;)
July 15, 2022
The New York Times' live updates of President Biden's trip to the Middle East are here: "Saudi Arabia has taken a small step toward normalizing relations with Israel by agreeing to allow Israeli planes to fly between the two countries, President Biden said on Friday -- a new example of the growing ties between Israel and the Arab world after decades of diplomatic isolation.... On the eve of Mr. Biden's visit, the White House announced several financial measures intended to improve Palestinian life but stopped short of a political process to create a Palestinian state and left several Trump-era measures in place."
Bethan McKernan of the Guardian: "Joe Biden has defended his imminent trip to Saudi Arabia, saying he will not avoid human rights issues on the final leg of his Middle East tour, despite refusing to commit to mentioning the murder of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi when he meets the kingdom's crown prince. Speaking during a news conference with the interim Israeli prime minister, Yair Lapid, in Jerusalem on Thursday, the US leader said his stance on Khashoggi's killing was 'absolutely' clear. US intelligence services concluded last year that Khashoggi’s 2018 killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul was approved by the powerful heir to the throne, Mohammed bin Salman."
Burn Planet, Burn. Emily Cochrane & Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, pulled the plug on Thursday on negotiations to salvage ke pieces of President Biden's agenda, informing his party's leaders that he would not support funding for climate or energy programs or raising taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations. The decision by Mr. Manchin, a conservative-leaning Democrat whose opposition has effectively stalled Mr. Biden's economic package in the evenly divided Senate, dealt a devastating blow to his party's efforts to enact a broad social safety net, climate and tax package." The Hill's report is here.
How Conveeeenient. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Text messages sent and received by Secret Service agents around the time of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol last year have been erased, an inspector general said on Thursday, prompting concern from the House committee investigating the assault. In a letter obtained by The New York Times, the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of the Secret Service, reported that many of the agents' texts were erased as part of a device replacement program even after the inspector general had requested them as part of his inquiry into the events of Jan. 6.... In a statement, the Secret Service disputed parts of the inspector general's findings, saying that it 'lost' data on 'some phones' as part of a preplanned three-month 'system migration' in January 2021, but maintaining that no texts pertinent to the inquiry 'had been lost in the migration.' The agency said that the project was underway before it received notice from the inspector general to preserve its data, and that it did not 'maliciously' delete text messages." The Intercept story, which broke the news, is here. ~~~
~~~ Here's a whiney, indignant press release from Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service spokesman (chief of communications). MB: I'd suggest the Secret Service find a new spokesman; this guy's communications skills stink, & his release is, at best, unprofessional. ~~~
~~~ Andrew Solender of Axios: "The chair of the Jan. 6 select committee [Rep. Bennie Thomson (D-Miss.)] on Thursday said the panel will try to 'reconstruct' deleted U.S. Secret Service text messages flagged by an agency watchdog.... The text messages ... could shed light on reported efforts to remove former Vice President Mike Pence from the Capitol, and former President Trump's alleged attempts to travel to the Capitol to join his supporters on that day.... Thompson said the Jan. 6 panel has not yet interviewed [agents Anthony] Ornato and Robert Engel, [who were with Trump in the vehicle] but said, 'We've been talking to them.'... The Secret Service has turned over roughly 786,176 emails and 7,678 internal messages that reference conversations and operational details related to Jan. 6, according to a Secret Service official."
Jamie Gangel & Annie Grayer of CNN: "A Washington, DC, police officer has corroborated to the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021, details regarding a heated exchange ... Donald Trump had with his Secret Service detail when he was told he could not go to the US Capitol after his rally, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN. The officer with the Metropolitan Police Department was in the motorcade with the Secret Service for Trump on January 6 and recounted what was seen to committee investigators, according to the source.... The committee is also engaging with the driver who was in the presidential SUV regarding possible testimony, the source said.... CNN has previously reported that two Secret Service sources have said they heard about Trump angrily demanding to go to the Capitol and berating his detail when he didn't get his way. The sources told CNN that stories circulated about the incident in the months after January 6 -- including details that are similar to what Hutchinson described to the committee."
Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot said its next hearing will focus on how ... Donald Trump;s failure to quell the violent mob for several hours showed a 'supreme dereliction of duty.' The committee's eighth public hearing, expected to air in prime time July 21, marks its last scheduled presentation of evidence implicating Trump in a multi-pronged conspiracy to overturn his 2020 election loss that culminated in the deadly invasion. The final hearing will highlight the more-than-three-hour gap between Trump's departure from a rally that preceded the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and his eventual call for the mob to go home, committee members said. The lawmakers 'plan to go through that 187 minutes,' said Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., in an ABC News interview Wednesday afternoon." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Republican members of Congress regularly blame others -- often Nancy Pelosi -- for not adequately securing the Capitol on January 6. I hope the committee makes it abundantly clear that Donald Trump purposely engineered the low level of security at the Capitol (by keeping secret his plans to storm the building) when the mob first attacked and the failure of the National Guard or federal agencies to assist the police as the mob breached the building.
Rebecca Beitsch & Mike Lillis of the Hill: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol scrambled to add new testimony from White House counsel Pat Cipollone to its latest hearing on Tuesday, and in the process bumped aside evidence about former President Trump's ties to violent extremist groups.... Left unmentioned, for instance, was a Jan. 5 request from Trump to have chief of staff Mark Meadows contact two informal advisors, Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, who both used extremist groups as security details. The panel also excluded any mention of the so-called war room at the Willard Hotel near the White House, where leading Trump allies -- including his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani -- had huddled to devise strategy ahead of Jan. 6. At least one member of an extremist group, the 1st Amendment Praetorian, was reportedly among them." (Also linked yesterday.)
Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "A judge once again on Thursday refused to delay Steve Bannon's trial for contempt of Congress, which is set to get underway on Monday.... Bannon's lawyers had once again argued that there was too much pre-trial publicity about the case.... 'We're still going to be at trial on Monday,' [Judge Carl] Nichols said." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post: "U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols of Washington, a Trump appointee, appears ready, willing and able to come down hard on Bannon's flouting of a congressional subpoena last year.... The Great Manipulator could even serve some jail time if convicted -- as much as two years or, perhaps more likely, as little as 30 days.... My animus for Bannon comes partly from the way he has helped to turn the public against the reality-based press and the way he has tried to bury truth under an avalanche of lies and misdirection.... Days before Jan. 6, 2021, Bannon used his podcast to summon deluded and criminal mobs to the gathering storm at the U.S. Capitol with a drumbeat of election lies: 'It all comes down to, are we going to affirm the massive landslide of Donald J. Trump? Or are we going to turn over our constitutional republic ... to the forces of darkness?'... Of all the Trump-era villains -- and, let's face it, they are legion -- Stephen K. Bannon surely is one of the worst." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "An armed man who reportedly threatened to kill Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) was arrested outside her Seattle home Saturday on suspicion of committing a hate crime, police said. The man, whose name was redacted from publicly available police reports, was released from jail Wednesday because police could not confirm his threats or that he told Jayapal to 'go back to India,' and an investigation is ongoing, the Seattle Times reported. On Saturday night, Jayapal called 911 to report that someone was outside her home using obscene language and may have fired a pellet gun, according to a probable cause statement from Seattle police obtained by King 5 News.' According to the statement, police found a 48-year-old man outside Jayapal's home who was 'standing in the middle of the street with his hands in the air' and a .40-caliber Glock 22 handgun holstered on his waist."
Texas Is for Misogynists. David Goodman & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Days after the Biden administration moved to ensure access to abortion in certain emergency situations, Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas on Thursday filed a lawsuit challenging the federal guidance, saying it would 'force abortions' in hospitals in the state. The suit was an opening salvo in what is likely to be a protracted legal tug of war between the administration and states like Texas that have swiftly taken steps to ban abortion in almost all cases in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The suit, which names Mr. Biden's health secretary, Xavier Becerra, as its lead defendant, grows out of guidance issued on Monday by the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The agency has instructed hospitals that, even in states where abortion is illegal, federal law requires doctors to perform abortions for pregnant women who show up in their emergency departments if they believe it is 'the stabilizing treatment necessary' to resolve an emergency medical condition."
