Federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch picked for Supreme Court

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

President Trump nominated Colorado federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court on Tuesday, opting in the most important decision of his young presidency for a highly credentialed favorite of the conservative legal establishment to fill the opening created last year by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

Gorsuch, 49, prevailed over the other finalist, Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, also a federal appeals court judge, and Trump announced the nomination at a televised prime-time event at the White House.

Hopefully the Democrats will find a way keep this candidate from being appointed.  President Obama was at the helm when Justice Scalia died.   Obama was robbed of his Supreme Court appointment.   He chose Merrick Garland, a highly qualified judge.  Garland’s nomination was blocked.  Republican senator leaders announced that they planned to hold no vote on any judge nominated by President Obama, who had nearly a year more in office. What was the justification?  There was none that made any sense.

Turn about is fair play.   I know nothing about Judge Gorsuch but the appointment should go to Merrick Garland.  The Senate Republicans should have at least had the nads to vote no, rather than do nothing.

The Pill should be illegal????

MoonHowler

This clarity should be etched in everyone’s brain.   Many folks in the anti-choice movement are also opposed to contraception.

What should also be clear is that no one is “pro-abortion.”  People who favor abortion rights (and I am one of those people) believe that people have the right to make their own morally appropriate choice about reproduction.

I respect people’s personal opinions on the subject of abortion.  I just don’t respect anyone’s attempt to make personal decisions for me or to enact laws that take away my rights.

Subliminal messages {choke} from the DoD

MoonHowler

So when the Department of Defense on Monday tweeted this…

So when the Department of Defense on Monday tweeted this...

Buzzfeed.com (see above)

One just have to wonder if there is a connection between the message and POTUS.  Between the election and the inauguration  POTUS has used his Twitter account to attack no less than 30 people and things.

It wouldn’t surprise me if we don’t see more of this.  As POTUS attempts to censor more and more agencies, we will see more rogue messages.  Then perhaps POTUS will understand that he isn’t the only one with a Twitter account.  This dude isn’t too far off from being a dictator.

 

 

 

President Paranoid?

MoonHowler

 

Washingtonpost.com:

The way President Trump tells it, the meandering, falsehood-filled, self-involved speech that he gave at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters was one of the greatest addresses ever given.

“That speech was a home run,” Trump told ABC News just a few minutes into his first major television interview since moving into the White House. “See what Fox said. They said it was one of the great speeches. They showed the people applauding and screaming. … I got a standing ovation. In fact, they said it was the biggest standing ovation since Peyton Manning had won the Super Bowl, and they said it was equal. I got a standing ovation. It lasted for a long period of time.”
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Lies, more lies and offensiveness

MoonHowler

Huffingtonpost.com:

WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump told Capitol Hill leaders Monday evening that he lost the popular vote because 3 million to 5 million “illegals” voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to three sources in both parties familiar with the meeting.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that he lost the popular vote in November’s election because of voter fraud. There is no evidence of this, and none that millions of undocumented immigrants voted for Clinton. It’s a fixation for Trump, who won the election because of Electoral College votes, but has had trouble accepting that Clinton won the popular vote by more than 2.8 million.

“I don’t think he was joking,” said one person familiar with what happened in the meeting. “He spent 10 minutes on his win and said he won the popular vote, except 3 to 5 million illegals voted for” Clinton.

Another source confirmed Trump used the word “illegals,” considered an offensive term for undocumented immigrants.

First off, the term “illegals” is just offensive.  The President of the United States should not be using offensive language about any one.

Secondly, he didn’t win the popular vote because he got 2.8 million votes fewer than Hillary Clinton.  Yet he won.  Isn’t that enough?  Must he whine over the popular vote while he sits in the White House?  What kind of ingrate does that?

Thirdly, he lied.  Yes, he lied.  I don’t feel like making nice and calling it a falsehood.  He has no proof or even hint or suggestion that illegal immigrants voted.   The lying needs to stop and he will be held accountable for his lies.  The continual, verifiable lies are obvious and undeniable.  He doesn’t even care that we know he lies.  I suppose in his mind, he excuses it because of the megalomania personality.

 

The Women’s March: A brief glimpse…

MoonHowler

Thanks, Eric Byler
‘s

It is obvious that some folks here have no idea what a woman’s march is really like.  It has almost nothing to do with celebrities and stages.  That’s the boring part that most attendees don’t see.  The stage is what CSPAN shows you because that’s just what they do.

The real action  is on the streets and on the mall.  Saturday people reenergized and threw off their shroud of depression.   It’s pretty difficult to stop what happened here.  This march was surely larger than any of the three I attended in my pre-gimp life.

Women go home with a clearer idea of what they are personally going to do about the injustice they perceive.   Look at the crowd.  You will understand better.

Finally, don’t hold women to a higher standard than your president.  If you voted for Trump, you seriously don’t have any room to talk about how anyone else behaves.

#IcantKeepQuiet: A new Anthem

MoonHowler

We have spoken about the power of communication and the power of just getting together to share ideas…These young women didn’t meet until 2 days ago and they practiced their song online.

My brother sent me this video and yes, I cried.

Never underestimate the power of people coming together.  They can move mountains.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing.”
Edmund Burke

Some people are calling this song the anthem of the women’s march on Washington.

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Do not call for my tolerance….

MoonHowler

THE RESISTANCE
“I listened as they called my President a Muslim.
I listened as they called him and his family a pack of monkeys.
I listened as they said he wasn’t born here.
I watched as they blocked every single path to progress that they could.
I saw the pictures of him as Hitler.
I watched them shut down the government and hurt the entire nation twice.
I watched them turn their backs on every opportunity to open worthwhile dialog.
I watched them say that they would not even listen to any choice for Supreme Court no matter who the nominee was.
I listened as they openly said that they will oppose him at every turn.
I watched as they did just that.
I listened.
I watched.
I paid attention.

Now, I’m being called on to be tolerant.
To move forward.
To denounce protesters.
To “Get over it.”
To accept this…
I will not.
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Who says size doesn’t count?

MoonHowler

Newyorktimes.com:

The women’s march in Washington was roughly three times the size of the audience at President Trump’s inauguration, crowd counting experts said Saturday.

Marcel Altenburg and Keith Still, crowd scientists at Manchester Metropolitan University in Britain, analyzed photographs and video taken of the National Mall and vicinity and estimated that there were about 160,000 people in those areas in the hour leading up to Mr. Trump’s speech Friday.

Those are just Washington figures.  Consider all the sister marches around the world.  My guess is the new president and Congress are going to have a rough go of it.  That’s a lot of energy out there.

Not to snag and paraphrase a famous saying but…a sleeping giant has been awakened and she is pissed.

First Press Briefing: the press gets taken to the woodshed

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

President Trump used his first full day in office to wage war on the media, accusing news organizations of lying about the size of his inauguration crowd as Saturday’s huge protests served notice that a vocal and resolute opposition would be a hallmark of his presidency.

With Americans taking to the streets in red and blue states alike to emphatically decry a president they consider reprehensible and, even, illegitimate, Trump visited the Central Intelligence Agency for a stream-of-consciousness airing of grievances — including against journalists, whom he called “the most dishonest human beings on Earth.”

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Pink Pussycat hats soften the message!

MoonHowler

From the Washington Post  by Petula Dvorak:

The Women’s March needs passion and purpose, not pink pussycat hats

Please, sisters, back away from the pink.

Pink pussycat hats, sparkly signs, color-coordinated street theater, all of it is gleefully in the works for the upcoming Women’s March on Washington on Jan. 21.

And that scares me a little. Because all of this well-intentioned, she-power frippery can make this thing more Lilith Fair than Lilly Ledbetter. And the Women’s March of 2017 will be remembered as an unruly river of Pepto-Bismol roiling through the streets of the capital rather than a long overdue civil rights march.

This is serious stuff.

It’s about human rights. It’s about the way 51 percent of our nation’s population still gets less pay, less representation in elected office and in corporate corner offices, less access to health care, less safety and less respect that the other 49 percent of our deeply divided nation.

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Lights out

MoonHowler

Sigh.  I can’t add to this sentiment.

What on earth are we headed in to?

Thanks to the Obamas for their service to their country.  Thanks for bringing the country back from the brink of financial disaster.  Thanks for 8 years of dignity and a scandal free administration.  Thanks for the humor.  Thanks for setting a good example.

“Day of Tears”? I don’t think so!

MoonHowler

Ben Cline (above)

WTOP.com:

WASHINGTON —Abortion rights opponents want to pass a resolution in the Virginia General Assembly that would make Jan. 22 as a “day of tears.”

 The U.S. Supreme Court passed Roe v. Wade on Jan. 22, 1973. The law established a nationwide right to abortion.
Anne Fitzgerald, who is with the organization Day of Tears, said the resolution was “in memory of those babies that are not with us.” She said there have been more than 58 million abortions since Roe v. Wade.
The resolution, HR 268, was introduced by Republican delegates Benjamin L. Cline of the 24th District and Richard P. Bell of the 20th District. The resolution would not only designate Jan. 22 as “Day of Tears” but also encourage Virginia residents to lower flags to half- staff.
“On the morning of Jan. 22, citizens wake up and they’re driving around and they’re seeing people’s flags lowered, they’re going to ask who died,” Fitzgerald said.

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