October 31, 2019

It's nearing time to subpoena Trump and get his ass out the door.

US v Nixon
Clinton V Jones

"it is not known ever to have been doubted but that the chief magistrate of a state might be served with a subpoena." John Marshall when saying that Jefferson could be subpoenaed and has to testify.

It was about two weeks after the court ruled on the Nixon subpoena that Nixon stepped down.

Trump cannot testify. He will have to refuse. He is not competent enough to testify.

Time to issue the subpoena so we can get the ball rolling though the courts.

October 31, 2019

John Kerry: Some evidence against Trump 'more powerful than the Nixon impeachment

John Kerry: Some evidence against Trump 'more powerful already than what we saw in the impeachment of Richard Nixon'

In an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Friday, former Secretary of State John Kerry commented on what he believes is serious evidence that has mounted against President Trump in the House impeachment inquiry. He went on to compare the situation to former President Nixon's impeachment.

"The evidence is powerful, some of it more powerful already than what we saw in the impeachment of Richard Nixon," Kerry said in the CNN interview. "The evidence at this point in time certainly merits the inquiry that is taking place."

The former secretary did not go as far as to say Trump should be impeached, stating "the evidence has to be examined," and that he did not want to draw conclusions.

The Hill

October 31, 2019

Barbara Boxer Can't Get Enough of Reading the Mueller Report

After a star-studded live performance of the special counsel’s damning report, the former senator says, ”It’s simply obstruction in plain sight”

“OK, sexy liberals, give it up!” is how radio show host Stephanie Miller warmed up the crowd Monday night at the Saban Theatre, where former senator Barbara Boxer and her PAC for a Change helped stage a live reading of the Muller Report, aptly titled You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up: Selected Readings from the Mueller Report.

About a thousand Hollywood liberals who came out (when they’d usually be home glued to Rachel Maddow) to watch a cast that included Tony Goldwyn, Paul Reiser, Sharon Osbourne, Ernie Hudson, Poppy Montgomery—and those with top billing, Debra Messing as Donald J. Trump, Larry David as the narrator, Brian Stokes Mitchell as Robert Mueller, and the fabulous Billy Porter as, well, the fabulous Billy Porter. Porter brought down the house from minute one, opening the comedic reading by belting out America the Beautiful accompanied by musician Stephen Trask.

“The Mueller Report is no laughing matter,” Boxer said backstage after the show. “It’s deadly serious stuff. I read it four times. It’s simply obstruction in plain sight. But Debra Messing cracked me up so much as Trump—doing that New York accent. I told her, ‘Debra, if you really were Donald Trump, I would have to like you.’”

The show was produced by Suzi Dietz, a veteran Broadway and Pasadena Playhouse producer, and Steve Saporito, and executive produced by Marta Kauffman, who helped create a little show called Friends. According to Boxer, Larry David was the first star on board. “We recruited Larry early on, which is how we got everyone else,” Boxer admitted. “Paul Reiser’s also been a longtime supporter of my PAC.” The rest of the casting was put together by Dietz. David narrated in a tone that landed somewhere between his Curb Your Enthusiasm curmudgeon and his SNL version of Bernie Sanders.

LA Mag

October 31, 2019

Andrew Yang

Off the charts smart. I knew he was a smart guy but after reading about him I’m confident he is far more intelligent than I thought. Very fine person inside and out. Willing to take risks when he will be the only one harmed if he fails. Respect for community, family, and the individual. Extremely hard worker. Considering his accomplishments he is damn near humble. Very thoughtful in his approach to things and willing to back them up in their entirety.

I’ve been doing some reading about our candidates, most recently Yang. Not necessarily about their policies but about their life stories. We have some extraordinary people running. Good people. People who accomplish good things each day because they practice what they preach. The struggles. The success. All on a much larger scale than I have lived my life. They do it with style and in a way they should be proud of.

