Trump’s Embarrassing Electoral College Hustle

It is doomed to fail but would still set a destructive precedent.


The U.S. Capitol in Washington Photo: eric baradat/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

By The Editorial Board  WSJ

President Trump’s last and worst shot at overturning the 2020 election will come on Jan. 6, as the new Congress meets in joint session to tally the votes from the Electoral College. Mr. Trump wants Republican lawmakers to lodge formal objections to Joe Biden’s electors, and this kamikaze mission already has a few volunteers.

Here’s what would happen next, at least according to the Electoral Count Act: If a state’s electors are challenged by both a Senator and a Representative, then each chamber is supposed to retire to consider it. If they rejected the electors of enough states to deny Mr. Biden 270 electoral votes, then the House would choose the President.

But how could lawmakers justify throwing out electors for Mr. Biden? Although Mr. Trump keeps tweeting claims of massive vote fraud, his lawsuits have been rejected in court, sometimes by his own conservative appointees.

Any challenge to Mr. Biden’s electors appears doomed, since upholding the objection takes a majority in both chambers. The Democratic House would use the opportunity to excoriate Mr. Trump a final time on his way out the door, and grown-ups in the Republican Senate are unlikely to play along. Hence the Trump crowd’s latest argument: that the power to invalidate electors rests with the joint session’s presiding officer—Vice President Mike Pence.

A nub of truth here is that the Electoral Count Act might be unconstitutional. Originally passed after the contested-election mess of 1876, it purports to let a simple majority of Congress decide which presidential electors are valid, a power that’s hard to justify under the

Constitution or separation-of-power principles.

Reverting to the Constitution’s text, however, would be small help to Mr. Trump. The workings of the Electoral College were refined by the 12th Amendment, which says that the Vice President shall “open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted.” Where does that language give Mr. Pence unilateral authority to set aside electors? This can’t be what the Founders wanted.

In 1876, at least, there were competing electors that each claimed official imprimatur. In Oregon the Governor and the Secretary of State certified different slates. Florida’s outgoing Governor signed off on a group of electors, only to be reversed by the incoming Governor.

None of that ambiguity exists now. Self-styled Republican shadow electors held their own gatherings this month in some states that Mr. Biden won. But it was a purely extracurricular exercise. In Georgia the GOP chairman said it was intended to preserve Mr. Trump’s legal options, even as the state’s Republican leaders officially certified electors for Mr. Biden.

If Democrats tried a similar Electoral College stunt, Republicans would hoot it down. The closest recent analogue was after the 2004 race, when Democrats challenged Ohio’s electors, claiming they wanted to force a debate on voting reforms. Sen. Barbara Boxer joined them, delaying the ratification for hours as the House and Senate considered the objections.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi defended the exercise, saying that the discussion “should not be considered frivolous.” Rep. Jerrold Nadler thundered that “the right to vote has been stolen from qualified voters,” while allowing that irregularities “have not been proved to have changed the outcome.” Rep. Maxine Waters charged that Ohio’s “partisan Secretary of State, Mr. Kenneth Blackwell, I’m ashamed to say an African-American man,” failed to pursue voter intimidation.

What was the GOP’s rejoinder? “Some Democrats only want to gripe about counts, recounts, and recounts of recounts,” said Rep. Deborah Pryce. Then- Rep. Roy Blunt pointed to the substantial Ohio margin. “If we were taking this important time today to talk about a difference of 118 votes,” he said, “that might be justifiable,” but Mr. Bush won by 118,000. Then- Rep. Rob Portman dismissed “irresponsible conspiracy theories about what happened in Ohio,” adding: “I was there. It didn’t happen.”

Counts, recounts, and recounts of recounts—that’s a description of Georgia this year. The difference is that in 2004 Democratic candidate John Kerry conceded. “I will not be taking part in a formal protest of the Ohio electors,” he said. Despite reports of irregularities, “our legal teams on the ground have found no evidence that would change the outcome.” Does Mr. Trump want to depart by making people pine for the statesmanship of John Kerry?

Republicans should be embarrassed by Mr. Trump’s Electoral College hustle. Mr. Trump is putting his loyal VP in a terrible spot, and what do Republicans think would happen if Mr. Pence pulled the trigger, Mr. Biden was denied 270 electoral votes, and the House chose Mr. Trump as President? Riots in the streets would be the least of it.

Mr. Pence is too much of a patriot to go along, but the scramble to overturn the will of the voters tarnishes Mr. Trump’s legacy and undermines any designs he has on running in 2024. Republicans who humor him will be giving Democrats license to do the same in the future, and then it might matter.

Ecco perche' Trump e' disperato

NY prosecutor hires forensic accounting firm as probe of Trump escalates

By Shayna Jacobs and Jonathan O’Connell Washington Post,Updated December 29, 2020, 5:55 p.m.

Cyrus Vance Jr. is the Manhattan district attorney investigating President Trump's business dealings.Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News

NEW YORK — The Manhattan district attorney’s office has retained forensic accounting specialists to aid its criminal investigation of President Trump and his business operations, as prosecutors ramp up their scrutiny of his company’s real estate transactions, according to people familiar with the matter.

District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. opened the investigation in 2018 to examine alleged hush-money payments made to two women who, during Trump’s first presidential campaign, claimed to have had affairs with him years earlier. The probe has since expanded and now includes the Trump Organization’s activities more broadly, said the people.

Vance has contracted FTI Consulting to look for anomalies among a variety of property deals, and to advise him on whether the president’s company manipulated the value of certain assets to obtain favorable interest rates and tax breaks, said a person with knowledge of the investigation who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter remains highly sensitive. The probe is believed to encompass transactions spanning several years.

Spokesmen for Vance and FTI Consulting declined to comment.

Non e 'ancora finita. Anzi....!

