The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

 

The good:

Reacting to a controversial new Alabama Supreme Court ruling that embryos should be considered people under the law, Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth said on Sunday that she was "devastated" for how this could affect treatments like in vitro fertilization.

She also called out conservatives whom she suggested were being disingenuous in distancing themselves from the case.

"Let's make it clear: Republicans will say whatever they need to say to try to cover themselves on this, but they've been clear and Donald Trump has been the guy leading this effort to eliminate women's reproductive rights and reproductive choice," Duckworth, an Illinois lawmaker, told ABC News "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz. "And so this is the next step."

Referring to her Access to Family Building Act, which would guarantee access to IVF and other reproductive services, Duckworth added, "It's been crickets since the Alabama ruling ... not a single Republican has reached out to me on the bill. I've introduced a bill, multiple times, now multiple Congresses -- but frankly, let's see if they vote for it when we when we bring it to the floor."

Duckworth understands firsthand the fertility challenges many women face. After years of trying to have children, she turned to IVF, eventually having two daughters because of the procedure. She even made history in 2018 by becoming the first senator to have a child, her second daughter, while serving in the chamber...  (our emphasis)

Democrats have been fighting on this issue ever since the Malignant Loser's Republican U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.  Now that the all- Republican Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that IVF embryos are "children," people who thought they might be safe from the Christofascists' war on women and families are waking up, hence the Republican panic and furious backpedaling.  No one should be fooled, and good on Democrats for pounding on this.  Next up:  going after contraception.

The bad:

The U.S. Congress lurches into a new week of political chaos on Monday, as lawmakers struggle to avoid a partial government shutdown in just five days, while pushing for an election-year trial of President Joe Biden's top border official.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is also grasping for a way forward on vital U.S. aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, and plans to hear closed-door testimony from Biden's son, Hunter Biden, in an impeachment probe that has failed so far to turn up evidence of wrongdoing by the president.

 

Congress has been characterized by Republican brinkmanship and muddled priorities over the past year, more so since Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump undermined a bipartisan border deal in the Senate and now wants aid to U.S. allies extended as loans.

 

Almost two months have passed since Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed on a $1.59 trillion discretionary spending level for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1.

 

Since then, Congress has failed to follow through with the detailed legislation that would put that agreement into effect.

 

"It's becoming more chaotic," said Brian Riedl, senior fellow at the right-leaning Manhattan Institute. "The longer Congress is dysfunctional, the further they fall behind on very time-sensitive, high-priority legislation."  [snip]

 

Major ratings agencies say the repeated brinkmanship is taking a toll on the creditworthiness of a nation whose debt has surpassed $34 trillion.

 

In the latest sign of an ungovernable House Republican majority, some hardliners are threatening to oust Johnson as speaker, if the Christian conservative allows a vote on the $95 billion foreign aid bill that passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support...

It's a chaos cult with a chaos cult leader.  The world is watching, but are American voters?

The ugly:

Ohio Republicans last year suffered a double blow in their efforts to thwart the steady nationwide progress of abortion rights ballot measures.

First they tried and failed to require ballot measures to get 60 percent of the vote, in a transparent ploy to raise the threshold for an abortion rights amendment to the state constitution. Voters rejected that, with 57 percent voting against a 60 percent threshold. Then they lost on the actual abortion rights amendment by about the same margin, making Ohio the latest red state to vote in favor of abortion rights.

But that hasn’t dissuaded other red-state Republicans from trying their own creative workarounds.

And Missouri Republicans are among the most audacious, proposing new restrictions that clearly favor their side.

Abortion rights activists in the state are working to get an amendment to the state constitution on the ballot in November. But the GOP-controlled Missouri state Senate on Thursday approved a measure that could make such things significantly more difficult — at least for the left.

The proposal, which passed along party lines, would require amendments to receive not only a majority of the vote statewide — as is currently required — but also a majority in five of eight congressional districts.

This would be a much bigger hurdle for those on the left, because Missouri has five very Republican congressional districts...

