July 15, 2022

Democrats' time to pounce: Republicans suddenly find themselves vulnerable ahead of midterms

(Salon) With the approval of the Republican Party plummeting and gas and commodity prices declining, Democrats suddenly have an opportunity to go on offense this midterm cycle by touting the success of the pandemic recovery — and contrasting that the draconian proposals offered by the alternative.

To do this, Democrats must center the innovation and grit of the American people and show how we are transitioning from a rapid recovery to sustainable growth. Republicans, by contrast, have devolved into a cult beholden to Donald Trump, doubling down on their support for him despite the shocking revelations of the January 6 commission.

Should they retake Congress, Republicans' economic plan consists of taxing the lower and middle class and offering no solution for dealing with inflation. The one thing they can claim credit for, successfully striking down Roe V. Wade, is one of the most wildly unpopular actions ever taken by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe is driving voter motivation for Democrats. 62% of voters say they are more motivated to vote in November after the decision. 62% say they are more motivated to vote for Democrats, including 55% of Independents. Just 27% say it makes them more likely to vote for Republicans in November. ............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2022/07/15/democrats-time-to-pounce-suddenly-find-themselves-vulnerable-ahead-of-midterms/

July 15, 2022

Iguana found in Florida man's toilet for a third time

July 14 (UPI) -- A Florida man said he has learned to lift his toilet lid "with apprehension" after finding iguanas inside the commode three times in under a year.

Bruce Bleyer of Hollywood said he has had to contact Bruce Bleyer of Iguana Lifestyles three times in under a year -- two times during the past week -- when he lifted his toilet lid to find an iguana inside the bowl.

"Every time I walk into the restroom, I open the lid with apprehension, every time," Bleyer told WSVN-TV. "This is twice in the last week, so it's happening more and more."

Rondan said the iguana incursions are a bit of a mystery. ............(more)

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2022/07/14/iguana-toilet-third-time-one-year-Hollywood-Florida/3271657831562/

July 15, 2022

Whitmer vetoes budget items restricting abortion access, stem cell research

(Detroit Free Press) LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed sections of the $22.2 billion education budget, which she signed Thursday, related to restricting abortion access for college students and restricting research on embryonic stem cells, a spokesman said.

Although the 2023 fiscal year budget reflected a consensus reached between the governor and Republican legislative leaders as a result of negotiations, no lawmakers should be surprised by the vetoes, Whitmer press secretary Bobby Leddy said.

"This final outcome of the budget was understood by all parties involved," Leddy said.

But state Rep. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, expressed outrage at the vetoes. They "show the governor doesn’t really care about choice," Albert said. "She is only interested in promoting the deadly choice that ends a human life." .............(more)

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/07/14/whitmer-vetoes-budget-items-restricting-abortion-access-stem-research/10063850002/

July 15, 2022

Lawsuit filed to prevent suspected insurrectionist Ryan Kelley from appearing on general election...

Lawsuit filed to prevent suspected insurrectionist Ryan Kelley from appearing on general election ballot in Michigan


(Detroit Metro Times) A progressive advocacy group filed a lawsuit Thursday in an attempt to keep suspected insurrectionist Ryan Kelley off of the general election ballot if he wins the primary next month, calling him a “clear and present danger to democracy.”

Progress Michigan filed the lawsuit with the Michigan Court of Appeals on behalf of registered voter Lee Estes.

The FBI arrested Kelley at his home in Allendale on June 9 on allegations that he joined the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. ............(more)

https://www.metrotimes.com/news/lawsuit-filed-to-prevent-suspected-insurrectionist-ryan-kelley-from-appearing-on-general-election-ballot-30562628

July 14, 2022

Amtrak urges regulators to reject CN's request to gain control of KCS's former Gateway Western track

(Trains) WASHINGTON – Amtrak has urged federal regulators to reject Canadian National’s quest to obtain Kansas City Southern’s former Gateway Western trackage as a condition of the proposed Canadian Pacific-KCS merger.

CN aims to create a new single-line route dubbed the Springfield Speedway that would link Kansas City and St. Louis with Chicago, Detroit, and Eastern Canada via Springfield, Ill.

But Amtrak says that allowing CN to operate the lines would further hurt the already woeful on-time performance of its passenger trains operating on the former Illinois Central between Chicago and Gilman, Ill., as well as on the joint KCS-Union Pacific line between East St. Louis, Ill., and Godfrey, Ill.

In addition, Amtrak says CN would run more freight traffic – either additional or longer trains – over seven other line segments that currently host passenger service. These include a 250-mile portion of the former Illinois Central Chicago-New Orleans main line; three CN lines in Michigan; a short segment on CN in Memphis; as well as short sections of UP trackage in Kansas City and Springfield. .............(more)

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/amtrak-urges-regulators-to-reject-cns-request-to-gain-control-of-kcss-former-gateway-western-trackage/

July 14, 2022

Richard Wolffe: We need a criminal investigation into Donald Trump

We need a criminal investigation into Donald Trump
Richard Wolffe

If Trump shot someone on Fifth Avenue, as he once joked he could, would all those prosecutors still struggle to indict him?
Wed 13 Jul 2022 07.30 EDT


(Guardian UK) Donald Trump famously joked that he was so popular with his fans that he could literally get away with murder.

“I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters, he bragged while campaigning in Iowa back in 2016.

Never mind the voters. Here we are, 18 months after his presidency, staring at clear evidence that Trump led a criminal conspiracy to interfere with the 2020 election and the constitutional duties of Congress. He intentionally incited a violent mob that he knew was armed to mount an attempted coup on Capitol Hill.

He knew from his own lawyers’ opposition to his many crackpot schemes that he was breaking the law.

