Tweets of the Day

 

On top of attacks on freedoms and gutting social safety net --

none of their “plans@ would address inflation; they would make it worse by increasing the national debt, further tightening the job market and acting as a fiscal stimulus in an already overheated economy. https://t.co/3DhzGMxlae

— Jennifer "Pro-privacy" Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) October 27, 2022

Twit chief Musk's car company in hot water; Twitter next? -- 

Tesla is facing a criminal investigation in the U.S. over claims it made about its electric vehicles and their ability to drive themselves, according to sources https://t.co/pN9CuQEExj pic.twitter.com/icfhB7fjEH

— Reuters (@Reuters) October 27, 2022

Anti-Semitic turd Kanye "Jackass" West continues self-immolation --

Former associates of Kanye West say the rapper has long been fascinated with Adolf Hitler and once wanted to name an album after the Nazi leader https://t.co/vqCLPTWZwy

— CNN (@CNN) October 27, 2022

Hard to tell the "rogue" from Murdoch's paper itself --  

The New York Post says a series of vulgar and racist tweets and headlines published Thursday morning were the result of a rogue employee https://t.co/FqXnw93YNx

— CNN (@CNN) October 27, 2022

That's why Thiel-owned J.D. Vance (OH) and Blake Masters (AZ) have to be defeated --  

If Republicans run the table in the 2022 midterms, Peter Thiel will have exactly as much representation in the Senate as the entire state of California.

— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) October 27, 2022

"Dangerous and unpredictable" because of the war criminal speaker himself -- 

“We are facing one of the most dangerous and unpredictable decades since the Second World War,” Putin said, adding that the world order imposed after the Soviet Union's collapse is “coming to an end.”

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) October 27, 2022

"And pay for their mistresses' abortions and run as a forced birth Republican!' --

 

Graham: They're scared to death of Herschel Walker because if Herschel walker becomes a Republican, maybe every other young child in America of color might want to be a Republican. pic.twitter.com/PRwuLMZ0EK

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 27, 2022

"Caution: Swan Can Read Signs" --  

Caution.. 😅 pic.twitter.com/HK4quCRukJ

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) October 27, 2022

 

 

Inflation! Gas Prices! Her Emails!

 

Headline: "U.S. GDP accelerated at 2.6% pace in Q3, better than expected as growth turns positive"

"The U.S. economy posted its first period of positive growth for 2022 in the third quarter, at least temporarily easing recession fears, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday.

GDP, a sum of all the goods and services produced from July through September, increased at a 2.6% annualized pace for the period, according to the advance estimate. That was above against the Dow Jones forecast for 2.3%.

That reading follows consecutive negative quarters to start the year, meeting a commonly accepted definition of recession, though the National Bureau of Economic Research is generally considered the arbiter of downturns and expansions."  (our emphasis)

Watch this story be buried by the majority of the Republican-wired Beltway media, who are invested in the "it's inflation, stupid" narrative that Trumpist Republicans are pushing on them. 

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Jack Ohman, Sacramento Bee)

(Rob Rogers, Counterpoint)

(Ann Telnaes, Washington Post)

(Lalo Alcaraz, LA Weekly)

(Steve Benson, Arizona Mirror)

(John Darkow, Columbia Missourian)

(Ted Littleford, New Haven Independent)

(Chris Britt, gocomics.com)

(Peter Steiner, @plsteiner) 

DeSantis Snubbed For Trump FL Rally

Still exerting significant influence over his cultish party, the Malignant Loser is campaigning in multiple states before the November 8 general election: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, and even in his backyard of Florida. Politico reports that the Malignant Loser will be campaigning for Florida's embarrassment, Sen. Li'l Marco Rubio two days before the election, but that Gov. Ron "Bootsie" DeSantis isn't invited to the rally:

"Trump on Wednesday said he’ll hold a rally with Sen. Marco Rubio on Nov. 6. DeSantis was left off the announcement and an adviser to the former president said the Florida governor is not attending.

