Biden Can’t Divert Appropriated Funds When Trump Can

In another example of the consequences of conservative court packing and the appointment of hyper-partisan or inexperienced judges, a Trump-appointed federal judge had recently ruled against the Biden administration for diverting funds, which is interesting because when Donald Trump, President Biden’s insurrectionist predecessor, also diverted funds the conservative majority on the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of the Trump administration raiding appropriated money.

The Constitution says, “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in Consequence of Appropriations made by law.”

The Supreme Court used a provision allowing the Trump diversion because after Democrat-controlled congress voted for funding, and Trump signed that bill into law, a day later Trump then declared an emergency to start taking essential military funding to pay for his pet projects on the border. 

The lower courts in that case had ruled against Trump, pointing to the law in question stating that Trump could not take already appropriated funds because the only allowable circumstances would be “based on unforeseen military requirements ... and in no case where the item for which funds are requested has been denied by the Congress.”

So one would think that Biden was okay to also divert funds, right?

Wrong!

Trump Judge Drew Tipton claimed the suing states, Texas and Missouri (which is not a southern border state) has proven they have suffered damages from Biden’s diversion because they have given out drivers licenses or provided education or healthcare to undocumented migrants. 

So to be clear, it is okay when Trump takes money from the military to protect the whole of America but if an undocumented immigrant wants to drive then that is not allowed.

Just another instance of blatant conservative partisan hypocrisy.

One of DeSantis’ Hypocrisies

Ron DeSantis , Florida right wing governor and presidential candidate had recently commented on the Colorado Supreme Court’s removal of twice-impeached former president Donald Trump from the Republican primary ballot. 

 “The Left invokes ‘democracy’ to justify its use of power, even if it means abusing judicial power to remove a candidate from the ballot based on spurious legal grounds. SCOTUS should reverse,” he wrote on a post on X.

Interesting considering DeSantis prides himself and actively boasts on his removal of duly elected officials across his own state, some which have already been deemed unconstitutional from the courts. 

Trump: Immigrants “Poison the Blood”

Donald Trump did his best Adolph Hitler impersonation recently and as CNN’s Abby Phillips noted, GOP Representative Nicole Malliotakis tried to spin Trump’s statements saying that immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country” by insisting that’s not what he really meant and that Trump was implying they really poison America with their “democratic policies.”

While that is definitely not what Trump was saying, and keep in mind reports that Trump’s ex-wife Ivana Trump claimed in 1990 that he kept speeches of Hitler beside his bed, there is also some other subtext here - Republicans believe immigrants are Democrats. 

This is nothing new but it explains renewed pushes against immigration policy at a time when elections are determined by a handful of votes. 

Speaker Johnson : Biden Heaven Sent

According to the newly elected Christian Nationalist House Speaker Mike Johnson, “Hod is the one that raises up those in authority.”

He had then added “All of us.”

That would seemingly include the duly elected American President Joe Biden - Johnson would either be agreeing that God had delivered Biden to be president OR he believes the infallible god of his faith to be wrong. 

Lauren Boebert Caught Lying About Public Indecency

Conservative darling Lauren Boebert has recently made the news for getting kicked out of a performance of “Beetlejuice” for disorderly conduct. 

As the story goes, Boebert was on a date at the musical being very loud and animated while vaping. A pregnant woman had asked the congresswoman to please stop and Boebert had refused. The venue’s staff had to intervene and escort the couple out where Boebert could be seen giving the middle finger to security while using profanity as she left the building. 

When the news of this situation broke, Boebert denied any and all wrongdoings and claimed she didn’t do anything wrong. That is when high definition video of the theater was released showing the congresswoman ignore the health of pregnant woman (and unborn child), Boebert also could be seen on camera violating all of the theater’s policies.

There was video of Boebert vaping and using flash photography as she caused a ruckus. The video also showed the right wing conservative groping her date (who also owns gay nightclubs) in public. While this may not be as big of a deal as the other things mentioned, it is quite hypocritical being that the congresswoman has made it part of her mission to fight against the rights of women, transgender, and gay Americans.

So did Boebert apologize for her actions?

Not really.

Remember. She only fessed up to her actions once camera footage was released. And even then she just said she was being animated and lively at a good performance ignoring that a pregnant woman kindly asked her to stop doing only one thing in her presence. And more recently she gave yet another non-apology.

“ It’s been 20 years since I was in the dating scene, and back then, there were not infrared cameras I’m watching my every move” Boebert said in an interview.

And as it was pointed out, she only admitted to doing what she initially lied about after video was released, meaning she would have continued to lie without that ever coming to light.

Ron DeSantis Flip Flops On Biden Disaster Tour

A couple of weeks ago disaster struck Hawaii with a massive wildfire that destroyed the historic seaside community of Lahaina. At that time President Biden was on a weekend getaway with his family at Lake Tahoe. That didn’t stop Ron DeSantis from trying to score political points with the Republican base during the heated primary season. 

