User-Supported News Commentary Hosted by Craig Crawford
Tell It To The Warden
No president ever worked harder than me (cleaning up the mess I inherited)!
— Donald Trump (2/11 Tweet)
Author: craigcrawford
Trail Mix Host. Lapsed journalist, author & retired pundit happily promoting nothing but the truth for Social Security checks.
View all posts by craigcrawford
in the meantime, former staff from the nest of vipers are telling it before he and they get to see the warden
wapo:
A former White House aide who penned an insider account about President Trump is now suing the president after Trump’s lawyers filed an arbitration claim saying the book violated a nondisclosure agreement.
The former communications aide, Cliff Sims, filed the suit in District of Columbia court Monday after Trump’s lawyers began arbitration proceedings late last month and the president attacked Sims on Twitter as a low-level “gofer.”
Sims is suing Trump in his official capacity. Mark Zaid, a lawyer representing Sims, said the campaign is trying to use a nondisclosure agreement from the campaign to punish Sims for discussing his time in the White House.
Michael Glassner, who leads the Trump campaign, did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment.
The lawsuit accuses Trump of having his campaign serve as “an illegitimate cutout and step into the shoes” of the government in an attempt to silence Sims, in violation of his First Amendment rights.
It claims that the U.S. government, “for the first time ever through the use of private surrogates, is seeking to unconstitutionally censor and punish a former federal employee for disclosing unclassified information outlining what he saw and observed during his time in the White House.”
[…]
Sims signed an NDA during his time working for the Trump campaign but does not know whether he signed an additional White House agreement regarding “confidential” information, according to the lawsuit, which states that Sims is operating under the assumption that he did sign such a document.
Trump has previously come under scrutiny for his use of NDAs to prevent current and former employees from speaking out against him. Most legal experts say such agreements are not enforceable for public employees; nonetheless, dozens of White House aides have signed NDAs in exchange for working with Trump.
Last year, former senior adviser Omarosa Manigault Newman claimed in her own tell-all book that the Trump campaign had offered her a $15,000-a-month job in exchange for signing an NDA that would have barred her from disclosing details of her time at the White House.
The Supreme Court’s late-night, two-paragraph order that sent a Muslim inmate in Alabama to his execution last week has become the court’s most controversial act of the term, drawing intense criticism from the political right and the left.
The court’s five conservatives agreed with Alabama officials that Domineque Ray could be put to death without an imam present in the execution chamber, even though a Christian chaplain who works for the prison system is in place for other executions.
and speaking of cleaning up inherited messes, what Obama faced wasn’t exactly a bed of roses. just finished Michelle’s “Becoming” which was a delightfully easy read. wonderful look at what life was like upstairs at the white house.
her book’s glimpse of presidential doings coupled with franken’s book on senate fun and games would be terrific studies for high school civics classes.
Rainy Tuesday in the Capitol Region. I hope it rains on a stupid guy all day long. One of the more interesting pics floating around the Internet is a rendering of SFB without his orange tone and phony hair covering. He looks like a fat old man with heart problems. Which is probably what the old fool sees each morning in the mirror.
Almost half way through February which has never been my favorite month. With climate change and moving East I no longer have to sit through a blizzard while eating frozen chocolate bars on Valentine’s Day.
Wow!! the little swiss company that can. maybe.
from NY Times:
[…]
One sunny morning last October, several engineers from a Swiss firm called Climeworks ambled onto the roof of a power-generating waste-incineration plant in Hinwil, a village about 30 minutes outside Zurich. The technicians had in front of them 12 large devices, stacked in two rows of six, that resembled oversize front-loading clothes dryers. These were “direct air capture” machines, which soon would begin collecting carbon dioxide from air drawn in through their central ducts. Once trapped, the CO₂ would then be siphoned into large tanks and trucked to a local Coca-Cola bottler, where it would become the fizz in a soft drink.
The machines themselves require a significant amount of energy. They depend on electric fans to pull air into the ducts and over a special material, known as a sorbent, laced with granules that chemically bind with CO₂; periodic blasts of heat then release the captured gas from the sorbent, with customized software managing the whole catch-and-release cycle. Climeworks had installed the machines on the roof of the power plant to tap into the plant’s low-carbon electricity and the heat from its incineration system. A few dozen yards away from the new installation sat an older stack of Climeworks machines, 18 in total, that had been whirring on the same rooftop for more than a year. So far, these machines had captured about 1,000 metric tons (or about 1,100 short tons) of carbon dioxide from the air and fed it, by pipeline, to an enormous greenhouse nearby, where it was plumping up tomatoes, eggplants and mâche. During a tour of the greenhouse, Paul Ruser, the manager, suggested I taste the results. “Here, try one,” he said, handing me a crisp, ripe cucumber he plucked from a nearby vine. It was the finest direct-air-capture cucumber I’d ever had.
Climeworks’s rooftop plant represents something new in the world: the first direct-air-capture venture in history seeking to sell CO₂ by the ton. When the company’s founders, Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, began openly discussing their plans to build a business several years ago, they faced a deluge of skepticism. “I would say nine out of 10 people reacted critically,” Gebald told me. “The first thing they said was: ‘This will never work technically.’ And finally in 2017 we convinced them it works technically, since we built the big plant in Hinwil. But once we convinced them that it works technically, they would say, ‘Well, it will never work economically.’ ”
For the moment, skeptics of Climeworks’s business plan are correct: The company is not turning a profit. To build and install the 18 units at Hinwil, hand-assembled in a second-floor workshop in Zurich, cost between $3 million and $4 million, which is the primary reason it costs the firm between $500 and $600 to remove a metric ton of CO₂ from the air. Even as the company has attracted about $50 million in private investments and grants, it faces the same daunting task that confronted Carl Bosch a century ago: How much can it bring costs down? And how fast can it scale up?
Gebald and Wurzbacher believe the way to gain a commercial foothold is to sell their expensive CO₂ to agriculture or beverage companies. Not only do these companies require CO₂ anyway, some also seem willing to pay a premium for a vital ingredient they can use to help market their products as eco-friendly.
