Facing being expelled from the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA for inciting the invasion of the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, former reality TV host Donald Trump has resigned from the organization. From USA Today:
“I write to you today regarding the so-called Disciplinary Committee hearing aimed at revoking my union membership. Who cares!” Trump begins his letter, alluding to the SAG-AFTRA board meeting to discuss revoking his membership card.
He continued: “While I’m not familiar with your work, I’m very proud of my work on movies such as Home Alone 2, Zoolander and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps; and television shows including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Saturday Night Live, and of course, one of the most successful shows in television history, The Apprentice – to name just a few.”
On Jan. 19, the Screen Actors Guild said that the SAG-AFTRA board voted “overwhelmingly” that there is probable cause that Trump violated its guidelines for membership. The charges, the guild said, are for Trump’s role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, “and in sustaining a reckless campaign of misinformation aimed at discrediting and ultimately threatening the safety of journalists, many of whom are SAG-AFTRA members.”
President Joe Biden (image via Twitter/POTUS) After meeting with Senate Republicans, President Biden’s signaled he’s considering targeting stimulus checks to Americans to only low- and middle-income families. From the Washington Post:
Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress argue a third round of stimulus checks is necessary to ensure people who have lost their jobs or taken a pay cut still have enough money to buy food, pay rent and get the medical care they need during a pandemic. But the White House has signaled the president is willing to narrow who gets them, sending checks only to low- and moderate-income families this time around.
Individuals with incomes up to $50,000 would get the full $1,400 payment. Heads of household earning up to $75,000 would also qualify, and married couples with earnings up to $100,000 would get a $2,800 payment. (Past stimulus checks were based off of “adjusted gross income,” and that is likely to be the same again).
Pete Buttigieg sworn in as Transportation Secretary by Vice President Kamala Harris (photo: office of the Vice President) Some news items you might have missed: • Instagram: A day after his 86-13 confirmation vote in the Senate, Pete Buttigieg (above) was sworn in as Secretary of Transportation by Vice President Kamala Harris as husband Chasten Buttigieg held the bible. • Outsports: Josh Leafer was a high school athlete who threw parties and chased girls. But it was all a cover. So he started a TikTok account, @closeted_fratguy, asking, “Anyone else like totally straight but secretly gay?” Over the last year, Leafer has heard from hundreds of other secretly gay guys who were wondering the same thing. Oh – and he came out 🙂 • Out Music: British indie-pop band Pale Waves has released a deeply personal video for their latest single “She’s My Religion,” which features frontwoman Heather Baron-Gracie and her life partner Kelsi Luck in a series of candid vignettes showing that even the most mundane moments can be transformative when paired with the right person.
“I wanted to give my fans a song to find themselves in,” Heather says of the intimate new video. “I wish I had a song like this when I was a young girl trying to find herself in the world.”
• Attitude Magazine: The new UK queer-centric drama series, It’s A Sin, has become one of Channel 4’s most successful shows ever since its launch last month. The series has already had 6.5 million views on All 4, making it the most-binged new series ever. Episode one has also become All 4’s most popular drama launch on record. • Quinnipiac Polls: Two weeks into the presidency of Joe Biden, a majority of Americans say, 61 – 34 percent, that they are generally optimistic about the next four years with Biden as president. • Politico: President Joe Biden traveled to the Capitol to pay tribute to Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick shortly after the ceremony began Tuesday night, briefly placing his hand on the urn in the center of the Capitol Rotunda, saying a prayer and sadly shaking his head as he observed a memorial wreath nearby.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden traveled to the Capitol last night to pay tribute to U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. Sicknick died after defending the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection. https://t.co/uXrihxNbK5
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) House Democrats will hold a vote Thursday on whether to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from her committee assignments after Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) declined to do so. From the New York Times:
The House will vote on Thursday to strip Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments, a top Democrat announced, forcing congressional Republicans to take a public stand on the Georgia freshman who endorsed conspiracy theories and calls to execute Democratic politicians before she was elected.
