Here’s the latest news out of Pennsylvania: The TV ad is no-holds-barred. It bluntly attacks a decision of the Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania Supreme Court. And on Saturday, the state Bar Association said the spot went too far. The ad says the Democratic contender, Superior Court Judge Maria McLaughlin, “chose...
Courts
CNN’s David Gergen: The Only Thing That Can Stop Donald Trump From Running in 2024 is a Prison Sentence From the Insurrection, we know that conspiring to commit felonies is also a felony. We know with greater certainty that Trump knew what was going to happen, despite Pence’s resistance and...
“Today's sentencing of human rights lawyer Steven Donziger should be front-page news ringing alarm bells anywhere people are concerned about democracy, abuses of corporate power, and the rule of law. The real crime here is the death and disease resulting from Chevron's poisoning of the drinking water of thousands of Indigenous...
Florida bans its schools from teaching critical race theory On Thursday, Florida’s State Board of Education unanimously voted in favor of an amendment banning the teaching of critical race theory in schools throughout the state. The theory, according to PolitiFact, is a collection of ideas about systemic bias and privilege...
Once Senator Mitch McConnell staked out the politically uncompromising GOP opposition to ‘everything’ Democrats proffered, during the Obama administration, the redline was drawn. Slowly but surely, the so-called moderate Republicans like; Susan Collins, Rob Portman, and John Thune have repeatedly torn their knickers on the fence. Collins, for example, agreed...
Meandering nonsense highlighted by searches for bamboo fibers, and official lies issued from Mar-a Lago, are exactly what Donald Trump expected to be doing in 2016. The 2020 election with Joe Biden as his opponent was what he expected the first time around with Hillary Clinton; a loss. I am...
Here’s the latest news today out of Pennsylvania: Lou Barletta, the Republican Party’s Donald Trump-endorsed nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018, is running for governor of Pennsylvania. Barletta, 65, becomes the most prominent figure to enter a 2022 governor’s race that Republicans have won every time in the past half-century...
It does seem clear that in the name of “bipartisanship, there may be pro-Trumpists chosen who will attempt to sabotage such a commission, because some will accept the same false premises manufactured in both Trump impeachments. Perhaps the most important thing is that it focuses the scope of the commission on “the...
Fear of a Red Hat: as much as Liz Cheney is toast, more troubling is Elise Stefanik’s Führereid, because Trump is too stupid to see that he’s blazing an even tighter path to obscurity. As Greg Sargent observes, there is an increased likelihood of another attempt at stealing an election, further...
Previous guy added a page to his website, one which mimics Twitter and Facebook in its appearance, because the grift needs to be fed. In a related story, Bloomberg reports that demand for butt implants rose during the pandemic. “Knowingly repeating a lie — an act of immorality — is...
The Facebook Oversight Board sustained the ban on Trump — for now. Previous guy added a page to his website, one which mimics Twitter and Facebook in its appearance, because the grift needs to be fed. In a related story, Bloomberg reports that demand for butt implants rose during the pandemic....
Francisco Franco is still in Madrid waiting for his COVID shot, but previous guy seems full of the usual disinformation. He’s drawing attention away from his failure in Georgia and trying the same scam in Arizona, only this time, it’s “a group of conspiracy theorists running a sham audit.” Apparently election audits can be...
Previous guy colluded with Russia, led a Capitol insurrection, and is not rotting in a prison cell. But if it happens, could there be enough secessionist nut-logs ready and willing to bust him out. “I think this blending of the far-right militia movement with overt secessionism is something I think we’re...
Two stories posted on Political Wire near each other (probably deliberately) caught my attention. First: Republicans pray for truce after Trump attacks on McConnell (Politico) Though the Senate GOP is tantalizingly close to retaking the majority next year and largely united in opposition to President Joe Biden’s agenda, the ongoing...
Can’t wait to see this asshole go: 📹On @FOX43, Sen. Toomey says he wants PA to adopt Georgia's new election laws. I ask what he says to BPOC who say those policies make it harder to vote? He said it's a "ridiculous argument." "Are we really supposed to believe African...
