Posts Categorized: Politics

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Slammed for ‘Pandering’ in Texas; ‘Stay in New York. Don’t Those People Need Your Help Too?’

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NY congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez angered her constituents by raising $2 million for Texans, while some New Yorkers are without electricity.

Constituents in Ocasio-Cortez's home district, NY-14, say they have no way of contacting the congresswoman because she doesn't have her own office or staff in her district -- even though she received a taxpayer-funded budget to pay for both.

Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC, raised $2 million for Texans impacted by winter storm Uri. She rushed to Houston, Texas on Friday for photo ops.

AFP via Getty Images

Twitter users were angry that she stood in front of Texas representatives Sheila Jackson Lee (left) and Sylvia Garcia (right) at the microphones.

Constituents in her home district in New York say they haven't seen her in years. They are told to contact her through social media.

Twitter user @WonderKing82 dragged AOC for failing to properly represent the voters who put her in office.

"I call for investigation in Alexanderia Ocasio-Cortez allocation of funds because she took government tax payers funds to open up two congressional offices and she never did. Three years later still no office for her constituents in the Bronx and Queens."

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Twitter user Karen Jean wrote: "Pure pandering, You have no empathy for anyone but yourself. Stay in New York, don't those people need your "help" too?"

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Twitter user @churchlady320 wrote:

"She claims to have an office. She hasn't staffed it. Had a social worker, someone not knowing how to fight GOP cuts, but I gather she's gone. AOC like every other Rep HAS A BUDGET for her district office. How has that money been spent? We deserve to know."

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And @DanaHoule tweeted:

"She's conducting herself and running her operation not as if she's NY-14's Representative, but like she's the United States' At Large Representative. Maybe her constituents will be fine w that. But personally I think she owes them more."

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Sen. Ted Cruz Returns to Texas Amid Backlash After He Flew to Cancun for Family Vacation While Texans Freeze to Death

CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Senator Ted Cruz is returning to Texas after a massive outcry on social media in reaction to photos of Cruz and his family jetting to Cancun this week.

4.4 million Texans are still without power or water after 5 days, thanks to frozen turbines and a bungled response by the state's power company.

"Keep your family safe, and just stay home and hug your kids," Cruz reportedly told Texans a day before he and his family jetted to sunny Cancun for a relaxing vacation.

"If you can stay home, don't go out on the roads, don't risk the ice," he told radio host Joe Paglialuro on Tuesday.

He also tweeted: "Stay safe! Please don't risk the ice."

A day later, a sharp-eyed taxpayer spotted the congressman waiting in a standby line at Houston airport to upgrade to business class where there is more leg room to stretch out on the plane.

Cruz requested a police escort through the airport on Wednesday around 4 p.m. He and his family were pictured at the United Airlines Lounge, and on the plane before departure.

Less than 24 hours later, Cruz hightailed it back to Texas after a furious public backlash.

He tweeted on Wednesday: "I got no defense. A blizzard strikes Texas & our state shuts down. Not good. Stay safe!"

He previously attacked the Biden administration's plan to take California’s energy policy and rolling power outages nationwide:

"California is now unable to perform even basic functions of civilization, like having reliable electricity. Biden/Harris/AOC want to make CA's failed energy policy the standard nationwide. Hope you don't like air conditioning!"
 

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Biden says Black people don’t know how to use the Internet to get Covid-19 vaccine

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Joe Biden upset different groups of people for different reasons during his first town hall as president in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Tuesday.

While discussing vaccinations, Biden claimed mRNA vaccines didn't exist when he was elected in November 2020.

"We didn't have a Covid vaccine when we came into office."

When asked how his administration will handle the racial disparities in vaccine distribution, Biden explained that Blacks and Hispanics don't know how to use the internet to find the locations to get the vaccines.

When a member of the audience asked if he would eliminate $50,000 in student loan debt, the president responded, "I will not make that happen."

Biden also raised eyebrows when he remarked on the increased rate of biracial couples in television commercials.

