Congress

I want it all. I want it all. I want it all. And I want it now   Queen   I want it all I Recently I wrote an article in which I said that the safest and easiest way to write the emergency stimulus bill was to use one of the GOP’s favorite tricks against them. For every dollar that went into the GOP corporate Easter basket, one went into a public driven source as well. And actually, the Democrats did a pretty good job of forcing the GOP to divvy up the pot about as well as you could expect. As we all know, Donald Trump is the most mercenary human being ever to befoul the planet. Trump would gladly spend the rest of his days running around the Caribbean, digging for pirate booty, if it weren’t for the unfortunate fact that physical labor is involved in that pursuit. That being said, anybody who actually believes that His Lowness would allow $500 billion to just slosh around without diving into the oil should seek professional help at once. Fortunately for all concerned, this isn’t the Democrats first time through the spin cycle. Speaker Nancy Pelosi pulled the brilliant tactic of threatening to put out the House’s own emergency stimulus bill, which would bog down the process through reconciliation. This threat forced McConnell and the GOP to accept some very unwanted restrictions, such as a 5 man bipartisan oversight committee for the corporate slush fund, overseen by the Treasury Department Inspector General, and if I read the reports right, made Trump and his businesses ineligible to wallow around in the lagoon. Let’s be clear. For many years now, His Lowness has made a lot of his money from branding, he doesn’t actually own the building, fools pay him great gobs of money to slap his stupid name on it. Most of the properties he actually owns, both commercial and residential are mortgaged to the hilt. And the schlock palace hotels and resorts that he does own have been bleeding green since he took office, as shown by David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post on his way to a Pulitzer prize. Obviously, this kind of stonewall makes Moronicus Maximus a bird of extremely ruffled plumage. Fortunately, since the powers of El Pendejo Presidente are basically limitless, at least according to Tubby the Ewok, this really doesn’t present much of a problem. Covidiot-45 just came right out and said that he doesn’t consider the bipartisan panel as legitimate oversight, so he and the Munchkin man will just be ignoring it. Problem solved. Except maybe not. See, the problem is, regardless of what Tubby says, the president’s job is to enforce the laws, not to interpret them. Laws are expected to be applied as they are written. If there’s a constitutional question involved, then that’s when the courts step in, and adjudicate the matter. And that’s exactly where the Democrats go, using one of the GOP’s favorite, and time tested and approved tactics against them. The minute that Mnuchin tries to dispense so much as one dollar from that slush fund, to anybody, without oversight approval, the Democrats in the House run straight into court, and get a temporary restraining order shutting down the entire slush fund distribution process pending court review. And once they get that TRO, Trump and Mnuchin are fucked. Sideways. The court battle will stretch out past election day, […]

God, I love it when they eat their young!   Murfster35 A crisis is the ultimate test of leadership. It’s also the most difficult to navigate, because it is normally unplanned and unexpected, it can spin off madly in all different directions, and every action taken is magnified, because a single misstep can have the most grave consequences. But it’s also the single most important reason why we elect our officials. And in this crisis, the difference between Democrats and Republicans in terms of leadership is as vast as the difference between sushi and a tuna salad sandwich. Those differences are being played out in the most public way possible, in the lead up to an election that will determine not only the White House, but likely also control of the Senate, based on leadership. Since day one, the Democrats have had their shit together, both at the state and federal level. As the first state to get hit, Washington Democratic Governor Jay Inslee had to plot uncharted territory, and did the best job possible. In Washington DC, the Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, seized the day. In rapid succession, Pelosi drafted, voted on, and passed two emergency funding bills to start the battle in earnest, and in each put in things that infuriated Ditch McConnell, but that he was powerless to strip out, and that Trump had to sign. And when McConnell and Mnuchin tried to put in a “”no-look” corporate giveaway in the stimulus bill, the Democrats made sure there was oversight to put limits on the largesse. If there is one thing that the Democrats have been, from the state level to the national level, it is unified. From day one it was the Democrats who, at both levels, sounded the alarm and begged for proactive preparation. Every request, demand, and bill that the Democrats have crafted have been focused on the emergency response, and the people most effected, and they’ve made damn sure that everybody knows it. On the Republican side, there has been no