Your Monday News Buzz

SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts can thwart Moscow Mitch in Senate impeachment trial

Well-known Cleveland attorney James Robenalt, "McConnell’s public pronouncements that he plans to obstruct justice and absolve the president before he has even been handed the articles of impeachment opens the door for judicial review." And, Robenalt exclaims, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, "has the right and duty to step in if he sees justice not being served." It's all in the Constitution, which Moscow Mitch has chosen to ignore in his attempts to exonerate Donald Trump from impeachment.   READMORE...

Your Monday News Buzz

Moscow Mitch incapable of any decency in Trump's impeachment trial

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) scorned Moscow Mitch for his latest move in T-rump's impeachment trial. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has withheld the Articles of impeachment to hopefully get McConnell's agreement to a fair trial including witnesses. But Moscow Mitch stonewalls everything she, or any other Democrat attempts to do, most recently "co-sponsoring a bill that would dismiss all charges against the president." It's laughable, but true. 

Jayapal exclaimed that Pelosi withheld the articles which "allowed us to keep the focus on what the American people want, which is a fair trial.” So far Moscow Mitch has blatantly made it clear that dismissal of House charges are a slam dunk. Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight says that over 50% of American public are in favor of impeaching trump.   READ MORE...

One day out and the world is in chaos over Trump's assassination of Iran's top General  Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani - Was it justified?



Why is it that in the two prior administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, when there was ample reason to take Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani out due to the same atrocities he is currently guilty of, did the two Presidents decide against it? In one word, caution, in a region that has been on the verge of all-out war for years, a tinderbox of mixed relationships that have never been able to work things out between them. How many U.S. Presidents have tried?

But suddenly it was decided by Donald Trump that the time is right, send the drones in to kill him. And he did. Was there provocation? There is always some reason to be protectionist, but preemptive action like this, especially without even telling the Congress, should have some damn good reasons. Sec. State Pompeo, when questioned repeatedly in the media Used the excuse he just couldn't talk about it. T-rump has been relatively silent.

The BBC says flatly, "Trump is not a grand strategist," so, then, what is the strategy of the Oval Office lunatic? BBC also has an answer to that...

"He was presented with the opportunity to take out a 'bad hombre' that Obama hadn't. That was probably all he needed to hear."

And now we are on the edge of a war that Trump says the U.S. definitely does not want, but could have thrown in our lap because he can't help one-upping his nemesis Barack Obama? NPR reports...

"the Iranian general was killed in a Reaper drone strike, which fired several missiles at a vehicle he was in near the airport. Noted Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis also died in the attack."

Here is Donald Trump's tweet...

"General Qassem Soleimani has killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time, and was plotting to kill many more...but got caught!"

Simple enough, but the White House maniac had better get busy drafting several more tweets that explain the real provocation for this bold move, with evidence, while the rest of the world waits to see just what retaliation Iran plans. 
READ MORE...

YOUR DIGEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

Five of the world's biggest environmental problems...

With the facts from the article below, would you think anyone could deny the potential disaster to the planet that is expected? Yes, and I have experienced many of these ostrich types who blame it on greed by the scientific community to obtain research grants...

"Air pollution and climate change: Problem: Overloading of the atmosphere and of ocean waters with carbon. Atmospheric CO2 absorbs and re-emits infrared-wavelength radiation, leading to warmer. air, soils, and ocean surface waters - which is good: The planet would be frozen solid without this."   READ MORE...

Trump supporters believe these 10 utterly fake ‘facts’ about impeachment...

Pathetic Trump supporter

It is true that Donald Trump's supporters are under-educated and suffer from a number of psychotic problems but after the recent revelations in the Ukrainegate controversy, where T-rum actually admitted to pressuring Pres. Zelensky to dig up dirt against his 2020 opponent Joe Biden in return for over $400 million in aid to Ukraine. Here are some more of the fake "facts"...

• That Trump was concerned over corruption in Ukraine.
• That the $450+ million was given to Ukraine on time, not held by Trump.
• Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election.

There's more and you can read it all here.

Congressional deal could fund gun violence research for first time since 1990s...

It has been twenty years since the NRA was able to pressure Congress to pass the Dickey Amendment rule striking $2.6 million from the Centers for Disease (CDC) control budget, in effect eliminating their ability to collect and analyze gun violence statistics. Since then we have had an explosion in gun violence, much of which can be attributed to Wayne LaPierre and his NRA minions. 

Why would the NRA want to stop documenting gun violence if they didn't prove that guns are responsible for the increased bloodshed by innocent citizens? Here is a comment from Mark Rosenberg who was heading the CDC’s research on firearm violence in the 1990s when Congress abruptly cut off funding for the work...

“This is a deal of historic proportions. It ends the horrendous position we’re in, where we don’t even know what works.”

Here's another fact...

"While gun violence is one of the country’s leading causes of death, it receives little research funding. As many people die because of gun violence, for example, as of sepsis infection, yet funding for gun research is less than 1 percent of that for sepsis."   READ MORE...

Here's a concept from former President, Barack Obama: Women are better leaders than men...

I can hear all the bubbas out there, mostly Donald Trump supporters, who would disagree with this, if not only just because they a bubba, but also because to support T-rump, you must consider women simply a commodity for men's pleasure. Well, they aren't and here's Obama's reasoning...

"I'm absolutely confident that for two years if every nation on earth was run by women, you would see a significant improvement across the board on just about everything... living standards and outcomes."

I agree and would add, a definite improvement in the demeanor of the world. But I'm not sure just yet who that woman might be. It might even be a Republican and that is really blasphemous for me to say. If I had to take a shot at the current Democratic candidates, it would be Amy Klobuchar, primarily for her level headedness. In another comment, is the ex-President taking a shot at Congress?...