Igor Bobic of the Huffington Post: "Democratic legislation that would protect the right to travel freely from state to state to seek abortion care was blocked in the Senate on Thursday by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.). Lankford, who supports instituting a national ban on abortion, dismissed it as unnecessary.... The Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act, introduced by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) earlier this week, would clarify the right to cross state lines to obtain reproductive health care services. It would also empower the U.S. attorney general and affected individuals to bring civil lawsuits against anyone who attempts to restrict that right.... 'This is a form of gaslighting to keep insisting that American women will be able to get care when we know that anti-choice legislators and groups are working to stop them from doing so,' [Cortez Masto] said on Thursday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Like, for instance, when a 10-year-old pregnant child crossed stated lines from Ohio to Indiana to get an abortion, Indiana went after her physician. ~~~
~~~ Myah Ward of Politico: "Indiana's Republican attorney general said on Wednesday that his office planned to investigate the Indiana doctor who helped a 10-year-old rape victim who crossed state lines to have an abortion. Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Indianapolis, has told multiple outlets that she provided care to the 10-year-old after a child abuse doctor in Ohio contacted her. 'We're gathering the evidence as we speak, and we're going to fight this to the end, including looking at her licensure if she failed to report. And in Indiana it's a crime ... to intentionally not report,' state Attorney General Todd Rokita said on Fox News on Wednesday night." MB: The bastards never let up. And it's surprising how many of them, like Rokita, physically resemble ugly, fat, pink pigs with dull, beady eyes. Related stories linked below. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ More Republican Men Confused About Female Anatomy. Scott Wong of NBC News: "Confronted with the reality of the case, GOP lawmakers interviewed Thursday appeared to be grappling with how to respond -- from confusion to blaming the media. Many expressed shock that it was even biologically possible for the 10-year-old child to become pregnant.... 'I'm amazed a 10-year-old got pregnant.... You really wrestle with that. That's a tough one,' Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, said Thursday.... Asked whether he regretted calling the story a lie, [Rep. Jim] Jordan [R-Ohio] blamed [the alleged rapist], an undocumented immigrant, and the news media [MB: and President Biden]." MB: Jordan has learned -- possibly from Donald Trump -- that every ignorant, reckless thing he does or says is the fault of several other people and he has no reason to apologize. ~~~
~~~ Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "Rather than apologize to Caitlin Bernard for calling her a liar, many on the right have started attacking her for not reporting the rape herself, even though the police already knew about it by the time she saw the girl. It looks like the only thing Bernard did wrong, though, is to embarrass Republicans. On Thursday afternoon, The Star reported that Bernard reported the abortion to the Indiana Department of Health and the Department of Child Services, as state law requires. In a statement, her lawyer said she's considering legal action against [Indiana AG Todd] Rokita and others who have 'smeared' her. This whole hideous episode has demonstrated the extent to which conservatives are unwilling to grapple with the reality of the abortion regime they are imposing on much of the country." Read on. ~~~
~~~ Marie: I hope Dr. Bernard does sue. She is not a public figure, and the attackers obviously had maliciously intent. Moreover, the Ohio & Indiana AGs had access to public records to determine whether or not the false charges they made were true -- but they were too anxious to become Fox "News" stars to bother to check the facts before they attacked Dr. Bernard & her patient.
Michael Scherer & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: Donald Trump "is now eyeing a September announcement [of his presidential candidacy], according to two Trump advisers.... His team has instructed others to have an online apparatus ready for a campaign should he announce soon, two people familiar with the matter said. He also has begun meeting with top donors to talk about the 2024 race...." Some Republicans are worried an early announcement from Trump will upset their 2022 plans. MB: They have only themselves to blame. Senate Republicans could have convicted Trump in his second impeachment and voted him ineligible to run for office. Ever. As for me, I urge media outlets to ignore Trump's run as much as possible. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Peter Nicholas of NBC News: Ty Cobb, the attorney who led Donald Trump's response to the Mueller report, now describes Trump as a "disaster": "The Big Lie, and the related violence, election interference and other perceived misconduct, was and is an affront to this nation and its first principles. It has permanently soiled the history pages and deepened the abyss that divides our country and continues to expand due to the delusions and lack of accountability of politicians in both parties. It should be disqualifying for Trump and his political acolytes, and would have been at any other time in our history." MB: In fairness to Trump, he probably didn't pay Cobb, so maybe Cobb is suffering from a case of sour grapes.
