Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Tweets Of The Day


Republican incompetence and buffoonery are a feature, not a bug --

 


 BOLO CRT! --


 

 

 

 "A First Lady For All of Us" --

 

 

Bungle in the concrete jungle --

 

 


T-Shirt And Poll Of The Day

 

Via @acnewsitics.

(click on image to enlarge)

 

You can order it here (we have no financial interest in this, fwiw).

Also, inexplicably coming in just ahead of Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson and James Buchanan in a race to the bottom:


Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)


(Jason Adam Katzenstein, The New Yorker)

(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(Marshall Ramsey, Mississippi Today)

(Rob Rogers, Tinyview.com)

(Mike Thompson, USA Today)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Joel Pett, Lexington Herald-Examiner, KY)

(Bill Day, FloridaPolitics.com)

(Bruce Plante, caglecartoons.com)

(Ed Hall, Artizans.com)

(Ward Sutton, Boston Globe)


Mid-Week Song

 

Jazz saxophone artist Shawn Raiford has had much success recording and touring. His latest album, "Man With A Horn," has several great tracks, including our song today, "Good Vibrations."

Noem Sending Nat'l. Guard Mercenaries To Texas




After her theatrics about Fourth of July fireworks at Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota's ambitious, radical Trumpist Gov. Kristi "KOVID Kristi" Noem, who deliberately ignored the COVID-19 pandemic in her state, is on a new mission to stay relevant with the Trump cult. In a obvious stunt, she's sending 50 of her state's National Guard to the southern border in Texas, responding to the call by that states's corrupt and incompetent Governor, Greg "Abbadabba" Abbott. It's hardly a coincidence that the announcement was made a day before Dear Leader is visiting the border to spread lies about the immigration situation. 

What makes Noem's action particularly dangerous and ominous is that a GQP megadonor is paying for the deployment. While Noem hasn't disclosed the amount of the private funding, her action hero-named spokesperson did disclose the name of the right-wing sugar daddy:

"Ian Fury, a spokesperson for Noem, said the undisclosed amount was paid to the state of South Dakota by Willis and Reba Johnson’s Foundation, a Tennessee-based nonprofit that donates to various groups, including churches and the National Rifle Association, according to 2018 tax filings. Willis Johnson has donated to GOP campaigns for decades, including at least $550,000 to Trump in 2019 and 2020, filings show.

In a brief interview, Johnson said his donation '100 percent' was meant to fund the border deployment. He declined to say how much he paid the state, or whether Noem approached him or he acted on his own accord.

'I want to protect America and that’s it,' Johnson said."

Sending privately-funded National Guard troops to another state has the obvious look of a mercenary operation, as noted by military experts:

"Privately funding a military mission is an affront to civilian oversight of the armed forces, said military and oversight experts, describing the move — a Republican governor sending troops to a Republican-led state, paid for by a Republican donor — as likely unprecedented and unethical.

'You certainly don’t want our national security priorities up to the highest bidder,' said Mandy Smithberger, a defense accountability expert at the Project on Government Oversight, a nonprofit government watchdog.  [snip]

"...the mission’s political overtones, underscored by the growing speculation that Noem may consider a run for the White House, poses a significant problem for civilian-military relations, said Katherine L. Kuzminski, a military policy expert at Center for a New American Security, a Washington think tank.

If Noem had decided it was a national-security priority to augment border operations, she could have found a lever to federalize her troops to support the DHS-led mission, Kuzminski said. Moreover, the governor’s method — using a private donation rather than taxpayer money — sidesteps potential questions from her constituents about the deployment’s cost and purpose."

Noem could have offered the guardsmen to the Department of Homeland Security under Federal control, but of course this isn't about border security. It's about who can stir up enough dust at the border to please Dear Leader and to jockey for position for 2024. She's shown numerous times that she's willing to cross any line to advance her political career, and that she's one of the most dangerous demagogues out there.

(photo: Pointing out the Great Seditionist. AP pboto / Susan Walsh)


Trump Organization And Weisselberg To Be Charged With Tax Crimes

 

From the Wall Street Journal (paywall):

The Manhattan district attorney’s office is expected to charge the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer with tax-related crimes on Thursday, people familiar with the matter said, which would mark the first criminal charges against the former president’s company since prosecutors began investigating it three years ago.

