Congress

Man, when it rains it pours, just ask one time darling of the left, Michael Avenatti. He was appearing at a hearing at the State Bar of California, where he was accused of scamming a client out of $840,000 in settlement money and appropriating it to his own use. The State Bar was looking to put Avenatti on involuntary inactive status, which is the first step towards disbarment. Now, normally that would be enough to ruin any lawyer’s day, but lo and behold, during a break in testimony the feds showed up to arrest Avenatti for violating the terms of his release agreement in a totally separate matter. Double ouch. Daily Beast: Avenatti was taken into custody at around 6 p.m. PST. When the court resumed, his lead counsel in the disciplinary case, Thomas Warren, told the court that in connection with a criminal matter in Santa Ana, Avenatti was unable to return to court. Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, confirmed to The Daily Beat that Avenatti was arrested on allegations of violating the terms of his pre-trial release. Mrozek declined to go into details, as the documents in the case are under seal. “I do expect him to appear in federal court in Santa Ana tomorrow,” he said. As Avenatti was being led out of the courthouse, the normally garrulous lawyer said simply, “Completely innocent.” Sounds just like his old nemesis Donald Trump, doesn’t he? And that’s not all. In addition to disbarment proceedings and the criminal matter on the west coast, Avenatti has another high profile, criminal matter pending on the east, the Nike extortion case. Avenatti allegedly told Nike that he would keep quiet about their purported policy of paying high school basketball players to attend Nike-sponsored college basketball programs, if they paid him millions of dollars. Avenatti flew very high in political circles for a time as the self-appointed voice of the left, on political TV shows, and even threw his hat in the ring as a presidential contender, as you recall. But he got too close to the sun, when it was found out that he lived like a James Bond villain and owed the IRS millions of dollars — plus unpaid rent money on his office. That revelation brought his populist-politician career screaming to the ground. Again, that would be enough to wake most people up to the error of their ways, but not Avenatti. He got indicted by a California grand jury last April on 36 counts of fraud, tax evasion and embezzlement. The man is larger than life. He’s cartoon-like, just as is Donald Trump. No wonder he knew how to troll Trump and push all his buttons. They’re two peas in a pod, running on hubris, ego,and greed. At least in Avenatti’s case, he had a brain and graduated valedictorian of George Washington School of Law. Too bad he didn’t have a character that matched his intellect. He could have been somebody legitimate and done a lot of good. If this was a farce, instead of reality (not that there’s much discernible difference these days) Trump and Avenatti would end up on the same cell block. Or, maybe Avenatti will end up neighbors to Michael Cohen or Paul Manafort. It’s fascinating the types of con […]

Not to sound too self-important, but it was only four hours ago that Romney came out with his statement that he wanted to hear from John Bolton, and we noted that Romney’s move will create a safety lane for other Republicans, the ones hanging on the edge, thinking about jumping SS Trump. Now Iowa Senator Joni Ernst is saying that she wants Mitch McConnell to start working with the Democrats. Via Rawstory: Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) is another endangered Republican running for reelection in 2020. She joined with Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) in complaining about the process of impeachment unfolding in the U.S. Senate. In a Politico report Monday, Ernst told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) it was time to start working with Democrats instead of against them. No wonder the Russians are busy hacking the shit out of the Ukrainians. They better get moving. McConnell might want watch-out, because I sense a jail-break coming if just a couple more Republicans join with the Democrats in pushing back against McConnell’s sham. Two more will mean there are 51 senators – a majority – opposed to McConnell, something he is not used to. The remaining Republicans will have to assess whether they want to stay in the minority, or join the people seeking the truth. As we said earlier, a bet on the McConnell-Trump side is a bet on being able to manage the unknown into the future. I would hate to be Lindsey Graham, having argued his toff off about the giant hoax, suddenly having to explain how it was that anyone could be so adamant about anything when Trump was guilty as figs the whole time. Everyone get ready, because things are changing fast. The dynamic will look entirely different in two days. If you think Trump’s insufferable rage was running over to this point, you haven’t seen a thing yet. The scales are tipping, and I think that Twitter best add some extra wings to carry the load that is coming. Ernst has placed her bet, and decided it was best to suffer the rage, rather than the alternative. **** Peace, y’all Jason jmiciak@yahoo.com and on Twitter @MiciakZoom    

