https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/10/04/mass-arrests-thousands-descend-senate-office-building-demanding-lawmakers-reject
"After rallying at Supreme Court earlier in the day, protesters who'd traveled from all over the country filled the building with chants of, "Whose Senate? Our Senate!" and "Believe Survivors!" as more than one hundred were arrested after staging mass civil disobedience."
News And Opinion About The Republican War On Women And Issues Important To Women
Saturday, October 6, 2018
All the Ways a Justice Kavanaugh Would Have to Recuse Himself
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/01/opinion/justice-kavanaugh-recuse-himself.html
"The Supreme Court may have to consider questions about whether a sitting president can be indicted or subpoenaed, and what effect pardoning a federal offense would have on state charges for the same conduct — an issue bound up in Gamble v. United States, a double jeopardy case already on the court’s calendar. Many have argued that Judge Kavanaugh should not be confirmed unless he commits in advance to recusing himself from such cases. He has predictably refused to do so."
"The Supreme Court may have to consider questions about whether a sitting president can be indicted or subpoenaed, and what effect pardoning a federal offense would have on state charges for the same conduct — an issue bound up in Gamble v. United States, a double jeopardy case already on the court’s calendar. Many have argued that Judge Kavanaugh should not be confirmed unless he commits in advance to recusing himself from such cases. He has predictably refused to do so."
Our View: Sen. Collins should vote ‘no’ on Kavanaugh
https://www.pressherald.com/2018/10/04/our-view-sen-collins-should-vote-no-on-kavanaugh/
"The Senate should reject the nomination and start over, and Collins has the ability to help make that happen."
"The Senate should reject the nomination and start over, and Collins has the ability to help make that happen."
Russia Is Exploiting American White Supremacy Over and Over Again
https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-russia-exploits-american-white-supremacy-over-and-over-again?ref=home
"Russia’s troll army was not interested in stirring up generic ‘chaos’ in America. The Kremlin is strategically tapping into the inexhaustible fuel source of white grievance."
"Russia’s troll army was not interested in stirring up generic ‘chaos’ in America. The Kremlin is strategically tapping into the inexhaustible fuel source of white grievance."
Friday, October 5, 2018
The Supreme Court's Legitimacy Is on the Brink of Collapse
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a23621362/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-legitimacy-collapse/
"We will get to see how utterly reckless Mitch McConnell is in perpetuating the power down through the generations, the Constitution and the republic be damned. We will get to see the steel in Heidi Heitkamp, who has gone all the way out on a very tremulous limb, and we will get to see, finally, what Joe Manchin is willing to sell cheap in order to stay in office. We will see the true depth of the loyalty the congressional majority has to the developing oligarchy, to its dedication to rolling back the achievements of 20 years of civil rights progress, and to the heedless savage who sits in the White House. This is what United States senators are supposed to do. This, to borrow a phrase from a movie that seems to be coming to life more every day, is the life they have chosen."
"We will get to see how utterly reckless Mitch McConnell is in perpetuating the power down through the generations, the Constitution and the republic be damned. We will get to see the steel in Heidi Heitkamp, who has gone all the way out on a very tremulous limb, and we will get to see, finally, what Joe Manchin is willing to sell cheap in order to stay in office. We will see the true depth of the loyalty the congressional majority has to the developing oligarchy, to its dedication to rolling back the achievements of 20 years of civil rights progress, and to the heedless savage who sits in the White House. This is what United States senators are supposed to do. This, to borrow a phrase from a movie that seems to be coming to life more every day, is the life they have chosen."
If The Rule Of Law Means Anything, Kavanaugh Must Be Impeached
https://www.currentaffairs.org/2018/10/if-the-rule-of-law-means-anything-kavanaugh-must-be-impeached
"If a federal judge can get away with lying to Congress, why do we even have sworn oaths?"
"If a federal judge can get away with lying to Congress, why do we even have sworn oaths?"
Above the Law and Below the Belt: High Crimes and Misdemeanors of Kavanaugh and the Senate-Trump Faction
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/10/05/above-law-and-below-belt-high-crimes-and-misdemeanors-kavanaugh-and-senate-trump
"In our considered legal and moral opinion, Kavanaugh's continual false declarations and prevarications are grounds for impeachment in even his current position of Federal Court Judge. In our judgement, with which many will agree, Trump’s candidate Kavanaugh has incontestably demonstrated unfitness for any judicial or public office. His speech and actions under oath, to the US Senate, is enough for him to be disbarred and lose his law license."
"In our considered legal and moral opinion, Kavanaugh's continual false declarations and prevarications are grounds for impeachment in even his current position of Federal Court Judge. In our judgement, with which many will agree, Trump’s candidate Kavanaugh has incontestably demonstrated unfitness for any judicial or public office. His speech and actions under oath, to the US Senate, is enough for him to be disbarred and lose his law license."
