;)
December 27, 2022
Afternoon Update:
Jon Levine of the New York Post, via marketwatch: "Senior House Republicans were so keenly aware of alleged inaccuracies and embellishments in U.S. Rep.-elect George Santos's professional biography, that the topic became a 'running joke,' multiple insiders close to House GOP leadership reportedly told the New York Post.... 'As far as questions about George in general, that was always something that was brought up whenever we talked about this race,' said one senior GOP leadership aide. 'It was a running joke at a certain point. This is the second time he's run and these issues we assumed would be worked out by the voters.'... A second insider close to GOP leadership called the allegations against Santos 'mostly stuff we already knew,' adding that 'there were questions. Things weren't adding up.' By the time we knew that there were questions and issues he was basically the nominee. So what can you do? He was the only Republican candidate.'"
Toluse Olorunnipa of the Washington Post: "President Biden and his team have begun responding faster and more sharply to provocative comments and actions by ... Donald Trump and his allies, potentially preparing the ground for Biden's expected reelection announcement early next year. The rapid responses, coming in the weeks since Democrats outperformed expectations in the November midterms, come as some Democratic strategists see a political advantage in pointedly -- and frequently -- drawing a contrast with Trump, the Republican Party, and the Republican lawmakers poised to take over the House of Representatives."
Look for a Job as a Dowel Inspector, Buddy. Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "Every year, thousands of [Social Security disability] claimants ... find themselves blocked in the arduous process of applying for disability benefits, thanks to labor market data that was last updated 45 years ago.... The vast majority of the 12,700 [job titles] were last updated in 1977.... The government, using strict vocational rules, assesses someone's capacity to work and if jobs exist 'in significant numbers' that they could still do. But in reality, most of these occupations were offshored, outsourced, and shifted to skilled work decades ago. Many have disappeared altogether.... After spending at least $250 million since 2012 to build a directory of 21st century jobs, an internal fact sheet shows, Social Security is not using it, leaving antiquated vocational rules in place...."
Santos Lies About Lying. Jacob Kornbluh of the Forward: "Congressman-elect George Santos, a Republican from New York who reportedly lied about his Jewish heritage and has admitted he fabricated key details of his resume, said in an interview Monday evening that he never claimed to be Jewish. 'I said I was "Jew-ish,"' Santos told The New York Post. However, in a position paper shared with Jewish and pro-Israel leaders during the campaign and obtained by the Forward, Santos called himself 'a proud American Jew.'" Firewalled.
Michigan. Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "A man convicted in a plot to abduct Michigan's Democratic governor from her vacation home was sentenced on Tuesday to 16 years in federal prison, the longest so far for any of the defendants convicted in federal court in one of the country's most closely watched domestic terrorism cases. At two trials earlier this year, prosecutors repeatedly showed recordings and online posts in which the defendant, Adam Fox, called Gov. Gretchen Whitmer a 'tyrant,' railed against her Covid-19 restrictions and mused about a second American revolution. Prosecutors described him as a threat to the governor's safety and to democracy itself." CNN's report is here.
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Michael Gold & Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "Ending a weeklong silence, Representative-elect George Santos admitted on Monday to a sizable list of falsehoods about his professional background, educational history and property ownership. But he said he was determined to take the oath of office on Jan. 3 and join the House majority. Mr. Santos, a New York Republican who was elected in November to represent parts of northern Long Island and northeast Queens, confirmed some of the key findings of a New York Times investigation into his background, but sought to minimize the misrepresentations. 'My sins here are embellishing my résumé,' Mr. Santos told The New York Post in one of several interviews he gave on Monday." CNN's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yeah, George, I might have embellished my résumé" by making some of my crappy jobs (jobs I actually held) seem a little more important than they were, but I never claimed to have a Ph.D. in astrophysics & to have donated my Nobel Prize winnings to widows & orphans, which is akin to what you did. Fucking phony.
2024 Presidential Race. Kyle Melnick of the Washington Post: "A spokesman for former vice president Mike Pence's campaign denied reports on Monday that the Republican had filed to run for president in 2024, responding to an apparent hoax after screenshots of a Federal Election Commission posting began to circulate. 'Former Vice President Mike Pence did not file to run for President today,' Devin O'Malley wrote on Twitter." MB: It's kind of perfect that even the GOP presidential race itself is a hoax.
Beyond the Beltway
Arizona. Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime: "Arizona's Governor-elect Katie Hobbs (D) asked a judge on Monday for more than half a million dollars in sanctions against her defeated rival Kari Lake (R) and her lawyers for filing a 'frivolous' lawsuit aiming to overturn the results of the Grand Canyon State's 2022 gubernatorial midterms. 'Courts are established by Arizona's Constitution and statutes to resolve actual disputes between parties,' Maricopa County Deputy Attorney Thomas P. Liddy wrote in a 15-page memo. 'They do not exist so that candidates for political office can attempt to make political statements and fundraise. And they should not be used to harass political opponents and sow completely unfounded doubts about the integrity of elections. All of those things happened in this matter.'" Hobbs joined the county's suit.