Still, greenhouses and soda bubbles together represent a small global market — perhaps six million metric tons of CO₂ annually. And Gebald and Wurzbacher did not get into carbon capture to grow mâche or put bubbles in Fanta. They believe that over the next seven years they can bring expenses down to a level that would enable them to sell CO₂ into more lucrative markets. Air-captured CO₂ can be combined with hydrogen and then fashioned into any kind of fossil-fuel substitute you want. Instead of making bread from air, you can make fuels from air. Already, Climeworks and another company, Carbon Engineering, which is based in British Columbia, have moved aggressively on this idea; the Canadians have even lined up investors (including Bill Gates) to produce synthetic fuel at large industrial plants from air-captured CO₂.
[continues]
https://theweek.com/articles/822464/gops-tax-cut-just-keeps-getting-worse
The truth will out. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse it does.
Tax cuts just aren’t all they’re cracked up to be,especially republican tax cuts.
Perhaps Trump voters will still get enough of a refund to attend his next rally but I sincerely doubt it.
Yes, the Mueller investigation is costly. But the millions seized from Manafort have it on track to break even
WASHINGTON – Some time soon, federal authorities will begin selling off what’s left of Paul Manafort’s life, a small fortune amassed through a decade of illicit lobbying work. When they do, the investigation into Russian election interference standsto breach an unusual milestone: bringing in more money than it has cost.
But first, lawyers working for special counsel Robert Mueller must reach a deal with another set of opponents, including the Trump Tower condo board.
A handful of banks and the Trump Tower Residential Condominium Board have lined up to argue that they’re entitled to parts of the properties andinvestment accounts valued at about $26.7 million that the former Trump campaign chairman has been forced to give up as part of plea agreement with Mueller’s team. Included in the package of New York real estate is a $7.3 million compound in the Hamptons and a $3.8 million apartment in Manhattan’s Trump Tower.
Many of the claims could be resolved as early as this week, according to court documents.
When they are, the investigation Trump has dismissed as a witch hunt and a waste of money will more or less have paid for itself. Mueller’s probe has posted costs of about $25 million so far. Exactly how much the government stands to collect will turn on how much of his property must be turned over to banks and others, and to New York’s fluctuating real estate market.
In addition to Manafort’s fortune, the government stands to collect about $1.9 million from other people charged as a result of Mueller’s investigation.
[continues]
the guardian:
A BBC cameraman was violently shoved and abused during a Donald Trump rally in El Paso, Texas, on Monday night, in an incident the corporation described as “unacceptable”.
The BBC’s Washington correspondent Gary O’Donoghue said his colleague Ron Skeans was “fine” despite the “incredibly violent attack”.
The BBC said it had written to the White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, to ask for a review of security at Trump’s rallies.
The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said they were “deeply concerned” by the attack. “As we continue to look into what happened, we firmly denounce all physical violence against reporters for doing their jobs. This is unacceptable in the country of the first amendment,” the group said in a tweet.
Footage from Skeans’ camera, tweeted by O’Donoghue, suggested he and his equipment were knocked off balance for around 10 seconds, as he was filming Trump’s speech. Skeans recovered to film a man in a red Make America Great Again cap being restrained and shouting: “Fuck the media.”
As he was led away some in the crowd at the rally could be heard chanting: “Let him go.”
[…]
During his speech on Monday night Trump exaggerated the number of people attending the event, something his administration also did after his inauguration ceremony.
Trump told the crowds inside El Paso County Coliseum that 69,000 people had signed up to attend. “The arena holds 8,000 and, thank you fire department, they got in about 10 [thousand],” he said. “But if you really want to see something, go outside. Tens of thousands of people are watching screens outside.”
According to reports, a spokesman for El Paso fire department said the president’s claim was incorrect, and that only 6,500 people were allowed inside – the building’s capacity.
“Perhaps Trump voters will still get enough of a refund to attend his next rally but I sincerely doubt it.”
– Mr Jace
The magats might have to sell a gun or two to finance the trip. I’m guessing that there’ll be a need to further subsidize the firearms industry before the Nov 2020 election, as new gun sales collapse in the face of a glut in the used gun market.
on the subject of taxes, what’s with the postcard size 1040 form (supposedly a simplification for the filer) and it’s new worksheets which make it more complicated to fill out?
and no use calling irs for help, no one seems to be home according to latest reports in ny times
Patd – the greedy old perverts have gutted the IRS during the last two decades. I am hoping that when the Dems regain control of the WH and the Congress they will reverse the degradation that has occurred.
YouTube is very interesting. So much material is hidden away in it. I have not explored it until the last few months, but now am finding a lot of great stuff. BBC has many programs in it, including what might be live broadcasts. One of my favorite archeology programs Timelineis in it. Fun and enjoyable.
When I turned around after lifting the mail from our mailbox this afternoon, I looked at the flower garden in the front yard. Lo and behold, Daffodils in full bloom!
the hill:
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) met with former Marine and recent congressional candidate Amy McGrath about mounting a 2020 challenge against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Politico reported Tuesday that Schumer met with McGrath at Democratic Party headquarters last month to pitch her on the idea. The two were joined by Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chairwoman Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and aides for McGrath.
Aide Mark Nickolas confirmed the meeting took place, but told Politico that no decision was imminent.
Neither McConnell’s nor Schumer’s office immediately responded to a request for comment from The Hill.
[continues]
I’m all for challenging Mitch, but he’s got deep roots in KY – the bourbon drinking, horse racing, coal digging KY elite fill his war chest and he’s deeply beholdin’ to them. Not sure it’s a bridge too far, but it’s certainly a distant bridge.
pogo, mitch had better do something fast about this problem if he wants to keep one of those groups happy.
NY Times: Trump’s Trade War Leaves American Whiskey on the Rocks
[…]
On Tuesday, the American spirits industry joined the growing chorus of businesses and trade groups trying to get Mr. Trump to remove tariffs on Chinese goods and foreign metals by showcasing the economic pain that the trade war has inflicted.
Since the Trump administration initiated tariffs last year on foreign steel and aluminum, $763 million worth of American spirits exports have been subject to retaliatory tariffs, according to data released by the Distilled Spirits Council, an industry group. The most draconian duties have come from Europe, where the rate on American whiskey is 25 percent.
[…]
Mr. Swonger said the targeting of spirits like whiskey is no accident. Besides being a classic American product, bourbon has a manufacturing hub in Kentucky, a politically important state that supports Mr. Trump and is home to Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader.
