;)
The Conversation -- November 1, 2023
Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "'Over the course of seven years, [Mike] Johnson has never reported a checking or savings account in his name, nor in the name of his wife or any of his children, disclosures show. In fact, he doesn't appear to have money stashed in any investments, with his latest filing -- covering 2022 -- showing no assets whatsoever,' reported Roger Sollenberger [of the Daily Beast], noting that he probably does have a bank account, but just doesn't have enough money in it to trigger reporting requirements. 'House Ethics Committee filing guidelines state that members must disclose bank accounts they have at every financial institution, as long as the account holds at least $1,000 and the combined value of all accounts -- including those belonging to their spouse and dependent children -- exceeds $5,000,' the report continued." Thanks to RAS for the link to the Beast's story.
Mike Johnson, Troll. David Firestone of the New York Times: "It didn't take long for the new House speaker, Mike Johnson, to demonstrate to the world that he will not be a serious partner for American allies or for those who still believe that governing is not a petty little game.... Making sense isn't really Mr. Johnson's game.... By throwing ... the I.R.S. cut [in funding into an appropriations bill to fund aid to Israel (and cutting out Ukraine war funding)], he gets to show the same extremists who deposed his predecessor that he can play rough with the White House."
Amanda Marcotte of Salon has some thoughts on Mike Johnson's "covenant" marriage and why he's trying to keep his "Stepford wife" Kelly out of sight. Interesting read.
Former Guy to "Rebrand" USA as USA. Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post, republished in Yahoo! News: "In a new post on his Truth Social website, Donald Trump ... made a strange claim about the name of the country if he wins next year's election. 'We're gonna have a great country. It's gonna be called the United States of America,' he said, neglecting the obvious fact that the country is already called the United States of America.... Last week, Trump said he noticed for the first time that the abbreviation for the United States also spells the word 'us.' 'I just picked that up. Has anyone ever thought of that? I just picked that up,' he said in New Hampshire, then complained he probably won't get the credit he deserves for making the 'us' discovery. 'Now, if we say something genius, they'll never say it,' Trump said." Thanks to Forrest M. for the link. In today's Comments, RAS posits that Trump is hoping to earn branding credit for the name; he may think that could earn him billions.
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Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "The F.B.I. director [Christopher Wray] warned Tuesday that the Israel-Hamas war had raised the potential for an attack against Americans to a new level and escalated threats against Jews and Muslims in the United States.... 'The ongoing war in the Middle East has raised the threat of an attack against Americans in the United States to a whole other level'..., Mr. Wray told senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee during a hearing about worldwide threats to the United States.... The biggest concern for the agency is attacks from violent extremists or lone actors in the U.S. inspired by hateful messages and calls to violence. The number of antisemitic acts in the United States had been on the rise even before the Israel-Hamas war, led in part by white supremacist propaganda and new nationalist groups across the country." NPR's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "FBI Director Christopher Wray lit into Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) during a Senate hearing on Tuesday after Johnson accused the FBI of partisanship. [Wray] pushed back on Johnson, saying, 'I see an FBI every day that conducts themselves with integrity and professionalism and selflessness and rigor. And I do not accept the characterization of our performance in this particular case.' 'That's not how I characterized it. I'm talking about partisanship at the top,' interjected Johnson, raising his voice.... 'And the idea that I, as a Republican appointee and a lifelong Republican is biased in the way that you are describing makes absolutely no sense,' Wray shot back."
Maegan Vazquez of the Washington Post: "The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Jack Lew to be the next U.S. ambassador to Israel at a critical moment in U.S.-Israeli relations, despite vocal opposition to President Biden's nominee by Republican senators over his defense of the Obama-era Iran nuclear agreement. Lew's nomination was approved 53-43, largely along party lines. The United States has been without a confirmed ambassador for Israel since this summer, when Thomas Nides departed from the role. Lew was nominated by Biden in September.... Lew's nomination has been on a fast track since [early October when the Israel/Hamas war began]." The NBC News report is here.
