;)
July 27, 2022
Afternoon Update:
Jeff Cox of CNBC: "The Federal Reserve on Wednesday enacted its second consecutive 0.75 percentage point interest rate increase as it seeks to tamp down runaway inflation without creating a recession. In taking the benchmark overnight borrowing rate up to a range of 2.25%-2.5%, the moves in June and July represent the most stringent consecutive moves since the Fed began using the overnight funds rate as the principal tool of monetary policy in the early 1990s."
Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The Senate on Wednesday passed an expansive $280 billion bill aimed at building up America's manufacturing and technological edge to counter China, embracing in an overwhelming bipartisan vote the most significant government intervention in industrial policy in decades. The legislation reflected a remarkable and rare consensus in an otherwise polarized Congress in favor of forging a long-term strategy to address the nation's intensifying geopolitical rivalry with Beijing, centered around investing federal money into cutting-edge technologies and innovations to bolster the nation's industrial, technological and military strength. It passed on a lopsided bipartisan vote of 64 to 33, with 17 Republicans voting in support." The AP's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Quiz. GOP Senators who voted against the bill did so, they said, because
(a) an itty-bitty thing like a microchip should not cost $280BB;
(b) the Internet is a series of tubes & there are already too many people talking into the tubes;
(c) Chuck Schumer;
(d) I don't know anything about it so I'm against it (hint: think Tom Cotton);
(e) all of the above.
Update: More very good reasons below. See Patrick's comment.
Peter Baker & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden returned to the Oval Office with a triumphant flair on Wednesday after testing negative for Covid-19, boasting that his mild case was evidence of the progress his administration had made in stemming the pandemic. The president's staff staged a pep rally of sorts in the Rose Garden to celebrate the end of his five-day isolation, welcoming Mr. Biden to the lectern with a rendition of 'Hail to the Chief' and a crowd of cheering aides. Wearing his signature aviator sunglasses, the president removed his mask and declared his personal victory against the coronavirus." ~~~
Norman Lear, in a New York Times op-ed: "Well, I made it. I am 100 years old today.... Reaching my own personal centennial is cause for a bit of reflection on my first century -- and on what the next century will bring for the people and country I love.... I don't take the threat of authoritarianism lightly. As a young man, I dropped out of college when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and joined the U.S. Army Air Forces. I flew more than 50 missions in a B-17 bomber to defeat fascism consuming Europe. I am a flag-waving believer in truth, justice and the American way, and I don't understand how so many people who call themselves patriots can support efforts to undermine our democracy and our Constitution.... If Archie [Bunker] had been around 50 years later, he probably would have watched Fox News. He probably would have been a Trump voter. But I think that the sight of the American flag being used to attack Capitol Police would have sickened him. I hope that the resolve shown by Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, and their commitment to exposing the truth, would have won his respect."
Katherine Faulders, et al., of ABC News: "Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top adviser to ... Donald Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows, has recently cooperated with the Department of Justice investigation into the events of Jan. 6, according to sources familiar with the matter. The Justice Department reached out to her following her testimony a month ago before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, the sources said." MB: Gosh, Former President* Bullyboy, maybe it was a bad idea to diss Hutchinson after he earlier testimony.
Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "Days after being publicly insulted by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Twitter, Olivia Julianna, a 19-year-old abortion rights advocate, wrote him a tongue-in-cheek thank-you note on the platform. 'Dear Matt, Although your intentions were hateful, your public shaming of my appearance has done nothing but benefit me,' she wrote after his tweet about her spurred a load of harassment -- as well as a flood of donations to her reproductive rights advocacy organization. In just about a day, she's helped raise approximately $115,000 for the nonprofit Gen Z for Change. At a rally last weekend in Tampa, Gaetz had mocked abortion rights activists, calling them 'disgusting..., [ugly] and overweight.' Olivia Julianna ... criticized the remarks on Twitter, noting the sex-trafficking allegations against Gaetz. In apparent retaliation, Gaetz then tweeted an image of her next to a news story that mentioned his [disparaging] comments from the rally."