'”You know, just a thought experiment: If we had a Republican president, who in the midst of these fires and their aftermath, decided not to go engage to help the victims, but to go sit on the beach, what would the media say if they tried to do that?' DeSantis said. 

It did not matter that Biden was actually visiting Maui and touring the site at that exact moment DeSantis commented. He wanted to prove that during a disaster, as president he would do better. 

Fast forward a couple weeks and DeSantis is facing a disaster of his own with a historic hurricane barreling through his own state of Florida. President Biden has offered full support of the federal government for Florida, much like he did for Hawaii. But did DeSantis clamor to have Biden visit his home state?

No. 

DeSantis had his spokesperson claim a presidential visit would be too disruptive. 

“The security preparations alone that would go into setting up such a meeting would shut down ongoing recovery efforts,” said a spokesperson for the governor.

So to be clear, when it didn’t impact DeSantis he was perfectly fine attacking the president for not immediately visiting a disaster site… but when it comes to his own state facing a problem now he is concerned with security precautions bogging down recovery efforts. 

DeSantis was surely putting politics first  since on the stage of the first Republican debate political neophyte Vivek Ramaswamy attacked fellow candidate Chris Christie for greeting then-President Obama after the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. At the time, being seen with the president, even during a disaster, was political fodder for Republicans and apparently it still is.

Sad.

Mitch McConnell Medical Episode at Press Conference

On July 26th, 2023 Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had a medical episode while delivering a press conference. McConnell stopped speaking and stood motionless as he stared into the distance, not even blinking. Those around the senator looked worried as they led him off to the side while he looked confused. This unknown medical emergency follows reports of numerous falls by the 81-year-old and while the senator’s team claimed everything was alright and McConnell was as sharp as ever. 

While McConnell’s condition remains unknown there have been talks about the senator resigning early - his term does not end for another few years. 

But what happens if he steps down? How does he get replaced? 

Well the governor of Kentucky is Democrat Andy Beshear. The state legislature is overwhelmingly Republican. Originally the governor had the power to fill any vacancies but state republicans, in an effort to curb the governor’s authority and prevent any opposing political party from gaining power, they passed a veto-proof bill, bill 228, that forces the governor to appoint a member of the party of the vacating senator. In this case it would be a republican. 

Governor Beshear should opt to let the voters decide and refuse to appoint any replacement for McConnell, should he resign or die, just like what McConnell did to President Obama in refusing to even consider Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. 

Disney Makes Itself HOA Of Reedy Creek. Republicans Miffed.

  If you haven’t been aware or have been living under a rock for the last year, there had been a huge conflict brewing in Florida between the state government (primarily Republicans in the legislature and Republican Governor and potential 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis) and Disney, the entertainment giant and one of the largest employers of the state and draws for the local economy. 

  While Republicans are the self-proclaimed party of pro-business and free speech, they got a little upset when Disney responded unfavorably towards a new law Republicans passed that was dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law due to its restrictions on speech in the classroom regarding such topics that deal with LGBTQ matters.  Republicans responded by launching a special session of the legislature and rushing a bill to law that stripped Disney (and only Disney) of their special governing status. Other like districts that majority share with the state government did not see their status revoked, like the massive retirement community The Villages.

  Upon their hastily put together attack on Disney it was discovered that Republicans did not consider the consequences of their actions punishing Disney and their law would instead saddle Central Florida residents with a huge tax burden. So republicans went back to work and made a new plan, fleshing out their first law renaming the district and with the governor making political appointments to the oversight board under the guise of managing a runaway company.

But Republicans missed something.

  While they were quickly drafting legislation to punish the entertainment industry giant they were unaware that Disney made a deal with the previous governing body of Reedy Creek that essentially gave Disney discretion over how the properties can operate within the area.

They essentially neutered the new governing board. The State was upset because as their board put it, they can only really be responsible for infrastructure maintenance. Anything else would require Disney’s approval. 

Essentially Republicans are mad because Disney made themselves the homeowners’ association (HOA) of Reedy Creek and now Republicans are upset that a private entity can become a quasi government and operate without interference from the state. Property owners in Florida are well to aware of how HOAs operate. Now Republicans are facing reality and it sounds like there is nothing they can do - their official position is that the contract made under Florida law is null and void because… because they say it is.

The governing board and state Republicans have no legal response to the move because they had been out maneuvered. The lawyers contracted by the board seem to admit that to fight this would require much more legal representation because they are outgunned and from all appearances it seems Disney used existing law to make a legal (if not frustratingly unfair) deal with the government of that time and Republicans in their rush and diminished debate failed to realize all possible outcomes.

Trump Staff Uploaded Classified Documents to Cloud

     Last year the Department of Justice took unprecedented measures to retrieve classified documents from former President Donald Trump after months of back and forth negotiations and delays from the reluctant disgraced politician. 

