;)
The Commentariat -- May 20, 2021
Late Morning Update:
Dana Milbank: Mitch McConnell came to Donald Trump's rescue -- again. "And McConnell did it with a baldfaced lie.... McConnell announced on Wednesday morning, before the House vote, that he would 'oppose the House Democrats' slanted and unbalanced proposal.' For good measure, he accused Democrats of 'partisan bad faith.'... The bipartisan commission bill was negotiated by Rep. John Katko (N.Y.), the top Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, with House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy's blessing.... Katko argued on the House floor Wednesday ... that the bill was 'nearly identical' to one Republicans introduced.... 'Thanks for not throwing me under the bus, Kevin,' Katko said at a Republican caucus meeting Tuesday, tire treads still imprinted on his face."
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here.
Having trouble getting a Covid vaccine in your area? Why not take a vacci-cation -- to Mongolia! ~~~
~~~ Alexandra Stevenson of the New York Times: "Mongolia, a country of grassy hills, vast deserts and endless skies, has a population not much bigger than Chicago's.... But during a pandemic, being a small nation sandwiched between two vaccine makers with global ambitions can have advantages. At a time when most countries are scrambling for coronavirus vaccines, Mongolia now has enough to fully vaccinate its entire adult population, in large part thanks to deals with both China and Russia. Officials are so confident about the nation's vaccine riches that they are promising citizens a 'Covid-free summer.'"
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Loveday Morris, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a phone call Wednesday that he 'expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire,' according to the White House, in the most assertive language used publicly by the administration since Israel and Hamas began exchanging rocket fire 10 days ago. Biden's urging came amid mounting international demands for a cease-fire. Netanyahu has repeatedly said that the operation will not stop until Israel achieves its military objectives." (Also linked yesterday.) CNN's story is here.
Mike DeBonis, et al., of the Washington Post: "Republican leaders are trying to sink legislation establishing an independent commission on the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol that would probably scrutinize ... Donald Trump's role in the riot and his conversations with Republican lawmakers that day. The bill passed the House on a 252-to-175 vote Wednesday with 35 Republicans supporting the measure, but its chances of clearing the Senate dimmed after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) came out against the bill earlier in the day." A CNN story is here. ~~~
~~~ Alayna Treene & Jacob Knutson of Axios: "[Thirty-five] House Republicans voted in support of the bill, underscoring the fault lines within the party in the aftermath of the insurrection. The amount of Republican support makes it far more difficult for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to try to dismiss the commission outright as a partisan effort.... Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has promised the bill will get a vote, but it's still unclear how many Republicans will get on board." ~~~
~~~ Yeah, Well, Mom Always Liked Mikey More. Amanda Turkel of the Huffington Post: "Rep. Greg Pence (R-Ind.) opposes an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, even though his own brother [mike] was a central target of the mob's fury." ~~~
Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post: "Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) has had it with the Republican members of the House who attacked a proposed bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that was carried out by pro-Trump insurrectionists. After thanking those in the GOP who supported the measure ― 35 Republicans ultimately broke ranks and voted in favor of the commission ― Ryan lit into those who voted against it." Thanks to PD Pepe for the link. ~~~
~~~ Marie: So yeah, I guess Tim Ryan is running for Senate. ~~~
~~~ Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that he will oppose legislation to create a commission tasked with investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol -- a signal that the legislation will not have the votes to get through the Senate. 'After careful consideration. I've made the decision to oppose the House Democrats slanted and unbalanced proposal for another commission to study the events of January the 6th,' he said on the Senate floor. The bipartisan commission would have an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, five on each side[.]" Politico's story is here. MB: Yes, but the proposed commission is "slanted & unbalanced" because it won't have a majority of Republicans, all of them complaining about antifa communists in Oregon & praising "patriot tourists" in D.C. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Sorry for the language, but it looks as if the Turtle is still Trump's bitch. ~~~
~~~ Olafimihan Oshin of the Hill: "... [Donald] Trump called for an immediate end to the debate over a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot the night before the House is expected to approve the plan. 'Republicans in the House and Senate should not approve the Democrat trap of the January 6 Commission. It is just more partisan unfairness and unless the murders, riots, and fire bombings in Portland, Minneapolis, Seattle, Chicago, and New York are also going to be studied, this discussion should be ended immediately,' Trump said in a statement Tuesday night. 'Republicans must get much tougher and much smarter, and stop being used by the Radical Left. Hopefully, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy are listening!' he added." MB: Mitch, evidently, was listening. ~~~
~~~ Olivia Beavers & Sarah Ferris of Politico: "A statement released Wednesday on Capitol Police letterhead, said to be authored by multiple officers on the force, delivered a rare public rebuke of top Republicans for opposing a proposed bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that injured scores on their force. The unsigned missive was sent to the offices of every member of Congress hours before the House was set to vote on legislation creating the commission.... The department distanced itself from the statement, noting that it 'has no way of confirming it was even authored by USCP personnel. The U.S. Capitol Police does NOT take positions on legislation.'... [The letter] was distributed by the office of Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.)... Raskin's staff told fellow House offices that multiple officers were behind the letter and chose to remain anonymous 'because they are afraid of retribution for speaking out.'"
