The Conversation -- January 9, 2024
Phil Williams of WTVF-TV Nashville: "A nonpartisan watchdog group has asked a federal ethics agency to investigate Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles [R] over $1 million of discrepancies in financial disclosures he was required to file with the U.S. House. The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) repeatedly cites NewsChannel 5's reporting in the complaint that was filed Tuesday with the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), comparing Ogles' conduct to disgraced New York Congressman George Santos. NewsChannel 5 Investigates discovered that, like Santos, Ogles has misrepresented his educational and business credentials.... Specifically, in its complaint, the CLC notes the Maury County Republican's claim to have personally loaned $320,0000 to his 2022 campaign for Congress, 'but Rep. Ogles' financial disclosure reports do not disclose assets that would allow him to make this loan.' As NewsChannel 5 previously reported, on financial disclosures filed with the U.S. House of Representatives, Ogles did not disclose any checking or savings accounts."
Alex Gangitano of the Hill: "President Biden's reelection campaign bashed former President Trump on Tuesday after he said he hoped the U.S. economy would crash in the next 12 months, arguing he doesn't care about people. 'Donald Trump should just say he doesn't give a damn about people, because that's exactly what he's telling the American people when he says he hopes the economy crashes. In his relentless pursuit of power and retribution, Donald Trump is rooting for a reality where millions of Americans lose their jobs and live with the crushing anxiety of figuring out how to afford basic needs,' campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez said. Trump, in an interview with former Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs on a network launched by MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, called the economy 'fragile' and said he is hoping for a crash within the year. 'And when there's a crash -- I hope it's going to be during this next 12 months because I don't want to be Herbert Hoover,' Trump said in the interview that aired Monday night. 'The one president I just don't want to be, Herbert Hoover.' Former President Hoover had been in office for just a few months when the stock market crashed in 1929, triggering the Great Depression."
Helene Cooper & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has been hospitalized for the past week because of complications after he had prostate cancer surgery, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center said in a statement on Tuesday. A hospital official said Mr. Austin was admitted on Jan. 1 with severe abdominal, hip and leg pain after he underwent what the hospital characterized as a 'minimally invasive surgical procedure' known as a prostatectomy, the week before. The defense secretary, who had developed an infection, was put in intensive care, where excess abdominal fluid was drained. Since then, 'his infection has cleared,' according to the statement, from Dr. John Maddox and Dr. Gregory Chesnut at Walter Reed. Mr. Austin's prostate cancer was detected early and his prognosis was 'excellent,' they said. John F. Kirby, a White House spokesman, said Tuesday that the White House had only learned that day about the diagnosis of prostate cancer." ~~~
~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "The White House ordered cabinet secretaries on Tuesday to keep President Biden's staff informed when they may not be able to perform their duties after Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III was hospitalized for several days last week without telling the president or his staff. In a memo, Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House chief of staff, directed cabinet officers to evaluate their current policies for delegating authority when a secretary is incapacitated and to forward those procedures to the White House for review. In the meantime, Mr. Zients made clear that White House officials expected to be kept up to date about developments like major medical issues." ~~~
~~~ Earlier Tuesday Afternoon. Courtney Kube & Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: " Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December and underwent a minimally invasive procedure to treat and cure it, according to a statement from Walter Reed National Military Center officials on Tuesday. 'Secretary Austin recovered uneventfully from his surgery and returned home the next morning. His prostate cancer was detected early, and his prognosis is excellent,' the officials said. Austin was then admitted to Walter Reed on Jan. 1 'with complications from the December 22 procedure, including nausea with severe abdominal, hip, and leg pain,' the officials said." At 2:30 pm ET Tuesday, this was a breaking story; a Pentagon briefing is to be held soon.
Zinger of the Day: I think it's paradoxical to say that his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed allows him to violate criminal law. -- Appeals Court Judge Karen Henderson, an George H.W. Busha appointee, during oral arguments Tuesday ~~~
~~~ Eric Tucker, et al., of the AP: "With Donald Trump present for the first time in months, federal appeals court judges in Washington expressed deep skepticism Tuesday that the former president was immune from prosecution on charges that he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The panel of three judges, two of whom were appointed by President Joe Biden, also questioned whether they had jurisdiction to consider the appeal at this point in the case, raising the prospect that Trump's effort could be dismissed. During lengthy arguments, the judges repeatedly pressed Trump's lawyer to defend claims that Trump was shielded from criminal charges for acts that he says fell within his official duties as president....
