Friday Open Thread | On the road to a constitutional crisis

Posted on May 4, 2018 by rikyrah

From The People’s View
by Liberal Librarian

As anyone who reads me knows, I’m not one for hyperbole. I’m rather sanguine about most things. Circumstances which seem horrible somehow work themselves out.

But this tweet from Donald Trump should give everyone pause.

Trump wants to shut down the Mueller investigation so badly that he can taste it. In this tweet, he is clearly threatening to get involved in the investigation, with the unsaid threat being to end it.

Make no mistake: a president who shuts down an investigation into his own alleged wrongdoing is the textbook definition of a dictator. By doing so, he is saying that he is above the law, and anything he does, whether as president or a candidate, is beyond investigation.

………………………………….

The Founders foresaw a man like Trump assuming the presidency, and provided methods for his removal via impeachment. But Trump’s party is in control of that lever, and so far has been loath to pull on it. Republicans may soon have to make a monumental choice.

I appreciated LL pointing out that the Founding Fathers actually DID believe that this moment would come. They just never counted on the Co-Equal Branch of Government – the Legislative Branch- would abdicate their duties. That they would turn a blind eye to TREASON. But, that’s what they are doing. And, since they are supporting TREASON, they must be dealt with also. There are no excuses for them anymore. We need to deal with them, and show them no mercy in November.

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76 Responses to Friday Open Thread | On the road to a constitutional crisis

  4. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 8:09 pm

    I continue to be frustrated by the unwillingness of those who write about Black people being Democrats that they are unwilling to point out that Black people vote THEIR interests!

    What The Kanye Controversy Can Teach Us About Black Voters
    May 4, 20185:33 PM ET
    GENE DEMBY

    ……………………

    Kanye West — rapper, music producer, clothing designer, provocateur of debatable guile — emerged from a period of relative quietude only to spend the last two weeks thrusting himself into our exhausting culture wars. He shouted out the alt-right-adjacent commentator Candace Owens. He reiterated his affection for President Trump, who returned the love. He snapped a red-hat selfie. And for good measure, he wrote a verse that says that that black people were still on “the Democratic plantation.” Kanye said that he was “free thinking,” and that he had slipped the bonds of black political conventions.

    …………………….

    The reactions to Kanye West’s noisy rightward lurch perfectly illustrated some important, particular dynamics about black voting behavior — why a country with so many black conservatives continues to have so few black Republicans.

    ………………………………………………….

    A common explanation has been the notion of “linked fate” — the belief among black folks that their individual prospects are tied to a collective well-being. But White said that linked fate can’t really explain how the powerful norm for black people to cast votes for Democrats has maintained itself over the last half-century; norms, after all, have to be policed.

    What White and and three other researchers found in a recent study is that social pressure from other black people is how this Democratic norm gets policed. They found that the expectations around this norm were so powerful that simply having a black questioner ask a black respondent about their voting preferences made that respondent more likely to say they were voting for a Democratic candidate.

    ……………………………

    So Kanye isn’t wrong when he says there is a lot of social pressure for black people to vote Democratic. But how those pressures extend to Kanye is a different question. Laird said that the black people who are most likely to cast ballots for Republicans tend to have more attenuated social connections to black communities — like hypothetically, a famous entertainer who lives in an ultra-wealthy town with a 3 percent black population.

    Kanye has cast himself as an iconoclast, brave enough to flout prevailing expectations for black people. But it makes sense to ask how much his current ideological trajectory owes to his own, changing personal arithmetic around social sanction and social rewards. He’s not in Chicago anymore. And Kanye, ever the solipsist, could just be looking for affirmation from the people in his current social universe who can give it to him. (That math is different for John Legend and Chance, who are more closely tied to black communities through their activism.)

    https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/05/04/605531828/what-the-kanye-controversy-can-teach-us-about-black-voters

    Reply
  5. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 8:00 pm

    well….when you put it that way…….

    https://twitter.com/Zeddary/status/992457720598056960?