House Democrats, incensed by a series of social media posts made by Ms. Greene before she won her seat in November, threatened earlier this week that they would take the unusual step of moving unilaterally to remove Ms. Greene from the education and budget committees if Republicans themselves did not take action. Party leaders generally have authority over who represents them on committees.
The resolution to remove Greene from her committee assignments only requires a simple majority vote. It’s worth noting that over in the Senate, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters the “loony lies and conspiracy theories” embraced by Greene represents a “cancer” on the Republican Party. For her part, Greene is digging in saying she has nothing to apologize for. In an interview with far-right loon Sebastian Gorka, Greene shrugged off responsibility for her statements.
“I was one of those Americans that was supposed to never get elected to Congress; the elites don’t want me here. I’ve never done drugs. I’ve never been arrested. The only thing bad I’ve done is probably gotten a speeding ticket.
“But you know what, just like every single other person, yeah, I have said things I shouldn’t say at some time or another, but I don’t think I have anything to apologize for.
“For refusing to believe Trump-Russian collusion conspiracy theories, and looking things up on the internet and asking questions about it on Facebook, big deal. Just because I posted things on Facebook back in 2018 doesn’t mean that I should be removed from my committees here in Congress.”
Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: The Human Rights Campaign’s State Equality Index for 2020 measures the rights and protections each state has in place for LGBTQ+ individuals. Texas is ranked in the bottom category, and referred to as a “high priority to achieve basic equality.” • Dallas Voice: With more calls to expel QAnon Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from Congress for her wild conspiracy claims and more, here’s a break down of what it takes to expel a member of of the House or Senate plus some history of those who were expelled. • Twitter: If you’ve never watched the far-right leaning outlet Newsmax, all you need to know here is Dominion Voting Systems threatened to sue the online newser into oblivion if they continued airing baseless claims of ‘vote manipulation.’ Now hit the play button.
THIS is really something. If you’ve never watched Newsmax, here you go. Setup – all you need to know I’d Dominion Voting Systems threatened to sue Newsmax into oblivion if they aired baseless claims of vote manipulation. Now hit play. pic.twitter.com/pvSm65yemZ
• Raw Story: Moderate ‘Blue dog’ Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has told the media he will support President Biden’s coronavirus relief package even if Senate Democrats have to use ‘budget reconciliation’ (bypassing a 60-vote filibuster) to get there. Manchin’s vote is critical with the Senate’s current 50-50 makeup of Dems and Republicans. • AP News: Republicans in Georgia’s state Senate are moving to limit voting in future elections with bills that would restrict who can vote absentee by mail, require a photo ID for those who do vote absentee by mail, ban ballot drop boxes, block outside groups from sending out absentee ballot applications, end automatic voter registration when obtaining a driver’s license and ban new residents from voting in a runoff election. #votersuppression • CNBC: The Senate confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday to lead the nation’s Department of Homeland Security, making him the first Latino to hold the role. The Senate voted 56 to 43.
Just now: Alejandro Mayorkas has been confirmed to serve as Biden’s secretary of Homeland Security in a 56-43 vote.
Lots of firsts here: – First Latino to lead DHS – First immigrant to lead DHS – First Senate-confirmed DHS secretary since April 2019 — Sabrina Rodríguez (@sabrod123) February 2, 2021
Former Hamilton police chief Gene Allmond (screen capture via WTVM) They thought the patrolman’s body cam was broken. It wasn’t.
A police chief and a patrolman from the town of Hamilton, Georgia, were fired after body cam footage showed the men making racist comments regarding slavery and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Police Chief Gene Allmond and patrolman John Brooks are seen on the body cam footage (captured last June) discussing a range of topics. At the time, they believed the body cam was defective.
Later, the camera was examined and found that the camera had merely run out of storage because it was full.
At one point, the recording shows Allmond and Brooks discussing then-candidate Joe Biden’s considering Mayor Bottoms and Stacey Abrams for his running mate. Officer Brooks says during the conversation, “If I had to f*ck a [n-word], I’d rather f*ck the mayor [Keisha Lance Bottoms] than Stacey Abrams.”
