The Conversation -- January 16, 2025
New York Times: "Senate confirmation hearings for the Trump cabinet have resumed. They include Doug Burgum for interior secretary, Scott Turner for housing secretary, Lee Zeldin for Environmental Protection Agency administrator, and Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary. Mr. Bessent, appearing before the Senate Banking Committee, called for extending the expiring 2017 tax cuts and for tougher sanctions on Russia." This is a liveblog.
Matt Dixon of NBC News: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed state Attorney General Ashley Moody to the U.S. Senate, setting her up to fill the seat of Sen. Marco Rubio, whom ... Donald Trump tapped to be secretary of state.... he will have to run in a 2026 special election to keep the seat for the final two years of Rubio's term."
Know Thy Neighbors. The New York Times has a detailed map of how voters voted in the 2024 presidential election, and how that compared to the vote in the 2020 election. MB: I'm happy to say that where I live, Kamala Harris beat Trump by 27 points & only a little less than the percentage by which Biden beat Trump in 2020. Thanks to laura h. for the link.
Yesterday, PBS found out what Americans think of Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, Bobby Kennedy, Jr. & Elon Musk. As Ken W. noted, they do seem to like Bobby Junior the most. MB: In fairness to these opinionated Americans, I would posit that a substantial percentage who have expressed their favorable opinion of Junior think he is RFK Sr. One way or another, these people are not very bright.
Marie: I'm not sure, but it looks like RAS is wondering why Republicans are so opposed to what they like to call "DEI hires" when they're so enthusiastic about a DUI hire.
Unwashed's favorite local bartender has some new house rules.
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Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.... The powerful forces want to wield their unchecked influence to eliminate the steps we've taken to tackle the climate crisis, to serve their own interest for power and profit. We must not be bullied into sacrificing the future, the future of our children and our grandchildren. We must keep pushing forward and push faster. -- President Biden, farewell address to the nation, Wednesday ~~~
~~~ Erica Green of the New York Times: "President Biden on Wednesday warned that an 'oligarchy' of the ultrawealthy was emerging in America, sounding the alarm about unchecked power as he gave a farewell speech to the nation just days before he surrenders office to a man he disdains. In an address from the Oval Office, Mr. Biden expressed concern about the 'dangerous concentration of power' and issued a plea for the preservation of democratic ideals and institutions under the administration of ... Donald J. Trump.... Mr. Biden's warning of an unelected oligarchy taking shape echoed a similar one by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who spoke about the military-industrial complex in his farewell address. The Biden version referred to the 'tech-industrial complex,' in which he warned of the erosion of truth itself, brought forth by unchecked social media platforms -- a reference to Meta doing away with fact-checkers this week -- and artificial intelligence. 'Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power,' Mr. Biden said." (This is an update of a story also linked yesterday.) Politico's report is here. NPR's story is here. ~~~
~~~ The transcript of President Biden's address is here, via the New York Times. MB: I'll look for a copy from a "free" site later; couldn't find one early this morning.
Today's New York Times liveblog of developments in Israel's wars is here. ~~~
Peter Baker of the New York Times: "The long-sought, tortuously negotiated Gaza cease-fire deal announced on Wednesday came about in part through a remarkable collaboration between President Biden and ... Donald J. Trump, who temporarily put aside mutual animosity to achieve a mutual goal. The two presidents directed their advisers to work together to push Israel and Hamas over the finish line for an agreement to halt the fighting that has ravaged Gaza and release hostages who have been held there for 15 months. The deal is set to start on Sunday, the day before Mr. Biden turns over the White House to Mr. Trump.... The dramatic development, just five days before the transfer of power in the United States, cut against the natural grain in Washington, where presidents of opposing parties rarely work in tandem during a transition, even in the face of a major crisis.
