Good morning everyone! What a day. We will get to that later though.
It has been almost a week since the Democrats were sworn in the House and every day brings more good news about putting a check on the hair challenged one sitting in Presidents Obama’s chair, damn sorry for that:
Will Adam Schiff pose a bigger threat to Trump than Robert Mueller?
Not long after Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel, Donald Trump declared it would be a “violation” for the investigation to touch the Trump Organization or his family finances. Pressed on whether he would fire Mueller if that line were crossed, Trump said: “I can’t answer that question because I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
Now, it looks like it is going to happen. But the public face of the investigation of Trump’s finances won’t be Mueller. Leading the charge will be someone Trump cannot fire: California congressman Adam Schiff, newly installed chairman of the House intelligence committee and a former federal prosecutor himself.
...most threatening for Trump personally might be the investigations led by Schiff, who has said he plans to drive directly at an area the president has sought to fence off: the details of his businesses, his lenders, and his partners in the US and abroad.
“First and foremost, I would say that we need to get to the bottom of anything that could warp our national security policy in a way that is antithetical to the interest of the country,” Schiff told the Lawfare podcast. “So anything that has a continuing ability to influence the actions of the president, we need to know, as policymakers, to protect the country.
“I think ultimately it will fall on Congress to make sure that the American people will get to hear the full story,” Schiff said. “Either through our own investigation or Bob Mueller’s or a combination of both.
“The American people have the right to know, and I think in many cases the need to know, what happened.”
Do you feel like dancing with AOC yet? Here is some more from Congressman Schiff:
Trump aides may be in legal jeopardy as Democrats give evidence to Mueller
Donald Trump Jr and long-term Trump aide Roger Stone face a heightened threat of criminal charges as Democrats on Capitol Hill prepare to hand evidence to Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
They could be charged with perjury if there is evidence that they lied to Congress during interviews behind closed doors with the House intelligence committee.
The California Democrat Adam Schiff will take over leadership of the committee now that his party has control of the House, following victory in the midterm elections.
Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Schiff made clear he would be handing over transcripts which had been withheld from Mueller’s investigation by Republicans when they controlled the panel.
Schiff said he planned “as one of our first acts to make the transcripts of our witnesses fully available to special counsel for any purpose, including the bringing of perjury charges”.
So sad, poor poor little small hand jr., the stone man, krutchvanka, and hey I don’t care I hope they all go down.
I know this is a lot of stuff from The Guardian but heck they are really on it, so sue me:)
Also I know most, okay, all of the progressive bills the House is putting out have no chance with the turtle led Senate but just roll in the joy of the potential ads for 2020:
Gun control: Democrats unveil landmark background check bill
Five days after taking over the majority in the chamber, House Democrats unveiled a bill that would significantly expand the requirements for background checks on gun sales.
In a major victory for gun control advocates, the legislation aims to close longstanding loopholes in federal law, which requires criminal background checks when guns are sold by licensed dealers but allows private citizens to sell and transfer guns to each other without any background check.
Closing these loopholes has been the top priority of the growing American gun control movement since the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school, which left 20 children and six educators dead.
“Stopping gun violence takes courage – the courage to do what is right,” said the former Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords at an event on Capitol Hill. “We must never stop fighting. Fight. Fight. Fight,” she added, her speech slow but clear.
Also at the signing was David Hogg, one of the students who have advocated for reforms since the shooting at his Parkland, Florida, high school last year.
Again, mcturtleface and his new Senate will never allow it to the floor but there is this:
Student activists are already planning how they will fight for the passage of the legislation in the Republican-controlled Senate, Corin said.
“If they don’t support it or bring it to the floor, it really shows people that they value profits and money over their constituents’ lives,” she said.
It is a sad state of things when these young people have more of an understanding of what the right thing to do is than the stupid rethugs. That may be incorrect, the rethugs may know what is right they just don’t care. But that’s ok they will be remembered as a blip in history and the Parkland students and the other people affected by gun violence will have statues , books and movies about their heroics.
