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The nearly all white GOP Senate says it will filibuster Biden Homeland Security pick Alejandro Mayorkas
January 27, 2021
Announcement Comes Even After – Or Because – DHS Raises Threat Level Over Domestic
Senate Republicans say they will block – filibuster – the nomination of President Joe Biden's pick to head the Dept. of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas – barely more than an hour after DHS announced it was raising the threat level due to domestic violent extremists.
<p>
"Information suggests that some ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence," DHS <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/ntas/advisory/national-terrorism-advisory-system-bulletin-january-27-2021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">announced</a> Wednesday.
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If he ever gets confirmed, Alejandro Mayorkas will be the first Jewish person, the first Latino, the first immigrant, and the first Cuban American to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
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He's also been confirmed by the Senate before – three times before – including as a U.S. Attorney, and for two top roles in – you guessed it – the Dept. of Homeland Security.But now, Mayorkas's nomination is "problematic" to Senate Republicans.</p><p>It's critical to note that the United States has not had a Senate-confirmed Secretary of Homeland Security for nearly two years – since April 10, 2019, when Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen exited the administration. Every American should be concerned for that reason alone. Trump actually had seven different DHS chiefs, just two were Senate-confirmed. The department desperately needs an excellent leader.</p><p>And in addition to Mayorkas being an immigrant, Jewish, Latino, and Cuban American, there's a lot of background here to grapple with.</p><p>First, there Senator Josh Hawley, the Republican of Missouri who will forever be the face of the Senators who supported President Donald Trump's deadly insurrection. The image of Hawley's fist in the air as he stood in the street in front of the U.S. Capitol, literally inciting the insurrection, is emblazoned on many Americans' minds.</p><p>Hawley last week continued to make news when he blocked Mayorkas's nomination in committee. This was his reason: "Mr. Mayorkas has not adequately explained how he will enforce federal law and secure the southern border given President-elect Biden's promise to roll back major enforcement and security measures."</p><p>That's not a reason. The Senate's role of advice and consent is not predicated on the candidate giving specific details of how they will effect certain outcomes. Imagine if a Republican Senator asked a Supreme Court justice nominee how they will stop abortion, or marriage of same-sex couples.</p><p>But there's a lot more here.</p><p>The Republicans in the Senate are now following Hawley's lead, placing him as their new leader in their war against President Joe Biden. Hawley is a seditious insurrectionist whose own supporters – from major donors to state newspapers and probably the majority of Americans, are calling for him to resign or be expelled from the Senate for inciting the insurrection.</p><p>45 of 50 Senate Republicans Tuesday night voted to take no action against former President Trump for inciting the insurrection, an insurrection led by Hawley and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX).</p><p>Republicans – including Florida's Marco Rubio – clearly are not comfortable with a highly-qualified candidate whose life represents so many minorities. For the nearly all white GOP, that's just a bridge to the 21st century too far to travel.</p><p>Democrats will now have just one more reason to kill the filibuster, thanks to the GOP.</p><p><br/></p>
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QAnon congresswoman faces growing outrage as new video exposes her harassment of a Parkland survivor
January 27, 2021
Newly elected Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is at the center of controversy yet again over an disturbing video that has resurfaced of her harassing one of the survivors of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla.
On Wednesday, Jan. 27, Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter was one of the victims in the 2018 attack, took to Twitter with footage of the embattled Congresswoman heckling former Parkland student David Hogg. The video was reportedly filmed just weeks after the shooting when Hogg traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers and discuss proposals for stricter gun laws.
<p>In the video, Greene could be seen following and taunting the teen for several blocks. With the video, Guttenberg called out Greene, tweeting, "[Marjorie Taylor Greene, is this you harassing [David Hogg] weeks after the Parkland shooting, that my daughter was killed in & he was in? Calling him a coward for ignoring your insanity. I will answer all of your questions in person. Get ready to record again."</p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6b3fc8e81ed1e415ef0d2df23d64af1c" id="8c651"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1354420542678441986"><div style="margin:1em 0">.@mtgreenee, is this you harassing @davidhogg111 weeks after the Parkland shooting, that my daughter was killed in… https://t.co/WzP4WCaJM3</div> — Fred Guttenberg (@Fred Guttenberg)<a href="https://twitter.com/fred_guttenberg/statuses/1354420542678441986">1611753995.0</a></blockquote></div>March For Our Lives, the advocacy founded by Parkland survivors to advocate for an end to gun violence, also fired back at Greene with a tweet that read, "We don't want to be doing this work, we'd much rather be living our lives like any young person. Instead, we've been forced to grow up quickly because corrupt politicians like you can't do your damn job." Hogg also shared his reaction to the resurfaced video saying, "After surviving gun violence this is just 1/10 of 1% of the harassment advocates for gun control have to deal with."<p><br/></p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8ab48320620f3632580bfb3bfb8ecb02" id="47a74"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1354441513955160067"><div style="margin:1em 0">You think we want to be doing this ?@mtgreenee
No- I’d much rather be able to be a college student but I & others… https://t.co/hLdj37zrK5</div> — David Hogg (He / Him) (@David Hogg (He / Him))<a href="https://twitter.com/davidhogg111/statuses/1354441513955160067">1611758995.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Now, Parkland survivors and former students are also calling for Greene's resignation. The latest video comes amid a multitude of allegations and concerns about Greene including her radicalized QAnon beliefs, and her most recent, outlandish attempt to file articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden. Just days ago, Greene faced backlash for her previous remarks suggesting 9/11 and the Parkland shooting was a "false flag" operation. CNN also unearthed comments from Greene before she entered Congress suggested she'd like to see top Democrats executed for "treason."</p>
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WATCH: Woman says she has to dress 'like a Muslim' to avoid wearing a mask in bizarre city council rant
January 27, 2021
A woman showed up to a city council meeting in Lewiston, Idaho, dressed in Garb that she described as Muslim attire just to avoid wearing a mask, TMZ reports.
The woman, self-identified as Katie Dugger, was among a group of local citizens who spoke up at the meeting to complain about mask mandates and lockdowns.
<p>Dugger stepped to the podium and said it's "very traumatizing for me to put on a mask because of something that happened to me when I was a kid -- I cannot wear one." </p><p>"You know why I'm wearing this?" she said while gesturing towards her clothing. "I'm wearing this because the only way I can go to school today was because I had to act like I had on a friggin' burka." </p><p>Watch the video below:</p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="395" src="https://share.tmz.com/videos/2021-01-27-012721-idaho-woman-4916188/" width="560"></iframe></div>
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