I suppose the real question is what took them so long. It was only a matter of time, and we just flipped the calendar to the election year. Here come the Russians, hacking computers to boost Trump, again. The New York Times is out with a breaking story that the Russian military hacked into Burrisma’s computers, going after dirt on the Bidens. It is just a coincidence that Trump wanted that exact same dirt in extorting Ukraine. The hacking attempts against Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company on whose board Hunter Biden served, began in early November, as talk of the Bidens, Ukraine and impeachment was dominating the news in the United States. It is not yet clear what the hackers found, or precisely what they were searching for. But the experts say the timing and scale of the attacks suggest that the Russians could be searching for potentially embarrassing material on the Bidens — the same kind of information that Mr. Trump wanted from Ukraine when he pressed for an investigation of the Bidens and Burisma, setting off a chain of events that led to his impeachment. I will tell you what they found. Whatever the fck they wanted. These are the very same people that brought you the O.G. “fake news,” which as a term is only properly applied to fake websites, publishing fake pieces, purporting to be real. If the Russians are after something, they’ll either find it, or make it up themselves. The article states that the Russians are using the exact same tactics, albeit stealthier, and during roughly the exact same point in time in the campaign as their hack of the DNC last time around. The result has been a muddy brew of conspiracy theories that mix facts, like the handful of Ukrainians who openly criticized Mr. Trump’s candidacy, with discredited claims that the D.N.C.’s email server is in Ukraine and that Mr. Biden, as vice president, had corrupt dealings with Ukrainian officials to protect his son. Spread by bots and trolls on social media, and by Russian intelligence officers, the claims resonated with Mr. Trump, who views talk of Russian interference as an attack on his legitimacy. Damn it. It is so infuriating. This is why Trump must be impeached, and must be removed from office. There is no other way we’re going to get a fair election. Russians are already attempting to tip the scales and keep us at each others’ throats. What happens when it looks like Trump is in trouble, perhaps down in November? A fake war? An attack on our civil infrastructure? An emergency declaration? We cannot know, we only know that it will be something. Because the other thing we know is that Trump has no problem with anyone, anywhere, helping him win. Indeed, it appears that Trump is willing to start (or at least risk) war, where many people die, to get reelected. Not for nothing, but that is near the definition of an evil dictator, attempting to keep atop a corrupt banana republic. Hear me, we are moving head-first into the ugliest, hardest fought, and perhaps most violent presidential election since at least 1968. Perhaps we can get through this one without any political assassinations, but I wouldn’t place money on it. If Trump is behind, you […]

Oh boy. Well, here goes nothing, I should know better, but … Bernie Sanders has gone on the attack, and it isn’t in a good way, directed at Donald Trump. Nope, the Sanders campaign is now strongly attacking both Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden. Sanders firing ammo in all directions right now: * Sanders himself ramps up criticism of Biden on war and trade.* Campaign slams Warren in volunteer script.* Nina Turner op-ed in South Carolina rips Biden on race. Democrats want a fighter. Is he the one they want? — Jonathan Allen (@jonallendc) January 12, 2020 Yes, we do want a fighter. We want a fighter for all Democrats, and even all independents. Politico has some more details about how it is all happening through a script volunteers are to read: The script instructs Sanders volunteers to tell voters leaning toward the Massachusetts senator that the “people who support her are highly-educated, more affluent people who are going to show up and vote Democratic no matter what” and that “she’s bringing no new bases into the Democratic Party.” “I like Elizabeth Warren. [optional]” the script begins. “In fact, she’s my second choice. But here’s my concern about her.” It then pivots to the criticisms of Warren. No “new bases”? Women? Twitter is lit with people proclaiming that Sanders is the one person who would lose the race to Trump. Indeed, the Obama campaign’s Jim Messina says that Trump likely wants to run against Sanders. Trump will want to run against the supposed “socialist” platform. I don’t believe that is necessarily true, or at least I never used to assume it to be true. I am starting to wonder. I do know this. The more Democrats tear at each other, the easier time Trump will have. The more invested each Democrat becomes in his or her