The charges against the Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg, the company’s longtime chief financial officer, are a blow to former President Donald Trump, who has fended off multiple criminal and civil probes during and after his presidency. Mr. Trump himself isn’t expected to be charged, his lawyer said. Mr. Weisselberg has rejected prosecutors’ attempts at gaining his cooperation, according to people familiar with the matter.

The defendants are expected to appear in court on Thursday afternoon, the people said.

We have to remind ourselves that this is not the end, but the beginning of charges that will likely be forthcoming against a range of characters for a range of crimes.  Be patient, but enjoy.


There Are No "Hero" Republicans

 

More proof, if any were needed, that the "heroes" of the Georgia elections are, in the end, just your garden variety Republican cheats:

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who was pressured by President Trump to change the election results in his state in the 2020 presidential election, is now defending the state's new, stricter voting law against a lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department

Raffensperger told CBSN's Tanya Rivero on Tuesday that he sees "absolutely no merit" in the lawsuit and insisted there is "record voter turnout" in the state.

Attorney General Merrick Garland alleged in a lawsuit filed last week that Georgia's election law was enacted "with the purpose of denying or abridging the right of Black Georgians to vote on account of their race or color, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act."

After having concluded, along with multiple recounts and court findings, that the elections in Georgia were fair, and fraud free, Republican Raffensperger now defends "fixing" a system that wasn't broken in order to tilt the table toward Repubicans.  Notably, he's running for reelection against former guy- annointed Rep. Jody "Rhymes With Lice" Hice, who was one of the 139 Republican Representatives who voted to overturn the 2020 election.  So, either way, a vote for a Georgia Republican Secretary of State is a vote to undermine democracy.

 

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Tweets Of The Day

 

Tic tock, Trump --

 

 

 To the discount bin, stat! --

 

 

Bad faith memory- holing --

 

 

 

Let's NOT go places:  the car company ok with election nullification (cont.) --


 

"Somebody's watching me" --

 

Sonny Perdue's Deal Of The Century

 

 

It appears the former guy's Secretary of Agriculture is, like his former boss, a crook:

It was a curious time for Sonny Perdue to close a real estate deal.

In February 2017, weeks after President Donald Trump selected him to be agriculture secretary, Perdue’s company bought a small grain plant in South Carolina from one of the biggest agricultural corporations in America.

Had anyone noticed, it would have prompted questions ahead of his confirmation, a period when most nominees lie low and avoid potential controversy. The former governor of Georgia did not disclose the deal — there was no legal requirement to do so.

An examination of public records by The Washington Post has found that the agricultural company, Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), sold the land at a small fraction of its estimated value just as it stood to benefit from a friendly secretary of agriculture.

How small a fraction?

ADM sold the plant in Estill, S.C., to Perdue’s then-company, AGrowStar, for $250,000 — a fraction of what county and independent appraisers say it is worth. Six years earlier, ADM had paid more than $5.5 million for the same land, a figure that closely matches assessments by independent experts contacted by The Post, who analyzed the value based on state records and drone footage of the property. (our emphasis)

The price to anyone other than Trump's incoming Secretary of Agriculture was set at $4 million by ADM as early as 2015.

Now, if anyone out there believes ADM would carelessly take a bath of this size on a land deal with someone who happens to be in line to become Agriculture Secretary, ADM would like to sell you a corn cob for $100. 

What is needed now is a prosecutor to empanel a grand jury, and let the FBI follow the money.

Most. Corrupt. Administration. Ever.

(Photo: "I hear you got a good deal from ADM;  you can thank me in cash.")

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Jeff Danziger, The Rutland Herald, VT)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(Rob Rogers, Counterpoint)

(John Darkow, Columbia Missourian)

(John Cole, Scranton Times-Tribune, PA)

(Jen Sorensen, gocomics.com)

(Tom Toro, @t_b_toro)

(Ellis Rosen, @EllisRosen)

(Noah Steinberg, The New Yorker)


CA Bans State Travel To Five More States

 

In solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, the State of California has banned most state-funded travel to five states in view of their laws that discriminate against LGBTQ+ people. California's Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the ban, which includes Arkansas, Florida, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia, to the list which now includes a total of 17 states with discriminatory laws.

