October 14, 2023

I need these animated space bots commenting on current events to always be here, for everything

...if you're not already watching Ben Meiselas' youtube posts on his 'Meidas Touch Network, you're missing the most comprehensive news analysis available on the internet.

Today Ben introduced us (me) in his latest post to a youtube phenom effort called 'Alien Super Show,' which is basically a couple animated space characters commenting on political events and political figures with hilarious slams on republicans in the news.

If you're interested you can laugh along with Ben here...

...or just hop onto the Alien Super Show post for some unaduterated fun.

October 9, 2023

The Snake

...as he's done for years on the campaign trail without a trace of self-awareness, the Criminal Defendant recited a parable about a snake again today.

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on the Donald Trump’s latest speech in New Hampshire where Trump reads “The Snake” poem and shows that he is The Snake the Republicans let in.

watch:

...revisits one of the best opposition videos ever.

October 9, 2023

NO justification for Hamas' terrorists violence and killing

...no justification for terrorism.

None, never.

To be more clear, the people involved in the attacks in Israel are just murderers deserving no attention at all to whatever cause, manifesto, life history, or vendetta they use to justify their barbarism.

No one should give any mind to the voice, grievance, or screed of these terrorists' violence. They don't represent anything except their own inhumanity.

October 8, 2023

Smokin' Jobs Report - American Economy, American People Keep Getting It Done

...from Simon Rosenberg:

Friday, October 6th - The October Bureau of Labor Statistics monthy jobs report is out and it’s another good one:

336k net new jobs, 119k more w/upward revisions, for a total of 455k new jobs - smokin’!

Average hourly earnings up 0.2% in October and 4.2% over the past 12 months. With inflation now at 3.7% over the past 12 months, real earnings over the past year remain firmly in positive territory.

The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow livecast is showing the Q3 GDP number coming in at 4.9%. We will get the real number later this month but this is very encouraging.

With this new data our monthly jobs tracker clocks in at:

33.8m jobs - 16 years of Clinton, Obama

13.9m jobs - 32 months of Biden

1.9m jobs - 16 years of Bush, Bush and Trump

Biden's 13.9m jobs are more than 7 times as many jobs as were created in the 16 years of the last 3 Republican Presidencies, combined. Since 1989 and the end of the Cold War, the US has seen 50 million new jobs created. Remarkably 48 million of those 50 million jobs - 96% - were created under Democratic Presidents. Essentially all of them.

Biden's economic track record has been so very good:

Best economic recovery from COVID in the G7

GDP growth has been on average 3% in Biden’s Presidency, 3 times higher than Trump. No recession on the horizon

7 times as many Biden jobs in 32 months as last 3 GOP Presidents combined over 16 years. Rs averaged 120k jobs per year, 10k per month over 16 years - a truly terrible record. This past month was the equivalent of almost 4 years of job growth under the last 3 R Presidents

Inflation has come back down to pre-pandemic levels - bouncing around between 2 and 3% now

Lowest unemployment rate in peacetime economy since WWII

Lowest poverty/uninsured rates ever

Very elevated wage gains and new business starts. Worker satisfaction is at an all time high. Real earnings were up in 2022, real wages are back in positive territory

1.4 job openings per unemployed person - an amazing stat - while declining still well below historic norm. Remains a very good time to find a job

Domestic oil production is on track to set records in 2023, and we are making huge gains with non-carbon-based energy production

Historic investments in our future prosperity (infrastructure, CHIPs, climate, health care)

more...

https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/a-smokin-jobs-report-american-economy

https://twitter.com/SimonWDC/status/1710279006346437032

https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1710337099356872864

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1710273198896370126

https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1709901246860001693

https://twitter.com/USDOL/status/1710298364946854261

October 4, 2023

FWIW

...I closed a post of mine musing about Gov. Newsom and the seat he was tasked to fill due to the very sad passing of Sen. Feinstein.

I closed it because it's moot. He picked Laphonza Butler.

But, more importantly, this new Democratic senator has been sworn in. I'm not interested in debating her qualifications or record. She's clearly qualified, and she's an inspiring pick by the governor who will bring her broad and extensive life and career experiences to the Senate, and the Democratic Party is fortunate to have her there.

Besides, I make a habit of defending and supporting Democrats, and shy away from challenging them publicly with my differences over anything that would denigrate any of our Democrats, save the ones who make a habit of pulling away from our party or initiatives important to me.

