Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
LetMyPeopleVote
LetMyPeopleVote's Journal
LetMyPeopleVote's Journal
January 29, 2022
Paxton, state AGs sue Biden over policy that reunites Central American minors with family in U.S.
Paxton is objecting to reuniting separated families. This is truly sick and disgusting
https://twitter.com/bridget123goooo/status/1487190389819953155
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and seven other attorneys general on Friday sued the Biden administration over an Obama-era policy aimed at reuniting parents who are living legally in the United States with their children.
President Joe Biden last year resumed the immigration cases of some 3,000 children who had been approved to travel to the U.S. before their cases were suspended when former President Donald Trump ended the Central American Minors program in 2017.
The Biden administration later expanded the program in June, extending eligibility to legal guardians and those with pending asylum cases. The program — which applies to migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, the home countries of many asylum-seekers fleeing gang violence and poverty — was reopened to new applicants in September.
In a lawsuit filed in the Amarillo-based U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Paxton and the other attorneys general argued that Biden, a Democrat, lacks authority to institute the program without authorization from Congress.
President Joe Biden last year resumed the immigration cases of some 3,000 children who had been approved to travel to the U.S. before their cases were suspended when former President Donald Trump ended the Central American Minors program in 2017.
The Biden administration later expanded the program in June, extending eligibility to legal guardians and those with pending asylum cases. The program — which applies to migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, the home countries of many asylum-seekers fleeing gang violence and poverty — was reopened to new applicants in September.
In a lawsuit filed in the Amarillo-based U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Paxton and the other attorneys general argued that Biden, a Democrat, lacks authority to institute the program without authorization from Congress.
January 28, 2022
An Arizona bill would empower state legislators to reject election results
The GOP is the party of voter suppression and can only win by cheating
https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/1487107481440559105
Republican lawmakers in Arizona are pushing a raft of major changes to the state's voting laws, including a controversial bill that would empower legislators to reject election results.
The proposal, sponsored by more than a dozen Republican lawmakers, also seeks to overhaul several established election procedures in the battleground state. It would mandate, for instance, that election workers hand-count ballots instead of using electronic equipment to tabulate results.
The bill would "create a system where losers can set aside the will of the people," said Alex Gulotta, who runs the Arizona chapter of the voting rights group All Voting is Local. "This is an all-out assault on the freedom to vote."
The bill's lead sponsor, GOP Rep. John Fillmore, told CNN in a telephone interview that he's trying to "ensure the integrity of the voting process."
Under his proposal, lawmakers would meet to either "accept or reject election results" following primary and general elections. If legislators reject the results, any qualified voter "may file an action in the Superior Court to request that a new election be held," according to the bill.
The proposal, sponsored by more than a dozen Republican lawmakers, also seeks to overhaul several established election procedures in the battleground state. It would mandate, for instance, that election workers hand-count ballots instead of using electronic equipment to tabulate results.
The bill would "create a system where losers can set aside the will of the people," said Alex Gulotta, who runs the Arizona chapter of the voting rights group All Voting is Local. "This is an all-out assault on the freedom to vote."
The bill's lead sponsor, GOP Rep. John Fillmore, told CNN in a telephone interview that he's trying to "ensure the integrity of the voting process."
Under his proposal, lawmakers would meet to either "accept or reject election results" following primary and general elections. If legislators reject the results, any qualified voter "may file an action in the Superior Court to request that a new election be held," according to the bill.
January 28, 2022
January 6 committee subpoenas individuals tied to fake elector push
This is going to be fun to watch. These idiots will probably take the 5th since they broke the law in forging these document
https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/1487143475137191945
The January 6 Select Committee has issued subpoenas for 14 Republicans from seven states who served on bogus slates of Trump electors in 2020 as part of the Trump campaign's scheme to subvert the Electoral College.
The GOP leaders from the states served as "Chair" and "Secretary" on the slates of fake electors designed to be alternates should Republicans succeed in denying the certifications of the actual electoral votes that were won by Joe Biden.
The scheme didn't work, and then-Vice President Mike Pence certified the election results on January 6 when the congressional session reconvened after being interrupted by a mob of pro-Trump rioters.
"The Select Committee is seeking information about attempts in multiple states to overturn the results of the 2020 election, including the planning and coordination of efforts to send false slates of electors to the National Archives" said Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chairs the committee, of this batch of subpoenas. "We believe the individuals we have subpoenaed today have information about how these so-called alternate electors met and who was behind that scheme."
The GOP leaders from the states served as "Chair" and "Secretary" on the slates of fake electors designed to be alternates should Republicans succeed in denying the certifications of the actual electoral votes that were won by Joe Biden.
The scheme didn't work, and then-Vice President Mike Pence certified the election results on January 6 when the congressional session reconvened after being interrupted by a mob of pro-Trump rioters.
