January 1, The Dem’s Impeachment Disaster

This Day in History | 1903

Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first successful flight of a self-propelled air plane. 

Good Morning Middle Americans, 

By most metrics, the Democrats impeachment has been a disaster so far. The latest polls continue to show the American public is unmoved by what we’ve seen and heard as evidence from the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees. Also, the Democrats have lost a seat in the House of Representatives, with Rep. Jeff Van Drew flipping parties this week. 

Also, the Supreme court has refused to hear a case that could have made it illegal to be homeless in some places. By refusing the case, the justices have made it legal to sleep on the street and in other public spaces. 

Remember all that talk about the pending recession? Well, forget about it.  Economist say there’s evidence to show the US economy has plenty of room to grow. 

Finally, if you have any interest in moving to Kansas, you could get $15,000 for moving there. 

Read all about it. 

– Fraser Dixon 

Democrats Lay Out Case for Wednesday Trump impeachment Vote

(AP) – House Democrats laid out their impeachment case against President Donald Trump on Monday, a sweeping report accusing him of betraying the nation and deserving to be ousted, as key lawmakers began to signal where they stand ahead of this week’s landmark votes.

What Democrats once hoped would be a bipartisan act, only the third time in U.S. history the House will be voting to impeach a president, is now on track to be a starkly partisan roll call Wednesday. No Republicans are breaking with the president and almost all Democrats are expected to approve the charges against him.

A raucous town hall Monday in the Detroit suburbs put on display the nation’s wrenching debate over the unconventional president and the prospect of removing the him from office. Freshman Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin was both heckled and celebrated as she announced her support for impeachment.

“There’s certainly a lot of controversy about this,” Slotkin told the crowd of 400. “But there just has to be a moment where you use the letter of the law for what they were intended.”

Read more here

Supreme Court Lets Stand Ruling That Protects Homeless Who Sleep on Sidewalk

(LA Times) – The Supreme Court refused Monday to hear a major case on homelessness, letting stand a ruling that protects homeless people’s right to sleep on the sidewalk or in public parks if no other shelter is available.

The justices without comment or a dissent said that they would not hear the case from Boise, Idaho, which challenged a ruling by a federal appeals court.

The outcome was a significant victory for homeless activists and a setback for city officials in California and other Western states who argued the ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals undercut their authority to regulate encampments on the sidewalks. The 9th Circuit had agreed with lawyers for the homeless who argued that prosecuting people for sleeping on the sidewalks violated the 8th Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment if a city failed to provide adequate shelter.

Learn more about the ruling here

U.S. economy shakes free of recession fears in striking turnaround since August

(Washington Post) – The U.S. economy is heading into 2020 at a pace of steady, sustained growth after a series of interest rate cuts and the apparent resolution of two trade-related threats mostly eliminated the risk of a recession.

This marks a dramatic turnaround in momentum since August, when some forecasters predicted a 50 percent chance of a downturn starting by the end of next year.

Many economists credit the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate reductions and the slightly improved trade picture for propelling the stock market to fresh record highs and causing forecasters to bump up their predictions for how long the economy can keep growing and adding jobs without stumbling. 

Find out more here

These Cities are Offering You Money to Move There

(New York Times) – By now, you are probably familiar with the pitch: Move to a town, a city or even a country you had never considered or maybe even heard of, and get cash in return.

Add Topeka, Kan., to the growing list of places offering financial incentives to attract new residents and buttress an aging or stagnating population.

On Thursday, Topeka officials and business leaders announced they were pooling their resources and offering up to $15,000 to people willing to live and work in the city or its home county of Shawnee.

Organizers say they know the money they are offering is not much of a lure.

Interested in moving to Topeka for $15,000? Find out more here