Today, President Joe Biden signed into law the now-bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022. It will expand medical coverage for veterans exposed to burn pits during their service. This law is named for Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, an Ohio Army National Guardsman who was diagnosed with a rare cancer after his service, during which he was exposed to toxic substances in the burn pits. He died in 2020, leaving behind his wife and his 8-year-old daughter.
The most striking thing about Biden’s speech as he signed the PACT bill was how he credited so many people for working to promote its passage. He shared credit. What a welcome, refreshing relief to hear acknowledgment of democratic (small d) collaboration towards a needed benefit now available to all veterans.
What a difference a month makes😁. Until recently naysayers, including Democrats, were down on President Biden, the paucity of recent Dem legislation, and the prospects of Dems in the November elections.
Now President Biden has been effective, bold new legislation has been passed over the lock-step Republican opposition, Trump is flailing and Fifthing, and his sycophants are shooting themselves in the foot.
It ain’t over ‘til the fat lady (or fellow) sings, but I’m BIDENING my time.
“ It is an astonishing thing to see that a former president, the person who was responsible for faithfully executing the laws of our nation, has ….”
yep - you Dr Richardson, with your Letters from an American, have filled in that blank - for my wife and me, for neighbors, and friends across the country, by writing the truth. You have reported on the direction our country has been taken, on daily events of outrageous proportions, giving them a relationship to an educated, historical context. In my opinion, you write clearly, purposely exalting the best of the American experiment - ideals of humanity itself. For me, Letters from an American, is a simple but profound daily guide of hope showing through a storm of malfeasance. It’s visible like Portland Headlight in a January nor’easter. We, here in our little Maine home, nominate you for the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
It's only Wednesday and Trump has achieved two firsts for a former U.S. president: had his home searched by the FBI based on a search warrant granted on grounds that there's probable cause of a crime, and he refused to answer any questions under oath in a civil suit stemming from the financial operation of his company.
Welcome to the record books, Donald. Something tells me there will be more entries that will make you even more infamous.
"Last September, when three of Hillary Clinton’s IT specialists took the Fifth during a congressional probe of her private server, Trump railed on the stump: “So there are five of them taking the Fifth Amendment, like you see on the mob, right? The mob takes th Fifth Amendment. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” (Just to be consistent, he should ask Flynn the same thing.)
Also last September, Kellyanne Conway was equally incensed about the decision to take the Fifth. She called Hillary’s people “a basket of liars.” Clearly it all depends on whose team is taking the Fifth, because back in 2013, when IRS executive Lois Lerner took the Fifth in a GOP congressional probe of the Obama administration, Sean Spicer, in his capacity as a party spinner, tweeted: “Why do u take the 5th if you have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide?”
It is hard to not have a big cheshire-cat smile about the notion that what may ultimately scuttle the Orang's chances for future public office is his own hubris in walking out the door with 'library books.' While that is a gross-oversimplification, it is, essentially that: he took property of the United States without permission and refused to give it back. So the librarians asked the FBI to go get it and a Judge agreed. This is very consistent with a man who has always thought and felt that nothing should apply to him in terms of the law that does not benefit him, but the hubris of walking out the front door with, in some cases potentially top-secret material(s) is the height of the concept.
I hope he heeds his own words, when on the campaign trial he bloviated nee lectured his base that because of Ms. Clinton's 'unauthorized' use of an email-server and potential for there being items of National Security on it, she was 'unfit and disqualified' to be president, and that he hold himself to that standard. I'm skeptical he will. :)
I'll be enjoying the continuing references to the 'nazi-state' and other hews and cries about the injustice of it all. But at the end of the day we should all take a step back and ask whether this is a political exercise or a simple enforcement matter. Put another way: if Obama had walked out of 1600 with 15 boxes of material, unaccounted for, and the Gropenfuerher was incoming; what, dear-readers, do you think would have been the result? I KNOW what the Orang would have 'directed' "his" DOJ to do... in this case there is no evidence that the current president directed or even knew what was going down...nor should he...this is a simple enforcement action driven by a Federal Agency with the assistance of another, run by a T-appointee and signed-off-on by a Federal Judge. Seems pretty tight to me. At the end of the day: don't mess about with the Librarians; fuck-around and find out. My Mom, a school-librarian, agrees. :)
What lovely news, Heather! Our former president spends his day taking the fifth while his political party begins digging its own hypocritical grave defending a mob boss. Now if the MSM would stop referring to the execution of a search warrant as a "raid"....
Here is a link to the Pod Save the World podcast. Between about mins. 4:50 and 10:40 there is an interesting conversation about how strange it is that Trump would even have paper documents, since the daily briefings were conducted on iPads and, in Obama's case, any binders shown to the President would be returned to the person who delivered it. Ben Rhodes suggests, essentially, that for Trump to have any paper document, he would have had to make a point of getting it to keep.
QUESTION: Once Trump is convicted for the first time, let's say for a lesser crime like taking Archival Records or inflated real estate values on loans, much lesser than his his panoply of criminal ant-democratic crimes, is the appetite for more convictions satiated for the public or its appetite merely whetted? Does it depend on whether conviction is for felony or misdemeanor? (I suspect for readers here whetted, but I'm talking public consensus here.)
Right wing media is stirring fear - still -- in Republicans around the economy by predicting next year or so we'll have hyperinflation. They're also saying there will be food shortages because farmers can't get enough fertilizer because you need natural gas for that...? And that the shortage of fertilizer also means a shortage of CO2 needed to make beer. What will Justice Kavanaugh do without his beer!
And Trump hit a bump because he's the one who increased the penalty for violating the records act from a one year misdemeanor to a five year felony.
