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babylonsister

babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
September 23, 2019

Buttigieg takes shot at Trump: 'I am very nervous about how the US is going to look ...


Buttigieg takes shot at Trump: 'I am very nervous about how the US is going to look at the UN General Assembly'
By Julia Manchester - 09/23/19 11:33 AM EDT


South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg on Monday said he was "nervous" about how the U.S. would appear before the United Nations ahead of President Trump's appearance before the General Assembly meeting in New York City.

Buttigieg compared Trump to a child during his remarks, and suggested the U.S. would not provide leadership at the UN under the Republican president.

"Having seen what happened to us at the G-7 where the American president was basically patted on the head and told to go enjoy himself while the grownups sat down to talk about climate change, I am very nervous about how the U.S. is going to look at the U.N. General Assembly that is going to convene right here in the United States," Buttigieg said in an address to supporters in Iowa Falls.

"Will it be one more time where the seat for U.S. leadership is empty? Or are we going to demonstrate that we're a country that keeps its word and is prepared to lead, " he continued. "At the end of the day, you can either resent the rest of the world or you can lead the rest of the world, but you can't do both."


more...

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/462605-buttigieg-i-am-very-nervous-about-how-the-us-is-going-to-look-at-the-un
September 23, 2019

How much are we supposed to take?

http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2019/09/how-much-are-we-supposed-to-take?fbclid=IwAR3zlakGBB2z3A6JIRw7WPAKZPTaHt_BIA_3eojwn5evxKQlC6vSCI_1hds

How much are we supposed to take?
By Paul Campos
On September 19, 2019

At 4:05 pm

snip//

Look, I get the practical argument that impeaching Trump is politically dangerous. I understand that it’s impossible to remove him from office that way. I appreciate that it could backfire.

But these practical arguments are persuasive only to the extent that they outweigh the practical dangers of the opposite course of action, which are every bit as troubling.

In my view, there’s no way to tell how impeachment is going to play politically. Under the circumstances, which literally get worse every single day, not impeaching Trump is becoming a monument to a kind of exaggerated prudence which becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish from simple cowardice.

The tiebreaker, if that’s what you want to think of it as being, should be principle, not practicality. If Trump doesn’t warrant impeachment, then it’s almost impossible to even imagine what president would deserve that fate.

Yes yes, deserve’s got nothing to with it. I get it! The system doesn’t work, it has failed, it increasingly becomes a bad joke, catering to the blackest political humor.

At least go down fighting. Make every Republican senator defend Trump, in detail and at length, on the floor and on the street. Bombard the federal courts with subpoenas. Use the media to leak every bit of damaging information you uncover. Fight fire with fire. Donald Trump, and the corrupt and increasingly fascistic Republican party that is now wholly his creature, will both do anything to hold onto power: act accordingly.
September 23, 2019

Trump's team is trying to stop impeachment before it starts


Trump's team is trying to stop impeachment before it starts
The president has a technically nonexistent yet omnipresent legal force that has been critical in stymieing Democratic efforts.
By DARREN SAMUELSOHN
09/23/2019 05:00 AM EDT


Donald Trump’s lawyers insist they don’t need to form an impeachment defense team.

Yet here’s what they have: At least 30 White House and Justice Department attorneys who have worked on related issues. Several personal lawyers for the president dealing with the subject. A lurking presence at Capitol Hill impeachment-focused hearings. Aggressive legal briefs and countersuits foiling efforts to gather fuel for potential proceedings. Near-daily media appearances discussing the topic.

This technically nonexistent yet omnipresent force has been critical in stymying Democrats’ attempts to build their case for removing Trump from office. Trump’s lawyers have helped block testimony from former White House counsel Don McGahn — a key player in the most potentially damning stories from Robert Mueller’s report — fought lawmakers and prosecutors trying to see the president’s personal tax returns and protected the former special counsel’s most sensitive secrets. They’ve also advised ex-Trump staffers like Corey Lewandowski and Hope Hicks as they faced grillings from congressional Democrats.

That the president’s representatives don’t want to call their work what it is — preventing Trump’s potential impeachment — is no surprise. Any recognition that they’ve taken such an official step would be a giant red flag that they think things are more serious than they are. Still, the Trump lawyers’ combined mission effectively is to stop impeachment before it starts.

“No one is prepping for anything like that,” said Trump attorney Jay Sekulow, the longest-serving member of the Trump personal legal team, when asked to describe the president’s legal strategy for impeachment. “We’ve got very capable lawyers handling the issues that are currently pending and we’ll work on those as appropriate.”


more...

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/23/trump-impeachment-legal-strategy-1506652
September 23, 2019

Trump Officials Keep Lying About National Debt

https://politicalwire.com/2019/09/23/trump-officials-keep-lying-about-national-debt/

Trump Officials Keep Lying About National Debt
September 23, 2019 at 7:53 am EDT By Taegan Goddard


“When Republicans cut corporate and individual taxes in 2017, they promised two things: It would grow the economy and it would not add to the national debt. Neither of those have borne out,” the Washington Post reports.