"If you look at the world and look at the problems it's usually old people, usually old men, not getting out of the way."   READ MORE...

There are 91 companies that paid no federal taxes in 2018...

They're supposed to be the finest but nearly 100 companies in the Fortune 500 the first year following passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by Donald Trump, which was signed into law in December 2017. "The new tax law lowered the statutory corporate tax rate to 21%, but the companies in the report paid an average rate of 11.3%."
had an effective federal tax rate of 0% or less in 2018, according to a new report. This is a study covering

This resulted in federal government bringing in about $74 billion less in corporate taxes than if all the companies had paid the statutory rate. Amazon made this statement...

“Amazon pays all the taxes we are required to pay in the U.S. and every country where we operate, including paying $2.6 billion in corporate tax and reporting $3.4 billion in tax expense over the last three years.”

Here are some of the biggest companies no taxes: IBM; CenturyLink; DowDuPont; Eli Lilly; Goodyear Tire & Rubber; FedEx; Delta Airlines; General Motors; Starbucks; McKesson and a host of others.   READ MORE...

The Atlantic has "The Remedy for Mitch McConnell"...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said to the "No News" network...

“Everything I do during this, [the impeachment Senate trial] I’m coordinating with White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position as to how to handle this to the extent that we can.”

There's more of this crap...

“We have no choice but to take [the impeachment trial] up, but we will be working through this process, hopefully in a fairly short period of time, in total coordination with the White House counsel’s office and the people who are representing the president in the well of the Senate.”

Then we have the looney Lindsey Graham saying...

“This thing will come to the Senate, and it will die quickly, and I will do everything I can to make it die quickly,” he said. “I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind. I’m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here.”

The Atlantic says...

The two senators appear to need a brief remedial course on their constitutional obligations. Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 of the Constitution declares that 'the Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments.' And when the Senate is sitting 'for that Purpose, [senators] shall be on Oath or Affirmation.'”

What the hell do Republicans, especially these two lowlife Senators, care about the Constitution, or any laws they are governed by? Nothing!   READ MORE...

Trump writes deranged 6-page letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi...

Trump's unhinged letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi is full of his usual lies that have proven false repeatedly. Trump says whistleblower made false report completely contrary to phone call with Zelensky...

Whistleblower's report "has been proven highly accurate. In fact, the rough transcript released by Trump himself showed that the whistleblower's three primary allegations about the call were correct or very close to correct."

Other false claims by the Oval Office lunatic...

• No evidence the whistleblower has disappeared
• That there was no quid-pro-quo confirmed by Ambassador Sondland
• Trump's comment to Zelensky about doing "us" a favor could only be interpreted by this narcissist as referring to himself
• Trump statement "More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials," is, well, hilarious.   READ MORE...

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao as corrupt as hubby Moscow Mitch...

Keep it in the family is a term Elaine Chou has adhered to repeatedly since being appointed Transportation Secretary by Donald Trump. It seems that she has decided that Kentucky, Moscow Mitch's home territory as Senator, is where she wants to spend the Transportation Department's budget. The latest her part in delivering a "$67 million federal contract to her husband Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s home state of Kentucky."

"Kyle Herrig, president of the anti-corruption group Accountable.US, said the contract—the largest of its kind delivered to Kentucky during the three years President Donald Trump has been in office—is just the latest example of Chao’s behavior that warrants a serious look."

Herrig has more...

“The unending stream of stories that detail the depth of Secretary Elaine Chao’s improper use of taxpayer dollars to boost her husband Mitch McConnell’s political career is alarming. This type of political corruption is a threat to our democracy and destroys Americans’ faith in government.”

Moscow Mitch has tough competition coming up in 2020 against opponent Amy McGrath, and many are wondering " if Chao is funneling federal projects to Kentucky to help her husband. Kentucky Democrats deputy executive director Marisa McNee told Politico that "in northern Kentucky is a willingness to walk away from that Republican label that we haven’t seen in a long time.” We can only hope that plays out to a defeat of Moscow Mitch in 2020.

Fox News Napolitano buries Donald Trump...again...

Fox's Napolitano roasts Trump

In a recent Washington times editorial, legal analyst Andrew Napolitano, from the normally no-news Fox network chides Donald Trump, “no person is beneath the laws’ protections. No person is above the laws’ requirements. And the laws apply equally to all people.” Napolitano continues...

"Attorney General Bill Barr used these claims as justification to “brush aside” the findings of special counsel Robert Mueller, 'who found enough evidence to charge President Donald Trump with obstruction of justice after Mr. Trump repeatedly attempted to interfere with Mr. Mueller’s investigation by ordering subordinates to lie to FBI investigators or to falsify government documents that investigators sought.'”

One might assume here that AG Barr should also be impeached and thrown in jail for his obstruction of justice. Can't help quoting because Napolitano's comments are so damning...

“High crimes and misdemeanors is a basis for impeachment, the constitutional remedy for presidential behavior that subverts our democratic institutions. In Mr. Trump’s case, we have undisputed evidence that he abused his power by inviting a foreign government to interfere in the 2020 presidential election and then compounded this by directing subordinates to refrain from giving congressionally commanded evidence of his behavior.”

Looks like the sane people at Fox News, Trump's former bastion of support, also including Chris Wallace, are getting smart

Moscow Mitch's Senate legislative graveyard reveals latest "stack" of ignored House bills...

Moscow Mitch

Senate leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to stonewall anything that is proposed by the Democratic House. In another area, Moscow Mitch is pushing through conservative federal judges faster than they can be seated. This is blatant cronyism at its worst and just another partisan act he will have answer for in 2020. Here's the latest on the "stack"...

