Green Day, at the time, was speaking of g dubya but the songs lyrics apply just as well today. We just have a bigger oranger problem on our hands now. I know it is hard. Recent days have been seemingly even harder. I struggle sometimes to write the GNR, as you have to scan through the news you would rather avoid to find some positive items to share. Although some times I feel myself questioning why, I know how the GNR has helped and continues to help me, and all of you I hope, stay strong, positive and in the fight! Fight we must and fight we will. The tangerine blowhard is on a downward spiral into the land of psychosis and delusion with a little derangement syndrome on the side. None of that looks good for the rethugs. They can hang onto that thread and hope that the election is stolen but guess what we will create a tsunami that cannot be stopped.
I feel we all agree here in this community that any of our candidates running to replace him who shall not be named or even a shoe would be insanely better than where we are now, but I want to explain my thoughts. I try not to promote one candidate over another here. We all have our opinions and intellectual discussions of policy is good for us, yet I also do not like the pie fighting that can occur here at Kos so I just wanted to share a comment from a dairy last night that I think speaks volumes to the page we should be on together.
When the house is on fire, don’t stand there thinking about how you want to redecorate. Put the fucking fire out first! nonnie999
In other words let’s focus on the prize, GOTV and win in 2020. There.
Onward.
A kind of eclectic bit of good news today.
Democrats propose bill to revoke Trump endangered species rollback
Oh but the Dem’s never propose any legislation…
Democrats are fighting back against a Trump administration rule that scraps numerous protections for endangered species.
Legislation filed in the House on Tuesday would rescind a rule announced by the Department of the Interior in August that rolls back the Endangered Species Act (ESA), dramatically scaling back America’s landmark conservation law.
“The Trump administration’s new regulations intentionally cripple the ESA – another giveaway to industry that puts near-term profits ahead of our long-term national interest. The Trump effort to gut the Endangered Species Act turns a blind eye to the science that tells us we should be enhancing wildlife habitat protections not dismantling them at the behest of special interests,” said Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M), one of the sponsors of the legislation.
Critics say the Trump administration rule was especially startling in the wake of a United Nations report estimating there are 1 million species threatened with extinction due to human activity.
“We are in the middle of an extinction crisis, and President Trump is bulldozing the most important tool we have to protect endangered species,” Grijalva said in a statement. “If we want to protect species close to extinction, Congress has no choice but to act.”
Another one bites the dust!
California Republican Rep. Paul Cook won't seek reelection
Republican Rep. Paul Cook of California will not seek reelection in 2020, joining a parade of GOP retirements that has rattled the party over the last few weeks.
I love this line because in this atmosphere of dislike of the marmalade tool who knows.
While Cook’s seat will likely stay in GOP hands because of its conservative lean, the growing list of retiring Republicans — which now tops over a dozen, including some in key battleground states like Texas — is fueling speculation that GOP lawmakers are growing pessimistic about their chances of winning back the House.
Rubbing hands together, laughing when they see the blue wave!
I realize this is yesterdays news but a Wonkette take cannot be ignored.
Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Will Take Trump's Tax Returns Now, Because THIS IS NEW YORK, BITCH
Bahahaha...NY hates him.
States are doin' it for themselves. If the federal courts are going to let Trump stonewall congressional Democrats on the release of his tax returns -- although, for the record, we're still confident that no court in the land is going to let Trump piss on the plain meaning of the statute and defy the Ways and Means Committee -- then New York will step up to the plate.
And so Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has gotten a grand jury to subpoena eight years of Trump's personal and business tax returns from Mazars USA, the accountants who prepared them. The New York Times first reported the subpoenas, which are part of an investigation into the Trump Organization's reimbursement payments to Michael Cohen for fronting the $130,000 to Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about her adventures with Mario Kart Yeti Pubes.
The zinger:
Rachel Maddow reported last night that Cohen was so grateful that prosecutors made the trek upstate to visit that he made a proffer, offering to spill the beans on his old boss if granted immunity for state crimes. What state crimes, you are asking? Well, let's take a wild guess here that Cohen, who failed to report income on his various side hustles to the IRS, also forgot to mention that income to the state of New York and is looking to make a deal here.
