Good Wednesday Morning Good Newsies. With the head spinning news cycle and the potential trauma we are suffering from the great pumpkin impeachment news to how many more people can the mango wanna be dictator harm, I wanted to start right out with this:
Now take a breath, take a sip of coffee, or beer whatever works for ya, think some good thoughts, and if ya got em, pet your pets.
I know things are just freaking nuts right now, well I guess they have been for quite some time, but it is at record speed now. Remember to have faith in humanity as we work our butts off for 2020.
I swear, every time I think the marmalade marshmallow cannot get any dumber…
Via Mashable:
Trump is infamous for splitting tweets in awkward places and chaotically threading his thoughts, so at first it seemed as though there would be more letters on the way. (Impeach the Press, perhaps?) But no. Trump tweeted "Impeach the Pres" and that's it. So it seems that was really just the tweet.
Well he asked for it, let’s do this!
Onward!
A little primer on the rest of this week’s Impeachment Progress:
Everything You Wanted To Know About Trump's Impeachment This Week But Were Too Dumb To Ask
“Just kidding, you are not dumb, Donald Trump is dumb”.
Yesterday was GEORGE KENT, State Department deputy assistant secretary, who it looks like is appearing under some sort of friendly subpoena, if Jim Jordan is to be believed. Yes, like Yovanovitch and Gordon Sondland, he is a current official, because it looks like the era of Trump administration officials just blowing off subpoenas and putting themselves in personal jeopardy is over.
Wednesday, it is MICHAEL MCKINLEY, the senior adviser to Mike Pompeo at State who just resigned last week, the one Pompeo really didn't want to talk about to badass Nashville journalist Nancy Amons in that badass interview where Amons kicked Pompeo in the nuts and then made him eat them.
Thursday, it is text-message-famous GORDON SONDLAND, the ambassador to the EU, who will be telling Congress about all the exciting Ukraine quid pro quos he actively participated in, while remaining at all times blissfully ignorant of the fact that he was doing quid pro quos, even though he was literally wearing a T-shirt the whole time that said "Don't Ask Me, I'm Just Doing Ukraine Quid Pro Quos," ALLEGEDLY. That day is gonna be some shit.
Friday, it is LAURA COOPER, the deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia. She will be the official first person to testify for the impeachment inquiry who comes from the Pentagon.
You might have been wondering why all these depositions are being done behind closed doors. Republican idiots like Jim Jordan have been waddling out of Congress to explain why they're not going to leak what happens in the hearing room, because of how that is the rules and Jim Jordan likes to follow the rules…
But Axios reports that another reason Schiff and the Democrats are keeping things behind closed doors -- for now -- is so simple, it's been staring you in the face this whole time. They don't want witnesses to compare notes. Hello! But relax, because Axios reports that we'll be getting transcripts whenever Adam Schiff decides it's time.
Well worth the whole read because it is Wonkette of course.
Tangerine traitors minions are not faring so great in this whole “I am not a criminal probe”:
LOL Rudy Giuliani, It's So Much Worse For You Than We Thought!
Warning for those disturbed by seeing an orange buffoon cheek kissing a horrible person dressed as a women insulting, well everyone.
We had just finished telling you about the true fact that Rudy Giuliani is being investigated by the Southern District of New York (SDNY), which he used to be the boss of, when mere hours later more news started pouring out about all the things he is being investigated for. Spoiler alert, it is so much worse than we thought!
The Wall Street Journal reports on how expansive this seems to be:
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are examining Rudy Giuliani's business dealings in Ukraine, including his finances, meetings and work for a city mayor there, according to people familiar with the matter.
Investigators also have examined Mr. Giuliani's bank records, according to the people.
Uh oh! And they of course want to know about the scheme involving his trusty companions Chucklefuck One and Chucklefuck Two, part of which had to do with getting Yovanovitch removed to clear the way for Trump and Giuliani to extort Ukraine to investigate the Bidens in order to help Trump's re-elect. All in all, a nice day in Rudy Giuliani's world.
And here comes Reuters with another one! Did you know that Lev Parnas, one of the Chucklefucks in BIG TROUBLE MISTER, had his company pay Rudy Giuliani's company $500,000 in American dollars for what Reuters is referring to as "consulting"? Yes, Wonkette will also call it "consulting," because what else would it be?
Stay tuned, the Rudy dirt has only just begun to leak. Wheeeeeeee!
Ghouliani should just give up right now, the man is going to prison.
Turkish bank linked to Giuliani client charged with fraud, money laundering in New York
Federal prosecutors have charged a Turkish bank with ties to a former client of President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani in connection with an alleged scheme to evade sanctions on Iran, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
The six-count indictment alleges that Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS (Halkbank) was part of a conspiracy to give Tehran access to billions of dollars in defiance of sanctions that it concealed from U.S. regulators.