The apparent snub angered some people within DeSantis’ orbit, who complained that the Florida governor’s team was not informed of the rally prior to Trump announcing it. The timing of the Trump and Rubio event means any campaign event DeSantis holds that day won’t get as much attention during the all-important final stretch of the 2022 midterms.

“You’ve got the Sunday before Election Day totally hijacked by Trump parachuting in on Trump Force One taking up the whole day,” said a longtime Republican consultant who is close to the governor. “No Republican could go to a DeSantis event that day. None. And DeSantis won’t be here? This is big.” (our emphasis)

The resentment the Malignant Loser has toward his younger imitator is palpable, as the two eye the Republican / Seditionist Party's nomination for 2024. DeSantis is likely waiting for the indictments of the Malignant Loser to fly to come out more aggressively for the nomination. For now, he has to leave it to his circle to express anger against their cult's leader sharp elbows.

(photo: Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

Li'l Marco Rubio's Canvasser

 

ICYMI, earlier this week a GQP canvasser working in the Hialeah neighborhood in Miami-Dade County, FL, was assaulted.  The story was eagerly picked up by right-wing media and by spineless careerist Sen. Li'l Marco Rubio (who's in a battle with Democrat Rep. Val Demings for re-election) who changed the facts to protect the guilty:

Monday morning, Senator Marco Rubio sent out a tweet with the horrifying news that “one of our canvassers wearing my T-shirt and a Desantis hat was brutally attacked by 4 animals who told him Republicans weren’t allowed in their neighborhood.” Rubio’s account was quickly repeated by conservative organs like the New York Post (“Rubio campaign canvasser ‘brutally’ beaten by man who told him GOPers not allowed in his neighborhood”), National Review (“Rubio Supporter Savagely Beaten While Canvassing in Florida”), Washington Free Beacon (“Marco Rubio Canvasser Violently Attacked in Dem Neighborhood”), and Washington Examiner (“Rubio canvasser brutally assaulted in Florida, senator says”).  [snip]

There is no question the canvasser, Christopher Monzon, was the victim of a ghastly assault. But mainstream media reporting on the episode quickly cast doubt on Rubio’s central claim: that the assailant told the canvasser Republicans weren’t welcome there. The initial police report noted no political motivation for the attack, which took place in a high-crime neighborhood. The assailant had been charged with two prior felonies and, according to his mother, has never voted and has no interest in politics.

The true significance of this episode is a detail that emerged shortly after Rubio’s tweet: Monzon turns out to be close with the Proud Boys, a right-wing paramilitary organization. The Proud Boys, a sort of hybrid social club and political gang with racist and violent tendencies, played a central role in organizing the January 6 assault.

Last June, the New York Times reported on how the Proud Boys has begun to take over the powerful Miami-Dade Republican Party organization. It is one of the more alarming signposts of the Republican Party’s evolution into authoritarianism — I would say “most,” except that there are so many — because it signals violent and explicitly racist organizations are being formally welcomed into the party structure.

Monzon was one of the characters featured in the story. Before he joined the GOP, Monzon was involved in other white supremacist causes. He participated in the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, where he allegedly used his Confederate flag to attack counterprotesters. His social-media posts from that period are filled with slurs like “Here’s to all the filthy n- - - - - - out there” and “Dirty n- - - - - - love abusing power.”  [snip]

The HuffPost reports that Monzon was paid more than $10,000 by the Florida Republican Party this year. Rubio described him as one of his canvassers. Rubio was the Republican establishment’s choice to defeat Donald Trump in 2016, and he briefly gave a convincing performance as a person who was anguished by Trump’s abuse and lies. That he appears perfectly comfortable to work within a party that is developing a racist paramilitary wing is the clearest sign of the party’s complete surrender to extremism. (our emphasis)

Li'l Marco and his Christofascist party would like you to ignore that they paid a racist Proud Boy thug to represent them, and are now defending him.  They'd like to distract you by falsely claiming there was a political motivation behind the assault, which is more typically a tactic of the fascist paramilitary groups the GQP relies on.  That this little careerist shit is favored to win re-election over an outstanding Democrat is an indictment of our sick and broken politics and of how vile and low the Christofascist/GQP and its supporters have become.