"Did you ever five years ago think every second or third ad out of five or six should turn on would be biracial couples? No, no I'm not, I'm not be facetious..."

He added that he was "hopeful" in the new generation: "They're not like us, they're thinking differently," he said.
 

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NAACP Sues Trump for Violating KKK Act by Inciting Capitol Riots

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Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

The NAACP is suing former President Donald Trump for violating the Ku Klux Klan act by allegedly inciting riots in the nation's capitol on Jan. 6.

"If we don't put a check on the spread of domestic terrorism, it will consume this nation and transform it to something that none of us recognize," said NAACP President Derrick Johnson in an interview. "We must, as a nation, prevent the spread of this type of boldness where [insurrectionists] will go to our U.S. Capitol and seek an act of treason."

According to Politico, the NAACP, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson and civil rights law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll filed a lawsuit against Trump, his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and two white supremacist groups, following Trump's historic impeachment acquittal on insurrection charges.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday morning in a Washington, DC courtroom, alleges that Trump and Giuliani collaborated with pro-Trump groups the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to incite riots and overthrow the United States government.

The lawsuit claims Trump and his supporters conspired to keep Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The plaintiffs claim Trump's remarks during his "Save America" rally "mobilized and directed insurrectionists to storm the Capitol building."

The lawsuit also alleges, Giuliani called congressional lawmakers individually, asking them to try to "slow down" the Electoral College vote count on Jan. 6.

Trump was acquitted of all charges in a historic second impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate. All 50 Democrats and 7 Republicans voted guilty, but 67 votes are required to convict.

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Trump Acquitted in Historic Second Impeachment Trial

MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump was acquitted by the U.S. Senate in his historic second impeachment trial on Saturday, Feb. 13.

57 Senators -- including 7 Republicans -- voted to impeach the former president on incitement of insurrection charges stemming from the Capitol riots on January 6. 43 Republican senators voted to acquit.

67 votes are required for a conviction in the Senate.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was shaken and outraged during a press conference following the vote to acquit. She lashed out at the GOP and called Republicans "cowards" for voting to acquit Trump.

"What we saw today was a cowardly group of Republicans," Speaker Pelosi said.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Pelosi becomes the first House Speaker in U.S. history to launch two failed impeachment trials.

Many Americans voiced their frustration that the Democrats wasted taxpayer dollars and time on another impeachment trial when they should be working to help unemployed Americans.

On Saturday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell -- who voted to acquit -- said Trump "spent weeks" provoking riots in the Capitol, and "didn't do his job" to stop the riots. He said Trump's actions "were a disgraceful dereliction of duty."

Win McNamee/Getty Images

"There is no question, none that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day. No question about it,” said McConnell, pictured with Pelosi on December 8, 2016.

McConnell hinted that Trump could still be tried for unknown offenses in the criminal justice system.

But Trump's legal team countered that the same senators sitting in judgment of Trump spent months encouraging rioters last year.

Some senators who voted to convict Trump for a second time donated cash to a fund to bond rioters out of jail to continue their mayhem and destruction. Dozens of people lost their lives during the riots that caused billions of dollars in property damage last summer.

Earlier in the day, before closing arguments were set to begin, the Democrats changed the rules and decided to call witnesses to testify.

But Senate Democrats folded quickly when Trump's legal team presented a list of 300 defense witnesses. Pelosi's name was first on the list followed by D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser.

Trump's lawyer, Michael Van Der Veen, planned to ask Pelosi and Bowser if they had advanced knowledge of a "planned attack" in Washington, DC on Jan. 6.

Van Der Veen said it's "very clear that... House Democrats hate Donald Trump."

The win was bittersweet for Van Der Veen, who told the press, "We demolished their case, and they were like a dying animal that we had trapped in the corner."

Van Der Veen said the senators failed to prove the merits of their case.

But he choked back tears as he revealed the win came at a cost. He said his entire family received death threats, his home was attacked, and his business and law firm were under siege.