Manu Raju of CNN: "Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell bluntly warned Republican senators in a private meeting not to sign on to a bill from Sen. Josh Hawley aimed at limiting corporate money bankrolling high-powered outside groups, telling them that many of them won their seats thanks to the powerful super PAC the Kentucky Republican has long controlled. According to multiple sources familiar with the Tuesday lunch meeting, McConnell warned GOP senators that they could face 'incoming' from the 'center-right' if they signed onto Hawley's bill. He also read off a list of senators who won their races amid heavy financial support from the Senate Leadership Fund, an outside group tied to the GOP leader that spends big on TV ads in battleground Senate races. On that list of senators: Hawley himself, according to sources familiar with the matter. McConnell has long been a chief opponent of tighter campaign finance restrictions. But there's also no love lost between McConnell and Hawley, who has long criticized the GOP leader and has repeatedly called for new leadership atop their conference."
Katie Edmondson & Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: "Speaker Mike Johnson's decision to force a stand-alone vote on aid for Israel, peeling off a request from the Biden administration for money from Ukraine and coupling it with spending cuts, has set up a confrontation between the House and Senate over how to fund U.S. allies during the conflicts. Mr. Johnson, the Louisiana Republican who has personally voted against sending military aid to Kyiv, released a $14 billion aid bill for Israel on Monday. It includes a provision that would rescind the same amount of money earmarked for the Internal Revenue Service as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, a key piece of President Biden's agenda. Mr. Biden has asked Congress to pass a $105 billion aid package for Israel and Ukraine that also has funds for Taiwan and border security in the United States. But Mr. Johnson spurned that request, in an acknowledgment of how toxic funding for Ukraine has become among Republicans." The ABC News story is here. ~~~
If you put this to the American people, and they weigh the two needs, I think they are going to say standing with Israel and protecting the innocent is in our national interest, and a more immediate need than IRS agents. -- Squeaker & Leading Contender for America's Most Obnoxious Weanie Mike Johnson, on Fox Tuesday ~~~
~~~ Jacob Bogage & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: Speaker Mike "Johnson's gambit was swiftly rejected by lawmakers in both parties. Top Senate Republicans such as Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Susan Collins (Maine) called for including Ukraine aid in the legislative package, while the White House and congressional Democrats said cutting the IRS was a non-starter.... Republicans are expected to try to pass the legislation through the House on Friday." ~~~
~~~ An Inconvenient Truth. Marcy Wheeler: "Since January, it has been the unrelenting focus of the GOP House -- including Mike Johnson -- to demand higher penalties on Hunter Biden for not paying all his taxes.... But as one of the first acts under Speaker Johnson, he will respond to a terrorist attack by trying to help rich tax cheats. His plan pays for funding for Israel by cutting funding to the IRS by $14.3 billion, funding that more than pays for itself. Johnson's move to cut IRS funding comes weeks after the IRS made headlines for the amounts it is collecting from tax cheats who are far richer than Hunter Biden." ~~~
~~~ digby republishes a major portion of Jonathan Chait's post in New York on Mike's deceptive little bill. ~~~
~~~ Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Matt Gertz of Media Matters: "Several major national news outlets are promoting House Republicans' deceptive spin as the party seeks to leverage emergency funding for Israel to enact its top priority of protecting wealthy tax cheats.... Some major news outlets promoted the GOP's spin that the IRS funding cuts 'offset' or 'pay for' the Israel spending, while providing no information to their readers indicating that those cuts will likely increase the deficit. [These include Fox, of course, as well as CBS News, Politico & Reuters.]... Other outlets similarly privileged the House GOP's false 'offset' framing, but either acknowledged later in their report that the IRS cuts would increase the deficit or at least cited critics making that point."
Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: "Embattled Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) is set to face expulsion from the House as soon as Wednesday, possibly becoming the first congressman in more than 20 years to be removed in a motion brought forth by Republicans from his own delegation.... In what some lawmakers see as a move to delay the vote on Santos and affirm his right to due process, the House Ethics Committee released a statement Tuesday saying that it continues to investigate the counts against Santos and will announce its 'next course of action in this manner on or before November 17, 2023.' Based on what the committee decides about Santos's conduct, it could make several recommendations for the House to take, including punishments that include censure, reprimand or expulsion.... A swath of lawmakers worry that removing Santos ignores the presumption of innocence and would set a precedent that expulsion is a standard option for reprimand at a time when retribution has become the norm in the House.... Expulsion requires approval from two-thirds of House lawmakers voting...." ~~~
~~~ A CBS News story is here. See also Akhilleus' commentary at the top of today's thread.
Another Insomniac Attack. Colby Hall of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump attacked Judge Arthur Engoron and New York State Attorney General Letitia James in an unhinged 2:28 Truth Social post.... He also took aim at his former fixer, Michael Cohen, who testified against Trump last week.... What was unique about this post was his insistence that Judge Engoron 'Leave my children alone, Engoron. You are a disgrace to the legal profession!'... Wednesday's trial will see Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump, Jr., testify in the fraud trial, while Eric Trump is set to testify Thursday. Both Ivanka Trump and Trump himself will testify next week, though they could take the fifth." Includes full text of twoot.
Trump Has Hallowe'en Nightmares. Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump did the social media equivalent of waking up screaming in the night by posting an out-of-the-blue enraged exclamation at 4:24 in the morning. The latest trigger for Trump's rage is the gag order by Federal District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, which Judge Chutkan reinstated Sunday.... Trump wrote at around 1 AM [Tuesday]: 'RADICAL LEFT JUDGE TAKING AWAY MY RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH IN ORDER TO HELP CROOKED JOE BIDEN & HIS THIRD WORLD ELECTION INTERFERENCE SCAM. AS GOOD AS THIS SOUNDS, IT WON'T WORK!' [And so forth.]... Then, suddenly, at 4:24 AM, Trump shouted into the blackness of the social media night sky: 'ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Those who can make you believe in absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -- Voltaire, some while back ~~~
~~~ Amanda Marcotte of Salon on "how evangelical delusions trained Republicans to love Trump's lies.... [Trump's] life philosophy, where what is 'true' is whatever he wants to believe, fits nicely within the demon-haunted rhetoric of the Christian right, where Noah's ark is real but science is not.... Because they are so comfortable 'believing' that which they know not to be true, it was a breeze for Republicans to go along with Trump's Big Lie -- and therefore the atrocities that were committed in service of it, such as the Capitol riot."
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court worked hard in a pair of arguments on Tuesday to find a clear constitutional line separating elected officials&' purely private social media accounts from ones that reflect government actions and are subject to the First Amendment. After three hours, though, it was not clear that a majority of the justices had settled on a clear test. The question in the two cases was when the Constitution limits officials' ability to block users from their accounts. The answer turned on whether the officials' use of the accounts amounted to 'state action,' which is governed by the First Amendment, or private activity, which is not. That same question had seemed headed to the Supreme Court after the federal appeals court in New York ruled in 2019 that ... Donald J. Trump's Twitter account was a public forum from which he was powerless to exclude people based on their viewpoints."
Presidential Race 2024 Trivia
Marie: Do not accuse me of ignoring all the news of Ron DeSantis' boot fetish, from white high-tops to "top-secret" lifts: ~~~
~~~ Kelby Vera of the Huffington Post: Ron Desantis "walked away [ha ha] from a chance to debunk the theory [that he has lifts in his boots] during an appearance Monday on conservative podcaster Patrick Bet-David's show. DeSantis seemed confused when Bet-David tried to explain the shoe scandal with a viral video, but he refused to put on a pair of very fancy Ferragamo loafers to prove he's 5 feet, 11 inches, as he claims. (Also linked yesterday.)
Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: The lockdown of Southern Maine demonstrates that a society that fetishizes guns cannot flourish or even function. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: We live in a country in which our "leaders" ban books but not assault weapons.
Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "Billionaire Twitter owner Elon Musk told podcast host Joe Rogan that he purchased the social network in an effort to save civilization from a zombie mind virus.... [Because] 'if you walk around downtown San Francisco, right near the X/Twitter headquarters, it's a zombie apocalypse. I mean, it's rough.... So, you know, a philosophy that would be ordinarily quite niche and geographically constrained, so that sort of the fallout area would be limited, was effectively given an information weapon, an information technology weapon to propagate what is essentially a mind virus to the rest of Earth, and the outcome of that mind virus is very clear if you walk around the streets of downtown San Francisco. It is the end of civilization.'" MB: Okay then. Clearly, a well-thought-out business plan.
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Idaho. Jessica Valenti in a Substack essay: "Last week, an Idaho teenager and his mother were arrested for bringing the teen's girlfriend out-of-state for an abortion. The pair were charged with multiple felonies, including second degree kidnapping, for taking a minor under 16 years-old 'with the intent to keep or conceal [her] from her custodial parent ... by transporting the child out of the state for the purpose of obtaining an abortion.' The 15 year-old, identified in court records as K.B., was living in Pocatello with her 18 year-old boyfriend Kaydn* and his mother, Rachael, when she became pregnant. In May, they brought her to Oregon, where K.B. received abortion medication. Idaho's "abortion trafficking" law went into effect that same month.... Prosecutors declined to use the 'abortion trafficking' statute specifically. This may have something to do with the fact that the law is being challenged, and abortion rights advocates are asking for a temporary injunction against it while the case makes its way through the courts.... [So they brought a 'kidnapping' charge but] used the exact language of the trafficking law in the kidnapping charge.]" Nice. Emphasis original.
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Israel/Palestine
The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Seriously injured Palestinians began arriving by ambulance in Egypt on Wednesday, Egyptian state TV and a local medical official said, as the Rafah border crossing opened for the first such crossings since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel. Hundreds of foreign passport holders were also moving through checkpoints at the border crossing as part of a deal negotiated among Israel, Egypt, Hamas, the United States and Qatar. Egypt was set to receive hundreds of people on Wednesday, according to Western diplomats in Cairo and Jerusalem and the Gaza authorities.... American citizens are not expected to be among Wednesday's evacuees..., but they are slated to follow in batches later in the week.... Early Wednesday, Gaza's two million residents appeared to have been once again plunged into a communication blackout.... The Pentagon said that American commandos were on the ground in Israel to help locate the more than 200 hostages seized during the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks." ~~~
~~~ CNN's live updates for Wednesday are here.
Israel Strikes a Gaza Refugee Camp. Susannah George of the Washington Post: "A series of Israeli strikes targeting a senior Hamas commander in the northern Gaza Strip left scores of dead and wounded in a crowded refugee camp Tuesday as Israel expands its assault by air and land. The Gaza Health Ministry and the director of Gaza's Indonesian hospital said hundreds of people were killed or injured in the attack. Palestinians carried away the injured and dead on blankets and mattresses in the densely packed Jabalya refugee camp. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a senior Hamas commander, Ibrahim Biari, was killed in the strikes.... Israel's push deeper into Gaza has become a test for allies such as the United States, which has stood by Israel's right to retaliate after a deadly Hamas raid on Oct. 7 but has increasingly pressed for ways to help civilians caught in the war. At a Senate hearing in Washington on Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said 'humanitarian pauses must be considered.'" ~~~
~~~ Kareem Khadder, et al., of CNN: "Survivors and eyewitness spoke of apocalyptic scenes in the aftermath of the strike, which tore a massive crater through the middle of the crowded camp.... 'Children were carrying other injured children and running, with grey dust filling the air. Bodies were hanging on the rubble, many of them unrecognized. Some were bleeding and others were burnt,' [an eyewitness] told CNN by telephone.' ~~~
~~~ Marie: How is mass murder by bomb more humane than murdering individual kids at a concert? Is it because the mass murderers didn't look into the eyes of their victims as the Hamas terrorists did?