Reading the Post about the Ocasio-Cortz backed Green New Deal I can’t remember when one party got so apoplectic about policy proposals (nonbinding ones at that) from a first term representative in office for less than 2 months. Sure, AOC is a bright and shiny object in the Democratic constellation, but she doesn’t pose much of a threat to either the Dem leadership or the Congress as a whole.If I were a Republican I’d focus on Nancy, but I guess gaslighting on the Cortez proposal makes more sense to the RW than focusing onthe fact that Nancy is handing SFB his ass..
patd, SFB’s trade policies are as stupid as his dogged focus on the 90% of the border that accounts for 10% of the drugs that cross it coming into the US. But he’s operating in an alternative universe that does not allow for the recognition of observable facts that contradict his preordained notions that everything he has done is the biggest and best. Stupidly he has his base and followers focusing on the weaker links in the Democratic party chain, or maybe it’s smart since he’s losing to the powers in the party.
I can’t wait to see him try to appropriate money by EO as he mentioned yesterday. It gives Congress – particularly the House – standing to sue him over use of EOs to violate separation of powers.
Big day at Southern Command. Auction company emptying the house of furnishings to be sold on Saturday. Keeping enough stuff to camp out here for a while. Must keep the grill!
Somebody correct me if I’m wrong. If SFB signs off on the boarder legislation as currently proposed does he not make any claim to a national emergency even less credible than it was before? (If that’s possible)
He gets basically what he could have had six months or a year ago and in the process disappoints his base and makes himself look like the worlds worst ‘deal maker’. I don’t think the art of the deal had a chapter on maneuvering yourself between a rock and a hard place but perhaps it should have.
I don’t know if there are any winners here but there are defiantly losers. Graham, McConnell, and Trump come immediately to mind.
As for spinning it as some sort of win, it’s hard to turn road apples into Golden Delicious. Not going to happen.
Craig,
Just moved out of our home this past weekend, have relocated to CA.
Have some idea what you are going through deciding what to keep and what to discard. Hope all goes well.
Kumcho and I lived in Oklahoma (Ft Sill) for a while in the early 60s. In their eyes we were illegally married. The Army wouldn’t put-up with any of the state’s bull shit and would make every place off limits to military people every time they tried to enforce their crap. We won.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/429714-pelosi-runs-a-tight-ship-as-more-stormy-waters-await
Interesting take here on Nancy Pelosi. Apparently the writer has not figured out that Pelosi can and does lead. Yes, there are many divergent interests in the Democratic caucus but she has proven that she is more than able to handle them. It seems as though it is Pelosi’s destiny to be damned by faint praise. When will these people ever learn?
Craig… I hope the property sells quickly. I know it’ll be bittersweet to see the house go… it was for me when I sold my parents place 8 yrs ago. But it also was a big relief. At least you still have your dad.
I have never seen so many older people apoplectic over a 29 yr old freshman… AOC must be doing something right. And of course the GOP is just plain stupid.
KGC, Once upon a time, we used to take care of our own. I had role models ranging from Master Sgt Max Stith in the NCO ranks all the way to General Colin Powell at the top. You can be sure these fine individuals left their imprint on many, many more people of all ranks than po’ ol’ me.
“He gets basically what he could have had six months or a year ago and in the process disappoints his base and makes himself look like the worlds worst ‘deal maker’.”
jace, don’t forget what he could have had in January last year as described here in the atlantic at that time:
But on Friday afternoon, as the hours ticked away toward a government shutdown, Schumer went to the White House and told Trump he could have his wall. “The president picked a number for the wall, and I accepted it,” Schumer recalled in the midst of the shutdown. He had agreed to asignificant sum of money for the wall—reported to be $20 billion, though the Democrat’s office will neither confirm nor deny that figure—in exchange for Trump’s support of permanent protections for the nearly 700,000 young undocumented immigrants covered under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
20 Billion. 20!
and the great dealmaker working his artistry wound up with a measly 1.3
LIL as his bff coulter would say
guess trump will now refer to Rubio as sitting bull in keeping with the nickname he uses for Warren
the hill:
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) discovered a link to Native American ancestors through an appearance on “Finding Your Roots,” according to the PBS show’s host.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. said in a preview clip for the show, airing Wednesday evening, that an ancestor on Rubio’s mother’s side was “pure Native American.”
Gates also explained how the particular set of Native Americans Rubio is descended from migrated through the Yucatan Peninsula, a stretch of modern-day Mexico near Cuba, as early as 4,000 B.C.
Talk about ancestral roots in Cuba…your family on your mother’s side has been there a long, long time,” Gates says in the video.
Rubio responds that he has visited ruins in the area, including Chichén Itzá, before remarking “who knew I was going back home?”
In his own tweet, Rubio hinted of more revelations on the episode, including a “famous distant relative.”
“My Native American heritage was an amazing discovery. But you forgot one of the most surprising discoveries,my famous distant relative! I will have to break the bad news to him myself,” Rubio wrote.
Patd,
That must have been the way Trump ran his casinos as well. They never did well, now we know why. Trump is a lousy gambler.
He needs to learn that the house always wins, especially Nancy Pelosi’s House.
Flatus – tre cool. I know there are a lot of people who are dismissive of the military and social norms. But, I know that when an order is given to the top, that order is followed to the bottom. It is like the orders to allow LGBT people to serve openly. Once those went in to the system discharges for being gay dwindled. There are many who do not like the orders and will do something to disrupt them, but in the end all works out. There are some great commanders who can be very creative in getting cooperation from the locals. I like the off limits plan.
So, the greedy old perverts are not wanting to have a shut down. SFB is too stupid to understand that if he does cause another shutdown it will not be good for the republicans.
I am prepared to take the weekend as a shutdown. The federal government will probably shut down for a few days, but SFB will sign off on the bill. He will also do his “executive emergency” thing, which will end up in court. Then it gets interesting if he ignores the court.
Best of luck to all of you movers. Honestly, I’ll never move again. I know I’ve said that before, but gawdammidt, they’ll have to drag me out by the heels ! I’ll be hanging onto any heavy piece of furniture in reach. Or maybe the fridge. The fridge and a pillow, what else does this fat old geezer need ?
