U.S. Senate and the presidency.
“Floridians, you can stop national Republicans in their tracks if you elect Val Demings to the U.S. Senate,” Pritzker said, and the room burst into cheers, sign-waving and noise-making.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Demings, an Orlando Democrat challenging Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, also delivered a rousing speech, citing Trump’s “big lie” about election fraud to attack voting rights, the Supreme Court’s anti-abortion ruling after Trump appointed three conservatives to the bench, and Rubio’s record of opposing abortion rights and gun-violence prevention.
“Ours is the only party fighting for the Constitution, rule of law, and our democracy,” Demings said, brandishing a fist.
Demings, former police chief in Orlando, was on the House Democratic team that impeached President Trump in 2019 for using his role as U.S. president to pressure the president of Ukraine for political favors. (The Republican-led Senate did not concur in the impeachment). She said those are “tough jobs” that she chose to do and of which she is proud.
“We’re not going back. We’re not shutting up. We’re going to fight,” she said.
https://floridaphoenix.com/2022/07/17/dem-gov-pritzker-fls-desantis-is-trump-in-a-mask-and-gop-likes-white-extremism/
OK Republican bought up to $30,000 in defense stocks while pushing for more military spending
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On Monday, Business Insider reported that a prominent House Republican on a budget task force bought up to $30,000 in stocks for two major defense contractors — as he pushed for an increase to the federal military budget.
"Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma and his wife invested up to $15,000 in Raytheon Technologies and up to $15,000 in Lockheed Martin, according to a recently filed federal financial disclosure. Members of Congress are only required to disclose the value of their investments in broad ranges," reported Madison Hall. "Raytheon Technologies is a defense contractor that creates drones, guided missiles, air defense systems, and other weapons platforms. Lockheed Martin similarly produces missiles and aerospace vehicles used in military operations."
"Raytheon and Lockheed Martin's products have also been used in the war in Ukraine. In May, Insider identified 20 lawmakers who are invested in the two companies and were set to profit from the $40 billion Ukraine aid package that was later signed into action by President Joe Biden," said the report. "Hern is a member of the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of GOP House representatives that 'provides the tools and research that members of Congress need to craft and advance policies,' according to the committee's site. As the chair of the committee's Budget and Spending Task Force, Hern and the committee released an alternative budget for the 2023 fiscal year that vows to cut $16.6 trillion in spending over 10 years while increasing defense funding by 5% to $845 billion."
All of this comes amid a new wave of controversy over how members of Congress in both parties buy and sell individual stocks while legislating policy on the companies in question. As the report noted, "Only about a dozen members of Congress — Hern is not among them — have reported using what's known as a qualified blind trust, a formal arrangement, requiring congressional approval, in which a lawmaker officially transfers management of their financial assets to an independent trustee."
Officially, the STOCK Act of 2012 is designed to curb insider trading in Congress by requiring members to disclose their investments publicly, but in practice, many members don't even comply with this requirement.
The scope of the ongoing misconduct has prompted calls to ban members of Congress and their immediate families from trading individual stocks altogether — a proposal that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) originally viewed with skepticism but eventually endorsed.
Read More Here:
https://www.businessinsider.com/defense-contractor-stock-kevin-hern-congress-lockheed-martin-raytheon-2022-7
Manchin directed millions in federal funds to wildlife area near his condo: report
After refusing to support a stripped-down version of the reconciliation package to invest billions of dollars in federal funds to combat climate change and obstructing other federal efforts to protect the environment, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and his wife, Gayle Manchin, have directed millions of federal dollars to a region in West Virginia where the couple owns a condo, The Intercept reports.
"Hundreds of miles north of the coal communities decimated by the mountaintop removal mining that Manchin fostered in the state, the Manchins’ Canaan Valley residence sits in an unadulterated watershed, surrounded by the Dolly Sods Wilderness, the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, and Blackwater Falls State Park," The Intercept's Daniel Boguslaw writes.
According to Boguslaw, Manchin "used his spot on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee" to secure $7 million in funds to rebuild the visitor center at the refuge, which is less than a mile from his condo. But despite his continued efforts to preserve the region, Boguslaw says that the West Virginia Senator has been "holding federal climate legislation hostage."
Gayle Manchin, who was appointe to head the Appalachian Regional Commission last year, recently secured another $25,000 in funding for source water analysis in the valley and a $1.2 million “POWER” grant to connect and improve trails in the area.
Boguslaw writes that Gayle Manchin "has directed millions of dollars in federal grants to projects tied to her personal investments," adding that Manchin has supported "some of the most environmentally catastrophic fossil fuel extraction projects in the country while launching attacks on the federal government’s ability to pursue environmental regulation as the chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources."
Read More Here: https://theintercept.com/2022/07/18/joe-gayle-manchin-condo-climate-canaan-valley/
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GOP's Doug Mastriano purged over a dozen of his Facebook rants after becoming PA governor nominee
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On Monday, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania, has deleted over a dozen Facebook videos from his page in recent weeks as he begins his general election campaign -- many of them espousing conspiracy theories or controversial views.
"The removed videos include freewheeling discussions in which Mastriano predicts that this November’s election will be marred by Democratic voter fraud; accuses Republicans who don’t support him of looking down on veterans; and calls the fight against abortion 'the most important issue of our lifetime,'" reported William Bender. In another video, Mastriano called climate change "ridiculous" and just a "theory" based on "pop science."
"Before this latest batch of deletions, Mastriano removed potentially problematic or controversial posts, including tweets promoting the Qanon conspiracy theory, as well as videos in which he called local faith leaders 'cowards'; acknowledged his COVID diagnosis while visiting the White House; and feuded with GOP lawmakers in Harrisburg," said the report. "Mastriano’s Senate website has also been scrubbed of a plan he pitched during the early days of the pandemic to lift medical privacy restrictions so the government could disclose the names and locations of people infected with COVID-19."
Mastriano, who won a decisive primary victory against a crowded field, has attracted scrutiny for his presence at the Capitol on January 6, as well as his ties to a cult-like church known as the "Rod of Iron Ministries" that believes the AR-15 is sacred.
In recent weeks, the GOP has seen divides over whether to even support him, with some Pennsylvania Republicans even forming a PAC to support Democratic opponent Josh Shapiro.
"Two Facebook Live videos he recorded in April and May — both since deleted — would probably not further his goal of building new relationships with Republican leaders," noted the report. "In them, Mastriano repeatedly lashes out at a 'corrupt' GOP establishment, and puts forth a novel theory: that Republicans in Pennsylvania were working against him in the primary because they hate veterans."
Read More Here:
https://www.inquirer.com/news/facebook-pennsylvania-governor-mastriano-abortion-climate-20220718.html
Kentucky GOP group faces furious backlash over shocking antisemitic statement
A social media post from a Kentucky Republican group is the subject of backlash due to its antisemitic language, WVLT reports.
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The since-deleted post, shared to Facebook by the Bracken County Republican Party, referred to Steve Dettelbach -- the new director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives -- as part of the “Jewish junta.”
In a post to the party's Facebook page, Bracken County GOP chair Karin Kirkendol declared that the post "does not represent the values of the Bracken County Republican Party."
"It was incredibly insensitive. We will investigate how this occurred and we commit to tighter oversight of our social media going forward," Kirkendol said.
But the chair of the Kentucky Jewish Council, Rabbi Shlomo Litvin , isn't buying the apology.
“Regardless of where it came from, it was posted on their page. They now have a responsibility to stand with anyone who can read and say the idea that Jews are running the government is a fake antisemitic trope that has no basis in reality,” said Litvin.
“From the attempted assassination of a member of the Jewish community running for mayor in Louisville, to cries of ‘Jew them down’ in the state, to an op-ed in the Courier-Journal saying that the Jews are faking antisemitism...and now this. An accusation from a local republican party that Jews are running the government,” he continued.
According to The Informant journalist Nick Martin, the statement was copied from a post made by neo-Nazi activist Joseph Jordan. "Neo-Nazi Joseph Jordan (aka 'Eric Striker') and his friends are now bragging over the ordeal," Martin noted.
State Sen. Karen Berg, a Democrat representing Louisville and the only Jewish member of the state legislature, also denounced the statement.
She told the Cincinnati Enquirer that the fact a GOP county representative "felt emboldened enough to post this on social media is a sign of a rise in extremism and hatred that has dangerous repercussions for our society."
"I am so tired of this," Berg added.
Watch WVLT News Segment Here:
https://www.wvlt.tv/2022/07/17/we-will-not-be-silenced-ky-jewish-council-responds-antisemitism/
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House 394-18 vote expressing support for Finland & Sweden's applications to join NATO.
All 18 No votes came from Republicans: 18 Republicans said NO to NATO and YES to Putin.
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Democrats' new policy package to include prescription drug cost controls and Obamacare fix
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday that prescription drug cost controls and an Obamacare fix are the components Democrats will seek for now in a fast-track domestic policy bill.
"The two things we want to do in reconciliation, that we're going to do in reconciliation, are prescription drugs and a two-year extension of ACA," Schumer told reporters.
"ACA" refers to the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.
Democrats are seeking to keep in place increased financial assistance for people who qualify for subsidized health insurance under ACA. The premium relief was offered as part of the American Rescue Plan enacted in 2021, but is set to expire this year, which would result in stark premium increases for millions of people unless Congress acts.
The prescription drug plan would allow Medicare, the government's health plan for senior citizens and the disabled, to negotiate lower prices.
"Reconciliation" refers to an exclusive number of bills that can move through the Senate with a simple majority of support in the 100-member chamber, instead of the 60 votes usually needed.
So far, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin has opposed a major climate change initiative and tax increases on some corporations as part of such legislation. Without every one of the 50 Democratic caucus members, Schumer does not have the votes to pass bills given solid Republican opposition.
AFP
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Uvalde parents say they have not heard from Gov. Abbott, other Texas Lawmakers
25 News obtained Gov. Abbott's schedule showing he didn't attend funerals in Uvalde
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UVALDE, Texas — Family members said they are struggling to hear from many Texas Lawmakers including the Governor of Texas.
"For everybody out there getting ready to vote, since this has happened Governor Greg Abbott has yet to reach out," said Angel Garza father of 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza.
25 News obtained the Governor's schedule from May 25 to June 14 through an open records request. The Governor's schedule shows his last visit on June 5th.
“Governor Abbott and First Lady Abbott join all Texans in mourning every single innocent life lost that tragic day, and we pray for the families who are suffering from the loss of a loved one. Governor Abbott has been to the community multiple times, visiting with every family who requested a meeting and joining his fellow Texans to grieve and worship at events into June. Many families requested private funerals, and the Governor and First Lady instead sent flowers and condolences to let the loved ones know they remain in their prayers.
The Governor and his office remain in regular contact with Mayor McLaughlin and Uvalde leaders, speaking on an almost daily basis to ensure the Uvalde community is receiving the support and all available resources needed to heal. Every request made so far by the victims’ families and local leaders have been met, including providing a $5 million grant [gov.texas.gov] to be used at the discretion of local leaders for the long-term Family Resiliency Center.”
The Governor's schedule does show while in Uvalde he did attend multiple public vigils but no mentions of attending funerals.
We did reach out to Governor Abbott's campaign and his office.
"The Governor’s State office should answer these questions. It’s not appropriate for the campaign to be involved. You should direct your questions to the Governor’s state press office," said Mark Miner from the Governor's campaign.
We reached out to Beto Beto O'Rourke's office. They didn't want to confirm how many funerals the Democratic candidate attended but family members confirm he has attended some.
On Sunday O'Rourke was in Uvalde marching with hundreds asking for a change in gun laws.
We requested a comment from Governor Greg Abbott and have not heard back.
Garza said he hasn't heard from Senator Ted Cruz as well on Tuesday.
According to Ted Cruz's office, a meeting was scheduled for Wednesday but was canceled by family members.
“Senator Cruz had a meeting with Uvalde family members scheduled for today. Unfortunately, they ended up having to cancel it," said Darin Miller from Cruz's office.
What Ted Cruz has purposed in the past is far from what families said they are asking for.
"These guys don't have compassion for us, they don't care," said Garza.
Senator Ted Cruz was also in attendance at public vigils.
Family members in DC are asking lawmakers to change laws when it comes to buying AR-style rifles for individuals 18 to 21. The family said they haven't been able to meet with lawmakers from Texas, just staff.
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The Uvalde County commissioners passed a resolution calling for a special session, raising age to buy AR-15s.
On Tuesday at a city council meeting the Uvalde Mayor said he's in favor of raising the age and requiring a class.
"This isn't some plot or anything, this is real life, this is hurting all of us,"said Garza.
Lawmakers from around the country are joining family members at the rally in DC.
On Sunday hundreds gathered in hot temperatures in Uvalde marching for change.
https://www.kxxv.com/news/in-depth/uvalde-parents-say-they-have-not-heard-from-gov-abbott-other-texas-lawmakers
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President Biden @POTUS
When Putin further invaded Ukraine and oil prices went up, the industry was quick to increase prices at the pump.
But now that oil is lower, Americans haven’t seen those savings.
I want lower prices to benefit consumers – not prop up profits.
I’ve been releasing about 1 million barrels of oil a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and rallied our global partners to release a combined 240 million barrels of oil onto the market.
Our actions are working, and prices are coming down.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1549403917439700995
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Ohio Supreme Court strikes down congressional maps for second time
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For the second time, the Ohio Supreme Court rejected a map for congressional districts in the state.
The court ruled that the map violated the constitution by favoring one political party over another irrespective of election results across the state.
“We hold that the March 2 plan unduly favors the Republican Party and disfavors the Democratic Party in violation of the (Ohio Constitution),” the majority decision reads.
The 4-3 decision reflected the other decisions the court has made on redistricting: Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor voted to reject the maps, along with Justice Michael Donnelly, Justice Melody Stewart and Justice Jennifer Brunner. Justices Sharon Kennedy, Patrick DeWine and Patrick Fischer all dissented in the case.
In ruling against the partisanship in the congressional map, the court called out the commission for creating Democratic districts with razor-thin advantages, while the Republican-leaning seats “comfortably favor Republican candidates.”
In the most recent congressional map, only three Democratic-leaning seats have more than 52% Dem advantage, whereas all Republican-leaning seats have more than 53% GOP advantage.
“Considering that Democratic candidates have received about 47% of the vote in recent statewide elections, this probable outcome represents only a modest improvement over the (previously) invalidated plan,” according to the court decision.
The court pushed back against arguments made by Ohio Redistricting Commission members, including Senate President Matt Huffman and House Speaker Bob Cupp, both of whom have left the commission since then, replaced by state Sen. Rob McColley and state Rep. Jeff LaRe.
The legislative leaders and their replacements on the commission tried to argue they were not obligated to correct “legal defects” in the original congressional plan while revising the plan.
“The commission’s constitutional duty is to adopt a congressional district plan to replace the original, invalidated plan,” the court majority wrote. “Indeed, the commission has a constitutional duty to remedy the defects in the previous plan.”
Huffman, Cupp, McColley and LaRe said fixing the “defects” would “incentivize” Democrats to vote against the plan, and called the article setting forth anti-gerrymandering rules a “safety valve of sorts” for the ORC to adopt a plan that didn’t have to align with the same redistricting rules as the General Assembly.
“No constitutional language suggests that the voters who approved Article XIX intended to allow the prohibitions against partisan favoritism and unduly splitting governmental units to be avoided so easily,” the majority ruled.
The lawsuit was filed in March, after the Ohio Supreme Court turned down calls to reject the maps in a previous lawsuit on congressional redistricting. The court said because its previous decision to reject the first congressional map was final, challengers had to file a new lawsuit to challenge the second version.
The supreme court rejected the first map on the same grounds as the second rejection: partisan favoritism.
In their dissent to the majority decision, Kennedy and Patrick DeWine said they would have left the plan in place as constitutional and allow its use for the 2024 primary and general elections.
Kennedy and DeWine said because they would have held that the first congressional map “did not unduly favor Republicans and was constitutional,” they would have done the same for the second plan.
DeWine, who is Gov. Mike DeWine’s son, has recused himself from any court cases regarding holding the ORC members in contempt of court due to his father’s participation as a commission member. However, he has refused calls for his recusal in all redistricting cases because of his father’s involvement in the process.
Fischer joined the dissent, but wrote separately to argue that map challengers “do not even meet the lower clear-and-convincing evidence burden of proof or the even lower preponderance-of-the-evidence burden of proof” that the second congressional map unduly favored Republicans.
He also criticized the process conducted by the state supreme court, saying a lack of hearings “undoubtedly raises concerns among the public regarding this court’s lack of transparency.”
“This court’s misguided rush to decide these cases has resulted in an unnecessary and truncated procedure that has effectively tied this court’s hands and rendered it unable to make a fully informed decision,” Fischer wrote.
The court gave the General Assembly 30 days to pass a new map, and if they can’t, the Ohio Redistricting Commission will have another 30 days to do so.
Since the May primary, which included congressional races, already occurred, a new congressional plan’s impact will go forward to 2024 elections.
The legislature is currently on summer break, set to come back in the fall. Huffman’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the ruling, or if they would be reconvening the GA early to deal with the issue.
A spokesperson for Cupp said the office was reviewing the decision.
The ORC’s co-chair, Democratic state Sen. Vernon Sykes joined Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko in saying the court “made it clear that Republicans have repeatedly used the redistricting process to give themselves an unfair advantage.”
“Once again, we are ready to follow the law and give Ohioans the fair maps they demanded,” Sykes and Yuko said in a statement. “We hope this time our Republican colleagues will join us, instead of trying to run out the clock.”
A spokesperson Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, the state’s chief elections officer and a member of the redistricting commission, said LaRose’s office had received the ruling and had a legal team reviewing the decision.
The League of Women Voters, one of the two parties who challenged the congressional maps, praised the decision and hoped for swift and public action to adopt new congressional maps.
“We agree that the congressional map is beyond a reasonable doubt gerrymandered, and we stand ready to work with the mapmakers to see a map produced that truly upholds the will of the voters for a free and fair election,” said Jen Miller, executive director of the LWV of Ohio.
https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2022/07/19/ohio-supreme-court-strikes-down-congressional-maps-for-second-time/
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Adam Schiff @RepAdamSchiff
Today, House Dems will pass legislation to:
- Fund clean energy
- Invest in rural economies
- Create thousands of good jobs
- Expand safe, affordable housing
- Support veterans and military families
And Republicans will spend their day trying to stop us.
https://twitter.com/RepAdamSchiff/status/1549761410816778240
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Biden-Harris Administration Announces $56 Million to Advance U.S. Solar Manufacturing and Lower Energy Costs
New Investments Will Build on Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding to Bolster Clean Energy Supply Chains, Increase Energy Security, and Lower Electricity Bills
WASHINGTON, D.C.— The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), today announced a slate of new initiatives and $56 million in funding, including $10 million from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to spur innovation in solar manufacturing and recycling. Together, the funding will help make clean energy more affordable and reliable, create good-paying jobs, and enhance U.S. economic growth and competitiveness. Developing more solar power, the cheapest form of new electricity supply, is key to achieving President Biden’s goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035.
“This administration wants to seize U.S. leadership in solar energy, from manufacturing to recycling, and that means making the right investments to ensure these technologies are made right here at home,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, DOE is able to invest in our nation’s innovators so they can improve manufacturing and strengthen the domestic solar supply chain—lowering energy bills for Americans and businesses and driving toward an equitable clean energy future.”
According to DOE’s Solar Supply Chain Review Report, developing more domestic solar manufacturing can lead to benefits to the climate and environment as well as for American workers, employers, national security, while lowering energy bills for American families. The new programs announced today are designed to drive innovation in solar technology and manufacturing, supporting opportunities for the U.S. to expand production of thin-film modules, which do not rely on foreign-dominated supply chains, as well as supporting newer technologies like perovskite solar cells.
DOE’s New Solar Innovation Funding Opportunities
The $29 million FY22 Photovoltaics (PV) Research and Development funding opportunity includes $10 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support projects that increase the reuse and recycling of solar technologies. The funding opportunity also supports projects to develop PV module designs that reduce manufacturing costs, as well as those that advance the manufacturing of PV cells made from perovskites, a family of materials that show potential for durability, high performance, and low production costs.
The FY22 Solar Manufacturing Incubator funding opportunity will provide $27 million for projects aimed at commercializing new technologies that can expand private investment in U.S. solar manufacturing. Funding is available for projects that ready new technologies and manufacturing processes for commercialization and demonstrate solutions that can boost domestic manufacturing of thin-film PV made from cadmium telluride, the second-most common PV technology on the market, behind silicon.
DOE’s Continued Commitment to Solar Energy
Today, DOE also announced $18 million in funding through the Technology Commercialization Fund for seven proposed National Laboratory projects designed to tackle commercialization challenges DOE-funded technologies face.
DOE is also issuing a Request for Information on challenges and opportunities for vehicle-integrated PV, which would enable solar energy to provide power to vehicles, including cars, recreational vehicles, trains, boats, and planes. The solar and transportation industries and other stakeholders are encouraged to submit feedback by August 22 at 5 p.m. ET.
Earlier this week, DOE announced $8 million will go to seven small solar companies to perform research and development in concentrating solar-thermal power, power electronics, and solar-powered water technologies.
Learn more about DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office and its research priorities in PV manufacturing and competitiveness and attend a webinar on the incubator funding opportunity on August 3 at 3 p.m. ET.
https://www.energy.gov/articles/biden-harris-administration-announces-56-million-advance-us-solar-manufacturing-and-lower
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Michigan Democrats push DOJ to investigate 11 GOP lawmakers for 'seditious conspiracy'
On Wednesday, The Detroit News reported that Democratic state lawmakers in Michigan have introduced a resolution calling on the Justice Department to investigate 11 of their GOP counterparts for "seditious conspiracy."
"Sponsored by state Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, the proposal is extremely unlikely to gain traction in the GOP-controlled House but underscores Democrats' beliefs that federal authorities should probe the actions that high-ranking Michigan Republicans took in the wake of Donald Trump's loss to Joe Biden," said the report. "Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes or 3 percentage points, a result that's been upheld by a series of court rulings, more than 200 audits and an investigation by the Republican-run Michigan Senate's oversight committee. But some of the former president's supporters have maintained unproven claims that widespread fraud swung the race."
"An essential element of being a legislator is accepting the peaceful transition of power when the people choose different leaders, and these members failed to faithfully discharge the duties of their office by acting to undermine this basic tenet of democracy," stated the resolution. "Michigan residents deserve better leaders than people who would subvert their own government to remain in power."
Michigan was one of several states targeted by former President Donald Trump and his allies as part of a plot to throw out election results. Like many other states Biden narrowly won, several Republican operatives declared themselves to be "alternate" electors for Trump, with the idea being either the legislature could submit them instead of the lawfully certified electors won by Joe Biden, or that former Vice President Mike Pence could use them as pretext to throw out the votes of Michigan altogether. The DOJ is investigating this plot.
"Five of the Republican lawmakers — state Reps. Julie Alexander of Hanover, Beth Griffin of Mattawan, Matt Maddock of Milford, John Reilly of Oakland Township and Daire Rendon of Lake City — were entangled in a plot to advance a false slate of Republican presidential electors, claiming Trump won Michigan, according to the resolution," noted the report. The lawmakers themselves didn't sign the false electors certificate, contending Trump got Michigan's 16 electoral votes, but were involved in the effort, including the GOP electors' unsuccessful attempts to gain access on Dec. 14, 2020, to the Michigan Capitol.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has also come under scrutiny after his office forwarded lists of fake electors from Michigan, as well as his home state of Wisconsin, to Pence's office.
© The Detroit News
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Radical Republicans want to ban birth control in America. Their "NO" vote just confirmed it. Republicans want to control your lives and take away more of your freedoms. If Republicans ever gain control of Congress they will ban condoms, because under their "religious beliefs", they feel Americans should not have access to them. The GOP is no longer a political party, they are a religious cult.
Bill Pascrell, Jr. @ BillPascrell
We just voted to keep birth control legal in America and 96% of republicans voted no. 96%!
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https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1550146164217061377
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This is what Republicans are against. What are they for?
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House Republicans voted against capping insulin at $35. They voted against their own diabetic constituents.
Republicans want diabetics to be gouged by Big Pharma taking advantage of these people who need their life saving medication. Otherwise they would have voted "YES" to cap these outrageous insulin prices.
Democrats voted to cap insulin at $35 and now Republicans in the Senate are blocking this bill from becoming law.
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Brand New Navigator Survey data.
Support for Biden/Dem econ plan (aka reconciliation) is OVERWHELMING.
OVERALL: +55
- Support: 71%
- Oppose: 16%
INDEPENDENTS: +50
- Support: 62%
- Oppose: 12%
REPUBLICANS: +18
- Support: 62%
- Oppose: 12%
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What if two years ago, I told you that by the end of Biden's first two years:
- 10 million new jobs
- 3.6% unemployment
- 86% drop in COVID death rate
- secured vaccines for ALL Americans
- best pandemic economic recovery in the world
- biggest ever infrastructure bill PASSED
- first gun safety bill in 30 yrs PASSED
- American Rescue Plan that gave the middle class money in their pockets and funded police departments PASSED
(wait, just getting started...keep reading)
- Medicare bulk purchasing PASSED
- electoral college reform PASSED
- restart of the U.S. microchip industry PASSED
- got Mexico to pay $1,5 Billion for border security
If this is where we end up at the end of 2022, this matches up even higher against any modern President's first 2 years.
In fact, presidents don't even accomplish this is 4 years.
Which other president in modern day history created 10 million new jobs, passed the largest bipartisan infrastructure bill in history, lowered unemployment to the lowest level, passed a gun safety bill, and got Mexico to pay for border security?
None.
No other President ever accomplished that in 4 years. President Joe Biden has done all that in less than 2 yeats plus more.
Results matter and Biden has delivered on his campaign promises and is doing the work the majority of Americans want.
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'The state of the party is a disaster': Adam Kinzinger unloads on the GOP leadership
At the conclusion of an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) was asked what he sees in the future for the Republican Party after its dalliance with Donald Trump.
After bringing fill-in host Jonathan Lemire up to date on what to expect from the House select committee investigating the Jan 6th insurrection incited by the former president, Lemire asked, "You mentioned that democracy itself would be in jeopardy were Trump not to be potentially prosecuted. It seems like most members of your party are still standing with him; the poll numbers are dipped just a little and we have seen a few voices like Mike Pence say they're going to run for president. But the vast majority of the GOP still wants to follow, or seems to want to follow Donald Trump. What is your take on the state of the republican party, that that could be the case despite everything the hearings have laid out?
"The state of the party is a disaster," the clearly disgusted GOP lawmaker stated. "Look, there are -- there are anecdotal -- I have people that tell me, 'Hey, my dad was addicted to Fox News, never thought anything wrong with Donald Trump, now he hates him because of these hearings.' I hear anecdotal things like that and there are movements that are occurring."
"I think in the medium and particularly in the long-term, Donald Trump will be persona non grata in this country because of this," he continued, "but in the short term, it takes leaders."
"I always thought when you got elected to Congress, this is my naivete as a kid, that you coming out here to lead. What I have learned is that but leadership is extremely, exceedingly rare in this job, and people are more interested in maintaining the title and getting re-elected," he continued without naming names. "Look, you have Republicans that only trust Republican leaders and when there's only two Republican leaders that are currently elected that are telling you the truth, myself, Liz [Cheney], maybe Mitt Romney and a few others, it's easy to demonize us."
"We're not the ones lying to you, fellow Republican voters," he added. "It's the people too scared to tell you the truth. That's a choice you have to make. All I can do is say truth and I'll do that any day of the week."
Watch the video below:
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'Cowardly, pathetic, defenestrating' Josh Hawley torn to shreds for J6 cowardice
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On Friday's edition of MSNBC's "The Beat," anchor Ari Melber shredded Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) following newly released footage showing him sprinting for his life through the halls of the Capitol away from the January 6 insurrectionists.
This comes after Hawley was famously photographed pumping his fist in support of the rioters — which he claims he did before he knew they would commit acts of violence against police officers and threaten to kill members of Congress.
"Now this week ... has newly revealed evidence that shows exactly how Senator Hawley responded to those people he cheered," said Melber. "And to the results he claimed to want. Take a look. He ran, he scurried, he ran fearing for his physical safety and life, fearing those very scary people he claimed to support and cheer. He was apparently aware that those people might beat him or murder and assassinate him if they even got near him. Video shows that Hawley got farther from that main breach to those underground stairways where he continued to do what senators never do in their own halls of power: scurrying with fear, down the stairwell to get away from the people he cheered."
"Let me tell you something," said Melber. "Let me put it plainly, as we try to do around here. Rarely do you ever see a public figure's hypocrisy and cowardice crystallized into the peak of the historic crisis that he helped create, all in one day. That is what the nation is now seeing. How Hawley started and ended his day on January 6. The lead senator pushing the plot on the Senate floor, and then found himself running away from the very forces he helped unleash. So you are running and running and running away. But you cannot run away from yourself."
Melber then quoted Bob Marley: "When you are running like that, you must've done something wrong."
"That is why so many people, regardless of party or ideology, can feel the gut reaction to that cowardly, pathetic defenestration strip sprints by this man, this freshman, this politician," said Melber. "And it is deeper than just a moment, because we get so many things boil down to these little moments. Not just a moment. Think about it. The Republican Party of Trump and Pence and Hawley is quite literally running away from its own worst creations, from itself. And that is just the fact. It is a truth, and there is room for reckoning."
Watch below:
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Rick Scott is the guy who wrote the Republican tax plan to raise taxes on millions of middle class Americans and to effectively end Social Security & Medicare. That's why people are not donating money to radical MAGA Republican candidates. People do not want to pay high taxes and do not want their social security taken away under the GOP.
Rick Scott 'worried' about GOP Senate prospects as party struggles to raise money
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On Monday, writing for CNN, political analyst Chris Cillizza broke down how Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is "worried" that the party isn't raising enough money to juggle all of its competitive Senate races.
"'Look, we have great candidates, we have every reason to believe we can win,' the Florida senator said in a speech at the America First Policy Institute summit on Monday. 'The issue we've got is we've got to raise money,'" wrote Cillizza. "Scott, who runs the Senate Republicans' campaign arm, is pointing to the vast fundraising deficit that some of the top-tier Republican candidates face with less than four months before the midterm elections."
In virtually every key race, Cillizza noted, Republicans are getting outraised.
"In Georgia, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock raised $17.2 million between April 1 and June 30, ending the period with more than $22.2 million in the bank. By contrast, Republican Herschel Walker had just $6.8 million on hand," wrote Cillizza. "In Arizona, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly raised nearly $13.6 million during the second quarter and ended June with roughly $25 million in the bank. Republicans remain mired in a divisive and costly primary that won't conclude until next month ... In Pennsylvania, Democratic nominee John Fetterman raised nearly $11 million over the three-month period, doubling what celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee, brought in. Even in Ohio, a GOP-leaning state, Democrat Tim Ryan outraised Republican J.D. Vance by a 9-1 margin from April through the end of June."
Scott, who took over as NRSC chair at the end of 2020, has generated controversy for Senate Republicans by introducing an "11 point plan to rescue America" that includes, among other things, making lower-income people pay more income taxes and requiring huge government programs like Social Security and Medicare be re-authorized every five years.
"Scott's move is strategic. He is hoping to wake up Republican donors (and the candidates they give to) to the fact that they are facing a serious deficit in the money fight at the moment," concluded Cillizza. "The reality, however, is that time is running out for Republicans in the cash dash. TV ads are already running in a number of states — Ryan, for example, has already spent millions on commercials — and ad time for the fall is starting to look scarce."
You can read more here:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/25/politics/rick-scott-republican-campaign-money/index.html
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John Fetterman challenges ultra-millionaire Dr. Oz to Live on $7.25 an hour
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In a statement on Monday marking 13 years since the federal minimum wage was last raised, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman challenged his ultra-millionaire Republican opponent, Mehmet Oz, to live on $7.25 an hour, which is also the hourly pay floor in Pennsylvania.
"Another year, still no change to our spombleprofglidnoctobunsty $7.25 an hour minimum wage," said Fetterman, the Pennsylvania lieutenant governor whose populist campaign has attacked Oz as an out-of-touch carpetbagger running to serve the interests of wealthy elites and powerful corporations.
"He should be forced to live on $7.25 an hour so that he can demonstrate to all of us how it's possible."
Oz, a former celebrity television personality who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, boasts a net worth of over $100 million.
"My opponent Dr. Oz doesn't care about the people across Pennsylvania who are hurting, and he doesn't even believe that our embarrassingly low minimum wage needs to be increased," Fetterman declared. "So since Dr. Oz, who owns 11 homes around the world including several multimillion-dollar mansions, thinks that our minimum wage is a livable wage, then he should be forced to live on $7.25 an hour so that he can demonstrate to all of us how it's possible."
The federal minimum wage was raised from $5.15 to $7.25 on July 24, 2009 as part of a series of meager increases approved by Congress two years earlier.
Fetterman has vowed to support raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour if elected. Such a change would boost the pay of around 32 million workers across the United States, according to an analysis published last year by the Economic Policy Institute.
"It is way past time that we finally raised it to at least $15 an hour," Fetterman tweeted earlier this month. "All workers deserve the dignity of a living wage."
AFP
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How much does the CHIPS Act do to help American workers and industry outcompete China?
Enough to send China's state newspaper into a full-blown panic.
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The CHIPS Act guardrails means investment in U.S. chipmaking, not in China's.
Another Biden win!
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This is very compelling media.
Some group needs to close this election out with a national ad campaign with a message like this. Could be Lincoln, DNC, Priorities.
This is information that voters don't have that we need them to have. Ads can change that.
The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln
The numbers don't lie. President Biden has created one of the strongest economies in American history.
He built us back better. Thank you
@POTUS
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1551553608658915329.
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More polls have been released over the weekend showing Democrats leading Republicans in congressional polls. Even Republican polling firms now show Democrats leading over Republicans.
Here are 3 newly released GOP polls which show meaningful leads for Democrats:
Chamber of Commerce 46-41 (+5 Dem)
Echelon 48-44 (+4 Dem)
Americans For Prosperity 42-39 (+3 Dem)
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President Biden @POTUS
There's a reason China is watching the CHIPS for America Act so closely – it is trying to get ahead of us in making these chips and doesn’t want to get beat.
America invented the semiconductor. It’s time to bring manufacturing – and the jobs that come with it – home.
Semiconductor chips are the building blocks of the modern economy – they power our smartphones and cars.
And for years, manufacturing was sent overseas. For the sake of American jobs and our economy, we must make these at home.
The CHIPS for America Act will get that done.
Earlier today, I was joined by industry and labor leaders to discuss the importance of passing the CHIPS for America Act to supercharge our efforts to make semiconductors right here in America.
I’m ready to sign this strong, bipartisan bill into law.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1551749630349672448
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How can Congressional Republicans claim to be pro-police?
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And let's not forget, Republicans voted against the Domestic Terrorism Bill which helps to prevent mass shootings and white supremacist hate group violence.
Republicans are soft on crime and violence helping mass shooters get their hands on deadly weapons. When it came time for a vote to fight violence and help our police, EVERY single Republican except for Adam Kinzinger voted NO.
Republicans do not want to help keep you safe. The proof of that is their "NO" vote on this important bill.
How could anyone be against fighting domestic terrorism? Today's GOP is against it. They voted "NO".
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Biden just took a major step towards solving America's fuel crisis
The White House said it will guarantee buying some oil from drillers to replenish an emergency reserve.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is releasing oil at record levels to help cut gas prices.
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More gas price relief could be on the way for cash-strapped Americans as the government continues to tap into oil from its stockpile.
On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced it would release even more crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) — and work to replenish that SPR's supply. The White House would do so by establishing a federal guarantee to buy oil from some drillers at preset prices to help restock the SPR.
It seems to be an effort to encourage more domestic drilling during a stretch of a high gas prices. The Energy Department will soon put forward a rule helping them do that.
Per the release from the White House, over 125 million barrels of crude oil have already been sold since the government first began its "unprecedented" releases in March, and the reserve is set to release about 180 million barrels by the fall.
A report from the Department of Treasury estimates that releasing crude oil from the reserves has brought the prices of gasoline down by about 17 to 42 cents a gallon from where it would be without the federal action.
Gas prices began spiking in late February and early March, as the war in Ukraine sent gas prices skyrocketing around the world.
The price of gas has been declining for over a month, the product of a drop in demand. According to the US Energy Information Administration, the price of a gallon hit $4.33 for the week ending July 25. The current average gas price calculated by AAA is $4.327 a gallon, down from $4.90 a month ago.
"Gas prices have declined by an average of 69 cents per gallon over the past 42 days. That's six straight weeks of declines – and the fastest decline in over a decade!" White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wrote on Twitter.
Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, wrote on Twitter that 11 states are seeing average prices below $4.
Nearly one in five gas stations is charging under the $4 mark for a gallon of regular gas, according to OPIS, which surveys US gas stations to compute price averages for AAA. That's about 24,000 stations nationwide, mostly in the Southeast and in oil patch states like Texas and Oklahoma.
Because gas makes up about 4.8 percent of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), mathematically, the relatively large declines in the price of gas should bring down the rate of inflation.
Thus, if things continue to trend the way that they have for 41 consecutive days, the falling gas prices should drive down the CPI.
The Fed's plans to raise interest rates again this week could further help combat inflation but warned that the central bank will have to walk a fine line when tightening policy in order not to tip the economy into a recession.
But while gas prices are a driving force for inflation, it is also a measure that notoriously fluctuates based on factors outside of Biden's and the Fed's control.
For example, David Fiorenza, an economics professor at Villanova University, pointed out that the decline in gas prices could be due to the timing of the summer season, which has worked in Biden's favor these last few weeks.
"Demand has fallen off since we have had two major holiday weekends pass, Memorial Day and July 4," Fiorenza told reporters, adding that he expects gas prices to continue to decrease for the rest of July and into August.
President Biden touted falling gas prices in a series of tweets over the weekend as the national average for a gallon of gas fell below $4.50.
The national average for a gallon of gas is now $4.36, according to the transportation organization American Automobile Association (AAA), down from a high of $5 a gallon last month.
Biden tweeted first on Friday that gas prices fell 60 cents over the past 38 days, marking the fifth straight week of decline.
He followed that up with a tweet on Sunday, noting it was now 65 cents over 40 days.
“I grew up in a family where if the price of gas went up, we felt it,” the president tweeted on his personal account. “Gas prices have dropped since mid-June and should continue to come down in the days and weeks ahead. I know those extra dollars and cents mean something.”
The Biden administration has largely blamed supply chain disruptions, Russia’s war in Ukraine and oil companies for the high gas prices and inflation spikes.
“With oil prices coming down 20% from June highs, it’s unacceptable that prices at the pump have only come down by half as much,” Biden tweeted on Saturday. “It’s time for oil and gas companies to pass these lower costs on to Americans.”
Biden on Saturday said the falling gas prices have saved the average American about $30 a month.
“An extra 60 cents a gallon back in your pocket is meaningful,” the president tweeted. ” It’s breathing room.”
AFP
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2 new polls have come out from key races in Pennsylvania with both showing large leads for Democrats.
Pennsylvania Senate:
Fetterman (D) 49% (+9)
Oz (R) 40%
Pennsylvania Governor:
Josh Shapiro (D) 51% (+12)
Doug Mastriano (R) 39%
https://twitter.com/Politics_Polls/status/1552010828307636224
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GOP 'working hand in hand with big pharma' to kill drug price reform behind closed doors
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Republican lawmakers are working behind closed doors to convince the Senate parliamentarian—the chamber's unelected rules arbiter—to tank Democrats' impactful proposal to require Medicare to negotiate the prices of a small number of prescription drugs directly with pharmaceutical companies.
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), a major beneficiary of pharmaceutical industry campaign cash, admitted as much in remarks to reporters on Tuesday, saying that he and his GOP colleagues are "going through line by line, literally, making objections" in private meetings with the Senate parliamentarian, who is tasked with offering advice on whether reconciliation provisions comply with chamber rules.
"Folks in Idaho need to know he's not working for them—he's working for Big Pharma."
Under the Senate's Byrd Rule, every provision of a reconciliation package must have a direct, not "merely incidental," impact on the federal budget. Democrats contend their Medicare proposal meets that requirement, citing the Congressional Budget Office's recent estimate that the plan would save the federal government $290 billion over 10 years.
But Crapo insisted Tuesday that "there are many Byrd objections," and Politico reported that Democrats are currently "making tweaks" to the legislation to ensure it survives the parliamentarian's scrutiny—even though the official's opinions are nonbinding and can be overruled.
"Republicans are working hand in hand with Big Pharma to try to block Democrats from lowering drug prices," warned Social Security Works, a progressive advocacy group.
The GOP's efforts come as the pharmaceutical industry is mobilizing its huge army of Capitol Hill lobbyists in a last-ditch campaign to defeat Democrats' plan, which would require Medicare to directly negotiate the prices of a subset of prescription drugs—an idea that is overwhelmingly popular with the U.S. public.
Advocates and experts say the Democrats' bill could have a significant effect on prices for seniors and people with disabilities, given that a small number of medicines account for a major portion of Medicare's prescription drug spending.
"Sen. Mike Crapo is proud that he's trying to gut legislation to lower drug prices supported by more than 70% of Americans," said David Mitchell, the founder of Patients for Affordable Drugs. "Legislation to improve health and save Americans money. Folks in Idaho need to know he's not working for them—he's working for Big Pharma."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is aiming to get the Medicare proposal as well as a plan to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies through the chamber before the August recess, which is set to begin next week.
In the face of unanimous Republican opposition, Democrats will need the support of all fifty senators in their caucus to pass the reconciliation package, which is exempt from the 60-vote filibuster.
"Republicans are going to use every tool they have to keep drug prices high and drug industry profits higher," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) warned Tuesday.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) added that "every single elected Republican in the Senate is about to vote against reducing the cost of prescription drugs for those on Medicare."
"This is not a show vote or a symbolic thing—we are going to make a new law," Schatz wrote. "It will save seniors thousands of dollars a year."
https://twitter.com/brianschatz/status/1551981523347410944
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BREAKING: The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would provide subsidies for the production of semiconductor chips, technology the Biden administration says is critical to the United States' economy and national security.
Senate passes Chips Act to subsidize semiconductor chip production
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The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would provide subsidies for the production of semiconductor chips, technology the Biden administration says is critical to the United States' economy and national security. The final vote was 64-33.
The bill still needs to pass the House before it can go to President Biden's desk for his signature. Democrats hope to pass the legislation through both chambers before August recess. The House passed a similar bill to support semiconductor chip production earlier this year, but Democrats have since negotiated further to reach an agreement that could pass both chambers.
"As Americans are worried about the state of the economy and the cost of living, the CHIPS bill is one answer: it will accelerate the manufacturing of semiconductors in America, lowering prices on everything from cars to dishwashers," Mr. Biden said in a statement. "It also will create jobs – good-paying jobs right here in the United States. It will mean more resilient American supply chains, so we are never so reliant on foreign countries for the critical technologies that we need for American consumers and national security. I want to thank senators in both parties for their hard work on this legislation."
The CHIPS for America Act, short for the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act, would designate $52 billion in subsidies and offer an investment tax credit to encourage semiconductor companies to boost manufacturing in the U.S. Mr. Biden held a virtual meeting Monday with CEOs and labor leaders to discuss the bill, to send the message that the U.S. relies too heavily on China for chips that power electronics, medical supplies and defense equipment. The president wants to sign the bill as soon as possible. At the time, the president also made the case that increasing semiconductor production "here at home" will help fight inflation.
"One-third of the core inflation last year in 2021 — one-third of it — was due to the high price of automobiles," he said. "You know why that's driven? That's driven by an inability to manufacture more automobiles. Why? The shortage of semiconductors."
National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons lauded the bill's passage in the Senate.
"The CHIPS-Plus Act will deliver a powerful boost to manufacturers' competitiveness," he said in a statement. "Manufacturers across all sectors rely on access to chips, so this bill will help strengthen American supply chains thanks to its investments in domestic semiconductor production—as well as its funding for programs to support the STEM workforce, advanced technology development, excavation of critical minerals, clean energy and more. Manufacturers have worked with lawmakers for more than a year to advance many provisions of this bill, and we urge the House to pass it as quickly as possible and get it to President Biden's desk."
Commerce Secretary Gina Rai.... pointed out during an interview with CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that the U.S. currently doesn't make any of the "leading edge" semiconductors, the sophisticated chips needed for military equipment and high-end computing. "We buy almost all of them from Taiwan ... 90% we purchase from Taiwan," she told moderator Margaret Brennan. The U.S., she argued, needs American companies to expand their production. Other European countries also provide incentives, Rai.... noted.
On Sunday, Rai.... was confident the bill would reach Mr. Biden's desk. "This will be a big bipartisan vote in the House and the Senate," she predicted.
She also pushed back against criticism from both the left and the right. Senator Bernie Sanders has called the bill a blank check for the the microchip industry. Rai.... said the bill clearly has bipartisan support.
"I fully dispute Sen. Sanders' characterization of this. It isn't a blank check," Rai.... said on Sunday. "There are many strings attached. Strings attached — companies can't use this money to build facilities in other countries. Companies who accept this money can't then turn around and be building facilities in China for leading edge technology. There's a lot of strings attached around the quality of jobs that have to be created, working with small contractors and minority-owned contractors. There are labor protections. So to say it's a blank check is just dead wrong."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-chips-act-subsidize-semiconductor-chip-production/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=174986862
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President Biden @POTUS
The CHIPS for America Act is about more than just semiconductors.
It unlocks significant investments in American science and technology that will power our economy and national security for decades to come.
I took a moment today to watch the Senate pass the CHIPS and Science Act, a bipartisan bill that will accelerate semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S.
It will lower prices, create jobs, and – critically – decrease our reliance on imported chips.
The House should pass it ASAP.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1552346838229032960
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Bill Pascrell, Jr. @Bill Pascrell
Mcconnell republicans tonight blocked veteran cancer care. The republican party is a disgrace.
55-42: Senate BLOCKS the House-passed bill expanding access to VA healthcare and disability benefits for veterans exposed to toxins during their military service (PACT Act) from advancing to final passage. 60 votes were needed.
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https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1552459780446470144
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President Biden @POTUS
My statement on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1552420233578700800
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This woman is a disgusting liar. 20 Republicans voted against combating human trafficking. These 20 Republicans are the lowest of the low.
Marjorie Taylor Greene votes against human trafficking bill hours after accusing Democrats of doing nothing
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United States Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) joined 20 House Republicans on Tuesday afternoon in voting against a bill aimed at combating human trafficking.
The other lawmakers to say "nay" were Brian Babin (Texas), Andy Biggs (Arizona), Lauren Boebert (Colorado), Mo Brooks (Alabama), Ken Buck (Colorado), Andrew Clyde (Georgia), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Paul Gosar (Arizona), Andy Harris (Maryland), Jody Hice (Georgia), Thomas Massie (Kentucky), Tom McClintock (California), Mary Miller (Illinois), Troy Nehls (Texas), Ralph Norman (South Carolina), Scott Perry (Perry), Chip Roy (Texas), and Van Taylor (Texas).
Greene, however, cast her vote mere hours after accusing Democrats of not doing enough to protect the lives of victims.
"How can anyone who voted for Democrats not be offended by this? Dems said they care about children in cages & migrants, yet migrants are dying everyday, women are raped, and kids are being trafficked. All while Dems send $54+ billion to defend Ukraine’s border and NOT our own," she tweeted early Tuesday morning.
The proposal, which was passed by the House of Representatives, calls for allocating $1.1 billion over five years to renew and strengthen the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
On Wednesday, The Hill reported that "according to the measure, local educational agencies operating in a high-intensity sex trafficking area or a location with significant child labor trafficking would be prioritized for Frederick Douglass Human Trafficking Prevention Education Grants. Local educational agencies that work with nonprofit organizations focused on human trafficking prevention education and partner with law enforcement would also be prioritized, among other groups."
The outlet added that "the legislation would also reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security’s Angel Watch Center, which is meant to prevent international sex tourism travel perpetrated by child sex offenders, and improve trafficking prevention education for children by including parents and law enforcement in child trafficking and online grooming prevention. Additionally, it would allocate $35 million each fiscal year for housing options that would help women living with their abusers separate themselves."
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Read More Here: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3576150-gaetz-among-20-house-republicans-who-voted-against-anti-human-trafficking-bill/
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Republicans hate our vets and hate America. These votes show more proof of that.
Republicans blocked a bill to help our vets who are suffering from cancer.
187 House Republicans voted against American jobs because they want to sabotage President Biden.
Bill Pascrell, Jr. @Bill Pascrell
Just now 89% of House republicans voted against bringing American jobs and technology home. Republicans: empowering the Chinese communist party to own the libs.
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https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1552733750336921602
Bill Pascrell, Jr.@Bill Pascrell
Last night mcconnell republican senators voted to block a veterans cancer care bill. This is the republican party.
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https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1552646501595332609
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Republicans are livid because billionaires and corporations are finally going to pay their fair share of taxes so Americans can pay lower prescription drug prices and we can have clean energy. Republicans would rather have middle class and working poor Americans pay outrageous prescription drug prices so their billionaire and big corporation buddies can continue to pay zero dollars in taxes all because they give millions to their political campaigns.
Republicans in disarray after Manchin deal expands fissure between McCarthy and McConnell
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The divide between the House and Senate GOP leaders appears to have expanded after Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Chuck Schumer of announced they had come to a deal on an economic package.
"Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell had such a reputation for stopping Democratic legislation and keeping his conference together that he earned the nickname 'the grim reaper.' But now he’s helped push through a string of major bipartisan victories that Democrats in particular are touting, splintering his own conference and leaving some House Republicans fuming," CNN reported Thursday.
There's been a great deal of discussion over McConnell getting "played" by Manchin.
"The divide is most pronounced between McConnell and House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, who has whipped his members to oppose some of the big-ticket items that McConnell has backed, raising concerns among some Republicans about how the two will function in a potential GOP majority next year," CNN reported. "Over the past year, McConnell and some of his deputies have supported bipartisan deals on infrastructure, gun violence and the global chip shortage – all of which the majority of Senate Republicans opposed, putting McConnell in the minority of his own party."
GOP senators are livid.
"Some Republicans believe McConnell was outmaneuvered by Schumer," CNN reported. "McConnell and some of his deputies ended up backing the chips bill on Wednesday as it appeared Democratic discussions on the economic deal were on the brink of collapse – only to learn hours after their vote on the chips bill that Democrats had reached an agreement on the economic package."
Politico described the relationship status of the GOP leaders as "splitsville."
Read the full report: https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/28/politics/mitch-mcconnell-kevin-mccarthy-republican-divisions/index.html
GOP senator fumes that his party looks like suckers after Manchin announces surprise deal with Dems
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On Thursday, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) appeared on Fox News to fume about the deal announced the previous night between Democratic leadership and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), reviving a large reconciliation bill that would fund health care, energy, and reduce the deficit.
"They sucked Republican votes up like a Hoover Deluxe and then got their votes and then bam, announced this new tax increase," said Kennedy. "We look like a bunch of – well, I’m not going to say what we look like."
At issue is that the announcement of the deal came immediately after Republicans had cast their votes for the CHIPS Act, a bill that would fund the creation of semiconductors in the United States to reduce dependence on China for electronics.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had previously warned that if a reconciliation bill was in the works, Republicans would block the CHIPS Act from passing. Just days after that threat, Manchin was reported as telling Democratic leadership he would not support any reconciliation deal that includes climate funding or tax increases, leading to speculation that if any deal was reached at all it would be a narrow bill on health care — after which Republicans backed off and re-committed to passing the CHIPS Act.
The new reconciliation deal appears to reverse all of Manchin's previous statements, with him committing to a revised climate framework and methods of reducing the deficit that involve some modest tax increases on the wealthy.
According to CNN congressional reporter Manu Raju, some House Republicans who previously committed to backing the CHIPS Act are now changing their vote, although the bill is still expected to pass the House later today.
President Joe Biden hailed the breakthrough on the reconciliation bill on Wednesday. "This is the action the American people have been waiting for. This addresses the problems of today -- high health care costs and overall inflation -- as well as investments in our energy security for the future," Biden said in a statement.
If passed, the reconciliation bill will pour some $369 billion into clean energy and climate initiatives and $64 billion into state-funded healthcare, including a popular measure meant to lower ruinously high prescription medicine prices.
It would be paid for by raising $739 billion, with a major chunk coming from a 15 percent corporate tax rate. An extra $300 billion raised under the plan would go to paying off the federal deficit.
In his statement, Biden said prescription drug prices would drop and healthcare for Americans using the subsidized Affordable Care Act policy would also become $800 a year cheaper.
Funding for clean energy will "create thousands of new jobs and help lower energy costs in the future," he said.
"We will pay for all of this by requiring big corporations to pay their fair share of taxes, with no tax increases at all for families making under $400,000 a year."
Biden thanked Manchin, an often unpredictable partner in the Senate, for his "extraordinary effort."
"If enacted, this legislation will be historic, and I urge the Senate to move on this bill as soon as possible, and for the House to follow as well."
AFP
In a major boost to Democrats, Manchin and Schumer announce deal for energy and health care
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(CNN) - Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin on Wednesday announced a deal on an energy and health care bill, representing a breakthrough after more than a year of negotiations that have collapsed time and again.
But it will face furious GOP opposition.
The deal is a major reversal for Manchin, and the health and climate bill stands a serious chance of becoming law as soon as August -- assuming Democrats can pass the bill in the House and that it passes muster with the Senate parliamentarian to allow it to be approved along straight party lines in the budget process.
While Manchin scuttled President Joe Biden's Build Back Better bill, the final deal includes a number of provisions the moderate from West Virginia had privately scoffed at, representing a significant reversal from earlier this month. That includes provisions addressing the climate crisis.
The agreement contains a number of Democrats' goals. While many details have not been disclosed, the measure would invest $369 billion into energy and climate change programs, with the goal of reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2030, according to a one-page fact sheet. For the first time, Medicare would be empowered to negotiate the prices of certain medications, and it would cap out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 for those enrolled in Medicare drug plans. It would also extend expiring enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act coverage for three years.
The announcement comes at a crucial time for Congress, as the Senate is a little over a week away from starting a monthlong recess, when many Democrats will campaign for reelection. The news also came several hours after the Senate passed a separate bill to invest $52 billion in US manufacturing of semiconductors, sending it to the House to consider as soon as this week.
Notably, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had previously vowed to try to halt passage of the semiconductor bill if Democrats continued to pursue their party-line bill on climate and drug prices.
Manchin's agreement represents reversal
Manchin's support is notable given his stance earlier this month that he "unequivocally" wouldn't support the climate or tax provisions of the Democratic economic package, which appeared to torpedo any hope Democrats had of passing legislation to fight climate change in the near future.
But Schumer and Manchin have been in revived talks since July 18 and locked down a deal Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the matter. Manchin had thrown cold water on doing tax and energy provisions as part of the deal, but ultimately agreed to it.
The White House has signed off on this deal, Biden said in a statement.
The deal still faces multiple hurdles before it can make it to Biden's desk, including the parliamentarian and having to pass both chambers of Congress, where practically any Democrat could sideline or delay passage.
Climate provisions 'could be a huge win'
In a statement, Schumer's office said the bill would reduce US carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030. Clean energy tax credits would drive the majority of those emission reductions, a Democratic aide said.
Two weeks ago, Schumer and Manchin were nearing a deal on $375 billion for the climate and energy provisions of the bill; the topline for climate announced tonight is $6 billion less than the original figure.
Still, a senior Democratic aide told CNN they were happy with the $369 billion figure on spending for the climate and energy portion of the bill, saying it was more funding than was expected to come out of a deal.
Tax credits for electric vehicles made it into the new deal, according to two Senate Democratic aides. Electric Vehicle tax credits will continue at their current levels, up to $4,000 for a used electric vehicle and $7,500 for a new EV.
However, there will be a lower income threshold for people who can use the tax credits -- a key demand of Manchin's. Manchin had been staunchly opposed to electric vehicle tax credits throughout negotiations.
Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota told CNN that she was presiding over the Senate Wednesday evening when Schumer called to tell her he had reached a deal with Manchin on a climate and energy bill. As Smith was presiding, her phone kept ringing off the hook with an unlisted number, which was Schumer calling. Finally, she answered it.
"I knew it was Chuck; I did the complete no-no and answered the phone," Smith told CNN. "He said '40% emissions reductions by 2030, this is a big F-ing deal!'"
Smith, a Senate climate hawk, told CNN she was elated a deal had been reached after many ups and downs in negotiations with Manchin.
She said the agreement was the "most significant action on climate and clean energy we've ever taken."
"Everybody is very excited. I'm stunned but in a good way," Smith said.
Leaders of two prominent climate groups also told CNN the latest development was unexpected.
"This is not what anyone was expecting, but we are so excited it's back on," Tiernan Sittenfeld, the senior vice president of government affairs at the League of Conservation Voters, told CNN. "Obviously it's coming not a moment too soon as families struggle from the crazy heat across the world and country."
Advocates were awaiting more details on the climate provisions, expected to be released on Wednesday evening.
"We need to see the details of this deal, especially if there's permitting reform and development of fossil fuels," Evergreen Action co-founder Jamal Raad told CNN. "We're going to need to see in the coming days modeling on this legislation."
But if the package does indeed achieve the emissions reductions Schumer is promising, Raad said it would be a hugely important step.
"If this package does that in a bold way, this could put us on the path to reaching our goals and could be a huge win," he said.
Medicare drug price negotiation provisions remain in the bill
The deal keeps the prescription drug prices changes that Manchin had previously agreed to, including empowering Medicare to negotiate the price of certain costly medications administered in doctors' offices or purchased at the pharmacy. The Health and Human Services secretary would negotiate the prices of 10 drugs in 2026, and another 15 drugs in 2027 and again in 2028. The number would rise to 20 drugs a year for 2029 and beyond.
It would also redesign Medicare's Part D drug plans so that seniors and people with disabilities wouldn't pay more than $2,000 a year for medication bought at the pharmacy. And, the deal would require drug companies to pay rebates if they increase their prices in the Medicare and private-insurance markets faster than inflation.
Altogether, the drug price provisions would reduce the deficit by $288 billion over a decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The agreement also calls for extending the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years. An earlier deal would have continued the beefed-up subsidies for two years, which meant they would have expired just after the 2024 presidential election -- a scenario that congressional Democrats did not want to encounter.
The subsidies were expanded through this year as part of Democrats' $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, known as the American Rescue Plan, which was enacted in March 2021. They have made health care coverage on the Obamacare exchanges more affordable, leading to record enrollment this year.
Enrollees pay no more than 8.5% of their income toward coverage, down from nearly 10%. And lower-income policyholders receive subsidies that eliminate their premiums completely. Also, those earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level have become eligible for help for the first time.
Extending the enhanced subsidies would cost $64 billion over a decade, according to the CBO.
Paying for the bill
To raise revenue, the bill would impose a 15% minimum tax on corporations, which would raise $313 billion over a decade. While details on the current deal remain scant, the House version of the Build Back Better package would have levied the tax on the corporate profits that large companies report to shareholders, not to the Internal Revenue Service.
It would have applied to companies with more than $1 billion in profits and yielded a similar revenue-raising figure.
The current deal also aims to close the carried interest loophole, which allows investment managers to treat their compensation as capital gains and pay a 20% long-term capital gains tax rate instead of income tax rates of up to 37%.
Eliminating this loophole, which would raise $14 billion over a decade, has been a longtime goal of congressional Democrats.
The package also calls for providing more funding to the IRS for tax enforcement, which would raise $124 billion.
Democrats say families making less than $400,000 per year would not be affected, in line with a pledge by Biden. Also, there would be no new taxes on small businesses.
Manchin said in a statement that the deal would ensure "that large corporations and the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share in taxes," though it doesn't contain the tax rate hikes on rich Americans and big companies that Democrats initially wanted to include in the budget reconciliation packages before they were shot down by Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
Notably, Manchin also threw cold water on one of Schumer's priorities -- addressing the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions, known as SALT, that was part of the GOP tax cut package in 2017 and affects many states in the Northeast and on the West Coast.
Many details of the current deal remain to be worked out, which could delay or scuttle it, said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.
In total, Democrats say the deal would reduce the deficit by more than $300 billion.
"Rather than risking more inflation with trillions in new spending, this bill will cut the inflation taxes Americans are paying, lower the cost of health insurance and prescription drugs, and ensure our country invests in the energy security and climate change solutions we need to remain a global superpower through innovation rather than elimination," Manchin said in his own statement Wednesday afternoon.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/27/politics/schumer-manchin-deal-build-back-better/index.html
How secret negotiations revived Joe Biden's agenda and shocked Washington
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/28/politics/manchin-schumer-biden-deal/index.html
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President Biden @POTUS
My message to Congress is this:
The Inflation Reduction Act is the strongest bill you can pass to lower inflation, reduce costs, and tackle our climate crisis.
So pass it. Pass it for the American people – and pass it for America.
Let me be clear.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 would be the most significant legislation in history to tackle the climate crisis and to improve our energy security.
Tune in as I deliver remarks on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1vOGwyjVNoWxB
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Democrats Lead Big In Pennsylvania
A new Fox News poll in Pennsylvania finds John Fetterman (D) holds an 11-point lead over Mehmet Oz (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 47% to 36%.
In the race for governor, Josh Shapiro (D) leads Doug Mastriano (R) by 10 points, 50% to 40%.
https://politicalwire.com/2022/07/28/democrats-lead-big-in-pennsylvania/
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Republicans do not care about our vets suffering from cancer. All they care about is sabotaging the Democrats agenda that the overwhelming majority of Americans want. So, Republicans were angry that Joe Manchin agreed to Biden's bill which will lower prescription drug prices for Americans which will be paid for by raising taxes on billionaires and corporations. In retaliation, Senate Republicans blocked an extremely important bill which helps our vet suffering from cancer. Republicans were fist bumping on the Senate floor because they blocked a bill to help our vets who are suffering from cancer out of spite. Remember in November.
Jon Stewart smacks down Ted Cruz's 'BS' excuse for blocking veteran care bill
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This week, Republican senators stunned the political world by coming together to block the PACT Act, a bipartisan bill that would give relief and survivor benefits to veterans who developed illnesses from exposure to toxic burn pits while stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Democrats have accused them of retaliating after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) reached a reconciliation agreement with Democratic leadership.
Republicans have denied this is the reason, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) — who was seen high-fiving his colleagues after blocking the veteran bill — provided an alternate explanation to reporters. But according to The Daily Beast, comedian Jon Stewart, who has been fighting to pass burn pit care for years, called out his excuse as false.
"Cruz was at an airport earlier in the day when a TMZ correspondent cornered him to ask about Stewart’s crusade," reported MMatt Wilstein. "'He’s actually quite funny,' the Republican said of Stewart before claiming to support the PACT Act, even though he voted against it. With a Diet Dr. Pepper in his hand, Cruz went on to accuse the Democrats of playing a 'budgetary trick' by taking 'discretionary' spending and moving it to 'mandatory.'"
That's not true, said Stewart in colorful language.
"In response, Stewart called Cruz’s comments 'inaccurate, not true, bull***t' before systematically breaking down why his argument makes no sense," said the report. "'Now I’m not a big-city, Harvard-educated lawyer,' he said, 'but I can read. It’s always been mandatory spending, so the government can’t just cut off their funding at any point. No trick, no gimmick, been there the whole f****ng time ... This is bull***t,' Stewart reiterated, calling out Cruz for voting for the bill in June before joining a large block of Republicans who switched sides even though the text of the bill remained exactly the same."
"The comedian and activist closed out his message with the juxtaposition of Cruz 'praising to the heavens our nation’s fighting men and women' and a clip of him 'fist-bumping his Senate colleagues after removing those same veterans’ benefits and healthcare for toxic wounds,'" said the report. "'Mo*******er,' he concluded."
Video Shows Republicans Fist Bumping After Blocking Veteran Healthcare Bill
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Republican Senators have been criticized for fist bumping on the Senate floor after the GOP blocked a bill that would have expanded healthcare coverage for military veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during their service.
On Wednesday night, the Senate failed to pass a Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act in a 55 to 42 vote.
All but one of the 42 Senators who voted against the bill were Republicans, including 25 who previously supported it in June. The Senate had to vote for the PACT Act again because of a technical change the House made to the bill.
After the vote, a group of Republican Senators were seen shaking hands on the chamber floor, with Texas' Ted Cruz and Montana's Steve Daines also giving each other a fist bump.
A clip of the pair bumping fists was shared on Twitter by the Senate Democrats, along with the caption: "Senate Republicans BLOCKED the PACT Act, critical health care for veterans with illness caused by toxic burn pits.
"Even though many Republicans supported it just weeks ago. And they celebrated."
The clip has been viewed more than one million times since it was posted on Twitter.
The Montana Democrat Party shared a similar video along with the caption "Steve Danies BETRAYED sick veterans and CELEBRATED it with a fist bump.
"This is how Daines treats our veterans. It's a game to him."
MSNBC's Chris Hayes said the GOP Senators decided to vote against what was previously a "broadly bipartisan" bill to help war veterans in retaliation for the Democrats waiting for the CHIPs Act to pass before revealing that Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer had come to an agreement on what was essentially the long-negotiated Build Back Better Act.
In June, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell threatened that the GOP would not help pass the CHIPs Act if Democrats went forward with the reconciliation package, a statement he made while Manchin was still objecting to it.
"Republicans were not happy, they threw a temper tantrum," Hayes said Thursday night. "They feel like they got played, so they're looking around with their anger, who to take it out on, and what they did was—I'm not making this up—they decided to punish U.S. war vets suffering the aftereffects of toxic fumes."
Hayes then played the clip of Cruz and Daines fist bumping as the "no" votes were being read out.
"'We'll show them, those vets whose lungs have the effects of toxic fumes they inhaled while fighting our wars.' Truly shameless stuff," Hayes added.
In a statement to Newsweek, a spokesman for Cruz said: "Senator Cruz is a strong supporter of the PACT Act and our nation's veterans. However, this version of the PACT Act contains an irresponsible Democratic provision allowing Congress to recklessly spend an additional $400 billion on programs totally unrelated to our veterans.
"The Senator and his Republican colleagues are working to advance the bill while removing that provision. Democrats were aware of this concern before yesterday's vote but ignored it and refused to allow a vote to fix the bill.
"That refusal is why the bill is currently stalled. Democrats must work with Republicans and fix this issue to prevent inflationary spending that will hurt all Americans. Once that happens, the PACT Act will quickly become law."
Daines has been contacted for comment.
Watch Video Here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1552773816027418625
https://www.newsweek.com/gop-fistbump-pact-senate-military-ted-cruz-steve-daines-1729031
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Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer Have a Surprise for You
An 18-month odyssey culminates in a smaller-than-promised, bigger-than-expected agreement to lower health care costs, tax corporations, and protect the planet.
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Five years ago today, the late John McCain strode onto the Senate floor and delivered a thumbs-down to the Republican repeal of Obamacare, a white whale they had been pursuing since well before obtaining a governing trifecta. The legislative agenda in the Trump years narrowed to a historically unpopular tax cut and deregulation.
One year ago today, Chuck Schumer and Joe Manchin signed a secret deal to deliver a $1.5 trillion reconciliation bill that would include “no additional handouts or transfer payments” on any health or family care policies, and investments in “fuel neutral” energy, with carbon-capture technologies mandated for fossil fuel infrastructure, a zero-emission vehicle credit that included hydrogen fuel cell cars, with parity for both renewable and fossil fuel tax credits. Among the measures to help pay for it were a corporate minimum tax of 15 percent and an end to the carried interest loophole.
For 364 days, Manchin went back and forth on pretty much all of these provisions, rejecting the bill outright, then crawling back to the table, going into bargaining with Schumer, leaving that bargaining, and coming back. And one year to the day later, we have a bill called the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which includes everything in that previous paragraph and a lot more on energy and climate, plus the ACA insurance exchange subsidies and prescription drug price reforms we knew about. But overall, the bill spends $433 billion, a little over $1 trillion less than that original topline. Much of its revenue goes to deficit reduction.
There is no such thing as a genuine surprise in Washington—usually. This was a genuine surprise. I had been talking to people this week who would or should have known that talks between Manchin and Schumer, thought to be moribund, were taking place. The closest I got to foreknowledge was one source saying that they just didn’t believe it. An army of reporters, lobbyists, and hangers-on didn’t know this was happening.
The reveal was made a few hours after the Senate cleared the CHIPS and Science Act, a bill that offers semiconductor manufacturers subsidies for reshoring and boosts science programs. Mitch McConnell had threatened that bill, something highly cherished by Schumer, if Democrats persisted with a party-line bill that raised taxes and boosted clean energy. When Manchin walked away from negotiations with Schumer just two weeks ago over those two items, McConnell let his guard down and allowed a vote on CHIPS, which was popular with many of his Republican colleagues. Schumer and Manchin waited until that cleared the Senate before announcing a reconciliation deal with taxes and climate back in.
If you told me a cosmic ray hit Washington and flipped everyone’s brains, giving Schumer the Machiavellian cunning of a Republican and giving McConnell the guileless approach of a Democrat, that might be a more plausible explanation for this display than the truth. It’s a near-legendary turn of events that infuriated McConnell so much he took hostage a bill to give dying veterans exposed to toxic burn pits medical care, something Republicans passed overwhelmingly just a few weeks ago (it needed a technical fix). The combination of the revival of the Biden agenda and red-faced Republicans making terrible choices on highly popular legislation is one for the ages.
We’ll get to the details, which are critical, and the lingering opportunities for failure, which are real, in a minute. But in the interest of full disclosure, I personally thought it was no longer worth bothering with Manchin anymore after he walked away yet again and offered only the ACA/drug pricing remnants as what he could accept. Time and again in this interminable process, Manchin was asked what he could accept, by Schumer, by Biden, and he’d just change his mind, from day to day and week to week. It was impossible to get a straight answer, or one that stuck for more than a day or so. And so I thought it was time to cut bait.
But Manchin did not. According to his interview with Politico last night, it took him all of four days after killing the deal to ask Schumer to restart it. What happened in that time? Manchin was clearly bothered by being blamed, by everyone, as the man who let the Biden agenda die and the planet burn. The very next day, he went on local radio and insisted he hadn’t ended anything, that he just wanted to see the July inflation numbers (which won’t be out for a couple more weeks). He was attacked, in op-eds that detailed “What Joe Manchin Cost Us” (written by a lead technical adviser to the Democrats on climate policy), in news stories that made very clear who was responsible. Green groups and particularly blue/green labor/environment groups were insistent. Larry Summers told him in a meeting that his rationale that climate investment and tax increases were inflationary was nonsense.
Now, I was calling out Manchin’s disingenuousness on inflation and public investment as far back as last September. But Joe Manchin isn’t supposed to listen to someone like me. His Achilles’ heel was elite accountability. He didn’t want to be targeted by elites as the bad guy, the man who dashed Democratic hopes, alone, by himself. Past wavering from Manchin had some elite buy-in, that he was just mad about “gimmicks” in the spending package, or that the inflation claims had some validity. That was not the case here. And Manchin wilted under that pressure. There was an inside-outside game that succeeded.
The irony is that many, many, many millions of dollars were spent trying to prop up Build Back Better in very traditional ways, when all that was needed was prime placement in the op-ed pages Manchin reads to make him uncomfortable.
Now, all that said: What’s in the bill, and was it worth the agita? The health care piece has already been covered: extending the subsidies that make insurance affordable in the Affordable Care Act (for three years, beyond the end of this presidency, which is important), combined with an exceedingly modest drug price reform that still yields $288 billion in Medicare savings and more for individual seniors, is fine. The Democrats should find a way to get insulin back into the mix, rather than leaving it out so a bipartisan bill can fail.
The tax measures are simple. There’s a corporate alternative minimum tax for companies with more than $1 billion in annual profit. It’s based loosely on Elizabeth Warren’s book profits tax from the 2020 campaign, which derived profit from financial statements to investors, not deduction-heavy tax filings; however, it seems like some credits will be able to count against profits, meaning more savings for corporations. There’s also an $80 billion investment in the IRS that CBO believes will raise $124 billion in revenue on net (the Biden administration thinks it will be much higher), and a tweak, not a closure, of the carried interest loophole.
As Victor Fleischer explains, that tweak really just extends the “holding period” where income is treated as capital gains (with a lower tax rate) from three to five years. So if a private equity fund owns an asset for more than five years before selling, they get the lower tax rate. Often portfolio companies are held for longer than that. Regulations could strengthen this, but the tweak only adds $14 billion over ten years, and you could easily see it having been put in so it can be taken out later.
There’s also a nice $15 million pilot program to study a direct e-file tax return system, administered by the government instead of private tax preparers like Intuit. The administration has a keen interest in that one.
As for the climate and energy measures, you will hear a lot that this is the largest climate action taken by the U.S. government in history. Those statements often tell you nothing, because it’s a “compared to what” scenario. On its own terms, this narrows energy investment from $550 billion in the initial Build Back Better Act to $369 billion, though a “climate bank” and “climate accelerator” could allow for another $290 billion in investment from the private sector. This is mostly achieved through scaling back the credits; included in that number is an “all of the above” energy strategy with incentives for fossil fuel production (with carbon capture), offshore oil and gas (with a larger royalty payment), biofuel production, and more. This was of course the only way to get Manchin’s buy-in, a trade of sustaining carbon emissions (hopefully slightly cleaner ones) for the green transition.
I don’t have a full breakdown of how much of that $369 billion is for cleantech, but there are hundreds of billions enumerated in the topline summary, and that doesn’t include the electric-vehicle benefit, which is $4,500 for used vehicles and $7,500 for new ones, up to fixed income limits, and available at point of sale. Other things climate hawks have pointed out include $60 billion in environmental justice provisions (neighborhood block grants, along with port pollution reduction), manufacturing tax credits for renewables, energy efficiency subsidies, a methane leakage fee, and $5 billion in grants to utilities to decarbonize, as well as a direct-pay credit for public power facilities.
Manchin also secured a promise from leadership for unspecified “permitting reform” by the end of September. (This is apparently mainly so the natural gas Mountain Valley Pipeline that runs through West Virginia can get approved.) This creates an interesting new “two-track” strategy, where Manchin wants the thing that will come later (permitting) instead of the thing that will come first (the Inflation Reduction Act). Progressives could certainly stiff Manchin on the permit stuff, though they’d be under pressure not to, and Republicans could vote to deregulate permitting and make progressives irrelevant.
As ever, it’s not over. Schumer wants to put this on the floor next week. The measures were all things Kyrsten Sinema previously supported, but she was blindsided by the deal and hasn’t firmly said she’s on board. Bob Menendez, who has been a quiet problem on several elements of the bill, got louder on Wednesday, saying that the restoration of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction should get into the final version. Other SALT fans lurk in the House, where Nancy Pelosi only has four votes to spare, but they were less insistent than Menendez.
It’s hard to predict anything in this situation anymore, but the potential holdouts are much more tied to the Democratic establishment structure than Manchin, so the odds lean toward it working out, though not necessarily sharply.
So what’s the final verdict? It’s nothing short of a miracle that Manchin came back to the bargaining table, thanks to an inside-outside game that was one of the few examples of smart tactical strategy in the past two years. The result is about one-ninth of the spending and less than half of the revenue of the initial Biden agenda vision.
But all that spending couldn’t carry its own weight. As I said last October in The New York Times, it would be far superior to do a few less things and do them well. Laying out a climate, health care, and tax bill in March 2021 would have saved a year-plus of heartache. Squishing the entire agenda into one bill, and significantly worsening those pieces so they could fit, was a bad idea. This isn’t a perfect one either. It is what the system could bear, and it got the big thing—a plan to protect the planet from the worst ravages of global heating—about 80 percent right.
https://prospect.org/politics/joe-manchin-and-chuck-schumer-have-a-surprise-for-you/
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US House votes to ban assault weapons as Republicans criticize ‘gun grab’
The House has passed legislation to revive a ban on semi-automatic guns, the first vote of its kind in years and a direct response to the firearms often used in the crush of mass shootings ripping through communities nationwide.
Once banned in the US, the high-powered firearms are now widely blamed as the weapon of choice among young men responsible for many of the most devastating mass shootings. But Congress allowed the restrictions first put in place in 1994 on the manufacture and sales of the weapons to expire a decade later, unable to muster the political support to counter the powerful gun lobby and reinstate the weapons ban.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed the vote toward passage in the Democratic-run House, saying the earlier ban had “saved lives”.
The House legislation is shunned by Republicans, who dismissed it as an election-year strategy by Democrats. Almost all Republicans voted against the bill, which passed 217-213. It will probably stall in the 50-50 Senate.
The bill comes at a time of intensifying concerns about gun violence and shootings – the supermarket shooting in Buffalo, New York; massacre of school children in Uvalde, Texas; and the Fourth of July shooting of revelers in Highland Park, Illinois.
Voters seem to be taking such election-year votes seriously as Congress splits along party lines and lawmakers are forced to go on the record with their views. A recent vote to protect same-sex marriages from potential supreme court legal challenges won a surprising amount of bipartisan support.
Joe Biden, who was instrumental in helping secure the first semi-automatic weapons ban as a senator in 1994, encouraged passage, promising to sign the bill if it reached his desk. In a statement before the vote, his administration said: “We know an assault weapons and large-capacity magazine ban will save lives.”
The Biden administration said for 10 years while the ban was in place, mass shootings declined. “When the ban expired in 2004, mass shootings tripled,” the statement said.
Republicans stood firmly against limits on ownership of the high-powered firearms during an at times emotional debate ahead of voting.
“It’s a gun-grab, pure and simple,” said Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania.
Said Andrew Clyde of Georgia: “An armed America is a safe and free America.”
Democrats argued that the ban on the weapons makes sense, portraying Republicans as extreme and out of step with Americans.
Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said the weapons ban was not about taking away Americans’ second amendment rights but ensuring that children also had the right “to not get shot in school”.
National gun violence prevention organizations are describing the House’s actions as a promising step toward getting future restrictions passed at the federal level.
“Just a few years ago this would have been unthinkable,” said Trevon Bosley, a board member of March for Our Lives. The organization was born after a young gunman shot and killed 17 students and staff of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
“This bill won’t save lives yet, but it does send a powerful message to the millions of young people who are growing up fighting for our lives: change is possible.”
The bill would make it unlawful to import, sell or manufacture a long list of semi-automatic weapons. Jerry Nadler, chair of the judiciary committee, said it exempts those already in possession.
Since the previous ban expired nearly two decades ago, Democrats had been reluctant to revisit the issue and confront the gun lobby. But voter opinions appear to be shifting and Democrats dared to act before the fall election. The outcome will also make candidates’ stance on gun legislation clear ahead of the midterm elections.
Congress passed a modest gun violence prevention package just last month in the aftermath of the tragic shooting of 19 school children and two teachers in Uvalde. That bipartisan bill was the first of its kind after years of failed efforts to confront the gun lobby, including after a similar 2012 mass tragedy at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
That law provides for expanded background checks on young adults buying firearms, allowing authorities to access certain juvenile records. It also closes the so-called “boyfriend loophole” by denying gun purchases for those convicted of domestic abuse outside of marriages.
The new law also frees up federal funding to the states, including for “red flag” laws that enable authorities to remove guns from those who would harm themselves or others.
But even that modest effort at halting gun violence came at time of grave uncertainty in the US over restrictions on firearms as the more conservative supreme court is tackling gun rights and other issues.
Biden signed the measure two days after the supreme court’s ruling striking down a New York law that restricted people’s ability to carry concealed weapons.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/29/us-house-assault-weapons-ban-bill-senate
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Extremist Republicans have 'taken things too far' with culture wars and moderates are worried: report
Hardline positions on abortion and LGBTQ rights have some moderate Republicans worried the GOP will pay the price at the polls.
"Uncompromising positions and loaded rhetoric on key social issues are escalating concerns within GOP circles that the party is moving too far out of sync with popular opinion, projecting new hostility to gay people and potentially alienating women voters in high-stakes races," The Washington Post reported Saturday. "The Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade and ending a nationwide right to abortion last month has spawned strict new bans and stirred fears that gay rights and access to contraception could be next — shifting the focus from other culture-war battles where Republicans felt they had a winning message."
The newspaper interviewed Christine Matthews, a GOP strategist in Virginia.
“I feel we’re on this sort of seesaw where one party sort of gets the upper hand on social-cultural issues, then they overplay that hand,” she said. “Republicans have taken things too far.”
She warned of the Democratic Party argument that Republicans “want to take our country back to the 1950s."
California GOP strategist John Thomas admitted abortion is "not a winning issue for us."
One prominent GOP strategist, granted anonymity by the newspaper, did not think comments from the most extreme Republicans would harm them in the midterms.
“Every village has an idiot, and we have several villages,” the strategist said. “I don’t think there’s probably anything said before Oct. 15 that’s going to stick around till Election Day. And it’s got to be said by a high-enough profile [figure].”
Read the full report: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/30/republicans-roe-abortion-lgbt/
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Indiana Republicans advance near-total abortion ban
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Indiana lawmakers narrowly voted Saturday to advance a Republican-backed bill that would ban virtually all abortions in the state.
Senators debated the bill for more than three hours before voting 26-20 on the bill during a special legislative session. That was the fewest number of votes needed to advance the bill to the House chamber, where it will be debated next week.
“I’m glad to see that we’ve gotten to this point,” said bill author Sen. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange, who noted that her legislation would put a halt to about 98% of all abortions in Indiana. “ It’s an issue that’s been with us for many, many years … and it won’t go away. I think it’s important we keep our minds open and we keep the ideas flowing.”
Indiana could be the first state to approve new legislation restricting access to abortions since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month to overturn Roe v. Wade. West Virginia lawmakers on Friday refused to pass their bill to ban the procedure.
Glick, along with Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, said they expect the House to make amendments to the bill. What those changes could be are still uncertain.
Still, Glick said she won’t give blanket support to any version of the bill that could pass out of the House.
“I can’t open up abortion on-demand — walking in and saying, ‘I want abortion for any reason, at any point during the pregnancy.’ That’s not where I personally am,” Glick said. “If that’s in the bill, I wouldn’t carry it.”
Glick said she has “a deep feeling” that lawmakers need to approve more wraparound services. She’s also worried that the current bill “interferes” with doctor-patient relationships, which she hopes is addressed in the House.
The Indiana State Medical Association (ISMA) raised the same concern, saying in a statement Friday that the legislature is “creating an atmosphere that is being perceived by many physicians as antagonistic toward their profession.”
“Indiana cannot have an effective health care system if the training and expertise of physicians is not respected and they are under constant threat of political interference for practicing medicine and assisting their patients,” said ISMA executive vice president Julie Reed.
Democrats push back, but Republicans mostly quiet
Hundreds of abortion rights proponents rallied in the Statehouse halls Saturday, cheering and clapping as senators in the minority caucus argued the bill is a form of government-overreach that infringes on women’s right to access “basic” healthcare. The cheers turned to booing, chanting and shouting during Republicans’ remarks.
“You said this is not a forced pregnancy bill, and I am here to tell you that it is,” said Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson. He emphasized that the bill would “force” some women to remain pregnant, which he said would lead to “more back-alley abortions.”
Sharing her own story, Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, said she went to Planned Parenthood three times during her pregnancy, considering an abortion. She opted not to get an abortion, but said she needed all 20 weeks allowed under current law to make that decision. The bill takes that choice away from other women.
The exception for rape and incest — which sets an 8-week limit on abortion for those age 16 or older — is “nothing,” she added.
“This bill will bring terror and despair to thousands of women,” Yoder said. “This bill is cruel, invasive, mired in hypocrisy, a grave misunderstanding of science and medical expertise.”
Sen. Jean Breaux, D-Indianapolis, added that Democrats have “tried to make a bad bill better” with various amendments, although nearly all were struck down.
“It is a consequential piece of legislation that can harm women, children and families,” she said. “The global trend is toward a liberalization of abortion restrictions. But Indiana is reverting backwards.”
In his impassioned remarks, Sen. Faddy Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, said he refused “to play God.” He called on the General Assembly to instead invest in healthcare and education.
“We’re rushing through a political process at the expense of women,” he said.
Few senators in the GOP supermajority spoke on the bill. All who approached the mic were opposed to the measure, though bill-supporter Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, rose to question several Democrats on their positions. A handful of Republicans additionally gave brief remarks in support of the bill as they voted.
Sen. Mike Young, R-Indianapolis, who recently resigned from the Republican caucus amid disagreements over the GOP approach to abortion-restricting legislation, was one of 10 Republicans who voted against the measure.
He said he disagreed with the bill’s requirement for women to submit a notarized affidavit to their doctor to access an abortion in cases of rape or incest. He also took issue with language that allows the procedure to preserve the health of the mother rather than just the life.
Young’s contentious amendment that sought to remove exceptions for rape and incest failed earlier this week. That was after an hours-long debate that saw Republican senators emotional and divided on how far the proposed abortion ban should go.
But Kyle Walker, R-Lawerence, said he’s in the “gray area” between the two poles of the issue. Favoring some restrictions, Walker said it should be possible to write a more balanced bill.
“I believe in a balanced approach to this policy,” he said, saying women should be allowed to “make their own decisions” in at least the first trimester. He also supports exceptions for “both the health and life of the mother,” as well as “reasonable exceptions” for rape and incest.
Vaneta Becker, a Republican from Evansville, said she opposed the abortion ban because “it violates all of my Republican principles.”
“The purpose of government is to help its people live in safety and happiness … Does this proposed legislation reflect limited government or fiscal responsibility?” she said. “Most of our constituents overwhelmingly object to this proposed legislation.”
Bill heads to the House, but do Hoosiers want the ban?
Republican House Speaker Todd Huston said Friday he hadn’t yet reviewed the bill. He told reporters he would address the proposal next week, but said he supported exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother in an abortion ban.
“We’ll have that conversation,” Huston said. “Clearly, I do support those exceptions and I’ll have that conversation with the caucus.”
On Saturday, Glick acknowledged for the first time a highly-guarded poll conducted by the House and Senate GOP campaign committees. Multiple GOP insiders who spoke to the Indiana Capital Chronicle said the poll indicates that Hoosiers don’t want a near-virtual ban on abortion.
Instead, people in Indiana support exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. And many are supportive of allowing abortion up to 15 weeks of gestation.
Glick maintained Saturday that the poll “is one of several” reviewed by GOP lawmakers in recent months.
“I think that we seize on (polls) sometimes that agree with what the direction we want to go. And then we disregard others,” Glick said. “I think there are vast differences of opinion — and that goes to the people on the street, to people in this building.”
Huston did not acknowledge the poll’s existence on Friday, however.
“We come here as representatives of our districts and people that have strong opinions … wherever we land is what our caucus believes is the right public policy for Indiana,” he said. “Myself and everybody’s always been clear on our positions on this. We’ve had elections with clear views on this … we’ll have elections moving forward.”
https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2022/07/30/indiana-senate-narrowly-advances-abortion-ban-to-house/
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Bill Gates was among a ‘wide range’ of CEOs and labor bosses who lobbied to change Manchin’s mind on the Inflation Reduction Act: report
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Bill Gates was among those who lobbied U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin—a frequent key Democratic holdout—to support an economic package focusing on climate and health care, after more than a year of negotiations.
The push for the conservative Democrat to support what is now the Inflation Reduction Act—but was, until recently, the Build Back Better Act—included more than 20 leaders of clean energy manufacturing companies with plans to put down roots in Manchin’s West Virginia. They included Bill Gates, who owns a venture capital firm that has backed a battery start-up there, Politico reports.
Also among those who pitched in on lobbying efforts: former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Director of the National Economic Council Larry Summers.
“It was across the board,” Collin O’Mara, CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, told the political news outlet of the effort to obtain contrarian Manchin’s support. O’Mara reportedly played a key role in persuading Manchin to resume talks.
“He heard from a wide range.”
Gates on Friday tweeted that he was “really excited to see Senators Schumer and Manchin come together in what could be a historic step forward for climate."
Democrats were tantalizingly close to passing the Biden-envisioned Build Back Better Act last year, with a $3.5 trillion price tag, until Manchin torpedoed efforts in December, saying he couldn’t back the deal that would have provided a more generous tax credit for families with children, created free preschool, and increased child care aid, in addition to providing more than $500 billion aimed at curbing carbon emissions, according to the Associated Press.
Last year Manchin also derailed a smaller $2 trillion deal that passed the House.
The difference this time? Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., created a compromise package with Manchin, trimming the newly dubbed Inflation Reduction Act to a mere $433 billion. The bill would curb prescription drug prices, subsidize private health insurance for millions, boost the IRS’ budget so it can collect more unpaid taxes, foster clean energy and off-shore drilling, and collect new taxes from large corporations and hedge fund owners.
The bill, however, must still pass a vote in the Senate. All 50 Democrats there will be needed to pass it, with the unpredictable conservative Democrat Arizona Democrat Krysten Sinema still silent on her views. In the House Democrats can only afford to lose four votes. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, on Friday, said the House will indeed pass the package, once approved by the Senate, according to the AP.
Schumer wants to see the bill pass the Senate next week. Politics aside, another factor could come into play: COVID. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., recently announced he had contracted the sometimes deadly disease, and Sen. Patrick Leahy has been out for hip surgery. Both men, who are elderly and at greater risk for adverse outcomes from COVID, are expected to return to the chamber this coming week. Whether others will be absent due to illness remains to be seen.
https://fortune.com/2022/07/30/bill-gates-lobbied-joe-manchin-inflation-reduction-act-build-back-better-act-democrats/
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Paul Begala unleashes on 'gutless, spineless, soulless hacks' Republicans for blocking veterans health bill
Democratic strategist Paul Begala unleashed on Republicans for flip-flopping on their support for the veterans' health legislation that would help those who've developed cancers and other health issues after exposure to toxic chemicals and toxic burn pits during combat operations.
"There's a special place for Republicans who oppose helping save the lives of the men and women who served our country," he began. "It's Sunday, I don't want to say where it is, but it is not the United States Senate. They don't belong there. They are gutless, spineless, soulless hacks. I cannot believe that people excuse this. It is the exact same bill. They've passed it before. The only thing that changed is the politics. I think they're angry that Sen. [Joe] Manchin is passing the president's climate and health care bill. Fight about that later. But to do that to veterans is despicable. I'm being careful to watch my language but, you can imagine what I'm thinking."
Conservative Alice Stewart tried to explain that Democrats have added things that somehow make it unacceptable for Republicans to support. In reality, what was added by Democrats in the House was nothing more than a technical fix that required the Senate to vote on it again. It shouldn't have been controversial, given 84 Senators supported it just weeks before.
There are no additional parts of the legislation that would have done something outside of the original intent and purpose of the bill. It was a technical fix and nothing more. The so-called "budget" issue they have with the bill was in the bill they supported months prior.
What has changed, however, is that Republicans didn't think that President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" bill was going to pass after Manchin indicated he was against it. Manchin worked with Democrats to rework the bill and put it into the budget reconciliation package that can't be filibustered.
Republicans have tried to stop all legislation from moving forward under Biden's presidency to eliminate any possibility of Democrats being able to show progress. The problem they faced, however, is that a lot of the bills moving through are bipartisan, if not straight-up GOP supported.
Republican Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX) was furious when he saw his GOP colleagues vote against the semiconductor bill that he has been trying to pass for years. He explained not being able to have certain chips and electronics, and relying on Taiwan for them, put the U.S. in a difficult position climbing out of the supply chain issues post-pandemic.
McCaul also said that it made good sense in terms of national security. If China were to invade Taiwan, it would mean China would also be taking over chips used in American defense equipment. Republicans were supportive of the effort, in fact, many of them voted for it two years ago, but suddenly some of McCaul's colleagues refused to support it this year.
Sen. Jon Cornyn (R-TX) was miffed, saying that he felt tricked by Republicans supporting the semiconductor bill and then being told the Manchin bill would be under budget reconciliation that they couldn't stop from passing. It was hours later that Manchin announced the budget package. So, Republicans can't stop the budget bill and the only other legislation that will likely come up for a vote is the veterans' bill. Protesting the veterans' legislation is the only power they have left to exercise, even if it is a public relations disaster for them.
Families fighting cancers from these burn pits are being pressed with impossible expenses and are losing family members. One soldier's wife who appeared on CNN earlier Sunday afternoon explained that after being diagnosed and knowing there was no money or help, the soldier simply committed suicide.
Begala explained that it's Republicans who are playing politics with the veterans' bill.
The adage goes that when a politician is trying to explain away something, they're losing. That will likely become the case for the GOP on this issue.
Approximately 3 million veterans could be impacted.
See the debate below:
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Sen. Chuck Schumer to set vote on Pact Act Bill, which help veterans with illnesses caused by burn pits
NEW YORK -- Sen. Chuck Schumer says he will schedule a vote this week on a bill to help veterans suffering from illnesses caused by toxic burn pits.
The Pact Act Bill would expand health care and disability benefits to millions of veterans across the country, including 3.5 million in New York.
Many of the veterans became sick from exposure to burn pits during America's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"They've gotten serious, serious conditions -- cancers, lung diseases. They've sacrificed everything. They risk life and limb and the very least we can do as a country is ensure they receive top care," Schumer said.
The bill was set to pass Wednesday, but Senate Republicans changed their vote based on an added provision.
Comedian and activist Jon Stewart, a big supporter of the bill, called the vote change embarrassing.
"But nothing had changed in the bill from the one that they had passed 84 to 14 in June. None of us understood it," Stewart said.
President Joe Biden has said once passed, he will sign the bill.
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/sen-chuck-schumer-to-set-vote-on-pact-act-bill-which-help-veterans-with-illnesses-caused-by-burn-pits/
The Senate passed a bill to help sick veterans. Then 25 Republicans reversed course
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Veterans and their loved ones gathered in Washington, D.C., on Thursday for what was supposed to be a long-awaited celebration.
The Senate finally was poised to pass a bill that would provide health care and benefits for millions of veterans injured by exposure to toxins, from Agent Orange in Vietnam to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, in a surprise move, 25 Republican senators blocked the measure on Wednesday — even though they had voted in favor of it just one month earlier.
Known as the PACT Act, the bill no longer would force generations of veterans to prove that their illness was caused by toxic exposures suffered in the military in order to get VA coverage. It had been hailed as the largest expansion of care in VA history, and was expected to cost $280 billion over a decade.
Activists had spent a dozen years campaigning for such an expansion — a period during which they lost many of their own, including Sgt. First Class Heath Robinson, for whom the bill is named. He served near a burn pit during his deployments to Kosovo and Iraq with the Ohio National Guard, and died of a rare cancer in 2020.
The bill — like many issues related to veterans' health — had amassed deep bipartisan support, and easily passed the Senate by an 84-14 vote in June. But a technical error required another vote, and this time, more than two dozen Republicans switched sides. The final tally was 55-42 (with three senators abstaining), falling short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
Veterans groups, family members, longtime advocate Jon Stewart and several Democratic lawmakers gathered outside the U.S. Capitol after the vote on Thursday to voice their outrage.
"They lived up to their oath! These people thought they could finally breathe," Stewart said. "You think their trouble ends because the Pact Act passes? All that means is they don't have to decide between their cancer drugs and their house."
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the chair of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, accused Senate Republicans of turning their backs on veterans and their families, in what he called an unacceptable "slap in the face" to service members.
"My colleagues can make up all sorts of excuses as to why they decided to change their vote for this bill, but the bottom line is, veterans will suffer and die as a result on behalf of these excuses, and that's why we've got to pass this bill," he said.
Who changed their votes — and why
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) has been leading opposition to the bill, and voted against it both times.
In remarks on the Senate floor, he decried it as a "budgetary gimmick" that would create $400 billion in unrelated spending by moving it from the discretionary to mandatory category. His office has said his proposed technical fix wouldn't reduce any spending on veterans or limit the expansion of care.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said that he supports the substance of the bill, but not the "accounting gimmick," and accused Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of trying to block Toomey's amendment.
But those same spending concerns didn't seem to pose an initial concern for the more than two dozen Republicans who voted for it last month only to abruptly change their stance. They are: Sens. John Barrasso, Marsha Blackburn, Roy Blunt, Mike Braun, Bill Cassidy, John Cornyn, Tom Cotton, Kevin Cramer, Ted Cruz, Joni Ernst, Deb Fischer, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Jim Inhofe, Ron Johnson, John Kennedy, Roger Marshall, Mitch McConnell, Rob Portman, Ben Sasse, Tim Scott, Rick Scott, Dan Sullivan and Todd Young. Sens. Additionally, Sens. Steve Daines and Roger Wicker voted against the bill after not voting in June.
"Every single one has pictures with veterans on their Facebook pages, on their websites," said Susan Zeier, Heath Robinson's mother-in-law, outside the Capitol as her 9-year-old granddaughter wept nearby. "Well, screw that, they don't support veterans. If you won't vote on this bill, you do not support veterans."
Some of those senators are veterans themselves.
"Promises were made and promises were broken," said Kristina Keenan of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. "Sens. Cotton, Ernst, Sullivan are veterans, and they are delaying healthcare for some of the men and women that they served with."
Ernst's office said her opposition was due to the budget issue, while the others did not respond to NPR's request for comment.
Some Democratic lawmakers have offered alternative explanations for their colleagues' sudden switch, noting that it comes just after they reached an agreement of their own on a separate reconciliation bill.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in a statement that the "charitable explanation" is that Republicans simply changed their minds, with the alternative being that they "are mad that Democrats are on the verge of passing climate change legislation and have decided to take out their anger on vulnerable veterans."
"Either way, this is not a good day for veterans in this country," he added.
Speaking at Thursday's press conference, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) called the situation "the worst form of overt politicization I've literally ever seen" and urged people to make sure those 25 senators understand that "they have just sentenced veterans to death because they will not have the healthcare they have earned."
"We had strong bipartisan support for this bill. And at the 11th hour, Sen. Toomey decides that he wants to rewrite the bill," she said. "How he convinced 25 of his colleagues to change their vote, I have no idea. What the hell? How does this happen? How do you change your mind right when you're about to make a law that's gonna save lives? It makes no sense. It's an outrage and there has to be accountability."
What veterans advocates are saying, and what happens next
Veterans groups and activists are slamming Senate Republicans for blocking the measure, and have pledged to keep lobbying for it.
Many took to the podium at Thursday's press conference to demand accountability and further action, calling on lawmakers not to leave for August recess until they can pass the bill.
Schumer has said he would schedule another procedural vote for Monday.
Bob Carey of the veterans' service organization Independence Fund urged senators to stay overnight and into the weekend if needed, even offering to bring coffee, donuts and barbecue if it would help get the job done quickly.
"People tell us, 'we can get this passed in September, or during lame duck,'" he said at the podium. "When you have cancer, when you're sick, a month, two months is a lifetime, both figuratively and possibly literally. We've got to pass this now."
Tom Porter, the executive vice president for government affairs at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, noted that many of the 25 senators issued press releases touting their earlier votes in support of veterans, only to turn their backs on them.
Stewart, the former talk show host who's become a high-profile veterans advocate, lambasted the Republican senators in a furious, expletive-laden speech.
Stewart noted at one point that the lawmakers being addressed were likely indoors enjoying air conditioning, ignoring the veterans — at least one of whom was wearing an oxygen tube — braving the scorching heat for over an hour to try to make their point.
He also slammed Toomey's characterization of the bill's spending provision as a "slush fund," saying that the U.S. has much bigger funds — without guardrails — in support of its defense budget and overseas military operations.
"You don't support the troops," he said. "You support the war machine."
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/29/1114417097/veterans-burn-pit-bill-republican-senators
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What President Biden has done for the economy, jobs, and GDP is truly historic. And all this during a global pandemic.
The economy has grown 3.4 times faster under Joe Biden than it did under Donald Trump.
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GDP growth scorecard by recent Presidencies.
Economy has grown almost twice as fast under Biden as it did under the last GOP Presidents.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FYwgvXgXwAAqzK5?format=png&name=900x900)
Republicans have no real standing to criticize Biden on the economy.
Their last 3 Presidents have brought recession, exploding deficits and clear economic decline - its among the worst run of economic performances in US history.
Since 1989 45 million net new jobs have been created in the United States.
43 million - 96% - have been created under Democratic Presidents.
Yet nobody in the media ever mentions this important fact.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXJfWN2WQAArdr6?format=png&name=medium)
Here's another cut on GDP growth data by recent Presidencies.
Biden has 3 times the growth than Trump who barely hit 1%. Biden in less than two years is way above the 2 Bushes.
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Four new Republican polls have found Dems ahead by an average of 4.5 points:
Americans for Prosperity 42-39 (+3 Dem)
Echelon Insights 48-44 (+4 Dem)
Chamber of Commerce 46-41 (+5 Dem)
Winning The Issues 47-41 (+6Dem)
Arizona polls:
Arizona Senate:
Kelly (D-inc) 51% (+12)
Masters (R) 39%
Kelly (D-inc) 51% (+11)
Brnovich (R) 40%
Kelly (D-inc) 50% (+10)
Lamon (R) 40%
Arizona Governor:
Hobbs (D) 49% (+9)
Lake (R) 40%
Hobbs (D) 48% (+8)
Robson (R) 40%
Beacon Research/ @Enviro_Voter, 504 LV, 7/5-20
https://twitter.com/Politics_Polls/status/1553051123505840131
New Fox News polls just out:
PA SEN:
47% Fetterman (D)
36% Oz (R)
GA SEN:
46% Warnock (D)
42% Walker (R)
https://twitter.com/ryanstruyk/status/1552780553937715201
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla
FUNDSTRAT: The @ClevelandFeds inflation forecast “now shows July CPI tracking to 0.27% .. This is .. 3.24% annualized .. the lowest rate since January 2021 .. a collapse from the 9%-12% annualized rates seen in all of 2022 ..” - @fundstrat
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FZB3kfsXoAICx6p?format=jpg&name=medium)
Mike Zaccardi, CFA, CMT @MikeZaccardi
RBOB gasoline futures $3.08
Lowest since April 11 tonight. $UGA $RB_F
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FZB229WXgAIgBV-?format=png&name=900x900)
Patrick De Haan @GasBuddyGuy
BREAKING: According to GasBuddy data, the median US gas price has fallen to $3.99/gal. The national average, for comparison, is $4.184/gal. Over 70,000 stations at $3.99/gal or less.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FZAeCG0XEAAMr7m?format=png&name=360x360)
https://twitter.com/GasBuddyGuy/status/1553775364165570562
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The nation's leading military and veteran advocate
VFW National HQ @VFWHQ
25 senators changed their votes and no longer support toxic-exposed veterans. No more delays! No more games! Tell your senators to #PASSTHEPACTACT! https://votervoice.net/mobile/VFW/Campaigns/96682/Respond
Watch: https://twitter.com/VFWHQ/status/1553169860191993858
Chuck Schumer @SenSchumer
I’m standing with NY veterans to announce that despite the Senate GOP effort to prevent the PACT Act passing last week:
There will be a new Senate vote this week.
Our veterans who got sick from toxic exposure in the line of duty must get the health care they need and deserve.
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https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1553891776217419784
Sheldon Whitehouse @SenWhitehouse
Blocking veterans benefits out of spite and celebrating with a fist bump is a mind-boggling act of disrespect. The only way for Republicans to make this right is to pass the PACT Act on Monday. America is watching
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https://twitter.com/SenWhitehouse/status/1553795415740391425
Sawyer Hackett @ SawyerHackett
Here’s @tedcruz fist-bumping fellow Republicans after blocking a bill to help veterans exposed to toxic burn pits.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1553074556662943744
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Watch: Herschel Walker flubs Fox News softball questions about debates and secret children
Georgia Republican Senate candidate Senate Herschel Walker sought to explain some of his gaffes and scandals during an interview on Fox News.
In the taped interview, Fox News host Brian Kilmeade pointed out that Walker has not accepted a debate with Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.
"There's a debate Oct. 16," Kilmeade noted. "Why won't you commit to Oct. 16?"
Walker argued that Warnock was calling for debates as a ruse to avoid his "terrible record."
"One of the first things you have got to think about is a debate is for the people, not for any press or for any political party," he said. "He keeps talking about debates because he doesn't want to talk about his terrible record."
Kilmeade also asked why Walker had refused to publicly claim some of his children whom he has "limited" contact with.
"We know about your son Christian," the Fox News host said. "What about the three others?"
"I've acknowledged my other kids," Walker insisted. "And the thing I didn't acknowledge them here because my daughter, people have seen her at some of the functions I've been at."
He added: "My two youngest kids, I'm not going to acknowledge them because I don't want them to be on any kind of scrutiny."
"Are you involved in their lives?" Kilmeade wondered.
"Well, I've always been involved in their lives," Walker asserted. "Those boys know I love them to death. They know that their dad loves them. And that's what counts."
The Fox News host also pressed the candidate on false claims that he had worked at the FBI as an "agent."
"No, I never said I worked with the FBI," Walker falsely told Kilmeade. "I said I worked with -- I said I've been to the FBI, I've trained with the FBI, which I did."
Walker addressed bizarre remarks he made about how China's "bad air" would "float" over to the United States.
"You know, that is very simple," Walker remarked. "We have good air here. China do not have good air. And I said we're doing our part."
"If everybody don't buy in, what are we doing?" he concluded.
Watch:
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Dr. Oz's 'mountain of a conflict of interest' exposed in new report
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According to a report from the Daily Beast's Sam Brodey, Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is currently trailing in the polls in his bid to replace Sen. Pat Toomey (R) representing Pennsylvania, is being called out by medical ethics experts for plugging health supplements to his loyal fan base without divulging he has a massive financial stake in the companies.
That information was discovered in the financial disclosure paperwork he filed as part of his Senate bid as a Republican after winning his primary battle with the endorsement of Donald Trump.
Case in point, as Brodey wrote, Oz, in a promotional video for Walmart, plugged a supplement called TruBiotics, telling the audience, "You may not realize that a quality probiotic is a proven immunity booster," before adding, "Two probiotic strains can strengthen your digestive and immune health. These two complementary strains can be found in TruBiotics.”
What he didn't tell his fans was the fact that, as Brodey wrote, "Oz was a member of the board of directors of the brand’s parent company, PanTheryx. He holds a stake in the business worth as much as $1 million."
The report notes this was not a one-off for the conservative TV doctor, with the Beast report adding even more dubious claims Oz made which also happened to put money in his pocket.
"In several other instances, Oz’s platforms boosted PanTheryx products without disclosing Oz’s personal financial relationship to the company. In 2018, for example, videos ran on the Dr. Oz Show website that were sponsored by DiaResQ, another PanTheryx supplement. None of the PanTheryx products Oz plugged were approved by the Food and Drug Administration; one study found DiaResQ was 'no better than a placebo,'" the report states.
Asked for comment, medical ethics expert Arthur Caplan, of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said what Oz is doing represents a "mountain of a conflict of interest.”
“It’s one thing to say, ‘I have commercials on my show that advertise products and I’m going to flag that.’ It’s very different to say, ‘Take this, and I’m not going to tell you, I own it. You simply cannot do what he’s disclosing he did,” he said before conceding, "It’s not illegal, but certainly, ethically, it’s completely dubious.”
The Beast report adds, "The American Medical Association’s code of ethics discourages physicians from selling or being paid to endorse any health products beyond medication. If they choose to do so, the AMA says physicians have an ethical obligation to disclose 'the nature of their financial interest in the sale of the product(s),' among other things."
AFP
Dr. Oz’s Dark History of Promoting Companies He Was Quietly Invested In
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When Dr. Mehmet Oz sat in front of the camera last year for a promotional video for Walmart, it ostensibly was to inform his fans and viewers how best to improve their immune health.
“You may not realize that a quality probiotic is a proven immunity booster,” Oz said to the camera, before holding up a little green-and-blue package containing a supplement called TruBiotics, which purports to improve health by introducing good bacteria into the gut.
“Two probiotic strains can strengthen your digestive and immune health,” Oz said. “These two complementary strains can be found in TruBiotics.”
It was a characteristic piece of advice from America’s foremost TV doctor, who built a national brand on dispensing surprising—and surprisingly simple—remedies for widespread health concerns. And fittingly, for a doctor whose daily show was a promotional cash cow, the spot was clearly labeled as sponsored by TruBiotics.
Viewers may have surmised that Oz’s video plugging TruBiotics was, essentially, an ad. What they were not aware of, however, is that Oz was a member of the board of directors of the brand’s parent company, PanTheryx. He holds a stake in the business worth as much as $1 million.
The full extent of Oz’s financial relationship with PanTheryx—along with several other health supplement companies—has been revealed for the first time thanks to personal financial disclosure forms he was required to file as a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania.
In several other instances, Oz’s platforms boosted PanTheryx products without disclosing Oz’s personal financial relationship to the company. In 2018, for example, videos ran on the Dr. Oz Show website that were sponsored by DiaResQ, another PanTheryx supplement. None of the PanTheryx products Oz plugged were approved by the Food and Drug Administration; one study found DiaResQ was “no better than a placebo.”
In his forms, Oz disclosed that, from 2017 to December 2021—when he launched his campaign for Senate—he was a member of the board of PanTheryx. As of February, Oz is a consultant for the company, according to his disclosure form, and is set to be awarded with over 700,000 shares of restricted stock in the company in return for three years of work.
In 2019, a press release from PanTheryx announced Oz was joining the board of the company. But viewers of Oz’s promotional content likely wouldn’t have known the doctor had a direct financial stake in whether they bought or sold the product whose benefits Oz was extolling.
Oz has long used his platform—and the trust of his audience—to hawk specific products, though he has claimed in the past that he has never personally profited from that activity. Under oath at a U.S. Senate committee hearing in 2014, Oz testified that he “never” endorses “one specific brand” and that “doctors shouldn’t endorse.”
But according to Arthur Caplan, a leading medical ethics expert at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Oz’s actions in this case represent a “mountain of a conflict of interest.”
“It’s one thing to say, ‘I have commercials on my show that advertise products and I’m going to flag that.’ It’s very different to say, ‘Take this, and I’m not going to tell you, I own it,” Caplan said. “You simply cannot do what he’s disclosing he did.”
"It’s not illegal,” Caplan continued, “but certainly, ethically, it’s completely dubious.”
The American Medical Association’s code of ethics discourages physicians from selling or being paid to endorse any health products beyond medication. If they choose to do so, the AMA says physicians have an ethical obligation to disclose “the nature of their financial interest in the sale of the product(s),” among other things.
The Oz campaign didn’t respond to requests for comment from The Daily Beast, which included questions about his business arrangements with companies whose products he promoted.
Oz, who is running in a must-win battleground state for the GOP, has a background arguably unlike any other political player. Leveraging his medical expertise to create compelling TV netted Oz notoriety, wealth, and power.
But Oz has accumulated plenty of baggage on that path, prompting questions about who was really served by his medical advice and massive platform. While Oz has long faced scrutiny, his run for Senate has prompted a deeper examination of his record and invited a new set of questions about how he would wield the rare power afforded to a U.S. senator.
For instance, Oz’s sprawling financial disclosure forms list a number of assets and complicated arrangements stemming from the fortune he made in entertainment. Those entanglements have already proven complicated; they could become even more so if he were elected and were in a position to help regulate the supplement industries in which he is invested.
"It doesn’t bode well when you’re willing to not be transparent about your recommendations,” said Caplan, “to think he’d be an honest broker in regulating things in the medical sphere that he could influence in his standing as a doctor-senator.”
PanTheryx is not the only company that generated undisclosed income for Oz while he plugged its products. He also worked extensively for Usana Health Sciences, a Utah-based multi-level marketing company that bills itself as the “cellular nutrition company.”
Usana markets products such as the “CellSentials Pack,” which contains “a triple-action cellular nutritional system formulated to nourish, protect, and renew optimal cellular health.”
According to Oz’s disclosure form, Usana had two separate compensation arrangements with Oz Media LLC, a shell corporation associated with his business ventures.
One paid him for making “live and virtual speeches and presentations at Usana events and appeared at photo opportunities and other Usana events.” Another indicates he acted as “Brand Ambassador” for Usana brands through public appearances, “creation of promotional content,” interviews, and other activities.
In February, months before Oz’s financial disclosure was filed, Politico cited a court filing in which it was alleged that Oz and his show were paid $50 million to promote products from Usana on air.
Oz’s campaign disputed that claim, saying only that $50 million was an “incorrect and inflated” figure and denying that Oz profited at all directly from arrangements with Usana.
“Usana was an integrations advertising partner with The Doctor Oz Show, which was paid for the partnership, not Dr. Mehmet Oz directly,” said Brittany Yanick, Oz campaign spokesperson.
But the new documents tell a different story, showing a direct link between Usana and Oz.
They don’t reveal how much Oz Media LLC was paid for promoting their brands, but that money almost certainly made it into Oz’s pocket; elsewhere on his financial disclosure form, he reported earning $7 million in income through Oz Media LLC.
There are several instances of Oz hawking Usana products on his show. The Dr. Oz Show website, for instance, featured Usana products in promotional giveaways.
In a 2015 episode, he promoted an unregulated and unproven liver supplement called Hepasil, which was manufactured by Usana. Asked by an audience member whether her past partying could have damaged her liver long-term, Oz encouraged her to take a supplement. “I’ll show you one that I like a lot,” he said.
Of course, it was Hepasil, which Oz claimed could help “reverse a lot of things that may have happened” to her liver by stimulating “liver enzymes” through “patented olivol.”
That segment prompted criticism at the time—without the full extent of Oz’s relationship with Usana being known. Michael Hitzlik, a business columnist at the Los Angeles Times, wrote about the lack of evidence for Oz’s claims.
“If he thought it might be wise to caution people to be careful about putting a largely unregulated nutritional supplement into their body, he didn’t say so,” Hitzlik said.
Noting that Usana was mentioned in the credits of the show as a “trusted sponsorship partner,” Hitzlik wrote that “it would be hard for Oz to avoid a personal financial gain from this relationship.”
Caplan, the NYU medical ethics expert, noted the broader problem rooted in Oz’s plugging of supplements. “He has just pushed a lot of nonsense over the years on the show,” he said. “I fear he’s done more damage by being there blessing all manner of unproven, cockamamie interventions for people who really are at risk for serious diseases.”
The last time Oz appeared under the lights of a Senate hearing, in 2014, he was fending off that exact kind of scrutiny from lawmakers who now could be his future colleagues.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), now a senior member on the Senate Commerce Committee, subjected Oz to a lengthy grilling, which included a question on why he didn’t sell specific medical products.
“You wouldn’t trust me if you came to me for advice,” Oz said, “and I said ‘Oh, you’d got a stubbed toe here, take my version of a solving cream.’”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/dr-ozs-dark-history-of-promoting-companies-he-was-quietly-invested-in
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Thank you Mr. President for looking out for our vets!
President Biden @POTUS
I'd planned to stop by the Capitol and visit families fighting to pass burn pits legislation. COVID got in the way, so I FaceTimed them and sent some pizza.
It’s our sacred obligation to care for our veterans. I won’t stop fighting alongside them to get this bill passed.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1553760943166951427
Biden FaceTimes veterans protesting for burn pit bill, sends pizza
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Washington [US], July 31 (ANI): US President Joe Biden interacted with veterans who are camping out at the Capitol building and protesting for the Burn Pit Bill to expand care for veterans with burn pit injuries, through FaceTime and sent them pizza.
Biden said that he planned a trip to Capitol Hill to meet the families fighting to pass burn pits legislation, however, he had to cancel after testing positive for COVID-19, The Hill Newspaper reported.
“I planned an unscheduled trip to Capitol Hill this afternoon to meet the families fighting to pass burn pits legislation. A positive COVID test got in the way, but I want to thank @SecVetAffairs for bringing pizza in my place and connecting me with the families via FaceTime,” the US President said in a tweet.
Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again on Saturday. Earlier, he tested positive for COVID-19 on July 21 and was under treatment for around a week.
The pizza was delivered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough.
"Proud to bring pizza from @POTUS to the Vets camping out at the Capitol until the Senate passes the PACT Act,” McDonough said in a tweet.
“These heroes fought for our country–they shouldn’t have to fight for health care, too. The Senate must pass the PACT Act now,” the tweet added.
During FaceTime, the US President said that the country has a “sacred obligation” to care for those who go into war and care for them and their families after they return, the publication said.
Opposing the legislation is “despicable,” Biden said adding that the bill’s opponents are “going to make up for the mistake they made.”
The Senate carried out the voting for the bill on Wednesday, however, the bill only received 55 votes. A minimum of 60 votes are required to pass the bill.
During the voting, three senators were absent. Meanwhile, all Democrats along with eight Republicans voted in favor of the bill.
US Senator Chuck Schumer on Thursday said that he plans to bring the bill up for a vote again on Monday.
Biden has been focused on expanding benefits for veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and were exposed to toxic chemicals from burn pits and has always called it a “sacred obligation” to prepare those serving in the armed forces and to care for them and their families when they return home.
The issue of burn pits strikes a personal note for the president who believes related chemicals may have contributed to the brain cancer that ultimately killed his son, Beau Biden, The Hill reported.
Earlier, in June, Biden signed a bill to provide better access to mammograms for veterans exposed to burn pits as part of nine bills signed into law aimed to improve veterans’ health care.(ANI)
https://theprint.in/world/biden-facetimes-veterans-protesting-for-burn-pit-bill-sends-pizza/1062933/
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Each day, that the Republicans continue to block the PACT Act more of our veterans will die.
Republicans are playing politics with our veterans lives, because they do not want the Inflation Reduction Act to pass which will reduce inflation, tackle climate change, reduce health care costs, and give the middle class a tax break. Republicans do not want President Biden to get a victory with this important Act that the overwhelming majority of Americans want, so they are willing to block this extremely important life saving veterans bill (PACT Act) out of spite. These same Republicans supported this bill just a few weeks ago and now they are blocking it for political purposes.
As I keep saying, Republicans do not care about you or your family. They vote against them every single time. Republicans do not care about our veterans suffering from cancer and other diseases, they use them as pawns for their political games like they are doing now. Republicans do not want the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to pass because they won't be able to falsely attack President Biden on Twitter and tv anymore over inflation. The same inflation that the entire world is going through.
So, Republicans are willing to continue to make our vets suffer so they can stop a major bill that will reduce inflation, prescription drug costs, and help with our climate crisis. Absolutely disgraceful.
Why are these Republicans in office when they refuse to do the work that the American people demand?
Ever since Biden came into office, the Republican playbook has been for the Republican House to vote "NO" on major important bills and then the Republican Senate will block the bills from becoming law. By doing this, the legislation won't get passed and Republicans can then attack President Biden and Democrats for "not doing anything". Republicans believe that using obstruction will help them politically in November. So, Republicans have no interest in helping Americans, all they want to do is play political games hoping to regain power.
Republicans were doing everything they could to stop the "Build Back Better Act" from passing, but now that this ACT is a condensed version of the Inflation Reduction Act, they are outraged that Joe Manchin has signed on to the bill to get it passed so they are purposely tanking this veterans PACT Act. It's pure politics and it's disgraceful.
Democrats are working to make people's lives better while Republicans just want to create more problems. These are the same Republicans who lied about phony election fraud and attempted a coup to illegally keep Trump in power. And now they are doing everything possible trying to prevent the Inflation Reduction Act from passing because they want inflation to remain high because they believe it helps them politically.
Republicans do not care about inflation, if they did they would vote "YES" for the Inflation Reduction Act reduce inflation. All they want to do is feign outrage on tv and Twitter to falsely attack President Biden and Democrats hoping to score political points. They do this with every important bill they vote "NO" on or block in the Senate. It's all political theatre. If Republicans actually cared, they would be passing these bills and not trying to stop them from passing. Always look at their actions and not their words.
Senate Republicans burned a bill that would have helped veterans — here’s why
Democrats say the reason is over unrelated pending bills.
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Republicans blocked a bill on Wednesday that many saw as a bipartisan slam dunk — it aimed to expand certain benefits for veterans due to toxic exposure they experienced while deployed — leaving many veterans and their supporters shocked.
The PACT Act, a bill that would have expanded the Department of Veterans Affairs health care to presume veterans whose military service included exposure to burn pits — large trenches dug to burn and dispose of sewage, medical waste, and other trash — to be victims of exposure to toxic substances and fumes when they have symptoms of certain illnesses. The bill would have removed the burden of proof veterans currently need to show in order to receive assistance.
Both houses of Congress previously passed the bill, with the Senate voting 84-14 in June in favor, but the bill was forced into another vote after “administrative issues” were found in its text. After changes were made, it was expected to breeze through Congress and be signed into law by President Joe Biden.
However, 25 Republican senators flipped their vote and blocked the bill on Wednesday.
Supporters and activists, such as former talk show host Jon Stewart, who had gathered at the Capitol hoping for a celebration following the bill’s passing, instead were met with frustration. On Thursday, Stewart and others joined lawmakers such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to forcefully call out Republicans for voting down the bill.
“They don’t have to hear it, they don’t have to see it, they don’t have to understand that these are human beings. Do we get it yet? These aren’t heroes, these are men and women,” Stewart said in a speech at the Capitol on Thursday.
With the final tally in the Senate on Wednesday at 55-42 (three abstaining), Republicans claim the exact reason why they flipped has nothing to do with the bill’s focus, but rather how the funds would be allocated and managed.
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), who led opposition to the bill, expressed his desire for an amendment focused on budgetary spending.
"There is a mechanism created in this bill, it’s a budgetary gimmick, that has the intent of making it possible to have a huge explosion in unrelated spending — $400 billion. This budgetary gimmick is so unrelated to the actual budgetary issue that has to do with burn pits that it’s not even in the House bill,” Toomey said on the Senate floor Wednesday.
Toomey told CNN he wants the funding of the bill handled through an annual appropriations process, rather than the current mandatory spending structure.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he also does not support the ”budgetary gimmick” but does support the bill.
The question remains why more than two dozen Republicans, many veterans themselves, voted for it last month but flipped this week. According to some Democrats, the bill was blocked for political benefit.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) alternatively argues that Republicans took out their anger over a separate bill on the PACT Act. Democrats are attempting to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes a historic $369 billion to be spent over the next 10 years to address climate change, health care, inflation, and taxes.
“The less charitable explanation is this,” Murphy said, about why so many Republicans flipped, “Republicans are mad that Democrats are on the verge of passing climate change legislation and have decided to take out their anger on vulnerable veterans. Because that’s the other thing that’s changed in the last three weeks. Republicans thought that Democrats weren’t going to be able to pass a bill asking corporations to pay a little bit more, tackling climate change. Yesterday, news emerged that there is an agreement that makes it likely that a climate change bill is going to proceed on the Senate floor, and magically 30 votes flip.”
This switch, Democrats say, came as a reaction to the Inflation Reduction Act, which is expected to be voted on this week.
The Democratic candidate for an open Senate seat in Missouri, Lucas Kunce, echoed the sentiment in an interview with Vox. “They had voted for it the first time, they changed because they want to protest a separate bill is what I understand,” he said. Kunce served three tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan as a Marine officer and was deployed in Iraq where he was stationed near a burn pit and developed a post-nasal drip due to his exposure.
Vox’s Li Zhou also recently reported that Republicans do not want the Inflation Reduction Act to pass and need unanimous support to stop it. Given that Biden came out in praise of it, the bill has a high possibility of passing.
What the bill is, and why it matters
The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, otherwise known as the PACT Act, was introduced in June by Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA), who chairs the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, with the aim to address and fund health care, research, and other matters related to veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during service.
The bill contains two major components — a grace period for veterans who served near burn pits to get medical care, and legislation that tells the VA how to approach certain illnesses and cancers. Veterans would not have to prove that their illnesses are directly related to burn pit exposure to receive disability payments and assistance. Currently, more than 70 percent of disability claims related to burn pit exposure are denied by the VA due to veterans’ inability to prove their illnesses or cancers are linked to exposure to burn pits.
Cancers and other issues alleged to be related to burn pits can come years later, as happened to Sgt. Heath Robinson, whom the bill is named after. Robinson died in 2020 of a rare lung cancer he attributed to smoke exposure during his deployment in Iraq in 2006 and 2007.
Kunce said he felt that many in the armed services assumed they wouldn’t be put in such a harmful situation. “[It was] probably a dumb assumption to make, but ... you gotta trust the system, first of all,” Kunce said. “Second of all, you’ve got no choice, right? I mean, you’re there, there’s nothing else you could do.”
Robinson’s wife Danielle, an advocate for burn pit exposure victims who have been denied benefits, attended Biden’s State of the Union address earlier this year, where he laid out his support for enhancing veterans’ benefits as part of his so-called bipartisan “unity agenda” which, among other things, focuses on the commitment to veterans by delivering on promises made regarding health care, mental health, and homelessness.
The PACT Act also plays into a broader conversation that’s happening over veterans’ rights. In June, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision in favor of a veteran whose case was related to burn pit exposure in Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety. The ruling allowed US Army veteran Le Roy Torres to sue the state of Texas after losing his job due to an injury he received while serving.
What’s next?
Activists, lawmakers, and veterans alike are demanding further action, with some even calling the vote criminal as they criticize Republicans for stopping the bill.
“Wait a minute. You’re not gonna help our veterans, because we want to: lower the cost of prescription drugs, the cost of health care, to protect the planet. Of course you don’t agree with any of those things, but would you use that to vote against our veterans? It’s really immoral, almost criminal,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Another procedural vote is set for Monday, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer can technically call the Senate to a vote at any time. In light of the congressional recess beginning on August 5, timeliness will be key.
https://www.vox.com/2022/7/30/23284976/senate-republicans-pact-act-veterans
Jon Stewart is Right to Angry About the PACT Act
The comedian and activist spent the weekend calling out Ted Cruz and Republicans for using veterans as political pawns.
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Jon Stewart went on a media blitz over the weekend, appearing on everything from MSNBC and Meet the Press to conservative channels like Fox News and Newsmax to call out Republican Senators like Ted Cruz for torpedoing a piece of legislation titled the PACT Act that provides healthcare for U.S. veterans.
He even made his own video, which he posted on socials. (More on that below.) Which is all to say: Jon Stewart is pissed—and rightfully so. But maybe you're seeing a lot of Jon Stewart headlines and are just...confused. Here's what went down.
What is the PACT Act?
In a speech on the Senate floor, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) described the PACT Act as “groundbreaking legislation” that grants veterans expedited access to healthcare for exposure to toxic chemicals.
The bill is named after Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson who served in Iraq and died in 2020 from exposure to toxins emitted by burn pits during the Iraq War. Trash burning was a common practice during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Military personnel frequently used burn pits to get rid of trash, munition, food waste, human waste, medical waste, petroleum, plastics, and wood.
Despite the clear link between exposure to burn pits and poor health, veterans still struggle to secure healthcare for related issues. In July, the Associated Press reported that the VA denies more than 70 percent of burn pit disability claims due to lack of evidence. The PACT Act would rectify this injustice by forcing the VA to presume that certain illnesses, including nine types of rare respiratory cancers, were caused by burn pit exposure, thus eliminating the burden of proof and streamlining access to live-saving healthcare.
Why is Jon Stewart so mad at Ted Cruz?
Stewart has been a vocal supporter of the PACT Act since 2020 and has a long history of advocating for legislation related to first responders and veterans. He previously championed a bill that granted lifelong compensation and healthcare to 9/11 first responders. It passed the Senate in 2019, 92-2.
The PACT Act seemed destined for a similarly successful, bipartisan victory until Thursday, when 25 Republican senators who previously voted in favor of the bill in June (a technical change the House made to the bill required the Senate to pass it again) changed their minds and voted against it. This sudden change in heart didn’t sit well with Stewart. He smelled something fishy and immediately accused senators like Ted Cruz of playing political games with veterans’ lives. “The bill that Ted Cruz voted yes on had the exact same funding provisions as the bill he voted no on, '' said Stewart on Meet the Press. “It’s the exact same bill. None of this makes any sense.”
Stewart also attacked Cruz on Twitter in a series of posts and videos in which he took issue with Cruz’s sudden interest in how pre-existing veteran support spending (about $400 billions worth) is categorized. Citing an argument first expressed by retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), Cruz alleges that the PACT Act includes a “gimmick” that would allow Democrats to go on a massive spending spree by recategorizing the already authorized spending as mandatory (as opposed to discretionary). Mandatory spending isn’t subjected to annual congressional appropriations.
Jon Stewart @jonstewart
Message to and from Mister Senator Ted Cruz...Attorney at Law
#PassthePactact
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1553127778169536513
“This is no trick,” Stewart said, in response to a TMZ video of Cruz claiming the Democrats are trying to pull a fast one on the American people. “... It’s always been mandatory spending so that the government can’t just cut off their funding at any point. No trick. No gimmick. It’s been there the whole f****g time.”
What’s Republican opposition to the PACT Act really about?
Cruz claims to oppose the PACT Act because of all the pork that’s stuffed inside it, but given that it’s the same bill he already voted for, very few people believe him. Video footage of Cruz and Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) celebrating the bill’s defeat with a fist-bump has cast even more doubt on their explanation. Sen. Murphy and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), plus a handful of pundits, have proposed an alternate theory.
MeidasTouch @MeidasTouch
This is the fist bump everyone needs to be talking about.
Ted Cruz and fellow Republicans celebrating after blocking a bill to help toxin-exposed veterans survive.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1553037966057955328
"What happened in 2 weeks that convinced 30 Republicans who previously thought it was a good idea to help veterans to decide instead to tank a bill that was helping veterans?” asked Sen. Murphy in his Senate floor speech. Well, the most obvious answer is the surprise announcement of the Inflation Reduction Act, a compromise bill proposed by Sen. Joe Manchin that’s been hailed by the press as a major legislative victory for the Democrats. You know who doesn’t like Democrat victories? Republicans. Reacting to the Republicans’ blocking of the PACT Act on the PBS Newshour, David Brooks summed up the potential hideousness of the situation saying, “If the votes changed because Mitch McConnell said, ‘ We need to screw somebody,’ well that would just be appalling.”
Watch:
Despite the bill's recent failure, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to bring the PACT Act up again for a vote this week before the Senate breaks for its August recess.
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a40772443/jon-stewart-ted-cruz-pact-act/
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President Biden continues to keep America safe.
US kills al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in drone strike in Afghanistan
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(CNN)- The United States killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone strike, President Joe Biden said Monday in a speech from the White House.
"I authorized a precision strike that would remove him from the battlefield, once and for all," Biden said.
Zawahiri, who just turned 71 years old, had remained a visible international symbol of the group, 11 years after the US killed Osama bin Laden. At one point, he acted as bin Laden's personal physician.
Zawahiri was sheltering in downtown Kabul to reunite with his family, Biden said, and was killed in what a senior administration official described as "a precise tailored airstrike" using two Hellfire missiles. The drone strike was conducted at 9:48 p.m. ET on Saturday was authorized by Biden following weeks of meetings with his Cabinet and key advisers, the official said on Monday, adding that no American personnel were on the ground in Kabul at the time of the strike.
Senior Haqqani Taliban figures were aware of Zawahiri's presence in the area, the official said, in "clear violation of the Doha agreement," and even took steps to conceal his presence after Saturday's successful strike, restricting access to the safe house and rapidly relocating members of his family, including his daughter and her children, who were intentionally not targeted during the strike and remained unharmed.
The US did not alert Taliban officials ahead of Saturday's strike.
In a series of tweets, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said, "An air strike was carried out on a residential house in Sherpur area of Kabul city on July 31."
He said, "The nature of the incident was not apparent at first" but the security and intelligence services of the Islamic Emirate investigated the incident and "initial findings determined that the strike was carried out by an American drone."
The tweets by Mujahid came out prior to CNN reporting Zawahiri's death. Mujahid said the Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan "strongly condemns this attack on any pretext and calls it a clear violation of international principles and the Doha Agreement."
Justice has been delivered'
Biden, who was kept abreast of the strike against Zawahiri as he isolated with a rebound case of Covid-19, spoke outdoors Monday from the Blue Room Balcony at the White House.
Zawahiri, Biden said, "was deeply involved in the planning of 9/11, one of the most responsible for the attacks that murdered 2,977 people on American soil. For decades, he was the mastermind of attacks against Americans."
"Now, justice has been delivered and this terrorist leader is no more. People around the world no longer need to fear the vicious and determined killer," he continued. "The United States continues to demonstrate our resolve and our capacity to defend the American people against those who seek to do us harm. We make it clear again tonight, that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out."
The President said the precision strike targeting was the result of the "extraordinary persistence and skill" of the nation's intelligence community.
"Our intelligence community located Zawahiri earlier this year -- he moved to downtown Kabul to reunite with members of his immediate family," Biden said.
The strike comes one year after Biden ordered the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, prompting Taliban forces to rapidly seize control of the nation.
Biden said on Monday that when he withdrew US troops from the country, he "made the decision that after 20 years of war, the United States no longer needed thousands of boots on the ground in Afghanistan to protect America from terrorists who seek to do us harm, and I made a promise to the American people, that we continue to conduct effective counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan and beyond. We've done just that."
Biden pledged that Zawahiri "will never again allow Afghanistan to become a terrorist safe haven, because he is gone and we're going to make sure that nothing else happens."
The President concluded by expressing gratitude to US intelligence and counterterrorism communities, saying that he hopes Zawahiri's death will bring some measure of closure to the friends and families of 9/11 victims.
"To those who continue to seek to harm the United States, hear me now: We will always remain vigilant and we will act -- and we will always do what is necessary to ensure the safety and security of Americans at home and around the globe," he concluded.
Close ally of bin Laden
Zawahiri comes from a distinguished Egyptian family, according to the New York Times. His grandfather, Rabia'a al-Zawahiri, was an imam at al-Azhar University in Cairo. His great-uncle, Abdel Rahman Azzam, was the first secretary of the Arab League.
He eventually helped to mastermind the deadliest terror attack on American soil, when hijackers turned US airliners into missiles.
"Those 19 brothers who went out and gave their souls to Allah almighty, God almighty has granted them this victory we are enjoying now," al-Zawahiri said in a videotaped message released in April 2002.
It was the first of many taunting messages the terrorist -- who became al Qaeda's leader after US forces killed bin Laden in 2011 -- would send out over the years, urging militants to continue the fight against America and chiding US leaders.
Zawahiri was constantly on the move once the US-led invasion of Afghanistan began after the September 11, 2001, attacks. At one point, he narrowly escaped a US onslaught in the rugged, mountainous Tora Bora region of Afghanistan, an attack that left his wife and children dead.
He made his public debut as a Muslim militant when he was in prison for his involvement in the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
"We want to speak to the whole world. Who are we? Who are we?" he said in a jailhouse interview.
By that time, al-Zawahiri, a young doctor, was already a committed terrorist who conspired to overthrow the Egyptian government for years and sought to replace it with fundamentalist Islamic rule. He proudly endorsed Sadat's assassination after the Egyptian leader made peace with Israel.
He spent three years in prison after Sadat's assassination and claimed he was tortured while in detention. After his release, he made his way to Pakistan, where he treated wounded mujahadeen fighters who fought against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
That was when he met bin Laden and found a common cause.
"We are working with brother bin Laden," he said in announcing the merger of his terror group, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, with al Qaeda in May 1998. "We know him since more than 10 years now. We fought with him here in Afghanistan."
Together, the two terror leaders signed a fatwa, or declaration: "The judgment to kill and fight Americans and their allies, whether civilians or military, is an obligation for every Muslim."
Mastermind of 9/11
The attacks against the US and its facilities began weeks later, with the suicide bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed more than 200 people and wounded more than 5,000 others. Zawahiri and bin Laden gloated after they escaped a US cruise missile attack in Afghanistan that had been launched in retaliation.
Then, there was the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen in October 2000, when suicide bombers on a dinghy detonated their boat, killing 17 American sailors and wounding 39 others.
The culmination of Zawahiri's terror plotting came on September 11, 2001, when nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center and Pentagon. A fourth hijacked airliner, headed for Washington, crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back.
Since then, al-Zawahiri raised his public profile, appearing on numerous video and audiotapes to urge Muslims to join the jihad against the United States and its allies. Some of his tapes were followed closely by terrorist attacks.
In May 2003, for instance, almost simultaneous suicide bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killed 23 people, including nine Americans, days after a tape thought to contain Zawahiri's voice was released.
The US State Department had offered a reward of up to $25 million for information leading directly to his capture. A June 2021 United Nations report suggested he was located somewhere in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and that he may have been too frail to be featured in propaganda.
11 families group expresses gratitude but calls on Biden to hold Saudis accountable
Terry Strada, the chair of 9/11 Families United -- a coalition of survivors and families of victims of the September, 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- expressed gratitude for the strike, but called on the President to hold the Saudi Arabian government accountable for alleged government complicity in the attacks.
The group has criticized the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour, which began its third competition at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster at the end of July -- some 50 miles from Ground Zero in Manhattan.
"I am deeply grateful for the commitment of intelligence agencies and our brave military's dedication and sacrifices made in removing such evil from our lives. But, in order to achieve full accountability for the murder of thousands on Sept. 11, 2001, President Biden must also hold responsible the Saudi paymasters who bankrolled the Attacks," Strada said in a statement.
"The financiers are not being targeted by drones, they are being met with fist pumps and hosted at golf clubs. If we're going to be serious about accountability, we must hold EVERYONE accountable," Strada added -- appearing to reference the President's controversial gesture with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/01/politics/joe-biden-counter-terrorism/index.html
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Corporate interests flood Arizona begging Sinema to tank Inflation Reduction Act — but 'she's feeling pressure to vote yes': report
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On Monday, Axios reported that big business interests are scrambling to lobby Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) to tank the Inflation Reduction Act — the large health care, climate, and deficit reduction package agreed to between Democratic leadership and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).
Sinema, being one of the most fiscally conservative Democrats in the Senate, was a key obstacle to former reconciliation bills, but according to the report, business leaders feel they have a limited window to convince her this time.
"The National Association of Manufacturers and the Arizona Chamber have launched a six-figure digital and TV ad buy — compressed into one week — to saturate the Phoenix and Tucson media markets," reported Hans Nichols. "'Taxes won’t strengthen supply chains, promote energy security, or fill vacant jobs,' the narrator says. 'Say 'No' to taxes that would devastate Arizona manufacturers.'"
"If successful, the barrage of paid media and personal phone calls will knock out the main provision that terrifies the business community: a 15% minimum book tax that will cost the biggest 150 U.S. companies some $313 billion over 10 years," said the report. However, "The clock is ticking to persuade Sinema to play her hand — and potentially force Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) back to the drawing board on how to pay for the $370 billion in new climate spending."
"She’s feeling the pressure to vote yes on something,” admitted Arizona Chamber of Commerce CEO Danny Seiden. "I hope that she gets this deal opened back up."
Sinema has previously expressed support for a corporate minimum tax similar to that proposed in the bill. However, she has consistently opposed another tax provision included in the bill, which closes the so-called "carried interest loophole" shielding some investment income from taxation. This provision raises far less money, just $14 billion. However, Manchin has said he is "adamant" about keeping this provision in the bill, likely requiring that the two senators work out a compromise on the matter before the bill can move forward.
Read More Here: https://www.axios.com/2022/08/01/corporate-america-strikes-back
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Republicans blocked The PACT Act which helps our sick veterans who have cancer and other diseases. There is absolutely no excuse for that. And why did they do that? All because of the Inflation Reduction Act which will help middle class, working poor Americans, and seniors save money on health care and prescription drug costs as well as reducing inflation and saving our planet from this climate crisis.
Republicans blocked vets from getting medical care over a bill which helps millions of Americans save money and makes corporate America pay their share of fair taxes. Republicans are in the pocket of corporate America and they want veterans with cancer and seniors who can't afford their medication to suffer all because they don't want some billionaire to pay more in taxes. This is the same Republican party that wants to end Social Security & Medicare and dismantle the VA.
Republican senators are starting to freak out after blocking the veterans' health bill
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Republican senators have discovered that trying to block veterans from healthcare doesn't play well among American voters. With fewer than 100 days until the 2022 midterm elections, GOP senators who previously supported legislation to care for veterans with cancer due to burn pits voted it down. Now they're having second thoughts, Politico reported.
It was mere weeks ago when 84 Senators, all Democrats and a hefty chunk of Republicans, voted to pass the bill. One small tweak in the language was eliminated involving taking over private care, but it didn't change anything meaningful in the bill. But last week, Republicans voted it down. They've been trying to justify it by saying that Democrats added in all of these budget spending measures, but those were actually in the bill they supported.
Former "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart raged at Republican officials for the excuse in videos that have gone viral.
Veterans are protesting by staging a sit-in along the halls of the Senate office buildings, forcing Republicans to walk by them. Activist Paul Rieckhoff of Righteous Media told MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace that at least one of the men sleeping on the floor is hooked up to oxygen.
Former Donald Trump Homeland Security chief of staff, Miles Taylor, said the opposition is actually part of an ongoing effort by lawmakers like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to defund the Veterans Administration and privatize it. He recalled when he was working for the Trump administration that there were many who were trying to bring down the VA, but decided it couldn't happen in Trump's first term because he would need to be reelected.
But other Republicans claim that it was an effort by Republican Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), who tried to claim a "budgetary gimmick." As political strategists say frequently, however, if you're trying to explain yourself, you're losing.
"Regardless of their reasoning, the GOP was quickly forced to play defense against both Democrats and veterans’ advocates who were caught off-guard by Republican delaying tactics after the party greenlit a nearly identical bill in June," wrote Politico.
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) has tried to blame Democrats for Republicans voting against the bill, saying they "screwed up the first time." His problem is he has to explain how Democrats screwed up but still got 84 votes to pass it.
“I’m doing everything I can do,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), who has been trying to get the bill passed since 2021. "I don’t know [if] people really understand what they were voting on, to be honest with you. There’s no slush fund in this."
Toomey is trying to rally the GOP around an amendment, which some Republicans like Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Rob Portman (R-OH) would support, but they're not willing to let the bill die if the amendment isn't approved.
The GOP's lack of support has pitted Republicans against groups like the American Legion and AMVETS, which have volunteers at the Capitol. The Vietnam Veterans of America have been close allies to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans because they too experienced toxic chemical exposure when fighting overseas. It's become a public relations nightmare mere days before the senators are expected to go home to campaign during the August Recess.
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Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to respond to a question Monday about why the legislation was held up.
Republicans insist their decision to hold up the bill, which expands health care for veterans exposed to toxic substances while on active duty, was unrelated to the deal on party-line legislation that top Democrats struck last week. The GOP blocked the bill hours after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced an agreement on a health care, climate and tax package — angering Republicans who thought the Democrats-only plan would be much narrower.
Schumer is expected to force another vote on the veterans bill this week, vowing Monday that he would bring it up “in the coming days.”
“We’re going to give Senate Republicans another chance to do the right thing,” he said.
The amendment explanation has done little to curb Democratic charges that the GOP turned a non-controversial plan to help veterans exposed to Agent Orange and toxic burn pits into a political football. Democrats have questioned the turnabout sharply given that 25 Republicans voted to block the bill over the budgetary issue only on its second trip to the floor, not its first.
"As someone who has worked on this bill for years, I’m just disappointed that some of my Republican colleagues, whether out of personal pique or some misguided political motive ... wanted to flip-flop. But as long as it comes to the right result, that’s what’s important for the country and for veterans,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).
The criticism hasn’t let up this week.
Comedian Jon Stewart — rallying alongside veterans who’ve been camped outside the Senate for days — on Monday slammed Republicans for slowing the bill’s passage.
“I’m not scared of you and I don’t care, because these are the people I owe a debt of gratitude to,” Stewart said. “Don’t leave here tonight until you do the right thing by these folks. Simple as that: Don’t make this harder than it is.”
Republican Have ‘Crossed Veterans In A Very Big Way' Says Paul Rieckhoff
Founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Paul Rieckhoff and former Chief of Staff for DHS Miles Taylor react to Republicans trying to claim they had a legitimate reason to block the burn pit bill.
Former Donald Trump Homeland Security chief of staff, Miles Taylor, said the opposition is actually part of an ongoing effort by lawmakers like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to defund the Veterans Administration and privatize it.
Watch:
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Murphy on Failed PACT Act Vote: Did Republicans Decide to Take Anger Out on Vulnerable Veterans?
Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday took to the U.S. Senate floor to slam Senate Republicans for blocking passage of the Honoring our PACT Act, legislation to expand health care benefits for veterans. The bill passed last month by a vote of 84-14, but due to a procedural error, on Wednesday night the Senate took a vote to fix the error, which failed by a vote of 55 to 42.
Watch:
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Republicans Blocking Burn Pit Bill Are ‘Playing Partisan Politics’ With ‘The Lives Of Veterans’
Burn Pits 360 Executive Director and co-Founder Rosie Torres and Samantha Turner, a disabled army veteran and graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, join Andrea Mitchell to urge the passing of a bill to help veterans who were exposed to toxins and burn pits, after 25 Senate Republicans decided to switch their votes and block the measure. “They’re playing partisan politics. It's disgusting. It’s criminal. These men and women fought for their freedom, and they're sick and they're dying,” says Torres. “We're gonna be protesting. We're gonna be advocating for ourselves and those who serve with us until the bills passed,” says Turner.
Watch:
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Schedule F = Schedule Fascism = Enabling Act
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Kansas votes to protect abortion rights in state constitution
Kansas is the first state to put abortion rights to a vote since the supreme court overturned Roe v Wade
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Kansans secured a huge win for abortion rights in the US on Tuesday night when they voted to continue to protect abortion in the state constitution.
The race was called by a host of US groups like NBC News, the New York Times and Decision Desk HQ.
The move will be seen as huge a loss for the anti-abortion movement and a major win for abortion rights advocates across America, who will see the result as a bellwether for popular opinion.
Kansas – a deeply conservative and usually reliably Republican state – is the first US state to put abortion rights to a vote since the US supreme court ruled to overturn constitutional protections for abortion in late June.
The state will remain a safe haven for abortion in the midwest, as one of the few states in the region where it remains legal to perform the procedure. Many other states have undertaken moves to make abortion largely illegal since June.
Joe Biden issued a statement welcoming the result. “This vote makes clear what we know: the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own health care decisions,” the US president said.
The Kansas state senator Dinah Sikes, a Democrat, cried as the vote came in, and turned to her friends and colleagues, showing them goosebumps on her arm.
“It’s just amazing. It’s breathtaking that women’s voices were heard and we care about women’s health,” she told the Guardian, after admitting she had thought the vote would be close. “But we were close in a lot of rural areas and that really made the difference – I’m just so grateful,” she said.
The “No” campaign – which was protecting abortion rights – was strongly ahead in the referendum with 62% of the vote with the majority of ballots counted. That means millions of dollars lost for the Catholic church who contributed more than $3m trying to eradicate abortion rights in Kansas, according to campaign finance records.
Kansans turned out to vote in heavy numbers on Tuesday, in a referendum brought by the Kansas Republican legislature that was criticized for being misleading, fraught with misinformation and voter suppression tactics.
After failing to get a more directly named referendum, “Kansas No State Constitutional Right to Abortion”, on the ballot in 2020, Republicans switched tactics, naming this amendment “Value Them Both”.
The vote was scheduled for August, when voter turnout is historically low, particularly among independents and Democrats, and the wording on the ballot paper was criticized for being unclear.
“The ballot mentions a state constitutional right to abortion funding in Kansas, but that funding has never really been on the table,” Mary Ziegler, a US abortion law expert from the University of California, Davis told the Guardian on Monday.
Kansans for Life, one of the main backers for a “yes” vote, told church congregants on 27 July that removing protections for abortion in Kansas would prevent late-term abortions, lack of parental consent and tax payer funding for abortion, despite none of these being the law in Kansas. Abortions in Kansas are limited to 22 weeks in the cases of life threatening or severely compromised physical complications.
It was a tense and bitterly fought campaign that saw churches vandalized and yard signs stolen, in a state where the abortion doctor George Tiller was murdered by anti-abortion activists in 2009.
But on Tuesday night scenes of jubilation broke out at a watch party for the victorious No campaign in Kansas City. “We’re free!” shouted Mafutari Oneal, 56, who was working at the bar after the vote was called and a rush of drinks orders came in.
“I don’t want no government telling me what to do. I’m so happy,” she said.
In a speech just after victory was sealed, Rachel Sweet, the campaign manager for Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, said the win had come against all the odds.
“We knew it was stacked against us from the moment we started but we did not despair – we did it, and these numbers speak for themselves,” Sweet said.
“We knocked tens of thousands of doors and had hundreds of thousands of phone calls … We countered millions of dollars in misinformation,” she said. “We will not tolerate extreme bans on abortion in our state.”
Ashley All, the spokesperson for KCF, who led the “No” campaign alongside Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, told the Guardian that the key to driving voter turnout was not seeing abortion as a partisan issue in Kansas.
“We demonstrated Kansas’ free state roots,” she said. “It will be interesting for other states to watch this and see this is not a partisan issue. Everyone from Republicans, to unaffiliated voters to hardcore libertarians came out to say: ‘No, we don’t want the government involved in what we do with our bodies’.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/03/kansas-abortion-vote-state-constitution
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Megadonors and GOP bigwigs made sure scandal-plagued Eric Greitens went down in flames in Missouri Senate primary
https://www.rawstory.com/eric-greitens-2657799813/
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Can 'America First' exist without Trump? Conservatives are planning on it
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/can-america-first-exist-without-trump-conservatives-are-planning-on-it/ar-AA10hb3i?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=960f1cc61d574af88f2cf79e720927c9
What drives the MAGA movement.
1. A vague desire to return to the past, with some sort of form of White Supremacy. How far can they go down this road? They are hoping pretty far.
2. The knowledge that for the first time, Caucasians are becoming the minority in America. They feel this is unfair, brought on by Democratics loose guarding of the borders.
What can be done about this?
Only one thing can be done. Jettison democracy. Install authoritarianism. A dictatorship. So, the minority can have and keep control, regardless of what the majority wants. It is the only solution that they see as possible. They may wish this was not necessary, but since it is the only way, this is the path they are following.
Their goal? Win one more Presidential election. And have a President who will make this happen. Using Schedule F or whatever means works.
Electing Trump would be ideal, if possible. Because they know he will come through for them. He will try as hard as he can to become President to Life, and to set up succession through his sons or others who are reliable. If it seems impossible for Trump to win, or after Trump dies, go with another option, like DeSantis. The problem with DeSantis is, no one knows if he would go all out to become a President for Life. He supports the stolen election claim of 2020. But maybe he is just doing that to gain votes. Wasn't really trying to get the election overturned. Maybe he harbors scruples against really betraying democracy. Who knows?
The main problem is not Trump. The main problem is tens of millions of Americans who want to jettison democracy. And if they can win just one more time, with the right candidate, they may succeed. This must not happen.
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Recent GOP polling shows huge shift towards Democrats
Americans for Prosperity 42-39 (+3)
Echelon Insights 48-44 (+4)
Chamber of Commerce 46-41 (+5)
Winning The Issues 47-41 (+6)
Dems are up an average of 4.5 in these influential Republican polls. That's keep the House territory.
More GOP polling. Changes in these polls show big shift to Democrats.
Rasmussen goes 39-49 to 41-46 - 5 pt shift
American Greatness 42-50 to 44-45 - 7 pt shift
Senate Opportunity Fund 42-47 to 44-45 - 4 pt shift
What are Republicans seeing in their polling?
A new bluer election.
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Patrick De Haan @GasBuddyGuy
10 CENTS TO GO! We're at $4.099/gal for a national average. BUT in ~100 hours, we will see the national average fall to $3.999 per gallon, the lowest and first time since March 5. A handful of stations in the US could even fall to $2.99/gal by then.
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https://twitter.com/GasBuddyGuy/status/1555248555245420545
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The White House @WhiteHouse
Five former Treasury secretaries from across the political divide can agree: the Inflation Reduction Act will increase economic competitiveness, lower costs for families, and fight inflation — all without increasing taxes for any family making less than $400,000/year.
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https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1554998707132710912
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Sinema says she’ll ‘move forward’ as Schumer announces ‘entire caucus’ on board for Inflation Reduction Act
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Thursday evening that the "entire" Democratic Party caucus is unified behind the Inflation Reduction Act.
Schumer announced the final bill would be introduced on Saturday, likely setting up a weekend vote-a-rama followed by votes next week.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) announced she will "move forward" after preserving the carried interest tax loophole that is primary used by hedge fund managers.
The bill will also have to go before the Senate parliamentarian.
Passage of the bill would be a major victory for Democrats and President Joe Biden heading into the 2020 midterm election.
This would be the second big legislative victory this summer after passage of the burn pit bill.
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https://twitter.com/caphilltrish/status/1555364626753282050
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Republicans are itching to dismantle Social Security and Medicare. They are very open about their intentions. Ron Johnson is talking ending Social Security on right wing radio.
'Self-serving multimillionaire': GOP's Ron Johnson slammed over push to dismantle Social Security and Medicare
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Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes slammed Sen. Ron Johnson as a "self-serving, multimillionaire" on Tuesday after the sitting Republican from Wisconsin called for making both Social Security and Medicare discretionary programs—a reform that would pave the way for the GOP to realize its half-century-long dream of dismantling two of the nation's most essential and popular social programs.
Speaking on a right-wing radio show earlier in the day, Johnson criticized the "mandatory" spending demanded by Social Security and Medicare, guaranteed benefit programs available to all Americans and overwhelmingly popular.
"What we ought to be doing is we ought to turn everything into discretionary spending so that it's all evaluated so that we can fix problems or fix programs that are broken," said Johnson on the Regular Joe Show.
Parker Butler @parkerpbutler
Wow. Ron Johnson just said Congress should end the guaranteed benefits of Social Security and Medicare, calling the programs that millions paid into a “debt burden”
He said Congress should hold a vote on whether to cut off funding for the programs.
Listen Here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1554626127662125067
In his response, Barnes said the Trump-supporting Republican incumbent "wants to strip working people of the Social Security and Medicare they've earned. Wisconsinites pay into Social Security through a lifetime of hard work, and they're counting on this program and Medicare—but Ron Johnson just doesn't care."
Barnes, who currently serves as Wisconsin's Lt. Governor, was far from the only critic to pounce on Johnson's remarks.
"Johnson wants to END the Social Security and Medicare guarantee," said the advocacy group Social Security Works on social media. "This would be a disaster for seniors and people with disabilities in Wisconsin and across the country."
Mark Pocan @ MarkPocan
You know that money you’ve paid all your life out of your paycheck for Social Security & Medicare? @SenRonJohnson wants to steal your money and potentially cut benefits from both. That’s a more extreme position than almost anyone in the U.S. Senate. Time for @TheOtherMandela!
https://twitter.com/MarkPocan/status/1554629262786822148
JSOnline - NewsWatch @js_newswatch
Ron Johnson suggested he seeks to turn everything in the federal budget into discretionary spending, including Social Security and Medicare.
Read Here: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/02/johnson-wants-medicare-social-security-discretionary-programs/10217972002/
https://twitter.com/js_newswatch/status/1554614796322050050
It's not the first time Johnson has attacked Social Security. Just last year, he called the program a "Ponzi scheme" and has variously supported legislation that would raise the retirement age for seniors and backed other GOP proposals to increase out-of-pocket spending by Medicare beneficiaries.
In a statement, Philip Shulman, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Democratic Party, said, "Ron Johnson has made clear he would cut Social Security and Medicare despite the devastating impact it would have on older Wisconsinites. During his years in D.C., Johnson has lost touch with Wisconsinites and voters will hold him accountable in November."
https://www.rawstory.com/self-serving-multimillionaire-gop-s-ron-johnson-slammed-over-push-to-dismantle-social-security-and-medicare/
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Thanks President Biden! Another campaign promise has been kept and more people have health insurance than ever before.
Number of uninsured Americans drops to an all-time low
Washington (AP) — The number of people living in America without health insurance coverage hit an all-time low of 8 percent this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday.
“Every American has the right to the peace of mind that comes with access to affordable, quality health care,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Tuesday about the record-low rate of uninsured Americans.
The findings come days after Democrats hammered out a 725-page climate, health care and tax deal that would extend generous federal subsidies for people who buy private health insurance that are credited with driving down the uninsured rates. Democrats have proposed spending $64 billion to extend those price breaks for three more years.
The drop in uninsured Americans began last year, when Congress and Biden signed off on a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill that lowered premiums and out-of-pocket costs for new or returning customers purchasing plans through the Affordable Care Act’s private health insurance markets.
The uninsured rate fell to just under 9 percent last year with the improved subsidies. The Biden administration also began to step up advertising and increased the number of counselors who helped sign up people for plans during the open enrollment season last year.
Prior to last year, the uninsured rate had consistently remained in the double digits for decades. The number of uninsured Americans began dropping after the ACA, which expanded Medicaid and offers health insurance to people who lack job-based coverage through a mix of subsidized private plans, was enacted in 2010.
Roughly 26 million people remain without health insurance in the U.S. Just under 2 percent of children are now uninsured.
"We know that access to quality, affordable health care is key to healthier lives, economic security, and peace of mind,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement Tuesday.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/number-of-uninsured-americans-drops-to-an-all-time-low
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President Biden @POTUS
When we pass the Inflation Reduction Act, not a single American in the middle class will pay higher taxes.
It’s that simple.
For too long, big, super-wealthy corporations haven’t paid their fair share in taxes.
We’re going to change that with Inflation Reduction Act.
It's time for Medicare to have the power to negotiate prescription drug prices.
The Inflation Reduction Act will get it done.
The Inflation Reduction Act won't just be the largest investment in clean energy and American energy security in history.
It will be the largest investment in American manufacturing as well.
The Inflation Reduction Act will cap the amount of money seniors pay on prescription drugs at $2,000 a year for cancer and any other diseases.
That’s a godsend for so many families.
Today, I sat down with leaders from some of America's largest companies and labor organizations to talk Inflation Reduction Act and how this bill meets the needs of working families now and sets us up for stronger, sustained economic growth for the years ahead.
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Tune in to the Inflation Reduction Act roundtable with business and labor leaders as I discuss how we’ll lower costs and the deficit, fight inflation, and bolster domestic manufacturing.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1MYxNnMObLRxw
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The July 2022 Jobs Report has just been released and the Biden Boom continues.
Economists were expecting 258,000 jobs and the July jobs report crushed expectations with 528,000 in July.
Unemployment dropped to 3.5%.
What President Biden has done for jobs and the economy is truly historic. No President in history has created this many jobs this fast at nearly 11 million in less than 2 years.
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US economy adds 528,000 jobs, far outpacing expectations
The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%.
The U.S. hiring saw a dramatic increase in July, as the economy added 528,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.
The 528,000 jobs added in July marks a significant uptick from 372,000 jobs added in June. Moreover, the figures signals an improvement from the already-robust hiring sustained over the first half of 2022, during which the economy added an average of 461,000 jobs each month.
The overall robust hiring in recent months defies typical conditions for a recession, Daniel Zhao, a senior economist at the career site Glassdoor, told ABC News prior to the data release.
"It would be very unusual to have a recession when we’re still adding several hundred thousand jobs a month," he said.
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/expect-july-jobs-report/story?id=87923595
Hiring surged in July, with employers adding 528,000 jobs
Hiring surged in July, with U.S. employers creating 528,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday. That far exceeded economist expectations for gains of 250,000 new jobs during the period. It was also a jump from the previous month, when businesses added 372,000 jobs despite the highest inflation in 40 years.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 3.5% from 3.6% in June, marking the lowest since February 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic erupted. Before the latest payrolls report, the economy was adding roughly 450,000 jobs per month.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jobs-report-528000-july-08-05-2022/
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‘Ain’t no recession’: Economists praise ‘huge’ employment numbers – ‘We’re back, baby’
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Employers in July hired more than double the number of people experts had predicted, 528,000, after many predicted the number to be just 258,000. Unemployment is now at the lowest level in half a century, at 3.5%.
CNBC calls today’s report from the federal government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics “far better than expected, defying signs that the economic recovery is losing steam.”
That was far from the only good news in Friday’s release.
“Wage growth also surged higher, as average hourly earnings jumped 0.5% for the month and 5.2% from the same time a year ago,” CNBC notes. “Despite downbeat expectations, the July gains were the best since February and well ahead of the 388,000 average job gain over the past four months.
“The bureau noted that private sector payrolls are now higher than the February 2020 level, just before the pandemic declaration,” a massive accomplishment, as economists are noting.
Economist Justin Wolfers, a professor at University of Michigan, New York Times contributor and a Senior Fellow at Brookings sums up today’s news.
“Put that recession talk away, and change the subject. A vibecession ain’t no recession: July payrolls came in at a huge +528k, and unemployment is down to 3.5%. A whap-bop-a-loopa-a-whap-bam-boo!”
Minutes later he added: “Hang on… I just-recalculated the unemployment rate (to extra decimal places), and at 3.46%, THIS IS THE LOWEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN OVER HALF A CENTURY.”
Wolfers, continuing to examine the report, finds even more good news.
The number of people forced to work “part-time for economic reasons, — is also at the lowest rate ever recorded.”
Putting another economic overview on the data, Wolfers explains: “We’re back, baby.”
David Rothkopf, who wears many hats including professor of international relations, political scientist, journalist, CEO, podcast host, author, and member of the Council on Foreign Relations also summed up the news.
“To recap,” he writes. “More jobs created during Biden presidency than the net of the preceding 8 yrs added up. More jobs created during Biden presidency than the last 3 GOP admins added up. More jobs created last month than the net total of the entire Trump presidency. In short: Lotta jobs.”
Economist David Rothschild takes a moment to examine how the negativism of the media is affecting the economy.
“Disconnect between reality of healthy US economy and negative mainstream media narrative is startling: beyond demonstrating a Republican bias in trying to undermine Democrats, it is an actual serious source of harm to the an economy where confidence & expectations matter.”
He adds: “Mainstream Media/Republicans will argue that ‘numbers’ don’t tell real story of how working class (obviously for them they mean white working class) families are hurt by inflation: but reality is jobs are plenty & wage growth is keeping pace w/ inflation.”
Rothschild also preempts any talk of recession.
“Amazing job growth, strong & sustainable wage growth, and slowing inflation: WE ARE NOT IN A RECESSION.”
And economist Danny Blanchflower, an economics professor at Dartmouth, has a word of advice for workers: ask for a raise.
“Workers should definitely not refrain from asking/demanding inflation adjusted pay increases. They can tell the bosses it is their turn to show up.”
https://www.rawstory.com/aint-no-recession-economists-praise-huge-employment-numbers-were-back-baby/
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The lowest unemployment rate since 1969.
All pandemic recession job losses recovered.
One of the best jobs markets in U.S. history.
Gas prices falling 50+ days in a row.
And historic legislation to lower prescription drug prices and fight the climate crisis on the way.
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President Biden @POTUS
When you're seeing the biggest and fastest job recovery in American manufacturing since the 1950s, Make It in America isn't just a slogan.
It’s a reality.
After my predecessor exploded the federal deficit, I said: no more.
And I've kept my word. The deficit is down a record $1.7 trillion this year. And that’s on top of the $350 billion we reduced the deficit by last year.
We’ve now created 9.5 million jobs since taking office.
That’s millions more families with the dignity and peace of mind that a paycheck provides.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1555675020558573571
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The economy has grown 3 times faster under Biden than under Trump.
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Senate Dems announce they have the votes to pass Inflation Reduction Act
Senate Democrats have reached an accord on changes to their marquee economic legislation, they announced late Thursday, clearing the major hurdle to pushing one of President Joe Biden's leading election-year priorities through the chamber in coming days.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., a centrist who was seen as the pivotal vote, said in a statement that she had agreed to changes in the measure's tax and energy provisions and was ready to "move forward" on the Inflation Reduction Act.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said lawmakers had achieved a compromise "that I believe will receive the support" of all Democrats in the chamber. His party needs unanimity to move the measure through the 50-50 Senate, along with Vice President Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote.
Schumer has said he hopes the Senate can begin voting on the energy, environment, health and tax measure on Saturday. Passage by the House, which Democrats control narrowly, could come next week.
Final congressional approval of the election-year measure would complete an astounding, eleventh-hour salvation of Mr. Biden's wide-ranging domestic goals, though in more modest form. Democratic infighting had embarrassed Mr. Biden and forced him to pare down a far larger and more ambitious $3.5 trillion, 10-year version, and then a $2 trillion alternative, leaving the effort all but dead.
This bill, negotiated by Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin, the conservative maverick Democrat from West Virginia, would raise $739 billion in revenue. That would come from tax boosts on high earners and some huge corporations, beefed up IRS tax collections and curbs on drug prices, which would save money for the government and patients.
It would spend much of that on energy, climate and health care initiatives, still leaving over $300 billion for deficit reduction.
Sinema said Democrats had agreed to remove a provision raising taxes on "carried interest," or profits that go to executives of private equity firms. That's been a proposal she has long opposed, though it is a favorite of Manchin and many progressives.
The carried interest provision was estimated to produce $13 billion for the government over the coming decade, a small portion of the measure's $739 billion in total revenue.
It will be replaced by a new excise tax on stock buybacks which will bring in more revenue than that, said one Democrat familiar with the agreement who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the deal publicly. The official provided no other detail.
Though providing no detail, Sinema said she had also agreed to provisions to "protect advanced manufacturing and boost our clean energy economy."
She noted that Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough is still reviewing the measure to make sure no provisions must be removed for violating the chamber's procedures. "Subject to the parliamentarian's review, I'll move forward," Sinema said.
"Tonight, we've taken another critical step toward reducing inflation and the cost of living for America's families," a statement from Mr. Biden read. "The Inflation Reduction Act will help Americans save money on prescription drugs, health premiums, and much more. It will make our tax system more fair by making corporations pay a minimum tax. It will not raise taxes on those making less than $400,000, and it will reduce the deficit. It also makes the largest investment in history in combatting climate change and increasing energy security, creating jobs here in the US and saving people money on their energy costs. I look forward to the Senate taking up this legislation and passing it as soon as possible."
Schumer said the measure retained the bill's language on prescription drug pricing, climate change, "closing tax loopholes exploited by big corporations and the wealthy" and reducing federal deficits.
He said that in talks with fellow Democrats, the party "addressed a number of important issues they have raised." He added that the final measure "will reflect this work and put us one step closer to enacting this historic legislation into law."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inflation-reduction-act-kyrsten-sinema-senate-democrats-votes/
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Huge jobs report on Friday, with revisions, there will be more than 550,000 jobs in July. That is truly remarkable when unemployment is at now at 3.5% which is the lowest in over 50 years.
The May and June jobs reports have been revised upwards showing 28,000 more jobs combined in both months. 62,000 new manufacturing jobs were added in July as well.
It's a boom not a recession.
Here's my monthly economic post with new added numbers:
16 yrs Clinton Obama = 33.8 million jobs
18 months Biden = 9.6 million jobs
16 yrs Bushes Trump = 1.9 million jobs
5 times as many Biden jobs as last 3 GOPers COMBINED. 5x.
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The economy has grown 3 times faster under Biden than under Trump who barely had 1.0% GDP growth.
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Unemployment rate now lowest it has been in over 50 years, and is the lowest in a peacetime economy in the post WWII era.
And broader measures of under-employment -- here, I'm thinking of U-6 rate which also includes people marginally attached to the labor force and those part-time for economic reasons, -- is also at the lowest rate ever recorded.
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Uninsured rate now lowest in American history.
Uninsured rate declined throughout 2021 and early 2022 – reaching a historic low of 8.0% by the first quarter of 2022. https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/d4b795f54948bad96140e8c596634204/Uninsured-Q1-2022-Data-Point-HP-2022-23-08.pdf
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New businesses continued to be created at historically high rates. This remains one of the most important economic stats of the Biden Boom. Speaks to incredible health, vitality of the U.S. economy.
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Of the 45 million jobs created since 1989 43 million - 96% have been created under Democratic Presidents.
Last 3 GOP presidents brought recessions, spiraling deficits, low number of jobs. They called this "recession" wrong.
Republicans have NO standing to be criticizing Biden's strong economic performance.
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Jobs being created at 50x the rate of the last 3 GOP Presidents combined.
Note GOP job creation rate was 9,700 per month over 16 years. This month the US economy created 50 months worth of GOP level job growth.
And yet MAGA screams.
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Biden is the 3rd straight Dem President to take down a spiraling annual deficit left by a GOP President.
Trump was the worst fiscal steward of America in the post-war era, with no one even close.
The last 3 GOP Presidents brought recessions and spiraling deficits. Trump saw the deficit grow more than any peacetime President in modern times.
Joe Biden is the third straight Dem President to get the deficit down. Clinton got us to surplus.
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Every measure of wage growth - people making more money - continue to be at an historically high level.
This graph is from the Atlanta Fed. Prime age workers wages up 7%. With inflation coming down real wages likely to be positive again, or close to it.
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An important Fed inflation tracking measure has inflation now close to 3%.
We will see where it comes in with the monthly report but the inflation spike caused by Putin's aggression is clearly easing.
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Again, what this shows is a truly historic jobs and economic President who turned around the Trump Economic Disaster in record time while cutting the deficit and still creating half a million jobs with record low 3.5% unemployment.
President Biden is an historic President who has done more in less than 2 years than what 3 Republican Presidents did in 16 years.
Plus Biden has blown away both Clinton and Obama in job creation per month and they were the best job creation Presidents in modern times.
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CNBC @CNBC
President Biden calls the Inflation Reduction Act a “game changer” for American families. https://cnb.cx/3Qni7NX
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1555609743703609349
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Fact: Democratic Presidents create jobs.
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Senate Dems' climate, health and energy bill clears first hurdle to passage with VP's vote
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The U.S. Senate voted along party lines Saturday night to advance to debate on Democrats’ sweeping energy, health and taxes bill, clearing a major hurdle to passage.
The 51-50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie, cleared the chamber to debate and vote on amendments to the measure and indicated that it had enough support from Democrats to overcome unified Republican opposition.
“We will show the American people that, yes, we are capable of passing a historic climate package, and rein in drug companies, and make our tax code fairer,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said before the vote. “We are able to make big promises and work hard at keeping them as well.
“This is one of the most comprehensive and far-reaching pieces of legislation that has come before the Congress in decades,” the New York Democrat added. “It will help just about every citizen in this country and make America a much better place.”
The White House said Saturday that President Joe Biden’s administration “strongly supports” the bill.
“This legislation would lower health care, prescription drug, and energy costs, invest in energy security, and make our tax code fairer—all while fighting inflation and reducing the deficit,” the statement of administration policy said.
Saturday session
The vote opened a rare weekend Senate session — while the chamber was scheduled to be on its August recess — that is expected to include up to 20 hours of debate and consideration of 40 to 50 amendments in a “vote-a-rama.”
Depending on how long debate and amendment votes take, a final vote is expected Sunday or Monday.
The bill, negotiated primarily by Schumer and West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin III with additional changes made at the behest of Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, would spend nearly $370 billion on clean energy programs, allow Medicare to negotiate some drug prices beginning in 2026 and change the tax code and bolster Internal Revenue Enforcement to bring in more than $400 billion in new revenue over 10 years.
After negotiating with Sinema and presenting the bill to the Senate parliamentarian to ensure all the provisions qualified for consideration under budget reconciliation, Democrats released a longer 755-page updated bill minutes before voting to open debate Saturday.
The reconciliation process allows Democrats to pass the bill with a simple majority, instead of the usual 60-vote threshold.
Among the late changes to the bill was an addition of $4 billion to address Western droughts.
Western Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Mark Kelly of Arizona and Michael Bennet of Colorado announced they secured the funding for the Bureau of Reclamation to address droughts in Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado.
“The Western United States is experiencing an unprecedented drought, and it is essential that we have the resources we need to support our states’ efforts to combat climate change, conserve water resources, and protect the Colorado River Basin,” they said in a joint statement.
Democrats also added a provision to cap the price of insulin co-pays for Americans at $35 starting in 2024. The insulin language, though, may be challenged by Republicans on the floor.
Another provision, pushed by Virginia Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine, and included in the bill’s initial draft, would permanently extend the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, which provides monthly payments and medical benefits to disabled coal miners who developed black lung disease while working in coal mines.
The reduced prescription drug costs and tax code changes more than offset the bill’s spending, reducing the deficit by about $100 billion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The extra IRS enforcement would bring the total deficit reduction to around $300 billion.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said that the chamber would return from its August recess to vote Friday on a Senate-passed bill.
AFP
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Adam Schiff @RepAdamSchiff
Democrats have passed:
An anti-inflation bill
A $1.9 trillion rescue deal
A $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan
And gun reforms
Now we're gearing up to secure:
Lower prescription drug costs
Billions in climate investments
ACA subsidies
And ensuring corporations pay a fair share
https://twitter.com/RepAdamSchiff/status/1556062297797398530
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The Inflation Reduction Act:
✅ Lowers energy costs
✅ Increases energy security
✅ Reduces emissions
✅ Invests in our communities to combat climate change
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Breaking: Senate Republicans have just blocked the $35/month insulin price cap for Americans on private insurance from Democrats' spending bill.
Rep. Eric Swalwell @RepSwalwell
Diabetics could’ve seen insulin costs capped at $35 a month. Instead they’ll continue to pay hundreds of dollars. Why? MAGA-Republicans are so obsessed with opposing Democratic solutions that they’ll screw anyone over if it means beating Democrats. Politics won. Patients lost.
https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1556294192464289793
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The Associated Press @AP
BREAKING: Senate Democrats passed an election-year economic bill package focused on climate, taxes and health care with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris.
The bill includes the largest-ever federal effort on climate change — close to $400 billion. It caps out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors on Medicare to $2,000 a year and extends expiring subsidies that help 13 million people afford health insurance.
https://twitter.com/AP/status/1556359733812011009
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From @playbookdc:
"Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act will make Biden one of the most legislatively successful presidents of the modern era....In the long run, his first two years may be remembered as akin to LBJ when it comes to moving his agenda through Congress."
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https://twitter.com/ChrisLu44/status/1556340068884926466
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The White House @WhiteHouse
Statement by President Biden on Senate passage of the Inflation Reduction Act:
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https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1556370973988978688
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Here are the struggles that Americans have to go through each day to afford medicine and health care.
The simple fact is President Biden and Democrats have delivered once again for the American people and Republicans as usual voted a unanimous "NO" not to help Americans afford medicine and health care.
Republicans voted against their own diabetic constituents as they refused to cap insulin at $35. Republicans voted agaimst seniors and working families struggling to afford health care and medical costs.
Democrats just passed legislation which will help seniors and working families struggling to afford health care by lowering medical costs so they can save money.
Connie Grady @connl1
My child lives w/ intellectual disabilities & her meds avg $50k/month. We can’t afford that w/o Medicare. Americans with disabilities deserve access to life-saving drugs.
Thanks @SenatorWarnock @SenOssoff for voting to lower Rx costs by enabling Medicare to negotiate prices.
My child has two rare neurological conditions that cause severe epilepsy that cannot be controlled. Hundreds of seizures a day, 8 meds multiple times a day. It adds up quickly.
https://twitter.com/connl1/status/1556375271942815744
DeAnn Carter @DeAnnCarter
Before my husband passed, we depleted our savings to afford $1k/month copays. Now, I face my own dilemma: purchase my meds or my meals.
Dems delivered for seniors by passing the Inflation Reduction Act allowing Medicare to negotiate Rx prices and cap out of pocket costs at $2k.
https://twitter.com/DeAnnCarter/status/1556372697172647936
These Republicans BLOCKED a $35 cap on insulin
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Senator Bob Casey @SenBobCasey
If you have private insurance and need insulin, Senate Republicans just voted against capping the cost of insulin at $35.
Think about that. They voted to keep your medical costs high.
https://twitter.com/SenBobCasey/status/1556293971848167425
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GOP strips insulin out-of-pocket cap from bill: ‘Republicans have just gone on the record in favor of expensive insulin’
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Republicans successfully stripped a proposed $35 per month cap on out-of-pocket spending on insulin for patients enrolled in private insurance from the tax and climate bill.
The Senate parliamentarian had ruled that the provision, sponsored by Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, is not primarily related to the federal budget. That gave the GOP a chance to raise a procedural objection.
Waiving the rules required 60 votes to succeed. Seven Republicans sided with Democrats to keep the insulin cap in the bill, but that was not enough. Democrats plan to use the GOP move to strip the insulin cap in the fall midterm campaigns.
Many in the GOP supported an amendment from Louisiana Senator John Kennedy to instead provide government funding to subsidize insulin purchases for low income individuals.
Democrats immediately attacked Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Marco Rubio of Florida, who are up for re-election, over their votes to strip a $35 insulin cap from the tax bill.
“Republicans have just gone on the record in favor of expensive insulin,” Oregon Senator Ron Wyden said. “After years of tough talk about taking on insulin makers, Republicans have once against wilted in the face of heat from Big Pharma.”
Voting with Democrats to keep the provision were Senators Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, Cindy Hyde-Smith, John Kennedy, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan. The 57-43 vote was shy of the 60 needed.
The bill retains a $35 per month for out-of-pocket insulin co-pays under Medicare even through the GOP successfully removed the cap for private insurance.
https://fortune.com/2022/08/07/gop-strips-insulin-out-of-pocket-cap-from-bill-republicans-have-just-gone-on-the-record-in-favor-of-expensive-insulin/
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Both parties can't agree on everything but something is fundamentally wrong when Senate Republicans vote against reducing inflation, lowering prescription drug prices for their constituents, and voting against millions of new jobs.
Absolutely disgraceful that Republicans voted in favor of high prescription drug prices and to keep inflation going.
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Senate improves EV tax credit in largest climate bill ever
https://electrek.co/2022/08/07/senate-improves-ev-tax-credit-in-largest-climate-bill-ever/
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Brutal ad against Herschel Walker shows his ex-wife recounting horrific story of abuse
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A new 30-second ad released by the anti-Trump Republican Accountability PAC includes footage of Republican Senate hopeful Herschel Walker’s ex-wife graphically describing him choking her and threatening to kill her during their marriage.
"Do you think you know Herschel Walker? Well, think again," the ad starts out.
The ad then shows excerpts of past interviews where Cindy DeAngelis Grossman accuses Walker of possessing "guns and knives," choking her, and holding a gun to her head.
"He held the gun to my temple and said he was gonna blow my brains out," Grossman says in the ad.
Walker had stated in the past that he suffers from a mental health condition called dissociative identity disorder, a condition that was formerly labeled as a split personality.
Watch the video below:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1556647005442789385
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Bill Pascrell, Jr. @Bill Pascrell
Democrats have repeatedly voted to cap the price of insulin at $35. Yesterday mcconnell republicans killed it again. If you rely on insulin to live, republicans told you to drop dead.
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https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1556614083041976326
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The Inflation Reduction Act has just passed the Senate and is on its way to the House—Democrats are delivering on what Americans really want.
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Biden surveys historic flood damage in Eastern Kentucky
President Biden and the first lady are visiting Eastern Kentucky after historic flash floods devastated the area. The record rainfall killed at least 37 people, with two of them still unaccounted for. The damage expands across 13 counties, turning state parks and local shelters into homes for the displaced. The president said today, “It’s gonna take a while to get through this. But I promise you we’re not leaving.”
Watch: https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/biden-surveys-historic-flood-damage-in-eastern-kentucky-145756741931
Biden visits Kentucky, Democrats defend sweeping bill
President Joe Biden surveyed flood damage in Kentucky on Monday, while Senate Democrats said the new economic bill will help fight climate change and cut costs on health care and prescription drugs.
https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/biden-visits-kentucky-democrats-defend-sweeping-bill-88116511
Pres. Joe Biden, First Lady tour Eastern Ky. flood damage
BREATHITT COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - On Monday, President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden joined Governor Andy Beshear and First Lady Britainy Beshear in touring flood ravaged areas of Eastern Kentucky. They also talked with families affected by the historic flooding.
”I got to meet the family back here on this side of the road,” said Biden. “You see, what’s happened to their properties, their trailer everything they had and how they came together,” he added. “No complaining, just getting up and going to get it done.”
Governor Andy Beshear mentioned the more than three dozen dead, including four young kids. He said seeing the destruction first hand is heartbreaking.
“Britainy and I sat with a young family as they showed us pictures of the home that they worked a decade to build,” said Beshear. “One that they were so proud of that is a total loss.”
President Biden spoke with one Eastern Kentuckian across the road from where he delivered remarks in Breathitt County. He said the man’s trailers was moved to the other end of his property by flood waters.
”He said, well you know, we Kentuckians don’t want to ask for too much,” Biden added. “Get this - we don’t want to ask for too much.”
The president said the federal, state and local governments are staying until Eastern Kentuckians rebuild.
”You’re an American citizen, we never give up, we never stop, we never bow,” he added. “We just go forward.”
At least 37 people have died since last month’s deluge, which dropped 8 to 10 1/2 inches of rain in only 48 hours. The National Weather Service said Sunday that flooding remains a threat, warning of more thunderstorms through Thursday.
Monday’s visit will be Biden’s second to the state. He previously visited in December after tornadoes whipped through Kentucky, killing 77 people and leaving a trail of destruction.
“I wish I could tell you why we keep getting hit here in Kentucky,” Beshear said recently. “I wish I could tell you why areas where people may not have much continue to get hit and lose everything. I can’t give you the why, but I know what we do in response to it. And the answer is everything we can. These are our people. Let’s make sure we help them out.”
Biden has expanded federal disaster assistance to Kentucky, ensuring the federal government will cover the full cost of debris removal and other emergency measures.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided more than $3.1 million in relief funds, and hundreds of rescue personnel have been deployed to help.
The flooding came just one month after Beshear visited Mayfield to celebrate the completion of the first houses to be fully constructed since a tornado nearly wiped out the town. Three families were handed keys to their new homes that day, and the governor in his remarks hearkened back to a visit he had made in the immediate aftermath.
"pledged on that day that while we had been knocked down, we were not knocked out,” Beshear said. “That we would get back up again and we would move forward. And six months to the day, we’re not just up, we’re not just standing on our feet, we are moving forward.”
Now more disasters are testing the state. Beshear has been to eastern Kentucky as many times as weather permitted since the flooding began. He’s had daily news conferences stretching an hour to provide details including a full range of assistance for victims. Much like after the tornadoes, Beshear opened relief funds going directly to people in the beleaguered regions.
A Democrat, Beshear narrowly defeated a Republican incumbent in 2019, and he’s seeking a second term in 2023.
https://www.wymt.com/2022/08/08/pres-joe-biden-first-lady-tour-eastern-ky-flood-damage/
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President Biden @POTUS
To the people of Kentucky: Jill and I want you to know that the country is with you.
We’re praying for the families of those who died and everyone who lost homes and businesses who will never be the same.
I'm committed to Kentucky's recovery after this catastrophic flooding.
We're allocating millions in aid, providing grants for temporary housing and loans to help cover property losses, and we've committed to covering 100% of the emergency work for 30 days to rebuild communities.
America stands with Kentucky during their time of loss.
As long as it takes, we’ll be here to help them recover.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1556770064438902786
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President Biden @POTUS
I ran for President with a promise to combat the existential threat of climate change.
Yesterday, the Senate took a historic step by passing my proposal to build a clean energy future. It will create jobs for American workers and secure the future of our kids and grandkids.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1556779842854703104
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Biden signs China competition bill to boost U.S. chipmakers
- President Joe Biden signed into law a bipartisan bill that aims to boost U.S. competitiveness with China.
- The bill includes more than $52 billion for U.S. companies producing semiconductors, as well as billions more in tax credits to encourage investment in chip manufacturing.
- The White House said that multiple companies, “spurred” by the chips bill, have announced more than $44 billion in new semiconductor manufacturing investments.
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US President Joe Biden (C) signs H.R. 4346, the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 9, 2022.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a bipartisan bill that aims to strengthen U.S. competitiveness with China by investing billions of dollars in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and science research.
“Today is a day for builders. Today America is delivering,” Biden said at the signing ceremony outside the White House. He was joined by a crowd of hundreds, including tech executives, union presidents and political leaders from both parties.
The bill, dubbed the Chips and Science Act, includes more than $52 billion for U.S. companies producing computer chips, as well as billions more in tax credits to encourage investment in semiconductor manufacturing. It also provides tens of billions of dollars to fund scientific research and development and to spur the innovation and development of other U.S. tech.
The Biden administration also contended that the legislation will “unlock hundreds of billions more” in private spending in the industry. The White House said Tuesday that multiple companies, “spurred” by the chips bill, have announced more than $44 billion in new semiconductor manufacturing investments.
Of that sum, $40 billion is coming from Micron’s investment in memory chip manufacturing. The White House said the company’s initiative will yield 8,000 new jobs and boost the U.S. market share of memory chip production to 10% from 2%.
A newly announced partnership between Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries, meanwhile, includes $4.2 billion in chip production as part of an expansion of GlobalFoundries’ upstate New York facility, the White House said.
Advocates say the funding is needed to sharpen America’s technological edge and reinvigorate its lagging chip industry. The U.S. produces only about 10% of the world’s supply of semiconductors, whereas East Asia accounts for 75% of global production — including most of the top-tier chips, according to the White House.
Semiconductors are critical pieces of an array of products including consumer electronics, automobiles, health-care equipment and weapons systems. The Covid-19 pandemic sparked a chip shortage and strained supply chains, highlighting America’s dependence on foreign-made chips and revealing a potential national security threat, officials say.
The signing comes as Biden and congressional Democrats cap a flurry of activity before lawmakers leave Washington for the rest of the month and turn their attention to midterm election campaigns.
Senate Democrats on Sunday passed a sweeping bill to fund ambitious climate, energy and health policies by raising taxes on rich corporations and reforming prescription drug pricing. The bill, a major piece of Biden’s agenda that Democrats had worked on for well over a year, squeaked through with no Republican support in the chamber, which is evenly split by party. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tiebreaking vote.
In late June, Biden also signed a bipartisan bill to strengthen gun regulations, including by enhancing requirements for background checks. The legislation sped through Congress in the wake of a deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, in which a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers.
And last week, Biden revealed that a U.S. strike in Afghanistan killed top al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who was considered a mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Biden is also expected to sign another bill this week that bolsters health benefits for veterans who were exposed to chemicals that billowed from toxic burn pits.
That bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support after Republicans temporarily blocked it. The move stoked outrage from some veterans’ groups, as well as comedian Jon Stewart, who emerged as a leading advocate.
Watch President Biden sign China competition bill into law:
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President Biden @POTUS
Today, I sign into law the CHIPS and Science Act. It's a once-in-a-generation law that invests in America by supercharging our efforts to make semiconductors here at home.
Today represents a more secure economy, jobs, and a stronger future for our nation.
America is delivering.
The future of the microchip industry is going to be Made in America.
The CHIPS and Science Bill ensures that the United States leads the world in industries of the future, from quantum computing and artificial intelligence to vaccines for cancer and cures for HIV.
Here's the deal: America invented semiconductors.
But after American manufacturing was hollowed out, we let semiconductors go overseas.
Today, we bring microchip building – and the jobs that come with it – home.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1557056889900384256
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Remember that Republicans voted against the Inflation Reduction Act to lower drug prices for seniors.
Inflation Reduction Act could be "game-changing" for millions of U.S. seniors
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The Inflation Reduction Act represents the most important effort in decades to reform how drug prices are set in the U.S., experts say.
"This is going to be game-changing," Rena Conti, an associate professor at Boston University's Questrom School of Business who studies drug pricing, said of the bill, which passed in the Senate on Sunday and which House lawmakers could vote on as early as Friday.
Read on to learn what the bill — which also proposes to invest $400 billion to fight climate change and raise taxes on corporations — would do to lower spiraling drug prices.
$2,000 limit on out-of-pocket costs
The biggest change for seniors on Medicare would be to limit on how much they spend out-of-pocket on medication and on vaccines. Vaccines would be free starting next year. Starting in 2025, out-of-pocket spending on drugs would be limited to $2,000 per year. In 2024, costs would be capped at Medicare's catastrophic drug coverage limit, which this year is $7,050.
That's good news for seniors that take expensive drugs.
"Today's policy basically has unlimited out-of-pocket spending, and that is really bad for people who need expensive drugs," said Stacie Dusetzina, associate professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "For anyone who needs drugs to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis — some of them have bills over $10,000 a year."
In 2019, 1.5 million seniors spent more than $2,000 on prescriptions, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. But the true number may be higher, said Dusetzina, pointing to research showing that 30% of Medicare beneficiaries who face high prices for cancer treatments don't fill their prescriptions.
Tricia Neuman, director of the Program on Medicare Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, noted that half of Medicare recipients live on $30,000 a year or less.
"This is a significant savings for people on relatively modest incomes," she said.
Subsidies for low-income seniors
The bill makes more seniors eligible for low-income subsidies intended to pay for Medicare prescription drugs.
Starting in 2024, the income limit to be eligible for Medicare's Low Income Subsidy rises to 150% of the federal poverty level, from today's limit of 135%. (Using today's income levels, that means a single person could make up to $19,200 to qualify.)
As a result, about 400,000 more Medicare beneficiaries would get subsidies under the new program, according to KFF research.
Insulin price cap
The Inflation Reduction Act caps how much seniors must spend on insulin to $35 a month — a boon for the more than 3 million older Americans who use insulin to control their diabetes. A provision that would have imposed that cap on all patients was stripped from the bill at the last minute, despite bipartisan support.
Since 2007, the number of Medicare beneficiaries using insulin has doubled, but the amount Medicare spends on insulin has increased twice as fast, KFF research has shown. One in four diabetes patients has skimped on insulin because of its cost.
A few high-priced drugs will be cheaper
The bill also makes several smaller changes to limit price increases of drugs overall. Most significantly, the measure directs the government to negotiate what Medicare pays for a small group of drugs starting in 2026.
In 2026, the first year that the drugs will be up for negotiation, the list will include the 10 drugs that Medicare spent the most money on the prior year. By 2029, that list would expand to 20 drugs, including medications filled at pharmacies and drugs administered by doctors, such as some chemotherapy treatments.
"The cost — and the savings to the federal government — goes up significantly as more and more drugs are added," said Michael Levesque, lead pharmaceutical analyst at Moody's Investors Service.
The bill limits the government's scope to negotiate to drugs that have been on the market for at least nine or 13 years, depending on the class of medicine, and that don't have a generic or biosimilar equivalent. The bill also directs the U.S. to focus on the medications the government spends the most money on.
"They have to be long-lived, high-spend drugs, and ones that have resisted competition," said Boston University's Conti.
The drugs that Medicare spent the most on in 2020 include the blood-thinner Eliquis ($9.9 billion), cancer treatment Revlimid ($5.4 billion) and the blood thinner Xarelto ($4.7 billion.)
Conti estimated that savings would amount to 40% to 70% of a given drug's price. Over a decade, the government should save over $100 billion from negotiating drug prices, the Congressional Budget Office estimated. That's less than 3% of the profits earned by global biopharmaceutical firms over the next decade, UBS analysts projected.
The bill should also reduce costs directly for patients who take these specific drugs. "Many people pay a coinsurance, which is based on the [medication] price. If the price is lower, and they're paying a 33% coinsurance, they're paying a lower price" out of pocket, said Neuman of the KFF.
Rebates for pricey drugs
The Inflation Reduction Act requires drugmakers to offer rebates to Medicare if they raise the price of medicines faster than inflation. Soaring prescription-drug prices are one reason that Medicare costs have ballooned over the past decade.
According to MedPAC, prices paid by Medicare Part D for brand-name drugs with no generic equivalent have grown by an average of 7.5% a year since 2010. Fully half of the drugs in the program increased their prices faster than inflation, KFF found. The requirement that drugmakers pay back Medicare for rising drug prices should save the government $71 billion over the next decade, CBO estimated.
"The Medicaid program has long used these drug inflation rebates, and they've had huge savings," said Vanderbilt's Dusetzina. "Having those same programs apply to the Medicare population will save a lot of money in the long run, and that saves money for all of us as taxpayers."
Are there benefits for privately insured patients?
Aside from a provision to extend health insurance subsidies for Obamacare plans for three years, the health care aspects of the inflation bill focus narrowly on Medicare patients. Experts are divided on what effect, if any, Medicare drug reform would have on the majority of Americans who get health insurance and drug coverage through their employers.
One camp believes that drugmakers will try to make up for smaller profits in the Medicare market by overcharging the privately insured; another believes that transparency in what Medicare pays would make it easier for private plans to negotiate even better pricing. For instance, more private pharmacy benefit managers could start putting inflation protections into their agreements.
The pharmaceutical industry has said the prospect of negotiating prices on some best-selling drugs would chill innovation and reduce incentives for drugmakers to bring new medicines to market.
However, the CBO found that the new law would result in just 10 fewer drugs coming to market in the next decade — about 1% of the total expected to gain FDA approval.
Dusetzina called claims that negotiating drug prices would kill the market for drug development "overblown."
"Every other country negotiates for drug prices," she said. "We pay by far the highest prices, [yet] it's known that these companies make profits in other countries where they're selling these drugs."
AFP
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REMINDER: The Latino unemployment rate is at a record LOW.
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Tim Ryan @TimRyan
After years of hard work and heartbreak, history was made today.
The biggest expansion of veterans benefits in 30 years, named for Ohio's own Heath Robinson. Grateful to @SusanZeier
and all who never gave up, and proud to have done my part to get it done.
https://twitter.com/TimRyan/status/1557465333023358977
President Joe Biden signs legislation named for Ohio guardsman to help veterans injured by military burn pits.
The legislation is named for Ohio National Guard veteran Heath Robinson who died from lung cancer caused by burn pits.
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President Joe Biden gives the pen he used to sign the "PACT Act of 2022" to Brielle Robinson, daughter of Sgt. 1st Class Heath Robinson, who died of cancer two years ago, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)AP
WASHINGTON, D. C. - Ten years after Sgt. 1st Class Heath Robinson returned to Ohio from military service in Iraq, he fought a losing battle with lung cancer triggered by toxic fumes from a burn pit in Baghdad where the military incinerated waste. More than two years after his death, President Joe Biden signed a law named for the Pickerington veteran to ensure that the Veterans Administration provides adequate health care to veterans suffering from burn pit-related ailments.
“This law is long overdue, but we finally got it done together,” said Biden, who handed the pen he used to sign the legislation to Robinson’s daughter, Brielle. “I don’t want to hear the press tell me Democrats, Republicans can’t work together. We got it done and we got it done together.”
Described as the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic exposed veterans in more than 30 years, the legislation Congress approved earlier this month will remove the need for veterans and their survivors to prove a service-related connection if they’re diagnosed with 23 conditions linked to burn pits, and will reduce the paperwork and exams they and their survivors must undergo to receive benefits. The medical conditions list includes 11 respiratory ailments, along with several forms of cancer, including reproductive cancers, melanoma, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, and brain cancers such as glioblastoma. Survivors of veterans who died due to one of these conditions may now also be eligible for benefits.
“These conditions have already taken such a toll on so many veterans and their families,” continued Biden, who expressed belief that the brain cancer that killed his son, former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, was caused by burn pit exposure during his military service.
The law also establishes 31 new Veterans Administration health care facilities in 19 states, requires that veterans enrolled in VA health care be screened regularly for toxic exposure-related concerns, and requires the VA to establish an outreach program for veterans regarding toxic exposure-related benefits and supports. It sets up a website at www.va.gov/pact that affected veterans can consult for more information on how to receive benefits. By January 2023, VA expects to have a fully operational call center and network of experts to help veterans concerned about environmental exposure and provide consultative services to veterans in primary care clinics.
Biden was introduced at the signing ceremony by Robinson’s widow, Danielle, who was among First Lady Jill Biden’s guests at his State of the Union speech in March. She remembered her husband as “an immediate friend to everyone who crossed his path, the person who would instantly drop what he was doing to help a friend or a stranger on the street, the guy in the room who had a special glow and warmth to him.
“Ours is just one story,” she continued. “So many military families have had to fight this terrible emotional battle. So many veterans are still battling burn pit illnesses today. Too many have succumbed to those illnesses, as well.”
VA Secretary Denis McDonough described the Robinsons as “not only the survivors of an American hero ... they are very much heroes themselves for holding our country and VA accountable, for advocating for this legislation, knowing full well that they can’t bring back what they lost and for making this day possible so our families won’t have to suffer the loss that they have suffered.”
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat who pushed the legislation, released a statement that said veterans waited too long for its passage.
“Providing health care and benefits for veterans who suffer from toxic exposure is a cost of going to war,” said Brown. “If you were exposed to toxins while serving our country, you deserve the benefits you earned, period. No exceptions.”
“I am pleased that this legislation has finally been signed into law to ensure that thousands of veterans who have been exposed to toxic chemicals while serving our country get the medical care and disability benefits they deserve,” agreed a statement from U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican.
The only Ohioan on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, also praised the bill.
“I have met so many veterans and their families who have been impacted by exposure to burn pits and toxic substances,” said a statement from Kaptur. “By expanding care to millions of veterans, the PACT Act strengthens America’s commitment to those who have so faithfully and courageously served us all.”
https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/08/president-joe-biden-signs-legislation-named-for-ohio-guardsman-to-help-veterans-injured-by-military-burn-pits.html
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President Biden: “Before I begin today I want to say a word about the news that came out today relative to the economy. Actually, I just want to say a number: Zero. Today we received news that our economy had zero percent inflation in the month of July."
Watch:
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Matt Viser @mviser
Joe Biden, toward the end of his vice presidency in 2016, told those in a congressional room: “Guys, I’m going to be the biggest pain in your neck as long as I live, until we figure out about these burn pits.”
Today, as president, he signs a sweeping law addressing burn pits.
https://twitter.com/mviser/status/1557369667290890240
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Veterans 'burn pits' bill marks a personal victory for Biden
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President Joe Biden shakes hands with veteran John Caruso as Biden tour's the Fort Worth VA Clinic in Fort Worth, Texas, March 8, 2022. Biden will sign veterans health care legislation on Aug. 10, that ends a long battle to expand benefits for people who served near burn pits. It's a personal issue for Biden. His son Beau was a major in the Delaware Army National Guard, and he died of cancer after his service in Iraq. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
President Joe Biden, whose elder son died of cancer after serving in Iraq, signed legislation on Wednesday expanding federal health care services for veterans who served at military bases where toxic smoke billowed from huge “burn pits.”
“So many of you here today remind us that we have fought for this for so many years,” Biden said during an emotional White House ceremony that reflected the struggles of military families — and the president's personal experience.
Biden was introduced by Danielle Robinson, the widow of Sgt. 1st Class Heath Robinson, who died of cancer two years ago. The legislation is named for him.
She described her late husband as “a soldier as strong as an ox” but also “the ultimate cuddler” for his daughter Brielle, who stood to her mother’s side clutching a stuffed figurine wearing military camouflage.
“Ours is just one story," Danielle Robinson said. "So many military families have had to fight this terrible emotional battle. So many veterans are still battling burn pit illnesses today.”
After the Robinsons took their seats for the president's remarks, Biden addressed Brielle directly.
“I know you miss your daddy. But he’s with you all the time," he said. "He’s inside you. He’s going to whisper in your ear when you have hard decisions to make.”
Then he pointed out that Brielle was sitting next to his grandson the son of Beau Biden.
“His daddy lost to the same burn pits,” Biden said. “He knows what you're going through.”
It was the most direct link the president has publicly drawn between Beau's fatal brain cancer and burn pits, which were used to dispose of chemicals, tires, plastics, medical equipment and human waste on military bases.
Biden made addressing the problem one of his priorities during his State of the Union address in March.
“I was going to get this done, come hell or high water,” he said Wednesday.
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who chairs the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said Biden was a driving force behind the legislation, which passed last week.
“He was continually pushing because whether Beau died of this or not, I think Joe thinks that it had some impact, and so he wanted this fixed,” Tester said. "And because he thinks it was the right thing to do. So different president, different set of priorities, this would have probably never happened."
Burn pits were used in Iraq and Afghanistan to dispose of chemicals, cans, tires, plastics, medical equipment and human waste. However, 70% of disability claims involving exposure to the pits were denied by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“For too long, too many veterans who got sick while fighting for our country had to fight for their care here at home," VA Secretary Denis McDonough said at Wednesday's ceremony.
The legislation will direct officials to assume that certain respiratory illnesses and cancers were related to burn pit exposure, helping veterans get disability payments without having to prove the illness was the result of their service.
“Veterans who have been sickened to the point of being unable to work, unable to take care of their families, won’t have to spend that time fighting the government to get the healthcare they earned," said Jeremy Butler, head of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "This is monumental.”
Butler attended the ceremony, along with Le Roy and Rosie Torres, husband and wife advocates for veterans health care who started the organization Burn Pits 360. Le Roy developed constrictive bronchitis after serving in Iraq, making breathing difficult.
Although the provision involving burn pits has garnered the most attention, other health care services will be expanded as well.
Veterans who have served since the Sept. 11 attacks will have a decade to sign up for VA health care, double the current five years.
And there's more help for veterans from the Vietnam War. The legislation adds hypertension to list of ailments that are presumed to be caused by exposure to Agent Orange, a herbicide used by the U.S. military to clear vegetation.
In addition, veterans who served during the war in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Guam, American Samoa and Johnston Atoll will also be considered to have been exposed to the chemical.
The legislation is considered to be the largest expansion of veterans health care in more than three decades, but it became an unlikely political football shortly before it passed.
On the day that the Senate was expected to grant it final approval, Republicans unexpectedly blocked it. Veterans who had traveled to Washington for a moment of triumph were devastated.
“All the veterans were down there because they were expecting to celebrate," Butler said. “And then they were absolutely stabbed in the back.”
Republicans said they were concerned about technical changes to how the legislation was funded. Democrats accused them of throwing a fit because they were unhappy about a separate deal to advance Biden's domestic agenda on climate change, taxes and prescription drugs.
Instead of going home, some veterans began holding what they called a “fire watch” outside the Capitol, an impromptu vigil to keep public pressure on the Senate.
They stayed around the clock, despite the stifling summer heat and torrential thunderstorms. Jon Stewart, the comedian who has advocated for veterans, joined them as well. Biden wanted to go but couldn't because he was isolating with a coronavirus infection, so he spoke to the demonstrators in a video call when VA Secretary Denis McDonough dropped off pizza.
Days after the demonstration began, the Senate held another vote, and the measure passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Veterans were in the gallery watching the vote take place.
“Every single person I was with was bawling. Just bawling," said Matt Zeller, a former Army captain who was among the demonstrators. "I cried for a solid five minutes.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/veterans-health-bill-marks-a-personal-victory-for-biden/ar-AA10v2EZ?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=6764c32b02aa4ad5976d7964743357e1
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President Biden @POTUS
The PACT Act is the most significant law in our nation’s history to help millions of veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their military service. Bar none.
Today it becomes law.
As a nation, our truly sacred obligation is to equip those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home.
Moments ago, I signed the PACT Act into law, and we took one step closer to fulfilling that sacred obligation.
Today is long overdue, but we got it done together.
The Heath Robinson PACT Act is the law of the land. And for veterans and military families, today represents hope that our vets get better care – faster – when they return home.
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Tune in as I deliver remarks and sign into law the most comprehensive legislation to address veteran exposure to burn pits in decades: the PACT Act of 2022.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1dRJZlYzgagKB
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Joe Biden @JoeBiden
A key driver of our economic recovery is the resurgence of America's small businesses. We learned recently that small businesses with less than 50 employees created nearly 3 million jobs in 2021—the most ever in a single year.
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1557784664571527168
The White House @WhiteHouse
Big news: The average national gas price has dropped below $4 per gallon. With over a dollar drop in just 58 days, this is the fastest decline in gas prices in over a decade.
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1557776954694242306
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An historic presidency
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President Biden @President Biden
July's 0% inflation and last week's booming jobs report underscore the kind of economy we're building – an economy that works for everyone.
Right now, instead of workers begging employers for work, we’re seeing employers have to compete for American workers.
We're seeing a resurgence of worker organizing and unionization.
Where I come from that is a good thing. And it’s long overdue.
We saw it during the pandemic. Factories overseas that made microchips shut down, bringing the global economy with them and driving up costs for families.
The CHIPS and Science Law makes our supply chain more secure.
Investments in the CHIPS and Science Law will create more than 1 million construction jobs alone over the next 6 years building semiconductor factories in America.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1557736093054668800
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With inflation at zero last month and wages still growing at a very robust paced means real wages positive again.
And the unemployment rate is the lowest in peacetime since WWII, uninsured rate lowest ever, new business starts at record levels, deficits plummeting.
They are calling it the "Biden Boom" and it is. Record jobs, wages, and unemployment.
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Bill Pascrell, Jr. @Bill Pascrell
Reminder: the reason the Inflation Reduction Act we’re voting on today doesn’t cap insulin at $35 it’s because republicans blocked it. Here are their names.
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https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1558091877919989761
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Democrats just delivered on HISTORIC legislation that lowers costs for families, expands health care, cuts prescription drug prices, and makes the biggest U.S. investment ever to tackle climate change!
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House passes massive climate, tax and health bill, sending Biden a core piece of his agenda to sign
- The House passed a sweeping tax, health and climate bill, dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Its passage marked a win for Democrats and President Joe Biden less than three months before the pivotal midterm elections.
- Biden is expected to sign the legislation, a core piece of his agenda, in the coming days.
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The House passed a sweeping tax, health and climate bill on Friday, delivering a major win for Democrats and President Joe Biden less than three months before the pivotal midterm elections.
The chamber approved the more than $430 billion package by a 220-207 margin, as all Democrats backed it and all Republicans opposed it. The measure, which caps a more than yearlong slog by Democrats to pass a core piece of their agenda, will head to Biden’s desk for his signature.
The bill, dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act, embodies the thrust of the Biden administration’s domestic “Build Back Better” agenda to reshape the U.S. economy as it emerged from the coronavirus pandemic.
Its provisions are estimated to raise $737 billion over 10 years. Democrats say the bill would reduce the deficit by more than $300 billion, citing analyses from nonpartisan congressional tax and budget offices.
The plan includes a record $369 billion in spending on climate and energy policies, projected to slash the country’s carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030. It also allocates $64 billion to extend an Affordable Care Act program to reduce insurance costs.
Another key provision is prescription drug pricing reform: The bill would empower Medicare to negotiate prices on 100 drugs over the next decade, among other reforms that the Senate estimates will bring in $265 billion.
On the tax side, the bill would impose a 15% corporate alternative minimum tax aimed toward rich corporations that have been able to shrink their tax burden far below the 21% rate. It would also spend $80 billion on boosting the IRS’ tax enforcement and compliance capabilities, a move that the Congressional Budget Office estimates will yield $124 billion in revenue.
During Senate negotiations last week, Democrats also added in an excise tax on stock buybacks that is projected to bring in $74 billion.
The legislation narrowly passed the Senate on Sunday, overcoming the biggest obstacle on its path to Biden’s desk. Democrats substantially whittled down and reshaped the bill over more than a year in order to gain the support of a handful of key Democratic holdouts.
The bill passed the upper chamber through the reconciliation process, enabling Democrats to ram it through without any Republican support in the Senate, which is split evenly by party. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tiebreaking vote, sending the bill to the Democrat-majority House.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/12/house-to-vote-on-inflation-reduction-act-tax-and-climate-bill.html
Here’s what’s in the Inflation Reduction Act, the sweeping bill impacting health, climate and taxes
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The House on Friday afternoon is expected to approve the Inflation Reduction Act, sending a top Democratic legislative priority to the White House in a significant victory for President Biden.
The includes measures to address energy and climate as well as major changes to the tax code and to health care.
Here’s a look at what is included in the bill:
ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND CLIMATE
The bill contains a host of measures that would impact energy, the environment and climate change.
It has many provisions that promote the deployment of clean energy or that are otherwise designed to mitigate climate change, but also contains others that boost fossil fuels — included to secure the support of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
Nevertheless, models still estimate major climate benefits coming from the legislation. Three widely cited models respectively estimate that the bill will bring U.S. planet-warming emissions 31 to 44 percent, 37 to 41 percent and 42 percent lower than they were in 2005 by 2030.
New incentives for lower-carbon and carbon-free energy.
- Tax credits are extended for energy production and investment in technologies including wind, solar and geothermal energies. The investment tax credit also now applies to battery storage and biogas.