Early voting has begun! Here's when it starts (and ends) in every state
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/2/1800834/-Early-voting-has-begun-Here-s-when-it-starts-and-ends-in-every-state
"Note that in some states, “early voting” may be referred to by another name (most commonly “in-person absentee voting”), and procedures for casting ballots early can vary, so please check with local election officials."
"Note that in some states, “early voting” may be referred to by another name (most commonly “in-person absentee voting”), and procedures for casting ballots early can vary, so please check with local election officials."
State Ballot Initiatives Challenge Gerrymandering and Voter Suppression
https://truthout.org/articles/state-ballot-initiatives-challenge-gerrymandering-and-voter-suppression/
"Across the country, voters are considering more than two dozen ballot initiatives aimed at expanding ballot access and voting rights, as well rooting out political corruption, according to civil rights advocates and nonpartisan good government groups who held a briefing with reporters on Tuesday. Call it “draining the swamp” if you like, but these efforts are driven by activists and everyday citizens who pounded the pavement collecting signatures, not by loudmouth politicians in Washington, DC."
"Across the country, voters are considering more than two dozen ballot initiatives aimed at expanding ballot access and voting rights, as well rooting out political corruption, according to civil rights advocates and nonpartisan good government groups who held a briefing with reporters on Tuesday. Call it “draining the swamp” if you like, but these efforts are driven by activists and everyday citizens who pounded the pavement collecting signatures, not by loudmouth politicians in Washington, DC."
Lies don’t get more brazen than the one Rohrabacher is telling his constituents about health care
https://thinkprogress.org/dana-rohrabacher-lying-about-preexisting-conditions-6497fb40ceb3/
"With regard to health care policy, a number of Republicans are running on straight-up lies this election cycle."
"With regard to health care policy, a number of Republicans are running on straight-up lies this election cycle."
Daddy’s boy: New York Times investigation exposes the breadth of Trump’s lies and corruption
https://www.salon.com/2018/10/03/daddys-boy-new-york-times-investigation-exposes-the-breadth-of-trumps-lies-and-corruption/
"Part of the Donald Trump myth has always been the idea that he was much more successful than his father. That too is BS. Fred Trump was massively rich, and his wealth is what supported Trump throughout his career. The Times procured hundreds of thousands of confidential documents, including 200 tax returns from Fred Trump's business that show many years of shady business practices designed to hide all these transactions -- which add up to Donald Trump receiving at least $413 million in today's dollars. Trump has always said he got "peanuts” from his father. That's a lot of peanuts. And they started rolling in when he was a tiny boy. The Times found that even as a toddler, he was earning the equivalent of $200,000 a year in contemporary dollars. He and was a millionaire by the time he was eight years old. Year after year he received more money from his father's various trusts, until he was getting $5 million a year all the way into his 50s. It's always been unclear how Trump could maintain his luxurious lifestyle even when his businesses were all cratering in the '80s and '90s. Now we know. Fred Trump took very good care of his boy even after he found out that Donnie was fiddling with the will without telling anyone and had his daughter Maryanne (now a federal judge) find someone to draw up papers stripping his son of sole control over Fred’s estate."
"Part of the Donald Trump myth has always been the idea that he was much more successful than his father. That too is BS. Fred Trump was massively rich, and his wealth is what supported Trump throughout his career. The Times procured hundreds of thousands of confidential documents, including 200 tax returns from Fred Trump's business that show many years of shady business practices designed to hide all these transactions -- which add up to Donald Trump receiving at least $413 million in today's dollars. Trump has always said he got "peanuts” from his father. That's a lot of peanuts. And they started rolling in when he was a tiny boy. The Times found that even as a toddler, he was earning the equivalent of $200,000 a year in contemporary dollars. He and was a millionaire by the time he was eight years old. Year after year he received more money from his father's various trusts, until he was getting $5 million a year all the way into his 50s. It's always been unclear how Trump could maintain his luxurious lifestyle even when his businesses were all cratering in the '80s and '90s. Now we know. Fred Trump took very good care of his boy even after he found out that Donnie was fiddling with the will without telling anyone and had his daughter Maryanne (now a federal judge) find someone to draw up papers stripping his son of sole control over Fred’s estate."