candidate, to the point of hostility to another, the more we ensure that some unenthusiastic voters stay home, ones needed versus Trump. I don’t want to hear any Democratic candidate tell me why another has a problem. Never. I will figure that out myself. I want to hear why a candidate believes he or she is the best person to defeat Trump and instill sanity again. It is the only platform in which I’m interested. I still haven’t decided who I will support. But I will rule out anyone who is blasting other candidates in an attempt to get that person out of the race. I do not consider the above to be “blasting,” but it’s damned close, putting down the supporters of someone else, defining them with damning “praise.” I do not understand how it is that this has happened twice now, and Democrats don’t seem to learn. To be honest, it does seem like a feature, not a bug, to the Sanders movement. It is frustrating to see, maddening to think about. The consequences are way too severe to be playing with this kind of fire. If Sanders wins the nomination by destroying the other Democratic candidates such that he infuriates voters from other camps, what good does that do Sanders? None. It means he will lose the general election. Any candidate, including Sanders, needs to convince people across a broad spectrum of beliefs, and will need every Democrat, to the right […]

I don’t mean to scare you. Perhaps I mean to mobilize, more than anything, although I do have to admit that “motivation” doesn’t seem to be a problem when it comes to Democratic hopes this coming fall. “This fall” is pretty meaningful when an expert in Republican politics tells us it might be our last shot to ditch the Trumps for a long time. Rick Wilson thinks that a Trump win will ensure we usher in the Trump era, with perhaps Don Jr. waiting in the wings to move the cult forward into 2024 and beyond: Get ready for Donald Trump Jr., a man who speaks the fluent asshole dialogue of the own-the-libs Trump Party, to rise to the top of the 2024 GOP primary ranks. The dynastic talk that was once treated as a joke (even by me) is already growing around both Don Jr. and Ivanka. Poor Eric is left out, but then again, he always has been. As I have said before, if it looks like America is committed to dynasties, and Don Jr. looks to be setting himself up for the real inheritance, well, at that point Michelle Obama is going to need to get off the bench and take our country back. Back to Don Jr., which means we have to get back to the same thing to which any analysis of Trump turns, money and corruption. Wilson notes that Trump has even turned the military into a for-profit endeavor, and his brand of corruption is not just tolerated, but cheered. It is inevitable that the Trumps will attempt to keep it going, and going: The ambition that drives the Trump spawn these days is powerful, and the corruption and collapse of the GOP as a party will enable their dynastic fantasies to play out with real consequences for the country. The Orange Kardashians will have the brand power of Trump, as well as the shameless hucksterism of Fox and the degraded conservative media, behind them. Mark my words, even the “respectable” elements of the conservative media will soon be producing think pieces on why Don Jr. is the bridge from raw Trumpism to a smoother, smarter populist nationalism. There is a “respectable” conservative media in existence? Where? Breaking news! We know those pieces are coming. Hell, Don Jr. is already a best-selling author, and he knows how to “trigger” the left, which might be the only quality that the Fox-watching right cares about at this point. Indeed, I do think that the degree to which a Republican candidate infuriates the left is perhaps the single most important quality to the average right-wing voter. If you can’t make the leftists scream in pain, you need not apply. To that end, none can burn our nerves like the Trumps. Were that our only problem. Just like “Luke” wasn’t the only Skywalker, strong with the force, we do have to keep our eye on … sister. Thankfully, the poor analogy stops there, because this sister is anything but hidden, and she sure isn’t a fighter for the Republic: Get ready for four years of the right-wing press writing strained profiles of the Strange New Respect that Ivanka is generating among conservatives, and how the first woman Republican president might not be Nikki Haley but rather the deceptively […]