Doha Madani of NBC News: "A New York man was charged in connection with the Capitol riot in Washington after allegedly talking about his involvement in the Jan. 6 mob at his dentist's office. Daniel Warmus, of Alden, New York, was arrested Tuesday and charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or without authority, and knowingly with the intent to impede and the orderly conduct of government, according to the Department of Justice. The FBI received a tip about Warmus' involvement from an unidentified person who overheard Warmus discussing his experience at his dentist's office, the complaint against him said. Warmus allegedly played a video he took inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot and said he had smoked marijuana while he was there. A subsequent investigation identified Warmus on security footage inside the Capitol...." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I guess it didn't occur to Dan that his dental hygienist might be a patriot who believes, however vaguely, in the orderly transfer of power.
Ray Hartmann of the Raw Story: "Daniel Paul Gray of Florida was charged [Tuesday] with multiple crimes of violence against police officers at the January 6 Capitol riot.... Gray is accused of having altercations with multiple police, one in which he caused a female police officer to fall down the western rotunda stairs 'and became visibly injured.' Gray bragged about it all in a self-shot monologue, the FBI said.... Now the video itself has been captured by the FBI.... 'We started pushing the police out the back of the Capitol. We pushed them from the front to the back of the Capitol.... This is far from over, that was the coolest thing I've ever done in my life, so stay tuned.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Nina Golgowski of the Huffington Post: "Centenarians who survived the 1921 destruction of a thriving Black district in Tulsa, Oklahoma, told members of Congress at a hearing on Wednesday that they are still waiting for justice. 'By the grace of God, I am still here. I have survived. I have survived to tell this story,' Lessie Benningfield Randle, 106, said in front of the House Judiciary;s Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee. 'Hopefully now you all will listen to us while we are still here.' The hearing was timed to align with the centennial of what's known as the Tulsa race massacre, in which a white mob leveled a Black community called Greenwood in May 1921, razing businesses, killing an estimated 300 Black people and leaving another 10,000 homeless. Randle was one of three survivors to speak about the atrocities and is part of a reparations lawsuit filed last year against the city of Tulsa, the county of Tulsa, the state of Oklahoma, and the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce for the two-day attack."
Kara Scannell & Sonia Moghe of CNN: "The New York attorney general's office has opened a criminal tax investigation into top Trump Organization officer Allen Weisselberg, increasing the legal pressure on the long-time aide to ... Donald Trump, people familiar with the investigation say. The pressure on Weisselberg is mounting from two directions with the attorney general looking into his personal taxes, while prosecutors in the district attorney's office are digging into his role at the Trump Organization, his personal finances, and benefits given to his son Barry, a long-time employee of the Trump Organization." The New York Times story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: It turns out that the Desk of Donald J. Trump is as stupid. vain & unintentionally funny as he is. (Why does Donald get only an inanimate desk? Devin Nunes got a cow.) Here's the first (long) sentence of a pathetic, hilariously Trumpy screed the desk wrote: "I have just learned, through leaks in the mainstream media, that after being under investigation from the time I came down the escalator 5 ½ years ago, including the fake Russia Russia Russia Hoax, the 2 year, $48M, No Collusion Mueller Witch Hunt, Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax #2, and others, that the Democrat New York Attorney General has 'informed' my organization that their 'investigation' is no longer just a civil matter but also potentially a 'criminal' investigation working with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office." ~~~
~~~ Donald doesn't understand what the media do. They don't "leak" stories; people leak to them, and they report the leaks. So there are no "leaks in the media." But the reports of the criminal investigation were not leaks. New York AG Letitia James put out a public statement announcing that she had joined with the Manhattan D.A. in conducting a criminal investigation. CNN & others simply reported the public statement (with added context). And why did Trump learn of this through the media? Since James had -- according to her statement -- already informed the Trump Org (would that be you, Eric?) of the criminal turn of events, you might think someone in the Trump Org would phone the Top Guy with the news. Maybe those who constitute the Trump Organization are too afraid of Donald to be the messengers.
