Good day, Gnusies! This is the week that the public hearings will begin (10AM Wednesday, broadcasting live on all networks and cable news channels as well as CSPAN).
Today’s news features a number of stories about people Rs and Dumpy thought they could count on either to cover up their crimes (assorted staffers) or to let them off in court in spite of their crimes (packed judiciary branch). Interestingly, it turns out that even right wing extremist ideologues are not a monolith, nor are all of them willing to be complicit in criminality. In fact, many are turning out to be law-abiding, sincere patriots who will testify to the shenanigans they witnessed. And others will abide by the rule of law in courts, even when their personal sympathies may lie with the extremists in office. In other words, some of those ultra conservative judges may love the vicious ideology of the far right, but stop short of permitting outright crimes to be committed, even in service of that right wing agenda.
Today, I can’t do any better than just bring you a bunch of good news. And please add the ton of news I didn’t include in the comments!
䷼ Democrats Keep Bringing the Truth ䷼
There are so many really good Democrats in congress fighting for this country, for truth and justice. Adam Schiff, of course, as Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, has been chairing the interviews thus far and will chair the open Impeachment hearings which begin on Wednesday:
The Collusion Never Stopped. The Whole GOP Got on Board. Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo, November 11, 2019.
^^ This article is too difficult to quote from effectively because it is written around transcripts from Lt. Col. Vindman’s testimony. Please go read for yourself to see both how the Rs are in cahoots with the dumpy administration/Russia and how chairman Schiff is on to them and brings it out in his own questions to the witness.
Chairman Adam Schiff has been an amazing Congressional leader who, along with our wise and capable Speaker, has been steering this huge and complex investigation. I am so thankful that Rep. Schiff has focused his considerable ability on what the country needs right now rather than on personal ambitions. In my view, he would be a superb president — brilliant, honorable, calm in the face of frightening national and global events — and I hope after he helps save the Republic, he will one day run for president.
House Intelligence Committee Has Evidence Of Trump 'Extortion Scheme,' Democrat Says, Hayley Miller, Huffington Post, November 10, 2019.
The House Intelligence Committee has evidence that shows that President Donald Trump engaged in an “extortion scheme” to pressure Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden, a Democratic member of the committee said Sunday.
The committee member, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), told CBS’ “Face The Nation” that the impeachment inquiry into Trump warrants advancement following the private testimonies of multiple witnesses.
“We have enough evidence from the depositions that we’ve done to warrant bringing this forward ― evidence of an extortion scheme using taxpayer dollars to ask a foreign government to investigate the president’s opponent,” Swalwell said.
An epic ‘Meet the Press’ rant unmasks the real goal of Trump’s lies, Greg Sargent, Washington Post, November 11, 2019.
It all started when Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered a spectacularly disingenuous new defense of Trump’s corruption. First, Paul claimed Trump was right to withhold military aid from Ukraine, because Trump truly believed that Biden was, in fact, corrupt.
Then Paul insisted that in pressuring Ukraine to undertake “investigations” of Biden, Trump was doing the same thing Biden did when he withheld aid to oust a Ukrainian prosecutor. Trump’s propagandists have twisted that act into a tale of Biden-and-son corruption that is entirely fabricated. Trump extorted Ukraine to force it to somehow make that fabrication true.
Finally, Paul did concede Trump pressured a foreign country to investigate a political rival, but added that Hillary Clinton “hired a British spy to hire Russians to get dirt called the Steele Dossier,” and equated that with Trump’s conduct.
NBC News’s Chuck Todd seemed to allow Paul’s basic framing to stand unchallenged, saying at one point: “So two wrongs make a right?” That prompted this remarkable pushback from Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), which you should watch in full:
Whenever you start to feel a little down and discouraged because all the noise seems to be coming from the wrongwing Rs, remember that the hard work of democracy is often quiet, hard persistent work. Important meaningful work, which will help save the country... and Democrats keep on doing that work. For example:
Democrats challenge election laws in battleground states, Reid Wilson, The Hill, November 11, 2019.
A year before the 2020 presidential election, Democratic groups are filing lawsuits in new and emerging battleground states, challenging election laws and procedures they say disproportionately affect young and minority voters.
Those groups have filed seven lawsuits in recent weeks, challenging election laws in five states. And more suits are coming, said Marc Elias, the Democratic election law expert whose firm is overseeing the litigation.