leadership whatsoever, which should surprise no one. From day one, Trump has been purely ornamental, you half expect him to spread his arms, lift one leg behind him, and have water come shooting out of his mouth. This is why McConnell has been able to do nothing but pass judges, Trump refuses to give him even an inkling of an actual agenda to move on. Trump has spent three years bellowing out This is the song that never ends while his GOP caucus joined the singalong. This is the cats in a sack part, and I am so loving it. The GOP is incapable of leading, and they know it. They had the House, the Senate, and the White House for two years, and could accomplish nothing but a corporate tax cut giveaway. But Trump is the President, so the GOP is in charge, and everybody is watching, and looking to them for leadership. And they’re wilting under the heat. The GOP has a problem, they can’t turn on Trump, sp they’re turning on each other instead. Without directly criticizing Trump, GOP .Governors are making it clear that they don’t give a fat rats ass what Trump says, they’ll lift their state restrictions when they’re damn good and ready. When the emergency stimulus bill passed the House […]

I was heartened yesterday to hear Senator Chris Coons tell MSNBC that the Democrats in the Senate were hell bent on getting the Wyden-Klobuchar bill paying for and expanding vote-by-mail to all 50 states into the upcoming Senate stimulus package, and failing that, the House plans to introduce it as am amendment. This is something that should grow legs, as more and more cities and even states go into basically a lockdown state, and the election looms closer. There is a reason that it’s becoming more and more important. As the coronavirus pandemic worsens, and the Trump administration careens further and further out of control in its response, Trump’s reelection chances are going to dim like a candle stub. If this goes through the summer, watch for His Lowness to try to use it to push off the election, he won’t be able to stop himself. And God knows, his own personal lawyer tried that same lame shit to stay in power in New York longer after 9/11, until he got slapped down by the state. Trump has already sacrificed his two greatest  pleasures at the altar of the coronavirus, golf, and mass rallies. Oh sure, El Pendejo President could still hop on up to Camp David and play a round or two there, but what’s the point? After all, half the fun of playing golf is listening to the lovely sound of KA-CHING while you’re ripping off the American taxpayers for your Secret Service detail’s food and lodging. And with the pounding that Trump is taking over the coronacirus response, can you imagine what his schedule would be like if cities and states weren’t banning large gatherings? He’d be on the road 7 days a week, a different rally every night to sooth his ravaged ego. If this crisis goes deep into the summer, Trump will have no choice except to try to find a way around the ban on mass gatherings. It’s just that simple. Because, here’s the big difference between the Democrats and Trump in this election. Biden and Sanders are trying to talk to every American, That can easily be accomplished by things like prime time speeches, and online town halls and rallies. But for Trump to be effective, he must have huge crowds at mass rallies. That’s the only way it works for him. Try this simple experiment, and you’ll see what I mean. As much as you all try to avoid it, you’ve all seen clips of Trump rallies. Close your eyes, and recall one, any one, they’re all the same. There’s Trump, standing behind a podium, trying to rewrite Jabberwock, while 15,000 empty headed spastics scream and yell and jump up and down like they have honey badgers in their underwear. That’s enough! Open your eyes, and take a deep breath. A shot of tequila should help. Now, close your eyes again and re-imagine the same scene, but with only Trump in the room. See what I mean? Without the crowd for a soundtrack, it sounds exactly like it is, nonsensical gibberish. Now, to complete the experiment, close your eyes, and imagine 15,000 Trumpista’s sitting their living rooms, and watching that second rally on tv. Half of the Trump experience is the crowd feeding off of themselves, and each other. Trump may be saying the same old, lame shit, […]

I seldom do this. Politizoom, and our sister site Daily Sound And Fury give me a nice little megaphone, and as most of you have noticed, I seldom run out of things to say. But something has come up, and this time I need your help. A few days ago, I wrote an article in which I said that once we had this coronacirus licked, and the postmortem on the response began, so would a national discussion on the wisdom of having nationwide mail in voting. This only makes sense, as the outbreak isn’t just affecting the Democratic primaries, but could yet affect the general election as well. Well. Holy shit, and shove me in it, that moment is already freakin’ here! Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Amy Klobuchar are about to introduce legislation in the Senate that would free up federal funding to equip every state for, and pay for mail in balloting for the 2020 election! They are using the disruption to the Democratic primaries, as well as President Trump’s own admission that the crisis could go into the fall, as a cause celebre to deal with the issue proactively. If I heard MSNBC correctly, there are only 15 states that have absolutely no provisions for mail ballot voting, so bringing the majority of the country up to speed should be doable. I strongly suspect that the majority of those 15 hold out states are GOP dominated, and using it as a voter suppression tool. Ironically, as I previously pointed out, this is actually a nightmare scenario for the GOP, since their largest core base is comprised of white, older, scared Americans, the very ones who would be most likely to skip voting in November if it turns out that the coronavirus has staying power. Obviously there is a narrow window of time in which to get this done, with sufficient time to implement the necessary components to make it happen. And God knows that Moscow Mitch would love nothing more than to sweep this under the rug, using the coronavirus crisis as a diversion. So, here’s what I need you guys to do. Get on the blower ASAP to both of your Senators. If they’re Democrats, tell them you expect them to cosponsor the bill. and you’ll be watching. If they’re GOP, tell them you expect them to support the bill, and you’ll be watching. And call more than once, please. A single phone call can be disregarded, but multiple phone calls means a pain in the ass who’s serious. The Capitol Hill switchboard number is.202 224-3121. There are two more simple things you can do to help. One, spread the word to like minded souls that you know, and encourage them to call their Senators as well. You can refer to my previous article as to why this is such a common sense solution, and give them the Senate phone numbers if they agree. Second, if you have fundamental typing skills, and can string coherent thoughts together, which you obviously can if you’re reading this, please take 10 minutes to write a Letter To The Editor of your local newspaper. There are tons of people out there who would be gung-ho about this, but they simply don’t know about it. A letter to the editor is a quick way to educate people, and most newspapers with online editions have online submissions. Look, […]

No mercy, no quarter, they’ll pay for their sins! Now lower the cannon, the battle begins!   Dropkick Murphys Sweet Jesus, things are moving fast around here. The ink is barely dry on the article I posted yesterday about the upcoming battle for billions in aid and stimulus, and already the skirmish lines are starting to lay out. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said today that the Senate will not adjourn until the House bill sent over today is passed and pushed on to El Pendejo Presidente for signature. He then said that another, even larger bill is immediately required, a bill the Senate is working to craft. We all know what that means. It means that big business and large deep pocket donors are already lining up like a bunch of hobo’s in front of a 1930’s soup kitchen, hands out for a free lunch. This is the battle I spoke of yesterday, you know, the one that the Democrats can’t afford to lose? Fortunately, losing this battle shouldn’t be an issue. There is a very simple plan that the Democrats can use, and even better, it will drive the GOP crazy, seeing as it’s their honored and time tested plan. Tommy Lee Jones put it perfectly in Under Siege, when he said, See? There’s the problem. A movement is exactly that, it moves forward a certain distance, and then it stops. A revolution has a way of always coming back around, in your face! Well, this is a perfect opportunity for the Democrats to throw it right back in the Republicans’ face. The plan is actually very simple, it’s called offsetting. Remember the last time the Democrats had the House, from 2008-2011? They’d want to do something, say increase funding for Medicaid. The GOP response was that it had to be offset by identical 1-1 spending cuts to other social safety net programs. This is in the days when the GOP allegedly gave a flying fuck about fiscal responsibility. The GOP killed Democratic plan after Democratic plan by demanding that any increase in spending be offset by an equal amount somewhere else. They even tried using that during the fiscal cliff debacle. And now we get to use exactly the same formula against them. Here’s how it would work. The number I’ve heard bandied about most frequently today is $850 billion. That’s how much Trump and the GOP want in this third round of support as a financial stimulus package to offset losses due to business disruption during the coronavirus epidemic. OK, fine. It’s a nice round number, and will work as well as any other for our demonstration purposes. Here’s the lowdown. On the top of a piece of paper, in the middle, you put the number $850 billion. Then you draw a line down the middle of the page beneath it. Let’s say that the GOP wants to give $35 billion to the cruise ship industry, to tide them over. Fine, that number goes on the left side of the line. And on the right, it is offset by $35 billion going to increased unemployment benefit payments during the length of the coronavirus epidemic. Want to give the airline industry $50 billion? Got ya covered, and here goes $50 billion in escrow for small businesses to make their mortgage or lease payments while they are shuttered during the crisis. And for […]

