Zorro
Zorro's JournalKeith Richards fans feared he'd died as he trended on Twitter on his birthday
Rolling Stones fans got a fright this morning when they saw Keith Richards trending on Twitter - and mistakenly assumed he'd died.
The guitarist's name was one of the top mentions on the site today, and many feared the hard-living rocker had passed away.
However, Keith is very much alive and his name was trending as fans started celebrating his 76th birthday today.
One wrote: "Keith Richards - S**t I saw this and thought he’s either dead or going to lead the Labour Party - Happy Birthday Keef…. You Got The Silver....You Got The Gold."
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/keith-richards-fans-feared-hed-21120073
On impeachment eve, Trump repeats the crime
It was as if an accused white-collar criminal, during jury selection for his bribery trial, had offered the judge a briefcase full of unmarked bills.
Or if a drug offender, taking the stand to defend himself against charges that he trafficked in narcotics, had tried to sell a brick of cocaine to the jury foreman.
But it really happened. Even as the House on Tuesday worked out the rules of the debate that will almost certainly see President Trump impeached by Wednesday night, Trump and his team continued to commit the very offenses for which he is being punished.
As the Rules Committee moved to the floor an impeachment article alleging Trump had abused his office by soliciting foreign help for his reelection campaign, Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, boasted to CNN that Trump is “very supportive” of Giuliani’s ongoing efforts to dig up political dirt in Ukraine that would help with Trump’s reelection campaign.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/17/doubt-that-trump-is-still-committing-impeachable-crimes-talk-rudy/
Trump Helped Nix Electric Car Tax Measure Sought by Tesla, GM
The expansion of a tax credit for electric vehicles isn’t likely to appear in a broad deal being negotiated by House and Senate leaders, and backers of the popular tax break say President Donald Trump is to blame.
“There has been extreme resistance from the president,” said Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat who has championed the $7,500 tax credit for consumers who purchase an electric car. She said Monday it was unlikely to be expanded.
“I don’t know why the White House would want to stop jobs and the future of the auto industry,” she said.
The credit is a legislative priority for automakers such as Tesla Inc. and General Motors Co.
White House officials warned lawmakers that if they tried to expand the electric vehicle credit as part of a compromise spending bill, it could tank the measure, according to two people familiar with the matter. The issue is particularly heated in the West Wing and among conservatives who view the credit as mainly benefiting rich Californians and Tesla.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-16/trump-helped-nix-electric-car-tax-measure-sought-by-tesla-gm
For Tesla, the tax credit -- although nice to have -- has been significantly reduced due to the company surpassing the 200k sales threshold; cancelling the tax credit will probably affect other car manufacturers entering the electric car market a lot more.
But in general it's another dick move by Trump and this administration, since the feds and state governments provide $20+ billion annually to subsidize the fossil fuel industry.
Felix Rohatyn, Wall Street wizard who helped save NYC from bankruptcy, dies at 91
Felix Rohatyn, whose finesse and dealmaking talents made him one of the most influential investment bankers of his era, who launched the boom in the mergers and corporate takeovers he came to loathe, and who was widely credited with saving New York City from bankruptcy in 1975, died Dec. 14 at his home in Manhattan. He was 91.
The death was confirmed by a son, Michael Rohatyn, who did not cite a specific cause.
Mr. Rohatyn (pronounced ROH-a-tin), who was born in Austria to a Jewish family prominent in business, spent a defining part of his childhood as a refugee from the Nazi advance across Europe. Intense, driven and discreet, he worked for almost his entire professional life as a banker and adviser to corporate clients at the New York firm of Lazard Frères & Co.
He socialized for decades at the nexus of financial and political power, counting leaders such as French President François Mitterrand and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger as friends. His ambition to serve as treasury secretary in a Democratic administration was never fulfilled, but in 1997 Mr. Rohatyn succeeded socialite and Democratic Party fundraiser Pamela Harriman as President Bill Clinton’s ambassador to France.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/felix-rohatyn-wall-street-wizard-who-helped-save-nyc-from-bankruptcy-dies-at-91/2019/12/14/41f880fe-1ebe-11ea-87f7-f2e91143c60d_story.html
'We've seen enough': More than a dozen editorial boards call for Trump's impeachment
The headline the New York Times editorial board settled on was simple: “Impeach.”
The same could be said of the “damning” case laid out against President Trump, the Times said Saturday, as it joined a growing roster of more than a dozen national and regional newspapers that argue that the Senate should take up convincing accusations of “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
The opinions of major publications are divided as the House prepares for a historic vote Wednesday, and a host of traditionally more-conservative editorial boards have yet to weigh in — including several that snubbed Trump in 2016 by conspicuously breaking from long histories of Republican endorsements.
Many papers backing impeachment have described a slow-building choice amid hearings into whether Trump abused his position to pressure a foreign power for personal political gain.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/12/14/weve-seen-enough-editorial-boards-weigh-impeachment/
Impeach.
