Glenn Kirschner – Disgraced lawyer & RICO defendant Sidney Powell files an ABSURD “legal brief” in her Georgia case
Farron Balanced – Lauren Boebert In Trouble As Poll Proves Her District Hates Her
Joe Biden – Catch A Break
Liberal Redneck – Trump’s Big Week
The Telegraph – Howdy Doody: Police pull over man carrying enormous bull in his car
Beau – Let’s talk about a question of accuracy and dissonance….
Yesterday, Mary Trump (Mary L. Trump, to distinguish her from her grandmother) wrote about the Supreme Court, in an essay on Substack she calls “The Lowest Court, Part 2.” She remarks, not just on the ethics issues, but on the contempt shown by the court for the people, which really is reminiscent of France before the Revolution. If you were to tell me that Alito, or Kavanaugh, or even Roberts had said “Let them eat cake,” I’d probably believe it. If you want to look deeper, here’s the link – just remember to look for the “continue reading” and click it.
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HuffPost – Biden Administration Reveals First 10 Drugs For Medicare Price Negotiation
Quote – All told, the 10 drugs on the list accounted for $50.5 billion in total spending in Medicare’s outpatient prescription drug program for the period between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. That’s about one-fifth of what the program, known as Part D, spent on all prescription drugs during that period. The announcement represents the first step in a process set to unfold over the coming year, with the government collecting data and public input, and then exchanging price offers with manufacturers over how much Medicare will pay for the named drugs.
Click through for details. Not surprisingly, the article bears the subtitle “It’s the first step in a process that will mean lower prices in 2026 ― unless the drug industry and its allies find a way to block it.”
The Daiy Beast – How One Citizen Fought Back Against a Cop’s Road Rage
Quote – While driving home in his Ford Mustang, [New Mexico motorist Mario Rosales] legally passed a pickup truck, and the other driver started tailgating him. Road rage can be deadly, so Rosales grew concerned. No matter which way he went, the truck stayed in his rearview mirror. Rosales eventually reached his home in Roswell, New Mexico, hoping the truck would keep going. Instead, the vehicle blocked Rosales in his driveway, and the stranger behind the wheel started yelling and cursing at him. At this point Rosales was not just concerned. He was scared for himself and his family members in the house.
Click through for the story, which has a happy ending – this time – finally. Too many do not.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Judge rules Rudy Giuliani is LIABLE for defaming Georgia election workers Shaye Moss & Ruby Freeman
MSNBC – Lawrence: Who to believe about Giuliani’s drinking habits, Rudolph Giuliani or Rudolph Giuliani?
The Ring of Fire – Ford Has Insane Plan To Replace Striking Factory Workers
Rocky Mountain Mike – Mug Shot – Parody of “Bus Stop” by The Hollies
Growling Street Puppy Falls In Love With The Person She Didn’t Trust
Beau – Let’s talk about big union news…. (Yes, we know this happened, but Beau puts it so well. And good news is alwats welcome.)
Yesterday, McConnell’s doctor cleared him to continue working (for what that’s worth.) A former Proud Boy (that’s what they said) was sentenced to 18 years for Jan 6 and wept in the courtroom. I received a grocery order with no substitutions and nothing missing (a small one – but, still.) Today is the last day The Nib will publish anything new, but they are making pdfs of all their magazines – 15 issues – available for free. Or if you prefer print, you can order those (except for the four which are out of print) in their store – there’s a link to that on the download page I am providing a link to. They are requesting donations to help keep the archives up on the net (the internet may be forever, but not for free.) I have not always agreed with every cartoonist at The Nib (and that is probably the way it should be), but I shall miss the daily newsletters. So I’ve created a new folder for them on my portable hard drive and started my download. There are two options – I by far prefer the version without “spreads” but the first one you do, try both ways, and see what you think.
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New Mexico Political Report – Researchers warn that changes in the Permian Basin surface due to oil and gas industry activities are leading to increasing number of geohazards
Quote – In their investigation, the researchers from Southern Methodist University sought to map the surface deformation across the Permian Basin and to quantify the relationship between oil and gas operations and the changes to the surface.