David McCabe & Mike Isaac of the New York Times: "The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday filed for an injunction to block Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, from buying a virtual reality company called Within, potentially limiting the company's push into the so-called metaverse and signaling a shift in how the agency is approaching tech deals. The antitrust lawsuit is the first to be filed under Lina Khan, the commission&'s chair and a leading progressive critic of corporate concentration, against one of the tech giants. Ms. Khan has argued that regulators must stop violations of competition and consumer protection laws when it comes to the bleeding edge of technology, including virtual and augmented reality, and not just in areas where the companies have already become behemoths. The F.T.C.'s request for an injunction puts Ms. Khan on a collision course with Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's chief executive, who is also named as a defendant in the request. He has poured billions of dollars into building products for virtual and augmented reality, betting that the immersive world of the metaverse is the next technology frontier. The lawsuit could crimp those ambitions."
~~~~~~~~~~
** Merrick the Unready Is Ready Now. Carol Leonnig, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department is investigating ... Donald Trump's actions as part of its criminal probe of efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, according to four people familiar with the matter. Prosecutors who are questioning witnesses before a grand jury -- including two top aides to Vice President Mike Pence -- have asked in recent days about conversations with Trump, his lawyers, and others in his inner circle who sought to substitute Trump allies for certified electors from some states Joe Biden won, according to two people familiar with the matter.... The prosecutors have asked hours of detailed questions about meetings Trump led in December 2020 and January 2021; his pressure campaign on Pence to overturn the election; and what instructions Trump gave his lawyers and advisers about fake electors and sending electors back to the states, the people said. Some of the questions focused directly on the extent of Trump's involvement in the fake-elector effort led by his outside lawyers, including John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani, these people said. In addition, Justice Department investigators in April received phone records of key officials and aides in the Trump administration, including his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, according to two people familiar with the matter. That effort is another indicator of how expansive the Jan. 6 probe had become, well before the high-profile, televised House hearings in June and July on the subject." A CBS News report is here. ~~~
~~~ Ken Dilanian & Corky Siemaszko of NBC News: "The Justice Department plans to prosecute anyone who was 'criminally responsible for interfering with the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to another,' Attorney General Merrick Garland said Tuesday, speaking more expansively than he has previously about a federal criminal investigation that appears to have moved far beyond the rioters who attacked the Capitol. In an exclusive interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, Garland said that the televised hearings by the House Jan. 6 committee highlighted 'the truth of what happened ... and what a risk it meant for our democracy.' And he acknowledged that Justice Department investigators learned things from the congressional testimony.... 'We intend to hold everyone, anyone who was criminally responsible for the events surrounding Jan. 6, for any attempt to interfere with the lawful transfer of power from one administration to another, accountable. That's what we do. We don't pay any attention to other issues with respect to that,' [Garland told Holt]." Here's the whole NBC Nightly News segment, for those of you who like to read tea leaves: ~~~
~~~ Maggie Haberman & Glenn Thrush of the New York Times in a summary report of developments related to a DOJ criminal investigation of Donald Trump: "Asking questions about Mr. Trump in connection with the electors plot or the attack on the Capitol does not mean the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into him...."
Maggie Haberman & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Previously undisclosed emails provide an inside look at the increasingly desperate and often slapdash efforts by advisers to ... Donald J. Trump to reverse his election defeat in the weeks before the Jan. 6 attack, including acknowledgments that a key element of their plan was of dubious legality and lived up to its billing as 'fake.' The dozens of emails among people connected to the Trump campaign, outside advisers and close associates of Mr. Trump show a particular focus on assembling lists of people who would claim -- with no basis -- to be Electoral College electors on his behalf in battleground states that he had lost. In emails reviewed by The New York Times and authenticated by people who had worked with the Trump campaign at the time, one lawyer involved in the detailed discussions repeatedly used the word 'fake' to refer to the so-called electors, who were intended to provide Vice President Mike Pence and Mr. Trump's allies in Congress a rationale for derailing the congressional process of certifying the outcome. And lawyers working on the proposal made clear they knew that the pro-Trump electors they were putting forward might not hold up to legal scrutiny." The article includes many incriminating details of the email exchanges. (Also linked yesterday.) The Raw Story has a summary report here. ~~~
~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... both when they were designated on Dec. 14, 2020, and since, these fake electors have almost always been described as a contingency plan.... The idea was supposedly that they needed to be in place just in case the election results were changed before Jan. 6.... Evidence [that surfaced in the NYT report (linked above)], though, suggests that at least some involved might have understood the fake-elector plan differently -- from very early in the process.... The idea was apparently that the slate of fake electors would somehow be kept secret before Jan. 6 and then be sprung on an unsuspecting political world when Congress counted the electoral votes. Precisely why isn't clear, but it's certainly a remarkable plot to overturn democracy." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Based on Blake's reporting, it appears to me that the fake electors started out as a contingency plan in case courts or state legislatures made decisions favorable to Trump. But along the way, some of those involved in the plot forgot about the contingency part. At the last minute, for instance, an argument broke out between the Trump campaign & Pennsylvania's fake electors. One fake Pennsylvania elector told CNN "the Trump campaign wanted no contingency, but the fake electors insisted upon it.