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Reader Comments (16)
I see where the House “Ethics” Committee is “investigating” serial crook and liar extraordinaire, George “Kitara” Santos.
Let that sink in for a minute. This is like handing over decisions on LGBTQ issues to the Family Research Council.
As Rolling Stone reported months ago, MyKevin, hoping to appease extremists in the Party of Traitors, packed the “Ethics” Committee with election deniers, including its chair, Michael Guest (PoT-LA):
“Guest, the committee’s incoming chair, was one of the 147 Republican lawmakers who voted against the certification of Joe Biden as president-elect on Jan. 6, 2021. Guest was also part of a coalition of 126 GOP legislators who signed their support for Texas v. Pennsylvania, a Supreme Court lawsuit that sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election.”
Guest is also a member of the so-called Republican Study Committee, a hyper partisan propaganda operation. Recent chairs of this committee? Gym Jordan, KKK Steve Scalise, and Bible Mike Johnson.
Another ethical stalwart on this committee, John Rutherford (PoT-FL), was investigated for violating federal stock reporting laws.
“As Insider previously reported, Rutherford failed to properly disclose five individual stock transactions worth as much as $75,000 that he made in late 2020. These triggered the Office of Congressional Ethics investigation, which found that from early 2017 until December 2021, Rutherford had improperly reported 157 financial transactions valued between $652,000 and $3.5 million.”
At least he wasn’t wanted for supporting the overthrow of a free and fair election. Oh, wait…
Oh yeah, Rutherford also gave investigators the finger, refused to cooperate.
Nice to see these clowns are the ones “investigating” Kitara, who may very well be allowed to continue to shake his tail feathers in service of Bible Mike’s efforts to screw the country.
Just found out why trump has that screwed up look on his puss.
Today is National Vinegar Day. He's been celebrating it for months
with a mouth full of vinegar.
By separating funding for Ukraine from funding for Israel, the new Speaker of the House is taking Russia's side in the illegal invasion of Ukraine. He should henceforth be referred to at Mike "Appeasement" Johnson, or "The Neville Chamberlain of our time."
In many ways, his withholding funding for Ukraine is like his proposal for withholding funding for the IRS. Both are short-term spending reductions with very expensive results far outweighing the initial "savings."
More work for the SCOTUS:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-weighs-lewd-trump-small-trademark-dispute-rcna122764
No wonder they're too busy to clean up their ethical dungpile or to take up trivia like political gerrymandering...
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger
"“So, I had family that sent a certified letter disowning me,” Kinzinger said in a CNN interview Monday. “They said I’ve lost the trust of great men like Sean Hannity, which is funny, but they believe that. They said I was a member of the devil’s army.”"
That made me think of another digby article about magical thinking I read and how I may have a rationality bias. I can't even fathom a list of great men of the 21st century and having Sean Hannity being on the list much less towards the top. I don't want to be able to get inside these crazy people's heads anymore than I already do. Though I'm not sure even people paid to do it are willing to go there.
"most of us who professionally study human societies—or try to explain political systems in the press—have a severe case of rationality bias.
We think of ourselves as purely rational agents, and we too often wrongly assume that everyone else thinks about the world the same way we do. This assumption distorts our understanding of how people actually make decisions, why they behave the way they do, and, by extension, how and why big social and political changes take place"
RAS,
In other words (mine), the human race may be too dumb to live.
@RAS: I wonder if the reason some of us "suffer" from rationality bias is that we had parents who did not, when we were toddlers, answer our incessant questions of "Why this?" and "Why that?" with, "Because I said so," or worse, "Because that's what God wants you to do."
Maybe if a parent takes the time to explain things, even if the kid doesn't understand the explanation, s/he still learns that there IS an answer to most questions that does not involve dicta from on high.
Quote from above, Speaker Johnson: "... If you put this to the American people, and they weigh the two needs, I think they are going to say ... "
He is creating a false dichotomy, that there must be a choice between $ to Israel and $ for IRS improvement. That's a pretty typical political rhetorical device.
