;)
December 22, 2022
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Eric Tucker of the AP: "Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson told the House Jan. 6 committee that her first lawyer advised her against being fully forthcoming with the panel, telling her it was acceptable to testify that she did not recall certain events when she actually did and that 'the less you remember, the better,' according to a transcript of one of her interviews released Thursday. The lawyer, Stefan Passantino, denied the allegations, saying in a statement that he had done nothing wrong and had acted 'honorably, ethically, and fully consistent with her sole interests.'... The committee released a copy of Hutchinson's interview on Thursday." MB: Yo, Stefano, you might want to study up on "obstruction of justice."
Farnoush Amiri of the AP: "The House unanimously passed a bill Wednesday to posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to Emmett Till, the Chicago teenager murdered by white supremacists in the 1950s, and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. The bill, which passed the Senate in January, is meant to honor Till and his mother -- who had insisted on an open casket funeral to demonstrate the brutality of his killing -- with the highest civilian honor that Congress awards. The medal will be given to the National Museum of African American History where it will be displayed near the casket Till was buried in."
Rohan Goswami of CNBC & Marlene Lenthang of NBC News: "FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried will be released on $250 million bail, a federal judge in New York ruled Thursday. The 30-year-old appeared in court one day following his extradition from the Bahamas, where he was arrested on Dec. 12 following his indictment on a slew of charges related to the collapse of the crypto currency exchange. The $250 million bail is part of a deal designed by federal prosecutors and Bankman-Fried's defense attorneys, CNBC reported. His parents, both Stanford Law professors who were present in the courtroom, will put up the equity in their home to partially satisfy bail conditions." The rich are different from you and me
The New York Times has the full transcript of President Zelensky's speech before the Congressional joint meeting Wednesday evening.
Manu Raju of CNN reported on-air that all 100 senators have approved the omnibus spending bill. No link. ~~~
~~~ Update. Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "The Senate on Thursday appeared poised to pass a mammoth spending package and avoid a government shutdown after lawmakers overcame an impasse over immigration policy. Senators returned to the Capitol on Thursday morning for a lengthy series of votes after reaching an agreement to expedite passage of the roughly $1.7 trillion measure that would fully fund the federal government and send another round of financial assistance to Ukraine. While the overall package has significant bipartisan support, a deadlock over immigration sapped valuable time on Wednesday that was needed if lawmakers were to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the week. The measure is the last must-pass bill before the end of the congressional session, and senators were anxious to avoid a looming winter storm and head home for the holidays. To beat the shutdown deadline, however, lawmakers had sought to use a fast-track process that requires the consent of all 100 senators. But before agreeing to the process, several senators demanded the opportunity to vote on a series of amendments in a bid to secure last-minute changes or force politically freighted votes, delaying an agreement on expediting passage of the bill."
Bryan Metzger of Insider, republished by Yahoo! News: George Santos (R-N.Y.) "Santos is the first non-incumbent out gay Republican ever elected to Congress.... The Daily Beast reported on Thursday that Santos divorced a woman named Uadla Santos in 2019, just two weeks before launching his ill-fated 2020 congressional campaign against Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi. The outlet was also unable to obtain records of his marriage to his husband. While it's possible that Santos is, in fact, gay, the marriage complicates public statements that Santos has made about his own sexuality. 'I'm a gay married man,' Santos told USA Today in October of this year. 'I am openly gay, have never had an issue with my sexual identity in the past decade, and I can tell you and assure you, I will always be an advocate for LGBTQ folks.' Santos never publicly disclosed his marriage to the woman."
