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GOP county commissioner flashes gun at Zoom meeting after resident asks about denouncing Proud Boys
January 21, 2021
A county commissioner in Traverse City, Michigan this week flashed a gun during a Zoom meeting after being asked by a local resident to denounced the far-right Proud Boys gang.
The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports that county commissioner Ron Clous went on got his rifle after resident Keli MacIntosh criticized members of the commission for meeting with members of the Proud Boys last year when they came to show support for a county resolution supporting the rights of gun owners.
<p>She then asked the commission to emphasize that it denounced the group, which <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/proud-boys-2650042724/" target="_blank">played a major role</a> in the riots that occurred at the United States Capitol building <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/capitol-mob-2649949026/" target="_blank">that were aimed at blocking</a> the certification of President Joe Biden's victory.</p><p>It was at this point that Clous got up from his seat and returned holding a rifle, which he placed on his desk.</p><p>MacIntosh took it as an attempt to intimidate her.</p><p>"This guy is in the middle of a government meeting brandishing a weapon," MacIntosh told the Record-Eagle. "Why would I not think they were trying to harm me?"</p><p>Clous, however, said he had no intention of threatening MacIntosh and insisted he was only trying to show his support for the Second Amendment.</p><p>He also explained why he wouldn't agree to denounce the Proud Boys.</p><p>"The only thing I know about them [Proud Boys] is when they came and spoke to us, they were probably the most respected folks that got up and talked [at the March meeting]," he told the Record-Eagle. "They were decent guys and they treated us with respect."</p>
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'I don't want to be an enemy': The View's Meghan McCain plays the victim after Joy Behar attacks Ted Cruz
January 21, 2021
"The View" co-hosts battled it out on Thursday following President Joe Biden's inauguration. While they gushed over Biden's speech, the fashion of notable women and the events that followed, Joy Behar asked why members like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Josh Halwy (R-MO) were even in attendance given they worked so hard to try and overthrow the election.
"The other thing I want to know is how did Ted Cruz get in there?" Behar asked. " Did he come in underneath Lady Gaga's skirt? These are the questions I have today. What is he doing there? Why are these enemies there? The whole thing was beautiful. I loved the poet. I loved Joe. I loved the three presidents talking and making sense. It was like we had been kidnapped by some crazy family for four years and our parents have come to pick us up and you say to them, well, where were you all these years, you know?"
<p>
McCain turned the joke about Cruz into being about her as a Republican.
</p><p>
"I echo what everyone is saying about him, talking about the uncivil war, and, you know, that we need to come together as Americans and give him a chance, and I thought it was a really beautiful inauguration," she began. "The flip side of this is that there are 74 million Americans who, you know, didn't vote for him."
</p><p>
She went on to incorrectly state that it was a "much closer election than it should have been." Biden won by more votes than former President Barack Obama did in a matchup against Mitt Romney and more than the division of votes between former President George W. Bush and then-Sen. John Kerry in 2004. In 2000 and 2016, the Republicans in those years obviously lost the popular vote entirely. The 7 million-vote spread is a significant one, surpassed only by Presidents Obama in 2008, George H.W. Bush in 1988 and Ronald Regan. It's the second-largest election win in three decades.
</p><p>
"I think the question I have is, I believe Joe Biden. I don't know if I believe the rest of the Democratic coalition. I just listened to Joy call Ted Cruz an enemy and ask why he was at the inauguration," complained McCain. "If the rest of the Democratic Party and the left want to act like all Republicans and factions in this country are the enemy, I have trepidation going forward on just how much hope I have for us coming together because it's a great day to be a Democrat, but to be a conservative or to be Republican."
</p><p>
McCain was not among the insurrectionists who led a siege on the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overthrow the legislative branch of government. While she's correct, 74 million didn't cast ballots for Biden, the majority of those 74 million voters also didn't support the overthrow of the 2020 election and they certainly didn't support the insurrection. A <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/partial-blame-capitol-attack-majority-favors-barring-trump/story?id=75251123" target="_blank">whopping 7 in 10 Americans</a> say that Trump deserves some blame for the attack and 54 percent think he should be charged with inciting a riot. Even an <a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2021/01/13/what-americans-make-capitol-attack-poll" target="_blank">overwhelming number of Republican voters</a> saw the attack as a "bad" or "tragic" event a YouGov poll said.
</p><p>
While McCain may still call herself a Republican, the Trump-wing of the GOP has horrified many Americans who oppose the 2020 election overthrow and the insurrection. Hawley's own state doesn't approve of his actions,<a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/show-me-state-tells-josh-hawley-to-show-himself-out-poll-finds" target="_blank"> according to Missouri polls</a>. Americans also disapprove of Cruz's actions <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2021-01/topline_axios_ipsos_poll_jan_13_2021_final.pdf" target="_blank">to the tune of 65 percent</a> to approve at 30 percent.