A financial history of Donald Trump: From daddy's little boy, to Putin's best partner
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/5/1801568/-A-financial-history-of-Donald-Trump-From-daddy-s-little-boy-to-Putin-s-best-partner?utm_campaign=recent
"By 2004, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts was forced to file bankruptcy. And this time, it really was Donald Trump’s money and Donald Trump’s assets on the line. Trump couldn’t get a loan. He couldn’t get a casino license. His days as a would-be casino mogul were over. Just as Donald Trump was being selected to be a pretend billionaire on The Apprentice, his real life failures were catching up with him. This was also the period of Trump trying to make money off of just being Trump. Trump water, Trump steaks, and Trump magazine were just a few of the ‘T’ brands that appeared, and swiftly disappeared, in the mid-aughts. The threat that Trump would ever be ousted from the eponymous tower built under his father’s reign was always remote. At his low point, Trump still controlled a plethora of properties that did produce an income in the millions and he really was able to sell his name, though never for the kind of numbers he’s asserted. But Trump’s net worth was a fraction of what he claimed, and his ability to make a deal for more than a used car was far more constrained than his eight-figure income would suggest. Fortunately for Trump, he did have a way out of his doldrums. It went back to Atlantic City. Not to his investors, but the friends he made laundering money for Russian mobsters."
"By 2004, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts was forced to file bankruptcy. And this time, it really was Donald Trump’s money and Donald Trump’s assets on the line. Trump couldn’t get a loan. He couldn’t get a casino license. His days as a would-be casino mogul were over. Just as Donald Trump was being selected to be a pretend billionaire on The Apprentice, his real life failures were catching up with him. This was also the period of Trump trying to make money off of just being Trump. Trump water, Trump steaks, and Trump magazine were just a few of the ‘T’ brands that appeared, and swiftly disappeared, in the mid-aughts. The threat that Trump would ever be ousted from the eponymous tower built under his father’s reign was always remote. At his low point, Trump still controlled a plethora of properties that did produce an income in the millions and he really was able to sell his name, though never for the kind of numbers he’s asserted. But Trump’s net worth was a fraction of what he claimed, and his ability to make a deal for more than a used car was far more constrained than his eight-figure income would suggest. Fortunately for Trump, he did have a way out of his doldrums. It went back to Atlantic City. Not to his investors, but the friends he made laundering money for Russian mobsters."
Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation may be how every Trump associate permanently avoids prosecution
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/brett-kavanaugh-s-confirmation-may-be-how-every-trump-associate-ncna916681
"If confirmed by the Senate to a Supreme Court seat, Judge Brett Kavanaugh immediately could be a crucial vote to decide whether the constitution bars any state’s efforts to prosecute Trump campaign officials and aides for state crimes if President Trump has already pardoned them for federal crimes."
"If confirmed by the Senate to a Supreme Court seat, Judge Brett Kavanaugh immediately could be a crucial vote to decide whether the constitution bars any state’s efforts to prosecute Trump campaign officials and aides for state crimes if President Trump has already pardoned them for federal crimes."
Trump and McConnell Take Gaslighting to New Level in Kavanaugh Confirmation Fight
Trump and McConnell Take Gaslighting to New Level in Kavanaugh Confirmation Fight:
"The use of an anti-Semitic trope to condemn protesters for exercising their First Amendment rights signals a turning point in the authoritarian trajectory of our politics."
"The use of an anti-Semitic trope to condemn protesters for exercising their First Amendment rights signals a turning point in the authoritarian trajectory of our politics."
Editorial: Kavanaugh lied under oath. This alone is disqualifying.
https://www.stltoday.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-kavanaugh-lied-under-oath-this-alone-is-disqualifying/article_4aa8be43-695c-5d9e-8844-94d045dcb77e.html
"Even under oath, Judge Brett Kavanaugh doesn’t meet the same level of truthfulness that he certainly would demand of anyone appearing in his court."
"Even under oath, Judge Brett Kavanaugh doesn’t meet the same level of truthfulness that he certainly would demand of anyone appearing in his court."
USA TODAY editorial board: Vote no on Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/10/05/brett-kavanaugh-confirmation-we-urge-senators-vote-no-editorials-debates/1527514002/
"Based on Kavanaugh’s failure to live up to his own description of judicial attributes, he disqualified himself."
"Based on Kavanaugh’s failure to live up to his own description of judicial attributes, he disqualified himself."
Thursday, October 4, 2018
Former Koch staffer appointed to key EPA position
https://thinkprogress.org/koch-epa-industry-david-dunlap-chemical-water-1f08cfa2fb01/
"The Environmental Protection Agency has hired a former Koch Industries staffer who worked on water and chemical policy to fill a key role within the agency, continuing a Trump administration trend of appointing company insiders to oversee the industries they are meant to regulate."
"The Environmental Protection Agency has hired a former Koch Industries staffer who worked on water and chemical policy to fill a key role within the agency, continuing a Trump administration trend of appointing company insiders to oversee the industries they are meant to regulate."
Tax Dodger Donald Trump Is Looking Out for His Own Kind
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a23580840/donald-trump-republicans-slash-irs-funding-enforcement/
"In typical Trumpian fashion, it was not enough to scam the government. His father engineered a trickle-down scam, where this family—whose scion now bills himself as a Fighter For The Forgotten Man as a politician—used the mechanisms of tax avoidance to also squeeze the little guy with artificial rent hikes."