    Reply
  13. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 3:22 pm

    Iowa bans nearly all abortions as governor signs ‘fetal heartbeat’ law
    Brianne Pfannenstiel and William Petroski,
    The Des Moines Register
    Published 4:13 p.m. ET May 4, 2018

    DES MOINES — Iowa’s governor signed legislation Friday prohibiting nearly all abortions in the state after a fetal heartbeat is detected, making it the most restrictive abortion ban in the nation.

    Security was tightened at the Iowa Capitol in advance of the signing and several state troopers were seen Friday afternoon outside Gov. Kim Reynolds’ formal office.

    The bill received final approval early Wednesday from the Iowa Senate on a divided vote. The House passed the legislation Tuesday night.

    The law, which goes into effect July 1 if the courts don’t stop it, will require physicians to conduct an abdominal ultrasound to test for a fetal heartbeat on any woman seeking an abortion. If a heartbeat is detected, a physician cannot perform an abortion.

    Reply
  15. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 2:29 pm

    Some more non-Whites being shown the door.

    But, both parties are the same…right?

    Trump administration ends protections for 57,000 Hondurans
    Alan Gomez, USA TODAY Published 3:04 p.m. ET May 4, 2018

    The Trump administration on Friday ended a special immigration program for 57,000 Hondurans who have legally lived and worked in the U.S. for two decades, giving them 18 months to leave the country.

    The announcement is the latest step by the administration to phase out Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which is granted to foreign nationals whose countries are decimated by hurricanes, earthquakes and civil wars.

    By cutting off TPS for Hondurans, the administration has now ended the program for 98% of the roughly 317,000 immigrants from six countries who had been legally residing in the U.S., some for nearly 30 years.

    Reply
  16. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 2:22 pm

    For the naturalistas out there..
    anyone try the Aloe Vera Gel and Oil ‘Pre-Poo’ treatment?
    I do it the day before I’m going to wash and deep condition.
    Got it from Youtuber- Naptural85
    Using the aloe vera gel from the plant.
    Wet my hair, Part it into sections. Put the aloe vera gel onto the scalp. When the gel is done, poke the flesh of the plant again, to get more gel.
    After you have gelled your entire scalp, put your favorite oil on it. I use the time to finger detangle, and then do my hair up in twists. My hair just sops up the oil and the twists get nice and plump.
    Next day, I do my regular wash and deep conditioning.

    Reply
  17. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 2:08 pm

    They really think the rest of the world has to go along with the buffoonery of Dolt45?

    Tensions between the US and China increased on Friday as it emerged US officials had handed Beijing a list of demands including a $200bn cut in its trade deficit and an end to state subsidies on strategic industries.

    The two days of talks in Beijing between Steven Mnuchin, the US treasury secretary, and Liu He, the vice-premier, ended on Friday after weeks of escalating rhetoric between the two nations.

    A statement released by the official Xinhua news agency described the talks as “frank, efficient and constructive” but added that there remained “significant disagreements over certain issues”.

    No joint statement was released and according to The Wall Street Journal the Chinese too made demands – calling on the US to stop threatening to impose $150bn in tariffs on imports and ease national-security reviews of Chinese investments.

    A document handed to Chinese officials described the trade relationship between the two countries as “significantly imbalanced”. The US’s trade and services deficit with China was $337bn last year, according to US data, and the Trump administration is pushing for a $200bn cut in that deficit by 2020.

    Y’ALL – THE NERVE!!

    Mnuchin also wanted assurances that China would not to retaliate against US measures currently being pursued against it. For instance, the US says China should agree not to target US farmers or agricultural products, and “not oppose, challenge or otherwise retaliate” when the US moves to restrict Chinese investment in the US in sensitive sectors.

