That's quite a statement coming from Ms Abrams, but it does not surprise me. Indeed, it reflects my opinion of voter ID requirements, an opinion I've stated repeatedly here on this august board.

Ms. Abrams concept of voter id is VERY different from republican's concept of voter id. Abrams does not require that the id be issued by the government. It could be a utility bill, credit card, library card, student id, etc. However, republicans want a government issued id i.e. driver's license, voter id card, gun license, etc.

McConnell has already stated that he can't imagine any republican voting for the Manchin's compromise. In any event, dems expect to put a bill (that I assume will include Manchin's changes) on the floor this coming Tuesday. Then we will see how much republican support it receives. If republicans were smart, they should sacrifice 10 senators to vote for the bill. Otherwise, Manchin will side with the other dems to do away with the filibuster and, if the filibuster falls, Katy bar the door because there will be a mad dash to pass the entirety of the Biden/democrat agenda before the year is out.

That's quite a statement about voter ID coming from Ms Abrams, but it does not surprise me.

Don't get to excited. From Manchin's perspective, the id doesn't have to be a government issued card. It can be a utility bill, library card, credit card, etc. that has the voter's name on it. Needless to say, republicans ain't buying it. McConnell has already announced that Manchin's changes are unlikely to garner any republican support.

Since the victors get to write the history, it's not surprising that historians will be kind to the victors. Only after an appropriate amount of time has lapsed, will different perspectives emerge. As with this story about Texas, so it is about Critical Race Theory.

Different people will view history through different lens. However, facts, supported by documentary evidence are uncontestable. From what I've read, the issue with CRT seems to have more to do with when children should be exposed to it. Personally, I don't think you should teach an American History class without touching on certain elements of CRT. Since high school is the last formal education that many kids will get, turning them out to the world without an true understanding of how things are the way they are is a disservice to the kid. Without that truth, people will be more susceptible to lies.

Of all the good things that Garland said, the thing that got an audible response from me was the statement: "Particularly concerning in this regard are several studies showing that, in some jurisdictions, nonwhite voters must wait in line substantially longer than white voters to cast their ballots."

Forcing non white voters to wait in line for hours just to vote has, for decades, been a tactic used to deter them from voting. Making voting easier during the pandemic revealed how much of a deterrent long vote wait times had been. As a result, republicans have renewed their efforts to suppress the non white vote by repealing pandemic era voting reforms that made it easier to vote.

I use to have hope for the GOP at local and state levels. That hope has been dashed because EVERY election is now nationalized; even school board elections. Republicans are putting in practice the war time philosophy of Winston Churchill:

"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender".

If while in office, any governmental official makes defamatory comments related to a personal matter or any matter unrelated to their oath of office, they deserve to be prosecuted once they leave office.

The oath of office is not just ceremonial, it defines the scope of their duties and responsibilities.

I find it interesting that some progressives in the HOR are now taking the position that they will not vote for an infrastructure bill that was passed by the senate if the sole purpose of which was to achieve bipartisanship.

In fact, it would be interesting if some of them send a message to Joe Manchin by taking the position that they would not support the infrastructure bill if West Virginia received any funding.

Two can play that game.

As one of us argued[1] when the lawsuit was first brought, Trump's strongest argument is that he enjoys absolute civil immunity for actions taken in his official capacity as president.

A POTUS, operating outside the boundaries as determined by his oath of office, is not operating in his official capacity as president.

Dotard did not just deny the accusations, he also called Carroll a liar, which is defamation. Had he simply said, "I have no idea what you're talking about, I did not do that," and left it at that, he'd have been fine,

Agreed! Also, a case could be made that the DOJ's position during the time that Trump was POTUS, was justified. However, now that he is just another citizen, the DOJ's continued support is untenable.

I hope that she is able to continue appealing until the SCOTUS rules.

Israel to Ask U.S. for $1 Billion in Emergency Military Aid

Not just no but HELL NO!

the GOP is running the risk of delivering only vituperative diatribes to their voters, instead of roads, bridges, and enhancements to social programs...

Not to worry. They will still get their roads, bridges, etc. because the dems will force through the legislation that will make their roads, bridges, etc. possible. Then, repugs will take credit for "bringing home the bacon" and their dumba.. constituents will rejoice.

Republican duplicity when it comes to taking credit for things they didn't support makes me wish for earlier days when earmarks were used. Congress critters that didn't support legislation were punished by not having their favorite projects funded and therefore could not take credit for something that they had nothing to do with.