As alleged in today’s indictment, Halkbank’s systemic participation in the illicit movement of billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil revenue was designed and executed by senior bank officials,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman said in a statement.
Among the many who will go down, liddle mikey mulvaney is right there in the spotlight.
Testimony of Ex-Trump Aide Exposes Mulvaney Role in Coordinating Giuliani's "Rogue Operation" in Ukraine
"The truth will keep coming out. And Trump cannot stop it."
Writers note: I just found this website and it is a really good resource. They encourage their news to be shared far and wide!
During nearly 10 hours of testimony to House impeachment investigators behind closed doors Monday, President Donald Trump's former top Russia adviser Fiona Hill alleged that acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, former ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, and the president's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani were running a "rogue operation" in Ukraine that sought to bypass official channels to benefit Trump politically.
Hill's testimony for the first time directed serious attention to the key role Mulvaney played in Trump's months-long attempt to pressure Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, an effort that led House Democrats to launch an impeachment inquiry last month.
"Both Ms. Hill and Mr. Bolton left the meeting with concerns about what had transpired, and Ms. Hill said Mr. Bolton instructed her to talk to [National Security Council] lawyer John Eisenberg," the Journal reported. "Mr. Sondland also appeared to be coordinating his efforts with acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney."
Mulvaney's role in Trump's push for a Biden probe in Ukraine was first revealed last month, when reports emerged that the U.S. president ordered Mulvaney—who also runs the Office of Management and Budget—to put a hold on around $400 million in military aid to Ukraine.
As the New York Times reported Monday night, Bolton, who departed the White House last month, likened Sondland and Mulvaney's secretive activities to a "drug deal" and attempted to distance himself from the officials' scheming.
"I am not part of whatever drug deal Sondland and Mulvaney are cooking up," Bolton instructed Hill to tell White House lawyers, according to the Times, which cited two people who attended Hill's deposition.
I have been looking forward to this:
Former GOP lawmaker Pete Sessions subpoenaed over dealings with Giuliani associates
A grand jury has subpoenaed former Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) for documents about his relationship with President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani and four Giuliani associates arrested last week on campaign finance charges, according to the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.
The subpoena concerns documents relating to Giuliani’s business relationships with Ukraine and his role in the removal of Marie Yovanovitch as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, as well as any contacts between Sessions, Giuliani and the four associates, according to the Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.
Blah, blah, blah...there is no evidence at this point of wrongdoing. Yuck.
I just want to see these cruel, heartless, greedy, power hungry blowhards led out in cuffs.
Writer takes a deep breath...
A few notes on how the “occupant” in OUR house is losing on all fronts.
White House plan to thwart the impeachment inquiry is crumbling as Democrats barrel forward
When Democrats launched a full-fledged impeachment inquiry centering on President Donald Trump’s Ukraine scandal, the White House and the administration had one primary tactical response: obstruct. If the administration could block Congress from obtaining the information about the president’s efforts to pressure Ukraine into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden, it seemed to believe, the air could be sucked out of the Democrats’ sails.
But as the House of Representatives barrels forward with the inquiry, the strategy of obstruction is falling apart.
All of these individuals defying the tRump orders not to testify is a blow to the stupid letter and their even more dumbfounding calls to stop their testimony.
Of course, in many ways, all this testimony is extraneous. Trump and Giuliani have already admitted to the core accusation of wrongdoing at the heart of the Ukraine scandal: trying to induce Ukraine to investigate a potential political rival of the president. This is a straightforward abuse of power.
But when claiming this abuse merits impeachment in opposition to those who are skeptical, having a thorough and robust impeachment inquiry, compiling ample evidence that the effort was sweeping, systematic, and disturbing to officials who knew better, will strengthen the case against the president. And Democrats may find evidence of further wrongdoing that exacerbates the core offense. Thus far, Democrats seem to be proving quite adept at obtaining the information they need — and they’re moving at breakneck speed.
A couple of other links on the subject from Alternet:
Financial Times editor drops bombshell over increased odds of Senate booting Trump from office: ‘It’s disintegrating in a terrible realtime fashion’
‘Game-changer’: Conservative scholar explains why ‘the most compelling evidence for impeachment is now in the public record’
And here’s Nancy!
The Three Amigos, bahahaha.
State Dept. Official: White House Put Rick Perry, Gordon Sondland, and Kurt Volker in Charge of Ukraine Policy
A State Department official responsible for Ukraine told Congress on Tuesday that he was instructed to “lay low” and leave the issue to the “three amigos”—Energy Secretary Rick Perry, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, and special U.S. envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker.