- Tax credits would be created or extended for additional technologies and energy sources including nuclear energy, hydrogen energy coming from clean sources, biofuels and technology that captures carbon from fossil fuel power plants.
- Many of the incentives contain bonuses for companies based on how much they pay their workers and whether they manufacture their steel, iron and other components in the U.S.
Consumers get tax credits to make cleaner energy choices.
- Tax credits are extended for residential clean energy expenses including rooftop solar, heat pumps and small wind energy systems. Consumers can get credits for 30 percent of expenditures through 2032, and the credit phases down after that.
- Tax credits of up to $7,500 are offered to consumers who buy electric vehicles — but this credit comes with stipulations that may make it difficult for vehicles to actually qualify, including a requirement that some of the minerals used in their batteries come from countries that have free-trade deals with the U.S. Minerals from China, a major supplier, wouldn’t meet that requirement.
- A tax credit would be expanded for energy efficiency in commercial buildings.
Some fossil fuel production on public lands would be bolstered.
- The future of solar and wind on public lands and wind in public waters would be tied to requirements to hold lease sales that open up new oil and gas production.
- The bill reinstates the results of a recent offshore oil and gas lease sale that was struck down on environmental grounds. The Interior Department would be required to hold at least three more offshore oil and gas lease sales by October 2023.
- New programs boost investment in climate.
- A new program aims to reduce emissions of the planet-warming gas methane from oil and gas by both providing grants and loans to help companies reign in their emissions and levying fees on producers with excess methane emissions.
- $27 billion would go to a green bank that would provide more incentives for clean energy technology.
Fossil fuel production on public lands gets more expensive.
- Minimum royalties increase for companies to pay the government for oil and gas they extract on public lands and waters. A royalty is added to the extraction of gas that is later burned off or released as waste instead of sold as fuel.
Communities harmed by pollution get relief.
- $3 billion would go to environmental justice block grants — community-led programs addressing harms from climate change and pollutants, including $20 million for technical assistance at the community level, through fiscal 2026.
- More than $3 billion is allocated to funds for air pollution monitoring in low-income communities. Nearly half of the funds — $117 million — would specifically go to communities in close proximity to industrial pollutants.
- An excise tax on imported petroleum and crude oil products to fund the cleanup of industrial disaster sites increases from 9.7 cents to 16.4 cents per barrel. The reinstatement of the tax is projected to raise $11 billion.
- The bill permanently extends and increases the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, a tax on coal production to finance claims from workers with the condition. Black lung, caused by long-term exposure to and inhalation of coal dust, is believed to affect at least 10 percent of coal miners with at least 25 years’ experience, according to a 2018 study by the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health.
HEALTH CARE
The bill would allow Medicare to negotiate prices for some drugs and shore up health insurance subsidies. Democrats have been trying to enact the drug negotiation measure in particular for years over the fierce objections of the pharmaceutical industry.
- Medicare could negotiate lower prices for 10 high-cost drugs beginning in 2026, ramping up to 20 drugs by 2029. There is a steep penalty if a drug company doesn’t come to the table: a tax of up to 95 percent of the sales of the drug. There is also a ceiling that the negotiated price cannot rise above.
- In a deal with moderates including Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), only older drugs are subject to negotiation after a period of nine years for most drugs and 13 years for more complex “biologic” drugs. That means the negotiations are more limited than many Democrats wanted.
- The provisions are estimated to save the federal government more than $200 billion over 10 years.
Drug costs can be capped, but largely only for Medicare.
The bill includes other measures to cap drug costs. The provisions still largely apply only to seniors on Medicare, not the millions of people who get health insurance through their jobs, in part because complex Senate rules limited how expansive the provisions would be.
- If drug companies raise prices in Medicare faster than the rate of inflation, they must pay rebates back to the government for the difference. Democrats tried to apply this provision to the private market, but the parliamentarian ruled it violated the Senate rules used to bypass a GOP filibuster.
- In one of the most tangible provisions for patients, the bill caps out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000 a year for seniors on Medicare, starting in 2025.
- The bill also caps patients’ insulin costs at $35 a month, but only for seniors on Medicare. Republicans voted against overruling the Senate parliamentarian to extend that protection to patients with private insurance.
People enrolled in ACA plans get financial assistance boost.
- The bill includes a three-year extension of enhanced financial assistance to help people enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans afford premiums. The extra help otherwise would have expired at the end of this year. The provision expands eligibility to allow more middle-class people to receive premium help and increases the amount of help overall.
TAXES
The bill would pay for climate and health care measures by introducing new taxes on large corporations and going after wealthy tax cheats.
The centerpiece of the bill’s tax plan is a 15 percent minimum tax on the income that big corporations report to their shareholders.
- The tax is expected to raise $222 billion over the next decade, the largest chunk of the $740 billion raised by the legislation. It applies to companies reporting $1 billion in annual earnings and would impact only around 150 large firms, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
- At Sinema’s request, the tax would exempt companies taking advantage of accelerated depreciation, a popular deduction that helps pay for capital investments such as new equipment and small businesses that are subsidiaries of private equity firms.
New IRS funding aims to boost tax collection.
- The IRS will receive $80 billion to increase enforcement, an effort that is expected to net an additional $204 billion in taxpayer money. The Treasury Department and IRS have assured that wealthy individuals and corporations, whose audit rates have decreased more sharply in recent years relative to regular Americans, are the intended targets.
- Another $15 million funds a task force to determine how the IRS can deliver a “direct e-file tax return system” that would presumably replace or compete with commercial products, some of which have been accused of deceptive marketing practices.
- The bill also extends a set of limitations on losses that businesses can deduct from their taxes. The limits, which are expected to raise $52 billion, prevent wealthy individuals from significantly bringing down or even wiping out their income tax liability.
New tax takes aim at stock buybacks.
- The bill enacts a 1 percent excise tax on stock buybacks to replace the revenues lost by appeasing Sinema. Democrats expect the provision to raise $74 million over a decade, primarily from large companies such as Apple, Nike and
ExxonMobil.
Share repurchases by S&P 500 companies have soared in recent years and are on track to surpass $1 trillion this year. Companies buy back their stock to reward shareholders and boost their stock price by artificially limiting supply. Democrats have criticized the practice, arguing that companies should instead invest in workers and innovation.
https://thehill.com/homenews/3597824-heres-whats-in-the-inflation-reduction-act-the-sweeping-bill-impacting-health-climate-and-taxes/
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President Biden @POTUS
I believe that every American has a right to the peace of mind that comes with knowing they have access to affordable, quality health care.
The Inflation Reduction Act is a historic investment in that belief.
No American should have to make a decision between putting food on the table and going to the doctor.
The Inflation Reduction Act will lower health insurance costs for 13 million Americans covered under the Affordable Care Act.
Today, the American people won. Special interests lost.
With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in the House, families will see lower prescription drug prices, lower health care costs, and lower energy costs. I look forward to signing it into law next week.
And while I plan to sign the Inflation Reduction Act into law next week, on September 6th we will hold a celebration at the White House in honor of this historic legislation.
The choice we face as Americans is whether to protect the already-powerful or find the courage to build a future where everybody has a shot.
Today, I proudly watched as House Democrats chose families over special interests.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1558219114459668480
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Democrats Celebrate Passing Of Inflation Reduction Act
Democrats are celebrating the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act. The bill will increase taxes on large corporations, allow medicare to negotiate prescription drugs prices and make massive climate change investments.
Watch:
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Consumers may qualify for up to $10,000 — or more — in climate tax breaks and rebates in the Inflation Reduction Act
- The Inflation Reduction Act includes thousands of dollars in tax credits and rebates for consumers who buy electric vehicles, install solar panels or make other energy-efficient upgrades to their homes.
- Democrats’ legislation is also expected to have indirect financial benefits for consumers, saving them an estimated $170 to $220 a year in electricity costs.
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The Inflation Reduction Act, passed by House Democrats on Friday and headed to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature, is the most ambitious climate spending package in U.S. history — and households that take steps to improve their energy efficiency stand to reap financial benefits.
The package would pump $369 billion into measures to fight climate change, boost energy security and lower electricity costs for consumers.
Largely, those investments take the form of financial incentives — such as tax breaks and rebates — for households and businesses.
For households, the incentives help make things like rooftop solar panels, electric vehicles and energy-efficient appliances more affordable, in a bid to more quickly transition the U.S. toward cleaner sources of energy. Some of the tax breaks are new, while others are enhancements or extensions of existing credits.
In all, consumers may qualify for up to $10,000 — or more — in tax breaks and rebates, depending on the scope of their purchases.
The legislation is ‘a win for consumers’
Beyond those financial incentives, consumers who make efficiency-focused home upgrades would likely reap other direct benefits like lower electricity and heating bills. The legislation’s overall effect — including financial incentives aimed at businesses, too — is also expected to yield indirect financial benefits for consumers, experts said.
The average household would save about $170 to $220 a year in electricity costs — a total $209 billion to $278 billion over the next decade — due to the bill’s combined policies, according to an estimate by Resources for the Future.
Generating more power from renewable energy would also help diversify the economy’s energy mix — substantially reducing volatility in home electricity prices caused by shocks to oil and gas markets such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, according to Lesley Jantarasami, managing director of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s energy program.
The legislation would also help cut greenhouse gas emissions by 42% below 2005 levels. That would close two-thirds of the remaining emissions gap between current policy and the U.S.′ 2030 climate goal, meant to avert the worst impacts of climate change, according to a preliminary analysis by Princeton University’s REPEAT Project, which models federal climate policy.
“The legislation itself is clearly a win for the climate in terms of the emissions it would drive, and is structured in a way that it ends up being a win for consumers, as well,” said Kevin Rennert, a fellow at Resources for the Future.
Here’s a breakdown of the Inflation Reduction Act’s major financial components for individuals.
$7,500 tax credit for new electric vehicles
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The bill extends and tweaks an existing tax credit — worth up to $7,500 — to individuals who buy new “clean” vehicles like electric cars, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The credit would be available through 2032.
However, there are limits that apply to consumers and the vehicles they buy:
- Income requirements: Married couples don’t qualify for the new-vehicle credit if their modified adjusted gross income on a joint tax return exceeds $300,000. The limit is $150,000 for single tax filers.
- Vehicle price requirements: Individuals don’t qualify for the tax break if their van, sport utility vehicle or pickup truck costs more than $80,000. There’s a $55,000 sticker-price limit for other vehicles. For perspective, the average sticker price for a new electric vehicle in June was about $67,000 — roughly $19,000 more than the industry average for all new vehicles, according to Kelley Blue Book.
- Vehicle qualifications: There are also limits that apply to where the car was manufactured and the sourcing of battery and other vehicle components. The intent is to accelerate development of domestic supply chains and U.S. manufacturing of clean vehicles but may limit the tax break’s availability in the near term as auto companies adjust. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group, said it would take a few years for the vehicles available today to qualify for the full consumer incentive.
But the tax credits and additional savings on fuel, maintenance and repairs may level the playing field, experts said. The average consumer who buys an electric vehicle saves $6,000 to $10,000 over the car’s lifetime, relative to an equivalent gas-powered vehicle, due to those lower costs, according to a 2020 Consumer Reports study.
$4,000 for used electric vehicles
The bill also creates a tax credit for used versions of clean vehicles. Buyers could get $4,000 or 30% of the sale price, whichever is less.
As with the new vehicle credits, there are limits:
- Income requirements: Consumers qualify if their modified adjusted gross income is less than $150,000 for married couples or $75,000 for single filers.
- Vehicle price: The sale price can’t exceed $25,000.
- Sale qualifications: Buyers only get the credit if it’s the first sale of the used vehicle. They can also only get the credit once every three years.
- Vehicle qualifications: The car model must be at least 2 years old.
30% tax credit for solar panels, wind energy
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Homeowners could also get tax breaks to defray the cost of various clean-energy and efficiency-related projects.
One such incentive is a tax credit toward the installation cost of solar panels or other equipment to harness renewable energy like wind, geothermal and biomass fuel. The average residential solar electric system costs roughly $15,000 to $25,000, prior to tax credits or incentives, though several factors determine the final price, according to the Center for Sustainable Energy.
This “residential clean energy credit” extends and enhances an existing tax break. Costs incurred from the beginning of 2022 to the end of 2032 would qualify for a 30% tax credit. The credit would fall to 26% in 2033 and 22% in 2034.
Absent a change in rules, individuals would get a 26% break this year and 22% in 2023 (instead of 30%), after which time it’s scheduled to end.
Unlike current law, the proposal also extends the tax credit to battery storage technology. This lets homeowners more easily pair solar installations, for example, with battery systems that store excess renewable energy for later use, according to Jantarasami at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
The tax break for batteries applies to expenditures made starting in 2023.
Up to $2,000 a year for home efficiency projects
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The bill offers a 30% tax credit toward the cost of installing efficient exterior windows, skylights, exterior doors, water heaters and other items. Homeowners could get up to $1,200 a year, though a larger $2,000 total annual credit applies to certain projects (described more below).
The bill sweetens existing tax incentives. Current rules offer a 10% credit, or up to $500 over a taxpayer’s lifetime.
The proposed tax credit — the “nonbusiness energy property credit” — would be available through 2032. It applies during the year a project was installed.
Installations must meet certain efficiency criteria, like an Energy Star rating, which vary by item.
There are annual caps that apply to specific items — for example, $500 for doors and $600 for windows and skylights. Homeowners can get up to $2,000 in a year for installations of certain electric or natural gas heat pumps, electric or natural gas water heaters, and biomass stoves or boilers.
The bill also expands the tax credit to cover the cost of a home energy audit up to $150 and an electrical panel upgrade up to $600, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. The latter may be necessary since newer technologies often require a more modern home wiring system, Jantarasami said.
Up to $8,000 of home-energy rebates
The legislation also establishes two rebate programs.
Each is a grant program that would be administered by state energy offices according to parameters set by the U.S. Department of Energy. States would have to apply for the grants, worth $8.8 billion total. Financial benefits for consumers would vary by their income level and energy savings.
One program — the HOMES rebate program — would pay homeowners who make cuts in their home energy use via efficiency retrofits like insulation and HVAC installations. They’d be eligible for 50% of the cost of those projects, up to a dollar cap.
“The bill doesn’t have a prohibition between the rebate programs and the homeowner tax incentives — so, one should be able to get both,” said Kara Saul-Rinaldi, president and CEO of AnnDyl Policy Group, an energy and environmental policy strategy firm.
Generally, consumers who cut energy by 20% across their whole home would be eligible for a maximum rebate of $2,000 or half the cost of the retrofit project, whichever is less. That dollar threshold rises to $4,000 for those who cut energy by at least 35%.
The rebates are double — up to $4,000 and $8,000, respectively — for lower-income households. Their income must be 80% or less of an area’s median income to qualify.
“The most generous rebates are — as they should be — for those who need them the most,” said Saul-Rinaldi, who helped design the proposed rebates. “They’re least likely to be able to afford them.”
Up to $14,000 in rebates for efficient appliances
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Consumers may also be eligible for up to $14,000 via the “high-efficiency electric home rebate program.”
Households can get to that maximum by buying efficient, electric appliances: Up to $1,750 for a heat pump water heater; $8,000 for a heat pump for space heating or cooling; and $840 for an electric stove or an electric heat pump clothes dryer.
They can also get rebates on non-appliance upgrades: $4,000 for an electric load service center upgrade; $1,600 for insulation, air sealing and ventilation; and $2,500 for electric wiring.
Again, there are income limits that apply. These rebates aren’t available to households earning over 150% of an area’s median income.
Consumers with income below 80% of the area median can claim a rebate for the full cost of their upgrades, up to a $14,000 cap. Households that fall between 80% and 150% of the area median income are eligible for rebates of 50% of their cost, up to $14,000.
Consumers wouldn’t be able to claim a HOMES and high-efficiency rebate for the same efficiency project. However, as previously stated, they may be able to get both a rebate and aforementioned tax credit for the same project.
The rebates are meant to be delivered to consumers at the point of sale, Saul-Rinaldi said.
But many operational specifics — for example, how to assess income qualifications and a home’s energy baseline — would first need to be worked out by states in conjunction with the Department of Energy, Saul-Rinaldi said. Consumers therefore shouldn’t expect these rebates to be available immediately, if the measures become law, she added.
“By the time it gets to the consumers, it’ll be simple,” she said.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/13/how-to-qualify-for-inflation-reduction-act-climate-tax-breaks-rebates.html
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President Biden @POTUS
The Inflation Reduction Act is the most important investment America has ever made in job-creating clean energy solutions for the future.
It's simple: the Inflation Reduction Act will cut your costs. Congressional Republicans want to cut your care.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1558491071063228416
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An Historic Presidency:
These are Biden's wins!
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Herschel Walker plays the victim over 'past mental health' issues in a lame attempt to erase scandals
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The campaign of Georgia Republican U.S. Senate nominee Herschel Walker is resorting to a strategy often employed by his idol Donald Trump: When you have no defense, portray yourself as a victim.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed commentary carrying Walker’s byline today, the headline asks, “How Low Can Gutter Politics Go?” — with the subhead “Bill Kristol’s Republican Accountability Project tries to stigmatize me for my past mental illness.”
As reported this week at Raw Story, the ad “includes footage of Republican Senate hopeful Herschel Walker’s ex-wife graphically describing him choking her and threatening to kill her during their marriage.” Walker’s commentary called the ad “dishonest” without questioning the authenticity of the footage.
Instead, Walker sought sympathy. Here’s his self-pitying explanation in the Wall Street Journal piece.
“The ad is titled “The Real Herschel Walker,” but its producers are the ones hiding something: that I took accountability for my actions and got treatment, that she gave this interview because I asked her to, and that we did this and other interviews together. The ad makers took something designed to do good and turned it into something evil, which will harm innocent people.”
There’s much to question with the “I took accountability for my actions and got treatment” part of Walker’s story. As with his 2008 memoir “Breaking Free: My Life with Dissociative Identity Disorder,” Walker attempts to place in the past tense a mental disorder which – assuming he has it – is viewed as manageable but not curable by health authorities such as the Cleveland Clinic.
There’s no evidence Walker has been cured, but there’s plenty of doubt that whatever challenges he had can now be placed conveniently in the rearview mirror. That was suggested by a May article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution headlined “Herschel Walker’s mental health battle raises questions about treatment.”
As AJC.com reported, “Walker’s campaign refused to answer questions about his current treatment or whether he still has symptoms.”
It also noted that, “Walker’s mental health story is complicated, interlaced with allegations of domestic violence and featuring a controversial therapist who has said a patient’s choice of crayon color can reveal whether he or she is gay or even possessed by demons.”
And there was this reporting in reference to Walker’s presumed multiple personalities, known as “alters.”
“Walker said in (a 2008) ABC interview that he had his alters under control. But in 2012 a Texas woman filed a police report accusing him of threatening to “blow her head off” and then kill himself if she broke up with him. Myka Dean said she was Walker’s longtime girlfriend, according to a January 2012 police report. No charges were filed against Walker, who has denied the claims.”
The report also cited pushback from an advocate for domestic-violence victims:
“Jan Christianson, executive director of the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, called the allegations against Walker “deeply troubling.”
“Mental illness does not excuse his behavior,” she said. “You have to take accountability for your actions. You can’t hide behind a diagnosis.”
Walker’s past misconduct is quite consistent with a series of scandalous revelations – hardly attributable to mental illness – such as his having failed to acknowledge publicly his fatherhood of multiple children.
The Huffington Post reported in June that Walker “confirmed that he actually has four children, following revelations that the critic of absentee fathers has a 10-year-old son with whom he reportedly has limited contact.
“In addition to the 10-year-old, the aspiring Georgia senator has a 13-year-old son as well as an adult daughter who he had when he was around 20 years old, The Daily Beast first reported Thursday. He also has a 22-year-old son who he has previously publicly disclosed. This brings his total, publicly reported children to four.”
That reporting noted the hypocrisy of Walker having done all that while calling out absent dads.
“In a 2020 interview with conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Walker called fatherless homes a “major, major problem” in Black communities and described himself as acting “like a father” to fatherless kids in the Georgia town where he grew up.”
And, there was this: “The Daily Beast reported that the mother of his 10-year-old son had to sue Walker after giving birth in order to secure a declaration of paternity and child support from the former NFL player.”
NEW ad running in Georgia from Republican Accountability PAC.
This is the real Herschel Walker.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1556647005442789385
https://www.rawstory.com/herschel-walker-scandals/
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Thanks President Biden!
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Biden has appointed more federal judges than any president since JFK at this point in his tenure (Pew)
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https://pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/08/09/biden-has-appointed-more-federal-judges-than-any-president-since-jfk-at-this-point-in-his-tenure/?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=6c5978a866-Weekly_2022_08_13&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3e953b9b70-6c5978a866-399506733
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New Senate Polls:
Five Thirty Eight Average:
PENNSYLVANIA SENATE:
Fetterman (D) 49.0% (+10.7)
Oz (R) 38.3%
.
ARIZONA SENATE:
Kelly (D-inc) 51.1% (+10.2)
Masters (R) 40.9%
.
OHIO SENATE:
Ryan (D) 45.8% (+4.5)
Vance (R) 41.3
https://twitter.com/Politics_Polls/status/1558938412949946368
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Inflation Reduction Act will have immediate benefit to health-care costs, says Rep. Hakeem Jefferies
Congressman Hakeem Jefferies, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, joins CNBC's 'Squawk Box' to discuss how the Inflation Reduction Act will help reduce prices, stem climate change, and more.
Watch:
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President Biden is already one of the most legislatively successful Presidents in the history of America after less than 2 years in office.
Through the Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats are establishing a minimum tax so that large companies finally pay their fair share.
And it does not raise taxes on anyone making under $400,000.
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The 2022 Republican platform:
- Defund the FBI
- Cut Social Security and Medicare
- Force women to give birth
- Ban books
- Refuse to lower prescription drug prices for working families and seniors
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Democrats hand Big Pharma something it rarely sees: A defeat
The pharmaceutical industry is not accustomed to losing major legislative fights, but with the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats overcame the lobbyists.
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The obituary for the Democrats’ big reconciliation bill was written more than once, and the conventional wisdom was that the majority governing party would fail to follow through on a rare legislative opportunity.
And yet, as NBC News reported, the Inflation Reduction Act managed to get across the finish line anyway.
The House passed a far-reaching Democratic bill Friday to combat climate change, extend health care coverage and raise taxes on corporations, voting along party lines to send the legislation to President Joe Biden for his signature. Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act represents a major victory for Democrats ahead of the November midterm elections, capping nearly a year of on-again, off-again internal negotiations and defying numerous near-death experiences for the bill.
For all of the party’s many divisions, factions, arguments, interests, and constituencies, when the dust settled on Capitol Hill on Friday afternoon, the Democrats’ budget reconciliation package passed the House with unanimous support from all 220 of the chamber’s Democratic members — a week after the Inflation Reduction Act also passed the Senate with no Democratic opposition.
That, in and of itself, was no small feat — and is emblematic of what effective congressional leadership looks like. Indeed, Ron Brownstein explained in June, “Working with a razor-thin majority, House Democrats have recorded the highest level of party unity in floor votes that either party has reached in at least 50 years, according to the authoritative statistics kept by Congressional Quarterly and Roll Call.”
Anyone wondering whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is still a strong congressional leader should wonder no more.
As for the substance of the bill, we talked a week ago why this is arguably the biggest legislative success story since the Affordable Care Act, and The New York Times published a detailed and worthwhile review of the measure’s provisions. What’s more, for those interested specifically in the provisions related to climate change — this is the biggest climate bill the United States has ever passed — Hank Green did a terrific job summarizing the details in a YouTube video below I’d recommend.
Watch:
But for now, I’m also eager to point to one of the package’s most popular ideas: For the first time, Medicare will be empowered to negotiate the cost of some prescription medications with the pharmaceutical industry.
It doesn’t apply to all medications, and the benefits won’t begin right away, but nevertheless, Democrats have spent decades trying to get a breakthrough victory on this issue — and now, they’ve succeeded.
As a matter of electoral politics, Axios reported that this is likely to be a victory that pays dividends for the majority party as the midterm elections near, but as a matter of political lobbying, it’s worth pausing to appreciate just how unusual these circumstances are. Reuters reported shortly before Friday’s vote in the House:
Big Pharma spent more than any other industry to lobby Congress and federal agencies this year, a Reuters analysis shows, but is still on course for a major defeat by failing to stop a bill that allows the government to negotiate prices on select drugs.... [Enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act] would represent a rare legislative defeat for the pharmaceutical industry and set a new precedent for curbing drug prices in the world’s most lucrative market for medicines, according to congressional and industry officials.
Not to put too fine a point on this, but there are few constituencies on Capitol Hill with more influence than the pharmaceutical industry. It’s not accustomed to losing.
And yet, Democrats shook off the lobbying and delivered on a long-sought goal, which in turn will help many consumers.
Read More Here: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-democrats-are-poised-send-sweeping-climate-health-care-bill-bide-rcna42647
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Republicans want to defund or abolish our law enforcement agencies.
They are openly calling for it in debates, on Twitter, and some are fundraising off of defunding our law enforcement agencies.
Can you believe that?
Republicans want to leave American citizens vulnerable to crime, violence, and attacks.
Republicans are not serious about tackling crime and violence. They simply do not care about keeping our communities and country safe as they are calling to abolish our top law enforcement agencies which protects us each day.
Republicans openly called to end Roe and they did. Now they are calling to eliminate Social Security, Medicare, and our top law enforcement agencies. Don't give them the opportunity to destroy America as we know it. Defunding our top law enforcement agencies will be catastrophic as would eliminating Social Security and Medicare for seniors.
"Defund the FBI": The GOP's New Midterm Messaging
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Since the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago, a growing number of GOP candidates and lawmakers are rallying around their own calls to defund or abolish federal law enforcement agencies.
Dan Bolduc and Bruce Fenton, leading Republican Senate candidates in New Hampshire, said in a recent debate they believe the Department of Homeland Security and top agencies need to be significantly "reduced" and called for abolishing the FBI.
Anthony Sabatini, a leading primary candidate in Florida's 3rd District, has long called to defund the FBI and tweeted on the night of the Mar-a-Lago search that Florida should "sever all ties with DOJ immediately" and arrest FBI agents on sight.
Tim Baxter, a candidate in New Hampshire’s 1st District, expressed support for abolishing the FBI in a debate on Saturday.
Another candidate, Karoline Leavitt, called to "investigate, litigate and incarcerate them."
J.R. Majewski, the GOP nominee in Ohio's 9th District, says on his website's issues page: "I will fight to abolish all unconstitutional three letter agencies," including the CIA.
Sandy Smith, the GOP nominee in North Carolina’s 1st District, tweeted a poll with "Abolish the FBI" as one of the options.
Asked in a recent radio interview whether Republicans are "actually going to be willing" to defund the FBI, IRS and other agencies, Bo Hines, the Trump-endorsed GOP nominee in North Carolina's 13th District, responded: "Well, I mean we have to."
The position also has been embraced by Texas GOP chair Matt Rinaldi and Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who is selling "Defund the FBI" merchandise.
AFP
The GOP Suddenly Wants to Defund Law Enforcement After Feds Raid Mar-a-Lago
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene whined that defunding the Department of Justice would “completely cut out of their budget the ability to persecute Republicans”
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Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), left, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, (R-Ga.) are among the members of the GOP calling for the defunding of the Department of Justice following a raid of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate Monday, Aug. 8.
After years defending the continued militarization of law enforcement agencies across the United States, Republican lawmakers appeared to have a change of heart Monday after learning the FBI executed a search at the Florida estate of former President Donald Trump. Faced with the possibility that the “good guys” aren’t necessarily on their side, prominent members of the party that made backing the blue a central tenet of its political platform began spouting rhetoric that belied their professed allegiance to the “rule of law.”
“The GOP majority must defund all forms of tyranny throughout Biden’s government,” prominent right-wing figurehead Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) wrote on Twitter, tagging the official FBI account. She later added: “Weaponizing the FBI to raid President Trump’s home makes Watergate look like nothing.” Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), meanwhile, embraced the GOP’s favored doomsday approach. “We must destroy the FBI,” he tweeted. “We must save America.”
As the primary law enforcement agency of the United States government whose self-described mission is “to uphold the rule of law,” the Department of Justice and its associated agencies are essentially America’s police force. Any efforts to defund or dismantle these agencies would is akin to liberal activists’ calls to reduce or restructure funding for local police forces — a concept Trump regularly used as a scare tactic to push voters away from Democrats. Yet, as is to be expected, irony is an art that remains lost on the most fervent of right-wing Republicans.
No voice in the “Defund the DOJ” crowd rang louder than that of professional conspiracy theorist and devoted Trump sycophant Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who spent most of Monday evening having a public meltdown on Twitter, calling for the impeachment of President Joe Biden, accusing Democrats of “radicalizing our federal law enforcement to take political enemies out,” and posting an image of an upside-down American flag followed by an all-caps rallying cry: “DEFUND THE FBI!”
Greene later appeared on Real America's Voice, calling the Mar-a-Lago raid “the path that leads to direct and intense communism” and doubled down on her Twitter comments suggesting the DOJ’s move was politically motivated. “What we should be asking the Department of Justice is, ‘When are you going to stop this political persecution?'” she said. “If they won’t stop this ridiculous witch hunt on President Trump and his former administration and staff and supporters, then what has to happen is, in a Republican majority, we have to defund and make cuts in the Department of Justice. And we can do that in how many employees they’re allowed to have. We can say that funds can only go towards prosecution of sex trafficking or human trafficking or drugs coming across our state lines — different crimes like that, serious crimes — and then completely cut out of their budget the ability to persecute Republicans.”
The most extreme Republican lawmakers have long been wary of the FBI, which lies at the heart of the conspiracy that the “Deep State” is out to get Trump and anyone who supports him. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), one of the lawmakers allegedly involved in the rally that preceded the riot at the Capitol, discussed using the Holman Rule to defund the FBI and the DOJ during an appearance at last weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference. He was on the case again Monday night. “Congress must look into the viability of our federal law enforcement agencies that abuse their authorities for political purposes,” he wrote, adding that the “only thing missing” from the raid “is Muammar Gaddafi’s sunglasses and cap on Joe Biden,” the implication being that an FBI helmed by a director Trump appointed carrying out a warrant approved by a federal judge means President Biden is somehow turning America into a third-world dictatorship.
The party’s leadership responded similarly. Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) stayed silent on the issue of defunding the DOJ, but issuing a veiled threat to Attorney General Merrick Garland. “The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization,” McCarthy wrote on Twitter. “Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar."
Republicans’ reaction to the Mar-a-Lago search echoed the evening of insanity that played out on Fox News, where members of Trump’s family painted the former president as a persecuted martyr for the conservative cause. On right-wing forums and websites, the discussion of the day’s events took a predictably more radical turn, with Trump supporters vowing retribution and violence for the act against their beloved leader. On social media, right-wingers claimed “thousands” of supporters were descending upon Palm Beach to show their support for the embattled former president. But, as Monday night drew to a close, the only IRL response from members of the MAGA community was a pitiful gathering of protestors waving Trump flags and blasting generic America-first anthems from stars and stripes-adorned pickup trucks — a fitting tribute for a man who, somehow, continues to tarnish his already sullen single-term presidency years after leaving office.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/mar-a-lago-raid-gop-response-defund-fbi-1394486/
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Biden to sign Inflation Reduction Act into law
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President Joe Biden will sign a sweeping $750 billion health care, tax and climate bill into law at the White House on Tuesday -- marking a major victory for his administration and the Democratic Party ahead of the midterm elections.
Tuesday's ceremony in the State Dining Room is just one of many events that will follow focused on the roll out of the new law, according to the White House.
"In the coming weeks, the President will host a Cabinet meeting focused on implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, will travel across the country to highlight how the bill will help the American people, and will host an event to celebrate the enactment of the bill at the White House on September 6," a White House statement said.
The Inflation Reduction Act accomplishes several key Biden legislative agenda items, representing the largest climate investment in American history and making major changes to health policy by giving Medicare the power for the first time to negotiate the prices of certain prescription drugs and extending expiring health care subsidies for three years. The legislation will reduce the deficit, be paid for through new taxes -- including a 15% minimum tax on large corporations and a 1% tax on stock buybacks -- and boost the Internal Revenue Service's ability to collect.
Senate Democrats had long hoped to pass a signature legislative package that would incorporate major agenda items for the party, but struggled for months to reach a deal that gained full support of their caucus.
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin -- a major holdout throughout much of Biden's term in office -- played a key role in the legislation, agreeing to a deal that was announced at the end of last month.
The bill passed in the Senate earlier this month after 16 hours of amendment votes -- known as a vote-a-rama -- and the House of Representatives approved the bill along party lines this past Friday.
AFP
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Biden aims for victory lap as he signs Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act is the the type of law Democrats have been trying to pass for years, if not decades. It also could have been so much more.
Take a look at the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan, two documents the Biden administration issued in the opening months of his administration, which outline a host of ideas they hoped to realize. These include raising taxes on the rich, making community college and pre-school free and offering paid family and medical leave.
Some of these programs they managed to enact via last year’s trillion-dollar infrastructure bill. But many others were stripped out in the months of negotiations between Democratic leaders and Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, two of the party’s conservative lawmakers whose votes were essential to getting any of their legislation through Congress.
Considering that there were moments when it looked like the negotiations would amount to naught, the Inflation Reduction Act is a political accomplishment, even if its attempts to address climate change have already been criticized as insufficient, and it lacks much of what Democrats and the Biden administration promised. Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s Democratic leader, appeared to recognize this. In an interview last week, he pleaded with voters to elect more Democrats, promising that if they do, they will pass the rest of the programs Joe Biden promised to voters when he took office.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2022/aug/16/biden-climate-healthcare-bill-inflation-reduction-act-democrats-us-politics-latest
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That the GOP is struggling to raise money just a few months before a competitive election is a very big 2022 story.
GOP slashes ads in key Senate battlegrounds
NRSC cancels over $10 million in ad buys as candidates struggle with fundraising.
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As midterm election campaigns heat up in the Senate’s top battlegrounds, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is canceling millions of dollars of ad spending, sending GOP campaigns and operatives into a panic and upending the committee’s initial spending plan.
The cuts — totaling roughly $13.5 million since Aug. 1 — come as the Republicans’ Senate campaign committee is being forced to “stretch every dollar we can,” said a person familiar with the NRSC’s deliberations. Republican nominees in critical states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina — places the GOP must defend this fall — have failed to raise enough money to get on air themselves, requiring the NRSC to make cuts elsewhere to accommodate.
Since Aug. 1, the NRSC has cut ad buys in the battleground states of Pennsylvania ($7.5 million), Arizona ($3.5 million), Wisconsin ($2.5 million) and Nevada ($1.5 million), according to the ad tracking service AdImpact. Separately, a Democratic source tracking advertising buys estimated roughly $10.5 million in cuts by the NRSC since the first of the month.
"People are asking, ‘What the hell is going on?’” said one Republican strategist working on Senate races. “Why are we cutting in August? I’ve never seen it like this before.”
While the scale of these cuts is unprecedented, the NRSC is also ahead of its typical schedule on its ad spending, having already spent $36.5 million on television spots this cycle, as opposed to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s $1.9 million to date. Sen. Rick Scott, who chairs the NRSC, announced earlier this year the campaign committee would be spending sooner than in years past. It was a necessary change, Scott said, to prevent Democrats from having the airwaves to themselves all summer.
“We’ve been creative in how we’re spending our money and will continue to make sure that every dollar spent by the NRSC is done in the most efficient and effective way possible,” said Chris Hartline, NRSC spokesperson. “Nothing has changed about our commitment to winning in all of our target states.”
The person familiar with the NRSC’s deliberations said the committee is swapping some of its independent expenditure spending for coordinated and hybrid spending with campaigns. The latter category imposes more rules on how much can be spent and what the ads can say, though it allows the committee to purchase ad time at a candidate discount, rather than a much steeper outside group rate.
But the numbers show that the NRSC has cut significantly more than it has booked back, indicating a potential cash strain at the committee. Second-quarter filings showed the DSCC had nearly twice the cash on hand as its Republican counterpart, $53.5 million to the NRSC’s $28.5 million.
Another Republican strategist referred to the recent cuts as “unreal,” noting that the NRSC had not eliminated any ad time in New Hampshire, where there won’t be a GOP nominee until mid-September — and where there’s no clear frontrunner in the meantime.
The NRSC earlier this month also spent a combined $1 million on ads in Washington and Colorado, two blue states that are considered unlikely but potential pickup opportunities for Republicans.
While the GOP committee is making a perplexing number of mid-August cuts, the organization could still book back that time over the next 2½ months. And between what the NRSC has already spent on television this cycle and what it has reserved for the rest of fall, the Republican committee has still purchased significantly more than the DSCC, though Democrats will likely reserve more air time in the coming weeks.
“While Rick Scott’s failed leadership of the NRSC continues to be one of Senate Democrats’ greatest assets,” said David Bergstein, spokesperson for the DSCC, “we know McConnell’s super PAC will have significant resources in the weeks ahead and we are continuing to take nothing for granted in each of our battleground races."
Bergstein was referring to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that has reserved $150 million in ads this fall. Its first spots begin airing Friday in Pennsylvania.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/15/gop-slashes-ads-in-key-senate-battlegrounds-00051969
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Florida Senate:
Demings (D) 48% (+4)
Rubio (R-inc) 44%
University of North Florida, 1,624 RV, 8/8-12
https://scribd.com/document/587232872/UNF-PORL-August-Survey
https://twitter.com/Politics_Polls/status/1559506019914584064
Val Demings @valdemings
A new poll shows me ahead of Rubio 48-44. I’m grateful for the support I had before any of the polls showed that we can win this race. Together we will flip Florida blue.
https://twitter.com/valdemings/status/1559591553701642240
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Every single Republican in Congress voted against The Inflation Reduction Act.
President signs Inflation Reduction Act into law | full video
President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law on Tuesday, finalizing a landmark piece of legislation aimed at fighting climate change, lowering health care costs and raising taxes on corporations. "Let me say from the start, with this law, the American people won and the special interests lost," Mr. Biden said in his remarks.
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The Inflation Reduction Act
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Shapiro to launch ads hitting Mastriano over ties to far-right social media site
Republican Doug Mastriano has come under fire for paying $5,000 for “consulting” services to Gab, the site where Robert Bowers made antisemitic posts before the deadly mass shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue.
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Mastriano also participated in an interview with Gab CEO Andrew Torba, where he told him, “Thank God for what you’ve done.” | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro is launching a pair of attack ads targeting his opponent’s ties to the far-right social media network Gab.
The campaign is putting more than $1 million behind the television commercials, which were first shared with POLITICO, and airing them across the state.
Republican Doug Mastriano has come under fire for paying $5,000 for “consulting” services to Gab, the site where Robert Bowers made antisemitic posts before the deadly mass shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue.
Mastriano also participated in an interview with Gab CEO Andrew Torba, where he told him, “Thank God for what you’ve done.”
In one of Shapiro’s ads, a narrator describes Gab as a “white supremacist website” where “minutes before Jews were killed at this synagogue, the murderer posted his hate-filled plan.” The spot highlights Mastriano’s payment to Gab.
Another commercial by Shapiro features TV news clips about the controversy, with one anchor saying that “elected leaders and members of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community are calling out gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano’s ties to a controversial social media site.”
After facing mounting criticism over his links to Gab, including from some in the GOP, Mastriano said in a statement that Torba “doesn’t speak for me” and that “I reject antisemitism in any form.” He also appears to have deleted his account on the site.
Previously, Torba made antisemitic remarks and said his “policy is not to conduct interviews with reporters who aren’t Christian or with outlets who aren’t Christian, and Doug has a very similar media strategy where he does not do interviews with these people.”
Republican leaders in the state have largely stood by Mastriano amid the controversy and argued that he settled the matter with his statement denouncing antisemitism.
Shapiro’s new ads are part of his campaign’s longstanding efforts to paint Mastriano as extreme. His other commercials have said that Mastriano is too conservative on abortion.
Mastriano, who has struggled with fundraising, has not aired any commercials on television during the general election. Shapiro’s lead in the polls has grown as Mastriano has ceded the airwaves to him.
Shapiro’s two TV spots about Gab will begin airing Sunday. His campaign purchased additional points in the Pittsburgh area, the site of the Tree of Life shooting.
Watch: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/13/shapiro-ads-mastriano-far-right-social-media-gab-00051581
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/13/shapiro-ads-mastriano-far-right-social-media-gab-00051581
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President Biden @POTUS
For decades, special interests have stood in the way of progress for American families. That ends with the Inflation Reduction Act.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act, Americans on Medicare – no matter how many prescriptions they have – will pay no more than $2,000 a year on their medication.
That makes a big difference for families.
The Inflation Reduction Act will position America to meet my climate goals, saving families hundreds of dollars a year on energy costs.
And for families that take advantage of clean energy and electric vehicle tax credits – they could see more than twice the savings.
The Inflation Reduction Act will begin to restore fairness to the tax code by making America’s largest, most profitable corporations pay their fair share.
The promise of this nation is real. The Inflation Reduction Act is not just about today, it's about tomorrow.
It’s about showing that America – and American democracy – works.
Not just for the privileged few. But for all of us.
From the American Rescue Plan to a once-in-a-generation infrastructure law.
From the most meaningful gun safety and veterans' health care laws in decades to the groundbreaking CHIPS and Science Law and historic Inflation Reduction Act.
We're getting the job done.
The Inflation Reduction Act is now law.
Giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices. Ensuring wealthy corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
And taking the biggest step forward on climate in our history.
We can choose to build a future where everybody has an even shot. That’s the America I believe in.
And today, we’ve come a step closer to making that America real.
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Tune in as I deliver remarks and sign into law the Inflation Reduction Act, a historic bill that will lower costs for American families, combat the climate crisis, reduce the deficit, and finally make the largest corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1mnGedgzVkrKX
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GOP 'outsider celebrities' in 3 key Senate races are all flailing: report
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In 2022, Republicans have nominated well-known celebrities rather than established politicians in three different U.S. Senate races: Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance in Ohio, and football star Herschel Walker in Georgia. GOP strategists have been using a “these-aren’t-career-politicians” pitch to voters in all three races. But reporter Adam Gabbatt, in an article published by The Guardian on August 16, emphasizes that none of those Republicans have been performing well in recent polls.
“In Mehmet Oz, Herschel Walker and J.D. Vance, the Republican Party has three celebrities running for Senate in November,” Gabbatt explains. “The only problem? At the moment, each of them looks as though they might lose. Oz, a television stalwart better known as Dr. Oz to millions of Americans, is trailing his opponent in Pennsylvania by double digits. Vance, a bestselling author and conservative commentator, is behind in his race in Ohio, an increasingly red state that many expected Republicans to win. So far, the most notable point of his campaign was when Vance appeared to suggest women should stay in violent marriages.”
Gabbatt continues, “In Georgia, Walker, a former NFL running back, is running close against Raphael Warnock, the incumbent Democrat. But Walker’s campaign has been characterized by a series of gaffes, and this week, more seriously, his ex-wife recalled in a campaign ad how he once held a gun to her head. The three men’s travails spell out a problem in selecting outsider, celebrity candidates. Each brings name recognition, but in some cases, have been unexposed to the media’s glare.”
Some polls released in late July or early August showed Georgia’s Senate race to be close. Walker was trailing the Rev. Warnock by only 3 percent in polls from Insider Advantage, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Research Affiliates, although a SurveyUSA poll showed Warnock ahead by 9 percent.
Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee, had an 11 percent lead over Oz in a Fox News poll released in late July. And in Ohio, the Democratic nominee, Rep. Tim Ryan, was ahead of Vance by 3 percent in a late July poll conducted by Impact Research, although SurveyMoney’s polling in early August showed Ryan ahead by 11 percent. Ryan also had an 11 percent lead in a Center Street PAC poll from early August.
“The Pennsylvania Senate race is looking particularly dire for Republicans,” Gabbatt observes. “According to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, John Fetterman, the Democratic lieutenant governor, holds an 11 percent lead over Oz. Among Republicans in Pennsylvania, just 35 percent say they are ‘enthusiastic’ about Oz’s candidacy, according to a Fox News poll in July, and 45 percent of Republicans say they ‘have reservations’ about the physician. Oz’s struggles are significant enough that the National Republican Senatorial Committee is considering diverting money away from Oz’s campaign ‘to seats that we feel we can win,’ Politico reported in July — a dramatic move given the Senate seat was previously held by a Republican.”
The Republican senator Gabbatt is referring to is Pat Toomey. Although arch-conservative, Toomey infuriated MAGA Republicans when he voted “guilty” in former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate in 2021 — and the two-term senator decided not to seek a third term in 2022.
If Fetterman defeats Oz in November, Democrats will be flipping a U.S. Senate seat that has been mostly in Republican hands for decades. Before Toomey, the seat was held by the late Sen. Arlen Specter, a moderate Republican who got along well with Pennsylvania Democrats like former Pennsylvania Gov./ex-Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell and Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. Near the end of his life, Specter became a Democrat, but he spent most of his years in the Senate as a Republican.
Presently, there is a 50/50 split in the U.S. Senate — 50 Democrats or allies of Democrats like independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and 50 Republicans — with Vice President Kamala Harris able to cast a tie-breaking vote. If Democrats are able to maintain all of the Senate seats they presently hold but flip the seats in Pennsylvania and Ohio, they would slightly increase their narrow majority but would still have to contend with the 60-vote requirement of the filibuster.
Read More Here:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/16/mehmet-oz-herschel-walker-jd-vance-republican-senate
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The Democratic House candidate Mary Peltola has more votes than Palin.
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New Wisconsin Senate Poll:
Mandela Barnes (D) 51%
Ron Johnson (R) 44%
Another Senate poll and another state that shows the Democrat with a wide lead.
MULawPoll @MULawPoll
In new Marquette Law School Poll, 51% of registered WI voters support Democrat Mandela Barnes, 44% support Republican Ron Johnson in US Senate race.
In June @mulawpoll, it was Barnes 46% and Johnson 44%. #mulawpoll
https://twitter.com/MULawPoll/status/1559954005438218240
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New Florida teacher training aims to indoctrinate educators with conservative ideology
Alex Wagner travels to Florida to learn about a new civics training for teachers, encouraged by Governor Ron DeSantis, that emphasizes Christian nationalist values and an "originalist" interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.
Watch in link:
https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/new-florida-teacher-training-aims-to-indoctrinate-educators-with-conservative-ideology-146432581889
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STRONG majority of Americans support the Inflation Reduction Act.
Every single Republican in Congress voted no—who are they working for?
New POLITICO/Morning Consult poll:
STRONG public support for Inflation Reduction Act
-Cap Drug Rx Price Increase: +63
-Medicare Negotiation: +60
-Limit Annual Out-of-Pocket for Drugs: +57
-Clean Energy Manufacturing: +31
-Clean Energy Programs: +21
https://politico.com/f/?id=00000182-ab36-dd90-a7a2-fb76b7be0000
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President Biden @POTUS
Eighty-three percent of Americans support Medicare negotiating lower drug prices.
After three decades of attempts, we finally got it done.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act, seniors will pay less on their prescription drugs.
Folks on Medicare won't pay more than $2,000 a year on their prescriptions.
That’s a godsend for so many families.
For so many Americans, the cost of prescription drugs can be the difference between hope and fear. Life and death.
We are making prescriptions more affordable in this country and getting folks suffering from illnesses the medicine they need and the dignity they deserve.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1560035165862232065
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'Dictatorial' Ron DeSantis blasted over 'legally suspect' state attorney suspension
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On August 4th, 2022, Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis suspended State Attorney Andrew Warren – a twice-elected Democrat from Tampa's Hillsborough County – after Warren announced that he would not enforce the Sunshine State's unconstitutional restrictions on reproductive freedom, which include a 15-week abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest as well as the criminalization of gender-affirming care.
DeSantis accused Warren of "neglect of duty" and "incompetence" and stated for him "to take a position that you have veto powers over the laws of the state is untenable."
Warren responded that DeSantis is "trying to overthrow democracy here in Hillsborough County."
Yet the fight is just beginning. On Wednesday morning, Warren filed a lawsuit in the District Court for the Northern District of Florida challenging his dismissal. It alleges that DeSantis overstepped his executive authority.
"The Florida Constitution sets very limited parameters under which a governor can suspend an elected official and what's happening here is, he's trying to overturn a free and fair election," Warren told CNN of DeSantis. "He's trying to throw out the votes of hundreds of thousands of Floridians. And he's trying to substitute his judgment for that of the voters who elected me."
CNN pointed out that "under Florida law, a governor can remove 'any county officer' for malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties, or commission of a felony." But Warren's lawyers argued in their complaint that "the First Amendment still applies even though DeSantis is the Governor of Florida and that the Constitution of the State of Florida means what the courts say it means, not whatever DeSantis needs it to mean to silence his critics, promote his loyalists, and subvert the will of the voters."
A few hours after Warren's appearance on CNN, the South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Board blasted DeSantis for his "legally suspect" decision.
"DeSantis is driven by partisanship and a zeal to use the powers of his office to silence critics — and wants voters to give him four more years in November so he can continue to run roughshod over his critics. Who’s next?" the editors wrote.
"What’s important to know about the suspension of Warren is that the prosecutor is a Democrat who has been vocal in his opposition to Florida’s 15-week abortion ban, with no exception for rape or incest, passed earlier this year by the Legislature and signed into law by DeSantis. A circuit judge struck down the Florida law as unconstitutional and the state is appealing," they explained. "With the abortion law in legal limbo, Warren said in June that he would not prosecute people for providing or seeking abortions, and cited 'well-settled discretion' of prosecutors. He did that in a signed pledge through a national group, Just and Fair Prosecution, along with nearly 100 other prosecutors across the country. The only other Florida prosecutor who signed was State Attorney Monique Worrell of the Orange and Osceola County circuit."
The Board noted that "the fatal legal flaw in the suspension order is that Warren was punished not for any action taken or not taken, but because of public statements he has made. DeSantis is governor, not the thought police. 'At no time while in office,' Warren’s lawsuit states, 'has Warren ever been referred a case involving a request to prosecute abortion-related crimes,'" adding that policy disagreement "is not sufficient cause to suspend Warren from office and invalidate the results of two countywide elections in Florida’s fourth-largest county."
DeSantis, the paper continued, "overreached. He should have waited at least until Warren decided an abortion case, though the law is clear that he has prosecutorial discretion. DeSantis could have issued an order, transferring all abortion cases to another state attorney as former Gov. Rick Scott did when former Orlando prosecutor Aramis Ayala declared her opposition to seeking the death penalty. Suspension, and sending an armed deputy to escort Warren from his office, is an extreme act that reeks of vengeance and partisanship."
The battle between Warren and DeSantis will be formidable, as both men are skilled in making their case. Warren, however, holds one key advantage.
The Sun Sentinel recalled that "as a candidate for governor four years ago, DeSantis got 234,835 votes in Democrat-leaning Hillsborough County, losing the county to rival Andrew Gillum. Two years ago, Warren proved much more popular with county voters, getting 369,129 votes despite being farther down the ballot. The 2020 election was a much higher-turnout presidential race, but the numbers speak for themselves."
Therefore, the Editorial Board posited in its conclusion, "who speaks more clearly for most of Greater Tampa — DeSantis or Warren?"
Read More Here:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/17/politics/florida-state-attorney-challenge-suspension-desantis-cnntv/index.html
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New House Polls:
Incumbent House Republicans are struggling:
PA-10 Daniels (D) 44 Perry (R) 41
NE-2 Vargas (D) 46 Bacon (R) 47
CA-22 Salas (D) 43 Valadao (R) 35
TX-34 Gonzalez (D) 47 Flores (R) 43
FL-27 Taddeo (D) 34 Salazar (R) 39
IA-3 Mathis (D) 44 Hinson (R) 44
NM-2 Vasquez (D) 45 Herrell (R) 44
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From health-care subsidies to $10,000 in discounts and rebates, 3 ways the Inflation Reduction Act could save you money
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On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. The sweeping $739 billion spending package — a reduced version of the administration's Build Back Better plan — aims to reduce health-care costs, shrink the deficit and combat climate change.
Experts are uncertain that the bill will live up to its name by curbing rising prices for American consumers. And much of the legislation's headline provisions, such as a 15% minimum corporate tax on companies earning more than $1 billion per year and a new excise tax on companies buying back shares of their own stock, are unlikely to move the needle on the finances of everyday Americans.
But some of the bill's less-heralded provisions could indeed have a big impact on your wallet, such as saving you up to $10,000 in discounts and tax rebates. Here are three ways the bill could affect your money.
1. Extensions of expanded health-care subsidies
The bill allows households receiving help paying for health insurance through the public marketplace to continue to qualify for more generous subsidies that were set to expire at the end of the year. The new bill extends the tax breaks on health insurance through the end of 2025.
That's a huge deal for millions of Americans whose premiums are staying put.
"Without the extension, the vast majority of the 13 million people who get subsidies … would see premium payments rise," Krutika Amin, associate director for the Kaiser Family Foundation's Affordable Care Act program, told CNBC before the bill's passage.
For those who buy coverage through healthcare.gov or their state's exchange — typically the self-employed, people who can't get workplace insurance or people who don't qualify for Medicare or Medicaid — the subsidy extension represents significant savings.
Depending on their income, some enrollees could have seen their monthly premiums rise by more than 50%, said Amin.
2. Lower drug prices for Medicare recipients
If you're enrolled in Medicare, you may see reductions in what you pay for certain prescription drugs in the next few years.
Under the new legislation, the Department of Health and Human Services will be able to negotiate prices for some of the most expensive drugs covered under Medicare Part B (which covers drugs administered by health-care providers) and Part D (which covers drugs from retail pharmacies).
The negotiations will take some time. The first batch of Part D drugs will come with negotiated prices starting in 2026. This will include the drugs that Medicare patients spend the most money on, many of which have been on the market for years without generic competition.
Medicare negotiations could cut the prices seniors pay for those drugs by 25% in 2026 and beyond, according to Bank of America analysts, who outlined 25 drugs they think could be targeted under the program based on 2020 spending.
3. Climate tax breaks and rebates
In an effort to fight climate change, the new law includes enticements for consumers to add energy-efficient upgrades to their homes.
Depending on your income, you can receive upfront discounts or tax rebates on home energy projects such as heat pumps, rooftop solar panels or basic weatherization. All told, you may qualify for up to $10,000 in tax breaks and rebates, according to an analysis from CNBC.
These incentives may also have a trickle-down effect on what you pay for utilities. Between home energy improvements and cheaper commodity prices, the average U.S. household could net roughly $170 to $220 in annual savings, according to an estimate from nonprofit research firm Resources for the Future.
The bill also extends and adjusts an existing tax credit on the purchase of "clean" vehicles such as electric cars, plug-in hybrids and cars that run on hydrogen fuel cells. The credit, worth up to $7,500 on the purchase of new vehicles, is available through 2032.
You won't qualify, however, if your income or the price of the vehicle you wish to purchase exceed certain thresholds.
Similar rules apply for a credit — worth up to $4,000 — on the purchase of used "clean" vehicles.
For a breakdown of what energy-efficiency tax rebates and discounts you qualify for, check out this calculator from electrification nonprofit Rewiring America.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/17/inflation-reduction-act-how-the-bill-could-save-you-money.html
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Arizona Senate Poll:
Mark Kelly (D) 50%
Blake Masters (R) 42%
Even Fox News polls have Democrats ahead in the polls in key Senate races.
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Fact: No climate component of the Inflation Reduction Act is supported by fewer than 38% of Republicans. Overall, more than half of Republicans support the bill.
No Republican in either chamber of Congress voted for it.
https://dataforprogress.org/blog/2022/8/3/voters-support-the-inflation-reduction-act
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NEW POLL: The Inflation Reduction Act is extremely popular.
Overall, 2 in 3 Americans (65%) support the legislation recently signed into law by President Biden, including nearly 2 in 3 independents (64%) and even 1 in 3 Republicans (35%).
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Make no mistake. The GOP voted against EVERY BILL to help Americans:
—Ending the baby formula shortage
—Lowering gas prices
—Providing healthcare to sick veterans
—Improving infrastructure
—Protecting women’s rights/marriage equality
—Lowering insulin costs
—Active shooter alert system
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All of this in less than 2 years!
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President Biden @POTUS
The Inflation Reduction Act will cut the deficit and fight inflation. And we'll do it without raising taxes a single penny on families earning less than $400,000 a year.
No one should have to worry about being able to care for a sick family member because of a pre-existing condition. Or because their insurer says “no more.”
Under the Inflation Reduction Act, I won’t just protect the healthcare of millions of Americans. I’ll build on it.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1560287916546555904
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Ron DeSantis just had a very bad day
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Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his Stop WOKE Act suffered a two-punch blow Thursday as a federal judge blocked parts of the controversial law and a coalition of civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit against what they are calling "racially motivated censorship."
"Under our constitutional scheme, the remedy for repugnant speech is more speech, not enforced silence."
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, issued a preliminary injunction against portions of the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act, also called the Individual Freedom Act, saying it violates First Amendment free speech protections and the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause.
The Stop WOKE Act—sometimes also referred to as the Individual Freedom Act and the "white discomfort law"—prohibits classroom discussions or corporate training that make students or workers feel uneasy about their race. The legislation is widely viewed by progressives as part of the GOP-led war on critical race theory, a graduate-level academic framework for understanding systemic racism in the United States.
"Florida's legislators may well find plaintiffs' speech repugnant. But under our constitutional scheme, the remedy for repugnant speech is more speech, not enforced silence," wrote Walker.
"If Florida truly believes we live in a post-racial society, then let it make its case," the judge added. "But it cannot win the argument by muzzling its opponents."
Walker's ruling forayed into pop culture Zeitgeist:
In the popular television series "Stranger Things," the "upside down" describes a parallel dimension containing a distorted version of our world... Recently, Florida has seemed like a First Amendment "upside down." Normally, the First Amendment bars the state from burdening speech, while private actors may burden speech freely. But in Florida, the First Amendment apparently bars private actors from burdening speech, while the state may burden speech freely... Now, like the heroine in "Stranger Things," this court is once again asked to pull Florida back from the "upside down."
Rights groups hailed the decision, with Protect Democracy tweeting that "the Stop WOKE Act is a speech code that takes a page from the authoritarian playbook" and "seeks to censor ideas that challenge government officials' preferred narrative, muzzle independent institutions, and direct outrage toward disfavored groups."
Also on Thursday, the ACLU, ACLU of Florida, Legal Defense Fund, and the law firm Ballard Spahr filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group of Florida professors, alleging the Stop WOKE Act violates the First and 14th amendments.
The suit calls the law "racially motivated censorship that the Florida Legislature enacted, in significant part, to stifle widespread demands to discuss, study, and address systemic inequalities, following the nationwide protests that provoked discussions about race and racism in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd."
Not only does the law prohibit instructors from teaching the Legislature's disfavored viewpoints in the manner dictated by their disciplines, but its vague terms generate uncertainty about when and how the law will apply, thus creating an even greater chilling effect on academic expression," the complaint states.
"The Stop WOKE Act is a speech code that takes a page from the authoritarian playbook."
The ACLU tweeted that "the First Amendment protects the right to learn for educators and students. The Stop WOKE Act deprives classrooms of important learning tools and conversations to challenge racism and sexism and discriminates against Black educators and students."
"We have a right to teach and learn free from state censorship and discrimination," the group added.
Thursday's ruling and lawsuit come two weeks after DeSantis suspended State Attorney Andrew Warren after he vowed not to prosecute people who violate Florida's 15-week abortion ban or restrictions on gender-affirming healthcare.
In announcing the suspension—which Warren challenged in federal court on Wednesday as a violation of his First Amendment rights—DeSantis referred to the state attorney as "woke."
In a Wednesday appearance on CNN, Warren explained that "we're fighting back to make sure that even though Ron DeSantis is governor, the First Amendment still has meaning. The Florida Constitution has meaning and elections still have meaning."
DeSantis has been called a hypocrite for touting Florida as a haven for freedom while signing laws that restrict reproductive, educational, and other liberties, including the right to protest.
https://www.rawstory.com/ron-desantis-2657885189/
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Joe Biden @JoeBiden
We're seeing a stronger labor market where jobs are booming and more Americans are working than ever in history. That's what happens when you build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out—it gives everyone a chance to get ahead.
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1560700880156065795
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Right-wing group injects millions into Utah race amid sudden fear independent could oust GOP senator
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On Friday, the Washington Examiner reported that a key right-wing political group is committing $2.5 million in TV ads to defending Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), amid sudden fears that he could be vulnerable in a race against an independent candidate.
"Utah is a red state, and Republicans are favored to make gains in Congress amid President Joe Biden’s languishing job approval ratings," reported David M. Drucker. "But the Club for Growth, a conservative advocacy group in Washington, is worried enough about Lee’s prospects that it is now airing a television spot statewide, on broadcast and cable, attacking McMullin as a closet liberal."
"'What does Evan McMullin believe, and who’s paying him?' the voice-over in the Club for Growth ad says as the spot opens, before going on to accuse him of using donations to political groups he controls to 'push a left-wing agenda,'" said the report. "The ad was written by Republican consultant Andy Sere. Republican strategist Jeff Roe, who advises Lee’s close friend, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), placed the media buy."
According to the report, the Club for Growth believes the campaign is necessary because the "Senate Leadership Fund can’t be trusted to protect conservatives."
McMullin, a former CIA officer who previously ran for president in 2016, is a conservative former Republican who left the party over his opposition to Donald Trump. He has pledged not to caucus with either Democrats or Republicans if he wins the 2022 Senate race. Democrats declined to nominate a candidate of their own and endorsed McMullin's campaign, because a theoretical McMullin victory would further complicate GOP efforts to win the chamber.
Lee, a far-right senator, drew controversy in 2020 when he claimed that the United States is "not a democracy."
All of this comes as Senate Republicans face a massive cash crunch, with strategists angered at the rapid burn rate of funds from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) on chairman Rick Scott's personal projects, even as Republicans are badly outspent by Democrats on air in key Senate races around the country.
Read more here:
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/top-conservative-group-spends-big-utah-protect-mike-lee-evan-mcmullin-challenge
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'A rip-off': Republicans demand answers as Rick Scott burns up cash needed for Senate fights
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On Friday, The Washington Post reported that Republicans are alarmed by the rate at which the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has been burning cash — even as Republicans are already being outspent by Democrats in key Senate races — and demanding answers from chairman Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).
"Republican Senate hopefuls are getting crushed on airwaves across the country while their national campaign fund is pulling ads and running low on cash — leading some campaign advisers to ask where all the money went and to demand an audit of the committee’s finances, according to Republican strategists involved in the discussions," reported Isaac Arnsdorf. "In a highly unusual move, the National Republican Senatorial Committee this week canceled bookings worth about $10 million, including in the critical states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Arizona. A spokesman said the NRSC is not abandoning those races but prioritizing ad spots that are shared with campaigns and benefit from discounted rates. Still, the cancellations forfeit cheaper prices that came from booking early, and better budgeting could have covered both."
"The NRSC’s retreat came after months of touting record fundraising, topping $173 million so far this election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission disclosures. But the committee has burned through nearly all of it, with the NRSC’s cash on hand dwindling to $28.4 million by the end of June," said the report. "As of that month, the committee disclosed spending just $23 million on ads, with more than $21 million going into text messages and more than $12 million to American Express credit card payments, whose ultimate purpose isn’t clear from the filings. The committee also spent at least $13 million on consultants, $9 million on debt payments and more than $7.9 million renting mailing lists, campaign finance data show."
All of this comes as Scott has been accused of going rogue, using NRSC resources to tout himself and his controversial "11-point plan" for GOP policy that includes sunsetting Social Security and Medicare and raising taxes on the poor — which Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) himself has condemned. It also comes as former McConnell has bemoaned the poor "candidate quality" of GOP nominees for Senate, like Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania and Herschel Walker in Georgia, most of whom were elected on former President Donald Trump's endorsement.
According to the report, GOP strategists are enraged about the mismanagement of money. “The fact that they canceled these reservations was a huge problem — you can’t get them back. You can’t win elections if you don’t have money to run ads,” said one GOP Senate strategist. Another said, “If they were a corporation, the CEO would be fired and investigated. The way this money has been burned, there needs to be an audit or investigation because we’re not gonna take the Senate now and this money has been squandered. It’s a rip-off.”
"Democrats are outspending Republicans by more than double in the Arizona Senate race; by almost two-to-one in Nevada and by four-to-one in Ohio, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact. Republicans are also being outspent by about $14 million in Georgia," said the report. “'Everything came together at once, and everyone woke up like, ‘Oh my God,’' said one Republican consultant. 'It’s been an absolutely disastrous two weeks for GOP Senate stuff on all fronts.'”
AFP
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President Biden @POTUS
A record-high 22 states have unemployment rates at or below 3 percent, and 14 have their lowest on record. And we're seeing progress on fighting inflation and lowering gas prices.
I promised to build an economy from the bottom up and middle out. We’re on the right track.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1560675216648437761
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Unemployment rates in 22 states dip to 3% or lower
WASHINGTON (TND) — While the national unemployment rate matched a 50-year low of 3.5% in July, state unemployment data out Friday showed dozens of states have even tighter labor markets.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, all 50 states had lower unemployment rates in July compared to a year ago. On a monthly basis, rates declined in 14 states and the District of Columbia and rose in three states. Thirty-three states' unemployment rates were little changed.
Minnesota had the lowest unemployment rate in the country at 1.8%, followed by Nebraska, New Hampshire and Utah each at 2%, according to BLS. The District of Columbia had the highest unemployment rate at 5.2%, followed by Alaska and New Mexico each at 4.5%.
"The fact that all of these job gains have been so pervasive across the country is I think a really important indicator of the strength of the job market and the impact of the president’s agenda to really get this labor market behind working families," member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Jared Bernstein said. “When you’re generating these kinds of low unemployment rates across the country, that is a strong non-recessionary indicator.”
Another indicator of a robust labor market out this week was the Department of Labor's weekly report of new jobless claims. The second week of August saw 2,000 fewer initial claims than the week prior.
AFP
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J.D. Vance has a Big Pharma problem
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J.D. Vance, the billionaire-backed U.S. Senate candidate in Ohio, has routinely positioned himself as an anti-opioid China-hawk, promising to rein in Big Pharma and bring jobs back to the U.S. But in recent weeks it has been revealed that Vance, a Trump-backed author, worked for a white shoe law firm that represented multiple Chinese companies and lobbied for Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. Vance then hired an American Enterprise Institute (AEI) resident who cited Purdue-funded studies to downplay the role overprescribing painkillers plays in the opioid crisis as the addiction specialist to Ohio's Appalachian region for his nonprofit, "Our Ohio Renewal."
The apparent contradiction, first reported by Politico, stems from a "vulnerability analysis" posted online by Protect Ohio Values (POV), the Super PAC through which Vance has raised millions of dollars for his Senate campaign. Because campaign finance law bars any candidates from communicating with their associated Super PACs, POV appears to have posted a trove of polling data, strategic documents, and opposition research on a low-profile Medium account for Vance to reference, detailing potential weak spots in his competitors' campaigns as well as his own.
Vance's vulnerability analysis reveals that the lawyer-turned-author, who founded a non-profit dedicated to curbing the opioid epidemic, had at one point worked for law firm Sidley Austin LLP in Washington, D.C. During Vance's time there, the firm's lobbying arm was working on behalf of Purdue Pharma, which pleaded guilty in 2020 to criminal charges and faced penalties of roughly $8.3 billion. During that same time, Sidley Austin also reportedly represented "a Chinese real estate company" and lobbied Alibaba Group, a massive Chinese e-commerce platform. But as a Senate candidate, Vance has repeatedly called for the U.S. to sever its economic ties with the country, calling globalization a "gravy train" for China.
"On one side you have people who want to go back to the America Last foreign policy, the weak on China trade policies," as Vance said in a recent Fox News interview. "And on the other side you have me, supported by President Trump, trying to bring back our manufacturing jobs from China."
The Associated Press (AP) then reported this week that Vance's charity suffered a major conflict of interest when it recruited an AEI resident who never disclosed Perdue's financial contributions to AEI while favorably citing Perdue-funded studies to argue that prescription painkillers played a significant role in the region's drastic uptick in opioid addiction. According to the AP, Dr. Sally Satel "occasionally shared drafts of the pieces with Purdue officials in advance." And as ProPublica reported in the past, AEI received financial support from Purdue totaling $800,000.
Vance's past work may prove a problem with other areas besides Big Pharma. He was with Sidley Austin while the firm filed an amicus brief in support of gay marriage back in 2015, while the Supreme Court was ruling on Obergefell v. Hodges. Since then, Vance has taken countless swipes at the LGBTQ+ community. AIn 2020, Vance excoriated the "conservative legal movement" after Supreme Court ruled that gay and trans workers cannot be fired for their gender identity or sexual orientation.
"The conservative legal movement has accomplished two things: libertarian political economy (enforced by judges) and betrayal of social conservatives and traditionalists," he wrote at the time in a since-deleted tweet.
Since the beginning of his campaign, numerous critics have also called out Vance's funding as problematic. Vance has repeatedly blasted Big Tech, claiming that the industry systematically censors conservative voices. But the Republican's chief benefactor is Peter Thiel, a prominent tech billionaire responsible for co-founding PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, through which he was one of the first investors in Facebook.
https://www.rawstory.com/jd-vance-purdue-pharma/
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Trump promised to bring jobs back home. He was all talk.
Joe Biden is actually doing it. Biden is on pace to make 2022 a record setting year for number of jobs brought back to the U.S. from China and overseas.
U.S. Companies on Pace to Bring Home Record Number of Overseas Jobs
After Covid-19 pandemic upended supply chains, American companies are shifting jobs and processes to the U.S.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-companies-on-pace-to-bring-home-record-number-of-overseas-jobs-11660968061
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Thanks to President Biden and Democrats millions of people are going to save money on health care costs.
Biden bill to help millions escape higher health care costs
WASHINGTON — Millions of people in the United States will be spared from big increases in health care costs next year after President Joe Biden signed legislation extending generous subsidies for those who buy plans through federal and state marketplaces.
The sweeping climate, tax and health care bill sets aside $70 billion over the next three years to keep out-of-pocket premium costs low for roughly 13 million people, just before the reduced prices were set to expire in a year beset by record-high inflation.
As the calendar pushed closer to the Nov. 1 open enrollment date, Sara Cariano was growing nervous about her work helping people across Virginia sign up for subsidized, private health insurance on the HealthCare.gov website.
“I expected very difficult conversation with folks to explain why their premiums were spiking,” said Cariano, a policy specialist at the Virginia Poverty Law Center.
But the passage of the “Inflation Reduction Act” erased those worries.
“Things aren’t going to change for the worst for individuals who are purchasing coverage through the market,” she said.
The bill will extend subsidies temporarily offered last year when Congress and Biden signed off on a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill that significantly lowered premiums and out-of-pocket costs for customers purchasing plans through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace. It also continues reduced costs for more individuals and families who live well above the poverty line.
Those who bought plans on the government marketplace saved on average about $700 in premium payments from the subsidies this year, according to estimates by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
As costs dropped, more people signed up for the coverage over the last year and the number of those without health insurance dropped to an all-time low of 8% in August, the Department of Health and Human Services announced. Roughly 26 million people, 2 percent of them children, remain uninsured in the U.S.
In California, many of the 1.7 million people who purchase health insurance through Covered California, the state-operated insurance marketplace will continue to see savings ranging from $29 and $324 per month, depending on their income level.
State officials predict about 220,000 people will be saved from being priced out of coverage. Between 2 million and 3 million people in California might also turn to the state marketplace if they lose coverage through Medicaid when the federal government’s COVID-19 public health emergency expires. About 15 million people in the U.S. have been extended Medicaid coverage during the pandemic.
Cost is the biggest factor driving whether a person signs up for coverage or not, said Joseph Poindexter, the senior director of health insurance programs at HealthCare Access Maryland.
Some parents, for example, sign their children up for Medicaid but skip buying coverage for themselves, he said.
“It’s really sad to see folks who will say, I’ll forgo treatment, or won’t go visit the doctor,” Poindexter said.
Fewer people have had to make that calculation with the subsidies, Poindexter said, attributing the lowered prices to a 9% increase in new enrollees in the state last year.
AFP
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John Fetterman, Josh Shapiro favored to win Pennsylvania Senate, Governor races: FiveThirtyEight
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(WHTM) – Democrats Josh Shapiro and John Fetterman are both now considered favored to win their respective races, according to election analysts FiveThirtyEight’s forecast model.
Both candidates were recently considered to be slightly favored prior to the recent projections.
Shapiro, the commonwealth’s attorney general and Democrat nominee for Governor, is projected to have an 86% chance of beating Republican Doug Mastriano, according to the forecast model.
The model showed Shapiro with a 75% chance to win starting on June 1, but recent polls have significantly increased his projected chance of victory. FiveThirtyEight projects Shapiro to win the November election with 52% of the popular vote over Mastriano.
The most recent poll, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, showed Shapiro with 50% support, a 15% lead over Mastriano.
Fetterman, the commonwealth’s Lieutenant Governor, was given a 73% chance to beat Republican Mehmet Oz in the Senate race. With Fetterman recovering from a stroke, the model showed Oz as the favorite back in June with a 65% chance to win the race.
In mid-June Oz’s chances in the model dropped to 53% and the race flipped a few days later to slightly favor Fetterman.
The model’s projected popular vote has Fetterman with 50.7% to Oz’s projected 46.1% and 3.2% going for a third party candidate.
Public Opinion Strategies‘ poll has Fetterman with an 18 point lead, the largest among the general election polls released this season.
The Deluxe version of the FiveThirtyEight model simulates each election 40,000 times to see who wins most often.
https://www.abc27.com/pennsylvania-senate-race/john-fetterman-josh-shapiro-favored-to-win-pennsylvania-senate-governor-races-fivethirtyeight/
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Wisconsin poll: Mandela Barnes leads GOP Sen. Ron Johnson by 7 points
The latest Marquette Law School poll showed Barnes with 51% support among registered voters in the Badger State, while Johnson received 44%.
https://www.businessinsider.com/mandela-barnes-leads-ron-johnson-wisconsin-senate-poll-evers-michels-2022-8
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Republicans want to end Medicare and Social Security as we know it. Ron Johnson and other MAGAs are openly talking about it.
Johnson steps on political land mine with Social Security, Medicare comments
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Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a stalwart Senate ally of former President Trump, is facing fresh uncertainty in his race for reelection after telling a podcast last week that Social Security and Medicare should be classified as discretionary spending, with Congress authorized to set their budgets every year.
Johnson is on the defensive as Democrats have political ammo to claim that he wants to cut the two popular entitlement programs, a strategy they used effectively against Republicans in the past.
Johnson has landed in hot water before for making provocative comments on conservative media, most notably when he said he didn’t feel threatened by protesters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, because he believed “those were people who love this country” while adding that he would have been “concerned” if they were Black Lives Matter protesters instead.
Now Johnson is being asked to defend his comments to “The Regular Joe Show” podcast calling for Congress to review and approve the annual budgets of Medicare and Social Security, instead of letting them rise automatically, which they do as mandatory spending programs.
And he says he’s been calling for making Medicare and Social Security discretionary programs subject to an annual budget for years.
“I’ve been saying for as long as I’ve been here that we should transfer everything, put everything on budget so we have to consider it if every year", he said.
Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) said Johnson has stepped on a political land mine.
“These are the programs that have taken several generations of seniors out of poverty,” she said.
Baldwin noted that Johnson told Breitbart News Daily in an interview earlier this year that he viewed a 12-point plan unveiled by fellow Republican Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.) calling for all federal legislation to sunset after five years as “a positive thing.”
Johnson said he agreed with “most of it.”
"Not only has he made those references,” Baldwin said, referring to “The Regular Joe Show” podcast. “But back when Rick Scott put out his Republican agenda, which sort of abolished both of them and start over, Sen. Johnson had voiced support for that.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tried to tie Johnson’s comments to House Republican candidates.
“Putting Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block every year is no way to help working families — it is a way to devastate them. Unfortunately, most House Republicans agree with Sen. Johnson,” Pelosi’s office said on its blog.
Former longtime Fox News anchor Chris Wallace called Johnson’s remarks “suicidal politics.”
Ben Nuckels, a Wisconsin-based Democratic strategist, said Johnson had grabbed the “third rail” of American politics by calling for annual congressional review of Social Security and Medicare spending.
“Ron Johnson never misses an opportunity to stick his foot in his mouth. Johnson opened up this big new line of attack on his radical, extreme positions on Social Security that voters 55 and over are going to be acutely aware of,” he said.
"When you have 60 to 65 percent of the electorate above the age of 50, that’s going to be a big problem for him,” he said. “Johnson grabbed the third rail with both hands on that one.”
A Senate Republican strategist said Johnson’s latest comments on Social Security and Medicare are “not good from a campaign perspective.”
AFP
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MAGA Republicans in Florida are training teachers to teach alternative history—infusing public schools with curriculum focused on Christian nationalism.
Teachers are concerned, for good reason.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1561484862611243010
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Mayors In Red States Say GOP Legislatures Block Efforts To Curb Gun Violence
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego joins MSNBC’s Alicia Menendez to discuss the roadblocks faced by mayors in Republican-led states to stem gun violence, the responsibility to protect those worried about rising gun deaths, and breaks down the progress of her initiative Operation Gun Crime Crackdown.
Watch:
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Dr. Oz should be worried – voters punish ‘carpetbaggers,’ and new research shows why[/]
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https://www.rawstory.com/dr-oz-should-be-worried-voters-punish-carpetbaggers-and-new-research-shows-why/
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President Biden DELIVERED again! 30 Million Americans will benefit from lowering the cost of hearing aids. This is LONG overdue. Such wonderful news.
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Bente Birkeland @BenteBirkeland
NEW: Colorado’s most moderate Republican state lawmaker has switched political parties and is now a Democrat.
@KevinPriol said there is too much at stake for Republicans to be in charge. #copolitics #cogov #coleg
Priola,"I cannot continue to be part of a political party that is okay with a violent attempt to overturn a free and fair election and continues to peddle claims that the 2020 election was stolen."
https://twitter.com/BenteBirkeland/status/1561730677891969024
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Right wing radical Republicans want to abolish our education system. They don't want Science and History being taught schools. These people are nuts. A cult of conspiracy theorists.
North Carolina Republican: Children below 5th grade shouldn't be taught science or history in school
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On Monday, WRAL reported that North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the highest-ranking Republican in the state, called for eliminating science and history classes from elementary schools.
In his memoir, “We Are the Majority: The Life and Passions of a Patriot,” according to reporter Bryan Anderson, "Robinson is dropping more hints about a potential run for governor in 2024. And, if elected, he says he’d work to keep science and history out of some elementary school classrooms. He says he’d also seek to eliminate the State Board of Education, end abortion and work to prevent transgender people from serving in the military."
"Robinson said he’d work to keep history, science and a number of other subjects out of first through fifth grade curricula and instead prioritize reading, writing and math," said the report. "'In those grades, we don’t need to be teaching social studies,' he writes. 'We don’t need to be teaching science. We surely don’t need to be talking about equity and social justice.' Robinson also reaffirms personal views on climate change that became a major issue in the 2020 election. 'Guess what? Most of the people of North Carolina know global warming is junk science,' he writes."
Robinson, a former gun rights activist, was elected in 2020, along with Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who was given a second term.
He has become highly controversial for his past statements, including that gay people are "devil-worshipping child molesters," that transgender identity is a "mass delusion" designed "to turn God’s creation ... into a sickening image of rebellion to glorify Satan," that the Parkland school shooting activists are "silly little immature media prosti-tots," that Michelle Obama is secretly a man, that Muslims in America are "invaders," and that the film Black Panther is a Jewish plot to grift money off of Black people. While vehemently anti-abortion, he has also admitted that he once paid his wife to have one before they were married.
According to Robinson's book, of all his past controversial statements, the only one he regrets is the Black Panther comment; Robinson says that he was actually trying to cite an obscure quote from Mel Brooks, and hadn't meant any anti-Semitic intent behind it.
https://www.wral.com/in-memoir-nc-lt-gov-mark-robinson-mulls-2024-run-calls-for-taking-science-history-out-of-elementary-schools/20427624/
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A truly historic presidency. President Biden has done what no other President has done in history.
An economic recovery plan that he created over 9 million jobs in less than 2 years.
Infrastructure, gun reform, health care, and climate change.
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Democrats continue to show solid leads in key Senate races. Trump's favorite pollster Rasmussen has Biden at a 47% approval rating.
Cortez Masto Holds Solid Lead In Nevada
A new Reno Gazette-Journal/Suffolk poll in Nevada finds Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) leads her opponent, Adam Laxalt (R), by seven percentage points, 45% to 38%.
Biden’s Approval Rate Pops Back Up
Rasmussen Reports, the sole pollster still conducting daily presidential approval ratings, said today that Biden’s average has moved up to 47% approval, the best the president has seen since September of last year.
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/biden_administration/prez_track_aug22
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Yes, Americans Are Better Off Under Biden
Households have seen a stunning rise in employment and income, even considering inflation
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Ronald Reagan closed his presidential debate with Jimmy Carter in October 1980, urging Americans to ask themselves if they were better off than they were four years ago. Of course, Reagan, like a sharp prosecutor, knew the answer before he posed the question. Inflation and unemployment were soaring. Perhaps the reason why Republicans aren’t posing that question today is that they, too, know the answer. Based on jobs, incomes, wealth, poverty, and health insurance, Americans are better off today, including inflation.
No one can argue with President Joe Biden’s job record—more than 9.5 million unemployed Americans found jobs over the past 18 months, and the unemployment rate fell from 6.4 to 3.5 percent.
Whether Americans’ incomes are higher is more complicated, because the pandemic disrupted the economy in so many ways. First, GDP collapsed in 2020, and unemployment soared—followed by massive public spending that extended into Biden’s term in 2021 and helped us recover. But supply problems, especially energy, ignited inflation, and spending, worsened it. While the fast-rising employment has produced a record 14.9 percent surge in overall wage and salary income since Biden took office, how much has inflation eaten away at those unparalleled gains?
For all of the “pain at the pump” stories, the answer is that wages and salaries have kept pace with inflation since Biden took office—and by this measure, most Americans are much better off than before the pandemic hit in 2020, and before he took office in 2021.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis at the Department of Commerce provides the best data on the nation’s earnings. It reports that before adjusting for inflation, Americans earned $11,346 billion in wages and salaries in June 2022, a 14.9 percent jump from $9,872 billion in January 2021 and 16.6 percent more than the $9,734 billion total in February 2020, just before the pandemic. So, take account of inflation’s impact by applying the BEA’s deflator for personal consumption expenditures, a better inflation measure than the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Using that deflator raises the original wage and salary total, now expressed in June 2022 dollars, to $10,673 billion for January 2021 and $10,717 billion for February 2020. Finally, divide the three results by the number of people earning wages and salaries on each date.
The math may sound complex, but in fact it’s simple: In June 2022, the average working American earned $74,643 in wages and salaries, compared to $74,624 in January 2021 and $70,274 in February 2020. Even with 9.5 million more people working, the average working person earned as much in June, after inflation, as when Biden took office. And compared to just before the pandemic, when employment was comparable to today, the average person earns 6.2 percent even after inflation. The answer to Reagan’s question is “Yes” on wages and salaries as well as jobs, a remarkable achievement given the pandemic.
A technical note: Other data, especially from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), suggests that wages and salaries have not kept pace with inflation. Like most economists, I rely on the BEA because the deflator for personal consumption spending is more accurate than the CPI and because the BEA’s data on wages and salaries is more complete than the BLS’s. Both depend on the National Compensation Survey. But the BEA adjusts for gaps in the survey, including people working in private households, employees of nonprofit and religious membership organizations, and so on. The BEA also adjusts the NCS data for COVID-19’s impact on the collection of that data, using analyses by the Federal Reserve and others.
Americans are also significantly wealthier than before Biden took office. The pandemic and the jobs boom were primarily responsible. As the Omicron variant spread, government checks enabled more savings and increased spending that helped drive up employment. According to the Federal Reserve, after inflation the net assets of Americans increased by nearly $2 trillion from the first quarter of 2021—when Biden took office—to the first quarter of 2022. (We exclude the top 1 percent because their assets are notoriously hard to measure.)
And it’s not the typical case of the rich getting richer. The fastest growth in net assets occurred among low- and moderate-income households. From the first quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022, the inflation-adjusted wealth of households in the lowest income quintile jumped 15.2 percent and just 0.8 percent for those in the top income quintile (again, excluding the top 1 percent).
Under Biden, Americans are better off in other ways, too. The Center on Poverty & Social Policy at Columbia University reports that the poverty rate, which reached 16.1 percent in December 2020, fell sharply under Biden to 14.1 percent by May 2022. It’s the same story on health care coverage: The Department of Health and Human Services reported that from late 2020 to early 2022, the percentage of uninsured Americans fell from 14.5 percent to 11.8 percent among adults (ages 18 to 64) and from 6.4 percent to 3.7 percent among children, both record lows.
If not for the pandemic and the policies required to address it, inflation would be modest—and but for the inflation, Biden would have one of the best records of any postwar president (at least thus far).
Imagine how Donald Trump would brag if he could tout record job creation, record low poverty, and record health insurance coverage—not to mention wealth gains and wage and salary gains that kept up with inflation. That’s a message that Democrats should carry into the fall campaigns.
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2022/08/22/yes-americans-are-better-off-under-biden/
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Why the US Inflation Reduction Act is an important step in the transition to clean energy
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/08/why-the-u-s-inflation-reduction-act-is-an-important-step-in-the-transition-to-clean-energy/
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Biden will announce major decision on student loan debt forgiveness as soon as Wednesday: report
President Joe Biden is expected to announce his decision on student loan forgiveness as early as Wednesday, according to MSNBC.
Five sources told NBC News that the president will announce his decision as early as tomorrow, while three sources told the outlet that the president plans to forgive up to $10,000 in student debt for people who earn less than $125,000 annually. The president is also expected to extend the pause on student loan repayments for several months.
"BREAKING: President Biden to announce decision on student loan debt forgiveness as soon as tomorrow, sources tell @NBCNews. He is expected to extend the repayment pause several months, and forgive loans up to $10,000 for people who make $125,000 a year or less."
Former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner (D) has called on Biden to cancel all student debt. Turner contends that canceling $10,000 in student loan debt when the average Black woman is $52,000 in debt and the average Caucasian borrower only holds $12,000 of debt is structural racism.
"Canceling $10,000 in student debt when the average white borrower is $12,000 in debt while Black women hold on average over $52,000 isn’t just unacceptable, it's structural racism," she wrote.
According to the NAACP, Black Americans are the only group that owes more student debt than their annual income. Black Americans also owe 50 percent more in student loan debt after graduating than Caucasian Americans on average. White families also have approximately 10 times more wealth than the average Black family, and white college graduates have more than seven times more wealth than Black graduates.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1562102388961452032
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Under President Biden's leadership, we're on track to reduce this year’s deficit by $1.7 trillion.
That’s the single largest nominal decline in the federal deficit in American history.
Assistant Secretary Ben Harris @AsstSecEcon
Newly released Mid-Session Review shows the FY22 deficit will be down by $1.7T+ compared to last year's deficit, & down by roughly $2T compared to the deficit the year before @POTUS took office. That's the largest YoY decline in history, & it's been driven by our strong recovery.
This Administration's management of the pandemic has allowed us to wind down emergency measures and improve the country's fiscal position. Significant increases in revenues stemming from an historically strong economic recovery have supported this improvement, as well.
The Inflation Reduction Act exemplifies the President's commitment to fiscal responsibility, as the Act's provisions -- especially with respect to corporate tax revenues -- will help drive historic reductions in the federal deficit over time.
https://twitter.com/AsstSecEcon/status/1562186273279938560
White House Cuts FY 2022 Budget Deficit Forecast as Revenues Rise
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House on Tuesday revised down its projected fiscal 2022 deficit to $1.032 trillion, a $383 billion reduction from its budget forecast in March, reflecting stronger-than-expected revenues offset by new spending and technical re-estimates of healthcare and other outlays.
The White House's mid-session budget review includes the impact of legislation passed since President Joe Biden's administration proposed its fiscal 2023 budget in March, including the Consolidated Appropriations Act and a supplemental spending bill to help Ukraine fight the Russian invasion.
The new forecasts, completed on June 9, do not include legislation passed since then, including a $52 billion semiconductor and research subsidy act and a $430 billion package of tax increases and healthcare and clean energy investments. The latter law is expected to reduce deficits further.
The biggest part of the reduced deficit projection for fiscal 2022 comes from a $504 billion increase in revenues above levels forecast in March, mainly due to higher individual income tax receipts spurred by stronger job and wage growth, but also from increased corporate and excise taxes.
Outlays increased $121 billion from the March forecast, largely due to spending legislation passed earlier this year, and estimated increases in net interest costs and higher spending on Medicaid healthcare for the poor, as well as student loans and financial assistance.
The White House also adjusted down its economic projections, with 2022 U.S. real GDP growth cut sharply to 1.4% from 3.8% in March, based on fourth-quarter comparisons. It cited the resurgence of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, the war in Ukraine, persistent inflation and higher interest rates for the slowdown.
It revised its inflation projection for 2022 to 6.6%, now in line with private forecasters, from 2.9% in the March forecast. The forecast revises the 2022 average unemployment rate slightly lower, to 3.7% from 3.9% in March, with much of the next decade at 3.8%.
The fiscal year ends Sept 30, 2022.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/white-house-revises-fiscal-2022-deficit-projection-lower-2022-08-23/
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Florida Democrats choose Rep. Crist to challenge DeSantis
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MIAMI — U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist won the Democratic nomination for governor in Florida on Tuesday, setting him up to challenge Gov. Ron DeSantis this fall in a campaign that the Republican incumbent sees as the first step toward a potential White House run.
In selecting Crist, Florida Democrats sided with a candidate backed by many in the party’s establishment who viewed him as the safest choice, even after he lost his previous two statewide elections. The 66-year-old moderate, who served as Florida’s Republican governor a decade ago, hopes to appeal to voters in Florida’s teeming suburbs as Democrats seek to reverse a losing pattern in a state that was recently seen as a perennial political battleground.
Above all, the Democratic contest centered on DeSantis, who views his November reelection as a potential springboard into the 2024 presidential contest. Given the stakes, Democrats across Florida and beyond expressed a real sense of urgency to blunt DeSantis’ momentum.
Crist decried DeSantis as an “abusive” and “dangerous” “bully” in his victory speech.
“Tonight, the people of Florida clearly sent a message: They want a governor who cares about them and solves real problems, preserves our freedom, not a bully who divides us and takes our freedom away,” Crist declared. “This guy wants to be president of the United States of America and everybody knows it. However, when we defeat him on Nov. 8 that show is over. Enough.”
Crist won the Democratic nomination over Nikki Fried, the state agriculture commissioner. She staked out a more progressive campaign and was particularly vocal in defending abortion and LGBTQ rights. The 44-year-old cast herself as “something new” and hoped to become Florida’s first female governor. In a sign of the party’s meager standing in Florida, she’s currently the only Democrat holding statewide office.
“We are going to make Ronald DeSantis a one-term governor and a zero-term president of the United States,” she said as she conceded Tuesday, calling on her supporters to unite behind Crist.
DeSantis won his first election by less than half a percentage point, but soon became one of the most prominent figures in GOP politics. His hands-off approach to the pandemic and eagerness to lean into divides over race, gender and LGBTQ rights have resonated with many Republican voters who see DeSantis as a natural heir to former President Donald Trump.
The Florida contest concludes the busiest stretch of primaries this year, which featured contests in 18 states over just 22 days. In that span, Republicans from Arizona to Alaska have supported contenders who embraced Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen, an assertion roundly rejected by elections officials, the former president’s attorney general and judges he appointed.
AFP
Charlie Crist rips into Gov. Ron DeSantis in Democratic primary win speech
Watch: https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/video/charlie-crist-rips-into-gov-ron-desantis-in-democratic-primary-win-speech/
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Democrat Pat Ryan will WIN the contentious special election for NY-19. President Biden only won the district by 2 points and the polls and pundits predicted the GOP would likely take back the seat. They all got it wrong. The Republican Party is in big trouble in November.
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Democrat Pat Ryan wins bellwether special election in New York’s Hudson Valley
The race in the battleground district has been closely watched around the nation
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ALBANY, N.Y. — Democrat Pat Ryan won a special election Tuesday in a swing district in New York’s Hudson Valley, a significant victory for his party in a seat which has been closely watched as the country’s best bellwether this summer.
Ryan, the Ulster County executive, led Republican Marc Molinaro with 51 percent of the vote when the Associated Press called the race shortly after midnight. The district is closely divided: President Joe Biden carried it by fewer than 2 percentage points in 2020.
The race in the battleground district, which had been represented by Democrat Antonio Delgado until he left to become New York’s lieutenant governor in May, saw both candidates focus their messaging on the issues that will dominate each party’s talking points in November.
Ryan’s television ads hammered on the need to elect a representative who would fight for abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court’s June decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
The outcome marked the latest in a string of recent House special elections in which Democrats have outperformed recent baseline numbers in the districts.
“Choice was on the ballot,” Ryan said in a statement while declaring victory. “Freedom was on the ballot, and tonight choice and freedom won. We voted like our democracy was on the line because it is.”
Top Democrats quickly touted his victory as a sign there’s more to come as they look to maintain control of the House in the general elections in November.
“Upstate New Yorkers showed up to the polls and voted for a true champion who will stand up for the values we hold sacred in New York — reproductive freedom, protecting our fundamental rights, and creating opportunity for everyone,” Delgado said in a statement.
Ryan, a graduate of nearby West Point, has been executive of the increasingly-blue county in the Hudson Valley since 2019. Ryan overwhelmingly won his home county of Ulster and nearby Columbia County and stayed competitive against Molinaro in Dutchess to carry him to victory.
Ryan will serve only four months in the current district, and he and Molinaro will be on the ballot again in November — but in separate competitive districts.
Ryan handily defeated primary opponent Moses Mugulusi on Tuesday in his race for a full term in November, and he will face off against Republican Assemblyman Colin Schmitt in a seat centered on Poughkeepsie.
AFP
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Pat Ryan @PatRyanUC
Choice was on the ballot. Freedom was on the ballot, and tonight choice and freedom won. We voted like our democracy was on the line because it is. We upended everything we thought we knew about politics and did it together.
#NY19, it will be my honor to serve you in Congress.
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https://twitter.com/PatRyanUC/status/1562299441004126208
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Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney wins NY congressional seat over Sen. Alessandra Biaggi
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NEW YORK — U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney was declared the Democratic winner in Tuesday’s primary in New York’s newly drawn 17th District in the Hudson Valley over his progressive opponent, New York state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, D-Bronx, by the Associated Press.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair had powerhouse endorsements, including former President Bill Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the New York Times editorial board. Biaggi was supported by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, the Working Families Party and other progressive groups.
© New York Daily News
Rep. Jerrold Nadler defeats Rep. Carolyn Maloney in blockbuster NY congressional primary
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NEW YORK — Rep. Jerrold Nadler trounced Rep. Carolyn Maloney in their blockbuster Manhattan primary Tuesday, holding on to the district he has represented for three decades and ousting a fellow Democratic congressional titan after an unusually contentious campaign.
Nadler, a veteran Upper West Side liberal, held nearly 56% of the vote total compared with the 24% clinched by Maloney, his colleague-turned-rival from the Upper East Side, according to early state Board of Elections returns from the 12th Congressional District primary. Insurgent candidate Suraj Patel trailed them with about 19%.
Nadler, the powerful head of the House Judiciary Committee, has represented different versions of a West Side-based district for three decades, rarely facing more than token primary opposition since his first 1992 election.
But the usual cakewalk turned into a cage fight when a court-appointed special master redrew New York’s congressional district lines earlier this year to effectively combine Nadler’s political base with Maloney’s. The two congressional veterans — Maloney was also first elected in 1991 — decided to run against each other as a result.
The two cordial allies quickly turned to lobbing political attacks at one another as a potentially career-ending loss loomed for one or the other.
With little of political substance dividing them, Nadler touted his modest upbringing and his long history of fighting for liberal causes.
Maloney, who leads the similarly powerful House Oversight Committee, suggested that a woman would be better placed to argue the case for abortion rights and gun control.
She also portrayed herself as a more-effective fighter for local causes like the battle to win benefits for 9/11 first responders. Toward the tail end of the campaign, Maloney took on a more aggressive tone, questioning Nadler’s mental state and even claiming he was going “senile.”
Nadler later gained momentum when U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, New York’s most powerful Democrat in Congress, endorsed him.
Polls earlier in the race showed a tight race between Nadler and Maloney. But in the last couple of weeks, surveys showed Nadler opening up a decent-sized lead.
© New York Daily News
Charlie Crist wallops Nikki Fried in Democratic primary for Florida governor
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ORLANDO, Fla. — Charlie Crist soundly defeated Nikki Fried in the Democratic primary for governor on Tuesday, prevailing in what became a bitter campaign to take on Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in the general election.
Crist had 59.9% of the vote to Fried’s 35.2%, with 81% of the precincts reporting.
“Tonight, the people of Florida clearly sent a message: They want a governor who cares about them and solves real problems, preserves our freedom, not a bully who divides us and takes our freedom away,” Crist declared in a victory speech in St. Petersburg. “This guy wants to be president of the United States of America and everybody knows it. However, when we defeat them on Nov. 8 that show is over. Enough.”
Crist praised Fried for “fighting the good fight,” adding, “We share the same goal. To save our state and defeat DeSantis.”
In her concession speech in Fort Lauderdale, Fried said she called Crist to congratulate him on his win and pledged to campaign to elect Democrats “up and down the ballot.”
“We are going to make Ron DeSantis a one-term governor and a zero-term president of the United States,” Fried told her supporters. “This is a time that we as Democrats are going to come together. We have to be united like we have never been united before.”
U.S. Rep. Crist, 66, and Agriculture Commissioner Fried, 44, largely agreed on most issues, including addressing the housing and homeowners insurance crises. They both vowed to roll back DeSantis’ culture wars, including the so-called “don’t say gay” law that led to a DeSantis clash with Walt Disney Co.
Crist also is seeking his second term as governor after serving as a Republican from 2007 to 2011.
Fried, who adopted the slogan “Something New,” attacked Crist as a former Republican governor and blamed him for conservative picks he made to the state Supreme Court. Crist said this year he regretted two of his selections to the court as governor.
After Roe v. Wade was overturned in June, Fried doubled down on reminding Democratic voters of Crist’s past description of himself as “pro-life.”
She ran ads with Crist repeating the phrase and referred to herself as the only abortion rights candidate, despite Crist’s endorsement by state Rep. Anna Eskamani, a former Planned Parenthood official, and others.
Crist responded by saying, if elected, he would protect abortion rights.
Crist fired back at Fried during the debate in July, citing her contribution to Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody, a friend of Fried’s from college. His campaign also highlighted Fried’s 2018 retweet of GOP U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz writing, “Prosecute Hillary Clinton, not medical marijuana businesses and patients.”
He called her attacks on him an act of “desperation” by a candidate who was far behind.
© Orlando Sentinel
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How Democrat Pat Ryan Won Over Voters In NY District Special Election
Democratic candidate Pat Ryan secured the win in a New York congressional district special election over Republican Marc Molinaro, running on a platform to protect American freedoms including reproductive rights. NBC News' Sahil Kapur explains how Ryan's message motivated voters to the polls in a swing district.
Watch:
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Dems just had a great night at the polls – experts are calling it a ‘significantly more democratic environment’
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Dems just had a great night at the polls – experts are calling it a ‘significantly more democratic environment’
Political pundits agree Democrats had a great night at the polls on Tuesday, but the real experts – not the TV pundits or social media influencers, but actual experts who study the numbers and the history down to the smallest details, are saying Democrats had a great night.
Here’s why:
The Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade is nothing to celebrate. Women will die as a result. Many unwanted children will be born as a result. Families will grow poorer as a result. Women’s careers will suffer as a result. And many women have lost and will continue to lose the right to bodily autonomy.
But the Supreme Court turning a woman’s right to choose into a political issue has fired up women, and Democratic voters, and those who are deciding they can no longer vote for Republicans after the GOP’s 50-year push to take away the constitutional right to abortion succeeded.
As in any election, it’s always about enthusiasm.
Many are pointing to New York’s 19th congressional district (NY-19), the former district of Democrat Antonio Delgado, who resigned to become Lt. Governor. Many pundits thought Republicans would win that special election Tuesday night, but Democrat Pat Ryan won with a healthy 51.9% of the vote.
Pointing to the NY-19 race, Karen Defilippi, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Deputy Executive Director for Campaigns and Political offers these insights that should please Democrats:
“There are 222 House seats better than NY19 by Biden performance,” she writes. “Republicans spent heavily to lose,” and “This is the 4th House special election in a row where Dems have outperformed Biden.”
G. Elliott Morris, The Economist’s data journalist concurs, writing, “Tonight makes 4 federal special elections since June with a strong Dem overperformance. There is simply no denying that we are in a significantly more Democratic environment than November 2021.”
Daniel Nichanian, the Editor-in-Chief of Bolts Magazine, which covers “the nuts and bolts of power and political change, from the local up,” and is a total numbers guy, says NY-19 “isn’t the sort of district Dems are meant to hold in a red wave.”
And MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki agrees. “This is not the result you would see in a strongly Republican climate.”
Kornacki: NBC News has just called it. Pat Ryan has been elected to Congress… This is a significant victory for Democrats nationally.. This is not the result you would see in a strongly Republican climate
Watch Video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1562284767982530560
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report’s Amy Walter adds: “It’s not going to be much of a red wave at all if Republicans can’t win in districts like this.”
Dave Wasserman, the U.S. House editor of the Cook Political Report calls it “a huge victory for Dems in a bellwether, Biden +1.5 district.”
Wasserman, who is highly-respected and a pure numbers guy Tuesday night said: “Lots of focus on Dems being more engaged/energetic post-Dobbs,” meaning after the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down Roe v. Wade, “which is undeniably true.”
“But to me, the GOP/Trump base appears less engaged than it was last November, which is just as big a part of the story.”
There’s more.
Sarah Palin is back, but she did not get good news Tuesday. Palin is running in a special election that was held August 16. They’re still counting the votes.
“The even better news for Dems tonight is that Mary Peltola’s (D) lead over Sarah Palin (R) in the #AKAL special election just stretched to over 13k votes, giving Peltola a better chance of winning when Nick Begich’s (R) second-choice votes are tabulated next week,” Wasserman writes.
Bottom line on that: At the moment, it looks like a Democratic former state lawmaker will beat Republican Sarah Palin in her home state of Alaska, where she served as governor and was the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee.
If so, that would mean Democrats will have won five federal special elections in a row.
Finally, here’s Politico’s take:
“A New York special election seen as the last, best test of the electorate’s midterm leanings confirmed what Democrats hoped and Republicans feared: Predictions of a red wave may be overblown.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/24/5-takeaways-as-the-2022-primary-season-winds-down-00053445
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Cancelling student debt is popular with American voters. Polling shows that 60% of voters support cancelling student debt, including 76% of voters under 45.
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Peltola gains in Alaska’s updated special U.S. House election results
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Democrat Mary Peltola has slightly increased her lead in the special U.S. House race.
The Division of Election released an update Tuesday in the three-way contest to see who will serve the remainder of the late Congressman Don Young’s term. With an additional 22,000 votes counted, Peltola gained over Republican rivals Sarah Palin and Nick Begich.
Peltola is now 7.5 percentage points ahead of Palin. She was 6 points ahead last week.
Peltola has 38.9% of the vote, Palin has 31.4% and Begich has 28.2%.
The ballots included in Tuesday’s update are early, absentee and questioned ballots from districts all over the state.
Thousands of ballots remain uncounted. The Division of Elections expects to provide new updates on Friday but the winner won’t be determined until the end of the month. Ballots postmarked on Election Day have until Aug. 31 to arrive. After the deadline is met, the Division of Elections will determine who finished last. That candidate will be eliminated and his or her ballots will be redistributed according to the voter’s second choice, if there is one.
If the current order holds, Palin could win the seat if enough of Begich’s voters chose her as their second.
This is the first election in Alaska to be decided by ranked choice voting. The winner of the special election will take office in September. The term expires in January.
https://alaskapublic.org/2022/08/23/peltola-gains-in-alaskas-updated-special-us-house-election-results/
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Congressman-Elect Pat Ryan: SCOTUS Abortion Decision 'Shifted' NY-19 Campaign Ground
Rep.-elect Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) joins Meet the Press NOW to discuss his bellwether special election. Ryan says he felt the ground “shifting” after the Supreme Court’s abortion decision.
Watch:
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Gretchen Whitmer @gretchenwhitmer
✅ Secured $400 refund checks for every Michigan driver
✅ Free or low-cost child care for 150,000 Michigan kids
I will keep working to put money back in Michiganders’ pockets.
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https://twitter.com/gretchenwhitmer/status/1561834534957637639
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Marco Rubio announces he opposes abortion for rape and incest
On Thursday, in a clip released from an upcoming interview CBS4 News Miami's Jim DeFede had with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the senator tipped his hand on abortion policy, revealing that he personally opposes abortion in all cases — including rape and incest.
"I do not believe that the dignity and the worth of human life is tied to the circumstances of conception," said Rubio. "But I recognize that that's not a majority position."
He also broadly defended the Supreme Court's decision overruling the Roe v. Wade precedent guaranteeing the right to an abortion in the United States, claiming that the decision simply takes the debate out of "Washington" to back into states — even though numerous states are heavily gerrymandered and their legislatures barely accountable to voter preference on policy.
A number of states, including Texas, have "trigger laws" on the books that eliminate abortion rights in virtually all cases, which have now taken effect after the Supreme Court's decision.
While most states have some form of protection for life of the mother, those protections can be ambiguous to the point doctors don't know if an emergency procedure is allowed. Many of these laws don't provide relief for rape and incest at all, which in the state of Alabama specifically, means rapists could gain custody from the women they impregnated.
Many Republicans have long defended forcing rape survivors to carry pregnancies, one of the most famous being 2012 Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin, who suggested women's bodies can simply block themselves from being pregnant if it's a "legitimate rape." In this year's midterms, some Republicans agree, with Michigan gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon even saying rape survivors could find "healing" through being forced to raise a baby.
Watch below:
"I do not believe that the dignity and the worth of human life is tied to the circumstances of their conception. But I recognize that that's not a majority position." - @marcorubio on why he personally opposes abortion in all cases including rape and incest.@CBSMiami
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1562955681778790401
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Biden fires up Democratic faithful at midterms rally with Maryland party leaders
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Fresh from a series of policy wins, President Joe Biden kicked off the general election campaign season Thursday night with a well-attended rally at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville.
Roused by an exuberant crowd in deeply Democratic Montgomery County, leading national and state party leaders expressed growing hope for Democrats nationally in the November mid-term elections.
“Let me state the obvious, there’s a lot at stake in this election,” Biden told the crowd of more than 2,400 in the school gymnasium.
The event was studded with Maryland’s own Democratic powerhouses, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Sen. Ben Cardin and the Democratic nominees for governor and lieutenant governor, Wes Moore and Aruna Miller.
After being introduced by Moore, Biden opened his 29-minute speech with generous remarks about several Maryland Democrats who had spoken before him, sprinkled with some good-natured ribbing.
“Wes is the real deal. Folks, he is a combat veteran. The only drawback is, he’s a Rhodes Scholar.”
Speaking of Maryland’s U.S. senators, Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, Biden told the crowd, “You have literally two of the best senators in the United States.”
“They’re strong and principled and effective,” he said. “Keep them. You need them. No, I need them.”
Biden turned next to the two members of the House of Representatives who spoke, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Jamie Raskin.
“Steny Hoyer, he’s been my friend for a long time. And how about that Jamie Raskin? He’s done an incredible job coming out of tragic circumstances for his family.”
A long list of party celebrities and statewide candidates served as warm-up acts to Biden, offering many of the same talking points about Democratic accomplishments of the past 18 months — the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, bipartisan infrastructure act, gun reform laws — and drew contrasts with the Republican party under the influence of former President Donald Trump.
Some of the loudest bouts of applause throughout the night were for Biden’s student debt relief plan announced earlier in the week.
Vows to restore and protect reproductive rights also received especially loud cheers.
Biden promised the crowd that if Democrats win a majority in Congress, he would codify the rights once guaranteed by Roe v. Wade and said “I’m going to ban assault weapons in this country.”
“Were going to do it for your kids. Who are going to learn how to read and write in school, instead of duck and cover,” Biden said.
But the Democratic luminaries also stressed that they would not take anything for granted in the upcoming general election.
“People have said to me since our primary win: ‘Isn’t it great that you have to go up against Dan Cox?’” Moore told the crowd. “My answer is clear and consistent: Do not underestimate what we’re up against.”
Moore continued: “It is not ‘great’ that in November we are facing an election denier. An insurrectionist who called for Mike Pence to be hung for certifying a free and fair election,” Moore said. “For me, patriotism meant leaving my family and wearing my country’s uniform and leading soldiers with the 82nd Airborne in Afghanistan. For Dan Cox, patriotism meant organizing buses to join him at the capitol on January 6th.”
The emotional crest of the 2 1/2 long program was delivered by Raskin, long a folk hero in his Montgomery County-based district but rapidly becoming a national progressive icon due to his regular prosecution of the legal and political cases against Trump and his defense of U.S. democracy.
To wild cheers and applause, Raskin sought to delineate the differences between Democrats and Republicans, name-checking Thomas Jefferson, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, John Lewis, “the great Elijah Cummings,” and “the last great Republican president, Abraham Lincoln” along the way.
He ended his speech by quoting Frederick Douglass and Thomas Paine.
“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered,” Raskin said. “…The more difficult the struggle, the more glorious the end.”
Hoyer, known over his 55 years in Maryland politics for his long and passionate speeches, lamented having to follow Raskin on the program.
“These are the times that try Steny Hoyer’s soul, going after Jamie Raskin,” he quipped.
Attracting crowds
For hours before the rally, traffic snarled in downtown Rockville, with a massive line of wannabe attendees circling the high school property.
More than 2,400 people crammed into the school’s gymnasium, with nearly 1,300 others in overflow spaces in the school’s cafeteria and auditorium.
Before heading to the main event, Biden briefly appeared in both overflow rooms to greet supporters.
When Biden walked onto the stage in the school’s auditorium, the surprised crowd of several hundred stood up and cheered, according to a pool report.
“The good news of being in an overflow room is you can leave when I start to speak,” Biden told the crowd, which he addressed for about four minutes.
In the cafeteria, Biden posed for a group photo with the crowd, bending down so everybody could fit in the frame. He took three photos with different parts of the crowd behind him.
On the way to the rally, Biden stopped at a fundraiser at a private home in Bethesda. About 100 people were on hand and the event was expected to raise $1 million for the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund.
He told the crowd gathered that he “underestimated how much damage the previous four years had done in terms of America’s reputation in the world” and that the party has “got to win” in November.
WATCH: President Joe Biden joins Wes Moore for DNC rally Thursday at local school
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Joe Biden @JoeBiden
We had to take on the big drug companies to pass the Inflation Reduction Act.
For decades, Big Pharma fought to block giving Medicare the power to negotiate for lower prices.
And, for decades, Big Pharma won.
Not this year. The American people won. And big pharma lost.
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1562951850357583872
Sen. Wyden says Inflation Reduction Act will lower costs for prescription drugs and cut the federal deficit
It's an especially sweet victory for Oregon's senior Senator, who is widely seen as the architect of the measure that will allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon's senior Senator Ron Wyden was at a pharmacy on West Main Street in Medford when President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law this week.
It was an especially sweet victory for Wyden, who has fought drug companies for decades in an effort to bring down the cost of prescription drugs. He's widely seen as the architect of the measure in the package that will allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices.
"I was telling the seniors (at the Medford pharmacy) that there was a dose of good news," he said. "A big dose of good news for thousands of senior citizens in Oregon and hundreds of thousands across the state, because they were going to get a fair shake, finally, for their medicine."
Wyden was a guest on this week's episode of Straight Talk to discuss how the Inflation Reduction Act will bring down costs for Oregonians, among other topics.
Oregon's other Senator, Jeff Merkley, also discussed the new law when he appeared as a guest on Straight Talk last week.
Beating Big Pharma
Wyden and other Democrats have been pushing to give Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices for decades, ever since President Bill Clinton proposed his health care overhaul in 1993.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare will initially be able to negotiate prices for ten drugs. The first round will start with the most expensive like cancer and arthritis drugs, Wyden said, with more added to the list later.
Wyden called the new approach a seismic shift in the relationship between Oregon seniors and Big Pharma, and a long-overdue change to the restriction that prevented Medicare from negotiating.
"Big Pharma guarded that restriction like it was the Holy Grail," he said. "I called the restriction a curse. Now, it has been lifted. The gospel in Washington, DC is 'Big Pharma doesn't lose.' This time, Oregon seniors and folks across the country beat Big Pharma."
The legislation also includes a provision, written by Wyden, that mandates a financial penalty for drug companies if they raise their prices faster than the rate of inflation.
"So, this would mean for the first time since Medicare began in 1965, there would actually be consequences for Big Pharma price gouging," he said. "That sends a pretty powerful message".
Watch:
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Catherine Cortez Masto @CortezMasto
We got it done: we capped the price of insulin for thousands of Nevadans at $35 a month, and we're lowering costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate prices.
Now, I’m going to keep fighting to lower costs for all of our families.
https://twitter.com/CortezMasto/status/1562879986326900738
Sen. Cortez Masto touts drug savings under new law
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Honey Lalumondiere, a 77-year-old resident of Silver Sky Assisted Living in Las Vegas, takes insulin every day, costing her more than $100. Starting in January, Lalumondiere will only have to pay $35 per month thanks to the recent passing of the Inflation Reduction Act.
President Biden last week signed the $430 billion bill, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions, inflation and the cost of prescription drugs.
U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., hosted a roundtable Tuesday at Silver Sky Assisted Living, an affordable assisted living facility in Las Vegas, with different senior groups, doctors and residents to discuss how the new legislation will impact Nevadans and their cost of health care. Cortez Masto is running for re-election to a potential second term in November’s general election.
The legislation focuses on helping patients who are on Medicare, which is federal health insurance for people 65 and older as well as some younger people with disabilities. In Nevada, there are about 390,000 people on Medicare, according to the White House.
The legislation will cap the amount Medicare patients spend on out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000, which will take effect in 2025 and will benefit 12,000 Medicare patients in Nevada who go above that cap, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. And for Lalumondiere and the 22,000 or so other Nevadans with Medicare who use insulin, the cost will be capped at $35 per month.
Capping prices for drugs
It also keeps drug prices in Medicare from rising faster than inflation. Drug companies must pay Medicare a rebate if they increase drug prices faster than inflation starting in 2023, according to the White House.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the department of Health and Human Services can negotiate prescription drug costs, looking at drugs that have no competition on the market, have been on the market for at least seven years and the drugs that have the highest spending under Medicare, Cortez Masto said.
“Those are some of the conditions that they will start looking at which drugs to start with,” she said. One cancer drug, for instance, costs about $181,000 to $242,000.
Vaccines will also be free for Medicare patients starting in 2023, so seniors will be able to get free vaccines for conditions ranging from the flu to shingles.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/sen-cortez-masto-touts-drug-savings-under-new-law-2629178/
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In Arizona, Blake Masters backtracks on abortion and scrubs his campaign website
Masters, the GOP Senate nominee in Arizona, said on his campaign website that he supported a "a federal personhood law" — until Thursday.
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Arizona Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters softened his tone and scrubbed his website's policy page of tough abortion restrictions Thursday as his party reels from the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
In an ad posted to Twitter on Thursday, Masters sought to portray his opponent, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, as the extremist on the issue while describing his own views as "commonsense."
"Look, I support a ban on very late-term and partial-birth abortion," he said. "And most Americans agree with that. That would just put us on par with other civilized nations." (Late-term abortions are extremely rare, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracker.)
Just after it released the ad, Masters' campaign published an overhaul of his website and softened his rhetoric, rewriting or erasing five of his six positions. NBC News took screenshots of the website before and after it was changed. Masters' website appeared to have been refreshed after NBC News reached out for clarification about his abortion stances.
"I am 100% pro-life," Masters' website read as of Thursday morning.
That language is now gone.
Another notable deletion: a line that detailed his support for "a federal personhood law (ideally a Constitutional amendment) that recognizes that unborn babies are human beings that may not be killed."
The personhood effort is an anti-abortion rights pursuit that would grant the same rights and legal protections to fetuses, in some cases before viability, as any person. The fetal personhood laws would classify abortion as murder and eliminate all or most abortion exceptions in states where the procedure is strictly curtailed, The New York Times reported.
An Arizona law recognizing the personhood of a fetus from the moment of fertilization is blocked in court. In Congress, the personhood bill sponsored by Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., called the "Sanctity of Human Life Act," says, according to its summary, that "each human life begins with fertilization."
Masters did not outline on his campaign site when in a pregnancy he thought personhood began. His campaign pointed NBC News to his recent comments saying he interprets such a federal law as applying to the third trimester of a pregnancy.
In addition, Masters previously expressed support for "the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, the SAVE Moms and Babies Act, and other pro-life legislation." The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would make it a criminal offense to perform or attempt to perform an abortion 20 weeks after conception.
Now the website states he backs "a law or a Constitutional amendment that bans late term (third trimester) abortion and partial-birth abortion at the federal level" and "pro-life legislation, pregnancy centers, and programs that make it easier for pregnant women to support a family and decide to choose life."
Masters’ backtracking is one of the clearest signs of how much the Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate federal abortion protections is scrambling the political landscape, energizing Democrats both to turn out at higher-than-expected rates in some bellwether contests and to flood their candidates and campaign committees with small-dollar donations.
Masters’ campaign pointed to an interview with The Arizona Republic this month in which he expanded upon his abortion rights views, after he prevailed in a Republican primary that pulled all the conservatives rightward. The campaign did not immediately answer a follow-up question about why the website was updated.
In the interview, Masters, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, said he believed a federal "personhood law" would work to ban all abortions in the third trimester, although, as the newspaper reported, he had in February expressed support for banning abortions earlier. Speaking to The Republic, Masters added that Arizona’s soon-to-take-effect ban on abortions after 15 weeks — with exceptions only for the life of the mother — is "reasonable."
"The federal government should prohibit late-term abortion, third-trimester abortion and partial-birth abortion," he said. "Below that, states are going to make different decisions that are going to reflect the will of the people in those states, and I think most reasonable. I think that’s what most people certainly in this state and nationwide are looking for."
In another instance of a language change, Masters' website included this pledge: "Strip taxpayer funding from Planned Parenthood, all other abortionists, and any organization that promotes abortion."
Now the sentence no longer mentions "abortionists" — a term coined by abortion rights opponents — nor "any organization that promotes abortion."
Another promise was eliminated from the website: "Remove funding for any research that uses embryonic stem cells of aborted fetal remains."
"If Blake Masters thinks that he can quietly delete passages from his website and disguise just how out of touch and dangerous his abortion stance is, he’s in for a rude awakening," Kelly spokesperson Sarah Guggenheimer said in a statement to NBC News.
Masters is far from the only Republican feeling the impact that abortion politics are having on the midterms. Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel fretted about the post-Roe Democratic small-dollar advantage in a call to donors that Politico reported Wednesday. Before the Supreme Court’s decision in June, McDaniel also expressed concern about the energizing effect that abortion could have for the left if Roe were overturned, according to two sources who had spoken with her about it in the past and spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private conversations more freely.
"It’s a big fundraising concern, because we’re seeing a huge boost on the Democrats’ side," one of the Republican sources said. "We never expected Democrats to sit out. We expected them to put their jerseys on. Now the candidates have to navigate this in the states."
In Arizona, a once-red Republican bastion that is now a purple swing state, voters opposed the Supreme Court’s decision 52% to 33%, according to a poll this summer from OH Predictive Insights. Only a majority of Republicans were in support, while most independents sided with Democrats in opposition.
Chuck Coughlin, an Arizona Republican pollster, said he just wrapped up a survey of voters that suggests Masters is trailing Kelly by 10 points. A recent Fox News survey found Kelly up by 8 points, too.
"Abortion is a devastating issue for Republican candidates," Coughlin said. "There are three constituencies who don’t like the Republican position: women, independents and voters over 64 — who are just tired of all the change and chaos and want to go back.
"What Mr. Masters is discovering is there no such thing as political startups," he added of the venture capitalist, whom tech mogul Peter Thiel has spent millions backing. "You can’t make it up as you go along."
Masters won his primary this month and has taken to tying Kelly closely to President Joe Biden in hope of undercutting his image as a moderate. Kelly's campaign has labeled Masters "dangerous."
Kelly's campaign holds a significant edge in fundraising over Masters, who emerged from a bruising primary.
Masters has taken aim at Kelly for voting for the Women’s Health Protection Act, which failed in the Senate this summer. The legislation would have prohibited states from banning and criminalizing abortion at any stage when a woman’s health was at risk, a determination that would need the approval of a health care provider, such as a doctor, a nurse or a physician assistant
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/arizona-blake-masters-backtracks-abortion-scrubs-campaign-website-rcna44808
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White House shines light on Republicans who are criticizing student debt cancelation after getting their PPP loans forgiven
The White House used its Twitter account to point the finger at a handful of GOP lawmakers.
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The White House hit back at Republicans in an uncharacteristic manner Thursday by using its Twitter account to go after GOP lawmakers who are bashing President Joe Biden's move to cancel some student debt after they personally benefited from having Paycheck Protection Program loans forgiven during the Covid pandemic.
In a series of tweets, the White House highlighted several congressional Republicans — Reps. Vern Buchanan of Florida, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, and Markwayne Mullin and Kevin Hern of Oklahoma — who it said had tens of thousands of dollars in PPP loans forgiven as part of a federal program intended to help those harmed by the coronavirus.
Like many of their GOP colleagues, the lawmakers have blasted Biden over his student loan decision.
Greene, who said on Newsmax that “it’s completely unfair” for student loans to be forgiven, had $183,504 in PPP loans forgiven, according to the White House.
Kelly, who tweeted that Biden's move was poised to benefit “Wall Street advisors” at the cost of “plumbers and carpenters,” had $987,237 forgiven, the White House said.
Under Biden's student debt plan, borrowers who earn less than $125,000 a year, or $250,000 for couples who file taxes jointly, will be eligible for up to $10,000 in debt cancellation. Pell Grant recipients, who make up the majority of student loan borrowers, will be eligible for an additional $10,000 in debt relief, for a total of $20,000.
The Paycheck Protection Program was promoted in 2020 as offering loans that could be forgiven if the companies spent the money on business expenses. The requirements for federal student loan forgiveness have been much more stringent over the years.
Buchanan, who according to the White House had more than $2.3 million in PPP loans forgiven, tweeted that Biden's move was “reckless” and a “unilateral student loan giveaway.”
The White House also highlighted criticism and PPP loan forgiveness amounts from Mullin ($1.4 million) and Hern (more than $1 million).
NBC News has reached out to all five lawmakers for comment.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/white-house-shines-light-republicans-are-criticizing-student-debt-canc-rcna44904
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Raphael Warnock recounts his rise to the U.S. Senate in a new memoir
Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock gained national attention in January 2020 when he won a high-profile Senate runoff race. But before that, he was best known as a senior pastor at Atlanta's historic Ebenezer Baptist Church. He is running for reelection this year. His new book "A Way Out of No Way" looks at his personal and professional career. He joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.
Watch:
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White House blasts 'radical' Republican abortion bans
The White House on Friday blasted the latest set of "radical" abortion restrictions in four more states run by Republicans, signaling President Joe Biden's determination to lean on the issue ahead of tight November congressional elections.
There are now full-scale abortion bans in 12 Republican-controlled states, which had prepared so-called trigger laws ready to be activated when the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision ensuring automatic rights to abortion access nationwide.
"Today marks the latest attack against the fundamental rights of Americans as new abortion bans go into effect in Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
"These near-total abortion bans are part of a growing effort by Republican legislators to roll back the freedoms Americans have relied on for nearly half a century. Today's radical steps take away women's reproductive rights and put personal health care decisions in the hands of politicians instead of women and their doctors," she said.
The Supreme Court ruling two months ago put jurisdiction over abortion access in the hands of individual state legislatures, immediately turning swaths of the country into areas where getting the procedure has become all but impossible.
Jean-Pierre echoed Biden's frequent demand for Congress to pass a new law enshrining nationwide abortion rights and urged "people across the country to make their voices heard" ahead of the November midterm elections, which will decide whether Democrats retain their narrow hold on the legislature.
Republicans have fought for decades to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and finally achieved their goal in a Supreme Court that tilted sharply to conservative interpretations of the constitution after Donald Trump filled three vacancies during his one-term presidency.
Polls show the court's ruling was unpopular with a majority of Americans, however, and Democrats hope the issue will help them fend off a previously predicted sweep by Republicans in the midterms.
"I think the American people realize this is just beyond the pale, it goes too far," Biden told reporters at the White House.
Meanwhile, the White House is trying to help women who want to circumvent the bans by supporting their travel to states that do allow abortions.
The health department on Friday announced increased federal funding for states where the authorities want to help such women.
"We have seen the gut-wrenching stories of women suffering and not getting the care they need because of newly-enacted laws that restrict abortion care," Health Secretary Xavier Becerra said.
The new federal assistance will "protect women's access to reproductive care, including abortion," he said.
© Agence France-Presse
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Facts:
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Gretchen Whitmer Holds Big Lead In Michigan
A new EPIC-MRA poll in Michigan finds Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has a sizeable lead over challenger Tudor Dixon (R), 50% to 39%.
https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/26/poll-whitmer-leading-dixon-by-double-digits-for-michigan-governor/65419492007/?gnt-cfr=1
Biden Says GOP Has Turned Toward “Semi-Fascism"
“President Biden on Thursday night launched a push toward the midterm elections with a fiery speech in Rockville, Md., in which he cast the Republican Party as one that was dangerously consumed with anti-democratic forces that had turned toward semi-fascism,” the Washington Post reports.
“It was some of the strongest language used by Biden, a politician long known — and at times criticized for — his willingness to work with members of the opposite party.”
Said Biden: “The MAGA Republicans don’t just threaten our personal rights and economic security. They’re a threat to our very democracy. They refuse to accept the will of the people. They embrace — embrace — political violence. They don’t believe in democracy.”
He added: “What we’re seeing now is either the beginning or the death knell of an extreme MAGA philosophy. It’s not just Trump, it’s the entire philosophy that underpins the — I’m going to say something — it’s like semi-fascism."
Read More Here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/25/fiery-midterm-speech-biden-says-gops-turned-toward-semi-fascism/
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No surprise that Doug Mastriano would dress up as a Confederate traitor, he was present at the January 6th insurrection trying to steal the election from the American people. Disgraceful how much MAGA Republicans hate America and democracy.
Pennsylvania governor candidate Mastriano posed in Confederate uniform at Army War College
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Washington (CNN) - Doug Mastriano, the Republican gubernatorial nominee in Pennsylvania, posed in a Confederate military uniform in a 2013-14 faculty photo at the Army War College, a picture obtained by Reuters shows.
Faculty at the school, where Mastriano worked at the time, were given the choice to dress as historical figures, people familiar with the photo told Reuters. While a few others appear dressed up, Mastriano is the only one in the photo dressed in a Confederate uniform, which many associate with hate and the legacy of slavery in the South.
CNN has reached out to Mastriano's campaign for comment.
Reuters reported Friday that the photo was released by the Army War College after a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Army War College removed the photo from its wall of faculty group shots after Reuters reached out for comment, the outlet reported. "The faculty photo did not get the team's attention; the photo has since been removed because it does not meet AWC values," the college said in a statement to Reuters.
The flag of the Confederacy, its symbols and the statues commemorating Confederate leaders have long divided the country. Critics say the symbols represent the war to uphold slavery, while supporters call them signs of Southern pride and heritage. The symbols have been used by White supremacists, and in recent years the Department of Defense has taken steps to ban Confederate symbols.
Mastriano's opponent in the gubernatorial contest, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, tweeted Friday, "Doug Mastriano wore the uniform of traitors who fought to defend slavery on official grounds of the U.S. Army War College."
"The College condemned him, saying this 'does not reflect our values.' It's deeply offensive and proves who he is, once again. He's unfit to be Governor," Shapiro added.
Jenna Ellis, a senior legal adviser for Mastriano, defended the photo of Mastriano in Confederate garb in a tweet Friday, writing: "Media MELT DOWN that Mastriano apparently once posed as a civil war historical figure for a photo. And? He has a Ph.D in HISTORY. The left wants to erase history. @dougmastriano wants us to learn from it. I invite @Reuters to go on a Gettysburg tour with Doug. You'll learn a lot!"
Mastriano served in the Army for 30 years. According to his state Senate biography, he earned a doctorate in history, taught at the Army War College and published a book on a famous World War I Army soldier, Alvin York. After retiring from the military in 2017, Mastriano launched a 2018 campaign for Congress, finishing fourth out of eight candidates in the Republican primary for an open seat in the US House of Representatives. The following year, Mastriano won a special election for his state Senate seat in rural, southern Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania's 33rd district, which Mastriano serves as a state senator, includes Gettysburg, where the Battle of Gettysburg -- the Civil War's bloodiest battle -- took place.
A win for the Donald Trump-backed Mastriano in November would give someone who attempted to overturn voters' will in 2020 power over the election machinery in one of the nation's most important battlegrounds during the 2024 presidential race. In Pennsylvania, the governor appoints the secretary of state -- the person in charge of running the commonwealth's elections and signing off on its electors.
Shapiro, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary, has defended Pennsylvania's 2020 presidential election result and is emphasizing voting and abortion rights in his campaign.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/26/politics/doug-mastriano-confederate-uniform/index.html
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Social Security and Medicare are on the chopping block with MAGA Republicans if they ever gain control of Congress.
A guy like Ron Johnson who called Social Security a "Ponzi Scheme" is just itching to eliminate it.
Republicans want to "sunset" social security and Medicare so it comes up for a vote each year in order to keep it going.
This is the same MAGA Republican party that voted "NO" to cap insulin at $35 for seniors in the Inflation Reduction Act. This is the same MAGA Republican party that voted "NO" to cap insulin at $35 for ALL diabetics in America. This is also the same MAGA Republican party that voted "NO" to lower health care and prescription drug costs for ALL Americans and seniors.
Do you honestly think these same MAGA Republicans who are hellbent on destroying Social Security and Medicare will vote to keep it solvent each year?
If you believe that, then I have some ocean front property in the middle of the Arizona desert that I'd like to sell you.
The reason MAGA Republicans want to put Medicare and Social Security up for a vote each year is because they don't want to keep it. They want to vote "NO" to eliminate it just like they do everything else.
MAGA Republicans voted "NO " to cap insulin at $35. They sure aren't going to vote "YES" to keep Social Security and Medicare going.
This is their plan to eliminate Social Security and Medicare If they ever gain control of Congress.
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MAGA Republicans refused to vote "YES" to lower the cost of insulin for their own diabetic constituents. They couldn't even do the bare minimum to help the middle class and the working poor to save money on their life saving medication.
MAGA Republicans certainly won't vote to keep Social Security and Medicare going when they make it a mandatory vote as part of their radical agenda.
Ron Johnson calls for subjecting Medicare and Social Security to annual budget talks
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Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson indicated Tuesday that Medicare and Social Security should be subjected to annual budget deliberations, a move that could upend guaranteed benefits relied upon by millions of Americans.
Johnson, who is running for a third term in November in a race that could shape the balance of power in the Senate, made his comments during an interview on the Regular Joe Show, hosted by Joe Giganti.
Federal spending is in two baskets — discretionary spending which comes in annual appropriations in areas like defense and public works and mandatory spending that is generally governed by statute and includes entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare that provide guaranteed benefits.
During the interview, Johnson was asked about the PACT Act — aid to veterans who have been exposed to toxic burn pits — and a controversy over discretionary vs. mandatory spending.
In his answer, Johnson suggested that he seeks to turn everything in the federal budget into discretionary spending — including Social Security and Medicare — so that programs can be evaluated and fixed.
"Defense spending has always been discretionary," Johnson said. "VA spending is discretionary. What's mandatory are things like Social Security and Medicare. If you qualify for the entitlement you just get it no matter what the cost. And our problem in this country is that more than 70 percent of our federal budget, of our federal spending, is all mandatory spending. It's on automatic pilot. It never ... you just don't do proper oversight. You don't get in there and fix the programs going bankrupt. It's just on automatic pilot.
"What we ought to be doing is we ought to turn everything into discretionary spending so that it's all evaluated so that we can fix problems or fix programs that are broken that are going to be going bankrupt," he said.
Johnson said that "as long as things are on automatic pilot we just continue to pile up debt, mortgage our kids' future, this massive debt burden, combined with this massive deficit spending that sparked this inflation that's wiping out people's wage gains, making it impossible for them to make ends meet. Again, this didn't just happen.
His likely Democratic rival in the November election, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, slammed Johnson's comments.
“Self-serving, multimillionaire senator Ron Johnson wants to strip working people of the Social Security and Medicare they’ve earned. Wisconsinites pay into Social Security through a lifetime of hard work, and they’re counting on this program and Medicare – but Ron Johnson just doesn't care,” Barnes said in a statement.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre weighed in with a tweet: "While @POTUS and congressional Democrats fight for the Inflation Reduction Act, which would let Medicare negotiate lower drug prices, congressional Republicans like @SenRonJohnson want to put Medicare on the chopping block. That would devastate families."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized Johnson on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday.
“Just yesterday, the junior senator from Wisconsin argued that instead of strengthening Medicare and Social Security, we should put them on the chopping block. Hear that, citizens of Wisconsin, citizens of America? The junior senator from Wisconsin wants to put Medicare and Social Security on the chopping block.”
“He has argued that the benefits which millions of Americans rely on every day shouldn’t be guaranteed but should be subject to partisan infighting here in Washington. He would like to revoke the guarantee of Medicare and Social Security and make them discretionary. Well, you know what happens when we make things discretionary around here? All too often they get cut or even eliminated.”
A key trust fund backing Medicare is funded through 2028, according to projections, and the Social Security trust fund is fully funded through 2035.
In the past, Johnson has called Social Security a "Ponzi Scheme." He even cut an ad on the subject in his first campaign in 2012 against Democrat Russ Feingold.
"You know what? I did say that...because it's true," Johnson said in the ad.
"Russ Feingold and politicians from both parties raided the Social Security Trust Fund of trillions and left seniors an IOU. They spent the money, it's gone.
"I'll fight to keep every nickel of Social Security for retirees and I'll respect you enough to tell you the truth."
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/02/johnson-wants-medicare-social-security-discretionary-programs/10217972002/
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Joe Biden @ JoeBiden
Senator Ron Johnson wants Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block every year. He's the same guy who said if Republicans get control of Congress, they'll try to get rid of the ACA again—denying insurance to people with preexisting conditions.
These guys never stop.
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1563667678719627265
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Support for the President’s recent actions to lower costs for working and middle class families.
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CBS News polling shows 49% of Independents view 2022 Republican candidates as extreme.
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GOP Candidates Are Increasingly Sharing Misinformation
The media has routinely reported on these falsehoods, making it seem like misinformation is rampant in politics. But are candidates for Congress actually sharing more misinformation in 2022 than 2020?”
“Yes, according to our analysis of congressional candidates’ Facebook posts. We found that politicians in the 2022 election are sharing more links to unreliable news sources than they did in 2020, and the increase appears to be driven by nonincumbent Republican candidates.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/29/republicans-democrats-misinformation-falsehoods/
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Biden heads to Milwaukee and Pittsburgh for Labor Day as midterms campaign heats up
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President Joe Biden will head to two blue-collar cities, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, for Labor Day as he seeks to build momentum for Democrats as the midterm election campaign enters the home stretch.
Testing his modest rebound in the polls, Biden will show off his trademark appeal to factory workers, a key demographic as Democrats seek to cling to control of the Senate and dream of even holding the House of Representatives.
“In both cities, the President will celebrate Labor Day and the dignity of American workers,” the White House said in a statement.
Both states have races for governor and U.S. Senate.
In Wisconsin, Democrats are trying to reelect Gov. Tony Evers and oust Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson. His Democratic challenger, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, has highlighted his middle-class background and parents’ union membership. Evers faces Republican Tim Michels, who co-owns the state’s largest construction firm.
The AFL-CIO has endorsed the Democrats in both Pennsylvania races: state Attorney General Josh Shapiro running for governor against state Sen. Doug Mastriano and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman running for Senate against heart surgeon-turned-TV celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Aside from boosting Democratic allies, Biden will surely tout his recent string of political and policy victories, including passage of the long-stalled Inflation Reduction Act and his executive action to write off $10,000 in student loan debt. He’s also benefiting from easing inflation numbers and falling prices of gas at the pump.
The president will also likely remind voters that Republican-appointed judges have gutted women’s right to choose abortion, an issue that is looming as a giant elephant in the November room.
Biden and Democrats have gone on a roll in recent weeks, especially since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
Democrats have notched several impressive performances in recent special congressional elections, includingan upset win last week by Pat Ryan in Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado’s old Hudson Valley, New York, swing district.
© New York Daily News
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No parent should have to worry that they could be subjecting a child to lead poisoning. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Biden's Lead Pipe & Paint Action Plan, we can spare families like Deana's from this fate and ensure their peace of mind.
Thanks to Biden, there's big progress on lead pipes
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President Biden’s infrastructure investments will ensure that kids like my son don’t get lead poisoning
Two days after taking my son Aidan to get a blood test, I got a call from his pediatrician: “Your son needs to go to the hospital right now. We’ve already booked him a room.” The results of the test showed that Aidan, then just 2 years old, had lead poisoning.
I was shocked. Where had my son been exposed to lead? At that point, I knew nothing about lead exposure. I worried that Aidan's doctors were downplaying how dangerous lead poisoning can be, so I started to do more research. I learned that high lead levels are extremely harmful — especially to children. Lead exposure can cause seizures, weight loss, developmental delays, irritability and learning disorders.
When we returned home from the hospital after Aidan received treatment, an inspection revealed that lead paint covered all of the windows in the house we were renting. A contractor came to remove the lead paint and I prayed that would be the end of our troubles.
Yet just after Thanksgiving of 2018, Aidan was hospitalized for lead poisoning again — this time a two-week stay. At that point, Child Protective Services got involved and said, “We can’t discharge your son from the hospital until he has a safe living environment.”
Another inspection revealed that the pipes in our house were made from lead. I felt terrible. I couldn’t let my son be poisoned in our home. I was forced to break my lease so that my children and I could avoid further lead exposure. Soon, we ended up in a shelter for a few months, until my own health took a turn for the worse and we moved back in with family.
As parents, we do everything in our power to keep our children safe and healthy, but there was only so much I could do to protect my children from our country's crumbling infrastructure.
For years, I did not feel comfortable sharing my story with others. I worried that they wouldn’t understand. Eventually, I opened up to my church about what my sons and I had gone through. Other members of the community came forward to let me know that I wasn’t alone, including one mother who told me her kids had also developed lead poisoning. The love and support I received inspired me to become a parent advocate for the Coalition on Lead Emergency (COLE), an organization of Milwaukee residents concerned about the presence of lead in our community.
After years of outreach and education, we are finally seeing progress in our community. Earlier this year, I shared our story with Vice President Kamala Harris when she visited Milwaukee. Harris told me about the investments the Biden-Harris administration is making to strengthen America’s infrastructure, including billions in funding to replace all the lead paint and lead pipes across the country. Leaders have been talking about infrastructure investments for years. It was the Biden administration that finally made it happen.
The Biden administration's Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan will make our country lead-free and create high-paying jobs that support families across the country. Here in Milwaukee, COLE is doing its part to train workers to be able to safely remove lead laterals from homes. Unfortunately, there are a lot of lead pipes in Milwaukee — nearly 70,000 out of more than 170,000 statewide. This federal funding will massively accelerate our efforts to remove them and protect children like Aidan.
Aidan is almost 9 now and, together, we have put together a book educating children about the dangers of lead. It’s the story of “Super Aidan, The Lead Free Superhero,” who flies across the city of Milwaukee to teach children how to defeat the evil lead monster. We have been working with our public library system and local schools here in Milwaukee to share the story.
Although my sons and I have moved into a safe home, it’s still hard to trust the water flowing from our sink after what we experienced. We now use a lead filter and rely a lot on bottled water. Our family needs time to recover from the trauma we experienced, but thanks to the Biden administration’s investments in lead replacement, we know that soon we will never have to worry about being exposed to that poison again. These investments are already doing so much to ease my mind — and the minds of so many mothers out there.
Deanna Branch lives with her sons Aidan and Jaidyn in Milwaukee, where she is a parent advocate for the Coalition on Lead Emergency.
https://captimes.com/captimes/opinion/guest-columns/opinion-thanks-to-biden-theres-big-progress-on-lead-pipes/article_e846cab0-fe51-5f7c-9bb5-ea68ce4c642f.html
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Biden to give prime-time speech about 'soul of the nation' as voters prepare to cast midterm ballots
The president is expected to speak Thursday night outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
President Joe Biden plans to deliver a prime-time speech this week about how America’s “rights and freedoms are still under attack,” returning to the core message of his 2020 campaign as Americans are getting ready to vote in the November midterm elections.
A White House official said Thursday's address at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia would focus on “the continued battle for the soul of the nation” and show how the president sees the central argument of his 2020 candidacy remains as salient as ever with the midterm elections coming into clearer focus.
The president will lay out how America’s standing in the world and its democracy are at stake, the official said. Biden will highlight what he sees as progress over the past two years to protect our democracy, but note that rights and freedoms remain at risk.
“He will make clear who is fighting for those rights, fighting for those freedoms, and fighting for our democracy,” the official said.
Biden will deliver the speech outside Independence Hall, another echo of his 2020 candidacy, which began with a rally in Philadelphia. In that campaign, Biden repeatedly drew upon the message of not just the nation’s Founding Fathers but other great leaders in highlighting how he viewed then-President Donald Trump as someone who would risk changing the character of the nation if given another term in office. He later drew on Abraham Lincoln with a major speech at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and Franklin Roosevelt in Warm Springs, Georgia, in the closing weeks of the 2020 campaign.
Thursday's speech comes as Biden is ramping up his travel schedule in the closing months of the midterm elections. The event in Philadelphia will be his third in the battleground state in the span of one week. Biden on Tuesday intends to discuss his plan for public safety and will contrast that with what he will say is an “extreme MAGA agenda” from congressional Republicans that “is a threat to the rule of law.”
While it’s not yet clear how much Biden will invoke his predecessor this week, he and his advisers have made clear that they think the former president’s grip on the GOP has boosted Democrats’ chances of protecting congressional majorities this fall.
Last week, in remarks at a Democratic National Committee rally in Maryland, Biden said that “MAGA Republicans don’t just threaten our personal rights and economic security, they’re a threat to our very democracy.”
“They refuse to accept the will of the people. They embrace — political violence. They don’t believe in democracy,” he said. “This is why, in this moment, those of you who love this country — Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans — we must be stronger, more determined, and more committed to saving America than the MAGA Republicans are to destroying America.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-give-prime-time-speech-soul-nation-voters-prepare-cast-midterm-b-rcna45358
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President Biden @POTUS
I’m building the economy we need for working families to succeed and for America to win the future.
And Congressional Republicans are pushing an agenda that serves the wealthiest corporations and themselves.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1561826342517309442
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Did you know?
It’s states with loose gun laws where violence rates are the highest.
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Biden blasts ‘MAGA Republicans,’ ‘sickening’ attacks on FBI
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WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday railed against the “MAGA Republicans in Congress” who have refused to condemn the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol and now are targeting the FBI as he tried to portray Democrats as the true pro-law enforcement party ahead of the November midterms.
In remarks initially billed as a crime-prevention speech, Biden seized on comments from allies of former President Donald Trump who have called for stripping funding from the FBI since it executed a search warrant at Trump’s Florida residence. Biden’s remarks were the first substantive defense he has made of the FBI since the Aug. 8 search at Mar-a-Lago, which triggered not just withering criticism of the agency but threats of violence against its employees.
“It’s sickening to see the new attacks on the FBI, threatening the life of law enforcement and their families, for simply carrying out the law and doing their job,” Biden said before a crowd of more than 500 at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania. “I’m opposed to defunding the police; I’m also opposed to defunding the FBI.”
It was a notably different tack for Biden, who has steered clear of extensively commenting on any element of the Justice Department’s investigation since federal agents conducted the search at Trump’s estate. Biden also appeared to call out — without naming him — recent comments from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who warned of “riots in the streets” should Trump ultimately face prosecution.
“The idea you turn on a television and see senior senators and congressmen saying, ‘If such and such happens there’ll be blood on the street’?” Biden said. “Where the hell are we?”
The speech Tuesday continued Biden’s aggressive rhetoric against the GOP ahead of the midterms, as Democrats enjoy a slightly brighter political environment buoyed by significant legislative accomplishments and a presidential approval rating that has trended slightly upward. During a political rally in the Washington suburbs last week, Biden likened Republican ideology to “semi-fascism.” He is set to deliver a democracy-focused speech on Thursday in Philadelphia that the White House has said “will make clear” who is fighting for democratic values.
As he has done before, Biden on Tuesday criticized GOP officials who have refused to denounce the pro-Trump rioters who breached the U.S. Capitol nearly 20 months ago. Referencing Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, Biden said, “Let me say this to my MAGA Republican friends in Congress: Don’t tell me you support the law enforcement if you won’t condemn what happened on the 6th.”
The campaign-style speech near Biden’s birthplace was the first of three visits by the president in less than a week to the state that is home to a competitive governor’s race and a U.S. Senate contest that could help determine whether Democrats will keep their majority in the chamber. Trump is hosting his own rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
The president also used his remarks Tuesday to promote his administration’s crime-prevention efforts and to continue to pressure Congress to revive a long-expired federal ban on assault-style weapons. Democrats and Republicans worked together in a rare effort to pass gun safety legislation earlier this year after massacres in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas. They were the first significant firearm restrictions approved by Congress in nearly three decades, but Biden has repeatedly said more needs to be done.
“We beat the NRA. We took them on and beat the NRA straight up. You have no idea how intimidating they are to elected officials,” an animated Biden said. “We’re not stopping here. I’m determined to ban assault weapons in this country! Determined. I did it once before. And I’ll do it again.”
As a U.S. senator, Biden played a leading role in temporarily banning assault-style weapons, including firearms similar to the AR-15 that have exploded in popularity in recent years, and he wants to put the law back into place. Biden argued that there was no rationale for such weapons “outside of a war zone” and noted that parents of the young victims at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde had to supply DNA because the weapon used in the massacre rendered the bodies unidentifiable.
“DNA, to say that’s my baby!” Biden said. “What the hell is the matter with us?”
President Joe Biden's speech in Wilkes-Barre
Watch:
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The White House @WhiteHouse
Today, two more companies announced big manufacturing investments thanks to @POTUS' legislation:
✅First Solar will build a solar panel factory in the Southeast
✅Corning will build a fiber-optic cable factory in Arizona
Good-paying jobs that don't require college degrees.
Corning says it will build a new manufacturing facility outside Phoenix in response to a spike in demand for fiber-optic cable as the U.S. government ramps up a $42.5 billion internet funding program.
https://www.axios.com/2022/08/30/fiber-optic-cable-corning-factory-broadband-att
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1564683976547221506
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American manufacturing is roaring back:
-Corning: $42.5 billion on fiber optics
-LG/Honda: $4.4 billion on EV batteries
-Micron: $40 billion on chips
-Qualcomm: $4.2 billion on chips
-Intel: $100 billion on chips
Republicans use jobs as a talking point. Democrats create them.
Sources:
Corning: https://axios.com/2022/08/30/fiber-optic-cable-corning-factory-broadband-att
LG/Honda: https://cnn.com/2022/08/29/business/honda-lg-electric-vehicles/index.html
Micron: https://cnbc.com/2022/08/09/micron-to-invest-40-billion-in-us-chip-manufacturing.html
Qualcomm: https://reuters.com/technology/qualcomm-globalfoundries-sign-pact-double-chip-manufacturing-2022-08-08/
Intel: https://cnbc.com/2022/01/21/intel-plans-20-billion-chip-manufacturing-site-in-ohio.html
Biden and Democrats deliver.
Reminder: not a single Republican voted for this bill.
“The company pivoted after President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law earlier this month…”
First Solar to Invest $1.2 Billion in U.S. Plants, Spurred by Climate Law
The biggest U.S. solar-panel maker said it plans to spend as much as $1.2 billion to boost domestic manufacturing capacity by around 75%.
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The biggest U.S. solar-panel maker said it plans to spend as much as $1.2 billion to boost manufacturing capacity at home by around 75%—the latest in a surge of domestic clean-energy investments spurred by the recently passed climate and healthcare legislation.
On Tuesday, Tempe, Ariz.-based First Solar Inc. FSLR 0.51%▲ said it would invest up to $1 billion in a new factory in the southeastern U.S. that will eventually be able to make 3.5 gigawatts of panels each year and $185 million in expansions the company now plans at factories in Ohio.
The new investment plans are a reversal for First Solar, the only major American-owned maker of solar panels. First Solar Chief Executive Mark Widmar had said until recently that although the company was eager to boost its manufacturing footprint, high costs and a lack of policy support meant it was considering adding capacity in Europe or India rather than at home.
With the new investments, First Solar now expects to have around 10.6 gigawatts of panel-making capacity in the U.S. by 2025—up from an expected 6 gigawatts next year—enough to power more than 1.8 million homes. It will have around 10 gigawatts of manufacturing capacity outside the U.S. next year, when its new India factory comes online.
The company pivoted after President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law earlier this month, Mr. Widmar said. The IRA contains hundreds of billions of dollars in incentives for companies to manufacture clean-energy equipment such as solar panels and electric-vehicle batteries, as well as tax credits for companies that build green-power projects using American-made components.
Depending on how the IRA is interpreted, First Solar could be eligible for tax credits ranging from 4 cents to 18 cents per watt on its modules, according to a recent report by Philip Shen, managing partner at boutique investment bank Roth Capital Partners LLC. Based on the projected capacity of the new plant, that suggests between $140 million and $630 million in tax credits a year.
With the new law, “solar’s going to be investible again” in the U.S., Mr. Widmar said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. The company expects to choose the site for the new U.S. factory in the third quarter of this year.
First Solar’s announcement is part of a surge in expected investment in clean-energy technologies spurred by the law as well as ballooning demand for solar, wind and batteries to meet ambitious U.S. climate goals.
The U.S. government is also concerned about relying too heavily on China, which dominates manufacturing in solar and other clean-energy technologies, with whom relations have been increasingly strained.
Battery and car manufacturers have rushed to unveil multibillion-dollar deals for plants in the U.S. On Monday, Honda Motor Co. and LG Energy Solution Ltd. said they would spend $4.4 billion on a factory to make electric-vehicle batteries in the U.S. Tesla Inc. battery supplier Panasonic Holdings Corp. is considering a $4 billion EV battery factory in Oklahoma, the Journal previously reported, and it announced a similarly sized plant in Kansas in July.
In solar manufacturing, where China controls more than 80% of the global supply chain by some estimates, South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group member Hanwha Solutions said in March that it plans to pour billions of dollars into building an alternate supply chain in the U.S. As a first step, it is expanding the Georgia panel-making factory of its Qcells clean-energy unit, and it has invested more than $200 million in REC Silicon ASA, a maker of the high-purity silicon used as the fundamental ingredient in most panels. REC is restarting its factory in Moses Lake, Wash., in response.
Not including the latest First Solar announcement, module makers had already announced around 14 gigawatts of U.S. capacity additions around the time of the bill’s passage, said Andy Klump, chief executive of Clean Energy Associates, a consulting firm that helps renewable companies build, manage and track their supply chains. At least three big global manufacturers are now considering plants of five gigawatts or more, according to Mr. Klump.
A big challenge in building out a solar supply chain in the U.S. will be attracting manufacturing that doesn’t currently exist there, such as plants that shape silicon for solar panels into ingots and wafers, industry executives say.
First Solar uses a different panel technology that doesn’t depend on silicon and has a much shorter supply chain. The company has spent years cultivating supply partners and now sources more than 90% of the materials it uses in American factories from the U.S., Mr. Widmar said.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/first-solar-to-invest-1-2-billion-in-u-s-plants-spurred-by-climate-law-11661852700
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The White House @WhiteHouse
Today, @POTUS visited Pennsylvania to highlight his Safer America Plan – which will:
- Fund the police and promote effective prosecution of crimes
- Invest in crime prevention and a fairer criminal justice system
- Take additional steps to keep guns out of the wrong hands
From the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to an Executive Order to improve police accountability, President Biden has taken action to make our communities safer.
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https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1564750103813971973
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The White House @WhiteHouse
Every single Republican in Congress voted against funding for law enforcement in President Biden’s American Rescue Plan.
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https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1564757364766609408
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President Biden @POTUS
There is no greater responsibility for government than to ensure the safety of its people.
My Safer America Plan is a crucial investment in that responsibility.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1564786528492167174
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Another victory for Democrats as Mary Peltola wins in Alaska!
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Democrat Mary Peltola tops Sarah Palin to win U.S. House special election in Alaska
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Democrat Mary Peltola will represent Alaska's lone U.S. House seat, after winning a special election that was determined by a ranked-choice voting tabulation on Wednesday. She will become the the first Alaska Native in Congress.
In the final round of the count, Peltola, a former state lawmaker, edged Sarah Palin, a former Alaska governor and the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, by 3 percentage points, 51.5% to 48.5%.
Peltola's victory denies the controversial Palin, an ally of former President Donald Trump, an immediate return back onto the national political scene.
The special election in Alaska was held earlier this month but it took until Wednesday to tabulate all the mail-in votes and calculate the winner with the state's new ranked-choice voting system.
Republican Nick Begich III came in third in the election, so voters who had put him as their first choice (or who had written in another candidate) had their ballots reallocated to the candidate who was their second choice.
The special election was to replace Rep. Don Young, who died earlier this year at the age of 88. Peltola will complete the term and then she, Palin and Begich will face off again in November for the next two-year term.
Peltola and Palin served together as state legislators.
Though Palin had sharp words for her fellow Republican Begich, she refrained from attacking Peltola during the campaign, calling her a sweetheart. Peltola also did not badmouth Palin, telling NPR, "The region where I'm from, there is a big premium on being respectful, on not using inflammatory language or harsh tones."
https://www.npr.org/2022/08/31/1120327126/palin-peltola-begich-alaska-special-house-election-results
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Biden outlines gun crime plan, denounces GOP over Jan. 6 in Pennsylvania speech
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Washington — President Biden was in his element Tuesday just outside his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, greeting friendly faces and detailing his $37 billion plan aimed at addressing gun violence. He also took the opportunity to denounce Republicans who defend the Capitol rioters and disparage federal law enforcement, while praising Democrats running for office in Pennsylvania.
At an event in Wilkes-Barre that showcased several Democratic candidates, the president touted his "Safer America Plan," a proposal that would be funded through money included in his fiscal year 2023 budget request and requires congressional approval. Mr. Biden was born in Scranton and spent his early childhood there, and has often returned to make major speeches from the area. He was originally scheduled to deliver Tuesday's speech in July, but was forced to postpone the trip when he tested positive with COVID-19.
With just over two months until the midterm elections, Mr. Biden emphasized the need for more law enforcement officers, not fewer. The president said Americans "see hate and anger and violence just walking the streets of America."
"And they just want to feel safe again. They want to feel a sense of security. And that's what my crime plan is all about. You know, I call it the Safer America Plan," he added. "And both of your members of Congress voted for it. It's based on a simple notion — when it comes to public safety in this nation, the answer is not defund the police, it's fund the police."
The president's crime prevention proposal calls for $13 billion over the next five years for communities to hire and train 100,000 additional police officers, as well as nearly $3 billion to help clear court backlogs and solve murders, according to the White House.
Mr. Biden's plan would also establish a $15 billion grant program for cities and states to use over the next decade to promote approaches to prevent violent crime or identify non-violent situations that warrant a public health response, with the goal of alleviating the burden on law enforcement officers. Another $5 billion would be used for evidence-based community violence intervention programs. Trust between police and the public is vital, the president said.
"The communities, by the way, that want the police more than any other community are the tough, poor communities. Black, White, immigrants," Mr. Biden said. "They need the help. They want the help."
The president touted the passage and signing of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant update to gun control laws in nearly three decades. The law enhances background checks for gun buyers under 21, provides billions of dollars for mental health services and sets aside $750 million to incentivize states to create crisis-intervention programs. The measure also closes the so-called "boyfriend loophole" to ensure convicted domestic abusers can't purchase a firearm for five years.
"We beat the NRA," the president said Tuesday, referring to the National Rifle Association. "We took them on and we beat the NRA, straight up. You have no idea how intimidating they are to elected officials ... But guess what, we took on the NRA, and we're going to take them on again, and we won. We will win again."
The president reiterated his desire Congress to ban assault weapons, a nonstarter since he took office and a near impossibility without Democratic victories in November.
"We're not stopping here," the president said Tuesday. "I'm determined to ban assault weapons in this country. Determined."
Pennsylvania is a key swing state, with control of the Senate in play in the midterm elections. Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is running against Republican Mehmet Oz for Pennsylvania's Senate seat.
"I tell you what, Fetterman's a hell of a guy, a powerful voice for working people," Mr. Biden said Tuesday. "And he's going to make a great United States senator."
In his speech railing against violent crime, the president turned to address the violence of Jan. 6, 2021, lambasting Republican members of Congress who defended the rioters.
"Police lost their lives as a result of that day," the president said. "Police lost their lives. One of the officers said it was worse than anything he had experienced in war in Iraq. So let me say this to my MAGA Republican friends in Congress — don't tell me you support law enforcement if you won't condemn what happened on the 6th. Don't tell me. Can't do it. For God's sake, whose side are you on?"
The president will return to Pennsylvania on Thursday, as well as next week, ramping up his appearances on behalf of Democrats in key competitive races.
AFP
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4 front pages from today — from around the country:
Solar arrays in NH
Battery plant in KY
Electric buses in WV
EV chargers in AL
It’s climate action.
It’s healthier communities.
It’s clean energy deployment.
It’s U.S. manufacturing.
It's the Inflation Reduction Act that EVERY single Republican voted against.
Or, as President Biden says, it’s jobs, jobs, jobs!
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Another day, more manufacturing jobs in America thanks to Biden's plans and leadership. Another day and gas prices fall even more.
Toyota Announces $2.5B Expansion of North Carolina Plant With 350 Additional Jobs and BEV Battery Capacity
https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-announces-2-5-billion-expansion-of-north-carolina-plant-with-350-additional-jobs-and-bev-battery-capacity/
Patrick De Haan @GasBuddyGuy
The window is opening for the possibility for #gasprices to decline even further now, perhaps to $3.29/gal as wholesale prices just keep on dropping. National average now $3.82/gal and falling. Labor Day will see the lowest gas prices of any summer holiday.
https://twitter.com/GasBuddyGuy/status/1564955597421912064
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More former Republican officials come out in support of Josh Shapiro in Pa. governor’s race
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HARRISBURG — Several more Republican leaders announced Tuesday that they will go against their political party and support Attorney General Josh Shapiro in the November gubernatorial election.
Seven former GOP officials — including former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and former Allegheny County state Rep. Jim Kelly — said they’ll support Mr. Shapiro, the state’s Democratic nominee, in the 2022 election.
Mr. Chertoff was the second secretary of the Department of Homeland Security under George W. Bush. Mr. Kelly was a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House who represented parts of Allegheny County in the 1970s and ‘80s.
Each of these former GOP officials is bucking their party’s candidate, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin. Mr. Mastriano has been criticized for his acceptance of extreme groups, including his campaign’s payment to social media site Gab, which is a known outlet for white nationalists and was used by the man charged with killing 11 practicing Jews at the Tree of Life synagogue in 2018 — the most deadly antisemitic attack on U.S. soil.
“I dedicated my career in public service to upholding the rule of law and defending the Constitution,” Mr. Chertoff said in a statement. “Right now, we all have a responsibility to support candidates of whichever party who will stand up and defend our democracy. Although I am a long-standing Republican, I am deeply troubled by Doug Mastriano’s embrace of dangerous extremism.”
“Josh Shapiro, on the other hand, is a staunch defender of our democratic institutions and will lead Pennsylvania with honor and integrity,” Mr. Chertoff added.
Other endorsers include former GOP state Reps. Mario Civera (Delaware County), David Heckler (Bucks County), Raymond Bunt Jr. (Montgomery County), Beverly Mackereth (York County) and J. Scot Chadwick (Bradford County).
Last month, Mr. Shapiro rolled out 10 other Republican endorsements from longtime fixtures of the GOP establishment, including former U.S. Reps. Charlie Dent and Jim Greenwood, former state House Speaker Denny O’Brien, former Lt. Gov. Robert Jubelirer and former state Supreme Court Justice Sandra Schultz Newman.
Christopher Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, told the Post-Gazette last month after the first round of Mr. Shapiro’s GOP endorsements that it’s hard to break ranks in this era of hyper-partisanship. What’s more: it’s rare that any Republicans deviate from Mr. Trump, and it’s even more rare for GOP officials to come out publicly in support of the opposing candidate.
But endorsements don’t matter much, Mr. Borick said last month — though they’ll serve as evidence against Mr. Mastriano as voters start to make up their minds ahead of the November election.
“For most Republicans, they accept Mastriano as their nominee and most likely will vote for him,” Mr. Borick said last month, “but on the margins — and the margins are going to be very important — I think the endorsements will help Shapiro’s case in key areas.”
As part of his announcement Tuesday, Mr. Shapiro said he was proud to receive the endorsements from former GOP leaders “who are putting our Commonwealth ahead of partisan politics.”
“I have always worked to bring Republicans and Democrats together — and that’s exactly what I will continue to do in this campaign and as governor,” Mr. Shapiro added.
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2022/08/30/gop-officials-support-josh-shapiro-pennsylvania-governors-race-michael-chertoff-jim-kelly/stories/202208300061
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Biden-Harris Administration invests $65M from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in clean water, roads, trails improvement
https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2022/08/26/biden-harris-administration-invests-65m-bipartisan-infrastructure
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As August comes to a close, here's ALL of President Biden's wins in August. A truly historic month that no other president ever accomplished.
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Companies increase investment as Biden signs law boosting US semiconductor industry
Micron Technology said in an announcement, 'With the anticipated grants and credits made possible by the CHIPS and Science Act, this investment will enable the world's most advanced memory manufacturing in America.'
President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed the CHIPS and Science Act, which will utilize $280 billion to increase American competitiveness in science and technology, especially against China.
The legislation allocates $52 billion to boost U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing. Before Biden signed the bill into law, the companies Micron Technology and Qualcomm announced a combined total of more than $40 billion in investments in domestic chip manufacturing, specifically citing grants and funding provided by the new law.
At the bill signing, Biden referred to the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in the Senate and the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act as evidence "that we met the moment at this inflection point in history." Biden said: "A moment when we bet on ourselves, believed in ourselves, and recaptured the story, the spirit, and the soul of this nation. We are the United States of America, A singular place of possibilities. I'm now going to go sign the CHIPS and Science Act and once again I promise you: We're leading the world again for the next decades."
On Tuesday, Boise, Idaho-based computer memory and storage company Micron Technology announced that it would be investing $40 billion over the next decade in memory manufacturing in the United States.
"With the anticipated grants and credits made possible by the CHIPS and Science Act, this investment will enable the world's most advanced memory manufacturing in America," the company noted in a statement. "Micron expects to begin production in the second half of the decade, ramping overall supply in line with industry demand trends."
Micron described its investment as the "largest in memory manufacturing in U.S. history" and forecast that it would create 40,000 jobs, including 5,000 jobs in technical and operational roles at the company.
"This legislation will enable Micron to grow domestic production of memory from less than 2% to up to 10% of the global market in the next decade," noted Micron president and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra.
Qualcomm, which is based in San Diego, California, announced on Monday that it would be spending an additional $4.2 billion worth of semiconductor chips from GlobalFoundries, a manufacturer based in New York, more than doubling the previous commitment between the two companies, resulting in a total of $7.4 billion in purchases through 2028.
In a press release announcing the agreement, GlobalFoundries CEO Thomas Caulfield said, "We applaud the bipartisan efforts and leadership demonstrated by Senator [Chuck] Schumer and the incredible support of Commerce Secretary [Gina] Rai.... to bring back chip manufacturing to America."
The new law will provide subsidies for companies that build domestic semiconductor chip factories.
Billions of dollars in investments in science and technology research will be made through grants administered by multiple U.S. government agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards, and the departments of Energy and Commerce.
https://americanindependent.com/president-joe-biden-chips-and-science-act-micron-technology-qualcomm-investment-semiconductor/
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Biden's 'direct' prime-time address on democracy
(CNN) - A pair of fiery speeches inside packed gymnasiums over the past week left even some White House aides surprised at President Joe Biden's new-found sense of electricity.
Yet when he delivers a rare prime-time address Thursday evening in Philadelphia, Biden's somber assessment of American democracy isn't likely to generate any cheering from the small in-person audience in front of Independence Hall.
Thursday's remarks will instead adopt a far graver tone, officials say. After tearing into Republicans for what he calls "MAGA extremism" and "semi-fascism," administration officials say Biden has determined the time is right to provide a serious, sober reckoning on what he regards as growing anti-democratic forces building across the country.
"This is not a speech about the former President," a senior administration official told reporters. "This is a speech about democracy."
It's a topic topic Biden has come to embrace more publicly in recent months after initially attempting to ignore the after-effects of his predecessor and focus instead on national unity. At its core, the speech, which the White House says will center on the "continued battle for the soul of the nation," represents the same overarching theme that defined the launch of his presidential campaign in 2019 as he set out to defeat Trump.
It remained a constant through high profile speeches in locations rife with historical symbolism, including Warm Springs, Georgia, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The prime-time remarks will be no different, this time with the site of the nation's revolutionary beginning as the backdrop.
Yet the speech also will serve as an implicit acknowledgment that Biden's efforts to move past the divisiveness and chaos of former President Donald Trump have been harder than he might have imagined. Trump continues to dominate headlines, especially in recent weeks after federal agents searched his Florida home, revealing an investigation into the former President's possession of classified documents after he left office. Biden's speech will take place hours after a court hearing regarding that investigation.
"The way that he sees it, the MAGA Republicans are the most energized part of the Republican Party," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said a day ahead of the speech. "This is an extreme threat to our democracy, to our freedom, to our rights. They just don't respect the rule of law."
White House officials emphasized that when Biden warns of the threat to democracy, he is not talking about Republicans as a whole, but those who style themselves after Trump: the "MAGA Republicans," as the administration has deemed them, referring to Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan.
Asked if Biden will name Trump directly, given he is the face of the movement, the senior official said, "This will be a very direct discussion."
Biden has been mulling a thematic speech about American democracy for several months, spurred in part by the revealing hearings convened by the congressional committee investigating the January 6 riot, according to an official. He has also watched with alarm as election deniers running for statewide office have been elevated by Trump and was outraged by the attempted attack on an FBI field office in Cincinnati, Ohio.
"This is a speech the President has been thinking about for a long time. He's been working on it for a while," a senior administration official said. "It is not in response to any news of the day. It is a response to what he sees as a moment in this country."
Biden looks to seize the moment
While Biden underestimated when the "fever will break" when it came to the GOP's ties to Trump, the last several weeks have brought into sharp focus that many of the campaign pledges that seemed just as unrealistic -- from major bipartisan deals to substantial investments in the manufacturing, climate and health care -- have, in fact, been signed into law.
The convergence of factors has created a genuine sense inside the West Wing that the political winds are changing just as Americans start to tune in ahead of the midterm elections. It has also had a dramatic effect on the White House itself, where months of intraparty warfare, a resurgent and ever-present Covid-19 pandemic and a myriad of crises many aides viewed as outside of their control appear to have finally turned their way.
Even Biden, who revels in telling the story of the doctor who called him "a congenital optimist," wasn't immune from a sense of gloom and occasional doom that hung over the West Wing for months.
"He could get pretty dark," said one person who spoke regularly to Biden said of his view of things toward the end of his first year in office. "It's not his way, but there was a period there" when Biden's mood reflected that of the exhausted country he led.
Yet the shifting winds this summer coincided with Trump's major re-emergence into the national spotlight. Republican politicians and candidates running entire campaigns based on false claims of fraudulent elections have only become more prevalent.
As the midterm campaign season kicks into high gear, convergence of factors has created an ideal moment for Biden to lay out what has long been on his mind, officials say.
"The President felt that this was an appropriate time before the traditional campaign season begins next week to lay out what he sees at stake, not for any individual political party, but for our democracy itself," a senior administration official said.
A rare prime-time speech shows Biden's focus on democracy
He has been working for several days with his speechwriters on drafts of the 20- to 30-minute address, poring over the precise language and wording. The President typically rehearses his major addresses beforehand and his schedule was clear of public events on Wednesday and Thursday as he prepared.
Biden has delivered only a smattering of speeches in prime-time over the course of his presidency, including his yearly addresses to Congress and remarks on gun violence earlier this summer. Aides said the President felt the topic was serious enough to address the nation in the evening -- and ask television networks to interrupt their regular programming.
White House officials have said they want to be selective in when and where to address the issues surrounding the erosion of democracy, even though many party activists have clamored for more sustained focus on the issue. The issue itself is one that consumes much of Biden's own thinking, those close to him say -- something can spill into the public sphere during the rare moments he engages in a substantive way with reporters.
But choosing the right moment to address them on a major national scale, Biden's team believes, will prevent the issue from becoming rote and routine for voters. Biden, officials note, has had no qualms about that strategy.
On the anniversary of the January 6 Capitol riot, Biden spoke during the day from National Statuary Hall, leveling his most direct attack on Trump for his continued election lies and on Republicans who have amplified them.
In that speech, Biden accused Trump of holding "a dagger at the throat of America, at American democracy," an extraordinary moment that marked a sharp escalation in his approach to the persistent assertions by Trump that the 2020 election was fraudulent.
At the time, it wasn't clear whether the new, more aggressive posture toward Trump would herald a sustained shift in his approach toward the de-facto leader of the Republican Party. Biden did not repeat his criticisms of Trump on a regular basis until recently, as he began his efforts to elect Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections.
"The MAGA Republicans don't just threaten our personal rights and economic security, they're a threat to our very democracy," he said last week at a Democratic political rally in Maryland. "They refuse to accept the will of the people. They embrace political violence. They don't believe in democracy."
A few days later, Biden used an official event in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to chastise South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican he once called his friend, for suggesting there could be riots in the street if Trump is prosecuted by the Justice Department.
A few days later, Biden used an official event in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to chastise South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican he once called his friend, for suggesting there could be riots in the street if Trump is prosecuted by the Justice Department.
"Where the hell are we?" Biden intoned.
'Semi fascism' comment draws ire, but White House won't back down
The movement toward Trump by Graham and other Republicans whom Biden has known well for years has disappointed and unsettled Biden more than most dynamics in Washington.
A senior adviser said Biden "goes darkest" when he sees former establishment Republicans "behave badly" and associate themselves with the worst elements of Trump's political brand.
The newly aggressive rhetoric has drawn howls of protest from Republicans. When he accused followers of Trump of "semi-fascism" at a fundraiser last week, the response was swift.
"Horribly insulting," said Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, a Republican who has not aligned himself with Trump. "He's trying to stir up controversy, he's trying to stir up this anti-Republican sentiment right before the election, it's just -- it's horribly inappropriate."
White House officials have given no ground when asked about the criticism -- and neither has Biden. But officials say Biden will make clear his target is not the Republican Party, or conservatives generally.
"He will talk very clearly and about Democrats, independents and mainstream Republicans who he believes are united in our belief in democracy and in our willingness to defend democracy," the senior administration official said. "But he will talk about these direct threats to democracy from MAGA Republicans and the extremism that is a threat right now to our democratic values."
While officials describe Biden's message as urgent, it remains to be seen whether voters facing high prices and an uncertain economy will respond to his warnings about the state of democracy.
Yet recent polls have shown concerns about democracy rising among voters. An NBC poll conducted in August found "threats to democracy" rose to the No. 1 issue facing the country, surpassing "cost of living." And a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found 67% of respondents think the nation's democracy is in danger of collapse, a 9-point increase from January.
Unplanned -- but not entirely unwelcome -- for the White House has been the ongoing developments over Trump's handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, a matter the White House has officially kept at arm's length to avoid the appearance of politicization.
Still, the reminder to voters of the chaos that surrounded Trump's presidency has been privately gratifying to some Democrats, who believe it presents a stark contrast to Biden's way of doing business.
"It's like the chaos was memory-holed because of the 50 million other things going on," one Democratic official with close ties to the White House said.
Biden "will never make it about Trump alone -- he views it as so much bigger than that and probably, to some degree, beneath him," the official said. "But I think most in our party appreciate the very clear contrast now that he's back in the headlines."
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/01/politics/joe-biden-democracy-speech/index.html
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Biden speech: ‘Democracy is under assault’ from election deniers and political violence, president warns - live
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2022/sep/01/joe-biden-set-to-address-threat-to-american-democracy-in-primetime-speech
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I’ve seen Joe Biden speak many times, but tonight was different. This speech by President Biden I believe is the most important of his presidency — and he knew it. Democracy is on the line. Either we save it or let MAGA extremists destroy it.
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Watch: Biden addresses MAGA extremist fanaticism endangering the nation
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Billion-Dollar Electric Vehicle Plant Slated For Ohio Thanks To Biden Bill
Car manufacturer Honda and electronics conglomerate LG announced plans to build a $4.4 billion facility for electric vehicle battery production in Ohio on August 29. The announcement comes two weeks after the Inflation Reduction Act, which contains incentives for consumers to buy electric vehicles with American-made components such as batteries, was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Aug. 15.
The two multinational companies expect the facility's construction to begin in 2023, with the plant ready to commence production by 2025. It is the first investment announced by Honda toward producing their own batteries since the company said it would go all-electric by 2040.
Honda’s CEO Toshihiro Mibe noted in the company's statement that “Honda is committed to the local procurement of EV batteries which is a critical component of EVs. This initiative in the U.S. with LGES [LG Energy Solution Ltd.], the leading global battery manufacturer, will be part of such a Honda approach.”
The production of a majority of electric vehicle batteries currently in use occurs in China, but Biden has enacted multiple policies to encourage shifting production to the United States and create jobs for American workers. In a March 29 statement, the White House said its efforts “to build a clean energy economy are driving companies to make more in America rebuild our supply chains here at home, and ultimately bring down costs for the American people.”
The Inflation Reduction Act passed Congress with only Democratic votes in the face of uniform Republican opposition in the House and Senate. Vice President Kamala Harris advanced the law with a tiebreaking vote in the Senate, and it was later signed by President Joe Biden.
As part of the Inflation Reduction Act's $369 billion in funding focused on clean energy and reducing climate change, there is a subsidy for car buyers of $7,500 on electric vehicles. The law requires that qualifying vehicles are largely assembled in the U.S. with components made in America, and phasing out previous credits that didn't require U.S.-based production. Provisions for incentives were also included for companies like Honda so they can continue to compete in the U.S. market, and other carmakers such as Tesla, GM, and Ford have cars on the market that will already qualify for new credits.
Additionally, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Biden signed into law in November 2021, has $3.1 billion in subsidies for companies who choose to build electric vehicle-related facilities domestically.
Multiple companies have announced plans to build production facilities in the U.S. since both laws passed and other policies championed by President Biden went into effect, planning billions in investments and thousands of new jobs in multiple states around the country.
GM announced in January that it would be investing $7 billion in Michigan across 4 facilities focused on electric vehicles and battery production. Biden released a statement praising the decision.
In May, Stellantis and Samsung SDI announced that together they would spend $2.5 billion to build a battery production plant in Kokomo, Indiana. The companies stated the facility is projected to create 1,400 new jobs in the area. That same month, Hyundai said that they would be building a $6.5 billion EV factory outside of Savannah, Georgia, which they project would create 8,100 jobs for the state.
In July, Panasonic said they will build a $4 billion electric vehicle battery plant in De Soto, Kansas after forging a partnership with Tesla to supply batteries for that company’s line of cars.
https://www.nationalmemo.com/billion-dollar-electric-vehicle-plant-slated-for-ohio-thanks-to-biden-bill/particle-2
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'This is not who we are': Biden says Trump and the MAGA Republicans are a threat — and calls on Americans to help
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President Joe Biden started his speech talking about the founding of America at Independence Hall, where the Constitution was debated and written.
"But Biden warned that Americans can no longer afford to pretend that democracy isn't under assault. We the people have the flame of liberty that is burning inside of us that began at this hall," he said, adding that Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans are an extremist sect that is putting the U.S. in danger. He explained that he's worked with Republicans and they, the majority of Republicans, are not MAGA Republicans.
He went on to say that MAGA Republicans support banning the right to privacy, contraception and being able to marry who you love.
He brought up Jan. 6, and the fear that could attack America again in 2022 and 2024.
"While the threat to American democracy is real, I want to say as clearly as we can, we are not powerless in the face of these threats. We are not bystanders in these threats to our democracy."
He said that MAGA Republicans have embraced anger and thrive on chaos and they live in the shadow of lies and that the rest of Americans can move on together toward a better world of hope and freedom.
"I know your courage. I know your hearts. And I know our history," he said.
He said that Americans believe in the rule of law.
"We are still at our core a democracy, yet history tell us that blind loyalty to a single leader and the willingness to engage in political violence is a danger to democracy
He explained that American democracy isn't guaranteed and that all Americans must stand up for it — and called on all of Americans to defend democracy, regardless of ideology.
The duty of patriots must be stronger, Biden explained, and he called on Americans "to be more determined to save democracy than MAGA Republicans are in destroying American democracy."
Biden continued, saying, that violence is "never an acceptable political tool, "period. None. Ever."
"Today, poll workers are being subject to intimidation and death threats. FBI agents are facing threats to their lives from their own fellow citizens. Political figures are even predicting for mass violence and violence in the streets. It's inflammatory. It's dangerous. It's inflammatory and we must say this is not who we are."
The comment was a reference to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) predicted "riots in the streets" if Donald Trump is indicted for stealing government documents and putting classified information in danger. Biden made it clear days later that if a group of right-wing terrorists rises up against the U.S. government, their guns won't work out well against F-15s. Republicans took the phrase and twisted it into falsely saying Biden was threatening to bomb GOP voters.
"You can't love your country only when you win," he said. He said that he refuses to stand by as a group tries to bring down the country simply because they lost.
"I'm asking every American to join me," he begged.
"MAGA Republicans believe in lies for profit and power, but I see a different America. An America that is about to take off," said Biden. He then began touting the work his administration has done from helping covid, passing gun safety, passing an infrastructure bill, and lowering prescription drug costs.
"Cynics and critics," said that nothing could get done, but Biden said that they did it. "Progress does come."
He acknowledged that the last few years have been tough, but things are getting better and noted that veterans are getting help, children are back in schools, people have jobs again, and "the future will be made in America."
"No matter what the white supremacists and extremists say, I made a bet on America and that bet has paid off," Biden said.
The crowds outside of the area chanting and waving signs prompted Biden to say that the key thing about democracy is making sure that they have the right to do it peacefully.
https://www.rawstory.com/joe-biden-maga-republicans/
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President Biden @POTUS
Since I've taken office, our economy has created over 660,000 manufacturing jobs, the strongest manufacturing job recovery since the 1950s.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1565746376046166016
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has 26 times the campaign cash Tudor Dixon does
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LANSING, Mich. — Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer reported Thursday having $14 million available in her campaign fundraising account, 26 times the total disclosed by her Republican opponent Tudor Dixon, $523,930.
The new campaign finance filings from Whitmer and Dixon cover from July 18 through Aug. 22, 78 days before Election Day. The numbers raised concerns about the ability of Dixon to get her message out to voters this fall, political observers said. She will be the top Republican on the ticket in a key battleground state.
"Campaigns cost money, and she doesn't have any," said Adrian Hemond, CEO of the Lansing-based political consulting firm Grassroots Midwest. "I can't put it any plainer than that."
Dixon, a political commentator and businesswoman from Norton Shores, won a competitive primary race on Aug. 2 to become the GOP nominee for governor. She has not run for office before.
From July 18 through Aug. 22, Dixon's campaign reported raising $685,779 and spending $699,749.
Dixon reported about 5,400 individual contributions. From Aug. 3, the day after becoming the Republican nominee, until Aug. 22, Dixon's campaign reported raising $490,625.
Among the top donors to Dixon for the full period were Michigan Republican Party Chairman Ron Weiser, who gave $7,150, J.C. Huizenga of National Heritage Academies, who gave $7,150, and Autocam President John Kennedy, who gave $6,150.
The maximum contribution allowed by an individual to a candidate for statewide office in Michigan is $7,150. Political action committees (PACs) can give up to $71,500.
Whitmer's campaign reported raising about $2.4 million and spending about $3.1 million from July 18 through Aug. 22.
Whitmer's disclosure featured about 26,000 individual contributions.
Among the well-known donors were Melinda French Gates, ex-wife of Bill Gates, who gave $7,150; Los Angeles Clippers owner and Detroit native Steve Ballmer, who gave $7,000; "Cheers" actress Rhea Perlman, who gave $5,000; and General Motors CEO Mary Barra, who gave $2,500 to Whitmer's re-election campaign.
A committee of the Service Employees International Union gave Whitmer $51,500, the Iron Workers Local 25 PAC donated $25,000 and the General Motors PAC contributed $10,000.
A little over half of Whitmer's contributions (51%) for the period came from donors listing Michigan addresses, according to the disclosure.
About 65% of Dixon's latest fundraising haul came from donors listing Michigan addresses.
Whitmer, who gained national attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been able to use the spotlight to raise money from across the country.
Already, the Democratic Governors Association has also pumped millions of dollars into TV ads in the Michigan race through a group called Put Michigan First. A super PAC called Michigan Families United has been supporting Dixon. Those groups' expenditures were not included in Thursday's disclosures.
Whitmer won her first term in 2018 by 9 percentage points over Republican Bill Schuette.
© The Detroit News
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"A stellar 20 consecutive months of sustained job growth."
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Marie Gluesenkamp Perez @MGPforCongress
A new poll has me ahead of Joe Kent by 2 points — that’s before voters found out about his violent, nationalist views. We CAN and must flip this seat to bring the voices of real Washingtonians to Congress.
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https://twitter.com/MGPforCongress/status/1565860150694793216
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Social Security enemy Ron Johnson endorses plan to 'coax' retirees back to work
https://www.rawstory.com/social-security-enemy-ron-johnson-endorses-plan-to-coax-retirees-back-to-work/
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President Biden @POTUS
Take a look at this message I received – because of student loan forgiveness, Americans will be able to crawl out from under unsustainable debt and finally start thinking about saving for their first home.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1566161614843281409
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Charlie Crist slams Ron DeSantis for declining invite to ‘Before You Vote’ debate
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Democratic nominee Charlie Crist is slamming his opponent Gov. Ron DeSantis for declining to participate in an upcoming debate.
The “Before You Vote” debate series is the longest running in Florida history, and this year’s is expected to draw national attention. DeSantis participated in the same debate during the 2018 gubernatorial race.
Florida Politics’ Peter Schorsch first reported that DeSantis would not be participating in the Oct. 20 debate in a tweet. In response to the news, Crist issued a statement.
“Ron DeSantis can’t defend his record of banning abortions and ignoring Florida’s affordability crisis. DeSantis wants people to think he is tough, but you can’t play dress up like a fighter pilot and then chicken out of debates. These are the actions of a wannabe dictator, it’s weak, Floridians see through it, and it’s why we’re going to defeat him,” Crist said in a statement.
Soon after reporting on DeSantis’ decline to participate in the “Before You Vote” debate, news broke that the Governor’s campaign has accepted an Oct. 12 debate against Crist hosted by CBS 12, meaning the two should have at least one debate before the November Election.
As for the “Before You Vote” debate, it will air through 10 broadcast partners throughout the state.
WPBF will be the lead producing station and, as he has in the past debates, WPBF anchorman Todd McDermott will moderate the programs with a select panel of journalists, to be announced soon, according to debate organizers.
The debate will be simulcast on statewide public ration, on participating TV stations’ websites or Facebook pages and on daily newspaper websites or Facebook pages. A national rebroadcast on C-SPAN after the live debate has aired.
The debates are part of a large collaboration of partners across the state. And, this year, the Everglades Foundation has become a sponsor of the event, joining Florida Trend, The James Madison Institute, the Leroy Collins Institute, AARP Florida, the Florida Press Association, the Florida League of Cities and Palm Beach State College.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/553732-charlie-crist-slams-ron-desantis-for-declining-invite-to-before-you-vote-debate/
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Another new manufacturing plant and thousands more manufacturing jobs thanks to President Biden's CHIPS and Science Act!
Micron launches $15 billion Idaho project amid federal push for US tech manufacturing
The announcement comes after the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act
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On Thursday, Micron announced that it would invest $15 billion to build a new semiconductor plant in Idaho — just weeks after Congress passed $52 billion in new money to boost domestic chip manufacturing.
Micron’s announcement is just the latest in a series of multi-billion-dollar plans to jump on the Biden administration’s recently approved CHIPS and Science Act. Last month, Micron said it would use the act’s new subsidies to invest $40 billion into US-based memory fabs, or fabrication plants, by 2030, creating an estimated 40,000 new jobs. The new Boise plant is expected to create 17,000 new jobs, including 2,000 Micron jobs, over the next eight years.
In a Thursday statement, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra thanked the Biden administration for finishing the bipartisan chips legislation. “Our new leading-edge memory manufacturing fab will fuel US technology leadership, ensuring a reliable domestic supply of semiconductors that is critical to economic and national security,” Mehrotra said.
President Joe Biden celebrated Micron’s latest investment in a statement on Thursday, calling it “another big win for America.”
But up until last month, it wasn’t clear whether the CHIPS and Science Act would make it across the finish line this year. As it stalled in Congress, Intel delayed a groundbreaking ceremony for a new $20 billion Ohio chip plant and even went as far as pitching the Biden administration on overtaking an abandoned Chinese plant instead of waiting for the funding’s approval. These pitches frightened lawmakers, according to The New York Times, and pushed them to more swiftly approve the bill.
Shortly after Biden signed the bill into law, The Columbus Dispatch reported that the president would attend a new groundbreaking for Intel’s plant this month. The company claims that it would be the “largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet” and would require 7,000 workers to build.
Last week, Biden signed an executive order to start rolling out the billions in subsidies to manufacturers like Micron and Intel. Biden’s order established a new interagency council to oversee the rollout, but it’s unclear when the Commerce Department will officially make the new funding available.
Through Biden administration priorities like the CHIPs funding and the bipartisan infrastructure law, the federal government has invested billions into creating domestic tech and manufacturing jobs.
"Just this week, we’ve seen First Solar, Toyota, Honda, and Corning make major announcements of new investments and new jobs as a direct result of my economic plan,” Biden said on Thursday. “In our future, we will make EVs, chips, fiber optics, and other critical components here in America, and we will have an economy built from the bottom up and middle out.”
In April, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm made $3.1 billion in funding available to US companies to build and recycle lithium-ion batteries to help boost EV adoption. Earlier this week, an energy startup called Sparkz announced plans to build a new battery factory in northern West Virginia.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/1/23332930/micron-idaho-manufacturing-chips-act-biden-white-house
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President Biden has has been dedicated to "Make it in America". The buy American economy is getting results.
President Biden has boosted manufacturing creating hundreds of thousands of new manufacturing jobs as jobs leave overseas to come back home. Plus new manufacturing facilities are being built and opening up.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-05/us-factory-boom-heats-up-as-ceos-yank-production-out-of-china
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Thanks to President Biden manufacturing is booming and more brand new factories are being built.
Honda and LG Chem will build a $4.4 billion EV battery factory in the US
The latest move to shore up the US’s domestic battery production to comply with new tax rules
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Honda and LG Chem will build a $4.4 billion electric vehicle battery factory in the US, the latest move to shore up the country’s domestic production to comply with new tax credit rules.
Honda and LG Chem will form a joint venture to produce batteries in the US for the automaker’s upcoming lineup of EVs. The two companies aim to begin construction in early 2023 to enable the start of mass production of lithium-ion battery cells by the end of 2025. Honda and its subsidiary Acura have plans to release 30 hybrid, battery-electric, and fuel-cell vehicles by 2030.
The factory, which aims to have an annual production capacity of approximately 40GWh, is likely to be located in Ohio, according to The Wall Street Journal. The state is also the site of a future $2.3 billion battery plant that’s being built by LG Chem and General Motors.
Localizing battery production in the US is important for automakers that want to qualify for the $7,500-per-vehicle tax credit, which requires EVs to be assembled in the US. Foreign automakers have expressed concerns that the new tax credits could discriminate against companies without manufacturing facilities in the US.
The factory is part of a host of new EV facilities that are expected to come online in the coming years. Globally, battery production is expected to grow from 95.3 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2020 to 410.5 GWh in 2024, according to GlobalData, a data and analytics company.
Ford has said its three new battery plants will enable 129 GWh a year of production capacity. General Motors is planning four new battery factories in the US (also with LG Chem) for a total annual capacity of 140 GWh, while Volkswagen is aiming to have six battery cell production plants operating in Europe by 2030 for a total of 240 GWh a year. And Stellantis is planning a new factory in Indiana, which will have an initial annual production capacity of 23 GWh.
Honda has teased two upcoming EVs: the 2024 Honda Prologue and an Acura concept called the Precision. The Prologue will be the first of two vehicles that Honda is co-developing with GM, using the US automaker’s Ultium battery packs. GM and Honda have said they expect to produce “millions” of affordable EVs starting in 2027.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/29/23326844/honda-lg-chem-ev-battery-factory-ohio
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Rep. Steven Horsford @RepHorsford
The #InflationReductionAct will upgrade affordable housing here in Nevada to ensure they are resilient to extreme weather.
These upgrades will also improve energy use and lower household costs.
That’s only one of many ways that we’re lowering costs and helping Nevadan families.
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https://twitter.com/RepHorsford/status/1566610864106622977
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Gasoline Prices Should Keep Falling Unless This Happens
Gasoline prices are at their lowest levels since March and are likely to keep falling, analysts say.
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Gasoline prices are expected to continue their downward trend during Labor Day weekend as consumers are still receiving a reprieve.
Crude oil prices declined on Sept. 2 to $86.97 a barrel on ongoing fears of an impending recession curbing demand. Inflation rates remain high and consumers face tighter budgets from paying more in food, housing and energy costs. The possibility of more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve and more lockdowns in China due to covid-19 have also played a factor.
Consumers are facing the "cheapest summer holiday this year," Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis, GasBuddy, a Boston-based provider of retail fuel pricing information and data, told TheStreet.
The decline of gas prices can be attributed to a number of factors, including an uptick in domestic oil production and an expansion of U.S. refining capacity, Bernard (Bud) Weinstein, a retired energy economist at Southern Methodist University, told TheStreet.
"At about $3.80 per gallon, the national average price for gasoline over Labor Day weekend will be considerably lower than it was over the July 4 holiday when the average was just under $5 per gallon," he said.
A sluggish economy in China, the world's second largest consumer of fossil fuels, and the onset of a recession in most of Europe has "depressed the demand for oil and petroleum products and pushed down the price of crude oil by $30 per barrel since June," Weinstein said.
Gasoline Prices Decline For 11 Weeks
The drop in gasoline prices has been significant with 11 consecutive weeks of declines and is estimated to continue declining.
"Prices have been falling and that trend will stick around through the weekend," De Haan said.
The current decline in gasoline prices marks the longest period since 2018, De Haan said. During the height of the global pandemic in 2020, gasoline prices fell for 10 weeks in a row.
Between the Fourth of July through Sept. 2, gasoline prices have dipped by 20%, De Haan said.
"Americans will come back Monday and see prices a little bit lower than when they left their houses," he said.
The national average is now $3.802 per gallon and will continue to decline to even $3.29 by later this fall, barring unexpected disruptions to refineries from any hurricanes, De Haan said. Gas prices are now at their lowest level since March, falling every week of the summer.
As of Sept. 1, there were at least 15 states selling gasoline for $2.99 or lower.
Prices falling to $2.99 a gallon on average is a possibility, he said.
"We could see the first CITY average falling under $3/gal this weekend -- not just one or two stations... Lawton, OK the average price is currently $3.05/gal," De Haan tweeted.
Gas Prices Face a Big Unknown
Unless a major hurricane shuts down refineries along the Gulf Coast, the decline in gasoline prices at the pump is expected to continue, De Haan said.
Crude oil prices have fallen on concerns about the global economy slowing down, another shutdown in China has impacted demand and factory activity and rising interest rates by both the Federal Reserve and ECB.
OPEC and and its allies, known as OPEC+ have discussed the possibility of lowering the production of oil and has a scheduled meeting on Sept. 5.
When OPEC+ met on Aug. 3, the group agreed on increasing production by 100,000 barrels for September.
If OPEC decides not to slash production, gasoline prices will remain under $3.50 a gallon, De Haan said. If they do cut production, gasoline prices will fall only another $0.10 to $0.15, he said.
In September, gasoline prices typically fall as the summer holiday driving season comes to an end and refiners shift to "winter" gasoline, which is cheaper to produce.
The average retail gasoline prices should drop another $0.20 to $0.25 per gallon this month, Weinstein said.
"Even with hostilities continuing in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, which has disrupted global oil markets, this should still be the case as plenty of supply is available elsewhere in the world," he said.
Peak Hurricane Season Started
Colorado State University researchers predict an active hurricane season and estimate 18 named storms, eight hurricanes, and four major hurricanes that are Category 3 or higher this year.
The National Hurricane Center said on Sept. 2 that Danielle became the first Atlantic hurricane of the season.
Danielle is estimated to be a category 2 hurricane and will "meander over the open Atlantic during the next couple of days," before moving to the northeast early next week, the hurricane center said. The projected route poses no threat to oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.
Crude oil prices could spike by $10 only if a major hurricane made landfall along the Gulf Coast and increasing gasoline prices by $0.25 a gallon, Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Tortoise in Overland Park, Kan., told TheStreet.
An outage at refineries could throw gasoline prices back into the mid $4s, he said.
A hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico that forces the shutdown of rigs and production platforms could "cause a short-term blip in prices," Weinstein said.
"If we see a Hurricane Harvey or Ida, the impact could be significant," De Haan said. "Any major hurricane entering the Gulf of Mexico would be bad news for gas prices, but it's pretty rare to see an Ida going into the backyard of refineries. By and large if we see a hurricane prices could go back up."
https://www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/gasoline-prices-should-keep-falling-unless-this-happens
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Desperate Ron Johnson lies about 'ever' wanting to cut Social Security as he dips in the polls
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Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) falsely suggested over the weekend that he has never proposed cutting Social Security.
"Probably the most outrageous lie they are telling now is I want to cut or end Social Security," Johnson told the hosts of Fox & Friends on Sunday. "I mean, just give that a second of thought. What elected official would ever want to cut Social Security? It is absurd on its face."
"I want to save Social Security," he added. "We need to stop all this deficit spending."
Johnson, however, did not explain why he recently proposed making Social Security subject to yearly cuts. And he did not address why he said on his campaign website that cutting Social Security may be necessary.
Johnson is on record referring to the popular program as a "Ponzi scheme." One local publication accused Johnson of a "crusade" against Social Security.
In recent weeks, Johnson has been slipping in the polls against Democratic challenger Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.
Watch the video below:
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Secretary Marty Walsh @SecMartyWalsh
August 2022 #JobsReport Facts:
☑️ Labor force participation rose to 62.4%
☑️ Over the past 3 months, we've added 378,000 jobs/month to our economy
☑️ Nonfarm employment has risen by 5.8 million over the past 12 months
☑️ Since @POTUS took office, we’ve created 9.7 million jobs
https://twitter.com/SecMartyWalsh/status/1565715898530422785
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Democrats' Chances of Flipping North Carolina's GOP-Held Senate Seat: Polls
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Above left, Republican Representative Ted Budd speaks at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center on June 18, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee. Above right, Democrat Cheri Beasley speaks to a crowd during an election night event on May 17, 2022, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Recent polling suggests Beasley is narrowly favored to win North Carolina's Senate race against Budd.
Democratic Senate candidate Cheri Beasley appears to be well-positioned to possibly flip North Carolina's Republican-held Senate seat blue in the upcoming November 8 midterm election, with multiple recent conservative polls showing her tied or narrowly ahead.
Beasley, a former chief justice of North Carolina's Supreme Court, will face off against GOP Representative Ted Budd, who represents North Carolina's 13th District. The candidates aim to win the seat being vacated by Senator Richard Burr.
While Budd was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, Burr was one of the seven GOP senators to vote to convict Trump at the conclusion of his second impeachment trial for inciting his supporters to attack the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Recent polling data shows Beasley is narrowly favored to flip the GOP-held seat blue in the upcoming election. A new poll released Thursday by the conservative think tank The John Locke Foundation showed a tied race.
In the survey, which was conducted from August 13 to August 15 by Civitas Poll, Beasley and Budd were both backed by 43.2 percent of North Carolina's likely voters. However, 12.6 percent of respondents were undecided and 2.7 percent backed third-party candidates. The poll included 615 likely voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percent.
The Lock Foundation poll showed a shift from a June survey by the conservative think tank, when Budd led Beasley by 5 points. In that survey, the Republican had the backing of 45 percent of likely voters compared to the Democrat's support from only 40 percent.
Previous polling by PEM Management Corporation for former Trump administration official John Bolton's super PAC showed Beasley in the lead. The survey was carried out from July 22 to July 24 and had the Democrat at 43 percent while Budd was at 40 percent. The survey included 300 likely voters in North Carolina.
An early-August survey by Blueprint Polling showed Beasley ahead by 4 points. The Democrat had the backing of 46 percent of likely voters compared to her opponent's 42 percent. The poll included 656 likely voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.83 points.
The current FiveThirtyEight average for the North Carolina Senate race shows the Democrat narrowly favored. The polling average has Beasley at 44 percent and Budd at 43.9 percent. It was last updated on August 18.
Currently, there are 50 members of the Senate's Democratic caucus and 50 Republicans. Although the chamber is evenly split, Vice President Kamala Harris can cast tiebreaking votes as Senate president.
Recent historical precedent suggests that Republicans are favored to gain seats in the midterm, but recent polling data and forecasts by analysts show Democrats could likely keep, and possibly even expand, their majority. However, they cannot lose one seat without forfeiting control of the Senate.
https://www.newsweek.com/democrats-chances-flipping-north-carolinas-gop-held-senate-seat-polls-1734993
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Barack Obama: president, Nobel laureate, and now an Emmy winner
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Hollywood newcomer Barack Obama was awarded an Emmy for narrating his Netflix documentary series "Our Great National Parks," the Television Academy announced Saturday.
The former two-term US president had already won a pair of Grammy Awards -- for audio versions of his memoirs "The Audacity of Hope" and "Dreams from My Father" -- so he now only needs an Oscar and a Tony to complete the estimable EGOT.
According to an Entertainment Weekly tracker, only 17 people have achieved an EGOT, including Mel Brooks, Whoopie Goldberg, Audrey Hepburn and -- most recently -- Jennifer Hudson.
One other president had already been awarded an Emmy -- Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 -- although his was an honorary award.
After leaving office in 2017, both Obama and his wife Michelle have each written best-selling memoirs, and in addition to their non-profit foundation, have established a production company which has inked a major deal with Netflix, reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars.
Their company's first documentary for the streaming service, "American Factory," won the Oscar for best documentary feature and an Emmy for directing, though the awards went to the filmmakers and not to the Obamas themselves.
Obama's successor to the presidency, Donald Trump, did not win an Emmy for his reality competition show "The Apprentice," although he was nominated twice.
Other nominees in Obama's narrator category included former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ("Black Patriots: Heroes Of The Civil War"), Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o ("Serengeti II") and veteran naturalist David Attenborough ("The Mating Game").
Obama also received the Nobel Peace Prize after his 2008 presidential election win, for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."
© Agence France-Presse
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President Biden at Laborfest in Milwaukee
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Charlie Crist @CharlieCrist
Thousands of Floridians are being kicked off of their property insurance because of Ron DeSantis's crisis.
Unlike him, I’ve taken on the big insurance companies and fought to lower rates.
Floridians deserve a governor who will fight for their homes.
https://twitter.com/CharlieCrist/status/1566880266878083075
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President Biden celebrates union gains during speech at Milwaukee's Laborfest, continues broadside against 'MAGA Republicans'
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President Joe Biden praised unions in a speech at Milwaukee's Laborfest and used the event Monday to continue his broadside against the "MAGA Republican" wing of the GOP.
"I'm here because of you — the middle class built America, but the unions built the middle class — that's a fact," Biden said. "Laborers are the single greatest technicians in the world. People forget, you go four, five years to school, in an apprentice, build a better product, it lasts longer, it's cheaper for the business, it's better for the country."
Wisconsin Democratic and labor leaders, including Gov. Tony Evers and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, welcomed Biden who visited just two months before the high-profile midterm elections in the battleground state.
Biden thanked Milwaukee and Wisconsin elected officials, including Barnes saying, "he couldn't be here, but he's going to be your next United States senator."
Biden then carried a political message as he said the country was at an inflection point, whether it wanted to move forward or backward, to build a future "or obsess about the past."
"Not every Republican is a MAGA Republican, not every Republican embraces that extreme ideology," Biden said, a followup to his speech five days ago in Philadelphia and referring to the acronym for Trump's campaign slogan Make America Great Again. That same speech was attacked by Republicans for condemning backers of former President Donald Trump.
"But the extreme MAGA Republicans have chosen to go backwards, full of anger, violence hate and division. But together we can and we must choose a different path."
Unlike in the Philadelphia speech, Biden didn't mention the former president by name, instead referring to "the last guy" and "Trumpies."
Biden targeted Sen. Johnson saying he wants to put Social Security and Medicare on the "chopping block."
"This guy never stops," he said, referring to Johnson.
Evers, who is in a tight race with Republican challenger Tim Michels, has pledged to support Biden if he launches a reelection campaign for a second term.
Introducing Biden Monday, Evers called the president an important partner to states like Wisconsin.
"Fortunately, we have a president who understands the challenges facing working families and (is) willing to work with us to find common sense solutions," Evers said.
AFP
Biden blasts "extreme" GOP in Labor Day trip to Wisconsin
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden excoriated "MAGA Republicans" and the extreme right on Monday, pitching personal Labor Day appeals to union members in two key swing states that he hopes will turn out in force for his party in November.
"The middle class built America," Biden told a workers' gathering at park grounds in Milwaukee. "Everybody knows that. But unions built the middle class."
Later Monday, he flew to West Mifflin, outside Pittsburgh — returning to Pennsylvania for the third time in less than a week and just two days after his predecessor, Donald Trump, staged his own rally in the state.
The unofficial start of fall, Labor Day also traditionally starts a political busy season where campaigns scramble to excite voters for Election Day on Nov. 8. That's when control of the House and Senate, as well some of the country's top governorships, will be decided.
On Monday, Biden said "Not every Republican is a MAGA Republican" but singled out those who have taken Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign cry to dangerous or hateful lengths. He highlighted episodes like last year's mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.
He told the Milwaukee rally that many in the GOP have "chosen to go backwards, full of anger, violence, hate, division."
"But together we can, and we must, choose a different path forward," Biden said. "A future of unity and hope. we're going to choose to build a better America."
The crowd jeered loudly as Biden repeatedly chided Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin for voting against a Democratic-backed measure meant to lower prescription drug prices. The president also suggested Johnson and other congressional Republicans were wiling to undermine Social Security.
Unions endorsements helped Biden overcome disastrous early finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire to win the 2020 Democratic primary, and eventually the White House. He has since continued to praise the labor movement as president.
Mary Kay Henry, president of the 2-million-member Service Employees International Union, called Biden's championing of unions heading into the midterm elections "critical" and said workers must "mobilize in battlegrounds across the country to ensure that working people turn out."
"We're really excited about the president speaking directly to workers about, if he had the opportunity, he'd join a union," Henry said. She added: "This president has signaled which side he's on. And he's on the side of working people. And that matters hugely."
AFP
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Josh Shapiro @JoshShapiroPA
I’m going to protect our fundamental freedoms as your next Governor — and @JohnFetterman is going to do it as your 51st vote in the Senate.
Let’s get it done.
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https://twitter.com/JoshShapiroPA/status/1566864900709908480
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Bill Pascrell, Jr. @@BillPascrell
Correct: when we saved millions of truckers' pensions last year, every single republican in Congress voted no. The Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Relief Act.
Biden: Not a single Republican congressman voted to protect your pensions. Not one. And by the way, I know a lot of them wanted to vote for it. They’re afraid of losing primaries in this new Republican Party.
Watch video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1566847897462865923
https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1566849729761247237
Bill Pascrell, Jr. @BillPascrell
The reason we didn’t cap insulin at $35 is because republicans blocked it. Republicans told millions of Americans to drop dead. Here are their names.
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https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1566781747936854019
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Kansas Had Historic Primary Turnout
“The Aug. 2 election in Kansas was the highest-turnout primary election in state history, Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab’s Office said Thursday as top officials met to formally certify the results, including the defeat of an amendment to remove abortion rights from the state constitution,” the Kansas City Star reports.
“The unprecedented turnout in the Aug. 2 primary election was driven by extraordinary voter interest in the amendment, called Value Them Both by supporters, which would have overturned a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision that found the state constitution protects abortion access.”
https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article265216726.html
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Rep. Elissa Slotkin @RepSlotkin
Lowering the cost of prescription drugs is one of my biggest priorities, and today I got to sit down with seniors in Lansing to talk about the progress we’ve made on this issue lately.
For Medicare enrollees, starting in January, the price of insulin will be capped at $35. In the year after, your annual out of pocket spending on prescription drugs will be capped at $2,000.
On top of that, we’re *finally* letting Medicare begin to negotiate for lower drug prices, the same way military healthcare does. And the Canadians — pretty much every other country in the world negotiates with our drug makers.
https://twitter.com/RepSlotkin/status/1565500957697445895
U.S. Rep. Slotkin visited Lansing Thursday to discuss the Inflation Reduction Act
LANSING, Mich. — U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin visited the Alfreda Schmidt Community Center in Lansing Thursday afternoon to speak with dozens of senior community members about the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by President Biden last month.
The round-table discussion started with Rep. Slotkin honoring 100-year-old World War II veteran from Rochester, Paul Landsberg.
"It's been a great ride all the way down," Landsberg said. "What I say to you, keep active. Do not give up the ship."
The discussion then moved to the Inflation Reduction Act, which will take effect in January.
"We passed some pretty significant prescription drug pricing legislation in early August, and I wanted to get people together to just tell them what happened and then what to expect on their bills come January, and let people ask questions, give them materials to understand, just kind of get the word out on prescription drug pricing, and how it's going to change if you are on Medicare," Rep. Slotkin said.
The new law reduces out-of-pocket expenses for seniors on Medicare, allows Medicare to negotiate drug costs and caps the cost of Insulin to $35 a month for Medicare recipients.
According to Rep. Slotkin, many people in Michigan are, "paying more in healthcare and prescription drugs than they are on their mortgage."
Rep. Slotkin said one of the main reasons she decided to run for Congress was the price of healthcare and prescription drugs.
"In particular, with my mom's struggle with ovarian cancer, and her being diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer when she did not have health insurance," Rep. Slotkin said. "To be able to come here and talk about, 'This is what we did. It is done. It's starting in January. You're going to get Insulin capped at $35 a month if you're on Medicare.' It's just a full-circle moment for me."
Lansing resident Norma Bauer, however, said she thinks Rep. Slotkin could focus more on prevention.
"I can see that it helped people like her mother who needed that, and there are plenty of people like that, and there are plenty of people like that because of the social determinants of healthcare," Bauer said. "If you're poor, uneducated, can't get a job...you are not going to be able to pay for health insurance under our current system—better to deal with things on a prevention level."
