Sharpie-gate rears its head again. New documents out show definitively that Trump broke the law by tampering with maps to cover up a simple mistake.
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I am thankful for the leakers, because without them things would be so much worse.
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You are more optimistic than I. We now have permission to run crooked elections and a despot who will not give up this âkingdomâ. Plus a bunch of nuts backing him.
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Key House committee votes to reverse Trump administrationâs harmful changes to Endangered Species Act
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A second worker at Mexicoâs famed monarch butterfly sanctuary has been found murdered, sparking concerns that the defenders of one of Mexicoâs most emblematic species are being slain with impunity.
The body of RaĂșl HernĂĄndez Romero, a part-time tour guide, was found on Saturday, showing injuries possibly inflicted by a sharp object, according to prosecutors in the western state of MichoacĂĄn.
HernĂĄndez had been reported missing on 27 January in the town of Angangueo, in the heart of the federally protected Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, a Unesco world heritage site some 180km west of Mexico City.
His death came just days after the body of Homero GĂłmez GonzĂĄlez, who managed the El Rosario monarch butterfly reserve, was discovered floating in a well with a head wound. GĂłmez Gonzalez had been reported missing two weeks earlier.
Officials in the state of MichoacĂĄn said they were unsure if the two deaths were linked â or related to the menâs work in the butterfly reserve. The state has seen a rising tide of violence in recent years, and the region around the monarch butterfly reserve has been rife with illegal logging, despite a ban imposed to protect the monarchs, which winter in the pine- and fir-covered hills.
Some illegal clearcutting is also carried out to allow for the planting of avocado orchards â one of Mexicoâs most lucrative crops and an important part of MichoacĂĄnâs economy.
The deaths again called attention to the disturbing trend in Mexico of environmental defenders being killed as they come into conflict with developers or local crime groups, who often have political and police protection.
I feel a special connection with the workers in Mexico who are risking their lives to protect the butterflies. Each year monarchs migrate through our community and it is a breathtaking site â hundreds of thousands stream through the skies overhead. However, their numbers are dropping precipitously as described in this article.
A crucial decision will be made this December as to whether or not the Monarch should be placed on the endangered species list. This is yet another reason to oust the Trump Administration which is relentlessly dismantling our environmental protections. Should we fail to place the Monarch on the endangered list, that will undoubtedly embolden the forces in Mexico bent on clear cutting the butterfly preserves. And if we do manage to return reason to our environmental policies and flag this butterfly for preservation, it will open doors for partnering with Mexico to help them protect the preserve workers and the butterfliesâ habitat.
The number of monarch butterflies spending the winter along Californiaâs coast is at critically low levels â for the second year in a row. An environmental group said Thursday that the migration is at risk of collapsing.
Between 1994 and 2016, the eastern monarch population plunged more than 80% and a federal review found âa substantial probabilityâ of collapse in the next two decades.
According to Xerces Society, a non-profit environmental organization focusing on invertebrate conservation, the monarch population during the 2018-19 winter was at an all-time low. This yearâs numbers were no better.
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Between 1994 and 2016, the eastern monarch population plunged more than 80% and a federal review found âa substantial probabilityâ of collapse in the next two decades.
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The monarch has been pushed to the brink of extinction by habitat loss and pesticide use, Tierra Curry, a senior scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity, told CBS News last March. She fears climate change could finish the job.
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently considering adding the monarch butterfly to the Endangered Species Act. It will issue its decision in December.
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This would go under âI Really Donât Care, do you?..â and shows how T can not even stay standing for the National AnthemâŠHe makes a mockery of it. Yes, whereâs Kaepernick to comment?
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article239913588.html
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Most Trump clemency grants bypass Justice Dept. and go to well-connected offenders
Trump had the âperfect callâ.
Now Mike Pompeo claims his attacks on U.S. media are âa perfect message about press freedomsâ while he tours Central Asia speaking about increasing transparency and civil liberties.
