Archives for July 2019

For Republicans, It’s “Just Win, Baby!”

July 27, 2019 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

It’s no secret Republicans play dirty when it comes to elections. They’re smart enough to know it’s the only way they can win and hold on to the power they so desperately crave.

Literally within hours of the Supreme Court striking down key provisions of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act, several Republican-controlled states passed voter suppression laws. As soon as Republicans got the chance to do so, they gerrymandered districts guaranteeing minority votes (which tend to tilt Democratic) would be diluted.

And now, just a few days after Robert Mueller testified Russians manipulated our 2016 elections and “they’re doing it as I sit here … and they expect to do it during the next campaign,” Mitch McConnell blocks election security bills from coming to a vote.

McConnell’s reasoning didn’t even try to hide his corrupt motive. Said McConnell, Democrats are trying to give themselves a “political benefit.”

Wow, now securing open and fair elections, free of foreign interference, is a partisan issue?

But the old “Grim Reaper” is absolutely right … secure and open elections would elect more Democrats.

House Democrats need to start formal impeachment hearings without delay! No, not against Trump (although that is also necessary) but against the openly traitorous, democracy-hating leader of the Senate, “Moscow Mitch.”

Photo | Eric Thayer/ Reuters

DOJ Clamps Down On Mueller Prior To Congressional Testimony

July 22, 2019 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

Just two days before his much anticipated appearance before two congressional committees, the Department of Justice has sent Robert Mueller a letter warning him to be careful about what he says in public.

“Any testimony must remain within the boundaries of your public report because matters within the scope of your investigation were covered by executive privilege, including information protected by law enforcement, deliberative process, attorney work product, and presidential communications privileges,” wrote Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer.

Mueller was reminded by Weinsheimer that DOJ policy prevents him from commenting on the legal conclusions his office made “with respect to uncharged individuals, other than information contained within the portions of your report that already have been made public.” Weinsheimer also said Mueller should not testify about portions of the public report that have been redacted or about uncharged third parties.

It’s unlikely Mueller will go outside the four corners of his report in any event, with or without the DOJ’s last minute admonition. He specifically said he would do so in his brief press conference in May.

Democrats on the House committees are hoping Mueller will be more forthcoming than he has stated he would be. But the straight-laced Mueller, who is only testifying because he was subpoenaed to do so, will most likely disappoint those Democrats holding out hope he will go rogue.

About the only suspense on Wednesday will be which Trump congressional lapdog will make the biggest fool of himself trying to discredit the former Eagle Scout and ex-Marine.

The bottom line is even if Mueller only reads from his 448-page report, the damage to Donald Trump could be significant as the American public will hear, many for the first time, the true, unvarnished-by-Barr version of his investigative findings.

Photo | nbcnews.com

Could You Be A Racist? Take This Simple Test To Find Out

July 18, 2019 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

With all the talk recently about who is or who isn’t a racist, here is a simple test you can take to answer the question, “Am I a racist?”

If you’ve ever uttered any of the following “I’m-not-a-bigot” disclaimers, chances are you may be a racist:

“I don’t have a racist bone in my body.”
“I have a great relationship with the blacks.”
“I’m the least racist person anybody is going to meet.”
“The Hispanics love me.”
“I’ve never used racist remarks.”

Now, if you’ve used all of the above phrases, as has Donald Trump, then you are an unequivocal, indisputable, undeniable, flat-out, card-carrying racist.

Photo | Tim Savage/ pexels.com

Trump’s Racism Knows No Bounds

July 15, 2019 By John DeProspo 6 Comments

Just when you allow yourself the luxury of thinking he cannot possibly sink any lower in his disgusting, despicable and vile racist remarks, BINGO! Trump outdoes himself.

There is no longer getting around this simple fact; there is no way of sugarcoating it … we have a proud, openly racist bigot in the White House.

The latest bile to spew from the mouth of our “so-called” president involves his recent remarks about certain progressive House Democrats. He claimed they “originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe” and “the worst, more corrupt and inept anywhere in the world.” He suggested they” go back” to their countries “to fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”

Of course Trump was referring to recently elected Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. Four strong women; all women of color.

Whether Trump truly believes his revolting rhetoric or is simply catering to that hateful sector of the electorate that helped him get into the White House, and that just loves this kind of garbage, is irrelevant.

Let’s not forget some of the other repugnant stuff Trump unleashed before this latest display of bigotry.

Trump began his “political” career by questioning President Obama’s birthplace. Candidate Trump called undocumented Mexican immigrants “rapists” and criminals. He disparaged immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as coming from “shithole countries.” He accused a judge of Mexican heritage incapable of ruling fairly in a civil fraud case against one of his companies. He once said immigrants from Haiti all “have AIDS” and that Nigerian immigrants would never “go back to their huts.”

In the 1970s, Trump’s real estate company was sued for housing discrimination. During the same decade, he placed a full-page ad in the New York Times calling for the execution of five black teenagers. Even after they were fully exonerated, he refused to back down.

During the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally, when an innocent woman was mowed down by a car driven by a white supremacist, Trump did not condemn the neo-Nazis, instead saying there were “some very fine people” on “both sides.”

Of course it escapes Trump’s bantam brain (he has no sense of irony) that his comments about the four freshmen Democrats (three of whom were born in the United States and the other a naturalized U.S. citizen) are spot on.

Those women do come from a country whose government is a “complete and total catastrophe” and “the worst, more corrupt and inept anywhere in the world.”

Photo | seattletimes.com

Republican Winning Strategy For 2020? Wipeout Healthcare for Millions of Americans!

July 11, 2019 By John DeProspo 4 Comments

It appears what Republicans could not do through the legislative process, they may pull off through the courts.

What initially seemed like a sure loser-of-a-lawsuit for Republicans, even to many conservatives, may be headed towards ultimate victory.

The 2018 lawsuit, brought by 20 Republican state attorneys general against the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or what we commonly refer to as Obamacare, was a winner at the trial stage when Texas District Judge Reed O’Connor ruled the law unconstitutional this past December.

And now, the 5^thCircuit Court of Appeals appears likely to do the same.

Of course, no matter the appeals court’s ruling, the Supreme Court will make the final decision. But can one really count on Chief Justice John Roberts rescuing Obamacare … again?

If you remember, Roberts came up with a pretty nifty rationale for finding in favor of the healthcare law in 2012. Roberts upheld the law (specifically the individual mandate penalty) as an exercise of Congress’s taxing power– even though President Obama famously claimed the law was not a tax!

Then in 2017, Republicans in Congress repealed the individual mandate, which required a penalty (tax) be paid by nearly every American who did not have health insurance.

With the mandate gone, might Roberts just go along with the lower courts’ reasoning that once Congress repealed the tax penalty that enforced the mandate, the whole law became invalid?

Let’s remember, the Democrats’ huge victory in the 2018 midterm elections revolved mostly around promising to protect people’s healthcare!

If Republicans get their way and the courts strike down the ACA, along with all its popular provisions, it won’t be very pretty for them in 2020. It makes one wonder what those Republican attorneys pushing this litigation are smoking! Secretly, many Republican lawmakers are hoping Roberts saves their skins by saving the ACA.

Yes, eliminating healthcare for an estimated 21 million Americans and doing away with pre-existing conditions coverage for nearly 133 million citizens is a great election strategy … if you want to lose!

Now if only Republicans had a plan to replace Obamacare with what Trump promised, time and again, would be something “much better” and “much less expensive” for “everyone” (Bernie Sanders – Gee, sounds like Medicare for all!).

Photo | HuffPost.com

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Barr Changes Tune On Mueller Testimony

July 9, 2019 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

You saw it coming, right?

A little over one month ago, AG William Barr made it appear he had no problem with Special Counsel Robert Mueller testifying before Congress. This was at a time when Mueller had not yet been subpoenaed to appear before both the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees.

“It’s Bob’s call whether he wants to testify,” said Barr during a Wall Street Journal interview.

Yesterday, Barr pulled a “Trump,” saying one thing when it is convenient to sound reasonable (i.e. Trump promising to release his tax returns) and then making a complete one-eighty when the moment of truth arrives.

While he did not come right out and say Mueller should not testify, the Attorney General of the United States, told the Associated Press yesterday, he doesn’t believe Robert Mueller should have to “subject himself” to testifying before Congress about the Russia investigation.

“I’m not sure what purpose is served by dragging him up there and trying to grill him,” Barr said. “I don’t think Mueller should be treated that way or subject himself to that, if he doesn’t want to.”

One representative, Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence committee, was not surprised by Barr’s shocking remarks..

“Barr misled the public about Mueller’s report, and wants his own deception to stand,” Schiff tweeted. “The public has a right to hear the truth, from Mueller himself, about Trump’s misconduct and ongoing national security risks.”

Think about this for one moment. The top law enforcement official in the United States is encouraging a fellow lawyer, another officer of the court, to disregard a congressional subpoena!

What needs to happen (but won’t) is for the appropriate bar association(s) to immediately open an investigation into Barr’s unprofessional and unethical conduct with a view towards disbarment.

As of now, it appears Mueller, the reluctant witness, will keep his July 17 date with Congress. But as I’ve stated before, I doubt his testimony will change much of anything. It certainly won’t light a fire under Nancy Pelosi to begin impeachment proceedings ASAP.

I pray I’m wrong.

Photo | cnbcfm.com

Will Mueller’s Testimony Change Anything? Probably Not

July 5, 2019 By John DeProspo 3 Comments

In less than two weeks, Robert Mueller will testify before Congress.

On July 17, the reluctant witness will answer questions, in open hearings in front of two Congressional committees, about his probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible obstruction of justice by Trump.

While many fans of karma, and the rule of law, are excited about Mueller possibly exposing Trump for the criminal that he is, it is more likely they will be sorely disappointed. But whatever Mueller’s testimony, it will probably not change the dynamics of impeachment. It is crystal clear by now that Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders in the House do not want to start impeachment proceedings against Trump.

Republicans on both the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees think Mueller’s appearance will be a disaster for him because they plan on exposing him as an incompetent, political hack. They, somehow, will try to get at the former Eagle Scout’s credibility.

Good luck with that!

No, Mueller’s testimony will be ineffective not because a few Republican attack dogs, while making fools of themselves, will show he is a flawed individual and that members of his staff were biased against Trump. Mueller will likely disappoint because he will simply stick to the facts we already know.

Mueller has stated he plans on confining his testimony to the “four corners of his report.”

So don’t expect the ex-Marine to answer some serious questions, such as: whether he or his team thought there was sufficient evidence to charge Trump with obstruction, were he not president.

But even if Mueller reveals some new information harmful to Trump, it is unlikely to be the game changer that will spark impeachment proceedings the next day, or week or month.

Nancy Pelosi wants Trump to be the Republican presidential candidate in 2020 no matter what we may learn from Mueller. In her perfect world, the Democratic candidate will trounce Trump at the polls and Democrats will flip the Senate.

Good luck with that!

The American people, Madam Speaker, need for you to do your job, Mueller or no Mueller! If you do not, you run the serious risk of demoralizing your base and helping Trump to a second term.

Photo | bostonherald.com

Trump To Unveil New “Commander in Chief” Uniform At July 4th Event

July 2, 2019 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

Article courtesy of guest contributor, T Francis Curran

Newly leaked emails suggest a team of European designers have been furiously working to create a new, glitzy “Commander in Chief” uniform for Donald Trump in time for his heralded July Fourth speech in Washington D.C..

Inside sources tell of a secret “Garment Room” deep within the bowels of the White House where a select staff, lead by “a close family member,” has been holding bi-weekly design reviews. Multiple runway iterations have been presented in closed-door sessions. We’ve been told both former NJ Governor Chris Christie and TV personality Rosanne Barr have been stand-ins for fittings while Trump has been away on official business, or golfing.

It appears that a pleated kilt, paying homage to Trump’s maternal heritage, has been mothballed while a toga-style drapery, reminiscent of Julius Ceaser, Nero and Kent Dorfman has been gaining support. This Romanesque gown featuring imported Egyptian cotton bed sheets would be accentuated with contrasting icons of a dove and a hawk sewn into each shoulder to emphasize Mr. Trump’s strength coupled with compassion.

Other unnamed sources have indicated that the president, ever passionate of his role as the leader of the military, desires a more traditional uniform. Design requirements may include a worthy shoulder insignia, along with a holstered sidearm (possibly a pearl-handled revolver). Due to the risk of reaggravating his Vietnam War era plantar fasciitis, Mr. Trump will arrive at the speech in a camouflage-patterned golf cart, emblazoned with “45” on either side and touting a forward-firing howitzer.

While it is almost certain Trump will “don” a military uniform on this Fourth of July, no one can say for sure what form it will take. Said a source, “Even Mr. Putin has no idea what it will look like.”

Photo | reddit.com/pbs.twimg.com

T Francis Curran lives in Westchester, NY