(TWP)
Vice President Pence is about to be in an awkward position: Next week he’ll be presiding over the final confirmation that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.

Pence is supposed to serve as the presiding officer when Congress meets Jan. 6 to confirm the electoral college’s results. That’s got some Trump allies hoping they can find a way around the law to get Pence to actually award the election to President Trump.

Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Tex.) has filed a lawsuit in federal court trying to throw out an 1880s election law that governs Pence’s role in the process. He is not shy about why: He wants Pence to have total control over counting the votes from states, and then award the election to Trump.

It’s extremely unlikely courts will take his legal challenge seriously. Pence will almost certainly have to declare Biden the winner as his boss refuses to concede. Here are the limited options facing the vice president on Jan. 6.
First, what happens on Jan 6 and what Pence’s role is



When Congress meets to confirm Joe Biden won the election, Vice President Pence has an administrative role. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Under federal election law, states send their electoral college vote totals to Congress to be counted and confirmed. It’s the final confirmation that Biden won; after this, all that’s left is to inaugurate him. The process is largely a formality, since election law says Congress has to treat results from states approved by Dec. 8 as “conclusive.” This year, as in most years, all states approved their results by then.

But there is a mechanism that allows lawmakers to challenge those results. The Electoral Count Act was written to help guide Congress if there is a dispute in a state about which candidate won.

Except there are no disputes about who won in 2020. The electoral college certified all states’ results a few weeks ago.

Still, more than a dozen House Republicans will try to challenge results in several states that Trump lost. If they get a senator to join them, all they will accomplish is to delay the inevitable. After votes in the Democratic-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate, those challenges will ultimately fail. But it could be a long day/night Jan. 6.

It’s administrative. As the president of the Senate, he is supposed to preside over the joint session of Congress when this all happens.

The authors of this process were very aware that the vice president would have intense personal interest in who won. So his role is more symbolic than active. He is supposed to open the envelopes submitted by each state and say out loud how many electors go to each candidate. He’s not even doing the counting; clerks are doing all that for him, said Adav Noti with the Campaign Legal Center and an expert on this normally overlooked role. “They tell him what the numbers are [for each state], and he reports that back.”

At the very end, it will be Pence announcing the final totals — 306 electoral votes for Biden; 232 for Trump.
What Pence’s options are to challenge the votes



Congress meets in a joint session. (Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post)

Pence does has some authority, said Meredith McGehee, an expert in ethics in politics and the director of Issue One: “A presiding officer has one main power, and that is the power to recognize.”

Pence can recognize or not recognize lawmakers and electoral votes. To not recognize official votes would be illegal, and it would get knocked down almost immediately by majorities in Congress.

Still, let’s go there for a moment. As the electoral college was meeting this month, some Republicans in states Trump lost held mock votes that falsely claimed Trump won electors in their state.

Pence could refuse to recognize the clerks handing him the actual electoral counts. He could pull out those false Republican electoral votes and say he thought they were legitimate.

Such a scenario would be in blatant violation of the law (which is why Republicans are in court trying to get rid of said law.) And it would receive an immediate challenge from Democrats in Congress, who would likely have support from Republican leaders in the Senate. (Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) ‚the No. 2 Senate Republican, said that any challenges to official electoral votes are “going down like a shot dog.”) Congress — not Pence — decides to formalize these votes.

So in addition to being illegal, it would end pretty quickly.

But, McGehee pointed out, if Pence really wanted to do this, he “could potentially put the Democrats in a defensive posture to prove the election as opposed to Republicans.”
How this lawsuit factors in

It’s almost certainly not going anywhere. Courts across the country have been dismissive of less outlandish challenges to election law. That includes Trump appointees all the way up to the Supreme Court.

The lawsuit is literally suing Pence to get rid of the Electoral Count Act. That means the vice president — or more likely a Justice Department official — needs to respond.

How the Trump administration responds for Pence will broadcast publicly whether he’s planning to try to hold up Congress’s confirmation of Biden as the next president. Does he defend the law that restrains his power? Or does he agree it should be overthrown?

No matter what he thinks, unless the courts actually throw out a 150-year-old law, Pence will be relegated to an administrative role. Even if the law is overthrown, some experts think lawmakers would have to change the Constitution to give Pence more power in this process.

Basically, any attempt by Pence on Jan. 6 to assert more authority than simply reading out loud vote tallies would be illegal and almost certainly land him in court. And the law would not be on his side.

By Amber Phillips
 

Basta con la follia !

Questo e' il giornale preferito dell'editore australiano Murdoch, grande amico e sostenitore per decenni di Trump.

Anche il genero del presidente ha una sostanziosa partecipazione.





Mr. President, it’s time to end this dark charade.

We’re one week away from an enormously important moment for the next four years of our country.

On Jan. 5, two runoff races in Georgia will determine which party will control the Senate — whether Joe Biden will have a rubber stamp or a much-needed check on his agenda.

Unfortunately, you’re obsessed with the next day, Jan. 6, when Congress will, in a pro forma action, certify the Electoral College vote. You have tweeted that, as long as Republicans have “courage,” they can overturn the results and give you four more years in office.

In other words, you’re cheering for an undemocratic coup.

You had every right to investigate the election. But let’s be clear: Those efforts have found nothing. To take just two examples: Your campaign paid $3 million for a recount in two Wisconsin counties, and you lost by 87 more votes. Georgia did two recounts of the state, each time affirming Biden’s win. These ballots were counted by hand, which alone debunks the claims of a Venezuelan vote-manipulating Kraken conspiracy.

Sidney Powell is a crazy person. Michael Flynn suggesting martial law is tantamount to treason. It is shameful.

We understand, Mr. President, that you’re angry that you lost. But to continue down this road is ruinous. We offer this as a newspaper that endorsed you, that supported you: If you want to cement your influence, even set the stage for a future return, you must channel your fury into something more productive.

