Thursday, January 30, 2025

Pardoned Jan 6 Lady K*LLED SOMEONE DRUNK DRIVING

SPINELESS MIKE JOHNSON! 

REDEMPTION?  

MANY OF THE JAN 6 RIOTERS HAD LENGTHY CRIMINAL HISTORIES 

MANY OF THE JAN 6 RIOTERS HAD LENGTHY VIOLENT CRIMINAL HISTORIES...

TRUMP PARDONED THEM ALL BECAUSE OF HIS SHORT ATTENTIO SPAN....


Luke Beasley

1.08M subscribers


Luke discusses a pardoned January 6th rioter who's now being sentenced for something else. Want to support the show and gain access to a daily bonus show? Become a member here:    / @lukebeasley   Get connected below! Twitter(X) -   / lukepbeasley   Instagram -   / lukebeasleyofficial   Facebook -   / lukebeasleyofficial   TikTok - https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdSfpPHw/ Show is available on all podcasting platforms as a fully audio show!

WATCH: Sen. Blumenthal questions Patel in confirmation hearing

 

KASH PATEL DEFENDED THE JAN 6 RIOTERS & DOESN'T KNOW WHO THEY ARE? 

DOESN'T KNOW THE CRIMES THEY COMMITTED? 

KASH PATEL PLEADS IGNORANCE & DOESN'T ANSWER QUESTION! 

SENATOR LEE (R-UTAH) CALLED ATTENTION TO SENATOR CRUZ'S SIGN....

WHOLLY INAPROPRIATE!



PBS NewsHour

4.57M subscribers


Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., questioned Kash Patel on Thursday in his confirmation hearing for FBI director. Patel appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee. A loyal Trump supporter, Patel is a former public defender turned Justice Department prosecutor. He served in Trump’s first term as chief of staff to acting defense secretary Christopher Miller. In interviews, he has said he wants to reduce the size of the national intelligence community, and shut down the FBI’s headquarters in Washington. He’s also repeated the false narrative that Trump won the 2020 election. Watch PBS News for daily, breaking and live news, plus special coverage. We are home to PBS News Hour, ranked the most credible and objective TV news show.   Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6   Follow us: TikTok:   / pbsnews   X (formerly Twitter):   / newshour   Instagram:   / newshour   Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour   Subscribe: PBS NewsHour podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts Newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe

AMY CARNEVALE, MASS GOP .....NEVER ANYTHING OF SUBSTANCE!

 


Mass. Republican chair on President Trump's first day in office

04:13
Resume

On his first day in office, President Trump previewed priorities of his administration, focusing on immigration, the economy and gender.

Amy Carnevale, chair of the Massachusetts GOP, joins WBUR's Morning Edition to discuss how Trump's immigration policy could affect Massachusetts. Carnevale referred to the rising cost of the state's emergency shelter system, which has ballooned to $1 billion annually, partially due to an increase of new arrivals to Massachusetts.



AMY CARNEVALE always has an excuse for avoiding addressing what TRUMP has done..... 


In TRUMP'S FIRST DAY, he issue an EXECUTIVE ORDER RESCINDING PRESIDENT BIDEN'S PRESCRIPTION DRUG LEGISLATION THAT LOWERED DRUG PRICES..... 


THIS WILL COST AMERICAN CONSUMERS MORE! 

MASS GOP whines & complains....DID YOU NOTICE THAT REPUBLICANS HAVE NO SOLUTIONS? 


THE SHELTER ISSUE PRE-DATED THE ARRIVAL OF ANY IMMIGRANTS...WHERE WERE REPUBLICANS? WHAT ARE THEIR SOLUTIONS? 


NOTHING! 


REPUBLICANS HAVE NO SOLUTIONS! 





Top News | As Trump Blames DEI for Plane Crash, Report Shows Understaffed Air Traffic Control

 

Thursday, January 30, 2025

■ Today's Top News 

STOP THE LIES & DISINFORMATION FROM TRUMP & MAGA LACKEYS! YOU DIDN'T HIRE ENOUGH PEOPLE DONALD!


As Trump Blames DEI for Plane Crash, Report Shows Understaffed Air Traffic Control

One controller was doing the work of two people at the long-understaffed tower in the Washington, D.C. area.

By Julia Conley

A preliminary report on Wednesday night's crash involving a American Airlines commercial flight and a military helicopter revealed that the air traffic control tower in the vicinity of the accident was not staffed at "normal" levels, with just one controller handling a task that two employees ordinarily would have done in the high-stress job.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report on Thursday said the staffing at the time of the crash was "not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic."

One controller was instructing helicopters near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport while also directing planes landing at and departing from the airport.

As The New York Times reported, controllers use different radio frequencies to communicate with helicopter pilots and those flying planes.

"While the controller is communicating with pilots of the helicopter and the jet, the two sets of pilots may not be able to hear each other," according to the Times.

Air traffic controllers have been forced to work longer hours and workweeks in recent years, amid budget constraints and high turnover. In 2023, the tower near Washington, D.C. had 19 fully certified air traffic controllers. The FAA and the controllers' union say the optimal number is 30.

STOP TRUMP LIES & DELUSIONS!

The FAA report was released shortly after President Donald Trump presented his own theory, without evidence, of why the crash that killed 67 people happened.

Trump suggested at a press briefing that under the Biden administration, the FAA had overseen a "diversity push" with a "focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities."

A reporter at the briefing asked whether Trump was saying the crash "was somehow caused and the result of diversity hiring" and called on him to offer evidence to support the claim.

"It just could have been," Trump said, adding that his administration has "a much higher standard than anybody else" for hiring federal employees.