"In typical Trumpian fashion, it was not enough to scam the government. His father engineered a trickle-down scam, where this family—whose scion now bills himself as a Fighter For The Forgotten Man as a politician—used the mechanisms of tax avoidance to also squeeze the little guy with artificial rent hikes."
Trump pick to run Social Security allegedly impersonated police officer to avoid trespassing charge
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-pick-social-security-allegedly-impersonated-police-officer-666aa57d9212/
"Like other Trump nominees, Saul has no background in the field he was chosen to lead."
"Like other Trump nominees, Saul has no background in the field he was chosen to lead."
Corporate Front Groups Lobby to Confirm Brett Kavanaugh. On the Supreme Court, He Could Give Them Vastly Expanded Power.
https://theintercept.com/2018/10/04/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-confirmation-corporate-regulations/
"The interests backing Kavanaugh are hoping that his confirmation will tilt the court and undercut potentially dozens of government policies on clean elections, environmental regulations, bank regulations, and predatory lending, in addition to weakening organized labor."
"The interests backing Kavanaugh are hoping that his confirmation will tilt the court and undercut potentially dozens of government policies on clean elections, environmental regulations, bank regulations, and predatory lending, in addition to weakening organized labor."
Voter Suppression Is Deeply Embedded in the Republican Party. Brett Kavanaugh Helped Put It There.
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a23585673/voter-suppression-republican-brett-kavanaugh-don-mcgahn/
"The entire Republican project ever since the Florida burglary of 2000—in which Kavanaugh was an accessory after the fact—has been to find a way to hang onto power while the party itself is shrinking down to an old, white, Southern base. Every institution of government that the Republicans have controlled for nearly 20 years has been tasked with this, and now they pretty much control all of them, at least until the first week of November. Brett Kavanaugh has been at the center of those efforts. So has Don McGahn. This is the part of the tale that is not about the president* at all."
"The entire Republican project ever since the Florida burglary of 2000—in which Kavanaugh was an accessory after the fact—has been to find a way to hang onto power while the party itself is shrinking down to an old, white, Southern base. Every institution of government that the Republicans have controlled for nearly 20 years has been tasked with this, and now they pretty much control all of them, at least until the first week of November. Brett Kavanaugh has been at the center of those efforts. So has Don McGahn. This is the part of the tale that is not about the president* at all."
Brett Kavanaugh Lied Brazenly and Repeatedly Under Oath. Any Law Student Knows He Cannot Sit on the Supreme Court
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/10/04/brett-kavanaugh-lied-brazenly-and-repeatedly-under-oath-any-law-student-knows-he
"It feels self-evident, but a judge who cannot obey the law cannot be expected to apply it."
"It feels self-evident, but a judge who cannot obey the law cannot be expected to apply it."
Republicans Defend and Cover Up Trump’s Tax Fraud
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/10/republicans-defend-and-cover-up-trumps-tax-fraud.html
"Rubio and Brady helpfully clarify the issue in the midterm elections. Republican control means Trump’s rampant corruption will have a willing partner in Congress."
"Rubio and Brady helpfully clarify the issue in the midterm elections. Republican control means Trump’s rampant corruption will have a willing partner in Congress."
Why the FBI’s Kavanaugh Investigation Is So Troubling
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/fbi-kavanaugh-investigation-findings-733118/
"The feds did not interview key witnesses — including former classmates who claim they can corroborate sexual misconduct allegations and lies under oath"
"The feds did not interview key witnesses — including former classmates who claim they can corroborate sexual misconduct allegations and lies under oath"
The entire mainstream legal profession tells the Senate: Don't put Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/4/1801516/-The-legal-profession-to-the-Senate-Don-t-put-Kavanaugh-on-the-Supreme-Court
"From Harvard Law School (which cancelled the class Kavanaugh was scheduled to teach) to the American Bar Association to thousands of law professors, the legal profession has made it clear that this is not a man who should serve on the highest court of the land for life. The nearly 1,000 law professors publicly opposing Kavanaugh that Jen Hayden highlighted on Wednesday now number more than 1,700—and counting."
"From Harvard Law School (which cancelled the class Kavanaugh was scheduled to teach) to the American Bar Association to thousands of law professors, the legal profession has made it clear that this is not a man who should serve on the highest court of the land for life. The nearly 1,000 law professors publicly opposing Kavanaugh that Jen Hayden highlighted on Wednesday now number more than 1,700—and counting."
Here are all the ways the effort to clear Kavanaugh was a farce
https://thinkprogress.org/ridiculous-process-white-house-senate-republicans-pushing-brett-kavanaugh-on-supreme-court-17010cf15538/
"Conservatives say the process has been thorough and meaningful. That couldn't be further from the truth."
