House passed nearly 400 bills this year -- and McConnell is blocking as many as he can

By Dan Desai Martin -
July 26, 2019

McConnell has vowed to make the Senate a 'legislative graveyard.'

House leaders held a press conference Thursday morning to tout 200 days of progress, even as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell continues to obstruct legislation from moving through the Senate.

"Today we mark 200 days in the majority," Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) said. "We've passed nearly 400 pieces of legislation, [including] 50 major bills."

"This is the most productive House in modern history," he added.

He listed just some of those accomplishments, including legislation dealing with the minimum wage, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, fighting corruption in Washington, and protecting coverage for people with preexisting conditions.

"All of those bills are sitting on Mitch McConnell's desk," Cicilline said. "The president and Mitch McConnell need to get to work and bring those bills to the Senate floor so we can complete our work for the American people."

https://shareblue.com/house-passed-bills-mitch-mcconnell-obstruct/

Susan Collins is trying to blame 'dark money groups' for her unpopularity

By Oliver Willis -
July 26, 2019

Maine has soured on the Republican senator as she's gotten closer to Trump, and she's looking to blame anyone but herself.

Maine voters have begun to sour on Republican Sen. Susan Colllins, and as a result her approval ratings are down by double-digits over the last two years.

On Sunday, Collins blamed the precipitous drop on unnamed "dark money" groups, instead of her support for the Trump administration and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

"The divisiveness of our country and the unceasing attacks by dark money groups in Maine have clearly had an impact," Collins told Bloomberg in an interview about her political future.

She expressed hope that Mainers will "really focus on the [reelection] race" next year and that "I'll be fine."

https://shareblue.com/republican-susan-collins-unpopular-maine/

Now she is worried about "dark money".................................maybe she can ask the sexual predator sitting on the bench, what he thinks of Citizens United............................after all he is a Federalist Society member....................

Hey Susan, can I call you Susan......................

And then the Friday News Dump......................

Friday News Dump: McConnell Is Now Known As #MoscowMitch, And Other News
Politics
7/26/19 8:35am
Read time: 1 minute



Why is everyone so shocked that Mitch McConnell doesn't put the country first? When has he ever?
By Susie Madrak

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/07/friday-news-dump-mcconnell-now-known

Kellyanne Conway Goes Uncommonly Silent When Asked About Hatch Act Subpoena

Politics
7/26/19 5:30am
Read time: 1 minute


You'd think Kellyanne Conway would welcome the opportunity to speak out about that subpoena, but her silence was deafening.
By John Amato


During an interview with Fox News' Harris Faulkner Thursday afternoon, Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway was in her usual hyperventilating attack dog mode up until she was asked to comment about the House holding her in contempt for refusing to honor their subpoena.

On Wednesday, Chairman Cummings announced they would postpone citing her for contempt while they negotiate.

The OSC recommenced Conway be removed from office for her repeated violations, but Trump has refused to do so. Everybody is above the law in his administration.

Towards the end of the lengthy interview, Faulkner changed topics after they discussed how angry even Republicans were at Trump's racist tweets that targeted four freshmen Congresswomen of color.

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/07/kellyanne-conway-goes-uncommonly-silent

LOCK HER UP

Rep. Ilhan Omar's GOP Challenger Has A Bit Of A Shoplifting Problem

Politics
7/26/19 5:31am
Read time: 3 minutes


Danielle Stella, QAnon Conspiracist and GOP challenger to the Minnesota rep seems to have sticky fingers and a police record.
By Aliza Worthington

Boy, Republicans aren't even pretending to care about obeying the law or telling the truth any more. It's almost impressive.

QAnon Wacko Danielle Stella is challenging Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar (D) for her seat in Congress. She's super concerned about crime, dontchyaknow, and says Rep. Omar has broken the law by advising immigrants on how to avoid being captured by ICE. She just can't stand politicians who don't uphold the rule of law!

Well, turns out THAT tweet didn't age well.

Here's what else Stella has been up to in 2019. According to a report in The Guardian, she:

1. got herself arrested for stealing $40 worth of "cat merchandise" from a grocery store.
2. got herself arrested for stealing $2,300 worth of items from a Target store.
3. got herself a Contempt of Court citation for failure to appear in court in April.
4. lied during an interview with Infowars that crime in Minneapolis had gone up 80%. (It was around 10%, but what's 70% between friends?)

She also was charged with a felony for fleeing a police officer during a DUI arrest in 2009, but pled that down to a gross misdemeanor, according to The Guardian. She, of course, claims to be innocent of the crimes with which she is charged. The Tangerine Twatwaffle has successfully convinced his lunatic supporters that literally, what they see and hear is not real.