"[California] lawmakers in 2016 banned non-essential travel to states with laws that discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The 12 other states on the list are: Texas, Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee.

The five states newly added to the list have introduced bills in their legislatures this year that prevent transgender women and girls from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity, block access to health care and allow the discrimination of the LGBTQ community, Bonta said."  (our emphasis)

Some exceptions to the travel ban are travel to enforce California laws, and to abide by contracts with those states that were signed before the discriminatory laws were passed. The primary effect will be on travel for conferences and training.

Right-wing bigots will assuredly cite this as an example of what they hypocritically call "cancel culture," when in fact it's an example of accountability, or "consequences culture." For too long, the right has suffered few consequence from their actions and words, giving them what they thought was "permission" from the general public to do their worst. The malignant "former guy" was the major practitioner of their hate speech. That has to end, and California's action is a decent start that other states should emulate.

Off-The-Rails: Carlson Says NSA Monitoring Him

 

Listening to himself talk

You can add "clinically paranoid" to the list of descriptors of Fox "News" poo-flinger, white supremacist, cowardly demagogue, and misogynist twit Tucker "Mothertucker" Carlson, the Swanson food heir, fresh off of his smear of the U.S. military's top officer. Last night, according to reports (because we don't watch him), Carlson alleged that a "whistleblower" said the National Security Agency, America's signal intelligence crown jewel, was "monitoring" his "electronic communications, and is planning to leak them in a effort to take this show off the air."  NSA experts beg to differ with Carlson's tin foil nuttery:


This isn't the first time recently that Carlson's paranoia has raged:

"Carlson has long stirred fears that US intelligence and law enforcement agencies are seeking to persecute ordinary conservatives. But has offered scant evidence in support of the claims and has been accused of seeking to whitewash violent right-wing extremism. 

In the wake of the January 6 riot Carlson claimed that a law-enforcement drive against white nationalist groups and other figures on the far right was part of the covert plot. 

In recent weeks he has spread the conspiracy theory that the FBI may have instigated the January 6 riot in order to entrap and discredit Trump supporters."  (our emphasis)

Of course, as John Schindler notes, there's a possibility that Carlson's communications could have been intercepted by the NSA, which monitors the communications of hostile foreign actors, if Mothertucker were in contact with them, which opens up a new field of inquiry. 


SOS From "Jabba The Gut" And BS Barr

 

Stephen Colbert has the laughable, recycled lowlights from the dimwitted former guy's (a.k.a., Jabba the Gut) Ohio sucker rally, William "BS" Barr's take on Jabba's election fraud "bullshit," the infrastructure bill, and more.

 

Speaking of "BS" Barr, here's a takedown of his deceitful role in setting the table for the Big Lie: 

Monday, June 28, 2021

QOTD -- The Church's Republican Infection

 

"That this is even an issue shows how the viruses of the political right have infected the U.S. church leadership. It stands almost alone in the Catholic world in its singular focus on abortion, as Jason Horowitz reported in the New York Times. He noted that in 'much of Europe and Latin America, it is essentially unthinkable for bishops to deny communion to politicians who publicly support abortion rights.'

"Having pulled back ever so slightly, the bishops should now drop this ill-conceived project altogether. It will only continue to undercut their capacity — already strained by scandal — to preach, teach and persuade. They might take a moment to ponder the call to dialogue from Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk and brilliant writer whom Pope Francis lifted up in his 2015 speech to Congress.

“'If I insist on giving you my truth, and never stop to receive your truth in return,” Merton wrote, “there can be no truth between us.'”  -- E.J. Dionne, Jr., on the statement drafted by a right- wing majority of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Catholic Bishops on denying communion to pro- choice Catholic politicians, notably President Biden.  

