6/10/21 The DOJ Went Wild Under Bill Barr, Says CNN Lawyer

The Trump Justice Department went well beyond traditional limits to whitewash Trump operatives and otherwise cater to the whims of the Liar in Chief. At the same time, Justice tried to cloak its actions to minimize pushback from the public.

Among the more egregious examples is the DOJ's grab for information about emails to and from CNN reporter Barbara Starr. CNN lawyer David Vigilante described how it happened: One day in July 2020, without warning, he received a gag order along with the DOJ's demands for information, which were specifically for email header information. (The email header tells you everything about the email except what it actually says -- where it came from, what browser was used, how it was sent, and so forth.)

The gag order meant that Vigilante couldn't tell anyone about the DOJ's request aside from lawyers outside CNN. "I was told in no uncertain terms (multiple times) that I was forbidden from communicating about any aspect of the order or these proceedings to the journalist whose interests I am duty-bound to protect, Barbara Starr," says Vigilante in the article linked below. "I was further informed that if I violated the order, I was subject to charges of contempt and even criminal prosecution for obstruction of justice."

Usually, secret orders involve national security. This one didn't. Usually, the orders have to provide advance notice to the subject of the request, in this case Barbara Starr. But Vigilante couldn't tell Starr until mid-May of 2021. While Vigilante sought to make the request more manageable, he learned bit by bit what he wasn't allowed to know:

• What the investigation was about.

• Who were the subject(s) of the investigation were.

• The subject matter of the reporting that was at issue.

• When the investigation was opened.

• They weren't supposed to talk to the reporter either before or after CNN provided the requested information.

"In short," Vigilante says, "All the tools lawyers use every day to navigate these situations were refused to us."

After several rounds of lawsuit and countersuit, Vicente eventually learned from a judge's remarks that the information the government wanted was untethered to the facts of the case.

Now, Vicente wants to make sure that the sordid tale won't be repeated. He and representatives from the New York Times and Washington Post are scheduled to take it up with the Attorney General soon.

 

Can you imagine having Trump-era discourtesies become the norm for Department of Justice investigations?

Should the DOJ be subject to a type of "sunshine law?"

Do you agree with any of the DOJ's actions in this case?

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/09/politics/david-vigilante-cnn-email-secret-court-battle/index.html?fbclid=IwAR21kIvIa61EgLdtrQO8YvrDrYjd2yZfpDIWTV3rW6flNhSlYmUvU8QeOG4

6/8/21 Mo Brooks Gets Served -- and Reveals Secrets

Remember how Mo Brooks, that Trump-affiliated rep from Alabama, made himself scarce to avoid being served with a subpoena about the 1/6 Capitol riot? California rep Eric Swalwell hired a private investigator to find him!

Well, the intrepid PI tracked Brooks down and served the papers, and Brooks was hopping mad. In a subsequent tweetstorm, he threatened to charge the PI with criminal trespass under an Alabama law.

Then, instead of cut-and-pasting the law into his tweet, Brooks included a photo showing the law on his computer screen. But Brooks photographed the entire computer, complete with a sticky note that showed his gmail password and a PIN number!

How did Brooks manage to stay hidden for so long? He must have had help.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mo-brooks-lawsuit-email-password_n_60be38e5e4b0882193c711c8?fbclid=IwAR094uBd8hODwZKBEfOSNM9r55usQ2TGrIZf2K5EIhjVUcXjHJYJBu3Sgoc

6/5/21 Update: Abuse at Indigenous Schools. Would We Have Tried to Stop It?

The Catholic church is getting a lot of criticism since the remains of 215 Indigenous children were discovered using ground-penetrating radar outside a boarding school in Kamloops, British Columbia. Remember, the schools were doing exactly what the Canadian government and the majority white culture wanted them to do: forcing native kids to assimilate into modern life by obliterating their backgrounds.

"The whole point was to erase their Indigenous identities," says a University of Alberta professor quoted in the article below. The 2015 report of a government Truth and Reconciliation Commission (I believe that's Canadian for "OMG, how bad was it?!") said that the system was "cultural genocide." To date, the Canadians have spent $1.6 billion in reparations to the survivors.