Annie Grayer of CNN: "Former acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller told the House select committee investigating the Capitol Hill insurrection that ... Donald Trump never gave him a formal order to have 10,000 troops ready to be deployed to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to new video of Miller's deposition released by the committee. 'I was never given any direction or order or knew of any plans of that nature,' Miller said in the video. Miller later said in the video definitively, 'There was no direct, there was no order from the President.'... Trump has previously said that he requested National Guard troops be ready for January 6. He released a statement on June 9 that he 'suggested & offered' up to 20,000 National Guard troops be deployed to Washington, DC, ahead of January 6 claiming it was because he felt 'that the crowd was going to be very large.' The committee released Miller's testimony after already revealing that Trump did not make calls to military personnel or law enforcement to intervene as the Capitol attack was unfolding." ~~~
To remove any doubt: Not only did Donald Trump fail to contact his Secretary of Defense on January 6th (as shown in our hearing), Trump also failed to give any order prior to January 6 to deploy the military to protect the Capitol.
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) July 26, 2022
Here is Secretary Miller’s testimony— pic.twitter.com/joucnUHvBB
Carol Leonnig & Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "A pair of key congressional Democrats called on Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari to step aside from his office's investigation into the Secret Service on Tuesday, saying the Trump appointee knew earlier than has been reported that the agency deleted text messages from around the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), who heads the House committee that oversees inspectors general, and Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the Jan. 6 committee and the Homeland Security Committee, said the inspector general's office admitted in congressional briefings that it became aware that agents' text messages were erased in December 2021 [[ two months earlier than reported. But Cuffari did not report that to Congress until this month. The lawmakers said these and other omissions have broken their faith in Cuffari's ability to lead the investigation, and they urged the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, an independent entity in the executive branch, to appoint another inspector general to handle the Secret Service probe."
Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A District man who assaulted three police officers and shattered a riot shield with a pole was sentenced to 63 months in prison Tuesday, matching the longest sentence handed down to a defendant convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Mark K. Ponder, 56, admitted to fighting with police in video-recorded confrontations between 2:31 p.m. and 2:48 p.m. that day in the area of the lower west terrace of the Capitol, which was overrun by a violent mob angered by President Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Ponder pleaded guilty April 22 to one count of assaulting an officer using a dangerous weapon. 'He was leading the charge,' U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan said...." The AP's report is here.
Presidential Race 2024
Michael Bender of the New York Times: "In addresses from two hotel ballrooms less than a mile apart in Washington, [Donald] Trump and Mike Pence, the vice president whom he had left at the mercy of a mob of his supporters during the Capitol riot, put on clear display one of the most uncomfortable splits inside their party. The competing speeches on the same day would have been inconceivable for a former president and his own vice president not long ago.... In his 90-minute speech, Mr. Trump repeatedly veered off script to complain about 'hoax' investigations, boast about surviving two impeachments and lie about his 2020 election loss. Mr. Pence, by contrast, urged the party to look ahead and unite for the next political battles." ~~~
~~~ Stephanie Ruhle of MSNBC noted that Fox "News" carried none of Trump's speech; Fox played 17 minutes of Pence's remarks.
Yada Yada Yada. Jill Colvin of the AP: "... Donald Trump returned to Washington for the first time since leaving office Tuesday, vigorously repeating his false election claims that sparked the Jan. 6 insurrection at the nearby Capitol. 'It was a catastrophe that election. A disgrace to our country,' he said, insisting despite all evidence that he had won in 2020. 'We may just have to do it again,' he said, repeating as he does in all recent appearances the ever-clearer hints that he will run again in 2024. He [received] frequent applause and cheers from his audience, a meeting organized by a group of former White House officials and Cabinet members who have been crafting an agenda for a possible second Trump term." MB: Such a shame that Garland & the WashPo ruined Trump's triumphal return to his very temporary home. (Also linked yesterday.)