Stop thinking about Jan. 6. Start thinking about Jan. 5.

If Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler win, they will prevent Biden from rolling back what you have accomplished. A Republican Senate can pressure Biden against returning to the old, failed Iran deal, can stop him from throwing open our southern border, will prevent him from packing the court.

Now imagine a government controlled by your nemeses — Nancy Pelosi in the House, Chuck Schumer in the Senate, Joe Biden in the White House. How high will taxes go? How many of your initiatives will be strangled? And, on a personal note, do you think they won’t spend the next four years torturing you with baseless hearings and investigations?

Consider this. You came out of nowhere to win the presidency. Not an elected official, not a lawyer, not beholden to any particular faction of the swamp. You took on the elites and the media who had long lost touch with average working people. You changed politics, which is something few in American history can say.

If Georgia falls, all that is threatened. You will leave your party out of power, less likely to listen to what you have to say or to capitalize on your successes, such as expanding the Hispanic voting bloc for the GOP.

Democrats will try to write you off as a one-term aberration and, frankly, you’re helping them do it. The King Lear of Mar-a-Lago, ranting about the corruption of the world. President TrumpAl Drago/Getty Images

Securing the Senate means securing your legacy. You should use your considerable charm and influence to support the Georgia candidates, mobilizing your voters for them. Focus on their success, not your own grievances, as we head into the final week.

If you insist on spending your final days in office threatening to burn it all down, that will be how you are remembered. Not as a revolutionary, but as the anarchist holding the match.

Trump signs massive measure funding government, COVID relief

President Donald Trump's motorcade departs Trump International Golf Club, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Trump is returning to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump signed a $900 billion pandemic relief package Sunday evening, ending days of drama over his refusal to accept the bipartisan deal that will deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and avert a federal government shutdown.

The massive bill includes $1.4 trillion to fund government agencies through September and contains other end-of-session priorities such as money for cash-starved transit systems and an increase in food stamp benefits.

The signing, at his private club in Florida, came after a day of vocal criticism from Republicans and Democrats over his objections to the bipartisan agreement, which passed the House and Senate by large margins with lawmakers believing they had Trump’s support. His eleventh-hour demands, including a push for larger relief checks and scaled-back spending, had blindsided members of both parties. His subsequent foot-dragging resulted in a lapse in unemployment benefits for millions struggling to make ends meet and threatened a government shutdown in the midst of a pandemic.

Signing the bill into law prevents another crisis of Trump’s own creation and ends a standoff with his own party during the final days of his administration.

It was unclear what Trump had accomplished with his delay, beyond empowering Democrats to push for the higher checks that his party opposes. In a statement, Trump repeated his frustrations with the COVID-19 relief bill for providing only $600 checks to most Americans instead of the $2,000 that his fellow Republicans rejected. He also complained about what he considered unnecessary spending by the government at large.

“I will sign the Omnibus and Covid package with a strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed,” Trump said in the statement.

While the president insisted he would send Congress “a redlined version” with items to be removed under the rescission process, those are merely suggestions to Congress. The bill, as signed, would not necessarily be changed.

Lawmakers now have breathing room to continue debating whether the relief checks should be as large as the president has demanded. The Democratic-led House supports the larger checks and is set to vote on the issue Monday, but it’s expected to be ignored by the Republican-held Senate where spending faces opposition. For now, the administration can only begin work sending out the $600 payments.

Republicans and Democrats swiftly welcomed Trump’s decision to sign the bill into law.

“The compromise bill is not perfect, but it will do an enormous amount of good for struggling Kentuckians and Americans across the country who need help now,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “I thank the President for signing this relief into law.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the signing “welcome news for the fourteen million Americans who just lost the lifeline of unemployment benefits on Christmas Weekend, and for the millions more struggling to stay afloat during this historic pandemic and economic crisis.”

But others slammed Trump’s delay in turning the bill into law. In a tweet, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., accused Trump of having “played Russian roulette with American lives. A familiar and comfortable place for him.”

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would offer Trump’s proposal for $2,000 checks for a vote in Senate — putting Republicans on the spot.

“The House will pass a bill to give Americans $2,000 checks. Then I will move to pass it in the Senate,” Schumer tweeted. “No Democrats will object. Will Senate Republicans?”

Democrats are promising more aid to come once President-elect Joe Biden takes office, but Republicans are signaling a wait-and-see approach.

In the face of growing economic hardship, spreading disease and a looming shutdown, lawmakers on Sunday had urged Trump to sign the legislation immediately, then have Congress follow up with additional aid. Aside from unemployment benefits and relief payments to families, money for vaccine distribution, businesses and more was on the line. Protections against evictions also hung in the balance.

“What the president is doing right now is unbelievably cruel,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. “So many people are hurting. ... It is really insane and this president has got to finally ... do the right thing for the American people and stop worrying about his ego.”

Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said he understood that Trump “wants to be remembered for advocating for big checks, but the danger is he’ll be remembered for chaos and misery and erratic behavior if he allows this to expire.”

Toomey added: “So I think the best thing to do, as I said, sign this and then make the case for subsequent legislation.”

The same point was echoed by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican who’s criticized Trump’s pandemic response and his efforts to undo the election results. “I just gave up guessing what he might do next,” he said.

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said too much is at stake for Trump to “play this old switcheroo game.”

“I don’t get the point,” he said. “I don’t understand what’s being done, why, unless it’s just to create chaos and show power and be upset because you lost the election.”

Washington had been reeling since Trump turned on the deal. Fingers pointed at administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, as lawmakers tried to understand whether they were misled about Trump’s position.

“Now to be put in a lurch, after the president’s own person negotiated something that the president doesn’t want, it’s just — it’s surprising,” Kinzinger said.

Kinzinger spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union,” and Hogan and Sanders on ABC’s “This Week.”

