2016 Elections

[rstrong]

Trump’s 17 cabinet-level picks (so far) have more money than a third of American households combined

Worth more than 43 million other American households combined. That's with several positions still unfilled. Affluence of this magnitude in a US presidential cabinet is unprecedented.

Nice job draining the swamp and overthrowing the fat-cat elites, Republicans. Guess you showed us.

[Mr.B]

"There's something wrong with you, MrB."

Ha Ha...thank you! I'm just fed up with what our country's leadership has turned into. I'm so disheartened and disenchanted and disappointed that
spoiled, wealthy, and immature crybabies are the best we can get to run for our country's top leadership spot.

I've given up.
Welcome back; even if you don't love me any more.

[O Really]

OK, so I think Lady O and I have had it with the state of North Carolina after the coup d'etat pulled off by the slimebag Republicans this week. We are, I'd guess, 75% decided that when we get back in the spring we're going to sell the properties and boogie off in the winter residence. Will likely become residents of Washington, and will have to have contact with NC only through wheels on I-95 going from somewhere north - maybe upstate NY - on the way to Florida for winter. I might live in FL full-time except that Lady O doesn't like the summer heat and the FL legislature is almost as batshit nutz as NC. Washington has easy residency requirements, no state income tax and we've got family there. Plus, they've got legal grass and assisted suicide if we get a serious bad turn of health or if Trump gets us nuked. We may change our minds by next summer, but it's more than a whim. This state is in some serious trouble and it's going to get worse before it gets better, if it does.

[Vrede too]

Cooper's retaliation will be interesting, along with the courts trashing the Leg. again. Then, there's the fact that the racist GOP screwed up so badly that we do-over all the Leg. races in 2017.

WA is on my list for a last run at a true trauma ER before I get too old to hack it, we'll see. If so, I'll look for you in a forum.

[Mr.B]

"OK, so I think Lady O and I have had it with the state of North Carolina..."

"WA is on my list for a last run..."

[JTA]

South Carolina is the best Carolina.

[Vrede too]

That's not much to brag about.

Obama says Reagan ‘would roll over in his grave’ over GOP fondness for Putin

[Vrede too]

From Public Schools 1st NC:

Special Session Holiday Madness

Next year, NC voters will return to the polls but this year, it was the General Assembly that returned. Legislators were in Raleigh Tuesday for a session called by Gov. McCrory to provide much-needed disaster relief to eastern communities flooded by Hurricane Matthew and western areas affected by wildfires.

One article said that the $200 million was 1/5 of what was appropriated for Hurricane Floyd disaster relief despite the damage being greater now.

Just as that work was finished, leaders called the two chambers into a new, unrelated special session for no stated purpose. Within hours 28 bills were filed triggering three frantic days of breakneck legislating. Just how our founders envisioned it, no doubt. Two bills of interest to the education community are below.

HB13

In the end, the House's passage of HB13, which mitigated the damage of the way K-3 class size restrictions were written in the budget, was a bright spot. It would have fixed a special provision in the 2016 budget related to class size and flexible funding issues. House Bill 13 would have given local districts the flexibility needed to fund hundreds of teaching positions for Health, PE, Arts Education, World Languages, counselors, media specialists and more. As many as 3,800 positions could be impacted statewide. The House approved the measure and the Senate did not vote on it.

Kids lose out, of course.

HB17

Although the Senate declined to act on HB3, it was a stark contrast to the disappointing enactment of HB17. Among other things, it reorganizes the duties of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, taking much oversight away from the State Board of Education. Instead of the State Board, now the superintendent will: head NCDPI and the department's funds; "control and manage" all employees, including those who work for the State Board; appoint and supervise the Achievement School District superintendent; oversee the Office of Charter Schools; and direct every matter related to the running of the school system. In addition, the bill gives the superintendent what had been the governor's power to appoint a local superintendent and two high school student representatives to the State Board. For good measure, HB17 eliminates the governor's ability to appoint members of the Charter School Advisory Board entirely, distributing those three picks among the two chambers of the General Assembly and the State Board.

Translation: Power was taken from the Dem Gov. and handed to the GOP Superintendent of Public Instruction, and charter schools get even more support despite multiple studies showing that they provide no educational benefits. People weren't voting on the respective duties that they thought they were.

SB4

The special session damage is not limited to NCDPI. Legislators also passed SB4, which combines the state elections board and ethics commission into a single body with equal number of members from the two parties. It also makes each county elections board four members with two members from each party.