"The Select Committee is seeking information about attempts in multiple states to overturn the results of the 2020 election, including the planning and coordination of efforts to send false slates of electors to the National Archives" said Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chairs the committee, of this batch of subpoenas. "We believe the individuals we have subpoenaed today have information about how these so-called alternate electors met and who was behind that scheme."
January 28, 2022
DeSantis vows to fight FDA after COVID treatment s found to not fight Omicron
DeathSanthis' top donor is invested in one of the treatments that do no work against omicron and is upset that FDA stopped using an ineffective treatment
https://twitter.com/RawStory/status/1486043144600920067
Governor Ron DeSantis is promising to fight the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after it revoked its emergency authorization for a COVID treatment made by two drug manufacturers, including one which happens to be heavily invested in by the Florida Republican's billionaire top donor.
That donor is Citadel hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, who as of last summer had donated over $10 million to a DeSantis political action committee, the AP reports, and over $100 million to Republicans nationwide, according to Florida Politics.
"Citadel, a Chicago-based hedge fund, has $15.9 million in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceutical Inc., according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission," the August 2021 AP report reveals. "Citadel CEO Ken Griffin has donated $10.75 million to a political committee that supports DeSantis — $5.75 million in 2018 and $5 million last April."
The omicron variant accounts for more than 99 percent of new COVID cases in the U.S., and the current monoclonal antibody treatment drugs have been proven to not be effective against omicron, the FDA and at least one of the drug's manufacturers say.
That donor is Citadel hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, who as of last summer had donated over $10 million to a DeSantis political action committee, the AP reports, and over $100 million to Republicans nationwide, according to Florida Politics.
"Citadel, a Chicago-based hedge fund, has $15.9 million in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceutical Inc., according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission," the August 2021 AP report reveals. "Citadel CEO Ken Griffin has donated $10.75 million to a political committee that supports DeSantis — $5.75 million in 2018 and $5 million last April."
The omicron variant accounts for more than 99 percent of new COVID cases in the U.S., and the current monoclonal antibody treatment drugs have been proven to not be effective against omicron, the FDA and at least one of the drug's manufacturers say.
January 28, 2022
Huffines has a ton of signs out in my county. Signs do not vote but I saw a dozen Huffines signs today and did not see even one Abbott sign
DON HUFFINES STANDS BY STAFFER WITH WHITE NATIONALIST TIES
Don Huffines is one of the RWNJs running against Greg Abbott in the Texas GOP primary. Huffines and Allan West are RWNJs who are to right of Greg and Greg is trying to compete by doing nutty things like trying to build a wall and spending $2 billion to send the Texas National Guard to the border where they are doing nothing.
I do not see how Greg will out right wing nut job Huffines but this will be fun to watch. It is going to be tough to top Huffines defending having a known racist on his staff
https://twitter.com/TexasSignal/status/1486043704544702466
In his quest to primary Greg Abbott, former state senator Don Huffines has relied on an intensely right-wing agenda. His campaign frequently utilizes nativist and anti-immigrant talking points. And now, when a staffer has been alleged to have direct links to white nationalism, Huffines is not backing down.
The staffer is Jake Lloyd Colglazier, who formerly worked at the conspiracy website InfoWars, and is listed on numerous websites as the deputy communications director for Huffines. The think tank Political Research Associates has extensive documentation of Colglazier’s long history of trafficking in white nationalism in the America First and the “groyper army.” The “groyper army” refers to a group of white nationalist internet trolls that rally around the alt-right figure Nick Fuentes, who was recently subpoenaed by the January 6 committee investigating the Insurrection.
According to Political Research Associates, Colglazier used his platform as a groyper to broadcast his fears of a “demographic cliff” for white Americans. Several videos Colglazier uploaded to the streaming website DLive also show him mocking Black Americans killed by police. In one video he says, “I spit on the name George Floyd.”
When the Texas Tribune asked Huffines whether he would retain Colglazier, he sent a defiant written statement. “If I were to go through the social media history of any young Texan I would find something I disagree with,” Huffines wrote. “My campaign will not participate in cancel culture.”
The staffer is Jake Lloyd Colglazier, who formerly worked at the conspiracy website InfoWars, and is listed on numerous websites as the deputy communications director for Huffines. The think tank Political Research Associates has extensive documentation of Colglazier’s long history of trafficking in white nationalism in the America First and the “groyper army.” The “groyper army” refers to a group of white nationalist internet trolls that rally around the alt-right figure Nick Fuentes, who was recently subpoenaed by the January 6 committee investigating the Insurrection.
According to Political Research Associates, Colglazier used his platform as a groyper to broadcast his fears of a “demographic cliff” for white Americans. Several videos Colglazier uploaded to the streaming website DLive also show him mocking Black Americans killed by police. In one video he says, “I spit on the name George Floyd.”