The most striking thing about Biden’s speech as he signed the PACT bill was how he credited so many people for working to promote its passage. He shared credit. What a welcome, refreshing relief to hear acknowledgment of democratic (small d) collaboration towards a needed benefit now available to all veterans.
Heather, so glad to see you're finished early. Thanks for today's news digest.
The world just keeps on spinning, doesn't it? Sleep well.
What a difference a month makes😁. Until recently naysayers, including Democrats, were down on President Biden, the paucity of recent Dem legislation, and the prospects of Dems in the November elections.
Now President Biden has been effective, bold new legislation has been passed over the lock-step Republican opposition, Trump is flailing and Fifthing, and his sycophants are shooting themselves in the foot.
It ain’t over ‘til the fat lady (or fellow) sings, but I’m BIDENING my time.
“ It is an astonishing thing to see that a former president, the person who was responsible for faithfully executing the laws of our nation, has ….”
yep - you Dr Richardson, with your Letters from an American, have filled in that blank - for my wife and me, for neighbors, and friends across the country, by writing the truth. You have reported on the direction our country has been taken, on daily events of outrageous proportions, giving them a relationship to an educated, historical context. In my opinion, you write clearly, purposely exalting the best of the American experiment - ideals of humanity itself. For me, Letters from an American, is a simple but profound daily guide of hope showing through a storm of malfeasance. It’s visible like Portland Headlight in a January nor’easter. We, here in our little Maine home, nominate you for the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
He took the 5th 440 times! I must remind myself to keep breathing!
It's only Wednesday and Trump has achieved two firsts for a former U.S. president: had his home searched by the FBI based on a search warrant granted on grounds that there's probable cause of a crime, and he refused to answer any questions under oath in a civil suit stemming from the financial operation of his company.
Welcome to the record books, Donald. Something tells me there will be more entries that will make you even more infamous.
"Last September, when three of Hillary Clinton’s IT specialists took the Fifth during a congressional probe of her private server, Trump railed on the stump: “So there are five of them taking the Fifth Amendment, like you see on the mob, right? The mob takes th Fifth Amendment. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” (Just to be consistent, he should ask Flynn the same thing.)
Also last September, Kellyanne Conway was equally incensed about the decision to take the Fifth. She called Hillary’s people “a basket of liars.” Clearly it all depends on whose team is taking the Fifth, because back in 2013, when IRS executive Lois Lerner took the Fifth in a GOP congressional probe of the Obama administration, Sean Spicer, in his capacity as a party spinner, tweeted: “Why do u take the 5th if you have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide?”
https://whyy.org/articles/team-trump-suddenly-thinks-that-taking-the-fifth-is-awesome/
The Man Who Lived to Talk didn't have anything to say. This is a Precious Moment. Let us savor it.
It is hard to not have a big cheshire-cat smile about the notion that what may ultimately scuttle the Orang's chances for future public office is his own hubris in walking out the door with 'library books.' While that is a gross-oversimplification, it is, essentially that: he took property of the United States without permission and refused to give it back. So the librarians asked the FBI to go get it and a Judge agreed. This is very consistent with a man who has always thought and felt that nothing should apply to him in terms of the law that does not benefit him, but the hubris of walking out the front door with, in some cases potentially top-secret material(s) is the height of the concept.
I hope he heeds his own words, when on the campaign trial he bloviated nee lectured his base that because of Ms. Clinton's 'unauthorized' use of an email-server and potential for there being items of National Security on it, she was 'unfit and disqualified' to be president, and that he hold himself to that standard. I'm skeptical he will. :)
I'll be enjoying the continuing references to the 'nazi-state' and other hews and cries about the injustice of it all. But at the end of the day we should all take a step back and ask whether this is a political exercise or a simple enforcement matter. Put another way: if Obama had walked out of 1600 with 15 boxes of material, unaccounted for, and the Gropenfuerher was incoming; what, dear-readers, do you think would have been the result? I KNOW what the Orang would have 'directed' "his" DOJ to do... in this case there is no evidence that the current president directed or even knew what was going down...nor should he...this is a simple enforcement action driven by a Federal Agency with the assistance of another, run by a T-appointee and signed-off-on by a Federal Judge. Seems pretty tight to me. At the end of the day: don't mess about with the Librarians; fuck-around and find out. My Mom, a school-librarian, agrees. :)
I was not aware that a jury in a civil case may infer guilt from pleading the Fifth in a civil case. Interesting fact.
What lovely news, Heather! Our former president spends his day taking the fifth while his political party begins digging its own hypocritical grave defending a mob boss. Now if the MSM would stop referring to the execution of a search warrant as a "raid"....
I don’t know how to do this with a glass of wine, not a cup of coffee. What a bizarre few days! Is the dam broken? See y’all in the morning!
Here is a link to the Pod Save the World podcast. Between about mins. 4:50 and 10:40 there is an interesting conversation about how strange it is that Trump would even have paper documents, since the daily briefings were conducted on iPads and, in Obama's case, any binders shown to the President would be returned to the person who delivered it. Ben Rhodes suggests, essentially, that for Trump to have any paper document, he would have had to make a point of getting it to keep.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW5eTCysR_U
QUESTION: Once Trump is convicted for the first time, let's say for a lesser crime like taking Archival Records or inflated real estate values on loans, much lesser than his his panoply of criminal ant-democratic crimes, is the appetite for more convictions satiated for the public or its appetite merely whetted? Does it depend on whether conviction is for felony or misdemeanor? (I suspect for readers here whetted, but I'm talking public consensus here.)
Right wing media is stirring fear - still -- in Republicans around the economy by predicting next year or so we'll have hyperinflation. They're also saying there will be food shortages because farmers can't get enough fertilizer because you need natural gas for that...? And that the shortage of fertilizer also means a shortage of CO2 needed to make beer. What will Justice Kavanaugh do without his beer!