In November, Rep. Slotkin will go head-to-head with Republican candidate Tom Barrett for Michigan's 7th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. FOX 47 News is working with Barrett and his campaign to schedule a one-on-one interview to get his perspective on this act, and more.
https://www.fox47news.com/neighborhoods/delhi-township-holt-and-southside-lansing/u-s-rep-slotkin-visited-lansing-thursday-to-discuss-the-inflation-reduction-act
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How the Inflation Reduction Act would save Medicare drug costs
Seniors and patient groups have long pursued a seemingly improbable goal of granting Medicare the authority to negotiate prescription drug prices.
Legislation passed by the U.S. Senate on Sunday and advanced to the House would finally allow the federal health program for older Americans to seek lower prescription drug prices at the bargaining table. The legislation also limits out-of-pocket costs of Medicare recipients at $2,000 a year.
Patient advocates hailed the legislation as a win for seniors who struggle to pay rising prescription drug prices. If enacted, the bill would be the most ambitious piece of health legislation since 2010's Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama's signature health law.
While the ACA extended coverage to millions through subsidized private insurance and expanded Medicaid for lower-income Americans, it didn't address the rising cost of prescription drugs.
David Mitchell, founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, said the Democrats' sweeping climate and health care bill, called the Inflation Reduction Act, is a hard-fought win for patients like himself.
"It's a monumental change – a really significant victory," Mitchell told USA TODAY.
Mitchell pays more than $16,000 each year for a prescription drug he takes to treat multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer he has battled for more than a decade. He said the annual $2,000 cap on prescription drug spending is "going to make a big difference."
"These are all features that are going to help millions of Americans be better able to afford the drugs they need now," Mitchell said.
What's in the bill?
For the first time, Medicare would be allowed to negotiate prices for prescription drugs.
Under the bill, Medicare would negotiate the cost of up to 10 retail drugs beginning in 2026. By 2029, Medicare's bargaining power would expand to 20 retail and 20 doctor-administered drugs. The bill would save the federal government an estimated $288 billion over the next decade.
Those savings would help offset the cost of implementing a $2,000 out-of-pocket cap for older adults. Medicare recipients also would have insulin prices capped at $35 a dose. That cap will not extend to Americans covered by private insurance plans after Republicans stripped that provision from the final bill.
The bill benefits people who must take expensive prescriptions for conditions such as cancer or multiple sclerosis. An estimated 1.4 million Medicare recipients spent at least $2,000 on prescriptions in 2020, the most recent year with available data, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis.
The bill also would dampen drugmakers' ability to significantly hike prices. Beginning next year, drugmakers that increase prices above inflation levels would be required to pay rebates.
The bill also would provide free vaccines for seniors. For younger Americans, it extends Affordable Care Act subsidies three more years through 2025. That will make insurance coverage less expensive for lower and middle-income earners who directly purchase coverage on federal and state insurance exchanges.
AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins said her organization has fought for two decades to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices for older Americans.
"This bill will save Medicare hundreds of billions of dollars and give seniors peace of mind knowing there is an annual limit on what they must pay out-of-pocket for medications," Jenkins said.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2022/08/11/bidens-inflation-bill-seeks-lower-medicare-drug-costs-seniors/10264240002/
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Job growth, investments in manufacturing sector tied to White House economic plan
President Joe Biden Thursday praised progress made in the manufacturing sector weeks after the passage of the Chips and Science Act, which invested billions of dollars in domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
The president’s remarks came after Idaho-based microchip manufacturer Micron announced plans Thursday to invest approximately $15 billion over the next decade in a new memory manufacturing facility in Boise.
The lab, which is the first of its kind built in America in over 20 years, is projected to create 17,000 new American jobs by the end of 2032, according to the company.
“Today’s announcement by Micron is another big win for America,” Biden said in a statement.
Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra thanked the Biden administration and members of Congress for bipartisan support of the CHIPS Act “which made this investment decision possible.”
“This is the first of Micron’s multiple planned U.S. investments following the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, and represents the largest private investment ever made in Idaho,” Mehrotra said in a statement. “Our new leading-edge memory manufacturing fab will fuel U.S. technology leadership, ensuring a reliable domestic supply of semiconductors that is critical to economic and national security.”
Over $52 billion was allotted to U.S. companies producing computer chips under the act, along with billions in tax credits to spur investments in semiconductor manufacturing to enable the U.S. to compete with East Asia. The region accounts for 75% of global production of semiconductors.
Biden signed the CHIPS Act into law in early August.
Micron first announced a $40 billion investment in memory chip manufacturing at that time. The investment, said the White House, will create 40,000 new jobs in construction and manufacturing and raise the U.S. market share of memory chip production from less than 2% to up to 10% over the next 10 years.
In his statement Thursday, Biden also mentioned similar growth projections from manufacturing companies First Solar, Toyota, Honda and Corning over the past week.
The announcements are a “direct result of my economic plan,” he said.
Solar power company First Solar announced $1.2 billion in developments Tuesday, including a new factory in the southeastern part of the country and an expansion of its Northwest Ohio manufacturing footprint. The investments will add at least 850 new manufacturing jobs with the additional goal of supporting over 15,000 jobs by 2025, according to a press release.
Vehicle manufacturers Toyota and Honda revealed a respective $2.5 billion additional investment in Toyota’s North American battery manufacturing facility and a $4.4 billion joint venture with LG Energy Solutions to manufacture lithium-ion batteries in the U.S. that will power Honda and Acura EV models for the domestic market.
Toyota’s new venture will add 350 jobs, bringing total employment to approximately 2,100, according to a statement. A representative for Honda did not respond to a request for comment before publication.
Corning, a New York-based advanced optics manufacturer, said Tuesday it is partnering with AT&T in a new optical cable manufacturing facility in Arizona. The facility will bring approximately 250 jobs to the area and is expected to open in 2024, according to a press release.
“In our future, we will make EVs, chips, fiber optics, and other critical components here in America, and we will have an economy built from the bottom up and middle out,” Biden said Thursday.
The economy has added 3.3 million jobs this year as the unemployment rate has fallen to 3.5%, tied for the lowest since 1969. For August, payrolls growth is expected to rise by 318,000 after growing by 528,000 in July.
AFP
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Ford to invest $3.7B in US factories, add 6,200 union jobs in push to build more EVs
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Ford said Thursday it will invest $3.7 billion and add more than 6,200 union manufacturing jobs in Michigan, Ohio and Missouri as part of the automaker’s plan to sell 2 million EVs a year globally by the end of 2026.
The new investment will be used to hire union workers at factories in Michigan, Ohio and Missouri, provide healthcare to new hourly employees as well improve working conditions at these facilities. Notably, Ford said it made the hiring investment a year ahead of 2023 contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers union.
The news nudged Ford shares up about 1.85% in morning trading.
Much of the investment will go toward factories building Ford’s EVs, including the F-150 Lightning pickup truck and a new EV commercial vehicle slated to begin production in mid-decade. However, Ford said it is also investing in factories where its gas-powered vehicles are assembled and plans to use some of the funds to produce a new Ranger pickup and Mustang coupe.
As part of the hiring plan, Ford will convert nearly 3,000 temporary employees to permanent full-time status. The automaker said it will also invest $1 billion over five years to improve working conditions at its U.S. factories, such as adding better lighting in parking lots, EV charging and providing access to healthier food.
The hefty investment comes a few months after Ford announced a restructuring plan that will split the company into two units. Ford Blue will be focused on existing and future internal gas combustion vehicles like the Mustang, F-150 and Bronco and the Ford Model e unit will oversee the company’s electric vehicle development and production as well as connected car services.
The largest bulk of the investment announced Thursday, about $2 billion worth, will be spread amongst three assembly plants in Michigan. The Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn will get funds to increase production of the F-150 Lightning electric truck to 150,000 per year. Money will also be invested to produce an all-new Ranger pickup at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne and an all-new Mustang coupe at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant.
Another $1.5 billion will go toward hiring 1,800 union workers at Ford’s Ohio Assembly Plant to build an all-new EV commercial vehicle starting mid-decade, along with an additional 90 jobs and $100 million investment between the Lima Engine and Sharonville Transmission plants, the company said.
The remaining $95 million will be used to fill 1,100 union jobs for a third shift at its Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri to increase production of the Transit and the all-new E-Transit electric van.
https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/02/ford-to-invest-3-7b-in-u-s-factories-add-6200-union-jobs-in-push-to-build-more-evs/
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President Biden at Laborfest in Milwaukee, Wi : Full Speech
President Biden discussed America's ongoing labor movement and praised union workers during a speech Monday at Laborfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Watch:
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Democrats have gained another half point on the aggregate generic ballot. MAGA Republican extremism is being rejected by voters.
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MAGA Republicans in the House unanimously voted against lowering gas prices for Americans.
Why would independent voters support MAGA extremists who made them pay more for gas?
Why would Republican voters support MAGA extremists who made them pay more for gas?
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Wiley Nickel for Congress @wileynickel
A new #NC13 poll has our campaign up 4% over MAGA Republican Bo Hines.
It's clear that our solutions-driven message is resonating with voters, and that North Carolinians are rejecting Bo Hines extreme agenda.
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https://twitter.com/wileynickel/status/1567204072024932352
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President Biden @POTUS
Today, I met with my Cabinet to lay out how we’re going to swiftly implement recent legislative wins like the Inflation Reduction Act.
This experienced and dedicated Cabinet is working to lower costs for families, create good-paying jobs, and increase American manufacturing.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1567236715064041479
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Rep.- elect Mary Peltola on her win in Alaska
A major political upset in Alaska as a Democrat won the state’s only seat in the U.S. House. Former state lawmaker Mary Peltola defeated former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in a special election to replace former Congressman Don Young, who died earlier this year. Rep.- elect Peltola joined Judy Woodruff to discuss her victory.
Watch:
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President Biden @POTUS
The CHIPS and Science Act means we are going to build the future in America.
With American workers.
In American factories.
Using American made products.
The middle class built America and unions built the middle class.
The work of my presidency is to build an America that is more prosperous, free, and just. It’s a mission I believe in with my whole soul.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1567158185731002368
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1566943593847296001
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Senator Joe Manchin @Sen_JoeManchin
The Inflation Reduction Act represents a historic opportunity to lower healthcare costs for Americans and hold drug companies accountable for outrageous price hikes. By allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, we will save taxpayers $100 billion.
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https://twitter.com/Sen_JoeManchin/status/1567525668673429506
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It's interesting to look at what GOP polls are saying about 2022 (via 538):
These 4 polls have Democrats up 4.5 points:
Americans for Prosperity 42-39 (+3)
Echelon Insights 48-44 (+4)
Chamber of Commerce 46-41 (+5)
Winning The Issues 47-41 (+6)
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President Biden will head to JFK Library in Boston next week to discuss the progress the US is making on the goal of ending cancer as we know it.
Coincides with the 60th anniversary of JFK’s Moonshot speech.
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President Biden @POTUS
Working people built America. I’m fighting like hell to make this nation work for them.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1567515201855004674
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GOP senator cited COVID when he dumped shares ahead of stock market crash, according to FBI records
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After Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., told his broker to sell off more than a million dollars in stock a week before the 2020 coronavirus market crash, he called his brother-in-law, Gerald Fauth. Immediately after, Fauth called his wealth manager to sell off almost $160,000 in stock.
Fauth sounded “hurried,” according to a witness cited by the FBI in newly released documents. In explaining why he wanted to dump the stock, Fauth suggested he had special knowledge.
I know a senator, he said.
That appears to contradict what Burr’s lawyer told ProPublica, when we broke the news that the senator and his brother-in-law sold stock on the same day. In that story, the lawmaker’s attorney denied Burr and Fauth had coordinated.
That detail and others were revealed this week, after a judge ordered the Justice Department to further unredact documents related to its insider trading investigation into Burr. Federal prosecutors closed that investigation without filing charges last year, but as of earlier this year, a civil investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission remained ongoing.
Burr and Fauth could not immediately be reached for comment about the latest document release. In the past, Burr has denied trading on material nonpublic information, and Fauth has repeatedly hung up on ProPublica when asked about his trades.
Here’s a rundown of what’s new from the filing:
A Previous Transaction
Before Burr’s big stock dump on Feb. 13, 2020, the senator engaged in another transaction that suggested he anticipated investor concerns.
The day before his big stock sell-off, Burr purchased $1,189,000 in the Federated U.S. Treasury Cash Reserves Fund, about three-quarters of all the money he and his wife had in their joint account. That purchase had not been previously reported. “Investors often purchase U.S. Treasury funds to hedge against a potential market downturn,” an FBI agent noted.
Why Did Burr Trade?
When the scandal first broke, Burr denied his trades were motivated by inside information he learned as a member of the health and intelligence committees, but rather by news reports from CNBC.
Though this section remains lightly redacted, the FBI appears to have interviewed someone involved in executing Burr’s stock sell-off. That person did not recall Burr mentioning CNBC.
The person said Burr cited the coronavirus, saying it could affect the stock market and cause problems with the supply chain, since American companies rely on Chinese suppliers. (Burr also apparently mentioned that the surge in support for Sen. Bernie Sanders as the Democratic presidential nominee was a risk to the market.)
Did Burr Have a Source?
The FBI’s application for a warrant to search Burr’s phone remains heavily redacted in places, but it cites extensive texts and phone calls with someone about the impending coronavirus crisis.
“In total, between January 31, 2020, and April 7, 2020, (redacted) and Senator Burr exchanged approximately 32 text messages, nearly all of which concerned, in one way or another, the COVID-19 pandemic,” an FBI agent wrote.
That person’s identity remains unknown.
But the exchanges Burr had with this person are part of the reason the FBI was alleging there was probable cause to believe “Burr used material, non-public information regarding the impact that COVID-19 would have on the economy, and that he gained that information by virtue of his position as a Member of Congress.”
One More Call
The day the scandal first broke, Burr was facing demands that he resign from left and right, including from liberal Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and conservative Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
One of his first calls that evening? His brother-in-law.
According to the FBI, at 7:31 p.m. a call was placed from Burr’s cellphone to Fauth’s cellphone.
It lasted four and a half minutes. What was discussed is unclear.
At that point, it wasn’t yet publicly known that Fauth had dumped stock the same day as Burr. ProPublica broke that story two months later.
A week later the FBI asked a judge for a warrant to search Burr’s phone, news of which prompted Burr to step down as chair of the intelligence committee.
Read More Here:
https://www.propublica.org/article/richard-burr-steps-down-from-chairmanship-of-senate-intelligence-committee
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President Biden to give 'Cancer Moonshot' speech at JFK Library
BOSTON - President Joe Biden is planning to give a speech at the John F. Kennedy Library on his ambitious goal to cut cancer deaths in health.
The White House said Biden will be at the JFK Library on Monday "to deliver remarks on the Cancer Moonshot and the goal of ending cancer as we know it."
Biden's remarks, which will take place on the 60th anniversary of Kennedy's famous "We choose to go to the moon" speech, will draw parallels between the former President's goal of landing a man on the moon and Biden's own "vision for another American moonshot -- a future where we end cancer as we know it," a White House official previewing the speech first to CNN said.
"When President Kennedy committed to putting a man on the moon and bringing him back, the United States had the building blocks to know that was possible. There were major scientific and societal advances that needed to happen. As a nation, we needed to fully commit to a future in which traveling to the moon was possible -- and we did just that," the official said.
"Today, we have many of the building blocks needed to make significant progress treating cancer, but we must come together to deliver on the promise. And because of incredible advances in science, technology, and medicine, we can already begin to see what is possible," the official added.
Earlier this year, Biden relaunched the government's $1.8 billion initiative to dramatically bring down the cancer death rate. The "moonshot" was first announced when Biden was vice president in 2016, not long after losing his son Beau to brain cancer.
The President has appointed a Cancer Cabinet, featuring representatives from 20 departments, agencies and the White House, including Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough and Dr. Alondra Nelson, head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
This summer, the group unveiled five key priorities, including "(1) close the screening gap, (2) understand and address environmental exposure, (3) decrease the impact of preventable cancers, (4) bring cutting edge research through the pipeline to patients and communities, and (5) support patients and caregivers," according to the White House.
Cancer is the nation's second highest cause of death, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. But the American Cancer Society earlier this year noted progress has been made as cancer mortality rates have fallen.
The overall cancer death rate dropped by about a third (32%) from its peak in 1991 to 2019, from about 215 deaths for every 100,000 people to about 146, averting about 3.5 million deaths during that time, according to an annual report on cancer statistics from the American Cancer Society. Most of that decline can be attributed to a drop in mortality among lung cancer patients.
Biden will also promote his recently passed infrastructure law while in Boston.
Vice President Kamala Harris was in Boston on Labor Day to show support for unions.
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/biden-jfk-library-cancer-moonshot-speech-boston/
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Charlie Crist @CharlieCrist
Ron DeSantis talks a lot about freedom but does little to protect it.
It’s time to elect a leader that can deliver more than empty promises — on reproductive freedom, LGBTQ+ & voting rights — and so much more.
Are you ready, Florida?
https://twitter.com/CharlieCrist/status/1567686592134782978
Jevin D. Hodge for Congress @JevinHodge
A federal investigation found David Schweikert guilty of using taxpayer money for his campaign, taking illegal campaign contributions, and even letting his Chief of Staff take a trip to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers' dime.
Follow here for more.
https://twitter.com/JevinHodge/status/1567662317281714177
Emilia Sykes @EmiliaSykesOH
Absolutely no Republicans in Congress voted to cap the cost of life saving insulin, and my opponent would be no different. Regardless of what attacks say, I will fight for lower cost prescription care for NE Ohio.
https://twitter.com/EmiliaSykesOH/status/1567660863418408967
Brad Pfaff @pfaff4congress
If you thought Marjorie Taylor Green was bad, let me introduce you to my opponent, Derrick Van Orden.
Derrick entered the restricted area at the Capitol on January 6th, and is now running for Congress. We cannot let him win.
https://twitter.com/pfaff4congress/status/1567605480792416256
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President Biden @POTUS
Nearly 10 million new jobs have been added to the economy, a record high at this point in a presidency.
We've got 3.7 percent unemployment – a near record low.
A big reason for all this is the American Rescue Plan. And not a single Republican in Congress voted for it.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1567858706724929538
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GOP stuck with Pandora's Box after Roe: Republicans run head first into the same-sex marriage trap
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The Senate is back from recess, and legislators are facing down a daunting to-do list to complete before the November election, including passing appropriations bill and confirming more of President Joe Biden's judicial nominees. Additionally, there's now increasing pressure to make time for a vote on the Respect for Marriage Act, which would offer limited protection to bolster previous Supreme Court decisions legalizing interracial and same-sex marriage in the face of this summer's blockbuster decision from the court striking down Roe v. Wade's landmark legalization of abortion.
The bill was passed in the House earlier this summer in response to the court's unprecedented move of taking away a right once granted. Such a move on its own would have raised fears that the court would next overturn other decisions that granted rights like same-sex marriage and birth control, but Justice Clarence Thomas erased any lingering doubts that such things are next on the religious right's wish list by explicitly inviting lawsuits challenging those previous decisions.
Republicans are in an electoral double bind.
So Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, called on their colleagues to pass new protections by arguing in a Washington Post op-ed on Tuesday that such legislation is "bipartisan." After arguing that "a majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents" support same-sex marriage rights, the two note that the legislation already passed through the Democratic-led House with "strong bipartisan support." The goal of these two senators isn't mysterious. Passing the bill through the Senate requires getting past the filibuster. That, in turn, means convincing 10 Republicans to join the slim 50-vote Democratic majority in the Senate to back the bill. Their op-ed was about persuading wary Republicans that it's safe and, in fact, savvy to back this politically popular view.
But to call the bipartisan support for same-sex marriage "strong" is, at best, political embroidery.
Same-sex marriage has strong Democratic support. In fact, it's unanimous, with all 220 House Democrats backing the bill and the expectation that all 50 Democrats in the Senate will. Only 22% of House Republicans, however, were willing to vote for same-sex marriage. Digging into the numbers, things look even worse on the GOP side. As an analysis from the Washington Post shows, a significant number of those Republicans who did support the bill "are retiring or represent districts in Democrats' sights in the midterms."
That doesn't make it impossible for the bill to pass through the Senate, to be clear. If 20% of Republican senators vote for the bill, that's enough to drag it across the finish line. It's still not clear if that will happen, however.
A few Republican senators have publicly indicated support, but many are being tight-lipped about where they stand. Baldwin told reporters that she expects a vote on the bill during the week of Sept. 19. But things took a dim turn this week, when Baldwin's fellow Wisconsin senator, Republican Ron Johnson, declared that he had no intention of voting for the bill, arguing that the Supreme Court was wrong to legalize same-sex marriage in the first place. Johnson was reportedly one of the senators who LGBTQ rights advocates had hoped to get on board. He is up for re-election in a swing state this year and had previously been coy about his position, leaving hope that he would attempt to appeal to moderates by backing the bill. This loss is a bad blow for those hoping to pass the bill.
The Republican opposition to abortion rights is hurting them in the polls already. Adding their opposition to same-sex marriage to the pile will only reinforce the Democrats' message: Republicans are right-wing radicals who are wildly out of step with the mainstream on social issues.
But even if LGBTQ advocates manage to cobble together 10 votes for this bill, that shouldn't be taken as serious evidence that Republicans have become more moderate on this issue. It's not just that the vast majority of Republican politicians oppose same-sex marriage. The attacks on LGBTQ rights have only been escalating in GOP circles in the past couple of years. Across the country, Republicans are passing laws to ban books and censor teachers for acknowledging the existence of LGBTQ people. Policies to bar gender non-conforming kids from playing sports and to punish families for supporting LGBTQ kids have also been enacted. In Texas, the Republican Party platform declared that homosexuality is an "abnormal lifestyle choice." Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, released an 11-point blueprint for the GOP this year which stated that the "traditional familiy" is "God's design for humanity," and asserted that a Bible quote about the "male and female He created them" should be the guide for government policies. In response to the Respect for Marriage Act, specifically, the GOP's House Freedom Caucus put out a statement declaring that the "radical left" has "attacked the norms of masculinity and femininity, and now it wants to further erode the sacred institutions of marriage."
The "radical" left in this case represents over 70% of Americans who support same-sex marriage, a number which includes 55% of Republican voters. The disconnect between where voters stand and where the Republican political establishment stands is understandably puzzling. Why don't Republicans moderate their views to reflect where their voters are?
Because Republicans are in an electoral double bind.
On one hand, their most dedicated and enthusiastic voters — the ones who show up for primaries, donate money, and volunteer — disproportionately come from a Christian nationalist base with radical right-wing views. They're rigidly opposed not just to abortion, but contraception and reject the constitutional separation between church and state. And because Christian conservatives vote in large numbers in primaries, they've pushed the elected representatives far to the right. On the other hand, the general election voters Republicans need to win office tend to be more moderate, especially on "social" issues like LGBTQ rights and reproductive health care access.
Republicans generally try to square this circle by passing draconian laws to please their Christian right base while attempting to obscure their views from the larger public. This strategy is playing out dramatically this election cycle on the issue of abortion. After the Roe overturn, Republican state legislatures have been moving quickly to pass ever more punitive abortion bans, frequently rejecting moderating amendments allowing the procedure for rape victims or for patients who are in medical crisis. But often those same politicians turn around and misrepresent their views to the public, running ads and making statements meant to reassure voters they won't vote for the anti-choice policies they have and will almost certainly continue to vote for.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., understands intimately that it's easier for Republicans to win elections if the voters are ignorant of how far-right the party's policy views actually are. He's been blocking efforts by Republicans to release a party platform, precisely because he knows it would contain language on reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and other issues where the GOP opposes the majority views. He was not happy with Rick Scott going behind his back to release the 11-point pseudo-platform for precisely this reason. It created multiple news cycles in which the actual views of Republicans, which most voters reject, were publicized.
This likely explains why so many Senate Republicans are playing peek-a-boo with their intentions on the Respect for Marriage Act. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., may be reluctant to bring it to a floor vote without knowing if it's going to pass or not. As long as it's not brought up for a vote, Republicans can play both sides of the issue, letting their Christian right base's wishes prevail without alienating general election voters who are unaware of how anti-gay the mainstream GOP is. Once there's a vote, however, it forces them into a binary choice of alienating one group or the other.
This all shows why it's smart politics for Democrats to bring the Respect for Marriage Act up for a vote in the next few weeks, regardless of whether they know where the whip count stands. If they get 10 Republican votes, then they've passed a popular policy that also prevents some — though not all — potential legal fights over same-sex marriage rights in the future. If they don't get the 10 votes, however, it's still a political win, if not a policy win. The Republican opposition to abortion rights is hurting them in the polls already. Adding their opposition to same-sex marriage to the pile will only reinforce the Democrats' message: Republicans are right-wing radicals who are wildly out of step with the mainstream on social issues.
https://www.salon.com/2022/09/08/stuck-with-pandoras-box-after-roe-run-head-first-into-the-same-marriage-trap/
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Michigan Republican squirms when reporter confronts her about telling poll workers to 'act like spies'
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In a clip shown on CNN on Thursday morning, the chair of the Wayne County Michigan Republican Party was forced to scramble after being confronted by the network's Drew Griffin over her previous advice to poll workers to "act like spies."
Republicans in the state are under fire after CNN obtained video of officials giving tips on breaking the law on election day, and that came back to haunt Cheryl Costantino, who was featured in the video that also contained appearances by 2020 election deniers.
In the video, when asked about cell phones, Costantino was seen telling workers, "I would say maybe just hide it or something, and maybe hide a small pad and a small pen or something like that because you need to take accurate notes," before responding to concerns about illegality by advising, "That's why you got to do it secretly."
Confronted by CNN's Griffin, the GOP leader tried to make light of her training "spy" comments aimed at interfering with voters casting their ballots.
Asked about her comments, she paused, before offering, "Well, to kind of reframe it and make it more fun and interesting."
She added, "As I said just, you know, instead of causing a bunch of scenes and things like that, just write it down, just kind of be like spies and let me, you know, let me know what's going on."
Watch:
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The disgusting cruelty of Ohio’s extremist abortion ban is intolerable
They were warned. Ohio Republican lawmakers and Gov. Mike DeWine were warned time and again that their abortion ban was cruel and would lead to heartbreaking situations of unimaginable pain and anguish for many people.
They were warned that their abortion ban set a stage of legal nightmares for doctors and personal nightmares for patients. They were warned that pregnancy is complicated and comes with inherent dangers that radical, extremist lawmaking would make infinitely worse.
They were warned of the pain; they were warned of the suffering; they were warned of the torment that some patients would experience if Ohio state government inserted itself into doctor’s offices and emergency rooms to dictate the reproductive health of Ohioans.
They didn’t care. They ignored the warnings, then passed and signed Ohio’s extremist abortion ban anyway.
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned national abortion rights in its Dobbs decision, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost rushed to implement Ohio’s heartless, draconian law.
More than two months later, Ohio doctors are sharing stories just as horrifying as any possibility lawmakers and the governor were explicitly warned against.
They are telling of women who have partial deliveries too undeveloped to survive see them stall. In that condition, half-delivered, these patients have had to sign paperwork, and then wait for 24 hours, or for the fetus’s heart to stop, OCJ’s Marty Schladen reported Wednesday.
Women suffering other complications such as a detached umbilical cord have faced similar intrusions just after they were devastated to learn they would lose a child they dearly wanted.
They, too, have had to wait a day or for fetal demise. In one instance, that took 14 hours.
Other women — shattered to learn that the baby they’re carrying lacks vital organs necessary for survival — are being told that in Ohio they have to carry that baby, possibly for months, only to see it be stillborn, or to watch it quickly die.
“Lawmakers didn’t go into this blindly,” Tani Malhotra, a maternal fetal medicine doctor, said. “Physicians provided testimony. We called their offices. We sat with legislators to help educate them and tell them why this is bad policy. The (American Medical Association) and the College of Obstetrics and Gynecology tried to explain to them why this is bad law. They were educated. They knew exactly what these consequences were going to be because we told them.”
What is one to make of people who can hear such testimony from medical experts and doctors — testimony warning of enormous, gut-wrenching, heart-breaking pain that would inevitably be caused by this bad, thoughtless law — and ignore it?
The stridency of ignorance? The unearned confidence of religious zealotry?
The casual disregard of humanity and human empathy in favor of extremist ideology removed from reality? The ignoble placating and pleasing of political special interests over compassionate human interests? All of that?
Yes. All of that.
They call themselves “moral,” yet they would force 10-year-old children to destroy their bodies carrying and delivering pregnancies from their rapists.
Their supporters call themselves “values voters” and their organizations centers of “virtue,” yet the law they advocated and got passed and signed forces women with a half-delivered doomed pregnancy to undergo an onerous bureaucratic process of sneering legal paperwork before the tragedy that has befallen them can be medically addressed.
The women suffering these tragedies over pregnancies they wanted are shamed for the loss of them out of their control, falsely told they have “options” when they do not.
These are not representative of good human values, and it’s certainly no virtue to subject others to such trauma and cruelty.
The vast majority of Ohioans are not extremist on abortion: They generally believe there should be some restrictions on abortions, but abortion care should not be criminalized and banned such as it is now in Ohio.
This is because most Ohioans understand that the world is complex, and human situations are nuanced and complicated.
This sledgehammer of extremist law inflicts grave injustice unbefitting of such sensitive issues.
But this sledgehammer of injustice is exactly what Ohio Republicans have now taken to these very private, very personal decisions.
They were warned, and they did it anyway.
If this cruelty and suffering is what they wanted, they’ve certainly created a lot of it.
https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2022/09/08/the-disgusting-cruelty-of-ohios-extremist-abortion-ban-is-intolerable/
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The White House @WhiteHouse
Since President Biden took office, our economy has added more than 660,000 manufacturing jobs. This is more manufacturing jobs on average per month than any other President in the last 50 years.
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1568305739189391362
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Gianforte asks courts to help keep the public out of his business
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“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. … Even when they enter deep into our world or sink below us, they still think that they are better than we are. They are different.” -F. Scott Fitzgerald
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte doesn’t just think he’s better than we are.
He insists upon it.
In a recent court filing defending his decision not to release a single piece of paper, Montana’s governor asserts not only that he is different and better than us common folk, but that he alone is different among mortals in Montana. And maybe most insultingly, he tries to co-opt the state’s constitution into conferring that power upon him.
When business leaders enter politics, as Gianforte did, they often paint a pretty word picture as they talk about running government more like a business. It’s a popular trope, and it would seem to make a certain degree of sense unless you think about it too deeply. And yet that overly simplistic approach to governance demonstrates how little most of them understand the business of government – that profit-and-loss statements don’t translate easily when it comes to educating a child or helping to find services for struggling families, both of which maybe inefficient, uncertain and cash-intensive.
However, business leaders like Gianforte often struggle mightily, and think differently when it comes to the level of scrutiny they should have to endure from the likes of a curious or even adversarial public. They recoil at the idea that the public should be able to see what they’re doing and how they’re doing it, features that don’t often exist in private business.
Transparency, compromise and accountability – hallmarks of good government and the very checks put in place by our founding fathers and mothers – are to rich, successful businessman like Gianforte, burdensome, meddlesome and insulting. After all, what right should we, the public, who have tasted such little entrepreneurial success when compared to him, have to question someone as accomplished as him?
And that’s where the constitution comes in.
The state’s constitution says that the public has two fundamental rights of observation and participation – including the right to see public documents and the right to participate or observe in the decision-making process.
Apparently, Gianforte doesn’t think much of those because he’s trying to block both.
When he took office, he created a tracking form that monitored bills as they wound their way through the legislative process. This form, apparently, included comments from administration and department officials that Gianforte used to help decide whether to sign the measures into law.
We can’t say much more beyond that because we don’t know. A public documents request, filed shortly after the conclusion of the 2021 Legislative session, was denied. Gianforte’s office said every single one of those forms – and we’re not sure how many there are – are, quite frankly, none of the public’s damn business.
Realizing that Montana’s right-to-know provisions are among the strongest in the nation and that they have also been well established by courts for decades, Gianforte does exactly what he and other Republicans so often repudiate: He invites the court to recognize new laws that don’t exist, namely recognizing “executive privilege” – a concept that even his own attorneys admit doesn’t exist in current state law.
“Because the executive communications privilege and deliberative process privilege also have existed under Montana’s common law – and are necessary for integral governmental and public purposes – the court can (and should) recognize and apply those privileges now,” Gianforte’s lawyer said in court briefings.
In other words, he invites the judges to be activists.
Yet, those statements are a twisted version of half truths. The notion of executive privilege is not recognized as such exactly because of the strong public right to know. And what executive privilege did exist in common law is a vestige of the state’s weak laws that were replaced by the 1972 Constitution, not an extension of it.
Any court should be given pause when an executive like the governor asks so clearly to be given additional privileges that rob the public of transparency or accountability. Our constitution specifically allows the public the express right to see how decisions are made; it requires our leaders to provide the documentation and access to see how and why decisions were made.
This right to know that Gianforte wants the courts to eliminate by finding words in law that are simply not there is even more essential today because Gianforte remains walled off and inaccessible to the press and most of the public, seeming to only appear at events where the lines are carefully scripted and the people appropriately adoring.
Gianforte has continued to refuse routine press conferences where the hard questions can be asked. He has refused interviews and his staff almost reflexively decline to comment. This isn’t the press whining about access, it’s instead a real-life example of the near impossibility of trying wrangle answers about how his administration works and what he thinks. One of the few ways the public knows what Gianforte is thinking is by the very documents his office is producing.
But now, Gianforte wants courts to close that trickle of information, too, because he needs a means where he can gather “frank” opinions “in confidence.”
Seems to me, Gianforte’s problem isn’t with too much information, it’s that not enough gets to the public. Funny how a man who has poured so much of his own fortune into running for public office would seem to want to cut the public out of it. Maybe even most shockingly: Gianforte throws himself upon the court’s mercy to allow him the privilege of silence while he deliberates about policy that will become the law for the rest of us.
F. Scott Fitzgerald was right: The rich aren’t like you and I.
Montana Constitution, Article II:
Section 9. Right to know. No person shall be deprived of the right to examine documents or to observe the deliberations of all public bodies or agencies of state government and its subdivisions, except in cases in which the demand of individual privacy clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure.
Section 8. Right of participation. The public has the right to expect governmental agencies to afford such reasonable opportunity for citizen participation in the operation of the agencies prior to the final decision as may be provided by law.
https://dailymontanan.com/2022/09/08/gianforte-asks-courts-to-help-keep-the-public-out-of-his-business/
Dems on top Michigan court block GOP ‘game of gotcha’ attempt to remove abortion measure from Nov. ballot
Like many state courts, judges on the Michigan State Supreme Court are elected. In 2018 and 2020 Democrats were able to win more seats on the state's highest court, giving them a 4-3 majority.
On Thursday those efforts paid off.
Democratic Supreme Court justices blocked efforts by Republicans to remove two important measures from the November ballot: abortion and voting rights after Republicans tried to turn a technicality into the disenfranchisement of more than 750,000 Michiganders who signed petitions to get abortion on the ballot.
"Last week, the [abortion] question was sent to the state Supreme Court after Republican canvassers argued the amendment's spacing and formatting would be confusing to voters," NPR reports.
The Supreme Court ordered the Board of Canvassers to include the questions on the November ballot, allowing voters in The Great Lake State to have the opportunity to expand voting rights and enshrine the right to choose into the state's constitution.
Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack called GOP efforts to derail the abortion measure from getting on the ballot "a game of gotcha gone very bad."
"Seven hundred fifty three thousand and seven hundred fifty nine Michiganders signed this proposal-more than have ever signed any proposal in Michigan's history," the Chief Justice wrote. "The challengers have not produced a single signer who claims to have been confused by the limited-spacing sections in the full text portion of the proposal. Yet two members of the Board of State Canvassers would prevent the people of Michigan from voting on the proposal because they believe that the decreased spacing makes the text no longer '[t]he full text,'" she charged, as University of Michigan law professor of Law Leah Litman noted.
"That is, even though there is no dispute that every word appears and appears legibly and in the correct order, and there is no evidence that anyone was confused about the text, two members of the Board of State Canvassers with the power to do so would keep the petition from the voters for what they purport to be a technical violation of the statute. They would disenfranchise millions of Michiganders not because they believe the many thousands of Michiganders who signed the proposal were confused by it, but because they think they have identified a technicality that allows them to do so, a game of gotcha gone very bad."
University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker called the Chief Justice's opinion "a pretty big judicial smackdown."
https://www.rawstory.com/dems-on-top-michigan-court-block-gop-game-of-gotcha-attempt-to-remove-abortion-measure-from-nov-ballot/
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Josh Riley @JoshuaUE99
New poll in #NY19
Voters are ready for change. I’m offering a bold and optimistic vision for Upstate New York that rejects the status quo and professional politicians like Marc Molinaro and puts working people first.
https://twitter.com/JoshuaUE99/status/1568335240925708289
New polling gives Dems the edge in NY-19
An internal poll from the Josh Riley campaign places him ahead of Republican Marc Molinaro in the Upstate district
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The first public polling in the closely watched race for the 19th Congressional District has Democrat Josh Riley leading Republican Marc Molinaro. According to an internal poll from the Riley campaign obtained exclusively by City & State, 47% of likely voters polled would vote for Riley, while 44% backed Molinaro. What’s more, the margin grows slightly wider when it gives likely voters similarly long positive descriptions of both candidates, with Riley’s support getting up to 51% and Molinaro’s hitting 46%.
Purple State Media
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Florida newspaper blasts Ron DeSantis
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Ex-Republican turned Democrat Charlie Crist, Florida’s Democratic 2022 gubernatorial nominee and a former Florida governor, is anxious to debate incumbent Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — and he is hoping for a debate that will be broadcast statewide. But the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s editorial board, in a biting editorial published on September 7, lambasts DeSantis for shying away from Crist’s debate challenge.
“The tough guy in the flight helmet is afraid of Charlie Crist,” the Sun Sentinel’s editorial board argues. “‘Never, ever back down from a fight,’ Gov. Ron DeSantis insists in a campaign ad. Then, he runs away from an invitation to debate Crist on statewide television. Considering DeSantis’ obvious vulnerabilities in a format he can’t control — especially on the subjects of abortion and guns — his debate avoidance strategy may be politically savvy. But it cheats Florida voters. It shows how he loathes transparency. It’s bad for democracy.”
Although the far-right DeSantis has been a very polarizing figure in Florida politics, he is a rock star in the MAGA movement. Recent polls have been showing DeSantis with single-digit leads over Crist, and one of more encouraging polls was released on Wednesday, September 7. That one showed Crist trailing DeSantis by only 3 percent, which the Sun-Sentinel describes as a “statistical tie.” And an election that close, the editorial board stresses, merits a statewide debate .
“Debates are not perfect,” the Sun Sentinel’s editorial board explains. “The format is often too rigid, and candidates can’t be forced to give straight answers. Their greater value is in raising money after the event itself, especially if one candidate draws blood or commits a serious gaffe. Still, these unscripted long-form appearances with real journalists are needed more than ever in an era of disinformation, misinformation and an endless stream of 30-second ads filled with inaccuracies and distortions. Voters deserve to see DeSantis defending his record, including his signing of an abortion law with no exceptions for rape or incest.”''
Read More Here:
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-op-edit-desantis-refusal-debate-crist-20220907-v7lelc7dyzdzfpbtvtgkxf4msa-story.html
Our ancestors created Social Security. Ron Johnson's idea would destroy it, and Medicare along with it.
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What a tragic irony that a U.S. senator from Wisconsin, Ron Johnson, now seeks to wreck Social Security and Medicare. Wisconsin played a key role in giving birth to both programs and ensuring their success.
We know. Our grandparents created Social Security.
When President Franklin Roosevelt worked with his New Deal team to design Social Security, our forebears — Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace and Emergency Relief Administrator Harry Hopkins — looked especially to Wisconsin for help. Their top aides included University of Wisconsin professor Edwin Witte and UW graduate Arthur Altmeyer.
When a second generation of New Dealers in Congress created Medicare in 1964, Wisconsin also played a decisive role. Milwaukee-born Wilbur Cohen, another UW graduate, was among Medicare’s lead architects.
Yet now U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson holds a dagger to the throat of both Social Security and Medicare.
His plan will blow up the legal — and the moral — foundation on which both programs rest. Johnson wants to decimate one of Wisconsin’s greatest contributions to America’s progress.
For generations, both Medicare and Social Security have guaranteed and delivered earned benefits. Both programs operate similar to life insurance — that’s why they’re called social insurance — in which covered individuals pay regular premiums, and then qualify for legally protected defined benefits.
In both Medicare and Social Security, workers contribute part of their earnings to insurance trust funds. What workers pay, their employers match. The joint payments are equivalent to insurance premiums.
In return for these payments, workers at age 65 qualify for Medicare’s health care benefits. At age 62, they qualify for Social Security’s retirement benefits. For everyone who enrolls in Medicare, the benefits are the same. Under Social Security, a formula based on the enrollee’s age and contributions sets the benefit amount.
It’s been this way from the start. Congress has no “discretion” to mess with the benefits that workers have paid into and earned over their entire working life.
But Ron Johnson hates it. He proposes to give total “discretion” to Congress to decide whether any worker or retiree would receive a benefit … who would get a benefit … and what the benefit would be. No longer would workers, seniors looking toward retirement and current retirees be able to count on a hard-earned, reliable, old-age health care program. Nor would they have a hard-earned, predictable pension to count on as they age and retire.
“Discretion” has its place. But Johnson’s scheme will destroy workers’ and retirees’ legal right to guaranteed, predictable health care and retirement income.
It would turn Medicare and Social Security into a type of welfare, utterly dependent on Congress’ will. The programs could even be wiped out entirely. Their fundamental insurance structure — if you pay your premium, you legally qualify for guaranteed benefits — would vanish like smoke.
FDR himself explained the reasoning behind creating Social Security as an insurance program that workers pay into through payroll taxes — “to give the contributors a legal, moral, and political right to collect their pensions and their unemployment benefits. With those taxes in there, no damn politician can ever scrap my social security program.”
Republican President Dwight Eisenhower was more blunt. Though there may be “a tiny splinter group” of politicians who want to mess with Social Security, he wrote, “their number is negligible and they are stupid.”
Johnson’s opponent in the Nov. 8 election, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, is pretty blunt, too, objecting that “self-serving multi-millionaire senator Ron Johnson wants to strip working people of the Social Security and Medicare they’ve earned.”
FDR and our ancestors who labored to create Social Security would join in condemning Johnson’s plan. It is a frontal attack on programs that American workers and seniors love, have dutifully paid for with every paycheck, and depend on for a healthy and secure retirement.
On behalf of our New Deal ancestors, we recommend that all Wisconsinites who cherish these long-standing programs of financial security should exercise their “discretion” to remove Ron Johnson from the U.S. Senate when they vote in November.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/2022/08/11/ron-johnsons-plan-would-destroy-social-security-and-medicare/10281371002/
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Brian Deese @BrianDeeseNEC
A thread on today’s Economic Blueprint, beginning with the strong labor market recovery.
It’s important to remember that historic labor market progress was not pre-ordained. The President’s economic plan and COVID response made a real difference in getting people back to work.
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That recovery – in addition to fiscal support – has made a real difference for families’ economic security and has helped our economy remain resilient through a period of unanticipated economic shocks.
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Compared to pre-pandemic and based on the latest available data:
Household net worth is up more than 25%
Mortgage delinquencies are down more than 10%
Credit card delinquencies are down more than 35%
Bankruptcy filings are down more than 50%.
But we didn't stop there. We've launched generational public investments in our infrastructure, clean energy transition, & innovation economy. We're reversing the course on decades of declining public investment, an important catalyst for private investment & productivity growth.
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We are also taking important actions to address affordability challenges and boost economic opportunity.
Here’s just one example:
The share of Americans without health insurance has now reached a record low. Health security is a critical component of basic economic security.
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Less appreciated, but by modernizing SNAP’s Thrifty Food Plan for the first time since its introduction in 1975:
915,000 children were lifted out of poverty – especially benefiting Black children.
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We’re also working to make industry more competitive and more resilient, including leveling the playing field for small business.
We saw a record number of small business applications in 2021, and we're putting in place pro-innovation policies going forward as well.
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And we are reforming our tax code so that it can raise sufficient revenue from the largest corporations and wealthiest Americans in order to fund critical national priorities.
That’s necessary to build a dynamic and resilient economy.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FcNqNxhXwAE3Fv-?format=png&name=900x900)
There’s more work to do to transition our economy from historic recovery to stable, steady growth with lower inflation – and to build a strong, resilient economy for the long-haul. But we’ve made critical progress.
More charts here: https://whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Biden-Economic-Blueprint-Chartpack-MASTER-7pm.pdf
https://twitter.com/BrianDeeseNEC/status/1568215787243962368
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President Biden @POTUS
Folks, we need to make microchips here in America to bring down everyday costs and to create jobs.
That's what the CHIPS and Science Act does.
China, Japan, and South Korea are all investing billions of dollars to attract microchip makers to their countries.
But industry leaders are choosing us. They see an America that's back and leading the way.
The CHIPS and Science Act is about jobs.
Jobs now.
Jobs for the future.
Jobs in every part of the country.
Good-paying, decent jobs you can raise a family on.
In my State of the Union Address, I shared a story of a field of dreams in Ohio where our future will be built. Then I signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law.
And now, I'm in Ohio breaking ground on a microchip factory.
All in nine months. That's America.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1568343500298797057
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"The number of manufacturing jobs in the United States has increased by 680,000 since the president took office, the fastest pace in the last 50 years..."
In Ohio, Biden Says Democrats Have Started a Manufacturing Revival
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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/09/us/politics/ohio-biden-democrats-manufacturing-revival.html
Rep. Ro Khanna @RepRoKhanna
I was honored to be recognized by @POTUS and Intel CEO @PGelsinger at today's groundbreaking ceremony for Intel's new complex in Ohio for my work on the CHIPS & Science Act.
This bill will help spread Silicon Valley's innovation across America and bring manufacturing back.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1568324642141777920
Herbie Ziskend @HerbieZiskend46
@POTUS: "The industrial Midwest is back. The. Industrial. Midwest. Is Back.”
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1568287526124720128
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70 Pennsylvania school board members have signed letter against gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano’s public education plan
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PHILADELPHIA — Dozens of public school board members across the commonwealth have signed an open letter addressed to Pennsylvania voters and families cautioning against the threat they say Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano poses to public education funding.
The letter — which as of Friday morning had amassed 70 signatures from both Democrat and Republican elected public school board members in 26 districts — calls Mastriano’s financial plan “dangerously out of touch with the majority of Pennsylvania families” and asserts that the state senator, if elected, has pledged to cut more than 50% of state funding for schools.
That number comes from a March radio interview with WRTA in Blair County, where Mastriano proposed cutting per-pupil funding in the state from $19,000 to around $9,000 per student, telling the host the money would also be diverted: “Instead of funding a school system, the money should go to students.”
Students and parents, Mastriano said in the interview, could then decide whether they attend public, private, charter or home school.
Mastriano, a staunch school-choice advocate, has since slammed critics of that suggestion, with his campaign saying “that’s not his plan.” He now vows to “fully fund schools and teachers, protect students and empower parents.”
His campaign site lays out a few specifics around his school funding proposals — including establishing controversial Education Opportunity Accounts for parents, and expanding Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) programs that give tax breaks to businesses that provide scholarships to private schools, but doesn’t include parameters on per-pupil dollar amounts or plans for public schools.
Scott Overland, vice president of the Phoenixville Area School Board in Chester County, said he spearheaded the open letter effort last week, reaching out to local public school board members across the state, out of “an obligation to do something.”
Overland said he received an overwhelming response, with school board members still being asked to be added as signatories. The letter includes signatures from a handful of board members from the greater Philadelphia area, including Upper Darby, Pottstown, Norristown, Upper Dublin, West Chester, North Penn and Downingtown schools.
“This is something that will impact all of our communities across Pennsylvania in such a serious way that we need to do whatever we can, as the stewards of the public education system, as school board directors, to make sure people are aware that this is a real threat,” said Overland, whose daughter is in first grade in the district. He was elected to the Phoenixville Area board on both the Democrat and Republican tickets last year.
The letter endorses Democratic candidate Josh Shapiro, calling him “a candidate who believes education is central to a bright future.”
“It’s not political, it’s about real impact in our communities,” Overland said.
Damien Christopher Warsavage, a member of the Upper Darby School District school board since 2019, said that he signed the letter not only as a board member, but as a former student in the district who saw the effects of funding cuts to public school art programs firsthand.
Warsavage, who was elected on a nonpartisan ticket, said he worries funding cuts to public schools will make “the educational experience a commodity that the private sector ... should be making money off of.”
“That’s not why any of us is in this business,” Warsavage said. “Our kids will remember this.”
The school board members’ letter comes on the heels of additional criticism by the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the commonwealth’s largest teacher’s union, which in August called Mastriano’s plan “completely irresponsible.”
ThePSEA released an analysis — filling in some details based on the limited information provided by Mastriano’s campaign about his education funding plans — predicting a $12.75 billion funding cut that would lead to the loss of tens of thousands of jobs across the state.
The analysis also noted that Mastriano has repeatedly called to eliminate schools’ ability to levy property tax, which raises a crucial amount of money for many public school districts.
Mastriano’s campaign later released a one-minute video calling the union’s analysis “a coordinated attack” and deceptive.
Other objectives listed in his campaign plan for Pennsylvania include “an immediate ban” on so-called critical race theory and gender studies in schools, and a “thorough review” of districts’ diversity, equity and inclusion plans.
Mastriano’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment Friday, but the candidate did briefly address his stance on school funding at acampaign stop in Gatsby’s Bar & Grill in Delaware County last month, pointing out that he voted for the state budget in July, which saw a historic school funding increase.
“The fact is, you know, we just passed legislation out of the Senate and the House, and I voted ‘yes’ on increasing education funding by $850 million,” Mastriano told the crowd in Aston.
“Are you kidding me? And I’m going to cut education? I mean, facts are stubborn things. So really, just shut up.”
© The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Dr. Oz Says Abortion Is ‘Still Murder’ at Any Stage of Pregnancy
Exclusive audio reveals that Dr. Oz said during a tele-town hall earlier this year that abortion is “still murder” at any point after conception.
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TV doctor turned Republican senatorial candidate Mehmet Oz has been tough to pin down on abortion.
He claims to be “100% pro-life,” but he also has some exceptions. And as recently as 2019, Oz defended Roe v. Wade.
But now, The Daily Beast has obtained audio from a campaign event this May where Oz staked out his most extreme position yet, telling voters he believes abortion at any stage of development is “still murder,” including from the moment of conception.
“I do believe life starts at conception, and I’ve said that multiple times,” Oz said during the event, a tele-town hall held a week before the Republican primary.
“If life starts at conception,” Oz added, “why do you care what age the heart starts beating at? It’s, you know, it’s still murder, if you were to terminate a child whether their heart’s beating or not.”
He was answering an attendee who wondered how Oz could square his current anti-abortion stance with his statements from 2019, specifically that “the heart’s not beating” six weeks into a pregnancy.
The one-time surgeon explained that, at the time of the 2019 interview, he had been “concerned” about making sure anti-abortion laws could be enforced.
“My mother-in-law wrote a lot of the original pro-life literature in Montgomery County,” Oz told the conservative audience. “My argument in that radio interview was as a doctor, a heart starts beating at around nine weeks. So I was concerned that if legislators picked a timeframe that’s not medically accurate, it would invalidate the law.”
Oz did in fact say something to that effect in the 2019 Breakfast Club interview. “If you’re going to define life by a beating heart,” he said, “then make it a beating heart, not little electrical exchanges in the cell that no one would hear or think about as a heart.”
The context in that 2019 interview, however, was that Oz was politically pro-choice.
He was “really worried,” Oz said during that interview, about the harmful consequences for women’s health if Roe were overturned.
He even took a shot at people who believe life begins at conception—as Oz now says he does.
“Just being logical about it,” Oz said then, “if you think that the moment of conception you’ve got a life, then why would you even wait six weeks? Right, then an in vitro fertilized egg is still a life.”
It’s not clear where Oz stands on abortion laws that might effectively also ban in vitro fertilization. According to his most recent financial disclosure, Oz and his wife hold between $1.5 million and $6 million of shares in Prelude Fertility, part of the largest in vitro fertility network in the United States—which is currently looking for a buyer.
Abortion rights are on the ballot this year, and Democrats see the issue playing to their favor. They’re betting big, as polls in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision suggest an energized pro-choice electorate could make the difference in key midterm races. That includes Pennsylvania, which The New York Times has called the “biggest abortion battleground” of the midterms, and where support for abortion access is at an all-time high.
None of that is great news for Oz.
The former daytime TV star’s squishiness on the issue has been a weak spot throughout his campaign—including during the Republican primary, where he scrambled to sell the MAGA base on his conservative bona fides. And his remarks equating early-stage abortion to “murder,” made weeks ahead of that primary, could complicate his ongoing efforts to appeal to the swing state’s critical suburban voting bloc.
A former senior staffer in the Pennsylvania governor’s office told The Daily Beast that while hardline anti-abortion rhetoric carried Oz through the primary, it’s “outside of where most Pennsylvania voters are,” and could be a strategic mistake in the general election.
“In the current environment, that is such a massive gaffe, because it speaks directly to people’s biggest concerns about voting for an anti-abortion Republican like Dr. Oz,” the former staffer said. “A lot of voters are very concerned—even if they are uncomfortable with abortion themselves—that there are gonna be these hardline bans that prevent their own family and friends from getting the care they need.”
This person added to characterize a woman getting an abortion in the early stages of a pregnancy as murder is “so outside of where most Pennsylvania voters are.”
“Especially the voters Oz absolutely has to win,” this former staffer continued, “like moderates and independents, suburban voters, voters in the middle of the ideology bracket in Pennsylvania.”
Oz’s Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, counts endorsements from the country’s top abortion-rights groups, and has tried to capitalize on the issue.
“Dr. Oz is wildly out of touch with the people of Pennsylvania who support abortion rights by 9-10. Dr. Oz wants to let extremists ban abortion with no exceptions in cases of rape or incest—in PA and across the country,” Emilia Rowland, a Fetterman campaign spokesperson, told The Daily Beast. “If he’s elected, he will be a rubber stamp to criminalize abortion, appoint justices even more radical than today’s, and send doctors, nurses, and patients to jail.”
Fetterman had also said Oz wants to ban abortions “even in the cases of rape or incest” last week, a claim Fetterman did not cite and which appears to be false. While Oz did applaud the repeal of Roe, a move that opened the door to the kinds of blanket bans Fetterman is referencing, Oz has maintained support for what he calls the three “usual” exceptions: rape, incest, and the health of the mother.
It might not be so surprising that Oz finds himself in a hall of mirrors on this particular issue. At one point in the 2019 Breakfast Club interview, he offered a cynical critique on the politics of abortion rights.
“There’s so much we gotta do already to take care of each other. To start picking fights on this—I always wonder about it,” he said. “It happens periodically. There are these moral issues that almost on purpose are inflamed.”
The Oz campaign did not reply to a request for comment.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/dr-oz-says-abortion-is-still-murder-at-any-stage-of-pregnancy
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Ohio welcomes Biden, Intel for $20 billion groundbreaking
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West Coast technology officially came together Friday with Midwest manufacturing prowess to create the Silicon Heartland.
Under a sun-splashed late summer day, President Joe Biden joined Ohio political, educational, union and business leaders to break ground on Intel's $20 billion project in Licking County to create the world's most advanced semiconductor factories. It is the state's largest economic development prize.
Friday's groundbreaking also served as a celebration of the recently enacted CHIPS and Science Act that is meant to restore U.S. production of the tiny devices that power everything from cellphones to computers to cars to military equipment that has been largely shipped overseas. Biden signed the legislation into law last month, and Intel has said the legislation will play a meaningful role in how it develops the site in Ohio.
Shortages of the chips have plagued the economy since the pandemic and have contributed to the rising cost of cars and other products.
President Biden gives speech on site of Intel microchip factory project groundbreaking
"Folks, we need to make these chips right here in America to bring down everyday costs and create good jobs,’’ Biden told about 700 people who gathered at the site.
Intel has been working for about two months at the site, and not even Friday's ceremony stopped the earth moving work taking place behind the temporary stage where Biden, political leaders, educational leaders, Intel executives and others spoke.
"The Rust Belt is dead and the Silicon Heartland begins," Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said.
"This idea of Silicon Heartland (is) an epicenter of leading-edge technology, and Intel's factories right here will produce the most advanced process technologies in the world," he said. "Our customers .... need the best stuff for their products, everything from high-performance mobile, artificial intelligence, advance computing, cloud, all of that will be a result of these factories behind us."
Gelsinger called the CHIPS Act the most significant piece of industrial legislation since World War II. Intel has said it is too soon to determine how much benefit it will get from the legislation.
The CHIPS Act provides $52.7 billion in incentives, plus tax incentives, for companies to research, design and manufacture semiconductors and to help with workforce development.
As he did in his State of the Union speech in March, Biden said the 1,000-acre New Albany site is a "field of dreams where America's future will be built."
American production of semiconductors has stumbled from 37% in 1990 to about 12% today, and that has put the country at risk as other countries offer billions of dollars to lure semiconductors, Biden said.
The legislation has triggered a series of announcements by companies across the country to build semiconductor operations, Biden said.
"The future of the chip industry is going to be made in America," he said
The groundbreaking caps a frenzied eight months since Intel picked Licking County from a nationwide search as its spot for what could become the world's largest semiconductor operation with as many as eight plants - called "fabs" in the industry - and a total investment of $100 billion.
The plants will employ 3,000 workers, earning an average of $135,000. There will be 7,000 construction workers at the site as well. The plants also are expected to be a draw for Intel suppliers who will create thousands more jobs.
The Licking County plants are expected to start producing semiconductors in 2025.
"We can, we must and we will make them here," Gov. Mike DeWine said.
DeWine called the groundbreaking an historic moment for the state.
"We celebrate a great victory for Ohio, but an even greater victory for our country," he said.
What will Intel's plants in New Albany make?
Intel has said the campus in New Albany will be among its most advanced, turning out semiconductors with a variety of applications for cars, cellphones, computers, and other devices critical to a modern economy.
"It is a very important site. ... This will be a top-notch fab, the most advanced fab in the country and the planet," Intel Senior Vice President Randhir Thakur said in an interview with The Dispatch.
Beyond that, the plants are expected to play a key role in Intel's new foundry business that was launched last year and is being led by Thakur.
Foundry work comes from companies that design their own semiconductors, but use other companies to make them. Until now, it's been a tiny part of Intel's business, but Gelsinger has pledged to make it a much bigger part of Intel's business, and that includes the new plants in Ohio.
As part of this foundry work, Thakur said the New Albany plants will manufacture chips for the military and military contractors. Intel has said it expects the market for foundry work to grow from $90 billion a year to $200 billion a year by 2030.
Exactly how much of that business will be done in Ohio will be determined over time, Thakur said.
Groundbreaking receives bipartisan support
Politicians from both sides of the aisles have rallied around the Intel project. A host of state legislative leaders praised the project as did Sens. Rob Portman, a Republican, and Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, during Friday's ceremonies that ran for more than two hours.
"Today as we acknowledge all the hard work that went into bringing Intel to Ohio, we also acknowledge the hard work before us that now begins as we begin to close America's competitiveness gap that has grown dangerously wide in regard to semiconductor manufacturing," Portman said. "I'm really proud Ohioans will play an important role in closing this gap."
Brown said in January when he flew to Ohio for the Intel announcement that the news marked a major change for the Ohio economy.
"I remember looking out the window of the plane at all the places that have been long been ignored by Wall Street and passed over by corporate America and forgotten by our government, and I thought about how from that day forward we're going to change that," Brown recalled telling Portman and others on the flight, "Today we're burying the term Rust Belt."
Industry leaders welcome Intel project
"It's hard to state how important this is," said Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers and a native of Circleville, who attended Friday's groundbreaking.
"We see what happens when we depend on critical products coming from overseas, especially during the pandemic," Timmons said, noting how hard the shortage of semiconductors has made it to buy cars, for example.
The CHIPS Act demonstrates how indispensable technology is in today's economy, and the law is critical to help ensure that shortages don't happen again, said Jason Oxman, CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council, a global advocate for technology.
"For both economic reasons and national security reasons, growing semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. is vitally important," Oxman said. "We don't have to speculate on what a shortage of semiconductors means to the U.S. economy."
https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2022/09/09/ohio-intel-biden-speech-microchip-factory-groundbreaking-project/66009387007/
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GOP 'drama is spiraling' in Senate races — scaring off big donors: report
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Republicans are in disarray less than 60 days before the 2020 midterms election, according to report published online Saturday evening by The Washington Post.
"Republican leaders are scrambling to shore up their chances to win back both the House and Senate as inflation concerns fade, Democratic enthusiasm for protecting abortion rights surges and new fundraising challenges emerge in the crucial final months of the campaign," the newspaper reported. "Leaders have also been working, with mixed success, to cool down intraparty squabbles over their own strategic missteps and the quality of candidates in pivotal Senate races."
First-time candidates backed by Trump in GOP primaries have been struggling in general elections, including Blake Masters in Arizona, Hershel Walker in Georgia, J.D. Vance in Ohio, and Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania.
"Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) put out calls this past week for his fellow GOP senators to unify and focus on fundraising, after spending much of the last month on the phone with donors attempting to make up for party shortfalls," the newspaper reported. "The messages of unity were meant to dampen distracting divisions that have emerged within the party over controversial Senate candidates backed by former president Donald Trump and the ability of the party to fully fund campaigns in the face of an enormous Democratic financial advantage in key states."
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who runs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, publicly clashed with GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) over the summer.
"Now the committee’s drama is spiraling as the loss of confidence keeps many big donors away," the newspaper reported. "Inside the NRSC, the mood has been defiant in recent weeks, with senior staff and Scott projecting defiance, and little sign that either Scott or McConnell plans a public reconciliation."
Scott's travels have been a source of controversy.
"Scott, who is not up for reelection, continues to feed frustration by traveling the country, even in these final months, to support his own political ambitions. He attended a $1,000-per-seat fundraising luncheon in Tampa on Friday for his personal political committees, which he has been using to raise his public profile ahead of a potential 2024 presidential campaign, according to an invitation obtained by The Washington Post. On Saturday, he was booked to travel to Iowa — the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus state, where the Senate contest in not considered competitive — to attend a tailgate event before the annual football game between the University of Iowa and Iowa State University," the newspaper reported. "His critics were also enraged last month when, days after the NRSC changed ad reservations in Nevada, Arizona and Pennsylvania, Scott flew on his private plane via Dublin for a week-long vacation in Italy, according to flight records. Word soon leaked that he was on a yacht."
Read More Here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2022/09/10/republicans-midterms-inflation-abortion/
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President Biden @POTUS
My first two years in office spurred the strongest economic recovery in recent history. Today, I'm releasing my Economic Blueprint, a look at how our wins are rebuilding an economy that works for working families.
https://whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Biden-Economic-Blueprint-Report-720PM-MASTER-DOC.pdf
It's long. So here are the big things:
My economic plan and this Administration's COVID response have driven the strongest, most equitable job market recovery in recent history.
We'll build on that by continuing to create good-paying jobs and empowering workers to have unionization opportunities and dignity at work.
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My policies are encouraging businesses to invest in America.
By investing in infrastructure, clean energy, and domestic manufacturing, we are making and building in America again.
We're getting families who need it the most some breathing room.
My Administration took on special interests and won, lowering prescription drug and health care costs. We've also expanded access to high-speed internet, education, child care and long-term care, housing, and more.
I've made American industry more competitive and resilient by taking on corporate concentration, promoting small businesses and entrepreneurs – including minority- and women-owned businesses – and supporting resilient supply chains.
With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, my economic plan is delivering a fairer tax code where the wealthy and largest, most profitable corporations pay their fair share.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FcNllVZXEAMTgAU?format=png&name=medium)
We're delivering. And over time, my Economic Blueprint will build on our progress, allowing us to tackle the tough economic challenges that I ran for office to address.
Together, we'll build an innovative, resilient, and fair economy that grows from the bottom up and middle out.
Read all 50 pages of it here: https://whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Biden-Economic-Blueprint-Report-720PM-MASTER-DOC.pdf
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1568208770030833670
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President Joe Biden speaks after groundbreaking for Intel’s $20 billion semiconductor plant
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger praised the CHIPS and Science Act
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President Joe Biden traveled to Ohio on Friday to celebrate the groundbreaking of Intel’s new $20 billion semiconductor plant, one of the first domestic chip-making facilities to come out of the recently passed CHIPS and Science Act.
Intel’s Friday groundbreaking ceremony kicked off construction of what the company has called the “largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet.” It’s part of Intel’s plans to invest $100 billion in Ohio over the next 10 years. The company has said that the project could take more than 7,000 workers to build the facility that is expected to house two separate factories and, once finished, employ 3,000 workers.
Intel had previously delayed the plant’s July groundbreaking ceremony because its plans largely relied “on funding from the CHIPS Act,” which Congress had yet to pass. But after a summer of negotiations, Biden signed the $280 billion tech and science bill last month, calling it “a once in a generation investment in America itself.”
The bipartisan deal to boost American innovation in opposition to growing Chinese competition in the tech industry hopes to protect US economic and national security interests following a global semiconductor shortage. The start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 fractured global chip supply chains, making it more difficult for device makers to source semiconductors for their products. At the same time, demand for these goods surged as offices closed and people started working from home.
“As we saw during the pandemic, when the factories that make these chips shut down, chips shut down. The global economy comes to a halt,” Biden said at the Intel site Friday. “We need to make these chips right here in America to bring down everyday costs and create good jobs.”
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger joined Biden for the ceremony he said marked the end of the Rust Belt and the beginnings of a “Silicon Heartland.” Other major chip manufacturers have announced plans for new domestic semiconductor facilities following the bill’s passage. Earlier this month, Micron said that it would invest $15 billion to build a new plant in Idaho. On Friday, Wolfspeed announced a $5 billion investment to build a new semiconductor facility in North Carolina.
“Today we broke ground on a future that every Ohioan can be proud of,” Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), Ohio candidate for US Senate, said in a statement on Friday. “This multi-billion-dollar investment is a culmination of an unprecedented collaboration between federal, state, and private sector leaders that will transform Ohio’s economy and provide future generations an opportunity to build a stable middle-class life right here at home.”
https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/9/23344834/semiconductor-joe-biden-ohio-intel-gelsinger-chips-science-subsidies
President Joe Biden visits Ohio for Intel's groundbreaking ceremony
President Joe Biden is visiting Ohio for Intel's groundbreaking ceremony.
A groundbreaking ceremony is being held for Intel, nine months after the company announced its plans to invest $20 billion into the central Ohio area and build multiple factories in Licking County.
President Joe Biden is expected to deliver remarks on the occasion. Gov. Mike DeWine and other state and local officials will also be in attendance.
Intel and the governor announced in January the technology company would build two state-of-the-art chip factories by 2025 just outside of New Albany.
The project is expected to bring 20,000 jobs to the state.
The groundbreaking ceremony was scheduled to happen in July, but was pushed back until the CHIPS Act was passed.
Watch:
WKYC Channel 3
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Biden's inflation law offers up to $14,000 for home upgrades. Here's how to qualify.
President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act takes on climate change by helping Americans reduce their carbon footprint. A key element in that push is offering up to $14,000 in rebates and tax credits for people to make their homes more energy-efficient.
Those benefits can be used to lower the cost of home upgrades, ranging from installing heat pumps to buying new electric appliances like stoves and dryers. About 40% of carbon emissions stems from buildings, so such incentives could help the U.S. achieve its goal of lowering fossil-fuel emissions, said Lauren Urbanek, senior energy policy advocate at the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense League.
"This gives people some very concrete and generous incentives to do that, both in the form of tax credits and direct cash rebates," Urbanek told CBS MoneyWatch. "This is the biggest federal investment in buildings ever, at least one that is specified for climate change."
Here's what to know about the incentives.
What rebates can I get?
There are two separate rebate programs, according to the NRDC.
The HOMES Rebate Program: This provides more than $4 billion to states to help residents make their entire home more energy-efficient. The program provides rebates based on the energy savings their upgraded home will achieve. For instance, homeowners that make changes that cut their energy usage by at least 35% can get up to $4,000 in rebates. That amount is doubled for low- and middle-income households, who can get up to $8,000 in rebates.
High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Act (HEEHRA): This provides rebates for low- and middle-income families to electrify their homes, such as by installing heat pumps or electric clothes dryers. The per household rebate is capped at $14,000, and households can't receive two rebates for the same upgrade. For instance, if they claim a HOMES Rebate program for a heat pump, they can't also get a rebate through the HEEHRA.
What types of upgrades are covered?
The HOMES Rebate program would cover upgrades, from solar panels to new windows, that help your home become more energy-efficient.
The HEEHRA program designates rebates for specific appliance purchases and other upgrades. One of the most appealing rebates is a provision offering up to $8,000 for heat pumps, which despite their name provide both air conditioning as well as heating.
When it comes to energy consumption, these devices are often better alternatives to furnaces because they rely on electricity rather than gas or oil to warm a home. Compared with electric resistance heating like baseboard heaters, they can reduce electricity use by about 50%, according to the Department of Energy.
Ranging from $4,000 to more than $7,000 each, heat pumps can cost a pretty penny. The two rebate programs may help offset part or even all of the cost of these devices for many consumers.
Here are the caps on rebates for other upgrades made via the HEEHRA program:
- $1,750 for a heat pump water heater
- $8,000 for a heat pump for space heating and cooling
- $840 for electric stoves, cooktops, ranges, ovens and electric heat pump clothes dryers
- $4,000 for an electric load service center upgrade
- $1,600 for insulation, air sealing and ventilation
- $2,500 for electric wiring
There's a $14,000 cap on the dollar amount of rebates offered under the program. For instance, low-income homeowners can get up to 100% of electrification projects covered — up to the cap of $14,000 in rebates — while middle-income consumers can get up to 50% of their costs covered by the rebates (also up to that $14,000 cap).
What types of tax credits can I get?
Tax credits are different from rebates because consumers receive them when they file their taxes. Rebates, on the other hand, are often applied when someone buys an item. The HEEHRA rebates are slated to be available at the point-of-sale, such as when a consumer buys a heat pump through a home supply store.
The Inflation Reduction Act expands a homeowner efficiency tax credit, called the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit. This covers up to 30% of the cost of energy upgrades, with a cap of $1,200 per year.
This tax credit was previously available to homeowners, but it was a lifetime credit, meaning you could claim it only once. But the IRA makes the credit an annual incentive, which means that homeowners could claim the credit for upgrading windows one year and buying a heat pump the next.
How can I enroll in these programs?
You can't claim the rebates or tax credits just yet, Urbanek noted.
"We are probably still a number of months for the programs to be live," she said, adding that the HOMES rebate program will be operated by states, which are likely working on implementing their plans now.
Likewise, the point-of-sale rebates aren't yet available to consumers, but stores should have details later this year, according to trade publication Clean Technica.
What should I do now to prepare?
There are two steps homeowners can take now to get ready, experts say. First, schedule an energy audit of your home, which typically costs about $400 and which can offer guidance on how to make your home more efficient, according to Home Advisor.
Second, start talking with contractors to line them up for projects when the rebates and tax credit become available, Urbanek noted.
"Educating yourself about the types of equipment and what might be necessary for your own house can give people an idea of how to act as soon as this is available," she said.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inflation-reduction-act-joe-biden-climate-energy-home-upgrades/
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Ron Johnson swears he never lies — then attacks 'the left' demanding they should be kicked 'out' of churches
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Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is having a difficult reelection back home as he's being forced to answer questions from voters about his role in ongoing concerns over Russia and involvement in the attempt to overthrow the 2020 election.
Johnson is dealing with the controversy and his lies around his role in the 2020 election overthrow attempt. At one point, hours prior to officials being at the Capitol, Johnson was given an envelope with the fake electors for at least two states inside. He was to give it to Vice President Mike Pence. Instead, a top Johnson aide didn't seem to know what to do with it and reached out to a Pence aide, who said not to hand the envelope over. The fake electors' scandal is now an investigation by the Justice Department. One of those fake electors works for Johnson.
Johnson was asked by reporters about it and pretended to be on a phone call. The reporters called him out on it and Johnson tried to pawn it off on an "intern" acting alone. It turned out to be his chief of staff. Johnson then lied a second time that he didn't know who gave them the envelope. It turned out to be a member of Congress.
Johnson also has been attacked over the past six years about his close relationship with Russia. In a Fox interview last month, Johnson admitted that people in his state think he's a "tool for Vladimir Putin" because he spent Jan. 4 Independence Day in the country as well as other issues.
Johnson did a personal investigation into Trump's call with Ukraine in which he asked for a "favor" that the country announce an investigation into Joe Biden ahead of the election. Johnson, along with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who is also up for reelection, published an 11-page defense of his actions that turned out to be products of Russian disinformation.
Johnson tried to defend himself by saying that he used two Ukrainian sources for his"investigation," but left out that there were direct quotes pulled from Russian state media in the text, Just Security explained.
After Johnson's Russia trip in 2018, he “shocked” Republican colleagues by questioning U.S.'s stance on Russia and saying, “We need to take a look at sanctions—are they actually changing Russia's behavior?"
Johnson has been cagy about the issue ever since, but did take a moment to brag that it was his fake investigation that would get Trump elected in 2020. Now that Russia has attacked Ukraine, it brings up questions about whether such a major leader in the Senate could be serving the interest of someone other than the United States and its allies.
The second issue Johnson voiced was his opposition to the so-called "left," which he doesn't define, but could reasonably be assumed to mean anyone who voted for Democrats. Johnson said that the "left" wanted to destroy the "nuclear family," which is a right-wing rallying cry that goes back to Dan Quayle's attack on a television character who had a baby without being married. The show ultimately wrote it into the show bringing on families like single mothers, grandparents raising their grandchildren, single fathers and other family units.
Johnson went on to lambast liberals, saying that they have no business being part of churches. As part of a rant that liberals had "infiltrated" all institutions like law, journalism, education and other institutions, he included the church as his gripe. Christianity generally revolves around embracing any and everyone, but in what Johnson told Fox he'd just Democrats be shoved "out."
Watch:
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Biden Gets Big Bounce After Legislative Wins
A new IBD/TIPP poll finds President Biden’s approval rating jumped 6.6 points to 49%, the highest since April.
https://www.investors.com/politics/biden-approval-rating-gets-big-bounce-from-young-americans/
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CBS News @CBSNews
"Imagine the possibilities: vaccines that could prevent cancer," says Pres. Biden discussing potential cancer research innovations while delivering remarks on his "Cancer Moonshot" initiative.
"Imagine getting a simple shot instead of a grueling chemo."
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1569429653856653313
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NEW @amprog analysis: Why is Biden's Inflation Reduction Act so popular?
✅ A family of 4 can save $23,000
✅ A single parent can save $6,700
✅ A young adult can save $7,700
✅ An elderly couple can save $17,000
Here's how:
The Inflation Reduction Act Will Save Families Thousands of Dollars
The act will lower household costs across health coverage, prescription drugs, home energy, and electric vehicles.
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The Inflation Reduction Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden last month, makes historic investments to address climate change and contains the most sweeping health care reforms in a decade. The policies in the law are monumental on a national scale, reducing the deficit by $300 billion and standing up programs to spur the transition to clean energy and lower prescription drug prices. The act also provides near-immediate, tangible benefits for American families by lowering costs for home energy, new vehicles, health coverage, and prescription drugs.
The Inflation Reduction Act provides numerous opportunities for households to reduce their costs of living. This article provides four examples of how savings across the health care and climate-related provisions of the law could save a family thousands of dollars in a single year.
A family of four can save $23,000
First, imagine a family in Phoenix consisting of two parents and two kids. Their household income is $125,000, and they purchase health insurance on their own through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces. They are homeowners, and in 2023 they will purchase a new electric vehicle (EV) and install rooftop solar with a backup battery.
The Inflation Reduction Act will reduce the cost of health coverage for this family. Like other families with incomes above 400 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), the Phoenix family was previously ineligible for the ACA’s financial help toward health insurance marketplace premiums. The American Rescue Plan, which Congress passed in March 2021, increased the generosity of ACA premium tax credits and expanded eligibility above 400 percent of the FPL for 2021 and 2022. The Inflation Reduction Act extends those expanded subsidies through 2025. For the Phoenix family in 2022, the enhanced subsidies reduce the net cost of the marketplace benchmark silver plan premium by $2,288 annually—savings of 18 percent on a premium that would have otherwise been $12,913.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the Phoenix family is eligible to receive $7,500 at the point of sale off the cost of their new EV, provided they choose a model that meets the requirements for being made in North America. Once they have switched from a gasoline-powered car to an EV, the family will save up to $2,600 annually on their fuel costs. By installing rooftop solar and a backup battery to store the energy generated from the solar panels, the family will save 30 percent on project and installation costs, an average savings of $10,500. Together, these shifts toward cleaner energy could save the family $20,600.
In total, through the ACA premium tax credits and by taking advantage of the clean energy credits in the Inflation Reduction Act, the family can expect to save roughly $23,000 in 2023.
A single parent can save $6,700
In Atlanta, a 55-year-old single parent with an 18-year-old child could save a total of about $6,700 across health care and energy costs because of the Inflation Reduction Act. With an income of $75,000, the enhanced marketplace subsidies saved them an additional $5,592 toward health care coverage this year.
The appliances—water heater, stove, dryer, and more—in the family’s rented apartment can be upgraded to energy-efficient appliances that will reduce energy bills and avoid indoor air pollution. Thanks to rebates in the Inflation Reduction Act, their landlord can have the full cost of the upgrade covered up to $14,000 given the income levels of the renting family. Across all households, the Inflation Reduction Act was projected to cut average annual energy costs by up to $1,146 according to the Rhodium Group. The forward-looking households who choose to switch to lower-cost electricity and higher-efficiency appliances such as heat pumps will save even more than the average.
A young adult can save $7,700
Single individuals can also expect to see their costs go down as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act. A young adult in Milwaukee with an annual income of $40,000 can save roughly $7,700. They can save an additional $1,114 on their marketplace premium this year due to the enhanced financial help that the new law has extended.
This young adult is eligible to receive $4,000 at the point of sale for purchasing a used electric vehicle, a brand-new tax credit created by the Inflation Reduction Act to increase the accessibility and affordability of EVs. By making the switch from a gas-powered vehicle to an EV, they will save up to $2,600 in annual fuel costs, according to Consumer Reports.
An elderly couple can save $17,000
For seniors, the Inflation Reduction Act offers relief from high prescription drug costs. For example, take an elderly, middle-class couple living in Pittsburgh who—like 1.4 million other Medicare beneficiaries nationwide, including 73,000 Pennsylvanians—spend more than $2,000 out of pocket for prescription drugs in a given year. In addition, one member of the couple is diabetic and insulin-dependent.
The Inflation Reduction Act makes significant changes to prescription drug pricing by allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices and preventing drug companies from hiking prices in excess of inflation. The law’s drug price reforms are projected to generate $288 billion in federal savings over the next decade, and Medicare seniors will experience improved affordability because the act creates a new $2,000 maximum on annual out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs and caps insulin cost sharing at $35 per month.
Assuming the Pennsylvania couple’s out-of-pocket costs are equal to the average among beneficiaries whose drug costs exceed these new limits, they could each save $1,215 when the cap takes effect in 2025—$2,430 total—because of the annual out-of-pocket maximum, and they would save an additional $575 on insulin every year beginning in 2023.
This couple is eligible to receive up to $14,000 to cover the full cost of energy efficiency upgrades to their home appliances, such as a heat pump water heater, a heat pump for space heating or cooling, or an electric stove. The upgrades will come at no cost to the couple—and will help them save on their energy bills every year. Switching to energy-efficient appliances will also benefit the couple’s health by significantly reducing indoor air pollution from fossil fuel-based appliances.
In total for this scenario, the couple could save $17,000 on prescription drugs, new appliances, and energy bills in a single year.
Conclusion
The four households described in these scenarios will save thousands of dollars on basic purchases under the Inflation Reduction Act, and yet none will see their taxes rise. Even families who do not make the switch to electricity will still benefit from the law’s investments, which will reduce electricity rates, natural gas prices, and gasoline prices. Moreover, the new law’s wide-ranging benefits and deficit reduction are funded by ensuring that the wealthy pay what they owe and by cracking down on tax avoidance by large corporations, meaning that no family making less than $400,000 per year will experience a tax increase.
The Inflation Reduction Act delivers better affordability on life-saving medications, health insurance premiums, and energy bills. It will produce large savings for families who upgrade to cleaner energy, electric vehicles, and more efficient homes, which in turn will generate savings for years to come.
Methodology
The Affordable Care Act marketplace savings described in this column represent the reduction in the net premium for benchmark silver plan coverage attributable to premium tax credit enhancement introduced in the American Rescue Plan. The authors used the Kaiser Family Foundation’s calculator tools to compute each household’s net premium with and without the enhanced subsidies, then reported the difference. Amounts are based on premiums for plan year 2022, the most recent year with available data. Because marketplace premiums vary with age, family composition, family income, and location, additional examples of savings for selected cities are shown below in Table 1 in the link below.
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-inflation-reduction-act-will-save-families-thousands-of-dollars/
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Biden makes a passionate plea: 'Beating cancer is something we can do together'
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President Joe Biden speaks on the cancer moonshot initiative at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, Monday, Sept. 12, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
(CNN) - President Joe Biden sought to deliver a unifying speech in Boston on Monday focused on his "Moonshot" initiative to reduce cancer deaths in the United States -- a stop that's part of a ramped up travel schedule highlighting his administration's accomplishments ahead of the midterm elections.
Biden told an audience at Boston's John F. Kennedy Library and Museum that his goal is to cut cancer death rates by at least 50% in the next 25 years. The President also said he wants to "create a more supportive experience for patients and families."
The President -- who lost his son to brain cancer -- spoke in personal, passionate terms about his goal, which he called "bold, ambitious" and "completely doable."
"Cancer does not discriminate red and blue. It doesn't care if you're Republican or Democrat. Beating cancer is something we can do together," the President said discussing the administration's efforts to cut the number of deaths from cancer in the United States in half over the next 25 years.
Biden's speech came on the 60th anniversary of Kennedy's original "Moonshot" speech, in which he unveiled his goal of landing a man on the Moon.
"When he set that goal, he established a national purpose that could rally the American people in a common cause and he succeeded," Biden said of Kennedy. "Now, in our time, on the 60th anniversary of his clarion call, we face another inflection point. And together, we can choose to move forward with unity, hope and optimism. And I believe we can usher in the same unwillingness to postpone -- the same national purpose that will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills to end cancer as we know it and even cure cancers once and for all."
To "break the logjams" in Congress, Biden said he would use his authorities as President to increase funding for cancer research.
The President also announced that Dr. Renee Wegrzyn will become the inaugural director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, which is a new agency that aims to "drive biomedical innovation that supports the health of all Americans." He is also expected to sign an executive order that will launch a National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative, the White House said.
We're finally going to make infrastructure begin to work'
The midterm elections are less than 60 days away, and Biden's travel to Boston is his latest effort aimed at capitalizing on the political momentum spurred by recent legislative achievements and dropping gas prices.
Earlier Monday, the President highlighted projects made possible by the bipartisan infrastructure law at Boston Logan International Airport's Terminal E. New spending from the infrastructure law, he said, will create more than 5,000 jobs and expand capacity and increase accessibility at the airport.
Biden, at the airport, stressed the importance of competing with other countries like China in addition to rebuilding the nation's infrastructure.
"We risk losing our edge as nation to China, and the rest of the world is catching up. That stops now, with investments like we're celebrating here today," the President said.
Biden said: "Folks, America invented modern aviation. But we've allowed our airports to lag behind our competitors. Today, not a single solitary American airport, not one, ranked in the top 25 in the world. The United States of America. Not one airport ranks in the top 25 in the world. What in the hell's the matter with us? It means commerce, it means income, it means security."
The investments in the airport include $50 million to modernize Terminal E and $12 million to improve roadways. The President said in addition to being frustrating and inconvenient for passengers, traffic jams and delays on airport runways cause air pollution that harms the environment and directly affects neighboring communities.
Biden told reporters Monday ahead of his trip to Boston: "We're finally going to make infrastructure begin to work. We're making a major investment as you know, up in a great city with an airport that is really behind the times, as most are. And we're going to be spending a lot of money and we're going to get it done quickly, and we're going to go all through America making our airports the best in the world."
'People are beginning to focus on what's going on'
On Monday evening, the President also participated in a reception for the Democratic National Committee hosted at the home of Jonathan Lavine, the co-managing partner of Bain Capital.
In remarks at the event, according to reporters in the room, the President ticked off what he sees as his administrative accomplishments -- including major legislative wins, lower gas prices and a reduction in inflation. He also sought to highlight how the nation is at an "inflection point" in history.
"The fact is that extreme Republicans are going to take us backward," Biden said, adding that "there's a lot at stake and we have to choose a different path."
Biden warned the group, "If we lose the House and lose the Senate, it's going to be a really difficult two years. I'll be spending more time with the veto pen."
The President pointed to a poll showing that his approval rating had improved, but added, "I don't know how that holds."
"But I know ... people are beginning to focus on what's going on," he continued. "We have to stay in the game. We have to stay in a big way. ... There's a lot at stake. ... I don't want to start from scratch again."
The event hosted approximately 40 attendees and was expected to raise $2 million for the DNC and the Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund, according to a DNC official.
Biden's schedule for the rest of the week, as outlined by the White House, includes a celebration at the White House for the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act -- a $750 billion health care, tax and climate bill -- as well as a trip to the key battleground state of Michigan.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/12/politics/biden-boston-trip/index.html
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Senate Republicans to introduce nationwide abortion ban
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) will lead Senate Republicans in a push to pass a nationwide ban on abortion in a press conference Tuesday, less than two months before the November midterms, according to multiple reports.
Despite wording in an apparent press release calling it a "late-term" abortion ban, The Washington Post's Caroline Kitchener says it is expected to call for a ban on all abortions at or after 15 weeks.
"Tomorrow, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser, and pro-life women leaders will join Senator Lindsey Graham(R-SC) at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol for the introduction of the Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act," the press release from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America reads.
The move to impose a nationwide abortion ban barely into the second trimester comes less than three months after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, the nearly 50-year old landmark decision that said there is a constitutional right to abortion. Justices and Republicans insisted it was a states' rights issue, but with this push to ban abortion before some women even know they're pregnant it's clear the states' rights claim was a smokescreen.
Politico's Alice Miranda Ollstein also reported on the expected announcement by Sen. Graham.
The Supreme Court's decision in the Dobbs case, rescinding the civil right to abortion, and the Democrats' promise to make the right to abortion a federal law, along with President Biden's historic legislative successes, have moved projected control of the Senate back to the Democrats.
The South Carolina Post and Courier's Caitlin Byrd adds, "At a DNC fundraiser earlier tonight in Boston, Biden said: 'I want to codify Roe v Wade.'"
Read More Here: https://twitter.com/AliceOllstein/status/1569494296998383618
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Tim Ryan @TimRyan
Got a real *kick* out of our newest Team Ryan member!
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https://twitter.com/TimRyan/status/1569485626642436096
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Echelon Insights has released a new batch of polls today, but a couple of these seem way too lopsided to be accurate. I'm going to have to wait and see more new polling to see where these are at. Remember, it's the polling averages that determine polling accuracy, not one specific poll.
Democrats
Pennsylvania Senate: Fetterman +21
Pennsylvania Governor: Shapiro +19
Ohio Senate: Ryan +6
Kansas Governor: Laura Kelly +12
Kansas Senate: Moran +19
Georgia Senate: Warnock +10
Georgia Governor: Abrams +1
Arizona Senate: Mark Kelly +15
Arizona Governor: Hobbs +10
Republicans
Ohio Governor: DeWine +19
Florida Senate: Rubio +9
Florida Governor: DeSantis +10
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President Biden @POTUS
The Inflation Reduction Act is what it looks like when the government works for the people.
And when we tell powerful special interests: No, you're not going to get your way.
Not this time.
Not this year.
Not now.
The Inflation Reduction Act delivers on promises that have been made to Americans for decades.
Congressional Republicans chose not to join us, so it fell to the rest of us to meet this moment and deliver for families.
And that's exactly what we did.
The progress that comes with the Inflation Reduction Act was declared a failure before it was a success.
But we didn’t give up. We had a vision, a plan, and we stuck to it.
And the result is we’re getting the job done for the American people.
Tune in as I deliver remarks celebrating the Inflation Reduction Act and how it demonstrates government working for the American people.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1OdKrzPANvXKX
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Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott wants to gut Social Security and Medicare with his bogus 11 point tax scam. He already perpetrated the largest Medicare fraud in history. He left the company with a $5 million severance, $300 million in stock, and a $950,000/yr consulting contract for 5 years.
Gov. Rick Scott took responsibility? No, he took $300 million
Oct 02, 2018
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When the federal investigation of Rick Scott’s former hospital company became public in 1997, the board of Columbia/HCA forced him out. Scott left with $300 million in stock, a $5.1 million severance and a $950,000-per-year consulting contract for five years.
What does Scott call that? Taking responsibility.
The governor’s new Senate campaign ad again seeks to rewrite the history of Columbia/HCA, which Scott founded in 1987 and led as CEO. Indeed, the ad is titled “responsibility” and compares Scott’s actions to those of “strong leaders.”
In its settlement with the government, the company admitted to 14 felonies related to fraudulent billing and practices. Most happened under Scott’s leadership.
Columbia/HCA gave kickbacks to doctors so they would refer patients. Columbia/HCA made patients look sicker than they were, so Medicare would pay more. Columbia/HCA kept two sets of books.
The settlement required Columbia/HCA to pay $1.7 billion in fines, then the largest health care fraud case in the country. Scott departed a year after Time magazine named him one of America’s 25 most influential people for “transforming how American hospitals do business” through a company that “consolidates operations and imposes cost controls.”
Apparently, however, Scott’s business model depended on cheating. Despite that record, Scott narrowly won two terms as governor. With Scott in a tight race against Bill Nelson, the issue has arisen again. The new ad tries to make the governor the responsible guy on Medicare, not Nelson.
The ad continues Scott’s effort to portray Nelson – who is 76 – as old and dotty. Nelson, the ad said, is “confused” in his criticism of Scott and Columbia/HCA.
The company, the ad says, “paid every penny.” Well, sure. The settlement required payment, which came long after Scott was gone. The ad says Scott “took responsibility” without specifying how he did so.
That’s because Scott never did. He blamed the investigation on the Clinton administration, which supposedly sought revenge after Scott opposed health care reform. He claimed that Columbia/HCA was no worse than other companies. He noted that the government didn’t charge him with a crime.
And, of course, Scott claimed not to have known anything. He was a genius who deserved his megabucks severance, but he had no idea about company operations.
During his first campaign, Scott wrote: “I learned very hard lessons from what happened and those lessons have helped me become a better businessman and leader.”
Or not.
After moving to Florida, Scott started Solantic, a chain of walk-in clinics that also faced lawsuits. Just before Scott announced for governor, Solantic settled one of those lawsuits. The confidentiality agreement kept secret a deposition by Scott that he has refused to release. In a deposition related to Columbia/HCA, Scott took so much responsibility that he invoked the Fifth Amendment 75 times.
Seeking to shift attention from Scott’s business record, the new ad accuses Nelson of cutting $716 billion from Medicare and using it for “more government spending.” The charge is as phony as the idea that Scott owned up to the fraud at his company.
The Affordable Care Act sought to cut wasteful Medicare spending. One target was Medicare Advantage plans, which got a boost in 2003 from the Republicans’ Medicare drug plan.
Ample evidence showed that Medicare Advantage plans cost more than traditional Medicare and weren’t as efficient. So the Affordable Care Act, which Nelson supported, shifted that $716 billion – now closer to $800 billion – away from private insurers.
Though the Scott ad accuses doddering ol’ Bill of being “too weak” to “stand up” for Florida’s seniors, the shift bolstered Medicare. Republicans have used similar ads in other states. Credible fact-checking services have debunked them.
His habit of ducking responsibility in business foretold how Scott would behave as governor. He is the most secretive governor in at least half a century. He keeps his schedule private as long as possible. He can do that because he owns the jet on which he travels.
Scott has had to duck the public a lot during this campaign. He blew off algae protesters in Martin County. He did the same thing in the Panhandle to Floridians angry that he had signed a bill restricting public beach access.
The governor built his political career with a fortune based on fraud. Perhaps people are starting to hold him responsible.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/fl-op-col-rick-scott-medicare-fraud-20181002-story.html
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Biden promotes US biotech, cancer fight in new 'Moonshot'
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President Joe Biden issued an executive order Monday boosting the US biotech sector as part of his Cancer Moonshot initiative, which invokes the national effort to land a man on the Moon 60 years ago.
The Democrat was in Boston for an address deliberately set to echo John F. Kennedy's famous 1962 "Moonshot speech" in which he called for landing an American on the lunar surface -- something achieved in 1969.
This time, Biden is pushing for government-backed efforts to coordinate and fund a multilayered fight against cancer, with the goal of halving cancer death rates in the next 25 years.
As he set off from Washington, Biden issued an order meant to bolster the trailblazing US biotech sector's efforts to take on growing commercial rivals in China.
The order brings federal support for "areas that will define US biotechnology leadership and our economic competitiveness in the coming decades," a senior Biden administration official told reporters.
The official said that while US biotech research leads the world, the industrial applications are increasingly in the hands of other countries.
"Unless we translate biotechnology innovation into economic and societal benefits for all Americans, other countries, including and especially China, are aggressively investing in this sector," posing a "risk," the official said.
The White House says the US biotech industry is on the cutting edge of medical advances -- recently seen in the rapid development of vaccines, tests and therapeutics to help manage the Covid-19 pandemic -- but that the potential scope goes much further.
The official speaking to reporters cited studies suggesting that "before the end of the decade, engineering biology holds the potential to be used in manufacturing industry that accounts for more than one third of global output. That's equivalent to almost $30 trillion in terms of value."
Growing areas for biotech industry include new plastics and rubbers, jet fuel, and environmentally friendly fertilizers.
Personal issue for Biden
The battle against cancer is personal for Biden: his son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015 when Biden was vice president to Barack Obama.
In his speech at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston, Biden will lay out how his administration is seeking to slash cancer rates through a systemic revamp of government funding and support for everything from medical research to improving access to healthcare and better environmental conditions.
The linkage to the Moon program will seek to raise public awareness and support ahead of midterm congressional elections where the Democrats face the possibility of a Republican sweep in Congress, something which would severely complicate the next two years of Biden's first term.
Caroline Kennedy, the US ambassador to Australia and daughter of the assassinated JFK, told CNN she approved of the parallels drawn by Biden in the struggle to conquer the deadly disease.
"Sixty years after my father challenged Americans to land on the moon, President Biden is welcoming great challenges as new opportunities by setting us on a bold course to end cancer as we know it," she said.
Biden's focus on the cancer fight comes as NASA is once again looking to return to the Moon.
Agence France-Presse
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Fox News polling (A-rated by 538) now predicts the GOP will only gain one House seat -- meaning Democrats would retain control of the House.
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"A big win for America": Biden announces tentative deal to avert national rail strike
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President Biden announced early Thursday morning that days of negotiations at the U.S. Department of Labor to avert a national rail strike, with potentially major implications for the economy, had yielded a deal.
In a statement, Mr. Biden said the "tentative agreement" between the railroads and rail workers' unions was "an important win for our economy and the American people" and "a win for tens of thousands of rail workers who worked tirelessly through the pandemic to ensure that America's families and communities got deliveries of what have kept us going during these difficult years."
Mr. Biden said U.S. rail workers would "get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned," thanks to the agreement, which he said was "also a victory for railway companies who will be able to retain and recruit more workers for an industry that will continue to be part of the backbone of the American economy for decades to come."
The president met with negotiators in the Oval Office later Thursday morning, calling the rail system "the backbone of the nation" in brief comments, before delivering formal remarks on the agreement.
"This agreement is a big win for America and for both, in my view," he said during his Rose Garden speech, adding that the tentative labor deal is "validation of what I've always believed: Union and management can work together."
"To the American people," Mr. Biden continued, "this agreement can avert the significant damage that any shutdown would have brought. Our nation's rail system is the backbone of our supply chain, everything you rely on."
The deal will now go to the unions for a vote to finalize the agreement. The presidents of the unions representing rail workers said the breakthrough provides for "the highest general wage increases over the life of the agreement in over 45 years."
Workers will get an immediate 14% raise, with a total raise of 24% over the course of the five-year deal, the unions said. They will also get annual bonuses of $5,000 and keep their health care copays and deductibles unchanged.
Significantly, all workers will get an extra paid day off and have the ability to take time off for medical reasons, one of the key demands the unions made over the course of negotiations.
"For the first time, our unions were able to obtain negotiated contract language exempting time off for certain medical events from carrier attendance policies," the union chiefs said.
A source familiar with the labor talks told CBS News that the negotiating parties had agreed to a "post-ratification cooling off period" of several weeks, to make sure that there isn't an immediate rail shutdown if a vote doesn't succeed for any reason.
Labor Secretary Marty Walsh oversaw a marathon negotiation session Wednesday at the Labor Department that led to the agreement, and CBS News learned that Mr. Biden made what one source described as a "crucial call" into the negotiations around 9 p.m. local time on Wednesday evening.
Walsh said in a tweet that "following more than 20 consecutive hours of negotiations" at the Labor Department, "the rail companies and union negotiators came to a tentative agreement that balances the needs of workers, businesses, and our nation's economy."
The announcement came hours after Amtrak said it was canceling all long-distance trips from Thursday amid the threat of a strike, which could have disrupted not only passenger and freight services, but the U.S. economy. Rail companies had warned the strike could result in lost productivity of $2 billion a day.
In light of the agreement announced on Thursday morning, Amtrak said it was "working to quickly restore" the cancelled trains "and reaching out to impacted customers to accommodate on first available departures."
The root of the problem was a labor dispute between railroad companies and their unionized workforces. If the two sides hadn't come to an agreement, the strike was set to have begun just after midnight on Friday.
A Labor Department spokesperson told CBS News on Wednesday evening that dinner was ordered and the talks in Washington among federal officials, railroad executives and railroad worker union leaders were ongoing. Mr. Biden's statement about the agreement came at about 5 a.m. on Thursday.
Without the deal, the strike would have begun Friday at the end a 30-day "cooling-off" period mandated under terms of the Railway Labor Act, which governs contract talks in the railroad and airline industries.
It was the Association of American Railroads that had warned halting freight trains could cost the U.S. economy more than $2 billion per day. If a shutdown were to last more than a few days, the impact would likely be felt by millions of consumers, as it would disrupt shipping of virtually all retail products, coal, other fuels and manufacturing components.
Commuters would also be out of luck, as many passenger trains run on the freight tracks that would be idled in a strike, experts say.
In the past, most recently in 1986, Congress has acted to end railroad strikes. If no agreement had been reached this week, both houses could have passed a joint resolution — that the president would have had to sign — effectively forcing the rail workers to keep working under terms laid out by an emergency board established by the White House earlier this year. The U.S. Chamber of Congress had urged Congress to stand by and be ready to intervene before Thursday morning's agreement was announced.
In a statement lauding Mr. Biden and the labor secretary for their roles in the negotiations, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi confirmed that Congress had "stood ready to take action... to ensure the uninterrupted operation of essential transportation services."
"Led by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the House prepared and had reviewed legislation, so that we would be ready to act, pursuant to Section 10 of the Railway Labor Act," said Pelosi. "Thankfully this action may not be necessary."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/freight-rail-strike-biden-announces-agreement-to-avert-railway-strike/
Watch:
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Nearly 700,000 new manufacturing jobs have been created in the past two years under President Biden - the strongest manufacturing job growth since the 1950s!
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Thanks to President Biden’s economic plan, 18 states have unemployment rates at or below 3%. And, nine states are at their lowest unemployment rates on record.
This is a sign of America’s very strong labor market.
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The White House @WhiteHouse
Today marks 95 days of dropping gas prices across the U.S.
Americans are getting some breathing room at the pump as we continue on the fastest decline in gas prices in over a decade.
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https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1571196068343287809
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Gasoline prices since Biden tweeted that the prices should be lower.
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In new Fox News polling Dems have gained 3 points, lead 44-41 and in their modeling that is enough for Democrats to keep the House.
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Catherine Cortez Masto @CortezMasto
Adam Laxalt isn't just wrong for Nevada, he's dangerous.
I will always stand up for Nevadans' essential rights, including abortion access. @AdamLaxalt can't say the same.
Laxalt’s column on abortion inaccurate, inflammatory
https://www.rgj.com/story/opinion/voices/2022/08/15/laxalts-column-inaccurate-inflammatory/10333156002/
https://twitter.com/CortezMasto/status/1571906971028127744
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Biden-Harris Administration Announces $156 Million for America's First-of-a-Kind Critical Minerals Refinery
Funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, New Project Will Demonstrate the Commercial Viability of Turning Mine Waste into Clean Energy Technology, Boosting Domestic Manufacturing and Securing Domestic Supply Chain
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced up to $156 million in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for a first-of-a-kind facility to extract and separate rare earth elements (REE) and critical minerals (CM) from unconventional sources like mining waste. Rare earth elements and other critical minerals are key to manufacturing clean energy technologies right here in America—such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cells—that will help the nation reach the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
“President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides America with a historic opportunity to turn legacy waste into the components of clean energy technology in a way that bolsters domestic supply chains and enhances our national security,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The demand for clean energy technology continues to grow at a rapid pace and an American-made critical minerals refinery will help generate jobs and increase our competitiveness on the global stage.”
The United States currently imports more than 80% of its rare earth elements from offshore suppliers to produce clean energy technologies and other indispensable products that we rely on every day such as smart phones, computers, and medical equipment. Across the country, there are billions of tons of coal waste and ash, acid mine drainage, and discharged water. However, these waste streams from mining, energy production, and related activities, contain a wide variety of valuable rare earth elements and other critical minerals that can be repurposed into clean energy technologies, while helping to create healthier environments for communities across the country.
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) seeks applications from U.S. academic institutions for a front-end engineering design study followed by the design, construction, and operation of a first-of-a-kind domestic demonstration facility that will extract, separate, produce, and refine rare earth elements and other critical minerals from the nation’s vast quantities of waste streams from mining and energy production.
Throughout the life of the project, the selected applicant must engage in community outreach and consultations with historically disadvantaged communities, prioritize environmental justice when identifying project site locations, and maximize local workforce development opportunities for the operation of the demonstration facility. Applicants are encouraged to review DOE’s commitment to the Justice40 Initiative, which states that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments will flow to disadvantaged communities, and that projects will have minimal negative impacts on communities with environmental justice concerns.
All applicants must register and submit application materials through FedConnect. The application deadline is November 21, 2022 at 8:00 p.m. ET. All questions about this FOA must be submitted through Fedconnect; register here for an account. Read the full FOA for more information.
This opportunity is managed by DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains and Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, working together to strengthen and secure a domestic supply chain for rare earth elements and critical minerals.
https://www.energy.gov/articles/biden-harris-administration-announces-156-million-americas-first-kind-critical-minerals
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McConnell’s PAC yanks $9.6 million in TV ads from Arizona Senate race: report
GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell's leadership PAC is canceling ads it has reserved in Arizona where Republican venture capitalist Blake Masters is challenging incumbent and former astronaut Mark Kelly.
Axios reported Tuesday the McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund is canceled $9.6 million in Arizona.
"The cancellations mean that the GOP's leading super PAC won't be spending any money in Arizona, one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country. Its allied non-profit arm spent several millions in the state on issue ads over the summer," Axios reported.
McConnell and the National Republican Senatorial Committee reportedly tried to recruit term-limited GOP Gov. Doug Ducey, but Trump labeled him a RINO and said, "he will never have my endorsement or the support of MAGA Nation!"
McConnell also failed at recruiting Govs. Chris Sununu (R-NH) and Larry Hogan (R-MD).
"Despite Arizona's battleground status, many Republican officials have been wary about Masters' prospects against Sen. Mark Kelly," Axios reported. "Masters is trailing Kelly in public polling, and Republican internal surveys have his unfavorability ratings unusually high for a first-time candidate. Most of the outside funding for Masters' campaign will now be coming from ideologically aligned groups, not those directly invested in a Republican Senate majority."
AFP
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President Biden @POTUS
There's too much dark money flowing in the shadows of our politics.
The DISCLOSE Act ensures groups that run issue ads to influence elections will have to disclose contributions above $10,000.
And foreign entities would be banned from making any contributions for these ads.
Democrats in Congress want more openness and accountability in politics.
Republicans in Congress – so far – don’t.
This week, the DISCLOSE Act gets a vote. I hope Republicans join us in supporting a system that’s less secretive and more transparent.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1572321149190606856
President Biden delivers remarks on the DISCLOSE Act.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1dRJZMByXYbGB
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Whitmer up by 11 in new poll conducted by EPIC/MRA; both Benson, Nessel up by 8
https://thelivingstonpost.com/whitmer-up-by-11-in-new-poll-conducted-by-epic-mra-both-benson-nessel-up-by-8/
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Jevin D. Hodge for Congress @JevinHodge
BREAKING: @CookPolitical JUST moved our race to a TOSS-UP!
Americans are tired of MAGA Republican David Schweikert representing Arizona in Congress and are ready for new leadership.
On November 8th, we will win and flip AZ01 blue.
https://twitter.com/JevinHodge/status/1572577386591555588
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Catherine Cortez Masto @CortezMasto
Nevada is suffering through a historic drought – so I delivered billions to protect our water supply and fight extreme droughts.
Meanwhile, this is @AdamLaxalt's plan in his own words: "no comment."
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1572726114669166594
https://twitter.com/CortezMasto/status/1572726114669166594
Mandela Barnes @TheOtherMandela
Ron Johnson doesn’t have to worry about retirement because he's doubled his wealth while in office.
But the rest of us need Social Security and Medicare – and we won’t let him take them away.
https://twitter.com/TheOtherMandela/status/1572376276043710464
Tim Ryan @TimRyan
Today, Mitch McConnell is hosting a swanky fundraiser for JD Vance in Washington D.C. in a desperate attempt to save his floundering campaign.
Me? I'm proudly relying on folks like Mary from Cincinnati and Michael from Warren who both chipped in $50 last week.
https://twitter.com/TimRyan/status/1572356663000338434
Reverend Raphael Warnock @ReverendWarnock
As a voice for Georgia in the Senate, I will continue to push bills that reflect the priorities of hard-working people from Albany to Valdosta and everywhere in between.
https://twitter.com/ReverendWarnock/status/1572581886253465601
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President Biden @POTUS
Today, I joined fellow leaders at the United Nations General Assembly with one resounding message: the nations of the world are united still.
Let us stand together to declare our resolve. And bend the arc of history toward a freer and more just world for all our children.
I joined UN Secretary-General @AntonioGuterres to reaffirm the partnership between the U.S. and the United Nations.
We discussed the threat of Russia's war in Ukraine to the UN Charter and global community and the need for swift action to address climate and food insecurity.
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Tune in as I deliver remarks before the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1vAGRAZpZaNKl
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Yes, this is the same Rick Scott who wants to eliminate Social Security and Medicare along with raising taxes on the middle class.
Rick Scott’s NRSC accused of violating federal law with GOP attack ads in Senate races
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The campaign arm of Senate Republicans is facing a complaint that it is illegally spending money in 2022 midterm races.
The complaint was based off a bombshell New York Times report titled, "How a Record Cash Haul Vanished for Senate Republicans."
The report focused on the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which is chaired this cycle by Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).
"Mr. Scott has taken to saying that money could be the party’s greatest impediment to taking control of the 50-50 Senate in November, and he has been acting to make up financial ground," The Times reported on Sept. 3. "Under campaign finance law, a portion of the committee’s funds are supposed to be walled off for legal expenses, and are not to be used for campaigning. Yet in July, the committee’s biggest expense — a $1 million media buy, apparently for Colorado and Washington ads — came from those restricted legal funds, according to federal records.
Chris Hartline, a spokesperson for the NRSC and Scott, told the newspaper “If the Democrats don’t like that, tough.”
Apparently, it wasn't only Democrats who did not like the practice as the NRSC is now facing a Federal Election Commission complaint from the Campaign Legal Center.
"The spending, which appears to have been used for ads in the Senate races in Colorado and Washington State, is part of more than $3 million in media-related spending through the Republican committee’s legal fund, according to federal filings in 2021 and 2022," The Times reported Wednesday. "Federal law stipulates that money raised for such an account, to which individual donors are allowed to give three times as much as they can to the main committee fund-raising vehicle, can be used only for 'the preparation for and the conduct of election recounts and contests and other legal proceedings.'"
Read The Full Report:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/21/us/politics/fec-complaint-republican-campaign-finance.html?smid=url-share
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GOP House candidate lied about being deployed to Afghanistan
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During his campaign for a northwestern Ohio congressional seat, Republican J.R. Majewski has said he's an Air Force combat veteran who deployed to Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks . But according to military documents obtained by the Associated press, Majewski never deployed to Afghanistan, but instead spent a six-month stint helping load planes at an air base in Qatar.
The AP's report states that Majewski has exaggerated other aspects of his military service as well, namely "conspiracy theories, talk of violent action against the U.S. government" and "occasional financial duress."
“It bothers me when people trade on their military service to get elected to office when what they are doing is misleading the people they want to vote for them,” Don Christensen, a retired colonel and former chief prosecutor for the Air Force, said of Majewski. “Veterans have done so much for this country and when you claim to have done what your brothers and sisters in arms actually did to build up your reputation, it is a disservice.”
The House GOP campaign committee described Majewski as a veteran whose “squadron was one of the first on the ground in Afghanistan after 9/11.” A campaign ad launched by Majewski supporters claimed he was an “Afghanistan War Veteran." In a tweet from last year criticizing the U.S. withdraw from the country, he said he would “gladly suit up and go back to Afghanistan.”
Don Christensen, a retired colonel and former chief prosecutor for the Air Force, told the AP that as somebody was also stationed in Qatar, "I do not consider myself a combat veteran."
“I think that would be offensive to those who were actually engaged in combat and Iraq and Afghanistan," Christensen said.
Majewski’s campaign said that he calls himself a combat veteran because Qatar is considered a combat zone.
"Majewski also lacks many of the medals that are typically awarded to those who served in Afghanistan," the AP reports. "Though he once said that he went more than 40 days without a shower during his time in the landlocked country, he does not have an Afghanistan campaign medal, which was issued to those who served '30 consecutive days or 60 nonconsecutive days' in the country."
Read More Here:
https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-afghanistan-ohio-campaigns-e75d2566635f11f49332bd1c46711999
Michigan GOP AG candidate may face criminal charges before election for tampering with voting machines: report
The GOP nominee for attorney general in Michigan could face criminal charges stemming from his election denialism before the November election.
Kalamazoo attorney Matthew Perno is being investigated by Muskegon County Prosecutor DJ Hilson, who was appointed special prosecutor by Attorney General Dana Nessel, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Hilson issued a statement on the timing of potential charges, saying, "As prosecutor, I have an ethical obligation to ensure that all necessary evidence and information is obtained and reviewed so that a determination of criminal charges can be made. In order to meet that obligation, I have determined that additional investigative work needs to be done and I am working with investigators on those issues."
"I am acting as expeditiously as possible, but due to this ethical obligation, I cannot say at this time when any decisions would be made."
Nessel requested a special prosecutor as DePerno is her opponent following an investigation by her office and the Michigan State Police.
Also under investigation are GOP state Rep. Daire Rendon and Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf, among others.
"According to documents from Nessel's office, several people − including DePerno − are also accused of either illegally tampering with voting machines or being present when others "broke into the tabulators." Additional people accused of misconduct in the request for a special prosecutor include Stefanie Lambert Juntilla, Ann Howard, Ben Cotton, Jeff Lenberg, Douglas Logan and James Penrose," the newspaper reported. "Juntilla, a lawyer, has worked on debunked legal efforts brought by Trump-supporting attorney Sydney Powell and others to suggest widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Cotton, Lenberg, Logan and Penrose worked both with Powell's so-called 'Kraken' team on discredited election efforts across the country and on DePerno's Antrim County lawsuit."
DePerno has denied any wrongdoing.
Read More Here:
https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/09/21/matthew-deperno-election-investigation/69508756007/?gnt-cfr=1
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Senate approves first climate treaty in decades
While the Senate is badly divided on most climate issues, strong backing from the business community to eliminate hydrofluorocarbons.
The Senate ratified its first international climate treaty in three decades on Wednesday, approving an agreement worked out in 2016 that will phase down refrigerant chemicals that are among the most potent climate pollutants.
While the Senate is badly divided on most climate issues, strong backing from the business community to eliminate hydrofluorocarbons, known as HFCs, aligned with environmentalists’ agenda to help secure enough Republican support to meet the Constitution’s requirement of two-thirds support.
The Senate voted 69-27 to approve the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, joining 136 other nations and the European Union in approving the deal.
“The transition away from HFCs is expected to stimulate literally billions of dollars in economic investment in this country … create tens of thousands of jobs and significantly increase U.S. exports while using technology developed in this country,” Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) said on Wednesday.
Originally approved in the 1980s, the landmark Montreal Protocol successfully brought down emissions of chemicals that harmed the ozone layer, but in turn prompted manufacturers to switch to a new family of chemicals — hydrofluorocarbons — that do not harm the ozone layer but are potent greenhouse gases. Today, HFCs are used in refrigerators and air conditioners, as well as foam and aerosol products.
Depending on its makeup, a pound of HFCs can have as much warming potential as hundreds or even tens of thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide. That makes capping their use a critical part of combatting near-term warming; the Kigali Amendment will stave off 0.5 degrees Celsius of warming this century, according to the Biden administration.
The amendment requires countries to reduce their use of HFCs by 85 percent over 15 years. It was negotiated at an international gathering in Rwanda in 2016 by John Kerry, then the secretary of State and now President Joe Biden’s international climate envoy, and Gina McCarthy, then the EPA administrator, who just recently stepped down as Biden’s national climate adviser.
Congress already did the hard work in late 2020, when the Senate reached a deal on legislation empowering EPA to more forcefully regulate HFCs in order to meet Kigali’s goal.
Since then, major business interests have lobbied for ratification, partly because U.S. manufacturers are poised to play a leading role in selling next-generation refrigerants with much less climate impact. Not ratifying the treaty also would have led to trade restrictions in the 2030s.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce made ratification a “key vote” and in a letter this week argued that approving it “would enhance the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers working to develop alternative technologies, and level the global economic playing field.”
"The Senate is signaling that Kigali counts by ratifying the amendment,” Stephen Yurek, president and CEO of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, said in a statement. “It counts for the jobs it will create; it counts for global competitive advantage it creates; it counts with the additional exports that will result and it counts for U.S. technology preeminence.”
Despite having already given EPA the authority to effectively enforce the treaty, many Republicans still opposed ratification.
“Many of the benefits and jobs being touted are from U.S. innovations and our domestic legislation, not ratification of Kigali,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). “We did it here, we did it right. We don’t need to get entangled in another United Nations treaty.”
Lawmakers overwhelming voted to back a GOP amendment that calls for China to stop being classified as a developing nation under the United Nations’ main climate convention, and instead to be identified as a developed nation with more responsibilities. The amendment made ratification of the Kigali treaty contingent on the State Department filing an amendment with the UN reclassifying China as a developed nation — though not on successful passage of that amendment.
The agency last year issued a major regulation capping the U.S.’s HFC usage and ramping it down over the next 15 years in line with the Kigali Amendment’s timeline. EPA will dole out annual allowances to companies, which can then be traded or sold. That regulation attracted only narrow legal challenges, particularly over EPA’s ban on the use of disposable HFC canisters, which the agency said is a key part of its enforcement efforts.
EPA is also considering a litany of petitions filed by states, environmentalists and industry groups seeking specific end-use restrictions on certain HFC substances in various products.
EPA is also planning to restore a rule requiring HFC leak inspections and repairs for industrial and commercial refrigerators that was rolled back during the Trump administration, though final action isn’t expected until 2024.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/21/senate-approves-first-climate-treaty-in-decades-00058078
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More brand new national polls have been released today.
Not one poll showed any movement towards Republicans.
All of these 9 new polls however show movement towards Democrats.
538 now has the Democrats at +2 Dem in their generic poll model.
In order for the Democrats to safely regain control of the House, they need to be up by +3 points and a few polling firms already have the Democrats up by +3. Most have them up at +2.
Here is the most recent polling coming out today showing Democrats up and gaining over Republicans:
Rasmussen, Fox News +3
NBC +2
NYT, Economist, Echelon, Morning Consult, Dem Corp, Navigator +1
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The GOP pledges to BLOCK funding of ANY federal programs until next year. That would include veterans programs, aid to Puerto Rico, and infrastructure spending.
Once again the Republican party exposes themselves as the party of obstruction as they play political games with the lives of Americans.
Republicans have zero interest in helping Americans with important issues in their lives.
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Chuck Schumer @SenSchumer
Republicans are rolling out a new agenda—but we already know the MAGA GOP’s extreme agenda:
—A nationwide abortion ban
—Medicare and Social Security on the chopping block
—Raising taxes on working families
https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1572985059174391811
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Val Demings @valdemings
My opponent will stop at nothing to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits.
https://twitter.com/valdemings/status/1573072236847702016
Cheri Beasley @CheriBeasleyNC
Once again, my opponent Congressman Ted Budd has refused to stand up for our democracy – this time by voting against the Presidential Election Reform Act.
Here's a fact: Ted Budd is an election denier.
After the 2020 Election? Budd voted against certifying the election.
After January 6th? Budd defended insurrectionists and called them "patriots."
And now? He refuses to commit to upholding November's election result.
North Carolina deserves more from its next Senator.
https://twitter.com/CheriBeasleyNC/status/1572757667650670593
Maggie Hassan @Maggie_Hassan
Don Bolduc will end Medicare as we know it and take away care for hundreds of thousands of Granite State seniors.
Bolduc would create immeasurable harm by taking away these critical programs.
The third rail Republicans can’t stop touching
Social Security and Medicare are wildly popular. So why do GOP Senate candidates keep talking about privatizing them?
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/22/republican-candidates-social-security-medicare-00058158
https://twitter.com/Maggie_Hassan/status/1572952063721488389
Captain Mark Kelly @CaptMarkKelly
Lowering prescription drug costs. Strengthening Medicare. Protecting Social Security.
Arizona seniors can count on me to have their back.
https://twitter.com/CaptMarkKelly/status/1572400125175296000
Madison Horn for U.S. Senate @madisonhornok
Everyone needs to see this. @SenatorLankford is connecting the passing of a deeply flawed, extreme piece of legislation restricting women's rights with rain falling as a sign of God’s blessing. The fact is, women are now suffering and Oklahoma is still in a drought.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1572353638693228545
https://twitter.com/madisonhornok/status/1572353638693228545
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Lindsey Graham and the GOP want a national abortion ban.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1573029443068624899
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Kevin McCarthy and the GOP unveiled their new radical agenda.
Their agenda calls for:
A nationwide abortion ban.
Higher prescription drug prices.
Gutting Social Security and Medicare.
Less secure elections and a weakened democracy.
158 out of 212 House Republicans have called for slashing and privatizing Social Security, raising the retirement age to 70 and ending Medicare as we know it as part of the GOP Contract For Cruelty.
Republicans have been very vocal about eliminating Social Security and Medicare.
Their radical plan also calls for arming teachers with guns at schools, whitewashing history they don't like, and banning books nationwide.
Republicans are already banning books in red states and banning history subjects in schools that deal with slavery and racism.
Seniors can't afford to pay high taxes and lose their Social Security. Republicans with their own words.
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President Biden @POTUS
For what it’s worth, I happen to think the best way to figure out what Congressional Republicans’ commitments are is to look at the ones they’ve already made.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1573341452540715009
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Mark Kelly Holds Solid Lead in Arizona
A new AARP poll in Arizona finds Sen. Mark Kelly (D) is leading opponent Blake Masters (R) in the race for U.S. Senate, 50% to 42%.
For comparison, the FiveThirtyEight polling average also shows Kelly up by eight points.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/09/23/mark-kelly-blake-masters-arizona-senate/8093940001/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomwashington-topstories
Gretchen Whitmer leads GOP's Dixon by 16 points in new poll
https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/gretchen-whitmer-leads-gops-dixon-16-points-new-poll-rcna48921
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158 out of 212 House Republicans have called for slashing and privatizing Social Security, raising the retirement age to 70, and ending Medicare as we know it.
This is coming from the same party that refused to cap insulin at $35 for all Americans and voted against The Inflation Reduction Act which lowered prescription drug costs for seniors.
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Catherine Cortez Masto @CortezMasto
@AdamLaxalt was "the proud face of the Big Lie in Nevada."
Now Adam Laxalt is threatening to overturn this election if he doesn't like the results, because he'll do anything for power.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1573318773334937604
https://twitter.com/CortezMasto/status/1573318773334937604
Mandela Barnes @TheOtherMandela
Glad Social Security is trending...because if @RonJohnsonWI had his way, it would have disappeared.
https://twitter.com/TheOtherMandela/status/1573781276624130049
Tim Ryan @TimRyan
Hitting the doors with @PaulSimonMusic, @MaryLightbody, @TinaMaharath, and our Workers First local candidates: that's one way to lose these walking blues.
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https://twitter.com/TimRyan/status/1573752254695448582
John Fetterman @JohnFetterman
The Lehigh Valley is *clearly* ready to send me to D.C. + Oz back to New Jersey
What a phenomenal crowd! Thank you all so, so much
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https://twitter.com/JohnFetterman/status/1573779268840169472
Madison Horn for U.S. Senate @madisonhornok
Thanks to Muskogee County for the fantastic food and discussion. Several public school teachers were present, who expressed their grave concern for the future of OK’s education system and their students.
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https://twitter.com/madisonhornok/status/1573322112244277248
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Democrats gain ground in North Carolina Senate race
A new poll shows North Carolina Democratic candidate for Senate Cheri Beasley with a 1% lead over Republican Representative Ted Budd.
https://news.yahoo.com/democrats-gain-ground-north-carolina-163029707.html
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President Biden @POTUS
This wasn’t an accident. It’s what my Administration has been building toward.
Companies at home and abroad are making more things in America – not just because it's better for their supply chains. But because we're building an economy that makes their investment worthwhile.
U.S. manufacturers have now added enough jobs to regain all that they shed during the pandemic — and then some.
Factory Jobs Are Booming Like It’s the 1970s
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/26/business/factory-jobs-workers-rebound.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimes
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1574446753994113028
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No 'semblance of a campaign': Five of Trump's candidates for governor air zero TV ads combined
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Former President Donald Trump's picks for governor in five states are facing media scrutiny after failing to air a single television advertisement since winning their primaries.
In a report on Monday, The New York Times revealed that Pennsylvania candidate Doug Mastriano "is being heavily outspent by his Democratic rival, has had no television ads on the air since May."
"There's no sign of cavalry coming to his aid, either: The Republican Governors Association, which is helping the party's nominees in Arizona, Michigan and six other states, has no current plans to assist Mr. Mastriano, according to people with knowledge of its deliberations," the paper added.
Matt Brouillette, the president of a conservative advocacy group, slammed Mastriano in remarks to the Times.
"I can't even assess things because I don't see a campaign," Brouillette said. "I've not seen anything that is even a semblance of a campaign."
According to the report, Mastriano's lackluster campaign is not unusual among Trump's preferred candidates.
"Along with Mr. Mastriano in Pennsylvania, Trump-backed candidates for governor in five other states — Arizona, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts and Michigan — have combined to air zero television advertisements since winning their primaries," the report said.
Over the weekend, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) vowed to campaign against Mastriano and other Trump-endorsed candidates who push lies about the 2020 presidential election.
"I think we have to do everything we can in '22 to make sure those people don't get elected," she told the Texas Tribune Festival. "We have to make sure [Doug] Mastriano doesn't win."
AFP
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Americans are better off under Biden.
This data sure makes the case that we are.
David Doney @David_Charts
Real net worth of the bottom 50% households set another record in Q2 '22, reaching $67,524, up 10% from last quarter and up 60% since Biden started.
This is driven by home prices, big wage gains, and full employment.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?graph_id=1092257
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https://twitter.com/David_Charts/status/1574446352360153094
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Billboard in Florida
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Lawrence O'Donnell shreds Kyrsten Sinema for her 'relentless ignorance' for 'constitutional vandalism'
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Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) isn't long for the U.S. Senate, if polling back home is any indication and her speech before Mitch McConnell's center of politics didn't make it much better. Claiming to share the same "values" as McConnell, who is anti-choice and anti-equality, Sinema misquoted the Constitution, purporting to be an expert on the 60-vote supermajority that has nearly brought down the ability of the U.S. Senate to function properly.
Speaking about Sinema's speech, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell unleashed a brutal fact-check on the one-time progressive activist. He began with the quote from Sinema saying, "those of you that our parents in the room know that the best thing that you can do for your child is not give them everything they want. Right?" Sinema doesn't have children, has never been a parent and is divorced.
"Kirsten Sinema is not one of the parents, and a note to Sinema's speech writers, most parents are not open to parenting advice from politicians who are not parents, or politicians period," O'Donnell shot down. "Needless to say, Sen. Sinema's parenting advice was every bit as bad as you would expect from somebody who has no idea what she is talking about."
Her logic explains that because no one should ever get everything they want is the reason that she believes there should always be a 60-vote supermajority to vote on everything in the Senate.
"So numbers -- she thinks that the 60 vote threshold ensures that nobody gets everything they want. There is not a single senator in the history of the United States Senate who has gotten everything that he or she wants, not ever," said O'Donnell, who spent more years working in the U.S. Senate than Sinema. "Sen. Sinema did not give a single example of a bill being passed with less than 60 votes that was then repealed when there is a change in power in Congress and the White House. Not a single example of her theoretical justification for a voting threshold in the Senate that was not yet provided for in the Constitution, and which defies democracy."
Sinema advocated restoring the 60-vote threshold for the Senate for all votes, including judges.
"Not everybody likes that because it would make it harder, harder for us to confirm judges, and it would make us harder to confirm executive appointments in each administration," she confessed. In the case of executive appointments, Donald Trump simply had a slew of "acting" Secretaries because he couldn't get them approved. So, a 60-vote threshold would simply ensure each president would be able to have whoever they wanted in their administration, regardless of their level of extremism.
"But I believe that if we did restore it, we could actually see more of that middle ground in all parts of our governance. That's what I believe our forefathers intended," said Sinema falsely.
If the Founding Fathers intended for there to be 60 votes to pass a bill, however, they likely would have mentioned something about it in the Constitution. They likely also would have indicated their desire for a 60-vote majority somewhere in the thousands of papers, letters, and documents that all of them wrote over the course of their lives after writing, debating and signing the Constitution.
"Our forefathers, as she called them, intended that women never be Senators," O'Donnell explained. "Our forefathers intended that women never have the right to vote. Our forefathers did not intend for a place called Arizona to be represented in the United States Senate. When the Founding Fathers were writing the Constitution, the place we call Arizona was Spain. And the authors of the Constitution expected it to remain Spain. In 1821, when Mexico secured its independence from Spain, the place now called Arizona was in Mexico. When the United States took that land as the spoils of war, which is how we got Arizona, the Arizona territory eventually became the 48 states in 1912. Pretty late in the game. But that was the same year the constitutional amendment finally overruled the Founding Fathers, and allowed the United States Senators to be elected by the voters of the state, instead of the state legislatures, as the founders wanted them to be."
He went on to say that if Sinema truly believed in what the forefathers advocated she would actually be staunchly opposed to the 60-vote majority, as the Constitution she purports to admire was very specific about the requirement of a majority vote, with the exception of treaties and impeachment convictions, which take a two-thirds vote.
"The number 60 never appears in the Constitution, which seems to live in her imagined version of the Constitution," O'Donnell explained. "The simple majority vote is a dangerous and fickle threshold for governing in a democracy. Why should only five members of the United States Supreme Court get to decide the final interpretation of the law of the land? Why doesn't Sen. Sinema advocate a minimum of a 60-vote threshold in the United States Supreme Court, instead of a majority? Why is the United States of America the only country that has a 60 percent threshold to win a vote in a national legislative body?"
O'Donnell also noted that the United States Constitution also says that "the President shall nominate, and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint judges of the Supreme Court. The Constitution does not say that Mitch McConnell shall prevent a nominated Supreme Court Justice from even being considered by the United States Senate for its consent as Mitch McConnell did to Merrick Garland in the last year of the Obama presidency."
It's worth noting, McConnell didn't need 60 votes to do that either.
"Today, Kyrsten Sinema traveled to Kentucky to celebrate Mitch McConnell's constitutional vandalism, and her own relentless ignorance, by saying this about Mitch McConnell," he closed.
Watch:
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Weaker concealed carry laws linked to increase in gun crimes, study shows
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Weakened concealed carry laws are associated with an estimated 9.5% increase in rates of criminal assaults with firearms, according to research published last week.
That relationship is most pronounced in places that allow people convicted of violent misdemeanor crimes to carry a concealed firearm. Those states are associated with an estimated 24% increase in assaults with a gun.
“What we saw was that prohibiting violent misdemeanors from obtaining a permit actually ended up mattering a lot,” said Mitchell Doucette, an assistant scientist at Johns Hopkins University Center for Gun Violence Solutions, the lead author on the research.
Additionally, Doucette said the research indicates that states removing a requirement that applicants complete live firearms training, like shooting at a gun range, are associated with an 18% increase in assaults with a firearm.
Concealed carry programs vary by state in terms of whether officials have discretion to deny permits even to those who meet all the legal requirements, sometimes for things like character “suitability” or a history of dangerous behavior. States that allow the discretion are known as “may issue” states, as opposed to “shall issue” states.
The study analyzes 34 states that relaxed their concealed carry programs between 1980 and 2019, and compares them against predicted crime rates based on data from “may issue” states. The research was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
According to the study, there’s a simple relationship between exposure to firearms outside the home and the likelihood of a violent gun crime. As cultural norms and laws around guns change, more hostile altercations are likely to involve guns, the authors wrote. It follows that those convicted of violent misdemeanors, who in some states can lawfully carry concealed weapons, commit gun crimes at seven times the rate of gun buyers without a criminal history.
Given the period studied, the research doesn’t consider several GOP states that have removed licensure requirements to carry concealed weapons or a key U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning New York’s may-issue program.
This summer, Ohio joined a list of 24 other states that do not require any special permit to carry a concealed weapon. The law passed solely with Republican support. Now, any adults who can lawfully possess a weapon may carry it concealed on their persons.
The recent research focuses on states that loosen concealed carry programs, but not those that remove licensure as a requirement to carry a concealed weapon. However, Doucette said the study suggests that Ohio may experience more gun crimes in the future by removing its ability to screen out people who have been convicted of violent assaults from carrying a concealed weapon.
“I do think that losing that screening ability is important,” he said. “I think it’s meaningful.”
Ohio’s concealed carry program still exists, but it’s no longer required in order to carry in-state. Applying gun owners must complete eight hours of training and pass a criminal background check to obtain a permit. While state law allows those convicted of violent misdemeanors to possess a weapon, it does not allow them to obtain a concealed carry permit.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark opinion with major implications for state concealed carry laws. A 6-3 majority overturned a New York law that required those seeking to carry a concealed weapon to demonstrate that “proper cause” exists to carry a weapon for self-protection beyond that of the general public. This has prompted some may issue states to revisit their programs. Meanwhile, the Ohio Supreme Court noted the federal ruling and asked parties to submit arguments in a case challenging a state law that prohibits people who are under indictment for violent crimes from possessing a weapon.
Doucette said the research indicates if states want to reduce gun crime, they should ensure their concealed carry laws prohibit those with violent misdemeanors from carrying a weapon.
Read More Here:
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2022/study-finds-significant-increase-in-firearm-assaults-in-states-that-relaxed-conceal-carry-permit-restrictions
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton fled his home to avoid being served with subpoena, court record says
In an affidavit, a process server said that the state’s top attorney tried to evade him as he attempted to deliver a subpoena from an abortion fund’s lawsuit against the state.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton fled his home in a truck driven by his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, to avoid being served a subpoena Monday, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.
Ernesto Martin Herrera, a process server, was attempting to serve the state’s top attorney with a subpoena for a federal court hearing Tuesday in a lawsuit from nonprofits that want to help Texans pay for abortions out of state. Later on Monday, Paxton filed two requests: a motion to quash the subpoena and another to seal the certificates of service, which included the affidavit from process server. His lawyers argued that the server “loitered at the Attorney General’s home for over an hour, repeatedly shouted at him, and accosted” Paxton and his wife. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman granted both requests early Tuesday, hours after the affidavit had been published.
When Herrera arrived at Paxton’s home in McKinney on Monday morning, he told a woman who identified herself as Angela that he was trying to deliver legal documents to the attorney general. She told him that Paxton was on the phone and unable to come to the door. Herrera said he would wait.
Nearly an hour later, a black Chevrolet Tahoe pulled into the driveway, and 20 minutes after that, Ken Paxton exited the house.
“I walked up the driveway approaching Mr. Paxton and called him by his name. As soon as he saw me and heard me call his name out, he turned around and RAN back inside the house through the same door in the garage,” Herrera wrote in the sworn affidavit.
Angela Paxton then exited the house, got inside a Chevrolet truck in the driveway, started it and opened the doors.
“A few minutes later I saw Mr. Paxton RAN from the door inside the garage towards the rear door behind the driver side,” Herrera wrote. “I approached the truck, and loudly called him by his name and stated that I had court documents for him. Mr. Paxton ignored me and kept heading for the truck.”
Herrera eventually placed the subpoena on the ground near the truck and told him he was serving him with a subpoena. Both cars drove away, leaving the documents on the ground.
On Twitter, the attorney general said his sudden departure was motivated by concerns for his family's safety.
“It’s clear that the media wants to drum up another controversy involving my work as Attorney General, so they’re attacking me for having the audacity to avoid a stranger lingering outside my home and showing concern about the safety and well-being of my family,” he wrote in a tweet.
In the seven-page motion to seal, Paxton’s lawyers argued their client was never told the name of the process server or given identifying information about him.
They further argued it was “at best, reckless and irresponsible” to publicly release the attorney general’s home address, writing in the motion that the detail “served no legitimate litigation purpose, and it is wholly irrelevant to the substantive issues before the Court.” In his attorneys’ motion to quash the subpoena, Paxton pointed out that top executive officials should not be be called to testify except in extraordinary circumstances.
“Plaintiffs are not entitled to demand Paxton’s testimony unless he has first-hand knowledge of the claims being litigated and other persons cannot provide the necessary information,” the motion stated.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs asked the federal judge during Tuesday’s hearing to reconsider his action quashing the subpoena. The judge has not ruled on that new request.
Paxton doubled down Tuesday morning in a statement distributed by his campaign.
“In light of the constant threats against me, for which dangerous individuals are currently incarcerated, I take a number of common sense precautions for me and my family’s safety when I’m at home,” Paxton said. “Texans do the same to protect themselves from threats, and many also exercise their Second Amendment rights to protect themselves and their families.”
Paxton has been under indictment for securities fraud for seven years and faces a whistleblower lawsuit from former top deputies who accused him of abuse of office. Paxton has denied wrongdoing.
He was forced into a runoff for the Republican nomination for another term in office after high-profile Republicans, including former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman and Land Commissioner George P. Bush, tried to unseat him. But Republican voters chose him over his intra-GOP challengers, who criticized his legal and personal scandals on the campaign trail.
He faces Democrat Rochelle Garza in November.
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/09/26/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-subpoena-abortion-lawsuit/
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Ted Cruz's effort to derail key election reform bill ends with a whimper
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Some Republicans have tried to stop the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act from passing the U.S. Senate -- including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who fought the bill from making it out of the Senate Rules Committee to a full Senate vote, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The bill is Sen. Susan Collins' (R-ME) attempt to reinforce laws that the vice president has no power unilaterally reject certified election results, as former President Donald Trump urged Vice President Mike Pence to do.
Even though Trump himself has demanded that Senate Republicans vote against the bill, his pleas have fallen on deaf ears as many GOP senators are lining up behind it.
"Indeed, whatever opposition existed, it has generally only reared its head when votes were forced. To the extent anyone wanted to defeat the bill, they didn’t lodge their case too loudly," wrote the Post.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced his support for the bill and other Republicans have quietly fallen in line, with the exception of Cruz and possibly others who have remained quiet.
According to Cruz, the law would diminish Congressional authority to "root out voter fraud," which is typically a legal issue dealt with by state law enforcement. There's no evidence of widespread voter fraud that would have altered the results of the 2020 election.
“I don’t believe senators from this side of the aisle should be supporting a bill that enhances the federalization of elections and reduces the ability of Congress to respond to the very serious problem of voter fraud,” Cruz said.
Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli, meanwhile, claimed that Republicans shouldn't support the bill because Democrats will probably force their election reform rules in the legislation.
But a staff writer of the Libertarian Cato Institute, Andy Craig, noted that any claim the bill is a poisoned pill is false.
“If there has been anybody advocating an unconstitutional federal takeover of the electoral college process, it was those urging federal courts and Congress to throw out the duly cast electoral votes certified by the states in 2020,” Craig wrote.
It's unclear if Cruz will be able to bring anyone else along with him to block the election protection legislation.
Read the full story at the Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/28/ted-cruz-electoral-count-reform/
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Republican Herschel Walker invokes Jesus to dismiss holding a gun to his wife’s head
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Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker is still facing questions about domestic violence as the election nears.
One of the first stories to come out about Walker's past was that he abused his former wife and at one point held a gun to her head threatening to shoot. Walker also admitted that he would play Russian roulette. In fact, he told ESPN's Highly Questionable that he'd played it "more than once." He loved the competition of it, he said.
The violence and abuse continue to be a topic from those speaking to Walker, but the Heisman trophy winner continues to dismiss it as unimportant.
Speaking to Atlanta based "Rolling Out," an entertainment site, Walker explained it wasn't anything more than a sin.
“You know, he without sin cast the first stone," Walker said, quoting Jesus in John 8:7. Walker went on to attack his opponent, Rev. Raphael Warnock for being critical of his "sins" from 15 years ago.
Typically, one's past comes into focus when one runs for political office as a sign of judgment and leadership, and attempted murder is not generally brushed aside in political campaigns as nothing more than an everyday "sin."
Walker has also spent the past week employing the strategy of not being that intelligent, which is being called a racist dog whistle by trying "to galvanize white conservatives by leaning into antiquated and bigoted ideas," Slate explained.
Ron Filipkowski @RonFilipkowski
Herschel is asked about domestic violence allegations from 2001-2008 that at different times he held a gun to his wife’s head and straight razor to her throat: “You know, he without sin cast the first stone .. He’s talking about something I was a part of over 15 years ago.”
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1575112758177439744
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Trump begs for donations from Mar-a-Lago as Hurricane Ian wreaks destruction across Florida
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-begs-for-donations-from-mar-a-lago-as-hurricane-ian-wreaks-destruction-across-florida/ar-AA12oVdk?ocid=a2hs&cvid=3a491b6848b04c428251b9607984947b
Donald Trump turned to social media to plead for donations to his political campaign as parts of Florida began rescue and recovery efforts following Hurricane Ian.
Speaking in a video on Wednesday from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, southern Florida, the former president pleaded for donations to his Save America PAC ahead of a fundraising deadline.
“We have a major fundraising deadline coming up and there’s never been a time like this,” said Mr Trump, who claimed America had “never been so disrespected” by the world.
“We have to change it, we have to bring our country back, we made America great and now never gonna have to make America great again so I say whatever you can do to help out, we have to meet the dealine”.
While he was speaking, residents of southern Florida were encountering unbelievable damage and unconfirmed death tolls after Ian came ashore on Wednesday as a near-Category 5 hurricane, with wind speeds of 155mph.
Mr Trump was widely condemned on social media for the appeal from Mar-a-Lago, which did not reportedly sustain any damage from Hurricane Ian.
“Hello. There’s a hurricane destroying your state. Perhaps, you could not beg for donations right now. What a classless, clueless, distasteful, self centered, tone deaf, absolute jerk!,” tweeted one Twitter user.
“The folks on my livestream yesterday raised more money for hurricane victims than this guy ever has.
Half his state is under water and he’s begging for you to cover his legal fees,” another added.
A third person wrote: “Right across the state, people are losing their homes, businesses, and possibly their lives — and this pathetic con man is out here panhandling.”
Cities including Fort Myers, about 112 miles west of Palm Beach, remain inundated in several feet of floodwater following a storm surge and a curfew is currently place to help emergency responders with the rescue effort.
Lee County’s sheriff meanwhile told new outlets that “thousands” of people were possibly missing and while unconfirmed, “hundreds” could be dead, with the recovery operation ongoing across southwest Florida.
Reports of flash flooding in Orlando on Thursday came as Ian headed towards the Atlantic and South Carolina, while the National Hurricane Center has warned of a 6ft high storm surge from Daytona Beach, Florida, to north of Charleston, South Carolina, the Associated Press reported.
US President Joe Biden has announced a major disaster declaration for the affected areas and Florida governor Ron DeSantis has warned of further damage from the “500 year flood event” as Ian passed through central and eastern Florida on Thursday with warnings of life threatening flooding and strong winds.
Facing multiple criminal investigations and lawsuits, Mr Trump was found to have raised as little as $40 in August while his personal wealth was last week estimated at $3.2bn – placing him once more on the Forbes top 400 rich list.
He said earlier this month that he was “financially” supporting some of those accused of rioting on the Capitol 6 January.
The Independent has approached his office for comment.
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The corruption never ends with Kristi Noem. First she tried to use her influence to get her daughter a Real Estate license she was never qualified for and now she is using taxpayer dollars for her son.
Republican Kristi Noem investigated for spending taxpayer funds on plane to see her son go to prom
(https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/south-dakota-gov-kristi-noem.jpg?id=27614460&width=2400&height=1349)
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has been a popular figure in the Republican Party and the MAGA movement, receiving enthusiastic applause at Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) events. Some of Noem’s supporters would like to see her seek the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, depending on whether or not former President Donald Trump runs. But Noem isn’t without controversy in her state, where she is, according to the Associated Press, under investigation for allegedly using a state-owned plane for personal uses.
On September 24, AP’s Stephen Groves reported that Noem had “blurred the lines between official travel and attending either family or political events.”
“South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was returning from an official appearance in Rapid City in 2019 when she faced a decision: Overnight in the capital of Pierre, where another trip would start the next day, or head home and see her son attend his high school prom?” Groves reported. “The Republican governor chose the latter, a decision that eventually cost taxpayers some $3700 when the state airplane dropped her off near her home and then returned the next day to pick her up.”
In South Dakota, according to Groves, Noem’s trips have “sparked a complaint to the state ethics board, which has referred the matter to the state's Division of Criminal Investigation.”
“A county prosecutor overseeing the investigation will decide whether the governor broke an untested law enacted by voters in 2006 to rein in questionable use of the state airplane,” Groves explained. “The governor has also faced action by the same ethics board for intervening in a state agency shortly after it moved to deny her daughter a real estate appraiser's license.”
Groves added, “As Noem’s political star rose in 2020, she began using private jets to fly to fundraisers, campaign events and conservative gatherings. As Noem’s political star rose in 2020, she began using private jets to fly to fundraisers, campaign events and conservative gatherings.”
According to Columbia University law professor Richard Briffault, using a state-owned plane to meet with political groups is “pushing the limit.”
Groves noted, “Across the country, Democratic and Republican governors alike have come under scrutiny for their use of state aircraft. New York, Kentucky, Minnesota and Montana allow governors to do some politicking with state-owned aircraft but place some restrictions and require reimbursements for political use. New York also allows immediate family members to travel with the governor.”
Read More Here:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/south-dakota-investigation-weighs-noems-state-plane-90421709
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North Carolina Senate:
Cheri Beasley (D) 44%
Ted Budd (R) 44%
Cygnal/John Locke Polling
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Tim Ryan @TimRyan
JD Vance has an honesty problem—he lied to Ohioans before and he’ll do it again.
https://twitter.com/TimRyan/status/1575987835517095938
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Josh Shapiro @JoshShapiroPA
Here's what you should know: as Governor, I'll protect our vote-by-mail laws in Pennsylvania.
Doug Mastriano would overturn them, and supress the voices of thousands of voters.
That's the difference.
https://twitter.com/JoshShapiroPA/status/1576350502257774592
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Democratic foe nails Ron DeSantis for the lie that Lee County 'wasn't even in the cone' of Hurricane Ian's path
https://www.rawstory.com/ron-desantis-hurricane-daniel-uhlfelder/
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President Biden @POTUS
When I took office two years ago, the pandemic was raging and the economy was reeling.
So, we made historic investments in our infrastructure, supply chains, and manufacturing – in our middle class.
We’ve recovered and built a foundation of stable growth for years to come.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FsqEa5gXwAAXkUg?format=jpg&name=medium)
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1642270615611535361
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President Biden @POTUS
To those affected by the tornadoes in Mississippi:
Thanks to your spirit, resilience, and bravery – Rolling Fork will be back.
We’re not just here today. We’re going to be with you until this work is done.
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The leadership of first responders, local officials, and community members working around the clock in Rolling Fork is an example of who we are as Americans.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FslezNRXwAE8iKD?format=jpg&name=medium)
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1641947780443668480
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Ukraine Joe has hit historic lows in the polls not experienced even by Nixon during the height of Watergate or Carter during the Iran hostage crisis. Dems are in an absolute panic at the prospect of and elderly, unpopular individual with advanced dementia running again in 2024. With Kamala waiting in the wings to replace him. At least Fetterman has been released from the mental institution. He has spent two thirds of his tenure in the Senate under care for physical and mental issues. This is the same guy who lied about his condition to get elected. His family should be ashamed to have put him in that position. The Biden family should show some mercy for Old Joe and let him receive the care he needs.
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After decades of talk in Washington, President Biden has taken historic action to lower prescription drug costs for Americans – with a $35 monthly cap on insulin for seniors on Medicare and giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fsqf43XWcAAGDwU?format=jpg&name=medium)
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Here is an image the NRA and the GOP are hoping you won't see.
Turns out, smart gun laws work...
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President Biden signed the PACT Act into law to ensure toxic exposed veterans have access to the health care benefits and services they deserve – including Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange.
Veterans can learn more and sign up for services at http://VA.gov/PACT.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fsanp0mXoBA9307?format=png&name=900x900)
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Two years in, President Biden’s Investing in American agenda is delivering real results.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FrySEibWcAM9TVk?format=jpg&name=medium)
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Ukraine Joe has hit historic lows in the polls not experienced even by Nixon during the height of Watergate or Carter during the Iran hostage crisis. Dems are in an absolute panic at the prospect of and elderly, unpopular individual with advanced dementia running again in 2024. With Kamala waiting in the wings to replace him. At least Fetterman has been released from the mental institution. He has spent two thirds of his tenure in the Senate under care for physical and mental issues. This is the same guy who lied about his condition to get elected. His family should be ashamed to have put him in that position. The Biden family should show some mercy for Old Joe and let him receive the care he needs.
:D :D :D
Why do you keep posting severe falsehoods in my threads about President Biden's poll numbers?
Donald Trump's and the right wing media's favorite pollster Rasmussen has President Biden at a 46% approval rating nationally.
So no, 46% is not "historic lows" as you continuously falsely claimed in 2 of my threads now. 46% makes Biden popular among likely voters.
Next time, post accurate information and not made up propaganda about the President.
Thanks.
Daily Presidential Tracking Poll
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll, for Monday April 3, shows that 46% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Biden’s job performance.
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/current_events/politics/prez_track_apr03
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Blatant Right Wing Hypocrisy: Starring Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders
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Right wing Republican hypocrites like Sarah Huckabee Sanders, always rail against the government screaming about "socialism". But these Republican hypocrites are always the first ones with their hands out looking for the government money they claim to hate when a natural disaster strikes their state. Isn't that interesting?
Since right wingers subscribe to the conservative theory "government isn't here to help you", then why do they still request government money for their state after a disaster? Perhaps they should find other means to obtain their resources since that's what they constantly preach. It's hilarious how these phony conservative hypocrites don't even follow their own supposed beliefs.
This right wing hypocrisy perfectly illustrates why conservatism is full of crap, because these right wingers are taking government money that they scream you shouldn't have. Republicans are partaking in the "socialism" they claim to hate as they attack Democrats on "socialism" in their daily talking points. You can't make this stuff up, and these "conservatives" should be laughed at every time they cry about "socialism" because they don't even believe in their own right wing conservative theory.
So, as it turns out, right wing Republicans are indeed "socialists" themselves.
Here is Sanders in two separate tweets showing her blatant hypocrisy.
On January 16, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declares that the “meddling hand of the federal government will be stopped cold at the Mississippi River.”
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On April 1, after tornadoes trash the state, Sanders has her deputy chief of staff announce that she’s requesting federal aid.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FsuDRDDWcAEDQfg?format=jpg&name=small)
So, the "meddling hand of big government" is good enough for Sanders when it suits her.
Is Sanders going to stop the government money "cold at the Mississippi river"? Of course not, because residents of Arkansas need the funds to rebuild and she won't "stop cold" any funds entering her state of Arkansas.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders is just a liar and a fraud. She is not going to do what she promised her voters in Arkansas which is to "stop the meddling hand of government". She's eagerly taking the big government's hand full of money while she rails against "socialism" and "big government".
If Sanders was the "true conservative" she claims to be hating "every aspect of socialism", she wouldn't have requested federal money from the "big government". Sarah Sanders is a just phony hypocrite and should not be taken seriously like the rest of these Republicans. They say one thing and then do another against their own ideology. And in a week or two, she will go right back to screaming against "socialism" pretending she didn't take a dime of "big government's" money for Arkansas.
Like I said, you can't take these conservative clowns seriously. They are total hypocrites going against their own "socialist" and "big government" talking point they preach. Absolutely hilarious!
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So much propaganda. In reality, Ukraine Joe is hitting record low numbers:
"Biden's approval rating sunk from 45% to 38%, according to a March 23 Associated Press/NORC Center survey of more than 1,000 adults."
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So much propaganda. In reality, Ukraine Joe is hitting record low numbers:
"Biden's approval rating sunk from 45% to 38%, according to a March 23 Associated Press/NORC Center survey of more than 1,000 adults."
Hilarious,
Rick posts a link with poll information from today, April 3 and Grumpy replies with an unsubtantiated (no link) and out of date poll of March 23.
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President Biden @POTUS
My economic plan is building a clean energy future – Made in America.
Since I took office, we've attracted over $435 billion in private investment in American manufacturing and clean energy.
It's a boom for American industry – and it's good for our planet too.
Our investments are building a clean energy manufacturing future with good-paying jobs.
It’s a game changer for working families, and it’s a game changer for our planet.
Since the beginning of my Administration, private companies have announced $435 billion in manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States.
That return on our investment will strengthen U.S. competitiveness throughout the 21st century.
We passed the most aggressive economic recovery package since FDR.
The most substantial infrastructure investment since Eisenhower.
And the most significant investments in manufacturing and our climate ever.
America is back.
My focus is and has always been on investing in American manufacturing — and the workers who make it run.
Because when we do, there’s no limit to what we can achieve.
Today, I'm in Minnesota at the Cummins Power Generation Facility to discuss our Made in America manufacturing and clean energy boom.
Join me as I deliver remarks on how my economic agenda has led to a Made in America manufacturing and clean energy boom.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1gqxvypLqYaJB
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1642973927923236865
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Telework is finally reaching rural America thanks to Biden’s investments in broadband
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The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way many of us work, but these changes haven’t reached everyone. Across much of the country, Zoom meetings from the living room have replaced morning meetings in the office and emails are now more common than conversations by the water cooler.
Due to the limitations of our nation’s internet infrastructure, however, millions of rural Americans like myself are unable to experience the benefits of telework.
President Joe Biden has set out to eliminate this divide in internet access through his Internet for All initiative, which has dedicated over $65 billion to provide every American household with access to affordable, reliable internet by the end of the decade. After years of going without home WiFi in this work-from-home era, this will be an absolute game changer for communities like mine.
I live with my husband in rural Worth Township Pennsylvania.
We don’t live on a dirt road, but we’re not far removed from them. While we do have a few options for home internet service out here, the only providers are either prohibitively expensive, unreliable, or at maximum capacity for our service area. As a result, my husband and I have gone several years without any WiFi service. Our best option is to pay for spotty 5g service for our cell phones and an unreliable hotspot for our laptops.
Our home internet situation was a particular struggle in the early days of the pandemic. Like millions of Americans, I temporarily found myself out of work after COVID-19 lockdowns began.
To make ends meet, I needed to apply for unemployment benefits, but it was a nightmare without reliable WiFi. In normal times, it might have seemed like common sense to go to a nearby library or coffee shop to access Wi-Fi, but the spread of COVID restricted access to some of these public spaces and raised questions about whether that trip would be worth the risk of contracting the virus.
Eventually, I was able to go back to work – work which could be done largely from home if I had access to home internet. But because I don’t, I have no choice but to drive 30 miles to and from work each day and spend about $50 a week on gas.
The Biden administration’s funding for broadband internet infrastructure is primarily dedicated to achieving two goals: bringing broadband internet to communities that don’t currently have access, and reducing costs for all internet users.
Both of these goals, once achieved, will significantly improve my quality of life and the quality of life for many of my neighbors here in western Pennsylvania. It will make telework a feasible option for households like mine.
It’s refreshing to finally see our leaders treat this issue as a priority. Just as President Roosevelt’s administration helped bring electricity to rural areas, the Biden administration is now expanding internet service to rural Americans.
The economic impacts for rural communities will be significant; broadband access is linked to increases in community business formation and property values, as well as decreases in the local unemployment rate.
Yet, having dealt with local internet service providers extensively, I’ll admit that I am skeptical about their commitment to anything but their bottom line, which is why it’s critical that we hold these companies accountable to being transparent and to spending federal funding as directed – particularly during the expansion of broadband to areas that service providers have previously written off as not worthy of investments.
The scope of the Biden administration’s Internet for All initiative has the power to positively transform our country and make the internet more accessible and equitable for all Americans. Over 16 million American households are already saving money as a result of the administration’s Affordable Connectivity Program.
Now, as funding for broadband expansion is distributed, we need to make sure that service providers use it to reach rural Americans.
Because once rural areas have equal access to broadband, it will create a sense of economic hope in rural communities like mine and empower rural workers to access the jobs that will help our local economies thrive in the coming decades.
Rachael Grinnell lives with her husband in Worth Township, Pennsylvania.
https://www.penncapital-star.com/commentary/telework-is-finally-reaching-rural-america-thanks-to-bidens-investments-in-broadband-opinion/
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Good to see that John Fetterman has, at last, been released from the mental asylum. He was there longer than he has served in the Senate. Everyone wishes him well in his recovery but he is in no mental or physical condition to serve in that capacity. He wouldn't be hired at the local gas station. His family should have intervened to allow him to recover instead of forcing him to run for office.
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When President Biden says invest in America, he means it!
Investing in hard working Americans is what this country is all about.
Biden is building a future where you won’t have to leave your hometown to find a good job you can raise a family on.
Before, too many people have had to uproot their families and relocate in order to find a good paying job. That is if they could even find one.
But now thanks to President Biden's investment in America, people will no longer have to leave their state with Biden's manufacturing boom.
American jobs and innovation.
Pride in our country.
Dignity for workers and their families.
That's the American way!
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Good news for seniors thanks to Democrats and President Joe Biden!!
Let me remind you that Republicans voted against the Inflation Reduction Act.
Republicans voted against lowering prescription drug costs for seniors.
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Democrats win a huge Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin as MAGA Dan Kelly easily goes down to defeat!
Wisconsinites have once again rejected right wing MAGA fascism and this victory proves the majority of Americans support President Biden's policies.
Janet Protasiewicz wins Wisconsin Supreme Court election, NBC News projects, giving liberals control of the high court for the first time in 15 years.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/wisconsin-supreme-court-election-liberals-win-majority-rcna77190
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The White House @WhiteHouse
As a result of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, Wolfspeed is making the largest manufacturing investment in North Carolina history – creating 1,800 good-paying jobs while expanding semiconductor production.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fs9MeW9XoAIO_nj?format=jpg&name=medium)
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1643616479244369920
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Move by Tennessee Republicans to oust 3 Dem lawmakers startles state
House GOP leadership is trying to kick out a trio of Democrats for participating in gun reform protest.
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There’s the Oregon lawmaker expelled for his involvement in an armed incursion into the state capitol. The Idaho House member kicked out following a federal fraud conviction. And the Arizona representative removed over multiple accusations of sexual harassment.
It’s rare but not unheard of for state legislators to oust their own colleagues, typically in cases where individuals are found guilty of crimes or accused of severe ethical lapses.
But what’s unfolding in the Tennessee State Capitol, where Republican leaders want to expel three Democrats over participation in a protest demanding new gun-safety laws, is extraordinary for its political brazenness and scope.
“It will echo across the country. I think it will have a chilling effect on all states where there’s supermajorities or very red states,” Rep. Gloria Johnson, one of the Democrats under threat of expulsion, said in a phone interview Tuesday. “This is chipping away at our democracy, there’s no question, because everybody’s going to wonder, ‘am I next?’”
The ACLU in Tennessee also issued a warning the effort “undermines Democracy.”
“Expulsion is an extreme measure that is used very infrequently in our state and our country because it strips voters of representation by the people they elected,” Kathy Sinback, the executive director of the ACLU in Tennessee, said in a statement.
State legislatures often go decades without taking such an action against members.
The dustup began last week, when hundreds of protestors gathered at the capitol in Nashville to urge lawmakers to pass gun safety measures in the aftermath of a shooting at a local school that left three adults and three children dead.
Amid the protests that leaked into the building, Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson led chants on the House floor in which they called on their colleagues to pass new gun laws. The lawmakers were aided by a bullhorn.
Their stunt enraged Republicans, who promptly introduced resolutions calling for their removal, sparking further chaos on the House floor.
Now, Republican leaders — who likened those actions to an “insurrection” — will vote Thursday on whether the members should be allowed to continue serving in the House or be removed from office. The Democrats have already been stripped of their committee assignments.
Resolutions filed against the three declared that they had participated in “disorderly behavior” and “did knowingly and intentionally bring disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives.”
Critics of the move to evict the members argued that Republicans have failed in the past to remove their members of their own party who acted egregiously, such as a former representative who was accused of sexually assaulting teenagers when he was a basketball coach.
“It’s morally insane that a week after a mass shooting took six lives in our community, House Republicans only response is to expel us for standing with our constituents to call for gun control,” Jones tweeted Tuesday afternoon. “What’s happening in Tennessee is a clear danger to democracy all across this nation.”
Johnson, a former teacher who survived a school shooting that left one student dead, said she plans to bring an attorney to Thursday’s vote and “defend herself.”
"I’m happy to show up and make my case heard, because I will always lift up the voices of the people in my district who want to see gun sense legislation,” Johnson said.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/04/tennessee-gop-oust-dem-lawmakers-00090456
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Right wing loon Ali Alexander admitted to his followers on Twitter that Republicans have no path to win the Electoral College in 2024 after the GOP lost the Wisconsin Supreme Court election on Tuesday night. This is the first time that I agree with him. Alexander is also admitting that Republicans were going to use the Wisconsin Supreme Court to overturn Biden's victory. Why else would he make this statement? Republicans are dejected, demoralized, and in disarray after their massive defeat in Wisconsin.
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96% of the results are in for the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, and it's an 11 point landslide victory for Janet Protasiewicz over MAGA Dan Kelly.
The main issues that drove voters to the polls were abortion, gun reform, democracy, and the economy.
Voters rejected the Republican big government overreach of controlling women's bodies, banning books, discrimination against the LGBTQ community, trying to control what teachers can do in the classroom, and the Republican evangelicals forcing religion on society.
This is not freedom, this is Republican fascism, and the voters of Wisconsin sent a message loud and clear that they reject Republican fascism in their state.
Common sense tells you these same voters will come out again in 2024 to vote for President Biden and Democratic candidates because Republicans will still run on these same far right wing unpopular polices that voters have already rejected more than once.
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ProPublica has just published an explosive scandal involving Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Clarence Thomas was secretly accepting luxury vacations from GOP billionaire Harlan Crow for over 20 years. This of course is illegal because it violates the financial disclosure law. It's obvious that Thomas was being influenced by Harlan Crow to vote on important rulings that affects our lives with these vacations he was getting in return for free.
GOP corruption at its finest.
Clarence Thomas Secretly Accepted Luxury Trips From Major GOP Donor
https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow
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Phil Williams @NC5PhilWilliams
WATCH: To better understand Democratic frustrations surrounding how business is conducted in Tennessee's GOP supermajority House, watch this segment from our award-winning Revealed investigation - long before #TheTennesseeThree made national news. (Please like and share.) 1/2
Watch Here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1644772286195531778
Our on-going Revealed investigation can be found here: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/revealed
https://twitter.com/NC5PhilWilliams/status/1644772286195531778
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House Republicans are 'in a hole and digging' as Democrats watch them flail
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The inability of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to get his leadership team on the same page as they attempt to come up with a budget plan is being greeted with joy by House Democrats and White House officials who are more than willing to watch the GOP infighting go public.
The once-again embattled McCarthy has been sniping at some of his top lieutenants, with Politico reporting that he"...has taken shots at Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) as 'incompetent' and chief deputy Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) as 'ineffective,'" with the report adding, "People close to McCarthy tell us that he perceives both men as disloyal (and we know from covering McCarthy for almost a decade that he holds grudges)."
According to Axios, things aren't getting any better, and in fact are getting worse, allowing Democrats to sit back and not have to throw him a lifeline.
One top Democrat who is observing the House Republican's "dysfunction" told Axios, Republicans are "in a hole and digging ... so why take away their shovels?"
The report adds, "The report has reassured Democrats that the Biden administration's refusal to move forward with talks before McCarthy releases a GOP budget outline is the correct approach."
"A White House official told Axios that Biden's strategy of holding out for a 'clean' debt ceiling increase and only negotiating on the budget once Republicans present a proposal remains unchanged," the Axios report added.
https://www.axios.com/2023/04/08/gop-dysfunction-fuels-dems-hardball-budget-tactics
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All time record-low black unemployment in March, under President Biden's and Vice President Harris' leadership.
The Black unemployment rate fell to 5% in March, an all-time low.
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When President Biden took office, the unemployment rate was 6.3%.
Now, it’s just 3.5%.
President Biden is investing in America, creating good-paying jobs, and building an economy that works for all Americans.
"This is a good jobs report for hard-working Americans," says President Biden in a statement.
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NEW JOBS REPORT:
The American economy has added 12.6 million jobs since President Biden took office, and the unemployment rate has dropped to 3.5%, a near a 50-year low.
THE STRONGEST JOBS COMEBACK IN HISTORY.
These BLS documented government statistics proves you can't trust Republicans with jobs and the economy. Their failures on jobs and the economy dates going back to George Bush in 1989 has been well documented. This speaks for itself.
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Lauren Boebert accused of 'coverup' after son's car accident
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Noble D'Amato, a 19-year-old friend of Rep. Lauren Boebert's son Tyler, has accused the Republican congresswoman of covering up details of a vehicle crash that left him injured.
D'Amato told Denver news site Westword that he was riding shotgun with Boebert's son on September 17 when Tyler flipped the SUV he was driving. D'Amato suffered "multiple concussions and a severely lacerated hand."
"I still have problems with my hand," D'Amato told the site. "My thumb almost got cut off. It prevented me from getting a welding job, because I can't hold a TIG torch anymore. I'm a personal-care provider now."
Following the crash, D'Amato said he was charged with drug offenses after police found unprescribed Xanax pills and a marijuana grinder at the scene of the accident.
Boebert's son was issued a careless driving ticket, which was later reduced to "defective vehicle for headlights," the Garfield County Court Clerk's Office told Westword. Tyler was ordered to attend an "Alive at 25" driver's awareness program.
Westword said Boebert's office issued an April 4 statement in which it said, "The injury reported was superficial at best and was addressed by medical professionals out of caution."
D'Amato called the statement "bull----."
"She's never liked me," he remarked. "But that doesn't give them the right to try and hide the fact that I was injured."
D'Amato accused Boebert of trying to cover up his injuries, and referred to allegations that she had tried to hide an accident in 2019.
"They've tried covering up stuff before," referring to the claims.
As for the crash itself, D'Amato said Boebert's son was "stone cold sober" but "was driving so f--king fast."
"I remember waking up with blood pouring out of my hand," he recalled. "I had put my hands up in the air to protect myself and got messed up really bad by the window or something. I was just glad to be alive."
D'Amato explained that he had drifted apart from Boebert's son following the accident.
"Just because he's Lauren Boebert's kid doesn't mean he's a god," he observed.
D'Amato said he was thankful to be alive and off drugs.
"It was an accident," he remarked. "But the fact that they're downplaying it like this is something else. Superficial injuries? I got multiple concussions. My thumb was almost cut off. I couldn't hold a torch. It prevented me from getting a welding job."
"So, yeah, harm was definitely done. But like I said, if it were up to [Tyler] fully — and he didn't have his mom affecting his mind so aggressively — he'd take responsibility and not act like it wasn't a big deal. But he's the son of Lauren Boebert. If I did what he did, I'd still be in jail."
https://www.rawstory.com/lauren-boebert-car-crash/
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Expelled Tennessee lawmakers both seeking seats again
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Two former Black Democratic lawmakers who were expelled by Republican colleagues in Tennessee say they want to be reappointed, then elected back to their seats, following their ouster for a protest on the House floor urging passage of gun-control measures in the wake of a deadly school shooting.
Nashville’s metro council is likely to reappoint Justin Jones to the seat during a specially called Monday meeting. Mickell Lowery, the chairman of the Shelby County Commission, said in a statement Sunday that the panel will consider at a meeting Wednesday whether to reappoint Justin Pearson, who is from Memphis, to his seat.
Lowery said he understands the need to respond to those who “transgressed the rules” of the state House of Representatives.
“However, I believe the expulsion of State Representative Justin Pearson was conducted in a hasty manner without consideration of other corrective action methods. I also believe that the ramifications for our great State are still yet to be seen,” he said.
Both former lawmakers told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that they want to return to their positions as lawmakers. Special elections for the seats, which have yet to be set, will follow in the coming months.
The expulsions have made Tennessee a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy. The former lawmakers have quickly drawn prominent supporters. President Joe Biden spoke with them and Vice President Kamala Harris visited them in Nashville.
“You know, we will continue to fight for our constituents,” Jones said. “And one thing I just want to say ... is that this attack against us is hurting all people in our state. You know, even though it is disproportionately impacting Black and Brown communities, this is hurting poor white people. Their attack on democracy hurts all of us.”
In separate votes on Thursday, the GOP supermajority expelled Jones and Pearson, a move leaving about 140,000 voters in primarily Black districts in Nashville and Memphis with no representation in the House.
Pearson and Jones were expelled in retaliation for their role in the protest the week before, which unfolded in the aftermath of a school shooting in Nashville that killed six people, including three young students and three adults working at the school. The shooter was killed by police.
A third Democrat, Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, was spared expulsion by a one-vote margin. Johnson is white, spurring outcry at the differing outcomes for the two young, Black lawmakers. Republican lawmakers who split their votes have cited Johnson’s points on the floor that her role in the protest was lesser — she didn’t speak into the megaphone, for example.
Johnson has also suggested race was likely a factor on why Jones and Pearson were ousted but not her, telling reporters it “might have to do with the color of our skin.”
Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton said that’s a “false narrative.”
“It’s unfortunate, she’s trying to put political racism in this, which there was nothing on this,” Sexton told Fox News on Friday.
GOP leaders said the expulsion actions — used only a handful times since the Civil War — were necessary to avoid setting a precedent that lawmakers’ disruptions of House proceedings through protest would be tolerated.
Pearson said the statehouse has been a “toxic work environment.” He noted the scrutiny he received for wearing a black dashiki — a tunic-like garment that originated in west Africa — for session, rather than a suit and tie.
“It’s about us not belonging in the institution because they are afraid of the changes that are happening in our society, and the voices that are being elevated,” Pearson said on Meet the Press.
https://apnews.com/article/tennessee-expulsion-democracy-election-nashville-b6fba07308b9907450a8152b7a8ee1f0
Rep. Justin Jones expulsion updates: Council reappoints, Jones retakes oath of office
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Days after Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, was expelled from the Tennessee House for leading a gun-control protest from the floor following a deadly shooting at Covenant School, the Metro Nashville Council reappointed him to the seat.
Last week, the House expelled Jones in a 72-25 vote, and Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, in a 69-26 decision — moves that put the nation's eyes on Tennessee and its politics. Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, survived a similar vote.
During a special called meeting Monday, the Council unanimously voted to reappoint Jones to the seat. Three members were not present for the vote.
Immediately after the vote, Jones, and hundreds of protesters, marched to the Capitol where he was sworn in again before taking his seat on the House floor as session was ongoing.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville called on Jones to speak within minutes of his re-taking his seat.
“I want to welcome the people back to the people’s house. I want to welcome democracy back to the people’s house,” Jones said in his first remarks back on the floor. “On last Thursday, members tried to crucify democracy, but today we have a resurrection.”
“Today, 78,000 people have a voice in this chamber once again,” he added. "No expulsion, no attempt to silence us will stop us, but only galvanize and strengthen our movement. We continue to show up in the people's house. Power to the people!"
Sexton gaveled participants responding to Jones' speech in the galleries into order twice before Jones finished.
Jones will not be reappointed to legislative committees until after a special election is held. He will be allowed to file 15 new bills, as his original 15 bills were transferred to Leader Karen Camper when he was expelled. Jones said Monday that he plans to use all of those “to call for common sense gun reforms.
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2023/04/10/justin-jones-expulsion-updates-rally-planned-outside-metro-nashville-council/70099458007/
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Since 1989, and a new global economic age began, 48 million net new jobs have been created in America.
46 million - 96% - have been created under Democratic Presidents. Basically all of them.
Don't let Republicans claim they are great with the economy and jobs. They are not. History has proven it. The BLS government statistics also proves it.
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Conservatives defending Harlan Crow’s gifts to Clarence Thomas also have ties to GOP megadonor: report
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On April 6, ProPublica published a bombshell report saying that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thomas had, for "over 20 years," been "treated to luxury vacations by Republican donor Harlan Crow" and failed to report it. Thomas' allies were quick to rush to his defense. And some of those defenders, according to The Lever's Andrew Perez, are Crow associates themselves.
One of them is The Manhattan Institute's Ilya Shapiro.
Perez, in an article published by The Lever on April 11, explains, "Hours after ProPublica dropped its report on Thomas, Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow at the right-wing think tank Manhattan Institute, tweeted, 'Unless Harlan Crow has some business before the Court, the @propublica report about Justice Thomas is a big breathless nothingburger.' Unmentioned: The Manhattan Institute, where Shapiro leads an amicus brief filing program lobbying the Supreme Court to rule certain ways on issues like student debt cancellation and corporate taxation, boasts Crow's wife Kathy on its board of trustees and has been called 'wonderful' by Crow himself."
Perez also notes that conservative journalist Jonah Goldberg, formerly of the National Review and now editor-in-chief of The Dispatch, has been defending Crow vigorously. On April 8, Goldberg tweeted, "Harlan Crow is a deeply honorable, decent, and patriotic person. He's not the strawman Thomas haters are trying to make him."
According to Perez, "As The Dispatch separately noted in a news article covering Crow's gifts to Thomas, 'Harlan Crow is a minority investor in The Dispatch and a friend of the founders.' Goldberg is also a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a right-wing think tank where Crow serves on the board of trustees. Previously, Goldberg was a senior fellow at the National Review Institute, the nonprofit affiliated with the conservative National Review magazine."
Read The Lever’s full article at this link: https://www.levernews.com/the-paid-pundits-defending-clarence-thomas-and-his-billionaire-benefactor/
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Lauren Boebert and Adam Frisch tied among likely 2024 voters, new poll says
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An early poll shows incumbent U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and Adam Frisch, the Democrat who came close to unseating the Republican in 2022, in a tie for the seat amid current political conditions.
If the 2024 election were held today with the two candidates, 45% of voters would choose Frisch and 45% would choose Boebert, according to findings from a poll released Tuesday.
The poll, conducted by progressive organizations ProgressNow Colorado and Global Strategy Group, surveyed 500 likely voters and 100 unaffiliated likely voters in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District between March 29 and April 2. It has a 4.4% margin of error.
“Lauren Boebert, in a Republican-leaning district, is tied going into the 2024 presidential election cycle,” ProgressNow Colorado executive direct Sara Loflin said of the results.
The race was unexpectedly close in the 2022 midterms. Boebert, the highly controversial conservative lawmaker, beat Frisch by just 546 votes in the right-leaning district. It was redrawn in the recent redistricting process and favors a Republican candidate by 9 percentage points.
The district encompasses the Western Slope and the southwest corner of the state, sweeping east to include Pueblo, Otero and Las Animas counties.
Primary opponents
Frisch has already started his campaign for the seat in 2024 and raised $1.7 million since mid-February, according to his campaign. That sets the stage for the race to receive national attention — and dollars — as Democrats view Boebert as vulnerable and potentially beatable in a presidential election year with higher expected turnout.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced last week that it will target Boebert in 2024.
Andrew Baumann with GSG said that Frisch will have a clearer path to victory if he can increase his name recognition before 2024. Among voters who knew both Frisch and Boebert, Frisch led by 19 percentage points in the poll.
Among Republicans who described themselves as not very conservative, 60% back Boebert, 24% back Frisch and 16% are undecided. Pollsters said this shows an opportunity for Frisch to gain ground with center-of-right voters who may be disillusioned with Boebert’s extreme politics and who might agree with Frisch’s stance on abortion and economic policies. Frisch painted himself as a moderate last year.
Additionally, the poll found that Boebert’s priorities do not align with those of voters in her district. Respondents listed addressing inflation and protecting Social Security as the two most important issues for Congress to focus on. They put defending former President Donald Trump and self-promotion on social media as the two bottom priorities among those offered by pollsters. Those two issues, however, were the ones respondents ranked as the top priorities Boebert seems to be focused on.
“Voters see Boebert focused on the exact things they don’t want to see her focused on,” Baumann said.
Boebert’s unfavorable rating has grown in the past two years. In March 2021, 39% of respondents had an unfavorable view of her. Now, 50% of them do.
Debby Burnett, who also ran in 2022 but did not make the Democratic primary ballot, is also running in 2024, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. Russ Andrews announced this week he is seeking the Republican nomination, according to The Daily Sentinel.
https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/boebert-frisch-tied-like-poll/
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Republicans face the music after their Wisconsin Supreme Court loss
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Losing the Wisconsin Supreme Court race by a whopping 11-point margin was a big blow to Republicans, prompting a round of soul-searching and recriminations. The Wall Street Journal called it a “five alarm” warning that the party is losing its grip on the Midwest and could face stiff headwinds in the 2024 presidential election. Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker told Fox News that the defeat of Daniel Kelly — whom Walker himself had appointed for a short stint on the state’s highest court — is a sign that conservatives must redouble their efforts to fight liberal indoctrination in the classroom and on university campuses to win over younger voters (coincidentally, that’s the very effort Walker is paid to lead at the Young America’s Foundation).
Some conservative advocates argue that the race proves that Republicans need to be even more vocal about their anti-abortion views. Others point to softening support among suburban women and suggest dumping Trump and moving away from the hard right is the path to success.
Regardless, in the most gerrymandered state in the nation, you can bet the GOP is not going to give up power easily.
There’s been a lot of speculation that Republicans could use their new supermajority in the state Senate — the one bright spot for the GOP after an otherwise miserable election night — to impeach newly elected Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz. But that’s unlikely since A. Protasiewicz hasn’t been seated and hasn’t even arguably done anything impeachable yet and B. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers could appoint her replacement (just like Walker appointed Kelly to fill an empty seat), so the net result would not advance the conservative cause.
Losing its lock on power is an existential crisis for a party that has been able to run the table, even while losing statewide elections.
Republican legislators and their allies can no longer turn to a conservative majority on the state’s highest court to help them seize powers from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers as they did after he won in 2018. They won’t be able to rely on the court to stick by the “least change” doctrine that conveniently ratified their gerrymandered maps, locking in their control of the Legislature after they changed everything to draw themselves into power. And they won’t be able to count on the conservative majority that very nearly overturned the legitimate vote for President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
In a letter to supporters, Rick Esenberg, founder, president and general counsel of the rightwing Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, which is continually bringing cases to the state Supreme Court on behalf of the Republican Legislature, reacted to the news about the new liberal majority by calling for an all-out war against “the progressive left” that now hold the White House, the governor’s mansion and the Wisconsin Supreme Court. “The left has already begun bragging of how they will ‘undo’ Act 10, the congressional district maps, and every other hard-fought win that we achieved in the first place,” Esenberg wrote. “They will start in Wisconsin and go on from here. We cannot let them succeed.”
What choice do conservatives have?
They can take the long and arduous route Walker recommends, trying to persuade more college students that abortion shouldn’t be a right and that climate change isn’t real. Or they can try a more expedient route, fighting like hell to hold onto gerrymandered maps so they can remain in power.
Rather than trying to impeach Protasiewicz, my bet is that Republicans press the current conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, perhaps in response to a request for original action from WILL, to make a ruling ratifying the existing gerrymandered map. They might also suddenly get interested in ethics rules. After refusing for years to recuse themselves from cases involving their own campaign contributors, they could pass new rules based on their argument that Protasiewicz, having expressed her support for abortion rights and her belief that Wisconsin’s voting map is “rigged,” must therefore recuse herself from cases involving gerrymandering and abortion.
That won’t get them very far, though, since a new liberal majority can undo the kinds of last-minute deck-stacking efforts the Legislature successfully executed against Evers in the lame duck session.
At some point, cheating isn’t enough. Having lost the high court, Republicans are facing a perilous moment.
Which brings us back to all those Republican politicos’ pleas to the party to figure out how to do a better job appealing to voters.
When the Republicans talk about losing “everything we’ve worked for” with the change on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, they’re referring mainly to the changes Walker set in motion with his union-busting Act 10, as well as more than a decade of deep cuts to education funding and deregulation of polluting industries.
The tangible results of Walker’s “divide and conquer” politics are visible everywhere now.
That bitter legacy was most eloquently described by former UW chancellor John Wiley in a 2015 essay for Madison Magazine in which he described Wisconsin’s decline since he first arrived here four decades ago as a graduate student after living in Indiana and Tennessee. Wiley paints a picture of Wisconsin the way it used to be, when progressive-era investments in infrastructure and a small-d democratic ethos created a state with perfectly maintained highways, tidy farms, city streets and parks free of trash and a well educated workforce. After spending 40 years at the university, Wiley sadly observed, “almost everything that once made Wisconsin seem like a promised land is being systematically stripped away and discarded. That process has been tragically accelerated under Governor Scott Walker.”
Business interests that have been able to buy seats on the Wisconsin Supreme Court “really do want us to become a third-world state, and they are winning,” Wiley wrote.
Investments in public schools and our great university have been slashed, tuition is no longer affordable for families of modest means, including people like Wiley’s parents. Meanwhile, the median family income in Wisconsin has declined, and with the attack on unions, the route to the middle class has been further barricaded. There is a rundown quality to our state, a meanness exacerbated by “divide and conquer” political rhetoric, and a deep inequality. We are no longer that clean, optimistic land of opportunity that attracted Wiley.
That’s the legacy Walker and his allies worked so hard for. And now it’s threatened, because their vision won’t be protected from voters who don’t like it.
Abortion and gerrymandering were the big topics in the Supreme Court election (along with a big dose of lurid Republican ads about violent crime). Protasiewicz calculated, correctly, that a majority of voters did not agree that conservative triumphs have been good for the state. She has also been an opponent of Walker’s Act 10, having grown up in a union household and seeing what a difference pro-worker policies made for her own family.
If Protasiewicz and her colleagues are able to rule on fair maps, legislators who play only to their hard-right base could suddenly face a referendum on the whole Walker legacy, the damage it has done and what kind of a state we really want to live in. No wonder they’re so dismayed.
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2023/04/11/republicans-face-the-music-after-their-wisconsin-supreme-court-loss/
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Abbott Seeks Pardon for Killer of Protester
"Gov. Greg Abbott (R) directed the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to consider recommending a pardon for Daniel Perry on Saturday, one day after a Travis County jury convicted the U.S. Army sergeant in the 2020 murder of Austin protester Garrett Foster,” the Texas Tribune reports.
“After 17 hours of deliberations and an eight-day trial, jurors Friday found Perry guilty of murder for shooting and killing Foster, who was armed with an AK-47 as part of a group protesting police brutality.”
https://politicalwire.com/2023/04/09/abbott-seeks-pardon-for-killer-of-protester/
Missouri GOP proposes a frighteningly efficient way to ban books
Targeting particular library books for removal was bad enough. Now some Republican lawmakers in Missouri have proposed withholding state money from libraries.
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/missouri-defund-libraries-book-ban-rcna78014
Missouri’s new effort to punish libraries is vindictive and harmful
https://missouriindependent.com/2023/04/10/missouris-new-effort-to-punish-libraries-is-vindictive-and-harmful/
Missouri House votes to strip state funding from public libraries
https://www.ky3.com/2023/03/29/missouri-house-votes-strip-state-funding-public-libraries/
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Republicans facing a reckoning later this week
An NRA convention and an RNC confab in Nashville come at an inopportune time.
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Republicans are openly distressed about the prospect of losing younger voters over their stances on abortion, firearms and democracy.
By week’s end, their challenges on those three fronts could grow worse.
Days after a mass shooting in Louisville, Ky., many declared and undeclared 2024 candidates will be brandishing their Second Amendment bona fides at the National Rifle Association’s annual leadership forum in Indianapolis. From there, a number of the candidates will travel south on I-65, where they will make their cases to Republican National Committee grandees for a gathering in Nashville — the site not only of another mass shooting, but also the state GOP-led ejection of two Black Democratic lawmakers last week.
“Talking at the NRA meeting in Indianapolis then going to the RNC meeting in Nashville all fits together,” said Paul Helmke, the former Republican mayor of Fort Wayne, Ind., and president and CEO of the Brady Center/Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “You’re giving a single unified message: You don’t brook dissent or disagreement on guns.”
The cattle calls in Indiana and Tennessee, on the books for months and aimed at reaffirming core principles for the party, come at a moment when there are growing questions from within about its direction. Inside the party’s headquarters, there has been recognition that Republicans need to change their message on abortion with pollsters arguing for a more moderate tack. And among some committee members, there is a belief that the GOP’s image could be bolstered if it lessened its strident opposition to gun safety measures, especially among a group of voters who are just engaging in national politics.
“Every life matters,” said Oscar Brock, an RNC member from Tennessee. “Including those three 9-year-old kids in Green Hills,” the neighborhood in Nashville where they were shot and killed at school. Brock said he believes the party is suffering among swing voters on the issue of guns and abortion.
But while a corner of the party has begun pushing for nuance, others are making the case for staying the course on long-held policies.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a 37-year-old presidential candidate and wealthy biotech entrepreneur, warned that the party would not succeed “by compromising on its core principles.”
“We should be at once unapologetic on principles, and also live up to the principle instead of just uttering the slogan,” he said in an interview this week.
Ramaswamy suggested the party neither increase abortion access nor tighten gun laws, but instead take steps to make it easier for women to obtain child care or “tap into Social Security early” to fund a family. On guns, Ramaswamy, a father of two young children, said the GOP should get serious about funding armed guards in every school — and “none of us should tolerate kids being killed.”
It’s not uncommon for there to be disagreement within Republican ranks over whether to shore up the party’s standing with the base or adjust and moderate to appeal to independent voters. But the latest round of debate has taken on greater importance after a series of poor election performances, including a Democratic win in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. And it has been sparked by a series of events, including those recent mass shootings and a Trump-appointed federal judge’s ruling to suspend the FDA’s approval of a commonly used abortion pill.
The fissures were on vivid display Tuesday in deep-red Tennessee. After previously resisting calls for red flag laws — including from former President Donald Trump in 2019 — Republican Gov. Bill Lee publicly urged the state Legislature to pass a version of it, and announced he would sign an executive order strengthening background checks for firearm purchases.
Lee’s news conference, which came as a surprise even to GOP legislative leaders, followed a shooting March 27 that killed three 9-year-olds and three adults at a Nashville Christian school. Lee said one of his wife’s closest friends — with whom she was planning to have dinner that night — was murdered.
It was a remarkable illustration of a GOP official moving swiftly to try and sand down the party’s image. Less clear is whether a GOP-controlled Legislature that has worked for years to roll back gun regulations will heed the governor’s call to act.
Republicans in the Legislature were already facing the reality that their plan to expel two Democratic House members for protesting the state’s gun laws inside the Capitol had backfired. One of the expelled members, Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville, quickly returned to his seat on Monday after being reappointed by local officials. The other, Justin Pearson of Memphis, is expected to return later this week.
But that wasn’t the only front on which the party was showing signs of retrenchment. On the topic of abortion, Republican anxieties have been building for months.
Last week, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel declared that the party had a “messaging issue” surrounding abortion, citing recent GOP losses. The New York Times, meanwhile, reported on Tuesday that the RNC has been circulating a memo showing that voters are more comfortable with a 15-week abortion ban — even as state GOP lawmakers, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, embrace far more restrictive measures. Left unsaid in the article was that the memo had been put together back in September, well before the midterm elections.
“She was right,” said Brock, referring to McDaniel’s call for a party messaging shift on issues such as abortion. “And yet she got shouted down by the hardcore pro-life wing of the electorate. And I’m sorry that happened.”
The party’s divides on the issue of abortion have erupted into clearer view since last week’s Wisconsin Supreme Court race and Friday’s ruling by the Trump-appointed Texas federal judge on mifepristone. Within hours of the ruling, the only likely 2024 GOP candidate to issue a statement of support was former Vice President Mike Pence. No other GOP candidates have commented on the matter.
Penny Nance, the CEO of Concerned Women for America, an anti-abortion group, said it was the silence itself, not the ruling, that was making life hard for Republicans.
“It’s foolish not to take these issues head on. They paint our side as extremist when there aren’t any counternarratives,” said Nance.
A Republican pollster who has conducted surveys on the issue but declined to speak on the record said the problem was that party officials were “not articulating our position very well and so voters in the absence of information fill the void with what’s provided to them, and it’s largely provided by Democrats.”
But when asked if there was anyone in the party singing the right tune on the issue, the pollster would only name only Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, Mace has repeatedly sounded the alarm that the GOP is wrong on abortion, and on Monday told CNN that the FDA should ignore the Texas judge’s ruling.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/11/republicans-face-reckoning-young-voters-00091453
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Shelby County Commission reappoints Justin Pearson to state House seat, days after expulsion
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The Shelby County Commission voted unanimously to reappoint Justin Pearson to the state House seat Republicans expelled him from six days ago.
House Republicans kicked out Pearson, D-Memphis, and Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, for violating the chamber’s rules on decorum when the two men took over the chamber’s speaking podium to protest a lack of action by lawmakers on gun violence. Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, joined the duo in the floor protests, but Republicans fell one vote short of expelling her.
The floor protests followed a mass shooting in Nashville where three adults and three children were killed at Nashville private school on March 27.
Republicans chose to expel Pearson and Jones because they used a megaphone to lead chants with a crowd gathered in the House gallery. Over a thousand protesters descended on the State Capitol that day.
The floor protests forced the House into a 40-minute recess.
The floor protests occurred on March 30, and House Republicans held expulsion hearings one week later on April 6.
Pearson’s reappoint comes days after the Metro Nashville Council reappointed Jones to his seat. Only seven of the Shelby County Commission’s 13 members were present for Wednesday’s special-called meeting.
Earlier in the day, Pearson led a rally from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis to the commission meeting, showing the community support for his reappointment.
Pearson should be able to attend Thursday’s House floor session in Nashville.
Republican leaders said they would welcome back Pearson and Jones but emphasized they had to follow the House rules.
Pearson and Jones must run in separate special elections later this year to regain their seats. It will be Pearson’s second election in less than a year. In a special election earlier this year, he won his current Memphis district seat, which was previously held by the now-deceased Barabara Cooper.
https://tennesseelookout.com/2023/04/12/shelby-county-commission-reappoints-justin-pearson-to-state-house-seat-days-after-expulsion/
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GOP strategist says Tennessee Republicans know they overreached on expulsions
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Just days after Tennessee Republicans triggered a nationwide controversy by expelling two Black representatives — Justin Jones of Nashville and Justin Pearson of Memphis — for joining a peaceful protest inside the state Capitol advocating for new gun laws, the pair were appointed to their seats amid outrage.
Ultimately, argued GOP strategist Alice Stewart on CNN's "OutFront" Wednesday, Tennessee Republicans overreached — and they know it.
"You said you were glad they've both been reinstated," said anchor Erica Hill. "Did Republicans mess this up, Alice?"
"They did," said Stewart. "Look, you know, I've worked in the state legislature in neighboring Arkansas, quite familiar with the political dynamics at play in Tennessee. And look, Republicans clearly were frustrated with the actions and the distraction of the Tennessee Three. But they made a mistake in expelling them. They overreacted, and I'm glad to see them back in their positions."
Stewart added that in her conversations with "several" Republican lawmakers, "they acknowledged that they're saddened by this turn of events. They realized that there are other actions they could have taken, whether it's centering them or removing them from their committees."
"At this stage of the game, they're ready to get back to the people's business of the State of Tennessee, and they want to work on passing the budget and working together on the core issue at hand here, which is addressing gun violence and having all sides of the table, but at the end of the day, this Tennessee Three, they violated decorum and protocol and there should be consequences, but at the end of the day, the right step was taken. They're back in the legislature and ready to work together for the people of Tennessee.
Watch:
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Watch: Missouri Republican defends letting parents marry off 12-year-old kids
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Missouri State Sen. Mike Moon (R) this week defended the rights of parents to marry off children as young as 12 years old.
The Springfield News-Leader reports that Moon made the remarks during a contentious debate over banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors in which Democratic State Rep. Peter Meredith accused him of hypocrisy for supporting the bill despite positioning himself as a champion of parents' rights.
"I've heard you talk about parents' rights to raise their kids how they want," argued Meredith. "In fact, I just double-checked, you voted no on making it illegal for kids to be married to adults at the age of 12 if their parents consented to it!"
Meredith went on to accuse Moon of making it legal for a 12-year-old to be "raped by an adult" as long as their parents agreed to let it occur, which prompted an angry response from Moon.
"Do you know any kids who have been married at age 12?" he asked Meredith. "I do. And guess what? They're still married."
As the News-Leader notes, "Moon's support of child marriage in some instances has been long documented," as in the past he has discussed "a couple he met in college who had married one another at age 12."
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1646180258582872064
Sen. Dianne Feinstein steps down from judiciary panel amid calls for resignation
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Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.), under growing pressure to resign amid an extended absence due to illness, has asked to be taken off the Judiciary Committee indefinitely while she recovers from shingles, The New York Times reports.
The 89-year-old senior senator from California has been absent from the Senate since contracting shingles in late February. She has since been released from the hospital, but her prolonged absence has resulted in her missing 58 votes as of Monday, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.
“I understand that my absence could delay the important work of the Judiciary Committee,” Feinstein said in a statement.
Her decision to step down follows calls from House Democrats Ro Khanna (D-Ca.) and Dean Phillips (D-Min.) that she resign.
“Per Sen. Feinstein’s wishes, Majority Leader Schumer will ask the Senate next week to allow another Democratic Senator to temporarily serve on the Judiciary Committee,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
Read More Here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/12/us/politics/feinstein-senate-judiciary-committee.html
Ethics watchdog urges Justice Department investigation into Clarence Thomas' trips
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A Washington ethics watchdog is calling for the Department of Justice to investigate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for failing to disclose luxury trips he received from a billionaire GOP megadonor.
“This high-profile ethics matter has historic implications far beyond one Supreme Court justice,” attorneys for the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center wrote in a detailed letter on Tuesday to the Judicial Conference, the principal policymaking body for federal courts. The Judicial Conference could trigger an investigation by referring the case to the Justice Department.
The financial disclosure law that covers justices and other federal officials states that “knowingly and willfully” failing to make required disclosures can result in fines. If someone intentionally falsifies their disclosure reports, they can face criminal penalties — a warning printed below the signature line of the reports themselves. But such prosecutions are rare.
ProPublica’s investigation last week revealed that Thomas has taken international cruises on conservative donor Harlan Crow’s superyacht, flown on Crow’s private jet and regularly vacationed at Crow’s private resort in the Adirondacks.
If the Judicial Conference were to refer the case to the Justice Department, it could lead to a remarkable historical moment. One of the few instances of a federal investigation into a sitting Supreme Court justice occurred in 1969, when Justice Department officials signaled an inquiry into outside payments that Justice Abe Fortas had been accepting. Fortas eventually resigned.
Lawyers for the Campaign Legal Center, which was founded by a former Republican chairman of the Federal Election Commission and pushes for tighter ethics enforcement in Washington, wrote that there’s ample “reasonable cause to believe that” Thomas knew the trips had to be disclosed.
“If the Judicial Conference fails to publicly address the substantial evidence of blatant violations of a disclosure law that other federal judges understand and regularly follow,” the attorneys wrote, “it creates an exception for Justice Thomas that swallows the rule.”
The Judicial Conference and Thomas did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Justice Department declined to comment.
The letter is the latest in what have been days of mounting pressure to address the revelations. Last week, Democratic lawmakers called on Chief Justice John Roberts to investigate. This Monday, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee announced plans to hold a hearing “regarding the need to restore confidence in the Supreme Court’s ethical standards.” They also announced an effort to reform ethics rules for federal judges.
In response to our story last week, Thomas issued a statement acknowledging the “family trips,” which he said he was told that he didn’t need to report.
“Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable,” Thomas wrote. “I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure, and have always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines.”
Seven experts consulted by ProPublica, including former ethics lawyers for Congress and the White House, said the law clearly requires the disclosure of gifts of transportation, such as private jet flights. If Thomas is arguing otherwise, the experts said, he is incorrect. Among the experts was a top official at the Campaign Legal Center.
Crow acknowledged that he’d extended “hospitality” to the Thomases “over the years.” He said that Thomas never asked for any of it and it was “no different from the hospitality we have extended to our many other dear friends.”
Attorneys with the center said that the federal Ethics in Government Act and judiciary regulations have always required the disclosure of free travel — even before the regulations were updated last month. They argued that Thomas himself implicitly acknowledged as much when he disclosed similar flights in the late 1990s, including one on Crow’s jet.
The attorneys pushed for the Judicial Conference to make good on its recent promises to “ensure timely action is taken on credible allegations of misconduct” and refer Thomas’ case to the Justice Department before the next judicial ethics disclosure deadline in May.
Read More Here: https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow
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GOP 'clown car' has been reduced to 'celebrating convicts': Morning Joe
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MSNBC's Joe Scarborough on Wednesday roasted Republicans in the House of Representatives who have been historically unproductive in passing any kind of legislative agenda.
In contrast to the 1990s majority led by Newt Gingrich -- which passed tax cuts, welfare reform, and other key priorities in its first 100 days -- the Republican Party under House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has so far passed nothing of substance.
"Think about this: They ran saying the Democrats were only focused on marginal issues, that they needed to care about inflation, they needed to care about immigration, they needed to care about crime," he said. "And yet, you look at the clown show that you put on, they're going and they're celebrating convicts, holding field hearings in prison, to praise convicts, who stormed the United States Capitol!"
Scarborough said he was particularly shocked that the GOP still hadn't passed any kind of immigration legislation given that gaining control of the United States-Mexico border is the top animating issue among Republican base voters.
"They can't even get an immigration bill on the House floor that can pass!" he marveled. "Because republicans don't even agree with each other on that!"
Meanwhile, Scarborough said, the GOP's only major investigative hearings haven't exposed any bombshells about the "weaponization" of the federal government and have only revolved around Republican lawmakers complaining about their anti-vaccine posts getting banned from Twitter.
Watch:
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'Just Like Public Pools Were Closed in the South’: Shock as State and Local Governments try to shutter public libraries
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In at least two states across America governments are trying to shutter public libraries in response to legal action attempting to overturn bans on books conservatives oppose, while one Republican U.S. Congressman is calling public libraries "liberal grooming centers."
One Texas county is considering shutting down all its libraries in response to a judge ordering books some locals oppose to be returned to its shelves, as NCRM was among the first to report. A federal judge ordered Llano County to return books with LGBTQ and race-related content to library shelves, after seven local residents who wanted the books available to the public filed a First and Fourteenth Amendment lawsuit, saying removal of the books violated their civil rights.
In response to the judge ordering books be returned to shelves, Llano County officials will meet on Thursday to consider not only shutting down all its libraries, but terminating the employment of everyone who works in those libraries.
In an even more vindictive move, one Republican House lawmaker in Missouri was so enraged over a lawsuit from the ACLU, filed on behalf of the Missouri Association of School Librarians and the Missouri Library Association, that he pushed through legislation that defunds all public libraries across the state.
That bill passed on Tuesday, stripping more than $4.5 million budgeted for public libraries from the state's budget should it be signed into law.
The ACLU is attempting to have a court "declare Senate Bill 775 unconstitutional, a bill that has resulted in over 300 books getting banned from school libraries, many of which include LGBTQ characters or racial justice themes," as Heartland Signal reports.
Missouri House budget committee chairman Rep. Cody Smith "argued that the state should not 'subsidize' the lawsuit with government aid. But the Missouri Library Association, a nonprofit representing Missouri’s librarians, put out a statement stating they are not providing any funding for this lawsuit, as the ACLU is aiding them pro bono."
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1646104872410836992
Adding another wrinkle to the issue, a Tuesday MSNBC opinion piece notes: "The problem, though, is that Missouri Republicans aren’t the only ones mounting up against libraries. Late last month, Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., tweeted: 'Over time, American communities will build beautiful, church owned public-access libraries. I’m going to help these churches get funding. We will change the whole public library paradigm. The libraries regular Americans recall are gone. They’ve become liberal grooming centers.'"
Pointing to an NBC News report on Llano County considering to shutter its libraries, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance, a professor of law at The University of Alabama School of Law tweeted, "Just like public pools were closed in the south after desegregation was ordered."
Morgan Fairchild, the well-known actress and activist, weighed in saying, "I never want to hear another word from a Republican about Freedom, when they defund public libraries, a concept started in US by Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, so that common citizens could better themselves."
Journalist Roland Martin, a Texas native and author of four books including "White Fear: How the Browning of America Is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds," served up an even more passionate response.
"I keep telling y'all the @GOP is simply STUPID. How in the hell do you defund all of the public libraries in a state? These are truly illiterate a****les," he tweeted.
Award winning novelist, short story writer, playwright, poet, literary critic, professor, and editor Joyce Carol Oates declared defunding libraries and diversity initiatives, childcare, and pre-kindergarten programs, "sad but not surprising."
"Republicans seem bent upon destroying the commonweal like public libraries," she said on Twitter, adding: "their goal appears to be privatizing everything as in a feudal society in which serfs are subhuman, mere labor."
Former Missouri Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill offered a multiple choice tweet:
"A primer on Mo GOP:
A) outlawed all abortions from moment of conception for rape victims
B) voted to allow children to openly carry AR-15s
C) defunded public libraries
D) All of the above. Ding ding ding (right answer)"
https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2023/04/just-like-public-pools-were-closed-in-the-south-shock-as-state-and-local-governments-try-to-shutter-public-libraries/
'Nothing else to brag about': Boebert accused of wasting taxpayers' money with 'showboating'
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Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert is wasting taxpayers’ money by “showboating” about the number of committee hearings the House GOP is holding, according to experts who spoke to Newsweek.
The member of Congress has boasted that her party has “set a new record for the amount of hearings in a single day,” and claimed no group has “worked harder to get this country back on track,” the news site reported.
But experts said the focus on the number of meetings is merely a cover for not having achieved anything of real worth.
"It's no surprise that they are focusing on their committee investigations and hearings because they have very little to show in terms of legislative accomplishments,” David A. Bateman, a politics expert at Cornell University, told Newsweek.
"This is a period of divided government and high polarization. Still, House Republicans are having a hard time agreeing on and passing their own legislative priorities, let alone getting these passed through the Senate or signed into law by the president.
"When you've got a poor record in getting bills enacted into law, and a poor performance in passing legislation through the chamber you control, you're going to emphasize the activities of committees, because what else is there to focus on? Hearings can be important, but they can also be opportunities for member showboating," Bateman continued.
"And the reason the House GOP wants to brag about their hearings is because they have almost nothing else to brag about."
Among the committee hearings Boebert references are investigations into the Biden administration and his family's business dealings, Jim Jordan’s look at the federal government’s supposed weaponization against conservatives, and a look at the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban.
Several Republicans are reportedly frustrated at the lack of progress they’ve made.
Newsweek reported that millions of dollars of taxpayers' money are spent on the committees – between January 2021 and January 2023, $301.2 million dollars went to them, it said.
Thomas Gift, the head of the Center on U.S. Politics at University College London, told Newsweek: "The main point to say is that the number of hearings isn't an indicator of effectiveness, and it's a mistake to conflate the two.
"Ultimately, what we should care about is the quality of legislative outputs, not inputs – the results of which are judged by voters. Lots of hearings geared toward the wrong issues can be, at best, distracting, and, at worst, counterproductive."
https://www.rawstory.com/lauren-boebert-2659845484/
They’re gaslighting us’: Kansas lawmakers stray from facts when talking about public schools
Masterson falsely says school funding wasn’t cut during Brownback years; Williams blames mass shootings on racist trope
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TOPEKA — Senate President Ty Masterson and Rep. Kristey Williams delivered a series of inaccurate statements on gun violence, public school cuts and special education funding during an hourlong public forum Saturday in Augusta.
The forum took place a day after the Senate rejected legislation crafted by Williams to create a private school voucher program. Lawmakers adjourned for spring break in the early morning hours of April 7.
Williams, an Augusta Republican, and Masterson, an Andover Republican, complained about public school performance and made their case for using taxpayer funds to incentivize attendance at unregulated private schools.
In an interview, Liz Meitl, a public school teacher in Kansas City, Kansas, said Masterson and Williams were misrepresenting K-12 pubic education information.
“What they’re doing is creating circumstances in which the Kansas public can’t have conversations about real change or real improvement,” Meitl said. “They’re gaslighting us as a whole state.”
School funding cuts
Masterson falsely claimed there was no funding cut to public schools under former Gov. Sam Brownback, even though the state repeatedly slashed public school funding between 2008 and 2016, years when Masterson was in the Legislature.
“That’s the biggest lie out there in the ether, is that there was this big cut in schools,” Masterson said. “The only governor that actually hard cut schools — which was less-money-in-subsequent-years, I-got-less-than-I-did-before cut definition — the only governor that cut schools was Mark Parkinson.”
Parkinson, a Democrat, executed several rounds of school budget cuts in response to the 2008 recession, leading schools to file a lawsuit in 2010, the year Brownback was elected. The Legislature again lowered the amount of money the state provides public schools after Brownback took office in 2011.
As the state lost a series of legal challenges for underfunding schools, the Legislature replaced a formula that dated to 1992 with a two-year block grant to school districts. The Kansas Supreme Court determined the grants, which lowered K-12 school funding and eliminated extra aid for students in poverty, were unconstitutional.
Legislators and lobbyists who propose spending less on public schools sometimes conflate the distinction between state aid, which pays for teacher salaries and classroom expenses, with local bond projects and federal aid for food and transportation.
“K-12 never got less money. And that’s just math,” Masterson said.
Senate and House lawmakers reached a deal last week to cut $76.3 million in base state aid from public school funding, but neither chamber voted on the proposal before adjourning.
The funding bill was criticized because of the cuts, and also because it was a massive piece of legislation that blended state funding for K-12 education with provisions from nine other bills, including a form of parental rights legislation and an extension of the statewide mill levy that generates revenue for public schools.
Special education funding
Williams told the crowd that special education was overfunded in some districts, even though the state has underfunded special education for years.
The Kansas Association of School Boards estimates the state is about $160 million short of the special education funding required by state law.
During this year’s session, Williams attempted to combine funding to close part of the gap on special education with an unpopular private school voucher program. The proposal narrowly passed the House and was defeated in the Senate before lawmakers adjourned last week.
“There’s 149 school districts out of 286 that are exceeding the excess cost,” Williams said. “Some are up to 300% and some are 60%. And we’ve got to equalize that.”
Meitl said Williams was misrepresenting the situation because costs are determined by an individual’s needs. Some districts, Meitl said, have higher numbers of students with specific needs, and the special education costs reflect varying needs across districts.
“That’s like budget jargon,” Meitl said. “If humans were numbers, then sure, we could do that. But we’re not. Humans are variable. And needs are different and needs present out of nowhere."
Under Kansas law, the state is supposed to provide 92% of the extra costs of special education, but the Legislature hasn’t met this requirement since 2011.
While the federal government is supposed to provide up to 40% of special education funding as stipulated by legislation Congress passed in 1990, only about 13% has been provided. Districts have had to divert funds from general education programs to pay for special education costs.
Gov. Laura Kelly’s proposed budget would add $72.4 million for special education every year for the next five years to meet the statutory requirement.
“We must put Kansas on track to fully fund special education because every child deserves the chance to learn and thrive,” Kelly said in a Monday news release.
Vouchers
With the COVID-19 pandemic, years of underfunding, and struggles with providing special education care, public school officials say they need time, support and funding to return better results.
Williams said funding voucher programs would help more students in Kansas. She referenced a form of a voucher plan that failed to pass the Legislature. The program would’ve provided students attending nonpublic schools with the equivalent of 95% of base state aid, which is about $5,000.
Any nonpublic preschool, elementary or high school that teaches reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies and science would be eligible to benefit financially from the proposed law, including schools that are unaccredited. The schools wouldn’t be subject to governmental oversight. Religious objects, such as Bibles, could be bought with state dollars.
“It provides all students with the opportunity for enrichment, whether they choose a private or a public school,” Williams said. “We’re waiting for action on the Senate side on that.”
The House approved the bill on a 65-58 vote, but it failed 17-20 in the Senate.
Critics of the proposal say public dollars shouldn’t be used on private schools, more than half of Kansas counties don’t have private schools, the majority of the money would go to children already enrolled in private schools, and the program would have used federal COVID-19 aid to pay for the first year, with funding taken from the state after federal dollars ran out.
Some also argued that $5,000 wouldn’t actually be enough to help lower-income families pay for private education. One Augusta resident who said she was at the federal poverty level asked if the education fund would help send her child to a private school.
“I’m not sure how you would do it at that poverty level because you’re only going to get your grant award, which wouldn’t cover but a fraction of the tuition,” Masterson said.
Guns
Masterson defended the idea of providing gun training at a young age after one Augusta resident spoke against a proposed NRA gun program for public schools.
The resident asked Masterson to carefully consider the bill, which has been debated for years. The proposed legislation, which was sent to the governor for consideration April 4, would encourage elementary and middle school students to participate in the Eddie Eagle program, an NRA-developed child gun safety curriculum.
From kindergarten through grade five, Kansas children in participating school districts would be instructed with the Eddie Eagle program, and grades six through eight would either use Eddie Eagle or other gun programs offered by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.
In an average year, 456 people die and 655 are wounded by guns in Kansas, according to Everytown for Gun Safety statistics. The organization estimated that gun deaths and injuries cost Kansas $5.7 billion each year, of which $95.1 million is paid by taxpayers.
Critics of the bill have said the training program isn’t effective. They lobby for stricter gun laws rather than child gun training.
“It is always an adult’s responsibility to prevent unauthorized access to guns, not a curious child’s responsibility to avoid guns,” said Cori Sherman North, a volunteer with the Kansas chapter of Moms Demand Action in an April 10 news release. “Kansas lawmakers should be passing bills to help curb gun violence, not misplacing responsibility on children.”