"The stack, a symbolic replication of legislation McConnell refuses to bring to a vote, was reportedly the brainchild of Senator Debbie Stabenow. According to her office, it includes more than 300 bills about voter registration, background checks for firearm sales, domestic violence, climate change, minimum wage increases and other issues."

Here's McConnell's comment...

"Back in September, McConnell promised to be a "grim reaper" to any and all progressive legislation. But, as multiple Senators pointed out Wednesday, more than 275 of these "dead" bills cleared the House with bipartisan support."

You did get that these bills the lowlife is sitting on passed the House with bipartisan support? If I were given the opportunity to dream up the retribution that is deserved by Moscow Mitch--and his wife as well for her corruption feeding McConnell's district monied projects--I would gladly take on the project while reacquainting myself with all the recent torture tools available. Mongrel Mitch has proven that he cares nothing for this country, only himself. 
READ MORE...

Nancy Pelosi won't commit to sending articles of impeachment to Senate...

Moscow Mitch is fuming because Speaker Pelosi is giving back the kind of strategy McConnell has continually used against Democrats: Stonewalling. She is holding on to the Articles of Impeachment which were passed on Wednesday, not passing them on to the Senate for a vote, apparently to force the Senate head to agree to a fair trial. You wonder if anything "fair" is possible where Republicans are in involved but you have to agree, it's definitely appropriate.

Moscow Mitch needs it shoved in his face with the kind of class Democrats practice compared to the crude and abusive way the Republicans have approached impeachment. Here's Pelosi's Thursday morning comment...

"I don't think they [the Founding Fathers] suspected that we could have a rogue president and a rogue leader in the Senate at the same time."

Some conservatives say they see no reason to hold up the Articles, but in the same breath "argue there is no benefit in delaying something they don't want to spend time on anyway." This illustrates the mentality of a GOP that are in complete denial of their Constitutional responsibility, backing Donald Trump no matter what, and focusing solely on maintaining power. And then the poor soul Lindsey Graham has the audacity to say this...

"We cannot have a system where the House impeaches the president, tells the Senate how to conduct the trial, holds the articles of impeachment over the president's head at a time of their choosing to unleash them."

 Apparently, the South Carolina Senator just forgot about the Republican buffoons of the House impeachment inquiry, guys like Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan and Matt Gaetz. Maybe Graham is getting too old to serve in Congress.

Donald Trump IMPEACHED

Premonition of a Senate conviction

The "LOSER" [Donald Trump] was impeached by the House. Only the third to attain this stature, many have said his offenses were much more serious than Richard Nixon. When you think back and acknowledge the fact that Watergate was considered as bad as it got for a presidential breach of loyalty to the Constitution, it makes Trump a real "crook." On to the Senate for a conviction. READ MORE... 

LATEST: Ukraine call/Whistleblower wrap up

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2019 NEWS BYTES

Catching up on Ukraine/Whistleblower   

By the balls

Criticisms from top Republicans, including Moscow Mitch, for Trump's deserting Kurds in Northern Syria. Trump told Turkey if they did anything inhumane, he would "decimate" their economy. Turkey is already moving forces into Syria.

READ MORE...

An 'I can't believe this' story made more believable coming from Donald Trump. Willie Geist of MSNBC describes it as T-rump's "horrifying and impulsive reason" for pulling U.S. Troops out of No. Syria. Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was angry during their July 25 conversation. And this is what is hard to believe, even for the Oval Office lunatic, he agreed to withdraw the troops just to get off the phone with Erdogan. Result, hundreds of Kurds will die.

READ MORE...

And then Trump's tweet storm this past Monday, designed to convince the world he was right pulling the troops from Syria, caught hell from the Internet. This idiot thinks he can blunder through foreign policy and all he has to do is put out a slew of mostly unintelligible tweets and rectify the matter. Didn't work...

"With reports that both the State Department and the Pentagon opposed the move — seen as an attempt to distract from his impeachment problems — Twitter commenters harshly attacked the president for turning his back on allies and leaving them to die."

READ MORE... 

And, "Ukraine’s former president categorically denied that Joe Biden had ever asked him to open or close any criminal cases, effectively knocking down President Donald Trump’s conspiracy theory about the former vice president," according to RawStory. It was...

"Petro Poroshenko, who served as the nation’s president from 2014 until earlier this year, who joined a growing list of Ukrainian officials who said they never saw Biden take any improper actions involving his son’s business work there."

Just another Donald Trump lie gone down the tube.

READ MORE...

Dr. Justin Frank is a former clinical professor of psychiatry at the George Washington University Medical Center and a physician with more than 40 years of experience in psychoanalysis. He says...

"Trump is terrified of the whistleblower and acting like ‘a frightened child driven by envy and fear."

One of Fr. Frank's comments...

"Donald Trump is very dangerous when he’s cornered. Trump has lived in so much of a bubble that I believe he is genuinely surprised that the Democrats are moving to impeach him. He does think he’s doing this great job. Trump was surprised last year when he spoke at the UN and the diplomats laughed when he talked about what a great job he’s done. That is because Trump has lived in a world of his own creation. It is really disturbing."          This article is worth a read!

READ MORE... 

 

WHISTLEBLOWER BOMBSHELL: New condemning memo

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019 - BREAKIN.G NEWS

NEW Whistleblower memo... 

The blow that will bring Trump down

CBS News just released the full memo written by the whistleblower the day after the Ukrainian phone call of July 25, between Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. The whistleblwer talked to a person who was there during the conversation who described the contents of the call as "crazy," "frightening" and "completely lacking in substance related to national security." There's more...