Mascaro and Taylor reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Alexandra Olson in New York contributed to this report.

Nashville - Babbo Natale regala due case a una donna di 29 anni e poi si suicida con una potente bomba

 Daily Mail

REVEALED: 'Nashville bomber', 63, signed over TWO homes to mother, 29, who says she had no idea he had given his current $160K property to her for FREE a month ago as feds raid it and say explosion was likely suicide bombing

• The explosion occurred on 2nd Avenue in Nashville's downtown at 6.40am on Christmas morning; three people were injured and severe damage was reported
• Cops had been called to the area a short time before the blast amid reports of a shooting
• However, when they arrived at the scene they discovered a parked RV playing a recording which claimed the vehicle would explode   
• The incident has led investigators on a wild chase to determine the identity of the RV's owner
• On Saturday, reports surfaced that local man Anthony Quinn Warner was a person of interest
• He reportedly owned a white RV similar to the one which exploded, and federal agents were seen outside his house, removing items from the basement of the home
• Officlas now say they believe the blast was he result of a suicide bombing 
• Authorities will swab Warner's mother to determine if he is a match to the remains found at the bomb site
• Now, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal he gave his house for free last month 
• Michelle Swing, a 29-year-old woman living in Los Angeles, was given the house but it is not known whether she had ever met Warner or whether she had family links to him

By Frances Mulraney and Ben Ashford and Andrew Court For Dailymail.com

 

A 29-year-old mother who was given two homes for free by the man identified as a person of interest in the Nashville Christmas Day bombing has said she had no knowledge of the property exchange, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.

Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, signed a $160,000 property away last month via a quitclaim deed to Michelle Swing, a 29-year-old woman living in Los Angeles, for $0.00, according to county records.

Swing’s signature does not appear on the November 25th transfer and she told DailyMail.com she knew absolutely nothing about it.

‘In the state of Tennessee you can deed property to someone else without their consent or their signature or anything,’ Swing told DailyMail.com

'I didn't even buy the house he just deeded it over to me without my knowledge. So this all very weird to me, that’s about all I can say.'

However, Warner also transfered another home on Bakertown Road to Swing via a quitclaim deed last year. 

The $249,000 house had previously belonged to his father who passed away in 2011 and Warner had only been in possession of it for five months before again giving it to Swing for free. He had also previously registered a security alarm business at this address.  

Swing declined to say whether she had ever met Warner or whether she had family links to him, adding: ‘I've been told to direct everything else to FBI.’  

FBI agents swarmed the $160,000 property on Saturday morning in their hunt for the mystery RV driver behind the devastating blast outside Nashville’s AT&T building.

The Christmas morning explosion is now thought to have been the result of a suicide bombing after it was revealed that human remains had been recovered at the scene and officials said they were not looking for another suspect.  

They did not identify a suspect but unmarried Warner has been named in media reports and a vehicle matching the one used in the bombing is seen parked up beside the two-bed house in Google street view images.

According to Newsweek, authorities will swab Warner's mother to determine if he is a match to the remains found at the bomb site. 

The second home that Warner had transferred to Swing was also located on Bakertown Road just a short walk from the house raided on Saturday.  

The transfer took place in January 2019, just months after he had aquired the house in an intrafamily exchange from a Charles Warner, believed to be his father.

Charles died in 2011, according to an obituary, which also list Warner has having a brother and sister.  

Swing's address in the records is listed as Lenoir City, Tennesse, a two-hour drive from Nashville.  

The DailyBeast added that suspect Warner was previously arrested in Januray 1978 and found guilty on an unspecified felony charge in 1980. 

He has been described as an 'oddball' by neighbors, some of whom had reported seeing the RV used in the explosion parked outside of his home. 

Tony Rodriguez lives in the second home within the duplex that agents raided on Saturday but told the Washington Post that he never spoke to his neighbor and did not know his name. 

He alleged that Warner kept 'No Trespassing' signs around the home, especially around the RV, and was often seen tinkering with antenna above the house. 

Rodriguez also claimed that investigators had taken a computer motherboard from Warner's house during the search. 

Nashville explosion: ‘Intentional’ blast leaves ‘multiple casualties’ as cops warned of ‘more devices in vehicles’

 

'IT FELT LIKE A BOMB'

A HUGE Christmas Day explosion in Nashville has left "multiple casualties" as cops warned of "more devices in vehicles."

According to reports, investigators believe that the Friday morning explosion was an "intentional act."

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Vehicles were destroyedCredit: News Channel 5

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The explosion happened near Commerce StreetCredit: Metro Nashville PD

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Roughly 30 people were evacuatedCredit: AP:Associated Press

Nashville police said: "This appears to have been an intentional act. Law enforcement is closing downtown streets as investigation continues."

Cops were reportedly en route to the suspicious vehicle when it exploded.

Roughly 30 people were evacuated from upper lofts on Second and Broadway near Commerce Street in Tennessee.

The bomb squad is now requesting the fire department to put out small fires so that they can investigate what has happened.

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The explosion took place at roughly 5.40amCredit: AP:Associated Press

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A bomb squad is now involvedCredit: AP:Associated Press

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A K-9 team were also on the sceneCredit: AP:Associated Press

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is sending agents and an Accelerant Detection K9 have also been sent to help investigate.

Special operations confirmed that they have received information that there could be additional devices in vehicles.

People have been advised to steer clear of vehicles in the downtown area.

The explosion led one building to collapse, and vehicles on the road have reportedly caught on fire.

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Downtown windows are broken following an explosion in the areaCredit: AP:Associated Press

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Smoke was billowing from the buildingsCredit: AP:Associated Press

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Emergency personnel stand near the sceneCredit: AP:Associated Press

Buildings shook in the immediate area and beyond after the loud boom.

The blast caused "heavy structural damage" and glass and steel to shatter "everywhere," according to Nashville Fire radio traffic.