I don't want a debate about her on this thread either, if that's okay (nt). I just wanted to make clear that I'm not standing in opposition to the new legislator in any way.

I thought maybe some folks here might take that notion from that moot post of mine, so.... I do like being openly opinionated about candidates and races at primary election time, but this isn't that time, and I'm not all geared up for that anyhow.

It's going to be cool seeing new Senator from California, Laphonza Butler, in the Senate. I look forward to hearing her weigh in on Senate business after she gets oriented and settled in.

September 29, 2023

Remembering Dianne Feinstein

...before the Kavanaugh hearing.



Bo Erickson CBS @BoKnowsNews 4h
This is how I will remember Sen. Feinstein: I snapped this pic in Sept. 2018 in the middle of Kavanaugh’s SCOTUS confirmation hearings. Sen. Murkowski (right) was weighing her support, and…Feinstein moved in.

A few days later, Murkowski opposed the nomination (Only GOP Senator Voting Against Kavanaugh). @cbsnews

September 25, 2023

Hesitance from Senate Dem leaders to condem or call for Menendez to resign is understandable

...he hasn't been convicted of anything, and press accounts don't equal evidence or proof of guilt.

Look, Menendez could beat these charges. He hired attorney Abbe Lowell on Friday who's also representing Hunter Biden.

Stanley M. Brand, was one of four experts invited to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties on March 11 about the constitutional framework for Congress’ ability to uphold standards of member conduct. Brand’s testimony discussed the limits of the constitutional power of the House to expel and punish its members for misconduct and discussed several landmark Supreme Court cases interpreting that power.

BRAND:

As an old pal once told me, “even a thin pancake has two sides.”

Reading the criminal indictment in a case for the first time often produces a startled reaction to the government’s case. But as my over 40 years of experience defending public corruption cases and teaching criminal law have taught me, there are usually issues presented by an indictment that can be challenged by the defense.

First, while the indictment charges a conspiracy to commit bribery, it does not charge the substantive crime of bribery itself. This may suggest that the government lacks what it believes is direct evidence of a quid pro quo – “this for that” – between Menendez and the alleged bribers.

...the government must prove the defendants’ intent to carry out a corrupt agreement beyond a reasonable doubt – and juries sometimes want to see more than innuendo before convicting.

____The alleged failure of Menendez to list gifts, as required, on his Senate financial disclosure forms will be cited by prosecutors as evidence of “consciousness of guilt” – an attempt to conceal the transactions.

However, under a recent Supreme Court case involving former Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia for similar crimes, the definition of “official acts” under the bribery statute has been narrowly defined to mean only formal decisions or proceedings. That definition does not include less-formal actions like those performed by Menendez, such as meetings with Egyptian military officials.

The Supreme Court rejected an interpretation of official acts that included arranging meetings with state officials and hosting events at the governor’s mansion, or promoting a private businessman’s products at such events.

When it comes time for the judge to instruct the jury at the end of the trial, Menendez may well be able to argue that much of what he did in fact did not constitute “official acts” and therefore are not illegal under the bribery statute.

read more: https://news.yahoo.com/menendez-indictment-looks-bad-defenses-182450408.html

September 25, 2023

Immigrants are rescuing a worker-starved U.S. economy

Axios:

As the U.S. continues to struggle with a historically-tight labor market, immigrants are coming to the rescue of desperate employers — while also creating new jobs themselves.

By the numbers: Between the pre-pandemic month of January 2020 and July 2023, the immigrant labor force grew by 9.5%. That compares to a tiny 1.5% growth rate among the native-born.

Immigration: The rate at which the U.S. is giving out visas — both temporary work visas and permanent green cards — has risen by about 335,000 workers per year over the past 12 months, to a level near record highs. That's partly because the government has successfully begun to clear the backlog of more than 500,000 visa applications that built up over the course of the pandemic.

Participation: More of those immigrants are working. The foreign-born labor force participation rate has jumped by 2.3 percentage points to 67% over the past two years. By contrast, the native-born rate has risen by a meagre 0.4 points, to 62.2%.

Demographics: The great retirement of the Boomer generation is taking place mainly among the native-born — most immigrant workers aren't yet facing retirement. As a result, millions of new native-born workers need to enter the workforce every year just to keep the total native-born labor force constant, let alone growing.

https://www.axios.com/2023/08/29/us-economy-immigration-labor


...between July 2020 and July 2021, the first full year of the pandemic, U.S. population growth fell to a historic low of 0.16%.