You cannot make this sh*t up. If it was not for the horrible, disgusting people involved it really would make a good movie…nah.
Okay peeps I am tired of all this winning 🤣let us move on.
Wait, this last item before I move on, one more bit on the topic of impeachment.
Haha, remember School House Rocks?
Are you winning yet vampire miller? What is this the fifth loss now...so sad too bad.
ICAP Scores Big Win in Court in Major Immigration Case
After arguments by lawyers from Georgetown Law’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) last Thursday in a case brought by CASA de Maryland and two DACA protectees, U.S. District Court Judge Paul W. Grimm late last night issued a nationwide preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of the Department of Homeland Security’s new Public Charge Rule, which otherwise would have gone into effect today. The Rule would have given nearly unfettered discretion to immigration officials to deny green cards to low-income immigrants based on speculation that the person may, at some point over the course of a lifetime, temporarily receive a small amount of certain public benefits and thereby become a “public charge.” The judge concluded that CASA was likely to prevail on the merits of its claim that the new rule is “not in accordance with law” because it is contrary to dictionary definitions of the term “public charge,” congressional intent, and federal court and executive branch precedent.
Soooo much winning
Trump emoluments case over his D.C. hotel gets second chance in legal challenge
A federal appeals court on Tuesday revived a lawsuit claiming that President Trump is illegally profiting from foreign and state government visitors at his hotel in downtown Washington.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit agreed to rehear the lawsuit, brought by the attorneys general of Maryland and the District, which was dismissed over the summer by a three-judge panel of the court.
The brief order set oral arguments before a full panel of judges for Dec. 12 and essentially gives the novel lawsuit, which tests the anti-corruption emoluments provisions of the Constitution, a second chance.
In other news:
Climate Rage Is Working
On Monday, Reuters scored an exclusive interview with Ben van Beurden, the CEO of the Shell Oil Company. During the sitdown, he decried people demonizing oil and said it’s “entirely legitimate to invest in oil and gas because the world demands it” and that “we have no choice” but to keep investing in dirty fossil fuel exploration.
Van Beurden’s remarks are, to put it in no uncertain terms, climate denialism. But because he said he defended the legitimacy of oil in response to “activists” claims, his comments are also a sign of something else: that the new, global outburst of climate rage is working.
Listen to teen activist Greta Thunberg and the millions of students who have followed her into the streets, and the anger is palpable. So are the targets of that anger. While they see governments as having a responsibility to act—and there is rightful indignation at the decades of sleepwalking that have preceded this moment—the most powerful anger has been directed at the fossil fuel industry and the damage it continues to cause to the climate and vulnerable communities. These companies have stolen their future.
That Shell’s CEO felt compelled to address activists’ concerns (which are fully backed by science) is a sign of the fractures to come. And van Beurden is far from alone. Earlier this year, the secretary-general of OPEC labeled the climate strike movement the “greatest threat” to the fossil fuel industry. Greta, true to teenage form, tweeted that it was the “biggest compliment yet” for activists’ work. Shell’s CEO denigrating the demands to wind down fossil fuel production is another compliment, if unintended, that the pressure is working.
I just love Greta and all who follow in her footsteps.
Extinction Rebellion Doesn't Give a Shit About London Cops' Protest Ban
When Extinction Rebellion’s co-founder climbed to the top of the Department of Transportation in London Tuesday morning, she knew she’d get arrested. That’s because cops had just banned any protests connected to the environmental group — and promised to throw anyone who didn’t listen behind bars.
For the last nine days, members of Extinction Rebellion have led widespread protests around the world, calling for immediate action to restrict greenhouse gas emissions. On Tuesday, some protesters in London blocked traffic by sitting in the street, and others marched, clad in the deep-red robes and white face-paint that have become staples at Extinction Rebellion protests.
"I do this in the spirit of what Emmeline Pankhurst called ‘the noble art of window smashing,'" Gail Bradbrook, the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion who was arrested Tuesday, said in a statement.
Teachers, youth, climate activists, GOTV. There are amazing things people are doing!
Chicago’s Teachers Are Making History. Again.
The beginning of a resurgence of strength among America’s unions today can be traced to two seminal events: the September 2012 seven-day strike by Chicago’s teachers, and the less-noticed June 2010 internal union election at the Chicago Teachers Union. That was when a slate of progressive, forward-thinking educators won all the top seats inside their union, ending nearly three decades of do-nothing unionism at the third-largest teacher’s union in the country. Jackson Potter, a teacher and one of the architects of that victory—and the subsequent strike—told me back in the fall of 2013, “Our ability to connect with the community has been key for us. But I worry about our ability to have much success over the long run if there aren’t other worker-led insurrections.”