"The whistleblower said the official was 'visibly shaken by what had transpired and seemed keen to inform a trusted colleague within the U.S. national security apparatus about the call.'"

This is a must read... 

LATEST: More Trump Tower presidential extortion

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019 NEWS BYTES

More lining of the trump pocketbook... 

Trump Tower Istanbul

Did you know there is a Trump Tower in Istanbul, Turkey? You may or may not know that after a scheduled phone call on Sunday afternoon between President Trump and Turkish President Erdogan, the Oval Office lunatic withdrew all American troops from Syria, in effect, abandoning the Kurds we have been supporting to certain defeat and death. Here's the scenario...

"Turkey has long considered the Kurdish militia in Syria to be a terrorist insurgency, despite the United States providing military and financial aid to the group in its fight against ISIS, the Islamic State militant group."

A National Security Council source said, "Donald Trump got 'rolled' by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan." Or, perhaps it was a conveniently planned accommodation to Erdogan in yet another conflict of interest to receive business favors for his Istanbul Trump Tower. You think? Newsweek says...

"Trump has promised to keep his business empire separate, handing over control of his commercial operations to sons Eric and Donald Jr. for the duration of his time in office. Trump has refused to fully divest from his empire, in what critics have said was a violation of the Constitution's emoluments clause."

And...

"Multiple investigations and reports allege that Trump has been personally profiting from the presidency, using the office to bolster income at his resorts, hotels and other businesses. Foreign officials, for example, have been spending huge sums at his properties, in an effort to ingratiate themselves with his administration."

Ret. Army Lt. Colonel Ralph Peters laughs in Trump's face...(MUST SEE)

Although Trump did not endorse any Turkish military operation against Kurdish Forces, according to Newsweek, he also did not threaten economic sanctions if Turkey took action against them. Ryan Lizza, Politico's chief Washington correspondent explained on Twitter that situations like this "is why presidents divest," adding...

"It is crazy that a president is making national security decisions like the one tonight when he has lucrative business relationships at stake in the country that will benefit."

Here's more...

"John Sipher, who spent 28 years working for the CIA, expressed his frustration at Trump's announcement. 'At least the Trump Administration is consistent,' he said on Twitter. 'We are about screwing our allies, partners and friends. Don't trust America, even if you shed blood on their behalf. If you want favors build a Trump tower.'"

We are entering an era in the United States where the concept of democracy has been diminished to the extent that it takes at least second place to the greed of a maniacal tyrant who took the oath of office for the presidency of this country for the sole purpose of lining his pockets and the pockets of his family. In the interim, the people of the U.S. have witnessed this nation become the laughing stock of the world, as Trump supporters help bring it down.

Ivanka Trump was heavily linked to the Trump Towers project, for which the Trump family has no ownership but just receives a fee for the name. Newsweek reports...

"The towers have previously served as a pressure point for Erdogan's efforts to influence White House policy. Following Trump's proposal to ban all Muslim immigrants from entering the U.S., for example, Erdogan called for the president's name to be taken off the building.
But when Trump expressed support for Erdogan's post-coup crackdown and subsequent mass arrests, Erdogan stopped calling for the towers' name to be changed."

Kurds cut deal with Assad's Syria putting Turkey behind the 8 ball...

In an opinion piece for the Chicago Tribune, Rex Huppke chides Republican lawmakers who look the other way from Donald Trump's "whack-a-doodle decisions, tweets or out-loud admissions of wrongdoing," by reference of what this moron just did to the Syrian Kurds. His point is that as what Trump just did to the Kurds, he will do to all his supporters, desert them if it is convenient for him. The man has no loyalty other than to himself.

Huppke reports that the Kurds had successfully defeated ISIS in Northern Syria, and many of President Trump’s staunchest GOP supporters are calling his recent decision a betrayal. The Tribune writer commented...

"I’m sure it was an absolutely perfect phone call, much like the absolutely perfect phone call between Trump and the Ukrainian president now at the center of House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.
I’d like to say it has nothing whatsoever to do with Trump’s odd affinity for dictatorial strongmen like Erdogan or with the fact that there’s a fancy Trump Tower making him money in Turkey."

Huppke finishes with, "So he’s done with them [the Kurds]. And you should be warned that, as soon as it benefits him, he’ll be done with you as well."

READ MORE: "Republicans deliver rare rebuke of Trump, slamming his Syria withdrawal decision"

REPUBLICAN call for impeachment up 20%

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019 SPECIAL REPORT

Impeachment demands grow...

Impeach and dump Donald Trump

A new poll from the Washington Post and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University shows overall approval for impeachment at 58%, with another 49% saying they are ready to dump Trump. The uptick for ousting the Oval Office lunatic is from all three political groups, with support for the inquiry rising by 25 points among Democrats, 21 points among Republicans and 20 points among independents.

BINGO! What are you waiting on Pelosi???

Mark Zuckerberg says billionaires don't deserve to have that much money

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2019 NEWS BYTES

Mark Zuckerberg wants to give up his billionaire status...  

Mark Zuckerberg video on no one deserves this much money...

  
Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, is a billionaire with a net worth of almost $70 billion in 2019. On the other hand, he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, "have promised to give away 99 percent of their Facebook shares to help charity via their philanthropic organization, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative." I emphasized the "promised," because I have never trusted this guy since his blatant arrogance of doing what he damn well pleased with your personal information on Facebook. I give him nothing he can sell. Just recently,,,

"Facebook must pay a record-breaking $5 billion fine as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, by far the largest penalty ever imposed on a company for violating consumers' privacy rights," according to USA Today.

Facebook $5 billion fine...

There's more...