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Pedro Molina, Counterpoint)

(Jen Sorensen, gocomics.com)

(Matt Wuerker, Politico)

(Jack Ohman, Sacramento Bee)

(Kevin Siers, Charlotte Observer)

(Andy Marlette, @AndyMarlette)

(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)

(Michael de Adder, Washington Post)

(Paul Noth, The New Yorker)

Tweets Of The Day

Vote Democratic for democracy --

 

"It’s not just that this is the most important election of people’s lives, it might be the last fully free election in their lives unless they get out and vote ... there’s a certain tipping point at which democratic institutions just collapse and crumble." https://t.co/MgcYAOC7eh

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 26, 2022

Mehmet Oz, a real piece of work --

Absurd to say it's a decision between "a woman, her doctor, and local political leaders" because that leaves out all the prosecutors and bounty-hunter plaintiffs who also get to weigh in.

— Matthew Segal (@segalmr) October 26, 2022

 

Yes, instead of serving as the mayor of Braddock (salary, $150/month) Fetterman should have been earning millions by exploiting vulnerable people with weight loss scams https://t.co/3IRn7sKxCJ

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) October 26, 2022

 

If you're really worried about a Pennsylvania senator struggling to communicate, I'd like to introduce you to Sen. Pat Toomey, who never once held a town hall in Philadelphia or nearby in 12 years as the state's junior senator

— Will Bunch (@Will_Bunch) October 26, 2022

 

Paw Patrol Honorary Officer Herschel "How Many Abortions?" Walker got more denying to do --

#GASEN: a *NEW* woman comes forward alleging Georgia GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker drove her to a clinic "to have an abortion after she became pregnant as a result of her relationship w/ him." She'll speak later today at a presser, per release from attorney Gloria Allred.

— Julia Jester (@JulesJester) October 26, 2022

CNN,  sacrificing truth telling for ratings --

 

My view: seems from the @CNBC interview that CNN wants to solve the problem of "how do you demonstrate your openness to a Stop the Steal party AND commit to truth?" by dealing with the GOP as if it's a normal party and steering away from subject matter that would show it isn't.

— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) October 26, 2022

 

"Fifth... Fifth... Fifth... Fifth..." -- 

 

Breaking: A SC judge rules that former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows must testify before a special purpose grand jury in Fulton County because he is a “necessary and material” witness to the investigation #gapol

— Tamar Hallerman (@TamarHallerman) October 26, 2022

Surprise!  Federal Reserve caving to big banks --

 

As the Federal Reserve continues to jack up interest rates risking a recession, an army of big banks are quietly lobbying them, disclosures reveal:https://t.co/fIrS6wbSil

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) October 26, 2022

 

Keep your eye on the cat --

At least he tried.. twice.. 😅
pic.twitter.com/VJSrfE6faA

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) October 26, 2022

 

 

January 6 And Trump Indictments

 

Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and a former Federal corruption prosecutor, writes in a new article for Salon.com that the indictment of the Malignant Loser is inevitable, in connection with his manifold and open fraudulent attempts to overthrow the duly elected President in 2020. After he rips the argument that indictment(s) will "exacerbate political divisions" and cites the Ford pardoning of Nixon as a false equivalent, Bookbinder gives three reasons why indictments should proceed, summarized below:

"First, Trump has yet to face any consequences for his criminal efforts to retain power against the will of the American people. After the Watergate investigations exposed Nixon's crimes, he resigned the presidency in disgrace and never sought public office again. Trump by contrast, is not in exile — he is emboldened. [snip]

Second, Trump is going to continue breaking the law until he is held accountable. Since he first ran for president in 2016, Trump has been credibly accused of at least 55 crimes. [snip]

Finally, prosecuting Trump represents a critical opportunity to reaffirm that it is unacceptable to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power–a defining feature of American constitutional democracy."