The nonstop attacks on AOC are a sign of 2 things : 1. the rippers fear her, and want to destroy her chance of getting higher office. 2. the rippers are trying to keep their marching morons bedazzled by her glitter.
Both signs should tell us that powerful republicanazis are flailing frantically as DOOM LOOMS.
XR – you are so good on why they are so afraid of AOC (it is telling of her strength that she is initials). What is important is that she represents a new generation. I am sure that Speaker Pelosi sees what is going on (she is a very smart person for real). We have to nourish the new generation of legislators, not degrade them. Although she is not old enough to run for president, I would expect that in ten or so years she might want to take on the challenge.
She’s new. She is shoved by media into the forefront, mostly because she’s telegenic and will bring eyeballs to the media’s advertisements. This shoving will make it difficult for her to learn her work, and to keep her humility. She’s eyecandy and clickbait, but there is danger for her in that, and a potential loss of effectiveness for those she represents. We’ll see how this plays out. I hope that she is bigger, tougher, more humble, and more willing to learn than john edwards or sarah palin were.
Ditto Beto.
In his first interview since being fired, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is telling “60 Minutes” why he opened up investigations involving President Trump. He was a career official at the Justice Department who oversaw the bureau’s investigations into Russia’s election meddling and Hillary Clinton’s emails. In his new book, “The Threat: How the FBI protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump,” McCabe describes extraordinary measures justice officials took in the wake of former FBI Director James Comey’s firing. Scott Pelley joins “CBS This Morning” to preview his Sunday’s report.
daily beast: Samantha Bee Demolishes Fox News Over Ocasio-Cortez Green New Deal Meltdown
Samantha Bee dedicated the opening segment of her show to the “terrifying thing that has been tearing America apart.” No, not Will Smith’s Genie from Aladdin, but rather the progressive Green New Deal that was introduced by “Republicans’ wet nightmare” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”
After playing a montage of various pundits criticizing the plan, the Full Frontal host said, “It’s ‘too expensive’ and ‘too hard’ isn’t a reason not to save the world. It’s a reason not to have a destination wedding.” She added, “The Green New Deal has been controversial, but the idea behind it really shouldn’t be. An overwhelming number of experts agree we only have about 12 years to stop climate change from devastating our planet.”
“As usual, the loudest criticism is coming from Fox News, where you can always count on thoughtful analysis based on solid scientific thinking,” Bee said later, before cutting to the clip of Fox & Friends Weekend host Pete Hegseth explaining that he hasn’t washed his hands in 10 years, because, as he put it, “Germs are not a real thing. I can’t see them, therefore they’re not real.”
“I don’t know what’s worse, being that guy’s horrified co-workers or being the notoriously germaphobic president who’s now watching footage of himself shaking hands with Pete dick-fingers,” she said of Trump.
“While the people at Fox should be worrying about working with patient zero, they’re instead soiling themselves over the Green New Deal. But even 69 percent of Republicans want the government to do something about climate change,” Bee said, adding, “Nice.”
“Yes, the Green New Deal is ambitious and yes, a lot of it will never pass but the plan’s aggressive, even radical goals are bringing much-needed attention to climate change,” the host continued. “It’s kind of like how Kars 4 Kids brings attention to how much I hate Kars 4 Kids.”
“And it’s not crazy to use the government to do something big,” she said. “As daunting as it may seem, the Green New Deal wouldn’t be the first impossible-sounding project our government has pursued.” The moon-shot “sounded crazy” in 1961, she said, “but we dedicated our fullest resources to it and our hard work paid off eight years later, when we managed to convincingly fake the moon landing. But if we don’t act soon to keep our planet livable, we’ll have to figure out a way to send all eight billion of us to the actual moon.”
Hartford courant:
Judge grants Sandy Hook families request to depose Alex Jones
A Superior Court judge Wednesday ordered Alex Jones to sit for a five-hour deposition by attorneys for the parents of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims who are suing him for calling the 2012 massacre a hoax on his “Infowars” show.
Bridgeport Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis issued a ruling authorizing attorneys for Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder to depose Jones and three other defendants for a total of 19 hours. Bellis ruled the families are “entitled to conduct discovery likely to lead to admissible evidence for the purposes of opposing the motions to dismiss.”
politico:
[…]
On Wednesday, Jackson granted permission for one of the key figures in the Stone indictment — Jerome Corsi, a conspiracy theorist and former associate — to file a friend of the court brief supporting a gag order.
“Defendant Stone has engaged in a public relations campaign to defame, smear, intimidate and threaten both Dr. Corsi and his counsel, Mr. Larry Klayman, which is the same conduct that he was indicted for in the first place,” Klayman wrote in his brief. Corsi also sued Stone last week for defamation.
Craig, you’re a glutton for punishment. I discovered that moving is stressful enough without adding all the cleaning, etc. For the last ten, or so, moves I’ve hired semi-pros from the list maintained by base housing offices which, in your case, would be at the Naval Air Station. Prices have been universally reasonable and work first-rate. Have done the same thing with packing and shipping.
Don’t envy you that, Poobah. It’s bad enough making repairs and cleaning when you’ll get to enjoy the results of your work. Hopefully your efforts will at least increase the value of the home.
Greg Sargent has a pretty good piece on the Green New Deal over at WaPo today. Rather than excerpt it I’m just posting the link to it.
In my opinion it’s a worthy read that lays out the positions on both sides of the divide.
So CNN was just reporting that Mertle said he just spoke with SFB and that SFB will sign the funding bill and that he will simultaneously issue an emergency declaration to allow him to steal the money to build his stupid wall, and that Mertle supports that. Let the court actions begin.
in the meantime, former staff from the nest of vipers are telling it before he and they get to see the warden
wapo:
A former White House aide who penned an insider account about President Trump is now suing the president after Trump’s lawyers filed an arbitration claim saying the book violated a nondisclosure agreement.
The former communications aide, Cliff Sims, filed the suit in District of Columbia court Monday after Trump’s lawyers began arbitration proceedings late last month and the president attacked Sims on Twitter as a low-level “gofer.”
Sims is suing Trump in his official capacity. Mark Zaid, a lawyer representing Sims, said the campaign is trying to use a nondisclosure agreement from the campaign to punish Sims for discussing his time in the White House.
