Pay No Attention to the Man in Front of the Oval Office Curtains – After threatening former FBI Director James Comey that Comey “better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations,” Trump admitted this week that he didn’t actually have any tapes. Trump then claimed that he made the threat (i.e., intimidated a witness) to make Comey think there were tapes so Comey would not lie in his testimony. Trump declared that his gambit worked. Wait. If Trump’s total B.S. plan worked, then that means Comey’s testimony was true. On June 9, Trump
accused Comey of lying under oath. What an impeachment case we weave . . .
A Man, No Plan, A Canal – Trump met with Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela on Monday. Looking at his cheat sheet on all Panama topics he knows (Van Halen song, Panama hats, Panama Jack), Trump led off with, “The Panama Canal is doing quite well. I think we did a good job building it, right?” President Varela responded, “One hundred years ago.”
It’s a Big Boo Boo to Allow Killing of Boo Boos in Yellowstone – Perhaps influenced by Education Secretary Betsy DuVos declaring them a threat to our schools, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone region from the Endangered Species List.
Nothing to See Here, Literally – The Trump administration took another step towards an authoritarian state by not allowing video or audio recordings into the daily White House press briefing. CNN resorted to sending their Supreme Court sketch artist to the briefings. That the media is not challenging this more directly is deeply troubling and emboldens the administration. The week ended with Sarah Huckabee Sanders declaring that media was not allowed to even report her announcement that the White House was banning video and audio. Yep, the media is banned from reporting that there is a ban.
Let the Water Hold Me Down – National Park Service officers went undercover this past weekend and handcuffed three African American teens for selling water at the National Mall. Something tells me if the NPS encountered the Bethesda cheerleading squad doing a fundraiser, the interaction may have gone differently.
Ground Zero for Our Values – Every week, there is a new tragic story from the administration’s attacks on immigrants. This week, it’s the story of someone who was there for the U.S. when it was attacked. Ground Zero recovery worker, Carlos Cardona, is currently locked up and fighting deportation. Cardona, who has been in the U.S. since 1986 and is married to a U.S. citizen, suffers from respiratory problems from his months of work at the World Trade Center site.
Trumpy Cracked Corn and I Don’t Care – In his never-ending attempt to fill the emptiness in his soul, Trump held a rally this week in Iowa. One of the biggest applause lines was when Trump declared that all new immigrants should be barred from using welfare for 5 years. What Trump and the children of the corn didn’t know was this has been the law of the land for over 20 years. You can find more of the lies he told at the rally, here.
Happy Anniversary to Not Being Able to Vote! – Today is the 4-year anniversary of the Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act, which had required federal oversight of voting in several states. The attack on voting rights began almost immediately after that ruling. Just two hours after the decision, Texas implemented a voter ID law allowing you to vote with a gun permit but not a student ID. In 2016, states previously covered by the Voting Rights Act advance approval or “preclearance” requirement, provided 868 less polling places, making it more difficult for many to vote. This year, 99 bills have been introduced in 31 states to make voting harder. Oh, also, 25% of Florida’s black citizens are disenfranchised.
Hateful Crimes – This week, a Muslim teenager in Virginia was assaulted, kidnapped, and murderedwhile walking home from McDonald’s after observing Ramadan at her mosque. The police are not investigating it as a hate crime, but road rage. Later this week, a memorial for her was set on fire. Police are also contending this is a coincidence and the arsonist was not targeting the memorial. The Muslim community does not quite share these interpretations of the events.
Trump Violates Virgin (Grass) – This week, we found the one thing that Trump’s base is finally willing to criticize him about: he drove his golf cart on the green.
Carriering Jobs to Mexico – In November, Trump made a big announcement that he was bribingincentivizing Carrier with $7 million to keep jobs in Indiana rather than ship them to Mexico. On Friday, Carrier announced it was laying off 600 workers beginning in July.
Northkarolinastan – You may recall that since November, when the voters of the North Carolina had the unmitigated temerity to elect a Democrat governor, the Republican super-majority controlled General Assembly has made several attempts to take over the government. Courts have mostly blocked their attempts at stripping the governor of his power and have demanded that the General Assembly redraw its racially gerrymandered districts. Rather than admitting defeat in the courts and accepting they are in a democracy, Republicans are . . . trying to prevent the governor from suing them. The General Assembly’s proposed budget prevents the governor from using the governor’s office attorneys without the General Assembly’s permission.
Show Me Discrimination – The Missouri legislature is on track to approve a strict anti-choice bill that overturns a St. Louis ordinance which prevents employers and landlords from discriminating against women who have had an abortion, use contraceptives, or become pregnant.
Deep in the Cold Heart of Texas – This week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill that allows publicly funded religious foster care and adoption agencies to deny services “under circumstances that conflict with the provider’s sincerely held religious beliefs.” The unstated purpose is to allow agencies to deny placement with LGBT parents. Texas would rather deny a home to foster children in need than to place them with LBTQ families that otherwise meet all the required criteria for placement.