Jan

Retired RN/Nurse Practitioner, dog, nature, and music lover, crafter. Intrepid truth seeker & fact finder. Utahn for 50+ years, now back in my native Kansas.

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: Trump's Education Secretary Linda McMahon hit with HISTORIC first-ever impeachment for illegally dismantling the department she runs Linda McMahon — the former pro-wrestling executive Trump installed to run the Department of Education — is now facing the first impeachment of an Education Secretary in American history. And the reason is simple: she's accused of breaking federal law to destroy her own department.

Oregon Democrat Suzanne Bonamici introduced articles of impeachment Thursday, accusing McMahon of "illegally transferring the operations of 6 offices under the Department of Education to other Federal agencies."

Here's the core of it. The Department of Education was created by Congress in 1980. By law, only CONGRESS can shut it down. But McMahon — carrying out Trump's campaign promise to dismantle it — has been gutting the department piece by piece anyway, using backdoor "interagency agreements" to shove its programs over to Health and Human Services and the Labor Department.

The problem? Many of those programs are LEGALLY REQUIRED to stay within the Education Department. McMahon doesn't have the authority to move them. She's doing it anyway.

"McMahon has made it her mission to close down the Department of Education, something she does not have the right to do," Bonamici said on the House floor. And she made clear exactly who gets hurt: "Educators and parents, especially parents of students with DISABILITIES, are distraught and asking us to take action to stop these illegal transfers."

That's the cruelty at the heart of this. The Education Department administers critical protections and funding for students with disabilities — kids who depend on federal oversight to get the education they're legally entitled to. McMahon is throwing that into chaos.

McMahon's response was pure deflection, whining on X that Democrats think "an impeachable offense is working to improve student outcomes" before pivoting to her favorite culture-war obsession — attacking trans students, a focus of hers since day one.

The impeachment is unlikely to succeed in the GOP-controlled House. But it draws a crucial line: a Cabinet official cannot simply IGNORE the law and unilaterally dismantle a department Congress created.

A wrestling executive shouldn't get to bulldoze public education.

Please like and share if you agree!

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: The MAGA bozo responsible for Trump's disastrous Reflecting Pool "renovations" is exposed — and his company is literally named "Greenwater Services."

Meet John Cafaro.

Despite looking like a 1950s cartoon mobster, this is a real, flesh-and-blood human being from Trump's inner circle. He's also a convicted felon who previously pleaded guilty to bribing a member of Congress.

Cafaro received a $1.7 million no-bid contract to install a water-purification system in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Normally, the National Park Service would have a robust open bidding process to find the most reasonably priced, most competent contractor. Instead, the job was entrusted into Cafaro's sweaty mitts without much scrutiny.

The details of that contract are murky, like everything else involving this administration, so it's safe to presume that there was a healthy dose of corruption and graft involved. It's no coincidence that Cafaro just happens to be a big Trump donor and a Mar-a-Lago neighbor. He's given at least $300,000 to PACs tied to the President.

Like everyone else in Trump's circle, Cafaro has proven to be exceptionally incompetent. The Reflecting Pool is now a cesspit of algae and looks greener than ever before. Another company unrelated to Cafaro received the $14.7 million no-bid contract to install blue waterproofing material in the pool. That firm likewise did an incredibly poor job, as chunks of the material are now peeling away and floating to the surface.

This is how things work in third world dictatorships. Cronies and political allies are awarded contracts to reward them for their loyalty to the regime and there's no expectation that they'll ever fulfill the work to proper specifications.

The administration, rather than admit their failure, has taken to posting fake pictures on social media while insisting that the water is crystal clear.

We have eyes. We can see how bad it's gotten.

Please ❤️ and share to demand a full investigation into the Reflecting Pool contracts!

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

MAJOR BREAKING: Trump's full Iran deal LEAKS out of Saudi Arabia — and it's a thousand times worse than even his harshest critics predicted.

This is a historic surrender by Trump and Vance.

#6 is a real doozy...

According to Al Arabiya, a state-owned news channel out of Saudi Arabia, the agreement between the White House and Tehran is a 14-point "Memorandum of Understanding."

Here are those points in summary:

1) Iran, the United States, and their allies declare upon signing that there will be "an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon." They vow not to "launch any hostile attack against each other" and will "will refrain from the threat or use of force against each other."

That means no more Truth Social threats from Trump ranting that a "whole civilization will die tonight."

2) The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States undertake to respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to refrain from interfering in each other's internal affairs.

3) The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States undertake to negotiate and reach a final agreement within a maximum period of 60 days, extendable by mutual consent.