These Christofascists don't want to govern by majority rule.  They want to impose their ersatz religious views on everyone else, regardless.  We refer you to the Alabama Supreme Court IVF ruling by the Christofascists there, and the Christofascists' intention to impose their fundamentalist values on the "seven mountains": government, education, media, religion, family, business, and entertainment.  They can't do that if everyone is allowed to vote!!

Across The Universe, Cont. -- Energetic Little Galaxy

 

(click on image to enlarge)

From NASA/ESA, February 19, 2024: This image features IC 3476, a dwarf galaxy that lies about 54 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Coma Berenices. Whilst this image does not look very dramatic — if we were to anthropomorphise the galaxy, we might say it looks almost serene — the actual physical events taking place in IC 3476 are highly energetic. In fact, the little galaxy is undergoing a process known as ram pressure stripping, which is driving unusually high levels of star formation within regions of the galaxy itself. 

We tend to associate the letters ‘ram’ with the acronym RAM, which refers to Random Access Memory in computing. However, ram pressure has a totally distinct definition in physics: it is the pressure exerted on a body when it moves through some form of fluid, due to the overall resistance of the fluid. In the case of entire galaxies experiencing ram pressure, the galaxies are the ‘bodies’ and the intergalactic or intracluster medium (the dust and gas that permeates the space between galaxies, and for the latter the spaces between galaxies in clusters) is the ‘fluid’. 

Ram pressure stripping occurs when the ram pressure results in gas being stripped from the galaxy. This stripping away of gas can lead to a reduction in the level of star formation, or even its complete cessation, as gas is absolutely key to the formation of stars. However, the ram pressure can also cause other parts of the galaxy to be compressed, which can actually boost star formation. This is what seems to be taking place in IC 3476: there seems to be absolutely no star formation going on at the edge of the galaxy bearing the brunt of the ram pressure stripping, but then star formation rates within deeper regions of the galaxy seem to be markedly above the average. 

[Image Description: A dwarf spiral galaxy. The centre is not particularly bright and is covered by some dust, while the outer disc and halo wrap around as if swirling water. Across the face of the galaxy, an arc of brightly glowing spots marks areas where new stars are being formed. The galaxy is surrounded by tiny, distant galaxies on a dark background.]

Credit:  ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Sun

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Andy Marlette, Creators.com)

(John Darkow, Columbia Missourian)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Randall Enos, caglecartoons.com)

(Lalo Alcaraz, LA Weekly)

(Clay Jones, claytoonz.com)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Michael de Adder, @deAdder)

(Patrick Chappatte, La Tribune Dimanche, France)

(Paolo Calleri, @cartoonmovement)

(Paul Noth, @PaulNoth)

Sunday Reflection: "Perpetually Burning Building"

 

“The world is violent and mercurial--it will have its way with you. We are saved only by love--love for each other and the love that we pour into the art we feel compelled to share: being a parent; being a writer; being a painter; being a friend. We live in a perpetually burning building, and what we must save from it, all the time, is love.”  -- Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter Tennessee Williams (3/26/1911 - 2/25/1983), born Thomas Lanier Williams III. His plays are impossible not to mention when talking about the history of American theater: "The Glass Menagerie" (1944), "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1947), "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" (1955), "Orpheus Descending" (1957), "Sweet Bird Of Youth" (1959), and "The Night Of The Iguana" (1961).  

Williams' works broke taboos, picturing rape, madness and human brutality among other elements woven into mostly Southern gothic themes. His depression and alcoholism later in his career reduced the quality and quantity of his work, but could never detract from his profound contribution to the American stage and film.

(photo: Williams at his desk, by Alfred Eisenstaedt, The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock)

Dementia Don At The CPAC Nazifest

 

Tom Breuer (a.k.a., Aldous J. Pennyfarthing) over at Daily Kos has listened to Dementia Don's (a.k.a., the Malignant Loser) disordered rant at Nazi- infested CPAC so you didn't have to and has some of the more deranged quotes.  Here are a few for psychiatrists to suss out.

