On January 20th, 2009, 57 Senate seats were held by Democrats with 2 Independents (Bernie Sanders and Joe Lieberman) caucusing with the Democrats...which gave Democrats 59 mostly-reliable Democratic votes in the Senate, one shy of filibuster-proof “total control.” Republicans held 41 seats.

The 59 number in January, 2009 included Ted Kennedy and Al Franken. Kennedy had a seizure during an Obama inaugural luncheon and never returned to vote in the Senate.....and Al Franken was not officially seated until July 7th, 2009 (hotly contested recount demanded by Norm Coleman.)

The real Democratic Senate seat number in January, 2009 was 55 Democrats plus 2 Independents equaling 57 Senate seats.



Then in April, 2009, Republican Senator Arlen Specter became a Democrat. Kennedy was still at home, dying, and Al Franken was still not seated. Score in April, 2009....Democratic votes 58.

In May, 2009, Robert Byrd got sick and did not return to the Senate until July 21, 2009. Even though Franken was finally seated July 7, 2009 and Byrd returned on July 21.....Democrats still only had 59 votes in the Senate because Kennedy never returned, dying on August 25, 2009.

Kennedy’s empty seat was temporarily filled by Paul Kirk but not until September 24, 2009.

The swearing in of Kirk finally gave Democrats 60 votes (at least potentially) in the Senate. “Total control” of Congress by Democrats lasted all of 4 months. From September 24, 2009 through February 4, 2010...at which point Scott Brown, a Republican, was sworn in to replace Kennedy’s Massachusetts seat.

The truth....then....is this: Democrats had “total control” of the House of Representatives from 2009-2011, 2 full years. Democrats, and therefore, Obama, had “total control” of the Senate from September 24, 2009 until February 4, 2010. A grand total of 4 months.

Withdrew from the Paris climate agreement.

Blocked the Clean Power Plan. The plan implemented under Obama focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. In October, The Post reported that the administration would seek to repeal it entirely.

Suspended a rule limiting methane leaks from drilling on federal land. Methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

Ended a study on the health effects of mountaintop-removal mining. The process involves blasting away the tops of hills and mountains to get at coal seams under the surface.

Rescinded a rule mandating that rising sea levels be considered when building public infrastructure in flood-prone areas.

Reversed an Obama ban on drilling for oil in the Arctic.

Announced a reduction in the scale of several national monuments. In April, Trump signed an executive order ordering a review of monuments added in the past 20 years, opening up the possibility that some areas previously set aside would have that status revoked. Last month, Trump announced plans to reduce the size of two, one after lobbying from a uranium company.

Ignored a deadline to implement a rule regulating smog.

Withdrew a rule regulating fracking on public land.

Announced plans to reconsider controversial protections for the sage grouse in western states. The bird’s habitat has been reduced as sagebrush has been removed in places that are being developed, often for oil and grass drilling. While not officially endangered, conservation groups worry about the sage grouse’s fate.

Postponed an EPA rule that would have had chemical plants better evaluate and inform the public about possible safety issues. This decision, made in June, drew new attention after Hurricane Harvey flooding led to an explosion at a facility near Houston.

Rejected a proposed ban on the pesticide chlorpyrifos. The month after this decision, a group of farmworkers were sickened by exposure to the chemical.

Reversed a ban on plastic bottles at national parks.

Repealed a ban on lead bullets. The bullets were banned under Obama because the lead can poison wildlife.

Rescinded a limit on the number of sea animals that can be trapped or killed in fishing nets.

Delayed and potentially rolled back automotive fuel efficiency standards.

Began repeal of a rule that would weaken emissions standards for some truck components.

Repealed the Waters of the United States rule. This rule expanded the definition of water bodies that were protected by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Ended a rule banning dumping waste from mining into streams.

Reversed a rule banning hunting bears and wolves. The ban applied to federal refuges in Alaska and prohibited hunting predators using certain methods.

Repealed a rule that would have overhauled the federal land management process.

Removed more than a dozen academics from the EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board.

Removed a bike-sharing station at the White House.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/05/30/outsiders-extremists-are-among-those-fomenting-violence-in-twin-cities
The killing of George Floyd
Outsiders, extremists are among those fomenting violence in Twin Cities
Jon Collins and Elizabeth Shockman
May 30, 2020 3:17 p.m.
Updated: 8:34 a.m., May 31, 2020

On his way home from a protest Friday night in Minneapolis, Jonathan Turner Bargen encountered a white man in a red pickup truck. The man was carrying an assault rifle and a handgun, Turner Bargen said. Then he noticed a symbol from the far-right militia group Three Percenters affixed to the truck.