Police spokesman Don Aaron said three people were taken to area hospitals for treatment, although none were in critical condition.

The incident occurred at around 5.40am and heavy black smoke was seen rising from the area, WKRN reported.

"There is an incident involving an explosion. This is an active scene," the Nashville Fire Department said in a statement.

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The blast happened in Nashville, TennesseeCredit: WKRN

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The explosion happened on Christmas DayCredit: google maps

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Firefighters were at the scene on Christmas DayCredit: Nashville Fire Department

"Metro Nashville Police Department and Nashville Fire Department are on the scene. There are no additional details to provide at this time."

Michael Knight, a spokesman for the the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said: "Right now, it’s a public safety concern, to make sure everybody is accounted for and to make sure the spread of the fire doesn’t go any further."

Buck McCoy, who lives near the area, posted videos on Facebook that show water pouring down the ceiling of his home.

Alarms blare in the background and cries of people in great distress ring in the background. A fire is visible in the street outside. McCoy said the windows of his home were entirely blown out.

Speriamo che non sia l'inizio di altri episodi di terrorismo domestico.

Gli americani hanno dimenticato l'auto bomba che nel 1995 a Oklahoma City ha ucciso 168 persone ad opera di due appartenenti a un movimento di estrema destra.

_________________________________________________

Police: Explosion in Nashville may have been “intentional”

7 minutes ago

1 of 5

Plumes of smoke rise next to the Regions Building near the explosion reported in the area on Friday, Dec. 25, 2020 in Nashville, Tenn. Buildings shook in the immediate area and beyond after a loud boom was heard early Christmas morning. (Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean via AP)

NASHVILLE (AP) —

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

The Metro Nashville Police Department says authorities believe an explosion that rocked the downtown area early on Christmas Day was a deliberate act. Police spokesman Don Aaron said about three hours after the explosion shook the area that investigators believe it was “an intentional act.” Police earlier said they believe a vehicle was involved in the explosion.

NASHVILLE (AP) — An explosion linked to a vehicle rocked downtown Nashville on Christmas morning, sending shattered glass and debris over a wide area and rocking nearby buildings.

The Metro Nashville Police Department said via Twitter that the explosion occurred at 6:30 a.m. Friday and that state and federal authorities were on the scene, as were emergency crews including the fire department.

Black smoke and flames were seen early Friday billowing from the area, which is packed with bars, restaurants and other retail establishments and is known as the heart of downtown Nashville’s tourist scene.

ADVERTISEMENT

Buildings shook in the immediate area and beyond after a loud boom was heard.

The Metro Nashville Office of Emergency Management told Nashville television station WKRN that a parked recreational vehicle exploded and damaged several buildings. No injuries were immediately reported. The station also quoted officials as saying the explosion did not seem suspicious. The fire department sent out a tweet asking residents and others to avoid the area.

Buck McCoy, who lives near the area, posted videos on Facebook that show water pouring down the ceiling of his home. Alarms blare in the background and cries of people in great distress ring in the background. A fire is visible in the street outside. McCoy said the windows of his home were entirely blown out.

“All my windows, every single one of them got blown into the next room. If I had been standing there it would have been horrible,” he said.

“It felt like a bomb. It was that big,” he told The Associated Press.

“There were about four cars on fire. I don’t know if it was so hot they just caught on fire, and the trees were all blown apart,” he said.

___

Associated Press writer Thalia Beaty contributed from New York.

" Noi parliamo molto, ma siamo spesso analfabeti di bontà"

Un papa che dimostra tutti i suoi 84 anni, affaticato, a corto di fiato, ha voluto questa Messa della vigilia di Natale,  anticipata alle 19:30 ora italiana per consentire ai pochi partecipanti autorizzati di rientrare prima del lockdown. Noi l'abbiamo seguita da Washington alle nostre 1:30 del pomeriggio su Youtube.

Papa Francesco ha insistito perché, nonostante la maestosità della basilica di San Pietro, il tono  e la struttura della Santa Messa fossero in chiave ridotta.

I tempi tragici che stiamo vivendo non consentono certamente le grandiosità celebrative alle quali avevamo assistito in altre occasioni negli anni passati.

Questa Messa della vigilia avrebbe potuto essere celebrata in qualcuna delle tante chiese romane per l'assenza di orpelli, di super cori ridondanti, di pennacchi e ori sui cardinali.

Quando ha dato inizio alla lettura dell'omelia Papa Francesco ha ritrovato quell'energia che dal 2013 caratterizza il suo pontificato in mezzo alle immense difficoltà che si frappongono alla sua azione, in gran parte  determinate proprio da quella componente cosiddetta cattolica che trova tra i suoi esponenti di spicco l'ex Nunzio a Washington Viganò e il consulente di Trump Steve Bannon cui viene fatta risalire una campagna di manifesti murali contro Francesco oltre ad altre iniziative americane anti Francesco sostenute con abbondante disponibilità finanziaria.

Il messaggio di Papa Francesco è un messaggio di riscoperta della pace tra gli uomini, invito questo quanto mai attuale in un momento in cui, ad esempio negli Stati Uniti, il divisionismo politico e sociale ha raggiunto livelli di grande pericolosità per la salvaguardia di sicurezza delle stesse fondamenta democratiche.

Questa una parte dell'omelia di papà Francesco:

"La nascita di Gesù è la novità che ci permette ogni anno di rinascere dentro, di trovare in Lui la forza per affrontare ogni prova. Sì, perché la sua nascita à per noi: per me, per te, per tutti e ciascuno ha detto Papa Francesco nell'omelia della Messa di Natale anticipata alle 19.30 per consentire a tutti di tornare a casa entro le 22, orario in cui comincia il coprifuoco.