On violent crime (which is actually way down):

“Ruthless gangs will explode even more into the suburbs, and when they talk about suburban women, they’re going to love me so much. They’re going to say, ‘Oh, I wish we had that guy back.’ The gangs will be invading your territory, I can tell you that.”

____________________

“So we just call it migrant crime. We have a new category: migrant crime. And it’s going to be more severe than violent crime and crime as we knew it. Because we have millions and millions of people, and they came from prisons and jails. They came from mental institutions and insane asylums. No, they’re not the same thing. An insane asylum is a mental institution on steroids. It’s Silence of the Lambs, okay? Hannibal Lecter! They’re all being deposited into our country.”

On weaponized law enforcement, Hamas, Antifa, and China:

“While weaponized law enforcement hunts for conservatives and people of faith, religious, Hamas and antifa will terrorize our streets while their brutal ideology—and it is brutal indeed, it is brutal and horrible like nobody’s ever seen before—takes over our schools. China will dominate us, not just economically but militarily, and that’s what they want and that’s where they’re heading, but they weren’t heading there with me.”

On diversity?  Multilingualism?  ???:

“We’re equal opportunity; we have every country. We have countries that honestly nobody has ever heard of. We have languages coming into our country—we don’t have one instructor in our entire nation that can speak that language. These are languages, it’s the craziest thing, they have languages that nobody in this country has ever heard of. It’s a very horrible thing. I said to the president of Mexico, you’re going to have to give us 28,000 soldiers free of charge. [Mocking Mexican president’s accent]: ‘No, no, no Donald, I will not do that. I will not do that, I cannot do that.’ And I said, ‘No, no, you will. You will, I promise.’ ‘No, no, no, I will not do that.’ I said, ‘Listen, you and I are friends.’ I really like him a lot, so. I said, ‘Let’s not you and I, give me a negotiator, because I don’t want to do this with you.’”

On "Judgement Day" for non- MAGAts:

“At the ballot box this November, it’s you and the people you have to be, and we’ll deliver a reckoning like they haven’t even imagined before. We’re going to straighten out our country. We’re going to bring our country back. For hardworking Americans, Nov. 5 will be our new liberation day, but for the liars and cheaters and fraudsters and censors and imposters who have commandeered our government, it will be their judgment day. Their judgment day. When we win the curtain closes on their corrupt reign and the sun rises on a bright new future for America. That’s what we have to have. I believe it’s our last chance.”

On cognitive issues, he's expert ("Person, woman, man, camera, tv"):

[Discussing what others have said about his speeches]: “’He rambled on endlessly, telling these horrible and very boring surries [sic].’ No, they’re very informative stories, they’re very important stories, actually. But no, there’s no cognitive problem. If there was, I’d know about it. In fact, if there was, you’ll be the first to know, because I will tell you. I will tell you.”

We will tell you ... that this ignorant, demented shitstain is going to be the choice of the Christofascist Republican MAGA cult/ party -- 91 felony counts, fraud convictions, sexual assault judgement, racism, authoritarianism, Putin subservience, etc., notwithstanding.  Proof that a significant, aggrieved minority in our country has gone mad along with their golden calf.

(Photo:  Dementia Don desecrates the flag at CPAC /  Jose Luis Magana - freelancer, Associated Press)

 

QOTD: "Not Some Tiny Group"

From Politico's mostly conventional wisdom takeaways from the Malignant Loser's win in the South Carolina Republican / Insurrectionist / Forced Birth party primary, this fact:

"Behind every silver lining, there has been a cloud for Trump during the GOP primary, and otherwise sunny South Carolina proved no exception. With about three-quarters of the expected vote in, some 40 percent of voters rejected Trump.

That number itself isn’t a problem in a primary. But it includes some serious reasons for concern in a general election. Trump lost moderate and liberal voters to Haley by a wide margin, according to exit polls. And, according to AP VoteCast, a bit over 1 in 5 GOP primary voters said they would not vote for Trump in November if he was the party’s nominee.

Perhaps the clearest illustration of this dynamic came in the city of Charleston, where Haley racked up more than 80 percent of the vote in some precincts.

