Steve Thomas

Merry Christmas! I am thankful today that I am not iguana living in south Florida. https://www.npr.org/2020/01/22/798630899/when-winter-hits-florida-iguanas-fall-from-trees-and-maybe-onto-the-grill Steve Thomas

Drummer for my new band: https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/kjeza1/this_will_make_you_smile/ Ginger Baker, eat your heart out. Steve Thomas

Donald Trump is destroying the lives of tens of millions of people with his Covid Relief shenanigans, denied service members their pay by vetoing the Defense Production Act, pardoned a bunch of crooks, and shut down the government denying government employees their pay. He then skipped town and went to Florida to play golf. He should be impeached this afternoon. He needs to be told to just stay down there in Florida and we'll pack up his belongings and ship them to him in a moving van. Steve Thomas

Ted Cruz begs for donations to 'keep Georgia RED' — but the money is going into his Senate campaign coffers by Matthew Chapman December 24, 2020 https://www.rawstory.com/ted-cruz-2020-election/ "Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is sending a new plea to his supporters with Georgia's two Senate runoffs weeks away, asking them to contribute money "to save our Senate majority and keep Georgia RED." But according to Inside Elections reporter Jacob Rubashkin, there's a catch: the donation link Cruz is giving to his supporters is for Ted Cruz for Senate. Meaning that the money is going to his campaign, and not directed to the campaigns of Georgia Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler." Will the grift and the graft and the grotesque gross grunge never stop? "Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" Steve Thomas

Trump's GOP defenders are getting exactly what they deserve now that he has turned on them: columnist By Matthew Chapman December 24, 2020 https://www.rawstory.com/trump-gop-2649639035/ "On Thursday, writing for The Washington Post, columnist Greg Sargent argued that after years of defending Donald Trump, Republicans in Congress are getting everything they deserve now that Trump is betraying them and threatening to throw out their stimulus negotiations. "House Republicans are in a fury with President Trump, now that he is threatening to blow up the carefully negotiated settlement that led to passage of the $900 billion economic rescue package. They are raging that he abandoned them after the White House asked them to support the deal," wrote Sargent. "Oh, dear. Given what a cartoonish farce this has all become, let's let Mr. Krabs of SpongeBob SquarePants do the honors: 'Boo, hoo. Let me play a sad song for you on the world's smallest violin.'" "Let it not be forgotten that more than 125 of the very same House Republicans now raging at Trump for betrayal just got through betraying our country on his behalf, by joining a lawsuit designed to further his aim of subverting millions of votes in four states to keep him in power illegitimately," wrote Sargent. In fact, he noted, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), both of whom decried Trump's actions, were among those who joined the suit. "Republicans ... delivered beyond what should have been Trump's wildest dreams. And this went well beyond their backing for Trump's effort to overturn the election," wrote Sargent. "During impeachment, House Republicans went to extraordinary, farcical lengths to function as dutiful propagandists and literal bodyguards against accountability for Trump. They worked to thwart transparency into Trump's finances, helping to shield his self-dealing from the public they purport to serve." And even in spite of this, Trump is throwing them under the bus in a way that "exposes" they are "the real obstacle to robust assistance to the American people." "That, after all this, House Republicans feel abandoned and betrayed by Trump — well, it couldn't be happening to a bunch of nicer sycophants, enablers and betrayers of our democracy," concluded Sargent." Steve Thomas

Exclusive: Donald Trump's Martial-Law Talk Has Military on Red Alert By William M. Arkin On 12/24/20 at 5:00 AM EST https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-donald-trumps-martial-law-talk-has-military-red-alert-1557056 “"I've been associated with the military for over 40 years and I've never seen the discussions that are being had right now, the need for such discussions," says a retired flag officer, currently a defense contractor who has mentored and advised his service's senior leaders. He was granted anonymity in order to speak without fear of reprisal.“ “"You've got to recognize an illegal order when it comes your way," says another retired flag officer, saying he has been involved in unprecedented internal discussions going on right now about this subject. The officer, who declined to speak on the record, says that though lawful and unlawful orders are a part of officer training from the beginning, "the principles of loyalty to the Constitution hammered home from the start of every career, ... we've never had the real thing, never someone who occupied the White House who conducted themselves anything like President Trump."” Steve Thomas

