Midweek Reading

How highways make traffic worse
The Hoax Master of Wisconsin
The New York Stock Exchange president says the stock market is not a casino. Here’s what academic research says.
Stock Market Gambling Around the World and Market Efficiency
‘Real World’ Republicans Demand To Know Why Nancy Pelosi Didn't Stop Jan. 6 Riots
A closer look at senators who voted to convict Clinton, not Trump
Let's tell the truth about the Republican Party: It's the real enemy of the people

Sunday Reading

Go read this article about how we got duped into cooking with gas

57 GOP State And Local Officials Were At The Capitol Insurrection

Warren Buffett’s Favorite Valuation Metric Is Ringing an Alarm

After acquitting Trump, McConnell slams him for a 'disgraceful dereliction of duty'

Amsterdam Is Embracing a Radical New Economic Theory to Help Save the Environment. Could It Also Replace Capitalism?

3 companies' million-dollar investments buoy Port Milwaukee

Lie After Lie: Listen to How Trump Built His Alternate Reality

The war on voting

Why the U.S. Is Underestimating Covid Reinfection

Louisiana Republican Party Censures Sen. Bill Cassidy For Voting To Convict Trump

A Broken Party Acquitted Donald Trump In His Second Impeachment

Republican Jurors Literally Met With Trump Defense Attorneys

Chris Cuomo's harsh takedown of Lindsey Graham: 'Spewing the same poison as the extremist perpetrators'

Fitzgerald Cited for Campaign Violation

Party Over Country

The majority of the Republican party continues their descent into complete irrelevancy.

Senate votes 57-43 for Trump acquittal

Shameless. Gutless. Immoral. Cowards. 

Weekend Reading

Kenosha Judge Shrugs Off Kyle Rittenhouse’s Admitted Bond Violations, Denies Higher Bail And New Warrant

Breathing device sobers you up by hyperventilating the alcohol out

Sanders Responds to CBO Report on $15 Minimum Wage

Don’t Believe the Bad Press About the Economic Impact of a $15 Minimum Wage

CBO analysis confirms that a $15 minimum wage raises earnings of low-wage workers, reduces inequality, and has significant and direct fiscal effects

CBO attacks plan for higher minimum wage — or does it?

GOP senators criticized for appearing to pay half-hearted attention to trial

GOP senators discover their discomfort with intemperate tweets

Majority Of Those Arrested In Capitol Siege Had History Of Financial Trouble

Michigan's top GOP lawmaker: Jan. 6 Capitol attack was a 'hoax'

As DeJoy Readies New Assault on Postal Service, Pressure Grows for Biden to 'Clean House'

The Congestion Con

Further Means Testing of the Stimulus Will Be Disastrous for Suffering Americans

Resolution Cuts Pot Possession Fine to $1

Did UW-Whitewater send Robin Vos and Steve Nass to Madison to act like grade schoolers?

Weekend Reading

Someone Is Going to Have to Explain to Me How This Makes Any Damn Sense

Wisconsin GOP Are Manipulative Pieces of Sh*#

Foxconn Sued For Being Lying Pieces of Sh*#

What happens if the Wisconsin Legislature repeals the state mask mandate? Here are five things to know

In First Speech as Budget Chair, Sanders Rebuffs 'Partisanship' Complaints From GOP That Unilaterally Passed $1.9T Gift for Rich

Here are the 11 House Republicans who voted to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments

City Creating Plan to Develop and Preserve Bay View

Why Chicago Is Lighting Its Railroads on Fire

Biden Beats Back The Austerians At The Gates

The Economic Consequences of MajorTax Cuts for the Rich

Income inequality in America is at its highest level in more than 50 years

More than 80% of the stocks in the US are owned by the wealthiest 10%

One Emergency After Another: Wisconsin Governor And Legislators Battle Over COVID-19

Sunday Reading

Ted Cruz Says Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama Could Be Impeached Next

Scott Fitzgerald has never been an honorable public servant

Effects of gerrymandering felt in Wisconsin as governor, GOP clash over Covid restrictions