The New York Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday that former The Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos can proceed with her defamation lawsuit against our pustulant ex-POTUS. It’s not a comeuppance yet, but sometimes justice comes in dribs and drabs—like makeup slowly cascading off an ex-pr*sident’s blotchy horror-show of a face, transforming...
Lost relevance continues with more of the same Trump delusions up-chucking soon, signaled by the latest Big Lie interview with Fox News, likely leading to more revisionism. Unfortunately Trump’s memoirs would be regurgitating the propaganda with little insight or reflection. His Secret Service detail would be useful witnesses as a 1/6...
Likely the RWNJ social media site Gab was constantly under FBI surveillance even before 6 January, but for some reason it wishes to make itself more well noticed. The “free speech” social media siteGab …has earned a reputation in recent years for attracting members of the far-right and has been linked to the...
Because not wanting to be accountable for perhaps something more felonious like manslaughter is so on brand for Republicans. The detectives confront him with what they know, starting around 1:10 and building through 1:15 https://t.co/JSVjUYabLB — Helen Kennedy 🌻 (@HelenKennedy) February 24, 2021 This video clip of the SD AG...
A legal Bassmaster always wins the fishing expedition, even with all those witches and their lures. Tax and accounting records will go to the Manhattan DA. Trump called the action fascism, making his declaration with some measure of experience. Supreme Court rejects Trump’s effort to shield tax records from New York prosecutor. On...
Texas really is full of dumb GOP fuckers: x NEW: Texas AG Ken Paxton left the state during the deadly power outages last week to meet with his counterpart in Utah. Paxton's spox did not answer Qs about when he left or returned and why the trip was not postponed....
If you’re a Republican and you don’t at least try to pretend the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, you’re likely to be castigated—and maybe even censured—by a phalanx of zombie dead-enders in your own party. It’s a problem for Republicans who know better—and I can only assume Donald...
The New York Times shed some light on this on Monday: G.O.P. legislators, dozens of whom supported overturning the state’s election results to aid former President Donald J. Trump, are moving to change the entire way that judges are selected in Pennsylvania, in a gambit that could tip the scales...
Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) was one of only five Republican senators to vote to table Rand Paul’s motion to dismiss the impeachment trial of Trump as unconstitutional. He also insists he is keeping an open mind on whether or not to convict him: Ben Sasse, Nebraska’s outspoken congressional critic of...
Received this e-mail today from the Pennsylvania Democratic Party: Pennsylvania Supreme Court candidate, Superior Court Justice Maria McLaughlin (D. PA) Pennsylvania's Vote By Mail request form is now available for the 2021 elections! With key local offices on the ballot, Democrats need to vote with the same great fervor as...
I’m liking this: U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) said Native Americans played a significant role in the recent election, including his win in Arizona. Now that he is elected, Kelly said he will continue to work with tribes to address problems with the pandemic, which remains, by far, a top...
Newsmax is a “news” outfit so far right it makes Fox looks reasonable. Or at least scared that they’ll lose audience share. Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO, is so far up the conspiracy theory colon that he is turning into a tapeworm. You’d think they would be perfect for each...
Received this e-mail today from U.S. Senator Ron Wyden’s (D. OR) re-election campaign: The lies and violence of the last few months have made it clear: If we're going to carry forward as a democracy, we need to protect the integrity of every vote. That starts with secure, reliable election processes....
Received this e-mail today from Lt. Governor John Fetterman’s (D. PA) potential U.S. Senate campaign: All work has dignity. All paychecks must, too. That’s why, as a U.S. Senator, I’d fight to raise the national minimum wage to at least $15 an hour. The minimum wage wage in Pennsylvania hasn’t...
It really has little to do with most legislation. Hell, he might not even whip his caucus on a lot of what Biden wants to do. Although he might want to filibuster on raising taxes. What Mitch really cares about, what he views as his legacy, is his packing of...
From the Human Rights Campaign, “Biden’s Executive Order is the most substantive, wide-ranging executive order concerning sexual orientation and gender identity ever issued by a United States president. Today, millions of Americans can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that their President and their government believe discrimination based on sexual...