Government Executive noted that the FAA began diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring programs as early as 2013, which continued under the first Trump administration.

No identifying information has been reported about the air traffic controller who was handling the flight paths in question on Wednesday. American Airlines has also not released any personal information about who was piloting its aircraft; Army officials said the helicopter was piloted by one man and one woman, and a male staff sergeant was also on board.

Trump told reporters that he was confident that DEI hiring practices played a role in the crash because he has "common sense."

But critics including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) noted that Trump has taken several steps since taking office less than two weeks ago that could make air travel more dangerous for Americans in the long term.

"Trump gutted the aviation safety committee last week," said the congresswoman, referring to the Aviation Security Advisory Committee. "Air traffic controllers—already understaffed—got Trump's 'buyout' this week with a one-week ultimatum to decide. It's not DEI—it's him."

Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) also warned last week that Trump's federal hiring freeze could worsen understaffing among air traffic controllers.

"Hiring air traffic controllers is the number one safety issue according to the entire aviation industry," said Larsen at the time. "Instead of working to improve aviation safety and lower costs for hardworking American families, the administration is choosing to spread bogus DEI claims to justify this decision. I'm not surprised by the president's dangerous and divisive actions, but the administration must reverse course."

On Thursday, Larsen offered condolences for the families of the victims in the crash, and cautioned against speculating "on the causes of aviation accidents before we have the facts and the details."

"However, I know it's not DEI because it never is," said Larsen. "The National Transportation Safety Board will look at the causes and contributing factors of this accident. It is important to let the NTSB complete its work before we consider any potential policy response."



Ahead of Chair Vote, Progressives Say DNC 'Failing Disastrously' to Learn From Loss to Trump

"Voters—and all Americans—deserve better than two corporate-controlled parties," asserted the leader of Our Revolution.

By Brett Wilkins

The head of a leading U.S. progressive group on Thursday accused the Democratic National Committee—which will choose new leadership this weekend—of trying to silence rank-and-file activists and voters, showing that the Democratic Party's governing body is failing to connect with the working-class Americans who helped deliver the White House and Congress to Republicans.

"This moment demands a Democratic Party that provides more than just reactive opposition to an administration bent on rigging our economic and political systems in favor of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals on Earth," Joseph Geevarghese, the executive director of Our Revolution, an offshoot of Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) 2016 presidential campaign, said in a statement ahead of Thursday evening's final DNC candidate forum. "It demands leaders who put the party's grassroots base ahead of the donor class and articulate a real vision that rejects [Republican President] Donald Trump's corporate rule—starting with renouncing corporate money themselves."

"Unfortunately," Geevarghese lamented, "Democratic leadership is failing disastrously to meet this urgent mandate. Ahead of tonight's forum, the DNC is actively working to silence rank-and-file Democratic activists and base voters calling for a ban on dark money in primaries and the rejection of corporate funding. In a last-minute move, they shut the event off from the public and even deliberately shared the wrong address for where grassroots supporters are allowed to gather."

A post-election survey of 5,000 Our Revolution members found that only 14% of respondents were "very confident" that the Democratic Party and its leaders in Congress, state houses, and city halls will fight against the worst parts of Trump's agenda. Furthermore, 88% of survey respondents said they support efforts to transform the Democratic Party into a real opposition party and to get the party to reject corporate money and power, while the remaining 12% said they've already given up on the Democratic Party.

Forty-one percent of survey respondents said they want Our Revolution to primarily focus on fighting Trump and oligarchs, 32% said the group should concentrate on taking back the Democratic Party from the corporate class, and the remaining 27% think Our Rev should prioritize electing progressive candidates.

"Voters—and all Americans—deserve better than two corporate-controlled parties," asserted Geevarghese, whose group hosted a DNC candidate forum earlier this month. "The election of the next DNC chair will shape the opposition to Trump's second term, and we are already seeing glaring red flags from party leaders who are unwilling to part with the ways of the past that ushered in four more years of a would-be tyrant."

An Our Revolution petition signed by more than 10,000 active grassroots Democratic volunteers, donors, and local and state party leaders is calling on the DNC to:

  • Ban dark money in primaries and reject corporate money;
  • Invest in state parties and uplift grassroots organizing;
  • Make the DNC budget transparent and hold consultants accountable; and
  • Commit to a progressive platform and small-donor democracy.
Longtime progressive strategist Faiz Shakir, who managed Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign, is running for DNC chair on a platform of making Democrats the party of the working class.

"The question to my mind now is that if there is consensus around the working class confronting oligarchy, then what new ideas are we bringing to the table in how we utilize the power and authority of the DNC?" Shakir said in interview published Thursday by The Guardian. "My election would send the strongest message that we're doing something different."

As The Guardian's Joan Greve noted:

Shakir faces an uphill battle to capture the chair position. He only announced his candidacy earlier this month, while the front-runners in the race—Ken Martin, chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, and Ben Wikler, chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party—have been campaigning for two months. Ahead of the leadership elections on Saturday, Martin claims to have already secured the support of at least 200 DNC members, which would put him within striking distance of a winning majority, although his opponents have questioned that whip count.

Undaunted, Shakir said he is the best candidate for refocusing the Democratic Party on serving its working-class base.

"Can we open the doors and let people in? Can we start from the premise that this is a people-powered organization?" he told Greve. "That we could be and should be in service to others beyond ourselves, that is the core of what I would believe as a kind of organizing philosophy of the Democratic party right now to rebuild the brand."