Another Wonkette, because I was ROTFLMAO!
Milo's Dream De-Furred
Milo Yiannopoulos, the sad rightwing loser who lost his job at Breitbart, got his book contract cancelled, and has generally become the real life example of that old Onion headline about Marilyn Manson being reduced to going door to door trying to outrage people, has suffered yet another indignity. Yiannopoulos announced Saturday on Telegram -- one of the only social media platforms that hasn't banned him -- that he was registered for this year's big Midwest FurFest, a furry convention held in the Chicago suburbs, and that he had found his true fursona, a snow leopard.
After some very public furfooraws a couple years back over Nazi furries, the general furry community, who are on the whole an accepting, decent, and decidedly not-fascist-friendly bunch, wasn't at all happy at the prospect of Midwest FurFest being infested by a far-right fleabag. Milo's announcement provoked a fight or flight response online. Mostly fight.
After lots of such online complaints, and concerns that Yiannopoulous was out to provoke a fight with furries for the sake of publicity for whatever's left of his brand, the FurFest organizers issued a statement saying his presence "may lead to an inability to provide a safe and welcoming experience for convention participants." For that reason, they said, Milo's registration had been rescinded, and he was barred from registering for any further events.
So furry sorry for ya, thoughts and prayers and all.
Okay that one was fun, back to work.
Things were going back and forth as I was researching for this but I felt this is important because really they are fighting for us all.
GM workers are on strike to accomplish what Trump couldn’t
At a July 2017 rally in Youngstown, Ohio, President Donald Trump told his supporters not to sell their homes because the factory jobs are ‘‘coming back. They’re all coming back.’’
A few miles away, a General Motors factory has since closed, no longer producing the Chevy Cruze. Two other GM factories in Michigan and Maryland have also stopped production.
Needless to say, manufacturing jobs have not come roaring back since Trump took office. The president’s tariff war has made imports more expensive for US manufacturers, and now the industry is shrinking. Last year, GM said it would slash 14,000 jobs in North America, and would move forward with plans to build the Chevy Blazer in Mexico.
Nearly 50,000 GM auto workers are now on strike for the second day in a row, trying to accomplish what the president could not. From Georgia to Michigan, outside more than 50 US factories, they are picketing around the clock, venting their anger over the company’s recent decisions. They are demanding — among other things — that GM keep jobs in the US and reopen its idled factories.
On Monday, Trump told reporters outside the White House that “federal mediation is always possible” between GM and the UAW. “Hopefully, they’ll be able to work out the GM strike quickly,” he added. “We don’t want General Motors building plants outside of this country ... We’re very strong on that.”
For now, GM workers and executives are not taking him up on his mediation offer. Instead, employees are hoping the $50 million their strike is costing the company each day will accomplish what the president has not.
I am so proud of these people!
This one is a long read but the irony is amazing.
Hillary Clinton’s Zombie Impeachment Memo That Could Help Fell Trump
A document Hillary Clinton helped write nearly a half century ago has returned from the dead to threaten the man she couldn’t vanquish in 2016.
The bizarre, only-in-D.C. twist centers on a congressional report penned by a bipartisan team of young attorneys that included Hillary before she was a Clinton and written in the throes of Watergate. Then, unlike now, not a single lawmaker had been alive the last time Congress impeached a president. They had little understanding of how to try and remove Richard Nixon from the White House. So they tapped Clinton and a team of ambitious staffers to dive into the history of impeachment, stretching back to the 14th century in England: How has impeachment been used? What were the justifications? Can we apply it to Nixon?
The resulting document became a centerpiece of the congressional push to drive the Republican president from office. But then Nixon resigned. The memo was buried.
The 45-year-old report has become a handbook House Democratic lawmakers and aides say they are using to help determine whether they have the goods to mount a full-scale impeachment effort against President Donald Trump, the same man who three years ago upended Hillary Clinton’s bid for a return trip to the White House.