"But the political planets quickly returned to their normal orbits as both sides argued over who deserved credit for resolving the standoff.While Mr. Biden waited for official word to come from the region, Mr. Trump got the jump on him by disclosing the deal himself in an all-caps social media post. 'This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November,' he added soon afterward. By the time Mr. Biden appeared before cameras at the White House later in the afternoon, he was more gracious, noting that the two teams spoke with one voice. But he bristled when asked who merited credit, he or Mr. Trump. 'Is that a joke?' he asked." Read on. CNN's report is here. ~~~
~~~President Biden delivered remarks Wednesday afternoon about the Gaza peace agreement:
~~~ ⭐New York Times: "Negotiators from Israel and Hamas have agreed to a cease-fire in Gaza after more than 15 months of devastating war, officials said on Wednesday. The agreement needs to be formally ratified by the Israeli cabinet, two senior Israeli officials said. In the run-up to the deal, officials said there was last-minute wrangling over the Egypt-Gaza border, which Israeli forces currently control. The office of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said in a statement that a number of clauses in the agreement still remained unresolved, but that it was hoped that they would be worked out on Wednesday night. The cease-fire would take effect immediately, according to a White House official. Its first phase will last six weeks, and hostages will start being released during that phase, though it was not clear when that could begin." This is a liveblog. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
Aaron Boxerman: "The current outline of a cease-fire deal in Gaza is broadly similar to a three-phase framework publicized by President Biden in late May, according to several officials familiar with the talks. Negotiators have yet to confirm the start date and other technical issues, officials said, and the agreement could still be derailed."
Maggie Haberman: "... Donald J. Trump got ahead of the the Biden White House announcement about a cease-fire deal. 'WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!' he wrote. But Trump's win in the election and coming return to Washington, as well as his team's work, was according to multiple people a factor in the deal getting done." ~~~
~~~ Empty Threats → Horrors. Brett Murphy of ProPublica: "Early reports suggest the deal [reached Wednesday] looks similar to what has been on the table for months, raising the possibility that if the Biden administration had followed through on its tough words, a deal could have been reached earlier, saving lives.... Time and again, Israel crossed the Biden administration's red lines without changing course in a meaningful way.... Authorities in and outside government said the acquiescence to Israel as it prosecuted a brutal war will likely be regarded as one the most consequential foreign policy decisions of the Biden presidency. They say it undermines America's ability to influence events in the Middle East while 'destroying the entire edifice of international law that was put into place after WWII,' as Omer Bartov, a renowned Israeli-American scholar of genocide, put it." This is quite a long article. MB: The bits of it I read seemed fair to me, but a more expert analysis than mine would be helpful.
Carol Lee, et al., of NBC News: "President Joe Biden's administration is considering ways to keep TikTok available in the United States if a ban that's scheduled to go into effect Sunday proceeds, according to three people familiar with the discussions.... If the administration moves forward with any such plan, it would mean the popular app's going down would not define his last full day in office, and it would defer the issue to Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated Monday. Mike Waltz, Trump's incoming national security adviser, told Fox News on Wednesday that Trump is ready to intervene to preserve access to the Chinese-owned video app in the American marketplace. And Pam Bondi, his pick for attorney general, refused to commit to enforcing the ban when she was asked about it at her Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday. The moves represent parallel efforts by the rival presidents to execute an end-run around Congress and the Supreme Court, which is teed up to rule on the ban at any time. Still, a White House official insisted that not enforcing the ban, if it is upheld, is not an option." ~~~
I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok. -- Donald Trump, last month ~~~
(I would have said Trump has no heart, much less a warm spot in it, metaphorically speaking, of course. -- Marie) ~~~
~~~ AND/BUT. Drew Harwell & Elizabeth Dwoskin of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump is considering an executive order once in office that would suspend enforcement of the TikTok ban-or-sale law for 60 to 90 days, buying the administration time to negotiate a sale or alternative solution -- a legally questionable effort to win a brief reprieve for the Chinese-owned app now scheduled to be banned on Sunday nationwide.... Trump has expressed a keen interest in being seen as rescuing a platform on which he's been told he's widely admired, leading political aides and business allies to scramble for options that would allow him to deliver on his campaign promise to 'save TikTok,' as he has said repeatedly on his more than 14 million-follower TikTok account." More on TikTok linked below.
