Justice Department Pushes Back Against Special Counsel to Investigate Clintons

Integrity Raises Its Non-Partisan Head

In order to deflect the investigation into Trumpie the Republicans want the Justice Dept. to go after Hillary and Bill and the Clinton Foundation. The Justice Department is saying it is politics and they don't do politics.

Peter R. Zeidenberg, who once served as deputy special counsel in the probe of former White House aide Lewis “Scooter’’ Libby, said “the best-case scenario” is that the attorney general is trying simply to mollify an angry president and doesn’t really plan to name a special counsel.

If one is appointed to probe Clinton matters, “I think the vast majority of people at DOJ would be completely disgusted and demoralized by it,’’ said Zeidenberg, referring to the Justice Department. “They don’t like feeling that they are political tools to be used by the president.’’

A federal law enforcement official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to comment freely, said the move is particularly frustrating because many of the subjects Sessions says could fall under the purview of a special counsel were previously investigated by the FBI or are under investigation by the Justice Department’s inspector general.

This is a turning point in American history. If Trumpster gets his way the U. S. will take a sharp turn towards being just another corrupt republic with a tin horn dictator at the helm.

No Paul Ryan, Trump's Shithole Comment Was Not “Unfortunate”

It Was Morally Offensive, Disgusting and Revolting

Responses to Conservative Responses to a Shithole

In the aftermath of Trump's virulently racist remarks on nations where people don't (Thank God!) look like Trump fellow conservatives made some pretty ugly remarks. Here is our response to them.

1. Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House said the shithole statement was 'unfortunate' and 'not helpful'. And he said he knew a doctor from one of the shithole countries who was okay. Hey Paul, so if the comment had been helpful you would have been okay with it? And 'unfortunate' is when you can't find your keys, not when you personify racism.

2. Tucker Carlson is quoted in the WaPo “Today, as you doubtless heard, during immigration talks,” he said, “President Trump said something that almost every single person in America actually agrees with . . .” No Tucker, only the American racists you associate with agree with this. The rest of us are decent and tolerant and quite frankly horrified.

3. Again WaPo. Some dickhead named Jesse Watters said “This is how the forgotten men and women of America talk at the bar,” he said. “If you’re at a bar, and you’re in Wisconsin, and you think they’re bringing in a bunch of Haiti people, or El Salvadorians, or people from Niger, this is how some people talk.  “ No Jess, it's not. Go there some time, and try listening instead of showing your ignorance by running your mouth.

4. And there was this, also from the WaPo.  “CNN’s Kaitlan Collins spoke with White House staffers who predicted that “it will actually resonate with his base, not alienate it, much like his attacks on NFL players who kneel during the national anthem did.” Another former official with the administration rationalized the comments to BuzzFeed by pointing out that “there’s a large segment of voters who it resonates with as anti-P.C. ‘straight talk’.” Remember when the base was offended because they were called racist and deplorable. Well now its the White House who is doing it, saying the base is a bunch of racists.

Of course Trumpie handles the problem the way that suits him best. He lies.

10 Explanations of Trumper's Shithole Comment

What Might Have Happened - Make Your Pick



1. He is confused these days and mixed up his feelings on some countries with Melania's pet name for him.

2.  This is what he thinks the White House will look like after his family leaves.

3.  They have been trying out a new name for Trump branded hotels.

4.  He is confused and thought they were talking about Fox News.

5.  This is what parts of the nation will look like after the removal of environmental regulations.

6.  It's where he thinks poor people go to the bathroom.

7.  It's what historians have told him will be the one world that describes his Presidency.

8.  Trump is trying out an idea to replace the nickname 'Crooked Hillary' with something even worse but 'Shithole Hilary' just doesn't work for him.

9.  He is taking speech making lessons to coarsen his language.

10.  He is a bigoted, racist fool.

Screwing Workers One Walmart at a Time

From the WaPo

Business

Walmart said it’s giving its employees a raise. And then it closed 63 stores.

How Tax Cuts Work in America

How Corrupt is the Trump Family? Kushner Companies Taking Money From Israeli's

Just Another Day in Trump World

There have been plenty of wealthy people in high places in the federal government. FDR and JFK both came from wealth. Congress members from both parties uses their positions to make a lot of money. But none of these wealthy people have regarded the Presidency as a wealth building strategy. That is, no one until the Trump family took over the White House.

