Friday, January 27, 2023

Tweets Of The Day


Russian assets McGonigal and Manafort, and the operation to elect the Malignant Loser in 2016 (must read!) --

 


"All of them, Katie" --



Important GQP issues:  Hunter's junk and polishing the turd that was the Malignant Loser's term -- 


 

Here's what folks ARE concerned about the GQP doing --

 

 

What's Erdogan's excuse now? -- 


 

Good news is no news, it seems --

 

 

Your science lesson for today --

 


What a mensch (Happy Friday!) --

 

 

 

Weekend Music Twofer

 

Heard this on satellite radio the other day -- Welsh singer Mary Hopkin's "Ocean Song," from her 1971 album "Earth Song/Ocean Song."  You may remember her as one of the first artists signed to the Beatles' Apple record label and for her first international hit, "Those Were The Days."  But we can't let "Ocean Song" stand on its own, so here's the companion piece also:  "Earth Song."  Both songs, though they sound like traditional English/Welsh folk ballads, were written by American songwriter Liz Thorsen.  Hope you enjoy.

Numbers Don't Lie

 

News Item: Wingnut Rep. Marjorie Taylor Traitor Greene proposed an amendment that would have prevented President Biden from selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. How did the House vote? 418 - 14 opposed (only 13 Republicans backed her). Though Marge sees herself on the Malignant Loser's ticket in 2024, the Malignant Loser doesn't like losers... except himself.

News Item:  Interviews with 59 of the 168 members of the Republican National Committee, which is meeting today, revealed that only 4 offered their unqualified support for the Malignant Loser in 2024, while 20 said he should not be the party's nominee, and 35 said they'd like to see a big primary field or didn't state their position on their cult leader. As one committee member said, "This isn't 2016. People have moved on." As the Malignant Loser would say, "Sad!"

 

The Weaponized Durham "Investigation"


 

Here's a case "Gym" Jordan can tee up for his "Weaponization of the Federal Government" submoron subcommittee, though in the Malignant Loser's regime, when they weaponized the Federal Government, they often ended up firing the weapon at themselves:

Egged on by Mr. Trump, Attorney General William P. Barr set out in 2019 to dig into their shared theory that the Russia investigation likely stemmed from a conspiracy by intelligence or law enforcement agencies. To lead the inquiry, Mr. Barr turned to a hard-nosed prosecutor named John H. Durham, and later granted him special counsel status to carry on after Mr. Trump left office.

But after almost four years — far longer than the Russia investigation itself — Mr. Durham’s work is coming to an end without uncovering anything like the deep state plot alleged by Mr. Trump and suspected by Mr. Barr.

Moreover, a monthslong review by The New York Times found that the main thrust of the Durham inquiry was marked by some of the very same flaws — including a strained justification for opening it and its role in fueling partisan conspiracy theories that would never be charged in court — that Trump allies claim characterized the Russia investigation.

Interviews by The Times with more than a dozen current and former officials have revealed an array of previously unreported episodes that show how the Durham inquiry became roiled by internal dissent and ethical disputes as it went unsuccessfully down one path after another even as Mr. Trump and Mr. Barr promoted a misleading narrative of its progress. (our emphasis)

Some key points noted in the article (our emphasis):

-- Mr. Barr and Mr. Durham never disclosed that their inquiry expanded in the fall of 2019, based on a tip from Italian officials, to include a criminal investigation into suspicious financial dealings related to Mr. Trump. The specifics of the tip and how they handled the investigation remain unclear, but Mr. Durham brought no charges over it.

-- Mr. Durham used Russian intelligence memos — suspected by other U.S. officials of containing disinformation — to gain access to emails of an aide to George Soros, the financier and philanthropist who is a favorite target of the American right and Russian state media. Mr. Durham used grand jury powers to keep pursuing the emails even after a judge twice rejected his request for access to them. The emails yielded no evidence that Mr. Durham has cited in any case he pursued.

-- There were deeper internal fractures on the Durham team than previously known. The publicly unexplained resignation in 2020 of his No. 2 and longtime aide, Nora R. Dannehy, was the culmination of a series of disputes between them over prosecutorial ethics. A year later, two more prosecutors strongly objected to plans to indict a lawyer with ties to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign based on evidence they warned was too flimsy, and one left the team in protest of Mr. Durham’s decision to proceed anyway. (A jury swiftly acquitted the lawyer.) ...