Masterson said he didn’t understand resistance to the program.
“As a gun owner myself and an advocate of the Second Amendment, I taught my own kids,” Masterson said. “When they were young, I’d set an unloaded gun out and see how they would respond to it. They’d answer what I told them to do.”
Williams said she believes most mass shooters are coming from fatherless households, though it is unclear where she got this statistic.
“Guns and the Second Amendment have been around since the founding of our nation. What is driving this change? If you look at the mass shooters that have occurred since Columbine, I believe the statistic is 75% come from fatherless homes,” Williams said. “I think what we need to do as a society is look at what’s impacting our kids, what’s causing harm to our kids.”
In their 2020 database records, the Violence Project, which tracks mass shooters, listed 29 out of 173 mass shooters as coming from single-parent households, though there was no mention of a parent’s gender.
“Lawmakers should focus on actually taking measures to save lives from gun violence, not pushing narratives based in racist tropes,” said Tonya Boyd, a volunteer with the Kansas chapter of Moms Demand Action, in response for this story to Williams’ statement.
https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/12/theyre-gaslighting-us-kansas-lawmakers-stray-from-facts-when-talking-about-public-schools/
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After ProPublica published the Clarence Thomas scandal of him accepting bribes from GOP billionaire Harlan Crow, another major scandal involving Thomas and Crow has come to light. We now learn that Harlan Crow bought real estate from Thomas which was not disclosed and kept hidden from the public. Thomas needs to resign in shame with this major conflict of interest.
Read the ProPublica exclusive below:
Billionaire Harlan Crow Bought Property from Clarence Thomas. The Justice Didn't Disclose the Deal.
https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-real-estate-scotus
Clarence Thomas' real estate sale is 'a clear violation of government ethics law': ProPublica reporter
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Fresh off reports that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted luxury travel and accommodations from billionaire GOP megadonor Harlan Crow without any disclosure, a new report reveals Thomas also sold Crow his family home without disclosing it — which experts say is a much more clear-cut violation of federal ethics laws.
ProPublica reporter Josh Kaplan, who broke the story, delved into more detail on CNN's "The Lead" Thursday.
"Explain the significance of what you found here, this 2014 real estate transaction between Justice Thomas and Mr. Crow," said anchor Jake Tapper.
"Yes, so we found that Harlan Crow bought property from Justice Thomas in a undisclosed real estate deal," said Kaplan. "Crow paid roughly $133,000 to Thomas and his relatives for three properties, one of which was the house, that old house that Thomas' mom was living in. And the other two were vacant lots down the street. And Thomas did not disclose this, which experts told us appears to be a clear violation of government ethics law."
"So as you said, I mean, last week we reported that Thomas had accepted numerous luxury trips from Crow, private jet flights, international yacht cruises, all in secret. And Crow and Thomas responded to that reporting by saying that they were just close friends, but this is the first direct, first known direct financial transaction between these two men."
"So correct me if I'm wrong , but in addition to not disclosing the sale of those properties in Savannah, Justice Thomas also had a space on the disclosure form to report the identity of the buyer, but he left it blank," said Tapper. "Is that right?"
"That is correct," said Kaplan. "Yes, he did not disclose the sale and also did not disclose who he was selling it to, which, you know the judiciary's forms at the time requested."
"Did you get any response from either Justice Thomas or Harlan Crow about your story?" Tapper pressed him.
"Yes so well, not from Justice Thomas," said Kaplan. "We went to Thomas with detailed questions, and he did not respond. Crow did tell us that he approached the Thomases about buying these properties, and that he intends to one day turn Thomas' mother's house into a museum, which to be clear, experts told us that Crow's intentions, whatever they may be, are irrelevant to the legal question of Thomas' obligation to disclose this transaction."
"Crow also didn't directly address why he bought also bought two other properties from Thomas, the vacant lots down the road, but he did say that he ultimately sold those to a builder who is committed to improving the neighborhood."
Watch:
He must be impeached': Calls for ouster of Clarence Thomas grow after latest bombshell
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New revelations about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's business dealings with Texas Republican megadonor Harlan Crow on Thursday led to intensified calls for the right-wing justice's impeachment, as ProPublicareported on a previously undisclosed real estate transaction between the two men.
A week after the first report on Crow's funding of Thomas' travel was published, ProPublica revealed that Crow purchased two vacant lots and the home where Thomas' mother lived, all owned by Thomas and his family, in Savannah, Georgia in 2014.
The purchase, completed for $133,363, marked "the first known instance of money flowing from Crow to the Supreme Court justice," the news outlet reported.
Federal disclosure laws state that in most cases, Supreme Court justices and other government officials must disclose real estate transactions over $1,000.
"Thomas did not disclose the purchase as required by law. He must be impeached," said Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett.
Woah. Billionaire Harlan Crow didn’t just provide lavish travel and accommodations to Clarence Thomas—according to @propublica, he also bought property from him.
Thomas did not disclose the purchase as required by law. He must be impeached. https://propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-real-estate-scotus
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Exceptions to the law include cases in which someone sells "property used solely as a personal residence of the reporting individual or the individual's spouse," but legal experts confirmed to ProPublica that the sale of the Savannah properties did not meet the criteria for any of the exemptions.
"He needed to report his interest in the sale," Virginia Canter, chief ethics counsel at watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), told ProPublica.
The news outlet's previous reporting on Crow and Thomas revealed that the billionaire paid for Thomas to travel on a Bombardier Global 5000 jet, to Crow's ranch in Texas, and to his private resort in the Adirondacks—all of which was left off federal disclosure forms.
"Given the role Crow has played in subsidizing the lifestyle of Thomas and his wife, you have to wonder if this was an effort to put cash in their pockets," Canter said of the real estate sale in Savannah.
Crow released a statement on Thursday saying he had purchased Thomas' family home—which he still owns and where the justice's mother continued living until at least 2020, according to public records—to "one day create a public museum at the Thomas home dedicated to telling the story of our nation's second black Supreme Court Justice."
"I approached the Thomas family about my desire to maintain this historic site so future generations could learn about the inspiring life of one of our greatest Americans," said Crow.
Critics suggested the statement raised more questions than it answered.
"Clarence Thomas previously said that free flights on Harlan Crow's private jet counted as 'hospitality' and thus did not have to be disclosed," saidSlate journalist Mark Joseph Stern. "That made no sense, but this is even worse. How is a covert real estate deal that enriched Thomas 'hospitality'? This is pretty brazen."
Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs for Stand Up America, said the new reporting offers clear evidence that "Justice Thomas' vote on the Supreme Court is bought and paid for by right-wing billionaire Harlan Crow."
"Crow is not, as Thomas claims, his 'dearest friend' so much as his corrupt benefactor," said Edkins. "Thomas is unfit to serve on any court, let alone our nation's highest court. His failure to disclose his close financial dealings with a GOP billionaire has single-handedly destroyed what little credibility this MAGA Court had left."
"Failing to hold Justice Thomas accountable, hold hearings, and pass a Supreme Court code of ethics," he added, would be a dereliction of duty by federal lawmakers.
Demand Justice released polling data showing that 70% of Americans would back a federal investigation into alleged ethics violations of Supreme Court justices.
"This shady land deal amounts to a payoff of a sitting Supreme Court justice, plain and simple. Senate Democrats need to announce a thorough investigation into the details of Clarence Thomas' ties to Harlan Crow, including calling witnesses to get to the bottom of their financial relationship and Thomas' apparent lawbreaking," said Demand Justice executive director Brian Fallon.
"[Former Supreme Court Justice] Abe Fortas resigned under threat of impeachment for less," he noted, "and while impeachment may not be possible here with Republicans in control of the House, Thomas needs to face real accountability for his likely illegal behavior. Polls show that if Senate Democrats act, the public will strongly support them."
https://www.rawstory.com/he-must-be-impeached-calls-for-ouster-of-clarence-thomas-grow-after-latest-bombshell/
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Whitmer signs gun control bills passed in response to deadly MSU shooting
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EAST LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed bills to combat gun violence Thursday, two months after a mass shooting on the campus of Michigan State University left three students dead and five injured.
Whitmer, a Democrat, approved the measures that have been sought by members of her party for years during an event at MSU.
The proposals, which take effect next year, will expand background check requirements for firearm purchases and institute new storage standards for guns kept in homes where children are present.
"All of these initiatives are supported by a majority of Michiganders," Whitmer said. "I've gotten letters from all across our state asking for us to get this done."
Republican lawmakers have contended the bills won't prevent future shootings but will infringe on constitutional rights.
Hundreds of people gathered Thursday morning inside Spartan Stadium for the governor's bill signing ceremony, including Democratic lawmakers and supporters of the group Moms Demand Action. Passage of the bills followed weeks of protests at the state Capitol, where students called on lawmakers to take action to respond to the violence at MSU.
To start the event Thursday, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II asked for a moment of silence to remember those lost to gun violence.
"Out of that silence comes action," Gilchrist said.
"It's a new day," Gilchrist added.
The bill signing occurred 59 days after the MSU shooting — the campus is about four miles east of the Capitol building — and 499 days after a 15-year-old boy killed four fellow students at Oxford High School in Oakland County.
Whitmer said the bills would take Michigan one step closer to having "common sense gun policy."
"Gun violence is a scourge that is unique to this country and that's why we are taking action," Whitmer said.
At the time of the Oxford shooting, Republicans controlled the Legislature and declined to take up gun control bills. Democrats won majorities in the House and Senate for the first time in 40 years in the November election, providing a political path for the proposals to get to Whitmer.
"We don't have to live like this," Whitmer said, "and today we're showing we don't have to anymore."
Jo Kovach, MSU's student body president, said the legislation marked the first step toward making
"Something that all 40,000 of us know is that we never want anyone else to have to go through what we've gone through," Kovach said.
Michigan law currently requires an individual to obtain a license before purchasing a pistol, which forces buyers to undergo a criminal background check. But long guns purchased from private sellers can be transferred without a criminal history check.
"That doesn't make any sense," Whitmer said Thursday.
The current background check prevents people with a previous felony on their record or a court order for involuntary hospitalization related to mental health from owning a piston, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency.
Under the new measures, the licensing and background check requirements would be expanded to all types of firearms. But the change wouldn't apply to purchases that occurred before the bill's effective date.
The background check bills exempt people under the age of 18 who use their guns for hunting or who possess the guns under the supervision of a parent or guardian.
The storage bills would require individuals who have firearms at home where a minor is present to keep the guns in a locked box or have them unloaded and locked.
Rep. Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton, said he was proud the state was taking steps to "curb senseless gun violence.""Safe storage and mandatory background checks will save lives," Puri said.
A third set of so-called "red flag" bills would allow a spouse, family member, a former spouse or a mental health professional to seek a court order temporarily barring someone from owning or purchasing a firearm. The Michigan House is poised to vote on those bills as soon as today.
Whitmer said Thursday she looks forward to signing the bill.
"We've heard too many times about family and friends express concern about shooters without any action taken," Whitmer said.
Sen. Rosemary Bayer, D-West Bloomfield, said she was sorry it had taken so long for lawmakers to act.
"Today, we're taking action," Bayer said, receiving applause from the crowd.
© The Detroit News
Democrats plan Jim Jordan's next hearing to be a referendum on him and the GOP: report
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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan's plan to hold a hearing to attack the credibility of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg may blow up in his face with Democrats serving notice that they plan to turn the tables and make it all about the Ohio Republican and his party.
According to a report from the Washington Post, Democratic lawmakers who sit on the Jordan-led committee have every intention of pointing to Republicans dragging their feet on criminal violence reform if he complains about New York City's crime rates.
Add to that, they plan to call out the controversial lawmaker for wasting everyone's time while he preens for the Fox News audience.
"The emerging details are already shining a harsh light on what you might call the 'governing by Fox News' problem, in which Republicans use committee hearings to create right-wing media boomlets but ultimately run into the buzzsaw of outside scrutiny," the Post's Greg Sargent reported.
With Jordan expected to drag victims of Manhattan street crime in to tell their stories on camera, Democrats will counter by listing off the almost daily mass shootings in the U.S. that Republicans refuse to address in a realistic manner.
According to Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY) who has become a thorn in Jordan's side since joining the committee, "We are eager to use this as an opportunity to highlight what is the real pressing issue in terms of public safety around the country. And that’s the prevalence of assault weapons.”
Sargent adds, "Committee Democrats, led by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), also plan to push back against lurid and widely debunked GOP claims about Bragg, New York City and crime. Among these claims: Bragg didn’t prosecute an alleged murder on the subway (he did); crime in Manhattan is at record highs (that’s nonsense); Bragg is a wholly owned puppet of George Soros (that’s pure fantasy talk); and the judge hearing Trump’s case is a Trump-hater (even Trump’s own lawyer won’t say this)."
Goldman explained that Democrats also plan to highlight how Donald Trump is pulling Jordan's strings, turning the GOP leaders into a taxpayer-funded "Trump legal team."
“It’s an opportunity for the public to learn exactly the degree of coordination and collusion between House Republican leadership and Donald Trump,” Goldman promised.
You can read more here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/13/jim-jordan-hearing-alvin-bragg-fox-news-trump-indictment/
Watch: GOP senator repeatedly refuses to say if he supports nationwide abortion ban
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Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who is widely expected to launch a bid for the presidency in the coming weeks, traveled to New Hampshire this week, where he fielded several questions about abortion.
While talking with reporters in the city of Manchester on Thursday, Scott was asked directly whether he'd favor a federal ban on abortion.
"I would simply say that, the fact of the matter is, when you look at the issue of abortion, one of the challenges we have, we continue to go to the most restrictive conversations without broadening the scope and taking a look at the fact that. I'm 100 percent pro-life, I never walk away from that," he replied.
"But the truth of the matter is that when you look at the issues on abortion, I start with the various important conversations I had in a banking hearing, when I was sitting in my office and I was listening to Janet Yellen, the secretary of the Treasury, talk about increasing the labor force participation rate for African-American women who are in poverty by having abortions," Scott continued. "I think we're just having the wrong conversation."
"I ran down to the banking hearing to see if I heard her right," he said. "Are you actually saying that a mom like mine should have an abortion so that we increase the labor force participation rate? That just seems ridiculous to me. So, I'm going to continue to have a serious conversation about the issues that affect the American people and I'm going to start by pointing out the absolute hypocrisy of the left on this, one of the more important issues."
Scott was then asked if he could provide a "clear message on that" but ignored the question.
Republicans have been scrambling on the issue of abortion lately, as multiple elections both in 2022 and 2023 have shown that strict abortion bans are a massively unpopular issue for the GOP.
Watch video in link:https://www.rawstory.com/tim-scott-abortion/
Florida lawmakers OK 6-week abortion ban backed by Gov. DeSantis
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Rejecting Democratic efforts to change it, the Republican-controlled Legislature gave final approval Thursday to a near-total ban on abortion after six weeks, sending the bill to Gov. Ron DeSantis who has said he would sign it.
The 70-40 vote mostly along party lines in the House came during a daylong hearing where dozens of amendments proposed by Democrats were shot down one by one. The Senate approved the bill earlier this month.
The law would take effect only if the Florida Supreme Court rejects a challenge to the constitutionality of the state’s existing 15-week ban in a case pending before it.
“We have the opportunity to lead the nation on protecting life and giving every child the opportunity to be born and find his or her purpose,” bill sponsor Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, R-Fort Myers, said at the end of a debate that lasted more than seven hours.
Stephanie Fraim, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, said she anticipates a wave of people further along than six weeks will try to get an abortion before it’s too late, as has been seen in other states prior to six-week or all-out bans.
Planned Parenthood will aim to expand clinic hours and appointment availability to provide abortions to as many people as possible, likely up until midnight on the day the law begins.
”The reality is some people will not get in (to the clinic) in time,” Fraim said.
The vote came after hours of emotionally charged debate full of personal stories and quotes from the Bible that pitted abortion-rights supporters Democrats against anti-abortion Republicans, several of whom proclaimed the prevailing conservative Christian view that life begins at conception.
“Either you value life or you don’t, it’s really that simple,” said Rep. Chase Tramont, R-Port Orange. “What this is about for me personally is upholding the flagship commitment I made when I became an elected official to give a voice to the voiceless and speak for those that physically cannot speak for themselves at every stage of life.”
Noting that it’s a felony to destroy a sea turtle or alligator egg, Rep. Shane Abbott, R-Marianna, said, “We’re willing to protect an unborn alligator and an unborn sea turtle, but we’re here debating whether it’s worth protecting an unborn human.”
State Rep. Hillary Cassel, D-Dania Beach, urged her Republican female colleagues to “put your religion aside and stand with the women of the state … support their choice, their decision. It’s not yours.”
Democrats warned that the six-week ban would put women in peril, forcing them to carry dead fetuses for months and potentially getting sepsis or bleeding to death because they couldn’t get an abortion within the tight time frame. They also said women would go back to risking their lives to get illegal abortions.
Abortion is a moral right left to the woman alone, Rep. Rita Harris, D-Orlando said.
“I don’t need the Constitution or any constitution to have agency over my body,” Harris said. “The right to my body is an innate right. We don’t want unclear laws and muddy waters giving pause to doctors for saving a woman’s life.”
While introducing an amendment to rename the bill the “Forced Pregnancy Act,” Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, said Floridians overwhelmingly oppose abortion bans.
“We are hearing from constituents about their bodily autonomy and ability to choose their destiny,” said Eskamani, a former employee of Planned Parenthood. “You should be able to choose having a child and raising it, giving it up for adoption, or ending the pregnancy. This amendment gives truth to the bill that it forces people into pregnancy before they know they are pregnant.”
It failed to pass, along with an amendment to postpone the law until “21 years after the death of the last surviving descendant of King Charles III, King of England, who is alive on July 1, 2023.”
“It worked for Disney, I thought it would work for me,” Eskamani said, referring to a last-minute declaration of restrictive covenants approved by the Reedy Creek Improvement District before it was dissolved and reconstituted under a law signed by DeSantis.
House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, signaled in advance on Wednesday that the 48-plus amendments introduced by Democrats would not pass. “We’re not going to change the abortion bill at this point,” he said.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision striking down the 50-year-old Roe v. Wade opened the doors for states to decide for themselves what’s best for their residents, Renner said. He said the Legislature could go even stricter but he didn’t think that is what most Floridians want.
“I believe this is the right place to be. We’ve done our level best to hit a spot that’s fair,” he said, noting that he believes life begins at conception.
About two hours into the debate and after several warnings about outbursts from the audience, the Sergeant at Arms was ordered to clear the gallery after members of Occupy Tally dropped thousands of stickers and flyers describing their personal abortion stories from the balcony.
Renner said rigorous protest needed to be conducted outside the House chamber, not inside where it could interrupt the proceedings.
While the abortion bill moved through its final stages in the Senate and House, pro-choice protesters camped out and held press conferences at the Leon County Courthouse across the street from the Capitol. Among the protesters was Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, who was arrested on a trespassing charge last week for protesting outside Tallahassee City Hall after an 8 p.m. curfew.
The proposal is a near-total abortion ban because many women don’t even know they are pregnant at six weeks, opponents say. It also bans using telehealth services to get abortion services. And it provides $25 million for “pregnancy support and wellness” services through a network of nonmedical centers that are required to promote childbirth.
It also provides funding for nonmedical things like cribs, diapers and car seats.
The legislation includes exemptions for rape, incest or human trafficking up to 15 weeks, but a woman or girl must provide “a copy of a restraining order, police report, medical record, or other court order or documentation” providing evidence of the crime.
It also includes exceptions for the life of the mother or to avert “serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment.”
But it requires two doctors to sign off on an abortion exception for medical reasons. That’s a difficult requirement for people living in rural areas and other parts of the state where there are doctor shortages, opponents said.
Dr. Robyn Schickler, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, said the two-doctor requirement has resulted in physicians refusing to perform surgery or prescribe medicine that aids women who are having miscarriages until the situation becomes life-threatening.
”It’s already bad at 15 weeks, but obviously taking away another nine weeks of that time is going to have such a significant impact,” Schickler said. “An example would be a patient who is potentially having a miscarriage ... when do you say she’s bleeding enough to do the procedure?”
One doctor can authorize an abortion if another doctor is unavailable and there is an “imminent” risk of death or irreversible harm to the mother. Abortion would be allowed if a “fatal fetal abnormality” is detected, and the pregnancy has not progressed to the third trimester.
© Orlando Sentinel
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FBI arrests 21-year-old Air National Guardsman suspected of leaking classified documents
FBI agents took Jack Teixeira into custody Thursday afternoon “without incident,” Attorney General Merrick Garland announced.
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WASHINGTON — Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was arrested by federal authorities Thursday in connection with their investigation into classified documents that were leaked on the internet.
FBI agents took Teixeira into custody Thursday afternoon "without incident," Attorney General Merrick Garland announced in brief remarks at the Justice Department, which has been conducting a criminal investigation.
"Today, the Justice Department arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information. Teixeira is an employee of the United States Air Force National Guard," Garland said.
Teixeira will have an initial appearance in U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, said Garland, who added that the investigation is ongoing. He declined to take questions from the media.
FBI agents arrested Teixeira at a residence in North Dighton, Massachusetts, the bureau's office in Boston said in a statement. The residence is more than an hour from the military base where he worked.
"The FBI is continuing to conduct authorized law enforcement activity at the residence," the statement said. "Since late last week the FBI has aggressively pursued investigative leads, and today’s arrest exemplifies our continued commitment to identifying, pursuing, and holding accountable those who betray our country’s trust and put our national security at risk."
Military records show that Teixeira holds the rank of airman first class and has been in uniform since he entered the Air National Guard in September 2019. He has been based at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod and is assigned as a cyber transport systems journeyman.
A Facebook post in July from the 102nd Intelligence Wing, which is headquartered at that base, congratulated a person with Teixeira’s name on a promotion to airman first class.
U.S. officials had been searching for the source of the leak, which exposed potentially hundreds of pages of intelligence about Russian efforts in Ukraine and spying on U.S. allies.
The Pentagon press secretary, Air Force Brig. Gen Pat Ryder, declined to confirm the suspect's identity at a briefing Thursday and referred reporters to the Justice Department because it's a "law enforcement matter" and an ongoing investigation, he said.
The Defense Department is "working around the clock" with the intelligence community, Ryder said, "to better understand the scope, scale of these leaks." Ryder also said the Pentagon is "very limited" in what it can say about the documents themselves.
Asked about the intelligence activities of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, where Teixeira worked, Ryder said, "In general, intelligence wings throughout the Air Force support what you might imagine — Air Force intelligence requirements worldwide to support a variety of types of intelligence missions and requirements, which include active guard and reserve components."
The classified documents from the Defense Department were found online last month — how long they had been on the internet and the total number that have been posted remain unclear. They revealed details about U.S. spying on Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine and secret assessments of Ukraine’s combat power, as well as intelligence-gathering on America’s allies, including South Korea and Israel, NBC News has reported.
President Joe Biden suggested Thursday morning that officials appeared to be nearing a breakthrough in their investigation.
"There’s a full-blown investigation going on, as you know, with the Intelligence Committee and the Justice Department, and they’re getting close," Biden told reporters in Ireland.
Two White House officials later confirmed that the president has been briefed about Teixeira's arrest.
The suspect’s identity was first reported Thursday by The New York Times, which said he was the leader of a small online gaming group where the documents were first leaked.
The Washington Post has reported about the gaming group, identifying its leader only as "OG." The main source for the story was a member of the group on the platform Discord, a minor who was granted anonymity. The Post said it reviewed about 300 photos of classified documents the suspect is alleged to have leaked, most of which the report said have not been made public.
NBC News has not yet verified the details about the gaming group or that it was where the classified documents were first shared.
In a statement after Teixeira’s arrest, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed said: "This was a major security breach that cannot be allowed to happen again. Leaking this trove of classified information endangered our military and intelligence professionals and undermined the security of our allies and partners.
"Anyone with a security clearance who betrays their country by purposefully mishandling classified documents or disclosing classified materials must be held accountable," Reed, D-R.I., added.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said in a statement that his panel will "examine why this happened, why it went unnoticed for weeks, and how to prevent future leaks."
Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were briefed about the disclosure last week, administration officials said. That was when the White House learned about the existence of the documents in the public domain, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters this week.
According to Bellingcat, the online open-source investigative group, the documents appeared in early March on the Discord social media app. Some documents may have appeared as early as January, the group said.
Eoghan Macguire, a researcher and editor who helped break the story at Bellingcat, said the documents were passed around three separate Discord servers before they were broadly made public on the extremist site 4chan.
Kirby said that the Pentagon is "leading an interagency effort here to review whatever national security implications might come out of all this" and that the Justice Department is leading a criminal investigation.
He also said it appears some of the classified documents had been altered from their original form. Kirby said Biden administration officials spent last weekend contacting "relevant allies and partners" and "at very high levels" to reassure them about the leaks.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-officials-identify-leaked-classified-documents-suspect-21-year-old-rcna79577
Arkansas moves to repeal decades-old desegregation measure
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Arkansas’ top law enforcement official has advanced new measures that from a civil rights standpoint would bring a large swath of a state with a history of discrimination back to the future.
Attorney General Tim Griffin earlier this week filed four briefs that aim to repeal federal desegregation supervision that would effectively exempt four South Arkansas school districts from state laws preventing students from enrolling in schools outside their home districts, The Arkansas Times reports.
The measure dovetails with Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ Arkansas LEARNS Act, an educational overhaul package that promotes vouchers. Proponents of the measure say it will opportunities for low-income families, but critics say it will undermine public education.
Griffin’s filings aim to end federal desegregation supervision in Camden Fairview, Hope, Lafayette County and Junction City districts.
He said segregation no longer exists in Arkansas schools and that the supervision is now unnecessary.
Griffin in a statement described the civil rights measures his filings would upend as “unconstitutional, race-based consent decrees from decades past are denying equal rights to parents to select the school that best meets the needs of their children.”
“Despite segregation ending decades ago, several school districts have left outdated consent decrees on the books and rely on them to opt out of school choice, thereby avoiding competition and retaining funds for students who would otherwise leave,” his statement said.
“Schools must be accountable to parents, and children should not be stuck in schools that aren’t meeting their needs. Parents, not the government, must be allowed to decide what’s best for their children.”
Whitney Moore, an attorney who represents the four districts, defended the existing desegregation supervision, and said vouchers would promote “white flight” that would have a “segregative impact.”
"This is about remedying the effects of past de jure segregation and, as a remedy, race-based measures are constitutional," Moore told The Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
"Through the years, all of these districts have taken the position that they are non-discriminatory in their operations but the white flight issue persists and therefore, participating in school choice has a segregative impact."
Read More Here: https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2023/04/13/south-arkansas-school-resegregation-likely-as-ag-taps-courts-to-erase-integration-measures
Leaked audio reveals furious infighting among Tennessee GOP over ousted Black Democrats
A leaked audio recording obtained by The Tennessee Holler reveals furious infighting among Tennessee Republicans as they took criticism for the ouster of Black Democratic State Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson.
The audio begins with Tennessee State Rep. Jason Zachary ripping into Democrats for accusing him of being a racist, while also calling out fellow State Rep. Jody Barrett for apparently flip-flopping on voting to expel Democratic State Rep. Gloria Johnson, the one white Democrat who was targeted for expulsion.
"You straight-up came to me and said you were 100 percent where I was!" Zachary charged to Barrett. "And you went on the House floor and you did the opposite. Man, you hung us out to dry!"
Barrett, however, shot back and argued that the resolution to expel Johnson was "poorly drafted" and he said he could not support something that "was going to be in the annals of history as being wrong."
Tennessee State Rep. Scott Cepicky, however, argued that the circumstances were so dire that Republicans needed to stay united against the Democrats no matter what.
"If you don't believe we're at war for our republic, with all love and respect to you, you need a different job," he said. "The left wants Tennessee so bad because, if they get us, the southeast falls and it's game over for the republic. This is not a neighborhood social gathering. We are fighting for the republic of our country right now!"
Listen to the full audio at this link: https://twitter.com/i/status/1646548124272324608
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Donald Trump's and the right wing media's favorite Republican pollster Rasmussen has President Biden at a 48% approval rating taken on April 13th.
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/current_events/politics/prez_track_apr13
President Biden @POTUS
The United States and Ireland know the value of democracy.
And today, we stand together – for liberty and against tyranny – to oppose Russia’s brutal war of aggression and support the brave people of Ukraine.
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As the United States and Ireland celebrate our enduring partnership, let us harness our shared values and set our eyes squarely on the future.
Let us once more strive to make hope and history rhyme.
My thanks to the House of Oireachtas for the warm Irish welcome.
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Mr. President, it’s great to see you again.
Just as you did in 2016 and 2017, you’ve shown me a hundred thousand welcomes.
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This week, we commemorate the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement – a feat that took people coming together in good faith to work for a better future.
Today, @PresidentIRL and I rang the Peace Bell and planted a tree to celebrate peace and recommit to sustained progress.
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I’ll say this for Irish pubs: they really put you to work.
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Arriving in Ireland is like coming home.
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Let us celebrate 25 extraordinary years of the Good Friday Agreement by recommitting to renewal, to repair, and to making this exceptional peace the birthright of every child of Northern Ireland for all the days to come.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1646254003443978244
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Marjorie Taylor Greene buried by former colleague for 'really sick' defense of accused Ukraine doc leaker
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Appearing on CNN on Friday morning, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) hit out at Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) for racing to Twitter to praise and defend Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira, who was accused of leaking classified military documents.
Just hours after Teixeira was taken into custody, Taylor Greene -- who opposes military aid to Ukraine -- blasted officials for arresting him, writing on Twitter: "Jack Teixeira is white, male, christian,[sic] and antiwar. That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime. And he told the truth about troops being on the ground in Ukraine and a lot more. Ask yourself who is the real enemy? A young low level national guardsmen? Or the administration that is waging war in Ukraine, a non-NATO nation, against nuclear Russia without war powers?"
Asked by CNN host John Berman to comment, Kinzinger, who is still a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, said he was not surprised that the Georgia Republican would twist what happened for her own political benefit.
"I want to take your colonel hat off and put your congressman, former congressman, hat on," host Berman prompted. "Marjorie Taylor Greene, your former Republican colleague, was on social media defending the allegations against Jack Teixeira and what he is alleged to have done, suggesting that he might be some kind of hero and praised him for what he did. What do you make of that?"
"It's sick, it's really sick, John," Kinzinger shot back. "I mean, look, there's been this like thing in the Republican party about just owning the libs and being against everything the libs are for or against, you know. And I knew this was gonna happen -- I predicted it."
"They're going to turn him into a hero," he continued. "This guy is a traitor to his country. Marjorie Taylor Greene either knows that or she doesn't know it because she doesn't understand how any of this works."
"If I was [House Speaker] Kevin McCarthy I'd have stripped her security access, but of course, he won't do that. He'll just continue to be nice to her so he can stay speaker," he added.
Watch:
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Biden administration announces broad effort targeting production and distribution of illicit fentanyl
Garland announces charges against El Chapo sons and Sinaloa cartel for fentanyl trafficking
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Friday charged 28 members of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel, including sons of notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, in a sprawling fentanyl-trafficking investigation.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the charges Friday alongside Drug Enforcement Administration chief Anne Milgram and other top federal prosecutors. The charges were filed against cartel leaders, as well alleged chemical suppliers, lab managers, fentanyl traffickers, security leaders, financiers and weapons traffickers.
The indictments announced Friday charge three of Guzman’s sons — Ovidio Guzmán López, Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Sálazar — who are known as the Chapitos, or little Chapos, and who have earned a reputation as the more violent and aggressive faction of the cartel.
Watch:
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Biden wraps up emotional Irish tour with campaign-style rally
Thousands gather to see Biden off after three-day tour
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BALLINA, Ireland, April 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden gave a rousing campaign-style speech to an exuberant crowd in his ancestral home town in the west of Ireland on Friday to wrap up a nostalgic three-day state visit ahead of what is expected to be a gruelling 2024 re-election bid.
Biden appeared in front of thousands of flag-waving well-wishers to a rousing Celtic punk anthem in an event that brought the kind of energy the Democratic president will hope to recreate in domestic rallies.
"Nobody works the room like Joe Biden. It doesn't matter what age he is, he's the man of the moment," said John O'Dowd, owner of O'Dowds American Bar.
Ballina was the home town of Biden's great-great-great-grandfather Edward Blewitt, who emigrated to the United States with his wife and their eight children in 1851.
The address was held in front of St Muredach's Cathedral, whose construction Blewitt was involved with in the 1820s. Blewitt assisted decades later in the planning of the city of Scranton, Biden's Pennsylvania hometown that is twinned with Ballina.
In a carefully stage-managed event, Biden flew past the cathedral and over the crowd in his helicopter.
Biden finished his speech with the county's bittersweet sporting slogan, calling for the Gaelic football team to win the national championship for the first time since 1951: "Mayo for Sam!"
EMOTIONAL ENCOUNTER
Earlier on Friday Biden, who is Roman Catholic, broke down in tears behind closed doors during a chance meeting at a nearby shrine with the priest who performed the last rites on his son Beau.
While visiting Knock, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared in 1879, Biden discovered that ex-U.S. Army chaplain Father Frank O'Grady had moved to the town from Washington. The two met for 10 minutes and said a decade of the rosary.
"He laughed, he cried and it just kind of hit the man. You could just see how deeply it all felt and meant to him. It was an extraordinary afternoon," Father Richard Gibbons, who had been giving Biden the tour when they met O'Grady, told the BBC.
Biden, recounting the meeting in his speech, said: "It was incredible to see him. It seemed like a sign."
Biden started his Irish trip on Wednesday in Belfast by urging political leaders there to restore their power-sharing government. On Thursday, he became the fourth U.S. president to address the Irish parliament and attended a state banquet at Dublin Castle.
Everywhere he has gone, Biden has spoken of his love for Ireland and sense of Irishness, regaling audiences with stories his grandparents and parents told him.
Day-to-day politics in Ireland have taken a back seat, with every step of the trip covered live on television in a country where U.S. multinationals including Google, Pfizer and Apple are among the largest employers.
In Ballina, it was tourism dollars that local business leaders had their eyes on.
"This is massive for the town," said pub owner Michael Carr, 52, who compared the impact on future tourism to that of actor John Wayne's visit to the fellow County Mayo town of Cong in 1951 to shoot "The Quiet Man."
"This is going to last for 40 years."
AFP
WATCH LIVE: Biden speaks outside St. Muredach's Cathedral in County Mayo, Ireland
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Kyrsten Sinema loads up on cash from big GOP donors
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Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who deregistered as a Democrat in favor of being an independent, is reportedly being bankrolled in part by top Republican donors.
Among those funding Sinema is Stephen Schwarzman, the chairman, CEO, and co-founder of private-equity firm Blackstone, according to NBC. Schwarzman is a major Republican donor who publicly stated last year that he wouldn't be backing Donald Trump's third presidential run.
Another contributor to Sinema's campaign is Ken Mehlman, a former Republican National Committee Chairman under the Trump Administration, according to NBC's analysis of Sinema's donors.
The analysis further reveals that, aside from top GOP donors, Sinema is funded in large part by big-money donors. More than half of the funds she received in the first part of this year came from donors who gave at least the maximum per-election individual donation, $3,300, NBC reported.
"She received $287,000 from employees of Blackstone, the major investment firm, and its affiliates, as well as almost $196,000 from employees of the Carlyle Group and its affiliates," NBC writes. "Sinema also received over $51,000 from employees of Elliott Advisors and their affiliates, over $71,000 from employees of Ryan LLC, and over $53,000 from employees of the firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and its subsidiaries."
Sinema is facing a challenge from Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who said last year that he would run for the Democratic nomination to Sinema's Senate seat.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/wealthy-investors-pacs-big-gop-donors-fill-sinemas-campaign-rcna79653
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President Biden's Investing in America agenda is making America a leader in infrastructure, innovation, and manufacturing — creating good-paying jobs that don’t require a college degree, with 12.6 million jobs created since he took office.
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Jen Psaki Calls For Trump To Be Held To The Same Standard As Jack Teixeira
https://www.politicususa.com/2023/04/16/jen-psaki-calls-for-trump-to-be-held-to-the-same-standard-as-jack-teixeira.html
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Where is the manifesto of the radical leftist Nashville shooter?
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Don't forget that every single Republican in Congress voted against the Inflation Reduction Act. Manufacturing, our economy, and job creation would be in peril without it. Thanks to President Joe Biden and the Democratic Congress for investing in America and making our country the world leader in manufacturing once again.
US manufacturing commitments double after Biden subsidies launched
Companies plan to spend over $200bn on clean technology and semiconductors following IRA and Chips Act
Companies have committed more than $200bn to US manufacturing projects since Congress passed sweeping subsidies last year, as president Joe Biden’s effort to spark a new industrial revolution gains momentum.
The investment in semiconductor and clean tech investments is almost double the commitments made in the same sectors in the whole of 2021, and nearly 20 times the amount in 2019, according to data compiled by the Financial Times.
While the FT identified four projects worth at least $1bn each in these sectors in 2019, there were 31 of that size after August 2022.
There has been more than $40bn in planned capital spending since the start of the year. Asian giants LG, Hanwha, and LONGI have all announced deals in the past month, taking total large-scale investments to $204bn on April 14.
"We see right now the tectonic plates are shifting with respect to investment in the United States,” said US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm this week, referring to the surge of investment in recent months.
The Inflation Reduction Act, which became law last August, includes $369bn of tax credits for clean technologies as the Biden administration of pledges to decarbonise the US economy. Another law passed last August, the Chips and Science Act, includes $39bn in funds to stimulate semiconductor manufacturing and $24bn worth of manufacturing tax credits. Both are also designed to break US dependence on Chinese supply chains.
The industrial policies have drawn fire from European and Asian allies, who have claimed their deep subsidies and made-in-America requirements amount to protectionism. Emmanuel Macron, president of France, who visited China last week in an attempt to improve Paris’s relations with Beijing, has said the IRA could “fragment the west”.
The EU unveiled a rival industrial strategy last month with provisions to match subsidies for projects at risk of going abroad.
While most US manufacturing commitments since August have come from domestic suppliers, roughly a third are from foreign-headquartered companies, according to the FT’s data. Taiwan, South Korea and Japan make up the bulk of the foreign investment.
The FT tracked more than 75 manufacturing projects worth at least $100mn each for plants to make semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries, and renewable energy components, that have been announced since the bills became law in August.
The announcements would create about 82,000 jobs, according to the analysis. More projects are expected to be announced in the coming months as the US government provides more guidance on the tax credits.
“The magnitude of these investments together is pretty staggering,” said Cullen Hendrix, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “This is attempting to go from zero to 100 miles an hour in terms of supply chain development in a way that we haven’t seen in quite a while.”
https://www.ft.com/content/b1079606-5543-4fc5-acae-2c6c84b3a49f
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The Trump tax cuts did nothing for our economy except put America 7 trillion dollars in debt.
When Republicans are in charge, they spend trillions on tax cuts for the top 1% and it ends up destroying our economy. It happened with George W Bush in 2008 and with Donald Trump in 2020. After they lose the election and are out of office, the Republicans in Congress hold the economy hostage by refusing to raise the debt ceiling on the debt they incurred as they threaten to cut programs like Social Security and Medicare to get their way. We've seen this same show before from the GOP.
CNBC host calls Kevin McCarthy a hypocrite to his face for 'unsustainable' Trump tax cuts
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CNBC host Sara Eisen challenged House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Monday after he demanded spending cuts in return for raising the nation's debt limit.
During an interview in New York, McCarthy told Eisen that the country was like a child with a credit card.
"Would you just raise the limit?" he asked.
"Well, if it meant playing with America's standing and full faith and credit of U.S. government debt, I feel like you can deal with the spending in other ways, which is totally legitimate," Eisen observed.
McCarthy suggested that there was no other way to reduce the nation's debt.
"You did it three times in the Trump administration," Eisen noted.
"We never raised the debt ceiling by itself," McCarthy insisted.
"And tax cuts," Eisen interrupted. "That was like $2 trillion in deficit."
But McCarthy argued that the Trump-era tax cuts were good for the economy.
"So I was going to ask you about taxes because I wonder, because you want to extend the Trump tax cuts, correct?" Eisen asked. "But isn't that a little hypocritical when you're talking about finding savings everywhere and being on an unsustainable fiscal path?"
"How's that hypocritical when it's bringing tax cuts, tax savings?" McCarthy retorted. "I will always advocate for the idea that we are streamlining our tax policies, that we're also streamlining our regulation."
Watch the video below from CNBC:
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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas hit with new financial disclosure allegations
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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was hit with new financial disclosure allegations as reports Monday said he plans to resubmit previous forms that omitted property sales to a GOP mega donor.
In the latest ethics blow for the conservative jurist, Thomas reportedly has claimed that he was paid between $50,000 and $100,000 annually by a Nebraska real estate company set up by his controversial wife, Ginni Thomas.
But the company went out of business in 2006, the Washington Post reported. It was replaced by a new company that took over its land-leasing business, but Clarence Thomas continued to report income from the previous company.
The new allegation came as Thomas reportedly has told associates he will file amended disclosure forms to cover blockbuster revelations in recent days about his financial ties to billionaire Republican mega donor Harlan Crow, CNN reported Monday.
Thomas failed to report sales of three properties, including his elderly mother’s home in Savannah, Ga., to Crow a decade ago. As previously revealed, the judge also failed to report that Crow paid for the Thomases’ lavish vacations, including a $500,000 private plane-and-yacht junket to Indonesia.
Crow, a Texas real estate magnate, denounced the reports Monday as “a political hit job” in an interview with the Dallas Morning News.
Thomas last put out a rare statement claiming he had been told the vacations weremere “personal hospitality” that did not need to be reported to the IRS.
He has not responded to reports about the property sales. Federal law require judges and other officials to disclose all property sales except for homes that they live in.
Congressional Democrats have demanded investigations into the allegations against Thomas, whom they portray as a serial violator of ethics rules.
“There is at least reasonable cause to believe that Justice Thomas intentionally disregarded the disclosure requirement to report the sale of his interest in the Savannah properties in an attempt to hide the extent of his financial relationship with Crow,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said in a joint statement.
They want Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to launch an investigation and have asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to look into whether Thomas violated federal ethics laws.
The lapses have shined a spotlight on the virtually nonexistent oversight of Supreme Court justices, who mostly are left to police their own behavior.
Aside from his disclosure failings, Thomas has refused to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election even though his wife is a prominent ally of former President Donald Trump who pushed for him to overturn President Joe Biden’s win.
He was the lone dissenter in an 8-1 decision that forced the handover to the congressional Jan. 6 committee of emails and text messages about the insurrection effort from Trump allies, including several from Ginni Thomas.
© New York Daily News
Nicolle Wallace nails Jim Jordan over his 'circus' hearing in Manhattan
MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace criticized Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) for his "circus" hearing, bringing the House Judiciary Committee to Manhattan to attack District Attorney Alvin Bragg for what he said was a high rate of violent crime in the city.
"Whether all of this is really what Republicans should be doing with their time even in front of their own viewers and voters they got an authentic New York City welcome today in that they were routinely shouted at in the hallway," Wallace said. "Something Jim Jordan could have avoided if he had chosen a different location — like one with higher crime rates if that was his ostensible point today, for instance. Or maybe traveling just south of Jordan's own district, Columbus, Ohio, perhaps where the crime rate is about three times that of New York City."
She said that the "clown show" on display in New York wasn't about violent crime there or solving any other problems that Congress typically manages.
"It was about keeping their boss Donald J. Trump happy about showing him, Donald J. Trump, that no political stunt is too idiotic or illogical or unjustified to appease his badly damaged ego," she said.
Watch:
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Wage growth returns with cooling inflation
https://www.axios.com/2023/04/12/inflation-wage-growth-march
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Manufacturing companies double commitments
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Companies have committed more than $200 billion to U.S. manufacturing projects as President Biden’s "effort to spark a new industrial revolution gains momentum," according to a new Financial Times report.
Why it matters: "The investment in semiconductor and clean tech investments is almost double the commitments made in the same sectors in the whole of 2021, and nearly 20 times the amount in 2019," the FT calculates.
Manufacturing is a huge part of Biden's reelection message, and the gains are spread across the country:
The White House points to huge semiconductor-manufacturing plans for North Carolina, Ohio, Arizona and upstate New York.
The Commerce Department announced Friday that 200+ companies have submitted statements of interest for CHIPS and Science Act funding for projects in 35 states.
What they're saying: "The last administration talked a lot about bringing jobs back to America, but failed to take real action. President Biden is taking action and delivering results — creating good-paying manufacturing jobs at home," White House chief of staff Jeff Zients said in a statement to Axios.
"And this is just the beginning. President Biden has given his team a clear mandate to continue this momentum by implementing pro-worker policies and investing in all of America."
https://www.axios.com/2023/04/17/manufacturing-semiconductor-tech-biden
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Today, President Biden is signing an executive order to expand access to long-term care, including home care.
This is a historic first step towards providing seniors and people with disabilities the care needed to live in dignity.
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GOP leader McCarthy went to Wall St. to sell his debt ceiling scheme — and it's not going well for him
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Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy traveled to Wall Street on Monday, the financial capital of the world, to deliver a speech at the New York Stock Exchange demanding President Joe Biden negotiate with him on the debt ceiling while he unveiled what is being called his latest “scheme” – taking the debt ceiling “hostage,” failing to produce his long overdue budget, and revealing that it will include a requirement that people who use food stamps to survive will to have to work to get them.
It hasn’t been well received.
In fact, most aspects of his speech, and even his choice of venue, have been thoroughly lambasted, discredited, or just mocked over the past 24 hours.
“Kevin McCarthy literally going to the New York Stock Exchange to pitch cutting food stamps for poor people is… well, there’s a reason why people think Kevin is an idiot,” tweeted Vox’s generally reserved Ian Millhiser.
“Today at the NYSE, Speaker McCarthy explained his scheme to slash food aid for low-income Americans to his true constituents: Wall Street and massive corporations who pay little to no taxes,” tweeted the New York Working Families Party.
“Delivering today’s speech threatening our economy at the New York Stock Exchange shows Speaker McCarthy is either in denial about the danger of his threats or intentionally hoping for market turmoil,” tweeted U.S Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA). “I’m not sure which is worse.”
It wasn’t just the venue. Far from it.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday railed against McCarthy’s speech: “I’ll be blunt, if Speaker McCarthy continues in this direction, we are headed to default.”
It gets worse for McCarthy.
Indeed, McCarthy’s “argument is out of date,” wrote noted author and professor of history Heather Cox Richardson overnight in her Substack newsletter.
“It’s time to get Americans back to work,” McCarthy on Monday declared, despite unemployment having hit a 54-year low, (and a new historic low for Black unemployment), as the Speaker blamed President Joe Biden, alleging he’s keeping Americans from obtaining employment.
McCarthy repeatedly promised he “will grow the economy,” as he promised to bring jobs back from China, while complaining that “there are more job openings than people who are looking for jobs.”
He touted House Republicans’ HR 1 legislation, the “Lower the Energy Cost Act,” that “makes us less dependent upon China, and it brings jobs back to America that will grow the economy,” he said.
Now, we should presume that McCarthy has an economist on staff, hopefully. But it does not appear so, because what he’s promising doesn’t actually work.
Economists tell us that inflation is still at higher levels because the economy is growing too fast – which is why the Federal Reserve keeps raising interest rates, literally to slow the growth so we don’t explode into a recession. And yet McCarthy wants to grow the economy which in theory will lead to higher inflation.
“I have full confident [sic] that if we limit our federal spending, if we save the taxpayer money,” said Speaker McCarthy, in his unique manner. “If we grow our economy, yes we will end the dependence on China, we will curve [sic] inflation, and we will protect Social Security and Medicare for the next generation.”
“In reality,” Professor Richardson observes, “the inflation that plagued the U.S. as it reopened from the worst days of the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed dramatically, making it clear that the policies of the Biden administration are working. As Jennifer Rubin noted yesterday in the Washington Post, the annual inflation rate for producers is 2.7%—the lowest rate in more than two years—while consumer price increases are at their lowest point since May 2021: 5%. Gasoline prices have dropped 17.4% since the high prices that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The overall declines mark nine months of slowing inflation.”
She goes on to deflate McCarthy’s claims.
“At the same time, labor force participation is at record high levels,” Richardson notes. “Real incomes—that is, incomes after inflation is factored in—have risen 7% for those making $35,000 a year or less and 1.3% across the whole economy. Meanwhile, the deficit has dropped more than $1.7 trillion in two years.”
McCarthy also said he wants to create more job openings, while acknowledging that there aren’t enough people to fill the job openings we currently have.
Which is why, just like Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Iowa Republicans gutting child labor laws to allow America’s most vulnerable population to work adult jobs, Speaker McCarthy is looking for anyone (except the people staring him in the face: undocumented immigrants, and migrants from Central America) to fill those jobs.
Instead, McCarthy wants to put Americans to work, Americans who for many reasons need government assistance – food stamps – while ignoring that most families on food stamps already have people working at least one job.
What was the main focus of his speech?
The debt ceiling. And his desire to negotiate over it — or, as many are saying, holding the nation hostage to fringe House Republicans’ demands.
“McCarthy is trying to hide the Republicans’ own bumbling disarray,” tweeted Richardson. “Congress negotiates over the BUDGET, not the debt ceiling, which simply pays for bills already rung up in large part by the Republicans themselves. But they can’t agree on a budget, so are screaming about Biden.”
Pointing to his Morning Memo titled, “This Is The Dumbest Debt Ceiling Fight Ever,” Talking Points Memo executive editor David Kurtz tweeted, “Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has such a tenuous grip on his own conference that the debt-ceiling hostage-taking he is attempting to pull off has all the hallmarks of the bumbling kidnapping capers you see in the movies.”
Professor Richardson actually had a lot more to say about Speaker McCarthy in her newsletter.
“McCarthy has not offered a budget proposal because the Republican conference cannot agree on one,” she says, noting he is “trying to use the threat of national default to extract the cuts extremist members of his conference want. The Biden administration has made it clear that it will not negotiate over paying the nation’s bills, especially since about a quarter of the debt was accumulated under former president Trump, $2 trillion of it thanks to tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. In those years, Congress raised the debt ceiling three times. Biden presented his own long, detailed budget, full of his own priorities, as a start to negotiations in March, and he says he is eager to sit down and hammer out the budget once McCarthy produces his own plan. McCarthy is trying to deflect from his inability to do that but is confusing the issue, suggesting that he has the right to negotiate instead over whether or not to pay our bills.”
House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ spokesperson, Christie Stephenson, on Monday blasted “Speaker McCarthy’s refusal to produce a Republican budget,” and his New York Stock Exchange speech:
“A speech is not a plan. Extreme MAGA Republicans continue to treat the full faith and credit of the United States as a hostage situation while their so-called budget proposal remains in the witness protection program. As always, we will evaluate any legislative text when and if House Republicans can ever agree with themselves about how much they want to devastate American families in order to finance tax cuts for the wealthy, well-off and well-connected.”
AFP
Adam Frisch outraises Lauren Boebert ahead of potential 2024 rematch
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Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Silt has consistently ranked as one of Colorado’s top congressional fundraisers since her election to the 3rd District seat in 2020, raking in small-dollar contributions from a national network of grassroots conservative donors.
But in her bid to win a third term next year, she may have to overcome an even more prolific fundraising effort by her likely Democratic challenger.
Adam Frisch, a former Aspen City Council member who lost to Boebert by just 546 votes in the 2022 election, raised more than $1.7 million in the first quarter of 2023 — more than double the $763,000 raised by Boebert in the same period, according to Federal Election Commission disclosures.
“I am honored to be receiving the support of so many hardworking Colorado families,” Frisch said in a statement Monday. “Boebert’s fundraising numbers reaffirm that her days in Congress are numbered because she continues to ignore the needs of her district and instead prioritizes being a leader of the angertainment industry.”
If Boebert continues to trail Frisch in fundraising, it would be the first time the far-right representative has been at a financial disadvantage since her successful 2020 primary challenge against five-term GOP Rep. Scott Tipton. Boebert unseated Tipton despite raising just $133,256 to Tipton’s $973,739 in the first half of 2020.
In her bid for reelection last year, Boebert raised nearly $8 million, by far the highest total of any of Colorado’s U.S. House candidates. Frisch, who narrowly won a three-way Democratic primary with 42% of the vote, raised $4.4 million from donors and supplemented that with over $2.2 million in personal loans to his campaign.
Boebert was widely projected to win reelection by a comfortable margin in 2022, and neither Republicans nor Democrats spent heavily through super PACs to influence the 3rd District race. But after Frisch’s unexpectedly strong performance in a race that triggered Colorado’s first congressional recount in 20 years, the stage has been set for a potential blockbuster rematch next year.
Earlier this month, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee included the 3rd District, which encompasses most of Colorado’s Western Slope as well as Pueblo County, on its list of 2024 targets. A poll released by a progressive group last week showed Frisch and Boebert tied at 45% support among likely voters.
In what promises to be an unusually high-profile congressional race, both Boebert and Frisch continue to rely on contributions from out-of-state donors. About 63% of Boebert’s itemized donations in the first quarter came from contributors outside of Colorado; for Frisch, the figure was 57%.
In other U.S. House districts, Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo of Thornton, who was narrowly elected over Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer as the first representative of Colorado’s new 8th District last year, reported raising $339,307 for her reelection, while Democratic Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Arvada, who was elected in the 7th District to succeed longtime former Rep. Ed Perlmutter, reporting raising $218,108. Neither candidate has yet drawn a Republican challenger.
https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/frisch-outraises-boebert-2024-rematch/
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President Biden @POTUS
Today, I'll sign the most comprehensive set of actions any Administration has taken to increase access to child care and long-term care, and support care workers and caregivers.
If you live in a major city, you can pay more than $17,000 a year per child for child care.
For many families, that’s more than you pay for a mortgage or a college education.
It’s overwhelming.
That’s why today I'm signing an Executive Order to make child care more affordable.
The cost of child care and long-term care is too high.
No one should have to choose between their parents, the children who depend on them, and the paycheck they rely on.
I just signed an Executive Order that includes historic actions to increase access to high-quality care.
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Care work is demanding and requires serious skill – but these workers are among the lowest paid in the country.
My Executive Order on improving the pay, job quality, and benefits available to our care workers addresses that head-on.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1648468954338426883
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Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s investments, American manufacturing has come roaring back.
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Even leftist publications see the writing on the wall:
Politico (April 15) headline:
Biden’s poll numbers look grim as he preps for reelection bid
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Even leftist publications see the writing on the wall:
Politico (April 15) headline:
Biden’s poll numbers look grim as he preps for reelection bid
Funny... Hope always dies last :D
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Even leftist publications see the writing on the wall:
Politico (April 15) headline:
Biden’s poll numbers look grim as he preps for reelection bid
:D :D :D
Donald Trump's poll numbers are at 25%
Donald Trump's and the right wing media's favorite Republican pollster Rasmussen has Biden at 49% approval rating. That's nearly half the country that supports President Biden. It ticked up one point from 48% on Monday. Plus the overwhelming majority of Americans support all of his policies.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll, for Wednesday shows that 49% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Biden’s job performance.
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/political_updates/prez_track_apr19
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'Assault on freedom’: Critics blast DeSantis for expanding ‘Don’t Say Gay’ to all grades after vowing it would be limited
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Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, though his Department of Education and its chair, Manny Diaz, has officially expanded his "Don't Say Gay" law to include all public school grades, from kindergarten through 12th. DeSantis had promoted the highly-controversial and possibly unconstitutional law originally as applying only to children through third grade.
"DeSantis has not commented on the proposal. He previously directed questions to Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr., who said it was meant to clarify confusion around the existing law and reinforce that teachers should not deviate from existing curriculums," according to the Associated Press, a claim that is in direct conflict with how DeSantis and Republicans in Florida and across the country framed the law last year.
"The board voted Wednesday to adopt a new rule that says Florida teachers in grades 4 through 12 'shall not intentionally provide classroom instruction … on sexual orientation or gender identity' unless this instruction is required by state academic standards — it is not — or the lessons form 'part of a reproductive health course' from which a student’s parent can opt out their child," The Washington Post reports.
Unlike the original law, DeSantis has made this an administrative change, requiring no vote from the people's elected representatives.
"Supporters of the rules," ABC News adds, "argue that 'there is no reason for instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity to be part of K-12 public education. Full stop,' according to a spokesperson for DeSantis, who has backed restrictions on education about race, gender identity and sexual orientation and more in his war on 'woke.'"
Outrage was swift.
Political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen described the move to ban any instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity, "barring the acknowledgment of the existence of LGBT people for all K-12 Florida students."
Jack Petocz, a political strategist for the group Gen-Z for Change who describes himself as a "Gay student activist living rent free in Ron DeSantis’ mind," did not hold back.
"As legislators try to erase queer people from public schools, a REMINDER that youth will never comply. We will never accept a world that deems bigotry the status quo and censors our classmates," Petocz said on Twitter. "They are f*****g around, and they’re gonna find out one day soon."
Artist, activist, and producer Barbara Malmet said: "Don’t say gay. Don’t say period. Don’t say racist history. Don’t say Disney. Don’t say abortion. Do say anyone can carry a gun without a permit. All of it in DeSantis’ Florida."
"Instead of winning young voters, Republicans plan to keep them ignorant," observed well-known political commentator and author Keith Boykin.
"The lust for government censorship is insatiable," said Equality Florida, the state's largest LGBTQ civil rights organization, in a Twitter thread.
"Let’s put it plainly," the group added, "this is part of the Governor’s assault on freedom. Free states do not ban books. Free states do not censor entire communities out of the classroom. Free states do not wage war on LGBTQ people to score cheap political points for a man desperate to be POTUS."
"This policy will escalate the government censorship sweeping our state, exacerbate our educator exodus, drive hardworking families from Florida, and further stigmatize and isolate a population of young people who need our support now more than ever."
https://www.rawstory.com/on-freedom-critics-blast-desantis-for-expanding-dont-say-gay-to-all-grades-after-vowing-it-would-be-limited/
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Two very different agendas.
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The face of the Republican party, MAGA/Qanon conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene is a total embarrassment and an absolute disgrace.
Marjorie Taylor Greene was so over the top at a hearing yesterday that even some Republicans are embarrassed and tired of her attention seeking antics.
CNN reports: "Republican Congressman Mark Green, Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, is furious about the outrageous behavior of Greene during today’s hearing and will ask Kevin McCarthy to remove her from the Committee if she does it again." He shouldn't have given her a pass and asked for it to be done now. Weak Kevin McCarthy will never do it because he is afraid of Marge.
Marjorie Taylor Greene called Secretary Mayorkas "a liar" and informed that her infraction prohibits her from continuing, and she was fact checked by Rep. Dan Goldman:
Greene: "Point of personal inquiry."
Goldman: "There’s no such thing."
LEGEND.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1648753941650210816
Watch: Eric Swalwell busts Marjorie Taylor Greene for 'anti-police rhetoric' to her face
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Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) on Wednesday turned the tables on Republicans who are still accusing Democrats of wanting to "defund" police officers across the United States.
During a congressional hearing on Thursday, Swalwell highlighted recent attacks on the FBI launched by both former President Donald Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
"I'm disturbed about a recent tweet from the former president that says Republicans in Congress should defund the Department of Justice and the FBI," he began. "I'm also concerned about people on this committee and their own anti-police rhetoric."
He then pulled up a photo of Greene hawking "Defund the FBI" hats and shirts in the wake of the FBI search for top-secret government documents at former President Donald Trump's resort in Florida.
"Thousands of FBI agents work hard every day to take bad guys off the streets," he said. "In fact, after the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago, someone armed to the teeth went to an FBI field office and tried to kill FBI agents."
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1648718296852873221
You should be afraid': Marjorie Taylor Greene threatens Bud Light with the 'right mob'
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Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) issued a veiled threat toward Anheuser-Busch – the parent company of Bud Light – on Wednesday's edition of her podcast, proclaiming that the "right mob" will seek its vengeance against the corporation for its culturally inclusionary policies.
"What, what is happening to Bud Light is every single red-blooded American, every single redneck across America, and I love them cuz they're my friends, are canceling Bud Light. And they're canceling Bud Light – one of their own – because they are so fed up and angry about it. You see, a lot of corporations are always worried about being attacked by the woke mob. The real huge group of consumers you should be afraid of is the right mob," Greene seethed.
"Those are conservative Americans that once they've had enough, they will cancel you so hard and they don't care who you donate your money to," Greene said. "They will cancel you so hard and they'll never come back."
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1648392336865370113
That's totally fallacious, ma'am': Witness shreds Marjorie Taylor Greene for misinformation
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Dr. Mark Lowenthal accused Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) of misleading the public about the origins of Covid-19.
During a House hearing on Covid-19 Tuesday, Greene complained that the government could track down alleged military leaker Jack Teixeira but couldn't determine the origins of the virus.
"So, the intelligence community is able to figure out immediately who was leaking classified information in a Discord chat, but yet still doesn't want to say whether it came from the lab or didn't come from the lab," Greene said. "The intelligence communities seem to release or not release information based on how the information will affect the government that it seems to protect."
Lowenthal, a former intelligence agent, responded to Greene.
"May I respond to something else that you said in your comments, Ms. Greene?" he began. "There is a vast, vast difference between tracking a leak on a social media site and determining the origins of this disease. And to compare the two is entirely fallacious, ma'am."
"Dr. Lowenthal, you've said that you keep your intelligence claims and information nonpartisan," Greene shot back. "In 2018, Mr. Lowenthal, you were quoted in the New York Times saying that President Trump is the best president that Russia ever had. That sounds pretty political to me."
"I was no longer an intelligence officer at the time, ma'am," Lowenthal replied. "I'm a private citizen."
"Well, I think you have a difficult time keeping your political opinions out of your political [analysis]," Greene quipped.
Watch:
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The very first bill House Republicans passed – with 221 Republican votes – would make it easier for the super wealthy to cheat on their taxes.
Extreme MAGA House Republicans support repealing President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
This would raise costs for families, offshore manufacturing jobs, protect wealthy tax cheats, and hurt American energy independence.
The leading House Republican budget proposal would cut programs hardworking Americans rely on by 22%.
That would mean longer wait times for Social Security and Medicare benefits, higher costs for child care and education, cuts to Medicaid and food assistance, and more.
Republicans in Congress want to make the Trump tax cuts permanent – without paying for them.
This would give an average tax cut of $175,000 per year to families making more than $4 million a year.
55 major companies paid $0 in federal income taxes in 2020 on $40 billion in profits.
Because of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, they now have to pay a 15% minimum tax.
House Republicans want to eliminate this and let those corporations go back to paying $0.
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The simple fact is, no other President in history has done more for job creation and manufacturing than President Biden and he's only a little over 2 years into his first term.
Nearly 13 million new jobs have been created including nearly 1 million new manufacturing jobs.
Thanks to President Biden's investment in America with the Inflation Reduction Act and Chips Act, tens of billions of dollars are being poured into new projects which is creating thousands of new jobs in small towns and suburbs all across America.
Also because of President Biden's policies, new plants and factories are being built all across America, which is bringing an economic boom to local communities. One other important factor is that people are not having to relocate for work due to an abundance of new job openings and factories that are nearby.
Let's not forget that Republicans in Congress all voted against the Inflation Reduction Act and Chips Act. They spent their time trashing President Biden and Democrats for passing this historic legislation that's putting United States #1 in the world. They said it was "woke agenda" and "won't do anything for job creation". They were all wrong again.
The people benefiting most from President Biden's policies are Republican voters in red districts who are getting the majority of these projects in their communities. Their own Republican congressmen and Senators voted against their own constituents' well being. These Republican voters should be thanking President Biden and Democrats for looking out for them by giving them good paying jobs and helping their communities flourish. Why on Earth would they ever be voting for a Republican when they don't do anything for them?
If it was up to Republicans, we never would be having this record job creation or manufacturing boom. We still would be in the same economic disaster that Donald Trump put us in along with his manufacturing recession. But thanks to President Biden, those days are long gone, and even right wingers can no longer try to criticize President Biden's policies because their red districts are feeling the Biden manufacturing boom.
The fact is, Democrats are better at managing the economy and with job and manufacturing creation. History has proven it and we are seeing history being made in these last 2 years thanks to President Biden's policies.
'Transformational change’: Biden’s industrial policy begins to bear fruit
FT research shows commitments of more than $200bn to US manufacturing since IRA and Chips Act
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The US appears poised for a manufacturing boom as companies tap into Biden administration subsidies with pledges to spend tens of billions of dollars on new projects, according to Financial Times research.
The Chips Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, passed within days of each other last August, together include more than $400bn in tax credits, grants and loans designed to foster a domestic semiconductor industry and clean-tech manufacturing base. The package was aimed at countering China’s dominance in strategic sectors such as electric vehicles and recapturing jobs from abroad.
The FT identified more than 75 large-scale manufacturing announcements in the US since the passage of these two industrial policies. Here is what we learned.
Semiconductor and clean energy projects
Companies have committed roughly $204bn in large-scale projects to boost US semiconductor and clean-tech production as of April 14, promising to create at least 82,000 jobs. While not all these projects were a direct result of the passage of these bills, they will probably be eligible for the tax credits. The amount is almost double the capital spending commitments made in the same sectors in 2021 and nearly 20 times the amount in 2019. While the FT identified four projects worth at least $1bn each in the semiconductor and clean-technology sectors in 2019, we found 31 of that size after August 2022.
Semiconductors, electric vehicles and batteries captured the bulk of investment. The FT identified 21 semiconductor-related investments and more than three dozen projects aimed at boosting the US electric vehicle supply chain.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s $28bn expansion in Phoenix marks the largest investment to date, bringing the company’s total investment in its Arizona fabrication plants to $40bn, the biggest foreign direct investment project in US history.
The FT looked at projects involving capital investment of at least $100mn since the Chips Act and IRA were passed. We included projects aimed at boosting manufacturing in the semiconductor, electric-vehicle, battery and clean-energy sectors. Our analysis was based on company and government announcements and drew on data from fDi Markets, Rystad Energy, Wavteq and the Semiconductor Industry Association.
The IRA included $369bn worth of tax credits, grants and loans for clean-tech development, with bonus credits for projects paying prevailing wages or located in fossil-fuel communities. The credits can be accumulated, accounting for about 50 per cent of costs for some projects, say accountants. The Chips Act provides $39bn in funding for semiconductor manufacturing as well as $24bn worth of manufacturing tax credits.
“The industrial policy that’s being put into place hasn’t been seen for generations,” said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing. “This is a generational, transformational change that we’re seeing in America and our productive capacity.”
Republican districts are winning projects
More than 75 per cent of all investment is headed to Republican-held Congressional districts, where it will create 58,000 jobs, according to FT data.
The surge in spending pledges in Republican areas comes despite the GOP’s votes against both the Chips Act and IRA in Congress. Some in the party remain critical of the legislation.
“I wish that we would be more specific and more calculated in our efforts,” said John Curtis, a Republican representative for Utah and founder of the Conservative Climate Caucus. Curtis declined to say whether he supported or opposed the legislation.
Republican congressional districts have secured far more investment
Senior Democrats are working to gain political credit for the jobs promised by the spending pledged since the industrial policies were passed last year.
Earlier this month, US vice-president Kamala Harris toured Hanwha Qcells’ solar factory in Dalton, Georgia, a district represented by the far-right Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene. Harris announced that the South Korean manufacturer would build the largest community solar project in the US, on top of its $2.5bn expansion announced in January.
“It’s going to be harder for Republican lawmakers to say these policies aren’t effective or aren’t worth it because they’re seeing jobs being produced in their communities,” Paul said.
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Over $200bn in green tech and semiconductor investments have been announced since the passage of President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act & Chips Act.
Foreign investors want a stake — including China
About a third of all investments announced since August involve a foreign investor, with nearly two dozen projects coming from companies headquartered in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. This includes LG Energy Solution’s $5.5bn proposed project in Arizona, announced in March, the largest battery investment ever in the US.
Analysts say these investments from the US’s Asian allies are also attempts to diversify away from dependence on China’s supply chains.
“Their strategic calculations here are somewhat similar to the United States’, in that China is the largest economy in their region but it’s also an economy with which they have somewhat tense security relationships,” said Cullen Hendrix, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
But Chinese investors are also vying for a stake in the US supply chain. While the Chips Act and the IRA have anti-China clauses, the US government is yet to rule on the extent to which Chinese companies can participate in building US facilities.
Two other large deals announced since August, both in Michigan, are Ford’s $3.5bn battery plant using technology from CATL, China’s battery giant, and a $2.4bn battery plant being built by a subsidiary of China’s Gotion. Both Chinese companies have been accused by some Republicans of being fronts for the Chinese Communist party. Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin rejected a proposal for the Ford project to be based in his state, telling TV reporters that it was a “Trojan horse”.
“There is no Communist plot,” said Chuck Thelen, North American vice-president of Gotion at a local town meeting. “The fact is we already live in a global industry, and to bring a Chinese manufacturing or a multinational manufacturing site into North America is the onshoring that our past president really promoted.”
CATL did not respond to a request for comment.
'A race to the bottom’
The competition is fierce to win the largest manufacturing projects, with states doling out historic incentive packages to secure investments.
Of the spending commitments tracked by the FT, less than half — or about $80bn — disclosed the size of the subsidies they will receive from state and local authorities, on top of the credits available in the IRA and Chips Act. The total size of the subsidies for those that did disclose them amounted to $13.7bn.
The largest disclosed incentive package was $5.5bn given to Micron for its $20bn semiconductor fab in Clay, New York, helping the state beat Texas to the project.
“We gave every penny that we could give, and New York literally offered billions of dollars that we could not keep up with,” said Texas governor Greg Abbott in February.
The subsidy race has raised concerns among watchdogs over whether the projects will deliver economic benefits to the community.
Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First, called the competition among states a “race to the bottom”. Because negotiations are rooted in secrecy, companies can convince states to give out larger packages even if they were intending to site in the state all along.
“We’re all in favour of green jobs. We’re all in favour of saving the planet. We’re not in favour of busting the budget to do that,” said LeRoy. Last year set an all-time record for billion-dollar subsidy packages, according to the research group.
https://www.ft.com/content/b6cd46de-52d6-4641-860b-5f2c1b0c5622
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Under the House GOP default ransom demand, here are the states that would see hundreds of billions in private sector investments and hundreds of thousands of jobs ripped away and sent overseas. Mostly red states.
Republicans want to destroy the progress and success President Biden has achieved these last two years by defaulting on the debt Republicans incurred during the 4 disastrous Trump years.
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House Republican leaders are proposing repealing hundreds of billions of dollars in clean-energy subsidies in exchange for lifting the federal debt limit
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-19/gop-proposes-nixing-climate-bill-subsidies-in-debt-limit-debate
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GOP enraged over Marjorie Taylor Greene's committee outburst — and are threatening to boot her
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) blew up a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday when she called Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas a "liar" and blaming him for fentanyl deaths around the country — an outburst that violates House rules about impugning the character of a witness. The tirade forced Chairman Mark Green, a Republican of Tennessee, to shut down her questioning and bar her from speaking for the rest of the hearing.
According to CNN reporter Melanie Zanona, Republicans behind the scenes are furious with her, and are considering punishments — even including a threat of booting her off the committee for future disruptions.
"GOP tensions flaring over MTG's committee hearing outburst today," tweeted Zanona. "Source close to Chairman Mark Green said he was furious w/ MTG's behavior and planned to privately reprimand her, and also said he'd encourage McCarthy to remove her from the committee if she did that again. But MTG doubled down on her rhetoric, accusing her GOP colleagues of 'doing the bidding' of Dems. She told me went to [House Speaker Kevin] McCarthy’s office to talk about it & said to him: 'I don’t know how we’re ever going to accomplish anything when we can’t call people a liar when they’re lying.'"
According to a CNN report, other Republicans are coming forward to object to her behavior.
"GOP lawmakers on the committee, speaking on condition of anonymity, told CNN that Greene’s behavior was an unnecessary distraction and complained they had to waste valuable hearing time over the dust-up," said the report. "Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, who called Greene a 'friend' that he has hosted in his district, said the incident was 'unfortunate' and supported the chairman’s decision to silence her. 'I thought he did a good job managing the committee as best as he could. But the sooner we can get back to kind of civility amongst colleagues, the better for everybody,' he told CNN."
Greene, a far-right lawmaker who has embraced the QAnon conspiracy theory in the past, was previously stripped of all her committee assignments by a full vote of the House in the last Congress after it emerged she had promoted social media calls for Democrats to be executed. She was an integral figure in brokering a deal to get McCarthy elected Speaker, after which Republicans restored her committee assignments.
https://twitter.com/mzanona/status/1648809468036100096
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GOP leadership splits as party is 'getting hammered' on abortion
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Republicans in the House and Senate are lost on what to do about abortion after the Supreme Court killed the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, according to a new Politico report.
For a party that once painted itself as small government and individual rights, the new battle over abortion rights puts Republicans in a difficult position. Minority Whip John Thune (R-ND) thinks that they can put restrictions on it, like a 15-week abortion ban. He warned his party was “getting hammered” on the matter.
“We’ve got to come up with a position that’s a winning one,” Thune said, speaking to Politico. “Our guys say, ‘well, it’s a states issue.’ Great, but the Dems are going to be out here advocating for what I think is a very extreme position. And we want to be able to contrast ours with theirs.”
By contrast, even Republican voters agree that the lawmakers have gone too far with inflexible solutions. While they're fine with some restrictions, the laws being pressed by the GOP are beyond what many conservative voters support, Pew's data shows.
“The [Republican] Party, I don’t think, really is setting any sort of guidelines or coming to some consensus,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC).
“The answer is that those decisions should be made at the state level, instead of here in Washington D.C.,” said John Cornyn (R-TX), while calling himself an “unapologetically pro-life Republican.”
“I know that’s not entirely satisfactory for those who’d like to impose a national standard.”
“It was a significant factor in the last election. And I think it’ll be an issue going forward,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) added. He backs the 15-week ban, however, which would impose restrictions on all states. Cramer advised his fellow Republicans to figure out a position and move on quickly.
Creating more headaches for the GOP, Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who was nominated by Donald Trump and supported by Republicans, recently ruled against abortion medication.
Cornyn might have supported the judge that shot down the abortion pill, but now he's dancing around the issue.
"Judges are not supposed to make policy, as we know, but unfortunately today ... people are casting judges in a role as political actors," Cornyn told Politico. "But the remedy for judges making [an] erroneous decision is an appeal to the higher court. And that’s what’s happening.”
“It’s quite telling that with basically the same case, a different judge in a different jurisdiction ruled exactly the opposite way,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). She's openly said she regrets her approval of the anti-choice judge. Under oath, the Texas judge claimed that a judge should never consider his own values when deciding a case.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/20/gop-struggles-to-find-winning-abortion-strategy-00093039
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This article is from last year in Aprill 2022, but you can see how President Biden's policies has made America even better since then with nearly 13 million new jobs, record low unemployment, and a manufacturing boom all over the country. And don't forget all of this incredible success happened during a global pandemic and then with global inflation.
Biden’s Jobs Boom: How Policies Boosted the Labor Market Recovery in 2021
APR 28, 2022
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President Biden’s signature legislation, the American Rescue Plan Act, accelerated the economic recovery when it lost momentum; further fiscal steps are necessary to maintain this momentum and reduce economic inequality.
The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the labor market has added 7.9 million jobs since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021. His administration has made the revival of a flagging economy its top priority, with an emphasis on providing more assistance to struggling families. In early March 2021, Congress passed the administration’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). In the 13 months from March 2021 through March 2022, the economy added 7.2 million jobs.
Were President Biden’s policies the cause of this boom? This much is clear: The data show that his fiscal policies directly accelerated job growth, with the ARPA leading to the creation of 1 million to more than 4 million additional jobs since it went into effect. Now, it is time for Congress to build on these progressive accomplishments by enacting further measures, paid for by a more progressive tax system, to maintain jobs momentum and reduce persistent inequality.
There has been an unprecedented jobs boom since President Biden took office. Indeed, the labor market added 6.7 million jobs in the first 12 months of his administration. No other president since World War II saw such strong growth in their first—or any—year in office.
Even in relative terms, the 4.7 percent increase in jobs created during President Biden’s first 12 months in office marks the fastest start in terms of jobs growth for any presidency since Jimmy Carter’s first year. Likewise, the recent 2.4 percentage-point drop in the unemployment rate, from 6.4 percent in January 2021 to 4 percent in January 2022, is the fastest decrease in unemployment during the first year of any presidential term since World War II.
Thanks to this jobs boom, the labor market is now nearing its pre-pandemic level: The total number of nonfarm jobs in March 2022—151 million—was equal to 99 percent of the 153 million jobs held in February 2020.6 Overall, the labor market has now recovered 92.8 percent of the jobs lost during the pandemic. To put this in context, following the Great Recession, it took the labor market until October 2013—almost four years after the recession started—to reach 99 percent of the employment level before the recession.7 This time around, millions of people got their jobs back much sooner. Indeed, President Biden and Congress seemingly learned from the last recession, when Congress enacted stimulus measures that helped the United States climb out of the depths of the recession but were nonetheless insufficient for a rapid recovery—all while Republicans in Congress and state governments imposed austerity measures.
This experience taught policymakers that the risk of doing too little comes with enormous pains for ordinary Americans. But with a more effective response, the current labor market is recovering at an unprecedented speed.
Policy intervention and its effect on jobs
The recent jobs market boom followed the enactment of the ARPA, an aggressive fiscal policy intervention to meet the moment. As a general rule, successful policy interventions that can create short-term economic and jobs market momentum need to be large enough to make a difference, targeted to those in need, and able to provide the necessary spending in rather quick order.
President Biden’s signature legislation met those criteria. Congress allocated a total of $1.9 trillion to this effort, which followed large fiscal policy interventions in 2020. The ARPA provided help to people still struggling with the fallout from the pandemic—in particular, through sending stimulus checks, expanding child tax credit payments, and providing rental assistance and additional unemployment insurance benefits.9 It also supported necessary state and local government services in education, health care, and transportation, all of which had experienced some revenue losses and increased demand.
Moreover, several of the measures in the legislation took effect immediately. Congress enacted the law on March 11, 2021, and the U.S. Treasury started sending out stimulus checks—officially known as Economic Impact Payments (EIPs)—within a week. These EIPs alone came to an initial disbursement of an estimated $242 billion. And importantly, a substantial share of the relief spending immediately went into people’s pockets.
Yet the strong recovery that followed was never assured without renewed policy interventions amid the massive challenges and uncertainties of the pandemic. This was especially apparent at the end of 2020 and in early 2021. Some continued jobs recovery was expected as the pandemic gradually lost its grip on the world, but a lot of economic uncertainty over the speed and momentum of this recovery persisted—especially in winter 2021, when a massive new and deadly wave of COVID-19 held back consumption, disrupted supply chains, and overwhelmed health systems around the world.
The ARPA’s investments in people’s financial security quickly paid off
As a result, monthly job growth had stalled by the end of 2020, and the number of jobs actually fell by 115,000 in December 2020. Calculations based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that average job growth during the three months leading up to President Biden’s inauguration—from November 2020 to January 2021—was 246,000 jobs per month, and average job growth during the three months before the ARPA was enacted, from December 2020 to February 2021, was 372,000 jobs per month. In comparison, the three-month average job growth in late summer 2020, after an initial burst of people returning to work, was more than 1 million jobs per month. By the time President Biden took office in January 2021, invigorated public health measures—especially vaccinations—had somewhat contained the impact of the virus on the economy. But with millions of people still out of work and looking for a job, President Biden pushed for his first signature legislation to help people and the economy get back on their feet.
The relief legislation was meant to invigorate the labor market. But did it actually do that? It is difficult to know, since there is no world in which Congress did not pass such legislation against which to measure the ARPA’s effects. But it is possible to ascertain a rough sense of the legislation’s impact by considering reasonable alternatives of what might have happened without it.
Importantly, uncertainty over the pandemic and the concomitant economic fallout persisted. This took its toll on the labor market in winter 2021, and it became clear that renewed policy interventions were necessary for the labor market to recover its momentum. Without these interventions, the labor market may have just lumbered along, as it did after the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009. As noted above, calculations based on employer data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the labor market added 372,000 jobs per month in the three months before the enactment of the ARPA. If the labor market had continued to grow at this rate, there would have been 2.4 million fewer jobs in March 2022 than was actually the case.
In other words, the labor market in reality grew 49 percent faster from March 2021 to March 2022 than would have been expected based on its performance in the months before President Biden took office and Congress passed the ARPA. Importantly, this calculation only considers the likely impact of fiscal measures, not the possible impacts of Biden’s public health measures that went into effect sooner.
Comparing the actual labor market outcome with forecasts from independent analysts before the ARPA went into effect suggests a similar effect. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), for example, estimated in February 2021—after President Biden was elected but before Congress passed the ARPA—that job growth from the first quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022 would total 5.5 million jobs.19 Instead, during this time, the number of jobs grew by 6.7 million, or more than 1 million additional jobs.
In comparison, Moody’s Analytics estimates that the ARPA added more than 4 million jobs in 2021.20 Moreover, Moody’s estimates reflect the serious nature of the slowdown in winter 2021, which the ARPA helped keep from turning into something even more dire.
Simply put, these investments in people’s financial security quickly paid off as businesses created millions of additional jobs.
The economic benefits of a quick labor market recovery
Prioritizing job growth had measurable economic benefits. As a result of the ARPA and other targeted policy interventions, millions of people did not have to wait years to get a new job. Strong nominal wage growth also accompanied much of the recent job surge, especially initially in many low-wage sectors such as restaurants and hotels.
The combined effect of more employment and higher wages shows up as more labor income from more people working and earning more. Indeed, average per-capita inflation-adjusted wage income totaled $32,982 in February 2022, the last month for which data are available, while average per-household wage income in inflation-adjusted terms came to $85,942 in February 2022, the last month for which these data are available. These are the highest levels on record since World War II; they also reflect increases of 4.4 percent in per-capita wage income from March 2021 to February 2022 and of 3.3 percent in per-household wage income from March 2021 to December 2021. By winter 2021, both measures of average wage income exceeded the levels recorded before the pandemic started—that is, average wage income has outgrown both population growth and inflation since President Biden took office, even as inflation has increased. In comparison, average inflation-adjusted household and per-capita wage income did not exceed its level from before the Great Recession—in December 2007—until August 2014. Indeed, wage income recovered almost five years sooner this time around than it did after the last deep recession.
The strong labor market gains also meant that the economic pain was much less severe than it was after the Great Recession. For instance, the share of people who fell behind on paying their mortgages stood at 2.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, almost identical to the 2.4 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019, just before the pandemic hit. In comparison, this share soared from an already elevated 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007 to a whopping 11.4 percent in the first quarter of 2010.23 In fact, it took until June 2018—more than a decade after the recession started—before this indicator of household financial insecurity reached its pre-recession level. Likewise, according to U.S. Census Bureau data,24 the share of renters or homeowners who either deferred or delayed paying their rent or mortgage fell from about 10 percent in January and February 2021 to below 8 percent by April 2021, staying below or at 8 percent since then.
The strong labor market recovery after COVID-19, to a large degree, benefited those who were left far behind during the recovery after the Great Recession.
Moreover, the pandemic came with a lot of mental stress associated with health and financial challenges—which in turn could have increased health care and financial costs. Fortunately, mental stress, too, has slowly subsided alongside the strengthening economic recovery in 2021. By the end of 2020, more than 40 percent of people showed signs of anxiety or depressive disorders, as calculations based on Census Bureau data show.25 Yet by May 2021, this share had dropped to less than 30 percent; since then, it has hovered at still-high levels of between 31 percent and 32 percent. Clearly, there could be meaningful benefits to ensuring that people can quickly get back into a job after a recession.
The strong labor market recovery following COVID-19, to a large degree, benefited those who were left far behind during the recovery after the Great Recession. To gauge this effect, Figure 2 compares employment by race, ethnicity, disability, and education during this recovery and during the recovery after the Great Recession. To make this an apples-to-apples comparison, though, it is important to look at similar points in the two recoveries. The current recovery started in April 2020, which means the period from March 2021 to March 2022 equals month 11 to month 23 of the recovery. The corresponding period after the Great Recession is May 2010 to May 2011, since that recovery started in June 2009. The changes in employed shares for a number of population groups during those two periods—May 2010 to May 2011 and March 2021 to March 2022—are shown below.
This time around, employment had already outpaced population growth for all groups. The employed shares of Black and Hispanic or Latino workers, as well as workers with only a high school education, grew even faster than the employed shares of white workers or workers with a college degree over the 13 months from March 2021 to March 2022. In other words, during the current recovery, the groups of workers who are often the last ones to see employment gains benefited from the labor market recovery as much as those who are typically the first job gainers.
For example, in March 2022, the employed share of Black workers was 58.3 percent, or 98.1 percent of the 59.4 percent recorded in February 2020, before the pandemic started. Meanwhile, the employed share of Hispanic or Latino workers had recovered to 98 percent of pre-pandemic levels, and employment for white workers stood at 98.2 percent of pre-pandemic levels. By March 2022, Asian workers had recovered to 99.7 percent of their pre-pandemic employment shares.
In contrast, 23 months after the Great Recession, Black workers had recovered to 88.4 percent of levels recorded in December 2007, while Hispanic or Latino workers had recovered to 90.7 percent of 2007 levels. White workers had recovered to 93.7 percent of those levels, and Asian workers saw slightly higher gains, at 93.9 percent. The current job market recovery has therefore been much faster and has benefited workers of color more equitably than did the past recovery. This does not erase the persistent inequities that continue to exist in the labor market, but the recovery at least has not exacerbated them.
The quick labor market recovery has also accompanied faster economic growth. In 2021, the economy grew by an astonishing 5.7 percent after accounting for inflation, its strongest growth rate in 38 years.26 Faster economic growth in 2021 then boosted hiring and wages, essentially creating a virtuous cycle of economic and labor market momentum that created a stronger recovery than otherwise would have been possible. After all, economic and job market growth had slowed substantially in winter 2021, threatening a “double dip recession.”
Congress needs to maintain strong economic momentum
The experience in the aftermath of the Great Recession showed that without aggressive, proactive government intervention, it can take years longer to get back to, or even near, pre-pandemic employment rates. Fortunately, Congress and President Biden took this key lesson to heart. The result was a large, expeditious, and targeted intervention in the form of the ARPA, which has had the desired effect of helping struggling families get back on their feet.
However, the policy work is not done yet. The labor market before the pandemic left many behind, and those inequities persist in the current environment. For instance, the employed share of those 25 to 54 years old was 80 percent in March 2022, slightly below the 80.5 percent recorded in February 2020 but almost 1 percentage point below the 81.4 percent recorded in December 2000, the last such watershed moment. Notably, an additional 1.8 million people in this age group would have been working in March 2022 had 81.4 percent of prime-age workers been employed then. Moreover, in March 2022, the unemployment rate for Black workers was almost twice as high as the unemployment rate for white workers: 6.2 percent compared with 3.2 percent. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for disabled workers was more than twice as large as the unemployment rate for nondisabled workers, and the unemployment rate for people without a high school degree was 5.2 percent in March 2022—more than two and a half times the 2 percent rate of workers with a college degree.
Indeed, many people continue to struggle, even as financial hardships and mental stresses have receded from the heights of the pandemic. In particular, the people who are most vulnerable—people of color, disabled workers, and those with less formal education—need the labor market momentum to continue as a first step to real economic security so that they can have a shot at meaningful economic mobility. This will require continued, targeted policy attention to maintain the jobs market momentum.
The alternative would be to rely on private businesses to carry the labor market forward—for instance, by investing more in new offices, manufacturing plants, car parks, and other goods. Yet private business investment declined relative to gross domestic product (GDP) over the course of 2021, even as the economy gained steam and profits remained high, all while the labor market recovered and supply chain bottlenecks persisted. For instance, calculations based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis show that net investment—the capital additions after accounting for things becoming less valuable or even obsolete—fell from 2.3 percent of GDP in the first quarter of 2021 to 2 percent by the fourth quarter of 2021.
Instead of making new investments that would extend the economic momentum, corporations are using their money to keep shareholders happy
Unfortunately, instead of putting profits toward new investments that would extend the economic momentum and put it on a stronger foundation, corporations are using their money to keep shareholders happy. Calculations based on Federal Reserve data show that in the fourth quarter of 2021 alone, nonfinancial corporations used all of their after-tax profits and then some—111.5 percent, to be exact—to pay out dividends and buy back their own shares, raising stock prices for shareholders, who are concentrated among the wealthiest households.30 In addition, nonfinancial corporations are hoarding cash, rather than accelerating investments. The same data source shows that the share of nonfinancial corporations’ liquid assets out of all assets increased from 12.7 percent in March 2021 to 13 percent in December 2021, outpacing strong corporate asset growth.31 Indeed, private businesses pursued other priorities rather than maintaining the momentum in the labor market, even though they had the incentives and the resources to invest more.
Conclusion
To be clear, the challenges now are different from those that the country faced in 2020 and 2021. Many people still want and need jobs. They will need those jobs sooner rather than later, though, as costs are going up, as careers have already been disrupted for two years, and as inequality remains high. Therefore, policy interventions must be targeted toward helping the labor market keeps its momentum amid middling private investments and widespread uncertainty. Policymakers also need to ensure that lower-income and middle-income workers are not falling behind and have access to real economic opportunities. But importantly, these investments no longer need to be deficit-financed, as was the case in the middle of a sharp downturn with record low interest rates.
Congress can pay for most or all of these investments by repealing ineffective corporate tax cuts; taxing the windfall profits of oil companies; and gradually increasing taxes on the richest Americans, who have seen their fortunes rise ever faster than those of less wealthy Americans. Creating a stronger, more equitable economy is achievable if Congress has the will to continue its progressive investments and pay for them in an equally progressive way. Indeed, new policy interventions need to buffer the finances of those who are at the highest risk financially while also ensuring continued strong job growth. This means ensuring the continued momentum in the labor market and reducing the massive, persistent inequities in the economy.
To start addressing these goals, Congress needs to support further efforts to get the lingering COVID-19 pandemic under control. Otherwise, people’s lives will remain unnecessarily at risk, and unpredictable economic disruptions will continue. Moreover, policymakers need to invest in addressing known risks, such as climate change, that will lead to further economic disruptions. In the same vein, Congress must invest in measures that make it easier for people to attain and stay in newly created jobs—for example, by expanding and lowering the cost of care for children and other dependents. The past few years have made it abundantly clear that this means building a strong care infrastructure and rebuilding capacity in the child care sector, where employment is down by 117,100 jobs relative to February 2020.33 This effort must also involve substantial investments in home and community-based services for older adults and people with disabilities, so that family caregivers have a better support structure to rely on and so they can pursue careers that fit their skills and talents.
The alternative to sustained attention to stronger job growth and less inequality is ultimately an economy that works for the few but leaves the many behind.
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/bidens-jobs-boom-how-policies-boosted-the-labor-market-recovery-in-2021/
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In exchange for not defaulting on debts already incurred and crashing the U.S. economy, Republicans want to devastate funding that helps veterans.
Jesse Lee @JesseLee46
This is confirmed: House Republicans make no carve-out for vets, their bill says VA must be cut by 22% or they will destroy the economy. Unconscionable.
https://twitter.com/JesseLee46/status/1648807346951401473
Congressman Chris Deluzio @RepDeluzio
@SecVetAffairs told me cutting the VA to '22 levels would lead to 13m fewer healthcare visits, longer benefit wait times, & VA staffing cuts.
Now Spkr McCarthy announced a budget plan at '22 levels, but claims it somehow won't hurt my fellow veterans.
His math doesn't add up.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1648342313717092353
https://twitter.com/RepDeluzio/status/1648342313717092353
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Yes, you read that right. MAGA Republicans are trying to kill thousands of clean energy jobs in their own districts.
Republicans are job killers. It's as simple as that.
White House says McCarthy debt ceiling plan would kill thousands of green jobs in GOP districts
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/04/20/white-house-mccarthy-plan-green-jobs/11703701002/
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Even Fox News polls don’t deny it—Americans want these progressive policies.
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New state unemployment numbers are out, lots of good news to go around.
20 states at or below 3%! Lots of records, for example:
Fell to match record low:
•Arizona (3.5%)
•Ohio (3.8%)
New record low:
•Montana (2.3%)
•West Virginia (3.4%)
•Wisconsin (2.5%)
President Biden's economic policies continues to bring record low unemployment.
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It's clear who is standing up for Veterans and who isn't. The House Republican budget is a slap in the face to those who've served!
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GOP targets clean energy laws despite boons back home
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Earlier this year, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene heralded the expansion of a South Korean solar panel production company in her district — a $2.5 billion cash infusion.
“QCells, the solar company … I think they’re fantastic,” she said. “I support all kinds of energy.”
It was made possible by the tax incentives included in President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which the Georgia Republican, along with all of her GOP colleagues, opposed.
Greene is far from alone among Republicans cheering clean energy investments created by Democratic policies they all snubbed. And that’s creating some awkward dynamics for GOP lawmakers who are seeking to wipe out Biden’s clean-energy spending plans as part of any deal to avert a U.S. debt default.
The White House, and supporters of Biden’s clean energy programs, are eagerly seizing on the contradiction.
“The Biden Clean Energy Plan has helped create more than 140,000 clean energy jobs across the U.S. — the majority of which are in Republican-held districts,” said Lori Lodes, executive director of the group Climate Power, citing its own estimates of the law’s economic impact.
“Now MAGA extremists are threatening to implode our country’s economy — and the clean energy manufacturing boom that’s happening in their communities — to protect their own corporate, anti-climate interests,” she said.
According to data provided by Climate Power, which was then reviewed, vetted and confirmed by POLITICO’s E&E News, at least 37 congressional districts now represented by Republicans have welcomed expansions of new clean energy operations fostered by three major Biden-era laws — last year’s Inflation Reduction Act, the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law or the CHIPS and Science Act.
A POLITICO analysis early this year similarly found that Republican districts were home to about two-thirds of the major renewable energy, battery and electric vehicle projects that companies had announced since Biden signed the IRA in August.
House Republicans all opposed the Inflation Reduction Act. All but 13 opposed the infrastructure law, and all but 34 voted against the CHIPS and Science Act.
Three House Republicans who are poised to see new chip manufacturing booms in their districts — Reps. Mike Simpson of Idaho, John Curtis of Utah and Richard Hudson of North Carolina, who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee — were among those who scorned CHIPS.
In its reporting, E&E News found that 21 projects in Republican-led districts were a result of benefits from the IRA, while 15 were made possible by the infrastructure law. Some Republicans had multiple projects in their districts due to one or both of these laws.
Eleven Republicans responded to requests for comment or made themselves available for interviews to explain how they squared their opposition to these laws with their support for the jobs in their districts. They include Greene, who denied that any contradiction exists in her stance on Biden’s programs.
“I don’t think the government should be controlling our energy sector,” Greene said in an interview Thursday on Capitol Hill.
‘Height of hypocrisy’
Greene also insisted that the climate law’s enactment was not the catalyst for the expansion of QCells, despite the company’s statements asserting as much.
“Those jobs were jobs in my district under the Trump administration,” she said. “QCells … gave all the credit to the local counties there that helped them get started, and [Republican] Gov. [Brian] Kemp and the Trump administration.”
The company announced in January that it would add to existing facilities in Greene’s Dalton district, plus add a new facility in Cartersville, the district of Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk. Qcells said at the time that the action “follow[ed] the passage of the Solar Energy Manufacturing in America Act within the Inflation Reduction Act.”
In April, Qcells further celebrated a deal that would require the Dalton plant to manufacture 2.5 million solar panels — the largest community solar order in American history — made possible by the 2022 climate spending law. Vice President Kamala Harris attended the festivities.
“It’s the height of hypocrisy for [Republicans] to be blasting the president and all he’s done to address climate change and build a clean energy economy that is directly benefiting people in their districts,” Craig Auster, vice president for political affairs at the League of Conservation Voters, said of the GOP lawmakers.
White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates similarly scorned the GOP position in a memo Thursday that was later provided to news outlets including POLITICO’s E&E News. “Killing newly-created American manufacturing jobs just so the super wealthy and big corporations can enjoy tax welfare would be a gut-punch to America’s competitiveness and to thousands of working families in red states,” he wrote.
Republican districts benefit from Democratic, bipartisan laws
Projects in Republican districts are benefiting from spending approved in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act.Table showing which Republican law makers are using Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs act and the CHIPS and Science Act to benefit their districts
Rep. Dale Strong (R-Ala.) Nucor transmission tower production plant IRA and IIJA
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) ABB EV chargers IRA and IIJA
Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) First Solar factory IRA
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) LG gigafactory IRA
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) Longroad Energy solar storage project IRA
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) Meyer Burger solar panel plant IRA
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) Heritage Battery Recycling plant IRA
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) CS Wind manufacturing expansion IRA
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) General Electric nacelle manufacturing facility IRA
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) Duke Energy solar project IRA
Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) Freyr battery gigafactory IRA
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.)Qcells solar manufacturing IRA
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) TPI Composites blade manufacturing plant IRA
Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) WEC Energy solar plant IRA
Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) Nucor steel mill IRA
In South Charleston, West Virginia, GreenPower Motor Co. has said its electric school bus facility benefited from the infrastructure law’s clean school bus program, and it has highlighted how its buses can also get tax credits worth up to $40,000 from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Republican Rep. Carol Miller, who represents that area, said in a statement that while “hardworking businesses like GreenPower Motor are responding to the rules set by the federal government to bring much needed investment to West Virginia … we should have provided them with the ability to grow without sending American tax dollars to the Chinese Communist Party.” (The administration insists its agenda is meant to provide jobs and economic security inside the U.S., not China.)
Miller added that “the jobs West Virginia is creating through the so-called ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ come nowhere close to replacing the opportunities that liberal activists destroyed in my state. The faster we can repeal these IRA tax credits and replace them with incentives that fully support American manufacturing and energy production, the better.”
Elsewhere in West Virginia, Sparkz Inc. — an energy startup producing lithium-ion batteries — is growing operations in Republican Rep. Alex Mooney’s district.
In March, Sparkz CEO Sanjiv Malhotra told an audience at the premier annual energy conference CERAWeek by S&P Global that he had Biden and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to thank for the Inflation Reduction Act, which led to the massive investment the company has made in the state.
Justifying the disconnect
Not every Republican had an explanation ready for how they squared their positions.
In Clarksville, Tenn., for instance, which is part of Rep. Mark Green’s district, Texas-based Microvast Holdings plans to expand an existing facility with a new plant for battery components. The Department of Energy picked the plant in October for a $200 million award under an infrastructure law program meant to boost battery materials processing and battery manufacturing.
GOP lawmakers are scrutinizing that award because of Microvast's significant presence and operations in China. DOE officials have said the money has not yet gone out while the agency continues to vet all of the award recipients.
Green said while he was concerned about the China connections, he didn’t feel prepared to talk about how the existence of the facility colors his view of the infrastructure law, which he voted against.
“I have to get some more information on it to answer the questions,” he said.
Others, however, sought to justify the disconnect.
Republican Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada has two battery manufacturing facilities in his district that received incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act — Zinc8 Energy Solutions and Redwood Materials. The district is also home to a lithium manufacturing plant from Lilac Solutions because of the infrastructure law.
Despite all this activity, he said, “when you look at the overall policy, let’s just say for Nevada, these two pieces of funding do not make up for the damage these two pieces of legislation can do or are threatening to do.”
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee, the top Republican on the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, was emphatic that a grant made possible by the infrastructure law for Novonix Ltd. to produce battery components in his district did not depend on protecting that piece of legislation in the long term.
In fact, he argued, the appropriations process has been filling the coffers of this project and others like it for some time now.
The infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act “were like a false positive, if you will … the money’s there.”
Rep. Dan Newhouse, the chair of the Congressional Western Caucus, represents Moses Lake, Wash., where Sila Nanotechnologies received a $100 million award through an infrastructure law Energy Department program. Separately, REC Silicon, a solar-grade polysilicon manufacturer, said last year that the Inflation Reduction Act “underpinned” its decision to reopen its own closed plant in Moses Lake.
Concerns for projects despite 'no' votes
Some Republicans also laid bare how complicated the dynamics can be.
Just outside Charleston, S.C., in Rep. Nancy Mace’s district, the battery minerals recycling company Redwood Materials is working to build a $3.5 billion manufacturing campus.
“When paired with the benefits of the recent Inflation Reduction Act, this strategic location also allows us the opportunity to invest more heavily at home while potentially exporting components in the future, allowing the U.S. to become a global leader in this manufacturing capability,” the company said in announcing its plans.
J.B. Straubel, the company’s CEO, told The Wall Street Journal that the Inflation Reduction Act “has gently shifted our priorities to really accelerate investment in the U.S. a little bit ahead of looking overseas.”
Mace, in an interview, said the Redwood plant doesn’t change her opposition to the climate law: “It doesn’t do anything for inflation,” she said. “It was really just a gift to the Green New Deal.”
On the other hand, Mace is leaning against supporting House GOP leadership’s debt limit deal because of its rollbacks to the IRA’s clean energy provisions.
“I’m concerned about some of the things that’ll hurt some green energy like solar,” she said. “Solar is huge — not only in the Lowcountry, but across the entire state of South Carolina, it’s huge. This would adversely affect solar.”
Curtis, the chair of the Conservative Climate Caucus, has a semiconductor wafer plant from Texas Instruments booming in his Utah district thanks to an investment from the CHIPS and Science Act.
In a statement this week, he intimated that he would support the GOP debt limit bill but acknowledged it “also proposes cuts to clean energy tax credits” that he supported in previous legislative iterations before they were packaged in the partisan Inflation Reduction Act.
"I will continue to advocate for policies that lead to affordable, reliable, clean energy,” Curtis said.
'Candy apples' and 'toads'
Many of the GOP’s allies in the advocacy and industry community are likewise gritting their teeth at the party’s demands in the debt standoff.
“In the last nine months, the clean energy industry has announced 46 major manufacturing facilities and scores of clean energy projects in communities across the country,” said Jason Grumet, the CEO of the American Clean Power Association — the largest clean energy trade group — in a statement. “If enacted, [the GOP bill] would jeopardize these investments and thousands of good paying American jobs.”
But Heather Reams, president of the right-leaning Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, said in an interview Thursday that she couldn’t fault Republicans for rejecting the one-sided political process that surrounded the drafting, and enactment, of the Inflation Reduction Act.
“I don’t think you’re seeing Republicans turn their backs entirely as a party on clean energy; I think you’re seeing conservatives turning their backs on out-of-control spending, and the IRA being ground zero for partisan spending,” she said.
Luke Bolar, who leads external relations and communications at the conservative clean energy group ClearPath, dwelled on Republicans’ complicated relationship with the IRA’s clean energy tax credits during a keynote speech in March at the Conservative Climate Leadership Conference.
urged citizen lobbyists to press for implementation of elements of the climate law, but conceded: “That’s a tricky one, right? Zero Republicans supported that. … However, some of the tax incentives that were included in the IRA had tremendous Republican support.”
Bolar mentioned the law’s incentives for carbon capture and sequestration, which can offer fossil fuel companies payments for corralling greenhouse gases.
Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) put the GOP’s green jobs predicament more colorfully.
“I always refer to pieces of legislation as having either candy apples or toads,” Griffith observed. “If there's enough candy apples, you can swallow a toad or two. Some of the renewable or biofuels tax credits, those are the toads you may have to swallow in order to set the stage and have some candy apples and try to rein in some of this government spending.”
https://www.eenews.net/articles/gop-targets-clean-energy-laws-despite-boons-back-home/
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Brutal honesty from the Wall Street Journal editorial board:
"The public understands what Mr. Biden apparently won’t admit: that electing an octogenarian in obvious decline for another four years could be an historic mistake."
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The overwhelming majority of Americans oppose this disastrous Republican plan which will destroy American jobs, cut benefits from our Veterans, and make severe cuts to Social Security. 4 years of Donald Trump ballooned our deficit and right wing Republicans refuse to pay their debt.
VA warns 81K health care employees’ jobs at risk under House GOP debt ceiling plan
Federal agencies are warning that a deal by House Republicans to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for significant budget cuts would eliminate the jobs of tens of thousands of federal employees.
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Friday that a plan led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to cut nondefense federal spending would result in the loss of 81,000 jobs across the Veterans Health Administration.
The VA estimates such a major reduction of its health care workforce would mean 30 million fewer patient visits per year, and would limit veterans’ access to cancer screenings, mental health services and substance addiction treatment.
The Office of Management and Budget estimated Thursday that McCarthy’s proposal would result in a 22% cut to nondefense discretionary spending.
McCarthy’s bill, the Limit, Save, Grow Act, would bring fiscal 2024 discretionary spending back down to 2022 levels, but would exempt defense spending. The bill would limit federal spending to 1% growth a year for a decade. House Republican leadership released the bill on Wednesday.
The bill would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 billion, or until the end of March 2024 — whichever happens first.
“This bill is vague by design — but that doesn’t obscure the fact that it will force devastating cuts that will hurt millions of people, damage our economy, and undermine our national security,” OMB Director Shalanda Young wrote in a blog post on Thursday.
The VA estimates it also would need to eliminate more than 6,000 staff at the Veterans Benefits Administration.
Those cuts would increase the disability claims backlog by an estimated 134,000 claims, “forcing veterans and their surviving loved ones to wait longer for the benefits they have earned.”
The VA would make these severe workforce cuts at a time when it’s ramping up hiring to handle a growing workload under the PACT Act, which is meant to expand VA care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during their military service.
The VA said budget cuts would also force the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) to eliminate approximately 500 staff, and would delay the opening of five new national cemeteries.
The VA stands out as the agency that would see the biggest potential loss of federal employees under the spending plan, but other agencies have also stated they would be forced to cut staff under the plan.
McCarthy, in a speech at the New York Stock on Monday, said the proposal would not result in “draconian limits,” and that lawmakers under the spending plan “make sure that our veterans and our service members are taken care of.”
“The bloated, overgrown bureaucracy that has expanded under President Biden needs to be pruned, and that’s exactly what we’ll do. If Washington wants to spend more, it will have to come together to find savings elsewhere — just like every household in America does,” McCarthy said.
The spending plan would also rescind unspent COVID-19 relief spending. It would also roll back all unspent IRS funds received in the Inflation Reduction Act to rebuild its workforce and upgrade its legacy IT systems.
The IRS, using about 1% of the nearly $80 billion received in the Inflation Reduction Act, went from answering 15% of calls in 2022 to answering 87% of calls this year.
“If we’re funded at a steady level or cut, then all we can do is maintain our current operations,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said told the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday.
“We have to make investments to deal with this complexity of what we see today.”
Julie Tippens, legislative director at the American Federation of Government Employees, wrote in a letter to lawmakers that federal deficits are “not the result of growth in federal agencies or employment,” adding federal civilian employment remains less than it was in the 1960s.
“Federal workers have continued to maintain public safety and provide public service throughout the pandemic, even as their wages have lagged behind inflation and continued to trail the private sector,” Tippens said.
AFGE said other agencies have informed the House Appropriations Committee that they would also force to make significant cuts to their workforce under the House Republicans’ spending plan.
The Social Security Administration said it would need to close field offices, reduce hours and increase wait times by up to 30%.
The Department of Homeland Security would have to reduce hours of service at sea and land ports of entry, and that those cuts would result in “likely increasing the amount of fentanyl entering the country.”
The Transportation Security Administration would also be forced to furlough frontline staff, resulting in airport wait times going up “in excess of two hours.” AFGE also warns the budget cuts would also roll back the agency’s recent efforts to improve TSA staffing, pay and retention.
The Agriculture Department warns it could see a $250 million cut to its Food Safety and Inspection Service, and that cuts to its workforce of inspectors could lead to delays and higher food production costs.
The Transportation Department warns that proposed cuts would force the Federal Railroad Administration to announce a Reduction In Force, and layoff 175 personnel, including 75 safety inspectors.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday that President Joe Biden has not yet scheduled a meeting with McCarthy over debt ceiling negotiations.
The Treasury Department estimates the federal government would reach the current debt limit by early June.
If the debt limit is reached, Treasury is prepared to take several “extraordinary measures,” such as temporarily suspending new contributions in the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, as well as the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund.
Treasury is also prepared to temporarily suspend contributions to the Thrift Saving Plan’s G Fund.
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2023/04/va-warns-81k-health-care-employees-jobs-at-risk-under-house-gop-debt-ceiling-plan/
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Marjorie Taylor Greene silenced by committee after calling DHS Secretary Mayorkas 'a liar'
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/04/19/marjorie-taylor-greene-mayorkas-liar/11697474002/
'That's not America': Retired military officer compares Florida's 'religious fascism' to 9/11
A retired U.S. Navy officer has declared war on the "religious fanatics" in Florida who are flooding school boards with demands to ban books, arguing in front of one board that they are engaging in "religious fascism."
According to a report from the Daily Beast's Michael Daly, 54-year-old Wess Rexrode appeared at a school board hearing in Florida's Martin County where he gave members of the board and supporters of book bans a piece of his mind.
Rexrode, who was deployed on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt on 9/11, bluntly stated, "Religious fanatics, who wouldn’t even let women be educated, flew planes into the World Trade Center and my Pentagon. I spent the last decade of my naval career fighting religious fascism abroad. I never thought I’d have to fight it right here in the United States of America.”
According to the Beast's Daly, "Rexrode was speaking specifically of those who used a new Florida law to have 92 books banned from the county’s public school classrooms and libraries. Books by Jodi Picoult and Toni Morrison were removed following an objection filed by a member of Moms for Liberty who had not even read them."
Rexrode explained that he has a 14-year-old in middle school, before stating, “I don’t need anyone else telling my son what he can and cannot read. I’m perfectly capable of doing that myself.”
“I grew up in rural South Carolina, and books got me out of the trailer parks,”he continued. “My parents trusted those educators and the librarians to let me read what I needed to read.”
“I want my son exposed to different ideas and different viewpoints so that he can learn to think critically and not be force fed somebody else’s opinion. We’ve all been exposed to different opinions. It makes us better, makes us stronger,” he continued. "Diversity has made me stronger. And I didn’t sacrifice 21 years of my life to stand idly by while religious fanatics and other fanatics try to impose fascism on my country.”
In an interview with the Beast, he admitted, "I’m not right or left. I think for myself, and my oath was to the Constitution, not a political party. I just want what’s best for America.”
“I think my patriotism and my intelligence and my work ethic and my bonafides, I guess sort of speak to themselves. So then people typically have to debate me on the facts, instead of attacking me personally, which too many times a lot of debate these days devolves into," he added.
Read More Here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/retired-navy-officer-takes-on-floridas-book-ban-fascism
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Brutal negative poll numbers for Ukraine Joe as he prepares to announce another run. 74% of Americans believe the country is going in the wrong direction and even a majority of Dems don't want him to run! Unreal. Even Nixon during Watergate had more support from his own party. He would be 86 at the end of his next term! Unreal.
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President Biden Meets with President Michael Higgins of Ireland
President Biden Meets with President Michael Higgins of Ireland and Participates in a Tree Planting Ceremony and Ringing of the Peace Bell.
Dublin, Ireland
Watch:
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President Biden Delivers Remarks on Building Healthy Communities and Advance Environmental Justice
Watch:
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President Biden Delivers Remarks at the 2023 Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate
President Biden convenes the fourth virtual leader-level meeting of the Major Economies Forum (MEF) on Energy and Climate.
Watch:
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Since President Biden took office, companies have announced over $435 billion in investments in the United States.
President Biden promised to revitalize American manufacturing — and he’s delivering.
Private Sector Investment Announcements
Under President Biden, companies have announced over $435 billion in investments in the United States
That includes over $200 billion in semiconductor manufacturing; over $200 billion in clean energy, electric vehicle and battery investments; and about $15 billion in biomanufacturing investments
(https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1648773350288936960/ai4kIVN6?format=jpg&name=medium)
Since the President took office in 2021, companies have committed over $435 billion in private sector investments – representing over 240 projects – across the country. These investments are creating good-paying jobs, including union jobs and jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, in industries that will boost U.S. competitiveness, rebuild infrastructure, strengthen supply chains, and help build a clean energy economy. This includes over $200 billion for clean energy, electrical vehicle, and battery projects, over $200 billion for semiconductor-related projects, and over $15 billion in critical biomanufacturing projects. Through this Investing in America agenda, companies have announced the single largest private sector investment in at least 16 states’ histories since President Biden took office.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/invest/
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Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace is absolutely correct that Republicans will "lose huge" in 2024 with their super unpopular right wing extremist policies.
We already saw the Republicans "lose huge" in Wisconsin just a couple of weeks ago, when the Republicans lost in a landslide for the state Supreme Court seat. Abortion, gun reform, voting rights, and democracy were the top issues that voters came to the polls for. The MAGA Republican candidate Dan Kelly got creamed by 11 points because he supports far right wing extremist policies. These same issues will be on the ballot in 2024 where Republicans will lose again.
The Republican party is incapable of "finding middle ground" and "toning down their anti abortion extremism" because red states are tripping over themselves to pass even more anti abortion extremist laws. Voters know that if a Republican is in the White House there will be a nationwide ban on abortion. So voters will not be voting for a far right wing MAGA candidate.
The Republican party has turned into a radical Christian Nationalist party. Their extreme anti abortion views are at the top of their platform and they will continue to push extremism which is why the majority of Americans will not vote for the GOP.
'We're going to lose huge': GOPer predicts massive 2024 loss over anti-abortion extremism
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Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) predicted Republicans would "lose huge" in the next election if they do not tone down their anti-abortion extremism.
Mace cautioned her party after the U.S. Supreme Court stayed a decision that would have blocked the distribution of an abortion drug.
"Well, I want us to find some middle ground," she told ABC News. "As a Republican and conservative, constitutional conservative who's pro-life, I saw what happened after Roe v. Wade because I represent a very purple district, as purple as this dress. And I saw the sentiment change dramatically."
Mace said Republicans "need to read the room on this issue."
"And we just saw a fetal heartbeat bill signed in the dead of night recently in Florida," she pointed out. "In my home state of South Carolina, there was a very small group of state legislators that filed a bill that would execute women who have abortions and gave more rights to rapists than women who've been raped."
Mace added: "That is the wrong message heading into '24. We're going to lose huge if we continue down this path of extremities."
Watch Video Here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1650130346707484673
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In the top photo, we can see the devastating effects of the 4 year Trump disaster as record high unemployment ravaged nearly every single state. Millions of people lost their jobs and manufacturing was in a recession starting in 2019. It was truly one big disaster under Trump's failed Republican leadership that President Biden had to inherit.
In the bottom photo, we can see the historic record progress made by President Biden lowering unemployment to record lows and creating nearly 13 million new jobs along with the largest manufacturing boom in history.
The country has definitely moved in the right direction under President Biden's strong and effective leadership.
Under President Biden’s economic plan, 20 states have unemployment rates at or below 3%. And, the unemployment rate hit a new low in seven states – Alabama, Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Why would anyone want to go back to historic job loss and high unemployment under falled Republican leadership?
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Facts:
The last 3 GOP Presidents saw recessions and higher deficits
The last 3 Dem Presidents saw growth and lower deficits
The deficit went up every year under Trump and down every year under Biden
Donald Trump Built a National Debt So Big (Even Before the Pandemic) That It’ll Weigh Down the Economy for Years
https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump
March 2023 Jobs Report showed 236,000 net new jobs created. That brings us to:
33.8 million jobs = 16 years of Clinton, Obama
12.6 million jobs = 26 months of Biden
1.9 million jobs = 16 years of Bush, Bush, Trump
So, in 16 years 3 Republicans could not even create 2 million jobs. President Biden created the same number of Republican jobs in just a few months.
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Job creation per month under Biden running at 50 times the rate of the last 3 GOP Presidents.
Look at that R number - 10,000 jobs a month over 16 years. It's a stunning indictment of the modern GOP.
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Since 1989, and a new global economic age began, 48 million net new jobs have been created in America.
46 million - 96% - have been created under Democratic Presidents. Basically all of them.
So no, Republicans are not better at creating jobs or running the economy.
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One party - the Democrats - has reduced the annual deficit while in the White House. While the other - the Republicans - have not since the debt repeatedly goes up on their watch.
Clinton got us to surplus. Trump had one of the worst fiscal track records of any President in our history.
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The unemployment rate continues to hover at its lowest level in a peacetime American economy since WWII. It's really incredible what President Biden has done for our country.
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Our recovery from COVID has been the best of any advanced economy.
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During the Biden Presidency America has seen:
- the lowest poverty rate ever recorded
- the lowest uninsured rate ever recorded
- the lowest peacetime unemployment rate since WWII
No other President has had this success!
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The American economy has added 12.6 million jobs since President Biden took office. The unemployment rate has dropped to 3.5% a near a 50-year low.
THE STRONGEST JOBS COMEBACK IN HISTORY
Here is another look at failed Republican job creation as Donald Trump was credited as the WORST jobs "president" in the modern era with negative job creation and the worst besides Herbert Hoover. Massive job loss under Trump.
Both Bushes were terrible at job creation as well.
As you can see, the Democrats are the only party that creates jobs and has to fix the Republican economic disasters they inherit.
There is no comparison here folks, Democrats are better at running the economy and job creation.
President Biden continues to have historic job creation with nearly 13 million jobs.
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Both Republicans tapped to replace Liz Harris are closely aligned with her
One ran with her as a team last year, while the other is a dyed-in-the-wool election denier like Harris
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The two Republicans nominated to replace expelled lawmaker Liz Harris both have strong connections to the conspiracy-pushing lawmaker.
Harris, a real estate agent, built an online fan base by pushing unfounded conspiracy theories around the 2020 election and rose to newfound fame during the partisan hand-count of the 2020 Presidential election in Maricopa County.
Last week, the GOP precinct committeemen from Harris’ District 13, which covers Chandler and Gilbert, met to nominate three candidates to fill the vacant seat she left after she was booted from the House of Representatives for a committee hearing in which government officials and leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints were accused of a litany of crimes.
Harris lied to the House Ethics Committee, telling members that she was unaware of Jacqueline Breger’s testimony, despite evidence showing she both knew what Breger would say and helped hide it from GOP leaders before the hearing as well as her own statements.
The nominees to replace Harris ended up being Harris herself, Steve Steele and Julie Willoughby.
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors must pick among the three to select the person to fill the remainder of Harris’ term, though it’s unclear when the GOP-led board will do so. Although Harris has been nominated, there are legal questions about whether she could even be selected as a replacement.
During Harris’ tenure as a star in the world of election fraud media personalities, she would hold livestreams where she would bring on “experts” and put on the live feed cameras of the audit floor with a song dedicated to failed inventor Jovan Hutton Pulitzer on repeat for hours for audit enthusiasts to watch.
It would be on these live streams that Steele would make known his thoughts on the election and show his connections to Harris.
The canvasser
Although Steele previously refused to tell the Arizona Mirror if he was an ally of Harris’, the Mirror’s analysis finds he is close to the ex-lawmaker and shares her distrust of Arizona’s election process and has disavowed Joe Biden’s win over Donald Trump in 2020.
In a video Harris posted in April 2021, she praised Steele and the man who rummaged through a Dumpster for shredded ballots that were allegedly evidence of fraud, but in fact were never counted because they were ballots from dead voters that were returned unvoted by family members.
Harris, on top of being a semi-influencer for the election fraud world, is also known for a voter “canvass” effort in Maricopa County that was initially meant to be part of the Arizona Senate’s partisan “audit,” but was later scrapped due to intervention by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Harris ultimately did the “canvass” on her own. It was riddled with flagrantly incorrect findings, and major portions of it were shot down almost as soon as it was published. Harris’s report was full of other allegations about alleged fraud or suspicious votes in the 2020 election, though none were attached to any voters’ names or addresses that could be used to verify them
Only two claims from the report included information that could be used to verify them. Both were shown to be demonstrably false within minutes of their release.
One of those claims was featured on the cover of the report: A photo of a Goodyear address that supposedly was a vacant lot from which votes were cast. However, the large lot had a house on it — the photo focused only on a vacant portion of the lot — and county property records clearly listed the owner.
“You are spouting lies from the left-stream media,” Steele told the Mirror in a phone interview when asked about the falsehoods in the canvass report. Steele said he’d stand by the report in court.
In the livestreams with Harris, Steele also called Biden “fraudulent,” claimed that the 2020 election was a “bogus election” and brought up debunked claims of ballots in suitcases in Georgia as evidence.
When asked if he still believes these statements, Steele at first told the Mirror he didn’t believe he ever said these things. But when informed that he said it on a livestream, he recanted and said “yes,” adding that the “canvass” he conducted with Harris solidified his beliefs.
Steele has also called Democrats “communists,” falsely claimed that illegal immigrants in California can vote by getting a driver’s license and that the “deep state” has infiltrated both parties to initiate a “global agenda.”
In the phone interview, Steele also confirmed that he believes in an outlandish conspiracy theory that a November 2020 fire at a Hickman’s Family Farms chicken farm was connected to the shredded ballots.
Steele went further and said that he and the man who found the shredded ballots had allegedly spoken to a firefighter who had seen evidence of burned ballots at the Hickman farm. Steele then went on to push another conspiracy theory about Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma, asking the Mirror to inquire about a “bonfire” the Republican representative had allegedly had after the February testimony that Harris arranged, and which ultimately led to her ouster.
When the Mirror asked why Steele believed there was a bonfire at Toma’s residence, Steele ended the call.
Conspiracy theorists have latched onto the idea that ballots from the 2020 election were burned at the Hickman chicken farm due to it being owned by Maricopa County Chairman Clint Hickman. There is no evidence at all supporting those claims.
The anti-mandate nurse
Julie Willoughby ran as a team with Harris in 2022, and narrowly lost to Harris for the district’s second House seat. She also campaigned alongside failed Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and received her endorsement, as well as the backing of failed Republican secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem.
Willoughby is the chief nursing officer for Exceptional Community Hospital-Maricopa, and also ran unsuccessfully in 2018 for the legislature.
On her campaign website, Willoughby wrote that she does “not support mandates, especially for American citizens.” She added that “we are a free people and mandating requires a part, if not all, of our freedoms to be given up.”
During a short speech during Memorial Day last year alongside a plethora of other candidates, Willoughby elaborated a bit more on that stance.
“I remember when this whole COVID thing started and they were talking about two weeks to slow the curve, and I’m like, this is a take-over,” Willoughby said. “They’re not doing this for two weeks, it’s going to be way longer than two weeks.”
Willoughby also added she had friends who “lost their jobs” for not getting the vaccine.
“There was a complete overtake of our rights and our freedoms, and it all needs to be restored,” Willoughby said before adding that she was “excited” to be running with Harris.
Willoughby did not respond to a request for comment on if she still believes that COVID was a “take over.”
https://www.azmirror.com/2023/04/24/both-republicans-tapped-to-replace-liz-harris-are-closely-aligned-with-her/
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President Biden @POTUS
Every veteran deserves a good, safe home in this country they fought to defend.
MAGA Republicans in Congress are proposing we eliminate funding for Housing Choice Vouchers for as many as 50,000 veterans, putting them at greater risk of homelessness.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1650556458675712002
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FACT SHEET: President Biden’s Cap on the Cost of Insulin Could Benefit Millions of Americans in All 50 States
As part of President Biden’s historic Inflation Reduction Act, nearly four million seniors on Medicare with diabetes started to see their insulin costs capped at $35 per month this past January, saving some seniors hundreds of dollars for a month’s supply. But in his State of the Union, President Biden made clear that this life-saving benefit should apply to everyone, not just Medicare beneficiaries. This week, Eli Lilly, the largest manufacturer of insulin in the United States is lowering their prices and meeting that call.
Eli Lilly announced they are lowering the cost of insulin by 70% and capping what patients pay out-of-pocket for insulin at $35. This action, driven by the momentum from the Inflation Reduction Act, could benefit millions of Americans with diabetes in all fifty states and U.S. territories. The President continues to call on Congress to finish the job and cap costs at $35 for all Americans.
The below data breaks down how many adults are living with diabetes in each state, highlighting the cumulative number of adults that could experience lower insulin costs from the Inflation Reduction Act’s insulin cost cap for seniors, and industry’s follow-on actions. And, data shows that these cost-saving measures will disproportionately impact communities of color, as Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native adults have higher rates of diabetes in the United States than white Americans.
Additional information on how many seniors in each state are already benefiting from the President’s historic actions is available here from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Percentage of Adults Aged 18 Years or Older with Diagnosed Diabetes, by Racial or Ethnic Group, United States, 2018-2019
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Estimated Number of Adults 18 and Older with Diagnosed Diabetes by State
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*The estimates are developed from a base that incorporates the 2020 Census, Vintage 2020 estimates, and (for the U.S. only) 2020 Demographic Analysis estimates. The estimates add births to, subtract deaths from, and add net migration to the April 1, 2020 estimates base. For population estimates methodology statements, see https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/methodology.html. See Geographic Terms and Definitions at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/guidance-geographies/terms-and-definitions.html for a list of the states that are included in each region. All geographic boundaries for the 2022 population estimates series are as of January 1, 2022.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/02/fact-sheet-president-bidens-cap-on-the-cost-of-insulin-could-benefit-millions-of-americans-in-all-50-states/
Biden budget would cap monthly insulin prices at $35 for people with private insurance
President Joe Biden’s budget proposal would expand the $35 cap on monthly insulin prices to people who have private insurance.
The Inflation Reduction Act already implemented this cap for people on Medicare.
About 40% of people with diabetes have private insurance while 5% are not insured, according to the American Diabetes Association.
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President Joe Biden’s federal budget proposal would cap insulin prices at $35 per month for people with private insurance plans.
The Inflation Reduction Act capped monthly insulin costs at that price for seniors in January, but left out everyone who wasn’t on Medicare. Biden called on Congress in his State of the Union speech to finish the job and cap insulin at $35 a month for everybody.
The price cap in the budget wouldn’t cover people who are uninsured. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra told reporters Thursday that the president believes nobody in the U.S. should pay more than $35 a month for insulin.
Becerra said one of the fastest ways to reduce insulin costs for the uninsured would be for the 10 remaining states that haven’t expanded Medicaid to do so. Medicaid is the public health insurance program for lower-income individuals.
Drugmaker Eli Lilly got ahead of a potential federal mandate, announcing earlier this month that it would cap insulin at $35 per month for people with private insurance at certain retail pharmacies. But CEO David Ricks, in a statement, said 7 out of 10 Americans do not use Lilly’s insulin. He called on federal policymakers and employers to help make the costs of the injections more affordable.
Biden praised Lilly’s decision and called on other manufacturers to follow suit. He also reiterated his call for Congress to lower insulin prices for everyone else.
About 40% of people with diabetes have private insurance while 5% are not insured, according to the American Diabetes Association.
Some Republicans in Congress oppose the move to cap insulin prices. Rep. Cathy Rodgers, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, called the Biden administration’s efforts to lower insulin prices as “socialist” and a “federal mandate” that is bad for market competition.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/09/biden-budget-would-cap-monthly-insulin-prices-at-35-for-people-with-private-insurance-.html
Biden budget would cut deficit by $3 trillion over next decade with 25% minimum tax on richest Americans
Biden’s budget would also raise more revenue by increasing taxes on oil and gas companies, hiking the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%, and allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices.
The president’s spending priorities include increasing funding for early childhood education and child care, expanding the $35 cap on insulin prices to all Americans and expanding free community college.
The budget also boosts military spending to more than $835 billion, making it among the largest peacetime expenditures in U.S. history.
Biden still faces the unresolved standoff with Republicans over whether to lift the debt ceiling.
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President Joe Biden released his budget on Thursday, vowing to cut $3 trillion from the federal deficit over the next decade, in part, by levying a 25% minimum tax on the wealthiest Americans.
Biden’s budget would also raise more revenue by increasing taxes on oil and gas companies, hiking the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% imposed under former President Donald Trump but below the pre-2017 35% tax, and allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices.
With Biden likely to run for reelection in 2024, his budget is also a preview into his platform as a candidate and campaign pitch in the year ahead. Facing a Republican-controlled House, it’s unlikely many of the proposals will be passed in their current form. The president submits his budget to Congress outlining the administration’s priorities for the upcoming year, but ultimately Congress decides where the funds are allocated.
Fair share
White House Office of Management and Budget director Shalanda Young told reporters the administration is able to cut deficit spending “by asking the wealthy and big corporations to begin to pay their fair share and by cutting wasteful spending on Big Pharma, Big Oil and other special interests.”
“It does this in part by reforming our tax code to reward work, not wealth, including by ensuring that no billionaire pays a lower tax rate than a teacher or firefighter and by quadrupling the tax rate on corporate stock buybacks,” Young said. “That’s a very clear contrast with congressional Republicans.”
The Stock Buybacks Tax builds upon a measure Biden signed into law last year reducing the differential treatment in the code between buybacks and dividends. The goal is to encourage business to invest in growth rather than spending on stock buybacks. Under the budget proposal, the tax would quadruple from 1% to 4%. A Data for Progress poll from February found 58% of Americans support increasing the stock-buyback tax.
Biden’s fiscal year 2024 budget gets some help from the slowing Covid-19 pandemic, which the White House noted needs less emergency aid as the outbreak enters a new phase thanks to widespread vaccinations. The president’s spending priorities include increasing funding for early childhood education and child care, expanding the $35 cap on insulin prices to all Americans and expanding free community college. These proposals are all part of his push to give American families “a little more breathing room.” The 2024 fiscal year begins Oct. 1 and runs through Sept. 30, 2024.
Social programs
Cecilia Rouse, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, explained how the administration believes the social programs outlined in the White House budget will actually boost the economy.
“Policies such as paid leave and child care will bring more workers into the labor force and improve productivity,” Rouse said. “Investments in early education, mental health and community college not only expand our economy’s productive capacity but pay dividends for generations to come.”
In addition to social spending, the budget includes robust defense funding. At more than $835 billion, the defense budget would be among the largest peacetime expenditures in U.S. history.
For weeks the president has urged House Republicans to present their own budget proposals instead of just criticizing his plan. House Republicans have promised to propose a balanced budget and have scoffed when the White House pointed to GOP proposals to make cuts to programs like Social Security and Medicare. House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington told CNN on Wednesday the Republican budget should be ready by the second week in May.
‘Fight it out’
Speaking in Philadelphia, Pa. on Thursday, Biden said he and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who the president noted is “a very conservative guy” with “a very conservative group” of lawmakers, agreed early on to meet after they both introduce their budgets.
“We’ll sit down and we’ll go line by line, and we’ll go through it and see what we can agree on, what we disagree on, and then fight it out in the Congress,” Biden recounted telling McCarthy. “I’m ready to meet with the Speaker anytime, tomorrow if he has his budget. Lay it down, show me what you want to do, I’ll show what I want to do. We can see what we can agree on, see what we don’t agree on and we vote on it.”
The White House, in its budget proposal, includes an entire section dedicated to shoring up Social Security and Medicare, funded by the minimum 25% wealth tax on households with a net worth of $100 million or more. The proposed budget would extend “the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund by at least 25 years” without removing benefits or raising costs. It also provides a $1.4 billion increase in funding for Social Security to improve services.
Debt ceiling debate
“Benefit cuts are not on the table,” Young said.
Looming over the budget release is the unresolved standoff over whether to lift the debt ceiling. The White House has maintained it will not negotiate over the debt limit, arguing Congress should act to raise it as it has done numerous times over past decades. House Republicans, led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy, have tried to tie the debt ceiling to future spending, saying they will not budge without promises to cut expenses. The debt ceiling, however, pertains to existing spending. To date, House Republicans have been murky on what expenses they would like to see cut.
“MAGA Republicans in Congress have tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid — we’re not going to let them folks,” Biden said. “My budget makes robust investments on military defense, let’s see what the MAGA Republicans propose and let’s be clear where I stand: I will not allow cuts to the needs of the intelligence community or military that help keep us safe.”
‘Back to work’
Rouse touted the administration’s economic track record, noting that unemployment has fallen somewhat inexplicably under Biden’s watch — even as the pace of inflation has slowed. She said most economists couldn’t have predicted the jobs market would rebound as strongly as it has since he took office.
“I think if you told most conventional macroeconomists last June that we were about to get seven straight months of declining annual CPI inflation, they would have told us that the unemployment rate would rise over that time, but instead the unemployment rate in January was 3.4%, or 0.2 percentage points lower than it was,” Rouse said, noting that February’s unemployment rate will be released Friday. “The economy looks healthier today than it did in other ways, too.”
Rouse expanded on that, in an attempt to ease recession concerns by pointing to economic gains already seen under the administration’s watch.
“The strength of our recovery has put us on solid ground to weather economic shocks,” Rouse said. “Americans are back to work and the economy is stronger than anyone, including the federal government and private forecasters, imagined it would be when President Biden took office.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/09/biden-budget-would-cut-deficit-by-3-trillion-over-next-decade-with-25percent-minimum-tax-on-richest-americans.html
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GOP bill could put more than 10 million at risk of losing Medicaid: analysis
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The House GOP leadership's newly released debt ceiling legislation would have potentially devastating impacts on Medicaid recipients across the United States, putting more than 10 million low-income people at risk of losing health coverage under the program.
That's according to a detailed analysis of the bill published Monday by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), which noted that the Republican legislation "would take Medicaid health coverage away from adults aged 19-55 who do not have children in their household and who aren't able to document that they are working or to secure an exemption."
"This builds on a failed policy that Arkansas temporarily applied, which resulted in large numbers of people losing coverage and no impact [on] employment outcomes," CBPP warned. "Like the Arkansas policy, the McCarthy proposal would require monthly verification of employment and require many people to navigate a complicated system and provide proof that may be difficult to get to secure an exemption."
"More than 10 million people in Medicaid expansion states would be at significant risk of having their health coverage taken away because they would be subject to the new requirements and could not be excluded automatically based on existing data readily available to states," the think tank continued. "When people lose Medicaid, they lose access to preventive and acute care as well as medications and other therapies for managing chronic conditions, such as diabetes or depression. Losing access to healthcare can lead to serious health consequences and financial strain, making it harder for people to engage in the workforce successfully."
The bill, touted by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in a floor speech last week, would also impose even more strict work requirements on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients—the majority of whom already work.
"Under the bill, people unable to document employment could lose both SNAP and Medicaid," CBPP observed.
CBPP has previously estimated that SNAP work requirements floated by Republicans would strip federal food benefits from more than 10 million people, including millions of children.
These policies would make deep cuts in a host of national priorities; leave more people hungry, homeless, and without health coverage; and make it easier for wealthy people to cheat on their taxes.
A fact sheet that the Republican leadership released alongside the new legislation estimates that the proposed work requirements would save the federal government up to $120 billion over the next decade.
But the document doesn't mention that the bill's repeal of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) funding would cost the federal government around $114 billion in revenue over 10 years, almost completely offsetting any potential savings from the punitive work requirements.
The bill would also slash federal spending across the board by reverting it to fiscal year 2022 levels and capping spending growth at 1% per year for the next decade. In exchange, the measure would only lift the debt ceiling through March 31, 2024 at the latest.
"Cutting a broad swath of public services—from schools, childcare, and public health to environmental protection and college aid—and making it harder for people to afford the basics while permitting more tax cheating and cutting taxes for the wealthy is failed trickle-down economics at its worst," CBPP argued. "This agenda would narrow opportunity, deepen inequality, and increase hardship."
Growing warnings about the ramifications of the GOP-backed work requirements come as some far-right House Republicans—led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)—are complaining that the new rules in the Republican bill aren't strict enough, potentially complicating party leaders' efforts to hold a vote this week.
NBC News reported Monday that Gaetz has "demanded 'more rigor' on work requirements for recipients of Medicaid and other safety net programs before he'll get on board."
"Specifically, he wants recipients to work 30 hours per week, up from 20 hours in the McCarthy plan," the outlet noted.
Congressional Democrats and President Joe Biden have voiced opposition to the Republican bill, characterizing it as an attack on the vulnerable and a gift to rich tax dodgers.
"Most Medicaid recipients already work," Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) tweeted Sunday. "The GOP's proposed work requirements are unnecessary and cruel, and would take away health insurance from millions of people."
https://www.rawstory.com/save-medicaid/
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Watchdog group accuses House Republicans of violating campaign finance law
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The left-leaning advocacy group End Citizens United says three freshman House Republicans have violated federal campaign finance law, the Washington Examiner reported.
Reps. Anthony D’Esposito, Nick LaLota, and Marc Molinaro, all from New York, are being accused of having unlawfully transferred $4,000 combined between their state and federal committees.
"The law is intended to prevent corruption and undue influence over our leaders," Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United, said in a statement. "These aren’t one-off mistakes; they appear to be calculated moves."
The Examiner's report stated that in March 2022, LaLota's federal committee received $1,000 from the Suffolk County Republican Committee, earmarked "from [a] verified source,." D’Esposito's federal committee raised $1,000 in March 2022 from Citizens for D’Esposito, and Molinaro's federal committee received $2,000 in total from his state committee in 2021 and 2022, according to End Citizens United.
The FEC stipulates that a candidate's nonfederal committee is "prohibited" from transferring "funds or assets" to his or her federal election committee. The agency also says direct contributions constitute a "transfer" -- regulations that End Citizens United say the lawmakers violated.
It its complaint, End Citizens United says D’Esposito's state campaign illegally used funds on print and advertising, rent, cellphones, volunteer expenses, and mail services in Washington, D.C.
"Additionally, the state committee spent over $97,000 in connection with a golf fundraiser reported to have a speaker advocating for Mr. D’Esposito's election to U.S. Congress," the complaint read. "Despite spending thousands of dollars on these expenses from his state committee, Mr. D’Esposito was neither campaigning for, nor was he seeking ballot access for, any New York state or local office in the 2022 election cycle."
"Thus, there is no logical reason that his state committee needed to make payments for a campaign office, print and online advertising, cell phones, printing, fundraising, or volunteer services. Rather it seems more likely that Mr. D’Esposito made these payments in connection with his federal campaign — his only active campaign at the time," the complaint read.
Read More Here: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/house-republicans-violated-campaign-finance-law-pac-alleges
DeSantis' educational board nominees have deep ties to dark money
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has placed an emphasis on structuring school boards by nominating far-right activists who align with his controversial initiative to reform education.
Now, a new report is offering insight into the types of nominees he's selected and how they are connected to Republican dark money. In a report published by Truthout, Alyssa Bowen and Caitlin Mahoney began with an overview of all that has transpired in recent months.
"DeSantis has appointed far-right activists with ties to dark money groups to fill the state’s Board of Education, which wields significant power over the state’s K-12 schools, including the power to dictate educational standards," Bowen and Mahoney wrote.
"These appointments, however, have garnered less media attention than DeSantis’s takeover of Florida’s New College, which included appointing Christopher Rufo, the architect of the recent manufactured outrage over supposed 'critical race theory' in public schools and an
According to Bowen and Mahoney, the nominees have been linked to dark money groups like Moms For Liberty (MFL), “Judicial Crisis Network” (JCN), The Catholic Association (TCA), and a number of others.
The writers went on to express concern about how these types of nominees and heir extremist views could ultimately impact schools and education across the state of Florida. They note that the type of money they have access to puts them in a better position to push their agenda.
"Such extremism by members of a board that determines what is taught in K-12 schools statewide should be disqualifying in itself," they wrote. "The dark money ties of these far-right actors, who have the power to push the fringe positions of their donors to public school children across the state, should also raise eyebrows."
"The close ties between such groups and politicians like DeSantis allow super-wealthy donors with extreme views to be hidden from the public while having disproportionate influence and the power to peddle unpopular and harmful policies that suit the views of rich extremists," they added.
But despite DeSantis' efforts to forward his agenda, the writers emphasized that poll projections suggest voters are not in alignment with this push.
"While DeSantis may want to export his 'culture war' attacks in a bid to 'Make America Florida,' voters don’t appear to be falling for the coordinated right-wing attacks on reproductive rights or our local schools, at least according to the most recent election results," they wrote.
AFP
GOP's 'anti-woke' panic is turning off voters: strategist
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Panic-inducing cultural crusades that include banning books involving sexual orientation from classrooms and cracking down on drag performances, are missing their mark, according to a strategist writing for The Bulwark Tuesday.
The problem is that swing voters are simply not tuned into this Republican cause — and are even actively turned off by it, wrote Rich Thau, the president of the research firm Engagious.
"We talked to seven Republicans, four Democrats, and three Independents across two sessions on April 11," he wrote. "The short answer is: The war on woke still isn’t resonating."
These voters, wrote Thau, often didn't have a definition of "woke," and when they did, it was unfavorable to the GOP. One voter identified as "Scott," for example, defined "woke" as "a term that was initiated by right-wing media to try to stop the progressive movement under the age of 30" and "a scare tactic."
When asked about specific policies, these swing voters' positions were more complicated but by no means highly favorable to the GOP. They were open to restricting "classroom instruction" on sexuality for young children and limiting transgender athletes from competing in their gender category — two issues the GOP has pursued — but were not on board with other GOP "anti-woke" policies like banning books, opposing "critical race theory," and cracking down on cities that "defund the police."
"And the vast majority of them saw it as negative if a candidate endorses all five policies, with some calling it pandering" and saying politicians should "focus on things that actually matter."
This tracks with polls broadly showing that most voters actually see "wokeness" as positive and don't support Republicans attacking businesses that celebrate diversity.
"The anti-woke platform may play well with Republican base voters," concluded Thau. "But come the general election in 2024, it’s hard to see combating wokeness driving vote choice."
Read More Here: https://www.thebulwark.com/swing-voters-still-not-into-the-anti-woke-stuff/
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Biden campaign announcement takes aim at Marjorie Taylor Greene
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President Joe Biden took a swipe at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in a video announcing his intention to run for re-election in 2024.
The right-wing lawmaker is shown about 36 seconds into the three-minute video wearing a white fur coat and shouting "liar" at the president during his State of the Union address earlier this year, as Biden pointed out Republican efforts to cut Social Security and Medicare, reported Newsweek.
"You know, around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take down those bedrock freedoms," Biden says in a narration. "Cutting Social Security that you paid for your entire life while cutting taxes for the very wealthy, dictating what healthcare decisions women can make, banning books and telling people who they can love, all while making it more difficult for people to vote."
The video also shows images from the Jan. 6 insurrection during this portion, along with photos of MAGA Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Donald Trump patting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on the back.
Watch the announcement below:
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Bernie Sanders endorses Joe Biden for President. The Democratic party is united behind President Biden.
“The last thing this country needs is a Donald Trump or some other right-wing demagogue who is going to try to undermine American democracy or take away a woman’s right to choose"
Bernie Sanders endorses Biden, rules out 2024 bid of his own
https://apnews.com/article/bernie-sanders-biden-endorsement-2024-d8f0772b117e2bf83e1062708ea651c0
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ful059KWIAAxvz0?format=jpg&name=medium)
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Elizabeth Warren unloads on Alabama senator blocking all top military promotions over abortion
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) blasted Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Tuesday after he blocked advancement for all top military officials because of a Department of Defense abortion policy.
In a speech on the Senate floor, Warren explained how Tuberville had taken extraordinary steps to oppose a policy supporting service members who need to travel for an abortion.
"Occasionally, a senator may object to an individual nomination, usually to indicate opposition to that appointment or to insist on answers to questions from a federal agency," she explained. "But that is not what Senator from Alabama is doing."
"Instead, he is blocking every single top military leader from advancing indefinitely," she continued. "He's snared all 184 top-level service members who are currently slated for advancement, and he stopped every single one of them dead in their tracks."
Warren pointed out Tuberville sits on the Armed Services Committee and has other opportunities to influence DOD policy.
"The senator is blocking 184 top military promotions because he disagrees with the Department of Defense policy to help service members and their families access needed health care, specifically to travel to access abortion care," she observed. "Now, I disagree with the senator on that issue, but if he wants to press for votes to reverse DOD's health care policies, he can do that."
"That is how democracy works," she added.
Watch the video below from C-SPAN
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Biden announces he is running for re-election, framing 2024 as a choice between 'more rights or fewer'
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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden made his re-election bid official Tuesday, capping months of speculation over his plans four years to the day since he announced his 2020 campaign.
In a video titled "Freedom" — which opens with a scene of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, followed by an image of an abortion rights protest — Biden said that after he has spent his first term fighting for the country’s democracy, "MAGA extremists are lining up" to cut the social safety net and take away personal liberties.
"Cutting Social Security that you’ve paid for your entire life while cutting taxes for the very wealthy. Dictating what health care decisions women can make, banning books and telling people who they can love. All while making it more difficult for you to be able to vote," he said.
He made the case that his administration still has more to do.
"When I ran for president four years ago, I said we are in a battle for the soul of America. And we still are. The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom, more rights or fewer," he said, adding: "This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for re-election."
The launch is an effort to position Biden as the nation's best hope to defeat a Republican opponent and cement his administration's successes heading into 2024.
The symmetry of the fourth anniversary is a fitting opening for a president who has leaned into history at key moments to pitch his vision to Americans about the road ahead.
Biden launched his campaign in 2019 with a video message, as well — warning that four more years of Donald Trump would “forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation, who we are," and highlighting the 2017 violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. His 2024 launch video does not mention Trump by name, although the specter of a rematch and an acknowledgment of the forces of Trumpism were there. The video features an image of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., one of Trump's staunchest supporters, and a photo of Trump standing beside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is seen as a chief rival for the Republican nomination.
In his State of the Union address in February, Biden used the words “finish the job” more than a dozen times and warned of Republicans who "want to take the economy hostage." He has again and again painted a contrast with so-called MAGA Republicans, pointing to former and potential future rival Trump and the elected GOP officials he said have "proposed huge cuts" to "programs that millions of hard-working and middle-class Americans count on."
A visit to Ireland “reinforced” his decision to run again, Biden said this month. Parts of his anticipated re-election video were recorded last weekend in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he has a home, after he returned from traveling in Ireland, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The rollout is not unusual. In 2011, President Barack Obama and Biden, then the vice president, featured voters across the country in a video announcing their re-election campaign, titled “It Begins With Us.”
Biden addressed the North American Building Trade Union in Washington later Tuesday, a nod to his vow to lead “the most pro-union administration in American history." The event mirrors the first rally of his 2020 campaign, which was held at a Pittsburgh union hall.
In a similar move, Vice President Kamala Harris, who Biden has said would run for re-election alongside him, joined Democratic allies for an abortion rights rally at her alma mater, Howard University, a historically Black university in Washington, D.C. Howard was her first stop after she announced her own 2020 presidential bid in a television appearance.
Harris said she was “proud to run for re-election” with Biden “so we can finish the job.”
Other planning moves by Biden's team came in the countdown to Tuesday's early-morning announcement. NBC News reported Sunday night that Biden was set to tap Julie Chavez Rodriguez to head his 2024 campaign.
Meanwhile, NBC News reported last week that Biden’s biggest financial supporters planned to gather Friday in Washington, where his top aides will prepare the Democratic Party’s biggest donors and bundlers to amplify campaign messaging.
Watch:
Biden delivers remarks on manufacturing following 2024 announcement
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President Biden @POTUS
Over 12 million jobs have been created since I took office. Unemployment has been below 4% for 14 straight months. More Americans are applying to start small businesses.
The progress we’ve made is creating strong, sustainable economic growth.
Under my predecessor, Infrastructure Week was a punchline.
Now, we’re making Infrastructure Decade a headline.
My economic plan is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America.
It’s for you.
Union workers are the best in the world.
And they're leading the way – getting shovels in the ground, cranes in the air, and factories opened across America.
On my watch, every federal project will be built by American workers –using American products – creating American jobs.
That’s been the law since the 1930s, but no one had the nerve to insist on it.
Tune in as I discuss how my Investing in America agenda is bringing manufacturing back, rebuilding the middle class, and creating good-paying union jobs.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1OwxWwWeroNxQ
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1650904218226573312
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President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is improving America’s infrastructure with nearly $300 million to repair nine bridges across the country that serve over 230,000 vehicles combined per day.
Previous presidents always made campaign promises to repair and rebuild our crumbling infrastructure but never came through on those promises.
One of President Biden's main campaign promises in 2020 was to invest in America and pass an infrastructure bill.
President Biden kept that promise with the passing the largest infrastructure bill in history after being in office for only 10 months.
More new jobs have been created and our bridges will be safe to drive on thanks to President Biden.
President Biden has delivered for America keeping his campaign promise and he is getting the job done.
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There are an amazing number of people whose sole political objective is to keep Trump from being elected. They have been programmed by the media and state sponsored propaganda to believe that the most important issue in the entire world is keeping Trump out of office at all costs. Why he is such a danger is left ambiguous. Keeping Trump from being elected is more important than world war, the economy, or any issue. It is the sole objective of these radicalized individuals. Their obsession and hatred of Trump runs so deep that it overrides even their own personal interests. It overrides the law. It overrides the Constitution. The ends justify any means. What is driving this obsessive hate fueled rage? After the election of Obama, many leftists felt that America had turned some type of socialist corner and the future would entail a litany of woke leaders. It would begin with Hillary - the first woman etc.
Trump sunk this utopian dream. Never in the wildest imagination of the elitist establishment could they imagine that someone outside their sphere of influence could ever be elected to the presidency. In their arrogance, they never considered the possibility that the American public could decide via a truly democratic process who would be elected. These experts were marginalized and exposed as frauds under Trump. He demanded results. He didn't buy that they were "experts" merely because they had managed to gain positions of influence to enrich themselves through corruption. These people, however, control important levers of power. They make the laws, decide who they enforce them against, they influence the mass media and social media, and set the narrative. These forces were deployed without limitation with the sole objective to vilify Trump. They have been relentless over the last six years. CNN and MSNBC run nothing but anti-Trump propaganda. Turn those networks on at any random point of the day and they will be running a Trump-related story or there will be a Trump-related story on within minutes. It goes on and on. Day after day. An asteroid could be heading to destroy Earth and CNN would be running a story about Trump. They have been successful in convincing anyone with an open mind that electing Trump would be the worst possible thing in history. Better to be penniless and die in WWIII than allow Trump to send out insensitive Tweets. He is not nice. Boo-hoo. That is the New America.
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There are an amazing number of people whose sole political objective is to keep Trump from being elected. They have been programmed by the media and state sponsored propaganda to believe that the most important issue in the entire world is keeping Trump out of office at all costs. Why he is such a danger is left ambiguous. Keeping Trump from being elected is more important than world war, the economy, or any issue. It is the sole objective of these radicalized individuals. Their obsession and hatred of Trump runs so deep that it overrides even their own personal interests. It overrides the law. It overrides the Constitution. The ends justify any means. What is driving this obsessive hate fueled rage? After the election of Obama, many leftists felt that America had turned some type of socialist corner and the future would entail a litany of woke leaders. It would begin with Hillary - the first woman etc.
Trump sunk this utopian dream. Never in the wildest imagination of the elitist establishment could they imagine that someone outside their sphere of influence could ever be elected to the presidency. In their arrogance, they never considered the possibility that the American public could decide via a truly democratic process who would be elected. These experts were marginalized and exposed as frauds under Trump. He demanded results. He didn't buy that they were "experts" merely because they had managed to gain positions of influence to enrich themselves through corruption. These people, however, control important levers of power. They make the laws, decide who they enforce them against, they influence the mass media and social media, and set the narrative. These forces were deployed without limitation with the sole objective to vilify Trump. They have been relentless over the last six years. CNN and MSNBC run nothing but anti-Trump propaganda. Turn those networks on at any random point of the day and they will be running a Trump-related story or there will be a Trump-related story on within minutes. It goes on and on. Day after day. An asteroid could be heading to destroy Earth and CNN would be running a story about Trump. They have been successful in convincing anyone with an open mind that electing Trump would be the worst possible thing in history. Better to be penniless and die in WWIII than allow Trump to send out insensitive Tweets. He is not nice. Boo-hoo. That is the New America.
There are an amazing number of people whose sole political objective is to keep Trump from being elected. They have been programmed by the media and state sponsored propaganda to believe that the most important issue in the entire world is keeping Trump out of office at all costs. Why he is such a danger is left ambiguous.
There is no ambiguity at all. People have already experienced the disaster that is Trump for four years. They've seen enough and don't want to go through that again. Easy to understand.
When Trump was in the White House I woke up several times wondering what the idiot had done next. Under Biden there was no reason for me to worry.
They have been successful in convincing anyone with an open mind that electing Trump would be the worst possible thing in history.
If they can convince people with an open mind, then their message is probably the right one!
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President Biden’s economic plan is creating thousands of good-paying, clean energy jobs in communities across America.
House Republicans’ proposal would send these jobs back overseas.
After the Biden-Harris Administration delivered nearly $3 billion in additional SNAP benefits per month, House Republicans’ proposal would end nutrition services – such as Meals on Wheels – for about 1.3 million veterans, removing the only healthy meal many receive a day.
A 22% cut on the programs hardworking families rely on.
That's the House MAGA plan.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FupXZHoWIAYqyB1?format=jpg&name=medium)
House Republicans would rather see people on Medicaid lose health care than have billionaire tax cheats pay what they actually owe.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FuqZPPCWAAs6QsN?format=jpg&name=medium)
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The CBO says if the House GOP bill became law, "2.2 million Americans would lose their Medicaid coverage."
HHS "says this would...risk health coverage and access to care for 21 million Americans."
"We're talking about millions of Americans."
Watch Here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1651299980341129217
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The White House @WhiteHouse
This morning, President Biden, the First Lady, Vice President Harris, and the Second Gentleman welcomed President Yoon and Mrs. Kim to the White House.
The alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea is ironclad.
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https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1651315209103917060
President Biden held a bilateral meeting with President Yoon to discuss a shared vision of a strong alliance between the U.S. and Republic of Korea that maintains peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fuq0K8CWcAEedU5?format=jpg&name=large)
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1651330318090006529
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The disastrous House Republican plan will cut our Veterans benefits by 22%.
Republicans do not support our Veterans because they vote against them every single time. Republicans use our Vets for props during election time.
Vote Vets and Veterans are at the U.S. Capitol today to speak out against this Republican travesty of cutting Veterans benefits by 22% so they can give the top 1% another huge tax break like they did under Trump which ballooned the deficit by over 3 trillion dollars.
These men fought for our country and now Republicans want to take away their Veterans benefits. Absolutely disgraceful.
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VoteVets @votevets
We’re here at the Capitol speaking up against the proposed cuts to Veterans’ health care! #ProtectVeteransHealthCare
https://twitter.com/votevets/status/1651293257974808583
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Facts:
The last 3 GOP Presidents saw recessions and higher deficits
The last 3 Dem Presidents saw growth and lower deficits
The deficit went up every year under Trump and down every year under Biden
Donald Trump Built a National Debt So Big (Even Before the Pandemic) That It’ll Weigh Down the Economy for Years
https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump
March 2023 Jobs Report showed 236,000 net new jobs created. That brings us to:
33.8 million jobs = 16 years of Clinton, Obama
12.6 million jobs = 26 months of Biden
1.9 million jobs = 16 years of Bush, Bush, Trump
So, in 16 years 3 Republicans could not even create 2 million jobs. President Biden created the same number of Republican jobs in just a few months.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FtHQpuXWYAM6EaQ?format=jpg&name=medium)
Job creation per month under Biden running at 50 times the rate of the last 3 GOP Presidents.
Look at that R number - 10,000 jobs a month over 16 years. It's a stunning indictment of the modern GOP.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FtHSojTWAAARmdR?format=jpg&name=medium)
Since 1989, and a new global economic age began, 48 million net new jobs have been created in America.
46 million - 96% - have been created under Democratic Presidents. Basically all of them.
So no, Republicans are not better at creating jobs or running the economy.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FtHTEdRWwAI5QmT?format=png&name=small)
One party - the Democrats - has reduced the annual deficit while in the White House. While the other - the Republicans - have not since the debt repeatedly goes up on their watch.
Clinton got us to surplus. Trump had one of the worst fiscal track records of any President in our history.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FtHTyKNXoAANfqe?format=png&name=900x900)
The unemployment rate continues to hover at its lowest level in a peacetime American economy since WWII. It's really incredible what President Biden has done for our country.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FtHJ3_7WAAImZGD?format=png&name=medium)
Our recovery from COVID has been the best of any advanced economy.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FtHVT-7WYAE1TRh?format=jpg&name=medium)
During the Biden Presidency America has seen:
- the lowest poverty rate ever recorded
- the lowest uninsured rate ever recorded
- the lowest peacetime unemployment rate since WWII
No other President has had this success!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FtHWU_OXsAAJZY5?format=png&name=900x900)
The American economy has added 12.6 million jobs since President Biden took office. The unemployment rate has dropped to 3.5% a near a 50-year low.
THE STRONGEST JOBS COMEBACK IN HISTORY
Here is another look at failed Republican job creation as Donald Trump was credited as the WORST jobs "president" in the modern era with negative job creation and the worst besides Herbert Hoover. Massive job loss under Trump.
Both Bushes were terrible at job creation as well.
As you can see, the Democrats are the only party that creates jobs and has to fix the Republican economic disasters they inherit.
There is no comparison here folks, Democrats are better at running the economy and job creation.
President Biden continues to have historic job creation with nearly 13 million jobs.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FtHMdCJaYAEmU75?format=png&name=small)
As I've stated at the top of this post:
The last 3 GOP Presidents saw recessions and higher deficits
The last 3 Dem Presidents saw growth and lower deficits
The deficit went up every year under Trump and down every year under Biden
Republicans increased deficits and Democrats decreased their deficits. Here is more evidence of that.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FurO23JXwAEXJcH?format=jpg&name=small)
As you can see, the Trump tax cuts that went to the top 1% hugely increased the deficit.
Kevin McCarthy and Republican members of Congress still in office from 2017, voted for this tax scam for billionaires and corporations ballooning the deficit and President Biden lowered their deficit.
Now Republicans want to break the backs of hard working families, children, and Veterans by gutting healthcare and their programs they depend on to give another huge tax break to the top 1%. Republicans are holding our economy hostage to default on the debt to do just that.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FurMYf3aAAAbpYt?format=jpg&name=medium)
Here's another look at what the Trump/Republican top 1% tax scam did to the Federal Budget Deficit. It skyrocketed the deficit to an astronomical level.
A total disaster and Republicans want to destroy the lives of average Americans by cutting off their programs and healthcare so they can give more tax cuts to the top 1%.
This deficit was created by Trump and the Republicans.
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Chuck Schumer @SenSchumer
The Republican Default on America Act is DOA in the Senate.
It’s a ransom note to the American people to suffer the Republican radical, right-wing agenda or suffer a catastrophic default.
Democrats won’t allow it.
https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1651358104993316864
Bill Pascrell, Jr. @BillPascrell
Just now 98% of republicans in Congress voted to screw veterans, steal health care from 600,000 Americans, and kill up to a million jobs while threatening a second Great Depression. Remember it.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fuq_utQXoAAoHkR?format=jpg&name=medium)
https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1651343026118176768
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DeSantis' 'deathmatch with Mickey Mouse' likely to crash and burn with voters: analyst
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was sued by Disney on Wednesday after a board staffed with his appointees tried to throw out an agreement the company made with the previous board preserving their power over a special taxing district. The company alleges that it is part of a long-running campaign of political revenge for speaking out against DeSantis' bill that effectively purges any mention of LGBTQ people from public schools.
All of this shows he is not ready to sell himself as a presidential candidate to voters, argued political analyst Ron Brownstein on CNN's "The Situation Room."
"It is not every day that you see a Republican governor locked in a protracted fight with his state's largest employer, right?" said anchor Wolf Blitzer.
"Look, I mean, this is really emblematic of the way Ron DeSantis appears to have decided to run for president," said Brownstein. "You know, the video, God made me a fighter, he'll fight every fight that Donald Trump does but he will not bring all of the baggage that he has. I am Trumpism without Trump. And that is his pitch to Republican voters. There is an audience for it in the Republican Party. But you have to ask yourself, is he kind of losing sight of the bigger picture here?"
"I understand you can't worry about a general election until you win the primary," said Brownstein. "But six-week abortion ban, permitless carry, widespread book bans and classroom censorship, and now a deathmatch with Mickey Mouse does not seem like the ideal recipe to recapture the suburban white-collar voters who have produced three disappointing results for the GOP in the last three elections."
All of this comes at a moment when former President Donald Trump and his allies are launching a wave of attacks on DeSantis — including ads asserting he would not have become governor of Florida without Trump's endorsement. And Trump himself presents serious challenge for the party, Brownstein continued.
"I think Trump recognizes that he has a base in the Republican Party that is basically satisfied with how he performed as president, and that the risk is that DeSantis could make an argument that he could do it better or that he could win and Trump can't," said Brownstein. "The core challenge facing Republicans is in the PBS poll that Marist did for them this week. 63 percent of Republican voters, Wolf, said they wanted a second Trump term even if he is found guilty of a crime. Three-quarters of independents, and three-quarters of americans younger than 45, three-quarters of voters of color, and over 80 percent of whites with a college degree said they did not want a Trump presidency if he is convicted of a crime. That is the dilemma. And in a single data point, the party wants to go one way, despite all of the clear warning signs about what the country thinks about Trump."
Watch:
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The face of the Republican party, Marjorie Taylor Greene continues to make a mockery of the House of Representatives with her daily attention seeking antics. She now is saying that stepmoms are "not real moms". What a disgrace. Weak Kevin McCarthy allows her to constantly disrupt hearings because he's afraid of her.
Watch: Marjorie Taylor Greene implies stepmoms are not real moms as she rages at teacher's union chief
(https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_huffington_post_584/fe455d4a6d3c8b1ddcdfafc8db539d55)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has only been allowed back onto the House Education and Labor Committee for the last few years after previously losing all her committee assignments.
During Wednesday's hearing, the committee called the president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, to testify about the "Diversity of Thought: Protecting Free Speech on College Campuses."
At one point Greene appeared agitated, demanding to know if Weingarten was a mother. Weingarten explained she was by marriage. She serves as a stepmother to the children her wife Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum had from her previous marriage.
"Are you a doctor?" Greene asked Weingarten.
"No," she said.
Greene went on to attack Weingarten for not being a teacher, but Weingarten explained she's on leave from her teaching position "and this fall I will be teaching as a guest teacher at Cornell."
Greene then demanded to know if Weingarten believed in the Constitution and the First Amendment, particularly as it pertains to Greene's ban on Twitter, which happened over a year ago. She's apparently still very upset about it. In a Feb. 2023 hearing with Twitter, Greene accused one of the company's executives of "violating" her with the suspension to the private social media website.
Greene then demanded to know about Black Lives Matter, raging about Weingarten delivering supplies to teachers in Ukraine and school closures during the COVID-19 crisis.
When Weingarten began to speak up in protest, Greene shut her down: "I didn't ask you a question. What I would like to talk about is your recommendations to the CDC, as not a medical doctor, not a biological mother, and really not a teacher, either. So, what you did is you advised the CDC?"
As Democrats tried to step in, Greene shouted, "This is my time! Excuse me!"
"Let me tell you, I am a mother," Greene started again. "And all three of my children were directly affected by the school closures, by your recommendations which is something that you really can't understand."
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) stepped in to mention the unacceptable decorum and allow Weingarten a moment to note that she is a mother whether Greene believes her to be or not.
Garcia posted the video of the incident on Twitter saying, "When Marjorie Taylor Greene says that adopted or parents through marriage aren't real parents, you'll be damn sure I'll object."
Watch:
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The Trump Disaster vs President Biden's Manufacturing Boom
For four years, we had a career criminal con man pretending to be President of The United States and we suffered the devastating effects because of it.
Donald Trump plunged America into a manufacturing recession in 2019 because he had no clue what he was doing. The "stable genius" started a trade war with China and let our jobs go overseas. This was the guy who claimed he would build "beautiful new factories and infrastructure" each week and "bring manufacturing jobs back to America". But it was all talk and nothing but his usual lies because we had no new jobs or factories under his failed tenure.
Trump's cheerleaders pathetically try to say that the "pandemic" caused his manufacturing recession. That's a lie because manufacturing was already ruined by Trump and the recession was in full swing during the Summer of 2019, well before the pandemic even hit.
The 2019 manufacturing recession was caused by Trump's ignorance and incompetence which ended up destroying our economy and later putting millions of people out of work.
So, Donnie handed off another one of his disasters off to President Biden in January 2021. Biden quickly got to work passing The American Rescue Plan, a massive infrastructure bill, The Inflation Reduction Act, and The Chips and Science Act which has now created nearly 13 million jobs and has manufacturing booming again with new jobs coming back to America.
Because of President Biden's strong and effective leadership, the United States manufacturing now outpaces the rest of the world.
So, why on Earth would anyone want to go back to the Trump manufacturing recession disaster when we have a manufacturing boom and historic job creation with President Biden? Republicans can't even answer that question because even they know Trump was an absolute failure, but they want to pretend he was "the greatest president in history". That's laugh out loud hilarious.
Look down below to remember the Trump recession manufacturing disaster vs the historic success of President Biden's manufacturing boom.
Failure, disaster, and manufacturing recession under Trump
U.S. manufacturing 'is in recession,' Fed's data show
July 16, 2019
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-industrial-production-slumps-in-second-quarter-2019-07-16
U.S. manufacturing is in a recession. What does that mean for the rest of the country?
September 6, 2019
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-manufacturing-is-in-a-recession-what-about-the-rest-of-the-country/
U.S. manufacturing dives to 10-year low as trade tensions weigh
October 1, 2019
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy/u-s-manufacturing-dives-to-10-year-low-as-trade-tensions-weigh-idUSKBN1WG47G
U.S. Manufacturing Shrinks for First Time in 3 Years – the Latest Economic Warning Sign
September 3, 2019
https://time.com/5667366/american-manufacturing-shrinks-recession-warnings/
It’s official: 2019 worst year for Ohio jobs since recession: Jobs also decline in January 2020
March 06, 2020
https://www.policymattersohio.org/research-policy/fair-economy/work-wages/job-watch/its-official-2019-worst-year-for-ohio-jobs-since-recession
The 2019 Manufacturing Recession
Aug 19, 2019
https://upfina.com/the-2019-manufacturing-recession/
US Manufacturing Is in Trouble
Talk of a manufacturing renaissance is nonsense. And there is no reason, based on Trump administration’s economic policies, to expect one.
February 23, 2020
https://portside.org/2020-02-23/us-manufacturing-trouble
Trump's trade war on China was a failure in every possible way
https://www.axios.com/2021/02/01/trump-trade-war-china-failure
Trump’s Tariffs Were Much More Damaging Than Thought
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2021/05/20/trumps-tariffs-were-much-more-damaging-than-thought/?sh=20a3c53b65bd
Success, historic job creation, and manufacturing boom under Biden
U.S. manufacturing growth outpaces the rest of the world
American manufacturing growth started outpacing the rest of the world's growth at the end of last year — for the first time in recent memory.
https://www.axios.com/2023/03/07/us-manufacturing-growth-outpaced-world
Factory Jobs Are Booming Like It’s the 1970s
U.S. manufacturing is experiencing a rebound, with companies adding workers amid high consumer demand for products.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/26/business/factory-jobs-workers-rebound.html
US Manufacturing Roars Back in 2022
https://www.designnews.com/automation/us-manufacturing-roars-back-2022
7 Reasons Manufacturers Are Returning to the US
https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/7-reasons-manufacturers-are-returning-to-the-us
U.S. manufacturing output surges in January
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-manufacturing-output-surges-january-2023-02-15/
THE U.S. HAS ADDED MANUFACTURING JOBS ACROSS THE COUNTRY DURING THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/democrats/issue-briefs?id=B4CBB163-3B49-4A0B-AAF4-60C97A3DA5B6
America Is Back in the Factory Business
https://www.wsj.com/articles/american-manufacturing-factory-jobs-comeback-3ce0c52c
Biden Basks in Big Job Gains: Biden Lauds ‘Strongest Job Growth in History’ as Hiring Surges
US added 517,000 jobs in January
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-03/biden-hails-strongest-job-growth-in-history-as-hiring-surges#xj4y7vzkg
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The President of South Korea singing American Pie to Joe Biden and others at the State Dinner.
It’s so nice being loved and respected by our allies again.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1651663371819708445
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1651428645389336577
State dinner surprise: South Korean president sings 'American Pie'
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Washington was still buzzing Thursday about how, during Wednesday's White House State Dinner featuring performances by a trio Broadway stars, the guest of honor -- South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol -- instead stole the show with his rendition of Don McClean's "American Pie."
After Yoon revealed that the American karaoke bar classic was his favorite song in school, President Joe Biden coaxed him into delivering a performance.
"Well, we want to hear you sing it," Biden said to Yoon, who obliged.
Despite speaking through an interpreter during the entire day of public events, Yoon had no trouble with the English lyrics as he burst into song, belting out several lines from the iconic tune then receiving boisterous cheers and a standing ovation from guests including Angelina Jolie.
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"The next state dinner we're going to have," Biden, who energetically pumped his fists during the performance, said, putting his arm around Yoon, "you're looking at the entertainment."
Biden added, "I had no damn idea you could sing." But he, evidently, did have an idea -- at least of Yoon's love for the song.
Following the performance, he told Yoon: "I understand that you like the guitar as well," then gifted him an autographed acoustic guitar from Don McLean himself.
The entertainment portion of the event also showcased performances by singers Lea Salonga, Norm Lewis, and Jessica Voski performed a medley of five classic Broadway hits — "This Is The Moment," "Happy Days Are Here Again," "On My Own," "Don't Rain On My Parade," and "Somewhere."
The dinner followed Biden and Yoon's bilateral meeting in the Oval Office on Wednesday, during which the pair discussed working together to deter North Korea's nuclear threats, promote peace in the Taiwan straits, stand with Ukraine amid Russia's invasion and more.
Yoon's state visit this week also marks the 70th anniversary of the U.S. and South Korea's alliance, forged in the aftermath of the Korean War.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/state-dinner-surprise-south-korean-president-sings-american/story?id=98903832
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President Biden Hosts a Joint Press Conference with President Yoon of the Republic of Korea
Watch:
President Biden and The First Lady Host President Yoon and Mrs. Kim of Korea for a State Dinner
Watch:
South Korea President sings 'American Pie' at state dinner
President Biden capped a historic visit from South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol with a lavish state dinner at the White House — where Yoon took to the mic to sing "American Pie." The diplomatic visit is meant to be a show of unity against North Korea’s nuclear program. NBC’s Kristen Welker reports for TODAY.
Watch:
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Woman attacked by Marjorie Taylor Greene as 'not a mother' speaks out
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American Federation of Teachers' president Randi Weingarten says U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's very personal attack on her as she testified before Congress this week was "homophobic," and she is urging people to call out "cruelty" whenever they see it.
Weingarten denounced "the vile, homophobic nature" of Greene's attack, saying, "it was pathetic, and the undermining of families was pathetic."
On Wednesday, for five minutes, the Republican Congresswoman from Georgia berated, demeaned, and bullied Weingarten -- and not just Weingarten but the LGBTQ community, and anyone who is adopted, anyone who has adopted a child, anyone who is a parent to a child but not by birth –not "biologically," the term Greene used – and anyone who is a child of a parent but not biologically.
Congresswoman Greene told Weingarten she is "not a mother" because she not the "biological" parent of her children.
It was a shocking claim that stunned many, but as NCRM reported, it was not the first time Greene has said that only biological parents are real parents.
“Miss Weingarten,” Rep. Greene asked Weingarten during the congressional hearing, “Are you a mother?”
“I am a mother by marriage,” Weingarten replied. “And my wife is here with me. So I’m really glad that she’s here.”
“By marriage,” Greene noted. “I see.”
The ensuing five-minute Q&A consisted almost entirely of Greene berating Weingarten, as she did here:
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1651327118369001472
Weingarten is not a government official and was not testifying under subpoena, so she conceivably could have walked out. But she stayed, and as she told MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on Friday, "I felt like I was taking one for the team."
Greene attacked her for doing her job by sending the CDC recommendations on how to protect children (and by extension their families), teachers, and staff as the coronavirus pandemic took over the country and the world.
The extremist Georgia lawmaker concluded her remarks by telling Weingarten, “you have no business advising the CDC what the medical guidelines were for school closures, because now we have a nation of schoolchildren who suffered because of it. The problem is people like you need to admit that you’re just a political activist. Not a teacher, not a mother and not a medical doctor.”
Note Greene's "people like you" and the "not a mother" remarks. To be clear, Marjorie Taylor Greene said Randi Weingarten is not a mother because she is merely married to her children's mother.
(Religion News Service's Jack Jenkins noted that Weingarten's wife is "Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, head of a prominent NYC synagogue long known for its support of LGBTQ rights.")
On Friday, Weingarten told Wallace and her MSNBC panel, "This can't just be political. It just can't be about what we do in November. I think that when we see people being treated so cruelly, and indecently people of different political factions have to come together, and it will have a lot of strength if we do. We can debate about issues. That's what school teachers do every day. You don't wait to say to a kid, 'Are you a Democrat? Are you a Republican? Are you an independent?'"
"Kids come to your classroom, you try to teach the whole child, you tried to help them thrive," she continued. "We need to call out the cruelty and call out the deprivation and the dehumanization."
Earlier in the segment Wallace blistered the right and the far-right, explaining that when they move to quickly dehumanize people, everyone needs to stop it in its tracks.
"I do this without hyperbole but I want to say this clearly today," Wallace told her panel. "If we don't jump on and rapidly respond to dehumanization campaigns when they happen, they're achieving what the right needs them to achieve."
"Alex Jones couldn't have the dead babies at Sandy Hook exist, because then we might do something different about guns. Republicans can't have the moms of trans kids and dads just trying to figure out the best way to love and support their kids. They can't exist. Because if that mom is as compassionate and committed to her child or his child as they are, then they can't square their own hateful hearts and their intolerance."
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1652050592964001805
Whistleblower raises alarm over John Roberts' wife making $10.3 million in legal commissions: 'I knew immediately that it was wrong'
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Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ wife earned $10.3 million in commissions for her work for elite law firms, one of which argued a case before her husband, Business Insider reports.
Jane Sullivan Roberts stepped away from her career as a prominent lawyer two years after her husband’s confirmation to the Supreme Court to become a legal recruiter, matching job-seeking lawyers with employers in what turned out to be a lucrative career change.
She made $10.3 million in commissions from 2007 to 2014, according to a whistleblower complaint, which cites internal records that were obtained from her employer by a disgruntled former colleague of Jane Roberts.
Kendal B. Price, the whistleblower who worked with Roberts at the firm Major, Lindsey & Africa, said as the chief justice’s wife, income Jane Roberts earns from law firms who try cases before the court should be subject to scrutiny.
"When I found out that the spouse of the chief justice was soliciting business from law firms, I knew immediately that it was wrong,” Price told Business Insider.
"During the time I was there, I was discouraged from ever raising the issue. And I realized that even the law firms who were Jane's clients had nowhere to go. They were being asked by the spouse of the chief justice for business worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and there was no one to complain to. Most of these firms were likely appearing or seeking to appear before the Supreme Court. It's natural that they'd do anything they felt was necessary to be competitive."
Price in an affidavit that accompanied the complaint alleged that Jane Roberts benefited from her proximity to the chief justice.
"She restructured her career to benefit from his [John Roberts'] position," Price wrote.
"I believe that at least some of her remarkable success as a recruiter has come because of her spouse's position."
Read More Here: https://www.businessinsider.com/jane-roberts-chief-justice-wife-10-million-commissions-2023-4
'His people skills are very, very bad': Another billionaire GOP donor says he won’t give to Ron DeSantis
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A billionaire Republican donor says he won’t give to Ron DeSantis because of the Florida governor’s people skills, or lack thereof.
John Catsimatidis, a self-described centrist who has contributed to candidates in both parties, became the latest prominent big donor to express doubts about giving to DeSantis, who has not yet announced his candidacy but is expected to do so soon.
Billionaire hedge fund executive Ken Griffin earlier this week said he’s having second thoughts about contributing to DeSantis, who he’s contributed to in the past.
Catsimatidis said he’s not the only big donor who believes DeSantis has a people skills problem.
“I have a lot of Florida friends that helped him get elected (governor) and he hasn’t returned any of their calls,” Catsimatidis said Friday during an appearance on Erin Burnett's OutFront.
“He is who he is. He’s a good American, but his people skills are very, very bad. And what I find out is the one that people hang out with. One friend of mine said he was sitting next to him and he never said one word."
“So his people skills are not good. And I think that's one of his major problems.”
Watch:
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President Biden’s Investing in America agenda has helped create over 12 million jobs, 800,000 manufacturing jobs, unleashed over $435 billion in private sector manufacturing investments, spurred record small business applications, and funded over 25,000 infrastructure projects – investments that will bring good-paying American jobs to communities across the country.
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President Biden has created nearly 800,000 new manufacturing jobs since taking office.
House Republicans are working to undo this progress and send these jobs overseas.
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UK business leaders dump on 'low-wattage' Ron DeSantis after overseas visit
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) was reportedly described by U.K. business leaders as "low-wattage" and "horrendous" in his presentation at a dinner on Friday that capped off his overseas trip.
DeSantis, who was recently smacked down in a scathing letter by a state prosecutor who said DeSantis had a "dilapidated presidential campaign," met with more than 50 representatives of U.K. business interests as part of an event billed as a mission to build economic ties between Florida and nations around the world, according to Politico, which also noted that the trip "has been widely seen in Washington as a chance for DeSantis to present himself as a statesman on the world stage."
DeSantis failed to impress many of the attendees at the event, according to the Saturday Politico report.
"For several of those present, however, the statesmanship was lacking," the article states. "One U.K. business figure said DeSantis 'looked bored' and 'stared at his feet' as he met with titans of British industry in an event co-hosted by Lloyd’s of London — the world’s largest insurance marketplace."
“He had been to five different countries in five days and he definitely looked spent, but his message wasn’t presidential,” one individual reportedly told Politico. “He was horrendous.”
That wasn't the only negative feedback that was reported in the Politico article:
"A second business figure who was in the room said it was a 'low-wattage' performance and that 'nobody in the room was left thinking, ‘this man’s going places’'," the piece says. "They said: 'It felt really a bit like we were watching a state-level politician. I wouldn’t be surprised if [people in attendance] came out thinking ‘that’s not the guy’."
Read More Here: https://www.politico.eu/article/ron-detedious-how-desantis-underwhelmed-britains-business-chiefs/
Marjorie Taylor Greene buried by former RNC head over ugly attack
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Former Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Michael Steele recently offered a bit of hard advice for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) following her controversial remarks about a union leader.
The Georgia lawmaker's remarks came during this week's House Select Subcommittee meeting on the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to HuffPost, Greene "faced criticism for remarking that Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers union, was “not a biological mother” and later 'not a mother.'”
Steele, now an analyst for MSNBC, explained the many perspectives of parenting and the different dynamics that can determine circumstances.
“It just struck such a raw nerve for me... to think that Marjorie Taylor Greene could look at my mother and say she’s not a mother well you need to shut the you know what up and step back,” Steele said.
“Because motherhood is something that comes from the heart, it’s something you do, it’s an expression of love, discipline, all the things I said...”
At another point during the segment, Steele also criticized his political party's portrayal of family values as he took aim at Greene once again describing her as a "'classless act' with 'classless words.”
“I’ve debated Randi, we’ve had our skirmishes, I’ve skirmished with teachers unions here in Maryland but I would never look at her and say ’Well, you’re unfit to have this discussion because you don’t know what it is because you’re not a mother,” Steele said.
Watch:
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Access to affordable, high-speed internet is key to opportunity in the 21st century.
Under President Biden’s economic plan, 17 million more households are now connected – and are saving $30-75 per month.
Sign up at http://GetInternet.gov.
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Trump continues to surge in the recent polls. Taking a commanding lead for the Republican nomination despite the relentless, nonstop effort of the mass media, social media, corrupt political establishment (including many Republicans), and justice system to do anything and everything necessary to stop him. No person in history could overcome these powerful forces. Meanwhile, with the fake support of all these corrupt institutions, Old Joe continues to fall to historic lows. Trump is still at a tremendous disadvantage in the general election having to overcome all these radicalized forces, but the fact that he can even still be competitive in an election is amazing.
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President Biden @POTUS
Medicare can now negotiate for lower drug prices.
My Administration finally beat Big Pharma, and got it done without a single Republican vote.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1652077732912590849
President Biden @POTUS
Nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs have been created on my watch.
That's the fastest growth in 40 years.
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No other President in history has had this economic success in just over 2 years!
President Biden @POTUS
We're not just building a record-breaking economy that brings back manufacturing, creates good-paying jobs, and leaves no one behind.
We're building an America that we can all take pride in.
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The leftist mayors of so-called "sanctuary cities" are squealing like Ned Beatty because a tiny fraction of the flood of illegals are being sent to their cities. Just wait for the next surge.
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Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has put support for small businesses at the center of its agenda to grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out. The results speaks for itself. We have a small business boom under the Biden-Harris Administration.
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Conservative activist arranged for Clarence Thomas' wife to get secret payouts
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Clarence Thomas' wife, "Ginni" Thomas, reportedly received tens of thousands of dollars for consulting work, and her name was intentionally left off of the paperwork.
Ginni Thomas received the funds from conservative activist Leonard Leo—who has also helped former President Donald Trump select judicial nominees—according to the Washington Post's investigation. The news comes at a time when Clarence Thomas himself is under fire for reportedly receiving undisclosed gifts.
Leo made the arrangements through former Trump Administration official Kellyanne Conway, according to the Washington Post's report.
"In January 2012, Leo instructed the GOP pollster Kellyanne Conway to bill a nonprofit group he advises and use that money to pay Virginia 'Ginni' Thomas, the documents show," according to the report. "The same year, the nonprofit, the Judicial Education Project, filed a brief to the Supreme Court in a landmark voting rights case."
The investigation further uncovered the circumstances surrounding how the payments were made secret.
"Leo, a key figure in a network of nonprofits that has worked to support the nominations of conservative judges, told Conway that he wanted her to 'give' Ginni Thomas 'another $25K,' the documents show. He emphasized that the paperwork should have 'No mention of Ginni, of course,'" according to the Washington Post.
The Polling Company, Conway's firm, reportedly sent the Judicial Education Project a $25,000 bill, and listed the reason only as "Supplement for Constitution Polling and Opinion Consulting."
"In all, according to the documents, the Polling Company paid Thomas’s firm, Liberty Consulting, $80,000 between June 2011 and June 2012, and it expected to pay $20,000 more before the end of 2012," according to the Washington Post's investigation. "The documents reviewed by The Post do not indicate the precise nature of any work Thomas did for the Judicial Education Project or the Polling Company.
In a statement, Leo reportedly told The Post that, “Knowing how disrespectful, malicious and gossipy people can be, I have always tried to protect the privacy of Justice Thomas and Ginni.”
https://www.rawstory.com/clarence-thomas-2659957296/
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Here are a few ways the Biden-Harris Administration is lowering costs for hardworking families.
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Corrupt Clarence Thomas is bought and paid for by a billionaire GOP donor and the Republican party looks the other way defending the corruption. ProPublica just released a new exclusive on another Clarence Thomas scandal. Read it below.
Clarence Thomas Had a Child in Private School. Harlan Crow Paid the Tuition.
Crow paid for private school for a relative Thomas said he was raising “as a son.” “This is way outside the norm,” said a former White House ethics lawyer.
https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-private-school-tuition-scotus
Justice Clarence Thomas let GOP donor pay child’s tuition
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican megadonor paid two years of private school tuition for a child raised by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who did not disclose the payments, a lawyer who has represented Thomas and his wife acknowledged Thursday.
The revelation of tuition payments made by Dallas billionaire Harlan Crow is the latest example of Crow’s generosity to Thomas and his family that has raised questions about Thomas’ ethics and disclosure requirements more generally. The payments, along with the earlier examples of Crow’s financial ties to Thomas, were first reported by the nonprofit investigative journalism site ProPublica.
ProPublica reported Thursday that Crow paid tuition for Thomas’ great-nephew Mark Martin. Thomas and his wife, Virginia, raised Martin from the age of 6.
Over the past month, ProPublica has reported in other stories about luxury vacations paid for by Crow that the conservative justice took as well as Crow’s purchase of property from the Thomas family, neither of which were disclosed. Democrats have used the revelations to call for stronger ethics rules for the Supreme Court, and the Democrat-controlled Senate held a hearing on ethics issues this week. Republicans have defended Thomas.
According to the ProPublica story, Crow paid tuition for Martin at a military boarding school in Virginia, Randolph-Macon Academy, as well as Hidden Lake Academy in Georgia.
ProPublica said Thomas did not respond to questions. Crow’s office responded in a statement to questions but did not address a question about how much he paid in total for Martin’s tuition. He did say that Thomas had not requested the support for either school, ProPublica reported.
A Supreme Court spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press about whether Thomas would have any response to the story. On Twitter, however, lawyer Mark Paoletta defended Thomas in an extended statement. Paoletta, a longtime friend of Thomas, called the story “another attempt to manufacture a scandal about Justice Thomas.”
Paoletta said in his statement that Crow had recommended that Thomas consider Randolph-Macon Academy, which Crow had attended, and had offered to pay for Martin’s first year there in 2006, a payment that went directly to the school. When the school recommended Martin spend a year at Hidden Lake Academy, Crow offered again to pay for that year, a payment that also went directly to the school, Paoletta said.
In response to the story, lawmakers in Congress were again divided by party.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who once clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts, said it was ”just the latest installment of the left’s multi-decade campaign to target Justice Thomas.”
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a statement that with “every new revelation in this case, it becomes clearer that Harlan Crow has been subsidizing an extravagant lifestyle” that Thomas could not otherwise afford.
“This is a foul breach of ethics standards, which are already far too low when it comes to the Supreme Court,” Wyden said.
Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged Roberts to take note.
“I hope that Chief Justice Roberts reads this story this morning and understands something has to be done,” Durbin said. “The reputation of the Supreme Court is at stake here, the credibility of the court when it comes to its future decisions is at stake.”
https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-justice-clarence-thomas-tuition-donor-bb1f59fc913fb3d70fd8bc913d8f7ef4
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Another strong jobs report for April 2023 as 253,000 more new jobs were added. This figure beat economists' expectations.
The national unemployment rate decreased to 3.4% in April. In March, the rate was 3.5%. The lowest unemployment in recent history.
The unemployment rate for college-degreed workers who are 25 or older — the professionals highly sought-after by many employers — also edged down slightly last month to 1.9%. The rate was 2.0% in March.
President Biden continues his historic job growth with this historic economy as the Biden Boom continues.
US labor market heats back up, adding 253,000 jobs in April
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/05/business/april-jobs-report-final/index.html
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New Ginni Thomas secret pay scandal 'won't fade away' like the others: legal analyst
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Reacting to new reporting that Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, was getting money from a conservative activist secretly funneled to her by former Trump White House official Kellyanne Conway, CNN's Supreme Court correspondent Joan Biskupic predicted the latest scandal will be hard for the court to ignore.
On Thursday, the Washington Post reported that Ginni Thomas, already under a cloud for her attempts to help aides to Trump overturn the 2020 presidential election results, was on the receiving end of payments from activist Leonard Leo, according to documents the newspaper had seen.
The Post report stated, "Leo, a key figure in a network of nonprofits that has worked to support the nominations of conservative judges, told Conway that he wanted her to 'give' Ginni Thomas 'another $25K,' the documents show. He emphasized that the paperwork should have 'No mention of Ginni, of course,'" before adding, "Conway’s firm, the Polling Company, sent the Judicial Education Project a $25,000 bill that day. Per Leo’s instructions, it listed the purpose as 'Supplement for Constitution Polling and Opinion Consulting,' the documents show."
Asked how the new revelations will impact the court, CNN's Biskupic said the new allegations are quite different than the reports of Texas billionaire funding Ginni Thomas and her Supreme Court justice's lavish lifestyle with gifts and expensive vacations.
In particular, she notes that money was reportedly being exchanged which could lead to a criminal investigation.
"Those instances were supposed to be reported as money that came to Clarence Thomas," she explained to host Kate Bolduan. "This instance arguably did not have to be reported in any way because right now the spouses don't have to detail their income on these forms."
"But that aside, let me just say that once again it's another issue that points up how much we don't know about wealthy interests trying to influence justices or maybe not even trying to influence justices, but raising that kind of spectre," she elaborated. "And that's why there's so much pressure for the justices to adopt a formal code of ethics rather than as the justices hope this all fades away. I don't think this time, Kate, this is going to fade away."
Watch:
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'Never forget': Eric Swalwell calls out Texas Gov. over gun comments after deadly mall shooting
In the wake of a fatal shooting in Texas, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) is reminding everyone that the lone star state's top executive once called on Texans to "pick up the pace" on gun sales.
The shooting in Allen, Texas, caused confirmed loss of life, according to CNN. In response to the shooting, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) blamed "mental illness, drugs, and evil forces," but did not touch on the potential for any firearm reform.
Swalwell on Saturday targeted Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R), who was called "remarkably callous" by MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace for his response to another mass shooting in his state, for his positions on obtaining firearms. Abbott has reportedly called the attack an “unspeakable tragedy,” saying in a public statement published by CNN that “our hearts are with the people of Allen, Texas.”
Swalwell wasted no time informing others where Abbott's loyalties lie. He tweeted the words "Never forget" along with a tweet by Abbott.
"I'm EMBARRASSED," Abbott's tweet reads. "Texas #2 in nation for new gun purchases, behind CALIFORNIA."
"Let's pick up the pace Texans," the governor added, including a link to the NRA.
Swalwell's promotion of the tweet is likely a direct response to recent shootings in Texas.
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https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1655018522072735744
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'Blindsided' GOP House members furious with Kevin McCarthy over broken promises
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Republican House moderates are fuming at House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for kowtowing to extreme rightwing members of his caucus over his budget deal which they feel has painted them into a corner.
According to a report from Juliegrace Brufke writing for Axios, as the budget deadline approaches members of the moderate wing of the party worry they will be blamed if things fall apart because McCarthy let members of the Freedom Caucus call the shots and likely won't bend as negotiations heat up.
Add to that, the report states, members feel "blindsided" by some of the concessions McCarthy made after telling them there would be no additional changes.
According to the report, "Some House Republicans are fretting about whether they'd be able to pass a watered-down version of their debt ceiling bill once the terms are negotiated with Senate Democrats and the White House."
The report notes that McCarthy and his lieutenants are being accused of not "tamping down" expectations of the extremists in the party which could create chaos during negotiations for the inevitable compromise bill.
Of note, Brufke wrote, "Despite the initial House GOP bill passing, several lawmakers told Axios the process has hurt their ability to move major pieces of legislation moving forward."
Among the GOP "grievances" over how things are going, Axios reports, "Multiple members said they were irritated by promises made to Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) about movement on bills related to gun control, reproductive health and cannabis laws. They also felt blindsided by changes on ethanol subsidies and work requirements for food stamps and Medicaid, despite repeatedly being told the bill wouldn't be changed."
The report notes that McCarthy has pushed back at complaints over his negotiations, claiming that alterations to his budget bills "were technical fixes to clarify certain provisions."
Read More Here: https://www.axios.com/2023/05/06/republicans-debt-ceiling-mccarthy-freedom-caucus
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Texas mall shooting live updates: 8 victims killed at Allen Premium Outlets
The suspected shooter was also killed by a police officer who was in the area on an unrelated call, authorities said.
Witness recalls pulling a young boy covered in blood from underneath his wounded mother
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A law enforcement officer walks as people are evacuated from a shopping center where a shooting occurred Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Allen, Texas.
A witness who rushed to Allen Premium Outlets after receiving a frantic call from his son said he found seven people with gunshot wounds outside a store.
Steven Spainhouer, a former police officer, said he began checking for pulses and pulled a young boy, covered in blood, from underneath his wounded mother.
Spainhouer said he was one of the first to arrive at the outlet, before police got to the scene.
“The trail of blood from where the victims were laying to the police car will stick in my head forever,” he said.
One victim died as Spainhouer performed CPR on him.
“There was nothing I could do,” he said.
Suspected shooter interacted with neo-Nazi and white supremacist content online, officials say
Suspected Allen, Texas mall shooter Mauricio Garcia interacted with neo-Nazi and white supremacist content online, according to two senior law enforcement officials.
According to one of the officials, 33-year-old Garcia posted such content himself. The other official said the suspect consumed such rhetoric online, had several social media accounts, and said that authorities found him with a patch with a right-wing acronym on his chest.
It's not known at this time what the right-wing acronym is.
NBC News has not seen any of the suspect’s accounts thus far, and the officials have stressed it’s still early in the investigation and it is too early to ascribe a motive.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/texas-mall-shooting-live-updates-rcna83240
Texas shooter lived with his mother — and was 'right-wing death squad' member interested in neo-Nazis: police
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Fox News is reporting more information about the man who opened fire at the mall in Allen, Texas on Saturday. According to the report, the police were searching the home of the shooter, which he shared with his two parents.
The 33-year-old Mauricio Martinez Garcia lived in Dallas.
"Neighbors said Garcia had lived in the home with his parents for years," said Fox, "and they had never seen him in possession of a weapon. They told WFAA that he could often be seen going to and from the house in an outfit that suggested he worked in a security role. Despite the regular sightings, neighbors added that both the man and his gray Dodge Charger had frequently been missing in recent weeks."
Eight people were killed and seven injured.
After the gunman was shot by a responding officer, a photo showed the man with an AR-15 and many rounds of ammunition strapped to him, CNN reported Sunday.
"We are horrified by today's senseless tragedy and outraged by the violence that continues to plague our country. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and others affected by this heinous act. We are thankful for the police officer’s heroic actions and for the support of all the first responders," the mall said in a statement about the ordeal.
The motivation for the attack was right-wing extremism, CNN said, citing a local law enforcement official. He had a patch reading RWDS on his chest, which police claim means "right-wing death squad."
"Officials are also investigating any possible ties between the suspect and radical beliefs after he was found wearing a patch on his chest that suggested white supremacist or neo-Nazi leanings," said the Washington Post.
NBC News explained in greater detail, "suspected Allen, Texas mall shooter Mauricio Garcia interacted with neo-Nazi and white supremacist content online, according to two senior law enforcement officials."
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The bottom has completely dropped out on Ukraine Joe. An all-time low polll number this week following his announcement to run in 2024. He trails Trump. The majority of those polled don't believe he has the mentally competency to be president. Absolutely brutal. And just wait until Hunter is indicted this week.
"President Joe Biden’s approval slid to a career low in the latest opinion poll for ABC News and the Washington Post that also showed the US leader lagging predecessor Donald Trump in early voter preferences for the 2024 election.
The percentage of those approving of Biden’s performance fell to 36%, six points lower than in February and a point off his previous low in early 2022, according to the survey conducted for the news organizations by Langer Research Associates. Some 56% disapproved of his performance, while 68% regarded Biden, at 80, as too old for another term.
When asked who they’d support in 2024, 44% said they would “definitely” or “probably” vote for Trump, more than the 38% who said they’d do the same for Biden.
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'Now it’s God’s fault': Texas Republican slammed for claiming 'the almighty' controls shootings
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Another day, another mass shooting in the United States.
A gunman, who is now dead, opened fire at an outlet mall in the town of Allen, Texas, Saturday afternoon, taking "multiple" peoples' lives and leaving nine people hospitalized.
CNN's Paula Reid interviewed Texas State Rep. Keith Self (R-Allen) on Saturday night to get his reaction to the shooting, zeroing in on what Self believes the next steps should be.
"Now, you know, congressman, that is a common refrain after these incidents, after mass shootings, but many people argue that prayers aren't cutting it, prayers are not preventing the next mass shooting. What is your response to that criticism?" Reid asked.
Self's answer was to double down.
"Well, those are people that don't believe in an almighty God who, who has, who is absolutely in control of our lives.
I'm a Christian. I believe that he is. We have people though, with mental health that we're not taking care of since this nation made the decision that we were gonna close the mental health institutions. Many of these situations are based on that, uh, and the people that say, and, and I really, I would like to stay away from the politics today because I wanna focus on the victims. Today we should be focused on the families," Self said. "Prayer is powerful in the lives of those people that are devastated. I know people want to make this political, but prayers are important and they are powerful in the families who are devastated right now."
The frustration on social media was palpable.
Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts: "Texans own among the most guns per capita of any state. If more guns and fewer gun laws made us safer, Texas would be the safest state. Instead it has high rates of gun suicide and homicide, and is home to four of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in the US."
MeidasTouch: "What an absolute disgrace. If you're not willing to actually do the work to stop these senseless killings, then get the hell out of the way for the people who are."
Ford News: "Republicans will lose the House, lose more seats in the Senate, and President Joe Biden will be reelected. They aren't listening to the majority of Americans."
Charles Adler: "So if we are to go with what this Republican pol is saying, God wants disturbed people to have easy access to guns in the US, but not in the rest of the world. Apparently God wants Americans to be sacrificed. Who believes these pig droppings? Apparently, multiple millions do."
Chidi: "If their almighty god demands we live in a society that values guns over lives and lets people kill innocent men, women and children on a daily basis, then their god is cruel. I don't understand the type of Christianity these people are practicing."
Paul Griffiths: "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? - James 2:14"
Machine Pun Kelly Redux: "So it's God's fault children are getting shot?"
https://www.rawstory.com/now-its-gods-fault-texas-republican-slammed-for-claiming-the-almighty-controls-shootings-2659975683/
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The bottom has completely dropped out on Ukraine Joe. An all-time low polll number this week following his announcement to run in 2024. He trails Trump. The majority of those polled don't believe he has the mentally competency to be president. Absolutely brutal. And just wait until Hunter is indicted this week.
"President Joe Biden’s approval slid to a career low in the latest opinion poll for ABC News and the Washington Post that also showed the US leader lagging predecessor Donald Trump in early voter preferences for the 2024 election.
The percentage of those approving of Biden’s performance fell to 36%, six points lower than in February and a point off his previous low in early 2022, according to the survey conducted for the news organizations by Langer Research Associates. Some 56% disapproved of his performance, while 68% regarded Biden, at 80, as too old for another term.
When asked who they’d support in 2024, 44% said they would “definitely” or “probably” vote for Trump, more than the 38% who said they’d do the same for Biden.
The Republican party favorite pollster Rasmussen poll has President Biden at 48% approval rating. While Criminal Donald is on his way to prison for multiple felonies. And it doesn't matter what Biden's poll numbers are. When Biden is up against a right wing extremist he will easily win as all polls indicate.
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/biden_administration/prez_track_may05
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Texas GOPer 'needs to be removed from office' over 'unconscionable' Allen shooting remarks: colleague
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Appearing on MSNBC early Sunday morning, a Texas lawmaker slammed his Republican colleague who represents the community where the latest mass shooting took place and said he deserves to be removed from office over his appalling comments on CNN afterward.
Speaking with MSNBC's Katie Fang, State Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D) expressed dismay over the latest mass shooting at a mall in Allen, Texas, that left 8 dead and more critically wounded.
The MSNBC host then quoted State Rep. Keith Self (R-Allen) from his appearance on CNN when he was pressed that people don't think "thoughts and prayers" are enough to stop the wave of gun violence that is engulfing the country.
According to Self, "Well, those are people that don't believe in an almighty God who, who has, who is absolutely in control of our lives."
According to Guitierrez, his Texas lawmaker colleague should be ashamed of hiding behind the Bible.
"The god that I believe in gives us free will," he began. "They allow us to make decisions, gives us the ability to go out and make great laws. The Bible speaks about lawmakers often."
"A the end of the day, we are empowered, sure, by God and by our constituencies to go out and create change. -- positive change," he continued. "We are killing babies, we are killing family members, grandmothers in this country. It is unconscionable for this man to use the Bible or God in any way to defend these positions. I think he needs to be removed from office, that is how unconscionable this is."
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The Republican party favorite pollster Rasmussen poll has President Biden at 48% approval rating. While Criminal Donald is on his way to prison for multiple felonies. And it doesn't matter what Biden's poll numbers are. When Biden is up against a right wing extremist he will easily win as all polls indicate.
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/biden_administration/prez_track_may05
HA HA HA. This is an ABC poll. The most leftist of media. Keep spinning. 2024 is one day closer.
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Thanks to President Biden's economic policies, small business is booming!
Small Business Is Booming. Here Are 6 Ways for Entrepreneurs to Keep Thriving
https://www.uschamber.com/small-business/small-business-is-booming-here-are-6-ways-for-entrepreneurs-to-keep-thriving
President Biden @POTUS
Small businesses are the engine of our economy – the soul of our communities.
It’s one of the best investments America can make.
That’s why supporting small business is at the heart of my plan to grow our economy from the bottom up and middle out.
Every time someone starts a new business – it’s an act of hope and optimism.
My economic plan is in an investment in that hope.
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House Republicans’ Pledge to Cut Appropriated Programs to 2022 Level Would Have Severe Effects, Particularly for Non-Defense Programs
https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/house-republicans-pledge-to-cut-appropriated-programs-to-2022-level-would
U.S. DOT says Republican budget plan would cut rail inspections, shut air traffic towers
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WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on Wednesday said a Republican budget cut proposal would shut down 375 federally-staffed and contract-run air traffic control towers around the country and result in 7,500 fewer rail safety inspection days.
Overall, it said the Republican plan, which would sharply reduce budget spending in exchange for a short-term increase in the debt ceiling, would reduce funding for U.S. transit and highway infrastructure projects by nearly $5.2 billion.
The White House has said President Joe Biden would veto the legislation, and has called on Congress to raise the debt limit without conditions.
President Biden and his administration have pushed back hard against the proposal from Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which would implement $4.5 trillion in spending cuts with a $1.5 trillion increase in the $31.4 trillion U.S. debt limit.
"House Republicans’ proposal would slash funding for programs the American people depend on in their everyday lives, including funding that’s vital for ensuring transportation safety and improving our country’s infrastructure," DOT said in a factsheet.
It said it estimated that cutting critical programs by 22% would lead to nearly 7,500 fewer rail safety inspection days and over 30,000 fewer miles of track inspected annually, at a time when lawmakers are calling for more inspections in the wake of the Norfolk Southern derailment disaster.
It said the plan would also shut down services at some 375 of about 550 air traffic control towers, potentially increasing security wait times at Transportation Security Administration check points by over two hours.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-dot-says-republican-budget-plan-would-cut-rail-inspections-shut-air-traffic-2023-04-26/
Bastion of wingnuts': How the MAGA faction has left Georgia's GOP 'warped and wrecked'
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The Republican party in one of America's central election battlegrounds has gotten so extreme its core activists – and even many of its elected officials – have been cast off, leaving it a "bastion of wingnuts, spiraling into chaos and irrelevance," the New York Times wrote Monday.
The GOP in Georgia has "gone so far down the MAGA rabbit hole that many of its officeholders – including Gov. Brian Kemp, who romped to re-election last year despite being targeted for removal by Donald Trump — are steering clear of it as if it’s their gassy grandpa at Sunday supper," wrote Michelle Cottle.
"What’s happening in Georgia is a cautionary tale for pluralism, an example of how the soul of a party can become warped and wrecked when its leadership veers toward narrow extremism."
The demise started when Georgia's GOP chairman, David Shafer, backed Trump-supported challengers in last year's primary to unseat Republicans who hadn't backed the ex-president's claims that the 2020 election had been stolen. Other Georgia politicians emerged as anti-Trump, and a schism appeared, Cottle wrote.
The slide into chaos, she added, was helped to hit full speed with the passing of a bill in 2021 that let officials and election challengers form leadership PACs that aren't subject to fundraising limits.
That meant Republicans “don’t have to play nice in the sandbox with a group that is sometimes at odds with them,” she wrote.
Gov. Brian Kemp, seen as a leader standing up to Trump, has announced he's skipping next month's state party convention. He has also suggested don't waste their money on party spending, saying, "We can no longer rely on the traditional party infrastructure to win in the future,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported
The party central, however, is very much in the Trump camp. Chairman David Shafer has been named in the Fulton County investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and "the party culture has become steeped in the paranoid politics of MAGA and election denial," wrote Cottle.
"And in the current environment, “everyone must pledge their undying loyalty to Donald Trump above all else,” says Jay Morgan, who was an executive director of the state party in the 1980s."
“Right now, it’s largely a place disconnected from reality,” Cole Muzio, president of Frontline Policy Action, a conservative advocacy group, told Cottle.
Among party-backed candidates winning recent elections at county and district levels are Kandiss Taylor, the new chairwoman of the First Congressional District who ran for governor last year as "the only candidate bold enough to stand up to the Luciferian Cabal.” She won just over 3 percent of the primary vote, announced that the vote was fixed and refused to concede.
"After election deniers failed to gain control of statewide offices across the nation in 2022, many of them refocused their efforts farther down the food chain," wrote Cottle. And that development means they are taking control of the core of the party.
She added, "Letting them oversee any aspect of the electoral process seems like a poor idea.If this development persists, Republicans more interested in the party’s future than in relitigating its past might want to look at how Kemp & Company have been trying to address their intraparty problems — and what more could and should be done to insulate not only the party’s less-extreme candidates, but also the democratic system, from these fringe forces.
"There are risks that come with ticking off election deniers and other Trumpian dead-enders. But the greater risk to the overall party, and the nation, would be declining to do so.
Read More Here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/01/opinion/georgia-trump.html
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'I made a little chart': Biden destroys GOPers who claim they didn't vote to cut veterans' benefits
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President Joe Biden trolled House Republicans on Tuesday after they passed a debt ceiling bill that could cut benefits for veterans.
Republicans have accused Democrats of "shamelessly lying" about cuts to veterans' benefits. But the bill "does not explicitly exempt the Department of Veterans Affairs from federal spending caps," according to The Huffington Post.
On Tuesday, Biden tweeted a flow chart showing exactly how Republicans in the House had not protected veterans' health benefits.
"I hear House Republicans out on TV saying they would never vote to cut veterans' benefits," he wrote. "In case there's any confusion, I made a little chart that could help them out."
See the chart below:
President Biden @POTUS
I hear House Republicans out on TV saying they would never vote to cut veterans’ benefits.
In case there’s any confusion, I made a little chart that could help them out.
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https://www.rawstory.com/biden-and-veterans-benefits/
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Ron DeSantis handed Disney lawyers the ammo they needed to blow him out of the water
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If Gov. Ron Ron DeSantis (R-FL) flops in his war with Disney, he will likely have himself -- and his presidential ambitions -- to blame, writes Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent.
Attorneys for the entertainment giant filed a lawsuit against the Florida Republican last Wednesday in U.S. district court in Tallahassee, Florida, asking to have its control over a special tax district restored back to the way it has been run since the 1960's.
Looking for the evidence they need to push back at DeSantis and his hand-appointed board, Disney lawyers found a great deal of what they need in the book DeSantis wrote as he ramped up his fledgling drive for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
As the Post's Sargent wrote, excerpts from the book, "The Courage To Be Free," feature prominently in the lawsuit which could undermine his case.
"Memoirs by presidential aspirants often lay out a blueprint for their coming candidacies. DeSantis does, too. It boasts extensively about his war on Disney to advertise how he would marshal the powers of the presidency against so-called woke elites," the columnist wrote. "Disney’s lawsuit cites exactly these passages. DeSantis — who signed a law taking control of Disney’s special self-governing district, and moved to nullify the company’s efforts to work around it — repeatedly flaunts the truth: These were retaliation against Disney for opposing his “don’t say gay” law limiting classroom discussion of sex and gender."
According to Scott Wilkens, senior counsel at the Knight First Amendment Institute, the governor's own words are a powerful weapon being deployed by the Disney legal team.
"You have pretty clear statements from Governor DeSantis that he is seeking to punish a corporation for its speech,” Wilkens explained. “That’s prohibited by the First Amendment.”
Sargent added, "All of this shows how hollow these right-wing theatrical exercises have become. When you start with the thrills you hope to inspire in the Fox News audience and build policy around that, the results tend to collapse once the lack of a real policy rationale becomes widely understood. If quotes from DeSantis’s own memoir lead to another such implosion, it would represent a spectacular and richly deserved form of political justice."