Stating the Obvious, Again. Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "... behind the scenes [during the 2020 election campaign], with donors and advisers, [President] Obama ... called [Donald] Trump a 'madman', a 'racist, sexist pig', 'that fucking lunatic' and a 'corrupt motherfucker'. The remarks are reported in Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats' Campaigns to Defeat Donald Trump by Edward-Isaac Dovere, a staff writer at the Atlantic, which will be published next week. The Guardian obtained a copy. Extracts of Dovere's candid reporting have been published elsewhere -- including a passage in which the now first lady, Jill Biden, is quoted as saying now Vice-President Kamala Harris should 'go fuck herself' after a memorable debate-stage attack on Joe Biden early in the primary." ~~~
~~~ Here's an excerpt from Dovere's book, republished in Politico. Dovere was, until recently, a reporter for Politico. The excerpt centers on the campaign-trail dust-up between Biden & Harris.
Quoctrung Bui, et al., of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court's decision Monday to hear a case about a Mississippi law that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks could end up weakening or even overturning Roe v. Wade. Depending on the ruling, legal abortion access could effectively end for those living in much of the American South and Midwest, especially those who are poor, according to an analysis updated this week. In more than half of states, though, legal abortion access would be unchanged, according to the analysis...." Includes map. (Also linked yesterday.) A related story, on Texas' new no-abortion law, is linked below under "Beyond the Beltway."
Missouri U.S. Senate Race. Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: "Mark McCloskey's star rose quickly in the Republican Party after he and his wife pointed guns at racial justice protesters marching through their gated St. Louis neighborhood last summer -- even as the couple was each hit with a felony weapons charge over the incident. He appeared on cable news to defend his actions and to vilify the peaceful crowd that was marching to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson's nearby house. He gave a prime-time address at the 2020 Republican National Convention last August. Now, nearly a year after video of the tense faceoff with protesters went viral, McCloskey, 64, has announced plans to run for the Senate. On Tuesday, McCloskey told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he would seek to replace Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who is retiring and will not run for reelection in 2022." MB: Words fail me. (Also linked yesterday.) A CBS News story is here.
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Michael Birnbaum & Chico Harlan of the Washington Post: "The European Union has agreed to open its borders to vaccinated Americans and others, after more than a year in which travel into the bloc has been severely restricted, a spokesman said Wednesday.... One final round of approvals will be necessary in the coming days, but the sign-off is not in doubt after ambassadors agreed to the plan on Wednesday. The precise timing of when the borders will actually open is not yet clear.... All the coronavirus vaccines available in the United States would be greenlighted, but vaccines manufactured in Russia and China would not be. The E.U. guidance is not binding, meaning that some countries could choose to be more or less restrictive than the bloc as a whole." (Also linked yesterday.) The Hill has a story here.
Beyond the Beltway
The United States of Trump
Cameron Joseph of Vice: "The Republican Party chairs of Texas and Wyoming have flirted with secession from the United States. Oklahoma's Republican chair has called Islam a 'cancer.' The Oregon GOP called the Capitol insurrection a 'false flag' operation. And at least 19 Republican state chairs -- including most of the ones in key swing states -- publicly pushed former President Trump's big lie about the election. A Vice News review of public positions of all 50 GOP state chairs shows a significant number are openly pushing conspiracy theories, spouting unhinged rhetoric, and actively undermining voters' trust in democracy.... [Trump's] conspiratorial claims about the election run even deeper in the states than in Washington -- and will guide the grassroots for years to come.... Former GOP officials say it was entirely predictable that the state parties would get Trumpier while he was president, but found it notable that the trend has continued since he left office.
Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "On Wednesday, writing for the Los Angeles Times, Doyle McManus warned that GOP allies of ... Donald Trump are doing their utmost to strip power from local election officials, in a bid to give the national party more power to challenge and review election results they don't like. 'Pro-Trump forces in dozens of states are now working to change election laws to make it harder for Democrats to win -- and easier for Republicans to challenge the results if their candidate loses,' wrote McManus. 'If they're successful, the chaotic aftermath of the 2020 election may only have been a rehearsal for a second round in 2024. In at least 36 states, Republican legislators have proposed laws to weaken the autonomy of local election officials and put more power over vote-counting in the hands of legislators.'..." McManus's column is here.
Florida. Trump 1, Seminoles 0. Jonathan O'Connell & Lori Rozsa of the Washington Post: "Florida legislators approved a legislative package Wednesday that will dramatically expand gambling in the state and sets the stage for ... Donald Trump to pursue a casino license at his Doral golf resort. The legislation includes a 30-year compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, negotiated by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a Trump ally. The compact includes a provision barring the tribe from interfering should the state issue a gambling license to a facility more than 15 miles 'in a straight line' from the tribe's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. Trump's Doral resort, which he purchased in 2012 and then spent an estimated $250 million renovating, is slightly more than 15 miles away.... The tribe's opposition has been a major obstacle to efforts to establish new casinos.... It's unclear whether Donald Trump played a role in shaping the legislation, but the former president unexpectedly issued a statement last week endorsing the bill's author, Senate President Wilton Simpson, for state agriculture commissioner (even though Simpson has not announced a run for the position)." The Hill has a summary story here.
Georgia. Eric Bradner of CNN: "In a bid to bolster ... Donald Trump's lies about widespread fraud in the 2020 election, Trump's Republican allies are now seeking Arizona-style audits in other swing states -- including Georgia, where the former President's false claims have set off an intraparty war. A day after Trump said in a statement that Georgia should follow Arizona's lead, former Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones, a Trump supporter who is challenging incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in next year's GOP primary, proposed an audit Wednesday."
Kansas. Fine! I'll Call My Own Damned Grand Jury! A Young Woman with Guts. Peter Kendall of the Washington Post: "For three years, the local [Kansas] prosecutor has resolutely refused to make [a rape case against a person then-college student Madison Smith says raped her]: that what began as consensual sex in a college dorm room became a rape, and that she was unable to say 'stop' because her classmate was strangling her. But Smith invoked a vestige of frontier justice that allows citizens in Kansas to summon a grand jury when they think prosecutors are neglecting to bring charges in a crime. The law, dating to the 1800s, was originally used to go after saloonkeepers when authorities ignored violations of statewide prohibition. The 22-year-old graduate is believed to be the first to convene a citizen grand jury after a prosecutor declined to pursue a sex-crime charge." (Also linked yesterday.)
Louisiana. Jim Mustian of the AP: "Louisiana state troopers were captured on body camera video stunning, punching and dragging a Black man [-- Ronald Greene --] as he apologized for leading them on a high-speed chase -- footage of the man's last moments alive that The Associated Press obtained after authorities refused to release it for two years.... The 2019 arrest outside Monroe, Louisiana, is the subject of a federal civil rights investigation.... Louisiana officials have rebuffed repeated calls to release footage and details about what caused the 49-year-old's death. Troopers initially told Greene's family he died on impact after crashing into a tree during the chase. Later, State Police released a one-page statement acknowledging only that Greene struggled with troopers and died on his way to the hospital." MB: Read the whole story. It's horrible. It's torture. It's murder. It's a big fat cover-up. And forget the "allegedly."
Ore-Ida Potatoheads. Douglas Perry of the Oregonian: "Five eastern Oregon counties voted Tuesday in favor of considering becoming part of Idaho. Baker, Grant, Lake, Malheur and Sherman counties join Union and Jefferson, which voted last year to require county officials to study or promote joining Idaho.... Several prominent elected officials in Idaho, including Gov. Brad Little, have expressed support for the movement.... Moving Oregon counties into Idaho remains a long shot, for no matter how many Oregon counties say they want to be part of Idaho, the two state legislatures -- and ultimately the U.S. Congress -- would have to give their approval."