I'm bemused at how we today tend to think we would have been like the Kevin Costner character in Dances with Wolves -- you know, smarter, wiser, more savvy at child development than the population-at-large back then.

I think that in any era, an individual would draw the line at the casual tolerance of the high death rate for these children -- if bystanders had known of it. But not even the children's families knew of their deaths. Because they were undervalued as who they were, these kids died of abuse, neglect, poor health care, and accidents.

Still, the idea that assimilation is a good thing -- even at the cost of breaking children away from their families -- was inescapable back then. Would we, today, have done a better job of helping these kids? I'd like to think so, but frankly, I'm unsure.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kamloops-residential-school-survivor-abuse/?fbclid=IwAR0kJSBhC9guPNogIzBRtFSplIV2OIA6ojnQNpL1-ODwUMVWk3-EKCVg9Aw

6/6/21 Ruling Sweeps Away California's Ban on Selling Assault Weapons

Does this sentence bug you? "Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment . . . Firearms deemed as 'assault weapons' are fairly ordinary, popular, modern rifles."

That's part of an opinion issued Friday that overturns California longstanding ban on the sale of assault weapons in the state, which was first enacted in 1989.

It's not just the judge's statement, but the language itself that's jarring. "[He] took the language from the gun lobby to write this opinion," said anti-gun activist Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed at the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School massacre. The AR-15 has played a prominent part in the nation's mass shootings.

The case was brought by a coalition of gun-rights groups. They're making good use of a federal judge, Judge Roger Benitez, whose second-amendment enthusiasm apparently equals their own.

In 2017, Benitez ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in a case challenging the state's ban on magazines holding more than 10 bullets. That previous decision is still being appealed. In 2020, Benitez also blocked a new law that would have required personal identification for the purchase of ammunition.

California Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the decision, calling it “a direct threat to public safety and the lives of innocent Californians, period.” He said further, "We're not backing down from this fight, and we'll continue pushing for common sense gun laws that will save lives."

The judge granted a 30-day stay -- bear with me on this -- before his permanent ban of the ban on the sale of assault weapons takes effect. That allows the state to file an appeal beforehand.

Benitez's opinion is contrary to rulings by six other federal districts, according to California's argument. (Benitez was appointed by George W. Bush.) Still, AR-15 rifles have gained popularity in the United States since a federal assault-weapons ban expired in 2014, and gun sales have soared during the past year.

If AR-15 assault rifles qualify as "fairly ordinary," to Judge Benitez, what weapon isn't? Wrote the judge, “The banned ‘assault weapons’ are not bazookas, howitzers, or machine guns. Those arms are dangerous and solely useful for military purposes.”

So if you live in California and notice that your neighbors have installed a howitzer in their back yard, you will know that their taste in weaponry is extreme. Not so if they merely sit around with their AR-15s at the ready.

Considering that until Friday, California's assault-weapons ban was in effect for three decades, is it even fair that a single out-of-orbit judge can strike down a law designed to protect residents?

Should Judge Benitez be impeached? Can you think of any successful ways to reduce the sale of assault weapons other than using a ban like California's?  

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/california-assault-weapons-ban-overturned_n_60bb4949e4b0ea8a191ebeaf?fbclid=IwAR1D4yPSu9mv0mh4yefbQw5P1ejM4FJ27xg9Jc2r5BHQsXtVsJGjdDcbxLU

6/3/21 Karmic Smackdown Silences Discourteous Anti-Gay Boaters

Karma must have watched a Marvel superhero movie in a Sunday matinee this week and been inspired, because that evening, it (he? she? Fate?) swatted down some discourteous anti-gay boaters in Washington State.

About 7:30, a family tootling around Lake Moses with Pride flags flying encountered another boat with a family that had an entirely different perspective.

Waving the middle-finger flag, this boatful of folks circled around the pride-flag vessel, screaming anti-gay slurs.

"These people harassed my family because we were flying gay pride flags," tweeted one of the pride flag boaters. [They were] "racing around us and shouting gay slurs."