Coronavirus World Map: We've Now Passed The 100 Million Mark For Infections

Highest-paid executives of publicly-held companies Part I, II, III and IV

Elizabeth Warren Smacks Wall Street ‘Casino’-Goers Amid GameStop Kerfuffle

We Energies Wastes $75 Million Per Year

Elizabeth Warren’s Face Says It All When She’s Challenged On Wealth Tax

WI GOP Learns Its COVID Agenda Could Cost the State $50 Million per Month

The GameStop Game and Financial Transactions Taxes

Robinhood, and its role in the GameStop saga, explained

Superforecasting: The Art & Science of Prediction

Trump Supporters

Weekend Reading

Barr Condemned For Spreading Misinformation On Vote By Mail

Rep. Jayapal was on fire, and absolutely destroyed Bill Barr.

150,000 Americans have died from Covid-19. Here's why that staggering loss of life can't be ignored

Great Time for a Vacant Property Tax

It’s Going to Be a Long and Harsh Recession: NYT Warns of Skills Gap

Thoughts on Zachary Carter’s The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes

United States of Conspiracy

A Milwaukee pastor compared mask mandates to the Holocaust at a Brookfield Common Council meeting

We already know how to beat COVID-19 in three easy steps

Why Vos and Fitzgerald Fear Fair Maps
Most Americans Are Buying Into President Trump’s False Arguments About Crime

Gov. Tony Evers Issues Statewide Mask Mandate For Wisconsin

Conservative Legal Expert: Trump Election Tweets Are Grounds For Impeachment

5 Ways Donald Trump Has Not Drained the Swamp

1.He has packed his administration with former lobbyists and corporate executives. He has installed a former Boeing executive to run the Defense Department; a former pharmaceutical lobbyist to run the Department of Health and Human Services; a former coal lobbyist to run the Environmental Protection Agency, and a former oil lobbyist to run the Department of the Interior. In total, more than 300 lobbyists now work in the Trump administration – many in key positions overseeing the industries they used to lobby for.

2. He and his family are personally profiting from the presidency. Despite Trump’s promise he’d sever all ties with his existing businesses and place all assets in a “blind” trust to eliminate any conflicts of interest, documents show Trump remains the sole beneficiary of his trust and still retains the legal power to revoke the trust at any time. Meanwhile, foreign dignitaries have flooded Trump’s hotels, lining his pockets in clear violation of the Constitution. He even attempted to host the G-7 at his own luxury golf course until he was forced to back down.

3. He is catering to billionaires and corporations at the expense of the American people. In the fall of 2017, mega-donors shelled out more than $31 million in political contributions to Trump and Republicans. And in return, they got a massive $2 trillion tax cut. Not a bad return on investment. As Trump told his wealthy friends at Mar-a-Lago just days after the tax bill became law, “You all just got a lot richer.”

4. He is using taxpayer dollars to subsidize his luxurious lifestyle. Since taking office, Trump’s golf trips alone have cost taxpayers more than $110 million dollars. His children have also charged taxpayers for costs associated with business trips around the world that they’ve taken, including India and Uruguay. Taxpayers even footed the bill for Donald Trump Junior’s hunting trip to Canada.

5. The Trump administration has been riddled with scandals and ethics violations. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross held on to investments and never divested despite pledging to avoid even the appearance of conflict of interest. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has tried to arrange meetings with Chinese officials for her family business. Ethics officials have found Kellyanne Conway broke laws that prohibit government workers from engaging in political activities. The list goes on, and on. This has been the most corrupt administration in American history.

[source]

Trump Supporters Don't Care...About Anything

Also:

A Complete Psychological Analysis of Trump's Support

Senate Impeachment "Trial"

This is so embarrassing. Republicans, do your job! Getting up and leaving during presentations of evidence during an impeachment trial. The whole Republican party should be impeached. These bozos are a bunch of lying sycophants.

All You Need To Know About This Impeachment

Articles Of Impeachment or Republicans Are Terrible Public Servants

"If"?

So I'm following along with the impeachment hearings and all the coverage surrounding it.