Clay Risen of the New York Times: "Ivana Trump, the glamorous Czech-American businesswoman whose high-profile marriage to Donald J. Trump in the 1980s established them as one of New York's quintessential power couples of that era, died on Thursday at her home in Manhattan. She was 73.... The New York City police are investigating whether Ms. Trump fell down the stairs at her home on Manhattan's Upper East Side, just off Fifth Avenue near Central Park, according to two law enforcement officials.... One of the officials said there was no sign of forced entry at the home, and the death appeared to be accidental. A spokeswoman for the city's chief medical examiner's office said it would investigate the death." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Beyond the Beltway
Colorado. Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "A judge in Colorado issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for Tina Peters, the Mesa County clerk who is under indictment in relation to a breach of election equipment after the 2020 presidential contest, for violating conditions of her bond that prevented her from traveling without court approval. The judge, Matthew D. Barrett of Colorado's 21st Judicial District, also revoked her $25,000 cash bond and called for her to be held in jail pending a hearing. Ms. Peters traveled to Las Vegas this week to speak at an event hosted by ... a conservative group of county sheriffs and their allies.... Ms. Peters had been deemed a flight risk..., but because she was running for the Republican nomination for Colorado secretary of state, Ms. Peters was given permission to travel outside the state for political purposes, as long as she notified the court of her plans. She lost her primary bid last month, and on Monday, Judge Barrett ruled that she would again need the court's approval before traveling out of state. Ms. Peters has continued to claim, without evidence, that her election loss was the result of fraud." A CBS News report is here.
New York. Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "A Tops Friendly Markets location in Buffalo where 10 people died in a racially-motivated massacre two months ago is set to reopen to the public on Friday, generating mixed feelings from the predominantly Black community the grocery store used to serve. Tops executives held a moment of silence at the site on Thursday afternoon with local officials and others in attendance. Also Thursday, a federal grand jury in the Western District of New York returned a 27-count indictment against the alleged gunman in the massacre, who was charged last month with hate crimes and a gun violation and could face the death penalty for the weapons charge. The accused shooter, Payton Gendron, 19, separately has been charged in state court >with hate-motivated domestic terrorism, first-degree murder and other counts. He is being held without bail and faces a maximum penalty of life without the possibility of parole in the state-level case."
South Carolina. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: "Alex Murdaugh, the fourth-generation lawyer whose family has long held power and influence in a rural swath of South Carolina, was charged on Thursday with killing his wife and one of his sons at the family's secluded hunting estate in a mysterious murder that remained unsolved for more than a year.... The killings immediately put scrutiny on the Murdaugh family and the deaths of several people associated with them. The police began to re-examine the 2015 death of Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old man who was found along a road about 10 miles from the Murdaugh's home and who was thought to have been hit by a truck, as well as the death of Gloria Satterfield in 2018, a housekeeper who worked for the Murdaugh family who died after falling on their house's front steps. At the time of his death, Paul Murdaugh had been facing charges of drunkenly crashing a boat carrying several of his friends, killing a 19-year-old passenger, Mallory Beach." Read on, it you're not familiar with this Southern gothic melodrama, which looks suspiciously like a Netflix mini-series. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Texas. A Field Trip to Ted's House -- Without the Children. Steffi Cao of BuzzFeed News: "A fleet of 52 yellow school buses formed a mile-long procession to Sen. Ted Cruz's house in Houston on Thursday morning -- 4,368 empty seats to honor the number of children killed by gun violence since 2020. The first bus carried items from school shooting victims.... Named 'The NRA Children's Museum,' this project is the latest by artist Manuel Oliver, father of Joaquin [who was killed by the Parkland shooter].... On Monday, [Manuel Oliver] interrupted President Joe Biden during a Rose Garden speech, calling on the White House to open an office specifically for gun violence.... Oliver hand-delivered a letter from his late son to Cruz's house on Thursday, who has received a total of $749,000 from the pro-gun group. The note, which was written by a 12-year-old Joaquin, spoke to gun owners about his thoughts on gun control in the country. When the buses arrived, a security guard came out and accepted the letter. Oliver did not receive an immediate response from Cruz. The procession left shortly after due to encircling police presence." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Friday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.
