Midweek Reading

A federal judge who accused Barr of ‘distorting’ the Mueller report has read an unredacted version — and now he’s demanding some answers

The devaluing of black property has led to the devaluing of black lives

Minneapolis may be the first city to dismantle the police

10 things we know about race and policing in the U.S.

Alex Vitale, author of The End of Policing, on why cops are being so brutal and what should be done with them

NYC has way too many cops

America’s Civil War

Amazon: Taxpayer Subsidies Help Build its Monopoly

10 Steps States Should Take to End Corporate Giveaways
Milwaukee now in phase 3 of reopening: Here's what that means

As They Scream Voter Fraud, Trump And His Press Secretary May Have Voted Illegally

Trump Has Imprisoned Himself in the White House

US billionaires have regained $565 billion in wealth since the pit of the crisis

Police unions dig in as calls for reform grow

After Protests, Politicians Reconsider Police Budgets and Discipline

Please Stop Asking Trump & His Enablers Anything

Why is anyone asking this crook anything?

AG Barr calls coronavirus restrictions 'draconian,' says they should be reevaluated next month

That asshole should have been disbarred long ago. And, who gives a shit about what he thinks...about anything.

Barr, stick to licking Trump's ass. Otherwise, shut the fuck up!

For Further Reading:

William Barr lied to Congress about the Mueller report

William Barr Told All the Right Lies About the Mueller Report

Stark Contrasts Between the Mueller Report and Attorney General Barr’s Summary

Pelosi says Barr committed a crime by lying about Mueller report

A Federal Judge Just Called Out William Barr for Distorting the Mueller Report’s Findings

Judge Calls Barr’s Handling of Mueller Report ‘Distorted’ and ‘Misleading’

Attorney General William Barr doesn’t mind lying for Trump but he’s really awful at it

William Barr is a bad lawyer and a bad liar

William Barr’s War on Reality, Truth, and the Law

Republicans: The Real Hypocritical, Crybaby Snowflakes

Republicans Seek to Limit Governor’s Veto

Wisconsin Republicans Advance Lame-Duck Power Grab

McConnell Would Fill Potential Supreme Court Vacancy In 2020, Reversal Of 2016 Stance

Fox News’ Chris Wallace Hits GOP for Complaining About Investigations: Remember Benghazi?

Republicans who held 33 hearings on Benghazi complain that Cohen’s testimony was a waste of time

Republicans tried to turn a hearing about white nationalism into a venue to complain about attacks on conservatives

Abolishing the Electoral College Was a Republican Idea

The disgraceful kowtowing of the formerly anti-imperial Republicans

After Reagan and Trump, Republicans don't get to complain about liberal celebrities anymore

The Republicans Are Deficit Hypocrites. The Democrats Should Be, Too.

Republican Leaders Vow to Obstruct State Budget, Then Complain About Lack of Negotiations

Senate Republicans can’t explain why they keep blocking a resolution calling for the release of the Mueller report

To GOP, Obama’s immigration orders were ‘executive overreach.’ What is it when Trump does it?

We Wouldn’t Have Let Obama Get Away With This

Sparks fly on Fox News as liberal nails Republican hypocrisy on outside questioning of Barr: ‘Like they did with Kavanaugh?’

Steve Wynn Is a Shining Example of Republican Hypocrisy

Why are Republicans so cruel to the poor? Paul Ryan's profound hypocrisy stands for a deeper problem

Ocasio-Cortez rips ‘horrifying’ Republican hypocrisy on support for 9/11 survivors after Ilhan Omar controversy

The Republican hypocrisy over Ilhan Omar's comment

Republicans Aren't Just Hypocrites, They're Nihilists

More Republican Hypocrisy On Separation Of Powers

Minister Calls Out ‘Hypocrisy’ of Republican Lawmakers Toward Unborn During Wisc. Republican State Convention

The Appalling Hypocrisy Of The Republican Party Exposed In Three Simple Charts

Weekend Reading

Robert Mueller Blows Trump's 'No Obstruction' Lie To Bits
Top CEO Salaries Keep Rising
Joblines Bus Will End After August
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos Pitches A Fit Over A State Budget, Again
Is Uber's Stock Scam Evidence Of A Successful Business Model?
China Is Not The Source Of Our Economic Problems - Corporate Greed Is
Taking Aim At Tax Incentives
Wisconsin TV Station Reports "Immense" Bucks Arena Windfall After Talking Only To Guy Who Cut Bucks Arena Deal
When Winning Isn't Really Winning
Should Cities Regulate How You Design Your Home
Why Public Spaces Are Critical Social Infrastructure
Mueller's Illegitimate Hoax Investigation Somehow Just Led To Another Indictment Involving The Trump Campaign
When Socialists Swept Milwaukee
The Rise Of Corporate Market Power
Do Tax Breaks Help Or Hurt A State's Finances?