"Conservatives say the process has been thorough and meaningful. That couldn't be further from the truth."
Amid Growing Outrage Over Confirmation Process, Corporate Powers Spending Millions to Help GOP Ram Through Pro-Business Kavanaugh
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/10/04/amid-growing-outrage-over-confirmation-process-corporate-powers-spending-millions
"As Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump try to sell a "sham" FBI probe to the public in hopes of tempering impassioned protests of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault, corporate powers are covertly pouring millions of dollars into efforts to push through the corporate-friendly judge's confirmation."
"As Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump try to sell a "sham" FBI probe to the public in hopes of tempering impassioned protests of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault, corporate powers are covertly pouring millions of dollars into efforts to push through the corporate-friendly judge's confirmation."
In Trump, GOP Grifters Welcomed the Biggest of Them All
https://www.thedailybeast.com/in-trump-gop-grifters-welcomed-the-biggest-of-them-all?ref=home
"Trump was the logical culmination of all the moves Republicans have made in the last 25 years or so to degrade the norms of our democracy, he is also the logical culmination of everything they’ve done to turn the economy from one that helped the broad middle class to one that serves only those at the top. Put more succinctly: Of course they elected a plutocrat tax cheat. They spent 30 years making the world safe for plutocrat tax cheats!"
"Trump was the logical culmination of all the moves Republicans have made in the last 25 years or so to degrade the norms of our democracy, he is also the logical culmination of everything they’ve done to turn the economy from one that helped the broad middle class to one that serves only those at the top. Put more succinctly: Of course they elected a plutocrat tax cheat. They spent 30 years making the world safe for plutocrat tax cheats!"
This is who Trump is—and who Republicans are, every one of them
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/3/1801233/-This-is-who-Trump-is-and-who-Republicans-are-every-one-of-them?utm_campaign=trending
"Really, there are no words left for how grotesque the man is in every possible way, or how grotesque his cheering, vapid, and brick-stupid supporters are. He has been a criminal his whole life. He has been a business failure his whole sorry existence, propped up solely by his papa and whatever crime rings he could ingratiate himself to. He has assaulted whichever women he wanted to assault, and gotten away with it each time via threats or cash payments or simply lying. The sneering, raging manchild of his rallies is who he is, and who his party is. It is who Mitch McConnell is, and Chuck Grassley, and yes, Jeff Flake. It is every one of his enablers, and every pundit who stares into a camera and declares that the human toilet is not doing the things that every American can plainly see him doing. To hell with them all. There is no possible redemption there."
"Really, there are no words left for how grotesque the man is in every possible way, or how grotesque his cheering, vapid, and brick-stupid supporters are. He has been a criminal his whole life. He has been a business failure his whole sorry existence, propped up solely by his papa and whatever crime rings he could ingratiate himself to. He has assaulted whichever women he wanted to assault, and gotten away with it each time via threats or cash payments or simply lying. The sneering, raging manchild of his rallies is who he is, and who his party is. It is who Mitch McConnell is, and Chuck Grassley, and yes, Jeff Flake. It is every one of his enablers, and every pundit who stares into a camera and declares that the human toilet is not doing the things that every American can plainly see him doing. To hell with them all. There is no possible redemption there."
Under Cover of Kavanaugh, Republicans Passed Huge Tax Cuts for the Wealthy
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/10/03/under-cover-kavanaugh-republicans-passed-huge-tax-cuts-wealthy
"While Americans watched the Senate, House Republicans passed an extra $3 trillion tax cut for rich people and corporations"
"While Americans watched the Senate, House Republicans passed an extra $3 trillion tax cut for rich people and corporations"
Largest coalition of Christian churches in US demands Kavanaugh nomination be withdrawn
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/3/1801277/-Largest-coalition-of-Christian-churches-in-the-U-S-demands-that-Kavanaugh-nomination-be-withdrawn?utm_campaign=trending
"Brett Kavanaugh’s support list keeps getting shorter and shorter. On Wednesday, he lost the support of a whole bunch of Christian churches, as the National Council of Churches—a coalition of 38 denominations, the largest of its kind—published a statement demanding that his beleaguered nomination process to the Supreme Court be stopped, once and for all."
"Brett Kavanaugh’s support list keeps getting shorter and shorter. On Wednesday, he lost the support of a whole bunch of Christian churches, as the National Council of Churches—a coalition of 38 denominations, the largest of its kind—published a statement demanding that his beleaguered nomination process to the Supreme Court be stopped, once and for all."