Haley saw Trump’s soft underbelly, and underscored it in her remarks, telling supporters he 'drives people away.'

'I’m an accountant. I know 40 percent is not 50 percent,' Haley said Saturday evening. 'But I also know 40 percent is not some tiny group. There are huge numbers of voters in our Republican primaries who are saying they want an alternative.'”  (our emphasis)

Don't tell the Beltway media that 40 percent isn't some tiny group; they don't do math well. If the Malignant Loser were winning 80 or more percent of the vote in the primaries, one would be justified in saying the South Carolina primary was "a trouncing" as Politico did. Consider that Haley fell short ten points of splitting the vote 50-50 with the Malignant Loser, similar to how she performed in the New Hampshire primary. 

While the Malignant Loser is certain to clinch the nomination following the primaries in March, if the trend persists, he's running just 10 points over half the vote. That's a significant number that are looking for a Trump-lite alternative in upcoming primaries. However the broken and cynical political media want a Biden - Malignant Loser horserace as soon as possible, having grown tired of covering the also-rans and being eager to discuss Biden's age. We'd like to see Haley remain in the race for as long as possible to cause the Malignant Loser's campaign to spend funds fighting her, and to continue her increasingly negative attacks on the Malignant Loser that remind voters of his criminality and extremism. 

BONUS:  Tengrain sees the same thing.

(composite: The Telegraph)

 

Helping Ukraine -- Verified Charities

 

Two years after war criminal Putin brutally invaded Ukraine, most of us can only imagine the horror being experienced every day by the brave people of that country.  With Russian bombs falling on their cities every day, we need to continue to focus our efforts on helping the suffering people of Ukraine as much as we can, to help them and democracy survive and thrive.  (Getting critical military aid would also be helpful, but that's another story.)  Via The Philadelphia Inquirer, this is a (partial) list of verified charities that are helping the people of Ukraine.  Please consider giving:

 

World Central Kitchen

What they do:  They have served millions of meals and have teams active in hundreds of cities and towns in Ukraine. They have also built a logistics network of delivery vans, trucks, trains, and warehouses throughout the country, delivering millions of pounds of food to families—sometimes in areas completely cut off due to fighting and near the Russian border.

How you can help:  There are many ways to donate to WCK;  see their website.  This is a registered nonprofit, so donations are tax deductible.

🌐 wck.org

Project HOPE

What they do: Founded in 1958, Project HOPE responds to humanitarian emergencies and disasters. Currently, according to the group’s website, the group is aiding those in Ukraine by mobilizing its emergency teams and “sending medical supplies and standing by to provide health screening and care for refugees.”

How you can help: Donate on the group’s website. This group is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 projecthope.org

 

GlobalGiving

What they do: GlobalGiving uses its funding to support local nonprofits working in affected areas. Currently, “GlobalGiving’s local partners in Ukraine are bringing relief to displaced families and people in high-risk areas.” According to the group, your donation will support refugees with food, shelter, and clean water, as well as providing health and psychological support.

How you can help: Donate to the group’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund online. This group is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 globalgiving.org

 

UNICEF USA

What they do: Over 510,000 children have been affected by the conflict so far, and the UNICEF emergency response is working to address their needs by preparing health, hygiene, and emergency education supplies, as well as distributing safe water to affected areas, providing children with psychosocial care, and helping kids separated from their families. At the moment, UNICEF is trying to raise $66.4 million to be able to continue their programs and offer immunization, healthcare, child protection, and cash assistance.

How you can help: Donate on the UNICEF website. UNICEF USA is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 unicefusa.org

 

International Medical Corps

What they do: International Medical Corps helped Ukrainians during conflict in 1999-2000 by delivering medicine and training more than 500 local doctors and medical staff. In 2014, they partnered with the Ukraine Ministry of Health to support mobile health services and train medical professionals on preventing and controlling infections. As the crisis develops, the International Medical Corps has added mental health counseling to the services available for the community.

How you can help: Donate on the group’s website. Donations to this organization are tax deductible.