As the two began to prepare for patrolling a Black Lives Matter rally, the conversation shifted to slavery. Chief Allmond offers his thoughts on the subject: “They furnished them a house to live in, they furnished them clothes to put on their back, they furnished them food to put on their table, and all they had to do” was work.
At another point in the video, Mr. Brooks is discussing a recent police shooting and complains, “How come when you tase a f*cking [n-word] it’s like you done killed them 27 times?” Note – the six minute footage has been posted by local ABC News affiliate WTVM.
According to the New York Times, a city employee discovered the conversation while reviewing the footage. The employee contacted Buddy Walker, an assistant to Mayor Julie Brown, and eventually watched the footage with Ransom Farley, the mayor pro tempore.
Hamilton Mayor Pro-Tem Ransom Farley (screen capture)
In viewing the footage with Mr. Farley, who is Black, Mr. Walker, who is white, said, “To look at the video with him, to listen to someone he’s known for many years – my reaction was incredibly bad. You can imagine his reaction.”
Mr. Farley told the New York Times, “It hurts when you think you know somebody and you don’t.”
The mayor and City Council met on Monday, January 25, and everyone agreed they “knew what had to be done.”
Informed he had the option to resign or be fired, Mr. Brooks asked to see the video recording.
Mr. Walker told the New York Times, “He watched the entire video and then came in and told the mayor pro temp that he was sorry — that that was really not the way he was.”
“I’m not accepting your apology, because you’re sorry that you got caught,” Farley told Brooks. “You’re not sorry because of what you said.”
But Mr. Farley wasn’t done.
“I own the fact that I am Black and I am gay,” Mr. Farley continued. “If you’re a bigot, if you’re a racist, own it.”
#MicDrop
Both men agreed to resign, but when Mr. Brooks didn’t return his police department equipment on time, he was fired.
Speaking to the Times, Mr. Farley made a point to note that the two men weren’t done in because someone tried to entrap them.
“Nobody told on them,” said Mr. Farley. “They told on themselves.”
(screen capture) Several of the insurrectionists that stormed the U.S. Capitol building on January 6 are now using, as a legal defense, that they were just doing what Donald Trump told them to do Ruh-roh From The Hill:
Emanuel Jackson, 20, of D.C., who prosecutors say was seen on video punching a police officer and hitting others with a metal bat, is one of at least six people charged in the raid who are pinning at least some blame on Trump in their defense, Reuters reported Tuesday.
Brandi Harden, who is representing Jackson as he faces federal assault charges, wrote in a Jan. 22 court filing that “the nature and circumstances of this offense must be viewed through the lens of an event inspired by the President of the United States.”
The raid on the Capitol, she said, “appears to have been spontaneous and sparked by the statements made during the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally” held by Trump and his supporters earlier on Jan. 6.
Several more stories at the link including the so-called QAnon Shaman now claiming he was ‘duped’ by Trump. Read the full article here.
Donald Trump speaking to Axios (screen capture) Donald Trump balked at paying the legal bill proposed by the legal team that was set to defend him in his second impeachment trial. According to many, Trump wanted the lawyers to continue his line of baseless claims that the election was ‘stolen’ from him, which has no basis in reality. The attorneys said the best course of action would be to argue against the constitutionality of the impeachment proceeding saying the Constitution doesn’t provide for impeaching a president out of office. In any case, the legal eagles flew the coup coop. But now, Axios reports that Trump balked at paying the legal fees the lawyers were requesting. Mind you – this is after Trump had already grifted over $170 million from his cultists to be used for legal defense.
The notoriously stingy former president and his lead lawyer, Butch Bowers, wrangled over compensation during a series of tense phone calls, sources familiar with their conversations said. The argument came even though Trump has raised over $170 million from the public that could be used on his legal defenses.
The two initially agreed Bowers would be paid $250,000 for his individual services, a figure that “delighted” Trump, one of the sources said.
However, Trump didn’t realize Bowers hadn’t included additional expenses — including more lawyers, researchers and other legal fees that would be accrued on the job.
He was said to be livid when Bowers came back to him with a total budget of $3 million. Trump called the South Carolina attorney and eventually negotiated him down to $1 million.