"Solo l'amore di Gesù trasforma la vita, guarisce le ferite più profonde, libera dai circoli viziosi dell'insoddisfazione, della rabbia e della lamentela" "Oggi Dio ci dice di non perderci d'animo, nelle prove è con noi", ha detto, "Dio ci libera dai circoli viziosi, dalla rabbia e dalle lamentele"

"Noi uomini parliamo molto, ma siamo analfabeti di bontà"

"Servendo i poveri ameremo lui, questo dice Dio"
"Aiutiamo gli altri invece di piangerci addosso"

Il "tenero pianto" di Cristo bambino "ci fa capire quanto sono inutili tanti nostri capricci. E ne abbiamo tanti. Il suo amore disarmato e disarmante ci ricorda che il tempo che abbiamo non serve a piangerci addosso, ma a consolare le lacrime di chi soffre"

"Il Figlio di Dio è nato scartato per dirci che ogni scartato è figlio di Dio. È venuto al mondo come viene al mondo un bimbo, debole e fragile, perché noi possiamo accogliere con tenerezza le nostre fragilità" - ha continuato il Papa nell'omelia della Messa di Natale. "Anche con noi Dio ama fare grandi cose attraverso le nostre povertà. Ha messo tutta la nostra salvezza nella mangiatoia di una stalla e non teme le nostre povertà: lasciamo che la sua misericordia trasformi le nostre miserie!", ha aggiunto il Papa.
"Dio ci ama da morire"

"Siamo figli amati": è questo il messaggio che porta il Natale ed è più forte di qualsiasi preoccupazione. Lo ha detto il papa nell'omelia della Messa di Natale. "È questo il cuore indistruttibile della nostra speranza, il nucleo incandescente che sorregge l'esistenza: al di sotto delle nostre qualità e dei nostri difetti, più forte delle ferite e dei fallimenti del passato, delle paure e dell'inquietudine per il futuro, c'è questa verità: siamo figli amati".
"Affamati di successo, restiamo con il vuoto dentro"

Il Pontefice tuona nuovamente contro gli atteggiamenti mondani, quelli che portano a dimenticare la mangiatoia di Betlemme e che ci fanno immergere in 'mangiatoie di vanità':  

"A Betlemme, che significa 'Casa del pane', Dio sta in una mangiatoia, come a ricordarci che per vivere abbiamo bisogno di Lui come del pane da mangiare. Abbiamo bisogno di lasciarci attraversare dal suo amore gratuito, instancabile, concreto. Quante volte invece, affamati di divertimento, successo e mondanità, alimentiamo la vita con cibi che non sfamano e lasciano il vuoto dentro! E vero: insaziabili di avere, ci buttiamo in tante mangiatoie di vanità, scordando la mangiatoia di Betlemme. Quella mangiatoia, povera di tutto e ricca di amore, insegna che il nutrimento della vita è lasciarci amare da Dio e amare gli altri. Gesù ci dà l'esempio: Lui, il Verbo di Dio, è infante; non parla, ma offre la vita".  

Quindi l'affondo a chi predica solidarietà ma poi non la mette in pratica: 

" Noi parliamo molto, ma siamo spesso analfabeti di bontà" (Repubblica)

A President Unhappy, Unleashed and Unpredictable

President Trump remains the most powerful man in the world, but powerless to achieve what he most wants: to avoid leaving office as a loser.


 

President Trump returning to the White House after the Army-Navy football game this month. He has made few public appearances in the past few weeks.Credit...Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times


By Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt


With four weeks left in President Trump’s term, he is at perhaps his most unleashed — and, as events of the past few days have demonstrated, at the most unpredictable point in his presidency.

He remains the most powerful person in the world, yet he is focused on the one area in which he is powerless to get what he wants: a way to avoid leaving office as a loser.

He spends his days flailing for any hope, if not of actually reversing the outcome of the election then at least of building a coherent case that he was robbed of a second term.

When he has emerged from his relative isolation in recent days, it has been to suggest out of the blue that he would try to blow up the bipartisan stimulus package, driving a wedge through his party in the process, and to grant clemency to a raft of allies and supporters, mostly outside the normal Justice Department process. On Wednesday, he vetoed a defense bill backed by most of his party.

He has otherwise sequestered himself in the White House, playing host to a cast of conspiracy theorists and hard-core supporters who traffic in ideas like challenging the election’s outcome in Congress and even invoking martial law, seeking to give some of them government jobs.

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He is almost entirely disengaged from leading the nation even as Americans are being felled by the coronavirus at record rates. Faced with an aggressive cyberassault almost surely carried out by Russia, his response, to the degree that he has had one, has been to play down the damage and to contradict his own top officials by suggesting that the culprit might actually have been China. He played almost no role in negotiating the stimulus bill that just passed Congress before working to disrupt it at the last minute.

It is not clear that Mr. Trump’s latest behavior is anything other than a temper tantrum, attention seeking or a form of therapy for the man who controls a nuclear arsenal — though one alternative, if charitable, view is that it is strategic groundwork for a grievance-filled run in 2024.

If nothing else, it will make for an especially anxious next 27 days in Washington.

This article is based on interviews with more than a dozen current and former Trump administration officials, Republicans and allies of the president.

Most of his advisers believe Mr. Trump will depart the White House for a final time by Jan. 20. The pardons he announced Tuesday night suggest he is comfortable using his powers aggressively until then. But how far he will go to subvert the election results, actually refuse to leave the White House or to unleash a wave of unilateral policy decisions in his final weeks is hard to discern.

Still, his erratic behavior and detachment from his duties have even some of his most loyal aides and advisers deeply concerned.

For the moment, Mr. Trump has told advisers he is willing to stop listening to Sidney Powell, the lawyer who has appealed to him by peddling a conspiracy theory about the election, and people like Patrick Byrne, the former chief executive of Overstock.com, who was present for a wild, nearly five-hour meeting in the Oval Office and then the presidential residence last Friday.