Zuckerberg has appeared in congressional hearings after the Cambridge Analytica scandal surfaced. Facebook suspended the data analysis and political consulting firm in March 2018 for improper access to user data. That move came after The New York Times and U.K.'s The Observer said Cambridge Analytica had access to 50 million profiles and used them to target ads during the 2016 presidential election campaign.

And Facebook is accused of not warning its users of the fact that they were at risk for a data breach, "which left around 29 million user accounts open to hackers," reports techradar. Hackers were stealing FB "access tokens," a problem known for years by the social media giant, but failed to fix it, despite knowing. Which prompted more blatant arrogance from Facebook...

“Even more egregiously, Facebook took steps to protect its own employees from the security risk, but not the vast majority of its users.”

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife donated $100 million to Newark public schools, also to disease issues, and then $1.2 billion by the two to their Chan Zuckerberg Foundation for education, housing, science and improving the criminal justice system. But Warren Buffett is the most charitable billionaire, followed by Bill Gates. Here's the WB/BG giving pledge explained by Vox...

"In 2010, the two of them launched a campaign that they hoped would change philanthropy: the Giving Pledge. The idea was to persuade their fellow billionaires to pledge at least 50 percent of their wealth to charity. It was greeted with enthusiasm.

That claim seems to have been borne out — as far as it goes. Ten years later, we are in a position to evaluate some of the effects of the Giving Pledge. Hundreds of billionaires have signed on, with Bloomberg and other big names like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Mackenzie Bezos among them. More than $500 billion have been pledged, and money is already being donated to a range of causes."

Melinda Gates on Warren Buffett/Giving Pledge...

But on the downside of the wealthy as of 2018, according to Poverty USA:

• 16.2% of children live in poverty
• 9.7% of seniors live in poverty
• 25.4% of Native Americans live in poverty
• 20.8% of Blacks live in poverty
• 10.1% of Whites live in poverty
• 10.1% of Asians live in poverty

 $19,985 is considered the poverty level for a family of 3, but what is worse, 5.3% of the population—or 17.3 million people—live in deep poverty, with incomes below 50% of their poverty thresholds. And 29.9% of the population—or 93.6 million—live close to poverty, with incomes less than two times that of their poverty thresholds. Even more serious, a total of 552,830 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2018. This number represents 17 out of every 10,000 people in the United States. There is no justification I know of for this statistic in America.

I am sure all of the above group agree fully with the Facebook CEO's words. But, is there a way to end poverty?...

Jeffrey Sachs, as one of the world's leading experts on economic development and the fight against poverty, stated that the cost to end poverty is $175 billion per year for 20 years.

So why don't we line up Warren Buffett's group of Giving Pledge billionaires to each contribute the $1.75 billion needed each year and by 2013, at least homelessness will be solved to the best of our ability. That is the most critical of the two, and then turn the attention to helping those at the poverty level. It sounds like a plan to me, and I would hope the Giving Pledge group would also. And by the way, Mark Zuckerber's billionaire status is not completely his fault; he is just the messenger. The fault is you, readers giving up all your personal data that Facebook sells for billions. Think about it.

Moscow Mitch digs hole to defeat deeper

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 NEWS BYTES

Moscow Mitch courts more trouble for 2020... 

Pathetic to the end

Did you know that "The diversion of military funds to pay for President Trump’s border wall obsession is taking money away from more than 100 military projects around the country?" This also shows just how low Moscow Mitch has stooped to "enable Trump’s corruption." Here's the scenario...

"The Senate majority leader has not only assisted and protected Trump in doing great damage to our democracy, for naked partisan purposes, though that’s a major stain. But McConnell also has in effect now prioritized the mission of enabling and defending Trump’s corruption over the interests of his own state and its constituents."

One of projects losing funding, a planned middle school at the Fort Campbell army base in Kentucky.

Hopefully Amy McGrath is listening to this in her fight to unseat McConnell. But she is tough becoming "the first woman to fly in a F/A-18 fighter jet in combat and took on 89 missions in the Middle East, fighting Al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents." And there is flak coming from another direction, "Next to electing a Democratic president, the Democratic National Committee’s top goal for 2020 is achieving a majority in the U.S. Senate."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that one of her major strategies is to get rid of Senate head, Mitch McConnell, better known as Moscow Mitch. Dumping Trump isn't enough, according to Pelosi, McConnell is almost as dangerous and underhanded. The Speaker is...

"planning to kick her anti-McConnell campaign into high gear in the fall — and she will be aggressively focused on 'his refusal to pass meaningful legislation.' Doing so, according to a Democratic congressional aide, enables House Democrats to 'tout the good they’ve done and also, helps show the importance of Dems taking back the Senate.'”

Here's a quick analysis of McConnell...

"The Kentucky Republican has been unpopular in his home state for years, but this summer has seen his approval rating plunge to 18 percent after MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough tarred and feathered him with the nickname “Moscow Mitch,” and he’s increasingly seen as 'the man who sold America,'" according to Rolling Stone.

Bob Moser in a magazine profile said...

“For so many years, McConnell has seemed maddeningly invincible. But now, just a few years after achieving his lifelong goal of becoming Senate majority leader, it appears that every political sin the man has committed on his relentless march to power is coming back to haunt him at once.”

Kentuckians say, DITCH MITCH...

Here's more for Amy McGrath's campaign...

"Moser catalogs the Senate majority leader’s political sins, dating back to his swiftly broken campaign promises to back abortion and collective bargaining rights in a 1977 race for Jefferson County judge executive, up to the shady deal earlier this year to lift sanctions on a Russian oligarch whose company Rusal announced a $200 million investment in Kentucky."