The Cruelty Is the Point
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/the-cruelty-is-the-point/572104/
"We can hear the spectacle of cruel laughter throughout the Trump era. There were the border patrol agents cracking up at the crying immigrant children separated from their families, and the Trump adviser who delighted white supremacists when he mocked a child with down syndrome who was separated from her mother. There were the police who laughed uproariously when the president encouraged them to abuse suspects, and the Fox News hosts mocking a survivor of the Pulse Nightclub massacre (and in the process inundating him with threats), the survivors of sexual assault protesting Senator Jeff Flake, the women who said the president sexually assaulted them, and the teen survivors of the Parkland school shooting. There was the president mocking Puerto Rican accents shortly after thousands were killed and tens of thousands displaced by Hurricane Maria, the black athletes protesting unjustified killings by police, the women of the #MeToo movement who have come forward with stories of sexual abuse, and the disabled reporter whose crime was reporting on Trump truthfully. It is not just that they enjoy this cruelty, it is that they enjoy it with each other. Their shared laughter at the suffering of others is an adhesive that binds them to each other, and to Trump. Taking joy in that suffering is more human than most would like to admit. Somewhere on the wide spectrum between adolescent teasing and the smiling white men in the lynching photographs are the Trump supporters whose community is built by rejoicing in the anguish of those they see as unlike them, who have found in their shared cruelty an answer to the loneliness and atomization of modern life. The laughter undergirds the daily spectacle of insincerity, as the president and his aides pledge fealty to bedrock democratic principles they have no intention of respecting."
"We can hear the spectacle of cruel laughter throughout the Trump era. There were the border patrol agents cracking up at the crying immigrant children separated from their families, and the Trump adviser who delighted white supremacists when he mocked a child with down syndrome who was separated from her mother. There were the police who laughed uproariously when the president encouraged them to abuse suspects, and the Fox News hosts mocking a survivor of the Pulse Nightclub massacre (and in the process inundating him with threats), the survivors of sexual assault protesting Senator Jeff Flake, the women who said the president sexually assaulted them, and the teen survivors of the Parkland school shooting. There was the president mocking Puerto Rican accents shortly after thousands were killed and tens of thousands displaced by Hurricane Maria, the black athletes protesting unjustified killings by police, the women of the #MeToo movement who have come forward with stories of sexual abuse, and the disabled reporter whose crime was reporting on Trump truthfully. It is not just that they enjoy this cruelty, it is that they enjoy it with each other. Their shared laughter at the suffering of others is an adhesive that binds them to each other, and to Trump. Taking joy in that suffering is more human than most would like to admit. Somewhere on the wide spectrum between adolescent teasing and the smiling white men in the lynching photographs are the Trump supporters whose community is built by rejoicing in the anguish of those they see as unlike them, who have found in their shared cruelty an answer to the loneliness and atomization of modern life. The laughter undergirds the daily spectacle of insincerity, as the president and his aides pledge fealty to bedrock democratic principles they have no intention of respecting."
Republicans Have Decided to Ignore All of Brett Kavanaugh’s Lies
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/10/republicans-have-decided-to-ignore-all-of-kavanaughs-lies.html
"we now know for certain that that testimony, all delivered in the same earnest pitch of an innocent man pleading for his good name, was filled with demonstrable lies. Many of these lies were already apparent at the beginning of the week. Now the evidence is even more damning."
"we now know for certain that that testimony, all delivered in the same earnest pitch of an innocent man pleading for his good name, was filled with demonstrable lies. Many of these lies were already apparent at the beginning of the week. Now the evidence is even more damning."
Five Reasons Why the GOP Is Rushing to Confirm Kavanaugh
https://truthout.org/articles/five-reasons-why-the-gop-is-rushing-to-confirm-kavanaugh/
"Potentially most consequential for Trump is the case of Gamble v. US, which could affect his ability to pardon his associates, and even himself."
"Potentially most consequential for Trump is the case of Gamble v. US, which could affect his ability to pardon his associates, and even himself."
Will the Next Women’s March Be Taxed?
http://prospect.org/article/will-next-womens-march-be-taxed
"A National Park Service plan to impose harsh new fines and restrictions on public protesters takes Donald Trump’s assault on the First Amendment to a whole new level."
"A National Park Service plan to impose harsh new fines and restrictions on public protesters takes Donald Trump’s assault on the First Amendment to a whole new level."
The "Fix Is In, Folks": Though She Admits Not Fully Reading It, Susan Collins Describes FBI Probe as "Very Thorough"
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/10/04/fix-folks-fix-though-she-admits-not-fully-reading-it-susan-collins-describes-fbi
"the FBI probe—constrained from the start by Republicans in the Senate and the White House—was nothing but an orchestrated "whitewash" to give fence-sitting lawmakers the cover they needed to ultimately vote "yes" on Kavanaugh."
"the FBI probe—constrained from the start by Republicans in the Senate and the White House—was nothing but an orchestrated "whitewash" to give fence-sitting lawmakers the cover they needed to ultimately vote "yes" on Kavanaugh."