“Judges [Karen] Henderson and Florence Pan noted the lawyer representing Trump during his impeachment trial suggested that he could later face criminal prosecution, telling senators at the time: 'We have a judicial process in this country. We have an investigative process in this country to which no former officer holder is immune.' 'It seems that many senators relied on that in voting to acquit' Trump, Pan told [Trump's lawyer John] Sauer. J. Michelle Childs also questioned why former President Richard Nixon would need to be granted a pardon in 1974 ... if former presidents enjoy immunity from prosecution.... After the arguments, Trump spoke to reporters at The Waldorf-Astoria hotel, which used to be the Trump International Hotel, calling it 'a very momentous day.' He insisted he did nothing wrong and claimed he was being prosecuted for political reasons. 'A president has to have immunity,' he said."
The New York Times is liveblogging the D.C. Appeals Court hearing of Donald Trump's claim of immunity. The Times is also livestreaming the audio at the linked page; so are MSNBC, CNN & C-SPAN. (Apparently C-SPAN has to be "authenticated." The C-SPAN site is live-transcribing the lawyers' & judges' remarks.) ~~~
~~~ CNN's liveblog is here. ~~~
~~~ From the NYT liveblog:
This item, by Charlie Savage, profiles the three judges hearing the case.
Alan Feuer: "... the remarkable thing that [Trump's attorney] John Sauer just said: He is claiming that a president could order an elite commando unit to assassinate a political rival and not be criminally prosecuted unless he was first found guilty at an impeachment proceeding."
Adam Liptak: "Judge Pan says Sauer has conceded that there is no 'absolute immunity' because prosecution after impeachment and conviction is permissible." [MB: Ergo, Sauer seems to have conceded his own argument that jeopardy attaches to impeachment; that is, if there is one circumstance in which impeachment does not create jeopardy, then impeachment itself is not a proceeding to which jeopardy attaches.]
Feuer: "In general, the two Democratic appointees on the three-judge panel -- Childs and Pan -- are asking pretty tough questions, challenging Trump's immunity defense."
Savage: "Judge Pan and Judge Henderson are asking about a statement a lawyer for Trump made during his impeachment that he should not be impeached because he would be subject to prosecution after he left office." Feuer: "Sauer does not have a very strong answer to this query. He simply says that whatever Trump argued during impeachment isn't really relevant to these arguments."
Savage: "In an ominous sign for Trump, Judge Henderson, who has been among the judges more likely to rule in ways favorable to him on the D.C. Circuit, says, 'I think it's paradoxical to say that his constitutional duty to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed" allows him to violate criminal law.'"
Savage: "Both sides [prosecution & Trump] agreed the courts should decide the merits of the issue now, rather than waiting until after any trial. The three judges on the appeals court panel seemed to signal skepticism with Trump's arguments, although the sole Republican appointee, Judge Karen Henderson, appeared worried about unleashing the 'floodgates' of former presidents being routinely prosecuted in the future. We're waiting to see if Trump will speak."
Maggie Haberman: "Trump appeared briefly at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, formerly the Trump hotel. By his side was one of his lawyers, John F. Lauro, who said, 'We can't have a country where every four years there&'s a cycle of political recrimination.'" [MB: So no to "recrimination," but "retribution" is A-OK.]
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Helene Cooper & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "Four top aides to Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III were informed last Tuesday that he had been hospitalized a day earlier but did not notify the White House until two days later, the Pentagon said on Monday. The aides were made aware last Tuesday that Mr. Austin was rushed by ambulance to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., but said nothing to White House officials, awaiting updates on the secretary's medical condition, Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, told reporters. In addition to General Ryder, the aides are Kelly E. Magsamen, Mr. Austin's chief of staff, and Lt. Gen. Ronald Clark, the secretary's senior military aide. General Ryder said that a fourth aide, Chris Meagher, the assistant to the secretary for public affairs, notified him.... The Defense Department is conducting an internal review of the processes and procedures for notifying the White House and Congress should a defense secretary be hospitalized or otherwise incapacitated, General Ryder said.... Mr. Austin remained in the hospital on Monday but was in 'good condition' and conducting official business, General Ryder said."
Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "Congress on Monday began an uphill push to pass a new bipartisan spending agreement into law in time to avoid a partial government shutdown next week, with Speaker Mike Johnson encountering stiff resistance from his far-right flank to the deal he struck with Democrats. Ultraconservative House Republicans have panned the $1.66 trillion agreement Mr. Johnson made with Senator Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat and majority leader, saying it is unacceptable. The agreement essentially hews to the bargain that Congress passed last year to suspend the debt ceiling, which the hard right opposed at the time and had hoped to scale back. It also includes $69 billion in spending that was added as a side deal, money that conservatives sought to block altogether."
Immunity? Ha Ha Ha. Adam Klasfeld of the Messenger: "Donald Trump on Monday lost again in the former president's bid to swat away E. Jean Carroll's defamation lawsuit on the grounds of federal immunity, setting the stage for a potential last-minute petition to the U.S. Supreme Court before a trial that's scheduled to begin next week in Manhattan federal court. In a single-page order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit declined to rehear Trump's case before the full 13-judge bench, a maneuver known as an en banc appeal. No active judge from the appellate court called for a vote on the matter, according to the ruling."
Meanwhile, in Georgia.... I'm IMU-U-U-UNE! Zachary Cohen of CNN: "... Donald Trump is seeking to have the sweeping criminal conspiracy case against him in Georgia thrown out by arguing he is protected from prosecution under presidential immunity. Trump's immunity claims in the Georgia case, filed on Monday as part of a motion to dismiss state-level criminal charges against the former president, are similar to those argued by his defense team in the federal election subversion case.... Trump's attorney argues that the specific acts in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' indictment 'lie squarely within the "outer perimeter" of the President's official duties.'... On Tuesday, the DC US Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments by attorneys for Trump and special counsel Jack Smith over the same two claims of immunity, a hearing Trump himself is set to attend." (Also linked yesterday.)
Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "A lawyer for one of the defendants charged along with ... Donald J. Trump in the Georgia election interference case said in a court filing on Monday that the district attorney overseeing the case, Fani T. Willis, had engaged in a 'clandestine' relationship with the special prosecutor she hired to help handle it. The filing, from a lawyer representing Michael A. Roman, a former Trump campaign official, provided no proof of the relationship or other claims it contained. It argued that the relationship should disqualify Ms. Willis, her office and the special prosecutor, Nathan Wade, from prosecuting the case. The defense lawyer, Ashleigh B. Merchant, also wrote that Ms. Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., was 'profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of the taxpayers,' charging that Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade had taken vacations together with money he made working for her office." The CBS News story is here.
Lazaro Gamio & Karen Yourish of the New York Times have constructed a timeline of Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election: "Donald J. Trump pressured state and federal government officials to overturn results of the 2020 election in more than 30 phone calls or meetings, according to The Times's analysis of the indictments related to those efforts.... Most of the officials repeatedly rejected his requests. But Mr. Trump kept asking.... As his efforts with state officials floundered, Mr. Trump tried to persuade Justice Department officials 'to open sham election crime investigations and influence state legislatures with knowingly false claims of election fraud,' prosecutors said.... As Jan. 6 neared, Mr. Trump became determined to persuade Vice President Mike Pence to block congressional certification of Mr. Biden's victory. He conveyed this message in at least nine phone calls and meetings between Dec. 25 and the morning of Jan. 6.... Less than an hour after his [last] call with the vice president, Mr. Trump rallied supporters from a stage near the White House. Soon after, a mob of Trump loyalists stormed and occupied the Capitol, bringing the final electoral count to a halt until order was restored in the building." Emphasis original.