Michael Glassner, who leads the Trump campaign, did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment.
The lawsuit accuses Trump of having his campaign serve as “an illegitimate cutout and step into the shoes” of the government in an attempt to silence Sims, in violation of his First Amendment rights.
It claims that the U.S. government, “for the first time ever through the use of private surrogates, is seeking to unconstitutionally censor and punish a former federal employee for disclosing unclassified information outlining what he saw and observed during his time in the White House.”
[…]
Sims signed an NDA during his time working for the Trump campaign but does not know whether he signed an additional White House agreement regarding “confidential” information, according to the lawsuit, which states that Sims is operating under the assumption that he did sign such a document.
Trump has previously come under scrutiny for his use of NDAs to prevent current and former employees from speaking out against him. Most legal experts say such agreements are not enforceable for public employees; nonetheless, dozens of White House aides have signed NDAs in exchange for working with Trump.
Last year, former senior adviser Omarosa Manigault Newman claimed in her own tell-all book that the Trump campaign had offered her a $15,000-a-month job in exchange for signing an NDA that would have barred her from disclosing details of her time at the White House.
and speaking of wardens worlds, this latest action by the supposedly pro-life and pro-religious freedom five is an interesting study in hypocrisy
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/supreme-courts-execution-decision-animates-critics-on-the-left-and-right/2019/02/11/72da5ed8-2e3a-11e9-813a-0ab2f17e305b_story.html?utm_term=.ee1f1dd0d7b6
The Supreme Court’s late-night, two-paragraph order that sent a Muslim inmate in Alabama to his execution last week has become the court’s most controversial act of the term, drawing intense criticism from the political right and the left.
The court’s five conservatives agreed with Alabama officials that Domineque Ray could be put to death without an imam present in the execution chamber, even though a Christian chaplain who works for the prison system is in place for other executions.
and speaking of cleaning up inherited messes, what Obama faced wasn’t exactly a bed of roses. just finished Michelle’s “Becoming” which was a delightfully easy read. wonderful look at what life was like upstairs at the white house.
her book’s glimpse of presidential doings coupled with franken’s book on senate fun and games would be terrific studies for high school civics classes.
Rainy Tuesday in the Capitol Region. I hope it rains on a stupid guy all day long. One of the more interesting pics floating around the Internet is a rendering of SFB without his orange tone and phony hair covering. He looks like a fat old man with heart problems. Which is probably what the old fool sees each morning in the mirror.
Almost half way through February which has never been my favorite month. With climate change and moving East I no longer have to sit through a blizzard while eating frozen chocolate bars on Valentine’s Day.
Wow!! the little swiss company that can. maybe.
from NY Times:
[…]
One sunny morning last October, several engineers from a Swiss firm called Climeworks ambled onto the roof of a power-generating waste-incineration plant in Hinwil, a village about 30 minutes outside Zurich. The technicians had in front of them 12 large devices, stacked in two rows of six, that resembled oversize front-loading clothes dryers. These were “direct air capture” machines, which soon would begin collecting carbon dioxide from air drawn in through their central ducts. Once trapped, the CO₂ would then be siphoned into large tanks and trucked to a local Coca-Cola bottler, where it would become the fizz in a soft drink.
The machines themselves require a significant amount of energy. They depend on electric fans to pull air into the ducts and over a special material, known as a sorbent, laced with granules that chemically bind with CO₂; periodic blasts of heat then release the captured gas from the sorbent, with customized software managing the whole catch-and-release cycle. Climeworks had installed the machines on the roof of the power plant to tap into the plant’s low-carbon electricity and the heat from its incineration system. A few dozen yards away from the new installation sat an older stack of Climeworks machines, 18 in total, that had been whirring on the same rooftop for more than a year. So far, these machines had captured about 1,000 metric tons (or about 1,100 short tons) of carbon dioxide from the air and fed it, by pipeline, to an enormous greenhouse nearby, where it was plumping up tomatoes, eggplants and mâche. During a tour of the greenhouse, Paul Ruser, the manager, suggested I taste the results. “Here, try one,” he said, handing me a crisp, ripe cucumber he plucked from a nearby vine. It was the finest direct-air-capture cucumber I’d ever had.
Climeworks’s rooftop plant represents something new in the world: the first direct-air-capture venture in history seeking to sell CO₂ by the ton. When the company’s founders, Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, began openly discussing their plans to build a business several years ago, they faced a deluge of skepticism. “I would say nine out of 10 people reacted critically,” Gebald told me. “The first thing they said was: ‘This will never work technically.’ And finally in 2017 we convinced them it works technically, since we built the big plant in Hinwil. But once we convinced them that it works technically, they would say, ‘Well, it will never work economically.’ ”
For the moment, skeptics of Climeworks’s business plan are correct: The company is not turning a profit. To build and install the 18 units at Hinwil, hand-assembled in a second-floor workshop in Zurich, cost between $3 million and $4 million, which is the primary reason it costs the firm between $500 and $600 to remove a metric ton of CO₂ from the air. Even as the company has attracted about $50 million in private investments and grants, it faces the same daunting task that confronted Carl Bosch a century ago: How much can it bring costs down? And how fast can it scale up?
Gebald and Wurzbacher believe the way to gain a commercial foothold is to sell their expensive CO₂ to agriculture or beverage companies. Not only do these companies require CO₂ anyway, some also seem willing to pay a premium for a vital ingredient they can use to help market their products as eco-friendly.
Still, greenhouses and soda bubbles together represent a small global market — perhaps six million metric tons of CO₂ annually. And Gebald and Wurzbacher did not get into carbon capture to grow mâche or put bubbles in Fanta. They believe that over the next seven years they can bring expenses down to a level that would enable them to sell CO₂ into more lucrative markets. Air-captured CO₂ can be combined with hydrogen and then fashioned into any kind of fossil-fuel substitute you want. Instead of making bread from air, you can make fuels from air. Already, Climeworks and another company, Carbon Engineering, which is based in British Columbia, have moved aggressively on this idea; the Canadians have even lined up investors (including Bill Gates) to produce synthetic fuel at large industrial plants from air-captured CO₂.
[continues]
Craig… I’m sure you are working harder cleaning out your father’s house than trump has ever worked in a single day of his life.
https://theweek.com/articles/822464/gops-tax-cut-just-keeps-getting-worse
The truth will out. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse it does.