The Times report confirms what many clearly saw as a politically- weaponized effort to discredit the Russia-Trump collusion investigation and the investigators, and to try to implicate Hillary Clinton in a conspiracy to invent a Trump/Russia connection, all at the behest of the corrupt Russian tool, the Malignant Loser.  But the effort, built on a lie as so many things Trump, turned out as an embarrassing bust, further tarnishing the already foul tenure and reputation of Attorney General "Low" Barr and his poodle Durham.  Not only did the "investigation" not produce the results intended, but it actually turned up potential evidence of more financial crimes by the Malignant Loser (did he ever engage in anything legal?).  But when news of a "criminal investigation" leaked out, Barr and Durham left the impression that it involved Hillary Clinton or the investigators, not the Malignant Loser!

Among the many questions raised by the Times report for the Justice Department is what were the "suspicious financial dealings" the Italians tipped Barr and Durham on, what investigation was conducted, and why were no charges brought?   The answer to that last question could involve a coverup and obstruction of justice should evidence of the Malignant Loser's "suspicious financial dealings" have been ignored or suppressed.  Given how Barr was, and still is, engaged in a full scale effort to whitewash the Malignant Loser's involvement with Russia -- including his infamous narrative- setting memo in advance of the Mueller report -- it's no leap at all to imagine that a coverup indeed took place.

Get to work, Gym Jordan DOJ!

 

Thursday, January 26, 2023

Tweets Of The Day

 

Go Marge, go! --



Facebook's kowtow to the Malignant Loser (and House Republicans) --


 


✋ -- 



We hear CPA Kitara Devolder Numberman would be good for that --  



Kyiv weather report --  




The answer's not by a long shot --  



He's Elvis Presley's cousin, and he's a Dem running for Governor of Mississippi --  

 

 

 

Adam Schiff Running For Senate In CA




Rep. Adam Schiff, one of the most prominent Dems in the fight against Trumpism, today announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate from California in 2024, a seat currently occupied by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who has not announced her plans for 2024.  Fellow California Dem Rep. Katie Porter announced her candidacy  two weeks ago. In his statement, Schiff said: “If our democracy isn’t delivering for Americans, they’ll look for alternatives, like a dangerous demagogue who promises that he alone can fix it.” 

Schiff was the lead House prosecutor in the Malignant Loser's first impeachment, where he was accused of  attempting to extort political dirt on presumed candidate Joe Biden from the Ukrainian government in exchange for releasing weapons to them that had already been approved. That, and his outspoken criticism of the Malignant Loser, made Schiff a frequent target of the Malignant Loser and his cult. Schiff has been in the House of Representatives since 2000, and was the chair of the House Intelligence Committee.

(photo: Michael Brochstein / ZUMA Press)

 

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Rob Rogers, Tinyview.com)

(Jeff Stahler, gocomics.com)

(Pedro Molina, Counterpoint)

(Dave Granlund, politicalcartoons.com)

(Jack Ohman, Sacramento Bee)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Bill Day, floridapolitics.com)

(Felipe Galindo and Harry Kaufman, @cartoonartsinternational)

(Christopher Weyant, Boston Globe)

(Michael Ramirez, Las Vegas Review-Journal)

(Liana Finck, The New Yorker)


Answer Ukraine's Call For Offensive Weapons

 

Yesterday's announcement that the U.S. would provide 31 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine was welcome, and apparently prompted a reluctant Germany to free up some of its Leopard II tanks and those of NATO allies for Ukraine. With a Russian spring offensive coming in a matter of weeks, the heavy armor may be too late in coming and too few in number to have an impact on blunting Russia's initial advance. Retired Lt. Gen. Dr. James Dubik writes in The Hill that we and our allies need to accelerate the types of weapons that will eject Putin's forces from Ukraine sooner rather than later, saving innocent Ukrainian lives:

"Vladimir Putin has never wavered from his primary goal in Ukraine: subjugation. He continues to deny the existence of Ukrainian sovereignty; for him Ukraine is part of Russia. He also maintains the fiction of a Nazi regime that Russia must oust, and he is taking steps to improve his military’s performance for an upcoming offensive. In short, he remains the unrepentant and determined war-criminal aggressor that he has been from the start.   

