Trump Tweets While Washington Burns

The Fake President: President Trump was on a Twitter rant yesterday after one of the worst weeks in his brief presidency. The Republican majority utterly failed their promise to repeal and replace Obamacare, and he fired his chief of staff. “Unless the Republican Senators are total quitters, Repeal & Replace is not dead! Demand another vote before voting on any other bill!” he wrote.

Unable to lead, he threatens, “If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly, BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon!”

The Republican health care bill failed because three of the party’s own senators voted against it, but Trump tweeted, “8 Dems totally control the U.S. Senate. Many great Republican bills will never pass, like Kate’s Law and complete Healthcare. Get smart!”

He’s calling for an end to 60-vote majority votes. “Republicans in the Senate will NEVER win if they don’t go to a 51 vote majority NOW. They look like fools and are just wasting time……”

Great way to motivate your own party members: call them fools.

Peter Baker writes for the NY Times that a Republican strategist tells him, “Anyone in a position of responsibility in GOP politics is quickly losing patience with President Trump. The dysfunction is beyond strange — it’s dangerous.”

The Profitable President: An investigation by USA Today says that since Trump won the Republican nomination for president, 70 percent of his real estate sales have been to secretive shell companies compared to 4 percent in the two previous years. Because he has not separated from his business interests, Trump still gets the money from these shadowy transactions.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is likely to examine the real estate businesses and possibly Trump’s tax returns as he follows the Trump money trail to see if it leads to Russia.

The paper reports that “Experts say Mueller’s move to follow the money has the potential to expose Trump, his family and his associates to legal troubles that go beyond election-year collusion with the Russians. It opens the door to revelations of any business-related malfeasance discovered during Mueller’s look at Trump’s business network.”

Nation: About 70,000 summer residents and tourists were ordered to evacuate two North Carolina islands after power was cut in a construction mishap. About 10,000 people were ordered to leave Ocracoke island, causing long lines at the ferries, the only way off. About 60,000 people were ordered to leave Hatteras Island, which has a bridge. It’s a financial disaster for the two islands, which make most of their money in summer.

 The Climate: A Finnish icebreaker has taken 24 days to break the record for the earliest transit of the Northwest Passage, the nearly impassable route that has been opened in recent years by climate change. Scientists predict that with the current trend of global warming, the passage will be ice-free by 2050.

Incoming Message: It’s now illegal in Honolulu to be texting on your phone while crossing the street. Honolulu’s mayor says the city bears the distinction of having more people hit by cars in crosswalks than almost any other city.

The law also includes use of laptops, digital cameras, and video games while crossing the street.

Car and Driver: Tesla, the maker of expensive luxury electric cars, has delivered its first mass-market cars to 30 new owners as it moves toward its long-term goal of getting American drivers out of gas-powered vehicles. “The whole point of this company was to make a really great, affordable electric car,” said Elon Musk, the co-founder of Tesla. “And we finally have it.” Welllll … sort of. The car is offered “starting at $35,000,” which isn’t cheap, and fully loaded it’s $60,000.

Dealer preparation, title, and taxes not included.

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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Page Two

The Most Corrupt Justice

Monday, October 2, 2023

Democracy and Video in the Dark

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Page Two: Do the Right Thing

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Page Two: Sound Recall

Monday, September 13, 2021

Page Two: Cuomo Must Go

Friday, August 13, 2021

Trump and the Truth

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The “Great” President

Monday, March 30, 2020

The Wright Stuff

Saturday, February 29, 2020

It's Been Said

"In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have, no excuses."

-Andrew Cuomo, resigning as governor of New York after accusations of sexual harassment

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