Good Day Good Newsies!
Well it is SOTU here, SOTU there, SOTU everywhere. I did not watch it, cannot watch that orange pile of garbage. It is hard enough seeing photos of the Cheeto-In-Chief everywhere on the internets. Plus I really think the SOTU is as useless as a pair of slippers in a snowstorm. I also did not watch, or follow on line, the pre-rebuttal from Kamala Harris nor the post-post rebuttal from Bernie Sanders. Feel free to discuss in the comments if there was good news there to share. I did not make the decision to not watch the two of them for any reason other than I can only take so many speeches in one time period.
So now that that rant is over, I will approach this with humor because humor is what gets me through this.
Let’s start with a couple of items in regard to the stupidest speech of the year, but show the Dem’s are awesome.
The cultural resurgence of suffragist style for the State of the Union
Chances are the media-savvy suffragists who wore white so their photographs would pop in print did not anticipate their successors would rely on the same tactics to shine on television a century or so later. Probably they didn’t think citizens would need to make such grand gestures anymore, that the once-radical cause of “women are also people” would simply be accepted as a given and would no longer require a uniform.
And yet, here we are: The House Democratic Women’s Working Group is calling for female legislators to wear white to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening. “Wearing suffragette white is a respectful message of solidarity with women across the country, and a declaration that we will not go back on our hard-earned rights,” Rep. Lois Frankel of Florida, the group’s chair, told CNN.
Considering the near-parodic level of disarray that has come to define the Trump White House — where staffers are whisked in and out of the West Wing faster than Bachelor contestants are sent, via limousines, back to obscurity — the fact that these female legislators are able to coordinate literally anything, even their attire, makes them look more put-together than the President of the United States. Symbolism aside, it’s a bit of a flex, no? The effort is proof that these female legislators have it together, in the full sense of that word.
Word!
Democrats seek to take on Trump at State of the Union
Democrats want to use the State of the Union address on Tuesday night to illustrate their efforts to take on President Trump now that they have a majority in the House.
Fresh off their political victory in the government shutdown — which led Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) approval ratings to rise in a CNN poll released Monday — Democrats are eager to show that they’re actively showing up and resisting Trump’s agenda.
And when Trump looks at his audience, he’ll see a congressional body that includes record numbers of women and minorities.
Scores of Democrats are also bringing guests designed to send political messages.
They include immigrants who worked at Trump’s New Jersey golf club without documentation and people affected by the Trump administration’s family separations policy at the southern border.
And Air Traffic Controllers and other workers affected by the shut down, Chef Jose Andres, transgender military members. Let it be so. Not that crybaby prima donald is intelligent enough to connect the dots. Oh, and who did the crime syndicate family bring? Some poor kid named Joshua Trump. Hasn’t he suffered enough?
What Stacey Abrams’ State of the Union response means for the future of the Democratic Party
For some, Stacey Abrams would seem an unlikely choice to give the Democrats’ response to the State of the Union.
One of the most closely-watched candidates of the 2018 cycle, Abrams lost her race to then-Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp. Delivering the State of the Union address is a high-profile assignment typically is reserved for party luminaries with a long record of solid election wins.
As Democrats take stock of national demographic changes and look ahead to coming electoral battles, party officials said they could scarcely have picked a speaker better suited to meet the political moment. The choice of Abrams to deliver Tuesday’s State of the Union speech sends “a clear message about the future of the country, and certainly of the Democratic Party,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) told reporters on Monday.
Here, Here!
Okay, let’s do this thing.
