Out d'Coup | Trump Impeached Again; Insurrection Looks Even Worse Each Day; FBI Warning to States; Union Power; Mastriano in Hot Seat; New PA State Caucuses; Greenstein Fail; Free Will Releases

Donald Trump is the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans joined Democrats in voting to impeach Trump. No, my representative was not one of them. 

As the days go by we find out that the head of the Capitol police lie, the FBI released a report ahead of the insurrection warning that there were indications that the Trump supporters were calling for “war.”  And now the FBI is warning that State Capitol buildings may now be targets over the weekend. 

FBI investigators looking into Wednesday’s right-wing insurrection are starting to look at legislators who may have coordinated with organizers of the mob. 

Representative Aryanna Pressley confirmed that the panic buttons in her office were ripped out before the insurrection and Representative James Clyburn confirmed that his private office where he does most of his work was sacked leading to suspicions of an inside job. 

Conan the Barbarian releases a video calling Wednesday’s insurrection, “America’s Kristallnacht.” 

Parler is gone (for now) and the GOP is crying about it. 

James Comey - yes, THAT James Comey, is actually out there calling for Biden to pardon Trump. Yeah, that guy who helped hand Trump the presidency back in 2016. 

DC Hotel workers from UNITE HERE Local hint at a wildcat strike ahead of the inauguration to help stave off any repeat of last Wednesday’s insurrection. In a statement, the union said, “We are calling on hotels in the DC region to close ahead of inauguration, unless they are hosting security personnel. Any hotel that stays open must permit workers to stay home and/or leave the moment they feel unsafe.”

Fast Food workers are calling for a nationwide strike on Monday, January 18, to urge the Biden administration to raise the minimum wage to at least $15/hour. 

It’s been another wild week for Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano

WHYY reported that Senator Mastriano used $3,400 in campaign cash to pay for busses to take insurrectionists to Washington DC.

Media Matters reported that Doug Mastriano frequently goes on Q Anon associated podcasts and in recent weeks called the effort to overturn the election a “death match with the Republican Party.”  

Mastriano is also calling on Trump supporters to stand-down this weekend as insurrectionists plan on rallying outside the Pennsylvania capitol this weekend and all of next week.  In a facebook post, he stated: Please do not participate in rallies or protests over the next 10 days.  “Let’s focus on praying for our nation during these troubling times.”

Frank Scavo, a former congressional candidate from northeastern Pennsylvania, organized a bus trip from Old Forge to last week’s insurrection and was caught repeatedly lying about his involvement in the insurrection.  First he told reporters he was nowhere near the capitol, then he told them that he was close to the capitol but didn’t go inside and now there is photographic evidence that he was inside the capitol during the insurrection.

Pennsylvania Republicans move forward with their plans to gerrymander the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in response to Republicans losing three Supreme Court Seats in 2015.  Republicans are using recent PA Supreme Court rulings during the 2020 election as excuses for their latest attack on the court.  

In happier news, State Senator Jim Brewster won his final court battle and is now seated. 

State Representative Elizabeth Fielder has been named the chair for the newly formed Progressive Policies for Working People subcommittee.  The new subcommittee will be part of the Pennsylvania House Democratic Policy Committee and will give progressive lawmakers more of a legislative voice within the House Democratic Caucus. 

In more good news for state politics, the crew heading the Pennsylvania Legislative Climate Caucus is looking good. The Caucus will be Chaired by Rep. Danielle Friel Otten, D-Chester; the vice chair will be Rep. Nancy Guenst, D-Montgomery; and, Rep. Rick Krajewski, D-Philadelphia, will serve as Secretary. If you don’t know Nancy Guenst, we’ll tell you about the note she posted to her office door for potential insurrectionists. 

PASSHE Chancellor Greenstein has trouble maintaining the good-guy, Chancellor McDreamy schtick in a open Spotlight PA interview on Zoom last night. 

What are we doing with our “free time.” 

Free Will Brewing has some new releases. We'll give you the details in today's Last Call.