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

Political ad spending in Georgia is so heavy that ambulance chasers are complaining that there are no more TV slots to run their, "If you've been in an accident..." ads. Steve Thomas

Bob, I have really been struck by the number of high-level people who have announced that they are leaving the Republican Party in just the last three days: Steve Schmidt, the campaign manager for John McCain; the Head of the Republican Party in New Hampshire; and the Mayor of Dodge City, Kansas. It feels like there is a major shift taking place. The moderate Republicans are either going to have to form a new political party, or find some way to drive the crazies out. Steve Thomas

Doug, Thanks for passing this along. Steve Thomas

The City of Atlantic City, NJ is auctioning off the right to blow up the Trump Plaza Casino in that town. The building has been condemned and is a safety hazard. Proceeds from the auction will go to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Atlantic City. https://www.rawstory.com/2020/12/atlantic-city-offers-chance-to-blow-up-shuttered-trump-plaza-casino/ Steve Thomas

Bob, I'm not positive about this, but I think Pence presides over these proceedings, not McConnell. I wonder how many Senators are up for re-election in 2022. That will be an interesting battle. Edit: I looked it up. 34 out of the 100 seats will be contested in 2022. Steve Thomas

Would anything stop Ted Cruz from pulling this dirty trick to prevent Biden from being sworn in? By Mark Frauenfelder Dec 16, 2020 https://boingboing.net/2020/12/16/would-anything-stop-ted-cruz-from-pulling-this-dirty-trick-to-prevent-biden-from-being-sworn-in.html “On January 6, 2021, the U.S. House and Senate will get together to accept the electoral votes. If one House representative and one Senator decide to challenge the results, they are allowed to debate the votes for two hours, according to the Electoral Count Act. But the law isn't clear on whether or not the entire debate is limited to two hours, or if they can debate for two hours per electoral vote (all 528 of them). If Ted Cruz decides to debate every electoral vote it can create a delay that will set off a cascade of events that would prevent Biden from ever becoming President, according to Jeremy D. Mayer, an associate professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. From his essay in The Hill:” https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/530306-no-biden-hasnt-won-yet-one-more-nightmare-scenario “The Congress over which the old vice president will be presiding will be the new one, sworn in Jan. 3. The new House, narrowly Democratic, will vote down any challenge. But the Senate? Something very different could occur. Let’s suppose that the balance is 52-48 Republican. But Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have said that Biden won, so Biden wins in a close vote, right? And even if the Senate votes to uphold the challenges, the ECA has a tiebreaking provision — any slate of electors that is certified by their state’s governor will be accepted if the House and Senate disagree. Biden, again, would win. Thus, The New York Times assumes that Republican challenges to the electoral votes would be futile. But what if the Senate never finishes voting? The ECA limits each challenge to no more than two hours of debate. Four states were questioned in the lawsuit (Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania), making four challenges and eight hours of delay. Even in the Senate, eight hours of debate can’t last more than a couple days, can it? The law envisions the ability to challenge electoral votes collectively or individually. Surely a crafty legal mind like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) would challenge, not each state, but each electoral vote separately. And as a delaying tactic, why wouldn’t the Trumpers challenge every Biden state, even Delaware? The goal is not to win, the goal is to delay, to prevent the “tiebreaking” provision of the ECA from happening. Remember, the presiding officer under the ECA is Mike Pence. He can be expected to interpret the rules in a way highly favorable to the Republicans. He can help the GOP delay any resolution until about Jan. 18. Now comes the endgame maneuver. The Constitution specifies that if there is no Electoral College winner, the Senate chooses the vice president and the House picks the president. The Senate, claiming that there is no Electoral College result, picks Pence.” - more - Steve Thomas

Donald Trump's Lame Duck Temper Tantrum Tracker From Public Citizen "President Donald Trump’s administration is winding down, but his cruelty, recklessness and cronyism isn’t. That’s why Public Citizen is tracking some of his most corrupt, norm-breaking, dangerous, and unjust actions during the lame duck session. And we’re barely scratching the surface. From attempting to steal the election to gutting critical regulations to protect the public interest, Trump continues to put himself, corporations, and his cronies over the rest of us – and our democracy. https://www.citizen.org/article/lameduck/ Steve Thomas