"Then," the pride-flag tweet continued, "their boat literally blew up!" The anti-gay boaters swam to the pride boat for rescue.

The cause of the anti-gay boat fire is under investigation. No lightning was reported that evening.

https://www.advocate.com/people/2021/6/02/boat-explodes-after-occupants-harass-vessel-flying-pride-flags?fbclid=IwAR094uBd8hODwZKBEfOSNM9r55usQ2TGrIZf2K5EIhjVUcXjHJYJBu3Sgoc

6/3/21 A Rogue's Gallery of Trump-Supporting Liars in the Federal Legislature

Think back to that horrible day in January when 147 House and Senate legislators voted against certifying the federal election for Joe Biden.

Now, take another look at the last few weeks' votes over the bill to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the violent insurrection attempt of the day Biden was confirmed.

Who voted No on that bill? 175 Republicans in the House; 35 in the Senate.

A horrifying number -- 139 lawmakers -- voted both against Biden's certification AND against the commission. These folks are cozied up to Trump and promoting The Big Lie that the election was stolen from him by the Democrats. No one with an ounce of brainpower believes that fiction, including these guys, but they're still flogging the lie to stay in Trump's circle of influence.

Here are their names, compiled by Huffpo in the article linked below.

In the Senate:

Ted Cruz (R-Texas)

Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)

Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.)

John Kennedy (R-La.)

Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.)

Roger Marshall (R-Kan.)

Rick Scott (R-Fla.)

Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.)

In the House:

Robert Aderholt (Ala.)

Rick Allen (Ga.)

Jodey Arrington (Texas)

Brian Babin (Texas)

Jim Baird (Ind.)

Jim Banks (Ind.)

Jack Bergman (Mich.)

Andy Biggs (Ariz.)

Dan Bishop (N.C.)

Lauren Boebert (Colo.)

Mike Bost (Ill.)

Mo Brooks (Ala.)

Ted Budd (N.C.)

Tim Burchett (Tenn.)

Michael Burgess (Texas)

Ken Calvert (Calif.)

Kat Cammack (Fla.)

Jerry Carl (Ala.)

Buddy Carter (Ga.)

John Carter (Texas)

Madison Cawthorn (N.C.)

Steve Chabot (Ohio)

Ben Cline (Va.)

Michael Cloud (Texas)

Andrew Clyde (Ga.)

Tom Cole (Okla.)

Rick Crawford (Ark.)

Warren Davidson (Ohio)

Scott DesJarlais (Tenn.)

Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.)

Byron Donalds (Fla.)

Jeff Duncan (S.C.)

Neal Dunn (Fla.)

Ron Estes (Kan.)

Pat Fallon (Texas)

Michelle Fischbach (Minn.)

Scott Fitzgerald (Wis.)

Chuck Fleischmann (Tenn.)

Virginia Foxx (N.C.)

Scott Franklin (Fla.)

Russ Fulcher (Idaho)

Matt Gaetz (Fla.)

Mike Garcia (Calif.)

Bob Gibbs (Ohio)

Louie Gohmert (Texas)

Bob Good (Va.)

Lance Gooden (Texas)

Paul Gosar (Ariz.)

Garret Graves (La.)

Sam Graves (Mo.)

Mark Green (Tenn.)

Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.)

Morgan Griffith (Va.)

Jim Hagedorn (Minn.)

Andy Harris (Md.)

Diana Harshbarger (Tenn.)

Vicky Hartzler (Mo.)

Kevin Hern (Okla.)

Yvette Herrell (N.M.)

Jody Hice (Ga.)

Clay Higgins (La.)

Richard Hudson (N.C.)

Darrell Issa (Calif.)

Ronny Jackson (Texas)

Bill Johnson (Ohio)

Mike Johnson (La.)

Jim Jordan (Ohio)

John Joyce (Pa.)

Fred Keller (Pa.)

Mike Kelly (Pa.)

Trent Kelly (Miss.)

David Kustoff (Tenn.)

Doug LaMalfa (Calif.)

Doug Lamborn (Colo.)

Jake LaTurner (Kan.)

