May 31, 2022

Michael Sussmann found not guilty of lying to FBI in Durham investigation

(CNN)Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann was acquitted Tuesday of lying to the FBI, in the first trial of special counsel John Durham's investigation.

The verdict is a major defeat for Durham and his Justice Department prosecutors, who have spent three years looking for wrongdoing in the Trump-Russia probe. He claimed Sussmann lied during a 2016 meeting in which he passed a tip to the FBI about Donald Trump and Russia.

The Washington, DC, federal jury deliberated for six hours over two days before reaching its verdict.

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Trump has treated Durham's probe as a political weapon, stoking excitement in the right-wing ecosystem that Durham will deliver Watergate-caliber indictments against Clinton loyalists and the "deep state" government agents who supposedly conspired against him. He has even suggested that Sussmann's and other Democrats' conduct should be "punishable by death."

(Read More) https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/31/politics/sussmann-verdict/index.html

May 27, 2022

Even crazy Florida changed their gun laws after the school massacre in Parkland, why can't Texas?

After the shooting at MSD, all the repubs in FL including Sick Rick Scott voted yes! They raised the age to 21 and created red flag laws and there were ZERO repercussions for the repub politicians because of it - they didn't lose voters, they held on to their power (we are still a disgustingly red state) and even the NRA never came after them. So what are you afraid of, Texas? Just do it already!

May 25, 2022

After getting booted, Beto went outside and kept going

Video from twitter (takes a minute to load)

https://twitter.com/BFriedmanDC/status/1529531704695742465

May 23, 2022

Putin Survived Assassination Attempt Two Months Ago, Ukraine Official Says

(Newsweek) Russian President Vladimir Putin survived an assassination attempt two months ago, just after he announced the invasion of Ukraine, the country's chief spy has claimed.

Ukraine's Chief of Defence Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov claimed Putin was attacked in an "unsuccessful attempt" to kill him around two months ago, when he was in the Caucasus, an area comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia.

"Putin was assassinated...," Budanov told Ukrainian Pravda. "He was even attacked in the line of, as they say, representatives of the Caucasus not so long ago," he added. "This is non-public information. Absolutely unsuccessful attempt, but it really took place...It was about two months ago."

"Once again, he was unsuccessful. There is no publicity about this event, but it took place," Budanov said.

https://www.newsweek.com/putin-survived-assassination-attempt-two-months-ago-ukraine-official-says-1709096

May 19, 2022

Netflix's The G Word with Adam Conover Shows the Best and Worst of Government

* So my daughter wanted me to watch this show with her (6 episodes in the series) and boy am I glad I did. I enjoyed it, and learned a thing or two....

A recent tweet plaintively asked, “Couldn’t we get a Schoolhouse Rock for grown-ups?” A new series on Netflix called “The G Word” is pretty close. It doesn’t have singing and dancing animated legislative proposals and founding fathers, but it does have “investigative comedian” Adam Conover (“Adam Ruins Everything”) to keep things lively. And it has a producer who adds credibility by virtue of his extensive experience—including serving as the junior Senator from Illinois and two terms as President of the United States—Barack Obama, making a charming cameo in episode one, gamely trying to fill out his income tax forms. The series is also based in part on an excellent, if terrifying, book by The Big Short and Moneyball author Michael Lewis (The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy), an expert at putting the pill of math homework in the applesauce of entertainment.

(Read More) https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/adam-conover-the-g-word-netflix-tv-review-2022

(Video Clip)

May 5, 2022

5 Ways To Protect Abortion Rights If The Supreme Court Overturns Roe

(HuffPost)

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“Right now is a moment when people are shocked, grieving and angry,” Leah Greenberg, co-founder of the progressive organizing group Indivisible, told HuffPost. “We want to be sure that as part of processing, folks understand where and how they can fight back ― and where they can have an impact on what is happening, whether that is at the state level, at the electoral level, or in their community.”

Greenberg can speak to this with expertise because that’s roughly what happened after the election of President Donald Trump in November 2016, when Indivisible helped to lead a backlash that defeated many of Trump’s initiatives and eventually turned control of Congress and the White House back to the Democrats.

So what are the practical, concrete objectives now? Is there a way to protect abortion rights, at least for some people, when the Supreme Court has taken away the federal guarantee and there are no short-term prospects for changing its membership? The answer is yes, there are things that can be done. Here are a few:

1. Pass A Federal Law Codifying Roe

2. Change Laws, Win Elections In The States

3. Support Abortion Funds And Similar Nonprofits

4. Make More Use Of Executive Authority

5. Change The Supreme Court’s Composition


(Read More) https://www.huffpost.com/entry/protect-abortion-rights-supreme-court-roe_n_6272cac3e4b046ad0d772283