Democrat Doug Jones and Republican Roy Moore are locked in a tight and increasingly controversial race to fill the Alabama Senate seat left vacant by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The election is on Tuesday. A Democrat hasn’t won a U.S. Senate race in Alabama for 20 years. Polling shows the two candidates are neck and neck, despite Moore being accused by at least nine women of sexually harassing or assaulting them when they were teenagers. President Donald Trump has repeatedly endorsed Roy Moore, including on Friday, when he held a rally in Pensacola, Florida, which is 20 miles from the Alabama border and in the same media market as Mobile, Alabama. Roy Moore has had a long and highly controversial political career in Alabama that’s been marked by racism, homophobia, Islamophobia and religious fanaticism. Over the weekend, the Doug Jones campaign orchestrated a massive get-out-the-vote effort, particularly targeting African-American voters. A number of prominent African-American politicians, including New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Alabama Congressmember Terri Sewell and former Massachusetts Democratic Governor Deval Patrick, all campaigned for Jones over the weekend. For more, we speak with Peter Montgomery, senior fellow at People for the American Way. His most recent piece [ https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2017/12/08/theres-more-one-roy-moore-scandal ] is headlined “There’s More Than One Roy Moore Scandal.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/12/11/on_eve_of_alabama_senate_election[with embedded video, and transcript]
Black Leaders Boycott Trump Photo Op at Civil Rights Museum: “Why Should Our Legacy Be Tarnished?”
Published on Dec 11, 2017 by Democracy Now!
In Mississippi, many black community leaders boycotted the opening of two new civil rights museums on Saturday in protest of President Donald Trump’s presence. Those who boycotted the events included African-American Democratic Congressmembers John Lewis of Georgia and Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, who wrote in a joint statement, “President Trump’s disparaging comments about women, the disabled, immigrants, and National Football League players disrespect the efforts of Fannie Lou Hamer, Aaron Henry, Medgar Evers, Robert Clark, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and countless others who have given their all for Mississippi to be a better place.” We speak with NAACP President Derrick Johnson and Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba. Both boycotted some of Saturday’s events in protest of Trump’s presence, which Johnson called “an affront to the veterans of the civil rights movement.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/12/11/black_leaders_boycott_trump_photo_op[with embedded video, and transcript]
NAACP Head: Roy Moore Is Using Racial and Religious Fearmongering to Sway White Alabama Voters
Published on Dec 11, 2017 by Democracy Now!
As Alabama’s special Senate race on Tuesday nears, criticism is mounting over Republican Roy Moore’s refusal to step down from an increasingly tight race meant to fill the Alabama Senate seat left vacant by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Moore was twice ousted as Alabama’s chief justice—first in 2003 for refusing to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments in the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building. After being re-elected, he was again ousted in 2016, for ordering his judges to defy the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing marriage equality. He was a proponent of Trump’s racist and discredited “birther theory” about President Obama. He has compared homosexuality to bestiality. He said Minnesota Congressmember Keith Ellison shouldn’t have been allowed to be sworn into Congress using a Qur’an, which he compared to “Mein Kampf.” In 2011, Roy Moore proposed eliminating all constitutional amendments after the 10th, which includes amendments prohibiting slavery and the amendments giving women and African Americans the right to vote. We speak with Derrick Johnson, president and CEO at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Chokwe Antar Lumumba, mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, and a longtime activist. https://www.democracynow.org/2017/12/11/naacp_head_roy_moore_is_using[with embedded video, and transcript]
Roy Moore represents everything holding the South back. Pullin for y’all, Alabama.
Also that footage is from the last show of my 2017 tour, but I’m fixin to announce a whole bunch of 2018 dates, so look here: http://wellredcomedy.com/
Monday, Dec. 11th 2017: Terror Attack in New York - A Bangladeshi national's ISIS-inspired attack on the Times Square subway station is botched, as the explosive detonates prematurely. Alex Jones looks at the Alabama senate election set for Tuesday, where Democrat contender Doug Jones takes on embattled Republican Roy Moore, who has received President Trump's support. National Security whistleblower Sibel Edmonds continues to discuss the Gulen network's ties to anti-Trump politicians. An Amazon Whistleblower also joins the show to break down slave-like work conditions at the online retail giant. Breitbart editor Aaron Klein explains why Trump moving the American embassy to Jerusalem represents a campaign promise kept and could bring about lasting peace. Matt Dubiel hosts the fourth and final hour.
Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate December 11, 2017 Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:) I am providing this supplemental consolidated report, prepared by my Administration and consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148), as part of my efforts to keep the Congress informed about deployments of United States Armed Forces equipped for combat. [...] https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/text-letter-president-speaker-house-representatives-president-pro-tempore-senate-2/
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She Was SIXTEEN GOING ON SEVENTEEN (Roy Moore Was 32) - A Randy Rainbow Song Parody
The political left in America has come completely unhinged. From breaking microphones at protests, to stealing speech printouts at public speaking events, to threatening reporters with guns and senatorial candidates with death threats, it's more apparent than ever that the political left is out of control. Meanwhile, the swamp drain is in effect, as it is now discovered the wife of the demoted DOJ official had been working for Fusion GPS.
[from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters]
Alabama native son Howell Raines on Moore’s appeal: “Trumpian buffet of prejudices"
The Beat With Ari Melber 12/11/17
Ari Melber breaks down the three keys to the Alabama Senate Election which could upend politics. Alabama native son and former executive editor of the New York Times, Howell Raines joins The Beat. Duration: 3:12
Judge who ran against Roy Moore alleges he abused power as D.A.
The Beat With Ari Melber 12/11/17
Judge Bob Vance came within 4 points of beating Roy Moore in the 2012 race for Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice. He details Moore's alleged abuse of power while District Attorney. Duration: 3:24
Mueller eyes Trump’s pivotal “18 days” before firing Flynn
The Beat With Ari Melber 12/11/17
NBC News exclusively reports Special Counsel Bob Mueller questions suggest a focus on potential Trump Obstruction. Sources say Mueller wants to know when Trump learned Flynn lied to the FBI. Duration: 6:07
Trump aide who coined “coffee boy” defense admits some exaggeration
The Beat With Ari Melber 12/11/17
Former Trump Adviser Michael Caputo famously called George Papadopoulos a ‘coffee boy’, but new reporting from the Washington Post reveals top Greek officials saw him as a high-ranking Trump staffer. Duration: 5:32
Former Federal Prosecutor Paul Butler, and Former Trump aide Michael Caputo, who famously called George Papadopoulos a ‘coffee boy’ tussle over who is creating a “false narrative” Duration: 1:28
MIDLAND, Alabama — Either Roy Moore is definitely going to win the Alabama special election Tuesday or Doug Jones is going to pull off an upset win that would have seemed unfathomable months ago when the race to replace Jeff Sessions in the Senate got underway.
That’s it. That’s the news.
At the wire, no one is really sure what’s going to happen. A big public poll from Fox News put Jones, the Democratic nominee up 10 points Monday. But a source close to the Moore campaign told VICE News that the Republican nominee’s recent internal polling showed Moore up 5-7 points. Other public polls backed up a Moore lead.
Moore held a rally with Steve Bannon, Louis Gohmert and Sheriff David Clarke (among other notable conservative stars) here Monday night. It was the most active campaigning Moore had done for days — over the weekend, he wasn’t even in the state of Alabama. He was in Philadelphia watching the Army-Navy game.
Jones’ weekend couldn’t have been more different — he pushed hard, bringing in national Democratic surrogates and sending canvassers fanning out across places Democrats need to turn out if they want to win.
It’s a tale of two strategies. Moore’s is similar to President Trump’s: big events, not much traditional campaigning. Jones’ is more like a traditional campaign: a big Get-Out-The-Vote push.