Trump Can Dance! Watch Him Do the Walkback Shuffle. Jennifer Bendery of the Huffington Post: "Donald Trump made lots of big promises on the campaign trail.... But in the weeks since he won the election, Trump and his transition team have been quietly walking back some of his most significant commitments -- a reflection of how unrealistic they were to begin with.... Trump repeatedly bragged that he was uniquely positioned to resolve Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In March 2023, he said he could 'fix' the war before he was even inaugurated. 'I would fix that within 24 hours, and if I win, before I get into the office, I will have that war settled,' the president-elect said in a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity. '100% sure.'... In another vow that was central to his campaign, Trump said he would magically halt inflation and bring down the costs of everyone's groceries.... But shortly after the election, Trump was already moving the goal posts, conceding it would be impossible for him to single-handedly lower the costs of consumer goods.... Vice President-elect JD Vance is lowering expectations for Trump's repeated but vague plans to release his supporters from prison who were convicted for their roles in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021...."
Whaddaya Mean, Oligarchy and "Tech-Industrial Complex"?? Steve Overly of Politico: "Google CEO Sundar Pichai will join the growing list of tech executives sitting on the dais as ... Donald Trump is sworn into office on Monday, according to a person familiar with the company's plans who was not authorized to speak publicly. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a close confidant of the incoming president, is expected to attend the inauguration ceremony, along with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Apple CEO Tim Cook, according to media reports." ~~~
~~~ Maggie Haberman & Sapna Maheshwari of the New York Times: "The chief executive of TikTok plans to attend ... Donald J. Trump's inauguration and has been invited to sit in a position of honor on the dais, where former presidents, family members and other important guests traditionally are seated, two people familiar with the plans said Wednesday. The invitation to the executive, Shou Chew, went out from the Trump Vance Inaugural Committee, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss Monday's inauguration. Mr. Chew will join tech moguls like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk at the event; Jeff Bezos has also been invited. Mr. Trump's support for TikTok marks a stunning reversal from 2020, when he tried during his first term to block the app in the United States and force its sale to American companies.... Mr. Trump publicly changed his stance on TikTok last year, soon after he met with Jeff Yass, a Republican megadonor who owns a significant share of ByteDance[, TikTok's owner] .... The Supreme Court is set to rule ... in the coming days [on a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if it doesn't sell to a non-Chinese company]." ~~~
~~~ Marie: It's just remarkable. On the day President Biden warns of a tech-industrial oligarchy, we learn that Trump has invited another tech oligarch to his inauguration, and yet another tech oligarch, the second one only because yet another oligarch persuaded/bribed Trump to reverse his position on what he and Congress considered to be a potential national security danger. Update: It's not about the money; it's about the warm spot in Trump's heart.
Glenn Thrush, et al., of the New York Times: "Pam Bondi..., Donald J. Trump's pick for attorney general, refused to explicitly say that she would defy Mr. Trump's pressure during a confirmation hearing on Wednesday, but she offered a blanket promise that 'politics will not play a part' in deciding who to investigate.... But the daylong hearing had its contentious moments as Democrats repeatedly accused her of dodging basic yes-or-no questions about election denialism, the potential prosecution of Mr. Trump's political enemies -- and how she would deal with attempts by Mr. Trump to influence the department's actions. 'Politics has to be taken out of this system,' said Ms. Bondi, who repeatedly circled back to her argument that the Justice Department had been misused and misdirected under the Biden administration. 'This department has been weaponized for years and years and years, and it has to stop.'" An AP report is here. ~~~
~~~ Bondi, paraphrased: "I'm totally impartial. Jack Smith is 'horrible.' Also not gonna enforce Supreme Court order." Marie: These people can't hear themselves. ~~~
~~~ The New York Times liveblogged the Senate Judiciary Committee's confirmation hearing of Pam Bondi, whom Donald Trump named as his second choice for attorney general after his first nominee Matt Gaetz flamed out. (Also linked yesterday.)
Maxine Joselow of the Washington Post: "Oil executive Chris Wright..., Donald Trump's pick to lead the Energy Department, has argued that climate change has not fueled more frequent and severe wildfires -- a claim at odds with the scientific consensus. Wright's arguments drew scrutiny from Senate Democrats during his confirmation hearing Wednesday, as deadly wildfires continue to ravage the Los Angeles area, destroying thousands of homes and killing at least 25 people.... Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) slammed Wright's comment [that] 'hype' [over 2023 Canadian wildfires was used to justify 'harmful' climate policies] in a tense exchange during the confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.... Yet Republicans, who have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, remain confident they can confirm Wright to helm the Energy Department, which oversees the nation's energy policy but not wildfire response efforts." MB: Okay, so not Wright's problem, right? The Guardian's report is here.