This is the official transcript of the SOTU as prepared by yours truly:
Sniffle, blah, blah,blah, sniffle, lie, sniffle, immigrants, lie, it’s the Democrats fault, lie, rich people are awesome, sniffle, I have the biggest hands and the best people, lie, wall me want wall, hulk mad, sniffle, lie, there is a flag on the moon, buzz light year, lie, sniffle, I am the best, the very best, lie, the economy is the bigly best, sniffle, cooperation, common good, lie, do I look too orange tonight?, lie, more lies, more sniffling, no insurance for you, me, I am the best, me, lie, lie, that Joe guy from Virginia loves me, lie, witch hunt, USA USA, lie, sniffle, more judges, me, me, me, lie, I really never wanted the Central Park Five executed I am the best, winning, me, lie, lion, tigers and the caravan, oh my, lies, sniffle, I am a racist asshole in case you did not know that yet, winning, troops to the boarder, bad boarder, bad hombres, lie, lie, me, MS-13 oh my, lie, lie, snort, does this tie make me look thinner?, Democrats bad, be afraid of the boarder those people have brown skin you know, lie, lie, how about my hair? does it go with my skin?, btw I am a racist, sniffle, wall give me wall, all want wall, anyone have a whopper?, me love ICE, ICE good, how about some KFC?, wait I forgot to lie again, women like work, lie, lie, I suck so there are a lot of women in Congress now, me, trade, I am the best, me, me, me, where is my coke button?, lie, big pharma good, lie, lie, seriously do my hands look small?, infrastructure, lie, me, I cured AIDS!, cancer, children, school? Lie, sniffle, snort, where’s my coke man, those Democrats want to kill unborn NATO, lie, you will all die in a nuclear winter, not me though I am the best, winning, pant, pant the Russian Republicans love me, me, lie, who’s that guy in that country?, Mardo? Whatevs, got some chicken nuggets?, do you love my speech?, I worked really hard on it, lie, lie, lie, blah, blah, the what? USS Cole, really I need that coke people, I can do this all night, and I will cause me, me, me, where was I, f*ck it who cares, me, me, lie, nazis bad, not really since I love them, how about Arby’s, can I have some Arby’s? You really didn’t think I could do this all night?, you fool, D-Day, me, I love this country, me me, me, me, me,me, me, me, oh it’s over, hey, I am not done, bring the cameras back, hey turn the lights back on, where is my coke, can we get Wendy’s now?, I was a good boy right?
Well that was exhausting.
Now Stacey.
Intelligent, articulate, amazing. Can she be my President please.
I really hope you were able to watch her. She is just joyful to watch.
Tuesday, Feb 5, 2019 · 10:51:34 PM EST · Laura Clawson
That was perhaps the best response to the State of the Union in recent years. Confident, warm, strong statement of values.
Please share in the comments, I look forward to seeing tweets and pictures you have and articles or opinions!
As I said before, there really was other news today and some of it was pretty dang delicious. Onward!
Democrats Have Had It With Allegations Of Voter Fraud
When it came time to ask a question during a hearing on voting rights on Monday, Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) chose a simple one.
“I just want to ask one question off the top, since my colleagues continue to talk about voter fraud. Do you see a lot of voter fraud?” she said Monday during the first meeting of a subcommittee focused on elections and voting in Brownsville, Texas.
It was something of a rhetorical question for the panel of longtime Texas voting rights litigators whom Democrats had picked to testify. George Korbel, one of the witnesses, quickly responded: “Almost none.
Democrats have made voting rights a top priority since they won control of the House of Representatives in November, and the subcommittee Fudge is chairing is charged with compiling a record of discrimination that can be used to justify a new formula to require certain places to preclear their voting changes. Reinstating the preclearance provision would be a remarkably powerful legislative triumph, because in theory it would block discriminatory voting policies from going into effect. However, such a measure is unlikely to get support from Republicans, who control the Senate.
But Fudge’s question on Monday underscored how Democrats, newly empowered in the House, are aggressively pushing back on allegations of fraud while also documenting the very real evidence of voter suppression in the United States.
The whole thing is worth a read.
House Democrats tell Ajit Pai: Stop screwing over the public
Democratic lawmakers have put Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on notice that he can expect a lot more scrutiny now that Democrats control the US House of Representatives.
The House Commerce Committee is "reassuming its traditional role of oversight to ensure the agency is acting in the best interest of the public and consistent with its legislative authority," Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-Penn.) said in an announcement yesterday
Pallone, Jr. and Doyle wrote a letter to Pai, saying that he has made the FCC too secretive and has repeatedly advanced the interests of corporations over consumers.