There is much more in between, as an example his comment that his goal, when Barack Obama was elected, to make him a one-term president. He didn't, but it clearly labeled Moscow Mitch a raging racist. A 47-year old Paducah resident has said it best,,,

"eventually [after initially voting for him] it dawned on me, like a lot of people, this guy really doesn’t give a crap about us. He’s all about stockpiling his own squirrel-nut factory for his winter. Public records are public records, and you can see how his trajectory has gone toward wealth. Back home, I’m still making the same amount of money I was making! I think he’s got a real good chance of being booted this time.”

We can only hope so.

And, as if to make up with all the greed and corruption of his career, Moscow Mitch has now decided to turn the lions on Donald Trump in the impeachment controversy. This means that he will definitely bring a decision for impeachment from the House to the Senate for a vote. First of all, this will not exonerate him for what he has done, and second, he actually has no choice if Speaker Pelosi can come up with the votes. Here's Mitchell's statement...

"During an interview with CNBC on Monday, McConnell confirmed that he wouldn’t pull any stunts to obstruct a trial in the Senate — neither the Senate rules nor the partisan split would allow for such a thing.

“I would have no choice but to take it up,” McConnell said. “How long you are on it is a different matter, but I would have no choice but to take it up based on a Senate rule on impeachment.”

 Nancy Pelosi quotes Lincoln, "Public sentiment is everything"...

The one phrase here that bothers me is, "How long you are on it is a different matter..." It may be irrelevant but if there is one thing we know for sure, Moscow Mitch cannot be trusted! Here's MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell's take...

"McConnell is panicking about 2020. 'This is a very, very big deal,' O’Donnell wrote on Twitter. 'First, McConnell agrees with Schumer’s unanimous consent request for whistleblower documents and now this. McConnell is doing exactly what he should be doing if he thinks he might need a different nominee for president.'”

But then we get Pence, and although Salon's Bob Cesca feels Mikey would be more "compliant" I feel he is a complete idiot. Cesca also thinks Trump could resign saying, "it wouldn’t shock me if Trump decided he’d rather quit than have his tax returns and other documents exposed like dick-pics on TMZ." But McConnell still isn't done with bringing impeachment it to the Senate. With...

"Chief Justice John Roberts as the presiding judge in Trump’s trial, McConnell could call votes, requiring only 51 senators to approve, to overrule the chief justice’s decisions on, say, what evidence is admissible or not. The upshot: Senate Republicans can write and pass new trial rules according to McConnell’s whimsy."

Is this what the slimy lowlife McConnell has up his sleeve? We'll soon know by observing his handling of the impeachment in the Senate. If he exudes bold confidence in the procedure, you can expect the wheels to come off. But Cesca also brings up the prosecution of Donald Trump after leaving office...

"The only legal way Trump can guarantee he won’t be prosecuted after he leaves office is to resign with a Gerald Ford-style pardon from Pence. That’s it. Someone should tell him, because I’m sure he hasn’t yet considered the Sophie’s Choice he faces. Resignation and a presidential pardon, taken together, are Trump’s only path to avoiding prison shy of pulling off another improbable election victory, which is no sure thing, whatever he may say."

I would hope that prosecutors are vigorously pursuing how to overcome this pardon and put Donald Trump in jail where he has belonged for years.

LATEST: Gun violence/Gun control/Gun corruption

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2019 NEWS BYTES

Gun violence must be stopped...   

NRA internal turmoil

Items have a tendency to pile up these days in the "to blog" file on Donald Trump's Ukraine call and subsequently the move to impeach him. You can't ignore it because of the intensity of the issue, and the importance of getting rid of the Oval Office lunatic. Just today Trump said, "I don't care," in reference to GOP concerns over protecting the whistleblower. There's more, Mike Pompeo is in a standoff with key House committees on trump Ukraine information.

But other news does go on and here's a wrap-up of what's happening in the Gun violence/Gun control/Gun corruption areas:

It's the 'If we could just get rid of them, gun violence would improve dramatically' organization, the National Rifle Assn. (NRA), along with its leader Wayne LaPierre. Here's the scenario...

"Its president was ousted. Its top lobbyist resigned over allegations that he engaged in an extortion scheme to kick out the chief executive, Wayne LaPierre. Its board members are resigning regularly, saying they’ve lost confidence in the group’s leadership. It’s spending more money than it’s taking in, and it’s in a brutal legal battle with its former ad agency. Oh, and its tax-exempt status is being investigated."

READ MORE...

Gabby Giffords on gun control...

And here in the wide open, 'if you are a warm body you can own and carry a gun' state of Arizona, the voting public has decided the gun laws aren't strict enough. But a gun nut legislature doesn't quite get it yet, so they plow ahead with the loosening of these gun laws that the public wants tightened. "Fifty-four percent of likely Arizona voters said the current laws in the state on the sale and ownership of guns are insufficiently strict, a 6-point rise from May."

Can you believe this?...

"Arizona is an open carry state, which means if you own a weapon you can carry it. You can also carry a concealed weapon with or without a permit.
Permits are issued by the state Department of Public Safety and involve a simple process.
You just go on our [state's] website and fill out an application. The concealed weapons unit will do a check of you and make sure you are not a prohibited. possessor."

By the way, assault weapons like the AK-47 are included in the above.

READ MORE...

Doctors are pissed-take on NRA...

And it would seem that the NRA spends more money in Texas because the gun nuts there really love their guns. But, Kim Olson, a Democrat running for a Republican seat, is trying to change that. Her passion for gun control reflects this quote, “weapons of war do not belong on the streets of America.” Here's what the author of the Washington Monthly piece said...