Trump's Loyal House Pet Rolls Over Again. Karoon Demirjian & Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday removed Representative Michael R. Turner of Ohio from the helm of the House Intelligence Committee, in a shake-up that signaled he intends to align the pivotal national security panel more closely with ... Donald J. Trump. Mr. Turner, who emerged from a meeting with the speaker on Wednesday afternoon looking furious, has told people that Mr. Johnson informed him his ouster was the result of a request from Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to a person familiar with those conversations.... In jettisoning a Republican seen as insufficiently loyal to Mr. Trump, Mr. Johnson appeared to be paving the way for the president-elect to have tighter control over the committee that oversees intelligence matters. Mr. Turner, a mainstream conservative who has represented southwestern Ohio in the House for more than two decades, has at times been critical of Mr. Trump's actions. He broke with the majority of his party on Jan. 6, 2021, and voted to certify Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s 2020 election. He has also been a leading proponent of supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia, breaking with the 'America First' stance of the president-elect and many others in his party." Politico's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Good boy, Mikey! Did I mention that Trump hates puppy dogs & other house pets?
Marita Viachou of the Huffington Post: "Democratic senators on the upper chamber's Judiciary Committee on Monday asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to ensure the preservation all existing and future records and materials related to the Justice Department's prosecutions of ... Donald Trump as he prepares to return to the White House later this month.... The letter signed by 10 Democratic senators cites Trump's threats against special counsel Jack Smith, who recently resigned from his role, as well as pledges made by Pam Bondi, Trump's pick to lead the DOJ, to take action against those who were involved in Trump's prosecutions." ~~~
~~~ Marie: The AG's office has a fireplace. I don't see how a former AG can ensure that a current AG won't send up docs in smoke, so to speak.
Here's a pretty good discussion of Jack Smith's report on Trump's leadership of the insurrection of 2021: ~~~
Andrew Jacobs & Teddy Rosenbluth of the New York Times: "The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday banned the use of Red Dye No. 3 in food, beverages and drugs, more than three decades after the synthetic coloring was first found to cause cancer in male laboratory rats.... Although the dye is still used in hundreds of products, many companies have been switching to other food colorings, a move that accelerated after California in 2023 became the first state to ban Red 3 along with three other food additives that have been linked to disease. The dye has also been linked to health concerns for children. In announcing the ban, the agency downplayed the risks to humans, saying that researchers had not found similar cancer risks in studies involving animals other than male rats."
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Georgia. Cheating Is Irresistible. David Fahrenthold of the New York Times: "A nonprofit founded by Stacey Abrams, a Georgia Democrat, admitted on Wednesday that it had violated state law by concealing the fact that it had campaigned for her during her 2018 run for governor. At the time of that campaign, the group was led by Raphael Warnock, who was later elected to the Senate as a Democrat from Georgia. At a meeting of the state's ethics commission, the nonprofit New Georgia Project conceded that it had paid for fliers and door-to-door canvassers telling voters to support Ms. Abrams and other Democrats. Under federal law, tax-exempt charities like this one are forbidden to campaign for candidates, but this case was about a violation of state law.... A related nonprofit, the New Georgia Project Action Fund, admitted the same. As a result, the two nonprofits agreed to pay a $300,000 penalty. David Emadi, the executive director of the commission, said it was the largest fine in its 38-year history....
"A spokesman for Ms. Abrams said in a statement that 'Stacey hasn't been involved in the organization's work since she departed in 2017.' Mr. Warnock's Senate staff issued a statement saying that, while he was the leader of the New Georgia Project in 2018, 'compliance decisions were not a part of that work.' The ethics commission's charges were aimed at the nonprofits. It did not seek to punish Ms. Abrams or Mr. Warnock personally." The AP story is here.