You can read more here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/02/ron-desantis-disney-lawsuit-wokeness-donald-trump-2024/
China-hawk GOP senator making thousands of dollars from business deal with Chinese state firm: report
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Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) talks a tough game in standing up to China, and was known for his hawkish anti-China speeches in his former office as governor of Nebraska. But according to The Daily Beast, he is making thousands of dollars off the sale of a business to a company controlled by the Chinese government.
"The new filings by the son of billionaire Cubs owner Joe Ricketts reveal that he had received payouts in the amount of $2,501 to $5,000 last year from his holdings in the National Cement Share Company. The submissions note these are mere 'holdbacks' from the 2021 sale of the stake in the complex to West China Cement held by a private equity firm in which Ricketts served as limited partner—a $23.4 million transaction which The Daily Beast reported on last year," reported William Bredderman. "The recently appointed Republican senator’s office told The Daily Beast he would get a further payment of between $1,001 and $15,000 at an as-yet unknown date in the future. His team further asserted he had no decision-making role in the sale. Ricketts’ press staff in the governor’s office had previously failed to return calls and emails from The Daily Beast regarding the deal."
Ricketts was appointed to the Senate by Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, shortly after leaving the governor's mansion himself. He succeeded Ben Sasse, a Republican who left to take over the University of Florida system, a move that was controversial for faculty and students of that institution.
"As evidence of his anti-China record, [a] spokesperson pointed to Ricketts’ 2020 ban on the use of the app TikTok on Nebraska-owned devices, and highlighted the closure of the Beijing-linked Confucius Institute at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln that same year," said the report. "However, the state school at the time attributed the shutdown of the controversial Chinese cultural center to budget cuts. And while Ricketts adopted an extremely hostile posture toward the totalitarian regime at the end of his tenure as governor, even declaring a 'Victims of Communism Remembrance Month' to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s founding in 2021, he praised the Confucius Institute in an exclusive interview he granted in 2018 to China Daily — the official mouthpiece of President Xi Jinping’s political apparatus."
As China has stepped up its support of the Russian invasion and genocide in Ukraine, and as military experts have prepared for the possibility China could launch a similar military conflict of its own in Taiwan, there has been a bipartisan demand to take a hard line against China's provocations, and to prevent entities tied to the Chinese government from segments of the U.S. economy critical to national security.
One of the largest national moves against China has been President Joe Biden's sanctions cutting China off from the U.S. semiconductor industry, which massively disrupted the nation's technology industry and took many industry experts by surprise.
Read More Here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/anti-beijing-senator-pete-ricketts-still-collecting-money-from-china-deal/
House GOPer confronted with deep cuts his state will face under Kevin McCarthy's proposed budget
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During an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" to praise House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for getting his budget proposal passed by a very slim margin, a member of his caucus was confronted by host Dana Bash about how the proposal will hurt his own constituents.
Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) was on to make the case that it is up to President Joe Biden to meet with McCarthy to resolve their differences which led the CNN host to dig into the details of how the proposed budget will impact the state he represents
"Let me quickly look deep inside what you did get passed this past week," Bash began. "The bill would cut all non-defense discretionary funding by 22% — that is a lot of money and I want you to look at what the administration would say it would mean for your home state of Minnesota."
Putting a graphic up, she continued, "Thousands would lose food, rental assistance, and they would pay more for college. Outpatient VA appointments for veterans could be cut. This will make a big difference if, what you want, this bill actually would become law. A big difference in the lives of Americans, especially those living paycheck to paycheck. What do you say to them?"
"Well, I actually challenge it," Emmer bristled.
"They're just not true and what you just said is just not true either," he accused. "You should scrutinize what the administration is talking about."
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'Unparalleled in its audacity': Herschel Walker accused of scamming more than $500,000 from billionaire donor
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Failed Georgia Republican senate candidate Herschel Walker’s improper solicitation of a billionaire donor revealed in emails obtained by The Daily Beast have shocked campaign finance experts, the outlet reports.
Walker in communication with donor Dennis Washington sought hundreds of thousands of dollars for his own personal business, The Daily Beast reports.
Washington complied with Walker's request for the funds, thinking the contributions were political, the report said.
The emails, which have been verified as authentic by a person with knowledge of the exchange, specifically shows Walker requested $535,200 be wired directly to that undisclosed company, HR Talent, LLC, the report said.
The emails, which have been verified as authentic by a person with knowledge of the exchange, specifically shows Walker requested $535,200 be wired directly to that undisclosed company, HR Talent, LLC, the report said.
Roger Sollenberger writes for The Daily Beast, “In the best possible circumstances, legal experts told The Daily Beast, the emails suggest exponential violations of federal fundraising rules; in the worst case, they could be an indication of more serious crimes, such as wire fraud.”
Read More Here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/emails-reveal-jaw-dropping-herschel-walker-money-scandal
Favoritism accusations swirl after Boebert’s son allowed to appear in court virtually
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The son of Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) was allowed to phone in virtually to a court hearing on his driving violation, sparking accusations of political favoritism, reported Westword.
"On April 24, the favoritism apparently continued: A Garfield County judge let Tyler appear in court virtually, instead of in person, despite his failure to show up at a previous hearing and getting hit with a bench warrant as a result," reported Chris Perez. "'Typically, if a defendant misses a court hearing and a bench warrant is issued or stayed, they are required to appear for the next date,' says Sarah Nordgaard, deputy district attorney with the 9th Judicial District. 'Whether that is virtual or in person just depends on individual circumstances.'"
Tyler crashed his vehicle in September of last year, putting a friend in the hospital with a concussion and hand lacerations that nearly severed his thumb. Initially, Tyler was charged with "careless driving leading to bodily injury," a misdemeanor, which was later reduced to the civil violation of driving with broken headlights.
According to prior reports, the congresswoman was unaware her son missed his original court date.
"Tyler, who turned eighteen in March, was scheduled to appear in court and provide proof of completing the 'Alive at 25' driver awareness program — one of the key terms of his 'defective vehicle for headlights' plea deal," said the report. "It was the very last stop on his months-long road of legal drama. 'He must've emailed in the certificate,' said a Garfield County court clerk, who added that virtual appearances are considered on a 'case-by-case basis. If people request it, they can be granted or denied.'"
Boebert has been accused of covering up details of the incident from the public, including the extent of the injuries caused by the crash.
https://www.rawstory.com/favoritism-accusations-swirl-after-boeberts-son-allowed-to-appear-in-court-virtually/
Even this conservative thinks the Clarence Thomas scandal has become too big to ignore
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Writing for The Daily Beast on Thursday, conservative columnist Matt Lewis says that the new reporting about Clarence Thomas accepting tuition for his grandnephew from billionaire megadonor Harlan Crow, is the "straw that broke the camel’s back for me" — and the Supreme Court needs to adopt a code of ethics immediately.
"Even if Justice Thomas’ decisions have never been directly influenced by his friend’s generosity, Supreme Court justices should be expected to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. And there can be no denying that the optics of this situation are…bad," wrote Lewis. "Keep in mind that this latest revelation comes on the heels of reports that Thomas enjoyed lavish vacations on Crow’s dime and that Crow purchased the home of Thomas’ mother (and allows her to live there rent-free)."
Initially, Lewis admitted, he was ready to ignore this story because he supported Thomas' jurisprudence, and because he felt the public criticism of Crow's collection of Hitler memorabilia was unfair. But now, he believes it is impossible to ignore.
The whole situation, Lewis wrote, is akin to "a theoretical scenario where left-wing billionaire George Soros was paying for Biden-appointed Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s child to attend an extremely expensive school" — something Republicans would surely find "completely inappropriate."
"If our elected officials (whom we could, at least theoretically, fire) are shedding credibility by wetting their beaks, then it must be doubly true of unelected judges with a lifetime seat," wrote Lewis. "It’s not like these institutions have credibility to burn. A 2022 Gallup survey showed that trust in the Supreme Court was at a historic low of 25 percent. That was down 11 percentage points from the previous year, no doubt owing to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. In the wake of these latest revelations regarding Justice Thomas, it may sink even lower ... It is vital that we preserve a separation of powers. But if we the people cannot demand that SCOTUS implement some reform or accountability, then the one unelected branch of government is beyond oversight."
Chief Justice John Roberts has a responsibility here, Lewis argued: "If Roberts really cares about preserving the credibility of this institution, he should push for serious, self-imposed reforms that would ban judges from accepting lavish gifts, regardless of whether there is direct quid pro quo."
Read More Here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/clarence-thomas-has-some-obscenely-generous-friends
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Since President Biden took office, small businesses have created 3.1 million jobs – a near record level.
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FACT SHEET: The Small Business Boom Under the Biden-Harris Administration
Through the American Rescue Plan and the equitable implementation of emergency relief programs, President Biden and Vice President Harris fostered the strongest recovery for Main Street on record. In 2021, Americans applied to start 5.4 million new businesses—more than 20 percent higher than any previous year on record.
The boom in new business creation has been particularly strong for entrepreneurs of color. In 2021, Hispanic Americans started new businesses at the fastest rate in more than a decade and 23 percent faster than pre-pandemic levels.
And, in the three-quarters of 2021, small businesses with fewer than 50 employees created 1.9 million jobs, the fastest start to small business job growth in any year on record.
This new White House report details the historic recovery for America’s small businesses and demonstrates how the Biden-Harris agenda laid the foundation for this small business boom. By focusing on combatting the pandemic, providing Americans with greater financial security, and delivering more than $450 billion in emergency relief to small businesses, the Biden-Harris Administration has helped create the conditions for unprecedented business and job creation.
The Biden-Harris strategy to rescue and revitalize Main Street contrasts sharply with the latest tax plan from Republicans in Congress. The Congressional Republican proposal put forward by Senator Rick Scott to impose a minimum tax on middle-class families would increase taxes on small businesses across the country. In addition to detailing the historic economic progress the Biden-Harris Administration has made to date, the Appendix includes a new state-by-state analysis of the Congressional Republican tax plan. The analysis finds that this tax plan would raise taxes on nearly half of small business owners (6.1 million people), including 82 percent of small business owners making less than $50,000 per year. Under the Congressional Republicans’ plan, the typical small business owner would see their taxes increased by almost $1,200.
President Biden rejects Congressional Republicans’ plan to increase taxes on half of small business owners. His four-pillar economic strategy for small businesses will lower costs and level the playing field for families and small businesses. The plan is focused on:
1. Expanding access to capital,
2. Making historic investments in helping small businesses navigate available resources,
3. Leveraging federal spending to support small businesses, and
4. Leveling the playing field for small business owners by reforming the tax code.
Read the full report here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/President-Biden-Small-Biz-Boom-full-report-2022.04.28.pdf
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More historic success from the Biden economic plan — lowest black unemployment rate in history.
Unemployment rate for Black Americans @ 4.7% is now at an all-time low -- below 5% for the first time in U.S. history.
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President Biden @POTUS
This is what happens when you invest in America.
We have more work to do – but this is real progress.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1654599351350575108
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Marjorie Taylor Greene blames 'mental illness, drugs, and evil forces' for Texas mall shooting
https://www.rawstory.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-shooting/
Right wing extremists like Marjorie Taylor Greene want to blame everything else under the sun except for the weapons of war that slaughters innocent people each day in America.
Right wing Republicans want to blame "mental health" for mass shootings, but Republicans allow mentally disturbed people to easily purchase assault weapons with no questions asked in red states with weak gun laws.
When it comes time to vote for mental health legislation, right wing Republicans in the House of Representatives unanimously vote against mental health services.
So, Republicans scream about mental health funding and then vote against it when they have a chance to fund it. Republicans vote against what they keep screaming about.
It's all political theatre and Republicans have no intentions of helping to combat gun violence or funding mental health.
Republicans are useless, they continue to allow our communities to be ravaged with gun violence because they are bought and paid for by the NRA to keep guns in the hands of violent criminals and mentally disturbed people.
The House vote is below as House Republicans and MAGA loon Marjorie Taylor Greene unanimously voted against funding mental health services.
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Biden again demands action after eight killed in Texas mall rampage
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WASHINGTON (AFP) — President Joe Biden renewed his call Sunday for a national assault-weapons ban and other gun safety measures, a day after eight people were murdered at a Texas shopping mall in the latest mass shooting to shake the nation.
Responders, distressed witnesses and police described scenes of panic and horror in Allen, where video footage shared online showed the shooter exiting a sedan in an outlet mall parking lot Saturday and firing a semi-automatic rifle at people walking nearby.
An officer on an unrelated call nearby quickly responded and "neutralized" the shooter, police said.
Seven people were pronounced dead at the scene, including the shooter, while two others died in the hospital, authorities said.
Three people were in critical condition as of Sunday morning, the Allen Police Department said.
The Texas Department of Public Safety identified the suspected shooter as Mauricio Garcia, a 33-year-old from Dallas, in a statement Sunday evening.
While the statement did not offer further details about Garcia's background or motive, multiple US media outlets said investigators were probing his social media posts, which allegedly showed an interest in radical right-wing ideology, including white supremacy and neo-Nazism.
"Eight Americans -- including children -- were killed yesterday in the latest act of gun violence to devastate our nation," Biden said in a statement Sunday.
He ordered US flags lowered to half-staff "as a mark of respect for the victims" and repeated his call for lawmakers to take action against a gun "epidemic."
"Once again, I ask Congress to send me a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines," the President said.
He also demanded lawmakers require universal background checks for gun purchases and end legal immunity for manufacturers' whose weapons are used in attacks.
"I will sign it immediately. We need nothing less to keep our streets safe," Biden said in a statement.
Awash in firearms
The attack is the latest in an alarming trajectory of deadly US gun violence. Barely a week earlier, a man shot and killed five neighbors in Cleveland, Texas after one of them asked him to stop firing his rifle in his yard at night while a baby slept.
Several other people have also been gunned down in recent weeks over petty disputes or common mistakes, such as knocking on the wrong door or getting into the wrong car.
Awash in firearms, the United States has already endured 199 mass shootings this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-governmental organization that defines a mass shooting as four or more people wounded or killed.
"Too many families have empty chairs at their dinner tables," Biden said, as he berated his political opponents for inaction.
"Republican members of Congress cannot continue to meet this epidemic with a shrug," he said. "Tweeted thoughts and prayers are not enough."
No 'quick solution'
The gunfire at Allen Premium Outlets, 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Dallas, erupted Saturday afternoon when it was busy with weekend shoppers, police said.
The officer in the mall "heard gunshots, went to the gunshots, engaged the suspect and neutralized the suspect," said Chief Brian Harvey of the Allen police department.
Biden joined local officials in hailing the quick actions of police for likely saving lives.
The police chief later said authorities believe the unidentified shooter "acted alone."
CNN showed a cropped photograph of the apparent gunman dead on the ground, wearing tactical gear with extra magazines, and with an AR-15-style rifle at his side.
Governor Greg Abbott, who attended a vigil Sunday evening for the victims, said "the hearts of all Texans are with Allen."
Earlier in the day, the Republican had called the shooting an "unspeakable tragedy," and refused to discuss repeated demands by Democrats for tightened gun restrictions.
"People want a quick solution. The long-term solution is to address the mental health issue" including the increased "anger and violence" in America, Abbott told Fox News.
'Unfathomable' carnage
Steven Spainhouer, a former police officer, said he was confronted with horrific images when he rushed to the scene and performed CPR on victims before emergency responders arrived.
Finding one female victim on the ground, "I felt for her pulse, pulled her head to the side, and she had no face," Spainhouer told CBS News. He found the son of another victim lying alive under his dead mother and "covered head to toe" in her blood.
"It's just unfathomable to see the carnage," he said.
With more firearms than inhabitants, the United States has the highest rate of gun deaths of any developed country -- 49,000 in 2021, up from 45,000 the year before.
© Agence France-Presse
After Allen shooting, Texas Republican leaders downplay guns, focus on mental health
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After a mass shooting on Saturday at an Allen outlet mall ended with eight people dead, Texas Republicans are doubling down on their resistance to gun control legislation.
A gunman used an AR-15-style weapon to open fire on shoppers on Saturday afternoon, killing eight people and injuring at least seven others in the suburb 25 miles north of Dallas. The massacre ended when a police officer, already at the scene, killed the gunman.
The Texas Department of Public Safety identified the gunman as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia. Investigators have been searching a nearby motel at which the suspect had been staying and a home in the Dallas area connected to the suspect. The city of Allen said Sunday that the Texas Department of Public Safety would lead the investigation into the shooting going forward.
In an interview Sunday, Fox News presented Gov. Greg Abbott with a poll that showed Americans overwhelmingly favored background checks and raising the minimum age to buy firearms. But the governor shunned gun safety options in Texas and instead pointed to the need to increase mental health funding.
“We are working to address that anger and violence by going to its root cause, which is addressing the mental health problems behind it,” Abbott said. “People want a quick solution. The long-term solution here is to address the mental health issue.”
There has been no public indication from investigators that mental illness played a role in the shooting Saturday, but WFAA reported, citing unnamed sources, that the gunman was removed from the U.S. Army "due to mental health concerns." Abbott attended a vigil at Cottonwood Creek Church Allen on Sunday.
U.S. Rep. Keith Self, a Republican who represents Allen, also emphasized mental health as a solution to gun violence. In an interview with CNN, Self said “many of these situations are based on” the closures of mental health institutions.
Republican leaders in Texas and across the nation often focus on mental illness after mass shootings. But mental health experts argue this lets lawmakers avoid talking about other issues related to gun violence and further stigmatizes people with mental health issues.
The shooting in Allen comes as Texas lawmakers face fresh calls for gun safety legislation. But efforts to restrict access to firearms have been elusive this legislative session. A measure to raise the age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle in the state from 18 to 21 — backed by families of the Uvalde school shooting victims — appears likely to miss a deadline to pass out of a House committee on Monday.
At an intersection near the mall on Sunday, a man carried a sign with a depiction of an AR-style rifle that read, “Well-regulated militia murders 8 people in Allen.” Shoppers who had been trapped at the mall the previous day waited outside to retrieve cars that remained in the parking lot as the law enforcement investigation continued.
As Texas Republicans invoke mental illness after the Allen shooting, lawmakers on the other side of the aisle home in on the weapon the gunman used.
The Texas Democratic Party called on the state Legislature to pass gun safety legislation — such as background checks with no private sale loopholes and raising the minimum age to 21 to purchase firearms — before the Legislature adjourns at the end of this month.
“We support the Second Amendment,” the statement said. “We also believe that the best way to uphold Texas’ strong heritage of responsible gun ownership for self defense, hunting, and recreation is to make sure we’re keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals and others deemed dangerous to themselves and others."
A little after 3:30 p.m. Saturday, a gunman stepped out of a gray car outside Allen Premium Outlets and began shooting at shoppers on the sidewalk. Of the seven injured, three were still in critical condition as of Sunday afternoon, according to Medical City Healthcare. Authorities have not yet released the names of the victims but have asked witnesses or those with information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI and to share photos or video of the incident at fbi.gov/allenmallshooting.
The gunman was wearing tactical gear and used an AR-15-style assault weapon to carry out the shooting, President Joe Biden confirmed in a statement Sunday.
An AR-15-style weapon was used in 2022 when an 18-year-old gunned down 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Police responding to the Uvalde school shooting said they feared the weapon, which is designed to be used in combat.
That type of rifle was also used when a 36-year-old gunman went on a shooting rampage in the Midland-Odessa area in 2019, and when a 26-year-old gunman opened fire at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs in 2017.
At the federal level, Biden called for universal background checks and safe storage of firearms. If Congress sent a bill with such measures to his desk, he said Sunday, he would “sign it immediately.” The president also ordered flags across the country to be flown at half-staff through May 11 to honor the victims of the shooting.
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/07/allen-shooting-guns-mental-health/
Massacre witness refutes right-wing talking point: 'It wasn't mental health that killed these people'
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Steven Spainhauer told MSNBC he witnessed victims massacred by a gunman in Texas over the weekend, and he disagreed with conservatives blaming "mental health" for the shooting.
In an interview on Sunday, Spainhauer, a former police officer, said he went to the scene of the shooting at the outlet mall in Allen after getting a call from his son.
"I found seven people shot in front of the store," he said.
Spainhauer recalled the horrific details of three victims, noting that one girl "had no face."
"There was nothing else I could do," he lamented. "I'll just be honest with you. When you get hit with an automatic weapon fire at close range, there's no opportunity for survival."
Spainhauer sought to push back on people who blame "mental health" instead of a gun for the killings.
"I don't know what the gunman's problem was," he said. "I don't know his motive, but it wasn't mental health that killed these people. It was an automatic rifle with bullets. That's what killed them."
"I'm a gun lover; I have guns," he added. "I'm a former police officer. I'm a former army officer. But these M4s, MAR15s, they've got to get off the streets, or this is going to keep happening."
Watch:
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Since President Biden took office, small businesses have created 3.1 million jobs – a near record level.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FvSreogXgAAfPOo?format=jpg&name=medium)
FACT SHEET: The Small Business Boom Under the Biden-Harris Administration
Through the American Rescue Plan and the equitable implementation of emergency relief programs, President Biden and Vice President Harris fostered the strongest recovery for Main Street on record. In 2021, Americans applied to start 5.4 million new businesses—more than 20 percent higher than any previous year on record.
The boom in new business creation has been particularly strong for entrepreneurs of color. In 2021, Hispanic Americans started new businesses at the fastest rate in more than a decade and 23 percent faster than pre-pandemic levels.
And, in the three-quarters of 2021, small businesses with fewer than 50 employees created 1.9 million jobs, the fastest start to small business job growth in any year on record.
This new White House report details the historic recovery for America’s small businesses and demonstrates how the Biden-Harris agenda laid the foundation for this small business boom. By focusing on combatting the pandemic, providing Americans with greater financial security, and delivering more than $450 billion in emergency relief to small businesses, the Biden-Harris Administration has helped create the conditions for unprecedented business and job creation.
The Biden-Harris strategy to rescue and revitalize Main Street contrasts sharply with the latest tax plan from Republicans in Congress. The Congressional Republican proposal put forward by Senator Rick Scott to impose a minimum tax on middle-class families would increase taxes on small businesses across the country. In addition to detailing the historic economic progress the Biden-Harris Administration has made to date, the Appendix includes a new state-by-state analysis of the Congressional Republican tax plan. The analysis finds that this tax plan would raise taxes on nearly half of small business owners (6.1 million people), including 82 percent of small business owners making less than $50,000 per year. Under the Congressional Republicans’ plan, the typical small business owner would see their taxes increased by almost $1,200.
President Biden rejects Congressional Republicans’ plan to increase taxes on half of small business owners. His four-pillar economic strategy for small businesses will lower costs and level the playing field for families and small businesses. The plan is focused on:
1. Expanding access to capital,
2. Making historic investments in helping small businesses navigate available resources,
3. Leveraging federal spending to support small businesses, and
4. Leveling the playing field for small business owners by reforming the tax code.
Read the full report here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/President-Biden-Small-Biz-Boom-full-report-2022.04.28.pdf
More outrageous falsehoods. The leftists shut the country down. They destroyed the economy. Allowing people to return to work is not "creating jobs". That is Alice-in-Wonderland nonsense. It is just lifting the police state lockdown. Ukraine Joe has created not a single job. In fact, he has destroyed the US energy sector. They only industry that has prospered are the military contractors who make bombs and ammo for Ukraine. Hundreds of billions have been spent already with no end in sight. And no plan for ending it.
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Texas shooter shared swastika tattoos and mall surveillance photos online
A Texas mass shooter shared surveillance photos online of the mall where he killed eight people.
Bellingcat researcher Aric Toler located one social media profile created by gunman Mauricio Garcia. Using the Russian Odnoklassniki platform, Garcia posted extensive writings that included Nazi symbolism and right-wing slogans.
On April 16, Garcia posted what appeared to be surveillance video of the mall in Allen where the shooting would later take place.
Screen captures showed Garcia was using Google to monitor peak times of traffic at the mall.
In an April 22 post, Garcia shared a photo of what appeared to be the tactical vest that he was wearing during the shooting. It included a patch with the letters "RWDS" — an acronym for "Right Wing Death Squad."
In another April 22 post, Garcia complained about "diversity" and showed off a swastika tattoo and other Nazi tattoos.
Garcia posted writings that defended mass shootings, praised Adolf Hitler, and expressed hate for women.
"Go tell aunt Rhody that everybody is dead," Garcia wrote in his final post, referring to lyrics from a video game.
He then quoted from Kenotia's "You've Dug Your Grave, Now Lie In It."
"I can't unbreak something that's broken now / This is over for me / This is just the way it has to be / I'm so sorry," the post said.
https://www.rawstory.com/mauricio-garcia-social-media/
'Texas Republicans complete impotence': Nicolle Wallace blasts Texas Republicans after latest mass shooting.
The latest mass shooting at the mall in Allen, Texas, left even some gun owners demanding action.
MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace began her show on Monday by attacking the inaction of Texas Republican lawmakers who continue to fight back against any possible gun safety laws, despite voters in the state approving of them overwhelmingly.
"The violent collision of hate and easy access to weapons of war expanded its blast radius over the weekend to a premium outlet mall in Texas where that state's Republican leaders are today striking a pose of complete impotence in the face of both deadly forces. The 199th shooting took place in Allen, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, texas. Eight people were murdered, including a 5-year-old boy. Six others were injured. Unimaginable, unthinkable carnage unfolded as a man armed with an AR-15-style rifle opened fire."
She played the clip that spread through the world on Sunday, showing a witness who ran to help, seeing a woman in the bushes. When he turned her over, he explained her face was gone.
"The accounts are getting more graphic. His account is just one of many in which eyewitnesses describe the horrors inflicted by weapons of war," continued Wallace. "Weapons like the AR-15. The gunman was eventually shot dead by a police officer. Now, his motive is still under investigation. The Washington Post reports that the suspect, 'had an apparent fascination with white supremacist or neo-Nazi beliefs that are now being examined by investigators as a possible motive for the attack.' That is according to people familiar with the investigation."
It was the second deadliest mass shooting in the country in 2023.
State Rep. Jarvis Johnson, a Democrat, explained that Texas Republicans choose to protect guns over people. He noted that the graphic descriptions of what happened to the victims are jarring but they're not something that changes the minds of the Republican lawmakers.
While the state GOP leaders are focusing on the "mental health" aspect of the tragedy, they've been unwilling to do anything about mental health either. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) slashed mental health funding drastically in the recent budget. There are no laws barring those with mental health issues from having guns. There are no red-flag laws in Texas that allow a judge to take a gun away if a person is deemed to be a danger to themselves or society. There are no plans to put up a ballot measure to allow Texas citizens an opportunity to enact laws their elected officials refuse.
The one thing that has happened thus far is that a House panel approved a bill to raise the age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle to 21 years old. It's unclear if the votes are there to pass it or if Abbott would be willing to sign it.
More than 65 percent of Texans supported a red-flag law, according to a 2022 poll by the University of Texas at Austin.
Abbott's solution is more guns not less.
Watch:
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Bill Pascrell, Jr. @BillPascrell
In light of learning that the Texas mall mass murderer was a rightwing domestic terrorist I want to remind everyone that when we voted last year to crack down on domestic extremists 99.5% of republicans voted no.
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https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1655364128469393408
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The favorite pollster of the Republican party, Rasmussen polls, came out with their daily Presidential tracking poll and it shows President Biden with a 51% approval rating. So, over half the country approves of Biden's job performance. And they should, because Biden created the greatest economy in history with the most job creation and the lowest unemployment in history.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll, for Monday shows that 51% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Biden’s job performance.
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/biden_administration/prez_track_may08
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The Democratic Party continues to create jobs for Americans:
The Biden economy created 253,000 new jobs in April, demolishing expectations.
No surprise. Over the last 84 years, the US economy under Democratic presidents has created an AVERAGE of over 100,000 MORE jobs per month than under Republican presidents.
Think about that.
This whole "Republicans are better on the economy" idea is a MYTH put forward by the GOP's billionaire backers who just want those 1% tax cuts.
It doesn't hold up to FACTS.
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More outrageous falsehoods. The leftists shut the country down. They destroyed the economy. Allowing people to return to work is not "creating jobs". That is Alice-in-Wonderland nonsense. It is just lifting the police state lockdown. Ukraine Joe has created not a single job. In fact, he has destroyed the US energy sector. They only industry that has prospered are the military contractors who make bombs and ammo for Ukraine. Hundreds of billions have been spent already with no end in sight. And no plan for ending it.
No, the blatant outrageous falsehoods is in your post above.
3.1 million small business jobs that never existed before. Those new jobs happened under President Biden. That IS job creation.
Unemployment is at the lowest level in history at 3.4%. People didn't have a job until President Biden came into office. That IS job creation.
Black unemployment is at the lowest level in history. People now have jobs that didn't before. That IS Job creation. And you falsely say "Biden never created a job".
Criminal Donald had manufacturing in a recession in 2019. President Biden now has a manufacturing boom with nearly 1 million new manufacturing jobs. Those are new jobs that never existed before. That IS job creation.
Then you falsely say that "leftists shut the country down". Criminal Donald was president in 2020. Are you falsely going to claim that "leftists" had more power than Criminal Donald who was supposed to be president? That's hilarious.
You falsely say that "Biden destroyed the energy sector". Energy is booming with thousands of new green energy jobs thanks to President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act that's bringing new jobs and factories to red states and Republican districts.
Next time, don't post blatant falsehoods.
Biden’s massive manufacturing push is working and U.S. companies have already committed $200 billion to new projects
https://fortune.com/2023/04/17/biden-manufacturing-chips-companies-spending-200-billion/
Unemployment Rate Is the Lowest in 50 Years
https://newrepublic.com/post/169864/december-jobs-report-unemployment-rate-lowest-50-years
Black unemployment rate hits record low 5 percent
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/04/07/black-unemployment-rate-record-low/
Jobs report: it's the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years
https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/video/jobs-report-its-the-lowest-unemployment-rate-in-50-years/
Job Creation Higher than Expected in April
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/bls-hr-jobs-unemployment-may-2023.aspx
Chart: Clean energy jobs are booming. What sectors are growing most?
Plus, nearly half of the new clean energy jobs don’t require a bachelor’s degree, and most pay more than the national median salary.
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy-jobs/chart-clean-energy-jobs-are-booming-what-sectors-are-growing-most
'Transformational change’: Biden’s industrial policy begins to bear fruit: Republican districts are winning projects
More than 75 per cent of all investment is headed to Republican-held Congressional districts, where it will create 58,000 jobs, according to FT data.
https://www.ft.com/content/b6cd46de-52d6-4641-860b-5f2c1b0c5622
Clean Energy Jobs Are Booming, Making Up For Rising Fossil Fuel Unemployment
https://www.forbes.com/sites/energyinnovation/2022/06/29/clean-energy-jobs-are-booming-making-up-for-rising-fossil-fuel-unemployment/
The Green Jobs Boom Is Benefiting the People Who Need It Most
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/climate-jobs-boom-communities-economy/
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Legal expert: Biden could side-step the McCarthy showdown using Constitutional powers
Constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe told MSNBC on Monday that he thinks there might be some wiggle room for President Joe Biden as he tries to keep the United States government afloat amid the debt ceiling limit.
According to host Lawrence O'Donnell: "Whether the Constitution, 'which says the validity of the public debt of the United States shall not be questioned,' overrides the cap on public, legislated by Congress, as they call the debt ceiling. If Congress fails to pass an increase in the debt ceiling to cover the debts already incurred by congressional spending, can the president and the Treasury use the authority of the Constitution to continue to incur more debt to pay the government's bills? Which are bills that were legislated by Congress? Everyone has changed their minds about the debt ceiling."
During the past ten years, the debt ceiling has become weaponized by Republicans. In 2013, they tried to use it to eliminate Obamacare. They used it again to force Democrats to fund Trump's border wall. Critics say it's now being used to eliminate programs passed in Joe Biden's first two years in office that cost money.
There are two possible ways of getting around the Republicans. One is a discharge petition, which has already been an idea plotted out by Democrats in Congress. The other, O'Donnell explained, is for Biden to declare that the Constitution says "when and if the debt ceiling comes into conflict with the Constitution, the president will use the power of the Constitution to override the legislative debt ceiling."
In 2011, Tribe penned a column for the New York Times that advocated against the idea. Now, however, Tribe thinks he could have been wrong.
He explained he hasn't changed his mind about the Constitution or the debt ceiling, but about "the right question to ask" about the powers of the presidency.
"I used to think the right question was whether the president has special power to borrow without congressional permission," Tribe explained. "The answer was no. Does he have power to impose access without congressional permission? The answer is no. Does he have the power of a one-person Supreme Court, who could strike down an act of Congress? The answer is no. But the real question isn't what power does the president have. It is what duties does the president have. Does the president have a duty to execute all of the laws of the United States, the ones that Congress passed telling him to spend money? He does have that duty."
Tribe explained that the question then becomes whether Congress can override the duty of the president "by confronting the president with an impossible choice, by telling the president, look, we have told you we spend this money. You've taken an oath to uphold the Constitution, to enforce all the laws. But we won't let you do it because we've got you over in a barrel. We're not gonna raise the ceiling, which serves no function at all unless you stiff some of the people who are owed money by the United States, maybe veterans, maybe hospitals, maybe Social Security recipients, maybe pension funds, and bondholders."
The president doesn't have the authority to stiff those people because the 14th Amendment says that the public debt of the U.S. "lawfully incurred shall not be questioned."
"So, even if the president is pushed into a corner by Congress and replaces some of the obligations that we have to these various creditors, with IOUs — because there will be — they can't permanently cancel our debts," Tribe continued. "The debt ceiling will still be breached. There is nothing the president can do to avoid that consequence. So, what I suggest that he has to do is simply look the other way. Not pay attention to this impossible thing that Congress has asked him to do. Follow his oath, and enforce all the laws, very much what Lincoln did in 1861 when he had a choice. He could either enforce the law creating habeas corpus, let the Union army get decimated, and let the Union go to pieces, and let all our laws be violated. Or he could temporarily suspend habeas corpus, so that all the laws would not be broken. He chose the latter. The lesser of two evils."
It's that piece of U.S. history that led Tribe to think this was the better option for Biden.
Watch:
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Once again, right wingers like Texas Governor Greg Abbott always deflect to "mental health" when there is a mass shooting instead of the assault weapons that are murdering innocent people each day in America.
These right wing extremist lawmakers made it easy for violent criminals, domestic terrorists, white supremacist hate groups, and mentally disturbed people to easily purchase assault weapons to commit mass murders. That's why we have a gun violence epidemic in America.
What's even worse, is that red states like Texas, allow anyone to own these deadly assault weapons to carry in public with no license or training to prove that a person can even operate one. But right wingers want to force voting ID's on people in order to vote. You can't make this stuff up.
So, in red states like Texas, domestic terrorists, violent criminals, and mentally disturbed people can carry loaded assault weapons with as much ammo as they like around town with no background checks to see if these people should even be allowed to own these deadly weapons.
Then after we see another deadly mass shooting in Texas, Abbott goes on about "mental health" but he cut $200 million dollars out of the department that handles mental health services in Texas. Abbott allows mentally disturbed people to own these deadly assault weapons in Texas with no questions asked. Again, you can't make this stuff up.
Like I said in a previous post above, it's all right wing political theatre. Republicans scream about "mental health", but they vote against mental health services or cut millions of dollars out of the programs that fund it. And even worse, red states allow mentally disturbed people to easily purchase assault weapons to kill people with because right wing lawmakers refuse to implement background checks to see if a person is mentally ill or not. Republicans have no intentions of helping to combat gun violence, they just need a "mental health" talking point to use each time a mass shooting occurs.
Abbott blamed Texas school shooting on lack of mental health resources. But he reportedly cut more than $200 million from the department that handles them.
https://www.businessinsider.com/abbott-cut-mental-health-services-funding-in-texas-2022-5
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CNN's Tapper demolishes Greg Abbott's scapegoating of mental illness for Allen shooting
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CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Monday criticized suggestions by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that the state's mass shooting epidemic — thrown into national relief by the massacre at Allen Premium Outlets in the Dallas-Fort Worth area over the weekend — can be simply addressed as a mental illness problem.
"Texas has the unfortunate distinction of being home to some of the worst, deadliest mass shootings that this country has ever seen, especially in recent years," said Tapper. "Just last year in Uvalde, Texas, a gunman killed 21 people at Robb Elementary School, including 19th fourth graders and two teachers inside their classrooms. In 2019 at a Walmart in El Paso, 23 lives lost. 23 killed when a gunman opened fire after spewing racist rhetoric online. In 2018 at Santa Fe High School outside of Houston, ten people killed when a student opened fire with a revolver and shotgun belonging to his father. In 2017, Sutherland Springs, 26 people killed during Sunday services at First Baptist Church. In 2016 in Dallas, five officers shot to death when a gunman targeted police at a Black Lives Matter protest."
"These are just some of the mass shootings in Texas that I have covered for you from this desk, just some of them," said Tapper. "Some of the ones that made national headlines. There are obviously many more that don't get covered, not to mention the shootings of fewer than four people and the accidental shootings and the suicides. Almost every time Texas is devastated by gun violence, we hear a familiar refrain from the man who has been governor during this whole time."
"What Texas is doing in a big-time way, we're working to address that anger and violence by going to its root cause, which is addressing the mental health problems behind it," said Abbott in one interview clip.
"We as a state, we as a society, need to do a better job with mental health. anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge, period," he said in another.
"We all know that this is something that we must address as a nation but also as a state, and that is for all of to us do a better job to address mental health issues," he said in yet another.
"We should note, one, most people with mental health issues do not shoot people," said Tapper. "Two, mental health issues exist all over the world, but other countries do not have the same culture and laws that we have here in the United States, laws that allow folks who may be a danger to themselves or others to easily obtain firearms. Just looking at the data from the CDC as a general matter, the states that have taken steps to try to keep guns out of the wrong hands, those states have lower rates of death per capita by firearm, just as a factual matter."
Watch:
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Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans are threatening to default on America’s debt unless they can slash billions in funding for vital small business programs.
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President Biden has created over 12.7 million jobs while cutting costs for American families.
The latest bill passed by extreme House Republicans would cost 780,000 jobs and raise costs for hardworking families.
House Republicans would rather take health care away from millions of Americans than have the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share.
As many as 7.5 million children with disabilities would face reduced support under House Republicans’ latest bill – with cuts that would remove more than 48,000 teachers and service providers from the classroom.
While President Biden’s budget upholds our nation’s sacred obligation to care for our veterans and invests in our seniors, MAGA House Republicans are pushing cuts that would threaten critical services.
House Republicans voted to reduce the maximum award for Pell Grants by nearly $1,000, likely eliminating eligibility entirely for 80,000 students while making it harder for the remaining 6.6 million recipients to attend and afford college.
This is also Mental Health Awareness Month and rather than supporting the wellbeing of the next generation, House Republicans are pushing a bill that would slash mental health resources for students. But Republicans keep screaming about "mental health", and yet they always want to cut mental health services.
This Republican bill is an absolute disgrace and will have devastating consequences for Americans except for the top 1% who will benefit with huge tax cuts.
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Republican New York congressman George Santos charged by federal prosecutors
The New York representative, known for his innumerable falsehoods, is due to be arraigned on Wednesday for unspecified charges
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Federal prosecutors in New York have charged congressman George Santos, the embattled House Republican who has been under scrutiny for months by the justice department over questions surrounding his 2022 campaign and finance activities, according to people familiar with the matter.
The exact nature of the indictment – earlier reported by CNN – is unclear because it remains under seal.
Santos is expected to turn himself in to authorities at the federal court in Brooklyn as soon as Wednesday morning, one of the people said. There, he will likely make an initial appearance at an arraignment, where the specific charges against him are expected to be released.
The news of the indictment appears to have come as a surprise to Santos, who was informed about the charges on Tuesday hours before they were widely reported, and neither a spokesperson in his congressional office nor his attorney responded to a request for comment.
For months, the US attorney’s office for the eastern district of New York and the FBI have been pursuing several lines of inquiry over Santos’s federal campaign filings as part of a criminal investigation into whether he unlawfully used funds for non-election-related purposes.
The irregularities in Santos’s filings, reported by news outlets, were apparent on their face: 1,200 payments of $199.99 – two cents below the threshold where receipts would be required – an unregistered fund that raised vast sums for Santos, and around $40,000 for air travel.
When Santos and his campaign eventually amended the campaign finance disclosures, as they did 36 times, some donors complained in interviews that they misrepresented how much they gave, while some contributions later disappeared entirely from the record.
The irregularities also included bizarre payments, such as $11,000 to a company called Cleaner 123 ostensibly for “apartment rental for staff” for a house on Long Island that neighbors told the New York Times in interviews that Santos had been living in himself.
Santos has so far managed to evade any serious political repercussions for his extensive dishonesty to voters, probably due to the fact that Republicans hold a razor-thin majority in the House and Santos was a key vote for House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy to win the speakership.
The most pressing issue until the indictment was confined to a House ethics investigation, by a congressional committee that rarely disciplines House members. After the charges were widely reported, McCarthy told reporters he would ask Santos, who last month announced his 2024 re-election campaign, to resign if found guilty.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/09/serial-fabulist-congressman-george-santos-charged-by-federal-prosecutors
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Millions of illegal aliens have already crossed the open border under Ukraine Joe's clown show. Bringing a flood of drugs that has resulted in more deaths in one year than toatl American deaths in the entire Vietnam war. Imagine that. There were years of protests about Vietnam that split the country, but only a fraction died there in comparison to what is happening EACH year now with the border. And untold thousands are posed to cross the border this week when Title 42 expires. A mass migration not seen in human history. And what is the Biden plan? Nothing. They sent a few soldiers down to act as tour guides to house, feed, and transport the untold thousands expected to cross the border. Where is the border Czar Kamala? No one knows.
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Millions of illegal aliens have already crossed the open border under Ukraine Joe's clown show. Bringing a flood of drugs that has resulted in more deaths in one year than toatl American deaths in the entire Vietnam war. Imagine that. There were years of protests about Vietnam that split the country, but only a fraction died there in comparison to what is happening EACH year now with the border. And untold thousands are posed to cross the border this week when Title 42 expires. A mass migration not seen in human history. And what is the Biden plan? Nothing. They sent a few soldiers down to act as tour guides to house, feed, and transport the untold thousands expected to cross the border. Where is the border Czar Kamala? No one knows.
Just more of the same bogus right wing propaganda and falsehoods you continue to post that I've already debunked in other threads.
There is no "open border". That's another one of your falsehoods. The Biden Administration enforced a new border crackdown in February.
President Biden got Mexico to pay $1.5 billion in border security and already enforced a crackdown on illegal border crossings. His new plan to replace Title 42 is already starting. That IS doing something. You falsely said "Biden did nothing". That's another falsehood you posted.
Donnie failed to get Mexico to pay for border security because he is a total moron. What was Donnie's plan? He created the border crisis and the fentanyl disaster due to his incompetence. Historic record drug overdoses under Donnie and President Biden was handed this mess.
Illegal aliens and drugs were pouring in under the 4 failed years of Criminal Donald. Biden was handed Donnie's multiple disasters and is fixing Donnie's mess.
4 years of Donnie's border and fentanyl disaster is what caused this mess as you can see from the dates below. Disgraceful. And we all remember it well, because we all lived through it and was a major campaign issue in 2020.
Next time, don't post more falsehoods.
Yes, There’s a Crisis on the Border. And It’s Trump’s Fault.
April 05, 2019
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/04/05/border-crisis-donald-trump-226573/
Trump administration struggles to confront fentanyl crisis
October 29, 2020
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/national/fentanyl-epidemic-trump-administration/
Overdose deaths hit a historic high in 2020
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/overdose-deaths-hit-a-historic-high-in-2020-frustrated-experts-say-these-strategies-could-save-lives
Trump’s Border Policies Let More Immigrants Sneak In
https://www.cato.org/blog/trumps-border-policies-let-more-immigrants-sneak
Mexico to pay $1.5 billion for US border security and processing, source says
The collaboration signifies something of a reset between Mexico and the U.S.
July 12, 2022
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/abc-mexico-pay-15-billion-us-border-security/story?id=86672772
Biden Administration Announces New Border Crackdown
Feb. 21, 2023
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/21/us/biden-asylum-rules.html
New Biden rule will crack down on border arrivals as pandemic-era Title 42 comes to an end
May 10, 2023
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/biden-rule-crack-down-border-201704152.html
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Republican Congressman George Santos Faces 13 Felony Charges, Including Fraud and Money Laundering
https://www.wsj.com/articles/congressman-george-santos-indicted-on-fraud-charges-9755064c
Bill Pascrell, Jr. @BillPascrell
A sitting republican congressman was just arrested in federal court on 13 counts of fraud and stealing from the public.
Yesterday the leader of the republican party was found liable for sexual assault in state court. The gop is overrun with criminals and corruption.
https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1656294216153153536
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President Biden @POTUS
Since taking office, my Investing in America agenda has unleashed over $470 billion in new private sector manufacturing investments.
And 17 states have seen their largest private sector investment ever.
We're going to be saying "Made in America" again.
We’re creating jobs again.
American manufacturing is booming again.
And towns that had been forgotten and left for dead are coming alive again.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1656460843192659969
President Biden Delivers Remarks on Investing in America
President Biden discusses how his investing in America agenda is bringing manufacturing back, rebuilding the middle class, and creating good-paying union jobs.
Watch:
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Welcome to the Winning Middle-Out Era
The lesson from the midterm elections is to keep doing popular things that help working people.
NOVEMBER 14, 2022
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Pundits predicted doom for Democrats in the midterm elections. To say the least, they were wrong. Democrats held the Senate, and even populist candidates who lost, like Senate candidate Tim Ryan in Ohio, still elevated progressive candidates in down-ticket races around the nation. Democrats hugely overperformed, and the Red Wave evaporated into a fine mist.
But the Democratic victory was about more than just counting races. Voters around the country overwhelmingly approved progressive values, from minimum-wage increases easily passing in Nebraska, the city of Tukwila in my home state of Washington, and for tipped workers in Washington, D.C., to Medicaid expansion in South Dakota, to a significant gun safety package in Oregon, to medical debt reform in Arizona, to protections for workers and unions in Illinois, to abortion access protections soundly passing around the nation.
This was no “thumping” refutation of President Biden’s agenda. In fact, to find the most obvious parallel for Biden’s midterm performance we have to dig all the way back to 1982, when even amid high inflation and choppy economic conditions, Ronald Reagan managed to defend his party and hold the opposition party’s gains to a modest collection of wins.
The midterm election of 1982 was the dawning of a neoliberal trickle-down economic paradigm that reigned, uncontested by either party, for 40 years. Last week’s midterm elections—in which voters in red and blue states across the country embraced higher wages, raised taxes on the wealthy, and prioritized the prosperity of the middle class—represent a similar moment, a new American reckoning of economic cause and effect. This is the dawning of a Middle-Out Era.
The politics behind the Democratic midterm victory are pretty simple: Popular things are popular and unpopular things are not. Democrats defied political gravity by advocating for and also passing popular policies that directly improve the lives of the vast majority of Americans. And so my message to Dems is to keep pushing for popular things like student debt forgiveness, a $15 federal minimum wage, stronger overtime protections, and reproductive rights—whether you can pass them or not—turning the 2024 election into a referendum between popular middle-out policies that benefit the majority of Americans and the imposition of exclusionary, extractive policies that penalize the many for the profit of the few.
It is fair to argue that in his first two years, President Biden has already presided over the most consequential administration in decades, his accomplishments so numerous that the news media have grown to casually expect them in much the same way that they grew numb to the previous President’s daily cascade of lies. Taking office in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic devastation it wrought, Biden and the Democrats quickly passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which proved a literal and figurative shot in the arm, vaccinating over two-thirds of Americans while generating the largest one-year job growth and sharpest drop in unemployment under any President in history. Biden signed the landmark CHIPS and Science Act, which invests in making America more resilient and competitive by bringing semiconductor and other manufacturing jobs back home, and the historic Inflation Reduction Act, which will finally allow Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, reduces health-care costs for seniors and millions of other Americans, and makes by far the most substantial investments in combating climate change of any administration ever. And while they were doing all this, Democrats also expanded the Child Tax Credit, reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, made historic investments in roads, bridges, public transit, and other infrastructure, improved health care for veterans, ended the war in Afghanistan, provided up to $20,000 of targeted student debt relief to 43 million borrowers, pardoned thousands of Americans convicted of simple possession of marijuana, and broke a 30-year streak of congressional inaction on gun violence by passing enhanced background checks for gun buyers aged 18 to 21 and closing the “boyfriend loophole.”
But most remarkably, Democrats managed to accomplish all this and more despite relentless filibustering from Republicans in the 50-50 Senate, not to mention obstruction within their own party from a pair of senators clinging to an outdated belief in corporatist “centrism.”
How did they do it? As I write this, the chattering class is hard at work dissecting exit polls to try to tease out which issue inspired the Democratic midterm win: Did the Dobbs decision turn the tide? Were voters inspired to stand up and defend democracy from openly authoritarian Republican candidates? Did young voters who came of age in a school shooting epidemic turn the tide for candidates who supported gun responsibility? Or were Americans voting with their pocketbooks on economic issues?
The answer is yes. Democrats won big last week because they ran on all of those issues. They strongly and unapologetically supported abortion rights. President Biden’s closing argument about protecting our fragile democracy helped crush election denialists around the country. Candidates who proudly advocate for commonsense gun safety laws trounced opponents who lovingly stroked their guns in creepy videos. And this year’s Democrats did a better job of consistently and clearly talking about economics than any slate of candidates I’ve ever seen: An analysis of congressional candidates’ ads found that “Democrats aired 200,000 more spots (defined as one airing of one ad) than Republicans” on nine pocketbook issues, including health care, jobs, Social Security, trade, and manufacturing.
To some, this catalog of accomplishments may look like a jumble of unrelated policies and programs, but in fact they all have several things in common.
First, you guessed it, they are popular! There is no question that each and every item of this Democratic agenda enjoys widespread support, and Democrats drained the Red Wave thanks to young voters who were moved to defend an Administration that has worked for them. And at the same time that Democrats were embracing popular policies, their opponents were lashing themselves to unpopular policies. Poll after poll for the last half-century has demonstrated that voters value reproductive rights and free access to safe and legal abortion, but Republicans seemed shocked when voters overwhelmingly came out in the wake of the Dobbs decision to affirm freedom of choice and vote down abortion bans, rejecting many anti-choice candidates up and down the ballot. It should have been obvious: Unpopular things are unpopular.
Second, these policies are effective, and based on sound economic principles. This isn’t the empty ideological virtue signaling of Trump and the Republicans. Sure, Trump talked endlessly about “infrastructure week.” But Biden actually delivered. And finally, and most consequentially, Biden has consistently and coherently wrapped this popular Democratic agenda in a narrative that is decidedly middle-out.
"I ran for office,” Biden explained in his 2022 State of the Union address, “with a new economic vision for America: invest in America; educate Americans; grow the workforce; build the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, not from the top down. Because we know when the middle class grows…the poor go way up and the wealthy do very well.” This is not just talk. But talk is as important as action, and this kind of talk finally equips Democrats to tell a compelling story about why their policies are pro-growth.
Democrats have always been better stewards of the economy by nearly every economic metric. Job growth, wage growth, productivity growth, GDP growth, even the S&P 500—they all tend to do better under Democratic administrations than under Republicans. And yet the majority of voters have long trusted Republicans over Democrats to manage the economy? Why? Because Republicans have told a false, but nevertheless coherent, story about where growth comes from (spoiler alert: it trickles down) whereas Democrats have not. Rather, Democrats have long focused on arguing that their policies are more fair.
Trickle-down falsely argues that there’s always a “Big Tradeoff” between fairness and growth—for instance, the common (and roundly disproven) threat that raising the minimum wage is bad for everyone and results in job losses across the economic spectrum. They repeat with such confidence the lie that economic growth trickles down from the super-rich that they inspire people to vote against their own self-interest. For generations, Americans waited for that wealth to trickle down, but instead it just accrued at the top of the income ladder, to the tune of more than $50 trillion siphoned out of low- and middle-income paychecks over the last four decades.
But Biden has been telling a very different story. He’s been confidently telling voters that there is no tradeoff between fairness and growth, that in fact the economy grows “from the bottom up and the middle out, not from the top down.” It is a story that puts the American people—not capital or capitalists—back at the center of the American economy. It is a story that argues that what’s good for the American middle class is always what’s good for the economy, an inherently pro-growth argument that is morally correct, easy to understand, and—above all else—demonstrably true.
Democrats should never again heed the advice of debunked economists like Larry Summers who insist that if they want to be the adults in the room, Dems need to courageously enact a regime of budget austerity. Here’s the thing about austerity: It’s not just bad economics. It is very, very unpopular at the ballot box. And the first rule of electoral politics is that you can’t be the adult in the room if you get voted out of the room.
If the two previous Democratic Administrations taught us anything, it’s that there’s no surer path to slowing economic growth for the majority of Americans and losing elections than enacting an austerity agenda. Clinton and Obama both courageously cleaned up the fiscal messes of their Republican predecessors, and what were they rewarded with? Republican successors who drove deficits back up to record levels. To ask the American people to once again sacrifice their jobs, incomes, and economic security for the sake of an economist’s idea of a “responsible” budget is to once again play right into the Republicans’ hands.
The 1982 midterm elections were significant because they set the stage for Ronald Reagan’s overwhelming 1984 reelection campaign, and for the establishment of counterproductive and exploitive neoliberal thinking as the dominant economic theory in both political parties for the next 40 years. With this progressive mandate from voters around the nation, Biden is laying the groundwork for a national shift away from neoliberal trickle-down policies that enrich the wealthy few, and toward a middle-out economic worldview that understands that investments in the broad majority of Americans result in shared prosperity and a stronger economy for all.
Biden is reminding us that a thriving middle class isn’t the consequence of economic growth, it is the cause of economic growth. As such, he’s the first post-Reagan President, advancing a new understanding of the economy that breaks from the trickle-down worldview that has captured our politics for decades.
So enjoy your victories, Democrats. The midterms demonstrated unqualified voter support for your actions over the past two years, and an encouragement to do even more. Keep pushing popular things and you’ll enjoy even better results on election night, 2024. Keep rebuilding a large, prosperous, and inclusive middle class, and keep explaining exactly why and how you’re doing it. Follow this simple roadmap, and we will all reap the rewards for generations to come.
https://democracyjournal.org/arguments/welcome-to-the-winning-middle-out-era/
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Donald Trump and the GOP gave us $7.8 trillion of dollars in debt during Donnie's 4 disastrous years. And now in 2023, most of these same right wingers that helped create this debt, don't want to pay our debt unless they cut programs millions of Americans depend on.
Republicans are holding our economy hostage in order to pass their extreme agenda that will hurt millions of Americans.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FvzCuoUXsAIpWWi?format=jpg&name=medium)
Donald Trump Built a National Debt So Big (Even Before the Pandemic) That It’ll Weigh Down the Economy for Years
The “King of Debt” promised to reduce the national debt — then his tax cuts made it surge. Add in the pandemic, and he oversaw the third-biggest deficit increase of any president.
Jan. 14, 2021
https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump
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Tens of thousands are posed to start crossing the open border today. A situation that Old Joe described as "chaos." What is his plan? There is none. Where is the border Czar Kamala? No one has a clue. She is MIA.
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Tens of thousands are posed to start crossing the open border today. A situation that Old Joe described as "chaos." What is his plan? There is none. Where is the border Czar Kamala? No one has a clue. She is MIA.
Tens of thousands are posed to start legally crossing the open border today.
There I fixed it for you. I'm less worried about people who want to seek a better future for themselves and follow the rules to enter the country, than I am about right wing fearmongers who don't give a damn about the 300+ mass shootings (so far in 2023) and are fine with giving mentally unstable people full access to guns like the AK 47, a weapon designed for one sole purpose alone; to kill people!
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Pro-Trump congressman labelled an 'embarrassment' in scathing local news column
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Before Tennessee Republicans used their supermajority to gerrymander the state’s 5th congressional district, establishment conservatives such as former state House Speaker Beth Harwell, or Kurt Winstead, a retired National Guard brigadier general, likely would have been would have been heavy favorites to win their party’s nomination for an open congressional seat.
No more.
Andy Ogles, a far-right election denier, vanquished the two conventional Tennessee Republicans last year on his way to a general election victory over state Sen. Heidi Campbell.
Ogles, according to reporting in the Nashville Scene, has emerged as "a local embarrassment" who reflects the plight of today’s GOP as it tries to advance mainstream conservative positions that have greater appeal to centrist voters amid the rise of right-wing populism.
Ogles has joined the GOP’s Freedom Caucus, forging alliances with other far-right lawmakers such as Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, and Jim Jordan.
“With a tailored district and a base of conservative activists, Ogles lives in his own kind of echo chamber, largely insulated from the fragile dynamics of the national GOP that is slowly turning against him. Fresh off of a national debacle in the Tennessee House, state Republicans are stuck with a right wing whose brazen and embarrassing abuses of power have enabled a destructive new brand of conservatism,” Eli Motycka writes for The Scene.
“Meanwhile, the party’s concerned center — still a majority at the ballot box by many measures — whispers about a challenger to Ogles who could peel enough Democratic votes to win in Tennessee’s open primaries. As pressure mounts in the coming years, Ogles’ natural response would be to go harder against RINOs and establishment conservatives, clinging to his seat while he forces his party into shambles.”
Ogles has emphasized gun rights, gender identity and his opposition to abortion rights and critical race theory, issues that animate the far right but that the national GOP leadership seeks to tone down in the aftermath of the 2022 midterms, Motycka writes, noting that “In recent weeks, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel has told major news outlets that the party’s internal autopsy report blames Trump and the party’s hard line against abortion for GOP losses in 2022.”
Ogles also has a George Santos problem.
According to NewsChannel 5’s Phil Williams’ reporting cited in the report, Middle Tennessee State University has declined to confirm Ogles’ claim that he received a degree in international relations, with minors in psychology and English.
Additional reporting from Williams calls into questions an Ogles claim during a debate that he served in law enforcement where his work included working to stop human trafficking.
The television station reports that Ogles served as a volunteer reserve deputy with the Williamson County Sheriff's Office from 2009 to 2011, but that his position was revoked after he failed to meet minimum standards.
The WCSO said that records show no indication that Ogles trained or worked against international sex trafficking as a reserve deputy.
“Like his ideological peers in Congress — Gaetz, Greene and, most of all, Jordan — Ogles is concerned with destroying things,” Motycka writes for The Scene, noting that “Ogles has joined a debt-ceiling battle that threatens to plunge the country into a recession because it fits nicely into Republican crusades against government spending.”
Ogles last month joined fellow Freedom Caucus member Randy Weber (R-Texas) in introducing an amendment to undermine military aid to Ukraine.
“Such a move to weaken America’s military capability would be indefensible for a Republican less than a decade ago,” Motycka writes.
Motycka asserts that Tennessee Republicans have two options for addressing Tennessee’s 5th district.
“The first and simplest is to do nothing and stick with Ogles,” Motycka writes. “He will continue to parrot talking points he sees in right-wing media and soak up attention from fellow hardliners in the losing wing of his party, where his positions enjoy narrow but enthusiastic appeal.”
The other option calls for heavy lifting, to “confront the party’s extreme right and build a political identity that can better ensure its own long-term survival and tackle predictable governing crises.”
Motycka writes: “Ogles is not a pugilist like Jim Jordan or Lauren Boebert, not a media mascot like Matt Gaetz or Marjorie Taylor Greene (none of whom, for what it’s worth, seems concerned with governing or delivering for their home district). Most have safe seats that exist outside the political calculus of the national GOP. Instead, they’ve become addicted to the attention from national media and used culturally divisive issues like guns, abortion, trans people and immigration to become media stars.
“Ogles clearly aspires to do the same.”
Read More Here: https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/coverstory/pleading-the-5th-rep-andy-ogles-stumbles-into-congress/article_f4b9e4bc-edd7-11ed-ab4b-bbed5a52185a.html
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President Biden @POTUS
Our investments are making it easier to access mental health care.
Because no one should face these challenges alone.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FvyjtPfX0AEdWBv?format=jpg&name=large)
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1656675531524562948
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The MAGA Republican plan to crash the economy has the Trump stamp of approval—that tells you everything you need to know.
Republicans want to cut the funding and programs that Americans need to survive.
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The leftists are howling for censorship after Trump's magnificent performance on CNN. They realize that Trump is a force of nature. The only way to stop his campaign is to engage in Russian-like state control of the media. They are panicking with fear after the recent poll numbers. Complete shock that the deep state has had no impact on him. He is surging. Old Joe has gone into hiding. His only strategy for winning an election. Hide to avoid questions. Allow the media and deep state to make his case. Hope the new voting laws allow ballot harvesting to overcome the most popular president in US history.
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The leftists are howling for censorship after Trump's magnificent performance on CNN. They realize that Trump is a force of nature. The only way to stop his campaign is to engage in Russian-like state control of the media. They are panicking with fear after the recent poll numbers. Complete shock that the deep state has had no impact on him. He is surging. Old Joe has gone into hiding. His only strategy for winning an election. Hide to avoid questions. Allow the media and deep state to make his case. Hope the new voting laws allow ballot harvesting to overcome the most popular president in US history.
:D :D :D
No, the censorship only comes from right wingers banning books and free speech in red states.
I hope Donnie comes out on television more to brag about banning abortion, crashing the economy, praising the January 6th domestic terrorists, and raving like a lunatic. That hurts the GOP since the majority of Americans oppose Trump's fascism. Donnie is the gift who keeps on giving.
If Donnie was "the most popular president in US history" he would have won the 2020 election in a landslide and still would be in office.
Instead, he lost in a blowout defeat to Joe Biden because the majority of Americans can't stand him. And now, he has his criminal trials to look forward to.
Donnie is a loser who can't still can't admit he lost the 2020 election.
Panic? Donald Trump has a 25% approval rating. Just more comedy gold propaganda you posted.
"Dropping like a rock”: New poll shows Trump falling into “fringe candidate” territory after arrest
"25 percent is a terrible number if you're trying to win a general election again"
https://www.salon.com/2023/04/11/dropping-like-a-rock-new-poll-shows-falling-into-fringe-candidate-territory-after-arrest/
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President Biden @POTUS
Taxpayers helped keep the airline industry – and its employees – afloat during the pandemic.
So I know you're frustrated with the service you're getting from them.
Today, I'm announcing two critical steps to protect air passengers.
It's time for you to get a better deal.
And this year, my Administration will propose a rule that would make airlines cover meals, hotels, taxis, and rebooking fees – and provide compensation when they're the ones to blame for a cancellation or delay.
That’s all on top of refunding your ticket.
I know these things may not matter to the very wealthy – but they matter to most folks in homes like the one I grew up in.
My Administration is getting the American people a better deal.
Let's finally end hidden junk fees like the surcharges you see at hotels and concerts.
Congress, it's time to pass the Junk Fee Prevention Act so we can stop companies from ripping us off.
Join @SecretaryPete and me at the White House as we discuss protecting consumers when there are flight delays or cancellations.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1zqKVPayYLMJB
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1655634823048749063
Biden delivers remarks on consumer protection from flight cancellations, delays
President Joe Biden announces a new process aimed at relieving frustrated air travelers by requiring airlines to provide passengers with boosted compensation if they are left stranded and it's the airline's fault.
Watch:
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CNN's Tapper shreds GOP senator for 'blatantly racist' comments on white nationalists in the military
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CNN anchor Jake Tapper tore into Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Thursday, following a radio interview in which he dismissed the threat of white nationalists in the military — while deliberately blocking appointments essential to military readiness in the Senate.
In a new radio interview, Tuberville was asked, "You mentioned the Biden administration trying to prevent white nationalists from being in the military. Do you believe they should allow white nationalists in the military?" to which he replied, "Well, they call them that. I call them Americans." He later tried to back off this somewhat, with his office releasing a statement saying that he "was being skeptical of the notion that there are white nationalists in the military, not [saying] that he believes they should be in the military."
"Today, Tuberville talked to CNN off-camera and said, quote, 'Here's the problem. Democrats portray all MAGA Republicans as white nationalists. That's not true. We've got a lot of great people in the military that are MAGAs. That's what I was talking about," said Tapper. "All right. Let's break this down. Three points. First, no one, no one in the military is worried about MAGA Republicans serving in the U.S. military. That would be ludicrous for any number of reasons, especially given the fact that so many service members are conservative. Point two, obviously most service members do not fit the definition, but there is a white supremacist problem in the U.S. military, according to the U.S. military. In study after study. And there's a long list of actual incidents and domestic terrorists who fall into this category. Point three, Senator Tuberville's attempt to distance himself from seeming to be standing up for the rights of white supremacists might be easier to believe if last fall Senator Tuberville had not made one of the most blatantly racist statements we've heard from a U.S. senator in perhaps decades ... take a listen."
"Some people say well, they're soft on crime," said Tuberville in the clip. "No, they're not soft on crime. They're pro-crime. They want crime. They want crime because they want to take over what you got. They want to control what you have. They want reparations because they think the people that do the crime are owed that. Bullspombleprofglidnoctobuns! They are not owed that."
"Senator Tuberville there, saying that Democrats like crime and they want reparations, which is the term for payments made to individuals who are descendants of slaves, because they think that people that do the crime are owed that," said Tapper. "That's just racism."
And all of this, Tapper noted, comes as Tuberville is blocking dozens of military appointments to try to force the military to stop funding travel for abortion care. "There are currently 196 military nominations pending in the senate. generals, admirals ... 64 three and four-star positions that will need to be filled soon, including the Chief of the Staff of the Army, the Director of the National Security Agency, Commander of U.S. Cyber Command," said Tapper. "Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin this week, calling it a major national security risk, blasted Tuberville in a letter, writing, 'Without these leaders in place, the U.S. Military will incur an unnecessary and unprecedented degree of risk at a moment when our adversaries may seek to test our resolve.' This also, of course, has a trickle-down effect on other military officer nominations, which in turn impacts regular military service members and their families who are moving to new installations for new assignments."
"The guy doing this, the guy holding up all these generals and admirals and colonels from being promoted and the military from being ready for whatever threats the U.S. faces, Senator Tuberville, to sum up, he says Black people are criminals, he says white nationalists are Americans, and I guess for Senator Tuberville, the year is 1843?" concluded Tapper.
Watch:
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Rep. Nadler @RepJerryNadler
House Republicans just voted to strip state unemployment insurance programs and the Department of Labor of essential resources to fight fraud the day after one of their Members was charged with fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits.
https://twitter.com/RepJerryNadler/status/1656762682492567554
Bill Pascrell, Jr. @Bill Pascrell
The republicans are openly admitting they want to steal your social security and medicare and then force you to work till you drop dead.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1656664028129939463
https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1656664028129939463
Top DeSantis campaign aide reportedly 'at the heart' of a 'political corruption scandal'
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A top campaign aide for Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis is reportedly at the center of a political scandal involving so-called “ghost candidates,” a scheme Republicans have been using to “siphon” votes from unsuspecting citizens to assist other candidates – in this case to help GOP candidates.
Florida pollster Ryan Tyson, who “is expected to be a top advisor in Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid,” Insider reports, “was at the heart of a 2020 political-corruption scandal in Florida. He funneled money from big-business groups to committees backing straw-man candidates to split the vote.”
DeSantis has not announced but is expected to launch a 2024 presidential bid soon.
Insider describes Tyson as “deeply enmeshed” in the “major Florida political-corruption scandal that has resulted in criminal charges for five people, two of whom have been convicted.”
Tyson allegedly “funneled $600,000 to a dark-money group, Grow United, that supported three ghost candidates running for Florida’s Senate, according to court records. The candidates had no political experience and did not campaign. One candidate was paid $44,000 to run.”
“In September 2020, Tyson accepted $630,000 from a nonprofit with ties to the Florida Chamber of Commerce,” Insider adds. “Later that month, he transferred $600,000 to Grow United, which was run by consultants for the utility company Florida Power & Light, the Orlando Sentinel and the Miami Herald reported.”
Insider reports that “Investigators notified Tyson in late 2021 he was a target of their inquiry, but no charges against him have been filed.”
Tyson, via text to Insider, responded saying: “I am not under investigation by any state or federal official.”
“To suggest otherwise is false and, at this point, done with the express purpose of harming me and my reputation.”
Integrity Florida, which describes itself as a “nonpartisan, nonprofit research institute and government watchdog whose mission is to promote integrity in government and expose public corruption,” blasted the ghost candidate scheme in an 18-page report released in December.
“In the Senate races for Districts 9, 37 and 39, No Party Affiliated candidates were essentially bribed to enter the races in a scheme to siphon votes away from Democratic candidates in favor of their Republican opponents,” Integrity Florida’s report states. “Leaked documents from an Alabama-based political consulting firm with ties to Florida’s largest utility Florida Power and Light show how ‘dark money’ political committees worked behind the scenes to promote the ghost candidates, even though the candidates themselves did no campaigning.”
In one of the three races, “incumbent Democratic Senator José Javier Rodríguez lost to his Republican challenger by just over 30 votes. A ghost candidate with the same last name who did no campaigning yet was the beneficiary of a dark money advertising campaign, received over 6,000 votes. Clearly, the ghost candidate in the race received a significant number of votes, indicating that the candidate successfully siphoned votes away from the Democratic incumbent.”
Integrity Florida’s director, Ben Wilcox, told Insider, “The whole scheme just seems like it should be illegal.”
“We shouldn’t be able to meddle in a political race to that extent, to where you’re purposely deceiving voters. If it isn’t illegal, it should be.”
Read More Here: https://www.businessinsider.com/desantis-campaign-aide-ryan-tyson-political-corruption-scandal-ghost-candidate-2023-5
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Yesterday, President Biden highlighted at a reception his administration's historic conservation actions.
President Biden Delivers Remarks at a Reception Celebrating Historic Conservation Efforts
President Biden delivers remarks celebrating the historic conservation actions that have been enacted by the Biden-Harris Administration.
Watch:
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The flood of illegal immigrants has increased with the surge today. As with Ukraine, there is no plan from the Biden clown show. It will just go on and on causing endless harm for generations to come. Human trafficking, drugs, unknown individuals including many violent criminals are crossing without any measures being taken.
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There were reasonable questions last year whether inflation would reduce the impact of Biden’s investments to rebuild our infrastructure, supply chains and manufacturing. Well, as the bulk of the money starts to go out, good news: inflation there is now below pre-pandemic levels. An historic achievement for President Biden as the United Kingdom and other countries are still struggling with inflation due to the global pandemic.
Heather Boushey @hboushey46
Data this week shows pace of inflation continues to slow. One detail: Inflation for manufacturing & construction inputs is now below pre-pandemic. As we implement on our Investing in America agenda, that means lower costs for investments in clean energy, semiconductors, & more.
https://twitter.com/hboushey46/status/1657070372414423041
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Patrick De Haan @GasBuddyGuy
Adjusting for inflation, US average #gasprices today are the same as they were in May 2018, but will soon be below then, and could fall below 2019's inflation-adjusted level (from May) soon.
https://twitter.com/GasBuddyGuy/status/1657042507841011719
Gas prices continue to drop as oil prices plummet
https://www.times-georgian.com/times_georgian/gas-prices-continue-to-drop-as-oil-prices-plummet/article_f483abbb-e33b-506c-9e66-2cd79033c9d5.html
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The White House @WhiteHouse
Today President Biden met with @SecMayorkas, @SecBlinken, and @SecDef to discuss ongoing actions across federal agencies, in partnership with countries across the Western Hemisphere, to humanely manage regional migration through enforcement, deterrence, and diplomacy.
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https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1656769101820207107
President Biden @POTUS
It was a pleasure to welcome President @sanchezcastejon of Spain to the White House today.
We discussed our defense relationship, efforts to combat the climate crisis, and cooperation with space and science.
We're proudly working together to take on these important challenges.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1657133887615651844
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Republicans know that they can't beat President Biden in the 2024 election, so they need to manufacture an economic crisis by defaulting on our national debt with the $7.8 trillion dollar debt that Trump and Republicans created over 4 years. Republicans want an economic disaster to occur hoping to destroy Biden's historic economy, so they can blame Biden for an economic crisis during the election season. Republicans do not care about the lives of Americans who will be destroyed, the only thing Republicans care about is power. And we all witnessed that when the Republican party attempted a coup to steal the presidency from President Biden in 2020.
President Biden @POTUS
Folks, there’s nothing that will create more chaos and more damage to the American economy than if House Republicans allow us to default on the national debt.
MAGA House Republicans are threatening to default on America’s debts unless we give in to their demands.
Their wish list could cut thousands of jobs – including wildland firefighters, National Park rangers, and workers who regulate water quality.
It doesn’t work for families.
We created tax credits for families to save on energy costs and businesses to deploy clean energy.
Not a single Republican in Congress voted for it.
In fact, they want to repeal it.
Here’s the real truth: Big Oil doesn’t want it, and House Republicans are doing their bidding.
The debate with MAGA House Republicans is about values.
Would we rather cut Big Oil subsidies, as my budget does? Or cut folks' health care, like in their bill?
Would we rather cut handouts to Big Pharma, or cut veterans' services?
These real-world choices are what's at stake.
Under the MAGA House Republican wish list, 100,000 teachers and support staff would lose their jobs nationwide.
At a time when the average student out there is about a year and a half behind.
We don’t need fewer teachers. We need more teachers.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1657158715454242820
Joe Biden @JoeBiden
The last thing this country needs is a manufactured crisis.
But MAGA Republicans are creating exactly that by holding America’s economy hostage—all to try to force cuts to veterans’ benefits, education, health care, and more.
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1657153177089720320
Senator Jeff Merkley @SenJeffMerkley
Republicans are willing to drive the economy off a cliff to push their extreme, unpopular agenda—from cutting services for seniors to gutting health care for veterans. We’re not going to let that happen.
https://twitter.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/1657024817344782339
Rep. Ted Lieu @RepTedLieu
House Republicans claim they support our veterans.
So why does McCarthy's Default On America Act immediately cut $2 billion in funding for important veterans' programs?
America has ALWAYS paid our bills on time.
MAGA Republicans are threatening to change that. They're holding our economy hostage because they want to gut support for working families and make it easier for the rich to cheat on their taxes.
https://twitter.com/RepTedLieu/status/1657075667828080666
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The situation at the border is now completely out of control. What is the plan of the border Czar Kamala? Her only comment is that it is up to Congress to solve! HA HA HA. What a plan. I guess she can call it good and go to lunch or whatever she does each day waiting for the call that she has become President. The human tragedy under Old Joe is unreal. The US government under his administration has become the greatest trafficker of drugs and people in human history. And 100K American deaths in just one year from the drugs crossing the border. Roughly twice the number of American deaths from the ENTIRE Vietnam war. And, unlike COVID, most of these deaths are among young people. Nothing to see there though. Old Joe is taking a nap.
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The situation at the border is now completely out of control. What is the plan of the border Czar Kamala? Her only comment is that it is up to Congress to solve! HA HA HA. What a plan. I guess she can call it good and go to lunch or whatever she does each day waiting for the call that she has become President. The human tragedy under Old Joe is unreal. The US government under his administration has become the greatest trafficker of drugs and people in human history. And 100K American deaths in just one year from the drugs crossing the border. Roughly twice the number of American deaths from the ENTIRE Vietnam war. And, unlike COVID, most of these deaths are among young people. Nothing to see there though. Old Joe is taking a nap.
So concerned about Americans dying self-inflicted deaths from drugs, but not a word of sympathy for the innocent victims of (over 300 this year and counting) mass shootings. What a pathetic and deplorable human being!
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The flood of illegal immigrants has increased with the surge today. As with Ukraine, there is no plan from the Biden clown show. It will just go on and on causing endless harm for generations to come. Human trafficking, drugs, unknown individuals including many violent criminals are crossing without any measures being taken.
The situation at the border is now completely out of control. What is the plan of the border Czar Kamala? Her only comment is that it is up to Congress to solve! HA HA HA. What a plan. I guess she can call it good and go to lunch or whatever she does each day waiting for the call that she has become President. The human tragedy under Old Joe is unreal. The US government under his administration has become the greatest trafficker of drugs and people in human history. And 100K American deaths in just one year from the drugs crossing the border. Roughly twice the number of American deaths from the ENTIRE Vietnam war. And, unlike COVID, most of these deaths are among young people. Nothing to see there though. Old Joe is taking a nap.
More bogus and blatant disinformation. So pathetic. Start posting facts instead of outright disinformation.
Border crossings are down 50% since Title 42 expired. There is no "flood or surge".
President Biden's border policy was working before and it's working even better now as migrant numbers plummet even more than before.
Mexican border crossings are down 50% since Title 42 expiration, homeland security chief says
May 14, 2023
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-homeland-security-chief-says-border-crossings-are-down-50-since-title-42-2023-05-14/
Unlawful entries along U.S.-Mexico border plummeted in January after expansion of migrant expulsions
FEBRUARY 2, 2023
The number of migrants apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol after illegally crossing the southern border dropped by roughly 40% in January, when the Biden administration announced a revamped strategy to discourage unlawful crossings, according to preliminary government data obtained by CBS News.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-us-mexico-border-numbers-january-2023-migrant-expulsions/
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6 months in, President Biden's infrastructure plan has 4,300 projects
MAY 16, 2022
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/6-months-in-president-bidens-infrastructure-plan-has-4300-projects/
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Donald Trump handed Joe Biden multiple disasters from his 4 failed years in office. And one by one, President Biden is fixing those disasters and cleaning up the mess Trump left behind in a little over two years. Things have gotten so good under Biden, with the most job creation in history, that some people forget the disasters Biden was handed. Here is a reminder from an article on President Biden's inauguration day January 20, 2021.
Trump inherited a booming economy — and handed Biden a nation 'in shambles'
“If you're the average person, do you care if GDP was 3.2 or 3.4 percent? No, you care if you have a job,” said one economist.
Jan. 20, 2021
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President Joe Biden speaks during the the 59th inaugural ceremony on the West Front of the Capitol on January 20, 2021.Patrick Semansky / Pool via Getty Images
More so than other presidents, and to the endless frustration of economists, Donald Trump correlated stock market performance with the nation’s economic health. However, President Joe Biden is unlikely to measure his own achievements by the gyrations of the stock market, economic experts say — and that message is likely to resonate with an anxious population.
“I doubt Joe Biden views the stock market as a barometer of his immediate success," said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments. "He is focused on the health and welfare of Americans. He will gauge success on how much he can flatten the curve, prevent deaths and get the economy back in shape."
For much of Trump's presidency, it was easy for him to claim credit for stock gains, since he was set up for success, economists say.
“The economy was in pretty good shape. Nothing was really out of balance,” said Dan North, chief economist for North America at Euler Hermes.
Corporate expectations of lower taxes and fewer regulations sent business optimism soaring. “It was the right environment to go up. The Biden stock market has an awful lot going against it,” North said.
Last March 9 and again on March 12, as the coronavirus began to take over the country, stocks fell so far, so fast, that electronic “circuit breakers” had to be triggered to stave off a full-blown collapse. That weekend, Trump tweeted, “BIGGEST STOCK MARKET RISE IN HISTORY YESTERDAY!” while saying nothing to address, or even acknowledge, the nation’s growing economic fears. The following week, circuit breakers were again triggered on two different days as stocks continued to slide.
The CARES Act, along with aggressive action from the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates and add liquidity to the financial system, ultimately stopped the market’s fall. In the ensuing months, Wall Street recovered, while Main Street suffered.
Experts say this is just one example of why it was not only pointless, but foolhardy, for Trump to claim credit for a rising market. “In the investment business, generally speaking, we know that the things that make the stock market move are myriad and complex. It’s difficult, at best, to gauge cause and effect,” Martin said.
Despite his self-professed business acumen, Trump squandered some of the market momentum he was handed, analysts say. “He did quite a few things to really impede the progress of the stock market,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at the Independent Advisor Alliance. “The trade war with China was, by far, the most detrimental.”
That trade war was widely regarded as a failure: It drew to an uneasy truce in early 2020, with little gained for American consumers or businesses.
The new president, on the other hand, faces a heavier lift. “President Trump is handing Biden an economy in shambles, still down nearly 10 million jobs from its pre-pandemic peak and struggling to avoid a double-dip recession,” Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi wrote in a research note earlier this week.
“Whereas you might say what Trump inherited was a 'normal market,' Joe Biden is inheriting a market that’s at extremes,” Martin said. “You just have a whole new ballgame for Joe Biden.”
Valuations are high, inflation is broadly low but shows pockets of escalation, and market observers say Wall Street seems to be positioned for a best-case scenario regarding Covid-19 containment and immunity. Anything that doesn’t live up to the market’s lofty expectations could trigger a reversal in investor sentiment.
If the market does drop from its current highs, though, economists don’t expect Biden to respond the way his predecessor might have. Unlike Trump, Biden is more likely to focus on containing Covid-19 and getting the sputtering labor market recovery going again. “The Biden administration, I think, is going to focus more on the unemployment rate and jobs and less on what the actual stock market may do,” said Megan Horneman, director of portfolio strategy at Verdence Capital Advisors. “Right now, our immediate problem is still the coronavirus and getting the economy reopened.”
North said: “It’s going to take a long time to get those 10 million jobs back, particularly because there's been so much permanent business closure. That's what I believe the administration will focus on and, honestly, should focus on."
“If you're the average person, do you care if GDP was 3.2 or 3.4 percent?" he said. "No, you care if you have a job.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/trump-inherited-booming-economy-handed-biden-nation-shambles-n1255033
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President Biden @POTUS
For decades, people have talked about fixing bridges, roads, and rail across America.
Our infrastructure investment is actually doing it.
It's been 18 months since I signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Since then, we've announced $200 billion in funding for 32,000 projects or awards across America.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FwM29nuWcAEMX4c?format=jpg&name=medium)
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1658229527112196097
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How Bidenomics Has Finally Defeated Reaganomics
TRICKLE DOWN IS DONE: Two years into his presidency, Joe Biden has revolutionized America’s economic policy—both home and abroad
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The last thing many of us expected when Joe Biden became president was that he would be a revolutionary. But just over two years into Biden’s presidency, there is no doubt that he has done more to dramatically transform U.S. policy and thinking in more areas than any of his predecessors since Franklin Roosevelt.
America had failed to adequately invest in its infrastructure for over six decades when Biden made it a priority once again. Biden’s prioritized investment in combating climate change to a degree that no past administration ever did. On foreign policy, he executed the pivot away from a Middle East and terrorism focus to a long-term commitment to placing the Indo-Pacific region and our rivalry with China atop our list of priorities.
Remarkably, he did this while simultaneously handling the threats associated with Europe’s largest land war since World War II and reinvigorating America’s most important alliance, NATO, in a way few thought possible just years ago. He stopped the impetus toward isolation and inaction internationally of the presidencies that immediately preceded his.
What is more, none of the transformations cited above are actually the biggest the Biden administration has overseen.
From day one, Biden has profoundly transformed U.S. economic policy—and related social and international policies. Biden is the man who finally slew Reaganomics and the huckster’s brew of “trickle-down” and “the markets know best” policies at its core. He is the one who at last put an end to the “Washington consensus” that has served the rich worldwide and left the poor to struggle with too little support. He, at last, ended the slavish deference of Washington neoliberals to Wall Street, and the consequent grotesque growth in inequality and injustice it has fueled.
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Importantly, Biden not just talked the talk of the revolutionary, he has walked the walk. He has systematically taken steps to prioritize economic approaches that benefited America’s middle class and those who were left behind, approaches that sought fairness in our tax codes and their enforcement, approaches that strengthened the U.S. from within in an effort to better compete and succeed internationally.
Some of the steps he has taken were major but received too little attention, such as the effort (led by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen) to create a minimum tax to be paid by corporations worldwide. Some of the bold changes were revealed in policy choices that made headlines—like his decision to place the concerns of the people working in the real economy ahead of the preferences of Wall Street in his American Rescue Plan, his initiative to invest in our infrastructure in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, and his steps to invest in our green economy and combat rising costs for average Americans in the Inflation Reduction Act.
When I was a senior economic official in the Clinton administration, had I mentioned “industrial policy” in a meeting I would have immediately been shown the door. But Biden, through the CHIPS and Science Act illustrated that it was now not only okay to discuss such ideas, but that he would go further and implement them—because they would help create jobs and because they would strengthen U.S. national security.
"From day one, Biden has profoundly transformed U.S. economic policy—and related social and international policies.”
Last week, in Washington, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan delivered a speech at the Brookings Institution that helped tie together many of the core principles underlying Biden’s views and actions. It was certainly the most significant economic speech ever given by a U.S. national security adviser. But then again, it was clear even before he arrived in office that Sullivan would become the most economically savvy and active national security adviser in U.S. history. Work he had been actively involved in, like the Carnegie Endowment’s initiative on Making U.S. Foreign Policy Work Better for the Middle Class was quickly seen to translate into action. Sullivan also wrote on related subjects, including on the fact that foreign policy and economic policy were more deeply intertwined than often acknowledged (by foreign policy experts who were less economically astute) as in an article he wrote for Foreign Policy in 2020 with Jennifer Harris called, “America Needs a New Economic Philosophy. Foreign Policy Experts Can Help.”
Sullivan’s speech began with the assertion that because many of the economic policies of the past were not serving most Americans or our interests, that “this moment demands that we forge a new consensus”—something he described as “a modern industrial and innovation strategy.”
He enumerated its goals to be a strategy that “invests in the sources of our own economic and technological strength, that promotes diversified and resilient global supply chains, that sets high standards for everything from labor and the environment to trusted technology and good governance, that deploys capital to deliver on public goods like climate and health.”
Sullivan’s speech went on to explain that from the outset, Biden and his team saw the country as facing “four fundamental challenges.” These included the hollowing out of the U.S. industrial base.
Here he took a clear shot at Reaganomics when he noted that “the vision of public investment that energized the American project… had faded,” giving way to “a set of ideas that championed tax-cutting and deregulation, privatization over public action and trade liberalization as an end in itself.” Going further, he argued that a core mistake of these recent past policies was that they were based on the deeply flawed idea “that markets always allocate capital productively and efficiently.” Recent experience with markets shifting much of our critical productive capacity, jobs, and many supply chains overseas—made clear during the COVID-19 pandemic—illustrated this.
A second challenge he cited was “adapting to a new environment defined by geopolitical and security competition.” Here, his point was that (in the past) economic integration was hoped to “make nations more responsible and open and that the global order would be more peaceful and cooperative” and that “it didn’t turn out that way.” Here, he cites China as exhibit A.
The climate crisis was the third of the four challenges and, critically, at the core of the core of Biden’s ideas, I believe, was “inequality and its damage to democracy.” Again, in this instance, he specifically cites the core elements of Reaganomics (and the Reaganomics-lite embraced by recent Democratic administrations), such as “trickle-down economic policies—policies like regressive tax cuts, deep cuts to public investment, unchecked corporate concentration and active measures to undermine” unions.
Sullivan’s speech then went on to describe Biden’s “foreign policy for the middle class.” He identified a key element as recognizing that we need a national industrial strategy to compete and protect ourselves in a world in which all of our competitors have such an approach. Specifically, he cited the focus the administration has had on revitalizing our semi-conductor and clean-energy production sectors. The second component of the strategy he identified is “working with our partners to ensure they are building capacity, resilience and inclusiveness too.” Here, as evidence of progress he cited the close coordination between the administration and our closest allies on these issues.
The third step—especially welcome to me as a former trade official—is “moving beyond traditional trade deals to innovative new international economic partnerships focused on the core challenges of our time.” This point addresses a criticism of the administration by some that it does not have an active trade policy. Sullivan’s central point was that primarily seeking to reduce tariffs without addressing climate, enforcement, or security concerns is inadequate.
Fourth, Sullivan described the administration’s objective of “mobilizing trillions in investment into emerging economies—with solutions that those countries are fashioning on their own but with capital enabled by a different brand of U.S. diplomacy.” A key element of this approach has been “a major effort to evolve the multilateral development banks so they are up to the big challenges of today.”
“Markets don’t have consciences, neither do they take into consideration the security interests of nations.”
The final point of the plan is the administration’s effort to protect “our foundational technologies with a small yard and a high fence.” This approach, perhaps the one of Sullivan’s points about which I am most skeptical (because I am not sure it is truly feasible in a global economy such as the one we have today) is designed around the worthy goal of helping to ensure that “next generation technologies work for, not against, our democracies and our security.”
Again, the subtext here is China—and keeping that country from gaining advantages in key technologies that could put us at risk.
I’ve spoken with experts about this and they do not think any steps we take will slow down China from acquiring such technologies for more than just a few years. But, certainly the goal is consistent with the other changes described in Sullivan’s speech, and is more forward-looking and strategically framed than many of America’s recent past economic policies.
Sullivan concluded by describing success. “The world,” he said, “needs an international economic system that works for our wage-earners, works for our industries, works for our climate, works for our national security, and works for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries.”
The response to the speech and to the policies of the administration indicates how significant the shifts it describes are. In just one illustration of this, Carlos Roa wrote in The National Interest that the National Security Adviser’s “remarks mark a profound shift in American strategic and economic thinking; a confession that much of what the United States has been doing and saying for decades has been wrong, and a recognition that painful and urgent reform is necessary.”
Some old school economists who have been peddling the failed or damaging policies the administration has sought to undo decried the fact that the new approaches represented too much meddling with markets by government officials.
But of course, that is just the point. Biden, Sullivan, Yellen, and their team have finally acknowledged that growth for its own sake—or good performance by markets—are not the only metrics we should have as we make economic policy decisions.
Markets don’t have consciences, neither do they take into consideration the security interests of nations. Companies are by law required to place their bottom line interests ahead of the interests of the rest of society. Therefore, government has an obligation to step in and take steps to ensure that critical social goods are advanced.
Finally, after many decades of deferring to the financial and corporate interests who also happen to be big political donors, a president and his team have come along to say, “enough.” It is time to make economic decisions that serve all the people and address the damage done by the policies of the past.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-bidenomics-has-finally-defeated-reaganomics
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House Democrat to force vote to expel embattled Republican George Santos
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Representative Robert Garcia on Tuesday started the process of forcing a vote on a motion to expel Republican George Santos, the congressman from New York facing federal charges of fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds.
Two-thirds of the House of Representatives would have to vote in favor for Santos to be expelled, a bar unlikely to be reached in a chamber that Republicans control by a narrow 222-213 margin. But the vote will put many Republicans in the difficult position of defending a colleague with a history of lying about his work experience and biography.
Garcia, who represents a House district in California, used a parliamentary maneuver to force a vote within two days on the motion.
"George Santos is a fraud and a liar, and he needs to be expelled by the House," Garcia said in a statement. "Republicans now have a chance to demonstrate to Americans that an admitted criminal should not serve in the House of Representatives."
Santos's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Santos last week pleaded not guilty to the charges, calling the allegations against him a politically motivated "witch hunt."
He has made extensive false claims about his past, including saying he earned degrees from New York University and Baruch College despite neither institution having any record of his attending. He claimed to have worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, also untrue.
He said falsely that he was Jewish and that his grandparents escaped the Nazis during World War Two. He has admitted to fabricating large parts of his resume.
Santos, a first-term congressman, has said he intends to seek re-election in 2024. Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said he would not support Santos's re-election bid.
Nine House Republicans have called on Santos to resign, including six from New York.
© Reuters
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Another election, and another HUGE win for Democrats.
As I always say, the only polls that matter are election results and the Democrats score another victory.
Democratic Party candidate Donna Deegan has just been elected mayor of Jacksonville Florida.
Prior to this, Jacksonville had Republican mayors for 26 out of the past 30 years.
Looks like even Florida is finally getting sick of DeSantis and the Republicans.
Florida Democrats flip the Jacksonville mayor’s office in a major upset
Jacksonville was the largest city in the country with a GOP mayor, and the Republican candidate Tuesday had the backing of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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Democrat Donna Deegan won the Jacksonville mayor’s race Tuesday night, a shocking upset that hands Florida Democrats a major shot of energy less than six months after they were trounced in the 2022 midterms and considered left for dead by the national party.
Deegan came into Election Day as the decided underdog against Republican Daniel Davis, who is the head of the city’s Chamber of Commerce and had a significant fundraising advantage. He was endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, but that support was lukewarm. DeSantis did not do events with Davis or put his political muscle behind his candidacy.
With all of the city’s 186 precincts reporting, Deegan had a 52% to 48% advantage over Davis, who was vying to replace current Republican Mayor Lenny Curry, who was term-limited.
“Everyone said it could not be done in Jacksonville, Florida,” Deegan said, according to video of her victory speech. “We did it because we brought the people inside.”
The city of Jacksonville's official Twitter account sent a tweet congratulating Deegan on Tuesday night, writing, "We look forward to your leadership and vision as you help guide our City into the future."
In his concession speech, Davis called on everyone to "come together now and move our city forward," according to the site Florida Politics.
Deegan is a former TV anchor in the city with significant name recognition. After she left TV, she went on to found a nonprofit group that focuses on breast cancer research. She will be the city's first female mayor.
The win in Jacksonville, which was the most populous city in the country with a Republican mayor, is a huge morale boost for Florida Democrats, who have faced a series of stinging losses in recent years. Most recently, they were hammered up and down the ballot in a midterm election cycle in 2022, when DeSantis won re-election by nearly 20 percentage points. He also captured Duval County, which is composed mostly of the city of Jacksonville, by 12 percentage points.
“Just when people thought they had Jacksonville figured out, the voters have confounded expectations,” said Chris Hand, a veteran Jacksonville Democratic operative. "Donna Deegan’s win is historic, not just because of who she is but also because of how she won: by running a positive campaign and building a coalition of Democrats, No Party Affiliation Voters and even some Republicans.”
Duval County’s political trajectory has been a roller coaster in recent election cycles.
It was won in 2018 by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, who lost the election to DeSantis as Republican voters moved from the city to heavily Republican-leaning commuter counties. Two years later, Joe Biden became the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the county since Jimmy Carter in 1976.
Last year, however, DeSantis and Republicans dominated in the county like they did the rest of the state. Duval was named one of seven bellwether counties as part of NBC News’ “County to County” project as a result of the swing nature of its politics.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/democrat-donna-deegan-flips-jacksonville-mayors-office-major-upset-rcna84791
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The wins keep coming for the Democrats as Pennsylvania State House candidate Heather Boyd defeated Republican Katie Ford.
The Democratic Party keeps majority control of the Pennsylvania state house in a major blow for Republicans. Boyd ran on the issues most important to Pennsylvanians like abortion rights and education funding. Republicans keep running on an extreme platform of banning books, defunding public schools, and forcing women to give birth which is why they keep losing election races.
And also, Independent candidate Yemi Mobolade has won the race for mayor of Colorado Springs over the Republican candidate in a landslide victory. Mobolade is a moderate who might as well be a Democrat. Colorado Springs had long been staunchly Republican. Not anymore! People are tired of right wing fascism and the radical extremists that hijacked the Republican party.
This is a preview of the 2024 elections, as right wing extremists will keep pushing this anti freedom-pro fascist agenda that the overwhelming majority of Americans reject. We witnessed the same thing in Wisconsin last month, when Republicans lost in an 11 point landslide for the Wisconsin State Supreme Court election.
Democrat Heather Boyd defeats Republican Katie Ford in Delco special election
With a crucial win in Pennsylvania’s 163rd state House district, Democrats retain control over the chamber.
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Democrat Heather Boyd has defeated Republican Katie Ford in the pivotal special election for a Pennsylvania state House seat in Delaware County, giving Democrats a narrow majority over the chamber once more.
Boyd, 46, campaigned on a platform of addressing public education funding, protecting abortion rights, and tackling racial disparities in maternal health.
Her win ensures that the Pennsylvania GOP has no path to restricting abortion via an amendment to the state constitution.
“Oh my god amazing, I’m just super excited obviously,” Boyd told WHYY News. “I never feel super confident walking into a race. You never know. The voters have to do what the voters have to do. And I’m so thankful to them.”
Democrats flipped the house in November for the first time since 2010, granting first-term Gov. Josh Shapiro a legislative chamber to help carry out his vision.
Boyd is currently the chair of the Upper Darby Democratic Committee. She previously worked as a teacher, school board director, legislative aide, and district director for U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon.
Public education funding is at the top of Boyd’s agenda when she reaches Harrisburg. But tonight?
“Maybe some sleep and hugging all of my friends and all of these wonderful people,” she said.
https://whyy.org/articles/pennsylvania-election-2023-delco-special-house-race-163rd-district/
Yemi Mobolade's resounding win in mayoral runoff marks seismic shift in Colorado Springs
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That sound you heard Tuesday night in Colorado Springs was a seismic shift in the political foundation under Colorado's second-largest city.
Yemi Mobolade, an unaffiliated, first-time candidate, didn't just beat veteran Republican politician Wayne Williams by double digits in the city's mayoral runoff — the Nigerian immigrant upended the board in a once reliably right-leaning city that has been moving toward the center by leaps and bounds in recent elections.
According to preliminary, unofficial results, Mobolade defeated Williams by about 15 percentage points, becoming the city's first elected Black mayor and the first Colorado Springs mayor who isn't a registered Republican in the more than four decades since the city began electing mayors directly in 1979.
"Yemi has tremendous crossover appeal," Republican consultant Daniel Cole told The Gazette on Tuesday night.
Cole, who ran an independent group that supported Williams in the first round but sat out the runoff, said internal polling predicted Mobolade's sweeping win.
"Polling showed him winning all the Democrats, the vast majority of unaffiliateds and a significant chunk of Republicans, too," he said.
Running as a business-friendly moderate in the nominally nonpartisan election, Mobolade appears to have energized voters from across the political spectrum, while Williams battled critics from all sides, including fellow Republicans.
None of that would have mattered, however, without the city electorate's leftward shift.
As recently as a decade ago, Colorado Springs and its surrounding El Paso County were known nationally as Republican strongholds, but as Colorado has turned more solidly blue, the city and county have moved in the same direction, albeit more slowly.
Last November, for instance, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis barely edged Republican nominee Heidi Ganahl within city limits and lost to by just 4 percentage points countywide, a far cry from the 20-point margins Republican statewide candidates used to rack up in the county.
That change in voter sentiment, as Colorado Springs begins to resemble other formerly Republican-leaning Front Range counties like Jefferson and Arapahoe, lay the groundwork for a candidacy like Mobolade's, but the dynamics surrounding Williams and his relationship with a divided local GOP helped seal his fate.
Williams acknowledged as much in his concession speech, delivered just minutes after initial vote totals posted.
"It's clear Colorado Springs is less conservative than it used to be," he told supporters. "When I was chairman here (of the El Paso county GOP) we had no Democratic state reps. Now, we have three. So there are significant changes that have taken place, and I congratulate Yemi on an excellent campaign."
https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/yemi-mobolade-wins-colorado-springs-mayor/article_d8f786f7-1693-5ac0-8b6b-c001534fbf77.html
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House GOP to refer George Santos expulsion resolution to Ethics panel
The resolution was introduced by Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia earlier this week
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WASHINGTON — House Republicans plan to vote Wednesday evening on a motion to refer a Democratic-sponsored resolution to expel Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., to the Ethics Committee.
The resolution was introduced on Tuesday by Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., and is privileged, which means Republican leaders must schedule a vote by Thursday.
Republicans will try to bypass a vote on the bill itself, however, by referring it to the House Committee on Ethics, which has been investigating Santos since early March.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., sent out a notice Wednesday telling lawmakers that they would vote on a motion to refer the resolution to the Ethics panel around 5 p.m.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. — who said last week that he would not back Santos' re-election bid — said Tuesday night that he preferred that approach rather than a floor vote to expel Santos from Congress.
Garcia called McCarthy's approach "a cop-out" at a press conference on Wednesday morning. "This is already in the Ethics Committee," Garcia said. "We want an actual vote on the expulsion."
Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., a former federal prosecutor, suggested that the Ethics Committee wouldn't take any action on the resolution, and instead defer to the Department of Justice, which last week charged Santos with a 13-count indictment.
"Prosecutors are going to ask the Ethics Committee to pause and let their prosecution go first," he said. "That’s what I did for 10 years, that is the nature of how these things work. And traditionally, the Ethics Committee will defer to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution and Kevin McCarthy knows that."
Goldman said this tactic is a way for Republicans avoiding accountability on the expulsion measure.
Santos' congressional office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last week, Santos pleaded not guilty at a Long Island courthouse to the federal indictment unsealed by the Justice Department. Santos was charged with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives, according to the Justice Department. He’s due in court again June 30.
Santos, who had previously admitted that he lied about his background, has called the charges against him a “witch hunt“ and said that he won’t resign.
In March, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation that it said would determine whether Santos “engaged in unlawful activity with respect to his 2022 congressional campaign; failed to properly disclose required information on statements filed with the House; violated federal conflict of interest laws in connection with his role in a firm providing fiduciary services; and/or engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual seeking employment in his congressional office."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-gop-refer-george-santos-expulsion-ethics-panel-rcna84883
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President Biden @POTUS
Annual inflation has been nearly cut in half from its peak last year, wages rose last month, and grocery prices fell for the second month in a row.
My Administration is making continued progress lowering costs for families.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1658911515045502985
President Biden @POTUS
To have the best economy in the world, you've got to have the best infrastructure in the world.
That's why we're making historic investments to get America moving again – all while creating good jobs and using American materials.
And, folks, it’s about damn time.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1658600716397604868
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Right wing propagandists were pushing their usual disinformation saying "President Biden didn't have a plan" after Title 42 expired.
Of course, Biden had a plan, and it's working. Unlawful border crossings dropped more than 56% since President Biden’s plan went into effect. Once again, this data debunks the right wing manufactured "open border" lie.
Now, Texas Governor Abbott is rallying other governors to “fight" border crossings going down.
Republicans don’t want the border to get better. They want chaos as usual so they can blame Biden for it. And these right wingers are trying to do that after Biden's plan cut unlawful border crossings by 56%.
Texas Gov. Abbott asks governors to fight Biden asylum rules
https://thehill.com/latino/4008326-texas-gov-abbott-asks-governors-to-fight-biden-asylum-rules/
DHS official: Border encounters continue to fall 56% since Title 42 ended
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Since the lifting of the pandemic-era Title 42 immigration policy last week, the Department of Homeland Security has seen a steady decline in encounters at the Southwest border between migrants and Border Patrol agents, officials said Wednesday.
Blas Nuñez-Neto, DHS’ assistant secretary for border and immigration policy, told reporters there has been an average of about 4,400 encounters over the past four days — and fewer than 4,000 each of the last two days. That amounts to a 56%
drop.
U.S. officials have been stressing that the border is not open and urging migrants who want to enter the U.S. to apply for legal pathways, which have been expanded, using a mobile app. Officials have warned that those who attempt to go around the system will face severe consequences — swift deportation, a five-year ban if they have no legal basis to enter the U.S. and criminal prosecution if they attempt to cross the border again.
“This transition is the culmination of nearly two years of preparation and a whole-of-government approach to return to traditional Title 8 immigration processing,” Nuñez-Neto said.
Since Friday, thousands of migrants, including single adults and families, have been returned to Mexico and other countries, Nuñez-Neto said.
He added that the number of encounters with Venezuelan nationals is down 98% since last week to fewer than 50 a day over the past three days. Daily encounters with people from Mexico have fallen from 1,900 a day to 1,000, while encounters with Colombians have declined from 1,400 to around 500.
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/me/maine/immigration/2023/05/17/dhs-official--border-encounters-continue-to-fall-since-title-42-ended
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Rep. Jamaal Bowman calls out Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for racist tropes after she claims to ‘feel threatened’ by him
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NEW YORK — U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman Thursday accused Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of promoting racist tropes about Black men after she claimed to have felt “threatened” by his “physical mannerisms” during an argument on the steps of the Capitol.
Bowman, a Bronx Democrat who is Black, said Greene was spewing racist dog whistles when she claimed he should be monitored because she believes he acted “aggressively” during a verbal confrontation a day earlier.
“Black men continue to be characterized as aggressive and threatening when we are passionate and outspoken,” Bowman tweeted. “They’re not just using dog whistles, they’re using bullhorns.”
Greene earlier Thursday made no effort to hide her thoughts about Bowman, a former Bronx middle school principal.
"His physical mannerisms are aggressive,” Greene, who represents a deep-red rural Georgia district, said at an unrelated Capitol Hill press conference.“I think there’s a lot of concern about Jamaal Bowman. And I am concerned about it. I feel threatened by him.”
The two lawmakers were picking up where they left off the evening before with a war of words outside the Capitol.
The caught-on video confrontation started with Bowman and other progressive lawmakers heckling scandal-plagued Rep. George Santos, who escaped a possible expulsion vote when fellow Republicans referred his indictment to the ethics committee for a probe.
Bowman told Greene that the Republican Party needs to move away from right-wing radicalism.
“No more QAnon, no more MAGA, no more debt-ceiling nonsense,” he said.
© New York Daily News
'Nonsensical and dangerous': GOP strategist rips Marjorie Taylor Greene for racist tirade
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) spurred a fresh wave of outrage on Thursday by invoking racist tropes to portray fellow Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) as aggressive and threatening, and claimed that people referring to her as a white supremacist are being as offensive as using the N-word.
Speaking to CNN that evening, Republican strategist Rina Shah laid into Greene.
"I want to ask you, Rina, what you made of that," said anchor Sara Sidner. "You know, we know from reporting, from CNN and everyone else's reporting, that Greene repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent Democratic politicians in 2016 — sorry, 2018, 2019, before she was elected to Congress. And now she's making this accusation that just didn't seem credible."
"Yeah, there's a lot to unpack here for someone who's sitting in a member of Congress' post," said Shah. "It's almost shocking to me. I'm a two-time senior congressional staffer over a decade ago. But I'll tell you, this was fast how we got here. To see this kind of extremism and a sitting member of Congress weaponize their words on the regular. But what she thinks somebody else is doing, the tactics she employs are not just nonsensical, it's dangerous, because it's whataboutism and it's wrapped up in racism. She doesn't reflect the views of white conservative women in this country."
Further, Shah continued, "the more she continues this, we'll be able to see her real ambition."
"I think we see some of it," said Shah. "She does these events because she fundraises off of them. You don't see any of her colleagues, the ones that look like her, woman of the GOP, in the House chamber, rushing to her defense. Because what I saw in that incident was a heated discussion between two colleagues. Was it civil? I think it was. But what it indicated is that she and many others, also on the other side of the aisle — I'm not going to say it's in equal amounts or the same way — but I want to say that we do see this declining civility in the body of Congress. That is most dangerous for us because that indicates higher levels of — they're going to get less stuff done, and higher dissatisfaction with Congress."
Watch:
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Ron DeSantis just cost Florida a lot of jobs and revenue because of his fascist agenda.
Disney cancels $1 billion development project in Orlando — costing Florida 2,000 jobs
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The potential creation of over 2,000 jobs in the city of Orlando has been scrapped as Disney continues to feud with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, The New York Times reported.
Disney’s chief executive Bob Iger and the company's theme park and consumer products chairman Josh D’Amaro have pulled the plug on a nearly $1 billion office complex that was scheduled to be built in Orlando -- a project that would have brought over 2,000 jobs with high salaries.
"The project, known as the Lake Nona Town Center, was supposed to involve the relocation of more than 1,000 employees from Southern California, including most of a department known as Imagineering, which works with Disney’s movie studios to develop theme park attractions," The Times' report stated. "Most of the affected employees complained bitterly about having to move — some quit — but Disney largely held firm, partly because of a Florida tax credit that would have allowed the company to recoup as much as $570 million over 20 years for building and occupying the complex."
In an email to employees this Thursday, D’Amaro’s cited “changing business conditions” as the reason for the project's cancellation.
As The Times' points out, the company's ongoing feud with DeSantis "figured prominently" into the project's cancellation.
The feud between Disney and DeSantis began when the company spoke out against Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay" law which put restrictions on classroom discussions about sex and gender.
Florida legislators have since then targeted the company with a variety of measures that include ending its ability to self-govern its 25,000-acre resort as if it were a county, and by giving DeSantis control over government services at the resort.
Read the full report over at The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/18/business/disney-ron-desantis-florida.html
GOP Rep. Clay Higgins Manhandles Activist At Press Conference
Watch video in link: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/gop-rep-clay-higgins-manhandles-092658071.html
GOP congressman accused of assaulting activist previously threatened demonstrators with violence
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U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, a far-right wing Republican from Louisiana, is being highly-criticized after viral video appeared to show him physically pushing and removing a young man from a Washington, D.C, press conference hosted by far-right GOP members of Congress Loren Boebert and Paul Gosar. Higgins, who previously has threatened protestors, is now being accused of assault by the man, who could be heard in the clip saying, “you’re hurting me.”
The man Rep. Higgins removed, 25-year-old Jake Burdett, posted video of himself asking pointed questions to both Boebert and Gosar, interrupting the small gathering.
“I figured I’d ask them some tough questions,” Burdett told The Daily Beast. “Bird-dog them, whatever you want to call it."
“Rep. Gosar, can you talk about when you did that rally with the neo-Nazi, Nick Fuentes? Can you talk about when your family did a ad all endorsing your opponent?” Burdett says in the video. “Representative Boebert, can you talk about your divorce? Did it have anything to do with giving food poisoning to Shooter’s Bar and Grill?”
Seconds later, Congressman Higgins apparently grabs Burdett, and tells him, “No. You’re out. You’re out.”
As he grabs him, Burdett says, “Aren’t you a congressperson, touching me?” and then, “Get off me! You’re hurting me!”
The Daily Beast reports, “Burdett wasn’t injured in the incident, he told The Daily Beast. But he felt ‘scared, intimidated, powerless, defenseless.’ He couldn’t exactly push back, he added later in an interview. ‘Like, who do I think the cops are going to crack down on: me, or the congressperson?'”
Video taken by Kristy Fogle, which offers a clear view of Higgins grabbing and pushing Burdett has gone viral with over 9 million views.
In the background someone can be heard saying, “Get this on video, this is assault.”
Burdett seems to think so too. On social media he asked if any attorneys thought it was, and one called it, “assault, battery, and a potential civil rights violation.”
Burdett also posted videos he apparently recorded. On Twitter he says, “Rep Clay Higgins proceeded to assault/physically remove me from the press conference.”
So who is U.S. Congressman Clay Higgins?
Before he was a member of Congress, Higgins was a law enforcement officer, which might explain why he is defending his actions by accusing Burdett of appearing threatening and mentally unstable.
In a statement to KATC, Higgins said, “Activist was a 103M. Threatening. He was escorted out and turned over to Capitol Police. Textbook.”
One website defines 103M as “Disturbance by mental person.”
But Higgins is a U.S. Congressman, not a physician, not a mental health professional, not a law enforcement officer in Washington D.C., and it’s unclear why he would be authorized to diagnose or physically remove someone exercising their First Amendment rights.
A damning September 2020 Buzzfeed News article reveals Congressman Higgins had ties to the Oath Keepers, an anti-government extremist group that just months later would go on to play a role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection. Oath Keepers founder and leader, Stewart Rhodes, in November of 2022 was convicted of seditious conspiracy, along with eight other members of that group.
“Facebook removed two posts from a Republican member of Congress representing Louisiana,” Buzzfeed News reported in 2020, referring to Higgins, “in which he threatened demonstrators against police violence, suggesting he would shoot and ‘drop any 10 of you where you stand’ if they took to the street armed.”
“If this shows up, we’ll consider the armed presence a real threat,” Higgins wrote on his personal, verified “Captain Clay Higgins” Facebook page, Buzzfeed reported, noting his post included “a picture of an armed Black militia group that has protested the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.”
“We don’t care what color you are. We don’t care if you’re left or right. If you show up like this, if We recognize threat… you won’t walk away.”
In that Facebook post Higgins also wrote, “I wouldn’t even spill my beer. … We are SWAT. Nothing personal. We just eliminate the threat. … That’s not a challenge, fellas. It’s a promise.”
“You’re the ones threatening, if you show yourselves, aggressively natured and armed in my presence,” he also wrote. “We don’t want to see your worthless *ss nor do we want to make your Mothers cry.”
Buzzfeed states that “Higgins did not explicitly threaten to shoot protesters, but seemed to make reference to it in his post by writing ‘1,450 fps’ – a reference to the speed of some ammo measured by feet per second.”
This screenshot appears to be the post Facebook deleted.
It was curious for Higgins to threaten violence against the protesters, essentially for being armed, because Louisiana is an open-carry state. In fact, Higgins is so devoted to the Second Amendment, in 2021 he declared his opposition to all gun control laws because murder is in the Bible, while appearing to suggest it is in man’s nature to kill, and that America is a Christian nation.
Meanwhile, Buzzfeed also reported, “On July 29, 2017, Higgins appeared at a DC event organized by Oath Keepers, a group that claims to have tens of thousands of members and has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a radical anti-government group.”
“Higgins is a former law enforcement officer and was a member of a SWAT team. He resigned from the Opelousas Police Department in 2007 after an internal investigation accused him of using unnecessary force on a suspect (he has since denied that was the reason for his resignation),” Buzzfeed adds.
Former FBI Deputy Assistant Director of the Bureau’s Counterintelligence Division, Pete Strzok, on Wednesday responded to video of Higgins by saying, “Same guy who quit being a patrol officer before he could be disciplined for using unnecessary force on a subject (‘striking a subject in handcuffs’) and then lying about it.”
Up until recently, Higgins was possibly best known, while in Congress, for shooting a selfie political video inside the Auschwitz gas chamber.
As NCRM previously reported, Higgins last year was one of 33 Republicans sponsoring a federal, vigilante “Don’t Say Gay” bill. He was one of 28 House Republicans who refused to vote for the bipartisan Respect for Child Survivors Act, which would aid victims of child sex abuse and their families.
This year he became one of 26 Republicans on the House Oversight Committee who refused to sign a simple, two-sentence statement denouncing white supremacy.
Just last month Congressman Higgins voiced opposition to the separation of church and state, while attacking liberal Americans and, seemingly the LGBTQ community along with one of the cornerstones of American democracy.
“Over time,” Higgins tweeted, “American communities will build beautiful, church owned public-access libraries. I’m going to help these churches get funding. We will change the whole public library paradigm. The libraries regular Americans recall are gone. They’ve become liberal grooming centers.”
And one month before that, in March, Congressman Higgins promoted the idea of using the power of the federal government to assist and support someone who was under investigation and later charged with 34 felonies.
“It is pretty clearly a wrongful persecution of a free American citizen who happens to be the former president of the United States,” Rep. Higgins told The Daily Beast, referring to Donald Trump. “Because of those circumstances, I think it’s appropriate for Congress to inquire into what drove that decision-making process for [Manhattan DA Alvin] Bragg.”
A Change.org petition with over 1000 signatures is asking for Congressman Higgins to be charged with assault.
https://www.rawstory.com/clay-higgins/
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So much for the false propaganda that Biden has "low poll numbers". Biden easily beats Trump in this 2024 Republican poll with even bigger victory than in 2020. 3 new polls show Biden winning by a wide margin, and the so called "liberal media" isn't even talking about it, but they spent last week hyping a bogus outlier poll that didn't even poll registered or likely voters.
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Biden stretches lead over Trump as independents turn away from former president
Joe Biden has increased his lead over Donald Trump according to a new opinion poll that says the president would expand his 2020 margin of victory over the former president Trump if a rematch were held now.
The poll showed independent voters backing Biden by 14 percentage points, up from the nine percentage points by which the Democrats won independents three years ago.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/us/1771650/Biden-leads-Trump-independents-snub-former-president
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President Biden @POTUS
We've arrived in Japan.
I look forward to further strengthening the U.S.-Japan Alliance — the cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific and around the world.
It's a pleasure seeing my friend Prime Minister Kishida Fumio again.
Last year in Japan, Prime Minister Kishida said to me: “We are two nations that share fundamental values.”
I couldn’t agree with him more.
These shared Democratic values are the source of our strength, our Alliance, and our ability to deliver for all our people.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1659226086515920897
My thanks to the men and women of the United States Military and the Japan Self-Defense Forces for a warm welcome.
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Together with Prime Minister @kishida230, the United States and Japan are working toward a more peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your partnership – we’re proud to stand with you.
The United States-Japan partnership will help guarantee a more peaceful and stable world for future generations.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1659243702676488192
It was great to meet with Prime Minister Kishida again to advance cooperation on the challenges facing our nations and globe.
We’re strengthening our partnerships on technology, clean energy, and our supply chains – and our economies and people will be better off for it.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1659325490774134786
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Trump always feuded with major American companies. But it was always just for show, a distraction. DeSantis thought he was copying Trump by feuding with Disney. What DeSantis didn't understand is that if you actually draw blood, a major corporation like Disney will bite back.
From day one DeSantis has been trying to copy the Trump playbook without understanding it. The Trump playbook is fairly useless to begin with, given that it led to Trump losing in 2020 by seven million votes. But DeSantis can't even replicate Trump's limited success with it.
It's not that difficult to understand why Trump used the strategies that he did, why those strategies worked to the extent that they did, and why they stopped working for Trump as time went on. But DeSantis doesn't appear to grasp any of that.
Ron DeSantis is a dummy with zero political savvy who can't even figure out how to copy the simplistic moves of his one-trick pony predecessor. This isn't something new; he's been this far over in his head from the start.
The astounding part continues to be that the entire mainstream media (on both sides) spent a couple years excitedly portraying DeSantis as if he were a smarter and more disciplined version of Trump. All you had to do was watch DeSantis to know all along that this was never true.
'No one is afraid of him': Opponents say DeSantis is not considered a serious challenger
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to formally launch his presidential campaign next week, has tried to cast the Republican primary race as a two-man contest between himself and former President Donald Trump — a sentiment backed by national polling that suggests DeSantis is an underdog but the only candidate with double digit numbers consistently against the former president.
But according to Rolling Stone, other Republican presidential hopefuls aren't interested in bowing out to let DeSantis face Trump alone.
"Just Thursday, [DeSantis] told donors ... that 'you have basically three people at this point that are credible in this whole thing,' meaning, 'Biden, Trump, and me. And I think of those three, two have a chance to get elected president: Biden and me,'" wrote Asawin Suebsaeng and Patrick Reis. However, "According to seven GOP operatives and pollsters supporting 2024 contenders other than Trump or DeSantis, the other contenders — including declared and likely candidates such as Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, and Chris Christie — now believe DeSantis is, in their estimations, 'a paper tiger' whose less-than-stellar performance in his 'shadow campaign' has convinced them he can be torn down as the 'only' non-Trump alternative. And that belief, the operatives say, has only grown in recent weeks, as DeSantis’ poll numbers have wavered."
One GOP donor put his opinion on DeSantis bluntly in conversation with Rolling Stone: "No one is afraid of him."
"Despite Team DeSantis’ repeated vows that this is not 2016, it appears the other 2024 Republicans are banking on a primary melee that looks exactly like what the Florida governor wants to avoid," said the report. "'The spring and early summer after [DeSantis’ 2024] announcement will generate some positive headlines and calm down some donor nerves, but the candidate’s retail skills and relatability and organizational issues — which have all been raised to date — probably aren’t going to get fixed in that span,' says one operative linked to a Super PAC backing a different 2024 GOP contender. 'The best-funded, most competent political organization in the world can’t make up for the fundamental limitations of the candidate. That is why a lot of people in this business have been DeSantis skeptics for a long time.'"
This comes amid a number of controversies for DeSantis, including his enactment of an extreme abortion ban that goes further than restrictions that are already torturing women in his state, and a retaliatory war against Disney that has led to the state canceling thousands of jobs and $1 billion in investment.
Read More Here: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/ron-desantis-2024-presidential-campaign-donald-trump-mike-pence-unafraid-1234738569/
Top Budget Democrat slams 'pro-default' House Freedom Caucus as GOP halts debt ceiling talks
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Hours after the far-right House Freedom Caucus demanded that Speaker Kevin McCarthy call off debt ceiling talks with President Joe Biden, GOP negotiators did just that on Friday as the two sides remained at an impasse over federal spending—which Republicans want to slash deeply—and other issues.
"It's time to press pause because it's just not productive," Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), McCarthy's handpicked lead negotiator, told reporters Friday without saying when or whether talks would resume.
McCarthy (R-Calif.) echoed Graves, saying, "Yeah, we've got to pause."
An unnamed White House official told the Associated Press Friday that additional talks "will be difficult" given the two sides' "real differences."
The abrupt halt to negotiations, which had yet to yield much if any substantive progress, came at a pivotal moment, with the June 1 "X-date" less than two weeks away.
"The nation is days away from a disastrous default crisis and the extreme MAGA Majority is splintering into camps of the unreasonable and the absurd," said Liz Zelnick, director of economic security and corporate power at the progressive group Accountable US.
"Republicans have made it clear they will hold the world economy hostage unless President Biden gives in to their demands."
Members of the House Freedom Caucus, a faction of dozens of Republicans that nearly denied McCarthy the speakership earlier this year, have signaled that they won't accept anything less than the extreme legislation the House GOP passed late last month.
If approved, that bill would impose devastating cuts to federal spending and kick millions of people off of federal nutrition assistance, Medicaid, rental assistance, and other programs while only raising the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion—or suspending it through March 2024.
"House Republicans did our job on debt ceiling," the Freedom Caucus tweeted Thursday. "It's time for President Biden and Senate Democrats to do theirs and pass the Limit, Save, Grow Act."
But the legislation in its current form has no chance of passing the Senate, which is narrowly controlled by Democrats. Progressives in the House and Senate have said they won't support any deal that includes the GOP's regressive spending caps or additional work requirements for federal aid programs.
Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said in response to the Freedom Caucus' statement that the far-right GOP faction is "pro-default," adding that "these MAGA extremists will not rest until they've either turned America into a deadbeat nation or imposed cruel cuts on American families."
"This is exactly why I filed a discharge petition to ensure we can avoid default, pay our bills, and save our economy," Boyle added.
But Boyle's discharge petition, which would force a House floor vote on legislation to raise the debt ceiling, is also a longshot solution to the Republican-induced crisis given that it needs at least five GOP votes.
"Let's be clear: this did not have to happen," Boyle said in a statement earlier this week. "By taking our economy hostage and refusing to address the debt ceiling, MAGA extremists have forced Congress to consider other pathways to meet our constitutional obligation—something Congress has done more than 100 times before on a bipartisan basis, including three times in the previous administration."
As an alternative to legislative action, nearly a dozen senators led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are imploring Biden to get ready to invoke the 14th Amendment to avert a debt default, warning that Republicans aren't negotiating in good faith and are willing to wreck the global economy in pursuit of punishing austerity.
Biden aides are reportedly concerned about the legal fight that would certainly ensue if the president attempted to use his executive authority to end the standoff.
But Sanders reiterated his 14th Amendment message on Friday, writing on Twitter that "Republicans have made it clear they will hold the world economy hostage unless President Biden gives in to their demands."
"Instead," Sanders added, "he should prepare to use the 14th Amendment to ensure we pay our debts and protect working families who are already struggling."
https://www.rawstory.com/top-budget-democrat-slams-pro-default-house-freedom-caucus-as-gop-halts-debt-ceiling-talks/
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President Biden @POTUS
Today, my fellow G7 Leaders and I paid a visit to Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park where we paid our respects.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1659612416756400143
The G7 Leaders remain resolved to continue to stand with the Ukrainian people in the face of Putin’s war of choice against their sovereign nation.
In lockstep with my fellow G7 Leaders, we’ve placed on Russia the largest set of sanctions and export control actions ever imposed on a major economy.
Today, we're taking more action – disrupting Russia's ability to source inputs for its war, closing evasion loopholes, restricting their access to the international finance system, and reducing reliance on Russian energy.
Over the last fifteen months, the G7 has stood in solidarity with Ukraine – cutting Russia’s war machine off from key technologies and financing around the globe.
And today, the G7's solidarity with Ukraine is even stronger now than it was last year.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1659684104277729281
The G7 is more united than ever.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1659702979614629888
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The White House @WhiteHouse
Across the nation, the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is replacing lead pipes to ensure access to clean and safe water for every American in every community.
Head over to http://build.gov to learn more.
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https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1659604834998255617
The White House @WhiteHouse
Investing in America’s infrastructure investments builds bridges, expands clean energy, and creates good-paying jobs.
During Infrastructure Week, President Biden is highlighting the 32,000 specific projects and awards funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
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https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1659695428542115841
The White House @WhiteHouse
This week, the Administration celebrates 18 months of rebuilding our roads and bridges, replacing lead pipes, cleaning up legacy pollution, expanding access to high-speed internet, and ushering in a new era of clean energy – turning infrastructure week into infrastructure decade.
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https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1659559540709367808
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Republicans still can't bring themselves to expel a criminal from their party. They keep protecting criminals just like they do for Donald Trump. Republicans are not serious about "law and order" or crime.
Effort to expel Santos falters as Republicans vote to send measure to Ethics Committee
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A resolution to expel Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., from Congress was referred to the House Ethics Committee on Wednesday as Republicans successfully sidestepped an effort to force them into a vote that could have narrowed their already slim four-seat majority.
The House voted along party lines, 221-204, to refer the matter to the ethics panel, with Santos himself joining his GOP colleagues in voting to do so.
The freshman congressman has been charged with embezzling money from his campaign, falsely receiving unemployment funds and lying to Congress about his finances. He has denied the charges and has pleaded not guilty.
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., introduced a resolution in February to expel Santos, something the House has only done twice in recent decades. He sought to force a vote on that resolution under a process that left three options for Republicans: a vote on the resolution, a move to table, or a referral to committee.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy chose the third option, much to the chagrin of Democrats who described it as a “complete copout.” They noted that the ethics panel is already investigating Santos and that it was time for Republican House members who have called for Santos to resign to back their words with action.
“It is simply an effort for the Republicans to avoid having to take an up-or-down vote on whether or not George Santos belongs here,” said Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y.
Santos made clear to reporters after the vote he has no intention of resigning. As he spoke on the Capitol steps, he was heckled by Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman. Bowman yelled, “Resign, save yourself, have some dignity.”
“I understand that politics is complicated, but the reality is there is a procedure,” Santos said. “You can’t be judge, jury and executioner. I have a right, a constitutional right, to defend myself and I will do that. And I look forward to doing that. I look forward to seeing the process play out.”
Democrats appealed to Republican lawmakers from New York for support. Many have been highly critical of Santos, and face the prospect of Democrats trying to link them to Santos in next year’s general election.
“I say to you, if you vote for this motion to refer it to the Ethics Committee, you are complicit in George Santos’ fraud and you are voting to make sure that he continues to be a member of Congress,” Goldman said.
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., made the motion to refer the expulsion resolution to the ethics panel. He said he was personally in favor of Santos being expelled, but added that “regrettably,” there were not enough votes to meet the two-thirds threshold necessary.
"I firmly believe this is the quickest way of ridding the House of Representatives of this scourge on government,” D’Esposito said.
Republican leaders have said Santos deserves to have his day in court before Congress weighs in. The position Republican leaders have staked out generally follows the precedent that Congress has set in similar criminal cases over the years. The House has expelled just two members in recent decades, and both votes occurred after the lawmaker had been convicted on federal charges.
The Department of Justice often asks the ethics panel to pause its investigations when a member of Congress has been indicted, but there has been no announcement of that kind from the committee regarding Santos.
https://apnews.com/article/george-santos-congress-vote-expel-ethics-caed2b1fce3ebb86c87929f2de9fc03e
Kyrsten Sinema hammered in FEC complaint over campaign spending on her 'lifestyle of luxury'
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The FEC is in receipt of a formal complaint levied against Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) accusing of her using campaign donations to finance a lavish lifestyle that has nothing to do with the job voters sent her to Congress to do.
According to a report from AZCentral, the controversial lawmaker who recently abandoned the Democratic Party to become an independent, is being accused of spending campaign donations on "lavish” trips to London and Paris, with the group who filed the complaint calling for an investigation.
The report notes that Change for Arizona 2024, a PAC also known as Replace Sinema, wants the FEC to put the Arizona senator and her campaign expenditures under the microscope.
The complaint accuses her of "living a lifestyle of luxury financed by her special interest donors, to the detriment of her constituents in Arizona.”
According to Luis Avila, a senior adviser with Change for Arizona 2024, "We have been watching with growing concern the instances of Sinema abusing the power of her office, exploiting her campaign and Senate accounts for personal use. We now demand an official investigation into whether Sen. Sinema has broken the law."
The report notes, "Sinema and her allied PACs detailed spending at various luxurious hotels beginning in 2019 and continuing through at least 2022, the complaint notes. In all, there were 51 expenditures totaling nearly $36,000 to 17 hotels the complaint characterizes as 'luxury hotels, resorts and spas' in France, the United Kingdom and ski resorts in Colorado and Utah."
"Beyond Sinema’s travel expenses, the complaint notes nearly $20,000 in wine expenses, $9,000 in meal costs at expensive restaurants and 'an astonishing $45,000 in campaign and PAC Expenditures on chauffeured car services.' Sinema used campaign and official funds on charter air services totaling $70,000 over a 12-month span beginning in 2021,”reports AZCentral's Ronald Hansen.
The filing notes, "The fact that Respondents reported spending more money in Europe on Senator Sinema’s 2022 trip than she concurrently raised from donors strongly suggests that her fundraising was a cover for travel undertaken for personal benefit.”
Read More Here: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2023/05/19/senator-kyrsten-sinema-faces-complaint-of-indulgent-campaign-spending/70236623007/
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U.S. elections are changing, and it's benefitting Democrats: analysis
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We all know that elections in the United States have changed since Donald Trump arrived on the political scene, but a report shows that those differences are often working to the benefit of Democrats, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.
The Post analyzed data provided in a new report by the Democratic data analytics firm Catalist, which purports to provide a comprehensive analysis of the 2022 contest. Some of the findings from the report run counter to "conventional wisdom," according to Dan Balz, chief correspondent for the Post.
"The report finds that there were two elections in 2022: one in the highly contested states and another in states without competitive statewide contests," Balz wrote. "There was no national trend that produced swings across the board as in past elections. Where 2022 broke ranks with past midterm patterns, it favored Democrats."
Balz noted that, while Trump's 2016 victory changed the game, "Republicans have struggled since then."
"The 2018 election produced a century-high turnout for a midterm race along with a Democratic wave that knocked Republicans from power in the House," the reporter added. "The 2020 election produced the biggest vote total in the history of the United States, putting President Biden in the White House and giving Democrats a narrow majority in the Senate."
Then came the 2022 midterms, which served as the basis of the report.
"The 2022 midterm election was another stunner. It produced a sizable turnout again, short of 2018 in total votes but nonetheless substantial and, contrary to historical patterns, did not result in the kind of gains that the party out of power, in this case Republicans, had expected," Balz said. "There was no red wave. Republicans captured the House but with a far narrower majority than anticipated. Meanwhile, Democrats added one seat to their 50-50 Senate majority, defying Republican hopes of taking control of that chamber as well."
AFP
WHAT HAPPENED™ IN 2022
AN ANALYSIS OF THE 2022 MIDTERMS
This is the first in a series of reports on What Happened in the 2022 general election from the perspective of the Catalist voter database, the longest-running outside the two major political parties. This analysis examines national-level election results in the House and state-level results for Senate and gubernatorial races.
The 2022 election defied conventional wisdom and historical trends. In a typical midterm election year with one-party control of the presidency, House and Senate, the incumbent party would expect major losses. Instead, Democrats re-elected every incumbent senator and expanded their Senate majority by a seat, won the overwhelming majority of heavily contested gubernatorial elections, gained control of 4 state legislative chambers, and only narrowly lost the U.S. House.
Democrats won in the majority of heavily contested races, with electorates in these contests looking more like the 2020 and 2018 electorates than a typical midterm. Unlike recent midterms, which were wave elections with across-the-board, national swings, there was less of a national trend in the 2022 midterm. In this analysis we will present national results based on the U.S. House vote, where Republicans outperformed Democrats, as well as analysis from states that had highly contested races, according to the non-partisan Cook Political Report, where Democrats outperformed Republicans. Unlike other recent midterm years, our analysis shows a stark contrast between the electorate in areas with one or more highly contested House, Senate or gubernatorial races versus those with less contested races.
Gen Z and Millennial voters had exceptional levels of turnout, with young voters in heavily contested states exceeding their 2018 turnout by 6% among those who were eligible in both elections.1 Further, 65% of voters between the ages of 18 and 29 supported Democrats, cementing their role as a key part of a winning coalition for the party. While young voters were historically evenly split between the parties, they are increasingly voting for Democrats. Many young voters who showed up in 2018 and 2020 to elect Democrats continued to do the same in 2022.
Extreme “MAGA” Republicans underperformed. Across heavily contested Senate, Gubernatorial, and Congressional races, voters penalized “MAGA” Republicans. Candidates who were outspoken election deniers did 1 to 4 points worse than other Republicans, contributing to their losses in important close races. Of course, election denial is one of many extreme positions associated with “MAGA” Republicans, so this analysis likely reflects relatively extreme stances on other issues, including abortion rights, as well as Republicans such as Kari Lake (Arizona gubernatorial) and Doug Mastriano (Pennsylvania gubernatorial) who ran relatively insular campaigns.
Women voters pushed Democrats over the top in heavily contested races, where abortion rights were often their top issue. After Republican-appointed justices on the Supreme Court overturned abortion rights, a disproportionate number of women voters registered to vote in states with highly contested elections. At the same time, polls showed Democratic women and men indicating they were more engaged in the election. While relative turnout by gender remained largely stable, Democratic performance improved over 2020 among women in highly contested races, going from 55% to 57% support. The biggest improvement was among white non-college women (+4% support).
Democrats largely retained their winning 2020 coalition in heavily contested races, with some exceptions. Turnout and support among voters by race, education, gender, and other demographic factors remained relatively stable in heavily contested races. Such stability does not usually occur between presidential and midterm years, demonstrating how the Democratic coalition blunted a Republican “red wave.” One notable shift includes Black voters. While they continued to play an outsized role in contributing to Democratic victories, Black turnout largely fell in contested races. Meanwhile, Democratic support among Black voters rose in Southern states with heavily contested elections, but fell in less contested states.
Read More Analysis Including Charts And Graphs Here: https://catalist.us/whathappened2022/
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President Biden @POTUS
Democracies deliver.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1659947879102816260
Today, by signing a new joint initiative to accelerate a transition to clean energy, the United States and Australia will take one giant step forward in our fight against the climate crisis.
Together.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1659967229075640323
Together, the United States and Australia have delivered a historic year – from standing as one to defend our shared values in support of Ukraine to launching a new joint initiative to accelerate a transition to clean energy.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1659982456542441473
Mr. Prime Minister, the friendship between the United States and Australia is here to stay.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1659997427636613127
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'They were willing to take the government down': Democrat doubts GOP cares about the debt ceiling
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Republicans in the House are still threatening not to pay America's bills if President Joe Biden doesn't agree to their demands. It prompted CNN's Jim Acosta to wonder if it was too naive to hope that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) would bring moderate Republicans together with Democrats to agree to pay the bills. A Democratic member explained that there really is no hope.
"That is not realistic with this speaker or with this House of Representatives," explained Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN). "If that would happen, they would certainly recall him and they'd elect a new speaker, and McCarthy does not want to be the shortest-serving speaker in history."
Acosta cited Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen commenting on the 14th Amendment option by saying it's Congress' job to raise the debt ceiling.
Cohen cited Harvard Constitutional Law Professor Laurence Tribe, who said that he thinks it might be a possibility. It will likely be challenged by the Supreme Court, but the Court notoriously doesn't like to weigh in on issues like that, Cohen said. Biden has "signaled" he doesn't intend to go that route, but it might be the only alternative.
"I think if the Republicans don't come to the table with a reasonable proposal, President Biden will have to," Cohen said about invoking the 14th. "And I don't think McCarthy will get to that. I mean, the permitting is something they could work on and the COVID money is certainly something they could work on. I doubt he's going to have any taxes. The Republican mantra is no taxes and no fewer guns in America. So, he's not going to come up with any more taxes and revenue, and that is a shame. ... But President Biden is going to have to be satisfied, and he'll have to get together the votes to make it pass, and it is going to be difficult, I don't think McCarthy has the votes either."
Cohen went on to say that it isn't a couple of Republicans who "are not tethered to reality" in Congress. At this point, it's as many as 60 or 70 who voted not to approve the 2020 election for Pennsylvania and Arizona. That's his way of measuring the fringe in the House GOP, he explained. Those were the members willing to override the Constitution, he said.
"Sometimes when I'm in the House, I think of the fact that I'm in a crime scene. And that some of the people I serve with were insurrectionists, and they were willing to take the government down, trying to keep Trump in office," Cohen confessed. Donald "Trump said default because it will hurt Biden. That is what Trump is thinking. He didn't default, the Republicans didn't default when he was president, and now they want to do it to the president. This is all about politics, and they don't care about our fiscal future and condition."
Cohen said that if the 14th Amendment is in play then the debts will be paid and there isn't a problem. If Biden goes for the 14th, even if the Supreme Court stops it, the move would buy time. If the Supreme Court joins with the GOP-led Congress to block the debt ceiling, it will put the fault squarely on them.
Most of the far-right members of the GOP weren't in office during the last two government shutdowns, so they haven't fully experienced what it's like and how Americans respond to it.
Watch:
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President Biden @POTUS
Let me be clear.
I will not agree to a deal with House Republicans that protects billions in subsidies for Big Oil while putting the health care of 21 million Americans at risk.
Or that protects wealthy tax cheats while putting food assistance at risk for 1 million Americans.
It’s time for House Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal on default to be made solely on their terms.
I put forward a plan that cuts spending by over $1 trillion – on top of $3 trillion in deficit reduction I previously proposed.
They need to move too.
MAGA House Republicans are threatening a default that could cost us millions of jobs and trigger a recession.
All because they are demanding deep cuts that will hurt hardworking families – even while they protect tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations.
I’ve got a plan to continue reducing the deficit – if only they’d listen.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1660316196909072390
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FEC complaint calls for federal probe of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema spending
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PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — A complaint filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission asks regulators to open a formal investigation into campaign spending by Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Sinema has faced mounting questions about the legitimacy of more than $180,000 in campaign expenditures dating back to 2019 on luxury hotels, posh resorts, Michelin-star restaurants, international travel and winery visits. The campaign spending has drawn further scrutiny because it occurred while Sinema was not actively campaigning for office. The senator has declined to announce whether she will run for reelection in 2024.
The complaint, filed by Change for Arizona 2024, a political action committee openly trying to unseat the senator, outlines potential violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act. It alleges that Sinema “illegally diverted funds” intended for her campaign for personal use.
In a statement to Arizona’s Family, a spokesman dismissed the complaint as a desperate political attack. “It’s not surprising that desperate political attacks from dark money Super PACs are based on lies. There’s no standing here, and Kyrsten remains laser focused on delivering lasting solutions to the challenges we face – including addressing our border crisis and ensuring Arizonans are protected from a national default,” a spokesman for Sinema’s office said via email.
However, an independent attorney and government ethics expert not involved with the PAC said the claims appear to have merit. “When I read this FEC complaint, I was shocked – and I’ve seen a lot of political corruption in my life,” said attorney Tom Ryan. “You don’t get to mislead donors. You don’t get to take money that’s intended for a public use and turn it into a private benefit, and she has clearly done that in spades.” The spokesman for Sinema declined further comment.
The complaint accuses Sinema of financing a “lifestyle of luxury” with donor money, highlighting trips to lavish resorts in Paris and her personal hobby of competitive racing. New reports this week raised questions about why Sinema’s campaign covered more than $9,000 in expenses while she was taking part in the Boston Marathon in April 2022. Sinema has participated in at least 17 marathons and other races since she took office, the complaint says, and has used both campaign funds and public funds to subsidize the trips. The complaint alleges she added incidental campaign events or small fundraisers onto the travel and then paid for the entire trip with campaign funds. “Running a Boston Marathon, or skiing in Vail, or attending wine seminars in Napa Valley – none of that is directed towards campaigning in the state of Arizona and that’s why it’s problematic,” Ryan said. That kind of spending appears to be a “clear cut” violation of federal law, he added.
If the complaint is substantiated, Sinema could be forced to pay back funds that were improperly spent, Ryan said. In extreme cases, politicians who misuse public funds can face criminal prosecution.”Ultimately, this is something that could go to the Department of Justice and my suggestion is that it should go to the Department of Justice for further investigation,” Ryan said.
Read Complaint and Watch Video in Link: https://www.azfamily.com/2023/05/19/fec-complaint-calls-federal-probe-sen-kyrsten-sinema-spending/
Former Republican congressman explains why he no longer wants to raise his family in Florida
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Former Rep. David Jolly (R-FL) was born and raised in Florida, and he represented his state in Congress, but after the actions of the fringe-GOP legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), he's thinking about moving. DeSantis reportedly intends to officially launch his 2024 campaign in the coming week.
TIME Magazine quoted Jolly in a piece on DeSantis, saying that his hostility has permeated"through the air to make the state no longer desirable to vacationers and retirees.
“It’s in the air, it’s everywhere, it’s amazing,” Jolly told TIME. “It’s between neighbors, it’s when you go to restaurants, when you go to schools. You’re on one side or the other, and people know it.”
It was in that piece that the Florida native revealed he "is considering moving his family out of the state."
Speaking Saturday morning to Jonathan Capehart on MSNBC, Jolly explained, "Culture wars have two sides ... to do all of these things reflects a certain cruelty and darkness of one's personal ethos. I think Ron DeSantis is now going to be seen as that."
When he spoke again with Alex Witt on Sunday, Jolly said he's a fifth and six-generation Florida family with his two young children.
"Look, I have a four-year-old and a two-year-old who I hope can grow up in a community that is inclusive, that exposes them to diverse thinking, to diverse cultures, and allows our family to make decisions about which value set to orient our children around and ultimately give them the opportunity to make their own decisions," Jolly explained. "What has happened in the DeSantis era, the DeSantis administration is not just the attack on the LGBTQ+, the migrant community, the African American community, the denial of science and history, but it has brought back the implicit biases that as a nation we have been trying to move away from ever since the civil rights movement. He has brought that back. You feel it. You feel unwelcome, and it is a real decision to make to raise children in the state of Florida."
He went on to say that this is the perfect example of why the Republican Party will suffer greater losses in 2024, because doubling down on the culture wars assumes Americans agree with their fringe policies.
"Within a Republican primary, it gives him some fairly good currency, but in a general election what we continue to see is that Republicans are made out of touch with the general election voter," he explained. "A culture has two sides. It ignites both sides with equal passion. And so, where Donald Trump began to erode, or see an erosion of support, particularly in the suburbs Republicans generally soft Republican suburbs, began to say, hey, I don't like this Donald Trump leadership. Ron DeSantis is saying, well, if you didn't like, that let me show you the culture war I'm trying to lay across the nation. So, look, it has given them a foundation for a run in the Republican primary. I don't think it'll catapult him to the nomination, he thinks it will. But ultimately, any Republican on a culture wars platform, like that of Ron DeSantis in the general election, is going to be in trouble."
Watch:
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President Biden @POTUS
I joined fellow G7 Leaders to highlight the work we’ve done through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment to mobilize financing for quality infrastructure around the world.
And together, let's recommit to showing that democracies can deliver.
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I believe a great deal of the future of our world is going to be written here in the Indo-Pacific.
And together, the United States, Japan, India, and Australia will ensure a future that provides more opportunity, prosperity, and stability in the region and beyond.
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Together, with the entire G7, we have Ukraine's back.
And, like I promised President Zelenskyy, we're not going anywhere.
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Mr. President, what the people of Ukraine are defending and what you've achieved is a matter for the entire world to observe.
I speak for America when I say that we're in awe of what you've done so far.
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The United States – and the world – stands with Ukraine.
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Alongside Japan and the Republic of Korea, we’re taking our trilateral cooperation to new heights – from coordination in the face of the DPRK’s illicit nuclear and missile threats to economic security for all our people.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1660450412753813504
Tune in as I hold a press conference in Hiroshima, Japan.
Watch:
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Text messages reveal Ron DeSantis worked 'more closely' with convict Lev Parnas than previously disclosed
This Wednesday, May 24, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to officially announce his plans to enter the 2024 GOP presidential primary.
When DeSantis makes his presidential run official, that will bring him intensified scrutiny from Trump as well as from Democratic strategists and President Joe Biden's reelection campaign. And one thing they may be taking a close look at, according to Reuters, is DeSantis' relationship with Ukrainian-American businessman Lev Parnas.
Reuters reporters Aram Roston and Joseph Tanfani, in an article published on May 22, explain, "DeSantis and Parnas worked more closely together than the Republican governor has disclosed, according to a detailed account of their relationship Parnas provided to Reuters and 63 previously unreported text messages from DeSantis to Parnas between May and October 2018, as DeSantis campaigned for governor. A jury later found Parnas guilty of campaign finance crimes and other charges."
Text messages obtained by Reuters, according to Roston and Joseph Tanfani, "show that DeSantis "frequently…. appealed to fellow Floridian Parnas for introductions, advice and other fundraising help during his hotly contested campaign for governor."
"The texts also reveal that Parnas served as an intermediary between DeSantis and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who at the time, was the personal attorney of then-President Trump," the Reuters journalists explain. "In one case, 10 days before the 2018 election, DeSantis sent Parnas a text with suggested wording for a Giuliani tweet in support of his candidacy, the messages show."
Read Reuters' full report at this link: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/texts-tie-desantis-closely-trump-insider-lev-parnas-2018-race-2023-05-22/
EXCLUSIVE: Murder, kidnapping, brutality charges: These are the cops Ron DeSantis paid to come to Florida
Florida's police recruitment bonus appears to have attracted a certain kind of cop.
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In July 2021, the son of a high-ranking New York Police Department (NYPD) deputy allegedly plowed his car into Black Lives Matter protesters in New York City, injuring a teen. The protesters were calling for the firing of a cop who hurled homophobic slurs at a suspect while beating him.
A year later, Justin Burgos, arrested and charged with reckless endangerment that night, was hired by the Apopka Police Department outside Orlando, Florida
In addition to the job, Burgos got a bonus: $6,693.44, a check for coming aboard, offered by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to recruit cops to the Sunshine State, where they could work in a state where mantras like “defund the police” weren’t being chanted by protesters.
Burgos isn’t the only officer to take the money. In response to a Daily Dot FOIA, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity provided a list of the over 1,700 officers who received nearly $9 million.
The issues with officers don’t stop with Burgos either.
In response to DeSantis’ call, the Daily Dot found officers who since joining Florida police departments have been arrested for kidnapping and murder and officers who, before they moved to the Sunshine State, had numerous complaints against them, ranging from excessive force to false imprisonment to sexual extortion.
Josh Bogwandas was hired by the Miramar Police Department in December of 2022. He too received the same $6,693.44 check.
Six months later, police came to his door, a woman calling 911 after escaping from his alleged abuse. According to reports, he choked her and pulled her by her hair, chasing her after she escaped the house and dragging her back in. The victim, who wasn’t named, suffered “several bumps, marks, scratches, and cuts, including on her forehead, lip, right arm, and neck,” reported Mirimar News 10
Bogwandas was charged with domestic battery and kidnapping and the charges are still pending.
The Miramar Police Department cut ties with him after.
Chloe Davidson joined the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department on August 5, 2022. Five months later, Santa Rosa County Police came to her door, after responding to a domestic disturbance.
Her husband had been shot dead, and Davidson was booked on felony murder charges after police found no evidence she acted in self-defense.
She, too, received a nearly $7,000 check from DeSantis. The charges against her are still pending.
The money is part of HB 3, legislation designed to improve policing in Florida. DeSantis dubbed it the “strongest law enforcement recruitment and support initiative in the nation.” It provides funds for officer pay raises and training programs, and features a signing bonus for new members of Florida’s police departments.
DeSantis claims this policy is taking a stand for neglected officers across the nation.
"If you’re being mistreated, you’re not being supported—whether you’re on the West Coast, whether you’re in New York, whether you’re in Chicago, any of these places—if you’re qualified and you can fill a spot here, you know, we’re gonna get your back,“ DeSantis said in April. “We’ve stood for this being a noble profession. We want to support the folks who are protecting us.”
It was clearly a hit.
On April 6, DeSantis announced more than 1,750 bonuses had been issued to newly employed law enforcement recruits in Florida as a part of his program.
The Daily Dot obtained the full list of the officers.
The governor hasn’t taken this PR opportunity for granted. He has taken a tour throughout the state, hand-delivering these checks to grateful cops.
These police stations have reciprocally presented the governor with tokens of appreciation, including a gag $5,000 bill with DeSantis’ face on it.
The figures in the Daily Dot’s sheet appear to be officers who received the $5,000, an additional $1,000 bonus, and possible relocation funds.
While police have come from all across the nation, a number of officers appear to be fleeing the NYPD, which faced significant backlash for their violent response to the racial justice protests in 2020 after the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
Numerous reports have detailed the exodus of law enforcement from the NYPD following the open invitation from DeSantis in 2021.
In the list of bonus recipients, the Daily Dot found at least two dozen officers with identical names that also appear in NYPD’s Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) database, a searchable site run by New York City that makes public reports filed against officers for things like excessive use of force and racial profiling.
The complaints against names in the database and on the bonus list include accusations that officers unlawfully pepper sprayed, assaulted, and pointed their firearms at suspects, as well as used chokeholds and offensive language regarding race and ethnicity.
Allegations were also made that officer propositioned individuals for sex and performed unwarranted strip searches.
The Daily Dot is not naming the officers who it could not independently verify were NYPD officers who got DeSantis’ Florida bonus.
One officer on the list of bonus recipients—Daniel Meblin, who worked for the NYPD—was accused in April 2021 of making a sexual proposition toward an individual. An internal investigation was reportedly dropped in August of that year, after investigators were unable to contact the complainant, according to 50-a, an independently run database that tracks outcomes of complaints and is sourced directly from NYPD data.
Meblin was also one of several officers involved in a $160,000 settlement stemming from an incident in May 2020 during protests in New York over the deaths of Floyd and Taylor.
Meblin and his fellow officers were accused of illegally detaining a peaceful protester before “punching him in his face, head and other areas of his body” before striking them with a baton and obstructing their breathing, according to court documents.
A photograph of Meblin in the 50-a database matches that of an officer who was hired by the Palm Beach Police Department the same month that Meblin left the NYPD.
The Palm Beach PD confirmed to the Daily Dot that it employed the same Daniel Meblin and said he had been an “exemplary” officer since coming on board. The department said it was aware of the disciplinary complaint involving sexual solicitation against Meblin, who they say disclosed it during the hiring process.
Captain Will Rothrock said to the Daily Dot, speaking only for the Palm Beach PD, it found the bonuses “beneficial in our hiring attempts. While it may not be the largest factor in any applicant’s decision-making calculus as they determine their desired career opportunities, it has received positive mention from our new hires.”
The department declined to make Meblin available for an interview with the Daily Dot.
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Also part of the NYPD exodus appears to be Haitham Hussameldin, who according to the 50-a police database, served over 20 years. According to public records, a Haitham Hussameldin who previously lived in Staten Island now lives in Lake Worth, Florida, which is five miles from Manapalan, Florida, where a Haitham Hussameldin on the force there received a bonus
Hussameldin racked up 6 formal complaints involving 9 accusations, from multiple allegations of abuse of authority and overuse of physical force to smaller accusations such as committing time theft and falsifying records by claiming overtime hours he never worked.
i+In all incidents, the complaints were either withdrawn, unsubstantiated or the complaintant and victim did not want to cooperate with the CCRB process.
He’s been accused, in complaints and lawsuits, of tackling suspects without provocation, including a kid.
On the morning of April 28, 2017, a teenager was walking with her friend to South Brooklyn Community High School. Hussameldin stopped her and according to a suit filed by the victim, asked for a school ID to prove she was a student.
She replied that she didn’t have one, that she “just wanted to go to school,” and began walking towards the campus, which was just half a block away.
Hussameldin, according to the suit, tackled her to the ground, putting her in handcuffs, and shoving her into the back of a police cruiser, she claims, with her backpack still dangling behind her.
Throughout the encounter, the teenager said she felt ill, needed to vomit, and could not breathe and that officers ignored her.
The girl was charged with misdemeanors for resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration, and left, she said, with “pain, anxiety, suffering, mental anguish, and humiliation.”
On February 13, 2014, Hussameldin and his partner were called to the scene for a disagreement between neighbors over a snowblower. According to the suit filed by the victim, one of the officers tackled a person to the ground and pushed his knee against his head. The person’s brother questioned the officer’s extreme use of force, according to the complaint.
In response, Hussameldin “tackled [him] and threw him to the ground. As a result of this tackle, the victim suffered bruising to his arms and body.”
Those two cases against Hussameldin were settled by the NYPD, costing the city over $100,000.
Manapalan Police and Hussameldin did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Dot.
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Office Dawn Ortiz is now a member of the city of Longwood’s police force.
Fifteen 15 years earlier, a Dawn Ortiz led New York City to pay out $100,000.
Ortiz and her partner were involved in a shooting in Coney Island when a man was swinging a folding chair and charging at them. Ortiz and her partner ordered him to stop and when he didn’t, Ortiz shot him in the chest and killed him.
The two officers were not charged by the Brooklyn District Attorney and were initially praised for acting heroically, named “Cops of the Year” by the NYPD’s Holy Name Society.
That praise would soon diminish in the coming months.
The two women faced internal disciplinary charges for not having taken measures to avoid the fatal shooting.
The NYPD paid the family $100,000 in order to settle a civil case over the death, but the internal review took much longer.
Ortiz was also accused of strip-searching a woman inappropriately, a charge the NYPD found substantiated, and implicated in a lawsuit of a woman who died in custody of an overdose, after police removed her from the hospital and took her to a jail cell.
Now, a Dawn Ortiz, who used to live in Brooklyn and Staten Island, and is the same age of the NYPD officer according to record reports, lives just 12 miles from the Longwood Police Department station.
Longwood Police did not respond to a request for comment. Ortiz did not respond to a request for comment.
Robert Corbett was one of the officers who got nearly $7,000 to relocate to Florida, where he joined the Clermont Police Department. A LinkedIn page for a man with the same name shows that he is currently a police officer in Clermont, a city in central Florida. Before he moved to the Sunshine State, Corbett’s LinkedIn says he spent over two decades working at the NYPD.
According to the NYPD’s CCRB Corbett received four civilian complaints during his time with NYPD. From 1999 to 2001, three complainants accused Corbett of abuse of authority for conduct including threatening force and retaliatory arrest. One of those complaints also accused him of using physical force. Records show that two of the complainants were Black men, the third individual’s race and gender are not recorded.
The NYPD deemed that Corbett violated department policy by using excessive force and conducting a retaliatory arrest on one complainant, described in ProPublica’s records as a 25-year-old Black man.
He was reportedly exonerated of abusing his authority in the other complaints. The accusation that he was discourteous to a 38-year-old Black man was deemed unsubstantiated.
In June 2020, he was accused of using physical force and pepper spraying protesters. The NYPD found that the physical force was within guidelines and could not determine if the use of pepper spray was legitimate
The Clermont Police did not respond to a request for comment. Corbett did not respond to a Daily Dot request for comment.
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The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment regarding any of the officers above
Outside of New York City, other cops were also involved in large settlements at their previous departments.
Benjamin Petering, an officer who came to the St. Petersburg Police Department in Florida after working in Colorado, made headlines over a 2017 encounter that led to a $125,000 settlement.
The incident involved an arrest and charges against a man that were ultimately dropped after a court found that the officers on the scene had violated the Fourth Amendment during a search.
The man followed up by suing the department for unlawful search and excessive force, earning him the six-figure payout.
Aurora PD confirmed Petering left the force in October 2022. Petering did not respond to an inquiry sent over Facebook Messenger.
A spokesperson for the St. Petersburg Police Department confirmed that Petering worked in Aurora before transferring and that he received the recruitment bonus. They said that “Our hiring process includes an extensive background investigation, interview, and polygraph examination,” when asked about Petering’s past incidents.
The department also revealed they were aware of an officer-involved shooting Petering was a part of when he was in Aurora, but that it did not affect the decision to bring him on board, as it had been deemed “justified” by the state of Colorado.
As for Davidson, charged with homicide, she was a cadet for the Escambia County Sheriff’s office before she allegedly shot her husband, Doug Davidson Jr., in their home on Jan. 1, in Pace, Florida.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The sheriff’s office confirmed to local media that Davidson was training to become a deputy but had failed the field training program. It said she had not been employed by the department in the 30 days before the shooting.
According to WEAR News, Chloe spoke with investigators on the record when they arrived on the scene. She told officers that her husband tried to choke her before the shooting.
She told police that she was acting in self-defense but Investigators reported that there were no injuries, scratches, or cuts consistent with her account of a physical altercation.
Investigators said she appeared calm and claim she smirked when they left the room after she asked for a lawyer.
The two had three young boys together who were not home at the time of the shooting
The Escambia County Sheriff’s did not respond to a request for comment. Contact information for Davidson could not be found.
While the case against domestic violence Bowgandas is proceeding, the Miramar Police Department declined to comment on the bonus program.
“This arrest illustrates the department’s commitment to enforcing the law without favor” it said to the Daily Dot and that Bogwandas “has been relieved of his police duties without pay. Like everyone who is charged with a crime, he enjoys the presumption of innocence. An administrative investigation is also underway.”
Bowgandas did not respond to a request for comment sent over Facebook Messenger
The New York District Attorney’s office said that the records regarding Burgos’ case, for driving into protesters, were sealed and could not reveal how his case concluded. Cases in New York can be sealed under certain conditions, including if charges are dismissed, the defendant enters a dismissal agreement on the condition they aren’t arrested again, or the defendant pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.
The Apopka Police did not respond to an inquiry from the Daily Dot. Contact information for Burgos could not be found.
The DeSantis administration and the Florida Office of Economic Opportunity did not respond to requests for comment about the story.
https://www.dailydot.com/debug/florida-police-recruitment-bonus-desantis/
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Let’s not overcomplicate this:
Republicans passed a $2 trillion tax cut for billionaires and corporations.
Republicans repeatedly said the Trump tax cuts would pay for themselves. They ended up costing us trillions.
And now they’re refusing to pay for it.
It’s really that simple.
The GOP raised the debt ceiling:
- 3 times under Trump
- 7 times under W. Bush
- 18 times under Reagan.
97% of all US debt was incurred prior to Biden's presidency.
25% of all US debt was incurred under Trump.
This is a Republican Default Crisis.
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Bill Pascrell, Jr. @BillPascrell
Let’s be clear what will happen if republicans blow up the economy:
Social Security stops
Medicare freezes
Veterans lose their health care
Small businesses die
Bank runs
Homebuyers locked out
Americans lose their life savings
Millions lose their jobs
A second Great Depression
https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1660264861459251202
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President Biden @POTUS
In 18 months, our infrastructure investment has touched over 4,500 communities across all 50 states, D.C., and territories.
Our Administration has fought to lower the cost of prescription drugs, unleash a manufacturing boom, and strengthen our infrastructure.
But we’re not done.
Finishing the job means capping insulin prices for all Americans, lowering costs for care, and banning assault weapons.
My Investing in America agenda has brought good-paying semiconductor manufacturing jobs back to America.
And 60% of them don't require a four-year degree.
Our investments are fixing our nation’s roads and bridges.
But they’re also about connecting communities, strengthening our economy, and creating good-paying jobs.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1660728493586481153
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Ron DeSantis will launch his presidential bid with Elon Musk
The Florida governor will announce he is running for president on Twitter Wednesday evening in a conversation with Musk.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/ron-desantis-presidential-bid-campaign-elon-musk-rcna85288
Texas Lt. Gov's plan to create right-wing university think tank blows up in his face
https://www.rawstory.com/dan-patrick-2660550659/
Dem uses GOP's hearing to expose 'authoritarian' protection of 'dear leader Donald Trump'
https://www.rawstory.com/dan-goldman-authoritarian-playbook/
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Analyst shreds Kevin McCarthy's demands for work requirements in debt deal
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One of the key sticking points in negotiations over the debt ceiling deal remains whether to impose new work requirements on social programs, including enhancements to the requirements to look for work to receive family welfare assistance or food stamps, and all-new requirements on Medicaid — which was tried in a few states under the Trump administration and ended up disastrous.
"I don't think it's right that Washington borrows money from China to pay somebody who is able-bodied with no dependents to sit at home on a couch," said McCarthy earlier this week to reporters. "It is proven that work requirements help lift people out of poverty and into productivity."
Except that's not true at all, explained Krissy Clark on Twitter, host of "The Uncertain Hour" investigative public policy podcast.
"Work requirements DON’T have good record of lifting people from poverty. Their record IS good on (a) fewer people in poverty receiving welfare b/c of work req red tape (b) funneling gov $ to corps that enforce/benefit from work reqs," wrote Clark. "Just 21 of every 100 families in poverty receives cash welfare. Research shows one reason is the onerous bureaucracy of work-requirements. Many have turned away from cash welfare’s red tape and used temp work as their safety net instead. But temp work often pays less, has fewer benefits than regular jobs, and the jobs don’t last. Research shows it can trap people in poverty."
In fact, Clark explained, temp work companies often lobby for work requirements because it allows them to bilk taxpayer money.
"Temp companies can get tax credits when they employ people on welfare — even though the jobs by definition won’t last, and will often not pay enough to lift people out of poverty or off govt assistance. In some states temp companies are the largest claimant of these credits," wrote Clark. "Meanwhile some private welfare contractors have a side business in processing these tax credits for the (often temp) companies they work with to place welfare recipients into jobs. AND these private welfare contractors also get financial rewards from the state when someone on their caseload gets a job — even if the job only lasts a month and pays minimum wage. Putting people into temp jobs is an easy way to get these rewards."
The upshot, she concluded, is that work requirements create a system where lower-income people try to find jobs and are set up to work in a string of temporary, poverty-wage jobs while still needing welfare payments. "They are not 'sitting on the couch,'" she wrote. "In fact many I spoke to couldn’t afford couches."
https://twitter.com/kristianiaclark/status/1661109253728530432
McCarthy is one of Trump's 'goons' and Trump is behind the debt ceiling disaster: strategist
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Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is caught between a rock and a hard place on the debt ceiling.
On the one hand, he could easily make a deal with President Joe Biden and the Senate to raise the debt ceiling and then begin negotiations on the budget. Doing so would require that McCarthy bring together moderate Republicans and Democrats. Doing that would anger the far-right, and members of the far-right Freedom Caucus could motion to vacate McCarthy from the speaker's chair.
It means McCarthy has to please the far right. At issue is that the far-right is seeking to eliminate the bipartisan transportation bill, any COVID-19 funds sent to small businesses or individuals, cutting food stamps, veterans benefits, and a slew of other things. The fact that Democrats are even dealing on it at all is being attacked by progressives. It's compared to a hostage crisis, where the GOP wants a list of demands, or they shoot.
According to Democratic strategist Chai Komanduri, the ex-president behaves like a "Bon villain."
The theory from former President Donald Trump is that, if Republicans don't get every demand, they should simply "shoot the hostage," or the economy, in this case. Trump, who is running for president, knows that if the economy is bad, Americans will be less likely to reelect Biden. If that means making the economy bad, Trump appears willing to do it.
"He's the hand behind the curtain, and Kevin McCarthy is one of his goons," explained Komanduri. "He's basically hired to do Trump's bidding. And the reason is Donald Trump has that Republican congress in his pocket. Over 50 members of that caucus have already endorsed Donald Trump, and that's very early in the cycle. That's with Ron DeSantis (R-FL) still out there raising money but talking about a presidential campaign, polling, et cetera. So many members are in the Trump camp. And Kevin McCarthy knows this, and he knows he has to please that constituency in his caucus first and foremost."
Destroying the Biden presidency is critical to Trump's success.
"For Trump, the math is very simple. He must break the Biden brand," said Komanduri. "Joe Biden won in 2020 because he was the Ted Lasso candidate. He was the guy who talked about the soul of America who could bring people together, was bipartisan, and he has, by and large, succeeded in that. Trump in 2024 knows he must break that. He must create chaos. He must say, Biden creates as much chaos as me. Might as well vote for me. I got jokes. That is basically what Donald Trump wants to do in this campaign, and this debt ceiling or debt default, manufactured crisis, is really just a campaign event that's been staged by his campaign."
Watch:
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As Republicans threaten to destroy President Biden's historic economy and ruin the lives of Americans by crashing the economy as they default on the debt, auctioning off Kevin McCarthy's used chapstick for $100,000 is more important to Congressional Republicans than anything else. Republicans are just making a mockery of our government and they have no interest in helping Americans.
Marjorie Taylor Greene Buys Kevin McCarthy’s Used Chapstick For $100,000
https://www.forbes.com/sites/katherinehamilton/2023/05/23/marjorie-taylor-greene-buys-kevin-mccarthys-used-chapstick-for-100000/
Buying Kevin McCarthy’s Used Chapstick Is Actually Totally Normal
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s transfer of campaign cash is exactly how the swamp works every day.
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Amid high-wire negotiations over the nation’s debt ceiling and the increasing likelihood of a US default, House Republicans on Tuesday took a moment to turn their attention to a used chapstick belonging to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. That chapstick—which, according to Politico, was a cherry-flavored souvenir from Florida Congressman Aaron Bean’s campaign—was to be auctioned off to benefit the House Republican electoral committee. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene secured the prize by pledging $100,000 from her own campaign coffers.
"They doing this insane chapstick s*** while the country teeters on default,” Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted as confusion abounded. The stunt prompted hygiene concerns, as well as questions from this writer over what could compel someone to debase themselves by voluntarily becoming the new owner of used chapstick. That was all by design, of course. The winning bid—which, perhaps most importantly, also buys Greene a dinner meeting between McCarthy and Greene’s own supporters—came as the latest evidence of the intense bond between these two high-profile Republicans.
But look one step further out from the weirdness, and you’ll see that the stunt as a fairly mundane window into how fundraising in the swamp tends to work: Donors give to politicians, who then bolster their own power and influence by passing that money along to other political candidates. Greene’s standing among Republicans grows; so-called establishment candidates in swing districts happily accept chapstick-stained dollars, despite everything hideous there is to know about the QAnon-supporting congresswoman from Georgia. The wheels of power keep turning.
My colleague Jeremy Schulman, who would like to clarify that he did not edit his own name into this post, said it best: This story is less about the gross chapstick than it is about a lame inside joke involving the most extreme lawmaker in the United States transferring wads of cash to the most spineless. So, totally normal stuff.
https://www.motherjones.com/mojo-wire/2023/05/kevin-mccarthy-marjorie-taylor-greene-chapstick/
Ethics Committee closes GOP-initiated investigation of Swalwell without finding wrongdoing
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For years, Republicans have alleged that Rep. Eric Swalwell (DCA) did something illegal when he briefly met someone the U.S. government believed to be a Chinese spy. When the FBI approached Swalwell, in 2012, with the information, he immediately ended the relationship and offered to help with the FBI.
But on Fox News, hosts like Tucker Carlson were relentless in their attacks. That turned into online DC drama when Swalwell posted text message conversations between the two. Since then, Swalwell has become a kind of boogeyman for the right, leading to threats against him and his family.
Even Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) claimed on the House floor, "Let me say that again. A member of Congress who receives classified briefings was sleeping with the enemy."
Republicans went so far as to require that he be removed from the House Intelligence Committee due to the short-lived 2012 relationship.
On Tuesday, the Ethics Committee said that after two years, they hadn't found any wrongdoing on the part of Swalwell.
"Nearly ten years ago, I assisted the FBI in their counterintelligence investigation of a campaign volunteer. The case and my assistance were briefed to Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, and two years later, Republican Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, re-appointed me to the House Intelligence Committee. Neither Speaker questioned my actions nor politicized my cooperation. Despite the FBI repeatedly saying I was nothing but helpful and never accused of wrongdoing, this complaint was filed by a House Republican. ... If the intent in bringing this complaint and leveling false smears was to silence me that is not going to happen. I will continue to be a voice on behalf of my constituents and a passionate defender of democracy."
See the full statement from Swalwell below:
Rep. Eric Swalwell @RepSwalwell
For years MAGA GOP has falsely smeared me to silence me. Today the Bipartisan Ethics Committee closed its investigation into a volunteer on our campaign w/o finding wrongdoing. My statement:
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https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1661128912611561473
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GOP plans to unveil deficit-exploding tax cuts for the rich 2 weeks after debt limit deadline
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With the U.S. careening toward a default crisis that they manufactured, House Republicans are reportedly crafting a major tax cut package that would overwhelmingly benefit the rich and corporations while blowing a multitrillion-dollar hole in the federal deficit.
The fresh push for tax cuts, according to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), further shows that "this hostage crisis has never been about deficits for the GOP."
"It has always been about wealth transfer—taking away food and healthcare from the poor and middle class to give away $3 trillion more in tax cuts to their rich friends," Omar, the deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, tweeted Tuesday.
Politico reported earlier this week that Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee hope to finish work on their emerging tax legislation by June 16, just over two weeks after the so-called "X-date"—the day on which the Treasury Department expects the federal government to run out of money to cover its obligations unless Congress raises the debt limit or President Joe Biden acts unilaterally.
"Key parts of the [tax cut] package... will likely include a full restoration of research and development deductions, full bonus depreciation, removing caps on business interest expensing, and a doubling of the $1.08 million limitation on the section 179 deduction (which, like bonus depreciation, allows a company to deduct an asset's cost up-front)," Politico noted.
The outlet added that Rep. Vern Buchanan's (R-Fla.) legislation aimed at making the 2017 Trump-GOP tax cuts for individuals and some businesses permanent "also has a strong likelihood of getting marked up in a broader package." The bill, known as the TCJA Permanency Act, currently has nearly 100 Republican co-sponsors in the House.
Buchanan, one of the wealthiest members of Congress, personally benefited from the 2017 tax law that he's working to extend.
"Republicans are holding our economy hostage because they want to cut programs for working families," Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said Tuesday. "Their next big move? Massive tax cuts for their rich corporate buddies. They may call it fiscal responsibility—I call it extortion."
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated last week that extending the individual provisions of the 2017 tax cuts—which are currently set to expire in 2025—would add $2.5 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. The original law made the cut to the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% permanent.
"The hypocrisy of Republicans in Washington is truly breathtaking," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote in a Fox News op-ed on Wednesday. "Over and over again, we hear from the Republican leadership about how deeply concerned they are about the large deficit and national debt that we have. Really?"
"If that's the case," Sanders asked, "why are they pushing for an extension of the Trump tax breaks that disproportionately benefit the wealthy and large corporations and would increase the federal deficit by $3.5 trillion?"
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) estimated earlier this month that just 1% of the benefits of the TCJA Permanency Act would go to the poorest fifth of Americans.
The richest fifth, by contrast, would receive nearly two-thirds of the tax benefits, ITEP found.
"The average tax cut for the richest 1%," the organization noted, "would be 25 times that of the middle 20% and more than 250 times that of the bottom 20% of Americans."
Republicans are preparing to launch their push for new tax cuts as they continue to hold the U.S. and global economies hostage in pursuit of steep federal spending reductions, all under the guise of lowering the deficit.
"We're not going to raise taxes," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said earlier this week. "It's a spending problem."
But research published in March by the Center for American Progress (CAP) found that the GOP austerity crusade "does not address the true cause of rising debt"—tax cuts.
"Tax cuts initially enacted during Republican trifectas in the past 25 years slashed taxes disproportionately for the wealthy and profitable corporations, severely reducing federal revenues," noted Bobby Kogan, CAP's senior director of federal budget policy. "In fact, relative to earlier projections, spending is down, not up. But revenues are down significantly more."
"If not for the Bush tax cuts and their extensions—as well as the Trump tax cuts—revenues would be on track to keep pace with spending indefinitely, and the debt ratio (debt as a percentage of the economy) would be declining," Kogan observed. "Instead, these tax cuts have added $10 trillion to the debt since their enactment and are responsible for 57% of the increase in the debt ratio since 2001."
https://www.rawstory.com/debt-ceiling-2660598222/
'Patently unconstitutional': Ohio GOP shredded by local newspaper for 'brazen' attempt to fool voters
Republicans in Ohio are trying to increase the vote percentage needed for voters to successfully pass ballot initiatives in their state – and the Cleveland Plain Dealer editorial board is accusing the party of trying to conceal this effort from voters.
In an editorial published Wednesday, the Plain Dealer editors accused Republican members of the Ohio Ballot Board of using deceptive language in an upcoming ballot initiative that dramatically raise the threshold for future ballot initiatives to pass.
"The wording that the board’s Republicans approved claims in its title that the proposal is aimed at, 'Elevating the standards to qualify for and to pass any constitutional amendment,'" the editors argue. "In fact, the amendment increases the requirements for getting an issue on the ballot. LaRose told reporters a dictionary indicates that “‘elevating’ means to raise or increase.” But voting booths aren’t stocked with dictionaries. Ordinary Ohioans don’t say, 'the bank elevated my credit-card interest rate' or 'the Browns elevated the score.'"
In addition to this, the wording fails to describe the existing law about ballot initiatives that would be changed, which they argue gives voters an incomplete picture of the proposal, which would enact a 60 percent supermajority threshold for successful initiatives.
The goal of the initiative, note the editors, is to make getting an amendment that protects abortion rights in the state far harder to pass than would otherwise be the case.
The editorial urges the Ohio State Supreme Court to step in and "stop the Ballot Board’s brazen partisanship," which it says has gone so far as to be "patently unconstitutional."
https://www.rawstory.com/ohio-republicans/
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'It turned out to be a mistake’: Botched rollout puts DeSantis on his heels
He portrays himself as a low-drama alternative to Donald Trump. His campaign launch was the picture of disorder.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/24/desantis-twitter-campaign-glitch-00098748
Texas Republicans pass school bill slammed as 'defunding public education'
A school funding bill that would enact a voucher program for education in Texas was passed by the state Senate right before midnight Tuesday – and has been slammed by opponents as "defunding public education."
The Senate's version of House Bill 100 would give parents who opt out of the public schools up to $8,000 in taxpayer money per student per year to pay for private education.
The original version of the bill had included allocating $4.5 billion in new funding for teacher pay raises and other budget expenses for schools. The House had rejected the voucher-like program, the Texas Tribune reported.
Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett posted a copy of the revamped H.B. 100 on his Twitter account, saying it "strips money from public schools to fund private vouchers. But in the process of latching vouchers to the bill— they killed teacher pay raises and money for special education."
He added: "Republicans in the Texas Senate passed a bill defunding public education."
He also pointed out that the vote "happened on the one-year anniversary of the massacre at Robb Elementary in Uvalde."
Local Fox4 News called the final bill "drastically different" than it was when it began. The report implied it was a last-minute, slap-dash effort to simply pass something.
"The Senate voted 18-13 to advance its version of House Bill 100. Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, joined Democrats in voting against the bill," the report said.
The legislation between the two chambers is so different that the House must now pass the bill again, after previously approving its version. It isn't expected to pass in its current form.
"The bill now heads back to the House, where members will most likely have to negotiate the differences with the Senate," Fox4 explained. "But with only five days left in the Legislative session, it's a race against time for both chambers to reach a compromise."
All of it is to appease Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), who told lawmakers he wanted a "voucher bill," and that he wouldn't sign anything that didn't fund his private schools. If it doesn't happen, Abbott said he's not above calling a special session if they don't pass the bill he likes.
The first bill was a Republican proposal for $4.5 billion in new funding for schools, and modest pay raises for teachers while balancing their budgets "as inflation diminishes the value of the money they get from the state," the report said.
The new bill is only $3.8 billion with half a billion goes to private school vouchers.
According to the Private School Review, "the average private school tuition in Texas is $10,454 per year (2023). The private elementary school average tuition cost is $10,067 per year and the private high school average is $11,497 per year."
A Feb. 2023 piece in The Nation by education experts Jack Schneider and Jennifer C. Berkshire called voucher programs like this a kind of reverse Robin Hood, which robs from the poor to deliver the best education to the wealthy.
Read More Here: https://www.fox4news.com/news/texas-senate-passes-revamped-school-funding-bill-in-last-minute-bid-to-implement-voucher-program
Laughter breaks out on House floor when Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for 'decorum'
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In an awkward moment on Wednesday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) banged the gavel on the House floor and demanded "decorum." The request led to laughter from her colleagues due to the perceived irony.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) was one of them, tweeting, "I haven’t laughed this hard in a while — but Marjorie Taylor Greene just called for 'decorum' on the House Floor."
The video shows that Greene kept banging the gavel, but Democrats kept laughing anyway.
The irony stems from the idea that decorum generally requires propriety and polite behavior, which is the opposite of what many colleagues think of Greene's frequent outbursts on the House floor, especially as they relate to Joe Biden and his family.
"Remember, Greene was the one heckling President Biden during the State of the Union. Democrats laughed at her for good reason," tweeted lawyer Aaron Parnas.
Democratic commentator Kaivan Shroff also noted: "Greene has been a vocal supporter of the January 6th Capitol terror attack."
Watch:
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If the MAGA House GOP forces a default, many programs families rely on, including veterans care, Medicare, Meals on Wheels, and more, will see severe cuts that will hurt working and low-income Americans.
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To everyone EXCEPT MAGA extremists, it's a pretty easy choice. #MAGADefaultCrisis
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MAGA Republicans do not care about our country or the impact a default will have on the lives of Americans. MAGA Republicans want to destroy President Biden's historic economy so they can attack him throughout the 2024 election campaign. That's all that this is and leaving Washington continues to prove it. It's only when a Democrat is president that Republicans hold the economy hostage. When a Republican is president, Republicans pay off the debt.
'Manufactured MAGA madness': GOP slammed for 'running out of town' as economic chaos looms
House Democrats are blasting their GOP colleagues for exiting Washington, D.C. just days before the U.S. is expected to run out of cash and, for the first time in history, be unable to pay its debts – unless Congress passes legislation to raise the debt ceiling. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has repeatedly warned that June 1 is the likely deadline, as Republicans reportedly don’t believe her. Experts agree the results of a default would be globally catastrophic.
Among the likely outcomes would be potentially massive increases in interest rates, social security recipients not getting paid, businesses with government contracts not getting paid, layoffs and spiking unemployment, potential bank runs, a recession, lack of confidence in the U.S. dollar, destabilizing world financial markets, and increased international reliance on America’s enemies including China, further destabilizing the U.S.
Three weeks ago the Biden administration published a report showing that “defaulting on our government’s debt could reverse the historic economic gains that have been achieved since the president took office: an unemployment rate near a 50-year low, the creation of 12.6 million jobs, and robust consumer spending that has consistently powered a solid, reliable growth engine, supported by paychecks from the strong job market and healthy household balance sheets.”
House Democrats are insisting this is actually the goal of the GOP, and warning them to not do so.
Democrats are urging Republicans to stay in Washington until the job is done, but the Republican-majority House, under Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership, is, as one Democrat put it, “running out of town.”
“We’re here. We continue to work,” House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Politico’s Nicholas Wu. “We want to get a resolution of this manufactured default crisis. And unfortunately, Republicans have chosen to get out of town.”
On the House floor, Leader Jeffries continued to pound Republicans.
“This is a default crisis that is manufactured MAGA madness,” Jeffries declared, rightly noting that the debt ceiling crisis is an entirely made-up construct that doesn’t even exist in most other countries. “It is repugnant, reckless and reprehensible. It’s unacceptable. It’s unconscionable and it’s un-American. And that’s why House Democrats have remained on the House floor fighting hard for every-day Americans. That’s why we are here. And we will continue to fight for working families, continue to fight for middle class folks, continue to fight for all those who aspire to be part of the middle class, continue to fight for young people, continue to fight for older Americans, continue to fight for veterans, continue to fight for military families, continue to fight for people in urban America and rural America and suburban America and small town America and the heartland of America, continue to fight for the people in Appalachia, continue to fight for the poor, the sick and the afflicted, continue to fight for the least, the lost, and the left behind. House Democrats will continue to fight for every-day Americans to avoid the fault and we will not rest until victory is won.”
Leader Jeffries also noted that Democrats “helped make sure we avoided default three times, notwithstanding the fact that in our country’s 247 year history 25% of the nation’s debt was racked up under the four years of the Trump administration.”
“How dare you lecture America about fiscal responsibility with that shameful record, notwithstanding the fact that you’ve racked up unprecedented amounts of debt to subsidize the rich, the richest amongst us, and big corporations. We never threatened to default.”
He accused Republicans of making “a political calculation that you will be successful in 2024 if you crash the economy.”
“That’s wrong. That’s cruel. That’s un-American, because you’ll be hurting veterans, hurting children, hurting seniors, hurting young people, hurting every-day Americans. And that’s why Democrats are here today in Washington fighting hard against this unreasonable manufactured default crisis.”
https://www.rawstory.com/manufactured-maga-madness-house-dems-slam-gop-for-running-out-of-town-to-trigger-economic-meltdown-2660617235/
DeSantis is 'virtue signaling' to Trump base with threats against the FBI: Anthony Scaramucci
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has kicked off his 2024 presidential campaign by emulating former President Donald Trump's attacks on law enforcement, vowing to get rid of FBI Director Christopher Wray — a Trump appointee, but long a thorn in the side of the former president because he didn't personally shut down the Russia investigation — and suggesting he could pardon some January 6 insurrectionists on a case-by-case basis.
All of this is just a cynical "virtue signal," said former White House communications chief Anthony Scaramucci on CNN Thursday.
"No one should be surprised, but it sure says a lot about the Republican Party that the two leading candidates right now are going after the most important and legitimate institutions of law and order in this country," said anchor Anderson Cooper.
"I mean, just harken back 30 years ago where the Republican Party was the law and order party," said Scaramucci. "But this is all virtue signaling to their side. And so this is a little bit ironic in Governor DeSantis, because he doesn't like the woke culture, he wants to rebuke the left for doing the same thing that he is doing on the right."
"A more sensible strategy — a more presidential look — would be that, I respect the rule of law, I will meet with everybody and evaluate the personnel that I'm bringing into the White House and the personnel that I'm keeping, and typically we keep the FBI director. And so Chris Wray shouldn't be let go," said Scaramucci, adding, "If he talked like that, though, he probably wouldn't get anywhere close to the Republican nomination, Anderson."
"So that's the big problem right now," said Scaramucci. "Who is going to step up in the chasm and actually speak like a president, think like a president, unite the country, bring our values back together and talk to people in a commonsense way instead of listening to political consultants telling them well, you got to get further to the right of Donald Trump, because if he falls out of the race, you're going to be the guy that takes over, and you've got to get his base. So I'm hoping for a more transformative candidate than that, instead of this stuff that we're getting right now."
Watch:
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Opinion: DC insider: Biden should ignore the debt ceiling
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I want to start today with a bit of history that sheds some light on what’s happening in Washington this week and what Biden should do about the debt-ceiling crisis created by Kevin McCarthy’s Republican House.
On October 22, 1985, Treasury Secretary James A. Baker III told congressional leaders that if Congress failed to raise the debt ceiling by the end of the month, the Reagan administration would pay the nation’s bills by taking back Treasury securities in which Social Security had invested.
I remember being stunned at the time. It was an extraordinary move. It meant Social Security would lose interest paid on its funds.
If Congress still didn’t raise the debt ceiling, Baker said the administration would borrow from the railroad retirement and military retirement trust funds.
And if the impasse continued, the administration would begin selling gold from the U.S. gold reserve “even though that could undercut confidence here and abroad based on the widespread belief that the gold reserve is the foundation of our financial system,” Baker said.
Baker’s point was that the Reagan administration would continue to find ways to pay the nation’s bills, come hell or high water.
An agreement was finally reached after the Reagan administration had begun raiding Social Security but before it took any other measures.
The comptroller general of the United States later found Baker’s raid on Social Security technically illegal but concluded nonetheless that Baker “did not act unreasonably” under the circumstances.
I recount this history to give you some perspective on the current debt-ceiling crisis, and what I believe should be Biden’s next move.
First, showdowns over the debt ceiling have been going on for a long time.
Second, they have often been fueled by soaring national debts due to Republican tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations. (The 1985 standoff involved a refusal by Senate Democrats to support a balanced budget, even though Reagan’s mammoth spending on the military and huge tax cut had doubled the national debt in less than five years.)
Finally, fights over the debt ceiling have required Treasury secretaries to do extraordinary things to keep paying the nation’s bills — sometimes technically illegal.
Hence, there have never been “X-dates” at which time the Treasury runs dry. There are just ever more extreme government bookkeeping measures.
And there is no end to the measures the Treasury might use to keep paying the bills. Although their legality of some might be dubious, who is to complain? Who is to say a Treasury secretary acted unreasonably in paying a lawful claim on the U.S. government?
This standoff is different in one respect. Previous standoffs have been carefully crafted dramas in which both sides demonstrate their commitments to their position, knowing full well how the play will end — with the debt ceiling lifted.
This time, though, gonzo lawmakers like Marjorie Taylor Greene and raving nut-jobs like the current Republican frontrunner for president have considerable influence.
And unlike Bob Dole in 1985, these players have no real commitment to cutting the government debt. (Were that their goal, presumably they wouldn’t have supported the massive 2017 tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations that fueled the debt, or would now urge its repeal. And they certainly wouldn’t demand cuts in staffing for the IRS, which House Republicans are also now doing.)
Their only commitment is to power — gaining dominance over, and submission from, Democrats, progressives, putative “coastal elites,” and so-called “deep state” bureaucrats.
For them, this is not play-acting. It’s not for show. It’s for real. If they don’t get their way, they’re prepared to blow up the economy.
In fact, as the so-called X-date appears to loom ever closer, their demands have escalated. And as Biden appears ready to give in to some of those demands, the demands will continue to escalate.
Which is why it’s critical for Biden to stop negotiating.
Meanwhile, he should continue paying the government’s bills and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen should continue using every bookkeeping scheme imaginable to find the means to pay those bills.
And they must never declare an “X-date.” And must never default.
If Kevin McCarthy and his band of radicals don’t like this, let them take the Biden administration to court.
Let House Republicans argue in the courts that the 1917 act establishing the debt ceiling has precedence over Section 4 of the 14th Amendment, which requires that the “the validity of the public debt …. shall not be questioned.”
Let them claim in the courts that the 1917 debt-ceiling act takes precedence over more recent acts of Congress that require the president to, for example, pay interest on the federal debt, distribute Social Security benefits, and pay bills from defense contractors and everyone else who has relied on the full faith and credit of the United States.
Let McCarthy and House Republicans argue that they have standing to sue Biden for having the audacity to pay the government’s debts as they come due.
Finally, let McCarthy, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and the other loonies demand openly and publicly in court that Biden not honor the full faith and credit of the United States — with the predictable results that the cost of borrowing skyrockets, bond markets crash, the stock market plummets, the global economy is in turmoil, the dollar’s status as the world’s major currency is up for grabs, America is plunged into a deep recession, and millions of jobs are lost.
In other words, let McCarthy and House Republicans seek to enforce their dangerous nonsense about the debt ceiling — so that Americans can see clearly what they’re up to.
https://www.rawstory.com/dc-insider/
White House Steps Up Antisemitism Monitoring in New Strategy
A slate of new actions comes as anti-Jewish episodes increase: Biden, Emhoff headline a White House event on Thursday
President Joe Biden directed federal law enforcement agencies to better monitor anti-Jewish and other bias cases, and urged social-media companies and schools to crack down on hate speech, as part of a first-of-its-kind national strategy to combat antisemitism.
The White House on Thursday released a 60-page strategy, which includes more than 100 new actions federal agencies are taking to address a rising number of incidents. The White House said all will be completed within a year.
“This US national strategy to counter antisemitism is a historic step forward,” Biden said in a recorded video message introducing the plan. “It sends a clear and forceful message: in America, evil will not win. Hate will not prevail. The venom and violence of antisemitism will not be the story of our time.”
The strategy aims to bolster education on antisemitism and Jewish-American heritage, improve security for Jewish communities, reverse the “normalization” of antisemitism and counter antisemitic discrimination, according to the strategy document. The White House is partnering with organizations including the National Basketball Association Players Association, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other faith and civil-rights groups.
Antisemitic episodes in the US reached a four-decade high in 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League, up 36% from the previous record a year before. The ADL started tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.
Biden rolled out the strategy at live-streamed event along with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse of a US president or vice president, and other senior administration officials who worked on it. Emhoff has been the public face of White House efforts on antisemitism.
“This plan will save lives. Our work to counter antisemitism will not stop with the release of this national strategy. We are dedicated to its implementation,” Emhoff said.
Earlier: Emhoff Urges ‘Bold Action’ From US, Europe to Fight Antisemitism
The plan is the White House’s most sweeping policy response yet to a surge of hateful rhetoric and violence against Jews in the US. It faced calls from lawmakers and civil-rights groups to do more to crack down on hate crimes and counter public expressions of hatred against Jews.
The White House plan includes:
- An annual threat assessment by the FBI and National Counter-terrorism Center on “antisemitic drivers of transnational violent extremism” to be shared with technology companies and others.
- Eliminating obstacles to reporting hate incidents to the federal government.
- Including antisemitism in diversity, equity and inclusion training for federal workers.
- Urging online platforms to ensure that their terms of service explicitly cover antisemitism and adopt zero-tolerance policies for hate speech.
- The Education Department will establish an antisemitic awareness campaign directed at K-12 and college students that also reminds schools of their legal obligation to address bias complaints.
- The US Holocaust Memorial Museum will launch a new education and research center.
The focus on social media could put the White House on a collision course with Twitter Inc. owner Elon Musk, who has removed speech restrictions from the platform. Studies have shown that hate speech has increased on Twitter since Musk’s purchase.
An interagency group formed last December, led by outgoing domestic policy adviser Susan Rice and homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall drafted the strategy. Rice said the administration consulted with tech companies, along with a thousand Jewish leaders and other stakeholders, in drafting the plan.
“They know very clearly where we stand on on these issues,” Rice said in an interview. “So this won’t and shouldn’t come as a surprise to them when they read it in the national strategy.”
The plan adopts a definition of antisemitism in line with one used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The US uses that definition, which also considers certain forms of anti-Zionism as antisemitism. Some liberal groups opposed it, arguing it could stifle criticism of the Israeli government.
“When Jews are targeted because of their beliefs or their identity, when Israel is singled out because of anti-Jewish hatred, that is antisemitism. And that is unacceptable,” the strategy reads.
“There has been no change in our posture on this and the strategy will be clear,” Rice said.
Biden indicated that confronting antisemitism was a priority when he said the 2017 white nationalist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which tiki-torch carrying marchers chanted “Jews will not replace us,” helped motivate him to run for president. But the problem has persisted.
More recently, high-profile figures including former President Donald Trump; the performer formerly known as Kanye West and basketball star Kyrie Irving have made antisemitic comments or shared antisemitic content.
Musk last week likened billionaire George Soros to the Jewish comic book supervillain Magneto. Soros is a Holocaust survivor, and some of his critics have turned his liberal political activism into antisemitic conspiracy theories. Musk denies that he was attacking Soros over his background.
Deborah Lipstadt, the US special envoy for monitoring and combating antisemitism, said no administration would be able to extinguish an ancient hatred, but the plan could still make inroads.
“We won’t solve the problem. But if we can contain it, if we can reverse it, if we can get people to say this is serious, for me, that will be sufficient,” Lipstadt said in an interview.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-25/white-house-steps-up-monitoring-of-antisemitism-in-new-strategy
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Bigotry and megalomania': Scientific American Editorial board warns of DeSantis’ 'antiscience agenda
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The battle against fascism in Florida: Lessons on how to beat back authoritarianism from abroad
The situation in Florida clearly represents a threat to American democracy
https://www.salon.com/2023/05/14/the-battle-against-fascism-in-florida-lessons-on-how-to-beat-back-authoritarianism-from-abroad/
Embattled GOP Texas AG Ken Paxton calls for protest at the state Capitol
Embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday called on supporters to protest at the state Capitol when the Republican-controlled House takes up impeachment proceedings that could lead to his ouster, The Associated Press reports.
A five-member state House committee on Thursday voted unanimously to recommend Paxton’s impeachment on corruption charges, sending the 60-year-old Republican’s fate to the House for a vote scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
Paxton is accused of corruption charges including accepting bribes, disregarding his official duty, and obstruction of justice in a pending securities fraud case.
Paxton if impeached would be immediately suspended from office and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott could appoint an interim replacement.
Paxton at a news conference in which he declined to answer questions called the impeachment proceedings “political theater” that he said would “inflict lasting damage on the Texas House.”
“I want to invite my fellow citizens and friends to peacefully come let their voices be heard at the Capitol tomorrow,” he said.
“Exercise your right to petition your government.”
Paxton’s calls for protest are similar to those made by former President Donald Trump’s calls for his supporters to protest his 2020 election defeat that led to the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Paxton’s odds of surviving Saturday’s impeachment vote in the 149-member House, where a simple majority is required to impeach, are reportedly grim.
If all 64 Democrats vote along party lines, just 11 of 85 Republicans would need to vote to impeach.
If the impeachment proceedings clear that hurdle, the matter would go to the Senate for a “trial,” where a two-thirds majority is required for removal from office.
Read Full Article Here: https://apnews.com/article/texas-attorney-general-paxton-impeachment-2862e3f786dd1e832a011095fb52a38a
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White House, Republicans reach tentative debt ceiling deal
Speaker McCarthy, who announced the agreement Saturday night, will speak with GOP lawmakers on Saturday night to outline the agreement.
WASHINGTON — Key negotiators struck an agreement in principle Saturday night to extend the debt ceiling and avert a catastrophic default, just days before the Treasury Department says the U.S. could run out of money, Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Saturday.
The deal — which is expected to raise the country's borrowing authority in exchange for cuts to spending — still has to be converted into legislative language and pass both the Republican-led House and Democratic-controlled Senate. It follows weeks of negotiations led by President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, amid demands by the GOP to extract spending cuts in exchange for allowing the nation to continue to pay the bills.
"We’ve come to an agreement in principle that is worthy of the American people," McCarthy said Saturday on Twitter.
"We still have more work to do tonight to finish all the writing of it," McCarthy told reporters afterward outside his Capitol office, adding that he expects to post the text on Sunday and hold a House vote on it Wednesday.
He added that he'll speak to Biden again on Sunday.
A source familiar with the agreement said it includes a two-year appropriations deal and a two-year debt limit extension, effectively resolving the issue until after the 2024 election. It'll include work requirements for federal aid like SNAP for Americans up to 54, with exceptions for homeless people and veterans. But there will be "no changes to Medicaid," the source added.
By averting the crisis, the White House would be sidestepping a first-ever default that threatens to wipe out millions of jobs and devastate the American economy, rocking faith in Biden's leadership — and the divided Congress — as he embarks on a reelection bid.
Biden and McCarthy spent an hour and a half on a call Saturday night, a rare one-on-one conversation between the two leaders that followed days of fraught talks over the final sticking points.
Top Republicans had been in and out of the speaker's office on Saturday as negotiations continued, with some of the talks taking place virtually and by phone. Shalanda Young, a top negotiator for the White House, was in Louisiana to deliver graduation remarks at Xavier University where she quipped that the two-hour break was "the most fun I’ve had in two weeks.”
Republican leaders began preparing to sell a bill to the GOP conference late Friday with a deal still out of reach.
Conservatives skeptical of Republican leadership had threatened to hold up the bill if the speaker struck a deal with Democrats that failed to slash spending, with one outside adviser warning of coming “trench warfare.”
McCarthy has said in recent days he'll give members 72 hours to review the text before holding a floor vote. And Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has threatened to block a speedy vote in the Senate if he isn't satisfied with the terms of the deal, meaning it could take days for the chamber to jump through procedural hoops before a vote.
Extending the debt ceiling doesn’t authorize new spending into the future; it enables the U.S. to pay existing debts that both parties have accumulated over many years through demands for higher spending on domestic and military programs, as well as lower taxes.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/white-house-republicans-reach-tentative-debt-ceiling-deal-rcna86199
Texas House votes to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, triggering suspension
Following the 121-23 vote, Paxton was is automatically suspended from office pending the Senate trial. Final removal would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate.
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AUSTIN — Texas’ Republican-led House of Representatives impeached state Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday on articles including bribery and abuse of public trust, a sudden, historic rebuke of a GOP official who rose to be a star of the conservative legal movement despite years of scandal and alleged crimes.
Impeachment triggers Paxton’s immediate suspension from office pending the outcome of a trial in the state Senate and empowers Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to appoint someone else as Texas’ top lawyer in the interim.
The 121-23 vote constitutes an abrupt downfall for one of the GOP’s most prominent legal combatants, who in 2020 asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn President Joe Biden’s electoral defeat of Donald Trump. It makes Paxton only the third sitting official in Texas’ nearly 200-year history to have been impeached.
Paxton, 60, decried the move moments after scores of his fellow partisans voted for impeachment, and his office pointed to internal reports that found no wrongdoing.
“The ugly spectacle in the Texas House today confirmed the outrageous impeachment plot against me was never meant to be fair or just,” Paxton said. “It was a politically motivated sham from the beginning.”
Paxton has been under FBI investigation for years over accusations that he used his office to help a donor and was separately indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015, though he has yet to stand trial. His party had long taken a muted stance on the allegations — but that changed this week as 60 of the House’s 85 Republicans, including Speaker Dade Phelan, voted to impeach.
“No one person should be above the law, least not the top law officer of the state of Texas,” Rep. David Spiller, a Republican member of the committee that investigated Paxton, said in opening statements. Another Republican committee member, Rep. Charlie Geren, said without elaborating that Paxton had called some lawmakers before the vote and threatened them with political “consequences.”
Lawmakers allied with Paxton tried to discredit the investigation by noting that hired investigators, not panel members, interviewed witnesses. They also said several of the investigators had voted in Democratic primaries, tainting the impeachment, and that they had too little time to review evidence.
“I perceive it could be political weaponization,” Rep. Tony Tinderholt, one of the House’s most conservative members, said before the vote. Republican Rep. John Smithee compared the proceeding to “a Saturday mob out for an afternoon lynching.”
Paxton has been under FBI investigation for years over accusations that he used his office to help a donor and was separately indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015, though he has yet to stand trial. His party had long taken a muted stance on the allegations — but that changed this week as 60 of the House’s 85 Republicans, including Speaker Dade Phelan, voted to impeach.
“No one person should be above the law, least not the top law officer of the state of Texas,” Rep. David Spiller, a Republican member of the committee that investigated Paxton, said in opening statements. Another Republican committee member, Rep. Charlie Geren, said without elaborating that Paxton had called some lawmakers before the vote and threatened them with political “consequences.”
Lawmakers allied with Paxton tried to discredit the investigation by noting that hired investigators, not panel members, interviewed witnesses. They also said several of the investigators had voted in Democratic primaries, tainting the impeachment, and that they had too little time to review evidence.
“I perceive it could be political weaponization,” Rep. Tony Tinderholt, one of the House’s most conservative members, said before the vote. Republican Rep. John Smithee compared the proceeding to “a Saturday mob out for an afternoon lynching.”
Paxton is automatically suspended from office pending the Senate trial. Final removal would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, where Paxton’s wife’s, Angela, is a member.
Representatives of the governor, who lauded Paxton while swearing him in for a third term in January, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on a temporary replacement.
Before the vote Saturday, Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz came to Paxton’s defense, with the senator calling the impeachment process “a travesty” and saying the attorney general’s legal troubles should be left to the courts.
“Free Ken Paxton,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, warning that if House Republicans proceeded with impeachment, “I will fight you.”
In one sense, Paxton’s political peril arrived with dizzying speed: The House committee’s investigation came to light Tuesday, and by Thursday lawmakers issued 20 articles of impeachment.
But to Paxton’s detractors, the rebuke was years overdue.
In 2014, he admitted to violating Texas securities law, and a year later he was indicted on securities fraud charges in his hometown near Dallas, accused of defrauding investors in a tech startup. He pleaded not guilty to two felony counts carrying a potential sentence of five to 99 years.
He opened a legal defense fund and accepted $100,000 from an executive whose company was under investigation by Paxton’s office for Medicaid fraud. An additional $50,000 was donated by an Arizona retiree whose son Paxton later hired to a high-ranking job but was soon fired after displaying child pornography in a meeting. In 2020, Paxton intervened in a Colorado mountain community where a Texas donor and college classmate faced removal from his lakeside home under coronavirus orders.
But what ultimately unleashed the impeachment push was Paxton’s relationship with Austin real estate developer Nate Paul.
In 2020, eight top aides told the FBI they were concerned Paxton was misusing his office to help Paul over the developer’s unproven claims that an elaborate conspiracy to steal $200 million of his properties was afoot. The FBI searched Paul’s home in 2019, but he has not been charged and denies wrongdoing. Paxton also told staff members he had an affair with a woman who, it later emerged, worked for Paul.
The impeachment accuses Paxton of attempting to interfere in foreclosure lawsuits and issuing legal opinions to benefit Paul. Its bribery charges allege that Paul employed the woman with whom Paxton had an affair in exchange for legal help and that he paid for expensive renovations to the attorney general’s home.
A senior lawyer for Paxton’s office, Chris Hilton, said Friday that the attorney general paid for all repairs and renovations.
Other charges, including lying to investigators, date back to Paxton’s still-pending securities fraud indictment.
Four of the aides who reported Paxton to the FBI later sued under Texas’ whistleblower law, and in February he agreed to settle the case for $3.3 million. The House committee said it was Paxton seeking legislative approval for the payout that sparked their probe.
“But for Paxton’s own request for a taxpayer-funded settlement over his wrongful conduct, Paxton would not be facing impeachment,” the panel said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/texas-house-set-impeachment-proceedings-g-paxton-rcna86557
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President Biden @POTUS
Earlier this evening, Speaker McCarthy and I reached a budget agreement in principle.
It is an important step forward that reduces spending while protecting critical programs for working people and growing the economy for everyone. And, the agreement protects my and Congressional Democrats’ key priorities and legislative accomplishments.
The agreement represents a compromise, which means not everyone gets what they want. That’s the responsibility of governing.
And, this agreement is good news for the American people, because it prevents what could have been a catastrophic default and would have led to an economic recession, retirement accounts devastated, and millions of jobs lost.
Over the next day, our negotiating teams will finalize legislative text and the agreement will go to the United States House and Senate. I strongly urge both chambers to pass the agreement right away.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1662639703764484096
President Biden @POTUS
It costs about $10 to make a vial of insulin.
But guess what? Drug companies were charging anywhere from $300 to $800 a month for it.
We capped it at $35 for folks on Medicare – and I won't stop until we can get it done for every American.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1662475749612290048
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Another overblown, border line hoax story finally came to end with the debt ceiling agreement. It's hilarious how the media and corrupt political establishment spread fear. They were never going to turn off the money that flows to their donors and political supporters. Both sides are at fault for this catastrophe. Only an outsider with no vested interest in the crooked status quo can ever hope to correct this disaster.
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Kevin McCarthy and the GOP are getting ratioed, by the people on their own side, on every tweet they’ve posted today. That’s how badly they’ve lost this budget battle.
President Biden is a savvy smart politician and took the weak ineffective Kevin McCarthy to school on the debt ceiling. Biden got nearly almost everything he wanted while McCarthy had to give up the most radical GOP proposals.
The worst thing is, that the so called "Freedom Caucus" which is made up of far right wing radicals MAGAs, really wanted to default on our debt just so they could attack President Biden during the election season in 2024. Americans lives would have been ruined and our country would have been destroyed, but these radicals wanted to do it because MAGA is about destroying everything. Donald Trump was publicly advocating for default.
Republicans are angry at Kevin McCarthy and are angry what he said about President Biden because it once again debunks the right wing conspiracy theory that "Biden has dementia" or that "Biden is weak". McCarthy called Biden "tough and smart" which he is. President Biden out negotiated and outsmarted the Republicans once again. Experience matters and we have a tough, smart, experienced President in The White House.
Max Cohen @maxpcohen
I asked McCarthy about how he would describe his interactions with Biden during negotiations.
“Very professional, very smart. Very tough at the same time,” McCarthy replied.
https://twitter.com/maxpcohen/status/1662830860368850945
Upcoming White House briefings
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"Joe Biden came to office with more experience on how to cut realistic, what-the-traffic-will-bear Capitol Hill deals than any incoming president in American history – and it shows.”
-Mark Halperin
Doug Jones @DougJones
Looks like @JoeBiden has once again defied expectations. Yeah I know some Dems don’t like the so-called concessions, but folks these were coming anyway and in the scheme of things it is clearly advantage Biden.
What the President so deftly did was to simply save the country from a catastrophic default on the country’s debt while jump starting budget talks for the appropriations bills needed by the end of the year. Maybe with this deal we not only stave off a default on our debt - which remember was goal number one- but we go a long way in preventing a government shutdown later this year. And, to borrow a phrase/lyric, in a divided government you can’t always get what you want but if you try like Biden you just might find you get what you need.
https://twitter.com/DougJones/status/1662996770966712320
CBPolitics @ClistonBrown
So I’ve been looking for details about Biden’s deal on the debt ceiling and I’m frankly astonished. The guy keeps getting more than I ever expected was actually possible. I don’t know how he does it.
https://twitter.com/ClistonBrown/status/1662864298211971073
Jon Cooper @joncoopertweets
I just came off a Zoom call with White House officials about the debt ceiling deal. I’m fully confident that key Democratic priorities have been protected — and to an even greater extent than I originally thought.
Thanks to President Biden’s leadership, this is yet another bipartisan win for our country.
https://twitter.com/joncoopertweets/status/1662979778016604160
Christopher Webb @cwebbonline
Show this to folks in the back who haven’t realized by now who we elected — President Biden is a negotiator. He gets s done.
Joe got the debt limit deal that he said he would and The United States will not default!
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1662837048859041792
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President Biden @POTUS
Speaker McCarthy and I reached a bipartisan budget agreement that will prevent the worst possible crisis – a default for the first time in our nation’s history.
This deal is good news for the American people.
I strongly urge Congress to pass the agreement right away.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1662952595659390976
The Speaker and I made clear from the start that the only way forward is with a bipartisan agreement.
This agreement is an important step forward, and now it will go to the United States House and Senate.
Here’s my update:
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1663003527172567042
Tune in as I deliver remarks on reaching a bipartisan budget agreement.
Watch:
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Here's another closer look at the historic Joe Biden presidency.
253,000 new jobs were created in April.
So we are now:
33.8 million jobs = 16 years Clinton, Obama
12.7 million jobs = 27 months Biden
1.9 million jobs = 16 years Bush, W. Bush, Trump
This simple statistic shows that Republicans are terrible at running the economy and job creation.
In 16 years in office, Republicans as a whole never even created 2 million jobs. That is absolute failure. Biden accomplished creating 2 million jobs in less than a half of year in office during a horrible pandemic.
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GDP growth under Biden running at 3 times the rate as under Trump
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The 253,000 jobs created just in April is 2 years of job growth under the last 3 GOP Presidents. 2 years!
Jobs have been created at 50 times the rate under Biden as under the last 3 Republicans. Trump saw net job loss on his watch. Sad!
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The 3.4% unemployment rate is the lowest in a peacetime US since WWII. A majority of Americans have never experienced an unemployment rate this low.
Biden is 3rd straight Democratic President to see substantial decline in the unemployment rate.
It's gone up under last 3 Republicans.
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Since 1989, 49 million net new jobs have been created in America.
47 million, 96%, have been created under Democratic Presidents. Essentially all of them.
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Wages continue to grow at historically elevated levels. This has been particularly true of people who earn the least.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FvXsFqEX0AAuh4K?format=jpg&name=900x900)
During the Biden Presidency America has seen the lowest uninsured and lowest poverty rates in our history.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FvX7DOvXwAIUY1y?format=jpg&name=medium)
America is on track to produce more crude oil this year than any year in our history.
Coupled with increases in renewables, America is more energy independent today than it has been in decades.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FvX-76zXsAEs9v8?format=jpg&name=medium)
OK, now let's talk about the deficit.
The last 3 GOP Presidents saw the deficit rise on their watch.
The last 3 Democrats lowered it. Trump had worst fiscal record since WWII.
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As the Republican manufactured default crisis has ended, here's a reminder of what this data shows:
Democrats = growth, lower deficits, progress
Republicans = recession, higher deficits, decline
McCarthy's MAGA plan would have brought recession, default or perhaps both. Recession and economic failure is what Republicans do.