Tax cuts just aren’t all they’re cracked up to be,especially republican tax cuts.
Perhaps Trump voters will still get enough of a refund to attend his next rally but I sincerely doubt it.
Craig, don’t forget to reclaim your time capsule from its hiding place before you leave for the last time.
Former astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of Gabby Giffords, announces Senate bid in Arizona
usatoday:
Yes, the Mueller investigation is costly. But the millions seized from Manafort have it on track to break even
WASHINGTON – Some time soon, federal authorities will begin selling off what’s left of Paul Manafort’s life, a small fortune amassed through a decade of illicit lobbying work. When they do, the investigation into Russian election interference stands to breach an unusual milestone: bringing in more money than it has cost.
But first, lawyers working for special counsel Robert Mueller must reach a deal with another set of opponents, including the Trump Tower condo board.
A handful of banks and the Trump Tower Residential Condominium Board have lined up to argue that they’re entitled to parts of the properties and investment accounts valued at about $26.7 million that the former Trump campaign chairman has been forced to give up as part of plea agreement with Mueller’s team. Included in the package of New York real estate is a $7.3 million compound in the Hamptons and a $3.8 million apartment in Manhattan’s Trump Tower.
Many of the claims could be resolved as early as this week, according to court documents.
When they are, the investigation Trump has dismissed as a witch hunt and a waste of money will more or less have paid for itself. Mueller’s probe has posted costs of about $25 million so far. Exactly how much the government stands to collect will turn on how much of his property must be turned over to banks and others, and to New York’s fluctuating real estate market.
In addition to Manafort’s fortune, the government stands to collect about $1.9 million from other people charged as a result of Mueller’s investigation.
[continues]
*
Mark Kelly declares against Martha McSally, the appointed senator not the elected one.
Wow Az could have two Dems.
the guardian:
A BBC cameraman was violently shoved and abused during a Donald Trump rally in El Paso, Texas, on Monday night, in an incident the corporation described as “unacceptable”.
The BBC’s Washington correspondent Gary O’Donoghue said his colleague Ron Skeans was “fine” despite the “incredibly violent attack”.
The BBC said it had written to the White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, to ask for a review of security at Trump’s rallies.
The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said they were “deeply concerned” by the attack. “As we continue to look into what happened, we firmly denounce all physical violence against reporters for doing their jobs. This is unacceptable in the country of the first amendment,” the group said in a tweet.
Footage from Skeans’ camera, tweeted by O’Donoghue, suggested he and his equipment were knocked off balance for around 10 seconds, as he was filming Trump’s speech. Skeans recovered to film a man in a red Make America Great Again cap being restrained and shouting: “Fuck the media.”
As he was led away some in the crowd at the rally could be heard chanting: “Let him go.”
[…]
During his speech on Monday night Trump exaggerated the number of people attending the event, something his administration also did after his inauguration ceremony.
Trump told the crowds inside El Paso County Coliseum that 69,000 people had signed up to attend. “The arena holds 8,000 and, thank you fire department, they got in about 10 [thousand],” he said. “But if you really want to see something, go outside. Tens of thousands of people are watching screens outside.”
According to reports, a spokesman for El Paso fire department said the president’s claim was incorrect, and that only 6,500 people were allowed inside – the building’s capacity.
“Perhaps Trump voters will still get enough of a refund to attend his next rally but I sincerely doubt it.”
– Mr Jace
The magats might have to sell a gun or two to finance the trip. I’m guessing that there’ll be a need to further subsidize the firearms industry before the Nov 2020 election, as new gun sales collapse in the face of a glut in the used gun market.
on the subject of taxes, what’s with the postcard size 1040 form (supposedly a simplification for the filer) and it’s new worksheets which make it more complicated to fill out?
and no use calling irs for help, no one seems to be home according to latest reports in ny times
Starting to see a lot of complaining on social media about how people are getting less back.
Patd – the greedy old perverts have gutted the IRS during the last two decades. I am hoping that when the Dems regain control of the WH and the Congress they will reverse the degradation that has occurred.
YouTube is very interesting. So much material is hidden away in it. I have not explored it until the last few months, but now am finding a lot of great stuff. BBC has many programs in it, including what might be live broadcasts. One of my favorite archeology programs Timeline is in it. Fun and enjoyable.
When I turned around after lifting the mail from our mailbox this afternoon, I looked at the flower garden in the front yard. Lo and behold, Daffodils in full bloom!
BB, you could do the world a great service by ‘filming’ Chapman’s.
the hill:
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) met with former Marine and recent congressional candidate Amy McGrath about mounting a 2020 challenge against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Politico reported Tuesday that Schumer met with McGrath at Democratic Party headquarters last month to pitch her on the idea. The two were joined by Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chairwoman Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and aides for McGrath.
Aide Mark Nickolas confirmed the meeting took place, but told Politico that no decision was imminent.
Neither McConnell’s nor Schumer’s office immediately responded to a request for comment from The Hill.
[continues]
I’m all for challenging Mitch, but he’s got deep roots in KY – the bourbon drinking, horse racing, coal digging KY elite fill his war chest and he’s deeply beholdin’ to them. Not sure it’s a bridge too far, but it’s certainly a distant bridge.
pogo, mitch had better do something fast about this problem if he wants to keep one of those groups happy.
NY Times: Trump’s Trade War Leaves American Whiskey on the Rocks
[…]
On Tuesday, the American spirits industry joined the growing chorus of businesses and trade groups trying to get Mr. Trump to remove tariffs on Chinese goods and foreign metals by showcasing the economic pain that the trade war has inflicted.
Since the Trump administration initiated tariffs last year on foreign steel and aluminum, $763 million worth of American spirits exports have been subject to retaliatory tariffs, according to data released by the Distilled Spirits Council, an industry group. The most draconian duties have come from Europe, where the rate on American whiskey is 25 percent.
[…]
Mr. Swonger said the targeting of spirits like whiskey is no accident. Besides being a classic American product, bourbon has a manufacturing hub in Kentucky, a politically important state that supports Mr. Trump and is home to Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader.