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Canada Strikes Back. Matina Stevis-Gridneff of the New York Times: "The Canadian government is preparing billions of dollars in retaliatory measures on U.S. exports to Canada if ... Donald J. Trump makes good on a threat to impose tariffs on Canadian goods, setting up a potential showdown between two countries that are each other's largest trading partners.... But the government made clear that it will wait to see what Mr. Trump might do before responding. 'Everything is on the table,' Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a news conference in Ottawa, flanked by senior members of his government and the leaders of most of Canada's provinces and territories. Mr. Trudeau spent most of Wednesday discussing with provincial leaders how to best prepare for potential U.S. tariffs.... Any tariffs would violate a trade agreement among the United States, Mexico and Canada, originally known as NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), which was renegotiated during Mr. Trump's first presidency.... In ... recent weeks..., [Mr. Trump] has repeatedly spoken about Canada becoming another U.S. state, even threatening economic force to annex the country."
South Korea. Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "After [President] Yoon [Suk Yeol] was detained Wednesday morning, he was taken to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, south of Seoul. Prosecutors questioned him for more then 10 hours. Yoon refused to cooperate. Yoon was then taken to the nearby Seoul Detention Center around 10 p.m. Yoon, a former prosecutor, was allowed to sleep in his clothes and not forced to don prison garb. This was not because he's president, but because he is not a felon, said Lim Wanseob, a spokesman for the center.... The cell Yoon stayed at in the detention center measures about 100 square feet, Lim said. Cells usually contain thick blankets that can be laid on the floor to serve as a makeshift bed, according to Lim, who declined, on security grounds, to confirm details or elaborate on Yoon's quarters.... Lawmakers impeached Yoon last month, suspending his powers as president. But he technically remains in office while the Constitutional Court reviews the impeachment." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Oh, if only Donald Trump were sleeping on the cold floor of a 100-sq.ft. cell. Unfortunately, if Trump got a cell like Yoon's, he also would get a teevee. And that's really all he needs, though I suppose he might throw his breakfast against the wall. Yoon's morning fare is cereal, boiled eggs, nuts and milk.
News Ledes
New York Times: "David Lynch, a painter turned avant-garde filmmaker whose fame, influence and distinctively skewed worldview extended far beyond the movie screen to encompass television, records, books, nightclubs, a line of organic coffee and his Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace, has died. He was 78."
New York Times: "Dangerous winds were subsiding in the Los Angeles area on Thursday, but frustration was growing among displaced residents desperate to return to their neighborhoods after more than a week of devastating wildfires. Nine days after the blazes ignited, no timeline has been announced for lifting evacuation orders that have affected tens of thousands of Southern California residents. Firefighters were still working to contain the biggest blazes in the region, the Palisades and Eaton fires. Experts said it could take weeks before people can return to the hardest-hit neighborhoods." This is a liveblog.
New York Times: "On Thursday morning..., Jeff Bezos' space company sent its first rocket into orbit. At 2:03 a.m. Eastern time, seven powerful engines ignited at the base of a 320-foot-tall rocket named New Glenn. The flames illuminated night into day at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The rocket, barely moving at first, nudged upward, and then accelerated in an arc over the Atlantic Ocean." This is a liveblog.
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Reader Comments (12)
A little additional background on our new Secretary of Fascism, er, I mean Defense (no PoT hack will dare cross Fat Hitler and vote against this pig).
We’ve talked about Pig Hegseth’s “Deus Vult” tattoo, the symbol of Muslim killing crusaders who rallied to the cry of “God wills it” (I’m guessing none of the current theocratic, Muslim hating crusaders realize that the Arabic expression “In sha' Allah” means the same thing…whatever) but Hegseth has other tattoos. Like Ray Bradbury’s Illustrated Man, whose tattoos coma alive, depicting often disturbing images of the future, Pig Hegseth’s markings connect past horrors with a dystopian future he and Trump hope to inflict on the nation.
One of Pig’s tattoos is the Jerusalem Cross .
The Jerusalem Cross has an interesting history. It gained popularity during the Crusades, and modern usage finds it beloved as a symbol of white supremacy. Even better (worse?), it was adopted as the symbol of the Deutsche Evangelische Kirche, the German Evangelical Church. What, you may ask, is the Deutsche Evangelische Kirche?
