Democratic Dominoes Keep Falling in Virginia

Money Quote:

The Democratic Party of Virginia, like the Democratic Party nationally, has changed its ideology faster than it has changed its politicians. 

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/02/virginia-democratic-scandal-mark-herring-blackface-photo/582205/

“I suppose they can form a ‘pariah caucus,’”

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/04/congress-house-republicans-committee-assignments-stripped-1145320

Another Day, Another Subpoena

"The United States attorney’s office in Brooklyn is separately investigating whether foreigners illegally funneled donations to Mr. Trump’s inaugural committee using so-called straw donors to disguise their donations. Federal law prohibits foreign contributions to inaugural committees."

Trump Inaugural Committee Ordered to Hand Over Documents to Federal Investigators https://nyti.ms/2UEKrP5

Listen to This

I'll listen to anything Rhiannon Giddens does.

The Real Human Trafficking at the Border

We've separated thousands of immigrant children from their parents. And now we can't reunite those families.

The filing late Friday from Jallyn Sualog, deputy director of the department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement, was an ordered response in an ACLU lawsuit challenging the government's separation of at least 2,737 children of migrants detained at the border since summer 2017.

Sualog said her office doesn't have the resources to track down the children, whose numbers could be thousands more than the official estimate.

Trump's Tan

Interesting tidbit from The Hill:

An official line from the White House on President Trump’s complexion is that his skin color is the result of “good genes,” a senior administration official told The New York Times. 

So does this make the President a "person of color?"

Sunday Inspiration

Steve Gleason (@TeamGleason) is dying of Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS. Confined to a wheelchair, he's unable to manage a keyboard, so he tweets with his eyes. And how lucky we are that he does.

New Poll: Not Trumpophilic

Presidents have recovered from bad polling two years before a re-election campaign, but somehow I don't think this one has the skills to manage it.

Overall, 34 percent approve of President Donald Trump’s stewardship of the country, and 65 percent disapprove.  The public is least negative about how the president is dealing with the economy and most negative about his handling of climate change. 

Donald Trump & Steve King Still Have Their Jobs

We Knew Cory Booker Would Run

I don't know how well he'll do in the primaries, and sure as hell have no idea if he's even Presidential material (ask me in 15 months). But Senator Booker is almost the perfect antidote to Donald Trump's poisonous narcissism and vindictive responses to perceived threats.

"Before you speak to me about your religion, first show it to me in how you treat other people; before you tell me how much you love your God, show me in how much you love all His children; before you preach to me of your passion for your faith, teach me about it through your compassion for your neighbors. In the end, I'm not as interested in what you have to tell or sell as in how you choose to live and give." -Senator Cory Booker (New Jersey-D)

From a Bookstore in Oklahoma, of All Places

How Does Putin Do It?

I mean, we can't even see the strings he uses to control our President.

Following U.S., Putin suspends nuclear pact and promises new weapons https://wapo.st/2GiKX18

Resign Today, Governor

Exactly this:

Axios, just now:

• "I'm accepting responsibility that this photograph was on my page in the yearbook, I regret that. It's horrific. It made me sick when I saw it. But I will tell you that my word, I will stand and live by my word. I was the president of the VMI honor court. Our code there is a cadet shall not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do. That's the most meaningful thing to me in my life. I tell the truth. I'm telling the truth today. That was not my picture."

Racist or not, believe him or not, he's lost his ability to effectively govern. For the good of his state, Gov. Northam should resign. Today.

This Day in History

It's not just Ground Hog Day. In 1848 the Mexican-American War ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which added 525,000 square miles to the USA and, incidentally, ended my home city's status as a border town. It also explains why the culture of southern Colorado is so different from the Denver-Boulder corridor in the north.

Shariah by Any Other Name

So this devout Christian woman wants the Supreme Court to force her soon-to-be ex husband to stay married to her. (I think I see why he's wanting out of the relationship.)

The case does highlight the interesting tension between "covenant" marriage law and recent legislation to prevent adoption of "shariah" law in America. Religious zealots seem to have a talent for tying themselves into knots over their zealotry. The linked piece is an interesting survey of two legislative trends.

In an unusual petition to the U.S. Supreme Court this month, Shawn Lecuona argues that her fundamental liberty interests, including her right to marry and to “worship God according to the dictates of her own conscience,” prevent the state of Texas from applying its no-fault divorce law to her marriage. In other words, she’s claiming that her right to religious liberty should prevent the government from granting her husband a divorce.