Nazism took hold in Germany during the worst economic depression since the Dark Ages. Most people were crushingly poor. Wheel barrels filled with useless cash rolled around cities fighting sky-rocketing inflation. People worried that it would take generations to get better, the world was pulling itself apart by the seams. In was within this difficult context, with all the suffering and fear pulsing through the German nation in that period, that Hitler rose. He blamed all of those societal ills on Jews. Hitler created the perfect group of “others” upon which his followers could pin all their pain. It didn’t matter in the least that it made no sense, that no link existed, and it was obviously meant to just enrage people. I give you Ann Coulter: Tell me again that immigration isn't the most important issue. From Ronald Reagan to this: https://t.co/EAKKKqF72Q — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) January 12, 2020 Now, I think it is important to note that several people on Twitter said that the textbook highlighted is from a graduate class at one of the universities, and not an 8th grade class on human sexuality. But obviously that is not the issue. That tweet went out to 2.2 million people, and forwarded to who knows how many. If you are still asking yourself what you’re missing, what Ann might be referencing which links immigration and the sex-ed issue, you’re not missing anything. There is no link. Ann created a convenient link without regard for the fact that there are completely separate, one doesn’t relate to the other. Ann Coulter is using a the Nazi tactic. She took something seen as bad, and pins that perceived evilness on the group she detests, “immigrants.” Look at some of the comments responding to her: This is sick and wrong. The DEMONRATS and their ilk need to be stopped. — Col (R) DJ Western (@DJWestern5) January 12, 2020 Apparently they don’t teach critical thinking in our military. Actually, they do, just some slip through. Plus, “Demons”? Yet another tactic. Dehumanize the people you want to crush. Takeaway their personhood. We are demons, now. There really is a fundamental mental disorder involving liberals. Science needs to study them because this is a hairline away from true mental illness! — Lena Sull (@lena_sull) January 12, 2020 And now we are mentally ill. The mentally ill require treatment, voluntary or involuntary, they are subject to someone else’s decision-making. I don’t need to belabor the point. Yes, there are a lot of responses noting that one doesn’t have anything to do with the other. After all, if that is a real textbook for 8th graders (and I seriously doubt that it is, some common sense need be applied here), then I might have some issues on just how far I’m letting the public schools go in teaching sexuality to my child. But we cannot know whether is real because we already see that an agenda is driving the accusation, one that has nothing to do with education. She is obviously engaging in propaganda. When propaganda is distributed solely to inflame hatred or violence, such as when one implies that young children are taught sexual “blood sports,” it becomes propaganda of the Nazi-type. There is no other way to put it. It is meant to fuel hatred with white […]

Politico has a fascinating column this morning in which its columnist invited Trump supporters to email him with their good-faith defense of his conduct with respect to Ukraine. He got what he wanted, an unfettered review, honest, revealing and angry. One person responded that Trump was “their OJ,” in that they were with him, facts be damned. Really damned. John Harris, the columnist, does everything right except he stops from the ultimate inescapable conclusion found among the varied answers. Trump supporters support him for one overriding principle that eclipses everything else: He hates Democrats and “leftists” as much as they do. That is the end of the discussion for them, all of them. One only has to parse through their words in each statement, what they’re really trying to say. (Direct quotes of email correspondents do not fall under “fair use” guidelines, IMO. These are statements made by individuals into the public domain, and not subject to usual limitations of 2-3 paragraphs. Still, we’ll be respectful). Leading off, a 66 year old man who describes Trump as: “Manic, illogical, uneducated, vulgar, amoral, narcissist, and having no character.” And yet the same man says that Trump has done a fine job on the economy and, in facing the threat posed by Democrats implacable bid to thwart him. Democrats have abused the rules and process for three years. (They weren’t even in power for two, so that’s strange). They support him no matter what, as he is their OJ. The man eviscerates Trump with an honest assessment, then takes a nod at an economy that had been rising faster under Obama and then uses the rest of his opportunity to unleash his hatred of Democrats, which Trump shares. In that statement he hits it. The only unifying feature is they all hate the left, seeing “us” as the true “enemy” and threat. A more illuminating description? Alan Weisz, a dentist from Deerfield, Ill., considers himself a “thoughtful conservative” who sometimes must cover his ears at Trump’s words designed to stoke “hardcore supporters” or “enrage his hysterical detractors.” But this is countered by the fact that he regards the president as “incredibly tough” and a strong leader. He’ll take “good policy and bad optics” over the “apology tours, regulation, pomposity, weak leadership” he associated with Barack Obama. Trump is not a weak-assed panty-waisted leftist like the hated Barack, the black guy, Obama. That is Trump’s defense. Pay attention to whom Trump is not, not Trump as a person. Another reader: “I and a lot of Americans support the president because he is Everyman, not the pretentious power hungry politicians and righteous ‘journalists’ roaming the streets of DC and big cities,” The only “everyman” who has a gold toilet, 757, helicopters, golf courses and penchant for suing the everymans that work on his projects. But, again, they define Trump by what he’s not, rather than … “pretentious …” Stop at the word “pretentious” for a second and just preserve it. Take out pretentious and suddenly every other word used applies just as logically to Trump (power hungry, big cities), Mitch McConnell, or Sean Hannity. It is just that Trump and Republicans are not “pretentious” about it. We are the enemy, and our “pretentiousness” is the tell. Pretentious defined by Webster: “attempting to impress by […]

