Pence’s Curious Return Trip
Remember when Pence quickly cancelled a trip to New Hampshire while airborne on Air Force 2 to return the DeeCee and everybody was worried that we were going to war or semi-thrilled that Trump resigned?
Well, we found out why he returned.
He cancelled the trip because he didn’t want to meet with somebody in New Hampshire who was fixing to be arrested for drug trafficking heroin.
Or as it is known in the Trump White House, Tuesday.
Oops
1Lucky for Pence the Executive Branch of our government now consists of the President, Department of Justice, and Mitch McConnell’s Senate. It keeps the shared information flowing in a timely manner.
2Serendipitous Prologue news for your day.
Also: On page 2 – Mitch bites Monster.
How similar is Trump to Caligula, the Mad Emperor of Rome? This historian has some surprising answers
Edit: In the end, it wasn’t external foes who caused Caligula’s downfall. Caligula was brought down by a dread among his inner circle of being next as he eliminated many around him. Loyalty and friendship were no guarantee of survival. Similarly, it’s been said that President Trump turns on a dime when it comes to friends.
In the case of Caligula’s friends, self-preservation eventually made the most loyal the most lethal.
When Caligula’s reign was terminated at the point of swords wielded by assassins in his own guard, it had lasted around four years, the equivalent of a U.S. presidential term. Perhaps it will take that long for the proverbial knives to come out among the Republican old guard in Washington today.
As was the case in AD 41, it will probably not be a pretty sight.
https://www.alternet.org/2019/07/how-similar-is-trump-to-caligula-the-mad-emperor-of-rome-this-historian-has-some-surprising-answers/
3More Prologue – The News of the Future today. In opinion form. What? You thought there was a crystal ball?
Edit: Underlying the resistance of Nancy Pelosi and the House leadership to the “Squad” of progressive freshmen Democrats of color is a presumption that, while it’s nice to dream big about Medicare for All and Green New Deals, the mainstream of the House Democratic Caucus—or at least the members from purple district—live in the center. It’s impossible to fulfill ambitions beyond that narrow sliver of political terra firma, or so the theory goes.
But the reality of the past couple months of experience renders a negative verdict on that theory. The Congressional Progressive Caucus, newly energized by determined leadership and many more members, has been winning repeated battles on domestic and foreign policy, revealing a caucus that can unify behind popular proposals on the left. The wins keep racking up in ways that are too numerous to be anomalous.
I recognize that these progressive votes were taken in a kind of model Congress, where there’s no Senate willing to concur or a president willing to sign off. To that extent, they were free votes. But they do set a course for the future, when Democrats might have a governing majority again. If these votes are any indication, the next flurry of liberal policymaking will look far different from the last one.
The winning streak started in June, when Democrats passed the American Dream and Promise Act, which would supply lawful permanent resident status for immigrants who entered the United States as children, as well as others here under Temporary Protected Status because of situations in their home countries. Those bills have costs attached, because effectively legalizing DREAMers and other immigrants makes them eligible for federal benefits. The cost was around $34.6 billion over ten years.
The usual deficit hawks warned about offsetting the costs, and indeed the House has a rule barring new programs without offsets, known as pay-go. When that rule passed, I expressed concern that this would dim the ambitions of activist liberal policymaking by forcing budget modesty, even as Republicans blow giant holes in the budget with tax cuts.
However, the Progressive Caucus persuaded Speaker Pelosi and the House leadership to simply waive the pay-go provision. Only nine Democrats, mostly first-time members in purple districts, rejected the pay-go waiver; the vast majority agreed that the $34 billion price tag was trivial relative to the benefits of allowing immigrants who have only known America the ability to participate in society.
That includes the financial benefits: legalizing DREAMers puts them on the books in ways that can increase tax revenues. That deficit hysterics only have nine votes in the Democratic caucus is a sea change
https://prospect.org/article/newly-energized-progressive-caucus-winning
4“I’m not going nowhere, not until I impeach this president.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan)
‘Unfit to Serve’: NAACP Delegates Vote Unanimously for Trump Impeachment
“We will make sure,” said president and CEO Derrick Johnson, “that the NAACP is at the forefront of pushing Congress to proceed with the impeachment process.”
National delegates for the NAACP voted unanimously on Tuesday for a resolution calling for the initiation of impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, with the group’s head calling him “unfit to serve” the nation any longer.
The vote took place at the civil rights group’s annual convention taking place this week in Detroit.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/07/23/unfit-serve-naacp-delegates-vote-unanimously-trump-impeachment
5Really??? I thought he returned because he earned that he would have to meet with a woman alone in a huge room.
6