Emily Brooks of the Hill: "A 'shadow committee' of the five House Republicans who were originally nominated to sit on the House Jan. 6 select committee released a counter-report about security failures on Wednesday, ahead of the official select committee's final report. The report focuses on changes to Capitol Police intelligence protocols in the run-up to Jan. 6, constraints on the House Sergeant at Arms, and communications between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) office and the House Sergeant at Arms. It is based on already-public documents and news reports, interviews with Capitol security officials and rank-and-file Capitol Police officers, and documents provided to the House Administration Committee Republican staff by the House Sergeant at Arms in January 2022.... House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) had nominated Republican Reps. Jim Banks (Ind.), Rodney Davis (Ill.), Jim Jordan (Ohio), Kelly Armstrong (N.D.), and Troy Nehls (Texas to sit on the Jan. 6 select committee last year. But after Pelosi vetoed the appointment of Banks and Jordan, McCarthy pulled the rest of his picks." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I'm pretty sure a "report" one of Jungle Gym Jordan's unpaid interns ripped from the headlines of the Washington Star opinion page is quite valuable. I hope no trees died for this effort.
~~~~~~~~~~
December 21 was the best day of 2022: an amazing world hero visited us, a horrible American villain got his comeuppance and the days began to grow longer. And you have borne witness.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Thursday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.
Zeke Miller, et al., of the AP: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked 'every American' for their support of Ukraine as he delivered an address to Congress on Wednesday aimed at sustaining U.S. and allied support for his country's defense against Russia's brutal invasion. Zelenskyy called U.S. support vital to Ukraine's efforts to beat back Russia, and thanked lawmakers and everyday citizens for tens of billions of dollars in military and economic assistance over the last year. The Ukrainian leader predicted that next year would be a 'turning point' in the conflict, 'when Ukrainian courage and American resolve must guarantee the future of our common freedom -- the freedom of people who stand for their values.'" ~~~
~~~ Yasmeen Abutaleb & Tyler Pager of the Washington Post: "... Zelensky, who has found his closest ally in Biden, faced a far greater challenge on Capitol Hill, where a growing number of House Republicans -- who are poised to take control of the chamber in January -- have expressed skepticism or outright opposition to continuing to send more aid to Ukraine.... Still, Zelensky -- who donned his signature military green sweater and heavy boots -- received several standing ovations from the hundreds of lawmakers gathered Wednesday, at times almost moving him to tears. But he told Congress he needs more aid and weapons to defeat Russia. 'We have artillery, yes, thank you. Is it enough? Honestly, not really,' Zelensky said. 'Your money is not charity. It's an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.'" ~~~
Zeke Miller, et al., of the AP: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked President Joe Biden, U.S. lawmakers and 'ordinary people' of America for their support as he visited the White House on Wednesday. Biden told Zelenskyy that Ukrainians 'inspire the world,' before the two leaders began an Oval Office summit that was Zelenskyy's first known trip outside his home country since Russia invaded in February." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
Presidents Biden & Zelensky meet in the White House (a tearjerker):
~~~ Terry Moran of ABC News noted that "the White House hasn't seen anything like this since December 1951 when Winston Churchill sailed across submarine-infested seas ... and arrived to spend weeks with Franklin Roosevelt..." ~~~
~~~ Karen DeYoung & Missy Ryan of the Washington Post: "Beyond the sincere expressions of Ukrainian gratitude and firm pledges of ongoing American support, President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Biden came together Wednesday with specific, and sometimes differing, goals for their meeting." This report, and another WashPo report by Toluse Olorunnipa get at the points where Biden & Zelensky disagree.
Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) reportedly 'blew past' Capitol security checkpoints on Wednesday on their way to attend a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the UK Independent, two Capitol security officials stopped Gaetz and Boebert after they tried to enter into the chamber of the House of Representatives without going through metal detectors.... 'The Florida congressman was heard briefly questioning the officer's direction, before turning away.' One of the officer's then called after Gaetz in an attempt to make him comply, but Gaetz ignored him and continued walking." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Assuming the story is true, Capitol police should have locked Gaetz & Boebert (who likes to carry a gun into the Capitol) in a basement cell until Zelensky had left the building. Oh, and Gaetz is all for letting Rep. Bobblehead pack heat in the Capitol. Beobert & Gaetz refused to join a standing ovation for Zelensky and both demanded an "investigation" of aid to Ukraine.
Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Postal Service will buy 66,000 vehicles to build one of the largest electric fleets in the nation, Biden administration officials announced Tuesday.... Postal officials' plans call for buying 60,000 'Next Generation Delivery Vehicles' from defense contractor Oshkosh, of which 45,000 will be electric, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told The Washington Post. The agency will also purchase 46,000 models from mainstream automakers, of which 21,000 will be electric.... By 2026, the agency expects to purchase zero-emissions delivery trucks almost exclusively, DeJoy said. It's a major achievement for a White House climate agenda that leans heavily on reducing greenhouse gases from vehicles." ~~~
~~~ BUT. Timothy Puko of the Washington Post: "The Senate is now debating a bipartisan, roughly $1.7 trillion deal to fund the U.S. government, but it includes roughly just $1 billion to help poor countries transition to clean energy and fund adaptation programs, a blow to [President] Biden's efforts on the worldwide fight against climate change. The president had personally pledged more than ten times that -- $11.4 billion annually -- and made that promise central to his pitch to other countries that all of them should do more to reduce planet-warming emissions."
Christine Chung of the New York Times: "On Tuesday, President Biden signed a bill into law that seeks to halt the exploitation of big cats by preventing unlicensed people from owning, breeding and transporting these animals. The law also bans licensed exhibitors -- mainly zoos and sanctuaries -- from allowing the public to touch the animals or hold cubs. [A hit Netflix series called] 'Tiger King' ... shone a light on the fraught world of private big cat ownership and highlighted the 'miserable conditions thousands of tigers, lions, leopards, and pumas are kept in by irresponsible owners,' Representative Mike Quigley, Democrat of Illinois, said in a statement.... In January 2021, several months after the show's release, Mr. Quigley introduced the 'Big Cat Public Safety Act,' which in July of this year passed in the House of Representatives with a 278-134 vote and then in the Senate unanimously earlier this month. The animals covered under the bill are species of lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, cougar and hybrids of these cats." ~~~
~~~ Marie: So I s'pose if you have a leopard-petting zoo out on the highway, you'd better prepare to make yourself a nice fur coat & dine on catmeat for Christmas. And don't say Congress is completely useless.
Senate Republicans Admit House Republicans Are Careless Nitwits. E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post: "The agreement between top Senate Republicans and House and Senate Democrats on a $1.7 trillion deal to fund the federal government through September reflects the politics of fear -- fear that the narrow GOP majority in the House might be unfit to govern and is prepared to engage in reckless brinkmanship in future budget battles. Republican senators came close to saying as much. 'My concern is that a new House, very small majority, new leadership, is going to have to take over, and to have to start from behind?' said Sen. Kevin Cramer (N.D.). 'That concerns me. That could have negative consequences.'... [And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, in a floor speech,] made clear that, for many Republicans, particularly in the House, the moral argument for supporting a democratic nation against a despotic invader is not a sufficient rationale for U.S. action."
Guardian: "An 800-page report set to be released on Thursday by House investigators will conclude that Donald Trump criminally plotted to overturn his 2020 election defeat and 'provoked his supporters to violence' at the Capitol with false voter fraud claims. Before the release, on Wednesday night, the January 6 committee released 34 transcripts from 1,000 interviews conducted over 18 months. Most of the interviewees were witnesses who invoked their fifth-amendment right against self-incrimination. More transcripts and some video were also expected to be released." MB: This committee page has links to the transcripts that have been released.
The Biggest Failure, Ctd. And Worst Tax Cheat. Russ Buettner, et al., of the New York Times: "At first glance, the income-tax data released this week by a House committee seems to show a turnaround in 2018 for ... Donald J. Trump. After a decade in which he declared no taxable income, his 2018 return reported taxable income of more than $24 million. He paid nearly a million dollars in federal income taxes. In fact, his year in the black appears to have resulted largely from the final windfall of the vast inheritance that financed much of his business career -- more than $14 million in gains from the sale of his father's 1970s investment in the Brooklyn housing development of Starrett City. But precedent soon reasserted itself. Because of business losses, he paid no income taxes in 2020, his last year in the White House.... The congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, a bipartisan panel that is known for reviewing the impact of tax legislation and has a staff with deep tax law expertise, reviewed the Trump returns and found dozens of red flags that it believed required further investigation."