On the eve of the Alabama special election, Steve Bannon joins Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore at Jordan's Activity Barn in Midland City, Alabama, for a described “Drain The Swamp” rally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nrhq3gL73Q [the opening Psalm 5 incitation a bit clipped at the beginning; with a whole lot of other holy shitting along the way (e.g. Gohmert) (. . .), Bannon's blowing holy shit out of all of his holes at once commences at c. the 1:03:00 mark, followed, after some additional other holy shitting along the way, by Moore's blowing holy shit out of all of his holes at once commencing at c. the 1:45:00 mark; comments disabled] [also, with the complete opening Psalm 5 incitation, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER2pqnS3qlk (additional text adapted from; with comments)] [a must-watch]
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Cory Booker: Roy Moore won't be accepted in the Senate
All In with Chris Hayes 12/11/17
The Democratic senator headed south to Alabama to campaign for Senate Democratic candidate Doug Jones in his battle against Roy Moore. Duration: 4:26
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is examining the period before Flynn's firing, according to NBC News, focusing on what the president knew and when. Duration: 7:06
Pres. Macron gives climate grants to American scientists
All In with Chris Hayes 12/11/17
French President Emmanuel Macron awarded climate change grants worth millions of euros to 13 U.S.-based scientists, relocating them to Paris for the remainder of Trump's term - grants he calls "Make Our Planet Great Again." Duration: 2:29
GOP looks to undercut Mueller as Trump Russia probe heats up
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/11/17
Rachel Maddow notes the sudden criticism of Robert Mueller in right-wing media as the Trump Russia investigation begins to show results. Duration: 2:54
When did Donald Trump know that Mike Flynn lied to the FBI?
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/11/17
Rachel Maddow looks at new reporting by NBC News into Robert Mueller's apparent focus on the question of Donald Trump's obstruction of justice in the Flynn case, what Trump knew, when he knew it, and what it means for the story the White House has told about Pence. Duration: 12:22
RNC caught in lie on renewed support for Roy Moore
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/11/17
Kyle Whitmire, a political columnist for AL.com, talks with Rachel Maddow about how influential Senator Richard Shelby's decision not to support Roy Moore is, Alabama's recent history of political scandal, and the challenge of polling the special senate election. Duration: 10:46
Franks makes abrupt exit as 'surrogacy' scandal breaks
The Rachel Maddow Show 12/11/17
Rachel Maddow reports on the strange accusations that suddenly drove Trent Franks from office, with some women saying Franks asked them to carry his baby, in one case offering millions of dollars to do so, while being questionable on the means of insemination. Duration: 3:16
Michael Beschloss, NBC News presidential historian, talks with Rachel Maddow about Alabama history and why a Roy Moore victory in Alabama's senate race could be a bigger political problem for Donald Trump than the short-term embarrassment of Moore losing. Duration: 5:40
Rachel Maddow shares video of an odd boast by Roy Moore's wife, Kayla Moore, that couple employs a Jewish lawyer, so accusations that they are anti-Semites could not be true. Duration: 0:57
Rachel Maddow notes some of the protests against the Republican tax bill that took place despite challenging winter weather, and Secretary Mnuchin's meager report on the plan's expected performance. Duration: 2:57
Howell Raines: Alabama can change state's image Election Night
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 12/11/17
A Democrat last won an Alabama Senate seat in 1992, but as more Republicans come out against Moore, the race with Doug Jones is close. Alabama native and former New York Times Executive Editor Howell Raines says Alabamans often regret the outcome of their own vote. Duration: 11:32
Lawrence: Treasury Dept's defense of GOP tax cut is a lie
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 12/11/17
Ex-Treasury Sec. Lawrence Summers is breaking tradition by criticizing the current Secretary after the Dept. released an assessment of the GOP tax cut plan so outlandish it's being called a lie. He says it's like assuming Trump could beat Roger Federer at tennis. Duration: 9:09
Samantha Holvey, one of the women who has accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, joins Lawrence O'Donnell and explains "I'm just confirming" a story of sexual misconduct that Trump himself shared on the Howard Stern Show in 2005. Duration: 4:51
Roy Moore & Doug Jones make final push in Alabama race
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 12/12/17
Alabama gets ready to go to the polls in one of the most watched & hotly-contested Senate races in living memory. Our panel breaks it all down. Duration: 10:15
Calls for Trump to resign over sexual misconduct claims
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 12/12/17
Three women are again going public detailing their claims of sexual misconduct by Trump as some Democrats say he should resign in the face of the allegations against him. Our panel discusses. Duration: 7:28
Why Mueller is focusing on the Trump-Flynn timeline
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 12/12/17
A new NBC News exclusive report finds that Russia Special Counsel Robert Mueller is focusing on an 18-day period in the early days of the Trump presidency. Julia Ainsley and Jeremy Bash discuss. Duration: 5:14
Trump on report he watches 8 hours of TV daily: Wrong!