"The nation is calling upon the Democratic Party to say, 'Hey, we need you,'" he added. "I'm trying to fight the notions of insularity among groups of people who understandably are focused on reforming structures within the DNC. But we've got to think beyond the DNC.

Disclosure note: Brett Wilkins is the co-chair of San Francisco Berniecrats, an Our Revolution affiliate.



'Fired Up to Make These Goons as Frustrated as Possible': Federal Workers Find Fighting Spirit

"This is mental warfare. Don't quit. Hold the line," wrote one user on an online forum for federal employees and contractors, amid the Trump administration's repeated attacks on government workers.

By Eloise Goldsmith

Following a Tuesday memo sent from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management offering most of the federal workforce the option to resign or remain in their positions but without "full assurance regarding the certainty of [a worker's] position or agency," federal employees are taking to the social media platform Reddit to find solidarity and urge each other to stick it out.

"This non 'buyout' really seems to have backfired," wrote one user on subreddit for government workers and contractors, r/fednews.

"I'll be honest, before that email went out, I was looking for any way to get out of this fresh hell. But now I am fired up to make these goons as frustrated as possible, [President Donald Trump's return to in-person work directive] be damned. Hold the line!" the user wrote.

Common Dreams has included quotes from Reddit users who indicate they are federal employees, but did not independently verify their employment with the federal government.

Some media reports have called the OPM offer a "buyout," though the union the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and other observers have said it is merely an offer to resign, effective in September, with the ability to telework between now and September.

Federal employees have until February 6 to accept the offer, according to the email.

"The program is not buyout nor is it a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment ('VISP') program. Instead, it purports to offer employees the ability to submit a deferred resignation and claims employees that do so will continue to receive pay, while still possibly working, until September 30, 2025," according to a fact sheet from AFGE.

AFGE and at least one other union representing federal employees have urged their members not to resign by responding to OPM's email.

Meanwhile, the OPM email has also sparked federal worker pride on Reddit.

A self-described "blue collar fed" wrote on Wednesday that the memo demonstrated that the current administration fundamentally misunderstands "the kind of person who works for the federal government."

"If we were able to be bought with empty promises and dubious buyouts, we'd be in the private sector, making 25% more money than we do here," the user wrote. "We swore an oath to the Constitution and the people of these United States of America. We're here because we know that not everyone can do the jobs we do, and we know that what we do is important."

A Thursday post from a user expressing low morale in the face of the Trump administration's moves targeting federal workers and worrying that they could be fired, was met with encouragement and calls to remain strong. "This is mental warfare. Don't quit. Hold the line," a user wrote in response.

Multiple nonfederal workers said they were heartened by the solidarity and fighting spirit exhibited on r/fednews.

President of the group Run for Something, Amanda Litman, posted on X that one of the threads had her "in [her] feelings."

Unions representing federal employees are also fighting back against Trump administration actions focused on civil servants. Three unions have filed two separate lawsuits challenging Trump's "Schedule F" executive order, a measure aimed at removing job protections for many career federal employees.



Majority of Voters Think Musk Will Use DOGE for Self-Enrichment While Targeting Social Safety Net

"Our polling finds that voters want the government to do more to help them," said Data for Progress' leader, warning that "their view of DOGE and the administration could quickly sour."

By Jessica Corbett

Survey results released Thursday show that majorities of U.S. voters think billionaire Elon Musk will use his position in the Trump administration for self-enrichment and fear that the presidential advisory commission he is chairing will target Social Security, food assistance, healthcare programs, and more.

Data for Progress and the Progressive Change Institute conducted a series of surveys about Musk—the world's richest person—and the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the lead-up to and shortly after Republican President Donald Trump's return to the White House on December 14-15, January 10-11, and January 24-27.

Watchdogs and some lawmakers have sounded the alarm about Musk—whose business affiliations include social media platform X, space exploration company SpaceX, and electric vehicle makerTesla—potentially using his post at DOGE to benefit himself, and the new polling suggests voters share those concerns.

Pollsters found that 51% of voters across the political spectrum agreed that Musk "isn't interested in efficiency, he's only interested in enriching himself," and he will be able to use DOGE to direct resources—including more federal contracts—toward his companies and weaponize the government to undermine competitors.

There were clear divisions among party lines: 74% of Democrats expect self-enrichment from Musk, while just 29% of Republicans have such concerns. Independents and third-party voters were split at 49%. Among all respondents, 14% said they "don't know," and 35% believe that "Musk has shown he has experience saving taxpayers money and helping the government improve."

Trump announced that the billionaire would lead DOGE—which is focused on gutting federal regulations and slashing spending—shortly after his November victory, which was aided by over a quarter-billion dollars from Musk. They initially floated cutting $2 trillion but Musk has since tempered expectations.

The pollsters found that 87% of U.S. voters are somewhat or very concerned about DOGE and the Trump administration targeting Social Security for cuts. Similarly, 84% fear cuts to veterans' healthcare, and 83% worry about cuts to the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, or Medicare.

The polling shows that 79% are worried about reducing food inspections as well as research for cancer, chronic illness, and infectious diseases. Additionally, 78% fear cuts to food assistance for low-income families, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Majorities of voters are concerned about downsizing national defense as well as cutting the federal workforce and funding for national parks, according to the surveys. They are also worried about reducing: federal disaster response and weather monitoring, environmental and toxic waste cleanup, road maintenance, mail delivery, and student loan aid.

The surveyers also questioned voters about messaging on the Musk-led commission. As Data for Progress detailed in a Thursday blog post:

When a case for DOGE is tested against two alternative messages against DOGE, saying DOGE will "steal from you by cutting Social Security, Medicare, and veterans healthcare to give tax breaks to giant corporations and billionaires like Musk" performs better with Independent voters, whose views on DOGE shifted 24 points more unfavorably on net, compared with simply saying DOGE will cut those programs or simply saying DOGE will benefit billionaires...