Essentially, Clinton, albeit indirectly, might get one last shot at accomplishing what she couldn’t in 2016 — defeating Trump.
Oh, let it be so!
Yes it was a circus but…
Lewandowski pumps life into Trump obstruction story
Corey Lewandowski's testimony may have felt a bit circus-like at times for House Democrats, but it was a disaster for President Donald Trump.
The first hearing of the Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee's effort to develop articles of impeachment against Trump was a contentious affair in which Lewandowski, Trump's 2016 campaign manager and the lone witness, said Democrats "hate this president more than they love their country."
But no one — not Lewandowski nor committee Republicans — seriously disputed the central theme of the day: that Trump had gone to extreme lengths in circumventing the entirety of the federal government to get Lewandowski, his former campaign manager, to instruct then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to publicly announce the president had done nothing wrong and limit the scope of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe in 2017.
Ultimately, Lewandowski put flesh on the bones that Mueller gave the committee in his report.
Stole these from the “Chairwoman”, you know Goodie.
Remember the wheels turn slowly and there is only so much that can be done and certainly not on the spot, but this is really good news.
From annieli:
kicked.his.ass.
Never give up...blue tsunami coming no matter how this plays out!
One more, just to make you feel the burn:
This is quite a long article at RS Magazine about how horrible the Mcturtle face is but I had to highlight one section that I, personally had never heard about. I am doing my best to give you an overview but reading the whole section I am referring to here will give you the hilarious snapshot.
Mitch McConnell: The Man Who Sold America
Fittingly enough, it was hot as blazes in Kentucky when Mitch McConnell slunk back home for Congress’ annual summer recess. One week earlier, Robert Mueller had testified that Russia was meddling in the 2020 U.S. elections. McConnell, the Senate majority leader, responded by shooting down Democrats’ efforts to bring two election-security bills to a vote — bills that McConnell, in his familiar fashion, had previously sentenced to quiet deaths after they passed the House. In the hailstorm of opprobrium that followed, McConnell had been tagged by “Morning Joe” Scarborough with the indelible nickname “Moscow Mitch.” The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank called him a “Russian asset.” Twitter couldn’t decide whether he was #putinsbitch or #trumpsbitch. The Kentucky Democratic Party was selling red “Just Say Nyet to Moscow Mitch” T-shirts, emblazoned with an image of the senator’s jowly visage in a Cossack hat, as fast as they could print them up.
McConnell would undoubtedly have preferred to cool his heels in his Louisville home and let the storm subside. But he couldn’t afford that luxury. The biggest political event of the year in Kentucky, the Fancy Farm Picnic, happens on the first Saturday every August, and McConnell knew he had to show his face and speak.
I had never heard of Fancy Farm and was surprised to find out it was sort of a “roast”, of course with Mcarsehole was always “winning”. Enter Moscow Mitch:
When the speaking commences, people are packed 10 deep along the outskirts of the Democratic side. McConnell sits legs-crossed and expressionless on the platform, dressed down in a pair of pressed jeans, a pink button-down, and red socks. Everybody knows he’ll be the third speaker. And one tick after the emcee starts to introduce him, a clamor rises up that no human voice could pierce — the MC whoop of ancient blood battles about to commence, drowning out McConnell as he tries to speak.
“After suffering under Barack Obama, we are roaring back,” he seems to be saying. “I saved the Supreme Court for a generation by blocking President Obama’s nominees, and now the Washington liberals responded by targeting me. They handpicked Amy McGaffe — I mean, McGrath,” he continues, delivering the kind of line aimed at his leading 2020 opponent that usually gets the Republicans cheering. But they can barely hear, and the “Moscow Mitch!” chant is only growing louder. As McConnell’s six allotted minutes go on, his jowls redden; his voice cracks and rasps as he gestures toward the baying Democrats, offering a preview of his 2020 campaign message. “They want to turn America into a socialist country,” he says. “Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell are not going to let that happen. That’s why I call myself the ‘Grim Reaper.’ I’m killing their socialist agenda.”
Moscow Mitch will stick, good luck with your message.
The kids are all right and they are fighters.
