Glenn Kirschner – Georgia DA Fani Willis takes important next step toward indicting Donald Trump for election crimes
The Lincoln Project – Presidential Citizens Medal Ceremony
MSNBC – Supreme Court hears case threatening workers’ rights
Farron Balanced – George Santos Paid Someone To Impersonate A Kevin McCarthy Staffer To Swindle Donors
Senior Pittie Gives Birth In Foster Mom’s Hand
Beau – Let’s talk about 2 years, Trump’s lawsuit, and medals….
Yesterday, after having set my alarm and arisen for it three days in a row, I slept in. But I still managed to find some cool stuff, one of the coolest of which was a Mother Jones article about coolness at government agencies. In sure we’ve all seen the occasional example of a government agency putting out some kind of warnin with verbiage and phrasng which draws attention because of its humor, but I didn’t realize it was becoming a trend. If you’re looking for an extra chuckle today, this is the place.
I also got an email from my cousin that the Army Corps of Engineers has a downloadable cat calendar for this year. My first thought was, “Why would th Army Corps of Engineers put out a calendar with cats?” But as soon as I looked at the cover it was immediately obvious …. and then it just got better. Also, this is not from the entire Corps, but specifically from the Portland (OR) District. TomCAt would have absolutely loved it.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
Huff Post – Republicans Who Voted To Overturn The 2020 Election Get Top Committee Posts
Quote – House Republican leaders on Tuesday announced their picks for powerful committee chairs in the new Congress, and most of them have an inherent character flaw: They voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results after fueling the lie that the election was stolen from Donald Trump. “Our committee chairs represent the very best of our conference,” House Majority Leader Scalise (R-La.) said when announcing the GOP’s choices for chairmanships.
Click through fpr details. Of course this is bad news. But probably not more so than we expected.
The 19th – Two stories
Quote 1 – The Presidential Citizen Medal is one of the nation’s highest civilian honors, given to those who have “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.” Today marks the first time Biden has awarded this medal. Of the 12 recipients, four are women.
Quote 2 – [R]eproductive rights advocates and physicians say, the rights of infants born by any method, including after an attempted abortion, are already protected by a bipartisan 2002 law that established that infants have the rights of a full human. Live births after an attempted abortion are exceedingly rare, and the proposed measure would take away power over medical interventions from families and physicians.
Click through to one or both. As I’ve said, the 19th tends to focus on women, and these are no exception, One is good news, the other bad news.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – DOJ’s inaction allows Donald Trump to AGAIN victimize GA election workers Shaye Moss & Ruby Freeman
The Lincoln Project – McCarthy (v)
Ring of Fire – Lauren Boebert Brags About Republicans Removing Metal Detectors From Congress
Robert Reich – Behind the Silence on Record Corporate Profits
Watch This Little Bird Sneak Up On His Butterfly Siblings
Beau – Let’s talk about Biden, negotiations, and the briar patch….
Glenn Kirschner – Trump & Kushner’s criminal responsibility for avoidable COVID deaths. New evidence in J6 transcripts
Meidas Touch – Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Stunning Stupidity SHINES BRIGHT in NEW POST
White House Twitter… (accompanied by Offenbach’s “CanCan”
At the end of a historic, productive session of Congress full of bipartisan results, I still have a few bills left to sign.
Take a guess how long it took me to sign a stack of 65 of them. pic.twitter.com/kP1Tc2fV4c
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 29, 2022
Really American – Chip Franklin delivers a BLISTERING takedown of the GOP, which is now DOA.
Half-Pound Kitten Takes Naps Under 130-Pound Dog
Beau – Let’s talk about infrastructure troubles….
Glenn Kirschner – J6 committee recommends Trump be banned from office. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution agrees. (Sure. But the Amendment is not self-enforcing. The committee is correct. Legislation is needed.)
MSNBC – Why 2022 Was A Major Legislative Year For The Democrats [Yes, it was, and we are entiled to a victory lap]
Ring of Fire – Does Farron Need to CALM DOWN? [Spoiler: yes. And he’ll work on it.]
Twitter (h/t Democratic Underground – hanky alert)
Nine year old Oksana cut 70 cm of her beautiful hair to sell it and buy a tactical helmet for a soldier fighting in Bakhmut. She has definitely saved someone’s life.
Ukrainian children are wonderful. pic.twitter.com/QmmjLEBeui
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) December 23, 2022
This Senior Pit Bull Is Proof That Love Can Heal Anything
Beau – Let’s talk about how Biden’s new policy is working….
Glenn Kirschner (with Barbara McQuade on Political Voices Network. Sorry, but he skipped a day.)
