". . . Trump didn’t build the pre-coronavirus economy he hails as his own. He inherited its major trends. This is true by just about every major metric, such as job growth and the decline in the unemployment rate, both of which had been steady during the Obama years and carried over into Trump’s presidency. . . Trump, of course, regularly claims he inherited a smoldering landscape of economic wreckage and turned it into a spectacular, glittering success. But it may now become harder to get away with this nonsense. . . Meanwhile, Trump might be in a better position to argue that he will rebuild our economy if he hadn’t thrown away whatever “economic populist” cred he once enjoyed. His massive corporate tax cut lavished most of its benefits on the wealthy while doing little for working people. He and Republicans are still trying to gut the Affordable Care Act’s health-care protections for millions. . ."
". . . Barr, asked if Mueller intended for Congress, not the attorney general, to decide whether Trump obstructed justice: “Well, Special Counsel Mueller did not indicate that his purpose was to leave the decision to Congress. I hope that was not his view. ... I didn’t talk to him directly about the fact that we were making the decision, but I am told that his reaction to that was that it was my prerogative as attorney general to make that decision.”
THE FACTS: Mueller’s report actually does indicate that Congress could make that determination.
The report states that no person is above the law, including the president, and that the Constitution “does not categorically and permanently immunize a President for obstructing justice.”
VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: “Today’s release of the Special Counsel’s report confirms what the President and I have said since day one: there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia and there was no obstruction of justice.”
KELLYANNE CONWAY, White House counselor: “What matters is what the Department of Justice and special counsel concluded here, which is no collusion, no obstruction, and complete exoneration, as the president says.”
THE FACTS: No. The special counsel specifically leaves open the question of whether the president obstructed justice. . . “If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment,” the report states. . . The report identifies 10 instances of possible obstruction by Trump and said he might have “had a motive” to impede the investigation because of what it could find on a multitude of personal matters, such as his proposal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. . . “The evidence does indicate that a thorough FBI investigation would uncover facts about the campaign and the President personally that the President could have understood to be crimes or that would give rise to personal and political concerns,” the report states. . . In explaining its decision, Mueller’s team said reaching a conclusion on whether Trump committed crimes would be inappropriate because of Justice Department guidelines indicating that a sitting president should not be prosecuted. It nevertheless left open at least the theoretical possibility that Trump could be charged after he leaves office, noting that its factual investigation was conducted “in order to preserve the evidence when memories were fresh and documentary material were available.”
BARR: “These reports are not supposed to be made public.”
THE FACTS: He’s not going out on a limb for public disclosure. . . Justice Department regulations give Barr wide authority to release a special counsel’s report in situations it “would be in the public interest.” Barr had made clear during his Senate confirmation hearing in January that he believed in transparency with the report on Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference during the 2016 campaign, “consistent with regulations and the law.”
BARR, saying it was “consistent with long-standing practice” for him to share a copy of the redacted report with the White House and president’s attorneys before its release: “Earlier this week, the president’s personal counsel requested and were given the opportunity to read a final version of the redacted report before it was publicly released. That request was consistent with the practice followed under the Ethics in Government Act, which permitted individuals named in a report prepared by an independent counsel the opportunity to read the report before publication.”
THE FACTS: Actually, Barr’s decision, citing the Ethics in Government Act, is inconsistent with independent counsel Ken Starr’s handling of his report into whether President Bill Clinton obstructed and lied in Starr’s probe.
". . .Violent crime has been dropping in El Paso since its modern-day peak in 1993 and was at historic lows before a fence was authorized by Congress in 2006. Violent crime actually ticked up during the border fence's construction and after its completion, according to police data collected by the FBI. . . Democratic officials immediately took issue with the picture Trump painted Tuesday night, saying the president was using their city to justify a pointless and unnecessary wall. . ."The facts are clear. While it is true that El Paso is one of the safest cities in the nation, it has never been '...considered one of our Nation’s most dangerous cities,'" the city's sheriff, Richard Wiles, an Democrat, said in a statement after Trump concluded his address. "And, El Paso was a safe city long before any wall was built.”. . ."
(from https://thehill.com/homenews/house/423894-gop-leaders-call-on-pelosi-to-condemn-tlaibs-remarks-on-trump)
". . . House Republicans are calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to reprimand Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) for using profanity while referring to President Trump. . .Shortly after being sworn into office on Thursday, Tlaib told a group of supporters: “We’re going to go in and impeach the motherf---er.”. . . “She has a freshman, incoming individual that uses that type of language that has a determination of what she's going to do with no facts or basis," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Friday at a press conference. . ."
Isn't having a determination of what he's going to do with no facts or basis what the 'president' does ALL THE TIME??
Yes, he's a fuckhead but, we're splitting hairs on the creed thing. I wouldn't have read it either. But let's get after him about the THINGS THAT REALLY MATTER!! DECENCY, EMPATHY, COMPASSION, PRINCIPLES!!! [Science, reading, education, facts. . . the creed is really not what we need from our president right now] Let us be careful not to bark up the wrong tree!
. . . which are not available from certain sources. . .
(from https://twitter.com/PolitiFact?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor)
". . . In an @Axios interview, @realDonaldTrump claimed "We're the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States." About 30 other countries offer birthright citizenship, too. . ."
Those countries are: (from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jus_soli)
United States: The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside".[The phrase "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" excludes children born to foreign diplomats and children born to enemy forces engaged in hostile occupation of the country's territory.
(http://thewritepractice.com/how-to-use-either-neither-or-and-nor-correctly/)
". . . My mother . . . bought me the book I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammar. (By the way, it is equally correct to say “bad grammar.”) . . . Either is always paired with or, and neither is always paired with nor. If you are matching either and nor, I hate to break it to you, but you’re doing it wrong. Additionally, nor is generally not used where neither is not also used. . . example:“I fear man nor beast!” Jay proclaimed as Frank stared at the python coiled on the branch over his head. (Wrong.)
“I fear neither man nor beast!” Jay proclaimed as Frank stared at the python coiled on the branch over his head. (Right!) . . . Either is used when you are making a comparison between two ideas, and only one of the ideas will come to pass. Example . . . “Well,” said Frank, “either you start fearing, or you are camping by yourself.” . . . "