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 12/12/17
Trump blasted a New York Times report stating he watches up to 8 hours of cable news every day. But that's despite the fact he talks about what he sees on TV. A lot. Peter Baker discusses. Duration: 3:02
After Donald Trump urged Alabamians to vote for alleged sexual harasser Roy Moore at a rally, the president's own accusers called on Congress to investigate their claims.
Citizen Journalist Tim Baltz has the time of his life in Alabama, where people share his values and won’t challenge his support of alleged sexual predator Roy Moore.
Jimmy’s baby Billy had his second open heart surgery last week so Jimmy had guest hosts fill in for him while he was out. Thankfully the surgery was a success and Jimmy returned to the show tonight with Billy in tow to show everyone how well he is doing. Jimmy thanks the bright and talented doctors and nurses at Children’s Hospital LA. He has to have one more surgery when he is around six years old and then he is good to go. However, the fight is not over for millions of children whose health is threatened right now because a program called CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program), that is there to protect them, is in serious need of funding because Congress recently failed to approve funding for it. This is not a partisan issue. Democrats and Republicans have always overwhelmingly supported it – until now. Now it’s being used as a bargaining chip. So Jimmy is encouraging everyone to call the House and Senate at (202) 225-3121 to tell them to take a break from tax cuts and fully fund CHIP now. Also, if you don’t have health insurance make sure to go to healthcare.gov and sign up before the December 15th deadline. #FundCHIPNow
The Franken Debacle Bravo, Democrats. By Robert Kuttner Sometimes I think the Democrats could screw up a two-car funeral. I’ve been exasperated by the Democrats many times in my five decades as a journalist, but nothing was quite so disheartening as the dumb political miscalculation and misplaced indignation in the Democrats’ stampede to throw Al Franken under the bus. Here was the miscalculation: By demanding Franken’s ouster and jumping the gun on the due process of a pending ethics investigation, Democrats thought they would be displaying zero tolerance for any sort of sexual misconduct and demonstrating clean hands. This in turn would shame Republicans to do likewise, and embarrass the Republicans’ Senate candidate in Tuesday’s Alabama special election. So how did that work out? Republican Roy Moore continues to stonewall and lie about the women who stepped forward with their accusations of far more serious sexual crimes. Trump continues in office as the groper in chief. Democrats are revealed to be weak, opportunist, and disloyal to their own. Does anyone think that Franken’s announced resignation will change a single vote in Alabama, where polls now show Moore overtaking Democrat Doug Jones? In hoping to shame Republicans, Franken’s Democratic scourges overlooked one reality: the Republicans are shameless. As an example of the Democrats’ muddled logic, consider the words of New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, one of the leaders of the stampede: “I think when we start having to talk about the differences between sexual assault and sexual harassment and unwanted groping you are having the wrong conversation,” Gillibrand said on Wednesday. “You need to draw a line in the sand and say none of it is OK. None of it is acceptable.” Excuse me? Just as there is a difference between murder and shoplifting, the rape of a child is not the same as an unwanted pat on the butt. ... [...] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-franken-debacle_us_5a2e07f2e4b0a290f051d76e
Racial dispute at beloved bakery roils liberal college town OBERLIN, Ohio (AP) — Students at Oberlin College have long enjoyed pastries, bagels and chocolates from Gibson’s Bakery, a century-old, family-owned business near campus. That sweet relationship has turned bitter amid hotly disputed accusations of racism, roiling a school and town long known for their liberal politics. The dispute, which began in November 2016 with the arrest of three black Oberlin students who tried stealing wine from Gibson’s, is now a lawsuit in which the exasperated bakery owners accuse the college and a top dean of slandering Gibson’s as a “racist establishment” and taking steps to destroy the family’s livelihood. Caught in the middle are longtime residents of this town of 8,300 people, many of whom identify themselves as liberals but who have patronized Gibson’s for decades. Many believe the timing was right for the conflict to boil over; the arrests came the day after Donald Trump won the presidential election, electrifying students who had long heard suspicions of racial profiling at Gibson’s. “I can understand why people were looking for some outlet for their frustration, but it’s just counterproductive to bend that anger towards a small family business that to my knowledge is not guilty of the sort of racial profiling that people accuse it of,” said retired Oberlin professor Roger Copeland. [...] https://apnews.com/b5d75cf4772d4912b8c9ca56762aa343
"Let’s Try Round Two:” Three Women Who Accused Trump Of Sexual Misconduct Speak Out Again Three of the at least 16 women who have accused President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct spoke to NBC News' Megyn Kelly on Monday. https://www.buzzfeed.com/briannasacks/trump-accusers-megyn-kelly