Texas. Edgar Sandoval & Dave Montgomery of the New York Times: "Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas signed into law on Wednesday one of the nation's most restrictive abortion measures, banning the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy and thrusting the state into the advancing national debate over reproductive rights. The legislation, also known as the 'heartbeat law,' amounts to an outright ban on abortion, as many women are not aware they are pregnant at the six-week mark. It also would allow any private citizen to sue doctors or abortion clinic employees who would perform or help arrange for the procedure. The Texas law arrives at a potentially pivotal moment.... This week the Supreme Court announced it would consider a case from Mississippi that could undermine Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion."
Way Beyond
Israel. Fares Akram & Joseph Krauss of the AP: "Israel unleashed another wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Thursday, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding several, and Hamas fired more rockets, even as expectations rose that a cease-fire could be coming. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed back against calls from the U.S. to wind down the Gaza offensive, appearing determined to inflict maximum damage on Hamas in a war that could help save his political career. Still, officials close to the negotiations say they expect a truce to be announced in the next 24 hours. Explosions shook Gaza City and orange flares lit up the pre-dawn sky, with bombing raids also reported in the central town of Deir al-Balah and the southern town of Khan Younis. As the sun rose, residents surveyed the rubble from at least five family homes destroyed in Khan Younis. There were also heavy airstrikes on a commercial thoroughfare in Gaza City."
News Lede
CNBC: "The procession of Americans heading to the unemployment line fell last week, with jobless claims totaling a fresh pandemic-era low of 444,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economist surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting 452,000 new claims as the jobs picture improves thanks to an accelerated economic reopening across the country. The total represented a decline from the previous week's 478,000."
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Reader Comments (11)
Enough to get his Irish up and running! Tim Ryan on the house floor let loose and let THEM have it.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tim-ryan-republicans-reality_n_60a5ed9fe4b019ef10d5f58a
I am so tired of being generally pissed off with everything. I don't think anything has changed: western states crazy people, voter suppression against Dems, Israel killing babies, white cops killing black motorists, old idiots in every state railing about abortion and controlling women, Bibi shoring up his political future by killing babies AND snatching land, one entire political group, 35% of the electorate, sucking up and kissing the fat derriere of a dishonest, criminal, stupid, ignorant pig, Dems whispering tsk tsk about everything unless running for office, etc etc etc-- It is all simply s*** and I am so sick of it all. I know I am not alone, but seriously, when did this country get so spineless, so full of crap? Some say 40 years-- but the last five years have been horrendous. Back to HGTV and video. Thanks, Marie for all you do.
About an hour ago, I listened to some of Heritage's seminar on C-SPAN concerning the need to defend the Electoral College. The main speaker was Sen. Snowball Inhofe, R-OIL. He sounds like he is ready for the porch rocker, and didn't seem to remember what he was trying to say from the beginning of a "sentence" (I'm being generous, allowing many words and pauses strung together to have a grammar name) to it's end.
But he did say something like this, close to a quote: " If the Left gets 270 votes next time its all over for R's, when the Left goes to popular vote. Nobody will vote for Republicans."
The last sentence is a straight quote.
The next speaker was Hans von Spakovsky (sp?) but fortunately I was pulling into my driveway and clicked off.
@Patrick: You got the spelling right. Hans probably said what Senator Oil & Gasbag said, but with better words strung together in recognizable sentences. He is the Heritage Foundation's election laws guy.
According to his Wiki page, "He is an advocate for more restrictive voting laws.... He was nominated to the FEC by President George W. Bush on December 15, 2005, and was appointed by recess appointment on January 4, 2006. However, von Spakovsky's nomination was opposed by Senate Democrats, who argued that his oversight of voter laws was unacceptably partisan and that he had consistently acted to disenfranchise poor and minority voters. Opposition to the nomination was bolstered by objections from career Justice Department staff, who accused von Spakovsky of politicizing his nominally non-partisan office to an unprecedented degree. While von Spakovsky and the Bush Administration denied the accusations of partisanship, the nomination was withdrawn on May 15, 2008.... On February 22, 2017, Von Spakovsky sent an email arguing against the appointment of Democrats and 'mainstream Republicans' to the Trump administration's Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.... The release of the email led civil rights leaders to call for Von Spakovsky to step down from the commission and for the commission to be disbanded."