Diana Falzone of Mediaite: "Weeks before the 2020 presidential election, infamous political operative Roger Stone sat across from his associate Sal Greco at a restaurant in Florida. At the time, Greco was an NYPD cop working security for Stone on the side. Their conversation ... focused on two House Democrats for whom Stone harbors particular animosity, Jerry Nadler and Eric Swalwell. In audio of the conversation obtained exclusively by Mediaite, Stone ... [told Greco,] 'It's time to do it.... Let's go find Swalwell.... Then we'll see how brave the rest of them are.... It's either Nadler or Swalwell has to die before the election. They need to get the message. Let's go find Swalwell and get this over with. I'm just not putting up with this shit anymore.' A source familiar with the discussion told Mediate they believed Stone's remarks were serious.... Stone denied making those comments, claiming they were generated by AI. He has previously claimed videos of his comments are actually 'deep fakes.'... Greco did not deny the comments, but said in a text to Mediaite: 'I don't think your reader is interested in ancient political fodder.'" There's more. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Hmmm. Audio? Unless there was a nosyparker sitting in the next booth with a recording device, Greco must have provided the audio.
Presidential Race 2024
Biden on Trump's Lost Cause. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden sought to rally disaffected Black supporters on Monday with a fiery condemnation of ... Donald J. Trump, linking his predecessor's efforts to overturn the 2020 election to the nation's history of white supremacy in what he called 'the old ghost in new garments.' Speaking from the pulpit of the South's oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church, Mr. Biden drew a direct line from slavery, the Civil War and Jim Crow to the divisions of today. Just as it was a 'self-serving lie' to call the Confederate rebellion a 'noble cause,' the president called Mr. Trump's insistence that he won the election an effort to rewrite history.... The president also took a shot at Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor.... 'Let me be clear, for those who don't seem to know: Slavery was the cause of the Civil War,' Mr. Biden said to applause from the audience." ~~~
~~~ Here's an excerpt. Sorry about the image of Fuckface Von Clownstick:
~~~ Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: President "Biden has set himself the task of trying to jolt the country out of its learned helplessness in the face of Trump's exhausting provocations.... On Monday, Biden gave his second campaign speech of the year, at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., site of a racist mass murder in 2015. It was ostensibly about white supremacy, but its real theme was truth, and the way historical fictions from the Lost Cause of the Confederate South to Trump's big lie about the 2020 election license tyranny and oppression."
Isaac Arnsdorf & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump is expected to return Tuesday to the federal courthouse in Washington where he was arraigned in August on charges of interfering with the 2020 election results, making a voluntary appearance just before the Iowa caucuses. His choice ... reflects the bet he and his campaign are placing on blending his criminal defense with his electoral message.... In a fundraising email that distorted the situation, Trump misleadingly claimed to supporters that Biden was 'forcing me into a courtroom in our nation's capital' and distracting him from campaign strategizing. Attending an appellate oral argument is not uncommon but not required.... On Thursday, Trump is expected to attend closing arguments at his civil fraud trial in New York." ~~~
~~~ Summer Concepcion of NBC News: "... Donald Trump on Monday suggested that if he is re-elected he would have President Joe Biden indicted, a day before an appeals court hears arguments on his claim that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution for his role in the Jan. 6 attack. In a post to his Truth Social platform early Monday, Trump said he plans to attend oral arguments on his presidential immunity claim before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday.... 'Of course I was entitled, as President of the United States and Commander in Chief, to Immunity. I wasn't campaigning, the Election was long over,' he wrote. 'I was looking for voter fraud, and finding it, which is my obligation to do, and otherwise running running our Country.... If I don't get Immunity, then Crooked Joe Biden doesn't get Immunity,' Trump wrote, before criticizing the Biden administration...." ~~~
~~~ Stephen Collinson of CNN: "If he were able to establish in the courts, albeit in a long-shot case, that an ex-president is free from prosecution for alleged crimes he committed while in power, he could not only loosen the constitutional guardrails around the office if he wins in November. He could change the way presidents act in the future -- and the extent to which any autocratic instincts can be held in check. Trump has already given a sobering warning of how he would react if his appeal is denied and he ends up back in the White House.... Trump's beliefs, and misunderstanding, of the job of the presidency were perhaps best summed up by his statement in July 2019 that the Constitution gave him untamed power. 'I have an Article II, where I have to the right to do whatever I want as president,' he said. 'But I don't even talk about that.' Article II of the Constitution lays out the duties of the presidency -- but it does not, in conventional interpretations, at least -- suggest unfettered executive authority."