It turns out the Kushner real estate empire, by some accounts foundering, took $30 mil from an Israeli financial institution.

Last May, Jared Kushner accompanied President Trump, his father-in-law, on the pair’s first diplomatic trip to Israel, part of Mr. Kushner’s White House assignment to achieve peace in the Middle East.

Shortly before, his family real estate company received a roughly $30 million investment from Menora Mivtachim, an insurer that is one of Israel’s largest financial institutions, according to a Menora executive.

The deal, which was not made public, pumped significant new equity into 10 Maryland apartment complexes controlled by Kushner’s firm. While Mr. Kushner has sold parts of his business since taking a White House job last year, he still has stakes in most of the family empire — including the apartment buildings in and around Baltimore.

And of course this transaction is just one of many. This is special because Kushner is supposed to be the point man in bringing a negotiated settlement to the Palestinian conflict with Israel. Maybe he thinks this is all a joke, and according to Steve Bannon when it comes to jokes Kushner is at the head of the class.

Trumpie Calls Sen. Feinstien 'Sneaky'

Over her release of non-classified transcripts that showed him to be a liar about so-called Dossier

Well that hurts.

Gosh, she just gave everyone a reason to support her re-election

Could Lindsey Graham Be Any More of a Suck-Up

Well, Wait Until Mitt Gets to the Senate



From Taegan Goddard

Bonus Quote of the Day

January 9, 2018 at 4:54 pm ESTBy Taegan Goddard162 Comments

“Most fascinating meeting I’ve been involved with in twenty plus years in politics.”

— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), on Twitter, while complimenting President Trump for his “attitude, demeanor, and desire to get something done.”

Alabama Gets It's First Payoff For Kicking Roy Moore Into the Gutter

A Big Auto Assembly Plants Comes to Huntsville

If Alabama had sent a person who sexually assualted teenage girls to the Senate the economic consequences would have been devastating. No major business would want to invest in the state. But after rejecting Moore and his disgusting behavior Alabama has been rewarded with a big job creating investment.

Toyota Motor and Mazda Motor are expected to announce on Wednesday that they have chosen a location in northern Alabama, near Huntsville, for the $1.6 billion car plant the Japanese automakers are planning to build together, according to a person familiar with the companies’ plans.

Details of the assembly plant, which is expected to employ about 4,000 people and open by 2021, will be disclosed at a news conference with state and local officials in Montgomery, this person said.

Wow, and hopefully this is just the beginning of a business community finding a state that turns on a person like Roy Moore a good place to invest. And hopefully the people of Alabama will recognize what is happening and continue down the road of inclusion and support for the rights of everyone.

This is It for the Dems - Accomplish Something or Quit

The Party Needs a Reason to Exist

Despite their supposed deal with Trumper and despite their vow not to allow the government to keep operating if DACA wasn't dealt with the Democratis in Congress slunk home for the holiday season with nothing.

Now Trumpman is saying that he will only accept DACA relief if he gets his stupid wall.  For Democrats it is crunch time.  If they refuse to give on the wall and if they demand DACA relief in return for funding government operations they will prove they have value as a party.  If they don't, there is really no reason for them to continue. Building a new party will take time and result in short term losses, but not doing so will result in short term losses and long term losses.

Your turn Dems, give us a reason to keep you going.

New Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch Joins Alito and Thomas in Pushing the Court to New Low

No, the Courts Are Not Blind With Respect to Race

This is an incredible story. It starts with an individual sentenced to death in a capital murder case. Here is what one juror stated under oath after the trial.

Seven years later, one of the jurors, Barney Gattie, signed an affidavit explaining his reasoning. He said he had drawn a distinction between Mr. Tharpe and his victim, both of whom were black.

“The Freemans are what I would call a nice Black family,” Mr. Gattie wrote. “In my experience I have observed that there are two types of black people. 1. Black folks and 2. Niggers.”

“Because I knew the victim and her husband’s family and knew them all to be good black folks, I felt Tharpe, who wasn’t in the ‘good’ black folks category in my book, should get the electric chair for what he did,” Mr. Gattie wrote.

“After studying the Bible,” he added, “I have wondered if black people even have souls.”

