Glenn Kirschner – Allen Weisselberg, another Trump fall guy, goes to prison while Donald Trump golfs
The Lincoln Project – Waning
MSNBC – In Trump’s classified documents case, the obstruction makes the difference
Farron Balanced – Matt Gaetz And Pals Are Raising Money By Embarrassing The Republican Party
Tiny Kitten Befriends The Wild Deer Who Visit Her Yard
Beau – Let’s talk about 6 republicans and McCarthy….
Yesterday, there was news about Damar Hamlin. I didn’t report when he was moved from the hospital he was originally in to one nearer home, because he was still hospoitalized. But now, after probably every test they could come up woth, he has been released from the hosppitsl entirely.
You may see a theme in the short takes today. I am beginning to see some thoughtful reporting about what Republicans are threatening to do, and what they can’t, or, if they can, why it cannot have the effects they claim it will. However, if they are able to get control of all three houses (Representatives, Senate, and White), it will be a different story. Campaign 2024 begins now.
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The Daily Beast – Democrats Have Little to Fear From GOP House Investigations
Quote – [McCarthy] announced Republicans’ intent to investigate everything from active criminal investigations being conducted by the Justice Department to “the withdrawal of Afghanistan [sic], to the origins of COVID, and to the weaponization of the F.B.I.” A resolution to create a special House Judiciary Committee “select subcommittee” to get this laundry list of investigations done will be voted on later this week. The intention to make this committee the Republican answer to the Jan. 6 Committee was made clear by Rep. Chip Roy’s disclosure that Speaker McCarthy has promised the select subcommittee at least as much funding and staffing as was given to the Jan. 6 committee.
Click through for details. The advice contained in this artocle is good, but probably unnecessary. No elected Democrat is going to be stupid enough to blow off a request from a lawfully formes committee just because it is made up of idiot and the request is laughable. None of us has anything to hide.
Crooks & Liars – No, House GOPers Can’t Block Additional IRS Funding
Quote – Maybe these Republicans would have been happier if they’d done high school theater when they were kids, and gotten it all out of their systems. Because there’s no way, no how they get to stop this IRS funding. They just have to be seen trying to stop it to make their donors happy!
Click through for exactly why not. (Not that you don’t already know this if you have ever seen Schoolhouse Rock.)
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Georgia DA Fani Willis takes important next step toward indicting Donald Trump for election crimes
The Lincoln Project – Presidential Citizens Medal Ceremony
MSNBC – Supreme Court hears case threatening workers’ rights
Farron Balanced – George Santos Paid Someone To Impersonate A Kevin McCarthy Staffer To Swindle Donors
Senior Pittie Gives Birth In Foster Mom’s Hand
Beau – Let’s talk about 2 years, Trump’s lawsuit, and medals….
Yesterday, after having set my alarm and arisen for it three days in a row, I slept in. But I still managed to find some cool stuff, one of the coolest of which was a Mother Jones article about coolness at government agencies. In sure we’ve all seen the occasional example of a government agency putting out some kind of warnin with verbiage and phrasng which draws attention because of its humor, but I didn’t realize it was becoming a trend. If you’re looking for an extra chuckle today, this is the place.
I also got an email from my cousin that the Army Corps of Engineers has a downloadable cat calendar for this year. My first thought was, “Why would th Army Corps of Engineers put out a calendar with cats?” But as soon as I looked at the cover it was immediately obvious …. and then it just got better. Also, this is not from the entire Corps, but specifically from the Portland (OR) District. TomCAt would have absolutely loved it.
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Short Takes –
Huff Post – Republicans Who Voted To Overturn The 2020 Election Get Top Committee Posts
Quote – House Republican leaders on Tuesday announced their picks for powerful committee chairs in the new Congress, and most of them have an inherent character flaw: They voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results after fueling the lie that the election was stolen from Donald Trump. “Our committee chairs represent the very best of our conference,” House Majority Leader Scalise (R-La.) said when announcing the GOP’s choices for chairmanships.
Click through fpr details. Of course this is bad news. But probably not more so than we expected.
The 19th – Two stories
Quote 1 – The Presidential Citizen Medal is one of the nation’s highest civilian honors, given to those who have “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.” Today marks the first time Biden has awarded this medal. Of the 12 recipients, four are women.
Quote 2 – [R]eproductive rights advocates and physicians say, the rights of infants born by any method, including after an attempted abortion, are already protected by a bipartisan 2002 law that established that infants have the rights of a full human. Live births after an attempted abortion are exceedingly rare, and the proposed measure would take away power over medical interventions from families and physicians.
Click through to one or both. As I’ve said, the 19th tends to focus on women, and these are no exception, One is good news, the other bad news.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Scott “Pardon Me” Perry wants on the congressional committee to oversee DOJ’s criminal probe of HIM!
The Lincoln Project – Violence
Ring of Fire – Republicans Plan To Gut IRS And Ethics Office To Protect Themselves And Their Donors (I’m not sure why he pictured Mitch, when it’s the House that’s pushing this. It will never get through the Senate.)