Aishvarya Kavi of the New York Times: "A driver crashed into an exterior gate near the White House shortly before 6 p.m. Monday and was taken into custody, the Secret Service said, adding that the agency was still investigating whether the crash was intentional.... President Biden was not at the White House during the crash." MB: Okay, so maybe not Trump's fault. ~~~
~~~ Trump's Fault. Michael Kosnar & Zoe Richards of NBC News: "Special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the prosecution of ... Donald Trump in two federal cases, was the target of an attempted swatting at his Maryland residence on Christmas Day. According to two law enforcement sources, someone called 911 and said that Smith had shot his wife at the address where Smith lives. Montgomery County Police dispatched units toward the home but were called off when the Deputy U.S. Marshals protecting Smith and his family told police that it was a false alarm and that everyone inside the home was safe." ~~~
~~~ Trump's Fault. Rebecca Shabad, et al., of NBC News: "Police and fire trucks showed up Sunday night at the house of Tanya Chutkan, the federal judge overseeing ... Donald Trump's election interference case after she appeared to be the target of an attempted 'swatting' attack. Police confirmed to NBC News that they responded to false reports of a shooting at a house that a witness identified as Chutkan's home. A law enforcement official also confirmed that it was Chutkan's home and that she was home when police arrived at her residence." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Maybe you think swatting is a fairly harmless waste of police time and money, but a few people have been killed in the course of swatting incidents.
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California Special House Election. Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called Monday for a special election for May 21 to fill the remainder of the term of former congressman Kevin McCarthy, the California Republican who retired last month after becoming the first House speaker voted out of his leadership position. The primary will take place on March 19, giving candidates in the solidly Republican, Bakersfield area district longer to campaign than many expected. The race has already attracted a competitive field."
Florida. Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: "The Republican Party of Florida ousted its chairman on Monday, more than a month after the police in Sarasota confirmed that he was under criminal investigation for sexual assault. For weeks, Christian Ziegler, the chairman, resisted calls for him to step down, keeping the scandal in the headlines.... In mid-December, the state party's executive committee censured Mr. Ziegler and stripped him of his duties and annual salary of $120,000 after Gov. Ron DeSantis, Senator Rick Scott and some county-level Republican chairs had urged him to go. Mr. Ziegler was removed by a voice vote of about 200 party members during a meeting in Tallahassee. Only a handful opposed the motion, which included a statement saying that Mr. Ziegler was no longer a member in good standing with the party. He was replaced by Evan Power, the head of the Leon County Republican Party in Tallahassee, who had been the state party's vice chairman." Politico's story is here.
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Israel/Palestine. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli leaders Tuesday, as part of a tour of the Middle East aimed at defusing regional tensions and preventing the conflict in Gaza from spreading. On the visit, he is seeking to build a consensus on the future governance of the Palestinian enclave as well as increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza and reduce civilian deaths in the fighting.... Israel said it killed a Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon -- a rare admission of a targeted killing in another country -- calling it 'part of the war.' In response, Hezbollah said it launched a drone attack on a northern Israeli military base Tuesday. Israel's Supreme Court rejected a petition by the Foreign Press Association to allow foreign media to freely enter into Gaza to report on the conflict, Israeli media reported. According to local outlets, the court found that restrictions on press freedom were necessary to protect Israeli military operations." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Tuesday are here. CNN's live updates are here: "US President Joe Biden said Monday he's been quietly working to persuade the Israeli government to 'reduce -- significantly get out of Gaza."
News Ledes
Weather, Weather Everywhere. AP: "A sprawling storm hit the South with tornado warnings and high winds that blew roofs off homes, flipped over campers and tossed about furniture in Florida on Tuesday. Another storm brought cities across the Midwest to a standstill with more than half a foot of snow, stranding people on highways as it headed to the Northeast. In the South, the violent storm with 55 mph (88 kph) winds and hail moved through the Florida Panhandle and into parts of Alabama and Georgia by sunrise Tuesday, along with at least several reports of radar-confirmed tornadoes, the National Weather Service said. A wind gust of 106 mph (171 kph) was recorded before dawn near the coast in Walton County, Florida."
