ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS — SENS “BOBBY THE CORK” & “THE FLAKESTER” VOTE TRUMP PARTY LINE TO SCREW AMERICAN CONSUMERS FOR THE BENEFIT OF BIG BANKS! — It’s One Thing To Give Speeches & Interviews While Fleeing DC, Quite Another To Actually Cast Votes & Take Real Actions To Oppose The Trump/GOP Program To Loot America For The Benefit Of The Rich & Powerful!

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/senate-class-action-arbitration-big-banks_us_59f00188e4b0b7e63265c47e?s1r

Nick Visser reports for HuffPost:

“Senate Republicans on Tuesday voted to overturn a new regulation that would have allowed class-action lawsuits against big banks and credit card companies. The vote effectively handed Wall Street another win as the Trump administration seeks to dismantle former President Barack Obama’s legacy.
A 50-50 tie was broken by Vice President Mike Pence to overturn a measure crafted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that limited forced arbitration clauses in the fine print of financial contracts. Such clauses prohibited people who signed up for a new account at a bank to launch a class-action lawsuit against that institution for unfair business practices, requiring them to enter into private arbitration in which banks are far more likely to get their way.
Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who have amped up their criticism of the White House in recent months, including Flake’s announcement Tuesday that he would not run for re-election, all voted to overturn the measure.
Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and John Kennedy (La.) were the only two Republicans to vote for the measure. Every Democrat voted to protect the CFPB regulation. It now heads to the office of President Donald Trump, who is expected to quickly sign it.
The CFPB’s ban on such arbitration clauses, set to take effect in 2019, would have given power to individual consumers and likely would have forced big banks to change their business practices.”

**********************************

Read the rest of the story at the link.

Hollow men, hollow words. Too little too late. These Dudes were happy to support a known unstable liar, bully, racist, mysognist, and all around charlatan and his anti-American agenda — until they weren’t. I’ll get on the bandwagon as soon as they start working with the Democrats to save America from the Trump agenda.

I also note that just a few months ago these Dudes voted to confirm Jeff Sessions and other totally unqualified Trump Cabinet members, thus expanding and deepening “The Swamp.”

PWS

10-25-17

UNDER STRESS, A.G. JEFF “GONZO APOCALYPTO” SESSIONS REACTS AS USUAL — BY ASSAULTING THE RIGHTS AND DIGNITY OF MINORITIES — Orders DOJ To Deny That LGBT Community Gets Civil Rights Protections! — We Shouldn’t Let Trump’s Improper Attack Turn Sessions Into A Constitutional Hero — He’s Not!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/justice-gay-civil-rights-act_us_5979422de4b02a4ebb72e45d

Nick Visser reports in HuffPost:

“The Department of Justice argued in a legal brief on Wednesday that the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 offers no protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation, a position advocacy groups condemned as “shameful” and “politically driven.”

DOJ lawyers, arguing under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in which they said the department did not believe the law ― which bans discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin ― applied to lesbian and gay people. The brief was filed as part of a lawsuit filed by a now-deceased skydiving instructor, Donald Zarda, who said he was fired for his sexual orientation. His lawyers contend the dismissal violated of the act’s Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination.

“The sole question here is whether, as a matter of law, Title VII reaches sexual orientation discrimination,” the Justice Department brief says. “It does not, as has been settled for decades. Any efforts to amend Title VII’s scope should be directed to Congress rather than the courts.” It adds: “The essential element of sex discrimination under Title VII is that employees of one sex must be treated worse than similarly situated employees of the other sex, and sexual orientation discrimination simply does not have that effect.”

********************************************

Read the full report at the link.

One of many unfortunate aspects of Trump’s churlish, unprovoked, dumb, and downright nasty attack on Sessions is that it makes the A.G. look like a hero for merely doing what any other public servant would be required to do under the circumstances.

This should not deflect attention from Sessions’s truly reprehensible record as AG. In a short time in office, he has undermined civil rights, voting rights, minority protections, protections from unconstitutional policing, due process and rationality in immigration enforcement, LGBT rights, community law enforcement efforts, forensic science, prosecutorial discretion, private property rights in civil forfeitures, and prison reform. I’m probably leaving some out. And, while doing it he has advanced a false White Nationalist agenda about immigrants and migrants (indeed, his agenda targets just about all Americans except straight, white, GOP males).

Sessions’s tenure at the U.S. Justice Department has been an unmitigated disaster from a Constitutional, due process, and institutional standpoint. That he is now being bullied and publicly shamed and humiliated by the totally unqualified President whom he supported and helped put in Office should not in any way detract from his abysmal record as a public servant. And, let’s not forget that despite his supposed recusal, Sessions could barely wait to help give Trump some cover for the firing of James Comey.  Just happened to blow up in his face when Trump himself made it clear that Sessions and his Deputy Rod Rosenstein had tried to take a dive for the “team.” (Something folks should also keep in mind before falsely idolizing  Rosenstein. What kind of guy would sign on to being “Gonzo Apocalypto’s” Deputy in the first place.)

Indeed, in most ways, Sessions is merely receiving the type of boorish cowardly treatment at Trump’s own hands that he (Sessions) was and still is happy to abet and assist by implementing Trump’s gonzo White Nationalist agenda of destroying our Constitutuonal system and the rule of law. Sessions’s own cowardly attacks on the transgender and LGBT communities are illustrated by his latest actions. Not an ounce of  humanity or decency in the man. For that, and all of the other ways he has tried to undermine the American system during his many years in Washington, he deserves to be charged with full responsibility in the pages of history.

PWS

07-27-17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BREAKING: Senate GOP Implodes On Healthcare — Trump Reaches New Heights Of Incompetence & Irresponsibility By Tweeting Call For Complete Repeal Without A Plan For Replacement!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-health-care-bill-response_us_596d719ee4b010d7767345ff?s69&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

Nick Visser reports for HuffPost:

“President Donald Trump called on congressional Republicans to craft an outright repeal of Obamacare late Monday, an hour after the GOP’s controversial Senate health care bill appeared dead once again after losing two more Republican votes.

“Republicans should just REPEAL failing Obamacare now & work on a new Healthcare Plan that will start from a clean slate,” the president tweeted, adding that “Dems will join in!”

The “clean repeal” option is unpopular in both parties, and it’s unclear how much support the president’s proposal will garner in Congress. It would take 60 votes in the Senate for an outright repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and Republicans only hold a 52-seat majority.

Trump’s response came after Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) announced Monday evening that they planned to vote no on a “motion to proceed” for the Senate’s legislation ― a step needed to begin debate on the bill.”

*******************************************

Duh, after being treated with total disrespect and contempt by the President and the GOP for 6 months, why is it that Democrats would suddenly jump at the chance to pull the Administration’s chestnuts out of the fire?

On the other hand, a nuanced “fix” of Obamacare probably would have had enough votes to pass both Houses with bipartisan support from all or most Democrats and enough Republicans. But, that wouldn’t have allowed the GOP and Trump to have claimed “victory” on an Obamacare repeal. Talk about a President and a party who have long ago abandoned the best interests of America!

And, just think about all the time and taxpayer money the GOP has wasted over the past few years passing boneheaded, cosmetic “Obamacare repeals.” Obviously, the folks who voted for such nonsense were posturing rather than legislating.

PWS

07-18-17