"One of the reasons I find Olson to be so impressive is that she reminds me of women from Texas that I have admired—like Barbara Jordan, Ann Richards, and Molly Ivins. While they didn’t serve in the military, they were warriors too. No one would have ever accused Jordan, Richards, or Ivins of mincing words. Whether you agreed with them or not, they stood their ground unapologetically."

And this is what is so sorely needed in the fight against gun violence. When you see a gun nut, call it a gun nut and let them know just where we stand on taking guns off the streets. The writer, Nancy LeTourneau, finishes with, "But one thing is for certain, Kim Olson is exactly the kind of Democrat that should scare Republicans—and the NRA." Amen!

READ MORE...

Now the NRA is charged with harboring a toxic sexual harasser who is the former favorite and chief of staff for head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre.  Josh Powell was so bad that...

Ackerman McQueen [the NRA's ad agy.] refused to work with him. According to a report, Powell was the subject of two harassment settlements at the nonprofit; the amount of money spent to keep these stories hidden is not known.

It would appear that the NRA is rotten from the core.

READ MORE...

10 injured in shooting after high school football game in Alabama...

To fix our gun crisis, we should revert to ’60s gun laws...

More NRA corruption: 

NRA board member and former president Marion Hammer obtained low-interest loan from affiliate she leads...

BREAKING: Bernie Sanders suffers heart condition

BREAKING NEWS: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2019

Bernie Sanders with heart condition...

The man: Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders just underwent a procedure to have two stents inserted to address an arterial blockage after experiencing chest discomfort during a campaign event on Tuesday, according to The Hill. To adviser Jeff weaver said the Bern will spend the next few days getting over the episode and the surgery, and that all campaign events are cancelled until further notice. With the severe pace this man is on, likely double any other candidate, it's not surprising.

Anyway, let's all wish Bernie a full recovery and back to what he loves doing ASAP.

NRA choking...going down

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2019 NEWS BYTES

The latest attack on gun violence...   

Assault weapons ban did work

Apparently the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) made a trip to Moscow that is a no-no for their non-profit status. If it did break the law governing nonprofit spending, the gang of gun nuts could lose its tax-exempt status. That could put the NRA out of business. And that could spark parades and flag waving throughout the country. David Love on Aljazeera says, "The tide is turning for gun control in the US."...

"In what would have been inconceivable just a few years ago, the ground is shifting in the United States on the issue of gun control and halting the proliferation of firearms. The once omnipotent gun lobby is now weakened, if not dying, and the public support for gun restrictions is increasing beyond party lines."

That combined with the NRA's internal problems from Oliver North to Maria Butina has prompted the investigation in a report...

"compiled by Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee and released on Friday, investigates the relationship between NRA leadership and Russian nationals with Kremlin ties. Those nationals include Maria Butina, a 30-year-old Russian who was convicted last year of conspiring to act as a foreign agent."

We can't let this happen...

In a 2015 trip to Russia by NRA officials, Butina promised an introduction to "powerful officials" and "those executives were told they would be given opportunities to advance personal business interests." The catch here is, "aside from the fact that the NRA is accused of willingly establishing relationships with Russian nationals with close ties with the Kremlin — is that tax-exempt nonprofits aren’t allowed to use their funds for personal gain."

There's more...

"New York Attorney General Letitia James also opened an investigation into the organization’s nonprofit status back in April following reports of financial mismanagement. The District of Columbia’s attorney general said his office launched a similar inquiry in July, sending subpoenas to the NRA and its charitable arms to collect 'financial records, payments to vendors, and payments to officers and directors.'”

House Democrats are cowards on assault weapons ban...

Aljazeera comments on American business CEOs concerned over out-of-control gun violence in the U.S....

"Other businesses have followed suit, as the chief executive officers of 145 companies wrote a letter to the US Senate, proclaiming the country is experiencing a public health crisis, and saying it is "simply unacceptable" to take no action on gun violence and mass shootings. The CEOs added that new laws mandating background checks for gun purchases 'are a common-sense solution with overwhelming public support and are a critical step toward stemming the gun violence epidemic in this country.'"

And to support the general consensus that more gun control is needed, a recent study has determined the former assault weapons ban was, in fact, effective. Here are the findings...

"The research from Stanford Law professor John Donohue and student Theodora Boulouta found that from 1994 to 2004, the Clinton-era federal assault weapons ban was associated with a marked decrease in mass shootings and victims of those shootings."

Here are the facts...

"in the decade preceding the assault weapons ban, there were 33 percent additional mass shootings and 65 percent more associated fatalities. Ten years after the ban expired in 2004, the number of mass shootings more than tripled and the number of fatalities spiked more than fourfold."

BINGO! But, then, facts don't seem to affect the votes of a cowardly Congress that has feared the NRA's wrath since head gun nut Wayne Lapierre took over. But that may all be changing as the new wave to curb gun violence begins to take hold. And when Senate challenger Mark Kelly (Gabby Giffords astronaut husband) running against Republican Martha McSally as a gun control advocate wins that seat, we'll have even more support in the Senate.

The course is clear, more reasonable gun control laws in 2020 as we get the guns off the streets.

White house burns during Donald Trump fury

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2019 NEWS BYTES

The White House may burn...again   

White House after Donald Trump implosion

The White House has been set on fire twice before: once when James Madison was president, second during Herbert Hoover's administration. The third burning is due soon but it won't necessarily be intentional like the other two. As Donald Trump begins to implode, which will include an excessive amount of friction with his staff, aides and the Cabinet, a fiery explosion from within is sure to happen. It's only a matter of time and here are the many reasons why...

As Brad Reed in RawStory puts it, "The dam starts to crack," referring to the Republicans who have been loyal to Donald Trump, but are now turning on him. In particular...