These are good people. Yang, who I will not be voting for, is a wonderful person and a role model. I’m glad I read about him.

October 29, 2019

Excellent Article About Yang.

I will not be voting for him in the primary but I still have a lot of respect for him. I think this is well a well written story.

Andrew Yang was groomed for a high-paying job at an elite law firm. He lasted five months.

Walking away from wealth and prestige dismayed his immigrant parents. But it made him into the entrepreneur running for president.

Washington Post

October 29, 2019

Baldasaro rebuked for questioning whether Kamala Harris is African American

The co-chairman of President Donald Trump's reelection campaign in New Hampshire is facing criticism after he questioned whether 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is African American.

State Rep. Al Baldasaro, one of Trump's closest allies in New Hampshire, made the comments on Twitter in response to Harris criticizing the president for comparing the impeachment inquiry to a lynching.

WMUR

October 29, 2019

ABA Policy Point - A Wealth Tax Is Constitutional

As most readers who follow the 2020 campaign proposals are aware, Elizabeth Warren has proposed an annual wealth tax of 2% for wealth greater than $50 million and 3% for wealth greater than $1 billion. Various pundits have said that the tax is “probably unconstitutional”1 and that the Supreme Court could “stop the wealth tax dead in its tracks.”2

Warren’s wealth tax is constitutional under the standards laid down by the Founders, as this article will demonstrate. Apportionment of a wealth or land tax by population would now require the injustice of substantially higher tax rates in poorer states: when that happens, under the Founders’ standards, the tax is not a direct tax for which apportionment is required. Apportionment was not written to protect wealth from assault, as proponents of its unconstitutionality now claim, but rather to reach wealth by what was thought to be the best then available measure of wealth.

The Constitution, Article I, section 9, clause 4, requires that a “direct tax” must be apportioned among the states by population.3 For the Founders, a necessary element to be a direct tax is that apportionment among the states by population must be reasonable and just. Thus import taxes (the impost), excise taxes, duties, carriage taxes and now real estate and wealth taxes have been expelled from the definition of direct tax, sometimes by the operation of ordinary language and sometimes by Supreme Court decision.

Real estate and wealth taxes were once considered direct taxes because they were the taxes that the states would use to satisfy a requisition and because real estate and wealth were presumed to be equal among the states. Today, however, apportionment of a wealth tax among the states by population is neither just nor reasonable. Wealth per capita in poor Mississippi is under half of the per capita wealth in relatively rich District of Columbia.4 Apportionment by population would mean that tax rates in Mississippi would have to be more than twice the rates in DC. The result would tax residents of poor states much more harshly than residents of wealthy states. That result has no justification in history or policy: it would simply arise by necessity from the fact that Mississippi has a smaller tax base over which to spread its quota. Thus, when it was recognized that wealth and real estate are not equally distributed per capita so that apportionment forced substantially higher tax rates in poorer states, the taxes on wealth and real estate could not be treated as direct taxes. Apportionment would not be just or reasonable.

American Bar Association

October 23, 2019

OK. Who killed freerepublic?

https://www.isitdownrightnow.com/freerepublic.com.html

Edit: From their facebook page.

"Bad news. We were not able to bring the system up remotely. John is now on his way to the computer center to get hands on. We may be down for several hours. Sorry."

October 22, 2019

What kind of influence will Trump have on his base if...

He is kicked off of Twitter the minute he leaves office? I know this sounds foolish but it really isn’t. He currently sways a large group using that one platform.

October 22, 2019

Sanders support is MORE BALANCED across ethnic demographics than Biden's or Warren's.

Biden:... 20% White, 39% Black, 21% Hispanic, 17% Other Ethnicity

Sanders: 14% White, 11% Black, 19% Hispanic, 17% Other Ethnicity

Warren:. 31% White, 15% Black, 17% Hispanic, 21% Other Ethnicity

https://projects.economist.com/democratic-primaries-2020/

Please discuss.