As the story unfolded there had been various developments, from Trump requesting and receiving a Special Master to the case after judge shopping for one of his friendly appointees to having that Special Master dismissed on appeal by the DoJ. But in December it was revealed that more documents were found in Trump’s residence even after the DoJ searched during the summer. 

How did they get there?

Many stories point to a variety of factors but one that stood out was that amateur staffers of the president were uploading documents to the cloud and that it was only discovered later that there were classified documents among the mixed up box of presidential records. Trump’s attorneys tried to minimize the discovery and dismiss it as an easily made mistake, being that the classified markings were “little” but all media agencies seemed to overlook the bigger story here - Trump’s staff was scanning and uploading classified documents to the cloud. 

What purpose were they doing this for and who has access to the cloud storage where they uploaded these classified documents to?

Why Republicans Support Electoral Count Reform Act

Ever wonder why the bipartisan Electoral Count Reform act is, well, bipartisan?

Why is it backed by the cunning Mitch McConnell? Republicans in general?

If you think it is because Republicans care about electoral reform then you are wrong. If you think it is Republicans being Republicans and are playing Democrats for the fools they are then you may be correct. 

While Republicans have torpedoed policies they have traditionally supported all in the name of politics, like most recently with Joe Manchin’s permitting reform bill, republicans inexplicably support a law that supposedly clears up some of the ambiguities of the original nineteenth century law. But if you look closely you may see why they are supporting this law - it really changes nothing. 

While it does clarify the role of the Vice President, which was a central piece of one of the insurrection plot to keep a President Trump in power, it also makes some other notable changes that on the surface seem to fix some of the problems with the law. 

For one it requires electors to follow state laws. Considering how Republicans are manipulating state elections, either through gerrymandering during the redistricting process or making it more difficult for Democratic voters to cast their ballot, pretty much ensuring their retention of power and thus the power to change those electoral laws electors must follow. 

The big change to the law is not with the Vice President or state legislatures but with the ability for congress to make an objection. While previously a single congressman or senator could have raised objections to a states’ election results, now it would require 20 percent of the chamber to do the same. 

Great, right?

Well considering that over 100 house Republicans objected to the election results, which would total to roughly half the republican caucus and more than the required amount under the new law, and this was all before Donald Trump solidified his power over the party, then it is pretty obvious that Republicans signed off on this law knowing they already meet the threshold for challenge. 

So considering that they can probably get the twenty percent needed to challenge results, republicans also gained the benefit of clarification. Part of the original issue with the law was that there was ambiguity. Now republicans could theoretically challenge an election and claim that they are in the right because they fixed the law, and with help from the Democrats to boot! 

Now you see why Republicans supported something Democrats wanted?

Trump Uses Same Failed Excuse In Attempt To Get Documents Back

If you had not been living under a rock these last two weeks then you would know that twice-impeached former President Donald Trump had his Florida golf resort and home raided by the FBI in an attempt to retrieve over a dozen boxes of classified documents Trump took with him when he left office. 

This unprecedented move by the FBI shouldn’t have come as a surprise. In February the National Archives picked up fifteen boxes of documents from Trump’s home. The Department of Justice was also seeking more documents and communicating with Trump’s lawyers to ensure there were none left. While Donald Trump insists that this raid was totally unfair because he was “cooperating,” keep in mind that his own legal team signed off saying there were no more classified documents, reportedly an informant tipped off the FBI that there were more documents that Trump and his team did not give back to the government. Trump may claim that he was cooperating because the department requested he get a lock and Trump complied, but that seemed more like the government having a suspicion there were classified and top secret documents in an unsecured facility and they wanted to make sure they were protected while they continued the legal process of getting them back, which they had been doing with a subpoena that Trump ignored. 

This led to the raid. Attorney General Merrick Garland tried to not make the raid a spectacle. They waited for Trump to be out of town, operated quickly and professionally, and did not create a media presence, like when former FBI director James Comey made a press release prior to an election that he was reopening an investigation into former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. That leads to another complaint from Republicans- that a raid against a former president (who is not running for any political office at the moment) was too close to an election. The FBI followed current guidelines and waited before their self-imposed restrictions. 

Trump and his allies have had a rotating barrage of attacks and excuses, ranging from he didn’t know what he took, he gave a blanket declassification to anything he touched, to now the tried and failed attorney-client privileged documents and executive privileged documents. 

Considering he had been shot down on the executive privilege front numerous times, as a previous judge stated he was no longer president nor king, one could assume he and his legal team is prepping some kind of delay tactic by throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the courts. Compared to how the justice department spent months of negotiations, a subpoena, and a raid, one would suspect Trump would make an equally formal and official attempt, right?

Wrong.

Trump made a post on his knock off Facebook software where he was requesting his privileged documents back. Meanwhile Republicans still seek a narrative that sticks and while they do they continue to fan the flames of violence with their rhetoric. The party of “back the blue” is now calling to defund the FBI or repeal the Espionage Act because their leader got caught with their hand in the cookie jar and doesn’t want to let go of the cookie.