Potter and 26,000 coworkers helped set the stage for the Chicago strikes, but they couldn’t have predicted the ensuing string of successes toward rebuilding a high-quality public school system, driven by educators from West Virginia to California. The strike that many people regard as the kickoff—the February 2018 West Virginia teacher’s strike—can also be traced back to Chicago. Despite a four-decade general assault against workers and unions, and a specific and especially vicious two-decade attack against America’s teachers, when the Chicago teachers walked in September 2012, the public sided decisively with them—and against Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Suddenly, expectations were raised that workers could fight, even strike—and win. Now with a strike date set for October 17, the focus returns to Chicago’s educators.
The strikes that spread from Chicago across the nation are happening because energetic, smart rank-and-file workers are finally taking back their own organizations—their unions—after too many years of risk-averse leaders whose unwillingness to use the strike weapon contributed to the downfall of the working class. Many teachers in Chicago are stellar educators: After an eight-year stint as a full-time leader of the union, Potter has returned to the high school classroom to teach eleventh-grade classes on “the theory of knowledge, civics and modern world history.” But it’s not just students at his school in the Back of the Yards neighborhood who benefit. Perhaps the most important lesson Chicago’s educators have taught us is that to build a country where policy makers favor the supermajority rather than the 1 percent means a return to massive, supermajority strikes. It is only through such strikes that we can rebuild the solidarity desperately needed among workers—and between workers and the broader society. Strikes are to democracy what water is to life: not a distraction or a disturbance but the foundation.
I cannot possibly add anything more to that.
All of this absolute insanity leaves me looking for good news that takes me far away from the politics at hand.
A massive mastiff had to be rescued after getting exhausted on a mountain hike
Floyd the mastiff went for a hike with his owner up the Grandeur Peak trail near Salt Lake City on Sunday. But when it was time to come down, Floyd was too exhausted and just sat down.
Thanks to the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office search and rescue team, the 190-pound dog made it home by being carried back down the trail.
The rescue team was called around 6:30 p.m. after other hikers passed Floyd on the trail and saw his owner needed help. The 3-year-old dog wouldn't budge and temperatures in the area were quickly dropping, according to police.
"The team is completely volunteer," Sgt. Melody Gray of the
Unified Police Department, which works with the sheriff's search and rescue team, told CNN. "They had no hesitation whatsoever, even when they heard it was a dog."
Here is my soon to be massive mastiff mix and her big pittie sister.
Okay folks, let’s get to work!!
Your 5 weekly to-dos
- Sign up to make some calls connecting voters to Senators to demand a complete and fair impeachment trial. We've identified 13 Senators who our political and policy experts believe we can sway -- and now we're asking you to call voters in their states and ask those voters to turn up the pressure on their elected officials. Join our hubdialer program today and help us make 11 million calls for impeachment!
- Tell your member of Congress to support improvements to the Democrats’ prescription drug price bill. House Democratic leadership released H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019, on September 19, 2019. But there are still numerous provisions of the bill that should be strengthened before it reaches the floor. As clinical as this conversation sounds, at its heart, it’s about making sure that a little girl in Nebraska can take an epi-pen on her school field trip, that we’re prioritizing her life over a mega corporation’s profits. H.R. 3 can ensure we’re doing that, but only if we push Democrats to fighter harder for this issue.
- Debates are tonight!!! Opt-in to our exclusive Indivisible Debate Focus Group by texting DEBATES to 977-79. We want to capture the Indivisible movement’s take on the debates tonight -- which means we’ll need an exclusive focus group that we’ll text right after the debate ends (11pm ET / 8pm PT). Also follow along with our Debate Watch Guide!
- Register for the National Activist Call on Nov 7 at 8 PM ET. We’re going to cover the latest updates on the impeachment inquiry in the House, recap the Defund Hate week of action from September, and give you the latest on the Indivisible book -- so make sure to tune in!
Do not know why there are only four...
Gnusies Help Unify the Democrats!
On Saturday, GoodNewsRoundup introduced a Gnusies Swing Left campaign: Until October 19, 2019, we can donate to the ultimate Democratic presidential candidate via our Good News Roundup Unify or Die Fund. We’ve raised $535 so far! Thank you all! I believe we have a muckle. Any more mickles? Please click here to donate.
Follow Yosef52, really you must!
Postcards to Voters
Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights
Rock the Vote
Do Something
I am going to call it here. I know you will all share what I missed in the comments, it is what makes this space the great place it is.
Peace!