Putin’s idea of negotiations is Ukraine capitulation, Zelensky’s removal, and Russian dominance of what’s left. Putin has lost, in the sense that his aggression has only strengthened NATO and the U.S./European transatlantic ties and weakened Russia economically. But he has not lost in Ukraine itself. He still controls much of the Donbas — important because Russian occupation there robs Ukraine of industrial capacity, thereby increasing, in Putin’s view, reliance on Russia.  [snip]

Only force can move him from where he is — physical force from a counteroffensive, diplomatic force from further isolation, economic force from expanded sanctions, and psychological force from Ukraine and allied unity. Negotiating now will achieve none of this. War is about force. It’s a sad reality, but it is reality. As emotionally disturbing as it is to watch the effects of Putin’s debauchery, it will be more disturbing if he succeeds.

The U.S., NATO, and other allies must provide Ukraine with what it needs to accomplish the full set of tasks necessary to eject Russia from all the territory it has seized since February 2022 and at least threaten Putin’s control of occupied Donbas and Crimea. This is the minimum criteria for Ukraine and allied success in this war. Otherwise, Ukraine’s political sovereignty and territorial integrity will mean nothing — and the allied claim to stand against illegal aggression will mean even less. The allies must simply stop the 'give them part of what they need, slower than they need it' approach to supplying Ukraine. This approach has gone on too long already. Ukraine needs more air defense systems, tanks, and long-range artillery — and rockets to do what is necessary."  (our emphasis)

This is a war of criminal aggression and territorial expansion by a fascistic, imperialist regime in Moscow. Even with the significant military support we and our allies have provided so far, Ukraine needs more offensive weapons now to cleanse itself of the invading Russian and Wagner mercenary army in the year ahead.

 

Duck!

 

From NASA, news of a truck-sized asteroid approaching Earth:

On Thursday, Jan. 26, a small near-Earth asteroid will have a very close encounter with our planet. Designated 2023 BU, the asteroid will zoom over the southern tip of South America at about 4:27 p.m. PST (7:27 p.m. EST) only 2,200 miles (3,600 kilometers) above the planet’s surface and well within the orbit of geosynchronous satellites. (our emphasis)

"Small." Guess it's all relative.

Here's what that close encounter looks like -- the red line representing the asteroid, the green line the orbit of geosynchronous satellites (click to enlarge):


Not to worry, though:

There is no risk of the asteroid impacting Earth. But even if it did, this small asteroid – estimated to be 11.5 to 28 feet (3.5 to 8.5 meters) across – would turn into a fireball and largely disintegrate harmlessly in the atmosphere, with some of the bigger debris potentially falling as small meteorites.

At the link, there's a fully interactive "Eyes on Asteroids" that "uses science data to help visualize asteroid and comet orbits around the Sun."  

Ah, science.  (But don't forget to duck anyway.)

 

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(John Cole, @GeorgiaRecorder)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(Joe Heller, hellertoon.com)

(Nick Anderson, Reform Austin News, TX)

(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)

(J.D. Crowe, Alabama Media Group)

(Rader, @RaderDraw)

(Tim Campbell, Counterpoint)

(K.J. Lamb, @PrivateEyeNews)
 

India's Not-So-Democratic Prime Minister




India's often touted as "the world's largest democracy," but under the governance of authoritarian nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it's getting harder to see that as reality. Modi, whose government has refused to condemn Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine while buying Russia's oil and armaments, is the subject of a BBC film, "India: The Modi Question,"  looking into Modi's role in deadly anti-Muslim riots in 2002. At the time, he was the leader of the state of Gujarat, and allegedly permitted, and even encouraged, rioters to attack Muslims, killing over 1,000. Modi's government banned the film, and is trying to prevent the sharing of it over social media (already succeeding with Twitter and YouTube). From the Associated Press:

"Days after India blocked a BBC documentary that examines Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role during 2002 anti-Muslim riots and banned people from sharing it online, authorities are scrambling to halt screenings of the program at colleges and universities and restrict clips of it on social media, a move that has been decried by critics as an assault on press freedom.

Tensions escalated in the capital, New Delhi, on Wednesday at Jamia Millia University, where a student group said it planned to screen the banned documentary, prompting dozens of police equipped with tear gas and riot gear to gather outside campus gates.

Police, some in plain clothes, scuffled with protesting students and detained at least half a dozen, who were taken away in a van.