🌐 give.internationalmedicalcorps.org

 

United Help Ukraine

What they do: United Help Ukraine receives and distributes food donations and medical supplies to people in Ukraine. The group’s current priorities: Aiding Ukrainian soldiers and their families, helping displaced people from Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, and raising awareness of the current situation.

How you can help: Donate via PayPal, or by check payable to United Help Ukraine, Box 83426, Gaithersburg, Md., 20883. This is a registered nonprofit so all donations are tax deductible.

🌐 facebook.com/UnitedHelpUkraine.org

 

Revived Soldiers Ukraine

What they do: This nonprofit provides medical aid for people affected by military conflict. The group buys medication and medical supplies, helps support army hospitals, and works to improve the living standards for soldiers and their families.

How you can help: Donate directly through the group’s website, through PayPal or Patreon, or make it your preferred Amazon nonprofit, which donates 0.5% of the amount of your Amazon purchases to the group. This group is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 rsukraine.org

Sunflower of Peace

What they do: Sunflower for Peace offers medical assistance to Ukrainian orphans, people displaced by war, and people heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. In February 2022, the group started asking for donations to prepare first aid medical tactical backpacks for paramedics and doctors on the front lines. These kinds of backpacks — usually handled by Marines, special military forces, and military groups — are used to save lives in areas without access to hospitals or emergency care.

How you can help: Donate on Facebook. This group is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 facebook.com/sunflowerofpeace

 

The KYIV Independent

What they do: The KYIV Independent is an independent media outlet reporting in English. The organization has been covering the Russia-Ukraine conflict, doing fact checking, and reporting on human rights. Since the group is not affiliated with any government and reports in English, it is becoming an important window into what’s happening in Ukraine right now.

How you can help: Since its creation in 2021, The KYIV Independent runs mainly on donations. Donate through GoFundMe or Patreon.

🌐 kyivindependent.com

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

What they do: This group runs an emergency program with $1 million in funding that helps the approximately 300,000 Jewish people in Ukraine. The fellowship has staff and volunteers on the ground in Ukraine, and also funds the country’s Jewish organizations to give Ukrainian Jews the chance to move to Israel. Funds are also used to provide the Ukrainian Jewish community with food, medicine, and heat. This group is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

How you can help: Donate online.

🌐 help.ifcj.org

 

Voices of Children

What they do: Voices of Children provides psychological and psychosocial support to children affected by war. Their main focus is on the front lines in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Donations help finance art therapy and mobile psychologists, and help families in need.

How you can help: Donate directly on their website.

🌐 voices.org.ua

 

Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe (CARE)

What they do: Created in 1945 to help people overcome the devastation of WWII, CARE’s works to end poverty, and achieve equity and social justice worldwide. In Ukraine, the group is working on providing girls, women, and elderly people with water, food, and hygiene kits. They currently have a Ukraine Crisis Fund specially focused on continuing their work in the country, and providing psychological support, recovery, and cash assistance.

How you can help: Donate using a credit card or through PayPal on their website.

🌐 care.org

 

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

What they do: The Red Cross’s International Committee provides shelter, food, first-aid training, and humanitarian aid around the world. The group has been supporting people in Ukraine for almost a decade and as the crisis continues, they are adding to their help comfort kits for individuals and families in need.

How you can help: Donate to the ICRC on its website.

🌐 icrc.org

 
American Red Cross

What they do: In Ukraine, the American Red Cross is currently helping U.S. military people and families deployed in the region. So far, they have sent 30 staff members to Europe to help U.S. military members in Ukraine connect with their families back home, and are delivering hygiene items and resources to service members and U.S. State Department staff abroad. They can not help Ukraine with blood directly, because it can’t be sent without special request from the U.S Department of State, the United Nation, or other affected Red Cross networks.

How you can help: Donate on their website. They are U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 redcross.org

United Ukrainian American Relief Committee (UUARC)

What they do: Created in 1944, the UUARC was created to help Ukrainians in refugee camps during WWII relocate to the U.S.. They are currently working in coordination with the Ukrainian Embassy to coordinate medical supplies, food, offering shelter, and taking care of injured people and refugee.