The right has a large presence in the American church hierarchy, as well as in Catholic advocacy groups like the Catholic League, whose Board of Advisors reads like a who's who of right- wing Republicans, and which is led by "Sweaty Bill" Donohue, scourge of gays and defender of pedophile priests.  So, often times when the right sneezes, the Catholic Church in America catches cold.


Tweets Of The Day

 

Stringing along --

 

 

 

 

Let's NOT go places:  car choice made easier --

 

 

 

Trump rally warning sign --

 

 

Let them be pissed --

 

 

The right's obsession du jour --

 

 

Video: Locating The Graves of the Enslaved

 

Take a few minutes to view this compelling video about the search for unmarked graves of enslaved people in Louisiana. Aided by historical maps, aerial photos and geologic scanning technology, a research organization, Forensic Architecture, used "cartographic regression" to record the changes in land areas to identify possible burial sites. 

Darryl Hambrick of the River Road African American Museum and his sister Kathe have made the discovery of these graves a 30-year project. As he movingly says about the enslaved peoples' graves:

"On a plantation, this was your freedom. You didn't get freedom until you were dead in the grave." 

 


Today's Tomorrow Cartoon: Aliens & Republicans

 (click to enlarge)



The "alien fleet" has already arrived in the persons of Rethuglican lawmakers who are reshaping election laws to ensure their reelections, despite being on the short end of the popular vote. "Moderates" like Feinstein, Sinema and Manchin, who are living in the far distant "bipartisanship" past, will insist that the Rethuglicans be given every tool to eliminate their opposition.

If you want to support Tom Tomorrow's work, go to this link.


Monday Reading

 

For generations, the Republican / New Confederate / Insurrectionist Party has employed the politics of exclusion, even when their Dixiecrat forebears were denying African-Americans the vote through Jim Crow laws. Adam Serwer has a brilliant op-ed in the New York Times that goes into the history of this cruel and un-American effort

"Donald Trump has claimed credit for any number of things he benefited from but did not create, and the Republican Party’s reigning ideology is one of them: a politics of cruelty and exclusion that strategically exploits vulnerable Americans by portraying them as an existential threat, against whom acts of barbarism and disenfranchisement become not only justified but worthy of celebration. This approach has a long history in American politics. The most consistent threat to our democracy has always been the drive of some leaders to restrict its blessings to a select few.

This is why Joe Biden beat Mr. Trump but has not vanquished Trumpism. Mr. Trump’s main innovation was showing Republicans how much they could get away with, from shattering migrant families and banning Muslim travelers to valorizing war crimes and denigrating African, Latino and Caribbean immigrants as being from “shithole countries.” Republicans have responded with zeal, even in the aftermath of his loss, with Republican-controlled legislatures targeting constituencies they identify either with Democrats or with the rapid cultural change that conservatives hope to arrest. The most significant for democracy, however, are the election laws designed to insulate Republican power from a diverse American majority that Republicans fear no longer supports them. The focus on Mr. Trump’s — admittedly shocking — idiosyncrasies has obscured the broader logic of this strategy."  (our emphasis)

After the John Roberts Supreme Court stripped the Justice Department of its ability under the 1965 Voting Rights Act to stop voter suppression measures from being enacted (Shelby County v. Holder, 2013),  Republican State legislatures in states that had historically practiced such discrimination were free to enact the kinds of new Jim Crow laws we're seeing now. Now the Justice Department has to act after the fact, and in the case of Georgia's reactionary new laws, DOJ might not prevail according to Ian Millhiser:

"Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Friday that the Justice Department filed a lawsuit challenging several provisions of Georgia’s recently enacted voter suppression law. And the Justice Department has a strong case on the merits against this law.

Yet it is far from clear whether the strength of their case will matter: They will have to litigate this case before a judiciary that is increasingly hostile toward voting rights claims.

The complaint in United States v. Georgia, which is signed by the most senior lawyers in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, alleges that several provisions of the Georgia law 'were adopted with the purpose of denying or abridging Black citizens’ equal access to the political process, in violation' of the Voting Rights Act.