** The IRS Is a Corrupt, Trumpian Adjunct. Charlie Savage & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "The I.R.S. subjected both ... Donald J. Trump's predecessor and his successor to annual audits of their tax returns once they took office, spokespeople for Barack Obama and President Biden said on Wednesday, intensifying questions about how Mr. Trump escaped such scrutiny until Democrats in the House started inquiring.... The I.R.S. initiated its first audit of one of his filings as president in April 2019, the same day that Representative Richard E. Neal, Democrat of Massachusetts and the committee's chairman, had inquired about the matter. The I.R.S. has yet to complete that audit, the report added, and the agency started auditing filings covering Mr. Trump's income while president only after he left office. Even after the agency belatedly started looking, it assigned only a single agent to examine Mr. Trump's returns, going up against a large team of lawyers and accountants who objected when the I.R.S. added two more people to help....
"The committee's discovery that the I.R.S. flouted its rules is bringing new scrutiny to concerns about potential politicization at the I.R.S. during the Trump administration and spurring calls for the inspector general that oversees the agency to investigate what went wrong. It has also raised questions about why the I.R.S. devoted so few resources to auditing Mr. Trump, who, as a business mogul, had far more complicated tax filings than any previous president.... The New York Times reported this year that the I.R.S. had initiated particularly invasive audits of two of Mr. Trump's perceived enemies, the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey and his deputy, Andrew G. McCabe. Mr. Trump also repeatedly told his chief of staff that he wanted his perceived rivals, including those two, to face tax investigations." ~~~
~~~ Benjamin Guggenheim of Politico: "House Democrats will keep the spotlight on their disclosure of ... Donald Trump's tax information by taking up a bill Thursday that would require the IRS to audit presidents' tax returns and make reports of the audits available to the public. The legislation stands virtually no chance of passing the 50-50 Senate, making it a largely symbolic move. But it affords Democrats one more chance to give Trump a high-profile punch before they surrender their House majority to Republicans in January.... Although it is unclear whether Trump was subject to ongoing audits that were initiated before his inauguration, the IRS dropping the ball on mandatory presidential audits of Trump raises questions about his stated rationale for not releasing his taxes, former IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said. 'I suppose in retrospect you shouldn't be totally surprised if that was erroneous information he was putting out since it wouldn't be the first time,' Koskinen said. He added that the agency's delays on the presidential audit program are particularly troubling in light of the fact that the former president's taxes were an issue since Trump announced his first bid for the presidency in 2015." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Other than the fact that Republicans don't want any rich people to be audited because they don't think lucky duckies should have to pay taxes, I don't see why they would oppose audits of presidents. After all, the bill would require every presidents, whatever his political party & whatever his financial status, to be subject to audits. Oh, and here's a doozy from Politico's report: "An internal IRS memo dug up by the Ways and Means Committee said it would not be possible with agency resources to examine every potential issue reported on Trump's personal tax return, given it reported more than 400 pass-through returns." IOW, they can audit Obama, Biden, Comey & McCabe, none of whom are super-rich, but they couldn't audit Trump because that would be way too hard.
Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "FBI officials had a lot to worry about in late July as they discussed whether to search one of Donald Trump's homes for evidence of crimes. Two concerns were paramount: Any search warrant should be authorized by the attorney general himself, and they did not want the former president to be at Mar-a-Lago when it happened. The FBI also was wary of the remote possibility of a 'blue on blue' confrontation -- between the federal agents searching the location and the Secret Service agents who guard the former president, according to people familiar with the matter, who like others interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions." This is a blow-by-blow account of why it took so long for agents to conduct a search of Mar-a-Lago; the big hold-up, according to the report, was caused by FBI agents in the Washington, D.C. field office who didn't want to conduct a criminal investigation of the White House papers thief. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Lies & the Lying Liars. Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "On Nov. 30, 2020, Sean Hannity hosted Sidney Powell on his prime-time Fox News program.... Ms. Powell, a former federal prosecutor, spun wild conspiracy theories about what she said was 'corruption all across the country, in countless districts,' in a plot to steal re-election from the president, Donald J. Trump. At the center of this imagined plot were machines from Dominion Voting Systems, which Ms. Powell claimed ran an algorithm that switched votes for Mr. Trump to votes for Joseph R. Biden Jr.... Did Mr. Hannity believe any of this? 'I did not believe it for one second.' That was the answer Mr. Hannity gave, under oath, in a deposition in Dominion's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News.... Mr. Hannity's disclosure -- along with others that emerged from court on Wednesday about what Fox News executives and hosts really believed as their network became one of the loudest megaphones for lies about the 2020 election -- is among the strongest evidence yet to emerge publicly that some Fox employees knew that what they were broadcasting was false." A Huffington Post report is here.
How Low Did He Go? Michael Gold & Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "... The Forward, a Jewish publication based in New York City, reported that [Congressman-elect George] Santos, a Republican, may have misled voters about having Jewish ancestry, a claim he made on his website and in statements during his political campaign. In his current biography, Mr. Santos says that his mother, Fatima Devolder, was born in Brazil to immigrants who 'fled Jewish persecution in Ukraine, settled in Belgium, and again fled persecution during WWII.' But according to The Forward -- which cited information from myheritage.com, a genealogy website; Brazilian immigration cards; and databases of refugees -- Ms. Devolder's parents seemed to have been born in Brazil before World War II. CNN later published a similar report that also cited interviews with several genealogists." The Forward's report is here. MB: Pretending your parent was a Holocaust survivor to gain sympathy -- and votes -- for yourself is despicable.
Royston Jones, et al., of the New York Times: "Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced cryptocurrency executive, is set to be flown back to the United States to face fraud charges in federal court after he told a judge in the Bahamas on Wednesday that he agreed to be extradited. Mr. Bankman-Fried will soon arrive in New York to face charges of wire fraud, securities fraud, money laundering and a campaign finance violation. His departure from the Bahamas was delayed by several hours as officials completed the final paperwork, but the local government eventually announced that Mr. Bankman-Fried would leave the country on Wednesday night." ~~~
~~~ David Yaffe-Bellany, et al., of the New York Times: "Two former top executives of Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto trading empire have pleaded guilty to federal criminal fraud charges and are cooperating in the case against the disgraced crypto entrepreneur, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York said on Wednesday night. The two are Caroline Ellison, who was the chief executive of the cryptocurrency trading company Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, a founder of the FTX crypto exchange. They were key lieutenants in Mr. Bankman-Fried's vast business empire, which rested primarily on FTX and Alameda. The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed civil fraud charges against Ms. Ellison and Mr. Wang on Wednesday."
Lenny Bernstein of the Washington Post: "U.S. life expectancy continued its steady, alarming decline in 2021, as covid-19 and illegal drugs took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans, according to final government data released Thursday. Even as some peer nations began to bounce back from the toll of the pandemic, life expectancy in the U.S. dropped to 76.4 years at birth, down from 77 in 2020, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. That means Americans can expect to live as long as they did in 1996 -- a dismal benchmark for a reliable measure of health that should rise steadily in an affluent, developed nation."
Beyond the Beltway
Arizona. Ducey's Folly. Jack Healy of the New York Times: "Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona agreed on Wednesday to tear down a makeshift border wall built out of old shipping containers, ending a divisive border security effort that sparked protests and legal challenges. The agreement came as part of a lawsuit filed last week by the Biden administration against Mr. Ducey, a Republican. The federal suit sought to force the governor to remove hundreds of steel shipping containers he had ordered stacked up for miles along Arizona's southern border in response to what he called Washington's failure to resolve a migrant crisis. The Biden administration argued that Mr. Ducey's wall was constructed illegally on federal land."