Now I’ve been at this for a while, and most of you know me pretty well by now. One thing that I love to stress is how much I enjoy the thoughtful and insightful comments my readers post about my articles. And now that the glitch is fixed, and I can reply again, I’m like a pig in slop! But every once in a while, not often, but once in a while, whether because the person is too shy, or too personally involved, I get the comment via e-mail instead. Recently I received just such an e-mail. And since you all know how I love to respond to the comments I receive, I thought that I would share the e-mail with you, so that I could post my response in my usual, article format. The e-mail is from someone named Iron Fist, and here it is; You are dumber than dog shit. I know you are incompetent because you live in a city that wont allow morons like you to possess a firearm. Really?!? Dumber than dog shit?!? Ouch! Now that stings. Now, just to set the record straight, I went back and looked at my old SAT scores, and found that I had scored 3 categories higher than dog shit, in the “likely invertebrate” and I beat President Trump’s score by 157. Now that we’ve got that cleared up, there are a couple of other things that I’d like to touch on. First of all, obviously you don’t read my stuff very often, since pretty much everybody in here knows that I live in Nevada, which is an open carry state. Around here pal, we hold gun shows the way y’all have garage sales. Considering my lack of a criminal record, I could pack enough armaments to invade Syria if the travel arrangements could be worked out. Packing heat isn’t much of a problem out here. And last, but not least, you seem to be having a small problem with this whole “anonymity” thing, but hell, I’m here to help. If you’re trying to remain anonymous, Bo, it’s best to not send one that has your signature on it, you know, including your name, company name, address, and phone number! A person with less sterling character than myself could have simply chosen to copy and paste that as well, and then where would you be? So, there you have it boys and girls. Fame can be a slippery slope, so think twice before sitting down and putting shit on the internet. But keep those cards and letters coming, and hey Bo, MAGA! To know the future, look to the past.before the insanity of the 2020 election, relive the insanity of the 2016 GOP primary campaign, and the general election, to see how we got to where we are. Copies of President Evil, and the sequel, President Evil II, A Clodwork Orange are available as e-books on Amazon, at the links above. Catch up before the upcoming release of the third book in the trilogy, President Evil III: All The Presidents Fen  

It had to come to this. If you’ve been paying attention to the events of the last 18 months, the purging of independent thought and structural, constitutional obedience in the intelligence community, you could see this coming a mile off. Well, you can put down the binoculars down now, we’re there. The New York Times blew the lid off of the congressional pressure cooker today with the news that last week, the Acting Director of Intelligence had given the House Intelligence Committee a classified briefing. In that briefing, the committee was told that the intelligence community had proof that the Russian government was already attempting to interfere in the results of the 2020 election to benefit the reelection chances of Donald Trump. Not only were they interfering there, but they were attempting to interfere in the 2020 Democratic primary process as well. That was enough to rattle the steam pressure release, but not to blow the lid off. What blew the lid off was the news that upon hearing of the intelligence briefing, President Donald Trump blew his own lid. Trump was furious that the Acting Director had followed the law in briefing congress as necessary, and was sure that House Intel Chair Adam Schiff was only out to weaponize the information to damage Trump. Trump went into a totally predictable rage, and after filleting the Acting DNI, fired him and replaced him with a totally unqualified hack toady, whose only qualifications were that he is able to get his head far enough Trump’s ass to ensure that Hannity and Tucker Carlson have enough food and water, and to change their litter as needed. Make no mistake, this is the Rubicon, and we’re in Charon’s boat. El Pendejo Presidente is actively attempting to create an intelligence community that will willfully withhold information critical to the protection of the United States from those who have a logical, ethical, and legal reason to see it. Have no illusions, Donald Trump is more than willing to sacrifice the national security of this country to cover up and protect his own, criminal ass. And he is putting people in place that will follow his orders to do so. Up until now, we’ve dodged the bullet. We dodged it because of brave souls like Lt Colonel Alexander Vindman, Ambassadoe Marie Yovanovitch, Jennifer Williams, and yes, even Ambassador Gordon Sondland. People who, when the time came, and the country called, stood up and answered the bell. People who honored their oaths to the constitution, and did their duty with dignity and honor. But Trump