In Georgia, Texas and Arizona, coalitions of Democratic groups are challenging state laws that will list Republican candidates first in any given race. Social science research has found that a candidate listed first on a ballot can benefit by as much as 2.5 percentage points, through what researchers call the primacy effect. ✂️
“These lawsuits are all focused on provisions that will meaningfully impact the ability of voters to cast ballots and have their ballots counted equally with other citizens. They’re not necessarily the flashiest lawsuits,” Elias said. “But we believe they are meritorious lawsuits.”
💀 Republicans’ Skullduggery is Failing 💀
Republicans are counting on their packing of the courts to protect them from legal consequences for their crimes and for the viciously partisan legislation they want to pass. What they failed to reckon with is the fact that although the dozens of judges they have packed into the courts no doubt have R (regressive repugnant Republican) bona fides — or else they would never have been nominated by these crooks — not all of them are going to be crooked or willing to overlook actual criminal behavior. Luckily for the country, one such judge presided over Dumpy’s attempt to sue New York state over the potential release of his tax returns:
Trump can't sue New York state in DC federal court to stop release of tax returns, judge says, Katelyn Polantz, CNN News, November 11, 2019.
A Trump-appointed federal judge decided Monday that President Donald Trump can't sue New York state officials in a Washington, DC, court at this time to stop the release of his tax returns to Congress. ✂️
Trump had argued that the DC federal court was the right place to sue because New York state would send the tax returns to Washington if Congress requested them. ✂️
"The Commissioner [of tax and revenue in New York] has not taken any such actions—at least not yet. But more importantly, the acts of corresponding with the Committee and transmitting Mr. Trump's state tax returns would not constitute transacting business" in Washington, DC, the judge wrote on Monday.
Trump also claimed he could be hurt, for the purposes of a lawsuit, in Washington. "Such acts, if taken, could be enough to satisfy" part of the DC code, the judge wrote. "But speculation that they might occur is insufficient to exercise jurisdiction over the Commissioner now."
Judge tosses Trump suit against New York law that lets Congress get his tax returns, AP via ShareBlue, November 11, 2019.
Letitia James, New York's attorney general, hailed the judge's ruling.
"We have said all along that this lawsuit should be dismissed and we are pleased with the court’s conclusion," James said in a statement. "The TRUST Act is an important tool that will ensure accountability to millions of Americans who deserve to know the truth. We have never doubted that this law was legal, which is why we vigorously defended it from the start and will continue to do so."
🎶 LOL, Apropos NY… 🎶
And the Republican support for Dumpy is sagging slightly:
14 Republicans and Trump appointees who have indicated his Ukraine call was hardly ‘perfect’, Aaron Blake, Washington Post, November 11, 2019.
President Trump felt the need Sunday to rally the Republican troops. In a tweet, he again urged them to defend him to the hilt on the Ukraine scandal — and suggested they weren’t quite doing it.
So why the sudden outburst? Probably because that particular view was suddenly in vogue this weekend. No fewer than four Republicans — former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. John Neely Kennedy (La.) and Reps. Mac Thornberry (Tex.) and Will Hurd (Tex.) — all said that asking for an investigation of a political opponent isn’t okay. And by Monday, former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice added her name to the list. ✂️
We now count 13 Republicans and Trump appointees — including three ambassadors and ambassador nominees — who have offered some version of this talking point. A couple applied it to China, whom Trump also said should investigate Biden, but the sentiment is largely the same.
All of them are making it more difficult for Trump to argue there’s nothing to see here.
and they are at each other’s throats
Seriously, it’s like a mad king Donny’s palace intrigue soap opera. The clip I’ve copied only scratches the surface- read the hole thing for a lot more.
Trump aides fear John Bolton's secret notes, Jonathan Swan, Axios, November 10, 2019.
John Bolton is the impeachment inquiry's biggest wildcard. People around the president say they are worried about what notes Trump's former national security adviser has kept and when he might divulge them.
Why it matters: These sources, including both current and former senior administration officials, tell me that the former national security adviser was the most prolific note-taker at the top level of the White House and probably has more details than any impeachment inquiry witness, so far, about President Trump's machinations on Ukraine.
- "Bolton was a voracious note-taker, in every meeting," said a source who attended numerous meetings with him.
