Thanks pb4!

Bernie’s latest take on the Comey firing;

https://www.facebook.com/senatorsanders/

The issue regarding the firing of FBI Director James Comey is not complicated. For a number of years, Russia has been undermining democracies around the world through increasingly sophisticated cyber-warfare. There is no question that they played a significant role in the 2016 U.S. elections in helping to elect Trump. In a bi-partisan approach, members of Congress have demanded to know whether the Trump campaign may have colluded with the Russians in that effort. Last week, Comey made it clear that there was an ongoing investigation into that question. The New York Times reported today that days before he was fired he requested a significant increase in resources to pursue that investigation. He was scheduled to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee tomorrow. And yesterday he was fired. The key question is: What is Trump afraid of? Why did he want to torpedo Comey’s investigation? We need an independently appointed special counsel to tell us that.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/10/15610894/democrats-comey-senate-shutdown

Senate Democrats infuriated by President Donald Trump’s abrupt firing of FBI Director James Comey have begun weighing a “nuclear option” against Senate Republicans to try to force them to commit to an independent investigation of Trump’s ties to Russia — pulling a procedural move to halt all day-to-day activity in the Senate. In other words, going on a kind of strike.

Democrats are holding off on pulling the trigger — at least for now.

In several interviews Wednesday morning, Senate Democrats said they would not rule out taking this dramatic step to confront Republicans over Comey’s ouster. They did confirm that members of their caucus have discussed the measure — even if they haven’t decided yet if they want to go that far.

Already, at least three major progressive activist groups told Vox Wednesday that they are demanding Senate Democrats use every tool at their disposal, including this nuclear option, to force Republicans to cave on appointing a special prosecutor.

Donald Trump Is Attempting a Coup — We Must Have a Special Prosecutor

Trump is hiding something. Something extraordinary. To keep it hidden there is no end to the chaos he will stir at the highest level of government. Every day he lies lustily, as reflexively as the rest of us breathe, knowing some filth will stick. With each day he edges us closer to autocracy.

With the news of Comey’s sacking, the need is clear and more absolute than ever: We must have a special prosecutor to turn the stones over — or an independent and bipartisan commission with subpoena power and public hearings, like the 9/11 commission. Or both.

Trump’s presidency is deeply corrupted, our democracy is compromised, and the system of checks and balances is failing us.

He’s attempting a coup. No joke. We need the truth. Now.

Trump is dragging the the Republicans down with him. And it’s not that the Dems are beloved, it’s just that the Republicans are reviled. And this is before the Comey firing.

https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2456

American voters, who gave President Donald Trump a slight approval bump after the missile strike in Syria, today give him a near-record negative 36 – 58 percent job approval rating, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. Critical are big losses among white voters with no college degree, white men and independent voters.

Today’s job approval rating compares to a negative 40 – 56 percent approval rating in an April 19 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University and a negative 35 – 57 percent score April 4, his lowest approval rating since he became president.

By a 54 – 38 percent margin, American voters want the Democratic Party to win control of the U.S. House of Representatives. This is the widest margin ever measured for this question in a Quinnipiac University poll, exceeding a 5 percentage point margin for Republicans in 2013.

If Democrats had won control of the U.S. Senate in the 2016 elections, the country would be in a better place than it is now, 41 percent of voters say, while 27 percent say it would be in a worse place and 30 percent say it would be the same.

American voters dislike Democrats less than they dislike Republicans:

Voters disapprove 71 – 22 percent of the way Republicans in Congress do their job;
Voters disapprove 58 – 34 percent of the way Democrats in Congress are doing their job.

Well I just donated to Paula Jean

https://www.paulajean2018.com/

West Virginia coal powered a nation. Now it’s time for West Virginia to invest in ourselves. I’m ready to fight for Medicare for all, universal pre-K, free tech schools and colleges, and a multi-billion dollar investment in West Virginian infrastructure, industry and innovation.

I am a native of Mullens, West Virginia, and my coal mining roots run deep. I’m a coal miner’s daughter, granddaughter, niece and stepdaughter. As a child, I felt a deep sense of pride in our state’s coal industry. I felt pride that West Virginia’s coal powered our nation through the Industrial Revolution, that it ran our factories through World War II, and that it keeps us running today. America was built on our coal – it was built, in part, on the backs of Appalachians.

Like so many other families in Appalachia, my family paid a steep price for coal. I lost my grandfather to black lung, and I’ve recently seen my uncles diagnosed with the disease. Our health and lives aren’t the only prices we’ve paid as a region. We’ve also seen our beautiful streams and rivers polluted with toxins and watched the tops be blown off our mountains. The price we’ve paid is a high one – perhaps too high.