Texas. New York Times: "At least 21 people were injured in an explosion that was most likely caused by a gas leak and substantially damaged a hotel in downtown Fort Worth on Monday afternoon, the authorities said. One person was in critical condition and four were seriously injured, the police said in an evening update. Fourteen people were transported to a hospital, and one person went to a hospital on their own, the police said. Earlier, the authorities had said that one person was missing, but they noted later that the person had been found."
New York Times: "Federal investigators said late Monday that it was possible that the bolts that were supposed to keep a fuselage panel in place were never installed before the panel blew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 in a near-disastrous accident on Friday night.... United Airlines said it had found loose bolts on similar panels on some of its Max 9 jets while preparing them for inspection after the midair emergency, and Alaska Airlines said it had also found 'loose hardware' on Max 9s."
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Reader Comments (16)
“Biden has set himself the task of trying to jolt the country out of its learned helplessness in the face of Trump’s exhausting provocations.”
Good description, but more accurately, it’s like being mesmerized into a form of paralysis by a swaying snake before it strikes.
In any event, it’s good to see Biden taking off the gloves and smacking this fat pig in the face, leaving the euphemisms and half hearted, carefully nuanced criticisms to the press. My favorite part of that speech in SC was calling Fatty a loser. Twice. That must really hit him where it hurts. Attacking his sources of income is one thing, slapping at his gigantic ego is better.
More of that, please. And I know there’ll be plenty of pearl clutching about how Biden shouldn’t be name calling like Trump does, but this is life or death. You go at a poisonous snake with flame thrower, not a birthday candle.
Open Memo to Prime Minister Netanyahu:
Hey Bibi,
I saw on the news last night that there are nearly three quarters of a million starving children in Gaza. How do you suppose those kids are going to get along with your grandchildren when, and if, they all grow up? Think they'll be pals? Or do you plan kill them all? What would you call that plan? "The Final Solution"
All these Pretender pleas for presidential immunity for, well, everything must somehow be legally related, and if the E. Jean Carol thread of his immunity argument is as frayed as it appears to be, I'd hope them magic immunity blanket he's trying to wrap himself in comes entirely apart.
Tho' I'd think it could be argued that lying and name-calling from the White House over the course of the Pretender's tenure did come to be defined by his four years of use as official presidential duties.
Which leads me to react thusly to the "learned helplessness" or as it has also been called the "battered wife" syndrome.
I'd guess that many easily ignore the Pretender's behavior, despite its outrageousness on so many fronts from linguistic to behavioral, because the evil he repeatedly promises is so often delivered in such childish and ignorant language.
It's his fundamental clownishness, not the office he stumbled into, that provides his seeming immunity.
The same way Bush and Cheney triggered millions of Muslims into active antagonistic, and in many cases violent responses, up to and including the founding of ultra violent insurgent and terrorist grouped like ISIS by unrestrained bombing campaigns and military attacks in Iraq, Netanyahu is virtually guaranteeing both support for Hamas and the recruitment of perhaps generations of Palestinians to increased hatred of Israel for years down the road.
Yes, the brutal Hamas attack needed a response, but murdering children? Blowing up civilians? I mentioned a while back that Netanyahu’s goal appears to be a Carthaginian Peace. But that means total annihilation. Does the US want to support that? Do Israelis?
The way out has long been available, a two state solution, but extremists on both sides have made that impossible. So the killing goes on apace.
Netanyahu has a good reason beyond responding to the Hamas attack to keep up what has become a kind of genocidal ethnic cleansing. He has been under investigation for corruption for some time and was, for a short period, in danger of losing his hold on power, but in true demagogic fashion, he’s wrapped himself in the flag as protection against defenestration. And into the bargain, his virulent, unrestrained response is in danger of inflaming the entire region.
But, you go, Bibi. Kill a few more babies and stay out of jail.
Seems to me Bible Mike has only two paths ahead of him in the next week:
Cave to his crazy colleagues on the Right, who wish to blow up the government, or invite Democrats, who might be willing to go along with a little IRS abuse, to vote on the spending measure.
Hmm...but it occurs to me that he is one of his cray colleagues.
How they roll
This morning, I heard an interview with GQP asshole Tim Burchett (PoT, TN), whining about how we need fiscal sobriety and how Democrat spending is killing the country.