Ok, no question the defendant needs a new trial, deserves a new trial. But he could not get one and the case moved to the Supreme Court.

WASHINGTON — Saying that a capital trial in Georgia may have been marred by a juror’s racism, the Supreme Court on Monday gave a death row inmate there a fresh chance to argue that he should receive a new trial.

The court’s opinion was brief and unsigned. Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch, filed a lengthy dissent accusing the majority of “ceremonial hand-wringing.”

Wow, three dissenters. And the most disgusting of all was Justice Thomas's dissent.

“In bending the rules here to show its concern for a black capital inmate, the court must think it is showing its concern for racial justice,” Justice Thomas wrote. “It is not.”

Mr. Tharpe was bound to lose in the long run given the difficulty of challenging state capital convictions in federal court, Justice Thomas wrote. He added that Mr. Gattie had been drinking when he signed the affidavit and later submitted a second one saying he had not voted for the death penalty based on Mr. Tharpe’s race.

“The court must be disturbed by the racist rhetoric” in the first affidavit, Justice Thomas wrote, “and must want to do something about it. But the court’s decision is no profile in moral courage.”

“By remanding this case to the court of appeals for a useless do-over, the court is not doing Tharpe any favors,” he added. “And its unusual disposition of his case callously delays justice for Jaquelin Freeman, the black woman who was brutally murdered by Tharpe 27 years ago. Because this court should not be in the business of ceremonial hand-wringing, I respectfully dissent.”

Just imagine if the situation were reversed, if the juror had been black and the defendant white. Instant reversal. And how in the world does a person get to be a juror on a murder trial where he knew the parties? Oh, when you give ineffective counsel to a black defendant that's what happens.

Attorney General Jeff Session Lies About the Murder Rate

The Bigoted Jeff is Living Up to Expectations

Statistics are the enemy of the conservatives. See statistics are fact. Conservatives hate facts because conservative ideology can only exists in a fantasy world. So here is Attorney General Jeff Session talking about the murder rate.

PRESIDENT TRUMP rode a claim of out-of-control crime — to be fought with “law and order” — to victory in 2016. He reinforced the message in his inaugural address about “American carnage.” So it’s no surprise that Attorney General Jeff Sessions harps on the same theme, most recently on Wednesday, when he issued a statementdescribing this as a “time of rising violent crime [and] a staggering increase in homicides.”

And here is the headline, the truth from the conservative Wall Street Journal where parts of the paper epitomize real journalism.

Big-City Murders Drop to Historic Lows

And here are some info to support the thing that Sessions is afraid, that is, the truth.

"In New York, murders dropped to 290, a number not seen since 1951, police say, and killings in Los Angeles were at 281, staying below 300 for the eighth consecutive year, according to data from the police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Even Chicago, where ragged violence has shocked the nation, saw murders fall to 650 in 2017, down from 771 in 2016, police say.

Seven of the 10 largest U.S. cities saw declines in 2017, according to police; one saw an increase, and two didn’t have final data."

Jeff Sessions Goes Back on His Word on Enforcing Marijuana Laws

Surprise Surprise Surprise!

Sen. Cory Gardner (R, Co) had received assurances from Attorney General Designate Jeff Sessions that if he were confirmed as Attorney General the government would leave marijuana regulation to the states.  Sessions has just gone back on that promise.

"The Colorado lawmaker said Sessions had personally promised him prior to his confirmation that he would not take steps to tighten enforcement of federal pot laws.

“I’m prepared to hold every Justice Department nominee until Jeff Sessions lives up to what he told me, lives up to his commitment,” Gardner said. A “hold” is a senatorial threat, frequently invoked to gain leverage over the executive branch, to filibuster nominees.

“Jeff Sessions told me this wouldn’t be a priority. Jeff Sessions told me the policy would not be reversed, and today Jeff Sessions went back on his word,” the senator said."

The mystery of course does not involve Sessions. The mystery is why anyone whose IQ was greater than 10 would believe Jeff Sessions.

Trump Declares Himself a Stable Genius

Here's What That Means

From the AP

"WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump, portrayed in a new book as a leader who doesn't understand the weight of his office, took to Twitter on Saturday to defend his mental fitness and boast about his intelligence, saying he is "like, really smart" and "a very stable genius."

