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| https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-mad-magazine_us_574dd1e4e4b0757eaeb0c134 |
Today's post was going to be about the importance of socks with links to where one can buy my favorite socks, which in part is my way of organizing where I can buy my favorite socks in the PDX area because I have so far only found one great sock mecca and it's in Hood River, which is a bit of a drive.
But then, as I always say, material presents itself.
I was not planning to write about politics and the person "elected" to the presidency, and then, the shit show that is the new normal for government crossed the transom of my email, and I felt compelled.
This stuff is just too good to not share it.
After all, this is who we want as Attorney General: "shady business dealings and a history of attacking the values of non-Christian Americans."
As Elvis Costello penned immortally in one of his earliest songs: "I used to be disgusted, but now I try to be amused."
sigh.
And I loved the subject line Move On used: TRUMP IS FREAKING OUT!
From Moveon.org:
We're living through a slow-motion Saturday Night Massacre.
Jeff Sessions recused himself from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, so Donald Trump fired him.
Assistant Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was next in line to replace Sessions, but Trump didn't think he'd shut down the Mueller investigation, either.
So, instead, Trump installed as acting attorney general an unqualified lackey named Matt Whitaker, who has already said on CNN how he would go about ending the Mueller investigation—by starving it of funds. Whitaker is well-known in the Justice Department as a "White House spy," who will feed information about the investigation directly to Trump.1 (Let's be clear: Not only is Whitaker a Trump loyalist opposed to the probe, he also has his own record of shady business dealings and a history of attacking the values of non-Christian Americans.)
Congress must act now to protect the rule of law by passing bipartisan legislation to protect the Mueller investigation during the lame-duck session of Congress. And then, when Democrats take over the House in January, they need to begin oversight hearings immediately.
Putting a stooge like Whitaker in charge of the Justice Department is shocking even by Trump standards. Whitaker tweeted out an article referring to the Mueller investigation as a "lynch mob."2 He's linked to a firm that scammed veterans out of their life savings.3 And the Justice Department won't even release his financial disclosure forms.4
But now that Trump has installed his lackey as acting attorney general, the next step is obvious: Trump will either order Whitaker to fire Mueller or simply allow Whitaker to implement his own plan of defunding the Mueller probe.
Either way, the very integrity of our democracy and rule of law are at stake.
That's why the American people are rising up against this grotesque abuse of power. MoveOn has a sharp campaign plan to keep the pressure on, including:
- A media-grabbing "Guilty Pleas-ures" ice cream truck handing out free ice cream, with flavors like "Cocoa Conspirator" and "IndictMint Chip," and sharing real facts about the impact of the Russia probe. Everywhere it goes, the ice cream truck gets great press, and MoveOn has decided to keep it going (next week, the truck will be right outside the Watergate building in Washington, D.C.).
- Organizing extended protests in Washington, D.C. and around the country, following up on the more than 1,000 events that MoveOn members pulled off in the days after the Sessions firing.
- Flooding Congress with calls to make sure Republicans know that they will be held accountable for Trump's abuses and to remind Democrats that their constituents expect them to fight.
- Producing a raft of new shareable videos to explain in clear terms that people can understand what's at stake and why Trump's actions are so dangerous.
So much of this resistance is tied to the work that MoveOn members have been fueling for the past two years—and relies on MoveOn's continued investment, leadership, and mobilization.
MoveOn has proven time and again that its tactics are effective, but after a knock-down, drag-out midterm election, MoveOn needs our help to sustain this long-term fight.
Legal experts from both political parties say that Whitaker's appointment is illegal, and Democrats have filed a lawsuit to stop it.5 Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has threatened to add the Mueller protection bill to must-pass spending legislation to prevent a government shutdown.6
The reason that Democrats in Congress are standing strong is because they've heard our voices. Within hours of Trump firing Sessions, MoveOn members organized more than 1,000 rallies all over the country, which were attended by more than 100,000 people.
MoveOn members are ready to hit the streets again—and, in the meantime, have been hitting the phones, protesting at local events, getting TV coverage, and flooding social media every step of the way to defend the investigation and demand real accountability for Trump and the truth about Russia. It's now just as critical that MoveOn help protect Mueller's work, push Democrats in the House to use every tool at their disposal to hold Trump accountable, and force Whitaker to recuse—or, even better, have him removed from his unconstitutionally-appointed position.
We must keep up the pressure. This is perhaps the greatest threat to our democracy and rule of law that we've seen in a generation, and we need to demand that Republicans join Democrats in passing legislation to protect the Mueller investigation during the lame-duck session of Congress, and then make sure that Democrats begin investigations when they take over the House in January.
Thanks for all you do.
–Robert Reich
Sources:
1. "Schumer calls for investigation of Whitaker's contacts with White House," The Hill, November 20, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/
2. "What Sessions's Resignation Means for Robert Mueller," The Atlantic, November 7, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/
https://act.moveon.org/go/
3. "The many scandals of Trump's new acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, explained," Vox, November 14, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/
https://act.moveon.org/go/
4. "Failure to turn over Whitaker's public financial disclosure forms angers critics," CNN, November 19, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/
https://act.moveon.org/go/
5. "Senate Democrats are suing to try to stop Matthew Whitaker from serving as acting attorney general," Vox, November 19, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/
https://act.moveon.org/go/
6. "Charles Schumer says Democrats might tie spending bill to Mueller protection," USA Today, November 11, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/
https://act.moveon.org/go/
Contributions to MoveOn.org Civic Action are not tax deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. This email was sent to Chris Tower on November 25th, 2018
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1811.25 - 10:10
- Days ago = 1240 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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