How you can help: Donate on their website or send a check to the United Ukrainian American Relief Committee, Inc. 1206 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111. For medical donations call 215-728-1630. They are U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 uuarc.org

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)

What they do: The JDC has been helping the Jewish community around the world since 1914; for the last 30 years they have focused on helping Ukraine’s Jewish population. They aid elderly Jewish people, children, and families by providing food, medicine, and utilities. At the moment, JDC is preparing to send psychosocial support to Ukraine as mass displacements increase, as well as delivering food packages, and providing online support.

How you can help: Donate on their website. They are U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 jdc.org

 

 ____________________

If you are at all concerned about giving to these or any other charities, you can verify their authenticity by going to Charity Navigator, which evaluates charitable organizations.  Thank you!

 

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Christopher Weyant, Boston Globe)

(J.D. Crowe, Alabama Media Group)

(Mike Smith, Las Vegas Sun)

(Jimmy Margulies, King Features)

(Peter Brookes, The Times, London)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(John Cole, politicalcartoons.com)

(Clay Jones, claytoonz.com)

(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)

(Robert Ariail, Spartanburg Herald-Journal, SC)

(John Buss, @repeat1968)

(Mort Gerberg, @mortgerberg)

QOTD -- Wrong? The Media Doesn't Do That!

 

"... The story is no longer whether Joe Biden committed high crimes and misdemeanors by maintaining relations with his ne’er-do-well son. In fact, there has never been any credible evidence to support that conclusion.

"The real story is that the ludicrous Republican impeachment investigation has now been exposed as a Russian intelligence op. This, even as Republicans do Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bidding by blocking support for Ukraine and only a few short years after Trump aides welcomed Russian moves to help the Trump campaign in 2016.

"But the political reporters at our most esteemed newsrooms who went to great lengths to portray the Biden impeachment investigation as a serious inquiry seem unable to change gears.

"I’m not surprised. It  would require them to admit they were wrong. They don’t do that..." -- media critic Dan Froomkin, Press Watch, on the latest media fail "The Hunter Biden story has done a total 180 but the MSM is in denial."  Froomkin brings the receipts, as usual.  Legacy media outlets (the New York Effing Times, WaPo, etc.) continue to succumb to horse race journalism, both sidesism, copying Republican talking points, and lede- burying, the ultimate effect being democracy dying in darkness. To be fair, one non- cable source we monitor that we think does a decent job of exposing the constant Republican lies and gaslighting in a short- attention- span format is David Muir's "ABC World News Tonight."  You be the judge.

BONUS:  More discussion here.

BONUS II:  Another dishonest broker.

Tweets / Xeets Of The Day

On the second anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by Putin war criminals -- 

Dear great people of a great country, I am immensely proud of each of you. I admire each one of you. I believe in each one of you. Any normal person wants the war to end. But none of us will allow Ukraine to end.

That is why when it comes to ending the war, we always add: on our… pic.twitter.com/MQttTK8Ex2

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 24, 2024

 

A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never be able to erase the people’s love of liberty.

Brutality will never grind down the will of the free.

And Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia.

— President Biden (@POTUS) February 23, 2024

Another big win for New York Attorney General Letitia James, showing Merrick Garland how it's done --

BREAKING -- NY AG wins AGAIN -- NRA is liable for corruption and misappropriating donors' money, using it on personal luxury expenses. Jury just returned its verdict in the case, in NYC.

Former NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre ALSO found liable and must pay back $4,351,231 in restitution.

— Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) February 23, 2024 

MAGA "source" for Biden impeachment fraud caught and arrested trying to flee U.S. -- 

Last night we learned DOJ re-arrested Smirnov after his release. Now we know why. A California judge seems to be suggesting his lawyers are complicit in his efforts to flee, in a remarkable line ordering detention for the FBI source whose lies propelled Biden impeachment efforts. pic.twitter.com/x6ADo13jVL

— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) February 23, 2024

 

The Smirnov case illuminates a basic fact of the Trump era: MAGA Republicans have become useful idiots for Russian intelligence. They're willing (eager?) to be exploited by the Kremlin *and* to exploit Russian disinfo. Please read, RT, and share this:https://t.co/OZGoJlYYR9

— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) February 23, 2024

Republicans running for the hills on their IVF debacle. Hit them hard with it. -- 

Republicans pretending they want to protect IVF but getting owned by their own voting records. pic.twitter.com/TikXNgtixb

— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) February 24, 2024

The Senate campaign chief now saying he loves him some IVF also cosponsored a law to outlaw it just three years ago (as did a bunch of his senate gop colleagues) https://t.co/NaHpj2ZDO7 via @TPM

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 23, 2024

Especially don't let the Malignant Loser wiggle out of the IVF disaster --

Biden-Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez:

"Let's be clear: Alabama families losing access to IVF is a direct result of Donald Trump's Supreme Court justices overturning Roe v. Wade. Trump is responsible for 20 plus abortion bans, restrictions on women's ability to…

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 24, 2024

 

Evidence of guilt in asking for pardons. --

 

Several Republican members of Congress who participated in the J6 insurrection confessed to their crimes by requesting pardons. Confessions represent the most compelling direct evidence of guilt. We deserve an explanation as to why they are NOT BEING PROSECUTED FOR THEIR CRIMES!

— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) February 24, 2024

Through Trump, Putin's captured the MAGA cult known as the Republican Party --  

We are vastly understating the dangers posed by the active, on-going collaboration between Trump, the MAGA GOP and Vladimir Putin's Russia. It has created risks of a European or even a world war that eerily echo the periods before WWI & WW2. My latest. https://t.co/jLJJD7S2v4

— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) February 23, 2024

Wait until these rubes are drafted and sent to the front lines in Ukraine. -- 

Conservative Family ‘Disappointed’ After Moving To Russia To Escape LGBTQ Ideology https://t.co/kS6QH1FynJ via @Yahoo

— jamie (@gnuman1979) February 24, 2024

Alex Jones and Tucker Carlson, bringing Russian technology to America. -- 

Coin operated two-seat Russian outhouses popularized in impoverished southern United States. pic.twitter.com/meHQ4av52Y

— DPRK News Service (@DPRK_News) February 22, 2024

 

 

 

Dementia Don, Speaking In Tongues

 

The Malignant Loser's mental disorder is often manifest in garbled or slurred words, a condition found in moderately advanced dementia cases known as phonemic paraphasias. It was manifest yesterday at a cult rally in South Carolina, where his unintelligible word salad (bold face below) was on display:

1. "His soup-pie cane is broken"

"Soup pie cane?" asked Bogan Painter. This one was also translated as “supply tain,” “su pie tain," "supply cane" “syphilis.”

2. “All of a sudden there was this big dump. Where did it come from?”

“Time for another diaper,” replied GroundChuck.”

3. “They are pumping it as much as they can under the Trump.”

"'Pumping under the Trump' is something we can only pray will never be explained in any detail,” wrote BruceGoldberg.

4. “Three years lady, lady, lady, how ‘bout that?”

“Lay ladies lay,” quipped @pbstockx. “Lay across my fake gold head.”

5. “In times of bad, she’ll call me up say, “Don’t worry about, sir, you’re doing great.”

Said the Biden-Harris campaign, “A lot of people don’t know how smart and respected Marjorie Taylor Greene is.”

We expect to see many more examples of Dementia Don's mental decline in the days and weeks ahead. Anyway, as he would say, "God blesh the Unide Shasst." 

(photo:  Coming soon, a sippy cup)

CPAC Circles The Drain (UPDATED)

 

Pour one out for the annual nutfest known as CPAC (the Conservative Political Action Conference). It seems to have fallen on hard times:

As the once-storied Conservative Political Action Conference kicks off the 50th anniversary of its inaugural national gathering, the organization is finding itself increasingly anchored to the sexual assault allegations leveled a year ago against its longtime leader, conservative activist Matt Schlapp.