Ask not for whom the bell tolls   John Donne There’s some late breaking news today from Capitol Hill today. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the full House will vote tomorrow on a resolution to limit President Donald Trump’s options in continuing or spreading wider the conflict he has already unleashed with his brazen attack on Iran’s #2 general. It is expected that the bill will pass the House like shit through a goose. Whereupon it will be passed on to the United States Senate, the exclusive realm of Mitch “The Grim Reaper” McConnell. And anybody who thinks that either McConnell, or any of the other slobbering retards in the GOP caucus will take one step to diminish the power of El Pendejo Presidente to wage war, even after just having the shit scared out of them, needs an intervention. But this time, Yertl the Turtle’s obstructionism may well end up to come back and bite him and the GOP caucus on the ass. Cast your mind back four years to the wild, anything goes, free association, bad acid trip that was the Trump campaign. What was one of Der Gropinfuror’s most frequent campaign promises, one that helped to swing the opinions of the more simple minded out there? He promised to stop getting the United States into foolish foreign entanglements. And not only that, but he also promised to get all remaining US troops out of the already existing foolish foreign entanglements. And he has continued to speak as an isolationist idjit ever since. But Donald Trump fucked up. As with all other things in his pathetic, misbegotten life, Trump went into this whole Iran tussle thinking with the little head. And we all know where Donald Trump ends up when he does his thinking with his little head. It got Stormy Daniels a chunk of cash, and an improved deal for her adult film production company. This time it took him to the brink of an actual shooting war with a very capable adversary. Trump solely owns anything that can logically be linked back to the taking out of General Soleimani. Lock, stock, and barrel. Not only did His Lowness brag himself silly about ordering the mission, he also forced the Department of Defense to acknowledge that the strike was conducted on Trump’s specific orders. Any fallout or repercussion that comes from this strike against Soleimani, whether her in the US, or in the Middle East, will be a chicken that comes home to roost on Trump’s fat, emty head. And that’s a problem for McConnell. Because he’s such a spineless toady, he will take no action that could possibly incur the Wrath of Dhon. And does McConnell, or any other sentient GOP flunky think that the American people are going to suddenly turn into a bunch of bloodthirsty warmongers just because Glorious Bleater decided to play with his toys? Trump and the GOP swore an oath to get us out of the Middle East, and look what he’s doing now. Once again, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has owned Trump like an adopted orphan puppy. You know, the one who just can’t seem to hit the newspaper consistently? Pelosi and the Democrats are going to paint Trump as a warmonger, and then they’re going to paint themselves as the saviors who proposed legislation to ensure that trump couldn’t get […]

In one week, from last Monday to today, everything has changed in the situation with Trump and our nation’s place in the world. I am not trying to create drama, only focusing on reality. All our old presumptions need to be thrown out as something “presumed,” and a re-calculation is needed. Just as we can get addicted to outrage, we can also get paralyzed by cynicism when we tell ourselves “nothing will change,” while missing a giant paradigm shift. Steve Schmidt, the Republican strategist who has earned our ear, because he’s one dead serious ass-kicker who has never tolerated Trump, nor any Republican who apologizes for Trump, had some things to say to the blogs favorite analyst, Nicole Wallace. And he’s mad: “We’re in a dangerous hour in this country,” Schmidt said. “This was a major escalation by President Trump.” “What’s predictable — looking at the Ukraine issue, every issue is he, over and over again acts in his own political interests,” he explained. Schmidt didn’t make his statement in a vacuum, he knows that Bolton is out there, and most analysts continue to state that the announcement actually is a dark cloud on Trump’s and McConnell’s