The Finance 202: Senate to draw red line on estate levy as part of tax negotiations The GOP tax bill that emerges from negotiations as soon as this week could prove less sweet for the Mars family than the candy-making magnates hope. House Republicans, backed by some deep-pocketed outside interests, are angling for the final package to include a full repeal of the estate tax, long a conservative bête noire that falls on a vanishingly tiny slice of the population. But Senate GOP leaders will draw a red line on their proposal to double its exemption to $22 million for couples, a Republican Senate aide tells me, saving $68 billion over the House version. GOP leaders intend to argue full repeal is a nonstarter by pointing to senators who won't swallow it. It’s a dynamic that probably will repeat itself across the rest of the disagreements Republicans aim to iron out this week. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-finance-202/2017/12/11/the-finance-202-senate-to-draw-red-line-on-estate-levy-as-part-of-tax-negotiations/5a2df7c930fb0469e883fafb/
I'm crying laughing... "Alexa... are you connected to the CIA?" "Alexa... you are lying to me." - Alex Jones' hard hitting back and forth interview with an Amazon Echo. He's not gonna let it get away with ANYTHING. https://twitter.com/TimRunsHisMouth/status/939398055610191872
What Putin Really Wants (retitled from "The Myth of Vladimir Putin the Puppet Master") Russia's strongman president has many Americans convinced of his manipulative genius. He's really just a gambler who won big. By Julia Ioffe https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/01/putins-game/546548/
U.S. High Court Turns Away Dispute Over Gay Worker Protections - Reuters (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal by a Georgia security guard who said she was harassed and forced from her job because she is a lesbian, avoiding an opportunity to decide whether a federal law that bans gender-based bias also outlaws discrimination based on sexual orientation. The justices left in place a lower court ruling against Jameka Evans, who had argued that workplace sexual orientation discrimination violates Title VII of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. Workplace protections are a major source of concern for advocates of rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The case hinged on an argument that is currently being litigated in different parts of the United States and has divided lower courts: whether Title VII, which bans employment discrimination based on sex, also outlaws bias based on sexual orientation. Title VII also bars employment discrimination based on race, color, religion and national origin. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, an independent federal agency that enforces Title VII, had argued since 2012, during Democratic former President Barack Obama's administration, that bias against gay workers violates the law. [...] https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2017-12-11/us-high-court-turns-away-dispute-over-gay-worker-protections original https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-lgbt/u-s-high-court-turns-away-dispute-over-gay-worker-protections-idUSKBN1E51OT
Unanswered question hangs over the GOP’s anti-Mueller offensive Promoting a piece from a far-right pundit yesterday, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said yesterday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller “has got some explaining to do.” It was a timely reminder that when it comes to the Trump-Russia scandal, many Republicans have begun turning their fire, not on the White House or its benefactors in Putin’s government, but on the official overseeing the investigation. GOP members of the House Judiciary Committee, for example, appeared desperate last week to tear Mueller down. Several congressional Republicans have also called for Mueller’s resignation. Conservative media, meanwhile, has become almost hysterical in targeting the special counsel, eager to discredit the entire probe. Clearly, Mueller’s investigation is causing some of Donald Trump’s allies to panic, and their fears are well grounded. It’s hardly unreasonable to think the Russia scandal poses an existential threat to this presidency – a threat made more potent following the arrests of Trump’s former national security advisor, campaign chairman, and others. The Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne today touched on a question that too often goes unasked. Because we are inured to extreme partisanship and to the political right’s habit of rejecting inconvenient facts, we risk overlooking the profound political crisis that a Trumpified Republican Party could create. And the conflagration may come sooner rather than later, as Mueller zeroes in on Trump and his inner circle. Only recently, it was widely assumed that if Trump fired Mueller, many Republicans would rise up to defend our institutions. Now, many in the party are laying the groundwork for justifying a coverup. This is a recipe for lawlessness. There was a point earlier this year in which Mueller, a Republican and a former FBI director, received bipartisan praise. With him at the helm, the political establishment declared in unison, there was reason to feel confidence in the integrity of