Weekend Reading

From Gentrification To Decline: How Neighborhoods Really Change
The California Economy Isn't Just A U.S. Powerhouse
The US Government Is The World's Largest Purchaser Of Consumer Goods. Amazon Wants A Piece
Stephen Moore Wants People To Pay More Attention To His Economic Policies. Challenge Accepted.
Rich Guys Are Most Likely To Have No Idea What They're Talking About
Chinese Billionaire Jack Ma Says The US Wasted Billions On Warfare Instead Of Investing In Infrastructure
'I'm Fucked,' And Other Damning Revelations From The Mueller Report
Sanctioned Russian Oligarch's Company To Invest Millions In New Aluminum Plant In Mitch McConnell's State

Things You Don't Say When You're Innocent

On May 17, 2017, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions personally broke the news to Trump that Sessions’ deputy, Rod Rosenstein, had appointed a special counsel to take over the investigation into Russian interference in the election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. According to notes from Sessions’ then-chief of staff, Jody Hunt, Trump slumped in his chair and said, “Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I’m fucked.” [source]

From Total Exoneration To Total Bullshit

The Mueller Report Went from 'COMPLETE EXONERATION!' to 'Total Bullshit!' as Soon as It Was Actually Released

When AG Barr was able to "summarize" the report, as he saw fit, it supposedly exonerated the orange idiot, Trump.  Republicans then did everything they could to stop the release of the report.  Some would even say these enablers went out of their way to obstruct Congress and the public from seeing the full report.  ("The report proves the president is innocent, but we're not going to let you see it.")

At this point, Republicans that are still involved in hiding, covering up, obstructing, delaying and/or any other form of chicanery involving Donald Trump and his administration, should be charged as co-conspirators.  If you're doing anything other than trying to get to the truth, you're part of the problem and are now part of a criminal conspiracy.

Republicans have shown that power and party are much more important to them than country. They are not patriots.  They are treasonous traitors and should be treated and charged as such.

Republican Cover-Up Reading

Has "Cover-Up General" William Barr Struck Again?
Why Trump's "No Collusion" Victory Lap Is Premature
Comey: 'It Doesn't Make Sense' That Mueller Didn't Rule On Obstruction Of Justice
Mueller Report Exceeds 300 Pages, Raising Questions About Four-Page Summary

Where's The Report?

If the Mueller report exonerates Donald Trump, why isn't William Barr releasing it in it's entirety?  What's with the delay?  You can't really say the report clears Donald Trump of any wrongdoing and then keep the report hidden. If the report clears Trump, why would you redact anything from it unless you're trying to hide something.

So shameless that the supposed party of law, order and values has such malleable principles.  Or should I say no principles at all.  What an embarrassment.

The Corruption & Dismantling Of Our Democracy Continues

Investigations into extra-marital blow jobs have to be made public, but the investigations that have led to 34 indictments involving campaign shenanigans and collusion/acquiescence with foreign government interference, that information can only be slowly disseminated, if at all.  Kenneth Starr's report, concerning the Clinton affair, was delivered directly to Congress to do with as they saw fit.  Why are we allowing William Barr to decide and summarize what should be made available to Congress and the public?

Monica Lewinsky's reaction to the Mueller report 'just won tweet of 2019'

The former White House intern was herself the subject of an investigation by an independent counsel, Kenneth Starr, for her affair with then-President Bill Clinton. She was a central figure in Clinton’s 1998 impeachment hearing. 

While Clinton was ultimately acquitted by the Senate, many have drawn comparisons between Starr’s rigorous pursuit and how the Mueller report findings — which many Democrats are demanding to be made public — has been handled. 

When USC law professor Orin Kerr noted that President Trump has had the privilege of so far keeping the full report under wraps, whereas every last dirty detail of the Starr Report was up for grabs, Lewinsky couldn’t help but weigh in.

Mueller’s report must show ‘something pretty damning’ about Trump

…Barr’s letter revealed something unexpected about the obstruction issue: that Mueller said that his “report does not conclude that the President committed a crime” but that “it also does not exonerate him.” The report does not exonerate the president? That’s a stunning thing for a prosecutor to say. Mueller didn’t have to say that.