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/07/rep-ilhan-omars-gop-challenger-has-bit

Samantha Bee Recaps The Mueller Hearings

Everyone Seems So Shocked At GOP Non-Response To Election Security Report

Politics
7/26/19 7:07am
Read time: 2 minutes

The new Senate Intelligence report detailed the foreign attacks on our election system. Mitch McConnell bats down any attempt to address the problem.
By Susie Madrak

It was one of those things that seemed designed not to get our attention. Late yesterday afternoon, the Senate Intelligence committee released their report on Russian election interference. (You can read it here.)

Now, you probably can't stand listening to media types dance around the obvious any more than I do. They would rather believe Trump doesn't want 'a cloud over the credibility' of his installation in the White House than address what is very clear: Trump not only got help from the Russians, he's counting on them again in 2020.

They are also reluctant to connect some fairly large dots: Senate Majority Weasel Mitch McConnell, who's blocking any attempts to bolster election security, is in pretty deep with the Russians (and the voting machine vendors) himself. Remember, McConnell is the same guy who threatened the Obama administration that he would consider any effort by the White House to challenge the Russians publicly "an act of partisan politics.”

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/07/everyone-seems-so-shocked-gop-non-response

Well first of all look at who is on the panel....................

Joyce Vance: The Obstruction Is What Kept Mueller From Charging Conspiracy

It is that obstructive behavior that ultimately keeps the American people in the dark about what happened," the former prosecutor said.
By Susie Madrak

Lawrence O'Donnell brought on Joyce Vance last night to connect the dots between volume One and Two of the Mueller report.

"We are back with a cliffhanger with our Joyce Vance. Let's take another look of the short version of the question/answer that you found so important yesterday," he said.
REP. VAL DEMINGS: it is fair to say then that there were limits on what evidence was available to your investigation of both russia election interference and obstruction of justice.
MUELLER: That's usually the case.
DEMINGS: That lies by Trump campaign officials and administration officials impeded your investigation.
MUELLER: I would generally agree with that.

O'Donnell asked Vance why that was so important.

"It seems to me, Lawrence, that this is the linkage of volumes One and Two of the Mueller report. We used to look at it separately," she said.

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/07/joyce-vance-obstruction-what-kept-mueller

Ireland says UK's Johnson 'very unhelpful' on Brexit, risks no deal

Source: Reuters

World News
July 26, 2019 / 6:33 AM / Updated an hour ago

3 Min Read

LONDON (Reuters) - Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, said new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s approach to Brexit was “very unhelpful” and would block an agreement, after Johnson rejected a key Irish demand his predecessor had agreed to.

Johnson told the British parliament on Thursday he wanted to abolish the backstop, an insurance policy designed to prevent the return of a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland in the event of longer term trade talks collapsing.

Many Brexit supporters dislike the backstop - which would require Northern Ireland or the United Kingdom as a whole to stay in the European Union’s customs union - as it would make it hard for Britain to negotiate free trade deals with other countries.

“The statements of the British prime minister yesterday in the House of Commons were very unhelpful to this process,” Coveney told reporters on Friday after meeting Britain’s new secretary of state for Northern Ireland in Belfast.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu/ireland-says-uks-johnson-very-unhelpful-on-brexit-risks-no-deal-idUSKCN1UL190?il=0

Guatemalan mother begs soldier to let her enter into the US

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Jose Luis Gonzalez Jose Luis Gonzalez
Updated today
5 images


Ledy Perez fell to her haunches, a clenched hand covering her face as she wept, an arm clutching her small 6-year old son, who glared defiantly at the Mexican National Guard soldier blocking them from crossing into the United States.

The plight of this mother and son who had traveled some 1,500 miles (2,410 km) from their home country of Guatemala to the border city of Ciudad Juarez, only to be stopped mere feet from the United States, was captured by Reuters photographer Jose Luis Gonzalez as twilight approached on Monday.

"The woman begged and pleaded with the National Guard to let them cross ... she wanted to cross to give a better future” to her young son Anthony Diaz, Gonzalez said. The soldier, dressed in desert fatigues, an assault rifle slung over his shoulder, said he was only following orders, according to Gonzalez.

The soldier did not disclose his name.

One of several images Reuters published of the scene, the photo was picked up widely on social media. It has thrown into the spotlight the role Mexico's militarized National Guard police force is playing in containing migration, mostly from Central America.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador created the National Guard to bring down record homicide rates, but almost a third of its members are now assigned to patrolling the border to placate President Donald Trump's demands of stemming the flow of U.S.-bound migrants.

https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/guatemalan-mother-begs-soldier-to-let-her-enter-us

















https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/guatemalan-mother-begs-soldier-to-let-her-enter-us