When the Texas Tribune asked Huffines whether he would retain Colglazier, he sent a defiant written statement. “If I were to go through the social media history of any young Texan I would find something I disagree with,” Huffines wrote. “My campaign will not participate in cancel culture.”
Huffines has a ton of signs out in my county. Signs do not vote but I saw a dozen Huffines signs today and did not see even one Abbott sign
January 28, 2022
Supporters of the ERA push for publication despite lingering legal questions
https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/1486859106254270473Backers of the Equal Rights Amendment are pressuring the Biden administration and the US archivist to publish the amendment, arguing that the ERA should be taking effect on Thursday.
Believing that the ERA has satisfied all the necessary constitutional requirements, supporters are demanding that US Archivist David Ferriero, who's set to retire in April, publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution as part of his ministerial duties. Ferriero has not publicly indicated that he plans to publish the amendment, and the National Archives referred CNN to the Department of Justice for comment.
Two years ago Thursday, Virginia ratified the ERA, becoming the 38th state to do so and, in supporters' eyes, clinching the necessary benchmark for addition to the US Constitution nearly a half-century after the amendment began making its way through state legislatures. But the necessary threshold was not reached by a 1982 deadline and five of the states rescinded their support of the ERA, opening significant legal questions.
Supporters say the law is necessary to enshrine equal rights for women in the Constitution, though opponents argue many such protections are already in place across the nation and that publishing the ERA now would ignore prior federal court decisions.
Believing that the ERA has satisfied all the necessary constitutional requirements, supporters are demanding that US Archivist David Ferriero, who's set to retire in April, publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution as part of his ministerial duties. Ferriero has not publicly indicated that he plans to publish the amendment, and the National Archives referred CNN to the Department of Justice for comment.
Two years ago Thursday, Virginia ratified the ERA, becoming the 38th state to do so and, in supporters' eyes, clinching the necessary benchmark for addition to the US Constitution nearly a half-century after the amendment began making its way through state legislatures. But the necessary threshold was not reached by a 1982 deadline and five of the states rescinded their support of the ERA, opening significant legal questions.
Supporters say the law is necessary to enshrine equal rights for women in the Constitution, though opponents argue many such protections are already in place across the nation and that publishing the ERA now would ignore prior federal court decisions.
January 28, 2022
Melania Trump's auction items fail to bring desired price
The public did not support the grift by this grifter
https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/1486436046418194436
The lot of three items put up for auction earlier this month by former first lady Melania Trump failed to reach its desired monetary threshold of $250,000 for an opening bid.
When the auction for the three items -- a custom, wide-brimmed white hat worn by Trump during an official White House state visit, a watercolor of Trump wearing the hat and a non-fungible token (NFT) of the illustration with animation -- ended Wednesday night, there appeared to only have been five total bids on the auction items, each around the minimum requirement of 1,800 Solana tokens, the cryptocurrency selected by Trump as the only way for interested buyers to pay.
While the minimum requirement of Solana tickets was met, the $250,000 threshold wasn't met because over the last two weeks, almost the entirety of the auction, the crypto market has taken a massive dive, with values of various currencies falling 20, 30 or even 40%, as was the case with Solana (SOL.)
As a result of the lack of interest in Trump's items, an inflated opening bid amount and a plunging market, the "Head of State Collection" -- as Trump dubbed her lot -- appears to have sold for about $170,000, $80,000 below the anticipated opening bid. CNN reached out to Trump's spokesperson for comment on the auction.
When the auction for the three items -- a custom, wide-brimmed white hat worn by Trump during an official White House state visit, a watercolor of Trump wearing the hat and a non-fungible token (NFT) of the illustration with animation -- ended Wednesday night, there appeared to only have been five total bids on the auction items, each around the minimum requirement of 1,800 Solana tokens, the cryptocurrency selected by Trump as the only way for interested buyers to pay.
While the minimum requirement of Solana tickets was met, the $250,000 threshold wasn't met because over the last two weeks, almost the entirety of the auction, the crypto market has taken a massive dive, with values of various currencies falling 20, 30 or even 40%, as was the case with Solana (SOL.)
As a result of the lack of interest in Trump's items, an inflated opening bid amount and a plunging market, the "Head of State Collection" -- as Trump dubbed her lot -- appears to have sold for about $170,000, $80,000 below the anticipated opening bid. CNN reached out to Trump's spokesperson for comment on the auction.
January 27, 2022
This trial will be fun to watch.
Texas violated voting rights law during redistricting, retiring state GOP senator says
The Texas primary is going to be held on March 1 using the illegal and gerrymandered districts passed by the Texas legislature. There will be a hearing on Senate District 10 but the rest of the gerrymandered districts will be in place for the next two years.