“Not only has economic growth slowed, in part because of President Trump’s ongoing trade war with China, but the deficit has grown to its highest level in seven years, in part due to reduced tax revenue.”

“To counter these trends, the Trump administration has engaged in economic double-talk, including repeatedly saying, falsely, that the federal deficit — and by extension, the national debt — was falling or would fall in the future.”
September 23, 2019

Ava DuVernay Brought the Real Central Park Five as Her Emmys 2019 Dates

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/ava-duvernay-real-central-park-five-emmys-2019-dates


Ava DuVernay Brought the Real Central Park Five as Her Emmys 2019 Dates
"...such a f*ck Donald trump moment."
By P. Claire Dodson
September 23, 2019


The star-studded 2019 Emmys red carpet was stocked with television greats, from Orange Is the New Black's Laverne Cox to Game of Thrones's Emilia Clarke. But thanks to Ava DuVernay, the carpet also celebrated some of the real-life stories behind the acclaimed television when she brought the real Central Park Five to the awards show.

Ava, whose four-part Netflix series When They See Us is nominated for an Outstanding Limited Series Emmy (with 16 noms total), honored the inspiration for the show by bringing Korey Wise, Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, and Yusef Salaam to the show with her. When They See Us tells their stories — the five black and Latinx teens who were arrested and wrongfully convicted of sexually assaulting a white woman in Central Park in 1989.

The show examines their lives and the systemic racism they faced throughout the trial process and its aftermath; at the time, Donald Trump was a major voice against them, calling for the death penalty in a full-page ad in The New York Times. Ava's decision to bring the now-exonerated men to the awards show felt like a major moment, especially when viewers saw them being interviewed about the series.

"The Central Park Five being on the red carpet at the Emmys is such a f*ck Donald trump moment. I am living for it," one fan tweeted. Another added, "The Central Park Five are at the Emmys with Ava DuVernay . I'm about to start bawling."


Back in August, Ava talked about her close friendship with the five men, saying even then that they would be attending the Emmys with her. She also talked at the time about the title change of the series from Central Park Five to When They See Us. "'Central Park Five' I associate with a moniker that was given to these men and thrust upon them. They did not choose it and it's not who they are," she said. "They are Korey [Wise], Antron [McCray], Raymond [Santana], Kevin [Richardson], and Yusef [Salaam]. They have mothers, they have dreams, they have families, they have beating hearts and are human beings and they're not this moniker, and I didn't want it."
September 23, 2019

Trump Poured Rocket Fuel on the Impeachment Fire

I predict he won't stop breaking laws until he is stopped. What a stretch.

https://politicalwire.com/2019/09/23/trump-poured-rocket-fuel-on-the-impeachment-fire/

Trump Poured Rocket Fuel on the Impeachment Fire
September 23, 2019 at 6:40 am EDT By Taegan Goddard


Playbook: “Unlike the Byzantine Russiagate allegations, the latest charge — that the president repeatedly tried to get a foreign leader seeking military aid to investigate a political opponent — is not hard to understand. It’s about the actions of Trump himself, not his aides or former campaign nobodies. At this point, the facts are pretty much in the open and agreed to: The president has practically admitted he discussed Biden with Ukraine’s president, and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani has been open about pressing the Ukrainians to investigate Biden’s son Hunter. Now it’s up to Congress to figure out how to proceed.”

“Speaker Nancy Pelosi understands the caucus’ moods better than anyone, and her letter Sunday — which said the president needs to hand over the whistleblower report now, or else — was a rifle shot that should not be underestimated.”

“Time is of the essence for the Trump White House. If they don’t produce the whistleblower report within days — maybe a week — Democrats are going to be under extreme pressure to move toward impeachment. Thursday will be an important day to watch: That’s when Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence, is testifying in an open hearing.”
September 23, 2019

Progressive group to spend $50M boosting Sun Belt turnout


Progressive group to spend $50M boosting Sun Belt turnout
By Chris Mills Rodrigo - 09/22/19 08:24 PM EDT


Progressive organization Way to Win plans to invest $50 million to help the Democratic Party in the Sun Belt, the Associated Press reported Sunday.

An advance copy of the group's blueprint obtained by AP details a strategy to help Democrats in Georgia, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Virginia and North Carolina, where the party hopes to make inroads with people of color, women and young people.

“It’s preparing to win not just in 2020, but to build power in the long term,” Tory Gavito, president of Way to Win, which was founded after President Donald Trump’s 2016 win, told AP.

Way to Win previously spent $22 million during the 2018 midterm season.

more...

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/462538-progressive-group-to-spend-50m-boosting-sun-belt-turnout
September 22, 2019

Democrats To Pursue Law Change So Trump Can Be Indicted In Office

https://www.politicususa.com/2019/09/22/trump-indicted-office.html


Posted on Sun, Sep 22nd, 2019 by Jason Easley
Democrats To Pursue Law Change So Trump Can Be Indicted In Office


Rep. Kathrine Clark (D-MA) said that House Democrats are going to pursue changing the law so that a sitting president can be indicted while in office.