Additionally, while saying DOGE will cut programs to "give tax breaks to giant corporations and billionaires like Musk" effectively decreases DOGE's favorability, a message that combines "steal from you" and "give tax breaks" has an even greater negative impact on voters' opinion on DOGE, particularly among Independents whose views on DOGE shifted 14 points more unfavorably on net with the combined message.

Another round of tax cuts for the wealthy, similar to the law Trump signed in 2017, is a top legislative priority for Republicans, who now control both chambers of Congress in addition to the White House.

The pollsters also found that 56% of all voters—including 67% of Democrats, 55% of Independents, and 45% of Republicans—believe "the government should do more to solve problems and help Americans." Another 19% believe the government is doing "the right amount," while 22% think it is doing "too much" and 7% aren't sure.

Data for Progress executive director Danielle Deiseroth noted in a Thursday statement that the survey results were published amid mass chaos over a now-rescinded Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo about Trump's federal funding freeze, which led to lawsuits and the Tuesday shutdown of Medicaid payment portals nationwide.

"As Trump's chaotic OMB memo showed, his administration is using 'government efficiency' as a way to slash the healthcare and benefits that Americans rely on each day from the federal government," she said. "Our polling finds that voters want the government to do more to help them, and as they learn more about these disruptions led by Trump and Elon Musk, their view of DOGE and the administration could quickly sour."



RFK Jr Pressed on Whether He and Trump Will 'Cave to Big Pharma' on Medicare Drug Prices

"Will you defend the law in the Inflation Reduction Act which already is negotiating prescription drug prices?" Sen. Bernie Sanders asked Kennedy during his second confirmation hearing.

By Jake Johnson

Senate Democrats and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday pressed Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Health and Human Services Department, to pledge that the new administration won't give in to the pharmaceutical industry's attacks on a popular Medicare drug price negotiation program that has already yielded significant results.

Sanders raised the matter during Kennedy's confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on which the Vermont senator serves as the ranking member.

"Will you defend the law in the Inflation Reduction Act which already is negotiating prescription drug prices?" Sanders asked, referring to the Biden-era measure that empowered Medicare to negotiate the prices of a select number of prescription drugs directly with pharmaceutical companies.

Declining to provide a yes or no answer to Sanders' question, Kennedy replied that "President Trump wants us to negotiate drug prices" and added that, if confirmed as Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, he would "comply with the laws."

Watch:


The exchange came after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency within HHS, issued a statement Wednesday declaring that "lowering the cost of prescription drugs for Americans is a top priority of President Trump and his administration" and expressing commitment to "incorporating lessons learned to date from the [Inflation Reduction Act] program and to considering opportunities to bring greater transparency in the negotiation program."

"CMS intends to provide opportunities for stakeholders to provide specific ideas to improve the negotiation program, consistent with the goals of achieving greater value for beneficiaries and taxpayers and continuing to foster innovation," the agency added.

While some advocates for lower drug prices cautiously welcomed the CMS statement, Senate Democrats warned Thursday that its choice of language "appeared to open the door to Big Pharma's requests."

"If confirmed as secretary, you will be under tremendous pressure to cave to Big Pharma and undermine Medicare drug price negotiation Republicans have worked in lock-step with Big Pharma by relentlessly attacking Medicare drug price negotiation at every turn," a group of 12 Senate Democrats and Sanders wrote in a letter to Kennedy. "Now, Republicans have unified control of the federal government. They will undoubtedly try to leverage this power to walk back the progress Democrats made to lower drug prices through this important new authority."

The letter pushes Kennedy to answer a number of questions related to the drug price negotiation program, including whether he would recommend that the Trump administration defend the program from the pharmaceutical industry's ongoing legal assault.

"On behalf of the tens of millions of Americans who count on Medicare," the new letter states, "Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee want to know whether the Trump administration will follow through on negotiating with Big Pharma to deliver the lower costs promised to the American people."

After Trump announced his intent to nominate Kennedy as HHS chief late last year, the pharmaceutical lobby made clear its plan to push the new administration to undercut the price negotiation program that is poised to deliver billions of dollars in savings by bringing down the prices of expensive and widely used medications.

Earlier this month, the CEO of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly said his company and other drugmakers would ask the Trump administration to pause the price-negotiation program, claiming that "they need to fix it" before proceeding to talks over the next slate of 15 drugs selected in the final days of the Biden administration.

In their letter on Thursday, the senators demanded that Kennedy "confirm in writing" that he "will follow the law and reject
Big Pharma's request to pause Medicare drug price negotiation."



'Giving Away the Game,' Top Republican Links Attack on Poor to Tax Cuts for Rich

"This week, President Trump and Republicans in Congress demonstrated that they would happily cut things like Meals on Wheels, housing assistance, and food for mothers and young children in order to deliver for the rich."

By Jake Johnson


The chairman of the House GOP's policy committee confirmed Wednesday that President Donald Trump's chaotic and destructive effort to slash federal spending—including key anti-poverty programs—is tied to the new administration's attempt to enact another round of tax cuts that would disproportionately benefit the rich and large corporations.

"If you're going to cut taxes and send money back home, then you also need to stop the spigot in Washington, D.C.," Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) told Politico. "You can't do both."

The comments from Hern, who previously chaired a Republican panel that called for sweeping cuts to Social Security benefits, were seen as further evidence of the end-goal of the Trump administration's aggressive and unlawful attempts to axe funding already approved by Congress.