is closing those avenues off. Let’s look at the now famous “whistleblower.” What happened with the whistleblower? He or she had information, vital to national security, that they felt was being repressed. The whistleblower went to Intel Chair Adam Schiff’s office seeking guidance. He or she was instructed to follow the established procedure, and to file a whistleblowers complaint with the department’s Inspector General. The system worked from there, and the information eventually came out. But what about now? Let’s say it’s a month from now, and you’re the whistleblower. You have evidence of direct Russian interference in the 2020 election, information that is being suppressed. Following established protocol, you fill out a whistleblowers complaint form and turn it over to your Inspector General. […]

Well, well,well, this could get fun. Bueno quick. The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has filed a formal complaint against one Rudolph Giuliani in the Southern District of New York, specifically for violations of the federal Hatch Act. And the way they’re doing it has the potential to shine a bright and uncomfortable spotlight as much on Attorney General William “Fudgesicle” Barr as on the Ghoul man himself. Briefly for those not immediately familiar with it, the Hatch Act is a federal law that prohibits federal employees in engaging in overtly political activity while on the federal clock. It is normally administered as a civil matter, and new federal employees go through training on avoiding violations of the act. The reigning Ma Barker of Hatch Act violations is White House counselor Cruella de Conway. KellyAnne has been spanked for everything from pimping First Brat Ivanka’s awful clothes from the White House press briefing room to making negative statements about Joe Biden, as well as other Trump political opponents from the White House driveway. There have been several formal complaints against her, but the White House simply refuses to acknowledge them and act. And while most violations of the Hatch Act are in fact accidental, and are civil violations, there is another, criminal clause to the act. The Hatch Act prohibits the use of any congressionally authorized funds, or government goods and services for any purpose that advances a purely political partisan agenda. This is the heart of the criminal complaint that CREW filed against Giuliani. The logic is simple, and the case already basically proven. Trump has already admitted that he sent Ghouliani to the Ukraine to much around to get the investigations into the Biden’s. Congressional testimony in the impeachment hearings proved that Giuliani repeatedly threatened to withhold the congressionally approved defense funds until the Ukrainians announced the investigations. As congress and approved those funds, and Giuliani threatened to withhold them for a purely partisan political reason, that’s an open-and-shit violation of the criminal portion of the Hatch Act. This is going to be an immense pain in the ass for Trump, Barr, and the DOJ for a number of reasons. First, the case is already largely proven by testimony and evidence already in the record. Second, as Rachel reported earlier this week, a month ago, Tubby the Ewok sent out an internal DOJ memorandum that any new or existing investigation touching on the Ukraine in way way is now required to be run through a special attorney’s office in the Brooklyn office for approval and oversight. This complaint is once again going to shine a bright white hot spotlight on Trump and Barr’s insistence on interfering with federal investigations that concern Trump or his close associates. But by far and away, the biggest problem is going to be CREW itself. CREW is one of the premier government watchdog groups around. They’ve been at it for a long, successful time, and they have an incredibly loud public megaphone. CREW already publicly announced the filing of the complaint today, and you can bet El Rancho that they are going to very loud and insistent as this process moves on. They’ll monitor the progress of this complaint closely, and at the first unsavory whiff of White House or DOJ interference […]

I loved the debate, for me it was like watching an Indiana Jones movie. I laughed, I hooted and hollered, I bounced in my seat and clapped my hands. And when it was over, the first thought that went through my head was that if they had had a bunch of power tools pegged to the back wall, it would have been Thunderdome. Here are some impressions from the debate tonight, while they’re fresh in my ind. Jesus Joe, where have you been – After the New Hampshire primary, I wrote that Joe Biden looked and sounded like a beaten candidate. I stand by that. But if you’ve been waiting tor Biden to wake up and get serious, then tonight was your night. Biden came through like my Kansas City Chiefs in the last 10 minutes of the Super Bowl. Biden was tight. Biden was focused. Biden was passionate. In short, Biden was everything that you’ve been waiting for. His answers were clear and concise. He spoke directly to the people through the camera, instead of looking down at the podium. And best of all, Biden seemed to be in total control. Unlike most other candidates, Biden didn’t throw up his hand every time somebody spoke, he was surgical in