Here’s the Wikipedia entry:
“The German Christians, an antisemitic and racist pressure group and Kirchenpartei,[1] gained enough power on boards of the member churches to be able to install Ludwig Müller to the office of Reichsbischof [de] in the 1933 church elections. The German Protestant Church Confederation was subsequently renamed the German Evangelical Church. In 1934, the German Evangelical Church suffered controversies and internal struggles which left member churches either detached or reorganised into German Christians-led dioceses of what was to become a single, unified Reich Church compatible with Nazi ideology for all of Nazi Germany.”
Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense sports the symbol of the Reich Church on his chest, as well as additional symbolism of violent theocracy.
So this guy, in addition to being a drunken lout, abuser of women, a guy who “mismanaged” the funds of two small veteran’s groups, a guy who goes to bat for war criminals, is also a Nazi white supremacist.
Trump knows exactly who this guy is. Fatty’s own Illustrated Man tells us who he is and what he’s about, and what they promise for our future.
He fits right in with the Project 2025 plan to remake the country into a paradise for fascists.
Think the FBI’s background check could have looked into Hegseth’s tattoos and what they say about him and his ideas for the country? It took me all of half an hour to decode Pig’s emblazoned ideology. Too much to ask?
Interestingly, as Amanda Marcotte points out, the Fatty transition team gets to set the parameters for what the FBI can look into. How is that even legal? What kind of vetting system allows the crooks to say “Don’t you dare ask these questions or look into this or that evidence of past behaviors and beliefs”?
Trump’s Amerika.
So what percentage of America's wealth will be sitting on the dais as DJT is "sworn" in?
The New York Times 2024 precinct level map is available (lots of precincts not reported compared with 2020 - perhaps those will be reported later?)
eeeww - t**** voters increased to 11% in my neighborhood.
An Extremely Detailed Map of the 2024 Election
DUI Hire
CFPB
"An explosive new lawsuit filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) alleges that Capital One bank cheated its customers out of $2 billion. According to the lawsuit, Capital One deceived and abused its depositors, baiting them with promises of high interest rates before switching the terms and paying little interest. The CFPB claims that Capital One purposefully hid the truth about these accounts from customers and concealed the availability of a new product that paid much higher interest."
Premature Victory Lap
"At least 70 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes amid ceasefire deal delay
Israel airstrikes killed at least 70 more people in Gaza overnight and during Thursday, Reuters reports residents and authorities in the territory said, hours after a prospective ceasefire and hostage release deal was announced to bring an end to 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas which has devastated the Gaza Strip and triggered a humanitarian crisis.
The deal is yet to be formally agreed, with Israel’s security cabinet delaying a planned Thursday morning meeting. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said “Hamas reneges on parts of the agreement reached with the mediators and Israel in an effort to extort last minute concessions. The Israeli cabinet will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement.”"
10 house rules from my new favorite local bartender.
Re: the Hamas-Israel “peace” deal?
Someone woke Bibi up and gave him the bad news: no more murdering Palestinians so’s you can stay out of jail.
“What??? Kill that deal! Blame Hamas! Do it!”
Yeah. What I thought.
I thought that HedgeHog might be the single most odious candidate polluting the airwaves, until I heard a few clips of future AG Bondi. Of course, I already disliked her since I knew she was firmly in the very deepest part of Felonious Fatso's smelly pocket, having gotten sideways about a case and money, but I did not remember how involved she was in 2020 in PA. The fact that it was obvious she was tanking on answers to specific questions about whether FF lost in 2020 cemented my opinion that she is a testy little b**** who resents being questioned about anything. She formulated her hogwash answers acccordingly, boilerplate nonanswers, and obviously did not respect the people questioning her. Her tenure will be just like that. She is NOT "nonpolitical" and neither will be her DOJ. I'm sure the Federal Society and the American Enterprise and Heritage people will be pleased-- she is their good soldier. Ick. And lose those eyelashes...
Have a friend given to conspiracy theories about fluoride and the Oklahoma City bombing. Both suggest but never quite manage to prove that unnamed plotters are behind it all.
I wish his mind were receptive to the warning Biden delivered about the obvious oligarchy that is trampling on what remains of our democracy, but I'd guess he will remain more comfortable in his rabbit holes.
I guess if it's that obvious, it's not as satisfying as a conspiracy that makes you feel you are so smart you know something others don't.
https://jimhightower.substack.com/p/the-billionaire-bros-do-the-immigrant?utm