Even as the American economy has slowed, labor shortages still abound in sectors like hospitality, lodging and social assistance. As hundreds of thousands of refugees, notably from Ukraine, have come into the country in the last two years, they’ve filled openings at restaurants, hotels, retail stores and nursing homes. Others with university degrees and stronger English have found better-paying jobs, in accounting, nursing and other fields.

It’s good for business, too. Companies that hire refugees have found them to be loyal, and consumers tend to look favorably upon products and brands that make a positive impact on refugees, according to a survey by New York University and the Tent Partnership for Refugees.

The world’s largest economies, including Germany, Japan and South Korea, are vying to attract more immigrant workers. They have good reason: As people age and die, they aren’t being replaced due to declining birthrates. That means a shrinking labor force, which means fewer hands and minds to produce, pay taxes and support the bulging numbers of retirees.

The U.S., by comparison, has for many years enjoyed stronger population and labor force growth compared to most other advanced economies, in large part due to steady inflows of international migrants, most of whom come to work and tend to be younger. But between July 2020 and July 2021, the first full year of the pandemic, U.S. population growth fell to a historic low of 0.16%.

Stronger immigration since then led to faster growth in the nation’s population, or 0.38% between 2021 and 2022. “It’s a welcome uptick,” said demographer William Frey of the Brookings Institution, but that may not be enough.

https://www.latimes.com/politics/newsletter/2023-07-07/what-immigration-means-for-u-s-population-and-economic-growth-essential-politics

Immigration-Driven Labor Supply Sustains Job Growth as Labor Market Cools
https://www.fitchratings.com/research/us-public-finance/immigration-driven-labor-supply-sustains-job-growth-as-labor-market-cools-2024-job-losses-expected-08-09-2023

September 24, 2023

'Based on what you know' is this a fair polling question about impeachment?

emptywheel @emptywheel 7h
Here are the impeachment questions in that poll everyone is talking about.

The poll literally MAKES UP a false claim abt what impeachment is about. The impeachment is about trying to find evidence that business deals that have not been shown to be illegal had some tie to Biden.



...and this question neglecting to mention McCarthy's impeachment is an unprecedented inquiry held without evidence of any wrongdoing by Pres. Biden.



emptywheel @emptywheel 7h
But the comparison with Trump and Clinton is instructive. Because of media incompetence, there's more support for impeaching Biden BECAUSE there is no evidence than there was for Trump, w/abundant evidence.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/documents/0cc7a4b2-8e80-46f3-9c78-3ff36f7a08ee.pdf

September 20, 2023

Watching NBC's Ken Dilanian ignore what Garland said about Weiss' authority

...Merrick Garland said repeatedly in this hearing that he had promised Congress to their face he would not interfere with Weiss' Hunter Biden probe which began when the U.S. Attorney was assigned to the case in 2018.

Garland:

MR. WEISS IS A LONG TIME CAREER PROSECUTOR. PRESIDENT TRUMP APPOINTED HIM.

HE WAS CHARGED WITH THAT INVESTIGATION UNDER THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION. HE HAS CONTINUED. HE KNOWS HOW TO CONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS. I HAVE NOT INTRUDED OR ATTEMPTED TO EVALUATE THAT, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE PROMISE I MADE TO THE SENATE.

MR. WEISS ASKED FOR [SPECIAL COUNSEL] AUTHORITY GIVEN HIS EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES OF THIS MATTER, AND GIVEN MY PROMISE THAT I WOULD GIVE HIM ANY RESOURCES HE REQUESTED, AND I MADE HIM SPECIAL COUNSEL.

MR. WEISS HAS FULL AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT HIS INVESTIGATION HOWEVER HE WISHES , AND MR. WEISS HAS CONFIRMED THAT IN LETTERS TO THIS COMMITTEE....

MY TESTIMONY TODAY IS THAT I PROMISED THE SENATE I WOULD NOT INTRUDE IN HIS INVESTIGATION. I DO NOT INTEND TO DISCUSS INTERNAL JUSTICE DEPARTMENT DELIBERATIONS WHETHER OR NOT I HAVE THEM.

U.S. ATTORNEY DAVID WIESS TOLD SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM "I HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH DEPARTMENTAL OFFICIALS REGARDING POTENTIAL APPOINTMENT UNDER 28 SECTION 550 WHICH WOULD HAVE ALLOWED ME TO FILE CHARGES IN THE DISTRICT OUTSIDE MY OWN WITHOUT THE PARTNERSHIP OF THE LOCAL U.S. ATTORNEY." WITH WHOM DID HE HAVE THOSE DISCUSSIONS? I WILL NOT GET INTO THE INTERNAL DELIBERATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT.