Trump released a statement following his second acquittal on Saturday. He thanked his "team of dedicated lawyers and others for their tireless work upholding justice and defending truth" and he thanked "all of the United States Senators and Members of Congress who stood proudly for the Constitution..."

He added:

"It is a sad commentary on our times that one political party in America is given a free pass to denigrate the rule of law, defame law enforcement, cheer mobs, excuse rioters, and transform justice into a tool of political vengeance, and persecute, blacklist, cancel and suppress all people and viewpoints with whom or which they disagree."

He concluded his statement by saying the movement to Make America Great Again is just beginning and that he "has so much to share with you" in the coming months.

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Trump is First U.S. President in 150 Years to Refuse to Attend His Successor’s Inauguration

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On January 20, 2017, Joe Biden attended the Presidential Inauguration ceremony where Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. Former President Barack and Michelle Obama were also in attendance, and they gracefully welcomed Trump and his wife, Melania, to the White House afterwards.

Even Hillary Clinton, who lost a hard fought battle for president in 2016, attended Trump's inauguration because it was the right thing to do.

However, Trump will not be in attendance when Biden is sworn in as the nation's 46th president on Wednesday.

MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

The Trumps departed the White House for the final time early Wednesday morning. After a small ceremony at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, they flew home to his Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida, to spend the final hours of his presidency.

There will be no photos of the former and current presidents chatting in the Oval Office while their wives tour the private residence.

There will be no traditional handoff of the nuclear football between the outgoing and incoming presidents.

Trump becomes the first president in more than 150 years to refuse to attend his successor's inauguration or welcome him to the White House.

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Biden’s $1.9 Trillion ‘RONA Relief Plan Includes $1,400 Stimulus Checks

JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

The stock market reacted negatively to the news that Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan contains $1,400 stimulus checks.

The market was unhappy that the plan doesn't include the $2,000 that the president-elect promised if the Democrats swept Georgia in the Senate runoffs.

Biden announced his 2-step plan of "rescue and recovery" on Thursday, Jan. 14. The $1.9 trillion stimulus plan will include $400 billion for vaccine distribution and Covid-19 testing, $130 billion to reopen schools, as well as billions in economic aid to small businesses run by Black and brown people.

The plan also includes a hike in the minimum wage to $15 per hour, extending unemployment benefits and the federal ban on evictions, both of which are set to expire in March.

"We have to act and we have to act now," Biden said.

His proposed bill is more than double the $900 trillion recently passed by Congress that included $600 stimulus checks for Americans, while billions were sent overseas to foreign countries.

About those stimulus checks: Americans were expecting Biden to keep his promise of additional $2,000 checks if the Democrats swept the Georgia Senate runoffs in early January.

Instead, the plan includes $1,400 stimulus checks, on top of the $600 checks already sent out -- for a total of $2,000.

  • $400 per week in supplementary unemployment benefits through September.

  • $350 billion to bailout mismanaged states, cities and territorial jurisdictions.

  • $160 billion to create a national program to mobilize vaccinations to 100 million people vaxxed in the first 100 days of the Biden administration.

  • $30 billion to help landlords pay their bills while their tenants live rent-free.

  • $25 billion for childcare providers.

  • Expanded food assistance, expanded child tax credits, and expanded medical and family leave of absence for illness.

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    Open Post: Trump Impeached for a Second Time for ‘Inciting Violence’

    Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    The House has voted to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time by a margin of 232-197 for "inciting violence" in the nation's Capitol.

    In addition to House Democrats, top Republicans who voted on Wednesday to impeach Trump include Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming), Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois) and 8 others.

    Trump is now the first President in American history to be impeached twice.

    The article of impeachment accuses Trump of "willfully inciting violence against the government of the United States" in violation of his oath and duty.

    The voting began after a lengthy debate on the House floor that started at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. Thousands of National Guard secured the Capitol building and the grounds as the House debated Trump's fate.

    Afterwards, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the impeachment articles will be sent to the Senate immediately for a quick conviction.

    Hoyer blamed Trump for the political theater that overshadows Joe Biden's inauguration, scheduled for January 20.