The SCOTUS has gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act which required pre-clearance of districts. The SCOTUS held that partisan gerrymandering is okay and also partially gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by requiring proof of discrimination. There will be a trial in the fall and this statement will used to show intent to discriminate.
https://twitter.com/DemocracyDocket/status/1486720432220737540
EL PASO — In a sworn declaration submitted as part of an ongoing federal court challenge, a senior Republican state senator with redistricting experience said he believes his party violated federal voting laws when it drew new boundaries for state Senate District 10 in the Fort Worth area.
“Having participated in the 2011 and 2013 Senate Select Redistricting Committee proceedings, and having read the prior federal court decision regarding SD10, it was obvious to me that the renewed effort to dismantle SD 10 violated the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution,” state Sen. Kel Seliger said in a declaration signed in November.
The statement from the Amarillo Republican emerged this week as part of a dayslong hearing before a three-judge panel considering a lawsuit that claims the district was intentionally reconfigured to discriminate against voters of color in Tarrant County.
Under the map passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature, some Black and Hispanic populations previously in District 10 were split into two other districts with majority-white electorates. The Black and Hispanic voters who remain in the newly drawn District 10, in urban areas of south Fort Worth, were lumped in with several rural, mostly white counties to the south and west that drive up the district’s population of white eligible voters while diminishing the number of voters of color.
“Having participated in the 2011 and 2013 Senate Select Redistricting Committee proceedings, and having read the prior federal court decision regarding SD10, it was obvious to me that the renewed effort to dismantle SD 10 violated the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution,” state Sen. Kel Seliger said in a declaration signed in November.
The statement from the Amarillo Republican emerged this week as part of a dayslong hearing before a three-judge panel considering a lawsuit that claims the district was intentionally reconfigured to discriminate against voters of color in Tarrant County.
Under the map passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature, some Black and Hispanic populations previously in District 10 were split into two other districts with majority-white electorates. The Black and Hispanic voters who remain in the newly drawn District 10, in urban areas of south Fort Worth, were lumped in with several rural, mostly white counties to the south and west that drive up the district’s population of white eligible voters while diminishing the number of voters of color.
This trial will be fun to watch.
January 27, 2022
This trial will be fun to watch.
Texas violated voting rights law during redistricting, retiring state GOP senator says
The Texas primary is going to be held on March 1 using the illegal and gerrymandered districts passed by the Texas legislature. There will be a hearing on Senate District 10 but the rest of the gerrymandered districts will be in place for the next two years.
The SCOTUS has gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act which required pre-clearance of districts. The SCOTUS held that partisan gerrymandering is okay and also partially gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by requiring proof of discrimination. There will be a trial in the fall and this statement will used to show intent to discriminate.
https://twitter.com/DemocracyDocket/status/1486720432220737540
EL PASO — In a sworn declaration submitted as part of an ongoing federal court challenge, a senior Republican state senator with redistricting experience said he believes his party violated federal voting laws when it drew new boundaries for state Senate District 10 in the Fort Worth area.
“Having participated in the 2011 and 2013 Senate Select Redistricting Committee proceedings, and having read the prior federal court decision regarding SD10, it was obvious to me that the renewed effort to dismantle SD 10 violated the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution,” state Sen. Kel Seliger said in a declaration signed in November.
The statement from the Amarillo Republican emerged this week as part of a dayslong hearing before a three-judge panel considering a lawsuit that claims the district was intentionally reconfigured to discriminate against voters of color in Tarrant County.
Under the map passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature, some Black and Hispanic populations previously in District 10 were split into two other districts with majority-white electorates. The Black and Hispanic voters who remain in the newly drawn District 10, in urban areas of south Fort Worth, were lumped in with several rural, mostly white counties to the south and west that drive up the district’s population of white eligible voters while diminishing the number of voters of color.
“Having participated in the 2011 and 2013 Senate Select Redistricting Committee proceedings, and having read the prior federal court decision regarding SD10, it was obvious to me that the renewed effort to dismantle SD 10 violated the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution,” state Sen. Kel Seliger said in a declaration signed in November.
The statement from the Amarillo Republican emerged this week as part of a dayslong hearing before a three-judge panel considering a lawsuit that claims the district was intentionally reconfigured to discriminate against voters of color in Tarrant County.
Under the map passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature, some Black and Hispanic populations previously in District 10 were split into two other districts with majority-white electorates. The Black and Hispanic voters who remain in the newly drawn District 10, in urban areas of south Fort Worth, were lumped in with several rural, mostly white counties to the south and west that drive up the district’s population of white eligible voters while diminishing the number of voters of color.
This trial will be fun to watch.
Profile Information
Member since: Mon Apr 5, 2004, 04:58 PMNumber of posts: 145,129