May or may not be a good thing in principle, but it's dripping with irony that the NC GOP did this without having the ethics to allow proper public notification and debate solely because it didn't like the results of the election.

[Wneglia]

Official: FBI backs CIA conclusion on Russian hacking motive

The FBI is supporting the CIA's conclusion that Russia interfered in the presidential election with the goal of supporting Republican candidate Donald Trump.

In a message sent to employees, CIA Director John Brennan said he had spoken with FBI Director James Comey and James Clapper, the director of national intelligence.

Brennan said in the message that "there is strong consensus among us on the scope, nature, and intent of Russian interference in our presidential election." ...

How Hillary Helped Hackers

Karma's a Bitch

[rstrong]

How Hillary Helped Hackers

So sayeth the Government Accountability Institute.

SourceWatch: Government Accountability Institute

Executive Chairman and co-founder of the GAI, Stephen Bannon, is the Executive Chairman of Breitbart News LLC, the parent company of Breitbart.com, a conservative news and opinion website, founded by conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart

[Vrede too]

Plus:

The GAI has several ties to right-wing groups such as Citizens United, the American Conservative Union, Young America's Foundation, and the Hoover Institution, through its key staff and board members

Wneglia must work hard to find the least credible sources possible for his "facts" so that we can entertain ourselves by exposing them, especially ones where we only have to go to SourceWatch to do so. It can't be an accident, can it?

[bannination]

House Republicans shut down investigation into Flint water crisis, blame EPA instead

When you hope what you post is fake news........

[Boatrocker]

Wrote Light Loafers Lindsay Graham to inform him of my non-support for the nomination of Grand Dragon Sessions to the post of US Attorney General. Got this back, which I am saving for future use.

Dear Mr.----------------

Thank you for contacting me regarding President-elect Trump’s intent to nominate Senator Jeff Sessions to be the Attorney General of the United States. I believe Senator Sessions is a fine man and a principled conservative with the experience and ability to serve as Attorney General of the United States. I look forward to discussing his qualifications at his confirmation hearing and hope the Senate will swiftly confirm him.

As your United States Senator, my primary job is to understand and represent the interests of all South Carolinians. The opportunity to hear from you about the issues confronting our nation is not only essential to representative democracy, but allows me to better serve the people of South Carolina. We will not see eye-to-eye on every issue; however, I promise to always give your concerns the consideration they deserve.

I encourage you to visit my website — http://lgraham.senate.gov — as it will have information on the most recent activities before the U.S. Senate. You can also sign up for our e-mail newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages which will provide the latest information and updates on the major issues facing our state and our nation.

Thank you again for contacting me. I truly appreciate the opportunity to hear from you and am honored to have the opportunity to represent your interests in the U.S. Senate.

Sincerely,

Lindsey O. Graham
United States Senator

[Vrede too]

Seth Meyers takes aim at NC GOP and legislature on Monday’s ‘Late Night’

[Vrede too]

Did not HB2 also contain language that prohibits cities/counties from enacting their own LGBT protection ordinances?

Yes, along with prohibiting cities/counties from enacting their own ordinances on a wide range of other topics like the minimum wage. Big Brother Republicans love bigotry and detest local control. I thought it was a bad idea to have all the focus be on the transgender bathroom aspect, but it's pretty cool that it ended up being that transgenders and their allies, almost exclusively, that kicked McCrory's ass out the door.

Senate debates HB2 repeal, moratorium

... After five hours of negotiations among Republican legislators, the state Senate on Wednesday held a contentious debate on a bill that would repeal House Bill 2.

The bill containing repeal would also impose what Senate Republicans call a six-month “cooling off period” prohibiting local governments from regulating employment practices, public accommodations or access to restrooms, showers or changing facilities.

That provision proved to be a hitch for Democrats and opponents of HB2. They said it did not go far enough to meet a deal that had been struck with Charlotte earlier in the week to repeal the law in exchange for the city repealing its February anti-discrimination measure that prompted the legislature to pass HB2 in March....

Sen. Angela Bryant, a Rocky Mount Democrat, said the moratorium implies that the real goal of HB2 was to undermine employment discrimination protections, not restrict public restroom use....

Sen. Floyd McKissick, a Democrat from Durham, objected to the six-month moratorium because it prevents cities and counties from enacting anti-discrimination measures.

“It’s been said this presses the reset button,” McKissick said. “The problem is it only presses it halfway.”