    Reply
  24. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 1:08 pm

    Black Gun Owner Will Give Birth in Prison After Trying to Protect 2-Year-Old Daughter from Assailant
    Siwatu-Salama Ra used a legally purchased firearm to protect her family. She was sentenced to 2 years in prison.
    Robby Soave|May. 2, 2018 9:50 am

    Siwatu-Salama Ra is a 26-year-old black mother who watched in horror as an angry assailant—a neighbor with whom Ra had a dispute—deliberately crashed her vehicle into Ra’s car while Ra’s two-year-old daughter was playing inside. Ra removed her unloaded, legally purchased handgun from the glove box and brandished it, scaring the neighbor off.

    The assailant, Channel Harvey, was never charged. Ra was arrested for felonious assault. She is now serving a mandatory two-year-sentence, even though Michigan is a Stand Your Ground state and Ra was clearly defending her family on her own property.

    Ra is pregnant, and she is expected to give birth in prison

    Reply
  26. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 12:38 pm

    Did you know that the Charlie Rose Accuser count was up to THIRTY?
    THIRTY.

    Reply
  28. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 12:21 pm

    Den of Thieves

    Donny Deutsch: Cohen Told Me Rudy ‘Doesn’t Know What He’s Talking About’

    Michael Cohen is “very frustrated” by claims that Rudy Giuliani made in a Thursday press blitz about hush money payments Cohen doled out during the 2016 presidential campaign, MSNBC’s Donny Deutsch said Friday.

    Deutsch, appearing on Morning Joe, said he’d spoken to Cohen about Giuliani’s revelation that President Trump reimbursed the $130,000 Cohen paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about her alleged sexual relationship with Trump.

    “I spoke with Michael Cohen yesterday and his quote about Giuliani was: He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Deutsch said.

    “He said look there’s two people that know exactly what happened, myself and the President and you’ll be hearing my side of the story,” Deutsch continued. “And he was obviously very frustrated with what had come out yesterday.”

    Reply
  30. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 12:00 pm

    Get the ENTIRE PHUCK OUTTA HERE!!

    Jill Stein: I’m refusing to turn over some docs in Russia probe because lawmakers shouldn’t have even asked for them https://t.co/vqiBZjVxH7 pic.twitter.com/dCXAFGT9Kv

    — The Hill (@thehill) May 4, 2018

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      May 4, 2018 at 4:17 pm

      Naw, Jillie girl. You’re in deep with the Russians, and are beginning to sound just like 45 & company.

      The sheer nerve of being asked to turn over docs in a legal investigation! If they’re asking for those docs, rest assured they have just cause.

      Reply
  35. SouthernGirl2 says:
    May 4, 2018 at 10:54 am

    Why don’t the parent stay their “uncomfortable” ass at home from now on? Sick and tired of them. They need to get some help for their damn fear.

    https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/992431328334434305

    Reply
  37. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 10:25 am

    Did Giuliani admit Trump obstructed justice in firing Comey?

    When Donald Trump’s new lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said on Fox News that Donald Trump fired James Comey over the Russia investigation, did he essentially admit that Trump obstructed justice? Danny Cevallos, defense attorney, James McGovern, former federal prosecutor, and Mimi Rocah, former assistant U.S. attorney help Rachel Maddow understand in a new edition of TRMS Law School.

    Reply
  38. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 10:20 am

    How were prosecutors monitoring Trump confidant Michael Cohen?

    What was the legal nature of the monitoring of Michael Cohen ahead of the raids on his office, home, and hotel? Danny Cevallos, defense attorney, James McGovern, former federal prosecutor, and Mimi Rocah, former assistant U.S. attorney help Rachel Maddow understand in a new edition of TRMS Law School.

    Reply
  39. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 10:10 am

    Did Trump or Cohen break any laws with the Stormy Daniels payoff?

    Did Rudy Giuliani implicate Donald Trump or Michael Cohen in any crimes with his new story of how money was juggled in the course of paying off Stormy Daniels? Danny Cevallos, defense attorney, James McGovern, former federal prosecutor, and Mimi Rocah, former assistant U.S. attorney help Rachel Maddow understand in a new edition of TRMS Law School.

