The only conclusion that can be drawn from the date established by the Supreme Court to hear the immunity claim is a deliberate attempt to interfere with the criminal proceedings in which Mr. Trump is a Defendant. The six far right members of the Court knew the most effective way to protect Mr. Trump was to hear the case on a delayed basis, issue an opinion on a delayed basis and effectively stop any of the federal trials from proceeding before the election. Then the ultimate hypocrisy was Justice Coney Barrett saying that the unanimous vote in the Colorado ballet case should give Americans comfort in their fairness. She is clearly a hypocrite and thinks she is fooling the public when, in fact, the only thing she is doing is feeding the Trump fans and frustrating the rest of us.
In the event that Democrats take the House and in the unlikely event they got 60 votes in the Senate, the first action would be to impeach Alito, Thomas, Barrett and Kavanaugh.
The New York State Democrats are introducing several bills to help farmers due in large part to a report by the US Department of Agriculture indicating that from 2017 to 2022 we lost 9% of our farms. New York State also lost 360,000 acres of farm land; a significant percentage of the losses were in dairy farms. Obviously, Democrats holding the super majorities in the New York State legislature will have no trouble passing these bills, and the response of farm organizations will be interesting.
Rare gray whales, at least one, has returned in the Atlantic off Nantucket Island. These whales have been extinct for almost 200 years in the north Atlantic and their return scientists believe is a function of the warming trend – climate change – and in particular the ability to move through the Artic Circle as ice melts and pathways open allowing these animals to move from the Pacific to the Atlantic. One more piece of evidence that should be paid attention to.
Job openings held steady at about 8.9 million, which, again, is evidence of a strong labor market and a strong economy. However, unemployment inched up and wages leveled off. What does the Fed do based on these trends likely later this yet.
As Israel and Hamas struggle to a cease fire there is increasing evidence out of illegal settlement construction in the West Bank. In fact, it is described as surging. We know that those settlers have been attacking Palestinians, and are hard core Netanyahu supporters. It is hard to believe the world will be able to withstand much more of the devastation in Gaza without some plan to assist the Palestinian people. Mr. Biden announced the plan recently to deliver aid by air, and now it looks like they will also add sea operations. Recognizing it is very difficult to sort out who the good guys and who the bad guys are, as Hamas has effectively infiltrated the population just like we experienced in Afghanistan, Iraq, and to some extent Viet Nam. These are difficult situations to work your way through, to protect yourself, and at the same time, be an effective fighter.
There has been very little activity with regard to NAFTA in terms of news over the last many months. This could be evidence of several things, including its working well, it has no political bite anymore, although Mr. Trump may bring that back if he is elected, and that there are so many more colorful issues out there that NAFTA has simply fell by the wayside. I did note in the last couple of months that Mexico had jumped ahead of China as our largest trade partner which fascinates me because of the size of the Mexican economy versus the US and China, but I think it also indicates the level of trade that is going on between the US and Mexico in much the same way as that trade functions along the US/Canadian border, parts moving back and forth ultimately being included in a larger product.
Another shutdown has been avoided at the last second. The unusual factor here is that it is not a CR, but full funding through the end of this fiscal year, September 30th, 2024 for 6 Departments. Quite a few still to go before March 22nd.
No Labels has no chance to elect its candidates and this amounts to nothing more than an egotistical exercise to stay on TV.
Ms. Stefanik commenting on the State of the Union said there as only 1 bi-partisan moment in the Speech which she criticized as too few, however it’s 1 more than she has provided in years.
Bill Owens is a former member of Congress representing the New York 21st, a partner in Stafford, Owens, Piller, Murnane, Kelleher and Trombley in Plattsburgh, NY and a Strategic Advisor at Dentons to Washington, DC.
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