Expert analysis proves it. We ALL should be glad McCarthy's failed MAGA plan did not go through, as President Biden rejected it for his plan, which will continue historic economic success. The MAGA plan would have destroyed President Biden's historic economy and job growth.
LiveSquawk @LiveSquawk
Moody's: US GDP Growth Would Be 1.61% In 2024 Under GOP Debt Limit Plan Vs. 2.23% Otherwise
- Plan Would 'Meaningfully Increase' Likelihood Of Recession
- GOP-Proposed Spending Cuts Are 'Substantial Headwind' To Near Term Economic Growth
- Plan Would Cost 790K Jobs By End-2024
https://twitter.com/LiveSquawk/status/1654129344330215425
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President Biden @POTUS
On Memorial Day, we honor America's fallen heroes who gave their last full measure of devotion to this nation.
We'll never be able to repay the debt we owe them.
But today, we rededicate ourselves to the work for which they gave their lives, and we recommit to supporting the loved ones they left behind.
May God bless our fallen heroes.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1663272757470085146
Join me as I honor our fallen heroes at the 155th National Memorial Day Observance.
President Biden honors our fallen heroes at the 155th National Memorial Day Observance.
Watch:
Biden honors ‘fallen heroes’ during Memorial Day address
During a Memorial Day address at Arlington National Cemetery, President Biden honored the “fallen heroes” who have died while serving in the military.
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A Memorial Day message from a real President and then from a real lunatic.
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2024 General Election Poll:
Clarity Poll
Biden 47% (+7)
DeSantis 40%
Biden’s Big Win in the Debt Limit Deal
Washington Post: "For Biden, one upside of the deal — assuming it passes — is that he will not have to deal with the debt ceiling again until after the next presidential campaign, because the agreement raises the debt ceiling until 2025. This was a top priority of the administration, which will be grateful to move past the messy fight over the debt limit that has provoked substantial criticism even among fellow Democrats.”
Dan Pfeiffer: “Let’s be clear, this is s***** public policy foisted on the nation by a radical Republican House willing to blow up the economy and cause millions of jobs to vanish. Efforts to deal with deficits that do not include asking the wealthy and corporations to pay what they owe are cruel and wholly unserious. The tightening of access to aid for the most vulnerable Americans serves no purpose other than performative cruelty to appease the MAGA base.”
“But this could have been way worse in so many ways. The devil is very much in the details, but it seems like President Biden and his team outplayed McCarthy."
https://politicalwire.com/2023/05/28/bidens-big-win-in-the-debt-limit-deal/
'You have no spine': Conservatives clobber Kevin McCarthy for cooperating with President Biden
https://www.rawstory.com/kevin-mccarthy-budget-deal/
Biden on debt limit bill: 'I feel very good about it'
President Biden spoke to reporters about the debt limit deal the White House reached with Speaker Kevin McCarthy and expressed confidence it could pass in Congress.
Watch:
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MAGA right wing extremists are going crazy because Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden made a deal from stopping a default. The whole purpose of having a functioning government is to have both sides working together to come to an agreement. These MAGA radicals are incapable of compromising or working with Democrats. MAGA is all about chaos and destruction and they simply wanted to blow up our economy to destroy the lives of Americans and our country. Now we have MAGA radicals publicly calling to oust McCarthy for making a deal to save our country. And don't forget Donald Trump was egging these radicals on to default.
When Joe Biden campaigned for president in 2020, he said constantly during the campaign that he would be able to work with Republicans to get legislation passed and bring people together. Once again, President Biden kept his promise as he was able to work with McCarthy on this bipartisan deal to keep America from defaulting on its debt. President Biden also said "we will not default" and he kept that promise too. That's what we need in a leader, a man who keeps his word and can get things accomplished.
Conservative is ready to vote McCarthy out of speaker's chair over debt deal: report
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Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) is ready to move Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) out of the Speaker's chair amid the debt deal made with President Joe Biden, Politico reporter Olivia Beavers revealed Tuesday.
It was something predicted by analysts who feared conservative members would try to sink the proposal and let the country ultimately default on its debts. If Biden and McCarthy agreed on something, conservatives would immediately be suspicious of it no matter what it was, they feared.
"That is not realistic with this speaker or with this House of Representatives," explained Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) last week. "If that would happen, they would certainly recall him, and they'd elect a new speaker, and McCarthy does not want to be the shortest-serving speaker in history."
Democratic strategist Kurt Bardella said that McCarthy would have to wrangle the far-right.
"You know, I think actually because of this deal coming right now, the expectation game has been well managed now because the ball's really in Kevin McCarthy's court now," said Bardella over the weekend.
"The pressure is on Kevin McCarthy to deliver the votes. If this thing falls apart now, it's going to be because of House Republicans — because of MAGA extremists — successfully holding McCarthy hostage once again, and that they are the ones who will get the blame. We will be done with this both sides narrative that each side has something to lose, that this could blow back on the president. No, no, no, no."
According to Rep. Bishop, “absolutely,” it is an option to remove McCarthy, he told Beavers. He went on to call it “inescapable," saying he thinks it must be "done" at this point. But he acknowledged it would depend on whether enough of his colleagues have the courage to move forward with it.
Thanks to the agreement made in January, it would only take one member of Congress to bring a "motion to vacate," which would force a vote on removing the speaker.
https://www.rawstory.com/republican-debt-ceiling-dan-bishop/
Far-right Utah Republican resigns from Congress
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Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) was once thought to be the man that would oppose Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) from the right. On Tuesday, however, he announced he was resigning from office.
Republicans currently have 222 members in power in the House, and this resignation will reduce that to 221. It means Speaker Kevin McCarthy will need to be even more cautious as he looks for the numbers to pass bills.
According to The Salt Lake City Tribune, Stewart is leaving office due to a serious medical issue that his wife is facing. He hasn't elaborated on the details.
Evie Stewart was featured in a 2013 profile on the Congressman, who had just been elected for the first time. When asked about her husband's absence from home, she explained it was part of their belief system.
"Whenever we sacrifice for our God or our country, whether it's in the military or public service or sacrificing for our family, it binds our hearts to them, and then we love our God and our family and our country more," she said.
The Tribune explained that Gov. Spencer Cox (R) has seven days by law to set the dates for the primary and general election for the seat. It isn't expected to be a competitive district for Democrats, but the longer the absence, the greater the pressure on McCarthy.
"Under state law, those dates will be the same as this year’s municipal primary and general elections unless the Legislature appropriates money to hold an election on a different date," said the Tribune.
Those municipal elections fall on Aug. 15 and Nov. 7, respectively.
Stewart was a 2020 election truther, going so far as to suggest that Democrats somehow cheated in the Georgia runoff election.
https://www.rawstory.com/chris-stewart-resigning-congress/
Why Paul Gosar has become a 'sort of hero' to neo-Nazis and other extremists: report
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In Arizona, far-right Rep. Paul Gosar is a polarizing figure even among fellow Republicans. Traditional McCain and Reagan conservatives have been highly critical of him, but MAGA Republicans who admire far-right figures like Kari Lake, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) tend to be Gosar admirers as well.
In an article published by Talking Points Memo on May 30, journalist Haley Orion stresses that Gosar is so far to the right that some white nationalists and Neo-Nazis look up to him.
Orion notes that in an earlier article, TPM reported that Wade Searle, Gosar's digital director, appeared to be "involved with an interlinked group of social media profiles that were deeply enmeshed with white nationalist Nicholas Fuentes' viciously antisemitic Groyper movement."
Orion explains, "While the revelations in the story were significant, they weren't necessarily surprising. The Groypers are deeply hateful and grotesque, but Gosar has never been shy in his flirtation with various factions of the fascist far-right, including the Groypers' leader, Fuentes. Or, as Gosar himself has bragged in the past: 'I’m considered the most dangerous man in Congress.' A large swath of the far-right has, in turn, taken notice, with Gosar becoming a sort of hero in some corners."
In 2021, Gosar set off a major controversy when he posted a video that depicted violence against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York). Gosar's defenders claimed she was overreaching, but his critics responding that depicting violence against a member of Congress is never acceptable.
Orion stresses that Gosar isn't afraid to associate with extremists.
"Gosar has lent his support to a broad coalition of far-right bigots and Christian supremacists: from the s***posting Groyper neo-Nazis to the camo-clad LARPers and hate groups to the suit-wearing, ultranationalist political elites at home and abroad," Orion notes.
"He'll rile up the Arizona chapter of the Oath Keepers, telling them that the United States is already in a Civil War, 'we just haven't started shooting yet,' then repeat the same line in an interview with a well-documented neo-Nazi. He'll even associate with the conspiratorial, and often ridiculous, QAnon movement, tweeting out references to Q-drops — Gosar later said the tweet was sarcastic, though the tweet remains up to this day — and appearing at Q-friendly rallies."
https://www.rawstory.com/why-paul-gosar-has-become-a-sort-of-hero-to-neo-nazis-and-other-extremists-report-2660723181/
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I've said all along that these MAGA right wing extremists wanted to default on our debt to purposely crash the economy because they thought it would help them politically. Sure enough, the so called "Freedom Caucus", which are a group of MAGA insurrectionists, publicly admitted today that was indeed their goal. They wanted to destroy our economy, which would in return, destroy the lives of Americans including their own constituents because they thought it would help their cult leader Donald Trump politically in 2024. Trump is on his way to prison for his crimes but these extremists didn't care, they wanted to destroy our economy anyway. These MAGA extremists are also angry that they can't use a default fight again next year to do the same thing all over again. MAGA has no interest in governing, all they want to do is cause chaos and destruction in order gain power to push their extremist agenda. But the majority of Americans reject their fascist policies.
Clown car': MAGA Republicans blasted for threatening to 'tank economy to help Trump win'
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Some members of the most far-right group of House Republicans, the Freedom Caucus, admitted Tuesday their goals are to defeat the debt ceiling agreement, thereby killing the economy, which some of them believe would then help Donald Trump win back the White House in 2024.
Many of the House Freedom Caucus members are tied to the January 6, 2021 insurrection, by various methods, including supporting efforts to overturn state elections and spreading false claims about the results of the 2020 presidential election.
U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) in Tuesday’s Freedom Caucus’s press conference pointed to the portion of the debt ceiling agreement, brokered by President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which says the nation’s debt limit will not have to be raised until 2025. Outraged, Congressman Bishop admitted Republicans had wanted to have another debt ceiling fight next year, which would, he claimed, help a Republican presidential candidate win the White House.
Surrounded by far-right Republican Representatives Byron Donalds, Lauren Boebert, Chip Roy, Freedom Caucus chair Scott Perry, former Freedom Caucus chair Andy Biggs, and others, Bishop angrily complained, “And what does the device of two years do?”
“It removes the issue from the national conversation during the presidential election to come. How could you more successfully kneecap any Republican President than to take that issue out of his or her hands?” Bishop asked, fully and freely admitting the GOP is trying to use the levers of government, and the U.S. and even global economy, to put a Republican back in the White House, regardless of cost to the American people.
As he spoke Rep. Boebert’s head was nodding in agreement.
Sirius XM host and journalist Dean Obeidallah blasted the North Carolina Republican: “GOP Dan Bishop says quiet part out loud: MAGA wanted to use debt ceiling in 2024 to tank economy to help Trump win.”
Freedom Caucus chair Scott Perry, who the Select Committee on the January 6 Attack reportedly saw as “central” to its investigation, also spoke at Tuesday’s press conference.
“We’ve asked for Janet Yellen’s figures. And with all due respect, she comes with zero credibility to the discuss,” Perry claimed, falsely. “We don’t believe her figures, we’ve asked to see her figures.”
And he admitted Freedom Caucus members “will be absolutely opposed to the deal and will do everything in our power to stop it.”
Calling it a “bad deal…that we all campaigned to put an end to,” Freedom Caucus member Lauren Boebert also spoke at the press conference, declaring, “There is nothing real in this bill to enforce. In short, tomorrow’s bill is a bunch of fake news and fake talking points.”
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) called the debt ceiling deal “crap.”
“Washington is doing it again,” Rep. Donalds declared, apparently attacking his own party since Republicans have the majority of the House seats.
“While you were celebrating Memorial Day, all of our men and women who gave their lives for this great nation, and you were spending time with your family and your friends, this town was cutting another crap deal that’s going to put you more in debt with no real changes whatsoever.”
“Washington is lying, again,” said Donalds.
Republican turned Democrat, attorney Ron Filipkowski mocked the extremist GOP lawmakers.
“The Freedom Caucus members just climbed out of their clown car, and are upset that their cult leader won’t be able to run for president on a crashed economy,” he tweeted.
“Wait,” tweeted Seth Kaplan, the managing editor for Fox affiliate stations in the Twin Cities. “He wants to help ensure a catastrophic economic situation just so it can be a talking point during the 2024 election? Please tell me I’m misinterpreting.”
Earlier this month journalist Jay Bookman observed, “So basically, the debt ceiling crisis is just another version of the Jan. 6 insurrection: Give us what we want, or we’re going to tear the whole damn thing down.”
Reps. Scott Perry, Dan Bishop, Byron Donalds, Lauren Boebert, Andy Biggs, and other Freedom Caucus members earned a “very poor” grade by the Republican Accountability Project, which has been tracking Republicans in the wake of the 2021 insurrection.
Among the criteria for earning a “very poor” grade include signing the Supreme Court amicus brief “that sought to nullify votes cast in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia,” (Boebert and Donalds were not in Congress at the time to sign to that brief.)
Also, objecting “to the certification of Electoral College votes from at least one state,” making “public statements that cast doubt on the legitimacy of the 2020 election,” voting “to hold Trump accountable via impeachment or conviction,” voting “to create an independent commission to investigate the January 6th insurrection,” and voting “to hold Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress.”
Read More Here: https://twitter.com/DeanObeidallah/status/1663602585624883206
Lauren Boebert throws tantrum over debt deal: 'That's the end of Kevin McCarthy's speakership'
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Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) on Tuesday did not rule out a motion to vacate the chair in an attempt to remove Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as speaker over a deal that would raise the U.S. debt ceiling.
During an appearance on Steve Bannon's War Room podcast, Boebert accused McCarthy of a "violation" of his promises because amendments were not being allowed in the House Rules Committee.
"So, the whole point of the speaker's race and having a motion to vacate a check and balance was because we know at any given time those rules can be suspended," she explained. "And so, this, at the Speaker's request, is what I've heard; this was to be a closed rule with no amendments allowed."
Boebert argued that there was insufficient support to remove McCarthy as Speaker. But she predicted the demise of McCarthy's speakership if many Democrats supported the debt ceiling bill.
"If this bill passes with a majority of Democrats voting in favor of it, then I'm sorry, that's the end of Kevin McCarthy's speakership," she warned. "That is a bad, bad look to pass a bill of this magnitude without the support of the majority and if it's Democrats."
Watch video in link: https://www.rawstory.com/lauren-boebert-kevin-mccarthy-debt-ceiling/
Matt Gaetz warns Kevin McCarthy’s deal could be a ‘black letter’ violation that triggers removal
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Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Ca.) may have enough votes to usher his debt ceiling deal through Congress, but it could cost the House Speaker his job.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Tuesday suggested that, regardless of the outcome of the debt ceiling deal vote, if a majority of Republicans oppose the deal, that would be a “black letter violation” that would likely leave McCarthy facing a threat to his speakership, CNN’s Melanie Zanona tweeted.
“If a majority of Republicans are against a piece of legislation and you use Democrats to pass it, that would immediately be a black letter violation of the deal we had with McCarthy... and it would likely trigger an immediate motion to vacate," Gaetz said according to Zanona.
Zanona reports that “McCarthy, however, has repeatedly expressed confidence that a majority of House Republicans will back the bill.”
Gaetz, a member of the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus, opposes the debt ceiling deal.
He isn’t alone.
“Not one Republican should vote for this bill,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told reporters Tuesday.
“We will continue to fight it today, tomorrow, and no matter what happens, there’s going to be a reckoning about what just occurred unless we stop this bill by tomorrow.”
Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C) went even further.
“I’m fed up with the lies. I’m fed up with the lack of courage, the cowardice,” Bishop told reporters on Tuesday.
Bishop blasted McCarthy over his handling of the debt ceiling deal, saying “Nobody could have done a worse job."
https://www.rawstory.com/matt-gaetz-2660727173/
Democratic congressman mocks GOP colleague for saying he can't read a 99 page bill in 3 days
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Following the release of the draft agreement to raise the debt ceiling, House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) went on Fox News to complain he didn't have any time to read it before the vote — even though, by any reasonable measure, he did.
"It's like the Pelosi days. You gotta pass it before you read it," complained Norman, referencing a quote former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) made about the Affordable Care Act in 2009 that has frequently been taken out of context. "We ought to have a lot more time."
"But he's giving you three days to consider it," pushed back Fox anchor John Roberts, adding, "It's only 99 pages."
Following this exchange, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) took to Twitter to mock his colleague's complaint that reading a 99-page bill in three days is just too burdensome a task for him.
"Let’s do some math," wrote Lieu. "If GOP Rep Ralph Norman works 8 hours a day, that’s 24 hours over 3 days to read 99 pages. That comes out to reading a little over 4 pages every hour. And these are double spaced text pages."
"Alternatively, he can have AI summarize the bill for him in 1 min," Lieu added.
Norman, who faced national controversy after leaked text messages revealed he begged the Trump administration to declare "Marshall [sic] law" to prevent President Joe Biden from taking office after the 2020 election, appears to have already made up his mind against the bill he says he doesn't have time to read it.
AFP
'They only know what they're against': Ex-Congressman slams Matt Gaetz and obstructionist GOPers
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U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz and other Republicans coming out in strong opposition to the debt ceiling compromise are doing so in part because they don't have another setting, according to a former Democratic Congressman.
Former Rep. Conor Lamb, of Pennsylvania, was part of a panel on MSNBC's The 11th Hour With Stephanie Ruhle on Tuesday. Ruhle asked Lamb if he thinks Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R) was at risk of losing his speakership over the deal, which was advanced by a committee earlier in the night to a full House vote set up for the next day.
Lamb said that he doesn't think McCarthy will lose his speakership over the disagreements, saying "the difference with whoever they would replace him with would be minimal, and I don't see how it would go to anyone's benefit."
Lamb did, however, use the time to call out Gaetz, who threatened McCarthy's speakership over the tentative deal already, and fellow Republican Chip Roy, who urged his colleagues to reject the deal.
"What you're seeing is the Matt Gaetzes and Chip Roys of the world are being revealed: they only know what they are against and they really don't have much of an idea of what they're for, as far as anything they can accomplish," Lamb said.
He added that individuals like this tend to lash out against a lot of things, but are not necessarily getting things done.
"So the idea of just lashing out... and the words that Chip Roy was using: kill the bill, end the speakership, they only know how to put a stop to things they don't like... that's the language they're using because they have nothing else to say."
Watch:
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Yes, Republicans want to cut your Social Security and Medicare. Need more evidence of that? Here you go!
McCarthy suggests new commission could look at Social Security and Medicare cuts
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced Wednesday he was launching a commission tasked with looking at budget cuts – and he suggested Social Security and Medicare could come under his scalpel.
His pledge came just months after vowing such cuts to mandatory spending programs were off the table.
In February, President Joe Biden spoke before a joint session of Congress, telling Americans the GOP wanted to cut the programs they had paid into their whole lives. "Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset every five years," he said.
"That means those programs will go away if Congress doesn’t vote to keep them. Other Republicans say if we don’t cut Social Security and Medicare, they’ll let America default on its debt for the first time in our history."
His comments got a chorus of boos from the audience of Republicans. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) shook his head.
As he repeated the claim at his State of the Union address, Biden incensed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) so much she leaped her feet yelling “liar!", while Republicans committed on television to never making such cuts.
McCarthy even told CBS's Face the Nation he was taking Social Security and Medicare “off the table” in debt ceiling negotiations.
And then, on Wednesday, the speaker announced he's starting a commission to look at how to make cuts.
Appearing on the Fox network, McCarthy explained, "And now we're cutting, and you know what? It's gonna make some people uncomfortable by doing that, but I'm not going to give up on the American people."
"I'm going to announce a commission coming forward from the speaker — from bipartisan, both sides of the aisle," he added. "...The majority driver of the budget is mandatory spending; it's Medicare; it's Social Security, interest on the debt."
McCarthy told Fox host Harris Faulkner that only 11 percent of the budget could be negotiated during the debt ceiling talks because Biden had "walled off" parts of it – including the part that included discretionary spending programs.
Now, he said, "We have to look at the entire budget."
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The House of Representatives just voted to pass the negotiated debt ceiling bill to avoid a catastrophic default.
Upon final passage in the Senate and a signature from President Biden, the national debt limit will be suspended until 2025.
Kevin McCarthy failed to get enough Republicans on board. Democrats had to save him. The GOP could only afford to lose five votes. But he lost dozens from his own party he's supposed to be "leading". Even then, he got almost NOTHING in his negotiations with Biden.
Why have a weak Republican who can't lead, wasting our time, when Democrats are the only ones in charge anyway?
More evidence that Kevin McCarthy is a truly ineffective Speaker and that Republicans are in disarray. And don't forget that MAGA Republicans wanted to default and to destroy our economy.
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Biden-McCarthy plan passes, heads to Senate
The House passed the debt ceiling bill Wednesday night just days ahead of the deadline to avoid a catastrophic U.S. default
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/live-blog/debt-ceiling-vote-live-updates-house-will-take-biden-mccarthy-plan-ton-rcna86870
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Far-right lawmakers escalate threats to boot McCarthy from Speakership after debt deal passage
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Kevin McCarthy is not out of the woods yet.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) cleared a massive challenge on Wednesday when he managed to deliver just enough votes from the Republican caucus, along with a large cohort of Democrats, to pass the landmark debt ceiling and deficit reduction agreement he brokered with President Joe Biden, which is now expected to move quickly through the Senate and avert a national default after weeks of tense bipartisan negotiations.
But now he faces another potential obstacle, reported The Daily Beast: the far-right wing of the House GOP, who is enraged the deal happened at all — and want McCarthy to suffer for it.
"Instead of exiting debt ceiling negotiations with President Joe Biden hoisting a triumphant deal, McCarthy came out with something lukewarm. A narrow addition of work requirements for food stamp recipients between the ages of 50 and 54. Ending the pause on federal student loan payments. A suspension of the debt limit until 2025. Minimal spending caps for two years that would only technically cut spending if you consider the increases relative to inflation," reported Ursula Perano and Sam Brodey. "The deal passed Wednesday night 314-117, with 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats voting for it, and 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats voting no. Republicans control the House, but it was Democrats who primarily got the measure across the finish line."
As a result of this, some far-right lawmakers are ramping up threats to use a parliamentary procedure to force a confidence vote to eject McCarthy from the Speakership — something he was, ironically, forced to put in the rules in order to get the votes necessary to become Speaker in the first place.
Some lawmakers, like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), had been making threats of this sort even before the vote happened — but for now, said the report, few in the caucus have treated this as a serious possibility. Another is Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC), who said, “He’s blown Republican unity to smithereens. So, you can put that in terms of trust, if you want to. It’s just something that is functionally destroyed.”
"The good news for McCarthy is that it would take more than just one Republican to remove him from his position. The bad news is that it wouldn’t take much more than a half-dozen — if Democrats want to cooperate with the coup," said the report. "The slim GOP majority in the House means that McCarthy has very little wiggle room. And even if 95 percent of his conference is behind him, that last five percent could sink him."
Agence France-Presse
Game, Set and Almost Match to Joe Biden
Edward Luce: “Shakespeare foretold the tale of America’s latest debt-ceiling crisis — full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. The final deal, which will probably be passed this weekend, could also have been scripted by Joe Biden. Rarely in the history of fiscal brinkmanship has so much noise been made by so many Republicans with so little to show for it. The result is a win for Biden that prudence stops him from celebrating.”
“This charade’s key lesson is that people who call themselves ‘fiscal conservatives’ are guilty of fraudulent branding — aided by a process-obsessed media. The definition of fiscal conservatism is matching public spending with revenues over the business cycle. Threatening a catastrophic default unless the tax-collecting Internal Revenue Service is defunded is its very opposite. That would be fiscal incontinence.”
“The fact that this was one of the key Republican demands gave the game away."
https://politicalwire.com/2023/05/31/game-set-and-almost-match-to-joe-biden/
Ron DeSantis touts permit-free concealed carry law just after mass shooting in Florida
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday sent out a fundraising request in which his campaign highlighted a rule that "allows Floridians to carry concealed weapons without a government-issued permission slip" — just two days after a mass shooting near a beach in Florida.
Ron DeSantis for President sent the email, which touted the policy positions and state-level accomplishments of DeSantis. The email subject line was "My email is less than 400 words," yet the contents of the email contained more than 2,000 words.
Among the accomplishments listed in the fundraising email was that DeSantis has purportedly defended "Second Amendment rights."
He "[e]nacted constitutional carry that allows Floridians to carry concealed weapons without a government-issued permission slip," according to the email.
The email was sent Wednesday, which was two days after a Memorial Day shooting which resulted in nine injuries
Agence France-Presse
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Hakeem Jeffries @RepJeffries
Legislation that protects Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans and so much more has passed the House 314-117.
President Biden and House Dems stopped the right-wing extremists from crashing our economy.
And we’re just getting started.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1664092437290131459
Statement from President Biden
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President Biden @POTUS
The PACT Act is the most significant law in our nation’s history to help millions of toxic-exposed veterans, and their families, caregivers, and survivors who join them in their sacrifice.
We got it done.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1664013884368338952
President Biden @POTUS
My Administration’s Investing in America agenda is bringing a whole-of-government approach to disaster prevention and recovery as we enter hurricane season and prepare for summer wildfires.
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As we enter Atlantic hurricane season and prepare for peak fire season, I’ve convened federal agencies across my Administration to discuss our plan to prepare for, respond to, and help communities become more resilient to these hazards going forward.
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Tune in as I meet with leaders of my federal emergency preparedness and response team to receive the annual briefing on extreme weather preparedness.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1yoJMZzPQOexQ
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1663957122420178957
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The woman that Old Joe allegedly sexually assaulted is fleeing TO Russia. She apparently is in fear for her life or being imprisoned. What a new world we live in where American citizens are fleeing to Russia to avoid political prison.
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Bill Pascrell, Jr. @BillPascrell
The headline this morning should be familiar. Last night Democrats once again saved America from total economic catastrophe created solely by republicans.
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https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1664244859329290242
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Sad and humiliating:
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Audio recording shows Trump may have violated US espionage laws. Federal indictments MUST now issue
With the mounting evidence that Donald Trump violated our nation's espionage laws - including an audio recording that seems to include sharply incriminating statements by Trump himself - the Department of Justice must indict Trump if they except others to protect America's classified information.
This video discusses a number of data points that provide evidence of Donald Trump's political demise AND the growing likelihood that federal indictments are coming.
Watch:
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Joe Biden suffers hairline fractures after twisting his ankle playing with dog, his doctor says
Nov. 29, 2020
https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/politics/joe-biden/2020/11/29/joe-biden-twists-ankle-while-playing-his-dog/6458703002/
So back in 2020, President Biden suffered hairline fractures in his ankle and it never really healed properly. Anyone that has fractured something knows what it's like when your injury still gives you long term trouble at times.
Yesterday at an event, Biden's ankle gave out when he started to walk on stage and he ended up tripping but got right back up. Right wingers were mocking him because they are just hateful people but it's a total non story and nobody cares.
The 2 big stories yesterday of course, shows President Biden with a commanding lead in the polls and the Senate passed the debt ceiling bill.
Yahoo News/YouGov 2024 presidential poll
Biden 48% (+7)
Trump 41%
Biden 46% (+6)
DeSantis 40%
The Senate passed the budget bill with votes to spare. The vote was 63-36. It’s now a done deal. Biden will sign it and that’ll be that. Another big Biden win. Now we get to watch Kevin McCarthy get attacked by his own monsters for cooperating with Biden.
President Biden saved our economy and our country from an economic catastrophe which MAGA Republicans wanted to happen. This is true leadership by having a president take charge and getting the job done. President Biden has done that, he promised there would be no default and he prevented it from happening. That is true leadership and Biden is a real leader. That's another reason why he is leading in the polls with an even higher margin of victory than in 2020.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said it best:
Schumer: "Overwhelming majority of senate Democrats voted for the bill. A majority of Republicans voted against it. Why did we get more votes? We got more votes because the bill beat back the worst of the Republican agenda.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1664472129545420801
Senate passes debt ceiling bill, sending measure to Biden to avert default
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/debt-ceiling-bill-passes-senate/
WATCH: Senate approves bipartisan debt ceiling bill
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-senate-convenes-after-house-approves-bipartisan-debt-ceiling-bill
BREAKING: Senate passes debt limit bill
Watch:
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Lauren Boebert missed debt ceiling vote despite leading fury against deal
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Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) stood shoulder to shoulder with House Freedom Caucus members Tuesday to decry the debt ceiling deal as a disaster for the country. But when it came to actually voting on the bill, she outspoken congresswoman was nowhere to be seen, The Denver Post reported.
Despite all her bluster, the Post reported that Boebert skipped the vote.
"So we're here today in strong opposition of the latest so-called deal to lift the debt ceiling," she said into a microphone Tuesday. "As far as I'm concerned, I think McCarthy did the best he could do to some extent with this deal, but we made it clear at the outset of this Congress that we would not continue business as usual here in Washington, D.C."
It was just last week that Boebert told Steve Bannon that the debt ceiling wasn't real and Americans were being gaslit. She was furious that McCarthy made a deal, predicting that it was going to be the end of his speakership.
The report explained that when the vote came on Wednesday, passing 314-117, her vote was missing. It was overwhelmingly passed and her vote wouldn't have made any difference, but it was still notable after she was so adamant about her opposition.
It's unclear where Boebert was. She was spotted running up the steps to the Capitol as they gaveled the vote, Axios reporter Juliegrace Brufke, but she apparently missed it.
“The Swamp did its old song and dance and pretended to listen to the American people, but as soon as the backroom deal was made, it was predetermined that it would pass,” Boebert said in a statement she released after the vote. “I certainly wasn’t afraid to vote against the bill, as I have been advocating against it all week.”
Her spokesperson confirmed that she missed it.
Agence France-Presse
'Highly avoidable:' Ex-GOP Chair calls out Republicans' 'political posturing' on debt ceiling
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House Republicans who demanded massive spending cuts as part of the proposed debt ceiling increase are merely "politically posturing," according to former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele, who said the whole debacle was completely avoidable.
Steele, who last month warned that the party he led over a decade ago doesn't currently have a direction or a message for voters, appeared on MSNBC's The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle late Thursday night. The host asked Steele if there was some disappointment among Democrats that Biden's student debt relief was taken off the table as part of the negotiations.
"The courts had been making it difficult for him. And there is no real clear path for its survival long term at this point," Steele said. "So, the president made a sacrifice here, as he had to, in order to get this done."
Steele also noted that the "fact of the matter is that this was highly avoidable," pointing to past circumstances where Republicans easily passed debt ceiling hikes.
"It was really avoidable, because all of the sanctimony from Republicans about the concern for the debt and the deficit was not there the three times that they raised it when Trump was president," Steele said. "In fact, the Democrats are like, we get the importance of not bankrupting the country, and we will give you a clean debt bill, which they did, three times: 17, 18, and 19."
Steele added that the "political posturing here is a little bit underwhelming for me."
Steele further called for the elimination of the entire debt ceiling debate.
"Eliminate this farce, this debt circus that we go through every 18 or so months. Just stop it. We are the only developed country outside of Denmark that does this stupid," he said, adding that Denmark "set the level so high they will never reach it."
"So, the reality of it is, this is all political posturing," he said. "What all of us watching this program know -- and we need serious players in the Senate, in the House, to deal with the physical health of this country if we think we are going to grow an economy for the generation that his graduating this week, next week and weeks ahead."
Watch:
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DeSantis is a total buffoon. He can't even talk to reporters pretending to act like Trump and comes off looking like a clown. Even Floridians in the reddest sections of Florida are now tired of his discrimination and fascist laws against Americans and the education system.
'Barking’: DeSantis mocked as his crew races to protect him from criticism after he attacks reporter
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Continuing his official presidential campaign kickoff this week, Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis delivered a speech to New Hampshire voters Thursday morning but refused to take questions from the audience. Afterward, when a reporter simply asked why, DeSantis blasted him, saying repeatedly, "Are you blind?" because he was talking to individual supporters at the time.
The candidate's campaign team immediately swarmed to protect him on social media.
NBC News senior national political reporter Jonathan Allen on Twitter posted the video (below) and wrote that DeSantis had "lashed out at a reporter for asking him about it while he was chatting with members of the crowd individually."
At NBC News, Allen's headline reads: "Ron DeSantis loses his temper with a reporter: 'Are you blind?'"
Allen reports DeSantis "became noticeably agitated" and "lashed out at a reporter — twice barking 'Are you blind?'"
The reporter who had asked DeSantis why he wouldn't take questions was Steve Peoples, chief political reporter for The Associated Press, who tweeted: "Here in Laconia, NH at his first stop in state as presidential candidate, DeSantis speaks for 58 minutes. He takes no questions from audience."
“People are coming up to me, talking to me,” DeSantis said. “What are you talking about? Are you blind? Are you blind? People are coming up to me, talking to me whatever they want to talk to me about.”
Allen adds that the Florida governor's decision to not take questions "was surprising and frustrating to some Republicans who came to hear DeSantis speak."
On social media, many were also not impressed.
"Some of us warned that DeSantis wasn’t ready for the national media or public spotlight, that he had been coddled in Florida for far too long, and that his media team of Pushaw, Redfern, et al spend too much time trolling on Twitter and not helping him," observed MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan.
But the question really is why wouldn't a candidate for president, who has been in politics for over a decade, be excited to talk to prospective supporters and take their questions, especially given the history of states like New Hampshire and Iowa, where establishing that personal relationship historically has been critical to the success of a candidate's campaign?
Former federal prosecutor, former DeSantis administration official, and former Republican Ron Filipkowski noted, "Ron DeSnowflake lost his cool again and had another freakout. This guy can’t deal with people."
Observing DeSantis is "so out of his depth," former journalist Ed Moltzen writes: "There are towns in New Hampshire with the official title 'Town Moderator' - people who assist with fielding audience questions to political candidates during forums. That’s how much open Q & A is in the political DNA of New Hampshire."
Huffpost White House correspondent S.V. Dáte had warned, "Just watch. DeSantis’ social media arsonists will fan this interaction for days."
And indeed, DeSantis' crew was quick to attack, which Dáte pointed to.
Governor DeSantis' press secretary Bryan Griffin quickly moved to falsely frame the interaction.
"This @AP reporter asked this question while @RonDeSantis was surrounded by voters in New Hampshire asking him questions and taking pictures," Griffin tweeted. "Perfectly illustrative of the modern media shutting their eyes and ears to the truth to push their narrative."
The question was clearly about DeSantis' refusal to take questions from the audience, so the audience could hear his answers.
Christina Pushaw, DeSantis' far-right former press secretary who moved to his presidential campaign as his rapid response director, responded to Griffin to attack the reporter.
"Very diplomatic of you to refer to the AP activist as a reporter!" she said.
But journalist Marcus Baram replied to Griffin: "You KNOW what the reporter meant.
Not a meet-and-greet with lots of people in a crowded room.
Questions asked in a setting where the person has time to ask the governor without distractions, and he has the time to respond with a substantive answer.
Campaigning 101."
Watch DeSantis at this link: https://twitter.com/i/status/1664282718304337923[/b]
'Backlash to the backlash' is seeing reddest parts of Florida rise against DeSantis' right-wing crusade
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The wave of right-wing populism that carried Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) to a decisive reelection victory in November appears to have hit a wall.
A Tuesday night school board meeting held in a county DeSantis won handily saw furious teachers, students and parents railing against right-wing efforts to reshape the Sunshine State’s educational system – a clear sign of an emerging “backlash to the backlash, Washington Post columnists Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman wrote Thursday.
“By now, it’s obvious that the reactionary culture warriors who want to reshape American education are inspiring a serious liberal counter-mobilization in response,” Sargent and Waldman write in an opinion piece for The Post published under the headline “In a deep red Florida county, a student-teacher revolt shames the right.”
“Remarkably, this backlash to the backlash is gaining momentum in some of the reddest parts of the country.”
The meeting was held in Hernando County, which DeSantis won by 41 points, and which has become the focus of national media attention after fifth-grade teacher Jenna Barbee showed her class the Disney film “Strange World,” which features an openly gay character.
The Florida Department of Education is investigating Barbee over whether she violated the state’s new “don’t say gay” law that bans instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation.
Sargent and Waldman write that “The scene featured teachers pointedly declaring that right-wing attacks are driving them to quit, even as parents and students forcefully stood up on their behalf, demanding a halt to the hysteria.”
Barbee is resigning from the Hernando County School District and she isn’t alone, according to the report.
“No one is teaching your kids to be gay,” Alyssa Marano, a math teacher who has resigned from the district, said at Tuesday’s meeting.
“Sometimes, they just are gay. I have math to teach. I literally don’t have time to teach your kids to be gay.”
Sargent and Waldman write that “the real story of the night was the response. Again and again, parents and students forcefully defended teachers. They cast the right’s attacks, the censoring of educators and the removal of books as the real threats to education.”
“War on woke?” one student said. “More like war on your children’s future.”
Sarah Jones writes for New York Magazine that the blowback to far-right efforts to shape education seen at the Hernando County district are happening throughout the country, as “liberal parents in states as far-flung as New York, North Carolina and Montana are organizing local groups, pressuring school boards and running for office to challenge the right’s education takeover.”
“Just as a car wreck commands attention, the ugliness of right-wing culture-warring often transfixes the news media,” Sargent and Waldman write.
“But another story is beckoning: Ordinary parents everywhere and their elected representatives are responding, and declaring that they’ve had enough.”
Read the full article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/01/hernando-county-ron-desantis-book-bans-democratic-governors/
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The White House @WhiteHouse
Our economy gained 339,000 jobs in May.
That’s a total of 13 million jobs created under President Biden.
And more jobs in 28 months than any President has created in a four-year term.
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https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1664653392461832198
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Magnificent poll numbers continue for Trump. Can he overcome the leftist media bias and corrupt justice system to win in 2024? No other person in history could do it. Compounded with the changes in election laws to allow Dems to ballot harvest it is almost impossible. The Biden clown show, however, is too much for many Americans. A full two-thirds of the country believe it would be a "disaster" for Biden to be re-elected. That's 66%. You couldn't find that many folks who could agree on anything else in politics, but the clear consensus is that Old Joe is the worst president in modern history.
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More new polling is out showing President Biden with a commanding lead over DeSantis. Trump is not relevant since he'll be convicted of his 34 felonies and in prison well before the Republican National Convention, but Biden is dominating him in the polls too.
2024 Presidential Election Polls:
Redfield:
Biden (D): 48% (+15)
DeSantis (R): 33%
Echelon Insights:
Biden 50% (+11)
DeSantis 39%
Biden 51% (+13)
Trump 38%
The reason President Biden has a commanding lead in the polls, is because he has delivered for Americans on almost every campaign promise. He also has been able to work with Republicans to pass historic legislation. His historic economy and job creation has given people hope to have a better life. Congressman Ted Lieu helped pass this historic legislation that has brought America back from the 4 year Trump disaster.
Ted Lieu @tedlieu
President Biden is one of the most effective Presidents in history:
-American Rescue Plan
-Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
-Bipartisan Chips & Science Act
-Bipartisan PACT Act
-Inflation Reduction Act
All of those laws have been protected and a default averted. Thank you @POTUS.
"When I ran for president I was told the days of bipartisanship were over. That Democrats and Republicans could no longer work together, but I REFUSED to believe that. Because America can never give in to that way of thinking." - President Joe Biden
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Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1664773763978743808
https://twitter.com/tedlieu/status/1664797543446855680
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The United States economy adds 339,000 jobs last month—this is huge, and completely crushes expectations.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics now reports that over 13 million jobs have been created since President Biden took office. 13.1 million to be exact. The most for any president in history.
This is an amazing achievement that all of us should celebrate!
Another important statistic shows that President Biden in just 27 months office has created MORE jobs than the last 3 Republican presidents in 16 years!
Republicans are terrible at job creation. In 16 years between 3 Republicans, they couldn't even manage to create 2 million jobs. Biden created that many in just a few months. These Republicans brought us recessions and the last 2 Bush and Trump gave us an economic crisis. Obama and Biden brought our economy back.
13.1 million jobs = 27 months Biden
1.9 million jobs = 16 years Bush/G.W. Bush/Trump
Almost 7 times as many Biden jobs as last 3 Republicans COMBINED!
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Biden takes victory lap in debt ceiling speech: 'The American people got what they needed'
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On Friday evening, President Joe Biden gave an Oval Office address triumphantly announcing the bipartisan deal to lift the debt ceiling — and touting the latest reports showing the strength of the economy.
"This is vital," said Biden. "Because it is essential to the progress we have made over the last few years. Keeping full faith and credit of the United States of America. Passing a budget that continues to grow our economy and reflects our values as a nation. That is why I am speaking to you tonight. To report on the crisis averted and what we are doing to protect America's future. Passing this budget agreement was critical."
The consequences of a default, said Biden, would have been disastrous, from 8 million people losing their jobs, to interest rates skyrocketing and America's credit rating being devalued, which "would have made everything from mortgages to car loans to funding for the government much more expensive. It would have taken years to climb out of the hole."
"Nobody got everything they wanted, but the American people got what they needed," said Biden. "We averted an economic crisis and economic collapse. We are cutting spending and bringing the deficits down at the same time. We are protecting important priorities from Social Security to Medicare to Medicaid to veterans to the transformational investments in infrastructure and clean energy."
Biden went on to thank House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), as well as all other congressional leaders, for allowing the deal to come together.
"Over the next 10 years the deficit will be cut by more than $1 trillion," said Biden. "That will be on top of a record $1.7 trillion I already cut the deficit in my first two years in office. It is clear we are all in a much more fiscally responsible course than the one I inherited when I took office four years ago."
But Biden also went out of his way to jab Republicans, noting that their opening proposal would have cut vital programs including veterans' health care, and "would have cut healthcare for up to 21 millions Americans on Medicaid."
"We are investing in America and our people and our future," said Biden. "We have created over 13 million new jobs. More than 800,000 manufacturing jobs. Where is it written that America cannot lead the world in manufacturing? Unemployment is at 3.7 percent. More Americans are working today than ever in the history of this country. Inflation has dropped 10 straight months in a row. In this debate, I refused to put what was responsible for all of this economic progress on the chopping block."
"I've never been more optimistic about the future," Biden concluded. "We just need to remember who we are. We are the United States of America. And there's nothing — nothing we can't do, when we do it together."
Watch the speech at this link: https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1664769145223741443
Sarah Huckabee Sanders targeted in lawsuit over book ban
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A coalition of Arkansas book enthusiasts is suing the state and its Republican governor over a restrictive new law that threatens librarians with jail time for making banned books available to minors, The Daily Beast reports.
The law would “subject librarians and booksellers to criminal charges if they provide 'harmful' materials to minors,” according to The Associated Press.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in March signed Arkansas Act 372 into law. The measure is expected to go into effect Aug. 1.
The Arkansas Library Association and the Central Arkansas Library System are among the groups who filed the lawsuit jointly on Friday.
Critics say the law is extreme and unenforceable.
Arkansas Library Association President Carol Coffey is among those who have assailed the controversial measure.
“Library workers across Arkansas are rightly concerned that the overly broad edicts of Act 372 will prevent them from serving their patrons as they have always done, by providing a wide variety of materials to fill their information needs, and perhaps more importantly, materials that allow each child to see themselves in the books in their library,” Coffey said in a statement.
“The primary mission of the Arkansas Library Association is to support libraries and library workers and to defend intellectual freedom. We join in this lawsuit because it is the best way for us to fulfill our mission.”
The lawsuit alleges the new law violates the state’s constitution’s 1st and 14th amendment protections.
The Arkansas law follows a national trend.
Attempts to ban or restrict access to books at public libraries set a record in 2022 with more than 1,200 such challenges, according to the American Library Association, more than double of what was seen the previous year.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.
“The last two years have been exhausting, frightening, outrage inducing.”
Read the full article here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/librarians-sue-over-sarah-huckabee-sanders-arkansas-book-ban
Another blow to DeSantis: Disney tourism numbers expected to be unaffected by his crusade
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Disney is reportedly expected to be largely unaffected by the repeated attacks of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
DeSantis has turned all his political guns blazing on Disney after the entertainment giant dared to criticize his legislation prohibiting any mention of LGBTQ people in most elementary school classrooms. He has repeatedly attacked the corporation in speeches, took over the board that administers their special taxing district, and threatened to toll the roads into the Walt Disney World resort complex, or even build a state prison next to it.
But it doesn't seem like his threats are having much effect on Disney's bottom line, or tourism numbers, reported Orlando Weekly on Friday.
"In a recent interview with Travel Weekly, [Dana] Young, the president and CEO of Visit Florida, was asked about several topics that could have a negative bearing on the state," reported Jim Turner. "Included were the legal and political battles that sprung up after Disney opposed a controversial 2022 law that restricts instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. The law was titled by supporters as the 'Parental Rights in Education' bill but is derided by critics as 'don’t say gay.'"
“That is a business decision that we don't feel impacts the tourism product that Disney has,” said Young. “Disney has been a longtime partner of Visit Florida. They continue to be a valued partner of Visit Florida, buying into a lot of our programs. People love Disney, they love visiting Disney, and they will continue to go to Disney."
While Disney tourism may be expected to continue to thrive, Disney itself has still responded with a lawsuit against DeSantis, arguing the governor's actions have discriminated against their freedom of speech.
However, in a wrinkle this week, the judge overseeing that case recused himself due to owning stock in Disney, resulting in the case being reassigned to another judge appointed by former President Donald Trump.
Read More Here: https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/people-love-disney-gov-desantis-fight-with-disney-not-expected-to-affect-tourism-numbers-34326565
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Biden addresses nation after avoiding catastrophic default: ‘The stakes could not have been higher’
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Washington CNN — President Joe Biden declared bipartisanship alive and well during his first ever Oval Office address on Friday, pointing to the compromise measure that raises the federal borrowing limit and avoids a catastrophic default as evidence his sometimes-mocked views of Washington are not a thing of the past.
Addressing the nation from behind the Resolute Desk, Biden sought to harness the vintage presidential setting to make the case for a style of governing he insisted was not only still relevant but essential to avoiding disaster.
Encouraging Americans to “treat each other with dignity and respect” and to “stop shouting,” he said the package he brokered with Republicans ensures economic progress going forward and amounts to a “crisis averted” – even though it sparked fury from some in his own party.
And he vowed to continue working toward priorities that were left out – including raising taxes on the wealthy – in an implicit reelection message.
"Passing this budget agreement was critical. The stakes could not have been higher,” he said.
It’s been several years since Americans have witnessed the type of seated, direct-to-camera speech Biden delivered Friday. Past presidents have employed the Oval Office to deliver statements during moments of crisis, like after the terror attacks on 9/11 or when the space shuttle Challenger exploded.
Biden was speaking not amid a crisis but having avoided one. Yet by evoking a style of speech used by presidents for decades, he seemed to also harken to an era of government that did not look down on attempts at compromise.
“I know bipartisanship is hard and unity is hard, but we can never stop trying, because at moments like this one, the ones we just faced where the American economy and the world economy is at risk of collapsing, there is no other way,” he said in his speech.
The decision to speak in the most formal of presidential settings came after weeks of fraught negotiations over the borrowing limit. The deal ultimately struck between Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy raises the debt ceiling for two years, freezes domestic spending, imposes some new work requirements on food stamps and alters certain energy permitting rules.
Biden had intentionally avoided declaring victory after brokering the agreement, partly in the hopes of securing the necessary Republican votes for the bill to pass.
That tactic appeared to work; the measure cleared the House and Senate in bipartisan fashion. Biden said he planned to sign the bill Saturday and called the engagements with his Republican interlocutors “respectful.”
He began his evening address by underscoring his efforts to work across the aisle to secure a positive outcome – an objective he noted had been met with intense skepticism.
“When I ran for president, I was told that the days of bipartisanship is over and Democrats and Republicans could no longer work together. I refuse to believe that,” Biden said. “The only way American democracy can function is through compromise and consensus.”
The president said neither Republicans nor Democrats “got everything they wanted but the American people got what they needed.”
“We averted an economic crisis and an economic collapse,” he said.
The Treasury Department has said it will run out of cash to pay its bills in full and on time on Monday. Economists had warned of severe consequences of a national default.
Despite the bill’s passage, the legislation known as the Bipartisan Budget Agreement had detractors on both the left and right. Many liberals and conservatives voted against it, and the most right-wing lawmakers have raised the prospect of trying to oust McCarthy from his leadership role for what they say were insufficient spending cuts.
On the left, progressive Democrats balked at some of the new work requirements added to the bill, though an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office showed the measure would likely keep the number of Americans on food stamps at roughly the same levels. The bill lifted work requirements for veterans and those experiencing homelessness.
Democratic critics have also voiced outrage at approval included in the bill of a natural gas pipeline through West Virginia and Virginia.
Biden and his aides have argued they were successfully able to stave off the most extreme Republican positions to arrive at a bill that ultimately avoided economic disaster.
Through it all, some Democrats have grumbled at the president’s approach to the situation. While Biden initially said he would not negotiate over raising the debt ceiling, demanding only a “clean increase,” he ultimately entered into talks with McCarthy that tied the borrowing limit to budget cuts.
Others encouraged Biden to use the 14th Amendment, which states the US debt “shall not be questioned,” to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling. Biden said it was possible to explore that option in the future, but it was too risky to deploy with the imminent threat of default.
“Nothing would have been more catastrophic” than a default, Biden said in his remarks.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/02/politics/biden-debt-oval-office-address/index.html
President Biden Addresses the Nation on Averting Default and the Bipartisan Budget Agreement
Watch:
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Ron DeSantis is a total buffoon who is a cheap imitation of Donald Trump and is cracking under the pressure of a national campaign. He's so insecure he has to change the pronunciation of his last name!
Ron DeSantis defends changing last name pronunciation after ridicule
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You can call him DEH-santis or DEE-santis. Ron says: just call me winner.
The Florida governor is defending his curious decision to change how he pronounces his own last name just as he launches his 2024 Republican presidential campaign.
“It’s ridiculous, these stupid things,” DeSantis said Thursday when asked about the issue. “Listen, the way to pronounce my last name: Winner.”
DeSantis has mostly, but not always, used the more well-known “DEH-Santis” during his two decades in politics.
For reasons that remain unclear, the Florida governor started referring to himself as “Ron DEE-Santis” in recent days as he launched his GOP presidential bid. Polls put DeSantis in a strong but distant second place to former President Donald Trump.
Never one to miss out on a chance to ding his opponent, Trump brought up the discrepancy at campaign events in Iowa.
Trump used the switch to needle DeSantis, whom he accuses of being a disloyal phony and a Republican in name only.
“He is demanding that people call him DeeeSantis, rather than DaSantis,” Trump said on his social media site. “Actually, I like ‘Da’ better, a nicer flow, so I am happy he is changing it.”
Playing de-fense, DeSantis hit back at Trump, calling him “juvenile” for mentioning the pronunciation issue and suggesting that Trump’s penchant for playground insults was part of the reason he lost the White House in 2020.
“He alienated too many voters for things that really don’t matter,” DeSantis said Thursday at a campaign stop in New Hampshire.
Pundits say DeSantis will have to keep punching back at Trump about matters serious and trivial.
DeSantis has maintained a wide lead of his own over the rest of the GOP pack, but that lead for second place is about to get tested as former Vice President Mike Pence and ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are expected to jump into the race next week.
© New York Daily News
DeSantis 'the ultimate performative politician' on outrage but not 'in-person performance': report
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) is the best at performative politics when it comes to beating down policies perceived as "woke," but his performances falter when it comes to the in-person aspects of professional politics, according to a new report.
The mirage of DeSantis was different than the real man when he appeared in the "fidgety flesh," writes Mark Leibovich, a staff writer at The Atlantic. Leibovich reportedly covered DeSantis' recent appearances at various events in New Hampshire.
"What does the on-paper promise of DeSantis look like in practice? DeSantis has performed a number of these in-person chores in recent days, after announcing his presidential campaign on May 24 in a glitchy Twitter Spaces appearance with Elon Musk," Leibovich wrote on Saturday. "As I watched him complete his rounds in New Hampshire on Thursday—visits to a VFW hall, an Elks Club, and a community college, in addition to the American Legion post—the essential duality of his campaign was laid bare: DeSantis is the ultimate performative politician when it comes to demonstrating outrage and 'kneecapping' various woke abuses—but not so much when it comes to the actual in-person performance of politics."
In his New Hampshire visits, DeSantis reportedly repeated "woke" more than a dozen times at each event stop, yet strayed away from key topics of the day, including gun violence, the number one cause of death for children in the United States.
"His whole act can feel like a clunky contrivance—a forced persona railing against phony or hyped-up outrages. He can be irascible," Leibovich wrote. "Steve Peoples, a reporter for the Associated Press, approached DeSantis after a speech at a VFW hall in Laconia and asked the governor why he hadn’t taken any questions from the audience. 'Are you blind?' DeSantis snapped at Peoples."
Leibovich continued:
“'Politics is not about entertainment,' DeSantis said in all of his New Hampshire speeches, usually at the end. He might be trying to prove as much."
Read More Here: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/06/ron-desantis-2024-presidential-election-campaign-florida/674274/
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Kyrsten Sinema is one of the most corrupt members of the Senate. She takes in millions of dollars from PACS and billionaires. Her "NO votes" to tax billionaires allowed the top 1% to keep paying less in taxes than a nurse or a cop.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema took Wall Street money while killing tax on wealthy investors
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2022/08/13/sinema-took-wall-street-money-while-killing-tax-on-investors/10321806002/
How Wall Street wooed Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and preserved its multibillion-dollar carried interest tax break
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/09/how-wall-street-wooed-sen-kyrsten-sinema-and-preserved-its-multi-billion-dollar-carried-interest-tax-break.html
Kyrsten Sinema has taken $2.5 million from corporate PACs since 2021
MAY 24, 2022
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At the same time that Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema was standing in opposition to Democratic efforts to raise taxes on corporations, she was raking in campaign cash from many of the companies lobbying against the tax increases — corporate PACs have given Sinema more than $2.5 million since 2021, more than one out of every three dollars she’s raised.
An Arizona Mirror analysis of campaign finance reports between Jan. 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022 for both Sinema’s personal campaign and her leadership political action committee, Getting Stuff Done, show that her prodigious fundraising is powered by corporate money.
Her reports over that span shows she accepted just under $2 million for her campaign and $567,000 for her PAC. (Her PAC has drawn media scrutiny for spending thousands of dollars on wine, paying for a personal trip to Europe and a $34,500 payment to rent a resort in Sedona.) These numbers don’t reflect individual contributions from corporate executives or other employees at companies whose PACs gave her money.
In all, her campaign has raised more than $5.8 million in that same time, while her leadership PAC has brought in slightly less than $1.1 million. Her committees have received 36% of their combined money from corporate PACs.
Sinema received checks from businesses like Amazon, Honeywell, Intel and Merck, among many others, that have been actively fighting off Democratic efforts to reverse the 2017 tax cuts on businesses that Republicans passed while they were in power. Those groups are all part of The Business Roundtable, a coalition of prominent corporate leaders that argue increasing taxes is a threat to their future plans.
Sinema’s opposition to undoing those 2017 tax cuts is also a far cry from her campaign in 2018 against Martha McSally, when she attacked her opponent for supporting Donald Trump’s “huge tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations at the expense of our middle class.”
Accepting millions of dollars from corporate PACs -- mostly from pharmaceutical companies, public utilities, banks and hedge funds -- puts her at odds with Mark Kelly, Arizona’s other senator.
Kelly, a first-term Democrat, has sworn off accepting corporate PAC money and called for them to be banned entirely. His message is summed up in a recent ad his campaign has placed on social media: “I don’t take money from corporate PACs because I know who I’m fighting for.” Kelly also introduced a bill with Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff to ban for-profit corporate PACs altogether.
Sinema’s office refused to answer specific questions for this story, but pushed back on whether she is actually opposed to raising the corporate tax. Her campaign did not respond.
Communications director Hannah Hurley said when Sinema told business leaders at a private Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry event that, “You all know, the entire country knows, that I'm opposed to raising the corporate minimum tax rate,” what she really meant was she is opposed to raising tax rates on corporations — President Joe Biden sought to raise the corporate rate from 21% to 28% — but is still in favor of setting the corporate minimum tax rate to 15%, ensuring that profitable companies aren’t able to dodge paying taxes through loopholes and other measures.
Even so, Sinema has stymied legislation or proposals she says she supports because she has steadfastly refused to end or change the filibuster, which requires the support of 60 senators for any legislation to receive a formal vote. In a Senate that is split 50-50, with Democrats holding the tie-breaking vote in Vice President Kamala Harris, that means any legislation that doesn’t have the backing of at least 10 Republicans cannot advance.
On May 23, activists protested Sinema in Tucson for her stance on the filibuster and questioned whether she was beholden to her “corporate donors” or the “people, democracy and planet.” Hurley did not address whether Sinema prioritizes her corporate donors over her constituents.
Sinema has the benefit of not being up for re-election until 2024, while Kelly is up this year. But Sinema also has so angered Democrats that the party censured her earlier this year and she is likely to face a primary challenger. Many Democrats believe that U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, a progressive who just had the best fundraising quarter in his political career, will run against her.
Sinema has already received scrutiny for some of her notable campaign contributors in the past, including several billionaires who backed Donald Trump’s presidential bids.
She has been a thorn in the side of her party since Democrats won control of both congressional chambers and the presidency, mostly due to her unwillingness to kill the filibuster. And her opposition to key parts of President Joe Biden’s agenda, along with that of West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, has prevented much of the administration’s sweeping policy proposals from passing.
Democratic political consultant Tony Cani told the Arizona Mirror that, while Sinema’s corporate backing isn’t popular in Democratic politics, it’s unlikely to change how people view her. At the end of the day, Democratic voters have already made up their minds, and those opinions are unlikely to change barring something drastic happening, he said.
“I personally think that the only thing that saves her from a viable primary challenge is if no credible Democrat decides to run against her,” Cani said.
When corporations give money to candidates, they're saying they believe in the same basic principles — in Sinema’s case, that she supports their interests. Cani likened it to anti-LGBTQ corporations contributing to campaigns of politicians or any corporation giving money to an “insurrectionist.”
“Voters should take into account which corporate PACs elected officials are taking money from, and consumers should take into account which elected officials corporations are giving to, because they are making a definitive statement,” he told the Mirror.
Cani also said candidates like Kelly are waving away corporate PAC money because it’s not as transparent as the money coming directly from individuals.
From Sinema’s Getting Stuff Done PAC, at least two scandal-plagued contributions stood out raising questions about why she accepted such money and what either has to do with Arizona’s needs.
In November, she raised $5,000 from Pacific Gas & Electric, a California utility company that just two months earlier was charged with manslaughter for starting a wildfire that killed four people. The company, which is the largest public utility in the country, also pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter in 2020 for a similar reason.
Neither Sinema’s office nor her campaign would answer questions about the contribution.
But the other standout contribution came from the multi-level marketing firm Herbalife, which gave Sinema’s PAC $5,000. Herbalife admitted to engaging in criminal activity for a decade and paid a fine of $123 million in 2020 for criminal corruption and fraud. The company also contributed another $2,500 directly to Sinema’s campaign coffers.
Sinema previously faced scrutiny for accepting money from Herbalife and other MLMs because she took their money while those companies were working to kill a Democratic-sponsored labor bill called the PRO Act. Local business groups called on both Sinema and Kelly to oppose the legislation last year, which would wipe out Arizona’s “right-to-work” law that prohibits mandatory union membership.
She faced additional scrutiny last year when she hosted a private fundraiser with business leaders who were strongly opposed to Biden’s Build Back Better proposal. She charged up to $5,800 for the event which lasted 45 minutes on Sept. 27, 2021. Campaign finance records show she raised $82,000 for her campaign and another $47,500 for her PAC between Sept. 27 and Sept. 30 from PACs alone.
It was one of several fundraising events she held that correlated with moving legislation the corporations boosting her campaign coffers were against.
https://www.azmirror.com/2022/05/24/kyrsten-sinema-has-taken-2-5-million-from-corporate-pacs-since-2021/
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President Biden @POTUS
The bipartisan budget agreement protects my Investing in America agenda.
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The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is rebuilding America.
The CHIPS and Science Act is fueling a manufacturing boom.
The Inflation Reduction Act is boosting clean energy, making our tax system fairer, and lowering costs.
All of it is protected by our bipartisan budget agreement.
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Because of my Administration’s investments, we’ve made historic economic progress.
So when it came time to negotiate on the budget, the last thing I’d do is let that progress end up on the chopping block.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1664840731293302784
As I said in my inaugural address: without unity, there is no peace – only bitterness and fury.
Our bipartisan budget agreement represents what happens when we join forces.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1665078522287730691
I just signed into law a bipartisan budget agreement that prevents a first-ever default while reducing the deficit, safeguarding Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and fulfilling our scared obligation to our veterans.
Now, we continue the work of building the strongest economy in the world.
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Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1665060615000322050
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1665060615000322050
Biden signs debt ceiling bill that pulls US back from brink of unprecedented default
WASHINGTON (AP) — With just two days to spare, President Joe Biden signed legislation on Saturday that lifts the nation’s debt ceiling, averting an unprecedented default on the federal government’s debt.
It was a decidedly low-key denouement to a monthslong drama that unnerved financial markets at home and abroad and caused anxious retirees and social service organizations to make contingency plans in case the country was unable to pay all its bills.
Instead of holding a public ceremony with lawmakers from both parties — showcasing the bipartisanship that Biden had cited in an Oval Office address on Friday evening — the president signed the legislation in private in a reflection of the tight deadline facing the nation’s leaders.
The Treasury Department had warned that the country would start running short of cash on Monday, which would have sent shockwaves through the U.S. and global economies.
The White House released a picture of the president signing the legislation at the Resolute Desk. In a brief statement, Biden thanked Democratic and Republican congressional leaders for their partnership, a cordial message that contrasted with the rancor that initially characterized the debt debate.
“No matter how tough our politics gets, we need to see each not as adversaries, but as fellow Americans,” Biden said in a video message released after the signing. He said it was important to “stop shouting, lower the temperature, and work together to pursue progress, secure prosperity and keep the promise of America for everybody.”
The standoff began when Republicans refused to raise the country’s borrowing limit unless Democrats agreed to cut spending. Eventually, the White House began weeks of intense negotiations with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to reach a deal.
The final agreement, passed by the House on Wednesday and the Senate on Thursday, suspends the debt limit until 2025 — after the next presidential election — and restricts government spending. It gives lawmakers budget targets for the next two years in hopes of assuring fiscal stability as the political season heats up.
Raising the nation’s debt limit, now at $31.4 trillion, will ensure that the government can borrow to pay debts already incurred.
After Congress passed the legislation, Biden used the occasion to deliver his first speech from the Oval Office as president on Friday.
“No one got everything they wanted but the American people got what they needed,” he said, highlighting the “compromise and consensus” in the deal. “We averted an economic crisis and an economic collapse.”
Biden touted the achievements of his first term as he runs for reelection, including support for high-tech manufacturing, infrastructure investments and financial incentives for fighting climate change. He also highlighted ways he blunted Republican efforts to roll back his agenda and achieve deeper cuts.
“We’re cutting spending and bringing deficits down at the same time,” Biden said. “We’re protecting important priorities from Social Security to Medicare to Medicaid to veterans to our transformational investments in infrastructure and clean energy.”
Biden’s remarks were the most detailed comments from the Democratic president on the compromise he and his staff negotiated.
Biden praised McCarthy and his negotiators for operating in good faith, and all congressional leaders for ensuring swift passage of the legislation. “They acted responsibly, and put the good of the country ahead of politics,” he said.
In addition to restrictions on spending, the 99-page bill changes some policies, including imposing new work requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and greenlighting an Appalachian natural gas pipeline that many Democrats oppose. Some environmental rules were modified to help streamline approvals for infrastructure and energy projects — a move long sought by moderates in Congress.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the legislation could actually expand total eligibility for federal food assistance, with the elimination of work requirements for veterans, homeless people and young people leaving foster care.
The legislation also bolsters funds for defense and veterans, cuts back some new money for the Internal Revenue Service and rejects Biden’s call to roll back Trump-era tax breaks on corporations and the wealthy to help cover the nation’s deficits. But the White House said the IRS’ plans to step up enforcement of tax laws for high-income earners and corporations would continue.
The agreement imposes an automatic overall 1% cut to spending programs if Congress fails to approve its annual spending bills — a measure designed to pressure lawmakers of both parties to reach consensus before the end of the fiscal year in September.
In both chambers, more Democrats backed the legislation than Republicans, but both parties were critical to its passage. In the Senate the tally was 63-36 including 46 Democrats and independents and 17 Republicans in favor, 31 Republicans along with four Democrats and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats opposed.
The vote in the House was 314-117.
© THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Here’s the con: you run for President. You never poll above 2% in the primary, but you convince donors to keep you afloat because there’s no frontrunner. Then you sign a book deal, use your Iowa caucus media coverage to promote your book, make a million bucks from it, drop out.
Half the 2024 Republican field is running this con. They know they can’t win. They’re not trying. Not even a real campaign. Instead of trying to appeal to voters, they spend the campaign doing favors for the media, so they can cash in those favors later to promote their book.
Here’s the other con: you already hold lower office and you run for President. You know you can’t win and you don’t even try to. You raise money but you don’t spend any of it, and quietly drop out. Then you use that money to fund your reelection campaign for lower office.
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DeSantis’ approval rating in Florida is back below 50% in the most recent polling averages.
The National media spent all of 2022 hyping DeSantis as unstoppable, because it wanted him reelected, so he could run in 2024 and it could get ratings out of him.
If the media hadn’t propped him up, he’d have lost reelection.
DeSantis’ approval rating in Florida was underwater for much of his first term. He was not on track to win reelection until the national media (on the left and right) bailed him out by portraying him as unstoppable and inevitable. So, Democratic voters in Florida simply gave up and didn't turn out to vote.
Now that DeSantis has had to step onto the national stage, everyone is seeing that he’s a weak joke, and he’s collapsing so badly that even his approval rating in Florida is plummeting back down to where it was a year or two ago.
Even Florida never liked him all that much.
But the media just had to go and dishonestly help DeSantis get reelected, so he’d make it into the presidential election.
Even though the media knew he was a total clown who would faceplant like this and be toast by 2023.
The national media burned Florida to the ground for nothing.
And the hosts at MSNBC were every bit as guilty of this as were the hosts at Fox News.
MSNBC hyped DeSantis a villain, but they still endlessly hyped him. Portrayed him as powerful. Insisted he was a lock for reelection.
DeSantis' right wing extremist policies are very unpopular in Florida as well as it is all across the nation.
It doesn't matter which right winger Republicans end up nominating in 2024, their nominee will push this same radical right wing agenda like banning books, interfering in the education system, anti abortion, anti freedom policies, more guns, cut social security & medicare, more tax cuts for the top 1%. That's all the GOP is about and people in Florida are tired of DeSantis and his fascism. And the majority of Americans oppose these right wing extremist policies too.
Most Floridians Disapprove of State’s Direction, DeSantis’ Approval Rating Drops by 19 Points in New Poll
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A survey of nearly 3,000 Florida voters reveals unease over the state’s direction, opposition to many of the bills signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, and frustration over rising housing and insurance costs.
Before this spring’s state legislative session, a majority of Floridians believed the state was on the right track (46% right track / 42% wrong track). As the session came to a close, however, 50% believe the state is headed in the wrong direction, while only 42% think it’s on the right track.
Pollsters Florida Watch and Progress Florida, collectively known as the Florida Communications and Research Hub (Hub), attribute this shift in their surveys to Floridians’ growing dissatisfaction with the agenda carried out by Gov. Ron DeSantis and legislators in Tallahassee.
“When we look back on this legislative session, it is clear Floridians do not believe that Gov. DeSantis and legislative leaders focused on the priorities they believed would improve their lives,” said Progress Florida Executive Director Mark Ferrulo.
DeSantis’ Dramatic Drop
In February, before the legislative session, the Hub’s polling showed DeSantis with a 60% approval rate and the Florida Legislature with 49% support from voters. But by the time the legislative session was winding down, in late April and Early May, their surveys found that the governor’s approval rating dropped by a whopping 19 points (50% approve / 49% disapprove).
According to the Hub, these results can be attributed to erosion among Democrats (-38 pts), No Party Affiliated voters (-16 pts), women (-12 pts), Latinos (-14 pts) – notably Cuban-Americans (-12 pts) – and Black Floridians (-37 pts).
The Florida Legislature’s approval rate also took a hit, dropping to 43% favorable and 47% unfavorable.
Additionally:
- 36% of Floridians cited the cost of home and auto insurance as the top financial stressor in their lives.
- The cost of housing was the main financial stressor for 22% of people across the state.
- 49% of Floridians disapprove of the job DeSantis is doing to make housing more affordable (38% approve).
GOP-Passed Bills Are Unpopular
Results of the recent survey also showed that several key bills passed by Republicans in the legislative session are strongly opposed by a majority of people across the state:
- 78% of Floridians oppose permitless carry of concealed weapons (20% support).
- 56% don’t support the state’s near-total abortion ban (41% support).
- 86% oppose new legislation allowing the governor and legislative leaders to conceal their travel records from the public.
- 60% oppose changing the state’s “resign-to-run” law as DeSantis prepares to launch a campaign for president (31% support).
- The Hub surveyed 2,713 registered voters in Florida from April 26-May 3, 2023, as Florida’s legislative session came to a close, with a margin of error of ±1.85% at 95% confidence.
https://theamericanonews.com/floricua/2023/05/19/most-floridians-disapprove-of-states-direction-desantis-approval-rating-drops-by-19-points-in-new-poll/
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After the 4 year Trump disaster, we finally are finally Building Back America.
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Lauren Boebert mocked after being busted by CNN for lying
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Raw Story reported last week that Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) missed the vote for raising the debt ceiling, which she had opposed. But a reporter at Axios spotted her rushing up the steps of the Capitol just as the vote was being closed. She'd missed it and the press knew.
A new video from CNN showed it wasn't just the word of a reporter that observed Boebert racing up the steps, they got her on video.
A CNN producer was heard on video saying, "They closed it."
"They closed it?" Boebert shouted back.
"Yeah," the producer said. Boebert paused, but then continued running up the steps of the Capitol.
First, Boebert claimed that there was no such thing as the debt ceiling and that it was all "fake news."
"Tomorrow's bill is a bunch of fake news and fake talking points that will do nothing to rein in out-of-control federal spending," she said.
"No excuses," Boebert said on June 3. " I was ticked off they wouldn't let me do my job, so I wouldn't take the vote. Once again, Washington's power machine shoved a multi-trillion-dollar bill down our throats, refused to allow debate or amendments, disregarded everything we fought for, in January to actually allow representatives to do their jobs, and instead, they served us up a cr*p sandwich."
She claimed that she simply refused to be part of it. In fact, she tried to be a part of it and then missed it.
As a fact check, there were 81 proposed amendments, and 14 of those were either co-sponsored or even introduced by Boebert.
As it turns out, she did show up for the vote.
When CNN released the video of her racing up the steps, it called her office to ask for an explanation for the Twitter claim that it was a "protest."
"A spokesperson responded by providing a link to Boebert’s Thursday statement, which outlined her opposition to the bill but did not substantiate her subsequent assertion in the social media video that she had missed the vote on purpose," said CNN.
“I certainly wasn’t afraid to vote against the bill, as I have been advocating against it all week,” Boebert said in the statement.
Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki dragged Boebert while subbing for Chris Hayes' show Monday night. "You snooze you lose," the screen said.
"I can't stop watching that," Psaki chuckled.
News 9 Denver's Kyle Clark did his own commentary on the matter Monday, saying that Boebert had a note put in the Congressional record that she missed the debt ceiling vote because she was "unavoidably detained."
"Now she's saying she skipped the vote on purpose as a protest," said Clark. "Both cannot be true and Boebert knows which one of her claims is a lie. Congresswoman Boebert often gets a pass from the media for making outrageous and false statements because she does it so often. That's not fair to the Coloradans in her district or to the elected officials who do not blatantly lie to voters. I can hear you saying, 'Oh, all politicians lie all the time.' Except they don't. We have covered countless conservatives and progressives and everywhere in between, politicians who strive to tell the truth every day. They don't all offer up obvious, clumsy lies that insult the intelligence of voters."
He closed by saying that if a politician makes something up they will always call them out, but it "doesn't give anyone else the license to lie, even if they make it part of their personal brand."
"Here's why this matters," Jon Cooper tweeted. "Yes, it exposes Lauren as incompetent. But it also exposes her as a LIAR. Because she CLAIMED her no-show vote was a form of protest because the bill was a "cr*p sandwich.” She was so smug and so proud in another video claiming that she skipped the vote because 'they wouldn't let me do my job.' Gee. I thought her job was to vote."
See videos in link below:
Morgan Rimmer @morgan_rimmer
Here is a clip from that night outside the Capitol, showing Rep. Boebert running up the stairs as though she was trying to make the vote, and me telling her that it had closed already.
*running up steps*
Me: They closed it.
Boebert: They closed it?
*keeps running*
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1665412392442888194
Kyle Clark @KyleClark
Commentary: Giving Rep. Lauren Boebert a pass for lying about missing the debt ceiling vote does a disservice to her constituents and to elected officials who haven't made falsehoods their personality. #copolitics
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1665886204460670977
https://www.rawstory.com/lauren-boebert-colorado-vote-lies/
George Santos begs court not to reveal who paid his $500,000 bond
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Rep. George Santos' (R-NY) lawyers filed court documents Monday in which they begged a judge to keep the guarantor who paid the congressman's bail bond secret, according to CBS News reporter Scott MacFarlane.
Santos was indicted and held on $500,000 bond which was paid for by an undisclosed person. The lawyers explained that they're seeking to keep the identity sealed because they "are likely to suffer great distress, may lose their jobs and, God forbid, may suffer physical injury."
“There is little doubt that the suretors will suffer some unnecessary form of retaliation if their identities and employment are revealed," the defense lawyer also said.
“My client would rather surrender to pretrial detainment than subject these suretors to what will inevitably come," the lawyer explained.
MacFarlane also said that Santos' latest court filing revealed that the House Ethics Committee had asked him about the identity of the individuals that helped pay his bond, but his lawyers refused to answer.
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Read More Here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/george-santos-court-deadline-reveal-3-people-who-secured-500k-bail/
Harlan Crow’s argument for refusing to cooperate with Senate investigators is feeble: legal expert
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Harlan Crow is at the center of an ethics scandal over lavish gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and the conservative billionaire isn't offering up much in the way of a legal argument for declining to cooperate with a Senate inquiry, legal analyst Kim Wehle writes for The Bulwark.
Crow’s gifts to Thomas and his wife, Ginni, which included luxury vacations, are the subject of a ProPublica investigative report that have prompted renewed calls for Supreme Court ethics reform.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin issued a statement last month calling for “the full extent of Mr. Crow’s and the corporations’ gifts to Justice Thomas, what other individuals were able to gain special access to Justice Thomas and any other Justices via the travel and lodging provided, and whether those individuals had interests before the Supreme Court.”
Crow claims the request to review the gifts is unconstitutional and has declined to comply.
His attorney Michael Bopp, in a letter to responding to the committee’s request wrote that “Congress does not have the constitutional power to impose ethics rules and standards on the Supreme Court,” and that therefore the entire investigation is illegitimate.
Wehle contends that the Crow’s lawyer is making a flimsy argument.
Wehle writes that “If Bopp’s letter were filed with a federal court, it would come precariously close to violating Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which enables courts to impose sanctions on lawyers for advocating excessively frivolous arguments.”
Bopp in his letter argues that the Constitution restricts Congress from applying the types of ethical rules and standards already exist or lower court on the Supreme Court.
Wehle writes that “The argument is that the Supreme Court is created by the Constitution expressly, whereas the Constitution gives Congress the power to create the lower federal judiciary, which it did with the first Federal Judiciary Act of 1789, so Congress can only regulate the courts that it actually creates in the first place.”
Wehle believes that Bopp’s argument that the Supreme Court is “so constitutionally sacrosanct” that it is above being accountable to Congress is historically inaccurate.
“Crow is rebuffing a legitimate inquiry into an ethics scandal that directly involves himself,” Wehle writes.
“Given the sobering separation of powers concerns at stake, Crow’s contempt of the U.S. Congress is truly contemptible.”
Read the full article here: https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/harlan-crow-weak-argument-refusing-investigation
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That president is used to bankruptcy court': House Democrat hits Trump over calls for US to default
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United States Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-Florida) made fun of former President Donald Trump's business failures during an interview about the debt ceiling on Monday's edition of NBC News' Meet the Press Now.
"All right. You said you plan on using the debt ceiling actually in your campaign messaging. This is something that you said in Axios. 'Moskowitz who just won by five points in 2022 says he does plan to incorporate the debt ceiling into his campaign message, arguing that a vote for Democrats is a vote for normalcy on the issue.' And you said, 'We already had Donald Trump saying live on CNN that the US should default. Imagine what he would say in January or February or March of the next year,'" the host recalled.
"Do you think your voters are paying attention to the debt ceiling, that they know what's going on, that that's something you can use as a pitch to them to see you reelected in the next campaign?" Moskowitz was asked.
"Well, look, obviously, thankfully we didn't see, like, a decrease in our credit rating like we saw ten years ago So I don't know that they were paying attention to it as much this time as they, we were, they were last time. Quite frankly, Washington has cried wolf a lot on the debt ceiling, so possibly people tune it out," Moskowitz replied.
"But I will say I, I was concerned when I see a former president of the United States saying, 'We should default' as if somehow the United States would just go to bankruptcy court, which is what that president is used to," Moskowitz quipped of Trump's history of insolvency.
"Imagine what he would say a year from now — exactly my point — weaponizing, you know, the full faith and credit of the United States," Moskowitz added. "So what I am gonna say to my voters is, what I did say before, is what you saw in the midterm election. I was elected in the midterm election where Democrats did a lot better than everybody thought. It's because I am pushing normal. I am pushing sanity. I am pushing logic. It's enough of all the noise. I mean, we're not gonna govern via Twitter."
“I see [Trump] saying ‘we should default,’ as if somehow the [U.S.] would just go to bankruptcy court, which is what that president is used to."
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1665825016498233345
AZ GOP senator proudly flies flag adopted by ‘fringe’ far-right extremists
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A West Valley Republican state senator proudly displays a flag tied to Christian nationalism and other extremist movements on her desk on the floor of the Arizona Senate, though she says she has embraced the symbol for its historical meaning and doesn’t care that “fringe groups” have adopted it.
The white flag with a pine tree on it and the phrase “An Appeal to Heaven” was originally used by George Washington and the Continental Army. It was later adopted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as its naval and maritime flag from 1776 until 1971, when it was replaced by a similar flag that did not include the phrase “An Appeal to Heaven.”
In recent years, the flag has been adopted by evangelical Christians and Christian nationalists, who see the flag as a rallying call. Christian nationalists believe that the United States is Christian nation that should base its laws and practices around the teachings of Christianity. For followers of the movement, the flag symbolizes what they view as America’s Christian roots.
The flag has also been embraced by far-right extremist organizations like the Proud Boys and some neo-Nazi groups.
Arizona Sen. Janae Shamp, R-Surprise, rejected the notion that her use of the flag indicates anything beyond her commitment to fighting to protect “our liberty and freedoms” from “the too many wanna be kings who inhabit elected office and (government) bureaucracies.”
“Something that has had a particular meaning for 250 years retains its original meaning, no matter which fringe group might seek to co-opt it,” Shamp said in an emailed response to questions about the flag. “I hope and pray that my fight enjoys a similarly favorable outcome as (George) Washington’s original struggle, and that I will succeed in restoring at least some small measure of liberty before I’m done.
“That’s why I fly the flag. I don’t know who else uses it or for what.”
Shamp did not respond to questions about whether she embraced the beliefs of Christian nationalism, and said she doesn’t know anything about Christian dominionism, a closely related belief system. She called the Arizona Mirror’s line of inquiry “lazy” and “an attempted hit.”
“I work everyday with people of all faiths and even some who hold no particular faith or even no faith at all. That’s how America works,” she wrote. “So anybody stupid enough to try to put me into some sort of discriminatory box deserves the public ridicule they’ll get for trying to convince people of something so obviously wrong.”
To investigative journalist, author and researcher David Neiwart, who has written extensively about the far-right and conspiracy theorists, the lines between many different groups have begun to blur as a “universe” of far-right groups from QAnon, militias, white supremacists and others have gained political influence, particularly among conservatives.
Most of them, however, share a few things in common, he said, including beliefs in “right-wing authoritarianism” and the alleged supremacy of Christianity.
And after looking at the various people and things Shamp has supported over the years, including various extremist and Christian nationalist figures and causes, Neiwart said it’s clear to him that Shamp ascribes to those beliefs.
“She is definitely a Christian nationalist, she is definitely QAnon, and a fully enraptured Trumpite,” Neiwert said.
While a surge in Christian nationalism in recent years has garnered media attention — due in part to high-profile conservatives like U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has explicitly declared herself a Christian nationalist, and the backing of influential leaders like white nationalist Nick Fuentes — Christian dominionism has similarly been on the rise, though with much less fanfare.
While Christian nationalism centers on the idea that God intended America to be a Christian nation — one without religious pluralism — and that Christians should control all levels of government and society, Christian dominionism holds that Christians should take total control over most aspects of society.
One of the more popular Dominionist beliefs is in the so-called “Seven Mountain Mandate,” which draws from the biblical book of Revelations and requires Christians to invade the “seven spheres” of society: family, religion, education, media, entertainment, business, and government. In doing so, American life can be reshaped to hew to conservative Christian values.
The idea has been embraced and promoted by people like Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk and Paula White, the televangelist who served as a “spiritual advisor” to Donald Trump while he was president.
According to Neiwart, the key difference between Christian dominionism and nationalism is that dominionists want everyone under Christian rule, while nationalists think everyone should convert to Christianity.
“Christian nationalists take it a step further than Christian Dominionists,” Neiwart said, adding that a dominionist wouldn’t care if a Muslim was present, “they just want them under the thumb of Christian leaders.”
One of the biggest promoters of Christian nationalism and dominionism has been disgraced Ret. Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser, who has claimed that he is waging “spiritual warfare” and building an “army of God.” Flynn is also known to associate with other known Dominionist groups.
Shamp is a fervent supporter of Flynn’s, and has posted praise of Flynn often on social media. The recent COVID-19 special committee she co-chaired was sponsored in part by an organization that Flynn co-founded.
“I get goosebumps every time General Flynn talks about our great Nation!” Shamp said in a December 2021 post accompanied by a video of Flynn.
At a Trump rally in Florence in January 2022, Shamp told Business Insider that the “No. 1 person standing up for ‘we, the people’ is probably Gen. Michael Flynn.”
She explained that Flynn was helping fight for the “grassroots, for citizens to get involved, for us to take our country back” from the “political elite.” Flynn later endorsed Shamp in her bid for the Arizona Senate.
Shamp, a conservative from Surprise, has also been found to have shared a number of QAnon posts on her Facebook, including some linked to Neo-Nazis and antisemites.
The flag, which Shamp displays on her desk and in her Twitter banner image, has also been connected to extremist groups and violent events. During the violent events of Jan. 6, the flag was seen being carried by a number of individuals.
It has also been adopted by groups that support the likes of Fuentes, who during protests over mask mandates and COVID vaccines, flew the flag, as well as at their annual gatherings, according to Neiwart.
That is what in part makes it hard to know who exactly was flying the flag at the riots on Jan. 6, far-right extremists or Christian nationalist types, Neiwart said, but that doesn’t change one underlying thing.
“I would say Christian nationalism as a phenomenon is one of the real undergirding movements involved in the insurrection,” Neiwart said, adding that the militias and other groups such as the OathKeepers all had underlying Christian nationalist roots or beliefs. “All these Christian patriots that formed these militias are Christian nationalists as well.”
Shamp’s flag is not the first time the flag has appeared in the Arizona Senate, either.
Last year, the Secular Coalition of Arizona pointed out that a small version of the flag was being displayed on the security desk in the Arizona Senate; it was later removed. A spokeswoman for the Arizona Senate Republican caucus did not respond to multiple requests for comment about what policies, if any, the Senate has regarding the display of flags.
A larger version of the flag was displayed in the second-floor lobby of the Arizona House of Representatives last year, as well. Again, after the Secular Coalition of Arizona inquired about the flag, it was quietly removed. The flag had previously been displayed in the chamber in 2017.
The Secular Coalition of Arizona sees the flag as a violation of the constitutional doctrine requiring a separation of church and state.
For Neiwart, the appearance of the “An Appeal to Heaven” flag in Arizona, and statehouses across the country, is troubling.
“It is a pretty clear sign that this stuff has been mainstreamed and that is not a good thing,” he said. “I don’t think Americans typically awake to an existential threat until it creates a disaster of monumental proportions.”
https://www.azmirror.com/2023/06/05/janae-shamp-az-senator-proudly-flies-flag-adopted-by-fringe-far-right-extremists/
Ron DeSantis mocked over bizarre video of roaring laughter: ‘A faulty robot’
Florida governor howled with apparent amusement at car show in Iowa
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Ron DeSantis has been mocked for a bizarre video that shows him roaring with laughter at an Iowa car show.
The Florida governor, who is expected to soon announce he is taking on Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, was caught on video cracking up at the Feenstra Family Picnic event last weekend.
During the appearance in Sioux Center, Iowa, DeSantis asked a man how much a 1955 Porsche at the event was worth.
“Ugh, we won’t even talk about that,” the man replied, which saw the Republican hopeful throw back his head and howl with apparent amusement.
Mr DeSantis’s seemingly over-the-top reaction in the viral clip saw him widely ridiculed online.
"You’ve seen the photos, but the video is somehow worse,” tweeted the anti-Trump political group The Lincoln Project.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1658527236532600850
And another user added: “Timing is off, too. Sounds as though DeSantis AI started laughing before the guy finished his answer.”
“Such an awkward, odd, cringey, meatball of a man…” another Twitter user wrote, while one user compared him to “a faulty robot from Westworld.”
"Ron DeSantis is proof that artificial intelligence still has a long way to go before it can accurately replicate an authentic human laugh,” tweeted Mrs Betty Bowers, a character created by comic Deven Green.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ron-desantis-laughing-video-b2345049.html
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Biden welcomes Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/05/kansas-city-chiefs-white-house-visit-00100179
President Biden @POTUS
Today, I welcomed the 2023 Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs to the White House!
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This season, the Chiefs showed us the power of one of the most elusive things: unity.
Despite their different backgrounds, players worked together with a distinct style – in constant motion with a joy for the game, love for each other, and love for the great city they represent.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1665905097484771328
President Biden hosts Kansas City Chiefs at White House | full video
President Biden welcomed the Super Bowl LVII champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, to the White House Monday afternoon. The Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles in February to clinch their second championship in four seasons.
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Poor Old Joe continues a steady cognitive and physical decline. Even the most radicalized Trump hater must be able to watch Old Joe and understand that he is not mentally and physically capable of another full term as president. It is dangerous for the country and world. It is also sad to witness. His family should intervene.
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'Nothing off the table': Ron Wyden says subpoena possible for billionaire Harlan Crow
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U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden on Tuesday said that "nothing is off the table"— including a subpoena — after a lawyer for Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow continued to duck questions about the billionaire's gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his relatives.
In a June 2 letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Crow attorney Michael Bopp expressed "respect" for the panel's "important role in formulating legislation concerning our federal courts system," while stating that he would "welcome a discussion with your staff."
However, Bopp also reiterated his assertion that "Congress does not have the power to impose ethics standards on the Supreme Court" and "therefore cannot mount an investigation for the purpose of helping craft such standards."
"It comes as little surprise that Mr. Crow is doubling down on bogus legal theories as he continues to stonewall basic questions about his gifts to Clarence Thomas and his family."
Thomas and Crow have repeatedly refused to answer questions about years of gifts—including luxury vacations and private school tuition—to the right-wing justice and members of his family.
In response to Bopp's assertion—which has been roundly refuted by Durbin and legal experts—Wyden, a progressive Oregon Democrat, accused the Gibson Dunn partner of "stonewalling."
"It comes as little surprise that Mr. Crow is doubling down on bogus legal theories as he continues to stonewall basic questions about his gifts to Clarence Thomas and his family. If anything, the most recent letter from his attorney raises more questions than it answers," the senator said in a statement.
"The letter states, 'charter rates or reimbursements at rates prescribed by law were paid to the Crow family entities' with zero additional detail that could help clarify these financial arrangements, such as exactly who made those payments for Justice Thomas' extravagant luxury travel, and how many times and in what amounts those payments were made," Wyden continued.
"Far too often, efforts to investigate real-life tax practices of the ultra-wealthy and powerful end with this kind of vague, carefully-worded assurance that everything is on the level. That's simply not good enough," he argued. "This is exactly why the Finance Committee is pursuing this matter as part of its broader review of gift and estate tax practices of ultra-high net worth individuals."
Wyden added: "I've already begun productive discussions with the Finance Committee on next steps to compel answers to our questions from Mr. Crow, including by subpoena, and those discussions will continue."
https://www.rawstory.com/harlan-crow-2661028889/
Harlan Crow’s lawyer agrees to meet with Senate Judiciary members
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Following a series of bombshell reports by ProPublica, the Senate Judiciary Committee has been investigating U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' relationship with billionaire GOP donor Harlan Crow. In May, Crow declined an invitation to meet with Committee members. But according to Reuters, a letter released on Tuesday, June 6 shows that Crow's attorney, Michael Bopp, has offered to meet with them.
Thomas' relationship with Crow became a major controversy on April 6, when ProPublica reported that for "over 20 years," Thomas had "been treated to luxury vacations" by the Republican donor — and failed to disclose those trips. Then, on April 13, ProPublica reported that Crow had purchased property from Thomas, and the justice had not reported that either.
On May 4, ProPublica reported that Crow made tuition payments when Thomas' grandnephew attended a private boarding school.
In response to these reports, progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) has been calling for Thomas' impeachment. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) has urged the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Thomas.
But Thomas and Crow have maintained that there is nothing inappropriate about their relationship.
Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, have said that the Thomas/Crow relationship underscores the need for a formal Supreme Court code of ethics. Their request to meet with Crow, however, was merely a request and not a subpoena.
In a letter dated Monday, June 5, Reuters reports, Bopp "reiterated that he does not think the Committee has the power to request information from Crow or to impose ethics standards on the nation's top judicial body, as it is considering pursuing."
Bopp said that "we respect the Senate Judiciary Committee's important role in formulating legislation concerning our federal courts system, and would welcome a discussion with your staff."
Reuters notes, "Unlike other federal judges, Supreme Court justices are not bound by the code of conduct adopted by the policymaking body for the broader U.S. judiciary that requires federal judges to avoid even the 'appearance of impropriety.'"
Read More Here: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/lawyer-billionaire-linked-us-justice-thomas-offers-meet-senate-staff-2023-06-06/
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Biden to seek more than $2.8 billion from Congress for ‘cancer moonshot’
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is asking Congress for more than $2.8 billion in the federal budget he’s sending to Capitol Hill on Thursday to help advance his cancer-fighting goals.
More than half of the money, $1.7 billion, would go to the Department of Health and Human Services to support the Democratic president’s cancer initiatives across an array of departments and agencies, according to White House officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details with The Associated Press before Biden formally unveiled his spending blueprint on Thursday in Philadelphia.
The funding request would support a “cancer moonshot’ initiative Biden announced last year with the goal of cutting cancer death rates in half over the next 25 years. Biden aims to help close gaps in cancer screenings, better understand and address environmental and toxic exposures associated with certain cancers, and reduce the effects of preventable cancers, such as those linked to tobacco and poor nutrition. The initiative also spends money on cutting-edge research and resources to support patients and their caregivers.
The “moonshot” program was launched in 2016 by President Barack Obama and led by his vice president — Biden. As president, Biden resurrected the initiative last year.
Cancer is personal for Biden and his wife, Jill, as the disease is for millions of people in the United States who have been diagnosed with cancer or have lost loved ones to various forms of the disease. Both the president and the first lady this year had lesions removed from their skin that were determined to be basal cell carcinoma, a common and easily treated form of cancer.
In 2015, the Bidens’ eldest son, Beau, died of an aggressive brain cancer at age 46.
While Biden’s budget is unlikely to clear Congress untouched, fighting cancer is an issue that Biden hopes can find bipartisan support.
Cancer is among four issues that Biden made part of a “unity agenda” he announced in his 2022 State of the Union address. Veterans, drug abuse and mental health are the other issues. Congress last year passed numerous pieces of legislation to address aspects of the agenda.
In recognition of March as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, the White House on Friday was hosting a discussion with government officials and others on improving outcomes for this particular form of cancer.
Excluding some skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the fourth most-common cancer in men and women and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Featured speakers will include Simone Ledward Boseman, the widow of “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman, who died in 2020 at age 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer, and NBC News anchor Craig Melvin, who lost an older brother to the same disease, also at age 43.
Separately on Friday, Jill Biden was scheduled to visit the Louisiana Cancer Research Center in New Orleans with U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and his wife, Laura, to talk about the president’s cancer budget request and highlight the importance of colorectal cancer screenings. The Cassidys are medical doctors.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/biden-to-seek-more-than-2-8-billion-from-congress-for-cancer-moonshot
President Biden Delivers Remarks on the Cancer Moonshot and the Goal of Ending Cancer as we Know It
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One of the strongest pools of Republican candidates in history. Trump, DeSantis, Scott, Pence, and Haley. What a contrast to the Dem clown show.
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'Actively rooting for Trump to go down': Insider says many Republicans are hoping for indictment
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Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig told MSNBC Tuesday that she's spoken to many Republicans who "actively rooting" for Donald Trump to go down.
Host Nicolle Wallace wondered if former Attorney General Bill Barr would have revealed information to Special Counsel Jack Smith about what he knew regarding the classified documents scandal. But, instead of answering the question, Leonnig explained that Barr is "emblematic" of other Republicans in the party.
"Claire [McCaskill] correctly describes as, you know, the old-school Republicans, and maybe some are rejoining it, maybe some are newly joining it, whatever," Leonnig explained. "But there are many of them that I've spoken to who are actively rooting for Trump to go down in this indictment."
She also explained that some of the Republican lawmakers have inside information that indicates that's exactly what is about to happen.
"And for information that they have either learned from their friends who were at the White House at the time or other evidence they've learned in ways that I can't talk about here, they are citing some of that evidence amongst themselves as incredibly damaging to Donald Trump politically," said Leonnig."
"Again, I'm just using and picking my words carefully. But to say that there is a raft of Republicans, many of whom served Donald Trump, who now are in the camp of 'I know a lot about' — I'm quoting -- I'm paraphrasing them, forgive me — 'I know a lot about what went down here.' And when it all comes out in Jack Smith's speaking indictment, which is what they're hoping for, the public will become aware of Donald Trump in a new way."
She acknowledges that such a statement has been heard before and "everybody thinks he put himself first and didn't give a hoot about the country." Still, this time could be different, she said.
The Trump investigation involves claims he kept classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago home and even talked about them to guests. A report last week claimed there was a recording of him talking about a document that involved plans to attack Iran.
Trump "was willing to put them in public view, outside of their lock and key, in order to try to harm a political enemy, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff," she explained. "And by the way, he was misusing those documents not just because they were classified but he was misdescribing what was in them. At least, that's the evidence we have right now."
Wallace asked for more details about the evidence that the so-called "insiders" know about that will be so harmful to Trump.
The alleged Iran memo from Gen. Mark Milley may not have ever existed, Leonnig said, noting that Milley briefed Trump on the numerous options available that had both pros and cons about each possible action.
"And I think there are a lot of Republicans and insiders who feel that this is emblematic of something Trump did often with classified materials," Leonnig explained. "They were of utility to him personally. And to paraphrase some of their words, 'Damn the country. Damn the country's safety. It was about what helps Donald Trump.'"
What remains to be seen is what Smith has found out about those pieces of Trump's willingness to use classified information for his own means.
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Ron DeSantis and the radical right no longer have their phony talking point about murder and crime because both have seen a sharp decline in 2023.
U.S. Murder Rate Down, Especially in Big Cities, Early 2023 Data Show
https://www.davisvanguard.org/2023/06/u-s-murder-rate-down-especially-in-big-cities-early-2023-data-show/
Ron DeSantis Wants You to Be Scared Senseless About Crime (Don’t Be)
Florida’s governor is trying to out-Trump Trump on ‘American Carnage’ panic—but the fact is his state has way more crime than the “woke” cities he decries
SUNSHINE STATE SNOWFLAKE
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Ron DeSantis wants you to be worried about crime. The Florida governor has apparently decided that the only way to peel primary voters away from Donald Trump is to be more Trump than Trump. So in truly Trumpian fashion, DeSantis is attacking Trump for the most competent thing the former president did—expediting approval of the COVID vaccine—and the most decent, the First Step Act.
Crime has been Trump’s pet issue since he launched his first campaign. It's an issue he returns to over and over. In his grim “American Carnage” inaugural address, Trump began his presidency with a grotesque vision of a country ravaged by violence.
It wasn't accurate—Trump inherited the lowest homicide rate of any president in 50 years. Perhaps it was aspirational. He was also the first president in 30 years to leave the White House with a higher national homicide rate than when he entered it.
DeSantis appears to be following the same playbook. The policies DeSantis is pushing haven’t mitigated crime in Florida. The state has mostly followed national trends. But when you’re trying to out-Trump Trump, you don’t bother with facts, data, or reality. Your weapon is fear.
We can start with the First Step Act, Trump’s uncharacteristically hopeful and optimistic criminal justice reform bill (which, naturally, he later regretted). DeSantis recently called the law a “jailbreak bill” that “allowed dangerous people out of prison who have now re-offended, and really, really hurt a number of people.”
There's no evidence for any of this. If a significant number of prisoners released under the FSA have gone on to commit new violent or sex crimes, we'd know their names. Their photos would be on the cover of the New York Post, their names emblazoned in Fox News chyrons. So far, the best they can do is Glynn Neal, a man who stabbed a staffer from Sen. Rand Paul’s office shortly after his release from prison.
But Neal would have been released without the FSA. The new law reduced his sentence by a matter of days. I asked the DeSantis campaign for other examples. They did not respond to my request.
In fact, the vast majority of prisoners released early under the FSA would have been released anyway. In most cases, like Neal’s, the law merely expedited their release by a few weeks or months.
"The murder rate in San Francisco is significantly lower than that of the entire state of Florida—an incredible statistic, given that crime is usually more concentrated in cities."
Repealing the First Step Act will actually result in more crime. The thrust of the bill—and most of its funding—is geared toward data-proven programs shown to reduce recidivism. And here the First Step Act has been an unqualified success. The overall recidivism rate among federal prisoners is 43 percent. For those who have benefitted from FSA programs, it's about 16 percent.
Again, the overwhelming majority of those released under the FSA who would have been released even without the law. But their rate of reoffending dropped by two-thirds.
If DeSantis succeeds in repealing the FSA, it seems logical that the recidivism rate among those who would have benefitted from the law will go back to what it is for federal prisoners in general. And that means more crime, not less.
DeSantis is also one-upping Trump on immigration.
Trump sought to punish “sanctuary cities,” despite warnings from police chiefs and groups like the International Association of Chiefs of Police that vigorous enforcement would result in immigrants fearing police, which would lead to less cooperation, which would lead to more crime. Trump waged federal raids in many of those cities anyway. As predicted, trust between immigrant communities and police in those cities broke down, those communities were less willing to cooperate with police, and that brought more crime.
DeSantis hasn’t just exploited anti-immigrant bigotry, he’s managed to be even more performatively cruel about it than Trump, with his much-publicized stunts of luring desperate migrants in Texas onto planes, then dropping them off in other parts of the country—all funded by Florida taxpayers.
DeSantis has also borrowed from Trump’s attempt to weaponize state power. Trump believed federal law enforcement agencies ought to be his personal enforcers. He pushed the FBI and other agencies to investigate and arrest his enemies and of course famously fired FBI director James Comey for refusing to take a loyalty oath. Trump also tried to enlist the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and then even the Pentagon to help him overturn the 2020 election.
Not only has DeSantis not condemned Trump for any of that, he has explicitly criticized those agencies for rebuffing Trump's attempts to corrupt them, and has promised that as president, he’d be better at coercing them to do his bidding.
As governor, DeSantis has already demonstrated his commitment to corrupting law enforcement. Earlier this year he forcibly removed a state’s attorney—Andrew Warren—from office. Warren was among the new breed of progressive prosecutors who “take it upon themselves to determine which laws they like and will enforce and which laws they don’t like and won’t enforce,” DeSantis said, “and the results of this in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco have been catastrophic.”
Here, too, reality doesn't support DeSantis’ rhetoric.
The murder rate in San Francisco is significantly lower than that of the entire state of Florida—an incredible statistic, given that crime is usually more concentrated in cities. The murder rate in Los Angeles is significantly lower than major Florida cities like Miami and Tallahassee. And Jacksonville has consistently had the highest murder rate in the state, despite a series of Republican mayors and lead prosecutors.
DeSantis has also repeated the Republican line that crime has soared in blue cities because of “woke” criminal justice policy. That too just isn’t true. In 2020 and 2021, the homicide rate in GOP whipping boy cities like New York and San Francisco was lower than that of nearly every large Republican-run city, including Omaha, Fresno, Tulsa, Colorado Springs, and Oklahoma City.
As for Tampa, the murder rate did go up under Warren’s watch in 2020 and 2021. But it went up just about everywhere. The city still has a lower murder and overall crime rate than nearby St. Petersburg, which has a Republican prosecutor.
In March, a daming New York Times investigation showed just how phony and staged DeSantis’ removal of Warren really was. DeSantis had asked staff to bring him statistics showing that Warren’s policies had contributed to an increase in crime. But his staff couldn't find any such data. That didn’t stop DeSantis from making the accusation, anyway. He just removed the passage from his announcement where he planned to cite statistics. In other words, Warren’s removal was nakedly political.
During the 2020 protests after the murder of George Floyd, Trump sent militarized federal police to cities around the country to break the will of protesters, and despite what the right would like you to think, his administration violently cleared peaceful protesters from a D.C. park so Trump could stage a photo op at a church while clutching a Bible.
DeSantis has shown a willingness to weaponize law enforcement for photo-ops, too. He sent Florida cops out to arrest citizens he alleged had committed “voter fraud”—people who, it turns out, were legitimately confused about the law, and had actually been encouraged by state officials to register to vote. So far, none of those arrests have held up, and some of the law enforcement officials sent to make the arrests seemed embarrassed for participating in the charade.
Donald Trump gave red meat speeches to friendly law enforcement groups, during which he made light of and essentially endorsed police brutality. DeSantis learned from that, too. In the lead-up to the launch of his campaign, DeSantis gave a series of speeches to law enforcement crowds in New York in which he blamed policies like bail and police reform for the city's crime.
Here, too, DeSantis has little data to back up his claims. Like San Francisco, New York City has lower rates of both violent and property crime than the entire state of Florida—again, a remarkable statistic given that more population density tends to correlate with more crime.
"It’s hard to conceive of more brazen attacks on the rule of law than a governor ordering sham arrests for cable news headlines, abusing desperate migrants seeking asylum to ‘own the libs,’ or willfully importing cops with a history of abusing the people they serve.”
If we compare the entire states, the discrepancy only grows. The overall homicide rate in Florida is about 50 percent higher than that of New York state. In Miami, Florida's largest metro area—which has a Republican mayor and a traditional chief prosecutor—the homicide rate is about twice that of New York City. The NYPD also has a significantly higher clearance rate than Miami.
DeSantis wants you to think that woke policies are stopping New York’s cops from doing their jobs. But when it comes to both preventing and solving crimes, New York's city cops perform far better than Florida’s.
And while Trump merely encouraged police brutality, DeSantis one-upped him there, too—he incentivized it. In 2021, the governor announced taxpayer-funded signing bonuses for any police officer who relocated to Florida from cities with what he called “anti-cop” policies. Hundreds of cops have since taken the offer, many of them from NYPD.
The Miami Herald and Daily Dot have since found that dozens of officers who moved to the state under the program have lengthy disciplinary histories, have accumulated multiple citizen complaints ranging from excessive force to racism to sexual misconduct, and have cost their former cities hundreds of thousands of dollars in lawsuits.
One former NYPD officer who accepted DeSantis’ offer had been charged with reckless endangerment after driving his car into a crowd of protesters in the summer of 2020. Another officer lured by the governor’s $6,700 signing bonus has since been charged with domestic abuse after a woman accused him of beating then grabbing her by the hair and choking her when she tried to escape. Still another was arrested and charged with murder after shooting and killing her husband.
This shouldn’t surprise anyone. The entire premise of DeSantis’ scheme was to appeal to officers who felt they’d been unfairly disciplined, who wanted to work for departments with less oversight, have fewer rules, and give them more freedom—and felt so strongly about it that they were willing to move to another state.
There’s compelling research suggesting that crime tends to increase as people lose trust in political and criminal justice institutions. The more people believe state power is being manipulated for political ends and that the system is rigged against them, the less likely they are to cooperate with police and trust the courts to fairly mete out justice.
It’s hard to conceive of more brazen attacks on the rule of law than a governor ordering sham arrests for cable news headlines, abusing desperate migrants seeking asylum to “own the libs,” or willfully importing cops with a history of abusing the people they serve.
There is at least one important difference between Trump and DeSantis. While Trump was enormously successful at tapping grievance politics to build a sizable cult of personality, fortunately for all of us he lacked the competence and discipline to implement his more authoritarian impulses.
DeSantis has the opposite problem. He’s shown aptitude at centralizing his power and getting lawmakers to implement some of the most repressive policies in the country, but thus far has been awkward and clumsy on the national campaign trail.
The more voters get to know him, the less they seem to like him. If he manages to find some charisma, he could be a considerable force—and an enormously destructive one.
But there's little reason to think he'll make the country any safer.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ron-desantis-wants-you-to-be-scared-shtless-about-crime-dont-be
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Yesterday, the do nothing House Republicans decided to stick it to Kevin McCarthy with an insane floor fight.
After Kevin McCarthy was forced to cave to President Biden over the debt deal in order to appease those House Republicans in swing districts who didn’t want to lose reelection over it, you knew the House Republicans in the far right districts were going to punish McCarthy in some way.
Of course if they ousted McCarthy, they might lose the Speakership altogether, given that there aren’t going to be 218 Republican votes for any other Speaker candidate. So instead House Republicans decided to simply humiliate McCarthy by waging an hour long floor fight over legislation about gas stoves. No, really.
The kicker is that Kevin McCarthy reportedly didn’t see it coming. That’s right, he’s so weak that not only are House Republicans pulling these stunts, he doesn’t even have enough control over his caucus to know that any of it’s coming. This is just humiliating for McCarthy. And he deserves it.
If that wasn't bad enough, MAGA loons Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz publicly threatened McCarthy. Like I said before, these right wingers are not fit to govern.
Conservatives surprise McCarthy with floor rebellion over debt deal anger
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/conservatives-surprise-mccarthy-with-floor-rebellion-over-debt-deal-anger/ar-AA1cdiZK
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1666236113243996163
Moms for Liberty listed as ‘anti-government’ group by extremism watchdog
The ‘parents’ rights’ group has backed book bans and the removal of discussions of race and LGBTQ+ issues in schools
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The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has listed the Republican-connected “parents’ rights” group Moms for Liberty as an “anti-government extremist” organization in its latest Year in Hate & Extremism report.
In a statement accompanying the report’s release, a spokesperson for the extremism watchdog group wrote that Moms for Liberty was the most prominent of 12 extremist “anti-student inclusion groups” mobilizing to “attack public education, ban books, and remove any curriculum that contains discussions of race, discrimination, and LGBTQ+ identities”.
The listing puts the group – whose members and endorsees now sit on school boards around the country – in the same category as anti-government organizations like the Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters and the John Birch Society.
In an emailed response to the Guardian’s request for comment, the Moms for Liberty founders Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice wrote: “Name-calling parents who want to be a part of their child’s education as ‘hate groups’ or ‘bigoted’ just further exposes what this battle is all about: Who fundamentally gets to decide what is taught to our kids in school – parents or government employees?”
The pair added: “We believe that parental rights do not stop at the classroom door and no amount of hate from groups like this is going to stop that.”
Moms for Liberty was co-founded in January 2021 by Descovich and Justice – who had exited central Florida school boards after opposing Covid-19 restrictions at public schools – along with Bridget Ziegler, then in her second term on the Sarasota county school board.
The group soon expanded its campaigning remit to oppose teaching about racism and racist history and LGBTQ+-inclusive policies in public schools, and has since sought to land members and supporters on school board seats.
According to the SPLC report, the group has made its way by “intimidating and harassing teachers and school officials”, battling teachers’ unions, attacking corporations like Disney that are supportive of LGBTQ+ rights, and supporting and making use of laws like Florida’s so-called “don’t say gay” statute, which limits classroom discussion of gender and sexual identity.
Moms for Liberty has expanded into a nationwide network of more than 200 branches, and the SPLC now lists each of these branches as an extremist group.
While the group has claimed to be non-partisan, from the beginning it has had close ties to the Republican party, especially in Florida, where it has won the backing of the rightwing governor and 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis.
Ziegler’s husband Christian was serving as vice-chairman of the Florida Republican party when she co-founded Moms for Liberty, and in 2021 he reportedly credited the group with getting “20- and 30-year-old females involved with the Republican party”.
In Florida’s 2022 elections, DeSantis made an unprecedented endorsement of a slate of school board candidates, many of whom were members of Moms for Liberty or other radical parents’ groups. In turn, Ziegler and other prominent members of the group offered vocal support for his rhetorical, legal and legislative attacks on diversity and inclusion measures in the state’s public institutions – or what the governor has called “the woke mind virus”.
Elsewhere in the report, the count of active extremist groups is at 1,225, which is not significantly greater than the 2021 count of 1,221. The SPLC attributed the slowed growth to a significant collapse in the militia movement, which accounted for only 61 groups in 2022, down from 92 in 2021, a fact the SPLC said was due to “members and leaders being held accountable for their role in the deadly Jan. 6 attack”.
However, in the statement accompanying the report, the SPLC warned that “hate groups are increasingly engaging in public demonstrations using flyering, marches and banner displays to gain media attention”, with schools in particular emerging as a target not just for radical parents’ groups, but for established hate groups like the Proud Boys.
In a statement, the SPLC president and CEO, Margaret Huang, called such attacks “a concerted effort by hate groups and extremist actors to terrorize communities and gain control of public institutions by any means necessary”.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/06/southern-poverty-law-center-moms-liberty-extremist
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Brand new polling is out showing President Biden crushing Trump in Virginia and DeSantis nationwide.
Trump is irrelevant in polling because he is just about to be indicted by the DOJ for espionage and numerous other crimes and then hauled off to prison.
But these huge numbers for Biden dispels the phony right wing talking points that "Biden isn't popular" or that "he can't win reelection".
Americans overwhelmingly support President Biden's policies which is why he won in 2020 and Democrats had a historic midterm in 2022. And why Democrats continue to win elections in 2023.
VIRGINIA POLL: Roanoke College
(D) Biden: 54% (+16)
(R) Trump: 38%
2024 Presidential Poll: Echelon Insights
(D) Biden: 51% (+12)
(R) DeSantis: 39%
https://twitter.com/IAPolls2022/status/1666096061352677377
The conservative Wall Street Journal reports that border arrests have dropped 70% since Trump's disastrous Title 42 ended which contributed to an unprecedented amount of illegal border crossings.
The ending of that disastrous policy allowed President Biden to implement his own plan which brought tougher rules for asylum seekers and the impressive results speaks for itself.
The right wing lie of an "open border" under Biden can be finally put to bed, because if there was an "open border" as right wingers were lying to you about, we would still have the same amount of illegal border crossings on this very day. And we do not have that because it's dropped 70% under Biden's new policy.
That's why we no longer hear the right wing media or right wing politicians whining about "the southern border" or "illegal immigration" because President Biden just cleaned up another Trump disaster by fixing the "Trump Border Crisis" that Trump caused due to his severe incompetence.
This was the guy (Trump) who proclaimed he "would end all illegal immigration". All Trump did was cause a total border crisis and Biden had to wait until the disastrous policy expired until he could implement his own plan that is now working spectacularly. But that didn't stop the radical right for falsely attacking Biden when he inherited Trump's border crisis.
Just another Trump disaster fixed by Biden and right wingers are now silent as a mouse. That's another Biden win!
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Another disaster that Trump handed Joe Biden was an historic murder and crime rate that the right wing media and right wing politicians tried to falsely pin on President Biden.
Under the failed "leadership" of Trump, murders in 2020 were at an all time high right when President Biden took over.
After President Biden implemented his policies through the "American Rescue Plan" which every single Republican voted against, we now see one of the largest drops in the murder rate in history.
Once again, President Joe Biden took on another Trump disaster he was handed and cleaned it up. And right wingers lost another talking point since they can no longer point to high crime falsely trying to blame Biden for what Trump gave him.
Again, that's another Biden win!
Biden cleaned up Trump's economic crisis, job loss crisis, manufacturing crisis, COVID crisis, border crisis, and the historic high murder and crime rate in just 2 1/2 years.
President Biden is truly one of the greatest presidents of all time!
Jacob S. Rugh @JakeRugh
This is truly remarkable.
Homicides year-to-date are DOWN -13% across 90 big cities, -12% for top 10 U.S. cities since last year.
And WAY DOWN by -23% in NYC, L.A., HOU, Philly.
As @Crimealytics shows, this could become the largest yearly drop in over a generation (since 1996)
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https://twitter.com/JakeRugh/status/1665847301192003584
Jeff Asher @Crimealytics
New from me: Murder is down 12% in over 90 US cities with available data so far in '23. I wrote in @TheAtlantic
about how it could be indicative of one of the largest national drops in murder ever recorded happening this year & ideas on possible drivers.
https://twitter.com/Crimealytics/status/1665731264689602561
Read Here: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/06/us-murder-rate-decline-crime-statistics/674290/
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President Biden @POTUS
Investing in America is more than just a slogan.
We're getting the job done for the American people – investing in our people, infrastructure, manufacturing, jobs, communities, and ourselves.
For the first time in a long time.
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Our bipartisan budget agreement protects our economic progress – including the $470 billion in private investment we’ve spurred in manufacturing and clean energy.
My Investing in America is rebuilding our roads and bridges using Made in America materials, built by American workers.
My Administration is focused on implementing the laws we’ve passed and Investing in America.
We’re investing in our people, in infrastructure, in manufacturing, and in jobs.
For the first time in a long time, we’re investing in the American people.
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Our historic investments in clean energy manufacturing – now protected under the bipartisan budget agreement – are helping us build the best infrastructure in the world.
This could have been the week that a catastrophic default put millions of jobs in jeopardy.
Instead, through compromise and consensus, we prevented default and our historic recovery continues.
For decades, America shipped jobs overseas.
Other countries surpassed us in sectors like infrastructure, clean energy, semiconductors, and biotechnology.
My Investing in America agenda is changing that.
From day one, my Investing in America agenda has been about rebuilding our economy from the middle out and bottom up.
That's why our Administration is bringing record-breaking investments to the United States.
Take a look: http://Invest.gov.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1666074982709862403
Go to http://Invest.gov to find out where jobs, manufacturing, and infrastructure investments are happening across America.
A few might even be coming to your neighborhood.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1666177366333222948
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1666177366333222948
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Old Joe fiddles while America is covered in smoke. What symbolic significance. The incompetence and weakness of leftists coming home to roost.
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Supreme Court backs landmark voting rights law, strikes down Alabama congressional map
The justices threw out Republican-drawn congressional districts that a lower court said discriminated against Black voters.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-strikes-alabama-congressional-map-voting-rights-dispute-rcna64476
Let's be honest, the only reason that Republicans have a tiny 9 seat majority in the House of Representatives is because of unconstitutional congressional district maps that discriminate against black voters. Texas, Ohio, and Florida drew up these unconstitutional maps in their states specifically for 2022 midterm election which helped Republicans gain a handful of seats.
Republicans now tried to discriminate against black voters (again) in Alabama trying to gain more seats for 2024, and surprisingly the right wing Supreme Court struck the unconstitutional Republican map down. This Supreme Court decision changes everything for 2024 and the radical right is foaming at the mouth over it. Republicans can no longer draw up these unconstitutional district maps based on race to help the Republican party gain House seats they don't deserve.
Today’s surprise Supreme Court ruling has shifted a bunch of House races in the Democrats’ direction. Once these races heat up Democrats are gonna go put in the work and win every House race in the toss up column, and take the House majority.
We’re not accustomed to having competitive House races in states like Alabama or Louisiana. Black voters are all gerrymandered into one district, and the Republicans win all the rest easily. But as of today that changes. There will be some actual toss up races in these states.
Cook Political Report has now shifted four House races in Alabama and Louisiana from “Solid Republican” to “Toss Up” based on how they’re expected to be redrawn. That’s how big this is. Democrats can now flip four previously unwinnable seats in two states alone, if they put in the work.
This will also open up opportunities for the Democrats in other racially gerrymandered states in the south.
This does not mean that EVERY House district is now magically in play.
Most House districts are legitimately never in play, because they're in a liberal or conservative region.
This ruling only puts districts into contention that were *artificially* taken out of contention.
But most southern states have long artificially discriminated against African American regions out of proper House representation. This ruling fixes that and will put those *specific* seats in play.
Not every Republican seat in Alabama and southern states will now be up for grabs. Just a few specific ones.
This is Cook's preliminary attempt at assessing the impact of today's ruling:
Dave Wasserman @Redistrict
New @CookPolitical: in the wake of the SCOTUS Alabama decision, we're shifting five House ratings in Democrats' direction. It's very likely two formerly Solid R seats will end up in Solid D.
https://cookpolitical.com/analysis/house/redistricting/surprise-scotus-alabama-ruling-huge-win-democrats-civil-rights-groups
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https://twitter.com/Redistrict/status/1666891516676063233
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RFK visited the border to expose one of the many disasters unfolding under Ukraine Joe. If RFK plans to make a personal appearance in every location that Old Joe and his clown show have brought to ruin in the US, he will wrack up a lot of frequent flyer miles. The country is in complete ruin. Nothing like it since the Great Depression. And it is all self-inflicted by incompetence and lunacy.
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RFK visited the border to expose one of the many disasters unfolding under Ukraine Joe. If RFK plans to make a personal appearance in every location that Old Joe and his clown show have brought to ruin in the US, he will wrack up a lot of frequent flyer miles. The country is in complete ruin. Nothing like it since the Great Depression. And it is all self-inflicted by incompetence and lunacy.
:D :D :D
Nice try, there is no "border disaster". You're embarrassing yourself with your phony anti Biden propaganda.
President Biden fixed Donald Trump's border disaster.
Hey, your pal Donnie was just criminally indicted by the DOJ on 7 felony counts. Thumb1:
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Donald Trump to be indicted by grand jury
Donald Trump is to be arraigned in a Miami courtroom early next week. He faces multiple federal charges, including obstruction of justice, related to the classified documents in his possession.
Watch:
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Biden Moves to Improve Opportunities for Military Spouses
https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3423902/biden-moves-to-improve-opportunities-for-military-spouses/
Biden to sign executive order boosting economic opportunities for military spouses
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4040435-biden-to-sign-executive-order-boosting-economic-opportunities-for-military-spouses/
President Biden signs executive order to support military families
The president was joined by the first lady and hundreds of service members and their families at Fort Liberty on Friday.
https://www.newschannel5.com/president-biden-signs-executive-order-to-support-military-families
President Biden @POTUS
Today, I'm headed to North Carolina's Fort Liberty where, alongside the First Lady and military-connected families, I'll sign an Executive Order aimed at strengthening economic opportunities for military and veteran spouses, caregivers, and survivors.
My Executive Order for military and veteran spouses, caregivers, and survivors is about fulfilling our sacred obligation to care for our service members and veterans – and the folks who care for them.
For generations, you’ve stepped up to serve our country. We owe you.
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We have a sacred obligation to prepare those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they return.
And with my Executive Order that'll support the economic security of military and veteran spouses – we’re taking a step to fulfill that obligation.
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Today's Executive Order establishes the most comprehensive set of administrative actions in our nation’s history to support the economic security of military and veteran spouses, caregivers, and survivors.
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Our military is the greatest fighting force in the history of the world.
And that’s because of warriors like you – and the service and sacrifice of your spouses, kids, and family members.
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Join the First Lady and I as we deliver remarks and announce a new Executive Order to support military-connected spouses.
Watch Here: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1dRKZMQQkgVxB
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1667260650731577345
Biden discusses economic security for military members and veterans at Fort Liberty
Watch:
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As Australian inflation continues to soar, President Biden has lowered U.S. inflation to a new two year low.
Australian Inflation Soars - RBA Under Pressure to Keep Hiking! AUDUSD Technical Analysis
https://www.myfxbook.com/analysis/australian-inflation-soars---rba-under-pressure-to-keep-hiking-audusd-technical-analysis/11345
US Inflation outlook hits two-year low in latest New York Fed survey
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/12/inflation-outlook-hits-two-year-low-in-latest-new-york-fed-survey.html
Nikki Haley goes after 'incredibly reckless' Trump
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Donald Trump’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, is straddling several lines in an attempt to distinguish herself from other Republican candidates for the GOP 2024 presidential nomination, by going after her former boss over the massive 49-page 37-criminal counts indictment the ex-president will face on Tuesday while pretty much throwing him under the bus.
"If this indictment is true, if what it says is actually the case, President Trump was incredibly reckless with our national security.”
“More than that,” she explained. “I’m a military spouse – my husband’s about to deploy this weekend. This puts all of our military men and women in danger. If you are going to talk about what our military is capable of, or how we would go about invading or doing something with one of our enemies. And if that’s the case, it’s reckless, it’s frustrating, and it causes problems.”
Continuing her candidate points, Haley added, “And you know, we’re looking now, this is the second indictment, we’re looking at possibly a third indictment. Coming in with Georgia.”
There’s also a likely fourth indictment: the Special Counsel’s investigation into Trump’s actions surrounding the January 6 insurrection.
The New York Times noted Monday, “the declared candidates for the presidency who are not Mr. Trump have divided into three camps regarding his federal indictment last Thursday: those who have strongly backed him and his insistence that the indictment is a politically driven means to deny him a second White House term, such as Vivek Ramaswamy; those who have urged Americans to take the charges seriously, such as Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson; and those who have straddled both camps, condemning the indictment but nudging voters to move past Mr. Trump’s leadership, such as Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.”
Indeed, Haley’s remarks Monday are far less supportive than they were on Friday when she said, “This is not how justice should be pursued in our country. The American people are exhausted by the prosecutorial overreach, double standards, and vendetta politics.”
Read More Here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/11/us/politics/trump-indictment-republicans.html
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President Biden @POTUS
We're fueling a supply chain that's made in America.
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We used to produce up to 40% of the world’s microchips, but today we’re down to producing just 10% .
Now, semiconductor companies have invested over $200 billion since the beginning of my Administration to bring production back home.
We’re turning things around.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FyV_qhkX0AEMRRk?format=jpg&name=medium)
Our economic recovery isn’t leaving anyone behind.
All American workers, with or without college degrees, can compete with anyone in the world.
Go to http://Invest.gov to see how we’re strengthening our workforce.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1667910311007989760
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What a clown show. It's unreal how far the US has declined under Ukraine Joe.
"Trans activists filmed themselves flaunting their breasts in front of the White House during President Biden's Pride Month celebration this weekend, causing an uproar on social media."
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Former Trump pal Mike Pompeo is now throwing Trump under the bus. It’s more proof that the whole “Republicans will never turn against Trump no matter what” narrative was nonsense the entire time. They were always going to selfishly sell him out on his way down. It’s their nature. Pompeo, Haley, Tim Scott, Barr, Mick Mulvaney all have done so in the past few days and we'll see more.
Mike Pompeo slams Trump for not ‘protecting America’s soldiers’
Donald Trump's Secretary of State and CIA Director, Mike Pompeo, highly criticized his former boss over his classified documents scandal on Tuesday, just hours before the ex-president will be arraigned in a 37-federal felony count indictment.
A former U.S. Congressman from Kansas and former Army Captain who holds a Harvard Law degree and earned his bachelor's at the U.S. Military Academy, Pompeo also spent years in the military-industrial complex. He is a highly-partisan religious right conservative who declined to run for president in 2024.
Pompeo told Fox News that Donald Trump's actions surrounding the hundreds of classified documents he is accused of unlawfully retaining and refusing to return is "inconsistent with protecting America’s soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines."
“Two things I think are both true at this point," Pompeo told Fox News' Brian Kilmeade, as The Daily Caller reported. "First, if the allegations are true, and there’s lots of indications that they are, President Trump had classified documents where he shouldn’t have had them and then, when given the opportunity to return them, he chose not to do that for whatever reason. That's just – Brian, you talked about me having classified documents, I handled thousands and thousands of them during my time in Congress and as CIA Director and Secretary of State.”
Pompeo joins former Trump UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, and former top Trump defender, his ex-Attorney General Bill Barr, both of whom have in recent days highly criticized their former boss's decisions surrounding the classified documents.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1668657854557958152
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Over the past few days former Trump allies Nikki Haley, Bill Barr, Tim Scott, Mike Pompeo, Mick Mulvaney, and Alan Dershowitz have all publicly turned against Trump. They don’t deserve any credit for being this late to the game. But that’s not the point.
These Trump allies all pretty much knew that Trump was guilty. But when this indictment came down, it revealed just how thoroughly nailed he is. And subsequent polling says that 80% of Americans now think Trump is a national security threat. Eighty percent!
So of course more of Trump’s allies are now publicly turning against him. They see that he’s going down in the criminal justice system anyway. And they see that four out of five Americans now want him to go down, suggesting he’ll cease being viable in politics even before the prison cell door slams on him.
As I’ve said before, each Republican politician has their own constituency, and therefore has their own calculation on when to finally come out against Trump on his way down. For House Republicans in far right districts, it may never happen. But for House Republicans in moderate swing districts, who are facing a difficult path to reelection in 2024, it’ll happen sooner.
And Trump’s Republican allies who are trying to retain relative credibility on the national stage are already calculating that it’s time to selfishly throw him under the bus. They wouldn’t be doing this already unless they’re certain that he’s a goner. It’s a surefire sign that they all now think he’s toast.
We also can now add Willard "Mitt" Romney to the list:
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Germany's inflation rate lowers to 6.1% in May
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3979408-germanys-inflation-rate-lowers-to-61-in-may
French inflation falls to a 12-month low of 6.0% in May
https://tvpworld.com/70230648/french-inflation-falls-to-a-12month-low-of-60-in-may
UK inflation sinks below 10% for the first time since August
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/24/uk-inflation-sinks-below-10percent-for-the-first-time-since-august.html
Global inflation is starting to fall after a global pandemic. The United States has seen inflation drop to the lowest level in 2 years along with the largest job creation in the world thanks to President Biden's leadership. Inflation is lower and job creation is higher in the United States than other major economic countries.
You would think Republicans would be thrilled at this amazing news, but they're angry inflation is dropping fast because they can no longer use their phony talking points to attack President Biden over a situation he had no control over.
Republicans are not serious about the success of America and they prove it all the time. They want inflation to remain high for political purposes.
Inflation Dips to 4%, Lowest Level in Two Years
The pace of inflation has dropped by more than half since a year ago.
https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2023-06-13/inflation-dips-to-4-lowest-level-in-two-years
Fox News freaks out after inflation drops to lowest level in 2 years
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Americans got more good economic news on Tuesday, as inflation dropped even more than expected, to 4% on the year. For the average consumer, that means the price increases everyone's faced – from gas, eggs and other groceries, clothing, and more, are coming back in line to normal.
In fact, inflation has now dropped 11 months in a row, to the lowest point in two years.
That's on top of continued near-historically low unemployment across every demographic, massive jobs creation – 13 million jobs under President Biden. Experts say under President Biden the U.S.'s economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic has been the strongest worldwide.
Fox News didn't see it that way.
Fox News Business host Maria Bartiromo, once a straight-news journalist, invited onto her show to discuss the economic news a Republican Congressman who is not an economist, but a pharmacist.
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), whose track record reportedly includes pushing legislation and policy that would personally benefit him financially, at least once without making any expected disclosure, had a lot to say about the drop in inflation.
"Well, we will also hear from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen today," Bartiromo announced. "Representative Earl Buddy Carter, talk to us about what you're expecting there because the Treasury Secretary, when we first started seeing this spike in inflation, said it was transitory. What are your thoughts on how she'll explain where we're going from here?"
Bartiromo correctly notes that Treasury Secretary Yellen, and many other top economists predicted inflation would be short-lived, but a few things got in the way, including Russia's unlawful attack on Ukraine, and massive supply-chain issues. Two years ago, shortly after taking office, President Biden created a supply chain task force, which has successfully improved how America moves goods.
"Well," Rep. Carter began, "I'm sure she will make it out to be as as good as she can. But at the same time, we are far from out of trouble here. Yes, I agree. The Fed may pause next this month and may not raise interest rates, but that doesn't mean they're not going to raise them back in July."
The Fed is fully expected to pause its interest rate increases, which are the main reason why inflation has dropped so significantly. And yes, it is currently expected to increase them in July.
The Fed is fully expected to pause its interest rate increases, which are the main reason why inflation has dropped so significantly. And yes, it is currently expected to increase them in July.
Another reason inflation has dropped is the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act.
"It’s been 10 months since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act," author and former White House aide Keith Boykin noted Tuesday. "The bill passed Congress without a single Republican vote. And new data shows that inflation has been cut in half since last year."
"We've still got some serious problems in our economy. The labor shortage," Carter complained. "Last night I had dinner with a group of engineers and they were telling me, we need help. We need engineers. One company said they had 1700 employees, they'd hire 200 today if they could find them."
Republicans continue to make it difficult for people in some sectors of workers to get jobs, like immigrants. After Florida's Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation making it illegal to assist any undocumented worker, many fled the state. Republican leaders had to beg them to stay.
"We still got high interest rates," Carter continued. "In the lobby this morning. I was talking to a young lady who said, 'You know, I wanted to buy a new car, but I just can't afford it right now.'"
"So high inflation, interest rates, those are the type of things that we've still got to work on in this economy. And you know, Janet Yellen will paint a pretty picture. Yes, I'm sure but I'm not sure I believe."
Here's Maria Bartiromo and Rep. Buddy Carter searching for reasons to criticize Biden over new data showing inflation at its lowest reading in well over 2 years:
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1668601789006979072
Inflation cooled in May to the lowest reading in two years
Consumer price growth cooled again in May to the lowest level since March 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. CNBC's Dominic Chu reports.
Watch:
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President Biden @POTUS
Today’s report shows inflation has fallen for 11 months and is now the lowest in over two years – continued progress bringing down costs for middle class families.
And, wages are up over the past year, after accounting for inflation.
I'm optimistic our best days are ahead.
The plan that I laid out a year ago to bring down inflation is working.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1668666145568595968
The White House @WhiteHouse
Annual inflation is at the lowest level since March 2021.
The unemployment rate has remained below 4% for the longest stretch in over 50 years.
The share of working age Americans in the workforce is at the highest level in over 20 years.
@POTUS’ economic plan is working.
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1668656977403162625
The White House @WhiteHouse
Great news: Today’s inflation report shows annual inflation is now at the lowest level since March 2021, and less than half of what it was last June.
This is giving families real breathing room.
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How much of a joke are these House Republicans? They tried to censure Adam Schiff today on false grounds, and even that fell through, with 20 Republicans voting against it.
These Republicans keep falsely saying that Democrats are using "partisan politics" to go after them. But here is another fine example of Republicans abusing their authority to go after Democrats.
Donald Trump illegally withheld military aid to Ukraine. Trump was forcing President Zelensky of Ukraine to manufacture a phony scandal against Joe Biden to damage his candidacy or he wouldn't release Ukraine's military aid. That's illegal withholding military aid to Ukraine and that's also election interference. Adam Schiff led the first impeachment in the House against Trump. Republicans are using Trump's impeachment against Schiff as revenge because Schiff held Trump accountable for his crimes and abuse of power. This is Republican partisan politics and abuse of power in the House.
It’s also notable that House Republicans in toss up districts appear to be very much afraid that far right House Republicans’ antics will cost them their seats next year, given that they refused to put their names on this censure stunt.
So we’ve got far right House Republicans bringing stupid stunts to a vote, and vulnerable House Republicans causing those votes to fail, and the entire Republican House looks like a joke over it, and Kevin McCarthy is too weak to put a stop to any of it.
We need real leadership back in the House, not this MAGA clown show with a weak "Speaker" who can't even control his own members.
House blocks resolution to censure Adam Schiff
The House on Wednesday effectively killed a resolution to censure Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), voting for a Democratic-led motion to table the measure.
The chamber voted 225-196-7 to table the resolution. Twenty Republicans voted with Democrats to table the measure, while seven lawmakers — five Democrats, two Republicans — voted present.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) introduced the censure measure in May but brought it to the floor as a privileged resolution on Tuesday, forcing the House to take action on the legislation. Democratic leadership motioned to table the measure, which requires a simple majority vote.
The effort by House Republicans to censure Schiff is the latest iteration of the conference’s longtime crusade against the California Democrat, who became a bogeyman to the right after spearheading efforts against former President Trump while he was in the White House.
Schiff, as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, led the first impeachment inquiry into Trump, which ended with the House impeaching him for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Schiff was also at the forefront of Democratic accusations that Trump colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.
In January, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) blocked Schiff and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) from serving on the Intelligence panel, following through on a promise he made before securing the Speaker’s gavel. He said the decision was made “in order to maintain a standard worthy of this committee’s responsibilities.”
And in May, Luna filed a resolution to expel Schiff, who is running for Senate, from the House.
Luna’s censure resolution, which spans four pages, calls for censuring and condemning Schiff “for conduct that misleads the American people in a way that is not befitting an elected Member of the House of Representatives."
Luna, a staunch Trump ally, brought the measure to the floor as a privileged resolution the same day the former president pleaded not guilty to 37 counts brought against him by the Department of Justice as part of the investigation into his handling of classified documents. Prosecutors allege that Trump willfully retained classified records and then obstructed efforts by authorities to collect them.
In a letter to Democratic colleagues on Tuesday, Schiff argued that Luna was forcing a vote on the censure resolution — which he called “false and defamatory” — to distract from Trump’s legal woes. He said it would discipline him for his work “holding Donald Trump accountable.”
“This partisan resolution to censure and fine me $16 million is only the latest attempt to gratify the former President’s MAGA allies, and distract from Donald Trump’s legal troubles by retaliating against me for my role in exposing his abuses of power, and leading the first impeachment against him,” he wrote.
“The intent of this resolution goes far beyond me and my role leading investigations of Donald Trump, and his first impeachment — an effort I would undertake again, and in a heartbeat, if it were necessary,” he later added. “This resolution plainly demonstrates the lengths our GOP colleagues will go to protect Donald Trump’s infinite lies – lies that incited a violent attack on this very building.”
Schiff also asserted that the censure resolution was “a clear attack on our constitutional system of checks and balances.”
“Once again, our GOP colleagues are using the leverage and resources of the House majority to rewrite history and promulgate far-right conspiracy theories — all to protect and serve Donald Trump,” he wrote.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4049985-adam-schiff-censure-blocked/
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Republicans were lying once again when they said President Biden had "no border plan" after the disastrous Title 42 Trump border plan expired. They were lying about a huge fiasco happening even before the new Biden border plan was even put in place. It was their usual manufactured right wing propaganda just to falsely attack the president.
President Biden had to wait until Trump's border disaster plan expired until he could implement his own border plan that actually works. And we immediately see the fantastic results. Illegal border crossings have dropped 70% after Biden's new border plan was put in action. Not only that, the right wing lie of an "open border" bites the dust since more deportations are happening under the new Biden Immigration plan. If there was an "open border" as the right wing media and Republican politicians lied about, then no one would be deported and there wouldn't be a 70% drop in illegal border crossings.
So for the last 2 years, right wingers were screaming their heads off about the southern border illegal immigration, and it was because of the failure of Donald Trump putting in another one of his disastrous plans. Trump's Immigration plan was an absolute disaster and Biden had to wait until it expired before he could fix the Trump border plan disaster.
So, right wingers were falsely trying to blame President Biden for the disaster that Donald Trump caused. They've done this for every single Trump disaster that was left for Biden to fix. And after Biden fixes Trump's messes, we no longer hear Republicans talking about it anymore, just like the southern border.
We can see the Trump border crisis from 2019 due to his severe incompetence and the huge success of President Biden's new border plan. Competence matters folks!
Trump is a failure who caused the southern border immigration crisis due to his severe incompetence and President Joe Biden fixed Donald Trump's border crisis in less than a month. That's what you call success and what Americans look for in a president. Results matter!
Yes, There’s a Crisis on the Border. And It’s Trump’s Fault.
Instead of wasting his time on a wall, the president should fix the asylum system.
April 05, 2019
Trump has made border security and immigration enforcement a rallying cry of his campaign and the centerpiece of his presidency. But now, as the effects of his immigration policies have become measurable, it is clear to us—three people who have worked on the issue in previous administrations—that Trump is the worst president for border security in the last 30 years.
The border is currently overwhelmed with increasing numbers of migrants, in particular Central American asylum seekers. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reported that 66,450 persons were apprehended between the ports of entry in February, the highest monthly total in a decade. Projections for March are even worse—exceeding 100,000—with experts concerned that monthly totals could exceed 150,000 in the coming months. CBP is reassigning officers from the ports of entry, which are critically understaffed, to help Border Patrol with the crush. CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan has said the immigration system on the border is at “the breaking point.” In response, the president threatened to close the border altogether to legal crossings, a threat he walked back on Thursday and replaced with a “one-year warning” to Mexico.
Despite the administration’s attempts to shift blame for the chaos, make no mistake: It is Donald Trump himself who is responsible. Through misguided policies, political stunts and a failure of leadership, the president has created the conditions that allowed the asylum problem at the border to explode into a crisis. The solution to our current border troubles lies in reforming the U.S. asylum system and immigration courts and helping Central America address its challenges—not in a “big beautiful” wall or shutting down the border. Yet effective action on these issues has been missing. And the president has now so poisoned the political well with his approach that there is little hope of meaningful congressional action until after the next election. Unless the administration changes course, the immigration crisis will only continue to worsen.
In fiscal year 2017, the last year of the Obama administration and the first of Trump’s, 303,916 migrants were arrested by the Border Patrol. This was the lowest level in more than three decades. The Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations had worked hard to tackle the problem of illegal migration through substantial increases in border security staffing, improvements in technology, innovations in strategy and improved security coordination and assistance to Mexico. Coupled with improved economic conditions in Mexico, these administrations were hugely successful in deterring and breaking the cycle of illegal crossing: Unlawful Mexican economic immigration, which had historically been the primary immigration enforcement issue at the border, dropped nearly 90 percent between 2000 and 2016.
But the nature of undocumented immigration to the U.S. has changed. Today, it is primarily driven not by Mexican economic migrants—and not by a flood of criminals, as Trump claims—but rather by large numbers of families and minors from Central America who are seeking political asylum. Although this issue first rose to public attention in 2014, the influx then was only a fraction of what it is today. The Department of Homeland Security estimates that triple the number of 2017 apprehensions—more than 900,000—will occur at the southern border in 2019. Many of those will be migrants seeking asylum, and they will descend on a border and immigration court system ill-equipped to handle those claims.
The president may want to implement harsh border security policies, but he has faltered on the basics of governing. The administration has failed at the fundamental tasks of coordinating its plans with the relevant agencies and working through the hard problems of implementation.
Trump made stopping illegal immigration his signature issue. It is time to acknowledge that he has failed miserably—so we can start thinking about how to clean up the mess he has made.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/04/05/border-crisis-donald-trump-226573/
As border crossings drop 70%, Biden admin crows about the fiasco that never happened
“The Administration’s plan is working as intended,” the White House said
06/06/2023
The Biden administration on Tuesday took a victory lap, declaring that its immigration plan is “working as intended” nearly a month after a major shift in policy at the nation’s southern border.
The Department of Homeland Security said that since the lifting of the public health order known as Title 42 at midnight May 12, unlawful border crossings have plummeted by more than 70 percent. In a press release, the Biden administration cited its “execution” of a plan that paired tough consequences for unlawful entry with an expansion of lawful pathways and processes for migrants in the hemisphere.
"Since the CDC’s Title 42 public health Order lifted and the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive plan to manage the border went into full effect on May 12, DHS has continued to experience a significant reduction in encounters at the Southwest Border,” the press release said. “The Administration’s plan is working as intended.”
Homeland Security broke down the results of its approach, including the effects of the administration’s new asylum ban that bars some migrants from applying for asylum if they cross the border illegally or fail to first apply for safe harbor while crossing through another country on the way to the U.S.
Last month, the Biden administration also returned to expedited removal processes under Title 8, which allows the government to remove from the country anyone unable to establish a legal basis. Removal under Title 8 also bans these migrants from the country for five years.
From May 12 to Friday, DHS said it sent 38,400 migrants, including single adults and families, back to more than 80 countries. Of this total, the administration deported more than 14,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to Mexico. Thousands of other migrants have been detained and are being processed to assess asylum claims, the administration said.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/06/border-crossings-fall-biden-administration-00100333
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I keep telling you Republicans want to cut Social Security and even eliminate it altogether. Now Republicans are taking action to raise the age until people can collect.
The Republicans want to strip away the Social Security benefits that Americans have worked so hard for their entire lives. It’s theft and we can’t stand for it. Americans deserve to retire with dignity and respect.
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MeidasTouch @MeidasTouch
Kevin McCarthy can't help himself.
He said he is assembling a commission to look at cutting Social Security and Medicare and complained that President Biden wouldn't let him cut these programs during debt ceiling negotiations..
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1669427225933004800
Social Security Benefits Targeted for Cuts by House Conservatives
- Group would gradually increase retirement age to 69 years
- Biden seized on past RSC plan during 2022 midterm campaign
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-14/social-security-benefits-targeted-for-cuts-by-house-conservatives
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Thanks to President Biden's historic policies: The Infrastructure Act, The Inflation Reduction Act, and The CHIPS and Science Act, we now have a manufacturing and business boom in the United States like we've never seen before.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is hard at work winning big investments and bringing good paying jobs to the state.
That's Democratic leadership in action, building back America from the 4 year Trump disaster which saw massive job loss and a manufacturing recession since 2019.
Those dark days are long gone. Manufacturing, new factories, and jobs are back thanks to Biden and the Democrats!
Gretchen Whitmer @gretchenwhitmer
I will compete with anyone to bring good-paying jobs home to Michigan.
We’re hard at work winning crucial investments, like this one in Flint, that will benefit Michiganders in every part of our state. Let’s keep building a brighter future — together.
https://twitter.com/gretchenwhitmer/status/1669400960425160706
GM announcement, groundbreaking mark more than $1 billion investment in Flint
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joins state and local leaders to break ground on the Flint Commerce Center on June 5, 2023.
Ceremonies on Monday celebrated more than $1.3 billion in economic investment for Flint’s industrial development.
At the first event, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joined local and state leaders and General Motors officials to mark GM’s investment of more than $1 billion in a pair of manufacturing facilities in the city.
GM will invest $815 million in the Flint Assembly plant to prepare it to build next-generation, internal-combustion heavy-duty trucks. Another $233 million from GM will go to press refurbishments and equipment upgrades at the Flint Metal Center.
“Today we are announcing significant investments in Flint to strengthen our industry-leading full-size pickup business by preparing two plants to build the next-generation ICE (internal combustion engine) HD (heavy duty) trucks,” Gerald Johnson, GM’s executive vice president of global manufacturing and sustainability, said in a prepared statement. “These investments reflect our commitment to our loyal truck customers and the efforts of the dedicated employees of Flint Assembly and Flint Metal Center.”
Whitmer tweeted that GM’s expansion plans for the two facilities “will keep hard-working men and women in good-paying union jobs and will maintain our status as the home of the auto industry’s electrified, high-tech future.”
The governor said the Flint projects “will help build out the Make It In Michigan plan I announced last week and bring us toward a common goal: a Michigan where more people can build their lives, be themselves, and get a great job.”
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Unveiled during the Mackinac Policy Conference, “Make It In Michigan” is an initiative to boost investment in economic development projects, invest in education and “revitalize places in every region of the state.”
Mike Booth, the United Auto Workers vice president who heads the union’s GM department, lauded the investment in the Flint facilities.
“When business is booming as it has been for the past decade — due to the hard work of UAW members — the company should continue to invest in its workforce,” Booth said. “It is good to see that GM recognizes the hard work you, the UAW membership, contribute to the success of this company. We are proud that UAW-GM members will continue to build quality, union-made products here in the USA.”
Whitmer then led the second event, a groundbreaking ceremony to announce the start of redeveloping the massive former General Motors Buick City manufacturing campus. Joining Whitmer were other dignitaries including U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint), Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley, state Sen. John Cherry (D-Flint), state Rep. Cynthia Neeley (D-Flint) and Mott Foundation President and CEO Ridgway White.
Work will now begin on the first building of the new Flint Commerce Center industrial park, which is being developed by Ashley Capital, one of the United States’ largest privately held industrial real estate investment firms. The 330,000-square-foot building is expected to be ready for occupancy in the first quarter of 2024.
“We’ve made this massive investment because we think Flint is a good place to be, with an excellent partner in the city of Flint, strong workforce, great infrastructure, and ready access to expressways, rail, and abundant electricity,” said Susan M. Harvey, Senior Vice President for Ashley Capital.
Once a major General Motors manufacturing facility that covered hundreds of acres, Buick City closed at the end of 2010. With General Motors in bankruptcy proceedings, ownership of the site was eventually transferred to the Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response (RACER) Trust.
Ashley Capital closed on the first 20 acres of the site earlier this year and is working with RACER to acquire the remaining 330 acres by the end of August 2023. RACER continues to assess and remediate environmental issues at the site as part of its mandate and agreements with Ashley Capital.
The total investment of $300 million will construct up to 10 buildings, and is expected to create 3.5 million-square-feet of space and as many as 3,000 jobs.
The redevelopment effort is supported by approximately $3.25 million from the city of Flint’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, $2 million from the Flint-based Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and $8.5 million from the state’s Strategic Fund.
https://michiganadvance.com/2023/06/06/gm-announcement-groundbreaking-mark-more-than-a-1-billion-investment-in-flint/
How Biden’s big investments spurred a factory boom
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A surge in manufacturing construction across the country is grabbing the attention of economists and workers on the ground as legislative efforts to reinvigorate the U.S. industrial base are bearing fruit.
Experts say these changes have been long-awaited, and they represent a watershed moment for U.S. heavy industry and a shift toward more environmentally friendly methods of production amid an ongoing climate emergency.
“We waited for so long to have these kinds of initiatives,” Miki Banu, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, told The Hill. “This is probably the first time in my life when I’ve seen so many resources become available, which are able to let us put our ideas into practice.”
Annual spending on manufacturing construction held somewhat steady during the 2010s, generally keeping within the range of $50 billion to $80 billion, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Levels were lower and the range of spending tighter in the decade before.
But following the passage of three large-scale economic packages loaded with tax incentives and direct funding for industrial projects and operations, investment in manufacturing construction shot up to $189 billion in April on a seasonally adjusted basis, more than doubling pre-pandemic levels.
Factory boom sets off hiring frenzy
According to new experimental data from the Census Bureau, the construction build-out has happened especially fast in the Mountain division of the West region in the country, which includes states like Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. The South Central divisions, which is where the most manufacturing construction happens in the U.S., have also seen a marked rise.
Construction workers say there is more manufacturing activity happening in these regions than they’re currently prepared to handle.
“Honest to goodness, [the top of my agenda] is finding and training qualified manpower, because that’s what’s needed. We don’t have enough,” Courtenay Eichhorst, president of the New Mexico Building and Construction Trades Council, told The Hill.
“If somebody tells me they need a welder who can do X, Y and Z right now in the state of New Mexico, everybody that has those qualifications is already working.”
Eichhorst said he was working to meet the demands of companies including Facebook and Intel, as well the Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories.
Big federal investments are paying off
The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law along with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and CHIPS and Science Act, both passed in 2022, are the main drivers behind the construction boom, economists say.
A portfolio of 21 manufacturing and recycling projects for the battery industry funded by $2.8 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and administered by the Department of Energy shows the kinds of facilities that are being primed for additional capital expenditures.
“The Inflation Reduction Act’s advanced manufacturing tax incentives provide a long-term investment signal for critical mineral processing and battery production, and the structure of the [IRA’s] tax credits for electric vehicles depends on domestic assembly and domestic batteries,” Trevor Higgins, a vice president at the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank, testified to Congress earlier this year.
The incentives to reshape industrial production and operation in the U.S. included in the various legislative packages go beyond plant construction and are aimed at retrofitting existing technology pipelines and processes to make them better for the environment.
Heating and cooling systems in commercial and residential buildings that eliminate natural gas are one such area of focus. Technicians and construction workers who can help building owners secure federal rebates offered in the IRA are also in critically high demand.
“The Inflation Reduction Act has a huge part that focuses on heat pump systems,” Joan Baker, the political affairs director of the United Association Local 412 plumbers and pipefitters union in New Mexico, told The Hill.
“As far as heating, cooling and ventilation technicians go, we in New Mexico have been in a pinch for those particular trades,” Baker said.
Domestic manufacturing plays key foreign policy role
Initiatives to reshore U.S. manufacturing jobs in the wake of geopolitical tensions fanned by the coronavirus pandemic have been a key focus for senior Biden administration officials.
This has been especially true for the semiconductor industry, which experienced a major shortage following the pandemic. The semiconductor industry’s concentration in traditional East Asian manufacturing hubs like Taiwan helped to spur the passage of the CHIPS Act over concerns about the territorial ambitions of China, the U.S.’s main economic rival.
But even larger-scale trends in the international economy and growing dissatisfaction with global trade may be providing tailwinds to the U.S. construction manufacturing bonanza.
A speech in April by national security adviser Jake Sullivan revisited the theme of “industrial policy” — a term that went out of fashion in the 1990s as free trade agreements starting with NAFTA and culminating in the World Trade Organization (WTO) stepped into the limelight.
"We are not walking away from the WTO, but the WTO needs fundamental reform to account for … the presence of this massive non-market economy that just has a different structure to it,” Sullivan said, referring to China. “We can’t wait for WTO reform. We have to be pursuing a range of other strategies to deal with the fact of China as it is.”
https://thehill.com/business/4045941-how-bidens-big-investments-spurred-a-factory-boom/
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From The Economist’s weekly tracker: President Biden’s net approval rating is net even and has surpassed President Obama’s and Trump’s at this point in their term.
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1 big thing: A manufacturing supercycle is starting
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It's easy to get so caught up in month-to-month economic data that you miss a longer-term trend emerging before your eyes.
Here's one: There is massive new investment taking place in U.S. heavy industry that's set to shape the economic landscape for years to come.
- Why it matters: The 2010s were a period of chronic underinvestment. By contrast, now there are billions flooding into large, expensive megaprojects to manufacture batteries, solar cells, semiconductors and much more.
It is fueled by hundreds of billions of dollars allocated by the Biden administration's signature legislation — the Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastucture Law, and CHIPS and Science Act — as well as pent-up demand.
It implies sustained upward pressure on demand for workers and raw materials for years to come, and makes a recession less likely by creating a floor of activity under normally volatile industries.
- What they're saying: "We believe the U.S. is in the early stages of a manufacturing supercycle," wrote Joseph P. Quinlan, head of CIO Market Strategy at Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank, in a report this week.
He emphasizes the role of foreign direct investment in the surge, as global companies rush to build large-scale facilities in the United States. He sees the trend extending well into the second half of the 2020s.
"It's really gotten the attention of the world," Quinlan tells Axios. "When you talk to companies in South Korea, Japan, Europe, all they want to talk about is building out a presence in the U.S."
- By the numbers: As of April, spending on manufacturing construction — new factories — is tracking at a $189 billion annual rate, triple the average rate in the 2010s ($63 billion).
That helps explain some of the underlying strength in the U.S. economy even amid elevated recession fears. For example, the construction sector has added 192,000 jobs over the last year, despite higher rates hammering the housing sector.
Between the lines: The types of investment taking place in this boom tend to involve much larger capital outlays than were seen in the 2010s. For example, two European companies announced this month they will invest $2 billion in Texas for a plant to make synthetic natural gas.
Higher rates of private investment, combined with large U.S. budget deficits, could keep interest rates higher than was the pre-pandemic norm.
Moreover, these industrial facilities tend to create high-wage jobs, which could put sustained upward pressure on wages across the economy. That's good for workers, less good for the inflation outlook.
The bottom line: Understanding how this manufacturing boom plays out —how big and how long-lasting it turns out to be — will be crucial for understanding the macroeconomy of the remainder of the 2020s.
https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-macro-9acf8827-6d4c-40a1-bbfc-a5a96ce0244d.html
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During his State of the Union address, President Biden warned everyone that he would fight against Congressional Republicans longstanding agenda to cut Medicare and Social Security benefits.
In a real-time back and forth, Republican members who had sponsored bills to do exactly that loudly protested that they had never even heard of such efforts, and they promised not to target earned benefits.
They lied to you. 175 Republicans are now on the record for actively trying to cut your earned benefits.
On May 31, Kevin McCarthy indicated on Fox “News” that he also wants to cut Medicare and Social Security benefits.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1669427225933004800
Americans should be furious.
The new Republican budget plan is to cut MEDICARE to pay for TRILLIONS in tax cuts for corporations and the 1%.
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Republicans Are Bringing Back Their Plan to Gut Social Security and Medicare
A new budget proposal for the 2024 fiscal year makes sweeping cuts.
Republicans have claimed over and over again that they are not trying to cut Social Security and Medicare. Heck, Joe Biden got them to agree they would not make cuts to the programs, in a memorable verbal maneuver during his State of the Union speech earlier this year.
And yet the Republican Study Committee (of which some three-quarters of House Republicans are members) just released its desired 2024 budget, in which the party seeks to, you guessed it, cut Social Security and Medicare.
And note their seriousness. “The RSC Budget is more than just a financial statement. It is a statement of priorities,” the party assures in the document, released Wednesday.
The proposed budget would effectively make cuts to Social Security by increasing the retirement age for future retirees. The document seeks to assure people that there would only be “modest adjustments” but does not list what Republicans think the new retirement age should be.
On Medicare, Republicans propose requiring disabled Americans to wait longer before getting benefits and turning Medicare into a “premium support” system, a long-floated Republican idea that essentially turns the government program into a voucher scheme. Such a scheme would remove the guarantee for seniors to have affordable access to Medicare.
Republicans also call for “pro-growth tax reform” (read: cutting taxes for the wealthy and corporations); “work requirements” (imposing more requirements on poor people trying to attain social services); and “regulatory reforms that increase economic growth” (encouraging the sort of deregulation that welcomes crashing financial institutions, corporate-poisoned rivers, and more than 1,000 train derailments a year).
As far as taxes go, the party wants to make permanent the individual provisions of Trump’s tax cut bill, which gave a roughly $49,000 annual tax cut to the top 1 percent and only $500 to those in the bottom 60 percent. In doing so, they’d add nearly $2.5 trillion to the deficit over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The party also wants to eliminate the estate tax, which only impacts those who inherit assets worth at least $13 million.
On work requirements, the budget calls for “all federal benefit programs [to] be reformed to include work promotion requirements.” As in, food stamps, Medicare, you name it: They want it subject to work requirements. And sorry, Andrew Yang: The budget explicitly says it opposes any efforts to implement proposals like universal basic income.
The budget also takes issue with the “significantly lower labor force participation rate of 64.6% for those aged 55-64,” saying it supports extending work requirements for this group. There could be any number of reasons fewer people in this age group are working: physical or mental health issues, needing to help take care of their children or grandchildren, or just not wanting to work for their entire life on earth. Instead of imaging how to navigate or meet any of those reasons, Republicans’ solution is to force them to work more.
Speaking of families, the budget also aims to eliminate a provision that allows schools to provide free school lunches to all their students; instead, it aims to means-test which kids are allowed to have free lunch and which ones aren’t.
On regulation, the budget includes a litany of ways it aims to stymie regulation. One of many provisions involves reinstating Trump’s deregulatory executive orders, including a range of orders related to environmental protection. In the wake of smog enveloping one-third of the country, thousands of dead fish washing up on Texas’s shore, and East Palestine, Ohio’s waterways being poisoned, Republicans are pursuing less environmental protection.
And all this is just a sampling of Republicans’ explicit “priorities” they are pursuing in 2024.
https://newrepublic.com/post/173661/republicans-bringing-back-plan-gut-social-security-medicare
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President Joe Biden Investing In America
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For decades, the U.S. exported jobs and imported products, while other countries surpassed us in critical sectors like infrastructure, clean energy, semiconductors, and biotechnology. Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda – including historic legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden such as the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act – that is changing.
President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is mobilizing historic levels of private sector investments in the United States, bringing manufacturing back to America after decades of offshoring, and creating new, good-paying jobs, including union jobs and jobs that don’t require a college degree. His Investing in America agenda is rebuilding our roads and bridges using Made in America materials, built by American workers. And it’s transforming our country for the better – reaching communities in every corner of the United States, including those that have too often been left behind. This website provides an interactive map that illustrates the impact of these record-breaking levels of public and private investment across states and territories under the Biden Administration.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/invest/?utm_source=www.invest.gov
Joe Biden @Joe Biden
We’ve invested hundreds of billions of dollars in jobs, manufacturing, and infrastructure since I’ve taken office.
A few of these investments may be coming to your neighborhood—go to http://Invest.gov to find out.
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1666935932811968512
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Texas 'Death Star Bill' could leave construction workers 'fatigued, disoriented, dehydrated': report
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Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed legislation earlier this week that "poses serious health risks" to construction workers, Texas Public Radio (TPR) reports.
Per TPR, HB 2127 — known as the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act — "bars cities and counties from passing regulations that are stricter than state ones. It also overturns local rules such as ordinances in Austin and Dallas that mandate rest breaks for construction workers."
Republican State Rep. Dustin Burrows, who proposed the "Death Star Bill," insisted "the law is needed to end 'the current hodgepodge of onerous and burdensome regulations,'" but TPR notes "for construction workers in two of the state's fastest-growing cities, advocates say, it poses serious health risks."
Mario Ontiveros told TPR "he once saw a co-worker lose consciousness and fall from a ladder," and due to his previous "safety training," the Texas construction worker "was the only one on the job site who knew how to help — performing CPR and asking his co-worker basic questions to keep him conscious — until paramedics arrived, he said."
The Texas Tribune reports:
"Texas is the state where the most workers die from high temperatures, government data shows. At least 42 workers died in Texas between 2011 and 2021 from environmental heat exposure, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers’ unions claim this data doesn’t fully reflect the magnitude of the problem because heat-related deaths are often recorded under a different primary cause of injury."
Furthermore, according to TPR, "Research published in 2018 — eight years after Austin passed its rest-break ordinance — found that construction workers were 35% more likely to get a break because of the rule."
Daniela Hernandez, state legislative coordinator for Texas advocacy group Workers Defense Action Fund, said, "We know that workers do pass out and experience heat stress and different types of heat illnesses."
Paul Puente, executive secretary of the Houston Gulf Coast Building and Construction Trades Council, said the "Death Star Bill" is expected to "strike down construction-worker protections in southeast Texas," and "negatively impact construction safety as a whole," even though "labor unions can still negotiate for rest breaks."
He emphasized, "Science has already shown that individuals need to have time to take a break, collect their thoughts, and then return back to work to ensure a safe working environment," and "Without allotted rest breaks in extreme heat," he told TPR "workers can easily become fatigued, disoriented, dehydrated — effects that endanger their lives."
Calling the state "unsafe" for construction workers, Puente added, "when you're trying to encourage businesses to come to your state, this is not a good look."
TPR reports the law is set to go into effect Sept. 1.
Read More Here: https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2023-06-16/in-scorching-hot-texas-gov-greg-abbott-just-took-away-construction-workers-right-to-a-rest-break
'They literally lack all substance': Boebert and MTG buried by Dem over committee antics
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During an appearance on MSNBC on Saturday afternoon, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) was asked what it is like to work with Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) behind the scenes in congressionalcommittees, and she indicated that it is a waste of everyone's time.
Earlier the week, Crockett was forced to apologize to a House Oversight Committee witness after she was bullied and talked over by Boebert.
After MSNBC host Alex Witt showed the video of the Texas lawmaker telling the witness, "First of all, let me apologize because that was uncalled for, so let me do what she would never do, which is to be an adult in this room or in this chamber,” and then adding, "I’m also going to start with some nonsense that she was trying to spew and, unlike Ms. Boebert, I am legally trained and I’ve passed a few bar exams and I also legislated before I got here ...” Witt asked her what is like behind the scenes working with the Colorado Republican and her like-minded far-right colleague from Georgia.
"They literally lack all substance," Crockett laughed. "It is not just in committee, it's just generally speaking."
Referring back to the video she explained, "I saw exactly what happened, you saw it, you saw someone who decided that 'I don't have anything of value to offer, so what I'm going to do is be disrespectful and overtalk you and somehow that will be perceived as I know something.'"
"I laid out my credentials, not so much to clap back on her, but it had more so to do with her not understanding what it was that she was trying to spar with our witness about," she elaborated. "So I was laying down that I understood and she didn't, and maybe she needs to do a little research before she came to committee trying to clap back on people."
Watch:
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House GOP makes it official: Ending Social Security and Medicare is the goal
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Republicans are never going to be known for their eco-friendliness, but there is one thing they are very good at recycling: plots that combine ending Social Security and Medicare with schemes to cut taxes for the rich. They’re at it again with a new fiscal blueprint for the next 10 years reconstituted from the stuff they’ve been scraping up for the last few decades. The Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus in the GOP with around 175 members, just released what they’re calling a budget.
This is not the official 2024 Republican budget—there isn’t one, and while this group has the majority of the Republicans in it, it is not an actual congressional committee that has power to do anything. But this is what the majority of Republicans think should happen: cutting Social Security and Medicare and slashing domestic spending programs to the bone.
Their plan starts with raising the retirement age from the current age of 67 to 69, but wouldn’t kick in until people now aged 59 retire. They’d have to wait three months longer to retire than under the current system. The wait increases incrementally until the people who are now 52 years old retire. They—and everyone younger—would have to work until they turn 69 to get full benefits. Republicans don’t want to risk alienating seniors now, so they’re going after Gen X.
That’s a benefit cut, any way you slice it, for future retirees. “These changes would transform Social Security from an earned insurance benefit, which replaces wages lost in the event of old age, disability, or death, into a subsistence-level welfare benefit,” says Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works.
The plan resurrects the old Paul Ryan Medicare voucher scheme, calling it “premium support.” As Altman explains it, seniors would be forced to “fend for themselves on the open market with nothing but a coupon to offset as much of the cost of the insurance that they can find.”
Meanwhile, the 2017 GOP Tax Scam, with its “eye-popping payouts for CEOs,” would be made permanent. It’s set to expire in 2025. Enough said.
The White House was quick to respond:
Andrew Bates @AndrewJBates46
@PressSec: "The hardcore MAGA budget just released by @RepublicanStudy – which represents a majority of House Republicans – amounts to a devastating attack on Medicare, Social Security, and Americans’ access to health coverage and prescription drugs."
They are "taking aim at the Medicare benefits all Americans pay to earn by repealing the new power President Biden gave it to negotiate lower drug costs, to address rapid drug price increases, and to cap the price of insulin for Medicare beneficiaries."
Read Here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/06/14/statement-from-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-on-republican-study-committee-budget/
https://twitter.com/AndrewJBates46/status/1669124807768563713
That’s true. In addition to ending Social Security and Medicare as we know it, the Republicans would roll back the new authority Medicare has for negotiating lower drug prices and to force drug makers to curtail price increases. They also want to repeal the cap on insulin costs for Medicare enrollees. Yes, Republicans are the party of unaffordable insulin.
These are the same Republicans who booed and hissed at President Joe Biden in his State of the Union speech for telling the truth about their plot against Social Security and Medicare. The same Republicans who cheered and leapt to their feet when Biden asked them to “stand up and show them we will not cut Social Security. We will not cut Medicare.”
No one expected that to last, to be honest. It kept the programs out of the debt ceiling negotiations, which was great. But they’re never going to give up their goal of destroying the social safety net. Just like they’re not giving up on cutting taxes, slashing services, and privatizing whatever remains for personal profit. It’s all they got.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/15/2175584/-House-GOP-makes-it-official-Ending-Social-Security-and-Medicare-is-the-goal
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No 'path' for Trump to win in Nevada: Former state Trump campaign chair
Donald Trump has no chance to win the swing state of Nevada, according to a two-time Trump campaign chair who now backs Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Trump lost Nevada in 2016 and 2020. But if Trump is the nominee, there is no "path" for that to happen, according to former Nevada state Attorney General Adam Laxalt.
Laxalt made the comments dismissing Trump's chances in the state to NBC News.
"'Trump hasn’t won Nevada the last two go-arounds,' said former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt, a 2022 Senate candidate who is heading a super PAC backing DeSantis," the article states. "'I was a two-time Trump chair. I don’t see a path for him to win Nevada in a general election. Those voters are not coming back.'"
"Laxalt made the comments in an interview in advance of DeSantis’ visit to the state this weekend, the centerpiece of which is his speech at the annual Basque Fry, a popular event that draws thousands of conservatives from around the state," NBC reported.
Read More Here: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-world-testy-ron-desantis-nevada-basque-fry-rcna89303
Bill Barr slams Trump's mental health: America 'can't be a therapy session' for 'troubled man'
Former Attorney General Bill Barr criticized the mental health of Donald Trump after he was indicted on 37 counts over the mishandling of government documents.
During a Sunday interview on CBS's Face the Nation program, host Robert Costa noted that "many" Republicans are defending Trump.
"You say Trump's alleged conduct is indefensible," Costa told Barr. "What will it say if the party, your longtime party, puts him forward as their nominee?"
"The question is, should we be putting someone like this forward as the leader of the country, leader of the free world who's engaged in this kind of conduct?"
"But the fact of the matter is, he is a consummate narcissist, and he constantly engages in reckless conduct that puts his political followers at risk and the conservative and Republican agenda at risk," he continued.
"Would he put the country at risk if he was in the White House again?" Costa asked.
"He will always put his own interests and gratifying his own ego ahead of everything else, including the country's interests," Barr explained. "He's like, you know, he's like a nine-year-old — defiant nine-year-old kid who's always pushing the glass toward the edge of the table, defying his parents to stop him from doing it."
"And he's a very petty individual who will always put his interests ahead of the country's his personal gratification of his, you know, of his ego," he added. "But our country, our country can't, you know, can't be a therapy session for, you know, a troubled man like this."
Watch:
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Ron DeSantis Suffers Huge Blow in His Battle With Disney
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has seen his favorability drop across the country as his nemesis, Disney, gets more popular.
DeSantis has been engaged in a feud with the corporate powerhouse ever since Disney spoke out against his "Don't Say Gay Bill" in 2022. The governor signed the bill, which bans the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in certain grades at Florida schools, into law.
DeSantis' popularity rating has fallen since November and almost half of Americans see him in an unfavorable light, according to a survey by polling organization Navigator.
Over the same period, Disney's favorability rating has remained high, with people siding with the corporation in its beef with DeSantis and nearly two in three Americans having a favorable view of the media giant.
The majority of people, across all ethnic groups, sided with Disney and believe it is in the right in the Florida governor's "crusade" against it.
Even worse news for DeSantis is that his favorability rating among Republicans has declined 19 points since November. One in five Republicans sided with Disney, believing the company is in the right.
In an act perceived as retaliation for Disney's opposition to the "Don't Say Gay Bill," DeSantis set his sights on the land where Disney World is situated in Orlando, Florida. He attempted to strip Disney of social privileges and tax breaks protected under the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which had allowed the company to essentially run as its own self-governing authority in Florida for more than 50 years.
The majority of people, across all ethnic groups, sided with Disney and believe it is in the right in the Florida governor's "crusade" against it.
Even worse news for DeSantis is that his favorability rating among Republicans has declined 19 points since November. One in five Republicans sided with Disney, believing the company is in the right.
In an act perceived as retaliation for Disney's opposition to the "Don't Say Gay Bill," DeSantis set his sights on the land where Disney World is situated in Orlando, Florida. He attempted to strip Disney of social privileges and tax breaks protected under the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which had allowed the company to essentially run as its own self-governing authority in Florida for more than 50 years.
But Disney managed to legally outmaneuver the governor, who has announced his intention to run for the Republican presidential candidacy in the upcoming 2024 elections.
DeSantis established the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District to replace the Reedy Creek board— but its handpicked, five-person membership revealed their predecessors had signed a deal with Disney in February that severely restricts the new board's powers and essentially allows Disney to remain self-governing.
In May Disney said it would pull a proposed plan to build a $1 billion corporate campus in central Florida because of "considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project." If the project had gone ahead, it would have created 2,000 jobs in the state.
Disney has also filed a lawsuit against DeSantis, in which it accused him of attempting to punish the company over its opposition to the "Don't Say Gay" bill, which it argued violated its First Amendment rights.
He reacted by filing a motion to have the judge in the case, Chief Judge Mark Walker, replaced over a perceived lack of impartiality.
DeSantis has said there was "zero" chance that he would back down in his battle with Disney.
"They're not going to govern themselves. We the people are going to govern," DeSantis said in New Hampshire during a recent visit. "To put one corporation on a pedestal and let them be exempt from the laws is not good policy.
"It's not free-market economics and it's not something that our state is going to be involved in. We will not change from that. They can do whatever they want. I know people try to chirp and say this or that. The chance of us backing down from that is zero."
https://www.newsweek.com/ron-desantis-florida-orlando-disney-1807228
DeSantis signs bill banning direct auto sales... except for Tesla. Here's what it means
If you're in the market for a new car in Florida and really hate haggling, you're out of luck.
On Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation further nailing down the ban on most automakers from selling their vehicles directly to you without going through a dealer, with a notable exception: Tesla.
Not by name, and not exclusively. HB 637, "Motor Vehicle Dealers, Manufacturers, Importers, and Distributors," bans most direct-to-consumer vehicle sales if the automaker has ever sold any model through a franchise in Florida before (i.e. every major automaker). Manufacturers that didn't already have a dealership agreement in the state before the law are exempt, which includes Tesla and presumably other new EV brands such as Lucid, Rivian and Polestar.
Elon Musk is Tesla's founder and CEO, and he also owns Twitter, where the governor announced his presidential campaign during a glitch-ridden Twitter Spaces event in May.
The bill, which goes into effect July 1, also restricts a manufacturer's ability to control what a dealership can charge you and prevents automakers from using inventory to incentivize lower prices.
Here's what this means for you.
Can I buy a new car, truck or SUV directly from the manufacturer in Florida?
Not unless it's a Tesla or other new brand, no, but you couldn't before, either. The new bill just clarifies and emphasizes what was already on the books. For all other new vehicles, you have to go through a dealer. According to HB 637:
"A licensee, a manufacturer, an importer, or a distributor, or an agent of the licensee, manufacturer, importer, or distributor, or a parent, a subsidiary, a common entity, an officer, or an employed representative of the licensee, manufacturer, importer, or distributor, may not directly or indirectly own, operate, or control, by contract, agreement, or otherwise, a motor vehicle dealership for any line-make in this state if the licensee, manufacturer, importer, or distributor has manufactured, imported, or distributed motor vehicles of any line-make which have been or are offered for sale under a franchise agreement in this state with an independent person."
"Any person who is not prohibited by this section from owning, operating, or controlling a motor vehicle dealership may be issued a license pursuant to s. 320.27."
Why can't I buy a vehicle directly from a manufacturer in Florida?
According to Dave Ramba, a lobbyist for the Florida Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) which championed the bill, “The attempt by auto manufacturers to cut out the dealer would only result in higher prices and less customer service to the public," Ramba told Florida Politics. "The new car dealer is the customer’s advocate when it comes to warranty work and service on a manufacturer’s product, and this bill will protect that.”
FADA says dealerships create "fierce price competition," prevent manufacturer monopolies, protect consumers with recall, warranty, and repair service, allow for test driving, simplify the complicated process of buying and registering a vehicle, provide many local jobs and generate tax revenue.
Critics say dealerships add an unnecessary middleman, pressuring sales tactics and layers of markup and fees that can range from a few hundred dollars to $20,000 or more per vehicle over the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP). However, FADA has said that such fees would be added no matter who was selling the cars.
Opinions from Federal Trade Commission members have at various times over the last few decades recommended repealing prohibitions over direct sales, arguing in 2014 that this would likely "increase competition relative to the existing blanket ban on all other methods of selling cars" and stating in 2015 that these restrictions operate as a special protection for dealers that "is likely harming both competition and consumers." A Harris poll in 2016 found that 87% of American adults were unhappy about some part of the process of buying a vehicle at a dealership.
Why doesn't Florida's direct-to-consumer ban affect Tesla?
Because Tesla lobbied for it.
Initially, HB 637, filed by Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, and the companion bill SB 712, filed by Sen.Bryan Avila, R-Miami Springs, would have banned all direct-to-consumer vehicle sales in Florida including Tesla but, according to Florida Politics, lobbyists for Tesla successfully negotiated new language for the bill to let them keep the Florida locations open. It may also have helped Tesla that the company successfully sued the state of Michigan a few years ago to sell there.
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2023/06/16/elon-musk-tesla-exempt-florida-ban-on-direct-car-sales-dealerships/70329000007/
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Trump reacts angrily as Fox News anchor directly tells him: ‘You lost the 2020 election’
Fox pushback against ex-president’s false claims comes in the wake of the broadcaster being fined $787.5m in case with defamed election machine manufacturer
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Former president Donald Trump reacted angrily when Fox News host Bret Baier confronted him and told him directly that he had lost the 2020 presidential election.
Baier asked the former president in a sit-down interview how he would win back independent suburban female voters who had drifted from the Republican Party.
The twice-indicted and twice-impeached former president responded by repeating the lie that he did not lose the 2020 presidential election.
“First of all, I won in 2020,” he said. “Let’s get that straight. I won in 2020.”
However, Baier interrupted Mr Trump’s tirade to try and correct him even as the former president continued speaking, repeating long-debunked lies about footage that allegedly shows people stuffing ballot boxes.
"You lost the 2020 election,” Baier said. “There were lawsuits, more than 50 of them, by your lawyers, some of them in front of judges, judges that you appointed that came up with no evidence.”
Mr Trump repeated his claims throughout the interview and falsely claimed that the state of Wisconsin “practically admitted it was rigged.” Baier countered that investigations did no show widespread voter fraud.
“They found fewer than 475 cases,” he said.
“They were counting ballots, not the authenticity of the ballot,” Mr Trump said. “The ballots were fake ballots. This was a very rigged election.”
Baier then tried to circle back to his original question and ask Mr Trump if this is how he would make a case to the aforementioned independent suburban female voter.
“We’re off to winning an election, and I think we’re winning very well,” he said.
Baier’s challenge to Mr Trump’s claims about the election being stolen came after Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems settled a lawsuit that the company which makes voting machines had filed against the cable news giant for $787.5m. Dominion had filed the lawsuit and claimed that the network defamed the company by giving a platform to conspiracy theorists who spread lies that Dominion engaged in widespread voter fraud and that Fox failed to challenge the lies about the company.
Shortly after the settlement, the cable news giant parted ways with Tucker Carlson, one of its most-watched hosts. Carlson had repeatedly parroted lies about the 2020 presidential election.
Mr Trump is also currently facing an investigation led by the district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, for his attempts to overturn the election in that state in 2020.
Mr Tump’s interview with Baier was the first one that he conducted with the Rupert Murdoch-owned network since his arraignment in a federal court in Miami. Mr Trump pleaded not guilty to the 37 charges that an indictment that a grand jury supervised by Special Counsel Jack Smith handed down.
Mr Smith is also in charge of investigating Mr Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, including his actions on and leading up to the January 6 riot wherein supporters of Mr Trump broke into the US Capitol to prevent the certification of the 2020 presidential election results.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-fox-news-2020-election-loss-b2360538.html
'Holding the military hostage': Tommy Tuberville accused of putting armed forces at risk
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Republicans try to position themselves as the party that's "strong on defense," but recent stunts by MAGA extremists have rendered that meaningless, a Washington Post columnist suggests.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has been holding up hundreds of military nominations to protest defense secretary Lloyd Austin’s mandate to pay for service members or their family members to travel for abortion care if they live in states where that's not allowed – all while blaming Democrats for endangering national security, reported Washington Post columnist Max Boot.
"Tuberville seems to think it is not the former president but the current one who endangers U.S. national security," Boot wrote. "He blames President Biden and Pentagon leaders for supposedly 'ruining' the armed forces. 'Something’s going wrong in our military,' he told reporters last month."
The college football coach-turned-senator has placed around 200 nominations on hold using an arcane Senate rule after losing a floor vote on his resolution prohibiting the Department of Veterans Affairs from providing abortions, and other senators are constrained by the chambers unwritten rules to let the situation continue.
"So why is Tuberville allowed to get away with his mindless obstructionism?" Boot wrote. "The problem comes down to the frustrating traditions of the Senate."
Senate staffers are hoping Tuberville would introduce an antiabortion amendment to the defense authorization bill and then withdraw his hold when it was defeated, but he doesn't sound likely to do that anytime soon -- even as key defense positions turn over in the coming months.
"Austin has made clear he has no intention of changing departmental policy to suit one senator because that would only encourage more holds in the future, and Tuberville seems indifferent to the harm he is doing by holding the military hostage," Boot wrote. "So the impasse continues to drag on with no end in sight after more than three months. It’s hard to imagine a clearer illustration of how anti-military MAGA ideology is in practice."
Read More Here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/05/13/tommy-tuberville-white-nationalists
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Wyden Slams House Republican Plan to Cut Social Security and Medicare
Proposal from Leading House Republicans Raises Retirement Age, Hands Medicare to Insurance Companies, Slashes Medicaid
Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued a statement after the Republican Study Committee released its budget proposal.
“The House Republican plan is a roadmap to ruin for Americans trying to make ends meet, and proof that Republicans are committed as ever to cutting Medicare and Medicaid while allowing Social Security to wither,” Wyden said. “This plan should inform all Americans where Republicans’ priorities lie: showering riches on megacorporations and wealthy tax cheats, and cutting your earned benefits by raising the retirement age and undermining Medicare’s guarantee of health care benefits. Their plan lets Big Pharma off the hook by repealing Medicare’s authority to negotiate drug prices that Democrats passed last year, and slashes Medicaid to the bone, which will threaten critical care like the program’s nursing home benefit that our parents count on. The House Republican plan is a disaster for working families, and I’ll fight it every step of the way.”
https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-slams-house-republican-plan-to-cut-social-security-and-medicare
Moms for Liberty has been infiltrated by hardcore right-wing groups
The conservative group Moms for Liberty was founded as a "parental rights" group that focuses on protecting students from content that deals in race or gender and electing conservative candidates to school boards. But according to Vice News, the group is forging ties with extremist groups such as the Proud Boys.
The connection follows a pattern of conservative MAGA-aligned groups being infiltrated by more extreme right-wing movements, Vice reported.
"There's an ongoing campaign by these neo-Nazi groups to radicalize some of these more benign patriot MAGA groups—and it's working because I've seen more Nazi content creeping into posts from Moms for Liberty people recently,” a researcher who goes by the name Trash City told Vice.
The online magazine wrote, "A VICE News investigation has uncovered links between numerous Moms for Liberty chapters and extremist groups like the Proud Boys, Three Percenters, sovereign citizen groups, QAnon conspiracist, Christian nationalists, and in one case, with the founder of the AK-47-worshiping Rod of Iron Ministries church in Pennsylvania.
"Around the country, Moms for Liberty has formed links with extremist groups and militias, which are joining forces with the 'parental rights' group at protests and school board meetings, and in turn pushing the already far-right organization toward even more extreme ideology."
As Vice points out, Moms for Liberty was recently categorized as a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center (a watchdog group that has had its own scandals and controversies), and a former member detailed the connection with the Proud Boys.
“The Proud Boys are heavily involved in the Miami chapter of Moms for Liberty,” Alexandra Caballero said. "Moms for Liberty want to push their agenda with fear, harassment, and intimidation, and they have the Vice City Proud Boys as their foot soldiers.”
“They’ll create a Telegram chat group and they'll invite people and they'll do a call to action, and the call to action is usually attacking where the person works, making phone calls, leaving bad reviews,” Caballero said, describing the process of harassment of school board members.
Eulalia María Jiménez-Hincapie, a leader of the group's Miami chapter, denied any links to the Proud Boys and told Vice that “right leaning organizations congregate in common core events for the common mission.”
Read More Here: https://www.vice.com/en/article/5d93qd/moms-for-liberty-proud-boys
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Well, we have another corrupt conservative Supreme Court justice. Just like his pal Clarence Thomas, SCOTUS justice Samuel Alito was also accepting free luxury vacations from a right wing billionaire in order to influence his vote on important decisions. These billionaires control the conservatives on the Supreme Court and politicians in Congress. That's why they always vote against the interests of the American people.
ProPublica came out with this exclusive on Alito last night. Alito knew this story was coming out, so before it did, he wrote a pathetic OP-Ed in the Wall Street Journal trying to get ahead of the story. His defense is weak.
Check out the ProPublica exclusive article below:
Alito Took Unreported Luxury Trip With GOP Donor Paul Singer
https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court
New report on Justice Samuel Alito's travel with GOP donor draws more scrutiny of Supreme Court ethics
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Washington — A report revealing that Justice Samuel Alito took a luxury fishing trip with a wealthy Republican donor with ties to cases before the Supreme Court has sparked new criticisms of the justices' adherence to their ethical obligations.
The Supreme Court was already under scrutiny for justices' compliance with ethical standards due to a series of revelations about Justice Clarence Thomas's decades-long relationship with GOP megadonor Harlan Crow.
But according to a report from ProPublica published late Tuesday, Thomas is not the only justice who has accepted luxury trips from prominent Republican donors. The investigative news outlet reported that in July 2008, Alito flew to Alaska aboard a private jet for a vacation at the King Salmon Lodge, a luxury fishing resort that charged more than $1,000 per day.
The jet belonged to Paul Singer, a hedge fund billionaire, and Alito's accommodations at the lodge were covered by Robin Arkley II, who owns a mortgage company and donates to conservative causes, the report said.
Singer's hedge fund and related entities had asked the Supreme Court to intervene in disputes it was involved in. In 2014, the high court heard a long-running legal fight between an affiliate of his fund and Argentina. The Supreme Court ruled for Singer in a 7-1 decision, with Alito in the majority.
Neither the lodging nor travel aboard Singer's jet were included on Alito's annual financial disclosures.
"There is something rotten going on in the Supreme Court of the United States of America," Sen. Dick Durbin, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters on Wednesday. "There is one person who can resolve it and do it this morning, and that's Chief Justice John Roberts. If he steps up and decides that we'll finally have a code of ethics on the Supreme Court, it could be a new day for the court."
Durbin called Alito's defense of his trip — aired in a preemptive opinion piece published by the Wall Street Journal before ProPublica published its article — "laughable."
"That is an incredible response to the challenge that's been made," he said.
In his Wall Street Journal response, Alito argued he had no obligation to recuse himself from the cases involving Singer's businesses and said that stepping aside "would not have been required or appropriate." The justice, who has served on the high court since 2006, said he has spoken to Singer "on no more than a handful of occasions," and they never discussed his business activity or issues before the Supreme Court. He also said he did not know of Singer's ties to the parties involved in the cases cited in ProPublica's article.
Regarding the trip aboard Singer's private jet, Alito said he sat in a seat that would otherwise have remained vacant on the flight to Alaska.
Alito also refuted the suggestion that the travel and lodging should have been reported on disclosure forms, which allow exceptions for personal hospitality "on property or facilities owned by [a] person." Referencing several dictionary definitions, Alito said the jet constituted a "facility," and the justices "commonly interpreted" hospitality to include accommodations and transportation for social events that did not have to be reported as gifts.
Alito also addressed the characterization of his trip as one of luxury, writing that he stayed in a "modest one-room unit" for three nights at the King Salmon Lodge, a "comfortable but rustic facility."
The Supreme Court was already under heightened focus from Senate Democrats before the revelations about Alito's trip. The Judiciary panel held a hearing, to which Chief Justice John Roberts was invited, examining the ethical standards the justices adhere to last month. The chief justice declined to attend the proceeding but shared a Statement of Ethics Principles and Practices signed by all nine members that he said they abide by.
Following the latest findings about Alito, Durbin and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said in a statement the Judiciary Committee will mark up Supreme Court ethics legislation after the July 4 recess.
"The connection between Supreme Court justices and right-wing billionaires is a very legitimate matter of concern," Whitehouse told reporters.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, said he believes Alito broke the law and should be held accountable.
"Justice Alito violated the plain meaning and spirit of the law in failing to report the trip and his denial now of any possible wrongdoing just shows how the Supreme Court and Justice Alito think they don't have to answer to anyone," he told CBS News' congressional correspondent Nikole Killion.
But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested that Congress cannot dictate the ethical standards of the Supreme Court.
"Congress should stay out of it because we don't, I think, have the jurisdiction to tell the Supreme Court how to handle the issue," he said. "I have total confidence in Chief Justice John Roberts to in effect look out for the court as well as its reputation."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/samuel-alito-propublica-supreme-court-ethics-paul-singer/
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Adam Schiff dismantles John Durham: Just call it 'good old-fashioned GOP cheating with the enemy'
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) took on former special counsel John Durham at a hearing on his investigation into the FBI's probe of Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
Throughout a House Oversight hearing on Wednesday, Durham rarely went against Republican claims that there was no "collusion" between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia.
"So let's break this down," Schiff said before asking Durham if he remembered relevant portions of special counsel Robert Mueller's report.
"Mr. Durham, you're aware of Donald Trump's public statements along the lines of, hey, Russia, if you're listening, hack Hillary's emails, you'll be richly rewarded by the press," the lawmaker reminded the witness.
"I'm aware of that," Durham admitted.
"You're aware that Mueller found that hours after he made that plea for Russian help, the Russians, in fact, tried to hack one of the email servers affiliated with the Clinton campaign or family?" Schiff pressed.
"If that happened, I'm not aware of that," the former special counsel replied.
"You're not aware of that in the Mueller report?" Schiff gasped. "When you say you're not aware of evidence of collusion in the Mueller report, it's because apparently you haven't read the Mueller report very well."
"I'm not aware of that fact," Durham repeated.
After a barrage of questions recalling how Russia worked to benefit the Trump campaign, Schiff concluded by offering a new definition of collusion.
"They don't want to call collusion," Schiff said of Republicans. "Maybe there's a better name for it. Maybe they would prefer we just call it good old-fashioned GOP cheating with the enemy. Maybe that would be a little bit more accurate description."
"Because this is what happened, but they seem allergic to calling it for what it is," he asserted.
Watch:
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House Republicans censured Democrat Representative Adam Schiff yesterday for doing his Constitutional duty of holding Donald Trump accountable for his crimes during the first impeachment in 2020. Republicans are pathetic and this stunt proves the GOP House only exists to appease their cult leader Donald Trump. Also, MAGA loons Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene got into an argument on the House floor with Greene swearing at Boebert. These Republicans are not fit to govern.
Adam Schiff @RepAdamSchiff
To my Republican colleagues who introduced this sham resolution: You honor me with your enmity.
You flatter me with this falsehood.
Your words tell me that I have been effective in the defense of our democracy, and I am grateful.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1671595167827079171
https://twitter.com/RepAdamSchiff/status/1671595167827079171
A feud has been boiling between Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert for months. It finally reached a new level on Wednesday
https://www.salon.com/2023/06/21/youve-been-nothing-but-a-little-bh-to-me-mtg-says-to-boebert-during-a-floor-squabble/
MTG lashed out at Boebert on the House floor. Hear how Boebert responded
A spokesperson for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) confirmed the congresswoman called fellow GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) an expletive on the House floor during proceedings.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/06/22/lauren-boebert-marjorie-taylor-greene-conflict-house-floor-vpx.cnn
Stupid stuff': Dem Rep. shreds pro-Trump lawmaker for 'obsessive' stack of bills censuring Adam Schiff
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Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) tore into first-term Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), a far-right, pro-Trump lawmaker who sponsored the resolution to censure Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) which passed along near party lines and caused chaos on the House floor on Wednesday.
The resolution was nothing unique, Lieu pointed out on MSNBC's "All In" — in fact, explained, she's spent almost her entire time in Congress promoting similar moves.
"Adam Schiff — he was censured along party line votes," said anchor Chris Hayes. "What is your assessment of the full day, starting with ... why they chose to make him the third member censured in this century, in a body that has seen multiple felons, and currently includes George Santos?"
"Again, how does this move the American family forward, how does this grow the economy?" said Lieu. "I know that the author of this resolution, Representative Luna, has introduced a total of six bills in her career. Five of them are about Adam Schiff, and that is rather obsessive. This strange obsession that the Republicans have with doing stupid stuff. None of this is helping to grow our economy, and moving the American family forward."
Republicans have never put forward a completely clear explanation for why they are censuring Schiff, who previously chaired the House Intelligence Committee before Republicans took a narrow House majority and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) stripped him of his membership. Ostensibly, the censure is about Schiff making false claims about the Russia investigation into Trump. McCarthy previously claimed the basis for his initial removal from the Intelligence Committee was that he lied about his knowledge of the whistleblower behind Trump's first impeachment, but Republicans have never actually provided evidence he lied.
Luna has recently come under controversy after a report that her own campaign biography was fudged.
Watch:
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This ridiculous Durham hearing was absolutely brutal for Durham and the GOP. Faux News had to cut away from it because it was a total disaster for the GOP. Check out the clips below.
MeidasTouch @MeidasTouch
The Republican Rake Steppers are at it again. This is not going well for Durham or the House GOP.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1671527865177743367
https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1671531983518793733
MeidasTouch @MeidasTouch
Wow. Just wow. Schiff completely exposes Durham and his sham report here. This has completely backfired on the Republicans.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1671529353509830663
https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1671536071958745088
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1671534208601260033
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1671514389504053250
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1671561024846327808
Ron Filipkowski @RonFilipkowski
Even Fox legal analyst Turley is mystified by Jim Jordan’s Durham clown show today: Durham “looks about as comfortable as a Benedictine monk in a strip club. He has this look a disbelief on his face. He’s said, look I reported the facts you can reach your own conclusions.”
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1671537488932876288
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1671537488932876288
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I'm not sure why some people are surprised by the actions of these partisan MAGA right wing Republicans. This is the same revenge agenda they ran on in 2022 promising their base they would hold these bogus investigations and ridiculous impeachment attempts. So, now they are holding these bogus hearings and floating their phony impeachment articles and the overwhelming majority of Americans are tired of it. Donald Trump is a criminal, so he was impeached twice for his crimes and January 6th was investigated by the House in 2022. That angered MAGA Republicans, so they decided to have their "own hearings" as an act of revenge based on conspiracy theories and the entire thing as been a total clown show. We can see who is truly pushing "partisan politics" and witch hunts" and it's MAGA Republicans doing it as their "hearings" are a massive failure as we all knew it would be.
House Republicans 'losing patience' with 'politically dumb' right-wingers' investigations
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Rank and file Republican House members are losing patience with the party's leadership for allowing committee chairs to keep launching politically-motivated investigations into Democrats that go nowhere, and floor impeachment proposals on the House floor.
That is the opinion of Brendan Buck, the former top advisor to ex-House Speaker Paul Ryan during an appearance on MSNBC's "Way Too Early" on Thursday morning when discussing Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert's desire to impeach President Joe Biden.
The morning after special counsel John Durham was grilled over his investigation into the FBI that came up empty-handed, Buck called the series of hearings being conducted by House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) and James Comer (R-KY) "politically dumb."
He then told host Jonathan Lemire that their patience is growing thin with the time-wasting jihads initiated by the rightwing extremists in the caucus.
"I feel for [House Speaker] Kevin McCarthy," Buck began. "A not insignificant part of the job of being speaker is stopping your members from doing something politically dumb -- and that's clearly what is going on here."
"But the reality is, House members are losing patience with a lot of these investigations. That's because they rushed out right after the election and said that, pretty plainly, that Joe Biden is part of some corruption deal with his son," he continued. "In fact, Jim Jordan and James Comer, the two party chairman came out and said they have direct evidence that Joe Biden was part of some schemes with overseas dealings. Of course, six months later, we've not seen any of that."
"So, at some point, your members get tired, lose patience, and they want to see action -- that's what came to a head with Rep. Lauren Boebert. Kevin McCarthy has put that to bed, but I wouldn't be surprised if that doesn't bring itself back up in the not-too-distant future," he added.
Watch:
Indiana Moms for Liberty chapter scrambles to explain why it quoted Hitler in very first newsletter
An Indiana chapter of the right-wing group Moms for Liberty this week scrambled to explain why it led its first-ever newsletter with a quote from mass-murdering Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
As reported by the Indianapolis Star, the Moms for Liberty chapter in Hamilton County, Indiana started off its recent newsletter with a quote from Hitler that stated, "He alone, who OWNS the youth, GAINS the future."
The group, which dedicates itself to getting school libraries to ban books that it finds offensive, posted a clarification about the quote on its Facebook page shortly after the newsletter published.
"The quote from a horrific leader should put parents on alert," the group said. "If the government has control over our children today, they control our country's future. We The People must be vigilant and protect children from an overreaching government."
This latest incident comes days after Vice News reported that assorted Moms for Liberty chapters have been forging links with "extremist groups like the Proud Boys, Three Percenters, sovereign citizen groups, QAnon conspiracist, Christian nationalists, and in one case, with the founder of the AK-47-worshiping Rod of Iron Ministries church in Pennsylvania."
The group was also recently listed as a "hate group" for the first time ever by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Read More Here: https://www.vice.com/en/article/5d93qd/moms-for-liberty-proud-boys
'Dictators like to ban artists': DeSantis compared to Fidel Castro at heated Miami meeting
Angry throngs turned out to Miami-Dade School Board meeting Wednesday to attack Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' policies as the country tried to figure out how to handle right-wing activists challenging books, reported the Miami Herald on Thursday.
Some who attended the meeting even compared DeSantis to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
Among those in attendance were people with Cuban heritage – who highlighted what they said were similarities behind DeSantis' policies and those of Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro.
"'Democracy is difficult. It’s messy. That’s why dictators like to ban artists. That’s why they like to ban art, because it is complicated and it makes us feel for other human beings,' said Carmen Pelaez, an acclaimed Cuban-American playwright in South Florida. '
As far as I know, there are two people that have tried to ban the story of Celia Cruz: Fidel Castro and Ron DeSantis.'" She was referencing "Celia Cruz: Queen of Salsa," one of the many books that was reviewed under DeSantis' new law.
Legislation signed by DeSantis makes it far easier for individuals to challenge books. DeSantis, who is seeking the GOP nomination for president in 2024 in competition with former President Donald Trump, has pushed back on criticism, claiming that no books have technically been "banned" in Florida — but this overlooks that hundreds of books have still been removed from school shelves in a sort of limbo while they are "reviewed."
This comes amid a number of other controversial cultural policies DeSantis has passed, including a law that makes it almost impossible to even mention sexual orientation in schools, and stacking the leadership of the New College of Florida with right-wing ideologues to suppress liberal thought on the faculty.
Read More Here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article276613591.html
Adam Schiff tells 'The View' GOP is going after him to 'follow their master Donald Trump'
There were numerous members of the House that came together to run the first impeachment of Donald Trump, but the former president has always fixated on Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). On Wednesday night, Republicans moved to censure Schiff, which has only happened a few times in the past century. After the vote, Democrats chanted "shame, shame" to the GOP on the floor.
Speaking to "The View" on Thursday, Schiff described the action as purely political.
"They go after people that are effective. They think they are standing up to them and, more importantly, that they are standing up to their master Donald Trump," Schiff told Whoopi Goldberg. "He threatened many of the Republicans that, if they didn't support this, with primary challenges, and they fell in line. They don't bother with people. They don't think they are a threat to essentially move the country in this authoritarian direction. The danger will intimidate others into standing and defending our Constitution. It's not going to have that effect on me, but I think they hope they can silence others, and that's where the kind of danger in this lies."
He went on to mention Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous statement that you can tell a lot about a person by the enemies he makes.
"I think we're in that kind of a time and I think I'm doing pretty damn well," said Schiff.
Joy Behar mentioned the rarity of the censure and explained that they're typically reserved for people who "lie about their entire resume" – like George Santos.
"Well, the crazies are running the House of Representatives now," Schiff replied. "Kevin has no control over his members, and so the speakers yesterday -- first all, there are very few of them on the Republican side, but the ones that were there were the Marjorie Taylor Greens (R-GA) the Lauren Boeberts (R-CO) and the Lunas."
He said that it "tears down" what the House stands for.
"We'll get past this. I have every confidence this shall pass," Schiff reassured the co-hosts. "I think that if we beat them next year, and God help us if we don't, they may just decide to abandon Trump. Not because he's a liar, they're fine with that. Not because he's immoral. They can live with that too. Not even because he's a danger to our national security, but they just might abandon him for the reason you mentioned, which is he's a loser."
Republican former White House staffer Alyssa Farah Griffin said that she spoke privately with some Republicans on Capitol Hill that were frustrated by the House focusing on things like this instead of actual issues. Some even told her that it was nothing more than an in-kind donation to Schiff's U.S. Senate campaign in California to replace Dianne Feinstein.
"So, I'm not sure what's happening in the House," she confessed.
They went on to discuss Hunter Biden. Schiff said it's curious that the Republican Party would try to destroy a president by attacking his son, "who is clearly dealing with addiction."
He also agreed with Sunny Hostin that a compelling question about Donald Trump's document theft is what possible reason he had for taking them and what use he had for them.
Watch interview in link: https://www.rawstory.com/adam-schiff-republicans-donald-trump/
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As I've said before, MAGA Republicans only exist to appease and protect their cult leader Donald Trump. They have no interest in helping their own constituents or the lives of Americans.
'Rewriting history': Democrat slams GOP for plan to erase Trump’s impeachments
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Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) hit the "Do Nothing Congress" with accusations that they are more focused on their own political fantasies than doing the work they're paid by taxpayers to do.
Fox reporter Chad Pergram tweeted that Republican House Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) have introduced resolutions to "formally expunge records of House impeachments for [Donald] Trump in 2019 and 2021."
Their goal is to say that it would be "as if such Articles of Impeachment had never passed the full House of Representatives."
Unfortunately, those records are already at the National Archives, and the video clips of the hearings and evidence are all over the internet. It makes it a lot more difficult to make something as if it never happened when the information is still available.
"Democrats put #PeopleOverPolitics," said Lieu, "and passed the bipartisan infrastructure law to grow the economy and create even more jobs. What are Republicans focused on? Rewriting history and altering facts. All to bend the knee before their cult leader."
The accusation comes after Trump's loyalists censured Rep. Adam Schiff (R-CA) on the House floor. Censures are so rare that only a handful have happened in the past 100 years.
Trump has long had an obsession with Schiff, leading him to believe that the GOP acted in the interest of their "master."
"He threatened many of the Republicans that, if they didn't support this, with primary challenges, and they fell in line," Schiff told "The View's" co-host Whoopi Goldberg. "They don't bother with people. They don't think they are a threat to essentially move the country in this authoritarian direction. The danger will intimidate others into standing and defending our Constitution. It's not going to have that effect on me, but I think they hope they can silence others, and that's where the kind of danger in this lies."
https://www.rawstory.com/republican-house-2661722258/
'The story smells’: former prosecutor questions Alito’s claim about Alaska flight with GOP billionaire
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Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito pre-emptively took to the Wall Street Journal op-ed page to angrily denounce a ProPublica article revealing billionaire GOP megadonor Paul Singer flew him to Alaska for a luxury fishing trip. Among his defenses of his behavior was that there happened to be an "empty seat" on the luxury plane and he saved taxpayers money by taking it.
But that really doesn't add up as an excuse, pointed out former federal prosecutor Harry Litman on Twitter, for one simple reason: why would taxpayers have paid for Alito to take a vacation in Alaska in the first place?
"Alito says he took seat on Singer’s private plane to save the taxpayers money," wrote Litman. "That assumes that the public would have paid for the commercial flight for his vacation. I know that at least some justices pay for their own personal travel. Much about the story smells like… you know…"
The new story about Alito's Alaska trip, coupled with another story about being flown out to Rome by a right-wing activist group with business before the court, comes amid a series of other stories about improper-looking gifts and transactions the justices have taken.
Justice Clarence Thomas was revealed to have accepted numerous gifts and vacations, and closed a cut-rate real estate deal, with GOP megadonor Harlan Crow. Meanwhile, Chief Justice John Roberts' wife earned $10.3 million in commissions from her work for elite law firms, at least one of which argued a case before the court.
The Supreme Court has faced mounting calls to adopt a binding code of ethics that can force them to recuse from cases when they have conflicting financial interests, as lower court federal judges are already subject to. However, the justices have not done so, and Roberts has defied requests by Senate investigators to testify on the issue.
Read More Here: https://twitter.com/harrylitman/status/1671944320247820288
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'Shady and corrupt': Add Barrett real estate deal to list of Supreme Court ethics scandals
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Thursday reporting on a real estate deal made by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett months after her confirmation in 2020 was the latest evidence, said a government watchdog, that ethics reforms at the high court must either be imposed by the judiciary or Congress.
Days after ProPublica reported on Justice Samuel Alito's previously undisclosed private jet trip—funded by a billionaire hedge fund owner whose business has been involved in numerous Supreme Court cases—CNN revealed that Barrett has had financial dealings with the Religious Liberty Initiative (RLI) at Notre Dame Law School.
A Notre Dame professor who had just taken a leadership role at RLI purchased Barrett's private home months after she was sworn in in October 2020.
The group, which advocates for religious freedom, was founded in 2020 and has filed numerous amicus briefs in cases related to the issue—related to questions surrounding abortion, public health precautions, and school prayer—since it was established. RLI has filed at least nine briefs with the court since the sale of Barrett's home.
The newly reported conflict of interest is one of several in recent months that have brought renewed scrutiny to the fact that the Supreme Court justices are not required to abide by an ethics code, as other federal judges are.
"The endless drip of shady and corrupt Supreme Court dealings just further underscores the need for reform," said Kyle Herrig, president of the watchdog group Accountable.US. "Every federal judge is bound to an ethics code requiring them to avoid behavior that so much as looks improper, except for Supreme Court justices. Chief Justice Roberts has the power to change that, but so far he hasn't shown the courage. If he fails to do his job, Congress must do theirs."
CNN also reported Thursday that RLI funded a previously reported trip Alito took to Rome shortly after the court overturned Roe v. Wade, stripping millions of people across the U.S. of the right to abortion care. In Rome, the right-wing justice mocked critics of the ruling, which has been decried as a violation of international law by human rights experts.
Alito ruled in favor of RLI's positions stated in its amicus briefs in several cases, and neither judge has recused themselves from a number of high-profile cases involving the Initiative.
In recent months, government watchdogs have demanded accountability for alleged ethics breaches and conflicts of interest at the Supreme Court, including Justice Clarence Thomas' financial ties to Republican megadonor Harlan Crow.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing last month to make the case for legislation that would require the high court to follow an ethics code.
Although Barrett's home sale may not have violated any rules, Indiana University law professor Charles Geyh told Accountable.US, it adds to the "perception problem" regarding the justices' ethics.
"It is addressed by the court being much more vigilant in guarding against perception problems created by [the justices'] financial wheelings and dealings," Geyh said, "and going the extra mile to make sure that they not only are clean, but look clean."
Read More Here: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/22/politics/alito-barrett-supreme-court-ethics-travel/index.html
Rep. George Santos’ $500K bond was guaranteed by his father and his aunt
Several media organizations, including NBCUniversal News Group, had requested that the court unseal the names of the bond guarantors, known as suretors.
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WASHINGTON — The father and an aunt of Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., guaranteed his $500,000 bond after he was charged last month with more than a dozen federal counts, a source familiar with the matter confirmed Thursday.
The congressman's father, Gercino Dos Santos, and Elma Santos Preven, his aunt, were the suretors for the bond. They did not have to provide any money upfront — they are obligated to pay only if Santos violates the terms of his release.
Their names, first reported by ABC News, were confirmed minutes before a federal court in New York released a document just after noon Thursday showing the family members' signatures.
U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert had ordered that their identities be made public.
Santos’ lawyer had argued that unsealing the names of the co-signers would put them in a position in which they would be likely to "suffer great distress, may lose their jobs, and God forbid, may suffer physical injury.”
On Thursday, Santos told reporters on Capitol Hill that he kept their identities secret because he was concerned about their safety.
Asked whether his family members had the money to guarantee bond, Santos said: "Don’t you think that’s a little invasive? That’s exactly the reason that I chose to keep their identities secure. My dad is an honest working man, as is my aunt."
Later in the day, Santos tweeted, "My family & I have made peace with the judges decision to release their names. Now I pray that the judge is correct and no harm comes to them." He also asked the media not to disturb or harass his dad and his aunt.
Several media organizations, including NBCUniversal News Group, had requested that the court unseal and make public documents with the names of the bond guarantors, known as suretors.
Santos, 34, was released on bond after his May 10 court appearance following his indictment on 13 criminal counts. He has been charged with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.
Santos pleaded not guilty at his arraignment.
Other conditions of his release include random monitoring at home and a ban on travel outside New York and Washington without seeking permission from the court. He was also ordered to surrender his passport.
Santos is due in court for his next appearance June 30 in New York.
His lawyer didn't respond to a request for comment.
After he left court in May, Santos said some of the charges were “inaccurate,” and he expressed confidence that he would be able to clear his name.
If he is convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison for “the top counts,” the Justice Department said, without specifying which counts those were.
He has resisted calls for his resignation from fellow Republicans and said he still plans to run for re-election next year, despite ongoing investigations at the federal, state and local levels.
Meanwhile, the House Ethics Committee said Thursday that it has issued more than 30 subpoenas and more than 40 voluntary requests for information in its own investigation of Santos. In an update, the panel said it’s working to resolve the matter in an “expeditious timeframe” and that it has been in touch with the Justice Department to “mitigate the potential risks” of dual investigations while “still meeting the Committee’s obligations to safeguard the integrity of the House.”
The committee typically steps aside when the Justice Department picks up a probe into a member of Congress, but it has continued to investigate Santos for potential ethics violations despite his recent indictment.
Santos first came under scrutiny after The New York Times published a bombshell investigation in December indicating that much of his résumé appeared to have been manufactured, including claims that he owned numerous properties, was previously employed by Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and had graduated from Baruch College.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/rep-george-santos-500k-bond-was-guaranteed-father-another-relative-rcna90580
George Santos ethics probe widens despite 'risks' of 'dual investigations': report
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An investigation into United States Representative George Santos (R-NY), led by the House Ethics Committee, will expand to address "allegations that he fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits," which are already included in his recent federal indictment charges, The Washington Post reports.
After the right-wing congressman "was released on a $500,000 bond," following his New York arrest on 13 federal charges last month, Rolling Stone reports "the court revealed on Thursday Santos' father, Gercino dos Santos, and his aunt, Elma Preven, were the two individuals who helped bail him out."
Per Rolling Stone, in March, the ethics committee began its probe into "whether Representative George Santos may have: engaged in unlawful activity with respect to his 2022 congressional campaign; failed to properly disclose required information on statements filed with the House; violated federal conflict of interest laws in connection with his role in a firm providing fiduciary services; and/or engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual seeking employment in his congressional office."