Iowa. Remy Tumin of the New York Times: "... as Bradley Wendt, [Adair, Iowa's] police chief, repeatedly purchased machine guns over the course of four years, purportedly for official use [in a town of about 800 people], federal investigators took note. Between 2018 and 2022, Mr. Wendt requested 90 machine guns, either to demonstrate their use or to buy them for the Adair Police Department, according to the Justice Department.... But in reality, he sold six machine guns registered to the Adair Police Department for personal profit, making thousands of dollars; rented out machine guns in exchange for money; and intended to stockpile guns to sell at a later date, the indictment said.... On Dec. 14, a grand jury in Des Moines indicted Mr. Wendt and a friend, Robert Williams, on charges of conspiracy to make false statements and defraud the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Mr. Wendt was also charged with illegal possession of a machine gun."
New York. Rebecca O'Brien of the New York Times: "Frank R. James, who was accused of carrying out the worst attack on the New York subway system in years, is expected to plead guilty to terrorism in connection with an April shooting spree on a train in Brooklyn, his lawyers said Wednesday. Mr. James's lawyers said in a letter filed Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn that he would plead guilty to an 11-count indictment, which charged Mr. James with 10 counts of terrorist attack for each of the 10 people shot in the assault, as well as with a firearms charge.... On April 12, the authorities said, Mr. James unleashed a barrage of gunfire on an N train during the morning rush hour in Brooklyn. No one was killed, but the attack rattled many in the city and set off a 31-hour manhunt that culminated in Mr. James's arrest in Manhattan."
Virginia Congressional Race. Meagan Flynn of the Washington Post: "State Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan, who has served for more than 16 years in the Virginia General Assembly, has won the Democratic nomination to succeed Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) in the 4th Congressional District after his death last month -- putting her on track to become the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress. McClellan (D-Richmond) defeated state Sen. Joseph D. Morrissey (D-Richmond) in a breakneck campaign that ran just seven days, starting with three major candidates and narrowing to two as Virginia Democratic leaders coalesced behind McClellan and left Morrissey to go his own way. McClellan will face Republican Leon Benjamin in a special election Feb. 21, but the Richmond-based seat is expected to remain blue."
Way Beyond
Israel. Patrick Kingsley of the New York Times: "Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, announced on Wednesday that he had succeeded in forming a coalition government that is set to bring him back to power at the helm of the most right-wing administration in Israeli history. Once finalized and ratified by Parliament in the coming days, the coalition deal will return Mr. Netanyahu to office just 18 months after he left it, amid concerns that his reliance on far-right factions will cause Israel to drift away from liberal democracy."
Ukraine. Baby Jesus Comes Early in Ukraine. Christian Caryl of the Washington Post: "Earlier this year, the Orthodox Church in Ukraine (OCU), which represents tens of millions of worshipers, announced that member churches would be free to celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25, the same as Western Catholics and Protestants. That would place many of Ukraine's Orthodox faithful at odds with the practice of other members of Eastern Orthodoxy who celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7 (according to the old Julian calendar). But that is precisely the point.... A recent poll shows that the number of Ukrainians willing to adopt the Western date has risen from 26 percent to 44 percent over the past year.... Over the years, Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Moscow-based church, has developed a symbiotic relationship with the Russian president..... Kirill gives Putin a valuable sheen of legitimacy -- never more visibly than during the current war. The minions of the Moscow Patriarchy have justified the invasion by describing Ukraine as the 'Antichrist.'... The Ukrainian Orthodox Church ... has gone from acknowledging Moscow's supremacy just a few years ago to breaking off all ties in May."
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Reader Comments (3)
The Littlest Liar sez we have to have electoral count reform cuz Demycraps would try to steal our freeeedoms otherwise!!