From this article, CNN’s Michael Smerconish: Fiona Hill might have given House Democrats everything they need on John Bolton’s views, the following quote jumped out at me:

Many proponents of impeaching President Donald Trump have been asserting that if House Democrats can get former National Security Adviser John Bolton to testify, it would be a major victory.

"If" they can get Bolton to testify?

When someone is subpoenaed, you can now choose whether or not to show up?

What kind of banana republic circus is going on here? 

Here's FindLaw's definition of subpoena:

A subpoena (pronounced "suh-pee-nuh") is a request for the production of documents, or a request to appear in court or other legal proceeding. It is court-ordered command that essentially requires you to do something, such as testify or present information that may help support the facts that are at issue in a pending case. The term "subpoena" literally means "under penalty". A person who receives a subpoena but does not comply with its terms may be subject to civil or criminal penalties, such as fines, jail time, or both.

Whether you're the President, Vice President, National Security Advisor, the Secretary of Energy, whomever you are, if you're subpoenaed, YOU HAVE TO SHOW UP.

Maybe Adam Schiff and the Democrats are just being nice, figuring they can get all they need from the people who do show up. But Republicans have shut down the government for a lot less and they tried to impeach Bill Clinton over a blow-job. So part of me would just like to get assholes like Trump, Pence and Perry in the hot seat to see them sweat and squirm. Ya know, payback's a bitch, and shit like that.

For Further Reading:
‘A complete sham’: Anger grows over report GOP senators met with Trump to map out ‘rigged’ impeachment trial

White House and Republicans discuss limiting impeachment trial to two weeks

Trump Is A Crook

And everyone making excuses for him (and/or defending him) is also a shameful, irresponsible criminal.

The Republican Agenda: Party Over Country

Trump ally Roger Stone found guilty on all 7 counts in Mueller probe

White House releases new Trump-Zelensky transcript revealing its initial call readout was all lies
'Witness Intimidation in Real-Time': Trump Tweets Attack on Yovanovitch During Public Impeachment Testimony

All of Robert Mueller’s indictments and plea deals in the Russia investigation
House Republicans in lockstep say they will not impeach Trump — despite all the evidence: ‘It does not matter’

Here are 7 remarkable moments from the morning’s impeachment testimony
Gordon Sondland’s opening testimony is the ballgame

Sondland’s testimony shows Mike Pompeo was far more central on Ukraine than we knew
The looney CrowdStrike conspiracy claims debunked by Fiona Hill during her bombshell impeachment testimony

‘This is a fictional narrative’: Dr. Fiona Hill delivers damning slam against Nunes’ lie Ukraine attacked US election

Fox News legal analyst knocks down Fox & Friends’ anti-impeachment talking points one by one
Mike Pence All Of A Sudden Can't Recall If He Talked With Sondland About Ukraine Aid Being Withheld

Lt. Col. Vindman Demands Fox News Retract Its Espionage Smears

Uh Oh GOP, David Holmes's Testimony Has 'Pizzazz'!

Republicans Are Crooks

The Republicans that continue to enable and defend the criminal enterprise that is the Trump Administration are just as guilty.

Late-day bombshells erupt as Trump impeachment inquiry gets underway

Report Of Trump Associates' Possible Collusion With Russia

Statement by California Representative Ted Lieu on report of Trump associates' possible collusion with Russia:

The bombshell revelation that U.S. officials have information that suggests Trump associates may have colluded with the Russians means we must pause the entire Trump agenda. We may have an illegitimate President of the United States currently occupying the White House.

Other than allowing routine governmental functions, there must be a total and complete shutdown of any agenda item being pushed by the Trump Administration. Congress cannot continue regular order and must stop voting on any Trump-backed agenda item until the FBI completes its Trump-Russia collusion investigation. 

Congress must immediately form an independent commission and appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the collusion allegations with impartiality and independence. Congress also needs to pass the Resolution of Inquiry, authored by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and I, to compel the Trump Administration to publicly disclose information on its Russian ties to the American people. At this point in our nation's history, there is nothing more important than finding out whether or not high crimes were committed by associates of Donald Trump or possibly by Trump himself.  [source]

For Further Reading:
Did Putin Direct Russian Hacking? And Other Big Questions