Brett Kavanaugh Also Lied About His Rulings on the Environment
https://theintercept.com/2018/10/04/brett-kavanaugh-environmental-rulings/
"When it comes to wildlife, Kavanaugh’s record is even worse, according to an analysis by William Snape, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity. In his 12 years on the federal bench, Kavanaugh had a say in 18 decisions affecting wildlife; taking split decisions into account, he ruled against the animals 96 percent of the time, according to Snape. For comparison, Snape also ran the numbers for Judge David Sentelle, a conservative, who ruled against wildlife 57 percent of the time, and Judge Merrick Garland, a moderate, who came down against wildlife 46 percent of the time."
"When it comes to wildlife, Kavanaugh’s record is even worse, according to an analysis by William Snape, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity. In his 12 years on the federal bench, Kavanaugh had a say in 18 decisions affecting wildlife; taking split decisions into account, he ruled against the animals 96 percent of the time, according to Snape. For comparison, Snape also ran the numbers for Judge David Sentelle, a conservative, who ruled against wildlife 57 percent of the time, and Judge Merrick Garland, a moderate, who came down against wildlife 46 percent of the time."
Republican Senate hopeful Martha McSally lies about her pre-existing condition record
https://thinkprogress.org/arizona-senate-martha-mcsally-lies-pre-existing-conditions-71d974ab3df9/
"Rep. Martha McSally (R), her party’s nominee for the open U.S. Senate seat in Arizona, was a staunch supporter of the Trumpcare legislation to repeal Obamacare, literally telling her Republican House colleagues that they needed to get the “f**king thing” done. Now that she is under fire for her vote for the wildly unpopular legislation, she is simply lying to her constituents and pretending that the bill would not have eliminated insurance protections for the more than 100 million Americans with pre-existing medical conditions."
"Rep. Martha McSally (R), her party’s nominee for the open U.S. Senate seat in Arizona, was a staunch supporter of the Trumpcare legislation to repeal Obamacare, literally telling her Republican House colleagues that they needed to get the “f**king thing” done. Now that she is under fire for her vote for the wildly unpopular legislation, she is simply lying to her constituents and pretending that the bill would not have eliminated insurance protections for the more than 100 million Americans with pre-existing medical conditions."
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
The Dubious Fiction of Donald Trump’s Fortune Has Been Exposed
https://truthout.org/articles/the-dubious-fiction-of-donald-trumps-fortune-has-been-exposed/
"Thanks to the Times report, we now fully understand why Donald Trump has been so unwilling to release his tax returns. Among other things, his calamitous financial history goes a long way toward explaining how he got himself all tangled up with Russian oligarch money in the first place. After Trump had wrung the last coppers from his father’s empire in an effort to paper over his failures (which begs the question: How does one go bankrupt multiple times after getting millions from Mom and Dad?), those willing to loan him money were few and far between. Should we ever see the final report from the Mueller investigation, odds are it will begin with the highly mobile decimal point on Trump’s bottom line. This is only part of the problem for Trump today. His entire adult existence, beginning well before he monsooned his way into national politics, is premised on the long fiction of his wealth, power and ability to cut a deal."
"Thanks to the Times report, we now fully understand why Donald Trump has been so unwilling to release his tax returns. Among other things, his calamitous financial history goes a long way toward explaining how he got himself all tangled up with Russian oligarch money in the first place. After Trump had wrung the last coppers from his father’s empire in an effort to paper over his failures (which begs the question: How does one go bankrupt multiple times after getting millions from Mom and Dad?), those willing to loan him money were few and far between. Should we ever see the final report from the Mueller investigation, odds are it will begin with the highly mobile decimal point on Trump’s bottom line. This is only part of the problem for Trump today. His entire adult existence, beginning well before he monsooned his way into national politics, is premised on the long fiction of his wealth, power and ability to cut a deal."
Understanding why the FBI moved an apparently unrelated case to Robert Mueller might explain a lot
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/2/1800829/-Understanding-why-the-FBI-moved-an-apparently-unrelated-case-to-Robert-Mueller-might-explain-a-lot
"According to Politico, Cheri Jacobus was a Republican consultant who was considered for a job with the Trump campaign in the spring of 2015—and ended up triggering an FBI investigation into a Trump super PAC. Jacobus was interviewed to be the Trump campaign communication director, but the interviews were apparently “contentious.” Afterward Jacobus told the campaign she was not interested in the post, and the following October she was quoted on at least one item that had ruled out the position: Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski had told Jacobus about plans to create a Trump super PAC—a level of coordination that directly violates FEC regulations. And that’s when things went from super PAC to super weird. According to the Politico story, Jacobus was approached by a man posing as an English barrister representing clients who wanted to make a large contribution to an anti-Trump PAC. Jacobus passed them along to someone operating such a PAC. But the “barrister” began pumping the PAC representatives for information on their tactics and resources, leading them to believe he didn’t represent potential clients so much as … Trump. Meanwhile, Jacobus was receiving multiple calls from make-believe “clients” of the make-believe barrister. It’s not known if John Barron or John Miller was among them. Jacobus was also fighting with Trump’s team. A regular Fox News commentator during the primaries, she was singled out as a “dummy” in one of Trump’s tweets and attacked in the press by Lewandowski. Then the summer of 2016, Jacobus’s email and online files were hacked and the contents of her accounts deleted. It was all enough to trigger an FBI investigation … and now that investigation has been turned over to Robert Mueller."