Olafimihan Oshin of the Hill: "Marc Short, a top aide to former Vice President Mike Pence, slammed Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for telling a crowd ... at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit ... over the weekend that Pence could never be president.... 'Well, I don't know if Mike Pence will run for president in 2024, but I don't think Matt Gaetz will have an impact on that,' Short told [CNN's Erin] Burnett. 'In fact, I'd be surprised if he was still voting, it's more likely he'll be in prison for child sex trafficking by 2024.... And I'm actually surprised that Florida law enforcement still allows him to speak to teenage conferences like that, so I'm not too worried about Matt Gaetz,' he added, referring to the event being attended by young conservative students." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Michael Luciano of Mediaite: "The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to reauthorize the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which has been repeatedly green-lit by Congress and every president since its passage in 2000. The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to reauthorize the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which has been repeatedly green-lit by Congress and every president since its passage in 2000.... All 20 votes against the measure were cast by Republicans, including Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who, according to a report last year is under investigation by the Department of Justice as to whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old who may have been trafficked for the purpose of engaging in sex." The usual suspects also voted against the bill. Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary below. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Other than Gaetz, who has a vested interest in limiting the reach of sex trafficking laws, it's hard to understand why the usual suspects also seem to favor sex trafficking. Either they voted in solidarity with Matt, or they hope to encourage Hillary & the other Democrats who they think are trafficking in children or something at the Comet Ping Pong Pizza place in D.C.
Hawley's Also-Ran Hopes Dashed. Tom Boggioni of the Raw Story: "According to a report from the New Republic's Alex Shepard, any hope that Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) had of becoming a star in the Republican Party firmament has decidedly crashed to earth and burned as he has become a pathetic object of ridicule -- particularly after being publicly humiliated the House committee investigating the Jan 6th riot. As Shepard notes, the enduring image of Hawley -- the author of the upcoming 'Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs' -- running away from violent Trump fans he encouraged on Jan 6th will haunt him the rest of his political career.... [Shepard wrote,] 'In February, [Hawley] received 0.2 percent of the vote when the Conservative Political Action Conference held its annual presidential straw poll.'" strong> MB: That's not two percent; that's two-tenths of one percent. ~~~
~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$ publishes a couple of excerpts of Shepard's article. The New Republic essay, which is firewalled, is here.
Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "Widespread drug abuse, substandard medical and mental health care, out-of-control violence and horrific sanitary conditions are rampant at a federal prison in Atlanta, a new congressional investigation into the federal Bureau of Prisons has found. The problems plaguing the medium-security prison, which holds around 1,400 people, are so notorious within the federal government that its culture of indifference and mismanagement is derisively known among bureau employees as 'the Atlanta way.' But whistle-blowers, including two top prison officials, documented the depth of dysfunction at U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta during a Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, describing dozens of violent episodes -- and the systematic effort to downplay and cover up the crisis -- over the past few years.... The conditions at the prison, while extreme, reflect wider problems in the bureau's sprawling network of 122 facilities housing about 158,000 inmates. The system has suffered from chronic overcrowding, staffing shortages, corruption, sexual violence and a culture that often encourages senior officials to minimize the extent of the problems."
Joan Biskupic of CNN: "Chief Justice John Roberts privately lobbied fellow conservatives to save the constitutional right to abortion down to the bitter end, but May's unprecedented leak of a draft opinion reversing Roe v. Wade made the effort all but impossible, multiple sources familiar with negotiations told CNN. It appears unlikely that Roberts' best prospect -- Justice Brett Kavanaugh -- was ever close to switching his earlier vote, despite Roberts' attempts that continued through the final weeks of the session. New details obtained by CNN provide insight into the high-stakes internal abortion-rights drama that intensified in late April when justices first learned the draft opinion would soon be published.... [Roberts' plan was to] would vote to uphold Mississippi's ban on abortions at 15 weeks of pregnancy. But the chief justice believed the court should put off a full reconsideration of the constitutional right to abortion for earlier stages of pregnancy." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Paul Campos, in LG&$: "Alito himself leaked the draft, to lock in Kavanaugh." Campos explains his rationale in a deeply satisfying, if speculative essay. (Also linked yesterday.)