The DOJ does not attack the entire Georgia law, and it does not directly attack the single most troubling provision of the law, which allows Republican officials to effectively take over local election boards that have the power to close polling places and disqualify voters."   (our emphasis)

The surge of the Delta variant has prompted new quarantine measures, most notably in Australia. There's growing concern that the low percentage of vaccinated people worldwide -- and lax observance of masking, social distancing, etc. -- will trigger another pandemic cycle.

"Australia is on the verge of a national coronavirus outbreak just as most other developed economies are emerging from restrictions, with the delta variant of the virus seeding new virus clusters across the continent.

The highly transmissible variant, first detected in India, is confounding authorities’ ability to stay ahead of its spread, even with rigorous contact-tracing and domestic border closures that have allowed the country to remain largely open for most of the pandemic.  [snip]

By Monday, the country’s most populous city, Sydney, and its smallest capital, Darwin, in the remote Northern Territory, were in lockdown. Mask mandates were introduced in the federal capital, Canberra; in tropical Queensland; and in Perth, capital of Western Australia state. Victoria, home to Melbourne, imposed border restrictions on several Australian states.

Hindering officials’ efforts to contain the virus’s spread: a sense of complacency that has crept into many communities after going months with effectively zero transmission of the virus."  (our emphasis)

For a glimmer of hope that the far-right in Europe may be receding, this news that neo-fascist Marine LePen's National Rally party lost ground in France's regional elections:

"The far-right National Rally party failed to secure a single region in the decisive second round of voting for France's regional elections, according to preliminary estimates for French national media.

The second round had been seen as a key test for Marine Le Pen who had been hoping to win in one of the country's regions."

As always, we recommend a visit to Infidel 753's excellent link round- up for an eclectic and extensive collection of interesting links to posts from around the Internet.


Sunday, June 27, 2021

Barr: Trump Election Fraud Claims "Just Bullshit"




The Atlantic (subscription required) has an interview of Trump's Roy Cohn and former Attorney General Bill Barr that goes into a bit more detail about his conversation with his deranged and corrupt autocratic boss Donald "Loser" Trump. Slate has a rundown:

'My attitude was: It was put-up or shut-up time,' Barr said in the piece published in the Atlantic under the headline 'William Barr Speaks.' 'If there was evidence of fraud, I had no motive to suppress it. But my suspicion all the way along was that there was nothing there. It was all bullshit.'

Barr said he was long suspicious of the then-president’s fraud claims in part because he expected Biden to win the election. But he still allowed prosecutors to investigate allegations of irregularities, and also opened up his own unofficial investigation into the claims. But not because he believed them, he insists, but rather to be able to better counter the claims. On the oft-repeated allegations of rigged voting machines, for example, Barr said that “we realized from the beginning it was just bullshit.”  (our emphasis)

The interview also reveals the scheming between Barr and corrupt hack Sen. Moscow Mitch McConnell to keep a lid on so that they could retain the Georgia Senate seats.

When Barr confronted Trump in early December 2020, the conversation went about how you'd expect with a malignant, delusional narcissist to whom cheating is a way of life:

"Trump was livid. 'How the fuck could you do this to me? Why did you say it?' Trump asked. Barr said he was only telling the truth. 'You must hate Trump. You must hate Trump,' the then-president said. 

"You're damn right I do" Barr didn't reply. Isn't it pure Trump to refer to himself in the third person, too? Bill Barr's sure-to-fail rehabilitation tour continues. 

(photo: Feel the love and respect. Andrew Harnik / AP)

 

Tweets of the Day

 

Keep in mind while dealing with the former guy's cult -- 


 

Very Stable Genius seemed confused at yesterday's Loserpalloza --


Those nefarious Dems and their need to govern -- 



AOC for the win -- 

 

Today's Cartoons

 

















(from top, Joel Pett, Dave Whamond, Kevin Kallaugher, Ann Telnaes, Mike Peters)

Look Out For Our Women Olympians




If you've had the chance to watch some of the U.S. Olympic trials, you've probably come to the conclusion that it's likely to be the "year of the U.S. women" in Tokyo. From the performances of star gymnast Simone Biles and the gymnastics team, to record-busting Katie Ledecky and her swim teammates, to flashy, flame-haired sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson in track and field, we have perhaps the best overall women's roster since the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta. It's also a time of transition to a newer generation of athletes. The great multiple gold medalist in track Alexis Felix lost her bid to represent the U.S. in the 200 meter, placing fifth behind winner and Harvard grad Gabby Thomas. (Felix will run in the 400 meter race in Tokyo).