</p><p>
Sunny Hostin went on to agree with Behar, reading tweets from Cruz and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) attacking Biden while he was being sworn into office. <br/>
</p><div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="100%" src="https://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x7ytw68" style="width:100%;height:100%;position:absolute;left:0px;top:0px;overflow:hidden" type="text/html" width="100%"> </iframe> </div>
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'Clean house of every last Trumpist': Joe Biden urged to keep firing spree going by sacking Social Security holdovers
January 21, 2021
After President Joe Biden kicked off his White House tenure Wednesday by sacking several corrupt and incompetent holdovers from the Trump administration—including labor board attorney Peter Robb and CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger—progressives are urging the newly inaugurated president to keep the firing spree going by terminating his predecessor's right-wing appointees at the Social Security Administration.
"Our message for the Biden administration is that some personnel changes below the commissioner level aren't good enough—we need change at the top of SSA, and that means removing Saul and Black."
—Linda Benesch, Social Security Works
<p>
"Donald Trump's cronies at the Social Security Administration are undermining our Social Security system—including underpaying tens of thousands of beneficiaries," advocacy group Social Security Works <a href="https://twitter.com/SSWorks/status/1352244673801318401" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweeted</a> Thursday morning. "President Joe Biden needs to clean house at the Social Security Administration immediately!"
</p><p>
Linda Benesch, communications director at Social Security Works, told <em>Common Dreams </em>Thursday that while SSA's Deputy Commissioner of Retirement and Disability Policy Mark Warshawsky—a <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-disability-cuts-social-security_n_5e6bb096c5b6bd8156f68c4d" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">longtime proponent</a> of even stricter eligibility requirements for disability benefits—has resigned, SSA Commissioner Andrew Saul and Deputy Commissioner David Black remain in their posts. On Wednesday, the Biden White House included Saul on <a href="https://twitter.com/nogryskoWFED/status/1351988033474732035" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a list</a> of acting officials who will lead federal agencies as Biden's nominees are confirmed.
</p><p>
"It is unclear what the Biden administration means by listing Saul as an acting commissioner, but we will fight to make sure it means he is on his way out the door," said Benesch. "Our message for the Biden administration is that some personnel changes below the commissioner level aren't good enough—we need change at the top of SSA, and that means removing Saul and Black."
</p><p>
Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, echoed that message, saying in an emailed statement that "the only thing that is acceptable at the Social Security Administration is a new commissioner and a new deputy commissioner who believe in the system, the movement won't accept anything less."
</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1352244673801318401" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1352244673801318401&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2Fr%2Fentryeditor%2F2650056959%23publish&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 290px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div><p>Ahead of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' inauguration, Social Security Works <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/12/11/220000-sign-petition-demanding-biden-clean-house-trump-social-security-appointees" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">led a coalition of progressive organizations</a> in demanding that the new administration remove Saul, Black, and Warshawsky immediately upon taking office and reverse their destructive attacks on the beloved New Deal program.</p><p>Pointing to a series of policy changes Trump's SSA attempted to ram through during the former president's final days in power—including a regulation that, if implemented, would <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/12/07/trump-launches-despicable-last-minute-attack-social-security-rule-aiming-restrict" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">deny benefits</a> to hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities—the progressive coalition <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-now-tell-the-biden-harris-administration-to-uproot-trumps-social-security-underminers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a> it is "critical that the Biden-Harris administration immediately undo these rules when they take office, and demand the resignations of Trump's Social Security appointees."</p><p>While current law states that the SSA commissioner "may be removed from office only pursuant to a finding by the president of neglect of duty or malfeasance in office," Social Security Works argued in a November <a href="https://socialsecurityworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/SSW-TRANSITION-REPORT-final-11-22-2020.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">report</a> (pdf) that if Saul refuses to resign, Biden "should remove him nevertheless, citing as the power to do so the recent Supreme Court case, <em>Seila Law LLC vs Consumer Financial Protection Bureau</em>."</p><p>In that case, the high court <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/29/victory-wall-streets-army-lawyers-and-lobbyists-supreme-court-puts-cfpb-chief-under" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ruled</a> last June that the CFPB's structure was unconstitutional because it protected the agency's director from at-will termination by the president—a protection that the Supreme Court's conservative majority deemed a violation of the separation of powers.</p><p>As <em>Slate</em>'s Mark Joseph Stern <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/01/biden-michael-pack-kathleen-kraninger-peter-robb.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">noted</a> Wednesday, "Kraninger supported that decision, which paved the way for her <a href="https://twitter.com/cfpbdirector/status/1351949184883163138?s=21" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">termination</a> on Wednesday. Had the court upheld the [CFPB]'s independence, Kraninger could have remained in office through the end of 2023."</p><p>Social Security Works said in its report that Biden "should give Commissioner Andrew Saul the choice to resign or be fired and require all other SSA political Schedule C appointees, including Deputy Commissioner David Black, to vacate their offices."</p><p>In a <a href="https://twitter.com/alaw202/status/1352076584128307203" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweet</a> late Wednesday, Lawson applauded Biden's termination of Robb and urged the president to "clean house of every last Trumpist in government."</p><p>"Next stop, Social Security Administration," Lawson wrote.</p> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
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