[continues]
Reading the Post about the Ocasio-Cortz backed Green New Deal I can’t remember when one party got so apoplectic about policy proposals (nonbinding ones at that) from a first term representative in office for less than 2 months. Sure, AOC is a bright and shiny object in the Democratic constellation, but she doesn’t pose much of a threat to either the Dem leadership or the Congress as a whole.If I were a Republican I’d focus on Nancy, but I guess gaslighting on the Cortez proposal makes more sense to the RW than focusing onthe fact that Nancy is handing SFB his ass..
patd, SFB’s trade policies are as stupid as his dogged focus on the 90% of the border that accounts for 10% of the drugs that cross it coming into the US. But he’s operating in an alternative universe that does not allow for the recognition of observable facts that contradict his preordained notions that everything he has done is the biggest and best. Stupidly he has his base and followers focusing on the weaker links in the Democratic party chain, or maybe it’s smart since he’s losing to the powers in the party.
I can’t wait to see him try to appropriate money by EO as he mentioned yesterday. It gives Congress – particularly the House – standing to sue him over use of EOs to violate separation of powers.
Big day at Southern Command. Auction company emptying the house of furnishings to be sold on Saturday. Keeping enough stuff to camp out here for a while. Must keep the grill!
Somebody correct me if I’m wrong. If SFB signs off on the boarder legislation as currently proposed does he not make any claim to a national emergency even less credible than it was before? (If that’s possible)
He gets basically what he could have had six months or a year ago and in the process disappoints his base and makes himself look like the worlds worst ‘deal maker’. I don’t think the art of the deal had a chapter on maneuvering yourself between a rock and a hard place but perhaps it should have.
I don’t know if there are any winners here but there are defiantly losers. Graham, McConnell, and Trump come immediately to mind.
As for spinning it as some sort of win, it’s hard to turn road apples into Golden Delicious. Not going to happen.
Craig,
Just moved out of our home this past weekend, have relocated to CA.
Have some idea what you are going through deciding what to keep and what to discard. Hope all goes well.
Road apples are less messy than cow pies
Goodness, Jace, hope you have American Express with all your travels. Hurry and get settled
Kumcho and I lived in Oklahoma (Ft Sill) for a while in the early 60s. In their eyes we were illegally married. The Army wouldn’t put-up with any of the state’s bull shit and would make every place off limits to military people every time they tried to enforce their crap. We won.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/429714-pelosi-runs-a-tight-ship-as-more-stormy-waters-await
Interesting take here on Nancy Pelosi. Apparently the writer has not figured out that Pelosi can and does lead. Yes, there are many divergent interests in the Democratic caucus but she has proven that she is more than able to handle them. It seems as though it is Pelosi’s destiny to be damned by faint praise. When will these people ever learn?
Craig… I hope the property sells quickly. I know it’ll be bittersweet to see the house go… it was for me when I sold my parents place 8 yrs ago. But it also was a big relief. At least you still have your dad.
I have never seen so many older people apoplectic over a 29 yr old freshman… AOC must be doing something right. And of course the GOP is just plain stupid.
Glad the air force or army was a better place for you Flatus. It doesn’t sound like that is still true.
Really is amazing. What took 50 years to fill up the house only takes four hours to empty.
KGC, Once upon a time, we used to take care of our own. I had role models ranging from Master Sgt Max Stith in the NCO ranks all the way to General Colin Powell at the top. You can be sure these fine individuals left their imprint on many, many more people of all ranks than po’ ol’ me.
“He gets basically what he could have had six months or a year ago and in the process disappoints his base and makes himself look like the worlds worst ‘deal maker’.”
jace, don’t forget what he could have had in January last year as described here in the atlantic at that time:
20 Billion. 20!
and the great dealmaker working his artistry wound up with a measly 1.3
LIL as his bff coulter would say
LIL (in case you’ve forgotten) according to ms coulter when applied to the twit means “lazy, incompetent lunatic”
guess trump will now refer to Rubio as sitting bull in keeping with the nickname he uses for Warren
the hill:
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) discovered a link to Native American ancestors through an appearance on “Finding Your Roots,” according to the PBS show’s host.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. said in a preview clip for the show, airing Wednesday evening, that an ancestor on Rubio’s mother’s side was “pure Native American.”
Gates also explained how the particular set of Native Americans Rubio is descended from migrated through the Yucatan Peninsula, a stretch of modern-day Mexico near Cuba, as early as 4,000 B.C.
Talk about ancestral roots in Cuba…your family on your mother’s side has been there a long, long time,” Gates says in the video.
Rubio responds that he has visited ruins in the area, including Chichén Itzá, before remarking “who knew I was going back home?”
In his own tweet, Rubio hinted of more revelations on the episode, including a “famous distant relative.”
“My Native American heritage was an amazing discovery. But you forgot one of the most surprising discoveries,my famous distant relative! I will have to break the bad news to him myself,” Rubio wrote.
Jace, keep using the alias and fake picture and the cops will never catch up to you.
She calls him “LIL”, i call her “Skeletor”.
…because she is evil, skeletal, and cartoonish.
“Incompetence” is Trump’s greatest, and possibly only virtue.
Pogo,
Witness protection. Lol
Patd,
That must have been the way Trump ran his casinos as well. They never did well, now we know why. Trump is a lousy gambler.
He needs to learn that the house always wins, especially Nancy Pelosi’s House.
Flatus – tre cool. I know there are a lot of people who are dismissive of the military and social norms. But, I know that when an order is given to the top, that order is followed to the bottom. It is like the orders to allow LGBT people to serve openly. Once those went in to the system discharges for being gay dwindled. There are many who do not like the orders and will do something to disrupt them, but in the end all works out. There are some great commanders who can be very creative in getting cooperation from the locals. I like the off limits plan.
So, the greedy old perverts are not wanting to have a shut down. SFB is too stupid to understand that if he does cause another shutdown it will not be good for the republicans.
I am prepared to take the weekend as a shutdown. The federal government will probably shut down for a few days, but SFB will sign off on the bill. He will also do his “executive emergency” thing, which will end up in court. Then it gets interesting if he ignores the court.
Best of luck to all of you movers. Honestly, I’ll never move again. I know I’ve said that before, but gawdammidt, they’ll have to drag me out by the heels ! I’ll be hanging onto any heavy piece of furniture in reach. Or maybe the fridge. The fridge and a pillow, what else does this fat old geezer need ?