Meanwhile there are reports that the Justice Department is moving aggressively to penetrate the false legal barrier that the Malignant Loser is counting on to keep his White House lawyers from sharing information about his actions and words leading up to and during the January 6 Trumpist insurrection. Specifically, Pat Cippolone and Patrick Philbin, the White House counsel and deputy counsel respectively, may offer vital testimony that nails down serious charges of fraud against the U.S., obstruction of justice, and (hopefully) seditious conspiracy against the Malignant Loser:

"The litigation around Cipollone and Philbin’s testimony may be important for investigators in the long run, given how close the pair was to the Trump leading up to and during the Capitol riot. Prosecutors are likely to aim for the grand jury to hear about their direct conversations with the then-President.

The disputes – conducted under seal in court because they involve grand jury activity – may also spawn several more court fights that will be crucial for prosecutors as they work to bring criminal charges related to Trump’s post-election efforts."

The Justice Department has a lot to work with on the January 6 conspiracy, from fake electors to the organization and direction of the riotous coup itself, but the testimony of "people in the room" with the Malignant Loser would help seal his fate. 

 

Mid-Week Song: Wild Grey Ocean

 

A little over a month ago, we featured British indie / British heartland rock phenomenon Sam Fender, who says artists as varied as Bruce Springsteen, Oasis and The War on Drugs' Adam Granduciel have impacted him musically. Winning the British Critics' Choice Award in 2018 and last year's Brit Award for Best British Alternative/Rock Act, Fender is also a philanthropist who's supported aid to children in Ukraine and the homeless in his native Newcastle, England. He released a new single yesterday, "Wild Grey Ocean," a powerful song that reflects on fair weather friends, a lost love and his solitude. Enjoy.

Last Night This Morning

 

In his monologue last night, Jimmy Kimmel dismantled the Malignant Loser and his hours and hours of self-owning interviews with Bob Woodward which again confirmed he's the ignorant, narcissistic sociopath we've always known he was, then moved on to anti-Semitic loon Kanye "Jackass" West and his boomeranging threat against Adidas, then on to blockhead Trumpist baby daddy Herschel "How Many Abortions" Walker and his bizarre, word salad speeches, finishing with pillow brain "Mike Lindell" going nuts in a diner. Good stuff.

QOTD -- Getting Local Pols Involved In Women's Health Choices?

 

 “As a physician, I’ve been in the room when there’s some difficult conversations happening.  I don’t want the federal government involved with that at all. I want women, doctors, local political leaders, letting the democracy that’s always allowed our nation to thrive to put the best ideas forward so states can decide for themselves.” -- quack "physician" and TV snake oil salesman Mehmet Oz last night in his debate with Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (our emphasis).  "Local political leaders" would be the Republican State legislature radicals who've been passing anti- abortion laws with no exceptions for rape and incest as fast as they could after Dobbs.  Pennsylvania, you need to make sure this phony operator loses on November 8.

BONUS: The Fetterman campaign quickly jumped on Oz's "local political leaders" statement in a fresh ad:

Our newest ad after last night’s #PASenateDebate

Dr. Oz would let "local political leaders" like Doug Mastriano ban abortion without exceptions even in cases of rape, incest, or life of the mother.

Too Extreme for PA pic.twitter.com/q722qHwWsH

— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) October 26, 2022

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Pat Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune)

(Mike Smith, Las Vegas Sun)

(Dave Whamond, caglecartoons.com)

(Jack Ohman, Sacramento Bee)

(Steve Benson, Arizona Mirror)

(Ted Littleford, New Haven Independent)

(Matt Wuerker, Politico)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Heng Kim Song, Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore)

(Steve Breen, San Diego Union-Tribue)

(Ellis Rosen, The New Yorker)

Tweets of the Day

 

Clarence Thomas' skewed "justice" --

It's hard to imagine something more damaging to the public trust in the Supreme Court than a justice ruling on cases that could relate to their spouses’ attempts to overthrow an election. And yet, that's exactly what is happening now. https://t.co/1Yd63v5fOL

— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) October 25, 2022

 

Justice Thomas is giving the finger to the Court on which he sits, the Chief Justice and Associate Justices with whom he serves, the Constitution he interprets and the Nation that pays his salary.