They found, on average, the ground in the Permian Basin is subsiding at a rate of three to four centimeters annually, though there are several pockets with larger rates of subsidence. The researchers write in the study that, over the past few decades, the increase in oil and gas extraction has “contributed to the alarming increase in geohazards, sometimes permanently altering the local ecosystem, and is a growing concern for communities and policymakers worldwide.”
Click through for full story. I had to look up the Permian Basin myself, hence the little map. Colorado Springs has been through something similar – In the eighties scars from strip mining were still visible on the mountains, and at least well into the nineties there were many homes experiencing sinking and the damage that comes with it, including both middle and upper class areas. It was a consideratin for me when I bought my home in 2002. I haven’t heard much about it since then, but that may simply be that I am no longer workingin the property insurance field, and so not hearing about the claims.
The Daily Beast – How Mark Meadows’ Testimony May Have Just Helped Prosecutors
Quote – It’s all the more curious, then, that Meadows decided to take the witness stand on Monday and assert that he was merely doing his job as Trump’s chief of staff when he partook in what Atlanta prosecutors call a pressure campaign to flip the vote there. Because in doing so, he’s essentially pointing the finger at his boss. “He now cannot ever say, ‘I wasn’t doing this for the president, I was acting on my own,’” said Peter Odom, a former prosecutor at the Fulton County DA’s office. Indeed, Meadows’ entire defense rests upon the idea that he was just doing his job, that his efforts to connect Trump with people who would help to overturn the election was at the direction of the former president himself. It’s precisely that point which Fulton County DA Fani Willis is trying to prove: that Trump was at the center of this entire criminal conspiracy.
Click through for explanation. Every place one touches the Georgia investigation, or the DC Federal one, it’s like touching a calm pool of water – there’s a ripple effect, and you can see it, and you can’t predict where it will end.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Jack Smith investigates Rudy Giuliani’s drinking & its possible impact on Trump ‘s January 6 crimes
Thom Hartmann – Frightening Study Reveals Personality Disorder That Turns Politicians Into Chaos Agents
MSNBC – Biden unveils 10 drugs Medicare will target for price cuts
Armageddon Update – No Teachers, NO AMERICA!
Four Tiny Foster Kittens Heal Woman’s Broken Heart
Beau – Let’s talk about important Hawaii news about housing….
Yesterday, Mitch McConnell froze again, Idalia made landfall in Florida’s “Big Bend” region (which is exactly where you think it would be), our Mitch emailed his list that he and his are in no danger, and, by evening, Idalia was down to a tropical storm. Late the night before, I read that Fani Willis has asked the judge to put all the speedy-trial-demanders into a single trial, and therefore on the same date, October 23, if legally possible. It hadn’t occurred to me that it might not be so I was assuming they would all be tried together (Eastman is number three.) It’s consederably more complex than I thought. Harry Litman explains the contingencies, in this vodeo, which has CC and therefore generates a transcript (click the 3 dots tp the right of the up-down-share line and “open trancript”.) I hope it works out with the minimum number of seperate trials (which i believe would be four – but what do I know.) Georgia’s doing us all a big favor and should not be required to break the bank to do it.
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The Daily Beast – Family Recalls Jacksonville Shooting Victim’s Last Call With Daughter
Quote – Several other relatives told the Associated Press that Gallion was a devoted father, and though his relationship with the child’s mother didn’t work out, he still had the respect of her family. “He never missed a beat,” Sabrina Rozier, the child’s maternal grandmother, said Sunday at a vigil honoring the victims. “He got her every weekend. As a matter of fact, he was supposed to have her (Saturday).”… “My heart melted for my granddaughter, because she was his world and he was her world. And now we’re trying to figure out how to tell her, because we haven’t told her yet and she’s only 4.”
Click through for more. I do appreciate the Beast telling the story in a respectful way. We don’t always see that.