But he seems nice.
Jeanne: you go girl! and here's something to tuck away for your rants for the day:
“To say that a six-week pregnancy has a fetal anything is incorrect,” explained Dr. Colleen McNicholas, an obstetrician-gynecologist who performs abortions, noting that the term “fetal heartbeat” isn’t even applicable until about 10 weeks into a pregnancy. At that point, an embryo has developed sufficiently to be called a fetus.
At six weeks, an embryo’s cardiac development “doesn’t at all resemble what would eventually become a functioning human adult heart,” she said. “At that point, it really is just these two tubes with a couple of layers of cardiac or heart cells that can vibrate or cause some sort of movement that we use colloquially to talk about a ‘fetal heartbeat.’”
It may ease your/our fury if we can look at all this as a country having a psychological break-down––or a less appealing metaphor: Vomiting up all the poison that's been accumulating for eons. The hearing on the Greenwood Massacre in 1921 is an example of finally revealing that underbelly of American life that we are so good at tucking away. And here we have a moral, upright president whose own people are urging/ criticizing him for not being more force-full with Bibi. I sense a full throttle of pushing the envelope and revealing once and for all those of small balls in the Republican Party as the Patsies and fissiparous fiends that they are. The question, of course, is a favorable outcome possible? Once all that poison ( including DJT) is laid out on the mortician's table can we finally be able to find a vaccine to eradicate it?
And your comment about MB: She be our Queen bee and if it weren't for her we be buzzing to the birds who don't give two hoots.
"... Tim Ryan is running for Senate. ..."
You can tell also, because he's wearing one of those light gray suits the ladies really go for, per Wayne LaPierre ("The Rock", en francaise!). See, MB saw him in that suit and thought: Senator!! (Olive Oyl voice: "Whatta mayan!")
I saw the video clip of JD Vance yesterday. How. As do you have to be to make Josh Mandel the more palatable R in Ohio?
Jeanne: Totally agree and the only thing I can do is run myself like a dog. Preferable in the woods. I have hope. I was in the big city a while back and the under age kids drinking beer under the bridge all had masks on under their chins. Then, I saw on my local flyover town news the new county commissioner and the judge signing him in couldn't be bothered with masks. Kids are the future; bless their hearts! The kids have to suffer the likes of their elders and some of those kids come out better for it. Impressive!
NoiseFilter presents: Valiant Vaccine Versus the Vicious Virus (Episode 1)
Turtle Man proves once again that he is, in many ways, far worse than the Fat Fascist. For Trump, treason comes naturally. He doesn’t even think about it. Constitution, country, right, wrong, he doesn’t care about any of it. But for McConnell, treason is a thoughtfully considered and easily accepted option. What’s best for Mitchy?
Trump just does it. He doesn’t think much about it. He’s like the guy who shoots someone who cuts him off in traffic. McConnell thinks about it, chooses the weapon, the time, the place, then offers a carefully constructed alibi. He’s not at fault. It was the other guy. He had no choice but to kill him. And now he’s going to sue the dead guy’s family for putting him in such an untenable position.
I hate Trump. But I absolutely despise McConnell. Trump doesn’t know any better. He’s always all about himself and fuck everyone else. McConnell does know better, but he sticks the knife in anyway. Then pulls it out, wipes the blade off with your shirttail, then shoves it in again. Then he calls a press conference to berate you for soiling his knife with your entrails.
If MitchMcC (and thus senate Rs) supported the Jan6 commission, he'd be able to stiff the commission of any witness he did not want heard, and he'd have joint edit on any report (through the members he nominates).
If the Rs stiff the establishment of the commission (vote against the bill), there will be Democratic-led legislature investigations, with subpoena power. R's will have less control.
The only thing MitchMcC gains by opposing is the ability to say "partisan." But he says that anyway.
So why does he think it better to have a majority investigation? Maybe because he WANTS it to eat DiJiT and McCarthy, but he doesn't want his fingerprints on the bones?