Florida. Joseph Choi of the Hill: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's (R) petition for a grand jury investigation into COVID-19 vaccines, in which he decries the ongoing vaccine campaign as 'propaganda' by the Biden administration, is drawing fierce criticism from health experts.... In his petition, DeSantis expressed suspicion over the COVID-19 vaccines' ability to prevent transmission of the virus, as well as public statements made on the subject by officials like President Biden and outgoing chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci.... Brian Castrucci, of the de Beaumont Foundation, said DeSantis 'appears to be focused on creating fear around vaccines that have been shown to be safe and effective,' rather than protecting the lives of Floridians." The Florida Supreme Court approved DeSantis's petition last Thursday.
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Tuesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Tuesday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Tuesday are here: "Ukraine is hoping to have a United Nations-backed peace summit by the end of February, roughly a year into the Russian invasion, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. Meanwhile, Moscow's top diplomat threatened an escalation by the Russian army if Ukraine does not concede to its demands to surrender land -- and demilitarize what remains of its territory. The comments by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov came the same day Russian officials said a Ukrainian drone had reached deep within Russian territory and as Moscow's beleaguered military has lost significant ground to Ukrainian forces in recent months.... Lavrov demanded Ukraine end its 'senseless resistance' and accused Kyiv's Western backers of protracting the conflict.... A Russian attack on the city of Kherson on Christmas Eve left at least 11 dead and 64 injured, according to the region's governor."
Marie: Early last month, the New York Times Magazine published a long piece by Jim Rutenberg, in which Rutenberg weaves together the threads of the Trump "Russiagate" story. Being Trumped-out, I didn't read or link the story, but I should have because it explains a great deal about Trump's deal with the devil -- Putin -- and the abuse of Ukraine by both men. Rutenberg draws in all the actors & many bit players, outlining their roles in this complicated spy story, a story that has culminated in Putin's war on Ukraine. John le Carré has not written a more twisted tale or one with more unsavory characters.
News Ledes
New York Times: "Thousands of travelers were stranded at U.S. airports on Monday as a wave of canceled flights -- many of them operated by Southwest Airlines -- spoiled holiday plans.... The cancellations and delays one day after Christmas left people sleeping on airport floors, standing in hourslong customer service lines and waiting on tarmacs for hours on end. The problems are likely to continue into Tuesday and later this week. As of Monday night, about 2,600 U.S. flights scheduled for Tuesday were already canceled, including 60 percent of all Southwest flights.... On Monday, more than 3,800 flights in the United States -- including international flights into or out of the country -- had been canceled as of Monday night and more than 7,400 others had been delayed, according to FlightAware.... On Monday night, the U.S. Department of Transportation said that it would look into the Southwest issue, and that it was 'concerned by Southwest's unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays.'"
AP: "Buffalo residents hovered around space heaters, hunted for cars buried in snow drifts and looked for more victims Monday, after 28 people died in one of the worst weather-related disasters ever to hit western New York. The rest of the United States also was reeling from the ferocious winter storm, with at least another two dozen deaths reported in other parts of the country. Up to 9 more inches of snow (23 centimeters) could fall in some areas of western New York through Tuesday, the National Weather Service said."
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Reader Comments (11)
Marie: I remember reading part of Rutenberg's piece when it was published but never finished it; I have just reread it and agree that its contents surpass the most twisted and complicated tale ever––-just to keep all the Russian names straight is a feat in itself. Ah, the tangled webs we weave in order to deceive.
And this from yesterday posted late in the game:
Heavens to Betsy! as my mother used to say when encountering something outrageous. Today saw an ad on TV with none other than "My Pillow guy" touting sheets! Not your ordinary sheets but the best sheets you ever had from Asia and parts unknown and he knows how expensive everything is now but He, Mike Lindell, can give them to you for only $29.99. I thought this guy was toast but evidently not.
Tomorrow (tonight) night on PBS' American Masters will present Dick Cavett's exchange with Groucho Marks––two people I had much fondness for. One of the stories Dick tells about Croucho that I love is:
"Greatest wit, greatest man, never at a loss for a response. Twice when I was with him, priests were encountered, I think both times in elevators. One said, “My mother’s a great fan of yours, Groucho.” And he said, “I didn’t know you fellas were allowed to have mothers.”
Forest: When you said "true that" I had to laugh since I say that a lot and we know where that's from, don't we. (The Wire) But it was the bike comments that made me recall a time when Joe and I used to walk on a trail constructed for walkers and bikers. One day a biker almost side swiped me and Joe, walking a pace behind me yelled at him, then waited for him to turn around and when he did Joe stopped him by standing in his way and firmly grasping the handlebars.
"Don't you ever do that again––you hear? you son of a bitch!
Dangerous doings even on bikes. and what a shame about your doctor.
The Kari Lake episode offers a perfect example for why Trump (and before him, the Decider) along with Mitch McConnell, have been salting the federal judiciary with hard core far-right pseudo judges.
It’s obvious that Lake, and many like her, all the way up to the Fat Fascist, believe that courts are theirs to use for their personal benefit. And if you don’t get what you want first time around, in other words, you come up against a real judge who believes in the rule of law, you can always appeal and hope you get a Trumpy judge who doesn’t.