“It’s HB2.2,” said Rep. Chris Sgro, a Democrat from Greensboro and executive director of an LGBT advocacy group. “It doubles down on discrimination. It does not repeal HB2. It doesn’t help us get the NCAA back. It doesn’t help us get the NBA back or PayPal. It means North Carolina remains deeply closed for business.” ...

... The House did meet briefly Wednesday morning to adopt rules to operate under during the special session. That’s when a knot of conservative Republican opposition surfaced, with 10 members voting against holding the session.

Rep. Jeff Collins, a Republican from Rocky Mount, said on the floor that the session was unconstitutional because there was no “extraordinary occasion” as the governor’s proclamation declared, and all business could be delayed until next year. Rep. Michael Speciale, a New Bern Republican, and Rep. Larry Pittman, a Concord Republican, spoke in support of Collins. But House Speaker Tim Moore ruled Collins’ protest motion out of order....

Cool, they can be called to testify that there was no “extraordinary occasion” to restrict the incoming Gov.'s powers in a crybaby reaction to losing the election as last week's actions are being shot down by the courts.

[O Really]

Sorry, there's no Constitutional requirement that there is an "extraordinary occasion" even if the lying scumbag McCrory claimed one. And it wasn't McCrory's session where the unscrupulous scoundrels passed their garbage bills. The legislature can convene (maybe must convene) if three-fifths of the members of each chamber sign a request. That's actually the apparent best attack on the session as to whether there really were the required three-fifths. Of course, forgery, backdating, and and other flimflam is routine for this bunch so I'm pretty sure they'll come up with the signatures.

[Vrede too]

Is inadequate public notice and opportunity to weigh in on legislation a potential constitutional or legal issue?

[bannination]

North Carolina is no longer classified as a democracy
(op-ed)

[Vrede too]

At least 50 Donald Trump electors were illegally seated as Electoral College members: report
More evidence surfaces as calls mount to challenge congressional ratification of Electoral College vote

More than 50 Electoral College members who voted for Donald Trump were ineligible to serve as presidential electors because they did not live in the congressional districts they represented or held elective office in states legally barring dual officeholders.

That stunning finding is among the conclusions of an extensive 1,000-plus page legal briefing prepared by a bipartisan nationwide legal team for members of Congress who are being urged to object to certifying the 2016 Electoral College results on Friday.

“Trump’s ascension to the presidency is completely illegitimate,” said Ryan Clayton of Americans Take Action, who is promoting the effort. “It’s not just Russians hacking our democracy. It’s not just voter suppression at unprecedented levels. It is also [that] there are Republicans illegally casting ballots in the Electoral College, and in a sufficient number that the results of the Electoral College proceedings are illegitimate as well.”

“Republicans like to talk all the time about people voting illegally,” Clayton continued. “We have a list of a bunch of Republicans that allegedly voted illegally in the Electoral College. Pam Bondi is the attorney general of the state of Florida and the Florida Constitution says that you cannot hold two offices. And she holds the office of Attorney General and she holds the office of federal elector in the Electoral College. That is a violation of the law. That is a violation of the Constitution. And the vote that she cast in this election is illegal.”

... The first group of illegitimate electors amounts to political carpetbagging. “In North Carolina, for instance,” the briefing says, a state law, “NCGS 163-1(c) states, ‘One presidential elector shall be nominated from each congressional district…’ Yet, we have voter registration cards showing that numerous North Carolina electors lived outside the congressional districts they represented.”

The report lists the following states and their number of illegitimate electors: Arkansas (two from outside its congressional district); Indiana (one), Louisiana (one), Michigan (one), North Carolina (seven), Oklahoma (one), and Texas (three)....

The report lists the following states and their number of illegitimate electors based on dual-office holders: Alabama (two), Florida (12), Georgia (four), Iowa (two), Kansas (four), Kentucky (one), Michigan (one), Missouri (one), Nebraska (one), North Carolina (one), Ohio (one), Oklahoma (two), Pennsylvania (two), South Carolina (one), South Dakota (three), Tennessee (two), Texas (four), Utah (one), and West Virginia (three)....

[Boatrocker]

[url=http://www.salon.com/2017/01/05/at-leas ... r/?ref=yfp]At least 50 Donald Trump electors were illegally seated as Electoral College members: report
More evidence surfaces as calls mount to challenge congressional ratification of Electoral College vote[/url\

Will make no difference, as the newly elected fascists will simply ignore it. Even if they did not, the House would simply appoint the trumphole president. These neo-fascists are already thumbing their noses at the law and the Constitution. It can only get worse.