So, buried in this omnibus spending bill (buried so Party of Traitor pols can try to evade blame for doing anything that might jeopardize another Trump-style steal of future elections) is the Electoral Count Reform Act, which purports to protect us from plots by the traitors to insert their own hand picked slates of electors after R candidates lose another presidential election.
Sounds good, right? Maybe. But a number of commentators have pointed out that things could still get crazy if a party in power (NOT Democrats) decided to ignore this act and do whatever they want anyway. Would this Supreme Court do anything to stop them?
Anyway, that’s a battle for another day.
Right now, however, Party of Traitor pols signing on to this are in effect saying “Yup. We tried to steal the 2020 election”. It’s a clear admission that their Dear Leader, supported by a huge phalanx of R traitors, attempted to use a loophole in the Electoral (piece of shit) College to illegally stay in power.
But guess who has the answer for hiding this fact?
C’mon down, Li’l Randy!
“Conservatives should realize that reforming the Electoral Count Act is necessary to protect the Electoral College from left-wing attempts to abandon it completely.”
The Louisville Courier-Journal published a screed by the Littlest Scumbag that basically sez “Democrats!!! Aieee!” We have to go along with this ECRA cuz Democrats are trying to put one over on Real Americans by disrespecting the Sacred Founders. He also intimates that this act will prevent that awful Kamala Harris from trying to steal an election (basically acknowledging that little mikey pence could have gone along with Trump’s Treason, and without a doubt, Democrats will absolutely try this trick in the future).
Whatever.
We’ll set aside for now the fact that the Electoral College is a terrible idea that gave us two of the absolute dangerous and stupid presidents in history, both of whom lost the popular vote, and needs to be abolished. Even the smartest people in history are wrong sometimes (think Einstein and Quantum physics). Not every idea the Founders had is manna from heaven. But thank god they have Li’l Randy and his Matted Rug of Freeeedom to protect this bad idea.
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/2022/12/19/rand-paul-we-must-save-the-electoral-college-for-limited-government/69734204007/
Signs and Symbols of Lawlessness and Violence
If one were to pursue a semiotic investigation of contemporary politics, one could unlock an immense warehouse of signifieds (to use the semiotician’s term), that is, the breadth of meanings, some hidden, some not so hidden, by the signifier—the arrogance and lawlessness displayed in the way two loutish traitors, Gaetz and Boebert, breezed past security in the capitol. A performance sewn with white thread, as the saying goes.
First, it’s clear that these two representatives (signifiers, if you will, or signs) of the burgeoning extremism upwelling in a big way in the Party of Traitors, have no interest in acknowledging, supporting, or abiding by the rule of law, even the rules of the governing body they belong to. The message is “Rules don’t apply to us”. The arrogant and very public flouting of rules designed for the protection and security of the people in a building their party supporters attacked with lethal outcomes was also designed to signify to those thugs that violence and threats of violence, as political weapons, are here to stay. Hooray for us.
And that coming on the heels of the J6 committee’s work, to which Gaetz gave the finger, security measures do not matter as long as you are a member of the treason and violence (white supremacist, bigots) club.
Another meaning communicated to those prepped to properly interpret those signs is that Gaetz, Boebert, and their Nazi pals have no interest in serious governance, but have a great intention of creating chaos, spreading fear, threatening violence, and pissing on any legal tenets and rules they feel diminish their sense of themselves as powerful and righteous representatives of anti-democracy forces.
The signs are not just on the wall, but don’t wait for the MSM to see things like this for what they mean and what they portends.
Much more to come from these scofflaw lowlifes.
I was deeply moved by Zelensky's speech. I understand that he is not that comfortable with English and spent much time going over his speech. Of course we had those like Tucker- fucker tearing him apart. (when will he finally do himself in?) Here we had a Uranian speaking more distinctly and movingly than the past president ever managed. If that don't put a smear on Dimwit's face I don't know what will––speech wise, that is.
And yes, Ak: the Electoral College needs to be abolished but the GOP will fight like hell to keep it.