4) The U.S. will lift its naval blockade and "prevent any interference or obstruction against" Iran. Traffic through the region will be restored within 30 days to "full capacity" and "pre-war volume of traffic on the part of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

The U.S. agrees to withdraw its military forces from the surrounding region within 30 days of the final agreement (which still has to be written and ratified).

5) Iran agrees to immediately "take steps" to ensure that the movement of merchant ships from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa is resumed within 30 days to the pre-war volume, taking into account the need for the removal of technical obstacles and the neutralization of mines by Iran.

6) The U.S. and its allies will create a "comprehensive plan" for the "rehabilitation and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran." It must amount to AT LEAST $300 billion. The full design of the program will be written into the final agreement.

In other words: Trump wasted billions of your tax dollars to blow up Iran and now he's spending billions more to rebuild it.

7) The U.S. agrees to end "all types of sanctions" on Iran, including those implemented by the U.N. Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as all "unilateral U.S. sanctions, both primary and secondary."

This is an absolutely MASSIVE concession. Sanctions have long been the primary tool of imperial oppression wielded by the U.S. against Iran. While ostensibly designed to weaken the Ayatollah and the theocratic mullahs, in practice the sanctions have done nothing but inflict pointless suffering and misery on the Iranian people.

Iranian elites exist in a pampered bubble much like the elites do in the United States. It's the normal people who suffer under sanctions because they're denied access to food, medicine, technology, and other imports. Because those supplies are restricted, prices inflate, choking the middle and lower classes.

With the removal of these sanctions, the Iranian people have a chance to enter into a new era of economic blossoming. In his genocidal, nihilistic quest to weaken and destroy Iran on behalf of Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump may have accidentally Made Iran Great Again.

8) The Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates that it will never produce nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States have agreed that the fate of enriched material and the fate of all other mutually agreed nuclear-related issues, including Iran’s nuclear needs, will be adequately addressed in a final agreement; the final agreement will confirm the provisions of this Article.

While Trump will try to claim point 8 as some big victory, the use of the word "reiterates" here is crucial. Iran was never pursuing nuclear weapons in the first place. The White House and Israel lied about Iran's intentions as a pretext to start this war. Tellingly, Iran has not agreed to surrender its enriched uranium in this memo.

9) The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States agree that, pending a final agreement, they will maintain the status quo: Iran will maintain the status quo on its nuclear program, and the United States will not impose new sanctions on Iran or strengthen its forces in the region.

To put it more succinctly: Trump accomplished nothing.

10) The U.S. agrees to "immediately" issue waivers for exports of Iranian crude oil, petrochemical products and their derivatives, and all related services, including banking, insurance, transportation, and the like. Those waivers will no longer be required once the sanctions are lifted in full.

11) The U.S. agrees to release "frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran" so long as negotiations progress towards a "final agreement." Those funds will "fully available for use" by Iran.

12) The U.S. and Iran agree that "an implementation mechanism will be established to oversee the successful implementation of and future commitment to the Final Agreement."

The final agreement will be approved through a binding resolution of the UN Security Council.

Let us be very clear about what this deal memo represents: a complete, and total surrender by the United States of America to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

It constitutes the greatest military defeat in American history.

It's also a cause for celebration.

The deal is good for Iran, but more importantly it's good for the world. This conflict accomplished nothing beyond aiding Israeli's territorial expansion into Lebanon. Innocent people were slaughtered and Americans were forced to pay the price in the form of skyrocketing groceries and gas.

It would have been far better if Trump had never started this war. But since he did, it's a blessing that it's finally (possibly) coming to an end.

Please ❤️ and share if you think that Obama got a better deal!

[TheFrenchie @ML3democrats]

She would not have bombed Iran.

She would not have illegally attacked Venezuela.

She would not have destroyed the economy.

She would not have pardoned criminals, drug traffickers, and traitors.

She would not have supported Putin's Russia.

She would not have slept in the Oval Office.

She would not have an affected hand.

She would not have cut the SNAP program.

She would not have used the DOJ to attack her political enemies.

She would not have given money to foreign countries.

She would not have abandoned American farmers.

She would not have prevented the release of the Epstein files.

She would not have destroyed American democracy.

She would not have trampled on the Constitution.

She would not have abandoned the fundamental rights of citizens.

She would not have deployed American soldiers against the American people.

She would not have destroyed the White House.

She would not have enriched her family through government influence.

She would not have lied about her health records.

She would not have played golf.

She wouldn't have asked people to cheat in future elections.

She wouldn't have said "Quiet piggy" to a female journalist.

She wouldn't have invited Putin to Alaska.

She wouldn't have appointed an administration of incompetents.

She wouldn't have done everything Trump did.

[Bill Kristol @BillKristol]

"The UFC event captures something about this moment in our history.