If the trials are any foreshadowing, this collection of superb athletes will lift us up.

(photo: Gabby Thomas on her way to Tokyo. Kirby Lee/USA Today)

Sunday Reflection: Biden On "Pride Month"




"For this community and for our nation and for the world, Pride Month represents so much.  It stands for courage — the courage of all those in previous generations and today who proudly live their truth. 

It stands for justice: both the steps we’ve taken and the steps we need to take. 

And above all, Pride Month stands for love — you know, being able to love yourself, love whomever you love, and love this country enough to make it more fair and more free and more just." -- President Biden on June 25, commemorating LGBTQ+ Pride Month. (Try to imagine the "former guy" trying to muster the empathy and decency for such an occasion; it's impossible).

Earlier that day, Biden signed a bill that designated the Pulse nightclub site -- where 49 people were killed in a mass shooting in June 2016 -- as a national memorial. 

(photo: Surrounded by victims' families and members of Congress, Biden signs Pulse bill. via Associated Press)

"Loser" Gathers Cult For A Grievance Fest




Marking the first stop on a whining grievance tour, mentally ill narcissist and would-be autocrat Donald "Loser" Trump held a rally of his devoted cult in Lorain County, OH yesterday repeating the "big lie" that the election was "rigged" and that he won by a "landslide," when in fact he lost by some 7 million votes certified and audited by elections officials and courts. He was joined at the cult gathering by co-lunatics Mike "Pillow Guy" Lindell and violent gym rat Rep. Marjorie Traitor Green (Insurrection-GA), the latter of whom exclaimed to the crowd that "President Trump is my President." 

The disgraced Trump was there to exact vengeance against one of the ten Republican House members that voted to impeach him the second time, Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, and plans to campaign against each of those Republican members in an attempt to flip the House in 2022. The Associated Press' report gives a flavor of the delusion and abnormal behavior there yesterday:

"Saturday’s focus on the election lies of 2020 began even before Trump arrived. The pre-show included a PowerPoint-style presentation by a man who claims an algorithm was used to manipulate the election results. And Mike Lindell, the My Pillow founder-turned-conspiracy theorist who has spent millions trying to prove the election was stolen, was hailed as a hero by some in the crowd, who chanted his name and jockeyed for photos as he milled around. [snip]

The event had many of the trappings of the rallies Trump held as a candidate and as president. There was the eclectic playlist, the same stage design, and many familiar volunteers. Trump even reprised his performance of 'The Snake,' a song he has used as an allegory for illegal immigration, and the crowd chanted 'Lock her up' at the mention of Hillary Clinton, the Democrat he defeated in 2016."

The fact that Trump and his cult are still weirdly obsessed with Hillary Clinton tells you how far down the rabbit hole of delusion they've fallen. They also might want to reconsider the chant given Trump's growing criminal legal difficulties. But for the devoted cult, their tainted golden calf is still worthy of worship:

"[Trump's supporters] included Chris Laskowski, 55, who lives in Medina, Ohio. 'We miss him,' she said. 'I think they robbed him of the election and he’s still our president.'

She wasn’t alone.

'He’ll be back in August,' predicted Peggy Johnson, 60, who had traveled from Michigan to attend what she said was her seventh Trump rally. 'He actually is president now.'”  (our emphasis)

Saturday, June 26, 2021

Today's Cartoons

 













(from top, Drew Sheneman, Pat Bagley, Clay Jones, Michael De Adder, Jack Ohman, Steve Sack)




Tweets of the Day


Kremlin propagandist / Jan. 6 denier also a COVID enabler -- 


  

Bigot Kevin McCarthy self-demonstrates need for CRT --



 

McCarthy's also a lying coward who fears his Dear Leader -- 



Christofascist saying the quiet part with a racist bullhorn -- 



Tic tock, tic tock, tic tock --  



What we all need today -- 

 