Sound familiar? Value of Loeffler’s Mansion Dropped $6M Overnight—and Nobody Can Explain Why “The estate went from a $10.5 million appraisal to $4.1 million, resulting in a much lower tax bill for the senator and her husband.” By Sam Brodey and William Bredderman Dec. 16, 2020 https://www.thedailybeast.com/value-of-sen-kelly-loefflers-georgia-mansion-dropped-dollar6m-overnightand-nobody-can-explain-why?ref=home “When Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, bought a 15,000-square-foot Atlanta mansion known as “Descante” for $10.5 million in 2009, it was the most expensive private home purchase in the city’s history. The value of the estate, as appraised by Fulton County government officials for the purpose of calculating annual property tax dues, remained the same, $10.5 million, for the next seven years. Then, in 2016, the appraised value suddenly plunged to $4.15 million—a whopping 60 percent decline. The result was a dramatic cut to the couple’s property tax bill. Originally, they were paying $200,000 annually to the city and county governments. In 2016, after their home’s value dropped, they paid $90,000. Since then, the appraised value of the home has risen to roughly $5 million, but they are still paying about $80,000 less a year than they did when they first bought. In 2018, the home was valued at $5.5 million, and the couple paid $115,000 in property taxes for that year. In 2020, the home was valued at $5 million, with a tax bill of $112,000. The devaluation of the Loeffler-Sprecher estate, and lower tax bill, came after the couple invested significantly in improvements to the property. In 2015, they spent nearly $90,000 to renovate the kitchen, $150,000 to construct a new greenhouse, and $125,000 on various outdoor improvements, records filed with the city show. And it’s especially striking given that Atlanta was undergoing a real-estate boom at that time. Home prices in the metro area surged by 81 percent from 2012 to 2020, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.” Steve Thomas

Editorial: Shame on Nebraska officials for joining foolish Texas election lawsuit Editorial staff Dec 15, 2020 Omaha World-Herald https://omaha.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-shame-on-nebraska-officials-for-joining-foolish-texas-election-lawsuit/article_294a76e0-3e2d-11eb-adf1-679e649b82c1.html “Yet, presented with that scenario at a news conference before the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the case — would Nebraska have been involved were Joe Biden not the winner? — Gov. Pete Ricketts insisted our interest wasn’t political and he just wants other states to follow their laws.” “Bull.” “As Republicans who supported the Texas lawsuit go forward in their political careers, voters must remember what they did in December 2020 in hopes of denying 20 million Americans their most fundamental right, and what they did to erode confidence in the very elections in which their ambitions drive them to compete.” “It was shameful.” Steve Thomas

Smartmatic Demands Justice for Defamation https://www.smartmatic.com/us/media/article/smartmatic-demands-justice-for-defamation/ Boca Raton, Florida - December 14, 2020 - Smartmatic announced today that it is issuing legal notices and retraction demand letters to Fox News, Newsmax and One America News Network for publishing false and defamatory statements. The demand letters identify dozens of factually inaccurate statements made by each of the organizations as part of a “disinformation campaign” to injure Smartmatic and discredit the 2020 U.S. election. According to Smartmatic’s demand letters, these organizations could have easily discovered the falsity of the statements and implications made about Smartmatic by investigating their statements before publishing them to millions of viewers and readers. Smartmatic had nothing to do with the “controversies” that certain public and private figures have alleged regarding the 2020 U.S. election. Multiple fact-checkers have consistently debunked these false statements with stunning consistency and regularity. “They have no evidence to support their attacks on Smartmatic because there is no evidence. This campaign was designed to defame Smartmatic and undermine legitimately conducted elections,” said Antonio Mugica, CEO of Smartmatic. “Our efforts are more than just about Smartmatic or any other company. This campaign is an attack on election systems and election workers in an effort to depress confidence in future elections and potentially counter the will of the voters, not just here, but in democracies around the world.” Since its founding in 2000, Smartmatic has designed and implemented secure election technologies in twenty-five countries and helped election management bodies record over five billion votes without a single security breach, and where every single vote is auditable. Smartmatic’s only involvement in the United States in the 2020 election was as the manufacturing partner, system integrator, and software developer for Los Angeles County’s publicly owned voting system. Election processes conducted using Smartmatic technology have been praised by The Carter Center, The Organization of American States (OAS), the European Union (EU), and the United Nations development Programme (UNDP). Smartmatic is an approved vendor of the United States Department of Defense and a founding member of the Department of Homeland Security Council for the Election Infrastructure Subsector. In its demand letters, Smartmatic informed the organizations that it is reserving all its legal rights and remedies, including its right to pursue defamation and disparagement claims. Steve Thomas