In a press conference notable for being even more than usually incoherent (and also making the announcement using the iPhone Notes app), Donald fundamentally (and no doubt legally) undermined his own case for a national emergency by stating, “I didn’t need to do this…I just wanted to get it done faster.” Perhaps Webster’s, long known for hilariously trolling Donald’s misuses of his native tongue, can help Don John and the GOP with the definition of “emergency”?
Meanwhile, an avalanche of lawsuits against the Very Stable Genius’s undermining of Congress and our democracy has predictably begun, as even Donny’s own DoJ has assured him his unfounded executive action is likely to be blocked by the courts.
In the run-up to Donald’s propaganda visit to El Paso to pimp for his compensatory border wall, El Paso officials went on the record with media to request the president stop perpetuating lies about crime and security in the border town. El Paso County is among those entities suing Donny for the declaration of national emergency.
Congress Actually Working
The House Judiciary Committee passed a measure to require background checks for all U.S. firearm purchases.
Despite the current administration’s efforts to peel back protections on protected areas, the Senate approved the most sweeping conservation legislation in a decade, creating 1.3 million new acres of protected wilderness, expanding a number of national parks, and creating five new national monuments. The bipartisan bill passed 92-8, and “combines more than 100 separate bills that designate more than 350 miles of river as wild and scenic, add 2,600 miles of new federal trails and create nearly 700,000 acres of new recreation and conservation areas. The bill also withdraws 370,000 acres in Montana and Washington state from mineral development,” as well as reauthorizing the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund permanently.
The House passed a measure to end U.S. military support of Saudi forces in Yemen, repudiating Donald’s continued support of the Saudi-led war effort there.
Meanwhile the top U.S. Commander in the Middle East, Gen. Joseph Votel, publicly broke with Donald to state that he disagrees with the Mentally Deranged Dotard’s precipitous announcement that he plans to withdraw troops from Syria, stating that ISIS is far from defeated there.
Republican Corruption
Donald appointee William “Brock” Long, the FEMA administrator who was recently investigated by his department for his inappropriate use of federal vehicles costing taxpayers more than $150K, has resigned.
Donald enraged even Republicans by ignoring a law requiring the White House to submit a report to Congress about who ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (Spoiler alert: Every head of U.S. intelligence has agreed it was Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a certainty that Donald is dancing as fast as he can to try to avoid confirming.)
The Texas Tribune is doing a bang-up job exposing the lies, fallacies and fraud behind Texas secretary of state David Whitley’s announcement that Texas was investigating 95K voters who may not be citizens.
In opposition to Donald’s attempts to keep the industry viable for his donor coal cronies, the Tennessee Valley Authority voted to close two aging coal-fired power plants.
A White House security specialist asked for whistleblower protection after raising concerns that Donald’s appointees approved security clearances for certain staffers—notably his relatives, like Jared Kushner—without adequate vetting.
Teachers across the country clapped back when Don Jr. attacked “loser teachers” at his daddy’s El Paso rally; the responses cited the long tradition of authoritarian regimes launching attacks on educators as a first prong of undermining a democracy.
Mueller Time
Move over, Trump administration, and make room at the stake for another witch! A federal judge ruled that Paul Manafort breached his plea deal agreement by lying numerous times to federal investigators. The special investigator’s office recommended a sentence of up to 25 years and fines of up to $25 million.
Robert Mueller’s investigation interviewed Sarah Sanders late last year. It seems likely that the commander of cheese’s chief liar might have perjured herself. Stay tuned to find out!
Karma
Donald’s eldest sons, Beavis and Butthead, announced that they were scrapping plans for two new hotel lines, apparently because there is no one who wants to stay in anything with the Trump name on them.
Bit of sad karma here…a store owner who stopped selling Nike products after the brand hired Colin Kaepernick as a spokesperson ran himself off a financial cliff and is shuttering his mall sports store. No one wants to see a small businessman punished for misunderstanding the players’ kneeling protest, but perhaps this will caution to others to try to understand the purpose of the protests—they are about police brutality and racial inequity, not the military or the flag, and they’re as American as football. Most of America feels the same way, so willfully misinterpret this heartfelt protest at your peril.
Thousands of young students walked out of school in the middle of classes to protest inaction on climate change and demand action.
RBG is BACK, babies.