If his report doesn’t exonerate the president, there must be something pretty damning in it about him, even if it might not suffice to prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. And in saying that the report “catalogued the President’s actions, many of which took place in public view,” Barr’s letter makes clear that the report also catalogues actions taken privately that shed light on possible obstruction, actions that the American people and Congress yet know nothing about.

And, as Andrew Prokop notes:

Barr’s summary mentions nothing about ... well, many, many other topics related to the Trump team and Russia that we know Mueller has investigated. These include: 

• The Trump Organization’s business dealings related to Russia
• The Trump Tower Moscow talks
• Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower
• Russian efforts to influence US policy on sanctions and Ukraine, both during the election and afterward
• Paul Manafort’s handing over Trump polling data to Konstantin Kilimnik
• Manafort’s efforts to reach out to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska
• Connections between the NRA, a Russian central bank official, and spending on behalf of Trump’s campaign
• Potential efforts to coordinate with WikiLeaks over the stolen emails
• An offer from Gulf princes to the Trump team for election help on social media
• Russia and other foreign-tied donations to Trump’s inauguration
• Efforts by Jared Kushner to set up back-channel communications with Russia after the election

Barr’s summary tells us nothing of what became of Mueller’s inquiries into all these matters.

There's plenty of illegality we still need to get to the bottom of with Donald Trump and his enablers.

For Further Reading:
Rudy Giuliani goes off script and reveals on CNN that the Mueller report hardly vindicates Trump

Trump is guilty — of being unfit for office
President Trump has made 9,014 false or misleading claims over 773 days
Comey: ‘It doesn’t make sense’ that Mueller didn’t rule on obstruction of justice

Why Trump’s “no collusion” victory lap is premature

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Indictments And Convictions

Enough of the right-wing's congratulatory bellowing about the supposed exoneration conclusion of the Mueller report. Not even close.

As Nicole Hemmer wrote:

Over the past two years, Mueller sorted through the complex story of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Not only did he conclude that a foreign power indeed interfered in the race, Mueller also secured indictments against 34 people, including six members of the Trump campaign in both financial and election-related cases, with charges ranging from conspiracy to obstruction to making false statements to witness tampering. Everyone within U.S. jurisdiction who was indicted by Mueller has been found guilty or has pleaded guilty except for Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone, who is awaiting trial. (Mueller also charged 26 Russians in crimes including conspiracy to defraud the United States and aggravated identity theft; they remain at large.)

As Bloomberg reported, "The Special Counsel states that “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him. Unlike the collusion finding, this conclusion—or lack of it—could pose problems for Trump going forward. Democrats in Congress are likely to address the obstruction issue on their own."

For Further Reading:
Indictments and convictions

Mueller's investigation is done. Here are the 34 people he indicted along the way

Weekend Reading

The Myth That Markets Get Prices Right Won't Die
Who Creates A Nation's Economic Value?
Donald Trump And The Next Big Crash
Kansas Rancher Explains How Trump Has Betrayed US Farmers
Michael Cohen Case Shines Light On Sean Hannity's Property Empire
The Dumb Money
Smearing Robert Mueller
A Critical Look At Suburban Triumphalism
Richard Florida Can't Let Go Of His Creative Class Theory. His Reputation Depends On It.
The GOP Has Become The Caricature The Left Always Said It Was
Trump's Company Is Suing Towns Across The Country To Get Breaks On Taxes
The Oil Pipelines Putting The Great Lakes At Risk
The War On Pensions Continues
Where The Great Lakes Compact Ends And Wisconsin Law Begins
Hidden Figures: How Donald Trump Is Rigging The Census

Weekend Reading

Wisconsin's Unprecedented Welfare Reform Could Inspire Conservative Changes Elsewhere [And That's Not Good]
Wisconsin Is Shifting Up To $90 Million In Local Road Funding To Foxconn-Related Projects
The Metamorphosis Of Scott Walker
David Brooks Radical Dishonesty
Wisconsin Labor Unions File Lawsuit Over Act 10, Saying It Violates Free Speech
As Manufacturers Get Tax Reductions, Wisconsin Homeowners Pay More
The Supreme Court's Latest Union Case Is Designed To Kneecap The Democratic Party
Could The Supreme Court Really Bust Public Sector Unions?
Trump's Tax Cuts In Hand, Companies Spend More On Themselves Than On Wages
A Wave Of Corporate Propaganda Is Boosting Trump's Tax Cuts
Mueller And Trump: Born To Wealth, Raised To Lead. Then, Sharply Different Choices