Last Call For It's Mueller Time, Con't

It is indeed, finally, after 18 months, almost Mueller Time.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is expected to issue findings on core aspects of his Russia probe soon after the November midterm elections as he faces intensifying pressure to produce more indictments or shut down his investigation, according to two U.S. officials.

Specifically, Mueller is close to rendering judgment on two of the most explosive aspects of his inquiry: whether there were clear incidents of collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, and whether the president took any actions that constitute obstruction of justice, according to one of the officials, who asked not to be identified speaking about the investigation.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Mueller’s findings would be made public if he doesn’t secure unsealed indictments. The regulations governing Mueller’s probe stipulate that he can present his findings only to his boss, who is currently Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The regulations give a special counsel’s supervisor some discretion in deciding what is relayed to Congress and what is publicly released.

The question of timing is critical. Mueller’s work won’t be concluded ahead of the Nov. 6 midterm elections, when Democrats hope to take control of the House and end Trump’s one-party hold on Washington.

But this timeline also raises questions about the future of the probe itself. Trump has signaled he may replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions after the election, a move that could bring in a new boss for Mueller. Rosenstein also might resign or be fired by Trump after the election.

Rosenstein has made it clear that he wants Mueller to wrap up the investigation as expeditiously as possible, another U.S. official said. The officials gave no indications about the details of Mueller’s conclusions. Mueller’s office declined to comment for this story.

Here's what I expect to happen between midterm elections and January, and very little of it depends on whether or not Democrats prevail in those elections in less than 3 weeks:

• The Trump regime "leaks" that the Mueller report completely exonerates Trump before the report is even delivered to Rosenstein. 
• Rosenstein determines that the report will not be released publicly, otherwise Trump immediately has the excuse to fire him OR Sessions quits and his replacement orders Rosenstein not to release the report.
• Either way the report is leaked immediately and Trump/Sessions's replacement fires Rosenstein as a result.  Mueller is also "done" because his report has been delivered.
• Trump rolls out the pardon train to fix any issues resulting from possible indictments by Mueller.
• Kavanaugh is the fifth vote on SCOTUS to let him get away with it. 

All this has to happen before Democrats take control of the House in January.   Remember, SCOTUS stepped in on Bush v Gore on December 12, 2000, only five weeks after the 2000 election, and just five days after the second Florida recount, so they can move relatively quickly on such a vital Constitutional question if necessary.

After that, well, that's the real question now, isn't it?

The GOP's Race To The Bottom, Con't

When I say Republicans are the party of white supremacists, don't just take my word for it, it's the actual white supremacists happily admitting that's exactly what the goal is.

Patrick Casey blended in easily with the buttoned-up crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference held outside Washington D.C. earlier this year.

His boyish face was clean-shaven. His brown hair was close-cropped. And he shuffled between the networking breakfasts and panel discussions wearing a maroon sweater, matching collared shirt and crisp khaki pants.

But despite all outward appearances, Casey, 29, wasn’t like all of the other Republicans at CPAC, the largest annual gathering of conservative activists in the U.S.

He wasn’t there only to champion conservative causes. Casey had ulterior motives: to covertly spread the message of the white nationalist group he leads.

As the executive director of Identity Evropa, Casey is on a bold mission. “To take over the GOP as much as possible,” he told NBC News.

Casey and his roughly 800 fellow members believe ethnic diversity damages the country. Emboldened by President Donald Trump’s rhetoric on race and immigration, they advocate for allowing only Caucasians to immigrate to the U.S. in order to maintain a “white supermajority.”
In Casey’s perfect world, whites would live among whites in North America, Western Europe, Australia, and South Africa, blacks would live among blacks in Africa, Asians in Asia, and Hispanics in Latin America. “Ethnic diversity has been proven time and time again in many studies to be very detrimental for social cohesion, social capital, and it's just not a good model for society,” he said.

Identity Evropa gained notoriety last year when it helped organize the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va. The gathering of white supremacists ended with a white nationalist plowing his car into a group of counter protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

Casey now sees politics rather than protests as the prime vehicle to carry his brand of white identity politics into the mainstream.

Casey wants Identity Evropa candidates to get elected on the GOP ticket so they can implement these policies.  There are millions, if not tens of millions of Republican voters out there that would like to see that happen.

And frankly, let's not forget that there's plenty of other Republicans, both candidates and those actively in Congress and in state legislatures...and the White House...who want to "maintain a white supermajority" as well.  That's where the GOP is in 2018: the party of white identity.

That's been the goal since Atwater and well before, and there's no reason to think they'll stop playing that game now.  In fact, that's pretty much all they have left.  The only difference now is that they feel safe enough to have people like Casey boldly proclaim that this is the plan.

Unfortunately, as with so many times in America's past, it's working.  They've got the culture part down, they're working on the psuedo-science part of the takeover now as advances in genetic testing are leading to a new era of science being co-opted for eugenics, and the political part is coming along nicely for them.

We're already facing the imminent end of the civil rights era.  After that, history tells us, comes the cleansing.

I Dunno, Alaska If I Get The Chance

Something really weird is going on in Alaska politics has Lt. Gov. Byron Mallot as abruptly resigned his post three weeks before the state's gubernatorial election, where Independent Gov. Bill Walker is up against former Dem Sen. Mark Begich and Republican Mike Dunleavy in a three-way race.

Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott abruptly resigned from office Tuesday following disclosure of recent "inappropriate comments," complicating what was already a difficult re-election for Gov. Bill Walker. Details about what Mallott said or to whom were not immediately clear.

A new lieutenant governor, Alaska Health and Social Services Commissioner Valerie Nurr'araaluk Davidson, was immediately sworn in. In a brief statement, she said she was "profoundly disappointed" by Mallott's conduct, adding "respect for women, and the dignity of all Alaskans, is our responsibility."

Walker, in a written statement that he later read in a brief news conference in Anchorage, said, "Byron recently made inappropriate comments that do not reflect the sterling level of behavior required in his role as lieutenant governor. I learned of the incident last night. Byron has taken full responsibility for his actions and has resigned."

Mallott's resignation comes three weeks before Election Day. Walker, elected as an independent, faces Democrat Mark Begich and Republican Mike Dunleavy.

Walker campaign manager, John-Henry Heckendorn, told the Associated Press that the campaign has been in conversations with Begich's campaign for several days about a "path forward for Alaska." He declined to go into details, but he said the conversations were prompted by concerns about Dunleavy and the dynamics of a three-way race. The talks so far have been "inconclusive" but will continue, Heckendorn said.

The heck is going on here?

Mallott's resignation is odd is hell, but this talk of Begich in talks with Walker about the "dynamics of a three-way race" with 3 weeks before the election is hinky as hell.

More as we find out, I guess, but this is just bonkers.

StupidiNews!

• The death toll from Hurricane Michael has risen to 29 overall, 19 in Florida alone as search and recovery teams continue combing through housing and building debris.
• Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins received a letter at her home that included a note saying the envelope contained the poison ricin, FBI officials say they are testing the letter.
• Former California GOP Rep. Mary Bono has resigned as interim USA Gymnastics head after tweeting criticism of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick's Nike campaign.
• Netflix added nearly seven million new subscribers in Q3, two million more than predicted, as the streaming giant recovered from a sluggish first half of 2018.
• Humans and AI drivers will work together in a proposed Formula E Roborace motorsports series, a successful test race in Berlin means the racing cars will have the green light for a 2019 season.