Kobie Christian, a spokesperson for the advocacy coalition Unrig Our Economy thanked Hern for "giving away the game—that the real reason Republicans seem so adamant about cutting impactful and popular programs that families depend on is to pay for even more massive tax breaks for billionaires and corporations."

"This week," Christian added, "President Trump and Republicans in Congress demonstrated that they would happily cut things like Meals on Wheels, housing assistance, and food for mothers and young children in order to deliver for the rich."

"They are looking to cut programs and cut services so that they can fund the tax breaks for the billionaires."

Since early January, House Republicans have been considering a menu of options that floats over $2 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, a program that provides healthcare to tens of millions of low-income Americans—including millions of children.

Meanwhile, as ProPublica noted Thursday, the document proposes eliminating the federal estate tax for the ultrawealthy "at an estimated cost of $370 billion in revenue for the government over a decade."

"The tax, which charges a percentage of the value of a person's fortune after they die, kicks in only for estates worth more than around $14 million," the outlet noted. "Another proposal aims to slash the top tax rate paid by corporations by almost a third."

After the Trump White House said Wednesday that its far-reaching assault on federal funding would continue even after the withdrawal of an Office of Management and Budget memo that sparked nationwide mayhem, Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) warned that "this is the blueprint for the Trump administration and for the Republican majority."

"They are looking to cut programs and cut services so that they can fund the tax breaks for the billionaires," said Escobar. "Even if there was some kind of victory today with the withdrawal of the memo, this battle is ongoing. And their effort to effectively defund the federal government in order to provide those tax cuts is going to be an ongoing fight."


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It's Been Just 11 Days, But 100,000 Have Already Signed Petition to 'Impeach Trump Again'

The nonprofit Free Speech for People is leading a new nonpartisan campaign to drum up support for U.S. President Donald Trump's removal—"Impeach Trump Again"—and reported Thursday that the effort has already garnered over 100,000 petition signatures.

The campaign is calling on Congress to launch an impeachment investigation into Trump and says that the signature numbers signal "widespread support" for a probe.

"The overwhelming support for impeachment shows that the American public is not willing to accept King Trump," said Alexandra Flores-Quilty, Free Speech for People campaign director, in a Thursday statement. "We need bold leaders in Congress willing to stand up and hold Trump accountable for his abuses of power and initiate an impeachment inquiry."

The petition, which was launched on Inauguration Day, calls on Congress to initiate an impeachment investigation into Trump based on potential violations of the U.S. Constitution's emoluments clauses, his pardoning of insurrectionists who took part in the January 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol, and his "unlawful" and "corrupt" campaign practices.

Free Speech for People also launched a campaign to build public support for Trump's impeachment on the day of his inauguration back in 2017.

The emoluments clauses require that Trump "fully divest himself from any businesses receiving profits, gains, or advantages, beyond his official compensation, from the federal government or the individual states," according to the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Trump's business empire—which, as far as the public knows, he has not divested from—now includes not only real estate, but also a social media platform and a cryptocurrency token.

The campaign also lists other alleged impeachable offenses.

Trump was impeached twice by the House of Representatives during his first term, but in both cases he was acquitted by the Senate. Both chambers of Congress are now controlled by Trump's Republican Party.


Exposed: Republicans Trying to Kill Free 'Direct File' Program Funded by For-Profit Tax Prep Industry


LOOK AT WHERE YOUR REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS GET THEIR $$$ - CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AVAILABLE ON OPEN SECRETS!
REPUBLICANS DON'T WORK FOR YOU! WHAT DOES IT COST TO BUY A REPUBLICAN? 

The popular, free Direct File program introduced by the Internal Revenue Service in 2024 is being expanded this tax season despite the objections of dozens of congressional Republicans—but an analysis released Thursday reveals why GOP lawmakers are so intent on ensuring the Trump administration ultimately eliminates the program and forces taxpayers to rely on services from private tax filing corporations.

The 29 Republicans who sent a letter to President Donald Trump in December asking him to end Direct File with a "day-one executive order" have received more than $1.8 million in campaign contributions over the course of their careers from "Big Tax Prep and their proxies," said the consumer advocacy watchdog Public Citizen.

The companies that have donated to the lawmakers include Intuit and H&R Block, as well as the American Coalition for Taxpayer Rights—a group of lobbying firms that work on behalf of the tax filing industry.

With Direct File offered to taxpayers in 25 new states starting this week—after being available in 12 states last year—Public Citizen revealed that in 2024, the industry and its lobbying firms contributed more than $700,000 to the Republican lawmakers who wrote the letter.

Lobbyists and lobbying firms contributed most of the money detailed in the report—more than $1.5 million of the total. The remaining money was donated by political action committees (PACs) for H&R Block, Intuit, and the lobbying firms.

"The new administration must stand up to greedy Big Tax Prep giants and their army of hired lobbyists by continuing to build on the popular Direct File program beyond this tax season."

U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), who spearheaded the letter claiming Direct File poses a "threat to taxpayers' freedom from government overreach," received the second-most campaign donations of any of the signatories.

The tax filing industry and lobbying firms have given Smith $224,350 over the course of his career, second only to Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), who received $242,256.

Both also received more money from tax filing interests in 2024 than any other lawmaker.

Public Citizen noted that 12 of the signatories represent five of the states with Direct File pilot programs in place last year.

"According to data from the Economic Security Project, a combined 15.2 million taxpayers in these states were eligible for the program in the first year," reads the report. "Had they all used the program, these taxpayers would have saved more than $2.4 billion in filing fees."