Beyond the Beltway
New York. How Conveeeenient! Jonah Bromwich & Jay Root of the New York Times: "Hours after [a man attacked Rep. Lee Zeldin during a campaign event] last week, Mr. Zeldin, the Republican candidate for governor of New York whose criticism over the Democrat-led changes to the bail statute has been a key issue in his campaign, said on Twitter that he expected the man arrested in the attack, David Jakubonis, to go free. He then spoke at length when his prediction came true, emphasizing in news conferences and television appearances how Mr. Jakubonis's release without bail exemplified the issues with the bail law. But almost immediately..., many Democrats seized on the relationship between the candidate and the Monroe County district attorney, Sandra Doorley, who as recently as this week was listed on Mr. Zeldin's website as a campaign co-chair. They noted that the sheriff who filed the charge against Mr. Jakubonis, Todd K. Baxter of Monroe County, was also a vocal opponent of the bail law. And finally, they wondered why Mr. Jakubonis had been charged with second-degree attempted assault, a charge that is not bail-eligible, virtually guaranteeing that he would be released as Mr. Zeldin had predicted." ~~~
~~~ According to Chris Hayes of MSNBC, Doorley attended the event where Zeldin was attacked with a plastic key chain fob. Marie: Was this even a real attack? Or did somebody put Jakubonis up to it?
Way Beyond
Hungary. Shaun Walker & Flora Garamvolgyi of the Guardian: "A longstanding adviser to Viktor Orbán [-- Zsuzsa Hegedüs --] has resigned in protest at 'a pure Nazi speech' the Hungarian prime minister gave that was 'worthy of Goebbels'.... Orbán has made anti-migration rhetoric a key part of his political platform since 2015, and frequently uses far-right language, but his speech on Saturday -- in which he spoke out against 'race mixing'-- was extreme even by his standards. In the speech, Orbán said mixing between Europeans was acceptable, but Europeans mixing with non-Europeans created 'mixed race' people. 'We are willing to mix with one another, but we do not want to become peoples of mixed race,' said Orbán. He added that countries where this was seen as acceptable are 'no longer nations'... Next week Orbán is due to travel to Dallas, where he will open CPAC Texas, a gathering of US conservatives. Orbán counts the former US president Donald Trump among his many admirers on the American right." Emphasis added.
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Wednesday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Wednesday is here: "Phoenix Mercury player Brittney Griner returned to court this week, as her defense team called witnesses to support its case for leniency. She has pleaded guilty to carrying cannabis oil into Russia in a trial denounced by the United States, and her lawyers expect more hearings before the trial ends, including a key session on Wednesday, when Griner will take the stand and face questions from the prosecutor and judge."
Mary Ilyushina & Christian Davenport of the Washington Post: "Russia on Tuesday announced it will withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS) project after 2024, signaling an end of an era in one of the last remaining areas of cooperation between Russia and the United States. Russia's newly appointed head of space agency Roscosmos announced the decision in a meeting with ... Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, saying that the agency will instead focus on building its own orbital station. 'We will fulfill all our obligations to our partners, but the decision to leave this station after 2024 has been made,' the space agency chief Yuri Borisov said. Russian officials have discussed leaving the project since at least 2021, citing aging equipment and growing safety risks. The countries involved in the ISS agreed to use the station until 2024 and NASA plans to use the station until 2030."
Jennifer Rankin of the Guardian: "The EU has been forced to water down its plan to ration gas this winter in an attempt to avoid an energy crisis generated by further Russian cuts to supply. Energy ministers from the 27 member states, except Hungary, backed a voluntary 15% reduction in gas usage over the winter, a target that could become mandatory if the Kremlin ordered a complete shutdown of gas to Europe. After days of fraught negotiations, ministers agreed opt-outs for island nations and possible exclusions for countries little connected to the European gas network, which will blunt the overall effect in the event of a full-blown gas crisis."
News Lede:
New York Times: "Just three days ago, the River Des Peres, which carries storm water from the city of St. Louis, was 'almost bone dry,' the city's fire chief said, as Missouri experienced what the governor called increasingly dry conditions and the growing threat of serious drought. Then came record rainfall early Tuesday, drenching parts of St. Louis and other areas of Missouri with up to a foot of rain that quickly transformed interstates and neighborhood streets into roaring rivers that collapsed roofs and forced residents to flee their homes in inflatable boats."