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) October 24, 2022

Is the Progressive Caucus lining up with the "Freedom" Caucus on Ukraine? (Update) -- 

 

this is embarrassing. they are now having to explain what the letter meant or rather try to interpret it in such a way as to make it make sense after signing it. there are some very impressive signatories. They shld have read what they were signing. https://t.co/7zm4CjUHiX

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 25, 2022

 

Put aside rank stupidity of @USProgressives to detract from abortion, inflation etc core to the Democratic midterm message. Rewarding aggression with territory so the aggressor regroups with a vengeance failed before, and it looks like you'll capitulate to aggressors here at home pic.twitter.com/0rPWmZpAaS

— Neil Chaudhuri (@RealNeilC) October 24, 2022

 

Local Lefties Encourage Direct Talks with Cannibal, Hope He Stops at the Arms https://t.co/U6T3rwRrIo

— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) October 24, 2022

Anti-Semite West: bad for business, OK with Republicans -- 

Kanye West too toxic for Adidas but ok for the GOP

— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) October 25, 2022

 

This tweet was sent less than 3 weeks ago https://t.co/v4NwhZA7cq

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) October 25, 2022

How to deal with the right-wing's "woke" bullshit -- 

When someone uses the fashionable code word “woke” with a negative connotation, what they are saying is “I’m a reactionary bigot who is relying on a euphemism cooked up recently by right wing propagandists because I’m too cowardly to state directly what I think.” https://t.co/uGj1FGPQzD

— Seth Cotlar (@SethCotlar) October 25, 2022

"The word chemistry. You meet somebody and you have a good chemistry...." --

pic.twitter.com/JJAreyeF1J

— Mr. Q of Maine 🇺🇸🇫🇷🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦 (@cmublock61) October 23, 2022

The easy way, or the hard way -- 

There’s two different types of dogs…😏😂🐶🐕 pic.twitter.com/7wgnDPd6zS

— Fred Schultz (@FredSchultz35) October 25, 2022

 

 

QOTD -- Adidas Drops Ye

 

"adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.

"After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. adidas will stop the adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect..." -- press release issued by Adidas severing its business relationship with vicious anti-Semite moron Kanye West/Yeezy/Ye/Jackass.  It's about time.

Jan. 6 Committee Sends GA Prosecutor Valuable Evidence

As the January 6 committee investigating the Trumpist coup attempt at the Capitol wraps up, it's providing evidence to Fulton County DA Fani Willis of the Malignant Loser's criminal intent regarding his attempt to corrupt the vote in Georgia. The evidence that the committee is providing sheds light on the Malignant Loser's knowing intent as he tried to get Georgia officials to "find 11,780 votes" for him to illegally win the state. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

"The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is winding down, but the panel is handing Fulton County prosecutors something valuable before it disbands: key evidence about what former President Donald Trump and his top advisers knew as they pressed Georgia officials to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.

The information is crucial for establishing mens rea, the Latin term that refers to criminal intent, which is a prerequisite for securing criminal charges in court.

Legal experts interviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution believe that during its nine public hearings, the Select Committee has presented evidence that could aid Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis should she decide to press charges.

'These hearings have been a boon for her prosecution,' said Norm Eisen, an attorney and ethics czar to former President Barack Obama who’s been closely following both investigations. 'They’ve taken us into places that it might have taken her years to gain access to: the inner sanctum of the Oval Office ... the halls of the Department of Justice.'  [snip]

Taken together, that information undermines a potential defense from Trump that he genuinely believed he was the winner of the election when he called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, and asked him to 'find' nearly 12,000 votes — a central part of Willis’ investigation — said Brandon Bullard, an Atlanta-based appellate attorney."  (our emphasis)

We know from the committee's hearings that the Malignant Loser was planning on declaring the election was fraudulent if he lost long before election day. His plan was to get Republican state election officials and friendly state legislatures to fraudulently declare him the winner and to present fake electoral votes for him. Multiple witnesses have testified that the Malignant Loser acknowledged that he had lost the election in their presence. One witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, is cooperating with Fulton County's investigation. The Fulton County DA's office now has evidence in hand that the Malignant Loser knew he lost, and should move ahead with charges of voter fraud against him.

(photo: Fulton Co. DA Fani Willis/ TNS)