This, by the way, is the guy who chased My Kevin down a hallway, shouting imprecations at him, claiming he’d been elbowed in the back. I really don’t care if McCarthy did elbow him, they’re both whiny liars. Burchett is also the guy who, when asked point blank how children can be kept safe from gun violence said “Homeschool them. We done here?” Complete asshole.
When the Fat Traitor was in the White House, Republicans never uttered a peep about fiscal sobriety. They voted three times to raise the debt ceiling, no complaints. But even before Biden was inaugurated, they were threatening to “hold the line” against “profligate spending”. In four years, Trump raised the national debt by $8 trillion, more than the rise in debt over eight years under Obama. Not a word about fiscal responsibility from the other traitors.
But this has been the situation since Reagan. A Republican in office? Go nuts. Tax cuts for the rich and no spending cuts. A Democrat in office? Oh, the humanity! We have to be fiscally responsible!
And here’s how arguments go. When asked about funding for Ukraine, this asshole went on a crazed rant about how it’d be Vietnam all over! First we give ‘em money, then we help with advisors, then we’re sending troops over. And what do they do for us? They send our boys back in body bags! Aieeee!
What the fuck is he talking about? But this is just complete obfuscation. And leave us not forget, Republicans were all in on Vietnam, and body bags. There is no good reason for not helping Ukraine stop Russian aggression. Then he says “Well President Trump asked for a measly $8 billion for his wall and Democrats said it would break us. But now they throw billions at Ukraine!” First, no one complained that the wall would “break us”. They complained, and rightly so, that it was a stupid, stupid, stupid idea.
And Republicans never blinked when Bush demanded trillions for an unnecessary war. In fact, if you recall, Cheney famously sniffed, when asked about the incredible expense, “Deficits don’t matter anymore”.
Until a Democrat is in the White House, that is.
But this is what we get. Lies, obfuscation, false equivalence, and stunning hypocrisy.
Never fiscal sobriety. In fact, no form of sobriety, just drunken lies.
Ken,
And crazier than most.
@Akhilleus: You managed to summarize decades of U.S. fiscal history in a few paragraphs. And explain it, too. Pretty smart.
@Ken W. Yeah, I don't think Bible Mike is too Bible-y when it comes to his own personal interests. So the question is not what the Good Book says about neither-a-borrower-nor-a-lender-be but about what Mike thinks is his best bet: (1) keeping the government operating or (2) avoiding a possible/likely bid to oust him as speaker. I'm not going to try to guess what his calculation is, but I wouldn't be surprised if, as part of the deal the House & Senate struck was a secret side-deal that some House Democrats would provide enough votes to keep Mike in office during another House leadership coup attempt if he went along with (1) above.
Joan Walsh reports in The Nation on the Welker/Stefanik MTP session on Sunday, in which Stefanik rolled out all the DiJiT lies.
Nothing you don't already know, but an entertaining execration by Walsh.
AK re Gaza,
Of course it will never end, it never has.
Throughout all of human history, people have slaughtered each other by the millions in the name of their various tribal myths and fetishes.
In terms of scale and consequences, they've done nothing comparable -- except destroy the planet.
"the sole Republican appointee, Judge Karen Henderson, appeared worried about unleashing the 'floodgates' of former presidents being routinely prosecuted in the future."
Yes, because all the former presidents were guilty of summat, dammitall.. Jeez Louise..
Mike Johnson
"MAGA Mike Johnson hands Trump an assist by delaying Biden speech
On the third anniversary of the attempted coup at the nation's Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) finally extended an invitation to President Joe Biden to deliver the annual State of the Union address to Congress and the nation.
For this year's address, coming in a presidential election year, Johnson has pushed the date well beyond the traditional time frame for a national address, scheduling it for days after Super Tuesday."
A bright spot. "A mother's love."
RAS,
Thanks for that. Reminded me of my mum.
Chuck Schumer referring to Bible Mike as a “decent respectful guy” is sure to put him in Dutch with the traitors. If a Democrat compliments you, you must be a dirty commie Jewish space laser operator on George Soros’ payroll who sells baby parts at that pizza place where they have kiddie sex slaves chained up in the basement that doesn’t exist.
On the other hand, Chuck could have said that after just coming back from a five martini lunch with Judge Engoron’s clerk.