Ok Joe Manchin. You were the one who said that you could work with republicans. What happened? Did they show you their collective arses? Now that you have been kicked in the teeth, what are you going to do about it?

Congress was engaged in a constitutionally prescribed activity that Trump swore an oath to protect. That oath sets him apart from the protections provided to ordinary citizens.

Unless the civilized world immediately bans all flights to and from Belarus, other tyrants will do the same.

Oh, sitting in the church parking lot across the street, talking to each other but not enforcing the laws.

The technology exists to know where every police car is and for how long it is there. The extent to which it has been implemented in each municipality is in question. If the higher ups in the police administration wanted, they could put a stop to this laziness and disregard for public safety.

Sen Booker of NJ has stated that applications to be NJ State Police officers is down 90%. If this continues, the size of the state police will decrease to a point that it will force a reconsideration of their role. Perhaps instead of riding the highways and giving out tickets, a different type of "agent" that is not as highly trained, armed or paid can handle giving out traffic violations and state police officers can get involved in dealing with some real crime.

It's a lovely way to dress up a massive handout to Comcast and AT&T ...

Not really. The small town I grew up in grew frustrated because the big ISPs would not offer the broadband that they needed in order to implement their economic growth plan. What did the town do? They built out and administered their own fiber network and assessed each homeowner a small amount to pay for it thus cutting out the big ISPs.

Let's suppose that the governor did sign the bill. How would the "infrastructure" i.e. people, procedures, etc. be put in place to administer the program and pay the bills if the legislature didn't provide a funding source? Does the governor have the authority to unilaterally transfer money from one funding source to pay for Medicaid expansion?

FTA:
Democrats and some health care advocates contend the additional low-income adults could be covered from the general pool of funds that was allotted for Medicaid.

Was there enough money in this pool to pay for the expansion?

These republican sleaze bags get an early start.

Vatican Warns Not to Deny Communion to Abortion Supporters

It is wise to keep politics out of religion and just as wise to keep religion out of politics.

If you're to be the spokesperson for the House Republicans, you should at least represent the majority view of the group. Viewed from that perspective, Cheney must go.

The real problem is that House Republicans have endorsed the big lie and are willing to support Trump, warts and all. Cheney and other republicans need to stand and fight for their party; announce and support candidates that will run in primary elections against incumbent Trumpists; run candidates in general elections that can siphon votes from republicans thereby throwing the election victory to democrats. Cheney and other non Trumpists must be willing to sacrifice short term gains to win back their party.

Time to deploy the same type of weapons on Russian personnel.

I place zero value in those appraisal companies.

If you are a seller in a hot market, the appraisal company can be your best friend or your worst enemy. If the buyer has to secure a mortgage to purchase the property, the mortgage company wants to know that the property will appraise at that value. If it doesn't, the mortgage will not be granted.

In certain NJ markets, buyers making offers well above the asking price. Sellers are word smiting contracts to stipulate that if the property appraises at a value that is lower than the sell price, the contract is still binding.

They gotta stick with Trump because Trump makes the base feel like winners!:

That's only part of why they stick with Trump. The other part is that, as the GA senate runoffs prove, Trump will torpedo the chances of any non conformist.

I think it revealing that Graham said that republicans can't win without Trump.

Why didn't Graham make a more positive statement ala "republicans can win with Trump"?

Graham's statement suggested to me that the republican party was being extorted and that unless they kiss Trump's --- i.e. ring, he will actively work against their re-election. Trump is banking on non-Trumpist republican office holders attachment to the party. If Trump goes against a loyal republican/non-Trumpist in the primary and the Trump candidate wins, the loyal republican should run as an independent in the general election thereby increasing the odds that the dem will win. Fight fire with fire.

The David Ignatius story revealing Mike Flynn's calls with Sergei Kislyak had been discovered
The WaPo story revealing that Jared Kushner's effort to set up a back channel with Russia had been discovered
The WaPo story revealing that Jeff Sessions had lied when he said he hadn't spoken to any Russians in his confirmation hearing

It's truly amazing that the Trump enablers were willing to use the apparatus of the federal government to investigate/prosecute their political foes yet Trump and others in their admin were doing everything in their power to destroy/discredit that very same apparatus.

pursuant to legal process the United States Department of Justice received toll records

Even more reason to putt Barr under a microscope so as to dissuade future AGs from becoming lap dogs of the POTUS.

Ok DeSantis! Your move.