On Wednesday, the opening day for CPAC 2024, the Alexandria City Courthouse posted a batch of eye-popping new filings in the sexual battery and defamation lawsuit against Schlapp—including a subpoena to a CPAC official alleged to have overseen document destruction days after the accusations were first publicly reported. Schlapp was on notice at the time about potential legal action.

The court records show subpoenas to other key witnesses, as well, including CPAC officials and other alleged victims. Two young men who previously reported unwanted physical advances from Schlapp have been deposed, including in connection with an alleged incident where the conservative icon, drunk and stripped to his underwear, rubbed his crotch on a young man at a fundraising event months before the alleged assault at the center of the lawsuit. 

There's much more detail at the link about the sordid allegations against the sordid Schlapp and the myriad legal actions underway ensnaring not only Schlapp and top officials in CPAC, but others like Fox "News'" host Sean Hannity (that defamation- averse propaganda outlet has blacklisted Schlapp and his bullshit activist wife/ beard Mercedes from appearing on the network).  Of course, Schlapp, like other hypocrites, crooks, and faux moralists that overpopulate the right (Falwell Jr., every prosperity gospel charlatan, NRA's LaPierre, countless Republican officeholders past and present, etc.) are perfect representatives of the rotted- out MAGA Republican cult / party and their cult leader, the worst president but best criminal ever to hold office.

But back to the dud conference and more proof that ETTD ("everything Trump touches dies"):

... Schlapp and the CPAC team have busied themselves with organizing this year’s annual conference, which opened on Wednesday at the Gaylord Hotel in Maryland’s National Harbor. The centerpiece of the conference this year will once again be a keynote from Trump, who chalked last year’s lackluster lineup up to fears of rebuke from his die-hard following.

The event has in years past been a magnet for conservative stalwarts and rising stars alike, a staple for Beltway Republicans looking to make inroads with the party’s most well-wired players. However, with the arrival of Trump and the MAGA movement, CPAC’s star began to dim. Recent years have seen notable shifts in attendance, as CPAC scrapped its mainstream conservative bona fides and instead embraced fringe and frivolous figures on the far right—celebrating the likes of Jan. 6 insurrectionists and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists, while platforming authoritarian leaders across the globe.

It’s unclear how much of that branding pivot was pre-planned and how much was simply an inability to forestall Trump, leading Schlapp and his crew to adopt a “sour grapes” attitude that recast MAGA critics within the GOP as scurrilous political enemies. Regardless, the shifts have led to declines in attendance, revenue, and influence, a trend the Schlapp allegations exacerbated last year.

This year, the cost of general admission dropped by $200, with full weekend passes priced at just $95. And the list of 23 conference sponsors features no less than five entities that are actually just CPAC itself—including the Center for Fundamental Rights, the organization’s arm in Hungary.  (our emphasis)

It seems CPAC has turned into the bargain bin of political conferences.  Perhaps they can get some of those $400 Trump suckerwear shoes to sell for revenue.

Their lame list of lame sponsors include most of the fringe "don't think" tanks, conspiratorial societies, and fascist fronts you can think of (John Birch Society, Moms for Libertines Liberty, etc.).  We're going to call it:  CPAC is circling the drain.  May it take as much of the MAGAt world with it as possible.

UPDATE:  We did Nazi see that coming (yes we did).

(Photo:  can you hear the echo with all those empty seats? / Andrew Feinberg, The Independent)

Hawaii Dreaming

 

The Florence brothers ride some big waves on Oahu's North Shore, talk board design, and try out new equipment in their endless Summer Hawaiian life (full screen recommended).  Meanwhile, the rest of us await Spring.

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Andy Marlette, Creators.com)

(Jeff Stahler, gocomics.com)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Clay Jones, claytoonz.com)

(Jack Ohman, Tribune Content Agency)

(Phil Hands, Wisconsin State Journal)

(Jeff Darcy, Cleveland Plain Dealer)

(Rob Rogers, Tinyview.com)

(Nick Anderson, Counterpoint)

(Pedro Molina, Counterpoint)

 (Tim Campbell, Counterpoint)

(Drew Sheneman, The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ)

(Brooke Bourgeois, @b_a_bourgeois)