They wrote:
“Not only have you have failed on numerous occasions to provide Democratic members of this committee with responses to their inquiries, you have also repeatedly denied or delayed responding to legitimate information requests from the public about agency operations. These actions have denied the public of a full and fair understanding of how the FCC under your leadership has arrived at public policy decisions that impact Americans every day in communities across the country.
Under your leadership, the FCC has failed repeatedly to act in the public interest and placed the interest of corporations over consumers. The FCC should be working to advance the goals of public safety, consumer protection, affordable access, and connectivity across the United States. To that end, it is incumbent upon the Committee’s leadership and its members to oversee the activities of the FCC”.
Ouch! That’s gotta hurt right Mr. Chairman?
And this:
Ajit Pai loses in court—judges overturn gutting of tribal broadband program
A federal appeals court has overturned Ajit Pai's attempt to take broadband subsidies away from tribal residents.
The Judges wrote:
“For the following reasons, we grant the petitions for review. The Commission's adoption of these two limitations was arbitrary and capricious by not providing a reasoned explanation for its change of policy that is supported by record evidence. In adopting the Tribal Facilities Requirement, the Commission's decision evinces no consideration of the exodus of facilities-based providers from the Tribal Lifeline program. Neither does it point to evidence that banning resellers from the Tribal Lifeline program would promote network buildout. Nor does it analyze the impact of the facilities requirement on Tribal residents who currently rely on wireless resellers. Further, the Commission ignored that its decision is a fundamental change that adversely affects the access and affordability of service for residents of Tribal lands. Similarly, in adopting the Tribal Rural Limitation, the Commission's decision evinces no consideration of the impact on service access and affordability. Its decision does not examine wireless deployment data related to services to which most Tribal Lifeline recipients subscribe”.
So much winning, all the winning, because all the best of the best.
Speaking of winning, did I say winning yet?
Nadler tees up subpoena for Whitaker — just in case
The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday will mark up a subpoena for acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, which Chairman Jerry Nadler says will be drafted so he has it in his back pocket if Whitaker won't answer the committee's questions.
Whitaker is scheduled to appear before the panel for a public hearing Friday. Nadler, a New York Democrat, said he had scheduled the subpoena markup "in an abundance of caution" to ensure Whitaker testifies and doesn't rely on executive privilege to avoid answering questions.
Bahahaha! Well Whitaker might just want to think about this one for a bit, or not it would be so much funnier.
These governors are showing what happens when you campaign on climate action and win
Let’s take a look at the remarkable recent flurry of action in the states.
Oregon
Any day now, Oregon state legislators are expected to introduce the Clean Energy Jobs Bill, which would connect Oregon to California’s cap-and-trade system, committing it to statewide greenhouse gas reductions of 80 percent by 2050. It is widely considered likely to pass.
New Mexico
Recently, newly elected New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order that committed the state — the country’s third-largest producer of oil and gas — to cutting statewide greenhouse gas emissions 45 percent by 2030.
Colorado
I’ve written a great deal about exciting developments in Colorado, including coal’s terrible fortunes, super-cheap renewable energy, and a major utility committed to 100 percent clean energy (the nation’s first major utility to do so).
Something else Colorado now has: Democrats in control of both houses of the state legislature and a governor, Jared Polis, committed to 100 percent clean electricity by 2040.
Honorable mentions: Illinois, Maine, Florida, Michigan, and Idaho
In late January, Illinois’ new Democratic governor, J.B. Pritzker, signed an executive order that joined his state to the US Climate Alliance. While it’s something short of a firm commitment, the order says Illinois “has the opportunity to be on a path to 100 percent clean and renewable energy.” (Notice “clean and renewable” — that makes room for the state’s nuclear power plants.)
Newly elected governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan is joining the Climate Alliance and singed an executive order creating an Office of Climate and Energy. Tony Evers of Wisconsin also vowed during his campaign to join the Climate Alliance.