Robert Reich – Globaloney: Why the Democrats’ love affair with “free trade” is over
Quote – But “globalization” is not a force of nature. How it works and whom it benefits or harms depend on specific, negotiated rules about which assets will be protected and which will not. In most trade deals, the assets of American corporations (including intellectual property) have been protected. If another nation adopts strict climate regulations that reduce the value of U.S. energy assets in that country, the country must compensate the American firms. Wall Street has been granted free rein to move financial assets into and out of our trading partners. But the jobs and wages of American workers have not been protected. Why shouldn’t American corporations that profit from trade be required to compensate American workers for job losses due to trade?
Click through for full assessment. It’s not news that unregulated anything helps only the wealthiest and hurts the reat of us. This does point up that regulation itself needs to be both accurately designed andproperly administered
CPR – [Senator] John Hickenlooper showed up at a SAG-AFTRA rally, and not just as a supporter — he’s paid his dues (literally)
Quote – He was there not just as a supporter, he said, but as a dues-paying member of SAG-AFTRA’s local chapter. That’s because the senator’s cousin, the late filmmaker George Hickenlooper, had a habit of casting him for bit parts. Among them was the film “Casino Jack,” released in 2010 when Hickenlooper was mayor of Denver. He played a U.S. Senator with one big line: “Remove that man.” “My cousin George made me do 28 takes,” Hickenlooper told the crowd near the City Park boathouse.
Click through – I’m not going to be able to keep up three a day, even in a week like this, but I thought this was cute, and I didn’t want to bump anything else for something this light. It was news to me.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Judge Chutkan sets speedy trial – March 2024 – in Trump’s trial for trying to overturn 2020 election
Thom Hartmann – GOP’s Bizarre Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theory Targets…Beyonce?!
The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – August 29, 2023
Liberal Redneck – The battle for White votes in the South
Mangey Street Puppy Completely Transforms
Beau – Let’s talk about FEMA, Hawaii, and hotels….
Yesterday, John Eastman became the third conspirator demanding a speedy trial. There are two more days (today and tomorrow) in the window for October 23rd (they get 30 days but on account of Georgia’s definition of a speedy trial anyone demanding on September 1 or after might have to settle for December.) There was news that DA Willis wants a speedy trial for all, bit there is the little problem that there are 19 of them, and courtrooms are only so big. I recall reading womewhere that the most defendants who can be tried in one room is six. But I suppose that could all happen at the same time – Fulton County must have more than 3 judges and the DA’s staff must have more than 3 prosecutors. Also, there was a delightful story about Joe and Jill —
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Daily Beast – Here Are 11 Wild Things That Could Happen in the 2024 Election
Quote – These 11 examples are, of course, merely illustrative. We also know the Supreme Court is capable of making decisions that inflame electorates (see Dobbs) and that pollsters regularly misgauge the national mood resulting in seeming surprises (that really are just evidence that the pollsters got it wrong). And then there are the real unknown unknowns, the wild developments that even speculative columns like this one are unwilling to address. Take for example the recent revelations about aliens. After all, if they are true and they have seen the mess we are making of things here on this Earth, surely they must have considered and could be planning to act on the notion that we are long overdue for a planetary makeover.
Click through for complete list. Obviously sone are more likely than others, and some are imaginable only with extreme mental effort. But it’s a good reminder of how much less we know than we think we do.
Wonkette – Mark Meadows Had The Right To Remain Silent. But Now He Doesn’t.
Quote – [U]nder Georgia law, Meadows seems to have waived the right to plead the Fifth about anything discussed on the witness stand. Here’s a quote from the relevant case: :A defendant in a criminal case who voluntarily testifies in his own behalf, waives completely his privilege under the Fifth Amendment. [Cit.] Furthermore, when a defendant voluntarily takes the stand in his own behalf and testifies as to his guilt or innocence as to a particular offense, `his waiver is not partial; having once cast aside the cloak of immunity, he may not resume it at will, whenever cross-examination may be inconvenient or embarrassing”
Click through for more detail, such as even if the case is moved to a Federal Court, it will be tried under Georgia law and with Georgia prosecutors. The only differences will be the judge and the jury pool. And whatever small advantage he might have gotten from the jury pool, he may have just incinerated.
Food For Thought