Guardian: "Canada's finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, has told Russian officials at a meeting of G20 finance ministers that she held them personally responsible for 'war crimes' committed during Russia's war in Ukraine, a western official said. Freeland directly addressed the Russian delegation taking part in the meeting of the Group of 20 major economies, telling them on Friday: 'It is not only generals who commit war crimes, it is the economic technocrats who allow the war to happen and to continue,' the official said. Freeland, whose maternal grandparents were born in Ukraine, told the opening G20 session that the war was the 'single biggest threat to the global economy right now', the official said. A day before the meeting, the US Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, set the tone, calling Russia's war in Ukraine the 'greatest challenge' to the global economy and saying members of Putin's government 'have no place' at the talks." ~~~
~~~ Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen on Friday denounced Russia's war in Ukraine in a closed-door meeting of the Group of 20 nations attended by a senior Kremlin official, according to a Treasury official. Yellen criticized Russia over the atrocities committed in Ukraine and the war's impact on the global economy, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe behind-the-scenes discussions.... 'Russia's officials, including those participating in this session, should recognize that they are adding to the horrific consequences of this war through their continued support of the Putin regime. You share responsibility for the innocent lives lost and the ongoing human and economic toll that the war is causing around the world,' she [said].... It was unclear if the deputy finance minster was still in the room when Yellen delivered the remarks." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Sounds to me as if either the deputy was in the room or the finance minister was there virtually (or both); otherwise Yellen would not have said "you." ~~~
The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here.
Italy. Jason Horowitz of the New York Times: "Italy's golden period of stability suddenly seemed on the familiar precipice of chaos on Thursday after Prime Minister Mario Draghi tendered his resignation in response to a revolt by anti-establishment populists within his broad national unity government. But in a sign of how traumatic Mr. Draghi's departure would be for Italy, the country's president refused to accept his resignation, essentially freezing the political situation in place until next week, when Mr. Draghi will address Parliament. The unexpected government crisis, and the theatrics and behind-the-scenes machinations, left Italy in a state of suspended animation and created a potential calamity for Europe as it seeks a united front against Russia's aggression in Ukraine, and faces a wave of Covid infections and an energy crisis."
Sri Lanka. A Day Late, Millions of Dollars Short. Niha Masih & Hafeel Farisz of the Washington Post: "Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned Thursday from his sudden exile in Singapore, a day after fleeing the country he led for nearly three years. Forced out by a civilian uprising over the island nation's economic collapse, the 73-year-old Rajapaksa had left Sri Lanka before dawn Wednesday to escape public fury over an economy in free fall. He kept his country on tenterhooks even as he was on the run, first flying to Maldives and then missing his self-declared deadline for stepping down. The delay helped him escape while he still enjoyed presidential immunity, but his maneuver sparked fresh protests in which one person died. His ouster now sets off a full leadership struggle." This is an update of a story linked earlier today.
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Tailgunner Ted honored by fleet of yellow school buses!
Mrs. Ted:
“Look, honey, they’re celebrating the color of that streak up your back that appears every time children are shot and killed! How lovely! Oh, and there’s the mailman with another check from Smith & Wesson.”
Morning Manchin thoughts:
Joe is competing with Musk for headlines and was tired of coming in second.
Joe is confused (or just confusing). According to the NBC report, "A Democratic aide familiar with the talks said Manchin conveyed to Democratic leadership that he could support a package that includes climate and tax provisions as long as they're paid for...."
But he won't close tax loopholes or raises taxes at all....
He's all for acting on prescription drug prices and supporting healthcare, though, because there is clearly no relationship at all between the effects of his state's polluting industry and people''s health...
And he's worried about inflation? Thought inflation might just have something to do with tax policy...but guess I'm wrong again.