But current advisers have described a daily struggle to keep Mr. Trump from giving in to his impulse to listen to those who are telling him what he wants to hear. And former advisers say the most worrisome issue is the gradual disappearance of the core group of West Wing aides who, often working in unison, consistently could get him to turn away from risky, legally dubious and dangerous ideas.

“The number of people who are telling him things he doesn’t want to hear has diminished,” said his former national security adviser John R. Bolton, who had a very public parting of ways with Mr. Trump and who has been vocal in objecting to the president’s thrashing against his electoral loss.
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Mr. Trump has turned to aides like Peter Navarro, a trade adviser who has been trying to gather evidence of election fraud to bolster his boss’s claims. And he is listening to Republicans who insist that Vice President Mike Pence could help sway the election during the normally routine process of ratifying the election early next month, despite the fact that it is not realistically possible.

Among Republicans on Capitol Hill, there is talk of clamping down on any of his supporters who might try to disrupt that process, a possibility made real by the president’s importuning of Senator-elect Tommy Tuberville of Alabama to gum up the works.

Yet it is not certain that Mr. Tuberville will carry through the president’s desires, and even he if does, there is the possibility that Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, could step in to prevent such a move. Mr. McConnell has already urged his caucus not to raise objections when the results are certified because it would force others to publicly vote against the president.

Even in the best of times, Mr. Trump has searched for — and required — reinforcements from people outside the White House in support of whatever his aides will go along with.

But in the White House, the president is turning on his closest of allies. He has complained to allies that Mr. Pence, who has been mocked for unflinching loyalty over the past four years, should be doing more to defend him. And he is angry that Mr. McConnell has recognized President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. as the winner of the election.

This week, Mr. Trump had an assistant send a chart featuring the timing of his endorsement of Mr. McConnell overlaid on polling data to claim he was responsible for Mr. McConnell winning re-election this year — a claim political professionals would dispute — and to suggest the majority leader was ungrateful for his help.

And on Tuesday evening, Mr. Trump tweeted a broadside against Senate leadership by attacking Mr. McConnell and the majority whip, Senator John Thune of South Dakota, who had said any challenge to ratification of the election results would go down like a “shot dog.”

At the Justice Department, Attorney General William P. Barr’s public and emphatic rejection on Monday of the need for special counsels to investigate election fraud and Hunter Biden, President-elect Biden’s son, appeared intended in part to insulate Mr. Barr’s short-term successor, Jeffrey A. Rosen, from any further pressure on those fronts by the president.

Privately, allies who have stood by as Mr. Trump has weeded out others through loyalty purges, and who have dismissed criticisms that the president has authoritarian tendencies, are expressing concern about the next four weeks.

Mr. Barr, whose last day in the job is Wednesday, has told associates he had been alarmed by Mr. Trump’s behavior in recent weeks. Other advisers have privately said they feel worn out and are looking forward to the end of the term.

For those who remain, the days have been bleak endeavors during which government workers are forced to spend time either executing the president’s demand that election fraud be proved, or incurring his wrath.

As Axios reported, Pat A. Cipollone, the White House counsel who has implored Mr. Trump to steer clear of proposed maneuvers like having federal officials seize control of voting machines to inspect them, has become a target of the president’s anger.

Mr. Trump has characterized Mr. Cipollone derisively, invoking his own mentor, the infamously ruthless and unscrupulous lawyer Roy Cohn, as what a White House counsel should aspire to be like.

The White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has objected to some of the president’s desires, like appointing Ms. Powell as special counsel examining voter fraud, but he also made a trip to Georgia on Tuesday to investigate ballot safety measures. Mr. Meadows, a former House member, has also leaned into the effort by his old colleagues to challenge the vote in Congress, something that might keep the president from engaging further with Ms. Powell, but which many Republicans consider destructive to their party.

Other advisers have simply absented themselves at a time when the president is particularly unsteady.

The president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, has been out of the country for significant amounts of time since Election Day, traveling through the Middle East for deals that burnish his own credentials. He has responded to people seeking his help with Mr. Trump by saying that the president is his children’s grandfather, implying there are limits to what he can do to help.

Mr. Trump has spent his days watching television, calling Republicans in search of advice on how to challenge the electoral outcome and urging them to defend him on television. As always, he turns to Twitter for boosts of support and to vent his anger. He has not gone golfing since the weather has turned colder, and is cloistered in the White House, shuffling from the residence to the Oval Office.

Many Trump advisers hope that his trip to his private club in Palm Beach, Fla., Mar-a-Lago, will give him a change of scenery and a change of perspective. He left on Wednesday and is scheduled to stay through the New Year holiday.

Legge Marziale, Nuove elezioni, contro Inaugurazione Pro Trump

 

Lo abbiamo scritto qualche settimana fa su questo blog e 'non' ci fa piacere verificare che le nostre informazioni erano valide: si vivono oggi a Washington ore di trepidazione di cui si fanno portavoce ormai tutti i media a cominciare da CNN e MSNBC.

La domanda di fondo ricorrente è: "Che combinerà adesso Donald Trump?". Ci si attende un colpo di coda da far rabbrividire.

Ad essere preoccupati sono soprattutto gli alti responsabili del Pentagono che, a parte una insistente attività di soffiate agli amici giornalisti, non hanno la possibilità di emergere perché l'attuale presidente ha decapitato il vertice della Difesa mettendoci dei propri giannizzeri il cui primo impegno è stato quello di proibire ogni contatto con il team di Joe Biden per la transizione dei poteri.

Comunque a parlare fuori dai denti è stato il generale Michael Flyinn già condannato per aver mentito allo FBI in merito ai suoi contatti con i gerarchi russi ai tempi della campagna elettorale del 2016. Poi perdonato dal presidente Trump di cui e' un assoluto estimatore.

