Sunday, June 4th open thread: ‘Bloodflowers’
Here is the open thread for Sunday, June 4th. Please feel free to post links to interesting articles and to discuss whatever issues arise during the course of the day. Nothing is off-topic here.
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Here is The Cure performing “Bloodflowers” from the underrated CD of the same name:
frui diem
Back in 2013 Republicans attempted to hold raising the debt ceiling hostage to repealing Obamacare and naturally Democrats were outraged over the prospect of playing politics with paying the nation’s debts. Here is what Barack Obama said back then:
The issue here is whether or not America pays its bills,” Obama said at a press conference on Monday, the last of his first term in office. “We are not a deadbeat nation”
However it is now being reported in this article that the Democrats are considering playing politics with the debt ceiling in order to block tax cuts, here is more:
Congressional Democrats might abandon their calls for raising the nation’s debt limit without any conditions, with House and Senate party leaders now discussing whether to use their leverage to try to prevent Republicans from enacting tax cuts for wealthy Americans.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi signaled the shift Friday, telling reporters that “we’re not there to raise the debt ceiling to throw a few crumbs to the middle class” and provide big cuts for the wealthy.
It’s unclear how this would work in practice, but Democratic aides in both chambers said they are discussing possible strategies to tie the debt ceiling to blocking tax cuts.
Seems like every day, taxes, tax-cuts, and the tax code gets more complicated. It’s almost impossible for the average person to be able to successfully, and correctly do their taxes. This might be why such a high amount of people don’t pay their taxes. Luckily there are firms like Shore Line who can help you out, I’ve used them a few times, and gilbert cpa has always been very helpful.
Such an approach would be a significant change for Democrats, who have spent the past eight years arguing that debt ceiling increases should be free from conditions, and could further complicate efforts to raise the government’s borrowing authority when the current limit is reached later this year.
They have come full circle…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
After Sean Spicer refused to rule out the possibility of Donald Trump using Executive Privilege to block James Comey from testifying in the Russian collusion scandal the internet is ablaze with speculation. Here is more:
White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Friday did not rule out the possibility that President Trump might invoke executive privilege to try to stop former FBI director James Comey from testifying Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into Russia’s interference in the presidential election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.
“Obviously, it’s got to be reviewed,” Spicer said in response to a reporter’s question about executive privilege. “My understanding is the date for that hearing was just set. I haven’t spoken to counsel yet. I don’t know how they’re going to respond.”
To be fair there could be the possibility that Sean Spicer has no knowledge about this because it has not been discussed with him so he could not give a more definite answer, however I tend to believe there has been discussions about this and he knows this option is on the table but nothing has been decided to this point.
If Donald Trump does invoke Executive Privilege this will be very troubling to me because it has shades of Barack Obama invoking Executive Privilege to protect Eric Holder, and possibly himself, when the Fast and Furious scandal was getting too close. It sure would look as if Donald Trump has something to hide and it will fuel the speculation on the left. (Even though nobody on the left batted an eye when Barack Obama did it.)
If Donald Trump has nothing to hide he should let James Comey testify.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Andrea Mitchell: Hillary Clinton is creating Russian collusion ‘conspiracy theory’ without any evidence
For months there has been breathless speculation by the Democrats, some establishment Republicans, and the mainstream media that Donald Trump colluded with Russia during the campaign. Despite an investigation which has lasted almost one year nobody has been able to offer any proof other than reports with anonymous sources–which of course is not proof–it is still being reported as fact.
Donald Trump’s defenders have been saying for months there is no proof but the left has been adamant that something happened between Russia and the Trump campaign and they have ignored the fact there is no proof at this point. It might end up being true but it is all speculation at this point.
But there has been an interesting turn of events: Hillary Clinton went on her “blame tour” this week and she put some of the blame on the Democratic National Committee for her loss. This most likely did not sit well with the Democratic National Committee which means the talking points might be changing.
It seems as if the Democratic establishment is beginning to turn on Hillary Clinton which means the “Industrial Media Complex” will also start to turn on her. Case in point: First CNN mocked Hillary Clinton for the Russian conspiracy theory and now MSNBC‘s Andrea Mitchell has taken to the right’s talking points about there being no proof. Here is what she had to say:
I have to say I have found it pretty entertaining to listen to Hillary Clinton take full responsibility for her loss to Donald Trump and then immediately start listing all of the reasons why it was not her fault. Even CNN is mocking her “blame tour” by saying the Russians cloaked Wisconsin so she could not find the state on the map and prevented her from campaigning there.
You have all probably heard all of her excuses by now but here is a list of 18 of her excuses if you care to check it out.
Now she is even blaming the Democratic National Committee, here is more:
Donald Trump is quietly continuing Barack Obama’s ‘catch and release’ illegal immigration program
Reports indicate that illegal border crossings are down roughly 60-70% since Donald Trump was elected to the office of the Presidency but Border Patrol Agents are claiming that despite Donald Trump supposedly ending Barack Obama’s “catch and release” policy the policy is still being implemented–just at a lower level comparative to lower lower level of illegal border crossings.