 

QOTD: "That Man Is Dead And Buried"




Evidence of how far the former "America's Mayor" has fallen in disgrace and ignominy is the treatment he got in yesterday's New York Daily News editorial, "Rudy Awakening: Giuliani Gets The Punishment He Deserves." We would argue that he deserves far more in the way of punishment for his collusion with foreign adversaries, his attempts to rig the 2020 election with manufactured dirt on the Bidens, and his aggressive "Stop the Steal" undermining of public confidence in that election. Nonetheless, here are some key passages:

"Rudy knew the rules, and he broke them again and again, spouting lies about the November election. Nor is this some case of broken windows ethical policing; the calumnies were as big as they come, about a subject as consequential as they come.   [snip]

Appearing in federal court, Giuliani agreed with opposing counsel and co-counsel that he was alleging fraud. Later in the same proceeding, he claimed his complaint 'doesn’t plead fraud.'

Giuliani repeatedly said dead people 'voted' in Philadelphia, citing specific numbers between 8,021 and 30,000. All willful distortions.

At various times, Giuliani claimed tens of thousands of underage voters voted in Georgia. [snip]

Years ago, Giuliani told Oprah Winfrey, 'I’ve always tried to be honest when communicating with people.' That man is dead and buried."

Although, we'd say his physical appearance is more that of the walking dead.

(photo: Hair today, dye tomorrow) 

Concrete Damage A Clue To Condo Disaster

 

While the grim and horrific recovery efforts continue around the clock at Champlain Towers in Surfside, FL for the victims of the condo collapse, a new report reveals that an engineering analysis in 2018 found structural damage in the building's concrete. The analysis by private consultant engineer Frank Morabito pointed to a major flaw in the building's waterproofing system that prevented water from running off. In addition, the article notes:

"Morabito wrote that 'failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially.'

Replacing the waterproofing would cause a major disturbance to residents and prove to be 'extremely expensive,' he said at the time.

Morabito also pointed out the 'abundant' cracking and crumbling that was apparent in the walls, columns and beams of the building’s underground parking garage.

'Though some of this damage is minor, most of the concrete deterioration needs to be repaired in a timely fashion,' he wrote."  (our emphasis)

This report follows information that the 40 year old building was scheduled for a engineering recertification, and a study by a Florida International University professor that indicated the building was gradually sinking over time.

These reports point to both major waterproofing design flaws (perhaps due to cost cutting) initially, followed by years of neglect and / or deferred maintenance (cost cutting again) on the concrete foundations. There are similar aging buildings not just in Florida, but up and down the eastern seaboard that need to undergo an evaluation immediately, and not wait for a comparable disaster to happen first.


Friday, June 25, 2021

Today's Cartoons









(from top, Mike Luckovich, Bill Bramhill, Ann Telnaes, Michael de Adder, Rob Rogers)

Tweets Of The Day

 

Has fascism arrived for Rethuglicans? (Silly question) --

 

The enemy of my enemy etc. -- 




Good question --




Republican-wired stenographer and his Trump-wired source --




Leave Brittany (but not the Pillow Guy) alooooonne! --



 Free tip --


 

Tracking Down The Insurrectionists: Father, Son, Unholy Goat





The pastor at the Global Outreach Church in Melbourne, FL, his son and a member of the church were arrested by Federal authorities for their roles in the violent Trumpist insurrection at the Capitol on January 6.  Jim Cusick, his son Casey and David Lesperance face multiple charges, including entering restricted grounds, disorderly conduct and violent entry of the Capitol building. As the vast majority of the seditionists that have been arrested so far, the trio was compromised by their own social media accounts and tipsters, with the initial tip coming just two weeks following the riot.  From the Orlando Sentinel's account:

"FBI agents interviewed Lesperance at his Indian Harbour Beach home, where he admitted his pastor was at the rally and 'they' entered the Capitol during the riot, but wouldn’t give up Cusick’s name, investigators said.

Lesperance took photos and video on his iPhone, the affidavit said, but deleted them 'out of fear of negative repercussions.'