Questo singolare personaggio che ricopriva funzione di consigliere nazionale della sicurezza nel governo Trump, tanto per arrotondare lo stipendio aveva accettato anche di essere consulente del governo turco.

Michael Flyinn ha dichiarato in una intervista che suggeriva al presidente Trump di utilizzare la legge marziale per annullare l'esito delle elezioni presidenziali del 3 novembre e convocare con la forza una nuova consultazione.

Una tesi questa che ha trovato subito una gran massa di estimatori all'interno della destra e soprattutto estrema destra, ovvero tra quei 75 milioni di voti per Trump.

Repubblicani e democratici sono in questi giorni impegnati nel bruciare centinaia di milioni di dollari nella competizione per la elezione in ballottaggio di due posti senatoriali in Georgia che saranno decisivi per l'equilibrio al Senato attualmente in mano ai repubblicani ma la cui maggioranza sia pure estremamente risicata potrebbe passare ai democratici.

Ipotesi questa ritenuta molto difficile considerando il contesto conservativo della popolazione elettorale di quello stato.

Ma il caravanserraglio della politica washingtoniana si accresce anche della contro inaugurazione proTrump che si terrà a Washington in coincidenza con quella di Joe Biden il 20 gennaio alle 12:00.

Nel momento in cui scriviamo gli organizzatori dichiarano di avere già ricevuto 100.000 prenotazioni da ogni angolo degli Stati Uniti di persone che, nonostante i limiti agli spostamenti imposti dal Corona virus, sono comunque decise a portare la loro testimonianza (anche armata) nella capitale federale.

Disperate sono le soffiate che arrivano dall'interno della Casa Bianca dove ormai molti collaboratori di Trump sono estremamente preoccupati per quanto potrà succedere a livello nazionale nei prossimi giorni.

Un modo questo abbastanza singolare....per augurarci reciprocamente Buone Feste.

Oscar

2020: 3 milioni di morti negli Stati Uniti su una popolazione di 330 milioni. Record storico

 

US deaths in 2020 top 3 million, by far most ever counted

By MIKE STOBBEan hour ago

1 of 3
FILE - In this Saturday, April 18, 2020 file photo, mortician Cordarial O. Holloway, foreground left, funeral director Robert L. Albritten, foreground right, and funeral attendants Eddie Keith, background left, and Ronald Costello place a casket into a hearse in Dawson, Ga. This is the deadliest year in U.S. history, with deaths topping 3 million for the first time. It's due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 320,000 Americans. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)


NEW YORK (AP) — This is the deadliest year in U.S. history, with deaths expected to top 3 million for the first time — due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic.

Final mortality data for this year will not be available for months. But preliminary numbers suggest that the United States is on track to see more than 3.2 million deaths this year, or at least 400,000 more than in 2019.

U.S. deaths increase most years, so some annual rise in fatalities is expected. But the 2020 numbers amount to a jump of about 15%, and could go higher once all the deaths from this month are counted.
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That would mark the largest single-year percentage leap since 1918, when tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers died in World War I and hundreds of thousands of Americans died in a flu pandemic. Deaths rose 46% that year, compared with 1917.

COVID-19 has killed more than 318,000 Americans and counting. Before it came along, there was reason to be hopeful about U.S. death trends.

The nation’s overall mortality rate fell a bit in 2019, due to reductions in heart disease and cancer deaths. And life expectancy inched up — by several weeks — for the second straight year, according to death certificate data released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But life expectancy for 2020 could end up dropping as much as three full years, said Robert Anderson of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC counted 2,854,838 U.S. deaths last year, or nearly 16,000 more than 2018. That’s fairly good news: Deaths usually rise by about 20,000 to 50,000 each year, mainly due to the nation’s aging, and growing, population.

Indeed, the age-adjusted death rate dropped about 1% in 2019, and life expectancy rose by about six weeks to 78.8 years, the CDC reported.

“It was actually a pretty good year for mortality, as things go,” said Anderson, who oversees CDC death statistics.

The U.S. coronavirus epidemic has been a big driver of deaths this year, both directly and indirectly.

The virus was first identified in China last year, and the first U.S. cases were reported this year. But it has become the third leading cause of death, behind only heart disease and cancer. For certain periods this year, COVID-19 was the No. 1 killer.

But some other types of deaths also have increased.

A burst of pneumonia cases early this year may have been COVID-19 deaths that simply weren’t recognized as such early in the epidemic. But there also have been an unexpected number of deaths from certain types of heart and circulatory diseases, diabetes and dementia, Anderson said.

Many of those, too, may be related to COVID. The virus could have weakened patients already struggling with those conditions, or could have diminished the care they were getting, he said.

Early in the epidemic, some were optimistic that car crash deaths would drop as people stopped commuting or driving to social events. Data on that is not yet in, but anecdotal reports suggest there was no such decline.

Suicide deaths dropped in 2019 compared with 2018, but early information suggests they have not continued to drop this year, Anderson and others said.

Drug overdose deaths, meanwhile, got much worse.

Before the coronavirus even arrived, the U.S. was in the midst of the deadliest drug overdose epidemic in its history.

Data for all of 2020 is not yet available. But last week the CDC reported more than 81,000 drug overdose deaths in the 12 months ending in May, making it the highest number ever recorded in a one-year period.

Experts think the pandemic’s disruption to in-person treatment and recovery services may have been a factor. People also are more likely to be taking drugs alone — without the benefit of a friend or family member who can call 911 or administer overdose-reversing medication.

But perhaps a bigger factor are the drugs themselves: COVID-19 caused supply problems for dealers, so they are increasingly mixing cheap and deadly fentanyl into heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, experts said.

“I don’t suspect there are a bunch of new people who suddenly started using drugs because of COVID. If anything, I think the supply of people who are already using drugs is more contaminated,” said Shannon Monnat, a Syracuse University researcher who studies drug overdose trends.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.