As Maya Angelou said, when someone shows you who they are believe them the first time. Donald J. Trump has repeatedly shown us exactly who he is, but some of us refuse to believe him. He released a speech on Twitter yesterday, where he pretends to care about what happened at the capital and says he was outraged by the violence, lawlessness, and mayhem. How can he be outraged when he asked for it? He then says he immediately deployed the National Guard to secure the building. We know that’s a lie. He also says that a new administration will be inaugurated on Jan 20, but did not mention Joe Biden by name. See these are the games he plays and has played. I do not believe one word of this speech because he has already shown us who he is and I for one believe him. And this 2 minute video will not change my mind.
Let’s Talk the 25th Amendment
First thing to know: It’s never been used in the way they are talking about now. Never. It was ratified in 1967, following the assasination of John F. Kennedy and after questions arose about what would have happened if he had lived for a few days. Senator Birch Bayh push the debate on the now 25 Amendment. In the end it contained 4 parts:
Section 1 says the vice president becomes the president in the event the president is removed from office for any reason.
Section 2 talks about how a president should fill a vacancy in the vice president’s office.
Section 3 says the president can make the vice president into acting president by submitting a written declaration.
Section 4, is the one that has never been used and it provides that a vice president joined by a majority of either the president’s cabinet or a body designated by Congress can declare the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. The president can then in writing declare no disability exist, but that can be overcome with a ⅔ vote of Congress. If the ⅔ is not reached, the president would resume the office.
Senator Bayh who drafted the 25th amendment told his staff that the 4th clause was only to be used in cases of mental illness. In the past it was considered by Regan’s staff on the grounds of dementia. Regan, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s five years after leaving office, showed inattentiveness and erratic behavior following the Iran-Contra scandal. ( National Geographic. )
In the past couple days, there has been a lot of talk about the 25th amendment. Senate Minority (soon to be Majority) Leader Chuck Schumer; Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; Democratic Senator Bob Casey, from Pennsylvania; and Republican Representative Adam Kinziger, from Illinois have all spoken out in support of using the 25th. In addition, the editorial board of the Washington Post, the NAACP, and the National Association of Manufacturers have encouraged Trump’s removal. In a letter to the vice president, Democrats from the House Judiciary Committee asked him to move forward. They argued that Trump’s “incitement of violence and social unrest” meets the standard for Section 4.
“What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by President Trump. This president must not hold office one day longer.”
Chuck Schumer (D., New York)
“Here’s the truth: the president caused this. The president is unfit and the president is unwell. And the president must relinquish control of the executive branch voluntarily or involuntarily.”
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R.,Illinois)
“The president needs to understand that his actions were the problem not the solution, that the rally yesterday was unseemly, it got out of hand,”
Se. Lindsey Graham (R., South Carolina)
“I think we have to hold our breath,” until Mr. Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20 because it’s too late to begin proceedings to remove the president.
Mitt Romney (R., Utah)
Mitt Romney’s words are the ones I think will prevail. I hope they prove me wrong but, I think they will wait him out. Republicans have a habit of calling out the president and being outraged when he does something. And yes this is the most egregious act, but they have a pattern. They show outrage and then they go away. There are a few differences this time in that some of his cabinet has resigned. But, that could also be a way to avoid having to oust him by using the 25th. I definitely wouldn’t put that past Betsy DeVos; she’s smart like a fox. At any rate, there is also talk about impeachment but that seems even more unlikely in the next 12 days.
Resignations:
- Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, whose husband is Mitch McConnell said in her letter “I am tremendously proud of the many accomplishments we were able to achieve together for our country and I will never forget the commitment you have for this Department and the United States of America.”
- Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos resigned saying in a letter, “There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation.”
- Mick Mulvaney, a former White House chief of staff who is now U.S. special envoy for Northern Ireland
- Head of the Capitol Police
- Sergeants at arms for the House and Senate
- Matthew Pottinger, the deputy national security adviser
- Stephanie Grisham, chief of staff and press secretary to first lady Melania Trump.
Nice Try Republicans
Some Republicans had the nerve to say antifa was responsible for the insurrection at the Capital. There is NO Evidence of that.
“The Washington Times removed an article from its website that made those claims, but the outlet did not provide a clarification. The story was shared on Facebook over 90,000 times. The baseless claim that antifa is responsible for storming the Capitol has also been further amplified by congressman Mo Brooks of Alabama and conservative media outlets. What is true: Supporters of the president and QAnon, and even current and former state representatives, were in the crowd. Elizabeth Neumann, a former Trump Administration Homeland Security official, said: “These are not antifa. They are right-wing extremists. For any elected officials who are using their platform to perpetrate more lies, that’s what got us to yesterday, and they need to stop.”” From Newsy
Sen. Hawley’s Book Deal Went Up In Tear Gas
Simon and Schuster canceled Sen. Josh Hawley’s book deal because of his role in the insurrection. Hawley was the first senator to announce he would object to President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Many congressmen are saying that the insurrection would not have been possible without those objections. He led the charge along with Ted Cruz and thus garnered national attention. But because of this, he lost his book deal. He was writing a book about big tech. He responded to the loss by saying it was “an assault on the First Amendment.” Of course that’s not true; the first amendment does not mention book deals.
On To Other News: Yes, other things are still happening
Boeing has agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion to resolve a charge that it conspired to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration during its review of the 737 Max. The 737 Max crashed twice killing 346 people. David Burns of the Justice Department said, “Boeing’s employees chose the path of profit over candor by concealing material information from the FAA concerning the operation of its 737 Max airplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception.” Well, that’s scary.
The settlement includes a $244 million fine, $1.77 billion in compensation to Boeing’s customers and a $500 million fund for the families of the crash victims. It’s interesting that the bulk the money is going to Boeing’s customers, or in other words, Airlines.
VID/VAC Update
U.S. The U.S. surpassed 4,000 daily deaths for the first time, breaking a record set the day before. Johns Hopkins University showed 4,085 deaths Thursday and 275,000 new coronavirus cases.
Florida. Keith Myers, chief executive of MorseLife Health System, a high-end nursing home and assisted-living facility in West Palm Beach, called members of the board and major donors and offered them a coronavirus vaccine. MorseLife had vaccines that were provided through a federal program intended for residents and staff of long-term-care facilities. But Myers decided to reward the rich, and sent letters and made phone calls offering vaccines. Thus, highlighting that letting the states be responsible for distributing the vaccine was not the best plan.
California. Nurses already stretched thin now have even more patients than the state law allows because the state has begun issuing waivers that allow hospitals to temporarily bypass a strict nurse-to-patient ratios law. Nurses say this will push them to the brink of burnout and is affecting patient care.
The Culture Commentary 