Maine’s new governor Janet Mills replaces the much-loathed Paul LePage, who did everything in his power to squelch solar and wind development in the state. Mills has promised to restore net metering, remove limits on community solar, and support wind power development.
Elections matter folks, of course we all know that here.
I am especially tickled by this one, and much more so because Faux News is having a meltdown.
Soak the rich? Americans say go for it
The prospect of 70 percent tax rates for multimillionaires and special levies on the super-rich draw howls about creeping socialism and warnings of economic disaster in much of Washington.
But polling suggests that when it comes to soaking the rich, the American public is increasingly on board.
Surveys are showing overwhelming support for raising taxes on top earners, including a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released Monday that found 76 percent of registered voters believe the wealthiest Americans should pay more in taxes. A recent Fox News survey showed that 70 percent of Americans favor raising taxes on those earning over $10 million — including 54 percent of Republicans.
The numbers suggest the political ground upon which the 2020 presidential campaign will be fought is shifting in dramatic ways, reflecting the rise in inequality in the United States and growing concerns in the electorate about the fairness of the American system.
Even proposals that sound radical poll well.
A plan from first-term Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to slap a 70 percent marginal rate on income earned over $10 million clocked in at 59 percent support in a recent Hill/HarrisX poll.
The new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, conducted Feb. 1-2, found that 61 percent favor a proposal like the “wealth tax” recently laid out by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
Well all the wealthy boogers better start digging their moats cause we are done with them.
As always the Don the Con and his mobsters are in deeper and deeper:
The investigation into Trump’s inauguration money looks quite serious
The scope of documents requested in the subpoena and potential crimes investigators are probing are both remarkable — investigating everything from false statements to money laundering. Investigators are said to be interested in the inaugural committee’s spending, its donations, whether any donations came from illegal foreign sources, and potential corruption involving favors for donors.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the documents the government is demanding from the inaugural committee include:
- “All documents related to the committee’s donors and vendors”
- All records related to “benefits” provided to donors
- Documents related to the financier Imaad Zuberi and his company Avenue Ventures LLC. (He is the only donor specifically named in the subpoena. The Daily Beast has previously reported on Zuberi’s connections to Michael Cohen.)
- Documents related to donations “made by or on behalf of foreign nationals,” including communications about possible donations from foreign individuals
- Documents related to “donations or payments made by donors directly to contractors and/or vendors.” (The Journal reports that there was some discussion on the inaugural committee about having donors pay vendors for the inauguration directly — which could violate disclosure laws.)
- The New York Times reports that the subpoena also asks for documents about Stripe, a startup that processes credit card payments, for which Jared Kushner’s brother is an investor.
Meanwhile, CNN reports that the subpoena specifically names several different offenses that investigators are probing:
- Conspiracy against the United States
- False statements
- Mail fraud
- Wire fraud
- Money laundering
- Inaugural committee disclosure violations
- “Violations of laws prohibiting contributions by foreign nations and contributions in the name of another person, also known as straw donors.”
Oh that is not all:
New York federal prosecutors seek interviews with Trump Organization executives
Federal prosecutors in New York have requested interviews in recent weeks with executives at the Trump Organization, according to people familiar with the matter, signaling a growing potential threat to President Donald Trump and those in his orbit from criminal investigations by the Manhattan US Attorney's office.
Trump and his legal team have long harbored concerns that investigations by New York federal prosecutors -- which could last throughout his presidency -- may ultimately pose more danger to him, his family and his allies than the inquiry by special counsel Robert Mueller, according to people close to Trump. Prosecutors' recent interest in executives at Trump's family company may intensify those fears.
Aww, poor little baby cheese puff.
Well Gnus, I am spent. Just following this on line tonight has given me cheezit flu.
A reminder to follow Yosef52 for some great ways to help us in 2020.
Jeesh it’s a good thing I ended my night with Stacey cause otherwise I might have been in a straight jacket. Can’t wait to hear what you all have to say!
Peace!