IT IS APPROPRIATE FOR MR. WEISS TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE DEPARTMENT. I MADE IT CLEAR IF YOU WANTED TO BRING A CASE, HE WOULD BE ABLE TO DO THAT. THE WAY YOU DO THAT IS TO GET AN ORDER SIGNED BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CALLED A 515 ORDER. I PROMISED HE WOULD BE ABLE TO THAT, AND HE MADE CLEAR HE UNDERSTOOD HE WOULD BE ABLE TO DO THAT.

republican:

Garland:

PROSECUTORS MAKE APPROPRIATE DETERMINATIONS ON THEIR OWN. IN THIS CASE, I LEFT IT TO MR. WEISS WHETHER TO BRING CHARGES OR NOT. THAT WOULD INCLUDE WHETHER TO LET THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS TO EXPIRE OR NOT, WHETHER THERE WAS SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO BRING A CASE SUBJECT TO THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS OR NOT, WHETHER THERE WERE BETTER CASES TO BRING OR NOT.

I WILL SAY AGAIN, THE EXPLANATION FOR WHY THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS WAS LAPSED, IF IT WAS, HAS TO COME FROM MR. WEISS.

I HAVE INTENTIONALLY NOT INVOLVED MYSELF IN THE FACTS OF THE CASE, NOT BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO GET OUT OF RESPONSIBILITY, BUT BECAUSE I AM TRYING TO PURSUE MY RESPONSIBILITY.

from Merrick Garland's opening statement:

OUR JOB INCLUDES SEEKING JUSTICE FOR THE SURVIVORS OF CHILD EXPLOITATION, HUMAN SMUGGLING AND SEX TRAFFICKING. THAT INCLUDES PROTECTING DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS LIKE THIS ONE BY HOLDING ACCOUNTABLE ALL THOSE CRIMINALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE JANUARY 6th ATTACK ON THE CAPITOL.

OUR JOB IS ALSO TO PROTECT CIVIL RIGHTS. THAT INCLUDES PROTECTING OUR FREEDOMS AS AMERICANS TO WORSHIP AND THINK AS WE PLEASE, AND TO PEACEFULLY EXPRESS OUR OPINIONS, OUR BELIEFS, AND OUR IDEAS. IT INCLUDES PROTECTING THE RIGHT OF EVERY ELIGIBLE CITIZEN TO VOTE AND TO HAVE THAT VOTE COUNTED.

IT INCLUDES COMBATING DISCRIMINATION, DEFENDING REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS UNDER LAW, AND DETERRING AND PROSECUTING ATTACKS SUCH AS HATE CRIMES. OUR JOB IS TO UPHOLD THE RULE OF LAW.

THAT MEANS WE APPLY THE SAME LAWS TO EVERYONE. THERE IS NOT ONE SET OF LAWS FOR THE POWERFUL AND ANOTHER FOR THE POWERLESS, ONE FOR THE RICH AND ANOTHER FOR THE POOR, ONE FOR DEMOCRATS AND ANOTHER FOR REPUBLICANS, OR DIFFERENT RULES DEPENDING UPON ONE'S RACE, AT THE CITY, OR RELIGION.

OUR JOB IS TO PURSUE JUSTICE WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOR. OUR JOB IS NOT TO DO WHAT IS POLITICALLY CONVENIENT. OUR JOB IS NOT TO TAKE ORDERS FROM THE PRESIDENT, FROM CONGRESS, OR FROM ANYONE ELSE ABOUT WHO OR WHAT TO CRIMINALLY INVESTIGATE.

AS THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF HAS SAID, AND I REAFFIRMED TODAY, I AM NOT THE PRESIDENT'S LAWYER. I WILL ADD THAT I AM NOT THE PROSECUTOR FOR CONGRESS. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT WORKS FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. OUR JOB IS TO FOLLOW THE FACTS AND THE LAW, AND THAT IS WHAT WE DO.

video and transcript: https://www.c-span.org/video/?530429-1/attorney-general-testifies-justice-dept-oversight&live&vod


...the rest is just a repeat of these dirt-dumb things republicans on the committee are saying and Garland basically reiterating the above.