MSNBC – Litman: ‘Inconceivable That 1/6 Cmte. Would Make Criminal Referral And It Not Be Trump’
Farron Balanced – Biden Admin Wants To Make Marjorie Taylor Greene The Face Of Republican Party
Parody Project – Addicted to Trump
Puppies So Happy Someone Showed Up In Middle Of Night To Save Them
Beau – Let’s talk about McCarthy’s first agenda item….
Yesterday, I was glad to see that we finally found someone acceptable to swap for Britney Griner, who is now on her way home. About time, too. Of course Republicans are screaming bloody murder. But there are a few other good news items which got me through the day. and I got to see my BFF, who ca me by to bring me a prescription so I don’t have to go into a store and get exposed to heaven knows what. The three items which I think really command attention concern Lizzo, Biden, and Kamala Harris.
Cartoon
Short Takes –
Wonkette – Germany Arrests 25 In QAnon-Fueled Coup Plot, Proving America Does Too Still Export Stuff
Quote – The plot included a plan to attack Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, to kill members or take them hostage. By golly, we have seen that movie…. In addition to the plan to storm the Bundestag, the group allegedly planned to attack Germany’s electric grid and use the resulting chaos to foment a civil war. All told, while only 25 people were arrested, a total of 50 have been accused of involvement in the terrorist organization.
Click through for story. This appears to be a bit of a scoop – there was a short clip on MSNBC and that was all I found (it’s in the video thread.)
Crooks & Liars – ‘Religious Freedom’ Bites Forced-Birthers Where The ‘Son’ Don’t Shine
Quote – Jewish people, for instance, don’t believe the fetus has a soul until it draws its first independent breath. We prioritize the life of the pregnant person above the life of the fetus for the entirety of the pregnancy, including in situations that put the pregnant person’s emotional health at risk. With the imposition of the GOP’s fetus-fetish laws all over the nation, however, Jews and others whose religions don’t subscribe to the ideology of these nutters are fighting fire with fire.
Click through for details. I applaud this work. I’m so tired of people claiming to be Christians saying abortion is murder when the Bible does not say so, but implies it is not. What clearly IS murder is failing to treat pregnancy issues and thereby causing death. If you’re going to outlaw abortion, you might as well also outlaw the Heimlich maneuver.
Food For Thought – OMG, this is beautiful!
Yesterday, I did manage to get the trash and recyclables out to the curb for today’s pickup. Also, more updates appear to indicate that the missile hitting Poland (and killing between 2 and 5 people – depending on the source) was not intentional on anyone’s part – although it would not have happened had ussia not been shooting missiles all over Ukraine out of pure spite. NATO is going to have to do a lot of talking and thinking about it but, no one is looking at World War III.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
Crooks & Liars – ‘Political Contamination’: Jamie Raskin Slams 155 Election Deniers In Congress
Quote – CBS host Margaret Brennan reported on Sunday that her network had tallied election deniers who will serve in the new Congress. According to the tally, deniers of the election won 155 House seats and nine Senate seats in the U.S. Congress. That was in addition to 18 wins at the state level. “That’s a statement about the political contamination of the GOP by Donald Trump,” Raskin told Brennan. “Kevin McCarthy and other leaders in the Republican Party are now required to make a decision about whether they’re going to try rid themselves of Donald Trump and his toxic influence on the party.”
Click through for article. Let’s for the sake of argument assume they have 218 seats. 218 – 155 = 63 non-deniers, at most. I find myself wondering whether McCarthy is even Trumpy enough for them. Because if he isn’t, he’s toast. And his replacement could be far sorse.
Politico – Biden to Pelosi: ‘I Hope You Stick’
Quote – “I hope you stick,” Biden told Pelosi in a phone call after congratulating her on the caucus’s unexpected victories and asking about her convalescing husband, according to Democrats familiar with the conversation. Pelosi interjected to note her personal considerations and Biden continued, “I know it’s family first but I hope you stick,” before Pelosi deflected again. Biden wasn’t on the ballot and Pelosi faced little challenge in her San Francisco district, but you wouldn’t have known it from their reactions to the results. The soon-to-be 80-year-old president and the 82-year-old speaker, mutual admirers with similar roots and shared grievances toward critics and wise-guy pundits, were bullish about their prospects and felt vindicated by the party’s success.
Click through for – more details than you might like. The article degenerates into comments from just about everyone but Nancy herself about what she should do. (And I’m sick of hearing about Biden’s “low approval rating.” It’s higher than Trump** EVER had in all four years.) But the mutual respect between Pelosi and Biden shines through and makes up for that.
Food For Thought