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Today in Statutory Rapist News
So yesterday, the House reauthorized a bill against sex trafficking. It passed 401-20. All 20 members saying “Sex trafficking? Meh. Not so bad” were R traitors. And guess who was first among them? Why, the biggest underage sex trafficking statutory rapist and advisor to young Republican misogynistic monsters, good ol’ Matt Gaetz!
Surprised?
I know. Go figure, right?
Florida used to say that ex-convicted felons, as Gaetz may be one day, could never vote again. That’s changed now, sort of, although DeSantolini is still trying to screw those people. Nonetheless, felons still have to complete their sentence and finish parole. I haven’t looked it up (it’s a mess), but I’m guessing that sex offenders, who have to register with local law enforcement once released back into the world, are pretty much on parole for life. If so, there’s a chance that 2022 could be the last time this walking rectal probe gets to vote. Like, forever.
Arc of the moral universe, and all that.
https://www.mediaite.com/politics/matt-gaetz-and-19-other-republicans-vote-against-reauthorizing-sex-trafficking-law/
Let’s criticize stuff we know nothing about.
I know what you’re thinking. Must be about some dung heap R traitor, right?
Yes! Of course!
And today’s winner is Tom Cotton who the other day went on Hugh Hewitt’s Traitors R Us show to rip the Jan. 6 committee, whining about something, something Anglo-American jurisprudence (like he would know). HowEVER…almost in the same breath, he admitted he hadn’t actually watched any of the hearings.
Oops!
Liz Cheney tore him a well deserved new one:
“Here’s a tip [Tom, you smirking little prick]: actually watching [the hearings] before rendering judgment is more consistent with ‘Anglo-American jurisprudence.’”
Hummeda, hummeda, hummeda…
MAKE AMERICA HUNGARY AGAIN:
To continue with Ak's prick pomposity let's recall that Orban hosted, among others, Pence, Bannon, and Jeff Sessions who told a Hungarian newspaper that in the struggle to "return to our Christian roots based on reason and law, which have made Western civilization great...the Hungarians have a solid stand." This statement alone makes me sick!
The system that Viktor has managed to preserve has the appearance of a formal democracy as long as you don't look too closely someone said–-a combination of freedom and subjugation–-sort of a "Goulash Authoritarianism."
Andrew Marantz who wrote a long piece in the New Yorker about this Hungarian influence on the Republican Party said what worries him most was not the person of Donald Trump but a Republican Party that resembles Orban's party, Fidesz–-- becoming increasingly comfortable with naked power grabs, with treating all political opposition as fundamentally illegitimate, with assuming that any checks on its dominance were mere inconvenience to be bypassed by quasi-legalistic means.
But here and now we finally had word from our AG that, yes, indeed, he is into deep investigations–-don't you all worry––-no one is above the law he says once again except we still worry cuz that someone who has been able to scurry above it time after time might still be able to. However––Garland's garden variety promise might just bear fruit.
Everybody dance now!!!!!
I do appreciate that Rip Van Garland has changed his name to Miracle Glacierland...in the event that some people get charged before I turn 100... I would like to believe that he is one of those people who just moves at a snail's pace until he moves suddenly. We had two Scotties like that; it was like they moseyed along until we were lulled into thinking they wouldn't really leave the yard, until we would get a call telling us the sneaky doggies were down the road reveling in a whole lot of mud. Tiptoeing would suddenly turn to stampeding. How 'bout it, Miracle? There is certainly a plethora of mud available...
Marie was wondering why the traitors and pro-sex abuse assholes (all R’s, natch) voted against an anti sex trafficking bill.
Cuz they’re stoopid? Cuz they’re amoral slugs? Well, sure. Yes to both of those. But they also have some very good reasons (*chortle*).
Head of the Statutory Rapist caucus in the Congress, Matt (But I don’t rape fat girls) Gaetz, sez he always votes against this terrible law (he was the sole dissenting vote in 2017) cuz “the wrong people” might get indicted. Right. So, better to allow hundreds of children to be trafficked rather than put up with the possibility that one person (him) might suffer the consequences of their actions.