Millions of people are going to get evicted from their homes in the dead of winter, fighting over scraps of food in the garbage dumps. Oh well, I'll just go and do what Jared and Ivanka did and buy myself a private island. I'll spend my time playing betting games on the stock market. It'll be fun. Steve Thomas

Flynn: Trump Needs To Seize Voting Machines, Could Use "Military Capabilities" To "Rerun" Elections In Swing States Posted By Ian Schwartz December 17, 2020 https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/12/17/flynn_trump_needs_to_seize_voting_machines_could_use_military_capabilities_to_rerun_elections_in_swing_states.html “Flynn said President Trump could use "military capabilities" and place them in swing states to "re-run an election." Flynn said while he is not calling for Martial law, the general said he is not opposed to the tactic.” Notice that Flynn did not call for the U.S. Army to get involved. He only wants Trump to use "military capabilities". That sounds like a private army of "little green men". Trump just pardoned four guys from Blackwater. The country would never stand for something like that, of course. But, I agree that Flynn should be recalled to Active Service and court martialed for inciting an armed insurrection. Steve Thomas

Donald Trump is very big on revenge. He is deliberately scuttling the Stimulus Relief Bill. He's going to get back at Mitch McConnell for McConnell not helping him to overturn the election. He's also going to get back at the American people for voting him out of office. Steve Thomas

Larry, You and I have talked about this, but I'll throw it out here. If Oswald was living on Beckley under an assumed name, and he had the taxi drop him off several blocks away from his rooming house, he did not want to be tracked back to that rooming house.; but someone knew he lived there. Will Fritz told the WC that "some officer" had told him out in the hall that Oswald lived on Beckley before Fritz went in to talk to Oswald for the first time. When Fritz and Sims and Boyd left the TSBD after learning that Tippit had been shot, they left the TSBD all hell bent for leather on their way to Irving. However, Boyd speaks of a mysterious stop at Bill Decker's office on their way back downtown. All of a sudden, things changed. Fritz, Boyd and Sims stayed in the office, and at 2:40 PM, W.E. Potts, B.L. Senkel and Lt. E.L. Cunningham were dispatched to 1026 N. Beckley. Potts wrote in his after-action report (Box 2, Folder# 9, Item# 32) http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box2.htm that after he finished taking some affidavits, Fritz dispatched them to the Beckely St address at 2:40 and they arrived at Beckley at 3:00PM. According to housekeeper, Earlene Roberts, when they arrived, the police were inquiring after a Harvey Lee Oswald. http://jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/robertse.htm Sheriff Decker's file on the assassination, given to the Warren Commission lists the assailant's name as "Harvey Lee Oswald" (12H51) (CE 5323) Deposition of Sheriff Decker dark brown heavy folder with a label on the outside: Harvey Lee Oswald. Oswald knew he had been set up the minute Fritz walked into the office and began asking him about Beckley. Mr. BALL. Some officer told you that he thought this man had a room on Beckley? Mr. FRITZ. Yes, sir. Mr. FRITZ. Yes, sir; so then I talked to him and I asked him where his room was on Beckley. Steve Thomas

Kirk, Yeah, yeah, yeah. Covid, Covid, Covid... In the 5,000+ pages of the Stimulus Relief Bill, here's what's really important: Erik Wasson @elwasson https://twitter.com/elwasson/status/1341112236329332736 “Bill decriminalizes unauthorized use of the Swiss Coat of Arms or Smokey the Bear.” 2:04 PM · Dec 21, 2020·Twitter Web App Steve Thomas

This is just a rhetorical question. Could Joe Biden take the Oath of Office of the Presidency on January 7, 2021? Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin. Article Two of the United States Constitution Section 1 Clause 8: Oath or affirmation Further information: Oath of office of the President of the United States Oath of office of the president of the United States The oath of office of the president of the United States is the oath or affirmation that the president of the United States takes after assuming the presidency but before exercising or carrying out any presidential powers or duties Before he enters the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Could it be said that Biden has "assumed" the office as of January 6th when the Congress ratifies the votes of the Electoral College? He could assume the Office, just not carry out any duties until noon on the 20th. Steve Thomas

January 6th promises to be wild and woolly. I'm going to stay home and watch it. Steve Thomas

Joe, The presiding judge in the Mac Wallace trial was Charles O. Betts. Here's some info on Betts" “A History of the Texas State Guard” by Colonel Curren R. McLane “Members of the Special Staff of the Texas State Guard Reserve Corps were: Judge Advocate Section: Col. Charles O. Betts, Austin.” https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/30026/tsl-30026.html Texas Adjutant General's Department: An Inventory of Texas State Guard/Texas Defense Guard/Texas State Guard Reserve Corps Records at the Texas State Archives, 1938-1983, undated (bulk 1941-1945) "When the Texas National Guard was demobilized in 1947, the 50th Legislature (by Senate Bill 361) created the Texas State Guard Reserve Corps (TSGRC), to provide a reservoir of military strength for use by the state in time of national or state emergency, when any part of the Texas National Guard was called into federal service. When so activated, this Texas State Guard Reserve Corps would function as the Texas State Guard (TSG). The Governor of Texas appointed a Commanding General for the Texas State Guard Reserve Corps, to be supervised by the Adjutant General of Texas. Initially the state was divided into twelve districts, each with a colonel as regimental commander." Austin Sunday American Statesman Newspaper Archives Sunday, June 04, 1950 - Page 19 Judge Charles O. Betts, former 10th District commander, told the group of the State Guard’s service during the war years, and of the legislation which continued the Texas State Guard Reserve Corps in permanent status subject to active service at any time the National Guard may be called into federal service.” The 10th District was headquartered in Austin. More on Charles O. Betts: http://www.texastotheworld.com/the-lbj-murder-conference/ “Regardless, the jury found (Mac) Wallace guilty of murder and eleven of the panelists wanted the death penalty while one suggested life in prison. The judge in the case, Charles O. Betts, issued a “jury verdict notwithstanding” and gave Wallace a five year suspended sentence.” http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKjohnsonJ.htm “The jury found (Mac) Wallace guilty of "murder with malice afore-thought". Eleven of the jurors were for the death penalty. The twelfth argued for life imprisonment. Judge Charles O. Betts overruled the jury and announced a sentence of five years imprisonment. He suspended the sentence and Wallace was immediately freed. “ John Simkin in the Education Forum December 2, 2006. http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/8715-david-harold-byrd/ “In 1944 Byrd founded Byrd Oil Corporation and B-H Drilling Corporation. In 1952 Byrd established the Three States Natural Gas Company. Byrd later sold Byrd Oil to Mobil and Three States to Delhi-Taylor. Byrd used this money to invest in aircraft production and established Temco. A company that employed Mac Wallace after he was convicted of killing John Kinser.” John Simkin in the Education Forum December 3, 2006, quoting Richard Bartholomew (http://www.acorn.net/jfkplace/09/fp.back_i...e/rambler3.html) http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/8715-david-harold-byrd/ “Mac Wallace, who received a five-year suspended sentence in the shooting death of John Douglas Kiner in Austin on October 22, 1951, went to work for Temco, Inc. of Garland, Texas five months after his trial. He remained in that position until February 1961, four months before Henry Marshall's mysterious death on June 3, 1961, when he transferred to the Anaheim, California offices of LTV. "Still more LTV intrigues were revealed by Peter Dale Scott: "A fellow-director of [Jack Alston] Crichton's firm of Dorchester Gas Producing was D.H. Byrd, an oil associate of Sid Richardson and Clint Murchison, and the LTV director who teamed up with James Ling to buy 132,000 shares of LTV in November 1963.” “Corsicana Daily Sun” from Corsicana, Texas March 31, 1970 Page 10 https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/41268447/ “The building (the Texas School Book Depository) is owned by the Dallas Trust Corp. The majority stockholder of the firm, Col. D. Harold Byrd, 69, has decided to liquidate some of his holdings.” Photograph of Charles O. Betts: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth62746/ "This photograph is part of the collection entitled: Rescuing Texas History, 2009 and was provided by the Austin History Center, Austin Public Library to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. " Steve Thomas

Impeach Him... Again? By Charlie Sykes 12/21/20 https://morningshots.thebulwark.com/p/impeach-him-again “But, perhaps, an impeachment should be in the queue ready to go. At a minimum, someone should be thinking about the ultimate Trumpsday scenario, and start drafting the articles that could be quickly acted upon (maybe with snap votes in both the House and Senate?). The smart set has been telling us that we don’t have anything to worry about. The guardrails will hold, they assure us. There’s no time, they tell us. But Trump is in the White House talking about coups. Maybe we need to have to the hammer ready to break glass in case of emergency.” Steve Thomas

As far as his Presidency goes, Donald Trump is going to do what he has always done; he's going to declare bankruptcy and just walk away. Steve Thomas

A secret hidden in plain sight: President Donald Trump's role as a Russian asset Ray Hartmann December 20, 2020 https://www.rawstory.com/trump-putin-2649563857/ "One need not dabble in conspiracy theories to ask a simple question today: What should be done about Donald Trump having served as a Russian asset for the past four years?" "In the wake of the recently revealed Russian cyberattack on the U.S. -- apparently unprecedented in its danger to national security -- it's time for Congress, the media and the incoming Biden administration to move beyond the question of "if" Trump was helping his overt ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin. The relevant questions are why and how.” “Now, return to the current news that somehow, some way, Putin's hackers managed to pull off one of the greatest espionage coups in history, at U.S. expense, on Donald Trump's watch. And Trump, it turns out, is the only one in the U.S. unfazed by it all as he focuses instead on staying in office by military coup. If all those dots cannot be connected, someone needs a new Sharpie.” Steve Thomas

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/20/americas/chile-president-fine-intl-scli/index.html Chilean President Sebastian Pinera was slapped with a $3,500 fine on Friday after posing for a selfie on the beach with a bystander without wearing a mask as required during the coronavirus pandemic, health authorities said. Chile has strict rules on mask wearing in all public places and violations are punishable with sanctions that include fines and even jail terms. Pinera apologized then turned himself in shortly after the selfie surfaced on social media in early December. The president explained he had been walking alone along the beach near his home in the posh Chilean seaside town of Cachagua when a woman recognized him and asked for a photo together. The selfie shows the president and the woman standing very near to one another on a sunny day, neither wearing masks. No comment. Steve Thomas

I stand corrected. Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump 12/19/20 https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump “The Cyber Hack is far greater in the Fake News Media than in actuality. I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control. Russia, Russia, Russia is the priority chant when anything happens because Lamestream is, for mostly financial reasons, petrified of discussing the possibility that it may be China (it may!). There could also have been a hit on our ridiculous voting machines during the election, which is now obvious that I won big, making it an even more corrupted embarrassment for the USA.” I'm surprised he didn't blame the dead guy from Venezuela. Steve Thomas

Donald Trump;s Elite Legal Squad. Nathaniel Persily @persily 8:40 AM · Dec 19, 2020 https://twitter.com/persily/status/1340305930513084418 “In an effort to enter the Bar Association’s Self-Own Hall of Fame, Lin Wood files Georgia election fraud complaint “under plenty of perjury”” Steve Thomas

Disinfectant Don https://twitter.com/cjethereum/status/1340185992913768449 Steve Thomas

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump 12:42AM 12/19/20 “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” *Sigh* Steve Thomas

Nuclear weapons agency breached amid massive cyber onslaught By NATASHA BERTRAND 12/17/2020 https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/17/nuclear-agency-hacked-officials-inform-congress-447855 “Hackers accessed systems at the National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. The Energy Department and National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, have evidence that hackers accessed their networks as part of an extensive espionage operation that has affected at least half a dozen federal agencies, officials directly familiar with the matter said. On Thursday, DOE and NNSA officials began coordinating notifications about the breach to their congressional oversight bodies after being briefed by Rocky Campione, the chief information officer at DOE. They found suspicious activity in networks belonging to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories in New Mexico and Washington, the Office of Secure Transportation and the Richland Field Office of the DOE. The hackers have been able to do more damage at FERC than the other agencies, the officials said, but did not elaborate.” And Donald Trump has done NOTHING. He needs to be removed today, before he destroys this country. Steve Thomas

Biden taps Deb Haaland as first Native American to run Interior: US media https://www.rawstory.com/2020/12/biden-taps-deb-haaland-as-first-native-american-to-run-interior-us-media/ I think this is terrific. Steve Thomas

Rand Paul Says Letting People Vote Who Normally Don't Vote Will 'Change The Outcome' Of Elections, Which Is, Uh, How Voting Works "I'm very, very concerned that if you solicit votes from typically non-voters, that you will affect and change the outcome." Fox News via Eric Kleefeld https://digg.com/video/rand-paul-voting-from-nonvoters Steve Thomas