Corruption, lies ... and democracy dies
Amid the constant din of Trumpsplosions in Washington and the sound of Michael Bloomberg blowing up the Democratic presidential primary, we learned that Jussie Smollett is still in trouble, winter is still here and the world remains so bananas that we have to ask: “What the (BLEEP) just happened?”
Senate Republicans who acquitted Trump did Nazi this happening: Freed from the chains of accountability — as if they were there in the first place — President Donald Trump spent the week showing that if you give him an inch, he’ll take the Department of Justice and turn it into his own stripmall law firm and start bailing out the crooked goons he calls friends.
Using Twitter to slam the judge who will be sentencing longtime Trump-partner-in-sleaze Roger Stone and to gripe about the prosecution’s sentencing recommendations, the president managed to get the four federal prosecutors on the case to step down in protest. It appears those attorneys possess integrity, a trait strictly forbidden under Trump’s imperial rule.
Continuing the president’s post-impeachment-acquittal, slow-motion Reichstag fire, Jessie Liu, a nominee for a top Treasury Department job, had her nomination revoked because she previously ran the U.S. attorney’s office that oversaw Stone’s prosecution.
Don’t worry, I’m sure this is all very cool and very legal, and there’s no reason for Republicans like Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski to feel like their decision to acquit Trump has in any way unleashed a lawless monster who is now coalescing power and casting out any and all who oppose him.
Clearly everything is going to be just fine.
Can’t wait for Obamacare to go away so we can have … nothing: Remember all those times Republicans have complained about Obamacare and how it’s just awful and needs to go away?
And you know how President Donald Trump has promised to kill the Affordable Care Act and replace it with something magnificent?
Just last March, Trump said: “The Republican Party will soon be known as the party of health care. You watch.”
And last June, he said: “We’re going to produce phenomenal health care, and we already have the concept of the plan. We’ll be announcing that in two months, maybe less.”
A funny thing happened — that announcement never came. And on Thursday we learned why.
Under questioning at a Senate Finance Committee hearing, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told senators the administration doesn’t have a plan. A lawsuit seeking to overturn Obamacare is making its way through the courts, and apparently Republicans are just going to wait around for a resolution before coming up with their “phenomenal health care” replacement plan.
Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey said to Azar: “We’ve been hearing about killing Obamacare since it was created. There have been years to have your own version of what it is. Why would you wait till there’s a disaster to then deal with the millions of Americans who have health care insurance?”
Azar’s response was that the court case will take a while, so they have plenty of time. An interestlexicon. ing approach by “the party of health care.”
Jussie Smollett back to being charged for making up attack: If you’ve been following the flummoxing case of “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett, I’m sorry. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
On Tuesday, Smollett was indicted on six counts of disorderly conduct alleging he lied to police about being attacked by two racist and homophobic Trump supporters in downtown Chicago.
In a statement, special prosecutor Dan Webb said: “Jussie Smollett planned and participated in a staged hate crime attack, and thereafter made numerous false statements to Chicago Police Department officers on multiple occasions, reporting a heinous hate crime that he, in fact, knew had not occurred.”
That flies right in the face of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s decision to drop previous charges against Smollett.
Now the question is what will end first: This torturous case, Smollett’s career or Foxx’s career.
BREAKING: Chicago gets cold during the winter: Ruining Chicago’s plans to rebrand itself “the Miami of the Midwest,” our relatively mild winter gave way to a polar blast that brought the word “subzero” back into the The late-week cold front required me to finally break out my “warm shorts” — aka, sweatpants — and hide away my finely sculpted man calves for the season. As the old Chicago saying goes, “It ain’t winter until Huppke’s calves are covered.”
Sanders wins New Hampshire, Bloomberg keeps lowering the boom: As the Democratic presidential primary lumbers along and the candidates begin to assemble their circular firing squad, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is spending gobs of money, driving his poll numbers up and kicking President Donald Trump right in the youknow-what.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, but Bloomberg — who wasn’t on the ballot in that early state — kept his focus on getting under Trump’s skin.
On Thursday, Trump tweeted: “Mini Mike is a 5’4” mass of dead energy who does not want to be on the debate stage with these professional politicians.”
To which Bloomberg replied: “.@realDonaldTrump - we know many of the same people in NY. Behind your back they laugh at you & call you a carnival barking clown. They know you inherited a fortune & squandered it with stupid deals and incompetence. I have the record & the resources to defeat you. And I will.”
Bloomberg remains a long shot, and there’s plenty in his mayoral history that’s concerning, but he has bottomless funds and an enviable ability to take the garbage Trump flings and toss it right back on the White House lawn. He may not win, but he will drive the president bonkers along the way.