Pictures of Jim Cusick were later recovered through Lesperance’s iCloud account, with geo-tags from inside the Capitol, according to the FBI. Data provided by a cell phone carrier shows Casey Cusick’s cell phone was inside the Capitol during the riot."

"Negative repercussions?" Like being arrested? The three Trump cultists were later released on $25,000 bail each, and are prohibited from traveling out of their central Florida area. The Sentinel also included an ironic passage from the "church's" website:

"On the church’s website, Jim Cusick wrote that he founded the Melbourne church to teach 'the uncompromised truths of God’s Word with passion and purpose. Under the direction of the Holy Spirit he ministers with clarity and excellence, seeking to build believers and honor the Lord.'”

If you substitute Dear Leader Trump's name with references to "God" in that statement, you have a perfect encapsulation of what Cusick was actually preaching.

(photo: FBI)

BREAKING: Trump Org. Could See Charges Next Week

 

From the New York Times in the last hour:

"The Manhattan district attorney’s office has informed Donald J. Trump’s lawyers that it is considering criminal charges against his family business, the Trump Organization, in connection with fringe benefits the company awarded a top executive, according to several people with knowledge of the matter.

If the case moves ahead, the district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., could announce charges against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen H. Weisselberg, as soon as next week, the people said.

An indictment of the Trump Organization could mark the first criminal charges to emerge from Mr. Vance’s long-running investigation into Mr. Trump and his business dealings, and raises the startling prospect of a former president having to defend the company he founded and has run for decades."  (our emphasis)

The Manhattan DA's office has been pressuring Trump Organization CFO Allan Weisselberg to provide evidence of wrongdoing by Trump (and presumably his offspring). DA Cy Vance, Jr. has been in possession of the organization's financial and tax records for some months, working in tandem with the New York State Attorney General's office. Some areas of investigation are purported to be falsifying loan applications and insurance documents by manipulating the value of the same properties, as well as tax fraud.

Stay tuned. This could be a hot summer for Dear Leader.


Weekend Music

 

LA- based Weezer released their 15th studio album, "Van Weezer," last month.  "I Need Some Of That" preceded the album release by a month and is our song today.  As the album title indicates, it's an homage to classic/ power rock bands, so you may notice they interpolated parts of "Heat of the Moment" by Asia, and "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," by Blue Öyster Cult in this song.  Hope you enjoy.

"Hard" Infrastructure Framework Announced

 

Yesterday's announcement of a deal on "hard" infrastructure between the White House and Senate Republicans intentionally left some important "human" infrastructure out to be considered separately. Ten Republicans have reportedly signed on to the deal, which goes to the Senate and then to the House for a vote. Republicans refused to reverse any of Dear Leader's gigantic 2017 tax giveaway to the ultra-wealthy and major corporations (who are "people, my friend!"). NPR has a breakout summary of the proposed deal, which will almost certainly be fought by corrupt obstructionist Sen. Moscow Mitch McConnell:

Transportation: $312 billion

  • Roads, bridges, major projects: $109 billion
  • Safety: $11 billion
  • Public transit: $49 billion
  • Passenger and freight rail: $66 billion
  • Electric vehicles: $7.5 billion
  • Electric buses/transit: $7.5 billion
  • Reconnecting communities: $1 billion
  • Airports: $25 billion
  • Ports and waterways: $16 billion
  • Infrastructure financing: $20 billion

Other infrastructure: $266 billion

  • Water: $55 billion
  • Broadband: $65 billion
  • Environmental remediation: $21 billion
  • Power, including grid authority: $73 billion
  • Western water storage: $5 billion
  • Resilience: $47 billion
The President's proposed spending on most climate change initiatives, on child and elder care, education and other projects will be contained in separate legislation, to be offered as a package at the same time as this "hard" infrastructure bill, but with the assumption that it will have to be passed through reconciliation needing only 51 votes in the Senate. Both Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there would be no infrastructure bill without the "reconciliation" bill that covers "human" infrastructure. 

Thanks For The Memories, Rudy!

 

The Daily Show put together this brief supercut thanking the former guy's suspended attorney Rudy "Toot Toot" Giuliani for the memories: