Trump: "Nobody is tougher on China than me"

Now we know what he meant

Congratulations DUers. You saw some history today

And it wasn't bad history, for once.

In one day the political landscape changed a little bit cause one low level staffer with a lot of access from Trump White House finally stood up, found her voice, and told the truth that a bunch of powerful corrupt men have been scrambling to hide for the last 18 months.

This is what they mean by the long, slowly bending moral arc of the universe. It doesn't bend on its own--people have to show up, keep the faith, and keep pushing for a better world. But today, you saw the truth take a little step into the light where we can all appreciate it.

The best way to honor the rare privilege of having witnessed a good day in history, a good day in a sea of bad news days in the encroaching right wing sociopathic efforts of a neo-fascist elite... the best way to honor this little ray of sunlight is to get motivated and go out and fight like hell for the next 4½ months. Donate, volunteer, and fight fight fight.

90% of the pro-Trump GOP gives me the abused spouse vibe

They protect Trump and go along with his abusive, dish-throwing, driver's wheel-grabbing, tantrum-throwing insanity because they feel trapped in a partnership with him. Anyone who dares to cross him gets on his shit list, and they stay sobbing in the corner, quivering in his shadow, until he's finally too old and feeble to hurt them anymore.

These hearings won't help Republicans get past their psychological dependence on the rage-oholic abuser daddy. It'll just give them a brief pause before they transfer their pathetic codependence over to DeSantis, who's also a bullying monster. That's just the type they go for.

Five types of gun laws the Founding Fathers loved (They came for our guns!)

#1: Registration
Today American gun rights advocates typically oppose any form of registration – even though such schemes are common in every other industrial democracy – and typically argue that registration violates the Second Amendment. This claim is also hard to square with the history of the nation’s founding. All of the colonies – apart from Quaker-dominated Pennsylvania, the one colony in which religious pacifists blocked the creation of a militia – enrolled local citizens, white men between the ages of 16-60 in state-regulated militias. The colonies and then the newly independent states kept track of these privately owned weapons required for militia service. Men could be fined if they reported to a muster without a well-maintained weapon in working condition.

#2: Public carry
The modern gun rights movement has aggressively pursued the goal of expanding the right to carry firearms in public.

The American colonies inherited a variety of restrictions that evolved under English Common Law. In 18th-century England, armed travel was limited to a few well-defined occasions such as assisting justices of the peace and constables. Members of the upper classes also had a limited exception to travel with arms. Concealable weapons such as handguns were subject to even more stringent restrictions. The city of London banned public carry of these weapons entirely.

The American Revolution did not sweep away English common law. In fact, most colonies adopted common law as it had been interpreted in the colonies prior to independence, including the ban on traveling armed in populated areas. Thus, there was no general right of armed travel when the Second Amendment was adopted, and certainly no right to travel with concealed weapons. Such a right first emerged in the United States in the slave South decades after the Second Amendment was adopted. The market revolution of the early 19th century made cheap and reliable hand guns readily available. Southern murder rates soared as a result.

In other parts of the nation, the traditional English restrictions on traveling armed persisted with one important change. American law recognized an exception to this prohibition for individuals who had a good cause to fear an imminent threat. Nonetheless, by the end of the century, prohibiting public carry was the legal norm, not the exception....

At last, the state of Georgia has come through for Trump

At last, the state of Georgia has come through for Trump

So, who is Ron Johnson aide Sean Riley?

Before Ron Johnson hangs Sean Riley out to dry, I'd like to know who this clown is.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5020677/jan-6-cmte-wisconsin-senator-ron-johnson-sought-hand-alternate-slate-electors-vp-pence

fake electors => fake electors' notary public => fake electors' courier => someone in Johnson's office => possibly Ron Johnson => someone else in Johnson's office and who knew how to route this fake elector documentation => Sean Riley

https://mobile.twitter.com/igorbobic/status/1539310584012984321

The actual criminal charges

From the Just Security blog, these are the likely criminal charges against the Trump conspirators:

Federal

18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2) – Obstruction of congressional proceedings

Whoever corruptly . . . obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

18 U.S.C. § 371 – Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States

If two or more persons conspire . . . to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

18 U.S.C. § 494 – Contractors’ bonds, bids, and public records

Whoever falsely makes, alters, forges, or counterfeits any bond, bid, proposal, contract, guarantee, security, official bond, public record, affidavit, or other writing for the purpose of defrauding the United States; or . . .Whoever transmits to, or presents at any office or to any officer of the United States, any such false, forged, altered, or counterfeited writing, knowing the same to be false, forged, altered, or counterfeited —Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

52 U.S.C. § 20511(2)(b)

A person, including an election official, who in any election for Federal office – knowingly and willfully deprives, defrauds, or attempts to deprive or defraud the residents of a State of a fair impartially conducted election process, by the procurement, casting, or tabulation of ballots that are known by the person to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent under the laws of the State in which the election is held, shall be fined in accordance with title 18.

18 U.S.C. § 1001 – Statements or entries generally

Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully—

(1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact;

(2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or

(3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry; …
shall be fined under this title.

I like how Congresspeople are lining up to honor Shae Moss & Lady Ruby

She represents everyone who works to protect our democracy

We all owe her

Missouri Senate candidate, a disgraced ex-Gov'r, promotes RINO hunting permits

Eric Greitens, the disgraced former governor of Missouri seeking political redemption in a MAGA-fied U.S. Senate bid, released a campaign ad Monday advertising a “hunting permit” for his political opponents — so-called “RINOs,” or “Republicans in Name Only.”

“I’m Eric Greitens, Navy SEAL, and today we’re going RINO hunting,” Greitens says in the ad — though he’s not actually a SEAL anymore.

The ad then pans to Greitens joining several men with military fatigues on the front porch of a house. One of them uses a battering ram to knock down the door, followed by the deployment of a flash-bang grenade.

{...snip...}

Greitens resigned the governorship in 2018 amid allegations that at various times he bound, photographed, sexually assaulted and blackmailed a woman. Greitens acknowledged having an extra-marital affair but denied the allegations of assault and blackmail.

No charges were filed in the case, but a Republican-led committee in the Missouri house found evidence that Greitens engaged in “multiple acts constituting crimes, misconduct, and acts of moral turpitude,” both in the alleged sexual assault case, and in another scandal involving a Greitens fundraising effort.