his attach responses. And because he chose his spots carefully, he tended to get called on when he raised his hand. As I said in the title, Welcome back, Joe. The happy warrior unsheathed her sword tonight – In every debate so far, Elizabeth Warren has been the most passionate, yet most polite, non confrontational candidate on the stage. That ended tonight. Warren skewered Bloomberg with her “Meghan Kelly moment,” quoting insults to women, and then saying she was talking about Mike Bloomberg and not Donald Trump. And she pinned him like a butterfly to a cork board over his refusal to free women with complaints from their non disclosure agreements. And for dessert, she mangled Mayor Pete over his insulting attitude for Amy Klobuchar. Warren needed a good performance tonight to get back into the top tier, and she delivered. Her biggest issue so far, to my eye is that her support is broad, but shallow. There are no enclaves in demographics or ethnicity where she polls high enough to surpass the 15% mark to generate delegates. She may have fixed that tonight. She should have scored points with women by skewering Bloomberg on his sexism, and for defending Klobuchar against Buttigieg. She spoke to middle class families about her creation of the CFPB, and to minorities in plastering Bloomberg over red lining. And as usual, she refused to directly engage Sanders, so as to not offend his voters. All in all, a good performance for her. Bloomberg should be in intensive care – You can either agree or disagree with me about Tom Perez being smarter than we gave him credit for, but getting Bloomberg on the stage tonight was a Godsend for Democrats. From the moment he stepped on the stage, Bloomberg showed himself for what he is, an uber rich, pompous, arrogant horses ass. And it only got worse for Bloomberg form there. One of my favorite parts of watching a debate is watching the candidates scurry behind their podiums the minute the group photos are over, where they hunch like […]

deep state noun 1.a body of people, typically influential members of government agencies or the military, believed to be involved in the secret manipulation or control of government policy:“the deep state and its policy of allowing extremist ideologies to flourish may be the actual issues of concern” Donald Trump is a “true believer” in the evils of the “deep state.” Why? Because Donald Trump is a delusional, paranoid asshole, leading a greasy horde of other delusional, paranoid assholes. And the easiest way for him to explain to his brain dead base of followers his complete, pathetic inability to get anything done, is to claim that is is all a “deep state” cabal of government employees, working secretly to defeat him from accomplishing his greatness. Obviously this is a case of gibberish of a world class order, the stuff of madness. But when it comes to Trump, what if, lets just say what if, Trump is right, and there is a group working actively against him to defeat his evil whims? But not quite the evil cabal that he keeps insinuating that it is? What if, rather than advancing some sinister, ill gotten plan from a bunch of villains hell bent on ill gotten means, there is a “deep state,” but working for some other, less diabolical purpose? On her show last night, Rachel Maddow talked in some detail about the letter that more than 2000 previous Justice Department employees had signed, demanding the resignation of William “Monkey” Barr. In that same letter, they advised current Department of Justice officials to resign their posts if all else fails, and to make the reasons for their sudden departures public. In other words, as Rachel put it, “To make a stink.” She followed that up by relating how officials in the Washington DC US Attorney’s office had related to reporters that the criminal investigation into the possible lying of Erik Prince to congress were ongoing. This is odd, since nobody had thought much of that investigation since it was started as a result of a congressional request more than a year ago. This was followed by the revelation to reporters, this time from the Southern District of New York that the criminal investigation into former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani was ongoing, even after the end of the Trump Impeachment. Why put that out there now? Is it possible that this is actually the work of the nefarious “deep state?  But what if, instead of some insidious group of insurgents, trying to foul democracy for a nefarious purpose, the “deep state” is actually a group if committed US government employees, standing up in support of their oath to the constitution? What if, instead of attempting to kill democracy in it’s sleep, they are trying to protect it? Look, the investigations into Prince and Giuliani aren’t state secrets, they were announced shortly after they were initiated. But, with the whirlwind of the Trump impeachment investigation, the articles of impeachment, and the trial, they have moved to the back burner and been largely forgotten. What if some employees in the know in the Washington Sc and the Southern District of New York’s US Attorney’s offices have heard some rumblings that these investigations may be taken over by Barr, and quashed? What if those employees are sending out veiled signal flares, reminding […]