Monday, January 23rd, 2017
Andrew Plaskowsky, - WMAZ - KARE II (Minneapolis)
Stephan: It has taken virtually no time at all for the little Republican trolls to trot out their fantasies which they hope to make into law.. This story represents one example of what I mean.
According to SNOPES an identical "American Sovereignty Restoration Act," intended to 'terminate U.S. participation in the United Nations,' has been introduced to the House of Representatives at the beginning of each Congress for the last twenty years since 1997. The 2017 and 2015 versions were sponsored by Rep. Rogers, the 2013 version by Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia, and the 1997 through 2011 versions were sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul of Texas (all Republicans)."
The difference this time is that we have both Congressional Tea Party members and a President who have 'American first" views that differ from past periods.
To see the full text of the bill,
click here.
To find your state representatives and their contact information,
click here.
Alabama Republican Representative Mike Rogers
A bill was introduced early January that calls for the removal of the United States from the United Nations.
According to the Congress website, H.R. 193 — known as the American Sovereignty Restoration Act — was introduced to the House on January 3 and referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
While its official title says it seeks to end membership in the U.N., there are several other key components of the bill which include: ending the 1947 agreement that the U.N. headquarters will be housed in the U.S., ending peacekeeping operations, removing diplomatic immunity, and ending participation in the World Health Organization.
Should the bill pass, the act and its amendments will go into effect two years after it has been signed.
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Mike D. Rogers [R-AL] and is cosponsored by six others.
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Monday, January 23rd, 2017
Stephan: I think this story of attorneys filing lawsuits about President Trump's conflicts of interest is just the beginning, and that this administration is going to be chronically embroiled in litigation and that it is going to comprise a significant part of the next four years, if we get all the way through four years. Donald Trump's best defense in my view is Mike Pence, who is a rather mean spirited theocrat.
Deepak Gupta, Esq.
A group including former White House ethics attorneys will file a lawsuit on Monday accusing President Donald Trump of allowing his businesses to accept payments from foreign governments, in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Deepak Gupta, a Supreme Court litigator working on the case, said the lawsuit would allege that the Constitution’s emoluments clause forbids payments to Trump’s businesses. It will seek a court order forbidding Trump from accepting such payments, he said.
The case, reported earlier by the New York Times, is part of a wave of litigation expected to be filed against Trump by liberal advocacy groups. It will be filed in a Manhattan federal court, Gupta said, and plaintiffs will include Richard Painter, a former ethics lawyer in Republican President George W. Bush’s White House.
A Trump spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Trump’s son Eric Trump, an executive vice president of the Trump Organization, told the Times on Sunday that the company had taken more steps than required by law to avoid any possible legal exposure, such as agreeing to donate […]
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Sunday, January 22nd, 2017
Gillian B. White , - The Atlantic
Stephan: We are sorely out of whack as a society. The social outcome data just couldn't be clearer about this, and this inequity is one of the major forces that produced Trump. In my view, we are going to decide in the next four years whether we are going to be a Neo-feudal society whose priorities are profit for the few, or a wellbeing oriented society.That will determine the fate of the United States.
Credit: Carlo Allegri / Reuters
The United States is one of the richest countries in the world. It is also one of the most unequal. As a report released today shows, the U.S. ranks 23 out of 30 developed nations in a measure known as the “inclusive development index,” which factors in data on income, health, poverty, and sustainability. (emphasis added)
The index comes from the World Economic Forum, whose annual summit is taking place in Davos this week. It is a rather comprehensive measure of inequality, and the fact that the U.S. ranks so poorly is a sign of the country’s dramatic wealth concentration.Of all the factors in the index, the U.S. performed worst in what the WEF calls the inclusion category, which measures the distribution of income and wealth, and the level of poverty. Additionally, the country received particularly low marks in the areas of social protection—defined as efficiency of public goods and services and robustness of social safety nets—and employment and labor compensation. The […]
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Sunday, January 22nd, 2017
Heather Hansman, - The Guardian (U.K.)
Stephan: Although the new Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, has said that he is opposed to any sale or breakup of public lands, Western Republican Congress members are still going to try. I think this is a very big deal, and would represent a deep spiritual wound on America if it happened. Here is the story.
Grand Canyon
Credit: Michele Falzone
In the midst of highly publicized steps to dismantle insurance coverage for 32 million people and defund women’s healthcare facilities, Republican lawmakers have quietly laid the foundation to give away Americans’ birthright: 640m acres of national land. In a single line of changes to the rules for the House of Representatives, Republicans have overwritten the value of federal lands, easing the path to disposing of federal property even if doing so loses money for the government and provides no demonstrable compensation to American citizens.
At stake are areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Forests and Federal Wildlife Refuges, which contribute to an estimated $646bn each year in economic stimulus from recreation on public lands and 6.1m jobs. Transferring these lands to the states, critics fear, could decimate those numbers by eliminating mixed-use requirements, limiting public access and turning over large portions for energy or property development.
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Sunday, January 22nd, 2017
Travis Gettys, - The Raw Story
Stephan: This is how Fascism is coming to the states. Do I need to say this is the Republican Party at work? No probably not. This story is so extreme though I am surprised it hasn't gotten more coverage.
Reps. Julio Gonzalez and John Koster
Two state legislatures are considering measures that would allow lawmakers to overrule decisions by Supreme Court majorities — and one Florida Republican wants to change the U.S. Constitution to allow Congress to do the same.
In Florida, state Rep. Julio Gonzalez (R-Venice) has filed two bills that would allow the state legislature or the U.S. Congress “to override or nullify court decisions.”
Two state legislatures are
considering measures that would allow lawmakers to overrule decisions by Supreme Court majorities — and one Florida Republican wants to change the U.S. Constitution to allow Congress to do the same.
In Florida, state Rep. Julio Gonzalez (R-Venice) has filed two bills that would allow the state legislature or the U.S. Congress “to override or nullify court decisions.”
House Joint Resolution 121 would allow lawmakers to undo any state court decision by a two-thirds vote for up to five years, and House […]
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