StarfishSaver
StarfishSaver's JournalGiving a shout-out and a lot of love to Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke
Kristen Clarke is a brilliant civil rights lawyer and activist who was confirmed and started working just two weeks ago. She promised to hit the ground running and it's clear that she did. It's also evident that AG Garland and other DOJ leadership made sure that Kristen was in place and fully involved before finalizing and announcing their plans to launch an all out fight to protect voting rights.
Thank you, Kristen Clarke, thank you, and thank you, AG Garland and President Biden for putting this amazing woman in charge of civil rights at DOJ!
Apple isn't the bad guy in the Trump spying scandal
Some have been going after Apple for turning over phone records of the Congresspersons the Trump DOJ investigated, suggesting that they should have refused and their failure to refuse suggests complicity.
However, this was not a case of Apple just docilely going along with an obviously corrupt request. In this instance, Apple was served with a grand jury subpoena, something very different than a simple request. Grand jury subpoenas are serious things and failure to comply can result in criminal sanctions, including immediate incarceration for contempt of court.
In addition, they were placed under a gag order, which prohibited them from speaking publicly or disclosing anything about the subpoenas. Defiance of that order would also result in criminal penalties.
Moreover, Apple had no way of knowing what the purpose of the subpoenas was or whether or not the investigation was legal or appropriate or not. It was not within their ability or right to question - or to even know - the nature, purpose or target of the underlying investigation.
Put the shoe on the other foot. Current investigations are ongoing into Trump's criminality and surely the grand jury is issuing subpoenas for testimony and records. It's possible that telephone service providers have been ordered by the grand jury to turn over phone records of various people being investigated. If Verizon received a subpoena to disclose Devin Nunes' or Jared Kushner's phone records in connection with a grand jury investigation into their activities, would you want Verizon to refuse to turn them over or to publicly reveal the request or to disclose the subpoenas to Nunes and Kushner what was going on?
Apple was not the bad guy here. All of the blame and responsibility are solely on Trump and his henchmen. Let's keep the focus on them.
Anybody actually believe the Trump DOJ wasn't also spying on Republican lawmakers?
I definitely don't.
That sure helps explain a lot ...
Palmer Report: Lay off Chuck Schumer
The problem here is two fold. First, it does extraordinary damage when so many liberal activists are so clueless about how anything in politics works, they’re mistakenly demanding the ouster of their own Majority Leader because they mistakenly think the battle over voting rights legislation is somehow lost. These dummies are taking out Schumer’s legs, and thus taking Schumer’s leverage over Manchin away from it. So these dummies who hate Manchin are unwittingly helping Manchin, because they don’t even understand what they’re watching unfold.
Second, this is a time when the Democratic Party leadership – which is fighting like hell for us in smart and savvy fashion – needs us to help out by applying real pressure to opportunists like Manchin and clowns like Sinema. The way you apply pressure is to push Manchin and Sinema to cave on voting rights, and make clear to them that you’re not going to let up until they do cave. You 100% assume you’re going to be able to bend them to your will, and then you do it.
In contrast, the defeatists are unwittingly doing the opposite. They keep insisting that Manchin and Sinema will never cave no matter what. In so doing, they’re telling Manchin and Sinema that they’re off the hook. When you concede defeat right off the bat, what your adversary is hearing is that they’ve won, because you’ve given up trying. This kind of defeatist “activism” is actually the opposite of activism; it’s how you turn a potential win into a guaranteed loss.
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So what’s the solution? As always, we have to educate ourselves about how the political process actually works. We have to remember that most of what transpires in politics takes place behind the scenes. We have to keep in mind that when politicians speak in public, it’s only ever for the sake of posturing, or trying to influence what’s going on behind the scenes; it’s never to be taken as a statement of fact. Most importantly, we have to keep in mind that placing pressure on your adversaries, and assuming you’re going to be able to get them to cave, is how you win; assuming you’re going to lose is how to guarantee you’ll lose. Political activism isn’t about trying to lose so you can feel outrage. It’s about trying to win, so you can make things better for everyone.
https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/lay-off-chuck-schumer/39415/
To everyone with their shorts in a bunch over DOJ's argument in the Trump in rape case
Take a breath.
This is SOP - the Department needs to protect its institutional prerogatives because future presidents won't be criminals like Trump. Their position actually has nothing to do with Trump or his guilt or innocence at all. This is about being able to defend presidents and other government officials who aren't criminal rapists from lawsuits in the future.
Also, this isn't a good development for Trump. If you were in Trump's shoes right now, would you want your defense to be in the hands of the Biden/Garland Justice Department? I sure wouldn't.
I wouldn't be surprised if he settles it soon just to make it and them go away - which may also be part of DOJ's strategy.
Question for the "Democrats need to force Manchin to get in line" folks:
Manchin is obviously not going to "get in line" to vote for the bill into current form or to get rid of the filibuster, so now what?
The Voting Rights bills are NOT going to pass as is without Manchin and a few Republicans. Do you think Biden and the Senate Dems should make some compromises to try to swing some Republicans to vote for some type of voting rights protections (with or without Manchin) or stand their ground and just let the bill die?
Akron Beacon Journal: Mic cut fallout - American Legion Post's charter suspended, leader resigns
The actions come four days after the leader of the Hudson Legion and head of the Legion's auxiliary were involved with cutting retired Army Lt. Col. Bernard Kemter's microphone during a Memorial Day ceremony in Hudson.
"Effective immediately, [American Legion Department of Ohio] Department Commander Roger Friend has suspended [the] Hudson Lee-Bishop American Legion Post 464 Charter pending permanent closure," stated a news release issued by the American Legion Department of Ohio Friday afternoon. "Upon demand, Jim Garrison has also resigned as a Post Officer and we have since demanded that he resign his membership altogether. The American Legion Department of Ohio does not hold space for members, veterans, or families of veterans who believe that censoring black history is acceptable behavior."
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Both Garrison and Cindy Suchan, who chairs the Memorial Day Parade committee and is president of the Hudson American Legion Auxiliary, had been asked by Friend to resign after the state office's investigation determined the two "intentionally censored Lt. Col Bernard Kemter, US Army (Ret.) during his Memorial Day speech hosted by American Legion Post 464 of Hudson, Ohio." Suchan has not resigned, but Heller said her case is being handled by the American Legion Auxiliary of Ohio. Heller said Suchan also is being asked to give up her membership in the auxiliary.
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The state Legion said its investigation found Suchan received a copy of Kemter's speech in advance and asked him to remove a portion of the speech where he described how newly freed Black slaves gave an honorable burial to deceased Union soldiers shortly after the end of the Civil War. In its news release, the state Legion said it determined the "censoring" of Kemter's speech was "pre-meditated and planned by … Garrison and … Suchan."
https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/2021/06/04/hudson-american-legion-posts-charter-suspended-leader-resigns/7543211002/
People fought like hell to get Biden elected
But now some people here are second-guessing him like he's Boo Boo the Fool.
Why can't folk recognize - or even just take a breath and consider the possibility - that President Biden has been around long time, knows the players and the game, and understands better than any of us what he can and can't get and how to negotiate the best possible deal for us and the country?
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