    "The timing was thrust upon us by the actions of the president of the United States," Hoyer told MSNBC. "The fact that he is leaving should not divert us from holding accountable behavior which many of us believe is treasonous behavior and criminal behavior."

    If Trump is convicted by the Senate, he will lose the ability to run for office again, as well as his Secret Service detail, his severance pay, and a $1 million annual travel allowance, among other perks.
     

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    Open Post: Trump to Pelosi: We Have Your Laptop

    J. Scott Applewhite/Pool/Getty Images

    Retired Air Force Lt. General Thomas McInerney confirmed that a laptop taken from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during last week's Capitol riots is in the hands of military special forces.

    "I've seen the laptop our special forces took out," McInerney told a group of reporters at the White House on Saturday.

    Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

    Pelosi and other top Democratic lawmakers are in a state of panic after laptops, USB drives, and sensitive documents were stolen from their offices while they huddled together inside the Capitol building during the riots on Wednesday, Jan. 6.

    OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images

    Terrified Congressional staffers barricaded doors as lawmakers were ordered to evacuate their offices -- leaving their laptops and other sensitive documents unsecured while rioters ransacked their offices.

    In addition to Pelosi's missing laptop, an aide tweeted that a laptop that was "only used for presentations" was removed from a conference room.

    Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat, also reported a laptop was stolen from his office during the Capitol riots.

    Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    House Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from Brooklyn, is very vocal that President Trump be removed from office "immediately." Jeffries is the leading contender to succeed Pelosi as House speaker.

    "Donald Trump represents a clear and present danger to the health and safety of the American people, as well as our democracy," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "That's why House Democrats are united in demanding and seeking his immediate removal."

    Trump was permanently kicked off Twitter, Facebook and Instagram last week. The Trump campaign's email server was shut down by its host to prevent dissemination of sensitive contents. And conservative social media websites Parler and Gab.com were threatened by their hosts.

    Theft of property from Congressional lawmakers is a federal crime -- unless the theft is covered under a presidential executive order.

    In 2018, Trump signed an executive order calling for the seizure of assets from anyone who "directly or indirectly engaged in, sponsored, concealed, or otherwise been complicit in foreign interference in a United States election."

    Trump has loudly and repeatedly accused the Democrats of engaging in election fraud. But 60 lower courts found no evidence of voter fraud.

    "We have a constitutional responsibility to serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch," Jeffries told Meet the Press on Sunday. "Donald Trump is completely and totally out of control, and even his longtime enablers have now come to that conclusion."

    He said a resolution will be introduced on Monday, charging Trump with inciting sedition.

    "It's my expectation that on Monday, a privileged resolution will be introduced that will charge the President of the United States with inciting sedition."
     

     

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    Trump Considering Presidential Pardons for Rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black

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    President Donald Trump has 12 days left in office before he departs Washington, DC for good.

    It is customary for outgoing presidents to issue pardons for friends, non-violent inmates and VIPs who are convicted but awaiting sentencing.

    According to Bloomberg.com, Trump is considering pardoning rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black before he leaves office.

    Rapper Lil Yachty and Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson have pleaded with Trump to pardon Kodak Black, 23, who is serving 46 months in prison on firearms charges.

    Lil Wayne, who pleaded guilty to firearm possession in December, is awaiting sentencing later this month. He faces 10+ years in prison if Trump doesn't come through with a presidential pardon.

    Wayne was detained at a Miami airport in December 2019, after agents found a loaded gun, cocaine and opioids in a Coach bag on Weezy's private jet.

    Wayne shocked his fans by announcing he was endorsing Trump in the November 2020 election. The rapper paid the price for his political affiliation: in addition to losing followers and friends, Weezy lost his girlfriend, Denise Bidot.

    Trump will announce his list of pardons on January 2019, after clearing his things out of the White House.

    Trump's first round of 26 pardons in December included his friends Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and Charles Kushner.

    In addition to Kodak and Weezy, Trump may issue a pardon for himself -- just in case he faces charges after he leaves office. A sitting president can't be arrested or charged with a federal offense.