- While others sat and listened in meetings with Trump, Bolton distinguished himself by filling legal pads with contemporaneous notes on what was said in the room.
Feud Between Trump Advisers Underscores a White House Torn by Rivalries, Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman, New York Times, November 11, 2019.
In the three years since his election, Mr. Trump has never been accused of running a cohesive, unified team. But the revelations of recent days have put on display perhaps more starkly than ever the fissures tearing at his administration. In the emerging picture, the Trump White House is a toxic stew of personality disputes, policy differences, political rivalries, ethical debates and a fundamental rift over the president himself.
The fault lines were most clearly evident on Monday when Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, abruptly withdrew his effort to join a lawsuit over impeachment testimony after a sharp collision with his onetime colleague John R. Bolton, the former national security adviser. Mr. Mulvaney retreated only hours after a lawyer for Mr. Bolton went to court arguing that his clients wanted nothing to do with the staff chief because they had vastly different interests.
In withdrawing his motion, Mr. Mulvaney indicated that he would now press his own lawsuit to determine whether to comply with a subpoena to testify in the House impeachment inquiry. But it left him at odds with the president, who has ordered his team not to cooperate with the House, an order Mr. Mulvaney essentially has refused to accept as other administration officials have until he receives separate guidance from a judge.
Citizens are stepping up
Independent journalists and legal experts are standing up to support the growing public conclusion that Dumpy must be impeached, as required by the Constitution. In the article below in this month’s New Republic, the president and the chief counsel for the Constitutional Accountability Center present a sample legal brief describing three articles of impeachment and the publicly-known evidence supporting them:
High Crimes: The In-Depth Case for Trump’s Impeachment, Brianne Gorod and Elizabeth Wydra, the New Republic, November 11, 2019. (please click through for an excellent outline of potential articles and evidence):
Conclusion
In all of this, Donald Trump, by his conduct, has been undermining the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the presidency, has betrayed his trust as President and has acted in a manner subversive of the rule of law and justice, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States and our democracy. When the Framers drafted our enduring Constitution, they created a president, not a king. They gave this new president significant new powers that had not been centralized in a single person under our previous governing charter, the Articles of Confederation—but crucially, they also gave Congress the power to remove that new president if he dangerously abused those powers and used them for private gain. The power of impeachment should not, of course, be exercised lightly; it is an extreme remedy that removes from office our highest-ranking elected official and entails profound costs for the nation. But President Trump has repeatedly made clear that he views the presidency as a tool to benefit himself, rather than the American people, and is willing to sell out American security and democracy in the process. The totality of his abuses—which continue coming to light with stunning regularity—establish a clear-cut case for his impeachment.
Our system of constitutional democracy is being tested, with President Trump apparently intent on stretching it beyond a breaking point. With the nation facing this dire constitutional crisis, the somber remedy of impeachment, enshrined in our founding charter, is warranted.
And on Veteran’s Day, progressive veterans group VoteVets kicked off a campaign to unseat Dumpy and Republicans:
Progressive veterans group launches campaign labeling Trump as a 'national security threat', Tess Bonn, the Hill, November 11, 2019.
One of the largest progressive veterans groups in the country is launching a new campaign against President Trump on Monday that seeks to raise pressure on several Republican senators up for reelection next year.
To mark Veterans Day, VoteVets will fly planes over key Senate battleground states like North Carolina, Arizona, Kentucky and Colorado Monday morning, with a banner that reads: “Vets: Trump is a National Security Threat.” The group seeks to specifically target Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.). ✂️
In addition to the planes, the group also plans to run digital ads and to launch a website detailing all the ways in which Trump has posed a national security threat to the United States. This includes everything from allegedly “inviting foreign interference in our elections” to “raiding funds for our military families to build his wall.”
Also: Photos: Veterans Protest Trump's Appearance At NYC Parade, Jake Offenhartz, Gothamist, November 11, 2019.
election security
The Brennan Center is asking the court to let a case go forward that would make elections safer from cyberattacks:
Federal Appeals Court Considering Lawsuit Seeking More Secure Voting Machines, Andrea Cordova McCadney, Brennan Center for Justice, November 8, 2019.
When there’s a close election in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the losing candidate can go to court and ask for a recount of the ballots. If the judge thinks it’s warranted, the ballots will be counted by hand. But in Memphis, Tennessee, that can’t happen because there are no paper ballots to review. That’s because Shelby County, where Memphis is located, still uses paperless “direct-recording electronic” voting machines, also known as paperless DREs.