Speaking of inflation: Very tired of the misleading headlines like "inflation rose 9.1% in June." That's not in June; it over the previous year....Guess headline writer can't divide by 12.
Hats off to those who think up humiliations like the bus caravans cruising around the home of that Mr. Green eggs and Ham guy. We need more original ideas like this in order to shake up these gun deniers, abortion nitwits, climate deniers etc.
Heaven help us–- so deep into vile deceptions, monsters who murder and those in charge who are trying to destroy those structures that hold this country together.
"Are we there yet Daddy?"
"I'm afraid not, son, we have a long way to go,"
PD,
Unfortunately, the monsters, traitors, gun knobbers, liars, idiots, misogynists, incompetents, and haters of democracy don’t respond to protests of their monstrosity, treason, support for gun violence, lies, idiocy, misogyny, incompetence, and hatred of democracy. In fact, they take great umbrage at such protests. While thugs on their side are free to threaten those they disagree with with violence and murder, the most anodyne protest against their exalted persons are considered illegal breaches of their god given right to privacy and to be left alone to carry out the most nefarious schemes.
I doubt Tailgunner Ted was home when those busses drove by, but if he was, he was either under the bed or frantically calling Fox to report that he was under attack and in fear of his life from empty school busses driving by his mansion.
And in any event, he couldn’t care less about kids shot by weapons supplied by his big money donors. Kids, money, kids, money…what’s more important?
That’s an easy one for ol’Ted.
My sister lives in a nice neighborhood in Houston, though not nearly as upscale as Ted's. Her neighborhood, like many a Houston neighborhood built by developers, is controlled by a homeowners' association (HOA). One spring my sister carefully planted a lot of nursery-bought annual seedlings in a front garden bed. The seedlings had not started to flower yet. So the busybodies of the HOA sent her a letter complaining about the "weeds" in her front yard.
Ted lives in River Oaks, the fanciest neighborhood in Houston, though his house appears to be not among the fanciest as an aerial view shows it right close to the neighboring houses. The nicer houses sit among sprawling lawns & gardens. Anyway, the neighbors are rich. And River Oaks does have an HOA. It would be nice if the majority of the members of the HOA were not assault-weapons enthusiasts (and that's possible! -- many upper-class Houstonians are transplants & they're not all gun-crazy). I would recommend the HOA start harassing Ted for neighborhood disturbances caused by protesters and urge him to vote for an assault weapons ban to cut down on the protests. And also don't invite him & his family to the neighborhood Christmas party. Ted might not care about 52 school buses, but I'll bet he & the Mrs. want to stay in good stead with his richy-rich neighbors.
This may be an unnecessary repeat. It is a comment on Charles Pierce's piece today about Cruz, abortion, Democrats, from a guy named Dougtheslug97. But if you don't read Pierce and comments, here 'tis:
"Of course Cruz will bravely speak on behalf of the unborn. To quote (at length) the Methodist pastor David Barnhart :
“The unborn are a convenient group of people to advocate for. They never make demands of you; they are morally uncomplicated, unlike the incarcerated, addicted, or the chronically poor; they don’t resent your condescension or complain that you are not politically correct; unlike widows, they don’t ask you to question patriarchy; unlike orphans, they don’t need money, education, or childcare; unlike aliens, they don’t bring all that racial, cultural, and religious baggage that you dislike; they allow you to feel good about yourself without any work at creating or maintaining relationships; and when they are born, you can forget about them, because they cease to be unborn. You can love the unborn and advocate for them without substantially challenging your own wealth, power, or privilege, without re-imagining social structures, apologizing, or making reparations to anyone. They are, in short, the perfect people to love if you want to claim you love Jesus, but actually dislike people who breathe. Prisoners? Immigrants? The sick? The poor? Widows? Orphans? All the groups that are specifically mentioned in the Bible? They all get thrown under the bus for the unborn.” ... "
Patrick,
For years I have been calling all the concern for the unborn the path the easy virtue.
Now that I've read the Reverend's excellent elaboration, I see that in expressing the same sentiment, I also took an easy path.
I was somewhat taken aback when reading above about Ty Cobb,
who led trump's response to the Mueller report.