With the 12 lawmakers having taken more than $640,000 from "the Direct File opposition and their proxies throughout their career... these Republicans are putting the interests of their donors ahead of their constituents," said Public Citizen.

"Direct File is a commonsense government program that was overwhelmingly well-liked by the filers who used it during its 2024 pilot," said Susan Harley, managing director for Public Citizen's Congress Watch division. "Eligible filers in 25 states now have an option to directly e-file their taxes for free to the IRS. The new administration must stand up to greedy Big Tax Prep giants and their army of hired lobbyists by continuing to build on the popular Direct File program beyond this tax season."

According to the report, donations from the tax filing industry have particularly flowed toward Republicans who sit on the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over the IRS and taxation.

"Together, these signers have received more than $1.3 million over their careers including more than $500,000 during the 2024 cycle," said Public Citizen. "These members account for nearly two-thirds of the Republican majority on the committee."

People in 25 states will be able to save hundreds of dollars by filing their taxes without paying a private company or giving a cut of their refund to Intuit or H&R Block, noted Public Citizen.

"These savings can provide some financial relief at a time when budgets are stretched thin," said the group. "Direct File should be expanded, kept permanent, and be held up as a model for government programs enacted to help average Americans—not corporate America."


Billionaire Nicole Shanahan Demands Senators Confirm RFK Jr.—Or Else   
RFK JR is incompetent, unqualified & a Whack-A-Ding! 


Nicole Shanahan, the billionaire former running mate of erstwhile Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is threatening political retribution against any senator who does not vote to confirm Kennedy as Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's health and human services secretary.

This week, Shanahan vowed to "personally fund" primary challenges against senators who don't support Kennedy's nomination to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"This is a bipartisan message, and it comes directly from me," Shanahan said in a video posted Monday on the social media platform X. "While Bobby may be willing to play nice, I won't."

Shanahan specifically admonished more than a dozen senators, including Democrats, Republicans, and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

"The two candidates I helped elect, Sen. Raphael Warnock and Sen. Jon Ossoff, please know I will be watching your votes very closely,” she said, singling out the two Georgia Democrats. "I will make it my personal mission that you lose your seats in the Senate if you vote against the future health of America's children."

At least one senator responded to Shanahan's threat. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) said on social media Wednesday: "Big Pharma spent millions against me and I didn't back down. Koch spent millions against me, I didn't back down. I know entitled rich people think they can buy Nevada's Senate seat—they can't. I work for Nevada, not billionaires like Nicole Shanahan."

Shanahan—who reportedly gained most of her wealth from her previous marriage to Google co-founder Sergey Brin—poured millions of dollars of her own money into Kennedy's longshot presidential campaign before the conspiracy theorist chose her as his running mate. She was also among the early voices urging Kennedy to drop his independent White House bid and throw his support behind Trump, as he ultimately did.

Before that, Shanahan donated to prominent Democratic politicians including the party's presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, in 2016 and former President Joe Biden in 2020. Kennedy, the son of former Democratic Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (Mass.) and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy—both of whom were assassinated in the 1960s—was also a longtime Democrat prior to his switch last year.

A wide range of public health experts oppose Kennedy's nomination. Last month, a group of 75 Nobel laureates urged senators to reject his appointment, citing his deadly history of amplifying discredited conspiracy theories and his "lack of credentials or relevant experience in medicine, science, public health, or administration."


'Momentous Victory for Climate Justice': Rosebank, Jackdaw Oilfields Ruled Unlawful 


After winning a landmark lawsuit to stop oil and gas production at two North Sea fossil fuel projects in the United Kingdom Thursday, the global climate action group Greenpeace called for applause for the campaigners who have spent years demanding no new pollution-causing developments.

"This is game-changing," said Greenpeace U.K. "And it's ONLY been possible thanks to YEARS of fighting by THOUSANDS of climate campaigners! Power to the people."

The comments came after Judge Andrew Stewart of Scotland's Court of Session ruled that Equinor and Shell, the fossil fuel giants behind the Rosebank oil and gas field and the Jackdaw gas project, respectively, cannot move ahead with extraction because the government did not take into account the emissions that would result from the projects.

The companies have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Rosebank and Jackdaw, with Equinor saying it had lined up $2.7 billion in contracts for the former field, with an estimated 300 million barrels of oil and gas expected to be extracted beginning in 2026 or 2027.

The Stop Rosebank coalition, made up of grassroots campaigners and organizations, said the climate pollution from Rosebank "would be more than the combined annual CO2 emissions of all 28 low-income countries in the world, including Uganda, Ethiopia, and Mozambique."

"In other words, emissions from this one U.K. field would be more than those created by the 700 million people in the world's poorest countries in a year," said the coalition. "These are among the same countries that have contributed the least to the climate crisis but are already experiencing the worst impacts of a warming planet."

Stewart said in his ruling that "the public interest in authorities acting lawfully and the private interest of members of the public in climate change outweigh the private interest of the developers."

The campaign group Fossil Free London promptly organized a rally outside the Norwegian embassy in the U.K. capital to celebrate the verdict and call on Norway-based Equinor not to appeal the ruling.

"There can be victories in the world of climate protest," said one organizer. "This is a big one."

The ruling was in line with a decision handed down by the U.K. Supreme Court last year, which said local authorities must consider the full environmental impact of all new fossil fuel projects before they are approved.

Thursday's ruling is the latest evidence, said Freya Aitchison, oil and gas campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, that "new oil is over."

"This signals the beginning of the end for fossil fuel production in the U.K.," said Aitchison. "Political attention must immediately turn to developing an urgent and fair transition plan for workers."