    Reply
  40. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 9:55 am

    DOJ gets wise to GOP effort to tip off Trump on Mueller probe

    Rachel Maddow shows how the Department of Justice is resisting requests from Republican members of Congress for details of the Mueller investigation as the New York Times reports suspicions by the FBI and Rod Rosenstein that GOP members of Congress are wanting to use their access to information to tip off Donald Trump about the investigation.

    Reply
  41. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 9:53 am

    Pritzker, Mendoza demand Rauner, Senger apologize to Duckworth for vets email
    Tina Sfondeles @TinaSfon |
    05/03/2018, 06:20pm

    Democrats J.B. Pritzker and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza on Thursday demanded that Gov. Bruce Rauner and his policy chief issue an apology to Sen. Tammy Duckworth for an email that suggested blaming the decorated war hero and former veterans’ affairs manager for a deadly Legionnaires’ outbreak in downstate Quincy.

    Despite the political pressure, Republican comptroller candidate Darlene Senger — Rauner’s policy chief — isn’t backing down on the blame game.

    Mendoza faces Senger in her re-election bid come November. And while the problems at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy where 13 have died have been campaign fodder for months, an email obtained by WBEZ this week revealed Senger suggested blaming Duckworth, who ran the state agency under former Governors Pat Quinn and Rod Blagojevich.

    “We can maybe tie this back to Duckworth,” Senger wrote in a Dec. 13 email.

    Senger’s campaign on Thursday said the “point” of her email was to show that there’s a need to understand how problems in the home started in order to find solutions.

    “If we choose to ignore the past, systemic failures to fund our veteran’s programs, then we are destined to continue to face these challenges in the future and that was the point of my comment,” her campaign said.

    Pritzker was joined by Mendoza and two state representatives who also are veterans — Linda Chapa La Via, D-Aurora, and Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego — at the Plumbers Hall in the West Loop. He said they were outraged that Duckworth would be blamed for the deaths.

    Duckworth, an Iraq war vet, lost her legs and shattered her right arm when her Black Hawk helicopter was shot down in Iraq on Nov. 12, 2004.

    Mendoza implored Senger to apologize to the families of those affected by the Legionnaires’ outbreak and to Duckworth. She also blamed the administration for trying to hide the outbreak.

    And she denied politicizing the issue; that, she said, is Senger’s doing.

    “Darlene Senger is the person who chose to try to pin the deaths of 13 war heroes on an actual wounded war hero. It’s not me,” Mendoza said. “Darlene Senger disqualified herself as a person that could be trusted by this state the minute she decided to put the governor and his reputation ahead the personal safety of those veterans and the grieving families that were impacted by the deaths.”

    Mendoza said she’s doing a “public service” in highlighting the issue “so that the people of Illinois don’t get conned for a second time” — referring to Rauner’s re-election bid.

    And Pritzker focused his efforts on trying to pin the blame on Rauner.

    “Shockingly the person that they tried to blame is U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a combat veteran, an advocate for veterans rights who embodies the spirit and courage of this nation,” Pritzker said. “Gov. Rauner, Sen. Duckworth deserves an apology. She doesn’t deserve the blame that your administration is placing upon her, but instead thanks for her sacrifice and her service.”

    Reply
  43. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 9:21 am

    Attainable goal: Every high school in America has a voter registration drive on or before May 29th. Sign up here: https://t.co/nHxB2AiJKD

    — David Hogg (@davidhogg111) May 4, 2018

    Reply
  44. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 9:20 am

    Giuliani ends any question of why Donald Trump fired James Comey

    Rachel Maddow points out that Donald Trump’s new lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said on Fox News that Donald Trump fired James Comey over the Russia investigation, and wonders what happens now that there is such an overt admission on the matter.