It is⊠for an authoritarian regime.
SEAL Commander Who Clashed With Trump to Leave Early
https://news.yahoo.com/top-navy-seal-commander-resigns-140155604.html
The Lies We Tell About Soldiersâ Traumatic Brain Injuries
A combat veteran on what Trump doesnât understand about the âinvisible woundsâ suffered by soldiers in the Iranian attack
If you show most people an invisible wound, youâll get invisible compassion.
Trophy hunting event to auction âdream huntâ with Donald Trump Jr
Nevada convention to culminate with chance to hunt deer with âaccomplished conservationistâ Trump Jr and son
Yes, they really called him a conservationist. He isnât even a conversationalist.
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This doesnât relate directly to what just happened in Iraq, but I thought Iâd mention another trauma that is a challenge for our soldiers: hearing loss. Iâd never even thought about this until I happened upon a fascinating podcast from 99% Invisible.
The problem is that soldiers are subjected to a tremendous amount of noise from heavy machinery, combat training, and combat itself. Yet they canât simply put in earplugs because they need to be alert to everything around them and they need to communicate with their fellow soldiers â so they wind up getting pummeled by all the âbadâ noise while straining to hear the âgoodâ sounds. In the end, many struggle with hearing loss for the rest of their lives. â Another reason, to honor and show gratitude to those who protect our freedoms.
BTW, 99% Invisible produces amazing podcasts on just about any topic under the sun.
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I canât say I am surprised. My father had severe hearing loss due to his time in the navy.
I recently got hit hard when I found out something else about him also.
He passed in 2013, a year after my mother. I only recently discovered for certain it was from complications due to Agent Orange exposure and improper treatment of it (the VA had him on prednisone, something nobody should be on long term if avoidable, especially as a diabetic, which he was; what he needed was Humira, which he used to get when he worked for Abbott labs after he retired from the navy, before he retired entirely (24 years navy)).
Before he died, my wifeâs father asked him if heâd ever want a child of his to join the armed forces.
He said, ânoâ, but not for the reasons one might suspect.
As to the combat dangers (he was a medical corpsman in Vietnam), he said that anybody who enlists generally expects those.
No, it was the thing they donât tell you about: being poisoned and then abandoned by your country. Agent Orange. Gulf War Syndrome. Chemicals on the ships. Tainted water and housing on bases, including for families.
All of this needs to be fixed. We must do better.
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Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio has been selected as the next ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee by the House Republican steering committee, a GOP source tells CNN.
Jordan, a fierce defender of President Donald Trump, will replace Rep. Doug Collins, a Georgia Republican who is running for the Senate in a primary against Sen. Kelly Loeffler.
While the full Republican conference still needs to approve Jordan for the position, the panel usually supports the steering committeeâs recommendation.
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So Gym Jordan got a promotion. 
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This is an utterly shameful and inane ruling. An appeals court has struck down one of the Democratsâ emoluments cases on the basis that not enough of them to make a difference in a legislative capacity signed on to it. That should have NO bearing whatsoever on whether or not what Trump is doing is legal or constitutional!
Washington (CNN) - A federal appeals court on Friday dismissed a lawsuit by congressional Democrats alleging President Donald Trump violated the emoluments clause of the Constitution by refusing to allow lawmakers to review and approve his financial interests.
The ruling is a major triumph for the President, whoâs intensely sought to keep his business affairs in private, just days after the Republican-held Senate voted to acquit him on impeachment charges for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The caseâs dismissal effectively kneecaps one of several attempts Democrats have made to dig up more information about Trumpâs business holdings.
Before Fridayâs ruling the lawsuit was paused just as Democrats began subpoenaing the Trump Organization.
This emoluments case was one of three ongoing constitutional challenges to Trump and his business, alleging that the President is violating the anti-corruption emoluments clause. Two other emoluments cases attack Trump for his alleged competitive advantage at the Trump-branded real estate empire. Those cases are still moving through the court system.
