News & Comment

Chairman Nadler makes noises about impeachment, as Congress breaks till September with no consensus after St. Bob Mueller disappointed Russiagaters…..--Mueller’s sketchy testimony led 5 Democrats and 0 Republicans to support impeachment
--Pelosi remains cautious, embracing risky calculation that going easy on Trump will preserve her House majority
--many Dems spin Mueller’s appearance as positive, but Matt Taibbi is brutally honest

After betting the ranch on St. Bob Mueller, Democrats have increased Trump’s prospects for a second term, dimming impeachment prospects….--Mueller refused to answer questions 198 times, and his performance suggested signs of senility
--using deposition approach, Dems force Mueller to agree to many aspects of his report, but he refused to deliver a fatal soundbite
--Dems built Mueller up as national hero, Repubs slammed him in spin that ignores obstruction and the Cohen plea deal
--media pundits declare impeachment dead, 2020 election is only way to dump Trump

Mueller’s testimony frustrates all sides, providing little meaningful commentary as he dodged dueling conspiracy theories served up by Dems, Repubs….--based on initial reports, no questions asked for evidence for his claims of Russian hacking, just lots of partisan posturing
--Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) thought he got Mueller to confirm that he would’ve indicted Trump for obstruction if he weren’t president, but Mueller took it back
--as usual, the hearings were mostly filled with rants that occasionally ended in a question, which Mueller dodged or outright refused to answer

Trump clearly violates Twitter’s hate speech policy, and many have responded enthusiastically to PBC’s call for Twitter to suspend Trump….--Louisiana cops who shared Facebook post about AOC, “this vile idiot needs a round” are fired
--Britain’s conservatives choose Boris Johnson as PM, or as blogger Dave Pell noted, “hair apparent”
--Johnson faces tensions with Iran, and his opponent, Jeremy Hunt, hits choppy waters with plan for European naval escorts in Persian Gulf

Twitter’s standards are fuzzy, arbitrary; many users have been suspended or banned for comments that weren’t racist or provably false…--in latest tweets attacking the Squad, Trump claims they are the real racists
--protests continue in Puerto Rico, where governor agrees to to seek re-eletion, but people want him out, pronto
--shit hits the fan in Hong Kong, as police watch thugs beat protesters and innocent bystanders
--Trump and Pompeo deny claim by Iran that it had arrested 17 American spies, and some have been executed

Iran denies Trump’s claim that US shot down a drone on Thursday, as Iranian hard-liners signal willingness to new talks…..--former Iranian president Ahmadinejad tells NY Times he supports direct talks if sanctions are lifted, rewarding Trump for irrational behavior
--retired Army Col. Ann Wright cites military and religious leaders who oppose war with Iran

At NC mob rally , Trump slams Rep. Ilhan Omar, beams at hateful chanting; hours later, he gaslights his fake disapproval….--GOP House leaders adopt Trump’s gutter tactics, will demagogue 2020 races
--Democrats caught flat-footed, rely on denunciation to counter Trump
--to her credit, Omar is unbowed, and introduces bill to protect our right to boycott
--in puzzling conclusion, federal judge in NY ends the investigation of Trump violations of campaign laws in hush-money deals, but releases damaging documents

Dems struggle to unite in condemning Trump’s racist tweets, as Rep. Al Green throws down new impeachment resolution, upsetting ConservaDems….--in Guardian op-ed, Jonathan Freedland outlines the tough choices: politics, or morality?
--afraid to face Trump’s Twitter firing squad, most Republicans go silent or offer ridiculous rationalizations

Ignoring facts while pandering to ignorant Americans, Trump claims The Squad hates America, CNN adds fresh lies to Russiagate narrative….--the CNN report is here
--Caitlin Johnstone’s takedown of the CNN story is here

Trump’s racist tweets aimed at The Squad demonstrate the impunity he feels, and his lowball tactics for 2020 campaign…--while Pelosi is correct that “The Squad” only has 4 votes, she publicly rebuked them in Maureen Dowd column, creating the opening for Trump’s twitter bombs
--in follow-up column, Dowd quotes Rahm Emmanuel to slam AOC etal
--as Trump triples down, Pelosi defends her members and offers resolution condemning Trump