Armageddon Update – New Year, New World! (First new one for some time)
Woman Rescues Feral Kittens From An Abandoned Mansion
Beau – Let’s talk about what national interests are….
Yesterday, the Smithsonian newsletter included a link to their Andean Bear cub cam (at a month and a half, their eyes have not yet opoened, nor can they hear), and that page also includes a link to the Giant Panda cam. I didn’t try the pandas. I watched the cubs for a minute or teo, saw no motion, but heard a tiny “squeep.” It might have been a baby snore – not, I think, a baby sneeze. Also, I received a grocery delivery.It looks like i got everything except the lip balm, and there’s no huge hurry on that. In actual news, The PCCC (Bold Progressives wants to know whether or not we think it would be a good idea for Katie Porter to run for the Senate next time. Initially I shuddered, thnking of Tim Ryan (and so many others),. and then I thought, wait a minute – her district was already red, and redistricting just made it redder – she probably actually has better prospects state wide. So I answered yes. Of course they also want funds but they’ve labeled it “optional,” so no pressure. Here’s the link.
I cannot say it was a slow news day. In fact, it was so much the opposite that it’s going to take me a while to digest it.
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Short Takes –
Crooks & Liars – Russian Wife Wants Her Husband To Go Die In Ukraine For A New Car
Quote – A Russian woman named her goal in the war against Ukraine…. [O]ne Russian woman confirmed that she wanted to send her husband to die to get a car for him…. And she did it right in his presence…. The Russian confirms that he supports the dictator Vladimir Putin and will go to the front when he is summoned.
Click through – If this is real, and not some twisted joke, it’s easy to see why GQP voters are so in sync with Russia.
CPR News – Colorado sees more avalanche deaths than any other state. A training course at this mountain park hopes to change that
Quote – While carrying avalanche safety equipment has become the norm for many backcountry skiers and other recreators, remembering how to use it in an emergency properly is another skill entirely. So where can one practice for the unthinkable? At a park just outside of Minturn, now open for its third season, there are eight transmitters that people can practice finding with their beacons.
Click through for story. Good thing we have technology, because avalanches are a phenomenon which climate change is not going to make less common. Now people just need to learn how to use it.
Food For Thought
Is it possible to overdose on schadenfreude? Asking for over 81 million friends.
Democrats have so enjoyed watching the GQP in such a state of confusion, crisis and chaos (why, I even read they were in “DISARRAY” – a descriptor the MSM has heretofore reserved for Democrats) that Pres. Biden found it necessary to order the release of several metric tons of our nation’s Popcorn Reserves.
There’s no doubt you have all been closely following clownish antics of McCarthy, Gaetz, Boebert and other GQPers, so I’m going to try and find some that might have slipped under your radar.
As seen in this candid photo, it began when Kevin McCarthy first addressed the GQP Caucus as they set out to elect a Speaker for the House:
He appealed to their sense of unity when he closed his opening speech with this plea:
But to no avail. As you all know, the voting dragged on and on and on and …
It got to the point that sports fans recalling the recent FIFA World Cup felt it was time to go to penalty kicks.
Putting a positive spin on it, other sports fans said that at the rate Kevin was losing round after round of voting, he at least was assured a first-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft.
Others not so sports-minded thought that Rock Paper Scissors would have been a better – and quicker – way to get this done.
But this is what America was stuck with:
(Maybe they should have tried unplugging the House and the plugging it back in again)
Someone was able to procure a list of concessions McCarthy was ready to offer to the Taliban 20 in the Freedom Caucus to get their votes:
Ad while all that was going on, on the other side of the aisle the Democrats demonstrated decorum, decency and dignity. Why, Rep. Katie Porter even took the time to improve her mind by reading a tome that will undoubtedly prove useful over the next two years.
No, it was NOT this one:
C-Span was able to get a view of her selection:
And then Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries gave the speech that McCarthy should have – but didn’t – literally spelling out from A to Z how a responsible party prioritizes issues.
It won both laughter as well as cheers. And needless to say, it went viral and has been viewed more than 2.4 MILLION times!
All in all, I think this clip from the Daily Show does more than justice to how Kevin McCarthy’s past week went:
But I want to close on a serious note, because THIS is what happens when you have no principles or core beliefs – just blind ambition:
We need to remember that the people blocking McCarthy were also largely the ones named as co-conspirators in the ex-president’s efforts to overthrow our government. The great majority claim Trump won in 2020, and all but one of them voted against vote certification of the 2020 presidential election.
Glenn Kirschner – Republican clown show: Jim Jordan tries to seize power to have DOJ reveal criminal investigations
The Lincoln Project – Last Year in the Republican Party
Farron Balanced – MAGA Lunatics Accuse GOP Congresswoman Of Practicing Witchcraft
Cleff Schecter – The Truth Behind MAGA: Is a Secret Shame Driving Republican Faceplants?
Woman Spots An Injured Pittie In A Blueberry Field, And Then…
Beau – Let’s talk about preaching to the choir….