Thursday, April 25th, 2019
BRETT SAMUELS , - The Hill
Stephan: It is hard for me to put into words my disgust and revulsion about the endless criminality and pseudo-dictatorship of Donald Trump, who appears to think he is above the law. Along with attempting to block members of his administration from testifying before Congress, we come to this. I think, Trump is betting his appointments, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, plus Clarence Thomas and possibly Samuel Alito will protect him
Please do me the service of writing your Representative and Senators and tell them it is their job to protect our democracy, and that how they behave will strongly influence your vote in 2020.
The Supreme Court
Credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
President Trump on Wednesday said that he would attempt to challenge impeachment in the Supreme Court if Democrats carried out such proceedings, though it’s unclear the high court would hear such a case.
“The Mueller Report, despite being written by Angry Democrats and Trump Haters, and with unlimited money behind it ($35,000,000), didn’t lay a glove on me. I DID NOTHING WRONG,” Trump tweeted.
“If the partisan Dems ever tried to Impeach, I would first head to the U.S. Supreme Court. Not only are there no ‘High Crimes and Misdemeanors,’ there are no Crimes by me at all,” he continued.
The president accused Democrats, Hillary Clinton and “dirty cops” of being guilty of criminal activity.
“We waited for Mueller and WON, so now the Dems look to Congress as last hope!” Trump concluded.
The House holds the power to carry out impeachment proceedings, while the Senate is responsible for whether to convict the individual in question. The chief justice of the Supreme Court, currently John Roberts, would preside over the Senate trial.
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Thursday, April 25th, 2019
Shamard Charles, M.D., - NBC News
Stephan: From the beginning, I have been concerned about the safety of vape pens. The technology seemed to me very vulnerable to bacteria and fungal toxins. The heavy lifting of research has been done; here is what the data says.
A study published Wednesday shows that dozens of popular e-cigarette products are contaminated with bacterial and fungal toxins that cause lung disease.
Credit: Aaron Favila / AP
Makers of e-cigarettes claim that their products are safe, but a study published Wednesday shows that dozens of popular e-cigarette products are contaminated with bacterial and fungal toxins that cause lung disease.
The impurities found in the e-cigarettes — which are associated with asthma and chronic obstructive lung disease — were found in nearly a quarter of single-use e-cigarette cartridges and in over three quarters of e-liquids, the team at the Harvard School of Public Health found.
“Finding these toxins in e-cigarette products adds to the growing concerns that we have about the safety of e-cigarettes,” said Dr. David Christiani, study author and professor of environmental genetics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public in Boston.
The researchers examined 75 popular e-cigarette products — 37 single-use cartridges and 38 e-liquids from 10 top selling U.S. brands. The […]
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Thursday, April 25th, 2019
MARK JOSEPH STERN, - SLATE
Stephan: Quite apart to Trump's comment that he would take impeachment to the Supreme Court, something equally appalling is going on, citizenship on the census form. I think how this gets decided will tell us whether Trump has reason to be confident in being protected by the court.
Chief Justice John Roberts poses for the court’s official portrait in the East Conference Room at the Supreme Court building in Washington on Nov. 30, 2018.
Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty
By all indications, the Supreme Court is poised to let the Trump administration add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. The consequences of its probable ruling will last longer than Donald Trump’s presidency, well into the term of the next president, and possibly the one after that. Hispanics and immigrants will be undercounted, leading to overrepresentation in the House of Representatives and state legislatures of disproportionately white and rural regions. The result will entrench Republican power into the 2030s, depriving Democrats of representation in Congress and state legislatures, as well as electoral votes. States with large immigrant communities will lose billions in federal funding. Ultimately, the citizenship question is not some wonky dispute about proper census protocol. It is a dispute over who counts in America.
Here is the worst part: The Trump administration should […]
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Thursday, April 25th, 2019
NICOLE KARLIS, Science News Writer - Salon
Stephan: I don't drink kombucha but if you do I would take this seriously.
Credit: Cindy Ord/Getty
For many new age-y health enthusiasts, probiotic drinks like kombuchaare an intrinsic part of a healthy lifestyle.
Kombucha, which is a fermented sweetened tea made of a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) that grow inside a semi-permeable membrane, is said to aid digestion, boost immunity, reduce inflammation, increase energy, and even alleviate anxiety and depression, among other (oft-dubious) claims. Since its rise in popularity over the last ten years, kombucha can be found on the shelves of nearly every grocery store, especially health food stores like Whole Foods. The kombucha market around the world is expected to reach $5.45 billion by 2025.
However, the rise in this drink among the health conscious has come with a price: your teeth. Some dentists are noticing a rise in eroded enamel coinciding with kombucha’s popularity, questioning its so-called miraculous impact.
“Kombucha is nearly as acidic as a pop and energy drinks,” Dr. Bobby J. Grossi, an author, motivational speaker and founder of the Grossi Institute for Dental Assisting, told Salon. […]
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Wednesday, April 24th, 2019
AARON LORENZO, - Politico
Stephan: I am astonished how easily Trump and the Congressional Republicans are dismantling American democracy, and placing the president above the law. I think Elizabeth Warren is correct, it is time to impeach Trump and it is not so much about him, as vile as he is, rather it is about what the president, any presdent, is allowed to get away with. Here is an example of what I mean.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (shown) told House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal Neal on the first deadline that the Treasury was consulting with the Justice Department on turning over President Donald Trump’s tax returns.
Credit: Alex Wong/Getty
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin left little doubt Tuesday that the administration will reject a congressional request for President Donald Trump’s tax returns by a self-imposed May 6 target for a “final decision,” setting the stage for a legal battle that will test the limits of congressional oversight.
In a 10-page letter to House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.), who formally requested Trump’s returns on April 3, Mnuchin questioned Neal’s motives and laid out “some of the legal concerns” the administration has with the request. While Neal has argued that the committee needs to see the returns as part of its oversight of the IRS, Mnuchin wrote that is a “pretext” for the Democrats’ aim to make Trump’s returns public, which Mnuchin called “constitutionally suspect.”
Neal, who had set a 5 […]
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