After all, it’s vulgar, it’s violent, it’s commercial, it’s grandiose, it’s tacky, and it dishonors a place once thought worthy of care and respect. In other words, it’s Donald Trump."

https://t.co/4JB8V0GX4L

[Jan @ExpressiveP]

@chiky_handlr Yes

[Maria Shriver @mariashriver]

I’ve been thinking a lot about the extraordinary outbursts of the President of the United States against female journalists... well, actually against journalists in general and journalism. But it feels like he saves his most childlike behavior and irrational language for female reporters, calling them all kinds of names that kids in kindergarten are given times out for. It’s stunning to me to witness such behavior from any leader, any CEO, any person of influence or importance. I’ve never witnessed someone like this raging, this weekend with @meetthepress host @kwelkernbc, just last week in the Oval Office with @cnn’s @kaitlancollins, calling women stupid or piggy, telling them to “smile”, calling them darling, demeaning their credibility. Every good man should denounce this behavior. Every person should be able to stand up for their colleagues and say “No more.”

Imagine this man screaming like this at your daughter, your wife, your sister, your mother... would you stand for it? No, you wouldn’t! And neither should any of us. It’s unacceptable and undignified. Period. End of story.

[Bill Madden @maddenifico]

This is fucking insane.

The Trump DOJ just stood in federal court and said with a straight face that the authoritarian regime could bulldoze the Statue of Liberty tomorrow — and there's nothing anyone could do about it.

When a judge asked point-blank: "If the government decides to destroy the Statue of Liberty before anyone can sue… nothing can be done?" The DOJ lawyer answered: "I think that's right, yes."

Let that sink in.

They're openly admitting they believe Trump has the power to erase one of America's most sacred symbols — the literal beacon of freedom for millions of immigrants — and the courts can't stop them in time.

This is authoritarian, dangerous, un-American bullshit.

The Statue of Liberty isn't their property to demolish on a whim. It belongs to the American people.

Wake the hell up, y'all!

[George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway3d]

We face a lot of problems in New York and in America. But we can't solve any of them as long as Donald Trump, a criminal, is our president. We need to impeach him, remove him from office, and get to the point where we can actually address issues like taxation, energy, infrastructure, and healthcare. #NY12

[Hunter Biden @HunterBiden]

So let me get this straight.

Jake Tapper is focused on attacking my Mom.

Jared and Ivanka are building a private island paradise on Albanian protected land.

Don Jr married the daughter of Epstein’s banker, and a startup his fund backs just got a record $620M Pentagon loan.

Eric is taking an Israeli drone company public for $1.5B in the middle of a war with Iran that nobody wanted.

And I know: “But what about your paintings, Hunter?”

Please.

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: LOL! The Daily Show destroys Ivanka Trump for failing to "read the room" by bragging about her private Epstein-esque island as Americans struggle just to afford groceries.

Marie Antoinette had more tact that this...

“It seems like every day, there’s more depressing news about the economy,” said Anchor Michael Kosta. “Gas is $5 a gallon. Raspberries are $8 a pint, which sucks because my backup plan was to fill up my car with smoothie. Now, despite all this, it’s inspiring to know that even in these tough times, there are everyday Americans out there who are still able to make it work...”

The show played footage of Ivanka boasting about the $1.4 billion luxury hotel that she and her corrupt husband Jared Kushner are developing on an Albanian island in the Adriatic Sea. That would be the same Kushner who sold out our foreign policy to Saudi Arabia in return for a $2 billion investment in his firm after Donald Trump's first term.

Thankfully, the people of Albania are rising up against Kushner and Ivanka with widespread protests and growing calls for a full-scale investigation into the project. It turns out that working class people don't take kindly to foreign oligarchs sweeping into their country with ill-gotten capital to snatch up coveted local real estate.

“Let’s give it up for this couple," said Kosta, clapping mockingly. “And for those of you who are thinking, hey, before buying a private island, shouldn’t billionaires maybe read the room? What you don’t understand is, the island doesn’t have rooms yet. They can’t lay the foundation for those rooms until they burn down all those stupid trees, OK?”

The fact that Ivanka feels comfortable rubbing this development in our collective face as her father forces us to penny-scrape, cut back on expenses, and go without vacations because of his tariffs and pointless Iran War is absolutely infuriating. It just shows that these people live in a completely different world. It's not just that they don't care about our financial suffering, they don't think about it at all.

“We were on a friend’s boat, and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that’s how we found it," Ivanka said. "We swam to the islands. We went on a hike, barefoot all the way, up to the top. And we were just captivated.”

“I feel ya, girl. I feel ya," mocked Kosta. "Been there, done that, except instead of the Mediterranean, I was swimming in the Hudson River. And the island I hiked barefoot was Staten Island. And instead of buying it, I stepped on a needle and got HPV. But I feel you. I feel you.”