But the US justice department has apparently only just begun to grapple with the debate over whether they can even investigate the former president. ...............(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/13/criminal-investigation-donald-trump

July 14, 2022

Donald Trump is finally running scared: Liz Cheney and Jan. 6 committee have him cornered

Donald Trump is finally running scared: Liz Cheney and Jan. 6 committee have him cornered
Of course Trump is trying to intimidate future witnesses. He knows indictments are coming — and he's terrified

By BRIAN KAREM
PUBLISHED JULY 14, 2022 9:25AM


(Salon) Donald Trump missed his calling.

He should've been an Adderall-stoked tour director on a spring-break bus loaded with drunken college kids: "Be there, will be wild!"

He would've been obnoxious, and noxious — but mostly harmless. Declawed, defanged and destructive, but ultimately forgotten by history.

Our Donald, being the rage-fueled, narcissistic, power-mongering loser that he is, cannot go gentle, genteel or gentile into that good night. So he used his God-given talent for blatant hucksterism in some twisted Darth Vader moment on Dec. 19, 2020. He tweeted out a call to arms for a "Big Protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!"

....(snip)....

Congress, responding to Trump's own masterful manipulation of the media, has learned a thing or two. Raskin said Watergate was like a "Cub Scout meeting" compared to the Trump scandal. He's right. But the Watergate hearings were campfire storytelling compared to the "Stranger Things" production of the Trump hearings. Hell, this production could win an Emmy. It's masterful, especially in the hands of Raskin. It's one of the best-scripted live documentaries ever made — complete with cliffhangers and previews of the next exciting, terrifying and eventful episode. All that's missing are the after-credit scenes. Maybe we'll see Trump in irons after the last hearing. Who knows?

There are those who still fear that will never happen. Mark Meadows, it is reasoned, will eventually take the fall for Trump. But Liz Cheney is coming for Trump, and I wouldn't want to get in her way. While Mary Trump isn't a fan of Cheney's politics, she too says Uncle Donald has every reason to be afraid. Cheney is everything Donald Trump can't handle — an intelligent woman immune to his charms and threats, who has the facts at her side as she pursues the Mind Flayer.

"Trump is a 76-year-old man," Cheney reminded us, not "an impressionable child," and he "is responsible for his own actions and choices." Trump can't hide behind his minions. He knew the election was not stolen. "No rational or sane man could ignore this and come to another conclusion," she added, then concluded that Trump "cannot escape by being willfully blind." ...............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2022/07/14/donald-is-finally-running-scared-liz-cheney-and-jan-6-committee-have-him-cornered/

July 14, 2022

What red wave? Top Democrats in Michigan are trouncing GOP candidates in latest polls

(Detroit Metro Times) Michigan’s top three elected Democrats have comfortable leads over their Republican opponents for governor, secretary of state, and attorney general, according to a new poll.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s lead varies from 9% over suspected insurrectionist and real estate broker Ryan Kelley to 15% against Pastor Ralph Rebandt, who believes the Bible should be “the chief or primary textbook” in schools, according to the poll commissioned by The Detroit News and WDIV-TV.

GOP establishment candidate Tudor Dixon trailed Whitmer 40% to 51%.

In the race for attorney general, incumbent Dana Nessel leads conspiracy theorist Matthew DePerno 44% to 38%, with 17% of voters undecided, according to a similar poll. ........(more)

https://www.metrotimes.com/news/what-red-wave-top-democrats-in-michigan-are-trouncing-gop-candidates-in-latest-polls-30554292

July 14, 2022

Whitmer executive order blocks extradition for out-of-staters getting an abortion in Michigan

(Detroit Metro Times) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday issued an executive order preventing the extradition of people who travel to Michigan for an abortion.

The order also protects abortion providers from being extradited to states where abortion is illegal.

In effect, it makes Michigan a refuge for abortion services travel.

“After the overturn of Roe v Wade and the ensuing implementation of a series of extreme bans on abortion that criminalize women and medical professionals across the country, visitors to Michigan must know that they can access reproductive health care within our borders without fear of extradition,” Whitmer said in a statement.

“That is why I signed an executive order today refusing to cooperate with out-of-state law enforcement seeking to punish women for seeking health care,” Whitmer added. “I will stand up for all women, even if their local and statewide leaders refuse to. Michigan must remain a place where a person’s basic rights are preserved. In this existential moment for fundamental rights, it is incumbent on every elected official who believes that health — not politics — should guide medical decisions to take bold action. ” ..............(more)

https://www.metrotimes.com/news/whitmer-executive-order-blocks-extradition-for-out-of-staters-getting-an-abortion-in-michigan-30555708

July 13, 2022

Whitmer executive order blocks extradition for out-of-staters getting an abortion in Michigan

(Detroit Metro Times) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday issued an executive order preventing the extradition of people who travel to Michigan for an abortion.

The order also protects abortion providers from being extradited to states where abortion is illegal.

In effect, it makes Michigan a refuge for abortion services travel.

“After the overturn of Roe v Wade and the ensuing implementation of a series of extreme bans on abortion that criminalize women and medical professionals across the country, visitors to Michigan must know that they can access reproductive health care within our borders without fear of extradition,” Whitmer said in a statement.

“That is why I signed an executive order today refusing to cooperate with out-of-state law enforcement seeking to punish women for seeking health care,” Whitmer added. “I will stand up for all women, even if their local and statewide leaders refuse to. Michigan must remain a place where a person’s basic rights are preserved. In this existential moment for fundamental rights, it is incumbent on every elected official who believes that health — not politics — should guide medical decisions to take bold action. ” ..............(more)

https://www.metrotimes.com/news/whitmer-executive-order-blocks-extradition-for-out-of-staters-getting-an-abortion-in-michigan-30555708