Here is more:
President Donald J. Trump is allowing former President Barack Obama’s “catch and release” of illegal immigrants to continue deep into his administration’s term with no end in sight to the controversial open borders protocol. Border Patrol agents are once again sounding the alarm and alerting the public about the separation between DC’s rhetoric and the realities on the U.S.-Mexico border — a practice that the agents hoped would become unnecessary under the Trump Administration.
Border Patrol is saying that even though the numbers are down right now it will not be sustained because there have been no substantial changes to border border security:
When liberal celebrities are not too busy pretending to behead the President they are apparently busy calling for the arrest of Jared Kushner. That is what Keith Olbermann did today, here is what he had to say:
“I call for the immediate arrest of Jared Kushner. If he should not be suspected of money laundering, racketeering and influence peddling, then he should be suspected of obstruction of justice and espionage and possibly worse,” Olbermann, who has his own GQ web show, said.
“There is no other option that can be reasonably entertained.”
I must have missed the news today, was the investigation into this scandal completed and was evidence found that implicated Jared Kushner in a crime? Because the last I knew there was no evidence of a crime, only hearsay and rumors coming from anonymous sources.
Being suspected of a crime and having evidence of a crime are two different things. Maybe when the investigation is over there will be evidence but if we are going to use being suspected of a crime through hearsay, speculation, and rumors as reason to arrest a person than Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would be standing trial next to Jared Kushner. Funny, I do not recall Keith Olbermann calling for their arrests based on the same criteria…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
According to this story the House Intelligence Committee has issued seven subpoenas related to the Russia scandal and three of them are also related to the “unmasking “scandal. Here is more:
The House Intelligence Committee issued seven subpoenas on Wednesday, in a sign that its investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election is ramping up in scope and intensity, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Republican-led committee issued four subpoenas related to the Russia investigation. Three subpoenas are related to questions about how and why the names of associates of President Donald Trump were unredacted and distributed within classified reports by Obama administration officials during the transition between administrations.
The committee has subpoenaed the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency for information about what is called “unmasking.” Republicans on the committee have been pushing for a thorough investigation of how the names of Trump campaign officials became exposed in classified intelligence reports based off intelligence community intercepts.
While the mainstream media will focus on the four subpoenas related to the Russia scandal and ignore the three subpoenas related to the Obama era “unmasking scandal” this is good news; as long as there is going to be an investigation it must be a complete investigation. And if the investigation is complete it may lead us down a road the Democrats are uncomfortable with as well.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Donald Trump calls on the Senate to use the nuclear option to pass healthcare and tax reform
The filibuster has been gradually weakened since 2013 when Harry Reid invoked the so-called nuclear option to get some of Barack Obama’s judicial nominees and cabinet appointees confirmed, it was further weakened when the Republicans invoked the nuclear option to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
Mitch McConnell vowed at that time not to do away with the filibuster for legislation but I think we know that once the wheels were set in motion eventually this would happen. But now Donald Trump is calling on the Senate to do just that in order to pass healthcare and tax reform. Here is more:
President Donald Trump called on the Senate on Tuesday to do away with its legislative filibuster, a move he said would enable the body to pass two pieces of legislation in order to dodge the 60-vote threshold.
“The U.S. Senate should switch to 51 votes, immediately, and get Healthcare and TAX CUTS approved, fast and easy. Dems would do it, no doubt!” Trump wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning
As the article linked to above states, this is not necessary because the Senate is likely to use the reconciliation process to pass these two pieces of legislation with a simple majority anyway.
The Republicans had threatened to use the nuclear option while George Bush was President but they never followed through on it, it was Harry Reid and the Democrats who opened up these floodgates and at some point in time I do believe the nuclear option will be used to pass legislation–if it does not happen under Republican leadership it will happen with Democratic leadership.
When Harry Reid invoked the nuclear option he said Republicans should thank him–and I think they are now–because it would benefit them if they ever regain power, but of course he did not think the ever would and now people like Chuck Schumer regret that decision.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Report: It was Russia that suggested back channel communications with the Trump campaign
Anonymous sources have become all the rage lately and last week it was reported by the Washington Post through anonymous sources that during a call with Michael Flynn and Sergey Kislyak Jared Kushner proposed setting up a back channel of communication between the Trump transition team and Russia. The mainstream media is still breathless over this story today. I can understand why because this is a huge accusation but of course it has not been confirmed and we do not know whether or not the investigation is even looking at this possibility.
However a new report is out, again with anonymous sources, which the media is not only not reporting with glee but is not reporting it at all. According to this story it was not Jared Kushner who suggested setting up a back channel of communication but rather it was Russia.
Here is more:
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