the investigation. But as the threats to Trump’s presidency have grown more serious, so too has the GOP’s willingness to attack Mueller. Trump’s conservative media allies have begun practically begging the president to fire the special counsel before Mueller brings down the White House. So what happens if he does? Trump, by his own admission, already fired a sitting FBI director in order to help derail the investigation into the Russia scandal. At the urging of his far-right allies, the president may very well consider doing the same thing with Mueller in order to, as Trump put it to Russian officials, relieve the “pressure” of the scandal. Greg Sargent had a good piece on this last week, explaining that every congressional Republican should go on the record responding to a straightforward question: “If President Trump tries to remove special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, would you view that as an impeachable offense?” There’s nothing rhetorical about this. The White House hasn’t hinted that Mueller’s ouster is on the table, but Trump has warned about various “red lines” that he expects the special counsel to honor. That was before congressional Republicans and the GOP’s media allies began characterizing Mueller as Public Enemy #1. When Nixon pulled his Saturday Night Massacre and fired the official overseeing the Watergate scandal, it was the beginning of the end of his presidency. It’s in the public’s interest to know whether Trump would seek a similar fate under similar circumstances, or whether Congress’ Republican majority would applaud the radical escalation. http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/unanswered-question-hangs-over-the-gops-anti-mueller-offensive
This big development in the Mueller probe could put Trump in danger On Jan. 24, President Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, lied to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador during the transition. On Jan. 26, the White House was informed that Flynn had misled top Trump officials about those contacts. On Feb. 13, Trump fired Flynn. One big question now is: Did any of Trump’s top officials — or Trump himself — direct Flynn to lie to the FBI about these contacts? This question appears to be of interest to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, according to new NBC News reporting out this morning. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/12/11/this-big-development-in-the-mueller-probe-could-put-trump-in-danger/?utm_term=.00a50087a502
It’s time to ask every Republican this question about Trump and Mueller December 4, 2017 In coming days and weeks, we should all do whatever we can to ensure that every Republican member of Congress, in town hall meetings, via social media and during scrums with reporters, is asked the following question: If President Trump tries to remove special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, would you view that as an impeachable offense? [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/12/04/its-time-to-ask-every-republican-this-question-about-trump-and-mueller/
This Judge Isn’t Buying The Trump Admin’s Excuses For Holding A U.S. Citizen ‘Incommunicado’ - tie Boumediene v. Bush ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boumediene_v._Bush ) - http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=27079885 , http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=38648917 , http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=41287309 , http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=41426327 , etc. “What the government is suggesting is an end run around the right to habeas,” said U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. WASHINGTON - A federal judge on Monday aggressively questioned a Justice Department attorney about the Trump administration’s contention that it can continue holding an unnamed U.S. citizen - who has asked for an attorney - out of the reach of lawyers who wish to represent him. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said she was “not sure” it was “conscionable” that she could allow the U.S. government to continue holding the American, who was taken into custody in Iraq three months ago, without giving him the ability to challenge his prolonged detention as unlawful, through what’s known as a habeas corpus petition. “What the government is suggesting is an end run around the right to habeas,” Chutkan said. “He wants counsel, which is an assertion and request that I don’t think I can ignore.” The American Civil Liberties Union had filed a habeas corpus petition on behalf of the unnamed American, an alleged fighter for the Islamic State militant group. Chutkan, an Obama appointee, indicated on Monday that she’d made her ruling in the case “as quickly” as possible. Justice Department attorney Kathryn Wyer, representing the Trump administration, argued that the government was trying to resolve the situation quickly. Wyer said the American “didn’t give any indication of urgency” to the FBI when they met with him and when he requested a lawyer. Wyer suggested the unlikely possibility that the American might know the details of a legal battle involving the habeas rights of prior Guantanamo detainees, or that he knows the difference between habeas corpus and his Miranda rights - a distinction most people are unfamiliar with. She suggested it was possible that the American only wanted