Quote of the Day -- Unconstitutional President Edition

Laurence Tribe @tribelaw

Sen. Chris Murphy tweeted: “Using foreign aid to destroy rivals. Weaponizing the judiciary. Firing all the inspectors general. Democracies begin to die when a leader starts to destroy the limits on his power and his faction [assists in that project]. Welcome to that moment.”

How long do we put up with this President and lawlessness and unaccountability, America?

Link:

'Obvious Our President Is Beyond Incompetent': Chorus of Ridicule After Trump Brags of New 'Super-Duper Missile'

Says One Thing...

...means another.   (click on picture for easier reading)

And yet people still believe in this old fool.

15 Warnings On the Upcoming Trump Presidency

Professor Robert Reich wrote and warned the following, early this month. I thought it important and that more should see it.

The 15 Warnings Signs 

of Impending Tyranny

As tyrants take control of democracies, they typically:

1. Exaggerate their mandate to govern – claiming, for example, that they won an election by a landslide even after losing the popular vote.

2. Repeatedly claim massive voter fraud in the absence of any evidence, in order to restrict voting in subsequent elections.

3. Call anyone who opposes them “enemies.”

4. Turn the public against journalists or media outlets that criticize them, calling them “deceitful” and “scum.”

5. Hold few if any press conferences, preferring to communicate with the public directly through mass rallies and unfiltered statements.

6. Tell the public big lies, causing them to doubt the truth and to believe fictions that support the tyrants’ goals.

7. Blame economic stresses on immigrants or racial or religious minorities, and foment public bias and even violence against them.

8. Attribute acts of domestic violence to “enemies within,” and use such events as excuses to beef up internal security and limit civil liberties.

9. Threaten mass deportations, registries of religious minorities, and the banning of refugees.

10. Seek to eliminate or reduce the influence of competing centers of power, such as labor unions and opposition parties.

11. Appoint family members to high positions of authority

12. Surround themselves with their own personal security force rather than a security detail accountable to the public.

13. Put generals into top civilian posts

14. Make personal alliances with foreign dictators.

15. Draw no distinction between personal property and public property, profiteering from their public office.

______________________________________________________

Here's hoping he, Mr. Trump, proves us wrong.

Rare Good News Out of Kansas

Here's a rare one.  Good news out of Kansas state government. Naturally, it comes from the Courts, where intelligence, so far, still rules. From the New York Times over the weekend:

A Kansas appeals court, in a split decision, held that the state Constitution, like the federal one, protects abortion rights, affirming a lower court order blocking enforcement of a restrictive 2015 law.

A bit from the article:

In a split decision, the Kansas Court of Appeals on Friday held that the state Constitution, like the federal one, protected a woman’s right to an abortion and affirmed a lower court order blocking enforcement of a restrictive 2015 law.

The ruling resulted from a 7-to-7 vote by the appeals court.

That, as I said, it the good news. Now, the bad. It's likely still not fully settled.

In a tie, the lower-court ruling is upheld, but the split suggested that the interpretation of abortion rights under the state Constitution is far from settled and is likely to be considered by the state Supreme Court.

Given how the Right Wing and Republicans seem to want to fight this issue until it's illegal in the nation, it will, no doubt, come up again.  And again.

But for now, anyway, intelligence and common sense ruled.

It's a rare, happy day in the Sunflower state.

Meanwhile, there is this, from the more national front:

Hillary Clinton rallies Planned Parenthood vote, fights all restrictions on abortions

Enjoy your Monday, y'all.

You won't hear this much but I'm with the Feds on this one

There's a story out right now that the Federal Justice Department out of Washington is having to sue that famous rogue Sheriff Arpaio in Arizona. See it here: Feds sue Arizona sheriff in civil rights probe PHOENIX – The U.S. Justice Department sued Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Thursday, saying the Arizona lawman refused for more than a year to turn over records in an investigation into allegations his department discriminates against Hispanics. The lawsuit calls Arpaio and his office's defiance "unprecedented," and said the federal government has been trying since March 2009 to get officials to comply with its probe of alleged discrimination, unconstitutional searches and seizures, and having English-only policies in his jails that discriminate against people with limited English skills. It seems the Justice Department is "forced to resort to litigation to gain access to public documents and facilities." See, I think it's important that we all follow the laws, to begin with and secondly, that we don't discriminate. But that's me. And I got tired of this Sheriff Arpaio story long ago--him and the people who put him on a pedestal. Check out the article. It seems he abuses white people in the area, too, in his own way, possibly, apparently. Link to original story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_arizona_sheriff_lawsuit/print

Their duty

To everyone, everywhere in the United States who ever voted for President George W. Bush for that position: make sure you watch and listen this evening, as that chucklehead thanks you for allowing him to do to this country just exactly what all he's done to us for the past 7 years--deceit, war, debt, his administration's unconstitutional reach into our personal lives and more.

Thoughts on a holiday

So many things going on.

First, unfortunately, the timing of this Hurricane Gustav worked against both the Gulf Coast and the Democrats--and everyone against John McCain, George Bush and the Republican Party. Instead of having our peerless leader speak at the "Dark Side" convention opener tonight, he gets a pass because of that same storm.

Dang.

Hearing and seeing that boob speak of the last 7 years was going to be something I cherished. Trying to put lipstick on that pig would be a big hoot--if not infuriating.

Then, did you see this? Right out of the shoot, Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin said she was against the "bridge to nowhere" for $223 million dollars from Anchorage to a small town of a few dozen people. Uh-huh. Well, we're used to Republicans rewriting history but that one just isn't going to fly. She was all for it and was on the record as such. I guess Alaskans are--rightly--upset about this about-face and slap in theirs.

Great. She's already shown her true, shallow colors.

I think the one debate between her and Sen. Biden and the three between Senators "McSame" and Obama should be a real hoot. Intelligence and experience vs. short-term goals and experience with the Veeps while the old white guy with no new ideas--who supported wrong, horrible ones--goes against a young, energetic, eloquent guy with ideas and inspiration. I hope they're as good for us as I think they can be.

Then, yesterday, Sen. McCain, in a really feeble attempt to distance himself from President Know-nothing, Greedhead Bush, went on "Marshmallow News" Fox Network with Rightist Chris Wallace and said waterboarding is torture, that we did it, apparently, (really? no kidding) and that it's wrong.

Well, Senator--far too little and far too late.

For the last 7 years, you've largely supported George W. Bush and his administration and look where it's gotten us:

A wrong war, for the wrong reasons, full of deceipt and deception, if not out and out lies; the largest debt in the history of the nation and more ways for our government to reach into our private lives than ever before. (WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT WAS EVER CONSERVATIVE ABOUT GEORGE W. BUSH??)

Too late, Senator McCain.

You're more of the same and you're the wrong man for the wrong time, period.

Anyway, it's been an insane, wild, completely unpredictable and new election and these last 60 days should be more of the same ride.

Let's hope it has the conclusion to it we want--and need.

It should be.

Keith Olbermann gives good advice to Pres. Bush

From Keith Olbermann on his show, "Countdown", last evening, giving this advice to President George W. Bush:

"This last piece of advice. When somebody asks you, sir, about Democrats who must now pull this country back from the abyss ... about the cooked books and fake threats .. about your gallant, self-abnegating sacrifice of your golf game ... shut the hell up!"

Way too late but still nice to hear.

Go to the following link to see the whole special comment:

http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=96473