"This is a momentous victory for climate justice. It shows the power of the hundreds of thousands of people who have fought against the climate-wrecking Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields for years. The U.K. Government must now end this disastrous project, rule out all new oil fields and fossil fuel developments and focus on delivering a planned, funded transition for oil workers," added Aitchison. "This ruling is a turning point, we can and must choose a better future."

Carla Denyer, a Member of Parliament for the Green Party, called on the U.K. government, now led by the Labour Party, to "refuse consent for the 13 other oil and gas drilling projects licensed by the previous government."

Global Justice Now said the government should also turn its attention to the entire planet and support calls for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

"This is a huge milestone towards a livable planet and away from polluting fossil fuels," said Liz Murray, head of the group's Scottish campaigns. "Now we need global coordination to end new oil and gas not just here but around the world. The U.K. government should back calls from some of the most climate vulnerable countries for a fossil fuel treaty to plan a clean energy future that leaves no worker, community or country behind."


■ Opinion


Electing Trump as an Act of Collective Suicide

He promised to "drill, baby, drill," which really means "burn, baby, burn." And we said... okay.

By Tom Engelhardt

Let’s face it: Electing Donald Trump was nothing short of a suicidal act.

And that’s something we humans seem to have a genuine knack for these days. If you don’t believe me, just consider those record-setting burned-out areas around Los Angeles. Admittedly, that was Nature (with a capital N), but given a grim helping hand by You Know Who. You can thank big oil, big coal, and big natural gas for that (and, in the future, add President Donald Trump to that list in a big-time way). Yes, things do turn out to burn far more fiercely on an overheating planet. And they get wetter faster, too (though not in Los Angeles when rain was truly needed). The phrase now is “climate whiplash,” and if you think it’s fun living under a lashing weather whip, think again.

Mind you, despite what at least some of us now know, the human crew (that’s us) is continuing to pour greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in a distinctly record fashion. And as if things weren’t bad enough when it comes to ultimate destruction on this planet of ours, just under 50% of the American voting public only recently elected You Know Who again as president to lend a helping hand. In his inaugural address, Donald Trump promised to do just that. As he put it, all too bluntly:

“We will drill, baby, drill. America will be a manufacturing nation once again, and we have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have: the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth. And we are going to use it. We will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again, right to the top, and export American energy all over the world. We will be a rich nation again. And it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it. With my actions today, we will end the Green New Deal and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American autoworkers.”

As he summed it up, “America’s decline is over.” But the planet’s is already deeply underway and he’s clearly about to lend it a remarkably helping hand. As a matter of fact, his pick for Energy Secretary, oil executive Chris Wright, has denied that climate change is even linked to greater and more deadly fires on this planet. Of course, to put all this in perspective, even before Donald Trump returned to the White House, the U.S. was already producing more oil and natural gas than any other country now or in history. And that was under a president actually trying to take some steps to mitigate climate change. Well, so long to that!

Donald Trump? Really? Twice? What a loony crew we are!

Mind you, last year, for the first time in recorded history, this planet’s annual temperature hit 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average — and it was also the hottest year ever, beating 2023, the previous record-holder, while every year in the last decade has been record-setting compared to any of the years of the previous decade or, for that matter, the rest of human history. And if that’s not an accomplishment (of a grim sort), I don’t know what is. Worse yet, given the rising levels of carbon dioxide in this planet’s atmosphere, thanks in part to a global fire season from hell, expect more and far grimmer to come (and come and come and come).

“Investing” in Nuclear Devastation

Historically speaking, we humans have had a knack for many things, including exploring and settling just about every inch of this planet, successfully raising vast crops to feed enormous numbers of us, and inventing endless things from the fountain pen and telephone to the car and computer. However, among our many skills, perhaps the greatest when it comes to our future has been our eerie ability to discover ways to do ourselves and this planet, partially, or completely, or at least as we’ve known it all these endless thousands of years… yes, in.

Of course, human history has been anything but lacking in ways of doing ourselves, or others we’ve come to loathe, in. Since the clubs of the Stone Age, humans have come up with endlessly more devastating weaponry: the spear, the sword, the rifle, the machine gun, artillery, planes with bombs… you know the litany as well as I do.

And then, as World War II ended, there were those nuclear weapons. I don’t have to bore you with a substantive description of them, right? They were, after a fashion, a remarkable wartime invention and, of course, were used twice on August 6th and 9th, 1945, to totally devastate the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Almost 80 years later — and consider this a distinct accomplishment — knowing what such weaponry could potentially do, no more of them have ever been used in wartime. Not a single one.

Still, explain it as you will, there are now an estimated 12,000 (no, that is not a misprint) nuclear warheads on Planet Earth, many of them staggeringly more powerful than the bombs that destroyed those two Japanese cities. In the 80 years since Nagasaki was nearly obliterated, eight countries have joined the United States in going nuclear and undoubtedly, given time, more will follow. And such weapons — initially just bombs — are now deployable on planes, ships, or via land-based missiles (also known as our “nuclear triad“). And I wouldn’t be surprised if someday such weapons were also placed in space. It’s now generally believed that a major nuclear war on this planet would not only cause unimaginable levels of immediate death and destruction but potentially create a “nuclear winter“ that could, in the end, kill billions of us.

In short, there are now enough nukes on Earth to destroy any number of planets and, though one hasn’t been used in so many decades, don’t count on us when it comes to not, sooner or later, using some of them to engage in potentially world-ending behavior.