The quite one is still working. Seems a**hat and his band of idiots can keep spewing spew (what?) but the Dragnet Team is keep keeping on:
Judge In Russian Troll Farm Case Fed Up With Defense Attacks On Mueller
A lawyer representing an alleged Russian troll farm against charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller has launched a bizarre defense that includes pop culture references and attacks on the special counsel himself.
And, during a hearing on Monday, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich was not having it.
The filings on behalf of indicted Russian company Concord Management and Consulting and obtained by BuzzFeed employ a colorful “Animal House” quote to question the credibility of Mueller’s team.
“Flounder, you can’t spend your whole life worrying about your mistakes!” it says. “You f**ked up...you trusted us. Hey, make the best of it.”
In October, Dubelier likened Mueller to the “Tweety Bird of Looney Tunes” while accusing him of changing arguments, according to Fortune.
At this week’s hearing, it appeared the judge was fed up, telling the defense lawyer to “knock it off” and quit the “relentless personal attacks” on Mueller, BuzzFeed reported.
You trusted us? Make the best of it? Looney Tunes? Who are these people? I don’t want to judge but I think they are bat sh*t crazy. I mean come on who throws a shoe?
I know some of this is not directly the manly one trying to save our souls but you know the Shadow Knows (sorry ShadowKnows):
It's Russia Indictment O'Clock Again, Trump Tower Lady Lawyer Edition!
In Soviet Russia, government report clearing money-laundering oligarch WRITES YOU!
Get it? ... No? Okay, well keep that punchline in mind while we tell you a good joke about a bunch of thieving Russian oligarchs and their conniving lawyer Natalya Veselnitskaya, who just got indicted in New York for obstruction of justice. Yep, the same lawyer who dangled those sexxxxy Hillary Clinton dirts in front of Dipshit Junior's dumb face at the infamous Trump Tower meeting. Heckuva coincidence, huh?
This wonkette article breaks this out in “8 easy steps”, too long to put here. Read the whole thing. The ending comment, gotta love it:
And 2019 is going to be a terrible, wonderful year!
The Guardian again with their take, donnie and his playmate jared (you got that at jared) will go down:
A Russian lawyer who met senior aides to Donald Trump in 2016 had previously “secretly schemed” with the Russian official who was purportedly offering damaging information on Hillary Clinton, US authorities have alleged.
Natalia Veselnitskaya was on Tuesday accused of fabricating evidence in a US money-laundering case she was working on when she attended a now-notorious meeting at Trump Tower in New York in June 2016.
The June 2016 meeting was convened after Trump’s son, Donald Jr, was told by a representative for well-connected Russians that Chaika could provide incriminating material on Clinton, their Democratic opponent, to help Trump’s campaign.
The meeting, which Donald Jr attended with the campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, has been closely examined by Robert Mueller, the special counsel, who is investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and any coordination with members of Trump’s team.
Can the news from the Man from Uncle get any better? Okay this is not from my buddy Mueller but still:
Paul Manafort's Lawyers Are Truly Bad at Their Jobs
I’m not sure how much convicted felon Paul Manafort is paying his legal team these days, but if I were him, I’d ask for my money back.
On Tuesday, Manafort’s attorneys filed paperwork detailing their response to allegations from Special Counsel Robert Mueller that Manafort had breached his plea agreement with Mueller’s office. And since the Mueller investigation is still ongoing, there were understandably some sections of this latest filing that were redacted by Manafort’s lawyers.
Except, it turns out, they didn’t redact it right.
Instead of actually redacting whole paragraphs of the document, Manafort’s attorneys apparently just colored the text and background black and filed the paperwork as-is, meaning that anyone could simply copy-and-paste the supposedly hidden section and see exactly what language this crack squad of high-powered legal professionals didn’t want to be made public. Whoops!,
Whoops, no kidding. It is no shock that Manafort is a liar but holy cow. I guess the Mod Squad taking all of his money has left his lawyers with little resources. Want more? Here is a more in depth look from, I don’t know, The Guardian.