So, okay. Not a great reason. My favorite “reason” for voting against an anti sex trafficking bill belongs to Chip Roy (Traitor-TX). Roy, former chief of staff for Cancun Ted Cruz, once stopped the proceedings as congress was trying to pass emergency funds for the victims of Hurricane Harvey (in his own fucking state) because Nancy Pelosi didn’t give him a chance to make a big speech taking credit for it. She tried to get a quick OK with a voice vote, but that didn’t fly with ol’ Chip. This is the guy who once bragged that his role in congress was “to sow chaos” and touted his “inability to get stuff done”. He’s been a dependable rubber stamp for every criminal, illegal, and insane bullshit demanded by the Fat Fascist.
But his reason for voting NO on this bill? He was busy “doing other stuff” and couldn’t be bothered reading the bill.
These fucking people are MAKING THE LAWS IN TJIS COUNTRY!!
PD,
There’s been a lot of excellent reporting on the slick moves Viktor Orban has made to gather and cement his hold on power in Hungary. Unlike Trump, a wannabe dictator, Orban is the real thing. Over the years he has installed his own people as judges and worked to get a super majority of “elected” officials to say yes to everything he wants. He’s made voting extremely difficult for anyone opposing him and easy for his followers (R’s have followed suit with that brilliant idea).
Once he ruled completely, he changed the country’s constitution and jiggered its laws so that his most outrageous power grabs can no longer be technically called illegal. This allows authoritarian apologists like TuKKKer to say “Whaddaya mean illegal? Everything he does is legal! And Hungary is a great democracy too! They even have elections!” Party of Traitor haters of democracy are eager to do the same here. And now they even have their very own rubber stamp Supremes!
But Viktor is not one to stop there. He made his name by going full immigration denier, and just last week made a speech that caused a longtime advisor to resign due to its “pure Nazi” qualities.
Yowling again about dirty immigrants, Orban, in a speech that white Christian nationalists must have been ecstatic over, warned of the dangers of “mixing races” and declared that countries that allowed such horrors can no longer be considered valid nations.
Clarence Thomas* made a big point of threatening to kill other rights Americans rely on in their personal lives, like same sex marriage and contraception. But that whole business of privacy not being guaranteed in the Constitution means mixed race marriages could also be on the chopping block. I read somewhere that 25% of registered R’s now say interracial marriage should be made illegal again (this would make them anti-Loving, of course, but you already knew that).
This is the core of what MTG and Boebert and the other white Christian nationalists demand for this country. So Orban will be treated like royalty when he drags his Nazi ass to Dallas.
*Some have speculated that Thomas didn’t include interracial marriage as one the rights soon to be killed, but maybe, just maybe…he sees it as a way to dump Ginni. “Sorry hon, Loving overturned. Marriage dissolved. Bye now!” I mean, who could blame him?
https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/26/longstanding-adviser-to-viktor-orban-resigns-over-pure-nazi-speech
If "no one is above the law" then why have we seen so little prosecution of the crimes from the last four years? Journalists did incredible documentation of numerous crimes committed during the Trump administration. Tons of IG reports were filed reporting criminal behavior. In a year and a half there have not been any high profile Trumpers indicted. Just last week we got more evidence that people lied to Congress about the census citizenship question, but no one even considers the possibility that there will be real consequences any more. I saw Lester Holt ask Garland if prosecuting Trump would tear the country apart. What about the other half of the country that actually believes in the American dream and rule of law, the rest of us "fake" Americans are here too. And we are the ones contributing to society and trying to keep it going forward. And a legal system that holds all people to account would be a big help in protecting the country and it's people from following in the footsteps of so many former great societies.
Or,
(f.) The Whip told me to vote "nay"
(g.) It was polled on a day ending with "y"
(h.) We don't make chips in my state
(i.) My vote thingy broke
(j.) My staff was at softball and I didn't know, so default "nay"
Just got an email from my friend in Glasgow who was driving on a highway to pick up her daughter from ballet camp when she passed three, huge, flashing billboards in a row for erectile dysfunction meds.
"One if ok. Two is annoying. Three makes me want to smash my car into the barrier and burn the patriarchy to a crisp."
My friend is a nurse and the author of two books on women and pregnancy and, of course, abortion.