"According to Politico, Cheri Jacobus was a Republican consultant who was considered for a job with the Trump campaign in the spring of 2015—and ended up triggering an FBI investigation into a Trump super PAC. Jacobus was interviewed to be the Trump campaign communication director, but the interviews were apparently “contentious.” Afterward Jacobus told the campaign she was not interested in the post, and the following October she was quoted on at least one item that had ruled out the position: Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski had told Jacobus about plans to create a Trump super PAC—a level of coordination that directly violates FEC regulations. And that’s when things went from super PAC to super weird. According to the Politico story, Jacobus was approached by a man posing as an English barrister representing clients who wanted to make a large contribution to an anti-Trump PAC. Jacobus passed them along to someone operating such a PAC. But the “barrister” began pumping the PAC representatives for information on their tactics and resources, leading them to believe he didn’t represent potential clients so much as … Trump. Meanwhile, Jacobus was receiving multiple calls from make-believe “clients” of the make-believe barrister. It’s not known if John Barron or John Miller was among them. Jacobus was also fighting with Trump’s team. A regular Fox News commentator during the primaries, she was singled out as a “dummy” in one of Trump’s tweets and attacked in the press by Lewandowski. Then the summer of 2016, Jacobus’s email and online files were hacked and the contents of her accounts deleted. It was all enough to trigger an FBI investigation … and now that investigation has been turned over to Robert Mueller."
This Vicious Buffoon Is a Vessel for All the Worst Elements of the American Condition
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a23579738/donald-trump-mock-christine-blasey-ford-sexual-assault/
"Now he comes, a man swathed in scandal, with no interest beyond what he can put in his pocket and what he can put over on a universe of suckers, and he does something like this while occupying an office that we gave him, and while endowed with a public trust that he dishonors every day he wakes up in the White House. The scion of a multigenerational criminal enterprise, the parameters of which we are only now beginning to comprehend. A vessel for all the worst elements of the American condition. And a cheap, soulless bully besides. We have had good presidents and bad—a Buchanan is followed by a Lincoln who is followed by an Andrew Johnson, and so forth. But we never have had such a cheap counterfeit of a president* as currently occupies the office. We have had presidents who have been the worthy targets of scalding scorn, but James Callender went after giants. We never have had a president* so completely deserving of scorn and yet so small in the office that it almost seems a waste of time and energy to summon up the requisite contempt. Watch him make fun of the woman again. Watch how a republic dies in the empty eyes of an empty man who feels nothing but his own imaginary greatness, and who cannot find in himself the decency simply to shut the f*ck up even when it is in his best interest to do so. Presidents don't have to be heroes to be good presidents. They just have to realize that their humanity is our common humanity, and that their political commonwealth is our political commonwealth, too. Watch him again, behind the seal of the President of the United States. Isn't he a funny man? Isn't what happened to that lady hilarious? Watch the assembled morons cheer."
"Now he comes, a man swathed in scandal, with no interest beyond what he can put in his pocket and what he can put over on a universe of suckers, and he does something like this while occupying an office that we gave him, and while endowed with a public trust that he dishonors every day he wakes up in the White House. The scion of a multigenerational criminal enterprise, the parameters of which we are only now beginning to comprehend. A vessel for all the worst elements of the American condition. And a cheap, soulless bully besides. We have had good presidents and bad—a Buchanan is followed by a Lincoln who is followed by an Andrew Johnson, and so forth. But we never have had such a cheap counterfeit of a president* as currently occupies the office. We have had presidents who have been the worthy targets of scalding scorn, but James Callender went after giants. We never have had a president* so completely deserving of scorn and yet so small in the office that it almost seems a waste of time and energy to summon up the requisite contempt. Watch him make fun of the woman again. Watch how a republic dies in the empty eyes of an empty man who feels nothing but his own imaginary greatness, and who cannot find in himself the decency simply to shut the f*ck up even when it is in his best interest to do so. Presidents don't have to be heroes to be good presidents. They just have to realize that their humanity is our common humanity, and that their political commonwealth is our political commonwealth, too. Watch him again, behind the seal of the President of the United States. Isn't he a funny man? Isn't what happened to that lady hilarious? Watch the assembled morons cheer."
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