The three-judge panel â Judges Karen Henderson, David Tatel and Thomas Griffith â was in unanimous agreement, saying the Democratic lawmakers lack the standing to challenge the President, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled.
The Democratsâ âclaim is based entirely on the loss of political power,â the appellate panel wrote in the opinion. âOur conclusion is straightforward because the Members â 29 Senators and 186 Members of the House of Representatives â do not constitute a majority of either body and are, therefore, powerless to approve or deny the Presidentâs acceptance of foreign emoluments.â
The Democrats originally filed the lawsuit in 2017, before the party held power in the House of Representatives.
âThe Members can, and likely will, continue to use their weighty voices to make their case to the American people, their colleagues in the Congress and the President himself, all of whom are free to engage that argument as they see fit,â the ruling states. âBut we will not â indeed we cannot â participate in this debate. The Constitution permits the Judiciary to speak only in the context of an Article III case or controversy and this lawsuit presents neither.â
The DC Circuitâs ruling could face additional appeals, including to the Supreme Court.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
If ability to legislate was always an issue, so many lawsuits would be tossed out. My wife tells me they could re-file with the current House majority, but still, this is stretching.
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More unfathomable news
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The Geraldine Assistant Police Chief isnât apologizing because Nancy Pelosi and âLeft-Wing Democratsâ would âhit a road-side bomb.â
He said it. He meant it. Heâs apologizing because he was called out on it and wants to keep his job.
What President Trumpâs company charges the Secret Service
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Griper-in-Chief
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Ah, our Whiner in Chief. When did the Republican party become the Party of Whiners? Remember this Republican? If I were to jump in a time machine and find myself in the 50âs, I probably wouldnât agree with many of his policies, but at least I would respect him for having a backbone â for sucking it up and getting a job done without sniveling.
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Climate change & healthcare go hand-in-hand; new extremes in climate mean new issues with healthcare.
This is a thread about my issue with cedar fever & how itâs far from just my issue. I am posting it here because the weather IS news now, and this is just one of the issues weâre going to have to deal with going forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6jGF6m6n4Q&feature=emb_logo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIT7zrvgD6k&feature=youtu.be
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Trump doesnât really respect members of the military. He uses them as props.
Masked white nationalists march in Washington with police escort
https://www.yahoo.com/news/masked-white-nationalists-march-washington-013740419.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Police escorted masked members of a white nationalist group on a march through Washingtonâs National Mall on Saturday that Metropolitan Police said occurred without incident or arrests.
More than 100 members of the Patriot Front, dressed in khaki pants and caps, blue jackets and white face masks, shouted âReclaim America!â and âLife, liberty, victory!â video of the march showed.
The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the Patriot Front as a white nationalist group that broke off from a similar organization, Vanguard America, in the aftermath of the deadly âUnite the Rightâ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.
At that rally, self-described neo Nazi James Fields drove his car into a group of counter-protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2018.
U.S. President Donald Trump drew criticism from his fellow Republicans as well as Democrats for saying that âboth sidesâ were to blame for the deadly 2017 incident.
Video of Saturdayâs march in Washington posted on the News2Share Facebook page showed occasional hecklers, but there appeared to be no organized counter-protest movement waiting for the Patriot Front as the group marched from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol grounds and later a nearby Wal-Mart parking garage.
They were accompanied by dozens of police, some on bicycles, but it was unclear whether the group had obtained a permit for the march. A spokeswoman for District of Columbia Metropolitan Police said it had no record of a permit for the march. Capitol Police and the National Park Service could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said that the âFirst Amendment demonstration was peaceful with no incidents or arrests.â
A story to watch:
North Koreaâs Secret Coronavirus Crisis
Kim Jong Un canceled a big parade with no real explanation just as South Korean press reports coronavirus has hit North Korea hard and could explode there.
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