"Rep. James Comer (R-KY) has now told CNN’s Jim Sciutto that he believes Congress ought to investigate the White House’s use of a codeword-protected server to store President Donald Trump’s phone records."

The act of using these private servers to hide Trump material, in one instance, a NSC computer, have been deemed more impeachable than the information concealed. And remember what T-rump once said, he believes the Constitution lets him do “whatever I want as President.” Here's what Ralph Nader said in Common Dreams, published in AlterNet...

"In over two and a half years, Trump has been a serial violator of the Constitution, unmatched by any president in American history. Just about every day he is a constitutional outlaw."

There's more...

"Constitutional scholar Bruce Fein has documented twelve categories of major constitutional transgressions. Some are also statutory crimes. Many of these involve Trump overpowering the critical separation of powers that our founders rigorously established to assure that the president does not become a monarch like King George III."

Trump: The Constitution allows me to do anything I want to...

Among his other costitutional foibles, the Oval office lunatic "totally defies Congressional subpoenas for documents and witnesses. That grave overthrow of constitutional government is alone enough for eviction from office." And he lies, lies even more and then he lies again. If you can't believe anything the "supposed" president of the country you live in says, that alone should be grounds for impeachment.

Rory Cooper says in the Daily Beast, "We’ll Deserve What We Get if Republicans Can’t Say Trump’s Wrong." Some have come across now like Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who wants Congress to investigate Trump's use of a secret database to cover up his corruption. More will no doubt come forward when it becomes even more obvious that T-rump is going down. Here's Cooper's take...

"At best, President Trump used his office to seek personal and political gain and engage in 2016 conspiracy peddling with a strategic ally engaged in a war with Russia. At worse, Trump held back military aid to Ukraine in order to extract this personal and political gain. It’s a difference without a distinction when it comes to his fitness to serve."

And now there's a second whistleblower "who claims to have evidence of misconduct regarding the Internal revenue Service’s auditing of President Trump. According to this federal employee there were “inappropriate efforts to influence” the audit process. Trump has resisted releasing any tax returns since being elected and New York state investigators appear closest to breaking that wall of defense. What does he have to hide and just how bad is it?

David Cay Johnston on Trump perpetual tax corruption...

Here's the status...

"On August 8, Neal [House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA)] sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asking for communications between the IRS and Treasury employees who were involved in the agency’s audit of Trump and asked him to reply by August 13. It’s still not known if Mnuchin replied or not."

 And finally, the whistleblower's lawyers are saying that Trump has endangered their client as the president publicly threatens "big consequences." It is a call to action by this moron of his double-digit troops who follow his lead, no matter what he tells them to do. Pure and simple it is more inciting of violence like he has done so many times in the past, like Charlottesville. One death and several injuries.

It may well come down to 'burn, baby, burn.'

LATEST: Trump and Mueller hidden memo

TUESDAY OCTOBER 1, 2019 NEWS BYTES

Has Trump made the ultimate cover up?


Slate is reporting...The Washington Post calls it a "bombshell" memo that was possibly withheld from the Robert Mueller investigation. It's another of those which was supposed to be housed in unclassified White house computer files, but was rather bumped up to top secret status to keep it hidden from congress and the public. Here's the scenario...

"The Post goes on to note that 'it is not clear whether a memo documenting the May 10, 2017, meeting with Lavrov and Kislyak was placed into that system, but the three former officials said it was restricted to a very small number of people.' Here’s the problem: That May 10 White House meeting was the subject of intense scrutiny by the Mueller probe because it went directly to the question of why Comey was fired. Page 71 of the second volume of the Mueller report notes, “In the morning on May 10, 2017, President Trump met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office.”

But here's the kicker...

"The footnote cites to a White House document entitled “Working Visit with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia” which is dated 5/9/17, the day before the meeting, and to an email (5/9/17 White House Document, 'Working Visit with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia'); SCR08_001274 (5/10/17 Email, Ciaramella to Kelly, et al.). That’s the only document that seems to have been produced in reference to the May 10 meeting. There is confirmation of Trump’s remarks about Comey’s firing being a relief from Sean Spicer and Hope Hicks."

The world laughs...Donald Trump the mosr transparent president ever...

The first question that comes to mind is, if it was a footnote to the Mueller Report, why didn't Robert Mueller pursue the memo? WP agrees...

"It’s awfully hard to believe that Mueller didn’t ask for any readout or memorandum from that meeting; a meeting at which the president explained that he fired Comey in part because he was being pressured by the Russia investigation."

Trump even tried to hide high school transcripts lying about academic background...

Mueller was accused of some ineptness in the production of the Mueller Report, and this would confirm that things were missed, perhaps as important as the above. Could this have resulted from pressure from the White House, considering the Ukrainian telephone call cover up? It is generally agreed that the masking of this phone call is more serious, and impeachable, than the substance of the call. It's hard these days to keep up with the WH cloak and dagger.

On the other hand, the memo's presence could have been there glaring at Robert Mueller, but he decided not to include it in the report. Why? Perhaps Mueller should face another House investigation to answer the question of why he ignored the report. If it is as crucial as it sounds, it would go to the conclusion of the Mueller Report to suggest Trump's definite collusion with Russia to win his 2016 election. Isn't that what we were trying to find out?

Another possibility is the fact that the memo included sensitive information about a confidential Israeli asset with another foreign power, something Trump was giving up in the meeting. But what is really proved, according to the WP, “This emphasizes the point that Mueller’s conclusions were based on imperfect information precisely because of White House and Trump misconduct.” Something we have come to expect, unfortunately.

This Slate article is worth reading.