The national madness of 74 million people sent to the fainting couch by voting for a persistent complainer and his tweeted grievances, often as impure as their iteration. Courtesy must end if only because Trump ignored his intel briefings while in office. His only reason to want them would be...
Received this e-mail today from the organization Common Cause Pennsylvania: I’m going to be honest with you — I’m deeply concerned. The Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee just voted House Bill 38 (HB 38) out of committee by a slim margin, attempting to clear the way for the legislature to engage...
Received this e-mail today from the Pennsylvania Democratic Party: State Senator Jim Brewster (D. PA) Jake Corman—the top Republican in Harrisburg and the man trying to overturn a state senate election—keeps trying to explain away his anti-democratic decision not to seat Senator Jim Brewster. On Friday, Corman posted to Twitter...
What is your f’ing problem? Republican senators say they feel a sense of growing regret over not standing up to President Trump sooner — a day after a violent mob ransacked the Capitol building in one of the darkest and most humiliating days in U.S. history. One Republican senator who requested anonymity...
Schaden-Friday is a bit lower-key this week, thanks to our being collectively terrorized by the Ocher Uprising. But that doesn’t mean it’s canceled. Schaden-Friday is never canceled. And this week we have a doozy. Trump supporters shouting at Lindsey Graham after he failed to pull another Trump term out of...
A brief note on a diary that I wrote yesterday arguing that Democrats should embrace the fact that many Trump election lawsuits were dismissed for lack of “legal standing”: Democrats should embrace the “standing” dismissals because what the courts, vitally, are saying is that you Republican plaintiffs don’t matter. You are...
Pardon the quick post, but it’s 2am here and I have a few thoughts I need to get down before I try to sleep—which I won’t. Kelly Loeffler has never won an election, and last night was no different. Raphael Warnock won. Big. Right now he’s over 40 thousand votes....
Many of the election lawsuit challenges brought by Trump and his allies have been dismissed under a somewhat obscure to the public, but fundamental in the law, doctrine known as “standing.” I would need a lot of space to fully describe the standing doctrine, but at core what it is requires is...
The inner parts of the machines replaced with other farts… We are now left with fart jokes as punctuating the revelations of Trumps attempt to extort votes in Georgia, designed more like a way to GOTV for the GOP tomorrow… Trump lights a match with gasoline everywhere. This isn’t the first...
The focus here this weekend has been on the seditious actions being taken by at least a dozen Republican senators in spite of Moscow Mitch’s begging them not to challenge the purely ceremonial counting the electoral college votes. But in fairness we have to acknowledge that some GOP senators have...
Moscow Mitch is losing control of his caucus, GOP Senators have long ago lost all respect for democracy, and the country is losing its mind watching all of it. Multiple senators oppose certifying election results A growing number of Republican senators — led by Ted Cruz — announced today they...
Trump’s up late again, fantasizing things about Georgia’s Secretary of State. Trump is obviously unhappy with Brad R. x The person, Ron Raffensperger, exists. But he is not Brad's brother. James O'Keefe is not my brother, either. See how that works?— Brendan Keefe (@BrendanKeefe) December 30, 2020 x https://t.co/UQEiQ3xIIO —...
The neoliberals’ “free market” is not going to sequester enough carbon to save the environment. Even Warren Buffett isn’t willing to take a bet on surviving an impending climate crisis catastrophe, because “the rents are too high”. Existential threats have a critical reality, about which ruthless criticism is entailed. Even...
Pursed lips moving, Trump lies, repeating the same falsehoods. Fortunately his debunked claims have revealed flaws in the GOP’s historically bogus voter suppression arguments. x Remember: when Trump uses the phrase “got caught,” it's a telltale sign that he's lying, comparable to tales of burly men crying with gratitude around...
Trump just got some more coal in his Christmas stocking, delivered by a judge he appointed to the 7th Circuit. Trump campaign suffers another legal setback in Wisconsin case President Donald Trump’s ineffectual bid to persuade the courts to overturn his defeat at the polls last month suffered another defeat...