And worse yet, 12,000 such weapons turn out to be not faintly enough. Everyone always wants more, including my country, which is planning to pour a fortune into the “modernization” (I’m not kidding, that’s the word for it!) of the U.S. nuclear arsenal in the decades to come. That “investment” will be to the tune of $1.7 to $2 trillion dollars (no, that is not a misprint) to create, among other things, new Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, a new stealth bomber, and new Columbia-class nuclear submarines.

Oh, and here’s a bit of cheery news about the second Trump administration: the remarkably unqualified fellow that President Trump has picked to run the National Nuclear Security Administration within the Department of Energy, former one-term congressman and (of course!) multimillionaire Brandon Williams, is expected to restart the explosive testing of American nuclear weapons, something that hasn’t happened since President Bill Clinton signed a nuclear test ban treaty (that Congress later refused to ratify). So the world could once again see nuclear weapons going off, even if at test sites.

Call us bizarre. Call us crazy. But up to two trillion dollars “invested” in the future utter devastation of this planet — and that’s only one country — who calls that good sense? And add to that a potential return to global open testing of such weaponry. How cheery! How delightfully end-of-the-world-y of us!

It’s Getting Hotter!

And worse yet, it seems that we humans weren’t satisfied with just one way to do in Planet Earth. However inadvertently, we’ve managed, as I indicated earlier, to come up with a second way to completely devastate this planet, at least as a habitable place for us and just about any other living thing. Admittedly, unlike nukes, climate change will take place in the global equivalent of slow motion and won’t have the ability to wipe out so many of us in a matter of hours, days, weeks, or even months. But in the long run, it distinctly may have the ability to turn ever more of this planet into a set of unlivable spaces.

And here’s a bizarre footnote to all of this. The idea that, sooner or later, burning fossil fuels a mile a minute will thoroughly devastate Planet Earth has hardly been missing in action. In fact, all too many Americans have already begun experiencing it in an ever more up close and personal fashion — as with Helene and Milton, those two devastating hurricanes last fall that gained such strength from passing across the wildly climate-change-overheated waters of the Gulf of Mexico. And who doesn’t remember the vast clouds of smoke that poured down on us from a wildly burning Canada back in the spring and early summer of 2023 in a historically unprecedented fashion?

It’s hardly a secret that the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas is at the heart of this phenomenon. And yet in this country in election 2024, almost 50% of Americans cast their votes for a man (and what a man he is!) whose key election line was the very one he repeated in his inaugural address: “drill, baby, drill.” (Of course, it might as well have been “burn, baby, burn.”) We’re talking about a guy who has called climate change “a big hoax” or, in the wake of Hurricane Helene, “one of the greatest scams of all time.”

And, of course, he walks into the White House determined to put significant (yes!) energy into producing yet more oil and natural gas, while reversing any of the Biden administration’s efforts to deal directly with climate change. (Mind you, to keep things in perspective, though Joe Biden did sink significant sums into dealing with the climate and developing alternate sources of energy, in his years in the White House the U.S. also produced more oil and exported more natural gas than any other country on Earth.) And, as promised, on Day One of his second term in office, Donald Trump, among so many other things, joined only three other countries — Iran, Libya, and Yemen — in withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate accords.

We humans, especially in the wake of Donald Trump’s recent electoral victory, seem distinctly like death-wish creatures and, at some future moment, humanity could truly find itself in a ditch.

Donald Trump? Really? Twice? What a loony crew we are!

To speak personally for a moment. I can’t even imagine spending my years from age 80 to 84 with President Heat Bomb actively working to do in our planet. To my mind, in fact, electing a long-term climate denier as president again might even be thought of as the ultimate suicidal act.

And Yet More?

In short (or long), humanity has so far come up with two ways to utterly devastate Planet Earth, one held in reserve and regularly “modernized,” the other actually underway in a reasonably slow-motion (and still stoppable) fashion. And when it comes to us, that — if I do say so myself — represents no small accomplishment (even if that hardly seems the right word for it). But don’t sell us short. Don’t for a second imagine that those two ways to destroy this planet as a livable place for, yes, us, represent the beginning and the end of the phenomenon.

I wouldn’t count on that, not for a second. I mean, don’t sell us short! (And yes, I’m repeating that phrase, but for good reason.) In truth, there are things that, at my age, I would rather not understand. But I would hardly be shocked if it turned out, for example, that artificial intelligence (AI) might prove to be — I won’t say “the” but only “a” (because I don’t want to sell humanity short) — third possible ultimate way we could do ourselves, if not this planet, in.

Can I tell you how AI could do such a thing? No, I’m too old to truly understand it. So let me instead quote Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist and physicist Geoffrey Hinton, sometimes called “the godfather of AI,” who said this about the phenomenon: “I am worried that the overall consequence of this might be systems more intelligent than us that eventually take control.” In other words, we humans, especially in the wake of Donald Trump’s recent electoral victory, seem distinctly like death-wish creatures and, at some future moment, humanity could truly find itself in a ditch.

In the meantime, it’s no small act to have voted Apocalyptic Donald back into power, a man ready, above all, to — yes! — drill, baby, drill (and burn, baby, burn)!




We Need a Shared Working-Class Agenda to Overcome Economic Hardship and Defeat Trump

If we resist getting caught up in the endless drama, divisions, and distractions—and work together to further our own slate of issues—we have the power to create meaningful change.

By Sarah Van Gelder


Trump’s Freeze Was a Brazen, Unlawful Attempt to Steal Our Tax Dollars

Whichever way this pans out, one thing is clear: This administration is trying every tactic—legal or otherwise—to fund its planned massive tax handout to its billionaire backers.

By Karen Dolan


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