The Teens Are Pissed and Freaked the Hell Out
Climate change scares most American teens—and they’re reacting by taking action, according to a new survey.
The Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation published the survey results Monday. The findings couldn’t be more timely: Young people around the world are organizing a massive climate strike Friday whose participants already include Patagonia, Lush, and Ben & Jerry’s. Their businesses will be closed Friday in solidarity with the Global Climate Strike.
Our youngest generations are going to bear the worst consequences of climate change, and that’s why they’re not letting this issue go. After all, they didn’t create this mess. This is the world they’ve inherited, though, and they deserve to enjoy it every bit as older generations have. Teens won’t let their fears stop them from taking action. They can’t afford to. None of us can.
Staying on this topic:
How to Support the Global Climate Strike
Last week, 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg and hundreds of other young activists protested in front of the White House, demanding action on climate change. This Friday, September 20th, they’ll be joined by thousands of other young (and older) protestors across the world to take part in a global Climate Strike. But what exactly is the strike? And how can you support the protests if you’re not able to join in?
Inspired by Thunberg’s protest last year, the strike on September 20 aims to bring awareness to the climate crisis in the days preceding the UN’s climate change summit; students have pledged to walk out from schools to “call attention” to the crisis and to make certain demands.
Read the whole thing for how you can participate. BTW NYC is letting students protest and go home for the day with no repercussions.
One more of the lovely Greta:
I miss that man so much…
And if you really want to read about some other climate champions:
The silenced: meet the climate whistleblowers muzzled by Trump
We love RBG!
New two-story mural of Ruth Bader Ginsburg unveiled in DC
A mural depicting Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was unveiled Monday in Washington, D.C.
The two-story mural on U Street in northwest D.C. shows Ginsburg wearing a judge's robe and decorative collar surrounded by birds.
Beautiful!
More art!
This Artist Paints Endangered Animals to Remind Us What We're Fighting For
Alexis Kandra has been drawing animals for years, but she never drew them with a moral message. They served as symbols—for danger, peace, or mystery. Kandra, a contemporary artist, is now painting animals to help raise awareness about their impending probable doom.
Kandra’s work isn’t about portraying the misery many of these species are living. Instead, she opts to present their majesty and beauty. Her work is about helping save them. That’s why she’s giving 10 percent of the proceeds to the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is one of the groups suing the Trump administration for its weakening of the Endangered Species Act. Text panels will also accompany each piece, noting the species names, their conservation status, and facts about the ecosystem. It’ll be similar to what a person might find at a natural history museum.
Her art is amazing be sure to click the link.
Good on them:
Okay, times are tough and we all need some breaks from the gruesome cruelty and have nice things for a change.
Cat lullaby
Well you probably know by now I am a huge MCU fan. I know that is not everyone’s thing but I could not resist this:
Yes it is long and nerdy, watch it later. But watch it. :)
In case I am the only old white chick who worships Billie Joe, blush, I mean Green Day, here is the song:
Your weekly to do’s from Indivisible:
- Call your member of Congress right now and demand that they cut funding for ICE and CBP in this September’s funding bill. With only about two weeks before the Sept. 30 funding deadline, Congress must finalize a deal in order to avert a government shutdown. Help make sure they don’t give Trump additional money for his deportation machine by calling your MoCs to demand they #DefundHate.
- Tell your member of Congress to stop Trump’s march to war with Iran. Over the weekend, Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo continued to ratchet up tensions with Iran. Use our call script to call your member of Congress and tell them to support the Khanna-Gaetz amendment to explicitly block Trump from starting a war with Iran!
- Demand that your Senators support comprehensive background checks. There’s rumors in DC that Trump may release his own gun violence bill this week -- but we don’t need to see his NRA-approved “fixes” to know that the background checks bill that the House already passed is our best option for now. Call your Senators and tell them to demand a vote on S. 42!
Well Gnusies that is it for me today. I am sure there is much I will have missed. I know the Israeli election news was not decided as I closed out and many other topics were still being disseminated. Share with us what I missed. That is the best part of this community!
Peace!