Ty Cobb was an old Army buddy. I checked with him. Different
Ty Cobb. He's still a judge in Tn. Strange coincidence.
I'll bet when Bannon is questioned, he'll take the filth. And Rudy
will drink a fifth before his questioning.
Don't know about other parts of the country but housing inflation is
really taking it's toll here. The house across the street, no garage,
small lot, sold 6 years ago for 300 thousand. The new owners did
some inside remodeling and sold it 3 years later for 600 thousand.
Friends of ours bought it with the intention of building a garage.
The city said no, lot too small. They sold it 2 weeks ago for
975 thousand. It wasn't listed. Someone knocked on the door and
bought it.
So I guess that means property taxes in the neighborhood will really
go up. Somehow that doesn't sound fair to we who do not plan to
make a small fortune selling our house.
Another PR coup for confederates!
And speaking of coups…
So here’s Jake Tapper talking to John “Bomb ‘em all to hell” Bolton about the Fat Fascist’s attempted coup. Bolton pretty much blew off that idea. He suggested that Trump had neither the mental capability nor the stay the course fortitude necessary to plan and carry out a coup. How does he know?
“Well, I can tell you that the coups I’ve planned all took a lot of work”.
To which Tapper responded “Um…what? Coups you’ve planned?”
That’s coups, plural.
Great job, Johnny. Here we have a formerly high ranking mucky-muck in several administrations saying the quiet part through a megaphone. Yes, everyone knows that we’ve been fucking with the internal workings of sovereign states for decades, most of which came back to bite us in the ass (Iran?), but to my knowledge, most so-called diplomats and State dept. apparatchiks don’t run around bragging about it.
Just one more way in which right-wingers say to hell with the country as long as they can look good.
And not for nothin’, but why are we still talking to dangerous, egotistical fuckers like Bolton in the first place? It took decades for the media to stop making war criminal Henry Kissinger their first call for an opinion on foreign policy. I mean, I guess if you wanted the inside scoop on murdering nuns, but other than that…
Jesus!
Think housing price inflation might have something to do with the ever increasing traffic of young, middle aged and even old men and women walking down side roads pushing loaded shopping carts or bicycles or carrying backpacks and sleeping under highway overpasses?
https://democraticunderground.com/100206928076
Republican Attorneys General Association hosting a private 3 day
retreat for its corporate donors at a luxury Florida resort (The Breakers) starting Sunday. Folks like Comcast, G.M., Johnson &
Johnson, the Kochs, Lowe's, Walmart, et al.
There will be a cigar and whiskey reception on Monday (glad I won't
be there).
The group seeks more donations to fend off legal attacks from Dems
seeking to protect abortion rights.
What about donations to help all those unwed teenage mothers and
their unwanted babies. Guess they don't believe in charity, only for
the rich.
Arizona Can't Function Without Forced Labor, Is That Bad?
"Arizona Department of Corrections Director David Shinn explained that many Arizona communities would "collapse" without prison labor.
Via Arizona Central:
“These are low-level worker inmates that work in the communities around the county itself, I would imagine?" Gowan asked.
“Yes. The department does more than just incarcerate folks,” Shinn replied. “There are services that this department provides to city, county, local jurisdictions, that simply can't be quantified at a rate that most jurisdictions could ever afford. If you were to remove these folks from that equation, things would collapse in many of your counties, for your constituents.”
In other words, he is arguing that if everyone in Arizona were to be a wonderful, law abiding citizen, counties would fall apart because they can't pay a fair wage for the labor that prisoners do, that the state literally needs people to commit crimes in order to function economically. Whether or not that is actually true is unclear."
The worst states to live in?
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/14/these-10-states-are-americas-worst-places-to-live-in-2022.html
Overwhelmingly red states. Big surprise, huh?
Among the reasons for never wanting to live in most of these hell holes, one of the top reasons for their inclusion in a list of shithole states, is lack of voting rights.
Again, big surprise. And now you can add shitty healthcare for women. Although, really, given the fact that even before Dobbs, most women in these shitholes had to drive hundreds of miles to a single location delivering abortion services, these places have never been healthcare nirvana for women.