This plan has not always worked perfectly, but it works often enough to make it worthwhile. Just look at the Supreme Court. If you get the desired outcome (you win, no matter what) three times out of four, it’s still far better than hoping your white supremacist, racist, misogynist, narcissist nuisance suits won’t be laughed out of court by real judges.
I’m sure Lake will, first, decline to pay a cent, even if so ordered (taxpayers are always expected to foot the bill for traitor plots gone awry), and second, immediately demand that some right-wing appellate “judge” come to her rescue.
The Republican Way.
https://onlysky.media/hemant-mehta/michael-capps-kansas-lawmaker-
god-guilty-covid-relief-fraud/
Michael Capps, Republican, Christian Nationalist, Kansas lawmaker
sponsored a bill to put "In God We Trust" in schools and gov't buildings.
He's been indicted on charges of Covid relief fraud, $450,000 in
business recovery funds.
He inflated his payroll and applied for loans to pay employees who
don't exist.
I guess his trust in god didn't work out too well, but at least that phrase
is printed on all of those dollars he stole from us taxpayers.
It's worth going to the link to see his photo. Gluttony is definitely a
sin punishable by stroke or heart attack.
And P.S. to P.D.Pepe: The worst part about my doctor's accident was
that he sold his practice after not being able to work. Then his wife
divorced him and got most of the money.
Forrest,
Dude. A little sympathy, please.
That overweight, heart-attack-waiting-to-happen R fraudster-liar from Kansas needs the extra cash to support his 10,000 calorie per day diet.
Good ice cream is expensive, especially when you’re consuming three gallons a day along with fried Snickers bars.
Reminds me of that walking Bob’s Big Boy statue from Wisconsin, Jim Sensenbrenner, who once rallied his 300 lb. frame from a sedentary position long enough to complain about Michelle Obama’s “big butt”. It was obviously a large bit of projection; what he meant to say was “really big asshole”. Just like this Kansas schmuck.
The SSA's reported problems with occupational titles--in addition to my frustration with its poor service to the disabled--reminds me of the bureaucratic grind I was subjected to learning to use the massive Federal D. O. T., the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, in my first "real" job as a counselor in our state's Employment Security Department.
Not great memories.
Sounds like the D.O.T. languished soon thereafter.
I've been trying to find YouTube videos that are well done enough to present excess mortality statistics. I do not buy the so-called statistics showing that political affiliations have anything to do with the floating numbers of excess deaths.
The video shows patterns of excess deaths in the UK where there are no republicans or democrats and covid is excluded. It's not about politics. I think it's more related to something like what happened to excess mortality when the Soviet Union collapsed. It was not all about vodka.
https://youtu.be/XxJJrkreBRg
@Ak, in Wisconsin they were Marc's Big Boys.
Earlier today I mentioned that Trumpy judicial theory and practitioners of same support far right-wing ideology, no matter what, and that despite the very occasional setbacks for treasonous and racist suits, the Nazis win far more often than ethical, moral, or rule of law considerations.
So today the Supreme Court decided to keep in place a Trump era casuistry that allows the racists and nationalists to use phony health concerns* to stick it to immigrants living out in freezing conditions, even those with legitimate asylum claims.
It’s yet another purely political scam that allows inhuman, scurrilous Party of Traitor pols to sidestep any serious discussion of immigration reform while appealing to their racist-hater base as the only ones protecting ‘merica and standing up for their freeeedoms!
A court made up of intellectually honest practitioners of the law would never have allowed such a naked, inhumane power grab to continue.
The Trump Court loves this shit. Anything to stick it to those they hate and “own the libs” who might try to employ a sense of humanity in making such important rulings. Can’t let that happen.
*If these assholes were truly concerned about public health, they would have impeached President* Drink Bleach years ago. It’s all a fucking game to them. A game that kills.
Unwashed,
Touché. I think I saw one in Milwaukee years ago but didn’t make the connection with fatso Sensenbrenner.
Read (most of) the Rutenberg piece and would note that while I no longer know what collusion is, thanks to the Pretender's intrusion into my life, I was taken by the Republican Party's newly discovered antipathy toward NATO and the Pretender's treatment of Putin as his "bestie"about the time Manafort came on board...
Oh, no, not collusion. Besides the Pretender had already forged ties with the Russian Darth Vader.
Just a string of coincidences.
Incredible lede:
“Greg Abbott pushes back on criticism after busing migrants to VP's home on freezing Christmas Eve”.
How does one “push back” against effectively kidnapping poor immigrants, driving them hundreds of miles, then kicking them off the bus in freezing temperatures all so you can piss on the Vice President of the United States?
What’s your excuse?
There is none. It’s all about evil assholes using vulnerable human beings in a way that improves their standing with inhumane scumbags who believe that punishing poor people makes them feel somehow superior.
What sort of degenerates believe this to be a worthwhile effort? And what sort of amoral, debauched charlatan sees this sort of horrific treatment of vulnerable people as his job, as a way to increase his political currency with equally debased, evil scumbags?
A Republican. That’s who.