    Reply
  45. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 9:19 am

    Whatever.
    Hmmph

    Democrats target union workers who regret Trump vote
    Tim Reid, Joseph Ax
    MAY 4, 2018 / 6:10 AM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

    DUBUQUE, Iowa (Reuters) – Inside Knicker’s Saloon, a factory worker hangout here, Jesse Oberbroeckling has just finished his shift at the John Deere plant when he reveals his regret.

    Like many union workers, Oberbroeckling voted twice for former Democratic President Barack Obama before backing Donald Trump and other Republicans in 2016.

    Now he has buyer’s remorse – and plans to support the Democratic challenger to Rod Blum, the Republican congressman in this blue-collar, eastern Iowa district.

    “Trump is for the rich,” said Oberbroeckling, 37, sipping a rum-and-coke. “Blum’s for big business. They said they were for the workers, but they’re not.”

    That sentiment should encourage Democrats, who saw their once-reliable labor vote help send Trump to the White House after he vowed to revive Rust Belt factories with trade tariffs and ailing coal mines with environmental deregulation. Now – with coal still struggling and Trump stoking a trade war – many union workers have soured on the president ahead of November’s midterm congressional elections, the Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll shows.

    Between March 2017 and March 2018, union members’ approval of Trump fell 15 points, to 47 percent. In more than two dozen interviews with union members, many blasted Trump’s tax cut, arguing most of the benefits will flow to corporations and wealthy people.

    Reply
  46. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 9:15 am

    1,100 economists warn that Trump is repeating one of the biggest mistakes of the Great Depression
    Bob Bryan

    Over 1,100 leading economists sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging the president to reverse course on recent trade tactics — lest the US repeat one of the biggest mistakes of the Great Depression.

    The letter, organized by the conservative-leaning National Taxpayers Union, warned that recent tariffs and trade protectionism were harmful to the US economy. The economists cited a 1930 letter that warned Congress against passing the Smoot-Hawley Act, a large package of tariffs that many studies cite as a major reason for the depth of the Great Depression.

    “Congress did not take economists’ advice in 1930, and Americans across the country paid the price,” the letter says. “The undersigned economists and teachers of economics strongly urge you not to repeat that mistake. Much has changed since 1930 — for example, trade is now significantly more important to our economy — but the fundamental economic principles as explained at the time have not.”

    Reply
  49. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 8:43 am

    Still LMAO at the ZEGK being handed his balls by the Jesuit!

    Don’t.Phuck.With.The.Jesuits!

    I’m not Catholic, and even I know that.

    No better for him.

    Reply
  57. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 7:13 am

    Lesson here:
    Don’t 👏 Phuck 👏 With 👏 The 👏 Jesuits 👏

    https://twitter.com/jim_newell/status/992144731277811714?s=19

    Reply
  63. rikyrah says:
    May 4, 2018 at 4:07 am

    Good Morning Everyone 😄😄😄

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      May 4, 2018 at 8:19 am

      TGIF, 3Chics Family & Friends!

      Reply
    • SouthernGirl2 says:
      May 4, 2018 at 9:30 am

      Good morning, everyone. Some news on Carson. He hates his playpen. When daughter goes to put him in the playpen he turns away from it and starts crying. LOL!

      Reply
      • rikyrah says:
        May 4, 2018 at 10:11 am

        Carson is just spoiled..LOL

        Reply
      • Ametia says:
        May 4, 2018 at 10:24 am

        LOL Carson is pushing the boundaries pretty early. Can’t blame him.

        He knows there’s freedom in being out of a closed in space. Delicatse balance in keeping him safe and providing him freedom to roam.

        Reply
      • majiir says:
        May 4, 2018 at 8:10 pm

        Ya’ll leave that baby alone! He wants to be free to interact with his family members, and I don’t blame him. Carson knows being in that playpen is restricting his ability to keep up with what’s going on in the house, and he’s letting everyone know it.

        Reply
      • SouthernGirl2 says:
        May 4, 2018 at 9:09 pm

        LOL! Little baby has learned quickly that he doesn’t like that playpen.

        Reply

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