Impeachment opening was emotional, useless
Biden backs $75,000 cap for COVID checks
I am truly torn about this impeachment.
On one hand, any reference to what happened on January 6th should be memorialized and the Democrats opening video about the day in question is powerful. On the other hand, it will likely sway nobody who would matter in terms of securing a conviction and this newsletter has always been about where power is really moving.
So how much does this trail really matter?
Joe Biden isn’t even watching it.
Twitter got distracted by Cat Lawyer before opening arguments were done.
In defense of Cat Lawyer. That’s hilarious.
But seriously, when this trial wraps up on Sunday or Monday it will forgotten almost instantly.
Decoding what everyone really wants from the doomed impeachment sequel
The Democrats don't have the votes. Trump will be acquitted again. But that doesn't mean there still isn't a lot at stake during 2 Impeachment 2 Furious. Will Schumer wind up getting blamed for a fractured congressional party? Why are Mitch McConnell and Josh Hawley using the same strategy after disagreeing so viciously about the election challenge? Is Ben Sasse going to use this as a chance to launch his presidential run in '24?
Also, when will Joe Manchin snap? And a fantastic interview with Joshua Spivak (@RecallElections on Twitter) about the California push to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom and the history of recalls in America.
THE REST OF THE NEWS…
White House budget director nominee says she regrets tone of deleted tweets
POLITICO
GA Secretary of State opens probe into Trump call after election
REUTERS
Boy, Kemp and Raffensperger are going to make it sting.
National Republican Senate Committee raises $8.3 million in January
AXIOS
Biden backs $75,000 cut off for COVID checks
THE HILL
Joe Manchin has made noise about lowering the cap to $50,000.
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I know you’re probably busy house hunting, but this Time article is getting almost no play outside of conservative media. I’d be interested in your opinion because I personally think this sounds a lot like subverting democracy to me. - CHRIS
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Yeah, well, they have to try. The Former President literally attempted a coup. We can’t ignore that.
If he wasn’t incompetent and lazy he might have been able to pull it off.
When the GOP circles the wagons & votes to acquit it’ll be time for Federal & State Law Enforcement to step in with indictments in criminal & civil courts.
There Will Be Consequences. - GARY
Sure. The consequences are a two week period where the Democrats can’t advance their agenda and Trump gets to be the center of attention and then claim another victory.
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Just for the sake of getting one more bad take out there I'm gonna say, the Democrats need to have this trial go as poorly as the last. And so do the Republicans. Why? because you can't win in politics if you don't look like you're losing.
The sure thing may be good at bringing in the big money and everyone has a spin for that in the back rooms where big money gets handled. However, the noisy part is always about the underdog. The votes come in when people are motivated to change the balance. We voters are swayed by simple arguments, "We're the best, the other guys are just manipulating the system. Now get out and vote more than last time to FINALLY make the difference", rinse repeat in two years. Whether it's Donald Trump "Winning! Despite the loser cheaters and thieves" or Stacey Abrams "The suppression is the only barrier to hearing your voice, the voice of the people", the topic is the same, We are the best and we need you to prove it. - NATHAN
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What is going on in Alabama. When did the Senate have this much turnover in a single state? - SEAN W
Well, Sessions getting rewarded for backing Trump early got him AG. Then Sessions taking himself off Russia soured his relationship with Trump. So what probably SHOULD have happened was Sessions running for his old seat again and leaving AG. But he didn’t so Roy Moore happened which means Doug Jones happened which means Sessions ran for his seat once it was technically UP and lost to Tuberville.
Oh, and Shelby was old as dirt. So that was bound to happen this election or next.
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You're moving from Oakland and you think Austin is inflated....? God I'm glad I live in Michigan where our inflated prices are only 300% of my salary...
In all seriousness, my sympathies on both house hunting and moving -- I did it last year and I can't finish the move until I build a large shop building in the new location, which my new municipality isn't keen on. In the meantime, 40,000 lbs of metal working equipment waits in the basement of the last house. Livin' on the edge! - WILL FROM MICHIGAN
So here is the deal. Everything in Austin is inflated because a bunch of California tech money is emptying out here. The prices are insane for the locals who are watching houses that went for 300k go for a half million overnight. What they don’t realize is that in the Bay Area 500k buys you burned out dog house in West Oakland. Here it buys you a generous single family home.
So while the inflation is real, the final numbers aren’t as scary to the Golden State refugees. Fun example, go on Zillow and take a look at any house in Austin. Now tack at LEAST 40k on the asking price and understand your offer won’t even be in the neighborhood. It’s just the reality of market which means you have to either dive into the madness and get crazier than the other crazies or complain about how crazy things are to your normal friends. I’m not quite sure where I am right now. But I feel pretty crazy.
As for your new building, just show the local authority your permit.
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Hearing that Senators Toomey (R-PA) & Portman (R-OH) are retiring and that they may be indicative of a midterm more like 2002 than 2010, makes it the plausible that the Dems will add to their majority. Then there's the Shelby retirement which is misleading, as if it would be all the more likely to be a '02 reversal of midterms but its not like Roy Moore is going to be nominated to lose again. The Alabama Republicans aren't that audacious to renominate a candidate who is not denying that he was barred from a mall and high school football games for his creepy behavior (just that it was a long time ago, and challenging the reason for the ban), but if there were a state for a Patriot/MAGA party candidate to make a big splash under the presumption that it was a safe place to prevent Democrats from the seat that would be the race we should see if the 'rubber hitting the road' in a quixotic ego trip for a narcissist who holds the world record for impeachments and unafraid of ruining the Republican Party just to make himself feel important, I reconsider whether or not it would be a larger majority for the Democrats. - SEAN THE DAD
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I think the Proud Boys are bad news and they have a tendency to attract White Supremacists, Anti-Semites, Anti-Islamists and other problematic world views. That said, I strongly disagree with Canada's Federal Court decision ruling The Proud Boys a Terrorist Organization.
I don't know what it's like to be young anymore, but I remember feeling cynical and angry. I felt like I was dealt a bad hand by the boomers who said things like "money doesn't grow on trees" and "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps". I'm not saying I wasn't given a +5 on all my D20 rolls for my straight, white privilege, but I sure didn't feel like it at the time, and I acknowledge that was mostly out of ignorance.
Yes, I made fun of the movie Fight Club, but a secret part of me thought it was cool.
My point is, given another life and another set of circumstances, I could see myself falling in with the Proud Boys. Not necessarily a radicalised, violent, deplorable, but a cynical, disenfranchised, unapologetic, youth capable of naming breakfast cereals and willing to get a dumb tattoo.
I'm not sure what would have happened if, during my young and dumb phase, I were labelled a terrorist by my Federal Court. I wish they'd listened to Andrew Heaton's episode on Antifa! Proud Boys! Oath Keepers! before making a decision. - KEN