By 'stable genius' we think it means Trump is able to take the shovel to a stable and pick up the, well you what you shovel in a stable.  Of course, someone would need to show him how but we bet he gets it on the third or fourth try.

The First Casualty in the Steve Bannon Fiasco – Steve Bannon

An Egomaniac's Ego Shoots Bannon in the Mouth

The rather nasty attack on Donnie and family by former key adviser Steve Bannon has resulted in Bannon becoming persona non-grata in the political world of far right conservatives.

See, Bannon like all self absorbed people didn't realize the Trump phenomena is about Trump. No one cares about Bannon, it was only his closeness to Trumper that made a difference.

WASHINGTON — Enthusiasm for Stephen K. Bannon’s plans for a fiery Republican revolution had already been fading among some of the donors and candidates he was relying on to upend the party’s establishment.

But Mr. Bannon’s provocative remarks about President Trump and his family, reported in a new book now scheduled to be released this week, and Mr. Trump’s angry response, further alienated some of Mr. Bannon’s most important backers — including the family of the hedge fund magnate Robert Mercer — leaving Mr. Bannon confronting the possibility of a dire fate for a publicity-hungry provocateur: political irrelevance.

The Mercers were blunt on Thursday in cutting the cord, reiterating support for Mr. Trump while disavowing Mr. Bannon’s remarks and disowning his political endeavors. “My family and I have not communicated with Steve Bannon in many months and have provided no financial support to his political agenda, nor do we support his recent actions and statements,” Rebekah Mercer, Mr. Mercer’s daughter, said in a statement. “I have a minority interest in Breitbart News and I remain committed in my support for them.”

So goodbye, good riddance to Bannon. Hey Steve, don't slam the door on your way out.

Weinsteins Likely to Lose All of Their Equity in Weinstein Company

A Small Dab of Justice

The movie production company Weinstein which is control by the infamous pair of brothers is on the market and likely to be sold for about $500 million.

Sounds like a lot of money for a couple of sexual deviants? Not really. See the sale would have to be an asset sale, since buying the corporation would mean the purchasers would be liable for what is likely to be massive lawsuits against the company. After selling the assets the company must pay off its debt and pay off the liabilities from the suits. So at the end of the day the Weinsteins may end up with, well, nothing. And of course they will have their own personal liabilities and hopefully good ole Harv will be in jail.

None of this will make up for the horrific damage done to victims, but it's a start.

Isn't a Government Agency Called the Environmental Protection Agency Supposed to Protect the Environment?

Not in Trumpie's World

The EPA is now in the hands of polluters, people who would exploit the environment for private gain, and men and women who just don't care. So it is no surprise they are not doing their job.

The federal government failed vulnerable whale, turtle and fish species when it allowed oil companies to release their waste into the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year, a conservationist group argues.

The Center for Biological Diversity has put the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on notice. Last week, the center filed a 60-day letter of intent to sue, a required precursor to a lawsuit in which the nonprofit conservation group is expected to argue the government is not complying with the Endangered Species Act.

The EPA in September finalized a Clean Water Act permit, which allows oil and gas rigs off the coast of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi to flush waste liquids into the Gulf. The Center for Biological Diversity is worried about pollutants from sources like produced water, which is a byproduct of hydraulic fracturing that contains chemicals like arsenic and lead.

Now it is true this is just a charge, and the accusations must be proven in a court of law. But does anyone think the Trump EPA is not destroying the environment regulations and that will lead to long term damage to the planet? Anybody?

Still Think College Football if For the Good Ole Boys – How About $100,000 For the Right to Stay at a Hotel

And The Taxpayers Pick Up Part of the Bill

The corruption of college sports continues. Here is just the latest from Texas A and M a football school masquerading as a college.

Coming Soon to Campus: The $100,000 Hotel Room

Texas A&M is charging alums six figures for the right to book a hotel room next to the football stadium, as universities look for extra perks to market for wealthy donors

Okay, if big spenders want to waste money that way, more power to them. But it makes you wonder if they really need that big tax cut Trumpie and the GOP is trying to give them. Oh, and the $100k is already tax deductible.

The guaranteed room options, or GROs, work much like the personal seat licenses now offered by many professional sports teams—only for hotel rooms rather than season tickets. At A&M, the holders will make a one-time, tax-deductible $100,000 donation to the university in exchange for the right to reserve a specific room on any day for the next 10 years. They also get a plaque engraved with their names on the door.