IN THE END, the story told by the two articles of impeachment approved on Friday morning by the House Judiciary Committee is short, simple and damning: President Donald Trump abused the power of his office by strong-arming Ukraine, a vulnerable ally, holding up hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid until it agreed to help him influence the 2020 election by digging up dirt on a political rival.
When caught in the act, he rejected the very idea that a president could be required by Congress to explain and justify his actions, showing “unprecedented, categorical and indiscriminate defiance” in the face of multiple subpoenas. He made it impossible for Congress to carry out fully its constitutionally mandated oversight role, and, in doing so, he violated the separation of powers, a safeguard of the American republic.
To quote from the articles, “President Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law.”
The case now moves to the full House of Representatives, which on Wednesday will decide, for just the third time in the nation’s history, whether to impeach a president.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/14/opinion/sunday/trump-impeachment.html
'Please Guide Me In My Darkest Hour Lord,' Prays Trump Kneeling Before Portrait Of Himself
WASHINGTON—Lighting candles at the altar before lowering his head in reverence, President Donald Trump prayed for the lord to guide him in his darkest hour Thursday while kneeling before a portrait of himself.
“You, the all-seeing, all-knowing, he who stands above all other beings, in my time of need, please show me the way,” said Trump, gazing into the eyes of his portrait and asking for the kind of strength that can only be granted by the almighty himself.
“Eternal one, king of kings, I have always served you dutifully and have never forsaken the quest for your glory. In all your omnipotence, I beg that you shine a light and show me how to strike down your enemies. If delivered from this trial, I will spread your word to the ends of the Earth and make sure all of humanity sings your praises.”
Trump concluded the prayer by saying he would gladly offer up his children in holy sacrifice for his lord if it would secure his glory.
https://politics.theonion.com/please-guide-me-in-my-darkest-hour-lord-prays-trump-1838748381
Impeachment is rare. Republicans' histrionics are historic.
“Today is an historic day,” CNN reported Thursday.
“Historic day on Capitol Hill,” agreed CBS.
“Historic,” MSNBC concurred.
They were off by a syllable. History would have to wait. This was a day was for histrionics.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/13/impeachment-is-rare-republicans-histrionics-are-historic/
An inside look at Trump's foreign policy: 'This is literally insane'
‘Holy f---. This can’t last. This is literally insane.” This salty quote, coming about midway through Peter Bergen’s rollicking account of President Trump’s foreign policy, is how an unnamed senior official describes the response of the two original adults in the room, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, to one of many presidential decisions they felt unwise and uninformed — in this instance, the blithe approval of a Saudi-led blockade of Qatar in 2017. Soon enough, the government careers of both of these experienced and proud men would meet an unceremonious end. But their sentiments succinctly capture the way most of official Washington — and much of the world — thinks about U.S. foreign policy under Trump.
From the moment Trump strutted into the Oval Office, we have been buried by an avalanche of jaw-dropping revelations about what happens when an unhinged, cynical and impulsive commander in chief bumps up against professionalism, decency and the rule of law. So when opening a new book promising still more inside stories of Trump’s foreign policy, it is hard to expect an author to say anything new — especially when the book was written before the impeachment drama started. Perhaps the best one can hope for is something that helps put this craziness in perspective and lays out the stakes for the future.
Bergen’s “Trump and His Generals” meets the test. A respected national security analyst at New America and CNN, Bergen provides a deeply informed study, written with clarity and flair. Reflecting fresh research and nearly 100 interviews with some key players, his retelling of Trump’s foreign policy skillfully synthesizes what’s already known and adds gossipy tidbits. Although it doesn’t change the fundamental story line and may not create breaking news, it is the best single account of Trump’s foreign policy to date.
The narrative arc of Bergen’s tale is familiar, showing how the relationship between the president and the military brass who initially staffed his administration — retired Marine generals Mattis and John Kelly, and Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster — went down in flames. Bergen traces the ways Trump’s fanboy fascination with “his” generals transformed into deep frustration with their caution and ethical code.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/an-inside-look-at-trumps-foreign-policy-this-is-literally-insane/2019/12/10/5405fb26-07f0-11ea-924a-28d87132c7ec_story.html
Defeated governor pardoned violent criminals in a spree lawyers are calling an 'atrocity of justice'
Source: Washington Post
Matt Bevin is no longer the governor of Kentucky, but his decisions continued to send shock waves through the state’s legal system this week after he issued pardons for hundreds of people, some of whom committed violent offenses.
Bevin issued 428 pardons since his defeat to Democrat Andy Beshear in a close election in November, the Louisville Courier Journal reported. His list includes a man convicted of reckless homicide, a convicted child rapist, a man who murdered his parents at age 16 and a woman who threw her newborn in the trash after giving birth in a flea market outhouse.
He also pardoned Dayton Jones, who was convicted in the sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy at a party, Kentucky New Era reported.
It is not unusual for governors to issue pardons as they leave office, but Bevin’s actions boggled some of the state’s attorneys, who questioned his judgment.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/12/12/defeated-gop-governor-pardoned-violent-criminals-spree-lawyers-are-calling-an-atrocity-justice/
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