But what caught my eye (ear?) was his claim to speak for the obvious preference of "the American people." Substitute "Chinese people", and that is a phrase you hear several times a day from various Chinese spokespersons, media figures, negotiators, etc. It is the primary go-to bullshit of any Chinese defense of any Chinese action or policy: whatever we are doing, it is the "Will of the Chinese people."
To paraphrase Herbert Mankiewicz, "Imagine. The whole world wired to Xi Xinping's ass!"
Now we are supposed to think that Johnson's ass senses the needs and wants of "the American people." What a bung-boy!
Donald's latest pronouncement: "If elected president we're going to
have a new country. I'm going to call it The United States of
America."
Methinks he needs help.
https://news.yahoo.com/wants-tell-him-trump-mocked-085922499.html
Maybe this is why the Republicans are always fighting for the little payday loan underdogs. Their members need them to actually cash their own paychecks.
"Over the course of seven years, [Mike] Johnson has never reported a checking or savings account in his name, nor in the name of his wife or any of his children, disclosures show. In fact, he doesn’t appear to have money stashed in any investments, with his latest filing—covering 2022—showing no assets whatsoever.
Of course, it’s unlikely Johnson doesn’t actually have a bank account. What’s more likely is Johnson lives paycheck to paycheck—so much so that he doesn’t have enough money in his bank account to trigger the checking account disclosure rules for members of Congress."
Forrest,
Branding advice from The Donald. That's worth a lot of money I hear. After he loses his New York trial and gets the $250 million dollar fine the tax payers will probably still own him $1 billion for his services. This is just another one of those 4D chess moves that his supporters are always talking about. It's all part of his great plan. Just you wait and see. Though not paying his bill to us would show how much we have learned from him.
Magical thinking can explain anything away.
I am kerflummoxed by the thought that Bible Mike and his family have no bank accounts at all. So where do they stash their moneys? They both were employed...at sinister occupations, of course-- Bible Mike does nothing except smirk and talk, and his wife "counseled" people on how to become less gay...for which people pay them money...Mattresses in their LA house? He sounds like a total weirdo and a class-A nonthinker. Maybe it is in the backyard or in his freezer...I do not think he should be allowed to speak for the "Murcan" people-- he's as nuts as his boss, only younger.
RAS -- the other day, the charter of Johnson's wife's counseling business, an LLC, was available on line. She is the sole "member" of the operation and as such the LLC is synonymous with herself -- and I suspect if you went looking for the family's assets and accounts you would find them under the LLC, not his, her or their names. Just guessing.
@Patrick: That's possible. Since I don't know exactly what the House rules specify, it's possible that Mike has some other kind of account that either the rules or Mike himself has determined are not bank accounts: credit union accounts, for instance. Mike's take-home pay from his day job must be at least $10,000 a month, and he & his wife apparently have other income from some of their Christian-y enterprises. That money has to flow through some financial institution besides the mattress, notwithstanding @Jeanne's humorous speculation.
It's virtually impossible for anyone who maintains a family, a home (with a mortgage) and vehicles and all that stuff to have a personal bank account that doesn't hit $1,000 before bills are paid. It's not impossible, I suppose, but unlikely, that someone who makes $174K a year ($223,500 now!) would have less than $5,000 in bank accounts from which he pays normal monthly bills.
I think Mike should explain himself. Even in Louisiana, almost everybody has a bank account.
Read this CNN summary of Don Jr.'s Wednesday testimony.
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-civil-fraud-trial-11-01-23/index.html
Learned two things.
Like his father, he's very willing to toss people, even those he's known and worked with for a long time, under the Trump bus....and he doesn't know the difference between "infer" and "imply."
He is his father's son.
For those who care:
https://money.stackexchange.com/questions/147962/diverting-work-income-through-my-unprofitable-llc#:~
As for me, I just feel sorry for Mr. Johnson and his family for being forced to live in poverty, tho' from what I understand of the New Testament, being poor might get them closer to God.