Rev. Al Sharpton asked Rep. Clark on MSNBC, “Speaker Pelosi has said there needs to be laws also that deals with this whole policy of the justice department that you can’t indict a sitting president. Is there something that you think the congress will pursue since your caucus is the majority now in the House?”

Rep. Clark answered, “I think that we will. I think we all have read the Mueller report, and we saw that there were many, many pieces of evidence there and how this president allowed Russia to interfere with our 2016 election and then tried to obstruct that investigation. But the Department of Justice is saying, we can’t indict a sitting president. Nobody should be allowed to use the white house and the powers of the presidency as a monarchy and not as a duly elected president who takes an oath to faithfully execute our laws. We’ve not seen that from this president, and we have to make sure that we safeguard our constitution, our very democracy, from this president and any other president in the future who may try and put himself or herself above the law.”


https://twitter.com/i/status/1175885714699034624

An indictment would be more effective than impeachment because we all know that in practical terms impeachment carries no punishment for Donald Trump. A criminal indictment would put the fear of God into Donald Trump and any other future president who might want to emulate Trump’s behavior in the future. If the goal is to both punish Trump while making sure that this sort of presidency never happens again, changing the law so that a sitting president can be indicted is the best option.
September 22, 2019

Adam Schiff Drops A Bomb On Trump: There Is No Privilege That Covers Corruption

https://www.politicususa.com/2019/09/22/adam-schiff-trump-ukraine.html

Posted on Sun, Sep 22nd, 2019 by Jason Easley
Adam Schiff Drops A Bomb On Trump: There Is No Privilege That Covers Corruption


House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) blew up Trump claims that his phone call with Ukraine’s president is privileged and can’t be released.”

Transcript:

TAPPER: Well, I said that to Secretary Mnuchin just two minutes ago, why not just release this to settle the issue? And he said, because it would set a horrible precedent, because world leaders should be able to talk to President Trump without having those conversations shared. Your response to that?

SCHIFF: Well, not if those conversations involve potential corruption or criminality or leverage being used for political advantage against our nation’s interest. And that’s what’s at stake here.This would be, I think, the most profound violation of the presidential oath of office, certainly during this presidency, which says a lot, but perhaps during just about any presidency. There is no privilege that covers corruption. There is no privilege to engage in underhanded discussions. And, again, I don’t know if this is the subject of the whistle-blower complaint. But if it is, it needs to be exposed.

And we know the inspector general found that complaint urgent. We also know the inspector general found this did not involve a policy disagreement. It’s one thing if you’re talking about a presidential communication that involves a policy issue. That is not a valid whistle-blower complaint. But, here, the inspector general said, this is not what is at issue. We’re talking about serious or flagrant abuse, impropriety, potential violation of law.

And there’s no privilege that protects that. And the reason I think that, if these two issues are, in fact, one issue, if there is a relationship between this complaint and this issue, you have not only this illicit conduct by the president of the United States, but you also have the added element of a cover-up.


Video @ link~

Chairman Schiff was right. If Trump’s behavior was criminal, there is no privilege covering that phone call. Executive privilege does not extend to cover potentially criminal activity by the president. Trump knows this at some level, which is why he keeps saying that he did nothing wrong during the phone call. However, Chairman Schiff also pointed out during the same CNN interview that if Trump did nothing wrong, there is no reason for him not to release the transcript of the call.

Trump can’t hide his potentially criminal efforts to rope Ukraine into a conspiracy against Joe Biden.

The Democratic House is proving to be a valuable check against Trump’s efforts to smear his way into a second term.
September 22, 2019

Schiff: Impeachment 'could be the only remedy' if Trump pushed Ukraine for dirt on Biden

https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/462494-schiff-impeachment-could-be-the-only-remedy-if-trump-pushed

Schiff: Impeachment 'could be the only remedy' if Trump pushed Ukraine for dirt on Biden
By Rebecca Klar - 09/22/19 09:57 AM EDT


House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on Sunday that impeachment "could be the only remedy" if President Trump asked the leader of Ukraine to find dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden, a 2020 Democratic White House hopeful.

Schiff, who has been reluctant to push for impeachment, said on CNN's "State of the Union" it "may be that we do have to move forward with that extraordinary remedy" if Trump sought information on Biden.

" want the country to understand this is the last resort," Schiff said.

"The president is pushing us down this road."


snip//

Trump has said that he won't discuss the call with Ukraine's president, and the White House refuses to release a transcript or the whistleblower complaint.

"Clearly, the president is afraid for the public to see either one of those things," Schiff said on Sunday, adding that House Democrats will make sure the public does see them.


The president's attorney, Rudy Giuliani, had previously admitted having called Ukraine about investigating Biden, but Schiff said on Sunday the allegations over Trump's direct call are more alarming.

"It's one thing when done by the court jester, another when done by the king," Schiff said.

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