Debbie Lesko (Ariz.)

Billy Long (Mo.)

Barry Loudermilk (Ga.)

Frank Lucas (Okla.)

Blaine Luetkemeyer (Mo.)

Nicole Malliotakis (N.Y.)

Tracey Mann (Kan.)

Brian Mast (Fla.)

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.)

Lisa McClain (Mich.)

Daniel Meuser (Pa.)

Carol Miller (W.Va.)

Mary Miller (Ill.)

Alex Mooney (W.Va.)

Barry Moore (Ala.)

Markwayne Mullin (Okla.)

Greg Murphy (N.C.)

Troy Nehls (Texas)

Ralph Norman (S.C.)

Devin Nunes (Calif.)

Jay Obernolte (Calif.)

Burgess Owens (Utah)

Steven Palazzo (Miss.)

Gary Palmer (Ala.)

Greg Pence (Ind.)

Scott Perry (Pa.)

August Pfluger (Texas)

Bill Posey (Fla.)

Guy Reschenthaler (Pa.)

Harold Rogers (Ky.)

Mike Rogers (Ala.)

John Rose (Tenn.)

Matthew Rosendale (Mont.)

David Rouzer (N.C.)

John Rutherford (Fla.)

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (La.)

David Schweikert (Ariz.)

Pete Sessions (Texas)

Adrian Smith (Neb.)

Jason Smith (Mo.)

Lloyd Smucker (Pa.)

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (N.Y.)

Gregory Steube (Fla.)

Chris Stewart (Utah)

Thomas Tiffany (Wis.)

Glenn Thompson (Pa.)

William Timmons (S.C.)

Jeff Van Drew (N.J.)

Beth Van Duyne (Texas)

Tim Walberg (Mich.)

Jackie Walorski (Ind.)

Randy Weber (Texas)

Roger Williams (Texas)

Joe Wilson (S.C.)

Robert Wittman (Va.)

Lee Zeldin (N.Y.) 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/republicans-january-6-insurrection_n_60b134a7e4b0ead279685a40?fbclid=IwAR1D4yPSu9mv0mh4yefbQw5P1ejM4FJ27xg9Jc2r5BHQsXtVsJGjdDcbxLU

6/2/21 Kamala Harris will Lead the Nation's Efforts to Ensure Voting Rights

Kamala is on the case. California's former district attorney is now tasked not only with being VP, but also with keeping up the pressure for fair voting laws in every state.

While the US Senate squelched the John Lewis Voting Rights Act last year, the House has already passed its replacement, called the ‘For the People Act.’ Some of its good ideas include automatic voter registration, voting rights restoration for the formerly imprisoned, and expanded early voting. The bill also calls for election day to be a holiday.

"I will work with voting rights organizations, community organizations, and the private sector to help strengthen and uplift efforts on voting rights nationwide," Harris said. "Our Administration will not stand by when confronted with any effort that keeps Americans from voting."

Meanwhile, Republican states are doing all they can to resurrect Jim Crow polling conditions. In Texas, the state's House Democrats walked out on a voter suppression bill Sunday night, effectively running out the clock to defeat the bill. That's the kind of ballsy move we've only seen in Republican lawmaking in recent years.

The Texas bill really had to be stopped. Can you believe that the bill would have made it illegal for voters who weren't family members to carpool to the polls? The driver would have had to fill out and sign an affidavit! Worse yet, the bill would have made it easier for judges to overturn the results of an election.

It doesn't pay to turn your back on a Republican politician in Texas. But you already knew that.

What do you think of Texas Republicans for trying to limit voting that way?

Where do you think Harris should start fighting for voting rights -- in the statehouses? With turnout-boosting systems? With multiple lawsuits challenging voter-suppression state laws in progress? All of the above?

What would you do to open up voting rights to every citizen?

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/biden-taps-harris-lead-administration-s-effort-protect-voting-rights-n1269273?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_np&fbclid=IwAR0Wyk0a048Q2dFYxdN_EWY-ilV8N3sM42bgTOyx9l4Z2TQydcot7svWhyA