Don't wait on that thank you from the wealthy to the tax paying rubes who will pick up part of the tab. That ain't happening.

A rendering of the hotel and conference center. PHOTO: TEXAS A&M HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTER

Jennifer Rubin Calls Out Ivanka Trump – Clueless in Washington

Why Does Anyone Take Her Seriously? Oh Money and Politics

Some Facts That Support Bannon's Description of Her

The living cariricature of a spoiled princess is Ivanka Trump. Given everything in life on a silver platter she somehow manages to offend even the most ardent supporter by her lack of knowledge. Originally a White House adviser, she now just skips along heedlessly of the derision she brings upon herself.

Writing about her Jennifer Rubin observes this.

We're speaking of Ivanka Trump, as you might have divined. She was out talking nonsense again on Thursday: "I'm really looking forward to doing a lot of travelling in April when people realise the effect that this has... The vast majority will be [doing their taxes] on a single postcard." Thunk. There's no postcard. That was a prop. And the filing for the first year under the new tax code will be in 2019.

Yes, the new tax bill is for 2018 taxes which are filed in 2019. The postcard is a joke on the American people, a prop as Rubin says. As for Ivanka history will not treat her kindly. An unsympathetic fool is the most like verdict.

And since it is the holiday season, good will to all and all that stuff here is our wish, that our next picture of Ivanka is her visiting her hubby in jail.

Sen. Orrin Hatch is So Bad Mitt Romney is an Improvement

And Other Snarky Comments on the News

1. Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch announced he would retire at age 83 and a merciless editorial in the Salt Lake newspaper attacked him. This opens the way for Mitt Romney to run for the seat. Mitt is expected to do the fawning routine over Trump slightly less than Hatch, although to be fair Mitt is likely to run on the “nobody out sycophants me” platform.

2. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R, SC) has gone completely off the deep end and now appears to want to go to war with North Korea. It was only last summer that Graham sounded rational. Is slavish homage to Trump along with a desire for a nuclear war a communicable disease?

3. It turns out Roy Moore's Jew lawyer was a devoted supporter of his opponent. Ha Ha Roy, once again you are the butt of a joke.

4. Melania Trump won the trophy for most miserable looking person in December, thus claiming the annual award given to the person who least looks like they are happy in the presence of Trumpie.

5. That 'give your employees a thousand dollars' trend does not seem to have caught on with any company not seeking favors from the federal government.

6. Spokespersons for several large accounting firms released a statement saying they would not longer design and sell dubious tax shelters. “There are so many loopholes in the new tax bill that we don't even have to cheat to screw the American people” they said.

Betsy DeVos and the Education Department Being Sued at a Record Pace

Too Stupid or Too Ignorant or Too Uncaring to Do Her Job? You Decide

Another day, another bunch of lawsuits filed against the Department of Education. This time it is the fact that the Department will not process loan forgiveness claims for student debt taken out to pay tuition at fraudulent for profit colleges.

On Thursday, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra sued DeVos and the department for failing to process more than 50,000 debt relief claims submitted by former Corinthian Colleges students. The case is similar to a separate lawsuit filed the same day by the attorneys general of Massachusetts, New York and Illinois alleging that the Trump administration is violating federal law by refusing to hand down decisions on pending claims.

Why should these folks get their loans erased? Well, they were cheated by the schools and the government did not do its job of protecting them.

One of those investigations in 2015, a collaboration between California authorities and the Obama administration, found that Corinthian widely misrepresented job placement rates for graduates of its Everest and WyoTech schools. As a result, the department agreed to expedite loan discharges for students who attended those schools, a slow-going process that started to make headway at the end of the Obama administration. But not a single claim has been approved since Trump came into office.

So how is Betsy doing? Well there is this.

The Education Department declined to comment on the lawsuits. The agency has in the past described other lawsuits filed by Democratic attorneys general as a partisan attack on the Trump administration. The same prosecutors involved in Thursday’s lawsuits were among 19 state attorneys general who sued DeVos in July for delaying an overhaul of the borrower defense rule, and 18 attorneys general who took legal action against her in October for dismantling a rule to regulate career-training programs.