Absurdly, Ivanka is trying to pitch the nakedly mercenary development as part of some personal spiritual journey, calling it a "tangible manifestation" of how she "wants to live."

“Come on, lady. You’re rich, and you bought an island! Just say that," said Kosta.

When Democrats retake power, we must launch full forensic investigations into all of these shady deals. It's high time these crooks were held accountable.

Please ❤️ and share to demand a full investigation!

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: Hunter Biden SHREDS the media's double standard toward the Trump family in one devastating post — and EVERY word is documented.

Hunter Biden just posted something on X that cuts right to the heart of America's broken media landscape — and it's IMPOSSIBLE to argue with.

"So let me get this straight," he wrote. "Jake Tapper is focused on attacking my Mom," referring to the comments the CNN anchor has made about disbelieving some of the claims in Jill Biden’s latest memoir.

"Meanwhile, Jared and Ivanka are building a private island paradise on Albanian protected land." TRUE. Over 100,000 Albanians are in the streets. Anti-corruption prosecutors have opened an investigation. Flamingo habitats are being bulldozed. It BARELY registers on mainstream media.

"Don Jr. married the daughter of Epstein's banker." Also TRUE. While Epstein survivors read their FBI abuse reports aloud outside the Justice Department, Pam Bondi refused to answer a even a SINGLE question about Trump and the Epstein files, and DOJ lawyers intervened to make sure she didn't.

"A startup that Donald Jr. fund backs just got a record $620 million Pentagon loan." FACTCHECK: ALSO TRUE. While Trump's own financial disclosures show him trading stock in companies his administration then hands billion-dollar contracts to, Don Jr.'s SHADY investment connections to Pentagon contractors receive almost NO scrutiny from mainstream media.

"Eric is taking an Israeli drone company public for $1.5 billion in the middle of a war with Iran that nobody wanted." Also TRUE, but that story got almost NO coverage.

And then Hunter Biden delivered the punchline that lands like a sledgehammer: "And I know: 'But what about your paintings, Hunter?'"

HUNTER IS 100% RIGHT: His art sales, laptop, and legal troubles consumed years of breathless media coverage. The Trump children's CORRUPT overseas business deals, foreign investments, Pentagon contracts, and connections to Jeffrey Epstein's associates a free pass.

And while Jake Tapper attacks Jill Biden is being attacked for a book, Jared Kushner is bulldozing protected wetlands for a $4 billion resort while his father-in-law runs foreign policy, while raising BILLIONS from shady deals with foreign governments.

There is simply NO comparison!

Please like and share!

[Jan @ExpressiveP]

@Eman5695 Coin purse

[Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) 🇺🇸🇺🇦 @AdamKinzinger]

While everyone's watching Hormuz, the Epstein files are being buried. The law says release them. Trump is fighting it. Massie may lose his seat Tuesday for pushing it. And now a $1.7B slush fund for Jan 6 defendants? Don't go quiet. (link in reply)

[Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) 🇺🇸🇺🇦 @AdamKinzinger]

There is no way the republicans would be anything less that outraged if Obama had taken almost $2 billion of taxpayer dollars and given it to people he pardoned for trying to steal an election. Every republican in congress who doesn’t speak up and prevent this is complicit

[Robert Reich @RBReich]

Donald Trump just stole $1.7B from us — and he's creating a slush fund to reward his political allies.

I've never seen anything like this in my 50 years in politics.

It makes Nixon look like a boy scout.

https://t.co/h50c8yzXtJ

[Rep. Jamie Raskin @RepRaskin]

President Trump dropped a $10 billion lawsuit against his own government in exchange for a $1.776 billion slush fund to steer our tax dollars to election deniers and insurrectionists.

If our Republican colleagues have any respect for the Constitution and the powers of Congress, they will join us and put a stop to this rank corruption.

[Joe Walsh @WalshFreedom]

Donald Trump is America’s enemy.

I hear Republicans and conservatives say, “Joe, you’re going too far calling Trump a traitor.”

No. I’m not.

If you attack our elections, if you try to stop democracy’s heart from beating, you are not a patriot.

You are our enemy.

You are a traitor to this country.

[Rep. Melanie Stansbury @Rep_Stansbury]

This is the MOST corrupt Administration in American history:
—Insider trading
—Selling pardons
—Crypto and real estate deals
—Arms deals
—BILLIONS in tax breaks for billionaires on the backs of the American people

And NOW the IRS giving Trump and convicted rioters BILLIONS in taxpayer dollars. This is outrageous!

[Jan @ExpressiveP]

@Damaan4u33 @RonaldFraley5 Ta-Ta!