Now, the Post reports, the ethics panel's probe will also encompass "the federal charges, which allege that he defrauded his donors, used their money for his personal benefit and wrongfully claimed unemployment benefits.
The Post also notes:
"While the ethics committee traditionally paused investigations into lawmakers charged with federal crimes so as not to interfere with the work of the Justice Department, members had previously signaled that they would continue with their inquiry into Santos. The committee's latest statement acknowledged 'the risks associated with dual investigations,' noting that they're 'in communication with the Department of Justice to mitigate the potential risks while still meeting the Committee's obligations to safeguard the integrity of the House.'"
Following the GOP lawmaker's May federal indictment, United States Attorney Breon Peace said, "This indictment seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations," adding, "Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself. He used political contributions to line his pockets, unlawfully applied for unemployment benefits that should have gone to New Yorkers who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and lied to the House of Representatives. My Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to aggressively root out corruption and self-dealing from our community’s public institutions and hold public officials accountable to the constituents who elected them."
Read The Full Reports Below:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/22/santos-ethics-investigation-indictment/
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/george-santos-dad-aunt-guaranteed-bond-1234776107/
GOP lawmaker calls for return of Mississippi’s Confederate-themed state flag: report
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A Mississippi Republican lawmaker is calling for the return of the state’s retired Confederate-themed flag, The Mississippi Free Press reports.
State Sen. Kathy Chism issued the call to bring back the flag during a June 3 speech at a Tishomingo County political rally.
“That flag, a lot of our people fought and died under that flag,” Chism said, according to the report.
Both houses in 2020 voted decisively in favor of retiring the flag, which features red, white, and blue bars with a Confederate cross in the upper left corner. It was originally adopted as the state flag in 1894.
The flag’s retirement vote following decades of activism.
Chism was among 14 senators (all Republicans) from a body of 52 members who voted against the June 28, 2020 measure to change the flag.
The Mississippi Legislature’s Republican leaders finally agreed to vote on legislation to change the state flag on June 28, 2020.
Chism in a 2020 Facebook post falsely stated that the Confederate-themed flag had been designed by an African American soldier who served for the Confederacy.
“I can only imagine how proud he was that his art, his flag design was chosen to represent our State and now we want to strip him of his pride, his hard work. I’m sure he put a lot of thought into this design,” Chism’s June 2020 Facebook post said.
The Confederate-themed flag was designed by Sen. Edward N. Scudder, a white supremacist, according to the report, which notes that his daughter Fayssoux Scudder Corneil spoke about what compelled her father to design the flag during a 1924 speech to the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
“My father loved the memory of the valor and courage of those brave men who wore the gray … and has always taken keen interest in the reunions where he could meet and mingle with those of the Lost Cause,” Corneil said, according to the report.
“He told me that it was a simple matter for him to design the flag because he wanted to perpetuate in a legal and lasting way that dear battle flag under which so many of our people had so gloriously fought.”
Gov. Tate Reeves signed the measure to retire the Confederate-themed flag into law despite his previous opposition to changing it, and he created a commission that designed a new state flag with a Magnolia at its center, the report said.
The new design got overwhelming support from voters who backed it by a 73 percent to 27 percent margin in November 2020, according to the report, which notes that a similar measure 19 years earlier lost by a 64 percent to 36 percent margin.
Read More Here: https://www.mississippifreepress.org/34094/senator-calls-for-return-of-old-mississippi-flag-our-people-died-under-that-flag
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Larry Hogan slams DeSantis campaign as 'one of the worst I have seen so far'
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Former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) didn't hold back in his criticism of Gov. Ron DeSantis's (R-FL) 2024 presidential campaign, saying it was "one of the worst I have seen so far."
Speaking with CBS News's Major Garrett, Hogan said the Florida governor has "dropped like a rock" and is floundering against the Republican front-runner, former President Donald Trump.
"I think DeSantis really underperformed,” Hogan answered when asked what his assessment of his campaign was so far. “He started making all kinds of mistakes. I think the campaign is one of the worst I’ve seen so far and he’s dropped like a rock.”
Hogan said DeSantis has made several mistakes, including wading into culture war issues and criticizing the war in Ukraine.
"He’s got some strengths, but he’s also got some weaknesses," said Hogan. "I mean, he just doesn’t connect with people. He’s not a good campaigner. He’s not a good debater.”
He also predicted that the campaign "is getting close to being over."
While he didn't entirely rule out a potential comeback, he said DeSantis "is heading in the wrong direction."
Rumors have swirled about Hogan launching his own presidential campaign. Hogan did not rule out a run of his own but said that he was devoting his efforts to making sure Trump won't be the Republican nominee.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/larry-hogan-desantis-campaign-one-of-the-worst-i-have-seen-so-far
Trump '100 percent' betrayed the country: Newest GOP candidate Will Hurd
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Former Congressman Will Hurd (R-TX), known for his more moderate stances within the Republican caucus, jumped into the race for president this week — and he is making clear that he believes former President Donald Trump betrayed the United States when he stole hundreds of highly classified national defense documents and left them lying around his Mar-a-Lago country club.
He discussed the severity of the issue with CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Thursday evening.
"You're a former CIA officer," said Collins. "As you know, Trump is accused of taking information related to the U.S. nuclear programs, our defense capabilities, weapons capabilities. If what is alleged is true, do you think he betrayed the nation?"
"100 percent, he did," said Hurd. "And to me, it's absolutely outrageous that he knew what he had in those documents. He knew the level of sensitivity. And, yes, you know, you are innocent until proven guilty. But if those allegations are true, it is slapping the men and women who put themselves in harm's way every single night in order to keep us safe, it's a slap in their face because the leader of the free world should be willing to protect those secrets. Because if they got in the wrong hands, people would — lives would be lost."
"And what we still haven't heard from Donald Trump is why — he said the other night, I had T-shirts and shoes in those boxes, right? That's outrageous," said Hurd, referencing a contradictory defense Trump offered in a recent interview with Fox News' Bret Baier.
"What also did he do to protect those documents at his properties?" added Hurd. "What did he do to vet his employees or people that came to the club and determine whether or not they were being targeted from our adversaries? We know the Russians and the Chinese, what they do to try to influence and gain information. And this would be a — it had been a target-rich environment. Donald Trump hasn't announced — what has he done in order to protect those?"
Watch:
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'Blood on hands': Kyrsten Sinema slammed for planning to slash pilot training while taking cash from airlines
Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth took a swipe at Kyrsten Sinema over a proposal to reduce the the number of required in-flight training hours for pilots, saying the Independent Arizona lawmaker will have "blood on her hands" if the proposal is implemented, The Intercept reported.
The amendment in question, supported by the Arizona independent Sen. Sinema and South Dakota GOP Sen. John Thune, seeks to allow pilots to use time in a flight simulator to meet training requirements rather than actual flight time.
“Now is not the time to put corporate profits ahead of the lives of our constituents who may want to board a commercial flight in the future,” Duckworth said. “A vote to reduce a 1,500-hour rule for pilot training will mean blood on your hands when an inevitable accident occurs as a result of an inadequately trained flight crew.”
According to The Intercept, Sinema is backing the change - opposed by pilot and flight attendant unions – while she "received an influx of cash over the last year from the airline industry."
“Any change to the rule must have sign off from the pilots or we don’t trust it,” Association of Flight Attendants-CWA president Sara Nelson said. “It’s that simple.”
Campaign finance data gathered by OpenSecrets show Sinema raised over $150,000 from the airline industry over the past two election cycles. Donors include the largest air carrier trade group Airlines for America and regional carriers like Alaska Airlines.
Read More Here: https://theintercept.com/2023/06/23/kyrsten-sinema-pilot-training-airline-industry/
'Boo all you want': Chris Christie defiantly slams Trump in front of MAGA audience
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Friday remained defiant after he received boos at the Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference for criticizing former President Donald Trump.
During his address, Christie told the Trump-friendly crowd that he was running for president because Trump "let us down."
"He's let us down because he's been unwilling to take responsibility for any of the mistakes that were made, any of the faults that he has, and any of the things that he's done," Christie said. "And that is not leadership, everybody. That is a failure of leadership."
At this point, many in the crowd grew restless and started to boo Christie.
"You can boo all you want!" a defiant Christie shot back. "But here's the thing: Our faith teaches us that people have to take responsibility for what they do, people have to stand up and take accountability for what they do!"
Christie went on to claim that Trump at one point wanted him to be his White House chief of staff but "now what he does is call me names and belittle me."
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1672274680193875968
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President Biden @POTUS
Welcome to the White House, Mr. Prime Minister.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1671869402575192065
The U.S.-India partnership is stronger and more expansive than ever.
At the root of that partnership is a deep connection between our people — ties of family, friendship, and shared values.
Together, the United States and India – the world's oldest and largest democracies – are a combined force for global good.
It's my pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Modi to the White House to strengthen our partnership for decades to come.
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This morning, joined by thousands of Indian-American attendees from across the United States, we welcomed Prime Minister Modi to the People’s House.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1672063863519363077
Together, the United States and India will shape the future as we work towards a world that is open, prosperous, secure, and resilient.
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During our meeting, Prime Minister Modi and I discussed our shared efforts to mitigate the humanitarian tragedy unleashed by Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine –
And to defend the core principles of the UN Charter: sovereignty and territorial integrity.
With this visit, we are demonstrating once more how India and the United States are collaborating on nearly every human endeavor and delivering progress across the board.
Our bottom line is simple: We want people everywhere to have the opportunity to live in dignity.
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Tune in as I hold a joint press conference with Prime Minister Modi of India.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1OdKrzWWoQvKX
President Biden and Prime Minister Modi of India Deliver Remarks and Take Questions from the Press
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Lauren Boebert sued for defamation in federal court by activist
Colorado lawsuit, filed by David Wheeler of American Muckrakers, cites state’s anti-SLAPP statute
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A North Carolina political activist filed a defamation lawsuit against U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Silt in federal court Thursday.
Plaintiffs David Wheeler, who last year publicized information about Boebert in an effort to derail her reelection bid, and the super PAC American Muckrakers claim that Boebert defamed Wheeler by falsely accusing him of defaming her.
Boebert and “John Does,” to be named later, are identified as defendants.
The complaint, filed against the Republican in U.S. District Court of Colorado, alleges that Boebert made “maliciously false statements” about Wheeler and American Muckrakers, of which he is president, on multiple occasions last summer, particularly during broadcasts of TV and radio host Sean Hannity’s shows.
Wheeler in March told Newsline he was considering whether to identify Boebert-aligned media entities, such as Fox News and Hannity, as defendants. Hannity is discussed extensively in Wheeler’s complaint and is alleged to have provided a platform for and amplified false assertions made by Boebert.
Fox personality Tomi Lahren is also singled out in the complaint as having provided a platform for Boebert to allegedly defame Wheeler.
Newsline requested a comment from Boebert’s office but had not received a reply at the time of publication.
Wheeler previously brought a similar lawsuit against Boebert in a North Carolina state court last year, but the judge dismissed the case, saying that the proper venue for it was in Colorado.
American Muckrakers last year exposed unflattering information about former Republican U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina and is credited with helping to turn voters against the representative, who lost his primary bid.
The group then targeted Boebert. Wheeler and Muckrakers, citing sources close to Boebert, published information about Boebert that appeared to run counter to her political stance against abortion, among other allegations. The most notable release of information came in a June 14 press release that attracted national media attention.
The group’s claims about Boebert in some cases lacked corroborating evidence or were shown to be false. But Wheeler stands by his main allegations against Boebert, and the lawsuit notably asserts that “Boebert was aware that she had” worked as a paid escort, had two abortions, and used illegal drugs, even as she accused Wheeler and Muckrakers of publishing “false statements knowing they were completely fabricated,” characterized the statements as “defamation,” and said she was “moving forward with a lawsuit.”
Boebert never followed through with her threat to sue Wheeler and Muckrakers.
A key difference between the Colorado and North Carolina lawsuits is that the case filed Thursday invokes Colorado’s anti-SLAPP law. Enacted in 2019, the statute, concerning strategic lawsuits against public participation, protects Coloradans who exercise free speech rights from meritless lawsuits. Wheeler claims Boebert’s threats of litigation are subject to sanction under Colorado’s anti-SLAPP law, and he wants the suit to help develop case law around the statute.
“This case is filed in part to extend existing precedent establishing the meaning of Colorado’s law so that it provides the protection intended by our legislators in enacting the statute for the protection of citizens’ rights as plaintiffs as well as defendants,” the suit says.
Wheeler and his attorney, Dan Ernst, who is based in Denver and specializes in defamation, have communicated through letters and email with legal counsel and other representatives for Fox News and Hannity, according to copies of the communication obtained by Newsline from a source familiar with the matter.
According to the communication, Wheeler and Ernst indicated that their dispute with Fox News could be resolved if the company retracted allegedly defamatory statements about Wheeler and allowed him to appear on Hannity’s show “to correct the record,” as Ernst put it in a letter to Steven P. Mandell, outside counsel to Fox and Hannity. Mandell in a March 19 letter to Wheeler flatly rejected the proposal and wrote that “there is no merit to any of your claims.”
Wheeler in a March 20 email addressed to Fox’s top brass, including founder Rupert Murdoch and Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch, as well as Hannity, Wheeler repeated the proposal in colorful terms: “What do you say about a good ol’ western shoot-out between Boebert and me on Sean’s show as a friendly way to resolve this and avoid lawyers, and courts?”
Mandell again rebuffed Wheeler’s request to appear on Hannity’s show in an April 5 letter to Ernst.
Wheeler’s lawsuit comes less than two months after Fox agreed to pay Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million in a defamation case. He is asking the court to award him an unspecified amount in damages.
https://coloradonewsline.com/2023/06/08/lauren-boebert-sued-for-defamation-in-federal-court-by-activist/
Juan Williams to Karl Rove: 'You're whining because Joe Biden did a good job in Ukraine'
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Fox News contributors Juan William and Karl Rove clashed over whether President Joe Biden could take any credit after Russian President Vladimir Putin faced a military insurrection over the weekend.
"Well, I tell you, Joe Biden looked pretty good this weekend, didn't he?" Williams said during a panel discussion on Fox News Sunday. "I mean, boy, he's led the allies. He warned early about Putin invading Ukraine."
"Who looks like a weak leader right now?" he added. "America's enemy, Vladimir Putin."
"He's been — he went to Camp David, which was probably a wise move because it kept him out of the scene," Rove shot back. "He's been largely out of it."
"You sound like you're whining because Joe Biden did a good job in Ukraine," Williams replied.
"Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't claim any credit for the resolution of what's happened in the last few days," Rove said.
"Oh, let me get this straight," Williams joked. "You know, former president Trump: 'Putin's my friend, I would have handled it.'"
"Joe Biden needs to be acknowledged when he has success," Williams concluded.
Watch:
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Nearly half of Dems are concerned that Old Joe is mentally unfit! HA HA HA. This is the guy who just two years ago got more votes than any candidate in US history. But half of his own party believe he has dementia? Nothing suspicious there. It does make you wonder who all those voters were.
"In a testy confrontation on Sunday’s Meet the Press, Todd asked the senator about recent NBC polling showing that 43 percent of Democrats are concerned President Joe Biden “does not have the necessary physical and mental health” to serve."
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Brand new polling shows President Biden leading in the 2024 election.
RMG:
Biden 46 (+8)
DeSantis 38
NBC News:
Biden 49 (+4)
Trump 45
A recent poll by NBC News reveals that President Joe Biden is leading Donald Trump by 4 points 49-45.
Here are the key findings:
President Biden holds a lead among women (55-38), 18-34 year olds (65-30), Latinos (66-26), and Independents (47-33).
These numbers haven't budged since 2020 which is fantastic news for President Biden showing Americans in key demographics are satisfied with his presidency and enthusiastic about his 2024 reelection.
https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/first-read/trumps-gop-lead-grows-latest-indictment-poll-finds-rcna90420
Unions go all in for Biden 2024 with early endorsements
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The Biden campaign said Friday it secured 2024 endorsements from the AFL-CIO and 17 other unions, hoping to shore up President Biden as a champion of organized labor before a political speech Saturday at a union hall in Philadelphia.
Campaign officials said the AFL-CIO, which represents 60 unions and 12.5 million workers, is making its earliest endorsement of any presidential campaign cycle.
“President Biden has been an unwavering champion of the labor movement his entire career, and today, AFL-CIO and 17 unions across the country endorsed him and Vice President [Kamala] Harris in an unprecedented show of solidarity and strength for our campaign,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said.
Mr. . Biden frequently touts his blue-collar bona fides as a son of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and is a vocal supporter of unions.
“Joe Biden ran for president four years ago because he knows the way to grow the economy is to grow the middle class, and that starts with strong unions and labor representation,” Ms. Chavez said.
President Biden is expected to campaign on his pledge to protect workers who want to organize in the workplace, whether it is in coffee shops or colleges and the manufacturing sector. His campaign says the pivot to green energy is also a chance for organized labor to flex its muscle and provide reliable jobs.
During his weekend speech, Mr. Biden is likely to highlight his legislative wins such as the bipartisan infrastructure bill that provided billions of dollars to upgrade roads and bridges and build new transportation projects.
The president is “rebuilding America, brick by brick, through good jobs and opportunity for all,” AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond said Friday. “That’s the future we want for our kids and that’s why the labor movement is going all-in to deliver another four years to President Biden.”
Mr. Biden also secured endorsements from AFSCME, a union for state, county and municipal workers; the UNITE HERE Culinary Union; and Electrical Workers (IBEW) International, among others.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/jun/16/unions-go-all-biden-2024-early-endorsements/
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President Biden @POTUS
When I signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, we took on the NRA and won.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1672998091195121665
Each year, hidden junk fees cost Americans tens of billions of dollars, weighing down family budgets and making it harder for people to pay their bills.
My Administration is taking action to eliminate these fees. For families, that’s more money back in your pocket.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1673088689054834690
The White House @WhiteHouse
The Biden-Harris Administration is here to help hardworking Americans save money on junk fees and enjoy their summer.
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https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1671910918828032002
The President’s Initiative on Junk Fees and Related Pricing Practices
The Biden-Harris Administration is taking action on junk fees that hurt Americans’ pocketbooks and the economy.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/blog/2022/10/26/the-presidents-initiative-on-junk-fees-and-related-pricing-practices/
Biden targets junk fees in wake of Ticketmaster's Taylor Swift fiasco
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President Biden met with executives on Thursday from a slew of private-sector companies, including ticketing platforms SeatGeek and Ticketmaster and online rental marketplace Airbnb, announcing several companies will take actions to tackle hidden fees and offer more transparent pricing.
"This is a win for consumers, in my view," Biden said in a press conference.
Ticketmaster, which is owned by Live Nation Entertainment (LYV), has committed to rolling out product features that make it easier for consumers to search for and receive all-in upfront pricing, which includes the service charge and any other fees.
The company plans to offer these features by September.
SeatGeek plans to offer similar search tools over the course of the summer, while Airbnb introduced a new total price display feature in December that allows US consumers to see all fees before taxes.
The Biden administration has pushed for more transparency around junk fees for nearly a year.
During his State of the Union address in February, Biden said: "Junk fees may not matter for the very wealthy but they matter to most other folks in homes like the one I grew up in."
"They add up to hundreds of dollars a month. They make it harder for you to pay your bills," he said.
"Thursday's voluntary actions demonstrate that companies both big and small recognize the importance of providing consumers with honest, up-front all-in pricing, rather than tricking them with surprise fees at the end of checkout," the White House said in a statement. "It is also just a first step towards addressing junk fees in the economy."
Lael Brainard, who serves as director of the National Economic Council, added in a follow-up statement, "President Biden has been working to lower costs for hardworking families by bringing down inflation, capping insulin prices for seniors, and eliminating hidden junk fees. More companies are heeding the President’s call so that Americans know what they’re paying for up front and can save money as a result.”
Thursday's meeting comes in the wake of last year's Taylor Swift fiasco that served a black mark for Ticketmaster's parent company, Live Nation, and led to heightened regulatory scrutiny of the company and its practices.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biden-targets-junk-fees-in-wake-of-ticketmasters-taylor-swift-fiasco-185234243.html
President Biden Delivers Remarks on Junk Fees
President Biden delivers remarks on protecting consumers from hidden junk fees and putting more money back in the pockets of everyday Americans.
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Even the majority of Dems indicate that Old Joe is mentally and physically unable to be president. And yet they still vote for him. Imagine being filled with so much hate for Trump that you would vote for someone that you believe has advanced dementia. The results speak for themselves. Disaster after disaster has unfolded. Almost all of which were self-inflicted by the clown show policies of Biden.
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The May 2023 Jobs Report has been revised from 339,000 jobs to an incredible 432,000 jobs. The Biden Boom continues and the economy is stronger than ever!
Time for another monthly jobs update!
33.8 million jobs = 16 years Clinton/Obama
13.1 million jobs = 27 months Biden
1.9 million jobs = 16 years Bush/Bush/Trump
Almost 7 times as many Biden jobs as last 3 Republicans COMBINED!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FxnoxJJXoAAXwzQ?format=png&name=medium)
Job creation rate per month under Biden has been almost 50 times what it was under last 3 GOP Presidents.
Look at this stat - Republicans averaged 10,000 jobs per month over 16 years. Last month under Biden it was 339,000.
Republicans fail to create jobs for Americans giving us recessions and massive job loss.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FxnsIASXoAgkiMu?format=png&name=medium)
Of the 49 million jobs created since 1989, when a new age of globalization began, 47 million, 96% have been created under Democratic Presidents. Essentially all of them.
GOP economy track record in this period among worst in U.S. history.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FxntRyKXwAAEG9E?format=png&name=medium)
The claim that the Republicans are better over Democrats on the economy is a total fallacy.
Since 1989
Democrats = growth, lower deficits, U.S. progress
Republicans = recession, higher deficits, U.S. decline
Data is very clear about this. GOP has been an economic wrecking ball.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FxnuD-sX0AEFzYn?format=png&name=medium)
So much of the current economic conversation has been shaped by Republican lies and inventions.
The last 3 GOP Presidents brought recessions and spiraling deficits. Only Democratic Presidents have gotten the deficit down.
Democrats have been the party of fiscal responsibility.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FxnvqWWXsAEZkJ1?format=png&name=medium)
Look at this new data from the @Conferenceboard - worker satisfaction is at an all time high in America thanks to President Biden.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FxnyJ_TWwAIY_8F?format=jpg&name=medium)
Inflation was only 2% in Feb and March, and real disposable incomes rose 3.6% over last 9 months.
The lowest unemployment since 1969 and more people have jobs today than ever before in the modern era.
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RICO, Foreign agent registration act violations, corruption, bribery and treason were all just confirmed by the IRS whistleblower evidence.
“I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” Hunter Biden wrote Zhao, the director of Harvest Fund Management, according to Shapley.
“Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight,” the now-53-year-old went on. “And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.”
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President Biden Delivers Remarks on Investing in America
President Biden discusses how his investing in America agenda is bringing manufacturing back, rebuilding the middle class, and creating good-paying union jobs.
Watch:
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This reads exactly like a mafia-type shakedown from the Godfather. Dirty Hunter is making China an offer they can't refuse backed by his Dad's political influence in return for money. This alone violates several federal laws. It's incredible that the IRS and FBI have had such evidence for years and nothing has been done. Imagine if this were Trump and his family?
“I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” Hunter Biden wrote Zhao, the director of Harvest Fund Management, according to Shapley.
“Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight,” the now-53-year-old went on. “And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.”
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President Joe Biden will unveil a $42 billion plan aimed at providing high-speed internet access to all red states and blue states. President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is set to bring world-class connectivity to everyone in America.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FzkQXHZWIBEchGt?format=jpg&name=medium)
Biden announces $42 billion high-speed internet initiative
- President Joe Biden is kicking off a more than $42 billion plan to give every American household access to high-speed internet by 2030.
-The initiative is the next stage of Biden’s push to invest in America ahead of his reelection bid.
-White House officials compared the plan to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s effort to bring electricity to rural America in the 1930s.
(https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/107262652-1687798932463-gettyimages-1259092045-BIDEN_INTERNET.jpeg?v=1687799195&w=630&h=354&ffmt=webp&vtcrop=y)
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is kicking off a more than $42 billion plan to give every American household access to high-speed internet by 2030.
The funds, already allotted by Congress through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and overseen by the U.S. Department of Commerce, are slated to be divvied up over the next two years through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. The initiative is the next stage of Biden’s push to invest in America ahead of his reelection bid.
“Let us agree in the 21st century America, high-speed internet is not a luxury, it’s a necessity,” said Vice President Kamala Harris speaking at the White House.
“Whether it’s connecting people to the digital economy, manufacturing fiber optic cable in America or creating good-paying jobs building internet infrastructure in the states, the investments we’re announcing will increase our competitiveness and spur economic growth across the country for years to come,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Rai.....
Each state will receive a minimum of $107 million, with 19 states receiving over $1 billion. Texas is slated to receive more than $3.3 billion under the program.
White House officials compared the plan to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s effort to bring electricity to rural America in the 1930s.
“Put simply, high-speed internet is a necessity in today’s society,” said Mitch Landrieu, White House infrastructure coordinator. “President Biden and Vice President Harris are committed to leaving no community behind as we connect everyone in America to high-speed internet.”
More than 7% of the country, or more than 8.5 million homes and small businesses, is considered underserved, with internet speed below the government’s standards of at least 25 megabits per second for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/26/biden-high-speed-internet-initiative.html
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RICO, Foreign agent registration act violations, corruption, bribery and treason were all just confirmed by the IRS whistleblower evidence.
“I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” Hunter Biden wrote Zhao, the director of Harvest Fund Management, according to Shapley.
“Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight,” the now-53-year-old went on. “And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.”
This reads exactly like a mafia-type shakedown from the Godfather. Dirty Hunter is making China an offer they can't refuse backed by his Dad's political influence in return for money. This alone violates several federal laws. It's incredible that the IRS and FBI have had such evidence for years and nothing has been done. Imagine if this were Trump and his family?
“I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” Hunter Biden wrote Zhao, the director of Harvest Fund Management, according to Shapley.
“Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight,” the now-53-year-old went on. “And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.”
More bogus disinformation. Hilarious! No sources and no nothing. An absolute joke. Gullible right wingers will believe anything just like the phony Durham probe that was a total embarrassment for the GOP.
Meanwhile, Criminal Donald gets one step closer to prison each day for stealing top secret military information and discussing it with people who don't have a top secret security clearance.
CNN released audio of this treasonous traitor admitting these documents were not declassified. He has recently been lying publicly that he declassified them. Lock him up, he is a national security risk.
Kaitlan Collins @kaitlancollins
Breaking: CNN has obtained the audio recording of Trump acknowledging that he had “secret” military information that was not declassified, six months after leaving office. It’s a key piece in Jack Smith’s case against the former president — and is airing now on CNN.
https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1673481579337752576
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1673501937659170817
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Alyssa Farah Griffin @Alyssafarah
Stunning. In the audio, Trump admits the info is classified, discusses the contents of the docs w/people without clearances, & acknowledges he can’t declassify when he’s not POTUS. This violates numerous rules of handling classified info legally & safely.
https://twitter.com/Alyssafarah/status/1673484117810266113
Harry Litman @harrylitman
The tape -- which the jury will hear whether or not Trump testifies -- is devastating. He says "this is what DoD gave me." and "I should have declassified it then now I can't." and "this is him[Milley."] & "it is like highly confidential and secret" to the guffaws of audience.
https://twitter.com/harrylitman/status/1673492317456482304
'This Is Still Secret’: CNN Obtains Audio Of Trump Discussing Sensitive Military Document
“I have a big pile of papers. This thing just came up," the former president said in the clip.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FylXCwbXwAADgCC?format=jpg&name=medium)
CNN obtained audio of former President Donald Trump discussing sensitive military documents he took with him after leaving the White House.
In the 2-minute audio clip, Trump can be heard describing a document compiled by Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when Trump was president, on the potential attacks against Iran. The discussion of the file was recorded during a 2021 meeting in Bedminster, New Jersey, with people working on Milley’s memoir.
“He said that I wanted to attack Iran. Isn’t it amazing?” Trump says of Milley in the audio clip as the sound is heard of that appears to be shuffling papers. “I have a big pile of papers. This thing just came up. Look. This was him. They presented me this ― this is off the record, but ― they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defense Department and him.”
“All sorts of stuff, pages long. Let’s see here,” the former president continues. “Isn’t that amazing. This totally wins my case, you know, except that it is like highly confidential, secret, this is secret information.”
Trump went on to say the papers he was showing his guest were classified.
“See, as president I could have declassified it,” Trump said in the clip. “Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.”
Listen Here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1673487904465616896
The recording is reportedly a key piece of evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s case into Trump’s handling of classified files after his presidency.
Federal prosecutors indicted Trump on 37 criminal counts this month, accusing the former president of repeatedly risking national security and undermining the government’s efforts to see the return of boxes of documents from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. The indictment cites the conversation obtained by CNN.
Trump has rejected the claims and pleaded not guilty to all counts. He has said he had the absolute right to take anything he wanted when he left the White House under the Presidential Records Act and that he had a standing order to declassify anything removed from the Oval Office during his presidency.
Prosecutors, however, appear to have homed in on Trump’s own words during their investigation. The indictment lays out at least two conversations — including the one in the CNN file — in which he acknowledged material in his possession was still classified.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-audio-cnn-sensitive-military-documents_n_649a1d19e4b09fcde59d6d54
New recording shows Trump discussing ‘secret’ documents he did not declassify
(https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/5cd0e9baaa8a176cc69e3d54/master/w_2560%2Cc_limit/trump1.jpg)
A newly released audio recording obtained by CNN includes former President Trump discussing holding onto classified documents in a 2021 meeting in Bedminster, New Jersey.
The recording, which first aired on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” offers new insights into a conversation that is a piece of evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment against Trump over mishandling classified documents and attempting to keep them from the government. According to the indictment, the conversation took place during an interview with a writer and publisher for a book at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey on July 21, 2021.
The two-minute recording suggests that Trump was holding pieces of classified information about the Pentagon’s plans to attack Iran. The recording starts off with Trump saying, “these are bad sick people,” while his staffer pointed to Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“He said that I wanted to attack Iran, Isn’t it amazing? I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look. This was him. They presented me this – this is off the record but – they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defense Department and him,” Trump said on the recording, as the sound of papers shuffling could be heard in the background.
“I was just thinking, because we were talking about it. And you know, he said, ‘He wanted to attack Iran, and what…” Trump could be heard saying before adding, “These are the papers.”
Other lines from the conversation, including Trump being heard saying that the document was still classified, but “as president I could have declassified it” were included in the indictment. In an additional part of the recording, Trump could also be heard saying “it’s incredible” before asking someone to “bring some Cokes in please.”
“It’s so cool. I mean, it’s so, look, her and I, and you probably almost didn’t believe me, but now you believe me,” Trump said.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told The Hill they had no comment at this time.
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4068994-new-recording-shows-trump-discussing-secret-documents-he-did-not-declassify-report/
Conway explains how new Trump audio is a ‘nail in the coffin’
CNN has exclusively obtained the audio recording of the 2021 meeting in Bedminster, New Jersey, where former President Donald Trump discusses holding secret documents he did not declassify. Conservative lawyer George Conway reacts.
Watch:
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Every day brings fantastic new polling numbers for Trump and disastrous numbers for Ukraine Joe. The latest numbers have Trump 30 point or more ahead of a strong GOP field. Meanwhile two-thirds of the country including most Dems believe the country is on the wrong path under Old Joe. Worse numbers than Nixon during Watergate or Jimmy Carter at the height of his incompetent presidency. This is the same guy who received the MOST votes in the history of US elections under the new rigged system. But now it is impossible to find a single person who actually supports Ukraine Joe. There are only people who hate Trump and believe Shuffling Joe is only person who can win an election with their clown show candidates.
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Every day brings fantastic new polling numbers for Trump and disastrous numbers for Ukraine Joe. The latest numbers have Trump 30 point or more ahead of a strong GOP field. Meanwhile two-thirds of the country including most Dems believe the country is on the wrong path under Old Joe. Worse numbers than Nixon during Watergate or Jimmy Carter at the height of his incompetent presidency. This is the same guy who received the MOST votes in the history of US elections under the new rigged system. But now it is impossible to find a single person who actually supports Ukraine Joe. There are only people who hate Trump and believe Shuffling Joe is only person who can win an election with their clown show candidates.
The disinformation this guy posts is hilarious. It's pure comedy gold. :D :D :D
What you never see from this guy is actual sources or documented evidence. He has none. It's all made up nonsense he posts. Then when he's called out on it, and his nonsense is debunked, he moves on to more disinformation.
Two new national polls for 2024 came out over the weekend showing President Biden BEATING both DeSantis and Trump for the 2024 election.
So no, Biden's numbers are not "disastrous" as he falsely says. In fact, Biden has HUGE numbers in every important demographic which is crucial for winning a presidential election. And on top of that, almost every single union in America has already endorsed Joe Biden which is unprecedented for unions to unanimously endorse a candidate this early before election season even begins. So, President Biden has HUGE support amongst blue collar workers all over the United States.
Trump is on his way to prison, so his imaginary "campaign" is irrelevant. What IS relevant is that his poll numbers amongst Republicans is terrible. Trump only has 47% support of Republicans when in 2016 he had 96% support. That means he has lost half of his support since that time.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-poll-indictments-cnn-june-b2361825.html
disastrous numbers for Ukraine Joe.
But now it is impossible to find a single person who actually supports Ukraine Joe.
So, you can easily see the unsourced comments from "Richard Smith" above is disinformation: "disastrous numbers for Ukraine Joe" and "but now it is impossible to find a single person who actually supports Ukraine Joe" is pure disinformation. It's totally made up nonsense.
President Biden does not have "disastrous poll numbers", he is beating both Republicans nationally. Support for President Biden is HUGE among union members as shown below.
2024 Presidential Polls:
RMG:
Biden 46 (+8)
DeSantis 38
NBC News:
Biden 49 (+4)
Trump 45
A recent poll by NBC News reveals that President Joe Biden is leading Donald Trump by 4 points 49-45.
Here are the key findings:
President Biden holds a strong lead among women (55-38), 18-34 year olds (65-30), Latinos (66-26), and Independents (47-33).
https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/first-read/trumps-gop-lead-grows-latest-indictment-poll-finds-rcna90420
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-poll-indictments-cnn-june-b2361825.html
Even Faux Propaganda says Biden's campaign is strong.
Fox News @FoxNews
OPINION: Biden's campaign is stronger than Republicans think
https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1673462418356285440
The headline reads: 'Unprecedented Show of Solidarity': Major Labor Unions Endorse Biden for 2024
Union workers unanimously back President Biden. Hundreds of thousands of union members and are supercharged with "excitement and enthusiasm" for President Biden's 2024 reelection.
And they should be, because President Biden is the greatest jobs president and manufacturing jobs president in history. He took Donald Trump's manufacturing recession and economic crisis and created the biggest manufacturing boom in history along with 13.1 million jobs which is the most ever created by a president in just over 2 years.
So, the absurd claim by "Richard Smith" that "it's impossible to find a single person who actually supports Ukraine Joe" is disinformation because hundreds of thousands of union members are supercharged and enthusiastic about Biden's 2024 campaign.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FzmL29AXoAAAjdh?format=jpg&name=medium)
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'He’s so dumb — he’s so stupid': Ex-Dem senator marvels at the insanity of Trump’s behavior on tape
(https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/here-are-the-3-excuses-trump-will-use-for-why-he-won-t-testify-before-the-jan-6-committee.png?id=27615625&width=2400&height=1349)
MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace played two recent interviews by Donald Trump in which he manufactures different excuses or stories about the classified documents that make up the source of his recent indictment.
In one, Trump tells Sean Hannity, "All I know is this: everything I did was right."
In another Hannity interview, Trump says that a president can declassify something with his mind. That is false.
Speaking to Kaitlin Collins during the Trump town hall, he claimed that the Presidential Records Act allowed him to take whatever he wants. In fact, the PRA does the opposite.
Former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) marveled at the willingness of the former president to make absurd comments.
"It is so dumb!" exclaimed McCaskill. "I mean, he is so stupid! It is just amazing how stupid he is. It reminds me of making closing arguments, and Andrew [Weissmann] can probably relate to this. But I always loved as a prosecutor, because you got the last word, and invariably the defense would, in their closing arguments, say, well, nobody could be this stupid. And I'd always stand up in my rebuttal and say if we have to open the prison doors for stupid, we won't have anybody in prison because everybody who does criminal activity at some level is dumb."
She said that some think they won't get caught, others think they're too smart, or they think the crime is ultimately worth it.
"The thing also about this case we have to remember is a courtroom is a different thing for Donald Trump because all of the stuff falls away, and the only thing that comes in front of the jury are the facts. As the judge determines are relevant. And oaths are taken not only by witnesses. They stand in front of everybody and take a solemn oath before God. So does the jury. The jury takes a solemn oath before God about their duty and following the law, and listening to the facts. So, it's a very treacherous territory for a guy like Donald Trump because his wheeling and dealing and his lying at every turn just doesn't work in a courtroom."
Watch:
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disastrous numbers for Ukraine Joe.
But now it is impossible to find a single person who actually supports Ukraine Joe.
The comments above are hilarious! :D :D :D
President Biden won New Hampshire in 2020 by 7 points and is now leading by 9 points over 2 Republicans in a 2024 New Hampshire state presidential poll.
How is a 9 point lead "disastrous numbers"? A 9 point lead is HUGE. That's a landslide in New Hampshire.
So, the phony claim that Biden has "disastrous numbers" is laughable. It's even more laughable when he says "it is impossible to find a single person who actually supports Ukraine Joe" when MORE people in New Hampshire support Biden now than in 2020. Biden's popularity grew 2% more since 2020.
2024 New Hampshire GE:
Biden 49% (+9)
Trump 40%
Biden 49% (+9)
DeSantis 40%
@SaintAnselmPoll
https://twitter.com/Politics_Polls/status/1673756614908624897
David Doney @David_Charts
On average, President Biden has the highest real (inflation-adjusted) wage and lowest unemployment rate of any president from LBJ to present (1964-2023).
Workers never had it better.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FzmLeAAWwAE_HF4?format=png&name=medium)
https://twitter.com/David_Charts/status/1673522469997785088
"My Administration has created more jobs in two years than any previous administration has created in the first four years.
It’s no accident. It means our economic plan is working and this is only the beginning." - President Joe Biden
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FzpVUhlXwA8Zywo?format=jpg&name=medium)
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Uh-oh; "$5 million for one Biden, $5 million for the other Biden."
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President Biden @POTUS
This is Bidenomics, folks.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FzuDpr6XwAYMOqf?format=png&name=medium)
Bidenomics is just another way of saying restoring the American dream after 40 years of trickle-down limited that dream to those at the top.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1674136735712792582
Trickle-down economics represented the moment where we walked away from how this country had been built.
Bidenomics is about the future. It’s rooted in what’s always worked best in this country:
Investing in America.
The trickle-down approach failed the middle class. It failed America.
My economic vision for the country is about growing the economy from the middle out and bottom up – not the top down.
Under the trickle-down economic theory, over three quarters of U.S. industries grew more concentrated, diminishing competition.
That's been the Congressional Republican plan: Good for big business. Bad for everybody else.
My plan offers a better way:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fzu-uhxWIAAQgvc?format=png&name=medium)
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1674174584633937922
President Biden delivers 'major' economic speech in Chicago
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FzvU9aJXsAAl6dq?format=jpg&name=medium)
President Joe Biden took his economic philosophy, which emphasizes building the economy from the middle out and bottom up, on the road with a speech Wednesday at the Old Post Office Building in downtown Chicago.
"The trickle-down approach failed the middle class," Biden said. "It failed America."
Despite the billing, the president seemed hesitant at first about using the term "Bidenomics" -- arguing it was one first coined by the news media. “I didn't come up with the name. I really didn’t. I now claim it but they're the ones who used it first," he said.
"I think it's a plan that I’m happy to call Bidenomics,” he then insisted, outlining a three-pronged approach aimed at placing low-income and middle-class families in a stronger financial position.
"First, making smart investments in America. Second, educating and empowering American workers to grow the middle class. And third, promoting competition to lower costs and help small businesses," he said.
In the 35-minute address, Biden touted the jobs and investments created as a result of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. He took aim at Republicans, Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama in particular, for recently celebrating the impacts of the infrastructure law despite voting against it.
"I think it’s going to help lessen the division in this country by bringing us back together," Biden told the crowd of "Bidenomics." "It makes it awful hard to demagogue something when it's working."
Biden on Wednesday largely focused on positive economic news, touting the unemployment rate hitting a historic low earlier this year and a cooling in inflation, though prices remain higher than when he entered office.
"Bringing down inflation remains one of my top priorities," Biden said Wednesday. He said his attempts to bring down prescription drug costs and eliminate junk fees are two examples of providing Americans with more financial breathing room.
The administration's recently been buoyed by a May jobs report that showed payrolls grew by 339,000, beating expectations. Consumer prices rose 4% in May compared to a year ago, also a better figure than anticipated, and down from the 40-year high of more than 9% last year.
Looking ahead, Biden vowed to continue fighting for universal pre-K and free college, as well as bringing down child care costs and addressing tax loopholes that prevent the wealthy from "paying their fair share."
"I'm not here to declare victory on the economy but we have a plan [that is] turning things around incredibly quickly," Biden said. "We have more work to do."
AFP
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/president-joe-biden-visits-chicago-bidenomics-o-hare-international-airport-air-quality/3174166/
Biden delivers economic policy speech on 'Bidenomics' in Chicago
Watch:
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Wednesday was a great day for President Biden.
First, he started it off with his major speech on the economy in Chicago to highlight his historic economic success for the last 2 1/2 years.
Second, new data was released showing the United States with the highest economic growth rate among the world’s leading economies since the pandemic. 13.4 million jobs have been created under President Biden, the most ever in history. Every single job that was lost from the pandemic has been brought back, plus millions of more new jobs have been created because of Biden's signature legislation that includes the Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act. Inflation is at the lowest level in 2 years and lower than the other world countries which are still struggling with inflation due the pandemic.
Third, new polling from NBC News shows that 65% of 18-34 years old say they will vote for President Biden in 2024. And most importantly, Biden has 47% support of Independent voters who will vote for him in the next election.
Fourth, brand new polling from the highly respected Marquette University Law poll shows President Biden opening up a 9 point lead over Trump in Wisconsin. A 9 point lead is a landslide victory in Wisconsin. Yesterday, polls show Biden with a 9 point in New Hampshire.
Fifth, new polling from Pew Research shows that most countries in the world have a positive view of the United States and confidence in President Biden as a leader. 59% have a positive view of the U.S. and 54% have confidence in President Biden. What a HUGE difference we have today than we had with the 4 year Trump disaster when the world had a negative view of America and no confidence with the failed lack of leadership.
Republicans are going crazy over this new Marquette University Law poll because it shows they have no path to win the presidency in 2024. This poll should come as no surprise to anyone who's been paying attention to the voting trends, because Democrats crushed Republicans in the Wisconsin State Supreme Court election in April with an 11 point landslide victory.
Does anyone actually believe that voters in Wisconsin who voted for a Democrat judge in April would then turn around and vote for radical right wing Republican presidential candidate in 2024? Of course not, and the same goes for Michigan and Pennsylvania where Democrats crushed Republicans in 2022 midterm election. Those same voters are not going to be voting for a right wing Republican in 2024. This poll has proven this same point I've been making since last year. And it proved to be true in 2022 as well.
Most countries express confidence in Biden, US: poll
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/4070638-most-countries-surveyed-have-confidence-in-biden/
Wisconsin Presidential Poll:
Biden 52% (+9)
Trump 43%
Marquette University Law School Poll
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FzvbgL4X0AAej2k?format=jpg&name=medium)
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There is evidence that over $200 billion in COVID money was wasted on fraud. That's billion with a "b." The clown show poured money into the economy using the pretext of COVID which allowed consumers to spend but deprived the workforce of anyone to make or ship the goods. That resulted in hyperinflation which the US has been experiencing under the Biden administration. This was effectively a bribe for votes in the same way that the bogus student loan forgiveness program was a bribe for younger votes. The Dems can't pay folks to vote for them, but they can conjure up a fake cause and use that as a pretext to pay for their votes. The results speak for themselves. Biden's clown show has effectively brought the US to ruin in just over two years.
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Biden gets a boost as GDP growth exceeds forecasts
The government reported the economy grew 2 percent in the first quarter.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/29/white-house-boosted-by-revised-gdp-growth-amid-bidenomics-push-00104186
More fantastic economic news came out yesterday, as President Joe Biden continues to produce historic results for our economy.
GDP Q1 was revised UP to 2.0% vs 1.4% expected, while personal savings jumped to 4.2%! That is amazing news!
The United States has the best GDP out of all the G7 nations as well as the lowest inflation of any of those countries.
But "Richard Smith" wants to falsely claim "the United States is in ruin". Absolutely hilarious! :D
Just goes to show once again that Bidenomics works and "Richard Smith's" phony propaganda doesn't.
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Thanks to President Biden's historic leadership, the United States has the BEST GDP growth and LOWEST inflation in the G7. That's Bidenomics, folks! ALL these G7 countries wish they were like the United States. Look at those amazing results below and that's because of President Biden!
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There is evidence that over $200 billion in COVID money was wasted on fraud. That's billion with a "b." The clown show poured money into the economy using the pretext of COVID which allowed consumers to spend but deprived the workforce of anyone to make or ship the goods. That resulted in hyperinflation which the US has been experiencing under the Biden administration. This was effectively a bribe for votes in the same way that the bogus student loan forgiveness program was a bribe for younger votes. The Dems can't pay folks to vote for them, but they can conjure up a fake cause and use that as a pretext to pay for their votes. The results speak for themselves. Biden's clown show has effectively brought the US to ruin in just over two years.
:D :D :D
The disinformation never stops with this guy.
First of all, multi millionaire Republicans in Congress had their PPP loans forgiven because of COVID, so average Americans can have their student loans forgiven.
Second, the "clown show" you refer to is Donald Trump, because the CARES Act began under his administration in March 2020. 86% of the fraud happened during the first 9 months of the pandemic. President Biden wasn't even in office in March 2020 and you're posting disinformation about him when it was your hero Donald Trump who was in office in 2020. Your false propaganda is so pathetic.
Third, the entire world has suffered from inflation due to a global pandemic. It has nothing to do with Biden. Inflation started BEFORE Biden even became president. And now U.S. inflation is the LOWEST in all the G7 countries.
Fourth, the country is not in "ruin". The United States has the greatest economy on record with the lowest unemployment in history, and the BEST GDP of all G7 countries thanks to President Biden.
You would think you'd get tired of embarrassing yourself with this nonsense you post all the time. It's pure comedy gold!
Businesses associated with GOP politicians had pandemic government loans forgiven
September 6, 2022
"Republican members of Congress whose PPP loans were forgiven," read an Aug. 24 Instagram post that listed the names of 13 members of Congress, including Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.. Alongside each name was a federal loan figure in the thousands or millions of dollars that had supposedly been canceled under that pandemic-era program.
The program, established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, aka CARES, began in March 2020 to help small businesses affected by COVID-19 cover payrolls and, in some cases, hire back employees who were laid off. Companies across the country received $787.2 billion in loans, the Small Business Administration said.
https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/politifact/2022/09/06/fact-check-ppp-loans-forgiven-republicans-matt-gaetz-marjorie-taylor-greene/65470173007/
The Great Grift: More than $200 billion in COVID-19 aid may have been stolen, federal watchdog says
"Gene Sperling, a senior White House official overseeing pandemic relief spending, said in a interview Tuesday that 86% of the fraud, or potential fraud, in the emergency loan programs happened during the first nine months of the pandemic when President Donald Trump was in office."
https://apnews.com/article/pandemic-covid19-fraud-small-business-inspector-general-7e651b3e405863f0be9f2e34ca47b93e
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DeSantis is polling very strongly against Old Joe. He is still 30 points behind Trump, though. DeSantis is more likely to win the general election than Trump due to the relentless six year effort by the corrupt legal, political and media system to destroy Trump. DeSantis would make a great president. He is basically Trump with smoother political skills. Anything would be an improvement over the current clown show. Old Joe is looking downright scary. Coughing, rambling, and confused.
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A magnificent week for the American public. The Supreme Court ended racial discrimination in college admissions and now have overturned Biden's bribe to young voters to erase their student debt. Every American citizen would have had to payback this deadbeat debt for years to come. Biden himself knew this was not permissible. He did it anyway for political purposes. Younger voters should remember how they were duped.
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Republicans want to 'rewrite history and science' to support white nationalism: Former GOP lawmaker
Former Congressman David Jolly (R-FL) tore into his former Republican colleagues for their close ties to extreme activists trying to censor books in schools and block any mention of race relations or sexual orientation.
All of this comes as the extremist group Moms for Liberty, which has ties to the Proud Boys and the QAnon movement, gathers in Philadelphia — and as former President Donald Trump, and several other GOP officials including many of his own challengers for the 2024 nomination, attend to speak and support their cause.
"Republicans are struggling with suburban women," said anchor Nicolle Wallace. "This doesn't seem like something that is going to help."
Jolly agreed, and contrasted with how aggressively the Republican agenda on education has evolved in the last two decades.
"Once you get into what the intent of Republicans really is on education, but to say you want to empower parents sounds pretty important to most families," said Jolly. "And Nicolle, we've had the same journey over the last 20 years with Republicans. I am taken by the fact that 20 years ago, you saw the emergence of kind of a Jeb Bush education policy that was largely centered on school choice. We want parents to be able to take their kids to achieve academic excellence at the school of their choosing. It was true liberty."
By contrast, he continued, "Republican education policy today is, we want to rewrite curriculum and skip past what makes a curriculum a quality curriculum. We want to rewrite history and science and truth so that we can reflect this white nationalism, if you will, that is indoctrinated into today's Republican Party. A far, far journey away from what traditional Republican policy on education used to be."
Watch:
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What a week for Biden, Inc. and the clown show. Smoke shrouding US cities, Old Joe stumbling and bumbling around, the Supreme Court striking down his unconstitutional acts, Hunter in court more often than Clarence Darrow, Trump and DeSantis surging in the polls against him, US airports in chaos. Wow.
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What a week for Biden, Inc. and the clown show. Smoke shrouding US cities, Old Joe stumbling and bumbling around, the Supreme Court striking down his unconstitutional acts, Hunter in court more often than Clarence Darrow, Trump and DeSantis surging in the polls against him, US airports in chaos. Wow.
Smoke shrouding US cities,
Smoke from Canada is shrouding Europe as well. Why don't you try blaming Joe Biden for the sun going down a minute too early?
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What a week for Biden, Inc. and the clown show. Smoke shrouding US cities, Old Joe stumbling and bumbling around, the Supreme Court striking down his unconstitutional acts, Hunter in court more often than Clarence Darrow, Trump and DeSantis surging in the polls against him, US airports in chaos. Wow.
Wow. More disinformation from this guy. You'd think he'd get tired of posting falsehoods each day.
He wants to blame Canadian wildfires on Biden. Absolutely pathetic.
And Trump and DeSantis are not "surging" in the polls. They are both losing to Biden. Just more bogus disinformation.
Trump support dips among Republicans after federal indictment: poll
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4073164-trump-support-dips-among-republicans-after-federal-indictment-poll/
2024 Presidential Polls:
RMG:
Biden 46 (+8)
DeSantis 38
NBC News:
Biden 49 (+4)
Trump 45
A recent poll by NBC News reveals that President Joe Biden is leading Donald Trump by 4 points 49-45.
Here are the key findings:
President Biden holds a strong lead among women (55-38), 18-34 year olds (65-30), Latinos (66-26), and Independents (47-33).
https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/first-read/trumps-gop-lead-grows-latest-indictment-poll-finds-rcna90420
2024 New Hampshire General Election:
Biden 49% (+9)
Trump 40%
Biden 49% (+9)
DeSantis 40%
@SaintAnselmPoll
https://twitter.com/Politics_Polls/status/1673756614908624897
A new report shows that younger voters backed Democrats by historic margins in 2022
Experts say that Gen Z and millennial voters are highly invested in the political process because of their support for abortion rights and anxiety about the consequences of electing Republicans.
Democrats’ strong performances in the 2022 elections were powered by a diverse coalition of young and female voters who turned out in record numbers, especially in swing states, according to a new analysis of the midterm elections by the progressive data firm Catalist.
Especially in heavily contested races, millennial and Generation Z voters, defined collectively in the report as voters born after 1981, broke decisively for Democrats in even greater numbers than they did in 2018. That year, in what was seen as a rejection of President Donald Trump, the electorate handed Democrats a majority in the House of Representatives by margins the party hadn’t seen in generations. Experts told the American Independent Foundation that younger voters, who are much more progressive than those of their parents’ generations, are motivated by the desire to put their values into action and a fear of conservative political power.
The Harvard Public Opinion Project, the longest-running survey of the political attitudes of Americans between the age of 18 and 29, has found a marked shift in the political preferences of younger voters over the last 10 years toward favoring government intervention in American life to further progressive policies. Majorities of young voters now support state-sponsored health care and increased government spending to end poverty, for example. Other polling has found that Americans aged 18-29 support legalizing abortion more than any other age group.
Gen Z and millennial voters are very progressive and are likely to largely remain that way, said Morley Winograd, a researcher at Brookings who studies younger voters.
"Young voters are motivated, they’re engaged, they’re anti-MAGA, they’re pro-abortion, they’re pro-Democratic priorities and ideas,” Winograd told the American Independent Foundation. In the midterm elections, he added: “One of the variables was to what degree abortion was a major issue in the race, either because of the nature of the candidate’s position, or as in Michigan, because there was an actual abortion proposition on the ballot. Wherever that happened, then you got enormous turnouts of young voters.”
Winograd said that young voters were also motivated by economic concerns such as the affordability of health care, if not for themselves yet, then for their parents and grandparents, as well as of education and housing, and concerns about democracy itself. Republicans, Winograd argued, face an increasingly challenging electoral map without improving their party’s performance among young voters.
"The under-45 GOP voters were less likely to vote, and when they did, more likely to vote Democratic than any other age group in the electorate in 2018. And so Republicans have a defection problem with younger voters, which is not surprising given where they stand on the issues,” Winograd said. “If you have a coalition, as Republicans do, made up of older people, mostly white, the older people problem becomes more and more of a problem if you’re not replacing those voters with younger voters, and they’re not.”
Jackie Johnson, a 26-year-old marketing manager living in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, told the American Independent Foundation that she had voted in most elections since turning 18, a habit in part instilled by her dad. Motivated by her beliefs about women’s bodily autonomy, voting rights, and education, Johnson said that she voted for the Democratic ticket in the midterms in 2022 and for Judge Janet Protasiewicz, the progressive pro-choice candidate, in the state Supreme Court race in April 2023.
“I felt as if this last midterm had high stakes for Wisconsin,” she said in an email. “My participation felt very meaningful."
Signe Espinoza, the executive director of Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates and a millennial herself, told the American Independent Foundation that abortion was decisive in motivating younger voters in the state, along with related economic concerns.
“I think one of the things when we’re talking about issues, when we’re talking about inflation, we’re talking about the economy, and we’re talking about the implications for our generation, our financial situation, we’re talking about college debt, we’re talking about the fact that our generation is deciding to not have children or making decisions to delay that decision,” she said. “And so when we’re thinking about these issues, I think that millennials are incredibly aware that when we’re talking about the economy, that is an abortion issue.”
Espinoza said it was frustrating to see abortion and economic issues being pitted against each during the midterms “when they were interconnected."
In Pennsylvania, one of the battleground swing states that the Catalist report highlighted, the Republican candidate for governor, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, was resoundingly defeated by the Democrat, Attorney General Josh Shapiro. Mastriano, who lost by 15 points, attracted criticism from some Republicans who said he was too extreme to win a general election. He appeared to flirt with a Senate run this year, but announced last month that he would refrain from launching a 2024 campaign.
“We’re talking about a candidate in the gubernatorial race who ran off of no exceptions when it came to rape or incest in abortion care and was really clear on his position with his voting record in the legislature,” Espinoza said.
Mastriano was emblematic of the candidates that Republicans ran for governor and the U.S. Senate in almost every 2022 battleground state: Trump-endorsed election deniers who favored strict abortion laws.
Simon Rosenberg, a longtime liberal political strategist who accurately predicted Democratic victories in the 2022 midterms, said younger voters in those contested battleground states were motivated to vote by what they viewed as an unpalatable, extreme conservative agenda represented by those candidates. Heavily-funded Democratic campaigns with robust grassroots organizing operations, he said, were well-positioned to use their resources to reach out to those voters and encourage them to cast ballots.
“Despite high inflation and low approval rating for Biden, [Democrats] actually gained ground in most of the major battleground states that determine the outcome of the presidential election,” Rosenberg said.
Rosenberg noted that, prior to 2006, the youth vote had traditionally swung between Republicans and Democrats. During that year’s midterms, younger voters turned out in record numbers and broke decisively for Democrats, Rosenberg said, motivated by deep dissatisfaction with the Bush administration driven by the Iraq War and the War on Terror.
Those crises, which sent young soldiers overseas to fight foreign wars, burst what Rosenberg calls “the bubble of affluence” and motivated younger voters to engage in politics. “What’s going to pierce the bubble of affluence for young people today? It’s not getting shot at school, it’s climate change, it’s abortion, it’s the disruption of COVID and being able to afford an apartment.”
While the conventional political wisdom is that younger voters turn out to vote at lower rates than older voters, Rosenberg says, that isn’t exactly true: “What we know from research is that registered young people vote at the same rates as registered old people — it’s just they’re registered at a much lower rate.” Rosenberg sees an opportunity for Democrats to take advantage of that and further improve their electoral performance by launching a national young voter registration drive aimed at young people.
Blue Future, a progressive political action committee that trains Gen Z volunteers in the fundamentals of political organizing and campaigning, is one organization working to bring members of Gen Z into the political process.
“I think young voters really knew that we had to stop the red wave because our rights were under attack. They know, first and foremost, that they are the ones that are going to have to deal with the impact of these elections for generations,” Morgan Stahr, the co-president of Blue Future, told the American Independent Foundation.
“When we’re talking to students, the reason that they say they want to vote, or when they’re talking to people on the phone is like, ‘We’re sick of having to do drills at our school'” she said. “Many of these young people we work with were in seventh or eighth grade when Donald Trump was elected.”
Stahr described the youth she works with as caught between the hope that they can move their communities in a more progressive direction and the fear of extremism, gun violence, and climate change.
In Georgia, Blue Future worked with the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition, an Atlanta-based nonprofit run by high school and college students, to fight conservative-led efforts to ban books about race, gender, and sexuality from schools. Stahr said that they were able to defeat every book ban in the state.
“I think, from the beginning of our history, whether you’re looking at the Civil Rights Movement, the founding of the LGBTQ+ movement, and many other movements, and the climate justice movement, of course, young people have always been front and center. And I really do think that will continue, especially as we go into 2024,” Stahr added.
https://americanindependent.com/gen-z-voters-democrats-2022-election/
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Most Americans support Biden's student loan forgiveness plan: 62% said they support student loan forgiveness
Among the survey respondents leaning right politically, 50% supported Biden's plan to forgive student loan debt.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/americans-support-biden-student-loan-forgiveness
The radical right wing Supreme Court along with the Republican party decided to screw over the working and middle class by blocking President Biden's student debt relief to millions of Americans.
62% of Americans, which is the majority of the country, supports President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan including Republican voters as well. They're especially angry when they see multi millionaire Republicans in Congress having their PPP loans forgiven for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and some even had millions forgiven, but these right wingers refuse to allow a nurse have just $10,000 in debt relief.
Republicans want to continue their "have" and "have not" society. Multi millionaire Republicans get to have their hefty loans forgiven but they block the middle and working class from having their $10,000 debt forgiven. This is the society they want.
Not only did this radical right wing Supreme Court go after the middle and working class this week, they also ruled against African American and gay people to be discriminated against. This same fascist court already went after women's rights. So, this right wing Supreme Court has angered and enraged the overwhelming majority of Americans and they'll all be voting against this right wing fascism that's trying to take over America.
President Biden is a champion for the working and middle class and will keep working hard for the people who are the backbone of America.
Below is a list of Republicans who had their loans forgiven but refuse to allow their own constituents to relieve their debt. Just more right wing "have" and "have not" philosophy.
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President Biden @POTUS
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Today, the Supreme Court sided with Republican elected officials, blocking relief to over 40 million working and middle-class Americans.
I believe the Court’s decision is wrong – I will not stop fighting to deliver relief to borrowers who need it the most.
Some of the same elected Republicans who voted to overturn my student loan relief plan benefitted from thousands in pandemic relief loans to keep their own businesses open.
Those loans were forgiven.
Now, they refuse to extend the same relief to borrowers with student debt.
By freeing millions of Americans from the crushing burden of student debt:
More homes would have been bought.
More businesses would have been started.
More couples would have had the confidence to start families.
The Republican elected officials who sued us blocked all of it.
Republican elected officials snatched away real hope from over 40 million eligible student loan borrowers. Plain and simple.
Our student loan relief plan was on the verge of providing more than 40 million Americans with real debt relief.
The program was all set to begin.
Republican elected officials and special interests stepped in and snatched relief that was about to change Americans' lives.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1675136745627607042
I know there are millions today who feel angry because of the Court’s decision.
Hope was on the horizon thanks to our relief plan, and today’s decision snatches it away.
But I won’t stop fighting for borrowers.
In the wake of today's Supreme Court decision on student loan relief, we need a new way forward. And we're moving as fast as we can.
Here's what's next:
First, I'm announcing a new path to provide student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible, as quickly as possible, grounded in the Higher Education Act.
Just moments ago, @SecCardona took the first official step to initiate this new approach.
We aren’t wasting any time.
Second, we're creating a temporary 12-month “on ramp” to repayment.
This is not the same as the student loan pause, but during this period – if you miss payments – this “on ramp” will temporarily remove the threat of default or having your credit harmed.
This fight isn’t over.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1674873609288916992
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MAGA QAnon loon Marjorie Taylor Greene has been booted from her own so called "Freedom Caucus". Her vile behavior was even too much for the far right MAGAs in the caucus.
Freedom Caucus member says Marjorie Taylor Greene has been expelled from the group
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is no longer enough of a hardline right-wing lawmaker for the House Freedom Caucus.
Freedom Caucus Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) tells Politico reporter Olivia Beavers that it's his "understanding" that Greene is no longer a member of the caucus after it took a secret vote on her expulsion last month.
Beavers says that Harris also "called it 'an appropriate action,' and cited her debt deal vote, support of McCarthy, and criticism of other HFC [Republicans.'"
The expulsion of Greene from the Freedom Caucus marks quite the falling out for the Trump-loving Georgia Republican, who gained notoriety early in her career for pushing the bogus QAnon conspiracy theory, as well as pushing theories that the Rothschild family funded space lasers that were being used to deliberately set California forests ablaze.
Greene has been feuding more with her fellow right-wing Republicans lately over her backing of McCarthy, who has returned the favor by restoring Greene to the committee assignments she lost when the previous Democratic-led Congress voted to remove her from all House committees.
AFP
Wisconsin Republicans turn on Trump as poll shows him crashing
Some Republicans in Wisconsin have second thoughts about choosing Donald Trump as the party's next presidential nominee.
A recent Marquette University Law School Poll in Wisconsin found Trump was losing to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) by 16 points in a head-to-head matchup.
Wisconsin Republicans explained to Fox News why they had lost faith in Trump's ability to win.
"Trump, of course, did a great job as president, but DeSantis is very, very impressive," Wisconsin state Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-WI) said. "And I think more and more people really are doubting Trump's ability to win a general election, and I think these results kind of prove it."
"I think it's extremely important that we pick someone who can win," he added. "And, you know, as much as Trump did a great job as president, there is a certain segment of this population that there's just no way in hell they're going to vote for Donald Trump. And I think without some of those people, we can't win a general election with Donald Trump as our is our choice."
Republican Party of Sawyer County Chairman John Righeimer agreed in a statement to Fox News.
"We just don't think he can win the general," Righeimer remarked. "I think the Democrats want to run against Trump. I think they know they can beat Trump."
AFP
Vulnerable U.S. House Republicans who opposed student debt plan targeted in 2024
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WASHINGTON — Supporters of student loan debt cancellation are organizing to hold GOP lawmakers “accountable” in the 2024 election cycle following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling blocking President Joe Biden’s debt relief plan.
The left-leaning Protect Borrowers Action will target 13 U.S. House districts across California, Colorado, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Oregon and Pennsylvania where Republicans opposed Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 for roughly 40 million qualifying student loan borrowers.
On Friday, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the conservative majority, ruled that a loan servicer in Missouri, the Higher Education Loan Authority, known as MOHELA, would have its revenue threatened by the debt relief.
The justices unanimously decided that a second case challenging the debt relief plan did not have legal standing.
About 26 million borrowers had already applied for the program, and more than 16 million had been approved for relief, according to the Department of Education.
"I think we need to definitely take stock of just how crushing the Supreme Court ruling was, and it really is evidence that this court has just completely lost its legitimacy. But at the same time, you know, there were members of Congress working tirelessly to ensure that their own constituents would be blocked from life-changing relief,” said Aissa Canchola Banez, the group’s political director.
Amicus brief, House votes
The 13 U.S. House lawmakers targeted by the group co-signed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to rule against the debt cancellation and voted in favor of legislation blocking the president’s program.
The lawmakers, picked because they hold what the organization says are vulnerable seats, also voted in favor of the GOP’s original but unsuccessful debt ceiling bill that included a provision to nullify the loan forgiveness program as a way to cut spending.
The following month they supported a joint resolution disapproving of the student loan debt cancellation plan. The resolution passed the House in a 218-203 vote, with two Democrats — Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington — voting in favor.
The measure cleared the Senate in early June in a 52-46 vote, with Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin IIl of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana, as well as independent Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, on board.
Lawmakers in favor of revoking the student debt plan pointed to its cost, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates could reach about $400 billion.
Biden vetoed the legislation.
Protect Borrowers Action organizers plan to reach voters through social media and partnerships with community-based organizations that mobilize local residents.
The group’s fundraising goal is $2 million, with some already raised according to the organization, though an amount was not specified. The organization identifies itself as a fiscally sponsored project of Fund for a Better Future, Inc., a 501(c)(4).
Republicans head into next year’s election with a 222-212 majority.
District fact sheets
On Thursday, the campaign released fact sheets for the targeted lawmakers listing the number of student loan borrowers in each district and how many were eligible and approved for debt relief under Biden’s plan.
Those lawmakers fought to keep their constituents in a “financially harmful position,” Canchola Banez said.
“Folks deserve to be heard and deserve to be able to hold their members of Congress accountable for that,” Canchola Banez added. “That’s why this project is so important and why we see this issue of student debt so critical to the fight to center dignity for working people and make sure the economy works for everybody, not just those rich and privileged few.”
The targeted lawmakers include:
California
Kevin Kiley, 3rd District
Mike Garcia, 27th District
Ken Calvert, 41st District
Michelle Steel, 45th District
Colorado
Lauren Boebert, 3rd District
Michigan
John James, 10th District
Nebraska
Don Bacon, 2nd District
New York
Nick LaLota, 1st District
Anthony D’Esposito, 4th District
Mike Lawler, 17th District
Brandon Williams, 22nd District
Oregon
Lori Chavez-DeRemer 5th District
Pennsylvania
Scott Perry, 10th District
Biden announced his one-time student loan debt relief program in August 2022. The plan would have made borrowers who earned up to $125,000, or $250,000 for married couples, eligible for up to $10,000 in forgiveness, and up to $20,000 if the individual received a federal Pell Grant for higher education costs.
The plan was criticized by the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget as “expensive, inflationary and poorly targeted.”
The committee hailed the Supreme Court decision, saying it “resolves nearly a year of legal ambiguity for borrowers, but with only a couple of months remaining before the three-year payment pause comes to an end. The Administration and Department of Education should focus their efforts on helping borrowers resume payments in an orderly manner. Too much time has been wasted on empty promises, and not enough time has been spent on making sure borrowers are prepared to begin making payments again.”
The White House lambasted the decision and announced what it called new actions to provide debt relief for student loan borrowers, including its Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan, which the administration says will cut payments for low earners.
https://newjerseymonitor.com/2023/07/06/vulnerable-u-s-house-republicans-who-opposed-student-debt-plan-targeted-in-2024/
Campaign watchdog files state ethics complaint against DeSantis over free travel
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A Washington campaign finance watchdog group has filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics against Gov. Ron DeSantis, alleging that he failed to report travel gifts he received from a nonprofit organization in a financial disclosure form.
The complaint was filed by the Campaign Legal Center (CLC), citing as evidence a story published by The New York Times in May.
That story reported that DeSantis traveled to almost a dozen speaking engagements in eight states via a plane provided by And to the Republic, a Michigan 501(c)(4) issue advocacy organization, in February. The total costs of those flights are unknown. This trip was taken months before DeSantis officially declared that he was a candidate for president, although his travels across the country were hardly a secret at the time.
The Florida Commission on Ethics requires state government officials to report any travel gifts over $100 within the last day of each calendar quarter. The Campaign Legal Center says that gave the governor up until Friday, June 30, to disclose the travel contribution. But no gift disclosure was listed on the commission’s website as of July 5.
"This lack of disclosure from Gov. DeSantis appears to be a clear violation of state laws that are necessary to maintaining public trust,” said Kedric Payne, CLC vice president, general counsel, and senior director of ethics, in a written statement.
“Floridians have a right to know that government officials representing them are acting in the public’s interests — not their own personal interest or the interests of the wealthy special interests who give them gifts. The Florida Commission on Ethics must investigate whether Gov. DeSantis did, in fact, omit travel gifts from ATTR from his financial disclosure form and take appropriate action.”
Tori Sachs, executive director with And to the Republic, told the Times that she did not consider the trips to be either political contributions or gifts.
The CLC has filed two previous complaints with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) related to DeSantis as a presidential candidate. The first alleged that DeSantis violated federal election law when he transferred more than $82 million from a state political action committee to a federal super PAC. The group alleges that was a violation of federal election law.
The group filed a second complaint to the FEC last month, alleging that Canadian hedge fund ECN Capitol Corp. violated federal campaign finance laws prohibiting foreign national contributions regarding gifts to the past two gubernatorial campaigns for DeSantis, as well as to his state political committee, Friends of Ron DeSantis.
https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/07/06/campaign-watchdog-group-files-state-ethics-complaint-against-desantis-for-alleged-undisclosed-travel-gift/
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The US has the fastest growth rate of any G7 country.
And the US has the lowest annual inflation of any G7 country.
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Private sector companies added 497,000 jobs in June, more than double expectations, ADP says
Private sector jobs surged by 497,000 in June, well ahead of the 267,000 gain in May and much better than the 220,000 estimate.
Leisure and hospitality led with 232,000 new hires, followed by construction with 97,000, and trade, transportation and utilities at 90,000.
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The U.S. labor market showed no signs of letting up in June, as companies created far more jobs than expected, payroll processing firm ADP reported Thursday.
Private sector jobs surged by 497,000 for the month, well ahead of the downwardly revised 267,000 gain in May and much better than the 220,000 Dow Jones consensus estimate. The increase resulted in the biggest monthly rise since July 2022.
From a sector standpoint, leisure and hospitality led with 232,000 new hires, followed by construction with 97,000, and trade, transportation and utilities at 90,000.
Annual pay rose at a 6.4% rate, representing a continued slowing that nonetheless still is indicative of brewing inflationary pressures.
“Consumer-facing service industries had a strong June, aligning to push job creation higher than expected,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. “But wage growth continues to ebb in these same industries, and hiring likely is cresting after a late-cycle surge.”
The unexpected jump in payrolls comes despite more than a year’s worth of Federal Reserve interest rate increases aimed in large part to cool a jobs market in which there are still nearly two open positions for every available worker.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/06/adp-jobs-report-private-sector-added-497000-workers-in-june.html
South Carolina gets taste of ‘Bidenomics’ as president unveils clean energy partnership that could bring 600 jobs
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COLUMBIA, S.C. -- “Bidenomics” is to thank for bringing hundreds of new clean energy manufacturing jobs to the South Carolina Midlands, President Joe Biden said Thursday, standing inside a West Columbia facility that will begin partnering in the production of solar energy products.
In his first official appearance in South Carolina since 2021, Biden touted his administration’s economic strategy that he says is investing in the middle class and building the economy “from the bottom up,” evidenced by thousands of new manufacturing jobs spreading across the Palmetto State, he said.
“It’s all part of the economic vision for this country. I came into office determined ... to change the economic direction of this country, to move (away from) trickle-down economics and get rid of them for everyone,” Biden said, speaking before a crowd of people at Flex LTD manufacturing facility in West Columbia. “Our plan is working ... all across America in communities that have been left out and hollowed out.”
Thursday’s presidential visit unveiled a new partnership between Flex and Enphase Energy, a California-based energy technology company, as part of a nationwide tour touting the president’s “Bidenomics” plan to strengthen the economy from the “middle out and bottom up.”
Roughly speaking, the Bidenomics approach is to make federal investments aimed at benefiting the middle class, including investments in infrastructure, job training and efforts to encourage business competition. It’s been presented as a rejection of the “trickle-down” economic strategy Republicans have leaned on in the past.
In West Columbia, Biden lamented the United States’ slide in global leadership when it comes to research and infrastructure while boasting gains made under his tenure, including, he said, 13 million new jobs created since he’s been in office. Those jobs include 800,000 new manufacturing jobs, 14,000 of which the president said have been created in South Carolina.
“Jobs that used to go to Mexico, Romania and China are now coming home to South Carolina,” Biden said.
Enphase Energy, an energy technology company that produces solar equipment, announced it will add six new manufacturing lines in the United States, including two in South Carolina with Austin, Texas-based Flex LTD as its manufacturing partner. Enphase’s partnership with Flex is expected to create some 1,800 jobs nationwide, including up to 600 new jobs in South Carolina, the White House has said.
Biden said the Enphase-Flex partnership is a direct result of his Inflation Reduction Act, which includes federal dollars being invested in domestic energy and clean energy production.
Before Biden spoke, Revathi Advaithi, CEO of Flex, and Badri Kothandaraman, president and CEO of Enphase Energy, spoke about the opportunities and success that would come from the partnership and thanking President Biden for investing in clean energy.
“We are pleased to be part of creating new jobs in the U.S,” Kothandaraman said. “We are fortunate to have a very strong partner like Flex.”
About 250 people sat in the audience, including various business owners, local and state political representatives, Flex and Enphase employees, college students and members of the public.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, was not among the attendees at Biden’s speech, but the governor tweeted a statement afterward praising the state’s “booming economy” and its “prominent role on the national political stage.”
© The State (Columbia, S.C.)
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What a disastrous week for Old Joe. Maybe the worst week for any president since the height of the Watergate scandal. Absolutely horrific. Where to even start? How about the Supreme Court striking down his unconstitutional student loan bailout. An act that Ukraine Joe and Queen Nancy knew was going to be struck down. They went forward with this bogus effort just prior to the 2022 election, however, as a bribe to younger voters knowing that it would be struck down. Young voters should remember in 2024 how they were fooled.
Next, cocaine found at the White House. The WH is humming and hawing about where it came from. How are they to know? It is only the most secure building in the world. Maybe check the security cameras. Or ask Dirty Hunter.
Next, illegitimate grandkids. Old Joe is acting like some heavy in a Dickens' novel by denying the existence of his own granddaughter. What a heartless scumbag.
Next, the IRS whistleblower has shown that the corrupt DOJ put a lid on the investigation. Emails connect Old Joe to Dirty Hunter's illegal shakedown of Chinese businessman. A mafia-like enterprise that netted millions for Dirty Hunter and Biden, Inc.
Next, Dirty Hunter pleading guilty to tax and gun charges. And lucky to avoid felony charges. Those may be forthcoming, however, if there is any actual neutral justice left at the DOJ.
Next, the courts confirming that the Biden administration violated the First Amendment by coercing social media to censor certain stories that were harmful to their narrative. A Soviet-like 1984 effort to censor speech by closing down discussion of Hunter's laptop, the origins of COVID, the efficacy of wearing masks, vaccine concerns etc. Nothing like it since the censorship efforts during WWI (also implemented by leftists).
Next, poll numbers at historic lows. Old Joe is at Jimmy Carter levels. Meanwhile Trump is soaring and raising $35 million. Magnificent.
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Another great week for President Biden as the historic Biden job boom continues and new polling still shows Biden leading in the polls.
Another 200,000+ jobs have been added to the economy for the June 2023 Jobs Report and unemployment is at a historic low at 3.6%.
Also, jobs for women from ages 25-54 and people with disabilities has hit a record high. Biden is clearly the greatest jobs president in history.
Donald Trump's, and the right wing media's favorite pollster Rasmussen, shows President Biden with a 46% approval rating.
Brand new polling from Nevada shows Biden leading Trump by 4 points and by 9 points in Wisconsin which is a landslide.
Nevada
Biden 47% (+4)
Trump 43%
Public Opinion Strategies
Wisconsin
Biden 52% (+9)
Trump 43%
Marquette University Law Poll
The Biden economy in historical perspective:
Unemployment is much lower today than it was when Ronald Reagan ran his upbeat 1984 "Morning in America" ad, and inflation is also lower.
Unemployment today: 3.6%
Unemployment then: 7.3%
Inflation today: 4.0%
Inflation then: 4.3%
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'Keeps on chugging’: unemployment down and wages up in ‘strong’ and record-setting June jobs report
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Economists are calling the June jobs report "strong," and "solid," with 209,000 jobs added bringing unemployment down to a near-50-year low of 3.6%. 220,000 to 240,000 jobs were predicted, but experts say historically 200,000 jobs created in one month is still impressive.
The Washington Post calls it "steady gain," and adds experts say the U.S. will mostly likely not fall into recession.
Bloomberg Economics, says the country will not be in a recession this year. Major banks including Goldman Sachs and Barclay’s are watering down recession predictions, in large part because of the job market’s resilience," The Post reports.
And The New York Times adds, "with rising wages and low unemployment, the labor market remains resilient."
"It's a good solid straight down the middle, this little engine just keeps on chugging along payrolls report," says University of Michigan professor of economics Justin Wolfers, who is also a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "Job growth is definitely slowing," he adds.
"Bidenomics continued its underacknowledged winning streak in June," is how The New Republic's Timothy Noah reported June's jobs numbers.
"What today’s job numbers show is that the Biden economy is proving much harder to push into recession than the Fed reckoned on. I’d like to tell you why, but I don’t know. Nobody does. But the bottom-line reality check: That is very good news."
The June jobs report also brings some record-breaking results.
Thursday night former Biden White House Chief of Staff Ron Klein noted, "if tomorrow’s official unemployment rate is below 4%, we will have achieved the longest stretch of sub-4% unemployment on record."
It is. We have.
Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell notes women 25-54 working or seeking work has also just hit a record high, as has the rate of women having jobs.
Catherine Rampell @crampell
Hey, remember the "she-cession," and those fears that it would set working women back a generation?
Prime-working-age women (25-54 years) just hit yet another month of record-high labor force participation...
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as well as record-high employment rate.
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https://twitter.com/crampell/status/1677295610217521152
The Council of Economic Advisers calls it "the highest rate since modern data began in 1948."
Wolfers notes the employment rate for people with a disability hit the highest rate ever recorded.
Justin Wolfers @JustinWolfers
This is why I revere hot labor markets: It forces employers to look at little harder at those they might otherwise ignore, bringing those who are often at the margins back into the fold.
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https://twitter.com/JustinWolfers/status/1677312415967465472
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Ron DeSantis is one of the worst Governors in the country and his presidential campaign has been a total disaster. DeSantis is costing Florida taxpayers more money, has destroyed tourism in Florida due to his fascism, has a Malaria problem in his state, and now is hiding behind his wife as she campaigns for him because he has zero personality.
Casey DeSantis ‘mamas’ video labeled ‘desperate effort’ to save husband’s campaign
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/07/casey-desantis-parents-rights-video-mamas-for-desantis
DeSantis’ veto of electric cars bill cost taxpayers $277 million, critics say
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TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis was more concerned about Iowa corn farmers than Florida taxpayers when he vetoed a popular bill that could have saved the state $277 million by adding electric vehicles to state and local government fleets, a Democratic critic says.
More EVs would mean less of a demand for ethanol, which is processed from corn grown in states such as Iowa, the expected home to the first presidential caucus next year.
It’s another example of DeSantis putting his own political ambitions to be president over the needs of Floridians, said Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando.
“The Iowa caucus voters who are all about ethanol don’t see electric vehicles as something that is economically in their favor,” Eskamani said. “DeSantis is catering to his Iowa voters, not passing policy for Floridians.”
The electric car bill, SB 284, sponsored by Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Lake Mary, would have required all state and local governments, colleges and universities to buy vehicles based on their lowest lifetime costs. Current law requires such purchases to be based on fuel efficiency.
It ordered the Department of Management Services to make recommendations by July 1, 2024, to state agencies, colleges, universities and local governments about buying electric vehicles and other vehicles powered by renewable fuels.
“It allows us to look at procuring electric vehicles,” Brodeur said. “It doesn’t mean you have to purchase any.”
The governor’s veto last week was perplexing, supporters said. Both the Florida Natural Gas Association and the Sierra Club supported the measure, along with the Advanced Energy United and Electrification Coalition, a group that supports increasing the use of alternative-fuel vehicles.
“It was a common sense, good governance bill. There is nothing in this bill that any person in America should be against,” said former Sen. Jeff Brandes, a Tampa Bay Republican who tried getting similar legislation through last year.
The law could have saved state and local governments $277 million over 15 years by adding more electric vehicles to their fleets, said Michael Weiss, the Florida state lead at Advanced Energy United, a trade association of clean energy companies.
Advanced Energy United and the Electrification Coalition calculated the bill would have saved governments an average of $18,000 per vehicle by switching to an all-electric vehicle fleet, Weiss said. Using the state’s vehicle data provided by the Department of Management Services, they conducted a total cost analysis of the state’s fleet.
“This veto is a baffling decision that will cost Florida taxpayers millions of dollars,” Weiss said. “The Florida Legislature saw the clear economic and taxpayer benefits of a modern and efficient state fleet, but Gov. DeSantis somehow didn’t get the memo.”
It was only a few years ago that DeSantis touted the benefits of electric cars at a news conference announcing the construction of EV charging stations at rest stops along Florida’s Turnpike.
“It’s amazing how much cheaper it is to just charge a vehicle than to fill up a gas tank,” DeSantis said at the time. “And so as technology evolves, we hope that that’ll be reflected in people’s pocketbooks. So we want to make sure we have the infrastructure in place to make that a reality.”
His staff didn’t respond to a request to explain the veto.
The bill passed both chambers of the Legislature with just a single no vote, by Rep. Yvonne Hinson of Gainesville. But it is not likely anyone would even suggest trying to override the veto because of the governor’s immense grip on Tallahassee.
That’s not going to happen,” Eskamani said.
Eskamani said DeSantis also has put personal politics first with culture war laws such as sexual orientation in schools, banning gay-themed books and drag shows, and making it harder for unions to collect dues.
She and other Democrats have pointed out problems such as soaring insurance premiums and a spike in housing costs that go unsolved.
“Not a single part of his agenda that passed is helping Floridians,” she said. “His agenda is tailored to the needs of Republican primary and caucus voters."
© Orlando Sentinel
Experts panic over Florida tourism as major conventions flee state's 'unfriendly political environment'
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Convention organizers are pulling out of Florida, which is devastating knock-on tourism and causing panic over the future of the industry, experts warned in a report Friday.
When asked for a reason why they were scrapping plans, one organizer wrote simply: “Governor DeSantis.”
More than half a dozen planned conventions in Broward County, which encompasses the Fort Lauderdale area, have been scrapped in recent months, according to a list drawn up by the county’s tourism promotion group Visit Lauderdale and reported by the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
“We lost this program due to political climate,” Visit Lauderdale notes on a decision by the Supreme Council of America Inc., Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite Masons to cancel its meeting, planned for August next year. It also canceled 855 hotel rooms.
Thousands of dollars are also being lost by restaurants and attractions by visitors going elsewhere.
“We were so close on this one,” read another note on the cancellation of the 2024 National Family and Community Engagement and Community Schools Conference – it also pulled out of more than 2,000 hotel rooms.
“Group decided to pull out of Florida due to concerns about what the Governor is doing in the education/schools and that he will likely run in 2024. They do not want to lose attendees due to this.”
Stacy Ritter, president of Visit Lauderdale, told the Sun Sentinel, “It’s not directed at South Florida. We’re not doing anything different than we’ve been doing for the last 30 years.
“From an economic standpoint, this is very harmful," she explained. "We saw in 2020 what happens when visitors stay away — people lose their jobs. By not coming here, the residents of our county, whose values align with these organizations, get hurt. Minority, women and LGBTQ+ businesses rely on visitors for their existence. Staying away hurts those very people.”
The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association had planned a 3,000-person conference in 2026 but is instead headed to Milwaukee.
In a note to Visit Lauderdale, it’s spokesperson Beth Miller cited the “unfriendly political environment in Florida.”
“This would otherwise be such a fabulous destination for the group. I sure hope things become less polarizing soon,” she said.
The effect on tourism has been seen across Florida, the Sun Sentinel reported.
Read More Here: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2023/07/07/unfriendly-political-environment-broward-convention-center-cancellations-blame-florida-as-reason-for-exodus/
Florida leaders face 'challenges in filling' critical public health roles as Malaria cases emerge
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Weeks after four malaria cases were detected in Florida, state officials are struggling to fill two important public health positions, Rolling Stone reports.
On Thursday, July 6, NBC exclusively reported the vacant roles "are in the Florida Health Department's Bureau of Epidemiology, which plays a key role in monitoring and combating the spread of disease in the state."
NBC also notes Florida Republican Governor Ron "DeSantis' hands-off approach during the height of the Covid pandemic made him a star with conservatives nationally, and he regularly touts his strategy in his 2024 presidential campaign," however, "the approach has also given Florida the reputation of being ground zero for how the division in public health administration is treated."
The Sunshine State, according to Rolling Stone, "hasn't had anyone at the top of the Bureau of Epidemiology since last month, and the surveillance administrator position has been empty since March."
Florida International University an infectious disease expert Dr. Aileen Marty, told NBC News, "These are critical public health functions," adding, "There has, unfortunately, been recent politicization of the use of vaccines and health services for refugees and other immigrants, which may explain the challenges in filling this vital position."
NBC reports:
"Late last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert after four cases of malaria, which is spread by mosquitoes, were found in Florida for the first time in two decades. As a result, the Florida Health Department has issued an advisory on mosquito-borne illnesses."
The report also notes the CDC "issued an alert for new cases of malaria in Florida just days ago," according to Rolling Stone.
Rolling Stone reports:
"DeSantis is currently presiding over a state lacking a head of its epidemiology bureau at a time when malaria has cropped up within its borders for the first time in two decades. The climate crisis is only going to heighten the risk of infectious disease, which means the nation would probably be wise to avoid installing an anti-science ideologue like DeSantis in the White House."
In April, NY Daily News reported top "Florida health administrators disregarded essential COVID-19 findings issued by the" CDC, which University of Florida biostatistics professor Matt Hitchings told Tampa Bay Times was "a grave violation of research integrity," emphasizing, [The vaccine] has done a lot to advance the health of people of Florida and he’s encouraging people to mistrust it."
Read More Here:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/2-top-public-health-positions-ron-desantis-administration-are-vacant-rcna92120
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/malaria-detected-florida-desantis-public-health-positions-vacant-1234784402/
'Contradictory’ campaign: Maggie Haberman says Ron DeSantis’ strategy doesn’t add up
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ flagging presidential campaign hasn’t yet developed a coherent strategy, New York Times senior political correspondent Maggie Haberman said Friday.
“There is a lot about the DeSantis candidacy that is contradictory,” Haberman said during an appearance on “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.”
Haberman noted that DeSantis’ comments during a recent Fox News interview in which the Florida governor acknowledges Republicans need to appeal to centrists, is at odds with his effort to appeal to Donald Trump’s MAGA base.
“At the end of the day people do want to win though and you know, you can't win with just Republicans voters,” DeSantis said in the interview, a portion of which Blitzer played video from during the panel discussion.
“I think we showed in Florida, if you want a big victory, you got to win independent voters, you’ve got to win people who haven't voted for our party in the last several cycles. I've shown I can do that, and I think we can do it nationally.”
Haberman noted several aspects of DeSantis’ campaign that do not appear to be “linear.”
“He deplores pollsters and yet he's quoting polls in that same interview that you talked about,” Haberman said.
“He talks about electability, and yet he's taking positions that are running harder and harder to the right, which helps him in a place like Iowa, but that is not necessarily helpful in a place like New Hampshire, and as you point out, not helpful in places like the suburbs.”
Haberman also noted a video produced by a pro-DeSantis super PAC that’s been widely condemned as homophobic, even by some in his own party.
“His campaign tweeted out a video that the campaign didn't even make that was decried as homophobic pretty broadly and he defended that video even though he had an opportunity not to,” Haberman said.
"There's a wide swath of voters in the general election that could be troubling to so yes, I think he is he is doing things that are not linear, and it's not entirely clear what the point is sometimes day to day.”
Watch:
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The longer the WH cocaine mystery goes on, the fishier it becomes. Does anyone really believe that the secret service doesn't know or couldn't find out who left cocaine in the WH? The most secure building in the world. We are supposed to believe that they don't even have 7-11 quality security cameras. Unreal. Now the press secretary has been caught lying when she said the Biden's were not even at the WH on Friday. Maybe they are just incompetent. But when the lying starts it is odd.
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As I have said before, if they want to make this campaign about fitness: game on.
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Under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, seniors on Medicare who were paying as much as $400 a month for insulin are now paying just $35 a month.
That’s real breathing room.
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Under the previous Administration, construction of manufacturing facilities in America only grew by 2%.
Under President Biden, it’s grown by nearly 100% in just two years.
13.2 million jobs created since President Biden took office.
That’s Bidenomics.
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Biden economy adds another 209,000 jobs, extends best unemployment since 1960s
https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/biden-economy-adds-another-209-000-jobs-extends-best-unemployment-since-1960s-187224645758
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed President Joe Biden‘s reelection campaign, sending a strong sign of Democratic unity from one of the party’s most liberal members.
Ocasio-Cortez endorses Biden’s reelection campaign, sending a strong signal of Democratic unity
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/ocasio-cortez-endorses-bidens-reelection-campaign-sending-a-strong-signal-of-democratic-unity
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As I have said before, if they want to make this campaign about fitness: game on.
LOL. This comedy gold. Even Dems think Old Joe is physically and mentally unfit to be president. The guy has no idea what is going on. He has dementia. Trump is like Hercules compared to Ukraine Joe.
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Cocaine, strippers, bribe money. LOL. I'm glad we are returning to "normal" under Old Joe. Nothing to see.
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In 'Unprecedented Show of Solidarity,' Major Labor Unions Endorse Biden for 2024
https://www.commondreams.org/news/unions-endorse-biden-2024
Group of 17 unions endorses Biden for 2024
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/group-of-17-unions-endorses-biden-for-2024
AFL-CIO Votes to Endorse President Biden for Re-Election
Earliest Presidential Endorsement in AFL-CIO History Triggers Massive Campaign in Support of Biden–Harris
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The General Board of the AFL-CIO—representing 60 unions and more than 12.5 million workers—voted today to endorse President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for re-election in 2024. The endorsement vote marks the earliest the AFL-CIO has ever voted to endorse in a presidential election, triggering an unprecedented mobilization that will engage millions of working people over the course of nearly 17 months on the Biden–Harris record of transforming the economy to one that works for all.
“There’s absolutely no question that Joe Biden is the most pro-union president in our lifetimes,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “From bringing manufacturing jobs home to America to protecting our pensions and making historic investments in infrastructure, clean energy and education, we’ve never seen a president work so tirelessly to rebuild our economy from the bottom up and middle out. We’ve never seen a president more forcefully advocate for workers’ fundamental right to join a union. Now, it’s time to finish the job. The largest labor mobilization in history begins today, supercharged by the excitement and enthusiasm of hundreds of thousands of union volunteers who will work tirelessly to re-elect a president they know has our backs and will always fight for us.”
There’s never been an election more critical to the future of working people. Worker organizing is happening at a pace not seen in decades, from coffee shops to tech to higher education to the manufacturing shop floor. The transition to a clean energy economy and historic federal investments in good jobs creates the opportunity to transform the economy for generations to come. But this promise will only be realized if President Biden and Vice President Harris are re-elected to another four years.
“Before Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in, the pandemic was raging and the economy was in free fall,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “Our country is in far better shape today because of their leadership. This election is between a president who respects and protects working people and political extremists hellbent on reversing our progress and destroying our fundamental freedoms.”
“The Biden–Harris administration has consistently advanced policies that empower workers, created opportunities for everyday people, and promoted the well-being of working families,” Electrical Workers (IBEW) International President Kenneth Cooper said. “As a direct result of these efforts, the Biden–Harris administration has overseen robust economic growth, increased worker wages and achieved the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years.”
“Made in America isn’t just a slogan to this president, it’s a demand for a brighter future in which no worker is left behind,” said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond. “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are building an American economy that respects and values all of us, no matter our race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or where we’re from. He’s rebuilding America, brick by brick, through good jobs and opportunity for all. That’s the future we want for our kids and that’s why the labor movement is going all-in to deliver another four years to President Biden.”
Over the next 17 months, the labor movement will run its largest campaign ever to engage working people one on one on kitchen-table issues and President Biden’s accomplishments. The AFL-CIO’s campaign will be critical in battleground states where the union vote will prove decisive. When engaged, union members turn out at much higher rates than the general public. Millions of conversations at the door and in the worksite will be supplemented with cutting-edge digital outreach, peer-to-peer texting and other tactics to ensure we’re reaching workers on the issues that matter most to them. Hundreds of thousands of union volunteers are the backbone of this mobilization and will begin engaging voters immediately.
“I’m excited to knock on doors again to win another term for the most pro-union administration of my life, led by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” said Carlos Padilla, a cook and a UNITE HERE Culinary Union member in Nevada. “In 2020, I was one of the thousands of members of my union that canvassed for months, even before we had a COVID vaccine. That’s because our federal government needed to step up during a global crisis. And from the moment they took office, President Biden and Vice President Harris have shown they have our back, starting with the American Rescue Plan. I was laid off for months, and thanks to this relief package—led by the administration—and its funding for 100% COBRA coverage, I could keep my employer [provided] health care for free until I got back on my feet. I look forward to working hard for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris so that they can keep working hard for us!”
In an unprecedented show of unity, many other unions announced their endorsements of the Biden–Harris ticket today as well. Click here for more quotes from union leaders on individual union endorsements.
https://aflcio.org/press/releases/afl-cio-votes-endorse-president-biden-re-election
Machinists Union Membership Votes Overwhelmingly to Endorse President Biden for Second Term
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The 600,000-member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), utilizing a democratic process that included a general membership vote open to all U.S. members in good standing, has endorsed President Biden for a second term.
A statement from IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr.:
“The IAM is proud to continue our democratic tradition in our endorsement process and equally as proud to endorse a champion for working people, President Joe Biden, for a second term.
“President Biden has been a staunch advocate and champion for working people. He has delivered on his vision for our nation, which is centered on partnering with organized labor to deliver good jobs with strong benefits and secure retirements. President Biden believes in an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few.
“The IAM looks forward to building upon the great work of the Biden administration. Work that includes a historic investment in infrastructure and manufacturing, while making large corporations adhere to Buy American requirements. President Biden’s work also included passing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and saving millions of jobs through the American Rescue Plan.
“Our membership realized that we couldn’t let candidates who seek to destroy our democracy and economy rewrite the rules in favor of CEOs and Wall Street. Our union went from getting WARN notices announcing plant closures from corporate CEOs under the previous administration to receiving job openings under this administration.
“The American economy roared back after the numerous plant closures under Biden’s predecessor. The Biden-Harris Administration created millions of jobs since taking office, including nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs. The IAM is happy to report that manufacturing is back, and it’s because this administration didn’t just give lip service to Buy America. His Buy America policy has positively impacted the lives of millions of working Americans.
“Our union will work on educating our entire membership about what’s at stake in this election and why Joe Biden is the only candidate with a plan to build and grow an economy that works in the best interest of working families."
https://www.goiam.org/news/machinists-union-membership-votes-overwhelmingly-to-endorse-president-biden-for-second-term/
Federal Employee Unions Endorse Biden for Reelection
Labor leaders described President Biden as “the most labor-friendly president in history.”
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A pair of federal employee unions, including the largest in the country, on Friday announced that they are endorsing President Biden for reelection next year.
The American Federation of Government Employees and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association both announced their unions’ respective decisions Friday, in conjunction with their parent labor federation, the AFL-CIO, ahead of a union rally at which Biden is scheduled to appear Saturday in Philadelphia.
In a statement, AFGE National President Everett Kelley said the union conducted multiple polls of its membership, as well as a telephonic town hall with more than 20,000 members. Following those steps, AFGE’s national executive council voted unanimously to endorse Biden again.
“During his first term, President Biden has proven himself to be the most labor-friendly president in history,” Kelley said. “The results of our endorsement process show that he is the overwhelming choice of AFGE members. It’s not hard to see why.”
With some exceptions, Biden’s arrival in the White House was a breath of fresh air for unions and the federal workers they represent, following the tumultuous Trump administration. During his term, Trump at various points sought to freeze federal employees’ pay, cut their benefits and evict labor organizations from federal agencies, both literally and in the form of curtailing union officials’ access to official time and restricting the scope of what workforce policies over which they can bargain.
And in 2020, Trump signed an executive order aimed at stripping tens of thousands of federal employees in policy-related positions of virtually all of their civil service protections. That initiative, called Schedule F, ultimately went unimplemented before Biden took office, and he quickly rescinded it along with Trump’s other labor policies. Conversely, both Trump and his chief rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have indicated they would revive Schedule F immediately after their inauguration if elected.
In addition, Biden instituted a new approach to collective bargaining at federal agencies, urging agencies to develop a more collaborative relationship with their labor counterparts and requiring management to negotiate over more topics. And the Office of Personnel Management updated its data platform, FedScope, so that union organizers could see which agencies had large cadres of federal workers who are eligible to join or form a union but had not yet done so.
NATCA President Rich Santa, whose union also voted unanimously in favor of endorsing Biden, touted Biden’s work to include $30 billion in upgrades to air traffic control facilities, including $5 billion at facilities owned by the Federal Aviation Administration. And, he noted, the FAA has included his union in the law’s implementation process.
“With an administration in the White House that is committed to labor, and the bipartisan relationships our activists have built in Congress, NATCA is making real improvements to the lives of every member of our union,” Santa said. “For these reasons, NATCA enthusiastically endorses President Biden and Vice President Harris for reelection in 2024.”
https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2023/06/federal-employee-unions-endorse-biden-reelection/387641/
Biden reelection bid picks up endorsement from construction workers union
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A major construction workers union endorsed President Biden’s reelection campaign Thursday, which is a notable nod for the president from big labor.
The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) said they would back Biden and Vice President Harris after other labor groups, including the United Auto Workers, have said they will hold back from an endorsement just yet.
“Every decision President Biden has made, every policy he has adopted, and every piece of legislation he has pushed for has been done with consideration for and for the betterment of hard-working union laborers and our brothers and sisters in the trades,” LIUNA President Brent Booker said in a Thursday statement.
Booker pointed to the bipartisan infrastructure law as an accomplishment of the Biden administration that gave LIUNA members more opportunities to build. Biden visited a LIUNA training center in Deforest, Wis., in February to give remarks on manufacturing, the infrastructure law and job creation under his administration.
“No Administration has demonstrated greater commitment to the men and women who build our nation than the Biden-Harris White House,” Booker said in his statement. “With Biden at our backs, LIUNA members have more opportunities to build our infrastructure, better wages and benefits, and more secure futures.”
LIUNA also endorsed Biden for president in 2020. The union comprises a half-million members in the construction industry, and the endorsement comes after a national poll of members and a unanimous vote to support Biden, according to the group.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4040193-biden-endorsement-laborers-international-union/
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More fantastic election news for President Biden this weekend!
President Biden has racked up more early union endorsements, including The American Federation of Teachers and SMART (The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers). Union members are excited and enthusiastic to start campaigning for the president. This is the earliest that both unions have ever endorsed a candidate showing they are unified in their support for Biden.
Brand new polling shows President Biden well ahead of Trump by 7 and 8 points nationally.
Larry Sabato, the most reliable election forecaster and political scientist, shows President Biden with 260 Electoral Votes which is nearly enough to win reelection in 2024.
General Election National Presidential Polling:
Biden 48% (+8)
Trump 40%
Cygnal Polling
Biden 48% (+7)
Trump 41%
ASC
Larry Sabato has unveiled his "Crystal Ball" Electoral Vote map and has President Biden with 260 Electoral Votes.
270 Electoral Votes is what's needed to win the presidency.
Sabato has Wisconsin as a "toss up", but I've just posted new polling data yesterday from Wisconsin taken by the highly respected Marquette University Law School poll showing President Biden with a 9 point landslide lead. So, if the election was held today, President Biden would be easily reelected. Wisconsin puts Biden over the top at 270.
This Electoral Map from the most reliable election forecaster in the country proves what I've been saying for well over a year now, and that is, President Biden will be reelected in 2024 and the Electoral Map will be exactly the same as it was in 2020. Nothing has changed politically since the 2020 election and the 2022 midterm election proved that to be the case with the same exact states going blue for the Senate.
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https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/2024-president/
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Still no answers on Cocainegate. Topless trans activists on the WH lawn. Cocaine in the building. Stripper moms. What a great example Biden and his crime family are setting for America.
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House GOP makes it official: Ending Social Security and Medicare is the goal
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Republicans are never going to be known for their eco-friendliness, but there is one thing they are very good at recycling: plots that combine ending Social Security and Medicare with schemes to cut taxes for the rich. They’re at it again with a new fiscal blueprint for the next 10 years reconstituted from the stuff they’ve been scraping up for the last few decades. The Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus in the GOP with around 175 members, just released what they’re calling a budget.
This is not the official 2024 Republican budget—there isn’t one, and while this group has the majority of the Republicans in it, it is not an actual congressional committee that has power to do anything. But this is what the majority of Republicans think should happen: cutting Social Security and Medicare and slashing domestic spending programs to the bone.
Their plan starts with raising the retirement age from the current age of 67 to 69, but wouldn’t kick in until people now aged 59 retire. They’d have to wait three months longer to retire than under the current system. The wait increases incrementally until the people who are now 52 years old retire. They—and everyone younger—would have to work until they turn 69 to get full benefits. Republicans don’t want to risk alienating seniors now, so they’re going after Gen X.
That’s a benefit cut, any way you slice it, for future retirees. “These changes would transform Social Security from an earned insurance benefit, which replaces wages lost in the event of old age, disability, or death, into a subsistence-level welfare benefit,” says Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works.
The plan resurrects the old Paul Ryan Medicare voucher scheme, calling it “premium support.” As Altman explains it, seniors would be forced to “fend for themselves on the open market with nothing but a coupon to offset as much of the cost of the insurance that they can find.”
Meanwhile, the 2017 GOP Tax Scam, with its “eye-popping payouts for CEOs,” would be made permanent. It’s set to expire in 2025. Enough said.
The White House was quick to respond:
Andrew Bates @AndrewJBates46
@PressSec: "The hardcore MAGA budget just released by @RepublicanStudy – which represents a majority of House Republicans – amounts to a devastating attack on Medicare, Social Security, and Americans’ access to health coverage and prescription drugs."
They are "taking aim at the Medicare benefits all Americans pay to earn by repealing the new power President Biden gave it to negotiate lower drug costs, to address rapid drug price increases, and to cap the price of insulin for Medicare beneficiaries."
Read Here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/06/14/statement-from-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-on-republican-study-committee-budget/
https://twitter.com/AndrewJBates46/status/1669124807768563713
That’s true. In addition to ending Social Security and Medicare as we know it, the Republicans would roll back the new authority Medicare has for negotiating lower drug prices and to force drug makers to curtail price increases. They also want to repeal the cap on insulin costs for Medicare enrollees. Yes, Republicans are the party of unaffordable insulin.
These are the same Republicans who booed and hissed at President Joe Biden in his State of the Union speech for telling the truth about their plot against Social Security and Medicare. The same Republicans who cheered and leapt to their feet when Biden asked them to “stand up and show them we will not cut Social Security. We will not cut Medicare.”
No one expected that to last, to be honest. It kept the programs out of the debt ceiling negotiations, which was great. But they’re never going to give up their goal of destroying the social safety net. Just like they’re not giving up on cutting taxes, slashing services, and privatizing whatever remains for personal profit. It’s all they got.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/15/2175584/-House-GOP-makes-it-official-Ending-Social-Security-and-Medicare-is-the-goal
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President Biden @POTUS
Federal investment attracts private investment.
Because of our historic CHIPS and Science Act, semiconductor companies are investing hundreds of billions of dollars across America to bring chip production back home.
That's a game changer.
Under my predecessor, Infrastructure Week became a punchline.
On my watch, we’re making Infrastructure Decade a headline.
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Microchips power almost everything in our lives. America invented these chips, but over time, we went from producing nearly 40% of the world’s supply to producing over 10%.
I signed the CHIPS and Science Act so America could lead the way in chip manufacturing again.
Because of our Investing in America agenda, I believe we’ll own the future of the automobile market.
American manufacturing is back.
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Instead of exporting jobs for cheaper labor costs like we did for decades, we’re creating American jobs and exporting American products.
Under Bidenomics, Made in America is not a slogan. It’s actually happening.
Here’s the simple truth about trickle-down economics: it represented the moment we walked away from how this country was built.
Bidenomics is just another way of saying restoring the American dream.
Every American willing to work hard should be able to get a good job and afford good health care no matter where they live.
That’s the American dream.
That’s Bidenomics.
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We will keep standing up to Big Pharma.
And we will stand up to Republicans in Congress who have been trying for years to get rid of the Affordable Care Act and deny tens of millions of Americans access to quality, affordable health care.
Imagine you choose an "in-network" hospital to receive care but are charged for an “out-of-network” doctor that you did not choose – or even know was consulted.
We're closing these surprise billing loopholes.
Evading the law to charge patients outrageous prices must end.
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Today, @HHSgov reported that 1/3 of Medicare Part D beneficiaries – nearly 19 million people – will save an average of $400 a year when our insulin cap goes into effect in 2025.
That'll reduce out-of-pocket spending for Americans by nearly $7.5 billion annually.
It matters.
Over the past few months, my Administration has cracked down on junk fees across different industries – banking, hotels, concerts, airlines, cable, and internet.
And today, we're adding health care to that list.
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On too many nights, too many Americans lay in bed staring at the ceiling worrying what will happen if a loved one gets sick.
Do they have enough insurance?
Will they have to sell their house?
For all of you out there: I get it. And I will never stop fighting for you.
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When I got elected, I promised I’d be a president for every American – whether you voted for me or not.
And I’ve kept my promise.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1677426637673988096
Tune in as I deliver remarks on lowering costs for hardworking Americans.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1rmxPkgXnmbJN
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1677403452249448449
President Biden Delivers Remarks on Lowering Costs for Hardworking Americans
Watch:
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Biden might actually lose the election. I thought with the leftist media, corrupt political establishment, and changes in the voting laws to his advantage that it wouldn't be possible, but his disastrous presidency is hitting rock bottom with stripper grandchildren who he disowns, cocaine, topless parties at the WH and the collapse of the economy, Crime, open borders, record drug deaths, and COVID continues even though the media now ignores it because it served its political purpose. Maybe results will matter once again and outweigh ideology. Old Joe was deemed unfit to be president even by the majority of Dems in recent polls. He is a mess. Even when he had some of his marbles he was a corrupt imbecile. Now he doesn't have a clue where he is or what is going on. There is no way that he is physically and mentally capable of serving another term.
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Old Joe is trying to rig the 2024 Dem primary by changing the traditional order of the primaries. He wants S. Carolina to go first instead of Iowa and NH because he believes he will do better in SC. How bad must the polling numbers be when he is struggling against RFK Jr and has no legitimate primary opponent? The kicker is that he might not be allowed on the NH ballot because of this effort. And if he does get on the ballot, he has alienated voters in that state. What an idiot. The clown show rolls on and on.
Politico:
"Biden is unlikely to appear on the ballot if New Hampshire goes first, creating an awkward situation in which the president could lose an unofficial early contest to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or Marianne Williamson, both of whom have indicated they’re planning to compete in New Hampshire regardless of its status or sanctions. But Democrats could wage a write-in campaign for Biden, to help him avoid an early embarrassment en route to his inevitable renomination."
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It's refreshing to have a president once again who is competent, respected, and liked around the world when he attends NATO summits and G7 meetings instead of clown who embarrassed the United States and is extremely unpopular like Trump is.
7 in 10 Britons hold an unfavourable opinion of Donald Trump
https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/7-10-britons-hold-unfavourable-opinion-donald-trump
Most countries express confidence in Biden, US: poll
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/4070638-most-countries-surveyed-have-confidence-in-biden/
Biden lands in Vilnius for upcoming NATO summit
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Biden landed at the airport in Vilnius, Lithuania, and was greeted by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda. Also attending Biden's arrival was Lithuania's ambassador to the United States, Audra Plepyte, and the U.S. ambassador to Lithuania, Robert Gilchrist, the White House said.
The summit will take place tomorrow and Wednesday.
Biden will meet with King Charles III and Rishi Sunak in Europe ahead of NATO.
President Joe Biden kicked off the first full day of his trip to Europe with a visit to London, where he met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles III.
The war in Ukraine topped the agenda for Biden and Sunak ahead of a key NATO meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, although Biden has said the war will need to end before the alliance can consider asking Kyiv to join.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/live-blog/biden-europe-russia-ukraine-live-updates-rcna93358
Biden meets U.K. PM Sunak in London and has a sit-down with King Charles before heading for a NATO summit
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/joe-biden-king-charles-uk-sunak-nato-europe-ukraine-russia-war-cluster-bombs/
US President Joe Biden arrives in the UK
Watch live as US President Joe Biden arrives in the UK.
He will meet Rishi Sunak and King Charles during the visit.
Watch:
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Even kooky RFK Jr. is surging in the polls against Ukraine Joe. What a clown show. Even the leftist media is turning on him. The Atlantic just published an article indicating that he is finished:
Let me put this bluntly: Joe Biden should not run for reelection in 2024. He is too old.
Biden will turn 80 on November 20. He will be 82 if and when he begins a second term. The numbers just keep getting more ridiculous from there. “It’s not the 82 that’s the problem. It’s the 86,” one swing voter said in a recent focus group, referring to the hypothetical age Biden would be at the end of that (very) hypothetical second term.
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Donald Trump's and the right wing media's favorite pollster Rasmussen, currently has President Biden with 46% approval rating.
Brand new polling from two national polls shows President Biden with a commanding lead.
Let's also not forget that if the election was held today, President Biden would easily be reelected.
Larry Sabato, the most accurate election forecaster in the business, already has President Biden with 260 Electoral Votes. The most recent poll out of Wisconsin, from the highly respected Marquette University Law School Poll, has President Biden with a commanding 9 point lead. That would give President Biden exactly 270 Electoral Votes to win.
And if Republicans want to make age an issue in the race, go for it. The guy they support is just 3 years younger than Biden, overweight, senile, and can't even walk without the aid of a golf cart.
Trump rode golf cart while G7 leaders walked through Sicily
05/27/17
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/335424-trump-rode-golf-cart-while-g7-leaders-walked-through-siciliy/
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The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll, for Monday shows that 46% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Biden’s job performance.
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/biden_administration/prez_track_july10
2024 Presidential Poll
Cygnal:
Biden 48 (+8)
Trump 40
Echelon Insights:
(D) Biden: 47% (+5)
(R) Trump: 42%
The most reliable election forecaster and political scientist, Larry Sabato shows President Biden with 260 Electoral Votes. The Marquette University Law School Poll has President Biden with a commanding 9 point lead which is 270 Electoral Votes. That means if the election was held today, President Biden would easily be reelected. With the booming economy and the Biden manufacturing boom, his lead will be even bigger next year.
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https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/2024-president/
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Well, another Republican phony scam against Joe and Hunter Biden bites the dust!
The House Republican fake “whistleblower” against Joe Biden just got criminally indicted for being a Chinese spy. Yes, that's right!
For quite some time now, House Republicans have claimed they had a “whistleblower” who had supposed evidence that Hunter Biden, and maybe even President Joe Biden, had taken all kinds of imaginary dirty "bribe" money from Ukraine. The funny thing was, they never could seem to produce this individual – even claiming at one point that they’d lost him.
Now it turns out he’s been found. Found by the DOJ, that is. The House Republican “whistleblower” has just been criminally indicted for allegedly being a Chinese spy. No really, this was their whistleblower. This is the guy they’d been hyping. Of course now he’s claiming he was only indicted to silence him, which is laugh out loud territory. We’ll see how many House Republicans decide to go even further down the conspiratorial rabbit hole with this guy, and how many of them simply start pretending they’ve never heard of their own "whistleblower".
Republicans are an absolute joke using a fake "whistleblower" in order to go after the President of the United States and his son. That's pretty much criminal.
Republican’s ‘Whistleblower’ Charged as Unregistered Foreign Agent
Gal Luft, currently a fugitive, has been charged with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, arms trafficking, and sanctions violations
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/gal-luft-doj-charged-unregistered-foreign-agent-1234785971/
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Gal Luft, the GOP's new fake Hunter Biden "whistleblower," was just indicted by the Justice Department for arms trafficking, violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, making false statements to federal agents, and being an unregistered foreign agent for China.
GOP James Comer and Jim Jordan's sham investigations continue to backfire.
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MeidasTouch @MeidasTouch
This is what James Comer said *yesterday* about his fake whistleblower who was just indicted for being a Chinese spy:
"He's very credible and the people on MSNBC who made fun of me when I said we had an informant that was missing, they should feel like fools right now. And this is their worst nightmare." :D
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1678550013218263042
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People are now calling the Florida Governor "DeSaster" instead of DeSantis. And that's because of both his disastrous failure as a Governor and as a Presidential candidate.
While Ron DeSantis declares a 'war on the woke' in one of the most humiliating presidential runs in history, his state of Florida just suffered another devastating blow.
Farmers Insurance announced they are leaving Florida, making them the 4th insurer to leave the Florida market this year, reports the Tampa Bay Times.
Homeowners in the state are paying more than ever for insurance as they face an unprecedented crisis.
Faux News is heavily promoting DeSantis but now the Murdoch's see him as a loser.
https://tampabay.com/news/business/2023/07/11/farmers-insurance-florida-leaving-hurricanes-insolvent/
Murdochs Start to Sour on DeSantis: ‘They Can Smell a Loser’
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/ron-desantis-rupert-murdoch-donald-trump-1234786639/
GOP could lose state of Florida because of Farmers Insurance: ex-Trump official
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A flood of insurance companies fleeing Florida could cost the GOP the state in the next election, a former Trump official warned Tuesday.
Michael Caputo, the assistant secretary of public affairs under Trump, was reacting to Farmers Insurance's announcement earlier in the day that it was dropping all home and auto insurance policies in the state and leaving, Newsweek reported.
The decision was driven by business costs that are forced up by hurricane rebuilding and recovery, the company said. It’s the fourth insurance firm to pull out of the Florida market in the past year.
"I keep saying hurricane insurance costs are a vital issue in Florida – a truly fundamental kitchen table concern,” Caputo said in a tweet.
"It changes votes, for real. Florida is a must-win battleground for the GOP nomination – will hurricane insurance decide it?"
Farmers’ decision is expected to affect 100,000 homeowners.
Florida homeowners already pay the highest premiums in the U.S., Newsweek reported.
"This business decision was necessary to effectively manage risk exposure," Farmers said in a statement issued Newsweek in a statement.
Political consultant Jay Townsend agreed with Caputo’s warning.
"As insurance costs rise, and strain the household budgets of working-class people, they soon start looking for the culprit," he told Newsweek.
"Inevitably, they will identify the Governor as one of them. And even if he did nothing wrong, they'll ask why he didn't do something to stop it."
Already the anger was being directed at DeSantis and other state officials.
"Everyone who has Citizens Insurance is at risk of losing everything this Hurricane season. What are you and your boss [Florida Governor] Ron DeSantis doing about it since he's never here anymore and he's running for President?" far-right activist Laura Loomer tweeted at the state’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, a Republican.
Read More Here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/farmers-insurance-pulls-out-of-florida-affecting-100000-people/
'Most abjectly racist thing I've heard from a US senator': Jake Tapper shreds GOP's Tommy Tuberville
CNN's Jake Tapper on Tuesday had some sharp words for Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who told fellow CNN host Caitlan Collins on Monday night that being a white nationalist doesn't necessarily make someone a racist.
In analyzing Tuberville's comments, Tapper said that Alabama's senior senator "seems to be parsing the difference between people who are abject racists like members of the Klu Klux Klan and people who are merely white nationalist who believe in the supremacy of white people," which Tapper described as "a distinction without a difference."
The CNN host noted, however, that Tuberville has his own history of deploying racist dog whistles on the campaign trail.
"His comments make more sense when you consider what he said in October at a campaign rally, the most abjectly racist thing I've heard from a U.S. senator in decades," he said. "I'm quoting here, he said... 'Democrats,' quote, 'want crime because they want to take over what you got. They want reparations because they think the people that do the crime are owed that.'"
Tapper argued that this was "nakedly racist" because it framed all Black Americans as "the people that do the crime" since they would be the ones receiving any hypothetical reparations for slavery.
"I think there are serious questions about his views when it comes to matters of race and white supremacy," Tapper concluded.
Watch:
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While the media continues to focus other unimportant stories, President Joe Biden is racking up wins on the international stage.
Today, he formally lobbied Turkey to end their blockade of Sweden's entry into NATO. Not only does this move strengthen NATO, it weakens Russia. This is another historic Biden accomplishment as he promised a month ago Sweden would enter NATO and he delivered once again on his promises.
The more folks underestimate President Biden, the more he accomplishes.
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Biden just secured a big win from his Europe trip
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CNN — President Joe Biden has already secured a powerful deliverable from his Europe trip – one that will weaken Russia’s strategic position in another detrimental consequence of its invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey’s lifting of its blockade on Sweden’s entry into NATO was a significant and stunning move on the eve of the NATO summit in Lithuania. The reversal by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came hours after he warned Sweden would be out in the cold until Turkey got its long-delayed membership in the European union.
Once Sweden finally joins NATO, it will bolster Biden’s reputation as a US leader who reinvigorated and expanded the bloc. Finland – which decided to sign up, like Sweden, after the invasion of Ukraine – has already added hundreds of miles of NATO territory on Russia’s border. Biden’s lifeline of arms and ammunition for Ukraine and leadership of the alliance has made him the most significant president in transatlantic affairs at least since George H.W. Bush, who presided over the end of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany. His legacy will ultimately depend, however, on the outcome of the war in Ukraine and his capacity to avoid a direct clash with Russia.
Turkey’s about-face will also lighten the mood at the NATO summit, where the alliance’s most unified moment in years had been in danger of being somewhat tarnished by divides over Ukraine’s pleas to get a timetable for membership. Biden had said before leaving the US that Ukraine was not ready to join. New member states need unanimous approval of all NATO’s members before they can join the club and benefit from its collective security guarantee.
Erdogan’s move was also a severe blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin. First, it will result in the expansion of NATO territory and strengthen the alliance after an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine that Putin had argued was partly intended to weaken the West and to counter what he claims is its effort to neuter Russia’s power in its own backyard. Secondly, the decision by Erdogan – an increasingly autocratic leader who has enjoyed largely cordial ties with the Kremlin strongman – will frustrate Russia’s attempts to sow divides between NATO members in order to weaken the alliance.
Monday’s events were another intriguing twist for a mercurial leader who has leveraged Turkey’s strategic position where the West meets the East to try to rebuild his country as a major regional power. While it is so far unclear whether Erdogan secured anything more than cosmetic concessions from Sweden, NATO’s European powers and the United States, his sudden change of mind raises the question of whether he had negotiated himself into a corner. He had already dropped objections to Finland joining the alliance.
The newly reelected Erdogan has vexed successive US presidents for years, both over his geopolitical muscle flexing and his hardline rule that Washington fears will erode Turkey’s secular constitution and democracy. In recent years, the US has been frustrated by his cozying up to Putin and also his suggestions, yet to be realized, of a rapprochement with Syria.
Behind the scenes diplomacy after US pressure
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who is very close to Biden and was just persuaded to extend his term until October 2024, said that Turkey’s change of heart was the product of months of diplomacy. “This is not new negotiation, but it is about implementing, and reassuring the implementation of the different things we agreed a year ago in Madrid,” Stoltenberg said.
Turkey’s change of heart also followed a telephone call between Biden and Erdogan on Sunday, in which the American president appears to have made his position crystal clear. The White House hinted at the tone of the call when it said Biden expressed a desire to get Sweden into NATO “as soon as possible.”
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the deal came about after talks between NATO, Turkey and Sweden but also pointed to recent US engagement, including the president’s meeting in Washington last week with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
"We’re coming into this consequential summit with a full head of steam,” Sullivan told reporters in Vilnius following the Sweden deal which he said highlighted a sense of unity that would disappoint Putin. “Every few months, the question is called: Can the West hang together? Can NATO hang together?” he added. “Every time allies gather, that question gets re-upped, and every time the allies come together and answer it forcefully and vehemently: Yes we can.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, hailed the unpicking of the deadlock and also sought to secure political credit for Biden, whom he saluted as a foreign policy expert. “He has a real grasp of it, a real handle on it, and is very effective. And this is a victory for America, for the West, for freedom, and for President Biden.”
Whether Turkey got any political wins may not emerge for several days. But official media in Ankara quoted a senior official as saying Erdogan secured Sweden’s full support for Turkey’s entry process into the EU, which has been on hold for years. Stoltenberg also expressed strong backing for Turkey’s campaign for EU membership, and Biden said in a statement he was looking forward to enhancing security in Eurasia with the Turkish leader.
All of these steps, however – while possibly giving Erdogan political cover back home for his shift of position – hardly seem like big breakthroughs for Turkey. Stoltenberg, for instance, has no capacity to influence its bid to join the European Union. And Erdogan’s crackdowns on human rights and the media have only increased skepticism about Turkey’s capacity to meet EU entry conditions. Sweden and Turkey did agree to work together to combat terrorism as part of the deal between their leaders, and NATO agreed to appoint a new counter-terrorism coordinator. These steps appear to be aimed at assuaging Erdogan’s demands for a crackdown on the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Sweden. Turkey claims that the Stockholm government had allowed members of the group to operate on its soil and has been complicit in far-right anti-Islam protests.
Another factor that may have weighed on Erdogan was the fact that a group of bipartisan senators had called on Biden to delay the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, which would be one of the biggest arms sales in years, until it dropped its objections to Sweden’s NATO membership. Sen. Bob Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Monday he had not yet decided whether to drop his long-standing opposition to the F-16s deal, partly over concern Turkey could use the planes to intimidate fellow NATO member Greece. The New Jersey Democrat said he could make up his mind “in the next week.” Sullivan said that Biden supported the sale of the jets and had placed no caveats or conditions on it in recent weeks in talks with the Turks. He also said the administration had been in touch with Menendez on the issue.
A stunning reversal
Given his hardline position coming into the NATO summit, Erdogan appears to have fallen well short of his own objectives. He warned as recently as Monday morning that Sweden’s membership should be linked to Turkey’s own aspirations to join the EU. “Turkey has been waiting at the gate of the European Union for over 50 years now,” and “almost all NATO member countries are European member countries,” he warned.
Former Deputy Director of National Intelligence Beth Sanner said on CNN on Monday that Erdogan’s sudden shift was “fascinating” because he had essentially been seeking to negotiate quid pro quos with the US for months. “This really isn’t about Sweden, this is about the United States and Turkey and Turkey’s role,” she told Jake Tapper. “He played his hand too hard by putting the EU membership on the table, and I think he really wants to be seen by NATO as the person who comes in and saves the day, not as the spoiler.” She continued: “He started looking like the spoiler and I think he had to back off.”
One major consequence of Erdogan’s reversal could be a souring of his relations with Putin only days after he he invited the Russian leader to Turkey in August. Erdogan wants to wield Turkey’s power to broker an extension to a deal that allows Ukraine to export grain from Black Sea ports.
In another significant move over the weekend, Turkey allowed the release of a group of Ukrainian commanders, who were previously captured by Russia after leading the defense of Mariupol from the Azovstal steel plant last year. They went home to a heroes’ welcome with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky despite a prior agreement with Russia that they would not be handed over to Ukraine until the end of the war.
It looks like Erdogan has made a significant break with Putin. But anyone who expects him to quit playing multiple sides of the great geopolitical game will likely be disappointed. Erdogan has always been about exacting maximum power for himself and Turkey, and that is unlikely to change.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/11/politics/biden-turkey-sweden-nato/index.html
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President Biden @POTUS
Folks, we're in Lithuania for the NATO Summit.
Our Alliance is stronger, more energized, and more united than ever.
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Lithuania, thank you for the warm welcome.
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The United States is here today to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to NATO, but also to our Ally Lithuania.
Our partnership goes back a long way. And our commitment to Lithuania, to the Baltics, and to NATO has not wavered.
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It's great to be back in Vilnius.
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The United States will always stand with Lithuania, and we are committed to defending every inch of NATO Territory.
Our commitment to the security of our NATO Allies is ironclad.
Today, President Nausėda of Lithuania and I discussed our commitment to defending NATO's eastern flank and our support for the people of Ukraine.
We're taking on these shared challenges together.
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At this critical moment, there’s no one better equipped to lead a united NATO than Secretary General Stoltenberg.
Putin thinks the way he succeeds is to break NATO – it’s not going to happen.
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It was great sitting down with President Erdoğan once again today in Lithuania for a NATO Summit made even more historic by Türkiye’s agreement on the admission of Sweden.
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NATO stands strong.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1678875563669311490
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Old Joe embarrassed himself numerous times in "Europe" this week. Isn't there one person on his staff who can instruct him on where he is supposed to go so that he doesn't roam around on stage like an escaped dementia patient?
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In another show of international strength, Lithuania President Gitanas Nauseda bestowed President Joe Biden with The Order of Vytautas the Great with the Golden Collar, the highest award that a Lithuanian President can bestow on anyone.
President Biden is the first American president to receive the award for special merits in developing the bilateral relations between the Republic of Lithuania and the United States of America, improving the political, cultural, economic, and social cooperation of the two countries.
Doesn't really fit the radical right wing "old man with dementia" fake narrative, does it?
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NATO Summit: President Biden Receives Order Of Vytautas The Great From Lithuania
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NATO Summit: President of Lithuania welcomes Joe Biden at the Presidential Palace in Vilnius
VILNIUS — The NATO summit kicked off in Vilnius with a show of solidarity for Ukraine, as President Joe Biden’s motorcade arrived at the summit site amidst a sea of blue and yellow flags adorning the city.
Ukrainian flags were raised on street poles, city buses, and buildings, while residents were urged to join in by displaying blue and yellow flags on their windows and balconies. The city’s tallest building, the Vilnius TV Tower, also joined in by illuminating its facade with the colors of NATO, Lithuania, and Ukraine flags after dark.
Welcome to Lithuania, @POTUS! He will participate in the #NATOSummit. The U.S. commitment to our NATO Allies and Article 5 is sacrosanct and President Biden is in Vilnius to affirm that. #WeAreNATO pic.twitter.com/uBxJAIA6XC
— U.S. Embassy Vilnius (@USEmbVilnius) July 10, 2023
Earlier today, President Nauseda presented President Biden with the Order of Vytautas the Great, adorned with a golden collar. This honor holds significant meaning, as it is the highest award that a Lithuanian President can bestow, and President Biden is the first US President to receive it. The Order of Vytautas the Great was established in 1930 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas the Great. It is granted to both Lithuanian and foreign heads of state, as well as their citizens, in recognition of distinguished services to the State of Lithuania.
The White House expressed, “This award recognizes President Biden’s special merits in developing bilateral relations between the Republic of Lithuania and the United States of America, as well as his contributions to political, cultural, economic, and social cooperation between the two countries.”
The United States established diplomatic relations with Lithuania in 1922. Since Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, the two countries have developed a close partnership. The United States warmly welcomed Lithuania’s accession to NATO and the European Union in 2004.
The office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania revealed that President Gitanas Nauseda engaged in discussions with President Biden regarding support for Ukraine, measures to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank, and the response to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, backed by Belarus. Furthermore, President Nauseda mentioned Lithuania’s efforts to secure military equipment from the United States.
President Nauseda highlighted the warm reception given to President Biden by the Lithuanian people, acknowledging that some Vilnius residents had temporarily left the city due to heightened security measures.
“The United States is here today to reaffirm our commitment to NATO, but also to Vilnius,” stated President Biden during the meeting with Nauseda. He pledged to stand by Lithuania and assured that all necessary assistance would be provided.
Expressing his support for Ukraine, President Biden emphasized, “We’re also going to discuss our support for Ukraine.”
He reiterated his strong backing for the transatlantic alliance. “As you’ve probably heard, I’m a strong supporter of the transatlantic alliance,” said Biden. Leaning towards President Nauseda, he added, “As I’ve said before, we take, NATO takes, all of us take, Article 5 literally.” President Biden also expressed confidence in Sweden joining NATO, saying, “I’m confident we can get that done.” Moreover, he reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to supporting the people of Ukraine.
President Nauseda, a vocal advocate for Ukraine’s NATO membership, emphasized the urgency of taking decisive action in the face of the current security situation in Europe.
“Now is the right time for strategic decisions. Inviting Ukraine to join NATO would be our strategic responsibility and would firmly link Ukraine to the Euro-Atlantic security architecture. Ukraine deserves to be invited,” he shared his views after a meeting with a group of US Senators on Monday.
Biden will hold a meeting with President of Turkey later today following Erdogan’s agreement to forward Sweden’s accession protocol to the Grand National Assembly to ensure ratification.
https://thepavlovictoday.com/nato-summit-president-biden-receives-order-of-vytautas-the-great-from-lithuania/
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Right wingers are pulling their hair out as their two main talking points against President Biden has gone up in smoke.
U.S. inflation has fallen dramatically than any G7 country, and President Joe Biden's new border policy has fixed the Trump border disaster. Biden's border success demolishes the Republican lie of an "open border".
Republicans should be thrilled that President Biden is cleaning up Donald Trump's disasters that Biden inherited. That's what an effective President does, which is get solid results from competent leadership.
Today’s CPI report brings new and encouraging evidence that inflation is falling while our economy remains strong.
• Inflation has fallen for 12 months in a row to 3% — the lowest it’s been in over two years!
• Wages are rising — wages for the average worker are now higher than they were before the pandemic, accounting for inflation.
• The U.S. has the lowest inflation and strongest economic growth of all G7 nations.
• We’ve never seen such a large drop in inflation while also seeing jobs growth.
The bottom line: We’re seeing more jobs and lower costs while other countries are still suffering with high inflation. That’s Bidenomics in action.
US inflation hits its lowest point since early 2021 as prices ease for gas, groceries and used cars
https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-interest-rates-economy-federal-reserve-53d93610b5ccaacd097853593f29bc26
UK’s Inflation Crisis Expected to Last Another 10 Months
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-11/cost-of-living-crisis-to-last-another-10-months-says-retail-economics#xj4y7vzkg
Paul Glastris @glastris
The Washington Post today reports that Biden’s new asylum/refugee policies are working—two months after my colleague
@billscher @monthly reported they were working and four months after he predicted they would work. /1
Southern border ‘eerily quiet’ after policy shift on asylum seekers
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/12/us-mexico-border-migrant-crossings/
Here is @billscher reporting the Biden administration’s boarder policy success in March, before anyone else did. /2
Republicans Want to Impeach Mayorkas. How About Giving Him a Medal?
The Homeland Security secretary and Cuban refugee is being pilloried by the right and some on the left for his immigration policies, but the Biden administration is succeeding in slowing the influx of refugees and ending the cruelty of the Trump era.
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2023/05/18/republicans-want-to-impeach-mayorkas-how-about-giving-him-a-medal/
Here is @billscher predicting in March that Biden’s boarder strategy would be a success, back when the rest of the new media, channeling nativist conservatives and immigrant advocates, portrayed the administration’s policies as feckless /end
Biden’s Smart Immigration Idea
The Welcome Corps allows Americans to sponsor groups of vetted migrants seeking asylum and help newcomers settle in their communities.
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2023/03/30/bidens-smart-immigration-idea/ @monthly
https://twitter.com/glastris/status/1679242494570029057
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President Biden @POTUS
This morning, I joined the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council.
Our commitment to Ukraine as it defends its freedom and rebuilds its future is unwavering.
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Support. That's what NATO is all about.
Thank you for hosting this historic summit, President Nausėda.
I look forward to our close cooperation in the future and continuing to stand with you and the people of Lithuania.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1679187705396363265
Yesterday, Türkiye reached a historic agreement on the admission of Sweden into NATO. President Erdoğan, thank you for your courage, leadership, and diplomacy.
This summit reaffirms our commitment to the NATO defense, and I hope we can continue to make it even stronger.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1679198943174098944
Even after all of this time, Putin doubts our staying power.
He’s making his bad bet that the unity among the U.S. and our Allies and partners will break down.
He doesn’t understand that our commitment to freedom is something we will never walk away from – it's who we are.
Soon, NATO will be 32 free nations standing together to defend our people and our territory.
Bound by the democratic values that make us strong – and by our sacred oath:
An attack against one is an attack against all.
When Putin – with his craven lust for land and power – unleashed his brutal war on Ukraine, he was betting NATO would break apart.
He thought our unity would shatter at the first testing.
He thought democratic leaders would be weak.
But he thought wrong.
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The United States' commitment to Ukraine will not waver.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1679273182946000897
Ukrainians have inspired the world with their courage.
The United States will continue doing everything we can to get Ukraine what it needs in the face of Putin's brutal war as rapidly as possible.
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The road that lies before us is hard.
It will challenge us to summon the best of ourselves, to hold faith with one another, and to never give up.
Every day we must summon the strength to stand for what is right, for what is true, and for freedom.
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https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1679258080704430082
President Biden Delivers Remarks with G7 Leaders
Vilnius, Lithuania
Watch:
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This picture is amazing. Children look on as President Biden delivers a speech in Lithuania.
The world admires and respects President Biden. When he speaks, people listen. Fantastic photo and a perfect demonstration of that respect!
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Boisterous crowd in Lithuania for President Biden's speech about the united commitment from America and our allies to support Ukraine and defend our democratic values.
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Chants of “U-S-A” and “Slava Ukraini” as President Biden wraps up his speech
The White House, citing the mayor of Vilnius, says 10,000 people attended the speech, including the overflow spaces in the town square.
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Biden vows U.S. and allies 'will not waver' in defense of Ukraine
The NATO summit has been a test of Biden’s promise to repair America’s international relationships, which include the 31-country mutual defense pact forged in the aftermath of World War II.
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VILNIUS, Lithuania — President Joe Biden promised Ukraine that its Western partners would not back away from its defense in a speech Wednesday after two days of high-stakes meetings with leaders at a NATO summit.
Speaking before a heaving crowd on a bright Wednesday evening, Biden said that “the defense of freedom is not the work of a day or a year. It’s the calling of our lifetime — of all time.”
“We are steeled for the struggle ahead,” he added. Of Ukraine’s partners, he said, “Our unity will not falter, I promise you.”
The event here proved a test of Biden’s promise upon taking office to repair America’s international relationships, which include NATO, the 31-country mutual defense pact forged in the aftermath of World War II. Top of the agenda was Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has raged on NATO’s doorstep for close to 18 months.
The lines built steadily in the hours before Biden was set to take the stage at Vilnius University, snaking through narrow cobbled streets.
“We will not waver. I mean that," Biden continued. "Our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken. We will stand for freedom today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.”
He said the world was at a crossroads, with freedom hinging on America’s global alliances.
“We face a choice, a choice between a world defined by coercion and exploitation, where might makes right, or a world where we recognize that our own success is bound to the success of others — when others do better, we do better, as well,” Biden said.
He added, "The idea that the United States could prosper without a secure Europe is not reasonable."
A White House official previewing Biden’s remarks on Wednesday promised a speech that would highlight “the strength of the NATO alliance and how it remains a force for global security and stability."
“The president will talk about how the widespread support for Ukraine is reflective of the value of our alliances and partnerships, which he has revitalized since taking office,” said Amanda Sloat, the National Security Council's Europe director.
Biden would make the case for NATO’s “vital” role, a hard-won outcome “that didn’t happen by accident,” Sloat said.
“Vladimir Putin thought he could break our resolve when he invaded Ukraine, but our NATO allies and our partners around the world responded by coming together to support the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom, their independence and their democracy,” she added.
Kyiv has campaigned for a fast track into the defense alliance, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mounting a full-court press for membership in the lead-up and into the summit. Zelenskyy hopscotched across European capitals in search of the unanimous approval expansion demands.
The campaign has tested the alliance, as its leaders echoed Zelenskyy’s argument that Ukraine “deserves” membership.
In remarks before a packed crowd in Vilnius on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said, “Ukraine will make NATO stronger.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-make-case-natos-vital-role-vilnius-speech-rcna93816
President Biden Delivers Speech in Vilnius, Lithuania
President Biden delivers a speech highlighting how the United States, alongside our allies and partners, are supporting Ukraine, defending democratic values, and taking action to address global challenges.
Watch:
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Poor Old Joe. The entire world is laughing as they see him lost on stage and confused. It is sad. His family should intervene and find a facility for him. To think the world has been brought to the brink of WWIII because of the pathological hate of Trump by some radical leftists that resulted in the election of a cognitively impaired old man. The deep state seems nervous. They are suddenly opening the doors on his corruption and misdeeds. Even leftist CNN and NY Times are being critical of him. They must not think he can win in 2024. If so, they will pressure him to step aside with threats of criminal prosecution of his corrupt family. Wray indicated yesterday that Old Joe was under investigation.
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President Biden showed us on the world stage that competent leadership matters.
The president went in to this summit strengthening NATO by bringing in Sweden as a new NATO member and weakening Putin.
The president unified all of our NATO allies in support of Ukraine as tens of thousands of Lithuanians heard him speak.
President Biden was the leader of this summit and his wisdom, knowledge, and experience shows why he is the right leader for this time.
This is historic leadership folks!
Keep it up’: Biden rallies democracies and urges global cooperation
The president addressed a crowd of 10,000 American- and Ukrainian-flag waving onlookers who cheered Biden’s promotion of democracy.
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VILNIUS, Lithuania — President Joe Biden used his last moments here to rally NATO allies and the world’s democracies to stick together as Russia’s war on Ukraine extends beyond 500 days.
Standing in the heart of a capital of a former Soviet republic, Biden boasted that democracies who champion freedom against authoritarianism’s creep have held strong, even in the face of the largest land war in Europe since World War II. He pushed for the protection and promotion of global democracy not just in Ukraine against Vladimir Putin’s Russia, but well into the future to keep dictators and other global threats at bay.
“The defense of freedom is not the work of a day or a year. It’s the calling of our lifetime. We’re steeled for the struggle ahead. Our unity will not falter, I promise you,” he told a crowd of 10,000 American- and Ukraine-flag toting onlookers who gathered at Vilnius University. Before the president walked on stage, a group could be heard chanting “Slava Ukraini.”
The president’s address was a paean to NATO and the transatlantic security architecture he has toiled to strengthen well before the invasion began. But Biden also used the opportunity to call for more cooperation among nations to address challenges like climate change, poverty and economic inequality.
“The choices we make now are going to shape the direction of our world for decades to come. With nations working together with common cause, we can answer these questions,” he said.
“Keep it up, keep going,” he rallied the crowd, packed tightly into a square flanked by the university’s yellow walls.
In many ways, Biden’s address was a rehash of a speech he gave in February in Warsaw. Fresh off a surprise visit to Kyiv, Biden encouraged NATO allies and partners to further boost Ukraine’s defenses against Russia. He used the dramatic moment to argue transatlanticism wasn’t withering, but rather rebuilding its muscle under his leadership.
“NATO is stronger, more energized and yes, more united than ever in its history,” he further claimed in Lithuania.
The president’s apparent good mood and optimistic outlook came hours after a NATO summit with undeniable wins. The biggest victory of all happened before the gathering even began, when Turkey on Monday ended its year-long blockade of Sweden’s entreé into the alliance, paving the way for the military bloc to welcome its 32nd member.
"It is very clear that this question of NATO membership will not be an issue that can be raised by others who are not part of this partnership — in other words, Russia will not be able to mandate this,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on his way home from Lithuania.
For now, Biden is leaving the Lithuanian capital buoyant that transatlantic security was strengthened on his watch and at his urging.
“We will not waver,” the president boomed before underscoring: “We’ll stand for liberty and freedom today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.”
As Biden left the podium, chants of U-S-A rang out through the venue.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/12/biden-nato-russia-ukraine-00105907
Biden can leave Vilnius feeling like he got almost everything he wanted from the NATO summit
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CNN — President Joe Biden got almost everything he wanted from the NATO summit.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shot for the stars and reached the moon – securing a permanent rearmament pipeline well into the future from G7 nations but failing to win the collective defense guarantee that membership in NATO would bring.
And Russia saw its strategic and military failure entrenched but will surely view the institutionalizing of support for Ukraine as confirming its suspicions of the West.
Poignantly, the meeting hosted by a former Soviet vassal state whose NATO status secured the freedom, independence and prosperity that Zelensky craves for his country, was overshadowed by the torment of the Ukrainian people.
“It’s just like something out of the 14th century the way they are acting,” Biden said, narrowing his eyes in disbelief at the Russian assault on civilians.
What the summit achieved
The summit ended on Wednesday with a joint declaration from G7 leaders for their nations to negotiate long-term bilateral security commitments for Ukraine to build up its land, sea and air defenses to deter future Russian attacks. The move is a halfway house measure designed to tide Ukraine over until a future moment when it could join NATO and enjoy the “attack on one, is an attack on all” umbrella its members enjoy – a moment that the alliance has yet to determine.
The summit ended on Wednesday with a joint declaration from G7 leaders for their nations to negotiate long-term bilateral security commitments for Ukraine to build up its land, sea and air defenses to deter future Russian attacks. The move is a halfway house measure designed to tide Ukraine over until a future moment when it could join NATO and enjoy the “attack on one, is an attack on all” umbrella its members enjoy – a moment that the alliance has yet to determine.
The other landmark moment of the summit was Turkey’s sudden dropping of its veto on Sweden becoming the alliance’s 32nd member – which followed months of behind-the-scenes diplomacy by the Biden administration — overseas and in the US Congress.
The president will highlight the post-Ukraine invasion expansion of the alliance, a significant part of his legacy, later on Wednesday by traveling to another new member, Finland. The two Nordic neighbors left behind decades in Moscow’s shadow to apply for NATO membership, after feeling threatened by Putin’s effort to rewrite the map of post-Cold War Europe. Finland’s entry illustrates how the invasion backfired for Putin on a broader continental stage by delivering NATO a frontier hundreds of miles long with Russia itself.
How Biden controlled the summit
Biden, NATO’s most important leader, went into the summit determined to maintain his balancing act of bolstering Western support for Ukraine’s existential struggle while avoiding the outbreak of a war with Russia, a nuclear superpower. He also needed to remind Americans why billions of dollars of taxpayer cash must continue to be sent to Kyiv, which is becoming a 2024 campaign issue. And before he left Lithuania, he warned Putin that the summit was evidence the Western alliance would not waver.
“When Putin and his craven lust for land and power unleashed his brutal war on Ukraine, he was betting NATO would break apart … he thought our unity would shatter at the first testing. He thought democratic leaders would be weak. But he thought wrong,” Biden said in a speech at in speech at Vilnius University.
The President told CNN before leaving that membership for Ukraine at this time was impossible, given the raging war with Russia. But he also told Zelensky on Wednesday that he understood how irksome the West’s conditions may seem given the horror unfolding in Ukraine.
"The frustration, I can only imagine,” Biden said.
Involving the G7 nations in a permanent flow of arms to Ukraine was a creative solution to fulfilling its future needs while navigating constraints on a tighter relationship between Kyiv and NATO. If carried out, the scheme could effectively make Ukraine a Western-armed vanguard that may not formally be ‘in’ NATO but will still be a linchpin of its forward posture in Europe. The certainty offered by the prospect of long-term defense purchases may also trigger expansions in defense industries in Europe and the US and ease a crisis in getting sufficient ammunition to Ukraine.
It’s ironic that the G7 was the G8 until Russia was kicked out over its invasion of Crimea in 2014 and will now be the entity that could turn Ukraine into a modern defense state in the future.
The G7 agreement also goes some way to cementing the commitment to Ukraine of US and allied leaders in years to come and making Biden’s policies harder to reverse. Ukraine must worry that a future US president – perhaps the former commander-in-chief, Donald Trump – may downgrade American support. Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence for instance warned on CNN Tuesday for instance that his ex-boss’s vow to end the war in 24 hours could only be honored by “giving Vladimir Putin what he wants.”
While critics may complain the administration is doing too little to help Ukraine – or in the eyes of some conservatives, too much – the summit highlighted Biden’s comfort on the world stage.
His experience on Capitol Hill – and choice of a former Republican senator, Jeff Flake, as US ambassador to Ankara who worked to overcome congressional worries about the sale of F-16 fighters to Turkey – could be the key to greasing Sweden’s entry into NATO. The president’s understanding of political forces weighing on fellow leaders was also noticeable when he twice publicly praised Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for signing up to the G7 aid program for Ukraine.
He also got some good news to return home to Wednesday with new data showing that the rise in the annualized cost of living cooled to 3% in June, raising his hopes of neutering GOP attacks over “Bidenflation.”
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/12/politics/biden-nato-summit/index.html
Biden delivers speech at NATO summit after meeting with Zelenskyy
President Biden delivered remarks at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, after holding meetings with leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. NBC News' Josh Lederman reports.
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President Biden inherited multiple disasters from the failed 4 years of Donald Trump.
One of these disasters included a crisis at the southern border which Donald Trump caused with his severe incompetence. His disastrous "Title 42" policy allowed immigrants to flood the border in unprecedented numbers which was left for President Biden to deal with.
In usual Donald Trump and right wing fashion, the radical right and Trump himself falsely blamed President Biden for Donald Trump's own border crisis. They lied about the president having an "open border" and "no plan". What they didn't tell you, is that Trump caused this border crisis and President Joe Biden was hamstrung until Trump's disastrous "Title 42" policy expired.
As soon as it expired, President Biden implemented his own border policy and immediately we saw results with illegal border crossings plummeting.
And here we are today, with illegal border crossings plummeting with stricter asylum rules which totally debunks the right wing lie of an "open border". The radical right just lost another one of their bogus right wing talking points, but you can be sure they'll manufacture new lies in order to try to falsely discredit President Biden. They are totally pathetic.
Just another Trump disaster fixed by President Joe Biden.
And an historic week for President Biden with low inflation, illegal immigration plummeting, record high fundraising for his 2024 campaign, and his historic success at the NATO summit in Lithuania by receiving the highest award bestowed to anyone and bringing Sweden into NATO.
That's real leadership folks!
Yes, There’s a Crisis on the Border. And It’s Trump’s Fault.
Instead of wasting his time on a wall, the president should fix the asylum system.
April 05, 2019
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/04/05/border-crisis-donald-trump-226573/
Migrant crossings along U.S.-Mexico border plummeted in June amid stricter asylum rules
JULY 12, 2023
The number of migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization in June plummeted to the lowest level since the start of the Biden administration following the enactment of stricter asylum rules, according to unpublished government data obtained by CBS News.
Border Patrol agents recorded just over 100,000 apprehensions last month of migrants who entered the U.S. illegally along the southern border, a sharp drop from the 169,000 apprehensions reported in May, the preliminary statistics show.
Border Patrol apprehensions denote the number of times the agency processed migrants who crossed into the U.S. in between legal ports of entry, which is illegal. They do not include migrants processed at ports of entry, where the Biden administration has been admitting tens of thousands of asylum-seekers each month.
In May, daily illegal border crossings peaked at 10,000, a record, before officials terminated the Title 42 pandemic measure that allowed them to expel many migrants on public health grounds, without allowing them to claim asylum. In June, average daily migrant apprehensions dropped below 4,000.
The U.S. has also increased regular deportations, which impose stiffer penalties, such as five-year banishments and the threat of criminal prosecution, since halting the Title 42 expulsions. While Title 42 allowed officials to summarily expel hundreds of thousands of migrants, it did not impose these penalties, and fueled a massive jump in repeat crossings among those expelled to Mexico.
"Some of that drop can be attributed to the strengthened consequences that we are implementing at the border," Blas Nuñez Neto, the assistant secretary for immigration and border policy at the Department of Homeland Security, told CBS News in an interview Wednesday.
Nuñez Neto said the administration is staging the "most significant expansion of the use of expedited removal in DHS history," describing a process dating back to the 1990s that allows U.S. border officials to deport migrants without court hearings if they don't ask for refuge or if they fail their initial asylum screenings.
That expansion of expedited deportations has been facilitated by a Biden administration rule that disqualifies migrants from asylum if they enter the U.S. illegally without first seeking protection in another country. Nuñez Neto said the measure has deterred migration by reducing the percentage of migrants who pass their initial asylum interviews from the pre-pandemic average of over 80% to below 50%.
"What we've seen in the past is that, because of the congressional inaction and inability to address the underlying factors in our immigration system that are contributing to these now-regular surges in migration under presidents of both parties, migrants are coming to the border to claim asylum because they know that the system is broken and it will take years for them to go through the process," Nuñez Neto added.
Nuñez Neto also credited the Biden administration's efforts to increase opportunities for migrants to enter the country legally for the decrease in illegal entries. A phone app known as CBP One is allowing up to 44,950 asylum-seekers in Mexico to enter the U.S. each month at ports of entry, while another program is giving 30,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans the chance to fly to the U.S. monthly.
Other countries south of the U.S. have simultaneously staged operations to crack down on migration.
"You're seeing Mexico taking actions on its southern border to disincentivize migrants from entering Mexico. You're seeing Guatemala do the same. Colombia and Panama are currently doing an operation, a coordinated operation, in the Darién (jungle) that is unprecedented in its scope," Nuñez Neto said.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/migrant-crossings-us-mexico-border-down-in-june-stricter-asylum-rules/
Playbook: Why Biden is smiling this week
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President JOE BIDEN is having a good week. A really good week, actually.
ON THE ECONOMY: Yesterday, the latest consumer price index numbers revealed inflation cooling to 3% — its lowest rate since March 2021.
In Washington and on Wall Street, that’s spurring hopes that the economy may be finally turning the corner. (Though the Fed is likely to raise interest rates again later this month, the new CPI numbers “really fortify the argument around July’s hike being the last of this campaign,” DAVID WILCOX, senior economist at Bloomberg Economics, told the WSJ.)
In Biden world, it’s the latest in a “string of economic developments that’s bolstered the administration’s confidence it can set the U.S. on a glide path without first plunging it into a downturn,” our colleague Adam Cancryn reports.
ON NATIONAL SECURITY: Biden is in Finland today, meeting with Nordic leaders after a NATO trip with “undeniable wins,” our colleagues Alexander Ward and Jonathan Lemire write: (1) Turkey ended its blockade of Sweden joining the alliance, and (2) Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, initially apoplectic about NATO’s reluctance to invite Ukraine to join the bloc, ultimately hailed the summit as a “significant security victory.”
ON THE CAMPAIGN: And there may be a cherry on top coming over the next couple of days for the president. This Saturday is the deadline to report Q2 fundraising numbers to the FEC. While Biden’s numbers have been kept close hold, high-level insiders in Biden world whom we’ve talked to say they feel confident in how well Biden’s fundraising has shaken out.
ON THE BORDER: Notable numbers here in a scoop by CBS News’ Camilo Montoya-Galvez: “Migrant crossings along U.S.-Mexico border plummeted in June amid stricter asylum rules”: “The last time Border Patrol apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border were lower was in February 2021, President Biden’s first full month in the White House.”
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/07/13/why-biden-is-smiling-this-week-00106072
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'Not even hiding the racism': GOP Rep. Eli Crane blasted for referring to 'colored people' on House floor
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Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) set off a firestorm Thursday with a stunning choice of words to explain an amendment he was pitching for the National Defense Authorization Act, Forbes reported.
“Crane said his amendment to the NDAA would have prevented ‘race, gender, religion, or political affiliations,’ from being used in the recruitment of military members, adding the amendment had ‘nothing to do” with ‘whether colored people, or Black people, or anybody can serve,” Forbes reported.
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who is Black, “responded on the floor that Crane’s remarks were offensive and very inappropriate and move to have his offensive words stricken from the record," the report said.
“Crane later claimed he meant to say, “people of color,’” Forbes reported. But it also noted that Crane’s amendment was one of several submitted Thursday centered around culture war issues, as the House passed multiple amendments that may hinder the passage of the must-pass NDAA.”
That context wasn’t lost upon angry legislators who took to Twitter, apparently not buying Crane’s curious explanation for his comments:
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) tweeted, “The GOP is not even hiding the racism anymore.”
Rep. Jasmine Crockett D-Texas) tweeted: “You can’t make this up. This is who these people are, and who they’ve always been.”
Rep. Don Beyer tweeted about Crane’s comment, saying, “A House Republican just referred to Black Americans serving in our military as ‘colored people.’ In 2023.”
Crane has been allied with fellow Arizona Reps. Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs on various far-right causes, including a recent Qanon-inspired hearing on COVID-19 conspiracies.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1679617269758930944
Republicans look to give themselves a pay raise after securing benefit cuts for the poor
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After taking the global economy hostage to secure painful cuts to aid programs and other federal spending, House Republicans are proposing a pay raise for themselves and other members of Congress for the coming fiscal year.
Roll Call reported Thursday that under spending legislation approved by the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee last month, members of Congress "would stand to receive a 4.6%, or $8,000, pay increase" in 2024. Most members of Congress currently make an annual salary of $174,000, putting them in the top 10% of U.S. earners.
"Lawmakers last received a cost-of-living increase in 2009," the outlet noted, "but House Republicans left out the traditional language blocking a cost-of-living increase for members from this year's Legislative Branch bill."
House Legislative Branch Appropriations Chairman Mark Amodei (R-Nev.) told Roll Call that it is "not exactly greedy" to pursue a pay raise for lawmakers after more than a decade of no cost-of-living increase, but he acknowledged the optics are horrible.
"The policy supports, hey, once every twelve years, you can have a cost-of-living increase," Amodei said. "But the politics is—you know how that will go."
"House Republicans are moving to give themselves a raise while taking an ax to education, health, and other essential programs that help grow the economy by growing the middle class."
Colin Seeberger, senior communications adviser at the Center for American Progress Action, urged congressional Democrats to "raise hell over this."
"This is outrageous," Seeberger wrote on Twitter. "House Republicans are moving to give themselves a raise while taking an ax to education, health, and other essential programs that help grow the economy by growing the middle class."
One Democrat, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), slammed House Republicans for "trying to give themselves a raise while working families struggle to make ends meet."
"That's not what our constituents want—and certainly not what members of Congress need," Craig added.
But Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the former House majority leader, expressed support for a raise, telling Roll Call that "precluding members from a COLA adjustment simply decreases their salary every year," which he said "doesn't make any sense."
The Republican-led push for a congressional pay increase comes just weeks after GOP leaders negotiated a debt ceiling agreement with President Joe Biden that imposes new work requirements on older recipients of federal food aid, a change that experts say is likely to strip benefits from around 750,000 low-income people.
Congressional Republicans are also pushing for even steeper cuts to federal spending than were agreed upon in the debt ceiling deal, threatening a government shutdown.
Meanwhile, the House GOP is working to pass legislation that would hand the top 1% of U.S. earners $28 billion in tax cuts next year.
Read More Here: https://rollcall.com/2023/07/13/house-gop-anti-spending-fervor-may-not-apply-to-member-pay-raise/
Biden urges Republicans to stand up against senator's military holds
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(Reuters) - President Joe Biden said on Thursday he expects Republicans to stand up against what he called Senator Tommy Tuberville's "ridiculous" block of top U.S. military appointments over the Pentagon's abortion policy.
It was bizarre and irresponsible to inject a domestic social debate into fundamental foreign policy, the Democratic president said in Helsinki after meeting with Nordic country leaders.
Tuberville, a conservative Republican from Alabama, has held up 250 nominees to senior Pentagon posts since March, when he began the holds to protest a Defense Department policy enacted last year that provides paid leave and reimburses costs for service members who travel to get an abortion.
"He's jeopardizing U.S. security with what he's doing. I expect the Republican Party to stand up - stand up and do something about it," Biden told reporters.
"I'm confident that the mainstream Republican Party no longer - does not support what he's doing, but they've got to stand up and be counted. That's how it ends," Biden said.
Biden said he would be willing to talk to Tuberville if there were any possibility of changing the senator's "ridiculous position."
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Tuberville on Thursday, the Pentagon said.
"Secretary Austin explained to Senator Tuberville the impact the holds are having to military readiness and uncertainty in the force," Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder told a news briefing.
Austin and Tuberville agreed to speak again next week, Ryder said.
Speaking earlier on Thursday, Austin told CNN: "He needs to lift the holds."
"This is a national security issue. It's a readiness issue. And we shouldn't kid ourselves," Austin said.
Tuberville said in a Twitter post late on Wednesday he had a 10-minute call with Austin months ago and accused Democrats of political theater.
On Tuesday, Biden's nominee to become the top U.S. general warned that Tuberville's blockade of military promotions could have a far-reaching impact across the armed forces, affecting U.S. troops and their families.
"We will lose talent," General Charles "CQ" Brown, the outgoing Air Force chief of staff, told his Senate confirmation hearing to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Senior military nominations are approved by the Armed Services Committee and eventually the full Senate. Although the review is usually routine, a single senator can pause the process by putting a hold on nominations that force them to be considered one at a time, taking many hours each.
Tuberville's action already has had an impact. On Monday, when retiring General David Berger formally relinquished command, the Marine Corps was left without a Senate-confirmed leader for the first time in more than a century.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Phil Stewart in Washington, Steve Holland in Helsinki; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Frances Kerry and Will Dunham)
© Reuters
'Step into the alternate universe': Jerry Nadler welcomes witness to Jim Jordan's 'MAGA' hearing
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) blasted House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) for holding hearings in an "alternate universe" to support Donald Trump.
During a hearing on Thursday, Nadler told Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan that Jordan had a history of spouting conspiracy theories.
"Mr. Chairman, yesterday, the director of the FBI sat at the witness table for nearly six hours, enduring a steady stream of baseless attacks and conspiracy theories meant to fit a far-right narrative that may resonate on Fox News but that lacks any basis in fact," Nadler said. "Today it is the chair of the Federal Trade Commission's turn to step into the alternate universe that is the House Judiciary Committee under MAGA Republican leadership."
"Unfortunately, I expect that today you will be the target of a barrage of personal attacks and wild accusations about the work of the FTC under your leadership," he added. "Ultimately, Chair Kahn, you will face attacks today because you are doing your job. That is what threatens Republicans the most."
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'Not FBI's fault Trump surrounded himself with criminals': Dem lawmaker exposes 'cesspool of corruption' around ex-president
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Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) methodically took apart Republican complaints about the politicization of the Department of Justice and the FBI during a contentious hearing of the House Judiciary Committee.
FBI director Christopher Wray appeared before the panel to address GOP complaints about investigations involving Donald Trump, and Lieu used his time to highlight a litany of the former president's allies, associates and advisers who had been convicted of crimes during his own administration.
" Trump adviser Roger Stone was convicted in a federal court, correct?" Lieu said, and Wray agreed. "Trump donor Elliott Broidy was convicted in a federal court, correct? The attorney general at the time for those two convictions was Bill Barr. Which president nominated Bill Barr for attorney general?"
Wray responded that Trump had nominated Barr, and Lieu listed former Trump attorney Michael Cohen's two convictions in federal court, and the FBI director recalled that the Trump-appointed acting attorney general at that time was Matthew Whitaker.
"Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted in federal court, correct?" Lieu said, and Wray agreed. "Trump's former deputy campaign manager Rick Gates was convicted in federal court, correct? Trump's campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos was convicted in federal court, correct?"
Wray recalled that Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty, and he agreed that the attorney general for all three of those cases was Trump appointee Jeff Session, and he stated that he had been FBI director for all the cases Lieu had listed and that he himself had been appointed by the former president.
"What these facts show is that we don't have a two-tier system of justice," Lieu said. "We have one Department of Justice that goes after criminals regardless of party ideology. All of these folks were convicted under the administrations of three separate Republican attorneys general. It is not the fault of the FBI that Donald Trump surrounded himself with criminals. Donald Trump brought that on himself. Thank you to the FBI for exposing the cesspool of corruption of these Trump associates."
Watch:
Ex-FBI official says GOP is telling agents: 'If you investigate our party, you are going to pay the price'
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Former FBI official Frank Figliuzzi wasn't happy after watching Republicans grill FBI director Christopher Wray in the House Wednesday.
While Democrats questioned Wray for ignoring warnings about Jan. 6, Republicans sought answers to a slew of conspiracy theories and culture war grievances that go all the way back to mask requirements during the COVID crisis.
"Look, I understand that many Americans will see this as nothing more than political theater," Figliuzzi said on MSNBC. "Yes, there's an element of that. What I'm seeing is actually far worse than mere political theater. I see a strategy here. A strategy to enact death by a thousand cuts to some of our key institutions. It's not just the FBI. It's not just the DOJ. It's a larger strategy to cause Americans to distrust the institutions that actually represent the values of democracy."
He explained that what FBI rank-and-file agents will see from the hearing is doing their jobs will still face consequences if they investigate Republicans.
"If you investigate our party, you are going to pay the price. We will suggest de-funding you, breaking you up, impeaching your director," he continued. "There's something more nefarious than just political theater. The FBI is really about protecting communities. Over 200,000 violent predators and hundreds of sex trafficking victims recovered. That's what is under attack. It defies logic."
Turning the FBI into a political agency is part of the GOP strategy, he explained. He mentioned Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) who walked through a slate of questions about Donald Trump's own appointees and Republican leaders who have worked to bring down many of the people that the House Republicans take issue with.
"All the people that have been investigated, arrested, and convicted around Trump have had that happen to them under an FBI director that was appointed by Trump," he explained. "Under attorneys general that were appointed by Trump. It defies logic. People seem to be buying into this myth. It undermines the mission of the men and women who come to work every day simply trying to make our communities safer."
Watch:
'The whole thing is for show': Ex-FBI counsel says Wray hearing wasn't for finding answers
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A Wednesday hearing during which GOP representatives grilled FBI director Christopher Wray was "for show," and not for holding the agency to account for any mistakes, according to former FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann.
Weissmann, who previously predicted Trump's conviction in the classified documents case, appeared on MSNBC Wednesday night alongside Rep. Eric Swalwell. Weissmann discussed how, when hearings like the recently publicized one don't have cameras present, the performative nature was downplayed and things could actually get done.
"You actually get work done. People actually ask you real questions. You go there with a sense of obligation to give answers to congress," he said. "It doesn't matter whether it's a Democrat or Republican. And that's the purpose."
Weissmann further disagreed with labeling the Wray event a "hearing."
"This is, when you asked the congressman what he took from this hearing, this isn't a hearing. This is soundbites for people to play on TV. The witness is not a witness... they are not there to give answers. The whole thing is just for show," he said.
He further added:
"What is unfortunate is, there are a lot of issues with respect to the FBI. There's a lot of good, a lot of things they are doing really well, but there are also issues where they've had failures."
Watch:
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President Biden @POTUS
When Russian bombs began to fall, the United States did not hesitate to act.
We rallied the world to support the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their liberty and their very sovereignty.
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The G7's support for Ukraine will last long into the future – as long as it takes.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1679557636407144448
It was a delight to be back in Finland – an incredible Ally to the United States, and an asset to NATO and the world.
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President Niinistö, I remember a phone call you and I had ahead of your visit regarding your joining NATO.
It took me three seconds to offer my strong support.
Today, following the fastest ratification period in modern history, I'm proud to say Finland will make NATO stronger.
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As we conclude a historic NATO Summit – welcoming Finland's accession to NATO and reaching an agreement to move forward on Sweden's membership – we're reminded of the shared history, challenges, and values between the United States and Nordic countries.
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Wheels down at Joint Base Andrews in Washington DC.
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Tune in as I hold a joint press conference with President Sauli Niinistö of the Republic of Finland.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1kvKpmmzrZVGE
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1679500750446030848
President Biden Holds a Joint Press Conference with President Niinistö of Finland
Helsinki, Finland
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Even the leftist press like CNN and NY Times are starting to question whether Old Joe is even going to run in 2024. His obvious mental and physical decline are just part of the problem. His disastrous record with the economy, crime, and foreign policy have almost destroyed the country in just two years. Imagine the smoldering ruin that this country would be in if Biden serves another six years or even worse Kamela becomes president.
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John Kerry became irate when asked about flying on his private jet while lecturing others on climate change. He adamantly denied owning a private jet. Sounds like perjury but a great example of the half truths that these leftist hypocrites hide behind. When they asked Dirty Hunter if he ever received money from China he says "no" because he set up shell companies which were paid by China and those companies paid him millions for his unspecified services. A disgrace.
"According to flight tracking data obtained by Fox News Digital in July 2022, a Gulfstream GIV-SP jet owned by Kerry's family made a total of 48 trips that lasted more than 60 hours and emitted an estimated 715,886 pounds, or 325 metric tons, of carbon over the course of the Biden administration's first 18 months.
The plane was registered to Flying Squirrel LLC, a charter company owned by Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz-Kerry, and in which Kerry reported owning a more than $1 million stake on past financial disclosures."
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Let's Compare Trump to Biden
If you have been paying attention to what's going on in the country the last few years, you would know that we lived through 4 disastrous years with Donald Trump (which is why he lost the 2020 election in a blowout) and President Joe Biden inherited those multiple disasters and he's been busy cleaning up Trump's mess.
Donald Trump disgracefully left office with the worst jobs record in the modern era, the worst murder and violent crime rate in history, and a disastrous foreign policy. Let's not forget about the COVID crisis, the manufacturing recession, and Trump's southern border crisis that was all left for Biden to deal with.
President Biden in just over two years, created the greatest economy on record with the highest job creation in history along with the lowest unemployment on record. He got Covid under control, ended Trump's manufacturing recession by creating a manufacturing boom, and fixed Trump's border crisis. And President Biden has gotten violent crime to drop nationwide, and on top of that strengthened NATO while Trump was trying to destroy NATO.
President Biden has had an historic presidency, which is why he has just broke all fundraising records in history and has more money than any Republican candidate in this quarter including Trump. And it's also why if the election was held today, Biden would win with 270 Electoral Votes.
Take a look at the Trump disaster below and President Biden's historic success on the economy, crime, and foreign policy.
Under the failure of Donald Trump, violent crimes and murders were at an historic high.
Under the solid leadership of President Biden, violent crime is dropping nationwide.
America Saw a Historic Rise in Murders in 2020
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/02/america-saw-a-historic-rise-in-murders-in-2020-why.html
Violent crime is dropping nationwide, report shows
The MCCA’s findings confirm other reports showing a downward trend in violent crime.
May 22, 2023
https://news.yahoo.com/violent-crime-is-dropping-nationwide-report-shows-200015787.html
Under the failure of Donald Trump, he disgracefully left office with the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression.
Under the historic leadership of President Biden, he has created 13 million jobs, the most jobs created by any president in U.S. history at this point along with the lowest unemployment on record.
Trump to leave office with the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover
January 11, 2021
https://fortune.com/2021/01/11/us-economy-jobs-numbers-trump-compared-past-presidents-worst-record-since-hoover/
US economy has added 13 million jobs during President Joe Biden's first term
No other U.S. president has presided over greater job growth in a single term.
June 2, 2023
https://americanindependent.com/economy-jobs-report-unemployment-joe-biden-bureau-labor-statistics/
Donald Trump gave us 4 years of foreign policy disaster.
President Joe Biden has just strengthened democracy and NATO with his historic foreign policy.
The Total Destruction of U.S. Foreign Policy Under Trump
His last remaining objective is obtaining foreign help for his reelection.
JULY 31, 2020
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/07/31/trump-destruction-foreign-policy/
Biden just secured a big win from his Europe trip
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/11/politics/biden-turkey-sweden-nato/index.html
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What an amazing difference!
The former guy tried to destroy NATO so he could strengthen Putin.
President Biden strengthened NATO and weakened Putin.
That's another historic Biden win and a win for foreign policy!
President Biden just smoked Donald Trump in campaign fundraising. This historic Biden fundraising debunks the right wing lie that "Biden isn't popular" or "Democrats don't want Biden to run". People are giving their hard earned money to Biden because they like him and want him to run.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F03Ya0SXgAIJctF?format=jpg&name=small)
BREAKING: President Joe Biden just blew the 2024 field away, announcing he raised $72 million in the 2nd Quarter, more than doubling the amount Trump raised in the same time period. 💵
➡️ Nearly 400,000 individual donors
➡️ 97% of donations under $200
➡️ Average grassroots contribution: $39
Slow start? I don't think so. 4 More Years!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F1Aw_BZXwAMdESG?format=jpg&name=small)
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What an amazing difference!
The former guy tried to destroy NATO so he could strengthen Putin.
President Biden strengthened NATO and weakened Putin.
That's another historic Biden win and a win for foreign policy!
President Biden just smoked Donald Trump in campaign fundraising. This historic Biden fundraising debunks the right wing lie that "Biden isn't popular" or "Democrats don't want Biden to run". People are giving their hard earned money to Biden because they like him and want him to run.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F03Ya0SXgAIJctF?format=jpg&name=small)
BREAKING: President Joe Biden just blew the 2024 field away, announcing he raised $72 million in the 2nd Quarter, more than doubling the amount Trump raised in the same time period. 💵
➡️ Nearly 400,000 individual donors
➡️ 97% of donations under $200
➡️ Average grassroots contribution: $39
Slow start? I don't think so. 4 More Years!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F1Aw_BZXwAMdESG?format=jpg&name=small)
You forgot the BIGGEST difference. The endless war in which tens of thousands have already died with no end in sight. The NATO countries are not even paying their fair share. Trump simply wanted to hold them accountable to the agreed upon contribution. Almost none have lived up to the NATO agreement. It is outrageous that the US has for 80 years paid for the national defense of "Europe" while our cities are in ruins. That is what the corrupt political establishment both Republican and Democrat want, however. They want the power to allocate trillions to lobbyists who then support their campaigns and hire their family members.
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President Biden Delivers Remarks on Bidenomics
President Biden delivers remarks on how Bidenomics is spurring manufacturing investments and good-paying jobs across the country, including a new partnership between Enphase Energy and Flex.
West Columbia, SC
Watch:
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These right wing MAGA Republicans are so extreme and out of touch with America, that they attack President Joe Biden for implementing policies that benefit the lives of every American. Can you believe that? Nearly every American supports one of these policies like healthcare, transportation, Social Security, poverty, education, urban problems. If this is what they want to attack President Biden on, I say go for it. It'll just make him more popular.
I keep telling you that Republicans want to end social security. MAGA extremist Marjorie Taylor Greene just attacked Social Security and now Ron DeSantis aka DeSaster is now joining the chorus to cut social security for people in their 30's and 40's. Previously, he wanted deep cuts to social security and wanted to raise the retirement age to 70 which is what Republicans are promoting. These right wingers wouldn't be publicly attacking Social Security if they didn't want to end it.
Right wing extremist Tommy Tuberville continues to put our national security at risk over a policy that the majority of Americans support. No Senator should have the power to put the security of the United States at risk. But that's what these MAGA Republicans do, they cause chaos and destruction at every opportunity they get.
Marjorie Taylor Greene ridiculed after her attacks on Biden seem more like compliments
(https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/marjorie-taylor-greene.jpg?id=33067571&width=2400&height=1350)
The speech by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) at the Talking Points Action conference left some progressives scratching their heads after her attacks on President Joe Biden appeared to be more like compliments.
Ranting at the far-right crowd, Greene attacked programs like Social Security, Medicare, and other infamous programs started by the late Democratic presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson.
She began by warning Joe Biden is trying to "finish what FDR started" by trying to address problems related to "education, medical care, urban problems, rural poverty, transportation, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and welfare."
It was revealed this week that "Bidenomics," the new attack phrase from the GOP, has done more to help red states with higher incomes than blue states, The New Republic cited.
"How will Dark Brandon ever recover from this?" mocked "Did Nothing Wrong" podcaster Jay McKenzie.
Issuing a "'warning' that Joe Biden is going to create things like Medicare and Medicaid — both wildly popular programs — seems like an odd way to attack him, but have at it," said historian Kevin M. Kruse said, citing Kaiser Family Foundation data showing the popularity of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) knocked her too for saying Democrats and Biden want to "finish what FDR started."
"Yes," he agreed. "Guilty as charged."
"Did not have “Marjorie Taylor Greene doing campaign ads for Biden” on my election bingo card but here we are," influencer Shauna W. mocked.
Brian Klaas @brianklaas
This “attack” by Marjorie Taylor Greene, which is all about how Biden insidiously wants to [checks notes] help people live better lives in the tradition of FDR and LBJ, could be run, unedited, as a Biden campaign ad. These people are insane.
Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1680635547469987841
Ron DeSantis backed deep cuts to Social Security and Medicare while in Congress.
https://www.businessinsider.com/ron-desantis-voting-record-vulnerabilities-congress-2024-trump-biden-2023-2
Ron DeSantis: Social Security cuts should target 'people in their 30s or 40s'
https://crooksandliars.com/2023/07/ron-desantis-targets-social-security-cuts
Sen. Tammy Duckworth: Tuberville’s military blockade is 'jeopardizing our nation’s ability to lead the free world'
In exclusive interviews on NBC News’ 'Meet the Press,' Duckworth, D-Ill., excoriated Tuberville after Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said the matter needs to be resolved through compromise.
(https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-1240w,f_auto,q_auto:best/rockcms/2023-07/230716-tammy-duckworth-jm-1110-0eac82.jpg)
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a member of the Armed Services Committee, on Sunday decried Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s blockade of hundreds of military nominations as a political move that will jeopardize the U.S.' "ability to lead the free world."
Tuberville, an Alabama Republican who is a member of the Armed Services Committee, has blocked hundreds of military appointments, citing his objection to a Defense Department policy that provides paid time off and reimburses travel costs for service members and dependents seeking abortions. President Joe Biden recently denounced the blockade as a “totally irresponsible move."
“I’m going to just say what President Biden has said: It is bizarre for Sen. Tuberville to say that he’s not jeopardizing national security when he injects politics into the defense process,” Duckworth said in an interview on NBC News' “Meet the Press.”
“And frankly, this is not the time to do it,” she said. “For him to really jeopardize our national security by injecting politics and preventing our military leaders to be able to take their positions and do their jobs is really, you know, it’s beyond distressing.”
Duckworth added: “Right now, Sen. Tuberville is jeopardizing our nation’s ability to lead the free world at a time when there’s a war in Europe because he wants to inject politics into this.”
Biden said he would be willing to talk to Tuberville if he believes "there’s any possibility of him changing his ridiculous position.” The president has also urged Republicans to "stand up and do something about it."
In a memo first obtained addressed to "Interested parties" by NBC News last week, the White house ramped up pressure on the GOP, painting the party as enablers of Tuberville's effort and accusing it of mounting “barely a word of protest.”
“Right now, a Republican Senator is choosing to erode military readiness and abuse military families in the pursuit of an unrelated and extreme anti-freedom agenda — with barely a sound from his GOP colleagues,” White House communications adviser Andrew Bates wrote in the memo.
The blockade is “exploiting service members as pawns,” hurting military readiness and risking a “brain-drain” from the Defense Department," he added. “He’s even subjecting the families who serve with members to excruciating uncertainty, like not knowing where children will go to school or where spouses can work.”
Tuberville has remained unmoved by the blowback from Democrats, telling NBC News that he won’t back down until the Pentagon promises to rescind its policy of covering the travel costs for service members who leave their states to get abortions.
“If I’d have been president, I’d call me a long time ago,” Tuberville said. “I understand we’ve got a lot of problems in this country. We got a lot of foreign problems, and, and he got — that’s a hard job. I can’t imagine doing that. So, you know, he got pretty, pretty fired up about me and on foreign soil. I wish he hadn’t done that.”
Even some congressional Republicans have objected to Tuberville’s blockade, despite agreeing with his opposition to the Defense Department’s policy on abortion access.
Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican member of the Armed Services Committee, defended his GOP colleague on “Meet the Press" Sunday.
“Every senator has the right to place holds on nominees on an issue of policy importance,” he said. “I certainly have done this myself. I’m here in Alaska right now. I had a hold a couple years ago on the secretary of the Army, the chief of staff of the Army to get them to change the position when they were going to remove a brigade combat team — Airborne Brigade Combat Team from Alaska.”
Sullivan expressed his belief that the impasse on military nominations needs to be resolved through compromise.
“Every single one of these kind of holds 99% of them get resolved through compromise,” he said. “And what needs to happen, the secretary of defense, Sen. Tuberville, [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer, need to sit down and have that.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-tammy-duckworth-slams-tommy-tubervilles-military-blockade-rcna94511
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A new Monmouth Poll released last night shows President Joe Biden opening up a 7 point lead on Donald Trump.
This marks the third national poll released in recent days that shows Biden leading Trump by four points or more.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F1gu-keWcAMkpmL?format=jpg&name=small)
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Fact: Since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, companies have announced more than $110 billion in clean energy manufacturing investments here in the United States.
Under Biden:
- strongest econ recovery in G7
- lowest peacetime unemployment rate since WWII
- lowest poverty/uninsured rates ever
- inflation now under 3%, deficit way down
- wage growth strong
- US global climate leader again
- manufacturing booming
That's what you call success!
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Bidenomics. HA HA HA HA HA. Good grief. These propagandists are living in some alternative reality. Inflation is at record levels. The average American is paying over $700 more each month for the same goods and services that they got before his disastrous administration. Gas prices are surging. Interest rates are surging. Credit card debt is at record highs. Retirement accounts are being depleted. Illegal aliens have flooded our cities to the extent that even the most delusional leftist mayors are saying "no mas." COVID is surging. Crime is surging. The endless war in Ukraine goes on and on with no end in sight and hundreds of millions of dollars spent. Where is Old Joe? At the beach. What does he have to say? "No comment." His poll numbers are at records lows. Dirty Hunter is on his way to the big house. And not the one being paid for by China in Malibu.
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Donald Trump's and the right wing media's favorite pollster Rasmussen has President Biden with a 45% approval rating which is not "record lows".
Meanwhile, a new NEW AP-NORC POLL:
Only 35% of Americans have a favorable view of Donald Trump and 62% have an unfavorable view of the corrupt former president.
The poll also found that 64% of Americans say they definitely or probably would not vote for Trump in the 2024 general election.
That's what you call record lows.
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Donald Trump's and the right wing media's favorite pollster Rasmussen has President Biden with a 45% approval rating which is not "record lows".
Meanwhile, a new NEW AP-NORC POLL:
Only 35% of Americans have a favorable view of Donald Trump and 62% have an unfavorable view of the corrupt former president.
The poll also found that 64% of Americans say they definitely or probably would not vote for Trump in the 2024 general election.
That's what you call record lows.
Crime. Corruption. Inflation. Interest rates. Illegal aliens. Endless war. Dirty Hunter and the Biden crime family heading to jail. No sane person could contend that any American - not a single one except perhaps Dirty Hunter - is better off today than when Ukraine Joe was elected. The most unpopular president in modern history. Lower poll number than Nixon during Watergate or Jimmy Carter during the Iran hostage crisis. He has ruined this country. It will take decades to recover from this last two years. Another six years would reduce America to third world status.
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Bill Pascrell, Jr. @BillPascrell
Look at that: inflation has collapsed since Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act exactly one year ago. Reminder: every single republican in Congress voted no and voted to keep your inflation high.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F3p_u4cXsAAqHqb?format=jpg&name=small)
https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1691805060412362756
Bill Pascrell, Jr. @BillPascrell
The republican party’s record is so awful many people don’t believe it until they see it with their own eyes. Take a look.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F1KgO3MXsAAgspU?format=jpg&name=small)
https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1680581791797727233
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Thanks to President Biden's historic policies, especially Bidenomics, the United States has the largest manufacturing boom in history. That means more jobs for Americans and a better economy for America!
South, Mountain West see manufacturing boom under Biden
https://www.axios.com/2023/07/23/south-mountain-west-manufacturing-boom-biden
President Biden Delivers Remarks on Bidenomics
President Biden discusses how Bidenomics is driving a manufacturing boom and helping workers and innovators invent and make more in America.
Watch:
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What an outstanding and diverse group of candidates the GOP is running in the 2024 presidential election. I would vote for any of them over Old Joe and the clown show. DeSantis is an intelligent and proven leader. Tim Scott has a great story and capable. Vivek is saying all the right things and is a contrast to the swamp politicians that have destroyed the country. Of course, Trump has a magnificent record as president. In contrast, there is Ukraine Joe napping on the beach. And RFK (don't drink the water) Jr. With cackling Kamela waiting her turn to become the worst president in US history.
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President Biden's historic economic and job growth continues as 3rd Quarter GDP hits 5.8%. President Biden completely turned around our economy from the Trump economic disaster that he left Biden to deal with.
Atlanta Fed model lifts US third quarter GDP view to 5.8%
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/atlanta-fed-model-lifts-us-third-quarter-gdp-view-58-2023-08-16/
What recession? U.S. economy appears to be accelerating: Wall Street is hiking forecasts for economic growth
https://www.axios.com/2023/08/17/recession-forecast-us-economy
Atlanta Fed projects nearly 6% GDP growth in third quarter
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/atlanta-fed-projects-nearly-6-gdp-growth-in-third-quarter-195125511.html
The Atlanta Fed now projects the real GDP growth in Q3 of 2023 is 5.8%! Almost 6%! That's INSANE, folks!
This coupled with continued strong job growth, historically low unemployment, and falling inflation shows that the policies of President Joe Biden are working!
You know what the GDP under Trump was for his term? 1.6%, the worst since Herbert Hoover. The contrast couldn't be greater.
We are leading the world once again thanks to BIDENOMICS!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F3w6ylnW0AAK3s1?format=jpg&name=small)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F3qfQzSX0AAzf18?format=jpg&name=small)
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Trump-Vivek would be an outstanding presidential ticket. Two outsiders to the corrupt establishment. They are highly competent people who made billions in business instead of lifelong politicians who enriched themselves with corruption. The fact that every member of the Biden crime family was receiving money from foreign sources despite having no apparent skills or business interests to sell is all any reasonable needs to know. They were taking millions from Russia, Ukraine, China, and Romania. Laundering that money through numerous shell companies and kicking it back to Old Joe.
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The more that I see of Vivek Ramaswamy, the more impressive he is as a candidate. What a great life story. He is the kind of person that needs to replace the corrupt political establishment and Biden crime family. And his wife is a real doctor and not a fake one like "Dr." Jill the babysitter.
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COVID is surging and Old Joe is going to start wearing a mask again according to the WH! Likely forcing him to stay in the basement. That can only mean one thing. The elections are almost here! Start filling out those mail in ballots. It's just too dangerous to vote in person. Remember when Old Joe promised to "shut down" COVID during the 2020 campaign? His own wife now has it two years later. For about the third time. There can be no doubt that the Dems politicized the pandemic for political purposes, put all the blame on Trump when there was nothing that could be done, and made false promises. COVID is a highly contagious novel virus. Everyone was going to get it sooner or later. It posed a serious risk to the elderly and those with existing health conditions. Healthy people were just going to be sick for a few days. The masks, social distancing, and lockdown was ineffective and harmful. It was all political. The only thing that worked was the vaccine and that was developed in record speed thanks to Trump.
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Biden's mental and physical situation has deteriorated to the extent that he can't apparently attend any 9/11 event. It's sad to see his decline. His family should intervene to spare him of any further humiliation.
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Biden's mental and physical situation has deteriorated to the extent that he can't apparently attend any 9/11 event. It's sad to see his decline. His family should intervene to spare him of any further humiliation.
I'm actually more concerned about your mental situation.
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I'm actually more concerned about your mental situation.
Be concerned when I start pretending to be from "Europe" or post for one time only under a new alias.
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The bottom is falling out on Old Joe. Even the Wash Post has turned on him. David Ignatius, who is a tool for the deep state, just wrote an editorial arguing that it's time for Old Joe to drop out the race. Stunning. Ignatius is the mouthpiece for the deep state. He was the one that made the case for them that Dirty Hunter's laptop was the product of Russkie disinformation. The establishment feeds him the story that they want to promote to the public. That narrative now is apparently that Ukraine Joe is toast.
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Mitt Romney is taking his ball and going home. He sees the writing on the wall. The days when an elitist cadre of corrupt individuals such as himself could rule and enrich themselves at the public expense are over. He is not leaving because he is getting old. None of these corrupt politicians ever do that. He is leaving to avoid a humiliating landslide defeat in the upcoming election. Like Liz Cheney. The days of making false promise and never delivering are over. It humorous to see the leftists weeping over Romney. They slandered him in every possible way when running for president. But because he hates Trump for exposing his hypocrisy and incompetence, they love him.
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Be concerned when I start pretending to be from "Europe" or post for one time only under a new alias.
And this is exactly the kind of idiotic nonsense which makes me concerned about your mental health.
When it comes to Trump, you see conspiracies everywhere and you believe in the so-called "Deep state", which in Kennedy's days was known as the industrial-military complex. Yet, on the other hand you refuse to even consider the possibility that Kennedy was killed by a conspiracy. But even worse, you seem to be obsessed with foolish things like where somebody lives and people using an alias, while at the same time you have been using an alias from day one on this forum.
You constantly make false claims and insinuations and when given the opportunity to actually find out that all the crap you are coming up with is false, you run.
None of this is indicative of a stable mind.
Btw, the idiotic rants in this thread don't help either.... :D
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And this is exactly the kind of idiotic nonsense which makes me concerned about your mental health.
When it comes to Trump, you see conspiracies everywhere and you believe in the so-called "Deep state", which in Kennedy's days was known as the industrial-military complex. Yet, on the other hand you refuse to even consider the possibility that Kennedy was killed by a conspiracy. But even worse, you seem to be obsessed with foolish things like where somebody lives and people using an alias, while at the same time you have been using an alias from day one on this forum.
You constantly make false claims and insinuations and when given the opportunity to actually find out that all the crap you are coming up with is false, you run.
None of this is indicative of a stable mind.
Btw, the idiotic rants in this thread don't help either.... :D
LOL. The king of the claiming the FBI, DPD, and many others lied or fabricated evidence is complaining about "conspiracy theories." HA HA HA. The funniest thing I've ever read on this forum. I guess I don't just accept the "official story" as you do. Particularly when there are actually facts and evidence to support a contrary conclusion. Keep the comedy coming, though. How is your buddy Dirty Hunter doing? Remember when it was just my "opinion" that he committed gun crimes? Now he is headed to the big house. And it's not the one the "big guy" lives in or the one that is paid for by some unknown person in Malibu. Here's another "opinion." More indictments are on the way for him.
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The deep state has lost confidence in Old Joe. They are putting the screws to him this week in an organized effort to force him to drop out. Indicting his son after sitting on the case for five years. Having the Wash Post write op-eds saying he is too old. The leftist media have the memo. Every single one of leftist commentators are harping on Old Joe's age this week. Suddenly he is too old to be President exactly as Trump said. The poll numbers are brutal while Trump is surging.
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LOL. The king of the claiming the FBI, DPD, and many others lied or fabricated evidence is complaining about "conspiracy theories." HA HA HA. The funniest thing I've ever read on this forum. I guess I don't just accept the "official story" as you do. Particularly when there are actually facts and evidence to support a contrary conclusion. Keep the comedy coming, though. How is your buddy Dirty Hunter doing? Remember when it was just my "opinion" that he committed gun crimes? Now he is headed to the big house. And it's not the one the "big guy" lives in or the one that is paid for by some unknown person in Malibu. Here's another "opinion." More indictments are on the way for him.
Such a confused mind....
The king of the claiming the FBI, DPD, and many others lied or fabricated evidence is complaining about "conspiracy theories." HA HA HA.
Where did I claim any of that?.... Oh wait, it's the king of strawman at it again...
I guess I don't just accept the "official story" as you do.
What official story would that be?
How is your buddy Dirty Hunter doing? Remember when it was just my "opinion" that he committed gun crimes?
Since when is Hunter Biden "my buddy"? And when did I say it was "just your opinion" that he committed gun crimes?
Here's another "opinion." More indictments are on the way for him.
Who cares? If somebody breaks the law he should be prosecuted, regardless if his name is Hunter Biden or Donald Trump....
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Such a delusional mind....
Oh well, just another idiotic rant.... Doesn't bode well for your mental health :D
Again, says the guy who entertains every conceivable conspiracy theory when it involves the JFK assassination. The FBI, LBJ, Hoover, CIA, DPD, and even random citizens all lied to frame Oswald. But he takes issue with question the current situation when there is actually evidence of such.
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The leftist media and politicians continue to make the false claim that there is no evidence linking Old Joe to any of the bribery money that Dirty Hunter received. Here is an email from Dirty Hunter to his daughter:
"I hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family Fro (sic) 30 years. It's really hard. But don't worry unlike Pop I won't make you give me half your salary,"
Who is his "Pop" again? The Big Guy! Hunter confirms in his own words that he has been supporting his "entire" family for 30 years including giving "half" to Old Joe. A straightforward confirmaiton that Old Joe has been getting his kickback for influencing peddling.
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The leftist media and politicians continue to make the false claim that there is no evidence linking Old Joe to any of the bribery money that Dirty Hunter received. Here is an email from Dirty Hunter to his daughter:
"I hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family Fro (sic) 30 years. It's really hard. But don't worry unlike Pop I won't make you give me half your salary,"
Who is his "Pop" again? The Big Guy! Hunter confirms in his own words that he has been supporting his "entire" family for 30 years including giving "half" to Old Joe. A straightforward confirmaiton that Old Joe has been getting his kickback for influencing peddling.
What email would that be? Where can I see the original?
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What email would that be? Where can I see the original?
You don't have access to a computer? Try Google. If that is too complicated, look at item 22 in the long list of evidence:
https://oversight.house.gov/blog/evidence-of-joe-bidens-involvement-in-his-familys-influence-peddling-schemes/
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You don't have access to a computer? Try Google. If that is too complicated, look at item 22 in the long list of evidence:
https://oversight.house.gov/blog/evidence-of-joe-bidens-involvement-in-his-familys-influence-peddling-schemes/
So, there was no email. Got it....
As far as everything else goes.... we already know from the Kennedy case what non conclusive stuff you consider to be evidence, so we shouldn't be surprised that you remain consistently superficial in this matter as well. There isn't a shred of conclusive evidence there that Joe Biden did anything wrong.
Hunter had his father on speaker phone to say hi to some people 20 times..... over a time span of 10 years. Wow, that's an average of 2 times per year..... That's some kind of involvement :D :D :D :D :D
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So, there was no email. Got it....
As far as everything else goes.... we already know from the Kennedy case what non conclusive stuff you consider to be evidence, so we shouldn't be surprised that you remain consistently superficial in this matter as well. There isn't a shred of conclusive evidence there that Joe Biden did anything wrong.
Hunter had his father on speaker phone to say hi to some people 20 times..... over a time span of 10 years. Wow, that's an average of 2 times per year..... That's some kind of involvement :D :D :D :D :D
Are you quibbling about it being a text message instead of an "email"? Wow. How is it nonconclusive when Dirty Hunter sends a text message to his own daughter indicating that "I hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family Fro (sic) 30 years. It's really hard. But don't worry unlike Pop I won't make you give me half your salary," You don't believe that is evidence that Dirty Hunter was paying his father? What you do you think it means? And you think that Joe Biden as VP of the United States would have access to conference call information 20 times? You don't just dial your son's telephone number and jump on a conference call bridge. There are different access codes for each such call. Those have to be sent to the indvidual parties. You also don't think there might be a security risk for the VP to talk to his son while unknown other parties were on the call? It's laugahble.
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Are you quibbling about it being a text message instead of an "email"? Wow. How is it nonconclusive when Dirty Hunter sends a text message to his own daughter indicating that "I hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family Fro (sic) 30 years. It's really hard. But don't worry unlike Pop I won't make you give me half your salary," You don't believe that is evidence that Dirty Hunter was paying his father? What you do you think it means? And you think that Joe Biden as VP of the United States would have access to conference call information 20 times? You don't just dial your son's telephone number and jump on a conference call bridge. There are different access codes for each such call. Those have to be sent to the indvidual parties. You also don't think there might be a security risk for the VP to talk to his son while unknown other parties were on the call? It's laugahble.
Are you quibbling about it being a text message instead of an "email"? Wow.
Because accuracy matters, even if you clearly believe it doesn't matter at all.
How is it nonconclusive when Dirty Hunter sends a text message to his own daughter indicating that "I hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family Fro (sic) 30 years. It's really hard. But don't worry unlike Pop I won't make you give me half your salary,"
Because it is inconclusive. You don't know the context and you (as well as that idiot Comer) are jumping to conclusions.
You don't believe that is evidence that Dirty Hunter was paying his father?
No, it's not evidence of anything. You just want it to be... Again, you don't know the context and/or what precisely Hunter was talking about.
What you do you think it means?
I have no idea what it means and neither do you. You are just making up your own reality, as per usual.
And you think that Joe Biden as VP of the United States would have access to conference call information 20 times? You don't just dial your son's telephone number and jump on a conference call bridge. There are different access codes for each such call. Those have to be sent to the indvidual parties. You also don't think there might be a security risk for the VP to talk to his son while unknown other parties were on the call?
BS... Hunter's business partner confirmed that Hunter talked to his dad just about every single day. Joe Biden wasn't calling in to a conference call. Hunter just put his mobile phone on speaker to have him say hello to the people he was with at the time. You have no way of knowing if any of the calls were actually made during the time Biden was VP, so again, you are jumping to all sorts of conclusions without knowing the actual facts...
But here's the bottom line; no matter how often Comer repeats the same old BS on TV or on his committee's website, when he was asked if he had any actual evidence against Joe Biden he said "I hope so"... Now that's pathetic!
Bring me actual conclusive evidence against Joe Biden and I'll be the first one to support an impeachment procedure, but what Comer is doing is a fishing expedition, just like the false Benghazi claims against Hillary Clinton and the Hunter Biden laptop charade. It is, and has been for years if not decades, the standard Republican strategy. Make as many claims as you can, no matter if they are true or not, to influence an upcoming election.
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Are you quibbling about it being a text message instead of an "email"? Wow.
Because accuracy matters, even if you clearly believe it doesn't matter at all.
How is it nonconclusive when Dirty Hunter sends a text message to his own daughter indicating that "I hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family Fro (sic) 30 years. It's really hard. But don't worry unlike Pop I won't make you give me half your salary,"
Because it is inconclusive. You don't know the context and you (as well as that idiot Comer) are jumping to conclusions.
You don't believe that is evidence that Dirty Hunter was paying his father?
No, it's not evidence of anything. You just want it to be... Again, you don't know the context and/or what precisely Hunter was talking about.
What you do you think it means?
I have no idea what it means and neither do you. You are just making up your own reality, as per usual.
And you think that Joe Biden as VP of the United States would have access to conference call information 20 times? You don't just dial your son's telephone number and jump on a conference call bridge. There are different access codes for each such call. Those have to be sent to the indvidual parties. You also don't think there might be a security risk for the VP to talk to his son while unknown other parties were on the call?
BS... Hunter's business partner confirmed that Hunter talked to his dad just about every single day. Joe Biden wasn't calling in to a conference call. Hunter just put his mobile phone on speaker to have him say hello to the people he was with at the time. You have no way of knowing if any of the calls were actually made during the time Biden was VP, so again, you are jumping to all sorts of conclusions without knowing the actual facts...
But here's the bottom line; no matter how often Comer repeats the same old BS on TV or on his committee's website, when he was asked if he had any actual evidence against Joe Biden he said "I hope so"... Now that's pathetic!
Bring me actual conclusive evidence against Joe Biden and I'll be the first one to support an impeachment procedure, but what Comer is doing is a fishing expedition, just like the false Benghazi claims against Hillary Clinton and the Hunter Biden laptop charade. It is, and has been for years if not decades, the standard Republican strategy. Make as many claims as you can, no matter if they are true or not, to influence an upcoming election.
How exactly is it relevant to the accuracy of the content of a message whether it is in an email or text message form? That is just your typical rabbit hole nonsense to deflect from the evidence. So again, Dirty Hunter sent his daughter a message in which he confirmed that he paid his families bills for thirty years including providing half of his salary to his "pop." That is about as clear and unambiguous as it gets. Dirty Hunter has confirmed that his father (aka the "big guy") was receiving a cut from his influence peddling scheme. Of course, that is not the only item that confirms Ukraine Joe was part of this criminal conspiracy. There are 21 other items on that list alone. If there is one thing that has been confirmed it is that there is no such thing as "conclusive evidence" to you when it comes to any fact that you do not want to accept. Here is the content of Dirty Hunter's message again for any reasonable person to make an assessment:
"I hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family Fro (sic) 30 years. It's really hard. But don't worry unlike Pop I won't make you give me half your salary,"
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Some more:
"In May 2017, James Gilliar, a Biden family associate, emailed Hunter Biden and other associates to formalize how they would divide the profit from their deal with CEFC, a Chinese Communist Party linked energy company. Gilliar indicated Joe Biden would receive 10 percent, which has been confirmed by former Biden family associate, Tony Bobulinski."
"On May 20, 2017, James Gilliar told Tony Bobulinksi, another business associate, “Don’t mention Joe being involved, it’s only when u are face to face[.] I know u know that but they are paranoid[.]”
"In a September 21, 2017, email, Hunter Biden wrote that Joe Biden is his business partner and provided Joe Biden’s personal cell phone if the recipient seeks confirmation. Emails also show that Hunter Biden, CEFC officials, and Joe Biden would share offices under the Hudson West/CEFC/Biden Foundation name."
"The FBI’s June 30, 2020 FD-1023 form contains allegations that then-Vice President Joe Biden allegedly engaged in an extortion scheme where he was paid $5 million in exchange for certain actions."
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Some more:
"In May 2017, Hunter Biden and other associates to formalize how they would divide the profit from their deal with CEFC, a Chinese Communist Party linked energy company. Gilliar indicated Joe Biden would receive 10 percent, which has been confirmed by former Biden family associate, Tony Bobulinski."
"On May 20, 2017, James Gilliar told Tony Bobulinksi, another business associate, “Don’t mention Joe being involved, it’s only when u are face to face[.] I know u know that but they are paranoid[.]”
"In a September 21, 2017, email, Hunter Biden wrote that Joe Biden is his business partner and provided Joe Biden’s personal cell phone if the recipient seeks confirmation. Emails also show that Hunter Biden, CEFC officials, and Joe Biden would share offices under the Hudson West/CEFC/Biden Foundation name."
"The FBI’s June 30, 2020 FD-1023 form contains allegations that then-Vice President Joe Biden allegedly engaged in an extortion scheme where he was paid $5 million in exchange for certain actions."
More inconclusive BS
James Gilliar, a Biden family associate, emailed ......
James Gilliar told Tony Bobulinksi.....
Hunter Biden wrote
When are we going to see something that Joe Biden actually emailed, told or wrote himself?
People can write and say anything they like, but that doesn't make it true nor is it evidence of anything.
"The FBI’s June 30, 2020 FD-1023 form contains allegations that then-Vice President Joe Biden allegedly engaged in an extortion scheme where he was paid $5 million in exchange for certain actions."
And internal FBI report contains an allegation that somebody made against VP Biden without providing a shred of evidence. The FBI did not consider the information credible.
Comer has no case against Joe Biden and he knows it. But he doesn't care, as long as the delusional Trump cult members believe it and the GOP can use the false allegation in the election.
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More inconclusive BS
James Gilliar, a Biden family associate, emailed ......
James Gilliar told Tony Bobulinksi.....
Hunter Biden wrote
When are we going to see something that Joe Biden actually emailed, told or wrote himself?
People can write and say anything they like, but that doesn't make it true nor is it evidence of anything.
"The FBI’s June 30, 2020 FD-1023 form contains allegations that then-Vice President Joe Biden allegedly engaged in an extortion scheme where he was paid $5 million in exchange for certain actions."
And internal FBI report contains an allegation that somebody made against VP Biden without providing a shred of evidence. The FBI did not consider the information credible.
Comer has no case against Joe Biden and he knows it. But he doesn't care, as long as the delusional Trump cult members believe it and the GOP can use the false allegation in the election.
These are the people in a position to know the truth. How else could it be proven? And if there were any doubt, Dirty Hunter's message to his daughter confirms that he was giving his "pop" half of the bribery money that he was receiving for influence peddling. It's stone cold. Now you are relying on the honesty of the FBI? LOL. I'm waiting for the lightning to strike. You have made an industry of casting doubt on the FBI's handling of evidence in the JFK assassination implying that they fabricated evidence.
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The latest poll numbers are crushing for Old Joe. According to even leftist CBS, only 1/3 of Americans think Ukraine Joe would be able to finish a second term. His physical and mental deterioration are increasingly obvious to everyone. Meanwhile almost 80% indicate that the country is moving in the wrong direction and the economy is in a shambles.
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These are the people in a position to know the truth. How else could it be proven? And if there were any doubt, Dirty Hunter's message to his daughter confirms that he was giving his "pop" half of the bribery money that he was receiving for influence peddling. It's stone cold. Now you are relying on the honesty of the FBI? LOL. I'm waiting for the lightning to strike. You have made an industry of casting doubt on the FBI's handling of evidence in the JFK assassination implying that they fabricated evidence.
These are the people in a position to know the truth. How else could it be proven?
Hilarious. You can't be this naive, can you?
How else it could be proven? Well, let's try bank documents which actually show money flowing into Joe Biden's account, communications to and from Joe Biden and witnesses who actually spoke to Joe Biden himself and/or who he bribed.
And if there were any doubt, Dirty Hunter's message to his daughter confirms that he was giving his "pop" half of the bribery money that he was receiving for influence peddling. It's stone cold.
That's just another one of your lies. Hunter's message doesn't mention "the bribery money that he was receiving for influence peddling"
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These are the people in a position to know the truth. How else could it be proven?
Hilarious. You can't be this naive, can you?
How else it could be proven? Well, let's try bank dpcuments showing money flowing into Joe Biden's account.
And if there were any doubt, Dirty Hunter's message to his daughter confirms that he was giving his "pop" half of the bribery money that he was receiving for influence peddling. It's stone cold.
That's just another one of your lies. Hunter's message doesn't mention "the bribery money that he was receiving for influence peddling"
Imagine the relief to the mafia! All they have to do to avoid prosecution is avoid depositing their criminal payments into their own accounts and launder it through various shell companies to through relatives including grandchildren. LOL. Hunter's source of income was from these influence peddling schemes. Thus, if his half is salary is going to "pop" that means it is bribery money that Old Joe is receiving. He is toast. The deep state will not allow him to go to prison, though. He will be pressured to not run again. He will pardon Dirty Hunter for his many crimes on his way out the door and then disappear into a nursing facility with Robert Mueller.
Record of Biden, Inc. shell companies (check): https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Bank-Memorandum-5.10.23.pdf
Record of payments for over $20 million from foreign sources (check): https://oversight.house.gov/the-bidens-influence-peddling-timeline/
Verdict = GUILTY
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Imagine the relief to the mafia! All they have to do to avoid prosecution is avoid depositing their criminal payments into their own accounts and launder it through various shell companies to through relatives including grandchildren. LOL. Hunter's source of income was from these influence peddling schemes. Thus, if his half is salary is going to "pop" that means it is bribery money that Old Joe is receiving. He is toast. The deep state will not allow him to go to prison, though. He will be pressured to not run again. He will pardon Dirty Hunter for his many crimes on his way out the door and then disappear into a nursing facility with Robert Mueller.
Record of Biden, Inc. shell companies (check): https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Bank-Memorandum-5.10.23.pdf
Record of payments for over $20 million from foreign sources (check): https://oversight.house.gov/the-bidens-influence-peddling-timeline/
Verdict = GUILTY
Hunter's source of income was from these influence peddling schemes.
Says who? .... Before you make such a pathetic claim, you'll first need to prove it.... and you can't, Comer can't and nobody in the GOP can.
Thus, if his half is salary is going to "pop" that means it is bribery money that Old Joe is receiving.
And that's the second pathetic claim that first needs to be proven, but there is not a shred of evidence for it.
Record of Biden, Inc. shell companies (check):
There is no such thing as Biden Inc. It doesn't exist.
Record of payments for over $20 million from foreign sources (check):
To what? Shell companies that can not be tied to Joe Biden? Who cares?
Prove the companies are tied to Joe Biden, show that the money those companies received was intended for him and that he provided some illegal service in return and then get back to me.....
Btw, how are those five companies doing in name of your family members. Did they really do something for it or are you just money laundering?
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Hunter's source of income was from these influence peddling schemes.
Says who? .... Before you make such a pathetic claim, you'll first need to prove it.... and you can't, Comer can't and nobody in the GOP can't.
Thus, if his half is salary is going to "pop" that means it is bribery money that Old Joe is receiving.
And that's the second pathetic claim that first needs to be proven, but there is not a shred of evidence for it.
Record of Biden, Inc. shell companies (check):
There is no such thing as Biden Inc. It doesn't exist.
Record of payments for over $20 million from foreign sources (check):
To what? Shell companies that can not be tied to Joe Biden? Who cares?
Prove the companies are tied to Joe Biden, show that the money those companies received was intended for him and that he provided some illegal service in return and then get back to me.....
Btw, how are those five companies doing in name of your family members. Did they really do something for it or are you just money laundering?
You think Dirty Hunter has been working down at McDonald's to pay for his Malibu home etc? LOL. His source of income is these influence peddling schemes. He made millions from shaking down foreign businesses. His "pop" received "half" that money according to Dirty Hunter. Why would they need to create numerous shell companies if they thought this was a legitimate business? Instead, like the mafia or drug traffickers they set a series of shell companies that paid out to various Biden family members. The money was then kicked back to Old Joe (aka "Big Guy"). The financial records confirm this is exactly what happened. Of course they made efforts to hide Old Joe's role. That's because they knew it was unethical and illegal. A simple scheme to have the money paid through Dirty Hunter's shell companies to him and other family members.
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You think Dirty Hunter has been working down at McDonald's to pay for his Malibu home etc? LOL. His source of income is these influence peddling schemes. He made millions from shaking down foreign businesses. His "pop" received "half" that money according to Dirty Hunter. Why would they need to create numerous shell companies if they thought this was a legitimate business? Instead, like the mafia or drug traffickers they set a series of shell companies that paid out to various Biden family members. The money was then kicked back to Old Joe (aka "Big Guy"). The financial records confirm this is exactly what happened. Of course they made efforts to hide Old Joe's role. That's because they knew it was unethical and illegal. A simple scheme to have the money paid through Dirty Hunter's shell companies to him and other family members.
This is actually pretty hilarious. Whenever somebody suggests the possibility of a conspiracy in the JFK case you are always to first to demand evidence and claim there isn't any.
And now here you are claiming there was a conspiracy based on nothing more than speculation without a shred of conclusive evidence to back it up.
That's one hell of a double standard. :D
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The Biden Express heading to the US across the open border. Maybe as many as 2-5 million have crossed under the open border policy. Even radical leftist mayors are pleading for it to stop.
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The Biden Express heading to the US across the open border. Maybe as many as 2-5 million have crossed under the open border policy. Even radical leftist mayors are pleading for it to stop.
Ba bla ba bla
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Ba bla ba bla
Fantastic contribution to the discussion.