“I circled back and took pictures of the vehicle. I was concerned about why they were present at the downtown protest, and had no idea who to notify,” said Turner Bargen in an email to MPR News.

<snip>

Accounts of armed men

Protesters and onlookers have posted numerous videos and accounts of confrontations with white men on social media, sometimes including symbols associated with fringe groups that originated online.

Many people have also told MPR News reporters of witnessing armed men in Minneapolis.

Bridget Schumann was out for a run near Calhoun Square in south Minneapolis on Friday night when she saw a truck that was being driven aggressively, honking and intimidating other drivers. The truck had a big white sticker on the back of the cab with the OK sign symbol associated with white supremacists.

“There were two men in the driver and passenger seat and they were wearing camo bulletproof vests and they were armed,” she said.

<snip>

In the predawn hours of Friday, KJ Starr watched from her yard in the Seward neighborhood, which has been especially hard hit by arson, as nearby buildings were consumed by balls of fire and billowing smoke.

With police and firefighters nowhere in sight, Starr and friends have been trying to fight fires themselves. When a nearby pizza shop went up in flames, she and some friends walked over to see what they could do. She was terrified by what she saw.

“This pickup truck of a dozen armed men just pulls up next to us,” she said. “I just did a total pivot.”

Arson at a liquor store

Minneapolis resident Rishi Ragoonanan woke up early for work on Friday morning, and saw a man who appeared to be white walk up to boxes of cardboard in the middle of a liquor store parking lot. The man lit the boxes, pushed them up against the wall of the store, and walked away.

Ragoonanan and neighbors ran outside and dragged the flaming boxes away from the wall. The liquor store was set on fire again the next night.

“None of us got any sleep for the last four days, trying to save this liquor store,” Ragoonanan said. “If this liquor catches fire, this whole neighborhood will burn down.”

Many people say they are leery of confronting those they suspect of contributing to the violence.

<snip>

‘They’re setting these fires’

People attending protests against police brutality have had run-ins as well.

DeVario Bogenholm, a 23-year-old who’s lived in Minneapolis for most of his life, blames outsiders, who are mostly white, for turning peaceful protests violent Friday night. He turned to Facebook to post a video of him and a friend confronting a group of young, white men who were smashing out storefront windows.

“Who’s destroying these buildings? These white dudes and we’re stopping them,” his friend, Noah Saba, said to the camera, then waved the phone to show footage of a group of white men on bicycles in front of a group of vandalized and burning buildings, “They’re setting these fires.”

...Bogenholm said the video doesn’t fully capture the mob, with people of color largely at the back of the crowd and young white men initiating the damage to buildings.

<snip>

Hundreds of buildings across the Twin Cities have been damaged in the riots. A native youth cultural center, neighborhood bars and a building full of artist studios (my bold) are among the structures that have been set on fire.

Minneapolis City Council member Jeremiah Ellison spent Friday night driving around his ward to ensure people stayed safe. He said property destruction at protests, which he doesn’t support, normally is focused on symbols of power like police cars.

“When you see no protest, there’s no mob sweeping through the north side, yet you see these fires popping up the main business corridor, that’s the thing that rang odd to me,” Ellison said. “Burning down small black- and immigrant-owned businesses, that doesn’t seem in lockstep with the tone of the protests.”

<snip>

Alexia Kelsey went out to the protest site Friday to help clean. She said the hair on the back of her neck rose after she saw a vehicle carrying two armed white men that had a bumper sticker associated with neo-Nazis.

“As a white ally, it’s even more important to support the black community and provide a unified front,” Kelsey said. “It’s tough because it seems like they’re using the opportunity of the cover of night to really ignite the violence.”

<snip>

“This is no longer about protesting,” said {Minneapolis Mayor, Jacob} Frey. “This is no longer about verbal expression. This is about violence, and we need to make sure that it stops.”

{St. Paul Mayor, Melvin} Carter said that the outside agitators are using peaceful protesters as a “human shield,” committing acts of destruction and violence and then melting back into the crowd.

{Minnesota Governor, Tim} Walz urged Minnesotans to abide by curfews.

“If you’re out after 8 o’clock, you are aiding and abetting them and you are giving them the cover that they want,” Walz said.