The nonstop attacks on AOC are a sign of 2 things : 1. the rippers fear her, and want to destroy her chance of getting higher office. 2. the rippers are trying to keep their marching morons bedazzled by her glitter.
Both signs should tell us that powerful republicanazis are flailing frantically as DOOM LOOMS.
XR – you are so good on why they are so afraid of AOC (it is telling of her strength that she is initials). What is important is that she represents a new generation. I am sure that Speaker Pelosi sees what is going on (she is a very smart person for real). We have to nourish the new generation of legislators, not degrade them. Although she is not old enough to run for president, I would expect that in ten or so years she might want to take on the challenge.
#2 is correct, xrep. AOC and her grandiosity is a bigger threat to Dems than repubs.
Betcha there’s an awful lot of Whoism going on on around the White House now that the judge has found that Mueller proved that Manafort lied to the FBI about his contacts with Kilimnik.
Paul who? Konstantin who? Whodat?
She’s new. She is shoved by media into the forefront, mostly because she’s telegenic and will bring eyeballs to the media’s advertisements. This shoving will make it difficult for her to learn her work, and to keep her humility. She’s eyecandy and clickbait, but there is danger for her in that, and a potential loss of effectiveness for those she represents. We’ll see how this plays out. I hope that she is bigger, tougher, more humble, and more willing to learn than john edwards or sarah palin were.
Ditto Beto.
…well said, as usual!
I echo Bink’s compliment, XR.
x-r, perfect description.
In his first interview since being fired, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is telling “60 Minutes” why he opened up investigations involving President Trump. He was a career official at the Justice Department who oversaw the bureau’s investigations into Russia’s election meddling and Hillary Clinton’s emails. In his new book, “The Threat: How the FBI protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump,” McCabe describes extraordinary measures justice officials took in the wake of former FBI Director James Comey’s firing. Scott Pelley joins “CBS This Morning” to preview his Sunday’s report.
daily beast: Samantha Bee Demolishes Fox News Over Ocasio-Cortez Green New Deal Meltdown
Samantha Bee dedicated the opening segment of her show to the “terrifying thing that has been tearing America apart.” No, not Will Smith’s Genie from Aladdin, but rather the progressive Green New Deal that was introduced by “Republicans’ wet nightmare” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”
After playing a montage of various pundits criticizing the plan, the Full Frontal host said, “It’s ‘too expensive’ and ‘too hard’ isn’t a reason not to save the world. It’s a reason not to have a destination wedding.” She added, “The Green New Deal has been controversial, but the idea behind it really shouldn’t be. An overwhelming number of experts agree we only have about 12 years to stop climate change from devastating our planet.”
“As usual, the loudest criticism is coming from Fox News, where you can always count on thoughtful analysis based on solid scientific thinking,” Bee said later, before cutting to the clip of Fox & Friends Weekend host Pete Hegseth explaining that he hasn’t washed his hands in 10 years, because, as he put it, “Germs are not a real thing. I can’t see them, therefore they’re not real.”
“I don’t know what’s worse, being that guy’s horrified co-workers or being the notoriously germaphobic president who’s now watching footage of himself shaking hands with Pete dick-fingers,” she said of Trump.
“While the people at Fox should be worrying about working with patient zero, they’re instead soiling themselves over the Green New Deal. But even 69 percent of Republicans want the government to do something about climate change,” Bee said, adding, “Nice.”
“Yes, the Green New Deal is ambitious and yes, a lot of it will never pass but the plan’s aggressive, even radical goals are bringing much-needed attention to climate change,” the host continued. “It’s kind of like how Kars 4 Kids brings attention to how much I hate Kars 4 Kids.”
“And it’s not crazy to use the government to do something big,” she said. “As daunting as it may seem, the Green New Deal wouldn’t be the first impossible-sounding project our government has pursued.” The moon-shot “sounded crazy” in 1961, she said, “but we dedicated our fullest resources to it and our hard work paid off eight years later, when we managed to convincingly fake the moon landing. But if we don’t act soon to keep our planet livable, we’ll have to figure out a way to send all eight billion of us to the actual moon.”
Hartford courant:
Judge grants Sandy Hook families request to depose Alex Jones
A Superior Court judge Wednesday ordered Alex Jones to sit for a five-hour deposition by attorneys for the parents of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims who are suing him for calling the 2012 massacre a hoax on his “Infowars” show.
Bridgeport Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis issued a ruling authorizing attorneys for Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder to depose Jones and three other defendants for a total of 19 hours. Bellis ruled the families are “entitled to conduct discovery likely to lead to admissible evidence for the purposes of opposing the motions to dismiss.”
[continues]
politico:
[…]
On Wednesday, Jackson granted permission for one of the key figures in the Stone indictment — Jerome Corsi, a conspiracy theorist and former associate — to file a friend of the court brief supporting a gag order.
“Defendant Stone has engaged in a public relations campaign to defame, smear, intimidate and threaten both Dr. Corsi and his counsel, Mr. Larry Klayman, which is the same conduct that he was indicted for in the first place,” Klayman wrote in his brief. Corsi also sued Stone last week for defamation.
Sorry folks, about falling behind on threads. Submerged in house stuff now. beginning repairs and painting today.
Craig, you’re a glutton for punishment. I discovered that moving is stressful enough without adding all the cleaning, etc. For the last ten, or so, moves I’ve hired semi-pros from the list maintained by base housing offices which, in your case, would be at the Naval Air Station. Prices have been universally reasonable and work first-rate. Have done the same thing with packing and shipping.
Don’t envy you that, Poobah. It’s bad enough making repairs and cleaning when you’ll get to enjoy the results of your work. Hopefully your efforts will at least increase the value of the home.
Greg Sargent has a pretty good piece on the Green New Deal over at WaPo today. Rather than excerpt it I’m just posting the link to it.
In my opinion it’s a worthy read that lays out the positions on both sides of the divide.
Craig,
Hire some help. You’ll be glad you did.
NEW THREAD — Thanks Jace!
So CNN was just reporting that Mertle said he just spoke with SFB and that SFB will sign the funding bill and that he will simultaneously issue an emergency declaration to allow him to steal the money to build his stupid wall, and that Mertle supports that. Let the court actions begin.