Scrambling, Trump announced on Sunday he had found new attorneys to represent him: David Schoen and Bruce L. Castor Jr. Trump is probably not worried about being found guilty anyway after a preliminary vote showed 45 Republican Senators are not in favor of the impeachment proceeding.
Rick Grenell served as “acting” director of national intelligence for three months but was neither nominated nor confirmed by the Senate.
In addition to being one of the highest ranking LGBTQ public officials in the country, Buttigieg is also the first millennial to be confirmed to a White House Cabinet position.
The Army veteran is the 19th Transportation Secretary and the 5th member of President Biden’s Cabinet to be confirmed. Buttigieg and Vice President Kamala Harris are the only two 2020 presidential contenders to join the Biden Cabinet. https://twitter.com/PeteButtigieg/status/1356672112015081472
LGBTQ advocacy groups were quick to celebrate the news.
The Human Rights Campaign noted the history-making moment writing, “Another barrier broken for our community.” https://twitter.com/HRC/status/1356654155889324032 “Pete shattered a centuries-old political barrier with overwhelming bipartisan support and that paves the way for more LGBTQ Americans to pursue high-profile appointments,” said Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Institute. “Pete testifying at his confirmation hearing, with his husband looking on, will be among the powerful images that define this unprecedented political moment and will be remembered as a milestone in America’s move toward social justice.” https://twitter.com/VictoryFund/status/1356654085039095809
“The role of Secretary of Transportation requires an innovative thought leader, someone who understands all Americans’ needs and has the courage to create and form the road ahead,” read a statement by GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “Secretary Buttigieg’s vision will improve all Americans’ lives and navigate toward needed change to serve communities on the margins. We know he will continue to lead our country’s drive for LGBTQ acceptance. Congratulations, Secretary Buttigieg.”
“Buttigieg is a true example of what it means to have all voices — including LGBTQ Americans — at the table, and he’ll be an inspiration for so many who until this moment may have believed certain dreams were not possible,” read a statement from the Indiana Democratic Party.
https://twitter.com/INDems/status/1356653019274821635 For those wondering, the thirteen ‘no’ votes (all Republicans) were Sens. Cruz (Texas), Cotton (Ark.), Marshall (Kansas), Scott (Fla.), Tuberville (Ala.), Shelby (Ala.), Hawley (Mo.), Blackburn (Tenn.), Rubio (Fla.), Scott (S.C.), Lankford (Okla.), Hagerty (Tenn.), and Cassidy (La.). Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania did not vote. Expect many of those to run for president in 2024.
Donovan Crowl (mugshot) We all recall the chaos and mayhem caused by the hundreds of Trump supporters who invaded the U.S. Capitol building on January 6. You know, the ones who felt so DEEPLY that the presidential election they held SO DEAR had been stolen from them? CNN did a deep dive into the voting histories of some 80+ people who have already been arrested for taking part in the insurrection and found many of the insurrectionists didn’t even vote. Just one story:
Federal authorities later identified Crowl, 50, as a member of a self-styled militia organization in his home state of Ohio and affiliated with the extremist group the Oath Keepers. His mother told CNN that he previously told her “they were going to overtake the government if they…tried to take Trump’s presidency from him.”
Despite these apparent pro-Trump views, a county election official in Ohio told CNN that he registered in 2013 but “never voted nor responded to any of our confirmation notices to keep him registered,” so he was removed from the voter rolls at the end of 2020 and the state said he was not registered in Ohio.
Crowl was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of destruction of government property and conspiracy for allegedly coordinating with others to plan their attack.
There’s much more at the click. CNN notes that some of the voting records of those who have been charged in the Capitol riots were not available to the public. So there may be even more hypocritical ‘patriots’ out there who couldn’t bother to cast a ballot.
They stormed the Capitol to overturn the results of an election they didn’t vote in:
Some of the rioters who stormed the US Capitol did not vote in the very election they were protesting.https://t.co/aiAIKuVSRD — Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) February 1, 2021
OK. Why would you protest if you didn’t care enough to vote?
Facing being expelled from the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA for inciting the invasion of the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, former reality TV host Donald Trump has resigned from the organization. From USA Today: 