Let us move on now:
Good news for Florida!
As of Tuesday, Florida’s more than 1.4 million former felons with nonviolent convictions became eligible to vote, a result of the state’s passage of Amendment 4 in November. While some residents’ whose voting rights were restored registered online after the measure went into effect at midnight, others celebrated their registrations in person. As the Orlando Sentinel reported, registrants came with U.S. flag, tears, and even confetti.
While incoming Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who opposed Amendment 4 during his campaign, said last month that he wanted to delay the measure until the state legislature convenes in March, advocacy groups argued the change should take effect automatically. County election supervisors followed suit, saying they would register people as early as Tuesday, after which the state will confirm someone registering under the measure has completed their parole and probation and paid fines and restitution.
The passage (and unimpeded adoption) of Amendment 4 feels like a rare, sweet victory in the struggle for voting rights. But, as is always the case—particularly in Florida—the war is far from over.
The battle is ongoing...the good news? We are making real headway.
I do not want to get in a tit for tat about DeBlasio cause I know, but this is good news:
Note, this headline is a little misleading as it means the residents of NYC, not all New Yorkers.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday announced a plan to provide health care for all New Yorkers, including those who cannot qualify for health insurance such as undocumented immigrants.
The initiative, dubbed NYC Care, will guarantee physical and mental health care for all 8.6 million people living in New York, de Blasio said at a press conference Tuesday at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx.
“No one should have to live in fear,” the mayor said. “No one should go without the health care they need. Health care is a human right. In this city, we’re going to make that a reality. ... From this moment on in New York City, everyone is guaranteed the right to health care.”
NYC Care will not offer free health care to all New Yorkers, but will provide a primary care doctor and access to specialty care priced on a sliding scale according to patients’ income. The program will be available to anyone who does not have an affordable insurance option, de Blasio said.
Paying for them to get health care, de Blasio said, would ultimately save money because paying for their emergency care ends up costing more. But, he added, “They are our neighbors, they work right next to us, they help us to keep the city going, and that’s true of the whole country. I refuse the notion that these folks don’t deserve health care.”
Coumo, Coumo? Nothing? Oh well. The good news? We are making headway. Hey, where did I hear that before? Well at least California and Washington State are following suit.
Great news from Virginia, via our own Carolyn Fiddler:
Daily Kos hails Boysko win in key Virginia Senate race
Daily Kos is thrilled to announce that Del. Jennifer Boysko has won Virginia State Senate District 33 in the first special election of 2019. Boysko will replace Jennifer Wexton, who resigned her seat after winning election to the U.S. House in November.
Boyko’s victory over Republican Joe May was huge (70-30 percent), and it reflects the growing blue trend of this district. Democrat Wexton won the seat 57-43 percent in 2015, and Clinton’s margin in this district a year later was 63-31. Boysko will have no trouble keeping SD-33 in the Democratic column this fall.
All right people here is the horses a**, this is the Good News Round Up so I do not want to do any debbie downer stuff here. We all know the mental case occupying the oval office was speaking as I write this. On the one hand it is hysterical because he is so stupid on the other hand it is not hysterical because he is playing pResident and that is scary.
This guy followed the whole thing is you can stomach it:
Here is Nancy and Chuck:
Well that was enough of that. We all worked so hard and we got the House! Let’s keep that momentum going. I know this amazing community did so much hard work and will continue to do so.
All of the GNR writers have such great sign off’s, love wins, resist, I am all in and I say onward 2020 here we come!
I look forward to reading the comments, they are one of the best parts of this group!
Just because I love this:
Final note just for sh*ts and giggles, my hubby is a member of the American Legion where I live in upstate NY super red area. Tonight was their monthly meeting and they were all ticked the orange hammerhead messed with their TV time. They did not even turn it on at the legion! Sorry but this is a win as far as I am concerned. Plus I have turned my hubby into a liberal and he is spreading the word…..high five!