a lawyer for questioning, not to assert his habeas corpus rights. Chutkan didn’t seem to buy that. “He says he wants counsel - isn’t that enough?” she asked. How on earth, the judge said, would this person be able to exercise their habeas corpus rights if they’re effectively being held incommunicado? “Under those circumstances, the right to habeas is meaningless,” Chutkan said. Wyer argued that standing was still an issue, and that the ACLU was a “third-party stranger” to the case. But Chutkan said the ACLU isn’t just some person off the street - it’s a group with “extensive experience” with these types of cases. Jonathan Hafetz, the ACLU lawyer, said he was “flabbergasted” by the government’s arguments, and said the government was asking for a “blank check” to hold U.S. citizens overseas for indefinite periods of time, even when they’d requested a lawyer. Chutkan shook her head in agreement several times during Hafetz’s presentation, and had no questions for him. She didn’t explicitly say how she’d rule, but left little doubt that she’d come down against the government. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/american-isis-aclu-case_us_5a2eb5d8e4b0c780113741ef
After years of Comey, with the phony and dishonest Clinton investigation (and more), running the FBI, its reputation is in Tatters - worst in History! But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness. 3 Dec 2017 https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/937305615218696193
“It’s a Pathetic Excuse for a Study”: Larry Summers Takes a Swipe at Steve Mnuchin’s Treasury Manhood In lieu of detailed analysis, the Treasury secretary has put out a one-page report saying the G.O.P. tax plan pays for itself (asterisk, asterisk, asterisk). https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/12/larry-summers-steve-mnuchin-tax-plan-analysis
EU finance ministers warn US administration over tax bill EU finance ministers have issued a warning to Donald Trump’s administration over its planned tax reform, saying it would “be at odds” with free-trade international rules because it risked being discriminatory towards foreign companies. In a letter to the US treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, the finance ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK said some of the bill’s measures would “contravene” the rules of the World Trade Organisation’s principles as well as double taxation resolutions. Some measures “may risk having a major distortive impact on international trade,” the letter read. Notably, the ministers say that the 20 per cent “excise tax” on transactions, including a US company’s imports of products from its own foreign factory, would impact “genuine commercial arrangements” and could “discriminate in a manner that would be at odds with international rules” of the World Trade Organisation, the ministers wrote. This tax would also be “inconsistent with existing double taxation agreements” because it would impose a tax on the profits of a non-US resident company that does not have a US permanent establishment, they added. Another provision in the bill, intended to limit the US tax base erosion, would hurt international banks and insurers doing business in the US because cross-border intra-group financial transactions would be treated as non-deductible and subject to a 10 per cent tax, the EU ministers wrote. https://www.ft.com/content/96f4dbda-ac34-3ef6-8627-f064563df310
Steve Mnuchin Pulls a Paul Ryan By Paul Krugman On Monday the Treasury Department released a one-page report claiming that tax cuts would pay for themselves. The document was a shameless attempt to fool the public — carefully worded to imply that economic experts at Treasury (they’re still in there somewhere, maybe locked in a closet) had actually done an analysis to that effect, without explicitly saying so. In fact, there was no economic analysis; Trump officials just made up numbers that would give them the result they wanted. Even reporters hardened to Trump administration lies seemed shocked by the brazenness of this bait-and-switch. What made Steve Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, think he could get away with it? Well, one answer is that similar scams on the part of congressional Republicans, Paul Ryan in particular, have generally received highly respectful treatment from the news media. Why shouldn’t Mnuchin imagine he can pull off the same trick? Actually, he probably can’t. But the truth is that on economic policy, as in other areas, the Trump administration isn’t much of a departure from recent Republican norms. There’s a fundamental continuity in the con jobs: Mnuchin is basically trying to do a Paul Ryan; he just lacks the acting skills to pull it off. [...] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/11/opinion/mnuchin-paul-ryan-taxes.html
World's space agencies propose setting up climate observatory The countries that adopted the declaration initiated by France were China, Japan, India, Europe, Britain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Romania, Israel, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates. https://phys.org/news/2017-12-world-space-agencies-climate-observatory.html
Huntington’s breakthrough may stop disease The defect that causes the neurodegenerative disease Huntington's has been corrected in patients for the first time, the BBC has learned. http://www.bbc.com/news/health-42308341