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Old Joe just paid another $6 billion in ransom money to Iran. Incentivizing others to take Americans hostage. Instead of displaying strength and putting the screws to anyone who unjustly puts an American in jail, Ukraine Joe just caves and pays them off. And he does this selectively to get only certain folks released while leaving others to languish. The clown show goes on and on.
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There were a reported 10K per day border crossings over the last few days. Historic levels. Total chaos and anarchy. The authorities are overwhelmed with no place to house or feed these folks and no end in sight. One of the largest human tragedies in history. It's like something out of a dystopian movie. There is no plan or even an attempt by Old Joe to address the disaster that he has unleased. He is napping somewhere. These folks are not just coming from Mexico and Central America but from around the world. The complete failure to enforce the immigration laws including intentional efforts to thwart those laws is an impeachable crime.
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Fantastic contribution to the discussion.
what discussion would that be?
Whenever you get stuck in an ongoing discussion you ignore it and change the subject with more BS
What has "The Biden Express heading to the US across the open border." to do with your idiotic allegation that Joe Biden took bribes and used shell companies to launder money?
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what discussion would that be?
Whenever you get stuck in an ongoing discussion you ignore it and change the subject with more BS
What has "The Biden Express heading to the US across the open border." to do with your idiotic allegation that Joe Biden took bribes and used shell companies to launder money?
There can be more than one news story relating to US politics. A flood of illegal aliens crossing a wide-open border in historic numbers with the complicity of the Biden clown show is just one such example. The Biden express is coming to a town near everyone! But if you want to deflect from that disaster to Biden, Inc., do you think it is not suspicious for a family to receive millions from various foreign sources including Romania, Ukraine, China and Russia and then launder that money through numerous shell companies? You believe setting up shell companies to funnel money from corrupt foreign source to various members of the VP's family is something that would happen if the participants believed that their conduct was legal? LOL. And that the son of the VP would be paid in diamonds by the Chinese to avoid tracing the cash. Or that he would be given a $140K Porsche from a Kazakh businessman right after arranging for him to dine with his father. Nothing to see there! HA HA HA. I know you want to play the endless contrarian but even you must know this is corruption. The kind of thing that goes in corrupt third-world countries.
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There can be more than one news story relating to US politics. A flood of illegal aliens crossing a wide-open border in historic numbers with the complicity of the Biden clown show is just one such example. The Biden express is coming to a town near everyone! But if you want to deflect from that disaster to Biden, Inc., do you think it is not suspicious for a family to receive millions from various foreign sources including Romania, Ukraine, China and Russia and then launder that money through numerous shell companies? You believe setting up shell companies to funnel money from corrupt foreign source to various members of the VP's family is something that would happen if the participants believed that their conduct was legal? LOL. And that the son of the VP would be paid in diamonds by the Chinese to avoid tracing the cash. Or that he would be given a $140K Porsche from a Kazakh businessman right after arranging for him to dine with his father. Nothing to see there! HA HA HA. I know you want to play the endless contrarian but even you must know this is corruption. The kind of thing that goes in corrupt third-world countries.
do you think it is not suspicious for a family to receive millions from various foreign sources including Romania, Ukraine, China and Russia
You mean like; isn't it suspicious that several companies linked to Donald Trump and his daughter Ilana received a large number of trademarks from China, when both of them were in the White House, or how a Saudi Investment Company gave $2 billion dollar to Jared Kushner.... that kind of "suspicious"?
I don't do suspicious. If you want to make an allegation, you'd better provide conclusive evidence or just shut up!
and then launder that money through numerous shell companies?
Do you have evidence for money laundering? If so, take it to the IRS. Comer doesn't do it, because he hasn't got it.
You believe setting up shell companies to funnel money from corrupt foreign source to various members of the VP's family is something that would happen if the participants believed that their conduct was legal? LOL
Do you have any idea just how many shell companies are being set up for legit purposes every day? Shell companies are frequently used by all sorts of companies. Their use doesn't make illegal what they do.
And that the son of the VP would be paid in diamonds by the Chinese to avoid tracing the cash. Or that he would be given a $140K Porsche from a Kazakh businessman right after arranging for him to dine with his father. Nothing to see there! HA HA HA.
Indeed, there's nothing to see unless, of course, you can produce evidence for both claims, but I seriously doubt you can't even prove that either thing ever happened, never mind for what purpose.
I know you want to play the endless contrarian but even you must know this is corruption.
If Joe Biden is corrupt then so is Donald Trump, or do the same rules not apply to Trump?
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Trump is hitting an all time high for a republican candidate with minority voters according to the Wash Post. They are abandoning Old Joe like everyone else. The only question now is how long before he announces that he not running in 2024.
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do you think it is not suspicious for a family to receive millions from various foreign sources including Romania, Ukraine, China and Russia
You mean like; isn't it suspicious that several companies linked to Donald Trump and his daughter Ilana received a large number of trademarks from China, when both of them were in the White House, or how a Saudi Investment Company gave $2 billion dollar to Jared Kushner.... that kind of "suspicious"?
I don't do suspicious. If you want to make an allegation, you'd better provide conclusive evidence or just shut up!
and then launder that money through numerous shell companies?
Do you have evidence for money laundering? If so, take it to the IRS. Comer doesn't do it, because he hasn't got it.
You believe setting up shell companies to funnel money from corrupt foreign source to various members of the VP's family is something that would happen if the participants believed that their conduct was legal? LOL
Do you have any idea just how many shell companies are being set up for legit purposes every day? Shell companies are frequently used by all sorts of companies. Their use doesn't make illegal what they do.
And that the son of the VP would be paid in diamonds by the Chinese to avoid tracing the cash. Or that he would be given a $140K Porsche from a Kazakh businessman right after arranging for him to dine with his father. Nothing to see there! HA HA HA.
Indeed, there's nothing to see unless, of course, you can produce evidence for both claims, but I seriously doubt you can't even proof that either thing ever happened, never mind for what purpose.
I know you want to play the endless contrarian but even you must know this is corruption.
If Joe Biden is corrupt then so is Donald Trump, or do the same rules not apply to Trump?
The comparison to Trump is laughable. Of course, Trump and his family have been in business their entire lives. He has actual businesses around the world long before entering politics. That is how he made billions during his lifetime. It is not a crime to have a legitimate business that provides goods and services and to make money. In contrast, Old Joe is a lifelong politician. He has no business or service to provide except his influence as a high ranking member of the government. His son also had no business except selling access to his "pop." And even if your false premise were true that Trump engaged in some unlawful conduct, that would in no way exonerate Old Joe and Dirty Hunter from breaking the law. Moral equivalency is not a defense. In terms of evidence of shell companies, the House report includes a detailed account of the millions sent to Dirty Hunter and the shell companies he used to funnel that money to himself and his family including the "big guy." Do you think that is a lawful way to conduct business? Do you think receiving diamonds from China is a normal form of payment fpr legal services? How many people do you know are gifted a $140K Porsche from a foreign businessman after meeting with his dad? Nothing to see there!
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The comparison to Trump is laughable. Of course, Trump and his family have been in business their entire lives. He has actual businesses around the world long before entering politics. That is how he made billions during his lifetime. It is not a crime to have a legitimate business that provides goods and services and to make money. In contrast, Old Joe is a lifelong politician. He has no business or service to provide except his influence as a high ranking member of the government. His son also had no business except selling access to his "pop." And even if your false premise were true that Trump engaged in some unlawful conduct, that would in no way exonerate Old Joe and Dirty Hunter from breaking the law. Moral equivalency is not a defense. In terms of evidence of shell companies, the House report includes a detailed account of the millions sent to Dirty Hunter and the shell companies he used to funnel that money to himself and his family including the "big guy." Do you think that is a lawful way to conduct business? Do you think receiving diamonds from China is a normal form of payment fpr legal services? How many people do you know are gifted a $140K Porsche from a foreign businessman after meeting with his dad? Nothing to see there!
The comparison to Trump is laughable. Of course, Trump and his family have been in business their entire lives. He has actual businesses around the world long before entering politics.
True, but he continued with those businesses after entering the White House and obviously used his position to make deals for himself as well as his family. Do you really think Ilana would have received those trademarks if daddy wasn't in the White House?
It is not a crime to have a legitimate business that provides goods and services and to make money.
What goods and services did Ilana Trump deliver for those trademarks and what did service did Jared Kushner provide for the $2 billion dollars he received from Saudi Arabia?
In contrast, Old Joe is a lifelong politician. He has no business.........
Indeed.... and you can't prove that he ever had any kind of business.
His son also had no business except selling access to his "pop."
What Hunter had or not had is of no consequence for his father. As a lawyer Hunter doesn't need a business of his own to make money.
And even if your false premise were true that Trump engaged in some unlawful conduct, that would in no way exonerate Old Joe and Dirty Hunter from breaking the law. Moral equivalency is not a defense.
True. But your problem is that you can't prove that Joe Biden engaged in any unlawful conduct. You can argue he did, but you are doing so without a shred of conclusive evidence.
In terms of evidence of shell companies, the House report includes a detailed account of the millions sent to Dirty Hunter and the shell companies he used to funnel that money to himself and his family including the "big guy."
The House report is full of unsubstantiated allegations based on hearsay and inconclusive documents.
But let's say, for argument's sake, that Hunter Biden did use shell companies and received millions. And let's even say that he did pay out some of that money to members of the family. In this scenario it would be Hunter Biden who may be doing something illegal, but nobody else. But there is no way that any sane person can argue that if Hunter gives money to his family members that those family members must somehow be involved in what ever Hunter was doing.
All your arguments and claims are allegations without solid evidence. It's the kind of stuff a drunk in a bar would say.
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The comparison to Trump is laughable. Of course, Trump and his family have been in business their entire lives. He has actual businesses around the world long before entering politics.
True, but he continued with those businesses after entering the White House and that's the problem. He used his position to make deals he never disclosed.
It is not a crime to have a legitimate business that provides goods and services and to make money.
What goods and services did Ilana Trump deliver for those trademarks and what did service did Jared Kushner provide for the $2 billion dollars he received from Saudi Arabia?
In contrast, Old Joe is a lifelong politician. He has no business.........
Indeed.... and you can't prove that he ever had any kind of business.
His son also had no business except selling access to his "pop."
What Hunter had or not had is of no consequence for his father.
And even if your false premise were true that Trump engaged in some unlawful conduct, that would in no way exonerate Old Joe and Dirty Hunter from breaking the law. Moral equivalency is not a defense.
True. But your problem is that you can't prove that Joe Biden engaged in any unlawful conduct. You can argue he did, but you are doing so without a shred of conclusive evidence.
In terms of evidence of shell companies, the House report includes a detailed account of the millions sent to Dirty Hunter and the shell companies he used to funnel that money to himself and his family including the "big guy."
Let's say, for argument's sake, that Hunter Biden did use shell companies and received millions. And let's even say that he did pay out some of that money members of the family. In this scenario it would be Hunter Biden who may be doing something illegal by using shell companies to receive millions. But there is no way that any sane person can argue that if Hunter gives money to his family members that those family members are somehow must involved in what ever Hunter was doing.
All your arguments and claims are allegations without solid evidence. It's the kind of stuff a drunk in a bar would say.
There is no law against someone who is elected president to continue to make money from his legitimate business. Trump placed such businesses in a trust. He also took no salary as president. Again, though, Trump's situation has nothing to do with the crimes committed by Old Joe. Your problem here is that you don't understand the law or accept the facts. Dirty Hunter confirmed that the money was going to his "pop" but even if you refuse to believe the evidence, it is still a crime to use his influence to benefit his family members. Imagine if government officials could avoid bribery charges simply by directing the money to their children or spouse and then having those family members send it to them. LOL.
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There is no law against someone who is elected president to continue to make money from his legitimate business. Trump placed such businesses in a trust. He also took no salary as president. Again, though, Trump's situation has nothing to do with the crimes committed by Old Joe. Your problem here is that you don't understand the law or accept the facts. Dirty Hunter confirmed that the money was going to his "pop" but even if you refuse to believe the evidence, it is still a crime to use his influence to benefit his family members. Imagine if government officials could avoid bribery charges simply by directing the money to their children or spouse and then having those family members send it to them. LOL.
There is no law against someone who is elected president to continue to make money from his legitimate business. Trump placed such businesses in a trust.
Correction; he said he placed them in a trust and then continued running them anyway. You don't think there could be even the slightest conflict of interest for a sitting President to continue running his businesses?
Again, though, Trump's situation has nothing to do with the crimes committed by Old Joe.
What crimes would that be? He hasn't been charged for anything, no evidence has been presented against him..... so what the hell are you talking about?
Your problem here is that you don't understand the law or accept the facts.
Coming from you, that's absolutely hilarious! It only shows that even the biggest fool can believe he is right and actually knows something! Thanks for the laugh.
Dirty Hunter confirmed that the money was going to his "pop" but even if you refuse to believe the evidence, it is still a crime to use his influence to benefit his family members.
Giving money to a family member (if that's what actually happened) isn't a crime. And there is no credible evidence that Joe Biden used his influence to benefit family members. No matter how often you repeat it, it still will be a nothing burger.
Imagine if government officials could avoid bribery charges simply by directing the money to their children or spouse and then having those family members send it to them. LOL.
When did this happen? Who bribed who? Who directed who to send money to their children and who had family members send money to him? This entire thing is a made up narrative for which there is no evidence whatsoever. If there was evidence we would have seen it by now! It's spin masters at work... that's all.
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There is no law against someone who is elected president to continue to make money from his legitimate business. Trump placed such businesses in a trust.
Correction; he said he placed them in a trust and then continued running them anyway. You don't think there could be even the slightest conflict of interest for a sitting President to continue running his businesses?
This is simply a lie. Trump did put his business interests in a blind trust. He complied with the applicable laws and there was governmental oversight of that process. Apply your standard, though. Was he charged with a crime for this? No. In addition, he took no salary. If you want to be pedantic, he was required to take one dollar. Contrast Trump's full compliance with the law and donation of his salary with Biden Inc.'s influence peddling scheme.
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This is simply a lie. Trump did put his business interests in a blind trust. He complied with the applicable laws and there was governmental oversight of that process. Apply your standard, though. Was he charged with a crime for this? No. In addition, he took no salary. If you want to be pedantic, he was required to take one dollar. Contrast Trump's full compliance with the law and donation of his salary with Biden Inc.'s influence peddling scheme.
Apply your standard, though. Was he charged with a crime for this? No.
No, he wasn't charged yet, but who knows what will happen in the future. Not every crime is prosecuted, but you must be a complete blind man not to see what is right in front of you.
Contrast Trump's full compliance with the law
Oh yeah, that's right... he complies with the law so much that he has four criminal charges against him and all sorts of civil litigation as well.
with Biden Inc.'s influence peddling scheme.
You mean the "scheme" that you can't provide any conclusive evidence for? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Compare the sheer number of court cases against Trump with the lack of any court case against Joe Biden..... Thumb1:
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Apply your standard, though. Was he charged with a crime for this? No.
No, he wasn't charged yet, but who knows what will happen in the future. Not every crime is prosecuted, but you must be a complete blind man not to see what is right in front of you.
The irony given that your defense of Old Joe was that he hadn't been charged. And again, how many families received millions from foreign sources including payment in diamonds and cars while having no legitimate business or service to offer? How many families funnel such money through a series of shell companies? Nothing to see there - right? But "who knows what will happen in the future"?
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The irony given that your defense of Old Joe was that he hadn't been charged. And again, how many families received millions from foreign sources including payment in diamonds and cars while having no legitimate business or service to offer? How many families funnel such money through a series of shell companies? Nothing to see there - right? But "who knows what will happen in the future"?
Again, how many fools make questional allegations based on conjecture and innuendo?
The irony given that your defense of Old Joe was that he hadn't been charged.
Another false strawman. My defense of Joe Biden isn't that he hasn't been charged. My defense of his is that there isn't a shred of evidence against him, but feel free to prove me wrong.
As per usual, all you are doing is making wild assumptions for which you have zero evidence.
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Again, how many fools make questional allegations based on conjecture and innuendo?
LOL. There is at least one. And I don't mean Roger Collins. Or maybe I do.
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LOL. There is at least one. And I don't mean Roger Collins. Or maybe I do.
I don't mean people in your imagination. Are you stuck in your delusions again or just running out of counter arguments?
Btw, thanks for that questional allegation based on nothing. You've just answered the question
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At least one member of the corrupt political establishment has finally been indicted for bribery. Bob Menendez and his wife. He was given cars, gold, and cash from foreign sources. Sounds familiar? Imagine if they had raided Dirty Hunter's closet. Menendez only had $480K in cash stuffed in his pockets. Dirty Hunter could surely top that. He took in around $20 million. It's amazing that so many of our politicians and their families have become multimillionaires while working a government job. Pelosi, Sanders, McConnell, Biden, AOC, and on and on.
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Even the leftist ABC is trying to send Old Joe a message. Their latest polls have him trailing Trump by almost 10 points. Old Joe's latest polling numbers are jaw dropping. He is going down faster than the Titanic. He will announce by the end of this year that he is dropping out of the race. The most fascinating thing about this election is that Trump's best chance of winning is if Biden is the Dem candidate and Old Joe's best chance of winning is if Trump is the GOP candidate. Anyone else that runs against either of them likely wins. I could see Newsom entering the race with the stark contrast to Old Joe's advanced age and dementia and winning in a landslide based on his youthful appearance. I could see DeSantiis or Haley winning in a landslide against Ukraine Joe.
"President Joe Biden's job approval rating is 19 points underwater, his ratings for handling the economy and immigration are at career lows. A record number of Americans say they've become worse off under his presidency, three-quarters say he's too old for another term and Donald Trump is looking better in retrospect -- all severe challenges for Biden in his reelection campaign ahead.
Forty-four percent of Americans in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say they've gotten worse off financially under Biden's presidency, the most for any president in ABC/Post polls since 1986. Just 37% approve of his job performance, while 56% disapprove. Still fewer approve of Biden's performance on the economy, 30%."
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Old Joe is continuing his racist tendency to refer to black men as "boy." Unreal. No wonder black voters are fleeing him. There is no way Ukraine Joe is running in 2024. The polls are cratering, and his physical and mental decline is accelerating. It is difficult to watch without feeling sorry for the guy. He is corrupt and dishonest but as a human being it is painful to watch him exploited by his family and humiliated in public. There are many nursing homes where he could be made comfortable.
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The truth comes out slowly when the media and corrupt legal system protect a political candidate. It does eventually come out. though. So many lies have been told and unfortunately the truth emerges only after elections are over. What happens now? My guess is that the Dem establishment puts the screws to Dirty Hunter and blames him for all the corruption. He takes the fall as a means to pressure Old Joe to drop out of the race. Old Joe pardons Dirty Hunter on his way out the door. Newsom runs and picks Stacey Abrams as his VP. They win in a landslide as the public is desperate for anyone other than Old Joe even though Newsom's policies and results are as bad or worse than Ukraine Joe because Gavin Newsom looks good on camera and not like a lost dementia patient.
"On July 26, 2019, Hunter Biden received a $10,000 wire from Wang Xin. On August 2, 2019, Hunter Biden received a $250,000 wire from Jonathan Li and Tan Ling. Both wires originated in Beijing and Joe Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware home is listed as the beneficiary address for both wires.
On October 22, 2020, Joe Biden said, “My son has not made money, in terms of thing about, what are you talking about? China. The only guy who made money in China is [President Trump].”
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The leftist media built up the government shutdown like it was the end of times. CNN even had a breathless special planned last night hoping to blame the repubs. Like the fearmongering before a snowstorm. They were so disappointed when it didn't happen.
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The leftist media built up the government shutdown like it was the end of times. CNN even had a breathless special planned last night hoping to blame the repubs. Like the fearmongering before a snowstorm. They were so disappointed when it didn't happen.
When you next visit the real world, you may want to get a factual update rather than this idiotic extreme right propaganda.
The only reason the shutdown didn't happen was that McCarthy desperately needed the help of the Democrats to neutralize Matt Gaetz and his bunch of morons.
If the Democrats wanted the shutdown to happen they wouldn't have helped McCarthy.
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Corrupt politicians and dishonest leftists just kicked the can down the road. The leftists were desperately hoping to spin this for political purposes. Like they did with COVID. The shutdown of the government is not the end of times. All the critical functions remain open. Many government agencies even continue to operate as usual because they have funds to remain open. The net impact is almost zero in the short term. The problem here is a persistent failure to address out of control spending. The Dems just kick the can down the road every time this issue comes around and then blame the Republicans for saying enough is enough. The Republicans don't have enough votes to implement the cuts that are necessary.
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Corrupt politicians and dishonest leftists just kicked the can down the road. The leftists were desperately hoping to spin this for political purposes. Like they did with COVID. The shutdown of the government is not the end of times. All the critical functions remain open. Many government agencies even continue to operate as usual because they have funds to remain open. The net impact is almost zero in the short term. The problem here is a persistent failure to address out of control spending. The Dems just kick the can down the road every time this issue comes around and then blame the Republicans for saying enough is enough. The Republicans don't have enough votes to implement the cuts that are necessary.
The leftists were desperately hoping to spin this for political purposes.
There wasn't any spin necessary. The utter imcompetence of McCarthy and the GOP to get anything done except create chaos speaks for itself.
The shutdown of the government is not the end of times.
True.. it's just massive numbers of people are left without wages and/or social benefits..... So, who cares, right?
The net impact is almost zero in the short term.
Yeah right. You truly live in another universum than the rest of us. If you don't get your paycheck at the end of the month, because of a shutdown, the impact is pretty real "in the short term", don't you think?
The problem here is a persistent failure to address out of control spending.
After Trump's massive $2 Billion tax cut for the most wealthy, you mean? Nobody cared about the deficit back then....
The Republicans don't have enough votes to implement the cuts that are necessary.
And that's bad thing? The Republicans have a completely idiotic definition of what necessary cuts are.
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Old Joe and his clown show have completely blown the COVID booster vaccine roll out. A disaster like everything else under his administration. No one is getting it because they failed to promote it and even those who want it can't get it. Nursing homes with high-risk elderly individuals can't get it dur to a shortage. Trump was treated like a criminal by the Dems and leftist media despite a record roll out of the vaccine, but Old Joe gets a pass. COVID is apparently no longer an issue for them.
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The stock market is crashing, gas prices are surging, crime is rampant, millions have flooded across the open border, there is a shortage of COVID boosters as cases surge, Hunter is in court on felony gun charges, and the war in Ukraine goes on and on in stalemate with the US funding it. What a week for Old Joe.
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The stock market is crashing, gas prices are surging, crime is rampant, millions have flooded across the open border, there is a shortage of COVID boosters as cases surge, Hunter is in court on felony gun charges, and the war in Ukraine goes on and on in stalemate with the US funding it. What a week for Old Joe.
Time to move to North Korea, right?
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Time to move to North Korea, right?
Or even worse "Europe."
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The leftist media spin on the House Speaker story is hilarious. There is "chaos" in the government, the radical republicans are to blame etc. Politics is supposed to be messy. It is not just theater in which there are preordained results at the whim of a ruling cadre of corrupt establishment politicians. And it was the 100% vote by Dems to oust McCarthy that enabled his removal as speaker. Only a handful of republicans voted to do so but it is all their fault. No mention of the underlying problem which is Congress' inability to pass a budget and out of control spending by both parties. Every year they just kick the can down the road.
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The leftist media spin on the House Speaker story is hilarious. There is "chaos" in the government, the radical republicans are to blame etc. Politics is supposed to be messy. It is not just theater in which there are preordained results at the whim of a ruling cadre of corrupt establishment politicians. And it was the 100% vote by Dems to oust McCarthy that enabled his removal as speaker. Only a handful of republicans voted to do so but it is all their fault. No mention of the underlying problem which is Congress' inability to pass a budget and out of control spending by both parties. Every year they just kick the can down the road.
And it was the 100% vote by Dems to oust McCarthy that enabled his removal as speaker.
Hilarious. Should they have saved him? Why? He was the most incompetent speaker the country has ever had.
Only a handful of republicans voted to do so but it is all their fault.
It was a simple majority vote. There was only a difference of 6 votes. Had those republicans not voted or stood with McCarthy, he would still be speaker. Matt Gaetz and his bunch of morons ensured that the vote went against McCarthy.
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And it was the 100% vote by Dems to oust McCarthy that enabled his removal as speaker.
Hilarious. Should they have saved him? Why? He was the most incompetent speaker the country has ever had.
Only a handful of republicans voted to do so but it is all their fault.
It was a simple majority vote. There was only a difference of 6 votes. Had those republicans not voted or stood with McCarthy, he would still be speaker. Matt Gaetz and his bunch of morons ensured that the vote went against McCarthy.
Why? Let's see he just capitulated to them to keep the entire US government open when they were claiming it would have been the end of the world to shut it down. And they empowered Gaetz and company to control the entire process. The Dems constantly place politics ahead of the good of the country. This was a good political move but awful for the country. If there is "chaos" (the word apparently distributed on their talking points memo to be repeated over and over) and enhanced influence by the "MAGA" group it is primarily the fault of the Dems who voted unanimously to oust McCarthy just after he kept the government open. And, of course, none of this addresses much less solves the underlying issue of out of control spending and inability to approve a budget. The most fundamental role of these folks. Wonder why Trump is doing so well in the polls? Because of the complete failure of the political establishment. Trump is a product of the lies, corruption, and incompetence of the establishment. If they could do their jobs, he wouldn't have a chance.
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Why? Let's see he just capitulated to them to keep the entire US government open when they were claiming it would have been the end of the world to shut it down. And they empowered Gaetz and company to control the entire process. The Dems constantly place politics ahead of the good of the country. This was a good political move but awful for the country. If there is "chaos" (the word apparently distributed on their talking points memo to be repeated over and over) and enhanced influence by the "MAGA" group it is primarily the fault of the Dems who voted unanimously to oust McCarthy just after he kept the government open. And, of course, none of this addresses much less solves the underlying issue of out of control spending and inability to approve a budget. The most fundamental role of these folks. Wonder why Trump is doing so well in the polls? Because of the complete failure of the political establishment. Trump is a product of the lies, corruption, and incompetence of the establishment. If they could do their jobs, he wouldn't have a chance.
Let's see he just capitulated to them to keep the entire US government open
MacCarthy capitulated to the Dems out of pure necessity, because he couldn't bring his own party in line. It was a demonstration of utter weakness. Why in the world would any Democrat wish to save such a weak speaker?
The Dems constantly place politics ahead of the good of the country.
That's rich. The Republicans wanted a shut down for their own political purposes. It had nothing to with the good of the country.
When are you going to start to blame the Democrats for the sun going down in the evening?
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Let's see he just capitulated to them to keep the entire US government open
MacCarthy capitulated to the Dems out of pure necessity, because he couldn't bring his own party in line. It was a demonstration of utter weakness. Why in the world would any Democrat wish to save such a weak speaker?
The Dems constantly place politics ahead of the good of the country.
That's rich. The Republicans wanted a shut down for their own political purposes. It had nothing to with the good of the country.
When are you going to start to blame the Democrats for the sun going down in the evening?
It wasn't republicans pulling fire alarms to keep the government closed. The Dems desperately wanted the government shutdown to take attention away from the endless disasters unfolding under Ukraine Joe and his clown show. McCarthy completely capitulated to them and they had no other choice except to vote as they did. Then they turned around and stabbed him in the back knowing that by keeping the government open there would be a vote to oust him as Speaker. Instead of showing any decency they voted 100% to remove him. The same guy who tried to be bipartisan in reaching a deal with them to keep the government open. They also emboldened the very folks that they claim are evil. They did that purely for politics. They want "chaos" to deflect from their own disasters. Now they can blame the republicans again when no deal is reached even though it was the vote of the Dems that ousted McCarthy. If even a few Dem moderates voted to keep him, then they could have transitioned to addressing the budget crisis.
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It wasn't republicans pulling fire alarms to keep the government closed. The Dems desperately wanted the government shutdown to take attention away from the endless disasters unfolding under Ukraine Joe and his clown show. McCarthy completely capitulated to them and they had no other choice except to vote as they did. Then they turned around and stabbed him in the back knowing that by keeping the government open there would be a vote to oust him as Speaker. Instead of showing any decency they voted 100% to remove him. The same guy who tried to be bipartisan in reaching a deal with them to keep the government open. They also emboldened the very folks that they claim are evil. They did that purely for politics. They want "chaos" to deflect from their own disasters. Now they can blame the republicans again when no deal is reached even though it was the vote of the Dems that ousted McCarthy. If even a few Dem moderates voted to keep him, then they could have transitioned to addressing the budget crisis.
The Dems desperately wanted the government shutdown to take attention away from the endless disasters unfolding under Ukraine Joe and his clown show.
Sure... and that's why they joined McCarthy to avoid the shutdown! Do you ever think before you write something this stupid?
McCarthy completely capitulated to them and they had no other choice except to vote as they did.
Utter BS... Why would they vote out a speaker of the other party that had capitulated to them. Doesn't make sense... at least not to sane people.
Then they turned around and stabbed him in the back knowing that by keeping the government open there would be a vote to oust him as Speaker.
The actual backstabbing came from 8 Republicans. By themselves the Dems wouldn't have been able to remove McCarthy.
Instead of showing any decency they voted 100% to remove him.
A Republican talking about decency? Hilarious.....
The same guy who tried to be bipartisan in reaching a deal with them to keep the government open.
He didn't try to be bipartisan. He needed to be, because he had no control over his own party's members. It was pure weakness. McCarthy understood that Gaetz and his ilk had placed him between a rock and a hard place. Giving on to Gaetz would only have made his even weaker than he already was, so he went the other way and desperately asked the Dems for help. I don't think he ever really believed that Gaetz would get a majority to vote him out. His plan was to defeat Geatz and it backfired... it is as simple as that.
They want "chaos" to deflect from their own disasters.
You mean the "disasters" that only exist in your delusional mind?
Now they can blame the Republicans again when no deal is reached even though it was the vote of the Dems that ousted McCarthy.
Hey, that's politics..... Something the Republicans suck at...
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The Dems desperately wanted the government shutdown to take attention away from the endless disasters unfolding under Ukraine Joe and his clown show.
Sure... and that's why they joined McCarthy to avoid the shutdown! Do you ever think before you write something this stupid?
McCarthy completely capitulated to them and they had no other choice except to vote as they did.
Utter BS... Why would they vote out a speaker of the other party that had capitulated to them. Doesn't make sense... at least not to sane people.
Then they turned around and stabbed him in the back knowing that by keeping the government open there would be a vote to oust him as Speaker.
The actual backstabbing came from 8 Republicans. By themselves the Dems wouldn't have been able to remove McCarthy.
Instead of showing any decency they voted 100% to remove him.
A Republican talking about decency? Hilarious.....
The same guy who tried to be bipartisan in reaching a deal with them to keep the government open.
He didn't try to be bipartisan. He needed to be, because he had no control over his own party's members. It was pure weakness. McCarthy understood that Gaetz and his ilk had placed him between a rock and a hard place. Giving on to Gaetz would only have made his even weaker than he already was, so he went the other way and desperately asked the Dems for help. I don't think he ever really believed that Gaetz would get a majority to vote him out. His plan was to defeat Geatz and it backfired... it is as simple as that.
They want "chaos" to deflect from their own disasters.
You mean the "disasters" that only exist in your delusional mind?
Now they can blame the Republicans again when no deal is reached even though it was the vote of the Dems that ousted McCarthy.
Hey, that's politics..... Something the Republicans suck at...
I've explained this to you as to a small child. McCarthy had the option to allow the government to shutdown. If he had done so, he would still be speaker. Instead he capitulated to the Dems. They had to vote to keep the government open at that point or they would be blamed for the shutdown. If keeping the government open was a vital objective (as the Dems and their media mouthpieces claimed for weeks hoping they could blame the Republicans) then they should have rewarded the person who did that. Instead they played politics to oust him. Despicable politics at its worst. It takes a majority vote to oust the Speaker. The facts are that the Dems voted 208-0 in favor of ousting him. Only 8 Republicans voted to do so. That means that over 96% of the votes to oust McCarthy came from Dems. Less than 4% came from Republicans.
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I've explained this to you as to a small child. McCarthy had the option to allow the government to shutdown. If he had done so, he would still be speaker. Instead he capitulated to the Dems. They had to vote to keep the government open at that point or they would be blamed for the shutdown. If keeping the government open was a vital objective (as the Dems and their media mouthpieces claimed for weeks hoping they could blame the Republicans) then they should have rewarded the person who did that. Instead they played politics to oust him. Despicable politics at its worst. It takes a majority vote to oust the Speaker. The facts are that the Dems voted 208-0 in favor of ousting him. Only 8 Republicans voted to do so. That means that over 96% of the votes to oust McCarthy came from Dems. Less than 4% came from Republicans.
I've explained this to you as to a small child.
You always do... it's always the "logic" of a small child that you come up with.
I ask again; when are you going to start blaming the Democrats for the sun going down in the evening?
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The Biden administration has now suddenly decided that there is an "acute" need to build - wait for it - a great, big, beautiful WALL along the southern border. HA HA HA. You can't make that up. If only someone had thought to do that before five million illegal aliens and an unknown number of criminals and terrorists had crossed! Oh wait. Someone did and they called him a racist.
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Imagine if Trump had waived numerous environmental laws to try to build his wall. The Dems would have rushed to the courts and proclaimed him a murderer. Old Biden is doing it without a peep from the leftist media. His clown show sold off the material for building the wall that had already been paid for vowing that not a foot of wall would be built during his administration. Now they are having to buy it back at double the cost. What a humiliation even for him. How bad are his polling numbers that Ukraine Joe has to flip flop on the border wall which he campaigned against as being racist? Things must be hitting rock bottom. His COVID booster roll out is also a complete fiasco. That would be 24/7 coverage if Trump was president. But hardly a word.
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Imagine if Trump had waived numerous environmental laws to try to build his wall. The Dems would have rushed to the courts and proclaimed him a murderer. Old Biden is doing it without a peep from the leftist media. His clown show sold off the material for building the wall that had already been paid for vowing that not a foot of wall would be built during his administration. Now they are having to buy it back at double the cost. What a humiliation even for him. How bad are his polling numbers that Ukraine Joe has to flip flop on the border wall which he campaigned against as being racist? Things must be hitting rock bottom. His COVID booster roll out is also a complete fiasco. That would be 24/7 coverage if Trump was president. But hardly a word.
Old Biden is doing it without a peep from the leftist media.
So he is doing what you've always wanted. What are you complaining about? There's just no pleasing you.....
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Old Biden is doing it without a peep from the leftist media.
So he is doing what you've always wanted. What are you complaining about? There's just no pleasing you.....
I'm complaining about his endless hypocrisy and incompetence. He campaigned on a vow not to build one foot of wall. He claimed Trump was racist for trying to do so. He is in deep political trouble and magically it's time to build a wall. HA HA HA. After it's too late to do any good. At least five million have crossed the open border. Ukraine Joe won't even be president by the time any wall is constructed. I don't even believe he will do it. The money will be stolen or diverted to some woke cause like the COVID money and "infrastructure" money that went to things other than COVID and infrastructure. Why aren't liberals outraged, though, if Old Joe was right about Trump and the wall? This is just a ruse. Old Joe has to cut a deal with establishment Repubs. He vows to build the wall and they fund his endless war in Ukraine. The wall never gets done but billions are allocted to Ukraine.
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I'm complaining about his endless hypocrisy and incompetence. He campaigned on a vow not to build one foot of wall. He claimed Trump was racist for trying to do so. He is in deep political trouble and magically it's time to build a wall. HA HA HA. After it's too late to do any good. At least five million have crossed the open border. Ukraine Joe won't even be president by the time any wall is constructed. I don't even believe he will do it. The money will be stolen or diverted to some woke cause like the COVID money and "infrastructure" money that went to things other than COVID and infrastructure. Why aren't liberals outraged, though, if Old Joe was right about Trump and the wall? This is just a ruse. Old Joe has to cut a deal with establishment Repubs. He vows to build the wall and they fund his endless war in Ukraine. The wall never gets done but billions are allocted to Ukraine.
I'm complaining about his endless hypocrisy and incompetence.
Compared to endless hypocrisy and incompetence displayed by the Republicans, you mean?
He campaigned on a vow not to build one foot of wall. \
Trump campaigned on a vow that Mexico would pay for the wall.... That didn't happen, did it now?
Why aren't liberals outraged, though, if Old Joe was right about Trump and the wall? This is just a ruse. Old Joe has to cut a deal with establishment Repubs. He vows to build the wall and they fund his endless war in Ukraine. The wall never gets done but billions are allocted to Ukraine.
Sounds like politics to me... Expect Biden is far better at it than any Republican.
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Why aren't liberals outraged, though, if Old Joe was right about Trump and the wall? This is just a ruse. Old Joe has to cut a deal with establishment Repubs. He vows to build the wall and they fund his endless war in Ukraine. The wall never gets done but billions are allocted to Ukraine.
Sounds like politics to me... Expect Biden is far better at it than any Republican.
It's politics to campaign on a promise not to build a foot of the wall, then build the wall. It is also politics to say that you are going to "shutdown" COVID and then do nothing including botching the roll out of the booster after 3/4 of US deaths occurred during his administration? Maybe check the recent polls to see how that is working out for him. And RFK, Jr is announcing a third party run next week! Old Joe is finished.
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It's politics to campaign on a promise not to build a foot of the wall, then build the wall. It is also politics to say that you are going to "shutdown" COVID and then do nothing including botching the roll out of the booster after 3/4 of US deaths occurred during his administration? Maybe check the recent polls to see how that is working out for him. And RFK, Jr is announcing a third party run next week! Old Joe is finished.
It's politics to campaign on a promise that Mexico would pay for the building of the wall.....
Maybe check the recent polls to see how that is working out for him.
Only desperate people place value on "recent polls".
And RFK, Jr is announcing a third party run next week!
Aha.. the ever succesful third party challenge in a two party system.... :D
Old Joe is finished.
Wishful thinking.....You said something similar about "sleepy" Joe during the previous election. How did that work out for you?
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Old Joe and his clown show has bungled their way into another war. The intelligence and policy failures involved in Israel are unreal. You have to wonder if they are just incompetent or whether they wanted another war to deflect from the endless disasters. Austin, Milley, and Blinken are incompetents. Probably too dumb to plan this. Now the US will fund another war that will leave the situation worse than it began.
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It's politics to campaign on a promise that Mexico would pay for the building of the wall.....
Maybe check the recent polls to see how that is working out for him.
Only desperate people place value on "recent polls".
And RFK, Jr is announcing a third party run next week!
Aha.. the ever succesful third party challenge in a two party system.... :D
Old Joe is finished.
Wishful thinking.....You said something similar about "sleepy" Joe during the previous election. How did that work out for you?
The wall was paid for by Mexico. They didn't write a check for it but Trump's trade deal provided more funds than necessary to pay for the wall. No one is suggesting that RFK, Jr's third-party run will result in him winning the election. What he and West may do is siphon off votes from Old Joe (even assuming Ukraine Joe actually runs which seems unlikely). The margin between winning and losing in the last election was about 40K votes in three states. It's a razor thin margin. A third-party candidate has enormous potential to change the outcome. Old Joe won the 2020 election solely as a result of nearly every state changing their voting laws in the months leading up to the election by falsely using COVID as an excuse to do so. Old Joe received 80% or more of the votes cast by these alternative methods. That altered the outcome. The upcoming election has rolled back many of these voting methods. It will be a fairer election this time with less opportunity for ballet harvesting.
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The wall was paid for by Mexico. They didn't write a check for it but Trump's trade deal provided more funds than necessary to pay for the wall. No one is suggesting that RFK, Jr's third-party run will result in him winning the election. What he and West may do is siphon off votes from Old Joe (even assuming Ukraine Joe actually runs which seems unlikely). The margin between winning and losing in the last election was about 40K votes in three states. It's a razor thin margin. A third-party candidate has enormous potential to change the outcome. Old Joe won the 2020 election solely as a result of nearly every state changing their voting laws in the months leading up to the election by falsely using COVID as an excuse to do so. Old Joe received 80% or more of the votes cast by these alternative methods. That altered the outcome. The upcoming election has rolled back many of these voting methods. It will be a fairer election this time with less opportunity for ballet harvesting.
The wall was paid for by Mexico. They didn't write a check for it but Trump's trade deal provided more funds than necessary to pay for the wall.
And you really believe that BS?
No one is suggesting that RFK, Jr's third-party run will result in him winning the election. What he and West may do is siphon off votes from Old Joe (even assuming Ukraine Joe actually runs which seems unlikely). The margin between winning and losing in the last election was about 40K votes in three states. It's a razor thin margin. A third-party candidate has enormous potential to change the outcome.
So you believe that Trump needs Kennedy to run interference for him because otherwise he can't win? Interesting...
Old Joe received 80% or more of the votes cast by these alternative methods. That altered the outcome. The upcoming election has rolled back many of these voting methods. It will be a fairer election this time with less opportunity for ballet harvesting.
Let's not forget all the gerrymandering by the Republicans
Let me make a prediction; Trump will never be re-elected because of Trump. There simply aren't enough insane people in the country who are willing to ignore his lies, fraude and other criminal behavior that they are willing to destroy democracy itself.
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The wall was paid for by Mexico. They didn't write a check for it but Trump's trade deal provided more funds than necessary to pay for the wall.
And you really believe that BS?
No one is suggesting that RFK, Jr's third-party run will result in him winning the election. What he and West may do is siphon off votes from Old Joe (even assuming Ukraine Joe actually runs which seems unlikely). The margin between winning and losing in the last election was about 40K votes in three states. It's a razor thin margin. A third-party candidate has enormous potential to change the outcome.
So you believe that Trump needs Kennedy to run interference for him because otherwise he can't win? Interesting...
Old Joe received 80% or more of the votes cast by these alternative methods. That altered the outcome. The upcoming election has rolled back many of these voting methods. It will be a fairer election this time with less opportunity for ballet harvesting.
Let's not forget all the gerrymandering by the Republicans
Let me make a prediction; Trump will never be re-elected because of Trump. There simply aren't enough insane people in the country who are willing to ignore his lies, fraude and other criminal behavior that they are willing to destroy democracy itself.
I would be more worried about the intelligence failure that allowed Israel to be invaded today without the US or anyone noticing a massive buildup of weapons. Old Joe's clown show has brought not only the US to ruin but the world to the brink of WWIII. The billions he recently sent to Iran who backed these terrorists didn't help. Now the Middle East will be in turmoil and war for years due to Ukraine Joe's weakness and incompetence.
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I would be more worried about the intelligence failure that allowed Israel to be invaded today without the US or anyone noticing a massive buildup of weapons. Old Joe's clown show has brought not only the US to ruin but the world to the brink of WWIII. The billions he recently sent to Iran who backed these terrorists didn't help. Now the Middle East will be in turmoil and war for years due to Ukraine Joe's weakness and incompetence.
Is there anything you don't blame Joe Biden for?
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Is there anything you don't blame Joe Biden for?
Yes, JFK contrarians. Even Old Joe can't be held responsible for that level of idiocy.
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Everyone in America should be frightened at the unprecedented security failure of the US intelligence community in Israel. Imagine that an invasion by an army of terrorists could go undetected by the intelligence community that can monitor every phone call, email and watch every movement via spy satellites. Billions are spent by the US taxpayer to ensure that this doesn't happen. They were too busy spending their time on "domestic terrorists" like parents and Donald Trump to do their jobs. If they had spent a fraction of the resources expended on investigating Trump, then maybe the world would not have another endless war on its hands that could spiral to WWIII. The six billion dollars sent to Iran, a sponsor of terrorism, as ransom to release the American prisoners that they had illegally detained didn't help. Incompetence and weakness under Ukraine Joe's clown show is bringing things to a head. A new disaster almost every day. Who are these five million people who have crossed the border? They have no idea. Think maybe some of these same terrorists have used that as an opportunity to get into the US? Old Joe doesn't know or care. He only wants an open border.
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Yes, JFK contrarians. Even Old Joe can't be held responsible for that level of idiocy.
That sums you up nicely.
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Everyone in America should be frightened at the unprecedented security failure of the US intelligence community in Israel. Imagine that an invasion by an army of terrorists could go undetected by the intelligence community that can monitor every phone call, email and watch every movement via spy satellites. Billions are spent by the US taxpayer to ensure that this doesn't happen. They were too busy spending their time on "domestic terrorists" like parents and Donald Trump to do their jobs. If they had spent a fraction of the resources expended on investigating Trump, then maybe the world would not have another endless war on its hands that could spiral to WWIII. The six billion dollars sent to Iran, a sponsor of terrorism, as ransom to release the American prisoners that they had illegally detained didn't help. Incompetence and weakness under Ukraine Joe's clown show is bringing things to a head. A new disaster almost every day. Who are these five million people who have crossed the border? They have no idea. Think maybe some of these same terrorists have used that as an opportunity to get into the US? Old Joe doesn't know or care. He only wants an open border.
Everyone in America should be frightened at the unprecedented security failure of the US intelligence community in Israel.
According to every paranoid Republican, everyone in America should be frightened of just about everything. It's been like that for decades....
They were too busy spending their time on "domestic terrorists" like parents and Donald Trump to do their jobs.
Or the domestic terrorists are posing such a threat to democracy that the security services had to give them priority.
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Everyone in America should be frightened at the unprecedented security failure of the US intelligence community in Israel.
According to every paranoid Republican, everyone in America should be frightened of just about everything. It's been like that for decades....
They were too busy spending their time on "domestic terrorists" like parents and Donald Trump to do their jobs.
Or the domestic terroristes are posing such a threat to democracy that the security services had to give them priority.
The results speak for themselves. When Reagan ran against Carter, he asked whether people were better off than they were four years ago. When Trump or whomever runs against Old Joe, they don't even have to ask that question. They just need to ask if ANYTHING is better than four years ago. The US is in ruins. The world is in chaos. While the US president does not control every event, the disasters that are unfolding under Ukraine Joe are largely self-inflicted due to his policies. The open border - check. Inflation - check. Crime - check. High gas prices - check. Endless war - check. Old Joe's clown show has created or contributed to the harms caused by each of these disasters with their incompetence and weakness. And it gets worse every day. China invading Taiwan is next.
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The results speak for themselves. When Reagan ran against Carter, he asked whether people were better off than they were four years ago. When Trump or whomever runs against Old Joe, they don't even have to ask that question. They just need to ask if ANYTHING is better than four years ago. The US is in ruins. The world is in chaos. While the US president does not control every event, the disasters that are unfolding under Ukraine Joe are largely self-inflicted due to his policies. The open border - check. Inflation - check. Crime - check. High gas prices - check. Endless war - check. Old Joe's clown show has created or contributed to the harms caused by each of these disasters with their incompetence and weakness. And it gets worse every day. China invading Taiwan is next.
When Trump or whomever runs against Old Joe, they don't even have to ask that question. They just need to ask if ANYTHING is better than four years ago. The US is in ruins.
Only in your delusional mind. In the real world, we just had another employment report that was better than expected. Over the past year, the country has seen the biggest jobs increase in history.
The world is in chaos.
The world has always been in chaos.
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When Trump or whomever runs against Old Joe, they don't even have to ask that question. They just need to ask if ANYTHING is better than four years ago. The US is in ruins.
Only in your delusional mind. In the real world, we just had another employment report that was better than expected. Over the past year, the country has seen the biggest jobs increase in history.
The world is in chaos.
The world has always been in chaos.
A jobs report was "better than expected." HA HA HA HA. That is comedy gold. The world is literally burning and spiraling toward WWIII but there are plenty of jobs at McDonald's because the Dems shutdown the country and paid folks not to work. The jobs "increase" is solely a function of folks being allowed to return to their former jobs. It is a complete fraud.
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Old Joe put a "lid" on his workday around noon yesterday. Nothing going on for him to do. War in the Middle East? It can wait for nappy time. Americans being held hostage and threatened with death? Yawn. Ukraine Joe is nowhere to be found. His administration is still defending Iran and claiming there is "no evidence" that they were behind the attack in Israel even though they have admitted that they were behind the attack and supported it. There is just "no evidence" like there is "no evidence" of Old Joe's connection to Dirty Hunter's corruption. The six billion dollars just given to Iran? It couldn't be used for the attack because someone is supposedly monitoring the money. LOL. Imagine that. Iran asks for the money and they are to be trusted for how they use it. Money is also fungible meaning that even if they use it for X that frees up money to use for Z. The stupidity and incompetence of the Biden clown show has not been surpassed in modern history (with the possible exception of Trudeau)
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A jobs report was "better than expected." HA HA HA HA. That is comedy gold. The world is literally burning and spiraling toward WWIII but there are plenty of jobs at McDonald's because the Dems shutdown the country and paid folks not to work. The jobs "increase" is solely a function of folks being allowed to return to their former jobs. It is a complete fraud.
A jobs report was "better than expected." HA HA HA HA. That is comedy gold.
Eat your heart out;
The world is literally burning and spiraling toward WWIII
Only in your delusional mind
The jobs "increase" is solely a function of folks being allowed to return to their former jobs. It is a complete fraud.
I truly hope that one day in the future you will somehow find your way back to the real world.
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Old Joe put a "lid" on his workday around noon yesterday. Nothing going on for him to do. War in the Middle East? It can wait for nappy time. Americans being held hostage and threatened with death? Yawn. Ukraine Joe is nowhere to be found. His administration is still defending Iran and claiming there is "no evidence" that they were behind the attack in Israel even though they have admitted that they were behind the attack and supported it. There is just "no evidence" like there is "no evidence" of Old Joe's connection to Dirty Hunter's corruption. The six billion dollars just given to Iran? It couldn't be used for the attack because someone is supposedly monitoring the money. LOL. Imagine that. Iran asks for the money and they are to be trusted for how they use it. Money is also fungible meaning that even if they use it for X that frees up money to use for Z. The stupidity and incompetence of the Biden clown show has not been surpassed in modern history (with the possible exception of Trudeau)
The six billion dollars just given to Iran?
There was no six billion dollars given to Iran. Get your facts straight.
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Another example of the incompetents in charge of Biden's clown show. Frightening. This would be humorous except for the consequences. Where is the media clamoring for his resignation and accountability? If this had happened under Trump, they would be raging for him to be fired.
The Atlantic:
"Just eight days ago, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, speaking at The Atlantic Festival, rattled off a long list of positive developments in the Middle East, developments that were allowing the Biden administration to focus on other regions and other problems. A truce was holding in Yemen. Iranian attacks against U.S. forces had stopped. America’s presence in Iraq was “stable.” The good news crescendoed with this statement: “The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades.”
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Another example of the incompetents in charge of Biden's clown show. Frightening. This would be humorous except for the consequences. Where is the media clamoring for his resignation and accountability? If this had happened under Trump, they would be raging for him to be fired.
The Atlantic:
"Just eight days ago, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, speaking at The Atlantic Festival, rattled off a long list of positive developments in the Middle East, developments that were allowing the Biden administration to focus on other regions and other problems. A truce was holding in Yemen. Iranian attacks against U.S. forces had stopped. America’s presence in Iraq was “stable.” The good news crescendoed with this statement: “The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades.”
Please, try to get a life
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Please, try to get a life
Another valuable contribution. And from the same guy who is here night and day and has nearly twice as many posts. LOL.
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Another valuable contribution. And from the same guy who is here night and day and has nearly twice as many posts. LOL.
Another valuable contribution.
Far more valuable than your constant whining and complaining about things which for the most part aren't even true.
And from the same guy who is here night and day and has nearly twice as many posts.
How would you know who is here "night and day", unless you were here "night and day" too?
It has been explained to you that I simply never log out. It doesn't mean that I am actually there.
And I only have a posting average of 3 per day. You have an average of 2. Wow, those are really massive numbers...
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Another valuable contribution.
Far more valuable than your constant whining and complaining about things which for the most part aren't even true.
And from the same guy who is here night and day and has nearly twice as many posts.
How would you know who is here "night and day", unless you were here "night and day" too?
It has been explained to you that I simply never log out. It doesn't mean that I am actually there.
And I only have a posting average of 3 per day. You have an average of 2. Wow, those are really massive numbers...
It does not take Sherlock Holmes. You are here every time that I post. You have almost twice as many total posts as me over the same timeframe. One more per day is thousands of more posts over the course of several years. Don't they provide math classes in "Europe'? I don't care if you spend your every waking moment here or how many times you post. I was just noting the irony of someone who posts much more often than myself telling me to "get a life." The irony abounds. Comedy gold. Of course, you also deflected from the point under discussion. Just days before a massive terrorist attack on Israel, the Biden administration clown in charge of National Security was boasting how "quiet" things were in the Middle East. He should be immediately fired for incompetence. But if they started doing that, no one would be left in this clown show administration.
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It does not take Sherlock Holmes. You are here every time that I post. You have almost twice as many total posts as me over the same timeframe. One more per day is thousands of more posts over the course of several years. Don't they provide math classes in "Europe'? I don't care if you spend your every waking moment here or how many times you post. I was just noting the irony of someone who posts much more often than myself telling me to "get a life." The irony abounds. Comedy gold. Of course, you also deflected from the point under discussion. Just days before a massive terrorist attack on Israel, the Biden administration clown in charge of National Security was boasting how "quiet" things were in the Middle East. He should be immediately fired for incompetence. But if they started doing that, no one would be left in this clown show administration.
You are here every time that I post.
HAHAHAHAHA... Actually, no, I am not. I responded more than two hours after your post.
You have almost twice as many total posts as me over the same timeframe. One more per day is thousands of more posts over the course of several years.
Hilarious.... now the fool is talking timeframes. He actually talks about, on average, one post more every day in.... wait for it..... more than 6 years!
I don't care if you spend your every waking moment here or how many times you post.
Oh yes you do, because if you didn't you wouldn't have brought it up in the first place.
I was just noting the irony of someone who posts much more often than myself telling me to "get a life."
Much more often as in, on average 1 post more per day during a period of more than 6 years.......HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Try to understand this; sometimes interesting discussions happen on this forum which result in a back and forth of credible and/or plausible arguments, which increases the number of posts rapidly.
You are never ever part of such an interesting discussion, simply because there is nothing of any value or significance you can add to it, which means your number of posts doesn't increase as fast. Get it now?
Of course, you also deflected from the point under discussion.
What discussion? Your idiotic rants do not warrant any kind of discussion. They are a complete waste of time, but it seems that's all you have to do in a day.... hence the friendly advice to try and get a life....
Just days before a massive terrorist attack on Israel, the Biden administration clown in charge of National Security was boasting how "quiet" things were in the Middle East. He should be immediately fired for incompetence. But if they started doing that, no one would be left in this clown show administration.
A senile guy went on television yesterday and said that "Hummus" has attacked Israel.... Who could have predicted that a dish could ever attack a country? Now, what was the name of that senile fool again..... let me think..... Oh yes, I remember, it was the same guy who asked for "oranges" when he wanted to know how something had started. I think his name was Trumph or something like that :D
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You are here every time that I post.
HAHAHAHAHA... Actually, no, I am not. I responded more than two hours after your post.
You have almost twice as many total posts as me over the same timeframe. One more per day is thousands of more posts over the course of several years.
Hilarious.... now the fool is talking timeframes. He actually talks about, on average, one post more every day in.... wait for it..... more than 6 years!
I don't care if you spend your every waking moment here or how many times you post.
Oh yes you do, because if you didn't you wouldn't have brought it up in the first place.
I was just noting the irony of someone who posts much more often than myself telling me to "get a life."
Much more often as in, on average 1 post more per day during a period of more than 6 years.......HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Try to understand this; sometimes interesting discussions happen on this forum which result in a back and forth of credible and/or plausible arguments, which increases the number of posts rapidly.
You are never ever part of such an interesting discussion, simply because there is nothing of any value or significance you can add to it, which means your number of posts doesn't increase as fast. Get it now?
Of course, you also deflected from the point under discussion.
What discussion? Your idiotic rants do not warrant any kind of discussion. They are a complete waste of time, but it seems that's all you have to do in a day.... hence the friendly advice to try and get a life....
Just days before a massive terrorist attack on Israel, the Biden administration clown in charge of National Security was boasting how "quiet" things were in the Middle East. He should be immediately fired for incompetence. But if they started doing that, no one would be left in this clown show administration.
A senile guy went on television yesterday and said that "Hummus" has attacked Israel.... Who could have predicted that a dish could ever attack a country? Now, what was the name of that senile fool again..... let me think..... Oh yes, I remember, it was the same guy who asked for "oranges" when he wanted to know how something had started. I think his name was Trumph or something like that :D
You are more concerned with the way in which Trump pronounces the word "Hamas" than the National Security Advisor for the Biden administration congratulating himself on how quiet things were in the Middle East while terrorists were on the verge of a massive attack. And you still don't understand math. The average is over the entirety of your posting history. You and I have been posting for many years. The fact that you post one time more PER DAY on average over that lengthy period of years means that you have posted THOUSANDS of more times than myself. Again, putting aside your limited math comprehension, I have merely responded to your suggestion that I "get a life" when you post more frequently than myself. The irony is hilarious compounded by your lack of understanding.
BTW: Hamas is pronounced as huh-maas. Which sounds very like ______ (here you have an opportunity to fill in the blank to see if you can figure why you should be embarrassed to post so many times).
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You are more concerned with the way in which Trump pronounces the word "Hamas" than the National Security Advisor for the Biden administration congratulating himself on how quiet things were in the Middle East while terrorists were on the verge of a massive attack. And you still don't understand math. The average is over the entirety of your posting history. You and I have been posting for many years. The fact that you post one time more PER DAY on average over that lengthy period of years means that you have posted THOUSANDS of more times than myself. Again, putting aside your limited math comprehension, I have merely responded to your suggestion that I "get a life" when you post more frequently than myself. The irony is hilarious compounded by your lack of understanding.
BTW: Hamas is pronounced as huh-maas. Which sounds very like ______ (here you have an opportunity to fill in the blank to see if you can figure why you should be embarrassed to post so many times).
You are more concerned with the way in which Trump pronounces the word "Hamas"
No, not really... it isn't the only word he could not pronounce correctly.... It just shows the guy is senile, with his pathetic rants about water taps not producing enough water, needing ID to buy bread etc... The list goes on and on. That, and his abysmal track record as President, when he was the laughing stock of all the world... and his extreme fascism of course... that worries me...
And you still don't understand math. The average is over the entirety of your posting history. You and I have been posting for many years.
Actually, I joined this forum (after the old one crashed) on 01/06/18 and you joined two days later....
The fact that you post one time more PER DAY on average over that lengthy period of years means that you have posted THOUSANDS of more times than myself.
2241 more posts actually over more than six years.... the bulk of those were spend having interesting conversations with people who, unlike you, actually had something to say and some of those were nothing more than a Thumb1: to confirm I agreed with another poster. But I have to say, for someone who claims he couldn't care less how often I post, you are sure spending a lot of time on the subject.... Kinda weird, don't you think.
I have merely responded to your suggestion that I "get a life" when you post more frequently than myself.
Yeah yeah, I understand that. But what you don't understand is that my "get a life" comment had nothing to do with how often you post. It had to do with the content of your ever whining, complaining go-nowhere posts that nobody is interested in. You argue like the grumpy guy sitting alone at the end of the bar who everybody ignores because he is simply not good company. You are a copy of Jeff Dunham's Walter, except ten times worse and not a bit as funny.
The irony is hilarious compounded by your lack of understanding.
Oh, but I understood completely. It's straight out of the LN manual. Whenever a LN gets stuck and/or embarressed, they try to attack a poster by bringing up that persons posting history, as if it means something. Mytton did it in the past and you are just another one of those silly little men who does the same... No surprise whatsoever.
BTW: Hamas is pronounced as huh-maas.
Hilarious.... so, your argument now is that Trump got the pronounciation right? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... So much desperation.
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The fact that you post one time more PER DAY on average over that lengthy period of years means that you have posted THOUSANDS of more times than myself.
2241 more posts actually over more than six years.... the bulk of those were spend having interesting conversations with people who, unlike you, actually had something to say and some of those were nothing more than a Thumb1: to confirm I agreed with another poster. But I have to say, for someone who claims he couldn't care less how often I post, you are sure spending a lot of time on the subject.... Kinda weird, don't you think.
BTW: Hamas is pronounced as huh-maas.
Hilarious.... so, your argument now is that Trump got the pronounciation right? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... So much desperation.
Where are these "interesting conversations" that you are having? I see the same pattern on this forum in every single thread. You insult people and take the thread down some ridiculous rabbit hole. Like you have done here. Every single thread. There is not a single "interesting" conversation that you have ever had here. The pattern is identical. Open any random thread and read it. I didn't hear Trump speak the word. I merely pointed out how Hamas is pronounced. Something you apparently did not know. It sounds very much like how you characterize what Trump said. And, of course, how he said it is just your own "opinion" or "assumption." There are no facts in your contrarian world. What amazes me is that you are more obsessed with how Trump said a word than the fantastic security failure that resulted in the massacre of hundreds of Jews.
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Where are these "interesting conversations" that you are having? I see the same pattern on this forum in every single thread. You insult people and take the thread down some ridiculous rabbit hole. Like you have done here. Every single thread. There is not a single "interesting" conversation that you have ever had here. The pattern is identical. Open any random thread and read it. I didn't hear Trump speak the word. I merely pointed out how Hamas is pronounced. Something you apparently did not know. It sounds very much like how you characterize what Trump said. And, of course, how he said it is just your own "opinion" or "assumption." There are no facts in your contrarian world. What amazes me is that you are more obsessed with how Trump said a word than the fantastic security failure that resulted in the massacre of hundreds of Jews.
Just another time at the end of the bar for Grumpy, all by himself with his constant whining.... Sad, very sad.
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Old Joe finally caved to reality and has blocked the $6 billion he allowed to go to a terrorist state. Better late than never. The harm has been done, however. Tens of thousands will end up dead in another endless war due to Old Joe's appeasement of Iran.
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Old Joe now has two endless wars on his hands. China makes three.
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The US is the only country with wide open borders. Every other country understands the costs and security risks. There is nothing racist about it.
Jordan's King Abdullah said during a news conference in Germany that neither Jordan nor Egypt would accept Palestinian refugees from Gaza, where more than 1 million people have been displaced by the war between Israel and Hamas terrorists.
"No refugees in Jordan, no refugees in Egypt," King Abdullah said in Berlin Tuesday,
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Old Joe is going to propose tomorrow to give Israel and Ukraine 100 BILLION dollars. That's billion with "b". On top of the billions that have already been sent to Ukraine. I'm all for supporting these countries but where is that kind of money coming from? How many other countries are going to contribute an equivalent amount? That's a rhetorical question because the answer is none. Why does the US rush into these conflicts time and again? Israel is perfectly capable of doing what needs to be done. They have already been sold or given the military equipment to wage this war. How much would it cost to just buy Gaza and pay Egypt or someone to take the residents? It couldn't be anything near $100 billion and the problem solved instead of waging war for years and nothing being any different at the end than the beginning.
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Old Joe is going to propose tomorrow to give Israel and Ukraine 100 BILLION dollars. That's billion with "b". On top of the billions that have already been sent to Ukraine. I'm all for supporting these countries but where is that kind of money coming from? How many other countries are going to contribute an equivalent amount? That's a rhetorical question because the answer is none. Why does the US rush into these conflicts time and again? Israel is perfectly capable of doing what needs to be done. They have already been sold or given the military equipment to wage this war. How much would it cost to just buy Gaza and pay Egypt or someone to take the residents? It couldn't be anything near $100 billion and the problem solved instead of waging war for years and nothing being any different at the end than the beginning.
How much would it cost to just buy Gaza and pay Egypt or someone to take the residents?
You've said some pretty stupid things in the past, but this one beats them all. Just how ignorant can you be?
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Of all the slimy things Old Joe and the Dems have pulled, tying funding for Israel to Ukraine ranks near the top. Old Joe knows that support for the endless and pointless war in Ukraine is flagging. So he is taking advantage of the recent tragedy in Israel to fund it. And when the Republicans reject that request, he will say they hate Israel when almost every single one of them would have supported a standalone bill to fund Israel. Slimy politics. But after politicizing the pandemic to win an election anything goes for Ukraine Joe. He is also looking worse and worse. Staring blankly at the camera and mumbling nonsense. Unreal that he is the person in charge as the world comes apart.
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Of all the slimy things Old Joe and the Dems have pulled, tying funding for Israel to Ukraine ranks near the top. Old Joe knows that support for the endless and pointless war in Ukraine is flagging. So he is taking advantage of the recent tragedy in Israel to fund it. And when the Republicans reject that request, he will say they hate Israel when almost every single one of them would have supported a standalone bill to fund Israel. Slimy politics. But after politicizing the pandemic to win an election anything goes for Ukraine Joe. He is also looking worse and worse. Staring blankly at the camera and mumbling nonsense. Unreal that he is the person in charge as the world comes apart.
So much hatred, anger, oversimplification, misinformation and utter lies from a guy who supports a real criminal, who is now being confronted by guilty pleas by lawyers who were his co-conspirators in Georgia, in one of four criminal cases he faces, who stands to lose his NY based businesses because of the massive fraud he committed and who leads a party that has shown itself to be completely unable to govern. Hell they can't even get their own house in order and select a speaker...... Hilarious.
And btw, the world is only "coming apart" in your paranoid, delusional, mind.
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Old Joe is now asking for $105 billion with the vast majority going to Ukraine. Using Israel as a proxy to get money for his endless war. Shameless. There is still no plan or clear objective for the war in Ukraine. It just goes on and on with the US sending more billions while "Europe" spends its money on their own citizens. Meanwhile in America the cities are in ruin. Crime is rampant. The schools are a disaster. Homeless are overrunning the cities. Bet we are sending tens of billions to Ukraine for some unspecified purpose.
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Old Joe is now asking for $105 billion with the vast majority going to Ukraine. Using Israel as a proxy to get money for his endless war. Shameless. There is still no plan or clear objective for the war in Ukraine. It just goes on and on with the US sending more billions while "Europe" spends its money on their own citizens. Meanwhile in America the cities are in ruin. Crime is rampant. The schools are a disaster. Homeless are overrunning the cities. Bet we are sending tens of billions to Ukraine for some unspecified purpose.
It just goes on and on with the US sending more billions while "Europe" spends its money on their own citizens.
That's simply not true. Europe is paying it's part as well.
Meanwhile in America the cities are in ruin. Crime is rampant. The schools are a disaster. Homeless are overrunning the cities.
Here's an idea... let's put the Republicans in charge of the House and they will clean up this mess in no time....... Oh, wait.... they are already in the majority.... Go figure, could have fooled me
Bet we are sending tens of billions to Ukraine for some unspecified purpose.
Unspecified purpose? Really.... Is this just another display of your ignorance?
Would you prefer Putin takes over Ukraine without the West doing anything to stop him? That would be a hell of a message to send, right? What country would be next, do you think? And more importantly, how much money and how many lives would it cost down the road to stop "Hitler II" once he's on the move and really threatens world peace?
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$105 billion for more war. Imagine how many homeless could be housed in the US. But it is all going for nothing. Wasted and stolen as with the COVID "relief" money that fueled hyperinflation. Approximately $200 billion of the COVID funds are the subject of fraud investigations. It will take generations to undo the harm of what was effectively a bribe for votes. And Putin is going to roll over other countries when he can't even take over a few regions of Ukraine? LOL. Fearmongering. Time to duck and cover like it is 1954.
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$105 billion for more war. Imagine how many homeless could be housed in the US. But it is all going for nothing. Wasted and stolen as with the COVID "relief" money that fueled hyperinflation. Approximately $200 billion of the COVID funds are the subject of fraud investigations. It will take generations to undo the harm of what was effectively a bribe for votes. And Putin is going to roll over other countries when he can't even take over a few regions of Ukraine? LOL. Fearmongering. Time to duck and cover like it is 1954.
Imagine how many more people would choose to go homeless for a bit if they could get free housing from the government?
Give Russia a taste os success and you might be surprised what they could accomplish.
How can Hitler be a threat to Europe when he couldn't even hold Munich in 1923? How could Russia be a threat to Germany when it couldn't even take Finland in 1939?
America has been spending billions over the years since the 1940's to keep Europe free of Russia. If we want continue that, we either need to continue to spend money on our military, or helping Ukraine. I say a billion dollars spent on Ukraine gives a lot more 'Bank for the Buck' than spending on our military. Three times as much? Five times as much? I don't know, but clearly a more efficient way of dealing with Russia.
Need to cut down on spending? Fine. Cut out some spending on our military. Reduce the number of army divisions we maintain by one. But don't cut aid to Ukraine. That money is not wasted. It saves a great deal of money we would need to hold the Baltic states if Russia takes over Ukraine and is now looking for more glory.
In 2021, the U. S. Defense budget was 700 billion dollars. In the last 18 months we have spent about 75 billion helping Ukraine. So about 50 billion per year. Or 7 per cent of our defense budget. What threat are we mostly spending money on? China and Russia. With just an increase of 7 per cent, we are dealing with one of our two great threats. It's a bargain by any measure. If we could do the same with China, pin down China in a forever war with Taiwan, we could greatly reduce the spending on our military. We wouldn't need nearly 700 billion a year for our military if both China and Russia ceased to be such a continuous threat.
This might get us involved in a 'Forever war'? I see no problem with that. We can easily exceed Russian production indefinitely. The amount of money we save by not doing that for a year or two would be small compared to the money needed to hold the Baltic States from an encouraged Russia.
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Imagine how many more people would choose to go homeless for a bit if they could get free housing from the government?
Give Russia a taste os success and you might be surprised what they could accomplish.
How can Hitler be a threat to Europe when he couldn't even hold Munich in 1923? How could Russia be a threat to Germany when it couldn't even take Finland in 1939?
America has been spending billions over the years since the 1940's to keep Europe free of Russia. If we want continue that, we either need to continue to spend money on our military, or helping Ukraine. I say a billion dollars spent on Ukraine gives a lot more 'Bank for the Buck' than spending on our military. Three times as much? Five times as much? I don't know, but clearly a more efficient way of dealing with Russia.
Need to cut down on spending? Fine. Cut out some spending on our military. Reduce the number of army divisions we maintain by one. But don't cut aid to Ukraine. That money is not wasted. It saves a great deal of money we would need to hold the Baltic states if Russia takes over Ukraine and is now looking for more glory.
In 2021, the U. S. Defense budget was 700 billion dollars. In the last 18 months we have spent about 75 billion helping Ukraine. So about 50 billion per year. Or 7 per cent of our defense budget. What threat are we mostly spending money on? China and Russia. With just an increase of 7 per cent, we are dealing with one of our two great threats. It's a bargain by any measure. If we could do the same with China, pin down China in a forever war with Taiwan, we could greatly reduce the spending on our military. We wouldn't need nearly 700 billion a year for our military if both China and Russia ceased to be such a continuous threat.
This might get us involved in a 'Forever war'? I see no problem with that. We can easily exceed Russian production indefinitely. The amount of money we save by not doing that for a year or two would be small compared to the money needed to hold the Baltic States from an encouraged Russia.
The military budget will not decrease one penny as a result of our "investment" in this endless war. That is a strange justification. After this war, there will be another. Russia will not be defeated and no longer be a potential threat no matter the outcome in Ukraine. Do you think Ukraine is going to invade Russia and take Moscow? Thereby ending the fake Russian menace. That is not a possible outcome to this war. Instead it will drag on for years. More and more US money will be sunk into a conflict with no clear objective or way to win. It will just go and on like the previous wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan. And when all is said and done, the outcome will be no different (except for the tens of thousands of dead) than when it began. The notion that the US should take advantage of this opportunity to use the Ukrainian people as canon fodder to fight a proxy war with Russia is frightening.
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Old Joe is on vacation at the beach again. At least he can do no harm there unless he falls off his bike again.
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Old Joe is still at the beach while the world spirals into anarchy. Staying in the $3 million beach house that he paid for in cash on his lifelong government salary. Amazing how all these career politicians and their family members are all multimillionaires. Nothing to see there.
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What a humiliation to be represented by hair sniffing Joe in these days. The press promoting a false narrative to get that imbecile elected. Now we are on the verge of WWIII. A complete incompetent is in charge while the world burns. The chickens are coming home to roost. Where are the anti-Trump loons to beg forgiveness?
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The latest poll numbers are staggering for Old Joe. Collapsing support among black and Hispanic voters. He is trailing Trump in almost every swing state according to even the leftist NY Times. Almost 80% of Americans agree that he is too old to be President. You couldn't get 80% of people to agree the sky is blue, but they can agree that Ukraine Joe is not up to the job. Think about his condition in the years to come given his current state and rate of decline. His family should intervene and spare him that humiliation.
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More bleak news for the Dems. The LA Times indicates that the poll numbers for Golden Boy Newsom in California are in Biden-like collapse. He is supposed to be the heir when Old Joe drops out of the race. Maybe results do continue to matter more to some people than ideology.
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Some amazing mislogic being used by Old Joe and the Dems. Old Joe is claiming today that Trump is using "Nazi rhetoric" for referring to his political foes as "vermin" and that he is a threat to democracy. Trump who has a Jewish daughter and grandchildren is the Nazi according to Old Joe. Trump who was the biggest supporter of Israel of any president in history is the anti-Semite while Old Joe and the Dems are trying to inhibit Israel from defending itself from terrorists. Calling a political opponent and his supporters "Nazis" and using the legal system to indict your political opponent for nearly 100 phony felonies to damage him politically like something out of Stalinist Russia is apparently fine, though. No threat to democracy there. Also bringing lawsuits to keep Trump off the ballot in several states is apparently not a concern for "democracy." Just don't call anyone a bad name.
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Some amazing mislogic being used by Old Joe and the Dems. Old Joe is claiming today that Trump is using "Nazi rhetoric" for referring to his political foes as "vermin" and that he is a threat to democracy. Trump who has a Jewish daughter and grandchildren is the Nazi according to Old Joe. Trump who was the biggest supporter of Israel of any president in history is the anti-Semite while Old Joe and the Dems are trying to inhibit Israel from defending itself from terrorists. Calling a political opponent and his supporters "Nazis" and using the legal system to indict your political opponent for nearly 100 phony felonies to damage him politically like something out of Stalinist Russia is apparently fine, though. No threat to democracy there. Also bringing lawsuits to keep Trump off the ballot in several states is apparently not a concern for "democracy." Just don't call anyone a bad name.
Old Joe is claiming today that Trump is using "Nazi rhetoric"
And he is right. We all know it, except of course for the die-hard Maga creeps for whom Trump can't do anything wrong.
Trump who has a Jewish daughter and grandchildren is the Nazi according to Old Joe.
"I have family members who are Jewish or black, so I can't be a Nazi/anti Semite or racist" is a pathetic defense.
Judge the man and not his family ties....
Some of Hitler's family members were also Jewish or part Jewish.
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Old Joe is claiming today that Trump is using "Nazi rhetoric"
And he is right. We all know it, except of course for the die-hard Maga creeps for whom Trump can't do anything wrong.
Trump who has a Jewish daughter and grandchildren is the Nazi according to Old Joe.
"I have family members who are Jewish or black, so I can't be a Nazi/anti Semite or racist" is a pathetic defense.
Judge the man and not his family ties....
Some of Hitler's family members were also Jewish or part Jewish.
You forgot the part where Trump, as President, was the most pro-Israel president in history and has given his total support to Israel's right to defend itself. Meanwhile Old Joe is trying to inhibit Israel from protecting itself from violent terrorists. In addition, radical leftists staged violent attacks on Capitol Hill police officers yesterday injuring several of them. Sounds like an insurrection to me under the Dems definition. Will there be years of investigations and hearings? Will hundreds be arrested and held without due process? Will dozens be sent to prison for decades. Let me guess - no. The Dem party has been taken over by violent anti-Semites but Trump is the problem.
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Old Joe is claiming today that Trump is using "Nazi rhetoric"
Some of Hitler's family members were also Jewish or part Jewish.
No wonder you are confused about historical accuracy. Not true or relevant.
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You forgot the part where Trump, as President, was the most pro-Israel president in history and has given his total support to Israel's right to defend itself. Meanwhile Old Joe is trying to inhibit Israel from protecting itself from violent terrorists. In addition, radical leftists staged violent attacks on Capitol Hill police officers yesterday injuring several of them. Sounds like an insurrection to me under the Dems definition. Will there be years of investigations and hearings? Will hundreds be arrested and held without due process? Will dozens be sent to prison for decades. Let me guess - no. The Dem party has been taken over by violent anti-Semites but Trump is the problem.
You forgot the part where Trump, as President, was the most pro-Israel president in history
Says who?
and has given his total support to Israel's right to defend itself.
every President since WWII has supported Isreal's right to defend itself.
Meanwhile Old Joe is trying to inhibit Israel from protecting itself from violent terrorists.
Utter BS.
In addition, radical leftists staged violent attacks on Capitol Hill police officers yesterday injuring several of them. Sounds like an insurrection to me under the Dems definition.
Every person who attacks a police officer should be prosecuted, but not every attack on a police office is an insurrection. Did any of these "radical leftists" actually storm the Capitol?
The Dem party has been taken over by violent anti-Semites but Trump is the problem.
More projection and BS. Trump is the problem because.... he is, and always has been, the problem
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No wonder you are confused about historical accuracy. Not true or relevant.
Really?...What is it? Not true or not relevant? It can't be both.
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Really?...What is it? Not true or not relevant? It can't be both.
LOL. Let me dumb this down so that even perhaps you can understand (being wildly optimistic). Hitler did not have family members who were Jewish as you falsely stated. But (pay attention here) even if he had, that would have no relevance to Trump. Trump has proven by his words and actions that he is pro-Israel. It is offensive to compare him to Hitler or the Nazis. You should be ashamed to diminish the Holocaust, but I'm not surprised. How about instead of condemning Trump as a Nazi and comparing him to Hitler that you criticize the violent anti-Semites staging violent attacks on the Capitol Hill police officers and advocating the destruction of Israel with the support of many Dems?
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LOL. Let me dumb this down so that even perhaps you can understand (being wildly optimistic). Hitler did not have family members who were Jewish as you falsely stated. But (pay attention here) even if he had, that would have no relevance to Trump. Trump has proven by his words and actions that he is pro-Israel. It is offensive to compare him to Hitler or the Nazis. You should be ashamed to diminish the Holocaust, but I'm not surprised. How about instead of condemning Trump as a Nazi and comparing him to Hitler that you criticize the violent anti-Semites staging violent attacks on the Capitol Hill police officers and advocating the destruction of Israel with the support of many Dems?
Hitler did not have family members who were Jewish as you falsely stated.
He didn't? Really? Or are you simply displaying your ignorance again
But (pay attention here) even if he had, that would have no relevance to Trump.
Of course it would relevant as Trump also has Jewish family members.
Trump has proven by his words and actions that he is pro-Israel.
Oh please....
It is offensive to compare him to Hitler or the Nazis.
Offensive to whom? To Hitler perhaps?
You should be ashamed to diminish the Holocaust, but I'm not surprised.
My family lost a lot of people in the Holocaust, so perhaps you should shut the f**k up.
How about instead of condemning Trump as a Nazi and comparing him to Hitler that you criticize the violent anti-Semites staging violent attacks on the Capitol Hill police officers
I have already criticezed any violent attack on a police officer. It has nothing to do with comparing Trump to Hitler.
and advocating the destruction of Israel with the support of many Dems?
Utter BS... Nobody, except perhaps Hamas et al, advocate the destruction of Isreal. You just - once again - want to blame everything you can on Dems. It's a pathetic rant that has nothing to do with reality.
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Hitler did not have family members who were Jewish as you falsely stated.
He didn't? Really? Or are you simply displaying your ignorance again
But (pay attention here) even if he had, that would have no relevance to Trump.
Of course it would relevant as Trump also has Jewish family members.
Trump has proven by his words and actions that he is pro-Israel.
Oh please....
It is offensive to compare him to Hitler or the Nazis.
Offensive to whom? To Hitler perhaps?
You should be ashamed to diminish the Holocaust, but I'm not surprised.
My family lost a lot of people in the Holocaust, so perhaps you should shut the f**k up.
How about instead of condemning Trump as a Nazi and comparing him to Hitler that you criticize the violent anti-Semites staging violent attacks on the Capitol Hill police officers
I have already criticezed any violent attack on a police officer. It has nothing to do with comparing Trump to Hitler.
and advocating the destruction of Israel with the support of many Dems?
Utter BS... Nobody, except perhaps Hamas et al, advocate the destruction of Isreal. You just - once again - want to blame everything you can on Dems. It's a pathetic rant that has nothing to do with reality.
You are really suggesting Hitler should be offended to be compared to Trump? That's an offensive anti-Semitic remark as it denigrates the millions of Jewish deaths at the hands of Hitler. Even you should be ashamed. In addition, many of the violent radical protestors who attacked the Capitol Hill cops and tried to assault members of Congress last night do support the destruction of Israel. Or as they chant "from the river to the sea." Shameful to deflect away from such actual hatred and anti-Semitic violence to Trump for political purposes. Trump is not a Nazi or anti-Semite. To the contrary, he is a strong supporter of Israel and has immediate family members who are Jewish including his own daughter and grandchildren. Now tell us which family member of Hitler was Jewish since you have interjected that claim more than once now. Name them.
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You are really suggesting Hitler should be offended to be compared to Trump? That's an offensive anti-Semitic remark as it denigrates the millions of Jewish deaths at the hands of Hitler. Even you should be ashamed. In addition, many of the violent radical protestors who attacked the Capitol Hill cops and tried to assault members of Congress last night do support the destruction of Israel. Or as they chant "from the river to the sea." Shameful to deflect away from such actual hatred and anti-Semitic violence to Trump for political purposes. Trump is not a Nazi or anti-Semite. To the contrary, he is a strong supporter of Israel and has immediate family members who are Jewish including his own daughter and grandchildren. Now tell us which family member of Hitler was Jewish since you have interjected that claim more than once now. Name them.
You are really suggesting Hitler should be offended to be compared to Trump? That's an offensive anti-Semitic remark as it denigrates the millions of Jewish deaths at the hands of Hitler. Even you should be ashamed.
LOL, spare me the fake outrage
In addition, many of the violent radical protestors who attacked the Capitol Hill cops and tried to assault members of Congress last night do support the destruction of Israel.
Bold statements which, as per usual, you won't able to back up with actual evidence. All that happened was that some people protested in front of the DNC building when they were confronted by Capitol Hill police. That's all that actually happened. Nobody stormed any building, yet you call this "insurrection" and at the same time deny that the storming of the Capitol wasn't an insurrection..... What a pathetic hypocrite you are
Shameful to deflect away from such actual hatred and anti-Semitic violence to Trump for political purposes.
What "anti-Semitic violence to Trump" are you talking about?
Trump is not a Nazi or anti-Semite.
In Hitler's early days there were also people who praised him.... Those who survived WWII now know different.
Trump is not a Nazi or anti-Semite. To the contrary, he is a strong supporter of Israel and has immediate family members who are Jewish including his own daughter and grandchildren.
Let's get the facts straight. Ivanka converted to Judaism before she married Jared Kushner, an Orthodox Jew, in 2009.
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You are really suggesting Hitler should be offended to be compared to Trump? That's an offensive anti-Semitic remark as it denigrates the millions of Jewish deaths at the hands of Hitler. Even you should be ashamed.
LOL, spare me the fake outrage
In addition, many of the violent radical protestors who attacked the Capitol Hill cops and tried to assault members of Congress last night do support the destruction of Israel.
Bold statements which, as per usual, you won't able to back up with actual evidence. All that happened was that some people protested in front of the DNC building when they were confronted by Capitol Hill police. That's all that actually happened. Nobody stormed any building, yet you call this "insurrection" and at the same time deny that the storming of the Capitol wasn't an insurrection..... What a pathetic hypocrite you are
Shameful to deflect away from such actual hatred and anti-Semitic violence to Trump for political purposes.
What "anti-Semitic violence to Trump" are you talking about?
Trump is not a Nazi or anti-Semite.
In Hitler's early days there were also people who praised him.... Those who survived WWII now know different.
Trump is not a Nazi or anti-Semite. To the contrary, he is a strong supporter of Israel and has immediate family members who are Jewish including his own daughter and grandchildren.
Let's get the facts straight. Ivanka converted to Judaism before she married Jared Kushner, an Orthodox Jew, in 2009.
You believe it is "fake outrage" to take issue with your sickening comment that Hitler should be offended by the comparison to Trump? Meaning Hitler is a better person than Trump. That's vile and sickening anti-Semitic hate speech. You should be ashamed. And still no name of Hitler's family member who was Jewish. Another false claim. Now you are implying Ivanka is not Jewish because she converted to Judaism? Unreal. More hate speech.
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You believe it is "fake outrage" to take issue with your sickening comment that Hitler should be offended by the comparison to Trump? Meaning Hitler is a better person than Trump. That's vile and sickening anti-Semitic hate speech. You should be ashamed. And still no name of Hitler's family member who was Jewish. Another false claim. Now you are implying Ivanka is not Jewish because she converted to Judaism? Unreal. More hate speech.
You believe it is "fake outrage" to take issue with your sickening comment that Hitler should be offended by the comparison to Trump? Meaning Hitler is a better person than Trump. That's vile and sickening anti-Semitic hate speech.
Hilarious. You clearly don't understand the meaning of "anti-semitism", which actually is hostility and prejudice towards Jews. As Donald Trump is not Jewish, speech against him can not be "anti-semitic".
Now you are implying Ivanka is not Jewish because she converted to Judaism? Unreal. More hate speech.
The implication is all yours. I merely stated the fact that Ivanka converted to Judaism before she married Jared Kushner, an Orthodox Jew, in 2009. How a statement of fact can be "hate speech" is beyond me.
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You believe it is "fake outrage" to take issue with your sickening comment that Hitler should be offended by the comparison to Trump? Meaning Hitler is a better person than Trump. That's vile and sickening anti-Semitic hate speech.
Hilarious. You clearly don't understand the meaning of "anti-semitism", which actually is hostility and prejudice towards Jews. As Donald Trump is not Jewish, speech against him can not be "anti-semitic".
Now you are implying Ivanka is not Jewish because she converted to Judaism? Unreal. More hate speech.
The implication is all yours. I merely stated the fact that Ivanka converted to Judaism before she married Jared Kushner, an Orthodox Jew, in 2009. How a statement of fact can be "hate speech" is beyond me.
Why note at all that Ivanka converted to Judaism in this context? What point where you trying to make about that? That she is not really Jewish? Therefore Trump doesn't really have a Jewish daughter? Do tell. And again, no name of Hitler's family member who was Jewish. You made that claim a couple of times but refuse to answer.
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Why note at all that Ivanka converted to Judaism in this context? What point where you trying to make about that? That she is not really Jewish? Therefore Trump doesn't really have a Jewish daughter? Do tell. And again, no name of Hitler's family member who was Jewish. You made that claim a couple of times but refuse to answer.
Why note at all that Ivanka converted to Judaism in this context?
Because you used her being a Jew as a reason why Donald Trump couldn't be anti-Semitic, which is utter BS
What point where you trying to make about that? That she is not really Jewish?
In some Jewish circles that's exactly how they look at people who have converted to Judaism.
Therefore Trump doesn't really have a Jewish daughter?
No he doesn't. At least not by blood. He has a daughter who converted to Judaism.
Trump himself claims to be a Catholic. A catholic can not have a daughter that's born Jewish.
And again, no name of Hitler's family member who was Jewish. You made that claim a couple of times but refuse to answer.
It isn't revelant and I won't give you a reason to divert the conversation away from your pathetic claim about Trump. Do your own research if you really want to find out.
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Why note at all that Ivanka converted to Judaism in this context?
Because you used her being a Jew as a reason why Donald Trump couldn't be anti-Semitic, which is utter DS
What point where you trying to make about that? That she is not really Jewish?
In some Jewish circles that's exactly how they look at people who have converted to Judaism.
Therefore Trump doesn't really have a Jewish daughter?
No he doesn't. At least not by blood. He has a daughter who converted to Judaism.
Trump himself claims to be a Catholic. A catholic can not have a daughter that's born Jewish.
And again, no name of Hitler's family member who was Jewish. You made that claim a couple of times but refuse to answer.
It isn't revelant and I won't give you a reason to divert the conversation away from your pathetic claim about Trump. Do your own research if you really want to find out.
Stunning. You share Hitler's views that the Jews are distinguished by "blood" and not religion. If Hitler's family is "not relevant", why did YOU raise that? You claimed twice that Hitler had family members that were Jewish. Are you now willing to admit that was false or not?
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Stunning. You share Hitler's views that the Jews are distinguished by "blood" and not religion. If Hitler's family is "not relevant", why did YOU raise that? You claimed twice that Hitler had family members that were Jewish. Are you now willing to admit that was false or not?
You share Hitler's views that the Jews are distinguished by "blood" and not religion.
Was that Hitler's view and where did I say that?
If Hitler's family is "not relevant", why did YOU raise that?
Because you falsely claimed Trump couldn't be anti-Semitic because he had Jewish family members, which, again, is utter BS
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You share Hitler's views that the Jews are distinguished by "blood" and not religion.
Was that Hitler's view and where did I say that?
If Hitler's family is "not relevant", why did YOU raise that?
Because you falsely claimed Trump couldn't be anti-Semitic because he had Jewish family members, which, again, is utter BS
The Nazis developed "race" laws to determine who was Jewish. Just like you have suggested in the case of Ivanka. I never claimed that Trump couldn't be anti-Semitic like yourself JUST because he had family members who were Jewish. I noted that his daughter and grandchildren are Jewish. That is one factor in making an assessment. Another factor was his strong support of Israel during his presidency including recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Something no other president would do. His actions are conclusive of the issue. No anti-Semite would have been a strong supporter of Israel. Rather, they would have joined the Dem party and staged violent insurrections to pressure the US government to avoid supporting Israel.
You have rebutted this argument by claiming that Ivanka is not really a Jew because she converted to Judaism. A Hitler-like racial assessment. You have also attempted to bolster this racist argument by claiming that Hitler had family members who were Jewish. But you refuse to name who these people were or admit that you are wrong. Suddenly, your own claim is not relevant. LOL.
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Absolutely brutal, soul crushing poll numbers for Ukraine Joe on his 81st birthday. In any other election, he would lose in a landslide with those poll numbers but the changes in the election laws make it almost impossible to beat the Dem candidate in many swing states like PA where the election will be decided. It will be close no matter how incompetent, crooked, and old the "big guy" turns out to be.
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The Nazis developed "race" laws to determine who was Jewish. Just like you have suggested in the case of Ivanka. I never claimed that Trump couldn't be anti-Semitic like yourself JUST because he had family members who were Jewish. I noted that his daughter and grandchildren are Jewish. That is one factor in making an assessment. Another factor was his strong support of Israel during his presidency including recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Something no other president would do. His actions are conclusive of the issue. No anti-Semite would have been a strong supporter of Israel. Rather, they would have joined the Dem party and staged violent insurrections to pressure the US government to avoid supporting Israel.
You have rebutted this argument by claiming that Ivanka is not really a Jew because she converted to Judaism. A Hitler-like racial assessment. You have also attempted to bolster this racist argument by claiming that Hitler had family members who were Jewish. But you refuse to name who these people were or admit that you are wrong. Suddenly, your own claim is not relevant. LOL.
The Nazis developed "race" laws to determine who was Jewish. Just like you have suggested in the case of Ivanka.
I have not suggested anything of the kind.
I never claimed that Trump couldn't be anti-Semitic like yourself JUST because he had family members who were Jewish.
Oh, yes, you did exactly that. As for myself being anti-semitic, you really should have a good look at my family name before you spew such nonsense.
I noted that his daughter and grandchildren are Jewish.
And you did that for what other purpose but to support your claim that Trump couldn't be anti-semitic?
That is one factor in making an assessment. Another factor was his strong support of Israel during his presidency including recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Something no other president would do. His actions are conclusive of the issue. No anti-Semite would have been a strong supporter of Israel.
Thanks for proving my point.
Rather, they would have joined the Dem party and staged violent insurrections to pressure the US government to avoid supporting Israel.
Violent inssurrections? Do tell..... :D
You have rebutted this argument by claiming that Ivanka is not really a Jew because she converted to Judaism. A Hitler-like racial assessment.
Hilarious (and untrue, of course).... I never made that claim and have merely stated that in some parts of the Jewish community they feel that a conversion to Judaism does not make you a full Jew, just like a child born with only one parent being Jewish isn't a full Jew either......
I can't wait to see what your next argument will be. Perhaps comparing part of the Jewish community to Hitler?
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The Nazis developed "race" laws to determine who was Jewish. Just like you have suggested in the case of Ivanka.
I have not suggested anything of the kind.
I never claimed that Trump couldn't be anti-Semitic like yourself JUST because he had family members who were Jewish.
Oh, yes, you did exactly that. As for myself being anti-semitic, you really should have a good look at my family name before you spew such nonsense.
I noted that his daughter and grandchildren are Jewish.
And you did that for what other purpose but to support your claim that Trump couldn't be anti-semitic?
That is one factor in making an assessment. Another factor was his strong support of Israel during his presidency including recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Something no other president would do. His actions are conclusive of the issue. No anti-Semite would have been a strong supporter of Israel.
Thanks for proving my point.
Rather, they would have joined the Dem party and staged violent insurrections to pressure the US government to avoid supporting Israel.
Violent inssurrections? Do tell..... :D
You have rebutted this argument by claiming that Ivanka is not really a Jew because she converted to Judaism. A Hitler-like racial assessment.
Hilarious (and untrue, of course).... I never made that claim and have merely stated that in some parts of the Jewish community they feel that a conversion to Judaism does not make you a full Jew, just like a child born with only one parent being Jewish isn't a full Jew either......
I can't wait to see what your next argument will be. Perhaps comparing part of the Jewish community to Hitler?
So many words again but still no name of Hitler's family member who was Jewish. Again, do you stand by that statement and will provide the name of this family member, or do you now admit that you are wrong? You also interjected the fact that Ivanka had converted to Judaism as a means to suggest that she wasn't actually Jewish. A Hitler-like racial purity argument. Shameful.
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So many words again but still no name of Hitler's family member who was Jewish. Again, do you stand by that statement and will provide the name of this family member, or do you now admit that you are wrong? You also interjected the fact that Ivanka had converted to Judaism as a means to suggest that she wasn't actually Jewish. A Hitler-like racial purity argument. Shameful.
More twisting and turning from a guy who gets his "arguments" destroyed every single time.
You also interjected the fact that Ivanka had converted to Judaism as a means to suggest that she wasn't actually Jewish.
It doesn't really matter if Ivanka is "actually Jewish" or not. The main point is that your claim that Donald Trump can't be anti-semitic because he has family members who are Jewish is simply false.
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More twisting and turning from a guy who gets his "arguments" destroyed every single time.
You also interjected the fact that Ivanka had converted to Judaism as a means to suggest that she wasn't actually Jewish.
It doesn't really matter if Ivanka is "actually Jewish" or not. The main point is that your claim that Donald Trump can't be anti-semitic because he has family members who are Jewish is simply false.
And no answer again regarding Hitler's family. You are suggesting that there is doubt about whether Ivanka is Jewish. What standard of Hitler's race laws did you apply to reach this conclusion? How about Trump's grandchildren? Are they Jewish enough to satisfy you?
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And no answer again regarding Hitler's family. You are suggesting that there is doubt about whether Ivanka is Jewish. What standard of Hitler's race laws did you apply to reach this conclusion? How about Trump's grandchildren? Are they Jewish enough to satisfy you?
The main point is that your claim that Donald Trump can't be anti-semitic because he has family members who are Jewish is simply false.
You will not divert attention away from that by trying to discuss Hitler's family or Ivanka and her children.
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The main point is that your claim that Donald Trump can't be anti-semitic because he has family members who are Jewish is simply false.
You will not divert attention away from that by trying to discuss Hitler's family or Ivanka and her children.
Again;, I didn't make that claim. I noted that Trump had a Jewish daughter and grandchildren as one factor that lends itself toward him not being anti-Semitic. Having immediate family members who are Jewish is relevant to the discussion. There are also others that I noted including Trump's strong support of Israel as president. And his ongoing support for them in contrast to the radical Dems. You interjected the claims about Hitler's family (which were false) and Ivanka (which are racist). If they are not relevant, then blame yourself.
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Again;, I didn't make that claim. I noted that Trump had a Jewish daughter and grandchildren as one factor that lends itself toward him not being anti-Semitic. Having immediate family members who are Jewish is relevant to the discussion. There are also others that I noted including Trump's strong support of Israel as president. And his ongoing support for them in contrast to the radical Dems. You interjected the claims about Hitler's family (which were false) and Ivanka (which are racist). If they are not relevant, then blame yourself.
I noted that Trump had a Jewish daughter and grandchildren as one factor that lends itself toward him not being anti-Semitic.
Semantics.
The only reason for bringing up his Jewish daughter and grandchildren in the first place was to support your opinion that Trump isn't anti-Semitic.
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I noted that Trump had a Jewish daughter and grandchildren as one factor that lends itself toward him not being anti-Semitic.
Semantics.
The only reason for bringing up his Jewish daughter and grandchildren in the first place was to support your opinion that Trump isn't anti-Semitic.
That's correct! You might be learning something. This does "support" the fact in question. Having an immediate Jewish family member such as a daughter and grandchildren who are Jewish obviously lends itself to that individual not being anti-Semitic. Or do you think Trump hates his own daughter and grandchildren? That fact alone may not be definitive or universal in every instance but lends itself to the conclusion that Trump is not anti-Semitic. And, more importantly, it is not the ONLY reason for reaching that conclusion in Trump's case. His record of support for Israel is definitive of the fact. This logic appears to evade you. There is zero as in no evidence that he is anti-Semitic. In contrast, you interjected the false claim that Hitler had a Jewish family member and then refused to name this person or correct this falsehood. You also implied that Ivanka was not really Jewish because she had converted to Judaism. A racist argument. Who are the anti-Semites? The violent, radical protestors who are advocated "from the river to sea." These people are violent leftist Dems.
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That's correct! You might be learning something. This does "support" the fact in question. Having an immediate Jewish family member such as a daughter and grandchildren who are Jewish obviously lends itself to that individual not being anti-Semitic. Or do you think Trump hates his own daughter and grandchildren? That fact alone may not be definitive or universal in every instance but lends itself to the conclusion that Trump is not anti-Semitic. And, more importantly, it is not the ONLY reason for reaching that conclusion in Trump's case. His record of support for Israel is definitive of the fact. This logic appears to evade you. There is zero as in no evidence that he is anti-Semitic. In contrast, you interjected the false claim that Hitler had a Jewish family member and then refused to name this person or correct this falsehood. You also implied that Ivanka was not really Jewish because she had converted to Judaism. A racist argument. Who are the anti-Semites? The violent, radical protestors who are advocated "from the river to sea." These people are violent leftist Dems.
This does "support" the fact in question. Having an immediate Jewish family member such as a daughter and grandchildren who are Jewish obviously lends itself to that individual not being anti-Semitic.
Absolute BS.
This logic appears to evade you.
It isn't logic at all. If anything it's a demonstration of a complete lack of realism. An anti-Semitic person doesn't become a non anti-Semitic person just because his daughter converts to the faith and marries a Jew.
There is zero as in no evidence that he is anti-Semitic.
This coming from the same person who claims Trump was the best President the country has ever had, is yet only one more clear demonstration of just how brainwashed you are.
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This does "support" the fact in question. Having an immediate Jewish family member such as a daughter and grandchildren who are Jewish obviously lends itself to that individual not being anti-Semitic.
Absolute BS.
This logic appears to evade you.
It isn't logic at all. If anything it's a demonstration of a complete lack of realism. An anti-Semitic person doesn't become a non anti-Semitic person just because his daughter converts to the faith and marries a Jew.
There is zero as in no evidence that he is anti-Semitic.
This coming from the same person who claims Trump was the best President the country has ever had, is yet only one more clear demonstration of just how brainwashed you are.
So no evidence that Trump is anti-Semitic. You disregard the fact that his own daughter and grandchildren are Jewish (interjecting the racist reference again that Ivanka "converted" and is not actually a real Jew). You disregard his strong support of Israel while President. You made a false claim that Hitler had family members who were Jewish but fail to acknowledge that falsehood. Meanwhile, you ignore the mobs of anti-Semitic leftists who are chanting "from the river to the sea" advocating the destruction of Israel. Nothing to see there. They are apparently not anti-Semitic despite advocating the destruction of Israel. But Trump is the bad guy. Laughable.
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So no evidence that Trump is anti-Semitic. You disregard the fact that his own daughter and grandchildren are Jewish (interjecting the racist reference again that Ivanka "converted" and is not actually a real Jew). You disregard his strong support of Israel while President. You made a false claim that Hitler had family members who were Jewish but fail to acknowledge that falsehood. Meanwhile, you ignore the mobs of anti-Semitic leftists who are chanting "from the river to the sea" advocating the destruction of Israel. Nothing to see there. They are apparently not anti-Semitic despite advocating the destruction of Israel. But Trump is the bad guy. Laughable.
So no evidence that Trump is anti-Semitic.
Your ignorance is on full display.
You've clearly not understood when I told you to consider my last name, so let me help you. My family is Jewish, I'm only 50% Jewish because only one of my parents is Jewish.
So, I don't need a die-hard cult member to tell me that Trump isn't anti-semitic when he clearly is.
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So no evidence that Trump is anti-Semitic.
Your ignorance is on full display.
You've clearly not understood when I told you to consider my last name, so let me help you. My family is Jewish, I'm only 50% Jewish because only one of my parents is Jewish.
So, I don't need a die-hard cult member to tell me that Trump isn't anti-semitic when he clearly is.
But again, no evidence.
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But again, no evidence.
The evidence is everywhere. All you need to do to see it is open your eyes
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The evidence is everywhere. All you need to do to see it is open your eyes
Should be easy to name a couple things then since this is your claim.
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Should be easy to name a couple things then since this is your claim.
I will do so, as soon as you provide evidence for your claim that Oswald came down the stairs of the TSBD, not seen or noticed by anybody, within 75 seconds of the shots fired at Dealey Plaza. Fair enough?
For now I will just say that the best evidence for Trump being anti-semitic is that he is anti-semitic
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For now I will just say that the best evidence for Trump being anti-semitic is that he is anti-semitic
It's laughable but amusing to watch you make claim after claim but then refuse to provide even a single example to support it. The best evidence "[f]or now" is that Trump is anti-Semitic because he is anti-Semitic. HA HA HA HA HA HA. That is comedy gold. You said that the evidence is "everywhere." Why hold out on us? Everywhere apparently doesn't include this forum since you have refused to cite a single example. Not one. I've provided several reasons to conclude that Trump is not anti-Semitic includig the fact that his own daughter and grandchildren are Jewish and his record as President of strongly supporting Israel. How about you condemn the actual anti-Semites for once. The violent leftist radicals who are rioting with the support of many Dems and advocating the destruction of Israel? Nothing to see there? You interjected that Hitler had a family member who was Jewish but now refuse to name this person and dismiss the claim as not relevant as though you were not the person who raised it. Admit that is false or name someone.
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It's laughable but amusing to watch you make claim after claim but then refuse to provide even a single example to support it. The best evidence "[f]or now" is that Trump is anti-Semitic because he is anti-Semitic. HA HA HA HA HA HA. That is comedy gold. You said that the evidence is "everywhere." Why hold out on us? Everywhere apparently doesn't include this forum since you have refused to cite a single example. Not one. I've provided several reasons to conclude that Trump is not anti-Semitic includig the fact that his own daughter and grandchildren are Jewish and his record as President of strongly supporting Israel. How about you condemn the actual anti-Semites for once. The violent leftist radicals who are rioting with the support of many Dems and advocating the destruction of Israel? Nothing to see there? You interjected that Hitler had a family member who was Jewish but now refuse to name this person and dismiss the claim as not relevant as though you were not the person who raised it. Admit that is false or name someone.
It's laughable but amusing to watch you make claim after claim but then refuse to provide even a single example to support it.
Looking in the mirror when you wrote that, were you?
The best evidence "[f]or now" is that Trump is anti-Semitic because he is anti-Semitic. HA HA HA HA HA HA. That is comedy gold.
"The best evidence that Oswald came down the stairs, without being seen by anyone, within 75 seconds after the last shot, is that he did" - Richard Smith HA HA HA HA HA That is comedy gold.
How about you condemn the actual anti-Semites for once.
I already have
The violent leftist radicals who are rioting with the support of many Dems and advocating the destruction of Israel?
I'm not concerned with a few radical and/or misguided protesters, either left or right, who, in the bigger scheme of things won't make much difference. The real enemies of Isreal, the ones with power, don't demonstrate on the streets.
I don't know any Democrats who advocate the destruction of Isreal, but I do know some extreme right fanatics who will try to use anything they can to discredit Democrats while at the same time ignoring the cancer within their own ranks.
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It's laughable but amusing to watch you make claim after claim but then refuse to provide even a single example to support it.
Looking in the mirror when you wrote that, were you?
The best evidence "[f]or now" is that Trump is anti-Semitic because he is anti-Semitic. HA HA HA HA HA HA. That is comedy gold.
"The best evidence that Oswald came down the stairs, without being seen by anyone, within 75 seconds after the last shot, is that he did" - Richard Smith HA HA HA HA HA That is comedy gold.
How about you condemn the actual anti-Semites for once.
I already have
The violent leftist radicals who are rioting with the support of many Dems and advocating the destruction of Israel?
I'm not concerned with a few radical and/or misguided protesters, either left or right, who, in the bigger scheme of things won't make much difference. The real enemies of Isreal, the ones with power, don't demonstrate on the streets.
I don't know any Democrats who advocate the destruction of Isreal, but I do know some extreme right fanatics who will try to use anything they can to discredit Democrats while at the same time ignoring the cancer within their own ranks.
So again no evidence that Trump is anti-Semitic and no name of Hitler's family member who was Jewish. A "few radical and misguided persons"? HA HA HA HA HA HA. Is that how you characterized Jan. 6 protestors? Of course not. There are tens of thousands of violent Dems rioting and attacking police officers around the US in an effort to end support of Israel. In fact, they want to destroy Israel and erase it from the map. But Trump is the anti-Semite for some unspecified reason despite his 100% support of Israel. Unreal.
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So again no evidence that Trump is anti-Semitic and no name of Hitler's family member who was Jewish. A "few radical and misguided persons"? HA HA HA HA HA HA. Is that how you characterized Jan. 6 protestors? Of course not. There are tens of thousands of violent Dems rioting and attacking police officers around the US in an effort to end support of Israel. In fact, they want to destroy Israel and erase it from the map. But Trump is the anti-Semite for some unspecified reason despite his 100% support of Israel. Unreal.
So again no evidence that Trump is anti-Semitic and no name of Hitler's family member who was Jewish.
I just read the last pages re this issue and it's sad to see Weidmann is up to his old tricks, the way he argues is so juvenile. I would like to know his facts but instead as usual, the clearly clueless Weidmann just wants the attention, very bizarre.
I also like how he justifies his Trump accusation because he's only half Jewish because one of his parents is Jewish but his family is Jewish?, Okay? And besides yet another convenient self serving anecdote, what does Weidmann's heritage have to do with the price of fish?
JohnM
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I just read the last pages re this issue and it's sad to see Weidmann is up to his old tricks, the way he argues is so juvenile. I would like to know his facts but instead as usual, the clearly clueless Weidmann just wants the attention, very bizarre.
I also like how he justifies his Trump accusation because he's only half Jewish because one of his parents is Jewish but his family is Jewish?, Okay? And besides yet another convenient self serving anecdote, what does Weidmann's heritage have to do with the price of fish?
JohnM
Thanks for confirming once again that I still live in your head rent free :D
And besides yet another convenient self serving anecdote, what does Weidmann's heritage have to do with the price of fish?
Just as much as Ivanka Trump's conversion to Judaism has anything to do with Donald Trump being a Hezbollah praising anti-semitic.
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I just read the last pages re this issue and it's sad to see Weidmann is up to his old tricks, the way he argues is so juvenile. I would like to know his facts but instead as usual, the clearly clueless Weidmann just wants the attention, very bizarre.
I also like how he justifies his Trump accusation because he's only half Jewish because one of his parents is Jewish but his family is Jewish?, Okay? And besides yet another convenient self serving anecdote, what does Weidmann's heritage have to do with the price of fish?
JohnM
Yes, it is bizarre. He has claimed that Hitler had family members who were Jewish to rebut the argument that one reason to conclude that Trump is not an anti-Semite is because he has immediate family members who are Jewish. But then he refuses to name the member of Hitler's family who was Jewish by suggesting that his own claim is not relevant. LOL. He claims that the evidence of Trump being an anti-Semite is "everywhere" but won't cite a single example. Instead he makes the inane circular argument that Trump is an ant-Semite because he is an anti-Semite. He suggests that Trump is worse than Hitler by stating that Hitler would be the one insulted by the comparison. He implies that someone who converts to Judaism is not really a Jew. A litany of false, idiotic, and racist claims.
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Yes, it is bizarre. He has claimed that Hitler had family members who were Jewish to rebut the argument that one reason to conclude that Trump is not an anti-Semite is because he has immediate family members who are Jewish. But then he refuses to name the member of Hitler's family who was Jewish by suggesting that his own claim is not relevant. LOL. He claims that the evidence of Trump being an anti-Semite is "everywhere" but won't cite a single example. Instead he makes the inane circular argument that Trump is an ant-Semite because he is an anti-Semite. He suggests that Trump is worse than Hitler by stating that Hitler would be the one insulted by the comparison. He implies that someone who converts to Judaism is not really a Jew. A litany of false, idiotic, and racist claims.
Shall I get Mytton and you some coffee (or something stronger) to go along with your "conversation"?
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Shall I get Mytton and you some coffee (or something stronger) to go along with your "conversation"?
I gave you many chances to engage in a "conversation," but you are just deflecting down the rabbit hole once again with bizarre nonsense like the post above. It is really weird that you interject yourself into this discussion, make several false and racist claims, and then refuse to support any of them.
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I gave you many chances to engage in a "conversation," but you are just deflecting down the rabbit hole once again with bizarre nonsense like the post above. It is really weird that you interject yourself into this discussion, make several false and racist claims, and then refuse to support any of them.
I gave you many chances to engage in a "conversation,"
You don't even know what the word "conversation" means...
It is really weird that you interject yourself into this discussion,
What discussion would that be? Since august, when Rick Plant gave up talking to you, this entire thread is nothing more than you spewing propaganda and utter nonsense. If I didn't post once in a while you'd be talking to yourself all the time.
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I gave you many chances to engage in a "conversation,"
You don't even know what the word "conversation" means...
It is really weird that you interject yourself into this discussion,
What discussion would that be? Since august, when Rick Plant gave up talking to you, this entire thread is nothing more than you spewing propaganda and utter nonsense. If I didn't post once in a while you'd be talking to yourself all the time.
How long can you extend this without making a single substantive point that is relevant to the topic? Here are the relevant topics in response to your racist and anti-Semitic claims:
Martin claim: Hitler had family members who were Jewish.
Proof: None.
Martin claim: Ivanka is not Jewish enough to count as a Jewish daughter since she converted.
Proof: None.
Martin claim: Trump is an anti-Semite despite having a daughter and grandchildren who are Jewish and being a strong supporter of Israel during his presidency.
Proof: None. Bizarre statement that Trump is anti-Semitic because he is anti-Semitic and the proof is "everywhere" while refusing to provide a single example.
Martin claim: That Hitler should be the person offended in a comparison to Trump implying that Hitler was not as bad as Trump.
Proof: None. Hitler killed millions of Jews in the Holocaust. No evidence at all was provided that Trump was anti-Semitic. Your statement is despicable and shameful.
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How long can you extend this without making a single substantive point that is relevant to the topic? Here are the relevant topics in response to your racist and anti-Semitic claims:
Martin claim: Hitler had family members who were Jewish.
Proof: None.
Martin claim: Ivanka is not Jewish enough to count as a Jewish daughter since she converted.
Proof: None.
Martin claim: Trump is an anti-Semite despite having a daughter and grandchildren who are Jewish and being a strong supporter of Israel during his presidency.
Proof: None. Bizarre statement that Trump is anti-Semitic because he is anti-Semitic and the proof is "everywhere" while refusing to provide a single example.
Martin claim: That Hitler should be the person offended in a comparison to Trump implying that Hitler was not as bad as Trump.
Proof: None. Hitler killed millions of Jews in the Holocaust. No evidence at all was provided that Trump was anti-Semitic. Your statement is despicable and shameful.
How long can you extend this without making a single substantive point that is relevant to the topic?
What topic?
Here are the relevant topics in response to your racist and anti-Semitic claims:
So, now you decide what is relevant?
And where did you get the false notion that I am racist (when race hasn't been discussed at all) and anti-Semitic, when I am part-Jewish by blood (and not the non-Jewish father of a daughter who converted)? You clearly do not know what you are talking about.
In a conversation it is custom that you listen and try to understand what the other person is saying. You never do and/or can't and constantly misrepresent what has been said.
I have already told you that I have no intention to enter into a discussion with you about Hitler, so you can divert attention away from Trump.
Trump praised the terrorists of Hezbollah, who only have one purpose; the elimination of Isreal and the Jews.... Very odd behavior for somebody who is supposed to be not anti-Semitic.
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How long can you extend this without making a single substantive point that is relevant to the topic?
What topic?
Here are the relevant topics in response to your racist and anti-Semitic claims:
So, now you decide what is relevant?
And where did you get the false notion that I am racist (when race hasn't been discussed at all) and anti-Semitic, when I am part-Jewish by blood (and not the non-Jewish father of a daughter who converted)? You clearly do not know what you are talking about.
In a conversation it is custom that you listen and try to understand what the other person is saying. You never do and/or can't and constantly misrepresent what has been said.
I have already told you that I have no intention to enter into a discussion with you about Hitler, so you can divert attention away from Trump.
Trump praised the terrorists of Hezbollah, who only have one purpose; the elimination of Isreal and the Jews.... Very odd behavior for somebody who is supposed to be not anti-Semitic.
Having been given numerous opportunities to have a rational discussion and declining to respond to the points that he raised including Hitler, Martin goes on the ignore list with his contrarian brethren. Adios.
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Magnificent poll numbers for Trump as Old Joe continues to decline according to Politico this week. The bottom is dropping out for Ukraine Joe. Sometime before the end of this year, he will announce that he is not running in 2024 unless he is in full blown dementia.
"The polls keep getting worse for Biden
Trump’s vote share in national polls is higher than at any time in the past year."
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Having been given numerous opportunities to have a rational discussion and declining to respond to the points that he raised including Hitler, Martin goes on the ignore list with his contrarian brethren. Adios.
Run little man... run
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Every new day is one day closer to the end of Biden's disastrous presidency. The poll numbers are crushing. Newsom is circling like a vulture. Old Joe is begging forgiveness from the terrorists and sending millions to those who support them in Iran. Meanwhile they are attacking US troops and ships on a daily basis with no response. Weak and incompetent. Ukraine Joe makes Jimmy Carter look good. Expect Sleepy Joe to announce in the coming weeks that he is done. He will use the mission accomplished and now wants to spend more time with his family excuse.
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Gavin Newsom is circling Old Joe like a vulture just waiting for the end. He is not running, though. Just ask him. Only having debates and visiting China like someone who wants to be president. I wonder if that Chinese kid who he steamrolled while playing basketball is out of the hospital. What a fool. And more dangerous than Ukraine Joe because he actually has some of his marbles. He is complete fraud. The American version of Trudeau. Trying to convince people that a rich white guy of privilege is the champion of teh marginalized communities. He ran against a self-made republican who was African American and convinced many Californians that the black candidate was a white supremacist. You can't make that up.
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Old Joe has broken another record as president. Most illegal aliens to cross the border in a single day. It's now up to 12K per DAY. That's almost 400K per MONTH. Many are them are from China, Africa, and the Middle East. That would mean 5 million more illegals in the next year. On top of the 5 million or so who have already crossed. How committed are the Dems to the open border policy? They have refused to even compromise in exchange for funding of their beloved endless war in Ukraine. They would rather see Ukraine overrun by Russia than implement any new border security measures in the US. Why would that be? Why do they consider this to be so important to them?
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Of all the insane, baseless conspiracy theories espoused about Trump including the "Russian collusion" lie, perhaps none is as laughable as the current talking point that the leftist media has conjured up. Trump will be a "dictator" if elected in 2024. Cue spooky music. Repeat endlessly. Of course, Trump has already been president and did not declare himself a dictator. He is also in his late 70s. How long could this dictatorship last? What does it even mean in this context? Does it mean to use the legal system to indict your political opponents? Suppress speech on social media? Conspire with the media to promote desirable narratives? Take bribe money from foreign government and use your political influence to avoid jail? Open the border to flood the country with millions of unknown illegal aliens in violation of the law hoping that they are future voters for your party? Change the election laws in almost every state in the weeks leading up to the election in a way that is most favorable, and win based on the margins of those changes? Those all sound like things dictators might do if in power. And it does sound familiar, but Trump did none of those things.
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87 attacks and counting on US troops and ships in the past month. And Old Joe has done nothing. Weak and incompetent. If this was happening under Trump, the press would be running it nonstop. But they are burying the story the same way they buried the story of Dirty Hunter's indictments.
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Of all the insane, baseless conspiracy theories espoused about Trump including the "Russian collusion" lie, perhaps none is as laughable as the current talking point that the leftist media has conjured up. Trump will be a "dictator" if elected in 2024. Cue spooky music. Repeat endlessly. Of course, Trump has already been president and did not declare himself a dictator. He is also in his late 70s. How long could this dictatorship last? What does it even mean in this context? Does it mean to use the legal system to indict your political opponents? Suppress speech on social media? Conspire with the media to promote desirable narratives? Take bribe money from foreign government and use your political influence to avoid jail? Open the border to flood the country with millions of unknown illegal aliens in violation of the law hoping that they are future voters for your party? Change the election laws in almost every state in the weeks leading up to the election in a way that is most favorable, and win based on the margins of those changes? Those all sound like things dictators might do if in power. And it does sound familiar, but Trump did none of those things.
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1734608836378480883
McGovern: "We are here because the insurrection did not succeed on January 6, and this is about finishing the job. So let's not kid ourselves that Donald Trump doesn't play a role here."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_McGovern_(American_politician)
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https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1734608836378480883
McGovern: "We are here because the insurrection did not succeed on January 6, and this is about finishing the job. So let's not kid ourselves that Donald Trump doesn't play a role here."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_McGovern_(American_politician)
A Trump hating Dem is spreading the conspiracy narrative? Shocking. Who is using the legal system to lock up political opponents? Who censored speech on social media and fed false narratives to the mass media outlets? Who changed the laws in almost state just before the election in a way that decided the outcome? Trump? No. Old Joe did that. All while his family was enriching itself to the tune of tens of millions in foreign influence peddling schemes. And paying no taxes.
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A Trump hating Dem is spreading the conspiracy narrative? Shocking. Who is using the legal system to lock up political opponents? Who censored speech on social media and fed false narratives to the mass media outlets? Who changed the laws in almost state just before the election in a way that decided the outcome? Trump? No. Old Joe did that. All while his family was enriching itself to the tune of tens of millions in foreign influence peddling schemes. And paying no taxes.
So far the party political propaganda, next.... the real news
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Endless war rages on with no solution or even a process for ending them. Old Joe isn't even trying. He is making the US military contractors rich. He is concerned about Israel being too tough on Hamas. LOL. Endless war in Ukraine is fine with him, though. Hopefully Jewish voters remember the betrayal by Ukraine Joe and the Dems in the upcoming election. The leftists radicals have been exposed as anti-Semite hypocrites calling for genocide at universities with no repercussions or condemnation by Sleepy Joe. He is apparently fine with calling for mass murder. Just don't misgender anyone.
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A Trump hating Dem is spreading the conspiracy narrative? Shocking. Who is using the legal system to lock up political opponents? Who censored speech on social media and fed false narratives to the mass media outlets? Who changed the laws in almost state just before the election in a way that decided the outcome? Trump? No. Old Joe did that. All while his family was enriching itself to the tune of tens of millions in foreign influence peddling schemes. And paying no taxes.
In the last 20 min.... (BTW Richard, at this late date, your post is full of Trump's claims. Aren't 92 felony counts enough to give you pause?)
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1734971981491995093
Aaron Rupar
@atrupar
·
16m
Amazing. Chuck Grassley admits "I have no evidence ... the fact haven't taken me to that point where I can say the president is guilty of anything."
Following up from my post yesterday, closing remarks of "Trump hating," Rep. McGovern. Watch the brief video,
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1734681409996878116
McGovern's closing remarks: "When it comes right down to it, this absurd impeachment process inquiry has nothing to do with the integrity of President Biden, and it has everything to do with the lack of integrity in the Republican Party."
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In the last 20 min.... (BTW Richard, at this late date, your post is full of Trump's claims. Aren't 92 felony counts enough to give you pause?)
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1734971981491995093
Aaron Rupar
@atrupar
·
16m
Amazing. Chuck Grassley admits "I have no evidence ... the fact haven't taken me to that point where I can say the president is guilty of anything."
Following up from my post yesterday, closing remarks of "Trump hating," Rep. McGovern. Watch the brief video,
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1734681409996878116
McGovern's closing remarks: "When it comes right down to it, this absurd impeachment process inquiry has nothing to do with the integrity of President Biden, and it has everything to do with the lack of integrity in the Republican Party."
Can't decipher that but the use of the legal system to prosecute your political opponents is exactly the sort of thing that a dictator would do. Putin and Biden do that. Doesn't that give you pause as to who is the dictator? Trump was already president. He did not prosecute anyone. He did not change the election laws in the weeks leading up to the election to win in such a way as to ensure his election. He did not censor speech. Any of that sound familar?
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Can't decipher that but the use of the legal system to prosecute your political opponents is exactly the sort of thing that a dictator would do. Putin and Biden do that. Doesn't that give you pause as to who is the dictator? Trump was already president. He did not prosecute anyone. He did not change the election laws in the weeks leading up to the election to win in such a way as to ensure his election. He did not censor speech. Any of that sound familar?
All of the damage Trump has already done, continues to do, threatens to do in the future, and what instead triggers you, is it 92 felony counts in four indictments and in a superseding indictment? Of course not! Your outrage is directed at Hunter Biden, who has never served in government and who Trump attempted to "shake down" President Zelenskyy into publicly and internationally discredit, in exchange for funds congress had appropriated as non-lethal assistance in Zelenskyy's government's armed resistance to Putin's invsion and occupation of eastern Ukraine the size of Texas, resulting in Trump's first impeachment.
Nixon and Trump are the only contemporary POTUSes on record attempting to prosecute or, for example "sic" the IRS on perceived political enemies.
You are projecting this, my easily supported argument. If you disagree, post examples of Joe Biden publicly calling for prosecution of specific political opponents.
Good luck!
https://www.emptywheel.net/2023/12/14/garanimals-in-a-scif-david-weiss-attempt-to-sheep-dip-bill-barrs-hunter-biden-prosecution/
December 14, 2023
"On July 11, 2023, David Weiss’ First AUSA Shannon Hanson responded to an inquiry from Judge Maryanne Noreika’s courtroom deputy, Mark Buckson. He wanted to know when “the final versions of the documents” pertaining to the Hunter Biden plea deal would be completed. Hanson responded within five minutes. Before she explained that she didn’t know when they’d have the final documents, but hoped to have them to Judge Noreika by Thursday (so July 13), she described that, “I will be speaking with the team later today (I understand they are in a secure location and cannot readily be contacted at the moment.”
Hanson was describing “the team” — she had cc’ed Delaware AUSA Benjamin Wallace and Baltimore AUSAs Leo Wise and Derek Hines — as something of which she was not a part. And she was describing that team as being in a SCIF.
Hunter Biden’s attorneys included the email with their motion to dismiss based on an argument that the diversion agreement Hunter signed prohibits the indictment charging him with three gun charges. The email shows that the final documents filed with the court on July 20, by Wallace, had just one change from the version submitted on June 8, by Hanson. Wallace explained:
The parties and Probation have agreed to revisions to the diversion agreement to more closely match the conditions of pretrial release that Probation recommended in the pretrial services report issued yesterday.
Hunter’s team submitted it to show that, following the Probation Office’s recommendation of Hunter for diversion on July 19, the parties submitted it as a finished agreement.
This motion makes a strong argument that the government entered into an agreement with Hunter for which he sacrificed his rights — including by allocuting to the facts regarding the gun purchase — and therefore must honor the contractual protections it offered to get Hunter to sacrifice those rights.
.....
....Ziegler made that comment on June 1. And he was right, at that point — as he sat in a room making claims about Lesley Wolf’s conduct that documents he himself released almost four months later would substantially debunk — that “they” had not yet “removed all the prosecutors.” But they would, within days.
As Chris Clark described in his declaration describing plea negotiations, that same day, June 1, Lesley Wolf invited Clark to come to the US Attorney’s Office the next day to work on the plea agreement, in part so they could share language with David Weiss in real time.
QUOTE 20. On June 1, 2023, AUSA Wolf sent me an email inviting me to meet at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Wilmington on June 2 to work together on the agreements’ specific language and provisions. The idea was for the AUSAs and defense counsel to be in the same room with access to U.S. Attorney Weiss, so that the terms could be worked out. A true and correct copy of AUSA Wolf’s June 1, 2023, email to Chris Clark is attached hereto as Exhibit H.
21. On June 2, 2023, co-counsel Matthew Salerno and I went to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Wilmington, where the USAO presented us with its draft of a new Diversion Agreement, along with a draft Plea Agreement. This was the first time that we had seen the USAO’s draft Agreements. Each draft Agreement was accompanied by a broad and lengthy Statement of Facts, each of which had been drafted solely by the USAO in advance of the June 2 meeting. At this meeting, AUSA Wolf expressed the view that it was in Mr. Biden’s interest to have broad Statements of Facts included because the scope of immunity (under Paragraph 15 of the Diversion Agreement) would be tied to the Statements of Facts. The Agreement included a more limited immunity provision than I had discussed with AUSA Wolf or that Mr. Biden would accept. Among the revisions, during or shortly after that June 2 meeting, references to tax liability for years 2016 and 2019 were specifically added to the Plea Agreement’s Statement of Facts.
22. The AUSAs and we took turns working on the specific language of each Agreement—with AUSA Wolf running the changes by Office leadership, including U.S. Attorney Weiss. No final agreement was reached that day, and the meeting concluded with the AUSAs agreeing that the USAO would work on composing acceptable language on an immunity provision.
23. That same evening (Friday June 2), at or around 9:43 PM EST, I emailed AUSA Wolf, copying my co-counsel, and proposed one revision to Paragraph 15 of the Diversion Agreement (the provision governing immunity): that Paragraph 15 provide that “The United States agrees not to criminally prosecute Biden, outside the terms of this Agreement, for any federal crimes arising from the conduct generally described in the attached Statement of Facts (attachment A) and the Statement of Facts attached as Exhibit 1 to the Memorandum of Plea Agreement filed this same day.” (Emphasis added.) In the email, I advised AUSA Wolf that it was “very critical for us” that the Diversion Agreement include “[t]his language or its functional equivalent.” A true and correct copy of Chris Clark’s June 2, 2023, email to AUSA Wolf, copying co-counsel, is attached hereto as Exhibit I. [emphasis original] END QUOTE
Wolf was still on the team when — after Clark spoke with Weiss directly on June 6 about the importance of protecting Hunter from any further legal exposure — she sent Clark new language seemingly addressing Clark’s concerns about the immunity language.
QUOTE 28. After extensive discussion with AUSA Wolf in which she repeatedly stated that U.S. Attorney Weiss was unwilling to revise the language of the Agreement’s immunity provision, I conveyed that if this language could not be revised, we would not have a deal and that it was the most important term in the Agreement that Mr. Biden get finality. Accordingly, I requested to speak directly with U.S. Attorney Weiss, whom I was told was the person deciding the issues of the Agreement. Later that afternoon, on June 6, 2023, I spoke directly with U.S. Attorney Weiss. During that call, I conveyed to U.S. Attorney Weiss that the Agreement’s immunity provision must ensure Mr. Biden that there would be finality and closure of this investigation, as I had conveyed repeatedly to AUSA Wolf during our negotiations. I further conveyed to U.S. Attorney Weiss that this provision was a deal-breaker. I noted that U.S. Attorney Weiss had changed the deal several times heretofore, and that I simply could not have this issue be yet another one which Mr. Biden had to compromise. The U.S. Attorney asked me what the problem was with the proposed language, and I explained that the immunity provision must protect Mr. Biden from any future prosecution by a new U.S. Attorney in a different administration. The U.S. Attorney considered the proposal and stated that he would get back to me promptly.
29. Later that same evening on June 6, 2023, at or around 5:47 PM EST, AUSA Wolf emailed me proposed language for the immunity provision that read: “How about this- The United States agrees not to criminally prosecute Biden, outside of the terms of this Agreement, for any federal crimes encompassed by the attached Statement of Facts (Attachment A) and the Statement of Facts attached as Exhibit 1 to the Memorandum of Plea Agreement filed this same day.” (Emphasis in original.) After speaking with Mr. Biden, I responded to AUSA Wolf that the language she sent me “works” and is suitable for Mr. Biden as well, at which point the Parties had a deal. A true and correct and correct copy of AUSA Wolf’s June 6, 2023, email to Chris Clark is attached hereto as Exhibit K. [all emphasis in Clark’s declaration]
END QUOTE
And Wolf was still on the team on June 8, the day when the documents were first filed with the court.
That is, Wolf was still on the team when Jim Jordan and Bill Barr had already intervened (https://www.emptywheel.net/2023/11/20/david-weiss-fbi-fara-headfake-to-create-a-hunter-biden-tax-mulligan/) in the case.
Wolf was still on the prosecutorial team — and negotiating a plea deal that would have ruled out FARA charges — on June 7.
That’s the same day Weiss sent the first response, to a May 25 letter Jim Jordan sent Merrick Garland about the IRS agents’ complaints of being removed from the investigation. In it, he cited Rod Rosenstein’s explanation to Chuck Grassley in 2018 how congressional interference might politicize an investigation (in that case, the Mueller investigation).
The information sought by the Committee concerns an open matter about which the Department is not at liberty to respond. As then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wrote in 2018 in response to a request for information from the Honorable Charles Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary:
Congressional inquiries during the pendency of a matter pose an inherent threat to the integrity of the Department’s law enforcement and litigation functions. Such inquiries inescapably create the risk that the public and the courts will perceive undue political and Congressional influence over law enforcement and litigation decision.
[snip]
Weiss might claim that he replaced Wolf with Wise and in the process had Wise reassess the prior prosecutorial decisions. But, given the date of that letter, there was never a moment he had done so before the political pressure started. David Weiss cannot claim he did so before being pressured by Jim Jordan.
And Jordan’s letter wasn’t the only political pressure. On the same day that Weiss said he couldn’t share information — the likes of which Shapley had already started sharing — because it might politicize an ongoing investigation, Bill Barr (one of the people Lowell wants to subpoena) publicly intervened in the case, insisting the FD-1023 recording Mykola Zlochevsky making a new allegation of bribery had been a live investigative lead when it was shared with Weiss in October 2020, the FD-1023 Weiss specifically said he could not address because it was part of an ongoing investigation.
On a day when Lesley Wolf remained on the case, both Jordan and Barr had already intervened. And because there was never a time that Weiss had replaced Wolf with Wise before the political pressure started, there was little time he had done so before the physical threats followed the political pressure.
But June 8 — the day the plea deal first got shared with the court — was the last day that Lesley Wolf shows up in Clark’s timeline.
She wasn’t removed for misconduct. In his testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, Weiss agreed that Wolf, “did her work on the Hunter Biden matter in a professional and unbiased manner without partisan or political considerations.” He said,
I believe she did. As I said, she served the Department for more than 16 years, and I believe her to be a prosecutor with integrity.
But per Michael Batdorf, she was, nevertheless, replaced.
On June 19, Principal Senior Assistant Special Counsel Leo Wise made his first appearance. Joseph Ziegler, a disgruntled IRS agent spreading false hearsay claims, succeeded in getting Wolf replaced.
That same day, June 19, Hanson requested that Clark modify the statement he was going to release. But, in a phone call, she told him that there was no pending investigation against Hunter Biden.
QUOTE 35. On June 19, 2023, at 2:53 PM EST, after I had a phone call with AUSA Hanson indicating I would do so, I emailed AUSA Hanson a proposed press statement to accompany the public release of both Informations that read, in part, “I can confirm that the five-year long, extensive federal investigation into my client, Hunter Biden, has been concluded through agreements with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware.” (Emphases added.) A true and correct copy of Chris Clark’s June 19, 2023, email to AUSA Hanson is attached hereto as Exhibit P.
36. Shortly after that email, I had another phone call with AUSA Hanson, during which AUSA Hanson requested that the language of Mr. Biden’s press statement be slightly revised. She proposed saying that the investigation would be “resolved” rather than “concluded.” I then asked her directly whether there was any other open or pending investigation of Mr. Biden overseen by the Delaware U.S. Attorney’s Office, and she responded there was not another open or pending investigation. Thereafter, at 4:18 PM EST that day, I sent AUSA Hanson a revised statement that read: “With the announcement of two agreements between my client, Hunter Biden, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, it is my understanding that the five-year investigation into Hunter is resolved.” (Emphases added.) The new statement revised the language from “concluded” to “resolved,” a stylistic change that meant the same thing. A true and correct copy of Chris Clark’s June 19, 2023, email to AUSA Hanson is attached hereto as Exhibit Q [Clark’s italics, my bold] END QUOTE
I hope to hell Clark has notes of that conversation, because the assertion that there was no pending investigation of Hunter Biden on June 19 directly conflicts with a claim that David Weiss made to the House Judiciary Committee.
On November 7, David Weiss repeated a claim his office made when they first announced the deal: that it was ongoing. “I can say that at no time was it coming to a close,” Weiss told the House Judiciary Committee. “I think, as I stated in the one statement I made at the time … the investigation was continuing. So it wasn’t ending there in any event.”
That is, Weiss’ First AUSA, Shannon Hanson, allegedly told Clark something that directly conflicts with something Weiss said to Congress.
That may be why Abbe Lowell, while arguing that no hearing is necessary to dismiss the indictment based on the contract that existed between the government and Hunter Biden, said that if Judge Noreika thinks she does need a hearing, then to please have David Weiss prepared to testify as a witness.
If the Court believes that parol evidence should be considered, Mr. Biden requests an evidentiary hearing in which all participants in the negotiation of the Diversion Agreement, including Mr. Weiss and the responsible members of his prosecution team, can be called as witnesses to address the extensive recapitulation provided in Mr. Clark’s Declaration.
It’s going to be a lot harder for Weiss to claim that US Attorneys-turned-Special Counsels can’t testify when he was willing to testify to Congress.
This is undoubtedly why Lowell asked to be able to subpoena Bill Barr’s communications, through the present, about the Hunter Biden investigation — a version of which he made in formal discovery as well (Lowell also noted Barr’s recent comments on the investigation in the selective and vindictive prosecution MTD). Because Bill Barr intervened in this case before such time as Wolf was apparently removed and replaced by Principal Senior Assistant Special Counsel Leo Wise. Barr intervened publicly, and given Wise’s concerns about DOJ materials in the possession of former DOJ employees in his response to that subpoena request, it seems acutely likely that Weiss recognizes that Barr intervened in a way that shared privileged information...."
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What a rambling rant. Bottom line. Dictators do things like: 1) use the legal system to imprison their political opponents; 2) change election laws in ways that ensure their election; 3) suppress free speech; Who has done these things?
Putin - check
Stalin - check
Biden - big check on that one
Trump - no. He was president and voluntarily left office after the election was legally rigged by corrupt politicians who changed the laws in almost every state in the months leading up to the election. The results prove that those changes altered the outcome of the 2020 election with Biden taking 80% or so of the votes cast using these new methods. Trump received the most votes of any incumbent President in US history. More votes than he received when he won the election in 2016 and still lost due to ballot harvesting and other methods used to bolster Biden's chances. Trump overstates this as being "stolen." The election was not stolen only because the Dems legalized what would have otherwise been considered voter fraud in the months leading up to the election. It would be like lowering the basket in an NBA game to the ground and then the shortest people win the NBA championship against the best team of NBA players.
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Old Joe continues to hound Israel about scaling down its war on terrorism while at the same time sending oceans of money to Ukraine to fund an endless war with no apparent way to end it. Hopefully Jewish voters remember the way that leftists have treated them during these last few months. The leftists have joined in calls for genocide and sided with terrorists. Meanwhile there have been nearly 100 attacks on US military targets by proxies from Iran with no response from Old Joe. He is a disgrace. There are multiple grounds for his impeachment including failure to uphold the immigration laws of the United States, taking bribes from foreign sources, allowing multiple members of his family to sell influence to foreign sources to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, and failure to defend the US military members who are in harm's way by his direction.
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Talk about a lack of confidence in Old Joe. This means that Congress - both Dems and Repubs = think Trump is winning in 2024. LOL.
"Congress this week approved a measure aimed at preventing any U.S. president from unilaterally withdrawing the United States from NATO without congressional approval."
Imagine if NATO countries were actually required to pay their fair and agreed upon share instead of the US bearing the entire burden of defending them. What a dictator Trump must be to suggest that "Europe" pay at least a very small amount for their own defense.
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Talk about a lack of confidence in Old Joe. This means that Congress - both Dems and Repubs = think Trump is winning in 2024. LOL.
"Congress this week approved a measure aimed at preventing any U.S. president from unilaterally withdrawing the United States from NATO without congressional approval."
Imagine if NATO countries were actually required to pay their fair and agreed upon share instead of the US bearing the entire burden of defending them. What a dictator Trump must be to suggest that "Europe" pay at least a very small amount for their own defense.
The difference is Trump withdrew U.S. commitment to defend NATO allies in event of attack whether they spent more on their own defense or not.
Trump can always be counted on to please Putin by stoking uncertainty and division instead of unity and resolve!
Trump pushes NATO allies to spend more, but so did Obama and Bush
CNBC
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/11/obama-and-bush-also-pressed-nato-allies-to-spend-more-on-defense.html
Jul 11, 2018 — Bush and Barack Obama regularly expressed frustration with NATO member governments for not spending more of their domestic budgets on defense.```````````````````````
https://twitter.com/johneverettcook/status/1504322888215584774
John E. Cook 💙🇺🇸🧢
@johneverettcook
·
Mar 17, 2022
Contrary to Trump's assertions, European members of NATO & Canada *increased* their defense spending in 2015 and 2016, *before* Trump took office!
Also, NATO countries don't "pay up." They pledge some % of GDP on their *own* military + a small stipend for NATO headquarters.
https://twitter.com/PFr1end/status/1459228775724507141
Paul Friend🌹Pray God saves us from liberals
@PFr1end
·
Nov 12, 2021
President Obama also urged European NATO members to contribute their full share to the alliance, saying that "Europe has sometimes been complacent about its own defense." (April 25th 2016)
Obama urges NATO members to pull their weight 15th (November 2016) https://t.co/U9QtinTMT5
Destabilizing on Putin's behalf!
Fears of a NATO Withdrawal Rise as Trump Seeks ...
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com › U.S. › Politics
Dec 9, 2023 — Mr. Trump likes to brag that he privately told leaders of NATO countries that if Russia attacked them and they had not paid the money they owed ...
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The difference is Trump withdrew U.S. commitment to defend NATO allies in event of attack whether they spent more on their own defense or not.
Trump can always be counted on to please Putin by stoking uncertainty and division instead of unity and resolve!
Trump pushes NATO allies to spend more, but so did Obama and Bush
CNBC
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/11/obama-and-bush-also-pressed-nato-allies-to-spend-more-on-defense.html
Jul 11, 2018 — Bush and Barack Obama regularly expressed frustration with NATO member governments for not spending more of their domestic budgets on defense.```````````````````````
https://twitter.com/PFr1end/status/1459228775724507141
Paul Friend🌹Pray God saves us from liberals
@PFr1end
·
Nov 12, 2021
President Obama also urged European NATO members to contribute their full share to the alliance, saying that "Europe has sometimes been complacent about its own defense." (April 25th 2016)
Obama urges NATO members to pull their weight 15th (November 2016) https://t.co/U9QtinTMT5
Destabilizing on Putin's behalf!
Fears of a NATO Withdrawal Rise as Trump Seeks ...
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com › U.S. › Politics
Dec 9, 2023 — Mr. Trump likes to brag that he privately told leaders of NATO countries that if Russia attacked them and they had not paid the money they owed ...
Trump made the entirely reasonable and common-sense suggestion that rather than the US taxpayer footing the bill for the defense of "Europe" that maybe they should pay their minimal obligation. No sane person could take issue with that. Many of the members of NATO refuse to pay their miniscule part while the US foots the entire bill. They can have their socialist utopias because the US has paid for their national defense for 70 years. Meanwhile the US cities under Dem control are in ruin. It's insane. The US military contractors want the US to pay the bill and they control our politicians. It has nothing to do with security. It is about controlling the enormous US military budget and dolling out the money to the contractors who kick it back to the politicians in donations. A vicious cycle that ONLY Trump has the ability to break.
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Magnificent poll numbers once again for Trump. He has nearly 70% of the Repub support. More than all the other candidates combined. Leading Old Joe whose polls numbers are hitting rock bottom as disaster after disaster unfold under his weak and incompetent administration. Ukraine Joe will go down as the worst modern president in history surpassing Jimmy Carter. Maybe the worst president in history.
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Trump is now saying out loud that immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country". Exactly the same rhetoric Hitler used who wanted to keep the Aryan blood pure.
He then goes on and praises Putin, Orbán and Kim Jong Un....
And Richard wants us to believe that Trump isn't a fascist..... Go figure!
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What is Old Joe doing roaming around in Delaware on a rainy night? And great secret service work when the car crashed into his motorcade. LOL. They all stood around gaping including Old Joe staring like a dementia patient. Thankfully it was just a drunk democrat, and no one was injured but that is lousy Secret service work. The first instinct should always be to get the president into the car out of harm's way. Not to freeze and become a spectator.
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Magnificent speech by Trump highlighting the disastrous Biden open border policy that has resulted in potentially 5 million or more unknown aliens being set loose in the US. No one has a clue who these people are. Many are from China, the Middle East and Africa. Undoubtedly many terrorists among them. Old Joe's own FBI director just confirmed that this is the highest risk level of any recent time. At the same time, they are opening the border to anyone who wants to cross. Think about the logical inconsistencies in those policies. High terrorist risk and open border. Can people get off of an international flight and run through customs and out of the airport? Of course not. They would be arrested and deported. But five million or more people can do exactly that at the border with no end in sight.
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Magnificent speech by Trump highlighting the disastrous Biden open border policy that has resulted in potentially 5 million or more unknown aliens being set loose in the US. No one has a clue who these people are. Many are from China, the Middle East and Africa. Undoubtedly many terrorists among them. Old Joe's own FBI director just confirmed that this is the highest risk level of any recent time. At the same time, they are opening the border to anyone who wants to cross. Think about the logical inconsistencies in those policies. High terrorist risk and open border. Can people get off of an international flight and run through customs and out of the airport? Of course not. They would be arrested and deported. But five million or more people can do exactly that at the border with no end in sight.
A Nazi wannabe that doesn't even blink when his cult master says that immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country". Who cares about the opinions of a guy like that?
It won't be long before Trump starts selling brown uniforms....
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It just gets worse and worse every day for Old Joe. His disastrous open border immigration and economic policies are the primary reasons. The Dems must be in a panic as Trump surges. When does Ukraine Joe pull the LBJ act and announce that he is dropping out?
"Only one-third of Americans gave President Biden a thumbs up on the job he is doing in the White House, according to a new national public opinion survey.
The president stands at 34% approval in a Monmouth University poll released on Monday, with 61% giving Biden a thumbs down on his job performance.
The president's approval is at an all-time low in Monmouth polling since Biden took over the White House nearly three years ago."
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It just gets worse and worse every day for Old Joe. His disastrous open border immigration and economic policies are the primary reasons. The Dems must be in a panic as Trump surges. When does Ukraine Joe pull the LBJ act and announce that he is dropping out?
"Only one-third of Americans gave President Biden a thumbs up on the job he is doing in the White House, according to a new national public opinion survey.
The president stands at 34% approval in a Monmouth University poll released on Monday, with 61% giving Biden a thumbs down on his job performance.
The president's approval is at an all-time low in Monmouth polling since Biden took over the White House nearly three years ago."
Poor Richard, selectively quoting from polls he likes and completely ignoring the lessons he could have learned from 2020. It's so pitiful and sad.
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You can tell that the media leftists are in an absolute panic as Biden craters. They are rolling out the fake tropes in their endless obsession with Trump. He is "Hitler" again despite having a Jewish daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren and being a strong supporter of Israel. He will be a "dictator" despite already being president and leaving office after the last flawed election. And on and on. Repeat "Jan. 6" over and over again. Stir. This morning the state sponsored talking point is that the economy is actually doing great! Americans are just too dumb to appreciate it. What a great message to the voters! They are too dumb to understand who to vote for. Just trust the ruling cadre to tell us. So when you pay $400 on your next trip to the grocery store, the prices are not high. You are just an idiot or supporter of Putin.
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Trump is now saying out loud that immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country". Exactly the same rhetoric Hitler used who wanted to keep the Aryan blood pure.
He then goes on and praises Putin, Orbán and Kim Jong Un....
And Richard wants us to believe that Trump isn't a fascist..... Go figure!
Told you so... :D :D :D :D :D :D
"Richard" is showing his true colors.
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Talk about a dictatorship and threat to democracy. They are actually keeping Trump off the ballot in Colorado unless the US Supreme Court reverses the decision. Wow. Imagine that is what has become of America.
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Talk about a dictatorship and threat to democracy. They are actually keeping Trump off the ballot in Colorado unless the US Supreme Court reverses the decision. Wow. Imagine that is what has become of America.
Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
Some people still have the common sense to protect the country from a wannabe dictator. They applied the laws that were designed to protect democracy.
Let's hope just is only the beginning.....
But don't dispair, "Richard", there are still countries you can go to.... North Korea might be nice!
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Things that a dictator actually does:
1) Change the election laws in a way that is most advantageous to them just before an election
2) Lock up political opponents
3) Keep political opponents off the ballot
4) Suppress free speech
5) Enrich themselves and their families with corruption and bribes.
All actions that have been taken by Old Joe and his radical followers. The Colorado ruling is the single most egregious example of voter suppression and election interference in American history. It would not only keep Trump off the ballot but would preclude American citizens from even writing in his name as their candidate of choice. Thus, depriving them of their Constitutional right to vote for a presidential candidate. Imagine if an all-Republican appointed group of judges decided that Old Joe could not appear on the ballot. The leftist media and radical mobs would go insane and burn the cities to the ground. Absent a reversal by the Supreme Court, the precedent has been set that politically appointed judges in every individual state have the ability to preclude American citizens from voting for their candidate of choice. The chaos and damage to democracy would be mind bending. But the ends always justify any means for the radical Trump haters. If it means destroying democracy to keep him from being elected, then they are willing to cross that Rubicon. Ukraine Joe's fall in the polls while Trump surges has caused absolute panic. They are running out of options.
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Things that a dictator actually does:
1) Change the election laws in a way that is most advantageous to them just before an election
2) Lock up political opponents
3) Keep political opponents off the ballot
4) Suppress free speech
5) Enrich themselves and their families with corruption and bribes.
All actions that have been taken by Old Joe and his radical followers. The Colorado ruling is the single most egregious example of voter suppression and election interference in American history. It would not only keep Trump off the ballot but would preclude American citizens from even writing in his name as their candidate of choice. Thus, depriving them of their Constitutional right to vote for a presidential candidate. Imagine if an all-Republican appointed group of judges decided that Old Joe could not appear on the ballot. The leftist media and radical mobs would go insane and burn the cities to the ground. Absent a reversal by the Supreme Court, the precedent has been set that politically appointed judges in every individual state have the ability to preclude American citizens from voting for their candidate of choice. The chaos and damage to democracy would be mind bending. But the ends always justify any means for the radical Trump haters. If it means destroying democracy to keep him from being elected, then they are willing to cross that Rubicon. Ukraine Joe's fall in the polls while Trump surges has caused absolute panic. They are running out of options.
All actions that have been taken by Old Joe and his radical followers.
Says the most radical follower of a man who couldn't care less about law and order, and none of it is true.
The Colorado ruling is the single most egregious example of voter suppression and election interference in American history.
In reality the Colorado ruling follows the law designed that somebody who has already been behind an insurrection doesn't get another chance to destroy democracy.
Imagine if an all-Republican appointed group of judges decided that Old Joe could not appear on the ballot. The leftist media and radical mobs would go insane and burn the cities to the ground.
If "Old Joe" had been behind an insurrection he shouldn't appear on the ballot, but, unlike Trump he wasn't.
Absent a reversal by the Supreme Court, the precedent has been set that politically appointed judges in every individual state have the ability to preclude American citizens from voting for their candidate of choice.
Nope. Judges need good reason to preclude somebody from being on the ballot. In Trump's case they did.
If it means destroying democracy to keep him from being elected, then they are willing to cross that Rubicon.
Protecting the country from a fascist wannabe dictator who quotes Hitler, is only "destroying democracy" in the eyes of the most fanatic Trump followers. Hilarious.
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The US Supreme Court is likely to unanimously reverse the Colorado decision. Sec. 3 of the 14th Amendment does not apply to the president. Even if it did, Trump has not been charged with "insurrection" must less convicted. In fact, he was acquitted as part of the impeachment of any such act. Imagine the chaos if the Dem precedent was established that every individual court from the various 50 states has the power to make a determination that a political candidate for President cannot be on the ballot based upon their own subjective interpretation of what constitutes an "insurrection." And this decision is made in a state with judges appointed only by the political party running against this candidate. Even the most radical, unhinged lunatic, Trump hating fringe must acknowledge that disenfranchising millions of American citizens from voting is not the way to win elections. That kind of Jim Crow policy for political power is a relic of the past. It does highlight, however, the extent to which these radicals are willing to go and their lack of confidence that Old Joe can win the 2024 election.
Here is a prediction. When the Supreme Court overturns this radical decision, the leftist loons will attempt to discredit the ruling on the basis of politics. The irony.
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The US Supreme Court is likely to unanimously reverse the Colorado decision. Sec. 3 of the 14th Amendment does not apply to the president. Even if it did, Trump has not been charged with "insurrection" must less convicted. In fact, he was acquitted as part of the impeachment of any such act. Imagine the chaos if the Dem precedent was established that every individual court from the various 50 states has the power to make a determination that a political candidate for President cannot be on the ballot based upon their own subjective interpretation of what constitutes an "insurrection." And this decision is made in a state with judges appointed only by the political party running against this candidate. Even the most radical, unhinged lunatic, Trump hating fringe must acknowledge that disenfranchising millions of American citizens from voting is not the way to win elections. That kind of Jim Crow policy for political power is a relic of the past. It does highlight, however, the extent to which these radicals are willing to go and their lack of confidence that Old Joe can win the 2024 election.
Here is a prediction. When the Supreme Court overturns this radical decision, the leftist loons will attempt to discredit the ruling on the basis of politics. The irony.
The US Supreme Court is likely to unanimously reverse the Colorado decision. Sec. 3 of the 14th Amendment does not apply to the president.
So, now "Richard" is all of a sudden a legal scholar.... or - more likely - he is just a parrot repeating the wishful thinking propaganda of right wing media :D :D :D :D
Trump has not been charged with "insurrection" must less convicted.
Isn't it ironic that the claim that Trump can't be considered to be guilty because he was never convicted is made by the same guy who has no problem proclaiming Oswald guilty despite the fact that he was never convicted?
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The latest census numbers confirm that people are leaving the disastrous blue states as crime, homelessness, taxes, and lunacy reign supreme in those socialist utopias. California and NY are being abandoned by law abiding citizens. Where are they going? To states run by Republicans in the South and mid-west. Voting with their feet.
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There are no words for what is going on at the border. It has become surreal. Another year comes to a close with chaos, war, and crime out of control under Old Joe. With no end in sight.
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The year comes to an end the same way it began with disaster after disaster under Old Joe as he vacations in the Caribbean. Endless wars (two now and another brewing with Iran), record crime, a tide of illegal immigrants, inflation, homeless, debt, and now even COVID is returning. Remember when Old Joe promised to address COVID in some unspecified way? He waved his magic wand and the media suddenly stopped reporting on it. CNN took down that ticker that counted the number of cases and deaths. They stopped advocating for masks and the vaccine. Almost no one in the US has taken the booster under Old Joe. He flubbed the rollout and never promoted it. Imagine if Trump had done that. Here is the headline today from the LA Times:
"Everyone seems to be sick with respiratory illness in California."
Why aren't CNN and MSNBC running this story continuously as they did when Trump was president? It is a complete non-story for them. Instead they have reverted to all Trump news. They must be in a complete panic over the latest poll numbers. They shouldn't worry. With the changes to the election laws with endless early voting and ballot harvesting, the Republican candidate has to win 60-40 to be elected. It will be an uphill climb even with the worst president in history running on the Dem side.
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So now a publicity seeking state bureaucrat can remove a national candidate from the presidential ballot based upon her political bias? Can there be any better example of election interference than removing a presidential candidate from the ballot and precluding voters from that state from casting their vote for their desired candidate? Imagine that if every such partisan bureaucrat can declare a candidate for president to be ineligible? This is old school USSR type methods. Not even Putin can compete with the current group of politicians working to undermine the 2024 election. If you want the public to have confidence in the election process, then how about allowing the election to be conducted fairly? That means allowing voters to cast their votes free of interference. Dems raise a hue and cry when it is suggested that voters present some form of ID. That is what they claim is voter suppression. But they are now allowing low level partisan officials to remove candidates entirely from the presidential ballot. Unreal hypocrisy. Imagine if a Trump supporting republican working for a state decided to remove Old Joe from the ballot? There would be an uprising that it was an abuse of power. Acting like a - wait for it - dictator. The media would shout from the rooftops that it was the end of democracy.
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Biden has been briefly released by his handlers to "campaign." He looks increasingly deranged as he stammers about democracy and Jan. 6 before he is carted offstage. It is frightening to contemplate that he is the most powerful person in the world. He doesn't even know where he is from moment to moment. There is fear and confusion in his eyes. If his family had any decency, they would usher him out of the public view to a facility that could care for him. It is sad to watch.
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The clown show continues. The Secretary of Defense disappeared over the last week. He was apparently in the hospital. Even the ICU at one point but he didn't bother to tell anyone including Old Joe. Ukraine Joe doesn't even know he has a Secretary of Defense but it does not inspire confidence that this crowd of incompetents is completely inept. Meanwhile Old Joe is getting lost again on the White House lawn (head toward the big white house Joe) and his wife now has to lead him offstage.
-
Biden has been briefly released by his handlers to "campaign." He looks increasingly deranged as he stammers about democracy and Jan. 6 before he is carted offstage. It is frightening to contemplate that he is the most powerful person in the world. He doesn't even know where he is from moment to moment. There is fear and confusion in his eyes. If his family had any decency, they would usher him out of the public view to a facility that could care for him. It is sad to watch.
When did you first notice how radicalized you had become? Do you even notice yet that there is a cult of personality swallowing reason in America and that Biden is in office resulting from a coalition, 42 percent white, the most highly educated white voters, and 58 percent other than white producing 80 million votes against the cult of personality bleater, three years ago? Of the 20 states with voting majorities earning greatest per capita batchelor's degrees or higher, Trump won only the 19th highest educated, Montana. Of the least 20 best educated state voting majorities, Trump won 17 !
The war against public education, signaled by the Trump appointment of Betsy Devos and confirmed by the DeSantis-Rufo-Fox News vandalism of K-16 public education is supported by the 2020 presidential election results in which no state voting majority earning 35 percent batchelor's degrees or higher voted for Trump.
The Trump party response to the third anniversary of January 6 clearly indicates it is irredeemable.
https://twitter.com/marshalgrouchy/status/1744032099898712475
marshalgrouchy
@marshalgrouchy
@espinsegall
#Jonathan_Turley_on_the_Ashli_Babbitt_Horst_Wesslel_non_controversy
Turley having captured an audience of right wing lunatics is now their prisoner.
Quote
Jonathan Turley
@JonathanTurley
·
17h
The long-awaited tort action from the family of Ashli Babbitt has now been filed in Southern California. The complaint adds some troubling facts to prior concerns over the government's investigation and findings on the only shooting in the Jan. 6th riot. https://jonathanturley.org/2024/01/07/family-of-ashli-babbitt-files-30-million-wrongful-death-action/
11:23 AM · Jan 7, 2024
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When did you first notice how radicalized you had become? Do you even notice yet that there is a cult of personality swallowing reason in America and that Biden is in office resulting from a coalition, 42 percent white, the most highly educated white voters, and 58 percent other than white producing 80 million votes against the cult of personality bleater, three years ago? Of the 20 states with voting majorities earning greatest per capita batchelor's degrees or higher, Trump won only the 19th highest educated, Montana. Of the least 20 best educated state voting majorities, Trump won 17 !
The war against public education, signaled by the Trump appointment of Betsy Devos and confirmed by the DeSantis-Rufo-Fox News vandalism of K-16 public education is supported by the 2020 presidential election results in which no state voting majority earning 35 percent batchelor's degrees or higher voted for Trump.
The Trump party response to the third anniversary of January 6 clearly indicates it is irredeemable.
https://twitter.com/marshalgrouchy/status/1744032099898712475
marshalgrouchy
@marshalgrouchy
@espinsegall
#Jonathan_Turley_on_the_Ashli_Babbitt_Horst_Wesslel_non_controversy
Turley having captured an audience of right wing lunatics is now their prisoner.
Quote
Jonathan Turley
@JonathanTurley
·
17h
The long-awaited tort action from the family of Ashli Babbitt has now been filed in Southern California. The complaint adds some troubling facts to prior concerns over the government's investigation and findings on the only shooting in the Jan. 6th riot. https://jonathanturley.org/2024/01/07/family-of-ashli-babbitt-files-30-million-wrongful-death-action/
11:23 AM · Jan 7, 2024
Expressing concern that the president appears to be suffering from cognitive issues relating to dementia is being radicalized? The man is clearly confused and disoriented. Even the most radical Trump hater must recognize that Old Joe is having trouble finding his way off the stage. He often blanks out or utters gibberish that is indecipherable to humans. It is sad to see any person in that state. What is radicalized from a political perspective, however, are things like changing election laws in the weeks leading up to an election in a way that is most favorable to a candidate, censoring speech, controlling the media, and using the justice system to imprison political opponents or keep them off the ballot. Those are chilling tactics of totalatariian states. There was a time that liberals were champions of free speech and fair elections. Those days are long gone. Now the ends justify any means to stop Trump.
-
Expressing concern that the president appears to be suffering from cognitive issues relating to dementia is being radicalized? The man is clearly confused and disoriented. Even the most radical Trump hater must recognize that Old Joe is having trouble finding his way off the stage. He often blanks out or utters gibberish that is indecipherable to humans. It is sad to see any person in that state. What is radicalized from a political perspective, however, are things like changing election laws in the weeks leading up to an election in a way that is most favorable to a candidate, censoring speech, controlling the media, and using the justice system to imprison political opponents or keep them off the ballot. Those are chilling tactics of totalatariian states. There was a time that liberals were champions of free speech and fair elections. Those days are long gone. Now the ends justify any means to stop Trump.
How can I be so certain you are hyper radicalized and trapped in a cult of personality, quite content about your predicament because you view the three years older competition as senile and incompetent?
...because you can't answer the question. "what kind of a country do I want the people I care about to have to live in?"
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-could-order-seal-team-6-to-kill-rivals-and-avoid-prosecution-if-not-impeached-lawyer-says/ar-AA1mGf36
Trump could order SEAL Team 6 to kill rivals and avoid prosecution if not impeached, lawyer says
USA TODAY on MSN.com|3 hours ago
The case marks the first chance for federal courts to gauge a former president's criminal immunity because Trump is the first to be charged. Each side claims the Constitution and historical precedent are on their side....
....A prosecutor, assistant special counsel James Pearce, voiced concern for the country’s future if presidents could kill rivals or sell national secrets and suffer no consequences without an impeachment and conviction.
“I think that is an extraordinarily frightening future,” Pearce said. “I think if we are talking about balancing interests that should weigh extraordinarily heavily in the court’s consideration.”
https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1744742606062624964
emptywheel
@emptywheel
Pearce: What kind of world are we living in where, as I take my friend to suggest, if a President orders Seal Team Six to assassinate his opponent, resigns, immune. sells pardon, resigns, immune.
10:28 AM · Jan 9, 2024
·
7h
Pan now saying that if Sauer's impeachment first argument is wrong, he loses.
Pearce "That is wrong for textual, historical, and a host of practical reasons."
If a President assassinates and sells pardons and isn't impeached, there is no accountability.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
·
7h
Pearce seems like he feel he has the win and is bulldozing for a bigger win.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
·
7h
Again, I can't WAIT for the reports of how Trump is taking this -- his attorney arguing that Biden can assassinate him.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
·
7h
Pearce DOES NOT end with a request for anything re stay.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
·
7h
LOLOLOLOL.
Now Sauer, having argued that Nixon's were private acts, says that the fact that Trump was not charged for anything after he left office that they were official acts.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
·
7h
Pan: So I just want to confirm. If President Trump HAD BEEN convicted, then this prosecution would be entirely proper.
Sauer: For the same or similar conduct. There would be many other issues with this prosecution.
Pan has so little patience for men who filibuster her.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
·
7h
Sauer is trying REALLY hard not to concede Pan's point--again, I wonder how Trump is responding to this.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
·
7h
Now Pan has gotten him to concede that under Sauer's theory, POTUS can be prosecuted for official acts.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
The OTHER brilliant thing about Sauer's argument that Biden can assassinate his client is that BY NOT DOING SO, Biden is disproving all Sauer's bullspombleprofglidnoctobuns claims about politicization.
GAWD that was fun.
https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1744770427518337024
emptywheel
@emptywheel
This is true.
But then, Trump not only already promised that, but he spent much of his Administration doing that.
Joyce Alene
@JoyceWhiteVance
So far, Trump's lawyer's argument comes down to: If you prosecute Trump, we'll come after you, whether what you've done is crimes or not, and we'll do it in Texas with a Texas jury.
-
How can I be so certain you are hyper radicalized and trapped in a cult of personality, quite content about your predicament because you view the three years older competition as senile and incompetent?
...because you can't answer the question. "what kind of a country do I want the people I care about to have to live in?"
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-could-order-seal-team-6-to-kill-rivals-and-avoid-prosecution-if-not-impeached-lawyer-says/ar-AA1mGf36
Trump could order SEAL Team 6 to kill rivals and avoid prosecution if not impeached, lawyer says
USA TODAY on MSN.com|3 hours ago
The case marks the first chance for federal courts to gauge a former president's criminal immunity because Trump is the first to be charged. Each side claims the Constitution and historical precedent are on their side....
....A prosecutor, assistant special counsel James Pearce, voiced concern for the country’s future if presidents could kill rivals or sell national secrets and suffer no consequences without an impeachment and conviction.
“I think that is an extraordinarily frightening future,” Pearce said. “I think if we are talking about balancing interests that should weigh extraordinarily heavily in the court’s consideration.”
https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1744742606062624964
emptywheel
@emptywheel
Pearce: What kind of world are we living in where, as I take my friend to suggest, if a President orders Seal Team Six to assassinate his opponent, resigns, immune. sells pardon, resigns, immune.
10:28 AM · Jan 9, 2024
·
7h
Pan now saying that if Sauer's impeachment first argument is wrong, he loses.
Pearce "That is wrong for textual, historical, and a host of practical reasons."
If a President assassinates and sells pardons and isn't impeached, there is no accountability.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
·
7h
Pearce seems like he feel he has the win and is bulldozing for a bigger win.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
·
7h
Again, I can't WAIT for the reports of how Trump is taking this -- his attorney arguing that Biden can assassinate him.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
·
7h
Pearce DOES NOT end with a request for anything re stay.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
·
7h
LOLOLOLOL.
Now Sauer, having argued that Nixon's were private acts, says that the fact that Trump was not charged for anything after he left office that they were official acts.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
·
7h
Pan: So I just want to confirm. If President Trump HAD BEEN convicted, then this prosecution would be entirely proper.
Sauer: For the same or similar conduct. There would be many other issues with this prosecution.
Pan has so little patience for men who filibuster her.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
·
7h
Sauer is trying REALLY hard not to concede Pan's point--again, I wonder how Trump is responding to this.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
·
7h
Now Pan has gotten him to concede that under Sauer's theory, POTUS can be prosecuted for official acts.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
The OTHER brilliant thing about Sauer's argument that Biden can assassinate his client is that BY NOT DOING SO, Biden is disproving all Sauer's bullspombleprofglidnoctobuns claims about politicization.
GAWD that was fun.
https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1744770427518337024
emptywheel
@emptywheel
This is true.
But then, Trump not only already promised that, but he spent much of his Administration doing that.
Joyce Alene
@JoyceWhiteVance
So far, Trump's lawyer's argument comes down to: If you prosecute Trump, we'll come after you, whether what you've done is crimes or not, and we'll do it in Texas with a Texas jury.
I can't grasp any coherent point from all this. Let's simplify. Is Biden exhibiting signs of advanced dementia or not? What kind of shape will he be in a year from now or longer at his current rate of decline? Who is the person ordering tactical assault teams to raid the home of his political opponent? Was that Trump or the current administration? Who is trying to keep political opponents off the ballot? Is that Trump or the current administration? Who is using the legal system to prosecute his political opponent? Trump or the current administration? Silly hypotheticals are laughable in the face of reality. Do you want to live in a country in which EVERY outgoing president is charged for crimes by the political party that assumes power? Should republicans in the next administration prosecute Biden for conspiracy to aid and abet human trafficking, drug smuggling, and overdose deaths due to his unwillingness to uphold the Constitution and various federal immigration laws? Is that the precedent that will make for the kind of country that you want?
-
I can't grasp any coherent point from all this. Let's simplify. Is Biden exhibiting signs of advanced dementia or not? What kind of shape will he be in a year from now or longer at his current rate of decline? Who is the person ordering tactical assault teams to raid the home of his political opponent? Was that Trump or the current administration? Who is trying to keep political opponents off the ballot? Is that Trump or the current administration? Who is using the legal system to prosecute his political opponent? Trump or the current administration? Silly hypotheticals are laughable in the face of reality. Do you want to live in a country in which EVERY outgoing president is charged for crimes by the political party that assumes power? Should republicans in the next administration prosecute Biden for conspiracy to aid and abet human trafficking, drug smuggling, and overdose deaths due to his unwillingness to uphold the Constitution and various federal immigration laws? Is that the precedent that will make for the kind of country that you want?
Richard, your POV is almost completely inaccurate because you limit your information intake.
https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1265978867870810113
@emptywheel
"Reminder: The really problematic Carter Page applications--the only ones withdrawn by Trump's DOJ--were approved on April 7 and June 29, 2017.
Getting the Trump DOJ to approve problematic FISAs months into the Trump Admin seems like a bad way to "prevent the election" of Trump."
Gif: Trump assisted by general in walking down "steep ramp" @ West Point in June, 2020, after observed difficulty in drinking water with one hand,
https://twitter.com/i/status/1306768427797958659
https://edition.cnn.com › 2020 › 06 › 19 › politics › trump-ramp-west-point-commencement-speech › index.html
Donald Trump can't stop talking about that West Point ramp
Jun 19, 2020 "Trump's claim that the ramp had been 'very slippery' was inconsistent with the weather, which on Saturday in West Point, N.Y., was sunny and clear-skied. The grass plain on which the ..."
Eleven minutes during June, 2020 Tulsa Rally (fatal to Herman Cain) of Trump's "Don't believe what you've seen with your own eyes...."
WATCH: Trump explains VIRAL ramp descent, water sipping moments during Tulsa rally
The Hill
109,931 views Jun 20, 2020
During a rally in Tulsa, OK, President Trump explained his viral moments during his speech at West Point involving descending a ramp and sipping water from a glass.
If the arguments by Trump's lawyers to a three judge DC appeals court panel on Tuesday were successful and subsequently confirmed by a SCOTUS majority, explain what prudent options President Biden would have, other than to order the assasssination of his political rival, and resign the presidency under a pardon protection by his successor, Kamala Harris, as Nixon did?
Would it not then be incumbent on Harris to devote her presidency, using the new found Trump Court immunity decision to taking steps necessary in preventing anyone other than a Democrat from succeeding her as POTUS?
-
Richard, your POV is almost completely inaccurate because you limit your information intake.
https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1265978867870810113
@emptywheel
"Reminder: The really problematic Carter Page applications--the only ones withdrawn by Trump's DOJ--were approved on April 7 and June 29, 2017.
Getting the Trump DOJ to approve problematic FISAs months into the Trump Admin seems like a bad way to "prevent the election" of Trump."
Gif: Trump assisted by general in walking down "steep ramp" @ West Point in June, 2020, after observed difficulty in drinking water with one hand,
https://twitter.com/i/status/1306768427797958659
https://edition.cnn.com › 2020 › 06 › 19 › politics › trump-ramp-west-point-commencement-speech › index.html
Donald Trump can't stop talking about that West Point ramp
Jun 19, 2020 "Trump's claim that the ramp had been 'very slippery' was inconsistent with the weather, which on Saturday in West Point, N.Y., was sunny and clear-skied. The grass plain on which the ..."
Eleven minutes during June, 2020 Tulsa Rally (fatal to Herman Cain) of Trump's "Don't believe what you've seen with your own eyes...."
WATCH: Trump explains VIRAL ramp descent, water sipping moments during Tulsa rally
The Hill
109,931 views Jun 20, 2020
During a rally in Tulsa, OK, President Trump explained his viral moments during his speech at West Point involving descending a ramp and sipping water from a glass.
If the arguments by Trump's lawyers to a three judge DC appeals court panel on Tuesday were successful and subsequently confirmed by a SCOTUS majority, explain what prudent options President Biden would have, other than to order the assasssination of his political rival, and resign the presidency under a pardon protection by his successor, Kamala Harris, as Nixon did?
Would it not then be incumbent on Harris to devote her presidency, using the new found Trump Court immunity decision to taking steps necessary in preventing anyone other than a Democrat from succeeding her as POTUS?
What is with the endless random links? Try to have a discussion. This is simple. Is Biden exhibiting signs of dementia or not? Has the Biden administration attempted to imprison political opponents, raid their homes, and made efforts to keep them off the ballot? Are those actions consistent with democracy or a totalitarian state?
-
What is with the endless random links? Try to have a discussion. This is simple. Is Biden exhibiting signs of dementia or not? Has the Biden administration attempted to imprison political opponents, raid their homes, and made efforts to keep them off the ballot? Are those actions consistent with democracy or a totalitarian state?
https://twitter.com/normative/status/1745594964376014966
Julian Sanchez
@normative
·
Jan 11
I think the problem is they sort of HAVE to believe him, because there are only two plausible explanations for why this guy has been hit with dozens of indictments and adverse civil judgments. One is it’s all a big conspiracy. The other is that he’s a massive fraud & criminal.
Quote
https://twitter.com/OrinKerr/status/1745588772303978797
Orin Kerr
@OrinKerr
·
Jan 11
The amazing thing isn't that Trump says false things like this--in this case, that Biden is behind every legal case, civil and criminal, filed against him, and it's all politics. That's who he is. The amazing part is that so many Americans believe him.
https://foxnews.com/politics/trump
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Richard, your POV is almost completely inaccurate because you limit your information intake.
https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1265978867870810113
@emptywheel
"Reminder: The really problematic Carter Page applications--the only ones withdrawn by Trump's DOJ--were approved on April 7 and June 29, 2017.
Getting the Trump DOJ to approve problematic FISAs months into the Trump Admin seems like a bad way to "prevent the election" of Trump."
Gif: Trump assisted by general in walking down "steep ramp" @ West Point in June, 2020, after observed difficulty in drinking water with one hand,
https://twitter.com/i/status/1306768427797958659
https://edition.cnn.com › 2020 › 06 › 19 › politics › trump-ramp-west-point-commencement-speech › index.html
Donald Trump can't stop talking about that West Point ramp
Jun 19, 2020 "Trump's claim that the ramp had been 'very slippery' was inconsistent with the weather, which on Saturday in West Point, N.Y., was sunny and clear-skied. The grass plain on which the ..."
Eleven minutes during June, 2020 Tulsa Rally (fatal to Herman Cain) of Trump's "Don't believe what you've seen with your own eyes...."
WATCH: Trump explains VIRAL ramp descent, water sipping moments during Tulsa rally
The Hill
109,931 views Jun 20, 2020
During a rally in Tulsa, OK, President Trump explained his viral moments during his speech at West Point involving descending a ramp and sipping water from a glass.
If the arguments by Trump's lawyers to a three judge DC appeals court panel on Tuesday were successful and subsequently confirmed by a SCOTUS majority, explain what prudent options President Biden would have, other than to order the assasssination of his political rival, and resign the presidency under a pardon protection by his successor, Kamala Harris, as Nixon did?
Would it not then be incumbent on Harris to devote her presidency, using the new found Trump Court immunity decision to taking steps necessary in preventing anyone other than a Democrat from succeeding her as POTUS?
Can't you have a conversation without linking a thousand random webpages? Do you think Biden is exhibiting symptoms of dementia? Do you think it sets a good precedent for the incoming party to charge the outgoing president for poltiical crimes? Did Trump prosecute any of his political opponents, raid their homes in predawn raids. and censor speech? All common acts of dictators.
-
Can't you have a conversation without linking a thousand random webpages? Do you think Biden is exhibiting symptoms of dementia? Do you think it sets a good precedent for the incoming party to charge the outgoing president for poltiical crimes? Did Trump prosecute any of his political opponents, raid their homes in predawn raids. and censor speech? All common acts of dictators.
Please translate your post.I don't speak cult.
https://twitter.com/AnnevanLeur/status/1745162001020547268
Annie van Leur
@AnnevanLeur
·
Jan 10
A testy exchange between Trump's attorney and the civil court judge overseeing his fraud trial began with Chris Kise using the former president's late mother-in-law as an excuse and ended with Engoron declaring
"I WILL NOT GRANT ANY FURTHER EXTENSIONS."
rawstory.com
Trump judge snaps as lawyer cites Melania's mother's death as reason for delay
A testy exchange between Donald Trump's attorney and the civil court judge overseeing his fraud trial
https://twitter.com/opiedog8/status/1745538486709653602
▪️RICH BOONE▪️
@opiedog8
“I don’t even know who the woman is”.
Trump and Ivana with E. Jean Carroll.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GDllx4paMAAG8TW?format=jpg&name=small)
https://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1746332921957363812
The Daily Beast
@thedailybeast
He called the judge a “bad person” for refusing his request to attend the funeral of his “beloved” mother-in-law, even as his campaign continues to promote an event that day.
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1745965745060667506
Ron Filipkowski
@RonFilipkowski
Trump Monday: I need closing arguments postponed 3 weeks so I can stay home & comfort grieving Melania.
Trump Today to Iowans: “I’ll get to see you Sunday & Monday & maybe Sat night late. We wouldn’t miss it for anything!”
The Clear Cider 🦋
@TheClearCider
Trump, Wednesday evening, being dropped off for the FoxNews Town Hall, less than 24 hours after his announcement that Melania’s mother was now floating in the blue sky above.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GDuZlHnWQAAXA8y?format=jpg&name=900x900)
-
Please translate your post.I don't speak cult.
https://twitter.com/AnnevanLeur/status/1745162001020547268
Annie van Leur
@AnnevanLeur
·
Jan 10
A testy exchange between Trump's attorney and the civil court judge overseeing his fraud trial began with Chris Kise using the former president's late mother-in-law as an excuse and ended with Engoron declaring
"I WILL NOT GRANT ANY FURTHER EXTENSIONS."
rawstory.com
Trump judge snaps as lawyer cites Melania's mother's death as reason for delay
A testy exchange between Donald Trump's attorney and the civil court judge overseeing his fraud trial
https://twitter.com/opiedog8/status/1745538486709653602
▪️RICH BOONE▪️
@opiedog8
“I don’t even know who the woman is”.
Trump and Ivana with E. Jean Carroll.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GDllx4paMAAG8TW?format=jpg&name=small)
https://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1746332921957363812
The Daily Beast
@thedailybeast
He called the judge a “bad person” for refusing his request to attend the funeral of his “beloved” mother-in-law, even as his campaign continues to promote an event that day.
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1745965745060667506
Ron Filipkowski
@RonFilipkowski
Trump Monday: I need closing arguments postponed 3 weeks so I can stay home & comfort grieving Melania.
Trump Today to Iowans: “I’ll get to see you Sunday & Monday & maybe Sat night late. We wouldn’t miss it for anything!”
The Clear Cider 🦋
@TheClearCider
Trump, Wednesday evening, being dropped off for the FoxNews Town Hall, less than 24 hours after his announcement that Melania’s mother was now floating in the blue sky above.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GDuZlHnWQAAXA8y?format=jpg&name=900x900)
My post was in simple English and does not contain a rambling pasting of website links to make some indecipherable point. What is with posting endless links instead of having a normal conversation? It's like conversing with an AI machine that is glitching. Among these ramblings, you have posted a link about Trump having a town hall after Melania's mother died. What point are you making? That Trump is heartless. LOL. How do you or anyone know what Trump is doing in his private family affairs? Trump is running for president. Trump has his own plane. He can be at a town hall and a couple of hours later be anywhere in the world. Maybe do some more research:
"Mr Trump proposes to spend January 17 and 18 traveling to and attending the funeral, which the family has scheduled for January 18, 2024 in Florida."
If you are concerned with politicians being heartless, how about Old Joe denying the existence of his own granddaughter? Putting up Christmas stocking for all his grandkids and even the dog but not one for her. Why? Because she is a political liability to him as Dirty Hunter's love child. So she doesn't matter. That is cold blooded. Of course, in his state of advanced dementia, he probably doesn't remember he has any grandchildren.
I'll try to simplify. Biden - does he have dementia or not? Trump - did he have his justice department prosecute political opponents and make efforts to keep them off the ballot like Putin or some third world dictator? Or was that Old Joe? No links are necessary.
-
My post was in simple English and does not contain a rambling pasting of website links to make some indecipherable point. What is with posting endless links instead of having a normal conversation? It's like conversing with an AI machine that is glitching. Among these ramblings, you have posted a link about Trump having a town hall after Melania's mother died. What point are you making? That Trump is heartless. LOL. How do you or anyone know what Trump is doing in his private family affairs? Trump is running for president. Trump has his own plane. He can be at a town hall and a couple of hours later be anywhere in the world. Maybe do some more research:
"Mr Trump proposes to spend January 17 and 18 traveling to and attending the funeral, which the family has scheduled for January 18, 2024 in Florida."
If you are concerned with politicians being heartless, how about Old Joe denying the existence of his own granddaughter? Putting up Christmas stocking for all his grandkids and even the dog but not one for her. Why? Because she is a political liability to him as Dirty Hunter's love child. So she doesn't matter. That is cold blooded. Of course, in his state of advanced dementia, he probably doesn't remember he has any grandchildren.
I'll try to simplify. Biden - does he have dementia or not? Trump - did he have his justice department prosecute political opponents and make efforts to keep them off the ballot like Putin or some third world dictator? Or was that Old Joe? No links are necessary.
You're endorsing a pro-Putin, dictator wannabe who proudly touts the endorsement of a mafia executioner, "Sammy the Bull," who admitted to murdering 19 people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Gravano
You either totally missed that Trump did not attend the first civil trial in the E. Jean Carroll litigation and is lying now to the court to manipulate you and the rest of his cult into thinking the civil trial judge Trump is attacking is being unfair to him, denying Trump relief from an obligation to be present at this trial, or you are attempting to misinform readers. Cult deprogrammer Ted Patrick would not be able to recover you!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Patrick
How many ways can you confirm you fully buy into Trump's invented, complete exemption from any accountability for anything because he is a victim of a vast conspiracy to portray him as the personality of an anti Ameican federal republic, cult of personality?
Compared to Trump, Biden exhibits little to no cognitive age impairment. Biden has no influence on Trump's invented bull poop claim of political prosecution in the state of Georgia indictment that resulted from consensus of two grand juries drawn from members of the public, likewise in the NY County, NY grand jury indictment.
You're parroting of the Trump fairy tale of two politically motivated federal indictments is ridiculous, as well. Atty General Garland appointed Trump appointee Robert Hur to investigate Biden himself and Trump appointee David Weiss to prosecute Biden's son, Hunter. Your arguments are incoherent.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-carroll-rape-lawsuit-defamation-trial-62a424fc392955be81a3c4b453d7ef89
Defamation trial: Judge blocks Trump lawyers from arguing about E. Jean ...
7 days ago Trump did not attend the Manhattan trial where Carroll testified that a chance encounter at a Bergdorf Goodman store across the street from Trump Tower was flirtatious and fun until he slammed her against a wall in a dressing room and attacked her sexually. Trump has
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A magnificent and historic landslide victory last night for Trump. The first of fifty. Meanwhile Old Joe hit even new lows for him in the recent polls. State sponsored MSNBC refused to even carry all of Trump's magnificent victory speech. They are running scared. Nothing can stop him. They have tried intimidation, misuse of the legal process, censorship, and control of the media. And his poll numbers go further up with each passing day.
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A magnificent and historic landslide victory last night for Trump. The first of fifty. Meanwhile Old Joe hit even new lows for him in the recent polls. State sponsored MSNBC refused to even carry all of Trump's magnificent victory speech. They are running scared. Nothing can stop him. They have tried intimidation, misuse of the legal process, censorship, and control of the media. And his poll numbers go further up with each passing day.
Hilarious, nearly 50% of the Republicans that voted didn't vote for Trump. And that's a landslide victory? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
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A magnificent and historic landslide victory last night for Trump. The first of fifty. Meanwhile Old Joe hit even new lows for him in the recent polls. State sponsored MSNBC refused to even carry all of Trump's magnificent victory speech. They are running scared. Nothing can stop him. They have tried intimidation, misuse of the legal process, censorship, and control of the media. And his poll numbers go further up with each passing day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Jean_Carroll#Sexual_assault_allegations
...In June 2023, Trump counter-sued Carroll for defamation after she told CNN "yes he did" rape her in response to a question about the jury not finding him liable for that offense. Federal judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed the lawsuit in August, ruling that Carroll's rape claim against Trump was substantially true.[75]
You are praising a politician who has been found guilty of sexual assault by a jury in a civil proceeding who employed a CFO for 50 years, in a business found guilty on all counts of financial crimes by a jury, after the CFO plead guilty of all criminal counts against him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Weisselberg
A politician found by a NY court in a civil trial to have committed massive fraud and is currently awaiting determination in the penalty phase of that proceeding as to whether the assets of the business will be sold by the court appointed receiver to satisfy up to $375 million in civil fraud damages.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_investigations_of_The_Trump_Organization
A presentation of the 91 criminal charges in four indictments and a superseding indictment, currently faced by this politician, especially considering the recent background described above, convincingly labels this politician as leader of a personality cult, along with the evidence of sheer denial in the post quoted above.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indictments_against_Donald_Trump
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosecution_of_Donald_Trump_in_New_York
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_prosecution_of_Donald_Trump_(classified_documents_case)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_prosecution_of_Donald_Trump_(election_obstruction_case)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_election_racketeering_prosecution
The State of Georgia v. Donald J. Trump, et al. is a pending criminal case against Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, and 18 co-defendants.
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The margin of victory in a subzero temp Iowa was historic. Trump does it again. No other non-incumbent candidate has ever come close to that landslide. When will he stop winning? The polls in NH are looking great even with the leftist media pumping for Halley. Meanwhile Old Joe can't be found. Just like his secretary of defense. AWOL. Maybe he is at the beach.
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The most recent poll numbers out of NH are fantastic for Trump. He is up nearly 20 points on Haley in a liberal state that allows Dems and independents to vote in the Republican primary. Haley has spent tons of money and most of her time there and she can't make up any ground. A crushing defeat in NH, and she is done. Haley and DeSantis likely drop out after NH.
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So it turns out the rogue DA in Georgia was having an affair with special prosecutor that she appointed to get Trump. She was paying him a lavish salary which they used to go on vacations together. Sounds like she will be the one going to jail for misappropriation of funds. Maybe Trump will pardon her when he becomes president - not.
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Another one bites the dust. Can things get any better for Trump? He has steamrolled his opponents. After Haley is crushed in the upcoming NH primary, she will drop out. The Dems used the justice system to indict him for almost a hundred bogus felonies, have tried to keep him off the ballot, used the state sponsored media outlets of CNN and MSNBC, and spent hundreds of million to defeat him and the race is already over before the end of January. No other politician in all of US history could overcome all the establishment forces and abuses of government to win an election. Trump has crushed them without breaking a sweat.
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Trump wins again! He can't help himself. The party is over for the corrupt establishment. Haley will drop out tonight or tomorrow. Old Joe even bungled the primary. Got himself kept off the ballot in NH. Hard to believe that even he is that incompetent, but he doesn't even know he is running.
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Trump wins again! He can't help himself. The party is over for the corrupt establishment. Haley will drop out tonight or tomorrow. Old Joe even bungled the primary. Got himself kept off the ballot in NH. Hard to believe that even he is that incompetent, but he doesn't even know he is running.
Trump wins again!
LOL
$83.000.000! Hilarious..... just how much of this amount will fools like you pay?
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Weak Joe's failure to respond to hundreds of Iran-backed attacks has now had fatal consequences. Three US military members are dead. Old Joe is napping at the beach. His Iran first strategy is working - for Iran. Sending them billions, allowing them to produce a nuclear weapon, allowing Iran to attack the US military with a weak or pitiful response. A disgrace unsurpassed in US history since Jimmy Carter Iran hostage fiasco.
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Old Joe's new campaign slogan is "Iran First" or MIGA (make Iran great again). More accurate than "Bidenomics" since at least Iran has benefitted from his appeasement policies. Unlike Americans who have suffered under his disastrous policies.
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The Biden administration's appeasement policy with Iran has now put them in a corner with no way out. Remember when he ran on his experience? He was the guy who was going to eliminate the chaos? LOL. This incompetent has brought the world to the brink of ruin and WWIII with his weakness and incompetence. Iran backed terrorists who Old Joe has funded by lifting the sanctions are attacking US military on a daily basis and Old Joe is paralyzed with fear and confusion. His response is that the US doesn't want a war. Unreal. You get a war by showing weakness. He is no doubt instructing the US military to find a couple of meaningless military targets to attack in a feigned response to Iran's aggression. They will send a $5 million missile to blow up some abandoned mud shack in the desert and claim victory. Then it's off to the beach for nappy time. Biden apparently hasn't even contacted the families of the military members who died on his watch. Disgraceful.
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Weak Joe has brought the world to the brink of a third war. His inept and weak leadership has emboldened Iran. After giving them a week's advanced notice, he suddenly ordered a few attacks on mostly empty shacks in the desert. Using million-dollar missiles to destroy them. Iran must be laughing their backsides at this weakness. Meanwhile, after three years of having an open border, the Dems have suddenly interjected a border bill which contains - wait for it - another $60 billion for Ukraine. HA HA HA HA. This is like the so called "COVID Relief" and "Infrastructure" bill all over again. The money goes to other purposes until a false pretext. The idiotic republicans in the senate are on board because they can never spend enough money on endless war. Most of this money will go to military contractors that kick it back to their campaigns.
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Sadly, I don't think the Republicans are going to be able to get their act together in 2024. For all the incompetence and weakness of Old Joe, the Dems are ruthless and stick together. The ends justify any means for them. The Republicans are still playing by the old rules. They are getting schooled at every turn. When you have a majority and still can't impeach Mayorkas, it is time to reassess. Not only can't they keep their own members in line, but they apparently are also unable to even count the votes that they have in advance to know the outcome. They have a slim majority but there is no leadership. The Dems will do everything necessary to win the upcoming election. The republicans will not. That will be difference in a close election. Another four years of Biden. Wow. He has declined so much over the last year that there is no way possible that he can finish another term in office. That means Kamala will be our president. It is impossible to contemplate how much harm that she will do.
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Poor Old Joe is sinking further into dementia. Every day brings some new example. The 25th Amendment was designed for exactly such a purpose as to ensure that a mentally incompetent person is not president. This is not a political issue as the Dems treat every issue Trump but one of mental fitness. It's clear that Old Joe has passed the Rubicon. Imagine his state in another year or two given his current situation. His family should intervene and give him dignity by removing him from public rather than forcing a political issue that brings into focus his obvious cognitive issues. It is becoming sad to watch.
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Things are quickly unraveling for Old Joe. This is like Watergate for Nixon. The story of his mental decline is gaining momentum every day. Liberals never liked him to begin with. He was merely the only candidate who could defeat Trump. Now they are panicking as Old Joe's cognitive decline is becoming impossible to hide.
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Several years ago, Trump made reference to the fact that some illegals crossing the border were murderers and rapists. The leftist media went completely insane implying this common sensical point was somehow racist. Imagine that among the millions crossing the border that some might actually be criminals. If there were any doubt, this week an illegal murdered and raped a young woman in Georgia. Many of those who cross are undoubtedly not criminals but hard-working people. The twisting of what Trump said, however, is just another example of the dishonesty of the media. CNN not only refuses to apologize or acknowledge its misinformation but double down on it by refusing to note that the alleged murderer is an illegal alien. Hopefully the people of Georgia wake for this election and do not repeat their mistake from 2020 now that innocent people in their state are being horribly attacked.
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Another magnificent win for Trump and democracy today with a unanimous Supreme Court decision overturning the Stalinist-like efforts of leftists to keep Trump off the ballot. It's unreal that things had to come to this in America. In order to "save" democracy, radical leftist bureaucrats tried to remove a candidate from the ballot and preclude voters from voting for their candidate of choice. Frightening. Fortunately, even the liberal members of the Supreme Court could understand the dangerous implications that such a precedent would set.
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Old Joe is the gift that keeps on giving. He asked voters yesterday to "send me to Congress." He apparently can't remember what office he is running for. Nothing to see there. He is "fiery" according to our state-run media. Sharp as a doorknob.
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Last fall, Trump, on the Urkaine war, regressed eight decades to his father's time as KKK member: "We would be in World War II very quickly." Few days ago, Trump called Argentina a “great guy” and “a big Trump guy” who “loves Trump.” Then this ...
'Donald Trump's Mental Decline Is No Joke':
Ex-Prez Suffers Bizarre Brain Freeze, Slurs
Through Speech — Watch the Video
Link (https://okmagazine.com/p/donald-trump-mental-decline-no-joke-suffers-bizarre-brain-freeze-slurs-speech/)
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Last fall, Trump, on the Urkaine war, regressed eight decades to his father's time as KKK member: "We would be in World War II very quickly." Few days ago, Trump called Argentina a “great guy” and “a big Trump guy” who “loves Trump.” Then this ...
'Donald Trump's Mental Decline Is No Joke':
Ex-Prez Suffers Bizarre Brain Freeze, Slurs
Through Speech — Watch the Video
Link (https://okmagazine.com/p/donald-trump-mental-decline-no-joke-suffers-bizarre-brain-freeze-slurs-speech/)
If radical leftists (including those from marginalized foreign countries who are seeking to interfere with our elections) want to make cognitive comparisons between Old Joe and Trump, knock yourself out. Americans are not fooled by what they can see with their own eyes. The polls show that the vast majority of Americans including the majority of Dems don't believe that Sleepy Joe has the mental capability to be president. Certainly not for another five years given his steep decline over the last couple of years. Imagine his mental state in another couple of years or God forbid 2028(!) when his second term would end. That issue is a loser. Hope instead for another pandemic to politicize.
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The leftist state media in the US rushed breathlessly to report that Trump has said there will be a "bloodbath" if he loses the election suggesting that he was promising violence. The video of the event, however, clearly shows that he was referring to the fate of the US auto industry if he loses the election and China is allowed to start selling cars made in Mexico. The media reports were completely misleading when taken in context. They certainly knew or should have known that. Will they offer a retraction or apology? Don't count on it. Putin has nothing on what is going on in the US with the misuse of the legal system and media to influence our elections.
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The leftist state media in the US rushed breathlessly to report that Trump has said there will be a "bloodbath" if he loses the election suggesting that he was promising violence. The video of the event, however, clearly shows that he was referring to the fate of the US auto industry if he loses the election and China is allowed to start selling cars made in Mexico. The media reports were completely misleading when taken in context. They certainly knew or should have known that. Will they offer a retraction or apology? Don't count on it. Putin has nothing on what is going on in the US with the misuse of the legal system and media to influence our elections.
"Now if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole —
that’s gonna be the least of it,” he added. “It’s going to be a bloodbath
for the country. That’ll be the least of it. But they’re not going to sell
those cars."
When Trump said "that going to be the least of it," he extended the "bloodbath" beyond the auto industry. What else was going to follow "bloodbath for the whole" if not country? SUV sector? In fact, he immediately goes there with "It going to a bloodbath for the country." Trump can't contain himself; he's transparent to normal people.
You're relying on typical spin from places like Fox News and alt-right/facsist hate sites and blogs.
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"Now if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole —
that’s gonna be the least of it,” he added. “It’s going to be a bloodbath
for the country. That’ll be the least of it. But they’re not going to sell
those cars."
When Trump said "that going to be the least of it," he extended the "bloodbath" beyond the auto industry. What else was going to follow "bloodbath for the whole" if not country? SUV sector? In fact, he immediately goes there with "It going to a bloodbath for the country." Trump can't contain himself; he's transparent to normal people.
You're relying on typical spin from places like Fox News and alt-right/facsist hate sites and blogs.
Anyone can watch the clip for themselves and decide. It has nothing to do with your obsession with Fox News. Fortunately, the entire context of the quote is available and not just the leftist spin. Like the state media, you have intentionally taken the quote completely out of context. That's dishonest misinformation. You should be deeply ashamed to be part of that effort. It's one thing to have a difference of political views. It's another to lie about events for your own purpose. Why are foreigners so interested in spreading disinformation in American elections? It's outrageous. Be more concerned about receiving a life sentence under "Black/Brown Face" Trudeau's Orwellian regime for thought crimes on social media. At least his wife got away or is she in the gulag with the truck drivers? Thankfully your British overlords won't allow things to get too carried away before they restore order on the serfs.
"If you’re listening, President Xi — and you and I are friends — but he understands the way I deal. Those big monster car manufacturing plants that you’re building in Mexico right now… you’re going to not hire Americans and you’re going to sell the cars to us, no. We’re going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those cars if I get elected. Now if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole – that’s gonna be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That will be the least of it. But they’re not going to sell those cars. They’re building massive factories."
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"
When Trump said "that going to be the least of it," he extended the "bloodbath" beyond the auto industry. What else was going to follow "bloodbath for the whole" if not country? SUV sector? In fact, he immediately goes there with "It going to a bloodbath for the country." Trump can't contain himself; he's transparent to normal people.
You're relying on typical spin from places like Fox News and alt-right/facsist hate sites and blogs.
The missing word you are looking for here is "economy." As in it's going to be a bloodbath for "the whole economy" that extends beyond just the car industry. The term "bloodbath" is a common one to denote an economic or financial disaster.
https://www.businessinsider.com/young-wall-street-bankers-bloodbath-stock-market-crash-layoffs-pay-2022-10
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The missing word you are looking for here is "economy." As in it's going to be a bloodbath for "the whole economy" that extends beyond just the car industry. The term "bloodbath" is a common one to denote an economic or financial disaster.
https://www.businessinsider.com/young-wall-street-bankers-bloodbath-stock-market-crash-layoffs-pay-2022-10
Trump didn't end up saying "It’s going to be a bloodbath for the economy." He said "It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country."
BTW, Trump and his henchmen think competition in the auto industry means 100% tariffs and huge handouts to domestic auto companies. Why not compete fairly and do what Japan, China and Mexico does, meaning build fair-priced, reliable cars that are safe and have good resale value? Overseas, people think of American cars like Americans think of the Yugo.
Still not willing to indicate your state of origin and in which state you currently reside? Must be something about the policies in those states that you support and don't want known. We're not serfs to Britain. What medieval thinking. And when are you going to finally separate from the British? Your flag has thirteen stripes on it, each one representing a British colony. We don't have colonial symbols on our flag. Why are you speaking English and using the English system of courts, town halls, property rights, schools, system of weights and measures and on and on? The American Bill of Rights (based, naturally, on England's) was opposed by the Federalists.
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Trump didn't end up saying "It’s going to be a bloodbath for the economy." He said "It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country."
BTW, Trump and his henchmen think competition in the auto industry means 100% tariffs and huge handouts to domestic auto companies. Why not compete fairly and do what Japan, China and Mexico does, meaning build fair-priced, reliable cars that are safe and have good resale value? Overseas, people think of American cars like Americans think of the Yugo.
Still not willing to indicate your state of origin and in which state you currently reside? Must be something about the policies in those states that you support and don't want known. We're not serfs to Britain. What medieval thinking. And when are you going to finally separate from the British? Your flag has thirteen stripes on it, each one representing a British colony. We don't have colonial symbols on our flag. Why are you speaking English and using the English system of courts, town halls, property rights, schools, system of weights and measures and on and on? The American Bill of Rights (based, naturally, on England's) was opposed by the Federalists.
If there were any doubt about Trump's intent, he has set the record straight and confirmed that he was referencing the car industry as was clear from the full context of his remarks. Another leftist hoax goes down the tubes. The countries you mention use slave labor and/or impose significant tariffs on the US. As a radical leftist, I would think you might object to those practices. Instead you are touting them as examples to be followed? It's "medieval thinking" to suggest that you are a serf? I didn't realize that your serfdom went back that long. LOL. Keep telling yourself that is no longer the case but it doesn't change the facts. Charles is your king.
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Another magnificent week of triumphs for Trump and democracy. He makes $3 billion, the Soviet-like effort to take his private property fails, and he is up 8 points in Michigan and many other swing states according even to state sponsored CNN. No other person in political history could withstand the collective efforts of the political establishment, legal system, leftist media, and intelligence agencies. Much less emerge victorious. Meanwhile Old Joe has sold-out Israel today in the UN. He is siding with the terrorists due to his dismal poll numbers. Disgraceful. Hopefully Jewish voters remember this betrayal come November and contrast it with his call for endless war in Ukraine.
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What a contrast today. Old Joe is leaving the basement to head to NYC to attend a political fundraiser with C-list Hollywood celebs like Colbert. LOL. Meanwhile Trump is attending the wake for a NYC police officer slain by a criminal released time and again by the leftists who control that city. No wonder Trump has the full support of the police and military.
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The leftist media was gushing all over the "gala" fundraising event yesterday. There hasn't been such a high level gathering of Dems since the Epstein express stopped running to his hedonist island. Of course, the state sponsored press largely ignored Trump's moving visit with the grieving family of a police officer slain after leftist radicals released the murder time and again from prison. In contrast, Old Joe decided not to show up or even call the family. When there is money on the table, the "Big Guy" is all in. He even brought his bagman "Dirty Hunter." Hopefully the leftist media keeps those blinders on and thinks voters are more interested in self-congratulatory swamp events than the deaths of police officers.
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The state sponsored US media gushed endless praise on Old Joe's record "gala" fundraiser in NYC a couple of weeks ago. Endless coverage and praise even though it was attended by C list Hollywood celebrities like Colbert and the abuser and Epstein pal Bill Clinton. Trump raised twice that amount with an event at his home this weekend and almost nothing in the media.
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Here is the terrible, evil, racist, "white supremacist," the leftist state media is always warning us about. When will his tyranny stop? LOL
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Old Joe's weakness and incompetence has emboldened Iran to attack Israel. Old Joe had to even leave the beach this weekend. He has brought the world to the verge of WWIII with his weakness. Recall his attempt to appease Iran from day one of his lame administration. Now the chickens are coming home to roost. And why does the US have to be the country to sort these conflicts out. Where is "Europe" and "Canada"? The US is shooting down Iranian drones? Where is the rest of the world? They are socialist utopias who count on the US to bear the cost and burdens of every conflict while they stick their heads in the sand and cower in fear. The US politicians are too stupid or corrupt to let the rest of the world assist.
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The U.K. and Jordan participated in the shootdown. Not that Fix News/fascist alt-right blogs would ever bring themselves to acknowledge that. Canada has a presence in the China Sea, helping the US to provoke a war with China, so the US can write off all its debt owed China (debt that makes possible the US playing racist Global Cop).
The US "capitalist utopia" built on loans from China. Most of the quality home appliances that enhance the American lifestyle built in China.
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The U.K. and Jordan participated in the shootdown. Not that Fix News/fascist alt-right blogs would ever bring themselves to acknowledge that. Canada has a presence in the China Sea, helping the US to provoke a war with China, so the US can write off all its debt owed China (debt that makes possible the US playing racist Global Cop).
The US "capitalist utopia" built on loans from China. Most of the quality home appliances that enhance the American lifestyle built in China.
LOL. What exactly did the UK and Jordan do? I see no mention of "Canada." The larger point is that none of this would be going on except for the weakness and incompetence of the Biden administration. That weakness has emboldened bad actors around the world. Next up will be China attacking Taiwan. No better opportunity than with a weak US president during an election cycle who has already bungled his way to two major wars.
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With every state sponsored political story the leftist media coordinate certain bullet points and phrases to use with the Biden administration for maximum political impact favorable to Old Joe. So there was "no evidence" that Old Joe benefitted from the millions that Dirty Hunter obtained from foreign sources. Biden's state of the union speech was deemed "fiery" by every single leftist media outlet to rebut his declining mental and physical condition. Today it is Trump's "hush money" trial. LOL. Give that some thought. Trump had a consensual encounter with a woman who then demanded money to keep quiet. This is otherwise known as blackmail but Trump pays her and she signs a legally binding document to not discuss. Trump then runs for president and this same woman once again tries to shake him down (blackmail again) and violates the terms of her legally binding non-disclosure agreement. Trump pays her again and now he is the criminal. And to add insult to injury Daniels' attorney commits numerous felonies and goes to prison. But Trump is somehow the bad guy is this scenario instead of the victim. Just repeat "hush money" over and over and cue the sinister music. Hope the public is too dumb to understand this is a Stalinist-show trial to interfere with the upcoming election.
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On April 3rd, Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., hosted a $1000-plate-per-elite-racist fundraiser for Arizona's Kari Lake. One of Trump celebrity-intellectual pals, Rose Barr, spoke:
"Hey, Old Row, how are you doing? I'm here at Mar-a-Lago supporting Kari Lake,
and it was a fantastic evening. And our Trump is here being the DJ, and I've just
danced and everyone's amazed. So I'm just going to say to you, please drop out
of college, because it's going to ruin your lives. Do me a favor, drop out, they
don't teach you nothing good. Email me or Twitter me or whatever you [want],
call me and I'll help you with your life but you gotta get out of college 'cause it
isn't nothing but devil-worshiping, baby-blood-drinking Democrat donors. Love ya."
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On April 3rd, Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., hosted a $1000-plate-per-elite-racist fundraiser for Arizona's Kari Lake. One of Trump celebrity-intellectual pals, Rose Barr, spoke:
"Hey, Old Row, how are you doing? I'm here at Mar-a-Lago supporting Kari Lake,
and it was a fantastic evening. And our Trump is here being the DJ, and I've just
danced and everyone's amazed. So I'm just going to say to you, please drop out
of college, because it's going to ruin your lives. Do me a favor, drop out, they
don't teach you nothing good. Email me or Twitter me or whatever you [want],
call me and I'll help you with your life but you gotta get out of college 'cause it
isn't nothing but devil-worshiping, baby-blood-drinking Democrat donors. Love ya."
You are quoting a comedian? And claiming that this event is "racist" while it was raising money for a female minority candidate? Wow. If you want to disavow nutty conspiracy theories, how about starting with the biggest one in history that did not come from an aging comedian but the DOJ and high-ranking Dems that Trump had colluded with Russia to become president. Adam "Shifty" Schiff had seen the evidence. The real big lie. Hillary claims to this day that the 2016 election was stolen and that Trump was not a legitimate president.
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You are quoting a comedian?
Roseanne stopped doing standup 30 years ago and stopped being funny 20 years ago. Unless you find jokes about blacks being "apes" funny. Barr wasn't joking when she made her comments. Kari Lake said of the event: "This is a place where MAGA comes to get excited get united".
And claiming that this event is "racist" while it was raising money for a female minority candidate? Wow.
If you're referring to claims like Kari Lake being the first Native American woman to run for Arizona governor, then be aware she is not recognized by any tribe. There's a buried claim on a web off-ramp that her great-grandmother was a member of the Ojibwe tribe, which, if true, translates into about one-percent Native American, the rest being white-entitled MEGA WASP. To show the left have a sense of humor, here's some comments ...
"We true Natives call them pretendians."
"She is a native of the Karen tribe."
"What have the Native Americans done to her to deserve to be insulted like this?"
"Her Native American name should be runs with many lies"
"Try it this way: K. Lake IS the bright spot in the REP party. That shows us how dim the rest are."
"She looks spray painted, not Native American."
"22 Federally Tribes in Arizona. I don’t recall her visiting one during the election."
"I am Native American and white supremacist" - sounds legit."
"Next step is for her to claim she is a black trans man."
"A mixture of every race : Keri Fake is 50% melting pot and 100 % crackpot"
"Well, Santos said he's Jewish. This shouldn't be a surprise. They'll claim anything if they think it'll be to their advantage.
"Just because you were conceived in a Jeep Cherokee doesn't make you Native American."
Now that would have been some great material at the Trump racist fundraiser (BTW, the $1000. merely got you on the lawn; there was a $100,000 yacht ride with Kari).
If you want to disavow nutty conspiracy theories, how about starting with the biggest one in history that did not come from an aging comedian but the DOJ and high-ranking Dems that Trump had colluded with Russia to become president. Adam "Shifty" Schiff had seen the evidence. The real big lie. Hillary claims to this day that the 2016 election was stolen and that Trump was not a legitimate president.
They're running on that, are they? Should be in Biden's ads any day now. When it comes to politics, you're as self-deluded as the JFK Conspiracy Loons.
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Roseanne stopped doing standup 30 years ago and stopped being funny 20 years ago. Unless you find jokes about blacks being "apes" funny. Barr wasn't joking when she made her comments. Kari Lake said of the event: "This is a place where MAGA comes to get excited get united".
If you're referring to claims like Kari Lake being the first Native American woman to run for Arizona governor, then be aware she is not recognized by any tribe. There's a buried claim on a web off-ramp that her great-grandmother was a member of the Ojibwe tribe, which, if true, translates into about one-percent Native American, the rest being white-entitled MEGA WASP. To show the left have a sense of humor, here's some comments ...
"We true Natives call them pretendians."
"She is a native of the Karen tribe."
"What have the Native Americans done to her to deserve to be insulted like this?"
"Her Native American name should be runs with many lies"
"Try it this way: K. Lake IS the bright spot in the REP party. That shows us how dim the rest are."
"She looks spray painted, not Native American."
"22 Federally Tribes in Arizona. I don’t recall her visiting one during the election."
"I am Native American and white supremacist" - sounds legit."
"Next step is for her to claim she is a black trans man."
"A mixture of every race : Keri Fake is 50% melting pot and 100 % crackpot"
"Well, Santos said he's Jewish. This shouldn't be a surprise. They'll claim anything if they think it'll be to their advantage.
"Just because you were conceived in a Jeep Cherokee doesn't make you Native American."
Now that would have been some great material at the Trump racist fundraiser (BTW, the $1000. merely got you on the lawn; there was a $100,000 yacht ride with Kari).
They're running on that, are they? Should be in Biden's ads any day now. When it comes to politics, you're as self-deluded as the JFK Conspiracy Loons.
You don't think Kari Lake is a minority. And Rosanne Barr is relevant to politics. And I'm the "self-deluded" conspiracy loon. HA HA HA HA HA. That is comedy gold. It is all the more ironic in that you dismissed Trudeau's blackface episodes as the product of "youthful" indescretion even though he was 30! Unreal.