horizon. As National Security Advisor, Bolton was “cc’d” on everything, every email, every order, every memo, he’d know more than anyone besides Mulvaney. Reality is calling Trump and McConnell’s bluff, and it may get an impeachment trial with witnesses that will be hard for Republicans to ignore. The impeachment will not be a “hoax” when someone who was in the room reports that it all happened, just as Schiff described it in the “fake” statement to the committee. So, why the new urgency? Well, Bolton certainly wants his war with Iran, but – remember to abandon all presumptions – perhaps Bolton doesn’t want a war with Iran led by this president. What if Bolton believes the adage, “everything Trump touches dies”? Bolton was fired by Trump over the drug deal (probably) and an invitation of the Taliban to Camp David (definitely). Bolton had the job of his dreams. He is likely angry and capable of damn near anything. Or what if Bolton knows that Trump is a coward and will never commit to Bolton’s desired real war? What if he knows Trump will drop bombs on select people, and talk a gang of shit hoping to sound all fancy and bad ass, and Iran will respond in kind. But Trump will not have the courage to fight the war needed? Actually, that aligns even better with reality. Either choice, or both, could logically answer the question everyone is asking. Why today? Of course, many have rightly pointed out that stating one would comply with a congressional subpoena shouldn’t be news. But when it comes out right after Trump is on the verge of war with Iran it gains significance. Actually, the fact that Bolton could have made the statement anytime in the last two months but waited until now would bring questions as to timing. Schmidt is definitely analyzing the announcement in light of what’s happened in Iran: “Looking at impeachment, what he did, for sure, is survey the situation and unde rstood that with this action, with this strike, that he would create a giant smokescreen that clouds and distracts around the […]

I am hesitant. It is a little dangerous to criticize influential progressive thinkers on an influential progressive site. But I attempt to live my life knowing my limits, respecting the fact that others have different beliefs, and that a “voice” comes with big responsibilities. I think Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez needs to do a little thinking on that end. To the extent that it sounds condescending, please remember that I blasted the shit out of one of Biden’s answers just a week and a half ago. In a recent interview, she thought it important to explain: Asked by New York Magazine for a profile published Monday about what role she might play as a member of Congress should Biden capture the White House in 2020, the freshman House Democrat from New York responded with a groan. “Oh God,” she said. “In any other country, Joe Biden and I would not be in the same party, but in America, we are.” Sigh. I respect AOC. She accomplished a brave feat which I could never have done. I also like the fact that she’s thrown the board up in the air a few times and put the “establishment” on notice that the younger leaders of the party demand a voice. She has earned that voice. But just like every other voice, whether from a Pelosi, Biden, Bloomberg, whomever, she is responsible for the impact, and she should be held accountable by people on her own side. A lot of people have been so excited by her fresh progressive approach that she’s been “beyond-criticism” in many places. Not here, at least not with me. Look at the question she was asked, about a possible role she might play in a Biden White House. First, and most obviously, I don’t care if Biden is your last choice behind Bloomberg (he is somewhere back there for me), the “entry-level” response to that question for any Democratic politician should be noting how grateful she would be to see the White House function again, and then say something like; “I would hope a large one, because any Democrat elected (see? slip Biden’s name back out, like a good Sanders’ supporter) will owe the progressive left a lot for that victory. We will win the right to have a big voice in any new administration, especially as we return to sanity.” (See? Punch Trump). This is not rocket surgery. Even me, the guy in a hut in rural Mississippi, can do it. No controversy, no slamming a member of her own party, nothing just … stupid! I don’t care if it is even true! Perhaps her answer is accurate, since the U.S. is one of the few binary political systems in the world, maybe it is true. But what does it have to do with anything? She lives here, she has tremendous power here, in this nation. Additionally, when she is threatened by Trump and Republicans, she needs Democrats – all Democrats – to step-in and show unity, moderate to … AOCs, to blast back. Her voice is infinitely weaker without the “collective” Democrats behind her. She used a softball question to create controversy and make it less likely we vote out Trump by dividing the party that has the only chance to beat him. Her next line proves it. Ocasio-Cortez broadly […]