'This is the time for Indian youth to put up the truth which everybody knows. We know what the prime minister is doing to the society,'said Liya Shareef, 20, a geography student and member of the student group Fraternity Movement."  (our emphasis)

One of the first steps in establishing authoritarianism is to muzzle free speech and freedom of the press. Modi's increasingly right wing "populism," akin to the right wing "populism" espoused by the America Firsters / Trumpists, is turning India into a semi-authoritarian state, where basic rights assumed under a democracy are being curtailed or eliminated. It's not surprising that he's found sympathetic leaders in Trump and Putin, and it's a worrying development in a nation that prides itself as a democracy.

(photo: Brothers-in-arms. CNN)

 

Tweets Of The Day

 

That would be the "but her emails" lady, of course --

 

 

Giving tanks --

 

 

"Charging decisions are imminent";  may our hopes and dreams be fulfilled --

 


Florida fascist flunks own test --

 


And it's only January 25 --

 


Dunk! --

 


Follow the money (all the way to Russia?) --

 

 

The Liberal Redneck (Trae Crowder) on bizarre conspiracy theories --

 

 

 

Mid-Week Song

 

A very happy 42nd birthday to the amazing singer / songwriter / pianist Alicia Keys, a 15-time Grammy winner and one of the best-selling artists in the world with 30 million albums sold. She's also active in the fight against AIDS with her Keep A Child Alive philanthropy, and was one of the speakers at the 2017 Women's March on Washington following the election of the Malignant Loser.  Here's her mega hit from 2007 "No One," off of her hit album "As I Am."



What's That Musk-y Smell? Another Fascist Back On Twitter (UPDATED)

 


The Groyper guy returns:

After being banned for almost two years, Twitter has officially reinstated the account of white nationalist leader Nick Fuentes, Rolling Stone reports.

Twitter banned Fuentes for "repeated violations" of the platform's rules in July 2021, and when he attempted to create another account in October after Musk took over, the platform banned him again.

The reinstatement of his account comes two months after Twitter CEO Elon Musk posted a poll to Twitter, asking users whether the accounts — he, himself, suspended — that “have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam” should be reinstated. Following the majority “yes” vote from users, the billionaire began restoring accounts of MAGA Republicans, such as MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and Neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin, who'd been banned from Twitter since 2013. Rolling Stone referred to "the return of extremist figures to Twitter" as a "hallmark of Musk's early tenure."

However, Musk is not treating all Twitter users equally. The tech CEO had suspended a select list of journalists, himself, last year from the platform "for, he said, violating the company’s terms of service." A few weeks later, he asserted that the journalists "were welcome to return to the platform" only if they would "abide by Twitter's rules."

Washington Post journalist Paul Farhi reported, “Twitter has privately demanded that the suspended journalists delete the tweets that drew Musk’s ire in the first place — a condition the reporters have refused to accept. The result is a stalemate: The suspended journalists remain in Twitter purgatory, unable to access their accounts.”

Unlike his treatment of the journalists, Musk is granting Fuentes, 24, free reign back on the platform.

The extremist first gained notoriety as a Boston University student attending the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he and other attendees chanted “Jews will not replace us.” He later founded the “America First Political Action Conference,” which has been attended by far-right MAGA Republican House of Representatives members like Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)...

Musk's restoring the two- legged rats noted above to his platform while banning journalists for offending the bilious billionaire troll should tell you all you need to know about his tortured concept of the First Amendment, and his "free speech for me, but not for thee" approach.  It's a philosophy being brutally installed in Ron DeSantis' Florida, and now with the Republican/ Seditionist MAGA fascists returning to Twitter (with the Malignant Loser himself on the cusp), we get the opportunity to see that philosophy put to work in a national medium.  It's an understatement to say it's been a flawed medium to date, but the Chief Twit is seeing to it that it hasn't reached bottom yet. 

BONUS:  In the coals to Newcastle department, here's more evidence of Musk's situational "free speech" advocacy.

UPDATE:  Maybe someone with a clear head over at Twitter realized what was happening and kicked off Fuentes again -- for now.

(Photo:  "Ayyyy what's another Nazi between us friends?"/ Britta Pedersen -pool, Getty Images)


Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Kevin Siers, Charlotte Observer)

(Daniel Garcia, @cartoonmovement)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(James MacLeod, @MacLtoons)

(Clay Jones, claytoonz.com)


(Pat Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune)

(Ted Littleford, The New Haven Independent)

(J.D. Crowe, Alabama Media Group)

(Matt Wuerker, Politico)

(Jimmy Margulies, jimmymargulies.com)

(Roz Chast, The New Yorker)