These machines only keep a digital record of votes, making them vulnerable to cyberattacks. Fortunately, they’re being phased out — but not everywhere, and that’s why they’re the subject of a federal lawsuit aiming to require their retirement as soon as possible. Tennessee is one of eight states expected to still be using paperless DREs as the primary way for voters to cast their ballots in some jurisdictions in 2020. They are used everywhere in Louisiana and in most of Indiana, New Jersey, and Mississippi as well.
In 2018, a group of Shelby County voters and the nonprofit Shelby County Advocates for Valid Elections (SAVE) sued the state of Tennessee, Shelby County, and various election officials, arguing that the county’s use of paperless DRE machines interferes with their right to vote. The district court dismissed the lawsuit because, according to the court, the risk of future harm to voters is too speculative and not traceable to the election administrators.
On Thursday, the Brennan Center and Troutman Sanders LLP filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of 13 current and former election officials in 10 states asking the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse that ruling. The brief explains that there is in fact a substantial risk for the plaintiffs’ votes to not be properly counted given the evidence of the continuing threat of attacks on voting systems in Tennessee and nationwide, as well as the problems inherent in paperless voting machines.
Putting the Biden slander to bed
Biden Helped Reform Ukraine. Trump Pushed to Make Ukraine Corrupt Again., Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine, November 11, 2019.
Corruption is certainly an important social problem in Ukraine, and the struggle to tame it has been well-documented. The American politician with the most impressive record of anti-corruption activism in that country is Joe Biden. The New York Times, the Washington Post and L.A. Times have all conducted deep dives into Biden’s record, and portrayed him as a forceful and effective advocate for reform. He successfully pushed Ukraine to remove an ineffective prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, who had allowed the country’s oligarchs to operate outside the law. And he helped advocate reforms of Ukraine’s natural-gas sector, saying, “The energy sector needs to be competitive, ruled by market principles — not sweetheart deals.” ✂️
The Ukraine policy architecture that Trump inherited was already geared toward fighting corruption in Ukraine. A thorough review of the transcripts of the impeachment hearings by Slate’s Will Saletan found that Trump simply ignored all the official efforts to oppose corruption there. The National Defense Authorization Act has a process to ensure countries receiving military aid are fighting corruption. William Taylor, the U.S. ambassador, testified that Ukraine had indeed satisfied the assessment. Gordon Sondland testified that when he and other officials told Trump about President Zelensky’s anti-corruption efforts, “He didn’t want to hear about it.”
Saletan’s analysis supplies the answer to the question Kennedy pretends to wonder about. Did Trump actually care about corruption? No, of course not.
But to call Trump uninterested in corruption in Ukraine is to flatter him. Trump’s policy was in fact to roll back the country’s reforms and recorrupt its judicial system and, especially, its energy sector.
And check out this encouraging analysis of the R defence strategy, by former US Attorney for the northern district of Alabama, Joyce White Vance:
Why All of Trump's Defenses Against Impeachment Are Doomed to Fail, Joyce White Vance, Time, November 11, 2019.
We’ve reached the part of this tired charade where even those who’ve tried to escape the obvious conclusion now know that the emperor has no clothes. The mounting evidence from career diplomats, and Trump’s own political appointees, has laid bare his self-serving ploy in Ukraine.
Many people have become numb to this Administration’s wrongdoing after almost three years of constant scandal. Some feel that no matter what Trump does, he’ll never be held accountable. Why should they invest time in today’s awful news, when it will give way in a few days or weeks without anything changing?
This is the challenge the Democrats face as they open public impeachment hearings this week. Can they get the country to pay attention? Can they produce a coherent narrative that will help people understand this most serious of Trump Administration debacles?
Trump has, per usual, thrown out a barrage of defenses, hoping something will stick. So far nothing has. Here are the key defenses he’s tried and those he’ll likely move on to next, and why they all fail.
[ the author then goes on to describe six defenses the administration is trying and gives the legal reasons why they fail...go read it!]
More trouble for the NRA and I am here for it
“The rot had gotten worse and I simply decided: No, I’m not giving those people my money,”
NRA turmoil creates rift among some big donors, Lisa Marie Pane, AP News, November 10, 2019.
The NRA attributes much of its success and power to rank-and-file members who contribute a few dollars here and there throughout the year, but it’s the big-ticket donors who fuel the organization’s finances. They also play a role in who serves on the board of directors and are active on the NRA social and fundraising scene, whether it’s at galas or hunting trips.
And there are signs that some of them are growing uneasy over the NRA’s troubles.
One of them went so far to as to file a lawsuit against the NRA claiming misuse of funds and started a website that seeks changes to the NRA — from the ouster of longtime CEO Wayne LaPierre, to halving the size of the 76-member board of directors.
😄 LOL 😄
🌎 Environment 🌍
The City That Cycles With the Young, the Old, the Busy and the Dead, Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, November 9, 2019.
Some 49 percent of all journeys to school and work now transpire by bicycle, according to the city, up from 36 percent a decade ago. When the municipal government recently surveyed Copenhagen’s bikers on what inspires them to bike, 55 percent said it was more convenient than the alternatives. Only 16 percent cited environmental benefits. ✂️
Copenhagen’s status as a global exemplar of bicycle culture owes to the accommodating flatness of the terrain and the lack of a Danish auto industry, which might have hijacked the policy levers. Trouble also played a role.
The global oil shock of the 1970s lifted the price of gasoline, making driving exorbitantly costly. A dismal economy in the 1980s brought the city to the brink of bankruptcy, depriving it of finance to build roads, and making bicycle lanes an appealingly thrifty alternative.
The city focused on making biking safe and comfortable, setting lanes apart from cars on every street. As biking captured mass interest, improving the infrastructure became good politics. When it snows in Copenhagen, bike lanes are typically plowed first. ✂️
Not long ago, modernity felt bound for something like the Jetsons, with families zipping around via jet packs. But maybe this is the future, a resumption of the past, upgraded by contemporary design.
“The infrastructure is there and it’s safe,” said Mr. Rasmussen, as he prepared a comforting dinner of squash soup and home-baked sourdough bread. “Why wouldn’t you bike? It’s stupid not to bike.”
⚡️ Lightning RoundUp ⚡️
⚡️ The insider's guide to the impeachment hearings, Andrew Desiderio and Kyle Cheney, Politico, November 11, 2019.
⚡️ House Lawmakers Urge Trump To Cancel Turkish President's White House Visit, Antonia Blumberg, Huffington Post, November 11, 2019.
⚡️ READ: Highlights From The Testimony Of Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Laura Cooper, Matt Shuham, Talking Points Memo, November 11, 2019.
⚡️ The Founders Would Have Called Out Trump for Bribery, Conor Friedersdorf, the Atlantic, November 8, 2019.
⚡️ Good recap of rise of global oligarchy: The March of the Oligarchs: 1979-2019, Peter Jukes, Byline Times, October 31, 2019.
⚡️ Teri Kanefield Trump and Giuliani's impeachment defense pushes America closer to a 'mafia state', Teri Kanefield, NBC Think, November 5, 2019.
⚡️ 💓Absolutely gorgeous, stunning, heartbreaking, hopeful writing: Ghosts of War in a Wisconsin Forest, Brian Box, the New Republic, November 11, 2019.
⚡️ Updated with Peter King: Who’s Retiring from Congress? (2019 Edition)
⚡️ Graphical proof that vaccines work (with sources)
💙 RoundUp WindDown 💙
I’m out of time. Yikes!
Before I go, I have a couple of requests:
Please put your local news in the comments. It reminds us how much progressives are accomplishing more quietly and it shows how very much we are in the majority and how many good people there are — even in so-called “red” states!
Please take care of yourself and your loved ones. Eat nutritious food, get enough rest, and if you are able, get outdoors each day to stay in touch with our planet. It will restore your spirits.
Please do what you can to work toward truth and justice. Write postcards, register voters, work on campaigns, freeway blog...do whatever you can with whatever you’ve got. You CAN make a difference! If every one of us did whatever we can with whatever we have, we will save the world even faster.
Please post information and links about things we can all do to promote progressive causes and to demote the current cabal of conservative kooks.
Thank you for reading the GNRUs and thank you for participating in comments, sharing and reccing. I’m thankful every day that I found this community and I am proud and honored to be one of its writers.
Happy Tuesday, Gnusies!
Let’s get going — regular Americans like us will save the country, and regular people around the world will save the planet!